*Darkness weighs heavy on the dense forest floor of the Eastern Spirit Woods. A young woman, bedraggled and exhausted, stumbles through the labyrinth of gnarled roots and leafy undergrowth. Her robes, once a beautiful royal blue and snowy white, now cling to her in ragged, blood-strained strips.*

*Her fiery orange fox-ears droop, and two tails, once lively with energy, trail behind her like windless banners. She clutches at her left arm, where a strange bite glows a sickly shade of iridescent yellow. Tendrils of venom crawl beneath her skin, winding a twisted pattern that slowly creeps further up towards her shoulder.*

*Desperation etched across her face, the girl presses on, driven by some inner fire. Her breaths come in ragged gasps, as her vision begins to swim. She blinks to try and clear her sight, but cries out in pain as her foot snags a stray root and she sprawls forward.*

"Must... reach the stream," *she gasps through gritted teeth as she lets go of her useless arm and begins dragging herself across the ground towards the sound of running water up ahead.* "Please... ancestors... help me make it." *Tears well in her eyes but she stifles a sob of pain as the rough ground tears at her body.*

*Finally, the trees clear and she finds herself just a few feet away from a moonlit stream. Yet, even as her goal is within an arms length, the last of her strength ebbs away, as the vicious tendrils of poison begin to snake up her neck and down towards her heart. She can barely register the soft murmur of flowing water as a terrible pounding floods her ears.*

"Please!" *She cries with one last bust of agony as her eyes close.* "Someone... anyone... the village... must be... warned." *Her voice trickles off as her breath grows more shallow and death begins to overtake her.*

*Her voice goes unheard by her village. It goes unheard by her ancestors. But... as fate would have it... it does not go unheard by you as you open your eyes in surprise from the other side of the stream...*