1 Prologue

-sooo if you want to skip this you can

I'm not being very nice to our mc... but it's important to the story sooo just a heads up-

The sky began to darken over a small cottage. Streaks of red and orange filtering through the branches of the trees as the sun slowly disappeared over the horizon. Before the light can completely vanish a man rushes out the front door, covered with long golden robes signifying his status as a member of the mages guild. His steps are hurried as he makes his way along the pathway to the edge of the forest where he boards a carriage headed to some distant land.

The door of the cottage was left ajar and a small whimpering sound can be heard within. As the dying light filters through the window a silhouette can be seen sitting in a cage hanging from the ceiling. On the table in the dingy room there are instruments that would seem equally at belonging to an entomologist or a torturer, covered in a faintly glowing residue that sparkles in the scant rays of light let inside.

The figure inside the cage holds her shoulders and shivers, running her hands over the fresh wounds on her back. She doesn't stay in place for long though as the cage itself is burning the soles of her feet if she stays in place for more than a few seconds. Constantly moving back and forth, never touching the bars of her iron birdcage, she weeps at the loss of her wings.

The light pouring inside diminishes to nothing as the pitter-patter of raindrops begins to sound out on the roof. A drop leaks through the roof, splashing onto her back, drawing a hiss as she moves to avoid the next drop drawing a creak from the cage as it shifts around. As the door creaks open wider with the wind, and the wind begins to blow through the room, a pair of eyes flashes in the darkness of the forest. Followed closely by another pair, then another and another until seven pairs could be seen by a careful observer.

From within her cage she sees the door being pushed open slowly. A shadow pokes its head inside the room and as she sees the glowing eyes, it is all she can do to not let out a scream. The shadow nearly fills the doorway as it squeezes its shoulders inside the room. It moves its head from left to right as if it were stretching before its hunt. It spots the glowing liquid on the table and the eyes flash as if to say "how interesting".

Slowly it turns its head to the roof and takes a long look in the blackness of the eaves. It sniffs the air. Once, twice, three times before it steps out of the building.

"Thank the gods," she whispers as she lets out a sigh of relief, that becomes a scream as the beast bursts back into the room and grips the iron cage in its jaws and tips it from the roof.