《Legend of Yzer》


 Zero: The start

    ¡°Okay Rolly But this is the last time I¡¯m telling you this story because I¡¯ve told you six times already¡± Yzer said with an irritated voice.


    ¡°Yeah yeah, I know but I just want to know what makes my buddy Yzer tick. Is that so wrong?¡± Rolly replied


    ¡°I guess not¡­ but it is kinda weird Rolly.¡±


    ¡°No it¡¯s not just tell the story Yzer.¡±


    ¡°Okay fine, here we go¡±.


    ¡°I''m what is known as a full contact mage. That means that in contrary to "normal" mages I fight on the front line. I use magic taught to me by my master to change my body to a certain extend. I can make my skin hard as metal or turn my hand into a blade. Knights, warriors and mages frown upon this type of magic. They believe it''s an dark and weak type of magic. They think only knights and warriors should be fighting on the front lines using Aura. They also think that mages should be in the rear and support the front lines, that everyone who can use magic should know their ¡°place¡±. They feel that magic should only be used for healing or to create magic items and not for fighting. Aura is different from magic, Aura is equal to how strong a warrior or knight is. They gain more Aura through fights and battles and it can be felt on the battle field. Aura can be used to improve an user his or her natural body like improve speed or to punch harder. But it can¡¯t alter the body.¡±


    ¡°Like you know, I want to prove them wrong but I still have a long way to go before I can. I want to show them that magic isn¡¯t dark or weak or evil and that it can be used for fighting. I want to use my master his magic to prove that. It''s a rare magic but definitely not weak or evil like they all think. But I''m not even close to become as strong as master. I was not able to complete my training because of what happened to my master. It happened ten years ago. I was six years old at the time but I can remember it very clearly...¡±


    Thunder clashes, a dark night with a strom brewing.


    ¡°It was at night just when I was doing the dishes after supper. Master started to shiver, he told me that he felt an evil presence nearing our hut in the forest. He then came close to me and apologised. Before I could do anything he cast an binding spell on me. One used to sedate people before a surgery. My body felt numb and I couldn''t move or talk but I could still see and hear everything.¡±


    ¡°My master put me inside of a chest that was near the wall. He closed the chest but before he did he said one last thing. "Yzer, if something happens to me find the Sage of the black water. And Yzer, he added, always remember that magic isn''t anything. It''s whatever your heart wants it to be".


    Then he closed the lid, but through the cracks between the wood I could still see the inside of the hut but vaguely.¡±


    ¡°A group of knights all wearing different colours of armour kicked in the door just seconds after my master closed the lid.


    "Master Doman" barked the knight wearing black and gold.


    "We have come here to apprehend you for treason against the king". The presence of these five knights was almost suffocating. I felt like my body was being crushed just being near their Aura.¡±


    ¡°There was a big red knight with a helmet which looked like a dragon. There was a skinnier blue knight who clearly likes to use knives because his belt was full of them. Next to the blue knight was the black and gold wearing knight who carried a huge longsword on his back. On the other end of the room stood a green knight who had a glaive in his hands. The last knight was a yellow knight who was only carrying a huge shield with a sun painted on it. All of them had their entire bodies covered with either plate, mail or studded leather. Their faces also being completely covered by a helmet or mask. All of them were clearly people who have seen the battlefield up close multiple times.¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    "On what grounds is this ridiculous accusation based on" replied my master in a calm demeanour.


    The black and gold wearing knight removed his helmet revealing his face. He looked like a man who wouldn''t have troubles finding a girl. He had a smooth jawline and a small nose. His ash gold hair fell just above his eyes. Even though he looked like a nice guy, his cold ice blue eyes told a different story. This was someone you shouldn''t underestimate.¡±


    "My father the king has reasons to believe that you, master Doman will betray him in the near future" the black and gold wearing knight answered.


    "I would never do that, the king and I are close friends, we even fought together in the last great demon war" Master Doman replied.


    "That just shows how disgusting your going-to-be-treason is" the black and gold wearing knight said in despise.


    "I, prince Mosa, in name of the king put you Master Doman under arrest" He said these words with a fierce fire in his voice.


    Silence


    ¡°Before anything actually happend the red knight went up to Master Doman and whispered in his ear. I could hear it from the chest because it was so close to Master, but i think the other knights could not. "It is better that you don''t resist master Doman, we know of your filthy magic and that you could fight us if you wanted to. That''s why currently the rest of my personal squadron is standing by to burn down the village of Fargo if we don''t return within 15 minutes."


    "I see" said Master Doman surprisingly calm. "It seems I have no choice then to come with you to the castle in the capital, I''ll will just have to talk to the king himself and reassure him i''m on his side.".


    ¡°My master went peacefully with the knights. I understand why, Fargo is the only village where Master chose to have contact with after he started training me here in the forest of Fargo. We have a lot of fond memories there. The people who lived there liked master and me. We also liked the people who lived in the village. We were, friends....¡±


    ¡°My master walked right out with the knights and the prince. I wanted to break to spell of my master and fight them but his magic was too powerful for me to break. I was heartbroken of my own powerlessness. I couldn''t do anything to help master. All I could do was lay in that chest and scream in my heart. Eventually after long struggling and fighting the magic I fell asleep in the chest when I woke the magic was worn off. ¡°


    ¡°After that I went travelling to find this Sage of black water, save my master from the king his castle and prove to the people that full contact magic is not weak or dark or evil while I''m at it. Problem is, I got zero money right now, I''m what you would call broke. And I need money to gather information about his Sage and to get to the capital. So from time to time I do quests in small villages to get some copper or silver pieces and to get clues to where this Sage might be.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s also how I met you Rolly. Before I knew it I located a dark mage in hidding who was causing trouble for a small village. I rushed into his hideout and saved you from a magical experiment of the dark mage, who like me used a different kind then healing of magic.¡±


    Rolly¡¯s face saddened when he thought back at that time of all the hardships, torture and experiments he went through. But he also felt a bit of joy when he thought back of how Yzer saved him.


    ¡°Yeah but it wasn¡¯t all bad, because of that I can now talk use some hardening magic and I am an awesome navigator¡± Rolly said trying to cheer himself up.


    ¡°True Rolly, for a turtle you do know how to stay positive¡±.


    ¡°You know me Yzer, I just don¡¯t like to stay in my SHELL! Get it? Because I¡¯m a turtle!¡± Rolly said with a smirk grin on his face.


    Yzer laughed. Even in the darkest of situations Rolly makes puns.


    ¡°So Yzer, where are we going now¡±


    ¡°Our next stop is going to be the village of Bendur. Which I have heard has a problem with an pack of man eating wolves. Hopefully we can get some coin there¡±.


    Little did they know this was the start of an epic adventure. One that would make Yzer a legend. This is the legend of Yzer the boy who saved the world.

 One: Quest

    It was warm summer morning when Yzer arrived edge of the village. Light shone upon his face and he could feel the warmth. The light accentuated the walls of the village and made them look more impressive than they actually were. The wooden walls went up and around the entire village with only one big gate at the front of it.


    "Halt who goes there?!" Yzer heard from the top of the watchtower left of the gate where he was standing.


    Yzer dropped his bag. "I''m an adventurer who goes by the name of Yzer. I heard rumours that this village has a wolf problem and has a quest to get rid of them."


    "And I''m Rolly his best friend and fellow traveller." Rolly yelled from under Yzer his cap.


    The face of the guard who was standing in the tower quickly turned red. "I, I have to believe a shrimpy kid like you and a talking turtle are going to complete our quest" he sputtered out while laughing.


    "Yes you are." Yzer replied with a smile on his face. Not being bothered by the guard at all. He got this type of reaction quite often. Even though Yzer was a tad small for his age he knew beter.


    The guard while still laughing sputtered: "Ha okay, okay, open up the gates boys. This kid and a talking turtle are going to complete our quest!" He almost choked from laughing so hard.


    The wooden gates slowly creaked open revealing the village that was hidden behind the safety of the walls.


    Yzer picked up his bag and throw it over his shoulder. He brushed a lock of his long white hair out of his face. He gave his eyes time to take in the village, the walls, the blacksmith, the butchershop and many more.


    "You okay buddy?" asked Rolly.


    "Yeah I''m fine, they will soon enough see that I''m not just some kid when I finish this quest. Those wolves are going to run with their tails between their legs."


    "That would be a different TAIL to tell to that guard!" Rolly replied with a smile on his turtle face.


    Yzer laughed "You always know what to say to cheer me up Rolly".


    As the duo entered the village they could feel the gazes of the villagers fixated on them. I was used to this kind of treatment. I look far different from the average villager in the kingdom. I have a very light skin almost as white as snow with hair to match. My eyes are a deep silver colour, which isn''t a very common one either. Animals for some reason always like me and I like them too. People on the other hand are a different story.


    Because I look different from the people in the kingdom, they tend to stare and gossip. People are usually afraid by my appearance but never show it to my face. Never on my travels have I ever met people who looked like me. It makes me feel like a foreigner who travelled to a distant land eventhough I was born and raised here.


    Yzer with Rolly snuggly under his cap walked through the village straight to the church of light. People kept staring, only when my eyes met theirs they would quickly avert their gaze. I like to think its because i''m carrying a turtle on my head, but sadly I know better.


    "Hey Yzer, I know I already asked a couple of times but I keep forgetting. Where are we going again?" Rolly asked with his head still popped out from under Yzer his cap.


    "We are going to the church of light" I said while sighing clearly.


    "A church of what now?" Rolly asked with a curious voice.


    "Come on Rolly we have been there before, but I¡¯m going to tell you one more time. Every village has a church of light which is dedicated to the goddes of creation Aurora. Who always looks upon us as the sun. Therefore her emblem is a bright yellow sun. She protects the people from the demons during the day. But at night Newa reigns supreme, the god of death, destruction and demons. He can only look at us from the veil of night. That is why his emblem is the moon. Therefore demons can only come out at night.


    During the last great demon war king Amarth and my master, master Doman. Defeated the demon army and their leader, the Arch-demon Warage. Ending the twelve years of darkness in which Aurora was being held captive by Newa. Now Aurora and Newa have a truce in which Aurora reigns twelve hours Newa reigns twelve hours. Even though Newa rules for twelve hours there haven''t been a big demon attack in years. Most times there are just a bunch of mischievous imps who steal some cattle.


    But there are some mysterious human cults who try to bring back the darkness and let Newa rule supreme once again. Thining they can be turned into demons. But there hasn''t been a high level demon sighting since Master Doman and King Amarth killed Warage sixteen years ago.


    During the war mages would go to the Church to seek guidance or ask for blessings for Aurora. But now the church of light functions both as a place of worship and as a place where quest are given to adventurers. Adventures go from church to church who provide them with lodging, cheap food and a reward if they complete the quest.


    Also the priest and priestesses can use simple healing magic but are all very educated about the world. They have too, because they have to give adventures the best information about all kinds of quest".


    With a big sigh I finish my monologue to Rolly. I think it is already the fourth time I told him al of this.


    "So this church of light is probably the BRIGHEST place in this village" Rolly said while already cracking up over his own pun. "Get it? Get it? They worship the sun which is bright and light and there are a lot of BRIGHT people".


    "You knew what the church of light was, didn''t you Rolly? You just wanted a wind up for that pun."


    "Yeah I did." Rolly admitted with a sheepish face from laughing. "Man I should get my own comedy show at an inn, I''m hilarious" still being impressed over the pun he made which took him three days to think of.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    After a 5 minute walk Yzer and Rolly arrived at the quest board in front of the church of light. There were several quests hung up on that board. A farmer who needed help chasing away some giant bugs ranked F on dangerousness . The local smith wanted to get some rare ores for a magic sword he was smiting ranked D on dangerousness and the priest of light wanted an escort to cleanse a sacred pond in the forest that was polluted , ranked F on dangerousness. But in the middle of the board there was the one quest that was ranked C. It is rated the fifth most dangerous quest that exist on quest boards. They go from safe F to very dangerous AA and extremely dangerous AAA.


    On the quest poster the following was written: "Our peaceful town of Bendur has had people kidnapped during the night. Wolves will sneak into the town and take away our villagers. We are desperate for a heroic adventurer that saves us from this menace. The one that saves us will be rewarded one hundred pieces of silver, a feast in your name and our eternal gratitude!"


    "Look Rolly, if we can complete this one we will get one hundred silver pieces!" I said while pointing at the B rank quest.


    "And a feast!" Rolly added while drool was already dripping from his mouth.


    "Rolly! Grosh you''re drooling all over my head!" while whipping off the turtle drool from my forehead.


    "Sorry, but it''s been a while since we had a proper meal you know"


    "I know Rolly but let¡¯s get inside and register this quest on our name. We also have to ask the priests some questions maybe they know more about these wolves."


    I walked around the quest board and up the wooden stairs leading to the entrance of the church of light. Like any church of light it has a big wooden door with a hole at the top. It is cut in a way that when Aurora is at her highest point in the sky, the light will shrine brightly upon the shrines inside the church of light.


    I push gently upon one side of the two sided door. The door smoothly opened, it was well maintained. Inside the church there was a shrine in the middle of the room. Around it were benches that had a curve to them. There were four benches on the inner ring. Eight around the outer ring and another eight around the outmost ring. If someone was looking upon it from the top it would resemble the image of Aurora, the sun.


    There are some priest and priestesses around in the church. Some clearly doing chores other almost hidden behind a mountain of books. The head priestess was on her knees in front the shrine which was in the middle of the room. The head priest or priestess is always easy to spot. They always have a gold coloured cloak wrapped around their shoulders while the other priests and priestesses have different colours depending on what they do in the church.


    The shrine consisted of a globe which had golden rays all around. It was sitting on a golden rod that was standing upright into a dome of earth. There were several different kinds of plant growing from that soil. Underneath the dome of earth and plants was a brass ring which had water overflowing from it. The water fell into the bottom part of the shrine in which the water was collected. To this day I still don''t know how they pull that off, I always thought they just used magic but it isn''t.


    Coming in closer I could hear the priestess mumbling some words in an ancient language I did not understand. I decided to approach the priestess slowly while keeping my distance. I certainly did not want to interrupt her prayer.


    "Come forth Yzer and Rolly," she said whilst still sitting on her knees.


    "Wait, what¡­. How do you know Rolly''s and my name."


    "Yeah and without even turning around or anything." Rolly added surprised.


    "Like you Yzer, I also practise¡­.. how should I put it¡­.. alternative forms of magic besides healing". "I can sense Aura and magical power, it tells me a lot about people and if we can trust them." The priestess whispered just loud enough for Rolly and me to hear.


    "That awesome! What do you know about me and Rolly then?" I asked. I always had a thing for every type of magic. I don''t know why but I just like all kinds of magic.


    "I know enough..." the priestess replied while slowly standing up. Now looking at me and Rolly directly. I swallowed, I didn''t expect the priestess to be this beautiful. She had pale pinkish skin, with ebony hair that would make even the darkest night look pale. Her lips were the same kind of pink similar to the outside of dragon fruit.


    "You are here for the wolf quest, are you not?" the head priestess said with a soft and cooling voice.


    "Yes we are, that why we wanted a priest to write us up for the quest. But first we need to know more before we can do anything."


    "I see," the priestess added. "Are you sure you want to accept this quest Yzer. I can feel you¡¯re strong, but are you strong enough for what fate has in store fore you?"


    "Yes I''m sure." I said, I felt determined about my abilities. My training from master and the time I have travelled made me stronger then I was on that night ten years ago. "If I don''t keep challenging myself, If I don''t keep moving forward I can never achieve my goal."


    "Very well, if that is your decision I shall respect that. But you should know that you are not the first to accept this quest. Another, a paladin, has gone before you but has not yet returned. This was three days ago. It only adds more mystery to this quest and made us raise the level from C to B."


    "That doesn¡¯t matter, together me and Rolly will defeat those wolves."


    "And save that paladin while Yzer and I are at it, because face it that paladin maybe PADDELING in some trouble right now".


    I laughed like usual but the priestess raised up her left eyebrow unusually high. She approached me and whispered in my ear "Does that turtle always makes terrible badly timed puns?".


    I use my sleeve to dry the tears on my face "Yeah, yeah he does."


    And so we went around town asking questing about the attacks. I questioned witnesses who all described the wolves the same way. Big black wolves with fangs like knives and sweeping tails that looked like burning fire deprived of light. It could be exaggerated I thought. People tend to make stuff up about an traumatizing event even if they don''t want to. They will paint of the attacks of more monstrous than they actually are, I reckoned.


    The townspeople were also more scared because the wolves only came during the full moon. When Newa is at his strongest. That is three days from now.


    The villagers were so anxious because they would close the gates one hour before sun down. They would also check the walls for holes or gaps but so far have not discover anything. The villagers started to believe that either someone from the inside was bringing the wolves in or that there are some dark powers involved.


    The head priestess gave us one last warning before he left. She said that when the wolves attack she could feel an dark presence surrounding the wolves. She could not determine what it was or where it came from. She only knew that it was dark and powerful.


    Her abilities were not strong enough to know the exact location of this darkness. The only thing she could do was ring the bells of the church of light when the wolves had entered the village and help the villagers take shelter inside of the church.


    When she told me this I knew I had to say something to ease tension here. "Well priestess you won''t have to ring those bells anymore, because I will defeat those wolves before you close the gates on the day of the full moon." I gave her a big smile while saying that.


    We walked through the town gates just before they closed. The head priestess standing there waving us goodbye.


    I do not know if his magic or aura is strong enough to defeat those beast. But this boy, he has something that makes me want to believe him. The head priestess turned around and returned to her church. "May Aurora shine her light upon you two young ones during the hours of Newa" she said softly while closing the church doors.


    A bit further down the road nearing the forest edge Rolly jokingly said "Man, Yzer you almost sounded cool back there".


    "Ah shaddup Rolly" I said while I pulled my cap lower to cover Rolly under it. "Together we will save that village, we promised".


    "That''s right Yzer, let''s do this". We walked into the forest near the village during which Rolly popped up back from under my cap.

 Two: Meeting

    The forest edge wasn''t that far from the village. It was approximately one hundred fifty meters to the forest edge from the village walls. It probably had to be close so the hunters and lumberjacks could gather supplies quickly I pondered.


    From what I had learned while talking to the villagers and the village guards was that the wolves always attack when there was a full moon. Almost like clockwork, the villagers also didn''t know how the wolves came in to the village begin with. But the guards gave me an important piece of information. When the attack ended the wolves always retreated back into the forest.


    So my first step is to go into the forest, and look for clues on where the wolves might have their den. If we can find their den we can take out the entire pack at once. That way none wil escape and starting a new man eating pack somewhere else. If they think we¡¯re outnumbered they won¡¯t flee that easily and then I don¡¯t have to hunt them done one by one.


    The light of Aurora started to grow weaker the longer me and Rolly were looking for tracks in the forest.


    After the first couple of attacks hunters went into to forest to search for the missing people. They found some leads here and there but they never found anything or anyone. How can we find these wolves if these wolves are able to shake off experienced hunters.The more I thought about it the more questions I got. Maybe we''re are looking at this from a wrong angle. these wolves are apparently masters at not being found. So what if they found us instead..


    The night has now completely fallen over the forest. Only the light of Newa shone through the thick canopy of leaves and branches. Creating long shadows across the forest floors.


    "Hey Yzer, it¡¯s getting pretty dark, maybe we should make a camp. I mean how are we actually going to find these wolves, let alone in the dark?" Rolly asked him while he was a little bit trembling under Yzer his cap.


    "Easy, we''re going to look around for signs which marks wolves territory,"


    "Wolf territory?" Rolly asked me with a deep frown on his turtle face.


    "Yeah, you know. Urine, scratch marks on trees that kind of stuff."


    "Well we better find their den before they find us or we''re in trouble" I added with a careless smile on his face trying to calm Rolly his nerves.


    "You''re not telling me something Yzer, I know this look, everytime something bad happens you¡­." Rolly stopped midsentence.


    "Euh Yzer, I think URINE trouble. Because it became dark reaaally fast and there are creepy eyes glowing in the bushes!" Rolly screamed.


    "Don''t worry Rolly, it al going according to plan. But for it to work you need to keep very quiet under my cap".


    ¡°Ha¡­ I¡­ I¡­ can do that.¡± his voice was trembeling


    Usually wolves have an area in which they hunt. They will mark off their territory and normally have a den where they let their cubs sleep. And cubs need to eat. So why search for the den if we can get carried into the den. At least that is what normal wolves would do. I just hope that wolves with fangs like knives, burning tails and glowing eyes act the same¡­¡±


    From the cloak of darkness an entity jumped me from behind. It felt like it had the weight and size of a bull. I knew that it would hurt but I could feel his fangs piercing into my skin. A small stream of thick warm blood ran across my back. I quickly used magic to harden my skin so the fangs wouldn''t pierce all the way through. Just enough for the beast to think it made a fatal blow. But the pain was all to real.


    I fell towards to ground, pretending the wolf got me with one bite. The wolf howled and bit me in muy neck dragging across the forest. Everything is going according to plan.


    "This was your plan Yzer!?" Rolly whispered clearly upset.


    "SHHHH you¡¯re going to blow our cover." I hissed through my teeth. "I know you''re upset with me because I didn''t told you the plan beforehand. But I thought of i in the spur of the moment."


    "Still Yzer this was a bad, bad, bad idea."


    The wolf ran through the forest easily carrying me. He jumped up to high rocks and scaled steep hills with ease. After a while when Newa was almost at his highest point they stopped. The wolf dropped me inside of a big cave and ran away towards the entrance of the cave. I could hear his paws strutting away. I kept lying a while longer on the ground waiting for cubs to come towards him but nothing happend. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    after a while I decided to opened my eyes slowly. "Rolly, time to wake up we got work to do."


    It took some time to adjust my eyes to the darkness. But the light of Newa shone bright this night so it didn''t take long at all. I slowly stood up and looked around the cavern. There were no cubs or signs that looks like there was a nest. Instead there were dried up bodies chained up to the cavern walls. I had to supress my tendency to throw it. the cavern smelled like death.


    "Huh, I didn''t know wolves could chain up people." Rolly said while he crawled out from under my cap.


    "They don''t." A feminine voice behind them said.


    I turned around towards the other side of the wall. On the ground chained up by her wrist was a young woman. She looked my age. She wore white plate armour with two suns painted on her shoulders. She also wore a kind of plated dress underneath it. Her face looked swollen and she had dents everywhere in her armour. Her head hanged down with long golden braided hair on the side of her face.


    ¡°Are you by any chance the paladin that accepted the quest to slay the wolves and never came back?¡± I asked while slowly bending on my knee to face the girl.


    "Q...Q...Quickly get away before he comes back." The pain she felt was echoing through her words. "It is too late for me and the missing villagers. You won''t be able to beat him trust me." Her voice and spirit sounded broken.


    "Please, I beg of you leave me and save yourself, tell the villagers to.."


    "No, I won¡¯t" I interrupted her before she could finish that sentence. "I''m not going to leave you behind, that is not the kind of person I am. I''m going to save you and beat up the ones who did this to you."


    ¡°Why would you do that for a stranger you have never met before, why would you risk your live for mine?¡± Her head was still hanging down facing the cave ground.


    ¡°Well, because I want to. Do I need another reason to save someone?¡±


    A tear rolled down from her face hitting the ground. In her heart she was truly happy that someone has come for her. That someone was going to save her. That there was a slight chance that she might make it.


    The paladin looked up. Revealing her face which had some cuts and bruises on it. Her big blue eyes made contact with mine. I looked straight at her with an determined look, I wanted her to not give up already. Her eyes got bigger, her face  turned red and she quickly averted her gaze.


    I didn''t understand what happend just now. Maybe she thinks that I can''t save her? Maybe she felt sick because she has been chained up for too long?


    "Are you okay? Are you feeling sick?"


    "N-N-No, no I''m alright" she said while stuttering. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest.


    What is Zera? Why my maiden heart doing this? I never felt this way before. He doesn¡¯t look strong at all so why do I imagine myself running into the sunset with him in MY arms. I knew by his voice that he was around my age. So why do I expect that he is going to save me. I¡¯m happy that someone is going to help me but what is this feeling? What is going oooon?!?!


    "You sure?" Rolly asked from under Yzer his cap "Your face just turned tomato."


    "W...W....Will you just release me from these chains then, sir ..?" The paladin stopped she wanted to know his name.


    "My name is Yzer and this is Rolly my best bud and what is yours?"


    "My name is Zera, Zera Weissenlas. Well sir Yzer can you grab my sword and slash these chains. My sword would be able to get through if you swing it hard enough. It''s laying at the other side of the cavern wall right behind you. try to swing as hard as you can."


    Could this be what they always wrote in those silly fairy tales? Could this be what they call love at first sight? No way, No way that a guy like that is going to save me. Why do I keep feeling this, he isn''t even my type! Zera her thoughts raced across her mind.


    "That won¡¯t be necessary Zera."


    I put my left hand upon my right elbow and moved it along the entire side of my arm with a fast sweeping motion. I whispered: ¡°Body change blade form.¡±


    My arm changed into the form of a large iron blade with a hilt where my wrist should be. It was one of the highest magics I can use now. Body Weaponizing magic.


    "What is this?!" Zera exclaimed. "How in the name of Aurora did you just do that".


    Hearing him call her, by her first name withouth hestitation made her heart skip a beat.


    "Long story, I''ll tell you when were back in the village."


    Yzer cut off Zera her chains with a swift cut of his arm. "Can you stand Zera?"


    Zera amazed by his raw strenght answered.


    "Yes I think I can." Zera tried to get up but failed at her attempt.


    "No you can''t, your leg is al messed up." Her white skirt has turned red from the blood that has stained it. It appeared that there was quite a deep wound underneath there. "I''m going to grab your sword and then I''m going to lift you by your arm over the side of my shoulder. Is that okay with you?"


    "L...L...Lift me over your shoulder" Zera stuttered while her face again turned red.


    "So my b...b....body will be leaning onto yours?"


    "Uhm yeah, unless you got an better idea"


    "Well maybe you can..." Rolly intervened.


    "Shut up turtle." Zera snapped at Rolly. "This is the best and only idea." she quickly added.


    "My turtle-ass it is" Rolly said to himself looking at a small cart that was lying in the back of the cave.


    I lifted Zera up while holding her sword in my other hand. "Does this feel okay?"


    "Y-Y-Yes more than okay." Zera said. Her heart started racing even faster than before. "Yes this is love she thought. This man is the one and he is a lot stronger then he looks if he can lift me in my armour!"


    Rolly looked at Zera, who had a dreamy expression on her face while she was being carried by Yzer. Yzer did not notice. Rolly felt bad for her. Poor girl doesn''t realise Yzer is an idiot when it comes to girls he thought by himself.


    "Okay Zera, we are almost at the end of the cave. I can see the light of Newa shining in."


    "Yzer before we exit you must know the one that did this to me is..." Before she could finish I stopped her.


    "Look that is not important we made it to the end of the cave. Now we just have to reach to village. The most important thing is to get you to safe...." I stopped my sentence when came out of the cavern.


    "Get her to what?" A dark figure with glowing red eyes replied from the shadows of the forest.

 Three: Fight to protect

    The dark figure stepped out of the shadows that were surrounding him. The moonlight revealed his demonic body and posture. His red skin almost seem the glow in the soft light of Newa. While the horn on the front of his head had a far more blackish colour. He did not wear anything on the top of his body. His lower body however was covered by a black robe with a moon painted on it. I knew from the start that this guy was trouble.


    "By Newa what a MAGNIFICANT night we have here.¡± The Demon exclaimed with grand gestures.


    ¡°We have a noble paladin, a magical turtle and a fake mage who clearly doesn''t know how to use magic. It almost seems like a little tea party. Too bad it''s going to <u>END</u> here. Don''t get me wrong, I mean I found it quite entertaining how you tricked my babies to get you to our den" the demon scoffed.


    "BUT! I did not expect a human mage to so cheaply imitate OUR magic! It is an insulted to demons everywhere. That is why I let you get this far out of the cave so I can kill you as grotesk as possible. I Balam will be your judge, jury and executioner."


    "Your magic?!¡± I felt anger growing inside me. ¡°Master Doman taught me this magic. He is the greatest mage alive, magic isn''t someones property." What the demon said went against everything I believe in, It filled my heart with rage that there are people who think like that.


    "HA don''t make laugh boy, I know this name of Doman. He stole our body manipulating magic during the great war and even had the guts to fight us with it. Not that it matters now anyway, those problems are taken care of. But now we found you, a runt who uses the exact same magic we use. We can''t have a little shrimp boy like you use our magic now can we? It would be an insult to the entire demon race!" I felt that he was very confident while saying those words. He even spit a little when he said that. Only to finish with a large grin on his face. Revealing rows of sharp teeth.


    I Lowered my head, I could not believe what this demon was saying. "You''re a liar. The way you see the world is wrong and twisted. magic can never be monopolized, magic should be free and should be used by anyone who wants to¡±.


    "Oooh looks like I found a sensitive subject" Balam replied while licking his lips. His eyes quickly focusing on Zera who was still hanging over Yzer his shoulder. "I wonder what your little paladin friend there tastes like. All the villagers I got were too old and their blood didnt taste as good as I hoped."


    I slowly put Zera and her sword down letting her lean against the outside wall of the cave. I took off my cap with Rolly in it. "Hey Zera, would you please watch over Rolly while I teach this demon a lesson about not drinking people their blood. I''m going to make sure we get to the village. I promise." Before I start this fight I changed my hand back to normal. I''m not sure if this is the form I need for this fight.


    Zera looked up to my face. She looked frightend. I was determined to fight this guy and survive. I didn''t know exactly how to get my determination across to Zera so I just smiled. Hoping that it would subdue her fears.


    Desperately Zera tried to convince me "Don''t do it sir Yzer! He is not an ordinary demon. He is a greater demon, like a captain of an army kind of demon. He is too strong! That is why I was defeated in the first place. Please just run away, I can''t have you dying just to save me.¡± Zera was begging for me not to fight, but to run.


    I stood up facing Balam. For a short moment I turned around. But this time with a smile again on my face looking upon Zera. "Don''t worry I will definitely save you, I promised remember."


    "My, my aren''t you the little hero man. I think I will eat you first and save her for desert. And that turtle friend of yours will be my after eight snack! When I finish you little pests I will have gathered enough strength to break through that awful barrier around that village even when it''s not a full moon. You snacks have my gratitude!" Balam exclaimed while launching himself towards me.


    "Body of Iron!" I whispered to activate the sleeping magic inside me. I pulled back my arms while at the same time bending my knees ever so slightly.


    In a split second I quickly extend my right arm. Hitting Balam on his left cheek while he was still in mid-air. The demon crashed down into the earth while screeching. I jump back, keeping my distance from the demon.


    Balam gravelled himself back up. Green blood flowing from the corner of his mouth. He spits out one of his teeth. Suddenly from all sides of the forest the wolves show themselves. They have the same red glowing eyes as their master. I get back even more. Trying to keep my eyes on all my opponents.


    "STOP, my babies" Balam yelled. "I will handle this personally, that maggot just got lucky" The wolves immediately stopped and sat down at edge of the shadows. But I felt that their eyes were still fixated on me the entire time.


    "Demon magic: body transport" hiding his voice under his breaht almost not audible for anyone to hear.


    In less than a second the demon is standing right in front me. The demon fires his fist into my stomach. I could feel my metal body bending. I cough up some blood. How did he get so fast, all of the sudden?


    Then as quick as that thought went through my brain a high to low kick landed on me from behind. Balam somehow got behind me before the pain in my abdomen left my body. Before I could fall to the ground Balam sucker punched me right up my jaw. Within a second Balam got from my back to my front. Thought were racing through my head trying to understand how he did this. He must be using some kind of speed magic, or maybe he has a great aura. I couldn''t make anything of it yet. I have to to let him hit me, so maybe, just maybe I can figure out how he does that. If I drop my guard I can focus on how he moves.


    "What is happening Zera? I don''t understand. How come Yzer can''t do anything? One moment that asshat is standing there and then POEF some blue smoke and now he is standing behind him."


    "I''m not sure but I read about this while I was still a squire. Apparently this is a high level demon magic to transport his entire body from the one point to another." Zera said with a quiver in her voice.


    Rolly his expression changed "That''s probably how he got those wolves behind the gates too!¡±


    ¡°That is entirely possible." Zera replied whilst her eyes are fixed on the fight in front of her. Adreneline was pumping through her veins just watching this fight. Yzer is our only hope if we want to survive this. Before I knew it I yelled:


    "Please win Yzer, by Aurora I need you to win."


    my heart was racing. I felt so powerless just watching Yzer and this Balam fight.


    Balam now holding Yzer up in the air onto his shirt. Yzer his body looked all bloody and almost lifeless.


    "Looks like you don''t fully control OUR demon magic do you insect. Shall I let you in on a little secret? Demon magic works best for demons especially those whom just have had some human blood." His tongue almost went inside Yzer his ear wen he said this.


    "YZER! DON''T LISTEN TO HIM! PLEASE DEFEAT HIM, I BELIEVE IN YOU!" I screamed even harder than just then.


    Balam tilted his head to look at the commotion past Yzer his body. He tilted his head back now looking directly into Yzer his face.


    My head is head hanging down, but I made sure he saw a grin ever so slightly appear on my face.


    "What are you grinning at boy." Balam spouted at my face, saliva flying through the air. "If you didn''t notice I just beat you to a bloody pulp and now I''m going to eat you and your cute friends" Balam said while trying to strike fear into my heart.


    "Well, " I replied with my head still down. "Luckily I sort of check those boxes."


    "What boxes boy." Balam was clearly confused.


    "The boxes about demons being the best at demon magic, not about the blood drinking though but still. Sort of check those boxes."


    "You, a demon? Have you gone entirely mad worm?!? Are you trying to win me over now so I don''t kill a fellow demon. Brat, I got the upper hand here. I just kicked your little ass with no sweat!"


    "You''re right, " My body was almost broken, and I felt pain everywhere. But I was not ready to give up yet. I had to use my final resort. Eventhough there are witnesses. I can''t have them die because I was afraid. "I''m not a real demon and not a real human either. I''m half" I felt calm when I said this, I had made my decision. I going to use It. "Demon magic: body release.¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    As soon as I said that Balam his hand started to catch ablaze. Balam let out a loud scream while loosening his grip, letting me go.


    A puff of blue smoke appeared and Balam made quite some distance between us. Two horns from both sides and one at the front started to grow from my head. I hurt, it felt like knives slowly growing from my skull. Some dark blood flowing from the sides. I could feel silver eyes lighting up as they started to glow ever so more in the light of the moon. My hair flowing around me deving gravity itself.


    "What you just said about kicking my ass and stuff, I let you. I now know how you move and how your magic works".


    "IMPOSSIBLE!" Balam screamed. "IMPOSSIBLE, this can''t be happening, no, no, this is just a trick! You''re just a huge imposter!¡±


    "Body change: blade form" My right hand quickly changed into a large long sword with a hilt on his wrist when I said those words.


    I launched myself to the front exchanging multiple blows with the demon. Each exchange quicker than the last one. My blade cutting true.


    No, no not possible, he is keeping up with me. No he is even wounding me! ¡°How can you possible keep up with my teleportation power?¡± Disbelief was overflowing from Balam his words. We both create some distance when he said those words.


    ¡°Simple, your technique is good. But it isn¡¯t flawless. After every time you vanish a part of you is already at the next place you had in your mind. That part of you emits magical energy but can¡¯t do anything. It¡¯s like a small lighthouse so the ship knows where to sail, on and off on and off. You kept it pretty well hidden but after those blows I could see that lighthouse as clear as day. I know where you¡¯re going to be before you¡¯re even there."


    I jump towards him again.


    "Fists of steel!" I exchanged my sword to change my hands to steel. I used a fast side step to come close to Balam. I was close enough to see his pupils widen in shock.


    "No this can''t be. A snack can''t defeat me!" Balam screamed almost in utter fear.


    When he said that I pulled back both my arms launching them straight into Balam. Sucker punching him in the gut. The force of my blow was enough to fling Balam straight against a tree. A loud crack resulted from the impact. Balam his body almost lifeless embedded into the tree.


    Balams coughed and spoke up his voice was cracking while still filled with anger ¡°You¡¯ve won for now my dear snacks, but I¡¯ll return and when I do you¡¯re going to wish that I just had devoured you the first time we met!¡±


    Under his breath he spoke some words of magic. I couldn''t understand the language he used but he then vanished into a red puff of smoke and dust.


    "I guess he bit the DUST!" Rolly yelled from back extremely excited.


    From the side of my eyes I saw the black wolves starting to shrink. Their bodies slowly returning to normal. The red glow disappearing from their eyes. I was exhausted. I closed my eyes to feel the warmt of morning light. It appeared we fought the entire night. I released the demon form my body was still currently in "Demon magic: locked". When I did I slowly opend my eyes to see that wolves started strolling towards me very slowly.


    All of the wolves one by one put their head against my legs. I think they were greatfull to me for setting them free.


    "What are they doing Rolly? I thought these guys were viscous beast." Zera couldn''t comprehend what was happening at the moment. There was so much she had to process. The fight, Yzer, the demon Balam.


    "No they aren''t," Rolly says. "they were under the control of that demon Balam, they couldn''t help it. They were probably in a lot pain. I think they are just gratefull to Yzer for freeing them. Trust me I''m an animal, their animals it''s an animal thing."


    I pet them, their soft fur rubs against the bottom of my hand. After some time one by one the wolves went by me as they ran off back into the woods.


    I make my way to Zera and Rolly. "You did well keeping Rolly save Zera. Thank you, I understand if you are now afraid of me being half demon and all. I''m going to bring you back to the village and then leave you. I hope you can ignore your paladin duties for now and not kill me knowing what I am."


    I was completely serious. Paladins were under orders to kill and eliminate all demons they see in sight. Even if i''m only half demon i''m not an exception.


    I could see that Zera her hands were shaking when she handed Rolly and the cap back. But in that small moment our fingers touched. Her hands stopped shaking.


    I don''t know what to think of Yzer. He IS half demon, as a paladin it is my duty to kill him. All demons are evil, but Yzer, he isn''t. Yzer saved me, he risked his own life to save mine. So he can''t be evil. Thoughts were racing through my head, my hands are shaking. when I look up Yzer is standing right in front of me. He asks to not kill him and ignore my duties. As I reach out to give Rolly and his cap back my other hand is slowly creeping towards my sword. I can''t stop shaking, my entire body and soul is in termoil. My entire life I thought that all demons were evil. But He is different.


    As I hand Rolly and his cap over my hands stop shaking as my fingers slightly touch his. In that moment I knew, that I was wrong. This boy isn''t evil, I could feel his kindess going through my skin. The feelings I had before, the butterflies I had are still there. He is the one who saved me. I will not kill him, I want to be with him, I want him. I think, I think I''m in L-L-L, come on Zera, I think I''m in LOVE.


    "No! You can''t do that" Zera quickly said. "Yes I''m a paladin and yes we hunt and kill evil demons but they never said anything about half demons and you¡¯re not evil! A-A-And besides you saved my life. On the honour of Aurora as a holy paladin my life is now yours! I will serve you master Yzer!"


    "Wow that escalated quickly, did not expect that at all" Rolly had to pull his mouth open.


    I don''t know what to say. She blindsided me completely. "Well maybe that is a little overboard. Just not killing me is enough."


    "No master Yzer! It is just the paladin rule: we must serve those who save us."


    "I didn''t know paladins had such rul..." Zera swiftly put her hand ontop of Rolly his mouth. Making him unable to finish his sentence.


    "Y-Y-Yes we do it is uhm written in, the uhm holy book of Aurora yeah that is!" Zera claimed vigorously. "You have to take me with you on your travels, your journey is my journey. Were you eat, I eat. Where you sleep, I sleep." Sleeping together in one bed with Master! Well played Zera! And nobody ever read the entire book of Aurora or knows it by heart. This is perfect. This way I can get closer to Yzer and make him mine before he knows it!


    "Uhm Zera your nose is bleeding¡± I replied ¡°I don''t think you''re fully healed yet. Come on my shoulder and I''ll carry you to the village.¡±


    "Yes Master Yzer! But promise me you take me with you".


    "I guess there is no talking you out of it is there?"


    Zera vigorously shook her head. Her golden braids flapping from side to side.


    "Fine but just call me Yzer okay?"


    "Yes master Yzer!"


    I lift her up on my shoulder and grab her sword from the ground.


    "Yzer maybe she has a broken nose or something because it starts to bleed again, like a lot."


    As we went through the woods life came flowing back into it. The birds started to chirp as the morning light shone upon tour faces. Everything here felt different. The way back to the village went without a hitch. It felt like the entire journey from the cave to the village gate was not even a ten minute walk. As we arrived at the gates they slowly opened and the priestess was standing there. Waiting. The guard who opend the gate in the watchtower was silent this time.


    "I feel the dark presence has vanished Yzer. Well done, and you saved the paladin I see. Are there other villagers who made it?"


    I look towards the ground. "I..."


    "I understand, you don''t have to explain yourself. Well we will get you your reward. One hundred silver pieces and a feast as promised."


    "Leave the silver pieces. It is probably all the money you guys have right? I can''t take that from you. I found out while talking to the villagers. Can you please fix up my friend here in exchange for the silver. I''m afraid I''m not good at healing magic." A smile on my face appeared when I said that. I felt good to say that I made a new friend.


    Rolly''s faced was set in shock. "B-b-but the silver..." as a small tear fell out of his eye.


    Zera her face was in utmost shock. A-a-a friend?!?!... Her mind already went into overdrive. Maybe I should put some more effort into him to make him mine. Even though I kept flirting with him all the way back to the village. I mean I¡¯m even leaning with my entire body over him!


    That night they ate and drank like there was no tomorrow. The villagers were happy and they were safe. The guard that laughed at Yzer was nowhere to be found.


    The next morning we packed our things. As promised Zera was healed, but they said that she should take it easy for a while. Before I left I asked around if they knew anything about the sage of the black water. The priestess told me she heard there were some rumours about a sighting in the surrounding villages just a ten day walk from here.So we set out to embark to the first and nearest village. The village of Fogheim.


    "Master Yzer, I know you didn''t want to take the silver coins but couldn¡¯t we just take a little?"


    My faced changed "I did not think of that". As my hand went across his pocket expecting it to be empty. Felt heavier than before. Inside were three silver pieces.


    "Will you look at that," Rolly said while I held up the pieces. "That gorgeous priestess reversed pickpocketed you."


    "I''m glad she did! Now we can sleep at an inn for a change!"


    "Wait what?¡± Zera her faced looked shocked. ¡°You normally don''t sleep at an inn?"


    "Nope we normally camp out or sleep in a church of light. No biggie, me and Rolly done it that way for a loooong time."


    Zera her expression changed. She has only ever slept in inside inns. And always a grand room for herself provided with all the comforts she needed. The priestess was looking at the adventurers while they disappeared into the distance. ¡°We will see each other again Yzer, Rolly and Zera. I feel our paths will cross again someday. Master Doman would be proud of you Yzer, and your father of you Zera."


    Meanwhile in the Demon world:


    "Damn that little bloody half-blood! I didn''t believe they existed! " Balam yelled. "Because of him I failed my mission. When I heal and get my powers back I will find you and I will kill you even if it''s the last thing I do! But first I have to report back to her¡­"


    ¡°You got your ass handed to you didn¡¯t you Balam?¡± A loud voice from behind Balam said.


    ¡°Abaddon¡­.¡± Balam his voice trembled.


    ¡°You have brought shame to us Balam, you certainly know the consequences if Warage ever found out don¡¯t you BALAM.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, yes, yes, I¡­I¡­. will redeem myself, I will I promise, please Abaddon spare me.¡± Balam was on his knees begging to the other demon to spare his life.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be such a weakling Balam, because you¡¯re cowering like a fool my time isn¡¯t even worthy being spent on the likes of you. Just make sure you kill him next time or there won¡¯t be a next time.¡±


    ¡°Yes, naturally¡± Balam swiftly stoop up and made a deep bow towards Abaddon.


    In the Upper world:


    "Did any of you guys hear anything?" I thought I heard something.


    Zera: "No Master Yzer"


    Rolly: " Nope me neither"


    "Strange must have been the wind then."