The Beginning (Part 3)

Mysteri put Serenity on the ground in a distant forest. "Run Serenity. Run as fast as you can. Find her. Find Jaica. Now is the time. You are ready." Serenity looked at Mysteri and nodded. She looked into the sky and saw that the dragons were fleeing with their half-orc companions as well. Mysteri said "When you return with Jaica, we will return and battle with you both. We will prepare, but you must find her. Go...go now Serenity! Remember who you are, where you came from!" And with that, Mysteri flew into the sky and disappeared. Serenity only had a battered backpack with her, that she carried everywhere in case she wanted to train, and the clothes on her back. Serenity ran and ran. Tears streamed down her face as she thought of her parents, but she knew she could never forget. She stroked the locket around her neck and looked down at her bracelet. "Always Remember Serenity." "I will" she thought to herself.

The Beginning (Part 2)

Serenity, however, grew to be a very mature, caring and wise child. She befriended a dragon by the name of Mysteri. Mysteri allowed Serenity to learn the knowledge of the dragons and helped train her. She could tell that Serenity was going to become a very special, wonderful adult because she was already such a wonderful, kind child. Serenity was not a weak child, but she did not use her strength to bully other children. She was very kind, but that did not mean that she would do everything someone asked her. She had a powerful will and a strong sense ofjustice. Mysteri told Serenity after her second year of training, that when the time came, Serenity had to find a half-orc by the name of Jaica. "She is the key to the freedom of these lands. She is the key to peace and serenity." "Why can't I go now? I'm ready. We can stop all this suffering now" said Serenity. Mysteri shook her head. "My dear, you're still too young. There is much for you to learn. You will know when your time has come to find her."

Four years later, after a day of training with Mysteri, she was given a golden locket from her parents on her 12th birthday with a grass bracelet. The bracelet said "Always Remember Serenity". Her mother smiled at her and said "You've grown up to be a wonderful young lady. We love you so much." Her father picked her up and gave her a bear hug. He said "My dear daughter, please always remember to find serenity in your life, no matter how dark the hour. That is our dearest wish for you, my love." Serenity smiled and said "Of course I will. Always I will remember." The following day, a half-orc named Kryton who was a general for Rikorf's army, came to the village and declared "Your time has come to an end. The king wished for the dragon's secrets, but the dragons refuse. You all will now pay the price." Kryton and his men started thrashing the village and destroying everything, and everyone, in their path. Serenity saw her parents murdered before her eyes. Kryton smirked at Serenity, who, despite witnessing her parent's death, did not show fear. She was in emotional pain, yes that is true, but she was not afraid. She only had anger from the injustice of destroying the innocent village. Kryton lifted his sword, about to swing it to kill Serenity, when all of a sudden something grabbed Serenity by her shirt and she was suddenly flying in the air. Kryton screamed in fury at the loss of his prey.

The Beginning

Far, far away from the city of Westbridge, deep inside the forests...lay a small series of villages surrounding a large lake. These villages had no ruler, but worked together in harmony and peace. One day, an evil wizard found these series of villages and quickly overtook them. He named himself ruler and declared "I, Rikorf, will rule these lands. Any who dare oppose me, shall die a slow and painful death." Though many brave warriors banded together to fight Rikorf, they all died an immediate death. Rikorf was too powerful. For years, he used his power to recruit the strongest villagers to protect him. The weakest villagers, he used as servants and for entertainment. Rikorf treated the human race like scum, the lowest class, and all other races were just barely better. Despair, evil and poverty became the very core of these villages. Existence without these three things become impossible.

It was to one of these villages that Serenity came into the world. Serenity's parents had hoped that when their baby was born, there would be peace again amongst the villages. However, since it was the worst part of history for the villages, they only wanted one thing: for their daughter to have serenity. So, when their beautiful baby girl was born with her tuft of black hair and her father's sky blue eyes, they named their daughter Serenity, in hopes that she will find and have serenity in her life. The village of Lyika was a village where mystical dragons taught and trained the half-orcs everything they knew and learned from their long lives after proving themselves to a dragon. That dragon would become their teacher and companion. Human's had lost the privilege due to their consistent behavior in revealing the secrets of the dragons to others who had not earned the right in exchange for money.

A Late Night Stroll : The Note (Part 3)

The note was written with sloppy, boxy letters:
I have committed several murders, though my recent murder  occurred just yesterday. To find the woman I killed and the details  involved, please speak with Serenity Kaze or the Order of the Radiant  Heart.

Suddenly, the writing in the note changes to a cursive:  
Those of evil intention with a heart plagued with hate beware...If you do  not renounce your evil ways, then you will deal with us soon enough  and you might not be as lucky as this man here.
-The Order of the Radiant Heart

A Late Night Stroll (Part 2)

The man smirked and said "You'll never know my name. But that doesn't matter because you won't live to see this night through anyway." "An empty threat" smirked Serenity. "You won't be able to fight your way through the four of us. Now," Serenity glared at him "Why did you kill that woman in the alleyway? If you don't answer, you'll only suffer and will be begging us for a swift death." Psycho stepped toward the man, and there was a flicker of fear that ran through the man's eyes as he looked at the black flames that surrounded Psycho, and said "You will tell us what we want to know. Or you will suffer. Slowly. Painfully."

The man cowered in fear and shouted "Fine! I'll tell you this! That lady was just a job! I was hired to eliminate her, but for what reason, I don't know!" "Who hired you?" said Serenity, tightening the roots that bound him and then releasing them ever so slightly. The man gasped for air and said "Rikorf! His name is all I know of him." His voice rose in panic "If I knew more, I'd tell you lady, but I don't. It was done secretly. All I can tell you, is that this man who hired me was obviously powerful and rich. He pulled some strings. He brought me out of retirement. I quit doing this a few years ago. I tried to play it straight. But the platinum he offered was too much to resist! Now please, can I go?"

Crovax, Psycho, Draven and Serenity all exchanged looks with one another. Crovax said "We never said anything about letting you go. Didn't you hear Psycho the first time? There are consequences to your actions."

The following morning, the sun shone brightly upon Westbridge. Though it was quite early, there was a crowd at Market Square. Tied to the bench, his mouth gagged and a note pinned to the front of his hat was a man with a scar underneath his jawline with four Vectorian Cityguard's glaring down at him. The man seemed severely battered, his clothes torn and dotted with splotches of blood.

A Late Night Stroll

The gray, rainy day had turned to a dark, quiet night. The rain left a crisp, clean scent in the air. Serenity loved this smell deeply and felt that it was like a metaphor for what was about to occur that night. She took a deep breath and glanced around. She was standing in a dark alley, just outside of the street lamps glowing yellow light. She heard a man whistling a tune as he walked down the street, his footsteps echoing as the sound bounced between the buildings. Serenity saw the man walk past her, his cold eyes staring in front of him, but not really looking at anything at all. "He seems to be distracted" thought Serenity. She watched as the man looked up at the evening sky, the scar underneath his jawline accentuated by the glowing light of the streetlamps, still walking nonchalantly down the street. He looked back toward the street and abruptly stopped.

Psycho stepped from outside of the darkness. He had been standing in the dark space between the reach of two street lamps. Psycho's black flaming hair flickering and fighting against the wind, with his red armor shining amidst the light, looked absolutely menacing. The man seemed to be shocked into place. Serenity came from behind the man and uttered the words 'unsohaiorz'. Roots suddenly sprung up from the ground and entangled the man, holding him into place. Crovax and Draven came out of the alleyway opposite of Serenity. Crovax said "Good job Serenity. Good job Psycho." Psycho nodded at Crovax and walked toward the man. "What business do you have here in Westbridge? Did you really think you could commit murder here and not suffer the consequences?" The man, having regained his composure, sneered and spat at the ground in front of Psycho. "It's my business, not yours. Who do YOU think you are? You think you scare me?" said the man.  Draven walked directly up to the man and towered over him. He said "We are the Order of the Radiant Heart. We spend our lives cleansing the realms of evil scum like yourself. We protect the innocent and the good. Essentially, we are your worse enemy." Crovax walked over to the man and said "What's your name? Who are you?"

A Beautiful Day (Part 2)

Rain started falling, first lightly and then quite heavily. Serenity stopped in front of the entrance hall to the Order and then knocked upon the door. She was greeted by a dwarf with black flaming hair. She could not believe her eyes as she saw black flames surrounding this person's body. She smiled tentatively at the dwarf and said "I have something I wish to bring to the attention of the Order of the Radiant Heart. I witnessed a man murder a woman without hesitation or reason. It was quite clear that evil had long seeped the soul of this man." The dwarf nodded at Serenity and said "Come in. Some of the others are sitting by the fire. By the way, my name is Psycho." Serenity nodded and said "It's a pleasure to meet you Psycho. My name is..." "Serenity. Serenity Kaze." said Psycho. "We know of you because of the message you placed with us a few weeks ago." "Good" thought Serenity "I was able to gain their attention and show them that my intentions are true and pure."

As Serenity entered into the clan hall, she curiously glanced around...hoping that she was setting her eyes on a place she would be able to be a part of. But for now, there were greater matters at hand. Psycho and Serenity entered a room, with a fireplace that held a warm, toasty fire. Standing beside the fire was a tall bald man, with blue eyes and a pointy beard. He turned his head toward Serenity and Psycho. He smiled and said "What do we have here?" A blonde elf was sitting beside the fire. He glanced at Serenity and then glanced back at the fire. Psycho said "She says that there is something she needs to bring to our attention. Something quite important." The elf sitting beside the fire nodded and turned again to Serenity. "My name is Crovax. Please tell me your urgent news." Serenity nodded and told the Order of what she witnessed.

The faces of the Order grew somber, but there was a sense of eagerness. "An eagerness to dispose of this evil" thought Serenity. When Serenity finished her story, Psycho said "Well it seems that we must find this man at once. Draven",he turned to face the man standing beside the fireplace, "I don't suppose you've heard news of this man Serenity described to us?" Draven glanced at Serenity and back at Psycho "Unfortunately not." Crovax stood and said "Earlier today, while I was at Phil's Bar, I heard about this man, distinguished because of his scar underneath his jaw line. I overheard someone say  that they saw him renting a room at the Healing Wound Inn." Draven turned to Crovax and said "Well then. Can we go tonight?" Crovax smiled at Draven and nodded "We go tonight. The sooner we rid the  realms of this evil, the sooner the world can be free to prosper once  again." Psycho turned to Serenity and grinned "I don't suppose you  have time for a late night...shall we say...stroll?"

A Beautiful Day

It was a beautiful day. The skies were gray and Serenity could feel that rain was coming to the city of Westbridge. Serenity loved blue skies, but just as much as she loved blue skies, she appreciated the days when the world was filled with gray. It gave her a sense of calm and tranquility. Serenity stopped in front of a building and walked in. Tom's Bakery had to be one of her favorite places in Westbridge. The smell of bread baking and the sweet smell of Danish's filled her lungs. She took a deep breath and smiled at the baker. "Beautiful day, isn't it Tom?" Tom wiped some flour on to his apron and nodded at Serenity. "Sure it is kid. What'll it be today?" Serenity smiled and said "Whatever just came out of the oven is fine with me." Serenity left the bakery and started walking toward her new home.

She took a big breath of air and then a big bite of her freshly baked cinnamon roll and let the warmth fill her. "Delicious" she thought. "Today will be a wonderful day." She smiled to herself and continued on home. Serenity took the last bite of her cinnamon roll and took a deep breath, breathing in the lovely scent of flowers. Then there was a blood curdling scream that made Serenity's heart skip a beat.

Running towards the scream, she bounded around the corner and into an alleyway. There stood a figure wearing a hat and a dark coat towering over a woman in a red dress. The figure averted their eyes from the woman and glanced at Serenity with disgust and then slit the woman's throat with one swift motion. The figure ran around the corner, revealing a deep scar underneath his jaw line and a silver bracelet peeking from just underneath the coat. Serenity ran after him, but to her surprise, there was no one to be seen on the street. She ran back to the dead woman, who now lay bleeding in the alleyway. Serenity closed the mystery woman's eyes with her fingers and prayed to the gods and goddesses to watch over this woman as she ascended into the heavens. Serenity stood. She had to avenge this woman's murder and find out about the man who stole this woman's life. Justice will be served and the evil of this world will be removed, one way or another. Serenity started running towards the first place that came to her mind when she thought of justice, good and fighters against chaos and evil. She ran to The Order of the Radiant Heart.