Author's Note: So as you can tell, I wasn't able to finish posting two chapters. I enjoyed writing this chapter since it helps to deepen the characters, instead of just focusing on MC. I hope that this chapter further helps you (the reader) get a sense of large this world is. Hopefully, I'm not getting over-confident with my writing.

I also want to thank those of you who are really into the writing. I greatly appreciate how you guys take the time to comment, especially when you see an error in my chapters. It's even better that you guys comment in a respectful manner, instead of just ripping on me concerning my writing.

Enjoy the new chapter!! :D

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The two of them had been walking for several days, following the stream. The weather continued to be agreeable as the sunlight filtered through the canopy layer. Though the moment was pleasant, neither of them talked much. While they walked, they would occasionally eat from the wild fruits on the various bushes. For some reason, this forest was seemed abundant with edible plant life. The berries tasted juicy and fresh, going great with the slightly sweet taste of the water. He also saw deer and rabbits periodically. How could such a beautiful forest have such dangerous creatures pass through? Luck was definitely on their side, considering how they didn’t run into anything dangerous.

Kendrolgo watched as the girl skipped over to another berry patch, eating strawberries while humming to herself. She seemed to be a mood, no longer the frightened girl he found in the cellar. He was happy that she was starting to look like a normal young girl, a couple of years younger than he was. Spending this time with her, she started to feel like a younger sister and he felt somewhat protective over her.

When she looked over at him, with a big smile on her face, he waved his hand signaling her to come over. She walked over to him and asked, “did you try those strawberries? They’re delicious and sweet!”

He could see that her teeth were stained red from the berries. The way she looked was so comical that he couldn’t help but laugh. Being infected by his laughter, the girl also started to laugh. Her laughter was so pure and innocent. “Have you remembered anything from before?” Kendrolgo asked her, being careful not to pry too deeply. Until now, he never brought up the subject of her life before meeting him.

The cheerful look slowly disappeared, as her memories brought back images of being in that cellar. “I don’t remember anything still. The last think I remember is being in the dark, and seeing you.” Her head tilted down, but her eyes looked up at him as she finished.

“I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories…” Kendrolgo responded, feeling a fool about talking such a sensitive subject. Looking up towards the sky he said to her, “I.. I just worry about you.” Rubbing the back of his neck, all he could do was just sigh. ‘What am I going to do with her.’ He thought to himself.

“Can we not talk about this anymore?” The girl asked, looking a little uncomfortable. She just stared at the ground, as she drew circles in the dirt with her toe and balancing on the other foot.

Rubbing her arm sympathetically, Kendrolgo said, “Well we’re going to have to give you a name. Since I don’t know your name, I feel like we should choose one. It’ll be easier and better than calling you ‘that girl’.” At the last part, he gently ruffled her head trying to cheer her up from her dark memories. “What do you think about the name Salena?” He asked.

Tilting her head, the girl seemed to mouth the name and getting a sense of what it felt like. After a while she smiled broadly and said, “I love it! Thank you, Kendrolgo!” She quickly gave him a tight hug. He returned the hug, and smiled.

“Well. Now that we have that settled, we should figure out what we’ll be doing.” He told her, with a serious voice. Selena let go of him, and tried to look serious for the situation. “We can’t just be in the forest all day. I don’t know about you, but my clothes are starting to get stinky. It’s been long time we found a proper place to sleep.”

With a puzzle expression, Selena asked, “But we don’t have any money. How are we going to find a place to stay?”

That was a pretty good point, considering that Kendrolgo only had the clothes on his back, two short swords, along with the dagger he received from Lady Jamelia from that time in the forest. Everything else he lost while trying to survive. He realized that they were homeless, with no place to go. On top of not having any money and shelter, Kendrolgo looked very different from the average person. The last thing they needed was for people to chase after them, and causing them harm. Looking down at Selena he simple said, “I’ll take care of everything.” He understood what he was going to have to do.

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The sun had set an hour or so ago and Kendrolgo started to see the end of the forest. Once he talked with Selena about their plans, he decided that they needed to walk away from the stream. Considering about their future, there were supplies he would need to gather in order to take care of himself and Selena.

As they stepped out of the forest there was a lone farmhouse, along with a barn house and everything else you would expect a farm to have. With his eyes, Kendrolgo could see the rising smoke from a fire coming out of the chimney. Looking at the windows and seeing no light, he could only presume that everyone inside of the farmhouse was asleep.

Lowering his head so it was next to Selena’s, he whispered to her, “You just stay here. I’m going to get us some supplies from that farm house.”

Looking at him, Selena simply asked, “Are you going to steal from them?” There was a little bit of worry in her voice.

“Are you bothered by that?” He asked, insinuating whether it was going to be an issue. Kendrolgo didn’t like the idea of doing anything that would make her think less of him, but in this situation what other choice did they have?

Without a word, Selena simply reached out and squeezed his hand, while shaking her head. The feeling of her hand was warm and reassuring, compared to his cold hands. With just this simple gesture, she was able to convey her understanding about the situation and that she was okay with whatever he did.

After gently kissing her head, Kendrolgo began his quiet run towards the farm house. While running, he cloaked himself in the shadows and resolved his mind to the task at hand. He was as quiet as a gentle breeze, the way he ran and upon reaching the house he tried to figure out his next step. Walking around the farm house he could see that it was a typical two story house. By the number of windows on the second floor, there were likely four rooms. He assumed that this mean that is was a family of five. There was a window for each room, with an additional one for the hallway. In the summer time, the second floor would likely get hot, so the window could be opened to improve circulation of cool air. On the first floor, the house had two doors, a front and a back, and several windows around it. He could see the living area, dining area, and kitchen, with each one separated by a wall but with a doorway. The stairway was immediately to the left of the front entrance. He could only see the first couple of steps, before it lead right going up to the second floor. The wall blocked him from seeing the rest of it. It looked pretty humble, especially all the way out here away from the main road. There was a dirt road leading ways from the house, and likely connected to the main road.

Quietly, Kendrolgo walked on to the front porch. He went to the window on the right side of the door, and saw that it was the kind that swung out with the hinges on the right side. With the dagger he gently started to lever the window open. Keeping his right hand on the window he was able to make sure that the thing wouldn’t just pop open, making too much noise. The more he rocked the dagger, the more he was able to push it deeper into the opening he was making. The window was latched, but the latched was nailed into the window so with enough time he would be able to loosen the latch. Each rocking motion, of the dagger, started to compress the wood, until he was finally able to push the dagger all the way into the space. He could hear the slight rattling of the latch as the nails were pulled halfway out of their original position. Lifting the dagger, the latch came unlocked and he was able to open the window. There was no noise from opening the window, leading him to think that they properly oiled or greased the hinges. He silently thanked the family for being so diligent in their daily chores. With the house neat and organized, confirming that this was in fact a family, he was able to easily navigate through the living area. He tried to guess where the family would keep all their valuables. Usually the valuables would be in the parent’s bedroom, probably the same place they keep their clothes. If he were this family, he would also have a second place in case someone snuck in their house. The bedroom would have enough to dissuade the thief from looking further, convinced that he had accomplished his goal. ‘I would keep a second place, where if I were in a hurry I could grab the items quickly.’ He thought to himself. Nothing really stuck out at him, so he lifted his foot and quickly stomped the floor. It was fast and hard enough where it wouldn’t wake anyone up, but let him hear the gentle rattling of a loose floorboard. Seeing that the sound came from underneath the backless padded bench, he walked over and got on his knees and felt underneath the bench. After feeling several floorboards, he found one that wasn’t nailed down. Removing the floorboard, he reached into the hidden compartment and pulled out a small box. Inside of the box was a variety of coins of differing sizes. There were a lot of copper pennies, several silver coins of varying sizes, and a gold coin. If he remembered what his step-father told him that fifty copper pennies equaled a small silver coin; then ten small silver coins equaled a medium silver coin; twenty medium coins equaled a large silver coin; and five large silver coins equaled a gold coin. He lucked out with finding a gold coin, considering only merchants carried gold coins and they were fairly rare for a farmer. This meant that the home he snuck into belong to a very well off family. With just these coins, he would be able to look after Selena for a decent amount of time before they would have to think of a new plan. Taking the box with him, he went through the doorway across the main entrance into the kitchen. Using his dagger cut a square cloth from one of the plain aprons. Using some of the cooking twine, he made a makeshift purse to hold the coins. Leaving the box on the sink counter, he quickly rushed out of the home not bothering to look anywhere else since he found enough in the hidden cubby.

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Getting back to where Selena was waiting for him, he shrugged off the shadows and made her jump when he suddenly appeared. “Sorry about that.” He apologized to her.

After getting over being surprised, Selena ran over to him and gave him a hug.

“I’m okay. Were you worried about me?” he asked her, while he stroked her head. She nodded her head, her forehead rubbing against his chest. Putting his hands on her shoulders, he gently pushed her from him and looked down at her. “I want to be honest with you. If you’re going to be traveling with me, I don’t want to hide things that way you can make your own decisions.” He told her gently. After she nodded her head, letting him know that she understood him and knew how serious it was.

Waiting a couple of more seconds, to let it sink in, he then said, “You probably guessed that I’m different from other people. My mother was human, but my father was a demon. This is why my eyes are different, and how I’m able to do things that other people are unable to do.”

Selena looked at him and smiled. “I knew that there was something different about you. I knew the moment I first saw you.” She took his hands into hers, and said, “You saved me. If you hadn’t shown up when you did, I don’t know what would have happened to me. I just want to stay by your side.”

Kendrolgo felt a sense of relief by her reply. “Inside the house, I was able to find enough money to last us for a little while,” He said to her, showing her the purse. “I know it’s wrong to take what doesn’t belong to us, but I think that our circumstance allows for this type of action. I hope you don’t judge me too harshly, given the situation we are in.” His voice slightly wavered, showing how worried he was about what she would think. “If you still want to join me, I will make sure that you’re safe”

“I believe in you. I don’t care about whether you’re human, or whatever methods you have to use. I support you, as you support me.” She reassured him. Her facial expression let him know her sincerity. Selena was saying what she said in superficial manner of understanding, but in a way that let him know that she really meant was she said. Holding his hand, her hands felt strong and confident, adding to her words.

Glancing back to the farmhouse, Kendrolgo released his right hand and pointed at the dirt road, though he didn’t know if she could even see it with just the moonlight lighting up the area. “We’ll be going down that dirt road, and meet the main road. From there, we can head to the next village or town. It looks like you’ll have to sleep outside more. I don’t know how far it’ll be.” He told her feeling a bit dejected. Kendrolgo didn’t like the idea of her sleeping outside anymore. She needed to sleep in a proper bed, under a roof. Releasing his other hand from hers, he placed it on her back and motioned for her to head towards the dirt road.

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Jamelia walked beside May, as they headed towards the Priestess. Inside of the temple was calm and relaxed, everyone walked with a purpose. The temple was set up as a rectangle inside of a hollow rectangle. On the outer part of the inner rectangle, there was a stairway that spiraled up. As people went up the staircase, they would reach each of the levels. There were three main parts of the temple; the only way to reach each part was by using the stairway. Part one of the temple was dedicated to those in training, and those not of the order. Part two of the temple was for initiates of the Order. Part three was dedicated to full-fledged Ladies of Grace. With the stairway designed the way it was, it provided a strategic advantage if the temple were to be preached by outside forces. Before reaching each of the main parts, you would need to pass through checkpoints guarded by those belonging to the main military strength of the Order. The main army was simply called The Sword, and it was filled with highly trained soldiers. Each individual soldier would never be able to stand up against a full-fledged Lady, but they would be able to handle, together, anything that threatened the Order and the Order’s mission.

“Amela had gone with you, correct?” May asked Jamelia, glancing at her. They walked down the hall at a relatively fast pace, needing to inform the Priestess about the rise in Daemonis activity.

Looking at her, Jamelia simple responded by saying, “that is correct.” Jamelia was never one for small talk, especially when the other person already knew the answer.

The two of them reached the top level of the Temple, which belonged to the Priestess. Approaching the guards on either side of the doorway, they nodded at them as the guards opened the massive doors. Beyond the doorway was a long corridor, with ornate lanterns lining the walls. The majestic appearance of the corridor would impress anyone, and create a sense of wonder about the power of the Lord Grace. At the end of the corridor, Jamelia could see large oak tables, on either side of the entrance to the Priestess’s office, and sitting at the table were two Ladies wearing blue robes. These two were the personal assistant to the Priestess, making sure to keep her appointments and duties current. The Lady on the left stood up and walked to greet the two of them.

“Welcome back, Jamelia.” The woman spoke to her. She was very tall, and stood a head above her own.

“I’m happy to see you again, Lelia” Jamelia said back to Lelia. Lelia was a kind woman, who many thought of as very attractive. There were many rumors about how Lelia once belonged to a noble family, considering she presented an air of nobility. Lelia was a Meldoian, a kingdom east of the local Temple. It was a kingdom with a large port that traded with kingdoms all throughout the land and those across the sea.

“We are here to speak with the Priestess, on a major of most importance.” May interjected on their conversation.

May was never one to be patient with others, especially if she was not the one leading it. She never enjoyed being left out of a conversation. Jamelia looked at May and nodded her agreement. Though she enjoyed speaking to Lelia, she knew that they had to speak to the Priestess with all due haste. “May is correct. Is the Priestess available for us to speak to?” Jamelia gently asked Lelia.

Lelia nodded her head, affirming that the Priestess was available to see them. She walked toward the door and opened one side, and motioned for them to enter. Bowing her head, Lelia said, “Priestess, both Jamelia and May are here to see you. They say the matter is dire and must be presented to you.” As the two of them walked into the room, Lelia gently closed the door.

“Ah! Jamelia! It’s nice to see you, once again. It has been too long.” Illiana exclaimed excitedly, standing up to greet them. Illiana was always an honest woman. She embraced the ideas of the Order, and did a wonderful job at getting the temple to interact with the surrounding area.

“Priestess, it’s a pleasure to see you again. I look forward to your guidance, and wisdom, once again.” Jamelia said to her, gracefully bowing. When she looked up her face expression was grave. “I apologize on cutting short on ceremony, but we have come to tell you about the organizing of the Daemonises. There has been an increase in the number of packs appearing in the area. This is very unusual, as you already know. We had come across a village where we were collecting the names of those of age, when I had an encounter with a Daemonis, outside of the village. Later, a pack of Daemonises attacked the village and razed it to the ground. I was forced to flee with Amela, a candidate, and a young lad. As we fled, we encountered several packs, and while Amela and I were able to make it, through we lost sight of the two children. We were fortunate with meeting the candidate back in town, but the boy had fought off the chasing pack and allowed the candidate to reach the town safely. I don’t know what to make about this occurrence. If it wasn’t for certain circumstance, we would have been here sooner.”

Illiana took a deep breath and sat slowly back down. Placing her hands on top of the table, there was a look of concentration on her face. Looking up at the two of them, she said, “The two of you need to sit down. We have a lot to talk about.”