The Beginning of the Warrior

O
nce, in a world of danger, hate, and prophecy, there lived an Elf by the name of Draigon Dragontheory, an Elf of many oddities.
Draigon was tall for an Elf, roughly six feet. He had silver hair, Sky Blue eyes, and, like all Elves, long and pointed ears.  
He once lived in a place called Saminkara, a small village near the beginning of the forest  Du Hondin Selvar, far from the capital, Enisma. From Saminkara many a powerful man and woman came from to join the army of the Elfking, Orimain Almithra.
It is an odd thing that a village such as this came to such a horrible end. After Draigon left his home when he came to the legal age of one hundred to join the army, a Dark Elf sorceress by the name of Ankiree came to Saminkara with several fighters and archers, and a towering shadow, to destroy the village.
Meanwhile, Draigon was at the capital, at the end of his training, he was one hundred and twenty, and the time of his childhood was over. All he had to do was decide whether or not to banish the soul of a mass murderer to the pits of the hells or to keep his soul on this plane till the end of time. He was told to talk to his fellow graduates about the outcome of the murderer’s soul.
He asked the female Elvin Druid Sinami. Druids are people of nature. They worship nature and keep it and animals safe.
She was the normal height for an Elvin female, five feet three inches. Long black hair, gold eyes, and, like all elves, an angular face.
She answered, “All souls should go to the heavens or the hells, whichever the soul had done in life to put him or her in either. All souls deserve to-”
The Gnomish engineer interrupted. Gnomes are the scientists of the humanoids. This particular Gnome was in charge of the city’s golems. The city’s golems were used for the defensive part of the city. His name was Enric the Engineer.
Gnomes are small, only a little taller than Halflings, which are the smallest of the humanoid races, and mainly take spellcasting as a hobby. They are primarily illusionists, which use illusions more than other magic school. Enric had a small brown beard tied into two separate tips. He always wore beret on his head.   
Enric said, “The Black Butcher deserves to stay on this plane. He murdered hundreds, no thousands, of people of all races. He killed more Gnomes than-“. Enric stopped there, tears in his eyes.
Sinami blushed and said, “I’m sorry Enric, I forgot that he killed your family. It must still hurt you-“
Enric interrupted again, wiping the tears from his eyes “There is no reason to apologize, Sinami. It is just that he destroyed not only my family but my whole village that is when I started to make the golems, to protect and defend. That is the reason why I joined the academy, to learn to make them bigger and better than any other before.”
Draigon’s father was the one that had killed and trapped The Black Butcher’s soul. Draigon’s father is the Elfking’s advisor and had been gone for most of his childhood. Draigon’s mother had died. That was why his father had brought him to the academy. Draigon wished his father was here, but Draigon was told by an old friend of his father’s, Senthis, that his father was busy, though he didn’t know with what.
Draigon talked to Enric and Sinami a little longer, and he had finally decided that his father was not coming and had decided the outcome of The Black Butcher’s soul.
Draigon went to the academy’s leader and told him, “I will decide now.”
The leader, Anissmar, cast a spell and The Black Butcher’s soul appeared. Then Anissmar pointed to an alter with a and stone forearm and hand poking out of it, holding a red orb tied to The Black Butcher’s soul and said, “Go to the alter. Then place your hands on the orb, and speak what you want to happen. Then speak to me.”
Draigon placed his hands on the orb and a voice spoke in his mind, “You don’t want me to be sent to the Hells. If you do that, then I will come back and kill you for the torture you put me through. You will pay,” The voice then went quiet, the soul looking at Draigon.
Draigon spoke in a clear, ringing voice, “The soul tied to this gem shall be sent to the hells, to live out his term of torture for what he did to all the people that he hideously murdered and he will suffer as much as his victims.”
There was a shaking and the soul screamed, “You shall suffer for this, son of Hinnermar.” Then, with a scream of which matches that of one being killed slowly, the soul was stretched and pulled under the earth for who knows how long.   
A shiver ran down Draigon’s spine and he went to talk to Anissmar. Anissmar smiled, “You did well against his bantering and stayed strong to your choice. You have passed your academy training,” he said this to the room at large, “All of you are to be congratulated! You shall now choose what sign you wish to have as you progress through the world.” He took out three different signs, “You first Sinami, which one will you take?”
Sinami looked at the signs, “The sign of the helper shall do me well when I go back to Saminkara with my family.” She then took the sign shaped like that of a hand holding a bag of seeds. Then she went to her parents to talk to them.
Anissmar then looked at Enric, “Which shall you take, Enric the Engineer?”
Enric looked at the two remaining signs, “The Protector to make my golems more enduring … no the warrior to make them stronger… I can’t decide,” Enric then moans.
Sinami looked at Enric, ” I think you should take the protector, not only for your golems, but for you as well.”
Enric then looks at the sign shaped like a hand holding a shield and picked it up, “I think you are right, Sinami.”
Anissmar then looks at Draigon, “Do you wish to take the sign of the warrior or one of the others.”
Draigon looks from Sinami to Enric and took the hand holding the sword, “I shall take the sign of the warrior, to show my strength to the world.”
Anissmar smiles and says, “Congratulations! You are now citizens and shall go into the world to show that we here at the academy teach the best of what can be taught.” Anissmar waved and left to attend the business the rest of the academy.
Then Senthis came back and walked up to Draigon, “Your father was caught up in a meeting of great importance. He is sorry he could not attend your graduation ceremony. He said that you can go to the market square and look around and buy some things before he is done.” Senthis then bowed and left.
Sinami then walked up to Draigon and looked at his face, mainly his eyes, “I never got the chance to know you better… would you like to meet me at the inn later on? My parents and I be there for a few days.”
Draigon looked at her eyes and noticed that they were gold; he had never seen gold eyes before. Draigon considered it for a few seconds then said, “Sure, I’ll come after I do some shopping and exploring.”
Sinami nodded and smiled, “O.K., I’ll see you in a few hours then.” She walked out with a backwards glance and a smile.
Draigon then walked out and went to the market square.


       
















To Fight or persuade, it is Hard to Decide.


W
hen Draigon walked into the market square, his senesces were assaulted: he smelled many different foods, he could hear the voices of many people and the clanging of the smith, he saw many different people of many backgrounds and races, he could almost taste the feeling for new adventure, he could sense, with his mind, the tension coming from the jeweler, Eslin, and an Elvin female. He walked as close as he dared so he could hear and see what was happening.
Eslin was saying, “I won’t lower the price any more for you! This is the last Bloodstone I have!”
The Elf leaned into Eslin and touched his cheek, saying, “I think you can lower the price a bit more… I’ll give you some of my time-” While she was doing this, the Elf was pocketing the Bloodstone under Eslin’s very nose! She quickly straightened and fixed her sleeve and turned to leave.
Eslin, noticing what she had done, grabbed her arm and said, “Give that back thief, or we’ll wait for the guards to come and take you to your own little cell!”
The Elf twitched her hand in an order Draigon, though he was not a spellcaster, knew that she was summoning a spirit. As the spirit formed, Eslin’s grip on the Elf’s arm slackened and the Elf took her arm out of Eslin’s clutch and turned then walked away with Eslin begging her to come back.
Eslin then turned to Draigon pleading with him, “You must have seen her steal the stone.”
Draigon said, “I did and I will go find her so she can give it back and take the spirit away.”
Eslin looked very happy, “Thank you very much kind Sir and what might your name be?”
“Draigon, a new academy graduate.”
“Then go with all speed, Draigon, son of Hinnermar, to apprehend the thief. She is new to these parts and is most likely staying at the inn. Please hurry!”
Draigon thought that just in case he had to fight he should get a better weapon. So he went to the smith and greeted him, “Hello, Sir Salmar.”
The smith looked up from his work, frowning, then a smile spread on his face as he saw who it was, “Draigon, what a pleasant surprise to see you on this fine day.” Salmar then looked at the sign hanging from Draigon’s neck, “OH-HO! So you are to be congratulated on your graduation from the academy.” Salmar then took out his sign, the sign of the warrior, “You chose your sign well, Draigon, son of Hinnermar, and you will go on in life as a fine fighter, like your father.”
The smith smiled as he looked at Draigon’s longsword at his waist, “I see you still wield the weapon I made for you when you came here. It has served you well I hope.” Draigon nodded and the smith continued, “Well, I will give you a better one in trade for it if you wish,” Salmar then thought for a few seconds then snapped his fingers and said, “I will give you a masterwork longsword they can be made magical better than any other kind and it will go far while you stay here, because out in the wild people have more powerful weapons than anyone can sell here. I will also give you some metal bars of iron, steel, adamantine, copper, silver, gold, and mithril, all for free.”
Draigon was very surprised and bowed deeply, “Thank you very much, Salmar, son of Simer.”  
The smith just smiled and put the bars in the pack Draigon gave him and Draigon put his longsword on the counter and took the longsword the smith held out to him. Draigon drew the sword and practiced a bit and said afterwards, “It is a blade of remarkable make and I will use it until it is used so much it will break.”
Then Salmar gave him his pack, which Draigon noticed that, even with the stuff he should have put in seemed heavier then it should, so he went to the side of the inn and opened it. Inside it was a mithril shield and mithril legionnaire armor. Draigon went back to thank him but the smith had closed shop and left for his home, so Draigon went to his house and changed his armor and took out the shield and put it on his arm. He then went to the inn and saw a card game being played and went over to watch it.
There was a Minotaur, a Halfling, and an Elf. This is the setting for a really bad joke, Draigon thought.
Just then, the Minotaur pulled out his axe and cut the table in half. The bad joke continues with another joke, Draigon thought.
The Minotaur yelled at the Halfling, “You cheat, Saimar Lightfoot!”
The Halfling looked taken aback and said, “I will not cheat against one so strong as you,”
That is very true, being that that the Halfling only stands to the Minotaur’s knee, thought Draigon.
The Minotaur then turned away and said, “I guess I will have to return to the place of my people and tell them I have lost my soul binder.”
“What is a soul binder, Karmok?” asked Saimar Lightfoot.
“It is a symbol of my, as you put it, marriage. It is looked down upon to loose it and you loose the love of the one it is bound to.”
“I did not mean to turn this into a-”
Karmok interrupted Saimar Lightfoot, “No need to apologize, Saimar, I shall leave on the marrow,” Karmok then turned to the wall, muttering, “That Mirerick shall pay for this. That black garbed thief shall pay for this.”
Saimar Lightfoot turned and saw Draigon, “Would you help this poor Minotaur find his soul binder? I will pay you two hundred gold for your help.”
Draigon considers it and doesn’t notice Sinami watching, “I will do it for one hundred you don’t need to overpay me.”
The Halfling Saimar Lightfoot bowed very low, “Thank you Sir, and what might your name be?”
“My name is Draigon Dragontheory, son of Hinnermar, the Elfking’s main adviser and the killer of The Black Butcher.”
Saimar looks happily surprised to be with such good company, “Then may your sword stay sharp and your heart beat strong.”
Draigon bowed his head and said, “May you forever be safe and your back unstabbed,”
Saimar Lightfoot laughed and said, “Onward good sir.”
On that note, Draigon left to find the black-garbed man know as Mirerick.









































* * *
He found Mirerick in the corner of the market square near the inn and Draigon walked up to him and said, “Are you Mirerick?”
The man looked at him and said, “Yes… Why?”
“My friend Karmok has lost his soul binder-”
The man drew his dagger and lunged at Draigon. Draigon rolled to the side and drew his longsword at the same time. Mirerick then turned and landed in a crouched position and slowly drew closer to Draigon. When Mirerick got close enough, Draigon started an intricate sword play, which Mirerick could dodge and block only four then his dagger was knocked out of his hand by an attack of Draigon’s sword and Draigon put his sword to Mirerick’s neck and said, “Give it to me or you shall be the first person I have killed.”
Mirerick then drew another dagger, and Draigon stabbed Mirerick’s throat with his sword, twisted it, and then pulled it out. Draigon then searched his remains and found several poisons, ten thousand gold pieces, and an amulet, which Draigon took to be Karmok’s soul binder. He then returned to the inn.
As he walked in, the Halfling Saimar Lightfoot saw him and said, “I want to hear how you got that and if he is still alive… though the first may tell me the second.”
Draigon then told him where he found Mirerick and the rest of the story and as he thought back he thought had seen a white cloud float from Mirerick’s mouth, but he didn’t tell Saimar or the Elf this.
Saimar then, noticing that Draigon did not know the Elf, introduced them, “Draigon, this is Enime, a friend of mine since I was young.”  
Enime nodded to him and said, “I think you should and give it to him now.”
Draigon walked over to Karmok and lifted the soul binder for him to see.
Karmok smiled and took it from Draigon’s hand, his shaking, and said, “Thank you Sir. What is the name of the Elf who saved me from dishonor beyond imagination?”
“My name is Draigon Dragontheory, son of Hinnermar, the Elfking’s main adviser and the killer of The Black Butcher.”
The Minotaur Karmok bowed and said, “You’re as good a man as your father.”
Salmar was right about being known as my father’s equal, thought Draigon.
Draigon then returned to Saimar and the Halfling quickly dug in his moneybag to count out the gold and Draigon said. “There is no need to pay me, Saimar Lightfoot.”
Saimar kept counting, “Of coarse there is, a deals a deal.”
Draigon said it again, more like his fathers voice this time, “There is no need to pay me, it is the thought that counts, not the reward.”
The Halfling stopped and looked at Draigon, “Are you sure?”
Draigon nodded.
Saimar sighed and put the gold back in his pouch, “If you say so, I still think a deals a deal, but have it your way.”
Draigon then noticed that Sinami was watching him and he walked over to her, smiling,  ”How are you Sinami?”
“Good. I see you are doing fine… that was a bellow the belt move Mirerick did, attacking you without warning. But… how did you know he was pulling out another dagger?”
“My father taught me to tell when someone is pulling out a hidden weapon… if he taught me nothing else”.
She smiled and hugged him, “you are a very talented man, Draigon, son of Hinnermar, and a very good spirited one as well.”
Though he was surprised, Draigon hugged back and asked, “What do you mean good spirited?”
Sinami looked up at him and said, “First: you lowered the fee the Halfling was going to pay you. Second: You gave Mirerick a chance to just give you the Minotaur’s soul binder, and when he didn’t then you killed him. And third: you didn’t take the payment you would have gotten from the Halfling, a normal man would have done the opposite in all three,” She then kissed him.
Draigon was so astonished at this that he was almost rude, but stopped and kissed her back, thinking that this must surely be a dream, everything was going to well.
  Sinami slowly drew away and smiled at Draigon;”You are a very nice man and deserve the best… how about some wine, on me?”
He then saw the female Elf that stole the Bloodstone from Eslin and said, “I need to take care of something first.”
Sinami looked at the Elf Draigon was looking at and asked, “What did she do?”
“She stole from Eslin, the jeweler… let me deal with it,” Draigon then walked up to her, bowed, and said, “What is your name good miss?”
The Elf looked at him and said, “Genevieve, daughter of Minersinner, the leader of the village Saminkara.”
This is the second person I’ve met here that has come from my home village, Thought Draigon, “Have you any news from my home town?”
Genevieve looked surprised at this and said, “Only that if I were to find Draigon Dragontheory, son of Hinnermar, to give him a gift on his coming of age.”
“My name is Draigon Dragontheory, son of Hinnermar, the Elfking’s main adviser and the killer of The Black Butcher. Do you have the gift here?”
Genevieve looked even more surprised that he found her and said, “I am to make your shield and sword magical, if you would give them to me.”
Draigon gave them to her and followed her to her rented room and watched as she rubbed some magical substances over his sword and shield and cast some spells. She then gave them back and said, “What was the reason that you approached me?”
Draigon looked at her and said, “You stole from the jeweler, Eslin, and I have come to, if nothing else, ask you to take the spirit away.”
She blanched, “The spirit should have disappeared by now. It must have a reason to stay here or is bound to this world by an object or objects.”
Draigon looked surprised, “Is there a way to get rid of it… other than going into a trance that you are thinking of.” Draigon got this thought from her mind.
She nodded at the thought of him being able to know her thoughts and said, “You have to fight it… there is no other way than those two options.”
He nodded and went outside with everyone from the bar following him, Draigon was wondering, Why is it that, were I go, half the town follows?
The ghost saw Draigon and launched at him for no apparent reason. Draigon raised his shield and was surprised to hear a clink as the shield somehow absorbed the hit. It should have gone straight to my arm and hit it…is this one of the spells she cast on it…did she do it on my sword as well? He then threw the ghost and slashed at it with his sword and it…hit!?!? Though he was surprised-and so was the ghost-he started to attack it more than ever and after about five hits the ghost slashed at Draigon and hit his side.
After the hit, Draigon went down and the ghost raised its spectral hand to deliver the killing blow and Draigon slashed off the ghost’s head and it disappeared, leaving behind a dark blue cloak with platinum trim and a silver clasp with a small white rope.
The healer came and took a look at the laceration on Draigon’s side after he took off the chest plate and splashed a potion on the slash. Draigon swore and looked at the gash as it healed.
Draigon thanked her and put the chest plate back on and looked around at the cloak and picked it up. It was as smooth as silk but a lot more resilient. Then Genevieve walked up and took a look at the cloak, studying it and casting spells.
After a while she gave it back and said, “It has several magic properties: One protects you from ghost’s attacks. The second gives you some protection against corporeal attacks. The third makes you stronger, more flexible, hardier, smarter, and more likable. It also gives you a magical enhancement to how resilient you are against magic, traps, and mental attacks,” Then Genevieve gave it to Draigon, who put it over his shoulders, clasped and roped it so it wouldn’t come off as easily, then got up and walked up to Eslin.
He then asked, “What was the reward for me when I saved your business?”
Eslin looked at Draigon and said, “I will give you twenty thousand gold for your troubles, unless you want more...”
Draigon shook his head and asked, “What is the most expensive jewelry you sell?”
Eslin looked flabbergasted, “The one that cost the most has a platinum band with a gem called painite. It cost only seven thousand gold though… are you sure you don’t want more.”
Draigon nodded, “I’m sure.”
Eslin looked at Draigon closely, “Who is it for?”
Draigon looked over his shoulder at Sinami, who was to busy talking to her mother and father to notice.
Eslin noticed who Draigon was looking at and smiled knowingly, “she is a nice one, she was always looking at the ring you want…she said she would do anything to get it…looks like she got it from someone she didn’t expect it from,” Eslin looked at Draigon calculatingly as he handed him the ring in a box, “she said that she would never get your attentions and she has had a secret crush on you almost twenty to thirty years before you two came to the academy.”
Draigon was so taken aback that he nearly dropped the ring Eslin gave him but caught it before it hit the ground, “Are you…never mind.”
Eslin laughed at this, “Ask her yourself if you don’t believe me.”
“Thank you, I’ll do that,” Draigon then turned around and walked up to Sinami and asked, “How about that wine Sinami, daughter of Killna… or do you want to do it later?”
Sinami blushed and smiled, “I would like to do it now… if you don’t mind.”
He smiled and hugged her, “Now would be good.”
Sinami blushed deeper and hugged him back.
He is the man for me…but why does he like me so much…is it because I came from the same village as him…does he like the way I look or the color of my eyes…or does he like me for who I am…that would be magnificent…but the chances of that are slim to none…but if it is, I would go anywhere for him…as long as he is there to help me…it would be fitting if my family would allow us to marry…but those chances are smaller, a lot smaller…but even if they do he still has to ask and his father has to concur as well…there are so many things that can go wrong and separate us  for the rest of our lives…that would be unendurable…I love him more than any other man I know…if he knew what I felt for him he would do whatever it takes to get my hand in marriage…he would use any means achievable…he would run away with me if there was on other way…he would do anything…even if it means he would disgrace us both…I would do the same for him. Draigon got all these thoughts and more from her… as if she wanted me to know, just at that moment he got a thought that put that out of his mind, I wonder if he would marry someone as ugly as me.
“You’re not ugly at all, Sinami, you are the most beautiful woman I know,” Draigon said in a soothing voice.
She stared at him and said, “Did I say that out loud?”
“Yes, you did and I hope you know that if you think you are fat, unsightly, or just plain unwelcoming to the eye, you are kidding yourself,” She is on the slender side…she is stunningly gorgeous…and I don’t know why she hasn’t had another crush, “You are the most stunning, beautiful, welcome, and wonderful woman I know.”
Her blush quickly turned deep red, then disappeared, leaving a shining color and look on her face as she hugged him.
At that moment an arrow came shooting at her from the side and Draigon tackled her to the ground just in time, but it imbedded itself in his arm.











The End of the Beginning


D
raigon grabbed the arrow in his arm and yanked it out…but there was no pain…am I dead? Or is it a fake arrow, no it’s not fake, it has a razor-sharp tip. He looked at the wound and was dumbfounded: the wound was disappearing! His shield unexpectedly grew out of his arm as he grabbed his longsword and pulled it out of its sheath, but he ignored it and raised the shield to block another arrow aimed at Sinami and himself.
She stared at him and said, “I’ll help you, we’ll do it together.”
Draigon looked at her and blocked another arrow, “No, you won’t,” He then blocked yet another arrow and somehow transported behind the assassin. She turned around and tried to stab him but he dodged and, with a flick of his wrist, knocked the dagger out of her hand…But somehow it transported back to her hand and she smiled a evil, twisted grin and tried to slice his throat but he dodged it again and they started the most elaborate sword fight Draigon has ever seen. They were so fast that their arms were a blur; there were dodges, hacks, slashes, stabs, parries, blocks, shield bashes, punches, and kicks. They were so well matched that they were still fighting after thirty minutes and neither were going to stop soon. Finally, the would-be assassin over extended herself and Draigon sliced off her right hand and then, for good measure the other as well.
She gasped and screamed, “ Asmodeios will feast upon your soul! You will be his favorite to torture and will be made a trophy for him to play with whenever he ple—” Draigon then sliced off her head, knowing that it was part of a spell to summon Asmodeios here. As her head flew over the street, clapping broke out and Draigon saw his father clapping louder than any other. He checked her corpse and found several magic items including: bracers of armor, several magic daggers, a rod of resurrection, a wand of fireball, and the rarest thing in the world he knew of, the rod of nine parts (Which was rare because there is only one and you have to find the parts, put them together, and if you get one wrong the bigger piece is transported at least one hundred miles in any direction).
Draigon hopped down on the street and rolled so he would not hurt himself. He landed between his father and Sinami and then hugged her.
Sinami blushed and hugged him back and asked, “How about that wine?”
Draigon smiled and nodded, “Now would be good, before something interrupts us again,”
Sinami giggled and let go of Draigon as he let go of her, took his hand, and walked to the bar, Hinnermar following them.

* * *

As they walked in, cheering broke out: Genevieve, Enime, Karmok, Saimar Lightfoot, Salmar, Eslin, Enric, and a lot more where clapping, cheering, and whistling. Draigon and Sinami looked at each other and he heard Sinami think, I guess we’ll have to wait for the romantic dinner until later…though it is only a little past noon.  
Everyone was asking Draigon to sit next to them but he just went to an empty table and Sinami sat next to him. As they sat, people were coming and standing around the table to ask if he could visit them sometime in the near future. Some asked him to sing as well. So this is what he sang:

As I walked through,
A forest of great beauty,
I noticed that the air has changed,
The air took an unknown taste,
The smell lured me to a sacred space.

The sight that met me that met me there,
Took me by surprise,
For sitting near a little pond,
Sat a fair Elf maiden.

As I stood there,
Dumfounded,
She raised her head and sang,
She sang in the language,
Of the hidden Elves,
The language that no mortal man,
Alive has ever heard,
So I listened and I wrote,
What she had sung.

When she was done,
She turned around,
And she saw me,
Standing there,
As she looked,
Into my eyes,
A power overwhelmed me,
As I walked into,
That timeless glade,
As she saw that I was Elvin,
She smiled at me,
With her eyes alight.

While he was singing, Sinami was writing down the song, and when he was finished, she wrote the rest down and put the scroll in her scroll holder and asked, “Is that the end of the song, I would so like to hear more of it.”
Draigon grinned and said, “No, there is more to come, I also made that up as I went. It is not that bad for a person who has not had the intention of singing in his life.”
Sinami smiled and got up, “I need to go to the forest for some stones that I have heard are seen only in this area, if you would like to come with me Draigon.”
Draigon nodded and stood as well, “I have seen some of these stones, but I need to talk to my father first…where did he go?
Saimar said to Draigon, “He went to the academy for some odd reason.”
Sinami looked at Draigon and said, “I’ll wait for you at the gates OK?”
Draigon nodded and said, “I’ll see you soon then,” and hugged and kissed Sinami and left after a few hurried thanks as people complemented his song.





























The Crimson Prophet


A
s Draigon walked out into the square, a sound of an explosion came from the center of square. When he got there a, man wearing crimson robes was saying. “—lf known as Draigon Dragontheory, son of Hinnermar or the town shall be demolished and the people sold into slavery.”
“It is I you are looking for, is it not, Uncle Sanar?”
The man others know as the Crimson Prophet turned around and said, “You shall pay for what you have said and your arrogance of it all, you little-“
At that moment, a lizard folk appeared and his at him. He stared at it and then nodded. “I have to leave for now, trust me Draigon, you will not live to see the New Year,” He and the lizardling disappeared in a blast of crimson smoke.
“Come back here you slime!” yelled Hinnermar.
Draigon turned around and looked at his father and saw he was turning red as he cursed in the language of the Dark Elves.
A young girl with a rag rapped around her eyes walked up to Draigon and said, “I know where he went, Seerfriend.”
Draigon looked in surprise at the girl, “What is your name… and how do you know?”
The little girl looked up at Draigon, “My name is Emily. He is at Saminkara. Thy home was totally destroyed by a Dark Elf sorceress by the Name of Ankiree.”
The news hit Draigon like a battering ram, and he went to his knees. The home of his childhood, utterly destroyed, and his friends that were still there, young and old, and his friend that had just had a child, it was the worst thing that he could have heard so soon after celebrating his coming of age. He tried to hold back tears, but they came, and he sobbed into his hands.
Hinnermar, Genevieve and Sinami knelt down next to him; all had tears in their eyes. Sinami put her arms around Draigon, and they cried together. Hinnermar looked at the girl, and asked her, “Is this just a projection of you, or are you really here?”
The girl smiled at him and said, “Thou knowest that I am really here, Hinnermar. I know this because thou can tell if a seer is within a league of thee.”
Hinnermar looked at her and shook his head, as if trying to rid it of something, “There is a seeress here from Dalanda, a town far from the forest, so I couldn’t be sure.”
The seeress looked at Draigon and said, “Thy path hath been lain before thee, Seerfriend, and, though others may try to stop thee, thou must not sway form it. For if thy do, then the world as thee knowest it, shall cease to exist.”
Draigon stared at the girl and then at his father, “H-how long h-have you k-known?”
Hinnermar looked at Draigon and then looked away, unable to look at his son’s anguished eyes, “A seer had come to our house when you were born, and told us that you were to be a large piece of the prophecy, and to make sure that you stayed safe… and now your uncle is trying to get at you for  Samintara Sileasea only knows what,” He looked at Sinami and then at the Seeress, trying to avoid looking at Draigon, “It is the only thing to do, we have to move, or we will be caught by your uncle. We will leave tomorrow. Be ready to leave by then Draigon,” Hinnermar got up and turned around to the living area of the city.
Draigon watched his father go and then got up and said, “I’m sorry Sinami, but I won’t be able to see you for a long while…,” he turned around and saw that Sinami was crying. He felt horrible; he could not go with his father and leave her behind, it would be heartless… No, it wouldn’t, she would be hunted as well if she was with me, and it would be way too dangerous for her.
What if she wanted to go? She would go anywhere with you, she would endanger herself for you if she had the chance. She is too precious to loose, and what would you do if she died? Would you hate yourself for as long as you live? Would you try to find a healer who would charge a very high price to get her back alive? She would be hunted; he knows she is close to you, she’s not safe unless around strong people.
With that in mind he went to Sinami’s parents and asked, “Would you allow your daughter to come with me and my father? She would be safer with us, plus, she knows the woods and animals better than my father and I.”
Her father looked Draigon up and down and said, “Get more friends with you, and I’ll think about it… What is your reasoning for this?”
“She will be hunted by my uncle, and Samintara Sileasea only knows what he’ll send after her. Plus I have several friends who would be willing to come with us, right?”
“Yes sir,” said Saimar.
“Of course,” said Karmok.
“Always willing to help a fellow Elf,” agreed Enime.
“Always willing to help friends of the academy,” said Enric.
“You will need a good arcane spellcaster,” Said Genevieve.
“You can never have too many weapons or armor, or muscle, for that matter” said Salmar.
At that moment, Orimain Almithra, the king of the elves of Du Hondin Selvar came walking up to Draigon, and everyone in the main market square bowed to him, including Draigon.
“Rise Draigon, son of my main adviser, and tell me, what is this I hear about the Crimson Prophet in my capital?”
Draigon rose and told him, “My uncle, that is, the Crimson Prophet, has apparently been looking for me, and my father and I are leaving tomorrow, for we will have to go or the capital will be destroyed, and its people sold into slavery.”
“Can one man be so powerful, he can do this with no help?”
”Actually, he has the help of Lizardfolk, and, I think, the Dark Elf sorceress who destroyed my hometown, Ankiree, but that is only a thought of mine.”
The Elfking looked completely distraught at the news, but it turned quickly into a towering rage, “A Dark Elf roams on the surface, destroys one of my villages, and hopes to get my capital. Well if I could get my hands on her, she would stand no more.”
Then a person appeared, in robes of black leather. Draigon had the feeling of a terrible evil that was not only from the black garbed person, but from somewhere else, the feeling of a Demon Lord.
“You wished to see me, Orimain Almithra?” the robed sorceress asked in a very dangerous voice.
Orimain looked at Ankiree and then his royal guards sprung into action; they closed in around her, blatantly unaware of the evil presence of the Demon Lord.
“Stop you fools,” yelled Draigon, but alas, it was too late, the Demon Lord appeared and killed every last one as if they were rats.
Then the Demon Lord turned to the king and raised his huge sword to kill him and bring the king’s domain under his control, but all the fury in Draigon, more than one hundred years of it, burst out at this last little thing, he leaped at  Karandara, and he had cut several him several times be for Karandara had time to react to the unexpected attack.
He stabbed Draigon through his stomach and pulled his greatsword out and raised it again to the king.
Little did he know; his falter had given Genevieve enough time to cast a very powerful spell, Enime the time to cast Divine Intervention, Saimar time to poison his daggers with the most powerful drug in the world, Luhix, Karmok time to get into a rage, Enric to get his new inventions, Blade Golems, to get at him, and Sinami enough time to shift into an elemental.
They all lunged at Karandara and this time he could not attack any of them because of Genevieve’s spell. Then a light came out of the sky, and Samintara Sileasea appeared by Draigon and cast several spells to make the Demon Lord as week as possible.
Draigon rose weakly and lunged at the destroyer of his homeland.
Ankiree had no time to react to this and payed a dear price.
Her head sailed over the market square and the Demon Lord turned to Draigon and then lunged at him, though he did not have to do as Ankiree told him, he wanted to kill Draigon anyway so Draigon gave him the fight of his life.
It seemed as if the whole square had a spell cast upon it, all movement stopped. As Draigon and the Demon Lord fought, Draigon fueled by hatred, Karandara by the Dark Prophecy.
They seemed to fight for over an hour, but no one could tell. As an underhanded move, Karandara turned and ran toward Sinami and raised his blade. Draigon leaped for his head and stabbed his sword as deep as it would go and the Demon Lord gave a bellow of pain and as soon as the sword hit its brain, it fell to the ground, dead.
Draigon could not pull out his sword and he was losing too much blood from the wound in his gut. As he started to black out he started to hear a song:



Life is fantastic
The beauty and sorrow
Death is to drastic
I can’t say good-bye

Can someone help me?
The pain is horrendous
Can somebody save me?
I can’t seem to die

The world has lost
It’s beauty to me
Why can’t someone
Just kill me right now

What is this feeling?
Is it death or healing?
Is this the touch
Of demon or god?

Then, he felt nothing.























The Worry is Here

S
inami shifted back to her real form and ran to Draigon’s side, tears in her eyes. She knelt by him and cast several spells to heal him, but none of them worked, even the most powerful spell she could cast.
How did this happen, he is a Seerfriend, he should have seen what was going to happen, unless that power has not been unlocked, it is the most horrible thing that could have happen after all this… when will this prophecy end?
Samintara Sileasea looked upon Draigon and said, “He died to save your life, Circle Druid, and for that, he shall live, worry not, but he will not awaken for at least two days.”
Sinami looked upon her goddess and stammered out, “I am not of the Circle—“
“You are, Sinami, and forever will be.”
She blinked several times and then turned back to Draigon, still laying on the ground and stared in amazement: the stab in his stomach was gone!
Samintara smiled and turned to Hinnermar, “You must be strong while he is in this stasis, for he will live even if someone cuts of his head for he will grow another one.”
Hinnermar looked at her and thought, Is he this important to the prophecy to get this treatment form a goddess? What does he have to do?
“He plays the biggest part in the prophecy, Hinnermar, and you know that I can’t tell you the specifics, plus, I have to go know now,” She turned to Enime and said, “Thank you for summoning me here, SecondElf, and here is the gift for it,” She pulled a package out of her robes and handed it to Enime, who took it, with a look of complete wonder on his face.
“Th-thank you, great goddess, for this gift.”
She smiled and vanished.
He stared at the gift and set it on Eslin’s table and carefully unwrapped it. He gasped in surprise; for, in the wrapping was the moaning diamond, which was louder than usual.
Sinami saw that Draigon was moving and knelt next to him, “Draigon? Are you O.K.?”
He did not respond but then she saw a crystal shard trying to get out of his bag. Everyone stared as it came out, then another, and another, until nine pieces were out and standing on their tips, then one jumped on top of another and another jumped on that, until all formed one staff.
Unexpectedly, Orimain jumped towards the staff, but was stopped by Sinami and he doubled over, as if in pain. He abruptly straightened and said, “Sorry, it’s just that one of those pieces was once mine, but, I should give it to the more important person.”
Sinami blushed slightly, “I’m not as important as you.”
Orimain looked at her in surprise, “The Circle keeps the balance of nature, so they are more important then a simple king. Plus, you are a piece of prophecy.”
Sinami looked at the Elfking in complete shock, “But, I haven’t been properly brought into the circle. So it doesn’t matter at a—“
Sinami’s father, Kemina said shakily, “You were inducted into the Circle when you were born. So you will be searched for by the Circle once you enter the forest. So you must go soon or you will be a lost cause to the Cir—”
“I won’t leave until Draigon awakens,” Sinami said heatedly.
“Then you will not be of the Circle for long. Please, Sinami, go for us, your family,” Kemina begged.
“I will wait until he wakes up so don’t rush me father.”
“Is he worth the chance of losing the chance to have the Circle on your side, is he worth the shame of your family, is he worth losing to the Dark Prophecy. Is he worth all this?”
Sinami stared at her father in disbelief, “He is worth everything to me. Plus, did you not hear what Samintara said? She said that I will always be in the Circle.”
Then a faint green light materialized and got brighter until it was almost blinding, then it looked to be imploding and in its middle appeared an Elvin male with long, silver hair with a platinum wreath in his hair.
The light moved back into the man’s body then emerged as the man’s aura.
The Elf looked at Sinami and said in a soft, but powerful, voice, “My name is Corelethien Marlian, the leader of the Circle. I have cometh to see thee and thy friend known as Seerfriend, to make sure the Prophecy goes as planned by the prophet who relayed it. I have cometh from afar to see thee. Thee and thy friend are needed in the east. I will take thee as soon as he is out of his stasis. Until then, I will stay here until the time he is well.”
Then the jester of the Elfking came out and looked upon Corelethien and said in a lilting tone, “OH-HO I meet ye again, eh me fine friend. How’ve ye been? I’ve got me a bit of a job watchin’ the king as ye told me to, me lad. Hope ya know, the Crimson Prophet has been here, so we be in a wee spot of trouble.”
Orimain looked upon his jester and laughed, “You have been watching me. Oh that’s a good one. Tell me another.”
The jester looked upon the king and said, “I have been working for Core here since I have been with ya, lad. I have no powers but the power to make ye and ye friends laugh, and to that end, I might be called a bard, but I haven’t been inducted into their ranks, so I not be counted, don’t ‘cha know.”
Orimain looked at the jester and then at Corelethien, “Is this true, Circlemaster?”
Corelethien looked upon him and smiled, “Thou arte not as good at spotting the blatantly obvious as I thought you were, Good king,” He chuckled quietly then continued, “Yes, it is true.”
The jester turned to Sinami and said, “So, ye have come, have ya lass? It be somewhere around one hundred twenty years that I brought ye to ye parents, foundling.”
Sinami stared at the jester, struck dead by this information. She turned to her mother and father, “I-is this true.”
Her mother looked at her and said, “Yes it is. We found you on our door step when you about three.”
She then turned to her father.
Kemina was staring at the jester with great loathing, “You were the one who gave her to us?”
“Yes sir, she was needed, so I could not have been leavin’ her where I found her.”
Sinami looked at her father, “Is there something wrong with him bringing me to you?”
Kemina looked at Sinami, but had a look of horror on his face at her aura.
The jester laughed at his expression and said, “Nay lass, he is just angered at the wee little insult I gave him when he found ye on his steps.”
Then Killna burst into laughter, “That was a very well aimed insult, mind you jester.”
“I know lass. That’s why I chose it.”