Author's Note
Thank you again everyone for supporting me. Here's the prologue for you. Please show some love🤗
A vast expanse of blue light illuminated the forest in its late afternoon. The rays of the sun were just barely able to seep through the canopy of trees that towered over the earth, creating a dim glow near the moss-covered forest floor. Bristled vines stretched over yards of ground and wound themselves up the trees. The humid air baked the rich soil, creating an earthy, musky smell. The air was still and was swarmed with insects lower to the ground, and birds up higher into the trees. There was a low, continuous hum from the busy animal life, with a solo cry every now and then. The light that was able to enter the forest reflected off of the dense blue-green plant life, helping to create the alluring blue hue that encompassed the forest.
Its density and sweltering heat made it more of a jungle of sorts. Yet, it was known to all magical creatures as silvio blé, or more commonly, blue forest. It was home to elvish tribes mostly, though various other races and creatures inhabited it as well. It was also home to unicorns, rare and docile animals. However, blue forest was most famous for its Night Walkers; monumental creatures that only appeared when night descended upon the land, and were feared so greatly that they scared all other life into hiding during the night. The inhabitants of the forest referred to this time as Blue Night. Few people had actually seen the Night Walkers. And lived. They were described as ghostly creatures that stood so tall they could touch the tops of the trees.
Yet even these terrifying creatures were not what had the entire forest raked with terror. The mongor were closing in all over, and they would attack no matter what time of day. Mongor were also more frightening because their attacks were built upon mountains of hate and a lust for blood. At least the Night Walkers would only kill to eat. Mongor were beasts that stood about seven or eight feet tall, with scaled black skin, much like a reptile's. They had several layers of short, but devastatingly sharp teeth in their wide jaws and at the ends of their long fingers were a set of long, equally sharp nails. The most dangerous thing about them was their ability to use the heat within them to spark fire and set any opponent up in flames within seconds.
Mongor were from a continent south of blue forest, which was known as black forest. However, over the past few decades, they had begun invading blue forest, as well as several other magical continents, such as The Arctic and the Elder Mountains. Humans feared that the Mongor might set their sights on nonmagical continents next and had been snapping into action to stop Mongor in their tracks. It did not appear to be working.
As a large bird flew lower in the trees overhead, a shadow was cast over Jade, crouching behind a massive log. Her brown colored eyes were trained on the little grey-tailed deer in front of her. She raised her crossbow and aimed it at the deer's chest. Quietly, she blew a strand of golden-brown hair from her face and slowly widened her stance, preparing to move quickly if the deer suddenly became aware of her presence or worse, another predator came to claim her prey. Her muscles flexed in anticipation and she finally moved two fingers to the trigger.
The bird overhead suddenly screeched, startling the deer. Its small, stubby antlers swung about and its beady eyes abruptly caught sight of Jade's bow. Jade immediately squeezed the trigger, but the deer's smoky fur was already disappearing into the brush. She was quick to action, her legs pushing off the ground with all their might and her feet landing cleanly on the other side of the log she had been hiding behind. She began chasing after it as it pranced away, its skinny legs scrambling to find footing.
