Deep in a field somewhere in the Green Sea, a little girl around 5 years old was walking around the pasture harvesting some herbs and vegetables she found. She had been doing this every morning for the past year, to help pay for her food.
She was an orphan, but she still had family.
She looked around at her uncles, aunts, second cousins, grandparents, and other family members. They weren’t helping her gather stuff, no. They were directly eating it.
They were the [Unicorns], a breed of high ranking [Beastkin]. During the day, little Jessica Shutters was forced to be ostracized by her remaining family because of her (curse). No one knew what it was, but the nurse that helped bring her into this world claimed to see a mark of Death on her.
The [Unicorn] race was a (cursed) race that was forced to transform at night. Jessica’s unfortunateness was being permanently transformed all day, as well as night.
Even worse was her parents actually cared for her. Most of the [Unicorns] did not care for their Moonlight forms. They just slept the night away. Once, quite a long time ago, the [Unicorns] were hunted down for no reason whatsoever because some crazy King said so.
Because he had a falling out with the Gods, the [Unicorns] became a protected species. There were several tribes here and there, but they did not interact with other races. In fact, they hardly interacted with each other.
[Unicorns] were lazy by nature. They were also vain. And never satisfied. And always ignoring everybody else.
Anyways, Jessica was different from the other [Unicorns] since she had to fend for herself. She did not have any way to protect herself since she was too weak to do anything. So she collected the herbs and vegetables to trade for food and materials from the people who visited.
These people were selected by Valkyries to watch over the [Unicorns], the Keepers. This group was originally created for the [Unicorns] specifically, but eventually became a brotherhood of activists that protect sacred creatures.
The Keepers were always nice to Jessica and helped her get by. They helped patch her family’s house when it got messed up, help teach her how to cook, and even got her to learn magic.
The second sun began to set over the horizon so Jessica began to make her way to the Keeper’s camp.
She walked into the camp, but didn’t see anyone.
“Hello? Anyone there? It’s me, Jesse!”
“”””SURPRISE!!!””””
Six people jumped out from the tents with a yell that made Jessica jump.
“Waah!”
She fell. And dropped her stuff. And started to cry.
The six adults began to look at each other, blaming the others with their glares. One of the only two women in the group, the taller one, approached Jessica. She was dressed in casual clothes, rather than her normal armor.
“Sorry about that.”
“That wasn’t very nice…”
“Yeah, we just wanted to surprise you with a birthday party. We didn’t realize we would scare you. Sorry.”
The burly man who spoke up started to saunter over until the other lady berated him.
“This was your fault! All we had to do was say ‘surprise’! We didn’t have to actually hide!”
A tall man with a scholarly appearance cut in, stopping the angry lady with short hair and short stature from going too far.
“Now, now, don’t get all boiled up. We are doing this for Jesse, after all.”
“Exactly! It’s a party! We have to have fun!”
A young man, almost a boy, was jumping up and down, eyeballing the cake the last man, an extremely lanky man with dark skin and flamboyant clothes, was holding.
“Hmph, don’t even think about it. The first bite belongs to Jesse!”
The party of six knights welcomed Jessica and that night, they played and laughed till she fell asleep in the tall knight’s lap.
That night, she had a strange dream in which a teenage boy with short, spiky brown hair and blue eyes walked towards her. She wasn’t afraid, but she was a little sad. She instinctively knew that this was her last night. The boy knelt down beside her and whispered in her ear,
“You can see them again. Don’t worry. I won’t let you disappear.”
Then her vision blurred to white.
The next morning, Jessica awoke on a sleeping mat covered in a blanket. She walked out of the tent and was blasted by the smell of breakfast. The lanky dark man was cooking something over the fire.
“Good morning, Damien. What’s for breakfast?”
“Oh? Good morning, Jesse! We are having some [Devil Boar] Bacon! And some [Quake Quail] eggs with some freshly squeezed Mapper Juice.”
“You always make delicious food.”
“Hehe, thanks darling. Go wash up, we will be providing breakfast for you today, sweetie.”
“Thanks!”
Jessica skipped over to the nearby river and looked at her reflection.
'Dang, I'm going to have to get used to this. I guess I can take it easy today, but tomorrow, I will have to start training properly.'
“Hehe, you slept rather well, last night. How are you today, Jesse?”
From behind her came the voice of the short woman.
“Oh, hello, Amelia! I was just thinking about doing more things to help.”
“Oh you don’t have to worry about that. That’s what we’re for!”
“She’s right. Eventually, we might be called back. Can’t have her getting into trouble while we aren’t here.”
“Good morning, Bastion!”
The scholarly man had walked over after having his book interrupted. But he wouldn’t complain. He had read the book thirty seven times already, after all.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“Good morning. It sounds like Damien is almost finished, and I think Willow and Id are there talking to each other.”
“What about Vestigo? Is his punishment over, yet?”
“Punishment? What did he do?!”
“He scared you! It was his idea, after all!”
“That’s not nice, let him have breakfast. I’ve already forgiven him.”
“Oh, Jesse. Don’t waste your good heart on someone like him.”
“Come on, you two. Let’s go eat.”
“Yes sir!”
“Hehe, okay, Bastion.”
As the three walked back to camp, Jessica saw Willow, the other only woman in this camp, and Id, the rowdy youth talking about the [Devil Boar].
“Haha! Willow, you would have messed yourself! This guy was angry! He had flames coming out his nose and everything!”
“As if. I’m pretty sure you not killing the beast fast enough lowered the quality we will be eating today. Even if Damien is a master chef, if the materials are bad, the food can only be so good.”
“Now listen here, little girl. A true master can make even a mud pie taste like the best damn thing you have ever eaten. Don’t go diminishing my abilities!”
“Sorry, Damien.”
“Haha! Shows you.”
“Pbbt!”
The two were bickering like they always do, with the argument becoming so childish, even Jessica was embarrassed.
“Good morning, you two!”
“Ah, good morning, Jesse!”
“Good day, is more like it! You slept like a [Lily Hopper] after it ate a [Dream Beetle]!”
“I swear, Id. Your metaphors and similes are strange. [Lily Hoppers] die after eating [Dream Beetles].”
“Exactly!”
“Ugh. Go get Vestigo.”
“Fine, just don’t start complaining to me when he starts to open his potty mouth, Captain.”
Bastion was the Captain of the Seventh Squad of Keepers. He was an intelligent [Enigma] of the Wind element, and could hear long distances. He was also capable of transmitting his voice long distances as well. He was known as the {Windy Whisper}, and his team was known for their speed and scouting Skills.
Amelia was actually another [Enigma], but her element was of the Ground. Her abilities allowed her to blend in to the surroundings and sneak around without making a sound.
Damien was a [Beastkin] that didn’t seem all that beastly. His form turned him into a [Battle Bonobo], a powerful primate race that had powerful Fire related abilities. He wasn’t meant for tactical activities, but he did make a mean stew.
Willow was another [Enigma], but she was of the [Mountain Elf] race. Her kind stayed active by running here and there. Mainly used as messengers, their speed and stamina are well known.
Id is an [Avian] of the [Hawk] family. Not the race, but the Family. He was of noble birth and was skilled with a bow and had naturally good vision.
Vestigo was one of the [Saurians], and one closely related to the [Tyrant King], at that. He was a [Killer Chameleon], and had the ability to [Camouflage] with his surroundings. His ancestry caused him a lot of grief over the years, but he tried his best to shrug off the bad vibes that came with his race’s past.
After some delicious bacon and eggs, the six knights hung out with Jessica until,
“Looks like it’s time to go. Sorry, Jesse, but it looks like we have to leave sooner than we expected. Come on, men! Pack up your stuff, in 30 minutes we move out!”
“””””Yessir!”””””
After the Keepers left, Jessica looked around at the flattened ground that used to be a camp site and started to think. She circled the location of where the fire was and began talking to herself.
“Okay, so what first…magic, hunting, strength, or…Wait, my Quests!"
Jessica opened her Mission List and noticed she had something in her Inventory.
“The pistol Pestle. What a weird name. At least it is filled with magic energy. With this, I have a weapon to help me hunt, so there goes one thing. And since this gun uses magic, I guess that is what I will work on for now. Well that was an easy decision. I guess I will also do some of these Quests…and a Mission?”
Jessica stood there, with her finger hovering in the air, pointing to nowhere in particular for anyone who happened to see her.
“Hmm…I guess I will also keep an eye out for that as well…”
What she saw, however, was a gray window explaining the Special Mission she had.
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And before people start coming in here with the “Why does the black guy have to be a monkey?!”
Check out Kanzi the Bonobo Ape. He cooked a burger, isn’t that fuckin’ neato? So shut up with your racist crap.
Why does he have to be black? Cuz Kanzi is black! Duh!
Get your shit in gear, cuz we are finally starting the story! No more side stories, less of the crazy polls, and maybe even less visits to the psychiatrist! Hurray!
Unless you guys vote for it...
Also found the horizontal rule and decided color coded words will be during Q&As or meetings.