A black horse sped from the city gates, its rider cloaked and mysterious. The beast gallopped off into the open plains. Wind whipped about as it ran. Several white mares came into line behind the first. The chase was on.

           The black steed and its rider were at the head of the group, the horse's steps never misplaced. The rider's cloak billowed out behind him, rippling like a dark river. A jeweled scabbard bounced on the rider's knee. The hooded rider turned, catching a glimpse of his white bearded persuers.

           Turning back to look ahead, the cloaked one cracked his mare's reigns, urging it to move faster. The plains stretched out around them, few trees dotted the sandy surface. The black rider had pulled ahead of his persuers significantly. The black horse stopped suddenly, its rider lurching forward in the saddle. A sharp kept the rider from continuing. The rider lept from the saddle, landing on the cliff's very edge. Without a backglance, he had jumped, plummeting down at an unearthly speed.

           The rider's cloak flapped about him wildly as he fell. The valley below housed a thin stream between the two rising cliffs. The cloak suddenly tore from its bearer, revieling that the rider was actually a young woman. Her hair was brown and braided and her tunic was made of studded leather. A cream coloured blouse with large sleeves and soft brown leggings were all the clothing between her and the tunic. The stream was rising up to meet her as she got closer and closer.

           Suddenly, she slowed, only inched from the water's surface. The woman drifted through te air to land right on the stream. Instead of sinking into the shallow water however, she started to walk on it. Ahead of her, the stream ran into a dense jungle. She began walking toward it, her footsteps causing the water to ripple lightly. A high pitched whistle pierced the valley's silence, causing the woman to stop walking. Soon after the whistling began, an arrow whizzed past the woman's ear, planting itself in the rock of the opposite cliff to the one she had jumped from.

           She began to run. The woman ran off into the jungle. She ran hard and fast, never looking back and never slowing down. Her steps were now small splashes instead of ripples. A waterfall dropped before her, making her falter for a moment. She clenched her teeth, determined to continue. The woman lept from the top of the water fall, drifting down to the foamy froth at the bottom.

           She landed softly, knees bent, ready to spring off again at a run. Before she could do so however, a dark man appeared before her, his eyes black and unreadable. He blocked her path, sword raised and glinting in the sun. The woman eyes him and his challenge warily, rising from her crouch. Her hand went to the smooth hilt of her own sword and she pulled it out quickly.

           As soon as her sword left its sheath the dark man had advanced, striking a high blow. The woman brought up her own sword to block. The clang of steel upon steel rang deep into the jungle. The man seemed to be on the offensive, deilvering the blows one after the other. The woman was as skilled a swordsman as he and so each advance was blocked.

           As she turned from a block to gain momentum for her first offensive advance, the dark man brought his blade at a slice across her cheek. The woman withdrew, stumbling backwards. She reached up with a tentative hand and placed it on the open wound that throbbed on her cheek. She took her hand down and looked at it. Her eyes narrowed at the stripe of bright red blood that stained it.

           With a cry of rage the woman raised her sword and brought it down heavily. The man raised his weapon just in time. The steel sparked at each advance as the woman became the offensive attacker. She struck again and again, moving forward with every blow. With one last side cut, the man's sword was flung from his grip. He fell to his knees, sinking a little in the water.

           The woman flicked her sword tip up to the man's neck. She stood over him, a sneer upon her face and her eyes glinting in the setting sun. The dark man's eyes met her's and they flashed with anger. Another whistling filled the air, louder and closer. Two arrows flew from the surrounding jungle, narrowly missing the woman. Her eyes snapped up to the darkness within the trees. Her hawk-like eyes caught a glimpse of white mares.

           With a quick movement, she sheather her sword and jumped high into the air. The man watched from his kneel as she rose higher and higher into the sky. She continued to float up, moving faster and faster. Through the clouds, past theblue into the stars above. She raised her arms, head thrown back as she launched off into space, never to return.