Author's corner: So...

The character I introduce today... was long planned out but I did not intend for the character to be female... However... I recently lost someone extremely dear to me and made the character in memory of her. This was one of her last requests to me as she was the biggest fan of my novels.

I hope you guys enjoy the chapter & character.

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Just as Iza wanted to whisper in Zaran's ear, Zaran's spoke up in a cold tone. "Yes miss Iza?"

Startled Iza stumbled backwards and revealed a shocked expression. She was sure he hadn't heard her so how did he know. She had been so careful and was still caught.

"Ah... eh... I just wanted to say that the other party has agreed to meet you. Coincidentally the buyer was from this area itself. We have already set up a meeting room and provided some beverages and some food for the two of you. If you would please follow me." Iza said with a flushed face.

Zaran chuckled and followed Iza to the meeting room. A short while later Iza stopped in front of a door made out of red wood where another attendant was already waiting. "This is the meeting room. Once you are finished with your business I shall be waiting here for you."

Nodding, Zaran quickly opened the door and closed it behind him. The meeting room was a small square room with beige walls, a black carpet that covered the entire floor and just enough space to hold a table for beverages and food, another table with four chairs and a small white two person couch.

On the small white couch sat an adorable petite woman with fox ears and a fox tail. She had a sculpted figure that was twine-thin and a bust that wasn't more than a b-cup. Her long tight gothic dress showed a waist that was ever so slightly hourglass shaped. She had a rosy and fine face, with cute ears, a delicate straight nose with a tip that face slightly upwards and a small mouth with thin strawberry sweet lips. Her large green eyes sparkled like stars at night and her titian-red hair fell slightly below her shoulder blades with a fringe that reached just above her eyebrows.

Seeing Zaran enter, a blissful smile appeared on her face making her seem all the more attractive.

"Greetings, as you are aware I am Zaran Karaz, and who might you be?" Zaran politely said as he extended his hand towards the attractive woman.

The petite fox girl giggled and grabbed Zaran's hand, her sharp elongated nails slightly pressing into his skin and blissfully chimed "Florance Delayni, ~ pleased to meet you again Zaran. It has been FAR too long ~."

Zaran felt like he had been struck by thunder. This demeanour, that blissful tone... It was exactly like the woman he loved countless millennia ago. His heartbeat sped up and feelings long suppressed surfaced again.

"Flo..." Zaran stammered before he quickly stepped forward, pulled Florance close and wrapped his arms around her, firmly embracing the petite fox who only reached up to his chest. It had been so many lifetimes since the time the two of them had been lovers and still the feelings that he once had for her hadn't left him.

"MMhnnnmm" Florance let out a content moan and snuggled herself deeper into Zaran's embrace. A few minutes passed while Florance rested in his arms, extremely unwilling to let Zaran go again, fearful of losing him once more.

Five more minutes passed before Zaran gently whispered. "Hey Flo... how did you know it was me selling the tomes?"

"I saw you enter the auction house and sell those tomes... after everyone started talking about this Zaran Karaz and dance of the butterfly I knew it was really really really really you.... but I wasn't sure it was you because there was no clear picture of you... so at first I didn't dare ask... then when I got the courage to do so... I could no longer find you... I remembered the tomes and made sure to win the auction of either one with that nickname. I knew you would want to meet me if I chose such a name..." she murmured, her voice muffled because of her face's closeness to Zaran's chest.

"Silly girl... you should have just called out to me." Zaran said in a hushed voice filled with emotion before reaching down and kissing Florance on the top of her head. Reluctantly Zaran let go of her.

"Zaran?" Florance uttered in a weak voice.

"We can't stay here like this..."

Florance sent a friend request and party inventory before reluctantly letting him go and replying "ah..uh... yeah..." with a flushed face. "I am glad you still remember me."

"How could I ever forget the one I loved the most?" Zaran whispered, accepting both the friend request and party invite in the meantime. "Although your face has long since disappeared from my memory... what I felt has never been forgotten."

"Yeah.. same. Faces are so easily forgotten. It's only feelings and memories that remain... But even those tend to grow dimmer and dimmer if not remembered often... if not remembered they turn into fragments, fragments turn into shards, shards into specks until you get this gnawing feeling that there's something you should remember but just... can't!" Florance whispered with a tone that grew gloomier and gloomier. "How much of what defines me have I forgotten over the years..."

Zaran remained silent as Florance spoke as he did not have the same problem. Still he frowned ever so slightly as most of the memories he found important had stayed with very little having been forgotten. The sheer amount of information that he had at his whim should be impossible to be contained in a single human brain. So how could he remember so much? This was a question he had asked himself many times before and which greatly intrigued him. Still the thing he found the most intriguing at the moment was not this... but what Florance had just said... why did she speak as if she had forgotten nearly everything? They were both scions under Isis and even though Zaran was far from unintelligent, Florance had been a very clever woman with a mind that far surpassed his. So why did she say she had forgotten a lot? Nevertheless he couldn't talk much about it because he feared for her reaction once she found out that, safe faces, he had barely forgotten anything of significance at all.

"Hey now, at least you have not forgotten about me." Zaran said as he gently lifted her chin up with his right hand and tenderly kissed her lips.

Florance's face flushed red at the suddenness of the kiss.

"Let's switch places, we should talk elsewhere." Zaran mumbled.

"uhn. As long as you let me stay with you ~." Florance said in a shy tone.

The two of them walked out of the meeting room hand in hand, causing Iza and the other attendant to be very surprised. Iza's expression was so confused that she suddenly looked as if she had lost her mind.

Seeing Iza's expression Zaran chuckled and said. "I must thank you for setting up a meeting with Florance. We were lovers once but were separated due to events that were not in our hands."

"That's wonderful! Congratulations to you both!" Iza said with a warm smile.

Zaran nodded and said. "Our business at the auction house is done as well so we must bid you farewell."

The two attendants guided the couple to the exit and said their goodbyes.

Zaran and Florance walked through the bustling streets of Virul. Two hours quickly past as they talked about what happened since the last time two met, their current lives and recent in-game events. The usual cold and rather expressionless look that Zaran had softened upon gazing at Florance and was exchanged with one filled with love instead. Even though he was born crippled causing him to be unable to practice martial arts and on top of that was unable to cultivate... just meeting both Nuvahn and especially Florance again made this life a million times more interesting than most of his others combined.

"Hey Flo, I need to tell you something important." Zaran suddenly whispered, making absolutely sure that she was the only one who could hear him. "This game will be the stage for the Battlefield of the Gods."

Shock and horror filled FLorance's face. "You are serious?"

"Isis told me so herself thus I am certain it is the truth." Zaran said. "Akhuath is already making moves."

A pensive expression appeared on Florance face. "We need to set up a mercenary guild. Like... right now." Florance said with a firm tone. "You will be the guild leader, with your current status as an expert we will be able to draw other experts in and on top of that we might find more people like us. As for the recruiting... for now leave it to me. Come, let us register one right now!"

"Eh... sure... lead the way." Zaran mumbled. He had not thought of creating a mercenary guild even though it was a rather obvious move. It would allow them to at all times have a group of people to play with and would allow them to quickly pool resources to grown in power.

A few moments later they arrived at the mercenary guild registration building. Florance quickly went up to the front desk and said with a cheerful smile "Could we have a guild registration form please?"

The clerk at the front desk swiftly procured one of the forms and handed it to Florance. Florance filled in all the required information and then turned to Zaran for the most important thing... the guild's name.

"What do you think the guild's name should be?" Florance asked.

Zaran pondered for a moment before replying. "Reign."

Florance cocked her head for a moment thinking about the name before nodding. "Short, powerfull, easy to remember... Good name!" She penned down the name on the form and handed it over to the clerk.

"There is a 1000 gold registration fee." the clerk said as he accepted the form.

"Ah.. eh.. Zaran could you pay?" Florance said with a wry smile. Buying the tome had depleted nearly all her monetary reserves, causing her to be unable to pay the guild registration fee.

Zaran chuckled and handed the clerk a thousand gold.

"Just a moment, I shall now register your mercenary guild!" The clerk politely said before turning around and going into a nearby room.

A few minutes later the clerk came back and handed Zaran Florance a gold badge inscribed with the word reign in capital letters.

"This badge serves as recognition that your guild has been recognized by the Mercenary Guild Association. With this the registration is complete. May your guild grow and prosper." The clerk politely said.

Zaran and Florance left the mercenary guild registration building. "What next?" Zaran asked.

"Well, first of all we need to design a logo for the guild, create an application form and then I will have to go set up a forum post to let people know that we have made a guild." Florance said. "So I will probably be busy for a while. Do you have anything you need to do? If you do we I can come find you when I am done?"

"I was planning on reforging my gear. My blacksmith teacher's forge is in a pretty secluded location and I am the only apprentice I know off so it might be a suitable place for you too?" Zaran said.

"mmHmm I will follow you then!"

Zaran nodded and the two made their way to Eoric's smithy. Zaran briskly entered the smithy and cleared one of the workbenches for Florance's use. Taking out a pile of paper and a few pencils with different thickness, Florance got to work on the guild's tag.

Seeing that Florance had already started working on the guild tag, Zaran quickly changed himself into his old gear so he would not dirty his suit and fired up the forge.