Sanctuary: Jesyl Introduction part 1

When Jesyl was a baby she lived on the outskirts of a large and wealthy city. She had a mother and a father of considerable class and they were respected highly as privileged citizens. They lived in a white stone house overlooking a vast sloping green valley. From their many windows the valley looked like a ocean of green flowing down from the mountains that surrounded like giants. When Jesyl was still very young she and her mother would take walks down from the house to the valley below. It was always warmer in the valley than at the house and flowers bloomed there well into Fall. Jesyl and her mother would have picnics on sunny days and they would spend all day picking flowers to place on the table. She was a very happy girl and a joy to her mother.


Jesyl had what some would call a perfect childhood. Her father was wealthy so she was raised in comfort but not enough luxury to completely spoil her. She was taught right from wrong by her mother and became a very good girl. When other children would be getting into mischief and bullying she was minding her studies and spending time with her family. Which most of the time was just her mother since her father had to spend most of his time away to keep the family wealthy as it was. Even though she was a good girl and treated everyone fairly or perhaps because of her impartiality, Jesyl didn't make friends easily as a young girl. She had children who talked to her and played with her but no one she felt she could call a friend. Her mother was her best friend and Jesyl became her shadow. When her mother would take up a hobby Jesyl would show similar interest in the topic. The only time they spent apart was when Jesyl went to school and when her mom would sometimes climb the mountains around their home. Her mother was always adventurous and Jesyl always wanted to follow her up into the cliffs. She thought her mother was so brave to go up into the mountains all alone. Even through they were close to a large city it was still common to hear about beasts in the mountains coming in from the wildlands.

When Jesyl turned nine her mom and herself went on a long hike into the mountains up far over the valley until everything seemed so small. She could see her house and the valley seemed less like an ocean and more like a splash of green paint in the center of an ever expanding canvas. After a long day of climbing and walking they rested on a flat wide rock to look down at their progress. Jesyl was still far to young to make such a trip on her own but her mom had climbed the mountain dozens of times and knew all the dangers and obstacles. Her mom kept her close and warned her of dangerous spots in the terrain before they got to them. She also took the time to show Jesyl plants that could be eaten and plants that would make you sick. They camped in a clearing far above the valley below where the grass looked more like a beautiful jewel that could be held in a pair of greedy hands. In the night Jesyl heard a sound and as children are apt to do she wondered off without waking her mother. She had never been a timid girl even for spending so much time within the safety of her mother's gaze she had never felt afraid to step out un protected even at this age. Stepping lightly over loose granite, she made her war to a spring in the rock. Water was splashing off a flat rock making a slight noise that she hadn't heard during the daytime while she was so busy talking to her mother and asking questions of everything they saw. She reached out and the icy water splashed over her small hands. She squealed and pulled her hand back, drying it off on her dress. She turned to head back to the clearing when she saw the hulking beast that lay by the sping. It was as large as three horses strung together with flesh blackened and eyes shining in the moonlight. Raising up on two massive tree trunk like legs it roared and Jesyl screamed. And, for the first time feared leaving her mother's gaze. Running frantically she ran towards the clearing where they had camped but the beast was too quick and bore down on her. Raising a massive claw that was almost bigger than herself it brought it down to crush young Jesyl.