Chapter 1 - In the Before

When the Crow spoke, Damon wasn’t sure if he was hallucinating or not.

For years, the knowledge of what was safe and what wasn’t was obscured. Nothing was safe after the Fire. Ash covered everything, and the days were cold and dark. For years, nothing grew, and the people died. One day, a child was born with golden skin, and she was proclaimed the saint. She performed miracles, but most importantly, she cleaned the sky. Blue sky, a golden sun, and a silver ring lit up the world. Plants once again grew. Animals returned. Some for food, others for work. The people ate and recovered. But not all of the animals came back the same.

Legends tell of a time before when the animals feared man. Man ruled all the earth - the skies, the sea, and all of the land. From forest to plains to mountains, great cities stretched. Now villages tried to protect themselves from raiders. And not all of the raiders were humans.

A burned village. When people heard the news, they assumed it was human raiders, but a lone survivor spoke of people with blue skin who came from the water and attacked. They had long faces, with a single nostril above their eyes, and sharp teeth. They laughed as they slaughtered the men, played with the women, ate their fill of meat and left.

All throughout the land, there were rumors of strange goings on. Some spoke of hearing giant wings flapping. Other sightings spoke of canines walking on hind legs, loping through the forest. Some rumors said the creatures were far larger, standing almost three meters tall, and broad. And one day, Damon had a conversation with a crow.

“Hello,” said the crow.

Damon was convinced it was the drink, but it was always wise to be nice to your delusions. “Hello,” he replied.

Damon wasn’t sure if he could suddenly use magic that allowed him to talk to animals. After all, many more people had been born with strange abilities. Some could call forth rain, others fire. “Magic,” whispered some. “Demons,” whispered others. As time passed, more and more people with strange and mysterious powers appeared. And under the broken sky, those with magic eventually gathered power unto themselves. There were all sorts of powers out there, but Damon had never heard of a human who could talk to animals. But he had heard of animals who walked upright. Who was to say they couldn’t talk?

Looking closer at the crow, Damon realized that the crow was actually quite large, but it was hunching itself down to hide its size. Animals would do the opposite - enlarge themselves - when they wanted to scare off a predator. Was this behavior meant to put him at ease? Did the crow want to be friends?

“What’s your name?” asked Damon.

The crow looked at him, corvid head tilted to the side as if thinking up a response to Damon’s question. Then it stood up, towering over Damon. Steel flashed, and Damon screamed.