𝖙𝖚𝖈𝖐𝖊𝖉 𝖆𝖜𝖆𝖞 (ʰ.ˢʰⁱⁿˢᵒᵘ ˣ ʳᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ)

chapter 1

the scent of smoke and soot filled the air as blood soaked the earth,  screams and the shouts of men rang out into the smoke filled air while an orange-red glow was spreading farther out in your peripheral. scratches tattered across your legs and body from having to pass through the sharp brush that surrounded your village, and what was left of it. the hunters had ambushed your village and they weren't there to make small-talk. their muskets and hunting gear on them told you all more than they ever could. 

"wait, i think there's one escaping!"

"get her!!"

"looking where she's headed, she'll die in that forest anyway, it's not worth it."

not hearing the words of the last hunter, you took off as fast as your legs could carry you. the fear of being caught and adrenaline in your blood  was all that you needed to go as fast as you did. as that faint glow from the remnants of the place you called home started to fade, the glow of the sun started to as well. as it was blocked by grey, you were too focused on getting away to notice the tiny droplets of water scattering on the dirt around you. as the yelling and noise grew fainter, so did the presence of terror in you. 

 your lungs burned from all your running, so you finally decided to stop and catch some air. the scratches that ravaged your s/c skin began to sting and your legs felt just the slightest bit wobbly.  your clothes were torn and tattered from being tugged at and pulled by branches; your face flushed and sweaty while your h/l/c hair stuck to your face. in short, you had definitely seen better days. 

turning back one last time to see if anyone had followed you, you slowly started to make your way deeper and deeper through the forest. the dirt path you were on lined with mushrooms and wildflowers even you had never seen before was stretched out in twists and turns throughout the hill you starting to descend. tall, sturdy trees of all different species and sizes were scattered about as far as the eye could see, telling a silent story with every rustle of their branches. splotches of grey sky were littered above you, the rays spilling through them being the only thing that kept you from stumbling around like a moron. to your right was a fairly average sized creek with lily pads, leaves, and pieces of the trees above across the water. the light and raindrops were dancing with each other atop the creek, and even though the oh-so-small ripples from the rain littered the water, its shimmer could still be comparable to that of diamonds. a small family of ducks were going about their business at its edge, the mother and a couple of her babies started to make their way into the murky, aquamarine pond. as you looked to your left, you were met with more trees but saw a large doe and her fawn grazing on whatever greens were growing out of the rich soil below them. locking eyes with the deer and watching as she hopped away with her baby followed close behind.

'well this is definitely the scenic path, it's a shame not many people get to see a sight like this out here'  you thought to yourself, while a couple raindrops hit your  nose, you realized that you were lost and the rain was most likely, actually no- most definitely going to get worse.

'awh shit, now what am i going to do?' 

as you were worriedly thinking to yourself about what you were going to do being lost in a forest not even the most skilled hunters would go through with no supplies and no knowledge of which plants were even edible or not, you didn't  notice that the dirt path you were on was ever-so-slowly starting to be replaced with withered cobblestone. 

your brain was on autopilot for heaven knows how long when you were suddenly snapped out of your thoughts from a loose stone that had caught your foot. you were suddenly met with an old fountain, but it was still gorgeous none the less. decorated with different animals and a bench with intricate details and designs carved into marble that had a brownish-grey tint to it, a sign of not being tended to properly.