Outsider- Book 1 of The Undiscovered Series *Slow Updates*

Prologue- Adventure Awaits

Cortianna yawned once more, stretching as she looked into her small mirror. She ran her hands through her long golden-brown hair and sighed contently to herself. It was midday, the normal time she woke up, considering how late she stayed up hunting at night. It was only expected by everyone in the small town of Elkrun for the daughter of the two best hunters in the land to love hunting. Cortianna had proved her worth in more ways than one, hunting and bringing down the mightiest of beasts, and she was a exceedingly good fighter, fitted well with a knife or sword. She had become everything everyone had expected of her.

But Cortianna wanted more. She didn't just want to be who people wanted her to be, she wanted to be what she wanted herself to be. She sighed again, her deep brown eyes staring back at her in the mirror.

Who am I. She wondered, but her thoughts were interrupted by the nurse bustling into her room.

"I'm terribly sorry that I'm late, my dear. My son has a wee bit of a cold." The nurse chuckled to herself. "You'd think he'd tough out a cold by now, but he's whiny as ever! I swear none of the young men around here can take care of themselves! Whoever gets you is a lucky man, my dear."

Cortianna let out a small laugh, but at the same time what the nurse had said worried her. She didn't want to get married to any of the young men in town. In fact, she didn't even want to stay in the town. Sure, Elkrun was friendly and comfortable, but Cortianna wanted adventure. Adventure, it seemed, stirred through her veins.

The nurse bustled around, fanning the embers of the fireplace and adding more wood. Once the fire was a reasonable size and heat, she added a kettle over it and heated up water for washing. Cortianna caught herself daydreaming into the fire more than once, the only thing that interrupted her thoughts was the nurse's consistent talking.

"Did you bag anything last night, dear?" She had asked once. Cortianna had gotten up and went to her game bag. She had pulled out three long blue feathers. "I didn't kill anything, but I found these. I think I'm going to attach them to my bow." She had said. The nurse hadstopped her work and wiped her hands on her apron before handling the feathers with delicate fingers.

"Those are right beauties there, dear." She had said. "They're not something you'll find every day."

Then she had went back to her work.

Cortianna now sat back at the mirror, brushing her hair as her nurse prepared the hot water in a small basin for Cortianna to wash her face in. After she had washed her face she took her hair and braided it, even adding a small raven feather into the braid. Then she put on her cloak and headed out into town, calling a goodbye to the nurse. Her parents were already out and about, as they usually were, and Cortianna would see them once and a while, dealing with business or just talking with friends and relatives.

The first thing Cortianna did was go to the blacksmith, where she knew she could find some leather strips that she could use to attach the feathers to her bow. The burly man there was her uncle, so he always was willing to give not-needed supplies to Cortianna. She walked in the door, smiling at the little bell that rung at the sound of her arrival.

"Just a moment!" A deep voice called from the back of the shop. Cortianna walked up to the counter and leaned on it, looking around the shop. There were multiple trophies that hung around on the walls, some animals and some swords or daggers. She stood admiring the large elk horns that stood above the door, a gift from her father to her uncle. Eventually her eyes wondered to a black mace that was displayed on another wall. The dark edges glowed with an eerie light. Cortianna walked over to it, entranced by the way it seemed to swallow the light around it. She was so entranced by the mace she didn't notice her uncle come from the back of the store.