[color=00a651][b][u]Chapter I: The End[/u][/b][/color]

[b]Year 1799, March 1st of the Ivorian Calendar[/b]

[i]"Those monsters... but the Magic Knights will save us, right?"[/i]

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[hider=A girl moves swiftly, passionately, and filled with purpose]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/ekiyRc0.png[/img]
[/hider]

A young woman made her way through the grassy hills and stunning landscapes of Lowick's soil. Her eyes were equal parts fiery and fearful, finding herself to be a complete contradiction of a person. Her feet, covered by thick leather boots, stomped upon the terrain with power and force as if she had the physicality and athleticism of a giant in her steps. An average person beholden to her sprint would blink and, upon the brief moment of time in which their eyes were not witnessing her form, they would have found her moving many tens of meters farther. There were flames that charred the grass but did not spread with each footstep, her entire being moving as if she were an archer's arrow set ablaze and moving with intent. If one were to look behind her where she was running away from, they would see a smoldering rubble of a city far off in the distance, a once proud yet fallen castle, and many shapes of varying sizes moving among the destroyed beacon of humanity. Saint Reginald had fallen, and this girl who proudly wore the uniform of a Magic Knights' squire had a job that she would only let herself and no one else see to.

Her body was white hot and burn marks were running across her face and embers ignited in her hair. She had reached the limits of her potential as a magic user, enhancing herself with what her colleagues would refer to as the "Deft Ember". As the flaming ruins that were once inhabited and called Saint Reginald, the jewel of Lowick, faded into the distance and off into the horizon, so too did she look forward towards a sight for sore eyes. She saw flames, but not her own, off in the distance as the setting sun started to allow stars to peek out from the sky above. The caravan that carried Lowick's survivors, guardians and stray adventurers alike was only a few more strides away from her with her overwhelming speed that threatened to suffocate her.

"So close, so close, so close...!", the girl would scream at herself, adjusting her backpack and ensuring that the contents inside that she had rescued from Saint Reginald were still with her - and with a satisfying shake, she sighed with relief knowing that nothing had fallen out in her mad and unrelenting sprint to catch up with her friends in the Magic Knights; she had succeeded in her duty.

The blazing trail of a dedicated squire ended right as she zoomed into the center of the relief camp set up for the night on the side of the road, her fire, loud entrance and subsequent halt threatening to rip up the very ground around her. Her eyes no longer saw the goal, as she knew she had already reached it. "I... I got it. Your Majesty, I've... I've retrieved it.", she would speak aloud to thin air in front of her in the middle of the camp, collapsing to the ground in the muddy soil with her flames extinguished, burn wounds all across her own body from overexertion of magic. She was breathing, but barely.

It wasn't long before Magic Knights would arrive on the scene, but the camp itself was still setting up otherwise. Tents were being constructed, merchant and storage wagons were being unloaded to prepare rations and take stock of survival supplies, hands were being shaken to establish new relationships, and Saint Reginald's regular guards were patrolling while the Magic Knights saw to King Lowick's own personal tent and well-being. The sun was setting, and there were very few smiling faces to go around. Many had just lost their families earlier that day, to some sort of monsters. Monsters nobody had ever seen before, and that shouldn't exist in this world. Rumor had it that the good King Lowick, ruler of a city that no longer existed and territories that would soon be put to the slaughter, would shortly make some kind of announcement. Until then, tensions were high.

During all of this, that was when adventurers would begin to take action. In this camp, awaiting the words of King Lowick or perhaps even just trying to survive in a group, those who could become heroes to save the world would make themselves known and decide what they wanted to do.