《Dragon God Resurrection》


 Chapter 1: IoJalein Clan.

    "¡­ Beyond the forsaken planes, inside the great Makesha forest, stands the tallest mountain in the world, Mt. Thal the father of all mountains. Inside Mt. Thal lives an ancient clan of Dragonborn, the Io''Jalein''s Clan, a secret that only a select few of the Svartha continent know of. For those who don''t know what a Dragonborn is, let¡¯s shed some light on this rare and peculiar race:


    Dragonborns resemble what their name suggests: humanoid dragons.


    Standing on average around 1.88¨C2.03 meters, Dragonborn are impressively tall with a huge weight to match, commonly possessing a mass of 100¨C145 kilograms thanks to their muscular physique. Dragonborn feet end with three strong talon-like claws with a fourth claw in the back, while their hands are similar with three claws with a thumb replacing the rear claw. A Dragonborn head features a blunt snout, a strong brow, and reptilian frills on the cheeks and ears. On the back of the head, a crest of hornlike scales forms what resemble a mess of ropy hair. Their eyes are usually red or gold in hue.


    The scales a Dragonborn wears are scarlet, gold, rust, ocher, bronze, or brown in hue, although they bore little correlation to a Dragonborn''s Draconic heritage and the scale colors of true dragons. The scales are typically in their greatest concentration around forearms, lower legs, feet, shoulders, and thighs, with a fine leathery covering over the rest of the body¡­"


    Fragment Extracted from the book "Io''Jalein''s Clan: A short introduction."


    -------------------------


    It was a hot day, a young Dragonborn was swinging a huge axe in a small courtyard outside of his room. Each swing of his axe was savage, making the air buzz from the incredible power behind it.


    The young man was 2.2 meters, quite tall for a Dragonborn, his scales were bronze colored. They faintly reflected the sunlight when it shone on them from his perspiration.


    His brows deeply frowning from his concentration towards the task he was carrying out.


    His sapphire blue colored eyes had a smart and perceptive look, making one think there was something more to this man than what meets the eye.


    "Marrhosh my son, you are still training. Come now, we must leave for the ceremony"


    A tall Dragonborn that resembled the young man in training appeared in the courtyard, carrying a large package in his hands.


    "I¡¯ll be ready in a second, old man."


    The package in his father''s hand caught his attention when he glanced over, Marrhosh couldn¡¯t help but ask:


    "What is it you got there?"


    The tall Dragonborn came closer to him, shoving the package into his hands as he grabbed his son''s shoulders.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    "This is my present for you, son, for today you become the youngest warlord in our clan''s history. Therefore, I got permission from the elders to give you this weapon." He said while looking at him.


    At that moment, he uncovered the package, revealing a big black axe made of an unknown material.


    The axe had a dragon carved into it. The dragon''s tail wrapped around the handle and the open wings were the axe''s blades. The dragon''s head, located right between the blades of the axe, had a spike coming out of its mouth. The dragon looked alive and the axe felt warm to the touch.


    "This is the Jennu Ariiogarurt, the oldest and most mysterious weapon in our clan. I hope it can protect you and that you will be the one to fulfill our clan''s mission."


    Marrhosh looked into his father''s eyes, thanking him for the axe. He went to his room to get himself ready.


    Marrhosh''s room was large, but it was decorated plainly. His bed took up a large portion of space in the room, partially covering a circular rug located in the middle of the room. The only window in the room was next to the door, under that was a small desk full of notes and drawings.


    Most of the walls were covered in tapestries, the room felt more like a general¡¯s campaign tent than belonging to a young man. There was a small bookshelf in a corner filled to the brim with books about strategies and plans.


    When Marr came out, he was wearing chainmail with the crest of a dragon standing majestically over the world. He had two throwing axes on his lower back and a hand crossbow holstered on his right leg. His new great axe was on his back and there was a bone dagger in his boot.


    Seeing the dagger, his father''s eyes showed a complicated expression.


    "Marr, I''m sorry, if I had been stronger at the time¡­ this dagger wouldn''t be the only memory you have of your mother."


    Marr grabbed the bone dagger that he always carried with him, looked at it for a while and a warm smile appeared on his face as he remembered his mother. he put it back in his boot and said to his father.


    "Don''t say that father, she sacrificed herself for all of us. Mom was a strong woman and a powerful cleric. We must keep living, it''s what she would have wanted."


    Daardeth¡¯s eyes teared up, as he looked proudly at his son.


    [You gave birth to a good boy my dear.]


    "You are right, my son."


    .


    "Let''s go, the ceremony will start soon."


    The two of them walked to the main hall of the clan''s estate where the ceremony for Marr''s nomination as a warlord would be.


    The ceremony consisted of the patriarch of the clan, His father, naming the reasons for his nomination. Then, each elder would accept the request and congratulate the boy on the matter. To finish the ceremony, the great ancestor would give the new warlord his blessing.


    The clan''s estate was about 500 square kilometers, housing nearly a million members. Half of them being soldiers.


    This being a military clan, most of the facilities in it were for training different soldiers. There were magic and sword training facilities, as well as many other specialized training areas.


    There were also research and study facilities inside the clan. They were responsible for the technology and, of course, educating the youngsters.


    In the main hall of the clan lives the great ancestor, that has been alive since the times when the ancient gods ruled these lands.


    The ceremony lasted only an hour and went on without a problem after it ended a great banquet was made to celebrate this special occasion.


    While they were drinking and celebrating, a strange wind blew. In the beginning, no one paid attention to it, but after a few minutes, the wind became strong enough to raise the chairs and tables off the ground.


    Suddenly, a huge explosion was heard, and the clan''s ancient gate was blown to smithereens.


    As the dust settled, a tall and beautiful woman with pointy ears and strange and long, multicolored hair could be seen standing where the gate used to be. She had long legs and cold, violet eyes that showed her disdain for all living things.


    She slowly walked into the clan followed by 5 colossal Dragons of different colors. As she walked a frightening aura was let out of her body, and the power of that woman was impossible to estimate.


    ¡°Are we in the right place?¡±


    The red dragon behind the woman came close to her as he answered.


    ¡°Yes, your majesty this is the Io¡¯jalein Clan.¡±

 Chapter 2: The dragon queen’s wrath.

    Thetallwomaninspectedhersurroundingsas if she was makingsureofsomething. When thesaw, Marr''s father shelookedat him as shesaid.


    "Finally, after eons ofsearch, Ifoundit, the lasthopeof the ancient dragon god."


    Shelookedat theancestorwho had justwalkedout of themainhall. Sherevealedan expressionfull ofhatredthatcompletelybetrayedherfillings.


    -I willdestroythisclanandkillevery lastmember. And you Artonak, I will makesureyou won''teveropposemeagain.


    Theancestorhadan uglylookon hisface,seeingthese five dragons, heknewexactlywho thatwomanwas. Eons ago he hadescapedfrom her and, with thehelpof an ancientartifactand Bahamut, hadestablishedthisclan. But now theartifactwhichkeptthemhiddenfromher,hadlostitsuse.


    "Tiamat, is yourhatredfor my lord sogreat, that you mustpersecuteus even after such alongtimehaspassed?"


    TheGiganticdragongaveadeepsigh.


    "You weresealedfor over twentyyears, the last grandpriestof theclanpaid with herlifefor thatseal, aren''t you afraid something like that willhappenagain?"


    "Humph, if it wasn''t for mybrother''s intromission and that priest sacrifice,nothinglike that would haveeverhappened"


    Shelookedat the five dragons by hersideas shesaid.


    "Go! Destroy thisplace,leavenonealive. I willtakecareof Artonak. We cannotallowthat old foolplantosucceed."


    As shefinishedthesewords, shedirectlyattackedthegoldenancestor of theclanleavingthe five dragons behind. The ancient dragons attacked theclanwith theirfullforce breathing fire,acid,poison, lightning and ice.


    Marr''sfatherlooked confident despiteeverything, hecalmlylookedat the dragons andsaid.


    "You five dorememberme,right? it''stimefor us tosettlesome debts"


    Thepatriarchlooked at the Dragons as hemadeagrabfor thegreatswordin hisback.


    At thattime,a resoundingcryof war washeardfrom theclan, asa strongarmy could beseencomingtoward the dragons,readytofight.A strongresolutionwasburningin theeyesof themenandwomenof thearmy,showingthat they werereadytodiefor theclan.


    A hugered dragonstaredat Marr''sfather, as deep disdain could beobservedin hiseyes.


    "Daardeth, youranaway 20yearsago,leavingyourwifetofightyourbattle. What is a little coward like yougoingtodo?"


    "I willdoanythingin mypowertostopyou all!"


    thepatriarchturned to theeldersand hisarmyas hecommanded


    "Ioreab! Get ready for battle! Use the "Jlatak Wkardarastrixi" battle formation!"


    A deafening "Aye!" washeardfrom the giantmassof Dragonborn thatwasbehind him.


    Thearmydivided itself into four strong battalions based on their breath attack element and a fifth one which used their draconic heritage to project a fear-inspiring aura known as "Darastrixl''gra".


    The four battalions based on theelements, were inchargeoffightingthe dragons head on,usingtheir elemental affinity to theiradvantage. While the fifthbattalionwas toprovideassistancewhennecessary,and deal devastatingdamageto theenemy, whenpossible.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    The ancient red dragon showedan uglyexpression,seeingthecoordinationof themembersof theclan, and how hisbrotherswere ata deepdisadvantage facing thetacticsof this punycreatures.


    "Humph, you may be morepowerfulthan 20yearsago Daardeth but it''sfarfromenoughtodefeatme!"


    The giant red dragon chestswelledup anda powerfulfire breath wasthrownat Daardeth''ssmallgroup.


    As the fire breathcamein hisdirection, Marr''sfatherlookedquiterelaxed. At themomentthebreathwas about tohititstarget, one eldertooka giant shield out ofnowhereandgotinfrontof theblastas hesaidastrangeincantation.


    "Troth udoka, jennu edar fethos"


    A complex magic circleappearedinfrontof theshield,completelyblockingthe firebreath.


    "I by myself mightindeednot beenoughbuttodayyou arefightingagainst my wholeclan! "


    Marr''sfatherfinallytookout thegiganticsword in hisback. Thebladeof theswordcaught fire as hegotreadytofight.


    Ahardbattlebeganbetween Daardeth''sgroupand thereddragon. The dragon''spowerwasoverwhelming, but theeldersand Marr''sfather,showedincredible combatprowessandcooperation. Theytimedtheir defense and attackperfectly, notallowingthe dragon tomakemuchdamageto them.


    As thebattlewenton, theyslowlygainedtheadvantageover the dragon,ultimatelyforcinghim intoa bitterdefense.


    Suddenly loudscreamingwasheardas theancestorfell onto thearmy.


    Tiamat,lookingtriumphant wasfloatingtoward thearmies. Sheextendedherhandwhilechantinga draconic incantation.


    "Ibafarshan ternesji de wer svant voenllylsiarelgr, ixentonash wielg"


    Suddenly, inan incredibledisplayofpower, gigantic meteors fell from the sky,hittingthearmyhead-on,destroyingmorethanhalfof it.


    "My subordinates might beincompetent, but itdoesnotmeanI can''tdefeatall of you by myself."


    Tiamat stared at Marr''s Father as shesaid- Your wife spoiled myplansonce. I won''t let sucha thinghappenagain.


    Theheavyhitcausedby the meteors couldinstantlybefelt.


    Things quickly startedgoingsouth,Artonak wasunconsciouson the floor and thearmiesdid not have thenecessarypowertodealwith the dragons anymore.


    Marr''s was the lastsurvivorof hisbattalion, his fatherfeelingthesituationwas desperate gotcloseto him andsaid.


    ¡°Sonthesurvivalof ourclanand theancestoris a must. Ineedyou togetto theancestorandgetout of here.¡±


    Marr lookedconfusedas hestaredat hisfathersaying.


    ¡°Whatdoyou mean father? Youwantme to abandon you here! I can''t do such a thing.¡±


    Daardeth looked into his son''s eyes as he said.


    "You have grown my son, I hoped that this day would never come but, life doesn''t alwaysdealthe cards you want."


    As his father took a deep breath as he gave Marr''s a strange bag.


    "Inside this bag, there is a greater teleportation scroll.I want you to use it to get out of here with the ancestor."


    Marrhosh stared at his father with deep determination on his eyes.


    "I cannot abandon you here, father.We must fulfill our clan''s mission and I can''t do it alone!"


    Marr¡¯s father looked at him proudly for a moment, then his expression changed as he became serious, he had a dangerous glint in his eyes.


    "This is my last order as the Patriarch of this clan.Io''Jalein Marrhosh you are to take the ancestor and leave this place.You must protect the ancestor and fulfill the mission given to us by the great god IO!"


    "No father I refuse I can''t leave you, I already lost mom I can''t lose you too!"


    Marr''s took out hisaxeand was ready to fight against the enemy in front of him.


    Suddenly Marr''s felt an absurd force grab him and throw him towards the ancestor.


    Marr''s got up planning to go back to his father''s side when a strong barrier appeared in front of him.Daardeth looked at the ancestor as he mumbled a fewwords in draconic.The ancestor nodded as his tore up the scroll and grabbed Marr.


    Daardeth looked at the great teleportation circle above his son''s head and his expression eased up, then he looked around as his clan mates were massacred in front of him.He took out a small necklace with a silver brilliance from under his clothes;he hesitated for a second before resolutely breaking the necklace.


    Tiamat''s eyes darted toward Marrhosh and the ancestor.When she was about to stop the greater teleportation, she felt something was wrong as she could not block the teleportation or lockonto its coordinates.


    Her eyes darted in Daardeth direction as a strange brilliance, resembling that of the necklace, expanded around him and a voice that seemed to come from everywhere sounded out.


    "Tiamat, it seems that it''s my destiny to stop your plans."


    A gigantic platinum colored dragon could be seen in the sky as it got down to earth.


    "BA-HA-MUUUUUT!!!!!¡­"


    The hateful scream echoed by Tiamat was the last thing Marr could hear before the greater teleportation scroll took effect.

 Chapter 3: Request for a bounty hunter.

    A hugemanusinga cape thatcoveredhiswholeheadwaswalkingaround themarket. Hegotcloseto afruitstand where thevendorwasannouncinghisproduct.


    "Apples,buyyourapples! Red,beautifuland tasty applescomeget yours!"


    Themanin the cape tookan appleas hethrewa coin towards thevendor. Thevendorgrabbedthe coin in midair makingsureit was a copper beforekeepingit.


    Suddenly,a commotionwasheard, as one of thestandowners, could beseenchasinga burlyman, with a scar in theshapeof an "X" in hisarm. As heranafter themanhescreamedforhelp.


    "Help! AThief! Catch him!"


    As theykeptrunningaslendersilhouette appeared out ofthinair rightnextto thethief, thenewcomerhittheburlymanin thebackof hishead, with thehandleof hisdagger.


    The thief tripped, as thepainof theattackhithim,makinghimfainton thespot.


    When theburlymanhitthe floor, themanin the cape who hadan applein hismouth,jumpedontopof him as heboundedthethief''shands.


    The slender newcomer gotcloseto themanin the cape as hesaid.


    "Besuretoboundhimcorrectly, wedon''twantanything like Caldeon happening again!"


    Thebigmanin the cape took off his hood,revealinga headfullof Bronze colored scales thatshinedwith thesunanddeepblue eyes that werestaringat that slenderperson.


    "Dayermorn, that was aonetimeaccident thathappened3yearsago, would youplease, let itgo?"


    Theslenderman,alsotookhis hood off,revealinghishandsomeface. He haddelicatefeatures resembling that of an elf, pointy ears, andlongsilver coloredhair. His eyes where completely blue having nopupilsand a pearl-likeluster.


    "Don''tgiveme thatshit, welostfive thousandgoldsthattime, and had tosleepin abarn!"


    Marr got up andcarriedthethiefover hisshoulderas ifcarryingahaysack, helookedat the Eladrin infrontof him andsaid.


    "We wouldn''t havesleptin abarnif some crazy elf wannabe, hadn''tlostall of our money gambling!"


    Both of them keptsquabblingwith each other whilewalkingin thedirectionof theguardhouse.


    As theyenteredtheguardhouse, both of them turnedserious. Theygotto thefrontdeskandshowedtheburlyman to theguardbehind it. When theguardsawthethief, hepointedata cellandwenttolookfor thecaptainof theguard.


    Marr threw themanintoa cellandlockedit, inan experiencedway,makingitseemlike he haddonethisactionhundreds oftimes.


    As hegotback to thedeskaDwarfwith alonggraybeardwentup to them and sat down in a small chair behind the desk.


    He let out somepuffsofsmokefrom hisstonepipe as hesaidto the two bounty hunters.


    "You boys again, you havecapturedthelastpersonin our wanted wall."If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    The Dwarf sighed and let out moresmokeout of hispipeas hetookout asmallpouchfrom under thedesk.


    "500 goldpieces, you cancountit if youwant."


    The Eladrin grabbed thepouchas helookedat thedwarf.


    "Noneed, it''s a pleasure doingbusinesswith you,oldman."


    The dwarfstaredat Dayermorn and thesmallpuffsofsmokecomingoutof thepipe, in thecaptain''s mouthgota littlefaster.


    "Who are youcallingold,Fairy, I have justturneda 100."


    Marr,seeingthemoodof thecaptainturning worse,hithisfriendin thebackof theheadas hesaid.


    "You are over 200 hundred Dayer, so theonlyoldmanhere is you."


    The dwarf laughedaloudand he let outa bigpuffofsmoke.


    "We will betakingour leave Blackstone, it''stimefor us togoto thenextcity."


    Marr grabbed hisfriendby thebackof his cape as hesaidhisgoodbyes. He was about toleavetheplacebut wasstoppedby theDwarf, whoinvitedthem into hisofficein thebackof thehouse.


    When theygotthere, the Dwarf locked thedoorandsatdown in thechairbehind hisdesk.


    Marr sat down infrontof him andasked.


    "Whydidyoubringus herecaptain, what is it you need?"


    TheDwarflooked at both of them as hetook, from asmallchestin hisdesk, threebadges, anda letter. Hegavetheitemsto them as heexplained.


    "Thisrequestcamein thismorning. It''san invitationfor three bounty hunters, theletterdoesn''tspecifywho or what you will behunting. But itcamedirectlyfrom hismajesty."


    Marr read thecontentsof theletteras the dwarfexplainedthesituation.


    "Oldman, wouldn''t we beshortof onememberfor thisinvitation?"


    The dwarf sighed again as he let out morepuffsofsmokeout of hispipe.


    "The two of you are thebestbounty hunters tocomehere in the last 30years, I can''tthinkofanyonebetter for thisinvitationthan you two."


    Marr finishedreadingtheletter, and helookedat thedwarf.


    "What is thisplacementionedin theletter?"


    "That''s themansionof Supreme General Raven. He is themostpowerfulpersonin the kingdom ofAlberta,and thebiggestsupportof theroyalfamily."


    Marr looked at the Eladrin by hisside, and the latter nodded at himgivinghisapproval.


    "We willtakeitthen! Thanks,captain."


    Thecaptainonlyraisedhishand, inan acknowledginggesture as hewentback to his tasks.


    When theywentout of theguard''s house, they decided to go to the tavern and have some fun, since the meeting wasn''t happening for another 2 days.


    When they got to the tavern, there were men brawling in a corner, and a bard was playing the lute as he sang to everybody.


    The two friends satdown,and talked about their last bounty.


    While they were talking a small shadow got into the bar.And sat down in a corner.


    Time went on and the tavern got empty.The only people still there besides Marr and Dayer, where the bard who was smoking a cigar outside of the tavern, and that small silhouette using a black cape.


    As Marr saw this man sitting in the corner, all alone for so long without drinking anything, he found it quite strange and went up to the small man.


    "Is everything all right, sir?Do you need help with anything?"


    The small silhouette heard this voice and seemed to tremble, he stared at the huge Dragonborn in front of him as he asked.


    "Yes, yes!You wouldn''t¡­ happen to know where I could get some Kobold Wine right?"


    As Marr heard this his eyes darted towards the man''s face.The man took his hood off showing the small and vibrant face of a Halfling.


    Marr laughed out loud as he saw who the small man was, he called Dayermorn and asked for some kobold wine from the attendant of the tavern.


    "Dayer this is Merrich, that old friend from that orc warlord story."


    When Dayer came over and heard this introduction, an amused look appeared in his eyes as he, trying to hold off the laughter, said.


    "Oh, the one who ended up married to the orc''s daughter?"


    As Merrich heard this he couldn''t help spitting the wine is his mouth.


    "Damn itMarr, couldn''t you keep that to yourself?"


    Marr laughed it off and patted his little friend in the back.He then asked the Halfling what he was doing in town.


    "I was doing some work in a nearby village, while I was leaving the village I realized my supplies were about to run out, so I came here to resupply."


    Dayer seemed interested and asked.


    "Work? what is it you do?"


    "He is a bounty hunter Dayer, just like us."


    The halflingstaredat Marr as he laughed.


    "No one is a bounty hunter like you Marr.I mean, who else would have drunk that wine out of a cup made of bones like you?"


    The three of them laughed together as they talked and shared stories about their adventures and experiences.


    When the Halfling was about to go up to his room to turn in for the night.Dayer gave Marr a look as he pointed toward the halfling with his chin.


    Marr called the halfling back as he got serious and said.


    "How would you feel about a doing a bounty mission with us?"


    Merrich stared at the two friends in front of him, he smiled and said.


    "Count me in!"

 Chapter 4: The peculiar General Raven.

    Two days later, the three friends went together to the house mentioned in the letter. When they got to the address, Marr realized he had never seen this house, despite passing through here often.


    The front gate of the house was quite big and seemed to be made out of stone. It had a very lifelike image, of a royal griffin flying through the sky, carved on it, and in the middle section of the gate, there was a metal ring hanging from an eagle''s beak, that could be used, to knock on the door. The tall walls around the terrain didn''t allow much to be seen.


    Marr and his friends knocked on the door and waited outside for about 5 minutes. Finally, the huge gate opened, and an armor walked in the three friends direction.


    The armor stopped right in front of Marr and made a respectful gesture indicating for them to enter the gate.


    The three of them looked at each other and then went in, the armor followed right behind them. As they got inside, the gates from which they had just come in, closed. The armor ran to the front and made a gesture for them to follow it.


    While they followed the armor, the surrounding scenery completely changed, from the one in the city. Trees could be seen everywhere and the sound of birds and other animals could be heard. As they advanced a big house could be seen in the distance, it had an uncommon style, as it remembered the buildings of the eastern kingdoms, there even was a pagoda in the eastern side of the house.


    As they got closer to the house Dayer seemed to be feeling uncomfortable.


    "Hey Marr, do you know anything about this Raven guy?"


    "Not much actually, I know he isn''t really a soldier or trained strategist. The reason he got the position of Supreme General is his incredible power and abilities. Few people know how Raven looks like or what kind of power he has."


    After listening to Marr''s explanation, Merrich added.


    "It''s said that his greatest military exploit was stopping the invasion of the northern tribes. According to the rumors he went deep into enemy territory and brought back the enemy leader''s head."


    After Dayer heard all of this, he told them about his strange sensation.


    "There is some powerful magic in this place, I might not be a specialist but I''m quite sensitive to this stuff. I can''t help but feel that we are completely under the control of someone."


    As Dayer said this, the front door of the house opened instantly, as they got closer to it. The armor just went on ahead and indicated for them to pass.


    Again, as they passed through the door, it closed behind them. The armor showed them to a spacious room with a big table in the middle, the room had a light decoration with some calligraphy pieces hanging on the wall, and some paintings of what seemed to be a strange half-bird half-man creature could be seen around. At the end of the table, there was a big chair that had it''s back to them.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    When they got into the room, the armor bowed to them and quickly went away as if it had an important mission to accomplish.


    Suddenly a calm and deep voice was heard coming from the big chair.


    "Sit down young ones, the food will be served in a moment."


    Marr and his friend didn''t stand on ceremony as they sat down all next to each other, at the other end of the table, opposite to the big chair.


    As they sat down the chair slowly turned revealing a creature of unusual characteristics. Supreme general Raven was an Aarakocra, a race even more uncommon than Dragonborns.


    Originally a race from the elemental plane of air, Aarakocra look much like large birds. Only when they descend to roost on a branch or walk across the ground does their humanoid appearance reveal itself.


    Standing upright, Aarakocra might reach 1.55 meters tall, and they have long, narrow legs that taper to sharp talons.


    Feathers cover their bodies, and they are quite fastidious about their plumage, frequently tending their feathers, cleaning and scratching away any tiny passengers they might have picked up.


    Their heads complete the avian appearance, being something like a parrot or eagle with distinct tribal variations.


    The Aarakocra of the Svartha continent usually live in the easterner kingdoms.


    General Raven had silvery white colored feathers all over his body, and a head that resembled that of a great roc. His sky-blue colored eyes had a very sharp expression. His arms where muscular just like his legs, and he was wearing an azure blue changpao adorned with the image of a griffin.


    The surprise in the eyes of the three friends could clearly be seen, and they just returned to their senses as the food was served in front of them, by walking armors.


    When Marr recovered his composure, he served himself some of the delicacies that were prepared by the supreme general. As Marr sat back down, he stared at the Aarakocra in front of him and asked.


    "Supreme General, why is it that someone like you, needs the help of three bounty hunters?"


    General Raven seemed quite pleased with Marr''s attitude, he smiled while saying.


    "Straight to the point, huh? I like it. Have you heard about the rebellion?"


    Merrich eyes darted in the direction of the supreme general when he heard this word.


    "The rebellion first appeared when the current king assumed, 50 years ago. No one knows how it works or who commands it. But''s its known that they have quite the influence among the people, being even more influential than the crown itself in some remote regions."


    Raven got up and served himself a cup of what the three friends, recognized to be a cup of kobold wine. He slowly sipped the cup as he continued to talk.


    "That''s quite accurate young man, but that changed, now we actually have information about the rebellion, more specifically we know who are its seven main generals."


    When Marr heard the explanation, he understood what this mission was about, he calmly kept eating as he stared at the raven, finally he looked at Dayer who nodded at him.


    "So, you want us to hunt down the generals and kill them?"


    "Yes, and I also want you to find out the identity and location of their Sub-leader and leader."


    Marr looked straight at the Aarakocra in front of him as he said.


    "What is in it for us? and having the power you have why don''t you do it yourself?"


    Raven stayed silent for a while as he showed a complicated expression. Finally, he said.


    "I can''t get directly involved in the war going on between the kingdom and the rebellion. So, my only choice is to hire someone else to deal with this issue."


    The general got up as he indicated for them to follow them into another room.


    "As for what I can offer, for each general you bring me, you get 7500 gold and each one of you can choose an item from here."


    As he said this word''s he opened a door that led to a huge room.


    Inside this room, there were all kinds of treasures to choose from. There was a pair of daggers with a strange purple colored hue to their edge that seemed to distort space, a pair of boots that had wings on them and where floating around, a strange ring that had the small symbol of a shield on top of it and seemed to have a powerful defense incantation, and many other incredible items that could not be seen from where they stood.

 Chapter 5: The strange house and the giant armor.

    Marr inspected the room with his eyes and pondered for a while as he said.


    "Fine, we will accept this mission. But we will need more information about the generals."


    The Aarakocra closed the door of the room as he indicated for them to follow him. They went back to the dining room, he grabbed a small chest from under the table and gave it to Marr.


    "Here is all the information we have on them. You can take this chest, there is some money for supply''s and other necessities inside."


    While Marr''s inspected the chest with his friend, the Aarakocra slowly retreated to the door, as he looked at them and said.


    "I''m very sorry about this, but I need to make sure you can deal with this task."


    Suddenly all the doors leading to the room closed with a loud bang, in the middle of the room, a teleportation circle summoned a huge armor, similar to the ones who attended to them, except that this one was headless.


    Dayer inspected his surroundings looking for an exit as he cursed the Aarakocra out loud.


    "This fucking overgrown bird! He Is just screwing with us!"


    Marr looked quite calm, he inspected the enemy in front of them as he said.


    "Calm down Dayer, we just need to defeat that oversized piece of metal!"


    Dayer took out his daggers as he said.


    "Fine, let''s deal with this first! But we will make some bird chow mien after this."


    Merrich just stayed silent as if waiting for Marr to make a move.


    Marr took of the Jennu Ariiogarurt from his back and pounced straight at the giant armor. As he got in front of the giant armor, Merrich knowing what to do got behind Marr''s using him as cover.


    Marr swung his two-handed axe with such a force that the air buzzed, he struck the armor in its left arm. The armor seemed enraged, it raised its enormous fists and prepared to swing them at Marr''s direction.


    At that moment, Dayer disappeared from where he was, and appeared right next to the armor, making it lose focus and attack him. Merrich suddenly jumped from behind Marr''s as he took the opportunity of the armor''s abrupt change of target, to shoot an arrow straight into one of the gaps in the armor''s foot. The attack hit making the armor lose its stability.


    While the armor recovered from the attack Marr moved toward Dayer. He pushed the Eladrin to the left making him be positioned exactly behind the armor then he swung his huge axe at the armor''s left arm destroying it.


    Dayer finally attacked the armor by striking the armor''s waist with his dagger and twisting It, the attack badly deformed that region of the creature.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    The armor taking such a big amount of damage in such a little time, swung its arm in an arc trying to hit Marr and Dayer.


    Marr used the force of the attack to push himself back, and Dayer disappeared, reappearing again a few meters away from the armor.


    When the armor saw it couldn''t cause significant damage to Marr, it again tried to attack him with all its force as the Dragonborn was the closest one to him.


    Suddenly Marr''s chest swelled up as he said a draconic incantation and a blinding light with blue lighting arcs coursing through it came out of his mouth, Striking the armor in the chest.


    "Shochraos Trekis."


    As the armor got hit, it flew across the room and fell to pieces. When the armor got defeated the doors to the room opened again. Three walking armors came into the room, one of them got close to the three friends and respectfully indicated the door, while the other two swiped the big armor away while shaking their heads.


    Suddenly the familiar voice of general Raven sounded out from everywhere in the house.


    "I''m very pleased with your combat ability and coordination. I apologize again for this test, but I must make sure you can take care of this mission."


    The voice sighed as if some heavy weight had been taken off his mind.


    "The importance of this assignment is too big, you must not fail. There will be three thousand gold coins in the exit for your troubles."


    As the voice stopped talking, the armor urged the friends to get out.


    Dayer cursed the bird once again.


    "This freaking bird is getting on my nerves."


    The armor guided them all the way back to the front gate and gave them three pouches. After the three friends received the money, the armor went back in. It waved them goodbye as the gates slowly closed again.


    When they got out they realized that despite being in the house for over three hours, time outside seemed to not have changed at all.


    They divided the money and went back to the tavern, they would get together in the morning and get the information in order while sharing whatever they knew.


    When they got there, they all went their separate ways. Dayer went to play poker at a table, while Merrich played the lute in the tavern''s stage, Marr went to the brawlers in the corner and fought.


    As Marr fought with the person in front of him, he relived everything that happened during the day, trying to remember every detail about it and reconstructing the things that happened in his mind. After doing that, he remembered something that happened long ago at the clan when he was just 15 years old.


    -----------------------------


    He saw his father brawling in one of the clan''s training camp with the soldiers. There were many soldiers there, watching the fight between his father and the other Dragonborn. After they finished they shook hands, and his father went to grab a towel so he could dry the sweat out of his face.


    Marr''s went up to his father and asked.


    "Why do you fight with the soldier''s father?"


    Daardeth looked at his son as he laughed out loud.


    "Bwahahahahaha."


    "Well son, through my years of experience I have found this to be the best way to clear up my head!"


    The old Dragonborn patted his son strongly in the back and went back to the brawl.


    -------------------------------


    The other day early in the morning the three friends were eating breakfast as they talked about the document''s inside the chest and the knowledge each of them previously had.


    As they sorted everything out, they had a general description of each leader, their names and what they were in charge of. They also knew that a flaming green dagger was the symbol of the rebellion.


    Marr looked at the pile of documents as he ate some bread.


    "This is a good start, the only problem is that despite knowing who they are, we have no idea where to look for them."


    Dayer was drinking some milk and eating cheese as he finished reading one of the documents.


    "There aren''t many ports in the kingdom, maybe we can start there."


    As Merrich heard the Eladrin''s idea, he grabbed a piece of ham as he said.


    "I think I know where to start."

 Chapter 6: The royal port.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Marr stopped eating while he asked the Halfling.


    Dayer also put his cup down on the table as he listened to the bard.


    ¡°Some time ago, while I was playing at a tavern in a nearby village. I heard a man talking with his colleagues, about something that would arrive at the port of the royal city.¡°


    Merrich got closer to the table as he spoke in a low voice.


    ¡°Those men, had a flaming dagger tattoo on their necks, they said their boss would be at the underground fort on the port to receive it.¡±


    Dayer seemed interested as he finished eating his breakfast and got up from the table saying.


    ¡°It¡¯s worth investigating. Let go to the port and find out what is going on.¡±


    Marr got up as well and said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, it¡¯s a good lead, and the only one we have got.¡±


    ----------


    When the three friends got to the port, two guards stopped them. They said the port was closed.


    Apparently, something dangerous was being delivered to the royal family, so for safety¡¯s sake, the port was closed for all unrelated personnel.


    As the three friends headed to a corner to decide what to do, a rough voice sounded from a nearby ally.


    ¡°What are you boys doing here, and who is the shorty over there? your new pet?¡±


    The three of them looked into the ally and saw a Dwarf, with a gray beard and a stone pipe in his mouth. He was laying on top of a box looking at them, amused by the strange variety of the group.


    Marr was pleasantly surprised seeing this Dwarf. The Dragonborn laughed as he went over to talk to him.


    ¡°Captain Blackstone, what are you doing here? Are you the one in charge of the port?¡±


    The Dwarf got off the box and walked in Marr¡¯s direction while letting out small puffs of smoke.


    As the dwarf got closer Merrich stared at the dwarf as he said.


    ¡°Hey shorty, who are you calling a pet?¡±


    The dwarf laughed aloud and pointed at the Halfling with an amused expression.


    ¡°Bwahaha, you are even smaller than me boy.¡±


    The Dwarf then sighed as he said.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m the one in charge of the port¡¯s protection today.¡±


    Then looking at Marr with a serious expression he asked.


    ¡°Why are you asking boy? Do you need something?¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    Marr was about to speak when Dayer interrupted him and explained.


    ¡°Old man, we need your help to sneak into the port. It¡¯s part of the mission we got because of your letter.¡±


    The puffs of smoke coming out of the dwarf¡¯s pipe got faster as he pondered for a while. Finally, he looked very serious as he said.


    ¡°Come, I can get you past the guard in front of the port. The rest is up to you, if you get caught I don''t know who you are and how you got in, we clear?¡±


    Marr and his friends nodded in acknowledgment as they followed the Dwarf.


    Captain Blackstone told the guard to take a small rest as he watched the entrance for them. While they walked away Marr and his friends got inside the port.


    As they walked towards the direction of the dock, they realized there where a huge amount of palace guards protecting the docks. From a ship huge boxes, where being taken out.


    From time to time, the boxes seemed to tremble as some loud howls could be heard from inside.


    The three of them realized there was no other ship in sight, and that all the boxes came from that one massive ship that was stationed in the main dock.


    Suddenly a man in black came out from the ship, he looked quite suspicious as he inspected the boxes as if looking for something.


    While he was inspecting a box, a tattoo on his wrist caught Dayer attention as he told Marr he had seen a green flaming dagger tattoo on the man.


    Hearing this, Marr and his friends decided to follow him through the docks, to see where the man would go.


    While they were following him around through the boxes, they heard steps as two royal guards walked out from behind a box a few meters away from them; they were talking to each other.


    Marr grabbed the halfling as he quickly hid behind a box, he threw the halfling up in the air where Dayer appeared and caught Merrich in midair.


    Marr jumped to the top of the box, and with the help of Dayer stabilized himself on the narrow walls of the box that was open on top.


    As they looked inside the box, they saw a strange creature with a huge torso and big arms, a crimson fur, and massive fangs could be seen in the beast. Despite the size of his upper part, it had short and stubby legs.


    When Dayer saw these creatures, he revealed an impressed expression.


    ¡°That is a Behemoth, they are impressive animals, these beasts like to live in forests, close to mountains.¡±


    When Dayer finished saying this, he got inside the box and got close to the beast as he petted it.


    Marr and Merrich got in, they had a strange expression on their face as they observed Dayer being quite friendly with the beast.


    Marr sighed as he said with a helpless expression.


    ¡°And when I call him an elf wannabe, he gets mad.¡±


    They got out of the box with a little help from the Behemoth. As they got out they realized they had lost track of the suspicious man.


    After looking for a while Merrich sighted the man walking away from the dock and going to the beach.


    They followed him from afar and observed as the man got inside a cavern on the other side of the coast.


    Merrich casted a darkvision spell on the group as they followed the man into the cave.


    As they walked further into the cave, they were able to see a light in the distance. They slowly got closer and hid behind a rock to observe the situation.


    There was a door at the end of the tunnel with a torch poorly illuminating this small region of the cave. Further inside, through the door, an illuminated corridor could be seen.


    A human soldier with a spear and light armor could be seen standing at each side of the door, guarding it.


    Dayer stared at his two friends as he said.


    ¡°How do we get in? there is no way for us to enter unnoticed.¡±


    Merrich nodded his head, showing his agreement with the Eladrin¡¯s words.


    Marr stared at the two guards for a second as he turned to his two friends and said.


    ¡°I have an idea.¡±


    --------------------------------


    The two soldiers were standing in front of the door because it was their turn to make the guard. They were eager to leave as it had already been five hours since the start of their shift.


    At some point, both heard a sound as if someone had thrown something heavy. Suddenly a buzz made one of the guards look as he saw a huge axe flying from the darkness towards his friend, cleaving him in half.


    The heavy axe stuck itself in the wall behind the guard it killed. The other soldier had a stunned look in his eyes as if he could not believe what he just saw.


    Out of nowhere, a handsome, silver-haired man appeared as he put his hand over the guard¡¯s mouth, and pointed a dagger at his neck.


    A tall Dragonborn slowly walked out of the dark in the direction of the axe. After he retrieved the huge axe, he walked toward the terrified guard as he said.


    ¡°I have a few questions for you.¡±

 Chapter 7: The dwarven ruins.

    Dayer stared at the guard and said slowly.


    "Now, I will take my hand off your mouth. If you make any sudden movements, I will cut your throat. Nod if you understand."


    As the guard heard the words coming out of the Eladrin''s mouth, and felling the sharp dagger near his throat, the man lightly nodded in understanding.


    Dayer removed his hand from the man''s mouth.


    Marr stood in front of the man and stared into his eyes as he patiently asked.


    "What''s your name? How many men does this fort have? And what are you doing in here?"


    The man stared at Marr with an amused expression as he said.


    "What? You think I''m going to tell you anything? We live for the rebellion and we die for it."


    Marr, using the same patient tone, asked once more the same question.


    "What''s your name? How many men does this fort have? And what are you doing in here?"


    The guard stared at Marr as he spat towards his face.


    Marr easily dodges as he observes the eyes of the man in front of him. The man had a resolute look, showing his undying loyalty toward the rebellion.


    Marr smiled as he told Dayer to put down his dagger.


    "I know you want to protect your friends. I know how it feels, trust me. And I wouldn''t ask something like this if I didn''t have to because I respect your resolution."


    The man seemed to relax since the constant threat of death by Dayer''s dagger wasn''t present anymore.


    Marr got up, he got closer to the man and put his hands on his shoulders as he said.


    "But I hope you also understand that I have a mission to fulfill and people I want to protect."


    As these words left Marr''s mouth, he raised the man up as an oppressive and fear-inducing presence emanated from his body.


    The man was terrified, his mouth felt dry and his eyes lost focus as his face looked pale from fright. He felt as if a terrifying beast was in front of him, and he was its prey.


    Despite the aura not being directed in their direction, Merrich was not feeling very comfortable, and although, Dayer was doing much better a slight discomfort could be seen in his eyes.


    Merrich looked at the Eladrin as he asked.


    "What is that?"


    Dayer kept his dagger as he answered Merrich question.


    "It''s called "Darastrixl''gra", According to Marr it translates to Dragonfea. It''s a rare ability within the Dragonborn race. It allows them to evoke the primal fear a true dragon can bring to people."


    Merrich expression changed to one of surprise. He didn''t know Marr had such an ability.


    [This ability is too fearsome; wouldn''t it give him an absolute advantage on a battle?]


    Dayer, seemingly able to tell what Merrich was thinking said.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    "Marr just recently discovered he could use such power, he is unable to completely control it or we wouldn''t be affected at all. Also, he can''t use it that often just like his Dragon Breath."


    Merrich nodded in understanding revealing an enlightened expression.


    Marr stared fiercely at the man as he asked.


    "Now let''s try this again. How many men does this fort have? How are they divided? And What are you doing in here?"


    The guard, who was completely terrified, answered everything he was asked about.


    "There are 29 men inside, divided among three groups. The first group has 15 men and they are in the next room. The other two groups are behind the two doors inside the main hall, the left door has 5 men, and the right door has 3 men. There is a door in the middle of the main hall that leads to a different room where our boss stays at."


    The terrified guard took a deep breath as he continued in a daze.


    "I don''t know what the rebellion is doing here, it''s way above my pay grade."


    Marr pondered for a second as he retracted his aura and put the man down. He then looked the man in the eyes and asked.


    "Who is your boss? What can you tell us about him?"


    The guard terrified of Marr''s strange ability answered without delay.


    "Low-level soldier never see the boss, we get our orders directly from our squad leaders. The only thing I know is that his name is Rothum Stradok."


    The three friends showed a delighted expression as that was the name of the general they were looking for.


    Marr then looked at the man as he said.


    "Leave I don''t want to see you ever again. Consider this your reward for answering my questions."


    The guard left as fast as his legs allowed him fleeing from this strange Dragonborn.


    Dayer looked at his two friends as he said.


    "28 men to deal with, I doubt the general will care about us. But the other 2 groups in the adjacent doors will come out as soon as they hear the commotion. Does anyone have a suggestion?"


    Marr looked at his two friends as he said.


    "Let''s make it simple, Merrich I need you to play "Summit of Starlight" and use "Anyspell" to get the enemies closer to each other, That should make quite a lot of damage to them."


    Marr took a deep breath as he continued.


    "After "Anyspell" explodes, I will come in and use my dragon breath, Dayer it will be your job to kill anyone who survives."


    Both, Dayer and Merrich, nodded in acknowledgment.


    The three of them drew their weapons and got inside the poorly illuminated hallway.


    ------------------


    Fifteen men were sitting around a bonfire as they talked and drunk beer.


    The hall they were sitting in was vast with lots of torches illuminating it. The place was completely made of stone with a classical architectural style of the old dwarven kingdoms. Big statues impossible to recognize could be seen around the hall. The soldiers had tones of beer barrels and meat lying around for them to eat and drink to their heart''s content.


    They were laughing and sharing their stories when suddenly a beautiful melody was heard from the hallway that led outside.


    The melody was soft and pleasing to the ears; it made one remember the moon hanging above the lake, the stars far beyond the clouds, and the endless night sky.


    listening to this music, they lowered they guard and a small person could be seen walking in the direction of the bonfire while playing the lute.


    The scene was mesmerizing; the halfling kept playing as some strange blue colored mist appeared out of nowhere.


    Suddenly the two doors at the side swung open and eight more men charged into the room.


    Seeing their colleagues unable to react, a strong man that was leading the charge from the left side shouted.


    "Wake up, you useless bunch! It''s an enemy!"


    As if coming out of a trance, all the men woke up from their stupor only to realize the night sky and the stars weren''t an illusion.


    In that instant, the melody ended abruptly, as all those stars in that endless sky fell to earth in their direction.


    The men tried to retreat only to realize that the blue mist had surrounded then completely, and it had got increasingly brilliant.


    When the starlight finally fell on the soldiers, the strange blue mist exploded creating a strong force that made most of the men tumble to the center of the room.


    Marr jumped out of the hallway running towards the center of the hall. His chest swelled up as he said a draconic incantation.


    "Shochraos Trekis."


    The Dragonborn spat out a blinding light with blue lighting arcs coursing true it that directly hit the surviving soldiers, killing them instantly.


    As the dust settled the strong man who had shouted at the beginning could be seen standing while supporting himself on his great sword.


    The man looked up with great difficulty as he took out a small horn from under his armor.


    When he was about to blow it, a slender silhouette appeared behind the strong men and quickly slit the man''s throat.


    Marr and Merrich went towards the Eladrin who had just appeared behind the strong men.


    The three friends stood in front of the center gate on the main hall of the fortress.


    Dayer cleaned his dagger as he said.


    "28 down, and one to go."

 Chapter 8: The powerful general.

    It wasa vastthrone room with eighthugecolumnsthatsustainedthewholestructure, in themiddleof theroomagoldenstonepathleadsdirectlyto a blue throne with goldengravingson it. In between thecolumns,hangingfrom theceiling,bluecolored ancient dwarven tapestry could beseen.


    Dayer¡¯sbodywas beside thestonethrone, hissilverhairwastaintedwithfreshbloodand hisarmsweretwistedinstrangeangles.


    Merrich wassittingon the floor next toa wallin the entrance of theroomwith hisheaddown, his broken lute laid next to him. He had an arrow lunged in hislegand another one in hisarms.


    Marr waslyingon the floor infrontof the throne, apoolof bloodformedunder hisshoulder,that had been pierced by asword.


    Asilver-scaled Half-Dragon had his foot on Marr¡¯schest,a clearexpressionofdisdaincould beseenon hiseyesas heplungedthesworddeeper into Marr¡¯sshoulder. The Half-Dragon opened hismouthas hischestswelledup and an ice-blue light could beseenin histhroat.


    ------------------


    Ten minutes earlier¡­


    Marr got hisaxeready as heanalyzeda mapof the underground ruins hefoundin thesquadleader¡¯sbody.


    Helookedseriouslyat the Halfling as heexplainedtheplan.


    ¡°Okay, this is theplan. I willbreakthedoor,assoonas Iblowit Merrich youplay¡°Speedy Savagery¡±, that willgiveusa boosttoexecutethenextpart of theplan.¡±


    Marr thenturnedto Dayer as hesaidto him.


    ¡°Dayer we willusethe Darastrix Lesot Tactic that Ishowedyou, you willhidebehind me using ¡°Shadow Path¡±, when wegetcloseenough you willuse¡°Ethereal Step¡±, andattackhim from behind using ¡°Bleeding Edge¡± and ¡°Killer¡¯s Mark¡±.¡±


    Merrich and Dayer nodded in unison as theygotreadyfor theattack.


    Marrtooka fewstepsback as hepositionedhisaxeinfrontof hisarm, hetookadeepbreathandchargedtoward thegate.


    As hegotcloseto the gate Dayer disappeared into theshadowsas hefollowedbehind Marr¡¯scharge.


    When Marr collided with thegate, itswungopenwitha loudboomand afastmelody played from Merrich lute.


    Marr¡¯sspeedraisedconsiderablyas his charge becomeevenmoresavageanddestructive.


    Sitting on the throne was atalland silver scaled Half-Dragon. When hesawthegateopeninghequicklygotup from the throne as hegrabbedhisswordandsaid.


    ¡°Who are you? Why are youbargingin here like that?¡±


    As thefastmelody keepplaying, Marr got closer to the throne hepreparedtoswinghisaxeatfullforcetowardStradok.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    Hespunaround as hemadeaswingwith hisaxe,Stradokdefended theattackwith his sword seeming completely unfazed by the attack.


    Suddenly a shadow appeared behind the Half-Dragon and made an attack toward his back. Two sharp daggers were aimed at vital points in Stradok¡¯s body.


    As the two daggers hit their target Dayer quickly retreated away from the Half-Dragon.


    Marr Tried to disengage but as he tried to step back a silver colored hand grabbed his wrist and swung him violently to the floor, making him spat out blood from the impact.


    The Half-Dragon seemed completely unfazed by the Eladrin¡¯s attack as he went down the throne and nailed Marr to the ground with his sword.


    Marr screamed from the pain as he stared furiously at Stradok.


    Stradok stared at the Dragonborn as he said dismissively.


    ¡°Stay right there, I will take care of somethings first.¡±


    Seeing the situation turning bad Merrich quickly invocated a strange rune that directly attacked the Half-Dragon.


    The rune was a psychic type of magic that attacked the opponent¡¯s mind.


    TheHalf-Dragonfacedtheruneheadonand resisted it,hestaredatthe Halflingas he said.


    ¡°That hurts quite a bit.¡±


    When he finished saying this word, hetooktwohandcrossbows that were holstered in his legs and shotthearrowsatMerrich. BothArrowshittheirtargets andbecause of the pain,the Halflinglutefellto the ground.


    TheHalf-DragonquicklyruntowardMerrich, whensuddenlyDayerappearedbehindhim again,Stradokmadeahalfturn grabbingthe Eladrin¡¯sarm andswinging him toward¡¯s a pillar.


    He kept walkingin thedirectionofthe Halfling.Merrichtookout his repetition crossbow andtried tohittheHalf-Dragonwho easily dodgedthearrows.


    WhenStradokreachedthe Halfling, he punched Merich with all his strength sendinghim flyingtowardawallat the beginning of the room.Merrichhitthewalland slid to the grown unconscious.TheHalf-Dragonkicked thelutein the samedirectiondestroying it againstawallrightnext toMerrich.


    Thenhe wentbacktothe Eladrin¡¯sdirectionandgrabbedhim fromthe floor, he broke Dayer¡¯s arm with his hands andsenthim flyingin thedirectionofthethrone.


    Dayerhithisheadonthe stonethroneas hefelldownslowly,bloodcould clearly be seen on his hair asthe impactwounded him.


    TheHalf-Dragonsighed ashe wentbackin thedirectionofMarr¡¯sslowly, he pressed his foot on the Dragonborn¡¯schestas he plunged thesworddeeper into his should andasked.


    ¡°Whosentyou?¡±


    Marrgritted his teeth enduringthe pain ashestaredfiercely attheHalf-Dragon.


    Stradoktwisted his blade,makingMarrscream inpain asheaskedagain.


    ¡°Whosentyou?¡±


    Marrlooked at him with a strong resolve on his eyesas he said.


    ¡°I won¡¯t ever tell you, so you better kill me now.¡±


    TheHalf-Dragonshowed his deep disdain for Marr as he opened his mouth and his chest swelled up.


    At that moment, a small drop of Marr¡¯s blood reached the bag he had hidden under his armor, an ancient and emancipated voice resounded in Marr¡¯s head as a bright light appeared in front of him.


    [Hello my child.]


    As Marr heard this voice echoing directly into his mind, he realized time seemed to have stopped around him, he stared at the light in front of him as he said.


    ¡°Who are you? Why is your voice resounding in my head?¡±


    The ancient voice answered with no urgency in his tone.


    [I¡¯m Io, the ancient Dragon God.]


    Marr was surprised, all the members of his clan were followers of the ancient dragon god Io who was said to be dead, although no one knew how this god came to fall or if it truly had fallen.


    Marr eyes regained some hope as he asked.


    ¡°Can you help me, Lord Io?¡±


    The ancient voice sounded once more.


    [I can help you my son, by uncovering the true power behind your bloodline, the ancient paths of the Dragonborn will be available to you, but you must help me with something.]


    When Marr heard this he was exited, he stared at the light in front of him as he asked.


    ¡°What is it that you need my help with?¡±


    The light went silent for some minutes as it said.


    [ You shall take the mantle of your clan and fulfill the mission I left to your ancestor all those years ago. As to what that mission is, you can ask your ancestor. Decide quickly, I can¡¯t maintain this state for too long.]


    Marr didn¡¯t hesitate, he looked at the light and said.


    ¡°I accept your condition.¡±

 Chapter 9: Lost Legacy

    After Marr accepted, the light shot towards his chest and an incredible amount of information appeared in his head.


    As the information keep entering his mind, he realized that part of this knowledge existed in his clan. Information about the different aspects of a Dragonborn''s bloodline, and all the paths it opened to its wielder.


    For those who choose the path of magic, there was the way of the nine which taught how to completely mix Draconic energies with the magical arts, transforming the Draconic heritage in part of the user''s magic powers.


    Those who choose the divine path there was the Templars of Creation, a path that strives toward similitudes with the ancient god, allowing one to sprout multicolored metallic wings and making the Draconic powers more similar to Io''s.


    For those who choose the primal path, they could become Tempest Dragons, powerful warriors who harness the powers of nature through their draconic heritage becoming an embodiment of the tempest itself. Their bodies become resistant to thunder and lightning and they are able to spread wings of lighting.


    As the knowledge entered his head, he recognized two of the paths the Fear Executors, and the Honorable Edge.


    The path of the Fear Executors has as its objective, to amplify Dragonfear to its max potential making it overwhelming and even more crippling. There was a specialized battalion in his clan that followed this path, terrorizing their enemies and completely obliterating their morale.


    The path of the Honorable Edge, had as its primal aim to tap the true potential of the Dragon Breath, making it possible to use it more times and to infuse its power on to one''s weapon, the ones who choose this path will be resistant to any element his or her breath has. This path allows perfect control of this incredible heritage and perfecting the power of a Dragonborn''s body through stimulating the Draconic blood on the user''s veins.


    The path of the Honorable Edge was the one Marr''s father followed, and one of the hardest and most powerful ways to bring out the true power of a Dragonborn''s Draconic Heritage.


    As Marr was thinking this a voice echoed once again in his head.


    [My child, choose a path I shall impart the experience and knowledge necessary for you to begin walking it.]


    Marr''s mind went back in time to the memories of that day, where his father fought with his life on the line and his flaming greatsword kept that red dragon at bay.


    Marr made his decision as he told the voice in his head.


    "I wish to follow the path of the Honorable Edge."


    As those words left his mouth, an incredible amount of information entered his brain, all of it pertaining to the training experience of an Honorable Edge, he felt as if each of those moves he was seeing others execute, the way the Draconic power flowed through their bodies and improved their capabilities, the form they used the Draconic heritage, as if they were his own.


    While Marr was digesting all the knowledge and integrating with the experiences. A blinding light was emitted from his chest as a necklace appeared there.


    [I will take care of this situation for you my child.]


    The Half-Dragon covered his eyes trying to protect them from the light on Marr''s chest, feeling that something was wrong he quickly took his sword off Marr''s shoulder as he stepped back.


    The Dragonborn eyes where shining with a blue light. Marr slowly got up and looked around, when he saw the Jennu Ariiogarurt he extended his hand toward the axe''s direction, the axe came straight into his hand as he inspected it.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Marr showed a regretful expression as an old and tired voice came out of his mouth.


    "It is incomplete¡­ What a shame. Such a powerful weapon."


    Marr stared at the Half-Dragon in front of him as he said.


    "I''m very sorry my child, this is something I must do."


    As the Half-Dragon heard this voice, he realized the Dragonborn in front of him was no longer the same. His eyes showed some fear in them as he could feel a vast and powerful aura coming from the being who was standing before him.


    Suddenly, Marr kicked the floor, and he jumped towards the Half-Dragon, as the Dragonborn got closer to his target he infused power into the Jennu Ariiogarurt in his hands. The eyes of the dragon that was carved in the axe seemed to shine brightly as the edges of the axe light up and lighting arcs coursed through the whole axe.


    He arrived in front of Stradok in an instant, swinging his axe, that left a clear afterimage, directly at the Half-Dragon''s head. Stradok tried to defend from the attack using his sword.


    When the two blades of the collided, Stradok felt as if he was hit by a heavy of a mountain and he was sent flying across the room.


    The Half-Dragon turned himself in the air falling in a standing position, when he checked the situation of his sword he could see a dent in the sword''s edge that proved how dreadful that attack had been.


    Marr showed an impressed expression as he looked at the Half-Dragon.


    "You are truly incredible my child, I''m very impressed. Even if I can''t exert my full power, few could have taken that hit head-on."


    As the Half-Dragon heard this word''s he was inexplicably filled with a sense fulfillment as if he was proud of being praised the owner of this voice, at the same time these feelings also filled him with a sense of dread.


    Stradok looked at the being in front of him as he said.


    "Who are you, why are you helping this Dragonborn?"


    Marr looked at the Half-Dragon like a father that looks at his soon.


    "I''m Io my child, and this young boy you are trying to kill is my only heir. I think you are a man full of potential, but I can''t let you kill him. Although it pains me to kill one of my sons, I must do it."


    As Marr said this he walked toward Stradok, the Half-Dragon''s Chest swelled up and the temperature of the ambient got lower, Stradok opened his mouth letting out an ice-cold ray that flew in Marr''s direction.


    The Dragonborn, opened his mouth as an incredibly powerful and blinding light with blue lighting arks, was let out of his mouth coliding directly with the Half-Dragon''s breath.


    It was clear that the breath let out by Io was far more concentrated than the ones Marr used.


    When the two breaths collided, an explosion of mist occurred as they canceled each other.


    Stradok tried to see beyond the mist and realized Marr''s was nowhere to be seen, suddenly a feeling of impending doom filled the Half-Dragon''s mind as his eyes darted upward where a Dragonborn could be seen cleaving at him with a glowing axe.


    Stradok quickly tried to dodge the attack, but he realized it was too late as he hastily tried defending from the attack with his sword.


    When the axe collided with the sword, it cut right through it missing Stradok by a hair''s length. Stradok quickly took a dagger from under his sleeve as he tried to attack the Dragonborn.


    Marr stepped to the side and his chest instantly swelled up letting out another powerful breath that hit Stradok head on.


    While Stradok flew through the air, an expression of incredulity could be seen in his eyes.


    [How could he use two breaths'' in such a short span of time?]


    [I''m a Half-Dragon with a purer bloodline and I can''t use it more than twice a day, with hours of difference between one another.]


    When Marr saw the Half-Dragon landing heavily on the floor he slowly walked in the direction of Stradok.


    The Half-Dragon stood up with some difficulty as he stared at the Dragonborn that was getting closer to him.


    Marr stopped a couple of meters from Stradok as he sighed deeply and said.


    "It''s time to end this. Are you ready?"


    The Half-Dragon seemingly accepting his defeat nodded his head as his eyes got bloodshot and his skin froze over. An incredible aura was let out from the Half-Dragon as he used his last resort.


    Once again, Stradok charged against Marr disregarding his defense completely as he put all of his power behind this last attack with his dagger.


    As the Dragonborn saw the approaching Half-Dragon, he swung his axe upward letting out a crescent-shaped light ray with blue lighting arcs coursing through it.


    The light ray hit Stradok head on making a deep cut on his chest and sending him flying in the direction of the throne.


    As Marr saw the Half-Dragon lying dead in front of the throne, he let out a heavy sigh as he said.


    "It''s done, my child I will be waiting for you."


    Marr''s eyes went back to normal as he fell down to the ground unconscious.

 Chapter 10: What happened here?

    The room was eerily silent, a Half-Dragon with a deep wound laid in front of the throne with his bloodshot eyes wide open. A few meters away from him Marr was on the floor unconscious with a deep wound in his shoulder.


    On the far side of the room, a Halfling was sitting against a wall with his head down, showing no signs of waking up. It was impossible to know if he was dead or alive.


    Suddenly, Dayer¡¯s hand trembled slightly as he regained consciousness when he finally opened his eyes a sharp pain in the back of his head jolted him completely awake as he mumbled some improprieties.


    ¡°Holy crap! My head is killing me, fuck I don¡¯t remember drinking this much, as a matter of fact, I don¡¯t remember drinking at all.¡±


    When the Eladrin tried to move his arm to touch his head, he realized they were broken as a jolt of pain assaulted him again. He cursed some more than he used his legs to carefully get himself up.


    Dayer finally got up and saw the Half-Dragon laying there. He started to recall the events that happened up to the time he got knocked out as he said out loud.


    ¡°Right, we got our butts kicked by that rebellion¡¯s general.¡±


    As he saw Stradok¡¯s dead body, he realized that something here wasn¡¯t right.


    [Wait if he bet the crap out of us¡­ How am I still alive and he is lying dead on the floor]


    The Eladrin walked around and inspecting the place, the room was pretty roughed up. There were two deep foot imprints on the floor, the middle of the throne room was completely destroyed and some water could be seen on the floor.


    [Some heavy fighting went on here¡­ They really messed this place up.]


    As Dayer kept walking he soon reached the entrance where he found Merrich, sitting against a wall with his head down. As he inspected the Halfling, he could see his injuries weren¡¯t that serious, but he had received quite a heavy hit.


    [His arm and his leg are going to be fine¡­ Better wake him up so he can fix my arms up.]


    The Eladrin looked at Merrich trying to find a way to wake him up. His eyes darted to the arrow in his friend¡¯s leg as an idea popped up in his head. He stared at the Halfling as he said.


    ¡°I apologize for this beforehand, and I want you to know this will hurt you more than it will hurt me.¡±


    As those worlds left Dayer mouth, he used his foot to press on the arrow in the bard¡¯s leg, and an agonizing scream was let out by Merrich.


    ¡°FUCK! Damn it Dayer, can¡¯t you be gentler.¡±


    The Halfling looked up with some difficulty and saw Dayer¡¯s two arms hanging by the side of his body as he realized they were broken.


    ¡°Is not like I had a choice, shorty!¡±


    Merrich ignored the Eladrin and checked out his own situation. His injuries weren¡¯t that bad, but he was sore all over, and the two arrows didn¡¯t hit anything that could be dangerous.


    The Halfling raised his good hand and pointed at Dayer, a magic circle appeared beneath the Eladrin and a gentle divine power came out of it healing his wounds and fixing his arms.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    As the Eladrin¡¯s felt his bones shifting, he couldn¡¯t but letting out a small groan of pain, as he stared at Merrich who had a mocking smile on his face.


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have used a different spell for that?¡±


    ¡°I could have but it wouldn¡¯t be as fun. Think of it as payback for my leg.¡±


    Merrich grabbed a piece of cloth putting it in his mouth and then pointed at the two arrows on his body as he looked at Dayer. The Eladrin nodded in understanding as he got closer to the halfling and said.


    ¡°Are you ready?¡±


    As the Halfling was about to answer, Dayer pulled the arrows out in one forceful motion. A muffled scream sounded out from Merrich mouth as he bit hard on the cloth in his mouth.


    He thanked the Eladrin as he casted healing magic on himself.


    Dayer helped the Halfling up, and both of them went towards Marr who was unconscious in the middle of the room.


    When they reached Marr, they realized he was quite the mess. His shoulders were dislocated, his legs were broken as well as his writs, and the bloody hole in his shoulder was bleeding profusely. It was a miracle he was alive in that state.


    Dayer had a stunned expression as he said.


    ¡°How the hell did he get that fucked up?¡±


    Merrich looked around and then his eyes met with Dayer as he said.


    ¡°You don¡¯t think he¡­ It would be impossible, right?¡±


    Dayer dismissed the question as he said.


    ¡°We can ask him when he wakes up. How do you plan on dealing with this?¡±


    Merrich thought for a while and said.


    ¡°Look around, while I prepare a ritual magic. My normal spells and divine abilities won¡¯t be enough.¡±


    Dayer nodded as he looked around the throne room for anything of use.


    Merrich sat on the floor and took out a chalk from his bag and drew a divine magic circle on the floor with Marr as the center. Once he finished the circle he took out two small censers, he positioned at each side of Marr¡¯s body, finally, he took a ruby as thick as a thumb and positioned it on top of the Dragonborn.


    The Halfling sat down in lotus position in front of the circle as he chanted a strange Elven incantation. As he chanted the circle light up and the ruby floated, the smoke of the censers circled around Marrhosh and a blinding light came out of the ruby shoot straight into Marr¡¯s body mending his wounds at a visible speed.


    The ritual kept going for about 10 minutes as the light vanished from the ruby it slowly crumbled to dust. Merrich almost fainted and was supported up by Dayer.


    ¡°Are you okay shorty?¡±


    Merrich shrugged as he thanked the Eladrin.


    ¡°Yes, just a little tired. I used too much magic power today.¡±


    The Halfling then stared at Dayer as he asked.


    ¡°Did you find anything useful?¡±


    Dayer nodded at Merrich question before walking towards the Half-Dragon and grabbing the dagger on the floor right next to his hand. He carefully cut the Half-Dragon¡¯s head and bagged it.


    As he got back, Merrich tore a scroll up that would prevent anything inside the bag from going bad.


    The Halfling looked at the Eladrin as he said.


    ¡°What did you find?¡±


    Dayer looked at Merrich as he answered.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here first, we can talk about it once Marr is awake.¡±


    As they were preparing to leave, Dayer realized the Half-Dragon¡¯s body had a rather interesting ring on it.


    He recognized the symbol engraved on the ring, but he couldn¡¯t remember where, so he took it and showed it to Marr when he woke up.


    The Eladrin grabbed Marr and tossed him over his shoulder as he carried him out of the ruins.


    When they got out of the ruin¡¯s, they went directly to general Raven¡¯s house, making sure not to be seen by anyone. The Aarakocra received them and analyzed Marr¡¯s situation.


    ¡°The young Dragonborn is all right, he seems to be dealing with a mental ordeal right now. He will wake up in due time, you shouldn¡¯t worry.¡±


    That was all General Raven told them before throwing them out of his house.


    Merrich and Dayer, who had Marr over his shoulder, went back to the tavern and stayed there while waiting for Marr to wake up.


    ------------------


    After two weeks passed Marr woke up from his coma. He went downstairs where he found his two friends drinking with a worried expression on their faces.


    As he looked at them a warm feeling filled him as he said.


    ¡°Why the long faces?¡±


    As this voice was heard they froze as their eyes darted in the stairway¡¯s direction, where a tall Dragonborn was standing with a warm smile on his face.


    Marr then walked towards his two friends as he ordered a beer to drink with them.


    Once the beer got to the table both Dayer and Merrich, couldn¡¯t wait any longer, as they asked at the same time.


    ¡°What the hell, happened back there?¡±

 Chapter 11: The reward.

    Marr showed a surprised expression as he told them exactly what happened. The Eladrin and Halfling pair had multiples changes of expression, but they didn¡¯t interrupt him at any time.


    When Marr finished recounting the event¡¯s the three friends had a serious look on their face, Dayer looked at Marr as he asked.


    ¡°What power level have you reached?¡±


    Marr¡¯s took a sip of his beer as he answered.


    ¡°Initial stage of the Paragon level.¡±


    In the continent of Svartha, there are 3 known Power levels: Heroic, Paragon, and Epic. Each level is divided into 3 stages that are: Initial, Middle, and Final. The differences between the three major power levels are abysmal, and the differences between the 3 stages are much lesser but still almost impossible to overcome.


    Anyone who embarks in the paths known in this continent, and finishes their training, can be considered to be in the initial Heroic stage. To embark into any of such paths you must have or do, one or more of this three items: A master who will teach you the ways of the path you choose, or join one of the different schools or organizations that have training pertaining to the path you wish to follow or have a blood heritage that will allow you to become a sorcerer.


    Marr, knowing Dayer and Merrich where both in the Middle Stage looked seriously at them as he said.


    ¡°Stradok was probably at the Final Stage of Paragon level, that¡¯s not something the three of us can overcome.¡±


    The Halfling nodded at Marr¡¯s comment as he said.


    ¡°If this is the level of power all the generals have, we will need to reach the final stage, and even then, it might not be enough. If I¡¯m not wrong, he was at the Half-Epic level.¡±


    Dayer was thinking about something and said nothing. Marr finished his beer as he said while getting up.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go deliver this head and get our reward, we can think of our next step after we are done with that.¡±


    The three friends got out of the tavern and walked toward General Raven¡¯s house.


    ---------------------


    General Raven, was sitting cross-legged in the courtyard of his house when the three friends arrived. The general feather had a crystalline aspect that remembered diamond and his eyes were closed, a pale pink light was circling around him.


    The three friends waited for the Aarakocra to finish his meditation.


    When Raven finished, his feathers went back to their normal white luster, as he got closer to Marr and the other inviting them to his office.


    As they got there, he inspected the three friends as he said.


    ¡°So, what brings you here young ones?¡±


    When the Aarakocra asked, Dayer took a bag and threw it in the general¡¯s direction. Raven grabbed the sack midair and inspected it.


    He showed a shocked expression as he saw what was inside the bag. He looked at the three friends as he said.


    ¡°Good job, was it too hard?¡±


    Merrich was the one to talk now and said.


    ¡°Of course, The Half-dragon was a Half-Epic Primal path holder. We almost got killed.¡±


    Raven showed an ugly expression as he asked.


    ¡°Are you sure, he was a Half-Epic path holder? If it is so the kingdom must take precautions, their vice-leader and leader will probably be Epic Path Holder¡¯s.¡±


    The three friends nodded with a serious expression on their faces, and the general¡¯s face was unsightly.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    The Aarakocra sighed as he said.


    ¡°Well, this is something I must deal with.¡±


    He asked the three of them to accompany him to the treasure room. When they finally got there, he looked at them and said.


    ¡°You can all choose one treasure after you come out you can directly leave, the money promised will be waiting for you outside. If you think this mission is too dangerous, just drop the badge I gave you with the suit of armor at the entrance.¡±


    He sighed again and said.


    ¡°If you choose to do so, I will consider it as if you are dropping the mission. You will be able to keep the rewards, so you don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡±


    Marr looked at the General as he asked.


    ¡°We don¡¯t wish to drop the mission, but we do need to take a timeout. Does it have a time limit?¡±


    Raven shook his head as he said.


    ¡°No, there is no time limit we just need the mission done.¡±


    The three friends nodded and went into the treasure room.


    Inside the room, they could see many treasures: Uncommon Items, Magic Items, Legendary Items, and Artifacts were everywhere.


    As Dayer walked around, his attention got instantly drown towards a single dagger that clearly emitted Fey energy. When he read the description of the dagger it impressed him and he took it.


    The dagger was known as Incisive Dagger, it¡¯s handle looked like a tree trunk, vines could be seen going around the trunk as they transformed into the dagger¡¯s blade. This dagger¡¯s effect was the amplification of the user¡¯s own capability to teleport and it even had a spell that allowed a once per day teleport of up to 50 meters.


    Merrich, walked deep into the treasure room until he found a lute made of a strange material. The Lute was Green colored with strange vines and leaves patrons carved on it, the Lute fell warm to the touch and the melody it produced was almost perfect. The name of the lute was Idun¡¯s Mercy, and it had very interesting magic proprieties that could raise the user¡¯s magical and divine casting powers, it also allowed for ritual magic to be cast through it.


    Merrich choose this lute since his own had been completely destroyed.


    As Marr walked around the treasure room, the axe on his back pulsated, as if it felt something calling for it. Marr keep walking inside until he found a strange wand in the room. The Black Colored wand, had a dragon¡¯s head carved on one end, the dragon had its mouth closed and the material was warm to the touch.


    There was no description to the wand abilities, and its name was Iojehli Scepter. Sensing the reaction of the Jennu Ariiogarurt, Marr chose it.


    After each of them choose a treasure, all of them went out and picked up the money with the suit of armor.


    They went back to the tavern to decide their next step.


    -----------


    ¡°Dayer, What information you got back then?¡±


    Was the first thing Marr asked as they got to the Tavern.


    The Eladrin took out a series of papers and a ring as he passed them for the bard and Marr to read. As they read it he explained.


    ¡°These documents contain the rough Location of the operations of the rebellion. We can use them to hunt down the generals, and to gather more information on them.¡±


    As Marr finished reading one of the document¡¯s he saw the ring and asked Dayer where he found it.


    ¡°That ring was on the Half-Dragon¡¯s I thought I had seen it somewhere before so I kept it to show it to you.¡±


    Marr gave the ring a closer look as he said.


    ¡°It¡¯s a Dragon Emperor ring, it amplifies the owner Dragon breath power, and It also allows to use the Dragon breath more often.¡±


    Dayer had an astonished impression in his face.


    [Who would imagine this ring, I picked up on a whim, would be so impressive.]


    The Eladrin gave it to Marr who in turn thanked him for it.


    As they finished analyzing the document¡¯s they talked about their game plan.


    Merrich was sipping some beer as he said.


    ¡°The first thing we must do, Is to quickly raise our power. I propose we met back here in a year''s time.¡±


    Dayer nodded in agreement to the Halfling words, and Marr said.


    ¡°We will decide where to go we get together again then.¡±


    That night the three friends drank until passing out as they were about to go on separate journeys in search of an improvement for their abilities.


    The next day in the morning the three friends said their goodbyes as they each left for their destination.


    ----------------------------------------------


    On top of a tall mountain on the north of the Svartha continent, a human could be seen staring at the heavens as if he was waiting for something. From time to time, parts of a music would come out of the lute in his hands.


    Suddenly behind the man, a Halfling Silhouette appeared as it said.


    ¡°Maestro, your disciple has come back.¡±


    The human slowly looked at Merrich who was standing behind him as he said with a warm smile.


    ¡°Welcome home my boy, come listen to the song of the heavens with me¡­ It¡¯s indeed magnificent.¡±


    ------------------------------------------------


    At the south of the Svartha continent, there is a Small Kingdom, known as the Aldana Kingdom. The peculiar thing about this place is that every citizen of it is a descendant of the Fey.


    On the Capital of the kingdom inside the royal palace, a tall Eladrin with a silver hair had just walked through the gates.


    The steward of the palace looked stunned seeing this man.


    ¡°Call Shadow moon, tell him I wish to continue my training.¡±


    The steward finally reacted as he said.


    ¡°Yes, your majesty Dayermorn¡­¡±


    -------------------------------------------


    In the far east of the Svartha continent an endless desert exists, it¡¯s said that nothing can live for long there.


    Inside a cave on this dessert, a middle-aged man with golden eyes, white hair and a golden robe was sitting as he drunk some liquor.


    Suddenly a magical gate opened in front of him and a tall Dragonborn walked out from it.


    Seeing this Young Man, the face of the middle-aged man lighted up as he said.


    ¡°Young Marr, you are back!¡±


    Marr looked at the man and smiled as he said.


    ¡°I¡¯m back ancestor¡­¡±

 Chapter 12: The fall of Io.

    Artonak had a warm smile on his face, he inspected the Dragonborn in front of him and realized he was different.


    ¡°Marrhosh you seem different, your aura has changed.¡±


    Marr looked at his ancestor as he recounted all that had happened in the last few days.


    The gold dragon listened silently with his face getting increasingly excited.


    When Marr finished the story, Artonak looked at the young Dragonborn in front of him as he said, with an expression of excitement.


    ¡°Lord Io¡­ it¡¯s finally time! I now understand what your father said that day. This is a great day for our clan my boy.¡±


    Marr had an astonished look on his face, His ancestor was a dignified man, with a power that few in this plane could oppose. His ancestor was a Beyond Epic stage powerhouse and at this moment he was hopping around like a little kid that got a new toy.


    Marr cleared his throat and asked his ancestor.


    ¡°Ancestor, what did my father said that day? And what happened? You have never told me anything.¡±


    Artonak quickly recovered his composure as he said.


    ¡°Young Marrhosh do you know why our clan was created?¡±


    Marr negated with his head as he sat listened attentively to the gold dragon.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start from the beginning then.¡±


    The great wyrm cleared his throat as he recounted:


    A long time ago the God of all creation, created the multi-verse using his own powers and the primal elemental fluid. This fluid also gave birth to many deities of all levels of powers, and its primal source of power was order.


    On the other hand, the primal chaos gave birth to powerful creatures that stood on an equal level of power to the gods, these creatures were known as primordials. They were completely chaotic and loved destruction.


    The primordial coveted the planets inside the multi-verse and the gods defended the planets from these beings, the constant clashes gave birth to the first war between this two powerful sides, The Creation War.


    During the war many gods where born as well as primordials. Among these primordials, a very special one appeared, and he quickly rose in power among his peers, but he was not chaotic nor loved destruction, this primordial was Io.


    As Io grew in power, he stayed away from all the commotion of the Creation Wars. Instead, he was drawn towards the marvels of the primal elemental liquid that gave birth to the first gods. As one of the most powerful primordials, he had complete control over the primal chaos, but the primal liquid was different it could give birth to other special creatures, much different ones from those that came from the primordial chaos. So, he decided to study it, understand it and make it a part of him. After eons of experiments and study he finally succeeded, and with his success, he also became far more powerful.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Io ascended to godhood and became the first and only Primordial God who stood in an equal footing to the Great Creation god. Io joined the side of the gods and gave shape to the multiverse, with his control over both order and chaos he finally gave balance to the multiverse.


    Io created a race molded after his own  and that  would   of both, the  chaos and the primal elemental liquid. This  was the Dragon race, the two  sides ended up  the  and chaotic Chromatic Dragons, and the  and lawful Metallic Dragons. He  the Dragons  a  for themselves in the multi- and would not   with their , but he without a doubt  his  and would   them  from the .


    The balancing of the multi-verse only aroused the greed of the primordials, who wished for nothing more than to have it for themselves. This lead to the great final battle of the Creation Wars, the Battle of Dawn, where many gods and primordials fell.


    In this battle, Io took part for the sake of the multi-verse. He defeated many primordial until the strongest of the primordial a being known as the King of Evil: Lemegeton, confronted Io. Both of them fought with all of their power decimating heaven and earth with each attack, Io¡¯s power was too great and Lemegeton was slowly falling on disadvantage.


    Suddenly something unexpected happened, Bamaal the serpent of darkness a minor deity interfered. The King of Evil took this chance to cleave Io in half, and the blood that fell from Io¡¯s body became the Dragonborn race.


    Before Lemegeton could celebrate, from the two halves of Io raised Bahamut and Tiamat, they joined forces for the only time in their lives and killed, Bamaal and the King of Evil.


    Finally, the god of Creation found that it had gone too far. He split the Multiverse between the two bands giving half of it to the primordials and other half was left to the gods.


    ---------------


    All of this stunned Marr, this was not information that many were privy to and his ancestor was one of the few who knew of all the details.


    ¡°What happened to our clan is related to these things?¡±


    Artonak nodded with a serious expression as he said.


    ¡°Yes, what I¡¯m about to tell you is a secret of our clan, right now only three creatures on the multi-verse know about this and that¡¯s when I include myself.¡±


    Marr listened attentively as his ancestor continued the story.


    ¡°Before he died, realizing he was in dire straits, he put part of his consciousness into an artifact and all the divinity he could into a single drop of blood. When he was cleaved, he used the remaining strength of his body to send these two items to me.¡±


    Mar revealed an astonished expression as he heard the next words that came out of his ancestor.


    ¡°From that drop of blood, the Io¡¯jalein clan was created and one of my tasks was to protect it.¡±


    Marr took a few minutes to recover as he asked.


    ¡°So, we are the direct descendants of the god Io? Did my father knew all of this?¡±


    Artonak nodded as he explained.


    ¡°All the patriarchs and elders of the clan were told this secret and the mission of the clan when they assumed their post.¡±


    Marr showed an enlightened expression and asked.


    ¡°This still doesn¡¯t explain why Tiamat wanted to destroy us, and what my father said to you before we left.¡±


    The great wyrm gold dragon took a deep breath and existed for a few seconds before continuing.


    ¡°The reason Tiamat wished to exterminate our clan is actually the mission we have, and the words that your father said that day are the reason she decided to act herself.¡±


    Marr looked surprised once again as he asked.


    ¡°What did my father say?¡±


    The ancestor was silent for a few seconds as he finally said.


    ¡°The signs have shown themselves and the artifact has reacted. Marr is the shard.¡±

 Chapter 13: The great mission.

    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    Marr asked with interest on his face.


    Artonak got up and pointed at the necklace on Marr¡¯s chest.


    ¡°That necklace you have right there is where Io¡¯s consciousness is stored at. It had never reacted to anyone before.¡±


    When Marr heard it, he was astonished as he unconsciously touched the necklace.


    The golden dragon smiled as he continued.


    ¡°And the reason it reacts to you is because¡­ That little amount of divinity he hid inside his blood is inside of you.¡±


    Marr was stunned again and didn¡¯t react for some minutes as he processed all that was being told to him right now.


    The Dragonborn then looked at the ancestor as he asked.


    ¡°What Is the mission?¡±


    Artonak took a deep breath as he said.


    ¡°Our mission is to resurrect Io using that small part of him inside of you and his consciousness.¡±


    Marr had been stunned this day more than in his entire life together, he couldn¡¯t believe what he was listening to. He looked at the ancestor with astonishment on his face.


    ¡°How are we supposed to do that? and why does Tiamat don¡¯t want that to happen?¡±


    Artonak sighed as he said dispiritedly.


    ¡°How to do it is something you are still too weak to consider, only when you reach the Epic power level can will you be qualified for that knowledge, right now it would only be detrimental to you.¡±


    The gold dragon sat back down as he kept explaining.


    ¡°As for why Tiamat doesn¡¯t want Io¡¯s return¡­ Right now, the two most powerful gods in the dragon pantheon are both Tiamat and Bahamut. She is a greedy person who already has a huge problem dividing the Domain of Dragon with Bahamut¡­ The possibility of Io returning would mean not only that she wouldn¡¯t have control over any of her Domains since they all come from him, she would be below someone, and that¡¯s completely unacceptable for her.¡±


    Marr finally understood it all, the reason for Tiamat¡¯s persecution of his clan and why he had lost not just his friends but also both his parents.


    The fact that all of it was just for the power filled him with hatred for Tiamat as he swore on his heart to one day kill her and scatter her soul.


    ¡°Ancestor, what happened that day, after we were teleported do you know?¡±


    Artonak hesitated again for a while as he finally said.


    ¡°Your father used something he got as a gift from your mother, the price for its usage was his life¡­ That one time use legendary item allowed one to summon Bahamut¡¯s true form to this world.¡±


    The ancestor gave a deep sigh as he continued.


    ¡°As your father knew Tiamat would never allow you and me to leave, he sacrificed himself for a chance. He asked Bahamut to stop Tiamat and to protect the two of us from her, Bahamut agreed to his demands as your father¡¯s life left his body.¡±


    ¡°Now Bahamut¡¯s blocks and disrupts all of Tiamat¡¯s attempts to search for us directly.¡±


    Marr now understood everything, what happened to his clan, what his father had done for him, he understood why the dragon god had saved him.


    As he thought all of this, he looked at Artonak as he said.


    ¡°Ancestor train me, help me become stronger.¡±


    The Golden dragon smiled as he said.


    ¡°Of course, my child! But rest for today, we start tomorrow at the first sundown!¡±


    ---------------------------------------


    Three months later¡­


    In a dark room, multiple shadows could be seen attacking a tall, handsome looking, silver-haired man.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.¡°Your majesty, you are still to slow¡­ You should already have mastered the Ethereal Step.¡±


    A very young looking Eladrin could be seen setting in a corner of the room, with a mocking smirk on his face as he looked at Dayer.


    ¡°Shut up old man and keep attacking. I will dominate it soon enough.¡±


    The young-looking Eladrin shrouded as he ordered the shadows to keep attacking Dayer.


    As Dayer kept dodging and defending from the attacks, the man slowly left through the door.


    His steps had a strange cadence as he was walking space seemed to wrap around him as he suddenly walked into a throne room.


    Sitting on the throne was an Old Eladrin that had a very similar appearance to Dayer. The Old Eladrin asked.


    ¡°How is my son doing? Master Shadow.¡±


    The young Eladrin looked at the king as he made a simple reverence to him and said.


    ¡°That boy has a lot of potential, I have seen no one able to dominate the Ethereal Step to such a level in such a little time.¡±


    The king looked satisfied and nodded at Shadow moon as he dismissed him.


    Shadow Moon just turned around and walked again as the same thing happened and now he appeared on a mountain outside of the castle. He sat down and enjoyed the sunset.


    [I think that boy could be my successor¡­]


    Was the last thought of the man as he watched that beautiful scene.


    -------------------------------


    On top of a mountain, a blue mist could be seen everywhere, it moved at a special rhythm as if someone was controlling it.


    Suddenly the mist exploded as completely disheveled Halfling could be seen in the middle of the smoke.


    As the smoke cleared the voice of a man was heard.


    ¡°You must concentrate let the sounds of nature guide you, the arcane energy on the exterior must be guided by the arcane energy inside your body, and the way to do that is through music.¡±


    Merrich had a serious expression as he nodded at the human in front of him.


    That Human had a white tunic adorned with black floral patterns all over, he was tall, blonde and had blue eyes that seemed almost white.


    ¡°Yes, Master!¡±


    Merrich started playing again as the man smiled and said.


    ¡°Calm down, listen to nature around you¡­ try to feel the arcane energy and guide it with your music¡­ Just like that.¡±


    The man kept smiling as he saw his student, focused on the task at hand.


    He looked to the heavens as he murmured in a very low voice.


    ¡°Maybe he will be able to complete that song¡­ all of us wish to complete¡­¡±


    The man closed his eyes as a longing expression could be seen on his face.


    --------------------------------------


    In a secret base of the rebellion two men were reunited, they were talking about something important.


    ¡°Boss Stradok is dead, bounty hunters killed him.¡±


    A Man in black with a hood that covered his whole head obscuring all of his features was sitting at the table.


    As he heard the words coming out of his most trusted comrade he was very shocked as Stradok was a powerful man, few in the continent could fight against him.


    ¡°Bounty hunters? What kind of bounty hunters can deal with a Half-Epic level powerhouse? Are you sure it wasn¡¯t Raven or one of those five old men?¡±


    A man in red was sitting across the man in black, he nodded as he said.


    ¡°Yes boss, I¡¯m sure it isn¡¯t Raven nor any of those five mummies who attacked the rebellion.¡±


    The man in black laughed out loud as he said.


    ¡°Interesting looks like we have a new player on the board¡­¡±

 Chapter 14: The reunion.

    Alberta kingdom royal city, a year has gone by since Stradok was killed.


    In the guard¡¯s house a Dwarf could be seen smoking a stone pipe, he read over some documents as he caressed his own beard deep in thinking.


    Suddenly he hears a commotion outside of his office, he goes out of his office as he says in an annoyed tone.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on, I¡¯m trying to work in he¡­¡±


    Suddenly the man sees an arcane gate open in the middle of the room, from inside the gate a Dragonborn walk¡¯s out.


    He has 2,2 meters, deep sapphire colored eyes, and bronze colored scales covering his body. He is wearing a simple chainmail armor, with a symbol of an unadorned multicolored disk in the middle of it, he has two small hatchets on his back, a dagger on his boot, a small crossbow holstered on his right leg, and a big axe was hanging from his back.


    The Dragonborn smiled when he saw the astonished Dwarf in front of him as he said.


    ¡°Captain Blackstone, it has been a long time.¡±


    The Dwarf came back to his senses as he gave a hearty laugh and said.


    ¡°Bwahahahaha! Boy, it¡¯s always good to see you! It¡¯s lieutenant colonel now thou!¡±


    Seeing that the guards kept staring at the short and tall duo, Blackstone berated.


    ¡°And you bunch, what are you waiting for to get back to work?¡±


    A resounding ¡°Yes sir!¡± was heard as everyone went back to their own tasks.


    Marr smiled warmly seeing this scene, he walked with the Dwarf as they talked.


    ¡°Why are you back boy? Are you planning on staying long?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m meeting Dayer and Merrich here then we are off to complete that mission.¡±


    The Dwarf kept smoking his stone pipe as he said to Marr.


    ¡°If you and your friend¡¯s need anything, come look for me I will do my best to help.¡±


    Marr showed a grateful expression as he thanked the Dwarf.


    After Marr walked out he went straight to the usual tavern, his group of three friends stayed at. He sat down at a table and ordered some Kobold Wine as he thought about the time he spent training with his ancestor.


    ------------------------------


    ¡°Come on Marr, you must be able to use your breath instantly. That¡¯s the essence of being an Honorable Edge! Draconic powers, and combat ability as one.¡±


    Artonak was beating Marr purple while scolding him on the usage of his draconic heritage, he kept constantly dodging and hitting the young Dragonborn with a stick.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    ¡°I can¡¯t even keep up with you! How do you want me to throw my breath at you?¡±


    Marr was moving around no stop trying to defend the attacks with the Jennu Ariiogarurt as he tried to find a chance to use his breath.


    The axe on Marr¡¯s hand was a little different now, the Dragon¡¯s tail was no longer coiling around a flat metal tube instead the black wand Marr got as a reward for Stradok¡¯s head was the handle.


    According to Marr¡¯s ancestor, this weapon was forged long ago by Io himself, and it had an incredible ability that allowed it to completely integrate with Draconic powers and to amplify them. Sadly, only the axe¡¯s body remained at the clan and two parts had been missing.


    Now the handle was back, and the axe had recovered more of its powers. The only part that is missing, is the axe¡¯s knot that is supposed to be hanging from the mouth of the dragon in the handle.


    Artonak hit Marr in the head once more and a mocking voice could be heard.


    ¡°You are losing to an old man, boy! Come on, what good is power without speed!¡±


    ----------------------------


    As he was lost in his memories a tall man with long, silver hair walked into the tavern and walked straight in his direction as he said.


    ¡°So, you were the first to get here? How was this year?¡±


    Marr got back to his senses and answered this man with a warm smile on his face.


    ¡°Hellish is the only word I can think for it. How about you, Dayer how was your training?¡±


    Dayer sat down and asked for some Kobold Wine as he told Marr of his training with Shadow Moon.


    As he finished recounting his training he said.


    ¡°He pretty much just beat me up every day for the last year, did old Artonak did the same to you?¡±


    Marr drunk a mouthful of wine and answered Dayer with a helpless expression.


    ¡°Yeah, pretty much the same.¡±


    Both of them stared at each other and laughed out loud.


    As the of them kept talking a Halfling walked into the tavern and sat right next to the two of them as he said.


    ¡°What the hell are the two of you laughing about I have been listening to my maestro crazy talk for a whole year¡­ I Can¡¯t take it anymore.¡±


    When Merrich said this the other two just laughed out even harder.


    After joking and drinking for some time all three of them got serious and started talking about their game plan.


    Marr took out a map of the kingdom as Dayer marked the locations they got from Stradok¡¯s notes.


    ¡°We still need to hunt down 7 generals, and we have at least 53 locations on the map.¡±


    Said Merrich with a helpless expression as he looked at the map.


    Marr analyzed the map and the information they had got from Raven as he said.


    ¡°The bases follow a pattern, if you see here the base on the port is one of the main bases. When you use it as a reference and look around, you will see several other bases seemingly built at random.¡±


    Dayer looked at the map and couldn¡¯t really figure out the patron Marvin was talking about as he said.


    ¡°Marr, I can¡¯t see anything the bases are just built randomly it makes no sense.¡±


    Marr pointed at the bases around the port and drew some lines connecting all the bases in a very weird shape as he said.


    ¡°It¡¯s a path, a supply line if you may, these bases are strategic point¡¯s that ensure security and makes control over the items that are being transported easier.¡±


    Marr kept signaling around the map showing how the path worked as the other two friends showed an enlightened expression.


    Suddenly Dayer showed a dispirited expression as he said.


    ¡°The other bases don¡¯t follow the same type of pattern as the port one. We were only able to discover this because we know what¡¯s the main base.¡±


    Merrich seemed to realize the same thing as he nodded at the Eladrin¡¯s commentary.


    Marr looked at the map and drew other line and pointed at four bases as he said.


    ¡°Then we attack these bases right here. They are connection nodes, we might find more info there.¡±


    He pointed at one of the bases he had just marked, it was the one closest to them and then he said.


    ¡°We will attack the first connection node that is north of here it¡¯s the one that connects the port net to the other nets.¡±


    As he folded the map and got up from the table, he looked at his two friends and said.


    ¡°If we can find the pattern of the other bases with any information we get there, then we will be able to know which are the main bases.¡±

 Chapter 15: Unexpected Help.

    In an oriental style house, an Aarakocra was meditating with his eyes closed, as he slowly exhaled and inhaled his feather gained a crystalline look and a faint pink colored aura appeared around him.


    Suddenly, General Raven opened his eyes as he smiled and said to himself.


    ¡°So, the three boys are back¡­ It seems they are stronger.¡±


    The Aarakocra gave a deep sigh as he thought.


    [I hope they can fulfill this mission, it¡¯s the only hope of the kingdom.]


    ---------------------------


    The three friends had already walked out of the city 2 days ago and were heading towards the node of the rebellion.


    While they were walking Dayer asked.


    ¡°What¡¯s the plan this time Marr?¡±


    The Dragonborn kept walking as he answered.


    ¡°We rush in beat them and try to get what we need.¡±


    Dayer revealed a stunned expression and exchanged looks with Merrich that had the same expression on his face.


    ¡°What do you mean Marr? You always have a plan.¡±


    ¡°Not this time, I want to familiarize myself with my powers and I also need to see what you guys can do.¡±


    As Marr said this, they were already very close to the base. The Dragonborn lead them into the forest next to the main road, this was the forest of Mool it was located a few days north of the royal city, it wasn¡¯t a dense forest but it was still very big.


    While the three friends were walking, they heard strange sounds coming from the trees.


    Marr looked at Dayer and pointed towards the direction of the sound, The Eladrin nodded as he vanished in midair.


    After a few minutes, a muffled sound was heard, and a scream sounded out as a deep voice was heard.


    ¡°AAAAAH, No please! Elf no kill Ardokk! Ardokk good Orc!¡±


    ¡°I''m not an Elf! What do I do with him, Marr?¡±


    As Marr got close to where the orc and Dayer where he finally could take a good look at their stalker.


    The Orc had a very rough and gray skin, his eyes where red, and he had big canines that almost looked like tusk in his lower mouth, he measured around 2.5 meters and had a muscular body. He was using very plain clothing made out of animal fur.


    ¡°Stop scaring the poor fellow Dayer.¡±


    Dayer kept his dagger as he stared grudgingly at the Orc.


    Mar smiled wryly at the scene as he got closer to Ardokk that was even taller than him.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°You will have to excuse my Eladrin friend, he¡­ Doesn¡¯t like being called an Elf. Tell me why where you following us?¡±


    ¡°Me come to look for wood, Ardokk sees Lizardman, elf, and gnome with big foot go direction of base, so he follows them.¡±


    ¡°Who are you calling a gnome? I¡¯m a Halfling okay.¡±


    ¡°And I am an Eladrin! The Lizardman already said it why are you still mixing it?¡±


    As they were about to keep complaining Marr hit both of them in the head as he said with an annoyed expression.


    ¡°Shut your trap both of you! Why are you even arguing with the guy?¡±


    Then he turned to Ardokk and helped him up.


    ¡°You followed us because you want something right?  What is it?¡±


    Ardokk looked at the Dragonborn that was in front of him as he asked.


    ¡°What is Lizardman¡¯s name?¡±


    Marr smiled warmly at the Orc as he said while putting his fist on his chest in a classical Orc salute.


    ¡°My name is Io¡¯Jalein Marrhosh, but you can call me Marr.¡±


    The Orc got spirited as he saw the salute and made the same gesture as Marr, he then pointed at the Dragonborn than at himself as he said.


    ¡°Marr help Ardokk, and Ardokk help¡¯s Marr.¡±


    Marr listened patiently as he urged the Orc to keep going.


    ¡°Ardokk live in base, me have information. Marr promises to help Ardokk, and He gives information to Marr.¡±


    Marr pondered for a while as he nodded and said.


    ¡°We can accept your request, but I need to know why would you betray them?¡±


    Ardokk revealed a complicated expression and stayed silent for a couple of minutes, finally he showed a resolution in his eyes as he said.


    ¡°Ardokk treated badly at base, they not like Ardokk. They kill family, Ardokk make Throsh pay.¡±


    When Marr heard this, he looked at his two companions as both of them nodded, showing their approval.


    The Dragonborn patted the shoulder of the Orc as he said.


    ¡°You have my word, we will help you! Tell us all what you know.¡±


    Ardokk showed a happy expression as he thanked the three friends like a happy child.


    He then drew on the ground a map of the base that was constructed inside a mountain. A small river entered through the cave that was the main entrance, two openings at each side of the river lead to two different rooms of medium size, as the river advanced it got larger and took a turn to the right, as the river advanced a bridge led to another room bigger than the other two, there were more people here as well as the deposit of the base.


    ¡°How many people are there in the base? And are there any traps?¡±


    Marr asked as he looked at the map that was drawn by the Orc.


    Ardokk then pointed at the entrance and two other places in the base as he said.


    ¡°These traps, very hidden have care.¡±


    Then Ardokk said with a regretful expression.


    ¡°Me not count, Ardokk doesn¡¯t know amount of people.¡±


    Dayer showed a mocking expression and was about to say something when Marr hit in the head again as he said.


    ¡°Thanks, Ardokk I will need you to hide here until we are back.¡±


    Ardokk nodded as he went deeper into the forest to hide.


    Marr then showed a serious expression, without turning back he said to his two friends.


    ¡°Any thoughts?¡±


    Dayer and Merrich looked at each other and smiled wryly, they know the members of the base had touched Marr¡¯s reverse scale. They couldn¡¯t help feel sorry for them after all Marr complete clan had been annihilated. The two friends said in unison.


    ¡°No, sir!¡±


    Marr then looked at then as a clear glint of rage could be seen in his eyes,


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go¡­ I suddenly feel like beating someone!¡±


    The three friends kept going through the forest until they found a small river and followed its curse as instructed by Ardokk.


    Finally, they reached a big clearing where a small mountain could be seen. The mountain had a cave and the river could be seen going into it.


    Marr looked at Dayer as he said.


    ¡°Look around and see if you can find any other entrance.¡±


    Dayer nodded as he disappeared into the forest.


    The Dragonborn then looked at Merrich as he said.


    ¡°Can you detect any magic inside there?¡±


    Merrich concentrated as he said an incantation in Elven language. He then shook his head indicating there was nothing magical inside the place.


    After a couple of minutes, Dayer came back and said.


    ¡°There are two other entrances besides this one.¡±


    Marr nodded as he thought for a second and said.


    ¡°Dayer you take the farthest one, I will take this exist and Merrich will take the remaining entrance.¡±


    The two friends nodded and Merrich followed Dayer into the forest.


    Marr looked at the entrance ahead and walked towards it as he said.


    ¡°All right, time for some special training.¡±

 Chapter 16: Three burial grounds.

    Marr slowly walked up to the cave entrance and very carefully inspected the floor on the region after some time he realized that there was a thin line in the middle of the earth. He cleared some earth and the classical setup of a pitfall trap could be seen.


    Marr carefully paid attention to the borders of the trap as he went around it, the river had no traps but walking on water with armor would alarm the soldiers. As he got inside the cave, two opposing opening could be seen.


    The cave was very spacious and had a nice temperature as torches completely illuminated it.


    Suddenly a small blue colored light came out from the opening to the right.


    Marr recognized it as a sign from Merrich and decided to go inside the room to the left.


    While he was getting his axe off his back, a soft lute melody started playing. Marr smiled as he got up and entered the room to the left saying.


    ¡°Hey what a nice melody is playing in the other room.¡±


    The room Marr just walked into was quite big, there was a huge tent in the opposite wall to the entrance, many boxes could be seen around and a bonfire was light up in the middle of the room. All the orcs were sitting around a table as they drank some strange red colored liquor.


    As he said this word¡¯s all the Orcs got up and drew their weapons. A big Orc that seemed to be their leader looked at Marr as he said.


    ¡°Who are you? What are you doing here?¡±


    Marr had a sinister expression on his face as he looked at the Orc leader.


    ¡°Listen to it, it¡¯s quite fascinating.¡±


    As the Dragonborn finished saying these words, many miserable screams where heard from the room across.


    The Orc showed an ugly expression as he raised his axe while pointing at Marr and ordered.


    ¡°Attack!¡±


    A group of 15 orcs charged towards Marr with axes in hand, Marr simply started dodging the multiple attacks from the orcs.


    The Orcs had impressive coordination and were very well-trained soldiers, their attacks were well-timed and very precise. Marr was continuously dodging the attack, and couldn¡¯t help but praise the Orcs in his head.


    [There¡¯s some serious effort put into these guys. They are actually predicting my moves and attacking where they assume I would be at. If they were any faster, I would be in trouble.]


    As Marr realized the Orcs couldn¡¯t keep up with him he decided to end it at once. Suddenly, the Blades of the Jennu Ariiogarurt light up with a pale pink color and blue lighting arcs coursed through the axe.


    Marr dodged one more attack and instantly made a rotatory movement with his whole body. A circular ray of light that had the same pale pink color and lighting coursing through it expanded with the Dragonborn as the center. The orcs where all cut in half but no blood came out of the wounds as they were instantly cauterized by the ray of light.


    Clear astonishment could be seen in the face of the orcs and even regret as they were unable to determine how they died.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    Marr inspected the room and realized that the only survivor was the leader that had a deep wound on his belly. The Dragonborn walked towards the Orc and raised his axe, as his axe came down a headless body fell to the ground.


    Marr inspected the room to see if he could find anything useful.


    --------------------------------------------------


    Merrich followed Dayer for a few minutes till they reached a small waterfall, Dayer looked at Merrich as he said.


    ¡°There is a narrow tunnel behind the waterfall that leads to the cave.¡±


    Merrich nodded, and he went toward the waterfall, Dayer kept going through the forest and soon disappeared.


    As the Halfling got close to the cascade, he realized there was a small cave behind it. He went inside the cave and saw the tunnel Dayer was talking about.


    Merrich took out his lute and walked towards the tunnel as he was walking he started hearing the sound of people talking. He kept going and hid behind a rock while he observed the situation.


    The room was big, there were some boxes on the floor that the Orcs used as chairs, big boxes could be seen all over and a small fireplace burned in the middle of the room.


    Merrich inspected the situation around the room using a magical familiar. A small blue colored light flew around the room, the Halfling counted 20 Orcs inside this room.


    As the blue light went outside the room, it ran into Marr that gave a warm smile to it and nodded.


    The Halfling prepared his lute as he got up and walked out from behind the rock he was at. A beautiful melody was heard as all the orc¡¯s in the room slowly felt into a daze.


    The music coming out of the lute was simple but seemed to form a certain resonance with the surroundings.


    Inside the mind of the Orc¡¯s scenes of war and battles where playing thanks to the music, this was their dreams and the thing they loved.


    Out of nowhere, a strange blue colored mist appeared around the room. The mist slowly entered the Orc¡¯s bodies through their mouths and noses.


    Suddenly a miserable scream sounded from one of the Orcs as he grabbed his head and fell to the floor. His eyes were completely white, and he bled from the seven orifices on his head.


    More screams were heard as many orcs fell to the floor in the same situation as that first one.


    After a few minutes, no sounds but the melody of the lute could be heard, Merrich stopped playing as he went around the room looking for clues.


    -------------------------------------------


    Dayer reached the back entrance of the base, this was where the small river came out though.


    The Eladrin went in and after a few meters, he could see the bridge that leads to the other side of the river.


    Dayer used ¡°Shadow Path¡± and disappeared into the shadows, as the ability was activating he walked toward the bridge.


    On the other side of the bridge, he saw two Orcs with huge bows on their backs guarding the door. He slowly got close to one of the Orcs and took out his dagger. He deactivated his ¡°Shadow Path¡±


    Dayer suddenly appeared as he thrust his dagger toward the Orc¡¯s left chest. When the dagger completely went in he twisted the dagger destroying the Orc¡¯s heart, the Orc was completely unable to scream as his chest filled with air because of the location of the wound.


    As the other Orc was about to scream, a hand suddenly appeared on his mouth as a dagger slit his throat from behind him. At this moment the Orc realized that his comrade was on the floor but that Silver-Haired guy was nowhere to be seen.


    Dayer slowly puts the body of the Orc on the floor, suddenly as he was getting up he heard some miserable screams from somewhere on the cave, He gave a wry smile and went back into the ¡°Shadow Path¡±.


    The Eladrin slowly walked along the pathway that leads to the next room. When he got there, he realized there were 30 Orcs in this room. A lot of boxes and tents could be seen around, and there were various firepits all over the room.


    Dayer got his two daggers out as he prepared himself, he calculated he would be able to kill around 20 of them.


    The other 10 would probably run away and would be caught by Marr and Merrich.


    He deactivated ¡°Shadow Path¡± and appeared on the middle of the room, an Orc realized this and was about to scream when a dagger suddenly went into his throat. Dayer started appearing and disappearing all over the place, every time he reappeared an Orc would die. After a little more than two minutes, 21 orc¡¯s bodies were lying around the floor with a clean cut either to their throats or their hearts.


    While Dayer was cleaning his dagger, he heard some screams coming from the corridor as a smile appeared on his face.


    He inspected the room as a tall Dragonborn and a Halfling came in. As they saw the scene in front them a stunned expression could be seen in their faces.


    Marr quickly got bat to his sense as he said.


    "Well, let¡¯s see what we can find!"

 Chapter 17: Travelling Salesman.

    The three friends carefully inspected the room, they spent about half an hour turning over everything looking for something that could be useful, finally they went into the biggest tent on the place.


    Inside the tent, many maps, and documents were on top of a big table, a huge chair was behind the table and many bookshelves could be seen around. Marr stated going through all the documents and found a strange map that had all the bases of each region connected in between them.


    ¡°Hey, take a look at this.¡±


    Merrich and Dayer went over and looked at the map, as they were analyzing it they realized that in a region every base connected to all other bases, it was impossible to see what was the right path.


    Dayer got a light headache as he looked over the map and said.


    ¡°How the hell does one find a path in that crazy ass map!¡±


    Marr kept looking around the documents and finally found a strange parchment in a language he couldn¡¯t recognize.


    The Dragonborn showed the scroll to Merrich whose face light up as he read it over.


    ¡°This is a magical formula written by two Elves named Heldinger and Karpan. The formula allows for a map to be analyzed through magic and would show the best possible path in a specific situation.¡±


    Merrich kept reading over and finally reached the part that explained the material needed for the spell.


    ¡°All the possible paths must be put onto the map, and a cost must be assigned to each path. After that, the magic itself can be used and a perfect path would be laid out in red.¡±


    Dayer looked over the map as he pointed out.


    ¡°I see nothing that remembers a cost in here, just lines.¡±


    Marr thought for a while and an enlightened expression appeared on his eyes as he looked for something inside his bag. Finally, a small box was brought out of the bag as a strange white colored powder could be seen inside, Marr took a handful of it and blew it over the map.


    When the powder settled over the map some numbers appeared on each of the lines, and they could now see a cost.


    The Dragonborn looked at his two friends who had question marks all over their faces as he explained.


    ¡°It¡¯s normal for commanders to use a special ink and other methods to hide important information or messages. So, my clan developed a special powder that can reveal these methods.¡±


    As he explained the effects of the power his mind wandered back to the time, his father explained this to him¡­


    --------------------------If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°The powder attaches itself to the hidden message revealing it.¡±


    Marr father was showing to his son the usage of the powder developed by the clan. The young Dragonborn looked at it with an interested expression.


    ¡°How can this help in combat dad?¡±


    Daardeth looked at his son with a smile on his face as he explained.


    ¡°This will allow you to have information. Sometimes information is far more powerful than raw strength son. It might not be much but this little bit of extra knowledge could give you an edge over your enemies and allow you to turn around a difficult situation.¡±


    Young Marr showed and enlightened expression as he nodded at his father.


    Daardeth smile became wider as he patted his son on the head and kept explaining.


    ¡°It¡¯s good that you understand, now let¡¯s talk about how to prepare it. This powder is made of: One part¡­¡±


    -----------------------------


    Dayer and Merrich revealed an impressed expression, and the Eladrin said.


    ¡°Your clan was truly something¡­¡±


    Marr showed a wry smile and told the Halfling to go ahead with the spell.


    Merrich hit the Eladrin with his elbow as he chanted the elven incantation.


    As soon as the Halfling started the lines on the map lit up one by one forming a path, then the lines flashed very fast showing multiple paths one at a time.


    Finally, after five minutes a red path appeared on the map showing the most ideal connection between all of them.


    Marr and Dayer smiled as they saw the paths, and could easily recognize the main bases on the map.


    Merrich stopped the incantation and saw the lines on the map and a satisfied expression appeared on his face.


    Marr folded the map and kept it on his bag as he looked at his two friends with a grin on his face and said.


    ¡°Good job guys, with this map we can begin our hunt!¡±


    As he finished saying this words Marr felt a cold draft coming from somewhere under him. He looked around and found it to be coming from the floor under the chair that was behind the table.


    Marr grabbed the chair under the astonished look of both Merrich and Dayer and touched the floor.


    Dayer seeing this thought to himself.


    [Has Marr finally lost it? I mean he was pretty fucked up already¡­]


    Merrich suddenly said.


    ¡°Marr¡­ What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I felt a draft here, but I can¡¯t seem to find where is it coming from.¡±


    Marr got up and seemed deep in thought as he looked around the room.


    Dayer seemed bored as he went around the room looking through the bookshelves, suddenly he saw a book that caught his attention and when he was taking it out of the bookshelf a ¡®Click¡¯ was heard.


    A big opening appeared under the tent, and a poorly illuminated path could be seen through it. The three friends nodded at each other as they went in.


    The path was very spacious and could accommodate over 6 people together as they went in deeper the tunnel seemed to go up. They kept going through the tunnel and Merrich commented.


    ¡°It seems like they bring in the boxes thought here both in and out¡­ Now that I think about it we found no tracks or something that could indicate transportation coming in or out of this place.¡±


    Marr nodded showing he had already realized this and said.


    ¡°Yes, it actually puzzled me too but now that I have seen this path I think I know how they are getting the things here.¡±


    As Marr finished saying this they finally reached the end of the tunnel that was the top of the mountain.


    A big ship was floating midair right next to the mountain. The ship had an eastern dragon head with its mouth open on the bow, the body of the dragon kept going through the whole hull as its tail formed the stern, the dragon hands where slowly moving under the ship as if they were swimming on the air. The deck was resting on top of the dragon and two huge masts could be seen the first one was normal and a closed sail could be seen on it, the second one looked like a huge dorsal fin and was used as a rudder giving direction to the ship.


    The three friends had a stunned expression on their eyes as if they could not believe what was in front of them.


    Suddenly a loud shout woke them up from their stupor.


    ¡°Hey, you three! Who are you? How did you get up here?¡±

 Chapter 18: Orc Commander.

    The three friend¡¯s eyes darted in the direction of the voice. They could see a group of 40 orcs coming towards them with their weapons drown.


    The leader of the group was using a black metallic armor, and a huge club was on his back. He looked inquisitively at the group as he kept getting closer.


    Marr looked at the orc leader and said to his two friends.


    ¡°I will deal with the big guy, I imagine it won¡¯t be too hard for you two to deal the other orcs.¡±


    Dayer sneered at the comment and took out his daggers as he got ready. Merrich gave a wry smile as he took out two rapiers from his back.


    The Dragonborn smiled as he turned his head towards the group of orcs and said out loud.


    ¡°Gentlemen, I¡¯m very sorry to intrude. My friend and I were just passing by and we saw some filth down there and decided to clean it. Imagine my surprise when, just as we were leaving, my friend accidentally found a passage to the top of the mountain, and such a nice gift was waiting for us.¡±


    Marr smile turned into a mocking smirk and he said.


    ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind us not being polite and accepting this gift.¡±


    As the words left his mouth, a suppressive aura was let out by Marr, and the orcs felt as if they were in the presence of a true dragon. All the orcs stopped in their tracks, and the three friends took this opportunity to attack.


    While they were closing in, Dayer looked at Marr as he said.


    ¡°So, you are finally able to control it?¡±


    Marr nodded as he answered.


    ¡°Artonak made me train on all aspects of the Draconic heritage.¡±


    While he was talking about it, some scenes of his Dragon Fear training flashed on his mind and the Dragonborn couldn¡¯t help but shudder as he remembered them¡­


    -----------------------------


    An enormous Golden Dragon was in front of Marr, it was emanating an incredible might and all of it was directed at him.


    The Dragon was looking straight as Marr with its green eyes.


    Marr¡¯s face showed a clear struggle as if he was fighting with something, his body was trembling and beads of sweat could be seen on his forehead.


    After a few minutes, Marr''s knee hit the floor as he could not continue, seeing this the Gigantic Golden Dragon returned to his human form.


    The Dragonborn let out a breath of relief as he looked at his ancestor who had a very satisfied look on his face.


    ¡°You can resist my Dragon Might quite well, as your mental fortitude and willpower increase it will be easier to execute and control your own Dragon fear.¡±


    Marr stared at him as he cleaned the sweat on his forehead.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t there other ways to train my willpower?¡±


    Artonak gave a mocking smile as he said.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    ¡°There sure are, but none are as much fun as this one.¡±


    Marr revealed a helpless expression and got up from the floor as he said.


    ¡°In what world is this fun? Every second of it feels like I¡¯m dying.¡±


    Artonak snickered as he said.


    ¡°I meant fun for me, Bwahahaha!¡±


    Marr fell back down to the floor as he heard these words and almost vomited a mouthful of blood.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get back to work, boy!¡±


    While the ancestor said these words, he turned back to his Dragon form as a resounding laughter was heard.


    ¡°Bwahahahahaha¡­¡±


    ----------------------------------------------------


    Marr¡¯s expression turned sour as he recalled his ancestor¡¯s laughter.


    As they charged over Marr raised his axe and swung it at the big orc with a mace. When he thought the attack was about to connect the big orc dodged the attack as he grabbed the mace on his back and in a downward motion aimed at Marr. Marr used his axe to block the attack.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you would recover so quickly.¡±


    ¡°Heh¡­ It never affected me.¡±


    As he said these words, he let out a loud shout as a strange aura surrounded him. All the orcs suddenly recovered from their stupor and attacked Dayer and Merrich.


    The sudden turn made the battle a little harder for Marr¡¯s two friend¡¯s as the group of orcs was very well coordinated.


    There were four 10-men groups of orcs, that were formed by; 5 close range attackers, 4 archers, and a shaman.


    The orcs coordination was quite spectacular and the fact that they were elites could clearly be seen. Dayer and Merrich where on a clear defensive position and could not get close to each other and offer support as they were separated by the groups.


    The teams had a very simple dynamic, the 5 close range attackers would surround the enemy and attack them directly, the arches served as support and deterrence so that the target wouldn¡¯t escape or the situation wouldn¡¯t get too dangerous, and the Orc shamans where in charge of diminishing the enemy¡¯s capacities or supporting their allies with the right enchantment magic.


    Dayer¡¯s Shadow techniques where completely useless here as the shamans were using a popular spell known as ¡°Eye of truth¡±, making it only possible for him to parry, teleport and dodge the attack coming at him.


    And Merrich couldn¡¯t use his magic in the situation because the shamans constantly disrupted the flow of arcane power around him, which was no easy feat since the spell was a difficult one.


    Both of them where in dire straits, they could hold for a while but as time went on, they would get increasingly tired and the wounds would accumulate.


    Marr kept fighting against the Orc leader, suddenly he jumped back and used that small window of time to analyze the situation of the battlefield.


    The Orc Leader Attacked Marr once again and said with a mocking smirk on his face.


    ¡°Looks like your friends are in a bad situation. That¡¯s the fate of all who defy Throsh!¡±


    As Marr heard this his eyes turned sharp and his face turned solemn, He started at the orc in front of him as he said.


    ¡°So, you are Throsh. I must confess I wasn¡¯t expecting you to be an Orc Warlord.¡±


    As the Dragonborn blocked the Orc¡¯s attack he showed an expression full of fear and gave a step back.


    When the Orc saw this, he attacked again with much more strength behind this attack, Marr kept retreating after each attack showing an uglier expression each time.


    Throsh got ready to give his final blow but suddenly Marr¡¯s expression turned to a mocking smirk. When the Orc saw this, he realized something was wrong and tried to stop his attack but it was too late.


    Marr dodged the attack with a perfect sidestep, and as he dodged his chest swelled up as a draconic incantation came out of his throat.


    "Shochraos Trekis."


    A blinding pale pink colored light with blue lighting arcs coursing through it came out of the Dragonborn¡¯s mouth, it was much bigger than other times and seemed much more concentrated than before.


    The Orc Warlord tried to defend with his club but still got hit head-on by the blast, suddenly he realized that the attack had hit his soldiers directly.


    Throsh¡¯s face turned pale as he thought of how cunning and ruthless this Dragonborn was, he had led him to believe he couldn¡¯t take his attacks as he realized his friends were in a bad situation.


    [He calculated the perfect position to hit all of my soldiers with that attack, even though he would still hit his friend head-on with it, despite being powerful they also wouldn¡¯t go unscathed by it.]


    As he thought of this a mocking smile couldn¡¯t help appearing on his mouth, as he looked back and surprise could be seen in his eyes, as his smile turned into an astonished expression.


    Not only where the Elf lookalike and the halfling unscathed they also seemed slightly faster and stronger than before, also the injuries they had accumulated over time had completely healed.


    His eyes darted towards Marr who was still right next to him, the Dragonborn had a mocking smile on his face as he said.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean I have no way of turning the tables¡­¡±

 Chapter 19: A Void Cruiser?

    ¡°From this distance, the blast will not only kill a few of your soldiers who got hit head-on. It will also disrupt the timing of those who realized about my attack, allowing my two friends to fight back.¡±


    The Orc¡¯s expression was pale as rage could be seen on his eyes, he swung his maze at Marr who dodged it by jumping back.


    Throsh looked at the Dragonborn with pure hatred on his eyes.


    ¡°How is it possible? That attack of yours shouldn¡¯t distinguish between foes and allies.¡±


    ¡°That would normally be true, but I¡¯m not just any Dragonborn. Not only does it differentiate between foes and allies its able to heal them and also gives them a small boost on power.¡±


    The Orc¡¯s face turned uglier by the second, the Orc warlord took a deep breath as his whole body bulked making him look even bigger than he already was.


    ¡°Then all I have to do is defeat you, and then I can deal with your two friends.¡±


    Marr sneered at the Orc¡¯s comment as he readied his axe. Went the orc was about to move, Marr''s chest swelled up again and another breath was let out hitting the Orc straight on as he could not react in time.


    The orc forcefully resisted the attack using his club as a shield when the blast finally ended his eyes darted towards Marr¡¯s direction.


    ¡°How is it possible, even Boss Stradok can¡¯t use his breath that often!¡±


    Marr just looked at the orc as he said.


    ¡°I think you should take a look behind you.¡±


    When the orc heard this his eyes couldn¡¯t help but dart toward were his soldiers were fighting. As he looked on he realized his whole battalion was dead.


    He stared back at the Dragonborn that was about 10 meters away from him.


    ¡°Who the hell are you?¡±


    When Marr heard this, he couldn¡¯t help but smile, he looked at the orc as he kicked the floor.


    Suddenly the Orc saw the Dragonborn appearing in front of him, Marr¡¯s axe light up as it came down, cleaving at the Orcs head. Throsh had a surprised expression, he couldn¡¯t understand how Marr was able to cross that distance so quickly. He tried to hurriedly defend the attack with his left arm, the axe cut right through the arm and plunged itself into the Orc¡¯s skull.


    Marr took his axe out of Throsh¡¯s head as the orc¡¯s body fell lifeless on the floor. Marr cleaned his axe and kept it as he said.


    ¡°Treat your own kind better in your next life.¡±


    Marr came closer to his friend¡¯s while they were looting the corpses after they were done they turned their attention to the flying ship in front of them.


    Dayer looked dazedly at the gorgeous flying ship and said.


    ¡°I have never seen a flying ship like this!¡±


    Flying ships where a normal mean of transportation in the Svartha continent, normally used to connect major cities and different kingdoms.


    Flying ships where actually quite similar to regular ships, the only difference being they had special crystal attached to them that allowed the ship to fly, and a magical navigation system coupled with an arcane power storage crystal ensured that the ship could be used by anyone.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The flying vessel in front of them, despite having some characteristics of a normal flying ship, was vastly different as it seemed to be completely made out of magical materials and the dragon felt real.


    Marr looked at the ship as he suddenly said.


    ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s not a normal flying ship this is a Void Cruiser.¡±


    Merrich and Dayer both looked at Marr and interest could be seen in their eyes as Marr kept explaining.


    ¡°Void cruisers are vessels that can be used to travel through the void between the planet¡¯s and some special ones can even be used to travel through the primordial chaos and the primal elemental liquid.¡±


    Merrich eyes light up in amazement and Dayer seemed very excited.


    Marr stopped as he analyzed the ship and sighed.


    ¡°This is a Dragonship, without a doubt one of the most amazing void cruisers¡­ These are ancient flying vessels, in today¡¯s world, no one produces them anymore. This one is very damaged, and I doubt it can travel through the universe in this state.¡±


    Merrich and Dayer sighed at the Dragonborn word and looked regretfully at the flying ship.


    Marr took a deep breath as he continued.


    ¡°It can actually still fly which is quite amazing giving the age of these ships. If we can get the right material, we might be able to fix it. For now, it might be of use to us since we have to travel the whole continent.¡±


    The Eladrin and Halfling duo nodded at Marr¡¯s words.


    Suddenly Dayer looked at the Dragonborn with a strange look on his face as he asked.


    ¡°How the hell do you know all of that?¡±


    Marr was about to answer when he realized he had no idea how did he have that knowledge. The Dragonborn never read any books or documents about this subject.


    [How do I know any of this? It¡¯s like the knowledge just surfaced in my mind.]


    At this moment Marr remembered that Io had imprinted a huge amount of knowledge and information directly into his brain. It was highly possible that this particular knowledge came from there.


    Realizing this the Dragonborn just smiled at Dayer as he went inside the ship.


    Dayer looked puzzled by Marr¡¯s smile but he forgot about it since his friend didn¡¯t want to answer that meant it was not something he could just talk about.


    The deck of the ship was enormous, they could see many barrels and rope all around. There were 3 doors on the deck that lead to different areas of the ship, Marr walked directly to the one to his right as if he knew exactly what he was doing.


    The three friends got into a narrow corridor full of runic patterns. The corridor went downwards all the time, according to Marr this corridor leads to the control room.


    Merrich was looking around the corridor impressed by the runes that were used to move the ship, he kept looking around as he asked Marr.


    ¡°What race built his ship Marr do you know?¡±


    Marr pondered for a while and nodded he answered.


    ¡°This ship is actually a masterpiece of three great races, Elven runes, Draconic Magic and Dwarven craftsmanship. These races wished to explore the realm and everything around it so they created this special Void Cruiser. The image of a dragon was selected because the main component of the ship is after all Magic, and magic is a gift of Io to all the races.¡±


    Merrich showed and enlightened expression as he was quite impressed by Marr¡¯s knowledge.


    [I never knew he liked history that much!]


    Meanwhile, Marr had a depressed look on his face as he was thinking.


    [Despite having this knowledge, I have no idea how to access it. The only thing I can remember are the paths of the draconic heritage.]


    Dayer just kept walking as he suddenly said.


    ¡°I remember my father once saying that not too long ago only relatively powerful mages could use flying ships.¡±


    Merrich answered this time as he said.


    ¡°Magical navigation systems are actually quite old and were invented by the Dwarfs long ago. The arcane power storage crystal is what allowed for the massive use of magical ships, and it was invented around 50 years ago also by the Dwarfs.¡±


    Merrich touched the runic patterns on the wall as he said.


    ¡°The runic pattern¡¯s in here have been slightly altered and a second mode has been added so that It¡¯s able to fly with an arcane power storage crystal. It probably isn¡¯t as fast or powerful as when it¡¯s being directly controlled, but it sure solves the problem of a pilot.¡±


    When they finally reached the control room of the ship, an enormous red colored crystal with many stone circles full of runes could be seen in the middle of the room, behind it a big thin crystal screen could be seen and it was in front of a booth full of leavers and buttons.


    As the friends got closer Merrich commented.


    ¡°That is probably the new control interface. I can¡¯t see the old one anywhere thou.¡±


    Marr looked around and got closer to the big crystal as he asked.


    ¡°So, does anyone know how to pilot this?¡±


    Both his friends were silent and had a helpless look on their faces. Suddenly a voice was heard from behind the three friends.


    ¡°I know how to pilot!¡±

 Chapter 20: The Elven planefinder.

    The three friend eyes darted in the direction of the voice as they saw a tall woman coming out of a door. She had green eyes and gold-colored hair that fell down her back like a cascade, her lips were pink, and had a perfect shape and size, she had a skin akin to porcelain and no imperfections could be seen on it.


    The girl was simply gorgeous, and the reason for such beauty was clear to the eyes as her ears were pointy, this fact coupled with her physical characteristic made it clear that she was an Elf.


    Dayer was about to unsheathe his daggers when Marr stopped his with a hand gesture. The Dragonborn looked at the girl as he asked.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    The Elven girl looked at Marr as some hesitation could be seen on her eyes. Finally, she made up her mind as she answered.


    ¡°I¡¯m Yllana and I''m a magician. I want to make you an offer.¡±


    Marr looked the girl in the eye as he nodded indicating her to go ahead.


    ¡°I was part of the Magic college of Arlhatan, the day I graduated I received an unexpected visitor. She was a General of the rebellion, Sanarei. The Tiefling woman wanted me to control this void cruiser for them, I refused to help them as I wanted nothing to do with them.¡±


    The Elven girl clenched her fists as her nail¡¯s dug deep into her hands as she kept going.


    ¡°Sanarei then told me that they had my younger sister, and if I ever wanted to see her again, I would do what they told me to.¡±


    Dayer looked at the girl as he said.


    ¡°So, let me see if I can guess what you want. The three of us go in and save your sister and you will control the void cruiser for us?¡±


    The girl nodded as she looked pleadingly at the three friends.


    Marr looked at the halfling as he asked.


    ¡°Merrich, is she lying?¡±


    Merrich negated with his head as he said.


    ¡°Not one word that came from her mouth is a lie.¡±


    Marr looked at the girl and pondered for a while. Finally, he nodded at her as he said.


    ¡°Fine we help you save your sister and you will help us deal with the rebellion.¡±


    ---------------------------


    Down on the cave, a huge silhouette could be seen entering it.


    It had a gray colored skin and big canines on his face. He had been told to stay in the forest, but he couldn¡¯t help himself as he was worried about the three persons he had just met.


    Ardokk slowly came inside the cave and inspected the two rooms close to the entrance near the trap. He had an impressed expression as he saw there wasn¡¯t a single soldier alive, and he exhaled a breath of relief as he realized none of the bodies belonged to his three new friends.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    The big Orc kept going and finally reached the biggest of the three rooms, he looked around till he found one specific soldier that had a key around his neck. Ardokk grabbed the key and rushed inside the biggest tent, he didn¡¯t even realize there was a big aperture inside the tent. He went straight to a dusty chest at one side of the tent and opened it with the key.


    Inside the chest there were many things, Ardokk grabbed a dress and a rag doll and he looked at them as his eyes reddened, he rubbed the items against his face as tears could be seen coming out of his eyes.


    He cried for a while, and he kept the items inside a backpack he carried. It was at this moment he realized the big pathway inside this tent.


    Ardokk cleaned his face and put his backpack on and went inside the path.


    ----------------------------------------


    The girl''s eyes light up as she heard Marr¡¯s acceptance, tears rolled down her eyes as she thanked the three friends.


    Marr looked at Dayer as he said.


    ¡°Now you can learn how to truly be an Elf wannabe from her.¡±


    Merrich laughed out loud and Dayer snorted at the comment.


    The Eladrin got close to the girl as she asked.


    ¡°So, tell me what were you studying in Arlhatan? How did you catch the Rebellion''s attention?¡±


    The girl looked at Dayer and realized he was an Eladrin as her eyes once again light up as she said.


    ¡°You are a descendant of the Faye! Impressive the plane laws around are distinct indeed! Ah, yes you asked what I was studying right? I¡¯m a planefinder!¡±


    The girl kept talking about many different things as she kept inspecting Dayer all over she even took a hair sample for planar analysis.


    Dayer looked helplessly at his two friends as he enunciated ¡°H-E-L-P-M-E-!¡± with his lips.


    Marr looked at Merrich as he said.


    ¡°I think I heard someone calling us, right?¡±


    ¡°Indeed, I think I heard it too!¡±


    ¡°We should go check it out Merrich!¡±


    The two friends got out of the room as fast as they could while Dayer screamed.


    ¡°Oi! We killed everyone in this base!¡±


    ¡°How could someone be calling you guys!¡±


    ¡°Hey what the hell have I done to you two?¡±


    ¡°HEY!!! HEY!!! HEEEELP MEEEE!!!!¡±


    The two friends laughed out loud as they got out of the control room.


    As they got out on the deck, they saw a familiar figure who came up to them with a big smile on his face.


    The two friends smiled warmly at Ardokk who, as he got closer, opened his arms and hugged them.


    Suddenly his face seemed to change as he let the two down and looked at Marr.


    ¡°You two no kill Yllana right? Yllana good to Ardokk, little crazy but good elf.¡±


    Marr and Merrich couldn¡¯t help but laugh at Ardokk comment as they looked at the big Orc in front of them as the Halfling said.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t kill her Ardokk, she will help us with our mission.¡±


    Marr than laughing added.


    ¡°And Dayer is experiencing the ¡°crazy¡± part right now!¡±


    Ardokk showed a Delighted expression knowing she wasn¡¯t killed by them showing a pitying face as he shook his head while saying.


    ¡°Elf friend have bad time¡­¡±


    Marr and Merrich laughed even harder as they saw Ardokk''s face.  The Dragonborn then looked at his Halfling friend as the Halfling nodded.


    ¡°Ardokk do you want to come with us? We will give you a place to stay, food and even pay you! All we need you to do is to help us take care of the ship.¡±


    Ardokk looked at Marr with clear happiness on his face as he asked Marr.


    ¡°Ardokk can stay with Lizardman? And two weird looking friends? Really?¡±


    Marr smiled warmly as he nodded.


    Ardokk once again hugged the two friends after that he quickly got inside the cruiser into one of the cabins.


    When he came out, he started to tidy up the whole place and clean everything with an apron that seemed made from beast fur. Ardokk strength was impressive as he raised the quarter ton canons of the Cruiser with one hand to clean underneath.


    The scene stunned the two friends as they looked at the Orc as if seeing a monster.


    Marr looked at Merrich and said.


    ¡°So, our second target will be Sanarei. Any idea which base is hers?¡±


    Merrich sat down and looked around his bag for a while. Finally, he got a pendulum with a quartz on one end of it, he filled a metal bowl with water and hold the pendulum on top of the bowl.


    The Halfling chanted an elven spell for a while, suddenly a small drop came out of the pendulum an image formed on the bowl.


    A dark place with many twisted trees and a black colored gue could be seen on the water.


    When Marr saw the image on the bowl he said.


    ¡°To the darkplague swamp, it is.¡±

 Chapter 21: The Darkplague Swamp.

    Marr went back into the control room. As he got in the room he saw Dayer and Yllana in a strange dance across the room. Dayer teleported followed by the Elven girl, and then they would fight for a few seconds as she tried to grab the Eladrin.


    Stars could be seen coming out of her eyes as if she had found an unbelievable treasure, and pure dread could be seen on Dayer¡¯s eyes as he ran away from her.


    Finally, the Eladrin saw Marr and went in his direction as he used a slightly more powerful teleport to get to the deck.


    Marr who finally came back to his senses and stopped the girl who was about to go after Dayer again as he said.


    ¡°Our first destination will be the Darkplague Swamp, we will deal with your sister¡¯s situation first.¡±


    Yllana turned serious as she nodded at Marr and went to the booth behind the screen. When she sat down the crystal screen lit up and multiple images of the airspace around the ship could be seen. The biggest image that was in the middle showed the airspace in front of the ship.


    Suddenly, the ship moved as it slowly turned toward¡¯s south as it rose up higher in the air. After it was done, the ship started flying across the air.


    From a far, the ship looked like a giant dragon that was traveling across the sky and the hands of the dragon moved in the air as if it was swimming.


    ¡°Yllana, do we have enough energy to reach the Swamps?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but we will need to stop at a city after we are done there. We will need to buy a new magic crystal as this one is almost depleted.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the price?¡±


    ¡°Around 2500 gold pieces.¡±


    Marr nodded and went back to the deck. He talked to Dayer and Merrich about their next destination. After all, they had at least 4 days before they reached the Darkplague Swamp, despite having a flying ship to take them around, the Alberta Kingdom was far too extensive and the capital city was actually in the middle of the kingdom.


    ¡°When we get there try not to get lost. The Darkplague swamp should not present a major problem for us, and the only thing we must be careful with are Darkplague Corpses and Abyss tears.¡±


    Darkplague swamp was a famous danger zone that could present a very high death risk to heroic level powerhouses. That threat was very low for paragons, being reduced to only two dangers.


    One of them was the Abyss tears that were literally distortions on the planar laws that lead directly to the Abyssal Plane. They could be easily avoided if one was careful enough, and even more with the help of a planefinder.


    The other danger was pretty much unavoidable once you enter the Darkplague Swamp. That danger was carriers of the Darkplague a disease that came from the Abyssal plane and would infect any living thing. The disease could only be transmitted by direct means which meant drinking contaminated water or getting fluids of any contaminated creature in one¡¯s system.


    The  would  the  ¡¯s  and ,  them a  and  of the  whose   was to  other .


    The  will  the   of the  that it , and it was  there was even epic level Darkplague corpse inside the .If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Creatures infected by the plage become undead and are highly resistant if not immune to most types of damages. The only way to effectively deal with these creatures is divine power and fire.


    The plague was unable to expand beyond the Swamp because as a disease of the Abyss it would normally be impossible for it to exist outside of that Plane. Because of the chaotic laws inside the swamp it is able to exist there.


    Marr was not anxious about this as he could use divine power probably thanks to his mother and having a part of Io inside him.


    ¡°Dayer do you have any way to imbue your daggers with Divine of fire elemental powers?¡±


    Marr did not ask Merrich as he knew that despite the Bard main abilities being related to pure arcane power and the soul he had more than a few fire spells under his sleeve.


    The Eladrin shook his head as he said with a depressed tone.


    ¡°Actually, my dagger¡¯s have the shadow element. So, I don¡¯t have any way of being useful while inside the swamp.¡±


    Marr nodded as he said.


    ¡°That¡¯s not a problem as long as I and Merrich are there we can deal with the Darkplague corpses, Paragon Level ones are very rare and Epic level ones have never been seen before. We should be all right.¡±


    The Dragonborn then looked at Dayer as he said.


    ¡°If anything out of the ordinary happens your teleport will be our greatest life saver. Be sure no to use it carelessly.¡±


    Dayer nodded, he could only take 2 persons with him when he teleported and it was a very limited teleport since it differed greatly from his ¡°Ethereal Step¡±.


    After they made sure everything they need was ready, Merrich took out two jade slips as he gave them to his two friends and explained.


    ¡°This is something I saw long ago on my trips. When I went to the eastern kingdoms they used this Jade slips to record techniques, spells and even magical circles. There was a particular Eastern rune that I got really interested in and it was this one, it allows for direct communication between people who have this jade slips.¡±


    Marr and Dayer revealed an impressed impression when they looked at the jade slips on their hands.


    ¡°It¡¯s a very complex rune structure and requires a whole day to recharge after using it once, which means we can each send one message a day. It might seem like it¡¯s not much but it might be a life saver.¡±


    Marr nodded as he kept the jade slip inside the small pouch on his waist.


    ¡°Merrich it will take three days till we reach the Darkplague swamp do you think you can make another one?¡±


    ¡°Sure, I will be a little tight on time but I can probably do one more. Why?¡±


    Marr smiled as a sharp glint could be seen on his eyes.


    ¡°I have an idea.¡±


    When they finished getting everything ready an amazing smell drifted from the kitchen. The three friends looked at each other as a glint of hunger could be seen on their eyes.


    The three quickly went from the deck directly to the dining hall and finally into the kitchen. At they got there what they saw left them completely stunned, a gigantic singing Orc was preparing a whole pig over a low fire as he slowly turned it with a spear he had found.


    Ardokk was completely concentrated at the task at hand as he salted the pig and glazed it with some honey. Suddenly he realized the three stunned friend¡¯s at the door.


    ¡°Pig be ready in 1 hour! You three wait for pig! Out of kitchen!¡±


    As he said this word¡¯s he kicked the three friends out of the kitchen and closed the door behind them.


    The three of them finally came back to their sense and could only smile wryly at each other as they sat down on the table and played dice while waiting for the food.


    Finally, Ardokk came out of the kitchen with the pig on a plate and four pitchers of beer and put them down on the table together with the pig. When Dayer extended his hand to get the knife and fork as to cut the pig he got hit by the orc on the back of the hand.


    ¡°Elf friend wait! More food to come!¡±


    The Eladrin who didn¡¯t know how to react just nodded at the Orc.


    Ardokk got back into the kitchen and soon after came back with Rice, Stir-Fried vegetables and some soup. Finally, he sat down and told the three friends to eat as he helped himself to some pig.


    Marr was completely astonished as he asked the orc.


    ¡°Ardokk how did you learn to prepare this?¡±


    The Orc looked at Marr as he said.


    ¡°Before Ardokk slave, he own restaurant while wife hunt for restaurant!¡±


    The three astonished adventures showed and enlightened expression as they ate.


    The food was perfect, the pig was perfectly cooked, and the rice was soft and fragrant, the Vegetables had a nice flavor and a good texture, and the soup had a perfect balance on fragrance and taste.


    After the meal, the three friends went back to their rooms.


    Dayer trained a bit of his dagger work, and Merrich started producing the Jade slip for communication.


    Marr sat down cross-legged in his room as he stimulated his Draconic power. As time went on, a pale pink hue emanated from Marr¡¯s body as blue lighting arks could be seen all over his muscles.


    After four days the ship finally stopped. In front of the ship dark could be seen as a completely different world appeared in front of them.


    Marr looked down from the ship at the twisted trees and black-colored water as he said.


    ¡°So, this is the Darkplague Swamp.¡±

 Chapter 22: Darkplague Corpses.

    The Darkplague swamps, a place full of danger and with chaotic planar laws that made the corruption by the abyssal plane possible.


    The trees where all twisted and had a dark gray color, most of these trees had no leaves and if they did have some, these leaves would have a sickly black color to them, the water was viscous and had a fetid smell; the place was covered in a very thin mist all year, and the sky above the region was always full of black clouds.


    Suddenly at the border between the Sepherdia forest and the black swamp a magical gate appeared. From this gate, Marr walked out followed by Dayer and Merrich, and the gate closed behind them as if it had never existed.


    Dayer let out a breath of relief as he said.


    ¡°Finally, I can get away from that crazy Elf! Damn her, she looks at me as if I was a test animal!¡±


    Marr laughed out loud as he walked towards the border.


    ¡°Come on, she is a nice girl. It¡¯s just a that she loves her profession a bit too much.¡±


    Merrich who was tuning his lute by the side grinned as he added.


    ¡°And you got to admit her abilities are quite useful!¡±


    Dayer mumbled something understandable as he walked up to Marr and Merrich who were about to enter the swamp.


    -----------------------


    Ardokk and Yllana where standing in front of the place she had just opened the gate for Marr and the other to get down there.


    ¡°Will Lizardman and two friends be okay?¡±


    The Elven girl squeezed the jade slip Marr had given her with her two hands as she said.


    ¡°They will surely be okay Ardokk, we must believe in them!¡±


    Ardokk nodded as he sat down on the floor of the deck with his legs crossed as if waiting for them.


    Yllana smiled warmly looking at the Orc when she looked away a worried glint could be seen on her eyes.


    [I hope they can come out unscathed.]


    --------------------------


    Marr and his companion went inside the Darkplague swamp with caution. Marr was leading the way as he followed the map. There was a single base inside the swamp and it was the main base of this region.


    All of them had serious expressions on their faces as they looked around and made sure not to get in contact with anything that might contaminate them.


    Suddenly a big wolf with bloodshot eyes and black colored fur attacked from a nearby bush, the beast was far bigger than a normal wolf and blood-thirst could be seen on its eyes. Marr quickly grabbed at the Jennu Ariiogarurt on his back and a made a cleaving motion with the axe. As the axe got down its blades suddenly lit up with a pale pink color and the familiar blue lightning arks that coursed through the axe. The axe directly hit the wolf¡¯s neck separating its head from the rest of its body.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Marr stared at the corpse as he took a mask from his bag and put it on.


    ¡°Remember to wear your masks at all times and avoid contact with any fluids from these beasts.¡±


    Both Merrich and Dayer nodded as they put on their own mask and followed behind the Dragonborn.


    The Eladrin who was constantly inspecting his surroundings asked.


    ¡°Where is the base located?¡±


    ¡°Near the center of the Darkplague Swamps the closer, we get to it the more dangerous it will be. The epicenter of the corruption is located near the base if I¡¯m not wrong.¡±


    The three friends kept walking for a few of hours and attacks of Darkplague beasts like the previous wolf would happen increasingly more often indicating that they were going deeper into Darkplague Swamp.


    As they went in deeper, the mist around the group got increasingly thick and trees with leaves could not be seen anymore.


    Suddenly, a strange wail was heard as a humanoid creature could be seen at the distance. When the creature saw them, it walked in their direction. As it got closer, a human with a long sword was visible. He had black skin, bloodshot green eyes, and gray long hair.


    Merrich quickly chanted an incantation and 4 small fireballs appeared behind him. The halfling extended his arm and pointed at the Darkplague corpse, the fireballs flew directly towards his target incinerating it.


    Dayer looked at the corpse as shook his head as he said.


    ¡°Poor fella, probably came in here for a mission or as part of his training... he was probably at the initial level of the heroic stage.¡±


    Marr nodded as he added.


    ¡°His appearance signifies we are getting closer to the center region. Be ready it will get a lot harder from now on.¡±


    The three friends kept going and the attacks now had a few Heroic level Darkplague corpses added into them, the amount of Darkplague beasts slowly diminished until none could be found anymore, and the number of Heroic level Darkplague corpses raised.


    As they kept walking in, the power of the Darkplague corpses increased as well as their numbers, a deep frown could be seen on Marr''s face as he commented.


    ¡°The number of Darkplague corpses is rising too fast this is not normal, and there are many mid and late Heroic stage corpses in here.¡±


    The three friends kept advancing, and it got increasingly harder for them to kill the Darkplague corpses.


    Finally, after killing hundreds of Heroic stage corpses, a different silhouette appeared in front of them. When they got close enough to the creature, they realized it was a Dwarf. It was equipped with heavy armor, a tower shield and a big hammer. The signs of the infection were much less obvious on this Dwarf, his hair and beard were gray, his eyes were bloodshot and had that strange green color to them, but his skin no longer was completely black and only the bulging veins on his neck had that peculiar black color to them.


    When the Dwarf saw them, he charged with his shield at their direction. Marr dodged the attack of the dwarf as he used his axe to cleave directly at the dwarf¡¯s back. The dwarf quickly turned around despite all the weight on his body and defended the attack with his shield. The Dwarf swung his Hammer at Marr as the veins on his arms bulged up. Marr met the attack from the Hammer head-on with the blade of his axe.


    Dayer who was observing the fight said to Merrich.


    ¡°Is that a Dwarven Defender? If he was of a higher level, Marr would have a hard time dealing with him.¡±


    Merrich face had a deep frown as he commented.


    ¡°That¡¯s without a doubt a Paragon Path Holder¡­ things are getting harder and there is still a 30-minute walk from here to the base.¡±


    ¡°Hey Marr, finish it already we got to hurry!¡±


    Marr who was engaged in combat with the dwarf suddenly dodged one of the dwarf¡¯s attack and made a sidestep as the light on his axe got stronger and a crescent-shaped ray of light came out from it severing the Dwarf''s head.


    The Dragonborn walked towards his friends and was about to say something when suddenly the expressions on their faces froze up as they looked towards the mist ahead after a while many corpses could be seen walking towards them, and all the corpses were Paragon level.


    Marr looked ahead and said.


    ¡°What the hell is going on, Paragon corpses should be a rare sight! How is it that they now became like cabbages!¡±


    Dayer had an ugly expression as he looked at the Dragonborn and said.


    ¡°So, what do we do now?¡±

 Chapter 23: Dragonbrand and Demons.

    Marr looked around trying to find a way out of this, suddenly a strange thing behind the group of corpses caught his attention.


    Merrich started at Marr as if waiting for an answer.


    Marr looked at Dayer as he said.


    ¡°Dayer look, behind the corpses there is an Abyssal Tear, if we get close enough can you get all of us to the other side of it?¡±


    Dayer looked ahead and pondered for a bit as he said.


    ¡°That Chaotic space¡­ We have a 40% chance of going through. If we fail, we are getting teleported to the Abyssal plane Marr, it¡¯s too risky.¡±


    Merrich looked ahead as he said.


    ¡°40% of leaving or a 100% chance if we stay here. I don''t see much of a choice here.¡±


    Marr looked at the Eladrin and smiled as he nodded and grabbed Merrich.


    Dayer and Marr looked ahead and charged toward the group, a corpse of an Elf with a great sword attacked with incredible speed as soon as Marr got close. When the swing was about to hit Marr ducked and his legs bulged up suddenly, he made a leap that took him straight to the other side of the group. Dayer teleported to the other side of the group using his Ethereal Step.


    Marr put Merrich back on the ground, and they ran towards the Abyssal Tear. Suddenly, an arrow buzzed right next to Marr¡¯s ear, making him turn his head back and realize the Paragon level corpses where running after them. The Dragonborn smiled as he and Dayer looked at each other and nodded.


    They were about two meters away from the tear, Marr grabbed Merrich again, as he said to Dayer.


    ¡°When I say now, you teleport straight ahead!¡±


    As Marr said this the corpses were about to catch up. He kept running and was about to enter the Abyssal Tier, one more step and he would go in.


    ¡°NOW!¡±


    When the Dragonborn said this, he jumped and grabbed Dayer who was in front of him. At that instant Dayer teleported and went through the Chaotic space around the Abyssal Tear.


    Marr looked behind him as he could see most of the Darkplague Corpses that were chasing them entering the Abyssal Tear. Suddenly he realized something was wrong, the surrounding space was changing and glimpses of a different dimension could be seen.


    The Dragonborn eyes darted towards Dayer as some knowledge appeared in his mind. Marr understood what was happening and let out a deep sigh.


    [The teleport is not powerful enough¡­ It¡¯s trying to fight against the chaotic space but¡­ It¡¯s just not enough.]


    Suddenly the necklace in Marr¡¯s chest shined brightly and a small and strange blue colored mark with a red outline appeared on the back of Dayer¡¯s hand.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    When Marr saw this brand he recognized it instantly, and an expression of surprise appeared on his face.


    As the Dragonborn got back to his senses, he realized the teleportation had stabilized, and they appeared at the other side of the Abyssal Tear.


    Marr let his two friends on the ground as he let out a huge breath of relief.


    Dayer instantly looked at the back of his hand where that strange mark had appeared. He realized his teleport had gotten stronger, and he knew the reason was this mark, but he had no idea where did it come from.


    The Dragonborn looked at the Eladrin as he explained.


    ¡°That is a Dragonbrand Dayer¡­ To be more specific a Dragonbrand of Travel, it is actually a powerful magical brand inherited by Dragon sorcerers thought their bloodline.¡±


    Marr took a deep breath as he continued.


    ¡°It allows for some very interesting magical abilities to be used, and it also greatly benefit¡¯s your teleportation ability. As for those magical abilities, they will slowly unlock with time as the mark grows.¡±


    Dayer stared at Marr with an astonished look on his face as he asked.


    ¡°How do you know all of that and how the hell did this just appear in my hand?¡±


    The Dragonborn smiled at Dayer and said nothing more as he went ahead together with Merrich.


    While felling helpless, the Eladrin could only follow behind them.


    The rest of the journey went on without a hitch as they only had to fight with a few Heroic level Corpses.


    Finally, they reached a strange clearing. In the clearing, there was a big statue of what seemed like a demon, these creatures were native to the Abyssal plane and one of the most common types of fiends. The demon depicted on the statue looked a lot like a minotaur but it had a bigger frame and a much more ferocious face.


    The group of friends went down the stairs and a giant gate appeared in front of them. On this stone gate, a Humanoid creature that couldn¡¯t be perfectly identified could be seen.


    Marr tried to push the door open and apparently, the door was a magical one since Dayer couldn¡¯t teleport through it. Merrich got closer to the door and realized he also couldn¡¯t use magic to open it, and the magic used on the door was one he was not familiar with.


    While Merrich was analyzing the patterns and runes on the door, he rubbed the stone gate and suddenly felt a sharp pain on his hand as he passed it over the humanoid figure as he took his hand out he realized he had a cut on his hand. At that moment the blood had come out of his hand was absorbed by the door as the eyes of that Humanoid creature lit up in an eerie red light.


    The door slowly opened and a long corridor illuminated by torches was revealed. The flame on the torches had a green color that made it look like veilfire.


    Marr and his companions got inside the corridor and the door closed behind them. As they kept walking, they realized their surrounding never seemed to change, they walked for more than 10 minutes and there was no sign of an exit.


    Suddenly Marr asked Dayer and Merrich to stay right where they were. He kept walking and after about two minutes he found Dayer and Merrich in front of him again.


    ¡°Looks like this an illusion spell. You got any idea how to break it Merrich?¡±


    Merrich shook his head as he said dispiritedly.


    ¡°There are only two ways to open an Illusory spell like this one¡­ Either you have enough strength to directly ignore the effects of the spell and break it¡­ or you solve the spell.¡±


    The Dragonborn showed a solemn expression as he inspected the corridor he was in.


    ¡°There is nothing but torches in here¡­ Maybe it has something to do with them!¡±


    The three friends observed the torches trying to find anything useful on them. When Dayer tried to snuff out one torch the flame suddenly changed color and was now blue.


    The Eladrin dazedly stared at the torch as he tried to snuff it out again. As soon as he did it, the flame one again changed colors and was now yellow.


    Dayer did the same thing two more times and the torch color changed from yellow to orange and from orange to red. Finally, as he did it one more time, the torch went out.


    When the Eladrin got back to his senses, he called out Marr to show the Dragonborn what he found.


    ¡°Hey, Marr check this out!¡±

 Chapter 24: An Strange Temple.

    Marrhosh went towards Dayer¡¯s direction. The Eladrin showed him what he had just discovered.


    The Dragonborn pondered for a while as he looked at the torches.


    [How many torches are there in reality?]


    Marr asked Dayer to stay right where he was and counted the torches. When he got back to the Eladrin¡¯s position he counted a total of 10 torches.


    The Dragonborn pondered for a while as he looked at the torches. Finally, he decided to try his luck, and he ordered the first five torches in the same order the colors changed, and the following five in the same order as the previews ones.


    Now the order of the torches was as follows: Green, Blue, Yellow, Orange, Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Orange and Red again.


    Marr looked told his friends to follow him as he didn¡¯t know what kind of effect this could have on the corridor. The group went on and after walking a while a Door very similar to the one they had come in appeared in front of them.


    The Dragonborn and his friend¡¯s hand an elated expression, Marr pushed the door, and it opened without a problem. When the three of them got out, and the door closed, they realized they were back to the stairways that lead outside, which meant they hadn¡¯t solved the puzzle.


    The group of friends had an embarrassed expression as they went back through the door into the corridor with torches, which had all turned back to the green color.


    Marr sat down in the middle of the corridor and pondered for a few minutes. Finally, he decided on a new pattern for the torches as he reorganized.


    The torches now had the following color order: Green, Blue, Yellow, Orange, Red, Red, Orange, Yellow, Blue and finally Green.


    Once again, the three friends walked together across the corridor and finally a door very similar to the one they had come in through appeared once again in front of them.


    Marr pushed the stone door open and a different scenery welcomed him. There was a spacious corridor in front of them and many gigantic statues of the same creature that was carved on the gate where visible. This creature had a square shaped face, his eyes had a deep frown and evil could be seen on his expression, the creature also had a strange triangular shaped bear on his face that gave it an ancient feeling. The statue had one of its arms extended with an open palm as if it was waiting for something to be given to it.


    The three friends walked in with caution as they inspected the room. Merrich looked at the floor and realized it had some interesting runes carved on it as well as some mechanism that were invisible at first sight.


    ¡°Marr, I think there is a passage on the floor, I¡¯m just not sure where and how to open it.¡±


    Marr nodded as he kept inspecting the room while they advanced. Finally, when they reached the end of the corridor a smaller version of the same statue could be seen it was making the same gesture as the other statues, the only difference was that this statue had a small bowl at his feet.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    In front of the bowl, they could read a plaque with a small inscription as it said.


    ¡°For the passage to reveal, a price must be paid, an item with head and tail in my hand must lay.¡±


    When the Dragonborn read this inscription, he didn¡¯t hesitate as he put a coin in the hand of the statue. At the moment that Marr¡¯s hand let go of the coin the hand went down and the coin disappeared.


    Suddenly a red liquid sprouted out of the bowl at the sculpture''s feet.


    The liquid slowly raised until it finally overflowed, as increasingly more liquid came out of the bowl, a strong nauseating familiar smell filled the room.


    Dayer touched the red liquid, and an astonished look appeared on his face as he said.


    ¡°It''s blood¡­ and fresh one at that.¡±


    The red liquid kept falling to the ground as it flowed through the runic structures and mechanism on the floor. Suddenly, a loud noise was heard as a circle in front of the statue slowly descended and a circular staircase was now visible in its place.


    The blood on the floor suddenly disappeared as if it absorbed it, and the hand of the sculpture went back to its normal position.


    Marr and his friends looked at each other and nodded as they slowly went down the stairs as they went down many murals of that creature could be seen on the side of the wall and they seemed to tell a story.


    It told the story of a demon lord who had terrorized this region and its inhabitants. It was a powerful demon lord and according to the inscription¡¯s next to the mural his name was Orzoi the undead lord. Dayer reading this had an astonished look on his face as he said.


    ¡°Orzoi is one of the most powerful Demon Lords of the abyss. He is known as the Undead lord because he controls the damned souls of those who went to the abyss on their afterlife. This Demon Lord is also a prince of hell and a creature who ascended to godhood.¡±


    The other two friends showed an amazed expression as they heard Dayer¡¯s explanation. But what they read next made them completely baffled.


    Finally, the inhabitants were unable to take it anymore and asked for the help of many powerhouses, who came together to defeat Orzoi.


    Many late and beyond Epic stage experts came to help the inhabitants, sadly they could not kill the demon because it was too powerful.


    Being unable to completely eliminate the threat, they decided to use another path. They sealed the creature¡¯s heart inside this underground temple using an ancient artifact and destroyed its body completely using plaguefire.


    As the three friends finished seeing this mural, they realized that the corruption of the Darkplague Swamp might not be a simple coincidence. It was likely that the seal on the demon lord¡¯s heart had weakened with time, and the power it held within had caused the current situation of the swamp.


    Finally, as the group of friends reached the end of the stair, a familiar flag appeared in front of them, the three smiled at the Flaming dagger on the flag as they knew they were in the right place.


    The Dragonborn got his axe and said to his friends.


    ¡°The first thing we must do is save Yllana¡¯s sister. Once that¡¯s done we can deal with the main mission.¡±


    Dayer and Merrich had a solemn expression on their faces as they also prepared their weapons.


    ¡°Merrich can you find her in here?¡±


    Merrich nodded at Marr as he asked with a serious expression.


    ¡°Did Yllana gave you anything that belonged to her sister?¡±


    Marr nodded as he recovered a hand embroidered white handkerchief from his bag and handed it to the Halfling.


    Merrich took out a small bag that he had prepared beforehand and chanted an incantation as he enveloped the little bag with the handkerchief. Suddenly that small bag lit up as it transformed itself into a bird made of pure arcane power.


    The bird flapped its wings and moved along the corridors of the underground temple.


    ¡°Follow the bird It will take us to where the girl is.¡±

 Chapter 25: Source of the corruption!

    Merrich wasrunningafter thebirdmadeofarcanepower as itspeedsthrough theairon theundergroundtemple, Dayer and Marr wererightbehind him.


    Thetemplewasquitelargeand had many runic outlines everywhere. These runic outlineswereold, and it wasclearthat they weremadebymorethan oneperson.


    Marr inspected thesituationaround him andrealizedthereseemedto bequitesometimesince someonecamehere.


    Suddenly, Merrich commented.


    ¡°Thisplaceis deserted¡­ We have beenrunningaround foralmost5 minutes and we haveseennothing.¡±


    Dayer¡¯sexpressionchangedto one ofconcernas hesaid.


    ¡°Thisgivesmea terriblefeeling. There is a powerful chaoticlawin here¡­ IThinkthat seal might be in aworsestate than wethought.¡±


    Marr nodded as hethoughtto himself.


    [Thenecklaceon mychesthas beenrestlesssince Ienteredthis temple¡­ Ithinksomethingbigishappeninghere.]


    Finally, the birdstoppedinfrontof astonegateanddisappearedin midair. Marr readied hisaxeas heopenedthedoor. Inside theroom,therewasonlyone metalliccage, and inside thiscage, they couldseea young Elven girlsittingon thecoldfloor.


    The three friends groupgotcloser to thecage, and thegirlrealizedtheirpresence. Shelookedat them and witha frightenedexpression, sheasked.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    The Elven girl face wasstainedwithtears, she had beautiful emerald eyes and agoldenhair just like hersister. Herfigurewasslenderandagile, and herskinwasflawless.


    Marr got closer to thecageandbrokeitsdoorwith hisaxe. The Elven girl hada dumbfoundedexpression as shekeptlookingat theopendoor.


    ¡°We are yoursister¡¯sfriend, shesentus togetyou.¡±


    Dayer looked at thegirlswhostillhadn¡¯treactedandasked.


    ¡°Well, are youcomingout or not¡­ wedon¡¯t have alldayyouknow?¡±


    Thegirlcameback to hersensesandinspectedthe threepersonsinfrontof her. Tearspouredout of hereyesas shestartedcrying.


    The three friends smiledwarmlyat thegirlandhelpedher up. After a while, shecalmeddown.


    Marr looked at Merrich as hesaid.


    ¡°Merrich I havean ominousfeelingabout this base¡­ Ithinkthere is somethingweirdgoing on here.¡±


    Merrich nodded as headded.


    ¡°I have beenfellinga dark arcane powercomingfrom themainhallof thetemple, and Ithoughtit wasrelatedto theweakeningof theseal... But thisenergyisdifferent.¡±


    Dayer hada lostexpressionon hisfaceas heasked.


    ¡°Whatdoyou mean Merrich?¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Merrich took adeepbreathas heexplained.


    ¡°Thecorruptionof the Darkplague and thecorruptioncoming from the Abyssal Tears all over theSwampare,indeed,muchweakerbut they aremuchpurer¡­ whatever ishappeningdown here it¡¯s affecting the energy of the heart.¡±


    The Eladrin showed andenlightenedexpression, hethenlookedat Marr as heasked.


    ¡°Whatdowedowith thegirl?¡±


    ¡°Wetakeher with us if shegoesoutthereshe isdeadforsure.¡±


    The Dragonborn looked at therunesaround thisroomas hesaidto Merrich.


    ¡°Yousaidyou canfeelthe Power of theheart? Can youguideus to itslocation?¡±


    Merrich nodded as hewentout of theroomandfollowedthechaoticflowof arcane energy towards theplacewhere thehearthad beensealed.


    Afterrunningfor a few minutes, the threefriendsreachedan enormousgolden coloredgate. This gate seemed to bemadecompletelyout ofmetal. Theimageof many heroesfightingagainst thatgreatdemonwascarvedontopof thedoor.


    Dayer inspected hissurroundingandsaidafter awhile.


    ¡°Howdoweopenthisdoor?¡±


    Merrich put hishandontopof thedoorand injected Arcane power into it. Thecarving¡¯s lit up with abluehue, and thedoorslowlyswungopen.


    Inside thedoorthey couldseea horrificscene, Merrich hurried tocoverthe young Elven girl¡¯seyes. Theroomreeked ofbloodand hundreds ofbodieslaid butchered on the floor. All thebodiesfollowedthe samepattern, theirwholebodieswhere bloated and theirstomachhadexploded.


    Theroomwasfullofrunesand in themiddleof it they couldseean enormousblacksphere, it was thesourceof thechaoticenergy on the whole Darkplague swamp, theheartof a demon lord.


    Agreenliquid witha strongandnauseatingsmell wascomingout of thebodiesandgoingin thedirectionof theheart. Infrontof theheart,therewas a humanoid figure withhornsand atailwhoslowlyturnedaround, she had purple coloredhairand hereyeswerecompletelyblack.


    ¡°Seemlike we havevisitors. It¡¯sa goodthingyoucame, I was inneedofmoresacrifices.¡±


    This humanoid creature was a Tiefling, a Half-human/half-demonthatmostoftenappearthroughdescentfromfiendsandhumans.


    Tieflings tend to havean unsettlingair about them, andmostpeopleareuncomfortablearound them, whether they wereawareof the Tiefling''s unsavory ancestry or not.


    While somelooklikenormalhumans,mostretain physicalcharacteristicsderivedfrom theirancestor, with themostcommonof suchfeaturesbeing horns, prehensile tails, andpointedteeth. SomeTieflingsalso haveeyesthat are solidorbsof black,red,white,silver, or gold, while others haveeyesmoresimilarto those ofhumans.


    In manyotherways, Tieflings aresimilartohumansphysically. They are, on average, just astallashumans, from 1.67¨C1.88 meters andweighedjust alittlebitmore being around64¨C91 kg.


    Tiefling skin isusuallyhuman-likeincolor, though extending past normal humancolorsinto reddish hues aswell.Tiefling hair is also often the same color as human hair, though dark blue, red, or purplearecommon shades amongst the race.


    Marr looked at the Tiefling in front of him and assumed that was Sanarei.He looked at Merrich and said.


    ¡°Merrich there is something weird about her, despite being a Tiefling the Abyssal aura on her shouldn¡¯t be so powerful.¡±


    The Halfling nodded as he said.


    ¡°There is a mental connection between her and the Heart, I think the proximity of the bloodlines made her easier to control¡­ If you add the weakening of the seal and the fact that they made the base down here.¡±


    Merrich stopped talking, but Marr understood what he meant.The Tiefling was being controlled, and the controller was the Undead King Orzoi.


    ¡°Merrich if Orzoi is the one controlling her will shebecomelike me back then?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fundamentally different.Io took direct control of your body and used it as a mean to exert his own power.¡±


    The Halfling let out a deep sigh as he continued.


    ¡°In this case, her mind was eroded, and she became a slave to Orzoi¡¯s will.Her power is the same she always had she just might be a bit more chaotic and forceful on the usage of it.¡±


    Marr nodded as he quickly thought of a plan to deal with the Tiefling, he looked at Merrich and said.


    ¡°Take care of Yllana¡¯s little sister Merrich, and support us from behind.¡±


    ¡°Roger that.¡±


    The Dragonborn then turned to Dayer and said.


    ¡°Dayer get ready, attack whenever possible and try to deal as much damage as you can I will take her head on.¡±


    Dayer nodded and disappeared into the shadows.


    Marr took the Jennu Ariiogarurt from his back and it lit up with the usual pale pink light and blue lighting arcs.He looked at the Tiefling as he said.


    ¡°Time to get serious.¡±

 Chapter 26: The second General, Sanarei!

    Marr¡¯s kicked the floor, he jumped towards the Tiefling and his chest swelled up. While midair he let out a blinding pale pink light with electricity flowing through it towards Sanarei.


    The breath attack hit the Tiefling directly and raised a dust cloud into the air, but Marr knew that was far from enough to deal severe damage to her. He raised his axe and swung it towards the Tiefling with all his strength.


    The sound of metal colliding was heard, and as the dust settled, Sanarei was parrying Marr¡¯s attack with a strange curved sword that emitted a dreadful energy.


    Her dark red-colored skin now had a metallic luster, and the only visible damage done was to her clothes.


    [Impressive the spell she used made her skin much tougher and this sword the force behind it is not much but the power contained within it is absurd.]


    Dayer appeared out of the shadows as he attacked the Tiefling with his daggers. Suddenly, an enormous creature appeared in front of him blocking his attack. This monster had long arms and legs filled with spikes, his hands had five flexible claws in place of fingers. A crooked smile with many missing teeth could be seen on the creature¡¯s face and his empty eye sockets where a horrific scene to watch. This creature''s ribcage was large and there was not much meat on it, the insides of the creature could be seen through its exposed interiors, and a dead body was in between his ribs with a clear expression of terror on its face. The creature¡¯s skin was completely black having that same sickly aspect as the Darkplague corpses.


    The creature swung its claws at Dayer who dodged to the side and attacked it with his daggers.


    [What is a Black Devourer doing here¡­ Is it Orzoi¡¯s influence? After all, Devourers are some of his most trusted servants.]


    Merrich seeing this creature and the way the Tiefling fought said.


    ¡°Be careful, she is a Warlock and I believe she changed her pact and is now a follower of Orzoi.¡±


    The Halfling then played a song on his lute, a powerful melody sounded out that filled the soul of and body of his companions with energy. At the same time, the familiar blue mist appeared around Merrich and it rushed towards the Tiefling.


    Sanarei put strength into her arm pushing herself away from the Marr as she dodged all the attack¡¯s directed at hers. The Warlock then pointed her hand at the bard and a purple colored ray of light came out it in the Halfling¡¯s direction.


    Marr jumped in front of the ray and stopped the attack with his axe, as he once again lunged in her direction to swing his axe directly at her. Once again, she defends against the attack with her sword and a smile appears on her face as she, with her free hand, pointed one finger at the Dragonborn. Suddenly, a magic circle appears beneath Marr and powerful flames came out of it hitting Marr Directly.


    The Dragonborn let¡¯s out a muffled groan from the attack, as he realizes he had been careless. Marr disengages and jumps back to his original position, Sanarei tried to attack him once more than he was retreating but was stopped by the blue mist.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°Annoying Bard, let me deal with you first.¡±


    As the Warlock said this, she pointed her hand at the bard and pushed it towards her as claws made of abyssal energy, came out from the ground and grabbed Merrich, then these claws brought him towards the Tiefling. Merrich¡¯s blue mist rushed towards the Tiefling and exploded in front of her, she got caught by surprise making her lose concentration. Merrich used the opportunity to destroy the Claws and go back to where he was.


    Meanwhile, Marr and Merrich are fighting against Sanarei, Dayer is fighting against the Devourer. The Devourer directly tried to grab Dayer with its claws, Dayer dodged and threw a small dagger towards the beast¡¯s face. The beast tried to defend from the attack by intercepting the dagger with its claws. Dayer teleported behind the right leg of the creature and cut the tendon there. An angry howl was let out, and the creature fell in one knee as it once again swung its arms in an arc towards the Eladrin. Once again Dayer teleport¡¯s and reappears behind the creature''s left leg, he cuts once again the creature¡¯s left tendon making it fall face first to the ground.


    The creature stopped its fall with both its arms, an expression of dread appeared on its face as it realized that Dayer was now standing right under it. T


    he Eladrin smiled and with a swift movement beheaded the devourer, while the devourer lost its balance and fell, Dayer teleported once more than he went towards Marr to offer support.


    The moment Merrich¡¯s arcane power exploded Dayer grabbed his opportunity, and he swiftly teleported behind the Warlock.


    He aimed his daggers at her back, and the Eladrin felt his attack hit something hard but be completely unable to pass through it.


    When the dust finally settled, and the Warlock was visible once again, a Black ice armor was on the Warlocks body protecting her from damage.


    Seeing this Dayer quickly retreated from where he was and hid his self in the shadows.


    ¡°Puny Paragons forcing me to use these abilities! I will make you pay!¡±


    She pointed raised her hand¡¯s as hundreds of demonic imps appear on the air next to her, they advanced towards Marr and his friend¡¯s and exploded on contact making powerful blasts.


    The three friends were unable to completely defend from the attack and ended up taking some damage from the attack as burn mark soon appeared on their bodies.


    Suddenly a voice sounded right beside Merrich''s ear distracting him from the situation ahead when he turned around a metal spike came from the floor going directly through his left shoulder.


    ¡°MERRICH!!!¡±


    Marr¡¯s loud scream was heard as he directly charged towards the Warlock, as he was running he made a strange gesture with his hand.


    He directly attacked the Warlock who once again defended from his attack. She once again pointed her finger at him as the same Magical circle appeared under him. Marr stepped sideways dodging the magic circle, his chest once again swelled up as he let out a breath attack directly at the warlock.


    The Warlock had an astonished expression as she saw that Draconic breath come directly at her from such a close distance. She hurriedly tried to defend from it, she hurriedly raised her arms trying to protect her head from the impact. The moment the breath hit the Dragonborn suddenly appeared right next to her, she was once again flabbergasted. Marr Swung his axe with all of his strength towards the warlock¡¯s chest when the hit connected with her chest a blinding light was let out as his axe destroyed the ice armor above her body and left a small wound in her chest.


    The Warlock smiled as she looked at Marr and said.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity you are too weak, you can barely penetrate my armor.¡±


    When she said this she once again raised her hand and pointed at Marr. The Dragonborn suddenly Smiled as he said.


    ¡°You should pay more attention to your surroundings.¡±


    At that moment from Marr¡¯s shadow Dayer suddenly appeared as he thrust his dagger at the wound made by Marr. The Dagger went in completely and Dayer twisted it destroying Sanarei¡¯s Heart.


    The Tiefling looked at the two friends with a surprised expression on her eyes as she fell on her knees while holding the wound on her chest.


    ¡°How¡­ how is this possible?¡±


    She finally fell to the ground as life completely left her body.