Chapter 1: The First Hunt
The sun shone on the small village of Deep Root. The immense tree, for which the town was named, was still vibrant and alive. It was an oddity to see such vivid, colorful leaves in the gloomy Doomwood, and its shape differed from the pines with a stature that resembled a weeping willow. Strewn about the village were apprenticing woodland rangers(not those of the Sandsea), who wished to bond with a companion were known to visit Deep Root. The houses which surrounded the colossal willow and composed the village seemed insignificant and minuscule in comparison. The largest of these was the home of the Veldrin family, who were a well-respected line with a number of honorable ancestors. The abode of Galvin Veldrin, the current head of the bloodline, was held up by a score of stone pillars. The walls of the building were painted aquamarine, and the roof was washed with indigo. A veranda, that had been the same color as the roof, extended outwards from the front entrance.
Galvin Veldrin was a rather rugged man in stained studded leather armor. His face had a few scars from his younger days as a hunter and trapper, and it also had a deal of stubble from little time to spend shaving. His hair was straight, medium brown, and was parted in the middle of his forehead. It lazily spanned down to his shoulders in the back and to his ears in the front. His eyes were a dark brown. He was walking towards his estate, for he had just returned from an excursion to the Shaal Jungle for Scorpiarc Venom. He had obtained this rare item to tip absolutely splendid Nautiloid Spike arrows, which he had obtained the arrowheads from the journey prior into the ocean westward. No one knew exactly why he was gathering these bizarre materials, but the people of the town did know that it wasn't long until he needed to hunt down a wind dragon for his family's tradition. Just before he was able to unlock the door to his home, he was surrounded by a number of soon-to-be rangers.
"Galvin, Galvin!" They all announced.
"Oh, what is it now?" Galvin asked.
"Could you please give us advice on what type of animal to make our companion?" The one immediately before him queried.
"Oh, Galvin, perhaps you could give me some pointers on archery?" One to his right asked.
"Could you do both of those for me?" One to his left asked last.
"I'm sorry, but I cannot oblige any of your requests," Galvin answered, "I really must be seeing my wife, it's been a good bit of time since I've seen her." He was not lying, as his trips drifted him far from home. While he was accustomed to shorter journeys, in which he often hunted, trapped, and trained Gorrillaphants for many of the kingdoms of the time(which they armored and utilized as living shields to the enemy and had them wrought destruction whenever they reach their foe), the longer than average excursion left him awaiting his wife's embrace. As those who flocked to him left, he unlocked and opened the door to his home.
"Ah, it is nice to be home," Galvin stated in a relaxed tone.
Before Galvin noticed however, an incredibly light-skinned Wind Elf without his wings was rushing towards him. The elf had stopped about two or three feet away from Galvin's thick leather boots. His hair was a dark gray with a part slightly to the left from the middle of his forehead. His clothes were made of cotton that had matched his skin color, and they had a smooth flow to them. A scarf overlaying his shirt had cloud patterns embroidered into it.
Once Galvin had heard the elf, and he shifted his attention towards the elf. Upon his initial gaze, Galvin guessed by the light tone of the elf's skin that he was likely inept at their magic(He made this presumption based off of what little he knows about Wind Elves). He examined the elf's attire and appearance, but he was unable to recognize him. "What do you want?" Galvin queried the elf impatiently.
"Oh, well, uh, I, I'm a brother to Garenil," the Wind Elf answered, "And he advised that I seek you out for advice in the field of hunting and trapping."
"Garenil, you say? I do believe that he was the one that helped me incapacitate that raging Wind Cyclops, without the aid of his wind magic, I might not have been able to take him down," Galvin began, "And he only asked that I help train his younger brother, who I'm supposing that you are. So, then, are you Zairos Alderi?"
The Wind Elf had drifted his attention elsewhere, gazing at the leaves that graced the breeze. When he returned his attention to Galvin, he answered, "Me? Zairos Alderi? Oh, yes, yes, I am." He dusted himself off nervously, and Galvin had noticed that the elf's fingernails were bitten back to where they would grow into the skin.
"Well, there's no need to hesitate, Zairos," Galvin responded, "You see, I actually was going to take some apprentices, including my son Razen, under my wing on a hunt tomorrow. A wind dragon is our quarry, so do you think that you're up for it? It's understandable if you're not."
"Why a wind dragon?" Zairos asked somewhat defensively.
"It's some manner of Veldrin tradition, no offense intended, mate," Galvin answered. He continued, "I assume that this means that you're not daunted by the scale of such an endeavor?"
Zairos remained silent now.
Galvin asked his older son, "Zaz', are Illoz and Rifroz ready yet?"
"We are, Galvin," Illoz announced. His hair was a bright, intense Maya blue, and it spanned across his face in multitudes of bizarre strands that seemed to almost zigzag down in no exact pattern, much akin to lightning. His skin was similar(though more akin to a tuft blue), and he wore a thin set of chainmail made of meteoric mithril lined with thorium, an alloy only known to be native to the storm-ridden plains from which Illoz hailed. Rifroz was a slender, leather-clad Water Elf, standing to the right of Illoz, who easily towered over him. Rifroz bore two elegant, sleek daggers with an intricate bearing of his name.
"Ah, well, it's good to see you, Illoz," Galvin responded, "And Rifroz, you've been...quiet, is something troubling you?" Rifroz didn't speak any reply, though he made a small nod as though to say 'No'.
"Galvin, we're prepared, as I told you prior, we simply need to begin our flight," Illoz stated, "So, do you have any gryphons ready, or are we to go on foot?"
"No, no gryphons, though I was able to get some Boveoxen to pull a carriage for the trip, therefore as long as we don't come up on some Pancivals, we should be fine," Galvin answered. The experienced hunter whistled, and the sound of five furry oxen walking to Galvin's call could be heard. The main harnesses were wrapped around the protrusion that spurted from their spine upwards.
"Boveoxen pulling a carriage? One must imagine that you could tame anything," Illoz said at that thought, "But, still, let us tarry not any longer." Galvin led the group of five to the carriage, tied to five Boveoxen, ready to pull it for a long, tiring trip, which a ride to the Elemental Foothills would certainly be. The majority of the trip was likely to be uneventful, due to Galvin's boredom with Undead by this point, and the stops would be infrequent due to the distance from Swordhaven.
The Boveoxen came to a halt at a small pond, in SureWould Forest nearby to Falconreach. The Boveoxen immediately began to drink from the pond, while Illoz, Zairos, Razen, Galvin, and Rifroz were to dismount from the carriage and set up camp for the night. Illoz was setting up the tents. Rifroz was collecting water from the same pond that the Boveoxen were drinking from. Zairos was to keep watch over the campsite with Razen while Galvin kept his attention towards the Boveoxen as to make sure they didn't attempt a stampede.
Avoiding the detection of the novices Zairos and Razen though, was a group of Pancivals and Ribalds who were keen on causing havoc. They teleported into the midst of the camp in an instant and stole the framework to the tents, causing the tent canvas to quickly fall on Illoz's head and shoulders. They meant no actual harm, rather they just wished for some amusement. "...Razen, Zairos!" Galvin yelled, "Get those Pancivals and Ribalds, along with the framework for these blasted tents before Illoz tears half of Maguswood Forest apart!"
Razen and Zairos did not even try to bother with words and jolted up after the fleeing pranksters. The Pancivals took regard to their pursuers and began mocking them in dancing circles around them, quite literally. Eventually, Rifroz threw his dagger into one of the Ribalds skewing the cycle to where Razen and Zairos were able to round the rest of the Pancivals and Ribalds up. Sometime after they nabbed the last one, the duo was able to locate the tent frames some fifty meters out from behind the pond in a small vale.
The tiny grove was beautiful, being filled with all kinds of unique plants, like Azure Leaves, Blood Lillies, Pondroot, Gem Leaves, Sweetpalm, and Sourpalm. They examined the multitudes of plants and gazed in awe at the beauty of the flowing spring; the grass below them stemmed from the calm, docile water. The surrounding trees looked more akin to those in a swamp, yet still held a deep serenity to them. The wooden planks that were the tent frames easily stood out like a sore thumb in the clearing. Zairos motioned towards the planks, while Razen, unknown to Zairos, had decided to take a rest in the mellow meadow.
Zairos on his lonesome then returned to the campsite with the much-needed wooden frames. Illoz and Galvin were enraged at his lack of attention for Galvin's youngest son. Galvin refused to let Zairos go out to get Razen, instead Illoz was sent to nab the tired child and carry him back to camp. The Lightning Giant did, however, grab his spear on the off-chance that there happened to be some annoyance in the mire. Illoz climbed and maneuvered his way over the pond using a nearby tree to press a portion of his weight onto it.
Illoz looked as well, in a small spark of awe at the tiny cusp of so many unique plants, with a splendid complementary stream to match the tranquil dale around the bewildered lightning giant. It didn't take long before the miraculous spectacle of nature failed to continue to amaze the tuft blue gargantuan, and he began to look around for Galvin's napping son, Razen. The resting child seemed absent from the region, as Illoz didn't even hear any snoring. "Razen?" The hulking entity called, "Razen?" He received no answer though, and couldn't risk tossing up the trees.
"Well, Galvin, you're not going to be happy about this one..."