"So," a pale faced man said as he lay on the floor of a bar. "How did we get into this mess?" The question was directed to a tanned skinned man that was lying next to him, a small amount of blood running down the side of his face.

"I... Don't know what to tell you." The other man replied with a small, nervous, laugh. A knife quickly stabbed itself into the floor, less than an inch from the man's face and caused his eyes to open wide in shock as the pale man gave a deep sigh. All the while, the bar they were in was the scene of an all out brawl involving all of the patrons.

"Next time, Cyrus," The pale man said with an annoyed face. "I do the talking."

"That's probably a good idea!" The tanned man named Cyrus shouted as a large patron picked him up off the floor and slammed him onto a table. The table cracked at the force of the large man's throw, before Cyrus could collect himself, his assaulter began to throw hard punches into his face. After a few blows were dealt, Cyrus used his hands to grab one of the man's wrists and forced the punch off course into the table. At the same time, he launched his head into the bridge of the man's nose, Cyrus heard a brutal crack and the man shouted in pain as he fell back. "Until then, Doran," Cyrus yelled at his friend, who was still on the ground. "Give me a hand here!"

Cyrus jumped off the table and raised his hand to strike his stunned opponent but before he could throw his attack, another man came up behind him and grabbed Cyrus's wrist and wrapped an arm around his neck. Cyrus struggled against the man's grip but couldn't break free, as he struggled with the foe behind him, the large man from earlier walked up to the trapped Cyrus. The brute's nose sat broken and bloody on his enraged face, he looked Cyrus in the eye as he readied to continue attacking the defenseless man.

"Oh come on," Cyrus struggled to say. "At least take turns here!" Before Cyrus received more of a beating, Doran stood up and smashed a heavy bottle over the large man's head, knocking him out. Cyrus took this opportunity to shoot an elbow into the ribs of the man behind him before throwing him over his shoulder. The thrown man crashed so hard onto the cracked table it broke, leaving the slender individual dazed and in pain.

"You looked like you had it covered," Doran said sarcastically while dodging a beer stein that was thrown in his general direction. He quickly made his way to an overturned table and lifted it up, underneath was a spear with its head wrapped in leather and two bags. "Catch!" Doran called out as he tossed the pole arm to Cyrus, he then used the butt of the weapon to strike the head of the man he just threw down to knock him out. "We need to go. Now." Doran said after grabbing the bags as a tavern patron picked up a chair to use as a weapon against another.

"Right," Cyrus agreed with a firm nod as another pair of men knocked each other to the ground behind him. Cyrus and Doran began to crawl on all fours to avoid being spotted by anyone else. While the pair made their way to the back exit, Cyrus reached up to the top of the bar counter and grabbed a folded piece of paper before a man's face was sent smashing into the countertop.

Doran and Cyrus walked out the back door with the sounds of breaking glass and shouting behind them and a relatively peaceful town in front. Cyrus couldn't help but chuckle as the two of them walked away from the tavern, whereas his companion just looked relieved to be out of the wild scene inside the tavern. Cyrus took a bag from Doran after strapping his spear to his back, Doran patted dust and glass out of his clothes and brown hair.

"Did you grab it?" Doran asked.

"You know I did." Cyrus replied proudly while holding up the paper.

"Good, then we didn't go through that for nothing." Doran said while walking in the shadows of neighboring buildings. "The last tavern owner wasn't kidding when she said that the guild wasn't very well liked in this town."

"I'm sorry," Cyrus said while running his fingers through his black hair, trying to find the location of his cut. "Next time I'll be more discrete instead of asking everyone in the building." Cyrus regretted causing his friend trouble, but he was also happy that they finally found the information they were looking for. Before opening up the paper in his hand, Cyrus looked at Doran and noticed something that wasn't quite right. "Uh, Doran?"

"What?"

"You got a broom in your back." Cyrus said, pointing at what appeared to be the head of a broom protruding from his comrade's back.

"Really?" Doran groaned as he reached behind him and pulled out the foreign object. He looked at the broom and saw that the handle was broken into a short, sharp point and was covered in blood. "That's just embarrassing." Doran said as he tossed the makeshift spike aside while rubbing his back in slight discomfort. "Probably from that asshole that flipped our table. Also, it's 'you have a broom in your back', at least try to speak properly." He looked to Cyrus and saw that his partner wasn't paying attention but was pouring over the sheet of paper. "So?" Doran asked as a large bird circled them.

"It looks like it's only one town away," Cyrus replied with a grin. He folded the paper and placed it in his bag. "It shouldn't take too long, I'd say two or three days if we hustle."

"Well, let's hurry up. It's hot as hell out here."

"You would say that," Cyrus laughed as a stiff autumn breeze blew past the pair. Doran glanced up at the bird that was circling them with a speculative look. "You alright?" Doran nodded and continued walking, not wanting to stay in town any longer. "Let's get going!" Cyrus shouted eagerly as he shot his fist into the air.

"Woo," Doran replied, unenthusiastically. Cyrus began saying that he should be excited while Doran continued to be stern. Neither of them seemed to notice that the large bird was following them, keeping a decent distance away from the pair.

Upon closer inspection of the bird, one would see that it was around the same size as a hawk and was adorned with red and orange feathers. The creature also had three eyes and a third leg upon its body, on one of these legs was a small bracelet that had a ruby and sapphire embedded in it. As the bird flew behind Cyrus and Doran, it angled the leg wearing the bracelet to where the gems were facing the two men.

A long distance away, a dark skinned elf with a whip at his side and a bow on his back was holding a ruby to his ear and a sapphire to his eye. Through the sapphire he saw a brown haired man with loose fitting clothes with what looked like a religious crest on his back and a short sword strapped to his waist and a black haired man in lightweight armor made of leather and a spear on his back.

"So those are the two, huh?" The man said to himself. "They could've done better in that brawl, but they're still promising." The elf moved the ruby to his mouth. "Alright, Carlyle, stay on them. Do your best not to be seen though, last thing we want is for you to wind up as their dinner tonight." The ragged squawk of a bird came from the red jewel and the view from the blue gem moved farther away from the two men. "Let's see what we can learn about you two."

The sun had set after a few hours of walking, Cyrus and Doran decided to go off the main road to set up camp for the night as they were still too far from any nearby villages or towns to risk moving at night. Cyrus readied the campfire while Doran dug through his bag, when he heard a branch snap and turned his head, only to see a nearly pitch black forest thanks to the moonless night. Cyrus began to reach for his spear that was resting against a nearby tree until Doran spoke up.

"It's just a deer," he said as he looked in the same direction as Cyrus. "Probably just curious." After saying his piece, Doran returned to rummaging through his sack in search of something to eat as Cyrus began to light the fire while complementing Doran's good night vision. As the fire slowly came to life, their small area was filled with the warm, orange light. Doran pulled out two large pieces of dried meat and tossed one to Cyrus, he thanked his pale friend and placed his dinner for the night on the blanket that would serve as Cyrus' makeshift bed. "Not hungry yet?" Doran asked as he produced a small knife and began to slice his share into bite sized strips.

"Not quite," he replied as he took a seat next to his weapon. "Just wanna make sure my weapon didn't get messed up in that scuffle." Cyrus took his spear and began to look over it, he noticed the thick cloth and bindings he used to cover the head were coming loose and quickly tightened them. Looking closer at his weapon, one could tell that it had been through many years of use with small scratches and dents along the shaft. The cloth that wrapped the head, which was also fairly worn, formed a triangle shape, hinting at the strange design of the spear's tip. The weapon was also around five feet in length, making it a shorter spear than normal. The sounds of a bird's wings made Cyrus gently turn his ear to the sound's origin while maintaining his sight on his spear. Doran moved his eyes to the same location without moving his head and spoke after swallowing some of his food.

"You've noticed too, correct?" Doran asked quietly.

"Ever since we entered the pub," Cyrus replied softly. "What do ya think?" He asked as he nonchalantly put his weapon on the ground before picking up his ration and fished for his own knife.

"Not sure," Doran replied while cutting off another piece of meat from his ration. " It hasn't attacked yet, so lets act normal and see what it does." Cyrus nodded while cutting into his own ration and taking a piece into his mouth, his face immediately showed some disgust.

"Ya'know what?" He asked aloud. "I like wyvern jerky as much as the next guy, but I say we get a pot the next time we got some spare copper coins. At least then we can make some stew or something." Doran replied by saying that they would need to know how to cook first before they even tried to make anything regarding to "stew", to which Cyrus agreed with a depressed sigh and continued to chew the dried meat. The two continued to chat for awhile before deciding to turn in for the night, wanting to get an early start to the next morning.

The following day, Cyrus and Doran continued to follow the main road, which was surrounded by large trees with orange colored leaves. The feeling of eyes on him caused Doran to walk with the air of caution, where Cyrus was walking calmly and without a care in the world. He nudged Doran, saying that he should relax a little and that they've handled worse than a curious bird while giving a reassuring smile. Doran agreed and began to lower his guard a bit, he was impressed by his partner's usual ability to be relaxed even when being tracked by something. Cyrus and Doran eventually saw a covered wagon that had been pulled to the side of the road and once they got closer, they saw a man trying to remove one of the cart's wheels. Doran quickly walked over to the man and asked what was wrong.

"One of my wheels broke," the man replied as he gestured to several broken spokes and a crack in the wheel. Cyrus looked back and noticed a large rock in the road and deduced that, that's what caused the broken wheel. While Doran and the man were talking, a pair of children poked their heads out from the cart and asked if the wheel was fixed yet. "Almost kids," the man said while scratching his head, trying to find out how to remove and replace the broken wheel in a timely manner.

"Would you like some help?" Doran offered, already preparing to remove the damaged wheel. When the man asked if Doran was sure, he only replied by saying that the goddess would want him to help. After hearing this, the man noticed the crest on Doran's back and saw that it looked like a pair of hands holding a six petaled flower. The man smiled and said he couldn't turn down help offered by a priest of Velina. "I'm not exactly a priest," Doran chuckled. "But I am her child none the less. Cyrus, help me with this, would you?" With the three men working together they were able to replace the wheel, the wagon's owner offered to give Cyrus and Doran a lift to the next town as thanks. Doran rode up front with the man while Cyrus was in the back playing cards with the children, and was losing every game.

"Alright, you're thirteen and eight," Cyrus said after losing another game. "How in the world can you two play this good?"

"You just stink, Mister." The thirteen year old girl said while her brother laughed. Doran shouted over his shoulder correcting Cyrus' grammar, to which Cyrus ignored. "You two are travelers, right?" The girl asked after she gathered the cards back together. "Do you know any stories?"

"I do know one," Cyrus said after thinking for a minute. "I heard it from an old friend a very long time ago." The kids both looked excited at this information and asked him to tell the story. "Are you sure?" Cyrus asked in a joking tone. "It's long and might bore you." The kids pestered some more as the wagon driver laughed and Doran told Cyrus not to tease the kids too much. "Alright, alright. I give," Cyrus said. "This is a story about our realm and the others that we coexist with, our collective world of 'Granis'."

Countless lifetimes ago, the seven realms of Granis were separate and knew nothing of Each other. That is until the great conversion, a strange event that caused our realms to become connected. With a great crack and shake of the realms, suddenly people and beasts from other worlds were thrown to new lands. Confused and scared, the realms threw themselves into a war that seemed to last for hundreds of years. The battles waged on and seemed as though they would never end.

As though sent by the Goddess herself, a mysterious kingdom suddenly emerged and quelled the fighting. The name of this kingdom and how they stopped the great war are unknown, but with its help, the foundation of our world was made. They named this great connection of realms, "The World of Granis", and properly divided the realms and their powers.

The mysterious kingdom gave names to the realms that made up Granis. The Realm of Wind, where the storms rage across the waters and tear through even the great castles. The Realm of Frost, where only the strongest can survive the everlasting cold. The Realm of Demons, where the flames from the mountains show the way to the underworld. The Realm of Darkness, where the light of the moon raise the dead that may reside under the sands. The Realm of Lightning, where the swordsmen of the realm strike as fast as the lighting that surrounds the greatest palace. The Realm of Angels, where the followers of Velina first found their faith during the war and spoke to her divine messengers. And finally, the Realm of Earth, where life flourishes and where we reside now.

One day, however, this kingdom vanished from Granis, without a trace. Many adventurers went out on a journey to find the kingdom and to battle the monsters that roam our world. No one ever found a trace of the kingdom and as time went on, the story of the kingdom became a legend, then a myth, and now just a story to tell children. In return, however, the guilds were made and their members have dedicated their lives to aiding the people of Granis in ways the royalty and church cannot.

Despite how many see the tale of the Mysterious Kingdom as just a story, many legends surround it. Some say that the kingdom was just a group of people who wanted the fighting to stop. Others say that the kingdom locked itself away to hide away a great treasure. But one legend that is in every Realm, is the legend of the stars.

"On the day the kingdom was lost, seven stars fell from the sky and landed across Granis. Those who find these stars and bring them together shall unlock the path to the kingdom." The story is foolish and many guilds see it as a joke, but one guild sees it as truth and are driven by it. But until the kingdom is found, it will forever be a story...

"That's the end," Cyrus said. "Sorry to say." The two kids asked for more but Cyrus had nothing for them. Upon hearing this, the girl decided to ask a simple question.

"Your story said that one of the guilds believes in the story about the stars," the girl started. "What guild is it?" Cyrus smiled at this question and was happy to answer.

"That would be the Blue Star Guild." Cyrus replied. "That's also where my friend and me are heading." After waiting a moment, Cyrus asked if Doran would correct his grammar.

"After five years of this," Doran shouted in response. "I give up, as long as you speak some sort of eligible language, I don't care!" Cyrus and the kids laughed at how easy it was to get under Doran's skin. The cart rode into a town shortly after and the man slowed his horse to a stop. Cyrus and Doran got off and the pair said their thanks and waved goodbye.

"Thanks for the story, Old Guy!" The young boy shouted as the cart drove off. Cyrus looked a little hurt.

"I'm only thirty," Cyrus said defeatedly. Doran laughed and patted his friend on the back. "You realize if I'm old, then you're old too."

"We've been called worse things." Doran said in response while walking away.

"True," Cyrus said, walking with Doran. "But that ain't the point." As the pair walked, Doran mentioned that the bird that had been following them had flown ahead after they got in the cart. Both understood that it meant whoever or whatever was tailing them, would be running into them before long.

"Good boy, Carlyle." The dark skinned elf said to the large bird through the ruby. "Once you get back to the village, wait at the gate. You know what to do once they show up." The elf put the ruby and sapphire into his pocket after issuing his orders. Thanks to that cart ride, the pair would be coming close to him a day early and he looked happy about it. "I can't wait to have some fun with those two." The elf said to himself with a big smile and wide eyes.