I stood for a moment, entranced by not the liquid that bled from his neck but the… ease. A knife like the one in my hands felt so small, so brittle. But it could do to me exactly what it had done to this cultist.

That line, the one between the dead and the living. It felt so… underwhelming. Death was what so many tried to run from yet it was all around us. I spent so much of my life struggling to just live so to see death come so trivially.

Made me feel just a tad bit odd.

I couldn’t really place the emotion either. Was it unease, guilt, pity… fear? None of them felt fitting. However confusing it was, the fleeting feeling quickly became replaced by a hungry, thirst for the blood from the cultist's neck.

A kind of bestial satisfaction coursed through me as I bent his neck back and indulged in the flavour that I’d come to realise would change depending on my mood. The more disturbed I was, the sweeter the flavour while my calm offered a more savoury pallet.

The red dropped down my neck until his dead body was gaunt and ghostly white. I stared greedily at his cloak and weapons before I got a strange feeling I was missing something.

Now, what was I - oh right, kids.

In the heat of it, I had forgotten they were even still around. I rushed back to where I had left them only to find the two children knee-deep in deep green foliage that bent around them like cushions. The cut rope was spread across the ground while they rubbed their wrists and ankles in pain. A faint glow escaped from their backs, probably giving them the light they needed to see.

What the…

Before I could even make sense of the situation the girl slightly taller than her brother lunged at me with… claws? White claws scraped across my forearm as I leaned back, stunned by the sudden change in attitude.

“I’m trying it he-“

“Kana vue Yanscari!” she screamed before I could even try to calm the small girl down, lunging towards me again.

I tried to sidestep it as her small body made the movements clumsy but tripped before I could, short white claws extending from her nails plunging into my shoulder. Her eyes had been swallowed into yellow; pupils splintered into a solid line.

Can elves go rabid?

I questioned as I threw the girl off my waist before her claws could plunge into my eyes. She was surprisingly strong but still a child. When I looked down I found that my foot had been tripped by a root that curled around my ankle.

“Kana cue Yanscari!”

“I don’t know what you’re saying dammit.”

“She’s calling you a “filthy Bloodwalker”.” A small voice replied from behind her.

Behind the elven girl I saw the boy staring at me half curious, half anxious. His ears perked up more than the girl with… fluff? What the hell was going on here.

“If you speak common, then tell her to stop!” I shouted at him, trying my best to avoid being skewed without hurting a little girl.

He looked at me probably internally debating something for a minute then pounced on the girl, restraining her for a moment. He whispered something in her ear that I couldn’t hear which unsettled me. It was like the wind or the very forest itself carried away their voices, rendering one of my strongest senses null. Now in the silence and peace as they eyed me suspiciously I came to notice their finely woven clothes and general noble aura that felt mystical. Who the hell were these kids?

I waited unmoving on the soft ground surrounded by twisted vines until they finished their discussion still plainly hesitant.

“Who are you?” The boy asked in rough common, his accent making my own language sound foreign. His voice was shivering.

“I am… Vannis.”

My lips unconsciously curled into a smile; I liked my name more every time I said it. It felt new, unburdened, free.

“Did you s-save us?” He asked seemingly unsure of whether I was friend or foe. Though it confused me why they both smelled like prey, I had no intention of harming kids.

“I killed the ones that were holding you… hostage?” I asked.

He gave a slight nod.

“Then yes, I did save you both.”

…

I did, didn’t I?

My lips curled into a satisfied smile that might not be so fitting of my current predicament. It stayed there peaceful, unbothered by the chaos surrounding it. I liked this. Even if they were still scared of me, it felt nice to know in my heart that I might not be so unredeemable.

“S-sir Vannis?” The boy asked after I phased out his words for a few seconds.

“What is it?” I replied.

“I… ahhh… do you know what we should do?” he looked hesitant towards his sister who still eyed me with something between hatred and necessity.

“Do you know the way to your home and if I’d be safe for me to take you?” I asked.

I didn’t actually feel all too confident in getting past the vampires behind us but lacked the heart to tell the kids what exactly would be coming for them soon. There might have been a fraction of a chance that I could escape and manage to do some good for them, but then what. Elves from what I knew felt the same about undead as humans. On top of that, there was something about the ripple in space that brought my attention.

It was still open.

The boy shook his head to both of my questions, sealing that idea shut. What's more, I heard rustling resonating from the direction of the envoy getting closer. One of them was coming.

“What are your names?” I asked, guessing the boy would answer for both.

“I a-am Ferian, Ferian Dethre of house Dethre. My sister is Celina Dethre.” He said, trying his best to steal his nerves.

“Ferian take Celina and hide. My kind will have trouble finding you with scent alone so as long as you stay perfectly still, you should be alright. For now, we’re just going to have to hope a rescue party or something like that has been sent out.”

“Y-yes…”

“Just for safety try and cover yourselves in leaves or dirt. This forest is strange and it messes with my senses, which might work in your favour.” I said as my last remark to Ferian, streaking up to one of the closest branches and leaving their sight.

I waited for a few seconds to make sure they were actually taking my advice. Although it took a short and kind of sweet argument between siblings they eventually started to do as I said, obscuring themselves better than I could’ve ever imagined. I knew my ability to smell them as I smelled prey was an anomaly that made them stand out to me alone, but even I found it hard to find their scent again after the forest hid them.

Almost as if nature itself… aided them.

Elves are far stranger than any of my books portrayed them. A pity I can’t realistically question them on those mysterious abilities. Not like they’d tell me even if we had the time.

A little sad but nothing I couldn't live with. Footsteps bound forth quicker and quicker, zipping and weaving through the many obstacles. There was only one pair of footsteps, I guess that made sense. With the spare time I had before the pursuer got to me, I slipped into the grove and started to use my brief respite to inspect the ripple in space.

It was a very strange thing to see, especially for the first time. That said it wasn’t like I hadn’t heard of something similar. Rift gates existed all over the Kingdom of Pora, allowing instantaneous transportation between points in space. The only downside was that something like traversing space had to be paid with something of equal value. Time. Specifically the time of the person using it.

The amount could be reduced to a fraction of a second by various artefacts and magical doodahs, but it came at the cost of excluding such a privilege to the rich. Using it for delivery was only possible for the most outstanding items because mundane things couldn’t justify the costs needed to minimize the time lost and extended use without that minimization would spell a quick death that no sane person would sign up for.

“Hearing about it compared to seeing it is night and day,” I said, waiting ever so patiently.

The descriptions of a Rift gate were plentiful and almost none saw it the same way. I understood why. To describe the ripple was… difficult. In one instance it was akin to seeing heat hues rise through the air from the right angle. In another it was like seeing a small wavering slit that could only be identified by the shadow it’s part above cast down. But this thing was still no rift gate, I could decipher that much.

Rift gates were meant to exude a purplish glow to them, this did not.

“Enjoying your walk?” Zena’s voice echoed behind me, another body entering the grove.

Only now could I feel how distinctly different she was from when we were in Vannagrash’s crypt. There was a line between us that she had crossed and I hadn’t. I couldn’t put it any other way.