《The Ancient One》


 Chapter 0

    A young elf girl ran as though her life depended on it. Faster and faster she went, dodging trees and bushes. Her feet were never leaving the ground as she blurred across the forest floor. Behind her, the sound of more people was apparent.


    Hearing how close they were, she started running faster, but already she could feel the fatigue in her legs. She had been running for a long time now, and soon would be unable to run any more. In the distance she spotted a dip in the ground, and knew it must be a cave. She bolted for it, hoping to hide from her pursuers.


    She reached the entrance and dove in, expecting a small cave with a hiding place for her. What she wasn''t expecting was for the cave to have a door. She gazed at it, catching her breath. It was so... different and out of place, she couldn''t wrap her head around why a door would be there. It was intricately carved too, in the shape of a dragon curling around the doorway. Even stuck in a cave, with dirt falling on and around it, it was still seemely new and fresh, the paint hadn''t even peeled off yet. It looked as though it had just been carved.


    She took a step forward, and ran a hand over the carving of the dragon. It was made with tiny little scales, and felt really smooth and nice to the touch. There was a divet in the middle of the door, with was looked like enough space for her pointer finger.


    Behind her, at the entrance to the cave, she could hear them stopping and looking around. With one of them sounding really close, she decided to hide, but seeing no cover anywhere in the cave, she panicked. She looked around desperately, searching in vain for anything that could help her.


    With no options, and the sound of footsteps getting ever closer, she decided if she was to die, it would be with this door. She stuck her finger in the little hole. She immediately reared back and put her finger in her mouth, as something had pricked her. She looked in the hole, and saw a little needle retracting, with a drop of blood, her blood, on it.


    As the needle fully retracted, the door shook, and the dragon''s eyes began to glow. She took a step back, fightened, as she heard shouts from outside that indicated they had heard the shake.


    Suddenly, the door opened, slowly, and she could now see a corridor that went further down into the ground. At the end of which, she could see another door.


    As the shouts became so loud, she was sure they were behind her, she went into the door and down the corridor. When she got to the other door, it opened automatically for her, which she found strange.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    Inside was a room unlike any other she had ever been in. There were banners on the walls, but she didn''t recognize any of them. There was a axe, a big axe, two handed she presumed, sitting on the wall, and in the middle of the room there was a strange stone box. In front of the box, there was a small hole in the ground. She glanced at the axe again, and then back at the hole. It looked like the Axe''s pommel would fit in the hole. She could hear them at the first door, the one that took her blood, and since the first door opened to something similar, she decided what to do then and there.


    She reached up and grabbed the axe, and almost fell to the floor. Who would make an axe so heavy? It would be difficult to wield in battle with it''s weight, and would tire the user to no end. She stumbled over to the box, her arms expressing freely how they were being murdered. Her legs started to tremble, already tired from running, this was too much strain on them. She collapsed to the ground just as she got the pommel into the hole in the floor.


    "Well, well, well. You lead us on quite the chase, girly." She heard a voice say from behind her. She didn''t have the strength to look up or turn around, so she just stared at the ground.


    "Yeah, she did. And look at this, she found something I think the Great One will want. Afterall, its not everyday you find a weird room with a blood door." another voice said, and several others laughed. She started, how had they known what she did to get in?


    "Shocked huh? Your blood is still in the hole on the door, girl. It wasn''t hard to guess. Now, come here. It''s time we bring you back to Lord Bolderi, he will be pleased to have his wench back." the first voice said, and she could hear them coming closer.


    Thats it, She thought,I will go back and be forced to marry that pig. She almost screamed in frustration but that was too much for her exhausted body to do. Instead her legs trembled. Wait, the was on the floor. She looked at her legs. Yep, they weren''t trembling, so why was her legs shaking? She glanced up, and saw that it was the entire room which was trembling. Her trackers had paused, and seemed uncertain as to if they should advance, probably suspecting a trap.


    A sudden crack was heard, as a gauntleted fist punched through the box. Her arms widened in shock, before a second one punched through and grabbed the handle of the axe. With one more heave, the entire box shattered, and there stood an armored being, elvennoid but in armor heavier than she thought possible. It looked to be made of Streel, but that was too heavy to make anything other than rings out of!


    "Let my fury guide my hand, and let the elves that destroyed my kingdom fall" she heard the being say, but didn''t understand the language. It sounded ancient, dark, and foreboding. The being gazed upon the situation, seeing an girl with what looked to be thugs behind her, not hiding their dark intent. It assumed a battle position, and the thugs behind her charged, their fear overcome by their confidence.

 Chapter 1

    The thugs charged, their forms graceful and their speed fast. Even she, a Sorcerer, could barely follow them. She looked at the reaction of the being. Due to elven battle doctrine, she expected them to be in movement. Constant movement, nonstop motion, was the key to not getting hit.


    But the being just... stood there. Was it dumb? Maybe it was a construct, that would explain the size and the armor. Just it''s axe was way too heavy for her, so she could not imagine the weight of even just one of its armor pieces.


    The thugs reached him a second later. She almost felt sorry for the construct, knowing it wasn''t it''s fault that it''s creator hadn''t given it enough intelligence to move in combat. Honestly, five Elven Rangers might have been overkill, as it would take her several hours to even deal with one. Their combat prowess and magical defence was insane.


    These thoughts spun in her head, which is probably why she missed what happened.


    There was no way to describe it. One second, the five Rangers were all striking at the construct, and the next, there was ten on the ground. The construct was in a slightly different stance, with the axe at the end of what looked like an arc.


    She blinked. When had it moved?


    Seriously, in order to have cut all those Rangers in half, it must have moved way before they reached it. Except no, she realized, it never moved. She had watched it the entire time. She didn''t even remember when it''s stance changed!


    Wait!, she thought suddenly, it just killed five rangers in under a second?!


    Thats impossible! It would have taken her hours of flinging spell after spell, to the point of near total exhaustion to even kill one!


    She had little time to reflect on that revelation, however, as the construct moved towards her. There was no elven grace in the movement, nor did it have the rough power in an orc''s stride. It lacked the stout walk of the dwarves, instead it''s walk spoke of restrained power.


    Unbelievable restrained power. She started to sweat. Now that she had a moment to concentrate, she could feel something off about it. It lacked any mana signiture at all, but moved faster than her eyes could see?


    The construct reached her, and she felt a tingling sensation on her finger, the one that was poked by the door.


    She yelped, and looked down at her finger. To her surprise, the wound was healing. Although, calling the little poke a wound was stretching it a bit. Her energy was even coming back. But how? She looked at the construct to see a thin line of golden light going from one of it''s hands into her finger, before it dissipated.


    The construct looked at her. She looked at it. It blinked. She blinked. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "... um, thank you for saving me?" She said, unsure as to what it wanted. The construct tilted it''s head before reaching a hand out slowly to her forehead. If it killed 5 rangers that easily, she stood no chance, so she accepted her fate and let it do whatever it was doing.


    The moment the hand touched her, it was withdrawn. She blinked. A moment of contact and then nothing? What in the name of the Great One did it-


    "I believe you will be able to understand me now." the construct said, shouldering it''s axe on its, well, shoulder.


    "... y-yes, I can understand you." Not that it said anything before. "If I may, what did you do to me?"


    The construct blinked. "To you? Nothing. I simply copied your understanding of this language and imported the copy to my mind. Otherwise, we would not be having this discussion."


    Her eyes widened. That was a spell that the magic user''s of the empire had been trying to invent for centuries, no millenia! And it talks about it so casually?


    "Anyway, what were those elves trying to do to you, that you were hurt and exhausted?" the construct asked. She took back everything she said about it lacking intelligence. The creator of it must have given it full blown sentience, something that was not unheard of but extremely rare due to how easily it can backfire.


    "They wanted to return me to the lord of this land, Lord Bolderi, whom had me kidnapped on the road and taken to be his... his.... plaything." she said, embarrassed at the fact. The construct''s eyes narrowed.


    "A lord should do no such thing to a subject. Just because you are ''lower'' than him? Pathetic." the construct said, fingering its axe with an uncomfortable amount of glee in it''s eyes. "It seems I will have to show him how low he really is".


    "I am not a commoner!" she seethed, the mere thought of such was an insult to her heritage. "I am the first daughter of the Lord of the region of Alteyr, and will not be seen as such!"


    "A noble doing this to another noble? Even more disgusting. It seems like this Lord Bolderi won''t just be getting off with a quick death." the construct said, before nodding it''s head, assuring itself of something she presumed.


    "You can''t just kill a noble, they were put there by the Great One! That would be heresy!" she screeched.


    "Bah! Like I care for your religion. Which way to the Lord''s castle?" the construct asked. She blinked. It wasn''t fazed by crossing the Great One? And not only that, it said ''your religion''. Does that mean they are a heretic?


    "West, but I would greatly appreciate it if you took me home first. I don''t doubt more will come for me. My home is east of here, about a days travel. If we left right now, we could probably get there a little sooner." she said, shaking her head of the thoughts residing there.


    "How far is it? A day''s travel by foot might be too much for you. I gave you some energy back, but your still exhausted." Well that was certainly right, she could still feel the fatigue, although lesser than what it was before.


    "About 10 Kerips away." At his confused head tilt, she clarified. "20 Glarps... uh 100 Terurs...", she racked her brain for other languages and units of measurements, "umm... uh.. 5 miles?" The construct knew that last one, which was weird, since it was an ancient unit that was not really used by more than a select few anymore.


    "5 miles? And it takes you elves a day? That should take me no more than an hour and a half, 3 at the most." the construct said, before bending over and picking her up with one arm and walking down the halllway to the cave entrance.


    She squeaked, a fact she will forever deny happened, and scrambled to make sure she could keep her balance in the crook of their arm. "What do you think your doing!" she screeched, the comment about not being Elven going unnoticed.


    "What? You would slow me down on foot too much, like this I can go a reasonable pace and arrive in like 2 hours."


    She sighed. "Fine, just don''t do that again!" The construct chuckled.


    In a smaller voice, almost a whisper, she said to herself. "Without my permission".

 Chapter 2

    She could barely believe it. True to the Construct¡¯s words, the town, HER castle, came into view a little over an hour and a half into their journey. If she wasn¡¯t with the Construct, she wouldn¡¯t have believed it. Hell, she didn¡¯t know how she would explain that to her parents, or how to get them to believe it.


    She had heard of speed enhancement magic, she was a sorceress after all, but those usually only doubled the speed of the user, and was extremely physically draining.


    She looked at him with her magic-sense. There was no magic, none at all. She blinked. Even magicians and magic users bled a little magic, just by having it. Yet here was a construct, no doubt made with magic, who could use magic, and who could cover up all magical emissions. Everything about this situation was wrong! It went against everything she had been taught in the academy!


    If a normal elf had simultaneously hide their magical emissions and used speed enhancement magic, they would be a shriveled husk on the ground, gasping for air, scarcely able to find the energy to breathe! Yet the Construct stood there, unwavering, showing no signs of exhaustion. It wasn¡¯t even breathing deeply!


    As they began to approach the gates, she tapped on the side of the Construct¡¯s head. It looked at her.


    ¡°You can put me down now. The guards might freak out if they see me on the shoulder of some construct.¡± she said, looking to see if she still had everything. The Construct nodded, and lowered her to the ground.


    She stood, feeling rejuvenated from the rest, even if only by a little bit. They continued to the gates, where the guards kept close eyes on them until her face became recognizable.


    ¡°It¡¯s the Lord¡¯s daughter! Open the gates!¡± a guardsman shouted, before turning to look at her to get a clearer sight. That''s when he noticed the construct next to her. ¡°Umm¡­ what''s with the construct, if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡±. She smiled to ease him.


    ¡°It saved me. It also carried me here in just over an hour and a half, as unbelievable as that sounds.¡± She said, as the guardsman¡¯s eyebrow rose. ¡°But I must speak to father, is he here?¡±


    The guard nodded. ¡°Up in his keep, you know where.¡± They were waved on through, although the careful watching eyes of the guards made sure the Construct did not try anything.


    They kept going through the town, the townspeople parting for the much easier to notice construct. Being a foot taller and much wider than the normal elf, it was easy to tell what a confrontation would result in with the being. Easy to tell for the average person, but stupid is universal.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    As they were approaching the town square, she was suddenly pulled off into an alleyway, and thrown up against a wall. There were 3 elves around her, all dirty, and all apparently lacking in the brain development.


    ¡°The Lord¡¯s daughter has to have a good bit of money on her¡± one said, as they all grinned and chuckled.


    ¡°Yeah, we gonna be rich after this one, fel-¡± one said, until an axe cleaved through his body, from head to crotch. The other two thugs stepped back, but it was too late. The axe cleaved into another one¡¯s shoulder as the pommel of the axe smashed the other in the face. As he was reeling from the blow, the axe ripped itself free and took his head off.


    She looked up at where she had fallen, expecting to see a couple thugs. Instead, the Construct was there, reaching a hand out to help her up. She was confused, until she noticed the fresh coat on it¡¯s axe blade. She understood immediately.


    ¡°Thank you again. I can assume you will escort me to the keep?¡± she said, brushing the dirt off her clothes after taking his hand to stand up. The construct nodded, and they continued to the keep, leaving the clean up to the guards.


    When they arrived to the throne room, no further incident impeding on their journey, her father was there waiting on his throne, and had already been informed by the looks of it about what happened.


    ¡°Father!¡± she cried out as she saw him. His eyes lit up as he stood and hugged her.


    ¡°Oh my Atlia, how are you? I heard about the attack in the square.¡± her father said, worried. She waved him off.


    ¡°I am fine, father, but only thanks to this construct¡± she said, raising a hand in it¡¯s direction. Her father looked at it


    ¡°I see. Thank you construct, for protecting my daughter. Who made you?¡± he asked, preparing a reward for them.


    ¡°No one did. I am not a construct¡± the constr- the being said. Her father frowned, while she was confused.


    ¡°Then what are you? You cannot be elf, you are too big and tall. You cannot be orc, you are too well mannered and armoured. You cannot be dwarf, for obvious reasons. What are you?¡± her father said, confused and a little unbelieving it wasn¡¯t a construct.


    ¡°Human¡± it said, in a language she didn¡¯t understand. The guards didn¡¯t understand either. Neither did the guests and other nobles. Her father, however, had both his eyebrows raise, as he gasped auditibly.


    ¡°Impossible! You speak the language of -¡± he looked around, at the other guests and guards, ¡°not important, but I must ask for thy name, good sir.¡± She was shocked. What was it about this language that made her father a nervous wreck? He was always confident and never let anything get better of him!


    ¡°You may call me Jorai.¡± Jorai said, gazing intensely at her father.


    ¡°Well met Jorai, might I ask of you a meeting in five minutes?¡± her father said, dismissing the others. Jorai nodded, and she followed her father and Jorai into a back room.

 Chapter 3

    Jorei.


    It was a strange name for an elf. Not that Jorei had answered that question, instead speaking whatever language her father was worked up about. Whatever Jorei said to seems to have been important however, for her father never met complete strangers in a back room in private immediately, even ones who did things for him.


    She stood there ackwardly, as her father sat down at the table, and Jorei sat down too, casting a spell at the chair beforehand. She looked with her Magic-Sense at the chair, and was surprised, it was enhancement magic, like he didn''t expect the chair to hold his weight. Odd, as that chair can hold a Orc, although not for more an hour or two.


    "So then," her father began, "you speak the ancient language most have forgotten about. Might I ask as to how you learned it?"


    Jorei shrugged. "It is my Mother Tongue, my first language."


    Her father was shocked, as was her. His mother tongue? Who teaches dead languages as a child''s first? However, one thing was bugging her.


    "Back in the throne room, when father asked you what you were, you said something in that language. What was it?" she asked, her mind already destroying itself trying to figure it out.


    Jorei sighed. "Before I say that, I have a question for you guys. How many races are there?"


    She blinked. What kind of question is that? It is possible he was stuck in that cave for a long time, now that she thinks about it. "Well, we are Elves, Northern Elves, but there are also High Elves, Dark Elves, Summer Elves, and Wood Elves. Then there are Orcs, Dwarves, and Granites."


    He nodded until the last one. "Granites, who are they?"


    He hadn''t heard of Granites? How long was he in that cave? "Rock People, as they are usually called, made out of, well, granite". He nodded.


    "Human" he said again, "It is the name of my species. I am none of the listed you just said."


    Her father was deep in thought, as she gasped. What did he mean, none of the listed? Those were all species in the world! There were no others! Her father suddenly looked at Jorei, as Jorei turned to look at him at the sudden movement.


    "When the fields of green are turned red, and there are mountains made of the dead"her father said, looking right into Jorei''s eyes. Great, now her father was speaking it too. She felt left out.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "Then the Tyrant will know pain, The Ancient One is his bane."Jorei responded, to the shock of her father.


    Her father leaned back in his chair, as he fiddled with a ring on his right hand. That was a nervous tendency he did whenever he was too shocked to do anything, and that has only happened twice before.


    "I am unaware of what these mean, but that is the code that my organization has. It was taken off the walls of a ruin from ancient times, and although untranslated, is used as the code to greet a fellow member. The fact that you are not a part of the group, and still recited it perfectly, means that you must be the one." Her father said, in a completely awestruck tone.


    She was confused, the one? What was her father talking about? And why did this group he is apart of use a keyphrase they don''t know? That sounded foolish to her.


    "That depends, what ''one'' are you talking about?" Jorei asked, his hand drifting towards the greataxe hilt on his back.


    "The only sentence we have in the thousands of years we have been at it, mostly helped by the fact that it was in Elvish too, translated from that wall is ''The lone survivor was sealed away, to rise in a far distant day. Their only goal, one of rage, to unleash their fury that was for so long, caged''. You must be the lone survivor, of what we have no idea, that will bring anger and fury to our world." her father said. She blinked. He knew of a prophecy? And didn''t tell HER? The SORCERER in the family?


    "Anger? Fury? Rage? Why yes, I bring unending multitudes of those. Change? Oh most definetly. The only thing you have to decide is if you are in my path, or on it." Jorei said, as his eyes narrowed.


    Her father gulped, there was but one thing he could do. "If you are the One, then my organization will fully support you. We have been waiting for the One, to aid and support, ever since our founding. And I believe I know what your goal is, but I cannot fathom a justification for it. Might I ask you to meet with my group, so that all our resources and knowledge can aid you?"


    Jorei thought for a moment. "Very well, lead me to this group. But one hint of a threat and everyone there is dying."


    Her father nodded hurriedly, and twisted the ring he had been nervously touching before. A section of the wall opened, and a pathway was revealed.


    She blinked again. A secret pathway? And she never knew about? Oh her father was going to get it once this was over.


    They descended down into the pathway, the wall closing behind them. It was pitch dark in the pathway now, no ambient light from the keep could get through. She squinted and her father started a lamp spell so they could see but Jorei went on like he could see perfectly fine. That was strange, elves didn''t have good night vision, their vision almost flawless in the daytime, with plenty of light.


    They kept going, passing down into the ground, deeper and deeper from the surface. She got nervous, Elves, sepecially Northern Elves, did not like the underground. This was a better environment for Dwarves and Granites.


    Eventually they came to a door, which was out of place in the natural pathway. It was intricately carved from stone in the shape of an odd symbol. Her father stepped forward and spoke a single word, and the door opened.


    "Please," her father said, "go on in. With me here, they won''t attack you."


    Jorei nodded and stepped through the door, almost effortlessly but with the aura of readiness for anything.


    She followed him, and her father followed her, as they entered the hidden base.

 Chapter 4

    We eventually came to a sort of cavern, where there were many people around. Although father led us through the place, the number of stares and watching eyes were unsettling to say the least.


    Jorei didn''t look troubled, as far as she could tell with his helmet being on. Not that he ever took it off yet, anyway.


    They arrived at what she assumed to be the ''throne room''. There were five people, three elves, a dwarf, and a orc, sitting around a table with many papers on it.


    "- there simply is not enough resources!" One of the elves shouted, to which another elf looked angry at. Oh goody, they arrived in the middle of an argument.


    "Then we must reallocate the resources we have into it!" The angry elf said, smashing a fist on the table. Odd, it doesn''t seem to appear that they noticed our presence yet.


    "We cannot afford to take resources from projects that are producing results into projects that have yet to produce anything!"


    "Yet! How many times must I tell you that this project is a slow burner! The results will be made over time, and not at all if we don''t have the necessary resources to continue!"


    "Bah! You always say that results are certain, just take a long time to appear. Well? It''s been a decade and you still have no proof of the Lone Survivor''s return!"


    "If I had the resources, I bet-"


    "For the last time, you are not getting more resources! Stick to the budget we have allotted you, and hope you actually have results soon!"


    The orc, dwarf, and other elf looked amused at this exchange, almost like they knew it would happen. The only thing missing would be snacks for them to enjoy the show with.


    Unfortunately, it did not look like the argument would end any time soon.


    "Just take resources away from translation! They haven''t had any result in the centuries they have been at it!"


    "It takes time to translate a dead language you know."


    "Well it takes time to get results from -"


    "Oh myDreemya, would you twodimwitted malnourished retards shut the fuck up already?" Jorei barked, clearly annoyed by the duo going at it.


    She blinked.


    Her father blinked.


    The elves blinked.


    The orc chuckled.


    The dwarf fell off his chair in laughter.


    "Well I never! Who do you think you are to interrupt a Council Meeting, you-" the one elf, the one that wanted more resources, tried to say before Jorei lifted a hand.


    "Quiet" Jorei said, as the elf tried to speak but found no sound escaping his mouth.


    "Wait" she said, surprised. "That was a silence spell! But you did it non-verbally and I didn''t detect any magic drain from you! That is impossible!"


    Jorei shook his head. "Not impossible, just forgotten."


    By this time the orc was helping the dwarf up, both still chuckling and smiling.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    "Well, I am glad someone finally said it to him." the orc stated, "otherwise it would have gone on to past midnight".


    "Yeah," the dwarf butted in, still chuckling now and then, "but we would have let them argue that long. It''s entertainment in the highest degree." The other council members, the two elves who had yet to talk, were not paying that much attention to the conversation anymore.


    Her father stepped forward. "Council, it has happened. The One has appeared."


    Now THAT got the attention of everyone. The dwarf and orc stopped laughing, the elves sat straighter, and the mute elf seemed to be too shocked to say anything. Oh wait, that would be because of the silence spell.


    "And where is the proof?" The orc asked, dead serious now. Her father merely nodded towards Jorei, who seemed to be losing his patience, albeit at a slower rate than before now that the one elf is quiet.


    "And how is one elf proof? If they are a witness, they could merely be lying!" one of the elves said, raising a eyebrow.


    "Insolent cur, how dare you call me elf!" Jorei roared, anger clearly evident in his eyes.


    This anger went unnoticed by all except for her and her father, as the council erupted into talk.


    "They speak the ancient language!"


    "But how? Even we do not know most of it!"


    "They must be the One!"


    Jorei waited patiently for the room to quiet, although this took minutes.


    The orc, amazement on his face, stepped towards Jorei.


    "You are the one who was trapped in a cage for all those years?" he said, remembering the prophecy.


    Jorei nodded, "Not really a cage though, more like a magical slumber inside of a stone box. And it wasn''t for years, it was for millennia."


    That through the room into chaos, as all members, including her and her father, shouted out in surprise and disbelief.


    This time however, Jorei was not going to wait for it to calm down.


    "SILENCE!" he roared, and everyone present immediately shut up. It was like they felt compelled to follow his orders, like bad things might happen to them if they didn''t.


    "I am not elvish, nor am I an orc. I am not kin to dwarf either, nor granite-person. I am ahuman!" Jorei said, his anger slowly, too slowly for her liking, leaving his eyes.


    "Human!" the dwarf shouted, sounding surprised and scared. "There are few who remember the term! Us dwarves remember though! And we live to serve!" The dwarf then kneeled infront of Jorei, much like a slave would.


    This shocked the elves in the room to the core. Why would such a proud dwarf immediately act like a slave once the name of this species was uttered? It made no sense!.


    The orc, on the other hand, raised a hand to his opposite shoulder, and bowed his head a little. "The orc''s stand ready to be ordered, Leruja Human".


    The elves just could not understand! Orc''s never submitted, yet this one does so at the mere sight of whatever ahumanis?


    "Rise, you may be at ease. If you know what I am, you must know who. And why I am here, thousands of years from my time." Jorei said, moving to stand next to the dwarf and orc. They stood, and seemed a little less... stressful?


    "If you are here now, thousands of years later, and you were magically asleep in a stone box, then...." the dwarf thought out loud, before the orc came to the conclusion first.


    "Your the Prince!" it shouted, before dropping into the deepest bow possible. The dwarf gasped rather audibly before also adopting the deepest bow possible.


    The elves were getting tired of not knowing what was going on. She decided to take the initiative.


    "Prince? Why does-" she started, before the dwarf interuppted her.


    "Silence! You know not whom you are talking about!" the dwarf looked a tad bit scared saying that, but why she could not tell.


    "This is not an ordinaryhuman elf! You had better watch your tongue, lest you lose it!" The orc added.


    She was shocked, never before had a lesser race insulted her. She was about to rebuke him when one of the other elves spoke up.


    "Then pray tell, why we should be so careful?"


    The dwarf looked at Jorei, who nodded slightly. Almost imperceptibly.


    "Because this single human is more powerful than anyone you have ever met before, or even thought of before." the dwarf stated, and she could find no hint of lying.


    "This single human is also the prince, the most powerful one. He has no rival in your empire, as he is a stronger magic user than your High Priest, and a better melee fighter than your High Knight." the orc added, smiling at the thought of that fight, of the human destroying the oppressive elves.


    The elves looked unbelieving. "I see no proof for your-"


    "The only match for him would be your Great One." the dwarf interrupted.


    The elves did a collective blink. She looked at Jorei.


    "... is that true?" she asked him, her mind not wanting to believe it.


    He answered her with a nod. It wasn''t much, but it was enough to get the message across.


    She fainted from the shock as everything she had learned or been taught growing up was now revealed as a lie.

 Chapter 5

    <unknown pov>


    The great castle that was The Citadel of Citadels was overflowing with activity. Thousands of people were moving in and out every minute, and the roads were so used the cobblestones had been ground down and replaced hundreds of times over.


    Through all this chaos, one man, a elf, was in the biggest of rushes.


    I am a scout! he thought, pushing people out of the way as he ran for the keep.Scouts are never late in their reportings!


    Most people ignored him, those that didn''t quickly went with the first option once they saw his armor and recognized he was a scout.


    He burst through the doors to the throne room, as mortals called it, and ran to the throne. He quickly dropped into a bow once he reached it, and didn''t look up.


    "Rise, scout. Take a moment, gather your breath." The figure sitting on the throne said, to which the scout was relieved. He indeed did take a moment to catch his breath before standing and giving the salute of the scouts.


    "I apologize, Great One, that this mortal body is too weak to serve you fully. I try my hardest with it though, in the hope that effort can overcome this weakness." the scout said, bowing his head for a moment.


    "I thank you for your devotion. What is your report you so hastily came to tell?" The Great One responded, their eyes seeming to glow brighter than before.


    "The mage at the watchtower on the northwest province, Geree''a, has detected a magical spike near one of the towns."


    The Great One frowned. "How big of a spike? If there were rogue elements present, then the spike should have been barely detectable, as they are weak."


    The scout hesitated for a moment. This was unusual, it was almost like he didn''t want to say what he was going to say next. "The spike was... well, to quote the mage, ''massive, of the likes I''ve never seen before. For a second, I thought it was the Great One, but the presense was not warm and soothing''".


    The Great One sat back in his chair, putting his hands together and thinking.


    This was troublesome, if there were so many mages as to rival his strength, it would take time to crush the rogue elements. Time, which would be better spent on experiments and research.


    "There is more, Great One. A patrol of Rangers, numbering five, have gone missing in the area that the magical surge was detected."


    The Great One leaned forward. Things were getting interesting now, and there might be excitement in the future. It has been so boring these past centuries, what with rogue elements not being strong enough to give entertainment.


    "Has the cause been explored?"


    "Y-yes Great One. The Lord of that area, a Lord Bolderi, has checked their life crystals, and found them dull. They have perished, but the amount of rogue elements in the area is nowhere near needed to kill 5 rangers."


    The Great One said nothing, as they pondered the information given. A couple minutes later, they finally responded. With a chuckle that slowly turned into a laugh.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "Good! Good! This century finally brings entertainment. Scout, tell General Yor to take a battalion of rangers, and to go find out what happened to the slain ones."


    "Yes, Great One!" the scout said before running off.


    The Great One sat back in his throne, idly staring ahead.


    We shall see if you are indeed entertainment, whatever you are.


    <Atlia''s pov>


    I awoke to a pounding headache.


    Wincing, I reached both hands up and rubbed my forehead, hoping to alleviate the pain. I slowly opened my eyes, only to hastily close them due to the bright lights of my surroundings.


    What happened? I thought, as the pain began to fade away. The last thing I remembered was Jorei telling the Council something, and then-


    I lurched up, and immedately winced, as the headache came back with full force.Ah, to hell with this.


    I reached inside of my mind, found the pond that was my magic, and forced it into my hands in streams. I then raised my hands to my head, and uttered the incantation for healing.


    Immediately, I felt the pain go away. Then I felt the fatigue set in. It was not alot, being the first spell of the day, but I would have to remember the little fatigue before it became bigger with new spells. Otherwise, I could run out of energy, energy that my heart uses to say, keep me alive.


    I opened my eyes again, and the light was easier to deal with this time. As I took stock of my surroundings, I heard the faint sounds of yelling coming from the room next door.


    I glanced around. I was in what I could assume to be a bedroom, as the room was tiny, and the only interesting feature was the bed I was in. The only light source was a chandalier above me, filled with candles.


    The yelling got louder, and I began to be annoyed at it. I slid the covers off, and stood up.


    Well, I still got my balance, that means I am fully healed now. I must have hit my head when I fainted.


    Just as I was deciding whether to go find the source of the yelling, the door opened, and one of the elves from the council walked in.


    "Ah, I see you are up. How are you feeling?" She asked, concerned. It was nice to know they cared about my health.


    "I am fine, thank you. If I may, what is the yelling about?" I asked, as I sat down on the bed. The elf walked over and sat next to me.


    "Oh, can hear that can you? Well, the others are arguing over what to do now that the One has shown up." she replied, putting her hands in her lap and shaking her head with a small smile.


    "Geez, why must they be so loud? Anyways, about before..." I started, only to be interrupted.


    "No need to worry, it was a culture shock to us as well." she said, looking at me as I nodded in agreement.


    "When the dwarf said that Jorei was as powerful as the Great One, was he being truthful?" I asked, hoping it was all just a lie. Just a prank, a joke, that someone would come out and reveal soon.


    "Yes. While you were sleeping, we discussed the extent of Jorei''s magic alone. He is so strong, Atlia, I can scarcely believe it myself. And I was there!" she responded with a laugh.


    I laughed too. "So then. What happens now? If he is as strong as that, then the church is lying to us." I said, looking down at the floor.


    "The church is a topic for another day. First, we should make sure you are fine. Your magic works, yes?"


    I nodded. "I used it just now to fix a headache I awoke with."


    "Good. I think your cognitive functions are working..."


    "Oh, really? I couldn''t tell" I say sarcastically.


    "...but then again maybe not." We both laughed. It felt good to be able to talk to someone like this.


    "Now lets check memory. What is my name?"


    I stopped. What was her name? I can''t remember! "I can''t remember your name! Oh no, did I do something when I fainted?" I said, panicking.


    "It is good you admit that, as I never told you it. I would be concerned if you have a name for me." she said with a smirk.


    "Oh, you!" I said indignitantly, as I playfully smacked her in the shoulder.


    The yellling reached a hightened pitch at this time, loud enough that words were almost discernable through the walls.


    "Oh come on, Atlia. It appears we must go intervene before the boys turn violent with one another." she said, standing up. I stood as well, and we walked to the door together.


    "Boys, always using their fists over their brains, am I right?" I said, as we both chuckled as we exited the room.