Disclaimer: I do not own Drakan: The Ancients' Gates (I have da game) nor do I own adorable trogs (though I changed their appearance from the game). I do own Kiara (the main character) for she is a development from my highly advanced brain. I think I own a paper clip though. Yay for ownership...

Chapter 1

"So I smile and pray upon a star,

'Let there be a place I can return to'."

"Trogs! Someone call the watch!" I looked up sleepily at the screaming villagers and the fearsome creatures ripping random people to bloody masses with their long, sharp claws. The air was stale tonight, and it swelled with the bloodshed and screams. I sighed, and closed my eyes. I listened to the guards in the courtyard trying to fight them off. The demons' hissing and growling made a terrible sound, yet caused no alarm for me. I didn't care if they passed me or ripped me to shreds. I even heard they take some people back to the swamp with them to torture or enslave them. I had no family, and definitely no friends. I can't remember anything from my past. Not like the villagers would care either – they never really accepted me. I'm surprised they haven't kicked me out of this small town of Surdana. I opened my eyes again and gazed up at the stars. A streak of light dashed across the evening sky. I smiled, and thinking hard, made a wish.

"Let there be a place I can return to." I muttered under my breath. People here would wish for wealth, love, or luck. I had neither wealth nor luck, and I was definitely too young for love. But even so, I could never bring myself to wish for such selfish things. I would give up all the gold of the world just to have a home, with a waiting family. I took a deep breath and sat up, leaning against a woodpile. I stood up and stretched my legs and yawned. I stepped onto the paved walkway and headed for the courtyard, when something growled behind me. I froze, but forced myself to look back. A trog. I'd never seen one so close before. I actually thought it was kind of cute… But then again, that's what seperated me from the rest of Surdana. It had large, blood red eyes, with slanted, cat-like pupils. Its jaws were filled with small, razor-like teeth and two large fangs. Spikes rose from its emerald-green scales and traveled down its spine. Its powerful forearms were slightly touching the ground, even though it walked upright, on its hindlegs. Swaying back and forth was its tail, shimmering under the full moon, spotted with black and pale yellow color. It was perfectly designed for speed, stealth, and strength. It snarled again, and a golden-tipped arrow whizzed by my ear and straight into the creature's leg. It let out a deafening roar as it fell to the ground. Its leg went from a shining green to a dark crimson, and a pool of blood spread out like ink through the cracks in the walkway. It yelped another cry for help, but the rest of the trogs were preoccupied with the guards.

Without thinking, I dashed forward and knelt down by the pitiful creature. Suspending my hand over the open wound, I whispered an incantation that I didn't even recognize. The arrow shattered into thousands of pieces, and scales grew over the gash. The blood soaked into the ground and disappeared, and its bone-chilling screams stopped. It looked up at me with the same eyes, but they weren't as threatening anymore. I heard gasps and looked around. The people had temporarily forgotten the demons were there, but it didn't matter, as they too were staring.

"That witch has done and gone used her black magic to cure those things!"

"I always knew there was something about that girl!"

"She should be executed for high treason!"

…Executed! I'm only 16 years old! I couldn't be… could I?

A guard neared me, sword in hand. He blocked the light from the moon with his bulky silhouette, and he raised his blade high over his head, and brought it down with terrible force. I tried to get up, but my legs were bound to the spot. I closed my eyes, but something green whizzed by me. There was a loud clashing noise. Looking up, I saw the creature pushing against the blade with the spines on its head. It just… It just saved me… It pushed against the ground with its legs, and with a sudden twist of its neck, sent the shimmering blade into the guard's throat, trickling blood onto the ground. Pushing forward, the trog managed to push the blade all the way through the man's neck. With a plop, the head fell to the ground. Blood spurted out of the opening and and the guard's decapitated body thumped to the pavement. I just stared at the carcass in horror, and wiped the blood from my face with my sleeve. The other guards came rushing towards us. The trog grabbed my sleeve and pulled me up, and we both started running towards the exiting gate of the town. As it ran, it looked over its shoulder and let out a series of bellows. The other trogs replied and came dashing alongside us. As we passed the gate and came to a stone bridge, another arrow came crashing into the ground just in front of us.