Staring into the mirror, Jounawali examined herself anxiously. Her dark blue hair, courtesy of her Proxin lineage, was tied into a simple hip length braid. She patted her plain white scholar robes, ensuring no wrinkle or stain. Leaning in closer to the mirror she runs her hands across her flawless tanned skin, not a blemish or mark to be seen. Her grey eyes gleaming with excitement and wonder. Leaning back, she takes a breath to calm herself. Today was the day, the adventure would begin and she would finally get the chance to fulfill her purpose in life. Nineteen years of training would finally pay off. She’d already completed all the preparations. Routes were mapped, dangers along the paths marked, finances from the guild have been collected, and her equipment was packed.
With a confident grin she strides out of her bathroom, past her book covered bedroom and into the back of the library she called home. The pristine wooden walls rose nearly thirty feet above her, oil fed chandeliers lining the room shedding the room in light. Shelves of literature lined every possible inch, the top floors being so crowded that only she was allowed up there to retrieve the readings. Breathing in the sweet musk, she rushes down the spiral staircase and towards the front of the library, narrowly dodging a patron on the way. Making it to the front desk, she snatches an ink quill and hastily writes a note. Adjusting the strap of her backpack she throws open the thick double doors and pins the note on them. “Gone adventuring.” She reads aloud to herself, a bubble of pride erupting as she does. Looking at the massive, church like building one last time she turns on her heels and begins heading towards the city’s most popular bar. The Tavern, where all adventures should begin.
Stepping away from her home she pulls out the family tome, the dense book weighing nearly thirty pounds. Flipping through its ten thousand one hundred and sixty-nine pages, she stops at the last few hundred. These pages described the last heroes to save the world, the ones who were guided by her grandmother. Jounawali began walking down the cobbled road as she read. The bustling street markets, hecklers, and merchants doing little to stop her concentration. As she walked a large three armed man nearly barged into her but with a nimble twist she moves out of the way, years of walking and reading having honed her situational awareness to perfection. After a few minutes of walking she stops and looks up at a small, barely holding together tavern. Once a fine work of architecture, the years hadn’t been kind.
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Countless pieces had been replaced, numerous parts of the wall were mismatched and colored differently, the door’s hinges had been repaired countless times, and you could just barely make out the patched holes on its brown sheen. Her eagerness nearly overwhelmed her as she stepped up to it but she quickly squashed the feeling. Looking down at her tome once again she analyzes the previous heroes’ descriptions again in hopes of preparing herself to meet her own. “A dashing thief with sticky fingers but a heart of gold, a brave virtuous knight dedicated to protect the innocent, a holy venerated healer, the thick but friendly warrior, and the loner archer with man’s best friend.”
With an unsteady breath her hand grips on the door handle. She slowly twists it and with a satisfying click, the handle gives way. She looks down at it in confusion, then quickly throws it away in fright. Wiping her hand of the crime, she pushes the door open with a bit of effort. As it opens she sees the front is nearly empty, the only person being a small one eyed man behind the counter. Jounawali walks up to him and sits on the creaky bar stool.
“You here for the circus, Prox?” He says, using the nickname the townspeople had given her. “Hard to believe it’s finally happening.”
“I know, I’m so excited,” She says, fidgeting in her chair a little. “Are they in the back?”
“Yeah, but listen to an old man for a sec.” He says, running his hand over his bald head. “The stories may not have prepared you for these ‘people’.”
She jumps down from the chair, heading towards the doorway labeled Hero. “They’re heroes, they can’t be that different.”
Ignoring his attempts to make her stop she walks through and is greeted by three people…and a dragon…and a demon.