The Land Of Casus

Chapter 1

All was uneasily quiet, not a sound. It was almost like how one would expect death to sound. The entire world had held its breath. Then, there was a subtle sound of breathing. A deep breath in and a breath out is the method used to calm nerves. A creak of the bow as an arrow is drawn back by a hand that trembles, ever so slightly. As if the world was struggling to hold its breath for much longer, a gentle breeze blew a few strands of red hair of the girl aiming the bow. Her target was an eerie figure with no distinct shape. The figure was made of moving shapes that swirled constantly, almost as if the smoke-like substance was at war with itself. The eyes were ember red and hatred seeped from them. The girl took one more shuddered breath in and released the arrow...

Thea awoke with a start. She had had this dream multiple times in the past four months and every time she would wake with a feeling of dread. However, this morning, she did not have time to dissect or even acknowledge the dream, she had an important day ahead of her, her first solo project. Four months into her new job life was not sunshine and rainbows as others would describe. Thea had spent the better part of four years studying towards her Marketing degree. She had devoted her entire life towards this degree. Late nights studying, diligently attending classes, skipping out on college parties and not having much of a social life, all to be the best prepared for her future. It had all paid off, she exceeded expectations, had excellent results and came first in her class. But what did she have to show for it? All of her friends had moved on with their lives and careers. She had gotten her first job but it was not the job she had always imagined having. It had been four months already and her boss did not take her seriously, business was slow and the transition to adult life was challenging. 

Thea got dressed and bolted out the door. Her office was a short walk from her apartment building. When she arrived, there was only a handful of people at work already. She made a beeline to her desk, avoiding eye contact with her fellow employees. She had been seated for only a couple of seconds before her boss, Jacob, appeared at her desk. Jacob Earle was the owner of the company, Marketing Madness, which Thea thought was the dumbest company name she had ever heard, it sounded like a fizz drink flavour. Jacob was a short man and due to the amount of pies he ate, had put on a bit of weight. He was in his fifties and his hair was thinning, which he tried to hide by going to see his hairstylist every other week. "Thea, I have some errands for you to run today, my assistant Natalie is off sick today", he said as he took out a piece of paper with a list on it. "But I have a project I was planning on working on today," Thea said with a hint of irritation in her voice. Jacob dropped the list on Thea's desk and started to walk away. With his back turned he said, "Your project can wait, it's not like you would do a good job of it anyway". The last part was said with a dismissal motion of his hand. The rest of the people in the office snickered under their breaths, but loud enough for Thea to hear. She slumped in her chair, leaned her head back and gave a deep sigh of frustration. She picked up the list and headed out of the office once more. This was so unfair, she worked hard to get that project, and she deserved that project and now this list of errands meant that she would have to stay late tonight to make up for the lost time. 

The sun had set by the time Thea got back to the office. Everyone had gone home already. Switching on the desk lamp, Thea sat at her desk. She took a deep breath in and glanced at the papers in front of her, illuminated by the warm glow of the desk lamp. She started to rifle through the pages, trying to get her things organized in preparation for the long night of work ahead of her. Reaching for a pen, she knocked over a wolf figurine. She leaned down and picked it up. Her cousin had given it to her for Christmas. Wolves were her favourite animals and when her cousin found it at a local flea market, she bought it for Thea as a gift. Thea rotated the wooden carved wolf in her hand. It looked old and was worn and had a few scratches on it from being handled multiple times. As she sat there pondering her thoughts, a ray of moonlight from the full moon shone onto the figurine. A strange green glow emitted from the wolf and started to encompass her. The next thing Thea knew, she was standing in a forest. The wolf figurine is no longer in her right hand but instead, a tattoo with the shape of a wolf's head inked into her forearm. Thea couldn't see it but her eyes glowed an emerald green as she surveyed this strange new world before her.