One tired, summer day, five friends were walking around the town. Laughing along the way, they started hearing faint chanting from far away. As they got closer to the noise, they realized that it was right outside the castle walls. They hurried to higher ground, and to their horror they saw a massive gathering of animals and beasts of all sorts. The five friends tried to tell the citizens to run, because they feared that they were going to do something horrible, and to their dismay, it seemed too late as a meteor went flying to the walls from the heavens, breaking the defenses and sending a swarm of beasts and demons into the village. As the five friends tried to save the commoners from the monsters, another meteor came down, and…
Strange Encounter
I suppose I should start from the beginning. There was once a young woman named Devona. Devona was a brave woman, always true to herself and always at the side of her friends when in trouble. She was the teacher of basic fighting at the War Academy in Ascalon. Ascalon was a cheery town, the home to youths wishing to learn all sorts of knowledge. Our young Devona was teaching how to use a sword to the new recruits, when she heard a cry for help. As she went to find who was in trouble, she noticed a rampaging beast in the town, growling at the gate guards. It was a grotesque sight, primal looking, with a big head and wearing armor. Its teeth were large, and its back seemed bent. So, she grabbed her mallet and ran at the beast, but when she swung at him, he merely grabbed the mallet and yanked it away from her, throwing it at one of the guards. One second she thought she was done for, as the monster was closing in, ready to sink its claws in her flesh, the next she saw an arrow hit the beast right in the neck, and it slowly fell to the ground. As she got back up, she noticed a shadowy figure jump down from atop a roof, and he walked to Devona.
"Who are you," Devona asked, "and what was that thing?"
As the man came closer she saw that he was an older man, in his thirties or so. He had hair down to his shoulders, and his beard was grizzly.
"I am Aidan, and that thing is a Charr. They live just outside the village in the woods. I've been tracking this one for a while now. This one here is one of their leaders," he said as he nudged the dead body with his foot. "And what might your name be?"
Devona looked shocked. How could she have not seen one of those beings before? After all, they are just outside the gates, or so this strange man says. "Oh. Um, my name is Devona. I teach the soldiers at the War Academy. You look to be a ranger."
Aidan looked at his bow, and he shrugged. "I'm pretty good at shooting things I suppose. Not like I had anything better to do in the wilderness."
Devona studied him more carefully this time. She tried to see through his garment and physical features, and focus on his aura, as her friend Mhenlo had taught her. Mhenlo would continually do this to see who is pure hearted and not. But she just couldn't. "Well then. I suppose I should show you around town. You're probably gonna be a hero now that you slayed a creature of great magnitude." And so, the two new friends walked off to the Academy. Little did they know that they were being watched, from the very small corner by the gate.