Set the Stars Alight

Chapter 1

A/N: It's taken me longer than I would have wanted, but here you go: the first real chapter of this story! I hope you like it and if the theme seems dark at this point, just know that it will get a lot lighter and happier very, very soon. I promise :)

Soundtrack for this chapter is a classic - "Send me an angel" by Scorpions, because lets be honest; old rock is pretty fitting this kind of fic with all those theatrical elements ;)

Warning: Brief mentions of gruesome death and blood. It's set in the middle ages; it kinda comes with the territory. (Don't fret, though! I think this might be the first and last of these warnings for a long while.)

Enjoy! <3

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A rustle from the brush startled them both, making Roisin snort harshly and step sideways while Tyler tightened the reigns, swiftly turning toward the sound. Both rider and horse sharpened their senses in anticipation for the noise to come again.

Roisin gave another short snort and treaded uneasily on the spot. Leaning forward, Tyler patted her neck reassuringly. "Shh," he whispered as his eyes searched the forest beside them. "Easy, girl."

Silently reaching back over his shoulder, Tyler plucked an arrow from the holster and set it against the bow in his left hand. A short, tense moment later, the rustling was back, along with what sounded like the hollow cluck of a stone being dropped into a lake, and Tyler's eyes focused swiftly on a few moving branches. Quickly lifting his weapon, he took aim and only had to wait a heartbeat's worth before a large wood grouse came charging out of the thick foliage, its lifted black tail feathers gleaming in greens and blues when they caught the light. Tyler didn't need to make a conscious decision before letting the arrow fly, watching as the proud bird fell to a swift death before it could reach the edge of the forest.

Breathing the tension from his body, Tyler smiled widely and patted Roisin's neck again, this time in cheerful camaraderie.

"And that's your master's supper settled," he grinned while dismounting to gather the bird from the ground. After removing the arrow, he fastened the wood grouse to the back of his saddle, where the rest of his sparse belongings were rolled up in a bundle of a few thin blankets. He hadn't been able to take much with him when he finally found an opportunity to leave for home, not wanting to be weighed down by carrying more than the bare minimum of what he'd need for his journey.

Tyler mounted the gentle, grey mare once more, reassured that he'd be able to properly fill his belly that night and the day after. Not that he had been starving; his long experience with hunting saw to it that he would have something to eat every day. But the large bird would be a nice change from the bunnies and squirrels that he had been getting by on for most of the way there.

The narrow yet well-worn road they travelled wove its way past the dense growth of the seemingly ancient trees that surrounded them. The sun's rays trickled down through branches that rose high above them, gently swaying in a breeze that went unnoticed by creatures that kept to the ground. Tyler drew a deep breath, the sweet, dewy smell of pine and spruce comforting him as he urged Roisin into a walk. He was just inside the borders of his homeland, having entered the vast forests that covered the outer eastern regions just that morning.

This was his home. This was where he belonged, and he hadn't felt its absence stronger before than he did now upon returning. Rocked slowly from side to side with every step his horse took, Tyler allowed his mind to wander as his eyes went unfocused, looking back at memories of past events rather than the path before them.