Spoiler: Spoiler

The events of the prologue happen in the future.

The sandy dust was blown away all around the road as the caravan kept moving at a steady pace. The scorching sun shined in the cloudless sky brightly as ever, making the horizon ahead of the caravan blurry from the heat.

The forest surrounding the road was filled with vines and big trees that very handling the heat better than the men and the people locked in the carriages multiple small and big cages.

"P-please I beg of you I need water…(cough)" After those words came out of the man’s dry mouth a whip slashed at him from between the cages rusty iron bars, hitting him in the left side of his head causing blood to start spilling from above his ear.

The man made no sound as he was hit by the slash due to the constant whipping he had endured and probably also due to the fact that his throat was too dry for a scream to escape out of it.

"Come on you piece of shit….It’s only been like four days since we last wasted our water on you….`people` The man holding the whip said to the locked up slave as he looked at him with utter disgust in his blue eyes.

The slaves were either in steel shackles on the floor or chained to the cage so that their body was lifted of the cages floor and moving was impossible as both their hands and legs were shackled to the cage making the person assume an X pose with their body. Some of the people had mouth cags and cloth tied over their eyes.

The birds were chirping and the slavers were laughing as they talked to each other and made fun of the slaves while keeping on with their moderate pace along the road. The slave caravan consisted of three big carts hauled by big white bison-like animals and two men in front riding horses.

Each cart had four big cages that each had slaves of different races inside of them. On the cart that was behind all the others, there were three men keeping a lookout for their surroundings or at least that was what they were supposed to do. Instead, the men were playing cards and paying no attention to their surroundings only making sure that the animals did their job moving their cart along. The second cart also had three men who were sharpening their swords and spear as they insulted the captive slaves.

One of these men was the leader of the group who could be distinguished from his arm tattoos and red bandana. Like the others, he was in very good shape and had a couple of scars decorating his body. The front-most cart had two men with bows who were on guard for anyone coming along the road. The two men riding their brown horses in front of the caravan had daggers and spears. All of the slavers mainly wore leather or light Iron armor. Some of the men had removed their armor due to the heat.

Soon the caravan came to a halt and one of the men riding a horse in front yelled. "Who goes there".

On the horizon a figure had emerged from the woods. The man was wearing a black cloak covering his whole body and head. He continued to shrug and slowly turned back to walk back into the woods he came from, but then the two men riding horses dismounted and quickly ran up to him with their spears pointed at the man’s neck.

"Show us your face and state your business immediately!"

The man unhooded himself and with the least interest showed his face to the two slavers. His face was ever so slightly tanned and he had blonde hair, green eyes and a five o’clock shadow. After seeing his face the two men relaxed a bit realizing that he was just a human like them so they lowered their spears.

"I’m just a wandering druid"

"Why the hell would a druid be wandering this far in the valley? the closest Rivertian village is far away? or are you perhaps a Falloian sympathizer?"

"Could you stop asking needles questions and just let me be Im in a bit of a bad move to be dealing with bad mannered slavers." The druid spat the words out of his mouth and started walking towards the small forest path where he came from.

But it seemed that the slaver’s were not too fond of this as one of them yelled.

"So you are a sympathizer!" While thrusting his spear at the druid’s head from behind.

In an instant, the man turned around and his right arm emerged from inside his cape deflecting the man's spear, In the corner of his eye the druid saw a certain insignia on the slavers spear and quickly after that his composure changed completely. Then with the same hand, he used to block the spear he grabbed on to the slavers head making the long sharp nails in his glove dig into the man’s head from multiple different places.

The only thing the slaver could see was the druid’s palm which had some kind of engravings on the flesh which began to glow in a blue color, as lightnings started shooting out of his palm and fingertips that were dug into the man’s skull. The slaver's head exploded as the lightning surged through his head to his body.

Soon the only thing that was left of the man were destroyed organs and bones spread across the ground as the surge of lightning had also caused his whole body to explode from inside after the destruction of his head. The lightning which had killed the man attacking now surged towards the other slaver nearby but just as the lightning was about to hit the slaver said.

"Dispell"

And with a swing of his silvery spear, he dispelled the surge of lightning magic. At this point, the rest of the slavers had realized what was going on and five other slavers were sent as reinforcements rushing towards the man to aid their brethren. Now that the other slavers were closer they could see the druid’s right arm that was covered in runic and mana engravings.

Before the backup could get to the lone slaver facing the druid the man lifted his arm making the engravings on his arms glow in green. Vines shot out of the ground launching the slaver in the air and grabbing him in the air to restrain him completely.

"W-what kind of druid are you.." Were the last words to escape from the slavers mouth as the man closed his palm and the vines crushed the slaver's body and retracted back into the ground leaving behind a crushed corpse and a bent spear.

the druid pointed his arm towards the five slavers coming at him the engravings on his hand began to glow in a green light as he grasped his fist and pulled his arm upwards.

Causing hundreds of thorny vines to shoot towards the fastly approaching slavers.

Responding to the incoming vines two of the slavers started chanting at the same time after halting their charge. "Earth wall (x2)"

A two-layered earth wall formed and took on the multiple vines which upon hitting the wall slightly dug into the wall though they were had nowhere near the power to tear through it. After this, the 3 three other slavers jumped from behind the wall, high into the air and activated different abilities to start charging at the druid while still airborne. As the first slaver reached the man with his now glowing sword the man violently deflected his strike while avoiding the second slavers charge.

But when the third slavers charge came to the slaver hit him in the stomach with a powerful punch sending him flying backward, as he was now in mid-air coughing blood the two slavers behind the three attackers launched different elemental spells at him.

While Still mid-air the druid inhumanely twisted his body avoiding the spells as he again without chants made multiple stone pillars infused with lightning appear from under the slavers Impaling four of the slavers with a flick of his right hand. As the druid charged forwards to kill the slaver left alive his out stretching right hand was blocked by a sword of a man wearing a bandana. The other 3 slavers including their leader had shown up.

"You sure are an interesting druid.. He said while looking at him with crazed eyes while licking his lips.

"I don’t usually take human slaves but you're just someone I definitely can’t pass up on.

Once again he licked his lips. The man launched himself backward away from the slavers by making a pillar of earth strike him for bellow with a flat surface sensing danger in the man that had blocked his attack. The druid then began chanting something mid-air, but just as he was about to finish his chant the slavers leader jumped in the air with insane speed and slammed the man down on the ground with the broad side of his sword. leaving a large crater on the ground.

"f-fucking hell.." The druid whimpered while coughing blood.

But the slavers were not going to let him catch a break as the remaining three slaver underlings shot arrows at him and one of them charged forward while their leader seemed to be getting ready for another flashy attack. The first arrow was easily dodged by the druid but it caused a large chunk of ground to evaporate as it hit near him. The second arrow was sliced in two by the druids finger clad in lightning. As the charging man had gotten close enough to the druid he thrust his sword towards the druid ripping the ground apart.

The druid responded by jumping over the charging man and while over him he spun and kicked the man in his ribs sending him flying against the nearest tree, crushing him as he flew through it hitting a big rock. Then the leader of the slaves charged at him and heavily tried slashing at the druid, the druid barely caught his sword in the air with his right hand and the pressure from the blow was transferred to the ground causing huge cracks to appear on the surface. While still adding force to his blade the man tried to push the druid down with his blade.

"I’ve been wondering for a while but why aren’t you using your left arm"

"That’s none of your fucking concern you piece of shit."

"Wow wow now..this piece of shit has a name and its Hirken." The slaver responded while he threw his sword slightly in the air and punched the druid who easily blocked the blow and tried to go for a handlock,

but as soon as he tried that an arrow flew at him which hit him in his side.

As soon as that happened the Druid jumped away in pain. The druid then continued to pull the arrow out of the side of his body causing blood to start spilling from the wound. Luckily the arrow hadn’t gone too deep. He then started levitating weapons of the dead slavers and formed a circle with them around the slavers that were still alive. The druid sent the weapons flying at them while drawing some kind of marks in the air with his right hands.

While the slavers were busy dodging the flying weapons the druid had finished his hand movements and a large mark of some kind of animal had begun gloving in red in his arm. He then continued to bite through the marks in the air causing the area where the marks had been to send forth a large fiery wave in the shape of what seemed to be tigers head that was about to bite.

Hirken managed to dodge this but the rest was consumed by the fiery gyllons head which closed its scorching mouth on contact with the slavers and reduced them to bloody smoldering corpses begging for mercy. While all of this violence was happening the slaves in their cages were watching in fear at the ongoing display of power.

Though one of them, a woman with long black hair was paying almost no attention and was simply hanging in her cage from chains with her face looking at the cages floor. Though her gaze sometimes averted from the ground to see what was happening through her long bangs. Her body was littered with bruises, wounds, and scars from the constant whippings she had received from the slavers and possibly from someone else. The druid walked towards the two barely alive slavers and plunged his arm through one of the slaver's body continuing to rip his heart out.

”May the gods not have mercy on your pitiful soul for I am death, bringer of chaos”

And then he sunk his metal nails into the heart and threw it on the ground.

"Ahhh I see so you have met the old man too.," Hirken said as a response to the druid's words.

The woman who was watching this unlike the other slaves was not phased by this gruesome act and could feel a sense of dread and sadness from the druids lifeless eyes, which slowly raised their gaze from the corpses to confront Hirkens bloodshot maddened eyes.

"Ahahah hahaha" Hirken begun launching maniacally for that was his last remaining comrade as the other slavers body had already stopped moving when the druid had gotten a hold of the other man’s beating heart.

Hirken charged at the druid flailing and striking at the druid who responded by blocking his blows with his metal nails clad in lightning. After this one-sided exchange of blows, Hirken backed off.

"Fuck it you won’t be a slave..instead I will show you what it means to defy me".

The druid’s eyes changed as he now was wary of what was to come and took a tiger stance lowering his body and bending his knees while forwarding his hand at Hirken ready for reacting to what was to come. Hirkens body started wavering and some sort of green liquid started pouring out of his hands to his blade and on the ground around him.

As this was happening the druid couldn’t attack as he was totally on his guard and did not know what to expect from his opponent. Suddenly Hirken swung his sword and the tens of liquid streams flew towards the druid. He barely evaded the streams of green liquid and saw them hit several trees causing them to start slowly corroding into nothingness.

Another barrage of the corrosive liquid was sent towards the druid as Hirken thrust his sword forward. The druid responded by forwarding his hand towards the incoming liquid and the engravings in his arm began to glow in red. A flare shot out of his hand and exploded as it neared the liquid streams causing a huge smoke cloud to form.

The druid launched himself through the smoke screen with an earth pillar and soon landed near Hirken. In response, Hirken yelled.

"Hollow blade"

And swung his sword at him causing the earth to tears under his swing. The druid did a flip to avoid the strike and as he was now only Inches away from Hirken he continued to strike at Hirkens throat and a single large mark on his arm began to glow as his arm turned into a gyllons arm. With this arm, he tore Hirkens throat out and kicked him in the stomach making Hirkens body collapse on the ground motionless amidst the rest of the dead slavers.

But then suddenly Hirkens body begins to corrode into that green liquid and Hirken appears behind the druid. He kicks at the druid with his leg covered in a green liquid which is quickly blocked by the druids kick in response after the clash of kicks they both back up.

"Huh…. I thought I got ya there?" Hirken said with a smirk on face."

Before the Druid had approached Hirken from behind the smokescreen he had activated a greater elemental ward on his body and as Hirken kicked at him he forwarded the ward to his leg to negate the damage. Thought a part of his pants got corroded upon the contact and the elemental ward protecting him wore of.

The druid sent forth a gust of electrified wind pushing Hirken away from him and after that, the druid started forming huge amounts of water on his body quickly turning it into many condensed layers of ice. After this, his whole body except his right arm and head were covered in tough layers of ice.

He then charged forward avoiding the many streams of corrosive liquid launched at him. Some of the streams hit him but as they made contact with the ice it wasn’t so easy to corrode as Hirken thought and the liquid did minimal damage before diminishing. As the Druid had once again gotten close to Hirken he stopped his charge to slide his right foot forward and at the same time, he made the condensed layers of ice melt from his leg forming a huge pond on the ground. The pond of water formed into an ice spike that shot out at Hirken.

Hirken dodged the ice spike and was about to step sideways to swing at the druid when suddenly the druids right hand clad in lightning went through the ice spike, as his arm went through the ice spike it transformed back into water and formed a wall behind Hirken when he tried to back off to avoid the hand coming at him. The druids right hand grabbed on to Hirkens face and with all his might he threw Hirken with one hand at a nearby tree tearing out a chunk of his face and ripping of an eye.

Then he continued to quickly rush towards the almost unconscious Hirken and struck his hand through his chest finishing him off. After this, with a slightly relaxed composure the druid began walking towards to carriages and when he reached them he concentrates and puts his hand forward channeling mana making his engravings glow in blue as he forms wind blades that quickly cut open all the cages in the caravan.

The black haired women watched him do this but then suddenly she felt and ood presence from where the man’s left arm should be located under his cloak. The grim presence quickly overtakes the druid and he barely manages to cut some of the chains and shackles holding the slaves as he falls flat on the ground. A locket on his neck comes out of the cloak and falls next to the man’s body. On the locket, there is an engraving of a wolf.

Soon after he collapsed blood starts to pour out of the eye of the wolf in the locket.

In the harsh condition somewhere in Elswynd there is a flower bed filled with ryctian roses. As the climate gets colder one by one the roses die to never rise again, corroding into the wind that sweeps past them only to be replaced by a new rose the next year. A rose in the middle like others of its kind slowly starts to darken and holes began to form in its blue petals halting after the rose has been deemed to be ready to be taken away by the wind.

But unlike the others, the rose persists and stays there keeping its ugly form not accepting its destiny to corrode into the wind like the others. Years go by and new roses rise from the ground and in the end, they corrode into the wind like many others before them, but the one rose keeps persisting and In the end, is eaten by a beast only to realize it had all along been the beast.

Authors note

Thanks for reading!

Comments are appreciated.

Im sorry for any spelling mistakes as English isn't my first language and I have ran into many problems while trying to get this prologue up so I've had to constantly rewrite and fix stuff.

Ps: If you find spelling errors dm to me about them!