Chapter 1- Waking Up

Riley’s eyes snapped open as she heard the hawk.

Fear raced through her tiny form, all as her joints ached. She knew she was old and had already survived many seasons for one such as her, but that did not diminish the fact that she was still alive.

Being alive was the point as far as she knew. For as long as she could remember, the light came, the light went, and she remained.

This last season had been the hardest. For reasons unknown to her, the energy and vibrancy she had known in the past had been fading, though her instincts were still sharp and her ears keen.

The cold, though, was again giving way. The world was warming yet again, and soon, there would be more food and warmer nights. The plains would soon put forth more food than she or those of her kind could ever consume, and with it would come the dancing, the moments of high energy, and the rise of new creatures great and small.

In fact, this was already happening.

Young life like her stirred and moved with all the mystery of new being. They were only a few days old, the firstborn of a new and yet-to-come spring. They still fidgeted and crowded together for warmth against the harsh indifference of an unforgiving world.

The shadow passed over Riley again, and with it came a cry, urging her to freeze, but in her wide vision, she knew the hawk was descending.

Scrunch down, hide!  That’s what her instincts whispered, though not so much in words as an impulse. She felt the coldness of the ground all the more, yet it was distant through her thick fur. Her ears flattened against her back, and with their touch came a sigh.

This was the life she had always known. This was all that was for as much as she knew. Peaceful spans of grazing or resting interspersed with moments of terror.

There were no words in her life, no definition for these abstract concepts, nothing to define the emotions she felt, but something distant in her, something half-remembered in that moment, did not identify the hawk as a hawk, or a predator, or even as a threat, but *Death* which while abstract, was also as real as anything she had ever known.

A vague and icy chill, familiar yet not, settled on her like a wet snow as she felt her hindpaws tense, but why? The hawk wasn’t coming for *her*.

She knew how to hide, she knew how to stay still, and had already outrun the grasping talons and snapping teeth of many a beast that would have made a meal of her. Hawk, or dog, fox, or coyote, it did not matter. She had passed the test time and time again, thrilling in her legacy.

Riley was born to run.

Yet those leverets had no chance. Some would die, maybe all would die, and that was just the way of things.

It felt wrong, though, as she watched on in horror. The world slowed, and before she knew it, she was in a run, dashing over the lump of grasses that, at best, provided partial concealment.

In an instant, the hawk was on her instead, swooping down. She could see it come in a terminal dive, getting closer and closer.

Riley had to kick and twist, change direction, or something...  She had to get away, but that strange weariness, pains in places that bent, it was all too much, and for the last time, her body failed.

The hawk landed with a sickening crunch as bones snapped and the world dimmed.  The scent of iron drifted in the air, and the feeling of pain lasted but for a moment as the world dimmed.

Suddenly, in the peace of the void came a voice.

Riley, again, with a choice of expending yourself for the benefit of others.

___

“What?” She said, her eyes opening as her body startled. She straightened up between two trees, overlooking a familiar, makeshift grave as she scanned the sky.

But there was nothing...

Just a dream

She sighed.

The sound of boots softly moving up behind drew her ears up as she instinctively froze, the memory fading to a distant disquiet.

“Hello Cid,” she called out, though she hadn’t seen him yet. The sound of his boots was a dead giveaway.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Like a phantom, he emerged from behind one of the many trees that dotted the mountainside.

“Aye, I trained you well, I see,” he said, with a mournful chuckle dancing on the edges of his tone.

“You did, and she did. You know it was me that tripped her at the beginning of our training?” Riley finally confessed as the old Ranger drew up beside her.

Cid nodded, “I guessed, and I knew. I think Zorna knew, too. It wasn’t the worst she took. She trained so many.”

“But you blamed Tobias,” she countered.

“The sorcerer is responsible for his companion,” he shrugged, “they teach us to break you down, run you hard so we can rebuild you. It’s the only way I’ve ever known to do it.”

“It was pretty plain he was hiding things from me from the beginning. We look for that. Being a ranger isn’t about following orders…” Cid began.

“It's about thinking for yourself, and being adaptable, and a right pain in the ass,” Riley finished.

Cid chuckled again, “That's the problem, isn’t it? Knowing secrets, keeping secrets. Seems all so straightforward in the moment, but it never is. It’s a big damn mess that kills people.”

“This whole damn kingdom is built on secrets. Indian burial ground secrets. The kind that raises dead pets in all the horror movies with a taste for human flesh,” Riley agreed.

“Indian Burial grounds?” Cid boggled.

“Rileyism,” she said, not being in any mood to explain.

“Well, power is not something that fosters trust. Why do you think I stay out here with her?” Cid looked out over Zorna’s grave mournfully, “And speaking of, where’s your other half?”

“Reading,” Riley answered a bit too quickly. She and Tobias had virtually fled from the capital after being released by the future King of Ashes, using connections and not a small bit of coin to take the dragon back to Ranger Central.

“Our library isn’t that good, lass, unless you’re hiding things from me again,” Cid said, knowing without knowing.

“He's got my translation power and everything else. It’s something called entwined souls,” she would have shrugged if she still could.

“Tobias has your translation magic? Oy, that’ll lead to trouble,” Cid agreed.

“What do you mean lead? We’re in trouble. We’ve been in trouble since we were recruited. Being out of trouble would scare me,” Riley could not help but let the bitterness taint her words.

“It's the Ranger way. Were you not listening?” Cid said, looking over towards the hare as the prompt seemed to rise unbidden.

You have ascended to the First Tier and unlocked a hidden and lost pathway of progression within the magic; congratulations!”

*Your health has dramatically increased.*

*Your speed has dramatically increased*

*Your mana has dramatically increased

You have ascended with your bond, and your souls have become entwined….

Riley sent it away but did not dismiss it; something seemed to be anchoring her back to that moment.

“Oh, I was listening, alright. I’ve also been seeing it. We ran from the Ashenvale before they could throw us a parade, but we can’t stay away forever. We’re ordered to show up for evaluations soon, whatever that means,” Riley grumbled.

Wasn’t magic supposed to be fun?  

“So you decided to fall back and hide in Ranger Central? You know they can find you here,” Cid observed with a certain kind of collegial bemusement.

“Did you know there’s an apartment for muckety mucks above the Hidden Blade? It’s swanky, but we actually camped out here last night. Nothing feels right or safe anymore, and this seemed like the safest place.  Zorna always knew which way to go,” Riley shook her head as if trying to shake out an answer.

“She did, but that’s because she trusted what she knew. This path you’re on is dangerous. You need to be careful with those ancient books and with the bloody nobles. That means keeping yer gob shut and not blathering off to everyone around that’s supposed to be above you about what you can and can’t do. I taught ya both better than that. It’s all politics,” Cid spat.

“I only told you because you are about the only ones we can trust, and maybe the others, Caedmon, Eastmond, Sabine…”  Riley began.

“But that also puts them in danger. I can handle it; I’m old and well past my use,” this time, it was Riley’s turn to interrupt. With a puff of power, a vine shot up from the ground and slapped Cid firmly across the face faster than he could react.

“What in the bloomin’ fuck was that for!?!” He reeled.

“Still getting the nuance right,” Riley looked at her paw as if looking for a dial or a gauge before tilting her head in Cid’s direction, “That's what you get for dying talk!”

“My, my, you’re acting more like a ranger by the day,” Cid worked his jaw back and forth before his face twisted into a wry smile.

“That's because we are Rangers, black blades to our core, and that’s the problem. For the second time in less than a year, I’ve got the strange feeling that I’ve been thrown into a new world,” Riley replied with a sigh.