Note to the reader: *.......* means he's saying that in his head.

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I updated the story info with birth rates and life spans for each race. I also added the colors that signify each knight and mage ranks.

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Chapter 6

****************Aelisia POV*****************

I've spent my entire life training my body. I was abandoned as a child so I never had a real family. I was taken care of by a small orphanage until I turned 13. I was lucky since I showed skill in swordsmanship and got adopted by a knight who held the rank of High Knight. The ranking system for knights and mages has been accepted by all races except dragons. They don't follow traditional rankings.

I followed the path of the knight which has seven rankings and a corresponding color for their armor that they have to wear. The ranks and colors are Initiate Knight that wears leather armor, Apprentice Knight that wears bronze armor, Knight that wears silver armor, High Knight that wears purple armor, Grand Knight that wears blue armor, Grandmaster Knight that wears green armor and the highest rank is Warlord that wears red armor. The four highest colors red, green, blue and purple are not allowed to be worn as armor by anyone that doesn't hold the corresponding rank as a knight. It's seen as a sign of disrespect to have those colors on your armor and they can be executed immediately.

My only focus was training and anything else was pushed away. I was never with a man and never able to start my own family. I'm currently 85 and I've reached the rank of Warlord. My body is still in good condition for my age with a few wrinkles and my hair has turned completely white. I have blue eyes and wear red armor which shows my rank as Warlord.

Man:"Mother we're almost there."

I was currently walking down a hallway with a red rug and paintings of past kings. The man beside me is the boy I adopted 14 years ago. Just like the knight who adopted me I picked him up when I saw the talent in him. The two of us stopped in front of a rather large door with a triangle engraved on it. There was a symbol in the center of the triangle.

(Shown it before, but this is the symbol.)

Spoiler :

http%3a%2f%2fi.imgur.com%2fK25yOxh.jpg [http://i.imgur.com/K25yOxh.jpg]

The door suddenly started to open. Inside was another red rug with gold lining it's edges and leading up to a stone throne. Knights were lined up along the rug mostly wearing silver armor. There was a man sitting on the throne tapping one of his fingers on the arm of the chair. I walked forward while my son followed after me.

King:"You've finally arrived Aelisia."

Aelisia:"What did you call me here for Francis?"

A flash of anger appeared on the kings face.

King Francis:"I am your king and you will show me the respect I deserve by addressing me properly."

Aelisia:"As soon as you do something worth respecting."

The king sighed. He knew the power a Warlord held so he decided to move on to business. His expression relaxed and he continued the conversation.

King Francis:"I summoned you to help in an extermination."

Aelisia:"There aren't many things that require a Warlord to exterminate."

The king kept tapping his fingers on the chairs arm.

King Francis:"Vampires have entered the city and are killing civilians. I contacted the Vampire King, but he sent a message saying he had no time for foreign matters."

Aelisia:"Can't the other knights handle this."

King Francis:"Currently most of my high ranking knights are out on a job. The vampires inside the city also appear to be quite powerful since two of my High Knights have died. I released the news that you came here to give special training to the lower ranked knights so that we could avoid a panic."

Aelisia:"So you want me to train the knights and hunt down these vampires."

King Francis:"Yes."

Aelisia:"I'll train the knights, but I'm leaving the job of hunting the vampires to my son Gideon."

I stepped to the side to show the man behind me to the king.

King Francis:"You had a son?"

Aelisia:"No I adopted him."

King Francis:"Oh. That makes sense."

The young man stepped forward. He was tall standing at six foot five with a muscular but lean build and appeared to be around 25. He had brown hair and green eyes. His ears had a slight point to them, but it wasn't enough to think he was an elf. The king noticed the ears and eyes.

King Francis:"Green eyes are common among elves. Are you part elf boy."

Gideon:"I was told my great grandfather was half elf sir."

He spoke in a respectful tone while on one knee.

King Francis:"I don't like elves."

Aelisia was curious about why he suddenly hated elves since she had never heard about it before.

Aelisia:"What.....did an elf fuck your daughter or something?"

The king shot up from his throne and stared down with an angry glare.

King Francis:"Leave at once! I don't care how you do it just complete your job!"

I snorted at him before turning and leaving. The doors closed immediately after our exit.

Gideon:"Mother why do you speak to the king like that?"

Aelisia:"He's just a fool who confuses political power with true strength."

I marched down the hallway towards the knight barracks to take out some stress on them.

*****************Becket POV****************

I had to carry Gene back to the inn since he couldn't walk anymore. One of the girls had approached him to offer her services after he already had too much, but he just started crying.

*I guess getting over his wife won't be very easy.*

The roads were almost completely empty so I didn't have to worry about all the attention Genes drunken state would bring me. We only passed one person so far during our walk back to the inn. It was pretty dark out, but luckily there was some type of glow stone imbedded in the streets every few meters that gave off a dim yellow light. Gene started to become a hassle so I knocked him out and threw him over my shoulder.

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As I walked towards the inn I felt a chill in the air and a strange tingling sensation pulsated throughout my body. Suddenly all of my senses told me I was under attack so I leapt to the side. A humanoid shape landed where I previously was. I immediately noticed the red glowing eyes.

I pulled the dagger out and pointed it towards red eyes. I could feel hostile intent.  

Becket:"I don't want any trouble!"

Red Eyes:"Sorry but my master's hungry."

He lunged at me so I jumped back. His finger tips were sharp and sliced into my cheek. Once I landed I set Gene down. Red eyes was licking the fingers that had a little of my blood on it.

Red Eyes:"You taste really good, but this doesn't seem like elf blood?"

*Is this hood even hiding anything!?*

I was a little pissed that my hood didn't seem to hide my identity as an elf, but I put that aside for now.

Red Eyes:"Maybe I should have another taste."

He jumped at me again and I received many small cuts across my arms and legs which I had to use to block his attacks. He was so fast that I couldn't block everything by only using the dagger so I had to take some hits. I was completely on the defensive so I had no time to counter attack. I was currently fighting at a speed I wasn't use to which made things harder. He suddenly put some distance between us.

Red Eyes:"You're not an elf."

Becket:"What makes you think that?"

Red Eyes:"You're to fast. Elves always die with one hit."

Knight:"You there! Halt!"

I turned my head and saw a group of four knights running towards us all in purple armor.

Red Eyes:"I'll be back for you."

Red eyes took off running in the other direction and was gone before the knights reached me. Three of the knights ran by me chasing after red eyes while one stopped.

Knight:"You ok?"

Becket:"Yeah thanks."

Knight:"Get home now. Don't take detours."

Becket:"Sure."

I picked Gene up and threw him over my shoulder trying to use his body to hide my face from the knight. I started walking towards the inn.

Knight:"Wait!"

I stopped and stood still. The knight walked up to me.

Knight:"What's your name?"

Becket:"Steve."

Knight:"Steve? Weird name. Where can I find you. I'll need to question you later."

I wasn't sure what to say since I didn't know the names of any other inns or the names of each district within the city, but before I could answer a sound rang out.

Other Knight:"Aaaaahhhhh!"

The knight standing next to me went into an alert state with his sword drawn.

Knight:"Report to the castle tomorrow morning about who attacked you."

The knight ran off towards the screaming knight. I quickly made my way back to the inn. Once inside I felt relief wash over me. Whatever attacked me made me feel fear for the first time in awhile. If I had more practice with this body I'm sure I could have beaten it, but those eyes felt powerful.

I entered Genes room for the first time. He had a simple bed with brown sheets. I hoped they were naturally brown. A wooden bedside table was positioned on each side of the bed. There was a door to the left which I assumed was a closet and a window to the right. I pulled the covers back and dropped Gene into his bed then covered him up. He started mumbling, but I couldn't understand what he was saying.

I left and went back to my room. Aria was already asleep on the bed. She didn't take up much space, but she was lying in the middle so I had to slide in next to her and sleep on my side. In my dreams I drifted off into the past again.

About a year and a half after my father stopped drinking he died from cirrhosis of the liver. My mother was devastated and couldn't handle taking care of me anymore. I stayed in contact with the man I attacked and called him up when I had no else to go. His name was Steve and he offered me a place to stay. He lived alone and had no family so he was happy to get some company. He caught me one day sewing and I was never able to live it down. It felt like I had an older brother.

Steve:"Have you thought about what you're going to do after high school?"

Me:"Yeah I'm joining the military like you."

Steve:"There are other things you can do. The military isn't your only option."

Me:"I know, but I want to do it."

Steve:"I won't fight your decision, but make sure you think hard on this."

Me:"I will."

After high school I joined the marine corps and volunteered for the scout/sniper battalion. I spent six years as a sniper in the marines and have 3 confirmed kills.

I woke up when I felt something hitting my face. My eyes slowly opened and I saw a tiny fist hit me right in the eye.

Becket:"Aaahh! Why'd you poke me in the eye?"

Aria:"I was punching you!"

Becket:"Why were you punching me?"

Aria:"You were gone all night long! I was worried something happened!"

Becket:"You didn't seem to worried when I came in last night. You were sleeping peacefully."

Aria:"I got tired!"

Aria crossed her arms and glared at me angrily.

Aria:"Don't leave me alone for that long anymore!"

Becket:"Sorry."

I was rubbing my eye to try and ease the irritation.

Becket:"You can come with me next time ok."

Aria:"Fine!"

After a few minutes Arias anger started to fade along with the irritation in my eye.

Aria:"I'm hungry."

Becket:"I'm a little too. Lets go get something."

I picked up my satchel and Aria zoomed right into it. On my way out I checked up on Gene and found him still asleep. I wasn't surprised he was still asleep since the sun had probably only been up for a hour or two judging from what I saw out the window in his room. His sheets had all been pushed off the bed so I picked one up and threw it over him before leaving.

Once outside I could still smell the morning dew and only a few people were out and about already. I set off to find something to eat for Aria and I.