About a decade ago…

The Orb beamed down from the sky, bringing a pleasant warmth to the plateau and its manzle trees. The trees were laden with golden manzles, and their branches provided shady areas to rest under. Lying comfortably under one such tree, a fox with thick white fur was enjoying a manzle as a midday snack. The creature wagged its grey-tipped tail as it happily enjoyed the fruit’s sweet flavor and juiciness. There was an overwhelming desire to gobble it all down at once, but the creature knew better. It held the fruit between its long, thin paws and nibbled on it.

While the creature ate, its fuzzy ears perked up from the noises echoing off the nearby cliff wall. The creature wasn’t alarmed by the sound, but it kept a watchful eye and sniffed the air with its pink nose for unfamiliar scents. After carefully devouring its snack, the fox walked a few paces over to the plateau’s edge, curiously peering down to see people working at the base of the plateau’s rocky face.

The creature was familiar with the sight before it, having seen it many times over the past month; men, elves, dwarves, and fymphs hard at work building a secondary defensive wall. The creature raised its head and turned away from the cliff’s edge. It didn’t care what was happening below, for its home and people were high up on the plateau above all of the noise and ruckus below. The furry creature returned to its tree, desiring another manzle snack before returning home.

An unfamiliar noise from above captured the animal’s attention. The sound was beastly and grew louder. The creature tensed as a large blur swooped down from the sky, crashing through the trees and into the ground some paces away. The fox heard muffled beastly moans from the crash area and became curious to know if the trespasser was friend or foe. It carefully approached the source of the noise. From behind a manzle tree, it observed the crash site. Through rubble of broken tree limbs and squashed bushes, it recognized what had landed was a wyrm. The dark-scaled creature lay wounded and groaning, and the fox backed away slowly, not wanting to draw the wyrm’s attention.

A loud, deep, thundering noise from above shook the ground as the fox turned to seek safety. A blue dragon circled high above the plateau, roaring fiercely. The fox looked up at the sky, then turned back to the wyrm. The dragon must be looking for him. Torn between fleeing and saving the wyrm, the creature considered its next move as the intimidating dragon flew overhead.

Quietly, the fox crept from behind its tree close to the wyrm’s tail and lay still. Its green crystal claws lit with power, and the creature used its imagination to surround itself and the wyrm with a cover of cloudy wind. The cloudiness turned transparent and, to the naked eye, it appeared that the two creatures were no longer there.

The wyrm felt magical power surrounding it, and its yellow eyes snapped open. Spotting the fox, the wyrm bore its fangs as the desire to kill the magical animal washed over him. The wyrm inhaled deeply and opened its mouth wide, ready to release a mighty fire onto the creature.

Don’t! warned a voice in the wyrm’s mind. If you do, it will find us.

The beast stared at the fox before slowly looking to the sky to see the threat circling above them. Its eyes flashed as it considered the little creature’s plea. Then, the wyrm closed its mouth and reluctantly exhaled. The beast laid its head down, watching the fox suspiciously. Why is this creature helping me? the wyrm wondered cautiously.

Unable to locate its target, the blue dragon soon flew out of sight. The wyrm and the fox both lay quietly, still staring at one another, and as they did, snowflakes began to fall upon the plateau for the first time.

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All was dark. The darkness surrounded and permeated everything. A malicious spirit was present in it, leaving no room for peaceful thought or comforting rest. It instilled fear, creating an overwhelming desire to escape its presence. In due time, escape came through a cold sensation.

The cold, damp air bit Lorayla’s face and ran a chill down her spine. She subconsciously awoke, grateful to escape the silent darkness of her dream that had deeply disturbed her peace of mind. She desired to open her eyes and see where she was. Her eyes, however, remained shut. She desperately tried to move but found her body completely limp.

Lorayla heard footsteps. Panic set in as she heard them grow near. Are they going to hurt me again? Tears formed in the corners of her eyes. She felt breathing from a presence that was eerily close.

“She’s still asleep, but she has…tears,” said a female voice as if she were answering someone’s question. “Well, anyway, she looks cold,” she continued with concern. “I’m going to start a fire.”

“Do as you like, I don’t care,” said a familiar, masculine voice that Lorayla instantly recognized. Thoron. She willed herself to blink her eyes open, but to no avail. What happened to my abusers? she thought. Where am I? And why is he here?

A wave of comfortable heat caressed her face, displacing the cold chill from her body and drying her tears. A hand touched her shoulder. “What an ordeal you’ve been through,” said the feminine voice. “But don’t worry, you’re safe here. I’ve washed you and healed your wounds. Before you know it, you’ll be awake again. Then…well, we’ll see.”

Lorayla was comforted by the words spoken to her and wondered if the person speaking knew she could hear her words.

She heard the person step away and begin speaking with Thoron. Their conversation seemed close but not loud enough for her to decipher their words. Lorayla focused on the sound of their voices, for it was somewhat soothing to know she wasn’t alone.

The fire also became company for her. Though she couldn’t see it, its warmth was soothing, and its rhythmic, magical hum slowly drowned out any other sounds as she focused on it. The voices faded away, and the fire’s hum became something like a musical tune, a song. The rhythm was slow and peaceful, and before Lorayla knew it, she was once again asleep—peaceful sleep.

When she finally awoke again, she was able to open her eyes. A blanket was draped over her, and a simple tan robe was tied across her waist, covering her tattered clothing. She sat up and gazed upon a red crystal near her floating upon slow churning streams of fiery wind. Tiny, winged, two-legged serpents appeared and disappeared within the flames, a sign that the fire had been burning for some time. Lorayla glanced around her surroundings. She was in a small cavern. The rough stone walls were so close, she could almost reach out and touch them, except in one direction, which opened into a misty, dark tunnel, where the sound of flowing water echoed ever so softly. The cavern was well-lit by the magical fire before her and the light that emanated from another magical fire that floated above the ground, just before the dark tunnel.

Lorayla brought her attention back to the fire, for something had stepped out from behind it. A fox stood before her, staring at her with glowing, green eyes. The creature yawned, its spiky fur fierce and intimidating, and slowly stepped closer to her. Lorayla nervously brushed aside the blanket that covered her and put up her hand, motioning for the creature to stop. The fox creature stopped, tilting its head curiously.

“Told you so,” said Thoron’s voice, echoing slightly. “You should have let her alone and waited here with me.”

Lorayla jerked from the tone and echo of Thoron’s voice.

The man’s strong tone startled Lorayla. The fox remained calm, however, and stepped away to the second burning fire where the voice had come from. Lorayla watched as the creature settled near a cloaked figure. Though the person’s face was covered by a hood, Lorayla knew it was Thoron.

She felt more secure with the fox at a safer distance and turned to warm her backside, still eyeing Thoron and his animal companion.

Thoron pulled off his hood, allowing the light of the fire to illuminate his face. “You can come sit over here, if you so desire.”

Lorayla turned away. “I’d rather not.”

“Suit yourself. Fai will probably bring you food in a just a bit.”

Fai? Lorayla questioned. She didn’t care much for food at the moment, for her mind was fresh with the memories of what had happened to her. She covered herself with her blanket and cried silently, remembering the frightful moments of death, destruction, and abuse. Time seemed to stop as her memories assaulted her, creating a prison in her mind of fear, guilt, and shame from which she couldn’t escape. Her thoughts exhausted her and, before she knew it, she was once again asleep.

“I’ve brought some panapple.”

Lorayla snapped out of her slumber. She recognized the voice as the one she’d heard when she awoke the first time. Lorayla removed the blanket from over her head to see who it was. To her amazement, she gazed upon a creature she’d never seen before.

Standing before her was a fox-like woman covered by a simple tan robe similar to the one Lorayla wore. Her earthy skin was visible through the thin layer of white fur that covered it, though her face and hands were hairless. She had a grey-tipped tail and a pointy, human-shaped nose, coupled with a set of light-colored whiskers. A pair of furry fox ears stuck out of her thick hair, which ran the length of her head to her shoulders. Her feet were covered by a pair of leather boots that had the symbol of a seven-branched tree engraved on their sides. In her hands, she held a round loaf of bread, extending it to Lorayla.

Staring at the offering, Lorayla’s eyes traveled beyond the bread and landed on the woman’s wrist, where a set of green crystals protruded from behind the loaf. Four of the stones radiated faintly, while the other three appeared dim.

Unthreatened by the stranger, Lorayla turned back to the fire, watching the fire serpents flicker in and out of view. “You must be Fai,” she said, her voice almost a whisper. “I’m not hungry.”

The lady fox stepped closer and sat down by the floating fire, though Lorayla did not react, her mind lost in deep thought. A few minutes passed, the humming of the magical fire displacing the silence.

“Beautiful,” the fox woman said, interrupting the fire’s hum, which had once again become like a song to Lorayla.

Lorayla turned to see a pair of wild, green eyes peering at her. “What is?” she replied, trying not to squirm under the intensity of the woman’s gaze.

“You.”

Lorayla’s eyes widened, but uncertainty came over her. “There’s nothing beautiful about me…at least not anymore,” she whispered, laying her head on her knees.

“I know what I saw,” said Fai, tearing off a piece of the panapple loaf and handing it to Lorayla, who hesitantly accepted it and took a bite. “I know what I see,” continued the fox woman, “and what is possible.”