"I hope you are not to worn out from last night?" The old elf does look surprised by my sudden question. "Is she always that...forceful?" He doesn't seem certain if he has worded his question right, but I know very well where he is coming from. "Even though she is not one of my wives, she never gave me any choice." The elf looks relieved that Nadi is not one of my wives. This conversation would have been infinitely more awkward if she was, even with this worlds interpretation of marriage.

"Can't say I am unhappy with it though. Elven men often talk about what it would be like to be with a human woman." Guess it could be a side effect of human men clearly being fond of elven women. Would it be appropriate to ask more about this? Even I find myself looking around to see if the girls have come back from the lake. It is too early still. I would have joined them for their morning bath but relented due to Eli. I have already shortened her name as her full name is just a bit too much of a mouthful for me. Eli doesn't seem to mind.

My curiosity wins out. "So, how do they compare? I mean Nadi and freeborn elven women." I get the impression from his grin that he was just waiting for me to ask. "Of course I can only compare with Nadi as I have never before been with another human woman despite my age. I get the impression she is far more forceful than most human women, but with your experience would you say she is any more passionate than the average human woman." With four wives I don't need much time to think for this one. "I wouldn't call her passionate by my standards." "I would. She is a lot more passionate than most freeborn elven women as they can be very prudish. The freed elven slaves are a quite passionate at the start, but it seems they are quickly taught the right way by their freeborn counterparts."

Prudish elven women? None of the elven slaves I have stolen a glance at have seemed prudish to me. Must be a cultural thing. "Good thing you are happy about it, because as far as I am concerned you are doing me a favor. Just don't let her upset those injuries of yours." Come to think of it, how did he get so injured? I checked out his level when I first met him, and was surprised to find that his level 33 is much higher than most hunters back at Lagos.

A high level is usually directly proportional to the risks you have taken and survived. The old elf must have seen a fair share of danger throughout his long life, but unlike hunters who want to grow stronger at any cost, elves are just trying to survive, and will likely only take risks if they have to. Growing old while living in the wilderness, it must be unavoidable to grow stronger.

The old elf has no trouble explaining how he managed to get injured fighting a horned bear that should have been an easy kill for him. Between his spear breaking and a foolish youthful attack by his young and far lower leveled charge, it just seems to have been bad luck. It is healthy reminder to me that even though the life-force leveling me up is making me feel invincible, I am far from immortal and death can happen to anyone.

"It was not my intention to get injured instead of Elianiar, as on her own she would struggle to survive. She is my sister's granddaughter so I might have gone a bit overboard trying to stop her from getting killed." Granddaughter, there is more than 180 years between them, wonder where the age gap is biggest. "So what were the two of you doing here?" Wonder how far I can go before he suspect me to have an agenda. "We came to scout for a possible new home for our clan." Lets see how much he trusts me. "What are you criteria?" The old elf looks thoughtful, but not suspicious of me. "Safety. Both from dragons and from dragon slayers."

Well this part of the wilderness should be a perfect fit. For some reason there are no dragons this far south, and dragon slayers go where there are dragons. High ranked hunters tend to move to the northern guilds as the next challenge for them is to become a dragon slayer and join the elite class of the guild's hunters. If there are more elven warriors as strong as this elf in the clan, they should be able to deal with any aggression from southern hunters.

"No dragons this far south, not sure why though." I am trying to fish out of the old elf the reason why dragons don't go further south. No one at the guild seems to know. "I suspect human knowledge of this is a bit scares since it was so long ago. The reason there are no dragons this far south, is because of the southern dragon king." I remember hearing a rumor at the guild that dragon kings are considered the apex of the apex predator. No human in history has ever killed a dragon king. Not sure what makes a dragon a king though. Does it have subjects?

As the conversation progresses the old elf reveals to have a substantial amount of knowledge about the early human kingdoms and the start of the Hunter's Guild despite not being human. Also, turns out that a dragon king is just a very old and very powerful dragon. No dragon subjects. The southern dragon king is supposedly the youngest of all the known dragon kings, but he was classed as a dragon king as he is likely as powerful as the older dragon kings. Not an easy thing to measure, but this dragon was apparently known for being a very vicious dragon, killing countless hunters and also many dragons.

Dragons fight a lot for dominance, but it rarely ends up in one killing another. They just fight until one submits. The southern dragon king got his power not from a long life, but from continuously killing both humans and dragons until his life-force rivaled a dragon king. Dragons with their long life seem to remember him well, and warn their youngsters from going too far south. That being said, he hasn't been active for many hundreds of years, but who knows when he will wake from his slumber and raze a kingdom or two.

I share as much information with the old elf as I know about hunter habits this far south. Hunters rarely venture west of the mountains, and if they do, it tends to be further south due to a seemingly higher number of larger monsters in the north than in the south. "I might know the reason for this." The elf seems to know something about the migration patterns of monsters. It would seem that the monster trail I discovered when I first came to this world is known to him as well. "Larger monsters are the main stable food of larger active dragons, which means that some beasts migrate south to avoid them. The naturally formed monster trail is a sign of a migration pattern."

As the elf is talking the girls return noticeably upset. "There is a large flying monster approaching from the south of the lake." Elianiar is speaking for the girls. With her enhance eyesight she must have spotted it first. "Dragon?" My question is directed at the old elf. "Coming from the south it is unlikely. Most likely a fully grown wyvern. Just a flying lizard." Just a flying lizard, isn't that what a dragon is?

As we run to the lake, the old elf explains. "Wyvern are common, probably a lot more common than they used to be. Their only natural enemy are dragons after all." What I really want to know is if arrows can hurt it. Are they as useless as they are against dragons? "Don't worry, a well placed arrow can ground a wyvern at least temporarily. Just depends on its size." As we approach the lake I try using the new skill I got at the archer tournament. The main ability of the magic eye skill is to designate and lock onto a target. A bit like a computerized targeting system, just fully integrated into my brain. Very handy skill for an archer, but with my current low level, I can only maintain it for a few short seconds.

With the skill I spot the wyvern almost immediately. The elf seems impressed by how quickly I spotted it. "That is a very large wyvern." I am not reassured by the elf's comment. "Can it be killed?" "Sure, just need to ground it first. Aim for the arm joints near the body." Makes sense the huge wingspan of the wyvern is guided by its long slim arms. Hard to say, but it doesn't look a lot smaller than the two dragons I saw fighting when I first arrived.

I set off at a sprint in a direction that should head off the beast. By intermittently using my magic eye skill I am able to correct my heading, and eventually find myself within bowshot of the wyvern. Standing atop a rock on a height reaching above most of the trees I have the perfect spot to fire from, but it will still be one of the hardest shots I have ever had to make. Using every skill I have I fire three arrows in quick succession aiming for the right armpit of the wyvern. One of the arrows hit its mark, but it looks shallow.

Despite the shallow wound the wyvern tumble to the ground clearly in pain from the accurate shot. I note its decent and sprint towards it. Need to finish it off before it get back off the ground. As I approach the designated fall point, I see the large lizard impact the trees cushioning its fall somewhat, but it continues to fall towards the ground. I expect a heavy collision but its body hits the ground without making much impact.

Launching out of foliage I summon my battle axe and bring it down on its neck with every ounce of strength that I have. The head and a portion of the neck comes clean off. Its skin was clearly not meant to protect it from an axe. Looking more closely, its body looks a lot smaller than I initially thought. The wingspan gave the impression that it was a lot bigger at the first impression. Its body is still larger than any lizard I have ever heard of with the exception being dragons. It is slim and light. There does not seem a be any excess weight on its body.

The only thing of any weight that seems excessive is its massive leg claws. They are clearly meant for hunting, and could easily decapitate a man. The old elf left that part out. "Nice set of claws you got there." I am surprised by the sudden appearance of the old elf. I guess I shouldn't be, this wilderness is more his home than it ever was mine. "I was just thinking how slim it is." It is half meant as a question as I suspect the elf knows a lot more. "Wyverns don't use magic to fly like dragons, they use physical strength. To be able to do that they need to be light, slim with a lot of muscle and have a significant wingspan for their actual size."

The elf summary nicely confirms my own impression, but the elf sure knows a lot about flight. Given different circumstances he could have been a regular Wright brother. "You mentioned dragons use magic to fly, but I have also heard that dragon scales repels magic. How is that possible?" The elf looks at me knowingly. "That is a very good point. Even elves have not figured out how a dragon use magic to fly, but anyone can tell that they are clearly too heavy to fly through normal means. That being said I some times wonder if the old elves knew, but the knowledge was lost with time."

"When you refer to the old elves, I take it you refer to the old elven kingdoms?" There were some mention of the elven kingdoms in the old history books, but most were from a human perspective, and very much painting the old elves as treacherous and evil. "Yes, the old elven kingdoms from more than a millennia ago were considered the highpoint of elven civilization, though I have no other comparison than with today's scattered tribes. To the old elves we must seem like savages, but who knows, even the oldest elf has lived no longer than 250 years. I myself am in the twilight of my life, and to me it is the distant past. To Elianiar it is like a different age.

All we have from that time are the remnants of knowledge passed on by our ancestors who fled deep into the wilderness to escape the wrath of humankind. "Do you know how the war between humans and elves started? I know what little human history books teach, but I am not sure I can trust what I am reading." The old elf looks thoughtful. "You genuinely want to know the truth don't you." It is not really a question but all I can do is nod. "Some elven thinkers from shortly after the escape did speculate on how the war happened, and though at the time they were not popular with their own kind for doing so, they did come to a conclusion I would attest to. The elves inadvertently brought it upon themselves."

Not exactly what I was expecting to hear from someone who has every reason to hate humans. It has become quite clear to me that all free elves live in constant fear of humans who are far more numerous then they themselves are. When the last male elf dies, the only elves, on this continent at least, will be elven females in slavery with no hope to ever form a free elven nation. Even if slavery was abolished some time in the distant future, elves would likely continue to be used and abused or at best be second rank citizens. Any other projection seems far too unrealistic.

"So what do you mean when you say that the old elves brought it upon themselves?" "Let me correct your question a bit. They brought it upon themselves, but they did so unknowingly. Not that the humans who were suffering as a result of them would have cared that it wasn't on purpose. What does human history books say about it?" I can't say my history knowledge is great, all I have to go by are the books from the guild library, though they were a lot more readable than the magic books. "The human books seem to justify the extermination of the elven kingdoms on the basis that the elves started the war by convincing the dragons to attack the human kingdoms."

"It must have seemed like that to them, they forget that elves suffered from dragons just as much as humans. In those days dragons weren't confined to distant northern borders, but roamed free across the whole continent, killing and burning as they pleased. Human settlements suffered a lot due to being large stone structures clearly visible from the sky, but the constant conflict with the dragons also gave birth to the hunter tribes. They would be the forbearers of the Hunters Guild. The first dragonslayers. Humans with their much greater population growth than elves managed to maintain a semblance of civilization all the while killing and being killed by dragons."

That told me a lot about the early human settlers that I already knew, but it seems like a good confirmation of what I can trust from the history books. After a short break to catch his breath the elf continues. "The elves on the other hand survived by staying out of sight. Elven settlements were scattered, and the tribes rarely displayed much power, which is also why they could not resist the humans encroaching on their ancestral lands. Despite their lack of concentration, their mages were greater than their human counterparts. They proved this by inventing a spell capable of repelling dragons."

Looks like we are getting to the core of the matter. I can guess what comes next, but I should probably let the elf continue his story. "The spell worked incredibly well. The lands of the elves were cleared of dragons, and made the way for the elves to build their first elven cities as the centers for their kingdoms. This is when the elven kingdoms reached their peak, but within two centuries the free elves were almost extinct."

"The old elves either didn't think of the consequences of their actions, or they just did not care. The large number of dragons who used to live in elven lands did not disappear, they just moved to other lands, and the nearest lands were the human kingdoms. For almost two full centuries the humans suffered and fought dragons until they finally pushed dragons north of the human kingdoms. The humans understandably blamed the elves. It took them just ten years to destroy all the elven kingdoms."

Considering the outcome for the elves, I am expecting the old elf to be emotional, but he seems fully distanced from the past and in full control of his emotions. I guess even to him it is the distant past. After a pause he turns towards me. "I know little of how the human kingdoms fared in the aftermath of the destruction of the dragons and the elves. What does your human history books say?"

"I have only read some from the small guild library, but the little I have read confirms what you have said so far. Though there were several human kingdoms and free tribes loosely allied against both the dragons and the elves prior to events, after the war with the dragons and the elves, the human kingdoms were shattered. More than half the population was dead. Mostly from dragon attacks. The hunter tribes were even more decimated, but the ones left were all considered legendary warriors. The remnants of the kingdoms eventually merged to become the Old empire of today found to the south, though I think it stretched further north at the time. It is a bit unclear. Some dragonslayers eventually formed their own small kingdoms. Mostly to the north of the empire. The remaining hunters joined and formed the Hunters Guild in response to this. The last part is well known history in the guild. That is a brief summary of what I know."

"Thanks, I learned a few things there as well." The old elf seems genuinely grateful. I am not sure why though. He has taught me a lot more. "What happened to that dragon repelling spell?" The elf looks thoughtful. "Lost to time I am afraid. Today it would have been the perfect gift to humankind to allow elves the chance to live in peace." I guess the elf is right. Lands to the north are still troubled by dragons, though they seem to be kept in check by dragonslayers. If only the old elves had shared the spell with their human neighbors at the time, it might have created the possibility of coexistence of human and elven kingdoms side by side.

"So what are you going to do with this big dead wyvern? It will be a pain to move." The elf remind me of the dead beast in front of us. I can't believe we just had such a deep discussion standing over a dead beast. It is a miracle we didn't get interrupted by a scavenger of two. "I will just put it in my soul storage." Turning towards the body, it all disappear into my soul storage like all things do. Looking up I see the elf dumbfounded expression and realize that a big soul storage is just as rare among elves as it is among humans. "I guess I should explain this on our way back to camp."