We walked out of the room, me still reeling with the shock that not only am I a Fae, I have a different form entirely that people will hunt me down for. That’s the real shocker here. I turn my head to Shankhe, who is just as shocked as I. We return to the front desk, where I see Dalyva signing up to the Guild. “Hey, Dalyva.” I call out, and she turns to us once grabbing her guild card.

  “Do you know what your species is now?” She asks, looking at our faces that are just neutrality at its finest…. Well, not really. Our faces were ones of shock and nervousness, certainly not used to having such important information shoved onto us without warning. “Yeah.” I say, and as we come together, I hear a cough from a very recognisable voice.

  “Surely you didn’t think that was the end?” The old man is behind us. “What do you mean?” I say, whirling around in confusion, but not just that, as something else entered my mind at that moment. Sure the man hadn’t hurt anyone, but I still felt that I had to face it first. I couldn’t leave Shankhe and Dalyva unprotected.

  I knew that they had gotten stronger, sure, but that instinct to protect them from when they were weaker still persisted. “Well, for one.” Said the old man, gesturing at me. “You protect your friends, despite as I see it they are well equipped to handle their own fights. And also, you’re weak.” We all look up at him in absolute shock.

  I did know that we were weak, it was a fact of life, but to have it so plainly spoken about was something that got on my nerves. “We’re not weak!” I protest, standing up to the man. “We’re wood rank, and that means we can fight our own battles, win our own duels.” My emotions are running on a frayed string, and for some reason the mere thought of saying all our hard work was put to nothing makes me angry, and I feel like punching the man for his words. The man stood there emotionlessly, stillness radiating from him.

  “And yet you don't trust them to fight on their own.” My eyes widen, and I sink into that truth. Dalyva steps up in front of me. “Why did you come here? Surely it was not to merely point out we are weak?” The old man chuckles. “No, it was not. In fact, you have a lot of potential.” He taps his cane lightly against her chest, before still with the cane drifting it across to me and Shankhe standing his left of Dalyva. “You three are quite powerful, and I would be honoured to teach you how to fight like real warriors. My name is Byrnjolf Ofiegsson, although I feel that will be hard for you to pronounce, so just call me Byrn.”

  Dalyva seemed a bit sceptical, after all the man had a cane, and didn’t look that powerful, certainly not with his wrinkles, grey hair and slight hobble. But, I trusted him, and so did Shankhe. The man-no, Byrn-was clearly powerful enough to force our transformation before, so i would think that his teaching would be rather a good thing.

  I nod, and come forward to him. Despite probably not being in the greatest headspace, especially since the transformation seemed to take a lot out of me, although adrenaline and excitement had cushioned the fall of energy, I was still-basically-human. And that meant I got tired. Actually, am I technically still considered human? Maybe like humanoid….? I’m just going to ignore that for now. “Sure, I’m sure we’d love to train with you.” Byrn grins, and then starts to walk to a room, waving for us to follow. Any Guild employees that tried to stop him from leaving were shut down with a simple flash of his badge or wave of his cane. He certainly held great importance and power for them to act like that around him. We went through the back to where a door led out of the hall, and as we headed out, I saw the streets pass around us, and as the town diminished, we were finally in the outskirts of town. I couldn’t wait for what he had planned, and was looking forward to his training, well, that is, until I saw what we were doing.

  As I saw it, I got slightly confused, not really completely sure what he wanted us to do at first, but as I’m slowly getting used to the madness of this dungeon, I accepted it. First was a giant net that was suspended maybe a metre off the ground, tight and strong enough that I reckon it wouldn’t waver if I stepped on it. Next, near the forest were logs strung between two trees, and they looked like they could spin a lot. I also noticed on one side there was a running track, worn down by several feet, and on the other side the same. Presumably one side was the start and the other the end. Training dummies stood closest, made out of crudely put together twigs and twine, and it was obvious the people didn’t have enough wheat or grass to spare for a simple training dummy. That was okay though, since I suppose resources were pretty scarce. Heck, we basically were half starving before we discovered this place.

  “So, how are we going to train with this?” Dalyva asked the only sensible question. Byrn looked back with a grin. Almost predatory, but also in a way that we knew we weren’t going to get out of this training till he was deeply satisfied.

  He walked up to the net first, and gestured for me to come closer to him. “Don’t worry, I won't bite.” He joked, and I came closer. “Get up on the net from the steps, and once you get on the net, stand up.” I walk over to the steps, and walk up them quickly, but as soon as I get to the net, I hesitate. I step cautiously onto the net, taking it slow so I don't fall down and hurt myself. Once I’m in the middle of the net, I look at Byrn.

  “Two squares forward.” He says, and I do so, keeping my hands out to balance myself. “Two left.” I start to turn myself left but Byrn quickly says. “No, keep facing forwards.” And so, I carefully go sideways. Sideways is hard, yes, but still easy since I can see where I’m going. “Backwards two.” I carefully put my foot behind me, feeling where the net is and placing my weight onto the first square. I slowly lean back, and put my weight on my back foot, until suddenly I feel like I'm falling, my arms start to flail, trying to regain my footing as I fall. My left leg, the one I put backwards, had slipped into the square, and was sticking down. The annoying old man chuckles, and I glare at him as Shankhe comes over to help me. Using Shankhe’s hand as ground, I push up and haul my body back onto the net. “Try looking backwards when you go backwards.” He advises. “At least, until you get used to it.” And so I do.

  Taking it slow, I do a couple more of his instructions, and fall a couple more times, getting rope burns on my legs and arms, but I put up with it. Eventually, Byrn stops calling out instructions, and it's time for me to get down. Even though the old man laughed at me when I fell, when I got down he patted my back, and said. “You did good, well done.” I nodded in acknowledgment, even though I felt that i did horrible. Shankhe went next, and fell a lot more times than me, even when he was just getting onto the net he kept falling, and by the end of his turn his legs were practically red from all the times they’d slipped through the squares.

  Dalyva too kept falling, and Byrn just kept laughing, but when it was over, he invited us to sit on some logs that were out. “You all have a lot of potential.” He started off with, and we stared at him, rapt attention being paid to his words as he strokes his chin. “Most people fail to merely walk across four squares without falling, and yet you all managed to do my instructions as well. That’s quite an impressive feat.” Dalyva then spoke up. “Why’d we do it?” The old man looked at her. “Well, I thought you would’ve figured it out. It’s to improve footwork and nimbleness.” Dalyva nodded. The old man looked up at the sky, which was starting to slightly darken.

  “I want you all to go on the track, and then that’ll be the end of it for the day.” He said, but before letting us go he chucked us our weapons. Our eyes widened. “How’d you get our weapons?” I ask incredulously as I put my Jambiyas around my waist. The old man smirks. “Khaliff gave it to me while you three were going together. He knew what i was doing, and so he brought them out, turns out he took them in the morning.”

  We nod, and the old man started to shoo us to the start. Dalyva started to leave, but the old man stopped her, putting a circle of leather on her back so that her halberd could just be on her back and not in her hands constantly. Then, we started to run.

  At first, it was pretty easy, we simply ran and ran, putting one foot in front of the other. But, as it started to wind, we started to get tired. Of course, we were already tired from the rope, but now to have to run a lot, it just tired me out a whole out more. I couldn’t do anything though but just run, one foot in front of the other, and deep breaths to make sure I have air.

  The terrain starts to get more rugged, and soon we’re stepping over logs as we continue jogging. Then, we’re dodging vines that hang from the trees, weaving right and left, before suddenly, a monster popping out. It was a boar, and it looked agitated. As custom to this labyrinth, it was purple, even the tusks protruding from its mouth were purple. It pawed at the ground, like a bison, which did confuse me, but I figured it might not be fully boar. It certainly didn’t look like it. It had a giant body, and was shaggy, so maybe mixed with a bit of yak, but I figured it was a waste of time to think of those things right now, especially as it was running forwards to attack.

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  I brought out my weapons, and even as it took Dalyva a bit longer to get her halberd out as she wasn’t used to it, me and Shankhe blocked it so she could get it out. We exchanged a look as our weapons clashed with the boar's tusks, and as we disconnected, I glanced over at him, reading his actions and rushing left, driving it forwards. Shankhe was on the other side of the boar, and we were driving it towards Dalyva, giving it no escape as I ran up its left side, constantly stopping any escape attempts. Dalyva, having realised what we were doing, got ready into a fighting pose, before as it rushed at her, she swung down, but not on the axe side, and not on the spear part. The other side, which looked a bit like a w except the ends were put closer together before being stuck on a weapon filled out and sharpened metal. The point easily caved in its head, and I almost felt bad that it was easy for us to kill the boar, but not really as when it thumped to the ground, a grin spread across my face. “Alright!” Shankhe says, throwing a fist into the air.

  We then continue running. As we do, I could faintly hear some sort of bell ringing out. I figured it wasn’t much, but sped up a bit anyway. We didn’t encounter any more monsters, although as we finished the course, puffing and red, Byrn was looking a bit anxious, an emotion that was unusual for someone like him I would’ve thought. “Quick.” He said, hurrying us back to the city.

  We were confused, and tired. Many times as we were hurried along I just wanted to stop and sit down, but I didn’t. As we got into the city, Byrn let out a sigh that sounded like, relief? I look at him. “What was that about?” The old man simply started to walk to one of the high walls, and as we climbed the stairs, he didn’t say anything, even when we asked him questions. Finally on the wall, he pointed across to where a huge white object was in the distance. No, not an object, an animal. A sheep. It looked to be attacking a nearby town, and as a piercing shrill echoes through the air, a blue shield erected itself around our village.

  “That’s the Dreadborn.” Byrn said gravely. “It has killed many. A stone rank, that.” A shiver runs down my spine. Stone rank. Two whole ranks above me and Shankhe, three above Dalyva. I stare at the sheep. Was this the sheep it meant by meet a sheep you cannot shear? I would guess they did, but to shear it seems just ridiculous, especially since they’ve literally nicknamed it ‘The Dreadborn.’ Its basically a death sentence for anyone to try fight the sheep unless they’re quite powerful.

  Soon, we head back down, and meet up with Khaliff at the Guild. Once we go home, we get changed into the pyjamas Khaliff and Fora provide, before getting to bed. However, hopping into bed and laying in it doesn’t mean sleeping, and even though i was tired, i just couldn’t sleep. Eventually, once I was pretty sure everyone was asleep, I slipped out of the house.

  I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath of cool night air, before opening my eyes to a dark area. I look up to see a hill, and start walking to it in the moonlight. I take slow steps, glancing around to the plants shining in the moonlight, seeing silvery glows everywhere, despite the purple invading. I feel cold, sure, but my mind only thinks in simpleness, such as where I put my foot or where to go ahead. I weave around branches, making the least amount of noise but despite my struggles leaves crunched underfoot, and twigs snapped as I didn’t notice them due to dim lighting.

  Ducking and weaving through trees, I climbed up the hill. It’s a subtle slope, but I still notice it as my legs get sore from walking quicker than before. For a while, I just climbed a tree, sitting in the branches and quietly staring at the sky through the canopy. The leaves blocked my view, but I thought it just made the sight even more impressive and wonderful. The cold bite of frost soon welled up inside of me to an unbearable point, and so I continued.

  I finally happened upon a clearing, with a huge, ragged and weather worn rock sitting right on top of the hill. I climb it quickly, and as soon as I’m on top, I feel the wind blow past me, my hair then seeming… longer, my body a bit different as I sit there. But I pay it no mind. Hair pulled back from the wind, air on my face and a shiver runs down my spine from the freezing temperatures that seem almost tolerable now despite not moving anymore. When a twig snaps behind me.

  ————————————————

  As I’m laying in bed, I think I hear a creak from a door, and ignore it at first. It’s probably nothing. It’s just someone going to the toilet in the middle of the night. But after a while, it gnawed at me, and I eventually gave in, sitting up. As I do, I immediately notice two things. One, that Taegan’s gone, and two that his Jambiyas are gone. That means he didn’t just go to the bathroom.

  I started to get up, carefully being as quiet as I could to avoid waking our host, and then slipping out the door. I start walking into the forest, feeling like those detectives in those books that I read-some of the only books I can actually read-strutting and acting cool. Suddenly I’m now face-planted into the soil, practically eating dirt as I just blink. I really should have seen that root there. I sigh, get up and start dusting myself off, a bit embarrassed that I managed to fall in such an easy way to avoid. I shrug. At least now I know that dirt does not in fact taste like brownies. Actually it tastes really bad and I wouldn’t recommend eating it to anyone.

  I continue walking straight, getting a feel for where I need to go. I go straight ahead, following broken branches and crunched leaves. To the normal person, it wouldn’t look like much, but to me it looked like a lot, and I followed it. As I did, the trail stopped for a little bit, before I noticed it a little away. Taegan must have gotten on the tree and jumped off it instead of walking. Finally after a long time of walking, I came across a clearing. A figure is in the moonlight, long hair and illuminated by the moonlight. They appeared green, and I could only guess that it was Taegans Fae form that had emerged. A loud crunch emanated from where I was standing, and I looked down to see that as I was slowly walking closer, I had stepped on a twig and broken it.

  ————————————————

  I whirl around hurriedly, cautious of who could have followed me, only to spot a familiar figure that starts to climb the rock. Shankhe. He climbs next to me, and sits down. As the moonlight envelopes him, his face stays the same, but his skin seems to get a silvery tint, and his hair grows longer as it turns green, his eyes as well turning from a golden yellow to a beautiful emerald. They shine in the night, reflecting the moons light. “What are you doing out here?” I say, and he stays quiet for a moment before saying. “I came to find you. Why’d you leave?” He asks, scooting closer as the chilled wind passes us by.

  “I couldn’t sleep.” I mutter, and Shankhe just stared at me, then looks to the moon hanging above us. “The stars are beautiful.” He mutters, looking at them as they start to appear.

  ————————————————

  I got up having a feeling that something was amiss. I started to walk out of my room, going to the boys as I noticed their weapons were gone. Sighing softly-yet with a smile upon my face-i grab my own weapon, trekking out to where I could follow both of their tracks.

  It was more obvious for me because I had two sets of tracks to follow, and I began to walk. Muscles from our run before introduced me to them again, but I lightly used my spesh to push through. I started to walk, seeing broken twigs and obvious footprints as I followed the twins. They both seemed to go far, and on top of a hill no less, but I was determined to find them, after all I was their teammate, and if they both made the trek, I would too. Eventually, I came across a rock in a clearing, and although it was harder to spot, I could see them lying on the rocks. At least, I think it was them anyways.

  I started to climb up, and as I reached the top, I doubled back in surprise. Two boys lay on the rocks, one with jambiyas and the other with a katana. Just like Taegan and Shankhe. Yet, they didn’t look like them. The two boys had long forest green hair and emerald green eyes, something I found quite beautiful, but that wasn’t what Taegan and Shankhe looked like. They also had silvery skin, although it may have been the moonlight, but I had my doubts, and long hair. No way could hair grow and change colour that quick, even if all the signs pointed to them being Taegan and Shankhe.

  “Taegan?” I say quietly, cautious if it wasn’t them. “Shankhe?” They both look up at me. “Oh, Dalyva.” Says one, and i could just guess from their demeanour that they were Taegan, even without the jambiyas clearly on his waist. Definitely.

  They were more twin-like than ever. “You haven’t seen this form, have you?” Asked Taegan as I lay down next to him on the opposite side to Shankhe. “No.” I say, still confused on how he says form. “What is it, and how did it happen?” I’m slightly concerned now. Did something happen that I didn’t know about? Did the Corruption Entities threat finally become a reality in he can change your species in an instant. Well, they dont look purple, and I would think that they would’ve been purple if it was the Corruption Entity, so what was it?

  “Turns out, we’re Fae.” I gasp as i hear that, grasping onto all my learning as a scholar to say. “Twin Fae?!” I say surprised, and Shankhe nods in confirmation. “Th-that means, you could’ve been kidnapped when born, not just in a carriage accident!” I stuttered at first, before exclaiming the second part in absolute shock.

  ————————————————

  I look at Dalyva’s shocked face, before she composed herself, before whispering with a concerned look. “What-what does that mean for us?” She gently gazes at us, then at the sky above us. “We’re now all pretty rare, not just me with my spesh, and are more likely to be kidnapped or targeted.” “Well, it just means we have to get strong enough that others respect us no matter what, and we be as strong as possible to beat the world!” Shankhe threw his fist up in deceleration, and after a split second, I joined him, and so did Dalyva.

  As we quiet down, Dalyva pipes up. “If you guys weren’t adventurers, what would you be?” She asks, curiosity clear in her tone. It was a hard question, since all my life I’ve been ambitious around this one thing, but I still speak up. “Probably a chef.” I say nervously, worried they’d judge me, but they didn’t. Shankhe then said his next. “Maybe a bartender or entertainer at a bar.” I could definitely see that. Shankhe loved to make people smile, and a bartender makes people smile if in their darkest hours, there’s someone to cheer them up and crack a joke. We then look to Dalyva, the one for the question. She looks to the side, before saying. “A healer.” My eyes widened. It was perfect for her. She loved helping people, and eventually, if she trained her spesh more, it could heal others.

  Eventually, we just sat there under the stars, but a crack of lightening jolted me awake, disturbing the peace. A pillar erupted near me, up to the height of me siting up. The pillar was dark purple, but the words were a visible light purple. It read ‘Just for you three dolls, I demand you go into this seperate dungeon space I have created. If you wondered, yes, I will explain your absence to everyone, so go ahead, now. - Corruption God.’ All of us shivered, seeing the crackling portal in front of me. I knew-instinctively and from common sense together, something that often doesn’t combine-that it would be incredibly dangerous, and probably some sort of sick game, if he called us dolls. Actually, it may be something worse.

  A sharp gust of wind, that was more like hands pushed me into the portal head first, sending me tumbling as I heard a yelp of surprise from Dalyva, and knew that it wasn’t just me pushed. Everything swirls by in a flash of dizziness, and I soon emerge from the swirls with my eyes closed into what I anticipated to be a purple place. But as I opened my eyes, I was shocked to discover normal colours, and a village in the mountainside below us.

  Nothing could go wrong here, right?

  What do you think about the last sentence?