(1) The First Scar

The woods outside Zin-Azshari were bustling with activity like any other day. The animals were all out, living in their peaceful harmony as they went about with their day to day activities of finding food to feed themselves and their families. A light breeze swept through the forest, carrying the peaceful and safe sounds of the animals scurrying around on the forest floor, but also the sounds of the two young Kal'dorei laughing as they raced through the forest, blindfolded.

The two elves were good friends. The one that was lagging behind slightly was only about 30 years of age, very young and immature for a Kal'dorei, but to most other races he would have seemed to have been an adult rather than a child. He had long, straight blue hair, a slightly muscular build, and a caring look about him. The other elf had was a girl, around 25, also very young for an elf. She had white hair tied back into a pony tail, a build similar to most other Kal'dorei women, but she also had a very determined look on her face.

The pair were racing from a glade within the woods back to their home in Zin'azshari, about a mile away. However, the area was dense with woodland, and the pair were blindfolded. However, they both knew these woods well, and they had done this many times before knowing that they wouldn't slam straight into a tree and go unconscious. The girl always won the race, mainly because she didn't try to wade through a small stream like the boy would, but instead she would grab onto a branch from an overhanging tree and swing across, buying her the few seconds needed to race ahead and win the race. Her male companion hadn't quite figured this out yet.

At this moment in time, she was racing ahead, as she could hear only her foot steps now. Something didn't feel completely right, but she couldn't tell what. She finished the race with a laugh and tugged off her blindfold, looking back into the woods that she had just exited. That's when it struck her.

It's too quiet

Usually, she would be able to hear the rustles of animals as they went about their business in the woods, and she would be able to hear the sounds of the other Kal'dorei, including her parents, as they traded in the market square, which bordered the woods which she had just left. However, there were no sounds coming from the woods, not even Illdrathen like she was expecting to hear crashing through the woods towards her. Even the market sounded a little too quiet as the people there seemed to be looking towards some commotion coming from the direction of the well.

Slightly concerned for the safety of her friend, she drew her hunting knife that was always kept in a leather sheathe and slowly advanced back into the forest, adopting a clumsy hunters tread. She felt scared. The trees loomed over her, threatening to consume her as she continued to make her way through, and they seemed to consume the light now. She always remembered these woods to be full of life and happiness. Now, there seemed to be no life, and fear stalked these woods now.

A sound of a sword drawing far to her right caught her attention. She abandoned her attempt at being stealthy, and charged through the woods to get to her friend to help protect him from danger. Branches lashed across her face, but she couldn't stop to register the pain. She had to ave her friend from whatever was putting him in danger.

She crashed through some leaves into an open glade, not the same one that they had started their race from however. Illdrathen had his sword raised, in his protective warrior stance, backing away slowly from two beasts that she had never even seen before. The only word that she could possibly use to describe them would be demonic hounds. Later on, she would find out that they were called fel hounds, but for the moment they just seemed to be hideous creatures, intent on devouring her friend.

Without waiting, she charged at one of the fel hounds, lunging with her hunting knife. She caught the beast in the side, catching it by surprise as Illdrathen also charged at the other hound, engaging in combat with it. Her hound spun around, trying to bite at her shoulder as it growled with pain. She jumped aside, swinging her hunting knife at the creatures face. Luck was on her side, and she cut of both of the creatures...Antenna like stalks. It roared with pain, and with that moment she lunged, plunging her blade into the creatures neck, killing it.

Blood oozed out of the wound and onto her blade as she pulled it out of the creatures neck once it collapsed onto the ground. She turned to face three more of these evil eyed hounds that had emerged into the glade silently. Illdrathen finished off his with a decapitating slash, but he was back into the fray as two of the three hounds advanced upon him. Shadow charged, going into the fray with the third one.

This one was on guard however, and at the last moment it leaped, knocking her down onto her back. It quickly jumped onto her, and starting trying to bite her neck in an attempt to finish her off and drain her of her life. However, she wouldn't let that happen, so she placed her hands and strength against the hounds face, trying to push it away. They struggled like this for a while, until the elf freed her right leg and kneed the creature in the stomach. It howled in pain, and she used that moment to gouge at it's eyes. It roared even louder in pain now, and in a frenzy was snapping away, trying to tear apart the elf that did this to him. However, the frenzy stopped when a dagger from the elf stabbed the creature through it's skull and into it's brain.

Warm blood spurted out onto her face as she pushed it off of her, grimacing. She got up, wiping the grey stuff off of her face and out of her eyes. She then looked over to Illdrathen, and saw that he was lying on the floor, covered in blood, some his own, some the grey blood of the hounds. One of them lay dead by his left, but the other seemed to be draining his life. It was cut short however when it's throat was cut by an already blood covered hunting knife though.

The girl rushed over to Illdrathen, kneeling by his lifeless corpse. Tears trickled down her face as she realized that she would never be able to hear her friends laughter, or to have lessons and study with him, or to play a game. Her best, and only proper friend, had just passed away. It was like a bombshell had gone off inside her, like her childhood and life had been cruelly ripped from her still breathing body. She stayed by his corpse, hugging it and letting her tears roll onto him.

She stayed this way for about a minute, until fresh screams reached her ears, coming from Zin-Azshari. She got up, took her friends sword from him and charged back into the woods and towards home, leaving Illdrathen to the forest. She had to save her family from whatever disaster that they were facing.

Rhia Nyoma rushed through the woods.