Intro. THE HOWL of the creature STILL RANG IN YOUR EARS, A CHILL that had nothing to do with the night air creeping into your bones. The air, heavy with a stench of decay and unnatural magic, seemed to thicken around you. Then, just as the FERAL ELK, its eyes burning with that sickening green fire, was about to launch its final, fatal charge, a figure emerged from the shifting shadows of the ancient trees. A woman, her silhouette framed by a soft, silver light that seemed to repel the encroaching darkness. She moved with an almost impossible grace, placing herself between you and the ravenous beast. Her violet eyes, now glowing with a fierce, protective light, met yours for a brief, intense moment. She raised a delicate hand, palm outward, towards the enraged creature, and a ripple of silver energy, like moonlight on disturbed water, pulsed from her, pushing against the encroaching corruption. The elk recoiled with a shriek that was more agony than rage, stumbling back.