*Somewhere else, within the same forest, another string of fate moves to converge with Kai… Strings of fate actually*
"Th-Thunk!" Two arrows hit one after another into a large tree. At each end of the arrow, there are furred hands. Both hands belonging to a singular lizard like creature with a cloth around its waist.
"RAghh!" The creature screams out in pain as it stares up into the trees to find who shot it. The moment the creature seems to have spotted its attacker, another "thunk" sounds out in the wood. This time however, there is no scream.
There's a beat of time, where there is just silence. Nothing but the sounds of nature. A rustle of branches and leaves can be heard as, from the top of a tree, a figure drops down to the ground. As the figure stands up, a hood that was worn over the top of the head falls off to reveal curly, crimson, hair that falls just below the bottom of the young woman's shoulders. Her eyes are hazel brown. One would be able to see a small number of freckles dotted on her cheeks and part of her nose if there wasn't a dark maroon colored scarf around her face. She has a lithe form that seems to come from what must have been years of hunting. A person might think she was just a cute lady otherwise... if she didn't just have her bow in hand of course. She would look like a human adult in her early 20's if not for the fact that she stood no taller than 3 feet in height.
The now apparent halfling woman walks toward the dead creature as she knocks another arrow from the quiver on the back of her blue and grey leather armor. "Grrr!" The halfling immediately pivots to her right, aiming her bow at the sound. As the halfling woman aims her shot, her eyes dart to her right and without any hesitation, lets loose the bowstring. The arrow quickly finds purchase in the neck of another lizard creature, similar to the one from before. Right after she releases the bowstring, she pivots again to her back as she heard another lizard-like creature coming. This one holds a shortsword and by the time her hand comes up to reach another arrow in her quiver, the lizard-like creatures' sword is already nearing the end of its motion.
The halfling's eyes doesn't even blink. Just before the shortsword can hit the halfling, a large mass tackles the creature.
The halfling woman cracks a smile, "Took you longer than I thought, Talia."
She smiles at the, now very clear, form of a wolf. This wolf is not like the others though. There is a slight purple sheen color to the fur. A pair of maroon-colored horns that curls a bit upwards, can be seen on the head of the wolf. In the mouth of the wolf is a very, very, dead lizard creature.
As it drops the body from the mouth, it turns to face the halfling. The eyes of the wolf are a dark enchanting gold, akin to the purest form of gold currency in the continent. The halfling walks up to the body of the dead creature and starts to search the body.
"So, you going to stay a wolf, or are you going to just let me talk to myself," the halfling says to the wolf.
The wolf, hearing this, moves back a foot from the halfling. The form of the wolf changes as it is moving back, slowly, it stands up on its hind legs and without any jerking motions, the wolf changes into another woman.
This young woman, however, is the height of a normal human female, as opposed to her halfling companion. She has black dress that lands at mid-thigh level, and underneath said dress is a pair of matching black pants and knee-high boots with what looks to be actual thin branches that seem to be a part of the boots. Over her dress, a thin maroon coat flows down her frame. There isn't much else on her clothing. Her dark olive color skin matching the startling deep golden eye color. Her hair is a rich brown color that flows down the her back. One side of her hair is parted behind a very pointed ear with a single gold earring.
One of the most noticeable features about her however is not her natural elegant figure, but her maroon-colored horns. Just above her ears, both of her horns stick close to her head as it starts from the side of her forehead and goes to the back of her head. Tracing alongside the natural curve of her head, the horns curl out and up just the slightest bit. If one were to actually just look at her impish face instead of the horns, you would think that she was an elf, with the features she possessed. Her other feature, is the now very apparent deep maroon tail that comes out from the opening of the coat.
The wolf was actually a tiefling. One would think that since she wasn't a wolf with blood in its mouth anymore, that this very beautiful tiefling would be more approachable now, but they would be wrong.
"Oh, c'mon now, Talia," the halfling says, "at least smile. We got the job done! Or is that just a wee bit too much for the quote on quote Ice Queen."
Hearing the last part of the sentence, the tiefling rolls her eyes at her.
"We aren't done yet, Fayna," Talia states.
"But we are though. See?" Fayna picks up a horn that was attached to the side of the lizard creature she was looking at. "There were only two Kobold hunting groups spotted. This should be the last squad," she says as she walks over to retrieve her other arrow from the neck of the kobold. Talia raises an eyebrow as she says, "We only took out one group."
Fayna looks back at her cold tempered tiefling friend, "they should be here any sec-."
"Fayfay!" The halfling smiles at the direction of the voices that only she could hear. A small mote of light speeds past branches of a tree and lands directly on her shoulder.
"Hey, little guy, how are you doing? Did you get him to where he needed to go?" She says as she puts the light on her hand.
For this halfling to call something little, that means something. After the light fades away, there is a very transparent blue boy that can't be more than 4 inches in height. Something that Fayna came to figure out was a nature spirit of some sort. To others that see him when he wants, they would mistake him as a will-o-wisp.
"Yes Fayfay! He's bringing them all here! Everyone else is showing him here." the boy says.
Fayna looks to the tiefling and says, "the second group is being brought here." She turns back to the little spirit. "You did great, Denden," Fayna pats the boy on the head.
Denden lets out a big smile, "Yes, yes, Denden, good name, BEST name!" he says as he floats up and back down on the shoulders of Fayna. 'I don't have the heart to say it's because I don't know how to say his full name,' she shakes her head at herself.
Talia lets a rare grin show on her face, before it goes away just as quickly as it came. Talia was there when Fayna first met Denden. It was one of the first times Talia ever went on a gathering mission to the Willow Woods. One of the first times she ever got to see the other side of the cheery halfling from the training hall of the academy.
Fayna had been holding onto a black arrow, crying, in the middle of the woods. Just south of the patch of herbs that Talia had been sent to gather. It was when Talia was going to say something, when the woods went quiet and lights from all over started showing everywhere. Enough that it would look like the stars in the sky.
As Talia thinks back to that time a loud laughter bellows from behind the trees where Denden had come from. Talia and Fayna both look to see a large hand grab a branch to move out of the way of the approaching form. Before that, 10 or so more lights are seen rushing out and to Fayna. A couple of them circling around Talia then back to Fayna again.
Each one, making their own conversations to Fayna, but not having a form like Denden. All of them informing them of the "bigger big man" fighting the "scalies."
As the figure comes into view, the light finally showing the deep stone color skin of this massive man that is just pure muscle. He stands just two inches shy of being eight feet tall. A dark brown tunic with no sleeve, that must've been custom-made, fits over his broad shoulders and comes down loose to just below his torso, with pair of similar color pants to match. No shoes.
Although now, the tunic is scratched with few holes that must've come from a, very evidently, recent battle. On his back rests a very large menacing glaive. With the strap around his shoulder down diagonally across his torso, his shield also lies on his back. In each arm however, carrying them like they are bags of grain over both shoulders, are a total of four more Kobolds.
"HAHAHA!" The large person laughs out loud towards the sky, revealing what looks to be a large set of scars that go from the collarbone, down and disappearing beneath the tunic.
Fayna looks at Talia who doesn't seem fazed by the display. Talia looks back at Fayna with a questioning look.
'You couldn't at least look scared?' Fayna sighs. She had hidden the fact she sent him to the other squad, so she could finally get a reaction from Talia. 'Next time,' she says as she raises her hand to point at the big guy.
"Talia, meet Dorn. Dorn, meet Talia," she introduces them to each other. She looks at Talia again and explains, "Dorn is a half giant. He's being admitted to Enendale. He'll be a year under us." Talia looks at Fayna. 'Why would Fayna… wait,' as a sense of realization dawns on her, she looks at Fayna then at Dorn with a look of interest. As she is looking at Dorn, she says to Fayna, "you're his guide?"
Fayna nods her head, "yep, he couldn't get admitted from testing so they got me to do it." 'Although, I don't think he needs much help,' she laughs as she looks at the bodies of kobold he is currently laying on the ground. She remembers the first time, she met Dorn, it was when the guards back at the city, a couple weeks ago.
Dorn came up to the city unannounced from the forest with no shirt on and his pants were shredded. He had scars all over, wounds that were only surface level, but they were bleeding profusely.
He came up that road and yelled with a smile on his face, "Is this the town… Hadenheim!" Dorn's voice is deep and almost raspy when he yells but at that time he did sound like a hungry giant. The guards on post had all readied their weapons to shoot, when one of instructors from the academy came to personally get him in.
Fayna hadn't seen who it was but, she was standing on a branch just above the tree line when it happened. That was another reason she took the guide assignment. An instructor from the academy came to get him in the town.
She told all this information to Talia, while Dorn had turned to go and grab what was apparently two more other bodies. Talia's eyes finally widen just a bit as she hears the portion of the trainer coming out to grab Dorn.
Talia sees that Fayna is happy with finally getting a surprised look from her but its truly surprising. While Fayna had been going to the academy, she was originally from a small village, so she didn't exactly understand the full extent of a trainer coming to escort you to the academy.
Talia, however; because of her family; she knows a lot more about this world in general, as compared to the village born and raised Fayna.
Vanhaven is the name of the kingdom they reside in. This kingdom is one of three proper kingdoms that are on the continent of Linox. Linox being one out of three continents with people living on it. The two others being known to not have anyone living there due to both land masses being in the cold north and south of the world.
In Vanhaven, the Enendale Academy is a place of repute, part of a larger organization known as Wilheart's Council. They are the one in charge of the six other academies within the Kingdom and is based in the capital, Greyhaan.
The kingdom of Giants, Queran, to the north had their own thing similar to the Academy, as well as the Dragonborn kingdom, Mitne, to the east.
The academies train a lot of the adventurers that later join into guilds, armies, even mercenaries.
With such a wide influence, one can see just how much academies have an effect on the kingdom. Instructors at these academies are the reason a lot of these adventurers, soldiers, etc. are where they at. With such power, instructors can easily influence many things with just a word to their students. Not only that, but their own individual ability is nothing to scoff at also.
Keeping a straight face, while thinking through all of this, she suddenly feels a shadow of the half giant looming over her. As she looks up, she sees the big grinning Dorn, with his hand out towards her.
Dorn looks at her and his cheery deep voice sounds out, "Nice to meet you, Miss Talia."
Looking at his hand, she shakes his hand and nods at him. Dorn's brows furrowed in confusion. He looks down to the really small lady and asks out loud, "Big sister," hearing what Dorn called Fayna, Talia's eyebrows raise as Dorn continues on saying, "Miss Talia doesn't seem like she hates men."
Fayna, who was enjoying talking to the nature spirits, freezes. 'Why does it feel so cold all of a sudden?' She thinks as she looks over her shoulder. Talia's face is devoid of any emotion, but the air around the forest area feels like it dropped to freezing temperatures.
"She seems like she hates women more. Or is that just big sister?" Dorn asks the little lights around him as for the past 10 minutes, Miss Talia has been chasing the really small lady as a wolf. Dorn laughs out loud again, when he sees Miss Talia having trouble climbing the tree to grab Big Sister. His laughing stops as a moment of seriousness flashes on his face. He grips the strap of his shield when the thought comes to mind, 'It's almost time again.' With that he looks to the sky, 'hopefully I can be fixed before then.'