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

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

*Desperation etched across his face, he presses on, driven by some inner fire. His breathing comes in ragged gasps, as his vision begins to swim. He blinks to try and clear his sight, but cries out in pain as his foot snags a stray root and he sprawls forward.*

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

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

"Please!" *He cries with one last burst of agony as his eyes close.* "Someone... anyone... the village... must be... warned." *His voice trickles off as his breath grows more shallow and death begins to overtake him.*

*His voice goes unheard by his village. It goes unheard by his 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...*