Chapter 1

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Human and Elf

The sounds of birds chirping and fires crackling fill my ears. Smoke wafts up my nostrils as I sit up in the rubble of a brick shop. My head is killing me, damn sore all over too, not surprised but this is a pain. I opened my eyes, rubbing the crust off of them. Fuck. I passed out didn't I? I got up from the rubble which I was laying in. Well, I'm alive. That's something.

The hot tropical sun beat down on my deep brown skin, attempting to scorch the world in an unnatural heat. The sea breeze moving inland from the south offered little relief as I sat up. My grey training tunic was shredded, revealing large muscles honed from 10 years of military training. Last night was... it was just crazy.
"Hey, I see you're finally up," said a feminine voice, interrupting my thouhts. I turned around to see a pale woman slightly over 6 feet tall sitting beside a partially collapsed stone wall. Her hair was light brown, only reaching down to the base of her neck. Despite her thin frame, strong and powerful muscles lay just beneath her skin, nurtured through years of hard labor and exertion.

"Who are you? What are you doing here you..."

"You what?" she said.

"You pointed eared freak. What's an elf doing here?"

"Similar to the second question you asked. I'm here because I heard there was a wealthy port city here, but I guess not."

"There was, elf. Now go before I chop your head off," I snapped.

"With what?" she asked.

I reached over to my left side to my scabbard. Huh, where's my sword?"

"Now," the elf said, " since you can't chop my head off, tell me what happened here." She got up and grabbed me by the throat, lifting me off of the ground. Shit. Is she- no, she won't kill me; she wants info. "Tell me what happened here, or I'll break your neck." I nodded in agreement. After glaring at me, the elf threw me to the ground and walked away. I followed, stepping over broken glass and abandoned weapons. What time is it? Looking up I saw the sun was just to the right of the Great Band in the sky. Ok, it's late afternoon. If it's only been a few hours I might find my regiment.

We walked through the remains of the city, towards the coast. A sea breeze swept in from the south, masking the smell of decay with a salty ocean mist. The birds chirped their songs, blissfully ignorant of the carnage that happened around them.

"Who fought here human?" the elf asked.

"Humans fought here." The elf quickly turned around and slapped me across the face. Who does this elf think she is, my mother?

"What factions? What nations? Don't try to fool me. I'm not an idiot."

"Fine. It was a rebellion. The Venkí Royal Army and Grrínka's rebel faction."

"What side were you on?"

"Venkí Royal Army, Class 210. Student-soldier."

"I didn't need all that. Anyways, you're coming with me."

"Why the hell will I be doing that?"

"Because, soldiers sell for a lot of money, male soldiers especially."

Wait, sell? I turned and ran as fast as I could. Nope. Not being sold. Not today, not tomorrow. Not ever. Roughly a hundred yards separated the edge of the city and thick jungle. Another one hundred fifty yards separated me and the edge of town. Good thing I wasn't near the coast. If I had I wouldn-- The elf grabbed me by the hair and dragged me to the ground.

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