A young girl of fifteen years watched the twin moons set from the treetop. She was not a particularly tall girl. Which was why she was often mistaken for a child at a distance. Her mother and grandmother had the same problem. The girls in her family had always been small, but then again her family never had boys. She wore the typical robes of a mage that were tight against her chest. Her robes were pale blue and just about covered her knees. A pair of black stockings clung to her feet while her favorite pair of boots hung from the branch she was sitting on. Her dark brown ponytail glistened in the moonlight, held in place by a blue ribbon.

The green and blue pair of moons were disappearing behind the distant mountains and the sky brightened in a beautiful array of colors. As the sun slowly rose into the sky, she began to channel some mana into her fingertips. She hadn’t been able to sleep because her sleep has frequently been plagued with nightmares lately. This is why she was out here practicing her spells. She was primarily a lightning mage, but she also had a good grasp on fire magic. While most of her spells involved lightning she did know a couple of fire and earth spells. She even knew a shadow spell, which was not easy to master. Her best spell was a high-level spell called Solar Burst - an advanced elemental spell that had enough power to bring down castle walls if they weren't properly enchanted against magic. As a High Mage, she had the magic to cast it, but it took her awhile. Given her age, it was quite impressive that she had managed to reach the rank of High Mage. The mana on in her fingertips sparked as she chanted her focus, and a bolt of lightning flashed from her fingertips and slammed into her target outside the village walls. The target was a charred boulder that she had been striking for some time now. She couldn’t tell you how long exactly.

This time the rock actually split down the middle, no longer able to resist the magical lightning. She smiled at the result and then sighed before saying to herself, “I can’t stay here all day.” Her thoughts turned to what she needs to get done today. She wanted to visit her two best friends later. Their mother was pregnant again and wanted a potion to help with the morning sickness. She had already finished the potion, only needing to bottle a few doses for her and take it over. She was kind of hoping that Horon would show up again. He was always hanging around their group. She suspected the pervert had a crush on her and the twins. It was always fun to play a prank or two on him. Last time had been particularly funny, at least for her; him not so much. The one person she didn’t want to see today was someone she knew had a crush on her. A young boy named Thron. He was frankly an idiot and she didn’t particularly like him. Not that he had ever gotten the message. Apparently a harsh rejection complete with a magic blast when he got too touchy wasn’t clear enough. She stopped playing pranks on him because he enjoyed them too much for her taste.

She pulled her boots up and slipped them back onto her feet. Then she made her way down the tree. She was at the top of the tallest tree in the village so it took a while to reach the base of the tree. The sun was still hidden from sight by the mountains that surrounded the massive forested and hilly valley that her village rested in. So it hadn’t taken all that long to reach the base of the tree. She then took the path to her house. A well maintained and old building made of smooth stones and sturdy timber. She had a lovely blue roof of clay tiles that kept the weather out. The entire building was engraved with enchantments and barriers to keep people out. Afterall, like any mages home, hers was filled with dangerous artifacts and potions which were best kept out of the hands of the magically ignorant. Hence the barriers. Reaching her sturdy wooden door, she inserted a silver key into the lock and turned. The door swung silently open and let her into her main room. A small table sat in the center of the room along with four wooden chairs. To her left was a comfy sitting area and a couple of bookshelves. A secret door was hidden behind one of those bookshelves. The hidden door was the only entrance to her basement which is where her workshop is located. Also to the left on the rear wall was another door. That door led to a hall where the bedrooms were. Directly across from the front door was another door that led to another hall. Which led to her backyard and contained one of the two doors into her storeroom. Located to her right was the door to the kitchen.

Her bathroom and toilet were located in an outhouse in the backyard. In addition there was a small structure out back that was sealed with an old enchanted gate. It had been there for generations of her family. Apparently its contents were dangerous, so no one had been inside for decades. Her backyard was also where she grew most of the various herbs she used in her potions, along with the spices she used in her cooking. She didn’t know why, but she wasn’t a fan of vegetables. In fact, she vastly preferred a diet of fish which was hard to find, and meat. She also ate fruits, but tended to avoid veggies. Spices were a big part of how she managed to stomach her vegetables. She headed into the kitchen and checked the pot sitting on her magical stove. It used enchanted stones to heat the food she was cooking. Using a spoon she tasted the soup she had started earlier and found it was done. Dishing it out into a bowl, she went back into the main room to eat her breakfast.

She didn’t eat a large amount. About half of what girls her age would normally eat. It wasn’t long before she was done, and cleaning up her dishes. She had the house to herself, so it was her responsibility to take care of the cleaning. Her Mom had died when she was eight, and she had never known her father. He had been gone before she was born, and her mother had never spoken about him. Thankfully her mom had left her a number of enchanted books that had helped her continue her training, and the Santras had been kind enough to take care of her until she could take care of herself. That had played a major role in how she had become friends with her besties, Rose and Lily. They were practically sisters. Sisters she was secretly attracted to however.

Once she was done, she headed down to the workshop and started bottling that potion for Aunty Santra. The task didn’t take all that long. Before long, she had a few bottles of her anti-morning sickness potion in a basket and was heading out the door. People were already moving about taking care of morning tasks. The hunters were getting ready to go out into the forests, the leather workers were checking out the hides they had left out overnight and the shopkeepers were setting out their wares. All in all, it was a normal day.

“Good morning, Contrey. Visiting the Santras again?” said a pleasant elderly voice.

“Good morning, Mrs. Quin. Yeah, I wanted to play with the twins, and I have some potions for Aunty Santra. How’s the back treating you?” asked Contrey.

“Great, that potion you gave me is working wonders. Have fun!” said Mrs Quin as she turned down the path away from the Santras. She parted ways heading down the path towards the Santras and was greeted a couple more times on the path before she reached her destination. The Santra house was bigger than her house, but didn’t have as much of a yard. It was a two-story building made of stone and timber with a clay tile roof, but of a different color. The red tiles were gleaming in the early morning sunlight. She walked up to the front door and knocked a few times and barely had to wait before the door was opened by Aunty Santra.

“Good morning, Aunty Santra! I have those potions you wanted. Are Lily and Rose in?” asked Contrey.

“Good morning, Arlie. Just place them on the table. As for the twins, they’re in their room. The two are checking their gear. They will be happy to see you as they wanted to invite you on a hunting trip,” said Aunty Sandra using her first name rather than her family name, unlike the others. Arlie stepped past her and put the potions on the table. Then she headed up the stairs to the second floor. She used to live here before she moved back to her family home two years ago, so she knew exactly where to go. The first room she passed was her old room. None of her stuff was there anymore. The twins’ door was the door immediately after her old room. She walked to the door and opened it. Sure enough, she found the twins in their room making sure their hunting gear was in good shape.

The two of them were talented archers. Lily and Rose were identical twins and looked almost identical. They were both just over one hundred fifty centimeters tall, had decent B cups and firm figures with just the right amount of muscle. They both had long red hair that they kept in braids and normally fell halfway down their backs. Most people couldn’t tell them apart, but Arlie could. The biggest difference between the two was that Lily had a very small, almost unnoticeable, heart-shaped birthmark just below her left eye. They also had subtle differences in mannerisms.

“Aunty Santra says you two want to go hunting with me,” said Arlie.

“Ah, she told you. We wanted to tell you ourselves,” said the two in unison.

“I’m pretty sure you did. Anyway, a hunting trip sounds fun and I was getting bored anyway,” said Arlie as she sat down on their bed and picked up a polishing wipe. Then she grabbed the leather chest plate next to her and began giving it a good polish.

“Yeah, we wanted to try hunting some Lyzardi. A pack was spotted to the east yesterday,” said Rose. An image of a Lyzardi flashed into Arlie’s mind. The Lyzardi was a wolf-like reptilian creature with a thick spiked tail. Its bite contained a powerful paralytic venom. It was fast and its scales were tough to penetrate. Being pack creatures they are quite social and they have been known to take people back to their nest while still alive. Often as food for their young.

“Lyzardi huh? Relishing a challenge today are we Lily?” said Arlie knowing exactly which sister would want to go after a Lyzardi. The Lyzardi were one of the more dangerous creatures in Varixyies.  Dragon sightings were common in Varixyies as well, but only an idiot would try to hunt a dragon. Varixyies as a region wasn’t exactly known for easy prey. Most Varixyians were known for having a hardy constitution and the ease with which they could navigate rough terrain. While Arlie was teasing her, a bit of excitement was seeping into her voice at the idea of challenging one of the stronger beasts of the forest.

“Yeah, we have managed to hunt just about everything else. I want a good challenge this time,” said Lily.

“Which is why I had Mr. Vaylin made us some steel-tipped arrows. We have between the two of us, a hundred high-quality steel-tipped arrows. Care to enchant them for us?” asked Rose.

“Sure, hand them over,” said Arlie. Rose wasn’t kidding when she said they were high-quality. Vaylin was the town blacksmith and his son Horon had inherited that talent. So when he wasn’t out being a womanizing pervert, he was at the smithy helping out his dad. Like most smiths, he had a fair amount of talent with any weapon, especially melee weapons. Mostly because he needed some skills in any given weapon to really know how to make a good one. “So did Horon try to get into your panties or steal them while you were there?” asked Arlie as she started enchanting the first arrow. Her chosen enchantment was a simple one that involved etching a pattern in the steel. She always had an etching pen in her robe though, encase she needed it.

“You know that perverted idiot. He tried to do both and failed,” she said with a chuckle.

“You would think he would learn, but he just doesn’t,” said Arlie thinking about the most famous incident. It had happened just last year. He had been running an errand for his father to the town of Arcs to the north. When he came across the elder’s granddaughter who was returning from an errand to Arcs. She had run into some bandits on the road and was in danger of being raped and sold into slavery. He saved her, but the part everyone remembered was the fact that he stole her panties while he was at it. The elder was most displeased with him for it and punished him.

“Yeah, you would. Apparently what happened with Lana just wasn’t enough to teach him a lesson. Maybe you should curse him,” said Lily referring to the incident with the Elder’s granddaughter. Arlie chuckled and said, “I already did. He should have quite the scare today. It will wear off in a week.”

“You didn’t!!” exclaimed the twins seeing where this is going.

“I did. He won’t be able to enjoy a woman until the spell wears off. Did it yesterday, after I caught him trying to steal my chest wrap,” said Arlie.

“I guess that works, but wasn’t there something more appropriate?”

“I would have preferred turning him into a woman for a month or two. It would have been the best choice, but the spell for that requires the use of a special elixir that requires some rather rare and hard to find ingredients. Some of which don’t even grow here in Varixyies. I could probably get them if I went to Ukova. Port Senli has the best market in the kingdom, so if there was anywhere I could get them it would be there,” said Arlie.

“That sounds interesting. Out of curiosity, what are some of the ingredients?” asked Lily.

“Well the most important is ‘essence of womanhood’ and no, it isn’t the sticky fluid that comes with fun times. It's the blood that comes at that time of the month. Also on the list is ‘Ground Seacrown’, ‘Pulp of Dragonspine’, and ‘Fairy’s Nectar.’ In fact, those last three are the ones that can’t be obtained here in Varixyies,” said Arlie.

“Why does magic always require such strange ingredients?” asked the twins.

“I could tell you, but then we would be here all day,” said Arlie. Then the group went back to preparing for their hunting trip. They were ready shortly before midday. On the way to the east gate, they stopped briefly at Arlie’s house and she changed into a set of robes that was thicker and better suited for the forest. It had the same coloring as the old one, but had been enchanted with a camouflage spell, allowing the wearer to blend in when needed. Both of the twins were dressed in a well-made set of reinforced leather armor that hugged their form. It was designed to cover all the critical areas without compromising on mobility. They weren’t far from the village’s east gate when they encountered Horon. He spotted Arlie and ran up to her.

“What did you do to me!?” said Horon, a bit of panic evident in his voice.

“What? You didn’t expect to be let off lightly for trying to steal from a mage, did you?”

“But that was just a bit of harmless fun!” exclaimed Horon.

“Not for us girls! You have stolen from every girl in Voros, short of the elderly! I swear, you must like all the punishment. I do hope you enjoy my little curse,” responded Arlie. The twins giggled a bit as they walked past a dumbfounded Horon.

Like all other settlements in the world of Valiere, Voros was surrounded by sturdy walls. The walls around Voros were a good twenty meters high, made of stone and timber like all the other buildings in the village. These sturdy walls had been erected to keep the wildlife out of the village. There were many predators that had no qualms about attacking a settlement in this world. Most of them were pack predators and highly intelligent. The predators however, were the least of their worries. Monsters were the biggest worry in fact. More so here in the Varixyies region. The monsters here were typically stronger than those found elsewhere, and common monsters like goblins and orcs just weren’t found here. The most common monsters around were the vile Rylarks and the deadly Spineback. Another monster that could be found around here are Vorlaks, which is a monster variant of the Lyzardi. The deadliest monster in the region is the Drava. A deadly bipedal reptile with a tough, magic resistant hide. They are extremely fast, hard to spot and are well known for its ability to spit acid. Fortunately, the Drava don’t wander far from their nests in Northern Varixyies.

After a brief chat with the guards at the east gate, they were out in the forest. A few birds could be heard singing in the trees as they walked into the woods. Their practiced feet allowing them to move over the rough path with ease. Suddenly Arlie spoke a quick chant and unleashed a lightning bolt into a nearby tree. A squeak followed and a large bird covered in scales fell out of the tree. It had a long, supple tail that ended in a nasty looking stinger. It had shadowy black and red scale-feathers that coated its large wings along with a beautiful silver beak. As birds went it had a rather majestic and intimidating appearance. Rose crouched down next to the dead bird and said, “Why did you kill this bird Arlie?”

“That’s a Rylark,” said Arlie. Rose then gave it a closer look and realized it did look like the creature she had been warned about. Rylarks were cowardly bird monsters that normally didn’t appear this close to a settlement. Rylarks had a natural affinity for mind magic and only attacked in numbers. The males would scout for prey, preferably young girls and then sing to alert the females who then gather in the vicinity. Once a sufficient number have gathered, they attack. Their stinger contains a venom that makes a person highly susceptible to their mind magic. Once they sting their victim and ensnare their mind, they will bring them back to their nest where they then lay their eggs in said victim. Not a pleasant fate. The victims, if they are lucky enough to be rescued, are never the same. Truly lucky victims are merely eaten by the flock.

“What's a creepy Rylark doing so close to the village?” asked Lily.

“No idea. The wards should make being this close to Voros uncomfortable for the Rylark. Something about the woods doesn’t feel right though,” said Arlie.