A strong wind hit Kaleria in the face as she took off her helm, enjoying the night breeze. This night was as beautiful as any other. Winter was coming to the Living Lands, heavy clouds filled the sky, showering the lands below them with a tiny amount of snow. This snow would turn into water long before it could ever hit the ground. So far, the situation has been tolerable, but as the winter progresses, the rain will become heavier and heavier as more and more snow falls from the clouds.

Kaleria smiled and stroked the neck of her steed. The hawgr angrily twitched, his beak snapping in annoyance. Kaleria only smiled as bodyguards behind her gestured for her to be more careful and not irritate the animal. The hawgrs were proud creatures of House Sapon, one of the four great houses in the Chindrin kingdom. When the Extinction happened and the Old World was torn asunder by the blinding light, the progenitor of House Sapon, the first of the name, led his people into the Living Lands, lands of life eternal. It was here that they first met hawgrs, large animals far bigger than a man.

The lower part of the animal's body was covered with thick brown fur with black stripes. The massive upper body and torso were covered with dense feathers. Four giant legs with claws capable of tearing steel apart supported a muscular body, and two beautiful and long wings allowed the beast to fly. A regal-looking beak adorned the hawgr's head. Two small eyes were protected by hardened gray eyebrows. Hawgrs were predators of the sky; they struck by swooping down from the clouds on their prey below, crushing the spines, and carrying the carcasses of dead animals back to their nests. Yet the originator of Sapon House tamed them. Now these proud creatures served as steeds for the royal cavalry unit and were the pride and joy of the Sapon duchy.

Kaleria Sapon, fifth in line to be duke of the Sapon duchy, volunteered to check the borders with the duchy of Angor. House Angor were proud and hardy people. Their lands bordered the region known as the Ravaged Lands, a land of stone, sand, heat, and death. For all its horrors, this region sometimes produced great miracles, such as ranged weapons that could kill from a great distance, allowing normal people to keep up with the abnormals. Part of the Angor duchy was on the plains of the Ravaged Lands, and the people of Angor mined a substantial amount of steel from the high, broken peaks of the heat-scorched land. Sometimes they even found relics of the pre-Extinction era, like large pieces of steel machinery, and carried them home to tear them apart and re-make them into swords and knives.

Lately, troubles have fallen on the duchy of Angor. Its proud rulers refused to admit it, but some people from their land had come in search of a safe haven. They claimed that the Ravaged Lands spat out an army hell-bent on conquering the Living Lands for the dread Dynast.

Now, that is usually not something to worry about. Marauders from the Ravaged Lands have often attempted to invade the Living Lands. But for all their foolish valor, only a few of their numbers ever came back. Enemies' weapons and armor turned rusted inside the unique atmosphere of the Living Lands. Those foolish enough to march on often became entangled in vines, sickened by the local fauna, or poisoned by airborne insects, while Angor's soldiers rained spears and arrows down on the enemy from the tallest trees. One marauder gang had begun carving long clearings into the lush greenery of the Living Lands in order to establish patrols and gain control of the land. They eventually found out how the Living Lands dealt with such foolishness when their clearings disappeared within weeks, and the troops were lost in the eternal green. Only weapons and equipment made by the blessed masters of the Living Lands were safe from rust.

Yet Marcus Sapon, head of the Sapon House, has become worried this time. Several envoys arrived from the Ravaged Lands. The first group came from the mystical land of Iterna; they claimed they were restoring the glory of ancient humanity. They offered friendship and news about the Ravaged Lands, so the duke allowed them to open an embassy in Heaven Peak. The next envoy was a wicked-looking creature from the mysterious Oathtakers, who offered aid against the Reclamation Army. The duke felt uneasy even looking at him and politely showed him the door. And lastly, the envoy from the Reclamation Army, a tall man clad in crimson armor, who was the envoy of the union of people, whose intention was to usher in a new era. He advised the duke to bow down to the Dynast. Naturally, Marcus refused; his oath to Queen Bagenda was sacred. The envoy of the Reclamation Army spent quite a bit of time trying to persuade Marcus, but to no avail. The envoy left, saying with almost pity at the end that 'He' will make Sapon bend the knee. Kaleria was genuinely surprised at this sight. It looked as if the envoy was more uneasy about this mysterious 'He' and felt more sorrow for the people of Sapon than joy at the supposed victory of the Reclamation Army.

And now word has come that the duchy of Angor is being hard-pressed by some unknown enemy. Duchess Carogina called for no help, yet Duke Marcus felt the need to send at least someone to survey the situation. Kaleria Sapon and a small squad of her bodyguards and members of the royal cavalry were ordered to travel to Fort Ospon, a small outpost on the border of the Angor and Sapon duchies. There they were going to question local merchants and fugitive Angorian serfs about the current situation in their neighboring duchy.

Kaleria gestured, and her troops began to descend from the sky. The armors of the hawgrs and Sapon's troops were immune to rain and water, thanks to special metalworking in the kingdom. Yet Kaleria still put the helm on her head as the first snow hit her in the face as they went lower, soon turning into heavy droplets of water. The night was beautiful, almost mystical. The forests below them looked so serene, with rivers flowing through the dense lushness, filling the night with pleasant sounds of chirping birds, whistling insects, and the mewing of prowling beasts. Everything seemed so calm… This was a dangerous and sadly common misunderstanding. The lush forests and plants of the land below wanted people dead. Predators prowled in the darkness of the forests, waiting for a chance to strike. There were plants that could shoot deadly poison into the faces of unsuspecting travelers before devouring helpless victims, insects that could cause searing heat in your body with a single bite... And of course, there were beasts that could mimic the cry of a lone traveler, luring a peasant closer before ending a human's life.

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Maintaining the roads was an almost impossible task. Somehow, almost unnaturally, the forest reclaimed any land that you tear away from it within days. Fire, axes, steel, or old-fashioned poison—the land cared not. The Living Lands refused to die; they refused to shrink. Humans were forced to learn to cohabit with forests and to live at the whim of the land. Humans built cities in mountains or in natural clearings, leaving the forest its rightful due.

Ospon was built on one such clearing. A massive wooden wall surrounded a small hill, on which were built a large village, barracks, a temple dedicated to the river goddess Insina, and the stone mansion of the Ospon family. Outside the walls were a smithy and a few mills near the farms.

All in all, Ospon was a small fort. The only reason the Sapon family even built it here was to reward the Ospon family for their service and to have the ability to watch over their Angor's neighbors. While Angor was a proud bloodline, they were not beyond trying to nick parts of land from the Sapon family sometimes.

A small river ran from the hill, flowing into the Angor lands. Merchants and travelers used this river by traveling along the riverbank or across it with boats. It was one of the few safest routes to Angor territory. And the easiest way to deliver a vast amount of metal mined in the Ravaged Lands fast enough to spare it of rust.

As Kaleria and her troops descended from the sky, they saw a large group—at least several hundred people, if not more—moving away from Ospon using a back road. Ospon itself remained unnaturally dark. Only a few torches were lit on its walls, and not a soul was in sight on its proud bastions.

"What are they doing?" Ninio, the sergeant of the royal cavalry, shouted in disbelief. "A caravan this large will attract predators! Have they gone mad with greed?"

"We need to find out," Kaleria shouted back. "Troops to the people, now! Dence, you and your flock are to fly to Ospon and find out what is happening there."

Dence, the flock leader made up of three cavalrymen, nodded and led the pair of his soldiers to the fort, while Kaleria and her troops began lowering themselves at full speed. Her hawgr crashed in front of the caravan of people, leaving deep marks on the ground as stone and dirt broke under the mighty paws. Kaleria petted her steed, causing it to shriek in annoyance, and jumped off of it. She was dressed in a light royal armor, armed with a thunder spear, a wind shield, and a wind sword crafted by the duchy's finest elementalists. She took off her helmet and approached the leader of the crowd, a tired-looking elderly man. Her bodyguards and soldiers began landing behind her.

"Peace, good people," she said, with a surprise understanding that the people in front of her were a mixture of serfs, merchants, and even guards. Serfs were the people who had in the past committed grievous sins against the royalty of the kingdom, condemning them and their descendants to an existence of eternal servitude. Most of them were descendants of the raiders who had invaded the Living Lands before. Serfs were unable to leave the property of their masters on their own, but the noble houses frequently used them as currency. "Pray, tell me what has happened? Why have you abandoned your lands? Did you forget the oaths to your houses?"

"Oaths?" A woman started laughing like mad, holding two infants in her arms. "Oaths to whom? There is no more Angor, no more Annuveti, no more Istillo, and no more Ospon! Everything, everything is over! He is coming!"

"Please show no anger for this poor soul, honorable person." An elderly man fell on his knees before Kaleria, showing the medallion that marked him as an alchemist. "But please hear the pleas of this commoner. You must run! Run fast and tell the queen that the enemy has invaded our lands. By the holy, by all that is good, please ask no more questions and run! He is coming!"

"Who is coming?" Kaleria asked in confusion. What does he mean, no more Ospon? The fort was still standing. If this was a joke, she would whip the jokers until their bones were bare.

"Me. I am coming," a calm and assured voice spoke out loud. Kaleria felt as if someone behind her had uttered these words. She spun around, only to find her people doing the same. The words whipped the caravan of people into panic, and they surged forward, running past Kaleria and annoying the hawgrs. Thankfully, the steeds had decided not to attack without a command, but some people ran into the woods toward an almost certain death.

"Stop!" shouted Kaleria. "Stop panicking, you fools! We will protect you! Form up and follow the road, avoid the forest…"

A light flashed in the night, cutting through the darkness like a sword stroke. Based on the shadow below Kaleria, the source of this light was coming from the direction of the fort. Not wasting even a moment, Kaleria jumped on her hawgr, and the beast leapt into the air, carrying her toward the fort.

Many white dots were rising from behind Ospon. They illuminated the darkness, forcing the night to retreat in shame. Kaleria could see the silhouettes of Dence and his warriors above the fort.

For a brief moment. Then the dots rapidly changed direction and slammed themselves into the center of the fort.

It was as if a new sun had just risen. A white void filled the horizon, obliterating the buildings and devouring the silhouettes of the royal cavalry above the fort. That which took years to construct vanished in an instant.

A gale hit Kaleria, and her hawgr shrieked in annoyance, stubbornly refusing to succumb to nature's whim, standing firm against the torrent of wind and sound. Stones and wood rumbled against the armor of the flying cavalry, propelled by the enormous cataclysm. An all-encompassing roar of the hellish inferno before them swallowed all sounds as a new, false sun illuminated everything with a white light.

"What… who?" Kaleria whispered in astonishment, and the same mysterious voice that she had heard before spoke back, words close to her ear:

"Future. The future has come. Bend the knee and live freely. Resist and be gone from this world. Dare to flee and be gone from this world. These are your choices now, Kaleria Sapon."

"Who is saying this!?" shouted Kaleria. "Show yourself, you misbegotten cur!"