//------------------------------//
// Prologue 
// Story: Unwelcome visitors 
// by Chill Mists(Chilly) 
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Prologue (Longer chapters will be coming, also leave a thumbs up if you enjoyed)


It was a silent and blissfully cool night, the stars painted an exquisite and stunning painting in the sky, dimly illuminated by Luna's beautiful moon lay the Gryphon outpost of Southclaw on the edges of what the ponies called the Everfree forest, the foolish things avoided it, feared it even! They were scared of a few dark trees and the occasional creature.The gryphons were not frightened by a mere forest, no! It was very useful in fact, they used it for their hunting grounds, so many little creatures, so many unsuspecting little creatures, the rats were particularly good around summertime. It was a good thing the rest of the gryphons did not know of this treasure trove of a forest or they would have bled it dry months ago. This is how the residents of Southclaw had lived for 8 months, surviving off all the tasty little things that scampered across the forest floor.


Watcher Gold Claw stood at his post, listening to the sounds of the night time with rapt attention and scanning the treeline with his beady eyes. He took his position of Watcher incredibly seriously and took great pride in his job. It was he who paid attention to any dangers that might attack their small village, it was he who would alert the townsfolk if anything such as a manticore or a pesky little Cockatrice came to find trouble. There had been only one occasion when their settlement did come under attack, it was 2 months ago and Gold Claw had noticed something stir in the bushes, that was when a manticore sprang from his hiding place and charged toward Southclaw. Gold did not hesitate one second, he yelled manticore! At the top of his voice and leapt into action, now the watcher is supposed to sit and stay out of trouble if something arises and only intervene if he is needed. He felt like being the hero though, and as the warriors flew to attack the beast, so did he. With expert skill and graceful movements, he flung himself onto the creature's back and clung on, dragging the filthy hybrid down to the ground not 3 feet short of their perfect little outpost. He clawed and punched it until it gave up, and with a last defiant roar, fled back into the forest in search of easier pickings. Gold was heralded as a hero and ate like a king that night. The memory brought a smile to the young gryphon's face as he continued to sweep the are for threats.

"Come on... come on out. I know you're there, you little pricks! Come out and fight like you should." He whispered under his breath. He wanted to be a hero again, he wanted to be praised and looked up to. He got the taste of attention when he stopped the manticore attack too long ago, and he wanted more. A thin, wispy mist slowly crept along his vision,

"No, No! Damnit! I can't see a bloody thing! There could be anything on the other side of these mists!" That was when a thought popped into his mind. Why not just...go past the mists? Go a little further out, not too far into the forest, not too far to get lost, just far enough to get past these mists. Yeah, this is a good idea, I'm being a good watcher aren't I? Risking my life to protect Southclaw. Yes. No one could possibly replace me. And he walked, not worried about the potential dangers, he was too sure of himself, thinking there was no way he could be bested in a fight no matter what the creature.

In he went, into the cloud of eerie mist that had taken hold of the dense forest. He was not frightened, no, he was an exceptionally brave individual. He could not deny the fact though that the forest shrouded in this mist was incredibly creepy, like the stories his elders used to tell him when he was but a young boy, when they lived with the larger gryphon tribes. It was like a soft yet sharp cloak which enveloped the trees and suffocated them. It seemed to sap all life from the plants and even the critters were silent.

He wandered on. And on. And on. But the mists never seemed to dissipate, never seemed to move on.

"I have to get passed these mists!" He told himself, "the fate of my village could rest upon it." It was about 3 minutes later when he happened across an area in which the phantom cloud was less dense, with a few areas untouched by it's tendrils of grey.He was deciding which direction he would take next when he heard the crunch of twigs underfoot, about 70, nay, more like 50 feet away. He crouched down behind a large, warped root and lay waiting for what foul spawn of the Everfree could be approaching. The mists were swirling around slightly, light blue and almost ethereal in appearance. He heard hushed whispers, not frightened ones, albeit confused ones. He was contemplating what these could be,
They talk, could they be ponies? No, too far from their side of the forest. Wait... what is they're gryphons from a different tribe!? What is they come to claim our land and befoul our beautiful grounds? I must warn the warriors-wait.

He stopped his train of thought when he saw a peculiar shape through the this veil of sinister blueness. A creature of strange form, with different parts or segments bobbing slightly up and down. 

What in the world?

As he crouched he pondered what this weird thing could be. Was it a threat? What was it? What does it look like? What- snap! He nearly jumped out of his feathers. It was moving ever closer, curiously bobbing up and down. As is came closer, it noted it's true form, no their true forms. What he had mistaken for one creature was in fact, five. And they were strange, they were tall, slightly taller than Gold save one of them who seemed to be the same size. They didn't look like a threat, they were not as muscular as gold and lacked claws. They were walking past, he had not glimpsed their faces, just their general body shape. He had seen enough.

I should head back now and tell the chief about these...things. As he turned to walk away, he tripped on an exposed root and landed with a dull thud on the cool, leaf strewn ground. 

"What was that?" He heard one of them call out.

"Check it out." Came the voice of another.

Gold lay still on the forest floor, breathing heavy, heart pounding, he was beginning to get frightened. The footsteps came closer and closer till they stopped.

"I came from behind this root thing." The chosen scout called to his companions. Gold's heart beat ever faster against his ribs, threatening to break through. Slowly, it peered over the root and Gold's eyes were met with a sight one shouldn't ever have to. It's face was rubbery, with stitches all over it, cuts were slashed on it's brow and it's mouth... a twisted mockery of what a mouth should be, a thin almost vertical gash with what appeared to be a zip over it. And the eyes. Those madness inducing eyes stared into Gold's mind, they were slightly yellow and appeared to be diseased. It had a long metal rod in either hand, raised in a threatening position high above it's head. This monster... this disfigured hell spawn was horrifying. Too horrifying for Gold. He was scared now. With a high pitched yelp, he scrambled up, bumping into more than one tree in the process. And fled. The great Gold Claw was fleeing. And he couldn't care less. Need to get away, running, running is it behind me, will it catch me, please God, don't let it catch me! He ran for two whole minutes when he turned around. It didn't follow! He was safe! Elation turned to dread however when he realised he had no clue where he was. He looked left, trees, he looked right, he saw trees, he turned to survey his surrounding when he tripped on a rock. He cried out in shock as he rolled down the hill he hadn't even known to be there. His wing struck a rock and he heard a sickening crunch. His cries to shock turned to those of pain as he nursed his wing. He stopped. He was on a small island, surrounding it was a small stream and on it were three twisted, black trees. He slouched over to one and lay there. He was panicking.

I don't know where I am! No one knows where I am! I cannot fly away because my wing is snapped. DAMNIT! Why didn't I just fly from...it in the first place instead of running like a dog! Then I wouldn't be in this mess! He wept. The great hero of Southclaw, weeping like a grieving woman. Little did he know though, he was not alone on his island and he never noticed the manticore's claw as it swung down to crush his head.