Role

Chapter 1

Dawn came late this particular morning, as the past eves storm hung over the
great Arial City in a commanding display of natures force. Rain fell harder
than Treyliu could remember, lightning flashing so intensely, it was as if
the boundaries between night and day vanished for brief moments, marked by
thunderous booms that echoed deeply from the earth below.

Up to this point, life had been easy. It was only fitting that this young
arial, having become so utterly discontent with the life of luxury found
within the palace walls, was to be setting out for unknown adventures amidst
this downpour that left her feeling young, fragile, and rather terrified.
Something about the storm brought back distant memories, lying in bed as a
child awake with fear over nothing more than night itself and the imaginary
creatures that might lurk beyond the shadows edge. And yet somehow the
intensity of the rain, the danger of the unknown all laid out before her,
left her feeling more alive, more real than ever before.

Treyliu packed a few slices of bread, a torch, a spare cloak and a small
handful of coins into an old sack. She could feel her heart pounding with
excitement. All her life it had seemed that there would be no surprises, no
adventures. Her uncle, brother to the Emperor himself, had raised her to tend
to the treasury. She had forever been surrounded by mountains of gold and
riches, fine foods and elaborate works of art. Strangely, she had come to
feel no sense of value in these things. She lost herself in books, stories of
great heroes and their epic adventures.

She began to sneak out from the palace, wandering the streets of the Arial
City and eventually venturing amongst the hills below. Stealing treasures
from the palace vaults and giving them to the sickly beggars on the streets
brought her great joy. Often she would leave fine weapons and ornate armors
lying in the road, watching from the shadows as others would make the
delightful discovery. She found a sense of thrill in the flowing of power and
wealth from those who had it to those who did not. Stagnation seemed so
pointless and dull, lacking the substance of the great stories of war and
adventure.

And so it was, this early morning in the heart of the storm that her life
would change forever. She listened for the clanking armor of the guards as
they turned down the hall and quickly sneaked out into the wet darkness of the
dawn. The cold rain soaked her feathers as she set out down the empty street.
A bolt of lightning fractured the sky ahead just as she spread her wings and
rose up with the gusting winds. She let out a wild scream and dove beneath
the clouds. For now, her life was truly just beginning...