She was carrying her lunch through, sliding it weakly along to the register for her purchase. But on any ordinary day, it seemed, something weird, though subtle, always had to happen. Unfortunately, today was to be a day she had dreamed of experiencing, and dread all at the same time.
She moved along like the other students of her high school, but this girl had always thought of herself differently, and set herself apart from them. If there was a deeper reason, besides her natural abilities and her denial of acceptance, nobody knew of it, at least not yet.
The thundering voices of hundreds of young adults gorging and conversing often didn't appeal to her either, so as she always did, she admonished her heavy black headphones and CD player she kept tucked away, even though the school ruling was against possessing this equipment.
But her meditation was cut short, as something kicked her chair from behind. With a disgruntled growl, she turned to find one of her acquaintances seeking her attention. She waved and dismissed them as quickly as she could, and returned to her personal meditation, and shortly departed back to class.
"Who is that?"
One teenage male teased, ribbing his friend with a laugh, pointing at the young woman who passed by with a low gaze and somber expression. In a moment they fled back to their classroom and nothing more.
Heading into one of the older classrooms at the end of the hall, she set down her bag with a sigh, and was promptly greeted by her comrade, whom she had come to call by his nickname after his favorite character, Chief.
"Hey Hawk! How are you today?"
His tone was always chipper; she couldn't help but lift her head and put on a little smile for him.
"Oh just the usual, hon. No need to worry..."
Chief cut her off though, "You liar... I saw you huffing and hustling about. Now what happened?"
She gave a sneer, "What doesn't happen boy." Smoothing back her naturally curly, long, dark blonde hair. "I'm arguing with my parents as usual, the teachers are worried about me and my sudden independence... they all believe I'm changing in the wrong way, but I don't agree with them."
Chief's cheeky grin faded with understanding, as he gave her a friendly, yet distant pat on her shoulder. "Your family has always been hard on you... It's no wonder you feel the way you do."
Hawk merely shrugged. "It's never just one thing. Life's never that simple."
Chief rolled his eyes, "It's those random jerks out there, isn't it? Why do you let them treat you like that without a word? You're tough enough to make them shut up if you wanted to!" Chief put up his hands in fists and mocked himself fighting the air.
Hawk shook her head, "I'm an outcast. That's what I choose to be. Left alone and unknown. That's worked best for me. Now, get to work..."
She usually was the hard nosed prompt that kept him working, as Hawk was the only one in the room who could put up with his personality without lashing out at his persistent behavior, ever. She muttered to him while they worked on their sketches. "Besides, that would break my vow of non-violence, Chief."
"Enh, you're too nice to everyone. One of these days you're gonna snap, and the whole world will feel the wrath of Hawk."
She sniggered at the prospect, "If I wasn't as accepting as I am, who else would?"
Though Chief lifted his finger, as though he had some witty comeback, instead he found no excuse and worked for the rest of the class time silently.
But Hawk's mind was uneasy for a time, as an old reality visited her mind. She wasn't always this gentle soul and pacifist heart. It had only been a few years since they moved away from that place, where she had gotten involved in some shady activity. Most of it was blurry even now, but one thing never faded and that was the feeling she got when she got into any action. Hawk knew her strengths were festering, deep down inside of her, but she prayed they never would surface again.
At the end of the day, Hawk drove down the country roads, away from the mainstream traffic. She often sped at tolerable, though illegal, speeds. Glancing up on the side of the road, she could see the horse farms' herds running as one. Hawk smiled, thinking of a time when the horse was a sacred animal. When honor was seen in your character, not by the people you knew or the things you wore.
I only hope that I can be different when I get out of here. That someday I will be known for who I am, and as a noble person. I want to be a legend.
But I also hope that someday, somebody like my friends from afar might see this place, for what it really is... simple living, and a good natured lifestyle, not to mention the glorious animals. I really do love it here, even if that is all I can love about it.
Out of the low-lying mists, their hooves flashed, triumphantly stretching over the terrain. Eyes and ears pressed, the natural fury of it all shining through.
A rider in red armor urged her on without whip, only tight words that showed his desire. The chestnut war maiden continued onwards in the area known as Pharae. The man soon pulled his mount to a halt, as he recognized another horse tied near a tavern and decided to stop by.
"Kent!" A green armored cavalier called out.
"Sain... who are these women... why must you make a pass on every female that draws breath?"
This greeting was quite normal for the two companions, who then proceeded to drink and speak well into the night. Kent went on to rebuke Sain, as he was fulfilling his duty as protector of Cailin's marquess heir, lady Lyndis, while Sain had, conveniently, gotten sidetracked on a scout mission Kent had assigned him, and ended up courting women and enjoying himself. But as Sain expressed his slight embarrassment, and they both agreed to return to lady Lyndis in the morning.
The reason for Sain's celebration was not unknown though, as he and Kent and an entire legion of acquired warriors fought through a conflict of politics and power, overthrowing a landlord, rescuing the current marquess from being poisoned and relinquishing his domain to his envious cousin, and reunited the fated sword bearer with her grandfather. The entire area was celebrating quietly, and a time of peace and prosperity seemed to be a bounty they would enjoy for years.
But as most stories go, evil doesn't die, it just appears in many different forms, through different people and situations. The next great upheaval was to be lead by a man who now traveled to a legendary island in the southern ocean, Valor Isle.
Nergal, a secretive dark druid of the highest power, was drawn by the stories of dragons and a gate that would lead them into this world. For hundreds of years ago, dragons did live in their realm, but for some unknown reason, mankind felt the desire to claim this world as their own and began a war with dragon kind. Driving them off into their own world, they used one of their greatest creations to escape the tyranny of mankind, through the Dragon's Gate. These days, it is common knowledge that this pathway was destroyed. However, following rumors and journeying far and wide in search of greater power and immortality, Nergal was finally at his search's end.
Convinced he could control the massive elemental beasts, he aimed to conquer the entire Lycian continent. For now, Nergal lead a fleet of mercenaries along with him for the time being. These warriors came with an immense legacy of doing good acts for the people through the upheaval of unruly leaders, this group was known to all as the Black Fang. They were more of a secondary force, as Nergal had his own army as well, in case anyone dared to interfere with his plot. He broke away from the lot of them and headed into the ruins alone, and began tampering with the pathway between worlds, never having any clue as to what his attempt would actually bring about. The end and a new beginning, but all he sought, for now, was the dragons.
And as with reality, he may have thought out the plot, but fate, much like anything in nature, is never that easy to predict, nor control.