Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more." So, your plan is probably as good as we are going to get for now. But, I''ve never been one to sit quietly while someone''s coming for me. You know what direction they are coming from, and roughly the time they will get here. So, I was thinking, I could attack them along the way. To night, I''ll sneak into their camp, kill some people, and destroy some supplies if I can , then get back here before they march in the morning. What do you think?" I asked.


    "No offense taken, your concern of my capabilities are warranted. I''m alot better at infiltrating than fighting, so this shouldn''t be too much trouble. Gotta ask though, compared to you or your daughters fighting prowess, are the Empires'' soldiers better or worse on average?" I asked. Its kinda of important to know if their peons can cream me.


    " A bit of advice from a seasoned soldier. Target their officers if you can. The legions are normally highly trained groups, but if this is a fresh crop, losing their squad officers will disorganize them. They won''t have experience commanding more than their squad, they''ll be less organized and more prone to making mistakes. If you can''t get the officers, try to cause as much damage as possible. I know you''ll go even if I say otherwise, not like your one of mine anyways, but be careful. You''ll be needed for tomorrow." And with that I left.


    Empire soldiers pov


    Killing the guards, I found their pitch jars. After dumping the contents, I grabed a torch and threw it into the supplies. As I was escaping, the fire begun to engulf the supply tent and was spreading. The camp now alerted, sprung to life. However I was already in the woods, making my way back to the village.Leaving them with a whole mess to deal with.


    After some time my Brother connected with me.


    Thats where some of our supplies were. We started running towards it when we noticed the animals were making alot of noise. More than they should be, considering the fire was no were near them.


    I told my squad mates that we should check on them, make sure the wouldn''t break out of the stokade. Besides what could we do to the fire?


    We gathered a few squads near to us and headed towards the animals. What we saw when we got there made me wish we fought the fire instead. Someone or someones pissed themselfs in fright.


    An Armored Wolf was in the animal pen, but it wasn''t a normal wolf either, some kind of variant. It stood about chest height to a human. Its fur was black with red marks appearing in random patterns. But even with the odd colors, the strangest thing about its fur it seemed alive! Moving, rippling, and when the wolf would get close to one of the animals tendrils would leap from its skin and enveloping the animal. Afterwards the animal would be pullled into the wolve, like it was eaten whole.


    We shook ourselfs out of our stupor after it holwed into the night. I think that howl will haunt me for life after this. It broke the fence into the other pen, and began to kill or maim the animals.We tried to shoot it with arrows, or throw our spears at it, but we only succeeded in harming more horses. By now most of the animals are wounded or dead, so I grabbed a soldier and we opened the gate to the pen. I will probably get lashed for this, but it allowed some of the animals to run away.


    Seeing this the wolf growled and started to run from the camp at a speed that it shouldn''t posses. A few spears found it by pure luck I think, but they had no apparent effect. It killed a few of the sentries who tried to stop it, then it disappeared into the night.


    After it left we tried to find our officers for orders, but none of the officers could be found. Instead we only found blood in their tents, but no bodies. This added to the fears the men were having. So I assumed command of the sqauds near me, and we began mercifull killing the animals that were to wounded to be of use, while I sent some of the support staff to gather the remaining horse if the could find them. As I stabbed the last horse, our glorious commanders aid decided to check on this side of camp. Most likely looking for someone to yell for what happened. Great....


    "Attention! Your orders are as follows. Salvage what supplies you can and take them to the remaining wagons! The rest are to break camp. We are marching to the village today!" The aid said riding to the other areas of the camp.


    Well at least he didn''t yell at us.


    Alec pov


    I returned to the village with Fenris at my side. With nothing to do we headed towards the cheifs place. As we moved towards square I notice a fairly large crowd, all shouting and raising they''re fists. I started moving people out of my way, and before long I was in the front.


    In the square stood the Jarl Url, with a great sword in hand, towering over some fat guy. The fat man was pleading for mercy and sobbing almost to the point of hysterics. We walked along the inside of the circle to get a better veiw of the man. Fat, definantly fat. Black greasy hair, makeup done in a femine fashion, gaudy jewels and rings on his hand, but his smell was horrific. To me at least. Piss and some kind of lilac perfume I think. Blah!


    "Please. I beg of you, great Jarl Url, show mercy! I only did it to save the villagers lives. Have I not always shown great care for your people? Coming this far out into the Frontier to trade essentials, when no one else would. Please spare me! " Narsine pleaded as he went to hid knees.


    "I already granted you mercy Narsine. I gave you time to make peace with the gods and present evidence of your innocence. The verdict of the village was death, so you will be executed. However, since I will be taking your goods, I will grant you one more mercy." Url said as a dark look formed on his face. Some of the villagers started to voice their objections.


    "Than--" Narsine began to say, before getting interupted.


    " You may choose your death like a man, or die as a coward. So how do you want to die, Narsine." Url said stopping Narsine and the rest of the villagers.


    "I... I... I don''t want to die! I know let me walk out of here. Yes, take all my goods a-and my jewels. Take everything, but let me leave...." Narsine pleaded and mumbled. He was grasping at straws and he knew it.


    "Its always saddening to see a man turn into a coward." Url said as he turned to the crowd.


    "Narsine, the merchant, you have been charged of extortion, conspiracy to commit treason, and attempted kidnapping of a noble. You were tried, and found guilty in the peoples court. Your punushment is death by execution. You have failed to present a prevered means of death, so by my right of Jarl, I sentence you to death by fire. Take him to the pit, and light him up!" Url yelled with all the might he could muster.


    Narsine began to cry and thrash at the Jarls words. He tried to fight the gaurds that started to drag him, but that ended when one of them punched him hard enough to loose a few teeeth. I followed Url and soon we came apawn a simple hole in the ground, not sure what it was used for, and I don''t care enough to ask.


    the gaurds threw Narsine in, as two serving girls, one I recognized from the previous day, began to pour two pots of oil on him. He tried to plead fr mercy but simply sputtered instead. Nix came up and stood by her father, handing him a lit torch, her face told of how she felt about this man. It was a look that said ''go to hell you filthy bastard''.


    "And so a coward dies!"Url said throwing the torch in, lighting Narsine ablaze. Then he turned and headed for the Cheifs Hold, not even dignifying Narsines death. With everybody doing the same, I decided to follow Url and give my report.


    Heh. I wonder if his fat will make hime burn hotter or not? Meh.


    "I''m sorry you had to witness that Alec, but it needed to be done. Keep this in mind ''A coward will always die with out dignity and with as much pain as can be brought to bear''. But since your here, I assum your trip was a success?" Url said as he sat on his throne and waved for a cup. Nix just sat the nearest table with Fenris.


    "Seeing a human on fire isn''t excactly a new expereince for me. I''ve seen them light up by the hundreds. I''ll keep your warning though, might come in handy. And yes, my trip last night was a success. Their leadership is down to the commander and his aide. Who almost all the soldiers think are arrogant assholes, with no idea what they are doing. About a dozen or so more men are dead,halve their supplies and all but a few of their animals are dead. Not a bad night, but if I was back to my former self they wouldn''t be alive. The odds should be pretty close to fair now though." I said.


    The look on Urls face as I finished my report was like he got slapped for the first time.


    "You did that much? And your not at full strength? What are you, Alec Mercer?" Url said a bit of wariness creeping into his eyes.


    "Relax, dude. I ain''t no threat to you or your daughter. But since your sharing information I share some too. I''m not human, like not even a little bit. I have a human form because I hunt humans and this a most efficent design. As I consume more diverse things I will acquire abilities beyond imagining. But I don''t actively seek out people to eat unless they have abilities I need, I actually have eaten far fewer people than my father or his soldiers have." I explained, after I took a seat on the bench.


    "Look, I don''t mean to so ungrateful or rude. But I''m going to walk around before the empire shows up. Come find me if I''m needed." I said taking my leave. I need to think and so do they.


    Url pov


    Even as I ask these questions, I feel that he truely isn''t a threat to me or mine. He feels more like an old dragon. Give him no reason to kill youand he''ll leave you be. Draining the contents of my mug, I dismissed these thoughts. I can do nothing to effect the shcemes of Gods. But I can defend my people.


    "Come, Nix. We have work to do." Url said walking out the door.


    We had been marching since early morning, so about half a day and we cold see the smoke from the village. We had covered a good amount of ground, but having marched hard all day, the men were near exhausted. Having had to carry all the salvagable supplies on our persons, or taking shifts pulling the wagons that didn''t have animals attached. The men were tired, a few of them had collapsed in exhaustion. The commander wanted no more delays so if they couldn''t keep up they were killed.


    That didn''t help the mood much, but it was mostly the logistic crews. Though they did receive basic training, they weren''t conditioned like the combat units. They learned to maintain equipment, we trained for battle.


    There''s talk amongst the troops that we''ll attack when we get there, so no rest. An hour maybe two, and we''ll be there. Me and some of the men have decided if something like last night happens , we''re retreating back home.


    Url pov


    The traps in the feilds have been dug, the gate''s bottle necked with cartsor other debris, and everyone is gathering in their positions. I sent Nix to find Alec after the bell had been rung. All thats left is to wait.


    Alec pov


    Well I like seeing something change from a base material into something wonderful. Ore into metal, metal into sword. It was all fascinating to me. He didn''t seem to mind me being there very much after seing my virvent curiosity for his craft.


    He even let me try something after awhile. I was hoping he''d let me strike the metal, but he laughed at me. For like 5 minutes. He laughed at me.


    After he caught his breath, he explained no blacksmith worth his hammer would let some random kid strike the metal at his forge. He said I''d have to start where he started, the grinding stone. He showed me how to use it right, them told me to sharpen some spear heads, while another kid would attach them to a pole, then they would be placed in a bundle for easy transport.


    It wasn''t a glorious job, but it was fun to me. I never got the chance to make things on Earth, only destroy them. Besides every spear counts, right?


    It was a little after noon when a horn sounded, we had a dozen or so spears ready by then, but upon hearing the horn sound, the others stopped working. The smith started to kill the fire, while his apprentice started to throw on some leather armor.


    "Alec!! My father wants you at the gate with him, lets go." She said upon approach.


    "Lets go, boy! Grab the cart and get to the gate!" the smith said, running out to us. He had leather with some plate over vital areas. Then he, Nix and the apprentice started running.


    I grabbed the cart handles and followed them. As we ran the other villagers were running around, some in the same direction as us, others to the cheifs hold for shelter. Most able bodies were with us, though I did see that coward that yelled at me earlier running towards the hold as well. Coward.


    We got to the gate and I see that Url has blocked the gate with carts and debris. It formed a V wedge, funneling the empire troops into a narrower space as they came into town. I assume this was done at the other gate as well. I set the cart down, and people immediatly began suiting up and arming themselve, before joining the rest in the defense. Fenris, who had up till had been asleep, walked up next to me and just sat down.


    "Oh, good you''re here Alec. I want you, and Nix on reserve. If you see us falter or an opportunity arises take it. As for Fenris, I''m not sure. So whatever you want, Alec." Url said as he approached us. He was in plate and chainmail, with a fairly large axe and sheild, holding his crossbow with a quiver of bolts.


    Good enough for me. I need to see how strong they are to form a base of comparison to others in this world.


    "Get ready boys, here they come! Archers, fire when you see a gap in their sheilds!"Url shouted as he and other heavy looking men form a line betwen the debris. The empires men marched in block formations of 50, and there is 4 of them. The commander is in the rear formation, with what appears to be personal troops, because their armor looks better kept than the rest.


    The formations were like this, two were regular soldeirs, then the other two were lesser equiped, so logistical troops probably. Wonder where the wounded are? Meh.


    As the enemy troops advanced the archers began to shoot at them. Most shots were blocked by their sheilds, but a few were able to slip through. Not enough to scare them off, but a few less to deal with. The two soldier formations kept coming straight at us, but the other two split off. Probably trying to come in the other side, splitting to the left and right.


    "Jarl Url. How many fighters do you have at the other gate?" I asked him.


    "Only about 30, and their just armed volunters(nice way to say peasents with pitchforks)... They won''t hold againt the empires troops headed their way. You got another idea?" Url said, after a quick glance around him. Most of his men were here with him and it didn''t look like he could spare men to reinforce the other gate.


    "Yeah, I do. Nix, will help hold the rear gate while Fenris and I thin them out in the feild." I said already heading to the rear gate. Fenris was right along side me.


    As we approached the rear gate we heard sounds of men yelling, and metal colliding with metal. The fighting had started, so I guess I need to kick it gear.


    ''Fenris,go out and to the left. I want as few soldiers to make it out alive as we possibly can. The commander cannot be allowed to live , no matter the reason.'' I tell him as I run past the villagers. I stop at the gate, and start running to the right. I receive a mental nod from Fenris, and then he takes off to the left. Nix was explaining to the villagers as she approached.


    The fighting at the first gate will be getting tougher, the second formation of regulars should be there soon. I need to finish this quickly and help Url. I soon spot the men on my side, and judging by how they squared up to eachother I think they saw me. There seemed to be a few less than I expected. Looks like the traps worked on some of them.


    Man, I want my powers back, even one will due. As soon as this is over with I have to hunt something. Maybe ask Amatsu for directions.


    I did a quick check on Fenris,through our hive link, he has already engaged the enemy. Can''t let him show me up now can I?


    I could go into detail about how they move into position, shouted brave things, but I''m not. The only thing they did, that was note worthy to me was this. They were smirking and laughing at me. Not that I didn''t understand the reason. If you were told to attack a town, you would expect casaulties and possibly, your death. Then the only one blocking your path was a teen running towards you with no weapon. Funny, right? The kids obviously crazy, so you go ahead and you laugh. Then you smirk at how easy this will be...


    Yeah. I gonna kill them all now.


    I run straight at them, aiming to smash them. I use my anger to push myself to full speed. Ieasily dodged the spears sticking out between their sheilds and smashed into them. On contact I send some of them tumbling to the ground, as the rest look in shock. Before they start to react I grab the man I collided with, consuming him and taking his sword. With my armored(which is basically hard leather for now) form active I begin to kill all in my way. Now I not the greatest swordsman, but with my strength, speed, and reflexes being far above that of a normal human I don''t have to be.


    I swing my sword faster than they can block, strike with a strength they can''t resist, and move between them faster than they can move. From one man to the next, limbs were severed, heads rolled, and when they actually managed to strike me, men were consumed. This wasn''t a battle, this was a slaughter.


    I continued to kill men left and right, moving among them like an unstoppable hand of death. As their numbers thinned, fear and self-preservation took hold. They couldn''t win, they knew this now. So they began to run, or they tried to. I would throw weapons,or their fellow soldiers at them. Even if they didn''t die, the resulting injuries wouldn''t let them flee.


    As they drew to a precious few, some tried to surrender or plead for mercy. They were consumed none the less. As the last one fled, I threw a spear impaling him to the palisade. In hindshight it will probably take some work to get him down. Meh, at least I''m not on clean-up.


    I did a quick glance around to make sure no one escaped. None did.


    ''Fenris, I want you to go into the woods. Get behind the commanders group. If he tries to flee, I want you to bring him to me alive.'' I thought to him as I made my way to the front gate. Url would probably like some help by now. Even if Nix took the others to help, it would still be close.


    As I approached the front gate I could still hear the clashing of arms, and the screams of the dying. Guess I made in time. I spared a glance towards the enemy commander. He is moving towards the village, but he''s not far from his starting position, so he must of just started to move.


    I didn''t care if the commander saw me, it wouldn''t change anything at this point. I approached the rear of the second group of soldiers, and charged into them like before. I started hacking and slashing into their flank. They began to panic, their attempts to kill me were proving futile. They had been hoping that the front would be wittled down and exhausted when it was their turn. Now they were dying faster than the ones up front. About half way through their formation, I noticed a small group of men break of to the right and head towards the woods. They were about 15, and they made sure not to head anywhere near the commander.


    Weird. I wasn''t even close to them yet.


    As they ran I noticed the commander shouting furiously while pointing towards the deserters. Him and his aide seemed to be arguing as to wheither or not to chase them, or seize the village. Not that they would get to do either one.


    After a few more moments of massacring the soldiers at the gate, the last one fell. A look around me revealed a lot of corpses, body parts, and tired men. Url, Nix and the other men looked pretty banged up. I could see a pile of bodies were Nix was standing. Looks like she''s stronger than I thought. Above the average man it seems. With a nod of approval in their deriction, I turned around and faced the commander. Looks like the aide won the argument, because they were alot closer now. They were all ready in a sheild lock formation so running into them might not work so well.


    Then a thought occured.


    "Url, Nix, and the rest of you, stand down. I got these guys." I said as I started run around. I grabbed the spears that weren''t broken, and I stabbed them into the ground near me.


    Ignoring the confuse glances coming my way, I prepared myself for the next part. Grabbing a spear I looked towards the enemy, after finding what I was looking for, I threw the spear using my inhuman strength.


    The spear went through the gap, skewing the heads of two people, and stabbing a third in the face. Judging by the screaming, it wasn''t a fatal wound. Everyone stood dumbstruck by what had happened. They looked between the now three dead men and me. How could a boy have the strength to strike three men. inside a sheild wall formation, and do it so accuratly as to pass their sheilds entirely?


    Well, I actually didn''t expect it to be so accurate, but this works for me. I grab another spear, and throw it with the same amount of force as the last one. Some of the soldiers saw me grab the spear, and they lifted their spears to cover their faces on instinct. Not where I was aiming. The spear connected with two more soldiers through the midsections.


    I grab another one, and I throw it like the ones before it. Again, and again, grab, throw. Even if they spread out I still killed at least one man per throw. Seeing as the were being picked off, they rushed towards me. Out of spear myself, I charged them head on. As I began to engage them I could tell they were better trained than the ones before. As a result I started taking more hits as they ganged up on me. So I started consuming them anytime I was stabbed.


    After some really painful fighting, and good combat lessons, I had them down to a dozen scared men. They probably couldn''t retreat unless mr. pompous said so. To bad for them, because he had actually started galloping away,aide in tow, a few moments ago. He likely didn''t run earlier because he thought we''d all be to tired to put up a effective defense against his personal gaurds. That changed when I began to kill them one after another with bo sigbs of tiring. Or could be that the sight of someone absorbing a man while he killed another, might have flipped him out a bit.


    As the remaining men looked at me waringly, a scream erupts from the woods, with the naying of horses. Everyone looks towards the woods with fear and confusion. After a short wait Fenris bursted out of the woods carrying the commander with him. I say carrying, but its more like Fenris has him by his armor tangling from his mouth.


    The enemy men scurry out of his way as Fenris runs to me and drops the man at my feet like a chew toy. Some of the mans limbs look broke or dislocated at least. Looking into Fenris'' mind, I see why. Fenris had attacked his horse and sent him into a tree. Smiling he stands beside me before looking at them intently.


    "Good boy." I said patting Fenris on the back. I didn''t have to say it out loud but it let them know I was in command of such a monster. Knowing this, they knew escape was impossible.


    "You men have two options right now. Option one: Meet up with the men that ran earlier and go home. Option two: you die here. I don''t care, but if you don''t pick one, I''ll kill you anyway." I said. Fenris tensed up and started snarling.


    They exchanged glances with eachother before onr of them spoke up.


    "Do we have your word you''ll let us leave and not stab us in the back?" one of them asked.


    "If I wanted you dead, I would have done it while you were looking towards the woods. Get going." I said with a small amount of irratation in my vioce. They didn''t need to be told twice the started running away towards the wood. Ignoring the whimpering man at my feet, I turn towards the village.


    And they looking at me like weird like. Some seem fearful, others in awe, and a few, like Url and Nix, have a bit of both. Oh,right. Its not every dat you see a boy slaughter over fifty men.


    "Hey, Url. Is it okay if I take him or to you need him? He''s the son of some noble." I asked.


    "Huh-. Oh, right. If he''s nobility we could claim a reward for his capture. But you caught him so he''s your prisoner, Alec." Url said breaking from his stupor. He says its my choice but why do I see gold bars in your eyes. Well more money wouldn''t hurt, and if he proved useless I could eat him anyway.


    "You can have him Url, but we split it fifty-fifty." I said.


    "Haha. Boy, you got a deal. Men take him to the healer, then to a cell. Everybody else take a rest, we''ll prepare the dead after words. Tommorrow we join our families, and honor the fallen." Url shouted. Tired and aching everybody began the task of cleaning up. I helped too. To the victors goes the cleaning.Alec pov


    After the battle was over Jarl Url sent a rider to the neighboring village to bring the rest of his people home. Some of the men had found some of the supplies that wasn''t taken by the retreating empires'' soldiers. Url began to sort through what could be used or sold. Myself and others began to gather the dead and sort who''s was who''s. The empire''s men were stripped of their armor, weapons and any valuables they may have had.


    Urls men were gathered up and taken below the hold to await proper burial. The empires'' men were to be burned in a mass pyre like funeral. Atleast their not left to rot or to be desecrated. I''m disappointed the blacksmith didn''t make it, but such is life. Maybe I''ll try learning from dwarfs, if any of them exist? Gonna have to ask Url about them.


    It took us most of the day to clear the dead and debris from the village. By then the rider Url sent had returned. The families were on their way home and should return tommorrow before midday. Apparently the next village was fairly close to this one.


    We sat in the Cheifs hold, eating or resting, but none were permited to drink ale tonight. Something to do with how they honored their dead. Anyway, I was sitting across from Url and Nix, when we began to talk of our previous deal.


    "So... We won. Are you going to tell me about this world? Or should I wait till after you''ve settled your dead?" I asked him.


    "Why can''t you wait till after the dead are honored? Is a reward more valuable than honoring the fallen, in your world?!" Nix said in an angry shushed tone. She didn''t appreciate me wanting to discuss business instead of mourning the dead.


    "Nix, neither the dead nor their honor have anything to do with monsters like me. If this affends you, you need to understand that my world is different from yours. In my world lives are readily thrown away and enevitably all forgotten. It''s just the way it is." I tell her offhandedly, sipping my water and petting Fenris.


    "Alec has done nothing wrong, Nix. He''s just different from us. We can discuss your reward now if you like, it won''t affend our customs." Url said, after patting Nix on the shoulder. Reassurence I think.


    "I''ll start with the basics. There''s only one landmass on Agar, it''s called Pangeas. There are currently three powers fighting for dominance. The Demons to the north of the Gaurdian mountains, its called that because it has so few safe trails that the demons can''t move in mass. Thus they act as a natural gaurdian against danger. We don''t know much about the demons power structure or culture except they attack us for unknown reasons.


    The other two are the Allaince,in the east and the Golden Empire, in the west. The Allaince consists of the Kindom Venneras, the Mcdonald Clan, the Empire of Helena and some smaller kingdoms. Their capital is located at Mecca, the largest city in Pangeas and home to the great Star Fall Fortress.


    The Golden Empire is relatively new though. It consists of most of what was the western kingdoms, with the exception of the Kingdom of Venneras. Its ruled by the former hero Attius Clausus, now Emporer Attius Clausus, and some other heroes that joined him. Their capital is the city of Imperialis Urbs, on the west coast. It used to be a pleasure city of vast excess, Gamorrah I think, but when he took over he moved the city some fifty miles away. Cause he liked the location and he didn''t want trash near him.


    Most in the Allaince worship the five gods, the Demons don''t worship anyone, though many think Dravos is their god. The empire I''m unsure of in regards to religion. Now to money. It''s simple theres copper on bottom, then silver, gold, platinum, and at the end are royal notes. Each one is in denominations of 100, so 100 copper is 1 silver, 100 silver is 1 gold, 100 gold is 1 platinum. Royal notes have no eqauvical value like the rest. With a Royal note you could buy a castle, they''re basically a ''get what ever you want'' currency. Before you ask,I''ve never seen one. Its a king currency.


    You wanted to know about the heroes? Well, most are dead. A few have gone missing, inprisoned for crimes, joined the empire, theres a few still in the capital I think. Inventing and teaching. As for monsters that might be on your level of abnormal, best try the Guild. There''s a branch in Fort Triss. They handle things like monster hunts, requests for aide, and bounties. Fort Triss is about a months journey from here, and its one of only a few forts left in the frontier. Atleast, that are held by humans." Url said.


    "What about other species? How many and were? What are they like?" I asked. A bit more excitited than I meant to sound.


    "Well, there''s Elves in the Veil Woods, Dwarves in Black Rock Mountain, Orcs in the Northern Highlands, which is at the feet of the Gaurdians. Theres feral trolls wandering around the frontier, but they only approach villages in desperate times. Theres rumors of dragons and gaints in the Gaurdians valleys, though there''s supposed to be a dragon slumbering in the Bone lands in the South. Might be some sea monsters out there, or on some of the islands, but I''m not sure.


    The Elves are a bit arrogant, very beautiful, and very cautous of outsiders, usually not allowing them in their sacred woods. Even when trading with others races, they do it in outposts on the edge of the forests or through a trusted proxy. They usaully live for long time, they don''t consider you old if your under 200 yrs old. They take pilgrimage to the outside world so you may get to meet a few. They are natural born genuises with the bow, and are considered the best archers in the world.


    Dwarfs are proud warriors, master smiths, and some of the best drinkers you''ll find on Pangeas. Their home, Black Rock Mountain actually sits on the northern border of the Veil Woods, the elves and them have an allaince with each other. They produce alot of weapons and armor, which they export along with lots of other minerals. They are renowned warrior, despite their shortness, and more than make up for it in spirit and strength. They guard one of the biggest passages through the Gaurdians which has allowed them to sharpen the weapons on


    alot of demons. They''re crazy inventors too, always tinkering with things, or blowing them up.


    Now the Orcs may look like the demonic cousins, the Goblins, but they aren''t demonic. Crazy berserkers who like war abit too much? Without a doubt. Thats why their primary export is soldiers. Though they don''t have vast cultural advances like the others, they don''t really desire one either. They are simple, but not stupid.


    After our talk most of the people were either asleep or headed that way, so he bid me good night, and left the table. I went outsideand climbed onto the roof, Fenris joined me, and I started to think. That was a longer explaination than I thought I would get. He must of been quite the adventurer in his prime, or popular at the bars.


    Now what to do?.... Lets list the things I need to do.


    1. Find information about monsters in the Guild, or wherever I can.


    2.Consume more mutations( dna that will grant powers or upgrades).


    3. Kill an empire.


    4. Make peace with the demons and humans, or kill them, or kill everyone with the Mercer virus.


    5.Gather companions. If your going to be attacking two-thirds of the world help is required.


    6.Make my way to Mecca. Meet Royalty,gonna have to do it eventually, and gain more information.( goverment secrets get).


    7. Find Chaos temple and speak to Amatsu.


    8. Find and free enslaved heroes, if I am able.


    Sheesh, thats a lot of work. Not that I have anything better to do. Should I let Fenris turn some wolfs? Hmm, I could use the help, but I can''t have an evoled running around. Atleast not yet. Eventually I decide to sleep and dream the night away....


    I awoke to horns blasting, though I could sense through Fenris there was no danger, it still isn''t a pleasent way to wake up. Apparently I had slept most of the morning, because they were about done their dead. Through Fenris I saw that they burned their daed too. The difference is that while the empires'' were thrown in a pile and torched, Urls men were neatly lined together, dressed in what I assumed were their best clothes, while their famailies and friends sang some song. I didn''t pay attention to most of it as it didn''t have anything to do with me. Jumping off the roof, I took a seat on the holds steps as I wait for them to finish.


    I always wondered about why humans mourn so much for the dead. Granted I''m not human, but I see it like this. The dead are gone. Move along to more useful things. Like not dying. But, hey, thats just me.


    After about an hour the bodies were ash and the people had begun to gather towards the hold. Most of the villagers that arrived this morning were looking at me and Fenis strangely. Some of the children looked terrified of Fenris.


    '' Way to go brother. You meet them for the first time and they''ll probably have nightmares about you the rest of the year'' I thought to Fenris.


    Snorting at my humor he just stares back at them. Causing a few of the children to hide behind the adults.


    The ones from the battle were trying to convince the others I wasn''t a threat, and to be nice. They still kept their distance though, seemingly unsure whether to approach me or not. Thankfully Jarl Url and Nix had made their way through the crowd by now.


    "Good morning, Alec. We couldn''t find you earlier so you missed the others coming in." Url said. He sounded less sad than I expected.


    "Good morning,Alec." Nix said somberly. She''s still feeling bad about the death of her fellow villagers it seems.


    "Well, I was lost in thought since last night, so I went to the roof. Its quieter up there." I said. Alot of them looked up to the roof with confusion on their faces.


    "You were on the roof? All night?" Url asked.


    "Yes. I like high places. Don''t take this the wrong way, but I plan on leaving today. Soon actually." I answered


    Url looked at me for a moment before sighing." I knew you wouldn''t stay long after the fight was over. I suppose you''ll be headed towards Fort Triss then? Well, before you go we have one more thing to settle. Payment." Jarl Url said.


    "You already paid me Jarl Url with plenty of coins and information. I won''t take more than what was agreed upon." I said slightly confused.


    "We are indeed settled in our deal, Alec. But this is payment to the Amatsu Mikaboshi,Lord of Chaos. He assisted our village through his champion. You. As leader I most give something to him that I cherish as much as I do this village " Jarl Url said. The villagers began mumuring when he said I was Amatsus'' champion. But he wasn''t done yet, he kneels before me. Nix kneels with him.


    " Alec Mercer, as the champion of Amatsu Mikaboshi, I, Url Verto, offer my daughter, Nix Verto, and myself to aide in your divine quest. Till such time that our debt is repayed or till our death."Jarl Url says as he and Nix present me their weapons, like I''m some lord they need to pledge to. The villagers are gasping at what they have just heard. Their Url pledging himself, a nobleman, and his daughter to a strange boy? What was going on? Thats probably what they are asking themselves. Too bad I don''t care.


    But Urls'' pledge presents both oppotunity and problems. On one hand I would have two capable fighters with me. Even if one was a bit on the older side. On the other hand having a presumably known nobleman serving under me would attract some serious attention. Nix being beautiful and a noblemans daughter would also bring asshole who would try to ''free her from my vile clutches''. So hassles.


    Hmm, what to do?...... Got it!


    Standing up I adress the two on their knees.


    "As the champion of Amatsu Mikaboshi, I accept your offering. However, Jarl Url, you would be best serving your people, as you have been. Nix, I would like you to accompany me on my travels. But if you wish to stay with your father, then you may. Under the condition that you train yourselve vigoriously and become stronger, so I may call on you in the future. I will not force this on you. Freedom is chaos, and I have no right to make your choice. Are these terms acceptable, to you two?" I asked. I tried to atleast act the part, you know. They were taking this seriously, so I did too.


    "Yes" said Jarl Url, as he stood up.


    "I will travel with you and be your sheild maiden, for as long as it takes. I will protect you from harm, fight your enemies, and console you to the best of my abilities." Nix said as she too stood up.


    "Good. Say your goodbyes, and gather your things. We leave as soon as your ready." I said. I can''t wait to start hunting worthy game again.