Rain shot out of the sky like needles, pounding into the ground and creating deep puddles everywhere. Thunder rang through the night every few seconds, and lightning flashed across the sky just as frequently. As the rain beat down, a girl trudged through the mud and the water, soaked to the bone.
     She wore a long white tee shirt that - rather awkwardly - clung to her sides through the wetness of the rain soaking through. She also wore jeans, also totally soaked, and old-looking trench boots that were caked with mud. She wore a brown leather satchel at her side, and had an empty sword's sheath at her side.
     She had long, unkempt, dark brown hair lying strewn across her shoulders and had agitated-looking eyes. She kept her tawny gaze cast down as she took one step after another through the rain, shivering every once in a while.
     She cursed herself for not trying to build a shelter when she had a chance. Although the heavy rain concealed her from the various hostile races out and about, she found herself wishing that she had decided to bunk down for the night instead of travelling through it. Of course, if she had known there would be a storm approaching, she would have stayed under shelter.
     Normally she had a very keen eye for weather patterns and the like, but she had been distracted to say the least by her worry over her younger brother. She had left the ten year old in the care of her closest relative earlier that day while she went out for a walk. This would have been fine, of course, if she hadn't gotten lost in a storm.
     Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted as a flash a green whizzed past her ear in a blur, followed by a dull thud. She spun around to see a forest green-shafted arrow sticking in the bark of a tree directly behind her. She gasped and spun around again to see a girl looking a little younger than herself pointing another green shafted arrow; this time at her heart. She wore a yellow and white diagonal striped tee shirt, with a black jacket covering it and the hood up to keep her dry. She also wore jeans and bright red wellingtons on her feet. She had bright green eyes and chin length light brown hair.
     "State your name and business." She said, her tone low and commanding.
     "My name is Thalia." The girl replied. "I've gotten myself lost."
     "Well you're trespassing on Sky Army Territory." The girl holding the weapon said dangerously.
     "I'm sorry, I don't exactly know where I am." Thalia said.
     The girl growled, but before she could reply, another voice spoke from out of sight, this time male.
     "Don't be so hard on her, Venom."
     "Who's there?" Thalia demanded, turning around to see if she could see the owner of the voice.
     "Just me." There was a dull thud and a splash of water and Thalia turned to face the girl once again to see that a boy had dropped from the trees above.
     He pushed back the hood of his white cloak and extended a hand. He smiled. "The name's Kevin Murphey." He said. He wore a long white sleeved shirt with a silver and blue chest plate over it, with also a white cloak with blue trim offering protection from the rain and blue and silver armguards on his wrist. He wore leather pants and a belt, with blue and silver knee pads and leather boots. He had dark brown eyes and spiky, jet black hair sticking up on end. On his left ear, he had three piercings, and on his right he had one. At his side were two sheaths, one for a dagger and the other looking like it was supposed to hold an axe – and it did. "And you are?"
     Thalia hesitated cautiously. She didn't know if she could trust this guy. He smiled. "I'm not gonna bite." He said.
     Behind him, the girl called Venom rolled her eyes. "Yes, but he will slit your throat before you even knew he had a knife."
     "Oh shut up, Venom." Kevin said, rolling his eyes. He looked back at Thalia again. "I only do that when it's necessary."
     Thalia bit her lower lip and slowly reached out to shake his hand. "I'm Thalia Kal." She said.
     Kevin smiled and let go of her hand. "Nice to meet you. Where you from?"
     "It's a city pretty far from here. It's called Mistral." Thalia replied.
     "Mistral." Venom said. "I've heard of that place. The Skylords rule there, right?"
     Thalia nodded. "My dad's one of them." She said.
     "Well, I think that here in the middle of a thunderstorm in the dead of night may not be the best place to have a conversation." Kevin said.
     "Well, where else would we go?" Thalia asked.
     Venom laughed, but she didn't appear very amused or light-hearted. "The Sky Army Base! Duh!"
     Thalia raised an eyebrow. "The what?"
     Venom looked at her incredulously. "Are you telling me you've never even heard of the Sky Army?" She asked in disbelief.
Thalia looked at Kevin for help, desperately confused. Kevin just rolled his eyes. "To outsiders, most people know it as the Farpoint Control." He said. "It's a way more universal term." He looked at Thalia. "I'm sure this can all be explained once we get inside." He said.
     Thalia, drenched and miffed about the fact, sighed and nodded. "I'd like that."
     Venom and Kevin exchanged knowing glances. Venom nodded in silent agreement and placed her arrow back in her quiver, swinging her bow over her shoulder. "It's this way." She said. With that, she turned on her heel and started off to the left of the way Thalia had been going. Thalia hesitated to follow, still unsure of whether to trust the girl.
     Kevin smiled, clearly amused by her hesitation. "Don't worry." He said. "Venom can be hard to get along with at times, but once you get used to the general emotionlessness, you won't hate her as much."
     Thalia nodded uncertainly and headed after her. Kevin followed close behind, flipping up the hood of his cloak as he went.

They were only walking for about ten minutes through the storm before they came to the tree line, and a large grassland spread out before them. Thalia stared up at the structure ahead in awe. About a hundred meters away from the tree line stood a massive fortress, all lit up through the night like a beacon, although it was hard to see through the rain. A small town surrounded it, with a network of streets and paths connecting it. The main street ran down to the very front of the base, facing the forest, was a large gateway, with two guards in full armor posted on either side. Although it was in the dead of night, both seemed wide awake and set on their jobs.
     Venom smirked at Thalia's awestruck expression. "Beautiful isn't it?" She asked. Thalia didn't respond. Venom leaned a bit closer, still looking up at the base. "You could even call it majestic."
     Without another word on the matter, she started off towards the base. Kevin stopped next to Thalia, one eyebrow raised. "If you don't shut your mouth soon, you'll start catching flies."
     Thalia jumped as she realized she had zoned out and quickly shut her mouth. She looked at Kevin, eyes wide. "Is that...?"
     Kevin smiled and looked up at the base. "Yep." He said. "That's the base."
     "Well, you didn't tell me it was a damn castle." Thalia's expression grew from awed to mischievous. "I think I might like it there." She looked up at Kevin again. "Should we keep going?"
      Kevin rolled his eyes. "No, we should stop her and sleep out in the rain." He said sarcastically. "Yes, we should keep going."
     Thalia smiled and jogged to catch up with Venom. She met with her at the gateway, where the guards both stood. "Lieutenant Colonel." The guard looked Thalia up and down. "Report." One of them ordered,
     "Relax, Johnny, this is an ally. Or at least someone who isn't planning on killing or severely injuring someone. Her name's Thalia." Venom said.
     The guard relaxed a bit. "Where's she from?"
     "She's from Mistral." She said. "She needs a place to stay and this is the only place that'll take her."
     The guard nodded. "Alright." He looked up at Thalia. "But you'd better report to the Commander tomorrow morning."
     His last word set alarm bells off in Thalia's mind. "Uh... Morning...?" She asked. "I rarely get up before one."
     Kevin rolled his eyes as he approached. "I'll make sure she gets up."
     The other guard looked surprised by Kevin's appearance. "Lieutenant Murphey!" He exclaimed.
     "Yeah yeah, I'm back." He said. "I'll tell the Commander tomorrow."
     The first guard nodded. "Then go on through." He smiled. "And welcome back, Kevin." Kevin smiled back and headed through. Venom followed without hesitation. Thalia glanced nervously at the first guard before running to catch up with Kevin and falling in step beside him.
     "What was that all about?" She asked.
     "I was sent to go on an exploration mission a few weeks ago." Kevin replied. "That's kind of my job. I'm trained to be the eyes and ears of the Sky Army, along with a few other recruits like me. But I'm different because I'm not in the Sky Division. I'm in the Dead Division. I train to be fast and agile above everything else. Our buddy Logan, on the other hand, is in the Sky Division. He strives for skill and honor. Agility comes as a second."
     Venom snorted. "Yeah, except he can't seem to nail that skill part."
     "Oh knock it off, he's trying as hard as he can."
     This just confused Thalia more. "Well, what's the difference?"
     "The two armies are lead by different people." Kevin explained. "One by General Ty Ellis, the other by Adam Dahlburg - we call him Sky because of an old stunt he pulled back when he was still a recruit. There are many others as well. The Star Division, as led by General Jason Provst. They're all explosive, sleep-deprived science nerds, I would suggest you stay away from them. Then there are the Meds&Sorcerers led by Magist Doctor Harvey Seto. They're basically the medics of the military. And lastly, the Dual Division which is led in partnership by Mitch Hughes and Jerome Aceti. By the way, try not to do anything too... Human around Jerome. He's Baccan. It's a... Latin culture."
     "Basically Italian bears." Venom simplified
     Thalia just stared at Kevin blankly. He smiled knowingly and looked on ahead. "It's all a bit complicated, but over time, you'll come to understand." He said.
     Thalia just nodded. "I hope you're right." She said.
     "Trust me." Kevin replied. "You'll get it eventually."
     "Alright, so since you're technically a guest here, you'll have to stay in the guest quarters. But if you decide to stay, you'll get quarters of your own to have permanently."
     Thalia shook her head. "I have to get back home as soon as I can." She said. "I left my brother in my cousin's care and he's not exactly the most responsible."
     "I thought you said your dad lived in Mistral too. Why can't he watch him?" He asked.
     "He's at Skyhold doing Skylord stuff." Thalia replied.
     "Alright. Your choice." Venom said. "But I know the Commander would love a new addition."
     "Venom, can you show her to her quarters?" Kevin asked. "Mine are all the way on the opposite side of the base."
     Venom nodded. "Sure thing."
     "I'll see you in the morning, Thalia." Kevin said. "I'll get you up to go meet with the Commander." With that, he raised a hand in farewell and walked off in the opposite direction.
     "This way." Venom told Thalia. She headed down the hall on the left of the main entrance to the base as they headed in out of the rain. Thalia walked beside her quickly, matching her pace to Venom's.
     "Who's this Commander, anyway?" She asked. "Why's everybody all psycho about me meeting with him?"
     "It's protocol." Venom replied. "All new additions have to report to Sky and make sure he knows they're there."
     "But I'm not a new addition."
     "You still have to do it."
     Thalia rolled her eyes. "Yeah alright." She said. "But as soon as I do, I'm borrowing a map and returning to Mistral."
     Venom looked at her curiously. "Do you actually plan on returning the map at some point?"
     Thalia shook her head without hesitation. "Nope."
     Venom smiled, finally appearing almost genuinely amused. "Shame you'll have to go." She said. "It would've been nice to have you around." Thalia smiled.
     Venom stopped by a door and pushed it open. She gestured for Thalia to go inside. "These'll be your quarters for the night." She said. "There are some dry clothes in the cabinet. They're kinda generic, but they're better than sleeping in wet jeans." She said. "And also, make sure you take a shower. Being totally honest, you don't exactly smell like a basket of roses."
     Thalia rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Venom, I'll do that." She said. "Goodnight."
     "Night."
     As Venom walked out of sight, Thalia closed the door behind her. She walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a long sleeved black shirt and black pants. Both were very plain, but they were better than her own soaking wet clothes. She pulled off her muddy boots and set them by the door. She walked into the bathroom and took a long shower, easing her tense muscles from the long walk. Afterwards, she brushed out her hair and put on the dry clothes.
     They were light and allowed her to move around with ease, but covered her skin well enough to keep her warm. They were perfect for a fighter as casual wear.
      She walked over to the bed and flopped onto it, falling asleep almost immediately.
     But she didn't stay asleep for long.