The troll camp was packed and full of warriors. Sneaking in wasn't going to be easy. Of course…the Sin of Greed was trained as a thief. Getting in, grabbing what he wanted, and getting out was what he did best.
He ducked behind a building. The direwolves would catch his scent, and the guards were always on patrol. One wrong move, and he'd be caught.
Remembering his training, Grievor came up with a plan. Step 1: Cause a distraction.
He slipped unseen through the back alleys, hearing the trolls discuss latest victories, favorite kills, and how their orc rivals were nothing compared to them. Well, given how the Mystic Realm spoke of the orcs, this war camp had to be the lesser of two evils.
The Makai infiltrator snuck up to a mount post. The direwolves seemed a bit dangerous and hostile. And a bit hungry. Grievor only readied some knives with a smirk.
He threw the knives at the ropes holding the direwolves, cutting and snapping them loose. Instantly, they sprung free and ended up pouncing at a bakery, gobbling down most of the food and causing a ruckus while doing that.
The camp broke into a shocked frenzy as the mount owners tried to get their pets to heel. Perfect. The diversion made, Grievor snuck his way deeper into the camp. After all, how hard could it be to find a troll's horn?
He couldn't just cut one off, however. No, he'd be noticed and most likely killed. Unless…
Horns were part of a body. Which meant that they'd be on skulls. He didn't need the horn of a LIVING troll. Well, Grievor believed he knew just the place to find a troll skull. And if the direwolf diversion died down, at least he had a backup in mind.
The Sin of Greed made his way into a war tent. Inside was various decor. A map with a knife in it, some grog, and even some decor. At least the whole search was made a bit easier. Trolls didn't turn to stone in sunlight, so they didn't need to hide under bridges.
Grievor searched through the tent until he found something among the decor. A skull of a fallen troll adversary mounted on the back wall. Or was it the previous warchief?
It didn't matter. Grievor simply took the skull down and used another knife of his to saw off one of the horns. After some effort, it came off with a thud to the ground. He picked the horn off the ground and pocketed it away.
That's when he heard something coming. Another troll! If he was spotted defacing a trophy or a memorial, Grievor would surely die. But he remained calm, and initiated his backup plan. Or, more specifically, he had it begin the moment he entered.
"STOP! THIEF!"
"GET HIM!"
The noise and commotion got the troll's attention, and the footsteps rushed away. Grievor put the skull back and rushed out of there, slipping back into the shadows. Meanwhile, his duplicate rushed through the camp with a bunch of gold it had stolen from the vault. By the time they realized what had really happened, the REAL thief would be long gone.
His work done, and having gotten what he wanted, Grievor made his way out of the troll war camp. It wouldn't be long now before his duplicate was caught and poofed away, revealing to be a fake and dropping that gold. After all, currency from other worlds was useless to him.
It was too easy. Grievor didn't know whether to be pleased or worried about that part…
…
The forest was large and vast. Even Environ felt a bit small. Night had almost fallen, but the bioluminescence of the mushrooms was starting to kick in already.
It was almost beautiful. All this grace, all this joy, doomed to be taken away in the final midnight hour that would last forever. She was the only one who could stop it. So she had to be saved.
The Sin of Envy ventured deeper into the woods. And it was there that it appeared to her. A blue glowing ball of light. Luminescent, and intangible.
"Are you…a fairy?"
"Yes." It said in the tone of a young boy, echoing like a ghost and canyon. "I am Olim. We are eternal spirits, and all that is left of the First Beings. The greatest magical creatures in this land. We watch, and we listen. To all the stories this universe has to offer. We are wise beyond comprehension, and all-knowing. We have gazed throughout all times, from those who came before, to those that will come after."
"You've been watching? So…you know who I am?"
"You are Environ. The Deadly Sin of Envy. One of the most skilled Makai warriors, and a great trickster. But the humans speak of you as a demon. Yet your actions do not prove you to be pure evil."
"So…shouldn't you guys be tiny people with wings?"
"Our true human forms are too complex for any living being, sentient or otherwise, to comprehend. You can only see us as these luminescent orbs. I can sense you are trying to trick me. My kind is not so easily deceived. We have watched. Therefore, we know."
"Then you know why I'm here." Environ stated. "I need your dust for a cure to save Lucille Dark."
"Perhaps I will. If you tell me a story." Olim said. "It can be whatever your heart desires. Can you make one I have not heard before?"
Environ froze. She wasn't the best storyteller. That was Slor's job. Her mind raced. What could she come up with?
Then she remembered something. A dream. A strange and odd dream. It made no sense, but it COULD work.
"Once upon a time," She began to Olim. "In an age long forgotten, there was a land of dragons…"
…
It was only five thousand years ago that man lost his dominion over the world. Those who survived had to have their bloodline hidden from what they feared were predators. For a time, there was peace. But there were also times of war.
In one of Man's cities, keeping them safe from the beasts of the sky, there was a little boy. For all his life, he had been alone. No friends. No family. Nothing. Life had always been a struggle for him. Survival alone was just the beginning.
But one day, his luck drastically changed. He came across a strange stone. He saw it as a chance. An opportunity. To escape this life and make one of his own with the gold he would get from selling it. So he took it with him back to his home, freedom just a day away.
Yet whence it came, the boy found his luck turned. He found the stone shattered. For it WAS no stone. But an egg. One that housed a dragon unlike ANY seen before. At first the boy was shocked and terrified. But what reason did he have to fear an infant? Perhaps the wrath of its parents. Wracked with guilt, the boy left his city to return the young dragon. But when he got back to where he found the stone…the mother and father were nowhere to be found.
And so he waited. But no matter how long he waited, they did not come. Yet in a way, the stone DID give him the freedom he so desperately craved. And soon…it would give him more.
He wandered into the rainforest. Yet still, he found no sign of the dragon's parents. What he did find, however, was that the birthmark on his hand began to glow around the baby dragon. Something that had never happened before. And soon, he found another with that same mark atop a more massive dragon.
She informed the child that the dragon was the last of its kind. And he was descended from an ancient warrior clan that could communicate with dragons, much like herself. But only those with the mark had the full blood of that clan.
At last, the boy found someone just like himself. Within the mark, he possessed unknown magic and powers. The woman offered to teach him, now that he had already bonded with the dragon infant.
He was taken under the mountains. And raised with the rest of the tribe's descendants. There, he learned to hone his skills. He would need to, in order to combat the growing darkness ahead of him.
Happily ever after would not be for a long time. But the rest of that story is for another time…
…
"Interesting." Olim stated. "You have done well in originality. A tale such as that has not been heard by my kind before. Yet, I understand your urgency."
"Dracula. He means to bring about the Eternal Night."
"Yes. He seeks to end this world to make a new one. One with no more freedom. No more peace. No more stories. Powerful as she may be, one half-blood will not be enough. She will need you. ALL of you."
"Just like right now…"
"Indeed. But the matter just became more and more urgent. Despite all efforts against him and his forces, Dracula now has six of the Moonstones. All he needs now is the last one, the Creation Stone. Located in your new base of the Cryptid Keep."
Olim flew around, sprinkling some fairy dust into another orb.
"Go now. And hurry. His forces will be on their way. And Lucille does not have much time left. Should the worst happen, know that we will be of aid. For our world, yours, and all worlds."
"Thank you! I will!" Environ only replied quickly. She took the dust and began taking off as Olim watched. Night had only just begun, as the sun had set only recently. It wouldn't be long now.
She had to get back and warn everyone. Before it was too late…