[center][b][u]The Three Travelers[/u][/b][/center]

Lian, Luna and Lerr wore their proud smirks wherever they walked. The three of them were Sannids, members of a species that resembled humanoid red foxes. Therefore, Lian, the tallest of them, held the brightest orange fur coat of the group along with a lean and naturally athletic body shape which gathered attention everywhere he went. He wasn't the strongest or the smartest, as he had so many times proved to his two friends, but boy, did he know how to charm a woman. Luna was, on the other hand, the shortest and youngest of the three. His fur coat wasn't nearly as bright as Lian's, but the orange colour could be seen and that had always been enough for him. With a muscular and stocky build, he could lift loads that would crush Lian. Lerr was a Sannid of average build, if only somewhat overweight. With a grey fur coat and perky ears that listened to even the tiniest sounds, he would usually keep an eye out for the group when they were on the road. 

Lian's tail was of rather fluffy and of medium length, reaching down to the back of his knees when limp and with a bright orange that softly transitioned into black on the tip. Luna's tail was long and furry, with a soft degradation from orange to gray as the tail extended, it reached down to his ankles when limp. Lerr's tail was unimpressive in all qualities but one--It was never still, never relaxed. If you judged his mood by his tail alone, you'd believe he was stressed and desperate all the time, but that wasn't the case. It was slightly shorter than Lian's, and it was coloured a bland grey. 

The three of them were close friends who walked the long, crisp cold snowy roads between Sh-Kiit and Aerta. After Lian's father, Lon, found out of their mageblood, he had forced them together and set them on their journey to the Twilight College, a place where they'd learn how to control their unusual abilities. 

 First they had stopped at Claine, marveling their eyes with the advanced stone architecture found in the city. Next they visited Liem, a settlement which the group of travelers would forever remember as the town with the best alcoholic beverages they'd ever tasted.

After stocking up with a barrel of [i]'Tiien's Spit'[/i], the famous beer of Liem, they passed by the lively woods of Oem. Having spent a whole week to hunt the local wildlife and celebrate their lives in an intimate Night of Warmth celebration in which they drank all of their [i]Tiien's Spit[/i] supply. While Lian had suggested visiting Kem, the coastal city southeast of Oem, both Luna and Lerr agreed that it was too far out of the way to visit. Lian was disappointed by the turn of events, as he had heard back in Oem that Kem's women were one of the most beautiful persons one would ever meet, but he understood his friends' reasoning, and went along with it. One day in the future, he'd visit the city with them. After all, it wasn't going to vanish, was it? 

The road between Oem and the Twilight College was long and bare of life. With no trustworthy or even notable settlements along the way, the three travelers had to speed up their pace. Every day that went by was another day that they had to sharpen their bodies and wits in order to survive and reach their destination. The winter got colder rather than warmer and their thick hide coats, given to them by their parents when they first set out, were starting to wear out and were no longer as protective. 

For a day, they believed to be lost and when they were about to thrown in the towel and return all the way back home, a small detachment of Sh-Kiit soldiers passed them by. "What are they doing so far away from Sh-Kiit?" Lerr had asked when he saw them. Six lightly armoured soldiers equipped with steel scimitars and iron square shields, led by a man who was wearing thick steel armour with numerous coats on top.

"isn't that Captain Johann?" Lian said when his deep brown eyes set upon the leading man. Quickly the three had run up to the detachment and were recognized instantly by the leader, who preemptively ordered his soldiers to stand down as the three Sannids approached, tails wiggling in excitement and lips turned upwards and stretched thin to show sharp sets of teeth and rather excited smiles. 

"What are you doing here, kits?" The Captain asked, patting Lian's shoulder and looking at Luna and Lerr. The first one to speak was Lian, starting with a chuckle and returning the friendly pat on the shoulder. 

"Well, we couldn't just let our favorite Captain go all this way north without any hel-" Lian had said cheerfully, before noticing the Captain's stern and tired look and interrupting himself, "All joking aside, we uh... We were kind of cast out of home until we learned to control our mageblood. We were heading up to the Twilight College, but we got lost."

"The College? You kits have mageblood? Why did you never mention that before?" 

"Didn't know back then Caps," Lerr said in his usual quick and to the point manner, tail wildly moving from side to side as soon as he received a sigh then a nod from the Captain. The Captain was quick to give them the directions they so desperately needed and pushed them towards their destination.

Days later -Or nights, as it was harder to notice the day and night circle the closer they got to the College- they had reached the College. An impressive building it was, and Lian along with Lerr and Luna were starry eyed only by laying their eyes upon it. It was the place where they'd live for years until they were able to return back home. After minutes of admiration passed by, Luna was the first to regain his sense of reality and push them towards their set chores. 

Lerr and Luna would have to hunt and delay their arrival at the College, and Lian would have to set up their accommodations. And so they separated. Luna headed southeast and Lerr went northwest, while Lian merely walked a mile to reach the College up north. 

The moment he reached the College's gates was the instant that a huge mix of emotions overcame him. Fear, loneliness, sadness as well as happiness, fulfillment and pride all rushed into him. But even when his knees felt weak, he didn't cry or fall down. Keeping his head high, he only let a sad smile and a single tear out. 

Then he walked into the courtyard.