The two black figures creeped silently through the night, their hoods flowed over their strange twisted bodies, revealing nothing under the dim light. They ran under the light of a waning moon, leaving vague, amorphous footprints in the mud of the forest.
They had been tracking the ship for several weeks now. It appeared to be a normal merchant ship, carrying goods from Hedarth into the Outer Lands. They would hide during the day, away from the light, the sun, and hunt during the night, where they would remain unseen by the locals, and hence, unknown.
They don't know what happens in the land known as Alagaesia. They had heard tales in between their brethren of dragons, of elves in forests as massive as entire oceans, of an immortal king, and the tale of how he was destroyed, by a Rider.
Of course, that was a lie. Dragons didn't exist. Elves had never left their homeland across the Shining Sea, Alalea, in centuries. Except for the Elf colony Zar Vackham, there was no other place on this world with elves. And besides, why would elves live in a forest?
They lived in the south, in Croatoan, a valley in a ring of mountains. To the west and north, Obliviae. A land with a special race, known as the Folgavr. They were a human-elf hybrid, a sort of mismatch in between the two species that began a few hundred years ago when elves reached out into the outer civilizations.
They were two, as they had always been. Their black rugged packs looked light and undisturbed by their abrupt, strange gaits. "Stop. The ship is close. We must hide." Said the creature, in its strange, clicking tongue. It lifted an arm, signaling the other to halt.
They rapidly seeked cover throughout the treeline, their hoods blending in with the shadows around them. Then, they stood, quietly observing the long, crystal river beyond the plains that separated them.
They waited for several minutes. An owl's screech pierced the silence. Their breathing, almost unhearable, was ragged and came in sudden uneasy bursts. It was the only sign of the growing tension between them.
Eventually, a boat with white masts slowly edged its way into their vision. They were too far away to tell for sure, but there seemed to be a blue shiny mass lying on the deck of the ship, as well as the outline of a man. Presumably, precious cargo, exactly what they had been looking for.
They watched silently. The ship was surrounded by what seemed to be several white orbs, which shined and pulsed as if they were alive. They supposed it was sorcery, something they were accustomed to. What the purpose of the orbs was, they weren't sure.
One of them pulled out a longbow from its sheath, which it wore on its back. The bow was made of polished black wood, and notched a stone-grey arrow, made of a special type of tree. It pulled the bow back ever so slowly, until it was drawn to it's full length.
The bow twanged with a faint sound. The arrow flew through the air, as faint as a whisper from a newborn's mouth. As the arrow travelled through the plains, something occurred. A slight change in the atmosphere, or drop in the temperature. They were not sure.
What they did know, was that suddenly one of the white orbs was gone. It had exploded into a furious blast of bright light, destroying the arrow, and shining its rays into the creatures particular direction.
Then, the blue mass on the ship shifted. It opened up, at first appearing to be like a flower. Then realization dawned on the creatures, for they knew in that moment that this was not a normal merchant ship.
The dragon, for the blue mass was a dragon, lifted itself into the air, spraying fire into the cold night, lighting up the landscape with a an orange glow. The dragon flew into the air, and then focused its attention on the strange figures.
The two creatures ran. They bolted through the forest, hoping desperately for an opportunity to strike at the large blue beast. They heard distantly the sound of ancient language being spoken. A large, white light filled the shadows in the forest. They had nowhere to hide.
The two figures dropped their cloaks. A hard, black insect-like carapace was revealed under the robes. Their mouths were replaced with long, sharp beaks. One of them had a jagged scar across its face, from the bottom of its left eye to where its beak began on the right side of its face.
They pulled out their thin, grey swords, preparing themselves for the impending attack. The dragon spotted them and plunged towards them while folding its wings, appearing like a bright blue dagger heading straight toward them.
The end result was catastrophic. The dragon had halted itself with a few beats of its wing, and then proceeded to fight with the two creatures. The dragon opened its massive jaws, and painted them with fire. Their carapaces were resistant against such attacks, what they weren't resistant to was the giant beasts heavy paws. It struck one of them on the side, crushing its arms instantly, rendering the creature useless. A loud shriek filled the air as the dragon crushed it underfoot.
The scarred figure, seeing its partner dead, sprang away, running into the darkness of the night. A man jumped off the dragon. He watched warily as the creature ran. He silently picked up the dead insect-like creatures weapons and hoisted himself onto the dragon.
The dragon let out a deep throated roar, resonating throughout the trees. It launched itself into the air, flattening the ground. It quickly fell in pursuit of the remaining creature.
An otherworldly scream filled the air, echoing faintly into the distance.
"So. The Ra'zac have returned." Said a familiar voice.
A deep grunt rang out from the dragon. They lifted themselves into the starry sky, after leveling out, they glided towards the last location of the creature.
"Let's hunt it down then. "
And that they did.