I remember thinking about the expedition all night. It was sudden that I was invited on this trip, to a land I have heard tale of only in script. I had read about it previously within the Valiant Blade's Legion Letter, The Edge of Reason. "A New and Exciting Land" the article was titled. After an inquiry to my superior officer, I was approached about the possibility of taking part in what was rumored to be a potentially dangerous expedition to these new lands. I eagerly accepted the offer to join the ranks, unaware that our numbers were a mere laughable few. There were no promises - Only pay for our services, and not much else. We were told that modern objects such as electronics would fail after we passed into the border, but many of us were skeptical that such a thing was even possible. With the promise that the possessions I own of the modern world will fail me soon after I travel beyond the barrier I immediately thought of the Cellular Phone gifted to me by Juniper McKinley, hoping that I might watch the wretched thing melt between my fingers and never again have to listen to the bastardization of Church Bells "ringtone" that wakes me at the desired hour.

The next morning I had packed and with equal vigor said goodbye to the woman I had been seeing at the time, her name escapes me, and set out from the barracks to join the heroic expedition promised. Armed with nothing more than the horse I had purchased, the parasol I had stolen from my Commanding Officer Karasu and a single modest sword, I made my way into the courtyard where countless people had gathered. I remember tears from Maidens, less than promising words from gentleman, and only eight bodies atop horses. Curiously I made my way through the crowd hoping I would see more but soon would learn that we were indeed very few. Eight of us, including a dark haired man, equally known today as he was then; Daejoro Hojo. He was to be the leader of our caravan. A man who outranked me by several titles.

Eight of us. Seltor T Atkin, Morgan King, Aiden Maddox, Alanna Olau, Alexis Blue, Virgil Florenn, Daejoro Hojo and myself. I remember thinking that even the women were better outfitted than myself. We broke with a grand farewell, our horses marching proudly into the unknown, beyond the safety of the Fort and into the wilderness beyond. Conversation was little, the group clearly weighing their options. Little did we know what was awaiting us in these new, strange, wondrous lands. Our first night we found ourselves within the dense, overgrown woods of the outpost huddled around a strange blue fire. When pressed, our Leader revealed that the wood within the Ether was AzureWood, which was the reason for the unusual color and we found ourselves wondering if we were in over our heads. What sort of strange land encourages sapphire flames? And further, what else would it bring?

Conversation quickly turned to the electronics we had brought with us as they began to corrode, melt and ebb away into the Aura. Literally eaten by the Ether in the air. I remember smiling as the slender, metallic looking thing melted between my fingers and was no more than a pile of coloring and a few buttons in the dirt at my feet. Despite the night, my condition begged mercy from me. Dawned by the night, I had felt sick and useless as sweat beaded my brow and no nourishment would remain in my stomach for most of the day and it did not let up throughout the evening. Sleep did not come swift to me.

Before morning broke we were roused by our leader, eager and knowledgeable of the distance that we must overcome, to share a hurried breakfast and gather our effects. Mounted, we pressed on; some of our members lamenting their lost electronics, I lamenting the sun, through the forest towards our joined goal; our Leader remarkable in memory. The land was abundant with exotic plants and endless trees of green, some housing oversized fruits. I feel as if I can recall the very moment the trees seemed to...change. As if life was not captured from them, they imbibed the Aura and embraced it becoming richer, taller, thicker, and stronger. Our second night within the Aura upon us, we found that the temperature was far more unpleasant than our previous night. The night air had dropped so much and so considerably that our bodies were wracked in shivers and were forced to make camp. With the promise that the Caravan would be waiting for us, we settled in for the night; again huddling around the strange blue fire. We were unaware that our Caravan would never meet us.

The night cold and uncomfortable, noir taking little note of me; our modest rations before us, several were restless. Aiden was the first to finish his meal, standing up and making way to the edge of the tree line. Our camp was small, modest; with only four tents between us. Horses hitched and fed, the blue fire stoked; we felt somewhat at ease. It should come as no surprise that it was one of the Maidens that first noticed that there no sounds of wildlife during the night. The normal chirps and hisses from frogs and beetles absent as well as night dwelling birds, we heard none of. The first moan we heard is perhaps the most vivid and terrifying in my mind. A groggy groan, riddled with gargled mucus and the sound of gnashing teeth and shambling feet. Immediately we all stood, instructed to press our backs to one another and to keep near the fire. Our weapons drawn, I quickly realized that I had forgotten mine upon my horse. A lump swelled in my throat and sweat began to form at my brow. My condition had not improved but rather had worsened, the sun having beat down upon my Immortality most cruelly leaving me with little strength and little mind to function. What came shambling through the forest was ghastly and grotesque.

A creature, once human, with it's jaw clinging by tendons alone groaned at us. It stopped, as if as shocked as we, and stared at us; it's jaw swinging. A distraction maybe, I will never truly know, as behind me suddenly another creature lurched. It's bony, sticky fingers taking hold of my shoulders; it's teeth meant for my neck. I jerked back and stumbled, falling onto my back. It loomed over me, it's mouth open; I could see the muscles behind rotting flesh tighten as it prepared to make a meal out of me. Virgil stepped before me, a mighty blow across the creature's chest spraying green and yellow mucus from the wound. Aiden was next to aid me, tossing me one of two weapons he had prepared himself with. Scrambling, I broke the distance between me and the Dagger, pulling it up just in time to send several, frantic, timed blows into the monster's head breaking it's skull. It fell upon me, it's mouth releasing bile and gut.

Countless creatures of the same maker shambled out to greet us, as if they were born from the trees themselves. In our panic we had broken our formation, our backs no longer to one another; the fire curiously raising higher, as if it were the Midnight Caller to the Sorrow Stricken. In my attempts to push the monster from atop me, I noted a glint within it's skull; buried among thick clusters of brain matter. Around me there were screams, orders hollered, gargling beasts and the whistle and hiss of steel. The night was alive with the sounds of chaos. As I dared to reach within the chipped away bone the creature sprang to life; it's jaw snapping. My only savior was that the tendons had come loose in our tangle, leaving it to do nothing more than gnaw harmlessly at my shoulder. " Destroy the Crystals!", a shout. The night came alive with promise, hope as with a bright spark a crystal had been thrown to the ground and shattered; the corresponding beast falling to the ground twitching, useless. With a hard swing I slammed the Crystal found upon a rock, fracturing it. Another and it shattered, the monster gnawing at my shoulder falling still. With a tactic found we quickly dispatched the Sorrow Stricken, the tides having turned.

The night again grew calm around us, our minds swimming with the sights we had just seen. With the suggestion that the gems found within should be collected and send back to the Magi Commander, Jarek Tar'ek, within the Fort we quickly gathered what we could and placed them within a simple, brown sack for future delivery via messenger. The fire had died down, calming to near nothing which alarmed Morgan King to begin gathering firewood. We were all very happy in our little world and little discovery, pondering the mysteries of these crystals when another scream filled the night air. To our surprise, Morgan King had been rendered to the ground; her little fingers clawing at the dirt in desperation to find purchase. Grasping at trees as she was drug most viciously from our camp, crying out for help. Abandoning camp we flung ourselves into the face of heroism in an attempt to capture the young beauty, her person just beyond our reach with every attempt. Torn into a thicket of bush, the berries dancing as if taunting us with her turmoil, we were taken aback by what greeted us next. Red eyes bore into our own, slanted and devilish, from among the waxy leaves. We stare in wonder as it's body became more visible, our eyes adjusting to the night.

A whispy, slick, slender body resembling that of a snake slithered out from beneath the brush; it's length impressive. Within it's maw lay Morgan King, her body limp. Whisps of smoke spiraled from it's flared nostrils, as if laughing at us, before it shot into the night sky in a stream of smoke, darting across the night with the ease of reptile to water. In the distance the cries of the Maiden could be heard, desperate and frightened. We were ordered not to pursue.

Camp offered us nothing in the way of comfort. The fire having returned to it's normal burn, as if planned. The bodies of the Sorrow Stricken were gathered and moved away from the tents and piled just in sight. We were not going to be taken by surprise again this evening. There was little sleep to be had.

Morning came with little hope and with three uneventful days behind us, he were still on edge. A messenger sent requesting reinforcements, the news of the Caravan having gone missing heavy on our minds, I was comforted very little with our Leader's announcement of Black Apple clusters for breakfast. Sweet smelling orbs of fruit that grew in bunches like Champagne Grapes. My stomach was rotten. I felt sick and weak beneath the shade provided by the stolen Parasol. The Grape Cobbler bubbling nicely over a rack atop the flames made me feel putrid and unclean. I longed for a bath. We all did. Thinking back on it now, it does bring me comfort. The Highlord having taken time out of his morning regime to crumble graham cracker rations and a little bit of butter to make a crust to treat us and ease our minds. What I wouldn't give to have another taste of such humble beginnings. A man moved around the camp with a stack of parchment, a hand written note of gratitude to each of us from our Leader's hand, along with a red pounce with the sum of five hundred gold pieces for our trouble. I returned every shilling of my own. Our duties did not end here. Among our stinking clothing, and the loss of one of our party; we were still required to report to our commanders. With a shaking hand I managed the required paper work, handing it to the messenger as he made his rounds, due for our Leader.

We kept ourselves busy with training and small explorations. One of which took us to a beautiful open field of wild flowers and tall grasses. Bugs darted across the tops of bobbing daisies and birds sang mightily within the trees. Despite my growing illness I elected to attend. It was not so entirely bad, as a few closer acquaintances had been kind and helpful with their vitae, allowing me to drink of their essence. Beneath the shade of the stolen Parasol I followed the dwindling party through the field. It was beautiful with a single stream winding it's way through, separating us from a large cave opening. With the decision to make for lunch I took to lean against one of the trees, soon finding myself curled over and releasing the contents of my stomach behind it's base. I remained here, turning my eyes upon our Leader who had chosen to drop into the stream and collect the desired sustenance. With skill he plucked from the waters a large, rainbow scaled creature with a mouth that bobbed open and closed as if on hinges. Impressive, he was forced to cart it with both arms as one might a large dog towards the small fire that the other's had prepared. Quickly splitting it's stomach, mine again lost behind the tree, he tossed the creature onto the grill sending several mouths watering. Aiden and Seltor could only survive on the curious munching of wild arachnid and flowers for so long. To our despair the air suddenly filled with a plume of black smoke, the fish the source. I recall the smell quite well, burnt hair and the rotting peels of baked onions. Heroic as they were, the men were frightened little by the smell and quickly dove into the splendor to be had. Their faces twisted and contorted immediately. They attempted to make sport of their disgust and name the different tastes they experienced. This particular fish today is famous to our lands, the WoeFish named after the clever revelation of Aiden Maddox that the fish left a film in one's mouth and literally tasted of woe.

Soon Aidon, the curious Fae, abandoned his meal; unable to stomach another bite of the disgusting, but nutritious, creature. Hopping over the stream, despite the warning of our Leader, he made way to investigate the cave opening beyond the winding stream. The others soon abandoned their meal as well, snuffing the fire in preparation to press on. " Quickly! Run! " We heard, the curious nature of the Fae having won Aiden far more than he bargained for. What came next was a rumble, the earth beneath us shaking. Aiden's body flung from the open maw of the cave, tumbling over himself through the tall grasses and flowers, sprang up to his feet and without missing a beat, proceeded to run away from us. Turning our eyes back to the cave, confusion and shock our guide, we were met with the sight of a hulking Troll; his mouth dropping open with a soul shaking roar, saliva flying. Without protest we scrambled to our feet and left the area, racing through the field and back into the tree line bound for base camp. Funny to think that today we live among these creatures, even buy from their shops.

Days came and went, the nights as cold as I know them now, with little word from the Coalition from which we came. Around me, having returned every coin I had ever earned within the Aura, my world had changed. What had started as four tents sprang to ten, twenty, thirty. Reinforcements had come to our aid. We had created, successfully harbored, and aided a small colony of soldiers and had even begun working on the surrounding wall by falling trees and planting their lengths at pointed angles to guard us while we slept; or blue campfire at the center of our efforts, the very same we proudly guard this day.

Within the next several days I would learn that we were officially dissolved from the ranks of the Coalition, having felt that this land was far too wild and unpredictable to unleash upon their populace. We were on our own. Abandoned by what I considered the driving force behind our expedition, our eyes turned to our Leader, Daejoro Hojo. One last caravan would be spared for us to return those who wished home. We lost plenty of men that day to the Coalition, bringing us to another laughable number of what I remember to be no more than fifteen, soldiers our mass.