Prologue- The Beginning
The moon was peaking over the Spine, engulfing the trees and creatures in it's pure white light. A lone figure and his horse were illuminated in a small clearing, giant trees surrounding them. He was breathing hard, his chest moving rapidly. His horse was swaying wearily, clearly exhausted from their flight. He struggled as he dismounted from his horse, blood dripping from his body. Carefully and slowly, he slid down against the tree, his horse laying itself down, a few feet from him, picking hungrily at the squeezed his eyes shut and whispered quietly, the wind carrying the words away. His palm glowed a soft, mystic blue, his Gedwey Ignasia glowing like indigo fire. Within a few seconds, his breathing eased and his chest his head back on the tree, a small quiet sob escaped his lips. Tears had left clean trails across his dirt and blood caked face. His hair was matted with blood, mud and dirt and the Gods only knew what else. He was mentally and psychically drained and broken.
"What reason do I have to live for now?" he said out loud, his voice nothing more than a whisper. Fresh, hot tears streamed down his grime covered face, washing more of the nasty filth away. The wind blew gently, tousling his clothes and drying his tears bit by bit, but no matter the force of the wind, the salty drops could not be reigned in. His cries became anguished and his sobs grew in volume, echoing though the silent dark. It was some time before his sadness began to abate. He stood, exerting quite a bit of power to pull him up and staggered into the center of the clearing. The moon was already on the other side of the sky and the sun would crest the hills anytime. Looking up to the sky he spoke.
"I swear to the stars, I will chase you to the ends of Alagaesia and back if it means I can have my vengeance on you for what you have done. I swear upon the honor I had as a Rider, you will fall by my hand Morzan." The wind whipped around him, and the sun exploded over the great hills of the Spine, setting the sky and trees on fire. The predators that had been lurking bunkered down to wait until it was safe to hunt, but little did they know, they had in fact become the Hunted.