He came from the North, one brisk winter morn. With broad shoulders and calloused hands, the tall man pulled his ship from the sea. The sand was soft yet close, sturdy as his large leather boots flicked the residue of seawater in small drops off and away as they planted in the ground. The fur cloak the man was wearing seemed to glide softly in the wind, the fur of the wolf pelt’s bristles of fur flattening to one side, succumbing to the light gusts of air. Three light sniffs of the air, and the man’s senses were flooded with that of the ocean spray, smoke, and above all blood soaking into earth. His pace quickened.
Huts of thatch were blazing with curling crimson flame, crackling and turning to ash. Women screamed as blades split flesh, men shouted orders as survivors ran. The long nodachi always struck true in these raids, the men had found, and were the weapon of choice for cleaving. The Stranger had learned these names from his travels to islands before this, but never seen them used by the samurai. The heavy leather boots of the man now treaded on the gravel streets, the man uttering even a whisper as he approached one of the warriors. The samurai thrust his blade down, the shoulders of the woman splitting as the sharp blade slid forward and severed her spine. Her scream was cut off short as life quickly left her body, as well as the blade that killed her. The samurai’s face did not react as he turned towards the man, who had stopped a good distance away.
“You are brave to have come here. Most adventurers would avoid a raid such as this.”
The samurai spoke, his voice deep as he stood stoicly. The Stranger was silent for a moment, before his lips parted and he began to speak.
“I am looking for a girl named Himari. Is she slaughtered like the rest?”
Now the samurai’s expression had changed, his brow rising. “Did you not hear me? You have no terms to talk about here. Leave or die!” The man was now shouting, brandishing his long blade and holding it diagonally on his shoulder.
“Where is Himari?”
As the Stranger spoke, the samurai stepped forward, blade lurching forward in a upwards strike at the cloaked man. With but a blink, the samurai’s blade clashed with another- that of an axe. The head of the axe was adorned beautifully with unknown inscriptions, a dark black metal with a thick wood shaft. Both of the blades stopped in the bind, the samurai’s eyebrows furrowed as he put more force into his blade. The Stranger scowled back, and through gritted teeth said, “Nolgreim…” and reached his right hand out.
The samurai yelled out in shock, his blade snapped in twain, as the Stranger’s hand gripped his right shoulder pad. The wooden armor, as sturdy as it was- master craftsmanship from Teltubo- had been crinkled in the Stranger’s grisled hand as if it was nothing but paper. And he spoke the same sentence he had before, “Where is Himari?”

Samurai had burst down the door just as Himari threw herself under the bed, deep into the shadow, back against the wall. They cut down those in the room that had not hurried to cover, first the elderly woman in the stall as well as her husband, who stood up to defend his wife even with his age. One of the other women restrained, dragging her out of the room as she screamed. There were three warriors left in the room, who began to go and pull other girls from under the bed. Himari’s eyes darted quickly from the boots of the men to the window in the right of the room just as a body was thrown out of it. There was no way out, the men pulling out another girl from her hiding spot and beating her. Then Himari’s eyes shifted again, a heavy pair of boots walking into the room, methodically thumping on the wooden floor. The samurai turned quickly, raising their blades and attacking the new figure that had walked in quickly. Himari watched as the Stranger sidestepped, drawing an axe that cut through one of the warrior’s legs, who yelped and crashed into the floor. The other was grabbed, slammed to the floor quickly, and killed with one chop. The Stranger turned quickly as the first samurai lifted himself, only to receive an axe in the shoulder and be pinned to the wall. “Where is the girl named Himari!” he said through clenched teeth, the samurai only turning his face away and holding back yells of utter pain.
The girl was still laying still in the dust and darkness under the bed, watching the boots of the man that had just dispatched two army soldiers with ease. He was looking for her, but the girl could not decide whether or not that was a good thing or not. She shifted, uneasy of the situation when the Stranger spoke again. “Himari, I was sent by your father.” Now the girl’s eyes widened, and memories flooded back of her father, the man in the mask he was. He had told her that he was sanctioned to death, and would leave her to protect her. Himari stopped again for a few moments, before deciding and pushing herself out from under the bed. The Stranger’s eyes were already trained on her, as he let go of the man and pulled the axe out of his shoulder.
His face had a thick black beard covering most of it, short hair on his head, and a scar ran down his right eye. As Himari stood up, she also noticed that he was much much taller than herself, maybe one or two whole feet. The Stranger said nothing, only shifting his head back and motioning for her to leave the building. The girl stopped for a moment, before moving past him and out the door. Outside, the street was littered with the bodies of samurai, as both men and women rushed about the different houses and attempted to put out the fires that still blazed. 

Behind Himari, four of the girls that had been grabbed rushed out, arms and cloth covering their exposed bodies as they ran away, and the Stranger walked out behind them. Himari turned to him, looking up at the tall man quizically.
“What does my father wish of me?”
The Stranger stopped for a moment, before parting his cloak and pulling out a sheathed blade, a straw hat, and a red clay mask- all items of her father.
Himari looked back up, knowing what her father had done. Her vision clouded over with the coming of tears at the thought, but resisted the urge to weep.
“I come from a far away land, one to the North, called Alloria. Your father travelled there, where I met him. He helped me… and before he departed asked me to give these to you. I’m sorry.” 
Himari nodded, as the Stranger placed the hat upon her head and handed her the blade. Her grip tightened around it, looking at the beautiful engraving of the wooden sheathe. The Stranger sighed, before stepping off the wooden porch of the building and beginning to walk away. 
Himari turned as he did, yelling out, “Wait! What is your name?”
The Stranger stopped, cloak still hung over his shoulders as he turned his head back to her. “Just call me… the Beast of Ravencross. Take care kid.” 

Until Chapter 1

The boat rocked back and forth as John adjusted the sail, which caught the wind and pushed the vessel slightly faster through the water. The base of Ulla Alora was now in sight as he stepped back on the deck and took a seat. From under his shirt and procured a necklace, flickering a light blue as it began to drain the last of its power. With a grunt, the man tore it off the chain, giving it one last glance, before hovering it over the edge of the boat. “And may it once again, rest at peace.” Was all he said, before releasing his grip on the charm and dropping it into the deep, dark blue...