Prologue

Golden beams shone between leafless branches as the sun set behind the Calrian Mountains. Snow crunched beneath Aluria's feet, she could hear the muffled snap of twigs as she fled through the forest. Her backpack bounced steadily with her gait. There was a shout and howl behind her... It seemed to be getting closer, they were gaining. Dare she look around? Aluria peered over her shoulder. Pursuing her was a man riding a horse darker than night, and a pack of grey wolves. They were so close! The wolves would catch her at any moment. Suddenly the low growls silenced... She couldn't hear a thing. Had her pursuers broken off their chase?

Aluria stopped and looked around. The sunbeams had almost extinguished and barely peeked over the horizon. Tree branches stretched outward seemingly in an attempt to grab passersby, especially at night when victims would have no clue how far their long bony fingers stretched. The snow looked soft; the only imprints were of her running. Light small flakes gently floated until they found their way to the ground and vanished on the blanket of glistening white. A freezing wind rustled some branches, causing Aluria to spin around to face them; a single beam of pure light shone upon a pile of snow. Cautiously she made her way towards the glowing beam. As she approached she felt the warm radiance of the golden light. Crouching down to almost a sit, she removed her back-pack and set it down beside her. Aluria slowly unfastened the buttons on her pack, unzipped the top and pulled out a small green transparent stone. Its smooth glistening surface reflected her face and surroundings. A deep green light emitted from the stone. Aluria slowly and carefully, like a mother carrying a baby, extended it towards the beam of light.

The sound of her stalkers renewed as branches snapped under the horse’s weight. Powdered snow flicked through the air, shimmering as it fell towards the ground. Aluria swivelled her head up to the right... The tall black horse came to a halt; its rider wore a twisted smile. He bent down and grabbed a fist full of her hair. Aluria grit her teeth so as not to scream in agony or pain. Still making an effort to do what she came to, she lowered the stone as far as she could towards the patch of illuminated snow. The man jerked her upward, making her toss the stone into the cold air. Pain shot through her head with a pang that rattled her insides. The man released her and swiped both hands through the air in a flailing attempt to snatch the stone, but only grabbed fists full of air. The stone landed in the snow, right in the centre of the beam of light. Aluria smiled and the reflection of her and the horseman shone brightly, dazzling the rider. Seizing the moment, while her enemy shielded his eyes from the stone, Aluria bolted. Her task finished. The stone burst into a stream of glowing green particles that floated in mid air. They hovered for a second before following Aluria west as she absconded from the rider.

Aluria burst out into the open and quickly surveyed her surroundings: a perilous cliff dropped off the north side of the Calrian Mountains, to the east and south east was the forest she had escaped, to the west heading southerly, a mountainous range descended abruptly into the icy cold ocean, and directly south stretched a long open plain covered in snow.

The sound of wolves’ howling seemed to surround her. They had sniffed her out! Shadowy shapes appeared distant in the forest. They got larger and more menacing as they neared and would be upon her within seconds. The man on the dark horse emerged behind his wolves with an angry snarl on his face. Rushing towards her, through the forest, was a faint gleam; a glimmer that offered her a single chance of escape.

Aluria turned north and ran. She ran straight towards the edge of the cliff, which seemed like the most insane thing to do, and jumped. The glimmer accelerated and passed the man on his horse and his pack of wolves. It followed her down the cliff face like a dart. Rushing wet wind slammed against Aluria's face, the approaching waves smashed the rock face with the force of a meteor falling from the sky and threatened a painful death. The rocks at her side rushed upward as she fell, she didn’t have long to live... The sparkling glimmer was just behind her; would it reach her in time?

Yes! Sparkles swept around her, glowing and glittering like little fairies, they fluttered around at an increasing speed. They buzzed around her so fast that they made a cocoon, stopping her fall and suspending her in mid-air. The glow intensified so brightly that the man atop the cliff could no longer look. A blinding green glow enveloped the whole area. It was so bright that you would still see it even if you close your eyes. All of a sudden it flashed to pure white and vanished. It took a while for the man's eyes to adjust before he saw a shape flying away over the ocean and into the distance... He couldn't make out a definite image, but he knew what it was and what had happened.

Fuming, the man climbed off his horse, grumbled and uttered an unusual word. Suddenly he pixelated and vanished from the scene in a computerised manner. The landscape was vacant. The horse and wolves vanished. The only traces of anyone being there were left imprinted in the snow, but even snow will melt.


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