《Elven Blood》


 Preface - In the woods

    Hi to whoever is reading this. This is my first ever venture into writing so I hope you will be lenient on a fledgling writer. That said, constructive criticism is welcome (just don''t hate =l)


    This is a story that has been developing in my mind for quite some time and I believe it has enough merit to be worthwhile in putting it out there for others......


    P.S. will try to keep it at one chapter a day.


    Now onward to the beginning before the beginning!


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    A lush green forest, seemingly untouched by human hand and left to grow as nature intended for centuries. Silent, but for the sounds of birds and and various animals doing what bird and animals of the wild do. All in all it is quite tranquil.


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    But, suddenly that tranquility is broken as a woman crashes through the undergrowth, causing various critters to flee in all directions. Seemingly oblivious to disturbance she caused the woman continues to flee at a break neck pace, ignoring the scratches and injuries on her body caused by the branches she carelessly pushes through.


    With her long, thick, golden hair tangled, her dress torn and blood and dirt covering her virtually from head to toe - it is nevertheless obvious that she is a beauty to be envied by beauties and worshiped by men.


    But, at this moment her face was contorted by fear and desperation as  she continued her mad dash through the forest, keeping her pointed ears alert to the sound of pursuit and clutching her swollen stomach.....

 Prologue: Assassin

    Here it goes!


    Constructive criticism and advice is welcomed.


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    Kerron has always been an honourable man - or at least as honourable as an assassin could be. Admittedly there isn¡¯t much honour in killing people in exchange for money, but he has never strayed from his personal vows to never target innocents or children. He has even at times turned away some very lucrative jobs, because of this honour of his.


    And yet, here I am chasing a harmless girl, with the intent to slay both her and the babe she carries in her womb - he thinks to himself in disgust. - What is my honour worth at the end of the day? I am weak not to accept death instead of caving in to their threats and agreeing to this job. He glared at the magic brand on his hand. It will disappear once he has killed the elf girl and her unborn child, but if he he fails to do so within the next few hours he is the one who will die.


    Never before had he considered that being the best at what he does would get him into a situation like this.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    A week earlier


    Click.


    With a self-appreciative grin on his face Kerron unlocked the final door. Sliding his lockpick back into their hidden pocket he slowly eased the door open, disabling all the traps that have been set.


    This had to be the most challenging job that he had received in years and he was enjoying every second of it.


    The target, a rich moghul, had somehow found out that there is a hit request on him, and has thus set up every protection his money can buy him, and Kerron has to admit, he is suitably impressed any other assassin would have fallen long ago to one of the various traps set up along the way, or would have been discovered by the multitude of guards patrolling the grounds, or activated some of the complex magic protections laid out at random places.


    Fortunately - or unfortunately, depending on your perspective - Kerron is not just any assassin, he is best of the best; known as the Shadow, an existence that you only see as a shadow, just before you die.


    He had once snuck into the royal palace and killed the crown prince as he lay sleeping in his royal chambers (a much better end than he deserved) The servants found the body in the morning, but the ensuing investigation revealed no results.


    And now he is after another life, meaning the moghul is as good as dead. Entering the bedroom he saw that there was no further protections: the target never expected anyone to reach this far.


    Pulling out his dagger he quietly creeped up to the bed where he could hear loud rumbling snores emanating from the huge, fat figure lying there.


    With a swift stroke of the blade he neatly sliced through the fat man neck, cleanly severing the major vein there.


    ¡°Done¡±, he whispered to himself as he turned around to leave the same way he had come, only to discover he was unable to move. Alerted by a glow from below, he looked down to see a magic circle powered by the blood leaking out of the slit throat of the man he had just killed.


    Clap*clap*clap


    Startled Kerron looked up at the man that entered through a hidden passage behind the wardrobe. ¡°Well done Mr.Shadow. That was superbly accomplished. I dare say you almost made our little test look to easy¡±, the man said while he continued to applaud. He wore a black cloak and it was impossible to see his face


    ¡°Test? What are you talking about. Who are you? Show your face!¡±, Kerron roared while inwardly cursing himself for his assumption that nothing could go wrong after the deed was done, he should have known better.


    ¡°Ah, please calm down Mr.Shadow I mean you no harm. In fact I wish to employ your service, but you see, the job I have in store for you is quite tricky and thus I had to test you before hand. And surely you understand that I can¡¯t reveal my name or face, it is a murky business we are dealing with after all and can be ruinous to a person¡¯s reputation.¡± the figure explained as he walked finally came to stand in front of Kerron.


    Kerron narrowed his eyes as it all started to make sense. This job was a setup from very start and he walked right into this situation like a rookie. ¡°It was you who ordered this job, and you are also the one who tipped the target off about it.¡±


    ¡°I am also the person that helped arrange his protection. Yes, as you have so aptly deduce I am the master mind.¡± the man said. ¡°But like I said Mr.Shadow I have a job that requires you expertise and I do believe it would be in your best interest to accept.¡±


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Hearing the threat in the cloaked man¡¯s words, and judging by the blood spell restricting his movements, Kerron would have had to be a complete idiot not to realise that this job is one he wanted no part of. First I have to get out of this circle somehow and then I can kill this bastard who thinks he can make me his dog. - Kerron thought, trying to come up with a plan ¡°Very well I am willing to listen, but first why don¡¯t you get rid of this pesky magic so we can talk like two civilised men?¡± Kerron said.


    ¡°Surely you jest, Mr. Shadow. I am well aware of your reputation as well as that silly moral system of yours and I assume by now you have figured out that the job I am offering is one that will cross the lines of your honour.¡± - he held up a hand as Kerron was about to interject - ¡°Let me be frank with you Mr.Shadow. You most probably want to reject the job, but know this that magic circle you are standing in does more than just restrict movement. The moment you activated the magic it imposed a forced contract on you, meaning you either complete the job or you die. Of course you will be rewarded handsomely at the completion.¡±


    By this time Kerron was white with fury. Never before had he desired to kill someone as much as he wanted to kill the man in front of him at that moment. A force contract: that is one of the foulest blood magic on the continent and, like all blood magic, had been outlawed, punishable by death. To think that he, the greatest assassin, Shadow, would fall victim to such magic.


    He had no choice but to accept the hit, unless he wants to have his soul ripped out and die a slow agonising death, and not even honour is more important to him than his life.


    ¡°Fine I¡¯ll do it, who do you want me to kill?¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    Present


    Kerron is abruptly brought out of his musing as he heard a crash, followed by a cry just ahead of him. He speeds up a bit more and presently he sees her. His target. She looks a miserable sight, a far cry from the crown princess she really is. having tripped over a protruding tree root she was trying to pull herself back up, even though her leg is obviously broken.


    Is this the power of a mother trying to protect her child? He looked at her for a moment, admiring her perseverance, before locking away his emotions best he can and stepping out from behind the trees.


    Loathing himself for what he is about to do he slowly approach her. After this I will hunt down that cloaked bastard and make sure he suffers seven hells before I kill him slowly. And then I will retire to a quiet village somewhere and live out the rest of my life in seclusion. - He vows to himself


    When she sees him the girl becomes stricken. ¡°No, please no. Please don¡¯t kill my baby. No!¡± She starts begging, wrapping her arms around her middle, as if that would protect it.


    ¡°I am sorry¡± he says as he brings his sword around, slicing through her neck, followed quickly with a stab into her belly. As her severed head falls to the ground and her body slides of his blade the contract mark fades and he feels his bag become heavy with gold. Exactly what he was told would happen once he had killed her: Tamra, the crown princess of the elves and the unborn prince or princess in her womb.


    With a grim set to his shoulders, Karron sheathes his sword, I have to get out of here quick before the royal guard comes looking for her, they will soon realise that she isn¡¯t at the hotsprings anymore.


    As he was about to leave he heard a loud cry:


    Wah! Wah! Wah!


    Startled he swirled back around and stared at the corpse behind him, where the crying is coming from. Out of the hole he made in the stomach he can see a tiny hand moving, the obvious origin of the racket. How can this be! I killed the babe, the mark wouldn¡¯t have disappeared if I hadn¡¯t.


    Perplexed he carefully cut open the stomach fully and is shocked to discover a baby girl, most definitely loud and alive, lying next to her dead twin brother. Realizing what happened Kerron couldn¡¯t help but give a morbid laugh.


    ¡°Ha! What an unexpected loophole you found little one.¡± he says as he awkwardly picked up the baby girl. ¡°Looks like the vengeance will have wait for a little while.¡±

 Chapter 1 : Little girl

    Hi everybody,


    So here is the first chapter. Note that I am trying to get past the growing up years as quickly as possible without letting out anything that might be important later on in the story. I promise to get through this within 3 chapters at most, and as you might notice the chapter is short, so please bear with me.


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    5th Month, Year 586 AW


    Jade Empire


    Tavek, a small, rural village near the border to the neighboring Sapphire kingdom.


    ¡°Avera! Avera! Where is that girl? Avera, it¡¯s time for dinner! Avera!¡± Curled up under the planks of their front porch Avera listened to her father calling her from right above her head, but still, she didn¡¯t respond.


    She knows she will get scolded later, but she at the moment she couldn¡¯t face her dad, because she had been crying and she know daddy will be upset if he sees that she had been crying; he always is. So, she will stay where she is until the tears have dried up and she is able to smile again. She only wanted to show her daddy smiles, after all, he is the only person in the whole world who loves her, a halfling freak as the other kids in the village like to call her.


    *sniff*


    Remembering the most recent barrage of insults she endured this afternoon when she tried to join the other children in play she couldn¡¯t stop the fresh wave of tears from overflowing.


    *Sob*


    ¡°Avera are you crying under the porch again? Come on out, I can hear you.¡± realising she has been caught out, Avera slowly crawled out of her hiding place. Coming to stand in front of her father, she looked up to her him.


    Despite being the local blacksmith, Kerron Allistair isn¡¯t a particularly big man by any means; coupled with his nondescript brown hair and plain features, he seems unremarkable in every way; unless one looked into his eyes. Those cold grey eyes seem to pierce right into a person¡¯s soul.


    Avera looked into her daddy¡¯s eyes and could only see pain there, pain that he had once again failed to protect his precious little girl.


    ¡°Was it those brats from the village again?¡±, he asked in a cold voice.


    Seeing how angry her daddy was on behalf of her, Avera starts to cry again, while trying to answer. ¡°Th- th- they said th- that I- I¡¯m a- a- a halfling freak a-and that my mom- mommy must have b- been a m-m-monster because why e- el- else would I ha- have silver hair a-and p- p- purple eyes a- and that my ears are p- po- pointed p- proves it! They s- said the on- only reason I- I am even tol- toler- tolerated is because my d- d- daddy is the only blacksmith f- f- for m- miles!¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­...


    Seeing his cute little three year old daughter so visibly upset, Kerron could barely suppress the rage bubbling up inside him. He wanted to go down to the village and slaughter all those who would dare cause tears to run down Avera¡¯s pretty little face. Alas, he doing that cause more trouble than it¡¯s worth and it would upset Avera even though they caused her misery.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    ¡°Did they see you cry?¡± Her daddy asked her once she had calmed down a bit.


    ¡°No, Daddy. I kept it in until I got home and was sure they were faaar away¡± Her daddy had told her previously that the bullies said mean this to her, because they wanted to make her cry and that if she cried in front of them it means they won, so she shouldn¡¯t give them the satisfaction of seeing her in her moment of weakness.


    ¡°Good girl.¡± Daddy said, patting her on the head. ¡°Now, let¡¯s go in and have some dinner, and maybe there might even be some yummy dessert.¡±


    Upon hearing about a prospective dessert, Avera immediately perked up. ¡°Yay! Come on Daddy, let¡¯s go eat!¡±, she says and then runs inside as fast as her short little legs can carry her.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Kerron briefly smiles when he sees his daughter happy again, but almost immediately frowns again. Maybe I should start teaching her how to read. If she can find entertainment with books she might not try looking for playmates amongst those brats when she¡¯s bored. Yes, I think that¡¯s a good idea.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Daddy!¡±


    ¡°Coming, sweetheart!¡±, he answers his daughter and heads inside, satisfied with his solution. Never did it occur to him that children normally only learn to read at the age of 6, or that interaction with other people is essential for a child''s social development.


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    3rd Month, Year 588 AW


    Jade Empire


    Tavek


    It is a peaceful summer''s day, insects are buzzing, the river is gurgling, trees are swaying in the gentle breeze, and happy children can be heard laughing in the distance and in the other direction the constant clang of hammer striking anvil.


    Blending perfectly into this picture is a little girl, with long silver hair, purple eyes and perfect features. Currently this little girl is sitting under a big apple tree, and serenely reading a book.


    This little girl is of course Avera, and although she might seem calm and serene, she is in fact very excited, because today isn¡¯t just any day. Today is her fifth birthday, and her daddy promised that they would have a special birthday picnic in the woods where all the woods where all the pretty flower bloom.


    They had already packed a basket full of all her favourite food and snacks the previous evening, and they will leave as soon as her daddy is finished with his morning work in the forge.


    Sigh. Can¡¯t the morning go by faster?- She thinks to herself, before resolutely shaking her head and once again trying to concentrate on the book she¡¯s reading - an interesting book she found in her daddy¡¯s room called Galbon¡¯s encyclopedia of plants, herbs and poisons, - but it¡¯s hopeless. She is unable to lose herself in the pages as she normally would if she wishes for time to fly by.


    Idly she starts to wonder what she is getting for her birthday this year. Unlike normal little girls, her daddy never gave her dolls or pretty dresses, or anything unconstructive like that. Last year he had given her a nice book collection detailing the histories of the continent and the various races that inhabit it:


    The dwarves, short and stout, living in their mountains, mining rare minerals and crafting awesome construct and machines, the blueprints of which they religiously guard.


    The beast-kin, with features and abilities like those of animal, roaming free in the hills and valleys to the east, minding their own business and encouraging other to stay away from it.


    The elves, her mother¡¯s people, made for magic and bathed in it. Residing in their various courts, Drows - commanding darkness, nature-elves - commanding water, earth and wind, and the high court of the High-Elves - in command of fire, lightning and light. All those ancients, whiling away the boredom of their long existences by playing with a constant game of politics, of which none is the winner for long. Secluding themselves in the forest range to the west.


    The humans, the only people that she has ever met. With their amazing adaptability and their sheer numbers, they inhabit the majority of the land in a long strip from just below the dwarven haven all the way down to the ocean at the very southernmost tip. There is so many cultures and customs with the humans that not even Avera¡¯s books were able to mention them all, only giving a brief overview of the three major Empires, Sapphire, Jade and Emerald.


    Truly, Avera loved her present, and can¡¯t imagine a gift that could easily surpass it.


    Some time later, Avera emerges from her daydreaming and realise something is different, The sounds from the smithy has stopped! Knowing that this means her daddy is finally finished with his work, Avera hastily gather up her book and started running home. It was time for her 5th birthday celebration!

 Non Chapter - Kerron story

    Hi guys,


    So, I really enjoyed writing the prologue and kinda feel like Kerron might be worthy of having a side-story of his own. A story of his life and how he came to be known as the assassin Shadow.


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    Tell me what you think: Yes or no