Elves can be divided into two groups even though there are many subraces of elves. The Light Elves tend to live within the forests, building both grand and simple dwellings. They have a monarchy though the royal family has no right to rule but is chosen to do so. The Dark Elves however tend to live in the darker environments of caves and stone cities rather than wood. They are matriarchal with the strongest family of any group acting as the leader. They are far more warlike than their lighter cousins, often raiding and enslaving their neighbors. Neither group has sided with the demonic hordes though some subgroups have.

Ragnor

A few days have passed since Kylana humiliated me in front of our daughter. She should never have done that, I’m the alpha male. I’m supposed to be the symbol of strength to the pack.

Now I have to get stronger and show everyone I really am at the top. I left the pack's village yesterday on an extended hunt to do just that.

As dusk falls and the waning moon rises behind me I come to my destination, a hut on the border between the Forest of Daerth and the Althaen Kingdom of Sacred Ashes. I found this place as a youth and I know that the man inside can give me anything if I pay them what they ask for.

Since they are why I’ve the strength of two wolves, they should be able to give me the strength to defeat Kylana. I don’t know what they’ll ask for but I won’t stand being weaker than her again. Never again.

I knock on the door and it creeks open. Within is a small single room with a table and the basics for a hermit's lifestyle. A candle burning on the table even though the old hermit is missing. That means he is in the basement. I walk to the southern corner and lift up the hide of some deer that is set to look like it is bedding and climb down the ladder.

“Ragnor, I knew that one day you would return” calls out a voice and I turn around.

“Do you already know what I want?” I ask while looking on the old man dressed as a member of the clergy for the Holy One.

I don’t know if the man really is a member of the clergy of that god but he does have connections to the Church of the Holy One. Why else would he be wearing all the trappings of their order?

“Of course, I do. You want more strength, to be even greater but what are you willing to give up for it? Nothing can be gained without sacrifice as the Holy One teaches” the clergyman says as he puts away a book.

I glance around the room, there is little of note aside from a bookshelf, blood-stained table and a prisoner in a cage before I answer, “what do you want from me?”

The man smiles, “that all depends on how much strength you wish to gain. Is it your mate or your daughter that has rekindled your thirst for power?”

“How does that matter?” I ask annoyed not noticing that he should not know of them.

“Your daughter’s innate potential is far greater than your own. The price for you to eclipse what she will be is far more costly than your mate.”

“What do you want?” I ask without answering.

“The Order of the Silver Blade has been restless and as you know that I need werewolf blood to strengthen you it should be obvious. . .”

I look at him not sure just what it is that he is asking for as an odd tingle begins to form in the back of my head.

He sighs and then speaks “Give me the location and time for me to have your village raided. A time when you and a few others will not be there during a new moon.”

I frown, this is much more than what he wanted last time. Just a few of the other hunters, they were going to die anyways during their trial so it didn’t seem like much. No, that would be betraying the pack but . . .

“I don’t know, how does more strength cost so much?” I ask as tinge of pain jars my thoughts, a remnant of my spar no doubt.

“It is harder to empower a strong individual using those who have lower potential. Age also makes things more difficult but with enough materials anything is possible” he says with a grin and I feel the slightest of tingles in my mind.

I want to do this. I need power, I deserve it and they owe me.

Tynar Vithrá

I smile as the fool of a werewolf falls to his greed and a tiny bit of mind magic. This creature’s foolishness will not increase his might but rather my own and the Church of the Holy One. I grin as he tells me that the best time to come though I really only need the location of the village.

Any new moon would work but I’ll need time to get my superior to convince his colleagues for the attack. It shouldn’t take too long, after all they are called Bloodclaw because of the magic that is passed down among them. I'll have to make some antimagic crystals for their blades too. . .

Ragnor departs with a slight mental nudge from my Charm and Sugestion spells before I turn back to the slave in my cage. The young girl is a draconian, though I haven’t been able to figure out her dragon ancestor. Her ability to resist magic is high but she seems susceptible to physical restraints and antimagic.

Perhaps there is something other than a dragon’s blood in her?

Bryan

After over a week on the road with Mr Babysitter as Tomas has decided to call sir Brightblade since he literally allows us to do nothing but walk and sleep since our travel has started.

I shift uncomfortably on the log that is my seat before the campfire as I eat what I can of my meal before it is decided that the meal is over by Brightblade. As tired as I am, I am hungrier and we are never given enough time to eat.

“Any plans on how to get rid of Brightblade?” Tomas asks.

“The only thing I can think of is to backstab during the cleansing of the graveyard” Adrian answers quiet enough that he can’t be heard while blocking the sight of his mouth.

Our only opportunity to talk is during meals with that same manner.

“The time of meals has passed” Brightblade shouts over the camp. It’s been maybe thirty minutes since he was served though we have only had ten to eat ourselves.

Several of the soldiers grumble but there is nothing any of us can do. The knight is too strong for any of us to fight and even if we did there is nowhere for us to go.

“You may rest until dawn” the knight says as if it were some great blessing.

Dawn is only six hours away and I’ll need every bit of sleep do I quickly collapse on the blanket that is my assigned location.

Gain: Body Building +5 XP, +5 XP Meditation Bryan Grace Gender: Male Race: Human Age:17 Strength 16 Intelligence 14 Mana Potential 10 Skills SP: 115 Dexterity 13 Wisdom 15 Mana Potency 13 Languages Titles Agility 12 Cunning 14 Luck 12 Traits Options Vitality 13 Willpower 14 Perception 11 Magic Endurance 12 Alertness12 Classes Racial Classes Appearance 12 Charisma 13 Health 135/135 Mana 10/10

It has been difficult to get much of anything done during the slow walk that Brightblade has us keep. I should be trying to get stronger but I don’t know how.

With a mental yawn, I fall fully asleep.

When I wake in the morning it is to a cold bucket of water dumped on my head by someone who has very quickly risen to the top of my least liked individual list. I didn’t even have one before meeting him and all I can do is glare.

“The first light of dawn shines on the nearby hills. You must arise early least ye become slothful” the man states already in his plate and I can do nothing but gather my things for the slow walk of the day.

Adrian walks up to me and whispers, “I’m going to try something. Do not react to it.”

I make the slightest of nods before he extends his hand to help me up. I grab it and something feels off for an instant. My stomach growls but my fatigue is gone.

“How?” I whisper but he does not answer.

I can only guess that Adrian figured out how to do more magic and there is no magic I would rather him have right now than this one, except for maybe a way to disintegrate Brightblade.

Adrian

More than another week has passed before we finally arrive at our destination, a relatively small village bordering a large graveyard. The sun is blocked by clouds and there is a chill on the wind, one that bites deeper than it should. Something is wrong in the area.

“Fear not my charges, this foul wind cannot harm us. Porter! Open the gates!” my least favored man in plate shouts.

There is no response from the wooden walls of the small town. Only an eerie wind blows over us as we stand in the road before the front gate, the graveyard we are to clear on the other side of the village yet still within the walls. I take a breath and focus, trying to feel what is different in the pattern of reality here. Something has gone terribly wrong here and I do not want to be caught unawares.

As my will stretches outwards and passes over my nearby surroundings. On a thematic hunch I focus on the Sphere of Death, after all what else would be in a monster infested graveyard? The light eerie feeling that I was already feeling become stronger and sharper. Clusters of decay and a dark force appear before my mind’s eye.

There are a lot of rotting things on the other side of the wall. I haven’t seen that dark force before but it has to be connected with death. It feels similar to lifeforce in the Sphere of Life but more like it was the inverse. Negative Energy? Or is it that there was simply a lot of death recently?

Brightblade motions some of the soldiers to approach the wooden gate. With a push, the gate opens while the sound of breaking wood fills our ears. The wooden gate was weakened by dry rot, how long as they put off dealing with whatever problem is here?

“Form squads of four and search for survivors” Brightblade shouts out without batting an eye as if he either does not care that the village is dead or he already knew what we would find here. Is that why he took his time? Killing whatever caused this in revenge is easier than rescuing the villager. . .

No, he is one of those 'holier than thou' types of knights. I think he truly believes all of the stuff he has been forcing upon us. I glance to my friends and quickly join with them, the soldiers may be better trained but none of us want to deal with them over each other.

The soldiers all get into small diamond formations as they begin to move down the central street and search the homes. We likewise do the same though I take the lead to bring us towards the graveyard itself.

“Leading us towards the best loot?” Tomas asks with a smile.

“The graveyard itself is the source of whatever killed the village” I state not fully answering his question, in truth I wanted to get away from Brightblade and if we are going to find anything important it will be there.

“Five bucks on undead” Bryan says.

“Not fair, it’s obviously going to be undead” Tomas comments.

“He’s right Bryan. We all know it’ll be undead, all the signs are here. Eerie wind, advanced signs of decay where they shouldn’t be, there’s even a seemingly unnatural overcast” I interject.

“We’re safe right?” Abagail asks.

“As much as we can be. Adrian made sure we all have some alchemical fire and a few healing potions” Bryan answers her.

Unless we run into something more than a few basic skeletons and zombies we should be fine. At least unless the demonic taint mentioned on that piece of paper is real anyways. You need magical weapons to fight even the smallest demon and I am unsure if my reality bending magic can count as magical fire or lightning.

I hear a shout behind us and something breaking or maybe that was a clash of metal. One of the squads of soldiers must have gotten into a fight with something. Can I assume that the dark force is negative energy now that I have reasonable evidence of undead?

We do not however stop and turn around to go help the soldiers fight whatever it is that they have encountered. After all, our goal here is to get away from them and Brightblade.

Just before we turn a corner I say, “I think something will be there waiting for us.”

We turn the corner with swords drawn while Abagail has a crossbow readied. My guess was right as there is a corpse standing before us with a rusted blade and tattered cloth. Several cuts already on the corpse leaving no doubt that it is dead. A crossbow quarrel slams into the chest of the corpse to little effect.