"That guy had no idea what he was talking about!" Felixin said with a huff. He sat there on the house porch swing, his arms crossed and pouting. He looked out at the deepening dusk, the first stars beginning to twinkle in the deep blue to the east. Pumala smiled and cuddled her husband, rubbing his arm.

"Feli, the man is a Master Dragon Monk," she said in a soothing voice. "And a friend of Graval's. Whom he summoned to come and evaluate Kiana and her progress himself."

"So? That doesn't prove anything!"

Pumala rolled her eyes. "Feli, you can't deny it anymore. Somehow, our amazing daughter has taught and trained herself to fight with the mastery of the Dragon Monks. And she's surpassed a Master ranking at that." Pumala smirked a little, feeling a swell of pride. "It was pretty funny how shocked he was after he looked her in the eyes."

"I can deny whatever I want!" Felixin petulantly said, letting out a whimper. "Besides, she's just a young girl."

"A strong young girl. A VERY strong young girl."

"B-but... she's my baby," he said, sounding miserable, while Pumala continued to rub his arm.

"She'll always be our baby. But that doesn't change how strong she is. Her or her will. Let's be grateful that she's a kind and caring girl, and not someone who would abuse her power and talent for personal gain."

Felixin nodded at that, before spying movement out of the corner of his eye. There, he spotted the twins, Malay and Valay, setting up some straw dummies. Unlike Kiana, who was a full rabbit Beasta, the three-year-olds were both tan-furred hybrids. Kiana had taken to referring to them as Wolbets, due to their half-wolf and half-rabbit features. They had long rabbit-like ears, but big bushy wolf tails that ended in cottontail tufts. Their muzzles were long like Felixin's, but both their eyes were green. Valay, a boy, was wearing a simple blue tunic and shorts, giggling as his sister, who was wearing a green tunic, took a stance, trying to imitate their big sister Kiana again.

"What are you two up to?" Felixin called out to them. Malay giggled and turned their way.

"We're training like Kiana, Daddy!" she said, then trying to jump-kick the dummy's head. She instead only managed to miss and fall on her bottom, much to her brother's amusement.

Felixin held back a whine as Pumala continued to rub his arm, smiling at her children, before stopping.

"Wait," she said, leaning forward on the porch swing, making Felixin look up, "where's Kiana?"

The wolf wizard looked around before getting up and going inside, calling for the bunny girl in question. Pumala sighed, already having an idea of where her daughter was. She smiled and chuckled. Already at age ten, and Kiana was beginning to enter her rebellious phase.

At that Very Moment...

"It has been known by many names in the past, far beyond anyone's memory of the first," Mayor Carcora said gravely. The mature gnome woman, looking up with her pointed features at the assembled adventuring party, shook her head, shaking some of the loose red locks from the bun her hair was usually done up in. She took off her glasses and gave them a good wipe with a handkerchief, before she turned towards the open town gates. She looked out, past the newly built and fortified bridge over the ravine, which now functioned as a drawbridge. Past the winding road that cut through the fields and rolling hills before it forked. The two roads it split into both encircled a lone mountain, that was apart from the mountain ranges it stood in between. It was to this long, impossibly tall blackened spike of a mountain that towered over the others near it, that the mayor was looking.

"We know it as The Spire. It is believed that the recent increase of monsters out on the road attacking travelers and merchants all originate from it. Some say that it is a birthplace for the dark creatures that lurk in the night. Personally, I think it's more or a place that draws them to it, and that it's been drawing more and more to it lately, because something within it is beginning to stir. Legend speaks of an ancient evil that was sealed away within, one which if it were ever to awaken, would unleash darkness upon the world."

She turned to look at the group assembled before her. A dwarven paladin, who smirked behind his black beard, his shining war axe and armor glowing with a radiant light. Next to him was an elven druid, the fair-haired and skinned lass looking up at the mountain quizzically. In their company was a tigress Beasta sorcerer, their blue robes flowing in a phantom breeze. A human man, clearly an experienced fighter wearing a black armor bearing the crest of some noble family. And a halfling wearing dark robes that led the mayor to suspect that he was a professional thief.

None of them seemed at all nervous about this job, which Carcora felt was to be expected. Graval had extended his influence to gather up the best adventurers in their fields to take on this task. Still, the gnomish mayor felt a twinge of anxiety in her gut. She had had to deal with arrogant adventurers in the past, and oftentimes, regardless of their previous experiences and accomplishments, they would wind up in trouble or muck up the job itself. She shook her head and was about to continue on giving them as much information about The Spire as she could, when she stopped, spotting something out of the corner of her eye. A certain ten-year-old bunny girl, wearing a sky blue blouse with some white shorts, was skipping along, a giant silver hammer that was twice as tall as she was slung over her shoulder.

"Kiana, dear," Corcora called to the bunny girl who was heading outside the gates, "don't be outside playing too long now, your parents will worry if you're out there after dark." Normally she and the other adults in town would be very concerned to see a child Kiana's age going outside the gates at dusk, but by now most everyone in town had learned not to underestimate the bunny girl.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Mayor," Kiana called back, still skipping across the bridge but looking over her shoulder, "I just gotta take care of one thing and then I'll be right back!"

"Alright, dear, play safely," Carcora briefly smiled, before returning her attention to the adventurers, the elf looking at the skipping girl.

"That was quite a giant hammer for such a small bunny," she remarked, while the gnome before her cleared her throat and started to impress upon them just how dangerous this task would be.

Past the bridge and heading around a bend, Kiana stopped, and stared right at The Spire. From her pocket, she pulled out her stuffed wolf. "You ready to do this, Mr. Wolfy?" she asked the plush, giving it a hug.

She tucked the toy back into her pocket and turned back to the dark mountain, a smirk on her face, her eyes taking on a bright blue glow. She leaned forward, readily tapping into her inner power, she took a deep breath, and sprinted. Had anyone been watching her, they would have seen Kiana become a grey and blue blur, before seeming to have disappeared from sight. In a matter of seconds, the bridge was miles behind her, and still she ran, her excitement growing.

On the road, she came across a motorized cart that was running towards town, being chased by a trio of goblins riding dark wolf-like creatures with fiery red eyes, wargs. Not even slowing, Kiana twirled the hammer like a baton. To the small family on the wagon looking back just as Kiana passed by, all they managed to see in the gloom was their pursuers suddenly being crushed, in rapid succession, into three flattened piles of obliterated organic matter. Continuing on, Kiana did the same for a group of trolls that were loping along, and a midnight viper. This last one made Kiana stop, but only so as she could admire its size and beauty.

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The creature was easily over one hundred feet in length, although since it was partially coiled it was a little hard to get an exact length at a glance. What made the snake so captivating to look upon was its inky black scales, with twinkling white ones, matching the night sky above. There were even some magenta and red scales accurately depicting a swirling galaxy, slowly rotating. Its deep amber eyes looked down at the bunny and let out a hiss like a roar, revealing two sabre-like fangs and rows of razor-sharp teeth. It flicked its crimson forked tongue, before it blew out a yellow cloud right at Kiana.

"A paralyzing breath attack, eh?" Kiana said, setting the hammer down. The cloud had almost reached her when she clapped her paws, sending out a loud BOOM. The cloud was dispersed from the shockwave, and the midnight viper was stunned by it as well. It shook its head, and then darted forward. It moved with a liquid-like grace and speed despite its size. But Kiana was faster. In a flash, the hammer was back in her hand. She brought it crashing down on the creature's skull, a sickening crack that could be heard for miles. The serpentine body twitched once, then twice, and then was still. Curious, Kiana rolled the massive creature over, exposing its belly. There, she was surprised to find a pouch, like a kangaroo. Inside was a single egg, the size of Kiana's fist. Smiling wide, she took it and slipped it into her pocket next to Mr. Wolfy. And just like that, she resumed running.

She ran straight through the fork in the road, right into the dark and chittering woods to be found at the base of the mountain. A few more booms were audible as Kiana obliterated some more enemies in her path, before she got to the base of the mountain. Not slowing in the least, she began running straight up the steep rocky formation, sometimes hopping from outcropping to outcropping. Breathing easily, Kiana was soon at the very peak, which truly did end in a spike. She looked at it curiously, a red light blinking on and off at the tip. Dusting off the snow a bit, she uncovered something made of metal and glass, where the red light was coming from. Kiana's ears perked as she also heard a low buzzing sound coming from it.

Thinking for a second, the bunny girl shrugged and then took a stance, bending her knees a bit. She let her inner power wash all over and through her. Her fur started to stand on end as a not-unpleasant prickling sensation ran up her spine and all along her arms and legs. Focusing herself, she took a deep breath and jumped. She shot straight up into the sky, passing all the way into the stratosphere, surprising a silver wyvern and her human rider who were gliding not too far away. They made eye contact with Kiana, who waved to them before she turned, smiling as she looked around and saw the stars, brighter and clearer than she ever had. As she began her descent, she saw the world spread out before her.

"THIS WORLD IS AWESOME!!!" she called out as she started to spin, rotating and adding additional force to the head of the hammer, which was starting to glow bright red. The girl and the hammer were soon surrounded by blue and white flames as she fell, still spinning, aiming for the mountain.

Deep inside The Spire, through the honeycombing tunnels and caves dug into the black rock, at the very center, was a wide cavern. It was filled with all sorts of machinery from the ancients, long since forgotten. In the center was a black metallic cylinder. Just then, a red circle stuttered to life in the center of the machine.

"Diagnostics: Running. System Info: Recovering. Startup: Beginning," it said in a deep mechanical voice. All around the room blinking lights on cubes and cylinders started to blink on. Some stayed dark, but most were indeed humming to dark life.

"Estimated time in sleep mode: 10,456 years, 5 months, 2 weeks, 5 days, 3 hours, 42 minutes, and 11 seconds," the machine said; more machinery in a room beneath the cavern started to hum and hiss and rumble. "Primary objective: Found. Beginning preparation sequence for obsolete life form eradication." It was then that the room was bathed in a red light, a klaxon sounding.

"Warning. Warning. Unknown object fast approaching. Preparing defenses. Analyzing threat. Threat appearance similar to a rabbit."

It was at that moment that Kiana, in a blazing blue and white flame of glory, brought down the white hot head of the hammer onto the very tip of The Spire. Back in the town of Starlight Rose, Mayor Carcora and the adventurers were looking at the mountain in question. They watched as the blue and white ball of flame struck the tip of the mountain, causing a massive explosion off in the distance. They looked on in awe as a blue and white mushroom cloud erupted. They stood there, stunned, as the cloud quickly dissipated, the light from it still shining bright enough to show where The Spire had once stood, there was now a crater. The group jumped as a chunk of rock smashed through part of the bridge. Not enough to break the structure entirely, but enough to knock out a very large section of the bridge.

The adventurer's stood there, mouths open, long enough for a family on a mechanical cart to, very carefully, drive across the now damaged bridge. They continued to gawk in the growing night as Kiana came skipping back across the bridge, her clothes now all scuffed and dirty and a little singed. The hammer slung over her shoulder was still glowing white hot, heat radiating from it. The bunny girl was looking ecstatic. She waved to the mayor as she skipped by. The gnome woman smiled and shook her head, regaining her composure.

"Actually, it would seem that the situation has resolved itself," she said, turning to address the adventurers. "So sorry to call you out here like that. And it looks like that the reward money will be going to pay to fix the bridge... again."

"Wha?" the dwarven paladin sputtered, now starting to look outraged. "What kinda game are y'all playin' at?!" he demanded in his eastern Lawbrook drawl. He then pointed to Kiana and shouted to her. "Hold up there, l'il missy!"

Kiana stopped and turned to regard the paladin who was now stomping towards her, outraged. "Huh?"

"Don't go playin' innocent," he said, scowling at her, "I'm not sure who you are workin' fer or what kind of illusion magic or what have ya was involved, but I fer one do not like gettin' the run-around!"

Kiana rolled her eyes and scoffed. "There was no illusion magic involved. I had something I wanted to take care of, so I took care of it," she said, plainly.

"Is that so? So, ya expect us ta believe that you, a little girly, went and smashed a mountain with a hammer that's twice yer size, then?"

"What you choose to believe is your business," Kiana said, blunt as usual, which only seemed to annoy the dwarf even more. He took a swing at Kiana. His companions watched, once again awestruck, as in a flash, the bunny girl before them grabbed his fist, swung him up in the air, and brought him down, headfirst, slamming onto the ground. With the small amount of dust kicked up settling, they saw the dwarf's kicking legs sticking straight up in the air, while his upper half was buried in the ground. Kiana looked to the rest of them, her eyes hardened.

"Anyone else feel like starting something?" she asked them. The group silently shook their heads while the mayor had to hold back a chuckle. "Good!" Kiana then resumed skipping away. She stopped by the adventurer's guild to return the trophy warhammer that she had 'borrowed', and then headed back in the direction of home. She was stopped by her father halfway there.

"Kiana!" he said in his stern voice, approaching her and crossing his arms, frowning. "Where were you, young lady?" he asked.

"Uh... just out playing, Papa," she said, looking down at her feet.

"Outside the town walls, after sunset?" he asked, his foot tapping.

"Only for a little bit," Kiana said, while Felixin sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Princess, it is much too dangerous these days to go out playing at night. Think about the example you're setting for your brother and sister."

Kiana nodded, feeling a little guilty about making her papa worry.

"Well, at least you returned before you got into any trouble or destroyed anything," Felixin said with a chuckle. Kiana opted to say nothing just yet. Instead, she started to walk back to her home with her papa, patting the pocket which held the egg she had collected. She could feel something inside it wriggle a bit before settling down, making Kiana's excitement grow.

"Hey, Papa?" Kiana asked, looking up at Felixin and making her best puppy dog eyes.

"Yes, Princess?" Felixin asked, trying and failing to resist the effects of said eyes.

"Would it be okay for me to get a pet?" Kiana asked.

Felixin chuckled. "Well, a pet can be a big responsibility. But I think one might be in the cards for a certain bunny girl." He ruffled her tufted headfur. "Got an idea of what kind of pet?"

"How about a snake?" she asked.

Felixin shuddered. "Why not a... oh! A goldfish? Those make excellent starter pets!"

"Aww, c'mom, Papa!" Kiana said, the size of her eyes seemingly doubling.

"Uh... well... okay, maybe a snake. A small one. If you find one you like, we can consider it..."

Kiana smiled at that.

One Week Later...

"My little Princess tricked me," Felixin grumbled to himself as he watched Kiana gently tie a pink bow around the baby snake's neck. The snake in question was a beautiful turquoise color, with bright amber eyes. When it had first hatched a few nights ago, he had been worried about some mysterious snake egg Kiana had gotten from gods knew where. But seeing Kiana and the twins doting on the snake, and playing fetch with it by tossing a small rubber ball that it would bring back each time, the wolf wizard felt himself relax a little. It really was a sweet sight. And it was such a tiny snake. All coiled up, it liked to sleep in the palm of Kiana's hand.

"That's a good girl, Mirabelle!" Kiana said as 'Mirabelle' returned with the ball and dropped it at her feet. Mirabelle thumped her tail on the floor in excitement and twitched, waiting for the ball to be thrown again.

Felixin watched and chuckled to himself. He had almost had a heart attack when he had first seen the snake. In the dark of the night, when he had lit some candles, the snake had almost looked pitch black, with twinkling white scales dotting it forming constellations. He had almost been convinced that Mirabelle was in-fact a baby midnight viper, one of the most dangerous creatures around. But then his eyes adjusted, and saw that she was just turquoise, most likely some kind of river snake, all of which locally were harmless. He checked his steam-powered timepiece and sighed.

"Alright kids, Kiana's in charge while I go and take care of this afternoon appointment. Dang evil spirits," he muttered, grabbing his staff from the closet near the front door, the green jewel at the end glowing softly.

Name: Kiana

Species: Beasta (Rabbit-Kin)

Age: 10

Skills: Sibling Wrangler, Babysitter, Puppy-Dog Eyes, Master Martial Arts, Brawling, Heavy Weapon Proficiency Sarcasm Mastery, Eyerolling Mastery, Beast Taming Level 1.

Class: Fifth Grade, (Official) Master-Level Dragon Monk: Storm Dragon School

Str: 135

Int: 12

Dex: 136

Cha: 12

Wis: 10

Con: 165

Languages: Common