I wasn't sure what truly happened the day I lost my parents.

Only that I woke with a concussion, freezing cold and hundreds of miles from home.

My first day of independence had not come to me willingly.

A twelve-year-old girl should never have to face the fact that she will forever be alone and fend for herself. Especially when that human girl lives in a world full of creatures that are stronger and smarter than her.

Good job I got smarter.

Gemoira was a place of the supernatural. Predominantly split into four islands, each was inhabited by a different creature. It took hundreds of years for them to settle their differences and divide land, but today Gemoira was a place that appeared to be harmonious.

Growing up sheltered from it all, was easy to ignore the cracks in their societies.

First, there were the shifter creatures. Living to the east, each main species had their own land. The dragons lived to the north, in the snowy mountains of Cerulea. Beside them, the felines habituated Theran. Both species live in solitude, but I have heard from the gentlemen in the markets that they do help each other out.

Then there were the wolves; werewolves, lycanthrope, whatever they were. I have never seen a beast in person, never witnessed the terrifying, long clawed, pointed teeth, enormous dogs. They lived central to the shifter lands, occupying a large amount of forestland called Drolmuun. As daunting as it sounds, many humans lived nearby, the shifters offering 'protection' from demons and providing wooden homes.

Why? Oh, because the shifters, especially wolves, worship their own goddess, and this goddess supposedly bestowed them with soulmates. When the wolves discovered their mates could be human, they started to get a whole lot nicer to us. If you were not their mate, then you often ended up a worker, earning money to try and stay afloat in this damn rock ruled by paper. That, or you were never heard of again. I have seen what happens to humans that get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, and being the lowest species, it wasn't hard to figure out where they end up. I could count on both hands the amount of humans I have seen as slaves or blood bags in just this past month.

Anyway, we were safe in the mountains. Safe from them all.

To the south of shifter land were the bear-shifters. Huge, large, furry and ever-so cuddly looking bears lived in a land called Auberon. I have never met a bear, but have frequently seen them in passing. They often visit the markets in Oudailia, the land of fae, which is kind of where I lived.

The fae were fickle creatures. There was a castled town where only the highest of fae lived, called Salkyr, and that was west of fae land. Fae, although easy to steal from, were very smart creatures. Dressed in the finest of fabrics and jewels, they exalted themselves. It explained the over-exuberant castles they lived in. What happened to a simple four walled home? Fae's had to have the best of everything, it is why they held most of the power in Gemoira. That, and their magic.

There were many types of fae, in all colours and strengths, but the high fae were a pretty pale blue, almost like ice on a blue-sky day. The high fae all lived in Salkyr and the head fae, Sofina, ruled most of the lands, and she was a woman of beauty. With unusually purple eyes, almost like lavender, she had white hair that reached her knees. I have seen her a few times when she would travel near to my village, mainly through crowded areas. I dare not get too close.

They were intelligent, ethereal looking creatures. Usually tall, they held their head with purpose. They loved new information, loved finding things out, but they also loved a joke. The fae were known as tricksters, the opposite of their elf cousins, who rarely came to the markets. The elf folk were also smart, but often lived in the woodland. They were very good at crafting things, but were regarded as a lower fae to the higher species; they did not possess the same amount of sparkly magic as the higher fae.

Although kind, if you let a high fae touch you, they sucked your life away.

Well, not that dramatic, but my parents taught me as a child that if a fae touches you, they can see your soul. Mind-readers of sorts. Your fate, your past, present, future... As much as your soul allows them to see, of course. Whether that was to scare me or not, I believed it.

I have never touched a fae's skin. I used my lack of scent to my advantage; pretending to be male to meander through the cloaks and capes of various noblemen and fae in the markets. My favourite market was Somerval since it was the largest and nearest to me. I lived in Skadi Cove, though, in the mountains of Oudailia.

My favourite market day was Friday. That was when the rich came out, travelling across the country to seek gifts or jewels and then stay for the weekend. The fae were like the dragons; both creatures loving the shiny and wealthy things.

However, venture further south, into Tempestus, and you found the sea-fae. Mermaids, mermen, sirens... They were creatures you didn't meddle with willingly unless you knew the difference.

Thankfully, I did.

I know; proud of me, too.

Sirens could lull you with their siren song, manipulating your mind. There were charms, spells, even certain elements that protected you from them, but not everyone could get a piece of that. Including me. That's why I had to learn the difference, because mermaids did not turn your brain into jelly and make you jump off a cliff for their supper.

The trick to knowing if your fish-friend is good or bad? The tail. Mermaid tails were two soft looking fins, with tips that sloped inward. Their scales were often colourful and shiny, and their hair always seemed so soft. I could do with some of their magic, because I was tired of washing mine.

My dark hair looked awfully ragged. I should probably cut it soon, but winter was approaching, and I wanted to be as warm as I could be.

Anyway, the Sirens had different tails. Instead of two separate large fins, they had one wide one that dipped in the centre. That was it. Sometimes it was hard to spot, since tails often moved so quickly, and you didn't have many seconds before they sucked you into their mind-vortex.

Although both lived in the water, sirens were rarer these days. The mermaids were kind, elegant fish-people, occupying the south of fae land. They most often forced Sirens to the far south, but occasionally one got through.

I had believed I grew up in fairy land, but my memories are... sparse, because my injured, twelve-year-old body was found in demon-land.

Soros, aka demon land, was to the south of fae land and shifter land. To keep it simple, you had the vampires on the eastern side in Mordred, and the demon-bloods to the west in Soros. They weren't that scary. Demon born offspring rarely showed signs of wanting to end the world or suck your soul. There were the elementals, though, predominantly living in their own little towns. They were Aeros; air, Geo; earth, Tsunsis; water, and Empyreal; fire.

They couldn't be that bad; there was a bridge that took you to Soros land after all.

The place you wanted to avoid was Shaye; the black market. Closest to where they discovered me. It sat on the border of Mordred and Soros, each side coming together for the market. You go there if you want particular things. Is someone bugging you? Hire a hitman. Long-lost family? Hire a detective. Dark magic witches? Good luck with that. Witches lived in hiding.

The closest thing to a known witch was Nymph, and they just loved the earth and the earth blessed them in return. These magical beings lived secluded near Drolmuun, the shifter land, in a forest called Lios. A nymph actually healed me up as a child, a courtesy after finding me bleeding to death near Shaye.

It was a surprise to me as much as her.

I did not know how I had woken up south of Shaye in a small alcove. How had no one found me before? These are questions I have thought of many times, but received no answers.

All I knew is my parents and sister were dead, and I was alone. I forgot a lot of my past.

Left for death, I got lucky when Daisy, a nymph, found me. She was being sold at auction at Shaye, being dragged by chains to her doom. The demon men shackling her paid me no mind; a bloody human was nothing but vampire food. Nymphs were worth a lot on the black market; often sold as slaves. But Daisy must've cast a spell or something, because there was no way else to explain what happened after.

I had fallen asleep because, you know, dying, and I woke when I felt like I was moving. Funny thing was it was actually happening.

In the feathers of a griffon, I had believed I truly died.

Griffons were rare. A dozen or so were known in the entire world. Power-hungry demons wiped out many of their clans, and the nymphs, hundreds of years ago for their magic during a huge war hundreds of years ago. They were proud, strong, and regal creatures. Thought to be rulers of land, they had no choice but to hide when others grew jealous. The few that were around lived in dragon land, high in mountains that no mammal could get to. Their magic was theirs to protect now, forced into their seclusion to protect what was theirs.

I did not know who Neo the griffon was. But the sixteen-year-old boy took me to safety and provided me shelter. I couldn't help but thank both him and Daisy for the rest of my life. Despite never seeing her again, I often thought of her. The Nymph who summoned a damn griffon.

Some bad-ass woman, I tell you. She even removed my scent; I had none because of her.

But Neo had taken his role as my... guardian seriously. Griffons were very overprotective and egotistical creatures. Neo was no different.

We lived in Skadi Cove, east of fae land, because Fae was the least likely to sniff out an undocumented human. It was hard to spot our home in the mountains. The entryway, only just large enough for passage, was dimly lit and travelled about twenty yards before you came to the enclosure we called home.

It was literally a cave, lit by sunlight in the day, and candlelight by night. I had a bed made of various materials and a blanket I had sewn from furs when I was a teenager. It was small, but Neo often shifted to his griffon form and kept me warm when I required it.

Despite turning into a large half-lion, half-bird, I think he loved me. There was no reason he couldn't. I brought him new, fancy things from the markets every day. He provided food, mainly fish, but I didn't mind.

I didn't know any different, and often foraged for fruit.

Neo taught me everything I needed to know. Upon bringing me to his home, he helped heal me. The reason griffons are so highly looked for was because they had magical spit. Yep, you heard me. As gross as it was, that magical, warm liquid healed up most of my injuries overnight.

Once fully healed, we turned to development. I was a fresh mind and absorbed everything he told me until it was engrained in my damn bones. Neo taught me how to hunt, fight, run, and defend. He taught me what to avoid, how to steal, what clothes to wear, and how to be inconspicuous. He engrained that sense of danger and life in me from such an age that everything came naturally to me now.

Apart from being a bad-ass human, he taught me compassion. I did not like the effort of killing creatures much, which is why he often did the hunting, or only chose fish. Being a bird, he didn't seem to mind and only chose his 'fun-hunt' time when I wasn't around.

Cat-side likes to chase bunnies.

Fast forward many years, and I was twenty-four. An adult, not ready to go into the adult world, I spent every day rather plainly. Wake up, forage food for breakfast, wash, dress, go for a walk, hit the markets, come home, train, wash, eat, sleep. Sometimes we would train after breakfast, but that was as exciting as the routine got.

Right now, I was on home time and the walk from the market took a couple of hours.

Skadi Cove was a great place away from wandering eyes and legs. The cliff faces were hard to climb unless you knew where to stand and which paths to follow. Thankfully, Neo taught me so.

Neo couldn't fly anymore, and I wasn't sure why. He could shift, and hover on the wind if he jumped from the cliff face, but he could never take off and would always float to the ground. But I rarely saw him do that, often in his human form these days. His inability to fly never bothered me. We both were weirdos.

So here I was, scaling a damn cliff face as the sun went down. I was cutting it close today, and I knew I would get an earful from Neo. There were around five weeks left until the heart of winter, the sky darkening earlier as the days went by. It meant more days in the dark caves, freezing in my shitty human skin, as Neo went out into the cold for necessities.

Heaving myself up the cliff grew easier as the years went on. Twelve years forced to face these cliffs; you learn them like the back of your hand. I bet I could climb them blindfolded, but Neo never let me try. He was fiercely protective of my pathetic ability to stay alive.

Reaching the last step, my arms pushed me until I was on my knees. Huffing, I rose and brushed the tiny rocks from my stolen trousers. A dense trail of ivy obscured the entryway, but with the leaves dwindling, Neo intended to gather evergreens and moss to conceal it.

Pushing past them, I trailed my hands along the dark walls, following the path. As the walls grew wider, my vision grew clearer with the candlelight and after a last turn, I came to the main living area.

Home.

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hope you enjoyed chapter one of this.

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