《Dark blood》


 Prologue: The birth of a stillborn

    <h1>Prologue</h1>


    On a rainy day in a small village a boy was walking through the streets. He stood 1 meter and 80 centimetres tall, had dark brown hair and his dark brown irises were only broken by his pupil and the whites of his eye. Seemingly lost in thought, he wasn¡¯t aware of his surroundings. His senses dulled by the rain and his thoughts, he did not hear the sound a large oncoming motor vehicle until the headlights were only mere centimetres away from him.


    In his last moments in this world, he heard a voice. The voice was clear despite the sounds of the rain, the motor vehicle that was now skidding to a halt and his dulling senses. The voice being almost ethereal cleared his mind and asked him one question.


    ¡°What do you value more, your memories or your thoughts?¡±


    Meanwhile in a faraway world in a certain room seemingly part of an enormous tree seven figures sat a table made from the same wood. Each of the figures looked towards the figure at the head of the table with a grave expression. This was the moment when the figure at the head spoke.


    ¡®Brothers and sisters, tonight I received a very disconcerting report. The contents of this report are to be kept secret until we have made a decision on what action to undertake.¡¯


    After looking around the table and seeing the grave and concerned expressions of the other figures he decided that discussing the contents of the report was meaningless. So instead he asked them a question.


    ¡°How should we combat this threat?¡±


    Not a second after the words had left his mouth one of the figures sprung up from their chair.


    ¡°We should meet this threat head on and crush it!¡±


    Screamed the seemingly female figure, you could recognise that she was a warrior, since she had a strong posture, a toned and seemingly very flexible body and the fact that she was carrying a sword even at such a secure meeting.


    ¡°Sit down lady Elyvia, if we met this wave head on it would only spell our doom. We must think of different options to ensure our survival.¡±


    After hearing this the female named Elyvia sat down. The man that retorted Elyvia sat opposite of her, he didn¡¯t seem older than her in terms of bodily growth, but his expression and especially his eyes made it clear that he possessed a lot of wisdom and experience, he continued.


    ¡°I propose that we start with fighting the already present corruption there more heavily to delay and weaken them. Besides that, it might be a good idea to ask the world tree for help.¡±


    While the first proposal was met with agreement, the second proposal was met with heavy resistance from the three figures sitting across the table with lady Elyvia sitting in the middle.


    Lady Elyvia: ¡°Are we going to hide like dogs behind the world tree!¡±


    Unknown figure on the right: ¡°How dare you call upon the world tree for such a small thing!¡±If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Unknown figure on the left: ¡°We can¡¯t rely on the world tree for everything! You should know that the most out of all of us Lyrian!¡±


    After the side of the table lady Elyvia was on was finished with their initial outcry the other side retorted. With Lyrian sitting in the middle, they retorted heavily.


    Lyrian: ¡°What do you expect us to do? Kill such a horde with our pride!¡±


    Figure on the right: ¡°Asking the world tree to defend itself is only natural!¡±


    Figure on the left: ¡°If we don¡¯t try to do everything we can, we will certainly die and this forest will die with us if that happens!¡±


    It was clear that they were going to continue to rage on so the figure at the head of the table spoke.


    ¡°Silence!¡± The room immediately went completely silent, and the figure resumed: ¡°If the six most wise figures in this forest can¡¯t have a calm discussion then what hope do we have?¡±


    After hearing this, all six figures realized what they did. They realised their fault and were ashamed of them, for they made such a ruckus in front of the most powerful and important figure in the whole forest. They fell silent and only after a dozen seconds the figure at the head spoke again with a sigh.


    ¡°Now, shall we resume the discussion?¡±


    While the meeting between the seven figures continued somewhere in the same woods the screams of a woman could be heard. These screams did not stop for several hours until the sobbing of two people replaced them. The figures of the two became clear under the moonlight, lying in the bed was a woman. The woman seemed very pale and completely exhausted but most of all she seemed devastated. Looking at the mush of blood and flesh on the other side of the bed, she could only cry. The other figure was right beside her, holding her in his hands, sobbing he whispered to her.


    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. It¡¯s not your fault.¡±


    After saying this for several minutes he realised the woman was unconscious. After walking out on the veranda, looking out from his house to the forest floor that was at least a dozen meters below the emotions welled up within him and resulted in a cry of anguish. A cry that reverberated through everything and made every living being in the surroundings aware of his grief.


    On the same forest floor, there was a completely white spider with a small basket on its back. After the cry of anguish reverberated through the spider and the basket, a sound could be heard from the basket. A baby crying could be heard, realizing the spider had found its target at last, it raced towards the origin of the scream. After an hour of trying to navigate through the forest floor towards the house and multiple attempts at not getting lost, the spider finally found the house in the trees. Arriving at the base of the tree, the spider started to climb to the house without hesitation and arrived within twenty minutes at the front door.


    Taking the basket from his back, the spider looked inside it for one last time. For even with its limited brain capacity it knows that it would be last time it would see the small child inside the basket. Looking inside the basket, it could only be captivated by the dark brown hair and the evenly dark brown pupils of the small child, the child had a human appearance with a white skin colour. Upon seeing the spider, the small child formed its mouth into a smile and released sounds of delight. The spider seeing this could only rub its face against the cheek of the small child for one last time before hurriedly scurrying off.


    It started to race back towards where it came from. Sprinting along the forest floor with seemingly infinite stamina for an unknown amount of time, it finally reached its end goal. At the end goal stood a woman, the woman was completely covered in a black cloak with strange patters that exhibited a dark glow. The woman spoke to the spider.


    ¡°Well done, little one, you have served your purpose well. Now my child, I hope this family can give you what I am unable to give to you. Grow strong, so that we may one day meet.¡±


    After the white spider left the child, the child started looking at its surroundings. It seemed to be on a platform connected or more a part of a very large tree. The child could hear sounds of animals nearby, both big and small. Being unfamiliar with its surroundings and seeing that the white spider had left, the child started crying. Suddenly, the lights in the house were switched on and hurried footsteps were heard followed by the door opening.

 Chapter 1: A child on the doorstep

    <h1>Chapter 1</h1>


    The man sat on a wooden chair inside the house. The lights inside the house were off as to make sure that his wife has a good rest, he didn¡¯t want to over exert herself over losing their child. He cursed himself silently for not being able to help his wife and save his child, he cursed his weakness in such a situation. His lamenting in self guild was abruptly halted by a noise just outside his front door, it resembled a baby crying. Upon hearing this noise, he walked with weary steps toward the front door, not sure what would make such a noise at this hour. Opening the door, he saw no one standing, until his gazes was directed down by the sudden increase of the crying. He saw a baby with dark brown hair, dark brown irises and white skin in a basket in front of his door.


    His weary and stoic expression changed to one of shock.


    ¡®Who could have brought this baby here? Why did they bring him here? Whose baby is this?¡¯


    While his questions remained unanswered the baby started crying even harder, he realised this was because of him. Standing at 1,80 metres tall he was quite imposing to such a small child. He decided that he could only bring this child inside, leaving a child out in the cold is not something an honourable dark elf does.


    Picking up the baby from the basket, he walks toward the cradle they had prepared for their child he put the baby in it.


    Man: ¡°I hope she doesn¡¯t wake up and gets mad because I put a baby inside the cradle that isn¡¯t ours.¡±


    ¡°WAAAAAAAH! WAAAAHAAHA!¡±


    Suddenly hearing the baby bawl its eyes out he rushed towards the cradle. Upon seeing the baby, he saw it crying very loudly, however he didn¡¯t know what was amiss? Was it hungry? Did it need to go to the bathroom? Trying to stop himself from panicking and thinking of a solution he didn¡¯t hear the footsteps that originated from the other room and slowly made their way to him. In the doorway behind him appeared the woman, she seemed a lot less pale and exhausted after sleeping for a couple of hours and as such was able to assess the situation better than her exhausted and panicking husband.


    ¡°Grey dear, what is happening?¡±


    Turning around and facing his wife, Grey¡¯s face grew pale as he did not know how to possibly explain the situation. Seeing this the woman made her way over to the cradle only to take the baby in her arms and cradle it.


    Unknown woman: ¡°Dear, you should have woken me up if something like this happened.¡±


    The woman looked around the room until her eyes settled on the cradle them bought for their baby. Crying originated from it, the woman walked to it with a perplexed expression towards it. Looking inside the cradle, she saw a small boy crying, while he did not look anything like a new-born dark elf, she looked at him with an expression full of motherly love. Upon seeing this expression, the baby seemed to calm down a bit, allowing the woman to put her finger to the baby¡¯s mouth. The baby grabbed the finger and released sounds of delight as he pulled on it.


    The woman could only smile seeing this, because with the stillborn in the back of her head she had a lot of stress and this relieved a great deal of it. Captivated by the baby and its behaviour she wasn¡¯t aware of her surroundings until her husband pulled her back to reality with his excuse to her earlier question.


    Grey: ¡°But Lyvia, you just looked completely exhausted so I thought it unwise to wake you until you had rested enough.¡±


    Ignoring the protest of her husband, she picked up the baby and cradled it in her arms. Facing her husband, she decided that taking care of this baby took priority over her grief for now.


    Lyvia: ¡°I have rested enough, now while I put him to ned go and fetch Elrieden.¡±


    Grey: ¡°But why would you want to call Elrieden? We have only just gotten this child and we don¡¯t even know its parents.¡±


    Lyvia: ¡°That is exactly the reason, Elrieden can use curse magic to find out who this child belongs to and he can remove possible curses, besides that he also has some skill in healing magic if it is deemed necessary.¡±


    Grey: ¡°Alright I will go to him, but please don¡¯t over exert yourself. I know that you are very strong, but you must still take it easy after something like that.¡±


    Lyvia: ¡°Yes, yes, I know dear. Now hurry up, you better not let me stay up late because of your slow pace.¡±


    After hearing this the man quickly left the house, used the multiple trees as stepping stones to make his way to the forest floor. Arriving on the forest floor he sprinted towards the denser part of the forest. This part housed a larger part of the village, housing the communal hall, the apothecary and the house of the curse mage, Ellith Elrieden. After five minutes of sprinting he finally arrived at the Elrieden house, knocking on the door it was almost immediately opened. Ellith Elrieden stood in the doorway with bags under his eyes.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Ellith Elrieden: ¡°What do you want, Mr. Theandor?¡±


    Grey: ¡°Sorry to disturb you Ellith, but we need your help. A child was delivered to our doorstep and we don¡¯t know whose it is.¡±


    He wanted to continue but Ellith interrupted him.


    Ellith: ¡°I get it, let me get my coat and some supplies and then we can go.¡±


    Two minutes later Ellith was standing on the doorstep with his coat and a box. After making sure one last time that Ellith had everything, he departed with Grey towards the house in the trees.


    Ellith: ¡°I didn¡¯t know that dark elves would leave their child on someone else¡¯s doorstep.¡±


    Grey: ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a dark elf. It looked more human with a white skin colour, dark brown hair and eyes.¡±


    Ellith: ¡°How did a human baby get delivered to a dark elf home deep in one of the great forests?¡±


    Grey: ¡°I don¡¯t know¡±


    The conversation ended with that last exchange of words. Making them both realize that this is quite the surreal situation. After several more minutes of striding across the forest floor they reached the house in the trees and made their way to the front door. Grey opens the door and sees Lyvia sitting on a chair with the body cradled against her heart. The scene looked very calm and almost natural, except for the fact that the mother and baby looked like two opposites because of the skin and hair colour of the dark elves being almost completely the opposite of what the child¡¯s skin colour and hair colour was.


    Lyvia: ¡°Ah dear, you came back fairly quickly. Thank you for coming at this time Ellith, we¡¯re sorry for waking you up so late.¡±


    Ellith: ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it, shamans don¡¯t sleep that much either way. Now let us see if everything is okay with the child, and let¡¯s see who the child¡¯s parents are.¡±


    After Lyvia had laid the child in the cradle. Ellith started with checking the pulse of the child and looked at him with his mana sight to see if there are any abnormalities. Having found none he checked the body for any curse marks and concluded that the child was fine, except for a little malnutrition. In the meantime, the couple looked on from a small distance.


    Ellith: ¡°Alright, he doesn¡¯t seem to have any abnormalities and seems very healthy aside from some slight malnutrition.¡±


    The pair were at first startled by his remark because they didn¡¯t expect anything and after that, relieved because the child was okay.


    Ellith: ¡°Now, let¡¯s find out who this child belongs to.¡±


    The reason why he brought a box with him is to carry the required materials for the ritual he was about to do. The ritual involved reading the mana signature of the child and trying to find one that is the same of comparable. This makes it easy for people to find their children over longer distances, however it requires a skilled curse mage and certain materials and knowledge that is not available everywhere. It can also only work on small children, because their mana signature and their parents are still very comparable at a young age.


    After setting up the circle he started chanting from a strange language. The words he spoke and the intent behind them appeared in front of him, until he finished his chanting and the words transformed into a mark on the child¡¯s body. The mark represented the intent behind the words and connected them to form a magical effect. The mark would normally give the chanter a general idea of where the parents were, what they looked like and who they were.


    Ellith: ¡°Well, this is odd.¡±


    Lyvia: ¡°What is it, are they very far away?¡±


    Lost in thought for a moment Ellith was unable to answer the question of miss Elyvia.


    Ellith: ¡°N-no it¡¯s not that, I¡¯m not getting any information on their whereabouts, anything really.¡±


    Grey: ¡°But how could that be? This ritual is supposed to find the parents, right?¡±


    Ellith: ¡°Yes, but through the mana signature. So that can either mean that the mana signature has changed drastically in the time between the birth of the child and now of the parent or the child, or the parent has blocked this kind of tracking magic.¡±


    Ellith: ¡°I don¡¯t think it is the former option, because otherwise I would get the location of at least one parent.¡±


    Grey: ¡°How could they do that to a child!¡±


    Lyvia interrupted Grey before he could continue his rant.


    Lyvia: ¡°Ellith, are you absolutely sure that you won¡¯t be able to find its parents?¡±


    Ellith: ¡°Yes¡±


    Lyvia: ¡°In that case, we will adopt him¡±


    The expression of both Grey and Ellith turned to those of surprise and quickly transformed into doubt for Ellith and shock for Grey.


    Ellith: ¡°Are you sure that that is a good idea, the parents might want the child back. Especially if they¡¯re people who are either able to pay for such magic or use it.¡±


    Lyvia: ¡°If they want him back they can come here and decide on what they want, either way I doubt they want a starved child.¡±


    Grey: ¡°Lyvia, are you sure that this is a good idea. It could also be a mental trauma due to the stillborn and this could only make it worse, and besides that it isn¡¯t even our child.¡±


    Lyvia: ¡°Grey, I¡¯m saddened and will in no doubt have grief over our lost child for the coming time. But, we can¡¯t leave this child to the wolves and we are ready to raise a child. It may be not birthed by us, but raising a child is not only giving birth to it, isn¡¯t dear?¡±


    Grey: ¡°Yes, that is true. But¡±


    Before Grey could even start his sentence, he was interrupted by Lyvia.


    Lyvia: ¡°Grey, dear let¡¯s decide this tomorrow. I doubt Ellith would like to endure this marital discussion and he is also tired. I will put the baby to bed, if you could please escort him home.¡±


    Ellith: ¡°Please lady Elyvia, that is not necessary. I will be taking my leave after I have gathered up my ritual materials.¡±


    Five minutes later the materials were gathered and put back in the box. Both Lyvia and Grey wished him good night and a safe trip home with Lyvia having the baby cradled in her arms. As Ellith left the house he sprinted towards his home for half the way, making sure that they thought that he went home. Then he bent off to the right in the direction of a less dense part of the forest.


    ¡°I should inform him before the rest finds out, only he knows how to handle this.¡±

 Chapter 2: A name and an old man.

    <h1>Chapter 2</h1>


    After the couple had seen mister Elrieden out they decided it was time for bed. Putting the baby in the cradle, Lyvia was happy knowing that the child was healthy. She knew that they still needed to go through multiple processes to complete the adoption, and she wasn¡¯t sure about the reaction from the community. But above all that, she was happy to be able to raise this child. While she was saddened because her child¡¯s life ended before it had even begun, she was not overtaken with grief. She needed to focus on raising him now.


    ¡°Dear, isn¡¯t it a little weird that he doesn¡¯t have a name yet.¡±


    Grey answered her question with a similar inquisitive yet calm tone.


    ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t actually know if he already had a name. I didn¡¯t look at what was in the basket.¡±


    Lyvia reaffirmed his suggestion with a calm and loving tone, followed by a small giggle upon looking at the little nameless boy in her arms.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start with that.¡±


    Finding the basket on the table where they left it, they searched through it. Trying to find some kind of note or engraving on the basket which held the child¡¯s name. The only thing they found is a small note saying:


    ¡°Please give him what I could not, please give him a home to return to when he is despised, and most of all please accept him despite his nature.¡±


    After reading this both Grey and Lyvia were puzzled, since they did not know what to make of this. What did the parent mean with this, with did he or she mean with ¡®his nature¡¯? After a long moment of silence Lyvia spoke first.


    ¡°While it is not entirely clear what they meant with the first and last statement, we can pledge ourselves to make the second come true.¡±


    Grey was just as perplexed as her. Upon hearing her statement, he could only nod his head in agreement. However, he was still worried about the contents of the letter and asked with a worried and confused tone.


    ¡°I agree, however what did they mean with ¡®his nature¡¯? Does this mean that he inherited something from them?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but whatever ¡®his nature¡¯ let¡¯s agree that we will help him. That despite whatever they refer to as ¡®his nature¡¯ we will support him, and try to get him back on his path if he strays from it.¡±


    Grey could only smile at the goodwill of his wife, as he replied to her statement with a loving and proud tone.


    ¡°I could not have said it better. The only things that is a mystery is the first statement, what did they mean with ¡®give him what I could not¡¯? Are his parents¡¯ fugitives or criminals?¡±


    Hearing this Lyvia was lost in thought for a moment before answering.


    ¡°We can only find out in the future, can¡¯t we?¡±


    Hearing this answer, Grey couldn¡¯t help but smile. Hearing her say that he could only reminisce about the time he met her. In front of a dungeon he met the most beautiful dark elf, and could only ask her if she would join him and his party in a dungeon raid. She complied, the dungeon raid itself wasn¡¯t very special, but during it they saw some amazing acts of swordplay from her. She was very strong and could use that strength to its maximum with her swordplay. When they stepped out of the dungeon he could only ask her one thing.


    ¡°Do you think we will meet again?¡±


    Lyvia looked away for a moment before meeting his gaze once again, and answering his question with a light, happy and joyous tone followed by a smile.


    ¡°We can only find out in the future, can¡¯t we?¡±


    Was what she said with a smile as radiant as the sun. While there had been a few memorable things in his life up to this point, that smile and that one sentence have always stuck with him. While Grey was reminiscing about the pasts, Lyvia had her mind on a more urgent issue and nudged Grey to get his attention.


    ¡°Grey, what name should we give him?¡±


    Snapping out of his day dream, Grey suddenly tried to quickly think of a name but none could come to mind. Until suddenly one name sprung up from his mind.


    However, Lyvia was faster than him, and said with excitement: ¡°Why don¡¯t we name him something out of the ordinary? I would like my son¡¯s name to be known throughout the lands as something special!¡±


    Hearing this, Grey¡¯s resolve wavered for a moment as he saw the women he loved talk with so much enthusiasm about something. However, he soon regained his composure and offered his suggestion.


    ¡°How about we name him Daelyn, I heard Dylan was quite a common name from the human kingdoms for boys, and I think that suits him quite well.¡±


    Hearing this name Lyvia was still a bit hesitant about it.


    ¡°Are you sure, shouldn¡¯t we name him something more out of the ordinary?¡±


    Grey could only smile as he was glad that Lyvia had thought of a name first, that allowed him to think out some of his arguments.


    ¡°He is already unordinary enough, so I think a more ordinary name would suit him. He has an ordinary look to his face, but his circumstances are unordinary. I doubt that will help him very much in his life. Besides, being known throughout the lands for your name is not very impressive.¡±


    Lyvia looked at him with a hesitant expression, replying to his statement with a hesitant and questioning tone.


    ¡°I guess I can agree with that, but it still irks me a little bit because should we really not give him a name that is also a little extraordinary?¡±


    ¡°Seeing his special circumstances, it would not be necessary to have an extraordinary name to be remembered, right?¡±


    Lyvia could only form a meek smile as she caved in to Grey¡¯s arguments. Quickly snapping out of her sadness, she answered Grey with enthusiasm in her voice.


    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right, the name Daelyn also sounds kind of nice. Okay?¡±


    Turning towards the baby, she had a face of enthusiasm, pride, and motherly love. With a voice filled with those emotions she said: ¡°From now on your name will be Daelyn!¡±


    The baby seeing the smile from Lyvia, and hearing his new name was happy. He had a name! He released sounds of delight, making the hearts of both Lyvia and Grey melt. They looked up from him and their gazes met. They were both able to discern the emotions on the others face, they both were happy with this small moment between the three. As they realized that Turning back to the baby, they noticed he was fast asleep.


    Feeling the exhaustion that has been building up due to the large amount of stress and physical movement, they decided to continue tomorrow. After making sure that the little Daelyn was asleep and safe in his cradle, they went to bed.


    While the couple went to bed, Elrieden reached his destination. He was standing in front of a house on the forest floor. It wasn¡¯t even made of a part of the tree, it was made of stone and wooden planks. The foundation made of stone, glass windows and a door reinforced with iron made it seem like a house you would find in a human or beastman kingdom instead of a great forest inhabited by dark elves. Approaching the house, Elrieden saw that a sign hung next to the door, reading: ¡®Do not disturb¡¯. Knowing the urgency of the situation he chose to ignore the sign and knock on the door. Before he could retract his hand, the door swung open, standing in the doorway was a goblin with six arms. The arms looked like they weren¡¯t really part of the goblins body, it was liked they were sewn on but the thread wasn¡¯t there. The goblin spoke with a tone filled with irritation and disdain towards Elrieden.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you read the sign?¡±


    The goblin tried to slam the door shut before Elrieden could answer, but Elrieden managed to stop him just in the nick of time, surprised by the goblins strength he was almost locked outside.


    ¡°Please, I need to talk to your master. It is very urgent.¡±


    Hearing this, the goblin made another attempt at closing the door with all its strength. While Elrieden was pushed back the door remained opened. The goblin answered Elrieden¡¯s question with an irritated and sinister tone.


    ¡°What can be so urgent that master has to hear it.¡±


    Elrieden was quite surprised, because he had never heard a goblin talk with such a sinister tone. He answered the question with a strained voice as he tried to keep the door open.


    ¡°It¡¯s about a child, a possible disciple.¡±


    Before the goblin could retort, Elrieden heard footsteps from inside the house. The house creaked under the weight of the footsteps. When they were just behind the door a sigh could be heard before a man spoke.


    ¡°What is so urgent that I need to be disturbed? There better be a damned good reason. Move out of the way Gob.¡±


    Gob looked back, and upon seeing the man behind him, he back off and said with an obedient tone: ¡°Yes master.¡±


    As Elrieden heard this, the goblin opened the door. In the doorway stood a man of tall stature with the goblin next to him. The goblin promptly named Gob suddenly seemed very obedient. Elrieden was surprised, because while he had heard of the man he did not know what he looked like. Namely he looked like a sun elf, which was unheard of considering his magic. Having a cloak covering most of his body, you could only see his face and hair. But that was enough to recognise a sun elf, with their golden blond hair and golden eyes. This man could only be a sun elf! The only thing that perplexed Elrieden more is the age of the sun elf; sun elves are known to live close to 1000 years. This man seemed to be in the later stages of his life!


    The old man that stood with the doorway directed his gaze towards Elrieden, and said with an irritated tone: ¡°If you are just going to stare then leave.¡±


    Noticing that he was staring at the man, Elrieden snapped out of it and came back to the reason he came here.


    ¡°Yes, I have a very urgent matter. Namely it is a child with great dark mana power, blood mana power or both.¡±


    The old man scoffed at his answer, he replied with an indifferent tone


    ¡°Now why is that so urgent? I don¡¯t see what that has to do with me.¡±


    Elrieden had already expected such an answer and was able to reply with a swift and steadfast voice.


    ¡°The parents are not aware of it, they have just adopted him but they do not know his nature. I thought it wise to come to you, a chimeramancer.¡±


    Hearing this the expression of the old man changed. A child with dark mana power or blood mana power without proper guidance could lead to a catastrophe, especially if they were strong.


    The old man seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, before answering Elrieden with a reaffirming voice


    ¡°You made a good decision, come inside and tell me what you know.¡±


    Entering the home Elrieden saw that books were stacked up very high everywhere, bookshelves completely full, tables full of different kinds of artefacts and body parts of different creatures and a lot of dust, a lot of it. Elrieden wondered how anyone would be able to live in such a chaotic home, his thoughts were interrupted by the old man. The old man cleared a nearby table of different kinds of documents and told him to sit, he looked at Gob for a moment. The goblin made a gesture of understanding towards him and scurried off.


    ¡°He will bring us something to drink, in the meantime you can start your story.¡±


    After having told the old man that he was called by Grey over to his house due to the child that showed up. He told him that he child was healthy with no abnormalities. The old man was getting impatient, and interrupted Elrieden with an angry and irritated tone.


    ¡°So, what does all of this have to do with me?¡±


    He said with a glare directed at Elrieden. His expression oozed bloodlust, he wasn¡¯t a man that appreciated others wasting his time. Elrieden noticed this, but decided to stand up for himself. He was almost considered nobility around these parts, why would he bow down to this man? He answered the old man¡¯s question with an irritated and disdain filled voice.


    ¡°Yes, I was just getting to that part. I used the curse tracking magic to try and find the child¡¯s parents, the magic did not work.¡±


    The old man seemed irritated by the tone of his voice, but was more focused on his earlier statement.


    ¡°Did not work you say?¡±


    The old man seemed to be lost in thought for a moment before continuing further questioning Elrieden with an inquisitive tone.


    ¡°Are you sure that it is not because of obstruction magic?¡±


    Elrieden answered the question with an honest and factual tone, revealing his master in the magic used: ¡°Yes, obstruction magic would either twist the information or make it very vague. The magic was simply block, I suspected that it was dark mana or blood mana because I have never heard of magic that completely blocks the curse tracking magic.¡±


    Hearing this, the old man seemed to be lost in thought. He was considering the multiple options that could have caused this, and had to agree with the dark elf opposite of him. There are very few magics that completely block out this kind of magic, and those magics would either mean that it was a very skilled shaman or he had a barrier deployed every hour of the day and every day of the week. Besides both options there was one more option, namely that the parents were both either very strong dark mages or blood mages.


    He stopped his train of thoughts before once again asking Elrieden a question with a reaffirming tone ¡°Are you sure that you did not get any information.¡±


    Elrieden answered with a truthful voice.


    ¡°No, a blank slate, I got nothing through.¡±


    The old man opposite of him answered his question with a calm, and calculating voice.


    ¡°While this does mean that it is possible, it does not mean that it is true. I want you to keep tabs on the boy and inform me if anything significant happens, and I will teach him if he is indeed a dark mage or a blood mage. Until that time arrives, I think you should teach him curse magic if he is interested.¡±


    The old man put some genuine thought into this. He knew the hard trials dark mages experienced, both by the nature of their magic and the society they live in. A society of dark mages is one of danger and death, both from inside and outside. It is easy to lose oneself to the power the dark mana can give, and as such most youngsters with dark mana must have proper guidance. Otherwise they will pose a threat to themselves and the people around them. Besides that, dark mages are normally hunted throughout the continent, especially in the human kingdoms. They believe that dark mana is the incarnation of evil. Ha! Idiots! The incarnation of evil stems from people¡¯s greed, lust for violence or revenge, and in some cases their desperation.


    While the old man was lost in thought, Elrieden was shocked at the last statement the old man made. Teaching him! Why would he do that! His emotions getting the best of him he blurted out a question.


    ¡°Why should I teach him; a dark mage has no use for curse magic!¡±


    The old man was violently pulled out of his thoughts by Elrieden and his shouting. Upon hearing this question, he became furious. His expression oozing bloodlust, he stood up with the chair falling behind him. Gob just rounded the corner with their drinks until he suddenly felt this bloodlust, he froze up. The fear and the dark mana stemming from the chimeramancer freezing him in place.


    The old man roared with fury and directed his anger towards the shaman opposite of him


    ¡°What do you know you low class shaman! Do you think your magic is too good for a dark mage!¡±


    Elrieden, hearing this and seeing his expression backed down. He sensed the bloodlust and the amount of dark mana in the air, he regretted that he blurted out that question. He did not dare meet the chimeramancers gaze as he tried to calm him with an apologetic tone.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I will comply with your wishes. But may I know why? Why would he want to learn curse magic, chimeramancer?¡±


    The old man calmed down a bit. Gob rushed in as he picked up the chair that had fallen in the chimeramancers rage, and set it back up. The chimeramancer sat back down, and answered Elrieden¡¯s question with a demanding and authoritative voice.


    ¡°You will find out in the future, and stop calling me ¡®chimeramancer. My name is Orthrus, Orthrus Illyia. I want you to go to their house and tell them two things, first you tell them that you would like to help him study magic if he wants, and tell them to visit me around his fourth birthday. You understand?¡±


    Elrieden answered with a shaking voice: ¡°Y-yes, I will do that.¡±


    Orthrus Illyia continued with the same authoritative voice: ¡°You will receive compensation for your lessons from me. Say to them that you will do it for free because he has talent for it, or something.¡±


    Elrieden only just able to regain his composure replied with a soft ¡°Yes¡±.


    With bloodlust seemingly oozing out of his body Elrieden had complied to his wishes. He hoped that he would not have to deal with this man in the future, while with the prospect of teaching that youngsters, his hopes would be unlikely.


    With Elriedens agreement the discussion was over. Gob saw Elrieden out while the man remained in his chair, lost in thought. Thinking about the consequences if that boy were to really be a dark mage, especially if he was one with great power. After several minutes of contemplating he came to one conclusion.


    We can only find out in the future, can¡¯t we?


    Having a short laugh about his conclusion he resumed his started gathering multiple books on basic blood magic and dark magic of any kind. He always had an interest in blood magic, which will work out great if he can use the boy as an exper¡­ disciple, disciple. A good disciple is always a welcome gift to any chimeramancer.


    Laughing even harder the chimeramancer made his way deeper into his home, intent on continuing his research. This event has only made it more important to finish it, otherwise he would not be able to do anything for this boy if he was this tied down.

 Chapter 3: A being and a void

    <h1>Chapter 3</h1>


    A being was in the middle of darkness. The only thing it could see was the darkness, it was not sure if the darkness was ever stretching or confined to a small space, it could only see darkness. That was until a tunnel emerged, with light at the end. Not knowing what to expect, the being was cautious for a second before getting an urge to go to the light, an urge so strong that it overrode all other thoughts or emotions. After reaching the end of the tunnel the light blinded the being, it could only hear the cry of something, a high-pitched noise. The being was most perplexed at this noise, because it realised the being itself was making it.


    Instead of the relieve that the urge had promised, there was a myriad of blinding colours. There was a myriad, composed of all kinds of colours that it did not have the words to describe. Though they were vague, it was the first time the being had seen anything like this. Feeling pain from the overstimulation of its visual senses, the being receded its vision again. After several moments of comfort from the darkness, it tried to open its eyes again. It could only open its eyelids for a second, the only thing the being saw was a smile. Blood red lips with a skin so white it seemed to shimmer in the moonlight. It was the last thing the being saw before being forced back into the darkness that it was in earlier, however now it was aware of itself inside of the dark void.


    Thoughts raced through the being¡¯s mind, filling the empty space with all kinds of questions, hypothesizes, and finally a conclusion. The conclusion that the being simply did not have enough information. After reaching that conclusion, the only thing that was present in the mind of the being was the smile. It did not know who it belonged to, why the woman was smiling, or what was happening to them.


    Suddenly the being was shocked, how did it know that that smile belonged to a woman. It knew nothing, but that piece of information suddenly sprung up in its mind like it was the most natural thing in the world! Why did this information seem so natural to it, and how did he get it?


    But before it could continue its thoughts, it noticed a vibration. A vibration that seemed to ripple through all the darkness surrounding the being. While it was very powerful and caused large ripples in the fabric of the void, it was oddly familiar, and gave the being a feeling of security. After several moments of hearing this sound the being¡¯s consciousness fell back into the darkness.


    It was only until another vibration rippled through the darkness that the being¡¯s consciousness awoke, an agonizing vibration that carried over all kinds of things the being had never experienced. It carried grief, sadness and self-hate. The being had never experienced something like this, it both enjoyed and hated the new experience. For it gave the being new but painful feelings that were hard to process, because of this it screamed. It could only wail because of the pain it experienced, this pain lasted for an uncertain amount of time until it finally subsided. The pain was replaced with a rhythmic sound of something hard hitting the ground at a rapid pace, while the being once again asked itself where this information stemmed from, it also enjoyed itself. Enjoying the noise, but not opening his eyes due to fear of seeing those blinding colours again.


    This lasted until the rhythm suddenly stopped, the being felt that it was being moved, and that feeling was followed with the touch of something cold and hard against its face. It opened its eyes, fearing the touch more than the blinding colours, and saw something that resembled a spider. Despite the oddity of the white spider, the being was not scared. The being was delighted seeing it, since it reminded it of the white and blood red smile it saw before. The being finally found something it was familiar with, it was overjoyed. However, this lasted for but a moment as the spider started to turn away from the being and run off.


    Not knowing what to do, the being observed its surroundings. It identified its surroundings as a forest area, how it did this the being did not know. Seeing that it was in an unfamiliar area and possibly dangerous area, it retreated into the comfort of the darkness and tried to calm itself by screaming its discomfort out. The being was only able to continue this for a moment until it was interrupted by a noise, followed by more noise and the feeling of warm air blowing towards, and against it. Opening its eyes, it saw a man standing in the door, his expression seemed perplexed. The being did not know who this man was and certainly did not trust him, along with the surroundings, and thus screamed louder.


    The man released a panicked yelp and his expression turned sour before picking the baby up and putting it in a bed. It was only moments later that a woman entered the room and confronted the panicking man by picking up the being and cradling it against her body. The being was surprised and perplexed at first, why was this woman holding it so close to her, before he noticed the vibration. It wasn¡¯t the same vibration he had felt before, but it was comparable. Feeling the vibration echoing throughout his mind, the being calmed down and cradled itself against the woman, and finally falling from consciousness due to the stress it experienced.


    Back in the comfort of the black void, the being relaxed under the rhythm of the vibration making ripples in the void. During its period of relaxation, the being began to ponder the current situation. Who were these people, why was this woman exuding so much love towards him, and who was he exactly? The last question struck the being the most, since it still did not know what it was except for what existed in this void. It had only seen small parts of its own body, while it had seen those of the man and the woman.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    The physical body of the being was touched when it was in the darkness, but it did not mind due to the rhythmic vibration that rippled through the dark void. It filled the being with calmness and a sense of security as it had done before. This was until this rhythm was broken, the being opened its eyes only to see that it was being laid in the cradle that it lay in earlier. Towering above him was another man, not the man he recognised from earlier. The man seemed to be a bit smaller in comparison with the other man, he seemed to have a softer face, and a subtler jawline.


    Seeing this unfamiliar man, the being went to the comfort of the darkness. Not being very alarmed, but still uncomfortable, it did not scream. Instead it resided inside the dark void along with its thoughts, who was this man, and what was he doing? Its train of thought was interrupted by a feeling, a feeling that the dark void around it was being felt. Not with a direct touch, but more like that it was thoroughly analysed from a short distance. The being was alarmed, since it was the first time that something like this had happened. While it did not feel bad, it felt uncomfortable. Afraid of losing the comfort the void gave, the only comfort it got to enjoy up until now. It screamed once again, noticing this the thing that analysed it was startled and stopped its analysation.


    As the analysation came to a stop, the void was touched by the outside force. After that, the outside force seemed to retreat its touch, and disappear.


    While the outside force had disappeared, the consequences the touch brought were only just about to begin.


    The touch had triggered something inside the void. The black void started swirling around itself, it was swirling around one point, where it seemed to condense into one small black point. The condensing of the black void seemed to strain Daelyn¡¯s mind greatly, he fell from consciousness after it had condensed, and was unable to notice the condensing of the black void. The space that the black void had left behind, was some that seemed to be a pure contrast to it. There was a pure white void that seemed just as endless but much more peaceful than the black void.


    Upon regaining its consciousness and opening its eyes, the being saw the man and the couple talking. Strangely enough, the being could understand them. He understood their language, the meaning behind their words and the message behind them. The being was perplexed, how did it know this much, did it now more languages, and, most of all, it wondered if he could communicate with them. Trying to form some words, the being could only release gurgling sounds that went unnoticed by the trio conversing. The baby concluded that it knew the language, but could not form the words due to the state of its body.


    After they had finished their conversation, the being knew more about the other people in the room. The man and woman that seemed to be in a relationship were named Grey and Lyvia, and the other man was a mage named Elrieden. Besides this information, the being also gained the information that he was in a healthy condition, which pleased it greatly, and that its parents were unknown. The last piece of information worried the being greatly, it knew the concept behind parents and would love to have at least one. It wanted to explore this world, but knew it would be unwise to do this without a secure place to do this from.


    Only moments after learning this, the woman proclaimed that they would be its parents from now on. Which both perplexed the being, and filled it with joy. For it did not know why they did it, but they wanted to take him in as their child, accept him, and cherish him.


    The being was overjoyed from the prospect of a secure place to explore this world from.


    The last thing the couple spoke about after the other man had left, was its name. They did not know it and neither did the being, they tried to find clues in the ¡®basket¡¯, as they called it, the being had arrived in. Finding nothing in the basket, they decided to name him themselves. After a rather short discussion, they decided to name the boy Daelyn.


    The being was overjoyed and at the same time a bit saddened. It was a bit saddened, because very little time had been spent discussing its name. It quickly pushed this thought to the back of its mind, and rejoiced. It had a name and it knew now what gender it was!


    This information made it far easier to paint a picture of what the being was, and it had a name! A name that was special to him, while there could be other with the same name, the being still carried it with pride.


    After naming the Daelyn, he could visibly see the exhaustion affect his parents. After making sure that he was okay, they went to bed. Daelyn however, already had a lot of sleep due to the coma like state he was in before he arrived here and since he had frequently escaped to the void, making it so that he wasn¡¯t tired in the least.


    Upon trying to meditate and enter the void, he found some difficulty doing it. He was perplexed, earlier it was as easy as breathing for him, why was it suddenly so hard now?


    Daelyn tried again, trying to regain the state of calmness he had used during his first time entering the void. As he was trying, he seemed to be missing something, like he needed to remember something but he could not grasp the memory. As he was finally able to grasp it, the pain from the mental strain from earlier suddenly kicked in full force from the memory.


    Only after several moments of enduring the pain, did it subside. He decided to leave the rest of that memory for now in fear of more pain, and instead decided to once again try and enter the void.


    Controlling his breathing from his lying position, he calmed down his body and with that his mind. He emptied his mind of all the images, emotions, and discoveries he had made earlier that day, and felt a white light engulf his consciousness. He felt like his calmness enabled him to slide down from his worldly sensations and enter a different space, as he entered the void.

 Chapter 4: A change and an urge.

    <h1>Chapter 4</h1>


    Inside the void, Daelyn noticed something strange. The void was different. Instead of black, it was a pure white! Daelyn also had a very different feeling from before from the void, the white void gave him the impression that it was a part of him, instead of that it was eternally elusive to him. The void wasn¡¯t something foreign anymore, it felt like it was a part of him. Flabbergasted, Daelyn could not help but become excited and worried at his new discoveries. He observed the void for a moment, trying to find something different from the black void. He noticed nothing, just like the black void, it seemed to be endless and empty.


    Deciding that observing was meaningless, he tried something else. Remembering the feeling of the analysation of the black void, he tried to replicate it on the white void. Trying to comprehend the white void and trying to comprehend his being in the white void.


    At first, he was not able to do or feel anything. Not knowing what he did wrong, he tried again. This time he focused the feeling on himself with the desire to see himself inside the white void. It worked, perplexed at the sudden feeling of awareness of his own being inside the void, his focus wavered, and he lost the comprehension. He could feel his mind strained by the exercise, but with his confidence bolstered by the success, he tried again. However, he was disappointed, because as he tried to spread his awareness, there was almost no success. He could feel almost no difference, he could comprehend his being in the void a tiny bit better, but the surrounding void was still very elusive to him. As such he tried again, and again, and again that night, until he fell asleep from the exhaustion, and the mental strain that the exercise created.


    As Daelyn awoke the next morning, he saw a very peaceful scene. His mother cooking with the help of his father, they were illuminated by the sunlight. Making their silver hair resemble threads of masterfully crafted silver, shining in the lights of the forges they were made in, the silver hair contrasted beautifully with their dark brown skin. Creating a contrast that was only comparable to that of the silver moon and the brown earth. It looked like a scene right from a fiction, right from the imagination.


    He noticed another thing, a thing that he had not thought about the night before. They and him looked different, not small differences that could be explained. No, these were differences that made it clear that they were not his real parents. Their hair and skin colour, their toned muscles, and their seemingly absurd strength. Daelyn became aware of this as he witnessed his father lift a large pot, filled to the brim with the remains of earlier meals, with ease and brought it outside, only to return several moments later with the same pot, set it down, and act like nothing happened. He was completely perplexed by this show of strength, and doubted that he could ever copy that. He decided to ask them once he could.


    Upon noticing that Daelyn had awoken, Lyvia left the rest of the cooking to Grey, and walked towards the cradle. Picking Daelyn up from the cradle and holding him close against her, she wondered if he would drink her breastmilk. She decided that it was worth a shot, she undid the top of her outfit and exposed it to the little Daelyn.


    Daelyn was wondered by the display in front of him, why was she showing her breast to him. However, these thoughts were quickly pushed aside by the sudden feeling of a starving hunger, and the compulsion to suck. Giving in to his hunger, he drank the milk of his mother.


    Seeing this, Lyvia was delighted. She could only observe the spectacle and react with a high-pitched voice filled with motherly love and adoration towards it.


    ¡®He looks so cute! I was nervous that he maybe wouldn¡¯t accept me, but he¡¯s quite a fervent eater. I do hope that he feels at home with us.¡¯


    After Grey finished cooking, he saw the pair and could only look with happiness in his heart. He planned to say that the food was ready, but he waited a little. He thought about the future of little Daelyn, what will he become? He can¡¯t be a normal dark elf warrior, due to his inferior physical capabilities. Grey hoped he had talent for water magic, then he could become an alchemist like his old man!


    During their breakfast, they discussed how to introduce Daelyn to the community. Grey started off the conversation with a worried tone.


    ¡°How do you think everyone will react to having a human child adopted?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I can¡¯t be that bad. Humans aren¡¯t disliked around these parts, so why would there be a problem?¡±


    Grey was already apprehensive of the subject, but with an awkward yet factual tone, he continued the conversation.


    ¡°Well, there are almost only dark elves here, so it might be hard for them to accept that there are other species in their community. I doubt any grown dark elf would make an argument against having him here, but the children might bully him for not being a dark elf.¡±


    Lyvia replied to the argument Grey made, with a tone that tried to disarm the situation.


    ¡°We get frequent visits from the oni tribe in the mountain, right? Nothing happens then, so I don¡¯t think anything will happen now.¡±


    ¡°I get your point, but those are only visits, they don¡¯t stay here for more than a month.¡±If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Lyvia replied to him with a soothing voice.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay dear, if something happens we will solve it like adults.¡±


    This only filled Grey with more worry as he let it slip through his voice.


    ¡°If you say, ¡®like adults¡¯ I can¡¯t help but worry.¡±


    Lyvia responded slightly irritated: ¡°And why would you think that?¡±


    Grey recognised the irritation in her voice and the anger on her face, but decided to press on.


    ¡°Lyvia, you popped someone¡¯s black cherry with his spear because he called you names. I can¡¯t help but imagine what would happen if someone hurt little Daelyn.¡±


    Lyvia with closed eyes, a smile, and an expression that released bloodlust said: ¡°I told you¡­ I will solve it like adults.¡±


    Grey slightly trembling at these words said with a defeated sigh: ¡°Okay, I believe you. Just don¡¯t cause irreversible damage.¡±


    Lyvia answered with a smiling yet deadly expression.


    ¡°Of course, what do you see me as? A barbarian?¡±


    This last remark made Grey pale, he knew only too well what happened to the poor suckers that came up with that nickname for her. Anyone who repeated it in her vicinity would suffer the consequences.


    After they had finished Grey began preparing for his job. Grey put on his robes, grabbed his tomes and gave Lyvia a kiss. He said to her in a soft and promising tone: ¡°I will try and come home on time today, I just hope there aren¡¯t too many orders¡±


    Lyvia tried to reassure him with a calm and soothing voice.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it will be fine; didn¡¯t you recently finish a large batch of orders form the guards?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope that helps, love you.¡±


    ¡°Love you too, see you tonight.¡±


    With that, Grey left to fulfil his duties as an alchemist. Alchemists are quite rare under the dark elf population, because they use both the magical herbs and imbue them with magic, while it is more popular to either specialize in healing magic or become an herbalist and use the raw magical herbs combined with each other. Grey receives lots of orders from the local guardsmen to make potions, since they are easy to consume and can be a very powerful asset in a battle, in comparison to healing magic which requires mana or the herbs which heal wounds overtime or stimulate the natural healing process. While potions can do the same as the herbs, they can do it better if prepared well, and they can also almost instantly help regain health, however making potions is hard and it is normally kept a trade secret. This makes it hard to become qualified to create potions.


    After Grey had left, Lyvia started working around the house with Daelyn either cradled close to her, or in his cradle if something required her full attention. He was quite the wanderer for a child. After finishing the housework, she decided that she would play with Daelyn for today, so she led him to a basket filled with toys. She thought that he would be delighted with this kind of toy, but she was perplexed. He did not go to the basket with toys, instead he crawled towards the bookshelf next to it.


    While any normal child would like to play, Daelyn had another urge. He saw the bookshelf standing next to the basket and felt an urge, an urge that seemed familiar but Daelyn knew that it was the first time he felt this urge. He wanted to learn, he wanted it. He didn¡¯t have interest in a subject, he just felt the overwhelming urge to learn more. He did not know why, but it compelled him to crawl towards the bookshelf.


    During the time that Daelyn was submerged in thoughts, Lyvia was able to snap out of her stupor and think of what to do next. She decided that reading to him might be the best thing to do. So, she grabbed a book from one of the lower shelfs of the bookshelf, picked Daelyn up, sat down and started reading to him. She started reading a story about a hero, named Alberricht.


    The story itself was about a hero that was an outcast in his youth, became strong and saved everyone. It was a very typical hero story, but there was one thing that was actually interesting about the book: the villain. The villain was a necromancer and thus a wielder of dark aura, he had raised the family members from the hero, his childhood friend, and his lover. The hero in the end defeated the villain, resulting in a heart touching end with a goodbye from all the enslaved souls. The end of the villain was also different than expected, instead of a man filled with madness and anger at the hero, the villain thanked the hero for releasing him. His last words especially gained the attention from Daelyn: ¡°Thank you, now I can finally enter my eternal slumber in the void. There is no greater deed that you could have done here. You truly are a hero.¡±


    The hero was distraught by this, because he wanted vengeance and had only helped the necromancer. With nothing more to look out for in life, he killed himself on the spot.


    Daelyn was not interested in the stuff about being a hero, but he was interested in the words of the void. He now knew there had been at least one other person that knew of the void! The people around him might know of it, and might be able to enter it like he does! He was overjoyed at the possibility.


    Finishing the story, Lyvia closed the little book and looked at Daelyn. Daelyn looked at her with shining eyes, and made some pleased sounds. He loved the story, and Lyvia could hear it.


    Lyvia: ¡°Did you like it? Do you want me to read another one?¡±


    This was met with a cute smile, and sounds that could only be described as ¡°Yes!¡±. Seeing his cute face, Lyvia¡¯s heart melted and grabbed another little book from the bookshelf.


    They only finished reading after sun down when there was a knock on the door. Opening the door Grey stood in the doorway. Lyvia was startled to see him, ¡®It was only morning when we started reading, right?¡¯ and suddenly she realised that she had read stories to Daelyn for half the day!


    Grey asked with a tired but happy voice: ¡°How was your day?¡±


    Lyvia could not help but blush due to her embarrassment. She answered with an embarrassed and proud tone: ¡°Yes, it was very nice, I read some stories to Daelyn today! He absolutely loved them!¡±


    Grey was very pleased hearing this, he suddenly had a thought spring up from his mind. He formed a heart-warming smile, directed his gaze towards Daelyn, squatted down to reach his eye level, and said with a tone that beckoned the start of a tale: ¡°Well, I also got a story for you guys. It¡¯s about a heroic alchemist who defended the whole of the village just by using his concoctions. Do you want to hear it?¡±


    Daelyn was marvelled at the prospect of such a story, he looked his father in the eyes with a twinkle in his own, and said with an anticipating and happy voice: ¡°Yess!¡±


    Like hat, the night for the Theandor family was one filled with excitement, fun, and heroism due to the tale of a brave alchemist, that went from a boy with a hated magic, to a man with potions and bravery.

 Chapter 5: Passing of time and answering of questions.

    <h1>Chapter 5</h1>


    The days passed like this for another year. One of the highlights of that year, were Daelyn¡¯s first words, his first word was mapa. As Lyvia and Grey heard this, they could only smile at the little guy. They were a little competitive about who would be Daelyn¡¯s first word. But hearing this, they could only smile at the innocence of the little guy.


    Daelyn was able to speak more and more words and his articulation increased by leaps and bounds in a short time, however he still did not know how to read and write. He played games with his mother, she read to him from books, and at the end of the day Daelyn learnt to read. However, the language was hard to understand, because there could be a huge difference how something is written and how something is said.


    They had a basic alphabet and they had different symbols for numbers, but the words and the sentence structure could be very hard to learn. Daelyn was greatly frustrated at this, because he wanted to discover more about this world, and being illiterate would not help with that. He tried again and again to learn the written language, but it escaped him every time.


    The language Lyvia was teaching Daelyn was the common language. This language is used in a lot of places, due to the influence of the adventurers, merchant and mages guild. This is because it is a lot easier for them to do business with or to learn information from people who spoke the same language so that they wouldn¡¯t misunderstand each other. The only places that the common language was not spoken, were some places on the frontier, and savages who were never introduced to the other societies present in this world.


    Lyvia watched on with pride as she saw Daelyn try to learn the language. Since the day he had chosen a book over a toy, she had been convinced that he was a gifted individual and would become a very strong or important figure later in his live. However, she did not know that he, at the age of 1, already had the conscious mind of a young adult, and the learning ability of a child. Making for a very powerful combination of a wise and knowledgeable child.


    However, as he learned how to speak, he also learned how to ask questions. Questions that were hard for Lyvia and Grey to answer. They decided to tell him everything, why they were different, why he was adopted, and that they had no idea who his real parents were.


    Daelyn¡¯s reaction to this was quite unexpected, he accepted it.


    Daelyn stared back at them, took a stance of defiance, and shouted from the bottom of his lungs with all the conviction he could bring up: ¡°Even if you aren¡¯t my real parents, I still see you as them. You are my real parents!¡±


    Upon hearing this, Grey and Lyvia could not help but cry tears of joy and hug Daelyn. They were so worried about his reaction, while they knew that the reaction of a child is one without a full understanding, they were still very happy with this reaction. This not only cemented their decision to support Daelyn, it also strengthened the bonds in the family.


    Besides learning, Daelyn had been trying to increase the space he could comprehend in the void. While he had not yet succeeded expanding his comprehension into the void, he had become a lot better at comprehending his own being in the void. While he was not able to comprehend the void itself, he was able to comprehend something else. He noticed that there were two spheres in the void on either side of him, these spheres had different colours and different intents. He was able to comprehend the intent that radiated of those spheres and touched his being in the void.


    Besides these two sphere-like objects, he had also become more aware of the composition of his being. It wasn¡¯t a solid structure like he thought it was, instead it is a sphere made from thousands upon thousands small threads, making it comparable to a ball of very fine cloth. As he tried to influence these threads, he noticed that it was very hard. It was not only hard to move them only a little bit, but also very straining on the mind. Daelyn did not know why, but he continued doing this, hoping that it would enable him to touch the void with these threads.


    He felt that he would be able to finally comprehend the void that changed from black to white, the void that seemed endless, and comprehend the objects within the void. He hoped that he would be able to receive these answers.


    These exercises strained his mind greatly, but enabled it to improve, and enabled his awareness inside the void to grow greatly in comparison to the beginning. While being unable to touch the void, he did notice that these exercises influenced his intelligence, because he noticed that it became easier to remember information and that he was able to absorb information at a faster rate. While it was not a lot of difference, it was still noticeable, and Daelyn was very glad about this progress.


    Besides improving his mental capabilities, Daelyn was planning on improving his physical capabilities. He wanted to start training when he was old enough, or when he could finally stand on two legs, without falling over after crossing only a few meters. Damn you, legs! Why don¡¯t you obey me!


    His bodily state had severely limited him until now, he was not able to exercise properly, nor was he able to improve his physical capabilities because that would most likely do more damage than it would do good.


    Like this two years had passed, Daelyn grew quite a bit, he was just under a meter long, his hair had really come through, resulting in a lush flock of curly hair trimmed around the edges. He had become able to do more and more with his body, since he had not only been growing but also training his body. While climbing the tree to get to the forest floor was out of the question of his mother, he had been able to do it under her guidance, and was able to do it almost perfectly now. Almost that is, he sometimes lost his grip and this made his mother very hesitant with trusting him with going out on his own. He had been able to traverse the path in the trees quite easily however, and was overjoyed with this, because that meant his trips to the library would come more often.


    The people in the community knew who he was, but they did not bother him. He had never spoken to any dark elf except for his parents, and he did not care to speak to one. This caused him to become quite desolate, he would never play or even talk with other children, and the adults in the village mostly ignored him. Except for the librarian who was regularly shocked by the quantity and quality of the books Daelyn read. For his behaviour and thirst for knowledge, he was quickly dubbed ¡®the Hermit¡¯ by the dark elves of the village. A nickname that would stick with him for a long time.


    There was only a change in Daelyn¡¯s life on his third birthday, his mother and father decided that only learning the general information would not help him, and Grey proposed to have him learn the basics of alchemy. While normal children normally go to the local school, the school was more a day-care for children under 5 years old, and knowing Daelyn, he would not like being locked up in such a place. Grey was very enthusiastic about alchemy and hoped that Daelyn would share the same passion. While the higher levels of alchemy might not be possible for Daelyn if he did not have the magic affinity, he could still learn the basics.


    Despite this, his mother and father had looked on with worry as he had dived into studying instead of playing. Whereas most children had already had playdates with other, Daelyn only studied either at home, or when they went to the village, he would sometimes spend the afternoon there in the library. Much to the shock of the local librarian who had never seen such a young boy read books that didn¡¯t have any pictures in them.


    Seeing this, they decided that besides learning alchemy, it would be good if Daelyn had some interaction with his peers, otherwise he would might become a social outcast. They wanted to relegate that possibility as soon as possible.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    While Daelyn was glad that his father was going to teach him alchemy and was as enthusiastic about it as Grey had hoped, Daelyn only had one reaction towards the playdate.


    ¡°If I can continue reading there, it¡¯s okay.¡±


    While his parents had already expected such an answer, they could not help but exchange glances at each other. They were starting to become desperate with Daelyn, and wanted him to be more social towards his peers. Lyvia looked at him with a soft gaze, and started her argument off with a soft yet compromising tone.


    ¡°Dear, while we are happy that you enjoy reading so much, we think it might be good if you play with some other children.¡±


    Daelyn could only stare back at her, and answer in all honesty.


    ¡°But, learning is fun.¡±


    Grey had not really expected such a short answer, and asked him with a calm tone.


    ¡°Yes, but don¡¯t you want to do anything else than learn?¡±


    Daelyn looked Grey in the eyes and stated with a quick yet clear tone.


    ¡°Yes, read.¡±


    Lyvia and Grey were a bit taken aback by this answer, they did not expect him to give such an answer. Lyvia asked with a soft yet inquisitive tone: ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Daelyn replied with the same quick and clear tone: ¡°Reading stories.¡±


    Hearing this answer, they could only sigh. Daelyn¡¯s vocabulary had been steadily increasing over the years, but he could still be unclear about what he meant. Grey asked Daelyn in his low voice: ¡°Reading might be fun, but you know those stories are the stories of others, right?¡±


    Daelyn could only nod in agreement and say: ¡°Yes.¡±


    Grey knew that he had his son¡¯s interest, and asked him a question with a clear and calm tone.


    ¡°But what about your own story?¡±


    Hearing this last statement, Daelyn was perplexed. He had never thought about it like this, his life is only so long. He should try and make the best of it! But, how? He turned towards Grey and asked with an inquisitive tone.


    ¡°But how do I make my story?¡±


    Grey could only smile as he saw the internal struggle displayed on his son¡¯s face, and he stated with a wise and explaining voice: ¡°Simple, you make your story by doing your best, and by being yourself. Do these two things, and you will make a greater story than you can ever read in a book.¡±


    Hearing this last statement, Daelyn¡¯s mind blurred. He saw an image of an old man in an unknown house, sitting in a wooden chair with a smile on his face. He couldn¡¯t hear the man¡¯s voice, but Daelyn knew what he said: ¡°Be yourself¡±, before starting to laugh as the image faded away. Daelyn was flabbergasted, who was that? He knew that he had some unusual information, but he did not expect this. From the bizarreness of the situation he could only conclude one thing, it was good advice.


    Daelyn looked back towards his father and mother as he stopped his train of thoughts, and say with certainty in his voice: ¡°Okay, I will try to make my own story.¡±


    Hearing this, both Grey and Lyvia were overjoyed. The rest of the day was spent trying to explain to Daelyn how such a playdate would go, but this information was generic. They mostly talked about what Daelyn could expect, they really wanted this to go well.


    Daelyn was a bit perplexed and asked his mother and father with a questioning yet innocent voice: ¡°Mommy, daddy, why are you explaining so much?¡±


    Hearing this, both Grey and Lyvia sighed. They realised they had gone overboard in their stress. They might as well tell Daelyn, he was at the centre of it after all.


    Lyvia started off with a sweet and soothing voice: ¡°Sweety, you know that you are different from us, right?¡±


    Daelyn stared at his mother and said with a reaffirming and factual voice: ¡°Yes, you are dark elves and I¡¯m a human, but why does that matter?¡±


    Grey replied to his question with a firm tone: ¡°It matters, because not everyone is as openhearted towards you as we are. Most dark elves dislike humans because of the things they have done to the dark elves in the past. They might resent you for that.¡±


    Daelyn¡¯s face was one of confusion, and so was his voice filled with it: ¡°But I grew up here, why would they hate me for something I can do nothing about?¡±


    Once again, they saw the product of the bright mind of their child. They could do nothing but feel helpless at the combination of intelligence and innocence of a gifted child.


    Grey could only sigh as he turned to his son and say with a factual tone in his voice: ¡°They don¡¯t care if you are connected to other humans or not, they dislike humans and therefore they dislike you. While the adults will not openly denounce you, or undertake violence against you, the children are another story. They are easily influenced by their parents and they will most likely take their opinions to the extreme, especially the Tyrrith family.¡±


    Daelyn¡¯s interest was piqued by this, and asked with a curious voice: ¡°Why them especially?¡±


    Grey answered with a voice filled with regret and understanding: ¡°They lost multiple family members due to humans, and their son was sold into slavery after he was kidnapped. They still morn their deaths to this day, and I doubt they would be able to forgive any human. While this is all very complicated and scary sounding, remember one thing, we will be there for you. We will not abandon you under any circumstance, if there is something, say it. Understood?¡±


    Daelyn could only smile at his father¡¯s last remark, and answer with a firm voice: ¡°Yes sir!¡±


    Grey smiled and replied with a soft voice: ¡°Good boy, if there is something still bothering you, don¡¯t hesitate to ask.¡±


    Daelyn seemed to hesitate a moment before asking with a shy tone: ¡°Well, ummm¡­. There is one thing. When will I be able to use magic, and when will I know what kind of affinity I have?¡±


    Grey was not perplexed at this question, Daelyn had always been interested in magic, but this information was not really recorded in the books they had. Grey replied to his question with a firm and soothing voice: ¡°Well, to use magic a being needs a magic core. These cores develop in different stages, but a core is formed in the early years of a creatures¡¯ life. For a dark elf, it is normally around the seventh-year due to their long lifespan. For humans it is, ehmmm¡±


    Lyvia quickly supported him with a loving and caring voice: ¡°It is around five years, dear.¡±


    Grey looked at his wife with gratitude and said with a thankful and soft tone: ¡°Thank you Lyvia, so there you have it. Any other questions?¡±


    Daelyn once again had a tone of hesitation: ¡°Well, yes. When I sit down and meditate, I normally go into a white void. This void seems to be endless, and has two small objects in it besides myself.¡±


    Lyvia was perplexed at this and could not hide her emotions in her voice, causing her to have a surprised tone and a perplexed expression.


    ¡°Wha-what do you mean. An endless white void? And you can escape into it by meditating?¡±


    Daelyn looked up at her, and said with a hopeful tone: ¡°Yes, do you know what it is?¡±


    Both Grey and Lyvia stood there with gaping mouths, they were shocked. How did he know about the white void? Never mind that, he could enter it!


    Lyvia regained her composure and answered his question with a sweet voice: ¡°Sweety, that white void is a part of you. The white void itself is your magic, the two objects in it are most likely your affinities, and what you described as your being inside the white void is most likely your soul. Sweety, why didn¡¯t you tell us earlier?¡±


    Daelyn answered her question with a straightforward tone: ¡°I thought that if I have it, others also have it?¡±


    Grey could only sigh and reply to his statement with a heavy voice: ¡°Daelyn, you dropped quite a bomb there. Well, while others do have it, almost everyone has one of their own, it is very hard to enter it. Most mages who are able to enter their white void on purpose are mages who specialize in either the manipulation of pure mana, or mages who use souls for different purposes.¡±


    ¡°Mommy, is it weird that I can do this?¡± asked Daelyn nervously.


    Lyvia replied to him with a calm and loving voice: ¡°For you, no. We knew you are quite special, we did not expect this, but we are not very surprised, right dear?¡±


    While Grey knew they were both perplexed, he knew that it was better to calm the nerves of the three-year-old.


    Grey regained his spirit and said with a pride and stern voice: ¡°Yes, but you can¡¯t tell anyone else about this, okay?¡±


    Daelyn replied with a firm and enthusiastic voice: ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    Those were his last words before he scurried off to read more on the basic magic theory.


    Lyvia and Grey were worried. They had not expected him to have such a talent. Lyvia started the conversation off after Dealyn had left with a worried tone.


    ¡°What are we going to do now? We need to find a teacher for when his mana core forms.¡±


    Grey replied to her with a calm and logical voice: ¡°We could ask Elrieden to teach him curse magic, he is quite a good teacher I hear.¡±


    Lyvia said with a hesitant and wondering tone: ¡°While I¡¯m not completely comfortable with Elrieden, we could ask him if anyone knows someone who can help. He isn¡¯t very talented in the manipulation of the soul, a mage with a power like that would be very helpful.¡±


    Grey replied with a questioning yet firm voice: ¡°Let¡¯s start by asking Elrieden, okay?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    They were profoundly worried about Daelyn, they had a child with such potential. But, how would the world react? Talent was normally praised, but it could also be a source of jealousy, and they still had unfinished business in the capital. They could only hope that Daelyn is not taken from them, or worse.

 Chapter 6: A conviction and a teacher.

    <h1>Chapter 6</h1>


    Daelyn hadn¡¯t been gathering information for the last three years in vain, while the library and the bookshelf at home had finite knowledge, he still was able to learn quite a bit.


    He was in one of the great forests of the world. These great forests were either forests governed by a world tree, a very large sentient entity that governed the woods, or they were just a large forest. These forests were normally inhabited by large amounts of beasts, and they were also normally inhabited by different kinds of elves, especially the forests governed by the world trees.


    The great forest he was in is inhabited by dark elves, and is named Eleanor. Well, that is the name of the world tree and the forest goes under the same name as its governor. The forest is quite large, housing several smaller villages around on the edge, a few towns deeper in the woods and a large city at the base of the world tree. Almost all the houses in the great forest of Eleanor are made by the forest and made from tree and other organic material.


    The capital is named after the world tree and as such is named Eleanor. The capital houses the council of seven and it houses the largest and strongest political, military, and financial entities in the dark elf kingdom.


    We live in a small village on the western edge of the forest, named Elrieden. It seems that it was named after its founding father, Ilfrid Elrieden, and that his descendants still inhabit the town alongside the other inhabitants.


    Founding a village inside a great forest is no easy task, because you first need to be connected to the flora there to make houses out of trees, secondly you need to become dominant in the food chain in the area, which means that you will have to kill the biggest and strongest beast around. While the normal creatures in the great forests are normally not very strong, the apex predators are another story entirely. They can be very, very strong and even the apex predators around the edges of the forest are able to easily kill a small group of warriors, while the apex predators deeper in the forest are even stronger.


    Due to this there are large parts of the great forest of Eleanor that are not inhabited by dark elves and are still circumvented by beasts. The dark elves only inhabit about 45% of the whole forest, the rest is still inhabited by beasts and other creatures. However, don¡¯t underestimate this 45%, about 150.000 dark elves live in the great forest of which 50.000 live in the capital.


    This means that founding a town requires great power, and the founding father Elrieden had that power. He was a very powerful shaman, able to conjure up the basic marks almost instantly and more complex ones in a matter of seconds, enabling him to slay the apex predator in the area. The predator here was originally a variant Rockbird. The Rockbird normally has long legs, with a large neck, sharp talons and a stone hard beak. These are normally coated in a layer of earth, but this variant had a layer of magma instead of earth, giving it great defence and a good counter towards physical attacks.


    It was heralded as a very hard fight, but it is known that using a large amount of water based magic disabled the bird by hardening the molten rock. The hardened rock limited the movements of the bird and made it far easier to defeat.


    Daelyn was very interested in this story, not because of the chance to become a lord. Why would he want to do that? No, he wanted to learn more about where that monster came from. He wanted to know where it came from, because he did not want to dominate other people as a lord, he wanted to dominate everything as a powerful mage. He had decided that after reading a lot of books, lords were tied up by their responsibilities, farmers and other craftsmen were too weak to defend themselves, while mages and warriors were free to do what they wanted because of their power.


    Daelyn wanted to become a mage, and a powerful one at that.


    While Daelyn was reminiscing about the story he read and the conclusion he reached, Grey and Lyvia had gone to Elrieden. They had explained the situation in detail, Elrieden was even more perplexed than they were. They were sitting there with both pride and worry on their face. Elrieden was deeply worried, both for the child and for himself.


    Elrieden sat opposite of them at a table made out of the tree he lived in, like all of his furniture. He stared at them with an inquisitive gaze and said with a reaffirming voice: ¡°Are you sure, are you completely sure?¡±


    Grey replied to him with a truthful and steadfast voice: ¡°Yes, I could not be surer of this. He was talking about the soulspace, there was nothing that could even resemble something like that.¡±


    Elrieden continued his questioning with the same tone: ¡°What did he say about those two objects that were there? Does he know what those are?¡±


    Grey replied with a slightly embarrassed and hesitating voice: ¡°I didn¡¯t ask him, but I doubt that he knows. He may be smart, but he is not all knowing.¡±


    Elrieden sat there silent for a moment, before rubbing his eyes and letting out a sigh. He turned back towards the couple at the other side of the table. He turned back to Grey and Lyvia and said with a voice filled tiredness and necessity.


    ¡°Okay, I will take you to someone who can be of more help than me. Come back tomorrow and bring Daelyn, he will need to hear this as well and meet him.¡±


    Lyvia made a confused expression and asked him with a questioning and slightly nervous tone: ¡°Why does Daely need to hear this? We can just talk about this like adults.¡±


    ¡°There is a bit more going on that will be explained, tomorrow. Bring Daelyn, okay?¡±


    The last words of Elrieden were laced with several emotions, nervousness, irritation, and even a bit of guilt. Both Grey and Lyvia understood that it could wait.


    Lyvia said with an understanding and steadfast voice: ¡°Okay, we will bring him. No need to get so stressed out about it.¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Elrieden only answered with a grunt and some mumbling under his breath. As he prepared to leave, Lyvia asked him one more question with a slightly nervous but mostly wondering tone.


    ¡°When do you expect us, we have a playdate in the afternoon, and we would like to go there.¡±


    Elrieden replied with a sigh and said to her in a tired voice: ¡°You can come in the morning, but the news might disturb your schedule.¡±


    Lyvia replied with a confused look and tone: ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    Elrieden said with a voice of tiredness and decisiveness: ¡°You will find out tomorrow.¡±


    And with those last words, Elrieden left, and let both Grey and Lyvia stand with a perplexed expression and a feeling of worry. What could be so important that Elrieden, a descendant of the founding father, would be so nervous about. While they had already dreaded tomorrow because of the playdate, it only worsened because of this.


    As Elrieden left, he immediately went to Orthrus to notify him of what happened. Arriving at the house, he saw the sign again with ¡®Do not disturb¡¯ on it. As Elrieden had a bit of spare time on his hands, he could only wonder why it said, ¡®Do not disturb¡¯. Like there was an animal inside that you shouldn¡¯t wake, not something like ¡®I¡¯m busy¡¯ or ¡®We¡¯re out¡¯. It seemed odd to Elrieden, but for now he decided to ignore it. He once again walked up to the door, and tried to knock. This time, he was again not able to remove his hand from the door before it was opened by Gob.


    ¡°What do you.. Oh, it¡¯s you!¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me, now can I speak..¡±


    Gob interrupted him with an irritated and hesitant voice: ¡°Can¡¯t you really not read the sign? Are you blind, or is my handwriting just really bad?¡±


    Gob turned to look towards the sign, before reassuring himself that the human standing in front of him was just dumb. Not able to read such a masterfully crafted sign by THE Gob himself, what an idiot.


    Before he could continue his mental degrading of Elrieden, he was interrupted.


    ¡°I need to see you master, it is urgent. Even more urgent than last time.¡±


    ¡°What did I say! Can¡¯t you read the sign, you illiterate monkey!¡±


    ¡°Shut your mouth, you damned goblin. The only thing your species is good at is dying!¡±


    Hearing this, Gob could not help but be enraged as he was generalised along with the other idiot goblins. GOB. IS. SMART. Gob is not like other goblins, other goblins stupid, Gob is smart, Gob able to help master with his intelligence. How dare that dark elf say that!


    Before the shouting match could escalate, a sound could be heard. A very, very tired sigh, followed by: ¡°Gob, stop insulting the dark elf.¡±


    ¡°Yes, master. Of course, master.¡±


    Weary steps could be heard from inside the house, making their way towards the door. The sounds of steps was interrupted by the sound of someone bumping into something and a pile of books falling over, followed by a ¡®goddamn it¡¯ and more frustrated mumbling, until the footsteps finally reached the door.


    ¡°What do you need, Elrieden.¡± Said the old man with a tired voice as he looked upon the dark elf standing in front of his door.


    ¡°There has been a development with the child, he seems to be able to access his soulspace at will through meditating.¡± Replied Elrieden with a courteous yet hurried voice.


    A moment of silence reigned as the old man looked at Elrieden before shouting at the tops of his lungs with a perplexed tone.


    ¡°WHAT! HE CAN DO WHAT!¡±


    The old man quickly regained his composure as he changed from surprised to the same stoic and tired expression, and said with a quick and demanding voice: ¡°Get inside, tell me everything you know.¡±


    After telling Orthrus everything what he knew, Elrieden sat there and waited for Orthrus¡¯s answer. Orthrus answered with a slow and analysing voice.


    ¡°So, you discovered that he could access the soulspace through his parents, and then told them to come here tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡±


    ¡°And you did not think that it would be a good idea to first consult with me?¡±


    ¡°Well, I thought this was the best course of¡­¡±


    He could not finish his sentence, because Orthrus interrupted him with an angry expression and a stare that seemed to radiate bloodlust.


    ¡°You idiot! Why did you not consult with me!¡±


    This silenced Elrieden completely, he was perplexed. Most people would treat him with favour or at least neutrality due to his heritage, but this old man did not care. Elrieden did not dare speak up, Orthrus was scarier than most beasts he had met in his days he served in the local guard regiment.


    After having his fit of rage, Orthrus calmed down, and was able to assess the situation with a cooled head. He calmed Elrieden down and said with a calm and cold.


    ¡°Okay, I will explain them the situation here tomorrow, but I doubt it will be a large problem. The kid won¡¯t remember that it even happened.¡±


    Remembering something Elrieden said with a meek voice: ¡°Well, about that..¡±


    The old man looked Elrieden in the eye and said with an irritated and sharp voice: ¡°I thought you were supposed to notify me of any important events.¡±


    Elrieden replied with a meek and scared voice: ¡°Yes, but this did not seem very important, and..¡±


    With a sigh Orthrus asked with clear irritation in his voice: ¡°Fine, what is it?¡±


    ¡°He is very intelligent.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, ¡®very intelligent¡¯. Is he able to read picture books?¡± The old man said with a slight snicker.


    ¡°Not picture books, more like ¡®basic magic theorem¡¯ from Hans Gutlach, and ¡®exotic creatures encyclopaedia¡¯ from Ernst Haecken.¡±


    With those last words, Orthrus leaned back in his chair and said with a defeated voice:


    ¡°You should have really told me that, you know?¡±


    Staring into the distance for a moment, he sat up.


    ¡°Well, you did the right thing. I will begin teaching that child earlier now, now that there is the possibility of that. Anyway, did you find out more about his affinity?¡±


    ¡°They did mention something about objects inside the soulspace.¡±


    ¡°Objects? Like furniture or something? A little more clarity is appreciated.¡±


    ¡°I asked Grey, but he didn¡¯t know either.¡±


    Orthrus looked away from Elrieden for a moment before saying with an irritated yet calm voice: ¡°Fine, I will find out tomorrow. While you did withhold some information from me, you did a sufficient job. Gob, give this man 50 silver and see him out.¡±


    ¡°Yes, master.¡± Said the goblin with clear obedience.


    ¡°One more thing Elrieden, I don¡¯t like to waste time. Tomorrow, go to their house and guide them here. I won¡¯t take no for an answer this time.¡±


    With those last words, Gob ran to the back of the house. In the meantime, Orthrus walked back to his bureau as Elrieden remained seated in his chair.


    As Elrieden looked over to Orthrus, he noticed that he was research towards he development of dark mana in children. These documents were quite rare, since it was not exactly morally accepted to experiment on children with dark mana, and it was hard to set up an experiment that observed a large group because they were mostly shunned, despite the efforts of some medium-sized countries.


    As Gob came back with the money, he let the dark elf out of the building. Upon coming back, he saw master staring into the distance. Master had a worried look on his face, Gob did not know why master would have that. Master¡¯s gaze retracted to the present, and he started stretching himself. Looking at the papers in front of him, Gob heard him say one thing.


    ¡°If he has a dark mana talent, I will make sure that he does not have the same trials as I did. Granting this boy power, and teaching him how to use it must be my priority now. This world hates dark mages. That gives dark mages two options, give up and die, or rise and live. I will make damned sure that he does not make the same mistake that I made.¡±


    He said this as he turned towards a framed photo lying down.


    ¡°I¡¯m not able to face you yet, but when I do, I hope that you can forgive me.¡±


    He said, before returning to his research under the growls of multiple beasts from both inside and outside of him.

 Chapter 7: A friend and a terrifying combination.

    <h1>Chapter 7</h1>


    As the dawn rode over the forest and brought with it the light and warmth of the sun, for the Theandor family, it brought one more thing. It brought the anxiety concerning the upcoming meeting with a mysterious acquaintance of one of their friends. They could only wonder at what news would be brought to them, however they expected that it would not be insignificant, or good for that matter.


    As they were woken by the morning sun, they performed their usual morning ritual. They clothed themselves, cooked, and started getting ready for the day to come. Although it seemed to be a usual morning for the family, it was clear that there was an atmosphere of tension and a bit of anxiety.


    Grey had taken today off, because of the playdate that was already planned. So when the sun had been up for about an hour, the three were ready to head out towards Elrieden¡¯s house. However, they were surprised to see him standing on their porch.


    Lyvia asked him with a surprised and curious tone: ¡°Elrieden, what are you doing here? We were just on our way to you.¡±


    Elrieden could only sigh as he did not wish to do this, but was order to, and replied to her with a defeated and tired voice: ¡°I was instructed to pick you up, we will be heading directly towards his house.¡±


    Hearing this, both Grey and Lyvia were surprised. While he was their friend, they knew very few people as to who he could be ordered around by. They quickly snapped out of their stupor and asked him to guide the way.


    To their surprise, he went towards the forest floor.


    Lyvia was a bit surprised at this and with a confused but concerned tone she said: ¡°Elrieden, we aren¡¯t in a hurry are we? Why are we going over the forest floor?¡±


    Elrieden replied in the same tired and defeated voice: ¡°We are indeed not in a hurry, but that man does not like to waste time, and the other reason.. Well, you will see when we get there.¡±


    Once again surprised by such an answer, they followed him along the forest floor. This was quite unusual, normally you would use the routes in the trees to get around, especially when you had something like a baby with you. While for Grey and Lyvia there was almost nothing that could be a threat to them here, it was still odd for dark elves to traverse the forest floor expect when they were in a hurry.


    After traversing the forest floor for around an hour, they reached their destination. Upon reaching it, both Grey, Lyvia, and Daelyn stood there with surprise on their faces. Daelyn because he had never seen anything like it, but he still liked to see something else than the status quo, and Grey and Lyvia because seeing a normal house on the forest floor in a great forest such as Eleanor was quite rare. They were normally found in the capital and in the larger towns, but that was normally within the confines of the walls. This was a wood and stone house standing in the middle of nowhere, they looked at each and their expressions quickly changed from surprise to a stoic one. If someone had their house in the middle of the forest on the forest floor, that can means that they¡¯re either an outcast from society, or they are trying to hide something. In the current situation, both options sounded equally bad.


    Elrieden took the lead and walked up to the door. They were perplexed that before he could even remove his hand from the door, a goblin with six arms had already opened it. They were perplexed at seeing the little creature, since the arms did not seem to be natural and he himself seemed to be far stronger than a normal goblin.


    Elrieden said with an irritated and mocking tone: ¡°I know what it says on the sign, but we need to go in.¡±


    Gob replied to his remark with a voice of disdain and pride: ¡°That¡¯s rude, we were expecting guests. Of course we would welcome them, what do you think we are, animals?¡±


    Hearing this, Elrieden¡¯s face could only flush as he was very tempted to strangle the goblin and be done with it. Deciding that it would be a bad idea, he beckoned Grey and Lyvia to enter.


    Grey and Lyvia standing there with Daelyn, were unsure of whether to go inside. To convince them, the goblin walked up to them.


    Gob bowed to them and said with a very courteous tone: ¡°Goodday, you must be Lyvia and Grey Theandor, and this little must be Daelyn, right? The master has been expecting you, he has done a lot of research in order to help this little guy. If you would follow me inside, I could serve you some rosemary tea and we can start the conversation, okay?¡±


    Being completely baffled by the goblin, both Grey and Lyvia went inside. Elrieden couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at the difference of the behaviour of the goblin when guests were expected and when they weren¡¯t, and followed them inside.


    Daelyn however, remained outside and looked at the goblin. He was intrigued by the goblin, he didn¡¯t seem to be living with his own species, but he seemed to be living with some different from him. He seemed intelligent and strong, but he did not live with any of his kind.


    Gob said with a lightly mocking tone: ¡°You know, it is rude to stare?¡±


    Daelyn was unfazed by his question, he acknowledged the sarcasm in it, but ignored it. He was captivated by the goblin, being so different than the man that stood in the door, Daelyn could not help but feel friendliness towards it.


    Daelyn ignored the remark, asked him with an innocent but questioning voice: ¡°What is your name?¡±


    ¡°My name? It is Gob.¡±


    ¡°Did you get your name from your parents?¡±


    ¡°I did not receive one from my parents. Goblins only get names when they do something noteworthy.¡±


    ¡°Then how did you get your name?¡±


    ¡°Master gave it to me.¡± Said Gob, as if it was the most simplest of things in the world.


    ¡°Is your master like your parents.¡±


    ¡°My master raised me, he did not birth me. Silly dark elf. Wait! Are you a dark elf?¡± Said Gob, as he looked at Daelyn with an inquisitive gaze.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m a human, I don¡¯t know who birthed me, and my real parents are Grey and Lyvia.¡±


    Gob continued his gaze for but a moment, before talking to Daelyn with a calm and friendly voice: ¡°We are quite alike, aren¡¯t we? Both left by our parents, and then adopted by someone who raised us, who were of a different species.¡±


    Daelyn returned his inquisitive gaze and asked him with a dead serious face: ¡°Does that mean we can be friends?¡±


    Gob was lost in thought for a moment, before smiling and answering with a happy tone: ¡°We can only find out in the future, can¡¯t we?¡±


    Seeing this response, Daelyn could only chuckle and enter the house, followed by Gob.


    As he entered the house, he was both surprised and overjoyed. The house seemed to be quite large from the outside, but from the inside it seemed cramped by the large amounts of books, papers, and artefacts. It was like a heaven to Daelyn, he would be able to read so much about all kinds of magic, learn so much about this world, and, most of all, he would be able to pursue his dream.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Looking over at the door, Orthrus saw Daelyn standing there with blinking eyes. He was completely absorbed by the large amount of books and knowledge surrounding him. He had an expression of wonder and a tingle in his eyes, betraying his desire for knowledge. The little guy remembered him of himself when he was young, he was just as adamant about gathering knowledge and using it, as he heard from Elrieden, this little guy was. Seeing the tingle in his eye made him recall another scene, a scene about a particular goblin with a similar glint in his eyes, a desire for power through knowledge. A wish that still has to come true.


    Snapping out of his thoughts, he directed his guests towards the table.


    ¡°Good day, mister and misses Theandor. You might be wondering why I have called you here today.¡±


    Before he could continue, Lyvia blurted out with a nervous but pride tone.


    ¡°It¡¯s about that he is able to access the soulspace at this age, right? We are so proud of him!¡±


    ¡°That is part of the reason.¡± Orthrus continued with his calm tone and demeanour.


    ¡°Apart from this, we have a more pressing matter at hand. Namely Daelyn¡¯s affinities and his heritage.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean ¡®heritage¡¯? Did he get an affinity from his biological parents?¡± Asked Lyvia with a worried tone, she would like to know what this meant for Daelyn.


    ¡°That is what I have been trying to find out the last three years. The records on the soulspaces of children are nearly non-existent, due to the moral code of the soulmages and the rarity of such a thing occurring at that age. But from what I have been able to find, I have a suspicion that the objects in Daelyn¡¯s soulspace are his inactive affinities.¡±


    After hearing this, both Lyvia and Grey were excited. However, they still had some anxiety due to his earlier remark. Lyvia was particularly worried about one statement.


    ¡°Earlier you said something about his heritage, what did you mean by that.¡±


    Orthrus could only sigh and start with an apologetic tone.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to tell you this, but you have been lied to. Mister Elrieden had told you that the information was hazy, right? That there was a magic in place to obstruct his search. That was a lie, he did not receive any information.¡±


    Lyvia was unsure what this meant, but it would not be such a difference right?


    ¡°But, that isn¡¯t a very large difference, right?¡± She asked with an unsure tone.


    ¡°I wish that was the case. The magic he used is to identify the mana signature of the child and compare it to its parents, normally it¡¯s quite similar to either one of them, and that enables the shaman to find the parents. There are magics that block or alter the perceiving of the mana signature, but this is only on small levels, and at most it obstructs a part of the information. Understood?¡±


    With a nod from both Grey and Lyvia, Orthrus continued.


    ¡°Now this is where it gets tricky. There are multiple options for this kind of magic, firstly there are some magics that allow for complete information blocking, but those are very expensive and they must be employed throughout the day and throughout the week. Secondly, the parents¡¯ mana signature can change drastically, this normally happens when they pass away, or when they turn into something like an undead and lose their mind, and lastly there is the most unnerving and difficult option for us. The third option is that the parents are either powerful dark mages or blood mages, the mana of the shaman can¡¯t read the dark mana or blood mana of those mages, making them untraceable.¡±


    Hearing this, both Grey and Lyvia paled. Daelyn¡¯s real parents could be dark or blood mages, this could be disastrous. While such magi were accepted in the dark elf community, Daelyn was already an outcast at the moment, and he was human. Being accepted in the dark elf society like this would be extremely hard.


    Orthrus interrupted their train of thoughts.


    ¡°While the possibility is there, it is not a fact, and we can see if he has it or not. We just need to ask him to describe the intent behind the objects present in the soulspace.¡±


    After hearing this, all three turned to Daelyn who was sitting on Lyvia¡¯s lap. They all had different gazes, Orthrus had one of expectations and hope, Grey had one of anxiety and stress, and Lyvia had a gaze of motherly love and worry. She worried for the future of her son, she could not help but want him to live a life free of such prejudice.


    Daelyn had been listening, he had been able to answer this question for a while. But he was almost afraid to answer it, from the gazes of his parents and Gob¡¯s master, Orthurs, he was not able to discern what would be the right action, until his mother asked him.


    ¡°Daelyn, I know it is hard on you, but could you please describe the feeling you get from those objects?¡± She said with a soothing and gentle tone, like only a mother could.


    Daelyn, hearing his mother ask him with such a soft tone, relaxed and complied.


    ¡°There are two objects inside the soul space, they both have a ball like appearance, and they pulse from time to time.¡±


    Hearing this, Orthrus was becoming more confident in his research. It seems to be his affinities, it can¡¯t be anything else.


    ¡°At what rate do they pulse, and how big are they?¡±


    ¡°They are about the same size, and they pulse at the same rate. It seems they are almost identical except for the feeling I get from them.¡±


    Hearing this, Daelyn shivered a bit. While they were a part of himself, the feeling he got from them was not very pleasant.


    ¡°The first one is black. It gives a cold feeling, a cold that chills your entire being, a cold that you can feel in your soul. Besides the cold, it gives a feeling of death and decay, like it embodies those features and is able to use them.¡±


    Hearing this, Orthrus had a large grin on his face. He had dark mana affinity! I can finally get another exper¡­ disciple, disciple. While Orthrus was grinning, Grey and Lyvia looked at Daelyn with worry. He had a dark mana affinity, how will he ever be accepted in the community! The others still don¡¯t know it, but after his fifth birthday, this could only lead to trouble.


    Orthrus was excited, if he got two affinities, he might be able to use both if the other one is strong enough.


    ¡°Okay Daelyn, now what is the feeling of the second ball?¡±


    ¡°The second one is red. It gives a lukewarm feeling, like the warmth of a body, this warmth fills me with vigour, and it gives me the feeling that my blood is about to boil. Besides that, it gives the feeling of a very hungry beast, devouring its prey with the same vigour, but a lot more bloodshed. Like it hungers for the blood instead of the flesh, like a beast that devours the life force through the blood.¡±


    Orthrus¡¯s face paled with every sentence, until Daelyn was finished and he was white as a ghost. He was perplexed, this has never happened before. Something like this had never been recorded in known history, this duality of affinities is unheard of! Orthrus had some hypothesizes about these affinities, but thinking they were possibly the same strength, he could only pale as he racked his mind thinking about the possibilities.


    While Orthrus was deep in thought, Lyvia and Grey also understood what happened. They knew that Daelyn would face even more obstacles in his life now, he was a dark mage and a blood mage! This was unheard of! Even in their days as adventurers, they had never heard of something like this. They knew that the ensuing conversation would be very heavy, and decided to let Daelyn go look around the room.


    Orthrus was too deep in thought to notice this, while Gob invited Daelyn on a tour of the house. Daelyn accepted greedily, wanting to see the amount of books and knowledge this unknown house held.


    Gob was extremely enthusiastic in giving Daelyn a tour of the house. He highlighted several things he himself had a close connection to, such as he chair he had sit during his learning session, these were normally met with a ¡®wow¡¯ and ¡®ohhhh¡¯ of wonder. Besides that, he showed Daelyn all the books in the house, and how they were organised, while Orthrus was normally absorbed by his research, Gob did the housekeeping. He cleaned the place, cooked some basic meals, and organised the wealth of knowledge that was present in different categories, and on alphabetical order of the name of the author, making it very organised and easy to find certain books. Gob himself was proud of his organisation, because master had praised him several times for it.


    As Gob started a story about his endeavours to clean this place, Daelyn absentmindedly wondered off, without Gob noticing. He started to wonder the halls filled with books, amazed by the wealth of knowledge, he couldn¡¯t help but hope that he could come here more often to read. He continued his wandering, until he came across an iron door. The walls next to the door were made out of stone, and seemed to have a magical reinforcement spell on them. Daelyn didn¡¯t know how to recognise those, but he felt some magic power coming from it, and the stone seemed unnaturally smooth so he suspected that it was so. He approached the door that seemed to have a similar, if not more powerful enchantment on it.


    As he approached the door, he noticed that it seemed to be awfully tidy around the door. Daelyn had noticed that there was some dust gathered around the house, and there were some piles of books standing on the floor here and there, but there was nothing around the door. There were only two candles on either side of it to illuminate the way, there were no piles of books, bookcases, and there was almost no dust. While Daelyn did have a feeling of caution, it was overruled by his curiosity, and a strange familiarity he felt coming from the other side of the door.


    He walked up to the door, and as he gripped the handle, he felt almost no resistance. Daelyn opened the door just enough to peek inside, he saw multiple cages with different kinds of animals in them. From large turtles with shining shells, to porcupines that seemed to have thousands of needle thin protrusions. The halls seemed to continue around a corner it, making it so that Daelyn could not see the end of it. The feeling of familiarity that came from around the corner washed over him, and he could not help but follow it. Oblivious to the sounds of the different kinds of animals, and oblivious to the door closing.

 Chapter 8: A roar and an opportunity.

    <h1>Chapter 8</h1>


    While Daelyn was exploring the house, the conversation between Grey, Lyvia and Orthrus ensued. Orthrus started the conversation with an amused look.


    ¡°How do you feel, now that you know that he has both dark and blood mana?¡±


    In contrast to Orthrus, Grey and Lyvia still had to process this. Something like this was extremely rare, and would also make for a lot of problems. Lyvia spoke up first with a soft but reasoning voice.


    ¡°Well, I have some mixed feelings. Mainly, I¡¯m worried for his future, how will he get any friends with that kind of affinity! I know he is a good boy, but others may see him only for his affinity! They would shun him, only because of his nature!¡±


    Grey upon hearing that, sat there with a pale face. His son had such an affinity! His wife had put most of his worries to word, but there was one more thing nagging at him.


    ¡°Orthrus, I¡¯m assuming you did not bring us over only to tell us this news, did you?¡±


    Orthrus, sitting across from Grey and Lyvia, could not help but laugh.


    ¡°Hahaha, you got me. I did not bring you here solely to tell you this, I brought you here to talk about his future. As a dark mana mage myself, I¡¯m willing to teach him.¡±


    Lyvia was perplexed at the thought. Why would Daelyn need to learn something from such a creepy old man? Lyvia could not contain her thoughts as she blurted them out with a perplexed voice.


    ¡°Why would he need to learn from you? There must be plenty of other dark mages out there.¡±


    Orthrus¡¯ expression changed after hearing those words, and answered her question with a cold and reasoning tone.


    ¡°There are indeed many other out there, however you know what dark mana is, right? It is the embodiment of dark and malicious emotions. It is rare for a dark mage to take on a disciple, because what they call a disciple is normally an experiment. They experiment on their disciple..¡±


    Hearing this, Lyvia could not help but blurt out.


    ¡°And why would we trust that you don¡¯t do that do Daelyn?¡±


    Orthrus sighed, and with a defeated tone said: ¡°At the moment, you can¡¯t know. I can only tell you that I have made mistakes in my life, mistakes that I regret dearly. I do not wish those mistakes on anyone else, especially such a promising little guy as Daelyn. The reason I want to teach your son is to give him power, to teach him how to use that power, and, most of all, teach him the responsibility that comes with that power. Most dark mages fall to the prospect of power, and lose their morals. Those are the dark mages that turn into murders, or creatures of the deadlands¡±


    Both Grey and Lyvia could tell that he had a hard time hiding the emotions in those words from them. They realised that they had done to him what they did not want to happen to Daelyn, they saw him as one of many, and not for who he was. Sitting in silence for several moments, Orthrus regained himself and continued the conversation.


    ¡°Okay, the future of little Daelyn is at stake here. We need to be clear here, I don¡¯t expect you two trust me without a reason, but at least let me teach Daelyn. You are welcome to join the learning session to make sure that nothing happens, but we both know that if he does not pursue power, he will be killed or enslaved.¡±


    Hearing those last words, Lyvia let out a yelp. She did not want to have her son enslaved, he was hers, he was not some nobles property. He was her son, she would do everything to make sure that did not happen. Orthrus noticed this and continued.


    ¡°While there is a small chance of that happening now, the community won¡¯t be heart touched by his cuteness if they found out what kind of power he wields. I want to teach him how to strengthen his soul, and I want to teach him the theory about dark mana until his fifth birthday. Then we will start practising, and when he has reached a sufficient level, I think it would be wise to get some combat experience. He can hunt the surrounding forest critters, or he could fight with my¡­¡±


    Before he could finish his sentence, they were interrupted by a roar. A roar that seemed so feral, it spiked their instinct to run and hide from it. They were severely startled by the roar, the first one to regain her senses was Lyvia.


    ¡°Where is Daelyn? Where is he!¡± She shouted as her head was filled with countless scenes of her son¡¯s death.


    As she was looking at both Grey and Orthrus, she saw the face of Orthrus pale. Making his original already white skin seem to be whiter than cloth. He immediately stood up and made his way hurriedly through the house, knocking several piles of books over and bumping against some of the bookcases as he made his way towards the iron door.


    Grey and Lyvia followed in his wake, their expression filled with worry and anxiety. They knew that such a roar did not belong to a normal beast, this beast must be very strong. They could remember hearing such feral roars from the monster they fought in their adventuring days, but even those seemed to be slightly inferior to this one.


    Suddenly, a wolf howling could be heard, followed by a second one, and finally a third one. Hearing this, Orthrus¡¯ face paled even more, while Grey and Lyvia were perplexed at the howls.


    They had never heard such a trio of howls, most howls normally sound alike due to their comparable biology as a species. However, these three howls were vastly different, one sounded low and dark, like it was a horn, bellowing from the depths of the darkest pit in this world, the second one seemed to be high and cold, it seemed to be the start of a chorus that would announce a new ice age, and finally the third one. The third one did not seem to be particularly high or low, but it was mostly loud, not overruling the other howls with its volume, but it was clear that it took its rightful place there. This howl seemed to be scorching hot, a flame so strong that it would reduce anything that came close to ashes.


    Hearing these howls, the expressions of the three grew worse as they drew near to the origin of the howls.


    They arrived at the iron door, only to find it slammed shut with a goblin standing next to it. Gob had seen them approaching, but was too scared to speak in fear of his master¡¯s wrath.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Gob, what happened to Daelyn? Where is he?¡± asked Orthrus with a hurried and demanding tone.


    Gob could only shiver as he stared at the ground and replied: ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly master. I was telling him a story, and suddenly he disappeared. I looked and looked and looked, but could not find him. I used my nose, I shouted, I could not find him, until I came across the door. I can vaguely smell him, but I don¡¯t know if he is in there.¡±


    Hearing this answer, Orthrus¡¯ face was filled with worry, irritation, but most of all, anger. Oh great, the first day he is here, and he gets eaten alive! Great! Just fucking great!


    He continued his mental curse fest as he approached the door and put his hand on the handle. Upon contact, several powerful runes seemed to flare into existence, they hummed with magical power, and seemed to be masterfully constructed.


    Seeing this, Orthrus became less worried. Good, the runes are still in place, that means that they can¡¯t get out. He was glad for but a moment as he realized something, his face turned ashen. If the runes are activated, that means¡­


    Grey and Lyvia were standing close to Orthrus as they saw the runes flare into existence, and they stood close as his mind sunk into the depth of his thoughts. They saw his expression turn to one of worry, an expression that betrayed his mind being greatly strained to find a solution, and finally an expression of helplessness and sadness.


    As Lyvia and Grey observed the rapid changing or Orthrus¡¯ expressions, they did not know what he was thinking, but with his last look they did know that is was nothing good. Lyvia was very worried about Daelyn and asked with a nervous voice: ¡°Orthrus, why don¡¯t we break these runes and go in there? We can save Daelyn like that!¡±


    Hearing her voice, Orthrus started to become aware of surroundings through his thoughts, and tried to regain his composure.


    He sighed, before answering Lyvia with a calm and defeated voice: ¡°We can¡¯t, because that will get him killed. Those runes serve two purposes, to lock down the entrance and exit to that room, and to supress the minds of the creatures within the room. This only happens when one or multiple go out of control.¡±


    Hearing this, Lyvia was still not convinced and said: ¡°Then why don¡¯t we break those runes, and rescue Daelyn.¡±


    Orthrus could no longer withhold his anger and despair and shouted: ¡°Because that would kill him! If they go wild, they will kill him before we can get to him!¡±


    Grey and Lyvia stood silent for a moment, the weight of the situation heaving in on them, they descended to the floor and sat down. It was hard to process the fact that they could only wait and hope their son would come out alive.


    He was a little relieved as he remembered his deal with Elrieden.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s okay, Elrieden taught him some basic curse magic, he should be fine.¡± Orthrus said with a reassuring and calming voice.


    Hearing this, Grey and Lyvia had a questioning gaze towards Orthrus. Lyvia was the most inquisitive of the two, and could not help but ask: ¡°Curse magic? What do you mean?¡±


    Orthrus turned to them with an expression filled with naivety, like a child that does not know what it did wrong. He opened his mouth, and with a weak voice he said: ¡°The-the curse magic, Elrieden was supposed to teach it.¡± As he realised something, he burst out in anger and yelled: ¡°He should have been thought by Elrieden! That damned shaman! He lied to me! If Daelyn dies, his descendants won¡¯t only have a heritage of their village elder! I will curse them with an endless horde of abominations!¡±


    Grey and Lyvia were perplexed at his first remark, Elrieden was supposed to teach Daelyn curse magic, but why? Lyvia wondered even more so why she hadn¡¯t heard anything from Elrieden about this. She shouted at Orthrus to be audible to him despite his angered voice.


    ¡°Why would Daelyn need to learn curse magic? He is already smart and with his affinities, he should be strong enough to go without curse magic. It would only be a waste of time.¡±


    Orthrus returned from his rage filled stupor, looked at both Grey and Lyvia with a stern expression and addressed the subject Lyvia had brought up.


    ¡°Yes, he may not need it, but it would increase his power by a good margin. But that is not the point of it, the point is that curse magic is accepted and can be wielded by both dark mages and pure mana mages. That makes it very valuable for dark mages who wish to be accepted into society. Now he will most likely be hard pressed to do that, he may be smart but laying the basis for a curse mage start from the second birthday and continues until the day their mana core is formed. Without a proper craft, except from his dark mage craft, he will most likely be shunned and relegated for his nature. He could try and learn curse magic either way, but it would be quite difficult. He will also need to focus on his mage craft to increase his power and survive this world, leaving no time for curse magic.¡±


    Grey and Lyvia had an understanding but worried expression on their face, until Orthrus finished. Grey¡¯s face suddenly flared up with pride and joy, he looked Orthrus in the eyes and posed a question.


    ¡°Orthrus, as a dark mage, you must have heard of the tales of Greg the alchemist, but do you know what the secret to his concoctions were?¡±


    Orthrus stared at Grey, marvelled by the opportunity to learn one of the secrets of a great and notorious alchemist, he shook his head as he did not know the answer, he resembled a small child that was about to get a puppy. Grey replied with a proud face and a soft voice, like he was telling an age-old secret.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know exactly what he used, but we do know that it was a liquid loaded with mana. The ingredients were normally quite common, but the liquid he used contained so much mana that it amplified the effects.¡±


    Orthrus¡¯ eyes tingled with joy from such a secret. That would mean that they could create some of the more powerful arcane concoctions with plain alchemist ingredients! This would open a new path of alchemy dominated by a certain type of mages! While Orthrus was entranced by the possibility, he returned to reality sooner than he had done before, and asked Grey a question.


    ¡°How is that going to help the situation, the subject we were talking about, or Daelyn? It doesn¡¯t really add up.¡±


    Grey sat down with his back leaned against the walls, and asked Orthrus with irritation and a bit of sarcasm in his voice: ¡°Did the great dark sage forget what my occupation was?¡±


    Orthrus looked irritated at the sarcasm that echoed in Grey¡¯s voice, but that was quickly replaced by shame for his stupidity, and finally a tint of admiration and a lot of joy showed on his face. He could help but stammer as he asked his questions.


    ¡°Do-does that mean..¡±


    ¡°Yeeeess.¡± Replied Grey with a sigh.


    ¡°So that means he can..¡± Stammered Orthrus as he was unable to form proper sentences due to the intervals of Grey¡¯s replies and his mind spinning from the opportunities.


    As he finally calmed down after asking several dozens of questions concerning alchemy and the potential this secret method of alchemy had, he could only say one thing as he stared with wide eyes at the ceiling while he laid on his back.


    ¡°That kid is going to have one hell of a future, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    Lyvia chuckled as she answered: ¡°We can only find out in the future, can¡¯t we?¡±


    Both Lyvia and Grey chuckled as they remembered where her quote came from, while Orthrus snickered as he remembered his own predicament with that sentence. Their minds sunk deeps in the crevasses of their memories, until they became aware of something in their surroundings, or the lack of something.


    The growls, hisses, and other sounds that originated from the creatures behind the enchanted iron door, were gone. The room was completely silent except for the sound of their breathing, it took a few seconds for them to realise what this meant.


    Orthrus¡¯ face cleared up first, and he rushed towards the door, followed quickly by Grey and Lyvia, he deactivated the enchantment and the door swung open. They raced down the corridors of the dungeon Orthrus had set up for his captive monsters, trying to find Daelyn.


    Lyvia was racing down the hallway, until she came across a broken door. She cautiously approached the door by being as quiet as possible, once she finally reached the door, she could only let out a yelp of surprise. This yelp caused the creature inside the cage to move his head and take a large breath of air through its nose, before falling back to sleep.


    Lyvia¡¯s yelp had, despite its softness, alerted both Orthrus and Grey. They quickly made their way toward Lyvia, both as surprised as Lyvia as they stared into the cage with the two beings in it.

 Chapter 9: A dream and a rude awakening.

    <h1>Chapter 9</h1>


    As Daelyn followed the feeling of familiarity, he became trapped in a daze. Unable to snap out of it and only able to walk towards the origin of the feeling, his mind wavered more and more as the feeling grew stronger. The closer to the origin he went, the stronger the feeling was. As he was mere meters away from the origin, he looked in a cage, and saw the most magnificent being he had ever seen. He thought that he would only be able to see such a being once in his life time, the being opened its mouth and started talking with a soothing yet almost ethereal voice. He could only describe something like this as something divine, something god like.


    ¡°Good that you have come this far, youngling. Now come closer, so that I may hold you, and that we may become one in body and soul.¡±


    Daelyn¡¯s mind warped at the possibility. Such a beautiful being wanted to become one with him in body and, and what now? Doesn¡¯t matter, it sounded very good.


    Daelyn drew closer and closer as the feeling became stronger and stronger until his mind was dominated by it, and he was unable to put up any kind of resistance. His state of mind completely levitating towards the origin of the sensation as his body walked towards it like a drunken sailor, trying to support his wavering legs by gripping the walls and bars of the empty cages next to him, Daelyn made the final steps towards the doors of the cage.


    As his hand approached the mechanism enlaced with runes that kept the goddess locked inside the cage, Daelyn regained his senses for but a moment. His senses were overwhelmed with the power that radiated from a presence at the end of the hallway, it was so strong and aggressive, that its intent depicted an image of a hungry and bloodthirsty beast, feasting on its victims. This image was quickly overruled as a feeling of pleasure overwhelmed him once again, and compelled to continue his actions of opening the door. As his hand clasped the mechanism and was about to open it, he was returned to his senses by a feral roar.


    The roar shook his mind, and pulled him from his daze induced by the being in the cage. As his mind was returned to his control, he could finally look upon the being that he earlier saw as godly. The being was stricken with fear and unable to move, it was clearly shivering from the roar the presence at the end of the hallway had released.


    The being itself seemed to be made completely out of the bark of a tree, only the head and some lines along its body adorned with blue lines, that seemed to pulse like a heartbeat. The pulse accelerated as the presence at the end of the hallway howled. The being had lost its god-like appearance and seemed quite normal.


    Daelyn had but a moment to stare at it before it snapped out of its daze, and made its move. It had not tempted Daelyn towards it without a goal, its bark like fingers moved together, and formed its hand into a bladed weapon made from wood. The blade like hand penetrated Daelyn¡¯s skin, but luckily didn¡¯t puncture any of his important organs or arteries.


    Daelyn felt that the energy inside him was being sucked out, he could quickly feel himself become weaker by the second. He could visibly see the being¡¯s blue lines pulse with power as his own was taken away from him, he could only fear for the worst as he felt his consciousness slipping. During that time, he could hear various loud noises, iron creaking and finally breaking, something large stomping on the grounds and making its way towards them, and finally just before he lost consciousness, Daelyn heard wood being torn apart. The last sensation that registered in his brain before he lost consciousness, was the touch of soft fur. He revelled in it, with his last thought being ¡®finally, a warm bed.¡¯.


    As the small being resting against the creature fell from consciousness, the creature observed the resting being and noticed its wounds. As it was about to circulate its mana through it, it stopped, it did not know what its mana would do to the small creature, and it asked the other two beings present in its mind. It asked for their help, and received an unwelcome answer ¡®Why would we help you, you have only tried to supress us. Why would we want to help that little creature? He isn¡¯t important to us.¡¯. The original and dominating being, stopped his request, and forced his will. He used the energies that were true to him, and used them to have them do try and dominate the other presences, if only this worked. The other two presences in the mind retaliated with a fiery scorch and an icy chill, this left them at a stalemate. The domination presence answered their question, ¡®He is important to us, he is like us. He is something that has been deformed by something else, I felt his affinities, and he did not have both of those from birth. I don¡¯t ask that you respect me, but pity him.¡¯. The other presences became aware of their position, and decided to comply to the dominating presence.


    They had never heard the dominating presence express such feelings, while they could not directly feel his emotions, they could feel his strongest emotions. These emotions were not some ordinary ones which did not have a large impact on the presence, these emotions were so strong that they radiated to the outside, so strong that they would come from the presence¡¯s deepest parts. The other two understood this, and decided to help him, as such a spectacle was unbeknownst to them.


    Besides that, they were also afraid of what the domination presence would do if they refused, while he did not engage them in open combat because of the damage he would sustain, he could erase them. They have only been able to live due to their own power and his desire to conserve his own. They knew this, and they knew that such deeps desires could change upon meeting heavy resistance, and that change could mean the end of them.


    After they complied to his wishes, the other two presences started their work. The first started with rinsing the wound and cleaning it thoroughly, the second one followed this up and scorched the wound, the first presence followed this up by accelerating the natural healing process and the second presence circulated its own mana through the system of the small creature, making sure that the process was successful and not too taxing on the small creature¡¯s body. The presences continued this for a while until the wound had fully healed.


    As they came close to finishing, they noticed how taxing it was. The two presences didn¡¯t have enough mana to finish the procedure, so the dominating presence had to convert its mana to them, which cost him a lot. They had finally finished as the mana of all three was completely exhausted. They took the small creature by the collar, walked back towards their cage, and let it rest against their side, drifting into sleep.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    As they drifted away from their physical form and entered the dream realm, they noticed something peculiar. All three of them were in the same dream, and this dream was not a normal one.


    They came in a dream where they were in their natural environment. These environments were either those that they grew up in or a version of these attuned to their element, the dream consisted of sparse and dead forests, icy plains, and fiery volcanos. Each of these environments were inhabited with one of the presences at the top of the food chain. They had had this dream many times, and were accustomed to it. This had been since their consciousnesses were put together, creating the abomination they were today.


    However, this dream was slightly different. Instead of three areas, there was a fourth area. The three presences all noticed this and made their way to the edges of their territory to look upon the newly created area, seeking to gain superiority over it, and over the other two presences.


    They reached the edge of their territory at the same time, and as they looked upon the fourth area, one had an urge to conquer everything present there, one had an urge to make the area its own, and one could only feel worry as it saw the area.


    The new fourth area was unlike all the others, it wasn¡¯t a sparse and dead forest nor a blush and life one, it wasn¡¯t a fiery volcano nor a silent mountain, it wasn¡¯t an icy plain nor an endless sea of water. It was simply empty, there was nothing there apart from three objects, and five lights adorning the border of the territory. While the three presences were occupied with the other two, they did not notice that these lights were slowly closing in on the centre, on the three objects.


    The three presences eyed the other two from their respective territory, they waited for the other to make the first move. This quickly became a game of patience as the three presences released their aura and tried to intimidate or make the other parties waver. After continuing this game on for a short while, the presences noticed two things, firstly, the presences found that they were equal in raw strength and that trying to intimidate the other individuals was meaningless, secondly, they noticed that the lights adorning the border of the territory were pushed away by their aura¡¯s, and made way for the three presences to claim the territory that had come free as their own.


    They all noticed this and started to focus their aura on the fourth area to claim as much as possible of it as their own. The presence that was filled with worry was the most vigorous in this, it reasoned that if it was the first to reach the centre, it could save the three objects from the other two.


    The presence filled with the urge to make it its own, wanted to get to the centre first to make the three objects its own. It was filled with determination as it wanted to possess more than the other two ever could.


    The presence filled with the urge to conquer, wanted to assimilate the three objects in the centre and make itself more powerful. It was filled with strength as its desire to erase the other two presences became stronger and stronger.


    All three had the same goal, all three had similar powers, and all three were directing their powers at each other. They directed them at the others and the central area, they were giving in more and more to their desires and focused too much on the other two and the land they could possibly gain, so much that they could not see what was happening inside that land.


    As the lights adorning the border came closer and closer to the centre, they seemed to shine brighter and brighter, feeding of the ambient power the three presences gave off, it accelerated towards the three objects at the centre. As the three presences saw this, their urges roared, as they expended more and more of their aura and their power to reach the centre of the empty void.


    The continuously brightening lights reached the two floating objects on either side of the centre, and they seemed to force the floating objects with them towards the centre. This seemed to slow the process, which only served the fuel the desires of the three presences and increased the amount of aura expended by them. The lights became brighter and brighter, as the light they exuded started to compare to the sun, they dragged the two objects with them as the lights crossed the final meters towards the centre and the last object.


    The three presences were too occupied with their desires and urges to even notice this, even the one filled with worry was only focused on gaining more territory. He had lost his original goal and thirsted for power, they were all dazed by their thirst for power that they could not see what happened inside the territory they were trying to conquer. They went berserk to gain more and more land as to do better than the other two.


    As the final meters were crossed and the lights that seemed to be brighter than the sun pushed the two objects with more and more speed towards the object in the centre, until they reached it. The brightening lights were grinded to a halt as the three objects smashed into each other and kept pushing. The two objects smashed into the one in the middle under the influence of the brightening lights, and as the brightening lights tried to keep accelerating, keep increasing their speed towards the centre, more and more pressure was added on the middle object by the two objects who were under the influence of the accelerating lights.


    The object in the centre seeped to warp, steadily bending until it seemed to resemble a donut pressed in by the two other objects, and the lights that were now comparable to a blazing sun. As the centre object seemed to enter breaking point, it seemed to gain a will and fought back. However, it did not fight back in a logical manner, it did not try to resist them, instead the centre object changed form, it swallowed the other two foreign objects by altering its form and swallow them as the two objects were encased by the centre object.


    The blinding lights not obstructed by the floating objects, were able to reach the centre object now. As they made contact, all the power from the lights was transferred into the centre object, causing its thousands upon thousands of tendrils to grow thick, until that power was directed manipulated. The thousands of thick tendrils split into multiple thousands each, creating a few million tendrils. These tendrils struck out against the two objects swallowed by the mass of it, breaking them and letting the tendrils assimilate them.


    This caused a strong reaction inside the being, a reaction so strong that it changed all of the tendrils inside the being to either one of the colours of the two objects, and it achieved something amazing. The energy that radiated from the centre object reclaimed the territory it had lost and more, it changed the empty space to one that seemed to be permeated with blood and death. A space where a gory, bloody and cold end was natural, a space that only knew life as a bloody, gory and dying mess. A space filled with agony, desperation, and power. Power was filling the space, power that made the air hum with a strange tone, power that seemed to seep out of the centre and permeate throughout the whole area. Power so savage, deadly and uncontrolled that it ravaged the area, making it barren. A place filled with slaughter, filled with blood and death.


    The centre object was subject to a worse treatment, it seemed as if the black and red tendrils inside of it had the same destructive and uncontrolled power. The being itself could not resist the power from both inside and outside, and it would soon be torn apart slowly, piece by piece before being torn asunder. The tendrils inside of the being could not hold the power, the tendrils were like a string of wool that was being pulled apart, it was only seconds before the power would snap the first cord, after which the being would be lost forever. It would die from its own power. It would rip itself apart from its inability to control or even resist its own power, the energy that permeated it and the surrounding area would ravage anything in existence as its light would go out.

 Chapter 10: Power for a price.

    <h1>Chapter 10</h1>


    Due to the large amount of power released and the depleted reserves of the three presences, they were all knocked aside by the overwhelming force, and were forced back into their original territories. They received such overwhelming pressure from the energy radiated by the centre object, that they were knocked out of the dream.


    As the large creature awoke from its sleep and the three presences itself inhabiting it caught their breath, they looked at each other and saw the same disbelief in their eyes. What was that, where had it come from, and most of all, why did it have so much power?


    They were perplexed by the sudden reaction of the centre object and embarrassed by their own inability to foresee it or even see it as it was happening.


    As they wanted to continue their self-lamenting mental state, they suddenly felt the same power radiating from under them. They quickly leaped to the other side of the cage. They looked at the source of the power and saw that it was the small creature which they had healed earlier, the power seemed to only be a fraction of what it had been inside the dream, but it was still the same power. They could recognise the savageness and deadliness it radiated from a mile away. Their first instinct was to run away from such a dangerous power, but they were stopped by the dominating presence. He shushed them and approached the small creature, it was not afraid of it since it was the same as the small creature. Both creatures of death, and both hated for their nature.


    As he approached it, he could hear it wail in pain, he could see its struggle on its face. It was trying to control the raging energies inside of it, it was trying to resist them, but it all seemed to be futile, as he was slowly torn apart. The dominating presence saw this, and rushed over to its side. It could see that it was in pain, it could see its struggle clearly. It realised what had happened, the small creature had been in the dream, they had fed it energy, and the small creature had awakened. It had awakened just like they had in the past, but it had awakened due to their interference. He was not supposed to awaken until he was far older, they did this to him in their blind pursue of their desires.


    As the other two presences stood over the small creature alongside the domineering one, they noticed the same things the domineering one had. This was their fault, and those two could do nothing about it. They had already felt in the dream, their energies could not go up against that savage, deadly and uncontrolled kind of energy. They saw its futile attempts to survive, but they felt that it was going to die like this.


    The domineering presence quickly turned to the other two and said with a determined and steadfast voice.


    ¡°You both know that we caused this, are you going to help me.¡±


    The other two presences could only agree upon hearing this, they caused this, if they don¡¯t do anything their greed will kill the small creature they did so much for. If they let it die, they will have wasted so much mana on nothing.


    They quickly agreed and listened to the domineering one¡¯s instructions. They were supposed to heal the body and sustain it as much as they could while the domineering one tried to calm the raging energies inside the mana core.


    While they were executing their plan, Daelyn was in great turmoil as he was conscious during his awakening.


    It started with a fleeting dream, a dream of four different areas. He could feel himself be in the centre area with the two different objects. His area became smaller and smaller as the lights adorning it became brighter, as they dragged the two objects with them and reached him, he felt the pain. He felt the pain it caused, he felt the pain from his whole existence being impacted with a force comparable to a herd of elephants. The fleeting dream changed to reality in but a second as he experienced the hellish pain and tried to endure it. As more and more energy accumulated inside the lights, the two objects pressed more and more, Daelyn could feel them gaining power and force. He could feel them pushing on him with greater power every passing moment, he was becoming more and more desperate as he tried to resist them.


    From his desperation a thought was born. ¡®Why not give up, why not let all the problems sink away into the never-ending abyss, why continue this hellish existence?¡¯ these thoughts invaded Daelyn¡¯s mind and started to spread outward.


    Daelyn could not help but think of the relieve he could get if he gave in, he could not help but wonder if giving in would give him the rest he craved in this hellish environment.


    He could not continue his thoughts, as one thought, one image crossed his mind and shattered the temptation of giving in. It was the image of him and his parents smiling, playing, and their expressions filled with joy. How could he even think of giving up on them? They never gave up on him despite his odd behaviour and urges, how could he betray them like that?


    As the image of his parents shattered the temptation, another thought ignited an urge, a desire. It was the desire for power, it was the thought of what he wanted to become. He wanted to become a powerful mage, a mage so powerful that no one could stand in his way. He had only had one goal in life up until now, one real goal, and he wasn¡¯t going to give up on it.


    This goal ignited a desire for survival and a desire for power. He desired to have enough power to survive and thrive, he wanted enough power to overcome this situation and become stronger because of it. He knew that without power, he would not survive this, let alone the dangers in the outside world he had read about, giant monsters, dragons, undead, and much more lurked out there. How could he give up now?


    He felt the two objects bash into him, and he stopped resisting them. He could feel that they were a part of him as much as the white void was a part of him, he swallowed them. He felt the power from the blinding lights, and he tried to break the objects, he tried to devour their power and make it his own, as they were already a part of him.


    As the two objects broke inside of him under the great power of the blinding lights, he felt pain. He felt a pain even more excruciating than before, this was not a pain that originated from the outside, this was a pain from the inside. A pain that seemed to stem from a transformation of his whole being, a pain that came from a fundamental change of his form and his power.


    As he tried to control the raging energies and the transformation, Daelyn found that he was unable to. The energies raged inside of him, they lashed out against his surroundings, and filled the once white void with a ravaged plain painted with a red and black tint. He could not resist the energies as they tore him apart and changed him, he felt the countless strings that he consisted of change, he felt them either change into black or red, blood or death, and he felt them clash with each other. They clashed inside of him, causing the energy outbursts to become larger and more numerous, and the clash of the energies was slowly tearing him apart. He felt himself being torn asunder as the energies continued their clash, he couldn¡¯t resist them as they continued their uncontrolled rage.


    As Daelyn was coming closer and closer to being bisected, he felt a presence that calmed the raging energies, and other presences that tried to heal him. He felt his body heal, he felt the contours of his body through the white void from the energies coursing through him. These energies healed his body, and made sure that it did not collapse under the raging energies emanating from the white void.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    The presence inside the white void raging with the red and black energies seemed to try and calm them down. It was in vain however, he could only affect the black energy and as he did that, the red energy retaliated against him.


    Daelyn felt a vibration throughout the white void, the sounds of the vibration seemed to be the only thing that was left. The vibration silenced the sound of the raging energies, the sound of the other presences working on him, and the sound of his own thoughts. His mind was only focused on the vibration, as it continued to reverberate through the white void, through his body.


    He focused on the origin of the vibration, and saw that it was his own hart. He realised something, if he couldn¡¯t contain the energies inside the void, then he might be able to contain the energies inside his body. He did not know if this would work, but he did know that he could not sustain the current situation. He decided to take fate into his own hands, and try it.


    As the presence was in his own domain, in his own body, he could send it a message. He could only send a short message, but had to make clear what his intentions were. He directed the message towards the presence inside the void, and let the message echo through the void: ¡®break the void, let it flow¡¯.


    As the domineering presence tried to stabilize the energies inside the awakened core of the small creature, he found that he could do little to help it. Whenever he tried to stabilize the dark energies, he would be repelled by the red energies. As he continued his futile struggle, he suddenly had a thought, a thought that seemed foreign, a thought that didn¡¯t seemed to be his. The thought read ¡®break the void, let it flow¡¯, as he read the thought he was perplexed, where had it come from? He looked at the centre of the raging energies, and realised it. He was inside of that being, the being had sent it, the being had sent a message from its soul to his. He didn¡¯t understand what the being meant, by breaking the void or letting it flow.


    His thoughts were quickly interrupted as the being inside the centre abandoned all attempts to resist the energies and instead tried to direct the energies as much as possible, it directed the energies outwards, it directed the energies towards the void. It tried to break its own core, it tried to send the energies into its body.


    The presence inside the void was perplexed by this, it could not continue its state of shock as it was assaulted by the energies radiating from the being. While it could resist them this time, the presence had understood the intention of the small creature, and decided that it was the best course of action.


    As the domineering presence left the void, he turned towards the other two presences who were filled with worry.


    ¡°What happened? The energy radiating from the small creature has increased in both power and amount, could you not stabilize it?¡±


    The domineering presence answered with a quick and decisive answer: ¡°There is not time to explain, focus all of your efforts on healing the body, try to increase the regeneration speed of the small creature.¡±


    Daelyn felt his body being healed, as his being inside the void was torn apart piece by piece. As he stopped his resistance and redirected the raging energies towards the walls of the void, the energies took hold of him. They ripped him apart piece by piece, he felt the connection between his body and his soul falter and break, first his left leg wavered and broke. He felt excruciating pain from this, this pain had not rivalled anything he had ever felt. It did not end, it only worsened. He felt his right leg falter after the left one, followed by more pain, then he felt his arms falter, followed by more pain, then he felt his neck and his brain falter, followed by more pain. Each of his limbs were torn from his astral body as the connections were assaulted by the raging energies stemming from his own being.


    Daelyn¡¯s mind was filled with pain by the disconnection of his limbs, he thought that he could not feel more pain. He was wrong, as all of his limbs were disconnected from his body, his chest began to surge. He felt the energies harboured inside it surge as the energies inside the void made the connection falter more and more, Daelyn felt every passing moment with more and more excruciating pain as he directed the energies outwards. The connection between the last part of his body began to falter more and more, until it finally broke.


    As the connection broke, the white void seemed to fade away as the energies were still being directed outwards. As Daelyn felt the void fall away from around him, he felt something assault it from outside, the white void began to show cracks, as if a crystal was being broken under enormous pressure. The energies started to converse on his being in the void as the cracked void began to fade away, returning to their origin, and condensing the tendrils inside Daelyn¡¯s existence into thick threads of raw energy.


    Daelyn felt a change inside his being, his soul, as the energies converged onto him. He felt the two energies that had changed every fibre of his being clash once again. Forming two sides, they fought like animals as they tried to gain control over Daelyn¡¯s being.


    Daelyn¡¯s mind was filled with the clash of the two beings, he once again sought his refuge in desperation. He once again asked himself if he could not just give up. However, this time, he did not falter. The memories of his family and his only goal in life, his only real purpose he had given himself, crossed his mind. It was for but an instant, but as he once again saw them, he gained an even stronger conviction. He had felt the power the energies radiated, and from all the pain he had experienced by these energies, he had realised one thing.


    Power comes at a price.


    Daelyn realised this, and he also realised that to gain power and survive, he would have to pay the price in his blood, sweat, and tears. He steeled himself, and emerged from his refuge of desperation with an even stronger conviction than before, and faced the raging energies.


    Daelyn broke the two sides, he separated the energies, and entangled them with each other on a level as small as possible for him. He was no longer resisting the energies, he was completely made from them, continuing his resistance would only prolong his suffering and extend his lifespan by but a few miserable moments. He weaved the energies together like two wools of string, he intertwined them together on the smallest possible level, before pushing. He pushed them with all of his will together, he applied pressure to every little string of his existence, and he forced them together.


    As the energies were being pushed together on the smallest possible level, they could not resist it, and began to gravitate towards each other despite their clash. Daelyn used every ounce of his willpower to increase his pressure, and as he was about to give up from over exhaustion, something happened. One pair of entangled energies did something he had not expected, but had subconsciously created. The energies did not connect directly, but instead created bridges from both dark and red energies. These energies were not a merger just like the threads, but caused a pull force which stabilized the energies, they acted as magnets repulsed from the other element but drawn to their own, causing the energies to stop their clash between the threads as the bridges were pulled back and forth between the dark and red tendrils.


    The shape of the energies resembled that of double helix. Daelyn suddenly knew this, he knew that the double helix was normally the form of DNA, and he knew what DNA was. He was completely taken aback by this discovery, but before he could continue his wondering, the energies reacted once more.


    As the first tendrils intertwined with each other, more and more followed their example, either under Daelyn¡¯s influence or on their own. This caused the energies within Daelyn to stabilize, before they once again began to exert their power, making Daelyn go on the defensive once again.


    The combined energies may be stabilized, but they were still too much for the small body and core to contain. They started radiating their combined power, and that power was not small. The power was not as strong as the powers combined, but it was still stronger and more powerful than the individual powers. They started their rampage once again through Daelyn¡¯s being, as it was the only thing that remained of him.


    This was quickly halted by an outside force, the outside force broke the white void completely, causing the rampaging energies to flow through Daelyn¡¯s bloodstream. The transformation had only taken moments because of the large amount of energy, but for Daelyn it had felt like an eternity of toture.


    Daelyn immediately felt a change as the energies left his body, while they were once ravaging him, they were still his. He felt the connection to his limbs return to him one by one, until he was whole again. The blood filled with energy rampaged throughout his body, he felt every fibre of his physical body be restructured to accomplice the new energies. He felt them be destroyed and then be rebuild, he was astounded at his recovery rate.


    He could only be perplexed at his abilities, but his train of thought quickly interrupted by a throbbing pain. He felt the one body part that he had felt until the end waver, the body part which dictated a large part of his existence, his heart.

 Chapter 11: A change of heart, and the three headed hound.

    <h1>Chapter 11</h1>


    While the energies coursed through his veins, changed every part of his being to accommodate them, Daelyn felt a throbbing pain. A pain that was not constant, it increased with each pulse of the energies flowing through him, he felt the pulse of the pain, and could only shock as he realised its origin. It was his heart, the last organ that had remained under his control as he left his physical body, that was faltering. Residual energy was building up in his heart because of the gateway it formed, it was bound to collapse because of the energy, Daelyn was once again coming closer and closer to death despite all of his efforts.


    Daelyn once again did not give up, he was going to reach his goal. He did not know how strong others may be, but he sure as hell did know that he would become stronger, strong enough to not be bothered by anyone, strong enough to make kingdoms bow to him. He would pay the price for his power in blood, either his own or that of enemies.


    Despite his resolve, Daelyn felt his heartbeat become weaker and weaker. He knew that his heart could not hold the blood filled with the reactive energy, he remembered how he survived the rampaging of the energies inside his being in the void, he would create something new. As he gathered his will, he felt the energy inside his body respond almost immediately, he channelled them through his veins, towards his heart, and held as much energy as possible there.


    As the blood and energy was embedded in the walls of his heart, he felt it expand, he felt his heart expand inside his body. He felt excruciating pain, he felt his longs being pressurised because of the expansion, he felt the flesh inside his body be mangled as his heart bloated, he felt his diaphragm expand more and more as the volume of his heart became larger and larger. The energies and the blood made his heart become more and more bloated as more and more of the energy laden blood converged on his heart.


    As he had concentrated a large portion of the energy inside his body in and around his heart, he pressed once again. He pressed the blood and the energy inside the walls of the chambers of his heart, he applied as much pressure as he could with his will, and tried to change the structure of his heart. He did not know if this would do anything, but this was the only thing that he could think of.


    As he applied more and more pressure towards the energy filled blood surrounding his heart, it decreased in volume, the chambers in his heart became more and more pressurized as Daelyn willed every ounce of blood and magical power inside of them to converse on the walls. He wanted to make the chambers made from the energy filled blood.


    As Daelyn¡¯s chambers became closer and closer to their transformation, Daelyn noticed that he could not apply enough pressure anymore. He could not pressurize both the inside and the outside to reach the final step. He was once again met with a stalemate from which he could not return victorious. Daelyn tried again and again and again, but he wasn¡¯t able to reach the final step with his current will, until something changed.


    As the domineering presence had broken the core of the awakened creature, it noticed the large amount of power flowing through its body, and directed it towards the bloodstream. It knew that if that power became static, it would result in the same situation as in the core of the creature. It noticed that the energies were becoming static in one place, and it immediately grew panicked as it saw where it was. The energies were slowly accumulating inside the heart of the small creature, the creature would perish at this rate.


    As the domineering presence tried to think of a solution for the situation, one was already made. The presence was pulled from its thoughts by a change of the flow of the energies and blood throughout the body.


    The heart of the small creature was gathering energy, and it was gathering energy fast! The blood in the body was drawn to it from all regions, leaving the body of the small creature behind like an empty husk. The domineering presence couldn¡¯t help but panic as he saw this, until the situation changed.


    The surplus of blood and energy surrounding the heart started to condense, the domineering presence was perplexed at this. Was the small creature doing this itself, if it was, why? What was it trying to do?


    The domineering presence tried to reason with itself and think of why the small creature was doing this. This was until it saw the halt of the condensing of the surplus around the heart. It saw it happen, and panicked once again. The small creature¡¯s heart would be torn apart by the residual energy that is present inside the heart if this endured.


    It panicked as it did not know why the small creature was doing this, until one of the other presences intervened. They had been trying to heal the body throughout the affair, but seeing the situation and the behaviour of the small creature, it realised what it was doing. The small creature did the same thing the presence did with water, it was crystallizing it. The presence immediately started applying pressure towards the outside of the heart, quickly followed by the other presence which realised the same thing a moment later. Only the domineering presence was left behind in confusion as it did not understand what the other two were doing.


    As the pressure increased from the outside of the heart, Daelyn only needed to apply pressure from the inside. He matched the pressure from the outside that was steadily rising to make sure that the none of the walls of the chambers caved in and killed him. He had had multiple brushes with death since he entered this dungeon, and he wasn¡¯t going to die because he could not control himself.


    As the surplus of blood and energy made the walls of his heart chambers more and more dense, a change started to happen. The dense energies started interacting with the blood, and the present muscle fibre, this interaction led to a change in form of the muscle fibre. The heart started to form a crystal layer around itself as the surplus of blood and energy converged on it.


    As the outside was crystallized, so was the inside. Daelyn found himself once again in pain, but this time it was a suffocating pain. He realised that his heart could not beat if it was crystallized. However, this shortage of breath lasted only for a moment, as his heart was completely crystallized, energy once again gathered there.


    This energy was not residual energy of any kind, it was meant to be there. The blood and dark mana started to function like a pump in the different chambers, the heart began beating once again under the influence of the energies present in it. The energies spurred on a flexible crystal to move like a heartbeat, pumping the blood into the cardiovascular system and ensuring Daelyn¡¯s survival.


    Daelyn felt the connection between him and his whole body solidify as his heart started pumping once again. He hadn¡¯t felt like his body was foreign, but he could feel that the connection was once again established on firm ground, and that it could not be uprooted. Daelyn could feel the energies pump through his veins as his crystal heart did its work, he could feel that his blood was filled with brimming power, his power.


    As Daelyn felt his power and was profoundly happy about gaining it, he suddenly felt lightheaded. As his vision faltered, he fell backwards, towards the large creature which had nearly killed him, helped him survive, and helped give him his own kind of power. The last sensation Daelyn felt before his consciousness escaped him, was that of a soft pillow against his back.


    ¡®Ah, a nice pillow. Let¡¯s sleep for a bit, having power is cool, but sleeping is better.¡¯ Were his last thoughts before he drifted into the land of dreams and nightmares.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    As the three presences had seen his endeavour to save himself, they were vastly surprised at the product that emerged from the crystallization of his heart. They had seen things like it, but not in this way. They had never seen a living and breathing being with such a core, the core was profoundly different from others. This core was a replacement for a heart, not a container of magical power, not a source of life, and not something that only held the soul in place. This core was something that pumped the blood through the body, the blood filled with energy and the heart made by that energy held the soul in place.


    The three presences were perplexed at this kind of crystal or core, they had never seen a being with such a core. While the core was special, they realised what it had been born from, it had been born from their greed, and the blood of the small creature. They knew it had gained something unique and with it an unknown kind of power, but he paid the price in his own blood.


    As they looked at each other, the presences noticed that they were profoundly exhausted. They had used a lot of magic in the process of trying to kill him, and saving his life. They could only chuckle at each other as they realised the situation, before their attention was directed towards their side. They noticed that the small creature had fallen their side ,and had curled up, sleeping.


    They had decided that it would be wise to follow its example. They were the dominant monster inside the hallway, so there wasn¡¯t a real threat from the other monsters, and they were completely exhausted. They repositioned themselves so that the small creature lay between their necks, and dozed off to sleep.


    As both Daelyn and the large creature fell into a comatose state, they were undisturbed as the other monsters started to slowly calm down and become servile once again. They were only disturbed several hours later, as Lyvia reached the door of the broken cage. She had alerted both Grey and Orthrus of her discovery with a soft yelp, they had quickly made their way towards the cage.


    All three of them stood in front of the broken doors of the large cage. The doors had been broken through with brute strength, which was shocking considering that it was a magical reinforced metal and that the inhabitant was restrained by the magic active inside of the dungeon as the monsters were rioting. The doors were bent like they were rammed by a large creature, there were no claw marks or marks of acid being used. The doors were simply broken by a large creature as it had charged through them.


    While Grey was perplexed by this, Orthrus paled as he thought about the monster in the cage. He knew which monster it was, because only a few monsters of him could do that, and only one resided in the dungeon, out of his control. He began to grow nervous as he saw Lyvia standing in front of the door with a pale and worried face. As he stood in front of the bent and broken doors of the cage, the natural healthy colour of his sun elf complexion turned completely pale as he looked at the creatures in the cage.


    One of the creatures was Daelyn, but he wasn¡¯t the same Daelyn. He had a rather pale complexion, as if some of his blood had been leached from him. His hair had become a lot darker, still brown but bordering black and he had deep red coloured tips at the end of his hair.


    While Orthrus was surprised at seeing this, his attention was focused on two other things. The first thing was that Daelyn was sleeping with a giant chimera. This particular chimera resembled the legendary beast Cerberus, with three heads. However, the chimera had the heads of three different animals.


    From the back of the creature, the head on the left was that of a flame hound, the head on the right one of an ice howler, and the head in the middle of a dark wolf.


    All three of them were either a variant or had been an alpha, this meant that all three of them were stronger than the average monster of its species. The chimera¡¯s heads had been attached quite shoddily, the spines were not connected very well, the skin might as well have been patched on with nails, and the three heads had three different souls. These were some rookie mistakes on a high level monster, which made for a shoddily created chimera and resulted in the creators death. This was paramount to a child trying to defuse a bomb, it was doomed to fail and kill the operator.


    Orthrus took it in despite its shoddy creation, because of the power it held. If the different souls could be controlled, they could be immensely powerful. A variant, apex predator, and an alpha together in one body results in fast magical power of different elements. Orthrus has tried many times to gain control over the creature, but due to the strength of the three souls combined, it has proven very difficult.


    The second thing that gained Orthrus¡¯ attention was not the magical power of the beast nor its behaviour, it was Daelyn. The physical changes of Daelyn were not all that impressive, but they did betray the presence of the changes. Orthrus could only be stunned as he felt the magical power radiating from Daelyn, it was a combination of blood and death magic.


    Grey and Lyvia were surprised by the physical changes Daelyn had undergone, they did not hate them, but they were certainly alerted by them. They could only think of one thing that could have caused such changes, and tried to feel any mana emanating from Daelyn, they were just as shocked as Orthrus.


    Daelyn had vast magical power flowing through his veins. While they were stunned by the magical power, they were extremely worried at the absence of a core. They could feel some kind of core inside of his body, but its magical power was only a fragment of that in Daelyn¡¯s veins, and the core was in the place of his heart. This alerted them greatly, since they had never seen such a core or crystal in the place of the heart, and were unsure if it Daelyn was okay.


    As Grey and Lyvia could no longer look on in worry, they rushed to Daelyn¡¯s side. In their hurry they forgot to silence their steps, causing the large creature to stir. They were only a few meters from it as it started to groggily wake up, both Grey and Lyvia were confident that the two of them could handle the situation, but their worries lay with Daelyn. He was literally next to it, sleeping.


    As the large creature started to stand up from it sleeping position, Daelyn was knocked over as the support granted by the creature was taken away from him. With a soft tud, he fell to the ground. He woke up, with a slow functioning brain, not enough sleep, and still drained of a part of his health and mana, he looked into the room. He found his parents standing only a few meters away from him, and a large shadow surrounding him. As he looked up, he saw a magnificent creature. Unlike the creature he had seen in his daze, he knew this creature may not be godlike, but he knew that such magnificence only belonged to the strong and powerful.


    It was the kind of being that emanated power and dominance, but each of the heads had a different feeling to it. The head on the middle had a feeling of mystery and perseverance, with its harsh looking pitch-black fur, it seemed to be a monster coming from the depths of a dark cavern. Its eyes were surprisingly golden, a kind of gold that would shine in the darkness of a dark cavern, signalling the coming of the creature and marking its prey¡¯s doom. The kind of eyes that would pierce everything it saw, the creature radiated pure power with a hint of elegance.


    The head on the right emanated fire, it was literally on fire. The fur of the head had an orange tint complementing the fire that was raging on it, it seemed to be a hound born from the depths of a volcano, or an everlasting fire. The eyes seemed to have a blaze in them, as they were bright red and seemed to flicker constantly, as if it was eager to devour everything that stood in its path and turn it to ash.


    The head on the left radiated an aura of elegance, majesty, and a chill that seemed to reach into the soul. The head had a pure white fur, with eyes that were a light grey, resembling the colour of a frozen wasteland. The creature seemed to be above others, having its majesty radiate like it was a lord, not willing to bow to any threat from either inside or outside of its kingdom.


    Daelyn was captivated by the creature and the different intents they radiated, he was snapped out of his stupor by his parents voice.


    ¡°Daelyn, honey, please get away from the big bad wolf. Mama and papa will take care of it, okay?¡± Said Lyvia with a soothing yet nervous voice.


    Daelyn heard his mother¡¯s voice, and could not help but be happy. After the objects in the white void shattering inside of him, after absorbing them, after losing the connection to his body, after all of that pain. After all of that, he could finally return to his parents¡¯ arms, he could finally hug them, and tell them he is okay.


    Just as he was about to walk over to his parents, the creature moved. It saw the three newcomers as a threat, and was not going to expose the small creature to them. The three presences had almost killed it with their greed, they had saved it from tearing its body apart, from tearing its mind apart, and from tearing its soul apart, so they weren¡¯t going to let it die to something like this.


    As the large creature moved, the trio moved as well. Orthrus and Grey shifted to the back as support, while Lyvia rushed towards the creature and Daelyn to engage in close quarters combat.


    A battle was about to ensue, and only one side would be victorious.

 Chapter 12: A battle of monsters, and family.

    <h1>Chapter 12</h1>


    As the two opposing parties approached each other, it was clear that there was a difference in power between them. Lyvia seemed to have a flexible and toned body while she adapted a martial art stance, Grey immediately created a water barrier around Lyvia that protected her, and Orthrus quickly summoned one of his smaller creatures while applying pressure with his soul magic.


    As the trio were preparing, so was the large creature. The head in the middle was applying enhancement magic to the body and had started utilising its aura, while both the head on the right and left were preparing their own respective magic. They started with appraising the creature, the results shocked both Grey and Lyvia.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td width="604">


    Three headed Chimera, level 157


    This chimera was the product of a failed experiment of a novice chimeramancer. The novice was quickly eaten and the chimera roamed free, killing anyone in its wake. The creature gains stat increases from all three heads and has affinities towards three kinds of magic, approach with caution as it is quite powerful.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    They had not expected the chimera to be this powerful, and knew that this would be an uphill battle.


    The head on the left was preparing a large fireball, it seemed to be gathering flames from its own body as the fireball was first created with mana and then supplemented with the fire from its body.


    The head on the right had created multiple ice shard that rotated around it, ready to fire at any moment. It was still creating more, they seemed to originate from its mouth as it gathered the mana around its maw, created the ice shard, and then let them float in a circle with its head at the centre.


    The three heads had become weirdly attached to Daelyn. They had seen what he was, they had caused him to form his core, and they had helped him survive. They had seen that he was like them, an abomination in the eyes of others, something that shouldn¡¯t be. They had seen his innocence be taken advantage of by something like them, but they still rescued him, they still saved him from everything they had caused, and more. They had done this simply out of relating, they had felt the rejection from their own species as they saw what they had become. They had seen the behaviour of humans, and they knew what would happen to the little creature. They would view him as an abomination worse than them, they would view him as a lesser being, something that only existed because of someone else¡¯s sins.


    They had never seen past that with the large creature, and they would not see past that with the small creature. With their primal urges suppressed, they realized what this small creature meant to them, it meant a future like theirs. For them it meant the urge to grow powerful, to rise above others and show them his true nature, to surmount any obstacle in his path thrown up by others.


    The small creature might be the first thing they agreed upon, it must be protected so that it may grow strong, stronger than them. The three presences had come to see Daelyn as their pup, as their child, and they would do anything to protect him.


    On the other side stood the trio of two dark elves and a sun elf. They viewed the large creature as a threat to Daelyn, and rushed into battle without hesitation. They wanted to protect him from any threat, they wanted to give him a home he could return to, a teacher he could learn from, a parent that loved him, and a friend he could confide in. They wanted to do all of this, despite their weak connection to him.


    Grey and Lyvia may be his parents in name, but they were not his real parents. They might have only picked up Daelyn because of the birth of their stillborn child, but they had come to love him over the span of three years. They had come to terms with their grief, and saw Daelyn for the one thing he was to them, their son. They knew about his nature, but they also knew about his quirks, personality, and his adorable smile. They would spend afternoons playing, nights reading, and mornings teaching him. They may not be his biological parents, but they had raised him for the last three years, they accepted him despite his nature, they loved him.


    While both Grey and Lyvia fought for Daelyn out of love, Orthrus fought out of regret and self-hate. He knew just like the large creature that Daelyn would suffer at the hands of others just like he had, he knew they would reject them and hunt him down, and he knew what would happen if Daelyn was not strong enough to resist them. He had made the mistake of being unable to resist them, and it cost him dearly. If he looked at the small family of three, he couldn¡¯t help but remember his past. He would help Daelyn to not make the same mistake he did, he would protect this family, for he does not wish on others what happened to him.


    As the two parties were about to fling themselves at each other, cast their magic, smash the other¡¯s bones, flail the other¡¯s skin, and devour the other¡¯s flesh. Daelyn stood there, in the midst of it. He could feel the magical energies gathering, inside and outside the bodies of his loved ones. He felt their hostility towards each other, and he understood that they all wanted to protect him from danger.


    As he seemed to be the only one in the room to understand this, he was helpless. He could not save his benefactors from each other, he could not save his parents and Orthrus from the creature, and he could not save the creature from his parents and Orthrus. He felt helpless, he had been in constant pain since he had entered this dungeon, he had gained great power through his pain, but still he felt helpless. He was so absorbed by his goal of becoming powerful, and still he could do nothing. He could only lament in self-hate and anger as he realized his helplessness.


    He hated it, he hated himself, he hated his weakness, he hated the fact that the people that were favourable to him were fighting. He wanted it to stop, he gathered every ounce of his will. He directed everything in his body to one cry of anguish, one cry to notify the others of his pain and helplessness. He felt the energy filled blood stir up inside of him as he put everything he had into this scream, his heart pumped with more and more vigour as the blood in his body started to rile up, the blood seemed to be an army, ready for battle. It listened to Daelyn¡¯s command, and as he screamed, it screamed a battle cry.


    As Daelyn¡¯s mouth slowly opened, no sound escaped from it. Instead, his blood filled with magical power, did. A vein in his body opened from a moment, letting the filled with energy blood escape from it, and it substituted for Daelyn¡¯s scream. Instead of the scream of a small child, a cloud of magical power amplified by his own blood was used to permeate the air and and fill the surrounding space with his own energy. The scream that was released was one from the natures of his magic, one of blood and death. The screams of dozens upon dozens of tortured souls seemed to be released, overwhelming anyone¡¯s senses inside of the domain.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    As the air was permeated with a combination of blood and dark mana, the pure mana was cast out. The space became a domain made out of Daelyn¡¯s personal mana, and as the pure mana was pushed out, so were the spells that used it.


    As Daelyn released the scream, everyone inside the room was stunned and could not move for a second, as their senses were overwhelmed by the hellish screams. They were perplexed at their inability to finish their spells and the horrific sounds that came from the child, while Grey and Lyvia and two of the heads of the large creature were perplexed by the disappearance of the pure mana, both Orthrus and the domineering head knew what this was.


    Orthrus had seen this before, this was auramancy. This was a kind of magic exclusive to dark mages, the magic used the casters own mana to fill up the air with a high density field of dark mana. This made it virtually impossible to cast spells inside the space for pure mana mages and very hard for dark mages. The pure mana mages simply had no mana besides their own inside of the field, and if they tried to shoot it out, the mana would be quickly dispersed by the present and dominant dark mana. Auramancy may be powerful, but it does take quite a bit of finesse and can be overpowered if the mage is met with more mana.


    However, Orthrus was shocked at Daelyn¡¯s display of this magic. He knew from experience that it would normally take several months to create even the most basic aura, but Daelyn just made one without experience. Even more surprising, he added a powerful effect to it. This was only reserved for mages who put a lot of work into auramancy, and this type was one of the more advanced ones. And the aura itself was extremely well made. The aura seemed to use all the energy it received as efficiently as possible.


    The dominating head was not so much focused on the aura, as it was on the pulse that seemed to permeate it. He felt a pulse in the aura, he felt the energies permeating the area move with the pulse, propelled through streams carved into the aura. The dominating head was fascinated by this, the pulse was not an extension of the small creature¡¯s will, it was an extension of the small creature¡¯s body.


    The aura had veins, pumping with energy. The aura was working on the heart of the small creature, using the heart to pump energy throughout the air, and not waste anything in the process.


    Both the domineering presence and Orthrus had never seen anything like this, they looked at Daelyn with wonder in their eyes as they could only think of the power he had. They could only imagine what he could do with this kind of aura in the future, until they were both interrupted by a notification.


    <table>


    <tbody>


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    <td width="604">


    You are under the influence of the [Aura of tortured screams]


    You have resisted the stun effect


    You have resisted the daze status


    You have failed to resist the screams


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    As only Orthrus and the dominating head were able to resist the effects of the aura, they eyed each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.


    Orthrus had summoned one of his creations, and had prepared a soul suppressing spell, but he knew that it would be hard fought. The monster he had summoned was a cockroach like monster with large scythes for hands. This monster was originally an enlarged cockroach, it was the strongest of an infestation of cockroaches in the sewers of a medium-sized kingdom¡¯s capital. The cockroach normally used its mass or its mandibles to fight, but Orthrus saw a flaw in this. The cockroach may have good resilience and a hard shell, it wouldn¡¯t be able to pierce or damage shells of similar or higher defence with those mandibles. As such, Orthrus placed the scythes of another species of enlarged grasshoppers at the front of its body, the tail of a species of large scorpions at the end of its body, and let it battle a large amount of other monsters, both of Orthrus¡¯ creation and that of nature¡¯s.


    While the cockroach was quite large, 1,5 metres from head to tail and about 30 centimetres high, it was still dwarfed by the Cerberus-like creature. It had some form of conscience, but that did not incite it to run. It incited exactly the opposite, it knew that if it would be able to kill this monster, it would become stronger, it knew that its master would be pleased if he did this. It knew that it would grow from killing it, but it also knew that it would be close to impossible to kill it.


    The Cerberus-like creature quickly moved towards Daelyn before any of the others could, despite the hellish screams , it pushed on. It wanted to reach Daelyn to make sure that he was okay, it would not let the three elves harm him.


    Orthrus reacted as quickly as he sent his monster towards the Cerberus chimera, he himself cast his soul magic and tried to suppress or at least weaken the dark wolf. The large cockroach and the Cerberus circled each other and gazed at each other with appraising looks. The Cerberus might be powerful, but it does not have the proficiency the cockroach had with its body, due to a large amount of time spend in the cages and the bickering heads.


    Even now the heads were in disagreement. One wanted to charge in and devour the cockroach, another one wanted to focus on the mage, and the domineering presence was too preoccupied with the monster in front of them to listen to them. They continued their bickering until the dark wolf interrupted them.


    The dark wolf was astonished at this, they were being assaulted by the terrifying wails of the child, afflicted with a stun and daze effect, and they were still bitching towards him. They were commenting on his every move, giving their unwanted advice at a moment¡¯s notice, and resembling nagging hags more than proud and powerful creatures.


    As he had difficulty battling both the inside and outside forces, he could hear the mage taunt him.


    ¡°Ha! I thought you were so strong, but you can¡¯t even handle Roach. You are divided! You are weak! Like this, you are nothing you damned Cerberus wannabe!¡±


    While the three heads could not entirely understand the mage, they knew what he was hinting at. That damned mage called them weak! He will pay!


    The other two heads might not be able to use their magic, but they were still able to fight without it.


    As the heads responded to the taunt, they unified, and started pressuring the mage and its creation. They started to attack with more and more ferocity, wanting to kill both the mage and its creation.


    Because of this, poor Roach had it hard. While at the start he could fight on equal terms with the giant wolf, he was being put on the defence more and more, resulting in having to parry most strikes with its scythes and tail, and having to dodge a lot. He rarely had any openings he could make use of, and as one of those finally appeared, he made a costly mistake.


    He thought that its side was exposed for a second, since the head on the left was focusing on his master instead of him, but he was wrong. The head suddenly shot out towards him, and it got hold of one of its scythes. The scythe was quickly torn off with sheer force. Roach could only shriek in pain before having to continue parrying and dodging with one less arm, and a bleeding wound.


    As Roach got back to his master, he felt the air change. He felt the dark mana in the air that originally caused the screams change form. He felt the mana condense in a wall between them and the creature. He quickly looked towards the origin of the power, and found a small child sitting there. The child looked extremely weak, but he was controlling an extremely large amount of power.


    Roach suddenly knew how to win this fight, he had to eat the child. He would get the magic power of the small child, and he would be able to beat that damned dog! Master would be happy with his increase in power, and that dog would be dead! He would be powerful, and that damned dog would be dead!


    As he savoured the thought, he ran towards the small child. Surprising both Orthrus and the chimera, they could not do anything for a moment but watch as the enlarged cockroach was almost upon Daelyn. They realized that he would not be able to defend himself in this situation, and both could only pale at the sight of his encroaching death.


    The chimera tried to break through the wall made by Daelyn, but to no avail. All of the dark mana in the room was condensed into that wall, resulting in something that could not be easily broken without a charge.


    Orthrus hurriedly tried to gain control of the chimera, but the constant battle with the right head of the chimera had worn him out, and he knew his magic would take just too long for Daelyn to survive.


    As Roach creeped up on Daelyn, he raised his scorpion tail, directed it towards Daelyn, and struck.

 Chapter 13: Grinded meat, and preparation

    <h1>Chapter 13</h1>


    As the screams abated and the aura dissipated, both Grey and Lyvia were able to get up and assess the situation. They found it was dire.


    The aura had condensed into a wall of dark mana, and the large creature was locked behind it. They were happy for this, because the other two heads now began to awake. If all three were awake, it could very well meant their dead.


    However, they noticed that the chimera was looking towards something, following its gaze, they found Daelyn! They were overjoyed at seeing him, he was alive! He was alive! After all of their worry, he was still alive!


    However, that joy was shortly lived as they saw his condition. They could not recognise the happy and energetic child, they could only see an empty husk. This reminded them of a scene from their adventurer days, when a swarm of bloodsucking mosquitos had passed through a village and left the villagers behind as empty husks. The villagers had been drained of all of the blood in their body, they looked like a shrivelled up version foetuses. They could not help but feel a tingle down their spine as they saw Daelyn in a similar condition.


    Grey immediately started casting a rejuvenation spell, but that was before he had noticed something else. There was a monster heading towards Daelyn, a cockroach like monster.


    Lyvia had already turned her attention towards the three headed wolf once more, acknowledging it as the only threat in the room, until she heard a yelp from Grey. As she looked at him and after that at Daelyn, she saw another chimera.


    A cockroach like chimera with a scorpion tail and grasshopper blades, as she saw that the creature was about to strike Daelyn with its tail, she went berserk.


    ¡®HOW DARE THAT DAMNED MORSEL TOUCH HIM!¡¯ she raged inside of her mind, ¡®I WILL TEAR IT APART, PIECE BY PIECE, AND LET IT PLEAD FOR DEATH IN THE LAST MOMENTS OF ITS MISERABLE LIFE.¡¯. Emotions of anger took over her mind as she planted her foot in the ground, kicked off, and disappeared.


    She appeared in front of Daelyn, with the cockroach¡¯s scorpion tail in hand. She had a look that could only be attributed to a devil, as bloodlust flooded the room like a vast ocean, everything inside the dungeon flinched as they felt the bloodlust wash over them. This bloodlust was not one of power, or savageness. This bloodlust was one of determination to give its target the worst end possible, it was meant to convey a message.


    As the cockroach had not realized the loss of its tail, it could only freeze in fear of the woman that stood in front of it. It cowered and shivered as its instincts told it to run, but it mind told it that it was useless.


    Deciding that it would not accept such an end, it gathered all of its courage, and swung its only remaining scythe towards the woman. The woman promptly grabbed the scythe in its trajectory, put her foot on the joint of the scythe and the body, and pulled.


    The cockroach shrieked in terror, as one of its limbs was slowly being torn apart, he shrieked even more as the limb was disconnected from its body with brute force. Its mind was filled with pain from the loss of its limbs, and fear from the woman. The creature had never been this scared in its life, not from the abominations it had fought, not from its master, not from anything.


    It could only look on in horror as the woman dropped its torn limb, heaved its tail above her head, and brought it down. She used its tail as a blunt weapon to beat it to death. Lyvia did not focus on the head, instead it focused on every part of the chimera¡¯s body, trying to cause as much pain as possible before its miserable existence ended.


    ¡®DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIEEEEEE¡¯ rang through her mind as her rage took over and she pummelled the cockroach. She was enraged at the thought that it would dare hurt Daelyn. All of the scenes of their happiness flashed before her eyes as she thought about what it meant to lose her son, she did not like it. It angered her, it angered her greatly. She would not have some damned filthy chimera kill him, she would not have some rich snob degrade him, and she wouldn¡¯t let him be enslaved to some damned noblemen of any country. Daelyn was her son, and she sure as hell wouldn¡¯t let him die like this.


    As she smashed the cockroach again and again with its own tail, it began to change into a bloody mush.


    After several minutes of redecorating the room with a red paint, the intervals between the smashes of her club slowed, until she grinded to a halt. The creature had already been long dead, but she had needed to vent the stress she had gone through since she had heard that feral roar.


    As she stopped her assault, she straightened her back, and let the scorpion tail fall on the ground with a light ¡®tud¡¯. Everyone in the room looked upon her in fear as she stood up, they knew that it would be unwise to intervene now.


    Lyvia glared at both Orthrus and the three headed hound, to which they responded with a shiver before retreating a few meters.


    Lyvia, satisfied with the results, turned around and looked upon Daelyn. He was still dutifully holding up the barrier, she could only smile upon seeing his face. Even if he was pale and seemed to be an empty husk of his former self, he was still her son, and she loved him was all of her heart.


    Not minding the organs and gore plastered on her, she picked up Daelyn and cradled him against her. She cradled him like he was still a baby, holding him against her chest, letting him hear her heartbeat. He seemed to calm down from this, as his expression eased and the wall of dark mana disappeared behind them. He opened his eyes and looked at Lyvia, she could only smile as she was assured that her son was alive, despite all of this.


    Daelyn tried to say something, but was only met with a shush from Lyvia and a kiss on his forehead. He felt the exhaustion wash over him as he felt the calming vibration ring through his mind, emptying it, and letting his consciousness fade away into the lands of dreams and nightmares.


    She began to rock Daelyn in her arms as he fell asleep.


    As Daelyn finally fell asleep, she calmly walked away with him in her arms. She walked like it was a normal day, like she was going to the local market to buy her groceries, enjoying the ambient sounds of nature, and feeling joy from the sleeping face of her son.


    As Grey, Orthrus and the chimera saw her walk away, they were completed fascinated by the scene. This woman had just reduced a fairly powerful chimera to a bloody mush, with some of the most brutal killing intent they had felt, and was now walking away, completely covered in gore, with her son in her arms like it was the most normal thing in the world.


    She suddenly stopped, and said with a calm and loving voice: ¡°Grey, dear, it¡¯s time we go home. We still need to get ready for the playdate.¡±


    As Grey heard this, he snapped out his stupor, and quickly followed her. He could only think about their past as something similar had happened during their adventurer days.


    She had adopted a little monster, it was the abandoned child of a razortusk boar. These boars had extremely sharp tusk and had unbelievably strong legs, resulting in being able to deliver a very strong charge, but the parents had been killed by a grizzly bear, the magical strengthened kind, and she had killed the grizzly. As they were about to engage the bear, Lyvia saw the baby razor tusk, and was completely smitten.


    She saw that the bear was about to eat it, and went berserk. She had killed the bear in seconds before cuddling the piglet almost to death. The piglet only lived because I had warned that it was about to choke to death. The piglet joined their journey for about half a year, before it returned to the wild. Lyvia was saddened by this, but she had seen the piglet become strong over the course of a half year, and was confident in its ability to become even stronger.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Coincidentally, she also started craving for a child after the boar had left.


    Grey could not continue his reminiscing of the past as he was left behind by Lyvia and Daelyn, he quickened his step to catch up with them, only to be met with a smile as he did.


    As Orthrus saw the couple walk away, he looked at the large creature, and saw that it was just as shocked as he was. Orthrus could not comprehend how these people could be so calm, Daelyn had a new type of magic! A new fucking type! That was unheard of!


    He turned towards the chimera and started to emanate his dark mana, but instead of trying to gain control of its soul through brute force, he tried to communicate.


    ¡°Why did you protect the child, why did you not kill it, and how did you help form its core?¡± Resounded through the large creature¡¯s mind.


    The large creature looked at Orthrus with a questioning but cautious look, until the last question. Its expression suddenly turned sour as it turned away from Orthrus.


    Orthrus was perplexed by this, why was he embarrassed by that last question? Unless¡­


    His face suddenly paled as he thought about what could have happened, he stammered as he tried to address the creature: ¡°D-did y-you give him your blessing?¡±


    Orthrus could only think of this, it had happened before that a child developed its mana core early, but this was normally under the blessing of a powerful creature.


    Meanwhile, the large creature was shocked at the remark the mage made, bless the creature? It did not such thing, and as the middle head was about to respond, it was halted by the other two.


    ¡®What are you doing! This is our change! Let him believe we blessed that creature, and he will leave us alone.¡¯ Said the left head with anger in his voice.


    ¡®I agree, he will most likely send everything in his soul space at us if he found out what we did, we can¡¯t let that happen. Let that stupid mage think that we blessed it, and we may be freed from this damned body.¡¯ Supported the right head with a cold and logical voice.


    The middle head thought their plan was a good one, but it was still vigilant, since it feared for the small creature, and their plans. He complied, and he answered the mage in front of them.


    ¡°Indeed we did, we blessed him. We saw him as one of our own, an abomination just like us.¡± Resounded through Orthrus¡¯ mind as the middle head represented the three of them. He wanted to sound as believable as possible and provided a vague reason for blessing him. They knew he was not stupid, because if he was, they wouldn¡¯t be here.


    Orthrus, despite seeing it as a possibility for what happened, was still apprehensive of trusting this creature. He knew its history with humanoids, and he knew it was not pretty. Trusting it would go a long way, but he saw the magical energies inside of Daelyn, and he could only think of this option, as this was the most common cases of the early developments of cores.


    The most common cases of early developments of cores are normally when the children are blessed by either gods, or strong and sentient monsters. These were the known cases of early development and their causation. Orthrus had done a lot of research towards the development of cores in children, but he could not find any information about the development of cores in children, besides receiving a blessing, in even the largest library of the dark elf kingdom, the national library in the capital.


    The cases in which children had developed their core early and weren¡¯t blessed, it was simply unknown what happened. Orthrus was baffled by this, how did they not know?


    He had his suspicions at both the chimera and the absence of research. It would be completely lunatic for mages, mages of all things, to not try and understand that process. Completely lunatic. Pure mana mages might not be as inquisitive and observant as dark mages, but that does not mean that they would be stupid. While the small body might not be able to hold the mana, it could still try to learn to control the mana if it was tapped away by an outside force, the child could learn to manipulate mana early. Children could become prodigies simply by the early development of their core.


    Besides his suspicion of the research, Orthrus had his eyes on the chimera. He was far from stupid, and knew the chimera might very well be lying. It could hardly be that the blessing of a moderately strong monster caused a fusion between death and blood magic. He had never heard of it, and he knew damned well that that chimera could be lying its ass off. But, Orthrus had no way to prove this, and decided that being observant would be the best option in this case.


    He turned towards the creature and said with a cold and dark voice, finalizing the conversation: ¡°That child is my disciple, hurt him, and you shall feel my wrath, understood?¡±


    The chimera did not back down, but it did reinforce the thought that if it was going to kill the child, he would do it outside of the mage¡¯s jurisdiction. The two heads on either side of the middle one were already planning on how to efficiently devour the child and escape, while the middle head took the warning of the mage to heart, and reinforced his devotion to protect the child, from both inside and outside forces.


    As the different heads were making their schemes, Orthrus hurried down the hall to catch up to Lyvia and Grey. He needed to clear some things up, as this situation was rare, unheard of, and would be looked down upon.


    He finally caught up to them in the room outside the iron door. They looked at him with a questioning look: ¡°Orthrus, why did you take so long?¡± Lyvia asked with an inquisitive face, while she was cradling Daelyn close to her.


    Orthrus looked at both of them before regaining his composure and starting the conversation with a decisive and clear tone: ¡°We need to make something clear. We can¡¯t tell what happened today, we can¡¯t tell anyone, not friends, family, no one. Daelyn can¡¯t tell any of his friends, anyone. We have to keep this a secret. Both of you might know the struggles of dark mages, but the combination between a dark and blood mage, an early awakening, and a child born with the affinities will only be seen as blasphemy. If someone does come to now, do not let them use it against you. If a friend finds out, make sure they do not talk.¡±


    Grey snickered before adjusting his expression and saying to Orthrus with a clear and understanding voice: ¡°We know Orthrus. We can¡¯t tell this to anyone, we would only be able to use this as bragging material. But if our bragging causes an inquisition, it isn¡¯t really worth it.¡±


    Lyvia could only grin at her husband¡¯s remark, before saying to Orthrus with a calm and soothing tone: ¡°Of course we know, we will tell Daelyn as soon as we can, but the playdate is in the afternoon, and I would rather have him join that if he wants to get some friends in his lifetime, don¡¯t you agree?¡±


    The sun was almost at its summit, but Orthrus had completely forgotten this from his diluted biological clock, and his raging mind trying to address the events that transpired that last few hours.


    ¡°Yes, yes, of course. It would only be for the best if Daelyn went to that playdate, but make sure that he does not experience a large amount of stress. That aura earlier was a product from such an outburst. We can hardly let that happen in a room full of children.¡±


    Lyvia let out a soft laugh before saying: ¡®Yes, that would be quite unfortunate. Imagine seeing the horror on the parents¡¯ faces, as their children were assaulted by the screams of tortured souls. That would be quite the situation, wouldn¡¯t it, dear?¡±


    Grey smiled at his wife and said with a reassuring tone: ¡°We will keep tabs on him, it would indeed be quite the situation if that happened, not to mention the consequences following it. Let¡¯s just hope that Daelyn gets along with the other kids.¡±


    While Orthrus was not completely satisfied with this answer, but he had his own problems, and needed to order the information he had gained over the last three years. The information was about a lot of topics concerning dark and blood mana, he had researched the basic of the most common forms of death magic and blood magic, blood warlocks, blood mages, rot mages, necromancers, undead summoners, and much more. He had tried to gain as much information as possible to help the little guy, and from his own interest, but with his early awakening he needed to get some things into order. He had about seven years to teach this child, before the system kicked in and Daelyn would have to be ready to be self-sustainable and able to progress his magic on his own. His magic might not depend on his level, but his overall strength mostly did, and remaining weak was not an option.


    Just as Lyvia and Grey were about to led away by Gob, Orthrus said one thing to them.


    ¡°Come back in one week, I will need to prepare some things to start his lessons early. He will need to learn a lot before his tenth birthday.¡±


    Lyvia and Grey complied to his request with a simple nod before Gob escorted them through the extensive library towards the door. As he opened the door, he saw them off with worry in his small beady eyes as he had seen Daelyn¡¯s state, but his worries were quickly put to rest by Lyvia.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he will just need some rest. He might also be back in a few days to read here, so you better be ready with a few books for him to read.¡±


    Gob quickly brightened as he opened the door and saw the couple off with a polite and genuine goodbye.


    After Lyvia and Grey had left Orthrus¡¯ house and Gob had closed the door, they could not help but sigh. They had never expected this morning to be as stressful as it was, Daelyn awakened two years early, with an unheard combination of magics!


    They could only cringe at the thought of the playdate. While it was detectable that Daelyn had awakened, someone had to specifically look at him to see, but it still brought them worries.


    Daelyn could not use his powers at the playdate, and they could only hope no one found! They sure as hell weren¡¯t going to cancel the playdate because of this danger! If it wasn¡¯t now, it was going to be never at this rate! Daelyn would end up as a magic obsessed hermit!


    With a longwinded sigh and a look of understanding in their eyes as they locked gazes, they set off towards their home, to prepare for the playdate later in the day.

 Chapter 14: Pleasantries and prejudice.

    <h1>Chapter 14</h1>


    As Elrieden sighed as he looked upon the pile of documents present on his desk. He had to look through all of these tax documents to make sure that everyone had paid their share, but he could not help but groan in irritation. Why did he have to do this? Couldn¡¯t they just have hired a clerk to do this for him? He wanted to continue his sulking, until he looked at the clock.


    It was past noon! The playdate was coming closer and closer and he was far from completing this monumental task!


    He quickly called upon his son Nero, who was training in the yard beside his office. Leaning back in his chair, he interrupted his training with a yell.


    ¡°Nero! I need you to get Fern, and start preparing for the playdate that is coming up! I still have a lot of work to do, so I can¡¯t do it at the moment.¡±


    Nero stopped his training only to shout back at his father with an annoyed tone: ¡°Can¡¯t I just continue training? I don¡¯t want to deal with those little kids, and besides, I was going to have some fun with the guys later.¡±


    Ellith could only sigh as muttered something under his breath concerning ¡®that damned child¡¯, before shouting back to him: ¡°I will pay you five silver if you do it. The playdate won¡¯t even last till sundown, so you will still have enough time to go drink with your pals. Now get your arse inside and help. Oh and call Fern, he can help, and he will be going to the playdate. He will most likely be hanging out at the village square.¡±


    Nero quickly answered his father, as he was very tempted at the prospect of coin: ¡°Okay dad, I will go get him, and after that we will set up the playdate.¡±


    He said as he quickly sped away, the fatigue from the training seemingly vanishing into thin air as he made his way towards the town square at top speed.


    On the way there, he met several people, the eldest son of the Ulindil family, Ifrit, and the Theandor family. Their son seemed awfully pale, but he did not mind it as he had a task to perform.


    Well, he wanted to continue, but he was quickly stopped by the father of the Theandor family.


    ¡°Oh, if it isn¡¯t Nero! How have you been?¡± He said with a cheerful voice.


    Nero slowed down a bit as he was addressed, and grinded to a halt next to the family.


    ¡°Hello mister Theandor, it is good to see you. I have been well, thank you.¡± He said with a polite voice before turning to Daelyn.


    ¡°And this must be little Daelyn, right? He seems kind of pale.¡±


    Lyvia could only smile as she said: ¡°Yes, he had quite a rough morning. We will first be heading home and letting him recover a bit. Can you tell Ellith that we will be coming to the playdate, but at a later time? We would like him to get some sleep first.¡±


    Nero politely smiled, before saying: ¡°Of course, I will relay the message. Goodbye.¡±


    He quickly sped off to get his little brother, that damned kid never focused on training, only hanging out with his friends and causing trouble. As Nero finally arrived at the town square, he found his little brother and his group of friends sitting on the benches next to the bakery.


    Nero was about to head over to them as he gazed upon the town square, it looked as beautiful as always. While most houses were up in the trees, the shops and such were almost always located on the ground, within the safety of some basic walls in the village. The town square of Elrieden looked beautiful.


    The square was surrounded by three large trees to which the walls were connected. These trees were adorned with watch posts in them and even some basic battlements. The walls were made out of a hardened type of bark, which is customary in most villages since it is quite hard, and it doesn¡¯t require stone or some other expensive building material to build.


    While the walls were made out of wood, the gate was made out of wooden planks reinforced with steel. This was quite hard to break through as the planks were also reinforced with nature magic, causing the already uncommonly hard planks to become even denser and stronger.


    The buildings around the town square were either houses of minor nobles that had some lands in nearby areas, or were the shops and houses of craftsmen. These houses normally had a foundation made from stone, but the rest was constructed out of wood. While it was cheaper to live in the trees, it brought more revenue to be situated along the town square or at least on the ground, and trees also had the bad habit of echoing everything throughout the forest. For a blacksmith, this could be quite annoying as the complains of the neighbours would pile up.


    The crown piece of the whole square was the fountain, it was a beautiful three layered fountain with some engravings on it. It was said that the fountain operates on one of the brands made by the original founder of Elrieden, others say that it was powered by an ancient enchantment. While these rumours were enjoyable, Nero knew that the fountain worked on the concept of water traveling downwards and then using gravity to have it propel itself upwards because of the difference in elevation, and pressure.


    Despite knowing that, Nero still thought it was a beautiful fountain as it seemed to be a masterpiece in such a small town.


    Nero quickly snapped out of his stupor and walked over to his brother, as he arrived he said with an indifferent and demanding voice: ¡°Fern, I came to get you. The playdate is going to be later in the afternoon, and you need to help organising it.¡±


    His little brother sighed at hearing this: ¡°Why do I have to do that? Dad was going to organize it, right? Besides, I don¡¯t need a playdate. I already have friends.¡±


    Nero¡¯s expression turned to one of annoyance as he responded to him with a demanding and irritated voice: ¡°You don¡¯t get a say in this, get your arse moving, you¡¯re going to help whether you like it or not. That is the least you can do for the family.¡±


    Fern¡¯s expression turned to anger, but he did not voice it. Instead he obeyed his brother, and followed him towards his home. He knew of his faults, but his brother did not have to rub it in, besides this playdate was stupid. He already had friends, and his father would organize everything, so why did he have to help! Those stupid little brats, can¡¯t they just organize their own things and not drag him into it! Those little babies better not act up, otherwise he might just hit those little shits.


    Thoughts of annoyance raged through his head as he reached his home, and even as he was preparing the playdate, he had not left that irritation behind. Only as his friends started to show up was he able to calm down, he would simply continue having fun at his home during the playdate.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    As the playdate was being prepared, the Theandor family had reached their home. Grey opened the door to let Lyvia and Daelyn through. Daelyn was quickly put to bed to rest a bit, and Lyvia and Grey started cooking. They wanted to have Daelyn eat something as soon as he woke up, and they themselves were starving from the events that had transpired in the morning.


    As they sat at the table, they ate their food in silent, they finished their meal and washed the dishes in silence, the house was like a calm oasis, until the silence was broken.


    Lyvia could no longer continue this silence, and said with a hopeful voice: ¡°We should start to get ready for the playdate, Daelyn won¡¯t be out for much longer, he never needed that much sleep.¡±


    Grey sat at the kitchen table and said with a loud voice: ¡°We¡¯re going to need to tell him what he can and can¡¯t do, right? We can¡¯t let him accidentally use his magic, especially with the Tyrrith family close.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know. We will talk to him about it when he wakes up. The playdate will end at around 5 o¡¯clock in the afternoon, so we still have plenty of time. Besides, he doesn¡¯t even know how to use it now, so no worries.¡± Replied Lyvia with a cheerful voice.


    Grey could only sigh before saying with a heavy tone: ¡°You don¡¯t know that. Daelyn has been reading about magic since he was practically born, he might know more about his magic than we do. I¡¯m not saying that he is able to, but he might be able to, and we need to take care of that risk. If he is bored at the playdate and decides to explore his magic in the middle of the room, under everyone¡¯s eyes, it could become quite ugly.¡±


    Lyvia could only laugh at her husband¡¯s anecdote: ¡°Yeah, because that wouldn¡¯t get the Tyrrith family to think not all humans are bad. I will tell him as soon as he wakes up, so don¡¯t worry. You just start getting ready for it, bring some toys he likes, and maybe some books if he is really bored. Oh! Don¡¯t forget the book about the hero Alberricht, he loves that.¡±


    Grey could only smile at his wife¡¯s instructions: ¡°I¡¯m on it.¡±


    As Lyvia saw Grey quickly gather the multiple kinds of toys, she was about to head over to Daelyn to check up on his condition, until she heard a knock on the door.


    Lyvia turned around only to hear another knock on the door. She walked with quick steps towards the door as she did not know who could possibly be here at this time. They were quite isolated after all, with only a few neighbours close by, and they wouldn¡¯t visit someone without an invitation or a notification of some kind.


    As she opened the door, she saw three dark elves. One with a beautiful purple coloured dress, a smaller girl with the same purple dress in her size, and a slightly larger girl with a leather vest and a skirt reaching to her ankles coloured a light yellow.


    Lyvia formed a smile on her face as she saw the three dark elves.


    ¡°Oh hey Celeria! How have you been! Are these two little girls yours?¡±


    Celeria could only smile as she had such a warm welcome from her friend, and quickly answered: ¡°Yes, these two are my daughters. Come on, introduce yourselves.¡±


    The bigger of the two girls stepped forward and introduced herself with a brisk yet cute voice: ¡°Hello, my name is Ania, I¡¯m six years old. Nice to meet you!¡±


    Lyvia was adored by the small girl, and was about to tell them to come in when the other girl spoke up with a soft and nervous voice: ¡°H-hello, I¡¯m Ayda. I heard a boy named Daelyn lives here?¡±


    Lyvia was even more adored as she heard the small girl speak, and she asked for Daelyn! Lyvia was completely smitten by the girl, and a quick scene of a marriage between Daelyn and the cute girl flashed before her eyes, before she returned to reality and welcomed them.


    ¡°Welcome you three, I will get you something to drink. Grey is preparing for the playdate at the moment and Daelyn is asleep, so it will just be the four of us.¡±


    Hearing this, the girl sulked a little bit, but quickly followed behind the other two as they sat at the kitchen table. As Lyvia brought them some tea, Grey entered the room with a bag filled with toys and a few books.


    ¡°Oh! Celeria! It¡¯s been too long! And who might these two girls be?¡±


    They didn¡¯t have to reintroduce themselves as Lyvia did it for them.


    ¡°These two little girls are her daughters, the bigger one is Ania, and the smaller one is Ayda. Don¡¯t you know Ania from her guard patrols?¡±


    Grey was in thought for a moment, trying to remember something, before his face brightened up and he, with an enthusiastic voice, said: ¡®Oh yeah! The little girl that was joining the guards on their patrols, I remember that! She insisted every time that she wanted to join, and as she was turned down, she still followed them! The guards took her on patrols in the end, and she performed splendidly!¡±


    You could see the expression of Ania change from curiosity, originating from the home of the Theandor¡¯s, to embarrassment as she was forced to remember that. While little Ania was embarrassed, Celeria was proud of her daughter¡¯s achievements, and puffed her chest a little bit. Sadly, there was not much that could be puffed.


    As the conversation between the four of them ensued, little Ayda slipped away from the table.


    She looked around the house, until she saw what she was looking for. A room with one bed in it. She only had to walk several steps to reach the door, and as she looked into the room, she was perplexed. She was looking directly at the creature lying in the bed, and it wasn¡¯t a dark elf! Its skin was pale, almost white, and its hair was very dark. It was almost the complete opposite of a dark elf.


    As she let out a yelp of surprise and fell backwards on her behind, the conversation at the table abruptly halted as Grey and Lyvia made their way over towards Ayda. They heard her yelp, and she was staring directly into Daelyn¡¯s room. Lyvia quickly entered the room and scanned for any more cockroaches to stomp, however she found none.


    Grey followed just a step behind her, but his examination of the room was finished just as quickly as Lyvia, and while she walked over to Daelyn to make sure he was okay, Grey concerned himself with Ayda.


    He got on one knee and asked with soft and calming voice: ¡°What¡¯s wrong Ayda? Why did you let out a yelp? Did you see a monster?¡±


    Ayda quickly scrambled to her feet, and hid behind Grey. She only pointed at the bed Daelyn was lying in, she tried to say something, but she could only manage to mumble something under her breath, as she seemed to be stricken with fear.


    Lyvia had seen her point towards Daelyn, and quickly removed the blanket from the bed.


    The only thing that they could see was Daelyn. They saw no insects, no threats, nothing. Both Grey and Lyvia were surprised by this, and turned towards Ayda for answers.


    Grey once again asked with a soft and calming tone: ¡°Why did you yelp Ayda?¡±


    The little girl was now even more unable to form a sentence as she saw the two dark elves stood next to the unknown creature. She could only point with her finger towards it as she could not muster any words.


    Grey understood, and laughed with a relieved tone in his voice.


    ¡°Hahaha, she is scared of Daelyn.¡±


    Lyvia showed a relieved expression but quickly corrected her husband.


    ¡°Don¡¯t laugh at her. She has never seen a human! The first time you saw one, you hid under your father¡¯s alchemy table! It took us an hour and two bars of chocolate to get you out!¡±


    Grey stopped his laughing at hearing her remark, but both Grey and Lyvia could hear a sound coming from the kitchen. A stifled laugh, and as Grey turned around, he found that it belonged to Celeria.


    Before they could continue their little charade, they heard Ania¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Daelyn? Is that the name you have given that creature? Is it one of those vile humans that terrorise others?¡± She said with a fearful and nervous voice.


    Celeria quickly turned her attention towards her daughter and said with a stern voice: ¡°Where did you learn that kind of language young lady! Humans are not vile creatures, how did you come to think that?¡±


    Ania turned towards Celeria, she held her ground, and answered her with a truthful yet slightly nervous tone: ¡°I-I heard it from Minos, he said that his father hates humans. He agrees with him, and thinks that all humans should die for what they have done!¡±


    Celeria¡¯s expression was one of understanding and fury. She sought to correct her daughters mistake, but as she was about to answer her, Daelyn suddenly stood behind little Ayda.


    The whole room¡¯s attention shifted towards Daelyn, as he stood next to Grey with a just out of bed look, and a sleepy expression on his face. He stood there in the clothes he had on this morning, hemp pants, a small leather vest, and a linen shirt.


    As they all looked at him, they could only hear him say once sentence as he stepped out of his room, he let out a yawn and said with a sleepy tone: ¡°Good morning.¡±

 Chapter 15: A different void, and stabbing.

    <h1>Chapter 15</h1>


    Daelyn could finally sleep as he felt his mother¡¯s arms surround him, as he felt her heartbeat echo through his existence, and as his final ounce of power drain from him. He fell into a long and deep sleep, a comatose sleep.


    However, instead of dreaming, he found himself looking at his existence once again. This time however, there was no white or black void, he could feel the swirling energies around him, he could feel them flow in patterns, and he could feel them being pumped by his core.


    The void was large, it didn¡¯t seem endless as it had clear boundaries to it, but it was certainly large. He was in a large room, the walls, ceiling, and floor made from a crystal with a mix or red and black colours inhabiting the crystals. He began to spread his awareness, he tried to do it just like the first time he had entered the black void, he extended his comprehension and his touch outwards, towards the energies raging around him.


    As he connected with the energies, he could feel a vibration. The energies vibrated and were pumped away by the large crystal room Daelyn was in at the moment. As he extended his touch outwards and reached the walls of the room, he felt that he could go beyond, and so he did. He explored three more large crystal rooms as he felt the raging energy inside of them, he felt that the energies were even embedded in the crystal walls.


    The more of these rooms he explored, the more he felt a growing headache, and as he had explored all of the rooms and felt the energy raging through them, it had become a full-blown migraine. Despite the pain, he still continued expanding his influence. If he could not handle this small amount of pain, he would have been long dead.


    As he tried to expand his influence outwards once more, he noticed that it became exceedingly difficult. He tried to expand his influence beyond the crystal walls, but found that it was almost impossible on all fronts.


    He tried every direction he could, north, east, south, west, down, and finally up. He became more and more desperate, and he had almost lost hope as he arrived at his last option, up. It worked, he was able to extend his influence just like in the crystal rooms filled with his own energy.


    He extended his influence upwards, but found the same resistance outside of the crystal walls. He felt that he could continue his influence without much resistance, but only through certain tunnels. He extended his influence, he followed the tunnels that split up at almost every step Daelyn made. He expanded his influence more and more, and slowly felt a picture forming in his mind as he tried to map the tunnels under his influence.


    As he conquered more and more territory, his headache also become progressively worse. The large tunnels became smaller and smaller as he progressed, however that did not mean that the pain subsided. The pain only progressed more slowly as he did not have to stretch his influence as far.


    He had started expanding from the two tunnels at the top of the crystal room, and had yet to find an end to them. As he was about to give up due to the mental strain, he felt something. He felt his influence encounter itself at one of the tunnels. The tunnel was on the smallest level he had conquered up until now, his influence sent out from the two different tunnels exiting the crystal room, had encountered each other there.


    Daelyn was baffled by this, did the tunnels seem endless because they were a circle? Were the crystal rooms the origin of these tunnels, and what were the crystal rooms?


    These questions filled his mind as he looked at the map drawn of the tunnels, and suddenly, he understood. He understood what the tunnels were, what the crystal rooms were, he understood where he was, and what it was.


    It was his body, the tunnels were his veins, and the crystal rooms were his heart chambers. He could not pass through the areas outside of the tunnels easily, because it was his flesh. He could feel the outlines of his body, organs, muscles, everything, through his veins. He was able to feel every nook and cranny of his body as his cardiovascular system was almost omnipresent in his body.


    In the slight moment of enlightenment, the migraine worsened. It ruled out all of his thought, and filled his mind with pain. While it wasn¡¯t as unbearable as the feeling of his soul being transformed, it still overruled all of his thoughts.


    He quickly retreated his influence back towards his being in the crystal rooms, he felt his lingering influence in his conquered veins. He could feel what happened there, but he could not manipulate it, he could see it with an uncanny accurate vision, but he could not change it.


    The headache became progressively worse as he retreated his influence, until he had retreated back into his being. His comprehension reigning over all of his veins, but his influence only extending to his soul. The migraine went away the moment his influence was removed from his veins, and his body.


    Daelyn¡¯s mind was tired from all of the exhaustion he had experienced. He involuntarily drifted into sleep as his consciousness left him, and he fell into a comatose like sleep.


    His slumber was only disturbed as he felt multiple sensation from outside. He heard a soft yet high voice let out a yelp, he suddenly felt cold, and he could hear stomping around his room as if an elephant had entered it.


    As if a miracle had happened, he awoke from his comatose slumber.


    He opened his eyes, and looked around his room. He had slept for quite a bit of time. He did remember being carried by his mom, so he figured she must have put him to bed.


    As he groggily started to get up out of bed, he heard shouting in the living room. As he stood up from his bed, he felt a large headache and saw a lot of colours flashing before his eyes. He sat back down on the bed, and as the pain subsided he thought ¡®You¡¯d think that waking up after having a nice nap would be nice, but noooo. You just have to get out of bed with shouting and another migraine, and combined with having a colour book instead of eyes, results in a shitty morning.¡¯


    He was truly going to puberty, both mentally and physically.


    As he made his way towards the doorway of his room, he saw his parents, and three other dark elves. It seemed like one was cowering behind my father, and one was lecturing the last one.


    As I approached the dark elf holding my father¡¯s leg, I noticed that she was very small. She seemed to be around one year old. Is it save to have a one year old be on her own like that? Oh wait! Dark elves age slower and have their growth spurts at later ages, of course!


    As I approached them, the dark elf woman lecturing the child suddenly looked at me. She was about to say something as her attention was directed towards me, and suddenly all of the gazes in the room were directed towards me.


    The three dark elves and my mother and father looked at me. Not knowing how to act, and still being quite sleepy, I said: ¡°Good morning¡± with a groggy voice.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    The expression of the three adult dark elves softened as they heard me say that with a look that clearly betrayed how long I have been asleep.


    I turned towards my mother and said: ¡°Mom, can I eat something? I haven¡¯t eaten anything since this morning, and after meeting Orthrus, I¡¯m quite hungry.¡±


    ¡°Of course sweety. But first you have to introduce yourself to the guests.¡±


    Suddenly, I realised that these were people I did not know. I was being rude! Oh, I hope they do not mind it that much.


    I quickly walked over to them, and with a bow I introduced myself: ¡°Goodday, my name is Daelyn, I¡¯m three years old, and I¡¯m son to Lyvia and Grey Theandor. Pleased to meet you.¡±


    As I had introduced myself, I straightened by body to see the reactions of the guests. The dark elf woman seemed to be pleased with my introduction as she displayed an expression of adoration. However, the two smaller ones did not seem to like it.


    The smaller one of the two seemed to stammer something, and as I came closer to her, she shouted.


    ¡°MONSTER!!¡±


    I quickly turned around scanning my surroundings, I saw no such monster.


    ¡°Where? Where?¡± I said with a panicked voice.


    Both Grey and Lyvia burst out in laughter at seeing this spectacle, while Celeria could only just about stifle her laugh as she thought it was quite funny. Daelyn did it in such an obscene and dramatic way, they could not help but laugh.


    However, as the three adults heartily laughed, Ania did not think it was funny.


    ¡®Why are they laughing? There is a monster in front of them! I must protect them!¡¯


    She reacted quickly and grabbed a hidden knife from her boot. She had been given some advice from the guards, while most of it was just some dumb gibberish, she took one advice to heart. ¡®Always carry a weapon, it doesn¡¯t matter what kind, just carry something you can defend yourself with.¡¯


    She was eternally grateful for this advice as she unsheathed the dagger from its scabbard which she had hidden in her right shoe. She gripped the handle with a steeled expression as she charged towards Daelyn.


    Daelyn turned around just in time to see the blade coming towards his face, time seemed to slow as he saw the blade coming towards him in slow-motion. He attempted to dodge but that would be futile. He realised this, and raised his arm to meet the blade. A flesh wound sounded better to him than having his brain carved in.


    As Ania charged forward, Lyvia, Grey, and Celeria only saw it at the last moments, they saw it as the blade was about to pierce Daelyn¡¯s right arm. Their expressions changed from those of joy and laughter, to horror and shock.


    As the blade penetrated the skin, and made its way through Daelyn¡¯s flesh. He grit his teeth, it hurt like hell, but he had felt worse, far worse.


    The blade went through Daelyn¡¯s arm, and only stopped centimetres away from his face as the small guard of the knife was stopped at the point of entry. His quick thinking had saved his life.


    As the girl was about to withdraw the blade from Daelyn¡¯s flesh and try to assault him once again, he gripped the handle of the blade with his left hand and tried to hold it in place at all costs, he would not let her strike twice.


    However, Daelyn had forgotten something. Dark elves were stronger than humans, and the girl withdrew the blade with ease despite Daelyn¡¯s attempts to stop her.


    As Daelyn braced himself for another attack, he closed his eyes, he had only been able to see the world in slow-motion for a few seconds, and the pain had brought his mind back to normal. He waited for the girl to attack him again, but as she held the knife above her head, her wrist was grabbed by Lyvia¡¯s hand.


    Lyvia lifted up to her eye level, smiled, and said with an expression that could only described as devilish: ¡°What were you doing little girl?¡±


    Ania might have been able to hold out against her mother, but against this lady, she could not. She looked so scary, and she looked extremely mad. Her lips parted, and her voice sounded like she was trying to control her anger: ¡°What, were, you, doing?¡±


    The little girl began chattering her teeth as she was too scared of the dark elf in front of her to even stammer the most basic of words.


    While Lyvia was interrogating Ania, Daelyn was sitting on his knees on the ground. The wound hurt, and it was bleeding. He felt his energy and his blood leave his body as his connection to it weakened.


    He felt he could manipulate it, and he tried. He tried to have the blood continue its cycle inside of his body, while he used it and the energy the blood contained to heal himself. He remembered the map he had made of his own body, and used it. He sought out all the details of his stab wound, and directed his energies and his blood to heal it.


    He tried to will the energies inside of his blood to heal him, but nothing happened. His blood returned to his body, but he could do nothing with it.


    He remembered the map he had made of his veins, and used it to reinstate even the smallest veins in the stab wound. As he thought more and more about how to heal the wound, he suddenly had an epiphany of information waltz into his mind.


    The natural healing process of a wound concerned it first closing up with a reaction between the blood and an protein called fibrinogen. These create another protein, fibrin, which covers up the wound. After the wound is covered up, and is disinfected by the body, the cells start to split to regenerate the lost cells.


    Daelyn had no idea where this information came from, but he did know that he was going to put it to good use. He started the process of clothing the wound, accelerated it, he used the energy in his blood to kill any bacteria or virus, and finally he started the process of cell division or mitosis. He fed the cells his blood filled with energy, which had them grow in less than seconds and split once again. Daelyn continued to do this until the wound was healed.


    Grey, Ayda, and Celeria stood next to Daelyn was they were about to address the wound, as it addressed itself. They saw the peculiarity of the blood returning to the wound, and the wound closing at an unbelievable speed.


    Ayda looked on with a scared expression, Grey gazed at the process with wonder in his eyes, and Celeria was completely baffled at the display.


    As Ayda started to become more and more distressed, she cried.


    Hearing her cry, Lyvia looked down, only to see the wound closing at the last second and the eschar peeled off. It looked like it never happened, but she had just seen the wound.


    She looked away from Daelyn and looked at both Celeria and Grey, both baffled at the display, but in different ways. They could only watch as the healing process ended, and the room was shrouded in silence for several moments.


    Celeria was the first to speak up.


    ¡°W-what just happened? How did the wound heal so fast, and how did the blood go back into his body?¡± She asked with a stammering voice, as she failed to hide her anxiety.


    Lyvia could only sigh before answering her: ¡°I will explain in a bit, but before that, please calm down Ayda.¡±


    Celeria regained her composure as she picked up Ayda and started rocking her. She turned towards Lyvia with a face that was expecting answers.


    ¡°We will tell you later, we wanted to tell you anyway, but not so soon. I trust you to hold your tongue, but your children are another story, especially Ania.¡± She said as she directed her gaze upon the girl that was still suspended in the air.


    As Ania once again gained the woman sneering glare, she could not help but cry. She was too scared to make any sense of the situation, and this woman was too scary.


    So, before any answers were giving, two children needed to be calmed down.


    As they looked at Daelyn, they saw his complexion, and both Grey and Lyvia were not happy when they did. His complexion was only slightly better than this morning. He must have used quite a bit of magic power and blood to heal that wound.


    Lyvia decided that calming the children down would be priority number one, punishment would come later.


    They took the children and sat them down at the table. They gave Daelyn food to recover from using his magic, and started to comfort the two girls. They were still crying from either Daelyn¡¯s presence, his performance, or Lyvia¡¯s performance.


    Celeria had seen Lyvia¡¯s gaze, while she was a bit irked about someone scaring her daughter like that, she could not blame Lyvia. She loved her children, and would also be infuriated if something happened to them.


    Half an hour and multiple pieces of candy and chocolate later, the two girls had calmed down and stopped crying, and Daelyn¡¯s complexion had become a little better.


    As the girls had finally stopped crying, Celeria looked upon them with a stern gaze as she thought about the events that had transpired. She could not help but sigh as she started her questioning.


    ¡°Ania, why did you stab Daelyn?¡± She asked with a soothing yet demanding voice.


    Ania could only look on in fear for as her mother asked her this question, she murmured an answer nobody could hear.


    ¡°Could you please speak up dear? We would like to know why you stabbed Daelyn?¡±


    Celeria said every word with a smile plastered on her face, and the most calm tone one could muster, but her words carried daggers.


    ¡°Because, he *murmers*¡±


    ¡°Sorry, dear, could you repeat that?¡± She once again said with a warm smile, yet cold tone.


    Ania stood on her chair and shouted at the top of her lungs: ¡°Because he is a monster!¡±

 Chapter 16: Friends and enemies.

    <h1>Chapter 16</h1>


    As her words echoed through the small room, nobody said anything. Grey looked on with a begrudging yet helpless expression, Lyvia¡¯s face was filled with anger, and Celeria¡¯s face was filled with shock.


    As silence reigned, its hold on everyone on the room was quickly broken, as someone spoke up. Surprisingly, it was Daelyn. He locked gazes with Ania and with a voice of disdain and irritation towards the small girl, he said: ¡°I might be a monster, but at least I don¡¯t stab people.¡±


    Ania¡¯s jaw fell to the floor after hearing this remark. She could not believe the words that came out of that abominations maw! How dare it speak to her like that!


    Before little Ania could speak up, her mother Celeria did: ¡°He is right Ania, it doesn¡¯t matter what you think of him. You stabbed him, and you¡¯re going to have to take responsibility for that.¡±


    Ania wanted to protest, but as she looked at her mother¡¯s expression, she faltered. Her mother didn¡¯t look angry or mad, just disappointed. She could see the disappointment and sadness on her mother¡¯s face, and the child decided to suck it up.


    Celeria continued.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to have to plan out an adequate punishment, but we¡¯re already late to the playdate, aren¡¯t we? Let¡¯s go there first and handle the rest later.¡±


    This was met with nods of agreement of both Grey and Lyvia as they suddenly realised the time. Grey quickly grabbed the bag with toys and books, and they were about to set off as Lyvia stopped the two little girls and Celeria.


    ¡°A lot might have happened, but you¡¯re not allowed to tell anyone what happened, okay?¡±


    Lyvia said this with the same bloodlust filled smile she conjured up earlier, causing the two girls to tremble before nodding vigorously as the dark elf before them became scarier by the moment.


    ¡°Good girls! Let¡¯s go!¡± Said Lyvia as she shot up from her squatting position, and walked out the door with a smile on her face.


    It took quite some time to actually arrive at Elrieden¡¯s house, since their house was quite far off, and traveling with three children is bound to be slower than normal. As they finally reached Elrieden¡¯s house it was long past noon as the sun was moving more and more to the west.


    Lyvia knocked on the door, and it was soon opened by Nero.


    ¡°Ah, hello Lyvia! It¡¯s good to see you guys, come in!¡± He said with a cheerful smile as he opened the door and let them inside.


    Nero led them through the house towards a large room filled with all kinds of toys, board games, and other kinds of toys. There were about 14-15 children running around and playing with each other.


    While they were all playing, it was clear that some groups had been formed. This became only more prevalent as the two sisters walked over to different groups.


    Ayda walked over to a larger group of children of both boys and girls. The group was the biggest in the room, but it was also comprised of the youngest children, the eldest in the group being around five years old.


    Ania walked over to two girls standing in the corner, she seemed acquainted with them as they welcomed her.


    Finally, the third group consisted of four boys. This group had the eldest children in it, with most of them seeming to be around six years old.


    As Daelyn entered the room together with his parents, all of the attention was drawn to them.


    They received some attention already as Ania and Ayda entered, but as the gazes of both the children wandered, they quickly found Daelyn, and they were captivated. The children hadn¡¯t ever seen a human, only heard stories about them. Either as heroes, or as villains. They had heard the stories of humans helping to protect the forest, and trying to destroy it. They had heard the stories about the arch lich that had threatened the forest with destruction, and also the story about the human that saved the forest from an orc horde.


    However, as they saw one in front of them, they did not know what to think.


    While most of the children gazed at him with curiosity or apprehensiveness, two glares differed.


    One glare was filled with disdain. This glare belonged to a young dark elf belonging to the boys group. He glared at Daelyn with hatred in his eyes, as he remembered all of his father¡¯s stories. He saw the human as a vile creature, as an existence that should be eradicated, as a monster.


    Another glare belonged to a boy which resembled the first one, however this wasn¡¯t a glare of hate. This was a glare of indifference. He did not care for this human, he just wanted to continue reading. The small boy was situated close to the larger group of children and seemed to be about the same age as Daelyn, he sat there with a book in his hand, and just wanted to continue reading.


    As Daelyn observed the room, he was astonished by the looks the children gave him. They were looking at him like he was a rare animal, something for sight-seeing. While he did not notice the first glare, he clearly saw the look of indifference, because the child was situated in the middle of the room.


    He noticed that the child was reading something. It was the story of Alberricht! The book seemed quite worn, and the child seemed to be completely absorbed in the story after giving Daelyn only a quick glance.


    Daelyn was excited at the prospect of talking about the story. He quickly trotted over to the group of children, they seemed to back away a little as they had not expected him to approach them so quickly.


    Daelyn did not mind them, and instead walked over to the boy. He stood in front of him, extended his hand, and said with a friendly voice: ¡°Hello, my name is Daelyn. Do you want to be friends?¡±


    The boy was astonished at Daelyn¡¯s question, as he tried to say something he could only stammer a soft ¡®why?¡¯.


    Daelyn heard this, and answered his question with a smile on his face: ¡°The story, I saw you reading it, do you like it?¡±


    The boy looked down at the book, and understood what Daelyn meant. He regained his composure, and said with a calm voice: ¡°Yes, do you like it?¡±


    Daelyn replied with a cheerful and enthusiastic voice: ¡°Like it? I love it! I especially love the part at the end, the battle between the two!¡±


    The boy¡¯s eyes started shimmering as he hear Daelyn say this. He had found someone his age he could talk to about books! The other children either didn¡¯t like him, or hadn¡¯t read a lot of books, but this kid had!


    They almost immediately started a fervent discussion about the heroic tale, which bled over to a discussion of several tales, and which had a more powerful main character. They actually seemed to get into an argument as they started to compare their two favourites.


    The other children looked on in fascination as the two of them continued their discussion, until Ayda interrupted them.


    ¡°Hey! You two! Listen!¡± She said with a soft yet demanding voice.Stolen novel; please report.


    The two boys were snapped out of their literature imbued stupor, and quickly turned towards the rest of the group with embarrassed expressions.


    Ayda turned towards the group and made a proposal.


    ¡°These two know some very cool stories, right? Why don¡¯t we play those out!¡±


    The eyes of the other children shimmered at the opportunity to be the hero of a story, and the eyes of the two boys were filled with joy as they saw the enthusiasm of their peers.


    One of the older children in the group was excessively happy, and shouted: ¡°Let¡¯s do the story of Alberricht! You two know that one, right?¡±


    The two boys looked at each other before turning back to the group and nodding in agreement.


    As they were about to start, the other boy stopped in his tracks, and he shouted: ¡°Wait!¡±


    The other children turned towards the boy with questioning gazes, and the boy responded with a thoughtful voice: ¡°Daelyn doesn¡¯t know our names.¡±


    The children¡¯s expression turned to one of understanding, and they could not help but laugh. They forgot to introduce themselves!


    The boy quickly turned to Daelyn, and said with a confident voice: ¡°My name is Cyrus Tyrrith, I¡¯m three years old. Let¡¯s be friends, okay?¡±


    Daelyn could only smile as he responded with a cheerful ¡®Yes!¡¯.


    The other children also introduced themselves.


    The first two to introduce themselves were twins. They looked very much like each other, but there were some subtle differences between them. They were from the Ulindil family. They both were clad quite simple as their clothes seemed quite worn, and not as refined as the others in the room.


    One of the twins was named Bairo, he was very cheerful and seemed a bit impulsive, he had short hair, and a small scar on his forehead. The scar was angled from the right top of his forehead towards the middle.


    The other twin was named Ralm, he seemed a bit more observant and thoughtful, but he was just as energetic as his brother. He had a bit longer hair, and also a scar on his forehead. This scar was mirrored from his brother¡¯s, the scar was angled from the left top of his forehead towards the middle, as it mirrored his brother¡¯s.


    The second pair that introduced themselves were cousins with the same last name. They were from a family of blacksmiths, and the parents had taken in the niece, because her parents were very busy with their job as master blacksmiths. The last name was, Valkyr.


    The smaller of the two girls was the cousin. She introduced herself as Myrin, and was three years old. She seemed quite stout, and a bit wide for her age, but she did not seem fat or even chubby. She had a nice white blouse with a small floral print on it, together with a leather vest, and topped off with a chestnut brown skirt that went to her knees.


    As Daelyn was introduced to the older of the pair, Caeda, he felt a gaze standing next to her glare daggers at him. He decided to ignore it, and focused on the girl in front of him. She was the daughter of the local blacksmith. She seemed quite nice. She had quite normal clothing on, but her face topped it off. She herself seemed like a masterpiece, as her cheekbones beautifully contoured her face, while her eyes were able to captivate anyone.


    Daelyn was shocked by her beauty for a moment, before his attention was directed towards the next and last member of the group.


    She was quite a beauty for her age. She would most likely blossom like a rose as she grew up.


    She introduced herself as Ryllae Felor, she was the youngest daughter of the local baker family, and liked to cook herself. She seemed to take the lead in the group, as she was the one that had made the proposal for the Alberricht story. She was quite confident, and could conjure up a lovely smile.


    After they had introduced themselves, Daelyn and Cyrus started giving out the roles. There were actually quite a lot of characters in the story of Alberricht the hero, and more than enough to fit the eight children playing it.


    In the end, Daelyn and Cyrus ended up with the most important roles. Cyrus as the hero, and Daelyn as the villain, which was quite surprising, since they had thought that Daelyn would be the hero. But Daelyn never had any real interest for the hero, and wanted to play the villain instead.


    They actually performed some quality acting as they progressed through the story. Daelyn and Cyrus were quite adamant about the storyline, but they did not want to re-enact the book, they wanted to have fun.


    They made the action scenes a bit cooler, as the children played the warriors that defended the village bravely, but ultimately died. They fought as the hero¡¯s party against a goblin king, they fought as the undead minions of the villain as he fought against an army, and they fought as the heroes and villains against each other.


    Their little play had attracted the attention of the parents, and they were watching, full of emotions. They loved to see their children play like this, and could not help be sucked into their play as a result of that. They sympathized with the characters as the children portrayed them, and they could not help but be a little sad at the end, as they themselves had fond memories of that story.


    As Cyrus fell to the ground, signalling the end of the play, the parents were taken by silence, before they started clapping.


    The children looked up in surprise from the play. They had not noticed that their parents had been observing their act, and were a bit embarrassed yet overjoyed by seeing their parents cheer them on.


    The group stood there fidgeting for a moment, until Ryllae bowed. The other children saw this, and quickly followed her example.


    As the adults¡¯ clapping started to subside, the children started to huddle together, and congratulate each other. They had fun performing a play, and they had made their parents proud in the process. They were overjoyed at this.


    Especially Daelyn and Cyrus were congratulated, because they were important characters, and because they had orchestrated the whole play.


    The two of them were proud, but both thought that the other had done more, which resulted in a short discussion between the two, but it was quickly laughed off as the other children wanted to play more. The group decided that performing such a play was fun, but tiresome, and they tried to think of another game to play.


    As they were deciding, the group of four older boys were whispering among themselves, and pointing at Daelyn¡¯s group. Lyvia watched them, and she saw that they were planning something, because they were pointing at Daelyn. She was about to call Daelyn, as her attention was diverted. Misses Tyrrith had seen the same thing, and seen Lyvia¡¯s expression.


    Her son was about to teach that human some manners, and she would not let some retired adventurer get in his way. She grabbed Lyvia¡¯s attention by praising her son¡¯s play, and said that she was proud of her own son for his part in it. She tried to hold her attention long enough to let her elder son go undisturbed.


    As the two adults were conversing, the group of Fern and his friends approached Daelyn¡¯s group. Fern took the lead and interrupted their discussion of whether to play a board game or not.


    ¡°Hey! How about you play with us instead of a boring old board game?¡±


    The group of children looked at him with apprehensive gazes, except for Daelyn. The children knew his reputation and knew the group of boys he was with. He was quite a troublemaker, and would regularly be scolded by his father.


    Cyrus replied to him with a sharp and questioning tone: ¡°Then, what do you want to do?¡±


    Fern revealed smile, before saying with a generous tone: ¡°We wanted to spar with you kids. You¡¯re going to train either way from your seventh birthday, so we thought we would give you some pointers.¡±


    Daelyn turned towards the group and said with an excited voice: ¡°That sounds cool, right?¡±


    Before anyonw of Daelyn¡¯s group could say anything, they heard a voice from behind Fern, a voice filled with disdain: ¡°Why would we teach you, you damned human? Go mingle with your own kind.¡±


    As the group heard this, Ryllae immediately spoke up: ¡°Hey Minos, that isn¡¯t nice! Daelyn has been very nice to us, and hasn¡¯t done anything wrong!¡±


    Minos snorted before saying with a voice filled with disdain: ¡°All humans are the same, they are all rotten inside. He is going to do something horrible to you sooner or later! That is true for all humans! Right, Cyrus?¡±


    Cyrus could only look at the ground as his brother said that. He knew this would happen, but in the small time he had come to know Daelyn, he really liked him. He had finally found a real friend, and he wasn¡¯t going to lose him to his brother.


    Minos waited for his brother¡¯s answer, until he heard some soft mumbling.


    ¡°Speak up Cyrus, I can¡¯t understand you.¡± Minos said with a commanding voice.


    Before Cyrus could speak up, before he could muster another word, Daelyn walked towards the group. He walked directly towards Minos, and as he stood in front of Minos, he extended his hand.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for everything that has happened to your family, but I can¡¯t do anything about that, and being rude to all humans won¡¯t help you. I apologise for the things humans have done to your family, but can¡¯t we just become friends?¡±


    He ended his little speech with a smile as he extended his hand as a symbol of goodwill. He truly hoped that they would forgive him.


    His apology and his offer were quickly cast aside, as Minos could not hold in his anger anymore. This damned human thought everything would be forgiven with an apology? No! They would pay in blood! Starting with this one!


    He put his will behind those words as he raised his fist. He wanted to strike Daelyn as hard as he could, and with his strength, it would be quite the impact.


    He pulled his right arm as far back as he could, before launching it towards Daelyn¡¯s face. It was like a cannonball directed straight towards Daelyn¡¯s face.


    Daelyn couldn¡¯t possibly dodge, because of his slow reaction time compared to the dark elf. They were physically superior in almost every way, and Daelyn is going to feel the brunt of it in only a matter of seconds.


    The only thing Daelyn could do to brace for impact is close his eyes, as he had too little time to even try and put up his arms as a defence.


    When he thought that he would be pummelled by the dark elf, once again attacked for being a human, once again being rejected despite his most earnest efforts, he felt a heavy pull.

 Chapter 17: Punishment, and hatred.

    <h1>Chapter 17</h1>


    Cyrus had been completely flabbergasted as he saw Daelyn walk over to his brother, and apologise to him. He had never thought that Daelyn would do that, however Cyrus quickly saw the consequences of his actions. His brother did not seem favourable of it, and Cyrus stood just behind Daelyn as he saw his brother raise his arm, and clench his fingers into a fist.


    Cyrus would not let his brother strike Daelyn down. Their family may hate humans, but he did not hate Daelyn.


    His father had told him countless stories with humans as the antagonists, as the villains, as the murderers, rapists, corrupt nobles, greedy kings, necromancers, and much more. He had listened to those stories, he believed these stories to be true, but it was all undermined in but a moment.


    He was normally a bit introverted, and liked to keep to himself. Daelyn waltzed through that, and struck up a conversation with him, a conversation he had greatly enjoyed, a conversation he had not had with any of his peers, or with anyone for that matter.


    During the conversation and the play, he had felt a click with Daelyn, and he realized something. Daelyn was his first real friend, Daelyn was the first person he could talk with about his hobbies to such an extent, and Daelyn did not mind him being himself. He was the first person to break through his introverted self, and gain his interest and passion on a subject.


    He was not going to lose him to the brother that was none of those things, or the family that only valued their grudge, instead of their children or anything else for that matter.


    He grabbed Daelyn at the collar of his shirt, and pulled. He pulled him down, took a step forward, and moved his arms to block his brother¡¯s strike. He did not know how to divert the impact, and so he didn¡¯t. He took the full force of the strike just to help Daelyn.


    Minos was in shock at his little brother¡¯s actions. Why is he defending that human?! How dare his little brother disobey him!


    Minos¡¯ expression changed from shock to anger as he regained his footing. Okay, so he wants to save his little friend? I will make sure that he pays the price for saving that damned creature!


    Minos directed his attention towards Fern and the other two boys standing next to him, and shouted: ¡°What are you doing? Get him!¡±


    The other boys looked at him with a bit of surprise, Minos normally wasn¡¯t this commanding. This was quite an anomaly, as Fern normally took the lead. However, they saw the anger in Minos¡¯ eyes, and quickly obeyed him.


    They moved to surround Daelyn, they had fought with each other multiple times in the past, and they knew how to make the basic formation which gives them an advantage.


    As they were about to start hitting Cyrus and Daelyn, their formation was broken. The Ulindil brothers quickly assaulted them. Bairo started kicking the youngest of the group, and Ralm started wrestling with the other goon. Their intervention surprised both Fern and Minos, as they had not expected them to act up against them


    The distraction allowed Daelyn and Cyrus to regain their footing, and start assaulting the two goons Ralm and Bairo were fighting. Cyrus quickly provided backup to Bairo as they threw the small child to the ground, and Daelyn helped Ralm by kicking the goon in the shins and kneecaps.


    Fern and Minos would not stand idle and threw themselves at the four boys assaulting their friends. Minos quickly pushed Daelyn away from the small child, and started his assault at Ralm to secure his comrade. Fern threw himself at Cyrus as his goon dealt with Bairo, as he wasn¡¯t assaulted from two sides anymore.


    After several moments of roughhousing, both sides retreated from the skirmish and regrouped.


    Fern snorted and said with a smug expression: ¡°Give up you babies, you¡¯re only good at being beaten by us.¡±


    He turned to the twins and addressed them: ¡°Bairo, Ralm, I didn¡¯t know you liked humans and weaklings. Well, it¡¯s only natural that trash chooses other trash, I just hope you are prepared for the consequences.¡±


    He finished his sneering at them with a wicked grin as he and his goons were about to charge the four boys, until they were interrupted by a loud shout, echoing throughout the room.


    ¡°Fern! What did you just say?!¡±


    The shout stopped the two groups in their tracks as they all turned their attention towards the origin of the shout. In the doorway to the large room stood one man, Ellith Elrieden, and he was absolutely furious. The four boys could see a vein popping on his forehead as he made his way over to them.


    As Daelyn, Cyrus, Bairo, and Ralm turned their gaze upon the boys standing in front of them, they were amused.


    The boys had different expression, but all had some kind of regret on their face.


    Fern¡¯s face had paled the moment he had heard his father¡¯s voice. He was supposed to help organise the event, instead he was derailing it by fighting with the other children.


    Minos had a sneer on his face. They could clearly see that he thought Ellith was a nuisance that got in his way, and they even heard him make a ¡®Tchk¡¯ sound.


    The expression one the face of the youngest kid in the group was one of fear. His face paled even more than Fern¡¯s as he saw Ellith approach, and he quickly looked at the ground, trembling from fear as he could only await the consequences.


    The expression of the last goon was one of regret. He had a small sliver of hope that he would come unscathed out of this skirmish, but upon seeing mister Elrieden approach, that hope melted away. He would be scolded by his parents, and would most likely have to endure another punishment training. The blood drained from his face as he had flashbacks from the last one.


    As Elrieden stood in front of the boys, he grabbed Fern¡¯s arm, and said with a cold voice: ¡°All of you, to my office, now.¡± Before leaving while dragging Fern with him, as he had a steel grip on his upper arm.


    Fern was making high pitched noises that notified every one of his pain, and the occasional ¡®ow, that hurts.¡¯, but they were largely ignored by Elrieden, except for an irritated snort, after which the complaints died down.


    The boys made their way towards Elrieden¡¯s office in a hurried pace, as Minos and the two goons followed close behind Elrieden, and Daelyn, Cyrus, and the twins followed just a few meters behind them.


    They received some sneering glares from the group in front of them, but they mostly ignored them. They were still amused by the spectacle that had unfolded before them just a moment ago, they could not help but snicker as they thought about their expressions.


    They had changed their expressions faster than they could run!


    Bairo tapped Ralm¡¯s shoulder, and tried to imitate their change of face, only to receive laughs from his twin brother.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    As they finally reached the door, and entered the office, Daelyn was amazed. The room was filled with sunlight, as it filtered through the large windows at the back, and illuminated everything. The room was filled with all kinds of books, as bookshelves reached to the ceiling, and the bureau Elrieden sat behind was filled with all sorts of documents.


    Besides the large amount of books, the room was also filled with some more impressive artefacts. Sword hung on the wall beside the bookcases, and the wall that held the door was filled with several hunting trophies, heads, tails, claws, and other body parts adorned the wall as if it were a necromancer¡¯s collection.


    Elrieden sat down at his bureau in a hard wooden chair, and as he was about to address the boys, the door swung open. The door was swung wide open, and slammed into a cabinet standing next to it, which appeared to hold some of the more fragile ¡®trophies¡¯. Daelyn suspected that Elrieden and Orthrus had similar hobbies.


    The doorway was quite crowded, as Lyvia, Grey, Avary Tyrrith, and Celeria stood in the doorway. Avary Tyrrith entered first, and immediately started to shout: ¡°It was the human¡¯s fault!¡±


    Lyvia¡¯s expression worsened as she retorted: ¡°The only ones who would cause trouble are your child and his friends!¡±


    Avary¡¯s face was filled with disdain, and answered with an arrogant tone: ¡°How dare you accuse my son! I saw it myself, your human tried to punch my son!¡±


    Lyvia quickly retorted with anger in her voice: ¡°What?! Your son gave the first punch, you hag!¡±


    Avary¡¯s expression contorted, and she responded with fury in her eyes: ¡°How dare you call me a hag, you bitch!¡±


    Before they could continue their shouting match, a shout interrupted them.


    ¡°Silence!¡±


    The shout caused the woman to fall silent, and shrouded the room in silence, as everyone looked at the origin of the sound. Elrieden sat down on his desk chair as he looked at the adults and their children.


    ¡°Thank you, now I was about to discuss the story with the children, but it seems you also want to voice your witness report?¡± Elrieden said with a calm and authoritative tone.


    ¡°Yes, I would very much like to.¡± Avary said with a confident tone.


    ¡°I would like to as well.¡± Lyvia said, falling just behind Avary, with a stern voice.


    Elrieden turned towards Grey and Celeria.


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing you two are here for the same reason.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡±


    ¡°Yes¡±


    Elrieden sighed before saying with a tired voice: ¡°Okay, we will start with the stories of the children, and then the stories of the adults. Let¡¯s start by hearing the story of little Cellith.¡±


    After saying this, he heard ten similar yet slightly differing versions of the story, and two that differed greatly, very greatly.


    The stories of the children, and Grey and Celeria were very similar. Most described either that Daelyn threw the first punch at Fern, and others told that Minos threw the first punch at Daelyn. The version that came closest to the truth was told by the most people in this group, which Elrieden was pleased with. He could form some vague picture of what happened according to them.


    The story would most likely be true, since the children had no reason to lie, and the parents did seem very genuine about them. The other story might also be more likely to be false, because of the relation between the boys, and because they didn¡¯t like the idea of punishment, so they blamed it on Daelyn.


    As Elrieden was happy with the consistency of these stories, the inconsistency of the other two stories was almost baffling.


    One story described Daelyn walking up to Minos, kicking him in the nuts, after which Minos and his gang started fighting Daelyn and the three boys out of self-defence.


    Another story described the four boys assaulting the group, trying to specifically hurt the girls, and Daelyn saving them. The way it was told sounded more like a story than anything else, a very clich¨¦ one.


    As the story finally finished, describing Daelyn valiantly defending the group of children on his own, Elrieden sighed. The stories were farther away from the truth than a person could run. The stories seemed so different from the others, that even the children could discern the truth behind them.


    Elrieden sighed, before saying with a tired voice: ¡°Okay, I got the gist of it. Following the stories I heard, and the ones I believe, I have reached a conclusion. It was unclear what exactly transpired, and it is unclear who threw the first punch. So I have made a decision upon the punishment of the children.¡±


    Every one of the children in the room were on edge, as the next sentence would either doom or relieve them.


    ¡°I won¡¯t be giving out any punishments, your parents will. I will write a letter describing the events that transpired to all of the absent parents, and they will make their own choice accordingly. I hope everyone here can be satisfied with that.¡±


    There were different reactions from both the children and the adults in the room.


    There were two relieved sighs from both Bairo and Ralm, as their parents would most likely not punish them. They would hear the story of them helping two others, and they most likely wouldn¡¯t be mad, but proud.


    The expressions of others were mostly filled with indifference, and some spite towards the opposite party, but nothing major. The Theandor family were happy since nothing major transpired, one of the goons of Fern was a little concerned about his punishment, and Fern himself was going to be thoroughly punished along with his cousin, Cellith Elrieden.


    However, the emotions and the expressions with the Tyrrith family were far different.


    Cyrus displayed a look of absolute horror at Elrieden¡¯s proclamation. His face was filled with fear as he contemplated the consequences of his actions. He knew one thing, his father wasn¡¯t going to be pleased.


    In one moment of rashness, he had thrown away his family, he had valued a stranger above his own family, and he would pay for that. His family hated humans, and if they knew that he had defended one, it would be disastrous.


    His family had endured much at the hands of the humans, his older brother had died because of them. Cyrus was not really affected by it, but Minos was. Cyrus had not known this older brother, and also did not bear a grudge for him, but Minos did. Minos had a very close bond to this older brother, he had some very fond memories of him, and humans took those away, they took him away. Minos hated that, and he hated humans because of that.


    Unfortunately, Minos did not change to this day, and that was to be seen in his expression. He had a sneering look on his face as he looked at his brother, and glared Daelyn.


    He was furious at seeing his little brother defend a human. A human of all things! If he wanted a pet, he should just get a local forest animal, but a human is a vile creature that can only cause pain and destruction. Cyrus had brought shame upon the family, and he would pay for that, either by the hands of their father, or his own. He would not let anyone who was favourable towards humans go unscathed.


    When he is strong enough, that Daelyn would feel it, and the Theandor¡¯s would not go unscathed. Those damned Ulindil¡¯s would also have to pay! He would make anyone pay that was even remotely close with those damned humans! They would pay for his loss! They would pay for his brother¡¯s death with their blood!


    Thoughts of hatred raced through Minos¡¯ mind as he became more and more fired up, before those thoughts were interrupted by a hand on his shoulder. His mother spoke to him with a soft voice, yet she induced a feeling of cautiousness.


    ¡°Wait, bide your time, and strike. Don¡¯t forget we Tyrrith¡¯s are a family of warriors, power is only a matter of time, and so is revenge.¡±


    She had a bloodcurdling smile on her face, but Minos was not afraid, he was determined. He hated those humans for taking away his brother, and he would let them pay.


    Avary could only look on as the expression on her child¡¯s face discerned his emotions. She was happy. She was happy that her child would take revenge for his brother. She was struck with grief herself, but she could not act openly, as the family had lost quite a bit of support and power over the last decade.


    A number of events had led to their downfall, but they were not finished off. Minos¡¯ father was still quite strong, and the new generation was quite promising. Minos alone would be adequate to elevate the household back to at least some kind of standing, and if the other remaining parts of the family helped, they would be able to reach their goal.


    While they wanted to regain their former power, they wanted one thing even more. Revenge.


    They wanted revenge on the dark elf nobles that took away their land, they wanted revenge on the branch families that abandoned and betrayed them, but most of all, she wanted revenge on that bitch. The bitch that sold them out, the damned woman that started this whole ordeal, she would have her killed, she would have her tortured until she begged for the sweet embrace of death, she would torture her lover, her children, anyone that is remotely close to her! She would have her beg for her death, she still harboured such feelings, despite the fact that the one that betrayed her, was her daughter.


    She would seek revenge on those that wronged her, and she would get it, no matter the cost. ¡®The end justifies the means¡¯ was a phrase that seemed quite natural to her.


    After Elrieden had led everyone out of his office, and ended the playdate early because of the circumstances, he sat in his chair, and couldn¡¯t help but be wary of the future.


    He had seen the clear hatred in the eyes of both mother and child of the Tyrrith family, and he could not help but be wary of them, as they were most likely to strike out towards Daelyn, and he would not know the consequences.


    He waved those thoughts to the wind, as he continued hammering down on his ever growing pile of paperwork, and today certainly hadn¡¯t lightened his burden.

 Chapter 18: Hopes and hatred.

    <h1>Chapter 18</h1>


    As all of the children and their parents had left the playdate with mixed feelings, Daelyn was quite excited at the prospect at going home. He enjoyed the playdate, but he was looking forwards to something else. He would be going back to Orthrus tomorrow to read!


    He still couldn¡¯t get the rows upon rows of bookcases out of his mind, and he could not help but crave for the knowledge that was hidden within those bookcases.


    Daelyn saw some of his newfound friends off, but he could not help but shiver at Cyrus¡¯ expression. The boy seemed to be afraid of something, and as Daelyn tried to approach him, Avary quickly took Cyrus¡¯ right arm, and hurried off. Cyrus did not resist, following her with a deadbeat look on his face as they made their way home.


    Daelyn found this quite concerning, but he did not fret on it very long. After all, Cyrus was their child, and who would punish their child for defending another one?


    While Daelyn was happily contemplating such positive thoughts, Cyrus¡¯ mind was filled with the opposite. He did not know what kind of punishment he would get, but he had from what he knew, it wouldn¡¯t be nice.


    His father had already dealt out some punishments to branch family members, and it was more akin to torture than anything else. Hitting them with a whip, using water magic to drown them, stabbing them and then using fire magic to cauterize the wound, and much more.


    Cyrus was genuinely scared because of this, and because his father had gotten his hands on one branch family member who had a human partner.


    It was a dark elf man and a human woman. Cyrus had heard that they were quite timid, and hadn¡¯t wronged the family directly, but their pleads fell on deaf ears, as his father tortured the man beyond comprehension.


    The man had made sure that the woman could escape, and this had infuriated father even more. The man had been tortured in the most obscene and brutal ways that could be imagined, and father could continue it for the longest time. He could do this, with potions. He had placed a large order of healing potions at Grey Theandor, which he quite liked at the time, because of his hardworking personality and his skill in alchemy.


    Those potions were used in abundance, and father had spent his coin generously to continue his torture for as long as he desired.


    In the end, the tortured man had gotten his hands on one of the tools that were used on him, and killed himself. He had released himself of his mortal body and the pain that came with it, only to find his beloved in the afterlife. She had committed suicide out of grief, and they actually had a happy end together.


    However, as his soul left his body, father entered the room, and he was prepared. He had attained a soul capturing device from unknown sources, however he could not torture the man¡¯s soul, since he did not have the tools for it, and those were quite costly.


    Seeing that he had already spent an exorbitant amount of money on his torture, he decided that he would end it. He made one last expense for the sake of sating his desire for the man¡¯s suffering, one last expense that would satisfy him. He bought the services of a soul mage, one that was not connected to any kind of public guild, and asked him to perform one particular spell.


    He asked and paid the soul mage to destroy the soul of the man, making sure that he would not get the rest he deserved, and have him vanish into the void of the universe as scattered parts of a being, only able to reform in an unknown amount of time. A soul could technically not be destroyed, but it could be ripped apart, and that was his mister Tyrrith¡¯s intent. He would have the man suffer for eternity for loving a human, and for betraying him.


    Cyrus had never been allowed in the torture room, or the hall which bordered it, but he could hear the bloodcurdling laugh of his father from the other side of the house. He could feel it reverberate through everything as his spine tingled form the laugh, and his instincts told him to run and hide.


    A few minutes later, his father walked past his room, together with the soul mage, and both had a wicked smile on their face. The soul mage was looking at the coin pouch he had in his hands, he seemed to be very happy that he got paid so much to torture someone for eternity.


    His father didn¡¯t necessarily look scary, but he seemed very satisfied, which only bolstered Cyrus¡¯ anxiety and fear concerning the topic.


    That was the reason Cyrus was so scared, his father hated humans and everyone who associated with them even more, than either his brother or mother did. Cyrus became more and more scared as they drew closer to their family home, he feared his father¡¯s wrath.


    Minos and Avary saw the fear in his expression, but did nothing to ease him. Both had their own reasoning as why not to, but they did not know the reasoning of the other.


    Minos thought that whatever punishment that human defending idiot received was deserved. He did not sympathise with humans, neither did he with their loved ones, or those that sympathised with them. His brother had helped a human, and thwarted his attack towards that same human! He would not forgive him! Did he forget the death of our older brother! Does that mean nothing to him? Does his family mean nothing to him?!


    As Minos was lost in thought, trying to reason with himself and justify hating his little brother for defending a human, Avary also had an internal battle. She was torn between the grief of losing her eldest son, and her love for her youngest. She felt hatred towards all humans for killing her child, and her judgement of Daelyn was clouded by this, as she had not seen his attempt at making it up to Minos as positive, but merely some human scheme. She had not seen Daelyn¡¯s apology as sincere, but as an intricate scheme leading to their downfall at his merit.


    As her mind was still clouded by her hatred of humans, it was also clouded by the love for her youngest son. Little Cyrus never had been very strong, but he had always been very nice, gentle, and loved reading. She could not have asked for a better son, he was her youngest, and she loved him. She loved his little quirks, she loved his urges to read, and she loved his personality. However, she was puzzled by his behaviour he exhibited today, did he forget about the death of his brother at the hands of those damned humans?


    While her mind did not become clearer, she did come to one conclusion. She knew that her husband knew what to do, she whole heartedly believed that her husband could find some kind of middle road that would satisfy everyone, and she could return to her simple live with her sons.


    With these thoughts raging through their heads, their made their way to their home in silence.


    As the trio saw their home appear between the foliage, Cyrus flinched. He had already contemplated if running away now would solve his problems, but his father would most likely hunt him down and punish him even more.


    Avary opened the door, she saw her husband sitting in the living room on the sofa, with a book in hand. As he saw them, he put his book away, stood up, and walked over to them.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Hey, you guys are home early, did something happen?¡± He asked with a soft and curious voice.


    ¡°Yes, something happened, right Cyrus?¡± Sneered Minos with an arrogant tone, which led to Cyrus flinching from his remark.


    Their father looked on in surprise and shot a questioning look towards Avary.


    ¡°Eldrin, dear, we need to talk. Something happened at the playdate, we will be getting the story from Elrieden later, but I want you to hear it from us.¡± She said with a calm and soothing voice.


    Eldrin looked at her with a curious expression, before she walked off to his office, and he quickly followed.


    Cyrus¡¯ family had never been bad, it had almost always been a happy family, and everyone tried to treat each other with love and dignity. However, his brother¡¯s death brought a taboo in the family, and he was very aware of this.


    They did not want to speak about his death, they did not want to speak about the humans that killed him, they did not want to speak about the betrayal they faced from their indirect relatives, they didn¡¯t want to talk about their past. Cyrus had found this to be true many times, as he asked them about it, and would never get an answer. They would either change subject, or simply ignore him.


    As his parents had finally entered Eldrin¡¯s office at the end of the hallway on the right, they quickly followed behind them, intent on eavesdropping. They tried to make as little sound as possible as they approached the door, until the door suddenly opened. Their father stood in the doorway.


    ¡°Eavesdropping is rude, don¡¯t do it again. Go to your rooms and reflect on yourself.¡±


    The two boys were stupefied at the warning, they had not expected their father to find out so quickly. As if he could read their thoughts.


    ¡°You¡¯re 100 years too early to try and sneak up on me.¡± He said with a soft laugh before closing the door.


    The two boys complied and walked towards their rooms in a slow pace as to try and discern something from the conversation going on inside, but it was in vain. The door and walls of their home were quite thick, and wouldn¡¯t easily let sound pass through.


    The rooms of the two boys bordered each other, and as they both stood in front of their respective rooms, Minos sneered to Cyrus, before saying.


    ¡°Whatever punishment you receive from father, you deserve it. You are an idiot for helping a human!¡±


    Minos quickly opened the door to his room, and slammed the door shut behind him.


    Cyrus stood in front of his own door for a second, absorbing his brother¡¯s remark, and accepting it, before entering his own room.


    Cyrus had quite a normal room. It had a bookcase filled with different kind of children¡¯s books, and some more advanced kinds, he had a large amount of toys lying around, a small desk on the left, and a bed.


    He pulled the chair standing before his desk back, before sitting on it. He stared at the wall, he groaned, and stared at the ceiling, he was contemplating the conversation going in on his father¡¯s office at the moment. He had no idea what kind of story his mother was telling, and how he was represented in that story, but he could only hope for the best.


    He knew his mother was not stupid, but he also knew that her mind could be clouded by the love for her children.


    He stopped contemplating about the conversation, and remembered the playdate and the fun he had. He hadn¡¯t had such fun since, since¡­ Well, he had never had such fun, and that human, Daelyn was the cause of this. He had not forgotten the death of his brother, and the people that did it would need to be punished, but he did not think all humans were bad.


    Even if all humans were bad, he still thought that Daelyn was his friend, and a good person, human or not. He had never had a friend, or someone like Daelyn enter his life before, and while he was shaken up by it, he did not hate it. Instead, he liked the commentary Daelyn could give on his remarks, and he liked the jokes he could make about shared topics.


    These thoughts only reinforced his action, as he did not regret defending Daelyn from his brother. He did not regret saving a human, since it was his human, he was the only human, or dark elf, that he could get along with.


    As he was lost in thought, the door opened on a crack, and his mother¡¯s face appeared in the doorway.


    ¡°Cyrus, honey, dinner will be done in five minutes, okay?¡±


    Cyrus replied with a cheerful: ¡°Okay!¡±


    He decided to stop dwelling on such hard thoughts and instead pick up a book.


    The minutes passed quickly as his mother knocked on his door.


    ¡°Cyrus, dinner is ready. Everyone is already seated, did you forget the time again?¡±


    Cyrus looked up in shock as he had indeed forgotten the time. He quickly made his way towards the door, opened it, and followed his mother towards the dining table situated in the living room.


    The atmosphere was loaded with tension, as Cyrus sat down on his chair. The dinner went by in silence, only the occasional ¡®pass me the salt¡¯ or something alike could be heard.


    As they had all finished their meal, Eldrin spoke up.


    ¡°Cyrus, I have yet to get the whole story, and I know I will be getting the story from Elrieden which also entails yours, so I will read that, and I will make my decisions tomorrow. In the meantime, you shouldn¡¯t fret too much, it wouldn¡¯t be good for you.¡± He said with an indifferent and serious tone.


    Cyrus flinched at hearing his father, and accepted his judgement. He couldn¡¯t change it in any way, but he was happy his father was trying to get the complete picture.


    As they had finished eating and had their maids clear the table, each of them went on to do their own thing, the boys went to their room, Eldrin went to his office, and Avary stayed in the living room and started reading a book.


    While Cyrus had been relieved at his father¡¯s choice, it should have been wise to think otherwise. His father indeed tried to get the whole picture, as to reinforce the punishment Cyrus would receive. He was perplexed at hearing how his own son defended a human. A human of all things?!


    Eldrin could have understood in some kind of way if Cyrus defended a goblin or a gnome, they might be useful as pets, but a human? No, humans aren¡¯t useful for anything. The only thing humans can do to help others, is die. They take up space, food, resources, and they take lives. They take lives out of greed, for profit, for fun, or some other twisted goal.


    Humans listen to their urges, and only their urges. They are worse than animals as their instincts are not focused on survival, but on the torment of others. They can find the most cruel and horrific ways to torture someone, outdoing even the demonic beings of this world. While Eldrin had had his fair share of torture, he had only once seen human torture, and saw that it was on another level.


    He remembered the desperate and bloodcurdling screams the victims had released, and the bemused laughter of the tormentor. The tormentor had made their lives a living hell as he defiled, deformed, maimed, penetrated, punctured, burned, drowned, and healed them, only to begin the whole cycle again. Humans had some quite advanced healing magic, and very loose morals, resulting in them being the best torturers of this world.


    If you wanted to have someone tortured, you hired a specialist, who was most likely human.


    He had employed the services of one once, and he was disgusted at the efficiency and effectiveness he tortured someone with. He had thought up a way of torturing someone for eternity, with only a simple ritual, a torture that would last for an unknown length of time, was done in less than ten minutes.


    Eldrin had been completely swallowed by his anger then, only to later realise his mistakes. He had realized the horrible thing he had done, he had tortured another dark elf with a human, he had paid a human to torture a dark elf for eternity, he had betrayed his brethren!


    He only realized this after seeing his own child¡¯s fearful eyes as he walked to his office. He saw the raw fear in his eyes, and realized his mistakes. He could only regret his choice, and quickly tried to revert it, but he was only met with resistance. The mage which had done it had responded to his request of reverting it.


    ¡°Are you an idiot? Do you think I can get a soul that has been divided into thousands of pieces back? I never knew dark elves could be this stupid! Ha!¡± He said with an arrogant and smug expression.


    Eldrin, enraged by his own mistakes and the man¡¯s attitude, had slaughtered the man in broad daylight, in front of his comrades. He had slaughtered them, he had burned their corpses, and removed any trace of him ever being there.


    He couldn¡¯t ask any other soul mages for a solution, since it would become clear that he had paid someone to tear apart a soul, and spread it throughout the universe.


    Since that day, he had sworn to never involve himself again with humans, since they were thieving, scheming, and lying pests. Pests that should be removed from the face of Althea, as they stained both the Terrean and sub-Terrean world.


    As Eldrin kept justifying his hatred towards humans, with all of the horrid stories he himself had experienced, or he could think of. He finally reached a conclusion.


    As for his son, his own brood, who had helped a human. He could no longer view him as his son, as his child, as a creation of him, since he betrayed them and choose a human over a dark elf.


    As such, he reached a punishment, he decided that that child was no longer his son.

 Chapter 19: Talk of punishment, and a glimpse in the past.

    <h1>Chapter 19</h1>


    As the Tyrrith family was in turmoil, the Theandor family was the opposite. They were in bliss, because Daelyn had been able to make some friends. They hadn¡¯t expected it to be this easy for him to make friends, and they certainly hadn¡¯t expected that they would perform such a play with each other.


    However, they still had some concerns. They had yet to conceive a punishment for Ania, as they had decided to discuss the punishment later with Celeria, because of the playdate.


    While both Grey and Lyvia wanted to do it as soon as possible, Celeria had other thoughts.


    ¡°Today was already an anomaly in itself, so let¡¯s not burden the children anymore, okay? I will come to your house tomorrow, with both Ania and Ayda. Also, I would rather have Dalarius know what happened, and have him agree on the punishment. I understand your anger, but I would not like my children to be punished too harsh, and without the knowledge of my husband.¡±


    They reluctantly agreed, as they understood her sentiment. After their quick discussion, both the families went home, and had a nice and uneventful evening.


    The Theandor¡¯s played with little Daelyn to calm him, gave him his favourite food, and they even played a board game with the three of them. He fell into a long and deep sleep only seconds after they had put him to bed, and they realized that the day had been exhausting. The morning had been tiresome with Orthrus and that three headed chimera, and the Tyrrith family only made it harder on them and Daelyn in the afternoon. They followed Daelyn¡¯s example, went to bed, and quickly drifted into sleep, marking the end of a pleasant and uneventful evening.


    The Vitafius family had a different evening. The father was quite late, which was quite common as his guard duty took up a lot of his time, which led to Celeria interrogating both of the children.


    She interrogated little Ayda about the conflict between Daelyn and Minos, and asked her why she saw Daelyn as a monster. It was quite hard questioning her as the little girl was a bit traumatized from Daelyn¡¯s performance, and Lyvia¡¯s tone. While Celeria did not like pushing her child like this, she did not hesitate to, she wanted get to the bottom of this.


    Celeria had pried all the information little Ayda could give, before she burst into tears and started stammering every word that came out of her mouth, Celeria picked her up and started rocking her, calming her, and letting the exhaustion of the day do its magic on her. As little Ayda drifted into sleep, Celeria put her to bed, before returning to the living room and facing Ania.


    Ania was sitting at the wooden dining table, looking on with a stern expression as it was clear that she would not budge at anything her mother said.


    So, instead of trying to pry information from the young girl, Celeria waited for her husband to come home. She really wanted to understand why Ania thought that Daelyn was a monster, and why she attacked him!


    However, she knew that Ania would not talk to her, as she saw anything related to the guards as her husband¡¯s domain, and would only listen to him and him only. She was saddened by this, because she would love to talk to Ania about guard duties, as she had been an adventurer for quite a bit of time, before she married Dalarius.


    However, Ania only saw Dalarius as a true fighter as he had been a guardsmen for more than three decades. While this is not a lot, Ania was still fascinated by it, and was very absorbed by the guardsmen. Going as far as joining them on their patrols, with or without their permission.


    She chuckled as she recalled the uproar it had caused amongst the guards. They had tried every trick in the book to stop Ania from following them, from simply telling her no, to ignoring her, to having one guard watch her in the guardhouse after they caught her, and even trying to bribe her with candy.


    Sadly for them, none of these options worked. In the end, they gave in and let her join one of the more secure patrols. They did encounter some combat, and she performed great. They had given her a supporting role, and she excelled at distracting enemies or firing at their weak spots with her arrows. The guards gave in, and let her join the occasional patrol, but she would not be allowed to go on more dangerous patrols, or exterminations.


    As Celeria was lost in the memories of past, she did not notice Ania trying to sneak away to her room.


    Ania was told to sit on the chair and wait for her father, but she would rather go to her room, and actually have some fun reading, or practising with her sword.


    However, before she was even halfway to her room, she was picked up from behind. She was held up high in the air, and for a second she feared that the demon had returned, but she suddenly heard a deep laugh.


    ¡°Hahaha, was my little girl trying to sneak away.¡±


    As her body was directed towards the man that had picked her up, her expression changed from fear to joy as she saw her father.


    ¡°Daddy! You¡¯re back!¡± Said Ania with a smile and a happy tone.


    As Celeria heard her daughter and her husband, she quickly walked over with a pouting face.


    ¡°Dalarius, what did I say about entering through the windows, or the roof?¡±


    Dalarius turned to face his wife, with a fearful and nervous expression.


    ¡°H-hey Celeria, how was your day, and how was the playdate?¡±


    Celeria looked at him with a cute yet angered face, until he brought up the playdate. Her expression changed from pouting to a serious one, filled with concern.


    With a cold an reasoning tone, she said: ¡°Dalarius, we need to talk. Today, we had the playdate, and before the playdate we went to pick up Daelyn Theandor, right?¡±


    Dalarius was taken aback by her seriousness, and said with an understanding yet soft tone: ¡°Yes, and?¡±


    Celeria continued wither her cold and reasoning tone: ¡°Well, it was quite interesting picking him up, because he is a human. The two girls were quite scared at him being a human, and Ayda even cried a little as she saw him at first.¡±


    She paused, and allowed Dalarius to take the story in. He smiled a little at his daughter¡¯s fear of Daelyn, however his expression changed after hearing the last part of the story.


    Celeria continued once again: ¡°While Ayda¡¯s was afraid of Daelyn, Ania had a different reaction. She saw him as a literal monster, unsheathed a concealed knife, which she got from the guards, and stabbed him. She was even aiming for the head!¡±


    Dalarius¡¯ expression turned to a cold and serious one as he heard the last part of the story. He quickly turned to Ania, and said with a tone that reflected his expression: ¡°Go to your room. We will discuss this with you later.¡±


    Ania was quite shocked at her father¡¯s expression and tone. She tried to rid the world of a monster, what did she do wrong? She had taken the advice some of the guardsmen had given her, and put it to good use. In the past, father had praised her for such actions, but now, he was angry.


    Despite her confusion, she did not voice it, and quickly went to her room. She was quite nervous as she did not know why her father would be mad, and she did not know what kind of punishment she would get. She had never gotten very harsh punishment, because of her good behaviour and because of her achievements at the guards. She hoped her father wouldn¡¯t punish her too harsh, and support her.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    However, in the living room, the conversation was heading in the opposite direction that Ania had hoped for.


    Dalarius was silent as Celeria told the story in detail. After he had heard everything, he was lost in thought for a moment, before sighing and replying with a defeated tone: ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that she and Ayda saw Daelyn as a monster, were both scared of him, and Ania tried to stab him because he was a monster, according to her.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°And Ania saw Daelyn as a monster, because Minos had told her during training sessions that all humans are monsters, and she did not doubt him. She believed his stories, and believed that all humans are monsters.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°And she attacked him without warning, because she had picked up some advice from the guards. They said that attacking a surmountable threat immediately is the best solution.¡±


    ¡°Yes, and that is also how she got the advice to carry a concealed weapon, at all times.¡±


    Dalarius groaned, as he rubbed his eyes, before turning his attention back to Celeria.


    ¡°So, what is her punishment?¡±


    Celeria was taken aback, and said with a soft voice: ¡°It hasn¡¯t been decided yet.¡±


    Now Dalarius was taken aback, and said with an astonished and loud voice: ¡°What? Why isn¡¯t there one yet? We need to teach her proper manners! We are her parents for Eleanor¡¯s sake!¡±


    Celeria had regained her composure, and calmed her husband with a soft tone: ¡°I know, I know, but we also need to have the Theandors approve of it, since their child got stabbed. Don¡¯t give me the ¡®I will punish her correctly!¡¯ speech. We both know that you go soft on her because of her reputations with the guards.¡±


    Dalarius¡¯ face contorted at hearing this, and as he was about to retort, he was interrupted.


    ¡°Either way, we can¡¯t leave them out of the discussion. So, I was going back to the Theandor house tomorrow to discuss the punishment with Lyvia.¡±


    Dalarius calmed down, and agreed with Celeria. He understood the need to discuss the punishment with the Theandor family, since he understood their situation. If someone assaults your child with a knife, you want them to receive the proper punishment.


    However, before he could walk away, Celeria ended with one last sentence: ¡°Oh, and the part I told you about that healing process, it is to be kept secret. Lyvia will tell us more about it tomorrow, but I can¡¯t let it be leaked, we weren¡¯t even supposed to find out, until Ania stabbed him.¡±


    Dalarius was a bit shocked at this, and replied with a confused tone: ¡°But, why? Such power would be appreciated, and he must hold great potential with such an early awakening. So, why would they want to hide it?¡±


    Celeria sighed a bit, and looked at her husband. He may be a wonderful guard, but he wasn¡¯t very clever when it came to social intrigue.


    ¡°Darling, think about it. He most likely has a blood affinity, and he may be a blood warlock. How would a human blood warlock be received by the community, and the Tyrrith family in particular? They would skin him alive, potential or not, he would be killed. Actually, they would want to kill him specifically because of his potential.¡±


    Dalarius listened to his wife very intently, and understood that he had been a buffoon. He had been alive for close to two centuries, and he still was a complete idiot. He turned towards his wife with a smile of his face, and a relieved tone.


    ¡°Thanks Eleanor that I married you, otherwise I would have killed that child indirectly.¡±


    Celeria snickered, before saying: ¡°I have saved you more than once, don¡¯t pretend that this is the first mistake I prevented. Well, wash up, and get ready for tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°About that, I wish to join you guys.¡±


    Celeria¡¯s was surprised at the proposition for a second, before she understood his intentions, and replied to him with a mocking tone.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think you can lighten her punishment, dear. You said it yourself, we need to teach her manners.¡± She said with a sharp and mischievous tone.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t my intention. I want to apologise to Lyvia and Grey, and especially to Daelyn for Ania¡¯s behaviour. I wish to join the discussion to make sure that she get the punishment she deserves.¡± He said with a stern and calm voice.


    Celeria was taken aback for a moment, before complying to his wishes.


    ¡°Okay, but you¡¯re going to have to get up early. It¡¯s quite a walk to the Theandor house with two children, and I don¡¯t wish to spend the beginning of the afternoon there. I have a busy schedule.¡±


    Dalarius smiled, before saying with a soft and understanding voice: ¡°I know.¡±


    After their discussion, they called the girls in and told them of their plans. Both Ania and Ayda were shocked at this turn of events.


    Ayda was shocked since she did not want to go back to the monster¡¯s lair. She had been afraid of Daelyn ever since she first saw him, and his regenerative capabilities certainly did not help that.


    Ania was also shocked, but she was shocked that they would discuss the punishment with the Theandor family. She was shocked that she would be punished for stabbing the little creature, and she could not help but voice her confusion.


    ¡°But, w-why am I being punished? I-I tried to kill a monster! That is only natural, right?¡± She said with a nervous and broken tone.


    Dalarius looked upon his daughter, before saying with a cold tone: ¡°You did not stab a monster, you stabbed a human.¡±


    Ania could not hold herself in anymore, and voiced her emotions: ¡°What¡¯s the difference! From the stories Minos told, humans seem worse than monsters! Defiling and maiming everything they come across!¡±


    Before she could continue, her father interrupted her. With a loud voice, he said to her: ¡°Humans are not monsters. If it weren¡¯t for those ¡®monsters¡¯ you wouldn¡¯t have been born, your mother and I would have never met, and I would have been dead. I don¡¯t know what you heard from Minos about humans, but realize that dark elves have done similar if not the same things.¡±


    Ania was surprised at his completely serious tone, she was shocked as he disregarded her views of humans with each word, and she was astonished at his claims.


    She said with a meak voice: ¡°I-is that true?¡±


    Her father replied immediately with a stern and cold voice: ¡°Yes, it is true. Humans have done much for us, and may have saved the forest itself on some rare occasions. They have brought both merit and horror to the forest, just like we have brought both horror and merit upon their lands through the millennia. I hope you understand one thing Ania, there is not one race that is truly good or bad, there are individuals who are good or bad, branding a race because of an individual is insane.¡±


    Ania looked upon her father with a confused expression.


    Before they could continue their conversation, Celeria cut in.


    ¡°Now, now. We¡¯re going to the Theandors tomorrow if you like it or not. Now get ready to go to bed, because we¡¯re setting off early, okay?¡±


    The two girls obediently complied and went to bed.


    As Celeria and Dalarius were about to go to sleep, Dalarius voiced one of his worries.


    ¡°How could Minos have misrepresented humans so much that she would think of little Daelyn as a monster? She must have heard some wicked things.¡±


    Celeria smiled before saying with a calming tone: ¡°I don¡¯t know what she might have heard, but it is up to us to change her view. We need to show her that there are good and bad people, no good or bad races. If she understands that, we will have succeeded.¡±


    Dalarius could only smile as he heard his wife¡¯s thoughts. He knew she was right, however he couldn¡¯t think of a possible way. As he kept contemplating, it became later and later in the evening. He suddenly returned to reality after spending a part of the evening lost in thought, trying to think of a solution to this, but he could not find one. He sighed, he knew Celeria would be able to handle this one quite easily. She had always been quite good with words, and knew how to sway people.


    He remembered how he had first met her. She had used her qualities, and her ripe body to sway him into helping her with a request she had picked up from the adventurer guild. She had manipulated him into doing all the work, while she sat on a nearby rock and enjoyed the scenery.


    As they had returned, he had been asked by his comrades about the hunt with her, and as he described it, the veterans had laughed at him. They had recognised what had happened, and could not help but fall to the ground, as they couldn¡¯t hold their laughter.


    After several minutes of seeing the veteran guards laughing, Dalarius had finally realized what had happened, and quickly chased after the woman. He was furious that she had made use of him, and he was going to give her a piece of his mind, until he finally found her.


    As he found her, she was surrounded by a small kobold tribe. She was battling them, and as Dalarius arrived he was about to support her, as he noticed her fighting style. It was mesmerizing.


    She used a thin thread made from some kind of cloth to slash the kobolds surrounding her, bind them, and secure a perimeter for herself as she used some basic magic. She was able to keep those kobolds at bay because of her thread laced with mana, and she could deal damage to them with her spells.


    However, the spells or casting weren¡¯t as impressive as the thread by far. The thread seemed to wave to her will as she moved her right hand like an conductor directing an orchestra. He could not help but be fascinated as the thread moved to slay the kobolds with upmost grace, as she bound, sliced, and diced the little creatures.


    After seeing this, he had quickly resigned from the guard, and he followed her, intent on joining her.


    With those final thoughts, he fell to sleep. He dreamed of the days of adventuring in which he had chased after his wife, and in which they had slain countless monsters, resulting in their present strength.


    As the morning sun arose, so did the three families, they started their routine morning ritual, unbeknownst to the change that would happen in their daily lives.

 Chapter 20: Judgement and salvation.

    <h1>Chapter 20</h1>


    Night gave way to day as the morning sun rode the sky, and the inhabitants of the forest awoke.


    As the morning brought the warmth and light of the sun, so did it bring anxiety for two families.


    At the Vitafius house, the family was busy getting ready to leave, as they had planned to meet the Theandors that morning. The two little girls were anxious about going back to that place, since one of them would be trialled there for assaulting one of her peers, and the youngest daughter was anxious because she didn¡¯t want to see the monster again.


    The parents of the two children were less anxious, they were more worried about what kind of punishment the Theandors had conceived. While they knew that Grey would be quite soft on their daughter, they were more afraid of Lyvia.


    Lyvia had the bad habit of getting very attached to others, and her emotions would flare up if those people were to be wounded, assaulted, or even insulted. Besides that, she was a mother first and foremost, and she treasured Daelyn. Both Dalarius and Celeria knew that the wrath of a mother was not to be taken lightly, and could only hope for the best.


    The family could only release a collective sigh, and made their way to the Theandors.


    While the morning of the Vitafius family was filled with anxiety, the morning of the Tyrrith family was filled with a tension in the air, and dread.


    The family was far from relaxed, as they woke up, and they could only wait for what was to come.


    The mother of the family believed whole heartedly that her husband would be able to think of a proper punishment for their son, the eldest son in the house thought that whatever punishment his brother got would be deserved, and the person on trial was anxious beyond belief.


    The child awaited his judgement in his room, as he was extremely afraid of the punishment he would get. He feared the physical abuse his father would inflict upon him, he feared the punishment his father had thought up, as he knew that it was most likely a brutal one.


    He had not slept that night, because of the fear he had harboured for the coming morning. The screams of his father¡¯s victims echoed through his mind, and whenever they reached their peak. They suddenly stopped, only to be followed by his father¡¯s bloodcurdling psychotic laugh.


    He could only be relieved as the morning sun brought him a respite from those nightmarish screams, only to have his anxiety return as each passing moment was one closer to his judgement.


    He quickly dressed, and started to get ready for the day ahead. He dressed in quite simple clothes, as his family had never appreciated very expensive clothing, putting more significance on battle prowess than political intrigue.


    He shifted from his bed towards the chair standing in front of his desk. He observed the desk and the bookcase behind him that had granted him respite of the busy and demanding life of the Tyrrith family.


    The family had always favoured physical superiority and skill in close combat above reading literature, or skill in magic. The family had produced some very talented aura users over the centuries, and had refined their techniques to new heights as they became one of the more prevalent families of aura users in the forest.


    However, the forest had many enemies, from both inside and outside, and as the family¡¯s power became more and more prevalent, so were they expected to exert more and more of that power to ensure the wellbeing of the forest and its inhabitants.


    The many warriors and powerful aura users of the family were shipped off to either fight the larger denizens of the forest, the orcs and other monsters of the wastelands, or the rising corpses of the deadlands.


    As the family¡¯s members fought more and more, so did more and more die as the conflict surrounding the dark elf kingdom was ever present and ever growing.


    While the family had lost some of its members, it was far from becoming weak, and it had been even farther from the situation it was at now.


    The situation it was in now was caused by one of their own members, the eldest daughter of the head of the family, and the next head of the family.


    She had betrayed the family for reasons unknown to Cyrus, but she had caused the family to split from its branch families, lose a part of its fortune, and had caused the death of a large number of disciples together with the destruction of their biggest training centre.


    Even to this day, his parents held a grudge, and they wanted to chase her to the ends of the world, but they couldn¡¯t. They had to regain the families former position, rebuild their empire, regain their control of the branch families, and regain their fortune. They vowed to do all of this, from a small dojo in some unknown village near the edge of the forest.


    While Cyrus wasn¡¯t very interested in the story itself, since he was never really interested in the family, or using aura as he had a weak body. He was afraid as he once again realized that his father did not like traitors, as he had a grudge towards many of the branch families, some individual aura users, and the whole of humanity.


    Cyrus had done some things in the past to upset his father, but he had never broken those two taboo¡¯s. He defended a human against his brother, he knew his father saw this as both betrayal and helping a human, since it was exactly that.


    Before Cyrus could continue his fearmongering, he heard his mother¡¯s voice from the other side of the door.


    ¡°Sweetie, we¡¯re going to have breakfast, are you coming?¡±


    Cyrus quickly got out of bed, before opening the door. He was greeted by his mother with a loving smile, and he followed her into the living room, where his brother and his father were already seated at the table.


    He quietly walked over towards his seat, his brother and father didn¡¯t spare him a glance as he took his place at the table, and started eating. His mother shot him one more affectionate smile, before starting on her own meal.


    The family continued eating in silence, they cleared the table and cleaned the dishes in silence, and as Cyrus was about to head back to his room, his father spoke.


    ¡°Cyrus, stay.¡± He said with a calm yet commanding tone.


    Cyrus quickly obliged his orders, turned towards his father, and moved back to the table. His father had a serious yet sad disappointed on his face.


    ¡°Cyrus, you know what you have done. You know how we think about humans in our family, and you know how we think about betrayal. Is there something you wish to say in your defence?¡±


    Cyrus made a fist as his fingers dug into his own skin. He didn¡¯t have anything to say. The only thing he could say is that he did not regret it, he did not regret betraying his brother, and saving his friend. He did not regret betraying the family that had only looked down upon him because of his preferences and his body, he did not regret saving his first real friend, he did not regret choosing his own happiness over the grudges the family harboured. He did not regret any of it, and so he voiced his thoughts with a nervous yet steadfast voice, as his expression was one of defiance.


    ¡°I can only say that I do not regret it.¡±


    Silence reigned in the room for several seconds, both his brother and his mother looked on in shock at his statement, while his father¡¯s expression remained stoic.


    Cyrus knew they would be shocked by his proclamation, but he did not care. If he was to face punishment, he would do it with pride, as he did not regret defending his friend from his enemy.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    Before Cyrus could continue his proclamation, Eldrin interrupted him.


    ¡°Cyrus, you have betrayed this family in favour of a human. You have nothing to say in your defence, except that you do not regret it?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°In that case, the punishment is decided.¡± Eldrin said with a heavy yet calm tone.


    The room became shrouded in silence as they waited in anticipation of the punishment. They felt the atmosphere tense up, as everyone awaited the next sentence to leave Eldrin¡¯s mouth. When it finally did, it was like a hammer struck them from the heavens.


    ¡°For betraying the family, you are no longer a part of it. You are no longer our son, our brother, or our child. I disown you from everything but the clothes on your body, food supplies for one week, and three of your personal items. You are hereby banished from the family.¡±


    The room was completely silenced as even the birds outside of the house seemed to understand the situation.


    Every member of the family had a different reaction towards the judgement.


    Avary formed an expression of shock, and grief. She fell to her knees as she could not believe her husband¡¯s judgement. She was going to lose one of her children again, she lost one to war, one to those damned humans, and now she lost another one to banishment. The tears streamed down her eyes as she realized that Cyrus had been her only respite, her only relieve form her grief of the loss of two of her children. She would lose him, she would lose her youngest not to some external force, not to war, not to humans, not even to another family. She would lose her son, because of her own family.


    She made no sound as the tears streamed down her cheeks, and as her eyes became lifeless at the thought of losing another one of her children. She had only Minos left, who was more interested in training and hanging out with his friends than anything else.


    She was once again alone surrounded by her relatives.


    While Avary was devastated at the news, Minos released a smug expression. That would teach the little rat to help a human, he would be banished! He would be banished for betraying the family! He would be banished for defending another person!


    Minos seemed happy at first, but a feeling of sadness started to creep up from within. He quickly suppressed it, as he believed that his father¡¯s orders were absolute. But he couldn¡¯t withhold form his right hand shaking, from his fingers feeling an odd numbness, and from his hart being filled with grief.


    Minos¡¯ mind became more and more filled with the pleasant memories he had with his little brother, and the numbness started spreading. His whole body started lightly shivering, and the feeling inside his chest grew and grew as more and more memories flashed by.


    Before they could continue their thoughts, their father stood up from the chair.


    ¡°Cyrus, you have until noon to gather your items, and leave this house. You¡¯re not allowed to converse with anyone of this household after you have left, and if you do, they will face the consequences. Let that be a warning to everyone present.¡± Eldrin said with a cold and emotionless voice, as his glare passed every person in the room.


    He calmly walked away, as he made his way towards his office. Every step resounded throughout the house as it was the only thing that broke the silence.


    While everyone in the house was shocked, both the family and their servants, Cyrus wasn¡¯t. His sleepless night hadn¡¯t gone by fruitless, and he had prepared himself for every possible punishment, from torture to intensive training, and banishment.


    While preparing did help, he was still aghast that he would be leaving the family home. He did not know where to go, as he doubted that most families would take him in, and the few that did would likely require a lot of him, abuse him, or one of the goons of Minos would live alongside him.


    While he did not know how he would find a new home, or even survive. He did know that leaving this family would be for the best, as they had discarded him, and he had discarded them.


    The only person in the family he would miss, was his mother. She would always smother him in affection, and they would play happily together. She hadn¡¯t cared that he was weak, she had adored him for who he was, and she had loved him as her son.


    Cyrus took several moments to process the judgement, before walking over to his room with small and trembling steps. He had prepared his mind for the grief, but it still affected him greatly, as being thrown out by your family was no small deed.


    He opened the door to his room, and quickly closed it. He gathered the three items that would be useful to him.


    He grabbed a small hunting knife, a ring which contained a spatial distortion, consisting of a hundred 225 cubic metres, and a book on mana manipulation.


    As he gathered the three items, he went over to the kitchen, grabbed a weeks¡¯ worth of food, and made his way to the living room.


    As his father had already retreated to his office, he could not say farewell to him, and so he made his way to the living room, where his former mother and his former brother still stood entranced, processing the information.


    He saw his mother sitting on her knees, and he saw the tears flowing down her cheeks. He felt a pan of sadness as he saw his mother taken by such grief, and walked over to her.


    He dropped the food he had in his arms on the table, stood in front of her, and hugged her. He felt the warm tears on his shoulders as he only measured up to her chest event though she was on her knees.


    He felt his mother shudder as he wrapped his arms around her, and pulled himself closer. He saw her eyes widen in surprise before he planted his head against her shoulder. He could feel the shuddering movements of his mother, as she slowly but surely lifted her arms upwards, and placed them around him. As her arms finally closed around him, she pulled him closer, pulling the small body in, and burying it in her own. She cried even more as she felt the warmth of her child flow through her, she could no longer hold in her wails as she screamed at the top of her lungs, and sobbed. She sobbed for at least a dozen minutes with the child bound by her embracement.


    The emotions rushed through her mind as she held her child close, not willing to lose another one. Her grief of losing another child was paramount to the orders of her husband, the love she felt for the family around her, and the comfort she gained from this household. Her love for the child in her arms was paramount to anything else, as she had a budding thought of leaving the household together with Cyrus.


    It started as a thought born from her desperation, but it was quickly reinforced by both the grief of the loss of her other children, and the love for her son. The thought became more and more intricate as a plan was being formed. A plan to leave this household which had left her all but one child, a child which had no eye for her except for seeing her as the woman he was birthed from, a child which would likely discard her as soon as he had the power to, a child of arrogance, created by her husband¡¯s lunacy, and her desire for revenge.


    She knew her part in the creation of that child, and could only pray to Eleanor to forgive her. However, she would not let the only child that wasn¡¯t corrupted by his ways die in the wilderness, she would rather go blind, deaf, and stupid than to suffer such a fate.


    The love for her child and desire to relegate the loss of another child stood far above anything else. Her desire was so that she wouldn¡¯t lose any of her children anymore, but she knew that wasn¡¯t possible. She would have to choose for either Cyrus or Minos, and her decision was quickly made as she felt the warmth of her son persuade her. She remembered every fond memory of the two of them shared, and would give anything to continue making such memories.


    She knew the wrath of her husband would eventually catch up to her, but she wouldn¡¯t send her child out to die, and neither would she let go of the one thing that she loved in this life. She would rather dig her own grave, and drop dead in it than abandon her child. She would not abandon the only thing that her husband hadn¡¯t corrupted, she had already abandoned her thoughts, her morals, and three of her children. She would not let the only thing that gave meaning in her life be corrupted.


    As the plan grew from a budding seed to a beautiful flower, she leaned in, placed her lips right next to his ear, and whispered to Cyrus: ¡°You will not be alone.¡±


    Cyrus looked up to his mother in surprise as she whispered that into his ear. What did she mean by it? Was she going to join him? But father would never allow that, he would order one of the servants to retrieve her, or go get her himself.


    While banishing a child is acceptable, if a parent follows that child, it will surely lead to embarrassment in the community, and their standing would drop even lower. They would be seen as fools! Father would not let that happen!


    While Avary knew this, she would not let her child go and die in the forest, and as such, she realized that there was only place where she would be safe, and where Cyrus could grow up to become a functioning adult. She had already thought of multiple plans, and discarded all but one of them. She had one plan that could work, and it involved one particular family.


    She knew the branch families would reject them, the nobles of this land didn¡¯t care for their family, she had no one that owed her a favour, so she could only think of one family that was strong enough to protect them from her husband¡¯s wrath, and help Cyrus grow up.


    She started whispering commands into Cyrus¡¯ ear to make sure that her plan would succeed. Her target might not be very far away, but she still needed a secure foothold, and there was a chance that they would reject her.


    After Cyrus listened to her instructions with an amazed expression, he quickly regained his composure, and wiped the remaining snot and tears of his face.


    As he turned away from his mother, he came face to face with his shivering brother. His brother seemed like he was holding himself in, trying to hold back his tears, and his sadness.


    As Cyrus approached his brother, he tried to stand in front of him like he did with his mother, and hug him, but his brother did not like the idea of it. He quickly retreated, before saying with a weak and almost crying voice: ¡°Ju-just go! We don¡¯t want you here anymore!¡±


    Before he stormed off to his room, and left the Cyrus and his mother alone.


    With a reassuring smile from his mother, Cyrus opened the door, and walked out. The first step he set outside the door, was the first step of his new life, the first step towards a future without the influence of his family, and the first step towards his new home.

 chapter 21: Punishment and explanation.

    <h1>Chapter 21</h1>


    As the door to the Tyrrith family opened, so did the door to the Theandor family. However, instead of seeing someone off, they welcomed the family standing in their doorway. Lyvia opened the door with a smile, and welcomed them.


    ¡°Hey Celeria, thank you for coming so early! Oh! Dalarius, I didn¡¯t know you would also come along!¡±


    Dalarius looked away for a second as he scratched his neck, before saying: ¡°Yes, I wanted to apologise for the behaviour of my daughter. I hope we can change her perspective of humans.¡±


    Lyvia smiled at him before saying with a mischievous tone: ¡°I think I have a solution for that, but first, come in. I have some refreshments so we discuss her punishment together.¡±


    Both Celeria and Dalarius were a bit surprised at her statement, while Ania and Ayda had not even picked up the conversation between the adults, as their attention was directed towards Daelyn.


    Daelyn stood next to Lyvia as he smiled at the girls staring at him. Ayda was already hiding behind her sister as she tightened her grip around her sister¡¯s trousers, while peeking out from behind her and looking at Daelyn. As Ania was apprehensive of Daelyn, she remembered her father¡¯s words. A race is not good or bad, individuals are.


    The words of her father calmed her down, but as she once again directed her attention towards Daelyn, he was suddenly standing right in front of her. She flinched at the sudden movement, and tried to take a step back, but as her little sister was still gripping her trousers, she could not hold her balance, and fell. With both hands flailing in the air, she tried to grip anything to support her before her inevitable impact on the ground. As she was about to close her eyes so the impact was lessened, she felt a tug. She felt her body slid forward, until her feet felt something obstruct their path, causing her to be suspended in the air at a 30-degree angle. As she opened her eyes, she saw that Daelyn was holding her hand, and she saw him try to support her with all his strength, but it was clear that it was quite taxing on him.


    Seeing this, she quickly regained her footing by planting her feet firm on the ground, and using Daelyn¡¯s arm to pull her up. However, as she used his arm to pull her up, she came face to face with Daelyn. Their faces were only divided by a few centimetres of air, as Ania saw this, she let out a small yelp, and quickly took a step back, taking care this time to not trip over her sister. Pushing Daelyn away in the process.


    As Daelyn fell on the ground, he could only say with a slightly irritated voice: ¡°Why did you do that?¡±


    Before he could further question her, or even await an answer, she shouted at him in an embarrassed tone: ¡°W-wh-why d-did you do that?!¡±


    Her face was quite red already, and was becoming more and more red by the second. Daelyn was a bit surprised, and asked with a confused tone: ¡°What do you mean ¡®that¡¯? Catching you before you fell?¡±


    While she could finally form complete sentences without stammering, the colour of her face had not changed, as it was as red as a ruby.


    ¡°No! Why did you grab my hand!?¡±


    Daelyn was even more confused now, and looked at her with a stumped expression before saying with an unsure voice: ¡°You tripped, so I grabbed your hand to make sure that you didn¡¯t fall. If I didn¡¯t, you would be lying on the floor right now¡±


    Before Ania could continue her charade, Celeria interrupted with a small smile on her face.


    ¡°Now, now, dear. Daelyn helped you, and you¡¯re going to judge him for being the first boy to grab your hand? Thank him!¡±


    Ania was stumped by her mother¡¯s scowl, before she accepted it, turned to Daelyn, and said with a soft and nervous voice: ¡°T-thank you.¡±


    Daelyn smiled, before saying with a soothing voice: ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure helping such a beautiful lady.¡±


    While both Celeria and Dalarius were taken aback by Daelyn¡¯s silver tongue, Lyvia started to laugh as she saw Ania¡¯s face brighten once more.


    The two parents turned towards Lyvia with questioning looks, which she answered with a snicker before saying: ¡°He reads a lot, and he came across a book with a bard as the protagonist, and he was amazed by his ¡®silver tongue¡¯.¡±


    Celeria and Dalarius were a bit apprehensive about the answer, but Lyvia wasn¡¯t going to say anymore so they didn¡¯t fret about it.


    As the little charade came to an end, Lyvia guided the guests towards the dining table. She and Daelyn quickly went to the kitchen to serve the refreshments and tea they had prepared. The refreshments were some cookies, roasted mushrooms, and roasted nuts. These kinds of foods are quite common in the forest, as they are easy to get, and they¡¯re quite tasty. While the cookies were made by the local bakery, the roasted mushrooms and nuts were gathered by Lyvia. There are a lot of different mushrooms and plants in the forest, because of the mana saturated atmosphere.


    The tea was also a product of local forest plants, consisting out of a type of moss, a flower, and some basic herbs found around the house.


    Lyvia was quite pleased as she heard the praise she got from the Vitafius family as both the parents and children enjoyed the tea. She took quite a bit of pride in making it, and could only be happy as her friends enjoyed the tea she had made with hard work.


    While she did enjoy the praise, she quickly hushed it, and brought the attention towards their original goal.


    ¡°Okay, so, how are we going to punish Ania?¡±


    As Lyvia said this, the atmosphere turned serious as both Celeria and Dalarius steeled their expressions and their hearts, while Lyvia still had the same smile on her face.


    They were a bit baffled by this, but they still started the conversation, with Dalarius at the lead. He stood up from his chair, and bowed to Lyvia, as he started with an honest and nervous tone, but ended with a steadfast devotion.


    ¡°Again, I want to apologise for the behaviour for my daughter. I was unaware of her views on humans, and that resulted in your son getting hurt, I sincerely apologise. I already heard the story from Celeria, and while the wound is already healed, I would like to offer you my future services as both a father, and a guardsman. You have my sincerest apologies.¡± Dalarius said with the sincerest tone he could muster, as he stood up from his chair, and bowed to Lyvia.


    While Celeria had the same genuine expression, Lyvia had a large smile on her face. She saw the shock in little Ania¡¯s face, she saw the nervousness on little Ayda¡¯s face, and she revelled in the scene that was going on in front of her, as it was quite amusing.


    As entertaining as it was, she wasn¡¯t going to let her friend stand there, and said with a stern yet soothing voice: ¡°Apology accepted, sit down. We still need to discuss the punishment. I would love to know what you guys have brewed up.¡±


    Lyvia showed a smile as Dalarius sat down. He looked at Celeria, and signalled her to start with a light nod. Celeria adjusted her position, coughed a bit, and started her plight.


    ¡°We had a long conversation last night, and we tried to get to the bottom of the incident. We found that Ania had been influenced by the guards, with influence concerning handling threats and having concealed weapons on her, she was influenced by her peers, and mainly Minos at that. She had heard the stories of his father during their training sessions, and his views had rubbed off on her. The punishment we had in mind involved stopping her guard patrols, and having private training sessions with Dalarius to combat further influence from her peers.¡±


    Lyvia had a pleased look on her face, until the end. Her face changed from pleasure to disbelief, as she said with a questioning and cold tone: ¡°That is it? She stabbed Daelyn, and she doesn¡¯t get to go on patrols anymore? Having private training sessions with a senior guard? That is a reward, not a punishment.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Celeria sighed at hearing her statement, since she knew it was true, and said with a concessive tone: ¡°That¡¯s part of the reason why we¡¯re here. We thought about giving her a strict training regime, but we fear that might only worsen the situation. We were out of ideas as we don¡¯t know how we can change their opinion of Daelyn, and humans in general.¡±


    Both Dalarius and Celeria were a bit ashamed at this, and it could be seen in their expressions as they failed to meet Lyvia¡¯s gaze. They were ashamed of their inability to give their daughter a fitting punishment for her behaviour. Their expressions betrayed the helplessness they had felt as they tried to, and they could only hang their heads in shame as they felt they had failed to raise their daughter.


    Lyvia quickly brought them out of their gloomy mood, and said with a delighted voice: ¡°I know a punishment that will make both parties happy. Well, except for the punished, of course.¡±


    Both Celeria and Dalarius looked up in surprise at her statement, she claimed that she had been able to come up with a fitting punishment where they had failed, and they were eager to hear it.


    ¡°Please do tell.¡± Said Dalarius with a grateful and anticipating voice.


    Lyvia smiled once more, and said with a warm voice: ¡°Simple, we do the two things you proposed, and they come here every morning, for a week, to play with Daelyn. He is quite a lonely child, as we¡¯re quite isolated, and he is quite introverted by nature. The mornings will suffice, as he does not like extended social contact, and he is eager to go to a place where the two girls can¡¯t really follow. It might be possible, but I doubt they would like it. What do you think about it?¡±


    The family of four sitting at the other side of the table all had different expression on their faces.


    Celeria had an expression of relief and gratefulness towards Lyvia. She had already expected something from Lyvia, but was still thankful for her proposal.


    Dalarius had an expression of respect and approval on his face. He thought it was a wonderful idea, as the girls would see it as a punishment at first, and hopefully, at the end of the week, see Daelyn as a person, instead of a human. He truly hoped that his daughters would change their views of Daelyn if they were to play with each other.


    The two daughters in question, were less enthusiastic about this solution.


    Ayda showed a nervous, yet slightly happy expression. She would get to play with someone her age, and with a boy such as Daelyn. She was still a bit spooked about him. She knew that he was a nice and cheerful boy, but she had also seen his magic after her sister had wounded him, and it still irked her to this day, causing her to be very anxious and nervous around him.


    While Ayda was quite accepting of the punishment, Ania was less approving. She would much rather train those mornings under a hard regime, than just play with some three-year-old. She might have understood that there is no good or bad race, she still didn¡¯t like the idea of playing with a three-year-old child she barely knew instead of with her friends.


    As she was about to voice her disapproval, she saw her father¡¯s glare. She immediately back down as she saw it, she knew from her father¡¯s expression that voicing her concerns would only lead to more trouble.


    As the adults decided on a punishment everyone sighed. As they had finally got that load of their shoulders, Celeria pressed harder on the load on Lyvia¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Lyvia, you were going to tell us a bit more about Daelyn¡¯s power, right?¡±


    Lyvia¡¯s expression faltered a bit, as she tried to retain her composure, and the smile that she had been able to conjure up, until now.


    ¡°Power? Daelyn? What could you possibly mean? Hahaha.¡±


    Celeria looked at her with a cold expression and said: ¡°Lyvia, I did not get out of bed well before sunrise just to get told off. Please answer the question, okay?¡±


    Lyvia sighed, and answered her question with a defeated tone as she plead for mercy: ¡°Can¡¯t we talk about this another time, please?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Pretty please?¡±


    ¡°Lyvia, tell me now, otherwise I will tell everyone of your past.¡±


    Lyvia suddenly paled, and quickly complied to Celeria¡¯s wishes as she heard her threat. She was almost panicking and she seemed to be very nervous, until Celeria withdrew her threat with a friendly smile.


    Both the children and Dalarius were shocked by Lyvia¡¯s reaction to Celeria¡¯s proclamation, and were very curious towards what they mean with ¡®your past¡¯. However, before they could ask, or even contemplate further, they were interrupted by Lyvia.


    She sighed, raised herself up, and sat with a straight back in her chair. Her tone had changed from pleading, to serious and steadfast, which surprised almost everyone sitting at the table. She placed her hands on the table, as she had an a cold and serious expression on her face.


    ¡°Before I say anything, I need some reassurance to make sure that you don¡¯t tell anyone. I can¡¯t have you tell anyone what I tell today, what happened yesterday, anything you see, and anything either I or Daelyn tells you, okay? If you can¡¯t, leave now.¡±


    The air seemed to pulse with tension, as Lyvia looked at each of the members of the Vitafius family. She seemed to look into their soul, as her gaze penetrated their mortal coils and infiltrate the essence of their very existence. They could feel a tingle in their spine as they tried to meet this woman¡¯s gaze. Even Dalarius, a senior guardsman with at least a century of fighting experience, was stunned as he met her gaze.


    None of them moved, and Lyvia adjusted her position to a more comfortable one. The gaze retracted, and the family breathed a collective sigh as they were finally released from that all seeing gaze.


    Lyvia continued with a relaxed and assured tone.


    ¡°Now that none of you have left the room, we can start. The power you have seen Daelyn use was his magic, he formed his core early, supposedly because of the blessing of a strong monster, however we do not know for sure. The magic you saw him use yesterday was blood magic, specifically blood warlock magic.¡±


    Within two sentences Lyvia had already shocked the parents sitting opposite of her beyond belief, and was met with the questioning gazes from the children. Ania had some suspicions as to what it exactly meant, but she couldn¡¯t hold her curiosity, and asked with a soft tone: ¡°What is a blood warlock? And what do you mean with forming a core early?¡±


    Lyvia sighed, before answering her question with a snicker: ¡°Well, you know that you form a core at your seventh birthday, and with that core you can use magic, right?¡±


    While her parents were still in shock from the first two statements, she answered with a soft voice.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Good, now for humans the normal age to forming a core is five years old. However, Daelyn is only three and he has already formed a core.¡±


    Ania was shocked, but her curiosity still wasn¡¯t sated.


    ¡°Okay, I get that, but then what is a blood warlock. I have heard of some warriors and mages, but never of a blood warlock.¡±


    Lyvia snickered, before saying with a defeated tone: ¡°There is a good reason behind that. You have never heard of a blood warlock, because there are only a few select people that are insane enough to choose the path of a blood warlock. The magic a blood warlock uses is fundamentally different from most other types magic, since firstly, it is blood magic which utilises blood mana, and secondly, a blood warlock breaks their core to let the mana flow through their blood. A blood warlock uses a combination of his own blood and the mana in his blood, to create powerful spells. The only times when blood warlocks popped up, were times of war and destruction. Those times put survival above anything else. In a time where power is priceless, is a time when blood warlocks will emerge.¡±


    The family opposite of her was completely stumped, as even little Ayda had understood what a serious thing this meant for Daelyn and his future.


    The first to regain any kind of reason was Celeria, whose curiosity pulled her back from her numbed state of mind.


    ¡°You said he was blessed by a monster, which one? How? Why?!¡± She asked, as each passing moment more and more questions were popping up in her head.


    Lyvia snickered, before shrugging her shoulders, and saying with a calm tone: ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Lyvia¡¯s answer did not satisfy Celeria¡¯s curiosity in any way, and she voiced her concerns.


    ¡°What do you mean you don¡¯t know? How did that monster bless him?¡±


    Lyvia once again shrugged her shoulders.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, since I wasn¡¯t there. I also don¡¯t know if that monster blessed Daelyn, but the thing said it itself, and there isn¡¯t really a reason to disbelieve it, but there also isn¡¯t a reason to believe it. So, I simply don¡¯t know. I also don¡¯t know why his core was immediately broken, I don¡¯t really know anything about my son.¡± Said Lyvia as her voice became weaker and weaker with every word she spoke, resulting in her almost sobbing at the end.


    Celeria finally understood the situation Lyvia was in, and pitied her. She had to endure her son suddenly forming a core, gaining blood magic, and having another family discover it, because their daughter stabbed him.


    As Lyvia was about to cry, Daelyn grabbed her hand, and squeezed it. She looked at him, and smiled, before looking up and seeing if the Vitafius family had any more questions.


    Celeria spoke up before Lyvia could ask.


    ¡°I think this has been long enough. I would like for both Ayda and Ania to prepare for the afternoon, and seeing as the morning is coming to its end, I think we should go home.¡±


    The rest of the family agreed, they stood up from their chairs, thanked Lyvia and Daelyn for the refreshments and the tea, and headed for the door.


    While Lyvia and Daelyn bid them farewell with a smile on their faces, Lyvia¡¯s red eyes betrayed her feelings. Her eyes were very clearly bloodshot, as it seemed she had just cried, there was moisture forming in her eyes, ready to leave it in a fit of helplessness, but such a fit never came. She felt the warmth from her son¡¯s hand, and calmed down. He may be a blood warlock, or whatever he was, he was still her son, and that is all that mattered.


    It took several minutes for Lyvia to rid her face of the marks that betrayed her sadness, and as she was about to walk over to Daelyn to play with him, there was another knock on the door.


    Lyvia briskly walked over, assuming that it was the Vitafius family that had forgotten something.


    Unbeknownst to her, it was not a simple toy or piece of clothing that had been abandoned in a moment of ignorance, it was something else in its entirety.

 Chapter 22: A search and a choice.

    <h1>Chapter 22</h1>


    As Cyrus left his former home, he followed the instructions he got from his mother to the letter. While he was planning to do that, he still felt irk. He had finally left his home, he could finally go out into the world, and then he would fall right back into the arms of his mother.


    He was apprehensive at the thought of going back to the family, but he suddenly realised, he wasn¡¯t going back. His mother had made a plan for him to live, to escape this life, she wanted him to live out his life, and she wasn¡¯t going to let his father interfere.


    The moment he realized this, his feet moved, his body accelerated, and he sped away. He was going to follow his mother¡¯s instructions to the letter, and with that, he would leave this place behind. With every step he made, he got one step closer to his new life, to his new home, and to his unchained future.


    He had only received some basic instructions from his mother, involving going to the local market, and waiting for her there.


    She would show up there later, under the excuse that she wanted to buy some groceries. She normally took quite a bit of time shopping, as she socialized with the other women in the village, and would normally enjoy the walk to and from the local bakery.


    He decided to wait on the bench in front of the bakery. He started looking around the small town square, and started to revel in its beauty. The sunlight that pierced through the foliage high up, illuminated the town square, and made it bathe in the golden light as the darkness retreated. As the rays of light descended, they seemed to shine on the fountain in the centre of the square the most. The fountain bathed in those rays, it accentuated the small engravings on it, making them come alive, and it made the water shimmer with the same kind of golden colour, making it seem like the water turned to liquid gold.


    He stood up from the bench, and made his way over to the fountain. While the illusion of liquid gold faded as he came closer, another story unfolded in front of him.


    He looked at the engravings on the fountain, they were like a children¡¯s book, as they seemed to describe a story of peril, death, and destruction. However, every time someone made a scream of dread, aguish, helplessness, or any other form of sadness, a small hope was born. This hope could be in the form of a small rescue boat, a stick lying on the ground, a blacksmith¡¯s offer, or a single gold coin, however, these hopes always appeared. It described how the people made use of these hopes, and through their own effort, they overcame either their enemies, their situation, or their fears.


    Cyrus was completely absorbed by these engravings, as he circled the fountain multiple times to take in as much of it as possible, leading to some questioning gazes of passers.


    As he was completely absorbed by the engravings, he failed to notice the arrival of a loud trio on the square. They did notice him however, and made their way over to him.


    The trio saw Cyrus as a defenceless little lamb, unable to resist anything they would to him, and they thought of the fun that they could have. Well, two of them thought that, the third one pitied him, as he would be placed lower than even him, and he didn¡¯t know what they would do to him.


    The leading boy of the group approached Cyrus, and said with a brisk voice: ¡°Cyrus! You¡¯re out of your house for once! What a surprise!¡±


    Cyrus¡¯ thoughts were undermined by the voice as he recognised it, and was scared. The slowly turned around, looked upon the three boys standing in front of him, and breathed a sigh of relief.


    ¡°What do you want, Fern?¡± He said with an indifferent and sharp tone, as he quickly regained his composure.


    Fern¡¯s face contorted, and he asked with an agitated tone: ¡°Is that how you treat your elders? Especially after you caused that whole incident, and now I have to go through a hard training regime. That is your fault, you know?! So you better be a little more, friendly. Understood?¡±


    Cyrus snickered, before saying with the most dramatic tone he could muster: ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so sorry, great lord Fern! Please forgive this insignificant being for troubling you! You absolutely didn¡¯t instigate the incident in any way, only I am to blame. Please grant me forgiveness!¡±


    He snickered as he saw Fern¡¯s expression contort even more, Cyrus was receiving some great amusement from irritating Fern, as he knew that Fern could not attack him. They were in the middle of the town square, surrounded by adults, and Fern was already on thin ice. If he were to instigate another incident, his father wouldn¡¯t let him get off lightly. Cyrus knew this, and he revelled in it.


    However, before they could continue their little play of insults, they were interrupted. Avary had arrived, and quickly made her way over to Cyrus, and Fern and his goons.


    She was surprised to see Cyrus stand up to Fern like that, but she quickly realized the situation. He used the current circumstances and the surrounding people to make himself immune to Fern¡¯s remarks, and he knew that he would have a safe retreat because of her.


    She was so proud. Her son was able to assess the situation, put himself at an advantageous position, and hammered down on his enemy from that position.


    However, she quickly saw that it would only escalate into a fight as Fern would become more and more angry, eventually he would throw rationality to the wind, and attack Cyrus. Before that happened, she quickly moved over to them.


    She formed a loving and soothing smile, and said with a calm yet proud tone: ¡°Cyrus, honey, it¡¯s time to go. We don¡¯t have a lot of time, and we need to get home quickly.¡±


    Cyrus looked up from the three boys in front of him, only to see his mother standing next to him, bent over, and with an outstretched hand. She quickly took Cyrus away from the three boys.


    Cyrus quickly followed Avary as she walked away from the fountain, and the town square in a brisk pace. She was greeted multiple times by different shop owners and passers, but she either only greeted them, or kept the conversation short. It was clear that she had something very urgent to do, and most people didn¡¯t mind. They had always enjoyed her companionship, and they didn¡¯t mind her being busy.


    However, the three boys left standing were quite stumped by this, as they were suddenly interrupted by Avary, and saw her being unusually hurried. They shrugged it off, and decided that hanging out on the town square wasn¡¯t much fun, instead they went to Minos¡¯ house.


    As the three boys set off, so did Avary and Cyrus. Cyrus did not know where they were headed, but he knew that it was better than where they came from. They hurried through the pathways carved into the trees, with every step they furthered the distance between them and the town square. Cyrus began suspecting that they would leave this small village, and maybe settle in another one. They could also go to a town, or even the capital! Living in the capital would be a lot nicer, and they would be able to go to the national library!


    He would be able to read so much on so many different subjects, he would be able to learn all kinds of magic from those books, he would be able to become strong through his knowledge. If only, if only he could become strong enough for him and his mother to live in peace. He just wanted to continue their peaceful and joyous days of reading books, playing, and exploring the world around him.


    He never really desired something like power, he desired peace, he desired knowledge, he desired happiness, and so much more. However, he knew that to fill those desires, you need power. The heroes all wanted to protect their loved ones, or their kingdom, or something else, and they gained the power for that. Cyrus knew that power is more important than anything else in this world, and those that wield it, are its masters.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    Cyrus kept coming closer and closer to his new home, while its location, or inhabitants were unknown to him.


    As Cyrus was contemplating the meaning behind power, and possible ways to achieve it, Avary was more concerned with the near future. They came closer and closer to her goal, and she could only hope that her plan would succeed, since it depended on the mercy of one family.


    They went further and further away from the village centre, the pathway branched off less and less as there were less houses, and they came closer and closer to their goal.


    They finally reached the pathway Avary desired, and they quickly changed course. After several more minutes of walking, the pathway seemed to reveal a house carved into a tree. Cyrus presumed that this would be his new home, and was very eager to explore it. His expression betrayed his emotions, as a big and heart-warming smile formed on his face.


    While Cyrus was happy, Avary became more and more nervous with every passing moment, contemplating if this really had been the best thing to do. If this would fail, the next best option would be leaving the village, and trying to make a living in a new village, or wandering the country. She did not want this to happen, as it would most likely limit Cyrus¡¯ growth, unless they had a stroke of luck. However, Avary was not going to gamble the future of her son on luck, and resorted to this last measure plan.


    They finally arrived at the door, and with a nervous expression, and a shivering hand, Avary knocked.


    The sound of her knocking seemed to reverberate through the air, as the sound around her drained away, and left her alone with thoughts for a moment. Her mind was filled with horrid scenes of either she, or Cyrus being tortured by her husband, living a life of poverty, or them ending up dead on the side of the road from starvation.


    These thoughts seemed to last an eternity, before they were finally cast out. The door opened, with Lyvia stood in the doorway, and the thoughts vanished like snow before the sun. Her rambled and shattered thoughts quickly gathered, they took in the situation, assessed it, and came up with the best possible solution in only a few seconds.


    The best solution was, begging for her and Cyrus¡¯ life.


    As Lyvia opened the door, she was unpleasantly surprised. Avary and Cyrus Tyrrith stood in front of her, instead of one of the Vitafius family members she had expected.


    Her emotions swelled up, and her expression contorted. She didn¡¯t question the fact that Avary came all the way out here to spite her, and instead focused on the presumed reason she was here. Lyvia believed whole heartedly that Avary Tyrrith came all the way out here, to berate her because of Daelyn, or to berate Daelyn because of his race. The only thoughts that crossed her mind were the possible arguments, insults, and even punches that could be thrown out. She had prepared her mind, and her body for an argument that had the possibility to escalate, and was completely stupefied at what really happened.


    Lyvia watched as she saw Avary Tyrrith, the wife of one of the more prestigious families in the village, get on her knees, and bow in front of her.


    Her forehead even touched the ground, as she bowed as low as she possibly could, and begged Lyvia.


    She begged her with a sincere and nervous tone: ¡°Lyvia Theandor, I have done you and your family little good in the past, and I¡¯m aware of this. However, today I do not come with bad intentions. Instead, I come to ask a favour. Cyrus has been banished for defending Daelyn, and while I do not hold you responsible for this in anyway, I still wish to ask for a favour.¡±


    Lyvia still stupefied, was just able to conjure up a soft ¡®what?¡¯.


    ¡°I wish to ask for a favour, I hope you will hear me out.¡±


    Lyvia¡¯s mind was completely scattered as she had prepared for something completely else. She had never expected that Avary would come to beg for a favour, but as her brain was able to process the information more and more, she became more and more wary. If Avary would come to them and ask for a favour like this, she should be in quite serious conditions, and it also seemed like she was quite desperate. While Lyvia was still shocked, she was cautious of the favour Avary required.


    Lyvia voiced her concern, as her expressions changed from shock to indifference, and she responded with a cold and sharp voice: ¡°What kind of favour?¡±


    Lyvia could see Avary tense up, she could see her flinch, before she stated her favour.


    ¡°My favour is, it is that you take us in, and protect us from my husband.¡±


    Lyvia was deeply surprised at this, and voiced her concerns regarding her favour.


    ¡°What makes you think we are able to defend you against the Tyrrith family? You should be the one that is the most aware of their power, and we can¡¯t just take in a banished child and his mother.¡±


    Avary looked up, and with a desperate tone, she shouted: ¡°But you can call help from your relatives, right? They should be able to crush the Tyrrith family with ease.¡±


    Lyvia¡¯s expression turned sour, as she said with a cold yet awkward tone: ¡°We are not a part of that family, so don¡¯t associate them with us. I don¡¯t have the power nor the willingness to call upon that family.¡±


    Avary was surprised by this, before she lowered her head, lowering it once again to the floorboards, and started letting out tears.


    ¡°Nothing can save us now.¡± She muttered softly.


    Lyvia looked upon the woman in pity. Avary had hoped in all earnestness that she would help her, but it was in vain. Lyvia would never return to that damned family, and neither would she beg them for help. However, she could not turn this woman down. It was not out of pity, or self-gain, but out of recognition. Lyvia recognised her situation, as she was once in a comparable situation. Thrown out from her house, not knowing how to survive, and not having anything or anyone to rely on.


    As she was just about to close the door on them, Avary lifted herself up, and made one last plead.


    ¡°If you can¡¯t take both of us in. Then I beg of you, take in Cyrus. He is a banished child, and while I would love to see him grow up, I would rather sacrifice my own happiness, even my own life, to give him a worthy upbringing. He is a smart, gentle, and hardworking child, and I would hate myself for him to rot away in some back alley. So, please, take him, and protect him.¡±


    Lyvia¡¯s mind was filled with different images as she remembered the first days of her existence outside of her elderly house, trying to survive, hoping for someone to save her, and being disappointed by the people in the world. She remembered the struggles she had to go through to survive that horrid place, the numbness she felt in that time, and the salvation she received by becoming an adventurer.


    She remembered the letter that was in Daelyn¡¯s cradle. They had sworn to give Daelyn a home to where he could return to, something she had craved in those days, something that she would not withhold from her worst enemies, as she did not wish the loneliness, sadness, and desperation she had felt on anyone else.


    She turned around to face Avary, she saw a desperate and broken woman staring at her. She saw a woman with tears in her eyes, a shivering body, and an expression that was filled with helplessness. Lyvia saw herself in that expression, she saw the young girl that was helpless at the hands of the world around her, and she would not let that girl down.


    As she was about to calm the girl, assure the mother, and help a person, she was interrupted.


    From behind the foliage on the route to her house, resounded footsteps, heavy footsteps. There seemed to be multiple as they were racing towards them at high velocity, making the leaves and branches flail like there was heavy wind, and the sounds of forest critters die down, as if there was a dangerous predator.


    Avary turned around and looked on with fear in her eyes, as her husband appeared form behind the foliage with an expression filled with fury. He made his way over followed by one of his most trusted servants, and he was only a few dozen meters away from them.


    Avary quickly grabbed Cyrus, and tried to escape in whatever direction she could. She saw only saw one way out, as her husband blocked her original path, she looked down. She quickly moved towards the edge of the plateau that adorned the house, and was ready to jump as she was impacted by a pole thrown by her husband.


    She flinched from the impact, and fell on the ground. Cyrus stood next to her, with fear in his eyes.


    As her husband arrived, she quickly moved to shield Cyrus from any possible harm. Eldrin didn¡¯t seemed to mind this, and quickly tried to pick her up, only to be met with resistance.


    Despite her inferior physical nature, Avary fought back with every ounce of strength she could muster from her meagre body, and held on to her child. Her hair became dishevelled, her clothes became ragged, and so did her breathing.


    Lyvia quickly moved in to help Avary, and tried to push Eldrin off of Avary, who was gripping her tightly.


    The struggle of the three resulted in Avary being thrown off to the side, as Eldrin used his moment of respite to get Lyvia off of his back.


    He was about to pick up Avary, until he saw the one that caused this. Cyrus.


    Eldrin blamed this situation on Cyrus, he blamed his wife¡¯s disobedience on his banished child, he blamed his wasted morning on him, he blamed him for defending a human, for betraying him, he started blaming Cyrus for everything, and the anger swelled up in him.


    As he roughly picked up Avary, he forcefully parted mother and child by ripping Cyrus from her. Her clothes quickly gave in as Cyrus was ripped away from her, and she even had some marks on her arms from Cyrus¡¯ grip.


    The force of his father¡¯s actions had caused Cyrus to lose his balance, and stumble towards the edge of the plateau, where he fell with his back on the edge, only to have gravity win out, as he fell from the plateau, towards the ground below.


    Everyone saw Cyrus fall off the platform, Lyvia tried to save him by grabbing his feet, but she was too late.


    As Cyrus was in the middle of falling, a window popped up in front of Avary.


    A window with a choice, a choice between her and her son, her happiness, or that of her son¡¯s.


    A choice that would dictate their lives regardless of the outcome.


    A choice of life and death.

 Chapter 23: A parting by force, and shattered love.

    <h1>Chapter 23</h1>


    As the three boys left the town square, they quickly made their way over towards the Tyrrith family¡¯s home. It didn¡¯t take very long, as the house was quite close to the village centre.


    The house was more of an add-on to the dojo, as it was clearly dwarfed by the large structure standing on the ground. The access to the house was hidden behind the dojo, making it clear which building had been there first, and which was an afterthought.


    The dojo, or training ground, was quite large, as it had an outside training area equipped with dummies and different kinds of training weapons, and an inside area, equipped with all sorts of training and real weaponry, which was mainly used for lessons, and sparring. There was also some private training rooms, but the boys had never seen those.


    The building was built mostly out of wood, with stone at its foundation. The doors and windows were made out of thick paper, interlaced with smaller wooden support beams to keep everything in place. While it wasn¡¯t as common to come across this kind of building style, and so it was quite a nice change from the usual wooden structures. The panels were very easily moved, and the inside had the floor covered with mats made out of interwoven straws. It was quite a simple dojo, as it held no great artefacts of power, and there were no hidden compartments anywhere.


    The boys had checked thoroughly for such hidden compartments.


    The three made their way towards the door of the house that was hidden behind the dojo, and knocked on it gently. Only moments later was it opened by Minos, whose expression changed from cautious and apprehensive to joyous as soon as he saw them.


    ¡°Hey guys, how have you been?¡± He said with a cheerful tone.


    Two of the three boys formed a large grin on their face, and they quickly responded: ¡°Good!¡±


    They entered the house, and were once again amazed by the Tyrrith¡¯s wealth.


    The walls were adorned with paintings here and there, the hallways clean as there was no dust to be seen, and most of the furniture in the room seemed like it was still brand new.


    ¡°Come on in, my mother is out getting groceries, so it¡¯s only us and my father.¡±


    As Minos said that, they spotted his father sitting on the couch, and they quickly went over to greet him.


    ¡°Good day mister.¡± They said with an obedient an respectful tone.


    Eldrin looked up from his book, and acknowledged the three boys with a nod, before returning his attention to his book.


    As the three boys turned back to Minos, they were met with a happy and proud smile.


    ¡°So, as I already said. It¡¯s only going to be us, Cyrus is away, and mother is getting groceries.¡±


    One of the three boys was surprised by this, and said: ¡°What do you mean, Cyrus is away? We saw him with your mother earlier in the day.¡±


    Minos turned towards the youngest member of the group, who had voiced his curiosity.


    His expression turned cold, and he said with a tone as sharp as a knife: ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    The youngest member flinched from his expression, before answering his question with a weak and soft voice: ¡°W-well, we saw him earlier in the day standing at the fountain. Fern had a conversation with him, and then your mother took him away. I think she said something about ¡®going home quickly¡¯? Do you know what she meant by that?¡±


    The other two members of the group shook their heads, but Minos¡¯ expression turned sour. As the boys were surprised by this, they were also intrigued by the sudden change of expression. Minos¡¯ father stood up from the sofa, turning their attention towards him. Their interest in his change of expression was quickly cast out.


    He had a cold expression that oozed bloodlust, he turned away from them, walked over towards one of the servants standing nearby, and gave him some quick and clear instructions. The servant nodded and sped off.


    Eldrin turned his expression back towards the boys, walked over to them, and showed a genuine smile, before saying with a soft and calm tone: ¡°Thank you boys for the information, here is one silver, make good use of it. Also, could you two give my regards to Ellith when you go home?¡±


    The boys had swallowed at first, and then had quickly accepted the money. A whole silver! That was enough to buy at least 20 cookies at the bakery!


    They turned towards Minos, hoping that he would share in their joy and excitement at this amount of money, but instead, they found a cold and indifferent expression. They felt the mood, and hurried off, disappearing through the door, and hurrying towards the village.


    As the boys went to make the most out of their reward, Eldrin was more concerned with current matters. He had not expected his wife to choose Cyrus over the rest of the family, but he did not fret long over it. He must act quickly, so that the family isn¡¯t disgraced in the eyes of the public.


    He exited the room, and he went to the dojo, where four of his strongest and most loyal warriors were waiting for him. He would take them, and hunt her down.


    He gave some short and clear instructions, and then they set off. He did not know where she would go, but there were only a few passages that led out of the village, into the wilderness. He sent three of his disciples to these paths, and had one follow him towards the one he suspected the most.


    The pathway he was going towards lead to a town that was close by. He could not let them go there, since finding them there would prove a challenge. He did not have the manpower, nor the influence at the moment to stage a large scale search to apprehend them. He only hoped that he could intercept her before she was gone.


    While banishing a child isn¡¯t that big of a deal, having the mother join the child willingly is. If both the child and the mother leave, that implies that they have been treated poorly, and that would rather live a life of poverty or have a lower status than original enjoyed, just so they could get away from their original family.


    Eldrin would not let his name be smeared in the dirt, even if he had to apprehend his own wife because of this. He would not let his own family smear the name they carried.


    While he was outraged at his wife¡¯s choice, he was equally baffled by it. He did not understand why she would chose that weak and small child over the rest of the family. Why would she chose that failure of a warrior over her husband, and over her other children? He simply could not uncover the reason why she would do such a thing. Why would she give up the riches, influence, and status the family name gave her? Why would she choose Cyrus over them, over everything he had, and everything he stood for? Why?! Why did someone once again betray him? Why?! Why am I always betrayed?!


    These thoughts raged through his mind as it became more and more clouded by the red mist that seeped from those thoughts. His whole mind was enshrouded in a red mist as he came closer and closer to the pathway, until he heard something.


    He heard Avary, he heard her beg for someone¡¯s help. He grinded to a halt as his expression betrayed his astonishment, and he quickly turned towards the origin of the noise.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    He heard the voice of Lyvia question her, he heard her plead for the life of that damned brat! She put that child¡¯s happiness over her own, she wanted that child to grow more than anything else. He was amazed by this, and infuriated. How dare she beg someone to save that banished, human defending piece of scum!


    He sped off towards her voice as the red mist enshrouded his mind more and more. It had taken over his mind, and his rationality was severely altered because of it. He would only be able to see anything through anger at this moment in time, as he was unable to see anything but the red mist now. It enshrouded his vision, his sense of touch, his hearing, it enshrouded every sense he had, it enshrouded his very being. He was furious.


    As he swept aside the foliage with his cane, he saw his wife looking at him from several dozens of metres away. She would not escape him. He saw her desperately try to find a way out, and find it. He saw her gaze fixate on the edge of the platform, before quickly walking over to it with Cyrus in her arms.


    He would not let them escape now, and threw his cane towards her. It may only be a training weapon, but he threw it with enough force to throw her back.


    He was quickly on her, trying to separate her from that damned child, and bring her home, willingly or not. However, he was obstructed by Lyvia who tried to help her, by pushing him out of the way.


    A struggle ensued, and he won in the end. He swept that damned child off of the plateau and picked up his wife, placed her promptly on his shoulder, and left.


    Strangely enough, she did not resist him, she didn¡¯t even make a sound. He didn¡¯t fret over it, and quickly made his way home. He would give her a firm lecture on her behaviour.


    As Eldrin left the scene, Lyvia was baffled by his indifference towards his child, and quickly jumped down, to make sure that Cyrus was okay.


    As she landed on the ground, she quickly rolled to disperse the force. It wouldn¡¯t be good if she let it impact her body too much, and cause some kind of injury.


    As she stood up from her roll, she surveyed her surroundings, but could not spot Cyrus anywhere.


    Just as she was about to start searching the area, she heard something from above her. She looked up, and saw Daelyn trying to get her attention by signalling with his hands, and shouting.


    ¡°Mom! Mom!¡±


    Lyvia recognised his cry for attention with a wave of her hand, and a smile on her face. However, her son started pointing towards a nearby bush as soon as he got her attention, she was a bit surprised at this, but quickly realized what he meant. She quickly made her way over to where he was pointing, and found Cyrus laying atop the bushes, completely unharmed from the fall. She double checked him as she picked him up, but he was completely unharmed.


    No broken bones, no open wounds, not even a single scratch, nothing. He was completely unharmed from falling from at least four stories high. Lyvia was amazed by this, but she was relieved at the same time.


    She had seen Avary beg for her son¡¯s life, she had seen herself in it, and would not let that girl stand there and cry, she would pick her up, console her, and take her in. That is what she did with Daelyn, and that is what she was going to with Cyrus.


    She picked him up, held him close to her, and made her way up the tree, to her home. She walked through the door as she rocked him in her arms, the first step into his new home, was not made by himself, but by the woman that had accepted him into his new family.


    While Cyrus made the first step into his new home, Avary was retracing her steps back to the place she wanted to escape from.


    She was being carried on the shoulder of the man she tried to escape from, and came closer to her home with every passing moment. However, despite all of this, she didn¡¯t resist, she couldn¡¯t resist, she couldn¡¯t even remember any of her son¡¯s torment, or her desperation from the loss of her children.


    Her mind was jumbled, her surroundings were completely quiet, and she only saw darkness. She felt the touch of her husband¡¯s arms, she felt the light breeze on her face, and she felt the occasional brush with the foliage, but she could not hear it, nor could she see it.


    The sensation that hadn¡¯t left her, weren¡¯t being processed. Her mind was scattered, and only the occasional brush with foliage was registered, but there wasn¡¯t any reaction to it.


    They had finally arrived at their home, and as Eldrin opened the door, and sat his wife down, he was astonished. His normally observant and intelligent wife, was sitting on the sofa, with drool coming from her mouth, and an expression that betrayed her obliviousness towards her surroundings, and her obliviousness towards her own saliva dripping down her chin.


    Eldrin was deeply shocked by this behaviour, and he voiced his worries.


    ¡°Avary! What are you doing?! Behave yourself!¡± He said with a loud and commanding voice.


    Avary didn¡¯t turn her head, she didn¡¯t respond to any of his commands, only as he grabbed her arm, did she meet his gaze. Well, she tried to.


    The moment Eldrin looked into her eyes, he saw that her normally purple irises clouded, as if her vision was enshrouded in a thick mist, blocking all sight. Her eyes looked at him, before she returned her gaze towards the original direction, not even acknowledging his presence in the room.


    He was infuriated by this, as his own wife first disobeyed his orders by trying to run away with that banished child, and then did not even acknowledge his existence as he tried to address her faults.


    His emotions flared up, as he felt betrayed by his wife. He felt great anger from her disobedience, from her attempt at running away, from choosing that damned child over her family. He felt anger, and hatred.


    He raised his voice and his hand, and said with an agitated tone: ¡°How dare you disobey me?! Why did you choose that damned child instead of us?! Answer me!¡±


    He held his hand threateningly high in the air, as he grabbed her by the top of her dress, lifted her up and screamed in her face: ¡°Answer me! Do, not, disobey me!¡±


    As his voice became more and more desperate, so did his actions. Avary continued to remain silent, until she felt the impact from her husband¡¯s hand. He had slapped her with a solid back hand, he had brought his hand down upon his own wife, and he continued doing it as his screams became more and more desperate.


    ¡°Why?! Why did you betray us?! Answer me!¡±


    Avary did not take the impact of her husband¡¯s hand lightly, and screamed. She screamed at the top of her lungs, to try and call upon the help of others, to make clear that she was in pain, but it was only met with more violence. She held her hands up in defence, not knowing where the next impact would come from. She protected her face with her arms, and felt the impact of a clenched fist bear down on them.


    The impact caused her to lose balance, and she fell to the ground. She continued to protect her face by holding her arms in place, but instead of screaming, she notified others of her pain in a different manner. She started sobbing, you could hear the sounds of crying coming from behind those arms, and you could see the tear drops fall to the ground as they fell from her cheeks.


    As Eldrin grabbed her arms, and pulled her up, he saw her expression. He saw an expression of fear, and pain. Her eyes were filled with tears, her brows were twitching as she was crying, she was rapidly inhaling through her nose, and as she was raised from her lying position, she released a yelp of surprise, and fear.


    Eldrin¡¯s eyes widened at the display in front of him. He realized that he was once again hurting one of his own kind, he was hurting a dark elf to release his pent up anger. He felt the red mist subside, as he finally became aware of the situation, and his thoughts became more and more scattered as he looked upon his fearful and sobbing wife.


    He tried to scramble his thoughts together, but the memories of torturing his fellow kin flashed before him, the memories of killing that soul mage and his comrades in cold blood, and finally, the memories of him and his wife flashed before him. The pleasant memories of the two of them training, perfecting their techniques, advancing their skills, overcoming challenges together, and the loyalty she had displayed towards him. He was eternally grateful for these memories, and yet, he did this. He shattered the meaning behind those memories by shattering the relation between them, with only one hit. One hit was enough to shatter everything that had been built up through the years, and he was the one to instigate it.


    He took a few unsure steps back, finding support on the sofa standing next to him. As he stood there with shivering legs, he felt a numbness spread throughout his body, he felt his limbs becoming weaker by the second, and as a servant approached to help him, he muttered something.


    ¡°Sorry, sir. Could you please repeat that?¡±


    Eldrin said with an unsure, soft, and nervous voice: ¡°Get her to Elrieden, and find out if she has any kind of curse. Those are the eyes of a blind person, and I know for sure that she could see this morning.¡±


    He walked away after he had given his instructions. He needed to get thoughts in a row, otherwise he felt he would go insane.


    As the servant approached madam Tyrrith, he was amazed to see that she had fallen asleep. Her glazy eyes were closed, her breathing was regular, and she had curled herself up into a foetal position, like she was some kind of child.


    The servant made haste towards the Elrieden household with Avary in her arms. The servant felt Avary shiver from the breeze blowing past them, she felt her cradle against her chest, and enjoy the warmth it provided. It reminded the servant greatly of the eldest daughter of the family when she was but a toddler.


    As she was charmed by the madam¡¯s behaviour, she was equally concerned, as she did not know what had caused this behaviour.


    As she was almost at the house of the Elrieden¡¯s, she was about to find out what the choice of Avary Tyrrith had been. A choice that would dictate Cyrus¡¯ life for multiple years, and Avary¡¯s life for decades to come.


    While her own choice would dictate her life for the coming decades, the choice of her husband would dictate for how long that life would continue.

 Chapter 24: Hope, hatred, and war.

    <h1>Chapter 24</h1>


    Cyrus could only see darkness, before a small window opened to the outside world. The window was quite small, and only displayed the world blurrily. The window grew and grew, it widened from a slit to a large circle, and then the world perceived through the window became less and less blurry. As he was finally able to completely open the window and see the world in its full glory, he had awoken.


    He looked at his surroundings, and was surprised to find that he didn¡¯t know where he was. He was in a room he had never seen. The room had a window on the wall on the left side of the bed, a bookcase filled with different kinds of books opposite of the bed, and a doorway to the right. The floor was made from wooden planks, while the walls were the usual bark that covered most of the houses in Eleanor.


    The bookcase caught Cyrus¡¯ attention, as it was filled with all kinds of different books. Books that seemed to differ in size, thickness, quality, age, and then even seemed to differ in writing styles, as the titles on the covers seemed to differ greatly. Some books had hard leather covers, others were only covered by an extra layer of paper, and some weren¡¯t covered at all, showing their use.


    Before Cyrus could continue his observation of the room, his attention was diverted towards the doorway that bordered the other room. The door was slowly being opened, as the invader tried to open the door as quietly possible, as they were under the notion that he was still asleep, he assumed.


    The door didn¡¯t produce a sound as it was opened, and from behind the wooden door, a face appeared. Cyrus recognised it as Lyvia¡¯s face. It was quite easy to recognise, as she had a defined yet soft cheekbone, light purple eyes, and dark purple lips.


    There was a bit of surprise on her face, but it was quickly replaced by relief, and a lovely smile.


    Cyrus was startled by this, he did not know why he was here, and he did not know why she would form such a smile. The only thing he remembered was standing at their door, his father coming, his mother trying to protect him, and him falling off of the platform that surrounds the Theandor house.


    His expression suddenly turned sour, as he once again scanned his environment. He was searching for something, or someone, fervently.


    Lyvia saw this, and her smile flinched. She knew what he was looking for, and she was saddened that he wasn¡¯t going to find it. She didn¡¯t know what kind of state she was in now, but she knew it couldn¡¯t be a very good one.


    In an attempt to calm him, and divert his attention, she walked up to him, and said with a soft and calm voice: ¡°Hello Cyrus. You must be hungry after sleeping, do you want some porridge, or maybe some roasted acorns?¡± She smiled after she finished her proposal, hoping that it would reach Cyrus, and stop his search for but a moment.


    Despite her efforts, Cyrus was not calmed. He kept looking around the room, and finally focused his gaze on the door. He did not focus on Lyiva, he only focused on the doorway, as he hoped that his mother would walk through that very door, that she would calm him, that she would hold him, and that she would guide him on the first steps of his new life.


    She represented his hope for the future, the future they had tried to forge together, and she represented his hope for finding a new home, a home that welcomed him.


    That hope never appeared, as the doorway remained empty, and his thoughts became more and more jumbled by the void that seemed to encroach on his mind. The corners of the room were turned completely black, as it seemed that a void was taking over the room slowly but surely.


    He felt the tears well up in his eyes, he felt his heart ache, he felt his mind being consumed by his grief, he felt his body shiver, and he felt the helplessness in his very being, as he realized that his hope had been taken away from him, as he realized that he had made the first steps alone, and as he realized that his mother was taken back to the place they tried to escape from.


    As the room was slowly taken over the void, Cyrus was scared. He had lost his hope to his family, he had lost his mother to his family, and he had lost his home to his family.


    Cyrus¡¯ mind was filled with thoughts of desperation as the void continued to encroach, his expression was one of fear, and sadness. His stature seemed weak as his feeble mind was slowly driven to desperation.


    As the void was about to encroach on him, as it had taken over all of the space around him, as it had consumed the whole room, and was about to consume him, he felt a tug. He opened his eyes, and saw that Lyvia had pulled him close to her, embracing him with her arms, and stroking his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be okay. I know it¡¯s sad that Avary can¡¯t be here, but you¡¯re here with us now, it¡¯s going to be okay.¡± She said with a soothing voice, as Cyrus could no longer hold in his pent up emotions, and cried.


    The tears flowed from his eyes, his nose became more and more runny as more and more mucus left it, his body shivered, and his voice sounded like a whale in heat, as he felt the warmth and reassurance of the woman holding him.


    He felt the rhythmic beating, he felt her warmth, he felt her stroke his head with her right hand, and he heard her calming words. Those words penetrated into his very soul, as they reassured him that he was safe, that he was okay.


    After several minutes of crying, Cyrus started to calm down. All of the pent up stress leading up to this moment was relieved as he cried every little bit out, the stress from awaiting his punishment, the stress from being banished, from trying to run away with his mother, the stress from having a weak body in that family, and the stress from losing his mother to that family.


    Lyvia loosened her hold on him, and asked with a calm yet cheerful voice: ¡°I hope that feels better. Now, are you ready to eat something?¡±


    Cyrus silently nodded his head, before Lyvia took him by the hand, and led him out of the room, and into his new life.


    While Cyrus had started to recuperate from the loss of his mother, the Tyrrith household hadn¡¯t.


    They had seen the state of Avary Tyrrith, they had seen how Eldrin had taken out his anger upon her, and they had seen her being taken away to Elrieden. While a lot of the personal inside the house was quite shocked by this, the shock and grief didn¡¯t compare to that of one boy.


    In one room, a small boy was curdled up on his bed, his hands gripping the sides of his head, and his eyes closed. He shivered from time to time, as he tried to process what had happened.


    The last time he had seen his mother, was at breakfast. He didn¡¯t say goodbye to her, because he had retreated from Cyrus¡¯ embrace, after which he had stormed away to his room. He hadn¡¯t given it a second thought, as he thought that she would still be there in the afternoon. He didn¡¯t know how wrong and na?ve he was, and that had cost him.


    Minos had seen his father give his friends money for informing them about his mother, he had seen his father head out with four of the dojo personal, and he had witnessed his father¡¯s return.


    He had seen his father¡¯s rage, and his mother¡¯s pain. He had seen his mother¡¯s inability to react, he had seen her glazy eyes, as they seemed to stare at him, and he had seen her lifeless and empty expression, like there was nothing present in that empty shell.


    He couldn¡¯t recognise his mother, as she seemed to be only a husk of her former self, a lifeless and inept husk.


    He had witnessed how his father scolded that inept husk, and how his father released his anger. The screams of his mother¡¯s pain still resounded through his mind, as he had holed himself up in his room, and as he tried to comprehend what had transpired. He did not know why his mother was like this, why his father had beaten her up, or where Cyrus was.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Suddenly, he realized something. Where was Cyrus? Didn¡¯t mother and Cyrus try to escape from the family, didn¡¯t she try to run away with a banished child? Cyrus isn¡¯t here, and mother is. After she tried to run away with Cyrus, she became this husk, and Cyrus is still gone. Could it be his fault?


    The thoughts crossed his mind, as the screams of his mother and his father¡¯s shouts were pushed to the back. However, they did not disappear, instead, they reinforced these thoughts.


    Mother is an empty husk, Cyrus is gone, mother is an empty husk after returning from her failed attempt at escaping, and Cyrus is still gone. These thoughts of curiosity resounded through Minos¡¯ mind, until one thought formed that pushed them all back, that took his attention by force, and that changed his thoughts from curiosity, to rage.


    Cyrus is still gone, it¡¯s his fault.


    It¡¯s his fault mother is like this! He must have caused this as he tried to run away from father! That damned banished child! I will kill him, even if it¡¯s the last thing I do! I will avenge mother, and I will not let him off without paying the price with his own blood!


    As the screams of his mother and the shouts of anger from his father had reinforced those thoughts of curiosity, they had given birth to dark thoughts. Thoughts of revenge, thoughts of unrelenting vengeance, and thoughts of desperation.


    If I punish Cyrus, mother must come back! If this is all his fault, having him pay would resolve all of this! I would get rid of that banished child, and mother would come back! Thank Eleanor for this enlightenment, as I now have my goal. A goal that must be reached, a purpose that must be pursued, and a quest that must be undertaken. I will bring mother back!


    These thoughts raged through his mind as the desperation took over. Minos started planning his revenge, as he knew that acting brazenly against Cyrus would only cause more friction, as it was seen as uncouth of a family to kill a banished child. If a banished child is killed by the family that banished it, then why did they banish it? It would just seem like they tortured him without purpose, and that wouldn¡¯t do.


    He started to make up convoluted plans that he discarded one by one, he wanted Cyrus dead, but he realized that he wasn¡¯t strong enough yet. He didn¡¯t have enough power, both in terms of battle prowess, and political influence.


    And so, instead of trying to get revenge on Cyrus, he decided to focus on becoming stronger. He was part of the fallen Tyrrith family, and he would need the power that it once governed to seek vengeance for his mother, as his own was far from enough. He did not know where Cyrus was, nor did he have the power to easily kill him at this moment, and as such, he decided to bide his time, he decided to grow stronger, and when the time was ready, strike. He was part of the Tyrrith family, power was only a matter of time.


    As one household held a grudge, and another trudged upon a newly forged path, both looked upon the future with a quest for greatness, and an eagerness for power.


    While the two families set the first steps towards a bright future, a certain council of seven was taking the first steps towards a more grim future.


    They once again sat with in the same position, with Lyrian and Elyvia sitting opposite of each other, and the most imposing presence sitting at the head of the table. He could overlook each of the members sitting there with ease, and his seat was directed towards the door at the end of the hall, the only entrance, and exit.


    The room was in disarray as the six members were fervently arguing, until the man at the head of the table coughed. The whole room fell silent, as they all directed their gazes towards the head of the table. The remaining six figures were sitting there in anticipation for the old one¡¯s words, and when they finally came, they were not pleasant.


    ¡°I wanted to thank you all for coming here once again, it has only been three years since the last meeting, but we have received grave news, and I wanted to inform all of you immediately, so that we can formulate a plan.¡± He said with a serious and thoughtful voice..


    Before he could continue, lady Elyvia was once again too quick with her words, and spoke before she thought.


    ¡°Is it about the threat from the deadlands? Didn¡¯t we already have a plan for that? I mean, if there are more skeletons, then we just need to bolster the numbers, and our fortifications.¡±


    The old one snickered, before saying with an exhausted tone: ¡°I only wish it was this simple. No, we are more likely to face an assault from two fronts. The monsters, and especially the orcs and goblins, of the wastelands are starting to act up. They will most likely try to assault our human neighbours, or us. We don¡¯t know why they¡¯re acting up like this, nor do we know why the undead are acting. It¡¯s really all too convenient to have them act up at the same time.¡±


    The rest of the table remained silent, until Lyrian spoke up once again.


    ¡°If I may speak old one, I may know the cause of the monsters in the wastelands being riled up.¡± He said with a respectful and confident tone.


    The old one¡¯s eyes widened a bit, and he said with a calm and soothing tone: ¡°Please do tell, that would help quite a bit.¡±


    Lyrian adjusted his position a bit, before speaking with a clear and confident tone.


    ¡°Well, we have noticed that there has been a large birth rate of orcs and goblins in the last decade. We don¡¯t know exactly why this is, but we suspect that they¡¯re trying to make up for the casualties they sustained by constantly fighting the undead, and there is the possibility something is happening deeper in the wastelands.¡±


    He paused to let everything sink in, before he continued with the same confident tone.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know what could be happening in the wastelands, since penetrating deeply into it would be very difficult. We would need to send out a small and elite party to scout out what is happening, and they would need to either slaughter their way through thousands upon thousands of orcs, and then find out what is the cause, or they would have to sneak past those thousands upon thousands of orcs.¡±


    The other figures at the table remained silent, as they understood that it would be quite the undertaking, and it wouldn¡¯t be easy. They thought of multiple possibilities to try and get a solution for the situation at hand, and as everyone was still deep in thought, the old one spoke up.


    ¡°I have an idea. We recently got a request from the adventurer¡¯s board from our human allies. They requested to build branch offices here in Eleanor. While I don¡¯t approve of this, and share the same sentiment, I have another idea.¡±


    He grabbed a staff like object that had stood next to him, and he used it to draw the attention of the other members to a certain point on the map.


    ¡°Here we have the forest, and a little to the east, into the wastelands, there is a small mountain chain. I think we should try and build multiple fortresses there, and have them build adventurer branches there. They can help with the exterminations on the edges of the forest, and they can focus on killing as much of the monsters in the wastelands as possible. The fortress could be fortified by both humans and dark elves, both increasing our standing with the human kingdoms, and increasing our defences.¡±


    The other six figures at the table nodded in approval at the idea, but while they were in agreement that it was a good idea, there were still some worries. Lyrian was the first to voice his worries, and said with a thoughtful voice: ¡°But how are we going to build those fortresses? We¡¯re already using up a lot of manpower defending the forest, how are we going to push the orcs back, and how are we going to conquer enough territory to enable the build of such a fortress?¡±


    The old one sighed before saying: ¡°I know you¡¯re not going to like this. But you have all heard of the newly formed magic school in the country of Malgami. I think we should ask both the country and the school to aid us in our efforts.¡±


    The moment the old one finished his sentence, the other six figures voiced their complaints. They voiced them very loudly.


    ¡°You couldn¡¯t possibly mean to beg for the help of dark mages or blood mages?! How could we proud dark elves live with ourselves if that happens?!¡± Said Elvyia with a loud and angered voice.


    ¡°We don¡¯t need the help of humans to defend our own territory! We aren¡¯t some weak second rate dark elf kingdom! We are the proud forest kingdom of Eleanor!¡± Resounded from the right of Elyvia.


    ¡°Your pride and honour is going to get us killed! You damned religious fanatic!¡± Resounded from the left of Lyrian.


    Before the figures could continue, the old one put up his hand, signalling that they should remain silent. He spoke with a soft voice that seemed to echo through the whole chamber.


    ¡°While I know that you may not like it, I know some dark mages myself, and I know for a fact that they¡¯re the best at fighting hordes of creatures, since they can summon their own hordes. If we want this project to succeed with as little casualties as possible, it is needed that we ask for their help. My goal is to protect this forest, and its inhabitants. Yours should be the same.¡±


    The remaining six figures looked at the old one with understanding, but it was clear that they didn¡¯t agree with his sentiments. Before they could voice their arguments, the old one spoke again.


    ¡°I want to let all of you think about it, try to do some research, and if you still disagree with me then, come up with another plan. The meeting is dismissed, I hope to see all of you in two years¡¯ time, so that we can discuss this once again. Until then, we continue with the current plan, and we fortify our eastern borders with the wastelands. Understood?¡±


    The remaining figures at the table stood up as one, and left. Leaving the old one alone in the chamber, wondering how the future of this forest would pan out, as building those fortresses with the help of dark and blood mages would essentially give them a place to live.


    He could only worry, as he did not know where the future would take this forest. He could only hope for the best, and prepare for the worst.


    His mindset was wise, as giving dark and blood mages a home would create the entry to an age of turmoil, and an age of power. Preparing for the worst, is the best thing to do, when faced with such a grim future.

 Chapter 25: The library and different types of mana.

    <h1>Chapter 25</h1>


    The rest of the week passed leisurely, as both Cyrus and Daelyn had to get accustomed to each other¡¯s presence. They had far from expected that they would be living together in such a short amount of time, and they certainly hadn¡¯t expected the circumstances in which it happened.


    Well, Daelyn hadn¡¯t expected the circumstances. After they had left the playdate, he had only thought about the more positive outcomes, and he had never expected this.


    While they did live together, Daelyn was worried about Cyrus. He was worried that Cyrus might hold him responsible for the events that had transpired, he was worried that living with him wasn¡¯t any different from living with his family, and he was worried about Cyrus¡¯ mother.


    Daelyn hoped that Avary was okay. Despite her hostile stance against humans, Daelyn had heard that she had treasured Cyrus, and he had seen her beg for Lyvia to save his life. Daelyn hoped that she was okay, as he did not want Cyrus to live without a mother. Daelyn had felt some detachment to his parents because he is an adopted child, he loves them, and he would never see them as anything else than his parents, but he had a nagging feeling form time to time. A feeling that they weren¡¯t truly his parents, that his real parents had abandoned him, and he hated that feeling. He truly hated it.


    He didn¡¯t want Cyrus to feel the same feeling, as he wouldn¡¯t wish the same uncertainty on anyone else.


    As he was about to voice his worries to Cyrus, as he was about to try and come to terms with what happened, he couldn¡¯t speak, because Cyrus did. They were sitting at the table, as they were eating dinner in silence. He broke the silence, with a sincere and calm voice.


    ¡°Everyone, I was banished from my family and my home, but I found my new home here. So, can I ask you one thing, will you become my family? The past week that I have lived here has been a blessing to me in comparison to my old home, but I felt a nagging feeling that you might not accept me, so hereby I ask you if you will take me in. I may not be very strong, and¡­¡±


    Before he could continue his rant, Lyvia had already embraced him. She held him in her arms, pulled him close, and let her warmth flow over to him.


    With a sweet and soft voice, she said: ¡°What do you mean, you¡¯re already our son. You have been banished by that household, and we have taken you in. We love you for who you are, so you should never be afraid of being yourself here, right?¡±


    She turned towards Daelyn and Grey sitting at the end of the table, and they both replied with a smile on their face: ¡°Yup!¡±


    Cyrus saw the smiles on their faces, and heard their answers. He suddenly felt his cheeks become wet, as more and more water streamed down them, he realized he was crying. He felt the emotions hit him once more, he wasn¡¯t sad anymore, he was happy. He found a new home and a new family, a family that accepted him, and a home that sheltered him.


    As the tears streamed down his face, he formed a smile, a smile that notified every one of the people sitting at the table of his happiness, of his joy, and his love for them.


    As his tears trickled down his face, so did the days trickle by. There were only six days remaining until Daelyn was going to be taught by Orthrus, and despite his effort, Orthrus wouldn¡¯t teach Cyrus. When he was asked why, Orthrus simply stated: ¡°I don¡¯t have enough time to teach two students.¡±


    While this had brought some disappointment, the remaining week was far from a disappointment.


    They had played almost every morning with the four of them. Ania and Ayda were quite surprised to see Cyrus, but they didn¡¯t fret about it. The more the merrier, they thought. Cyrus did help with changing their views of humans, because he was so close to Daelyn. The two of them became very close over the span of such a short time, as they indulged in conversation about varying topics. They talked about almost everything, from the mana theorem they knew, to household topics, to the cleaning they were assigned to do.


    They had talked to much, yet they still hadn¡¯t gotten bored of each other¡¯s company.


    The playtime with Ania and Ayda was fun, as they could do a lot more with the four of them, than with the two of them. It was also quite easy, since you have two pairs consisting of two people of similar stature, since Daelyn and Ania were of similar stature, and Ayda and Cyrus were. This was because of the growth difference between humans and dark elves.


    This difference had already made for some amusing situations, as either Daelyn or Cyrus used their stature to their advantage. Daelyn holding something too high for Cyrus to grab, and Cyrus putting things too low for Daelyn to easily catch.


    The difference in growth had amazed them, and they had done some research about it, and the information they had found was quite surprising. It seems that because of the longer lifespan of dark elves, they mature slower than humans. While it wasn¡¯t a lot slower, there was still a notable difference, as humans normally take 18 years to reach full maturity, dark elves would take 25. Humans develop their core at the age of five, and dark elves develop theirs normally at the age of seven.


    While it was interesting to read about this, Cyrus only became more agitated as they researched the topic more and more, as he realized that it would take a very long time to be as tall as Daelyn. He became a bit agitated, and he became even more agitated as Daelyn started teasing him with it. Earning Daelyn cries of: ¡°You¡¯ll regret it when I¡¯m taller you!¡±


    As they shared this information with Ania and Ayda, they were also a bit flabbergasted that it would take even longer for them to fully mature. They were both a bit stumped at this, as they had not realized that Daelyn would be mature before they would be. When Daelyn would be full grown at the age of eighteen, they would still be in puberty, comparable to his physical maturity at the age of fourteen.


    During the week, this was one of the only times when the difference in races became painfully clear between the four. While the difference became clear, they did not mind it. They had accepted Daelyn as their friend, and they would not change their thoughts on the matter.


    While it was interesting finding out all of this information about humans and dark elves, the girls quickly became bored as the two boys were almost reading the day away. They had to forcefully drag them away from their books, and incite them play with them. The boys voiced their complaints, but they were quickly silenced by glares coming from both of the girls.


    Ania still thought that it was kind of stupid to do these kinds of things, but she was starting to enjoy it by the third day, and so she did not mind.


    The days trickled by as the children played in the mornings, and Daelyn and Cyrus visited Orthrus in the afternoon.


    While they weren¡¯t allowed to see what he was preparing, they were allowed to read the books that were there. Gob normally had a few books for them to indulge in, and with those books, they read the afternoons away. Gob was amazed at the speed at which they devoured the books he had prepared for them, and as he tried to supply them with more and more, he could only fear for the future as he most likely wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up with these two boys. They were reading such complicated books at such a young age, it was astounding for the goblin who had never seen such enthusiastic children.


    The boys had received a lot of books from Gob concerning beasts and monsters, basic information on a lot of different types of magic, and some geography.


    They were quite surprised at the information, as they had not expected it to be so much.


    There were a lot of different beasts and monsters, a lot. The six volumes they had perused through only contained some of the more basic types of monsters, and animals. They were quite shocked at this, as they had not expected there to be so many different monsters and animals in the world.


    As they read through the volumes, they became more and more irritated as the creatures noted in the book were sometimes named animals, and sometimes monster, and couldn¡¯t figure out why. That was, until they asked Gob. He just looked at them with a stupid expression, before saying: ¡°Did you read the glossary?¡±


    The two boys had irritated expressions on their faces as they had asked Gob this, and their expressions turned sour quite quickly as they heard the goblin¡¯s proposal.


    They quickly grabbed the book, and there it was. According to the glossary, the difference between animals and monsters were if they had formed a core. An animal could be strong without a core, but it could hardly trump a monster of the same level. The difference was magic, and the efficiency in absorbing it. For example, an animal would absorb the mana of the animal or monster it killed to progress the formations of its core, while a monster would absorb mana until it reached the threshold, and finally levelled up.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    This was quite surprising, as it seemed like normal animals and more primitive sentient species like goblins, could develop a core over time, but also could absorb enough mana to create one. It was unknown how they did this, but Daelyn had a suspicion. However, he had no way of confirming that suspicion, so he didn¡¯t fret about it, for now.


    While reading about the different kinds of animals and monster in the world was interesting, it did not hold a candle at reading about magic. Daelyn had been explicitly forbidden from using his magic, until the lessons started, and as such, he could only read about it.


    They were quite surprised at the different types of magic, and mana. It seemed that there were four different types of mana, and a far larger amount of different types of magic.


    The four different kinds of mana consisted of pure or normal mana, which was used for elemental magics, space magic, time magic, nature magic, spirit magic, and chanting, the second type of mana was dark mana, which was mostly used for things like necromancy and rot magic, the third type of mana was blood mana, which only had two paths of progression, and that was either blood mage or blood warlock, and the fourth type of mana, was holy magic.


    They were quite interested in all four types, but holy magic piqued their interest, since it was the most interesting one. Holy magic was seen as both an affinity and a type of mana, since it had some inherent properties that would indicate that it is a different type of mana, and some properties that indicated that it should be categorized as an affinity. The most interesting property of holy magic was that it interfered with foreign energies. ¡®Foreign energies¡¯ is the collective name used for the large amount of energies that reside in this plane of existence that aren¡¯t inherit to it.


    They were surprised at this, and quickly asked Gob about energies that weren¡¯t inherit to this plane of existence, Gob gave them a one thousand page book.


    It was titled ¡®The history of the universe¡¯, they thanked Gob for it, but they just wanted to learn about the different planes of existence.


    ¡°Thanks Gob, but we just wanted to know about the different types of existence, and why there are different energies on those different planes.¡±


    The goblin sighed, before saying with a defeated voice: ¡°You know, it isn¡¯t easy to do my work when you two are here. Well, anyway, I will just tell you two. Remember every word I said, I¡¯m not going to repeat. To understand the different planes, we need to understand the energies they hold, and where those energies came from. It all started with the creation of the universe, first there was nothing, and then there was a very, very large explosion. There was an enormous amount of energy released, which either started to form matter, or it became magical energy. However, as both the matter and the magical energies were present, they interfered with each other, and caused things to go bad. The teeny tiny parts of the universe could not form together, as the different types of energies clashed with each other. An example of this are demonic and heavenly energies. If they ever meet, they will inevitably clash.¡±


    Gob took a deep breath, before he continued: ¡°As the energies continued raging around the universe, it was clear that it couldn¡¯t continue like this. So, the different planes of existence were formed. It is unclear if the different planes of existence were forged by some kind of entity, or by a force of the universe itself, but they were formed, and each of them contained their own magical energy. This allowed the energies in the different universes to become less chaotic, and it enabled the teeny tiny bits to actually form larger bits of matter, which you and I are made of.¡±


    As the goblin finally finished the story, he looked exhausted. While Gob was indeed exhausted, the curiosity of the boys was far from sated. Cyrus was the first to voice his hunger for knowledge, with a calm yet eager tone: ¡°Then what do they mean that it can interfere with other types of energy?¡±


    Gob sighed, before muttering something about ¡®never getting work done¡¯, and finally said: ¡°Pure mana does not interfere with that foreign energies, since it is the most neutral type of mana. Mana with affinity aspects bound to them will interfere with foreign energies on a very small scale, blood and dark mana both reject foreign energies, and holy magic, or holy mana, will devour foreign energies. If it ever comes in contact with a foreign energy, it will try to devour it, and it will almost always succeed, unless the holy mana is overwhelmed by the foreign energy. Holy mages are normally the best at combating beings from other worlds, as their magic literally devours the energies of foreign beings.¡±


    While Cyrus had been given some food for thought, Daelyn was starving, and quickly asked: ¡°But, what is holy mana really? I mean I get elemental magic, and dark and blood mana to some extent, but what is holy mana, or magic?¡±


    Gob began to become irritated, and said with an agitated tone: ¡°I don¡¯t doubt they talk about it in that book, I answered your question, now scram.¡±


    The two boys took the quite obvious hint, and decided to try and sate their lust for knowledge in the books that they had been granted.


    Daelyn¡¯s question was kind of answered in one of the books. Holy mana, or magic, seemed to be a type of magic based on the gods of this world. Holy magic isn¡¯t connected to one god, but a holy mage is. Holy magic is more of a type of mana or affinity, that enables the mage to create a strong connection with a god, either through prayer, or by increasing the influence of the god. For example, a holy mage which follows the god of war, loves to fight in large battles, as his god feasts upon the power that such a thing radiates, and it gives the holy mage powers if they please their god. It also seems that the gods didn¡¯t know of the start of the universe, as they had testified themselves that they had no idea who or what had formed the planes of existence.


    It was unclear where holy magic came from, but it was hypothesized that the gods had a hand in creating it, as they wanted to shape champions to take on their roles in the world. While this seemed plausible, it hadn¡¯t been supported with evidence, and so it wasn¡¯t clear if this was true.


    As the boys had gotten a rather clear picture of holy magic, they noticed that they had spent the whole afternoon researching it, and hadn¡¯t even touched any of the geography books Gob had gathered for them.


    They realized that they had too little time to really get into the geography of this world, and so decided that researching the remaining types of mana was a bit more interesting.


    They had a bit of differing opinions on what to read, and they decided that they would research their own topics.


    Daelyn dived in to the research of blood and dark mana, which was very, very prevalent in the collection Orthrus had amassed, and Cyrus decided to research the arcane arts, and arcane magic.


    Daelyn had quite an interesting read, as he took several books from the writers ¡®Alfred Lumenhof¡¯, and ¡®Hans Lumenhof¡¯. Daelyn thought that it was a coincidence at first, but he was pleasantly surprised to find out that they were two brothers who respectfully had dark mana and blood mana. The works complimented each other, and were very interesting to read.


    Dark mana and blood mana, are quite peculiar. They both have inherent properties which belong to them only, and both clash with each other if they were to meet. The first book was from Alfred about dark mana.


    Dark mana is born from emotions of hatred, and desperation. Dark mana doesn¡¯t have affinities like pure mana, it has different uses. For example, a necromancer can also use rot magic, but they normally specialize in one type to advance their craft. Besides that, the utilisations of dark magic are mostly used by either controlling minions, or bonding with another being through force. This is mostly because dark mana can overpower another being¡¯s power, it can interact with souls on a very basic level, it can bind souls to the mage¡¯s mana core, and it can¡¯t really interact pure mana, which is a problem for dark mages, a big one.


    While it can interact with pure mana, they will always clash when they meet, and so a dark mage can¡¯t send out attacks like an elemental mage can, because the dark mana would be quickly dispersed by the pure mana in the air. While there are forms of dark magic that can do the same as elemental magics, the only type that can be used inside of a pure mana area, is auramancy. Auramancy seems to create a field of dark mana, and the dark mage can assault the beings inside of that field either with mental attacks, or by materializing dark mana and using it as a weapon. The latter is a far more advanced form however.


    While dark mana has many utilisations and different paths to take, blood mana only has two path that a mage can take, the path of a blood mage, or a blood warlock. A blood mage uses his mana to influence the blood of other beings. The difference between a blood mage and a water mage influencing blood, is the fact that blood mages can influence the mana that is in that blood, while water mages could only imbue the blood with their mana, causing the blood to become diluted from the added water. As blood mage can use the blood and the mana nestled in it, they can change the structure of another being¡¯s body. This is hard, but is has been done before, as they have managed to crystallize blood in another creatures body. This is quite interesting, as it means that blood mages only have to influence the blood of their enemies, to smite even more. They are a force to be reckoned on the battle field, as they can use their magic to grind through the enemy lines.


    While blood mages use other¡¯s blood, blood warlocks normally use their own blood. Blood mages normally use other¡¯s blood, and their own in only the most dire situations, because using their own would only deplete their health, and it wouldn¡¯t increase the power of their magic, so they normally abstain from using their own. Blood warlocks however, use their own blood only. They break their core, and let the mana flow through their veins. The mana signature is imprinted upon the blood, and the blood becomes laden with the mana from the core. A blood warlock can use his energy laden blood to cast large area of effect spells, that boast a lot of power, but at a very high cost. Blood warlocks use the blood to multiply the efficacy of the mana in that blood. The larger spells blood warlocks have can kill the caster if they aren¡¯t handled with upmost care.


    As Daelyn finally looked up from his book, he saw Cyrus standing there. Cyrus had his arms crossed as he stood on the stone floor, while the dim lighting accented his pose, it seemed like he was only a dark elf shaped object with its arms crossed. He said with an impatient tone: ¡°You know we should have been home a long time ago, right?¡±


    With that one sentence, Daelyn ended his search for knowledge for the day, as upsetting his mother was the last thing he wanted to do.


    She sometimes resembled a barbarian more than anything. He quickly gave the books back to Gob, as the goblin was very adamant about keeping everything organized, and then sped off towards home. He was thankful that Cyrus had waited for him, as he wouldn¡¯t have to take the full blame for his stupidity. He couldn¡¯t help but form a foolish grin on his face as he directed it towards his newfound friend, earning a questioning look from him.


    As the two boys continued their research on their respective topics of interesting, the week quickly went by, and the day arrived when Orthrus was finally ready. The lessons would start, and only Daelyn would be included.


    Daelyn would embark on his journey for power, and Cyrus wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up with him, for now.

 Chapter 26: The hallway behind the wall, and a mana signature.

    <h1>Chapter 26</h1>


    The boys played in the mornings with the two daughters of the Vitafius family, and in the afternoon, they normally read in the library Orthrus lived in. Even at the end of the week, they were still amazed by the library, not only by the amount of knowledge, but also by the fact that it had multiple inhabitants.


    It had become more of a mystery where the two actually slept or ate, as they had never seen any kind of living quarters, despite going through the library multiple times. Cyrus was almost considering going through the iron door to see if there were any living quarters there, but he was quickly talked out of the idea by Daelyn, who had been on the other side. The prospect of a dungeon filled with large and powerful monsters wasn¡¯t a nice one, and so they discarded the idea of entering it.


    However, as the last day finally arrived, Cyrus was bummed out. Daelyn had left in the morning for the library, but he couldn¡¯t follow. He once again noticed the difference between them, as Daelyn would start his journey towards magical prowess far earlier than Cyrus would.


    The morning was just any other they had in the last week, except for the absence of Daelyn. Cyrus was becoming more and more bored at the prospect that he would have to spend the morning alone, as Lyvia was busy with the household chores, and she was busy training. She seemed to always train at the end of the week, she said that she didn¡¯t want to lose her edge.


    While Cyrus understood what she meant by that, as his father had always hammered on the message that ¡®discipline is key¡¯, he was still bored. However, he was pleasantly surprised, as he heard a knock on the door, only to find Ayda standing in the doorway after opening it.


    Cyrus was quite surprised by this, as he had not expected Ayda to show up, since they weren¡¯t being forced to come anymore by their parents. However, as he was about to speak, he was interrupted by her.


    ¡°Cyrus, I can see the surprise on your face. Be a little more considerate, will you?¡± She said with a slightly agitated tone.


    Cyrus was only able to respond with a weak ¡®sorry¡¯, before asking with a hurried tone: ¡°But, your punishment was over, right? Then why did you come back? Weren¡¯t you scared of coming here in the beginning?¡±


    She smiled, before saying with a soft tone: ¡°Well, it wasn¡¯t my punishment to begin with. My sister doesn¡¯t have to go anymore, s she would rather hang out with her friends. I came back because I wanted to play. There isn¡¯t a lot to do at home, as I learn about sewing from my mother, and there are no other kids around, so I came here. Yes, I was afraid in the beginning, but I was afraid of Daelyn. I saw his magic, and it was scary.¡±


    Cyrus was a bit surprised by this, but his surprise was quickly overtaken by interest, as he quickly asked Ayda: ¡°What kind of magic did he use? I know he uses blood magic, but what did he do, and how did he do it?¡±


    Ayda sighed, before looking at him with a glare that betrayed her irritation: ¡°You know, it¡¯s really annoying to deal with your lust for knowledge, same goes for Daelyn. Well, I don¡¯t know how he did it, but the blood that left the wound returned to his body, it seemed to go in weird lines as it was suspended in the air between the parted flesh, and then the flesh started rapidly regenerating. I heard from mom that it looked like the natural healing process, but much, much quicker. I don¡¯t know how he did it though, he seemed kind of stumped afterwards, and he did not tell anyone how he did it.¡±


    Cyrus had an expression of excitement on his face, until the last sentence. He realized that she had already told him all she knew, and he wouldn¡¯t be able to find out more.


    He gave up on prying for information, and instead starting asking Ayda about her sewing lessons. It was surprisingly interesting, as it seemed that even a basic craft such as tailoring, could be enhanced through magic. She told Cyrus that while she was unable to do it, because she had yet to form a core, tailors can imbue their thread with magic, and use if for varying purposes. The main purpose is using it for sewing, but it can also be used in construction, and it can even be used in battle.


    Ayda told Cyrus that Celeria would teach her about sewing, and about the technique behind using a mana infused thread in battle, regardless of her affinity. She said that if she had a magic affinity, it would only help her battle prowess, as she could imbue her thread with her magic. For example, if she gains the fire affinity, she could light the thread on fire, and burn her enemies with it.


    Cyrus was greatly intrigued by this, as he only knew of imbuing weapons with enchantments, or the user¡¯s own magic, but he never thought that the same could be done with a thread used for sewing. He could only wonder what more he could do with mana imbuement, could he use it on almost any object? Could he pick up a single branch, imbue it with a large amount of mana, and have it be stronger than an iron sword?


    He had heard of the basic skill [Mana strengthening] that imbues the muscles with mana, but could he imbue his bones with mana? Could he make his fingernails as strong as steel by imbuing them with enough mana?


    He did not know the answers to these questions, but he was going to research them when he got the chance, but for now, he directed his attention towards an irritated Ayda. As she stood there with an agitated expression. He tried to muster some words to try and plead for himself, before she interrupted him with an agitated tone: ¡°Ahhh, you and Daelyn won¡¯t ever change, will you?¡±


    Cyrus could only stand there, as he could say nothing in his defence. He really didn¡¯t know how he could retort this, as she was completely right.


    After a few moments of awkward silence, she said with a soft voice: ¡°Well, it isn¡¯t a real problem. Let¡¯s play!¡± She said those last two words with a dazzling smile, and Cyrus couldn¡¯t help but give in to Ayda, as they surprisingly started playing ¡®house¡¯. Cyrus didn¡¯t really know what that entailed, and if he could guess, it would be kind of boring. He was pleasantly surprised at the roles they were assigned to play, Cyrus was the father, Ayda was the mother, and Ayda¡¯s doll was the daughter. They had many scenes, such as the husband coming home, the family eating together, and many more everyday events that became a bit dramatic. The husband being scolded for being late, the dinner turning into a food fight, and the scene that they were going to bed turning into a wrestling match. They thought that they were acting out ¡®sex¡¯.


    Cyrus and Ayda played this little game until the end of the morning, enjoying every moment of it.


    While Cyrus was having fun with a girl, Daelyn was having fun with an old man and a six armed goblin. Well, fun is a broad term, especially if it involves being taught magic, and wounding yourself in the process.


    The morning for Daelyn started with going over to Orthrus¡¯ house. He knew the way there by heart, and he only needed to go a small distance over the forest floor to reach the house if he got off at the right platform.


    While the distance was only several hundreds of metres, it wouldn¡¯t be uncommon to see some kind of creatures roaming around, but surprisingly, Daelyn saw none. It seemed awfully quiet as it seemed like there were almost no forest critters nearby. Where the chirps of birds normally resounded through the forest, there were no songs to be heard, where the growls of animals were normally heard, there was only silence, and where the small herbivores of the forest could be seen eating their meal, none could be found. It seemed as if this part of the forest was abandoned by the creatures that inhabited it, like there was a large predator that would sweep up anything that came into its territory.


    Daelyn realized that Orthrus was quite prone to experimenting on animals, and suggested that may be the reason. However, he did not know for sure, and as such, he continued towards his first lesson in magic under the guidance of Orthrus.


    He was quickly led inside by Gob after knocking on the door. Surprisingly, he was brought to a dead end in the library. The dead end was surrounded on three sides by bookcases, with walls behind them, it was poorly lit, and it seemed to be quite far from the entrance of the library. The floor was made from stone tiles as normal, and the walls seemed to be the same material.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    The grey stone adorned all of the walls, as it seemed like the walls towered far above little Daelyn, and the floor could be mistaken for being part of a prison. The only thing that missed were iron bars at the entrance of the hallway leading to the dead end.


    As Daelyn was about to ask what they were doing here, Gob climbed up multiple shelfs on the bookcase on the right side, until he finally reached the desired shelf. He stopped, making sure that all of his five arms had some good grip, until he reached out with the remaining arm, and pulled a book from the shelf.


    He had only lifted the book a small bit from the shelf, until it was forcefully pulled back. The movement of the book was accompanied with the noise of stone suddenly being moved, as the stone behind the bookcase in the middle was slowly shifting to the right. The stone seemed to be moving under the influence of a large number of gears, as the soft sound of gears turning could be heard under the noise of the stone wall scraping against both the floor and ceiling.


    As the wall had been completely moved out of the way, the gears stopped, and another set of gears started up. These gears seemed to be much simpler, and more quiet. They made the bookcase rotate 90 degrees, to let both Daelyn and Gob through.


    The hall was suddenly illuminated as the room behind the bookcase exuded an almost blinding light. Daelyn was surprised by the change of lighting, and had to close his eyes to adjust to it.


    It took several seconds for him to open his eyes, but when he finally did, he was amazed.


    As most of the library and the dungeon was poorly lit with some basic torches, the hallway behind the bookcase was very well lit. It seemed to be lit by stones that were imbedded in the ceiling, which exuded a large amount of light.


    Surprisingly, this hallway didn¡¯t seem like it belonged in a prison. While the same stone walls adorned the hallway, the floor had oak planks instead of the normal grey stone, and the ceiling seemed to be the same in normal homes, it seemed to be made from the roots of the tree above them. Daelyn was quite surprised at this, as he had not expected that the house would be so big that it extended under the tree behind the house.


    It gave quite a comfortable atmosphere in contrast to the rest of the house.


    Daelyn¡¯s thoughts were interrupted by Gob who was already standing in the hallway. Daelyn picked up the pace. as he followed closely behind Gob. He was amazed by the hallway, but also amazed by the large amount of doors present. The doors were made of the same oak wood that the floor was made of, and they normally had some kind of handle, with some doors even having a lock on it.


    As Daelyn got further and further away from his point of entry, he turned around, only to see the wall once again in place. It seemed like it hadn¡¯t made a sound as it closed. They had only walked about 20 metres, and yet it was already closed. Daelyn was quite surprised by this, but his attention was quickly directed back towards the doors.


    The doors didn¡¯t have any kind of window to see the rooms beyond them, and as he was just about to ask Gob about it, they stopped. It had taken several minutes of walking to get to this door, several turns, and even going through two doors which only resulted in more hallways. Gob stood in front of the door, and knocked on it.


    After Gob had knocked, silence reigned for but a moment, until the goblin¡¯s expression turned sour, and he knocked again, harder.


    He did this several times, until it seemed like he was trying to break the door down with his six arms. He smashed them at the door in a rhythmic beating, as if he was trying to break the piece of oak. As the door was about to cave in, the door opposite of the one Gob was banging on suddenly opened.


    Daelyn turned around, and saw an agitated Orthrus standing in the doorway. His expression seemed to ooze bloodlust as his brows furrowed, and his voice rang out throughout the hallway.


    ¡°Gob! What are you doing?!¡±


    The goblin turned around, and his expression filled with anger changed into one filled with regret, and fear. He realized his mistakes, he realized the ruckus he had made, and he realized that his master knew everything.


    Daelyn was quite amazed by the change in expression, but his amusement was short lived as Orthrus directed his gaze towards him. His expressions hadn¡¯t changed, and Daelyn felt the full force of the killing intent directed towards him.


    ¡°Get in here. It¡¯s time to start your lessons.¡± Orthrus said with a cold voice.


    Daelyn followed his orders, as he quickly followed Orthrus into the room.


    The room itself was filled with a chest, a shelf on the right side filled with different kinds of crystals, a bookcase filled with all kinds of books, and three doors at the far end of the room.


    While the room itself wasn¡¯t as impressive, and it reminded him of the simple layout of the library, Daelyn felt odd in this room. He felt like something was missing, like a pressure that normally worked on him was suddenly gone, it felt like he had been able to relax all of his muscles.


    As Daelyn was about to voice his worries, Orthrus interrupted him, and answered his questions before they even left his mouth.


    ¡°I prepared this room specifically for you. In the chest you can store some basic things that you might want to experiment on, , and some basic necessities that will help you survive some failed experiments. The bookcase contains a variety of different books on dark mana and blood mana, and the shelves on the right side contain empty mana crystals. The three doors on the far side of the room are a little special however. They will be the ones that will dictate some of your training. The doors are filled with different densities of mana, as they are meant to help you practise your auramancy. It¡¯s clear that you have some talent for it, and it would be a waste not to make use of it. The four rooms, including this one, all have different mana densities. The mana density in this room is the lowest, and the door on the right has the highest mana density.¡±


    Orthrus waited for a moment so Daelyn could take everything in, before he continued.


    ¡°I will give you some lessons on characteristics of dark mana and blood mana, and later I will teach you some basic spells. However, this is after you have learned to control your power. That is what the mana crystals are for, you will learn the most basic skill of a blood warlock in this room, so you aren¡¯t inhibited by the ambient mana. You will use your mana to fill up those mana crystals, however there is a bit of a catch. Siphoning mana into a mana crystal is not easy, as you need to constantly concentrate to get the desired effect.¡±


    Orthrus paused once again, he could see Daelyn¡¯s expression be filled with anticipation, which surprised him a bit, since he found this an extremely boring task.


    He walked over to one of the shelfs which held the empty mana crystals, took one, and walked back over to Daelyn.


    Daelyn was quite amazed by all of this, as he had no idea that you could change the mana density in a room, but he felt very excited at the prospect of experimenting with his magic.


    He greedily accepted the mana crystal Orthrus gave to him, and he couldn¡¯t hide his excitement as he formed a large grin on his face.


    Orthrus was delighted by Daelyn¡¯s spirit, and started the lesson.


    ¡°Okay, before we start with your magic training, we are going over some basic things that will help you. You know that you will unlock the ¡®system¡¯ at the age of ten, right?¡±


    Daelyn quickly nodded, and Orthrus continued.


    ¡°The variables the system produces, such as your stats, the statistics that represent your powers, or your skills, the quantified progressions of different kinds of magics or actions that you actively of passively perform, are based on your mana signature. The mana signature is consist of two parts, the first part is the core, which holds all of the information such as your statistics, or stats, your inherent physical and magical properties, and your current stamina, health, and mana. The second part consists of your different skills that orbit around the centre part.¡±


    Orthrus took a deep breath, before he continued.


    ¡°The skills are divided into different rings. It isn¡¯t known if there is a limit on the rings that one person can have, but it is limited by the person¡¯s progression with their skills. This means that a person can¡¯t have a lot of skills without first advancing their first or most basic ones. For example, the first ring is a ring which can hold two skills. Normally, if one of these skills has progressed a certain amount, the second ring will be created, which can hold eight skills. Skills which passively strengthen a stat, or increase its effectiveness, are normally situated closer to the core, while skills which only make use of the various energies a person has, such as their health, stamina, or mana, are normally situated farther away from the core. This is because such passive skills establish a stronger connection to the core, and have stronger attraction to the core. This is also true for skills that have higher levels, because they normally require more energy, or are more effective, and thus have more attraction towards the core. This makes it so that the first two rings of a person¡¯s mana signature are normally referred to as a person¡¯s core skillset. Mages are a bit of an exception to this, as their manipulation skills are normally in the core skillset, since they have a very strong connection to the magic that the mage uses, and thus the manipulation skills have a lot of traction, enough traction to get into the core skillset.


    We will start with trying to get to your skillset. You should try and go to the soulspace, and after that, you should try to turn you focus inwards on your own being, the mana signature will be there. Do not look at the core of the mana signature. I repeat, do NOT look at it, you could go insane from the overload of information. Your brain isn¡¯t ready for that type of deal yet, maybe later.¡±


    As Daelyn followed Orthus¡¯ advise, he emptied his mind, and entered the soulspace. Once inside, he started to look inwards, he tried to break through the outer layer that encased his being inside the soulspace, and observe the mana signature.


    As he looked in, there was a large surprise waiting for him, as his mana signature had been changed radically since his awakening. A change which would change Daelyn¡¯s path once again, as his inheritance began to dictate it more and more.

 Chapter 27: Mana signature anomaly and first magic lesson.

    <h1>Chapter 27</h1>


    As Daelyn tried to read his mana signature, he was surprised to find that instead of two, his first ring had three open slots for skills. The ring itself seemed to be made completely out of the fusion between dark and blood mana, and it seemed like it could hold three skills at the same time. Daelyn was a bit startled by this, but he was more surprised by the fact that only two of the three slots had been occupied.


    One slot exuded a suffocating feeling for the people affected by it, a feeling as if the air around Daelyn was replaced with a completely different kind of gas. It felt as if the very energy that the world was made out of was pushed away, to be replaced with an energy that was innate to Daelyn himself. He felt great as he basked in the energy that surrounded him, and as he basked in it more and more, the concept of the skill came to him, it was auramancy. It was the ability to push out your own mana, and create a space in which you have complete reign over the energies that inhabit it. A space that belonged to him, and him only.


    As he felt the intent behind the skill, and understood what it was, he was suddenly launched out of it, and he came back to observing his skillset. He was a bit surprised by this, and as he tried to once again enter the same state, he found that he could only inquire about the basic information that the skill held, the information he already knew, and the understanding he had reached of the skill.


    It seemed like it was only a glossary in comparison to the state he was in earlier, where he felt the current understanding he had of the skill, and where he had felt his understanding continuously expanding as he was in that state.


    As he tried the same with the other skill in the second slot, he was met with an entirely different feeling.


    Where he had the suffocating feeling of the air around him being replaced by a different kind of gas, now the air around him was replaced with a dense liquid. He felt that the liquid was in an odd stage, it was both a physical liquid, and a magical energy. Daelyn felt like he was part of a large and intricate network, a large network which seemed to transport the liquid which was in state of duality. The liquid seemed to be in a dual state of both being in a material, and a magical energy. He felt it flow in this state of duality, making it seem like it was both at the same time.


    However, the most peculiar was the liquid itself, as it seemed to have a mana signature. The liquid seemed to have the characteristic of a being imprinted on it. He felt the form the odd liquid was in, he felt the imprint on it, and he felt it was his. He felt he could manipulate it, he felt like it was an extension of his will, as he was both it, and it was him. He basked in this feeling of being part of the large intricate network, and he basked in the feeling of having complete reign over it. He realized that it was the manipulation of his own blood, and the mana that it harboured. He felt that he could manipulate his blood to become mana, and his mana to become his blood. He felt that it was possible to use energy of the mana signature that was imprinted on the blood, to turn the blood into mana. He felt he could change it, mould it, and use it to his desire.


    Daelyn felt like a sovereign, reigning over his empire, having it listen to his every command, and he basked in the feeling.


    As the feeling reached its climax, he was once again rudely awakened from it. The feeling left him as he returned to his eagle vision of his mana signature. The feeling had left him as quickly as it had arrived, taking no note of his enjoyment.


    He desperately tried to regain the feeling of sovereignty, he tried again and again to achieve it by feeling the skill, by trying to comprehend it, but he only felt the information and understanding that he had associated with it. He did not feel anything else besides that.


    He once again was locked out of that state of enlightenment, and he could only sulk as he couldn¡¯t manage more than the eagle vision of his mana signature.


    He realized that he had seen all he could, and he realized that his lesson was still in session. He quickly discarded his eagle vision of his mana signature, and left his soulspace.


    As he came out of it, he saw an irritated Orthrus. Daelyn was quite confused, as he did not know what he had done, but Orthrus interrupted his thoughts.


    ¡°You were in there for half an hour, what were you doing?¡±


    Daelyn quickly tried to gather his words under Orthrus¡¯ deadly gaze, and as he finally succeeded, Orthrus¡¯ expression changed.


    ¡°I-I was, immersing myself I guess, in my skills. Also, it seems I have three skill slots in my first circle! The first two are already occupied by dark blood manipulation, and auramancy.¡± Daelyn said in an excited and proud voice.


    However, his excited tone was soon followed up with a curious one, as he said with an inquisitive and curious tone: ¡°How did I actually get three slots instead of two?¡±


    Orthrus seemed to be frozen in place as he heard Daelyn¡¯s proclamation. He knew it was possible to gain three skill slots, but it couldn¡¯t be done until later stages! No, it is possible in this case, this might also be one of the secrets of blood warlocks, they always seemed quite secretive about their skillset, this might explain something. He had never understood the reason behind the blood warlock¡¯s secrecy, but he might come to understood more as he observed his disciple.


    While Orthrus was lost in thought, Daelyn quickly pulled him out of it, as he wanted answers for his questions.


    ¡°Orthrus! Don¡¯t get lost in thought! Answer me, please.¡± He tried to accompany his words with a demanding yet persuasive tone, but he could only sound demanding and na?ve in Orthrus¡¯ ears. Daelyn even tried to make some puppy eyes, but Orthrus had been used to far worse than those mangled eyes of a beggar, and he returned Daelyn¡¯s attempt at puppy eyes with a deadly gaze.


    ¡°I am your master, your teacher, not your servant. Remember that, you damned brat.¡± He said with a stern and cold tone as he scoffed at Daelyn.


    He saw Daelyn¡¯s face contort as the little brat realized his plans had been foiled, and Orthrus saw him back down and quietly await Orthrus¡¯ reaction.


    ¡°Well, anyway, I¡¯m not going to always give you the answer, so I will give you a hint. Different skill rings are unlocked because the body can hold more skills. The body is able to hold more skills because it is more acclimated to the pulling force that the skills in the numerous rings require, and as the rings become more numerous, so does the mana signature become more complex, it can wield more traction power, and it becomes more powerful. So what does it mean if it can already hold three skills in the first ring?¡± Orthrus asked like a teacher would, he had a questioning tone, an answer at the ready, and the urge to have his student learn on his own.


    He looked on with excitement as he saw his student freeze up at the question. He saw his expression change from an obedient one, to a thoughtful one. He saw his student put his hand on his chin, and he saw his student¡¯s brows furrow, as the mental struggle on his face become more and more apparent.


    Orthrus received great pleasure from this sight, as it reminded him of himself when he was around the same age, well close to it anyway. He was always struggling with understanding the concepts behind magic, he always wanted to find out the answers behind the complicated answers that were presented him in the sun elf society, he dearly remembered the times he spent with his friends, and his family.


    He also remembered the face of a certain young boy who was very interested in his magic. He remembered it like the day before yesterday, the little boy had taken an interest in him after Orthrus had saved the caravan of merchants the boy belonged to. He remembered the fight very well. The bandits had attacked at twilight, making it hard for them to be spotted by the exhausted caravan guards, which resulted in the deaths of several of them.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Orthrus just happened to be close by, because he wanted to collect some enlarged insect species which were native to the region. They were mostly passive, and almost never attacked humans, but they were quite powerful nonetheless. He had been tracking a particularly strong one for several days, until he came across the battle between the merchants and the bandits. The insect had been squished under the hooves of the mounted bandits as they carried out their charge, and its death had greatly infuriated Orthrus. He had wanted to make it part of a small hivemind project he was working on at the time, and it had just been killed without a reason. He wouldn¡¯t stand for this, and quickly conjured up his most powerful creatures, massacring the bandits.


    The little boy in the caravan had been obsessed with him, as he had never seen such a strong mage, and wanted to learn. His curiosity won out from his fear, and he gained a conviction to learn magic from Orthrus. The boy kept pestering Orthrus to teach him, and just as Orthrus was ready to kill the boy, the boy¡¯s father came to thank him for his help, and asked him to give his son payed tuition.


    Orthrus wasn¡¯t interested in it, as he had to find another one of those insects, until he heard the sum he would receive. He could buy a queen insect with that kind of money.


    Orthrus, being the fervent researcher he was, he quickly accepted the deal, and taught the boy the basics of elemental magic. The boy turned to taming wild creatures in the end, as he had been obsessed with Othrus¡¯ creatures from the beginning. Orthrus was happy that he went down such a peaceful path, as he wanted to refrain from ¡®blessing¡¯ the world with another chimeramancer.


    While Othrus was lost in thought as some obscene memory had sprung up from his past, Daelyn was straining his mind, trying to find the answer to the question.


    So, if different skill rings are unlocked by the core having more traction, does that mean something for the first skill ring? No, the first skill ring has the most traction, so that doesn¡¯t limit the number.


    Daelyn tried to create multiple theories that might be the solution to this question, but he had to discard them every time, until he came across one.


    Orthrus said something about the body being able to handle more skills with more skill rings, right? So, that means that the body must be exceptionally strong to hold more in the first skill ring! No, that¡¯s stupid. That would mean that dark elves have more in the first skill ring than humans.


    Daelyn kept pondering and pondering, but he could only come to the solution that a tougher body would be able to handle more magical energy, and thus have more skill slots.


    He sighed, before he proposing his theory with an unsure voice, as he was quite sure that is wasn¡¯t the right answer.


    ¡°Orthrus, is it because some people have a tougher body that can hold more magic, that they have multiple skill slots?¡±


    Orthrus didn¡¯t respond, as it was clear that he was lost in thought. His eyes seemed absent, his body did not move, and his expression was indifferent, as only the smallest sign of emotion sometimes got through from time to time.


    Daelyn tried to get his attention by shouting: ¡°Orthrus! Can you hear me?!¡±


    Orthrus was quickly snapped out of his thoughts by Daelyn¡¯s shouts, and he looked upon the little boy with an irritated expression.


    ¡°What did I say about being the master?¡± He said with a cold and threatening tone. He leaned back as his threatening gaze made way for one that seemed more befit to his age.


    He sighed, and said with a tired voice: ¡°What is it with you and anomalies? Honestly, you¡¯re the biggest anomaly I have come across. I imagine you want some answers, first what colour was the skill ring?¡±


    ¡°Ehm, they were a mixture of red and black, they resembled the fusion of blood and dark mana a lot, almost identical. Now, please answer the question.¡± Daelyn said with a pleading yet factual voice.


    Orthrus sighed once again. Daelyn looked on in surprise, as Orthrus¡¯ demeanor seemed to radically change. His normally stoic yet inquisitive expression turned to a tired and indifferent one. It seemed like he had aged several decades in the span of a few seconds.


    Daelyn, being startled by the change in demeanour, took a few steps back, and looked on in both shock and awe as he tried to process what could have happened to Orthrus¡¯ demeanour.


    Orthrus noticed his apprehensiveness, and noticed his own demeanour. He let his dark mana flow through his body, as he noticed that the effects of old age were working on him. Being alive for over four centuries doesn¡¯t do a lot of good for the body. Especially for a sun elf who doesn¡¯t bathe in the sun almost every second of the day.


    He sighed, before addressing Daelyn.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry, I¡¯m fine. Now, you were quite close with your answer, but it isn¡¯t that the body can withstand the magic powers it harbours, it¡¯s that it can guide it. It¡¯s quite common for higher level mages to have a third skill slot, as they are more in tune with their element. By being able to guide mana through the body with greater ease, it allows for a stronger foundation and thus opens up the possibility for a third skill slot. However, this is quite uncommon as the mage in question would need to absorb a lot of mana that is attuned with their element, and they would to make it their own. This is even more rare with dark mages and blood mages, as they could go mad if they do not handle the absorption of the mana correctly. The third skill slot is normally unlocked by both the skill ring and the core of the mana signature turning to the element of the mage, and becoming stronger. This allows for stronger traction between the individual rings, and thus allows for more skill slots in a ring.¡± Orthrus said with a calm tone.


    He paused for a second, as he both needed to take a breather, and he wanted to let Daelyn process the information.


    ¡°Well, besides that it is hard to get to that stage by absorbing a lot of mana with the affinity, changing the structure of your body and soul to fit that affinity, and changing the energies governing your mana signature, it also has some downsides in itself. It makes it easier to progress magic or other abilities that are related to that affinity, but it also makes it harder to gain or progress abilities that aren¡¯t tied to that affinity. This means that it is only attractive for mages that specialize in their affinity, but you didn¡¯t really have a choice in the matter, I assume?¡±


    Daelyn was quite surprised at the answer he received, as he didn¡¯t really know what kind of consequences this would have for the future, so he asked.


    ¡°Well, I do think both my soul and body are attuned to the dark blood mana on a high level. Does that mean I won¡¯t be able to get any other magic besides that?¡± Daelyn asked with an unsure and nervous tone.


    ¡°Well, it depends on how much your soul was exposed to. If your body, soul, and mana signature have been completely attuned to your dark blood mana, then it will be far easier to learn and master dark blood magic, but learning anything else will be very, very hard. So, how much of your soul has turned into that red and black colour?¡± Orthrus said with a calm and inquisitive tone.


    ¡°All of it.¡±


    A moment of silence reigned, as Orthrus had to take some time to process Daelyn¡¯s proclamation. As it finally dawned on Orthrus, Daelyn saw him sigh, and Orthrus seemed to age even more in those few seconds than he had before.


    ¡°God damnit Daelyn. I don¡¯t know how this happened, and I don¡¯t care anymore, since I already know the circumstances were absolute batshit insane for something like this to happen. Okay, first things first, you¡¯re going to have to focus on abilities that are attuned with your element, and thus use your blood. You¡¯re going to have a hard time in any kind of one on one combat, so we¡¯re going to focus on creating minions later on. However, your circumstances are unbelievable, so we¡¯re going to wait a little bit with that, until you have become competent in auramancy. You can throw away any hope of learning abilities that aren¡¯t tied to your affinity as skills. It will be very hard to learn any kind of magic, or any kind of ability that uses any kind of energy at its base, as it won¡¯t be able to make use of your blood mana, or even settle into the skill slot because of the fact that both the core and the skill slots are made from dark blood mana. Learning auramancy is your best bet at the moment.¡±


    ¡°How long will that take?¡± Asked Daelyn with a questioning gaze, as his eyes had a tingle in them at the prospect of learning auramancy.


    ¡°Well, if you have some kind of talent for it, maybe a year. If you don¡¯t have any talent for it, two to three years. You can research necromancy, rot magic, and chimeramancy in the meantime, it will help you.¡± Said Orthrus with a thoughtful voice.


    Daelyn¡¯s expression showed his disappointment at the estimate, but it quickly flared up as he realized something, and he voiced his excitement.


    ¡°But, if I¡¯m so attuned to dark blood mana, that must mean that I can learn it in at least a year, right?¡± He said with a hopeful voice.


    Orthrus looked Daelyn in the eye, sighed, and said with an irritated voice: ¡°Being attuned to an element does not mean you have talent in using magic. You may be able to guide the magic easily, but if you don¡¯t know how to mould or shape it, you can¡¯t do anything with it. Talent is something that can¡¯t be gained through magic. If you don¡¯t have talent, you will need to work harder than somebody with talent to reach the same level in the same amount of time. If you can¡¯t understand this, I would recommend that you find another master, otherwise you will just be wasting my time.¡±


    Daelyn nodded, before saying with a voice filled with anticipation: ¡°If I¡¯m going to have to work hard, can we already start the lesson? Then we will be able to see if I have some talent, won¡¯t we?¡±


    Orthrus grinned, before saying with a daring voice: ¡°Whenever you are ready.¡±

 Chapter 28: Practicing magic, failing, and succeeding.

    <h1>Chapter 28</h1>


    As the disciple and the master stood opposite of each other, both looked at each other with a daring glare, as to see who would move first. Surprisingly, the disciple broke his glare, and his expression changed to a questioning one.


    ¡°Orthrus, if mages can unlock the third skill slot if they absorb a lot of an affinity, what about aura users? They normally don¡¯t have an affinity, right?¡±


    The master sighed, and said with a heavy tone: ¡°There really isn¡¯t a limit to your curiosity. Okay, I will answer your question, but this will be the last one. If you still don¡¯t understand it, let me spell it out for you, the third skill slot depends on the strength of the energy that the skill ring and the core of the mana signature are made from. Affinities are normally ways in which pure mana can strengthen itself, affinities are armaments that pure mana can make use of. We guide that mana, either with or without its armaments. Aura users let the mana flow through their body, and normally store it in there. They use it to passively boost their abilities, or actively if they can. Does that answer your question?¡± Orthrus said with an irritated tone.


    ¡°So, aura users can get the third skill slot in their first ring, by getting to higher levels, and having their soul and eventually their mana signature become attuned to the energies that reside in their body?¡± Daelyn said with a thoughtful voice, as he awaited his master¡¯s confirmation on the subject.


    ¡°You¡¯re quite smart for a three year old, you know that? Anyway, it¡¯s normally more common for aura users to have a third skill slot, because the energy in their bodies passively attune their soul and their mana signature. While mages also have some form of passive attuning, aura users have a much greater variant of that, since their energy isn¡¯t holed up in one place like a mage¡¯s mana core.¡±


    Orthrus turned his attention towards Daelyn as he finished his lesson. He looked upon the young boy with a stoic expression as he straightened his back, and stood up right. He towered above the young child with his above average length of 190 centimetres. He was quite the imposing presence, and to embellish his presence even more, he spoke with a stern yet calm voice.


    ¡°Now, it¡¯s time to start your lesson. I will explain what you¡¯re going to do before you start, so that way it will be a bit more clear what is going on. First, you will use the empty mana crystal that is lying beside you, then you will siphon your blood mana into the crystal, make sure that you do not put too much in, otherwise the crystal will break, and finally, you will create an aura inside the crystal. I presume you already have some of the basic information about creating an aura from immersing yourself in the mana signature. You did immerse yourself in the skill, right?¡±


    His question was met with a nod, after which he calmly continued.


    ¡°Good, that will make both the siphoning and the creation of you aura easier. If you¡¯re wondering why we¡¯re training auramancy. It¡¯s because you seem to have a knack for it as you did it on instinct in the dungeon, and both auramancers and blood warlocks focus on one thing, efficiency. They both hate to lose any mana to a slight imperfection, and focus on using their energy as sparingly as possible, since it would be quite troublesome for both to focus on power instead of efficiency. That is especially true for you, since you¡¯re the combination of the two.¡±


    Daelyn looked at Orthrus with a questioning gaze, before saying: ¡°So, if I could choose between a smaller more efficient spell, and a larger more costly spell, I should choose for the smaller spell? Then what is going to defend me if I don¡¯t have any magic for that?¡±


    Orthrus¡¯ stoic face formed a smile, a smile that betrayed his both his excitement and his obsession with the subject, as the smile seemed to belong to belong to a demon obsessed with slaughter, instead of a sun elf, and with while he tried to withhold his emotions, they were clearly heard in his voice as he sounded like an excited yet terrifying child: ¡°For that, you¡¯re going to use the specialty of dark magic. You¡¯re going to make minions! You can either do that with necromancy, chimeramancy, rot magic, or some other kind of dark magic that spawns or creates minions. I already told you that you¡¯re going to learn necromancy. When are you going to learn to listen, child?¡±


    Orthrus sighed, before saying: ¡°Either way, we have been talking too much about the future. Start by drawing on the powers that inhabit your body, enter a state of meditation, and feel the magical energy stream through your body.¡±


    Daelyn listened to Orthrus, and calmed his mind. He emptied his mind of thoughts, he spread his awareness inwards as he tried to scour the insides of his body, he remembered the map of his veins he had made earlier, and followed it. He quickly found the energies coursing through his body, he felt them pulse as his crystal heart pumped them through his body, he felt the duality his blood was in, it had both a physical form, and a form of pure energy, made possible by the continuously flowing of his blood, and his crystal heart.


    He felt the energy in its whole, and tried to influence it. He tried to direct it, he tried to have it bent to his will. He tried to direct it towards the crystal in his hands, but he felt great difficulty doing so. He felt that the energy wouldn¡¯t move, no matter how much he exerted his influence over it, no matter how much he willed it, it did not budge. It seemed like it could only move inside of his veins, and as he was becoming more and more frustrated, he realized that he was an idiot.


    He had felt the walls that obstructed the energy from leaving his body before, and he realized how to overcome them. He focused the energy around his right wrist, feeling that there was a weak part there, and forcing the energy through the thin film that separated the energy from the outside world.


    He felt pain from trying to force his magic through the thin film, and the pain would not subside until the energies were through the film.


    As he pushed more and more energy at the film, it finally broke. He felt warm blood on his wrists, and he felt the energy and blood course out of him. He felt that the film had been broken, and he felt that he could finally use his energy, so he directed it at the crystal.


    He felt the crystal¡¯s outside, and he directed his energy towards it. The crystal had a film comparable to his skin, so he gathered up his energy, and just as he was about to bent the thin film to his will, to take over the thin film that separated the empty crystal and his energies. He directed the energies to break the barrier with an all-out assault, and he was about to try and break the thin film surrounding the crystal, until he was rudely pulled from his preparation by Orthrus.


    ¡°Wrong! Prioritize efficiency! You can¡¯t overpower everything, don¡¯t mindlessly attack it, form your energy, and strike! If you¡¯re going to try and overpower everything, you will die before you become something that even resembles a true master of the dark arts.¡± Orthrus said with a calm yet commanding voice.


    Daelyn heard Orthrus¡¯ scorn echo through his mind, as the energies stopped, and his blood was suspended in the air. He once again realized that he was an idiot, as he realized his mistake. He had focused the energy just before to break through the thin film that separated his mana and the outside air, he had achieved this by bundling up his energy instead of spreading it out, and he was doing the opposite of what he had done before.


    He quickly took hold of his energies, and directed them towards his middle finger. He formed his mana into a spearhead, so he could penetrate the thin film, and invade the empty mana crystal.


    He sent out his energy towards the empty crystal, and felt the spearhead collide with the thin film for a second, before it caved in under the pressure, and a small hole was formed in the film. The hole was being widened by Daelyn¡¯s assault, until it was able to let the energy through. Daelyn felt his energy invade the inside of the mana crystal, and just as he thought that he had succeeded, he heard Orthrus scorn him once again.


    ¡°You¡¯re not done yet, shape the energy into a ball inside the crystal.¡± He scoffed at Daelyn.


    Daelyn¡¯s mind was already greatly strained by this simple exercise, so he was wondering how the old dog thought that he could possibly continue. However, before he voiced his irritation, he remembered a piece of wisdom he had acquired through a lot of pain during his awakening. This kernel of wisdom had cost him a great deal, and he would remember this for the rest of his life, as he knew it to be true. It resounded through his mind as he was about to scoff at the old man, and quickly mad him change his tone.


    Power comes at a price.


    If he wishes to become strong enough to do what he wants, to become strong enough to explore this world freely, he would have to pay the price. He ignored the minor migraine, and continued with the exercise.


    He felt his energy in the mana crystal, he felt it slowly start to fill up the empty mana crystal. As there was enough energy in the mana crystal to create a small aura, he exercised his will on it, and tried to mould the energy to fit his desire.


    He tried to shape it into a ball, but he felt that the energy wouldn¡¯t budge inside of the crystal. He did everything he could to gain access to it, but he felt that it had been disconnected from his body, he felt that the energy inside the crystal had been released from his reign, and he couldn¡¯t get it back under his control.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    This greatly irritated Daelyn, as he was confused why his mana had left his grasp. He tried to get the results by repeating the process another time, but it only served to siphon more mana into the mana crystal, and leave him with a hungry and tired feeling, while the mana in the crystal had still left his influence, and now only supplemented the already present mana in the mana crystal.


    He couldn¡¯t understand why he had lost control over it, but he was quickly corrected by Orthrus.


    With a factual yet disappointed tone, he said: ¡°If you¡¯re wondering what you did wrong, I will tell you. Those energies aren¡¯t yours anymore, they now reside in the mana crystal, and you would need to expend more of your own energy to make that energy do anything. Now, what did you do wrong? If you can answer that question, you¡¯re already a step closer to becoming a competent mage.¡±


    Daelyn was a bit startled, as he had exited his meditation like status to listen to Orthrus, and he did not know the answer to his question. He did not know why he had lost control of his magic after he sent it into the mana crystal, and he didn¡¯t know how he could relegate the possibility of that happening again.


    He thought that the magic was a part of him, and he didn¡¯t know how it could just suddenly leave his grasp, as he regarded it as a part of him.


    Daelyn racked his mind over what could have happened. Did the mana crystal tap away the energy, did the energy leaving his body constitute for him losing control of it? While he could understand to some extent what happened, he couldn¡¯t figure out how to fix it.


    As Daelyn was straining his mind for solutions, Orthrus quietly watched. He recognised his student¡¯s troubles, but he did not interfere. He had already given his student a lot of advice, and he wouldn¡¯t grow if everything was handed to him on a silver platter. There was a price to pay for power, and his student would need to learn that.


    He saw his student struggle with the problem, and decided to give him some advice to progress in the end. Spoiling him would be bad, but not giving him a path to progress on would be worse.


    With a cold tone he said: ¡°Daelyn. If you can¡¯t figure it out, don¡¯t try too hard. The answer isn¡¯t going to come if you don¡¯t have an idea on what to do. Try and meditate for now, that will clear the mind, and it will allow you to observe your energy more. Either way, the answer is right in front of your nose, you just need to find it. However, before you do that, bandage yourself up. There are some bandages in the chest.¡±


    Daelyn intently listened to Orthrus¡¯ advice, and quickly took it, as he saw that the blood flowing from the wound he had made. He started by controlling his blood flow to stop the bleeding, and he slowly made his way over to the chest, as it was taking quite a toll on his mind.


    He felt that using his mana and moving at the same time, was very difficult. He noticed that dividing his concentration between influencing magic, and moving his body was very difficult, as he couldn¡¯t handle both at full throttle at the same time.


    Suddenly, he remembered something, he didn¡¯t need to bandage the wound! He could use the magic he had used when Ania stabbed him to heal himself.


    He was a bit sad as he was already very close to getting the bandage, he was still excited at the prospect of using his magic. He remembered the process of natural healing, and he tried to apply it once again. He remembered that he had to coat the wound with fibrin, and then accelerate the process of mitosis.


    He moved the energies in his body to his will, and he willed them to carry out the process. However, he quickly noticed that it was far from easy. He needed to stimulate the fibrinogen to create fibrin, but he had no idea how to do that. He couldn¡¯t figure out how to let the protein create other proteins, but he did want to finish the process, so he decided to overlook the coating of the wound for now. He reasoned that it couldn¡¯t be such an important step, as his bodily fluids would clear out most of the bacteria.


    He went on to regret that, as the body couldn¡¯t clean the wound correctly, and as Daelyn was accelerating his natural healing process, the wound got infected.


    The rapid regeneration of the cells caused the infection to rapidly spread as it was fed by Daelyn¡¯s blood and magical power. As the process stopped, the flesh had become a mush of green puss, and Daelyn felt great pain from it. He voiced his pain by groaning loudly, Orthrus heard this, and walked over.


    ¡°How in the hell did you do this? I said get some bandages, not infect yourself with a deadly virus!¡± He said with an agitated and astonished tone.


    ¡°Either way, I hope you learned something from this, you can¡¯t use magic for everything. Now, we¡¯re going to have to remove the infected flesh, and then let it heal, naturally, understand?¡± Orthrus said with a wicked smile on his face.


    Daelyn gulped, but quickly complied, as he had read about the different diseases that inhabited the world, and he did not like their descriptions, much less being inflicted with one. Little did he know, Orthrus liked to be sarcastic, and had a habit of being a bit dramatic.


    An hour and a gruesome surgery later, the infected flesh had been removed, and the wound had been tightly bandaged together with some herbs that would prevent further infection, and help the natural healing process.


    Orthrus had hammered those three words in his head by the end of the hour, as he kept emphasizing the word ¡®natural¡¯ to make sure Daelyn didn¡¯t do anything stupid, again. He was quite agitated, but he noticed a change of expression in the boy¡¯s eyes, and his demeanour quickly changed from sour to stoic, as he directed his attention towards his student.


    Daelyn had a fearful look on his face, as his attention seemed to be centred on the wound on his wrist, and his eyes seemed to be apprehensive about going on, as they did not exude the same excitement and anticipation they had before.


    Orthrus saw the fearful expression on the boy¡¯s face, and said with a calming and reassuring tone: ¡°I know it is quite scary, and painful, to perform such an experiment. But don¡¯t you shouldn¡¯t be afraid of it, experimenting is what helps one gain power, and it broadens one¡¯s understanding of their magic, or of a concept this world, or an individual runs on. Experimenting is a good thing, but you should always be careful what you¡¯re experimenting on, and what your experiment entails. Understood?¡±


    Daelyn turned his attention towards Orthrus, and listened to his advice. He realized that Orthrus was given him a piece of wisdom, something that he seemed to rarely give, and decided to take his advice. He knew power came at a price, and the bad results from an experiment is nothing more than the value he would have to pay for the power he desired.


    He nodded vigorously, before he turned his attention inwards, as he decided that meditating was the best thing to do at the moment, as rotating the energy through his body would help the wound recover passively.


    As he entered his stance of meditation, Daelyn noticed that he could feel all the energy flowing through his body in more detail than before, he felt that he could exert his influence more, spread his awareness farther, and inspect every little nook and cranny of his body in even more detail than before.


    He was able to focus his attention on his bodily processes, the slight movements of muscles, the processing of food, and the healing of his wound. He was greatly intrigued by this, as he now could see how the wound was naturally healing, and he could understand the process.


    While he couldn¡¯t see every little detail on a molecular scale, he could see how the wound was slowly coated in fibrin, and he could see how the flesh was slowly starting to reform, as the cells were slowly growing and dividing.


    He decided to observe the process as he meditated. He wasn¡¯t going to try and create a spell that would accelerate his regenerative abilities, for now. He simply observed the process, and stored the information for later use.


    As he noticed that the regeneration of the wound had entered the beginning stages of mitosis, he quickly got bored. He already understood this process, and instead started experimenting with his magic.


    He wanted to find out why he had lost connection to his mana in the mana crystal, and he decided to follow the process step by step in his meditative state. He started by gathering energy once again, and he used a combination of blood and energy to halt the healing of his wound, and allowed a small hole to be formed on his right wrist. He could easily channel his mana through there, and he could have it heal later.


    He guided the energy and blood once again through the hole, and he focused the energy on his palm. He wanted to gathered the energy in his hand, and he tried to mould it. Surprisingly, it went relatively smooth, he could still influence it like it was still part of his body. He moulded it into a ball, into a small knife, and into a cube. His mind was greatly strained from this exercise, as he had been extensively using magic for the last few hours, but he was trying to find out if there was anything that was different about the mana in the mana crystal, and the mana in his palm.


    Suddenly, he found the difference. He found the difference between the mana in his palm and the mana in the mana crystal to be a fairly obvious one, but one that opened countless options for him in the field of dark blood magic. He understood the basic concepts dark mana spells operated on, as he found the differing part between the two mana pools.


    He was connected to the mana in his hand. There wasn¡¯t a physical connection, but a connection made from his dark blood mana that extended from him to the blob of mana. He was quite surprised, as it that the connection was made from a very small amount of dark blood mana, and operated through the hole he had opened up on his wrist.


    He tried to mould the mana on his left hand the same way he had done on his right hand, he repeated the exercises, and strained his mind even more than before, having his headache grow into a full blown migraine, but he noticed the connection between him and the mana outside of his body , and a difference in the mana required as the blob of dark blood mana was farther away from its point of exit.


    While the difference was palpable, it was still there, and Daelyn suspected that it must be because of the connection had to traverse a greater distance before it reached the blob of mana.


    He was very excited by this, and due to his excitement, he fell out of his meditative state of mind. He quickly opened his eyes. They had regained the same glint of anticipation and excitement, as they quickly scanned the room for his teacher.


    As he was about to voice his excitement to Orthrus, he couldn¡¯t do it, as Orthrus wasn¡¯t there anymore. Instead, Gob was standing in the doorway, and said with a calm voice: ¡°Orthrus already left, he was going to research some more. Now, it¡¯s time for you to go home. It is no good for a child to use magic so much.¡±


    The goblin quickly turned away from Daelyn, and started walking down the hallway.


    Daelyn hurried to his feet to catch up with the six armed goblin, as he scampered over the wooden boards that made up the floor, he was happy. He was happy that he had discovered so much about magic in one day, and while he felt extremely tired from using his magic, he was still happy he had made the first steps on the path of becoming a mage.


    His proficiency in manipulating his mana or creating his own aura¡¯s was still far from sufficient to seem competent in any manner, but a journey of a thousand kilometres starts with a single step, and Daelyn had just made that first step. The first step towards magical prowess, and freedom.


    However, as Daelyn would arrive at home later that day, he would once again be reminded that a journey wasn¡¯t without its perils, as he saw the journey of his best friend be obstructed once again by the grief he felt from his former family.

 Chapter 29: An empty house, and an urgent message.

    <h1>Chapter 29</h1>


    As Daelyn followed Gob back through the hallways, he was surprised, as they seemed to take a completely different route from where they entered. Instead of going through multiple doors and a few turns, they seemed to make multiple circles through the different hallways, go down a flight of stairs, go up one, and then they finally arrived at an empty wall instead of one of the many doors that permeated the hallways door.


    The empty wall was once again a dead end, as it seemed to be a cove between two doors connecting to the adorning rooms. The dead end was just as well lit as most of the other hallways behind the library were.


    As Daelyn was about to ask how they were going to proceed, Gob pushed one of the blocks of stone in the wall. The seemed to retract, as when Gob pushed the stone slab back so far that is almost seemed to fall out of the wall, the sound of gears clicking into place could be heard. The stone slab quickly retracted to its former state, as the wall in front of them started moving to the left. The sound of stone scraping against each other could barely be heard, as the underside and upside of the wall seemed to be lined with small conveyer belts that moved the large amount of stone onward.


    As the wall was completely moved, there was still something that seemed to block their way out. Daelyn did not know what it was, and was about to ask Gob, until the six armed goblins walked up to it, grabbed the obstruction with his six arms on the lower side, and lifted it up.


    The object that obstructed their path, turned out to be a large rug, as the fabric of the obstruction bend as the goblin pulled it upwards.


    Gob quickly passed through the hole he had made, and disappeared out of sight. Daelyn quickly followed, as he did not want to be left behind.


    As lifted up the rug, and made his way under it, he left the illuminated hallway behind him, and entered another one of the poorly lit library rooms. However, the large rug had gave way to a room Daelyn hadn¡¯t seen yet. It was an odd room, as it was covered with different kinds of furs and skulls from different kinds of animals, there were different chests and weapon racks seemingly holding all kinds of resources and weapons, and a bed with a small desk in the far right corner.


    Daelyn was quite surprised at the room, as it seemed to be a room where someone would live, instead of a room that belonged to the library. He had never seen any living quarters belonging to either Orthrus or Gob, and he figured he had finally discovered one of the two.


    His astonishment showed on his face, and the six armed goblin puffed his chest with pride, as he addressed the little boy in a haughty tone: ¡°Are you fascinated by Gob¡¯s trophies? I gained everything either from fighting beasts, fighting humans, or they were gifts from master. This is my room, and everything in here belong to Gob! Now, it¡¯s time for you to leave, you should go home. You shouldn¡¯t worry family, they will be sad.¡±


    The goblin ended his plight with a caring tone, as he worried for the young boy, and didn¡¯t want him in his room. He quickly walked over to the corner of the room that was diagonally opposite of the corner where his bed was situated, and grabbed a handle embedded in the floor. He pulled, and the floor opened up beneath him, revealing the top of a bookcase belonging to the familiar and poorly lit library.


    Daelyn was quite surprised at Gob¡¯s action, but he quickly followed the goblin, and found the entrance to the library from his room. He was quite surprised at where they were at the moment, as he had not expected there to be rooms above the library, let alone there to be the living quarters of one of its inhabitants.


    As Daelyn was about to voice his surprise, Gob grabbed his legs and arms with four of his six arms, held the door open with the other two, and set Daelyn down on the bookcase under the hole. He was gently set down on it, but he could not move a muscle, as the goblin used his overwhelming strength to control Daelyn¡¯s movements, as to make sure that the small boy would not fall off the bookshelf.


    As Daelyn was gently set down on the bookshelf, he fell to his knees, as he felt his legs become unsteady from finding a foothold after the goblin took hold of him. He heard the trapdoor above him shut, as the soft thud from the contraption falling into place echoed through the quiet library.


    Daelyn wasn¡¯t looking forward to climbing down the shelfs of the bookcase, as he couldn¡¯t even climb a tree without falling one out of three times, let alone climb down something that could fall down. However, he was pleasantly surprised as the bookcase had a ladder standing against it.


    Daelyn quickly used the ladder make his way down, and wondered if that ladder had been placed there by Gob, as he had seen several ladders throughout the library adorning the bookcases, but he didn¡¯t really know what purpose they served, as Orthrus could easily reach up to even the highest shelfs with his length, but he figured that it must have been for Gob.


    He cut his thoughts short, as he needed to go home. A lot of time had already passed, and he had promised his mother that he would come home directly after the lesson.


    He traversed the library, as he tried to make his way towards the only exit and entrance of the building he knew by heart. While he had been amazed by the different hallways, entrances, and exits of the different rooms of this house, he couldn¡¯t remember a single one of them, as the layout of this house seemed as complicated as a maze. He imagined it must be a nightmare to live in, as one wrong turn would lead to being lost in your own home.


    As he had traversed the sizeable maze of a library, he finally arrived at the door he had come through this morning. He still couldn¡¯t fathom how much time had passed since this morning, and that feeling was only reinforced as he stepped outside. The sun was slowly going down, as the forest became shrouded in the fading light of the twilight. Daelyn was amazed by the forest around him, as he had never seen such a scene.


    The forest was absolutely quiet, there wasn¡¯t any growling, yelping, or chittering from animals. There were no songs from the birds that inhabited the forest, no howling wolfs, no chirping from crickets. There was only silence, as it seemed like the forest had been abandoned by its inhabitants.


    As the absence of the natural flora of the forest, and the fading light of the twilight mixed, they created a surreal scene, as if the world was becoming completely silent. As if a new age was dawning, an age that would experience the slow disappearance of the sun as the world was slowly bathed in darkness, and the night and everything that it harboured would come crashing down on it like a calamity. Daelyn felt that he was in the twilight of everything at the moment, the time where you should prepare for the future, as it would be quite dark in a small amount of time.


    Daelyn quickly discarded the thoughts, as he needed to get home, and the lighting of a small plain in a very, very large forest in a very large world could never reflect the state of that world.


    With a reassuring thought, Daelyn quickly crossed the several hundreds of metres to the closest entrance to the path through the trees, or tree path. Daelyn really didn¡¯t know what to call it, as the long name was irritating, and nobody used something shorter.


    As he arrived at the entrance to tree path, he quickly got on the tree path, and sped off towards his home.


    It took several minutes for him to arrive at the branching path that led to his house. He ran at full speed the whole way, and was completely out of breath as he finally arrived. The branching path was nicely adorned with a fence that made sure people wouldn¡¯t carelessly plunge a dozen metres to their death. Both the path and the fence seemed to be made from the wood of the trees that the forest consisted of, making it seem like it was more of a part of the forest and the trees than anything else.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    He walked the rest of the way towards his home.


    He was once again made aware of the twilight, as the small birds stopped chirping one by one, the small herbivores of the forest made their way towards their homes, and the early predators started waking up.


    It was quite the sight to behold all of this from above, as the dozen metres between him and the forest floor allowed him to bask in the natural glory of the flora and fauna of this forest held.


    He noticed that it was unnaturally quiet as he made the last steps towards the front door. Normally, there would be some kind of sound coming from the inside of the house, as someone would be doing something. Cyrus would be playing, Lyvia cleaning or training, and Grey helping with the household chores or playing with either Cyrus or Daelyn.


    As Daelyn knocked on the door, and it slowly opened as the force from his knock had pushed the unlocked door back a little.


    The house was abandoned, and no one seemed to be present. Daelyn was quite surprised at this, as he had expected everyone to be home. He could understand that Grey wasn¡¯t here, as his work would hold him up from time to time, but he had expected Cyrus and Lyvia to be here, as there wasn¡¯t anything today that would require them to leave the house.


    As he strolled through the living room, he became more and more wary, and concerned. The dining table hadn¡¯t been cleared after lunch it seemed, the toy box hadn¡¯t been tidied up, and what concerned Daelyn most was that the door hadn¡¯t been locked.


    While the chance of being burglarised was very small, there was a chance that a monster or animal would enter the open door, and mess up the house. It has happened that babies were killed by wild animals or monsters that entered the house through an unlocked door.


    As he had finally scanned the whole living room, he turned his attention back to the door, and stared at it with a questioning gaze. He did not know why they had left it unlocked, until he actually looked at the backside of the door, a note was plastered on it.


    ¡®Daelyn, something has arisen, and I¡¯m are going with Cyrus to Elrieden. I¡¯m sorry that we can¡¯t hear about your magic lesson, but there is a serious issue. We will be coming home later in the night, so if you are hungry, just grab something from the kitchen.


    Lyvia.¡¯


    Daelyn was quite surprised at this note, but he did not fret about it for very long. He was worried for Cyrus, but he knew that worrying about it wouldn¡¯t help him, so he could only await their return, and provide Cyrus with any necessary aid.


    As Daelyn settled in and awaited their return, the events that had transpired at Elrieden¡¯s house were quite severe. Daelyn was wise to prepare for their return, as it would bring grave news, and another obstruction for his best friend.


    Earlier that morning, Cyrus and Ayda had been happily playing until lunch. They had played house extensively, and had earned some laughs from Lyvia as they tried to imitate another round of ¡®sex¡¯ by having an even more violent wrestling match. Surprisingly, Ayda won the wrestling match, and as she left Cyrus in the dust, Lyvia beckoned the two over for lunch.


    They had some basic bread supplemented with some fats from the beasts they slaughtered for dinner.


    The two children greatly enjoyed the lunch, and almost wanted to continue playing house during the lunch, until a knock on the door could be heard, and another one, and another one. The knocks seemed oddly hurried, as if the person behind the door didn¡¯t have any time to spare.


    As Lyvia made her way over, with brisk paces, several more knocks resounded through the room, which were met by irritated mumbling from Lyvia concerning something along the lines of; ¡®stop knocking asshole¡¯.


    As she finally made her way to the door, and opened it, she was surprised. Nero Elrieden was standing in the doorway, and he had a hurried yet solemn expression on his face. His breathing was ragged, his clothes had a few nicks here and there, and a small branch was sticking out from his pocket. It seemed like he got here in a hurry, and that he had come by traversing the forest floor, which alarmed Lyvia greatly. She did not know why he would come here in such a hurry.


    As she was about to ask for his intentions, she was interrupted by Nero who spoke with a heavy tone.


    ¡°We need to get to the mayor¡¯s house. There is something urgent going on. I can¡¯t go into details now, but I¡¯m here to escort you and Cyrus there. It is very urgent.¡±


    His message carried a mysterious implication, as the only thing that was made clear is that it was urgent. Lyvia did not like the abscene of details, and she met his gaze with an apprehensive one, and said with a solemn and wary: ¡°I would like to know a little bit more about what could be so urgent.¡±


    Nero sighed, before saying with a quiet voice: ¡°I can only tell the Theandor family and the Tyrrith family about the situation, it can¡¯t be released into the public before you guys know.¡±


    Lyvia understood his intentions, but she replied to him with a stern voice.


    ¡°If you can¡¯t tell me now, I can understand that. We will go to Ellith, but you need to take little Ayda home. We can¡¯t take her home, as he we¡¯re going to Elrieden, and she can¡¯t just walk on her own. She is only three years old! Her mother brought her this morning, so I would rather have someone make sure that she is save.¡±


    Nero¡¯s expression turned quite irritated, but he complied in the end, as he couldn¡¯t just leave a child standing there. He wasn¡¯t going to dishonour the family name, especially if it¡¯s something small like moving a child from one place to another.


    Lyvia quickly moved away from the door, and walked over to Cyrus and Ayda who were still sitting at the dining table. She turned her attention towards Ayda, and said with an apologetic and soft tone: ¡°I¡¯m sorry Ayda, but we need to go to the mayor¡¯s house, so Nero here will bring you home. I don¡¯t like ending the playdate early, so you¡¯re welcoming to come back any time, okay?¡±


    She accompanied her sincere apology with a smile, as she tried to bring the message to Ayda with a soft packaging, as she could hardly say ¡®fuck off¡¯ to the little girl. She hoped that Ayda would understand the message.


    Sadly enough, she took the message the wrong way.


    She met Lyvia¡¯s gaze, as said with a confident and defiant tone: ¡°Can¡¯t I come with you? I want to know what is going on, especially if it concerns Cyrus.¡±


    The child seemed quite cute, as she pleaded to the two adults to join them on their journey, and before Lyvia could respond to the girl¡¯s attempt to persuade them, it was quickly shot down by Nero, who wasn¡¯t going to be soft with the child.


    ¡°We can¡¯t take you with us. Something urgent has come up, and we want the Tyrrith and Theandor family to know first. You will hear about it later when the information is made public, but we want the concerned parties to be informed with their relatives only, as it the news is quite heavy. It isn¡¯t that you can¡¯t come, but it would be better for everyone involved if you didn¡¯t, as coming wouldn¡¯t help anyone.¡± Nero said with a grim tone, a tone which made clear that he wouldn¡¯t allow any room for discussion.


    Lyvia quickly grabbed Cyrus, and headed off towards the mayor¡¯s house, while Nero picked up Ayda, and took her to her home.


    Cyrus had been snatched up from the kitchen chair by Lyvia, and they had quickly left their home. They were speeding along the forest floor, and they were coming closer and closer to the mayor¡¯s mansion.


    Lyvia was quite startled by Nero¡¯s sudden arrival, but she did not let it show, as it would only dishearten Cyrus. She knew that if Elrieden would send one of his sons to get someone, it would be because he didn¡¯t have anyone to spare, and there was a very urgent matter at hand.


    It would take quite a bit of time to reach the mayor¡¯s house, but they were making good mileage, as they weren¡¯t limited by the paths that were carved into the trees. The forest floor was must faster in this regard, as it allowed one to go into any direction, without any real obstacle such as traffic, or the designated paths of the tree path.


    As they came closer and closer to the village centre, they also encountered more and more people. Lyvia shot a bright smile towards most of them, but her smile was only met with a sympathetic and dejected expression, as their expressions seemed to change the moment they saw Cyrus, and they were always the same ones, always filled with sympathy and sorrow for the small boy.


    This worried Lyvia greatly, as sympathy never meant anything good. With the gazes of her fellow dark elves spurring her on, she increased her pace, and tried to traverse the remaining distance to the Elrieden household in an as short as possible timespan, as she was both apprehensive and insistent on finding out what happened. She had adopted Cyrus as her son only recently, and she wouldn¡¯t let that Tyrrith family drag him down once again.


    It took only several more minutes before they finally arrived at the Elrieden household. It seemed to be quite busy, as both civil servants and shamans were walking around at a jogging speed, trying to accomplish their tasks in a couth yet timely matter.


    They were quickly noticed by one of the shamans of the household, and were brought to Elrieden¡¯s office in under a minute.


    As they stood in front of the door, they did not know what to expect, but they steeled their resolve, and entered. They would be greatly surprised, and depressed by the news they would receive, as Cyrus would once again find himself torn between his new and old family, as motherly love bound him to both.

 Chapter 30: A small hope shattered, and another one fulfilled.

    <h1>Chapter 30</h1>


    As Elrieden was busy doing paperwork, he was interrupted by a knock on the door. He directed his attention towards the door opposite of him, and as he looked at it with a stern gaze, a soft sound made its way past the ruckus in the hallway, and into his office.


    ¡°Sir, Lyvia and Cyrus Theandor have arrived.¡±


    Elrieden sighed, as he did not look forward to the conversation. He leaned back in his chair, and his eyes wandered, until they fell on the woman sitting in the chair to his left. He saw the lifelessness that permeated her stature and her expression.


    He sighed, and as his expression turned to a tired and defeated one, he thought of how to deal with the situation, only to arrive at the conclusion that he had no answer. He did not know how to deal with the situation, let alone tell the affected parties.


    He had never seen such an intricate curse, and he feared for the woman, as he did not know what had inflicted it upon her, and the suspicions he had to what it could be, were more unsettling than not knowing at all. He knew that both the Tyrrith and Theandor family would be affected by this, and he knew that it wouldn¡¯t be possible to revert her state, or bring her back to some semblance of self-awareness. He did not know if Cyrus still had some connection to his mother, but if he did, he would most likely be devastated when he saw her in this sorry state.


    Elrieden could only hope that Cyrus¡¯ new family could give him the support he needed, as he most likely wouldn¡¯t be able to process the situation in one go.


    He sighed once again, and beckoned the concerned standing in front of the door to come in.


    While Elrieden called the three in, Lyvia did not notice it, as she had been in thought since she the shaman had announced their arrival.


    A multitude of thoughts raged through her mind on what could possibly be so important that Elrieden would send one of his eldest sons out, and that he would personally address them in his office.


    She knew that Elrieden would rarely call anyone when it came down to civil matters, as he would normally have one of his employees, or on rare occasions his shamans, deal with the problem. It was very rare for him to deal with something personally, and that almost never meant anything good.


    They were finally allowed in, as a soft ¡®come in¡¯ resounded from inside.


    The shaman slowly opened the door, and as the large and heavy oak door opened to a crack, it allowed Lyvia to look inside. She was not happy with what she saw.


    She saw Elrieden¡¯s office with even more paperwork than normal, as it was organised in man high piles of documents with the majority of it standing on his desk, but she could see that he had built himself in as the paperwork besieged him from all sides. However, there was something less amusing and more grim sitting in the chair to his left. Her complexion paled, and her mouth opened in shock, as she stared at the woman she was all too familiar with.


    In a wheelchair to the right of Elrieden sat Avary Tyrrith. It was clear that there was something amiss, as she sat there with a blank expression on her face, as her body radiated indifference, and as her eyes betrayed the absence of any kind of self-awareness. She seemed like a lifeless husk, which only existed only to plague the loved ones of the person it once inhabited.


    The only assurance Lyvia had that she was alive, was that she could see her breathing by the muscle movement of her trachea . She didn¡¯t even seem to react to the noise that accompanied them from the hallway.


    She was completely baffled Avary¡¯s state, and could only gawk in horror as she looked upon the woman who once exuded an aura of pride and grace, as she was now reduced only to a husk of her former spirit, an empty and lifeless husk that carried none of the pride nor grace she had exuded like a blazing sun.


    As her gawking was noticed by Elrieden, he sighed, and said with a calm yet tired voice: ¡°Please take a seat, it has been a long day, and we wanted to inform you of the situation.¡±


    While Lyvia was slowly recovering from her shock, another person had entered the room, and Elrieden¡¯s expression turned to stone as he saw the little boy. His already tired expression seemed to lose the last remaining strands of energy it harboured, and he transformed from the authoritative and imposing presence he normally was, to an old man who would have difficulty doing something as simple as standing up from his desk chair.


    To no surprise, he remained seated.


    As the door was completely opened, it didn¡¯t obstruct Cyrus vision any more, and it exposed him to the naked truth. He widened his eyes from shock as he saw his mother, he had noticed the same change as Lyvia, and he could not believe that this empty husk was his mother.


    Where curiosity had painted his face, now only shock, astonishment, and horror reigned. The small boy couldn¡¯t believe the change his mother had made, and everyone could see it on his face.


    Elrieden could only despair as he saw the little boy¡¯s face. The thought of telling them what had caused his mother¡¯s condition made his heart waver more and more, as he could not bear to see the little boy¡¯s hope be destroyed. However, he steeled himself, as he knew that telling sweet lies would only make the truth taste more sour.


    Just as he was about to speak, he was cut short by little Cyrus. The small boy silently walked over to his mother, his heart pumping in his chest, and his steps unsure. The rhythmic beating echoed through his mind, as the pulse of his heart overtook all but one thought, his mother. The thought of his mother when he had last seen her, the loving woman who was willing to sacrifice herself for him, the gentle mother who had always doted on him, and the only person in that family who wished for him to grow strong in his own way.


    The woman that had granted him respite of the tyranny from his father, was now reduced to a husk of her former self. As he was only a few metres away from him, he was finally able to look into her lifeless eyes, and they caused him to grind to a halt. The flood of memories and thoughts halted, as Cyrus¡¯ vision and psyche was completely focused on his mother¡¯s eyes, as they seemed to expunge any memory Cyrus had of her.


    He stared into the void that inhabited her eyes, and was greatly shocked by the absence of, anything. Her eyes seemed to be empty, as her normally beautiful purple irises were clouded. It seemed like they were enshrouded in a thick fog which blocked all perception, and left her blind. The mist in her eyes seemed to block both her perception, and any signs of life that would normally shoot out from her eyes.


    Cyrus remembered the excitement, pride, joy, and sorrow that would radiate from those eyes, as he remembered how the colour of her purple irises would seem to dim, or brighten depending on her emotions. He remembered how her expression had been changed by those emotions, and how her eyes would exude them like the sun. He remembered the small muscle movements on her face as her expression rushed to match her emotions, but now, there weren¡¯t any muscle movements, her eyes seemed to be lifeless, and the only thing her expression showed was indifference.


    The absence of all of those things betrayed the absence of any kind of self-awareness inside of that husk. This became clearer to Cyrus with every step he took, as every metre closer seemed to illuminate more and more of her lifeless demeanour.


    Despite his astonishment, the little boy forged onward, as he tried to find something that would indicate that his mother was still somewhere inside that husk, as he tried to find some small hope that his mother would return to him, however that hope was nowhere to be found.


    Small details, like frilled pieces of clothing, split hair ends, and other small things that his mother wouldn¡¯t normally allow to exist on her body, revealed that this hope was for naught. He remembered the times when she was preparing for the day ahead, she was always so adamant about making a good appearance, and Cyrus could see that she had failed today. He could see that his hope had failed him, as he spotted all the small details that supplemented his mother¡¯s absence.


    Even as he crossed the last few steps, he could not notice anything that would give a small spark to his hope, instead, it was only dimming more and more, as everything that he saw reinforced the grim thought that she was gone.


    As he finally reached his mother, he laid his hand upon her exposed knee. However, the moment his hand touched her knee, she rebounded in her chair, pulling her knee and her body back as far away from his as possible. She cowered as she got up from the wheelchair, and as she tried run away from Cyrus.


    He could clearly see the fear in her expression, as she tried to desperately get away from him, only to stumble over her own feet and fall. He saw her curdle up in an foetal position, she tried to protect herself by raising her arms to her face, while her fear was clearly shown by her shivering limbs and the pained and high pitched squeal she released. She seemed like a small and fearful child, as she tried to hide herself from the bogyman, only to cause that bogyman to despair. His mind was completely emptied except for the sight in front of him, as he realized that the first emotion that broke his mother¡¯s expression of lifelessness and indifference, would be fear.


    Lyvia was completely shocked by Avary¡¯s behaviour, but Elrieden only sighed, and said with a heavy and tired voice: ¡°This is the reason I called you here. Avary is in a terrible state, and that state is inflicted by a special kind of curse, a contract.¡±


    Lyva turned her attention towards Elrieden, only to meet his solemn gaze with a questioning one, as she did not know what his proclamation entailed.Stolen novel; please report.


    While Lyvia asked Elrieden was such a contract entailed, Cyrus¡¯ tried to scramble his thoughts together, but he ultimately failed, as he could not comprehend what had happened to his mother.


    He couldn¡¯t understand what might have changed her so much. He had seen her only a week ago, and she was still the doting mother he had known since birth, but now, she was nothing more than a doll which responded to the most basic emotions.


    After Avary had left a week ago, Cyrus had harboured some small hope that she could be saved from the Tyrrith family, that she could join him in his new home, and that they could build a new life together under the roof of the Theandor home. As he saw her, that hope was pulverized. That small hope had helped him get over his family, as he imagined every night how she would stride into the living room that next morning, he had imagined it every day for the last five nights, as she sometimes would be wounded, other times she would valiantly stride in and take him to the capital to read as much as he wanted, on the last night, he imagined that she would give him to the Theandor family, and go on a heroic journey to defeat the Tyrrith family.


    However, all these fantasies had one thing in common, she came back. In his childish fantasies, he always had the hope she would come back, and now he realized that that hope was nothing more than a childish fantasy.


    He felt great despair as the thing that had lend him great support in the past week broke into pieces, and as he racked his mind for possible solutions, he could only come to the conclusion that he was too weak. He realized he was too weak to protect his own mother, too weak to ensure her safety, too weak to even give her a small respite from the situation.


    He hated his weakness. He hated the fact that he could not protect his loved ones, and as his hatred grew more and more, a devotion for power was forged in the depths of his despair.


    A devotion to gain enough power to overcome any obstacle, enough power to slay anyone that threatened him, his loved ones, or the peace they reside in, and most of all, enough power to make sure that none of his loved ones would have to suffer again. He hated that he could do nothing but watch as his mother was reduced to such a sorry state, and he decided to devote himself to make sure something like this would never happened again.


    As thoughts of power and a conviction raged through Cyrus¡¯ mind, Lyvia heard what had caused Avary¡¯s state.


    She replied to Elrieden with a serious, yet unsure voice as one could hear that it was hard for her to hold back her emotions.


    ¡°Elrieden, we need to help her. There are ways to subvert curses, right? Why don¡¯t we do that?¡±


    Elrieden sighed, before saying with a tired voice: ¡°I wish that was possible, a contract is a special kind of curse. A contract requires the consent from both parties, but in return, it can have an even greater effect on both of them. I don¡¯t know what is the exact contents of Avary¡¯s contract, as the brand is very complicated, and we seems to be obstructed by some kind of outside force. What I do know, is that there are three conditions Avary needs to fulfil, there is only one condition for the other party, and there is an exchange rate for something at 10:1. I don¡¯t know what the exchange rate is for, nor do I know what the conditions are, but we have some suspicions. However, they are ungrounded superstitions, but we do have a good lead on one thing.¡±


    Lyvia looked at him with a questioning and apprehensive gaze, as he didn¡¯t have any useful facts, and said with a questioning and serious voice: ¡°What is your so called ¡®lead¡¯?¡±


    Elrieden looked at Lyvia with a grim expression, and said with a soft voice that echoed through the room: ¡°We think that the contractor might be the master of deceit, Tzabeo. It¡¯s just a suspicion without much ground to it, but that is what we think.¡±


    Lyvia¡¯s face paled as she realized that it could very well be possible that such a curse could be inflicted by a god, and said with an agitated and nervous tone: ¡°W-why would a god make a contract with someone? And why do you think it¡¯s Tzabeo, this master of deceit?¡±


    Elrieden snickered, before saying with a tired voice that reflected his demeanour: ¡°Well, we don¡¯t know for sure, but it would explain a few things. First, the brand seems to change all the time, hence we think of Tzabeo, god of change and master of deceit, and as quite competent shamans, we¡¯re left almost completely in the dark about this contract. Even the things we could find out seemed like they were done on purpose, so that we would follow his schemes. We think it¡¯s him, because of the scheming nature of the situation, and the constant change the brand experiences, but we don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true, and we don¡¯t how or why he did it. I think only Avary could shed light on that matter, but it is unknown how long she will be in that state. She could be in that state forever, a few days, a few more hours, or she could die from it over a long duration, a short one, or she could live to die of old age. We simply don¡¯t know.¡±


    Lyvia¡¯s face paled, as she realized that there was a large chance that a god could have interfered, but why would the god of change interfere? Would the contract with Avary cause a lot of change in the world?


    Lyvia quickly snapped out of her thoughts, as there were more important matters to attend to.


    With a calm voice, she said: ¡°Okay, I get the situation. Now, where will she be staying? Is she going to be cared for? If not, we could take her in.¡±


    Elrieden formed a smile on his face, as his expression seemed to regain some of its former vigour, before a glint appeared in his eyes, and as his voice boomed with pride, he said: ¡°Thank you for the offer, but we will shelter her here. We can observe any changes in the curse she is afflicted with, and you should not forget that this is the Tyrrith family we are talking about. If she is here, they won¡¯t come looking for her, as we are a neutral faction. Cyrus can visit anytime he wants, if he even wishes to.¡±


    Elrieden nodded to his left, and with his nod, he drew Lyvia¡¯s attention towards Avary and Cyrus. She had seen what happened, and understood Elrieden¡¯s worries. Cyrus must be very affected by this, and it would be her priority to calm him.


    She quickly made her way over to him, and hugged him from behind. She noticed that Cyrus was clenching his hand with great vigour, as his knuckles had turned completely white from the strength his grip exuded, and his arm trembled under the pressure his muscles released.


    Lyvia recognised his feelings, and decided that it wouldn¡¯t do him any good to remain here for longer. They quickly left after they had thanked Elrieden, who personally escorted them to the door, and out of the house.


    As the two had finally left, Elrieden ordered one of the servants to take Avary to the guest room, and let her rest on the bed. She wouldn¡¯t be able to move very much, so it would be wise to leave her alone, as she could hardly hurt herself in that state.


    As the meeting had ended, all parties involved had an adverse feeling about the situation, but one party in particular was writhing in agony after the meeting had ended.


    It was in complete despair as she could not tell anyone what was going on, she was in agony as she saw that she retreated from her son, and she could only feel sadness as her son¡¯s expression changed from a tenderness, to a stoicism. She didn¡¯t want that, she wanted him to look upon her with joy, with happiness, with love, not with such a stoic and devoted expression. She wanted him to look at her like she was his mother, not like she was a religious preacher.


    She had felt a small feeling of joy as he had entered the room, as she saw his tender expression, an expression filled with love for her, but that feeling of joy had been completely wiped out by the end of the meeting by both her body¡¯s reactions to him, and the reaction he had towards it.


    She wanted to tell him that she loved him, she wanted to tell Elrieden what the contract held, she wanted to thank Lyvia for taking in Cyrus, but she could not speak, as that damned body only flinched at the slightest touch of her most loved son.


    She lamented her fate, but she did not regret her choice, as she remembered every little detail of what happened that fateful day a week ago.


    She remembered her husband¡¯s rough handling, she remembered Lyvia trying to help her, and she remembered Cyrus stumbling towards the edge after her husband pushed him.


    In that single moment, she was completely outraged. The despair from losing her children turned into raw anger, as she marked Eldrin as the martyr of her fate, as she realized that he had chased away her children, or send them off to die. Thoughts of rage invaded her mind, as she envisioned her husband as the killer of her children, the warden of that prison he called their ¡®home¡¯, and the martyr that had delivered her to such a miserable fate.


    The emotions raged through her mind as she saw Cyrus stumbling towards the edge. Her mind was filled with despair, anger, and hatred for both herself, and her husband. The emotions were boiling inside of her, but they were all quickly extinguished, as she saw Cyrus fall backwards off of the platform.


    As she saw him fall, only one thing remained in her mind. A scream, a scream of anguish resounded through her mind as she realized that she would lose one of her children to that damned martyr once again. She realized that she would lose the last source of joy in her life, and she realized that her husband would drag her down into his hellish pit. She would not go without a fight, and screamed like she had never done before.


    She felt the energies in her core surge, as her cry of agony consisted of her raw emotions, and as her emotions reached boiled over, all of her energy was directed outwards She screamed with every bit of energy she could muster, she screamed to let someone know of her agony, and a cry of anguish resounded through the forest once again. Time seemed to stop as the raw emotion of her scream seemed to overpower any other sound that would normally resound from the forest.


    Just as her cry of anguish was about to end, it was met with a sickening laughter. The laughter seemed almost ethereal, as she could hear a laugh coming from every direction. It was very high pitched as it seemed to echo through the whole forest. It reverberated through her whole being, as she could even feel the laughter penetrate into her soul.


    The voice spoke, and it boomed over the forest despite its high sound.


    ¡°So, you are in pain, you want your offspring to live. What can you offer in return?¡± The voice said with an ominous tone, as it seemed to directly speak into Avary¡¯s mind.


    Avary showed no sign of hesitation, as she had already taken up the resolve to protect Cyrus by any means necessary. She looked up with a steadfast, and said with a pained yet stern voice: ¡°Everything, I offer my body, soul, and mind to protect the future of my son.¡±


    The voice cackled through her mind, as it said with the same ominous tone: ¡°I don¡¯t need everything, as only a few of your senses will be enough for this. Now, let me present you with interesting deal.¡±


    The moment the voice finished, a window popped up in front of Avary.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td width="604">


    Contract


    You have been offered a contract by Tzabeo, the god of change.


    If you agree to this contract, your body will lose its sense of hearing, its vision, and you will be disconnected from your body.


    It will have a mind so feeble, that it won¡¯t even be able to control itself properly. You will retain your vision and hearing, but you can¡¯t interfere with the outside world in any way, you will have the ties to your body cut, and you won¡¯t be able to influence anything but yourself and the energy that your being harbours.


    In return, Tzabeo will protect Cyrus Tyrrith one year for every ten years you spend in the aforementioned state.


    The contract can be terminated at any time by both parties, but both parties will need to fulfil the terms stated in the contract.


    The contract will be forcefully terminated when either one of the parties does not uphold their end of the bargain, and it will be terminated when Avary Tyrrith influences the outside way directly or indirectly.


    Do you accept?


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td width="295">


    Yes


    </td>


    <td width="295">


    No


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    As Avary saw Cyrus¡¯ foot disappear out of sight as his whole body had left the safety of the platform, she made her choice. She knew she would never regret this choice, as she had been ready to sacrifice a lot more for a lot less.


    She had been predetermined from the start, she would have her son survive, and grow by any means necessary, even if that meant she would die.


    As she steeled her conviction, she lightly pressed ¡®Yes¡¯, and the world fell away around her.

 Chapter 31: Two years flutter by, as the council gathers once again.

    <h1>Chapter 31</h1>


    As Avary¡¯s being inside a white void peered through the small window that granted her a limited view of the outside world, she sighed. She was profoundly irritated at her boredom, as the only thing that her vision could grant her was the sight of the room she had been in for almost two years.


    She would spend most her time inside of this damned room, she was sick of it. She could recall every little detail of the room her vision had granted her, as she had scanned it thousands upon thousands of times, trying to find something interesting to chase away her boredom.


    She had every little detail of the room engraved in her memory in an attempt to escape the boredom this state caused. She had seen the small illustrations on the plinth, she had observed the patterns on the bark of the tree that made up the ceiling and walls, she had looked at every little detail on the floor, she had paid close attention towards the different books sitting in the bookshelf to the right of her, she had cast her gaze upon the frilled bedsheet. She was filled with agony, as she was retracing the observations she had already made a hundred times.


    So, as the outside world lacked any means of entertainment, she turned inwards, as she recalled everything that had led up to this point. She felt the memories flow in as they overwhelmed her psyche like a flood, causing her being to flinch in pain as it had difficulty processing all of it. However, despite the pain, one memory stood out, the memory of the day she entered this sorry state. She cringed as she remembered the events that had transpired that day. She had lost almost everything that day, but she knew that what she had retained was paramount to everything she had lost.


    She remembered her husband¡¯s judgement, she remembered their escape attempt, their failure in escaping, and she remembered the contract that she forged most of all, as it gave her reassurance that Cyrus would survive this ordeal. She did not know what that god had done, but Cyrus had never been bothered by the Tyrrith family again after that day, and he had been able to live a happy and peaceful life since then.


    Each day in this state was agony, as she could only sit in that damned room, and stare at the wall opposite of her. Her body refusing to move her vision even a centimetre in any direction, as it had less intelligence than a slime.


    She had only a few moments of respite from this state of anguish, as she would either be taken outside by the servants of the Elrieden household to enjoy the view the forest provided in all of its glory, or she would be visited by her son.


    While those trips outside of the house did help her fight the boredom, they did not give her the same feeling of joy and relief as when her son visited her.


    She felt great happiness from seeing him sound and sound, but she still felt despair as she was imprisoned in her own body. She was denied the right to experience her son¡¯s growth first-hand, but the stories he told when he visited were enough to put her worries to rest, as he vividly described the adventures he had in and around the Theandor house.


    Stories of them exploring the forest around the village, encountering all types of creatures they had read about, and setting a few traps to capture some. He described attempts at hunting that were thwarted by their inexperience, encounters with some of the more powerful forest critters, which would result in the two boys quickly running back towards the safety of their home, and encounters with the smaller and more docile forest critters, which would sometimes still result in them running home, as Cyrus had asked Lyvia multiple times if they could have a pet, only to be turned down with the reasoning that they didn¡¯t have enough space, and that the animal in question was too weak.


    Avary was greatly amused as she heard those stories, as she could clearly picture the soft red fur of the fox they had encountered, she could visibly see its dark pupils, and the gentle swaying of its tail. She could almost follow them through the routes they took as they patrolled the small area around the house, she didn¡¯t doubt that she could make the simple traps they had crafted from Cyrus¡¯ enthusiastic descriptions, and she could clearly envision their reactions as the two boys had encountered their first monster, a giant forest rat. He described it¡¯s grey fur with hints of green with great detail. He seemed to remember even the smallest detail of its body, as he vividly described its green eye colours, it razor sharp and bloodied claws, and its large size.


    Avary could clearly picture the scene, as if she had been there herself. She felt the memories and emotions that were attached to the encounter carry over to her as Cyrus explained everything in detail, she could clearly picture the oversized mammal coming out from the foliage, she swore that she could feel its gaze land on her, and she felt the overpowering presence that it carried.


    She was frightened yet greatly exhilarated by the story, as every time that Cyrus would visit her and tell one of these stories, she could immerse herself in them, she could feel his emotions, thoughts, and actions clearly, and it gave her great respite from both her boredom and her despair. She felt that every time he came, she would experience his growth and his upbringing, and she would revel in it, as she would feel connected to him, despite her inability to function on a basic level.


    However, while she was enjoying his stories, and while she revelled in connection she shared with him, she felt sorrow. She became despondent every time his stories ended, as she was brought back to reality and realized that this connection was a one way street. She could not respond to the stories he told her, she could not share his joy, calm his anxiety, or chase away his loneliness. She could only watch as he poured his heart out every time he visited. She could only find relieve in the realization that this state would not last forever, and she was greatly excited as she heard his stories about his growth.


    As Cyrus was telling about the start of his training, Lyvia had supplemented the already interesting story with Cyrus¡¯ insistence on becoming stronger despite his young age. Avary was greatly bemused by this, as she was both proud of her son, and amused by the embarrassed expression Cyrus had formed on his face as Lyvia revealed the little boy¡¯s insistence in front of her.


    She enjoyed those moments the most, as she felt that she was truly a part of the conversation, and truly a part of his life.


    Those moments were the ones that reinforced her decision time and time again. She would endure this state, until she knew that her son was strong enough to defend himself. She would refuse to terminate the contract, until she had seen that he could protect himself from the evils that this world harboured. She realized that this might take decades, but she didn¡¯t worry. Dark elves normally live multiple centuries, what is a few of them lost to the safety of her son?


    The days she spend in this state turned to weeks, weeks turned into months, and months turned into years, until she could finally mark the second anniversary of her unmoving state. She was eternally thankful to Cyrus, as he had not only been able to entertain her with his stories, but he had also given her the means to record the number of days that had passed in a meaningful manner.


    With his visits being every other week, she could pinpoint the date simply by recalling them. Every one of them were ingrained in her mind, as they were the brief moments of respite that freed her from the restraints of her mind and body, and allowed her to bask in the joy she felt from her connection with him.


    She had even created a calendar with the ambient energy inside of her soulspace, as influencing the energy around her being was one of the more effective ways she could fight the ever present boredom. With the creation of the first piece of furniture during her imprisonment, she decided to put her proficiency in influencing the energies around her to the test, and created a comfortable chair, a small table to go with it and a large bookcase, which housed all of her memories.


    Every time she would grab a book, she would experience the memory affiliated with it as she read through it. She would read days after days about her childhood, her explorations and discoveries of the capital in her teen years, and the short but precious time she spent as an adventurer.


    Continuously manipulating the ambient energy had led to her gaining great proficiency in influencing mana, as she had been able to gain and level the skill [Mana Manipulation] to level 15.


    While Avary was improving herself slowly but surely during the imprisonment in her own body, the two boys of the Theandor family weren¡¯t being slouches either. On the contrary, they continued to train under their respective tutors, as they made their first steps on the path to power despite the obstacles they had already encountered. Hardship seemed to only serve as an incentive for the two boys, as every obstacle they faced was met with a greedy desire to overcome it.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Cyrus had made a conviction the day he first saw his mother in that awful state, a conviction made from the pieces of his shattered hope. He had forged it in the depths of his despair. He had used the hatred for his own weakness as the hammer, and the despair from losing his mother as the anvil. They had smashed the shattered pieces of his hope into shape, they had moulded them under his guidance, and it had created a devotion for power, and a conviction for peace.


    He carried out his devotion, by restlessly training as he pushed his body to its very limits. Well, he would do that when the time was right.


    He had asked Lyvia just after the meeting to train him, and when they got home, he had asked her once again to train him, and to make him into a warrior.


    She had complied, but under a few conditions, the first condition was that he would listen to every word she said, and the second condition was that he would enact every one of her instructions to the letter, as he was not allowed to do any more or less.


    Cyrus had quickly complied, thinking that he was taking the first steps towards gaining power, the first steps to becoming a force to be reckoned with, his first steps to becoming a full-fledged warrior. However, he would soon realise that he would be taking baby steps, as Lyvia¡¯s training sessions were less gruelling and intense than he had imagined.


    The only thing that was really being pushed was his mind, as he was instructed to study a multitude of different books on battle tactics, resource management, and even some more outlandish philosophical books which talked about the morals and virtues of a warrior.


    He had been training his body, but he had only done it in a very basic manner, and as he felt that he hadn¡¯t changed much over the last two years, he voiced his concerns to Lyvia, only to be rebuffed by her with a quick yet silencing explanation.


    ¡°Why you aren¡¯t training your body yet? If you were to train it now, it would only cause problems for you in the future. The body of a five year old dark elf is comparable to a human between the age of two and three, if you start training now it will only slow you down later on. The books are supposed to learn you a lesson. A warrior without insight to the battlefield is nothing more than a mindless berserker, someone who can¡¯t manage their resources in a meaningful way is nothing more than an idiot, and an individual without a purpose will be lost inside himself. Being a warrior isn¡¯t just swinging around your fists, it is about having a goal, and fighting for that goal.¡±


    While Cyrus was still disgruntled with the situation, he did not retort, as Lyvia had a valid point. Hindering his growth would be the last thing he would want to do, and swinging your weapon around in a circle of death wouldn¡¯t do much to retain a purpose, or your sanity for that matter.


    Despite his understanding, Cyrus was still wracked with irritation at his slow growth, as he had seen the growth Daelyn had experienced over the last two years. He was overwhelmed with jealousy, as he realized once again that Daelyn would thread upon the path to power first, leaving Cyrus in the dust as the little boy was limited by his slower again process. He had considered throwing Lyvia¡¯s advice to the wind many times, but each time he came back to the understanding that being rash wouldn¡¯t help him.


    While it helped him tolerate his slow growth, it did not put his jealousy to bed, as he saw Daelyn come home day after day with an excited yet tired smile on his face, and as that smile betrayed his emotions, so did his words reveal the progress he had made that day under Orthrus¡¯ tutelage.


    Daelyn had made some progress towards becoming an auramancer, as he had practised it almost every day for the last two years since the day his lessons had started. While this greatly irritated Cyrus, it also irritated Daelyn.


    He had not been able to do anything but auramancy. Orthrus had forbidden him from any other kind of dark magic, until Daelyn was a competent auramancer in his eyes. This had resulted in Daelyn practising auramancy for the last two years, as it had taken him several months to even create a stable connection between him and his aura. If it weren¡¯t for his outrageous affinity towards darkblood magic, it would have taken him even longer.


    Orthrus had recognised the lack of talent in his student, and he had given him harsh guidance at every step of the way. He had lectured Daelyn on auramancy for hours on end, and he had scolded him for every mistake he made.


    While Cyrus had longed for intense training, Daelyn had longed for a break from his insane training regime, as the old mage could drive him to despair by having him iron out every little mistake in his aura and the connection to it, only to receive the tiniest bit of praise for his ¡®mediocre¡¯ performance.


    Despite Orthrus¡¯ harsh lessons, Daelyn did not give up. He felt that his auramancy had improved greatly under Orthrus¡¯ guidance, as he was now able to conjure up auras with ease and maintain them in normal mana density for a good hour, and that was without using his heart to increase the aura¡¯s efficiency. He had even been able to maintain his aura in the above average mana density of the second door, but only for a few minutes.


    Daelyn remembered that lesson, as it had been an excruciating one.


    He had made a deal with Orthrus that day. Daelyn had had enough of the hellish lesson Orthrus dished out, and issued Orthrus a challenge. If Daelyn would be able to hold an aura for 15 minutes in an above average mana atmosphere, Orthrus wouldn¡¯t be so strict with his lessons anymore.


    The old sun elf¡¯s grin grew to cover most of his face, before he had complied. The challenge had started shortly after.


    Daelyn had confidence in himself, as he had been able to keep up an aura that engulfed half of the room for at least half an hour in an atmosphere with normal mana density, and he thought that above average mana density wouldn¡¯t make for a large difference.


    He only all too quickly realized his mistake, as the moment he entered the room, he was overwhelmed by the ambient mana. Whereas with normal mana density it provided the feeling of having thick clothes on, above average was like he was submerged in water and his only means of survival was keeping up a flimsy water bubble made from his magic. He felt that his aura was assaulted on all fronts, and whereas he previously could have managed an aura with a four meter radius, now he could barely manage a two meter radius, as he was constantly under assault from the ambient mana that seemed to use battering rams to attack every square centimetre of his aura.


    Daelyn quickly caved in after three minutes, as he had used every possible means of prolonging the duration of his aura. He had even used his heart to increase the efficiency of the mana flow in his aura, but it was all in vain, as he could do nothing but give in as he was met with an overwhelming power.


    He woke up an hour later, and had to endure more of Orthrus¡¯ brutal aura training, as the old man would engage in a game he liked to call ¡®Aura pulling¡¯. Daelyn figured the old man had gotten the name from rope pulling, but he had no idea why he had named it as such.


    Daelyn thought it would be more aptly named ¡®Aura warfare¡¯ as it would entail two auramancers standing off against each other by trying to either overwhelm or penetrate the other¡¯s aura to win. Orthrus had made this game a regular exercise after Daelyn had experienced the above average mana density, causing his efficiency and battle proficiency in auramancy to rise.


    Daelyn had despised these exercises, as they were more akin to torture than anything else. It was basically fighting a losing battle every single day after comparable intense and excruciating training, if it weren¡¯t for alchemy, he would have slowly gone insane.


    He had been making steady progress under his father¡¯s tutelage, as he had been able to create several of the most basic potions, and he had made some interesting discoveries concerning alchemy.


    Apparently, there were multiple types of alchemy. The most used type of alchemy was artificial alchemy, which used one or two magic infused herbs to create powerful potions. This was more popular as it was easier to make, and the potions normally had more effect.


    The second type was organic alchemy, which combined the properties of multiple different herbs to create potions. A healing potion for example, would be made from several plants which had mending, regenerative, and cleansing properties. These potions were quite hard to make, as you would have to be very accurate with the proportions you use, and higher level potions would also require a lot more accuracy and a lot more different herbs to create.


    Daelyn did not have a preference, as he enjoyed practising either trade. He did put more focus on organic alchemy however, as it was a lot harder to master than artificial alchemy, and he enjoyed the challenge it posed.


    The two years had passed quickly like this, as he had practised his darkblood magic during the week, and his alchemy on the weekends.


    Despite his growth in both crafts, he was still unsatisfied with his current power, as he knew that he would be killed quickly in a one on one fight. He did not have a strong body, his magic could hardly be used in a direct fight, and his potions were too hard to craft to throw away like that. He understood his weakness, and he knew that it made him next to useless in a one on one fight.


    However, this would quickly change, as Orthrus had deemed him a competent enough dark mage to branch out. He would finally make a dark mage¡¯s deadliest weapon his own, as he would make his first minion.


    He would take another step on his path towards power, a step that would define him, and the souls that will enjoy his reign in the future. A bright yet grim future awaited him, as he would once again know the limitations that his power had brought him, as creating minions would not be as easy as it was made out to be.


    While Daelyn was eagerly awaiting his first unique creation, another force would make its own unique creation.


    The council would gather once again, they would propose their own plans, and they would decide on how to drive back the hordes of monsters pouring from the wastelands.


    The would have to decide carefully, as their decision would dictate the continuation of the forest, and it would influence the existence of dark mages as a whole.

 Chapter 32: An old mans home, and a plan formed for the future.

    <h1>Chapter 32</h1>


    Deep inside the forest, inside a home carved into the great world tree itself, an old dark elf calmly walked with steady steps through his own house, as he was on his way to an important meeting. He passed by dozens of pieces of high quality furniture filled with intricate carvings, masterfully created paintings which adorned the walls of his home, sculptures which seemed to come alive the moment you passed them, and weapons that seemed to radiate power all lined the walls of the dark elf¡¯s house.


    The old dark elf made his way through these hallways filled with masterworks with an expression of indifference. He didn¡¯t seem to be impressed or moved by any of these works of art. He walked through his home, only to have a change in expression as he arrived at a specific staircase.


    There didn¡¯t seem to be anything interesting about this staircase, as it lacked any of the impressive works of art that filled the other parts of the house, but the eyes of the old dark elf lit up as he looked at the stairs sculpted form the bark that the whole house was made from.


    He formed a smile, as he quietly made his way up the stairs. He touched the wooden walls with great care, as if he was caressing his own child.


    His lovingly gaze did not falter as he climbed the stairs which seemed to go on forever. It took several minutes to reach the top of them, but his expression did not change, as he lovingly gazed at the woodwork surrounding him, and caressed it like a child. The only thing that made his expression falter was a small door in front of him, the stairs ended with the doorway to a spacious room, filled with nothing but a bed, a desk, and a hole in the wall which granted its inhabitant an amazing view.


    The room seemed to be close to a hundred metres form the ground, as the old man was granted a whole view of the glades surrounding the world tree, and the forest that stretched beyond them.


    It was a magical view, as the old dark elf could see the kingdom the forest had allowed them to build. He could see the houses in the trees, he could see the extensive roadwork they had made on the ground floor, and he could see the beauty of the forest that accompanied almost everything in their society.


    The old dark elf stared into the distance for several seconds, before he lightly shook his head.


    He turned back to the door sitting next to the stairs, and sighed, for he knew that the decisions made behind that door would influence whether that beautiful view would change.


    He walked over to the door, and before he could even make the motion to open the door, it opened for him. The old dark elf didn¡¯t pay this any mind, as he casually strolled through the door, only to find that six individuals were already seated at the table in the adorning room.


    He was met with complete silence as they all had mixed expressions on their faces.


    However, two stares stood out from the six, as they divided their attention between each other and him. The two glares belonged to Lyrian Allister, and Kalia Elyvia. They had had a rivalry ever since the old dark elf had first met them, and he couldn¡¯t imagine them as anything else, as they had almost always been bickering with each other because of their different points of view and their differing professions.


    Lyrian hailed from a family known for its powerful mages and their master enchanters. He had been raised to think rationally, and to prepare for things ahead of time, as a mage would never rely on chance to ensure his survival. He valued creativeness and intelligence, as he would normally try to find the most advantageous position on the battle field, but as he tried to create different strategies, he would overthink. He would try to comprehend the other party¡¯s movements and strategies, only to make it overly intricate, and eventually leading to his force making several unnecessary movements and counter assaults, only to find that the enemy had adapted a much simpler strategy. His advisors had taken to calling him ¡®Major Overthinker¡¯.


    Kalia hailed from the famous and powerful Elyvia family, which were at the head of the most powerful and honourable knight order in the kingdom, the white stags. She had been raised to believe in her own moral code, and to always uphold her honour. If she was met with overwhelming odds, she was to charge in without hesitation and fight the threat head on, leading to a strategist which valued honour and valour above battle tactics, which could be very frustrating for her advisors, as she would rather meet an enemy on an even playing field, instead of using terrain to her advantage. She was known to lead the charge in most of the battles she participated in, and she was also known for fighting for the whole duration of it, fighting for whole days on end sometimes. However, her strategies would normally lack because of her pride and honour, causing her to have to rely on the prowess of her soldiers to win the battle, while it would have been much easier if she had used tactics.


    The old dark elf had been greatly amused through the decades as he had heard countless times of their charades, and had the privilege of seeing them personally several times. He could only be awed by the difference the two forces operated in, as it was like night and day when they were fighting.


    However, this divide in ideals and personalities caused them to bicker. They seemed to value bickering more than their honour at times, as they seemed to be holding a staring contest in the middle of such an important meeting.


    He quickly organised his thoughts, and started with a solemn yet grateful tone.


    ¡°Thank you all for coming here. Today marks the end of the two-year period I had given everyone to come up with a plan to drive back the invasion from the wasteland, or at least contain it. Now, I would like to hear everyone¡¯s thoughts on this. So, let¡¯s start with mister Allister and misses Elyvia, as they seem to be the most enthusiastic about presenting their means of stopping the invasion.¡±


    While he said ¡®enthusiastic¡¯, the old dark elf thought he was underplaying their emotions a bit, as he could almost see the sparks flying from Lyrian¡¯s eyes, and he swore that there was a fire burning in Kalia¡¯s right eye.


    Complementing her internal arson, Kalia shot up from her chair like it was on fire, and said with a cool yet solemn voice: ¡°My proposal is to fight the enemies one on one. We can challenge the orc leaders to duels, and have them serve us if they lose. The orcs can start fighting the goblins and the other monsters that would come from the wastelands. We would only need to station a small yet elite force of duellers, and another slightly larger force to act as a garrison in case there is an attack on the forest.¡±


    She beamed with pride as she told her proposal, as she had seen it as impeccable. However, while she thought it was impeccable, the other members had differing opinions.


    She could hear a snicker from her right, before she heard a melodic tone say: ¡°What makes you think that the orcs will do any better than they are now? They have been fighting the goblins and the monsters from the wastelands for as long as they have lived there, so what makes you think they will have more success now. Even if they will be able to with extensive resource management and leadership, what makes you think they will senselessly throw away their lives just because their new leader ordered it?¡±


    The old druid sitting next to Kalia formed a snide expression on his face. He waited several moments for his argument to sink in with the other members, and to see Kalia¡¯s expression contort, before he continued with the same melodic tone.


    ¡°The druids have tried many times to contact the orcs or any create of the wastelands for that matter, but it would always turn out in a show of strength. Even when the druid succeeded in conquering an orc tribe, there would be a constant stream of challengers, as they always thought themselves stronger than the dark elf that governed them. Now, how will that go when you force the tribe to fight like they¡¯re lowly slaves? We would have to reign over them with fear and fear alone, there would be a large stream of challengers constantly coming at the dueller, and there would be a larger chance for them to rebel. Also, I doubt it would be very in line with your knightly honour to reduce any sentient creature to a lowly slave, or am I mistaken?¡±


    The retort was met with mumbles of agreement, and a deadly glare from Kalia. She had seen her plan as perfect, only to have it deconstructed with one snide comment from the man sitting next to her.


    She sat back down, as she knew that her plan had been thwarted. She knew that the only sensible thing to do now was give in, as she would only embarrass herself more if she kept on pushing her own argument.


    She glared at the other members of the table, and as her gaze finally landed on Lyrian, he smirked at her. He showed the smuggest expression he could conjure up, before he stood up, and announced his plan with a confident tone.


    ¡°If I can have your attention please.


    I would like to present my own plan, as it does not help trying to reduce the state of the orcs to slaves. Instead, I would like to call upon the forest for help, as the great world tree would be able to lend us the aid of the forest critters, and it might even be able to lend us some of its guardians. Gaining a regiment of ents or even tree kin would greatly aid us in our struggle. I do not desire to use them as a singular force, instead I wish to use them as a complementary force to an army made from the smaller villages. We have only used soldiers and citizens from the larger cities, so it would only be fair and quite effective to mobilize the manpower from the smaller villages in the kingdom.¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Lyrian finished his speech with a confident one, and a satisfied expression. He looked around the table expecting to see the approval of the other members on their faces, only to glance upon pokerfaced expressions. His demeanour did not diminish, as he knew that his plan was reasonable. He knew that there was a lot of unused manpower in the kingdom, and he knew that the forest would move to protect itself, so it would very likely accept their request.


    As he was about to ask the other six members on their thoughts, he could not utter a word, as someone else had already spoken.


    A stout yet muscular figure sitting opposite of him on Kalia¡¯s left objected to him. He spoke his words with a deep and booming voice which only served to accent his muscular and tanned physique, the dark elf had a full beard, its greyish colour reminded Lyrian more of the dwarven elders than one of their own dark elves. He did have more similarities with the dwarfs besides his facial hair, as he was the head of the Fabor family. The family was known for the weapons and armours they were able to craft, as they were the top notch in the dark elf kingdom, and could even rival some of the blacksmiths from the Arch dwarfs. Their mastery of the craft was unparalleled in the dark elf kingdom, they always struck the iron while it was hot, both literally and figuratively.


    True to his nature, he took the opportunity to thoroughly bash Lyrian¡¯s proposal.


    ¡°We tried that once already youngling, and it failed miserably. With less people working in the villages, our food produce goes down, and the war effort will come to a grinding halt because of a shortage of supplies. Besides that, the people from the villages are not as trained as the soldiers we train here, and they are not nearly as cohesive or organized like our soldiers, or even our citizens! They aren¡¯t used to actively working in such a large organisation, making it very hard to deploy or even train them. Now, I do think that it is a good idea to ask the world tree for a complementary force if it is necessary, and I did like the suggestion from misses Elyvia using the power structure of orc society to work against them. So, I would like some suggestions that might combine the two plus sides of their story, I assume I¡¯m not the only one?¡±


    His analysation was met with agreed mumbling, as the other three members showed their agreement.


    While Fabor was met with agreement from three different members, the old one sitting at the end of the table chuckled, as his plan didn¡¯t require the aid of the world tree, and it did not require to take control of the orcs, it only required them to be used as resources.


    He waited for the other four members to propose their plans.


    The different families had varying plans, but they had a few things in common, as they were all quite lacklustre, and they all seemed to focus on their own strong points. The Valars family wanted to hire foreign mercenaries or hire the adventurers¡¯ guild from the neighbouring countries to lighten the numbers of the incoming hordes. However, hiring mercenaries and the adventurers¡¯ guild is very expensive, especially if they had to supply their troops on their own, making the financial cost only plausible to the empire wide enterprise the Valars family owns. The other members quickly discarded the plan, as they would not spend every penny they had on foreign mercenaries.


    The Fabor family wanted to streamline the infrastructure of the country to allow for better movement of resources, but they didn¡¯t have a real plan to push back the invaders, as they had analysed the situation, and found that the dark elf kingdom simply didn¡¯t have enough manpower. The only thing they could come up with is a scorched earth tactic, simply retreating as much as they could and not give the enemy any resources in return. This causes the enemy to deplete their resources over time, as it would be very hard to gain anything from scorched land. However, they knew that it would not work with orcs, and as such, Kalaster Fabor simply stated that they did not have a real plan in place.


    The representative of the council of the sprouting tree sitting to the right of Kalia represented a plan that came as a surprise, but not unexpected from a gathering of druids. They wanted to keep the fight out of the forest, and they wanted to drive them back into the wastelands. They had an upmost priority in making sure that the forest remains unscathed, and proposed to use a large amount of manpower to drive back. However, they did not know where this manpower would originate from, nor did they know how they were going to supply, arm, and train this force. They simply didn¡¯t want the forest to be hurt.


    This was met with disagreement, as it was clear that the druids didn¡¯t have any plan in place, only a desire to protect the forest.


    Lastly, the Vesarius family presented their plan. They had quite a decent plan, as they wanted to station a defence force along the eastern border, and reduce the threat of the orc and goblin tribes by causing infighting. They would remove the current leaders, and have the new ones would fight amongst themselves.


    It was quite a good plan, but it was still met with disagreement, as it didn¡¯t factor in the larger creatures that roamed the wastelands, and it would only work up till a certain threshold, after which the tribes of orcs and goblins would swarm the eastern border of the forest.


    So, as the final plan had been dissected and criticised for its flaws, all attention turned towards the old one, as they had not heard him utter a single word since the beginning of the meeting. They looked at him with apprehensive yet anticipating gazes, as they had all heard his proposal from two years ago, they all had done their research, and they all had their own judgement on the case.


    The room was shrouded in silence as the tension in the air kept growing, only to be cut in half by the solemn yet amused tone of the old one.


    ¡°I wanted to thank you for all of your ideas. I have some changes to make to my own plan, as I like the plans the Vesarius, and the Fabor family had. They are good plans, and while on their own they are flawed, they can easily be incorporated into another.


    Now, I would like to present my own plan. You already knew about my plan from two years ago, and it hasn¡¯t changed much. I would like to create a chain of fortresses along the nearby mountain chain. However, I have altered the plan, as I propose to centre the dark mages in one region, instead of using them along the mountain chain. The dark mages will occupy the region on the south side of the mountain chain, where they will enjoy the least amount of protection from the mountains, and where they will be bordered by a swamp on almost all sides but north.


    They will be bordering the living swamp, and they will have their own fortress, or fortresses there if they mean to make more. I do support this idea, and I hope you do to, as the dark mages will be our best bet to drive back the invasion from the wastelands with the least amount of casualties. They will be a great use to the war effort, as they will occupy the area with the most heavy and frequent combat, and they will only be in one area, not allowing them to commit any crimes but against each other.


    Also, to put your concerns to rest. I have already spoken with some individual dark mages which I personally know, they are the elite in the dark mage community, and I talked to them about the conditions if they were to accept the deal. Conditions concerning raising the dead, not affecting or occupying the forest in any situation if they accept, and generally implementing some of our basic laws. They all accepted without hesitation. I asked them this individually, and they all had the same reaction, complete acceptance. Not one of them showed any kind of hesitation at the implementation of rules, as they only saw it as natural that a society would have rules.¡±


    Complete silence reigned for several moments, before it was broken by the riot that the other six members caused. They all had different thoughts, but the one that was most vocal about them was Kalia Elyvia, as she said with a loud and condescending tone: ¡°With all respect sir, but you still want to ask the dark mages for help?! Why would the proud and beautiful kingdom of Eleanor accept the help, not to mention request it, from those vile magicians?! We should look for any other solution, as asking those vile magicians for help is an insult to the very kingdom we live in!¡±


    The room continued to become more and more rowdy, as the supporters of the idea voiced their counterarguments, and as the situation was about to escalate, the old one spoke for a third time.


    He spoke with a solemn tone that radiated power, his expression seemed to radiate a mix of power and bloodlust as even the surrounding branches woven into the walls of the world tree seemed to flinch from his gaze.


    The room became silent as they felt his gaze fall upon them. They flinched from the words that originated from his mouth, as they felt a wave of energy wash over them.


    ¡°What do you know, young miss? Have you ever stood in the shoes of a dark mage, have you ever been looked at like you are an abomination just because you had to use your power to survive? Did you ever have to cultivate power just to make sure that your neighbours wouldn¡¯t kill you, have you been driven away from your home because of something you can¡¯t influence, have you ever been rejected by whole nations just because you¡¯re trying your absolute best to survive? No, you haven¡¯t. You have been given a large amount of training, power, and capital from birth. You have never had to hunt to survive, you never were thrown out of your home because of your nature, so don¡¯t you dare call the brave men and women who call themselves dark mages vile creatures. They live through the hell people like you have created every single day, so don¡¯t you dare mock them.


    You don¡¯t know anything child, so don¡¯t pretend that your morals dictate the world. You sound like a sun elf.¡±


    He finished his speech with a sneering tone, as the last wave of energy was solely directed towards Kalia, causing her to fall back into her chair.


    The five other members slowly sat down as the room was shrouded in silence. All of them had been completely taken aback by the old one¡¯s anger. Kalia had a troubled expression on her face, as she did not like being talked to with such a condescending tone, but she did not voice her discomfort, as she knew that he was both right, and more powerful than her by several leagues.


    The only thing that resounded through the chamber for several moments were the rhythmic sounds of breathing coming from the six other members, until the old one spoke again.


    ¡°Now, to make it clear, these meetings were supposed to make a base for the plan we will put into use to divert the invasions. There will be changes to it, but we need to decide on what we use as a basis, so let¡¯s hold a vote. We will hold a vote by saying the plans one by one, and the one with the most votes will be chosen.


    We will do it counter clockwise with Iridil Valars at the beginning, and Avaris Scofia at the end.¡±


    One by one the plans were voted upon, and the results were expected, yet they received unsatisfied reactions. The Valars, Allister, and Elyvia family had all casts their votes upon their own plan, despite the flaws that had been so painfully exposed to the rest of the members.


    The council of the sprouting sapling, the Fabor family, and the Vesarius family all supported the old one¡¯s plan, as theirs was either incorporated in it, or their interests were best represented there. It had surprised the old dark elf a bit to see the druids support the plan, but he was quickly reassured by Avaris Scofia that the druids top priority was the forest, and that his plan would serve to protect it better than any other that was proposed.


    While the vote wasn¡¯t unanimous, it had won with a landslide victory.


    The decision had been made, and the dice had been cast. The fate of the future was as uncertain as the roll of a dice, as using dark mages as a means to drive back the invasions of orcs, goblins, and other horrible creatures, would either lead the forest to ruin, or greatness.


    It is unknown on what side the dice shall fall, but in the moment that it kept rolling, in the twilight of the world, one little boy was getting ready for nightfall, as he would bind a life to his own by creating a bond of both loyalty and magic that could hardly be broken. A bond which such a dice couldn¡¯t influence, as it had not been created by chance.


    A grim and dark future awaited, and fighting alone was not an option.

 Chapter 33: A price for everything, and giant ants.

    <h1>Chapter 33</h1>


    The meeting of the council had been disbanded, as a decision had been made, and now it was only up to the old one to streamline the plan before implanting it. However, the old one still needed some advice, so he decided to visit an old friend for the day, as he had heard that old dog had finally taken on a disciple, and the old one couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at the thought of that man having a disciple.


    He had returned to his room to gather some provisions for lunch, and as he gazed out into the wild that stretched beyond the glades, beyond the walls of Eleanor, he was lost in thought.


    He wanted to announce the success of the plan to him, as his friend had been very enthusiastic about the plan. The old one hadn¡¯t left out any details when he had told the plan to his friend, and he had been shocked as his friend¡¯s reaction.


    Orthrus had been genuinely enthusiastic about the plan, which had surprised the old one greatly, as he hadn¡¯t seen his friend display that kind of emotion in a long time.


    The last time when he had seen his friend display any emotion, was on the day when Orthrus went to see his family. The old one remembered it very vividly, as it had been the day after he had been chosen as the representative of the great world tree.


    His smile waned, as the scenes of meeting his friend in the middle of an insignificant glade on the outskirts of the forest. He remembered the conversation they had, but the thing that was burned into his mind from the whole encounter were Orthrus¡¯ eyes, they were lifeless. His eyes lacked the usual vigour and desire for knowledge, instead they held nothing but a black void, they looked more akin to the magic he practiced than the personality he had possessed. The only thing that gave the old one any reassurance that it was Orthrus, was the fact that he was followed by his enormous monsters, as the old one would recognise those monsters anywhere.


    He shook his head, and he banished those thoughts to the outskirts of his mind with that simple gesture. He knew what had happened, and he knew that there was no point in bringing it up now. He had some good news for him!


    He quickly put everything in his satchel, and set out towards Orthrus¡¯ home. He hoped to see the new ¡®disciple¡¯, as he wanted to see what had caused that change in him, and he wanted to make sure that Orthrus had really taken on a disciple and not another experiment.


    As the old one set out towards Orthrus, Daelyn had already arrived.


    He had taken the usual route to Orthrus¡¯ house, but as he finally arrived he was quite surprised to see Orthrus standing in front of the house. He stood there with Gob at his side, making for quite an imposing and terrifying presence. Orthrus stood there as a sickly pale sun elf with the stereotypical blond hair being very bleak, almost as if it was made from chalk. His demeanour combined with the energy that seemed to be radiating from his eyes, and the six armed goblin with bulging muscles standing next to him with a wicked grin plastered on his face, made for a scene that would undoubtedly scare even the more veteran soldiers of the kingdom.


    Daelyn however, wasn¡¯t scared in the least, instead he was fascinated by Orthrus¡¯ physique, as he hadn¡¯t actually seen the old sun elf outside of his own house yet. The old sun elf seemed even more imposing when he wasn¡¯t limited by the ceilings of his home, but he also received a new sickly pale tone as the sun seemed to drain away the colour from his whole body, and Gob seemed even more monstrous than ever, as his wicked grin only accented the already horrifying image the six bulging arms created, making him seem like an abomination which shouldn¡¯t exist.


    Daelyn did not mind any of the natural warnings that the two individuals gave off, and happily sprinted towards them. He crossed the glade within a minute before stopping in front of them with an anticipating and excited smile on his face.


    He was about to ask why they were at the front door instead of inside the house, but Orthrus interrupted him with an authoritative tone: ¡°Before you say anything, listen. I have seen you grow proficient in using your dark mana in auramancy for the last two years, and I have decided that you¡¯re finally ready to move onto the next steps. Today, we¡¯re going to get you your first minion. Now, we¡¯re not going to do this the easy way where I give you something and you have to reanimate it. No, you¡¯re going to hunt the resources for your minion first, on your own! I would recommend gaining several samples, as reanimating something for the first time can be, difficult.


    Gob and I will be close by to help you, but you¡¯re going to hunt the samples on your own, as I won¡¯t tolerate a disciple who isn¡¯t able to gain their own minions without help of outside forces. Understood?¡±


    Daelyn nodded vigorously, as he hadn¡¯t thought that he would have to hunt the resources to make his first minion on his own, but he was not surprised. Orthrus¡¯ training methods never advocated outside help, instead it normally advocated outside force to increase the difficulty of the training, as Orthrus would rather have Daelyn face overwhelming odds instead of giving him a battle that didn¡¯t have a fixed outcome regardless of whether he became more proficient at darkblood magic or not.


    Daelyn sighed, before he looked at up Orthrus again with an anxious look, as he expected the old dark elf to lead the way. However, he was disappointed once again, as Orthrus gave him a sneering glare before saying with an agitated tone: ¡°What are you doing?! Get going, that creature isn¡¯t going serve itself on a silver platter!¡±


    Daelyn sighed, as he realized that he would be given no guidance at all during this lesson. He mumbled something about an ¡®incompetent old man¡¯ under his breath, before he steeled his heart and set off into the forest that surrounded the glade.


    Daelyn had some experience tracking creatures, as he had done it multiple times prior together with Cyrus. It had been quite an adventure tracking the different animals in the forest, and while they had occasionally succeeded in getting the jump on one, they had also been ambushed by the creature they were tracking on several occasions. These occasional ambushes were mostly caused by their inexperience, and their carelessness in being stealthy.


    Daelyn penetrated the foliage surrounding the glade, but quickly found that he could hardly see anything through the thick forest flora.


    The sunny glade was replaced with the normal dim and overgrown forest floor, making it very hard for Daelyn to find any sign of life that¡¯s more than five metres in front of him, and while he appreciated the usual scene of the wild overgrowth that permeated almost every part of the forest, he knew it wouldn¡¯t help him in his hunt, so he climbed up the closest tree to get something of a vantage point.


    It wasn¡¯t normally very easy to spot animal tracks from high above, but it would aid in discovering an animal track. Daelyn specifically looked for any places that were flattened or didn¡¯t have a lot of plants or plants that were flattened, as he knew that would indicate the occasional animal passing by.


    It took several minutes before Daelyn finally reached the sufficient height to get a good vantage point, but when he finally did, he realised what kind of challenge Orthrus had set for him, and he did not like it.


    Several dozens of metres below him, were multiple paths carved out by the forest critters, but one stood out, as multiple oversized ants skittered on the path towards their destination. The worker ants were about twenty centimetres in length and around thirteen centimetres in width, and the occasional soldier ant that patrolled the line seemed to be 30 centimetres in length, and fourteen in width.


    The ants seemed absolutely horrifying, as the normal miniscule creatures now displayed every insectoid detail with their size. However, Daelyn wasn¡¯t faced by these details, instead he was intrigued. He had only ever seen such ants in bestiaries with pictures in them, so seeing them in flesh and blood was very interesting.


    However, despite his enthusiasm, he was sceptical towards the, as he had never seen any of these ants for the last two years, and he was sure that he would have noticed, as these ants would have gone under the tree path at least a dozen times for food.


    While he was greatly interested in the ants, he knew that he could not challenge them, as they would quickly surrounded him regardless of his aura. If he attacked, they would release their pheromones, and those pheromones would call upon every soldier in the area, and seeing how much soldiers were already here, Daelyn could only imagine him drawing the short end of the stick in that battle.


    However, he did need them, as their exoskeletons would make for a very nice practice product, and they would be so numerous that he would have to make multiple dozens of mistakes to run out of samples. He could hunt other animals and use them, but that would take a lot of time, and he would most likely have to skin those animals as he would mainly be using their bones. The ants were much more viable in this situation, and from his desire, a plan started to form in his head. He would use their numbers against them, and he already knew how he was going to do that.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    It would take a while for him to be ready, but Orthrus hadn¡¯t set a time limit, so Daelyn could take his sweet time in catching as many oversized bugs as he wanted.


    He needed a few things for his plan to work. First, he needed a way to separate them into smaller groups and contain them in those groups, second he needed to know their feeding patterns and their hunting spots so he could more easily isolate them, and third, he needed to know what kind of queen they have.


    Daelyn had his suspicions, but he needed to know for sure, as the wrong queen could mean the difference between life and death for him.


    Daelyn remembered that he had been promised a safety net by Orthrus, but as he remembered his teacher¡¯s promise, it did not calm him, instead it only riled him up, and made him more anxious.


    Yeah, he had the old man¡¯s protection, but that damned teacher always said that he would never tolerate a weak or incompetent disciple, so why wouldn¡¯t he leave Daelyn to his fate if his plan failed?


    Daelyn sighed, as he knew that getting mad about Orthrus¡¯ charade now would solve nothing. With his thought out of the way, he quickly climbed down from the tree, and started tracking the line of ants to its origin.


    He scoured along the forest floor with great care as to make sure that the ants wouldn¡¯t notice him. He had read that ants have very sensitive hearing because of their antennae¡¯s, and Daelyn didn¡¯t want to put that theory to the test by angering a colony of giant ants.


    As Daelyn followed the ants, the small details of their insectoid bodies only became more and more apparent, as he could clearly see the small hairs on their legs and pincers, the different layers of exoskeleton the ant consisted of, and the multitude of joints that allowed it to move like it did.


    He was mesmerized by the ants¡¯ anatomy, as he pictured how everything worked together to move the body, and with his fascination for the ants slowly growing, he arrived at the source of the line, the source of all of these ants, he arrived at their lair.


    Surprisingly, it wasn¡¯t a large ant mount carved from the earth, it seemed to be a hole under a tree. It didn¡¯t even seem like it was dug out by the ants, instead it seemed like a boar had done it earlier this year in search for truffles.


    Daelyn wanted to move in closer, but an area of several dozens of metres in diameter around the tree was permeated with both soldier and worker ants.


    It was quite a large number of ants, but it still seemed small in comparison to normal ants colonies. Daelyn was puzzled by the relatively small number of ants, but his thoughts were quickly interrupted as a large number of ants suddenly swarmed into the area several dozens of metres to the right of him.


    The whole colony suddenly became riled up, and moved into formation. Daelyn¡¯s expression quickly turned grim, as he realized that they might be going into formation because he had been discovered. However, his worries were put to rest as he felt the ground tremble.


    The calm yet tense atmosphere was suddenly broken as a large boar charged into the lines upon lines of soldier ants standing ready to fight. Its charge cut through them like a knife through butter, making it seem like they weren¡¯t even there. Daelyn was completely taken aback by the giant boar, as it stood at almost a metre tall, two metres in length, and at least a half a metre in width. The boar looked incredibly imposing with its muscled physique, its large protruding horns, and with its powerful hind legs, it quickly accelerated, and charged into the lines of ants.


    The boar continued its charge as it ran past multiple trees, and through multiple formations of soldier ants. Each time they tried to defend their workers, they were stomped into a mushy paste by the large creature. None were spared, as it didn¡¯t take long for the surrounding trees to be dyed with a dark green tone from the ants¡¯ ichor.


    Daelyn was watching with great anticipation as the large boar was about to strike another line of soldiers, until a silhouette dashed from the tree in the middle and stopped the boar in its tracks. The silhouette belonged to the one thing that Daelyn had hoped to see, a warrior queen.


    Its enormous size, huge pincers, and the large wings on its back betrayed it all, this was a warrior queen. It towered above its own soldiers with a length of 80 centimetres, a width of at least 40 centimetres, and a height of around 30. Its large pincers grabbed the boar by its snout, and slowed its momentum as it planted its six feet firmly into the ground. It even used its large rear to cause more friction with the ground. It used every weapon in its arsenal to stop the boar, and after several metres of being dragged on by the remaining momentum, the ant queen forced the large boar to a grinding halt.


    It quickly capitalized on this opportunity, as it grabbed the boar¡¯s snout with even more strength, and shifted its centre of gravity to the left in an effort to topple the boar. It was clear that it was a losing battle, as the boar could simply use its weight to negate the queen¡¯s efforts, as it was two and a half times as long and one and a half times as wide.


    The queen had been followed by a dozen guards which were coming close to the queen¡¯s own size, with a length of around 55 centimetres, and a width of around 25.


    They charged into the boar¡¯s left side, and with the extra force from her personal guards body slam, she was able to topple the boar.


    The ants swarmed it as it was completely defenceless on its side, they ripped it to shreds under the hundreds of thumb long mandibles that penetrated its skin, and with the queen stabbing her mandibles directly into its eyes, it died. It stopped its struggle as there were only a few more gurgling sounds coming from its mouth, before it finally died. The ants raised their mandibles in celebration of their victory, before they converged on the boar once more and devoured it.


    Daelyn was both mesmerized and sickened by the scene that was displayed in front of him, but he was abruptly pulled back to reality as the scene became too gruesome, causing him to gag. He was able to hold his breakfast in, and he quickly turned back to the large amount of ants, as he still had a mission to accomplish.


    He moved towards the nearest dead ants as inconspicuously as possible, and started gathering as much as he could. He thanked Eleanor that he was smart enough to bring a bag, as he wouldn¡¯t have been able to carry as much corpses as he did by far.


    He filled the bag as quickly as he could, but when he was halfway through, a sound resounded through the forest.


    ¡°AH!¡±


    A surprised yelp resounded through the trees, gaining both Daelyn¡¯s and the ants¡¯ attention.


    The yelp had gained the full attention of every being in a large radius as it had completely disturbed the serenity of the forest. The ants had been completely taken by surprise and were dazed as they were pulled from their bloodlust induced state, and Daelyn looked on in surprise, as the tension in his muscles left him and a sheepish expression formed on his face.


    He continued his dazed state for a few more seconds, only to be pulled back to reality by a high pitched shriek. He quickly directed his gaze towards the origin of the shriek, and his face paled as he locked eyes with the entire ant colony. One of the smaller worker ants had set his eyes on him, and it had alerted the others.


    As one, they directed their gazes towards Daelyn, and he felt their glares penetrate his very being as they were pulled from their daze, and their bloodlust was renewed. They released a cacophony of shrieks, before they charged him.


    Daelyn wasn¡¯t going to serve himself on a silver platter, so he quickly ran away. However, with one look behind it him it was clear that his fate was sealed, as the ants were catching up, especially the ant queen. He estimated that she would cross the distance between them in less than a minute, and with her guards following closely behind her, she sealed Daelyn¡¯s fate.


    As the ant queen and her guard were covering the last few metres between her and Daelyn, he created an aura to suppress the minds of the incoming insects, as he didn¡¯t have enough time nor concentration to make anything but the most basic aura. Despite its weakness, the aura did affect the queen and her guards, causing them to flinch and slow their pace for a second. This allowed Daelyn to create a few more metres between them and him. He desperately tried to create more and more distance between them, as he only had one goal in mind, survive at all costs.


    He knew that if he could make it back to the glade in front of Orthrus¡¯ house he might be saved, but he heard the chittering behind him grow closer and closer as the queen and her guards had recovered from Daelyn¡¯s aura, and were steadily bridging the distance between them once again.


    He didn¡¯t know if either Gob or Orthrus would save him, but he knew that the animals actively avoided Orthrus¡¯ house and the glade in front of it.


    He didn¡¯t have plan in place to escape, so this was his best bet. He cursed himself for being so na?ve, as he should have prepared something of an escape plan. He could have made a trap for his pursuers, an escape route through the trees, he could have done anything yet he still didn¡¯t prepare anything.


    The hairs on his body curdled up as the chittering was only a few metres behind him. He increased the force of his aura in a last ditch attempt to reach the glade, only to find the queen and her guards shriek from anger and increase their pace as they fuelled their rage from the aura, and entered a berserk like state.


    Daelyn tried his absolute best as he pulled everything he could from his five year old body, but he knew that it wasn¡¯t enough, and as the chittering traversed the last few metres, he looked behind him, only to see the warrior queen leaping at him with great force.


    He was smacked to the ground as the ant queen impacted his body, and they slid several metres before finally coming to a stop.


    Daelyn put the bag filled with the corpses of the giant ants between him and the queen in a last ditch effort to keep those giant pincers away from his face, but as he looked into the queen¡¯s eyes, he felt himself weaken. He felt his psyche fall into complete despair as fear clouded his mind, and it only grew stronger as he continued his futile struggle against the queen.


    Daelyn saw that the guards were only mere metres away from him, and as he looked back at the queen, he noticed the abundant amount of sunlight shining on her backside, and he realised where he was.


    He was in the glade in front of Orthrus¡¯ house, he had made it, yet his plan had failed. He had failed to make any kind of preparation, and instead he had dashed right in completely unprepared and uninformed. He had been na?ve, and he would get punished in form of the queen¡¯s pincers cracking his skull open like a walnut.


    Through pain, he had learned that power comes at a price, and through despair, he realized that the same was true for stupidity.

 Chapter 34: An old friend and an old tree.

    <h1>Chapter 34</h1>


    The old one had taken quite a lot of time to traverse the distance to Orthrus¡¯ house, as he had set off just before noon, and the sun was already a long way past its summit as the old one finally arrived.


    As he finally arrived at the glade, he was once again mesmerized by the odd calmness that seemed to permeate the air. He had never understood why Orthrus had decided to settle here, as the old sun elf could have settled anywhere, he could have settled in a human kingdom and made thousand from simply selling his minions, or even selling the occasional body part that he threw out, he could have settled closer to the wastelands and used the monsters from there to continue his experiments, and yet he had chosen to settle here. He had chosen a small-town close to the deadlands with almost no special creatures in the area, no important or strategic resources, and a small population which wasn¡¯t especially in favour of dark mages.


    He had been worried for Orthrus, as he knew his tendency to isolate himself from the world around him, and he was worried that the local community would oppose him. However, his worries were put to rest by a tree.


    He had been quite surprised by this, as he normally only conversed with the great world tree which made up most of the forest, but the tree behind Orthrus house wasn¡¯t part of the great world tree, as it had its own consciousness.


    He had tried to call out to the world tree, only to receive a more irritated and slower answer. The old tree had introduced itself as Farnum, and it had been quite irritated from the dark elf that showed up out of nowhere and tried to command him.


    With a sincere apology and a promise not to order the tree around anymore, the tree had forgiven the old one, as he was both a chosen of Eleanor and he seemed to be a very sincere. While the tree would normally doubt any sincerity shown, he trusted the old one, as a chosen of Eleanor was not allowed to lie to the flora that surrounded him, and the tree could feel the emotions of regret radiate through the connection the mage had set up.


    While the tree¡¯s fury had been extinguished, the old one¡¯s curiosity had not. However, before he could ask a question to quench his thirst for knowledge, the old tree spoke out with a calm voice.


    ¡°If¡­ you¡­ have¡­ ques¡­tions,¡­. ask¡­ Orthrus.¡±


    The words echoed through the old one¡¯s mind, before the connection was cut. The tree seemed to go into a comatose like state, as he did not respond to any of the old one¡¯s attempts at communicating, even when he used force, the tree did not respond.


    All his attempts had failed, as to this day, the tree had not said another word to the old one. Remaining the silent guarding that watched over the glade, and the house that was built right in front of it.


    His gaze had not been broken during his short journey through memory lane, as his gaze was still fixated on the large and stunted ironwood tree. Its trunk was once large mass of incredibly dense wood that spanned several dozens of metres in diameter, until its branches seemed to erupt in an uncontrolled growth at a height of just under hundred metres, as the tree changed from a solid and dense structure, to a twisted entanglement of hundreds upon hundreds of branches, causing it to block out any sunlight that happened to fall on it, and causing it to gain a stunted look, as it was clear that its growth had been altered by something.


    The old one continued staring at the tree for several seconds, until he finally snapped out of his memory induced daze. He quickly diverted his gaze to the woods surrounding him, and as he quickly made his way towards Orthrus¡¯ front door, he was surprised to find that a note was plastered on the door.


    The note was right next to the sign with ¡®Do not disturb¡¯ on it, and with a rough handwriting, it said: ¡®Dear unexpected visitor,


    Can¡¯t you read the sign? If you can read it and chose to ignore it, you will only look like an idiot, as we won¡¯t we answering the door. It doesn¡¯t matter how many times you knock, how many times you scream for us to answer the door, or how many death threats you issue, we won¡¯t answer. So, do yourself a favour, and screw off.


    Greetings,


    Gob¡¯


    The old one chuckled at the goblin¡¯s antics, as he only knew one being named Gob with such a passive-aggressive attitude. Despite the goblin¡¯s attempts at covering it up, it was clear to the old one that they were either out, or they were performing a dangerous experiment.


    The old one figured that with the absence of a large amount of dark mana, they would not be carrying out a large experiment. He couldn¡¯t be sure, but he quickly tested the other option, as he called upon the plant life surrounding him, and found out that the two were still close.


    The old one received the memories of the surrounding plant life, as visions of Orthrus, Gob, and a young boy standing in the glade displayed themselves in front of his eyes, he saw the boy leave the glade, and after the young boy had left, he saw Orthrus summon a large spider like creature, mount it, and scurry off with Gob following him close behind on foot.


    Their tracks practically glowed as the visions of the tree highlighted their exacts movements, allowing the old one to track them with great precision. He calmly walked along the tracks the two had left behind, and as he came closer and closer to the two, he moved with great care, as he did not want to carelessly notify them of his presence, as that would only ruin the surprise.


    The old one thanked his [Stealth] skill once again, as it greatly aided him in remaining unnoticed with the help of the surrounding plant life. The combination of the skill, the grass that cushioned his steps, the trees that notified of anything in his way, and the flowers that warned him of the fauna that roamed the glade and its surrounding forest, allowed him to sneak up to the tree that Gob and Orthrus were seated on.


    Orthrus was seated a few dozen metres up in the trees, looking over the surrounding forest, and the small body that seemed to be his disciple. He and Gob looked on in absolute silence, as they seemed to be following the young boy¡¯s every move, allowing the old one to scale the tree for several dozens of metres, until he met a barrier.


    A literal one at that, as Orthrus had set up an aura around him that would notify him of anyone¡¯s presence with a radius of 6 metres, increasing the difficulty of surprising him even more.


    The old one did not shy away from a challenge however, so instead of trying to sneak up to surprise him, the old one would use a different tactic. Instead of using care and stealth, he would use force.


    He gathered the mana in his core, and let it flow throughout his body. The mana flowed through his body, and changed it, his usual dark grey hair gained a dark brown tint, his skin thickened and it became even darker as he received a bark like tint to his complexion, his canines grew as they resembled that of an animal more than a dark elf, but the thing that stood out most were his eyes, as they seemed to glow with a light green, and radiate power.


    With power coursing through his body, he kicked off.


    The tree pedestal under him caved in under the massive pressure he exerted, causing the tree to swing and create a spider web like pattern on the side of the tree.


    He reached Gob and Orthrus within a few seconds, only to quickly pass them as he had no way to slow down. He knew that Orthrus had noticed him, as he heard a surprised and slightly panicked voice from under him as he continued through the woodwork.


    ¡°AH!¡±


    It resounded through the forest and the old one¡¯s ears. He treasured this sound, as it had been a long time since he had been able to surprise the permanently wary Orthrus. He revelled in satisfaction, as the sound reverberated through his mind, and a laugh escaped his mouth.


    With a smiling face, he encountered the first branch. He broke through it with the sheer force of his velocity, but he was slowed down and he veered off course due to the impact. His smile waned as he was brought back to reality from his glee induced daze, and as he looked up, it waned even more.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    A large branch was right in front of him, and with only a dozen centimetres between him and the branch, he didn¡¯t have enough time to react. He smashed face first into a second branch, before he could turn his body, and have his legs absorb the impact from smashing into the next branch, causing him to lose his momentum and stop in mid-air.


    With his momentum lost, the old one was suspended in the air for a moment, before gravity took hold of him, and dragged him down to the earth.


    The old one accelerated several minutes under the force of gravity, before he dug his sharpened nails into the tree, and as he slid down several metres, he ended up only a few metres above an agitated looking Orthrus.


    The old one only had time to smirk, before he was scolded with a solemn yet irritated voice by his old friend.


    ¡°Marius, what the hell are you doing? No, let me guess. This is one of your little pranks, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Marius saw his old friend¡¯s irritated face and he could only smile in glee as it had been quite some time since he had seen that irritated face.


    With his old friend only displaying a smile of glee, Orthrus could only put his palm to his face, as he did not have the time nor the energy to deal with this oddball, yet he still needed to turn around to hide the smirk that was slowly forming on his face. He remembered the fun times they had, he remembered how Marius had made him flinch from his little pranks, and how he had returned the favour on the old dark elf.


    Despite his glee, he still retained his solemn and agitated tone, as he knew Marius wouldn¡¯t back off if he showed even a shred of delight at his performance.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have time for this. My disciple is hunting for his first experiments, and I don¡¯t want him dead by the end of the end of the afternoon. So, if you could please not distract me, that would be great.¡±


    Not very satisfied with Orthrus¡¯ uptight reaction, Marius tried to get some other kind of reaction from him by talking about his disciple.


    ¡°Really? Is you disciple hunting his own prey now? Then where is he now?¡± Marius said with a questioning and slightly clamorous tone.


    Orthrus looked up from his attempts to hide his smile, and looked around. He had lost sight of Daelyn because of Marius¡¯ behaviour. He scanned the surrounding as he tried to find the small boy, but he couldn¡¯t find him.


    The last time he had seen Daelyn was on his way towards the ant queen. Marius had popped only moments before Daelyn had encountered it, and because of the loud noise that old dog had made, he hadn¡¯t been able to hear anything but the sounds of wood being crushed, and hardened keratin scraping against bark.


    He quickly directed his gaze towards the ant queen¡¯s base, only to find that it was mostly abandoned. The base seemed almost empty, as only the occasional soldier ant came out from their hiding place to make sure that the surroundings were safe.


    As Orthrus was about to summon one of his creatures to find Daelyn, he heard a scream.


    The scream resounded throughout the surroundings, and as it reached the two elves, they flinched. It was a high-pitched scream full of panic, helplessness, and pain.


    They felt the scream reverberate through their bodies, they felt the pain that the recipient was experiencing, and despite their battle-hardened senses and will, they still flinched, as they recognised who the recipient was.


    It was a small child, a child that might not even be past the age of seven judging by the volume, and as Orthrus realized its origin, he paled.


    Despair filled his mind, and as it reached its climax, he sped off. He imbued his muscles with dark mana, runes flared up on his body, and he accelerated at an exponential rate. He felt his body strain under the pressure exerted from his own mana, yet refused to give in, as he knew that he could not waste even a single second if he wanted to enlarge Daelyn¡¯s chances of survival.


    He arrived within the minute at the origin scream, and found a large ant huddled over a bloody Daelyn. He saw how the queen and twelve of her subordinate ants were chewing on Daelyn, and he saw that the rest of the colony was only just behind.


    He quickly summoned two large horned lions with manes made form snakes, and he directed them towards the incoming ant swarm. They easily halted the ant swarm, as the ants were crushed beneath their feet, pulverized by their powerful strikes, and crushed by the powerful jaws of both the lions and the snakes.


    He turned towards Daelyn, and as he was about to summon another creature to strike out against the ants, the ground beneath them rumbled and parted.


    Dozens upon dozens of brittle coal like roots carved a way through the dirt, and assaulted the surrounding ants.


    While they were quite weak, they were numerous. They overwhelmed the ants with sheer force of numbers, and wherever one fell, at least two would take its place. It was a surreal seen, as the roots seemed like an endless tide of black maws, devouring anything they encountered.


    The roots where enough to supress the dozen ants surrounding the queen, but they weren¡¯t able to match up with the queen, as the roots didn¡¯t have enough strength to push the large pincers away from Daelyn.


    The only thing that ensured Daelyn¡¯s safety was the large bag with ant corpses in it, and the fact that his head was flat against the ground.


    In an attempt to create more distance between him and the queen, he turned his head on the side, having the left side of his head face upward and the right side buried in the ground.


    The queen reacted lighting fast, as overpowered the roots with her pincers for a second, before she grabbed on Daelyn¡¯s left ear with the tip of her pincers, and pulled.


    Daelyn elicited a shriek of pain, as his ear along with some of the surrounding skin was ripped off with force, leaving a bloody mess behind.


    The queen and Daelyn were separated for but a moment, but both Orthrus and the roots capitalized on this small-time window, as the coal like roots converged on Daelyn and created a protective dome around his head, while Orthrus summoned another one of his abominations.


    It loomed over the queen as it stood on two legs, it grabbed the ant queen¡¯s hind legs with its large pincers, and snapped them shut.


    The ant queen shrieked in pain as her hind legs were cut off, and as she tried to scurry away, the same happened to her four remaining legs. First, the two legs on the right were cut off, and then the two on the left, leaving her almost completely immobile. She could only try and escape by crawling under the support of her pincers, but her escape was halted, as the large monstrosity picked her up once again, suspended her two metres in the air.


    She could only shriek in pain as she missed multiple limbs, and was doomed to witness the slaughter of her people. They were stomped, crushed, consumed, and squeezed to death by the various enemies they faced, causing a chorus of panic, gore, and anguish.


    In this cacophony of anguish one sound stood out, as it wasn¡¯t very loud or painful for that matter, instead it was soft and sorrowful. Muffled sobbing could be heard through the sounds of slaughter, as a small boy was hurdled up in a foetal position, and crying.


    Around him stood three figures, they stood there uninhibited by the slaughter going on around them. They had worried expression on their faces, as they tried to tend to the numerous wounds on the boy¡¯s body, only to find that their efforts only seemed to prolong the boys suffering, as they had no effective way of healing the wounds.


    The bleeding had already stopped, as the small boy had seemed to regain some semblance of self-awareness, and directed the blood through the usual veins, only to find that a part of them weren¡¯t there anymore, as sizeable chunks of flesh had been ripped from his body. His legs, arms, and torso were all missing sizeable chunks of flesh, as the only thing that had remained largely intact seemed to be his head, as the twelve guards had mostly focused on his other limbs.


    In desperation, Orthrus shouted to Marius with a loud and desperate tone.


    ¡°Marius, can¡¯t you do something?! Can¡¯t you make those black roots you conjured up heal him or something?!¡±


    Marius sighed, before he replied with a meek and destitute tone.


    ¡°If I could I would have already done something. You should know where those black roots come from, and you know that I can¡¯t influence that tree.¡±


    Orthrus turned his gaze towards the large tree that loomed over the glade, he walked five steps, before he got on his knees, and pleaded.


    ¡°I know if you can hear me Farnum. I don¡¯t know if you have any care for the small boy that is bleeding out, but your behaviour suggests the opposite, so I beg of you, please save Daelyn. I don¡¯t know how much you know of him, or¡­.¡±


    Before Orthrus could finish his sentence, the ground under Daelyn parted, and revealed a large amount of the same black roots. They converged on Daelyn, and in a matter of moments, he was completely encircled by the roots, they pulled him under. The black roots followed Daelyn, as they all retreated underground, covering their tracks with dirt. They left the glade in its former pristine condition, and the three figures in shock as they had erased their presence from the battlefield.


    Orthrus hoped that his prayers had been heard, and as he turned back towards the battlefield, he found that the slaughter had ended. The ants had been annihilated with only the queen remaining in the abominations claws.


    Orthrus sighed, as he had no idea how he was going to explain to Lyvia what happened, let alone assure her of Daelyn¡¯s safety. While he walked towards his home with Gob and Marius by his side, Daelyn had already passed it, and entered the trunk of the large tree.


    Farnum had expended a large amount of mana to save the small boy, and he felt the darkness spread from his roots due to the intense mana use, yet he didn¡¯t waver, as he regarded this boy as his last means for survival. He didn¡¯t even know if the small child could succeed, but Farnum knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to hold out for more than a decade after saving the young boy, and he hadn¡¯t even started healing the small thing.


    He knew that it would take a lot from him to heal Daelyn, he would most likely wither in a couple of years now instead of the decades that were originally left, yet he didn¡¯t falter. Farnum knew that there was a slight chance that Daelyn could prolong his lifespan far beyond those decades, he had felt Daelyn¡¯s power over the years. He had never encountered such a power, yet he knew of the capabilities of both blood and dark mana, so he could only hope that there was a possibility for Daelyn to use his powers, and blow new life into his old self.


    Farnum fanatically began the healing process, as and as he worked on healing the severed tendons and missing pieces of flesh, he felt the blood flow through the boy¡¯s veins, urging him to continue his healing with even more devotion.


    While Farnum continued his frantic efforts to sustain the boy¡¯s life, Daelyn entered the soul space once again, only to find that it was different this time, as instead of his crystallized heart, he stood in the centre of a barren plain, with a large and flourishing forest surrounding it.

 Chapter 35: A withering forest and a dead colony.

    <h1>Chapter 35</h1>


    Daelyn¡¯s vision returned to him several moments after he had lost it. However, instead of seeing the blue sky he saw a sky of black and red, mixing together in a large storm which seemed to swallow the heavens. A storm that seemed to swallow everything it touched, leaving only waste and ruin in its wake.


    Daelyn was captivated by the storm for several minutes, until he shook his head and got to his feet. Well, he didn¡¯t really do those things, as he didn¡¯t have a body in the soul space, which was quite weird. He had heard that most beings naturally took on their own form inside the soul space, but Daelyn hadn¡¯t been able to get anything despite his efforts.


    He had spent hours on end trying to transform his disembodied soul into another form, but he had failed every time. He had tried the most simple things, like changing into a cube instead of the circular outcropping object he was now, yet he had failed even such a simple task, causing him to become more and more agitated until he finally gave up, as he realized that there wasn¡¯t any way to continue down that path.


    He stood up in his disembodied form, and directed his gaze towards the forest surrounding the barren plain he had woken up in. There was a stark contrast between the green and lush forest in the background, and the plain of waste and ruin with Daelyn at its epicentre.


    He was struck with the beauty of the forest, as the eerie silence accented the calmness and beauty that radiated from the trees.


    Moving towards the forest in a light stroll, or float, he admired the natural beauty the large yet stunted trees held. They all seemed to grow to a certain height before the branches sporadically grew out from the top, creating a dense layer of branches topped off with a large amount of leaves. It made for quite a scene, as the entrance to the forest was quite dark, giving it a sense of mystery and prickling Daelyn¡¯s curiosity.


    He traversed the last few metres of wasteland before he entered the trees with a feelings of wariness. The atmosphere turned quite gloomy as he entered through the natural archway the trees had created. Where they had once seemed beautiful and calm, now they loomed over him like slumbering yet dangerous giants.


    They cast a shadow over the forest floor, creating an atmosphere that would send a tingle down anyone¡¯s spine. The trees seemed to blot out the sun with their tangled mess of branches of leaves, and create a certain tension which put Daelyn on guard.


    Yet despite the tension in the air and the forbidding in the atmosphere, he pushed on.


    Daelyn had thrown caution to the air the moment he walked under the wooden archways, the only thing that remained was his desire to sate his curiosity. Yet despite his foolishness, he wasn¡¯t inept.


    He noticed how the natural beauty and surreal silence were quickly replaced by an unnatural tranquillity and a darkness that seemed to ooze out from under the tree bark. The forest floor became darker and darker as Daelyn came closer to the centre of the forest. The only beams of light that touched the ground where from rough patches in the trees, and the archway that became more and more distant.


    The forest became darker and darker, as even the trees seemed to turn a coal like blackness. Daelyn felt like he was in a room without windows, as almost everything around him seemed to turn more and more dark the closer he got to the centre, and when the forest had become a tunnel without light, there was an end.


    The dark and baleful forest floor reached an end, as it opened up into a small glade with a large tree in the middle.


    Daelyn looked in shock at the large tree for a second, before something in his mind clicked.


    The large tree in front of him seemed to be almost completely made from coal, as most of it had been turned to the same dark charcoal that seemed to permeate the forest. Only the occasional green leave its barren branches betrayed that it hadn¡¯t died, yet it was clear that the withering wouldn¡¯t take much longer. The trees around him where all coated in a layer of darkness that seemed to permeate every part of them, turning both their surroundings and themselves into something devoid of life. The grass was dead, the berries and other greens were rotten, the flowers were withered, and the corpses of the small wildlife were strewn about across the glade.


    It seemed like death itself had passed through, and it hadn¡¯t shown any mercy to any of the flora and fauna in the forest.


    As Daelyn took in the scene, he realised what this forest might be, he realised where he might be.


    He had seen the blackened trees, he had seen their stunted growth, he felt the dark energy course through the air, and he couldn¡¯t help but recognise the eerie silence that permeated every the woods.


    He realised it was Farnum. He knew he could be wrong, but everything pointed towards it. The black trees, their stunted growth, the unnatural silence, the absence of any life in the forest, it must be Farnum.


    With this realisation that it was Farnum he was looking at, he took pity. He pitied the poor tree that he had to go through such a trauma.


    It was clear that the dark energies that permeated the withering tree had corrupted close to every part of it. The corruption had turned its once thick bark into a brittle and crumbling crust, the corruption had left it to starve. Farnum had been stripped of his leaves, and his roots had been infected with the darkness, causing them to lose their ability to absorb minerals.


    Famine inhabited the forest, and it took everything down with it. It destroyed the small plant life, it withered the leaves of the taller trees, it corrupted their roots, and it left the wildlife to starve under a shortage of food.


    Yet, despite the horror scene dead forest in front of him, Daelyn wasn¡¯t fazed in the slightest. He had thrown away all caution the moment he had entered the forest, and when he felt the dark mana permeating the air in the small glade, he hadn¡¯t been frightened by it.


    He hadn¡¯t been frightened by the dark energy oozing from the trees, as he had felt a feeling of familiarity from it instead of dread. Dark mana inhabited both his body and his soul, there was no way he could be scared of such ambient dark energy.


    With that feeling of familiarity, he made the last few steps towards the large tree, and placed his hand on it.


    He felt the jagged and brittle texture of the tree bark as he spread his sense outwards. Sure enough, he felt the dark mana flowing through it like an ocean.


    He felt the energy flowing towards the top, as it was trying to corrupt the remains of the once great forest. The dark mana flowed through the tree trunk like a tide. Daelyn felt it abate and then feverishly advance, only to retreat once again, creating a never ending cycle of attacking and retreating.


    Daelyn wasn¡¯t sure what the tide was bashing against, but he felt the desire to know swell up in him once again, and he began gathering his own energy. Curiosity had been the reason why he had entered this forest, and he wasn¡¯t going to leave until he was satisfied.


    He felt that it was a slow gathering process, much slower than normal, but as he looked up, he understood why. The storm had started morphing and it was making a path towards his position, leaving only a barren plain in its wake. The energy that ravaged Daelyn¡¯s soulspace infiltrated Farnum, and reigned havoc over the corrupted and weakened forest.


    It coalesced above Daelyn, granting him access to his power. He felt the energy of both blood and dark mana flow through his being, and he used it. He directed it towards the brittle tree bark, and he carved a way through the endless tide of dark mana washing up against whatever was at the top of the tree.


    Tethers from the storm attached itself to Daelyn, and through his being, they were directed at the tree. He was used as both a conduit and a direction. With his being becoming stationary, he focused his efforts on carving his way through the ocean of dark mana that inhabited the tree, and as the first tiny piece of the brittle tree bark caved in under the pressure, he smirked.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    There was much work to be done, but that first piece was the beginning. A journey of a thousand kilometres starts with a single step, and that small piece of tree bark only reinforced this notion in Daelyn¡¯s mind.


    While Daelyn had his mind preoccupied with curiosity, another being close by had its mind focused solely on survival.


    It had witnessed the slaughter of its own people, yet it hadn¡¯t been moved by it. It had lost all sympathy for its brothers and sisters the moment they cast her out on the orders of that damned matriarch.


    Yet it hadn¡¯t left the slaughter, as it knew that it didn¡¯t have any resources. It would take anything that the creatures would leave, but to its surprise, they left the battlefield intact. The only thing they took seemed to be the body of a creature with light skin and dark hair.


    It gazed on as the large lions with snakes for manes wandered off, the dozens upon dozens of roots simply disappeared back into the ground, and the three figures walked back towards the construction of wood and stone in the back of the glade.


    It looked on in curiosity as the large beasts obediently followed the three figures, before they suddenly sank into the ground as a portal opened up underneath the centre figure. They were sucked in and with their disappearance, the glade regained its lost peace, returning to its former state of silence and tranquillity.


    It was completely taken aback by the calmness and serenity of the glade, before it snapped out of its stupor, and set off.


    The queen, her personal guards, and a large part of the army had been destroyed. The only thing that remained were their corpses, and the young ant queen would be damned if she didn¡¯t make use of all the resources she had.


    She hurried back towards the colony from which she was banished only a few days ago. She had only one goal in mind, to gain control of the meagre numbers that remained, and lead them to greatness under her rule. She knew that they wouldn¡¯t readily accept her, but she could only hope that they would put their survival above their deceased queen.


    Despite her hurry, it took close to two hours before the young ant matriarch reached her destination. She wasn¡¯t built like the former ant queen, instead of a strong body with a limited birthing capacity, she had a weak body with a large birthing capacity, culminating in her comically large behind, large enough to hold a full soldier ant.


    When she finally arrived, she saw that the remaining ants had a similar condition to those that had joined the queen in her hunt. They had gone berserk the moment they felt the absence of the warrior ant queen¡¯s overpowering presence, causing the ants to kill everything in sight.


    The only difference between the colony and the queen¡¯s hunt was that the colony¡¯s slaughter hadn¡¯t ended yet.


    She once again witnessed how her people were cut down in front of her, yet this time she did feel fear, as they had noticed her despite their berserk state.


    She had tried to peek out from the tree she had been hiding behind, but because of her clunky movement, she had been discovered. Her complexion grew pale as one of the smaller soldier ants in the brawl shrieked in her direction, drawing the attention of the others to her.


    The young queen looked on in horror as a group of soldier ants split off from the brawl and bounded towards her.


    The young queen quickly took off in the opposite direction, but she could hear her pursuers come closer and closer with the second, as her enormous lower body severely impaired her movement. They quickly bridged the distance between them, and as they reached the queen, she screamed.


    She felt one of the soldier ants latch on to her lower body, slowing her even more as it was nothing more than deadweight at this point. The soldier¡¯s pincers latched on to her behind, and ripped a piece of flesh from it. She shrieked out in anguish, as she felt tendons of muscle and meat being ripped apart, only to have another soldier latch on and feast.


    She grinded to a halt under the added weight of the soldier ants, but she did not give up. She used every muscle in her body to try and continue. She ignored the enormous amount of pain that was straining her mind and she focused on one thing, survival. She had survived the first few days away from the colony, she had outlived that glorified dictator, and she wasn¡¯t going to give up now.


    She felt the tendons connection her body to her behind slowly cave as she pulled harder and harder at them. She felt even more excruciating pain from tearing her own tendons, yet she remained steadfast. She would die if she didn¡¯t do this and with one last great push, she succeeded.


    A sound of string being ripped apart accompanied with the *squish* of blood and gore resounded through the forest and with it, the queen sped off. She ran at top speed, as she knew that if her pursuers caught her now, she would be dead.


    She sped off across the forest floor, passing the trees that had taken her earlier more than a dozen and a half minutes to pass, now only taking less than a minute to leave them behind. Blood gushed from the wound on her backside, yet she continued on despite the screaming pain that enveloped her mind.


    She trudged on, hoping that her pursuers were more interested in her beefy severed body part. After several minutes of running at full speed, she looked behind her, and found that she was alone. Her pursuers were nowhere to be seen, nor any other signs of life.


    The area around her seemed abandoned, as the young queen could hear the sounds of battle in the distance behind her, but in front of her, it was completely silent.


    The ant queen hesitated for a second, as her instincts told her that danger was up ahead, but she knew that she couldn¡¯t go back. She knew she wouldn¡¯t survive very long in the wild, as she had been able to leech off security from the colony provided by hiding close by, but with the disappearance of the warrior queen, that wasn¡¯t an option any more.


    Gathering her will, she continued traversing the forest floor. She didn¡¯t know where she was, as she had been disoriented by the assault and the screaming pain that remained in her mind.


    Her scrambled thoughts only became dimmer with the second as she felt her consciousness slip away from her.


    Her pace slowed as her consciousness began to leave her, yet valiantly held on. She knew that falling into unconsciousness now would only spell death for her, so she scanned her blurry environment, trying to find some kind of shelter.


    Yet despite her desperate attempts, the forest didn¡¯t give in, as there seemed to be no holes in the trees, no cavities in the ground, no shaft under a tree dug out by a boar looking for food, there was nowhere to hide.


    Desperate, the queen trotted on. It had been several minutes since she had entered the silent part of the forest, and now she couldn¡¯t hear anything coming from her surroundings. The sounds of battle in the distance had died off, and now only the foreboding silence remained.


    However, as she entered deeper into the unnatural tranquillity of the forest, she felt a faint energy course through the air.


    She followed it in her half-conscious state, and quickly came upon a shallow cavity under a tree at the edge of a small glade. Focusing only on the hole, she failed to notice her surroundings, and she failed to notice the glade next to her.


    The smell of death permeated the air, yet it went unnoticed. Her mind was completely focused on the energy that coursed through the air, and the shelter that it had let her to.


    She felt the air thicken with that same energy as she stood in front of the entrance to the hole. With one last show of strength, she forced her legs over the edge, only to roll down the rabbit hole. It took several nauseating moments for her to arrive at the end of the small cavern. She grinded to a halt as she smashed into a massive curved wall with a loud *thud*.


    It took only several moments for her to lose consciousness. Her last sight being something dark, darker than the darkness that surrounded her, something that seemed to emanate the energy that had led her here, and as her head touched the ground, she lost consciousness.


    Her vision faded, only to open again several moments later.


    She was back in the colony, back in the nursery where she was born. She looked up to see her caretaker and noticed something. She gazed upon the ant that had raised her with a stunned mind, as she could only watch in horror as the normal worker ant towered over her. She had become a larva once again.


    She was in the centre of a large earthen room under the tall tree she knew her people called home. She was right next to a pile of food and a reservoir of water, yet there was something different. Yet before she could mind the details, one of the caretakers picked up something from the pile of food, and put it in front of her.


    She had remembered her youth to be bliss, as she didn¡¯t have to do anything besides eat and grow, everything had been taken care of for her, they had even cleaned up her excrement. She had been living the life of a princess with fresh food, clear water, and servants that followed her every order.


    She dug into the mountain of food at her disposal with a phantom smile, as she had forgotten the joy she had felt in her youth before she was cast out under the tyranny of the old queen. She dug a hole into the pile, and she was slowly expanding it. She dug a path through the mountain of food with fervour. Her smile grew with every piece of meat she consumed, and when almost half of the pile was gone, she slowly crawled out from under the mountain of food.


    Having had her fill, she returned to her bed made from leaves and soft dirt, only to have her body slump the moment it hit the leaves.


    She felt like the day had gone by in pure bliss, as she had truly enjoyed reliving her youth. She had enjoyed having caretakers and she had greatly enjoyed tunnelling through the mountain of food at her disposal. All of this bliss culminated in one last phantom smile on the queen¡¯s face, as she felt that this day had been too perfect.


    She let out one last sigh of bliss, before she fell asleep. With her vision leaving her once again, she did noticed one thing before her consciousness left her. A weirdly strong smell invaded her nose, a very strong and sulphuric smell permeated her mind, causing the maggot queen to writhe in disgust.


    She was greatly angered by the smell that had invaded her nostrils, yet with a tilt of her head, her anger vaporised. It was replaced by disgust, horror, and disbelief.

 Chapter 36: A sea of corpses and the birth of a new ruler.

    <h1>Chapter 36</h1>


    The putrid stench of death filled the air, as the underground nursery was filled with the dead corpses of her caretakers. They had been mercilessly slaughtered, and their carcasses were decomposing at an exponential rate, leaving only a rotting corpse with the occasional chunks of meat on the exposed skeleton.


    The rot had extended itself over to the mountain of food lying beside her, causing it to decompose as well. Instead of a mountain of fresh food, a mountain of rotted fungi lay beside her, emitting the putrid stench that enshrouded the whole room, causing the young ant queen¡¯s gag reflex to kick in as she almost choked to death.


    She wheezed air through her spiracles before she emptied out her stomach.


    She hurried out of the room, failing to notice that she wasn¡¯t a larva anymore. The hallway next to the nursery was filled with the same suffocating stench, and as she hurried past the other nurseries, she saw that death ruled everywhere.


    Everything was decomposing. Rotting bodies of caretakers, larva, workers, and soldiers could be found throughout the tunnels. The unnatural silence and the putrid stench caused the queen¡¯s mind to go insane, as she felt feelings of disgust and horror well up in her.


    She hadn¡¯t felt such feelings of horror for a long time, and it surprised her. She had believed to be completely estranged from these creatures, yet she felt the horror congregate in her chest, she felt the disgust fill her mind, and she felt desperation in her heart from the rotting bodies around her.


    The sopping sound of her feet hitting the small puddles of blood and excrement echoed throughout the chambers, breaking the unnatural silence with enough force to wake the dead.


    While the queen hurried down the halls, more and more sounds of sopping feet hitting the ground resounded through the hallways. At first they were few in number, but the more the queen ran, the more their numbers grew. The sounds finally penetrated her chaotic mind as a rotting ant body ran out from one of the rooms to her right, and smacked its head with a sickening thud against the wall just in front of her.


    The queen shrieked as blood and puss was plastered against the wall from the ant¡¯s charge, yet that wasn¡¯t why she screamed.


    The corpses of thousands upon thousands of ants littered the forest floor for kilometres on end. An unnatural tranquillity permeated the sea of corpses, as even the noise of the oncoming horde behind her was cancelled out. Only she and the carcasses of her death sisters and brothers remained, each and every one of them having long lost the life in their eyes, each and every one of them slowly decomposing from the open air exposure.


    Yet their conditions seemed to differ, as every ant seemed to have a different necrosis. There seemed to be some general differences which categorized the carcasses into different groups, some had body parts torn off, some seemed to be completely ground to mush, some were almost completely decomposed, and others seemed to be almost completely intact despite a few missing chunks of flesh due to their decomposing. The only thing that seemed to thrive in this landscape of death were the fungi that nourished themselves with the cold flesh of the deceased ants, enveloping every bit of flesh in a crust of pus and dried blood.


    She walked with calm steps through the corpse littered field, oblivious to the horde of ants pouring out from the entrance behind her. She weaved herself through the field of corpses with light steps, walking past the bodies of her people with a numbed mind, as the only thing that penetrated the depths of her psyche were the rotting faces of the creatures that lay beside her feet.


    They once stood proud like her, trusting in the strength of their queen, trusting in the army they had created, and trusting in the strength of the group. They were never afraid to back off from a challenge if it threatened the group, yet that is exactly what had let to their end.


    The young matriarch¡¯s former resentment and apathy towards her people had disappeared, as she realized both their and her own mistakes. They had valued the group above themselves, they had valued unity more than survival, and they had believed in their queen above all, believing her to be the one that provided that unity and the one that led them to a greater future.


    They were misled, they saw the queen as a being above themselves, when the only thing that she could do was birth more warriors and workers, she had no real power over her subjects except for their faith. Yet despite her powerless reign over her subjects, the warrior queen had continued her rule under the notion that she was something more than them, only to fail when they encountered something that was actually more than them.


    The young matriarch looked at the result of that fateful encounter, as she stood between the two severed halves of the former matriarch¡¯s body. The insides had already started rotting gaining a mushy crust of pus and dried blood, the outer shell of thick chitin had been cleanly cut in half as if a giant scythe had passed through the body like it was nothing but air.


    She spent several more moments in silence, as she absentmindedly looked beyond the severed halves. Yet as she looked into the distance, her scrambled thoughts were slowly reforming, causing the noise around her to finally reach her.


    It began soft, as only a slight hum resounded through her ears. Yet it quickly increased, taking only a few moments before the sound of the oncoming horde reached her mind  once more.


    Looking behind her, she saw the sea of corpses only a few dozen centimetres away from her, accelerating and quickly closing in on her. Their voracious appetite compelled them to sweep up every corpse in their path, and consume it.


    The queen shook her head as she tried to find any shelter from the voracious horde in front of her, only to have her gaze focus on the large and armoured behind of the warrior queen.


    While its insides may be rotting, its outer shell was incredibly dense. It would be able to stave such a horde off with ease, as even the soldier ants couldn¡¯t have any hope of penetrating the thick chitin that had encased the queen¡¯s body.


    The queen quickly raced up to the wall of rotting flesh and organs that were the warrior queen¡¯s insides, and she started cutting a way through it. She dug into the rotting flesh like the pile of food she had consumed earlier, and quickly created a hole big enough for her to fit in.


    She dug for a few more centimetres until she felt a glaring pain in her side. Looking back, she saw that a small worker ant had already reached her and had started chewing on her stumpy backside. His small pincers had a surprising strength to them, cutting through the weak chitin on the small stump on her backside with ease.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    With another mighty cut of its pincers, it sliced through the stump, taking a chunk of flesh with it. It shrieked triumphantly, soliciting a chorus of berserk screeches from its fellow corpses, and turning towards the queen with renewed vigour, only to have its rotting face caved in.


    The queen ignored the screaming pain that had entered her mind once again and retracted her pincers from the ant¡¯s mushy face. She was quite surprised by the resilience of the ants skull, as she had been only able to crack it, whereas she normally would have been able to penetrate it with ease.


    Yet her shock only lasted for a moment, as she was reminded of her situation by the dozens upon dozens of ferocious shrieks coming from outside her little hidey hole. She returned her attention back towards the small flesh cave in front of her, only to chitter in happiness.


    The ant worker¡¯s body had blocked most of the shaft leading to her, causing the next ant in line to take up almost all of the space that remained in the small tunnel, and causing it to get stuck between the body of its dead companion and the slimy decaying walls of the warrior queen¡¯s behind.


    The queen tried to disable to struggling ant with a quick jab to the neck, yet this one wasn¡¯t quite as occupied with screaming victory as the last one. It used its thickened skull to shield its neck from penetration, only to have it crack under the queen¡¯s strength. It released a horrific sounds as it started squirming, trying to worm itself free. Yet with one more quick jab to the head, its squirming ceased.


    The queen sighed in relieve, as she had been granted a moment of respite from the oncoming horde. The tunnel had been almost completely filled up by the two ant corpses, and while their cracked skulls leaked pus and gore, the queen looked on in pride at her achievement. She had never been very good at close quarters combat, usually preferring to give out orders and direct her forces, yet she thought of it was a nice change of pace.


    Yet despite her success in blocking the tunnel she had created, her respite lasted only for a moment, as another corpse ant burst through the roof, and latched itself on her back.


    She shrieked in surprise and agony, only to have another ant pop up from the floor and grasp one of her hind legs, another one quickly followed by bursting from the side wall and ramming into her, followed by another one that latched on to her stumpy behind, another one ripped off a chunk of her underside, another one ripped out one of her eyeballs, and many more followed.


    The queen was quickly devoured by the sea of corpses as they burst out from every direction through the rotting flesh she had sought refuge in. They ripped of chunks of her skin with every swing they took, they broke through her soft underbelly and eviscerated her, they ripped out her eyes, broke her legs, and cut off her antennae¡¯s.


    The queen was screaming out in pain and horror as her limbs were stripped from her one by one, yet no matter how much flesh she lost, no matter how much blood was spilled, no matter how many organs were devoured, she continued to live through this hell.


    She scrambled her thoughts to find a way out of this torture, yet the screaming paint that enveloped her psyche withheld her. She could only feel the despair rise in her chest as it was dug out by one of the many corpse ants that assaulted her, images flashed by as the pain grew. She remembered her youth, her growth periods, her caretaker ants, the soldiers that had faithfully guarded her, the queen¡¯s bodyguards that had been ordered to get her, and her last audience with the warrior queen.


    That damned muscle headed matriarch had called her for an audience, only to banish her. She wasn¡¯t giving a reason, she wasn¡¯t giving any guards, any resources, not even a contemporary home, she was destined to die by that damned brute.


    Yet despite her banishment, despite her weakness, despite everything, she had survived. She had survived the beasts that had assaulted her by luring them to the nearby nests of other forest denizens or even the ant colony, she had eaten blades of grass to gain any kind of nutrition, she had even dug out her own little cave not far from the colony. She had thrived where that damned brute had destined her to die, and she wouldn¡¯t allow that idiot and her senseless minions to doom her from beyond the grave.


    The despair that inhabited was slowly formed into a conviction, as the painful memories of her banishment hammered on it like an iron maul.


    She gathered her will behind her newly shaped conviction, and shrieked in agony and defiance. No sound escaped her throat, as there was nothing left of it, yet the scream didn¡¯t go unnoticed.


    The large skeleton of the warrior queen shook as energy streamed out form the ground, coursing its way through the sea of corpses towards her. The energy bound through the sea of corpses along a previously unnoticed connection. Its route towards the queen was very peculiar, as it seemed to stream along the connection, yet it branched out along almost every part of the way, being more reminiscent of a patch of branches than a coursing river.


    Yet the queen didn¡¯t notice this, as she only noticed the revitalizing energy that it supplied her with. She felt the control over her body strengthen, allowing her to gain some semblance of control over her bony limbs and the energy that coursed through her body. She directed both her limbs and the energy outward in an desperate attempt to stave off the horde of corpse ants bashing against her body, only to succeed beyond her wildest imagination.


    Across her skeleton, small stubbles appeared, only to grow into long and thick spikes. They impaled every corpse around the queen, and pushed the horde back. The screaming pain in her mind finally subsided, as there were no more ants to chew on her, yet there also wasn¡¯t anything to chew on anymore.


    Her body had been stripped of all of its flesh, leaving her bare boned in the most literal sense of the word. She tried to move her limbs, only to find that they were close to immovable. It felt like her body was covered in a layer of hard stone as even the smallest movement caused her limbs to creak under the pressure, making it feel more like she was trying to bend hardened chitin instead of moving one of her own limbs.


    Yet despite their weight, she could move her limbs. Her desperate attempts at movement were met with support from the revitalizing energy. She felt the revitalizing energy converge around her skeleton, creating a large amount of small strings running along her bones, connecting at her joints, and creating a layer of magical power that covered her entire body. She seized control over the energy that covered her body, and directed it.


    She didn¡¯t move her limbs, she commanded them to be moved. The layer of magic covering her entire body obeyed, and started lifting the dense and heavy leg with difficulty, only to drop it down as soon as it had completed its order. She felt that she had lost a great deal of energy by that simple movement, yet she wasn¡¯t discouraged, she was elated.


    The energies converged on the queen¡¯s head as she formed a phantom smirk, causing her ethereal muscles to morph into a horrifying smile.


    Yet her smile began to waver, as she felt the revitalizing energy continue to stream in. Her newly found muscles bloated, her tendons stretched, and her bones started creaking under the pressure her expanding muscle mass released.


    It encroached on her mind, slowly grinding away at her psyche. It grew and grew, becoming an ever larger threat to her sanity. It kept expanding and expanding, putting more and more pressure on her mind. Agony enveloped her mind once more, as she was dragged back to the jagged torture chamber she had just escaped from.


    Her skeleton creaked under her bloated muscles and her mind was slowly being ground down by the increasing pressure of the revitalizing energy. Yet despite all of this, her phantom smiled reformed.


    Her bloated muscles made her head seem like a puff pastry, yet her wicked smile extended even beyond the stretched limits of her bloated face. Her teeth filled grin opened up, only to release a laugh which was fitting for her slowly disappearing sanity.


    Her phantom maw quickly snapped shut, yet the wicked smile remained.


    It remained as she directed the now agonizing energy to her behind. It remained as she pushed the energy through her stump, and burst through it with another wave of agony accompanying the explosion of energy. It remained as the bones of her stumpy behind grew to monstrous proportions, creating a new, deformed, and more spiky behind.


    It only wavered as she found her limits once again. She had recreated her lost behind, yet the agonizing energy still continued to stream in, filling her up once more, and causing both her mind and her bones to bend under the pressure it released.


    Just as she was about to fall back into the jagged ravine that was her personal hell, she felt a sneering pain in her side. Turning her head, she found a corpse ant had broken through the dense forest of spikes, and had dug its claws in her body.


    The sneering pain came with a moment of clarity, and a realisation. She saw something in the ant which she couldn¡¯t have noticed before, yet it seemed all too clear now. She looked up, only to find that the small ant reflected the horde crowding around her. While each of them had their own individual differences, they all seemed to share one thing, one thing that connected them.


    The queen quickly set to work as her phantom smirk once more grew beyond its physical limitations, and reformed as the most wicked and unnerving smile she had conjured up until now.


    She would use the corpses of those that had rejected and banished her in both life and death to fuel her progress, to fuel the creation of a new colony, a colony which would rise above its predecessor, and she would take her rightful place as uncontested ruler.


    She shrieked in delight as she thought of the future, only to clamp down on the small ant biting her side, and consume him with one large gulp.

 Chapter 37: Preperation and a teachers plight

    <h1>Chapter 37</h1>


    Three figures sat around a campfire, their silhouettes were revealed by the burning cinders, yet anything else remained cloaked by shadows. The only thing that showed through the shadows that enveloped them were their eyes, their burning bright eyes.


    Their bright yellow irises seemed to exude light as natural as the sun, as their eyes penetrated the shimmering dusk with the light that radiated from them.


    With a sigh, the shortest figure spoke with a brisk voice.


    ¡°Do we really have to wait for those dark elves? Can¡¯t we just kill the damned bastard now and get it over with? If he is dead, extracting the hostages will be easy!¡±


    The figure standing most distant from the campfire walked back towards the other two. He said with a disgruntled and tired voice: ¡°Could you stop whining about killing him? We were told to bring back the hostages alive, and if we try an outright assault he will just relocate and become invisible, again.¡±


    An agitated voice rang as the shortest member spoke once again.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah. You don¡¯t have to rub it in, I know what I did. But this time, it¡¯s different. He has nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and no monsters that we don¡¯t know of. It¡¯s gonna be easy to cut off his head!¡±


    Before they could continue, the third party member spoke.


    ¡°Alryd, stop with your ramblings and Falril, don¡¯t bite. You know every discussion with him devolves into a yes or no argument regardless of the topic. Speaking is silver yet silence is golden, remember?¡±


    The campsite became enshrouded in silence as the third party member¡¯s calm yet stern voice cut off Alryd and Falril¡¯s bickering. His silhouette seemed domineering as he towered above the other two, his presence seemed to radiate authority as the two obediently remained silent.


    He continued.


    ¡°They said they will come after dusk, and the sun hasn¡¯t gone down, so stop bickering about the time. Have you forgotten the most basic principle of our creed? Patience and striking when the opportunity arises. So shut up and wait.¡±


    The campsite became silent once again, until the shortest of the figures, Alryd, spoke up once again.


    ¡°Chef, could you tell us about the target?¡±


    With a sigh the so called chef stood up, and addressed the two once again.


    ¡°How hard is it to understand the meaning of ¡®shut up and wait¡¯? Being a battle crazed berserker doesn¡¯t mean you are allowed to be this stupid. Either way, everything you need to know is in the mission briefing.¡±


    ¡°Ha ha, very funny. Making fun of a berserker for being stupid, very original. I meant something in the mission briefing, namely the ¡®hostile hostages¡¯ that are mentioned. What do they mean with ¡®hostile hostages¡¯? Are they corrupted, brainwashed, or do they have the Bertram syndrome or something? Because I¡¯m not going to kidnap someone who willingly turned themselves into a lich after coming to like their kidnapper.¡±


    The two underlings stared with anticipating gazes at the so called chef, as they expected an answer to their reasonable question. They had both read the mission briefing with great anticipation, yet for differing reasons. Both saw it as a chance, but one saw it as a chance for elation and the other saw it as a chance for elevation.


    They waited for their leader to answer them in silence. The silence continued on for minutes on end, making it seem like an eternity, as the anticipation filled their minds and filtered out everything else. When they felt a century had passed, he finally spoke.


    ¡°Well, you sure can show some patience when you want to. You don¡¯t need to know about the ¡®hostile hostages¡¯, I will handle him and the hostages, you will handle his minions. Don¡¯t forget, he is a dark mage, and a powerful chimeramancer at that. His abominations are very powerful, so the moment you have any time to worry about the ¡®hostile hostages¡¯ it will be the moment before a twisted and vile monster closes its maw around your neck and rips off your head.


    I will deal with the hostages while you and the dark elves distract his minions long enough to ensure my success. Understood?¡±


    His voice had a threatening undertone in it, as his expression made clear that he wasn¡¯t willing to give any more information to his two underlings.


    While the campsite of the trio was shrouded in silence for the dozenth time, the humble abode of their target wasn¡¯t as quiet. In contrast, it was filled with the roars and bellows of creatures from both inside and outside.


    The target seemed to be in a hurry as he and a six armed goblin scurried around, trying to pack as many things as they could in the large number of chests, crates and bags that were piled up against the backwall.


    It was quite surprising to see a large amount of the chests, crates and bags mostly filled, as the library seemed unchanged. The bookcases surrounding them were still filled with different kinds of literature, stacks upon stacks of books still permeated the hallways, yet when one would look closer, they would notice the change.


    Certain books which normally seemed irrelevant or unimportant were taken from the shelfs, stacks of books had shrunk or completely disappeared in the absence of the literature it once held. The books seemed to have been selectively taken from the library, making it seem like nothing had been taken away.


    The same was true for the other possessions of Orthrus.


    The piles dozens upon dozens of exotic looking skulls, bones, or even complete skeletons seemed untouched, yet upon closer inspection a few of the more peculiar looking ones had been removed from the shelves they had rested on.


    The armoury which housed a multitude of mystic yet powerful weapons had shrunk, quite literally. The room itself seemed to perfectly accommodate the impressive number of weapons it housed, giving the illusion that the true treasure was housed here, only to disappoint any would be raider when they found that the weapons were of only slightly above average quality.


    The shimmering wands and fiery swords only proved to be slightly above average enchantments on mediocre equipment as it was clear that both the weapon and the enchantment had been forged by an amateur. The numerous intricately engraved bows were clearly inscribed by an amateur engraver, and even the sturdy crossbows and hand cannons could only be seen as a disgrace to any respectable gun smith.


    Yet despite the effort to mask any major signs of moving out, one sign remained prevalent.


    The unnatural silence that resounded through the dungeon which bordered the library. The usual chittering, screeching of claws, and growling had been replaced by an out of place tranquillity. The domineering aura¡¯s of powerful monsters and the horrifying silhouettes of abominations had been replaced by a scene filled with blood and gore. Everything was dyed in a new taint with a mixture of red, blue, green and black as the multitude of creatures that once resided there had been brutally slaughtered.


    Once again, a closer inspection revealed much more than a simple slaughter. It revealed a grand frenzy, a free for all between the multitude of prisoners kept in the dungeon. Orthrus acted as both the agitator and the benefactor of the frenzy, riling up the creatures by releasing the pressure that the dark mana worked on them, and ordering the weaker denizens to engage in battle with each other, signalling the start of a bloody and brutal affair.


    The frenzy lasted a whole night, before the dungeon finally became quiet as the last shriek resounded through the literature filled hallways of the library.


    The frenzy had ended with only a few creatures remaining. Each of them had faced a group of competitors trying for their life during the frenzy and each of them had mercilessly slaughtered a path through their fellow inmates in the hope of survival.


    Through intelligence, brute strength, overwhelming speed or some innate ability they had conquered their foes, and they had grown out of their former selves. They had sharpened their dulled skills through the night long frenzy, they had advanced many levels through the enormous amount of mana they had greedily absorbed from the slaughter, and they had once again enjoyed the thrill of the hunt. They lusted for more as they were ready to charge out against their adversaries, only to experience the same pressure that had dulled their skills, taken away the thrill of battle, and had suppressed their minds time and time again.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    They were once again being forced into a comatose under the oppressing presence of the dark mana, their bodies were once again sealed away as the ever-growing pressure made their limbs impossible to move. They bravely roared and fought back against the oppressing force working on them, only to fall down one by one.


    The dungeon became more and more quiet as every roar, screech and shriek was followed by a soft *thud* as the denizens fell prey to the dark mana one by one.


    The last one to stand tall above its adversaries was the three headed hound. It valiantly defied the growing pressure on its body, standing tall even when the dark mana reached its peak, flowing into the room like a river.


    The creature smirked as it noticed the stabilisation of the mana, only to lose that smirk when the dark mana around it rippled.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re the last one standing. Well, it¡¯s to be expected.¡±


    The dark mana surrounding it seemed to ripple as the old mage spoke, bending under his will like it was nothing. It subsided only to collide with the monster¡¯s body again in full force. It acted like an ocean under the mage¡¯s will, resembling the tide as it washed up against the monster¡¯s body with great force only to subside and clash again. It became a never ending cycle to dim the monster¡¯s mind and have its consciousness fall prey to the dark mana surrounding it, and the dark mage in front of him.


    With one last squeal escaping its maws, it collapsed on the floor. Its consciousness faded, yet its will remained, barring the dark mage from influencing its mind and soul. The only thing he could do was restrain it.


    The whole affair elicited a sigh from Orthrus, as he knew he would need to restrain most of the remaining test subjects with heavy armaments, otherwise they would escape the moment he didn¡¯t utmost attention to their cages. It had been several days since then and he still couldn¡¯t help but check the enchantments on the cages every so often, as he would have a serious problem if those creatures were to escape.


    Heavens knew he couldn¡¯t handle another burden. He still felt anxious from the captured monsters as there was a very slim chance that they would break out regardless of their magically reinforced prisons. Yet his worries were quickly put out of mind as he heard a knock on the door. He walked over to the door with a sigh, as he knew exactly who was standing behind the enchanted oaken door. He opened the door and was actually a bit surprised, as they were with three instead of two.


    Lyvia, Cyrus and Grey stood in front of him with grim yet hopeful faces.


    They had come almost every day after the incident, hoping to see Daelyn pop out from behind the door and sooth their worries, only to be disappointed time and time again as Farnum hadn¡¯t released Daelyn yet.


    Orthrus remembered the day of the incident, and their reaction to it. He also couldn¡¯t help but sigh, as that had been one of the most exhausting days in decades for him.


    They had heard about Daelyn¡¯s demise at the hands of the ants, as the most esteemed and renowned dark elf in the forest of Eleanor had come to tell them, and apologise for his actions.


    The family had been perplexed as the highest power in the forest had come to their small house and profusely apologised for the damage he had brought upon their son.


    Despite their surprise, the moment Marius had mentioned Daelyn being hurt, the two immediately shifted gears from surprise to worry. Their parental instincts got the best of them as they figuratively assaulted Marius.


    His apology quickly turned into an interrogation as both Lyvia and Grey questioned him about every little detail. Answers were met with questions, questions were met with more questions, and any vagueness was met with even more intense interrogation.


    It quickly became clear that Marius couldn¡¯t give them the complete picture, so Elyvia sped off and interrogated Orthrus. He was faced with the same treatment and his every word was ravaged by the parental instincts that had been spiked by their deep worry for Daelyn.


    The interrogation continued on for several hours, until both Marius and Orthrus had been completely exhausted. Satisfied with their answers, Lyvia and Grey treated them both to some roasted acorns and some tea to replenish their energy reserves.


    It had been ten days since then and Orthrus had been sympathetic to the small family, offering them all the advice, apologies and comfort he could give them. Protecting both them and Daelyn from further harm, as it had been clear to Orthrus that Lyvia had considered breaking into Farnum and extracting Daelyn multiple times.


    Orthrus once again eased their worries with predictions and explanations. He explained why it was taken so long for Daelyn to be healed and he eased their worries by explaining that Farnum was most likely healing Daelyn, as the old tree didn¡¯t have any motivation not to.


    The Theandor family left him a basket with tea leaves and acorn bread as they left to complete their daily task. Orthrus knew their worries were far from gone, but he hoped that he had eased them.


    Returning to his work, he continued marking off his general checklist of different things he would need to pack.


    ¡®Dried mana lilies, check. Potions, check. Staffs, weapons, tools and other equipment, check.¡¯ Resounded through his mind as he ticked off box by box on the list.


    He looked over with a disinterested look to the cages set up against the wall to his left.


    ¡®Monsters, check.¡¯


    Orthrus breathed a sigh of relieve as he stood up. It had taken several days to categorise, gather and pack all the necessary items in such a manner that it would seem like nothing was missing from the library, its hidden hallways, the armoury and their personal chambers.


    Orthrus cheerfully strolled past the mountain of items stacked against the backwalls of the library, humming in a soft tone as he made one last check.


    Halfway through the mountain of chests, he came across a small branch lying on the side of his worktable. The small branch seemed completely innocuous and uninteresting. Surprisingly, it was completely innocuous and uninteresting, it was just a normal branch which could be found anywhere  just outside of the house he was in.


    Yet this particular branch gained his attention, as it was the reason how they had been able to discover his escape path and his general location.


    With a swath of his hand, he knocked the branch off the table. With a grave expression and an angry yet trembling voice, he said:


    ¡°There will be no traces now. I believed to be cleansed of that filth over a century ago, only to encounter them once more. I will not let my life be tainted anymore by those damned bastards.¡±


    His anger remained as he walked off with brisk and aggravated steps, becoming more and more motivated to finish as soon as possible.


    Accompanied by the odd silence any library would have, he continued his work. He continued on his new projects, gathering information for Daelyn, enchanting Gob¡¯s crafts and trying to bring the caged monsters under his will one by one.


    His mind was filled with both boredom and anxiety as he repeated tasks he had done only minutes before. He checked everything for the dozenth time, he erased and enchanted one of Gob¡¯s weapons for the fifth time, hoping to do something that would drive away his growing boredom.


    He leaned back in his chair like a bored schoolboy, sighing as he reached the same results over and over, finding only one answer to both his boredom and anxiety.


    Daelyn.


    Daelyn was always the one to drive away his boredom with his unending stream of questions, his enthusiasm for almost every field of dark magic despite his inability to wield them, the need to prepare lessons, information and resources for the boy, and the satisfaction of watching him grow under his tutelage.


    Small steps is what he always said, yet these small steps would always make both of them filled with joy. The exhilaration of seeing his new student grow was a sensation he hadn¡¯t felt in a very long time, and he welcomed it.


    He reminisced about the different times when he scolded the boy for his carelessness, the first time being when the boy tried to make a regeneration spell from scratch. He tested his first attempt on himself, himself! I was already foolish enough to test a spell you had just started creating, not to mention what level of mental incapacity it would require to test it on oneself.


    Yet he had greatly enjoyed the boy¡¯s effort.


    He had enjoyed seeing the boy explore a type of magic that was unknown to both of them, he had enjoyed seeing him fail yet remain motivated with a little help, and he had enjoyed teaching him.


    Orthrus continued to reminiscence about Daelyn¡¯s progress for close to an hour, as he thought about the foundation Daelyn had already laid. He had made the foundation for a regeneration spell, he had become competent in the most basic form of auramancy, he had learnt a great deal about different kinds of magic, monsters and crafts during the last two years, and he had become adept at strategy and using tactics.


    So adept, that he was able to beat Orthrus in a number of different strategic and tactical games about two-thirds of the time. Much to the dismay of Orthrus, he was being consecutively beaten by a boy that was several centuries his junior in something that he would be expected to have mastered by now.


    Standing at the helm of armies of undead, commanding powerful abominations and commanding creatures from beyond this realm, and he was being beaten by a five year old when it came to utilising these powerful pawns!


    The boy showed great potential, yet he couldn¡¯t help but imagine how his peers would react to being beaten by a five year old, not to mention Marius. He knew that damned dark elf would laugh heartily for days on end and he knew that within the minute, literally, the entire forest would know.


    Orthrus continued to sulk for several more minutes, wallowing in self-pity and pride as he both praised his student for his prowess and loathed himself for his tactical and strategic failures. Yet, he quickly cut off his train of thought and focused his senses outwards. He felt the enchantment on the glade outside flaring up, alerting him of a perimeter breach by a particular individual, a sun elf.


    He was not alone anymore.


    He quickly felt the glade fill with multiple presences, each quite powerful, yet there were none that matched neither the sun elf in the middle of the glade, nor himself.


    He turned his back to the door and looked through the walls of his humble abode at Farnum. He knew Daelyn was in there, he knew what sun elves were capable of, and he knew he wasn¡¯t going to let anything happen to his disciple.


    Orthrus knew what they came for, he knew what he would have to give them to go away, yet he didn¡¯t have it, not anymore.


    Instead, he had something even better, something that would scar them for life, something that obeyed his command and would slaughter anything that would stand in his way, even if they were former comrades.


    With a wicked smile, Orthrus turned to the group standing in front of his house and readied himself.


    Blood would soil the ground, an old feud would be reignited with the conjuration of a single monster, and one creature would experience something that only the most legendary of existences experience, rebirth.

 Chapter 38: A battalion of fanatics and a fiery siege.

    <h1>Chapter 38</h1>


    Stepping out of the foliage, Ramul calmly walked into the small glade which bordered the mage¡¯s house. He looked around the glade with a calm and detached expression, observing how the peaceful and lively forest bled over into that dark and withering stunted tree with the house of that wizard at its base.


    He felt disgust at the sight of this beautiful forest being influenced by the foul taint of that mana, yet he repressed his disgust. He was on a mission to retrieve some innocent hostages, and he was going to succeed.


    Focusing on the ring on his right middle finger, he felt the positions of the others around him.


    Two dark elf mercenaries and Falril on his left, while Alryd and the other mercenaries were to his right. They were all concealed either with shadow or camouflage enchantments, as they blended in with the foliage, becoming one with the hedge.


    Ramul pushed onwards, taking several more relaxed steps before he felt a thin membrane of dark mana brush past him, signalling the discovery of both him and, most likely, his companions.


    He clicked his tongue in disgust, as he felt the dark mana wash over him like a river. He had felt this dozens of times, yet he still had difficulty stomaching the horrid feeling of that foul energy touching him.


    He abruptly stopped, returning the glade to its former state of tranquillity. He calmly raised his left hand, while his right reached for his blade strapped to his lower back.


    The glade was shrouded in silence for several moments as everyone awaited Ramul¡¯s signal. Loaded like a spring, both the mercenaries and Alryd and Falril awaited his signal.


    To Falril, it felt like an eternity as he awaited Ramul¡¯s signal with anticipation. He went over the plan again and again in his head, going over everything that could go wrong with Ramul¡¯s very simplistic plan.


    It came down to attacking the mage with all of their might, destroying his home and distracting him long enough to get the hostages.


    It wasn¡¯t the most spectacular plan, but it was dubbed the most likely to succeed, as they didn¡¯t think the mage would be moving anytime soon, they wouldn¡¯t be able to lure him out without attracting unwanted attention and they didn¡¯t have the resources nor the manpower for a prolonged siege, so they settled on this straightforward strategy.


    Blast a  hole through the defences, assault the mage and secure the hostages while he is preoccupied. It wasn¡¯t awfully complicated, but Falril believed that they could succeed with this strategy, they simply had to distract the mage¡¯s minions long enough to get inside and get the hostages out.


    His head shot up as he finally saw the boss¡¯ hand go down, signalling the beginning of the bombardment. He looked back and saw several of the dark elf mercenaries mounting earthen pots on small catapults, before they were shot off with a velocity that didn¡¯t seem to befit the small catapults.


    They traversed the air in a hyperbolic movement, before crashing into the side of the building and detonating. The earthen pots were shattered as the contents came into contact with the air and quickly heated up, before rapidly expanding and engulfing the house in a mixture of shrapnel, smoke and explosions.


    Falril¡¯s expression lightened, as he looked upon the house surrounded by smoke in relieve. For but a moment, he thought that they would be able to complete this quest without trouble, he thought that he could show his family that he was worthy enough to inherit the heirlooms.


    The smoke cleared and this sentiment was reinforced, as the front of the house had caved in under the explosions. It was clear that the building material was stronger than usual, yet they had still been able to punch a hole through the reinforced stone and wood. The hole wasn¡¯t very large, as at most one grown man would be able to fit through, yet the small victory gave a boost to morale, as his eardrums were overwhelmed with stimuli coming from his right.


    Alryd¡¯s war cry echoed through the small glade, spurring on both the mercenaries and Falril to charge. Falril had a smirk plastered on his face, as he shot out from the foliage to follow Alryd in his sprint towards the building.


    The party naturally formed an arrow formation. Falril and the archers stood in the middle in a wedge at the back, while the other melee oriented mercenaries stacked up behind Alryd who stood at the helm of the charge. He acted as the arrowhead to the charge, making it seem like he was ready to pierce through anything they could throw at him.


    Yet not everyone had joined the charge. There was one person in the glade who hadn¡¯t even moved an inch. Towering above his companions, Ramul simply observed their charge with a frown, as he knew something was amiss. A mage¡¯s house was akin to a fortress, it would simply be impossible to break through the walls with such ease, especially considering the mage¡¯s strength.


    Focusing on his left middle finger, he began to plan out his strategy, as he knew that a dark mage wouldn¡¯t leave any holes in his defence.


    Yet his worries weren¡¯t shared by his companions, as the dozen of charging warriors in front of him released a collective warcry. They had reached the walls and they were about to enter the mage¡¯s fortress, only to experience immediate retaliation.


    Their warcry was met with a chorus of feral roars, as several horrid looking monsters and abominations met their assault with a charge of their own, displaying a greater ferocity than the battle crazed Alryd could even hope to muster.


    The mercenaries accompanying Alryd flinched from the feral aura that the monsters carried, realising that they were mere men in front of the towering beasts. The charge quickly grinded to a halt as the men¡¯s moral was being ground down, leaving only Alryd to charge the monsters with a wicked smile on his face.


    He had sought salvation from his boredom, he had searched for the thrill of battle, the adrenaline that accompanied challenging a more powerful opponent, and he had found it.


    He felt the adrenaline course through his body, he felt his mind clouded in a red haze, and he felt his heart beat like a drum. He raised up his axe, he released his warcry once again and he charged into the fray.


    Yet the thrill of battle didn¡¯t last long for him, as he was pounced by a giant bone covered gorilla the moment he entered the fray. His axe was cast aside as the gorilla used its enormous mass to violently smash him aside, launching him into the air and out of the battle. It charged past him into the mercenaries that were following him and it wreaked havoc upon them.


    It grabbed one of the mercenaries by the arm and by the opposite shoulder and pulled. It ripped the mercenary in twain, only to throw the sellsword¡¯s remains at his comrades and continue its slaughter.  It grabbed another mercenary and threw him around, it grabbed one of the archer situated at the back and smacked Falril aside with it.


    Alone, it could massacre the entirety of the mercenary unit, yet it wasn¡¯t alone.


    The other monsters had also joined the fray, fighting both the mercenaries and each other.


    It was quite a surreal scene as a large crustacean creature slammed its body into the gorilla, trying to snap off its bone covered arms by snapping at them with enormous its pincers, only to be assaulted by a scorpion with a large venomous snake for a tail.


    The last two joined the fray, as the bodies of a large snow white lion with the head of a jet black panther and a three headed hound rolled out from the building, biting and clawing at each other as they were entangled by their struggle.


    Naturally, these strong creatures didn¡¯t notice the puny existences that littered the glade, as they were too busy fighting each other. These puny existences weren¡¯t noticed or only used as make-shift weapons, as the gorilla bashed the other creatures over the head with them several of the mercenaries.


    The five monsters seemed like titans in front of the mercenaries, as they had never experienced such a crushing defeat from collateral damage created by another¡¯s fight.


    With their morale shattered, the mercenaries tried to escape, mostly succeeding. They were lucky that the five titans in front of them were too busy trying to gouge each other¡¯s eyes out, as each of them could have easily hunted them down as an afternoon snack.


    Falril and Alryd couldn¡¯t escape, as they had already been flung out of the battle by the gorilla¡¯s charge. They had travelled several dozens of metres through air and foliage, only to hit one of the enormous trees that permeated Eleanor.


    The one observing this all was Ramul, he sighed as he watched the dark elf mercenaries retreat. He hadn¡¯t expected them to retreat so quickly, yet they had seemed to serve their purpose. The enemy was clearly showing most of its strength.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Ramul retrieved a small blue stone from his left pocket, he felt it buzzing with energy as he held it in his hand. The vibrations made it seem unstable and ready to explode, ready to engulf everything in an ocean of vibrating blue energy.


    Ramul smirked and fed it mana.


    The stone released an intense blue light, before the energy it held burst out like a shockwave, visibly driving back the dark mana that had previously coated the glade in a thin film. It continued its path, until it reached the house where it was dispersed against the stone walls.


    Ramul watched on in fascination and relieve as the mana created a visual spectacle by driving back the dark mana, only to disperse into the air, making it seem like nothing had happened. The only indication that it had ever been there was the now dull stone in Ramul¡¯s hand.


    Glancing up, he found that the five monsters were still fighting both the mercenaries that were idiotic enough to remain and each other. This scene caused his brow to furrow, as he didn¡¯t understand why the monsters hadn¡¯t run off. Why were they still fighting? The mana crystal should have weakened the connection between them and the dark mage enough for them to break it.


    Suddenly, his face lit up with understanding. They weren¡¯t connected, he had fallen for the damned mage¡¯s scheme, biting into hook, line and sinker.


    His face was filled with rage as he focused his mind on his left hand once again. He had just wasted their most powerful tool on what he had assumed to be the enemy¡¯s vanguard, only to find out that it was just a pack of crazed monsters that the dark mage had sent out.


    He cursed under his breath, not able nor willing to stand the shame of falling for such a simple trap. He cleared his mind and focused, he regained his calm and collected his thoughts.


    The difficulty had risen a bit, yet the mission was doable, regardless of the mana stone.


    He raised his right hand once again while he gave out orders through the ring on his left hand. He stood there, silently waiting on the perfect chance to attack. He felt the confirmation of his orders stream into his mind through the left ring, he felt his troops¡¯ anticipation as he held his hand raised. He felt their silent cries of excitement, yet he continued his silence.


    Inhaling slow and long breaths, he silently awaited the perfect chance to strike. Patience was as much a weapon as it was a virtue to him.


    He observed the ferocious battle in front of him. He observed how the scorpion bit its snake tail at the gorilla, only to be somersaulted by the gorilla as the snake head was bashed away. The black panther chimera snapped its jaws at the gorilla in an attempt to tear out its throat, only to be brutally somersaulted by the giant crustacean as it somehow rolled over the scorpion and slammed its body against the lion.


    Completely baffled by the monstrous battle, Ramul stood still for several seconds, before his gaze darted out and caught something in the corner of his eye. Turning his head, he came face to face with the most fearsome and intimidating of the five creatures, the three headed chimera hound.


    Ramul stood frozen as the creature bounded towards him. Its large strides seemed odd as the two heads situated to the side seemed to rebound at the impact of every step. It seemed more like the main body was dragging the two along for the ride, making it clear that while it was powerful, it was flawed.


    Ramul didn¡¯t have time to think about the creature¡¯s flaws, as he drew his blade with left hand while he held his right raised. He lowered his posture as he readied his blade in front of him.


    His right hand twitched as he was ready to lower it at any moment, the knuckles on his left hand turned white as he tightened the grip around his blade, preparing for the ensuing battle with both adrenaline pumping through his body. He held his place without moving a centimetre as the large creature bounded towards him, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.


    His patience payed off, as the large creature lowered its posture and leaped at him.


    He lowered his right hand the moment the three headed monstrosity left the ground, and dived to the side, putting the monster between him and his hidden battalion.


    His troops had understood the message as the creature was assaulted by several dozens of spells and arrow. The arrows whistled through the air before they buried themselves into the monster¡¯s hide, the spells of light and fire shot out from the foliage with great ferocity and engulfed the monster¡¯s side in a sea of explosions.


    It yelped in pain and surprise as it felt the coordinated barrage hit it, yet it remained focused on Ramul, charging the sun elf with even greater ferocity. It snapped its maws at him, it fired off pillars of fire from the left head, and shards of ice from the left.


    Ramul kept evading the monster as he rolled under its claws, evaded its magical attacks, and returning the favour by getting the occasional nick in on the monster¡¯s hide.


    He dove away from the monster¡¯s claws as his troops commenced another magical barrage, focusing on the creature¡¯s right head this time, reasoning that ice would take the most damage from fire and radiance based attacks.


    Noticing their intention, the flaming head on the right placed itself above the middle head, and fired its fiery breath at the incoming projectiles, neutralising most of them. The coordination between the heads only let a few weak radiance spells drop on the snow white head. Surprisingly, it suffered more damage from the flaming head¡¯s flamethrower than a barrage of spells and arrows, as the small radiance spells had only nicked its fur while the flamethrower had completely charred a part of its neck, exposing burned and mutilated flesh underneath.


    Not wasting a second, Ramul jumped on the monster¡¯s back and stabbed his short sword into the singed and exposed flesh, eliciting a cry of pain from the snow white head as it desperately tried to shake him off.


    He kicked off on the pummel of his sword, driving it deeper into the ice hounds neck and launching him away from the three headed abomination.


    He gracefully landed on the ground, skidding to a halt. Turning his attention back towards the three headed Cerberus, he met its sneering glare with an unwavering will. The three heads stared at him in pure hatred for inflicting harm upon them. The pain from a sword being stabbed through the neck had transferred to all three of them, making three different beings feel the same pain by being interconnected, causing them to collectively focus their anger on Ramul.


    Ramul met their glares with glee in his eyes, as he felt the adrenaline rushing through his body. It had been quite some time since he had been able to lead his men against such a powerful beast, and he was going to enjoy every moment of it.


    He flinched as the large creature suddenly averted its gaze, and sped off into the forest. Carving a path through the thick foliage with its sheer mass and muscle power, while taking Ramul¡¯s sword with it.


    Ramul stood still for several moments, as the anticlimactic escape of the monstrous hound dawned on him. He couldn¡¯t have predicted in his wildest dreams that the abomination would simply run off, no less with his sword stuck in it.


    Ramul sheepishly watched the hound¡¯s large strides for several more moments, until he heaved a heavy sigh.


    ¡°No mana stone, newly forged sword gone and we haven¡¯t even engaged the enemy¡¯s main force yet. This is becoming harder and harder by the second, isn¡¯t it?¡± The despair resounded through his voice as he quietly complained to the Aether about the unbelievable circumstances he found himself in.


    He loathed himself, as he realized that he was at fault for both using the mana stone prematurely and losing his sword. He scolded himself for his stupidity, as he didn¡¯t know anyone but himself stupid enough to bury his sword into a monster without being able to retrieve it.


    His gaze wandered as his mind was busy loathing itself, until his blurry vision suddenly focused and revealed the house that they had sieged for about half an hour. It revealed the peaceful and ordinary architecture, it revealed the roots that stretched up to the foundation of the humble abode, it revealed the stained windows, the chipped stone stairs leading to the doorway, the open wooden door leaning on slightly rusted hinges.


    Wait, it¡¯s open?!


    His mind suddenly cleared as his vision focused on the empty doorway, diverting his full attention to the opened door, subconsciously expecting the mage to walk through it and out into the open.


    He felt another wave of dark mana rush through the air, he felt his consciousness being repressed, if only slightly. He quickly shook it off, as he combatted the dark mana with his own, encasing both his body and his mind in a small layer of dense mana.


    He retrieved a small knife from his boot and waited. He held the knife at the ready, waiting for any movement in the doorway, ready to strike at any moment. His attention was completely taken up by the door, and then it happened.


    A sign of movement, a shining dagger shot through the air and embedded itself with a soft *thud* in the wood, sizzling as the magical energy inside of it was dispersed. The dispersion of magic was accompanied with a quick flash, revealing multiple shields with a wicked grin behind them. It seemed to emerge from the shadows as the yellow teeth expanded beyond what would seem humanely possible, only to disappear into the shadow as quickly as it came.


    Ramul¡¯s expression was filled with disdain, as he cursed the mage for his cowardice. He wanted to pursue, yet he knew that entering the lion¡¯s den alone would be a death sentence.


    He turned around, only to be met by a platoon of sun elves saluting him, showing their loyalty towards their leader.


    He smirked, before barking out orders. He had something that damned mage didn¡¯t have, loyal troops, troops who would offer their lives for the greater good without a second thought, troops who weren¡¯t limited by their commander, troops who didn¡¯t need to be enslaved to work for him. The mage had slaves, he had loyal and faithful soldiers.


    Standing in front of the battalion, he gave out three orders to his lieutenants. Surround the two entrances, barricade them, and turn anything that can burn to cinders.


    His smirk turned to a wicked smile, as his mind was filled with more and more anticipation and excitement as he saw his battalion fire a multitude of fire spells at the house¡¯s interior and the large tree behind it.


    ¡®Killing a creator of abominations and destroying an affront to nature, today sure is going to be productive.¡¯ He thought as he saw the first cinders burst into flame upon the brittle tree bark, serving to raise the troops¡¯ morale, as they heartfully cheered at seeing such a tainted insult to nature be consumed in a blaze of their righteous fire. They cheered like religious fanatics, their jubilant shouts resounded through the small glade like war cries of crazed berserkers, serving only to fuel their so righteous crusade.


    Ramul¡¯s smile only grew as the glade was filled with the jubilant shouts of his comrades and the light of their warding spells, slowly driving back the darkness as they took up a defence position in front of the house.


    Inside the now burning house, there was someone who didn¡¯t appreciate their jubilant cheering, nor did he enjoy seeing his age old benefactor being tortured by such crazed fanatics. His fury rippled through the air, as the very reality around him seemed to bend under his will.


    Quickening his pace, he sent out rippling waves of energy with each step, preparing for the inevitable offensive, as he couldn¡¯t allow both his disciple and benefactor to burn before his eyes.


    He wouldn¡¯t let his loved ones burn, not again. He wasn¡¯t weak anymore, he had abominations beyond the scope of nature, he had magic that could churn the very life out of his opponents, he had power and he was going to be damned if he didn¡¯t use it.


    Walking out of the shadows in slow strides, he entered into the light and with it he entered the battlefield he had left several centuries ago.


    An old feud was reignited and from the ashes left by the burning cinders, an ancient being would rise once again and take its rightful place at its master¡¯s side.

 Haitus

    Hello everyone! I presume you have already read the subject, but I thought it would be appropriate to give a bit more background information as to why I''m going on a hiatus with ''Dark blood''.


    First of all, I''m sure some of you have already noticed this, but I''m not uploading a lot and not on a regular basis. I have been busy with work and school, making it so that I have very little time to actually write. When I do have the time to write, I almost never have any inspiration or even the gall to put words onto the paper. It seems like my head is filled with everything but ''Dark blood'', which can be quite frustating and dreadful.


    Second, I don''t really have a goal for Daelyn, nor a direction for him to go. I haven''t done enough world building to have him roam around the world and explore it, nor do I want to simply set him off into the wilderness and keep killing things, as that would get boring quite quickly. There is something of a setup for political schemes, but it mostly involves a large scale conflict, which doesn''t have the same intrigue as exploring a dungoen, crafting supplies and generally improving a character.


    Third, the foreshadowing has been too much and I have been making constant changes to the one thing that I had already decided on, Daelyn''s powers and his minions. This is part of a bigger problem, but it boiles down to the fact that I have been unable to plan anything out and made constant changes to both the story and underlying concepts. Everytime I published a chapter I felt like I had done something wrong, as I knew I hadn''t thought everything out, I knew I was just making things up and I knew that the plot would most likely settle in a run down latrine after it had been sent in every direction but the right one. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    Lastly, I had the wrong goal in mind when I started writing. This may be the most important flaw of the story, as it is my own fault. I made this story because I was hyped up by other stories, I was entranced by their themes, captivated by the protagnist''s powers and hung up on the hangover that came after a bingreading. I wanted to make this story an eternal adventure, something that never stops, yet this is not what it is. It plays in a finite world, it portrays a protagonist with finite power and certain weaknesses, every story needs to have an end and I hadn''t planned for mine at all. I was simply too excited by the stories other''s created, that I failed to find a goal for mine.


    I don''t know if any of you have read this rant, but I wanted to thank all of you for your support either way. It has been an amazing experience to see so many people be interested in something I made, it has been a joy to discuss concepts with readers and I have learned a lot from the criticism I have received from my reviews.


    I will review the novel and make an actual goal for both Daelyn and the novel. So, while it may take some time, don''t think that Daelyn nor anyone in that plane of existence will disappear from it, it only needs to make sense.


    I wanted to thank humble reader, Jasss22 and Azaer for their reviews and continuous support!


    If you have any questions regarding the novel or if you guys want to talk about the novel, the hiatus or any of the characters in particular, leave a comment! Depending on the amount of people, I might make a discord server, as RRL comments isn''t the best place for a discussion.


    Again, thank you all for your support and adieu


    bobo112000

 Notice

    Goodday friends!


    It has been a while since I uploaded a new chapter, or even uploaded a rewritten one, for which I apologise. I have been busy with school and in a bit of a slump, as I noticed that my original work had become a snooze fest over time. The rewrite will have none of this. It will have a differerent pacing, different characters and a whole new journey for Daelyn to go on.


    His powers will be slightly different and slightly less confusing, I hope. So, I hope you all look forward to it!This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Now, I wanted to get your opinion on anohter matter. I am unsure as whether to upload the new chapters on the old page with all the reviews concerning the original work, or start with a clean slate on a new page.


    I included a poll above, so everyone can give their opinion. I hope to reach a conclusion soon, as I have multiple chapters waiting to be published.


    Thank you all for following and favoriting my novel, it has meant quite a lot to me and I hope you will enjoy the new version even more than the old one.


    Greetings,


    bobo112000

 Rewrite

    In the link provided below you will find the rewrite of Dark Blood, Anathema of the Eldritch.


    The name and a few other things have changed, because the story itself has changed and the title ¡®Dark blood¡¯ didn¡¯t really seem appropriate anymore.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    I hope all of you enjoy the new novel, I will get to uploading more chapters as quickly as possible. I can promise at least one in about five hours.


    Greetings,


    bobo112000


    https://www.royalroadl.com/fiction/19529/anathema-of-the-eldritch