The word of a hero was spreading across the kingdom; everyone spoke of the child named Nogryl after the morning star by Xorael himself.

The words could be heard on every street, in every tavern, and in every home. They spoke the tales of a savior that will bring hope in the days to come.

The years have passed and the boy reached the age of seven; at that age he could finally begin his early training. Hearing that, the Knights of Yellowshire rode back to Lindenrow to mentor the boy.

After all, it was them who the priest tasked with raising the future hero. The boy was taller than his peers, and he quickly learned to fight with a sword.

He would train enthusiastically every day as the sweat poured down his face and soaked his golden hair.

But to become a knight was much more than to be born a noble and to know how to fight; the knights also taught the boy the ways of honor and loyalty.

After a while, the child grew into a young man and became a squire of Sir Victor himself. He excelled in fencing and other types of combat, but most importantly, he showed great courage and honor.

By the time Nogryl grew up, there were only three knights of Yellowshire left, that is, in that specific knightly order. Old Sir Wilfred retired and became a militia trainer, and Sir Collin became a Paladin, but that is a story for another time.

He would occasionally show up to lecture Nogryl about the ways of the light, its purifying abilities, and about Xorael, his wife Eena, the goddess of loyalty and marriage, and many other gods in the pantheon.

Other than the religion, Sir Collin lectured Nogryl about the dangers of magic and how to counter it. The only magic that was acceptable in the Kingdom of Ventrius was the power of light, since everything else was seen as heresy,

but the punishment completely depended on the type of magic that was used. Some schools of magic were simply seen as taboo, while other, much darker ones were sometimes punished by a death sentence.

Now in his early twenties, Nogryl grew into a tall man with a robust build and wide shoulders, taller by the head than most of the other men.

He joined an army and was quickly granted the rank of a lesser knight. He fought alongside the village militia. Being of noble birth and trained by the knights, he had his own squad of militiamen that he led.

There was no active war at the time, but the far reaches of the kingdom were never a peaceful place.

The night was approaching, and the young Nogryl and his squad ran through the forest as their armors clinked with every step. Sir Victor, Nogry's mentor, was with them.

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„Do not chase them through the forest, Nogryl; we will run into an ambush!“ Now aging Sir Victor yelled, but the young man ignored his advice:

„Then let them come!“ He yelled as he led the way, chasing after the creatures.

The creatures in question were Ur'gluns, small gray humanoids with large arms and claws, long ears that danced as they walked, and two large round eyes that reflected the light like the eyes of a cat but were completely orange in color.

They were hunched over, and they had hundreds of black bumps on their skin that were hard to the touch. Their teeth were sharp and crooked, worn out and broken from gnawing on bones.

Their kin, known as Ur'gluns of the South, plagued the southern part of the kingdom where Nogryl lived. Ur'gluns often stole cattle, food, children, and sometimes even fully grown adults.

They were significantly larger than the Ur'gluns of the North and smaller than the men by one third on average, although often varying in size.

Nogryl's soldiers quickly followed after their leader. After all, the creatures kidnapped a child. The young hero followed the cries of a young girl that he heard through the dense forest as he rushed to save her, sprinting through the branches and leaves.

He quickly ran into a glade surrouned by the thick forest, and in the middle of it, a girl laid on the floor and cried. Without a moment to think, Nogryl dashed to save her, but it did not take long to notice that the child's body was pierced with a spear.

„Leave her, Nogryl. It's too late for her!“ Sir Victor yelled from far behind as enraged Nogryl stood in the middle of a glade, surrounded by a thick woodland.

„Come out, cowards! Fight me fairly! You shall pay for what you did!“

As soon as he yelled, he was quickly riddled with short, dark arrows from ur'glun bows that appeared out of the forest.

Ur'gluns were not the best archers, but there were a lot of them. Most of the arrows simply bounced off his armor, but some of them pierced it. The large man fell on his knees, but he managed to protect the wounded girl.

„Stay back!“ he shouted to his men, "It's an ambush!“ At that point, he was simply stating the obvious.

A raiding party of ur'gluns descended from the trees and rushed from the forest like hungry wolves, with their swords and axes drawn, to end their wounded victim's life.

They ran very fast, and their movements were like those of the wild beasts, growling, grunting, and jumping over the rocks and branches. Nogryl stood up and faced them with his sword as they encircled him.

„Bring it on! And if I die today, I will die on my feet!“ The young man remained fearless even in the face of seemingly certain death. There was simply nothing that could break his spirit.