“What do you mean the forest doesn’t feel right?” asked Lily.

“I’m not sure how to explain it, but the mana in the forest feels wrong. It’s as if it has been corrupted somehow,” said Arlie.

“Corrupted!? Are you sure the mana has been corrupted?” both twins exclaimed, their voices laced with concern. While they weren’t mages, they knew enough about magic to know that corrupted mana breeds problems. Corrupted mana was well known for twisting normal creatures and plants, causing them to mutate into monsters. Corruption was also well known for being attractive to monsters, so it would cause monster migrations, from the surrounding area.

“It's not quite corrupted yet. It feels like it is only partially corrupted,” said Arlie.

“Guess our hunting trip has been canceled. Do you think you can find the source of this corruption?” asked Lily.

“I’m getting a funny feeling from that direction,” said Arlie pointing to the south-east. The twins shared a look and urged Arlie along. The group easily traversed the uneven ground and avoided being tripped up as they plunged into the undergrowth. As they followed the rough, unkempt path Arlie would stop to check the plants every once in a while. The twins kept a constant eye on the trees and they often changed course to avoid monsters in the area.

“Something is really wrong, there shouldn’t be any monsters within a day’s walk of Voros. Yet, we have left the gate a turn ago and we have encountered twelve monsters,” said Rose.

“Fourteen. There’s a pair of Rylarks on that branch up ahead,” said Arlie pointing out the pair she hadn’t noticed yet. Rylarks weren’t all that tough on their own, so the twins each nocked an arrow and without speaking they sighted their targets and released. An instant later arrows sprouted from the chest of each Rylark and their bodies tumbled to the ground. Then the group continued on their course. The ominous mana and strange feel of the forest becoming more palpable, with each step. They bagged the two Rylarks along with the first when they passed it. While Arlie checked out more of the local flora.

“What's up with the plants?” asked Rose, curious.

“This is Vapin Leaf, its highly sensitive to mana. I’m using it to help determine if we are going in the right direction,” said Arlie.

“Have you learned anything else about this taint to the mana?” asked Rose as Lily came over with the freshly bagged Rylark bodies. Like most monsters, their bodies had their uses.

“Yes, whatever is corrupting the local mana is of the death element. It’s causing the Vapin Leaf to wilt and die,” said Arlie. The other two paled when they heard that. Both knew that death corruption was bad, really bad. If nothing was done, all the local flora and fauna would die and then undead would start appearing in the area. Which would be a death sentence for the village.

“Let’s hurry and find the source of this death corruption,” said Lily. Rose quickly agreed and the group marched deeper into the woods. The closer they got to the source the more apparent the corruption became. At first, only the Vapin Leaf was wilting, but soon they encountered other small plants that had wilted under the influence.

They had found an area in which it was getting really bad when after rounding a tree in the path they almost bumped into a Vorlak. The large monster noticed them instantly, and attacked with a vicious swipe of its claws. Arlie had been the closest and it swiped at her. She barely had time to react before the claws sent her flying back into a tree.

The twins found they were too close for their bows and pulled their hunting knives. The monster jumped at Rose, going for a bite. Rose easily stepped out of the way and slashed at its neck. The blade harmlessly bouncing of its scales as she had to dance out of the way of a retaliating swipe from its spiked tail. Just in time to spot an arrow sprout from its side. While she had been tangling with the Vorlak, Lily had gotten some distance and used her bow. 

The Vorlak turned and rushed at Lily who was forced to jump out of the way of the attack. It had a little too much momentum and it smashed into a tree. The armored lizard bounced off the tree cracking it. It sat there stunned for a moment which gave the girls time to hit it with their arrows. Two more arrows penetrated its flesh, neither doing much damage. Then it started to charge only to be stopped by lightning bolts raining from the sky. Twelve bolts slammed into it, raining from a cloudless sky that was filled with a net of lightning flickering across the sky.

Other bolts slamming into the ground in the immediate area. The large Vorlak crumbled to the ground clearly dead. The two girls looked over at Arlie, recognizing this as her Lightning Storm spell. She was still leaning against the tree she had been thrown into and her robes were a mess. Next to her was an empty potion bottle and her fingers were still sparking.

“Are you okay?” they asked Arlie in sync.

“I’m fine, mostly. The potion is still doing its work. My robes, on the other hand, are ruined and I really liked this one,” said Arlie.

“Why didn’t you see this one coming?” asked Lily as she knew Arlie always kept a detection spell up, while in the woods.

“I’m not sure why, but I can’t sense that thing’s mana. I don’t think it's the corruption because I can sense you two just fine,” said Arlie as she started digging in her pack.

“So should we go back? Maybe come back with a few more people just in case we run into another Vorlak?” asked Rose.

“No, we’re close I can feel it,” said Arlie as she pulled a bottle out of her pack. Which she promptly used on her robes. It didn’t fix them, but it did neutralize the blood. Which is what she had gotten it out for. She then put the rest back into her pack while wishing she had brought a spare change of clothes or something. Getting up she led them down a path which soon opened up into a clearing. All around there were fallen trees and snapped trunks. A large furrow in the ground led straight to a strange metallic-looking rock giving off a dark ominous light.

“You weren’t kidding when you said we were close. That strange rock is the source, right?” said Rose.

“So, how are we going to deal with this?” asked Lily.

“Yeah, that rock is the source and as for how we are going to deal with it. The answer is surprisingly simple. The corruption hasn’t had time to set yet, so all I have to do is destroy that rock and nature will take care of the rest,” said Arlie.

“That is easier than I thought, but it does make sense,” said Lily.

“So how are you going to destroy that rock?”

“Well, I want to be sure it is completely destroyed. I’m thinking of using my Solar Burst spell,” said Arlie. After saying so, she started channeling her mana, and chanting her spell. The other two had seen her practice the spell after she found it in her mother’s old spellbooks, so they took cover behind a nearby tree.

As Arlie chanted, the very air seemed to change as the heat from the sun intensified. The sun continued to grow brighter with each passing second and with every word the feeling of the magic grew. Then suddenly, a massive bolt of fire filled the sky. Burning a brilliant orange-red, it fell straight for the strange rock. The fiery ball of flames slammed into the rock. A wave of heat washed out on the surroundings, setting fire to the fallen trees and underbrush in the clearing. The debris near the rock disintegrated with the impact. Then the fireball itself exploded, sending fiery debris into the air all around. None of it impacted near the area Arlie was standing with the twins safe behind their tree.

As the spell finished running its course, Arlie dropped to the ground exhausted. That spell was the most powerful spell she knew. It was also the most mana intensive and it had used up most of her mana to cast it. As the dust cleared, it revealed a melted crater in the center of a sea of flames and no evidence of the strange rock. Then she felt the forming corruption start to weaken.

“Hey Rose, can you get the rain stone out my pack?” asked Arlie. She couldn’t use water magic, which was great for putting out fires. So she always kept a rain stone in her pack. Especially since most of her spells were either lightning or fire and as such caused fires easily. For small fires, she would smother the flames with a bit of earth magic, but this was too big for that.

“Sure, and judging from your voice, you will want us to use it, right?” said Rose as she came out from behind the tree closely followed by Lily.

“I may have used a little too much magic today,” Arlie replied. She figured she might be able to cast another spell, but she knew that would be dangerous as she would be risking mana exhaustion - a debilitating condition that mages often suffer from after overusing their magic.

“Figured as much,” said Rose, as knelt down and grabbed Arlie’s bag. It took her only a moment to find it and then she activated it. It was pretty easy for her since magic items could be used by just about anyone. The rain stone glowed a pretty blue and moments later a deluge fell down from the sky. It lasted only a few seconds and the group was protected by the canopy above them. The flames were extinguished by the brief rain it caused.

“I guess we should head home for the day and maybe do something about your robe,” said Lily.

“I wasn’t expecting a torn robe and didn’t bring a spare set,” said Arlie.

“You brought a lot of things, but a needle and thread weren’t one of them either,” said Rose. Arlie looked down at her robe. Its front was in pretty bad shape and was doing little to cover her figure as a result. Holding it closed helped quite a bit, so she figured she would do that and ask the guards for spare clothes. “Yeah, let's head back home,” concurred Arlie. Then suddenly the three felt an irresistible urge to head the opposite direction. Unable to resist the urge they went the other way. Luckily they didn’t encounter any more monsters or predators. The urge to keep walking finally faded and they found themselves in full control of themselves again in front of a large rocky hill.

“What just happened and why did we just walk here?” asked the twins confused. Arlie rubbed her head as she dropped to the ground still tired from her earlier spell and replied, “Someone wanted us here. We couldn’t control ourselves because of them.”

“But you're a high mage. Even with low mana, you should have been able to resist,” said Lily

“Not when the opponent is of a higher level,” said a mysterious voice. As the hill moved revealing it to be a massive dragon. The twins startled took a step back and stumbled falling on their asses. Arlie flinched, not expecting a dragon either.

“Oh, don’t be so surprised I brought you here. I’m not going to hurt you,” said the dragon.

“What does a dragon want with us?” asked the three confused and scared.

“The same thing I want every time a Contrey has a prophecy. Now speak, Girl,” said the dragon.

“Prophecy? I don’t have a prophecy and who are you?” asked Arlie.

“I’m Aurora, one of the twelve ‘Dragon Gods’, and yes, you do have one. You have been having bad dreams of late, right?” said the ancient dragon, Aurora. Arlie noticed the tone she used for Dragon Gods, which told her the dragon didn’t think much of the title that the dragon clans had given her. The dragon clans worshiped the dragons as gods, but only twelve ancient dragons were given the title of Dragon God by the clans. Here in Varixyies most people worshiped the Sky Lords (also known as the high gods) and not the dragons.

“So, I have been having some bad dreams, that doesn’t mean I have a prophecy,” said Arlie.

“For most that would be true, but for your bloodline, that isn’t true,” said Aurora her right claw glowing with mana. Then she continued, “Now speak.” as a bolt flew into her. She felt a surge of mana as her pool replenished in an instant, and then overflowed. Her normally black eyes began to glow blue and she entered a trance her newfound mana vanishing quickly. At the same time, a pen and paper suddenly appeared in Lily’s hand. She was confused for a moment and then her body started writing on its own as Arlie spoke.

“Monsters stir, chaos reigns, and darkness spreads. The people’s hearts waver and a false god rises. As the people suffer a champion will rise to protect them, but will ultimately fail lest the last first lord returns to challenge him in a battle of the gods that will decide the fate of the races as the earth quakes and the sky splits with thunder,” said Arlie in her trance. Which broke the instant she reached the final word. Her mana left even lower than it was before the spell.

“That sounded rather ominous,” commented Rose.

Lily stared at the page she wrote on and said, “Who is the Last First Lord? For that matter who are the First Lords?”

“Good questions, young one. They were the first of the sky lords. They alongside the first dragons ruled the universe eons ago. That age came to an end a long time ago and most of the first lords and dragons are gone. If you want to learn more about the first lords the Red Temple to the north would be a good place to start. The Great Mage’s Archive is the best library in the world and would also be a good place to visit,” said Aurora then she looked to Arlie who had fallen asleep, “I better get you three home. I’m sure she had questions for me, but her body decided otherwise. I’ll answer them next time we meet. I’ll place you three in her backyard. Don’t wake her, she needs the sleep.”

“Wait, how did you know she had a prophecy?” asked Rose.

“I have always kept an eye on the Contrey family. Many mages of their line have had visions of the future, but prophecies take a lot of mana to give. So when I sense one of them has a prophecy I often come out here and help. She will thank me for the help later. Oh yes, if she is curious about my past dealings with her line, just tell her to read her family diaries. The relevant ones are kept in her basement library,” said Aurora. Somehow Rose had the distinct impression she wasn’t getting the full story. She doubted she would be given the story and asked the other question that came to mind.

“Basement? But Arlie doesn’t ...” said Rose, then Aurora interrupted her saying, “Actually she does have a basement. The Contrey family has a rather extensive basement where they keep their workshop, treasury and a library.”

Before either twin could ask more questions of the surprisingly friendly, if intimidating dragon, the space around them seemed to warp. When the world returned to normal they found themselves sitting in a flower bed. To their left was Arlie’s backdoor. Looking around they realized it was later than they thought, as the moons were out. Gently picking Arlie up they went inside and took her to her room. After tucking her in her bed, the twins decided to stay in her guest room. Not wanting to walk the dark streets of the village at night.