The Forgotten Realm

Prologue: Ruins

Darkness, it is pitch black everywhere. I can feel a cold breeze against my skin. Where am I? Why can't I remember anything? And why does my head hurt this much? I touch my forehead lightly and feel the blood on my fingers. Suddenly all the memories come floating back, it's like a buzz of insects on a warm summer day.

"Cosima! Can you get this order?" Yells Jade at me, from the counter.

"Sure" I go over to the counter and take the order.

I start making the Cappuccino and heat up the muffin. It's a small coffee shop named Jade's Corner, but it's the only one in town so there's run on. I have been working here for as long as I remember. The design of the coffee shop has a cozy feeling to it. There's music playing in the background and everyone is having a good time. An hour later I'm on my way home. I live in a small village called Wavehigh, close to the sea, so of course it always smells of fish and seaweed, after a while you'll get used to it though. The village is lying on a hill with a lot of trees and the seagulls calling out in the sky. I'm so tired of the same small village, the school and the same boring job.

On my way home I see a small path that I have never noticed before, going upwards towards the forest, since it can't be anything bad I decide to follow it to see where it leaves. The path seems like it's going on forever, but I'm determined that I want to continue. I get further and further away from the village and the threes slowly narrow out until there is nothing but fields and the mountain starts evolving. Suddenly I hear shouting, it sounds like a war cry and scares me a little. I look over the shoulder and see two silhouettes a few hundred meters away, they look suspicious to me, but I can't see them clearly. I keep on walking, but I get a bad feeling that they are following me, so I look back over my shoulder again. They start running towards me, as they see I've seen them. I start running as fast as I can towards the ruins, if I'm lucky I can hide there, then I can probably still make it home before sundown. It hurts in my lungs as I run, but I have to keep running.

The closer I get to the ruins I can see it looks like a fallen castle build into the mountain. I run inside through an entry decorated with mosaics of different colors. I imagine how magnificent it must have been back in the days. Inside it's big and hollow. There are big pillers in the middle, holding up the place so it won't fall completely. At the top, the light is shining through holes that were once windows. There's broken mosaic stones on the floor and creepers climbing up the walls. I have to find a place to hide in here or otherwise, the chasers will find me, they are already catching up to me fast.

I run down the hall and find a little cave in castle, it's not big, but I can stand up inside and I've run out of options. I can see a few crows sitting in the holes of the 'windows'. Something is odd, this doesn't feel right, the atmosphere isn't how it normally is and it's quiet, too quiet. Where are the men that were following me just a moment ago? The Crows fly rapidly away from where they were sitting comfortably a moment ago, making a lot of noise. It startled me and apparently it also startled the two guys

"I hate crows! Why is it always crows!?" screams the man on the left.

I can see them from where I'm hiding, but they can't see me. When I look closer I can see They don't look human. What are they? He looks grotesque. He's so muscular build that he must be at least 2,3 m and his hair is long, filthy and green. His skin is grayish. One of his eyes is white, like he is blind while the other is orange. Scars decorate his body, he must have fought many battles. The clothes he's wearing is a skirt made out of suede and leather and an armor for the shoulder, in his hands his holding an axe. The other one looks small and fragile in comparison. If I'm not wrong it actually looks like a woman. She is very beautiful. She has big black eyes and long marine blue hair, which ends at her hips. Her nose is small, mouth slim and her ears, her ears are pointy as in fairytales? Her dress is made out of fur and leather she's in all brown and black from top to toe. Her body is decorated with tattoos, they look like a foreign extinct language. I step even further back in the cave so they won't see me. The further I get in, the darker it gets. I get in, so far I can't see a thing and I pray that they won't find me in here. As I take one step more, I fell over something and pass out.

So this is how I ended up here. The creatures are probably gone by now. They can't have waited this long for me, can they? I tear the bottom part of my shirt apart so i can use the fabric to hold it against the bleeding. I stand up, but as soon as I've risen I feel a little dizzy. I take it slow as I go out of the cave, with one hand on the wall and the other on my forehead. There must be two exits in this cave, because this certainly doesn't look like anything I have seen before.

Thanks for reading my story! And thanks to @AudreyLeroy and @BookLover2772 for the amazing help and encouragement in writing this book. Don't forget to vote for my story and follow me, so you won't miss out on the next chapter.