With reluctance Alexstros rose from his bed. The last crumbs of sleep were rubbed away with his fingertips and he stared outside.

Bright line shone from there and he guessed it should be late afternoon. As his head cleared more and more chirps of birds and the buzzing of insects were audible from outside the window.

Even though he was in a seated position he was dozzing in and out of consciousness rhytmically. Not a good start in the day , he knew. With some will power he hoisted his legs on the hard wooden floor underneath his bed and got up.

While rubbing his stomache and scratching his hair simultainesly he walked along the short hallway to reach the kitchen. As his mind was still boggled with sleepy thoughts he plopped himself in one of the chairs and looked at his mother with puppy dog eyes.

She snorted as she saw this buf hurriedly prepared some food for him. It took 15 long minutes until something edible was placed infront of him and he shoved the first few bits down his throat in seconds.

With the new influx of food his mind cleared at a rapid speed and finally he noticed a bundle of amber color directly opposite him. At first he wondered what such a beautiful color was doing in the kitchen but soon his eyes opened wide in realization.

" Uh ... uhm ... Good morning? " He said in a confused manor.

His mother began to roar in laughter and the girl held a hand infront of her lips to stiffle her own laughter. From the sides he could have sworn that his baby sister was giggling out of her baby crip.

With a beet red face he hung his head almost over the plate and shoved the rest of the food down the hatchet that was yearning nourishment. Just as he was about to finish his mother spoke up.

" Alexstros , your dad wont be finished until tomorrow morning. I hope you havent forgotten your manners and will do something with the guest of our house. " Came the authority ladden tone of his mother across the room.

For a few seconds he was contemplating the hidden message in her mothers tone , but he dismissed it as just another one of her antics.

" So what do you want to do today? " He asked.

" Anything is fine with me. " The amber haired girl told him.

He noticed the sharp glare from his mother that was directed at him and immediatly discarded the idea of going back to the forest. Sometimes he swore his mother could read minds.

" Want to visit some shops in the city? " He tried.

" No thank you , i started my Adventurer in this town. I know my way around already. " The girl replied.

A few brief moments of silence followed as Alexstros raked his brains. He never was the most eloquent speaker neither the one that could keep up a conversation for long.

So many places came to mind but he was sure the girl had no interest in them. He noticed another sharp glare from his mother , which sent chills down his spine , but this time he threw caution out of the window.

" Can you teach me that spell you used with your weapons yesterday? "

A bright smile appeared on the girls face and a little glimmer of excitment flashed in her pupils.

" Gladly! " She half shouted.

Her enthusiastic reply immediatly roused something in Alexstros unconscious mind and he sprinted back to his room.

After he spilled half of his dressers contents he roar of triumph escaped his lips as he found what he was looking for. With a ringing sound the blade came undone from the scabbard and the reflection of light highlighted the intricate leaf designs etched into the blade.

With a thunk it disappeared into the scabbard and he ran back to the kitchen , not even pausing for the girl to stand up , but simply grabbing her hand and dragging her along.

His mother started laughing again as the girl gave a startled yelp to make him stop , but Alexstros had other plans. Rushing down the steps and after a few seconds they finally arrived in the backyard.

" Slow down! " The girl shouted and Alexstros followed suit.

" That is a bad habit you have there. " She sounded angry.

He on the other hand just smiled which made the girl sigh. With graceful movements a few swipes were performed by the girls hand in midair and suddendly her sword and dagger appeared our of no where!

" How did you do that? " He asked amazed.

" Uhm ... being a Adventurer has its virtues. " She said not entirely convinced of it herself.

" Okay listen , that yesterday was a blade art. A set of motions activates the sequence and the system helps my movements and corrects them. " She explained in a matter of fact tone.

But soon she saw the incredibly huge questionmarks that seemed to float over Alexstros head so she tried a different approach.

" Listen , you use a certain weapon for a long time and naturally you get better with it. Your world has gifted adventurers with many things and i guess that is one of them. I dont know if you can learn it. " She said apogetically.

" Show me what you do , maybe ill be able to copy it. " He replied stoic.

She pulled both weapons and readied her stance. With a flick of her wrist the golden glimmer appeared again and she slashed at imaginary foes before her. Alexstros clapped after the demonstration ended.

The ringing tone filled the area as Alexstros pulled the elfen blade from the scabbard and readied it before him.

" Stop. You only use one blade. Let me show you something different then. " She told him.

The dagger disappeared with a hand motion into thin air and now she only held her shortsword. Her arm was raised up and her elbow angled of so the blade was pointing down to the earth behind her shoulder.

She flicked her wrist and a blue shimmer engulfed the blade. A almost whistling like sound assaulted Alexstros ears as the sword came down with lightning speed.

" This is what we Adventurers call a heavy blow. "

Now she held the sword at her waist level and the elbow behind her. Red engulfed the blade and in a split of a second she stood 1 yard from where she stood before and the blade poised infront of her.

" Strike. "

She held the blade slightly above her ribcage and performed a slashing attack from right to left , but in the middle of the slash the weapons speed increased many fold and a green glitter was left behind.

" The last of the basics , slash. These improved basic patterns substract more hits of the enemy then the normal version. "

" What do u mean by , substracting more hits? "

She seemed flustered and shifted her weight from her left to right foot.

" When you do these , they hurt your enemy more. " She tried to put it in terms i understood.

For the next 2 hours i tried to recreate her movements but sadly to no avail. Never once my blade left shimmers behind , even though the girl assured me i was doing it right.

" Let me see your sword. " She told him suddendly.

He passed it over and in the meantime he used the back of his hand to wipe some weat from his brow. She performed mysterious gestures in the thin air while looking at the sword. With a sudden poof a similiar sword appeared in-front of her.

" Yeah i figured out what was wrong. Your sword is tagged as a ornament. This sword should help. " She told him and handed him the other weapon.

Utterly confused at what she was saying he nonetheless gripped the other weapon. Practically it felt the same. Leather grip , long elongated double sided cutting edge and long enough for the use of two-hands.

Just like any other bastard sword. Except the run down appearance and the rust that covered the iron.

He lifted the sword over his shoulder and performed the downward slash. As he was about to sigh midswing the blade flared into life with a thin line of blue shimmer. He was so surprised the the blade struck the ground and numerous chunks of earth where scatterd about.

With joy on his face he looked at the girl and saw a smile playing around her lips.

" You can keep it of you like. That was the sword i was gifted with by the gods when i arrived here. " She told him.

Immediatly he clutched it to his chest and hugged the blade tight. Lucky for him it was a rusty sword or there would have been the danger of him cutting himself.

" Now listen , you may feel strong now but dont think to highly off yourself. When i arrived here i had about the same knowledge as you now. I left town and challenged a few critters and died. "

She let the information sink in for a few seconds , Alexstros seemed terrified and thus she continued.

" Nothing beats experience. Your muscles in your arms need the experience. Go to the guards and train with them if you like or forget fighting all together. " She continued.

For a second Alexstros swore he saw a different girl infront of him. Much older , more mature and wiser then he would ever be. Stunned over this he nodded in her direction.

" Kids , ive brought you some refreshments! " Alexstros mother shouted from inside the house.

His mother broke the moment of akwardness and both giggled appropriatly for their age. Chasing eachother they ran up the stairs pushing and shoving one another. At this moment Alexstros knew he had found a friend for life.

...............

Later in the day both lazily sat under a tree and were enjoying more of the sweet herb tea his mother had made up.

" Tell me about your world. " Alexstros broke the silence.

She jumped slightly , seemingly startled at the sudden question.

" I dont know.... "

" Cmon whats there to fear? You have seen more places in this world then i may ever see and you have more knowledge of the world where your kind came from. " Alexstros pushed on.

She sighed but after a few minutes of silence she spoke.

" Our world is ... beautiful in another way then this. Vegetation such as the wild woods around this city are rare to find. But on the other hand we have houses in such extraordinary shapes that you cant imagine. "

" Self supplient carriages that run without horses and can reach speed that not even a bird could dream of. Almost no one in our society is poor anymore. There is so much to eat that no one hungers. "

" Entertainment at every corner and thousands of millions of people in a few citys. We even reached the stars. Machines brought us to our moon , of which we only have one and even further. "

" Sometimes i have to ask myself , what is better this world or the world where i return to when i am not here. My world is ... crowded loud and stiffling but in this world i am free. Free to do whatever i want. To go wherever. "

" My people claim that we are free , but we are still bound by the million of rules some people have errected over the millenia. You cant just wander the country. You cant just go hunt to supply yourself with food. .... "

A long hour passed with more and more descriptions of her world. Not only good ones but bad ones as well. Even though Alexstros only half understood what the girls world looked like he was excited.

Someday , he promised himself , he would venture her world.

" Kids , suppers ready! " His mother shouted through the open kitchen window in the second floor.

Now both of them grinned at eachother and the pushing and shoving commenced once again.

......................

As the next day dawned , much to Alexstros regret , the amber haired girl was gone. For months every day he bugged his father about the legendary potions effects he had brewed for the girl. But he never got to know any of it.

Another year passed and the monsters in the surrounding lands increased their populations and strength. Merchants were out right bankrupt as no caravans could leave the city anymore.

Even hunting outside of the city gates was conducted in partys of 20 people. To ensure the survival of at least half of the embarkt group. Soon it became evident what the cause was.

The high priests of the gods received divine interventions that the gods children have been barred entrance to this world. 6 long years they would be shut out before they would return manyfold.

But ever since these Adventurers had arrived the monsters werent the relaxed aggressors anymore. They also prepared as they increased their population and strength.

The kingdom of Mithras , where Alexstroses city was located in was one of the first to fall.

Numerous fires burned in the city after the hordes of demi-humans breached the high city walls. Screams of children and women filled the once bustling streets. Collapsed and charred houses were the only reminder of the once peaceful city.

Neighbouring kingdoms sent troops to help all the surviours and stragglers. Only a few thousand of the mithras population survived the first waves of Invasion.

Today , 6 years later , most regarded old mithras as a occupied zone. Alot of its maps had been destroyed and it became a fleck of land that nobody would venture in without a good reason.

..................

Loud screams and shouts assaulted Alexstros ears. Hyena like laughter followed directly after those painful shouts ended.

" Take this , run! " His mother shouted as the door buckled under the repeated assaults of the opposing demi-humans.

His father had died defending the walls just yesterday and after he and many others had died defending the last people inside the confined walls now the sickly , old and the remaining females had to do their best.

The wooden planks that made up the door finally gave up under the heavy strikes and the harsh sunlight made Alexstros close his eyes for a split of a second. After they had adjusted his ears were assaulted by the mad manical like laughter of hyenas.

A broad , but comparibly short , 6 foot humanoid being stood infront of him. The head of a dog of sorts with speckles of brown black and red. Its vicious yellow fangs broke the light in a sinister way and reflected it into the dark parts of the Alchemists shop.

" Run , take your sister and dont look back! " His mother shouted once again.

Even though he was paralyzed by fear somehow his mother had a deep tone he could not understand yet and forced his legs to disobey his own instincts to huddle up and errupted into sprint.

The heavy leather straps on his shoulders and the 3 year old girl underneath his arms almost made his magical sprint end as he stumbled quite a few times. After he dashed out of the backdoor and jumped 5 yards into the air over the fence , which he thought impossible , his speed further increased down the deserted streets.

Just as he was about to round another corner and would forever loose sight of his home he somehow forced down the power commanding word of his mother and turned over his shoulder.

Explosion after explosion errupted from the ruined house as scores of these half man half dogs errupted out of the hallways. This was the last sight he would ever have of his once quiet life.

But as he was halfway down the next street a female voice errupted and almost disentigrated his mind into a state of a overripe vegetable. The little crys and wails of his baby sister focused him back to the now.

With his mothers death the word of power that had controlled his actions ended but somehow he kept running. He noticed that liquid was gathering in his leather boots. By the smell of it his own blood but he could not stop.

From time to time behind him he smelled the dog like creatures or heard their manical laughter. But the desperation of mothers or fathers that ensured the survival of their offspring held fast.

More then once he saw a touching scene where a child was pushed out towards the south gates while the parents took up pitchforks , hoes or logging axes to buy their children the last few precious seconds.

Even while praying to whatever god would hear him to not let these parents sacrifice be in vain dozens of other parents were slaughted right at the edge of his hearing capabilities.

After half an hour sprint , unlike he had ever done in his entire life , he saw the salvation. Mages forming a circle around a vibration and slurr inside the air itself. Mithrases neighbouring country had sent their mages.

Just as he was about to run through those rifts in space a loud and wet splash errupted jsut below his ear. He turned around slightly and saw the feathy end of a bolt sprouting from his shoulder.

The once fast speed was now his doom as he was accelerated even faster towards the ground. With movements no normal human could have performed Alexstros , as the elf blood he had , placed his hand on the ground and launched himself back into a upright position.

A mage looked at him astounded just to see the mages skull get pierced by the next bolt that came flying. The once 3 portals that were supplied by 10 mages each broke as the beasts had managed to kill a few of each circle.

Now the mages began to panic and activated their own teleportation magic , but sadly this was meant for 1 person alone. The more mass the longer it would take. A few mages fired bolt of fire , ice or a jet of water towards the incoming beasts.

Many of them died to this assault but still more kept coming. Only 5 mages of the original 30 were now still around and Alexstros mind was racing. He only came to one grim conclusion.

With a wide arc he threw Iliya , his baby sister , towards one of the mages that was about to finish his spell. The mages eyes grew wide but the spell focus had no reflux and he caught the baby.

" Take good care of my baby sister. " Alexstros said as he already dropped the heavy bag.

His eyes immedaitly hardend , be it from the grim duty that was his now or a sudden growth in matureness nobody would ever know , as he ran towards 5 reloading Gnolls.

" Altros , dont leave me! " His baby sister shouted behind him as the mage started to chant in the old draconic language that was neccesary for every magician.

Even though his eyes were hard as steel itself , he smiled a warm smile towards the gnolls at his sisters nickname for him. He knew she couldnt say his full name yet but somehow he found this name amusing.

One of the sickle shaped swords was picked up by him as he speed by a burned Gnoll corpse. The blackened hands released the weapon without Altros having to slow down. Just as the gnoll crossbow man had reloaded ones head was detached from his shoulders in a green hue.

The next ones arm was replaced by a overhead strike and a blue hue while his neighbours head exploded while the angled blade came out the back of his head with a red glint. Never was he so relieved he had trained the basics of sword arts , as the amber girl had called them , every day since she had left.

All of the gnolls were dispatched and he had bought the mage enough time. A man high rift had just formed besides the mage as Altros glanced over his shoulder.

" Kanai the city of mages , there your sister will be! " The mage shouted as he stepped through the portal just as a bolt was about to pierce his skull.

His left shoulder still had the bolt inside of it and his consciousness was drifting in and out. Stars danced infront of his eyes he could die in an hour maybe less from bloodloss. Even under these conditions a stranger had wrung him off a promise of sorts.

As he thought of this a chuckle escaped his lips and he smelled the stench of these beasts he would never forget in his life.

" Suppose we can handle this peacefully ey? " Altros tried to speak to the beasts.

The manical laughter resounded once again and a arrow flew close to his head.

" Guess not. "

......................