"You seem like a great crowd, thank you all for coming out!" The minstrel flashed a smile at the waiting audience. "I have a special tale for you tonight…"

Hushed murmurs spread from person to person, electrifying the atmosphere. The minstrel's smile widened. Yes, this would be a good group.

"It concerns evil spirits and Starkeepers, fairies and seólim." He strummed a chord on his lute and cleared his throat. "Alright..."

(T) Á, lóldrú mheinṁha,

Fí, mhein lóldrú seándtá ṁheá.

Á, lóldrú mheinṁha,

Fí, mhein lóldrú seándtá ṁheá.

Back when fairies were still new, with none of the evil present in them today, when the mighty Sages had not yet been appointed, and when the great Guardians protected us alongside the Starkeepers, a girl felt called to go to what would eventually become Milltown...

Lisbeth smelled the smoke miles before she saw the grey clouds looming over the horizon. At first she ignored them, for after all, they could have been from the evening fires. The wind nipped at her exposed shoulders, and she wished that she had thought to ( )ing her cloak.

It wasn't until she saw the great, angry tongues of fire licking at the sky from their places in the treetops that she realized something was wrong.

"Come on, Hyacinth." She nudged the chubby pony with her knees, but Hyacinth wasn't about to move another inch. "You stubborn thing."

With a huff, she dismounted, tethered Hyacinth to a tree, and sprinted forwards to see what was going on, hand firmly on the hilt of her sword. Something drew her to the flaming town, a force with an indiscernible alignment. She would try to help any way she could.

Oddly enough, there was a glaring lack of people escaping the flames. There were no screams of people watching their very lives burn before their eyes, no terrified wails of children too young to understand what was going on. The crackle and hiss of the dying trees was the only noise she could hear.

The path leading into the town widened, and Lisbeth's eyes did the same. A cry of horror escaped her, and she stood as still as a stone, wishing with all her heart that she hadn't set foot in the town.

Charred corpses, nearly undiscernable as people, were strewn every which way. The buildings were no more than ash, the fireproof belongings in them shattered or mangled on the ground.

In the center of the smoke-filled town square stood a figure that towered over her. Its pale skin looked as if it was supposed to burn in the sunlight, and its head only boasted a small, greasy topknot of hair. Gray splotches were scattered like freckles over its skin, and it wore armor a self-respecting knight would never wear, unless they wanted to have a quick death on the battlefield.

It turned its head, and Lisbeth closed her eyes, desperate not to meet the pale yellow ones that now stared at her. The dark circles surrounding them made its face look skeletal, and the sharp cheekbones that jutted from its face only made it look more so.

"Why have you come here?" Its voice was feminine, but deep and gravelly. Lisbeth trembled.

"ANSWER ME." It came closer, and Lisbeth detected the foul scent of rotting flesh over the smoke. She decided it would be in her best interest to do as it asked.

"I...I wanted to help." The sentence tumbled out in ( )oken pieces, and she winced as a clammy hand touched her shoulder, claws digging into her skin.

"There is no one to help." The claw's grip tightened. "And there should not have been anyone left."

Before Lisbeth could protest, before she could say that this wasn't her home, she felt a sensation like molten lead slowly covering her body. She tried to scream, but smoke flooded her throat the moment she opened her mouth. The heat ate at her body, and dried up her tears before she could shed them. Red hot pain flooded every part of her body, and she couldn't ( )eathe. A black ring appeared at the edges of her line of sight, and grew thicker until she was blind.

And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped. She couldn't hear anything and didn't feel any sort of ground under her feet. Was she...dead? The thought made her heart clench and a chill come over her. Again she tried to cry, but no tears came. What was that...that thing that killed her? Why couldn't she see? What if she wasn't dead, but stuck here for eternity?

A ( )ight flash entered the corner of her eye, and she turned around. A star greeted her, and she ( )oke out into a smile. So she wasn't blind after all. That was a relief. The smile faded once she realized the star was coming closer.

Just as she was about to back away, it exploded into a million shimmering fractals, and only the figure of an elegant man remained. He bowed, long pink hair falling over his shoulders. Lisbeth performed a confused curtsy, or at least an attempt at one. Controlling her floating body deemed to be more difficult than she thought. He smiled at her, and she felt a warm sensation inside of her head.

I suppose you're wondering what's going on.

She jumped, not expecting the telepathic communication. He laughed.

Well, I'll explain. Don't be too freaked out, please.

She nodded, and he exhaled.

Where to start? Alright, you happen to be dead.

The look on her face made him wave his hands around frantically.

Nonono, it'll all be fine! The One has allowed me to reveal myself to you, and he'll revive you in a while. I'm Sylvan, and I'm your Guardian. You...you don't know what a guardian is? Ok, we're one step below Starkeepers, and are tied to a certain item or concept. Mine's the fall harvest. Not exactly the flashiest thing ever.

He laughed again, and Lisbeth did too, although noiselessly. Her laughter was cut short when she noticed that her hands were turning to golden stardust. Sylvan's eyes widened.

Oh! This is...sooner than I thought. Don't panic, you'll be alive soon. Uh, well...gee. There's so much I need to tell you! Go find the bird, he's important! And...and...wait!

He faded away, trying to reach out to her. Lisbeth awoke on the ground next to Hyacinth. The pony whinnied in greeting as she sat up.

"Hey, girl." She reached up to pet the pony's nose, but stopped when she saw her hands. "Whoa..."

Red scars covered her arms, a reminder of her death. She checked the rest of her body in the mirror she kept in her saddlebag, usually used to keep her unruly ringlets in check. Her feet had minor scarring, but the rest of her body was fine.

"Maybe the smoke got to me before the fire did." She rubbed Hyacinth's neck, stopping to finger the ( )aids in the pony's mane. "Come on, let's leave. I need to get some gloves...and process what just happened."

The bird, what was the bird? Would Sylvan send a falcon? When would Sylvan show himself again? Was he to be trusted? What killed her?

"And what will happen next to our ( )ave, nameless hero?" The minstrel strummed a final chord on his lute. "Find out tomorrow night!"

The audience groaned.

"Come on!" A man shouted from somewhere in the middle.

The minstrel simply smiled, much to the chagrin of the crowd. "I would very much appreciate a few tips for my performance. Can't eat my lute, I'm afraid. Thank you all for coming out, and I do hope you return. The next chapter is quite exciting, I'm sure you'll like it even more than this one!"

A dark-skinned woman with hair as white as a Starkeeper's came onstage.

"You did wonderfully, my love."

"Thank you." He kissed her cheek and returned to putting up his equipment. "We're meeting everyone at the Lazy Dog tavern, correct?"

"That is correct." She folded her arms. "How do you feel about this reunion? Are you ready? Do you think they'll even recognize you?"

"Well, they are family." He tossed her an old artifact, which had run dry of its magic ages ago. "But then again, it has been a few years."

"You seem ready enough, then." The woman caught it, and ( )oke into a smile. The minstrel chuckled, drew his black ponytail and his lute over his shoulder, and put an arm around her.

"Shall we go?"