Aged Tome Dragonmade Like fine wine, tomes only get better with age. (Special thanks Jayfox.) 70 Glowing Pocket Bauble Organics These baubles emit a soft glow. This light may be replenished by leaving the baubles out in the sun. 20

Hezrou Freelance Shadehunter & Natasha's Partner Please read this before you start reading the lore This story is split up amongst 5 different dragons. If you want the full story, then please start on Natasha's profile. Each section of the story will have an arrow at the bottom of it that, when clicked, will lead you to the next section of the story. I know that this isn't how stories are typically formatted, but it made sense when I was writing it. If you do not like this spread out format, you can view the full story here as well. Enjoy. Arrival Night quickly overtook the village of Greenbriar, offering much needed rest to its visitors. Hezrou had been travelling with Natasha for years now, but she had never shown this much haste in arriving anywhere. She's got plenty of dedication, but Natasha always seems distracted now. Her younger brother, Zatmenyat, disappeared not long ago. Now she hunts the Shade more frantically than ever, hoping that it might somehow lead her to him. Zatmenyat was a friend of mine too. I can't imagine how much harder this must be for a sibling - but I can't go without rest forever and neither can you. Natasha was fast asleep for the first time in days. Hezrou glanced out the tiny window of the room, surveying the quiet town. He and Natasha could both since the presence of The Shade not far away, but nothing else in Greenbriar seemed even remotely off. The hunt begins anew tomorrow, but where would we even start looking? Eclipse ---> Flashback "I just... I just don't know what else I can do." muttered Zatmenyat. "Every day the headaches and the nightmares just get worse and worse..." Hezrou patted the little Gaoler on the shoulder. "I don't know what to tell you. My potions haven't helped you one bit, and charms can only remedy simple hexes. I've never heard of one working on ancient Shade-hunting curses." Zatmenyat dejectedly glanced down at his talons. Oof. That did not come out like the sage advice I thought it would be. "But hey, if I do find some kind of supercharm that can cure crazy curses like that, then you'll be the first to know. Zatmenyat looked up at Hezrou with an expression that Hezrou hadn't seen on the kid in a long time. Hope. ...Maybe I'm not such a bad brother-in-law after all.

---

The sun was shining on the Gladeveins, not a cloud in the sky. Natasha continued to busy herself searching for clues amongst random rumors. She barely rests any more. Ever since her brother ran off, she's been focusing all of her energy into her work. While she seems to have gotten a lot of work done, Natasha needs some time to stop and think about what she's doing. This level of avoiding difficult emotions is downright unhealthy.

Oncoming footsteps snapped him of his thoughts. Akeet, the young Mirror who runs the tavern, was coming to visit. Rather than through the backdoor where Hezrou would have expected, she approached from the side of the building instead.

"Why don't you take the backdoor?" He questioned. "I didn't accidentally lock it from the outside, did I?"

"Well... its just that..." Akeet glanced into the dense forest with a strange expression. "I- I left the tavern through that door at night not long ago and saw some pretty spooky stuff. I promised myself that I would never use that door again. Never ever never."

"This spooky stuff you saw, was there a shadow-looking thing involved?"

As Hezrou said that, she grew tense. "A- Actually, there was. It was this huge shadow, only... it wasn't a shadow. It stared at me with such terrifying eyes- I'm still hoping that it was just some apparition or nightmare. ...How did you know about the shadow-beast?"

"That 'shadow-beast' is the reason Natasha and I are here." Hezrou shouted over his shoulder, "Natasha, you might want to hear this."

Natasha glanced away from her jumble of notes in response. "What seems to be the matter?" she asked them both.

"Well," replied Hezrou, "I believe we may have just found a break in the case. Seems our host has information possibly relevant to the hunt."

Akeet quickly piped up. "Yeah, about a week before you two arrived, I saw a big shadowy monster behind my tavern. It was really scary, and creepy, and just... unnatural. And the way it looked at me- it sent shivers down my spine. I tracked it a good distance from the village until it entered some kind of cave. I've tried retracing how I got there, but the beast's tracks had completely disappeared by morning."

Natasha turned to the woods. "I'll begin searching the area right away." she said. Think for a second Natasha! We need to analyze the evidence and figure out what we are dealing with before getting overconfident.

"Wait a second," Akeet blurted out. " Whatever that thing was... I don't think it wants to be found." Akeet's voice always had a cheerful quality to it, but there was something different in it this time. She sounded... afraid. Like she feared for Natasha's safety in hunting this thing.

Natasha bluntly replied, "You don't need to worry. Hunting down monsters that don't want to be caught is my specialty.

With that, she bounded away into the forest.

Most of the information Akeet gave made sense for a Shade-touched creature, but... something didn't fit. Hezrou wasn't finished investigating yet. "You said that it had frightening eyes; could you tell me about that part?"

"...Sure." The Mirror uncertainly replied. "The beast's eyes were absolutely soulless looking. When it stared directly at me, I though I was done for. But it didn't do anything. I tried waving my arm up and down, but it didn't even notice. Now that I think back on it... I'm not sure that it could see me at all. Is that really the only other thing you wanted to ask about?"

"Yes, that was all. Thank you for your help."

"Alright, well, I'm glad I could be of help somehow." Akeet muttered as she walked back around to the front of the tavern.

Hezrou went over to the stump that Natasha had been gathering evidence on. Zatmenyat's note was lying on the top of the stack. Zatmenyat had a pretty creepy stare too. I wonder what he's been doing all this time.

If that "monster" that Akeet saw really was you, Zatmenyat, then I hope you find a way out of it. I think I understand why you don't want to be found.

The more that comes to light about this case, the less about it I wish I knew.

---

Hezrou and Natasha had completely searched another swath of woodland. The third one today. The scent of The Shade still rose from the ground, even this far away from the village. Hezrou sniffed the air, checking for any slight change. Trees, animals, rivers, and... something familiar? He only caught a hint of it for a split second, but it was like the smell that Natasha gave off when she drew on The Voidsoul's power.

Hezrou asked her, "Do you sense anything different, Natasha?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." She said in response. " I can't be sure, but something seems off. My hairs are standing on end.

Suddenly The Shade's scent grew in potency. It's nearby!

The two Gaolers locked eyes in agreement. They dashed towards the source of the smell, being led to a large patch of trees that had been torn down. A huge Shade-touched creature was responsible. One that looked eager to create chaos. Let's do this.

The fight had begun. Hezrou threw flashbangs at the creature. The light magic he had infused them with did some serious damage. The Shade retreated into the forest to escape its hunters. Not good. At this rate, It'll outrun us!

Natasha and Hezrou quickly lost sight of it between the dense undergrowth. Its presence got a sizeable distance away before suddenly stopping. They ran as fast as they could to its location, but upon arrival there was nothing to be found. There were signs of a struggle, but The Shade was nowhere to be seen. I can still smell it; It can't be far now.

All of Hezrou's senses were on full alert. Nothing could sneak past him. There! I sense its presence behind that underbrush. Once it shows its face, nothing can prevent us from stopping it.

The beast stepped from out of the bush towards the hunters. It has a different air about it than before. A... familiar aspect to it. The shadowy creature looked into Hezrou's eyes with its own murky ones. The sudden realization of what he was facing dawned upon Hezrou.

Natasha lunged at the shadow-beast, going in for the kill.

NO!

Natasha's claws had made contact. A sharp pain extended the length of Hezrou's shoulder where he had blocked her strike. The fresh wound left blood on her claws. She stared at Hezrou with a shocked expression, horrified by what she had done and furious because of what he had stopped her from doing.

Hezrou choked out the only words he could think to say.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you sooner, Zatmenyat."