A Pegasus burst out of the wormhole overlooking The Island of Dawn. Its rider sighed in relief, slightly relaxing her white-knuckled grip on its reigns. After what seemed like lifetimes, both of her feet were firmly planted on solid ground. The Castanic bent her knees slightly, bracing herself on them and catching her breath. "Zuras I despise flying." She sighed from behind gritted teeth. Standing after a few short breaths, the sorceress-in-training untangled her windblown lilac curls from her horns. Having been told to speak to a High Elf female called "Axelle", she set off to find her. Luckily, she did not need to look for long, as the one in question beckoned her over.
"You must be the one they told me about. Cafogan is what you call yourself, correct?" The Castanic quickly nodded, relaxing her posture. "There is not much I can do for you, I can only direct you to Legate Lam. You should be able to recognize him. He's a human warrior to the south; just down this road. Good luck sorceress, and don't let his dour attitude get to you." Cafogan politely bowed and thanked the elf, following the road she had been directed to.
Just as Axelle said, it did not take her long to locate the warrior. He shook her hand firmly, in a typical human fashion. "Cafogan right? We've heard some things about you from the higher ups. Maybe you can help us out here in Timeless Woods. Here, you're gonna need these if you want to start making a living around here." He handed her a new tunic, and ten copper. "I know it isn't much, but we're spread pretty thin. You can make more if you ask around and see if anyone needs any help. Spend this copper at the trainer under that tent there, learn a few spells or you won't last a day out here."
Cafogan nodded, "Thank you sir. This will do nicely." She went into the woods a ways, and changed into her new clothes. They were similar to the ones she arrived in, a light blue and simple. She folded her old robes neatly and placed them into the bag on her back, thinking she could use the thread later, or sell the robes to a common merchant for a few copper. Following Lam's advice, she first went to her trainer and learned how to make a basic fireball.
She turned around and faced the haphazardly thrown together campfire, glancing at the weary faces of those crouched around it trying to regain their strength. Her eyes glinted with the realization of the easy funds she was about to come across. She knew these defeated people no longer had the stamina to finish their quests, and would eagerly pass them off to another for the right price. She received orders from three of them, however the others were too exhausted to hold a conversation, forcing her to walk away.
Even with her limited repertoire of spells, the monsters around her were easy pickings for her. She went back to claim her rewards with limited cuts and bruises. Putting her money pouch back into her bag, she rolled her eyes. "'Wont last a day'? I'm almost bored." She murmured to herself. The Castanic looked towards the sky and took note of the suns position. "It's going to be dark soon. I should set up camp." She pulled her bedroll from her heavy bag, all the while muttering to herself about how much happier she would be if she had a horse to carry it for her.
As Cafogan was setting up her sleeping area, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in a deep puddle nearby and paused. She quickly fixed the soft curls that had been shaken out of place as she had fought throughout the day. She then stopped and admired her dark caramel skin, and her angular face. Finally, her fingers lightly traced around the edges of her curved horns, catching her fingers on the glowing red scars she had obtained just after puberty, remembering the searing pain that had seemingly come out of nowhere. She gritted her teeth. Damn this curse. Damn that Balder she cursed to herself. His death had not been her doing. Nor her mothers, or her mother's mothers. It was not the Castanic's fault that their ancestors had not thought about their actions. She didn't see why they all had to be punished.
The sorceress finally lay down, settling her head tilted slightly forward in such a way that she could sleep comfortably without putting weight on her horns. She lost herself in the view of the sky, in the lush rolling green hills. Now she wondered how moments ago she had felt so powerful, but now laying on the ground of the Timeless Woods felt so small and insignificant. One more thought drifted across the forefront of her mind, just as it had every night for most of her life.
No matter what, she would have vengeance.