Ages ago the world was a far different place than it is today. Before urbanization, and the industrial revolutions the world was simpler place. Now somewhere in medieval Europe new evils have been brewing. A corruption is spreading across the lands. the Shadowlord have come with unimaginable horrors.

Our story begins in a town that has been ruined by the corruption. The only building left standing is the wreckage of the church. Inside is the only living soul in the town.

(I hope this hint is rather obvious, Go to the Church!)

((Well, here goes nothing!))

Towards the outskirts of the ruined town was a half-collapsed house that no one would, upon coming to inspect the ruined town, think to look in, due to the heavy damage to the exterior of it. However, one small girl was frantically trying to dig through the rubble. Her name was Mira.

Mother! What happened to Mother? The girl's thoughts were frantic as she tried to find her mother's body in the rubble. Mira had been out in the nearby woods when the corruption hit, only to return to find her entire village in ruins. As she dug, the rubble hurt her hands, leaving numerous small cuts and bruises on them.

After an hour of searching, Mira found something: a bloodied hand, still and cold in death, sticking out from under part of the collapsed roof. Presumably there was an arm, followed by the rest of a body, attached to the hand, but Mira was too shocked to think about that. With a soundless gasp of fright, Mira stumbled back from the corpse of her mother.

As she looked around franticly for some sort of place to go and hide while she collected herself, Mira spotted the church. Mother always said Church was a safe place... Trying to hold back the tears from finding her mother's body, Mira ran towards the church.

magine and mhantra reaches the edge of the town. they spend a second to survey, they have yet to see destruction of such magnitude. slowly they walk through, calling out for survivors, or someone to explain what happened. eventually they reach the lone church. they enter. magine takes a few steps through the door, and kneels. she preforms a short prayer, and kisses the crusafix (sp) around her neck before getting back up. while magine was preforming her christian ritual mhantra began walking down the asile checking the rows of benches for any survivors, not one person, not even a corpse was to be found.

From his place at the front of the church Zanek rises from his kneeling position. "Foul creature, how dare you defile the house of the Lord!" He says looking straight at Mhantra. "You're magic does not fool me beast, now leave this house of god, and leave this poor village before I send you to your master!" Zanek says reaching for his longsword.

((Draco, quick question... Has Zanek been staying in the village for a while, therefore he'd have seen Mira before? Or is he just passing through? I ask because, if it's the first one, then he would be used to the fact that she is mute and be able to understand her a bit better if she is trying to signal something.))

Mira burst through the doors of the church, winded from running. Pausing to catch her breath, she was startled to see three living people. Two of them seemed to be fairly combat ready, but the other one had a huge sword. Mira took half a step back, not knowing what to do if combat started. I should have run to the woods. There are plenty of animals that could have helped me...

((Zanek only arrived recently before the incident, so he would not be that familar with Mira))

Zanek upon seeing Mira abandons his combative nature. He recognizes the girl, but he is not familar with her having only been in the village a few days. Putting on his gentle face he brushes past Mhantra. "Come to me child, no evils can harm you in the house of the lord, not while I am here."

"remember" magine tells mira, kneeling beside her wile putting her hand on mira's shoulder. "the lord protects his children, whom are faithful twards him"

mhanta walks up to zanek "I mean no harm, but would you mind sharing with me what you know of the damage this village has received"

Mira flinched away from Magine's touch, unnerved by her ever so slightly. Looking at the three people, Mira figured that one of them would be able to help her figure out what to do next. She started trying to signal out what she wanted to say. First she looked back out the door and pointed towards where her house was, to show that she lived in the village. Next she reached up as high as she could, trying to signal someone tall, then hugged herself, to signify that the tall person was someone she loved, a.k.a her mother. She pouted sadly at the end of her routine, hoping that one of the three people would get at least some of what she was trying to say. Mira didn't know how she could signal something like death, but for now it would have to do.

"What is it child? What happened?" Zanek asks. Her signs mean something but he is unsure of what they mean. "Show me what's bothering you," Zanek says. Hed turns to Mhantra. "I know not what horror descended on this village. The bane of evil shielded me from what happened, the rest I don't know, just that this girl has something important to tell us."

Mira began pointing at her house again, frustrated that her meaning had not been clear. Why couldn't one of my neighbors have survived? They'd have understood me.

Do they even know I am mute? Mira made a slashing motion across her throat and mimed talking. Please let this work... After a moment of doing that, she went back to pointing at her house, taking a few steps towards it in an attempt to get them to follow.

magine looks at zanek. "she obviously has some winter's beneath her, she may be literate, would you mind tracking down some stationary, ink, and a quill?"

"Are you blind or stupid?" Zanek asks. "Look at this wrecked church and ask me again." Zanek makes to follow Mira. "Show me what it is child," he says to Mira.

Mira nodded and led the way back to her destroyed home. Not wanting to look at the partially uncovered corpse of her mother again, Mira stood to the side and pointed in the body's direction.

A blue hawk circled around the church three times, then flew off to the west. After roughly two miles, he spotted his master. He bolted for him, stopping with just barely enough room to perch on his master's glove. He instantly durned to blue dust, which was absorbed by the blue gem in the glove.

"Right," said Max. "Off to the church." Fingering his sword for a second, he sprinted to the east, shield clanging against sword on his back.

Understanding washes over Zanek, and he sighs. He pats Mira on the head, and picks up a shovel lying on the ground. Quickly, he digs a near perfect grave, after all he has buried a lot of people in his time. He lays Mira's mother inside, and Zanek pulls out an old bible with the edges bound in steel. He recites a prayer, and he returns the bible. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust." He says filling in the grave.

When he finishes Zanek motions to Mira. "Come child, time to leave this place."