Recently there has been more and more subjugation requests from towns. The local lords cant even send out the guards to take care of all the peasants anymore. Here at a rather rural town, there isn't even a wall surrounding it. I'm glad I got most of my supplies at the town where the lord lives, even though he was a little, how do I say this, eccentric.
Me and my two companions have just reached a graveyard.
"So Henry, this is the place?" A rather old looking, yet regal, holy magic caster states.
"I believe so." I pull out my map that they gave us to make sure that the pacing was right. Seeing a blur rush past me, I lift my head knowing what I just saw. "Lya you need to keep doing that?" Lya stands against one of the last trees before the target and just stares at us, even though you can barely see her eyes in her face coverings you could still tell the anger that is present on her face though them. 'sigh'
"think if it as her way of saying 'I got your back'." after Amon said that the blood-lust that Lya presents to us increases a dozen fold. we both just look at each other and shrug, since it wasn't the first time.
"Amon, Lya, Lets split up and asses the situation here." Placing the map back I unsheathe my sword. I take the middle road.
"Meet at the mausoleum right?" Amon smiles as he rests his mace on his shoulder. Lya just nods and disappears as her head raises. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that elf." After a few minutes I have forced my way to the mausoleum, and just like what we where told the undead will not approach it. It appears that I was the first to arrive. after a short rest a startling sound echos from the wall. 'They said that even the arch-mage couldn't open this.' I stand in shock at the entrance ajar-ed. Hearing the sound radiate once more I take a step back. It indeed came from there. I swallow my pride as I push the door open a little more so I can get past.
The sounds have stopped for a little while now, cautiously I approach the only place I could, a lit room only a few feet from the entrance. The amazing mural on the walls are the only thing that prevents me from thinking about death as I approach the last place I should be venturing into alone. murmurs stop me in my tracks. a soft yet beautiful voice that I am unable to make out, but I do hear crying mixed with laughing. My blood starts to boil as I think about the torture that people endure to those that create undead. I rush to the room and when I enter, sword at the ready, all I see is a woman holding herself in a ball while sitting and looking at the grave.
"Where you just as pathetic as I am at your last moments." The Girl asked the grave while still in a crying quivering voice.
I could no longer bear with this scene, maybe Amon has rubbed off on me after all these years, or maybe being with that elf made me a little soft to her kind, since I notice her ears. "It's never pathetic to honor the dead" I respond as I sheathe my sword. Her head moved so fast that her tears even parted from her face into the air, and all I could do is look at the person that was sitting at the grave in awe at the beauty I was seeing.
*****
After a few blinks I shake off my shock of the first person I meet after coming to this reality. I glance over him just as fast as my blink corrects my vision back to his face. I stand at noticing he had a sword and daggers and hold my fists in balls reading my stance to be able to rush him if he shows any signs of hostility.
"I mean you no ill will." The man raises his hands and shows me his palms at the same height of his face, I slide my stance into a better position to grapple. Raising my arms in kind. and relaxing my fists. His advance halts. He sighs, "Are all of your kind so harsh to humans?" As if he read my mind he continues. "Your ears." he points to the side of his head. I raise one of my hands and hold onto my pointed ears a blatant racial trait. I give him a questionable look as I start to relax a little yet slide back to be able to use the grave as a foothold to advance if I need to. A sound come from behind him, and that's when I realize that he is in front of the only exit. If this is not a halfway to the after life then I must either get past him or die here.
I steel myself, but then a hand grabs his shoulder and I halt my plans. "Henry, did you..." just as soon as he joins in, he stops as he glances at me and the room, finally ending on me once again. "Are the one that did this?" I simply nod as I hear his question.
"Just like Lya she doesn't talk to us." The man the other called Henry glances to the second. Pondering on if I can take two, I jump behind the grave and they notice the woman beside them. "Lya." So this one is Lya.
Lya takes off her mouth covering and smiles. "Hello." It is in a different language then the men, but I understand it.
"Lya?"
"Yes."
Both the men just look at her in awe and Lya starts to approach me, "Full?" I bite my lips at knowing what I was asking. Lya's eyes start to sparkle at that reaction. The response is apparent and no longer needed. "Half?"
As soon as I said that Lya is showing a sign of fear and hatred. "Half."
I sigh and lower my guard, she does the same after my response. Apparently this place, world, or even dimension is the same as the game. Halfs are hated by fulls, or at least she is.
"You?"
"Vera."
"Half?"
"Yes."
Speaking in broken elvish has taken its toll on the humans present and they interject.
"Lya, whats being said."
She looks at them shrugs and leans on the hallway wall looking indifferent but still glancing as me and showing a smile, then returning to her indifference. Looking more confused the humans, Henry and the other one, I respond. "I am called Vera." Using the short name that Joe called me in the game.
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Both get back to reality as I state that. "I'm Henry and this is Amon, forgive my impoliteness, ummm, Vera was it?"
"That is what she said, " The older man takes a step into the room and gives a slight bow, well formed I might add. "I am Amon Klasta..."
"!" I quickly enter with my full introduction since he has shown a higher society stance, maybe he was someone that demanded a full name then. "Verastillya Highlore Freebirth." I give the best curtsy I could muster, but it looks a little strange with no skirt to grab hold of. The three of them show shock, then fear as they look at each other. only Lya shows a smile and come to me.
She holds her hand to her chest as she lowers her face and kneels, "Highloresama, I am Lyarelsh, Daughter of Mesmelia." I nod to her as she raiser her face to look at mine, she stands smiling, then she pauses half way up looks directly at me "Freebirth?" I nod again confused. This whole time she was speaking in the same language as the humans, but now its elvish again. "Then the Grave is?" She starts to shake. I sigh.
"Husband."
She holds her hands over her mouth and looks back at the grave, she then digs in her bag, takes out some kind of shiny round thing with a hole in it and looks at me as she gestures the grave. I quickly realize what she is asking. "Go ahead, I'm sure he would be happy." A forces smile as i feel my voice quiver again. She holds it in her hand tightly and places the other on my shoulder. Looking at her face in shock she shows a kind smile, almost motherly. How could I not also.
*****
after a few minutes and each of them make an offering after Lya Gave a Broken Explanation of him being my lost family, I didn't explain anything since it seemed good enough. I found out that Henry and Amon where together for a few years now, and Lya was the last one to join there team just less then two years ago. Also that they where summoned to figure out if there is a reason for undead to be here, and why this place is the only one that prevents them from entering. I show them the crystals on the four corners of the room I stand in.
"Are these Magic stones?" Amon asks
I nod I figured I should speak the least possible to minimized the possibility of putting myself in a bad situation. Lya seems to be of a same mind. But she talks to me in elvish more then anything. I believe that Highlore must be some kind of nobility of the elves, but still cant place what rank or who Mesmelia is, and asking would be strange for someone of rank so I resist.
Henry and Amon discuss something about the stones and I make out that they decided that they are useful in deterring undead but wont remove them due to me, apparently they think I maintain this place and would be unwise to steal from a grave of my family.
As we leave the mausoleum I take notice that they ready themselves for battle, Lya stands behind me. "I will protect you." She says in a low voice. I know that my face distorted
"I can protect myself." Irate with the dialog and wanting to hit something for being looked at as a frail girl I see the first undead in my life and dive at it using both my trained skills of my former and my realization of manna flow just prior to meeting this trio. Bobbing and weaving throughout the horde, well there are only six of them, but to me this would have been a rather difficult battle in the past, not undoable, but still hard. I slam one into the wall of the mausoleum, he breaks apart into dust and jump off of the wall to another one, an axe kick with a blue manna hue adding destructive force to it breaks it into pieces one grabs a hold of me and the three others and fast approaching. "Freeze!" Without thinking I yell out as I unleash my manna like before, all four of them turn ice blue and i roundhouse two of them into
peaces and punch another, finally snapping my fingers as I get into it the last one explodes as I detonate manna I create inside him instantaneously. Standing proud that I have not lost any skill, in fact I feel like I am even higher then my top form with this added power of magic. I hold my arms at my sides fists raised to my chin level and smile as my clothes and face have peaces of undead on them as well as my disheveled hair, partly in buns and partly dropped flow all over the place.
*****
I cast my eyes on the girl that we have just met, she is fighting in a style that I have never seen. using her fists and feet as weapons. I have seen brawls before but non of them have ever showed the skill of using there appendages as weapons to this level. She is a Highlore. One of the highborns that my mother has told me about. They are all great mages and believe that magic is all powerful. But this woman is fighting, and even with her bar hands. The shock that I have reminded me on what I was told. 'You should always curry favor from nobles if you can. Protect them in danger and they will grant you more then just friendship.' Mother placed me as her hope to gather the Half's to a better light, granting me training in both elvish and human fighting skills. I used both to create a new style that granted me rouge-ish like movement, hunter accuracy, and warrior deathblow power. I never had skills in magic but with this I could make it seem like I could use it. She on the other hand, Vera, not only has physical and magic power, but can even use quick-casting. A skill that I have never seen. Her husband must have been a great man, far greater then even the gods to get her favor. I look back at the mausoleum, I feel like giving him a single gold coin was not enough to show my will to be with his wife. Next time I come here I will bring even more to offer, and I vow that I wont let any man that isn't even half of what I view you as come close enough to soil her.