The Darkest Night
"I looked to the night sky, the time had finally come. This would be the beginning of events that'd soon forever change the fate of Lunar. Darkness had engulfed my world on this night, filling it with evil and ill intent. I could feel the darkness, taste it, the intoxication was quite fulfilling to me. I knew that tonight was the unholy night in which the world of Lunar would change forever. As I stepped outside into the darkness, I could feel it permiate throughout my entire being, I could sense the evil in the air. It had begun, my descent into darkness, from which I could never return. I took my sword in hand and strapped it's scabbard at my side. Then, with one final, longing gaze, I left what had been my home of 20 years, my entire life, to begin my journey. I started down the path of darkness that would lead either to the destruction of Lunar, or my death."
The years that had passed since that fateful night had briefly given way to peace upon the lavish world of Lunar. The people began to remember the night of darkness as a fading memory, a myth to pass into the ages. That night had, in the five years since it occured, become little more then a taboo legend of old that few ever spoke of. One such person, a young woman, no taller then average with flowing silver hair, still remembered that night. How could she forget? That was the night she bore witness to the death of her mother, who had spent the last years of her life waiting patiently for the husband who never returned. The girl kep the memory of her mother's death close to her heart, little realizing that her story was about to begin.
"Jenna? Where are you Jenna? That girl, I swear she'd fall off the face of Lunar if no one were here to look after her." The voice, high, shrill, and very childlike came from what appeared nothing more then a large, yellow tabby fitted with a pair of unusual, yet functional fur covered wings. It's voice had silently passed through the wooded area outside of the Meribian city limits rather silently.
"Up here, where else would I be?" The succulently, nearly saccharine voice replied from above. The source dropped from the tree landing behinf the small winged cat, her silver hair almost as if in slow motion falling lifelessly to her back as she landed, and stared at him with bright, sapphire eyes. The red cloak she wore about her made absolutely no movement about her body as she landed. "Was something the matter Demos?"
The feline companion quietly shook his head as he turned mid-flight and positioned himself to land upon the girls shoulder with a smile. "Genn and I were worried about you Jenna. You never came back for dinner."
"What? It's already that late?" She blinked for a moment before she took off running, the breeze of her movement billowing out in her cloak which sprung to life at her movements. The poor yellow kitten upon her shoulder had to struggle with everything he had to hang on.
As they neared the campsite, the familiar smell of Genn's cooking caught Jenna's nose, just as the man in question caught site of her. His low, raspy, almost ancient voice was soft, kind, endearing, qualities that described Genn to the best detail. "You're late Jenna, darling. If you were any later, I'd have tossed the rest of the soup."
"I'm sorry Genn, I was just preoccupied, thinking about mom." She sighed slightly as she again looked up at the sky, staring intently at the Blue Star.
Genn, a rather burly man, with short, raven black hair and a rugged, unkempt beard, smiled softly as he approached the young girl and placed an arm around her. He appeared much older then her, but he had known Jenna since well before she could remember, and had been more a father to her then the man who her mother had died waiting for. "Tis never right to dwell on the past lass. You're mother, rest her soul, would have wanted you to move on, you know."
"Yeah, I know that, but I miss her." She looked towards the older man who had handed her a small bowl with the last of the night's soup. "It's just, I feel she had something to tell me that she never had the chance to."
"Cheer up Jenna, these things all happen for a reason." The cat on her shoulder chirped in as he nuzzled against her face, inciting a giggle from the silver hair child. "Besides, your mother would never have let you come on this trip with Genn and I."
"Little one's got a point ya know lass." Genn smiled as he worked at cleaning the campsite. "Now then, finish eating and get in the wagon, it's about time we got to moving again. The treasure won't wait forever you know."
She smiled softly looking at the older man then returning to her soup. Genn always had a way with words that could melt her heart and make her simply happy to still be alive. True to his word, as soon as she finished eating, the wagon had begun to move. Jenna was inside and had slowly lulled off into a peaceful sleep.
"Jenna..." peaceful was relative, her dreams still haunted her, visions she believed. She had had that same dream night after night for a few years now. "Lunar's fate... Jenna... Remember..."
Jenna shot up from her mattress in the wagon in shock. That same dream had come to her again, visions of Lunar's destruction, the four dragons, the goddess, and a man, one who's face she couldn't see clearly, yet somehow she could tell she knew him. She shook her head to clear the cobwebs and poked her head out of the wagon to notice the early morning sun bearing down on them. "Where are we?"
"Oh, you're awake lass." Genn chuckled a bit and handed her a banana he had picked a few miles earlier during the morning stop as they had passed a river. "We're a few miles yet till Taban's Peak, but we'll get there soon enough."
"Any idea what we'll find there?" From atop Genn's head came the familar voice of a yellow kitten, who decided it was time to move and did so by flapping his wings and hovering to Jenna's shoulder with his usualy cat-like smile. "I sure hope it's something valuable, or something with a lit of power in it. Oh, or fish, definately fish."
Jenna sighed and shook her head as she moved to sit next to Genn, and rubbed Demos's chin. "No, I have a feeling we'll find something more."
"You feeling ok lass? You don't sound your usual self" Genn briefly took his eyes from the path to look after his adopted daughter with concern. He'd known her long enough to have developed a sense for things like this.
"It's, I had that dream again, something about it bothers me." She sighed and peeled her banana. Her mind swam with thoughts of what it might mean, her dream, that strange feeling about Taban's peek, that empty hole her mother's death had left her with. "It's no matter. I'll figure it out someday, but thanks for worrying Genn."
"It's what I'm here for child." Genn smiled at her and then blinked in confusion as he returned his gaze to the path. "Woah" He ripped at the reigns to stop the horses, managing to halt the wagon only a few feet from running over a pile of brightly hued yellow and red cloth.
Before either Genn, Jenna, or Demos could say anything, a group of Ratlike creatures sprung from the bushes all around them, and from a tree above them dropped a rather tall man, very reptilian in appearence. His voice hissed as he spoke. "Who daresss enter my realm? Thissss land belongssss to me." The darkish, almost yellow cloak about him seemed to come to life as it spread open into his wings. "You foolssss, you will die here." At that moment, he drew a sword from his size, ant the rat creatures began to charge.
Genn glared at the lizardlike creature as he jumped from the wagon and pulled his rather large war axe from his back. "Damn, a Draconian with Ratites, Jenna, you and Demos deal with the Ratites, I'll handle the Draconian." He had already begun spinning his axe in his hands as he landed and drove the massive blade into the ground as the dragon-like creature flapped it's wings to avoid the attack.
Jenna hopped out of the wagon as she grabbed her scimitar. "Got ya old man. Darkness into light, and cold into flame, guide Althena's power eternally untamed. Holy Flame!" Her blade burst into white-hot flames as she landed and slashed at on of the Ratites. She was a few feet too far to connect with her scimitar itself, however the flame of light radiating off of the sword flickered in an arc from the blade and danced into the rat-like creature who burst into flames which arced from it into the two rats on either side of it. A moment passed as all three ceased burning and fell over dead.
The remaining ratites charged at Jenna. Demos had opened his mouth and managed to blast one with a golden beam of light that left a hole completely through the side of the creature, but five of the creatures were still on the charge towards Jenna.
Genn and the Draconian continued to cross axe and braodsword, the lizard-like creature remaining solely on the defensive, and Genn simply overpowering it with his strength. "You're pretty good lizard, try this on for size." Genn stepped off his assault for a moment, allowing the Draconian a chance to ragain it's footing. As the lizard readied for it's attack Genn slammed the head of his axe into the ground, energy passing through his hands into the blade. A moment later the Draconian charged, only to be impaled upon a giant spike of rock that had shot up from the ground.
Jenna had managed to finish off most of the Ratites still attacking her, using her swordsmanship and magic to even the uneven odds. Demos was too exausted from his one attack to be much help and sat upon the wagon recovering his power. As Jenna delivered the deathblow to the fourth Ratite, she failed to notice the fifth that had lept at her from behind, extending it's lethal dewclaw to slash at the base of her skull. Genn had turned his attention to Jenna after slaying the Draconian, but he was too far, and too slow to get to Jenna in time. "Jenna, look out!"