Arc 1 - The Dark Tower

  The serpentine beast slithered quickly across the ground of the Azure Plains hoping to catch a human in its massive maw. It lunged forward at the man in front of it at lightning speed, but the man managed to dodge its strike quite easily by simply ducking under it and rolling to the side.

  This man, he was not just any man, he was the well renowned Gale Glaive. By well renowned he means known throughout his home town. Known for his quick reaction time and his swift attacks, he was the perfect frontline fighter for any party. In his hand was a long glaive, its shaft was made of a dark brown sturdy wood and at its end was a sharp silver blade which was polished to perfection. Right below the blade embedded in the wooden shaft was a bright green triangular crystal that emanated a soft glow.

  Gale himself was a young man in his late teens. He wore light plate armor which allowed for lots of mobility and a decent bit of protection. His dark brown hair flowed in the wind and contrasted his pale skin. His tall and slender stature seems quite pathetic at first glance, but in a battle it allows for his body to flow between attacks so smoothly and gracefully that it's almost as if he is the embodiment of the wind itself.

  As Gale got up he slashed his glaive in the air towards the direction of the serpent and in an instant a large slash of condensed wind shot towards the body of the beast, before it could even react, it was sliced cleanly in two. The serpent screeched in pain and then fell to the ground lifeless in a pool of blood.

  Gale stood over the corpse with a disappointed look on his face, “Weak, there's nothing but pathetic creatures around here. I thought you said that we were in for a dangerous journey, not a leisurely stroll.”

  The woman next to him just scoffed and said, “Just be patient, the fun will begin later.”

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  Currently Gale’s party consisted of him and his close friend, Whimsical Demon. Demon is truly quite a striking beauty, with her long blond hair, bright red eyes, and her white slightly tanned skin. She was currently wearing only a light black robe, the hood over her head concealing her face. Even with her face shrouded in darkness, her eyes still shone with a dim red glow.

  While Gale was walking like a regular person, Demon was just floating in the air as if she was sitting on an invisible throne with her huge scythe resting on her shoulder. From Gale’s perspective, it seemed as if she was the grim reaper itself in human form.

  Gale looked through the darkness in front of them and audibly gasped at the sight. Their destination was finally in view across the vast glowing Azure Plains.

  ~~~

  The huge tower was only illuminated slightly at the base by the soft blue light of the azure flowers, the rest was shrouded in darkness. The tower emanated an ominous aura which made both party members stop in their tracks for a while when they got too close. Both of them looked at each other and hesitated, but they eventually just endured and continued forward.

  As they got closer to the tower, the crushing pressure of this mysterious aura kept getting stronger and stronger until it was almost debilitating. Demon had to float back to the ground and actually walk for the last stretch because she couldn’t hold her flight through the pressure.

  The party trudged through the last few feet until they finally reached the titanic doors of the tower. The 20 foot tall doors were made of dull black steel with huge engravings of dragons on each door. Each of the dragon's eyes started glowing with a bright red light the moment that the party got close.

  With a questioning look on his face, Gale turned to Demon and said, “Wait… Are the doors supposed to be open already?”

  Demon just put her palm to her forehead and said, “Oh you’ve got to be kidding me. Someone is already in there challenging the tower. Ok… we have to hurry before they complete the dungeon, we can’t lose this opportunity.”

  “Alright, let's go. We can’t let someone else get that enchanted crystal, you need that more than anyone.”

  The party members looked at each other with ambition in their eyes, and with little warning, they both turned into a blur as they dashed up through the many floors of the dark tower. There was no time to lose, this crystal had to be theirs no matter how much blood had to be shed.