Chapter One: Traveler's Tears
Snow fell to the ground as a man walked towards a small town. Under a black cloak was full steel armour. Wild red hair was visible through the snow. His eyes, a piercing shade of blue, fell upon the entrance that read; 'Welcome to Sanre.' As he walked into the town, the snow began to bite as a blizzard started.
Wind tore at the red haired traveler's face as he walked into town. The winter chill had forced all of the town's residents inside. Luckily, there was a tavern for such foolish travelers as himself. Many of the patrons stared at the man for a moment as the door creaked shut, but they soon returned to their conversations. All their features were dulled in the dim lights of the bar. The owners family seemed very interested in the man and was soon bombarded by questions from their eldest child.
"Where did I come from?" The man laughed at the girl's inquiry. "Why, better to ask where I've gone!" The girl looked to him, confused, and the man continued, "Lass, I've been to lands one would only dare dream of. Asking from where I came doesn't do my journey justice. But, before I go into any of that... Elda?"
The girls mother nodded. Right away, sir Kanso." Elda said excitedly. Within moments a full tankard of ale was in front of the man.
Kanso took a long, slow drink from his ale. "Ah... Now, where to start?"
"How about from the beginning. For Xalmi. She wasn't around when you last left." The girl's eye lit up at her mother's suggestion. She looked to her two brothers, who had joined the group, then back to Kanso. People began to crowd around him.
"Okay, well..." Kanso went on to tell the story for half the night. No one dared leave and miss any part of the story. "... And with my last arrow, I shot the lock off the door and the roof collapsed on the bandits. Once I was fully healed of my injuries, I was on my way back here." Kanso said and yawn. "Well, I am retiring for the night." He said and made his way to his room.
The sun rose bright the next morning. The tavern was empty when Kanso finally roused with a yawn. When he realised no one was around and yelling coming from outside, he quickly clothed himself. By the time he had made it to his room door, things had gotten worse outside.
Half the town was in the town square's snow filled streets and still more people were flooding out of their houses. In the middle of this swarming mob was a large creature. It was tall, standing at about eight feet in height, more than a foot taller than the tallest villager. Two long, unicorn-like horns grew out of the back of it's fur covered head. The creature, seeming more like an upright animal than anything else, had a face that seemed strangely human-like.
The only other feature about it was the vivid green eyes, whose pupil was slit like a cat's. "Where is the traveling man?" It bellowed. Smaller versions of the creature surrounded a strange looking woman, obviously unconscious. "Tell me..." It said in a more stern, but strangely sad, voice, implying a deeply regrettable consequence involving the woman. The smaller creatures seemed uneasy as well, almost as if copying the creature.
"Yes?" Kanso asked as he walked through the crowd towards the creature. "What do you need, Tarnio?" He continued in a familiar tone.
The creature eye the red-haired man. "You have made a name for yourself." It looked toward the town gates, as if seeing something a human eye could not. "The matara are coming, with Agis as their leader." Tarnio sighed, letting his gaze fall back to Kanso. "The other lisar are keeping her at bay. Though that will not last."
Kanso winced with a sigh. He turned toward most of the crowd, while shaking his head. "I am sorry, everyone, for bringing these dangers into town..." His tone was sad and regretful as he looked down. It's my vault this is happening anyway...
"We'll help you." A voice in the crowd said, breaking Kanso from his thoughts. The girl from the tavern, Xalmi the elf, and her brothers, Rillve and Saju, made their way toward the front of the crowd. In the light that the sun provided, compared to the taverns lamps, showed their features clearly. Xalmi was tale and pale with elongated, pointed ears. Grey hair framed a green eyed face. Te elfs feet were bare, but she wore a magnificent, long, icy blue kimono.
Rillve, on the other hand, was short, though tall for a halfling. His short black hair was done up in a warrior's ponytail and his black eyes seemed to have sort of shine. His skin was dark brown colour and he crossed his arms as he stood next to his sister.
And then there was Saju. He was about halfway in between Xalmi and Rillve in height, with red-grey hair to his shoulders which zigged and zagged up and down along the hairs length. His eyes were iridescent, shifting from one colour to the next every so often.. A black vest was over a matching shirt, which ran into matching pants. As footing, Saju was wearing leather boots that lead up to his shins.
For just a brief moment, Kanso stared at the children, then shook himself. From Tarnio was a soft chuckle, though it was ignored by Kanso. "Um, I'm not sure you're mother would approve--"
"And why wouldn't I?" Elda said, walking up behind him. She was still in her tavern uniform, which resembled a fancy maids gown. The wind brushed her grey hair to the side as she ran her fingers through it. Her blue eyes stared at him as she smiled wryly. "I did suggest it." Kanso stared at her in shock as she stated it was her idea. From that point, there was silence, which the lisar man took as his time to speak.
"Agis grows nearer by the second. Unless you wish her upon this place, you should go." Kanso broke from his gaze to nod at Tarnio. Though he hid it well, worry broke through Kanso's expression. "Do not worry about the village. I will make sure they are safe."
Reluctantly, Kanso turned. He muttered something under his breath, not loud enough for even Tarnio to hear, then walked towards the gate. By this time, the woman and the smaller lisar had vanished, as if into air. Not a single person had noticed this, though, for everyone was more concerned about what was happening to the tavern masters husband. All the villagers eyes followed Kanso. "But..." Xalmi said as she stepped forward a bit.
A man from the village looked to her. "Leave it be. He'll be back. He's come back before. He said, trying to comfort the girl. His words met deaf ears, and Xalmi turned to head back to the tavern.
Everything was quiet for quiet a bit afterwards. It began to snow lightly and everything seemed frozen in place. A slight disturbance came from the town gate. A snake like figure with arms slid through the snow, a twisted smirk on it's face. It had long brown hair and something that seemed like a person lying limply across its shoulders. The figure, gliding silently into the little light of the gate, had a vipers hood that rose from the middle of it's side to it's head with elegant grace.
It was dark, as the winter clouds of snow covered the suns retreat from the sky. Despite this, Tarnio saw the figure slide toward town behind the flakes of snow the were being dumped from above. The sharp eyes of the lisar flashed as he realised who the figure was. "Agis..." The word squeezed out of his mouth as if it was forced through his sneer. "She has come."