The man started his tale with a description of his homeland and its guardian, beginning with The Ilenes, a mountain range spread across the Isle of Trusa. It is a large island located far southeast of Eosia, home to a temple dedicated to one of the planet's most important guardians: Xybelios, the mighty jade dragon that protects the skies, and has been flying around the planet's atmosphere for millennia.

He is among the largest as well, boasting claws and fangs the size of an adult, and a long, serpentine body that curled around a peak on the Ilenes upon which an altar to conduct rituals sat. He bore an intimidating appearance, with large golden horns, ever-glowing golden eyes, and long stinging tendrils that extended from his face and horns like whiskers. In contrast with his terrifying face, he possessed a long, thick mane that shone like an aurora as he flew; a breathtaking sight for Trusa's inhabitants at night.

Strength-wise, it was said that Xybelios could shoot powerful lightning magic from his horns, fire a tremendously destructive beam of light from his mouth, and that his tendrils could send a lethal shock to any unfortunate soul that touched them.

The temple itself is isolated from the rest of Trusa's settlements but was home to a large congregation. The clerics would walk among marble stairs from their homes to the temple, though the altar was at the peak furthest from the settlements. The man in green was a frequent visitor to their congregation, yet also part of Trusa's nobility, and was regarded as a representative who worked alongside the oracle in the island's political matters. However, he would keep to himself most of the time, and the oracle was the only person with whom he regularly interacted with.

Being close to the oracle meant he was the only outsider to the congregation who knew of its most treasured possession; a prism shaped like an orb, which glowed magnificently during the daytime. It is a gem as old as Xybelios himself, which holds his source of magic and strength.

Many mysteries surround its origin and nature, with many speculating it is either a natural source of magic for the guardian, or an anomalous external organ. It was known for certain that without it, Xybelios would be unable to fly nor manipulate the weather, as many other guardians can.

On one terrible night, merely a day before the twins' fateful meeting with the man in the forest, a fierce thunderstorm struck the island. An army of cloaked creatures with paper-thin bodies, burnt skin, and skeletal claw-like limbs arose from the shadows of the Ilenes. They silently trespassed upon the cleric's home on the mountain cliffs, their presence made known when a blood-curling scream was heard from the temple.

The oracle, a middle-aged man of vast knowledge, had been knocked to the floor at the mercy of the clawed creatures. He yelled at the top of his lungs, asking for help.

By then, however, most of the monks and clerics were dead in their sleep with their throats cut open.

In his final moments, the oracle could only shout in despair, "Xybelios, mighty lord of the skies, save us!"

Before uttering any other word, he was stabbed in the heart by the merciless monsters. He clutched at his chest, looking up at his murderers with fear as they abandoned the premises. A few seconds later, the oracle's lifeless body remained on the floor.

But Xybelios was nowhere to be found, having mysteriously vanished during his temple's time of need.

As for the man in green, he had been invited to dine alongside the oracle that night, but upon arrival was met with a cleric shambling towards him with blood pouring from her torso. She abruptly knelt to the ground, panting and wheezing.

As her strength waned, she mustered the will to say, "The chamber...get the jewel, please! Our Lord Xybelios lays weak, surely, or else he would have driven these rakes away..."

The man looked at the cleric somberly before leaving her, knowing her fate was sealed. He climbed up the marble stairs and stared at his destination: the altar that loomed at the top of the Ilenes' tallest peak. On his way, he was met with an infinite army of cloaked monsters, who began emitting the most horrid screams upon seeing him.

Breezing his way through the mountains and evading the steep cliffs and edges, he soared up to the altar. The skies above were covered by wild, swirling, and chaotic black clouds. Lightning stuck the tall spires surrounding the large clay circle, depicting a detailed carving of Xybelios wrapped around the planet. There, the man in green was ambushed by a horde of monsters that rushed up the stairs, forcing him to fight back with all his might.

Many of the cloaked creatures were easily knocked off the peak, for their individual strength was low. Lightning bolts struck them from the sky, blinding light that caused many to recoil and leave themselves open to the man's attacks. As for himself, evasion was his strongest skill while facing the horde, though he sustained a few light wounds from the creatures swiping at him.

The man felt he was in a cruel stalemate, for he did not tire out, the wounds inflicted upon him amounted to mere scratches, and there was seemingly no end to their numbers. And then, from the corner of his eye, he spotted a figure wearing a cloak with a large red symbol on his back. It carried the treasured jewel, grinning and holding it up on one hand as if boasting his victory.

A boiling, seething rage coursed through the man as the creature stared at him, waving the jewel in mockery.

With a growl and stinging, intense eyes, he muttered amidst gnashing teeth, "You miserable, loathsome vermin...How dare you!"

He charged, blinded with wrath, at the creature with the red insignia. A sharp, burning sensation in his stomach forced him to stop mere steps away from the creature. Delirium possessed his body, and after noticing a large cut on his torso he collapsed by the edge of the stairs.

He had a blurry vision of the creatures looming over him, and then complete darkness. He felt numb, as if his body ceased to be. A deafening silence, an overwhelming despair and sorrow flooded his mind.

"Have I...failed? How could I have been so useless when I was needed the most...And to think I felt near unstoppable against such lowly brutes. Hmph, they were more clever than I gave them credit for."

He assumed these would be his final thoughts, as small white flecks of light shone from within the void. These flashes grew, consuming the dark until they formed lightning bolts. The man faintly saw an ocean below him, and grey clouds moving past him quickly, as if time had sped up. He was approaching a vast land and descending upon it ever so slowly.

"Is this my final dream? How oddly fitting," he thought as the clouds passed by him, leaving a cool sensation when they hit his face.

The land below him was covered in green fields and a few patches of tall, bushy trees. A small flock of pegasi flew down into a jungle, disappearing from the landscape. A tall, snow-covered mountain and its sibling hills appeared far north on the horizon, covered by a delicate layer of fog. The clouds above him cleared, showing a starry sky and a full moon lighting the night.

As he got closer to the ground, his vision began to blur such that he saw mere blotches of color before him. Just before his eyes closed, he hit a large body of water and caused a large splash upon impact. The man relaxed, believing these would be his final visions before leaving to the afterlife.

A few moments later, he felt water enter his nose and mouth. Instinctively, the man began swimming upwards, and once he broke the surface he gasped for air. As he floated on the surface, it became clear he was in a lake within a forest unfamiliar to him. A sharp, burning pain on his torso reminded him to swim towards the shore.

As the adrenaline rush ended, his body slowed to a crawl on the rocky shore. He needed to rest somewhere safe, hidden from any threats he could encounter in this strange land. With his stomach facing the ground, he pulled himself towards a cluster of bushes and trees with his arms. A thin streak of blood trailed on the rocky shore behind him, and a few scarlet flecks were left on the grass crushed by his weight. Once he found a tall, ample tree to shelter under, the man pushed his tired body to face the sky, and slowly rested his back on the tree's sturdy trunk.

Utterly exhausted, the man breathed heavily and placed one hand over the wound on his torso. Though he resigned to rest and recover, his heart ached as he remembered his failure to protect the sky temple, letting the creatures escape with Xybelios' gem. With it missing, the world lacked one of its most crucial guardians, and who knows which will be their next target.

Before worrying about that, he focused on getting himself to sleep. Staring at the night sky, full of stars and a hint of a galaxy far away from his planet, he wondered how he arrived at the forest. Did his dream have a hint of truth to it?

His mind was far too weary to ponder this matter further, thus he drifted to sleep accompanied by the sounds of croaking six-legged frogs and hooting silver owls.

♦♦♦♦♦

The man in green took a deep breath, and solemnly said, "I believe that is all I can tell you about my past, in relation to my current mission. I have a few theories on what the creatures may be planning, and the fact that they arrived at the mountain temple supports them..."

The twins sat dumbfounded as they imagined all the wild, crazy events that led to them meeting their friend, ignoring his words.

"Wow, I'd never even thought that happened to you! How did you even survive falling from the sky like that?" Said Eila, her eyes sparkling after hearing his epic tale.

The man rested his head on one hand, "As I mentioned, I do not know for sure."

Tomas noticed the man's eyes shifted ever so slightly as he spoke. As he thought about his story, the boy concluded their friend must be extraordinarily strong if he confronted a large crowd of those clawed creatures by himself. In fact, many aspects about him were near supernatural, especially his resilience.

His thought process was interrupted by Eila jumping off the boulder she sat on. She knelt next to Tomas and tilted her head, "Say Mr. Green, what did ya mean by Ari involving us in 'dire matters'?" While repeating the man's words, she used a low, gruff voice to imitate him.

The man moved his hand over his mouth, trying to hide a smile. Narrowing his eyes, he said, "It is mere conjecture on my part, but those monsters may not take well to being interrupted by a miniature dragon."

Upon seeing the twins' worried expressions, he added, "Ah, no need to fear, you should be safe if you leave the temple with your parents before nightfall. Their objective concerns Khiboreas, the oracle, and me, so I shall accompany you on your trip back."

The two felt relieved, but they were now curious about the fate of Xybelios' gem. Tomas thought it could be related to their sudden appearance at the temple the previous night, but he saved his questions for when they leave.

Eila was more concerned with where those creatures came from in the first place. Though she was very afraid of them, they sparked curiosity about the world around her, oddly enough. If those creepy creatures existed among all the cute and fantastical animals she knew about, how many other kinds are out there?

The twins perked up after hearing a familiar purr, quickly turning their heads towards the tent as Ari stuck her head out.

"I see your dragon friend is finally awake. So then, shall we finish our meal?" said the man in a jovial manner.

The twins set their concerns aside, preoccupied with the food that lay in front of them. Ari giddily joined them, sharing a sizable chunk of ham with the man in green.