You _Growl_.

The figure walking by stops, the world going dark for a minute as they dug you out of the snow.

"Watch'cha find Gressel?" You hear from afar as the thick-furred Shallawa clung onto you. Their fur was halfway white, patches of it beginning to bald. The grizzly figure tucks you in close.

"A new recruit." They simply say, taking you over to the rest of the group.

"A Pouncer? Or is it more Tracker?" They ask, your face having been pressed up against the fur. As the cold wind picked up, you didn't mind being buried in the heavy coat.

"Reckon hybrid. Remember the Scout with the hoarding habit that lived down below? I think I last saw her with a clutch on the way. No clue on the father."

"Yes, yes. I remember Esquaseir. Sweet female. But yes, I recall seeing her carry several bags of stuff." "Only to get down to her dwelling and throw out half of it." The grizzly chuckled. "You know full well she brought extra for us, right?"

You grabbed on tighter to the fur as a sharp breeze picked up. While the snow was soft the wind bit. Up above you could hear some sort of sniffing sound.

"Now I fear for Esquaseir- The hatchling is fresh but smells of spilt blood."

"Get it something to eat. Repay the departed and keep their bloodline alive. This. This plague has severely decreased the already low intermixed tribe numbers." The other responded, you recognizing them as the leader of the attack.

"It's not your fault about being infected. The Barrier has become more and more unstable. Something is brewing on the other side, you know, and I don't like it one bi-" The grizzly broke down into a coughing fit, an all too familiar sharp smell flooding your nostrils.

When the reptilic tried to help, the grizzly simply halted them. "I'll live." As they tightened their grip around you, "I'll be around to see them grow up into a fine Shallawa. I need something to help keep safe."

The reptilic sighed. "Gressel. You can't keep them safe forever. War is on the horizon. Against which tribe, I don't know.

But war is coming.
The ground shakes, and the Barrier grows only more restless."

The wind only seemed to get colder.

~•~8 years later~•~

You run through the trees, your strong legs powering you through the underbrush. Tonight you were getting your first look at the Barrier. All these years before, Gressel has sent you out scouting and hunting in all areas South of the mystic wall. It sat at the Northern most part of the world, away from all cities and civilizations.

Past the blazing desert, across the freezing mountains, and through the thick trees and tribe-eaters until you reached a field.

No matter how many times you tried to push Gressel into telling you what it looked like or how exactly it was so bad, he would find another thing for you to do- always refusing to answer with something you wanted to hear.

Town has been no different, you finding abandoned shelters outside of Ashforn, Dirtfae, and the capital Sagehaven, yet no one having a clear cut definition of it. Many have tried to form parties and explore the other side, all of which was the last time anyone saw them.

Tales from the old feathery Glider leads you to believe that it was made to contain a great evil. One that the three deities had to sacrifice one of them in order to protect the 7 tribes from it. And the deities. One was named the Glimmering Sky Serpent and the other the Great Molding Mastodon. The final was Ravelia, an armored crow who sliced through the ground and changed the skies with the help of the other two, turning themself into the fog that supposedly kept out the evil.

But. You were never convinced about how the third deity was described. You can't place why, but a crow didn't fit nicely with your own beliefs. Like it was supposed to be something else that made the Barrier.

But enough about that.

You were already past the desert thanks to Shallawa territory, and climbed the mountain and cold with ease thanks to your upbringing. Gressel and the other one, Shardvan, were always so confused as to why you weren't much bothered by the cold snow. Not many of those of Dilono descendant were known to enjoy the cooler weather.

Must have been your supposed father.

A low rumble, much like thunder but much, much more threatening made you pause in the forest. There was a clearing up ahead. But something else caught your attention. Strange smells, not belonging to the forest, had made it clear you weren't the only one here. And right you were.

Down by your feet, you find a _____(A) _____(B)

A: Color
A1: Red
A2: Orange
A3: Yellow
A4: Green
A5: Blue (1)
A6: Purple (1)
A7: Tan
A8: Brown
A9: White
A10: Black (1)
A11: Grey (2)

B: Thing
B1: Scale
B2: Feather (2)
B3: Claw
B4: Tuft of fur (3)
B5: Piece of fin
B6: Piece of Chitin
B7: Tooth
B8: Piece of shed skin