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The first time Tia actually seen the local wildlife outside the boundary was of course not the first time she encountered one. Her first encounter was of course when she went looking for her brother, but the first time she looked upon the creatures, she of course panicked. Rightfully so, they were in a frenzy and chasing her, if it was not for the Steward, and her mentor, she would be caught.

It started when they brought her beyond the boundary to have her practice the first time her Transmutation ability. After weeks of studying and understanding her body and the dangers this power has, she was brought out to change only one part of her body, her right hand. Under the guidance of two masters of Transmutation, it would not be dangerous. Well, it should not have been.

Tia, at this time had no name, a child in the eyes of the public. Yet, she ran from the scene of the Steward and Jorgonzilrye fighting dozens of creatures that came up to her knees. All of them looking dissimilar to one another, they may have the same kind of fur, but some had six legs while others two or three, some large fangs or claws others had not. Misshapen appendages sprouting from odd places bending at weird angles striking at her two teachers. What was most surprising, was the bestial features the Steward took on, or the quick changes he would make between every movement he made. His reach would lengthen during a strike, or recoil when avoiding a bite. He would twist oddly as if he was breaking his spine but had not.

Jorgonzilrye was fighting with blades, one short sword, the other a dagger. He actually looked the same as always, but she knew that he had undergone some changes. His muscles were stronger, he was faster, he could see in the dark, he was lethal, and he was loud. “Go! Run child!” He roared as he slashed as the little creature in front of him. What did Tia do in response? She of course ran, listening to her mentor she ran for the boundary.

Once she was inside, it would be unlikely for the creatures to follow, but she would continue onward the home of the Waywards. She knew that would be the safest place for her, looking down she saw her hand. Three tentacles replace her forearm and hand. It was hard for her to control it, and she was worried she would have a hard time changing it back to normal but that was a matter for tomorrow. For now, she ran, terrified at the noises behind her. Running as fast as her unenhanced legs could take her, she made good time on the path to their home. Refusing to slow down the training field came into field. Just beyond it, the doors to their hold resided.

Feeling a sense of relief she grinned, she would make it. She could not slow though. So close, push, faster, go! She pushed herself even faster, crossing the field she was so close to the hold, but not enough. Pain erupts, and Tia crashes to the ground. Rolling, skidding and with much surprise to herself, Tia was able to get a foot underneath herself and recover quickly. Rotating around she saw what caused the suddenness of pain. One of the smallest of the creatures that the others were fighting were here. It was only half the size of the others, but it had layers of serrated teeth, and I could see blood dripping out from its maw. Her blood, licking its teeth and screeching in pleasure the little creature vibrated in pleasure.

This little grotesque thing is hard to describe, he had two front legs that were stunted, barely able to touch the ground, its hind legs were thick and powerful. Large talons tapped in delight as it danced in place. One central eye never leaving Tia, but it had four others that would rotate in all different directions. It had a large body and head, and a thin neck. His head would bounce as he moved. It grinned at her, letting out a guttural noise it charged at her.

Tia rushing to the side towards a splintered practice sword, it had been snapped that same day she reached for it. This was a mistake, the creature crashed into her, tearing flesh as she fell to the ground. Reflexively Tia grabbed at the creature with her tentacle hand, trying to drag the creature off her she yanked. Nothing happened, instead the creature reinvigorated by the taste of her flesh, bit again at her thigh. Crying from the pain she yanked again, but again nothing happens. Punching the creature with her left hand, she readjusted her grip with her three tentacles and with a roar she yanked. Pulling the struggling creature from her leg he snapped backwards, she was aiming to throw the creature behind her so she could grab that glorified stick.

Something happened, her tentacles that Tia had lacked any proper control over, were nearly tangled and wrapped tightly around the creature’s neck. Yanking him with the force she was able to muster snapped it as if it were a noose. Instead of throwing the creature away, it smacked into the ground right behind her head. Kicking up Tia frantically tried to detangle her hand from its neck, and when she finally succeeded all, she did was stare. For a few moments she could not move, waiting for the creature to get back up and rush her again. Bleeding and in pain, she only watched, until she heard more footsteps from behind her.

Without a word, the Steward made is way to the corpse, checked it if was indeed dead. Confirming that it was, he looked at the girl who lacks a name. He looked regretful, but he did not speak, instead he picked her up and walked towards the home of the Waywards.

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"As you know beyond the Southern Mountains lies a desert, nothing for many miles, right?" Without waiting for her mentor to nod Tia continued, "Well, apparently not only is there something in the desert, but also beyond. There is supposed to be a sizable oasis in the desert that two different tribes of people contend for. Up till now they were in a ceasefire and worked out a plan on usage of the oasis."

"This oasis, any notable wildlife?"

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"Unknown. The few refugees I encountered in the Scared Land only wished to speak on the raiders, and the other tribe."

"So, only one tribe made it out?" Jorgonzilrye asked as he arched a brow.

"Without being captured yes." The old man frowned at this, but let his pupil continue. "The raiders captured one tribe and were attempting to do the same with the second but managed to only capture few out of the many. One of theirs found out what was happening to the other tribe, and instead of waiting around they kept a delaying force to confront while the rest of the tribe fled. Having little else to go, they chose to cross the Southern Mountains and ended up on the other side. I encountered their surveying group in the woods at the base of the mountains."

"Two tribes, how large did they say they were? Were the raiders from a rival group?"

"The tribe they came across had an etching of a red circle, or some of the like. The people I spoke to had never seen nor heard of them before. The numbers of the two tribes had only a few hundred each, no branches either. The raiders on the other hand, had many times their numbers, if it was not for that the two might have fought together to repel them. Apparently, that is what they had done in the past, they would fight each other for the resources of the land, however meager they are, but they would come together and dispel any force that would wander into their territories."

Little does Tia know, she is describing an army, but like how their town would not be called a city, the fractured people of these lands have lost the knowledge of what they once were. Very few of this world has a grasp of what they once were before they became lost, and in constant fear. The reason why the town of Sanctuary cannot be called a city by its citizens, most within this 'town' does not have a reference. Many believe there is nothing outside the boundary but death, only a few know the truth. While they call their city a town, an army can only be called a raiding party. This is the way it has been, and unlikely to change.

Outside the boundary is very dangerous, the larger the group the more one has to feed, and mobility is severely hampered. While smaller groups can avoid dangers to a higher degree, but some can not be avoided. When that happens, they may not have the strength to withstand them. When you have a world rich in magic, not only are the people themselves enhanced, but so are the wildlife in turn. One can argue even more so, due to madness affecting sentient beings with greater potency. Sanctuary may be the only place in the world where humankind can thrive, the madness unable to taint them and twist their minds.

"Good you have come to report first. It would have been unwise of you to continue on your own. Is there anything else you need to relay before I deliberate with the council of your findings?" Jorgonzilrye spoke as he rose and walked back to the window, looking south again.

He must be thinking about what Tarvan would do in this situation. He always had the answers to everything. With a sigh Tia rose and spoke at the same time, "Nothing that is of great importance. Excuse me." Before reaching the door, her mentor spoke once more.

"A shame, things looked as though they were getting better too." Nearly inaudible, but Tia still heard. She knew how fragile the outside world was, always strife and conflict but recently it has been peaceful in comparison, and most of the tribes and villages had begun to work together at last and started to thrive. Yes, there were minor fights and the deaths of the children remained, but taming the lands seem finally possible. With news about tribes falling and this great tribe with the red circle, it would surely cause distrust between all groups as a whole.

Without talking further, Tia continued out of the building, towards a building that was built to house the Waywards while they were in the town. Not many would stay there, most had families or friends they would return to when they came back to Sanctuary, but Tia had no one. Of course, she knew people, but the few friends she once had, drifted apart. All had their own lives, and while Tia had a period where she was neither a child, nor an adult, many would not associate with her. Now she spends most of her time outside the boundary, if anything she had more friends out there than within.

The building is where all her belongings were, in all the building could house up to thirty Waywards, but it would never be so. They were too rare, very few are able to complete the training to become one, and since it was an unknown profession no one aspired to become one. Most of the time they are handpicked from within the Watch. Only those who has shown promise in their ability to fight the Twisted, proved trustworthy, and of course their builds. They greater the mass someone has, the easier for them to use the magic to greater effect. Shaping one's body twists the mind, but usually it is based off of percentages. One person can shape a certain amount of their body and it is different between one person and another. One thing however is that if one's size is larger than another but unable to have the same control over his body, he may still control equal mass as the other.

This was one of the main issues the council had about Tia training to become a Wayward, she was small, even for a woman. They actually had many reasons why she should not become one, another she was a convict. Yes, she broke one of the most important rules this place had, she left the boundary. Only those with proper authorization are allowed to go outside the boundary. She broke the law when she went outside, the only thing that saved her from death, she was a child in the eyes of the law. Even though she was 19 at the time, she had no name. Names are important, and it is a rite of passage to receive one.

So, from her size, breaking the law, being untrustworthy, and unproven in every sense of the word, the council fought hard for Jorgonzilrye to not take her on as his pupil. They actually forbade him from doing it, throwing every threat they could at the old man. He only laughed and continued on his way, both parties knowing they could not stop him. This however created a strained relationship between the two for some time, only now had the tension lessoned. Tia proved her worth, she completed the training and by Jorgonzilrye no less! She did have the same blood as Tarvan, but now the news she brought. Well, they would not blame her for it, but there would be tension again.

Only after cleaning herself and putting on fresh clothes did Tia leave the building, she wanted to stock up on supplies before leaving again. While food and water were easy to obtain in the wilderness, there were many rivers and streams, and the creatures of many sizes were plentiful, she knew in the desert this would not be so. She would want to get dry rations and an extra sack to hold it all in. She also obtained another waterskin, she already had two but was unsure the distance to the oasis from the mountains. The tribesmen she spoke to said it was only two days of hard running from the mountains, but if she went the wrong direction, she may miss it entirely.

After obtaining her supplies she came in contact with Cal, he only looked at her for a moment then continued on his way. He was still mad at her, ever since her brother left, he had taken it hard. He knew why he had left, but he was hurt that Tarvan had not asked for his aid. Cal was on the Watch, more specifically a Border Guard. He was one of the few who were allowed to leave the boundary and fought with the Twisted nearly every day. Cal did not blame her for chasing after Tarvan, no he was angry that Tia became a Wayward.

Cal wanted to become one himself once he found out about them, but he failed his training. While his best friend surpassed, he stayed behind. Not only that, Tarvan's little runt of a sister, she even made it through. Yes, he was jealous, but he would not be so petty to hold either in ill regards, no he was mad that Tia endangered herself so by running after her brother. Then continued to put herself in harm's way by becoming a Wayward. Yes, he was jealous, but he felt obligated to protect Tia in Tarvan's place, and now he is unable to do so.

Tia watched Cal's retreating form in the crowd. She tried to make amends for some time, but he was just not receptive. Cal was not her friend exactly, but he was someone important from her past. Someone who had known her brother, her parents, and of course, herself. Her mentor was important to her because of his connection to Tarvan, but she had no one that connected her with her parents. Most days were like this, she constantly thought of her family, Jorgonzilrye said that time will mend the wounds in her heart but will leave a scar. Her feelings will dull but will never fully stop hurting.

Returning to the Wayward housing, she noted that there was no other Wayward there, and proceeded to her room. She would sleep earlier than usual and rise late in the morning. She knew she would have to talk to either the council or Jorgonzilrye the next day, she felt it in her guts that she would leave tomorrow. She knew the council were going to murk her duties, again. She knew she was unprepared for what comes next, and she was right.