It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling and it was almost dark. Naerys felt the windchill through her body. She struggled to stand upright and walk due to her freezing legs.

I need to find shelter, she thought. I’m so cold. All she could see were trees and the blanket of snow before her. It was a minute before she arrived at what seemed like a cabin. It looked like it wasn’t occupied. At last! She hurried through the thick snow towards the cabin. She was closer and could see that the cabin was indeed occupied. There was a light coming from one of the windows. Surely, someone inside could give her a place to stay for a couple of days. Also…

She had to warn the humans of this earth about the Coming of Days.

She arrived at the cabin, her legs soaked and freezing. She knocked on the door. She prayed to the gods that someone would answer. And then, she collapsed on the front of the cabin.

Moments later the resident of the cabin opened the door and saw a young woman, almost half buried in the snow. After processing the situation, he carried the woman inside. She was almost stiff from the cold. He placed her near  the warm fire and covered her with a blanket.

“What In the gods of Esra are you doing out here in the cold?” the man asked, looking at her. “Well, hopefully you won’t be some sort of murderer. I’m literally risking my life in order to save you from the elements.” Obviously, she gave no response. “Well, I guess I will have to prepare something to eat for you. When you wake up, I suppose you can tell me where you’re from and why you decided to travel all the way out here in the cold.”

The sound of the hearth crackling was a soothing sound to Naerys’s ears as she woke up. She hadn’t realized how weak she was until she felt the warm covers on her body. Her eyes fluttered open. She saw the glow of the hearth In front of her. And the aroma of beef stew with blended seasonings assailed her nostrils. And right on cue, her stomach growled. Who had saved her? Naerys turned her head. She saw a man standing over the hearth. He stirred the stew in the pot over the fire. She didn’t want to move for fear that he would notice that she was awake. The first thing she noticed was how handsome he was. His lips were full, his hair was shiny brown and long. It was done up in a half-ponytail.  He turned to look at her. She was lying still.

“I know you’re awake, but you can rest for a while. I fixed some meat stew,” the stranger said. She gave no response, and instead turned to the glow of the fireplace.

“Well then, the food will be there when you are ready to eat.”

Naerys sat up moments later. It was nighttime and her stomach was rumbling. She padded over to the hearth. An empty bowl and ladle was placed beside where she slept. She served herself some stew and ate heartily. It was the best food that had ever graced her tongue. It filled her belly and warmed her body. The door opened and Naerys felt the cold chill from outside. The man walked inside, wearing warm leather clothes. He was adorned in a black cape made from wolf’s fur. She looked in horror at the cape. She had almost backed into the hearth. She threw the covers off of her body.

“Whoa, easy there, what’s wrong?” the stranger asked, alarmed. Their eyes met momentarily. He closed the door slowly. As he looked in  her eyes, he noticed that they were stark white with black pupils. They had an ethereal glow about them. He also noticed, aside from her eyes, her hair was stark white.

“You mean to tell me, I rescued a witch?” the man exclaimed. He moved toward his bow and quiver, which was paced next to the door.

She should have realized It before from the way he was dressed. And he reeked of alcohol. The smell assailed her sensitive nostrils. The hunter reached his bow and quiver.

“I’m not afraid to kill you, witch!” the man exclaimed. He was furious. “I know how you cast your spells on people to do devious things! Magic creatures like you do not belong in this realm!”

“Please, I’m too weak!” Naerys exclaimed. “I can’t even hurt you!” And it was true. Naerys’s  powers were weakened due to her being in her human form for so long.

“It’ll be easier for me to kill you, then!” the hunter shouted, aiming his bow and arrow. Naerys tried to manifest her powers, but it drained her energy to use the smallest amount of her magic.

“I’m not a witch,” she pleaded. “I need help. Shelter. Only for a little while, just to gather my strength. Then, I will go.”

“Tell me one good reason why my arrow should not pierce through your flesh,” the hunter muttered, keeping his arrow steady.”

There was a knock on the door. It sounded as if the door was about to break open.

“Who is there? I am busy!” the hunter bellowed, still keeping his arrow aimed at Naerys.

The door broke open and three burly men stepped inside. They all brandished sharp daggers. One of the intruders sneered, scanning the area. He was bigger than the others and seemed to be their leader.

“Look what we happen to come across!” the leader exclaimed. He stepped towards the hunter.

“You have a lovely cabin, and we want it,” the leader said. “Boys, surround this area.” The men followed his orders. They blocked the doorways to other rooms in the cabin.  

The hunter sneered. “You must be mad if you think I’m going to let you raid this house.”

“But you hunt the finest venison In all the land. We have nothing but mere blankets. Aren’t you willing to help poor sods like us out?”

The hunter aimed his bow and arrow at the main intruder. “Get out of my house before this arrow pierces your heart.”

“It’s three against two, mate,” the intruder growled, the corners of his lips forming a malevolent grin.

The man lunged to attack with the knife, but a bright magical force knocked him against the door, rendering him unconscious. The robbers’ shocked expressions turned into rage.

“You’ll pay for this, witch!” the one guarding the bedroom shouted. He started for Naerys, with his dagger out. He shrieked as he started for her. He plunged the dagger into her flesh. Her knees buckled and she collapsed on the floor, panting.

The robber sneered and started towards the hunter. The other Intruder followed suit. The hunter managed to shoot an arrow in one of the intruders, piercing his knee. The hunter collapsed to the ground, clutching his knee and attempting to pull the arrow out. Blood seeped through the pants leg.

Naerys was on the ground, clutching her side. Her hands and feet began to turn into furry white paws with sharp claws. Her back arched and sprouted stark white fur. A tail began to form. When the transformation was done, Naerys let out a howl. She charged at the injured intruder and attacked him. She tore into his flesh and kept at it until he moved no more. All the while, the hunter shot two arrows into the last intruder, piercing his heart. He died instantly. All was silent except for Naerys and the hunter’s heavy breathing.

Naerys returned to her human form. She weakly strode over to the fireplace. She took her bowl and filled it with a second helping of stew. She trembled and whimpered as she felt the pain from her side. The hunter watched her warily.

“I suppose I should thank you for helping me,” he started softly, “even though I could have managed them myself.”

“Let me rest for the night,” she replied softly. “I will be out of your hair in the morning. Also, I don’t think you would have managed. If you shot one man, the other two would pile onto you, and you wouldn’t have time to pierce both of them Your reflexes aren’t quick enough. This was but half of my pow-“

“Yes, you saved me, but it doesn’t mean that I won’t kill you,” the hunter snarled.

“What would be the point in killing me? Just because I am what you humans fear? You think just eradicating the things you don’t know will give you a sense of satisfaction?” Naerys placed a hand over her wound. The wound began to get smaller. “I have no strength to heal myself.”

“The lot of you are abominations!” the hunter exclaimed. “You are a product of the Dark Rift!” He pointed a finger accusingly at her.

“Those that were born in the Dark Rift won’t always come out to be evil,” Naerys said. She lay on the rug to rest. “I need to recharge my powers. Let me rest. If you want to kill me, do so. But, your race will die if you don’t use us to defeat the evils of this world.

She lay there, next to the hearth, mumbling something about human fragility.

Morning came. The sun was accompanied by pink and purple colors of the morning sky. But there was darkness, heading towards the cabin. The darkness of monsters and demons. Naerys’s grimaced and covered her head and ears. The hunter, who was sitting across from her, and eating a bowl of stew notced.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I feel a dark presence,” she muttered, not looking at him. The shrieking became more distinct. More audible.

“Do you hear that?” the hunter questioned. He picked up his bow, quiver, and arrow and started towards the sound.

“Hunter, don’t!” Naerys hissed. “That is an evil creature that is born from the Dark Rift!”

The shrieking noise made the tree branches shiver. A figure of a woman was floating toward the cabin.

“Has any creature from the Rift ever reached this cabin?” Naerys asked. The hunter shook his head.

“No creature of the Rift has set foot upon this land until you arrived,” the hunter growled. He gave Naerys a hard glare. “So, this is your fault.”

Naerys rolled her eyes. “I suppose it is,” she replied, not wanting to argue. “Hey, I did save your life so you should at least give me credit.”

The hunter grunted in response. The figure of the woman floated quickly, peeking through the windows of the cabin.  

The woman had long scraggly hair and was dressed in old rags. She was pale and gaunt, the very flesh of Death itself. But the most horrifying thing about her were her eyes. They had no soul. They were milky white with a hint of blue for the pupils. Her mouth was open wide, too wide for it to be possible. She groaned and moaned like an animal in agony.

“What are we to do?” the hunter whispered. At that moment, Naerys’ eyes glowed.  White light shone from her fingertips.

“Hand me your bow,” she commanded. The hunter looked at her incredulously. “You heard me correctly,” she hissed. The hunter did as he was told and handed her the bow and quiver. She touched the weapon gently. The weapon glowed with crystalized power. The hunter looked on in confusion.

“What have you done do it?” he asked. Naerys smiled.

“It’s enchanted now,” Naerys stated. She took the weapon and headed towards the door.

“Where are you going with my weapon?!” the hunter asked.

“I’m going outside to defeat that banshee. What else would I be doing?”

“Let me go with you!” the hunter exclaimed. Naerys gave him a look of frustration.

“You wanted to kill me earlier,” she snapped. “Make up your mind, human.

“You’re human too!” the hunter snapped. Naerys ignored him and quietly strode outside with the enchanted bow and arrow. She aimed her bow at the ready and softly padded in the snow, her long white dress fluttering. From inside, the hunter watched her graceful movements and the form she took while holding the bow and arrow steady. The dark creature had barely noticed her, Until…

The arrow pierced the creature in the back. The creature shrieked hellishly and writhed in agony. But then she regained her footing and lunged at Naerys. Inside, the hunter looked on worriedly, wondering if she would survive. Yes, he had a disdain for magical beings and thought of them as demon spawn. But this…this being that was defeating the banshee was different. He had lost most of his friends to horrible cryptids and creatures and no one could explain how they had come to be in this world. It turned his heart cold as the winter. But this experience, what he was seeing with his eyes, changed everything. Maybe there was hope for humanity. And maybe it started with this witch.

Naerys closed her eyes and words from a spell uttered faintly from her lips. The banshee let out its final cry. Everything seemed to be in slow motion as Naerys’ spell affected the creature. The banshee disappeared in a mystical ball of bright light. Naerys panted as she had used most of her energy defeating the creature. But she knew that it was not over yet. She knew that more evil from the Dark Rift was fast approaching. She also knew that she couldn’t be the only one created for this purpose. She went back inside the cabin where the hunter was waiting, crouched by the window.

“It is done,” Naerys muttered. “The creature is defeated.”

The hunter nodded. “I am impressed.”

“I didn’t do it to impress you. I care very little about what you think of me,” Naerys quipped. The hunter looked vitiated by her words. “But I cannot be the only one willing to fight for humanity. I have lived here after the Dark Rift, and I believe in my heart that my sole purpose is to save humanity.” She paced back and forth across the wooded cabin floor. “Therefore, we need to find others that are willing to help us. If you are willing, I will be forever grateful.” She held out her hand.

The hunter looked at her intently. “Deal,” he said, grabbing her hand firmly. “First, what is your name?”

“Naerys.” She gave a small smile. “And yours?”

“Fox.”

And with that, they began their journey together to fight for humanity.