Rayne, Child of a Thousand Years "Chapter 0: Goodnight, My Angel"

Within the boughs of the eternal forest glades
Lives a family of my darest love, the feathery maids.
They are of such a wondrous creation and ilk
And wings like griffins: as soft as silk.

Amongst these angels of the mortal's flesh and bone
Is a loving mother and father, a steadfast love is shown.
Unto this couple, the greatness is granted;
For eternity once over, a dark omen is planted.

Unknownst to any of this blissfully peacefully lot,
The child of change had come within and got.
As this lightness from within and sides takes root
The darkness ventures closer in black pursuit.

From eyes of evil comes a gaze from which all bane so drums
And to its deathly, vicious wants the mother's will, in truth, succumbs.
To beauty of the sin-sick heart and wayward needs of tepid parts
Away in glee this darkness took the one that life imparts.

To towers filled with gold and silk; to rooms of satin and candlelight:
All to woo this maid of light to come to Him as wife by right.
Refuse she did as oft she may and not once she touched the beauty deayed;
Until at last, her heart so pure was turned at last in deat be laid.

~~~~

Fourteen. The stars overhead proved to be no more than a handful as she stood at the crest of a hill outside of town. The soft wind that whispered in her ears whipped through her hair like mischeivious imps. Thick, red brown hair fell to her shoulders and whispered of fire in the evening’s heat. A calm smile traced her lips, almost reaching her large honey-dew gold eyes as she looked down over the sparce fields. Her button nose wrinkled as the wind carried the scent of dinner and manure to her post. Her shoulders were held taunt, waiting for whatever might try to land her on her back. In her left hand, she held tight to the shaft of a dark mahogany spear. It’s tip remained white even in the red hues of sunset.

Even now, alone where she stood, the voices of the people in town haunted her: changeling, daemon, outcast. She knew they spoke of her in hushed tones. Only here, on the hilltop could she feel like she really did belong somewhere. Not here, persay...but somewhere out in the realm beyond this tiny farming village. Perhaps there was something out there that could help her.

The dulling hues of evening cooled on her back. From the shadow cast by the fading sun, she sprouted her wings with such ferocity, it could have knocked the wind out of a stocky dwarf. But there was no one else outside of town tonight. The flocks were in the paddocks and the last field was sown with seed.

The lights to the town glittered to life and still, she stood on the hilltop, watching the town below her. As night took the sky in shades of gold and burgundy, she turned and tested her wings, leaping with the wind into the darkening night.

~~~~

Night. The villages below looked so beautiful when the moon graced them with his silver beams. Rayne could see the orange glow of the street torches below her as she floated above on her feathery wings. The wind was calm tonight and the weather warm. It was a good night to simply enjoy the wonders she was graced with. Her father did not know she was out again. He never noticed her when she slipped out of the window to venture in the night. Her father was far too busy to worry about her these days.

The shingle roof one the outskirts of town soon came into view. As she gently landed upon the roof to her home, Rayne heard some sounds...sounds that should never be heard at night. Twirling back into the skies, Rayne flipped down to a window to see what was going on. Men were milling about in the main area of the hut. An older-looking man was tied to one of the dinning chairs, a nasty bruise all ready forming on the poor man’s left shoulder.

His head lolled after a thin shadow that slipped about the room. Even from where she stood, Rayne shivered with apprehension. This was no simple evil that stood between her and her father. “Where is the girl?” The voice could have scared a warhorse with its words.

Rayne knew he was talking about her. Perhaps if she gave herself up, she could save her poor father from further injuries. Standing up, she slipped over to the wooden door, her hand reaching out to catch the handle when some one caught her from behind.

A cry of surprise was muffled against a warm hand, “Get away from there!”

Relaxing a little, she turned to look up at at Jacub. He was her best friend. A boy, of rather the same age, but he always showed up at the most odd times...such as now. Jacub showed up whenever she was in need of a cool head, or a shoulder to cry on. Now, he held her arm in his warm, vice-like grip. "They are looking for you."

Still, she glared at him; trying to struggle as he quickly dragged her back from the doorway, "Let them find me then! My father needs my help!"

A hand came over her mouth, “I mean it, Rayne,” warned Jacub as he dragged her away. “I promised I wouldn’t anything happen to you and I meant it!”

Their hushed voices halted at the sound of cracking wood. The door shattered, flinging half-rotten wood about like leaves and spilling light outside. For a moment both of them froze as the thin shadow paused in the doorway. “Bring the old man. He has much to tell us.”

Rayne watched as they tossed the battered figure over a saddle and spurred their steeds out of town. Tears stung her eyes, but she rubbed them away. There was nothing left for her now. The warm summer night seemed to grow hotter as they sat there, wordlessly trying to piece everything together. For some reason, it just didn’t seem real to her. The smell of old sweat clung to the air in foul smoke and…

Rayne jolted to her feet in dismay. “My home!”

Sure enough, the small hut was hissing as timbers weakened and fell inside. Black soot coated the walls and stung her eyes as she scrambled away. Jacub followed after her, nearly bowling over her when she stopped to look back.

The bitter taste of morning found Rayne shivering in the cold. No one had even noticed the hut burn all through the night. All that remained were a few charred stones and a blackened headstone where the door had once stood. One word was etched into the stone and she stared at it, too tired now to do much else. Jeremy.

No brother, no father—there was no one left for her now. Pulling herself to her feet, she makes her way through the rubble and places a hand on the warm stone. “I guess this is goodbye, Jeremy,” she whispered before turning towards the shadowy forest just south of the town, “Wish me luck out there...”

The edge of the forest loomed before her like dark gates to an unknown world. She turned at the sound of snapping twigs. Two familiar boys stood behind her. Jacub and Tyke looked shamefully at her. "They shouldn't be dragged into this," thought Rayne.

"We're coming anyway," stated Tyke with a grin. Rayne stiffled a smile at that. Most people didn’t realize that Tyke could read minds.

Forcing a glare, she nodded her towards them, “At your own risk,” she warned.

She couldn't stop anyway, but warning them seemed a good idea. With a backward glance towards the village, all three of the young travelers headed out through the forest. Only a Hunter could find them now, at least, that was the hope...