Okay guys, this is a story that I had been thinking about for a couple of days. This is completely from inside of my head and in no way related to any movies, cartoons, anime etc. I hope you all enjoy it and tell me what you think about it.

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Prologue

A long time ago, humans had once lived in harmony with nature. They have learned to take what they need from the forest and in turn give back to nature. They were also friends with the spirits that have protected the forest long before even man appeared on the earth. But over time, the humans grew greedy and took more than what they needed from the forests. They chopped down many trees and killed off almost every animal that lived in the forests and in their greed the spirits grew angry with the humans and began to fight against them. War broke out between humans and spirits as they battled for dominance over the forest, but their war soon came to an end when a powerful spirit came forth and became the Guardian of the Forest. The power from the Forest Guardian was so strong that it established fear within the humans and drove them out of the forest. Once the Forest Guardian's power had chased the humans out of the forest the Guardian created a crystal that he hid within a giant tree. The Forest Guardian made the crystal so that it will always protect the forest and that any tree the humans should cut down will instantly grow back in its place. A law was then established by the Forest Guardian that if any human should venture into the deepest part of the forest the spirits are to transform into hideous monsters to frighten the humans out of their territory. In time, the humans grew to fear the forest and the spirits that they now dubbed as dark spirits and never dared to venture into the forest for fear of being killed. The Forest Guardian soon went into a deep slumber, but in his place he had left a prophecy on a large mound of stone.

A day will come when humans shall seek the crystal

If they should disturb the crystal

Then the Guardian's rage shall awaken

But in that day a human and spirit will bond together as one

And will rise up to protect the crystal with their life

While establishing balance between humans and spirits

Once again

Time passed and the deepest parts of the forest grew to be ancient and untouched by humans who feared it. Humans that do live near the forest vowed to never enter it and through their fear they tell their children the stories of dark spirits that will eat them should they ever enter the forest out of curiosity or foolishness.

Chapter 1

A wind gently blew through the branches of the trees as the sun shone brightly over a small village that sat near the edge of the forest. Many farming families were working in their fields and tending to their farm animals. Young children were running and playing within the fields as they chased one another in a game of tag. There was one girl among the kids who let out the loudest laughter that echoed throughout the field.

The girl was six years old with long brown hair that grew down to her shoulders and hazel brown eyes. The girl was wearing a long sleeve brown dress with orange rims on the end of the sleeves and the bottom edge of her dress. The girl was wearing flat bottom boots that were slightly tattered.

The girl's name was Lira and she was a girl who was always curious about the world around her, but she also had a kind heart and is willing to help her parents or the people of her village with the chores that needed to be done. Lira continued to run away from a young seven year old boy who was 'it' before she slid on a wet patch of grass, while letting out a startled cry of surprise. Lira was now lying on her back in the tall grass that she and the other kids had been running around in as she stared up at the sky with a dazed look on her face. Lira blinked to clear her vision, but it was soon obscured by a butterfly landing on her nose.

The butterfly's wings were an aqua blue with the edgings and patterns being black. Lira stared crossed eyed at the butterfly for a moment before she watched it fly off her nose. Lira quickly sat up with a large smile on her face before jumping to her feet as she began to chase the butterfly all around the field, while letting out a joyful laugh in her wake. Lira was so busy chasing the butterfly that she didn't realize she was heading towards the forest.

In one of the berry fields was a twenty year old woman with long brown hair tied up in a bun and emerald green eyes. The woman was wearing a long sleeve brown dress with a white apron tied around her waist and flat bottom shoes. This was Lira's mother, Eliza, a woman who is very protective of her daughter and would always worry about her daughter going to close to the forest.

Eliza looked up from her berry picking and her face transformed into a look of horror when she saw her daughter running straight towards the forest. Eliza dropped what she was doing and quickly gathered up her skirt as she began to run as fast as she could to stop her daughter. Lira continued to chase the butterfly for a while longer until she suddenly heard her mother yelling at her before Eliza grabbed Lira by the shoulders.

"Lira, stop!" shouted Eliza as she quickly pulled her daughter away from the forest. "You know the rules. You must never go into the forest!"

Lira looked up at her mother in confusion for a second, than turned her head to look at the forest before looking back up at her mother again.

"Why not?" asked Lira.

Eliza sighed in exasperation at her daughter's question before she knelt down to Lira's level.

"Lira…that forest is dangerous," explained Eliza. "There are beasts within that forest, known as dark spirits and if anyone from our village dares enter it and come face to face with one of those dark spirits…They'll be killed."

Lira felt a little bit of fear course through her body at her mother's words, but she was still curious about the forest that her village was so afraid of. Lira was also curious about the Dark Spirits that the villagers keep on talking about, what exactly did they look like? Are they as fierce as the villagers say they were? Those questions kept buzzing around within Lira's head for a while as her mother led her away from the forest.

"Come now Lira, you can help me with picking berries for the Summer Festival tonight," said Eliza.

"Okay mommy," said Lira with a smile.

Unknown to Lira and her mother they were being watched by two golden brown eyes that were looking out beneath the underbrush of a bush. The being watch the two humans making their way back to the village before letting out a sigh of relief. The being then turned its eyes towards the butterfly that was sitting on one of the roots of a tall tree.

"You idiot!" exclaimed the being angrily in a male voice, "You nearly led a human into our forest!"

The butterfly glowed in a blue aura for a moment before its form shifted into a little creature that looked similar to the humans that lived in the village with the little creature having a female appearance. The little creature had long blonde hair that grew down behind her knees, forest green eyes, transparent wings that had pink and blue hues to them and peach colored skin. The little being was wearing a violet sleeveless dress with the skirt having a high slit on the left side and a bit of her midriff showing a little on the little being's left side, while her feet were bare.

The little creature was none other than a fairy that lived within the forest near the edge of the village. The fairy glared at the being in front of her after being scolded her before the fairy spoke in a voice that sounded wisp like a small gust of wind blowing through a tall patch of grass.

"Come on loosen up a little would ya? I was just having a little fun with that girl," said the fairy as she crossed her arms over her chest.

The being let out a growl as he stepped into the light that shone through the branches of the trees to reveal his true self to the little fairy. The being was a ferret that had dark green fur with brown markings on his legs, ears, muzzle and the tip of his tail. Over the ferret's eyes was a brown mask. The ferret sat up on his back legs and crossed his paws over his chest as he glared at the little fairy before him.

"Bluebell, you know the law of this forest," said the ferret with an annoyed look on his face. "Humans aren't allowed in our realm."

"And if humans ever journey into our forest, we are to scare them out by any means necessary," muttered the fairy, Bluebell, with a bored look on her face. "I know the law of the forest keeps us safe from humans Moss. I just don't see why we have to keep hiding from those humans when we could just play pranks on them to teach them not to come tramping in our home."

The ferret, Moss, groaned as he smacked his right paw on his forehead in exasperation. Moss had known Bluebell his whole life and she had shown him that she was an over confident, immature little fairy that wanted to play pranks on humans who journeyed too far into their forest. Moss was more of the down to earth, serious kind of spirit that always worried about the safety of others and is very cautious around humans. He also holds tightly to the law of the forest that the Forest Guardian had established and would scold any little spirit that would break it just so they could play pranks on the humans to teach them a lesson.

"One of these days you'll wind up getting yourself caught by a human Bluebell," said Moss as he glared at the fairy once again. "And when that happens, don't expect me to save you."

Moss then got down on all fours and began to walk deep into the forest, while Bluebell stuck her tongue out at the ferret just to spite him. Bluebell then flew after Moss as the two banter back and forth about the law of the forest, not knowing that someone else had also witnessed the human child almost entering the forest as well. High up in one of the trees a being with aqua green eyes was watching Lira and her mother picking berries for the Summer Festival feast. The being's eyes lingered on Lira for a while before he let out a huff and jumped down from the tree that he had been hiding in a moment ago. The being then made his way into the shadows of the forest, while leaving no trace of his presence behind him.

Nightfall

The night was filled with laughter, music and the light of the bonfire's flames as the people within the village celebrated the Summer Festival. The villagers talked and shared stories with each other, while a few children ran around the village square chasing each other. A few feet away from the party were a group of children sitting on the ground as they circled around one of the village elders, an old man with a long grey beard and mustache that grew down to his chest. He was wearing a green cloak over top of a brown tunic, brown trousers and light brown fur edging boots. The elder's name was Alden. He was the elder and one of the best storytellers within the village. Lira sat among the children as she listened to the stories that Alan was telling them about how humans and spirits had once been friends a long time ago. Lira was always fascinated with the stories, but she always became disappointed at what humans had done to the spirits' home.

"Elder," spoked Lira once Alden finished his story. "Will there ever come a time where spirits and humans could live together in peace again?"

Alden thought over Lira's question for a moment before he answered her with a sad frown on his face.

"I do not know young Lira," replied Alden with a shake of his head. "There may come a day where humans and spirits will live in peace again, but when? Even I do not know. It may happen long before our time or maybe never."

Lira sadly looked down at the ground after hearing what Alden said. A boy suddenly spoke up among the group of kids with an indifferent look on his face. The boy had shaggy blonde hair and green eyes. He was wearing a brown leather vest over a white long sleeve tunic, brown pants and brown flat bottom boots. The boy's name was Geoff, a young six year old who has a great fear of the forest and wishes to never set foot within it.

"Why would anyone want to be friends with those Dark Spirits?" questioned the boy. "They're nothing but monsters who try to harm us whenever we venture into their forest."

"They only became Dark Spirits because we were the ones that started destroying their homes first," argued Lira as she glared at the boy in anger.

"I'm afraid Lira is correct young Geoff," spoke Alden with a sad smile on his face. "The greed that we humans have carried throughout the years has been growing for a while now, but our village has learned to never let greed rule our lives when it comes to the forest. Even though in the end we've learned to fear the spirits of the forest, while setting up the rule to keep us safe from doing something foolish that might get us killed by them."

"Have you ever seen a Dark Spirit?" asked Geoff with his arms crossed over his chest.

"No young man, I haven't," replied Alden with a shake of his head. "At least at the age I am at right now, but when I was younger I once caught sight of a Dark Spirit standing near the edge of the forest. I didn't get a good look at it for it suddenly disappeared back into the forest when it noticed me staring straight at it. My sighting of a Dark Spirit had caused the village to go into a panic for a while with the villagers thinking that the Dark Spirits will come into the village and kill us. But eventually, it was nothing but a false alarm on my cause and that was the only time I saw a Dark Spirit."

Lira and the kids stared up at Alden in wonder before their parents came up to them and told them that it was time they headed home. Lira and her parents walked towards their home, which sat near the square of the village. Lira let out a yelp when her father suddenly picker her up from the ground and placed her on his shoulders.

Lira's father was a twenty three year old man with brown, almost black, short hair with a mustache and beard growing on his face and dark brown eyes. The man was wearing a dark green tunic with an orange vest over top, a brown waist belt around his waist, brown leggings and flat bottom boots. The name of Lira's father was Justin and he was a one of the kindest fathers that Lira has ever come to know within the village.

Lira's father was a wood carver who loves to crave figurines of animals out of wood. Justin would sometimes buy wood off of merchants who would once in a while travel threw Lira's small village as they travel to different villages. When Lira's father finished some of his carvings he would then make a long trip to other villages to sell his carvings to anyone who would be interested in percussing them. Sometimes the sales were good and Justin would bring back enough money that his family could use to buy food or clothing from merchants, but if he brought little money then the family would save it for later use.

The family soon made it to their home, which was a simple cottage with a wooden roof. Lira got herself ready for bed as she changed out of her day clothes and into a cotton white night gown. Lira climbed into her bed before settling down within the covers before her mother and father walked up to Lira to give their daughter a goodnight kiss.

"Sweet dreams my little Lira," said Eliza with a warm smile on her face.

"Goodnight mommy, goodnight daddy," said Lira with a smile "I love you".

"We love you too sweetheart," spoke Justin before he led Lira's mother out of the room, while blowing out the candle on the way out.

The room was dark with only the light of the full moon illuminating Lira's room. Lira stared out at the night sky through her window as she gazed upon the stars that shone brightly alongside the moon. Lira let her thoughts wander as she thought about the stories of how humans and spirits had once been friends as a sad smile appeared on her face.

'I hope someday, humans and spirits can live in harmony again,' thought Lira before she closed her eyes and snuggled into her pillow as she let her dreams take her to places unknown.

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Well here's the first chapter, I hope you enjoy it and tell me what you think of it. White Hunter, howling out to you and the spirits!