Chapter 1: The Forest
His name was Jaden Naris, he was a Paladin. Average in size, the human wore his neck-length grey hair down and had recently shaved his beard. As a child he was entertained by stories of the knights of the silver hand, of honor, of valor, of justice. In his younger years he was a powerful warrior swinging large swords and hammers for the light. In his older years he took up a shield and was a protector, front line in battle, distracting foes from his friends. He wore plate armor ornamented with a golden glow and a magical levitating metal halo with crystals on it.
He was traveling alone through a forest, his only company being his armored horse. The pine trees towered above and fog had begun rolling in. It was getting dark and the Paladin still had a ways to go to reach his destination.
Shortly after sunset, Jade heard a loud, angry screech in front of him. He stopped and squinted to see what was making the terrible noise. He could make out the figure of a very angry and unattended Hawkstrider; it was flapping its wings wildly and screaming with fury. He dismounted, reached into a bag resting on his horse and produced a small torch, his flint and tinder. After lighting the torch he grabbed some bread from another bag and cautiously moved closer to the furious bird.
Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a flash of light. He moved towards it, away from the angry bird, finding a wildcat crouched in the bushes, eyeing the bird. Jade stood tall and banged his mace on his shield a few times, frightening the cat away and making the giant chicken even more irate.
Jade held very still and waited, eventually the bird silenced its self, no longer threatened. He moved towards it, hand extended, offering the bird bread which it happily accepted. Upon closer examination, Jade noticed the large Hawkstrider was still wearing a saddle and bags.
"Its rider is probably not far." He thought to himself, looking around. "I could be attacked at any moment, I'd best get going." He walked back to his horse and mounted up, still holding the torch carefully in one hand, "Still, who would leave their belongings unattended on a mount saddled but not tied down? By the light maybe I should investigate?" He let out a sigh, "But whoever owns it is the enemy and likely evil. Why should I help them?"
He was torn, he glanced over at the bird again, "But the bird... is just an animal. It is neither good nor evil, but it may die if its caretaker is dead or injured. I should at least make an attempt to find the owner for the bird's sake." He rode back and dismounted, walking to the side of the road opposite where the wildcat was.
He then walked off the road, looking, searching the forest for signs of life. Again out of the corner of his eye he noticed a faint glow and moved towards it. After sliding down a slight hill, which seemed to become steeper down the road, he found himself his rider.
When he reached the glow he held up his torch, looking carefully at its source, it was a Blood Elf. He glanced at the steep hill, then down at the body of the elf, the way the elf looked as if he'd been thrown like a rag doll. Jaden deducted that he'd probably been thrown from his mount at the worst possible time and fell down the steep hill. The elf wore armor with glowing orange crystals on his shoulders and a small golden gemmed metal halo that levitated above his head, just like the one that Jade wore. The elf had long red hair which fell messily around his body.
He stuck his torch in the dirt and removed a gauntlet. "Why am I doing this?" he thought to himself as he reached over to touch the fallen elf's cheek. It was warm, "He's alive." He put his gauntlet back on, grabbed his torch, and stood up. "Surely he'll awaken soon and get back to travels." He thought as he began to walk away. After a few steps he turned back and looked at the elf, "... there was blood on the ground there, he's probably hit his head rather hard, and he may have some broken bones. What if he's unable to move? I can't just leave him there to die slowly, immobile."
He turned away again, "His people are the enemy of my people, let his people save him." He thought to himself, walking away again, "... But he's a Paladin." Jade turned once more to look at the elf, looking closer at him. He noticed the elf's weapon had a faint golden glow, "... A healer. He himself wouldn't harm anyone. If I leave him it will weigh on my conscience for a long time. If he's evil I can kill him myself but I can't just leave him here."
He walked back to the Blood Elf, his own hands glowing faintly, "I never was good at healing... I just need to make sure he doesn't bleed to death."