[Chris]

The realm of Velatos is going through tough times, evil acts have been spreading
like wildfire. Caravans have been raided by bandits, seeking to fill their never-ending
greed. Demonic creatures continue their uprising on mortal men. And various kingdoms
have also begun war through steel and sorcery for dominance of the land. The Kingdom
of Harven was no exception to this madness. The land itself was far away from the
mainland, attackers could never reached them, demon raids have been the primary
concern for the kingdom’s security. These creatures have attacked countless villages,
raided passing caravans for their goods and money, and have fed on the blood spilled by
their own hands. Emporer Harven couldn’t stand the thought of his people being
slaughtered. Nor the fact that his army was incapable of holding off the village attacks.
He called forth his advisors and generals to discuss a plan of action. It was on that day, a
group of demon hunters were formed. The members of this group consisted of the land’s
finest warriors, hunters and arch-magi.

Demon attacks dwindled and peace began to return to the Kingdom of Harven.
The demon hunters now setup their base camp at the base of Mount Zenebar, in the
southern parts of Harven, to watch over the kingdom and its surrounding land. Mount
Zenebar was a beautiful place. Forest covered the base of the mountain, flowers bloomed
through the plains to the north, and Zenebar Falls poured out pure, clean water. From this
land, they constructed their village. The humans, elven and dwarves focused on their own
powers of steel and magic to subjugate and destroy demons, as well as performing acts of
science to promote the kindgom’s living. If necessary, they have used the bones and
blood of thier fallen enemies as ingredients or materials for their research.

Amongst the slayers that grew up in the village, little Yume was destined to be one of them. He was an Elven adolescent, with blonde hair, green hair, and a small stature. Although he lacks strength in his body, his power to communicate and harness the power of nature was not to be taken lightly. He lived in the outskirts of the village, in a small house made of lumber with his older sister and brother. However, both of them usually went on missions or tended to lounge around in the outside world. Because of Yume’s age, he was unable to leave the region to combat demons or explore the world, under the elders’ law. Feeling lonely and isolated, he headed towards the only place the elders would allow the younglings to go, Zenebar Falls. He traveled down the dirt road, over the wooden bridge, and through the forests towards his destination. Getting there was straight forward, since signposts were setup to guide the villagers in case they got lost. And since the roads were close to the village, demons never show up to attack on unsuspecting villagers or slayers.

There was a place at Zenebar Falls that Yume loved to sit. It was on a small rock,
next to one of the largest deciduous trees in the area. Yume was able to strongly hear the
voices of the forest from this location. He spoke with nature in his mind, asking them
questions: “How has it been going”, “Are my siblings safe?” He could even share his
most personal feelings and thoughts without anyone laughing at him. To him, nature was
basically his best friend, one that could listen and not return hurtful jokes or remarks. He
would also climb his tree, to pull of practical jokes using his powers on the unsuspecting
crowd. Yume was bored and didn’t really want to talk to nature, so he began to climb the

tree. The tree was pretty easy to climb, Yume left grooves inside the bark to stick his
hands and feet into. There were also branches that were able to support anyone’s weight,
in case someone would fall. He climbed until he reached his favorite branch. The branch
extended over the water pool and next to the falls. People around Yume’s age would
often climb the tree to this branch. At the middle of the branch, there was a small wooden
platform nailed to it. There, they would jump off of the platform into the pool, showing
their friends how brave they were. However, someone was blocking today’s jump. For
Kurisu was taking a nap on the platform. She was a beautiful, young woman, aged 20 in human years. She wore a large, water patterned, blue hooded tunic over her slayer’s outfit and had short black hair. Yume couldn’t see anybody else on the ground or climbing up the tree. This was the perfect opportunity to strike. Yume took out his knife and carved a sigil into the tree. He put his left hand over the sigil, closed his eyes and concentrated his powers on the tree, allowing him to control the branch they stood on. He then twisted his hand so the branch would tilt towards the right, along with the platforum and the sleeping beauty. Kurisu woke up just as she was plummeting into the pool below her. “Ahhhhhh!” she cried as she was falling. The fall ended with a splash. Kurisu surfaced from the pool and yelled out “Yume!” Wet and angry, she swam towards the shore to find the mysterious
prankster.

Yume climbed down the tree back to the ground. On the ground, he walked over
to Kurisu and laughed at her hysterically. “Hahaha! You are so gulliable, my dear sister.”
He said.“I was going to offer you a drink, but apparently you already had it.” Kurisu
didn’t find it funny one bit, she stared at Yume with her brown eyes and said,

“That wasn’t funny one bit, sometimes you are so impossible to deal with.”
“Come on, I need to have some fun. You and big brother are rarely ever around to
play or have fun with me. Always out saving the day or running errands for the
people. I want to have those adventures too, until then… have fun getting wet!”
He replied, then continued his hysterical laugh.

Kurisu was still furious. She couldn’t stand Yume’s laughter any longer. She decided to
user her aquamancy against her childish brother. She clapped her hands once, which
caused a giant pillar of water to form from the pool. When Yume looked up, he stopped
laughing. He then told his sister, “Don’t tell me you’re gonna… I was just playing
around!” With an evil smile, she stook out one finger and pointed at Yume. The water
pillar crashed down all over both of them, causing both siblings to become soaking wet.
“Who’s laughing now? Hahahaha!” She said, happily. She continued on, “Was there a
reason for you to come this far and get us both wet?” Yume reached into his pocket and
pulled out a sharp, red crystal. He then showed it to Kurisu, “Five years have passed
since that day…. that day where… I… don’t…. want….“ said Yume, then he started to
cry. Kurisu knew what he was talking about. “Don’t cry!” She whispered. “It’s getting
late, lets go home and see if our brother returned.” She grabbed Yume’s hand and left
Zenebar Falls together.

By the time Kurisu and Yume got home to the village, the sun started to set. The
sky started to turned orange and the children began to return home. The guards at their
posts began to change their stations and continued their watch over the forest. And the
stores began to close down for the night. When they both got home, Hitora was sitting
outside the house on a log. He was looking up into the sky, drinking his bottle of rice
wine he took home from work. Hitora was around Kurisu’s age, but younger. He had
brown spikey hair, freckles on his cheeks, and striking green eyes. Kurisu rolled his eyes
and said, “Dammit! We come home soakin’ wet, only to find that our brother has been
going through Dad’s belongings again.” Hitora was carrying a small clay jug in his hand.
Inside the jug there was some of dad’s rice wine that he would drink during dinner or
with friends. Hitora looks at Kurisu for a moment. He nods his head in disbelief and
continues to drink from the jug. Kurisu ignores him and walks into the house with Yume.
“Go hang up your stuff and have some soup in the pot.” He told Yume. Yume then went
into his room and did like she told him to do, like a mother to an obedient child. Hitora
began to laugh a bit, “Nice try, but you are not his mom”, he said to Kurisu from outside.
She walked out and sat next to Hitora’s jug. He then continued:

“Mom and Dad would still be here…. if that bastard didn’t kill them.”
“Why do you keep going back to that incident? I feel bad enough as it is over the
tragic images we saw that night. I just don’t want Yume to feel sad about it
anymore.” Kurisu replied.

She pulls out the small, red crystal from the tunic’s pocket. She then showed the bottom
of it to Hitora.

“This would have saved all our lives that day. All I need was the blood of a living
being and that creature’s blood spilled onto it. If it worked, both of their spirits
will be sealed into the crystal. Then when smashed, their spirits cannot be
restored.”

Hitora nodded his head. He wasn’t really in the mood to hear the stories of their past. He
grabbed the jug with his right hand. “Believe what you will, we can’t go back in time and
bring them back.” He said, then he started to drink some more. Kurisu got up and went
back into the house for soup, leaving his brother on the log with his liquor.

Yume was inside the house. He was in the front of the pot over a roaring fire. The
soup was still cooking and it was going to be awhile before it was done. He loved to stay
in front of the fire pit and cook soup for his siblings. Tonight however, he wasn’t really in
a cheerful mood, for he had overheard what happened outside. “I wish bad things didn’t
happen in this world.” He said to Kurisu as he stirred the soup. “Then we would still have
our parents right in front of us, telling me how awesome my cooking is.” Kurisu walked
right next to him and sat down. She looked into the pot. She saw that Yume was making
his tomato soup that he loved so much, she could recognize the smell and the color of the
red liquid that was stirring around in it. “Don’t worry bout it. You still got us! Alright, I
need to go to a guard post now. Can I have a vial of what you got?” she said to Yume.
Yume felt more relieved. He grabbed a large vial from the table next to him and poured
some soup into it using his wooden ladle. Yume then said “Be careful, I’ll pray you
return home safely.” He handed the bottle over to Kurisu and she left the house. Kurisu
then speaks to Hitora with a warning:

“I’m out. Make sure that Yume doesn’t do anything stupid like burn himself or I
will have your head. And dammit man, quit drinking from Dad’s old cabinet! There is no telling how long that stuff has been in there for.”

Hitora listened but didn’t return a reply, he was still going through his flavorful rice wine.
Kurisu could tell by the red expression on his face that he had too much. Hitora then lost
balance and fell to the ground, like a town drunkard after having going through a large
amount of ale. On the ground, he fell asleep. “Oh Yume!” she cried out. Yume left the
pot boiling and headed outside to find out what was going out. “Something you wanted?”
he replied. “Your brother went through our dad’s rice wine cellar again. Can you bring
him inside, I think he needs to take a nap.” The jug began to pore out its remaining
contents all over the ground, leaving behind a strong smell of rice wine and sleeping
grass on the ground. Their father used to spike his ale and rice wine with bits of sleeping
grass, to keep his children from drinking it but him. Of course, he and his wife developed
immunity to the potent herbs. But the rest, fell into a sleep state for a while. Hitora started
drinking ever since their parents died, but he never really knew the contents of what he
was drinking. Yume grabbed Hitora by the shoulders and dragged him into the house.
“Why he keeps drinking spiked liquor is a mystery to me!” he said as he dragged Hitora
into the house. Kirusu ran off to the guard post, leaving his two younger brothers at
home, alone.

The streets of the village were different at night. During the day, everyone was
trading their wares or training themselves for combat at the barracks. People from far and
wide would also come to hire them for mercenary work. Even Emporer Harven would
come to inspect the town and speak to the elders, who fought the demonic scourge long
ago. At night, everyone was either indoors, drinking away at the local pubs, or a town
guard ordered to keep the peace. Kurisu ran through the dark streets to the west gate of
the village. The post was a small hike up a mountain path. It wasn’t really a guard post, it
was more of a watch station. From the location, any person could easily see what was
going on in the roads below. If something happened, they would set off the magic alarm.
Causing the bell tower at the elders’ tower to ring and alert the people to take shelter if
necessary. Kurisu started heading up the path to change places with the guard that was up
there. Halfway up, she met up with the guard returning home. The guard was a dwarf,
armed with a giant metal poleaxe and short, muscular build. He had a long brown beard
and was bald. “Oi!” He cried out to Kurisu,

“Ye been sleepin’ again haven’t ya? I be going to the pub for a pint. Make sure
nothin’ goes wrong, ya hear? I dinnae want to spill me ale all over meself when a
war breaks out haha! Also, stop leavin’ ye sword up in the tower, that thing gives
me the chills.”

Kurisu rolled her eyes and nodded her head and ran past the dwarven guard to the watch

tower. The guard continued his journey down the road back to the village.
The old watch tower was made from stone and stood about thirty feet high. An
old wooden ladder on the inside would allow guards to climb to the top and view the
roads. There was also a barricaded gate on the door to keep unwanted guests from
coming or breaking in. Kurisu entered the tower and barricaded the door. She then
climbed up the ladder and looked out the north side of the tower. Nothing ever really
happened on her post, the roads were quiet and not many demons were spottable. All and
all, it was a peaceful night. The stars were visible and the moon glowed with intensity
over the horizon. And the children of the night began to show their music to the world.
Kurisu was never really fond of the watch tower routine, but she did it anyway for this is
what she signed up for. Luckily, there was a bed to relax on during the boring hours, but
they needed to have another person or some kind of a sentry spell active in order to do
this. She pulled out a large wooden box from under the bed. Inside the box were sentry
wards, and wristbands to activate them. The guard would setup one of these on the tower
and put on the wristband. If the sentry ward picked up something with its watchful eye, it
would shock the wearer of the wristband, causing him or her to wake up instantly. Kurisu
pulled out one of the wards and placed it on the tower wall. She then put on the wrist
band and went to lie down on the bed.

In Kurisu’s state of thought, she was dreaming about what happened that night…
six years ago from tonight. On that night, they were traveling in their caravan to the
village with supplies from the Emporer’s castle. The whole family traveled in the old
wagon, with Kurisu’s mother and father in the front steering the horses. In the back,
Kurisu and her brothers watched over the goods to make sure nothing fell off or broke.
She could easily remember her parent’s appearance like the back of her hand. Thier
father was a human male with black hair, brown eyes, a strong muscular build and a short
beard. As for their mother, she was a beautiful Elvin woman with blonde hair and green
eyes. Both of them have been trained to combat any demons that attacked themselves at
night. Halfway to the castle, they heard a villainous, beastly laughter from the woods.
Kurisu’s father pulled on the ropes to stop the horses. Her mother turned around and gave
a stone rune to Hitora. The stone rune was used to help people hide from demonic sight,
she then told him with her sweet voice “I want you and your siblings to get out of the
wagon and hide in the bushes. Use this rune’s power when the creature comes. We will
try to outrun it.” Hitora woke up Yume and they both got out of the wagon. Kurisu back
then was extremely stubborn and didn’t want to leave her parents behind, “I’m not
leaving, I will help you fend off the creature!” She said to her mother as she reached into
her pocket. Her father didn’t have time for these arguments. He turned around and looked
at Kurisu and said to her, “We have no time to waste, go with your brothers and watch
over them. We need someone to look after in case….” He then stopped speaking and
threw Kurisu out into the road. “Sorry… be careful! And remember what I have taught
you!” he yelled to the young Kurisu. Then he whipped the horses and galloped away.
Kurisu wanted to chase them and tried to help her out, but Hitora pinned her down.
Kurisu was squirming on the ground, trying to break free from her brother’s hold.
“Dammit!” he said to her, “This isn’t the time to go off and play hero, we need to do
what father says!” Hitora held the rune and concentrated on it, which caused its power to activate. “Now stay quiet and don’t attract any attention!” he said. Kurisu got up from the
ground, and they traveled up the road back to the village. From the shadows jumped the source of the noise: A giant wolf demon standing on two legs. Kurisu remembered exactly how it looked like that night: He stood at 15 feet tall, covered in all white fur. He had cold, blue eyes and a blue mane growing in his neck region. The wolf demon looked around, and sniffed the area. “Hmmm, they went this way.” It then chased after the wagon on four legs. “Oh no… that monster will find them!” Yume yelled. The demon stopped and turned around, “Who’s there? I know someone is still out there!” It shouted. He sniffed around and couldn’t find the source of the call, so he left. It wasn’t about a quarter of the way up the siblings heard the bell ring from the elder’s tower. It only ever rang when someone or something attacked the village. They continued their running until they found a group of slayers from the village surveying a wagon wreck. The wagon was trashed, the goods were stolen, and the drivers had disappeared. The only clue the culprit left behind were giant paw prints, engraved onto the dirt road along with the horse tracks. The siblings ran up to the slayer and asked him what happened. The slayer turned around and looked down on them, “Did this caravan belong to someone you know?” he said. Kurisu and Yume nodded their heads, agreeing with his question.