With loud crashes and the breaking of benches Draugur groaning opens his eyes too see massive crimson trees that stretch beyond the eye can see with leafs like whips that stretch down with a eerie red fog
Draugur trying to get up looks at his chest to see Raven and another woman Laying on top of him seemly unconscious as he shouts wake your heavy asses up and get off of me
As both woman wake up with a surprised yelp and jump off of Draugur
Draugur getting up looks around taking in the glow of the twice suns in the sky two the green grass and red leafs as he says where are we some fantasy novel
Raven her eyes widen with horror and mutters this was a major error
Draugur arms crossed head tilted in confusion
What's the big deal it's just a forest with strange blood red trees his voice devoid of any fear and horror
The woman wearing the robes of a nun her voice high pitched but a whisper says this is the forest of nightmares where the first great evils of this world were born why would they send us to this forsaken place
Draugur looking around finds a scroll with the emblem of the mystic knights then throws it to Raven who barely catches it
What's this she shouted while opening the scroll
Draugur tilting his head so it wasn't a trap
He said seemly reliefed that he didn't open it
Those this mean he threw this to me not knowing what it is Raven thought
Raven explaining the writing in the scroll it says here this year's trail is a treasure hunt
Parties are in groups of five but are allowed to add other members into here party
We will be out in this forest for three moons and the item we looking for is a dragon's shard
Draugur says sounds easy enough but there's only three of us and how many groups of five are there
Raven looking around for any other members of the group thinks the numbers we got were a quite of how many people are there
Raven looking at the nun says you what was the number you go
The nun her voice trembling slightly says five hundred I was the last one to come
Raven chuckling in an unhinged fashion date there's only a hundred groups of five so we do have an opportunity to win let's hurry I can already smell-
As a giant serpent like creature with a massive maw and teeth but smell eyes and roots on his forehead and red scales appear behind Raven
Raven casting it a side long glaze as she draws a revolver and shots it's head off
Draugur confused and bewildered says where were you hiding that
Raven points to her codex that as three points and is relatively small in size with a gunpowder Gray cover
I'm a summoning mage and I can summon weapons I storage in my codex since as this handy tool right here of course it isn't as powerful as a magical tool but it gets the job done she said her voice filled dripping confidence
The nun preying for the fallen creature
May your soul return to the great creator tome
Draugur tilting his head walks towards her and says you know woman of the cloth aren't supposed to be out here in the mud and monster guts but that's just the churches teachings what did you say you name was again
The nun startled by Draugur flat toned voice chuckles nervously and says I'm Iris Vermillion daughter of miss Vermillion
Raven her head shooting up says from the holy Vermillion family
Draugur confused says yea great she as some big surname please example to us the people who slept during class
Raven huffing kicks Draugur head and says just because your an idiot doesn't mean you should be proud of it
Raven her voice returning to its monotone explains
The classes I this nation are separated into three just like the lands
The forsaken realm is home to those with little or no magical ability and they are known as lower classes
The common realm is home to the upper classes this ranges from nobles since as myself too lesser royal families
Then the royal kingdom which is in the middle of the kingdom is home to the six Major royal families and the holy sun temple led by the house of Vermillion and she's freakening royalty got it
Draugur rubbing his head bewildered and slightly dumbstruck says kinda you speak fast for a person who's well usually talking in slow motion
Iris chuckling nervously speaks softely uh... should we get that guy off the tree
Draugur looking around says which guy
Raven holding Draugur head directs it to a man with short messy orange hair with a black hair band
Wearing a dark green three piece suit hanging by the collar and chuckling nervously
As he shouts in a happy tone hello there
A few minutes later
The man, Para seats under the bench of the Crimson trees as Draugur says alright that makes four of us
Raven Plenting hey foot inches from Para face says why should we bring him here his clearly fodder
Draugur muttering hey don't say that to the side characters he doesn't know this
Para and Iris confused to hear this conversation
As Para adjusts his collar and with a goofy bow says greets greetings ma'am Damien and Vermillion oh and your Servent as while and for my information I can tell you this entire thing is a trap
As all three of there eyes lock onto Para who's smiling from all the attention
Begins toward and followed by the others but all of them begin to feel dizzy and short of breath explains those test why would they send inexperienced and newborn mages into a strong ether region that's crawling with demons and other Monstrosities
Draugur the first to recover says to test us on something
Para smiling says give the simplistic mongrel a round of applause he guesses it right but test what exactly
Raven her suspicious about this mysterious new team member raising says why should we test you
Para grinning widely says because I have information that you need to survive and by the looks of it if your best choice is a person with no magic I'll take my choices with the Stanger with a smile as he points to Draugur with his thumb showing who's magicness bit feels a chill down his spine
Draugur his voice cold and flat better which it snake or I'll may accidentally rip your tongue out
Para looking for an escape routine
Forget magicless his aura us on another level of tbwu doesn't scar off any trouble I don't know what will but if I'm to use they to my advantage I'll need to play my cards right after all who would want to die in a cursed forest
Para looking at Draugur smiles and says of you rip my tongue off how would you know what I know huh
Hours past
The smell group work through the he forest with Para humming while Draugur and Raven defeat any and all fallen humans and mutants while iris prays for them
Sunset
In another part of the forest two man walk in the forest one looking like a child with oversized clothing sliver hair and an eye patch the other a rough around the edges scared vataran with his hair tied back and teller then the first
Eye patch looking around with his orange eye says it's a shame or teammates got eaten but hey atleast we survived right
Vataran says more like we where lucky to be stronger this forest isn't really a trouble for us
As a butterfly with yellow-orange wings lands on his right hand
Everything seems to slow as of time itself is freeze and the forests turns did quite as the sunsets slowly
As the scene shifts to an underbush where a woman her clothing tattered and loose lays on top of a man who's smirking widely her eyes a bright yellow and hair a sliver with fair pale skin as she leans close to bite his ear
The scene shifts to a dark neon lit part of the forest where Eren and Lyra along with a girl with pointed ears and two thug like man following them through it
It's about survival not teamwork Para said his voice flat and cold
The veteran eyes widening arcs his left hand which now glows a silver down and cleanly cuts off his right arm then he looks at the butterfly which as the irrrie face of a new baby then with loud groans cuts it into dust
Eye patch shouted looks at the arm as it bonds and twist and blood flies everywhere coursing red spider lilies to burst out of the ground
That was a close one what made you think to cut your arm off
Vataran breathing heavily says that bug it wasn't normal one it had a babies face and it bite me so it's true this forest is cursed
The scene shifts to the bush where the man lays mutalited and bitten
As the woman her white clothing now bloodied like her chin,cheeks and hair
As she yawns revealing fangs with a moun says in a child like voice "treaty"as she walks away with multiple mulitated corpses under and over the trees
The scene shifts to the neon lit side of the forest where the two thug man are being eaten alive by w creative with eight arms four for walking and talking he other four ripping the man apart and throwing them into its massive slit mouth with its six milky eyes looking at the setting sun
Eren,Lyra and the pointed eared girl hiding there her eyes wide in fear and disgust as Lyra covers for mouth
As the moon a massive destored ball of rock that seems to be a mix of pale white and deep blue raises the trees turn a deep purple
As the ground below is filled with a black inky water
As on top of the threes seat the small group of Draugur and comrades under a warm fire
Para continuing his sentence this year's exam isn't just testing our magical control and what not but our resourcefulness and will to survive for within the world we live in only those who forsake all forms of humanity survive and thrive while those of us who hold on to false ideals of morals are forever stuck living in an fantasy
Draugur looking wide eyed at the massive tree with benches that seem to reach into the heavens and the vines that seem to be hanging onto the corpses of people in horror says what did I drag me and Raven into a nightmare
To be continued