Dark: And we're back once again with Chapter 2. Hello everyone!
The first shards of light were touching the sky when she awoke, lighting the world with soft hues of pink and purple. The girl lay there for a moment as she watched the beautiful sky. Then the urgency of her mission awoke the rest of her body, and she got up to pack.
Her dappled stallion was already drinking from the nearby spring, causing the girl to smile as she rolled up the blanket she had been sleeping on. After the fire had been put out, the horse trotted over with a snort. The girl gave the stallion a pat on the neck, whispering soft words as she saddled him.
She went to mount, but then stopped. "We're going to enter Tech Faction territory today." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a grey bandana. The girl smiled as she folded it. "Better put this on before they mistake me for an enemy." With practiced movements, she tied it around her left arm. The sun hit the red markings on the cloth, making it shimmer and glow like the dust it was based off.
The girl sighed and leaped into the saddle. "C'mon boy. Let's go." The stallion tossed his head and began to trot through the forest, picking his way through the maze of trees with ease.
They'd been traveling for a couple hundred ticks when the horse began to glance about nervously, something he only did when there were mobs about. The girl scanned the area around them, but could detect no tell-tale movement. "What is it boy?" She stroked him gently as she tightened her grip on her staff.
It happened in an instant, faster than she could even blink, much less stop it. An arrow streaked through the air and pierced the stallion's skull, killing him immediately. There was a moment where he wavered, one hoof raised up in the movement of taking a step. Then he began to topple over, his muscles no longer keeping him balanced. Moving on instinct, the girl leaped free before the weight of the falling horse could pin her to the ground.
She landed nimbly on her feet and looked around for the culprit, energy gathering around her. After a moment, her purple eyes fell upon the arrow and she traced its path toward a tree twenty blocks away. There was a flash of movement, the bleached white of bone standing out in the shadows, and then nothing.
The girl gritted her teeth as she began to walk forward, the staff in her hands heating up with a fireball spell. "Who are you?!"
The forest remained silent, and her attacker did not respond.
"Well?! Aren't you going to shoot me next?" Her mind was working quickly, trying to figure out why the mystery archer had shot only her horse. The bone she'd seen and her stallion's behavior would point to a skeleton, but the pattern made no sense.
An arrow thudded into a tree behind her, and the girl spun around, trying to catch another glimpse. But her attacker had already disappeared.
She frowned, and then noticed the slip of paper attached to the arrow. Snatching arrow from the bark, she stood with her back against the tree as she read the note. "'Nope XD'?! Seriously?!" The girl let the arrow drop to the ground, glaring at the shadows. "Why would you shoot my frickin' horse, and leave me alive?! What is the point of that?!"
There was no response, not even another arrow. After waiting for a minute, the girl let out a sigh. The mystery person must have left already. "Fine." She walked over to her now dead horse, casting a remorseful glance at him as she undid the saddle. She tossed the heavy leather off to the side and stepped back, recalling the magical energies from earlier. The fireball spell had already been prepared, and this was a perfectly good use of it.
A flick of her staff sent out the enchanted fire charge, and the body was soon consumed in flames. The girl turned away as her companion burned to ashes, the ground remaining unharmed despite the intense heat. Once the crackle of fire had died away, she opened her eyes again to look at the now empty spot. All that remained was a stain of red upon the grass and a thin layer of ash.
It didn't take her long to move the saddle and all its contents into her bag of holding, which she was thankful for. She tied the bag to her belt and looked up at the sky, frowning when she saw how high it was. "Damn…and now I have to walk too." Letting out a sigh, the girl unfolded an old map and glanced at it, checking the direction she needed to walk.
She had been walking for about a hundred ticks when she began to get the feeling that someone was watching her. It was subtle, but she could definitely feel a pair of eyes on her back. She turned to look, and saw nothing but trees. "Strange…" Perhaps her mystery archer was back?
A rustle of leaves caught her attention, and the girl spun to see a creeper approaching, its mottled green skin nearly blending in with green backdrop. Nearly. She raised her staff to point at the walking bomb, and fired an arrow of pure energy. The creature collapsed, gunpowder spilling from the hole where the arrow had gone through.
There was more rustling, and the girl frowned, using a bit of magic to enhance her hearing. There were at least two creatures approaching her, one closer than the other. She turned on her heel to face another creeper, its face looming closer with an expression of gloom. A blast of magic killed that one as well, but her mana pool was starting get a little low.
There was a stifled gasp from behind her, and the girl twisted her head to look. At the top of a hill was a boy, his black hair shining under the sun. He was wearing a dark blue sweatshirt, a pair of purple lightning bolts on the front. A metal staff was gripped in one hand, its end dug into the ground to keep him upright.
A wizard? She quickly hid her left arm behind her body, knowing that the Tech Faction's symbol would look suspicious to anyone from the Magika Kingdom. "Hi! What are you doing out here?"
Dark: Thanks to Misskitty2004 for following and favouriting, and to Range Aquarius for favouriting and reviewing. Your character is accepted, but I'm sticking to the axe.
Wolf: *laughs* Anyways, AwesomeCoolGuy5, your character has also been accepted, but will not have a major role. Unfortunately, we can't follow every character's story and still have a plot that makes sense. He's tried that before, and it just don't work well.
Dark: And finally, thanks MetaCrisisDR for reviewing. I suppose I should mention something. Yes, I am rewriting Wizard's story, but mainly because I can't write the same way he can. If I could, I would, but our writing styles don't mesh well. It would have caused a lot of confusion if I had tried to pick up where he had left off.