https://youtu.be/5N3n019qCqo

Desdon Rorst.

That was his name.

The Rangers of the Green Wood were always referred to as recluses, best not messed with, the most trusted spies of the kingdom.. like the knights themselves, imbued with abilities that separated them from ordinary men.

Of course, though Knights were celebrated as heroes, and placed on pedestals for the kingdom of Ezrealis to glorify, especially after the years of the Great War..  Rangers on the other hand were seen as mysterious.. and best avoided due to the rumors of them being possessed by demons.

Knights fought hard and strong.. and with full frontal fairness, with chivalry on their side. But the Rangers of Greenwood used illusions, tricks, and meticulous skill in service to their kingdom.. It wasn't uncommon for Desdon to even use poison on his various missions..

But of course, Rangers payed a heavy price for fighting in their mysterious ways. They were forced to be recluse, and they weren't paid that much, which resulted in many of them taking on the jobs of mercenaries, even though they were officially employed by the kingdom.

Of course, the low end community found this useful. A government sanctioned Mercenary is a good thing when you need a job done that might require cutting through plenty of red tape.

It was a lawless way of living, and many of the Council in the Capital City of Angramaba opposed it.. calling it an excuse for Rangers to abuse their authority. But, other than hunting, the King could see no other way for Rangers to make a suitable living to survive, and as hunting was hard nowadays, the King allowed the Rangers to take odd jobs, save the jobs went through a screening process before being posted on the job boards themselves.

Desdon however, knew that this all didn't matter overall. All things considered, surviving was a chore even with all these odd jobs. Surviving was scarce nowadays with the Green Wood being vulnerable to overhunting by the elves.

The Elves of Golden Wood often regarded themselves as superior due to being of an elder race. They were definitely fairer than most, healthier, stronger, with superior magic. But this had led to an arrogant belief that they were entitled to all of the world's resources regardless of the consent of other races.

Raiding dwarf mines for valuable Mage Quartz,  hunting valuable Elk to near extinction in the Greenwood where humans depended on meat to make it through the winter instead of hunting their own Golden Stags which were numerous in the lands of the Golden Wood to the point it was an infestation. All these problems were stacking up as a result of the Golden Elves.

This resulted in more bloody conflict as well. The Nordic Elves and Greenwood humans, as well as the very angry Dwindr Dwarves were constantly fighting the Golden Elves out of fury for the reckless taking of their resources, not to mention the immensely idiotic arrogant attitude the Golden Elves took whenever among the so called "lower races".  Running around in their fancy chariots, wearing clothing of the finest cloth and silk, most of it taken recklessly from other lands and not their own.

Desdon tended to avoid the Golden Elves whenever they came into the nearby villages, seeking solace in the beer he had stored in his basement. When they weren't in town though, it was just hunting and a few grunts here and there when trading meat and jobs.

Today was no different as Desdon prepared his bow.. put on his leather boots and gloves, his dragon hide sling and leather coat.. and his hood and cloak.. sheathing his two long swords to his back. 

He looked old.. but handsome for his age, His face ridden with a few scars.. his hair white and pale, his beard equally so, as he stepped out of his cabin and he sniffed the air.. 

Just a hint of wet fur.. of course.. the animal trails passed close to his cabin.. that would make sense.. 

He looked around... wet leaves and twigs, and dirt.. were all over the ground, lit by speckled light let down from the treetops above.. Desdon's keen eyes spied tracks that none but a Ranger could spot. 

He knelt next to these tracks, tracing them  with his fingers, then bringing the lightning trampled dirt up on said fingers to sniff closely. 

"2 hours.. it was raining.. heh.. of course it rained.. everywhere's wet.. Teach would laugh at me if I said something that stupid to him.. Herd should still be close by.." Desdon muttered to himself. "hmph.. hope the bears don't get to em.. or the goblins.. geh... little vermin.. "

Desdon took out a flask and made to unscrew the top, but then frowned slightly. "Hmmm.. promised Ezra I'd quit.. whatever.."

Desdon unscrewed the top of the flask and downed drink into his throat.  He then whistled.. and a large brown mare clopped over to Desdon, neighing affectionately.

"Easy Brisk.." said Desdon as he mounted his steed and adjusted the reigns. "C'mon.. got a herd to track.. "

Brisk snorted and clopped down the trail..

By Desdon's count.. the Greenwood Elk, given their nature for taking frequent breaks due to the rainy season being the season for their young to be living their first year of constant feeding, he should be able to catch up in about 3 hours..

However, despite Desdon's expert opinion, he found himself catching up with the main herd of Greenwood Elk in only a matter of 1 hour..

Desdon narrowed his eyes at the herds of large 10 foot tall Elk with fur that was frosted green at the tips, but mainly brown.. and slid off his horse quietly. "Stay Brisk.."

Brisk snorted in acknowledgement as Desdon quietly snuck through the undergrowth, bringing out his longbow carefully, knocking an arrow into it.. 

"Herd shouldn't be breaking this long.." muttered Desdon to himself. "What's the matter here..?"

He looked closer, and saw the elk were sniffing something.. a crater of some sort, smoking in the middle of the grass..

"Yoten's beard.." muttered Desdon as he snuck closer. 

It was a large circle of incinerated grass around a charcoal crater, where a figure could be seen laying motionless as the elk sniffed it..

Desdon took out his collapsible telescope from his belt and looked through it. 

It was a beautiful young girl, only in her teens by the look of it, with dark brown hair.. and she was naked.. steam hissing off her body.. 

Desdon sighed. "What are dem damn witches up to this time..? for Yoten's sake.. "

Desdon walked out of the brush, lowering his bow. "SHOO! YAHH! Get out of here!!"

The elk immediately scattered as Desdon fired a few arrows near the girl to keep the massive animals from trampling her.  It would probably take another day before he could track the herd again when they came back around.  

"Ya cost me my meat girl.." grunted Desdon as he knelt next to the girl and checked her pulse. "Still alive.. good health actually by the looks of it.. eggh..  what the hell ya doin' here?"

Desdon whistled to Brisk who trotted over, and Desdon pulled out a blanket from one of the saddle bags, wrapping the girl in it, before strapping her tightly to the back of Brisk's saddle and remounting his horse. 

It took another hour to get back.. by then, the sun had already started to set.. and the owls could be heard hooting in the distance.. 

Desdon listened to the sound of goblins foraging nearby in the darkness. They knew better than to go near a Ranger's house.. lest they wanted their heads mounted one by one on his stable door where his horses slept.

The inside of the cabin was simple.. an animal skin rug, a roaring fire, a few couches and one sofa.. and the heads of a few prized hunts on the walls, one of which included a Griffin and a lowland scarlet back dragon.

He laid the girl on the couch, covering her shame with the same blanket, and sighed as he sat down on the armchair. 

He stared at the girl for a minute.. What was he going to do with her? He could send her to the orphanage in the village.. definitely would be better than keeping her here.

"Urrgh... what.. the... Mom.. I don't wanna babysit Ben right now.." the girl groaned, twitching around in her sleep, before opening her eyes tiredly. "eh?"

She sat up, the blanket falling off her shoulders, staring at her surroundings. For a moment she just stared, nonplussed, at Desdon... and then, seeming to notice that her body felt breezier than usual, she looked down at herself.. 

She looked up again.. her face slowly turning red, as her face contorted into a mixture of embarrassment and anger.

"Whoa.. whoa.." muttered Desdon, holding up his hands. He had seen that look often enough on his late wife to know what was about to happen..

"PERVERT!!!!" the girl roared jumping out of the couch and then grabbing the entire piece of furniture and holding it over her head.

"YOTEN'S BEARD!!"  said Desdon, staring at the girl's inexplicable monster level strength, right before the girl threw the entire sofa at him.. and it smashed against the wall as he was forced to duck. 

"RAAAAAAAHHHHHH!! STUPID!! CABIN... IN.. THE WOODS.. STYLE.. KIDNAPPERS!!!" screamed the girl as she threw furniture after furniture at Desdon with each syllable. "LIKE... WATCHING... FRIDAY.. THE.. 13TH... ALL OVER AGAIN!!!"

"GIRL!!" roared Desdon. "I ain't gonna hurt ya... BUT IF YA KEEP MESSIN' WITH MA STUFF I WILL TAKE DRASTIC MEASURES!!"

"Oh what are you going to do Geezer!?  Give me your white hair and call me Mrs. Clause!?" growled the girl. "GET AWAY!!!"

The girl threw her last bit of furniture and ran to the door at tremendous speed, tearing it off it's hinges with her massive strength and running out into the night. 

"Of all the.." muttered Desdon irritably. "GIT BACK HERE GIRL!! YER RUNNIN' RIGHT INTO EM!!!"

He heard a scream from the girl, and cursed as he quickly whipped his two swords from his mantlepiece and drew them out, their silver glint going full strength as blue flames cloaked them now. 

He dashed out into the night, the glow of the blue flames on his  sword lighting his way, as he came across a group of fat toad-like creatures with bat noses and ears, claws for hands, and all holding torches and pickaxes, their eyes milky white..

Goblins. 

They surrounded the girl, who looked immensely confused, as they aimed hunting knives at her. 

"HOOMAN!! HOOMAN!!" screeched one of the goblins. "IS IT TASTY!?"

"ME WANT TO TRY!!" screeched another goblin. 

"Damn damn!!" growled Desdon as he continued to run. "Not gonna make it in time!"

One of the goblins threw his knife with deadly precise accuracy, throwing it at the girl from behind... but.. in one spectacular movement, the girl somersaulted away from the knife without even turning her head. 

Desdon almost stopped running out of shock as he watched the girl flip and twist around, dodging each and every thrown weapon like an acrobat with some sort of fifth sense. 

But despite her ability to seemingly predict every attack, she was waving her fists around, punching blindly.. as if unable to tell where the goblins were. 

Of course, goblins had an annoying tendency to confuse the sight and smell of prey they fixed their vision on.. it was a type of curse, but the weakness was that it could only affect one target at a time, so Desdon was in no danger himself. 

"GIRL! Whatever you're doing! Just keep doing it!" roared Desdon. "Keep dodging! I'm almost there!!"

"SUREEE!! YEAH!! JUST KEEP LEAPING AROUND NAKED IN THE WOODS WHILE GIANT TOADS THROW KNIVES AT ME!!" screamed the girl furiously. "THAT'S A REAL PARTY RIGHT THERE!! WHY DON'T YOU TEAR OFF YOUR CLOTHES, PLAY SOME SURFIN' BIRD? IT'LL BE A KNIFE DODGING NUDEY PARTY!!!!"

"Gods I might just kill her right after the goblins.." muttered Desdon as he finally managed to make it to where the goblins were...

Desdon slashed his blue flaming blades through two of the goblins.. causing them to screech as their heads were slashed clean off and they both disintegrated to ashes. 

"VORTR!!" roared Desdon slashing his blades to the sides, causing waves of blue fire to ripple out in a tremendous dance of skill, blasting into each goblin and reducing them all to ash in an instant. 

Desdon's blades deignited as the girl stared at him, panting. 

"Okay.. so.. you have fire swords.. admittedly.. v.. very cool.." stammered the girl. "uh.. why are there weird toad people in the middle of the woods?"

"C'mere.." muttered Desdon, throwing the blanket back around the girl. "I get you're confused but this ain't the place to be lurkin' around after dark.."

The girl didn't say anything for a while, she sat quietly with the blanket wrapped around herself as Desdon rummaged around in his wooden trunk and took out several girl's clothes.. a cloth blouse, a leather  vest,  the clothing of a typical peasant girl, and threw them to the girl.

"So.. you live alone in the woods.. carrying girl's clothes.. not creepy at all." said the girl as she caught the clothes in her hands. 

"They were my daughter's.." said Desdon. "You can change in the bedroom in back."

"You have a kid?" said the girl as Desdon sat back in the sofa. "where's she?"

"Tell ya what girl... don't ask me too many questions, and I won't ask many of my own.." said Desdon. "

"Fair enough.." said the girl, standing up, still holding the blanket around herself and grabbing the clothes. "Not really into playing 20 questions with Dog The Sword Wielding Bounty Hunter anyways." 

The girl came out a few moments later, taking a seat opposite Desdon next to the fire. "Okay.. you know what? Nevermind.. I AM going to play 20 questions.."

"You ever shut up girl?" muttered Desdon

"Nope, one of my irresistible charms." said the girl. "Okay.. I'll start.. I'm May.. May Parker.. and you are..."

Desdon stared at May with sort of a grumpy glower as May held out her hand. 

There was a pause.

"Ooookay.. typically in a civilized world.. a person shakes hands.. but you know.. whatevs.." said May, retracting her hand. "I'm just gonna call you Grumpy Santa.. that good?"

"Desdon.." said Desdon with a grunt. "Desdon Rorst.. that's my name.. "

"okay! Getting somewhere." said May. "So.. er.. Mr. Rorst.. "

"Just call me Desdon.." muttered Desdon grumpily. 

"Right.. Desdon.. " said May. "Where am I..?"

"You're at the edge of the Greenwood region, near Solace Village on the 12th path to the capital city about 40 leagues o'er yonder." said Desdon. 

May stared. "The... what?"

Desdon sighed and gave May a look, starting to put the pieces together. "Alright.. I'll start simple.. I found you in the woods about an hour out.. in the middle of a smoking crater.."

"Did... I happen to have red and black web designed spandex on?" asked May quickly.

"No.. you were as nude then as you were a few moments ago.. ain't ma fault ya woke up with nuthin' but a blanket to cover yourself with." said Desdon.  "Thing is.. there are tales in these woods.. old fairy tales.. of things appearing in the Greenwood the exact way you did.. from other worlds.. other realms.. "

"Oh.. the old Alternate Dimension explanation.. " May muttered. "That means.. I'm stuck here.. damn.. Mom's gonna lose it.. is there any stories about people going BACK to their realms?"

Desdon smirked humorlessly. "Well the stories all say the same thing.. once yer here.. ain't no way out."

May stared with shock, her face seeming to fall to rock bottom.

"Listen.. other-realm girl.."

"It's May..I told you that.."

"Yeah yeah.. kiddo.. listen.. I don't take stragglers.. I don't save puppies from shelters.. You get to stay ONE night." said Desdon. "After that, I'll give you some food, clothes.. a horse.. and yer out of here.. go make your future somewhere else.. "

May paused. "O.. okay.."

Desdon looked at May for a minute.. then he looked at May's crestfallen and confused face, as if she wasn't sure what she was going to do.  Her face.. it reminded him of.. somebody..

"Or.. you could take the second option.. " said Desdon. "And become my apprentice as a ranger.."

May looked up. "huh? you... YOU WANT ME TO BE A NATURE GIRL!?"

Desdon felt his eye twitch. "What?"

"Oh.. guess that's not the definition of a ranger here.. heheheh.. right.. I knew that." said May. "er.. I'm not so sure.."

"Well.. ya don't have to.. " said Desdon. "Thing is.. I've been lookin' for an apprentice.. didn't want it to be a girl though.  All the girls in town are delicate little flowers who prefer to sit in the grass and braid each other's hair.. but you.. you don't strike me as that kind of girl.."

"Does braiding webs over a criminal's face count?"

"You can keep being confusing and I kick you out right now.. or you can sit and listen." said Desdon with a growl as blue flames danced in his eyes.

"R.. Right sorry." said May. "Well.. I guess I accept your offer. Not like I have anywhere else to go in this... this world. So ummmm.. what's a Ranger?"

Desdon smirked, maybe he could start having some fun for once. "Alrighty.. well.. I guess I'll explain.. in the morning.."

"HUH!?" stammered May.

"Sleep.. we head to town tomorrow.." said Desdon. "I'll explain there while we get you some gear.."

"But.. how can you start training me for something when I don't even know what it is I'm being trained for?!!" May stammered.

"Rule Number 1 of living in this house.." said Desdon. "You do what I say... when I say.. no questions asked.. when I say 'follow' you follow.. when I say 'wait' you wait... when I say 'drop it till morning' you... go on..  what do you do?"

"Drop it till morning.." May grumbled.  "This isn't gonna be one of those cliche mentor scenarios where my mentor is incredibly grumpy and I have to slowly work my way into your heart is it? Cause I played Last of Us, and I know all I need to do is be badass and cute at the same time!"

"Do you ever shut up?"

"Once in a Blue Moon.. never actually saw one before." said May with a grin and a wink.

Desdon sighed as he got up from the sofa ready to prepare for bed. "Kid.. don't make me regret this.."

_______________

The next day, May woke up to the sound of multiple birds chattering. She yawned and sat up in the bed as she heard  Desdon bang on the door with his fist.

"Up and at em kid! We're going out!"

"At least learn that it's culturally unacceptable to get up at 5 in the morning where I come from.." May muttered sorely as she saw the sun was barely starting to rise.

When she went into the living room, Desdon was already attaching his gear, sheathing his sword, shouldering his longbow

Desdon took out a small pouch and poured a bit of silver coins onto his palm, muttering to himself as he counted how much he had.

"Hmmm.. should have enough to get you a bow.. and a good set of swords.." muttered Desdon. "As for boots, cloak and typical gear.. might have to get some hand me downs..

"Don't need swords." said May quickly. "I can manage with fists.."

Desdon smirked as he looked at the ruined furniture that was still littering the floor. "With strength like that.. I have no doubt you can throw a punch.."

"Thanks." said May

"You're gettin' swords." said Desdon with a chuckle.

Desdon led May outside and let out 2 short whistles. From the stable, Brisk cantered out, along with a beautiful pure black mare.

"This is Marie." said Desdon, patting the black mare on the side of it's neck. "She's a bit of a wild child, but she's gentle with girls, so she'll suit you fine.. know how to ride?"

"Always wanted to.. but I never did." said May.

"Alright then.."

Desdon quickly showed May how to mount the saddle, in what position to sit, how to steer..

Marie remained patient and still as Desdon got May seated.

"Never were this nice with me.." Desdon muttered to Marie with a frown.

Marie snorted almost humorously.

Desdon rolled his eyes. "Whatever girl.. just keep her from falling off.."

As they rode down the rough dirt path in the general direction of town, Desdon spoke up. "Alright girl.. Rangers.. how to put it.. we're like specialized soldiers, who work for the King when he needs highly skilled spies.. though we also do mercenary work, save that it's approved mercenary work. "

"So there's a King?" asked May.

"Yeah.. but he doesn't have all the authority. Here in Ezrealis, the largest authority is held by the Great Council.. it has over 50 seats, with 38 assistant council members. Memorize it.." said Desdon.

"Okay.. 50 seats on the council.. 38 assistant guys.." said May.

"We'll need to appeal to them to get your official license as my apprentice, which you'll only get after you've passed a test." said Desdon. "That's what we're studying for.. now there's something you also have to know..  only those with Gifts are capable of becoming Rangers or Knights.."

"Gifts.." said May. "Wait.. I have to buy them a present? Got a box of chocolates?"

"Not that kind of gift smart ass.." said Desdon. "Gifts.. the inexplicable magic powers some beings are born with.. me.. for one.."

Desdon held up a hand, and blue flames engulfed it. "I can naturally produce flame magic without incantation or even draining mana..  you on the other hand.. you're.. well.. I have to admit, you've got a rare and powerful one.. Speed, strength.. a precognition for dodging attacks.."

"Oh.. I've got Spider powers.."

"What?"

"My dad was bitten by like this genetically enhanced spider.." said May. "And after that he got like.. the proportional strength and speed of a spider, the ability to sense danger.. like Spider Sense..  oh and to stick to walls..."

"Stick to walls?" muttered Desdon. "Seriously? Can you shoot webs out of your butt?"

"Ewww.. no!" said May.  "But Dad before me.. and then me as of a year ago.. we used our powers to help people.. like Super Heroes.. "

Desdon laughed. "Kid.. yer lucky I found ya.."

"Why?"

"Ya wouldn't last 12 minutes in this world with that mentality. " said Desdon. "Anyways.. if it weren't for your special Gift.. I wouldn't consider training you.. you wouldn't last a day of training without a Gift.. "

Desdon halted his horse over the edge of a hill where the town could be seen, which was basically a collection of large cottages surrounded by a stone wall.  The moment he saw the town however, he cursed.

"What's wrong?" May asked.

"There.." muttered Desdon, pointing at a set of golden carriages parked outside the main gate. "Looks like the Golden Elves are in town.. keep yer head down kid.. things might get ugly.."