Chapter 1

"You've got to be more careful Rae!" Lectured a very concerned mother, by the name of Dana Huffe, as she tended to the wounds of her only daughter. Rae Huffe. They were sat at the door of their small home in the Village of Alencia, small but just big enough for the both of them.

"Mum! Seriously! I'm okay, it's just a few minor scratches." Rae grumbled back at her as she attempted to push her mother's hands away from her body but was unsuccessful in her attempts to. However, Dana was not impressed with her daughter as she continued disinfecting and wrapping up any cut she could find on Rae's body.

"If it was really just a few minor scratches, you wouldn't have come in bleeding all over the floor. I thought you were dying Rae!" Dana retaliated, voicing her concern for her daughter, making Rae stay quiet and give up trying to deny the fact she was severely injured, allowing Dana to continue tending to her wounds. "I keep telling you that going out of the Village is dangerous but you simply won't listen to me, will you?" Dana sighed as she finished wrapping up the last wound on Rae's legs and packing up their first aid kit.

"But there's so much cool stuff beyond the walls! I just want to explore out there! Why do we have to stay in Alencia?! It's boring here." Rae protested as she stumbled to her feet, wincing in pain as she put pressure on one of her feet. "I don't see why I can't go out but a regular person who takes on a quest can leave Alencia? It's not fair!" Complained Rae as she went to grab her hood from the floor to head back out into the wilderness but was swiftly stopped by Dana.

"You know exactly why we can't leave Alencia, Rae." Dana sternly reminded as she picked up Rae's hood and put it up on a coat hook before leaving to put the first aid kit away while Rae silently grumbled to herself. She roughly pulled her hood off of the hook it had just been placed on, shoving it over her head and then pulled her worn boots back onto her feet as she got ready to head back out. However, just as Rae was opening the door and stepping out, Dana returned with a plate of food for Rae. "You're planning on leaving again, aren't you?" Dana asked with a slight tinge of sadness laced in her voice as she asked, making Rae frown and stop in her tracks. She reluctantly shut the door and turned to face her mother, leaning on the door for support as Dana continued to lecture her with the same sad but strict tone. "I've told you the old tales of beyond the walls so many times Rae, do none of them scare you at all? The Dragons? The Minotaurs? The Imps? None of them scare you?" Dana reminded but was disappointed to her what Rae had to say about the old tales of beyond the walls.

"The tales that the Dragons are fearless beasts which can grow to the size of a building and kill thousands in one sweep? Or the tales of the Minotaurs which are these heartless beings who can kill a human in seconds? Or even the tales of the Imps which cause utter chaos for anyone who crosses their path? What about the witches and wizards? All of those tales are the soul reason I want to explore, I want to see one of those beasts for myself." Rae excitedly explained to Dana as she grabbed a nearby umbrella and pointed it up towards the celling as if it was a sword and she'd just been victorious. They stayed in silence for a few moments as Rae lowered the umbrella back to the floor and just smiled at Dana who was stood as still as a statue with the plate of food still in her hands and an saddened look on her face. "Mum, you know I'm always careful when I leave Alencia. Hell! I've even had an encounter with a Minotaur, granted it was absolutely terrifying, but I got way more injured today than I did then." Rae explained as she tried to comfort her mother and convince her that she knows what she's doing whenever she leaves the village. However, to her surprise, Dana didn't lecture her again or try to forbid her from leaving Alencia at all, she simply gave in to Rae and gave a suggestion.

"Fine. If you're going to keep going leaving Alencia and I can't stop you, then at least let me give you something to protect yourself with." Dana suggested, putting the plate of food back in the kitchen and motioning for Rae to follow her up the stairs. It confused Rae but she happily complied with Dana, excited that she would be allowed to go beyond the walls with no repercussions yet she was unsure as to what her mother wanted to give her for protection. As they made their way up the stairs and through the corridor, Rae was trying to guess whatever Dana could be giving her. However, each and every one of her guesses were incorrect and her mother just laughed at each one as they got even more obscure,.

"Is it an armor set? That would definitely protect me!" Rae asked and was yet again disappointed that Dana shook her head as she quietly laughed at another one of her obscure guesses. Eventually, Rae gave up with asking and just quietly followed her mum up the stairs and towards the opening to their attic. She pulled down the ladder and proceeded to climb up it with Rae quickly following her up as soon as she reached the top and was in the attic. As soon as Dana made it into the attic, she immediately started sifting through old boxes until she found one that was somewhat large box with heavy amounts of dust and water damage from being untouched for years. Once Rae had made her way up, she noticed the box and bubbled with excitement. "Is that the box it's in? It's huge! Please tell me what it is you want me to have." Rae begged as Dana blew off some of the dust from the box before opening it up and making sure what was inside wasn't damaged.

"This box is full of your father's stuff that he had before he passed, I thought he might want you to have this." Dana explained as she pulled out a sword, covered with leather pouch to protect it from decay, from the box and carefully handed it over to Rae, who immediately took off the cover to take a look. It was well kept and Rae couldn't even find a single chip or any rusting on the actual sword as well as it being perfectly polished still from the last time her father had polished it. The handle was a pretty plain oak wood one with some faded and dirty bandages wrapped around parts of it where her father's hand would've been. "He was a soldier for Alencia but was so similar to you, all he wanted to do was study the beasts beyond the walls. After he passed they gave me his sword and it's been sat up here for years." Dana explained, watching Rae look over the sword and her face lighting up with fascination as she carefully examined it. She then gripped it with both her hands and started practicing swinging it at stuff, to get used to holding it but still cautious of where Dana was. Rae quickly thanked her mother as she kept her grip on the sword and practically ran back downstairs to the door. Dana was quick to follow as grabbed one more thing from the box before she put the box back away and made her way downstairs to join Rae at the door to catch her before she leaves. "Rae, before you go back out, take some food with you at least." Dana mentioned, while holding a little bag of food, just before Rae could even step out of the door with the sword in hand, a pouch on her side and boots back on her feet. She thanked Dana as she took the little bag of food and put it inside of the pouch on her side but before she could leave Dana handed her something else. "You should probably take this with you too." Dana called out to Rae, who turned around with a smile but was quickly very confused when it seemed as though she was holding a belt for her.

"A belt? What do I need a belt for?" Rae laughed as she took the belt and examined it for a couple of seconds before realizing what it was. It was a sword holster. Yet again Rae thanked her mother as she put the holster on herself and put the sword safely into the scabbard. She thanked Dana for everything before giving her a big hug and stepping out of the door, ready to start a new adventure.