A trove of dragonscale ore spilled from the guts of the cave.

Unsuspecting treasure can be found as easily as danger in this realm of ours.

I still remembered it now as we passed eager adventurers bags overflowing with the rare ore.

It was a blessing, or so I thought.

The dwarven lords thought otherwise.

Tis a gift from the realm.

Dragons' breath isn't something just any wandering fool can learn.

Hell, poor Grivas spent three damn years trying to accomplish what you did in weeks

And all he got was burnt and sour.

Apparently what I had done was a blessing and a curse.

A blessing being the power, which I still hadn't fully unlocked. When activated, my fire resistances became practically a full protection. Other than that, I had not unlocked the other abilities that were locked behind prerequisites which I haven't yet fulfilled.

The curse.

Well, the dwarves said it was the fate of those blessed with dragon's breath to vanquish the Cold Winter.

This being a lore neither I, nor Enrich knew anything about.

When pressed, the dwarves said even uttering anything more on the topic would doom the world to eternal slumber.

Superstition ran through the veins of the mountain people.

We had decided.

Well, the council had decided that we would take every piece of ore we needed, and the rest would be given away.

The Reasoning?

To disrupt the corrupt market in a major way.

We were now much larger players in the realm. So, we took actions to make sure we caused enough pain to those who wished nothing but supreme control over the masses.

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Outside the evening sun began to set itself on the ends of the rocky peaks.

Ravens that fluttered with information attached to their beaks fluttering in the sky. No doubt speaking on our enterprise. On the giveaway.

An adventurer appeared before me in gear that told of rares and greens with a durability that seemed on the edge of complete tatters.

His eyes were wide and his mouth told of a pride that came with the games of our realm. Of when the wilds and quests turn a young boy into bundle of reckless ambition.

When we think too much of who we wish to be, we forget what we are in the moment.

Of what matters only, the moment.

Handing the bag of ore over to the eager boy, I looked over my shoulder and gave Brutus and Wilder a nod.

This nod meant a lot of things.

But right now, as I faced the desperate boy, it meant follow him and recruit him.

Not for our sake, but for his.

A village cast out in the corners of the realm is a lot of things, quiet, calm, and serene are just a few to name.

Our altruistic endeavors had ruined that.

The people of the realm seemed soured and scared.

Business boomed.

Rooms were rented which had previously only housed cobwebs and rats that rivaled young pups.

At prices that would fill their pockets and then their safe deposits as well

Then, what was the pain that spread across their faces in a unison that told of a shared turmoil?

The answer was simple and true.

It was the risk that adventurers bring.

The power that they hold in a pinky, one that could upend a village like this in one night.

A party of adventurers could be subdued, maybe two if they were lucky.

But the raids of men who answered the beacon of free loot…

Tragedy hung in the air.

They just wanted us gone.

Just as the night was coming to an end.

As the sun gave its final goodbye and fled behind the rocky peaks.

As the raven's began to settle their weary wings.

I gave my speech.

For all those who can hear me.

Hear me well and hear me clear.

For I will only state this once and never again.

From this point on.

I raised Black Dawn up high, thanks to an Oxman's Elixir I had popped right before my words.

The village of Stone End.

The same one that will house you for your stay.

The same one that will feed you, provided you come with coin.

And be generous in a land that is greedy, men.

Like me and my men have blessed you today.

Continue the blessing to everyone of the land.

System Seers or not.

Originators or Blood of the Foreigners.

We all share this land.

So…

Taking Black Dawn, I exerted an amount of energy that devoured my reserves of mana. It was as if a starved man had been given a meal. So hastily the blade took every drop from my body.

And still wanting more with a hunger that shoove fear and dread into my waking soul.

Would this blade one day do what it wishes to do?

Will it consume me?

Or will I surmount its force?

Sending the coursing power which flowed from my being and was engulfed into the blade, I sent an upward slash that seemed to cut the very fabric of the sky in two.

Within the purple sky a black smudge appeared.

A power that could shatter the very realm itself.

For a second there was quiet once again.

Everyone who whispered shut their lips.

Everyone who bartered stopped their hustle.

Everyone who breathed held it.

A silence that only power can command.

We "The Path"a new guild that will pave the way forward officially announce our protection over Stone's End.