Ril walked through the forest. Occasionally stumbling over the dense undergrowth, but found that the light of the sun streaming through the leaves helped tremendously with navigating. Midday came and went. While the critters of the forest kept up an incessant racket, they kept out of sight, leaving Ril alone with his thoughts. Not that Ril did much thinking. Mostly he wondered if any of the plants in the forest were edible and if he could supplement his lunch with them.

A flash of darkness triggered Ril’s peripheral vision. He stared into the undergrowth, which remained just as thick as it had been at the entrance of the Dread Thicket. The trees stood tall. Their leaves fading from green to brown, and covering the ground in the fertilizer for the next season. The bracken on the forest floor competed desperately for space underneath the shadow of these giants. Yet to Ril’s frustration, none of the underbrush moved, signifying the presence of a creature that Ril thought he saw.

Shaking his head, wondering if the forest was slowly driving him crazy, Ril continued onwards. Only several steps later, Ril found himself in a clearing. This in itself was a surprise. The forest so far had been devoid of such phenomena, and had been stubborn in its density. As well as this, this clearing seemed special. For one it appeared to be perfectly circular, and quite large. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the clearing were the rows of orderly raised garden beds, in which overflowed a veritable smorgasbord of different vegetables. Ril recognized cucumbers, both red and yellow peppers, squash, and even what looked like a watermelon.

The garden beds surrounded a homely wooden cottage. It squatted comfortably in the exact center of the clearing. It was as if the home repelled the trees that dwarfed it in size but still somehow prevented them from intruding on its space. There was one tree within the clearing. It nestled into the side of the house and provided shade to several of the garden beds. The house had a single floor, but the single small window nestled in the inverted V of the sloped tile roof indicated that it must have some sort of attic space. The walls were formed of a dark red timber making the cottage look somewhat like a barn.

At the front side of the cottage, there was a lovely, deep, covered porch made of the same dark red wood as the rest of the house. On the porch sat an old lady who rocked gently in a pale brown rocking chair. Beside her an empty brown wicker chair sat empty. The lady had pure white hair. Unlike Ril, whose hair reflected the light as if it aspired to be a mirror, the old woman's hair was simply the white of extreme age. It’s thin strands flowed down her back and seemed to almost float in the gentle breeze. She wore homespun, but of remarkably fine quality. And in her hands blurred two weaving sticks that seemed to consume the ball of yarn that lay at her feet. Periodically, a gentle creak of aged wood hummed across the clearing as the old woman reached the peak of her chair’s travel.

“Well that’s not a sight you see everyday,” said the old lady as Ril popped his head into the clearing.

“What isn’t?” replied Ril.

“You child. Not many people are willing to brave this forest. Those that do bolster their courage with friends and tend to come armed to the teeth. You on the other hand, are alone, and woefully devoid of...” A small smile appeared on her aged face. “...meaningful weaponry. What brings you into this Dread Thicket young one?”

“I am travelling to Anduin.” Ril said, making his way closer to the old lady and stopping at the steps of the porch.

“The capital ehh. And why choose to travel through this forest, instead of taking the main road?” The old lady said, pausing her incessant rocking and focusing on Ril.

“Thought it would be faster,” Ril shrugged.

“Faster?” The lady cackled. “Won’t ever get there if you’re dead.”

“Ain’t dead yet” Ril retorted.

“No. Can’t say that you are.” The lady paused, “My but where are my manners. Come, come. Sit with me. My name is Gemma. What is your name, child?”

“Ril”, he said, making his way up the stairs of the porch and gingerly sitting on the wicker chair beside Gemma.

“Forgive an old lady for not offering you some refreshments. These old bones have trouble enough getting to the porch in the morning, I prefer not to trouble them.” Gemma said, relaxing back into her rhythmic rocking.

“I have a helper you know.” Gemma continued with a twinkle in her eye. “Her name’s Evelynn. She is currently out in the forest finding us dinner. Said that she’ll try to find us some game. So there is that to look forward to.”

“I got some meat I can share too,” Ril replied pointing at his pack which he had laid on the ground at his feet when he had sat on the wicker chair. “It’s from some kind of leopard. So the meat is a little tough, but it’s still good.”

For the second time that day, Gemma paused in her rocking. “Intriguing. Where is that you called home, young man?”

“Elkshire,” Ril said “but I wouldn’t say that I call it home. Didn’t really have much of a home there.”

“Why’s that?”

“I’m an orphan, my mother died when I was young.” Ril said with a shrug. Looking down at his hands “Been living on the streets ever since then.”

“You think you’ll find more of a home in Anduin?”

“Uhm, maybe. It can’t possibly be worse than being alone in Elkshire. But what about you, why are you living here alone in this hut? If this forest is so dangerous why are you living in it?”

“I like it here,” Gemma cackled once again, resuming her rocking “And I ain’t alone, I’ve got my helper, and this forest’s not dangerous for me.”

“What do you do here? You know, other than farming and knitting.” Ril asked.

“I’m a teacher. Evelynn’s not helping me just from the good of her heart. She was sent here to learn from me.”

“What do you teach her?” Ril asked, interested.

“Oh, some cooking, and cleaning mostly.” Gemma said her eyes glittering with unrestrained mirth.

Ril frowned at the old lady, convinced that there was a joke here that he was missing, but decided to let it go. The two stayed there in a comfortable silence for a few moments. The creaking of Gemma’s chair providing a counterpoint to the noise of the surrounding forest. Well, for Ril the silence was completely comfortable considering he had just met this old lady. Everytime he fidgeted the wicker chair he had parked on complained loudly.

He wondered why this lady chose this part of the forest for her home. The forest beasts that Ril had found surrounding his sleeping spot last night showed that the forest was indeed full of dangerous creatures. This brought Ril’s mind back to the giant panther that he interacted with earlier in the day. He wondered if the panther had protected him during the night, and why would such a dangerous beast go out of its way to help him.

“Are you bonded, boy?” Gemma said, interrupting Ril’s internal musings.

“Bonded?”

“Aye, bonded. Have you fused one of the divine spheres to your chest?”

“Yeah,” Ril said with a smile, looking up from his hands. “I left Elkshire the moment I bonded with a divine sphere. Figured it was as good a time as any.”

“Mind sharing your character sheet with an old lady?” Gemma mused.

“Uhm, ok. I’ll, uh. Read it out to you.” Ril said, as he brought his hand up to his chest and the now familiar silver text sprung up in front of him. “I’ve got 8 strength, 10 constitution, 13 dexterity, 17 intelligence, and uhm, 11 and 10 wisdom and charisma respectively.”

“What abilities do you have?” Gemma asked.

“I have two. The first is called ‘Blood of the Chromagnum’ and the second is called Mirror Image’”.

“Blood of the Chromagnum...” Gemma murmured.

“Yeah, I don’t know what that ability does, and it doesn’t seem like I can activate it, but my other ability is really c--”

“I’ve heard of that ability.” Gemma interrupted. “Or more accurately, I have heard of its class of abilities. Are you aware what the Chromagnum is?”

“Of course, it’s the meteor to the east that created all of the monsters to challenge the human race.”

“Aye, but it is more and less than the propaganda that you are spouting. The Chromagnum is the embodiment of our struggle. Anything of the Chromagnum is, by its very nature, a corruption. It provides power, but always at a cost. That ability that you have is one of the pieces of the Chromagnum. More specifically, it’s blood. Pray you never collect them all.”

“Why what happens when you collect them all?” asked Ril, a little frightened.

“Unbelievable power, like the powder beasts that roam this land. And just like the powder beasts th--”

“What’s a powder beast?” Ril butted in.

“Monsters.” Gemma replied, giving Ril a look for interrupting her again. “Creatures of this land that took in too much of the power that the Chromagnum freely hands out. Their skin turns powdery. Most of the time black, but sometimes they have orange or viridian pelts. But for every ounce of strength they gain, they lose something else that is precious to them.”

Gemma paused, a dark look on her face as she took in the surrounding forest.

“There is a man who lives in Anduin. A broken man. He collected a piece of the Chromagnum. A different piece than the one that you have. Just a single piece, but that was enough to destroy him.”

“What. Which piece did he collect?” Ril asked in a hushed voice.

“The Bones of the Chromagnum.” Gemma replied, then with a short laugh she continued. “Oh he got his power. Strongest man in the world. Could lift a building if he wanted to. Once saw him lift the gate of Anduin all by himself. His finger bones tore through his skin. Silver bones, shiny as a mirror. Mighty terrifying that was. Seeing those claws peaking through his bruised hands.”

“Oh but what he lost.” Gemma said, taking a breath. Then stopped, as if the words had all dried up.

Ril waited a moment, hoping that the old lady would continue. Not being able to resist he asked. “What did he lose?”

“His mind.” Gemma said. “Do not mistake me young Ril. Poor Grug is perfectly rational. But the Bones of the Chromagnum stole his intelligence. That’s what the powder beasts are. They are strong. They have no fear. They are fast, and tough. They can smell you from miles away, and heal from nearly any wound. But they are stupid. They cannot learn, nor do they retain any of their memories. They are aggressive with an endless hunger which no amount of flesh could sate.”

Ril sat in silence after Gemma finished her tirade. Instead of fear, his mind drifted over to the powder beast that he met in the forest. It was probably a powder beast considering its hide. But, to Ril, the beast had not seemed like the aggressive monster that Gemma was portraying.

“So use the powers of the Chromagnum little Ril. But know that you should fear them. You don’t know how much you have until it’s gone.” Gemma said, pulling Ril back from his musing.

“Ok. I’ll keep that in mind.” Ril replied

The duo lapsed into silence. Gemma looked to be reminiscing on the past. Dark days by looks of how her eyebrows curled downwards. Ril was happy to let her brood. He pulled up his character sheet and tried to activate the Blood of the Chromagnum. He felt nothing. No tug in his stomach, or tightness in his chest. As the clouds passed above them, Ril fantasized about what the ability might be giving him.

“What did you lose?” Gemma suddenly said. Ril looked over and saw that the old lady had concluded her reminiscing.

“I uh, don’t know. Don’t think I lost anything” Ril replied, unsure of himself.

“Hmpff. You lost something boy. Mark my words.” Gemma grunted.

Quiet descended once more over the clearing. Puffy white clouds passed overhead. A couple leaves fell from their branches. They drifted towards the ground, briefly caressing the grass before rising and passing over to land on a different, or perhaps less offensive, blade of grass.

“Hey Gemma?” Ril asked, hesitantly, “What is warp?”

“It’s how close you are to becoming a powder beast,” replied Gemma. “Not technically true, but it’s the most useful definition.”

“How much do normal people have?” Ril asked.

“Depends on what you mean by normal. Farmers mostly have less than 1%. Soldiers who fight on the frontline can have up to 15%. Once saw an old grizzled veteran who had 19% warp. Terrifying fellow. Don’t really see people with higher than that. Bad things happen at higher warp percentages.”

“Well. Uh. Is there maybe. You know. A way to lower the amount of warp you have?” Ril asked.

“Of course. I could teach you, but the academy in Anduin’s your best bet. They teach young’uns like you how to fight the powder beasts, and control the warp they inevitably collect. Why? You have high warp?” Gemma explained.

“Yeah, I’m at 6.86%” Ril said quietly.

Gemma blinked. “Hmm. That is a problem. Especially since you are so young.”

She paused as if she was considering something. Then coming to a decision she continued.

“Stay with me for a couple of days. I’ll teach you a little about controlling warp. And Evelynn is heading to the academy in a couple of days anyway. You two can travel together. It’ll be safer. I know that is important to you.” Gemma offered with a grin.

“Alright,” Ril laughed.

The silence returned as the two settled comfortably into their chairs. Waiting. Gemma waited for Evelynn to return. She waited with the patience that only the elderly could bring to bear. And Ril. Ril also waited for Evelynn to return. Ril he waited nervously. Impatiently. Perhaps because he was young, and couldn't muster up the same patience that Gemma so casually demonstrated, but if he were honest, he would say it was because of a far different reason.