The Edge

Intro

The forest that surrounded my village was like an animal. If you got too close it would swallow you whole. You could feel the darkness emanating from the tree lines, hearing its groans and snarls from within. The woods spoke to us, whispered to us, drawing us in like a sweet intoxication, only to kill us off, one by one. If you entered its mouth, no one ever saw you again... alive, that is. This was the reason my ancestors created this village, to protect their people. They entered this vast, monstrous place, thinking it would better them. Little by little, their numbers dissipated from being mauled by the beings inside. Until they found a clearing where the darkness finally couldn't reach us. A hole in the forest that stretched for just a few miles. Here is where they sought refuge from the dark entities that lived within those harsh woods.

Back then, there was just a few hundred people, but soon our little village flourished with now a few thousand of us. Large gardens were made to feed our people, and markets where formed. Schools were built to teach new coming children and eventually a leader and protector was chosen.

My father, the chief of Vernik swore to protect us, just like his father, and his father's, father and their fathers before them, and just like I would one day. My father never had any sons to take on the role of the next Chief. So, I, being the first born, took on the responsibility of protecting the village after my father.

I had been trained and taught since the day I was able to walk, to understand the ancient language of the forest and to fend off the creatures inside. Though nothing from the forest had ever entered or threatened my villages existence, me and the warriors of the Vernik, still prepared for the worst. Never knowing if our small world would turn upside-down.