Origin Forest, often called The Forbidden Forest is a dangerous and untamed realm where only the bravest dare to tread. Among those brave enough to enter this wild domain are the ridders, though a superstitious lot, they combed through the land, domineering over anything that would get in their way. Nearby, somehow escaping the attention of the encroaching invaders, was an estranged young girl clothed in a tattered pink school dress that draped over her legs like an oversized shirt. Her bow, although kempt and well maintained, served very little purpose as her dark brown hair appeared minimally groomed, slightly overgrown, and barely received any support from the ribbon. This feral looking girl sat warily on a stump and appeared to be waiting out the commotion. She could hear them, but she knew the forest enough to know that they would not find her. She banged on the stump and angrily spouted “Stupid ridders! I can’t believe they’re still here rampaging through the forest and scaring all the food away.”
A pale teen boy dressed in a similar gray school outfit cautiously returned from peeking and sat near her, resting his back on a large rock. “I wonder what they’re looking for,” He pondered. “They’ve been here too long for it to be a coincidence. What if they’re after you, Sen?” Sen pumps her chest out. “Hah, I can take ‘em!” she confidently responded while raising up a fist. He sighed and shrugged. “Weird, you were just complaining about how weak you were from starvation.” Sen lit up at the thought of food. “Niraku!“ she called out in excitement. “Speaking of food, I was just thinking about that slop your mom used to cook up…” There was a slight hesitation, then she continued. “Burnt, dried, and unseasoned… just like Hilda herself!” They shared a laugh. “I just so happen to like mom’s food!” “Of course you did, momma’s boy. That’s why she loved you more than me.”
The mood darkened as the memories of their mother passed through their minds. “I think her love for you could be misinterpreted.” Niraku tried to reassure her, but the damage done was too hard to bear. “I think it’s pretty clear how she felt about me… After all, I’m the child from Remerin, remember?” Sen’s face dropped. The thought of being called a monster from such a hellish realm made her boil inside. “You were the only reason I dealt with her awful parenting… Now I’m out on my own and living the life…” She turned to her brother, head still low, and continued. “The life of a demon.” She raised her head and looked at the morning sky, marred by the ongoing raid. She leaned back thinking about how much time has passed since then. “It’s been ten years, they probably think I’m dead.” Conspiracies begin to form. “What if she sent the ridders to finally take care of the demon girl, make sure I’m dead?” Sen balled her hands into fists so tight they began shaking. “They have no idea who they are messing with!” She mumbled through gritted teeth.
Just then, there was some rustling in the bushes behind them. The duo tensed up and appeared to brace for the encounter. As they became motionless, silence enveloped the forest. A weighted gust rushed past them and a conniving little stone creature with wings double the size of its body emerged in front of them holding a memento of theirs, a strange uncut rough blue crystal. Without realizing it, they'd been robbed. Sen's eyes filled with rage and she began to sweat with nervousness. Her words were ensnared in her throat as she frantically plotted how to snatch back her stolen keepsake from this airborne thief. With a wild lunge, Sen flailed at the creature, only to end up face-planting on the ground. Niraku couldn't help but slap his palm to his forehead in a mix of secondhand embarrassment and utter disappointment. It stood before them taunting. The green gem embedded in its forehead glowed with each laugh. It darted into the forest with its bag of possible other stolen goods, where they gave chase to retrieve their relic.
As they pushed deeper into the forest, they caught the gargoyle provoking a sleeping long tusk boar. The boar woke up to Sen in its sight. She tried to bypass it, but it had no intention of letting her pass after being deceived into thinking she attacked it... All the while, the gargoyle was chuckling in the distance while watching the chaos ensue. Sen’s eyes narrowed as she caught sight of the rabid wild boar charging towards her, its eyes ablaze with primal fury. With a fluid motion, Sen conjured water from nearby streams, forming a protective barrier around herself. The boar, fueled by anger, crashed through the watery defense with brute force, its sharp tusks glinting in the morning light. The imp cackled with glee, nudging the boar onward with invisible prods.
Sen conjured up another bubble of defense, but despite her best efforts, the ferocious beast proved relentless. With each glancing strike of its tusks, Sen’s defenses faltered, her concentration waned under the boar’s unabated pounding. The gargoyle danced with delight, reveling in the chaos it had wrought. Pinned down, but not out, Sen attempted to conjure a powerful wave to subdue the boar, but her control slipped and the water surged out of her grasp leaving her vulnerable. The gargoyle’s laughter echoed through the forest, a symphony of mischief and mayhem.
Fight Aggressively
Sen dug deep into her reservoir of power, calling upon the waters. Streams surged at her command, weaving and twisting around her in a mesmerizing dance. The gargoyle’s laughter faltered, its glee replaced by a gnawing sense of unease. The boar charged at Sen, but she remained aggressive and unleashed a torrential wave that crashed upon the boar with a massive force. The long tusked boar staggered under the onslaught of water. Its once vicious charge was reduced to a feeble attempt at retaliation. The imp recoiled in horror, realizing its mischief had backfired.
Sensing the tide of the battle turning, Sen pressed her advantage, her movement fluid and precise. With each strike of water, she pushed the boar back. Her control of the sharpness of the water created blades, cutting the boar to shreds. The rabid boar laid defeated at her feet, its rampage quelled by her water mastery. She stood victorious, but distraught at the situation caused by the thieving gargoyle. “This is all your fault,” she mumbled to herself while clenching her fists.
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Fight Defensively
With a savage snarl, the long tusked boar seized its opportunity, charging forward with unbridled aggression. Sen braced herself for the impact, but it was too late. The boar’s tusks pierced her bubble and left a deep gash in her shoulder where flesh hung off the bone. The bursting of the bubble left a puddle of bloody water around her, leaving a scent for other, larger predators to sniff out. The boar heard the other animals and ran away, leaving Sen for dead. Sen grunts and struggles to get back up. Pain seared through her shoulder and she stumbled back down to the ground. “This is all your fault”, she mumbled while thinking of the thieving gargoyle that placed her in this predicament. Sen called to the waters once more for a burst of healing and recovery directly to the injured shoulder, regaining its use.
She looked at the imp with rage in her eyes as it flew away with the wind, fearing it was next.
Although Sen had become very good at traversing the forest, she could not help but notice how it moved through the woods with ease. Speed was not enough, if she was to catch this creature she would have to find another way. Niraku, who looked to lag behind, appeared from beyond the trees to comfort Sen. They followed the thief through the branches and made it through the brush until they heard voices.
“I’ve seen a lot of things in my lifetime, but that… Do you think that was a demon?” a worried voice mentioned after seeing the flying creature breeze past them. Sen slowly motions a little closer to get a good look at them. As she observed their ominous uniforms, it became clear that they were ridders! Of course Sen and Niraku could not get past them as easily, so they moved out of their sight, hiding nearby. After the initial shock of the gargoyle, the ridders began to chat about an unusual mark on the ground, a huge footprint. “I’ve heard rumors about demons who could be as massive as this. They say they come from the lowest levels of Remerin.” The pasty one with the black beard said. His superstitions made its way to the top of his thoughts. “All the Gaddoks’ teachings warn us to never enter this forbidden forest. There are things here that we are never supposed to see or touch,” he said to himself. “Quit your bellyaching!” The pudgy one shouted. “Max said those are old wives’ tales.” He calmed his voice and said “Plus, Max has been the leader of the ridders forever, so you know he knows what he’s talking about. We’ll be fine.” The pasty one looked up and away from the print that caught their attention, narrowly catching Sen, but she ducks just in time to avoid being caught. The pudgy one regains his attention. “Come to think of it… He created the ridders and policed Hasphal to the great and unified world that it is today. You just need to trust the process.” “Funny, that seems like more than a normal lifespan.” The pasty one slowly took notice of that fact and the other one shot the idea down with laughter. “That’s crazy talk!”
Sen took notice of a blue blur falling down the large mountain and her eyes followed it to ground where it landed in a striking pose almost denting the ground. It was a person, miraculously unharmed by the fall. He stood up and she noticed he was a tall hulk of a man in a blue hood with the same plating on his armor as the ridders. His eyes could not be seen through the shadow of the hood to the point that he appeared faceless. He was an intimidating presence. The two ridders straightened up and saluted the man. “Sir!” It was the leader of the ridders, Grandeur Maximillion. Sen noticed him immediately. He proceeds to tell his men that there was nothing above. The pasty one nervously points to the mark on the ground and the pudgy one knocks his hand down in an attempt to stop him from mentioning the footprint, but it was too late. Maximilian looked at the footprints, unphased, and asked “These prints on the ground excite you? Do they make you nervous, ready to fight?” He made eye contact with the pasty one and scoffed. “If it was a cause for concern, I would have made note of it.” The pudgy one backed up a little to signal that he was not afraid of the footprints or what they may be from, to make sure that Max was directing his scolding towards the right person. The pasty one quietly stuttered, “I… I was just a, a little curious.” Max saw his head hanging low, but still showed no mercy. “Curiosity is a characteristic more suitable for children.” He gave him the entirety of his attention to reprimand him. He put his hands on the shoulders of the pasty one. “I do not tolerate cowardice in my army, understand? Arm yourself with knowledge instead.” He removed his hands from the ridder’s shoulders. “Your job is to capture demons and bring them to the headquarters.” He turned to face the pudgy one. “Have we found any demons?” “No sir…” He answered. “Then let’s be on our way, shall we?” They once again straightened up, saluted the leader and began to walk away in a direction away from the large mountain. As the others left, the leader turned his head slightly in the direction of Sen, clearly making eye contact, but he continued to walk away.
Sen was weirded out by that encounter, but acknowledged the direction that they went in and decided that wasn't the best way to go. She continued her pursuit of the gargoyle to the base of a mountain where it flew up to a point where she couldn’t even see it anymore. The mountain had claw marks, the same colossal shape as the ones spotted by the ridders. Sen ignored them as she always had. She frequently saw them riddled through the forest, but up until the ridders mentioned them, she never really gave a thought about where they came from or how dangerous a massive creature like that could be. What was stolen was worth losing her life for and nothing was going to stop her from getting it back. Nevertheless, she gripped the mountain and continued the chase.
As she climbed the towering mountain, her vision became blurred and her eyes began to tear as a foul stench violently ravaged her senses. For a moment, her grip on the mountain weakened and she found herself struggling to hold onto the handholds that supported her. Sen seized every ounce of determination that she had and fought through the debilitating effects of this rancid air. She climbed higher and higher to the top, dipping and dodging rocks and dust with no sign of exhaustion. The memento was too important to let go. Although she was fast, the stone critter was always one step ahead of her. Sen could feel the air get thicker as she climbed higher, not from lack of oxygen, but something far more ominous. A miasma of death.