Water slowely dripped from the cieling with each drop echoing throughout the laier.
The tunnel was lit up by torches with blue flames.
They danced like wild prostitutes mesmerizing any onlooker.
This made Erisha uneasy as she carried her brother.
"Why do these flames feel so unnetural?"
Dawn on the otherhand didn't even bet an eye.
"I do not know."
They continued to walk in silance with Cains heavy breathing and the sound of water droplets filling the dark.
The silance made Erisha nervous thus she tries to spark a conversation.
"What is this place?" Asked Erisha.
Dawn simply grunted, he was never the talkative type.
"This was a laier of a nekromancer."
"Nekromancer? What is that?"
"A nekromancer is someone who practesis a frobidden art called nekromancy. This field of magic raises the dead from their graves for the nekromancer to command."
"Raises the dead, how?" Asked Erisha cureously
"I do not know." Said Dawn
Soon the tunnel ended and they found themselfs in a room.
Across from them were three paths.
Each path was identical with nothing to determine where they lead.
This stunned Erisha for a second making her stop.
On the otherhand Dawn simply chose the rightmost path and without stopping continued to walk forward.
Erisha looked at him for a seacond with a questioning gaze then she followed him.
Once they reached the end of the tunnel the pair found themselfs in an old laboratory.
The place was big, however it looked like it was abandoned some time ago.
Broken viels, shattered tables, old equipment, torn books and papers containing the reserch of the nekromancer were all scattered around the room.
Another thing that stood out was the signs of battle and the large marks on the walls and floor.
Dawn dropped his bag on to the stone floor and approached one of the cuts.
There were several large cracks leading out of them.
Dawn put his hand on the cut and inspected it.
There were few beings in this forest who could have made these marks, but they were all residents of the inner regions.
And the entrance to the laier was so small that none of them could have gotten in even if they tried.
Seriousness took over Dawn as the grip around his axe tightened.
He then turned to Erisha with a grim expression.
"Get back to the hallway and no matter what you hear do not come back. Only do so when I call for you." Said Dawn in a quiet and serious tone.
Erisha nodded and slowely backed away in to the hallway as Dawn instructed.
Dawn was now alone in the chamber.
He began to dart his eyes around seeking some kind clue where the monster was hiding.
When that did not work he began to rely on his hearing.
He closed his eyes and allowed his ears to do the work.
And atlast he heard faint breathing from above.
Dawn immideietly looked up and saw what he was looking for.
As soon as he saw the monster he jumped back.
From the cealing a large shadow jumped down to Dawn' previous location and with a loud bang it landed.
As the smoke cleared Dawn gazed upon the being.
It was a monster in every sense of the word.
It was large, towering over Dawn.
It stood on two legs, its body was hunched and appeared to be made up of differant creatures as it had stitches keeping its body together.
Its right half was from an ogre and the other from some kind of large lizard as it had scales covering that part and a long tail almost as big as its entier body.
Its head was that of a large crocodile with yellow eyes.
With a loud roar it announced its presence. Its only goal, feasting upon Dawn's flesh.
The monster launged at Dawn with its massive body and tried to bite him with its large mouth.
Dawn moved out of the way causing the creature to smash in to the wall.
The impact sent rippels throughout the cave causing it to shake and rubble to fall off the ceiling.
Not wasting a second Dawn raised his axe and slashed at its body.
The creature however moved its tail in a strange way and blocked it with its scales.
It then swung one of his large fists sending Dawn flying back in to the other wall.
Although he blocked the attack it still caused him great pain and damage.
The good thin was that the wound was already healing as Dawn landed on his feet.
The monster smiled wickedly.
It was enjoying this.
"Grrraaaaaaaaaa!" Dawn let out his war cry as he charged at the beast.
In turn it also charged at him.
The two collided in the middle of the room causing the room to shake violantly.
Out of the exchange the monster came out victourious.
As the smoke settled Dawn was forced on to the defensive.
The creature swung its arms around trying to hit Dawn who masterfully stayed just out of reach.
Each time the oppertunity to land a blow has risen Dawn took it.
Slowly cuts began to appear on the monsters arm and side which were not covered by scales.
"GRUUUUAAAAA!" The beast shouted with great fury, annoyed at the situation.
The beast spun around trying to hit Dawn with its oversized tail.
In response Dawn jumped in to the air avoiding the large tail.
However as the beast spun it raised its scaly arm smashing it in to Dawn's side.
"Khuk!"
Air left Dawns lungs as blood spilled from his mouth.
He was launched to the other side of the room where he crashed in to the wall.
As he slowely slided down from the wall Dawns mind became blank and primal rage slowely burst through from within.
The chained gate that was locked with 5 locks inside his heart began to shake violantly.
One of the 5 locks began to crack as crimson red smoke began to slip through the gate.
As the dust cleared Dawn was slowely walking out of the rubble and smoke more furious then ever.
With eyes bloodshot from rage and wounds that have already began to heal.
"GRAAAAA!"
While in the midst of heavy breathing he roared with all his might.
The creature was caught offguard by the sudden change in its prey.
The small man before him began to emit a strange red smoke.
It seemd like he got a little bit bigger too.
Then suddenly the man began to charge at it.
The monster in turn charged at him as well with a wide smile.
In the midst of running Dawn jumped up with his axe raised over his head ready to slash at the monster.
The creature in turn raised its scally arm to block the attack.
As the axe collided with the arm it produced a loud noise that was sent through the laier.
Surprisingly the monster was forced to one knee by the sheer froce from Dawn's attack while its vision was blocked for a few seconds by its large arm.
By the time the monster put his arm away Dawn was gone and in his place was the axe he was holding.
It stopped smileing and began to look around for him.
Until its prey suddenly grabbed its tail.
Veins began to pop on his neck as Dawn began using his immense strenght.
He began to pull the moster and somehow lifted its huge body up over his shoulder and smashed it in to the ground.
Not wasting a second he climbed on top of the dazed monster and raised his fist.
He then began to repeadedly pound its head.
The monster was dumb.
It was a creature of pure instinct.
That was what he was meant to be.
His master, the one who created it abandoned him long ago and due to the small passage way it couldn't get out.
He only sustained himself thanks to the adventurers who came in here seeking treasure.
One time a single male managed to escape his grasp by sacreficing his party.
He then locked the only way leading in and out with a magical lock and carved a skull symbol on to the nearest tree marking it as a nekromancers laier.
Ever since then it starved for a long, long time and began to go insane from it.
And finally prey was in front of him.
At first it filled him up with joy.
He could finally eat!
But this one is different.
The others were puny and weak yet he is strong even with his small body.
The creature felt an unknown feeling as Dawn was pounding its face with his fists relentlessly.
It was not pain, that he was used to.
It was something else.
The creature tried to grab Dawn with its scaly hand, but instead Dawn punched the hand away.
He then jumped down and grabbed it.
He then pulled the arm with all his strenght and fury ripping the sown arm clean off.
The monster cried out in pain as green blood began to pour out if its wound.
It was a scream that echoed throughout even the forest above them scaring the birds away from nearby trees.
The monster stood up on its knees and tried smashing Dawn with its other arm.
Dawn however dodged and charged at its body.
He jumped up and smashed its face in with his fist causing the monster to fall back down again.
This time he went for its other arm and with the same gruesome method ripped it off.
The monster screamed even louder as it flaied its body around in pain, jumping up and down causeing the whole laier to shake.
It did so until it noticed Dawn walking towards it.
It now knew what that strange feeling was.
It was fear.
As Dawn walked foward, the beast did so too only backwards.
It did so until its back hit the cold wall.
Now it had nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.
In its desparation it tried climbing the wall but without its hands it couldn't.
Dawn then suddenly stopped.
His fury no longer controlled him as his blood red eyes began to return to normal and the smoke he emitted disappeared.
He looked around with shock as he saw what he has done.
Then suddenly he felt it.
One of the 5 locks in his heart that kept a great evil within locked away was now broken.
While some would welcome the additional power this granted them Dawn looked at his own hands with a horrified face.
He then looked back at the monster, now weak and tired from the battle and the blood loss.
It layed on the ground struggeling to even keep its head up.
But what shocked Dawn the most was the fact that the bloodthirsty monster before him had tears trailing down its ugly face.
The end was near and it knew it.
It attacked Dawn simply out of its nature and hunger.
It was all it ever knew.
Dawn realised a truth he has forgotten or perhaps one he simply suppressed.
That for the defeated and beaten the one who stands on top is the monster.
With a bitter expression he walked next ot its head and looked it in the eyes.
For some reason the beast ceased its struggle upon seeing Dawn's face.
He wore a face filled with pity and regret.
Dawn slowely wrapped his arm around its neck.
"I am sorry. I hope your next lives will be better then this one."
These were the last words it heard in this life.
Suddenly a loud crack was heard as Dawn snapped the creatures neck.
The monster now layed dead before him.
He once again directed his gaze at the laier.
He saw what damage he caused and felt disgusted by it.
Then he suddenly stumbled forward, but stopped himself from falling.
The battle took its toll on him.
Exhausted both mentally and physically he called out for Erisha.
"Woman, it is safe now!"
Then Erisha cautiously peeked her head to see it was truely him who spoke.
Once that was the case she picked her brother up and entered the room.
Once she got in she darted her eyes around with shock at the scene.
She gazed upon the beasts corpse and was horrified by its looks and size.
"How did you manage to kill such a thing?" Asked Erisha.
However Dawn was in no mood for talk.
"You should focus on your brother." Said Dawn as he dropped to the ground while holding his side.
Erisha began to treat Cain quickly while Dawn rested.
She took Cain's cowl off and saw the boy breathing heavily with his cheecks red.
She then removed one of her puches from her hip and poured some of its contents inside Cains mouth.
Dawn looked at the strange golden liqued.
He felt a familiar feeling from it.
"What is that?" Asked Dawn.
Erisha was a little startled by this since it was Dawn who initiated the conversation.
"It is the sap of the world tree."
Dawn then began to ponder.
Elfs alway talked about the world tree as if it was some kind of god, but refused to elaborate why it was considered that.
"What is the world tree exacly?" Asked Dawn
Erisha began to think if it is a good idea to tell this to a human, but since he will come with them to Eldmar he would eventually see it.
"It is the source of life in Eldmar. Everything was born from it and once something dies it returns through the soil to the tree so it can create more life. It is my kinds sacred duty to protect it at all cost."
Dawn then began to go over the information in his head.
In the past he met elfs who couldn't understand the belifs of humans and even ridiculed it.
The only religion on the continent, heck maybe even the world was the belif that the twin suns were the ones who created everything.
The Solar Church they call themselfs.
It is the oldest church that stood the test of time even from before Dawn was born.
The theory that the twin suns are more than two giant balls of fire was supported by the fact that holy magic existed.
Holy magic was powerful during the day, however in the night it is significantly weaker.
Now Dawn understood why it was called the world tree and why elfs worshipped it.
"And its sap has healing propeties?"
"It is no simple healing. The sap is filled with mana and life force which reconstructs our body both inside and outside . As you may or may not know we elfs are more differant from you then humans might think. Our organs have next to no importance other then our heart and brain."
"Yes, the few elfs that I encountered said something like that. Why is that?"
"The elfs were amongst the first beings created by The World Tree. The ancient elfs were nothing more then husks filled with life force and mana. They had no brain to think on their own nor a stomach and guts to process food. As the tree created more and more life it added its new designs to the next generation of elfs while keeping some things from the original or so we think. It is the reason why my people live so long."
Dawn nodded his head in understanding.
He then looked at Cain.
The little runt was getting better by the second.
Dawn exhaled and turned serious.
He had a suspicion.
He slowely began standing up, much to Erisha's surprise.
"What are you doing?"
Dawn ignored her and instead of answearing he began to limp towards a big pile of books that layed in one of the rooms corners.
Once near in the midst of several painful grunts he knelt down and began to go through them.
After searching for a bit his eyes spotted an interasting find.
He held it up and blew the dust off of it.
The title said "Diary"
Dawn then opened it and searched for the owners name.
"Linda Cruze? She is the nekromancer?"
Erisha walked beside him while he was searching through the books.
While doing so Dawn could not hear her at all.
No footsteps, no breathing, simply nothing.
"I know her."
"What?" Exclaimed Erisha in a surprised tone
"She is wanted throughout the empire. It is difficult not to know her name."
However Erisha noticed the a slight change in Dawn demeanor.
His face hardened and his hands shook a little.
From that Erisha knew Dawn was withholding information.
It seemed like he knew more than her name.
But as she wanted to say something a low voiced grunt could be heard.
Cain was slowely regaining consciousness.
He opened his eyes and struggeled to sit up.
Erisha was by his side and supported his back with her hand.
"Slowely" Said Erisha
"What happened? I feel like I was asleep for days."
"It was barely an hour." Dawn cut in
"I think you owe me an explanation boy."
Cain then rememberd what has happened and
hung his head down in shame while clenching his tiny fists.
"I thought you were an elementalist boy! So why have you fallen ill from cold?"
Dawn's tone returned to how it usually usually was as he questioned the young elf.
His tone and face was cold and distant.
Erisha tried to defend her brother, but before she could say anything Dawn glared at her.
The glare carried some kind of force that stopped Erisha in the middle of her movement.
It was like a great beast was staring her down befor consuming her.
Dawn wanted to hear it from Cain.
Although they have been traveling for not even a week Dawn observed how the siblings interacted.
Cain was emotional and quick to voice his thoughts, sometimes without thinking about it first. However his heart was innocent and kind.
Something that was a privilige of children.
On the other hand Erisha wasen't so easily swayed by her emotions, well most of the time.
When something was about her brother she became very protective and hostile, but other then that she acted calmly and was reasonable, but now she has no right to be protective.
Dawn slowely got up to his feet and began to move towards Cain.
Cain could feel his glare on his neck and was afraied to even look up.
"I am listening boy. Let me hear the reason that you an elementalist is weak to cold?" Asked Dawn
No response.
His patience was running out since Cain just kept his head low and did not answear.
Finally Cain started to mutter under his breath, but for Dawn it was loud and clear what he said.
"I am sorry."
Then without warning Dawn reached out and grabbed Cain by his right wrist and pulled him up in to the air until their eyes met.
Erisha pushing through the her fear immiedietly jumped up and reached for her sword only to stop mid motion.
Dawn's gaze became that of a murderer and killing intent washed over the elfs.