Road to Araluen Fief, Country of Araluen in the year 967

Shortly after the Kalkara attacks

The rain was coming down in little clouds of mist that seemed to not touch the ground, but hover above it. It was the type of rain that was enjoyable compared to other types of rain, but it soaked into the fabric of the treated wool cloak any traffic on the road might be wearing.

There was a lone rider on the road that day. The figure wore a grey-green cloak, and rode a shaggy looking horse. A bow was resting against the figures thighs, and the fletching of some arrows could be seen from over it's right shoulder.

It was the cloak that made the figure stand out as a Ranger. The grey-green camouflage of it helped the Ranger blend into the forested areas of the country-and there were plenty of those around.

If you looked closer, you would see that the Ranger was not a man, like what most people would expect. The Ranger was a girl, and a very special girl at that.

Her pitch-black eyes scanned the road and her surroundings as she and her pale brown horse made their way back to Castle Araluen. It had been a long few days. They had caught word of a bandit band in an outlying village. She had gone to stop the bandits, and had been successful. The bandits were now cooling their heels in a Lord's dungeons.

She sighed and reached down to fiddle with the knives that rested on her left hip. She was ready to get home and talk to Crowley, the Commandant.

"Well, Dancer," the Ranger said, smiling at the horse for a moment, "I think we're gonna make it home before dark tonight."

Of course we will. Dancer replied, shaking her mane. The Ranger, Emily, rolled her eyes.

"And how do you know that?"

I can feel it in my tail.

Assuming a confused look, Emily looked out at her surroundings once again. It was at that moment that her world would be changed forever.

A bright column of white light seemed to burst from the clouds, and Emily pulled a section of her cloak up to her face to cover her eyes. The light was accompanied by the smell of rain, the silence that fell over the forest. Dancer, trained in the hard ways that all Ranger horses were trained, stood stock still, but closed her eyes tightly.

After a few moments of silence that seemed to last forever, the column made its way back into the clouds. Emily dropped her cloak, then patted her horse's neck lovingly.

"That was weird, wasn't it?" She muttered, before looking up. What she saw surprised her, although she let none of it show on her face.

In the middle of the road, a few meters away from her, where the light had hit, there were two people. One was male, the other female. They wore white traveling clothes that looked tattered and were torn in a few paces. The two people looked at their bodies as if they hadn't seen them before.

Emily shook her head, and walked Dancer closer to the two strangers.

"King's Ranger!" she called, causing the two people to look at her. There was something about their gazes that made Emily's stomach tighten slightly. Their gazes looked as if they knew something she had no clue about. "Who are you? Where did you come from?"

The male glanced at his female companion, before stepping forward.

"My name is Gabriel, and this is Ivy, Ranger." Gabriel said. "There's no need to be afraid of us."

Emily raised an eyebrow at the man. "Who says I'm scared of you?"

"Well, I know you're scared of us. Your stomach is tied up in a knot, your palms are probably clamming up right now." he replied easily. Emily's mind was racing. How had he known about how she was feeling?

No...That wasn't possible.

"Very funny-" she started, but the man raised his hand for her to be quiet. She had to rein in a flare of anger at that.

"You think I'm lying, don't you?"

"Gabriel, be careful." The woman-Ivy-warned, quietly. "The mission."

Gabriel seemed to nod, glancing back at Ivy. At the Ranger's silence, he continued. "Why don't you take us to wherever you live and we'll tell you something."

Do you trust them? Dancer asked.

"I might have to," Emily muttered to the horse, and then, in a louder voice, "Fine. But I'm staying on my horse."

"That's perfectly fine, Ranger." Gabriel said. "Lead the way."