The old captial of Lon sat in the shadow of its former glory. The streets stones where forced up by invasive plantlife. Vines hung from almost every buliding, many of which where run down and seemed to only be held together by the snake-like plants. The newest where in worse disrepair. The metropolis turned village had only one tavern, and a repaired inn for its income. High above the rotting village, the moon hung in the sky. It was in its sickle phase, and seemed ready to swing down upon the village to wipe it off the map. Yet the gods where being merciful by not giving the blade its token of blood and death. A dark feathery cloud drifted under it giving the sickle its hilt.
 
A small girl with brillant red hair that slowly faded to a white blonde at the tips, tip-toed her way across the old, almost rotten flooring of the inn. Her soft lavender skirt was faded terribly and hung away from her slender frame. It was obviously too big for her. A board creaked under her feet, causing her to freeze. She glanced around expecting one of the many doors to swing open even this late at night. The door to her right opened slightly, a pair of beady eyes stared out at her. It was a small mob rat, the scarred flesh of its face giving it away. The sheep-sized rodent scurried out of the crack and down the hall, dissappearing from sight.
 
The girl sighed in releif, that it had not been her mother. Yet her luck was not as great as she would have wanted. A dark form appeared behind her, what seemed to be a pair of wings and a tail adding to the bulk. A hand sprang out, catching the back of the girl's dress. She started to scream, but was silenced as another clapped over her mouth. The brush of black and brown hair on her pale cheeks momentarily calmed her. It was her mother, and a scolding was sure to follow.
 
"Nier, where the hell do you think you are going this late?"
 
A muffled reply came from Nier's mouth. The woman released her grip on her adoptive daughter's jaw, allowing her to speak. Nier looked up at her mother, her eyes locking on the cracked orb that hung from her wrist.
 
"I was just going to go catch fireflies," she said, spinning a lie.
 
Her mother seemed unimpressed, her tail twitching in annoyance. She glared down at the red-head, who felt herself shrink with fear. Nier knew that a punishment was comming. A sigh rang in her ears.
 
"Fine, fine, baby girl, I know where your going anyway, just don't become food for a predator."
 
Nier hugged her mother's leg tightly. Her mother ruffled the red and blonde locks of ther girl's hair with a smile. After a kiss to the head she ran toward the old grand staircase. The stairs where compeltly unsafe. Holes where the wood had rotten away speckled the flooring like a robin's egg. Nier gracefully danced over them, her dantiy feet hardly touching the darken boards. She was so excited that she rushed out the large double doors forgetting her boots.
 
The old city was wide, its towering but crumbling walls provided some protection from the swamp's predators. Legends say that a massive sewer/catacombs system turned lybrinth snaked under Lon, a large trove of treasure at the deepest section. An elemental is spoken off, guarding the treasure from any would be explorers. Some even say the land is cursed, the fauna growing to larger sizes and are extermly agressive not only killing for food but sport as well. None of these stories are of fact, yet since no one who has ventured down into the maze have ever returned to the surface, the tale was easy to believe.
 
The cold cobblestone turned her feet a light shade of pink upon contact; weeds that had grown between the cracks tickled at her soles. High above the girl a skybeast sliently flapped its massive wings, momentarily blocking out the moon. The sickle returned once more, its soft yellow light reflecting off Nier's eyes, which where golden with excitment. Hearing the bellow of the floating monster caused her to look up. Nier was adjusted to hearing them but this was her first time seeing one in real life. It was suprisingly low in the sky, too low for any form of comfort. She knew the stories of these massive monsters destroying areas twice the size of Aeonas with one swipe of its tail.
 
One other fact stirred in her young but elder mind, a skybeast that was flying low was a sign of a comming change. The behemoth bellowed once again before returning itself to its endless sea. Nier was still recovering from the shock and in mid-jog when her foot caught on a loose stone. Her tiny frame landed on a lush bed of wild grass with a quite thud. Mice ran out from the bed thinking she was an owl. At the sight of the fleeing rodents the young girl couldn't help but laugh. Her adorable laughter echoed amung the rotting structures.
 
The sudden sound of falling rocks instantly silenced the young Vemonari. She quickly pulled her exposed feet into the tall yellow grass. A series of grunts made her start to sweat. The image of her being torn limb from limb by a pack of gore hogs poured over her mind. She forced herself not to cry. Clicking of claws on the stone made a single tear roll down across her face. An aweful scent attacked her nostrils. It was causing her to gag silently.
 
The grass at her tiny feet started to rustle. Panic set in, turning her eyes a dark shade of black. A distinctive dry forked tongue played at her toes. Unable to hold herself still she kicked out toward the creatures skull only to feel a moist cavern wrap around her feet. The creature began to rise up taking Nier with it. The young girl found herself face to well stomach with an armed snake. Its scales gleamed black in the dim light. The face was unmistakenly feline, while the claws where like a dragon's. She was caught by a tazlenwrum. Nier had lost several friends to these snakes, and she wasn't about to be a midnight snack.
 
Instinct kicking in, she let out a loud hiss, her small hollow fangs flicking forward. The armed snake seemed not to notice taking the girl's legs deeper into its maw. Nier began to beat her fists against its head. Now annoyed the beast used its sheer body weight to force the her arms down.
 
"Let me go, you damned snake!"
 
Using her natural flexiblity she sunk her fangs deep into the snake's arm. Venom strong enought to burn through metal pulsed out of the teeth. The snake seemed to glare at the girl, taking more of her in. Nier felt herself slipping deeper into its throat. She needed time for the poison to take effect, but with the maw at her waist she didn't have that stretch. Kicking her legs against the muscluar walls proved to be futial. Quickly and sliently she asked the gods to protect her as the massive snake pulled the rest of her into its gullet in one powerful gulp.
 
Nier smiled to herself as the walls massaged her body to be digested. She felt with both hands and feet along the soft muscle looking for any weakness. Her toes played at large dent in the stomach. She shouted to herself in joy.
 
"Sorry, Mr. Snake looks like this dinner is about to give you a belly ache," she giggled.
 
Wiggling around till she was right infront of the dent, an acidic sting played at her toes. The heat within the stomach was growing. She know the tazlenwurm had a fast metabolism, digesting a meal in less than thirty minutes, she had already spent too many of her precious seconds. Curling herself tightly into a ball, the muscles of her powerful legs ready to spring. Letting out a sharp kick, a hole tore in the soft flesh. A sherik of pain rattled her around and back up the stomach away from the hole.
 
Nier screamed as the opening began moving away. She hooked her foot against it, bright red blood staining her soft flesh. Using every ounce of strenght to resist the pull, her toes began to lose their grip. A few minutes of the tiring tug of war the girl finally won. Pulling her tiny frame back to the hole she repeated the kick, tearing it wide open. In a rush the girl pulled herself free of the stomach.
 
Fluid stuck to her hair, the blood blending in with the damp red locks. Standing up she spat on the snake. Most of it had disolved due to her vemon. Sliding a hand over her forhead she pondered how tomorrow she would explain the corspe to her mother. Shaking her head the copper scented dropplets scattered around her. Sighing from the ordeal the tiny vemonari looked out over the walls of the once proud city. A tall clocktower like structure loomed in the distance.
 
"After that, who the hell knows what's next, a dragon," she shouted in frustration.
 
This night was going to be long and hard. The thought of untold riches that lie beneath her feet was too great of a prize to give up now.