“Power, in one’s search for the self, in one's search for destiny, it all comes down to one common denominator. A catalyst that sparks a desire for power, and sometimes that catalyst can push one to become something greater than the self. A force of ideology, order and righteousness, or a force of destruction, chaos and personal vendetta. We are all villains in the end, no one gets out of this life clean. Everything from the lowly peasant killing a rabbit for food to the King starving his people to save the nation from ruin. Invaders take land for their own use to further their own empire and people. Order leads to Chaos, ideology leads to destruction, righteousness leads to personal vendetta.

This fetid world needs release, and a clean slate to work from. But perhaps those are just the thoughts of a dying old man.” Salindor Lichtbringer, 1887 Age of Revolution

1509.03.38 Volcastar, Saister

Sunlight splashed the face of a young boy as dawn approached. The shock of his black hair and grey-silver eyes were tell-tale signs of his Ashokian heritage. Around the shack that he lives in one could see books stacked on an old wooden table, a chair that had also stood the test of time, and a middle aged black haired woman cooking something in an old oil pitch cauldron. The smell of potato and velvet root cut through the air, a heavenly smell that could lift even the most destitute of spirits into a place of warmth and joy.

“Good Morning Nico!” Said a woman in a comforting voice, “How did you sleep?”

“Restless as always Mum,” Nico said with a heavy sigh, “Master Oakarn taught me a cantrip last night and I can’t seem to get it right.”

The boy no older than fifteen years goes from bed to rickety chair in a matter of moments, and begins practicing the magic his mentor taught to him. A small light begun to flicker to life, though its light was dwarfed by the sunlight of the day.

“You should give your mind a rest and let your studies seep into that brain of yours,” Nico’s mother, Ada replies.

A look of frustration overtook Nico’s face, “Perhaps you are right.” Nico then stood up and gave himself a long stretch as he prepared to attend his studies. Although the boy’s clothes were simple they had an assortment of homemade pouches for the various things that a young apprentice would need.

“I am going to go harvest elfleaf for Sally and her father,” said Nico grabbing a knife and a bucket.

“Can you see if Farmer Tark will part with some milk?” Ada asked.

“I have a few coppers,” said Nico, “I’ll grab it on the way back.”

Nico opened the door to the wider world. As he unconsciously wiped the sleep from his eyes, his mind was excited and focused on spending the day with his best friend. Nico’s walk into town was quite beautiful if a bit boring, modest trees spotting the grassland and passing the half dozen farms supplying the food and goods for the town itself. As Nico passed the last farmers hut he saw a few armed men walking back from Farmer Inan’s home, he could see Inan waving at them as they resumed their apparent patrol. Dressed in leathers, carrying sheathed swords and short bows. Nico decided to find out what that was about after his visit with Sally, the watch always made him feel uncomfortable. A sign reading “Atalar Pop: 224” hammered into the grass on the side of the road. The Imperial Raven was emblazoned in iron on the wooden planks. The dirt road slowly turned into cobblestone as the path continued on. Large stones pressed into soil with a few pieces of wood to help wagons and caravans to get up onto the stonework. Wooden buildings surround the town square, an Inn, Tavern, and a multitude of different stores and houses. Sally brushed the pack horse with its white and brown mane and tail as it moved wildly with excitement.

“Nico!” Shouted Sally.

“Hello Sally!” Nico said, “Morning Barton!”

Nico came running to Barton’s caravan stand, exotic plants and alchemical components littered the stall. Red powders, burnt wood, special inks and parchments, various dried flowers of every colour imaginable, animal bones grey with age and salts from everywhere in the realm presented an intoxicating and overwhelming assault on the senses.

“Barton would you mind if Sally and I went and searched the countryside for elfleaf?”

Sally and her father were merchants from the islands to the south of the Empire. Both with amber skin and hazel eyes though Sally had brown hair flowing in luscious curls and her father Barton had short black hair that was shaved close to the scalp. Barton’s face weathered after years of travelling the waves and wandering across the plains.

“I do think I have a few buyers in Taron that would like some elfleaf,” Barton finally said with a sigh, “don’t steal her away for too long, I need her back to help me pack up so I can be ready to travel on the ‘morrow.”

Sally fist pumps “Yes! I'll be home before dark, let’s go Nico!”

“Nico! Before you and Sal head out can you let Oak know I have his ‘Dragon’s Blood’?”

With an affirmative nod Nico and then ran off with Sally.

“So we are gonna just ditch the old man right?” Sally gave Nico a wry grin.

“I mean he’s been looking forward to-”

“We both know that Oak is not gonna use that red paste until the Dragon’s sun falls” Sally imposed herself between Nico and the path towards Oakarn’s shack.

“Shit…”

“Ha! You are too easy!”

Nico gave Sally a half hearted glare, his facial features then gave up fighting the smile he’d been fighting.

“We do have to be back before dark anyhow, I did promise your Dahl.”

That title always gave Sally knots in her stomach.

“I know… Now come on let’s go!”

Sally pulled on Nico’s arm until they both ran off to do the merchant’s chores.

For most of her life Sally spent her time in the village of Atalar waiting for her father to come back from various lands and locales. Sometimes Barton would be merely a week or so away and yet sometimes he spent the better half of a year in some strange far off land, though that seemed to come to a close in his late age.

“I think I found some!” Sally exclaimed as she held up these dove white leaves covered in a white chalky substance.

Lumos

“Look at that…” Nico’s spell came to fruition in the moment he thought he needed it, which felt strange to him.

“Whoa, look how it shimmers…” Sally’s lost in the colouration of dust as the new light source refracted the dust in caused a small rainbow to appear then wink out of sight as Nico lost focus.

“That was at least a solid second or so!”

“I just can’t seem to stay focused…” Nico felt defeat for a dark moment.

They combed through the modest brush and forestry, and the duo managed to pick some leaves Nico would need for some of the outer wards for their ritual. They’d both been through these woods many times but it always took Nico off guard just how much harder hour five of wandering these woods was as opposed to hour one.

“Come on Nico! You are slower than the old man!” Nico wondered if she’d meant her father or his master.

“Just give me a goddamn minute!” Nico breathing was strained with effort, his legs muttering painful curses to his brain. Sally laughed, though she too was breaking a sweat, these leaves were heavy with resin.

“How come you're so small yet you can lift just as much as me!”

“Elves mature physically as fast as humans if a touch slower, but the Caellic villages your mother was from often said no one was truly matured until you’ve seen your first century” Nico always enjoyed how goofy Sally was with her impression of Oakarn.

“Many humans struggled to make it to 80 while many half elves boasted lives, sometimes up to two hundred…” As the mockery continued the startling crack of underbrush echoed throughout the trees surrounding them and the two friends didn’t remember going out this far. Though some time had passed it was still day and the elements of shadow and dusk hinted their way across the horizon. Long fingers of darkness cast themselves creating a large lightless hollow.

“Hey I see something ahead,” whispered Sally. The unlit forest floor was harder for human eyes to adjust to than elven ones and Sally saw the two bodies which should’ve better been described as pin cushions before Nico.

“Tyr’s Grace!” Nico had never seen a dead body before, his eyes finally adjusted to the macabre sight. The two bodies, if you could call them that were pinned to a nearby tree, no more than a few dozen arrows propped up the men in horrific puppetry.

“We can’t leave them here,” Sally had a cold look coming over her face.

“What if whoever did this to them is still here?” Nico was hurried and rushed now, his mind swirled.

“We’ll have to chance it,” Sally continued forward as she started breaking off the arrows. Nico quickly found a cloak that looked like it was removed beforehand, the two must’ve been camping here.

“Couple of hunters maybe?” Nico tried to make the cloak into a makeshift litter. This took a good bit of time and the two started to become quite exhausted by the end of preparing the mangled corpses for transport. Death now hanging in the air the two quietly pulled the mens’ remains out of the forest.

I don’t want to be alone with my thoughts! Nico’s stomach was doing flips. Suddenly Sally stopped which caused Nico to halt as well.It was they saw it, what should’ve been a tree was more a skeleton of such a thing, where leaves had been, it'd appeared that the poor haunted branches carried new residents. Ravens often didn’t gather in numbers like this but here they were in their intense size and number.

“If we stay still and silent will they find us?” Nico softly mouthed, he knew how to be quiet especially when in the presence of his mentor. Though this sight had finally turned his hairs on edge, a cold sweat stuck to his clothes and the eye to eye contact with one of the ravens stirred something deep within him and he knew then that he had been seen.

“Get back Nico!” Sally’s words snapping at Nico’s mind, he had not realised how far he had already stepped out. Nico now stood before a terrible yet breathtaking sight. He just barely began to duck as the great congress of ravens spilled out into the clearing where the pair were. The birds began to pull apart the cadavers, vicrea and gore mixed with the remains of bone and meat. Nico and Sally bolted through the forest keeping what little they had gathered and left the poor souls behind. Though the unkindness of Ravens had deeply unsettled them there was much relief that they had managed to get away with their lives.

“What will we do now?” Nico catching his breath, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

“Well, we wait for the ravens to clear out and we gather their bones and bring them back to the church,” Sally said in a state of shock, she was still looking at the dark creatures but the shadows had started to creep in.

“I am pretty sure I was supposed to have you back to your father by now,” Nico felt numb and his thoughts were muddled with the images of the bodies torn asunder in his mind. Nico’s own flesh and blood is cold with sweat but the adrenaline causes him to catch a second wind.

“I know, I know! But we cannot leave their remains, this forest has strong connections to magic and allowing them to just stay there just seems like such a dishonest thing to do to them.”

“Sally I respect that but that could’ve sooner been us, if we had been there even a few moments earlier.” Nico’s eyes answered back with concern. “I can come back in the morning when it's cleared out, I have to get up early anyways to get those leaves.”

“I suppose a night couldn’t hurt,” Sally conceded, the lack of light was starting to get to her now too. Though elves were better at seeing in the dark they weren't immune to the nature of what being isolated in a forest felt like.

“Promise you’ll bring someone with you though? I think something is going on in the forest and I’d rather you have some sort of back up.”

“I think if I can borrow Oak’s bow, I should be okay.” Nico looked around at the darkness, feeling no safety in his search. “And I’ll see if I can borrow one of his dogs too.”

“They’d sooner eat the bones and bury them somewhere,” Sally giggled but then had a sour look on her face. “Illyanti forgive me… Why did you walk up to that tree?”

“I wasn’t sure how I got that far out,” Nico felt awkward and uncomfortable with the time lost in his mind. ” Fine, I'll ask Tark if he can spare one of his sons to go with me.”

“Hopefully whatever was compelling you doesn’t just do that to big dumb boys,” Sally stuck out her tongue ignoring her pangs of guilt.

“Did you just compare me to Yhavin?” Nico’s anger flared, he felt trapped between the insult and what had just happened “That dolt would’ve been doe eyed until the ravens ate him.”

“Lucky that we were here then!”

Nico had a sharp response but his mind kept drifting towards the bodies or whatever was left of them. The rest of their journey home was painfully quiet though uneventful as evening was starting to set in. As they walked in silence, partially so they wouldn’t attract attention. Sally still looked very crushed, she too then looked deeply into the sky above. The first stars had begun to wink into existence, their own little worlds with their own little problems.

“Some things can’t be helped, can they?” Sally asked, her voice was quiet.

“No, they can’t I guess,” Nico’s mind was caught up with imagine’s of the tree and their numerous inhabitants. He needed to go back there for other reasons and he might need help, it may require more than one more trip out. Nico’s heart was still pounding from their encounter by the time the two made it back to town.

“Nico!” Barton shouted angrily, his voice more concerned than actually angry.

“I’m sorry sir, I-”

“We had found bodies in the forest filled with arrows and they weren’t more than a couple of hours old when we'd found them.”Barton’s face now went red with anger.

“Whoever has the gall to kill fellow townsfolk has a lot to answer for.”

“What are we going to do?” Nico’s anxiety filled with a tightness in his chest. Barton froze for a moment, then thought for another.

“Probably the bandits, but that means the young folk have to stay out of the woods until we get this situation sorted. That means you as well Nico, the watch will have this fixed in no time.”

“The trip is postponed then?” Sally asked, there was more to the question than initially thought. Barton looked defeated, he’d known his daughter was going to be disappointed but given the latest finds in the forest he’d sooner take her away from here if he could. Maybe we'll be closer to the old capital, Those lovely islands…

“Most certainly not,” Barton said, his voice seeming distant now.

“I’ll have to work late tonight scribing for Master Oakarn,” Nico was already tired but the work needed to be done if he was to learn.

“You look so tired Nico,” Sally said, her words rang true but Nico quietly shook his head.

“I need to learn as much magic in the next few years as I can to be ready to travel,” Nico’s words hiding how truly tired he was but nevertheless he was bound to his word.

“You need sleep.”

“I gave my word, and I’ve been delaying this work too long.”

“Bu-”

“Come on Sal! It’s only my body that's tired, not my mind.”

Sally stared for a while, frustrated she then left with a wave, her and her father retreating into the inn while Nico stood there, his thoughts souring but unable to fix the nagging feeling in the back of his head. He walked towards his master’s hut on the outskirts of town, Nico found himself a bit more calm now. Time had helped the boy reground himself though the experience was no less traumatizing. In truth he wasn’t sure he was going to be able to sleep anyways with the ravens and murders haunting his mind. So he put himself to work, unlocking his master's main entryway door. Closing and securing the door behind him, Nico then immediately greeted Oakarn and started with his studies as the hut itself greeted Nico with pungent and alkaline smells.

“You’re late,” Oakarn made a passing glance and the boy.

“I’ll make sure the work gets done,” Nico’s hand used his brush delicately at Oakarn’s most recent pet project, making sure not to make a mistake on the expensive paper.

“I know, why were you late?” Oakarn’s tone turned stern but facial features turned soft when he turned to regard Nico fully and noticed his cloak.

“Some people were killed just outside of town; someone shot them quite full of arrows.” Nico quickened heartbeat, making his already pale face white. Nico felt very ill and just wished this night would be over, this nagging feeling like someone was watching him still felt ever present.

“Ah, hence why you don’t have any herbs on you,” Oakarn's normally reserved tone had returned, now more concerned about how his apprentice came upon the information.

“Yeah, though we passed a place with a ton of ravens and the bodies must’ve smelt enough for them to want to consume them,” Nico said softly, still making the work on what was now a blank book preparing the pages on his desk to be put together. Nico felt oddly comfortable working as he spoke, almost as if the work itself coaxed Nico’s guard to fall, his nausea subsiding. The desk itself, while quite small, was made of oak accompanied by a chair and a small bundle of cloth as a blue cushion in its seat. There was resin powder, ink bottles, string and quills, pages carefully curated and being placed in uniform order. The bits of string are set around the newly created cover, the resin being wetted and used as a glue for the spine.

“That must’ve been quite a sight,” Oakarn stood up and walked towards the boy, observing the work as Nico got lost in work and conversation.

“It really was, but before that happened I was being drawn to the tree itself,” Nico confessed, using small old modified periwinkles to compress the spine of the book together. He then stood up to get but a hand on his shoulder forced him to sit back down. Oakarn always surprised Nico with how quickly he could move in spite of his age.

“Let me help with your brushes and paste,” Oakarn retorted, before Nico could deny him the remaining supplies were squirrelled away somewhere in a deeper room.

“I guess I could get started-”Nico started.

“No you are going to tell me more about what you were drawn to,” Oakarn’s voice, though concerned, had a certain reinforced tone that seemed infallible to argue with.

“The tree,” Nico continued “Or something in the tree maybe.”

Oakarn nodded for a moment, deep in thought.

“Oh and Bart-”

“I know… He told me.” Nico’s face felt flush with embarrassment.

“Perhaps I can help you not get killed but if you specifically were drawn to it perhaps it would be best for you to learn from it as well,” Oakarn argued, though his voice sounded curious as to what Nico found.

“Well it matters not, town watch has us staying in until they clear out who killed though people,” Nico responded.

“Oh worry not,” Oakarn smiled as he spoke, his voice gave what he'd said a cheery tone. He then took a flower and began chanting Viden Cutem, it began to glow then suddenly as it atomized the pair winked out of sight. Nico could no longer see Oakarn but judging from how the flower’s glow managed to grant them their new camouflage.

“I suppose that is a solution,” Nico passed Oakarn his staff, then grabbing a crossbow on the mantle, the magical bubble hiding the two absorbing the new equipment. The two began to get ready for a late night walk into the forest. Boots, cloaks, bags and bolts, the pair then left the hut and left to go into the forest where Nico remembered.

“This seems familiar,” said Nico, branches and leaves getting caught in his mouth. It had been hours and already Nico’s feet ached. Nico thought himself lost at first but found his bearings as soon as he saw the wretched tree.

“Are you certain?” Oakarn broke more of the branches surrounding them. The silent forest did nothing to muffle their presence, then Oakarn using his will made a light wink into existence casting its luminescence deeper into the forest.

“More or less, between Sally and I, she’s the better tracker and it was day time.”

“That's fair lad but this place of power hasn’t shown its face before meaning it might have more to do with you specifically.”

“Why me specifically?”

“That’s just the question isn’t it? Come we might’ve gotten here quick but we best not make new company.” Nico’s blood ran cold for a breath, his skin crawling with goosebumps at that kind of realisation. Then it hit, a nausea starting as his stomach started to turn.

“What does this mean?” Nico started forward to finally close in on the area. Nico could already feel the power pulsing through him and guiding him now.

“You look strange Nico,” Oakarn observed the face of his apprentice as it had begun to stiffen and look almost in pain.

“I can feel it nearby, whatever that power is,” Nico gritted, it had begun to make a throbbing warped feeling inside of his skull. The feeling echoing pain throughout Nico’s body, suddenly images of a dead elven man curled up with a large blue spellbook. His eyes black and staring down at Nico.

Come to me, behold my manifest

“That can’t be good,” Oakarn mouthed as he then saw the tree, a blue translucent phantom of an elf. Nico struggled to see through the pain, causing him to feel quite dazed and anxious.

Nico cast, his magic created an illuminating light and now bathed the tree and the spectre. Now a soft nagging feeling in his mind came to fruition, magic is uncomfortable to cast because of where a wizard has to cast his magic. Oakarn spoke in a low dark verse and violent purple magic leapt out and cut through the phantom. Nico aimed his crossbow and fired, the bolt having been blessed by Oakarn. The bolt found true and hit the apparition in the throat, the ghost having been wounded could only raspily reach out. Three separate rays of yellow flaming energy came shooting out, Oakarn managed to absorb one in a magical flash but the second one rang true. Oakarn shouted out in pain as Nico instinctually shot again, the bolt slamming into the wrath’s skull and it began to dissipate.

“Okay, now we get to learn on the go,” Oakarn winced, he motioned Nico over.

“Take this, and this bit of cloak and repeat after me. M’Ortalis Daetus.”

M’Ortalis Daetus

The cloak then glows purple and translucent, silently and touchless as wind wrapped itself in and around Oakarn’s bruised ribs. Oakarn got up, using his staff as an anchor to help himself up. For a man in his fifties Oakarn’s body was still quite hardy, it helped his apprentices help with the harder parts of study while he got to work on helping around town. Silence now having snuck up on Nico, Oakarn was already moving out despite his wound. The ravens were gone now, but the two now found themselves at the base of the great empty tree. Its branches had a much more awful and naked feeling at night with their bright white lights. Something like a monster that grasped into one's own soul, like those that peasant mobs would lynch folks by. Nico stared into the hollowed out tree, it was rather queer now that the ravens were gone with its branches devoid of life. Oakarn lit a pipe and started to smoke the contents, Nico caught his breath once more and eventually they began to search the skeleton and bag in the vacantness of the trunk. A few mushrooms with glowing blue spores which gave the hollow an eerie iridescent. Nico carefully wrapped the fungus in the torn cloak and put them in his own pack. With it another bag and an ancient book the skeleton was carrying.

“That’s a dangerous find,” Oakarn lightly chuckles, almost the same way one would laugh if one had stumbled upon a toddler with a crossbow. Nico sighed, not what he expected to find either but still the magic can be studied later by either of them.

“His spellbook is still valuable even if it takes a lot of time to learn,” Nico was lost in thought, the pages of the book more than likely holding some very dangerous, yet interesting magic. Oakarn then gives the hollowed out trunk a little longer, and then he pulls something out, a single greyish light blue egg.

“I think we found a friend,” Oakarn’s words barely left his mouth, three arrows suddenly appeared with three resounding thuds, two barely missed the right and left feet of both Oakarn and Nico respectively. The last arrow was barely half an inch from Oakarns face as it slammed into the tree. How did they see us? Nico thought. Townsmen they are not.

“Hands up!” A man’s voice shouted , the two mages instinctively stayed low.

“On what grounds do you shoot?” Oakarn's fingers weave an intricate web of dark red magic as a small pinch of dust lifts from the wizard’s. Tolunar Brae. The magic then flashes white as a snake of electrical energy exits the newly white web like creature coming out of a portal and vaporises two of the far trees turning them to white-grey ash. The former trees created a cloud of ash that rolled thick throughout the small glade, the remaining trees now coated in the thin greyish film. The energy snake still held firm as four other people with weapons drawn standing in a semicircle around the duo as they ducked behind the trees. The wild hum of raw power and the reflected soft light blue that the magical creation resonated throughout the small glade.

“We followed you out here to your dark place,” The man answered back, he tried to sound as intimidating as possible though the crackling of nearby lightning and static undercut the man's statement. Oakarn then laughed as the serpentine creature then came alive and slithered into the view of the man. Its electrical architecture holding the creatures face together, only parting to create a sinister jaw that was filled with energy and death. The man could only stammer now that his body was unpleasantly close to the creature, silently praying to his gods he then opened his mouth.

“We stand down,” Another spoke, though her voice cut through she could not be seen easily. Her face coated with the contents of the air. Her features were of elvish heritage, short sharp ears, short brown hair cropped for combat. Armoured head to toe in fine steel, she carried a broadsword and shield with a Caeillic knot, her face tattooed with tribal ink in a dark blue-green. Her accent suggested she hailed from nearby however, and Nico couldn’t help but be enamoured as well as suspicious of such a stranger’s presence.

“Well this changes things,” Oakarn said, dispelling the magic. With the sudden disappearance of the immaterial serpent the ash finally had begun to settle. “I am very impressed you managed to stay alive this long.”

“Ah Oak, it's been a moon, and a half.” the strange warrior approached with seeming familiarity. Nico was speechless at his master’s apparent willingness to stand down in such a tense scenario though Oakarn spoke his words with familiarity as well.

“Same friend, look-” She started, she looked pained like it was hard for her to even come here.

“Firstly,” Oakarn interrupted her, keeping a keen eye on his apprentice. “And no.”

“You won’t even hear us out?” The elvish woman said, looking quite defeated.

“Not without some tea,” Oakarn smiled warmly. “Though I still might say no.”

“Ha!” The woman suddenly sprung back to life, she looked as though she was used to the man’s nonsense. Then the remaining people started to clean themselves off, Nico’s anxiety still finding no release was now found some hold in his vocal cords.

“Who are you!” Nico cut through the silence of the woods and the clambering of armour. The young boy’s voice finding more purchase now that things had become much less life threatening.

“I am Kelly,” The elven woman had a mop of red hair that seemed to cover most of an old scar that ended at the other side of her cheek across Kelly’s nose. “And this is my band of merry outlaws, vagabonds and minors lords”

“My name is Rotkar” A man of Orcish heritage replied with a strange Aluentish dialect, his blue grey skin pulled tight over strong worn arms. “Rotkar of Iron Keep."

Rotkar’s scalp was shaved apart from three small ponytails braided with hair left in the back to create a sort of an integrated piece. It was held together with bone lined in brass. Brass lined most of what Rotkar wore in fact, little pieces of polished bone adorning what wasn’t leather engraved with tribal markings embossed in brass.

” You can tell who rotkar is just by his name”- kev

“My name is Ivallina,” A dark skinned beautiful woman clad in cloth and leathers though the clothing itself seemed to make what Nico could see melt with surrounding ash and forest. Her hood was down and you could see white long white hair and her nearly jetblack skin. Her accent was much farther from here by far and Nico couldn’t quite place it though her Imperial was well spoken. Nico knew Imperial the most because Sally and her father spoke it quite often and Oakarn insisted on using it as well. Ada, Nico’s mother spoke Agnesh which was the land’s main tongue though the two have some similarities due to their shared linguistic origin.

“I come from the Bao Jang Empire to the very far north east,” Ivallina wrung her wrists with a heavy expression, “I may have stolen something we may need your grandpa here to look at.”

Nico laughed for a bit before responding. He couldn’t believe someone would go so far to come here, though the exact distance was a mystery as he'd never heard of such an Empire. All Nico knew as far as the Empire was concerned was the Great Northern Empire which sprawled as far north as Damern to the southern lowlands of the Agneshie plains.

“Well I am Nico of Atalar,” Said the young mage, his black hair mixed with soot and pale white residue. “I am Oakarn’s apprentice, second year.”

“Holy shit Oakarn, how much tortur-?”

“That’s enough Kel,” Oakarn coldly cut her off. “What exactly do you need from me?”

“Well it’s a few things,” Kelly trailed on, Oakarn sighed exasperatedly and rolled his eyes but Nico couldn’t help but notice a small smile. Kelly stopped for a moment as if her old friend had finally buried some mysterious hatchet. “It's a pleasure to meet you by the way, I hope you’ve been meeting our old wizard friend's expectations.”

“I have!”

“Well I expect him to digest and learn the contents of my own spellbook when he graduates.” Oakarn finished, illuminilimeld vous and with a wave of his finger a small black cat appeared from Oakarns cloak.

“Alright Rider I need you to take a look out on ahead, apparently I've been getting too comfortable in my old age.” Oakarn then sat the cat on his shoulder in a strangely natural motion. The cat purposefully slipped off and then vanished into the brush.

“I am Jatar Rubeson of Lon,” One of the remaining men spoke, “Paladin of Ares, I apologise for my earlier transgressions.”

This guy is a bit much Nico thought, Though they are all kind of weird.

“His god needs tribute,” Kelly gave the Jatar a playful glare “So he’s a bit uhh in need of it.”

“Reminiscing old times, Oak?” Kelly then smiled but her words, Nico felt could only really be targeted at him at this moment. “Last ti-”

“He’s got spirit, and perchance the misfortune to meet you folks,” Oakarn her off before she could say anything too incriminating. “If he’s to learn how to adventure I need him to know enough to go to the Autocracy.”

Silence then fell on everyone though Nico didn’t know why, it was uncomfortable to say the least. Everyone then started to split off and talk to each other quietly, leaving Nico with Ivallina and Jatar. Jatar was clad in pure black and with gold embossed plate, he carried a scimitar on his side and large round shield in his right. The shield was of similar configuration with a rim of sharpened blade, he also wore a long blue cloak but that didn't seem to alleviate his constant shivering.

“Gods, the continent is cold Ival,” Jatar said as he reflexively shifted his cloak hood over his head in an attempt to warm himself.

“It is? You’d hate it in winter.” Nico said.

“Well in Soecea most people live in the south or in the north east, Jatar is my bodyguard but hails from the island country of Henvaru, its super hot there because of a low activity volcano that the dwarves have been harvesting for centuries.” Ivalinna put her hand on the back of her head in a resting position while she spoke, there was a confidence to the Soecean elf and something about her he couldn’t quite place.

“My armour and weapons are made of our very own Damar’s Peak,” Jatar’s voice sounding like he himself crafted the pieces. “The dwarves with their secret techniques can sift through the metals and create nearly perfect pieces of armour.”

“He used to have a ruddy piece for armour but since we got away with robbing a khan of all of his worldly possessions we were about to splurge.” Ivalinna laughed heartily until it devolved into a silent snicker.

“Bastard deserved it too, so we conquered his lands for ourselves and freed the people to do what they wanted.” Jatar smiled. “All's well that ends well.”

“And the people caught in the middle?” Nico looked around, it was clear he had struck a cord unknowingly.

“The world demands we adapt or die Nico,” Kelly slowed a bit in her walk to talk with the three as Oakarn talked to Rotkar, the look she gave him as she left made him feel sort of like prey. The four of them sat in silence for a while.

“We had friends pass on recently,” Ival sniffled though her composure didn’t change much. “I told you she was trouble.”

“Only trouble has a habit of getting into trouble,” Jatar conceded with a sigh. “Reminds me of Adam.”

“Oh don’t get me started with Adam,” Kelly had tears now too. Nico listened as the three other swapped stories as they walked through the woods. Adam was their wizard, he was some evocation mage who hailed from the Great Northern Empire. The man was capable of controlling fire with magic and could pretty well melt and burn anyone he disagreed with. The other friend was a woman named Tamika, she died heroically fighting off pirates on their voyage over here. She was so well trained in the art of swordplay, that it took five pirates and she still almost killed all five with the last one barely getting a poisoned tipped bolt into her before being felled. Nico wondered if adventuring was worth it if they were going to get killed. As more stories were traded they finally made it back onto a main road and they started to head to Oakarn’s home. Nico was so taken by the new legends being created before his very ears that he nearly forgot how much his bloody leg hurt.

“So you live here in this small little town eh Nico?” Kelly inquired, she had managed to trail back with Nico as he had separated himself to study the new book a little.

“Yeah with my mum,” Nico put the book away, trying to be quick about it but fumbling with the book and dropping it “How do you know Oakarn?”

“Old adventuring buddy from back in the day,” Kelly returned Nico’s book, flashing him a smile causing Nico’s face to flush and look away. “It sucks you human’s age so much, Nico.” Kelly patted him on the head.

“Well it's the nature of our lives so…” Nico started to become annoyed with Kelly, shrugging away from her hand.

“Right I know,” Nico saw real despair past the smile, he felt guilty she clearly was going through her own mind now. “Looks like we won't be able to get Adam back but we stand a good chance of saving Tamika if we can get her to your local church right away.”

“Really?” Nico suddenly looked up, but Kelly was still glum.

“Yeah, she's in a wagon not far from Oak’s place. I can’t believe he’s been here so long.” Kelly was still reminiscing. Nico had known that Oakarn had been a fixture of this community so he found it hard to believe he was an adventurer. Kelly noticed the look on the boy’s face and decided to maybe change tactics with winning over the young kid.

“Well why are you guys even here?” Nico more demanded than asked, his voice not annoyed or angry but clear.

“We need Oakarn’s help to free some slaves to the south of here,” Kelly confessed. “Specifically Adam’s parents and siblings but we plan on freeing them all in his name.”

“Oh,” Nico was generally surprised. “Would that mean I am coming with you then?”

“Ahh… Adam… We met Adam when he just finished his studies at the Imperial Academy for magic,” Kelly's eyes welled but her facial expressions didn’t change much. “Oak had suggested him when he left to the Autocracy for his own studies.”

Nico didn’t know that and was now silent as Kelly continued.

“Oak was raised by druids when we found him only stayed as part of the crew for a year but once you are with us we don’t forget.”

“And you are his charge aren’t you!” Kelly slapped Nico on the back, her armour giving arm weight and momentum though the woman was careful not to knock him over.

“I suppose I am,” Nico smiled now.

“What were you reading earlier?” Kelly asked

“Some old guys journal, cookbook and…” Nico thought for a moment. “And some really crazy theories about the outer planes.”

Kelly looked at Nico as if he was crazy.

“What's an outer plane?” Kelly fingers in quotations, making her look somewhat more curious and less so stoic.

“So I might not be doing the idea justice but from what this old elf wizard was saying that there are outer planes, like realms trapped in glass outside of this one.”

Nico looked towards the sky.

“It says that every star is potentially another plane, another realm like ours just different”

“Like there are other uss’?”

“No, like there are other realms, only one ‘us’ still I guess though one of them is supposedly the hells.” Nico said. Kelly grinned ear to ear.

“Guess I ain’t going to hell then… Ha!” Oakarn was just in ear shot enough to hear.

“I thought we were going back to the hut to study it,” Oakarn unceremoniously appeared. Nico then handed the book to Oakarn, he then gave it a read. Flipping through the pages as if he’d done thousands of times before he digested the book.

“Clever,” Oakarn muttered “This isn’t the real spellbook.”

“I figured that,” Nico smiled. “But why hide a book like that out there?”

“Clues to the real book Nico. My guess is that this wizard was really important and hid his book in the planes that you and I were talking about.” Kelly peered over Oakarn’s shoulder.

“Good theory,” Oakarn grinned. “The unfortunate part about that is that we might have to involve the Autocracy early.”

“Why is that?”

“Well the next few days I have to steal you for a kind of test I’m going to put you through and then these folks are going to pay for your schooling as my split of the loot.” Oakarn said, the group around now with ears perked with sounds of loot.

“Loot does sound good Oak,” Kelly stretched as she spoke, cracking knuckles and joints as she went.”Now take me to your priest!”

“Relax, she still has a day or two before she won't be able to be brought back.” Oakarn reassured her. The group spoke about loot and gold for the next few hours as they backtracked, and found their wagon. Ivalinna and Jatar then set about readying the small caravan. Rotkar pulled on the lead and hushed the horse pulling the caravan. The horse appeared to be a scarred grey mane that was tied into very neat braids. The light grey coat was covered in small nicks and some larger scars, the horse was a proud old creature. Nico marvelled at the history this horse must have as they headed to the village.

“So Oak,” Rotkar tied the horse to the post.“After this stint you want us to take the boy over The Endless Ocean to The Autocracy then?”

In the meantime Oakarn, Kelly, Rotkar and Nico made their way to the inn to settle into the group’s lodging and get a meal for them all to enjoy. Rotkar was a six foot six half orc and stood above the thatched doorways in the town, in spite of the eve his height was quite apparent.

“That is the plan, yes, but I need to get permission from Ada first-” Oakarn seemingly tried to say the name as if no one else would know her.

“Ada is here too!” Kelly dropped her tankard on the ground spilling drink everywhere.

“Yeah she met a nice lad and then…” Oakarn then looked at Nico.

“You’ve got to be shitting me…” Kelly’s jaw dropped, her words trailed off before finding their place once more.. “Thank the gods I have another few hundred years to figure that out, eh, friends?”

“Pleasant as always,” Rotkar said loudly, chewing through his chicken before continuing “Unfortunately for the lesser folk we don’t live as long as the fey.”

“There are too many lovely people in the world to just pick one,” Kelly confided, she blushed as she said so. “Oakarn for example was my first choice but he turned me down.”

“I have no interest in fathering my own children,” Oakarn retorted. “Magic is enough trouble and I'd hate to accidentally introduce someone I loved to a demon or three.”

This continued much farther into the night, and Nico had never really seen Oakarn interact with other people in the same way. He’d never even known Oakarn to drink ale, though he did know he could eat a ton. Much later Nico left with a full stomach and a new perspective of his mentor.