//------------------------------// // Season 1 Chapter 1: A Stroll Through the Forest // Story: Equestria: Beyond the Barrier // by Korten //------------------------------// S1C1: A stroll through the forest Edward and Neva sat at the beach in silence, neither knowing what to say to the other. Truthfully they didn’t really even know each other, Neva vouched for Edward because he helped her briefly and asked to join. Outside that, they were still basically strangers to each other. Edward simply was taking a stick and drawing in the sand while Neva sat and let the wind breeze go over her as she stared out into the ocean. They hadn’t been like this for very long and Edward wasn’t sure what to do to get things going. “Did you kill Countess Adriana?” Neva suddenly spoke as she turned and looked at him. “Huh?” he replied taken back by the sudden question. However he didn’t let it hang long. “No… I could never kill her; she was the only one in the Mansion that actually treated me like a person.” Neva cocked her head, “In the mansion? The Count’s mansion?” Okay, we’re getting somewhere, he thought to himself. “As I said earlier I don’t know my parents, I was dropped off at the mansion and taken in by the servants, despite the lavish mansion I didn’t live a very lavish life, even compared to the others. But you know… I never truly hated it there; just being able to talk with Countess Adriana made it worthwhile.” Neva actually managed to crack a smile, “That’s very admirable.” He knew it would be tough, but he had to ask, “Neva… Do you want to talk about it?” “I think we should move on,” she said as she stood up and wiped the sand off of her leggings. Edward simply watched as she walked away, he swears under his breath and stands up and begins to follow her into the forest that lay before them. ****************************** High Guardian Kalzin continued to read the book: A Study of Dragons, a book all about the Dragons that live on the continent of Equestria, at his desk. “Our world is called Equestria, and the continent is known as Equestria, the ponies think of themselves very important, don’t they?” he commented aloud to himself. He heard the door knock and he yelled out, “Enter.” The door opened and stepped in a female Griffon Guardian to which he recognized as Juna. “Juna, it’s nice to see you, I assume you’re here to report about the Leviathan attack investigation?” Juna gracefully bowed, “Yes Sir, I am here to say that while we could find no bodies due to the Leviathan having no doubt eat them, we did find some wreckage of the ship and while there wasn’t much to go on, based on how the ship was structured it didn’t appear to be an Pony, Zebra, or any of the Equus races.” Kalzin let out a sigh of relief, “Thank the Mighty, I feared that we would have to explain to Princess Celestia and Luna as to why members of their Diarchy died near our territory. Don’t want them to drop the sun on us… Anyway you know they’re set to meet with the King next week, right?” “The Princesses are?” Juna asked despite it being off topic from the rest of the report. “No, I didn’t. What business do they have with the King?” “The typical, treaties, immigration situations, among other things, unlike our King they don’t exactly have a large cabinet of others to do these for them. I’m to be expected to be there, as one of the Eight High Guardians it is my duty…” Juna could sense he wasn’t pleased by the prospect, “But you rather stay here?” Kalzin was well known by many under his command, he personally made sure that he got to talk which each Griffon under him. While some other Guardians may call it foolish, Kalzin simply believes that when you know those who fight under you that you fight better as a cohesive unit. It wasn’t exactly something he could say about the other Guardian forces. In some ways that’s why he respected the Regular Forces more than the other Guardians, as the Regulars have many Commanders who aren’t in it for glory and just want to protect their nation; they care for the men and woman under their command. “Is it that obvious?” he said innocently. “Yes it is Sir,” she said with a playful tone. There was a bit of silence but Kalzin ended it, “Anyway, please, continue about the report, best not to get too sidetracked.” Juna nodded, “Right, so the ship is from an unknown origin and it wasn’t clear what species actually helmed it as it was also distinctly not Griffon. We also have no indication that everyone who had been on the ship is dead; as it is very possible some may have washed onto the shore. With your permission we would like to send scouts out to check the small islands in the area and the forest nearby.” Kalzin didn’t need to ponder the request, “Permission granted Juna. Still this is very interesting, an unknown species? Think it could be… Human?” Juna just rolled her eyes, “Humans are nothing but stories, and you of all should know that.” He grinned and spoke in a joking voice, “B-But… I want to believe!” “You’re a crazy man High Guardian,” she said. “But that’s why we will stick with you till the end.” “And let that end be in the very far future,” he said in agreement. ****************************** “You know you can’t keep me in here Sebastian, I will get out again,” Lady Corinth taunted the Guardian as they entered her bed room. Sebastian tiredly looked down at the small female Griffon in fancy robes with a bunch of dirt and mud stains now on it from the previous night. “Lady Corinth, please… Your father doesn’t want you to get hurt,” he said, begging her to stop these foolish acts. Corinth looked away defiantly, “My father keeps me up here like a Princess that has been captured by a Dragon, and it’s disrespectful.” Sebastian didn’t want to deal with this; it took enough effort just to get her back to her room all the while she was yelling and thrashing out against him. “I won’t say it again, but you must understand my lady, these are dangerous times, you wondering around unattended will put a lot of stress on High Guardian Kalzin.” “Then why am I here?” she asked bluntly. Sebastian at this point turned and walked out of the room, they both knew the answer and it was best not to bring back up old wounds. Sebastian looked at the guards outside her door and ordered them, “Make sure she doesn’t leave, or fly out of there.” “Yes Sir!” they said in unison. ****************************** The rain came down hard upon Edward and Neva as they traveled through the forest during the night; they hadn’t been able to find any place to set down a camp. Neither spoke while they traveled, but Edward managed to keep up with Neva who was moving at a faster pace than he was, a lot more endurance then he currently had. Edwards’s hair wasn’t exactly long but he kept finding himself having to brush some of his wet hair that was dangling in front of his eyes. They were both completely soaked and it made moving in the clothing a pain. However they needed to keep moving, they had no place to stay and hunger was starting to take its toll on the two lost Humans. “I see something,” Neva managed to speak to Edward despite the sound of rain deafening any other noises. Edward stood next to Neva and she pointed at what she saw, a small house with lights. Edward found this curious and stated what was also on Neva’s mind, “Is there people here as well?” Neva shrugged, “Only one way to find out.” Together they moved towards the house, to which upon further inspection he noticed it wasn’t that different from their own buildings, outside the house there was a small garden that was being covered by a tarp to make sure that the planets didn’t get flooded by the rain water. Despite the plethora of trees, a lot of rain water still managed to make its way to the forest ground. Edward knocked on the door, and he noticed at the corner of his eye that Neva had pulled out her pistol that she still had from before the attack, but before he could say anything the door opened and he found the sight puzzling. He had expected to find a Human, however what instead stood in front of him was a large creature that head looked as though an eagle, similar with its wings, however the body was that of a lion. The creature stood with both back lags on the ground, one front claw on the floor and the other on the door handle. Edward wasn’t sure what the creature was and neither did Neva. Neva stood shocked at the sight and her grip on her pistol tightened. Edward not sure how to proceed, decided to speak to the equally shocked creature, “My name is Edward, this is Neva, and we were attacked on our ship and crashed here… May we come in?” The creature didn’t say anything, Edward wasn’t even sure that they spoke the same language. However before they could say anything Edward watched as Neva held up her gun, “Creature! Don’t you dare attack us!” “What are you saying, Neva!? Why are you trying to make this-,” he said only to be cut off by the door slamming in their faces. Edward just stared at her angrily, “Now why did you go and do that?” “Are you blind man? That wasn’t Human!” “That was obvious, but we have no shelter and you just ensured that!” Neva pointed at the house, “That thing isn’t Human, how are we sure that it wasn’t going to let us in and then eat us in the night? No Edward, I’m not going to take that chance. Now come on, we can’t stay here.” Edward sighed, they had just lost their shelter and now they needed to look once again. In some ways he understood her distrust, this was their first foray into unknown lands and they meet a creature foreign to anything they have seen before. However while he wouldn’t consider himself the smartest person in the world, not by a large margin, he could tell that the monster seemed to have some sort of intelligence hence the house and garden near it. They continued to travel until they came upon a large tree with a hollowed center in it, after making sure there were no other creatures in it, Edward and Neva decided to spend the night in the tree. They were freezing, Edward shook his hands over his arms in an attempt to get warmer, and Neva didn’t do much but just space out as she had done on the beach however suddenly she spoke in a somber tone. “We don’t know what created that barrier Edward, if that thing or their people had anything to do with it… Then this is all of their faults, for placing us behind that damn thing in the first place.” Edward sneezed and started to feel sick and so he didn’t bother to try and debate with Neva. The situation they were in was a dangerous one and they were in the dark on many things. Unlike Edward, Neva wasn’t feeling sick, her clothing compared to Edward was thicker and she did have some armor plating and therefore the water in some places just dried. Slowly the two drifted away into their dreams. ****************************** It was early in the morning when Kalzin heard a knock on his bedroom door, awaking him from a great slumber. While he wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep, he wasn’t going to keep the Guardian outside the door waiting, especially when it could be something very important. He grumbled all the while getting off his bed all the while just wearing his armor’s undergarments. He opened the door and lazily looked at the griffon in front of him which took him a second to realize it was Juna. “Sir, we have some… startling new information,” she told him and he could tell something was wrong. He gestured for her to come in the room and he pulled up a seat for both of them and they sat down, Griffons were able to stand up on their hind legs for long periods of time and even some prefer it, although others walk on all fours, many soldiers in the military charge into battle on all fours and slam into their enemies before standing up and fighting with their weapons. She got the go ahead to speak and she began to, “Just an hour ago, a hermit living in the forest came to one of our outposts and told us that late last night they heard a knock on their door, they opened it and they saw two unknown creatures, one pulled what looked to be some sort of pistol and the hermit closed the door on them and they weren’t disturbed.” Kalzin was intrigued by this; he had expected to hear some species he had heard before, “Unknown creatures? Did they tell us what they look like, what did they say?” “This is where things get interesting… Based on their description… Their well… Human and they spoke our language,” she explained. Now Kalzin was fully awake, and was sure he had heard that correctly, “Did I just hear you, did you say Human?” Juna nodded, “That is correct sir; they had all of the features that the old stories described, typically I would just think that the hermit had gone crazy but they said that one Human claimed that their ship had crashed and that they needed shelter.” Kalzin wanted to believe but he wasn’t going to give his full trust to this hermit without question, “Are you sure he didn’t just hear about it in port? The ship attack that is.” “Very unlikely sir, the hermit never goes to the port, in fact this was the first time seeing in months when he arrived at the outpost,” she further explained. “So if I understand this correctly, two… Humans are now in the forest near the port? Do you already have Griffons out there looking?” Juna nodded. Kalzin stood up with a determined expression, “I think it’s time for me to go in the field.” “Is that wise Sir?” “Humans are a species only written in stories that are considered myths from thousands of years ago, I am not going to let this opportunity go by me,” he said as he opened a closet which hanging on a Griffon-shaped wooden statue was his full suit of armor. “Let’s get down there.” Juna smiled and saluted, “Yes Sir!” ****************************** EQUESTRIA – CANTERLOT CASTLE – 2300 Hours (Equestrian Time, 8 hours behind the Griffon Kingdom) As she did every day, Celestia raised the sun and began to attend to her people. However currently the moon was up and her sister was on the throne taking care of her nightly duties and busy and so Celestia wasn’t attending her people but doing things that would affect the course of the country. Tonight she had other matters to attend to, such as the continual planning of her discussion with the Griffon Kingdom to which Luna, despite having only back for 3 years thus far has been invaluable in coming up with the terms and agreements of each of the subjects. But since this was still somewhat early in the night, Luna still had some things to attend to before she could help so Celestia needed to plan with the aid of one of her subordinates, Virtuous Honor, a Unicorn, who is well versed with foreign politics. “We need to make sure that we can keep foreign trade going between us and them through our various channels,” Honor suggested. “We also need to ensure protection upon these lines so that pirates and the won’t attack since they have been on the rise lately in the Central Ocean. Trading between us and the Griffons is one of our largest money makers, they’re crucial.” Celestia looked over the map of the world that laid across the table in-between Honor and herself. Various lines were drawn across the Central Ocean that indicate trade routes and also large circles were areas that pirates have been reported to be attacking have been. “I guess that brings up the question as to which forces will protect which lines. We don’t have the military size of the Griffons so I think we will most likely have to have them protect two of the three trade lines.” Honor shook his head, “I’m not sure that is wise my Princess, we can’t give them the impression that we’re being lazy and making them doing much of the work, I think it would be best if we actually divert more forces then the Griffons to protect these lines. We want them to understand that we’re still a world power.” Celestia narrowed her eyes, “The fact that we need to still prove that to the Griffons is… unsettling. Between them, the upcoming Dragon Empire, and the Zebra Republic of Tia’shan things are getting difficult to maintain.” “The world is changing Princess and its clear our reputations of past is slowing starting to fade away. They rely on you and Princess Luna to rise and lower both the Sun and Moon, however they may think that is all our country is worth.” “I will not threaten other countries with our power to move the Sun and Moon,” Celestia stressed. Honor felt that she had mistaken his intentions, “I am not suggesting that Princess, what I am suggesting is that we want them to understand that we aren’t just going to be walked over and vanish. That is why we need to keep our good relations with the Griffon Kingdom, because they are the biggest military force in the world.” Celestia lowered her head, “I fear that we will need to increase our military forces before too long…” Equestria historically never have a huge military force as they always were able to deal with situations themselves such as the Crystal Empire with Sombra, and when Discord cause havoc all across the country and even just two years ago with the aid of the Twilight Sparkle and her friends stopped Chrysalis, Discord’s return, Nightmare Moon, Sombra’s return, and most recently an ancient magic that nearly took over the kingdom and trapped both Celestia and Luna. So the country as it is, is very capable of handling many dangerous tasks on their own, but while these were large threats, they weren’t large in the scale, it wouldn’t be the same if Dragon Empire from the South decided to invade, the closest comparison to that was the Chrysalis attack, which if anything that proved that they weren’t prepared for that sort of invasion. However with the rise of more nations with military forces, it’s very possible that more military confrontations will arise in the near future. Both Equestria and The Griffon Kingdoms are the oldest and so they have scuttled in various battles in the past but for the most part ties have been good, but in recent years it’s been strained. Honor began to talk in a solemn tone, “I’m sorry to say Princess, but it maybe something to consider. I don’t know if it’s possible, however this world is very old, and I don’t want to risk any nation finding a way to raise the sun and moon without you two or else our borders will fall.” “But this is getting further from our original topic Princess, we need to make a decision on our policy about these trade routes,” Honor said getting them back to the original discussion. “Yes, so I agree, in our terms we will provide much of the support, however if we do that, we think they will need to provide more trade ships to be used,” Celestia said. Honor nodded, “That is a good compromise. Alright then if we feel we’re good on that for now at least, let’s move to the next topic of Immigration. I do believe if we want to promote our ideals that we should allow for more immigration and even promote it, because currently as it is it’s at an all-time low.” Celestia agreed but she still wasn’t completely on board, “Wouldn’t Luna’s Night Corps disagree with that? They most likely feel as though letting more immigration would lead to more spies entering our country.” Honor looked over the papers of information about current immigration, “It’s true that it should be considered, however I ask you Princess, do you believe you’re willing to not support immigration for the security of your people? Since saying you don’t want more immigrants can lead to two assumptions by the Griffons, that one, we don’t trust them entering our country, and two, and that you’re not as open minded as you’re lead to be believed.” The Princess sighed, “This is so tiresome, I remember when nations used to just leave each other alone, yet now we have to keep up an image so that others don’t take advantage of us.” “Not to be mean Princess, but got to get used to it, as more nations rise, you will have to meet with them more often,” Honor said. “It maybe also in your interest to increase your cabinet size, establishes an office of Foreign Affairs and so on. I am able to help you but you can’t put too much on you or you and Luna will get too stressed and believe me, you’re people will be willing aid you in this.” Celestia smiled, “I do believe that is right Honor, maybe it is time for me to start allowing my people to aid me. I thank you Honor for making me telling me.” Honor bowed, “I’m here to serve Princess, as all of us in this castle will attest to.” “Then I shall get on it once we finish these talks, as for the topic of Immigration, I do believe we should encourage it, I see no harm in our cultures mixing, I think us and the Griffons can learn much from one another.” Honor once again bowed his head, “I do believe that is the wisest decision my Princess. Now let us continue there is still much to discuss.” Celestia was slowly starting to feel hopefully about these meetings next week; they would leave in the early night to arrive in the Griffon Kingdoms Capitol of Anadarah by the early morning. Celestia, Honor, and a few others will travel with her, but Princess Luna will stay and look over Equestria to make sure everything is in order, more crucial when Celestia decides to increase the number of ponies that work in her cabinet. The meeting will be difficult with the Griffon King; Celestia knows that, however with the aid of her allies, she knows she can get through this. After the meeting Celestia dragged herself to her room and fell to her bed feeling completely exhausted from how long it took to finish the meeting and they finished later than she had hoped. Celestia rubbed her eyes and when she opened them she suddenly saw a dark blue mare staring at her, Celestia screamed out and pushed away from her bed breathing fast and as she calmed down looked angry at the other Alicorn. “Luna, why must you scare me?” “But I didn’t mean to..,” Princess Luna protested innocently. Celestia raised an eyebrow and Luna rolled her eyes and then admitted, “Oh fine, I guess I did mean to do it Sister.” Celestia rose from the ground and walked towards her bed and then looked questioningly at her sister, “Is there something you need? The meeting has been over for a little bit.” “I must apologies sister, I didn’t mean to miss it, but I had too much to take of because between the ponies who visit during the night and the Night Corps I was completely full,” Luna explained to her tired sister. “As for why I am here, is it too much for your sister to visit you?” Celestia gestured towards the clock that hanged on the wall, and frowned. “Okay so maybe it’s a bit late for you, but not for me,” Luna said in a cheerful tone. Celestia picked up a pillow with her magic from her horn and prompted to put it on her face and just murmured to herself, not exactly the behavior of the ruler of the country. “Celestia,” Luna said addressing her sister by her first name. “Is something wrong? Typically you’re not like this.” The Sun Princess picked up the pillow and placed it on her side, “It’s just… This meeting has made me realize that things are only going to get tougher from here on out. In recent years our talks with other nations have increased tenfold, things aren’t simple anymore; it’s hard to play nice.” Luna looked up towards the moon, “I was gone for a thousand years… I don’t know exactly how you feel as you have been doing this far longer than I have. However Sister, I am here for you.” Celestia smiled, “That’s what Virtuous Honor said, I believe you both… It’s just… I’m worried about the future of this country, I worry that our borders are going to fall and eventually Equestria will be gone.” Luna frowned, “Sister, you can’t think like that, you’re our leader, the countries shining leader, if you start having thoughts like that it will spread to the others. You need to be strong.” “Chrysalis got that close… That close to taking away everything we hold dear, she managed to infiltrate our country, deceive those who we trust… I don’t want that to happen, not again.” The Moon Princess grabbed her sister’s hands and held them tight, “Then Sister the course is clear, you need to stand up tall, be a beacon of light and peace that shines across the world. Not a façade, but truly push those beliefs and we will stand behind you.” Celestia couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed that her younger sister needed to tell her something she should know already. A small tear ran down Celestia’s face which she herself wiped with her hand as if to show her sister that she was getting there. “You’re right… It’s funny,” Celestia said as she picked up a scroll from the shelf next to her bed. “Twilight and her friends send me these notes to show what they have learned. You can see how they have grown over the years. I maybe older than any of them, but I know there is still things that I must learn, as they have.” Luna didn’t say any more about it and left her sister to slumber, for in the morning she would need to raise the sun so that this side of the world can see her glorious power but also understand that Celestia is here and that she will defend the country. However while Luna did feel that she had missed much while she was gone, she had learned much from her Night Corps and she too understood that times were changing and that many threats are starting to loom, making more important that Celestia remains strong through it all. ****************************** Edward was the first to awake; he stretched out and prompted to sneeze. His head was feeling warm and he was clearly not in the best shape. Looking out from the tree he noticed it was morning and that the rain had stopped although the ground was clearly still wet from the night before. Neva across from him was still slumbering and so he didn’t disturb her as he decided to go outside for a moment. He let the morning scent soak into him; there was a sense of serenity as he looked out across the deep forest. The sounds of birds chirping echoed throughout the area and Edward breathed in and breathed out, he would have liked to say he felt wonderful but then he prompted to sneeze and just feel sick again. Edward looked up towards the sky and let the sun’s rays hit his face, however he blinked when he noticed something fly across the sky and then again. One of the flying creatures stopped and Edward squinted his eyes and noticed it was the same as the creature from the house; however this one was armored and had a weapon. Just as the creature turned to look in his direction Edward jumped back into the tree and as he hit the ground Neva shot up from her slumber with pistol in hand. “So it wasn’t a dream…” she said to herself as she turned her head and saw the frightened Edward. “Hey Edward…” Edward scrambled to his feet, “Neva, I just spotted one of those creatures flying above the trees, they were armed.” Neva frowned and got serious, “Do you think they’re looking for us?” “Well I doubt they’re looking for another duo of people who aimed a gun at their citizens,” he deadpanned and she just rolled her eyes and stood all the way up. “We need to get out of this forest,” she suggested. Edward had his doubts, “How will we evade their patrols? They’re flying, they see us and I bet they will all swoop down. I am not a fan of swooping.” “Let us capture one then,” she said and Edward just gave her a confused expression. “If they just fly above the forest, they may miss us, there is no doubt they must have some running across the forest ground.” Edward was starting to see the plan but once again he wasn’t sure, “So then what, we use one as a hostage and escape? And then what, are you sure we want to anger these creatures? We may be the only Humans out here, what are we going to do?” “I don’t know,” she admitted as she brought her hands up and then back down to her sides. Edward sneezed to his side and then focused back on Neva, “Neva… You need to think straight, we can’t let ourselves get killed because we act irrationally. I understand what you’re going through but-.” Neva stepped forward and grabbed Edwards’s shirt and pulled him up and cut him off, “What did you just say!? Think I’m being irrational, you think you know what I’m going through? What about you! Doing nothing but complaining! To think I vouched for you to join our crew, how foolish of me.” Edward gritted his teeth, “All I have said thus far that you threatening that bird creature was a mistake and that your plan is not well thought out! I am worried that you’re letting Verna and Anderson’s death gets to you!” Without a second thought, Neva used her superior strength to his own from her years of fighting to throw Edward into the side of the inner tree. He let out a small grunt of pain as he slumped to the ground, “Damn you Edward.” ****************************** The High Guardian landed on top of the perch on the top of the outpost that sits just outside the forest near the port town. Juna landed right next to him and the Guardians stationed at the outpost saluted their superior as he approached them. “Any spotting of the Humans?” “Not yet Sir,” one of them admitted however he looked over at his fellow soldier and then back at Kalzin. “But do you really think it’s Humans? Like the ones in the stories? The End War?” Juna decided to speak, “We should go based on it, however when we find these Humans we can’t let this information leak out. All of you know what a lot of the general population will think.” “They will want them hung for things they may or may not have done,” Kalzin said finishing her thought. “I’m not going to let anyone or anything be killed based on some over five-thousand year old story.” None of them would argue with their superior because he was right, despite the stories being old and many claiming them as myth, there is still a subtle harbor of hatred towards Humanity, whether it be in newly written stories or insulting someone for acting like a Human. Kalzin was one of the few that believe they’re real, but he didn’t exactly harbor any hatred, as you wouldn’t hate the citizens of a tyrant leader just because their leader was horrible. “Are their patrols making sure no one from the port gets in the forest?” Kalzin asked as he began to walk and talk with the outpost guardians. The guardian nodded, “Yes, we’ve shut down the area; no one is getting in or out of that forest without someone spotting them.” “Are Guardians on the ground?” Kalzin asked. It was his job to also make sure everything go well and went as typical in these sorts of situations. If there was anything that went wrong due to error because he didn’t make sure, he would be in deep trouble. “Yes, we’ve been making sure to scour the ground floor, as we know Humans can’t fly so I doubt we will have to watch out for that,” the guardian answered. Kalzin smiled and put his claw on the Guardians soldier and nodded at the same time, “Good. However… I think I will go in there and look myself.” He said as he turned and faced the forest. “Shall I accompany you Sir?” Juna asked. “Of course,” he replied. “Keep up the good work, and if you find them before me, come straight to me.” The outpost Guardian saluted, “We shall Sir!” Kalzin didn’t say anymore and stretched out his wings and grabbed his rifle off his back and began to fly through the sky with Juna following right behind. As they reached high above the tree line they saw the forest stretch out for miles and the ocean just to the east. He spotted other Guardians patrolling the forest above and circling around the perimeter. However while Kalzin was flying he didn’t intend to stay there the entire time. Once they reached the middle most part of the forest Kalzin and Juna swooped into the forest interior and landed in a relevantly flat area. “Got to admit, now that I’m in this forest it’s kind of intimidating to be searching for someone,” Juna said. “It shall not be that difficult, just listen and maybe we can even find foot prints to lead us to our targets,” Kalzin said. The two of them began to move across the ground floor, it was too dangerous to fly through the air in the forest; only a pro at flying could do it and not slam into something. Not even a veteran such as Kalzin could say he has flew without slamming into a tree at one time or another. However they didn’t move with haste, instead the two of them moved slowly, enough that they wouldn’t startle their targets and reveal their positions. Kalzin and Juna eventually found themselves at a small house in the forest with a garden outside, the house that Juna said belonged to the hermit. “So they arrived here in the night… Hard to say which way they went after though,” Juna thought aloud as she looked around. Neither bothered to knock on the door and ask the hermit, they knew they wouldn’t give them an answer as to where the Humans went. However that didn’t stop them from looking, they left going north from the hermit’s house, a different direction than they had come, they eventually spotted a large and unusual tree in the distance and then they heard someone speaking, they didn’t see any other Griffons in the area so the two of them decided to investigate the unusual tree. ****************************** “They’re dead Edward, and you know the worst part? If I ever get back I’m going to have to explain to my mother why my dad and sister are never coming home again,” Neva said to Edward who still hadn’t gotten up from the ground as Neva yelled at him. Edward tried to calm her down, “Neva, you need to lower your voice you don’t-.” Neva threw her arm across the air and prompted to not lower her voice, “No, you listen to me. You may have not grown up with parents, but you didn’t have to see your family members die in front of your eyes! Verna was incinerated by that monster, and my father was impaled by the debris of the ship he worked on for years! And now you’re trying to understand how I feel?” Edward didn’t know what to say, it was true, he didn’t have any family members die in front of him, however he did lose Countess Adriana to which he cared deeply for. However even though she wasn’t family, he still felt terrible when she died and he could understand just a bit of what she was going through. “I lost Countess Adriana, the closest person I had to family Neva. Don’t think I don’t have any idea of what you’re going through. Just because I haven’t shown it, doesn’t mean I don’t feel absolutely awful about it.” Neva was taken aback by this, however before she could speak the two of them both heard the sound of a twig snapping and they both looked out from the tree and what stood in front of them. Two creatures, similar to what they had seen before, but they were armored and bigger in size and unlike the one they saw, these two both stood completely up with only their hind legs touching the floor. Both were armed with weapons that were clearly similar type of rifles used by the Pirates and Guards back home. Both of their armors that the creatures wore had a large shield emblem on the front with the creatures species face on it with various other symbols. The smaller griffon’s armor was also white with blue outlines, whereas the larger one’s is white and gold, most likely symbolizing a higher rank. Neva pulled out and aimed her pistol, “Stand back!” “I’m sorry but we couldn’t help but over hear your conversation,” the bigger of the two spoke to the surprise of both Edward and Neva. Edward stood up, “It spoke…” “We can speak, not that the Hermit had said anything to you two,” the smaller and more feminine creature spoke. Neva still a bit hot headed spoke, “What do you want with us! To take us to your home and eat us?” The two creatures looked at each other and chuckled and the female spoke, “We may eat meat but I don’t think Human is on our menu.” “Human? Then you know what we’re? How do you know?” Edward asked. Neither creature had expected that answer, both having expected to hear that the Humans knew also of their own species. “Well let’s first start with introductions,” began the larger one. “We’re Griffons, my name is Kalzin Yana, I’m a High Guardian, and here beside me is Juna Nuvol, a Guardian Lieutenant. What are your names Humans?” “I’m Edward,” Edward spoke. “And I’m Neva Longa,” Neva said all the while lowering her pistol but still holding it in preparation of needing to fire at a moment’s notice since she still didn’t trust the Griffons. “So how do you know of us?” Edward asked bringing back the question he had asked. Kalzin then began to give a brief explanation, “We don’t know of either of you specifically but your species has been in multiple of our books of myths and such, some having also believed your species took part in our ancient history, however whether or not this is true is unclear even with your appearance. Now you know nothing of us? So then shall I assume your history books or myths don’t speak about us?” Neva shook her head, “No, I had read many books on our history and some myth but never once did they speak of a race such as yours.” “That is quite interesting,” Juna said. “However Sir, I don’t believe this is the greatest spot to discuss this subject matter. I think we should inform the other Guardians about our find and then head back to Draknor Keep.” Kalzin nodded in agreement and spoke to the two Humans in a respectful tone, “Edward and Neva, we mean you no harm, however there are those who might. Please will you accompany us to our Keep, where you will be bathed, fed, and kept safe inside our great walls?” “Who would want us to be harmed?” Edward asked. “Those who believe in things that your species may have done, but if you die it won’t matter if they were lies or not, they will have their execution,” Kalzin said in a dark tone. “Heh… I’m not up for that again,” Edward said to the confusion of both Kalzin and Juna. Neva wasn’t exactly sure and despite her little bit of anger that still lingered with Edward she thought it be best to pull him aside before they do anything. Grabbing his arm she brought him to the back of inside of the tree and spoke in a very quiet voice. “Are you thinking of going with them?” Edward had already thought over this answer in case she had decided to ask, “Of course. They claim that they can give us shelter among other things. Plus they seem to be military, and I rather not get on their bad side.” Neva stayed quiet for a moment and even closed her eyes as she thought things over in her head, eventually she sighed and looked at Edward. “It’s a leap of faith… But let’s do this.” The two of them turned back towards the two Griffons and Edward spoke, “We shall accompany you to Draknor Keep.” “Excellent,” Kalzin said as he clapped his claws together. “Now please follow us, the trip will take just a bit longer due to us needing to travel on foot, but not too much longer,” Despite a lingering uncertainty in both the depths of Edward and Neva, they both knew they needed to find some allies in this foreign world they were now thrown into and the prospect that there were others that would seek to harm the two of them for reasons unknown wasn’t a pleasant thought and was the driving force behind Neva agreeing with Edward to go on the trip, because neither of them wanted to walk into an angry mod of Griffons who wanted nothing more than them dead.