A dark secret lurking beneath the surface of Etheria erupts near the Straywood Forest engulfing the lives of two wood elves and threatening the tenuous peace between the elves and the dwarves of the Anvil Throne While on patrol an elven Beastmaster named Lithann rushes to the aid of a fellow elf being attacked by strange beasts she&39;s never seen before but she is too late When the creatures disappear underground with her friend Lithann descends into the darkness with her loyal fox Wiley to save himThere she meets an outcast dwarf named Digur who may hold the key to her survival and a mysterious Sortilege elf named Inesta who has secrets of his own Creator Commentary by Will McDermott "Nature of the Beast is not your average Hero&39;s Journey tale This is the story about the other guys - the loners and the outcasts the guards and the stewards the folks who normally stay behind when the adventure starts - the forgotten charactersIt is a journey not toward the light but into the darkness both literal and figurative where these characters must face their foibles and fears their painful pasts and their lonely lives It is a story about how true heroes are born not through trial by fire but by forging friendships that help them discover their own inner strength"