Suriel heads into the nearby village to pick up some supplies. The cold morning breeze blows her hair into her face. She gets sick of it and ties her hair into a ponytail.

Walking down the beaten path, she passes by some travelers wearing strange robe garments. They ride on top of a carriage carrying cargo. They speak in a foreign language, trying to ask her for directions. They walk away, frustrated by her lack of response.

As they continue down the dirt road, they are greeted by a carriage hauling a group of nobles. The nobles step out and greet the travelers. Their languages may differ, but the nobles recognize a salesman when they see it.

They watch intently as the foreigners pull off the cloth covering the goods in a single smooth motion. The two men fold it in half twice before it one of the ends hits the ground. The nobles are awe-struck by the performance and bicker amongst themselves, trying to figure out if they used to be performers.

One of the nobles expresses his dissatisfaction when he sees the goods. Pointing out that many of these items are locally bought and are being sold for a higher price. "Why should I buy from you if I could go to the local pawn shop?"

"That's a stupid proposition." A noblewoman speaks up. "Suppose you went to the pawn shop specifically looking for an object. This young man just so happened to purchase it before you did, just like the pawn shop owner before him. The more demand for it, the higher the price."

While they continue talking over each other, two of the items catch the attention of the youngest noble. A young man no more than twenty, dressed in blue garments lined with golden jewelry hops onto the carriage.

The foreigners protest him being up there, but the wad of cash he flashes shuts them up immediately.

The carriage driver fastens the large wrapped items on top of the carriage. All the nobles hop back in, and none of the others end up buying anything. The three nobles stare at the young man as if he had committed an atrocity that he would be ostracized for.

One of the nobles builds up enough courage to finally say something. The woman speaks. "You're not from this kingdom, are you?"

"How could you tell?" He says in a mocking tone while pointing out his clothing. The nobles exchange glances. "Why? Did I do something to offend your culture?"

A man dressed in a red noble military uniform speaks up. "Atraya has constantly viewed such animals as devils. We do not condone the preservation of their devilish nature. We kill them." The man's pencil-thin mustache undulating as he speaks.

"What is your name, young man?" The old female noble asks. Her curly brown hair bouncing up and down with the carriage on the uneven road. Her dark green pearl-decorated dress bears no wrinkles.

"Thomas." The young noble responds.

"Thomas." The woman eyes him. "Why are you heading to the capital? Who invited you to the party?"

Thomas gives her a smile, knowing that he can't show any hatred towards them at the moment. Thomas pulls out a letter with a broken seal. "That's Sir Bertal's seal." The woman explains. "How do you know him?"

Thomas sighs. "I didn't realize your culture was this privy about someone's personal matters."

"Don't mind her." The old noble interrupts. "Shelly's profession relies on intelligence gathering. She interrogates everyone she meets."

Thomas looks at Shelly, and then at the noble sitting in the middle of them who's been silent this entire trip. A woman, no older than Thomas. Her long black hair resting on top of the same red military suit the old noble is wearing.

"My daughter doesn't talk much. Especially in front of an information consultant."

"General Wenslo, right? And your daughter, Colonel Kell?" Wenslo nods his head, impressed that Thomas knew their names.

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"STOP THE CART?" Kell suddenly shouts.

Wenslo opens the door and yells at the driver to halt the carriage. When it stops, Kell is the first one to step out. She pushes past Shelly who becomes frustrated by her lack of patience.

"It's gone." Kell says in an expressionless tone.

"WHAT?" Thomas shouts as he gets out. Instinctively knowing what she's referring to. "Driver! How did you not notice?" The carriage driver shrugs his shoulders. "FUCK!" Thomas stomps his foot on the ground kicking up dust.

"A bad omen." Shelly says. "Or maybe a good one if you look at it from our perspective."

Thomas grabs a few items out of the carriage before heading off in the opposite direction. "I'm getting my shit back."

Kell grabs his arm to stop him. She lets go when he turns around, looking like he's going to kill her. "Don't stop me."

"Actually." She says. "I wanted to accompany you. Going by yourself is a good way to get killed."

"I'll go instead." Wenslo interjects. "I can afford to miss the party, she can." Wenslo and Kelly argue back and forth before she finally concedes to her stubborn father.

The rest hop back in the carriage and take off. Thomas is already searching for clues while Wesnlo is waving goodbye to his daughter.

"Found something." Wesnlo turns around to see what Thomas is talking goodbye about.

"You did? Already?"

"No." Thomas gives him a stern look. "How would there be evidence here? This is where we stopped."

Wenslo follows Thomas down the dirt road. Eventually, they come across some humanoid footprints. Thomas doesn't know what to make of it, but there's a sneaking suspicion in his mind. If he's right, that would mea...

"What could it be?" Wenslo says out of nowhere after staring at it for fifteen seconds. His sudden outburst startles Thomas.

"I get that you're a General. But do you have to be this stupid when it comes to everything else?"

"I'm not a good detective."

....

Suriel makes it to the village and heads straight to the general store. Along the way, she passes by some old raggedy houses that are preparing to collapse in on themselves. Overgrowth covers half the buildings as nature tries to take back what is rightfully hers.

Suriel thinks it's because she lives so close that the flora is growing faster than normal. Soaking up the little residual power she has left to offer.

The dirt roads have patches of grass growing on them, making it hard for cart and carriages to pass through. She receives strange looks from the local townspeople. Many of them hear rumors about her, the reclusive woman that lives alone in the forest. Many consider her to be a user of dark magic. Others think she's a druid.

She turns the corner down another street, only to be greeted by a few knights from the capital. Tall, standing firm in their shiny armor. Swords hilted and shields on their back. Helmets cover the majority of their head and face.

The dragon knights of Atraya. Guardians of the king. Their legend presents them as godly figures. Only the best magic users and swordsmen are allowed to become one. Their strength unrivaled, armies cower in fear at their approach. For some reason, there are three in this small village.

A carriage rides up from behind Suriel. It stops in front of the knights, and two nobles get out and greet them.

"Where are the other two?" One of the knights asks.

"Thomas and Wenslo are looking for some stolen goods. Which I will point out wouldn't have been stolen if you had been accompanying us here." Shelly talks down to the knight as if she has authority over them.

Suriel backs away from them. She doesn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to herself or her children. 'I don't feel comfortable having the knights this close to them.'

She hides behind a building and goes the long way around to the general store. She stops to think for a moment. She decides it's in her best interest to head home.

She's about to head out before she stops herself one last time. If the knights heard the rumors about her, they might follow her back home. The magical barrier doesn't work on humans with that level of magical prowess.

One of the knights lifts his arm up, shortly after, a black armored wyvern comes flying into view. Its terrifyingly long wingspan cuts through the skies with speed and gracefulness akin to a hawk.

The building-sized lizard flies just above the two-story buildings. Once overhead, the knight jumps into the air, lands on top of his mount and flies away. Impaling the heavens with its deafening screech and lightning speed, living up to its name, Sky Piercer. The only thing he leaves behind is a large crater from the jump.

....

Ten minutes earlier...

"I found it." Thomas points out a humanoid track to Wenslo. "It's not human or an animal." Thomas stands up and follows the trail that leads into the woods.

"What do you think it is then?" Wenslo asks as he tries to keep up with Thomas through the thicket.

Wenslo runs into Thomas after he suddenly stops. "Quiet." He whispers. "We don't know how close we are."

Wenslo nods his head and takes the lead. As one of the four Generals of the Atrayan army, no thief is skilled enough to defeat him in battle. They come to a clearing and they find someone sitting in the middle of it next to the artifacts they stole.

Wenslo takes a closer look and realizes what it is. A devil in human form. A wolf in a human body. Wenslo's face turns red with hatred.

He stands up, aiming his palm at the creature. The magical aura from his body centers around his palm, building up energy until it's ready to be released.

Fenrir looks behind him to see the horror of two humans staring at him. One is preparing an attack. The shock causes his body to freeze in place, fear taking control of his bodily functions.

"Die demon." Wenslo says in a raspy voice as he's about to fire off his magic spell.

There's a sharp pain in his chest. Wenslo drops his hand and looks down at a sword, piercing his chest. "Thomas?" He asks as he spits out blood. Wenslo falls over, succumbing to his injury.

Thomas focuses his attention on Fenrir. "Remember to go for the heart." Thomas looks more closely and sees the items that this creature had stolen from him. He doesn't know the whole story behind it, but he suspects this creature's intention.

The items Fenrir had taken from the carriage are the stuffed corpses of two wolves. From the faint iota of memories he has as a wild animal, these wolves are mirror images of his parents. Fenrir was halfway done burying them before Thomas and Wenslo showed up.

Thomas walks up to Fenrir, and he stands his ground unsure of what to do. "Do you need help?" Thomas asks in a polite voice. Thomas looks behind him and points at Wenslo. "That bad man thought you're a demon. Well, even if you are, I don't care."

"You killed him." Fenrir says.

Thomas is caught off guard. He suspected that this creature could talk, but it still surprised him. "He was going to kill you. You know what self-defense is, right?"

"Kill those who try to kill you."

Thomas nods his head in approval and stands up . "You need to kill in order to live. You kill and eat living things to stay alive. People who try to kill you are no different than your body starving itself to death." Thomas raises his arms to his side up to shoulder height. "Everyone kills. It's your bias that prevents you from achieving greatness by thinking humans are superior to the rest of nature."

There's a loud screech in the distance. Thomas turns to the source and immediately knows what it is without seeing it. "Sky Piercer."