In the forest, in the silent night, a portal opened. From it emerged a creature wrapped in a cloak.
As soon as it crossed the threshold, it began to run, breathing heavily and leaving a trail of blood behind.
The portal began to shrink. The creature stopped, leaning against a tree to support itself.
Just as the opening was about to disappear completely, a thin red line cut across it and, with astonishing speed, drew near.
Sensing an instinctive danger, the creature turned around. It saw no one. A thin cut appeared on its neck.
It didn't even have time to touch it: the head slid off, rolling onto the ground, and the body collapsed immediately afterward.
A boy stepped out of the shadows and approached the corpse.
He grabbed the head by the hair, lifted it to eye level, and examined it. Pale face, red eyes, fangs: a vampire, a creature of the night.
After studying its features, he placed the head on the ground. He stretched out his hand toward the remains;
a flame was born in his palm and wrapped around both body and head, reducing everything to ashes.
The boy looked around, then raised his gaze to the sky. The moon was shining above the treetops.
He began walking in the opposite direction from it and, as he went, he pulled a phone from his pocket.
He turned it on: no signal. He turned it off again and put it away.
As he moved through the trees, mutated animals appeared and tried to attack him, among them a green bear.
One of the peculiarities of these creatures was the use of magical abilities: that green bear, in particular, could spit poison from its mouth.
The boy, seeing the mutated animal, was about to draw his sword.
At that moment, a canary landed on his shoulder and, in a high, lively voice, said :
"Corvian Noxvale, keep going where you're headed and wait for me at the lake."
The canary flew away. Corvian followed it with his eyes and asked, in an uncertain voice:
"What lake?"
Taking advantage of his distraction, the bear lunged at him. It spat poison toward him, ready to attack the moment the weakening took effect.
Corvian, sensing movement at his side, drew his sword from its sheath. He took a stance, staring at the approaching poison.
When it was about two meters away, he swung a vertical slash: an arc of fire burst from the blade, cutting through and vaporizing the poisonous stream.
Immediately afterward he dashed toward the green bear. His body vanished for an instant, condensing into a red line that burned through the air.
The bear, confused, saw its own poison dissolve into toxic mist before it even reached the human.
It rose up on its hind legs to see better, but a horizontal slash struck first: its body was cleaved in two.
The flames continued to burn even after the cut, completely incinerating the creature.
Corvian sheathed his sword and began walking again.
Shortly afterward, he reached the lake, a stretch of ink-black water under the icy light of the moon.
Corvian advanced toward the water and stopped just before his feet touched the surface.
He opened his palm; a flame sprang from it, illuminating his face reflected in the lake.
In the dark mirror of the water, his raven-black hair took on glossy charcoal highlights, while his lilac eyes shone like gems immersed in fire.
His features remained motionless, his jaw tense, his gaze fixed.
No emotion. Only the cold alertness of someone who lives with a hand on the hilt.
His reflection suddenly began to distort. No, it wasn't the water's surface: the lake itself was trembling. Something was emerging.
A gigantic fish slowly broke through the surface. Its scales looked like sharp spikes;
beneath the moon its body appeared a dark gray, and its eyes watched Corvian as though he were prey.
Corvian studied the aquatic creature before him and murmured:
"Is this my means of transportation?"
The answer came at once.
A bird of prey dived from above at great speed and hurled itself at the fish.
Its talons struck with such force that, even though the monster tried to open its jaws wide to devour it, it was ripped cleanly apart.
Corvian glimpsed a figure standing on the creature's back.
He couldn't see it clearly, but it didn't seem human.
His hand moved instinctively toward the sword's hilt, but stopped when the figure shouted:
"Corvian Noxvale, wait for me there!"
His name and surname were not something just anyone could know.
Only members of the high nobility of the neutral faction were aware of his true identity.
After killing the fish, the bird dragged it to the shore. Corvian saw the figure hold out a hand to him.
"Let's go, it's already late," she said.
He ignored the outstretched hand and, with a single leap, climbed straight onto the bird's back.
As soon as Corvian was mounted, the bird spread its wings again and took off.
Even while carrying the giant fish, it seemed to make no effort at all; its speed remained exactly the same as before.
Corvian was admiring the landscape, but he was interrupted by the figure, who asked in a high, lively voice:
"Why don't you tell me how things went on your side?"
Corvian turned to look at her. Despite the darkness, precious stones glittered on her clothing.
She had pale skin, a slender, graceful build; her face bore high cheekbones, a narrow chin, and large eyes with amber irises. Her ears were long, pointed backward, and lacked earlobes.
He met her gaze and said:
"It was a vampire from the Faction of Evil."
Hearing the name of the Faction of Evil, Elentari frowned; then suddenly, her eyes widened.
"You said a vampire?!" she exclaimed.
Corvian didn't answer. Instead, he asked:
"Is this bird dirty, or can I lie down?"
Elentari shot him a sharp look, more than enough of an answer. Corvian lay down without another word.
The exhaustion and tension he had built up dragged him instantly into a deep sleep.
Seeing him fall asleep so quickly, Elentari sighed and murmured:
"Then I'll have to wait until we return to the Capital before hearing the whole story."
Elentari noticed the pungent smell of dead fish and slightly wrinkled her nose.
She walked to the bird's head, stroked its feathers, and said:
"I know you like fish, but use your ability to freeze it, so it won't attract unwanted attention."
The bird, a mutated snowy owl, possessed the ability to freeze any living being with its talons.
The fish clutched in its claws began to freeze little by little, until it was completely encased in a thick layer of ice.
Meanwhile, Elentari lay down on the owl's back and raised her gaze to the starry sky.
The forest lay within the territory of the neutral faction and, considering the bird's speed, they reached the Capital after seven hours of travel.