The Wintherin glided slowly toward the ground. They maneuvered carefully, aware that their riders were counting on them. Landing through the dense treetops was more difficult than usual, but the dragon-like creatures native to Argent D'Nur had no problems with it thanks to years of hard training with their riders, the Night Sentinels.
"The energy is coming from the north-northwest." said one of the elite warriors after everyone had dismounted from their respective mounts.
They moved cautiously through the dense d'nurian forest. Their Winters ran around them, ready to protect their riders and companions to the core. But after a few steps, the dragon-like creatures stopped abruptly.
They sniffed. Their snouts raised in the air, as if they had caught the scent of something, and then they ran, to the shock and utter astonishment of their riders. They had to run quite a bit to catch up to their mounts. But what they saw was even more disturbing than the horrors the men had witnessed on the battlefield.
It was a young girl, no older than some of the new Sentinel trainees. Her long, jet-black hair was disheveled and fell untidy around her head. Her skin was unnaturally pale. She wore a simple, long-sleeved white sweater-like garment covering her upper body and bluish pants-like clothing around her legs. A rectangular, rather small device lay beside her. Its dark screen covered by a network of lighter, intricate cracks.
She had a long gash on the right side of her neck. Deep red blood gushed from it like a fountain and collected in an already considerable puddle around the right side of her head and her right shoulder.
"Send a distress signal..." the squads commander managed to get out. Disgusted, he wondered what an absolute barbarian could do such a thing to an obvious child. "We need a healer immediately."
