This is the prologue.
There is a world unlike ours, where the people are divided into four races, dependent on legendary crystals that save them from the ever-present miasma.
Monsters constantly roam the land, quick to fall upon those foolish enough to step outside the crystal's protection.
Every year, the crystal's aura grows faint, and, if left alone, will rot and become overtaken by the miasma. Thus, each village calls forth a band of adventurers to seek myrrh, which revives the crystal.
This task is easier said than done: monsters constantly threaten all those who dare to venture near the myrrh trees and each one is said to be protected by a great beast of unimaginable strength.
But this tradition has been followed for many years without fail, so new adventurers have no fear at all.
They have much to fear within the coming months, however, and that fear comes with good reason.
Our story begins in a small village called Perion.
Chapter One: A Meeting of Oddballs
Hawk had seen better days than this.
It had been a normal day so far. One: he awoke, as usual, to begin his chores, as usual, and go work athis dad theblacksmith's shop. As usual.
Today was, fortunately, unusual in the form of an old traveler. He was, to most, frail and weak, but he hid a secret in his pocket. An old farmer's hatperched on top of his head and a shaggy beard covered his chin, all the way down to his chest.He wore an old faded black coat, patched-up here and there and ripped in other places still. With a single pair of pants to hold his dignity, he shambled up the road and into the village of Perion.
Now Perion isn't a very big village at all; in fact, its crystal is only about the size of a small house.
It is home to a small amount of people; only about seven or eight familiescan live there together at once.
But the old man wasn't concerned with the crystal nor the town itself. He was concerned with...well, you could say he was not concerned about anything.
Upon entering the village, the old man earned many stares from passersby and noticing the slight commotion he posed a question to the growing crowd:
"Where mightI find a boy who is entering his manhood?" And they all gave him the same response:
"In that small house over the hill lives Hawk. An oddball, if I ever saw one."
Oddball indeed.
At fifteen, Hawk, the Selkie that he is, wasvery popular with the local young ladies until very recently. Havinga somewhat insane outlook on life, he is veryunpopular with the authorities, the rebel that he is. His name is a bit unorthodox, having been raised by a Clavat mother and a Selkie father. Rumors are abound that the Clavat isn't Hawk's real mother, but he loves them all the same.
His long blue-white hair is swept back and spiked, his earring in the shape of a sword. His grey sleeves have been extended with random blue pieces ofcloth, making it run past his hands, giving the impression that his shirt is too big for him. His pants are longer than his legs, giving a very baggy look.
The only other thing that makes him different from other Selkies is that, as a rebel, he does not use a racket, but instead, prefers to forge his own sword-like weapon.
It is when Hawk justleft his home that he literally bumped into the old man, knocking him to the ground.
"What-AAH! Whoa-"
"No, lad, no need to apologize..." With amazing alacrity, the old man recovered from his stumble. "If I could ask something...?"
"Uh, sure."
"Do you know where I might find a young man named Hawk?"
"Speaking. Any wayI can help you?"
"Well...not really. Name's Hourai, by the way."
"Nice to meet you...?" Hawk had to bend low to shakethe old man'shand. He had an unusually strong grip and Hawk was massaging his fingers when they pulled away.
"Have you ever climbed a tree?"
"Huh?"
"If you climb a tree, you see things you could never see before!"
"Ri-i-i-ight..." Hawk started to walk away when the old man sprang up in front of him, blocking his path.
"If you climb trees too much, you get hit by lightning! A reminder to keep your feet on the ground!"
"Mister? Could I at least walk to my dad's shop?"
"Sure! But why walk when you can run? Because you pay more attention to the surroundings!"
Hawk moved forward, only to be blocked by Hourai again, babbling yet another verse of nonsense.
"Avoid itand you're smart! Face it and you're brave! Believe it and you're stupid!"
"DUDE! You insane or something?"
Here, Hourai actually stopped galloping around and faced Hawk, looking him straight in the eye.
"Well, for future reference...YES!"And so hecontinued to hop around.
"...uh..." Hawk had always considered himself insane, always talking differently from everyone else and sporting the longest hair anyone in the village had ever seen.
He came nowhere near this guy though. It was a nice change, at least, to see this guy bouncing around while everybody else did their mundane work in the fields and shops.
It happened in an instant: Hourai immediately switched gears and suddenly stopped moving.
"You. Hawk. Here."
Hawk was still staring at the bizarre man's sudden change of mood when he felt something sharp stab his side. He fell over, his eyes shut from the pain. He could hear the old man speak:
"See this? Won over a hundred thousand fights." As Hawk clutched his bleeding ribcage, he squinted his eyes up and saw the old man brandishing a worn, yet beautifully crafted dagger.
Hourai then sheathed the dagger and it ended almost as quickly as it began. The old man's sanity slipped again and he started casting Cura at everyone in sight.
Thankfully, Hawk was one of those targets and the pain went away.
He couldn't blame the guy. If he was insane, there was nothing he could do about it.
An angry voice rang out, "HAWK!"
"Looks like they need you, boy! I'll be seeing you around very soon again, I think! Next Tuesday! Or never! Yesterday!" Hourai chortled as he made his way to bother the local alchemist, leaving Hawk alone to wonder why Bonta, the mayor of Perion, was asking (or, more accurately, roaring) to see him.
With a single sigh to mark his befuddlement, he turned around and headed to Bonta's house to face the music...
End Chapter One.