So it was a portal. Though, later explained to me, not to another dimension. Just a pocket of the forest that had been sequestered away to be used for building a city, hidden by a waterfall that was controlled by a deity.

Smell. That was the first thing that became clear to me after stepping through the portal. We had entered a dark hallway leading to a pinprick of light that ballooned as we made short strides. As we got closer, the forest musk dissipated and smells of spices, dirt and meat filled the air.

We emerged onto a city. A City. I had pictured a few buildings, some huts and barnyards surrounded by the darkness and quiet of the forest we were in. This... This was a true civilization. We were coming out of a gate that led directly to a marketplace. There were rows upon hundreds of rows of stalls, built out of wood and brick. Some seemed permanent, attached to houses behind them and others were on wheels weaving through the wide streets.

And immediately I understood why the girl had kept calling me human. The people here had the same skeletal structure as humans but with features of animals. There were cat ears, panther faces and and claws that all startled me. But there were many other that had no animal features to them, they passed for absolutely human as far as I could tell.

"This is Sacred Grounds." The girl spoke. She had removed the cloth covering her face and the robe that surrounded her entirely. She had no animal features, with a pixie like face matched the intense yellow eyes. "I am Beo and he is Ight."

The other person had removed robes too and gave me a wolfish smile. Ight's eyes were also yellow but less like those of Beo, more of that of a big cat. He resembled a wolf standing on it's hind legs, ears upturned towards me and a sleek stance that could pounce in less than a heartbeat.

"Welcome to our home. I am one of the city elders who set out to ensure Beo and you were safe on your journey here," he bowed, "I would love to show you around our land but we do not have luxury for that today."

He nodded to Beo and began walking down the central road between the stalls.

"Beo, where are we headed?" I asked.

"To meet the elders."

Ah that cleared it all right up. I fell into step behind Ight and Beo at the end. We walked rather quickly but I was still able to marvel over the massive marketplace. There were stalls full of food: packed to the brim with meat, vegetables, and baked goods. As we passed through the first circuit, the stalls stopped being made out of wood and became permanently attached to houses behind them. Some appeared to be a combination of homes and shops, half open to give the viewer a thorough look into their life.

I tried to peer as much as I could, finding strange goods I couldn't remember seeing before. But not that I had much to go on as I couldn't even remember my name.

--

We approached what appeared to be a tiny castle tucked away past the town. There were more of the same trees that had covered the entrance of the waterfall nestled to the side of the building. It appeared to loom larger because of the foreshadowing trees, making me nervous about where I had accepted to get aid. But if they wanted to kill me, they would have done so already. Right?

Upon entering, a group in white robes flanked us and guided us upstairs, into a small room. This room appeared to be a small bedroom, with a drawer and desk facing the door and a bed underneath a small stained window. One of the white robes nodded to Ight, who turned away from looking outside and faced me.

"My apologies," He said, "Would you mind waiting a bit longer in here with us for the city elders?"

"Sure." How would I even say no to a beast like Ight who could make my head roll with a swipe of his hand. "I've got some questions though."

He shifted towards me, sitting on the bed and motioning me to sit on the chair.

"First, who are these white robes?" I asked, waving my hand in the general direction of the group that had joined us.

Ight gave me his wolfish smile again. "They are healers, you can tell by the insignia of the crescent moon and Redwood branch. Their white robes signify their status as being the highest within their order," He smiled, "Maybe a better question to ask is why they're here?"

I nodded at that.

He continued, "Beo has informed us of an unpleasant wound that you are suffering from. What she hasn't told you is that as dangerous as that mark is for you, it is equally as dangerous for those around you."

Okay, that was great to hear. I opened my mouth to ask -

"Ah then why have we brought you here? Is that the next question?"

"Ight, it's like you can read my mind."

"Not your mind, just your emotions and general shifts in your mood. But I'll explain that later. Back to your existence in our home, Sacred Grounds. The mark you possess is an omen. To call it wholly evil would be a folly we will not make but it posses great danger. Simplify put, we want to help."

"Why?"

"Because we will need your help one day." He spoke and stood. Within a heartbeat, the door opened and in came in a wizened man, holding his entire body weight on a cane. Following him came an equally older woman and a massive Minotaur human who could old fit the bottom half of his body in the frame. The healers had all pressed themselves to the wall to give space to the newly entering party.

"Maybe it would be helpful if we went outside?"

Beo shook her head and spoke, "There are wards around this room that prevent others from spying or hearing us."

The old man nodded and began to study me. The woman had taken a seat at the bed and also looking at me but her drifted to my right shoulder, where the mark was.

"What is your name?" Asked the wizened man.

"I don't remember, I mean I really don't. I've tried and tried but nothing. You can call me Druin if that helps?" I said.

He raised the subtlest of eyebrows and flashed a quick look at Beo.

"Druin, that's an old name. Welcome to Sacred Grounds, Druin. I am Yggr, the Chancellor and Mehr is the Magi. Mint," He motioned to the Minotaur crouched in the room to fit his entire body, "is the next Chancellor of the city. You were asking some questions to Ight before we came in?"

Ah, he was the head honcho. "Yes, can I keep asking him question?"

Ight stood up and bowed, "Druin, you may be better serviced asking Lord Yggr and Magi Mehr than I. My knowledge is infinitesimal compared to theirs."

The old man chuckled and waved off Ight.

"What is the mark on me? How did I get it? And okay, since I'm here, why am I here? How did I come here? What do you mean you need my help?" The questions tumbled out of me now, I just wanted to know why I had been dropped off in the middle of somewhere with a wound that would eventually kill me.

Yggr nodded and took it all in, keeping pace with my frantic speaking.

"I will let Magi Mehr speak first, her knowledge of the mark is far superior to mine."

Mehr stood and walked towards me, "Would you mind showing us your mark?"

I actually didn't. I slipped off my shirt and rolled my shoulders. All eyes stayed on my right side, with Beo and Ight cringing while the healers seemed almost hungry. Mehr put her palms above it, never touching my shoulder but tracing the edges of the blackness with her hand.

"You met Indra yes?" She asked.

"Indra?" I asked back confused, turning to raise an eyebrow at Beo. Oh. Indra. "Yes but I wouldn't really say meet."

"And do you know what Indra is?"

I shook my head.

"Then I will begin there." She said, moving away from my shoulder and taking a comfortable seat on the bed. This would be long.

"Indra is the Guardian of Amara, the city you stumbled upon. It is an incarnation of a god, a myth, a legend imbued within a human. Guardians are monsters, gods, incarnates, legends or whatever you may call them. They appear to protect the people they served long ago. Indra is a monster among monsters and Amara is one of the original cities founded in the Hollow, our forest. Your mark signifies a tie to one of these legends and that you may one day become one of them."

She stopped there, raising an eyebrow for questions.

"Why do these legends exist?" I asked. I had many others but I kept them at bay for now.

"That is a great question. War. They exist to wage war and cause destruction. They are called Guardians but they are nothing but natural disasters that can level civilizations within a day. Our world has been at war for what feels like eons. Before this age and before the ages of the Golden Time, these legends walked this planet as their home. They have all but left but we commit sacrilege and summon them to come do battle for us, to save our lives or take that of many others."

"Why do you need my help?"

"Druin, we go to war soon. Our allies were once great but long years of battle has exhausted them. Our faction has but a few legends and soon we will be nothing but specks that existed in the Hollow. We need you to be a legend."

My website: https://thewaytomars.wordpress.com/2020/08/29/chapter-1/