>Leaves crunched softly underfoot in dense forest.
>The canopy high above cut deep, dark patches out of the waning sun.
>Cool and damp air washed against her face as she prowled through the woods.
>You are Zecora, travelling ranger, protector of the forest and its inhabitants, and of the Realm of the Princesses from those that would invade its borders.
>You've crossed this forest a thousand times, every twig and leaf, every new baby born and mighty Stag killed registered to your senses.
>The forest spoke, it was alive and you were privy to its secrets.
>The heft of your bow was familiar, as was the draw strength.
>An arrow was knocked, and it was let go.
>It traveled straight and true, and the beast in your sights fell to the earth with a strangled groan.
>You were on the groaning creature in an instant.
>The dirk strapped to the small of your back was slid from its scabbard and cut the life of the buck short.
“Rest easy now mighty buck. I should hope your life brings me much monetary luck.”
>Your sword slices through the buck’s stomach.
>With practiced ease you empty its entrails.
>They would be left behind, either to feed the other animals in the forest, or to provide nutrients to the soil.
>You heft the heavy deer carcass onto your back and grab it by the legs.
>Time to make your way back to civilization, the meat wouldn’t be worth anything if left out too long.

>The well-worn path to the nearest town was one you had taken a hundred times, at least.
>Vines and low-lying plants nearly covered the trail, and anyone not accustomed to it would surely be lost.
>But not you, you navigate it with ease.
>You stop, your ears perking as the sound of a herd rumbling across the main road that connected to the lesser-traveled path you were on crashed through the forest, a pounding symphony that echoed through the trees.
>You drop the carcass and roll it into the underbelly of a tree.
>You hoped the roots that now concealed it would protect it from other predators.
>The pounding, rumbling noise grew louder as you approach, hidden in the shadows of mighty trees and the underbrush climbing up around your crouched form.
>A troupe of golden-armored knights were trudging down the wide dirt path.
>There was twenty of them, or more, all with determined, scowling faces.
>Their armor clinked and rustled, and the swords strapped to their sides bobbed in time with their walking.
>They weren’t wearing any sort of traveling equipment, and that made you wonder what they were up to.
>You could count the number of times royal knights came out this far. 
>Your eyes strayed from the shining knights to the horizon.
>Thick, billowing clouds of black smoke rose over the horizon.
>That wasn’t good.


>You could hunt another buck, but you couldn’t grow another forest.
>Other predators would take the kill eventually, it wouldn’t go to waste.
>You were fine with that.
>Seeing who was burning your forest down to the ground was probably more important, you decide.
>Your movements are swift and true, but it seemed the billowing black clouds of smoke doubled in number with every step.
>A sense of urgency overtakes you, your heart states thundering in your chest and your cheeks burn with effort as you speed up.
>Whatever was doing this was big.
>Really, really big.
>The dozens of magical entities in the forest wouldn’t do this, and a fire elemental wouldn’t be that powerful, and that definitely didn’t bode well.
>You could see the flames, thundering and roaring like a lion and streaming far into the air like a Phoenix.
>Still, it seemed like you were miles away, no matter how fast you ran.
>You sucked in a great gasp of air and tried to ignore the burn in your muscles, but you couldn’t.
[Exhaustion Status Effect Applied]  [-1 Constitution] [-1 HP]
>You involuntarily slowed to a stop and leaned heavily against a tree.
>Lungs burning, and sweat pouring down your face, you let yourself recuperate.
>All the while the flames seemed the grow brighter, and the grove of trees lit up in the night sky like lanterns.
>Those trees looked awfully familiar…
>You push yourself away from the tree you were leaning against and begin to run again.
>Slower, this time, a pace you could keep up with.
>It felt like you had been running for miles.
>The heat of the burning trees begins to settle on your face, the closer you get the more painful it becomes to look at the intense inferno.
>That’s when it hits you.
>The hissing and crackling that you assumed was caused by the trees boiling out the water inside of it wasn’t either, it was screaming.
>You were a hundred or so feet from the grove of trees, and the scene begins to unfold.
>Dark, decrepit figures shambling about, wielding torches and rusted, ugly-looking swords.
>They were masked by the darkness of night and the blazing fire that cut their features into amorphous figures.
>Women and men alike were screaming as the figures, dozens or even hundreds of them, came out from every direction.
>You ducked down and pulled your cloak tighter around yourself.
[+5 Dexterity]
>You crept closer, so you were only fifty feet away from the horrific scene.
>Dozens of the shambling, groaning figures were cutting down people of all ages, of all races, completely indiscriminately.
>They did have one thing in common.
>They were all druids.
>You recognized the marking the druids carved into their trees with their magic, and you had to wonder with dawning horror was sort of magic was powerful enough to destroy trees imbued with druidic protection spells.
>The figures attacking the druids were coming from every direction, even right next to you.
>You couldn’t see them clearly, but you could feel a cold, soul-sucking chill wash over you every time one of their eerily, shining blue eyes passed.
>Irregardless of the light, their eyes were plainly visible.
>A blood curdling scream sundered the air, and your eyes locked onto a girl hopelessly fending off hordes of the… Things.


>You look mournfully at the other druids- they were surrounded by the flames of their trees, and the hordes that ever encroached on them.
>The girl had been separated, she was reachable.
>Like a ghost you slid from tree to tree as quickly as you could, but even then the shambling figures never glanced away from the grove, never moved in any direction but that one.
>Odd.
>The girl was valiantly trying to fend off the half dozen figures, her hands alight with magic.
>The closer you got, the more you could see her state.
>Barely standing, her body was drenched in sweat and there was a nasty burn on the left half of her face.
>The already thin garments that druids were known for was reduced to sunders, it hang loosely off her trembling form.
>Shuffling, moaning beings slowly trudged their way to her.
>She let out a primal, almost inhuman scream and blasted magic at the closest being with a punch.
>To your shock, the magic splattered harmlessly against the decrepit figure.
>But the massive root that came out and slammed into it tore it apart.
>She was breathing even harder after that, it seemed to take a lot out of her with every use.
>Horror and revulsion constricted your chest when the pieces of the body that she was smashed apart slowly began to put themselves back together with sickening squelching sounds.
>The being rose from the ground, groaning and gasping, its throat gurgling as if filled with water.
>You sprint around the outside of the circle and dive into the roots of a massive tree, thankfully it wasn’t on fire.
>The way several groaning figures were shambling that way told you that it wouldn’t be untouched for long.
>You whip out your bow and, with precise draws of the string, send arrows flying into circle that encroached on the girl.
>The arrows didn’t pierce there heads- it seemed nothing would stop them, but the arrows shattering their knee caps worked just as well.
>Several crumpled to the ground, their hands desperately pulling them forward.
>The girl, seeing the gap in the circle, stumbled her way towards it.
>You lunged out from your hidden position and grabbed her.
>She was larger than you, but a lot thinner.
>You grabbed her around the waist and pulled her along, sprinting towards trees a little farther out.
>The gasping, gurgling voices and empty eyes seemed to have noticed you, with the way their moaning turned ever-hungrier.
>You could feel their hungry, soulless blue eyes dig deep into your back, and you hoped it wasn’t their teeth that would up doing it instead.
>The both of you duck behind a large, outstretched tree a hundred or so yards from the battle, where druids were still valiantly attempting to fight off the innumerable horde.
>Your chest felt tight, watching the druids slowly get ripped to shreds, but you couldn’t help them.
>The babbling, hungry figures shuffling towards you was of bigger concern.
>You unclasp your cloak and throw it over the near-comatose druid.
>Hopefully these things couldn’t smell.
>The pair of dirks tied to your belt horizontally at the small of your back slid from their scabbard with a hiss.
>Like a jaguar leaping into action, you became a blur of metal and leather.
>Limbs were hacked to pieces, heads chopped in half, and bodies piled high.
>Bodies that didn’t stay down, or even in pieces.
>They were reforming as quickly as you could kill them, but it took almost no effort to do so.
>You kept them at a distance, never letting them encircle you.
>Hack a limb, then duck back.
>It seemed to be working.
>The right hand of one of those things was cleaved in two by your short sword just as it touched you.
>That had been far, far too close.
>You had to lead these things away, get them away from the half-dead girl just feet away.
>Like a top, you became a swirling vortex of steel and leather once more, completely drawing the attention of the half-dozen monsters that had followed you.
>You backed up until you were just outside the sacred grove.
>Fires blazed at in a half-circle around the massive clearing, not to mention the beings burning the druid’s homes to the ground with torches.
>The last of the druids themselves were being herded into a circle in the center, and were quickly being overwhelmed.
>You stopped, your whole body still among the chaos that flashed around you.
>Gleaming, golden armor reflected off the orange flames, and the screams of the tortured became furious screams of warriors.
>The Royal Knights had finally arrived.