Chapter 1 - Prelude to the Dance (1/2)

Chapter 1: Prelude to the Dance

Crack!

A sharp vibration rang out in the air, rippling through the atmosphere, and broke the silence of the tranquil forest A ss with a soft h

With a slight rustle, a rabbit perked up and stared along the water towards the direction of the noise The green in the air was almost visible, as if nature itself breathed in the picturesque scene

No signs of disturbance showed in the surrounding forest, having the typical aura of an untouched spot of land, no evidence of civilization anywhere in this forgotten land

Crack!

Oncea disturbance in the air of the otherwise peaceful ht breeze rose, rustling the leaves of the trees, bending the high flowers and flattening the grass Hopping down along the treeline, a rabbit nibbled on the greenery, staying near the strearowth

Unlike its smaller cousin, the rabbit sported a sharp horn on its forehead, yet it still posed no threat to anything bigger and er to a lone rabbit; if the rabbit was outnumbered, that is

The s its srass; unaware of the sharp pair of eyes fixated on its white fur

Crack!

Startled, the rabbit dashed into the opposite direction, abandoning all precaution

Behind it sat a srass, hidden at the base of one of the reat trees that made up the forest

The nest, rass stalks, and tiny branches, held four eggs consisting of a white shell with srey, and brown for the greater part of the respective shells Three showed signs of hatching, the fourth already revealed cracks over the surface, ready to hatch

The cracked egg squire of the nest A bloodied ar before it fell outside and shattered Another pale ar back into the center of its small sanctuary

The owner of the ar of a deep black, and the dried blood added its own flair Each of the eggs exceeded the size of the mysterious traveler’s torso, which wasn’t small by any means

Glancing at the other eggs, he judged that he didn’t have et back to the path before the eggs hatched

Suddenly, much like the rabbit, the head beneath the cloak jerked up and scanned the surroundings The cal the iaze alone could destroy the forest Suspicion rose inside the cloaked htly, his leather boots inched forithouta sound, as he tried to catch what felt off about the forest Nothing in his range of vieas out of place, despite the fact that his intuition rang all alarnals The metal decorations on his boots never rattled, like he wasn’t walking at all

Leather pants, adorned ot down on one knee The man flinched as a new red flower bloomed on his mantle, which shi+ned with a scaly luster, despite the dirt and encrusted blood

Unable to see this ano it, a small headshake belied the silent and cal of air spread out, a s around the cloak that lifted off the hooded figure It pressed down on the grass and small scared ani did not h the narrow valley, it crossed over the small stream and passed a few trees on the other side – suddenly, the ring broke and created a strong gust, destroying the picturesque landscape

Faced with so in the vicinity, a low and sharp hiss escaped his lips

Upon dispelling the protective ic of the eneainst An older adventurer leaned against a tree, a slight unease visible on his face It didn’t look like he had yet discovered where the disturbing noise was co from, and it seemed to leave him unsettled

As thevery si Wind] he had used had barely been able to shatter it,that the opponent wasn’t likely to be any weaker than himself

The traveller couldn’t believe the other party to be stronger than hier opposing opponent to hide instead of overpowering him

With this reasoning the cloaked e of the seventh rank, much like he was

With neither sidea move, he could make sure to carefully ponder about his options

With this stalemate in place, the two opponents didn’t dare to act rashly and silently tried to appraise each other

The cloaked traveller had a good grasp of the position of his enemy, yet didn’t wish for a full on confrontation at the moment because of his poor physical condition

The former adventurer on the other hand, didn’t knohere the cloaked traveller was hiding, and if he was to estimate hiood chance for the encounter to escalate into an all-out fight, since the cloak traveler had the ability to sneak upon the traveller

Silence quietly returned to the valley after the disappearance of the re the s, forever uncaring about the worldly matters

The oldup