A young fourteen year old boy looked out the window of the first floor of a rather large building, watching the downpour that was taking place outside. A moment ago, a brilliant stream of tens of thousands of shooting stars had raced through the night sky, tearing through everything, and now they had a colossal downpour like one could not believe. Wearing some reading glasses, he was leaning against the window's edge as he gazed out from it, watching the dancing splashes as he called them. That was what it looked like to him when rain hit the ground, like dancing Vs prancing around. He could no longer see the bright moons in the sky, and despite it supposedly getting warmer, the weather resulted in quite the chill.
Still, the rain and wind were so heavy he dare not leave the building of which he was currently inside. Its sign had the logo of a dragon on it, with a sword, a bow, and a staff all around it. The very same emblem had been put into the front counter behind him, and the floor on the ground. He watched with a certain level of annoyance, occasionally wiping the fogginess that appeared on his glasses.
As he watched, a woman came up behind him. She had pointed ears and was dressed in gear that looked like it would be easy to move around in. That said, unlike what some people might think, her clothes were not all that exposing at all. In fact, her skin was well covered and protected, and her clothes looked quite sturdy like they could take a beating. She brought along a cup of tea, and placed it at the table next to the boy.
"Ozlo, I dare say its past your bedtime".
"Vanessia, do you think I can make it home like this?"
"The guild has rooms here, and you keep a spare change of clothes here, so it's not like you can't take all your dirty clothes off, go to bed, and worry about having nothing clean to wear the next morning".
Ozlo knew that was true, but still...
"This weather was so sudden and instant. It's unsettling".
"You can't sleep because you are worried?" she asked, letting out a sigh. "You are still a little boy, and little boys need their rest".
"I am fourteen".
"And?"
Ozlo let out a sigh of his own. "I suppose compared to elves and their lifespan, fourteen is still a little boy to you. But you are certainly more worldly than that".
Vanessia let out a giggle.
"I just wanted to tease you a bit. I still remember when you were four and you proposed to me after all".
Ozlo's cheeks went red as he looked away. "Please forget that. I was four years old".
"And such a smooth and cool four year old you were".
Ozlo looked back out the window, his gaze upon the rain coming down as he changed the subject.
"That isn't normal rain, is it?"
Vanessia looked at it, and nodded.
"Certainly. I am not as good with magic as you, but I can tell. The water is warped. Something has occured on a major scale".
Ozlo furrowed his brow as he heard this, concerned by these developments.
"I wonder if gramps has anything to do with it".
"Your grandfather?"
"He is always up to something, and he claimed to be here hunting human traffickers, but...he has been making preparations for something larger in scale in secret. I hear his entire order is scouring the region in various groups".
"Ozlo, I think we both know what he is truly hunting. Neither he nor Amyris has forgotten the events of that day...or of her".
"Right..."
Ozlo left it at that for now, as he watched the rain soak the streets. Very few people were out and about anymore, the rain and the wind were just too heavy. An hour ago, or not even that, they had clear skies. And now, even a few seconds outside would make someone so soaked they could die of exposure if they didn't remove all their wet clothes. That was how bad it was, which is why despite the fact it was night, Ozlo was not trying to make it home anymore.
"Besides, I can't really sleep with this many night adventurers inside the guild. There are quite a few new faces too" Ozlo pointed out, as he looked upon the building. Yes, they were inside of the adventurer's guild. A few people were drinking in the corner, others were talking, and a few were eating meals because the guild's cafeteria never closed.
Most adventurers were good, law abiding people. But not all.
"You have made quite a few enemies taking down all those criminal groups and corrupt adventurers here in the city, not to mention your work in the royal capital".
"And now, something new seems to be on the horizon. The storm seems to be charged with mana too, and it looks too fierce for even our strongest birds, so we can't send or receive any messages from other guilds and cities regarding these storms".
"Probably for the best, I doubt they will have anything worthwhile for quite a bit, so using magical communication would just be an exorbitant waste of mana stones".
Ozlo had to admit she was right there.
"I have a bad feeling...that this storm might be an omen".
"A storm to beckon an oncoming storm?"
"Exactly".
"How poetic. But I cannot deny the possibility. This is all quite strange and suspicious after all. We will need to be very careful going forward".
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
The two of them looked out the window again. The rain continued to pour, and they let out a sigh.
"I suppose if neither of us plans on sleeping, we should at least get some paperwork done".
"Not like the guildmaster ever does it".
Ozlo then noticed that Vanessia had a strange look as she gazed out the window briefly, before returning to normal.
"What is it?"
"Just...remembering I actually do need to brave the storm to check on my children".
And just like that, she made to leave.
"Hold on, what about paperwork?"
"I actually do mine unlike the guildmaster, so I should be fine, but Ozlo. Go to bed! I will be back later, and if I find out you haven't slept yet, I will strip you myself and make sure you do".
Vanessia seemed to activate mom mode in that instant, as she donned her cloak and headed out into the rain.
Ozlo was intimidated by her mom mode, but not enough to miss what was in front of him.
"...she is hiding something again. Well, whatever. If its serious, I need to stay here anyways in case it rolls over to the guild".
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While Ozlo was dealing with paperwork, Vanessia headed out into the rain, and quickly entered a back alley.
It was a bit irresponsible of me not to tell Ozlo, but...if this turns out to be serious, the boy will need his sleep.
While she was hurrying past an alley, a boy who might have been around sixteen hurried past her. He seemed embarrassed and shy, but while Vanessia couldn't be sure of why, it was likely because he was completely naked for some reason, clutching what appeared to be a satchel.
Wonder if he lost a bet or something...
Those were her thoughts as she entered a side alley, and spotted something strange. There was an empty crater there, somehow having formed without her or anyone else noticing. Perhaps the rain and the wind muffled it, but still. However, even more concerningly was the fact that there were three Demons there.
As I thought, I did spot them. But why are Demons in the city, and interested in that strange crater?
While thinking that, she drew her sword. The Demons noticed instantly, and talons grew from their hands.
"Now, would you mind telling me what you are doing here?"
The three didn't even bother to reply, and just charged at her instead. She expected this, and cut through the first one like it was nothing, severing his head from his body, and then cutting off the arms of the second one with a rapid slash from the front, sidestepping the attack and cutting it off with an upward slash, before twirling around and bringing her sword down to remove the other one. The second demon collapsed, agonizing in pain or perhaps spasming and dying from shock. She however just kept going to the third. She cut his claws off with a rapid slash that one could just barely see the movement for, and then she pierced his shoulderblade and rammed him and her sword into the wall. The wall itself seemed to wrap around his wrists and ankles as well.
In that few seconds, she had dealt with all of them. The one who lost his arms had died by this point however, but she had captured one of them alive.
"Now, tell me, what are you planning? What are you doing here?"
The demon hissed at her. Its humanoid shaped face scowled at her as well.
"I know you can speak our language, so you might as well come clean. I will get you to talk either way".
"Its a Demon that works for that Devil" a young boy's voice said, as cloaked figure stepped out from the rain. He looked young, around thirteen, but Vanessia didn't look at him the same way she looked at Ozlo.
"What are you doing here, gramps?"
The "boy's" face puffed up with annoyance. "How rude. Only my grandchildren can call me that. Although I prefer Grampsy".
As he stepped out, Vanessia noticed there was some blood on his arm.
"You are hurt..."
And I sense magic from it as well...
"Nah, I hurt myself accidentally" the boy denied, before looking at the demon. "And this thing serves that Devil. YOu know how cunning she is. Even if he did talk, I doubt he knows the truth, or at least the whole truth. That said..."
He then looked over to the crater.
"Find anyone else? Any corpse? A child? They would have been naked".
"No, not at...wait, I passed a naked sixteen year old boy, clutching a satchel".
"...someone must have misplaced their change of clothes, and he got lucky and landed near it. How fortunate for him. Hope there was some coin in there too".
"What are you talking about, Riza?"
Riza just shrugged and smiled at her.
"Did you see all the shooting stars?"
"Yeah. How could anyone miss it? it lit up the night sky. Some looked like they fell to the ground in the area too".
"That was not shooting stars. They were all Starfallen".
Vanessia paused when she heard that.
"...what did you say?"
"I said, they were all Starfallen".
"Impossible! Starfallen never come in such large numbers! Its rare to even have a dozen or so at the same time! But that would be...tens of thousands...maybe even a hundred thousand!"
"None the less, its true. Something strange happened. It caused this storm too I am sure, although it appears to be local to our city for some reason".
And I am sure you know why, but wont tell us until its time for the final confrontation so you can play at being a master detective.
Leaving some rather rude thoughts unsaid, Vanessia watched as Riza came up to them.
"I am sure, knowing his luck, Amyris will find one of them. But if the Demons are here, its possible they are hunting Starfallen. Thankfully, I was talking about Anna recently, so...I gave them orders to keep an eye out for Starfalls and to help find and shelter Starfallen. I will be leaving the city for a bit to go around and get those that landed in the wilderness, so can you secure the city and find more of these craters? Starfallen always land near clothing and supplies, or people who can and will support them and get them those things. But if they are being hunted, then that might not matter as much. I need to hurry, so can I trust you to handle things in the city?"
"Right, of course. The situation is serious after all. We need to get moving now".
"Yeah. The more Demons and Devils we defeat, the less there will be hunting others also".
"Then we better get hunting ourselves".
The two nodded at each other. Vanessia then used a fireball to incinerate the Demon's head, killing it, before removing her sword and her and Riza heading out to deal with things.
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At the same time, a young Foxkin boy was waking up. Like all other Starfallen, he was naked in a crater, but he woke up rather quickly.
"What the...what happened?"
In the next instant however, his eyes glowed a bright blue. They seemed to stay that way as he paused for a moment, before murmuring something.
"I agree to this".
The moment he said that, the glow on his eyes faded away.
"...this is bad. I don't have much time".
He quickly ran out of the small crater he had just been laying in a fetal position in a moment ago, climbing out and running straight forward. He sprinted as hard as he could, looking for it. After a few minutes, a broken down carriage came into view. His bare feet scurried across the forest ground, until he reached it. There were a few crates, but most were empty and looted. However, as he crawled into the back, he peeled back a floorboard and found some emergency supplies, including a spare change of clothes that were fit for a child his size. He quickly pulled them all on, as well as taking the emergency coin, the large knife, and the armguards. It was just a T shirt, shorts, some boots, and some socks, but it was enough for now.
He got back out, and quickly looked for a tree. Once he found it, he checked for moss.
"Alright, moss is on that side...so north is that way..."
There were a few things he wanted to get.
"To think that sending a message through magic like that was possible. Truly, it proves having knowledge is useful..."
When his eyes had glowed, he received a set of instructions and quite a bit of knowledge. And now he was acting on it with haste.
"Lets see, I think they said they found the ruins for those things there...and there..." he said, as he found an old map inside the satchel that had been under the floorboards. He checked his heading and his directions, and knew where he needed to go.
"Alright, this time, in this life, I won't fail. Not him, not anyone. Not again".
And so, with those ominous words, he set out.