The Nine (Blood and Fire)

Chapter One

 SEVEWRYNN MORROSTARR - Some road in the Darkwoods leading from Kaastag City.

     I sat in the bushes, their leaves scratching against my skin. I watched; waited in the shadows. Looking at the soldiers and merchants walking on the road, about four feet in front of us. I glanced to my left, Eltariel had an arrow knocked and drawn, pointing the dark head at the nearest soldier. I eyed the tree directly in front of the caravan, Mizhael leaning on the thick stump of the tree.

"Halt!" Yelled the frontmost soldier, his hand reaching for his sword.

   I let out four small clicks, indicating to Mizhael that there was possible danger in this group.

Mizhael responded with one single click, a simple okay or understood was what it meant.

"What are you doing here?" The soldier asked, slowly walking towards Mizhael.

     Mizhael had a strong build, from years of using swords and daggers. He had served as an assassin for my father and now served me as a bodyguard and advisor. Mizhael stood there his orange eyes not visible from beneath his hood. He twirled a dagger in the air, the soldier backing away when he realized what kind of dagger it was.

     Zaadian... The dark blade sent a slight, whoosh, whoosh, noise into the air. Zaadians had several abilities that made them different from other elves. One: We are older, Two: We can hear farther away, Three: We are faster, and Four: We can manipulate the magic branch of fire.

"Answer me!" Yelled the guard.

   I smelled the air, the slight aroma of rain touching my nose. As it did, thunder crackled overhead.

"I am waiting for a friend... Keep walking soldier." Mizhael said, his voice a rough sound that cut threw the quiet air.

  The soldier drew his sword, pointing it at Mizhael. I heard the thunk, as Eltariel's arrow found its mark in the soldier's neck.

"Zaadians!!!" A soldier yelled.

     I ran from the bushes, my sword held in front of me, it quickly sliced through the soft skin of the humans. My skin burned slightly when I came in contact with their armor. Elves, Zaadians, and Fae all had one weakness: Iron. I dispatched the guard in front of me, slashing my sword in an arch that sent him flying into the air. Our size and strength were unparalleled, unmatched in every category. I turned around to find a guard, rip the bow from El's hands, kicking her to the ground. I was there in an instant, slicing my sword. It was a clean cut, the guard's head rolled onto the ground. No one would ever hurt her.

    I reached my arm out to her, clasping her hand. "You okay?"

"Yeah..." She said, reaching for her bow.

"A little help???" Mizhael said from the front of the caravan.

     I was there in an instant. Mizhael was surrounded by soldiers, cornering him with lances and glaives.

"Hey!" I yelled at them.

    They turned around, the last action they did, as Mizheal and I rendered them into food for the vultures.

 One soldier, ripped a cloth off a square box, an orc inside, "Will you do your task, Prisoner?"

The Orc looked down at him, an evil grin cracking across its face, "With pleasure..."

     The soldier let the orc free, the goliath pushing its way past the human and charging for me. It picked up a soldier's sword and slashed it at me. The blade collided with my chest plate, sending sparks in the air. I held my sword in the air. Blocking the hard blows of the orc's sword. Another hit. Bang. Bang. Bang. I rolled out of the way, the orc falling with the momentum it had. I slashed at its leg.

    In the brief moment, I could hear Mizhael and El busy in a battle. This was my fight. I'd be getting no help from my allies.

  I was slammed into by the orc, my sword flying from my hand, "I've been wanting to eat another Elf for a while now."

    I headbutted the orc, pain spreading across my head. I pushed the orc off of me, reaching for a knife at my belt, a pressed it into the orc's chest. A gasp of air rose from the orc. It kicked me, sending me flying into the air. I landed on one of the carriages, falling through the roof. I found myself in the midst of where some merchants were hiding. I was dragged out of the carriage by the foot. I got my foot loose, kicking the orc. I heard a wheezed cough, and bones crack. I whirled around, pulling a sword from my side, and slashing the orc across the face. Dark blood spraying. The orc slumped to the ground, a loud thud that seemed to shake the ground at my feet.

   A chuckle sounded to my left, a hand on my shoulder as I leaned on my knees. "You killed an orc... All by yourself!" Mizhael laughed. El was at my other side.

"We need to get what we need and go... Some escaped... R-Reinforces will be here soon." I said, standing up straight.

As the words left my lips, I could hear the hoots and hollers of orcs and humans.

"We need to go now... Forget the loot, Sev." Mizhael said.

   We ran into the trees, the dark leaves and trunks making us blend well with our shadowy physique. My cloak blew slightly in the slight breeze, rain drizzling on us. Good! It hid our sounds from the humans and orcs. I stopped at a tree and leaned up against it. I checked myself for any wounds. A slight cut across my face appeared to be it. This ambush was a bust. They were growing smarter. They'd never brought an orc. He did call him a prisoner. Maybe that was a prisoner transport. But as I wasn't on the side of man. I couldn't tell for one hundred percent certainty.

  I leaned against the tree, my breathing ragged from the excessive running. I slid onto the ground, my boots scraping against the muddy ground, a full-force rainstorm now pounding us with a thousand pounds of water. It drenched our clothes, my long hair felt as cold as ice. I heard Mizhael and El running back to me, "No guys go on... Go I'll be there."

"You sure, Rogue?" Mizhael asked.

"Yeah. Go." I said, hearing their boots crunch on sticks and branches.

     I huffed as I stood up. The air was filled with the smell of rain. I heard no sounds besides the pit-pats of rain on leaves and the tweeting of birds. An insect flew by my ear, the buzzing a loud ring that rattled my brain. I slumped against the tree again, sitting back on the wet ground. I rubbed my eyes and eventually found myself sleeping.

--- I was eighteen... My father pushed me into a rough compartment. Around the size of a closet. "Stay here, boy, don't you leave!" My father yelled at me through the small, closing crack of the doorway.

     I looked through the thin crack, watching as human guards and orcs charged in their swords and maces and axes cut through the royal guards protecting my father. They cut them down, my heart pounding in my chest, as they shoved a sword through my father's chest. His sword clanked to the ground. The noise echoed across the throne room.

  Cheers sounded through the throne room, singing from the men. And war calls from the orcs. I cried in that compartment, my tears flowing down my face. My father told me to never cry, but watching that... I couldn't handle it. I fell to my knees and sobbed. ---

     I awoke with a start, my heart beating fast in my chest. I had to get to The Crucible. I looked up to see the sun, making its way overhead. The rain still poured down viciously. I stood, my muscles aching as I did. Making my way to the Crucible wasn't a difficult task... The Crucible sits directly in the middle of the map, on the border of Shuurth and Kaastag. Near Mt. Tirg. It was an old dwarven blacksmith site that we Eternal Flame had taken over years ago. So it was actually under the mountain.

     I made my way to the entrance, finding six statues. All standing, holding up the pillars of a building. The statues' colors didn't match the structure they supported. I knew exactly what they were. Caryatids... Stone people who had wondered about this world for as long as there has been a sky. The stone behemoths were nearly indestructible, making them great guards for The Crucible. I walked beneath the structure they supported with no backlash. I stepped into the door that slid open as I got close.

The Crucible... I was home.