Over the Mountain Intro
This is a thing I've been working on off and on for a little bit now. I didn't post all I have, but I wanted to see what others thought!
A soft autumn breeze blew gently as the evening light faded from the sky. The sound of rustling grass was everywhere, and the setting sun cast a reddish-orange hue over the horizon. On top of a small hill, crouching alone with an old brown cloak drawn around him, was a young lizard. The lizard was dressed in a plain green tunic along with his cloak, and his green and blue scales shone with a slight tinge of red from the sunset. The lizard's thoughtful forest green eyes stared off at the mountain that rose up in the distance, towering over the land with its imposing presence. Everything was still save for the soft breeze and the rustling of grass.
In the midst of the stillness, a voice sounded, catching the lizard's attention and causing him to turn his head towards the source of the voice. "Jax!" It cried excitedly. The source of the voice was running up the small hill that Jax was seated on. "There you are!" The voice cried again as it came closer.
The young lizard laughed as he stood to face the oncoming otter that wore a similar cloak and tunic to his. "Ren!" He exclaimed. "What are you doing out here? How did you know I was even out here?"
Ren laughed at the questions, shaking his head as he simultaneously struggled to catch his breath. Running certainly wasn't his strong suit. "Are you kidding?" He asked once he managed to catch his breath. "We come out here all the time, and mother asked me to find you. I figured there weren't too many places outside of the town that we go." Jax chuckled, shaking his head in response. "So mother wanted me? Did she say why?"
The otter seemed amused by the questions. "Oh it's nothing terribly important dear brother," he replied in a sing song tone that he used often with the lizard. "She just wanted your assistance with the turnovers that she's making for the festival tonight." Ren waggled a finger at Jax, chuckling. "That's if you haven't forgotten about the festival entirely," he added teasingly. "I'm sure you've already perfected that magic act you're going to be presenting, or did you forget about that too?"
Laughing, Jax playfully shoved the otter, already starting to walk in the direction Ren had come from. "You'd just love it if I forgot wouldn't you?" He shot back with a winning grin. "But have no fear, for I have perfected my magic show!" He then exclaimed, taking on an imperious and commanding tone that he normally used for show. "It will be one like the village has never seen before!" He declared.
Ren rolled his eyes, following after his friend. "Oh I'm sure the great magician Jax will certainly blow us away this year," he remarked in mock agreement. "Just like he blew the skirt off of Miss Moka."
"Hey, you know that was an accident!" shot back Jax slightly incredulously. "All she had to do was stand still, and she flinched! That's not my fault!" Ren just rolled his eyes again. "Whatever you say great magician!"
The two brothers laughed and joked back and forth with each other on their way back to the town. The sun continued to dip below the horizon in front of them, and slowly, darkness began to prevail over the light. Behind them, off in the distance, there still stood the ever-imposing mountain. However, it was what was beyond the mountain that was unknown to the two friends. Beyond the mountain, the land just next to it was covered in a thick layer of trees. As one went further away from the mountain, the trees would begin to dwindle, and then finally be replaced by a dark landscape. The ground was broken and dead. Plant life was nonexistent. Despite the warm and sunny day, the barren landscape was cold and alien.
Further out across the barren landscape, the flatness was broken by an immense circular tower that jutted up from the sickened ground. The tower was made of strong, unbroken stone, and the ground around it hummed with a strange energy that seemed to seep through the air itself. Through the vast stillness of the broken wasteland, a voice, incredibly powerful and impossibly ancient, broke through with a deep laugh. "It's almost time."