Chapter 1

Game Start

It was a mild, sunny day over the lands of Tir Chonaill, the sunlight cast over the lands below it with warmness and light. The clouds above were fluffy and white while the skies were deep blue, which was a great sight to see after the rainy season had stopped. The fields around the lovely village were lusciously green, the blades of the grass swayed gently in the breeze. It was summertime in the land of Erinn, the stores were busy while the traveling bards took rest in the town square and took turns to share their music. The villagers of the town was roaming about, looking for business and minding to themselves, always happy to see that the travelers were making their trip to this small town despite being the size it is.

In one part of the town, small doors opened roughly then a young girl immediately jumped out and stretched her limbs briskly in an enthusiastic manner. "Ah! What a beautiful day!" cried the girl, her eyes sparkling with glee then she cringed at the sound of her mother yelling after her.

"Young lady! You haven't cleaned your room yet!" The old woman hollered as she stumbled out of the doors after her impatient daughter.

"Mom, I'm getting ready to fight monsters! I want to be cool like all those Milletians who are roaming around this town! I can't wait around for that just so I can clean my room!" The girl retorted in protest, her arms flailed about as she whined in response to her stern-looking mother.

"Oh sure, beating up wolves with a wooden stick is totally fighting monsters." A snarky tone of a young boy rung beside the older female.

"Oh shut up, Rowan. You're too scared to fight wolves and in case you didn't know, this is a wooden blade! Get it right!" The young girl sneered at the young boy while her hands were placed on her hips, sticking her tongue out at her younger brother who leered back.

"You two, don't argue. Rowan, head back indoors. And Blair, go upstairs and clean your room!" The girl's mother pleaded with her thin fingers resting on her forehead, shaking her head as her children glared at each other with bitterness.

Dejectedly, Blair slumped as she walked back upstairs to her room and did as her mother told. It wouldn't be too great to stay and argue with her for too long, otherwise she wouldn't be going out in the first place. Arriving to the door of her room, the door creaked loudly as she peered in her disheveled looking room. Briskly walking in and shutting the door behind her, Blair flung herself onto her bed on her belly. Dropping her wooden blade onto the floor on where her hand hovered over, the young girl uttered a sigh as she rolled onto her back to stare at the ceiling. She started to daydream about the adventures she could be having, but she knew it was pointless to mope about the time being lost in the day. She then inhaled deeply and got to work on cleaning her room. Her room was littered with cutouts of drawings, which showed many Milletians who had done great deeds for the world. Picking up one in her hands, the girl swooned at the man in the picture and squealed. "I want to be cool like you!" She spoke to the piece of paper in her hands, looking longingly and she went to pick up the rest to put them away.

After an hour of digging out the mess of her room, Blair picked up her wooden blade and dashed back downstairs with renewed glee. "Mom, I cleaned my room! I'll be fighting monsters, so bye!" She cried out before her mother tried to call for her, the old woman sighed and smirked at the girl running down the path in the distance.

Fleetingly passing through few travelers on the road, Blair took sight of the green fields by the moon gate and smiled at the bleating sheep. The fluffy sheep were always something she looked forwards to seeing because that meant waiting for the wolves to hunt them down like they usually do. "Sheepies! I'm coming to save the day!" said the girl as she flailed her blade in the air, jumping onto the field as she cheerfully petted one that was the nearest to her.

The sheep took no notice of her, simply bleating and grazing on the fields with almost no care in the world. It was a peaceful sight, since the sheep were mild-mannered around Tir Chonaill. But the silence was broken from the sound of a lone wolf, growling at one sheep that was scampering away from the crowd. "Oh no you don't! Fear my mighty wooden blade!" cried out Blair as she swung down her weapon onto the wolf's head.

With a pathetic yelp, the wolf was flung away from its prey and then it snapped its attention at its attacker. Reeling back and flexing its muscles, the large canine lunged forward at the girl with bared fangs. With a proud battle cry, Blair counterattacked the large beast and was reigned the victor. "You're safe now, sheep!" The girl puffed out her chest proudly, then heard a louder snarl in the distance.

Squinting her eyes as she scanned the landscape, it seemed there were a few wolves heading towards the group of sheep. It seemed the wolves were a bit bigger than the usual lot, which gave a heavy feeling in her chest. "That doesn't look good." She uttered under her breath as she took notice of the sheep being disturbed as well.

The girl braced herself as she saw the enormous beasts approach intimidatingly, feeling her legs tremble as she gripped onto the handle of the blade tightly. The glowing eyes of the giant wolves were piercingly frightening, while their fur were pure white as the snow of Sidhe Sneachta. Their presence gave off a fearful reaction in Blair, her thoughts racing as she thought of fleeing instead of fighting. With a wince, the girl shut her eyes tightly as she screamed – her hands swung spasmodically in front of her in hopes that she would hit something. Without a second's notice, the girl heard cries of pain from the wolves and then silence.

"Hey kid, you okay?" asked a soothing tone of a female.

Opening her eyes slowly, the light in her eyes made her squint while her pupils dilated. It took awhile for her eyes to get adjusted to the sun again, then she noticed who were her saviors. A tall elf female with a bow in hand, standing next to a young man wielding a staff in hand. The elf had pale blonde hair, her eyes were a gleaming green, while her lips were pursed into a cheery smile. The human male had a dark auburn hair, his dark brown eyes were behind wooden glasses. The two were wearing comfortable muffler robes, while the man wore a tattered large wizard-like hat. With lips parted while her mouth hung from astonishment, Blair's eyes sparkled in gratitude as she bowed to the two repeatedly. "Oh, thank you! You saved me and the sheep! Mostly the sheep, but you know you saved me too! Are you two Milletians?!" The young girl chimed in question, hopping where she stood excitedly.

"Yes, we are Milletians. I go by Avery. I'm an elf, as you can see," pointed the elf female as her finger gingerly prodded at her long ears that poked through her long hair. "This one's Cian. He's a human like you," Avery continued as she nodded towards the young man as he waved towards Blair with a little smile.

"Wow, I always wanted to be cool like you guys. But, I'm not a Milletian so I never got the chance." Blair enthusiastically responded, ogling the pair as if she's meeting famous people.

"Oh, what's stoppin' you?" asked the elf as she placed a hand on her cheek, tilting her head to the side.

"Just that I'm not a Milletian." responded the young girl as she shuffled her feet sheepishly, feeling overwhelmed from all her excitement.

"Pssh, excuses. I've seen your kind do better than most Milletians," the elven girl uttered and chuckled as she eyed the giant wolf on the ground. "How about this? You try out traveling with us for one day and see how well you do. If you feel comfortable with running around with us, then we don't mind you tagging along." Avery cheerfully smiled as she sat on the lifeless wolf, offering the girl a chance to live her dream.

"Avery, you always do this. Don't do it." The young man uttered softly as he frowned worriedly towards Blair's excitement from the offer.

"Pssh, Cian. Don't worry, the girl has a weapon." The elven woman nonchalantly responded with a sway of her hand, seeing her friend's obvious worry for the human girl.

"How about this, uhm, what's your name?" asked Cian as he crossed his arms.

"Blair, I go by Blair." chimed the girl's response.

"Okay, Blair. You get a better weapon, get permission from family members and bid your farewells, then meet us tomorrow at this spot. We'll be waiting out here. If you don't have a better weapon by then, we're not taking you." The human male spoke firmly, his eyes stern and studying the girl in front of him.

"Cian, why did –" Avery retorted against the standards set by her friend, but was cut off by the man's hand waving to stop her.

"Get a better weapon, say good bye to family, and meet you guys here? Okay! I'll do it!" Blair chimed in response, her hands gripped tightly against her weapon as she dashed off without another word.

"Why did you have to go and make her get a new weapon?" The elf asked with frustration in her tone.

"It's so she can defend herself if we can't get to her on time. We're only two people, we're not professional guards." Cian responded with a smile, then glanced to see the girl run up the hill to get to home in the distance.

Author's Note: This is just a short story series I'm making by myself to work on my writing. I hope it turns out well and I apologize in advance for short chapters. ^^