"From here onwards we are going to travel through several large cities and towns to reach our desteniation."
The elfs gulped loudly.
From what they have experianced humans were a cruel race with greed that cannot be satisfied.
Naturally they feared what would happen to them once they entered a city or village filled with such creatures.
"Your experiances with humans until now were not pleasent. But you must put that behind you now." Said Dawn
"Most of them....." He paused for a moment.
"Us are simple people whose biggest concern is putting food on the table."
Cain nodded in understanding while Erisha had doubts.
While Cain had his innocents and could very easely be swayed by his emotions, Erisha was much more mature and did not easely forgive or forget.
This reflected well on her face which did not go unnoticed by Dawn.
He sighed and held his head.
He thought of many posebilities where mistrust could prove troublesome.
"I do not ask of you to be friends with them or trust them. Only to tolerate them." As he said this he turned towards Erisha and looked her in the eyes.
She reluctently nodded her head.
He in turn nodded aswell and then turned towards Cain.
"That means treating them with respect."
At his words Cain diverted his gaze and also reluctantly nodded his head.
"The first settlement we will encounter will be a town called Geiza."
"Its main purpose is to keep the monsters in this forest at bay and not allow a single one to threaten the empire. Naturally because of this the city is heavily guarded with walls surrounding it and a fortress at the center. I am known in the city."
The elfs looked at him a little surprised.
"it was the only settlement I interacted with other then the black market outpost, but under a differant name." As he said this he reached behind him for his bag and started going through it.
After a while he found what he was looking for.
He pulled out a smooth rock.
The rock seemed like it was made from silver and had a symbol carved on to it.
Two blades crossing oneanother inside a circle.
Dawn then held it out for the elfs so they could get a closer look.
However once they leaned in without warning the badge began to glow with a silver light.
Naturally the elfs were caught off guard by this and were stratled.
Erisha even had her sword half way pulled out.
As the light became dimmer smoke began to come out of it.
Slowely the smoke rose up and gatherd.
It started forming a circle in the air.
It appeard to be some kind of mirror made out of white smoke.
To the elfs surprise letters began to appear on the smoky mirror.
Soon the mirror was filled with words of the human language.
Age: 88
Name: Derek Kazamir
Rank: B+
Occupation: Forest Dweller
Besides these words was an old man face.
The old man had white hair with wrinkles all over his face.
It was Cain who spoke first.
"Who is Kazamir?" Asked Cain while pointing at the pitchure.
Since elfs had far better magical technology they were only startled by the sudden development thus did not bother asking about the badge's mechanisms.
Instead they focused on the words that appeared inside the smoke.
"It is me." Answeared Dawn
Silance came over the room until suddenly Cain burst out laughing as he held his stomach.
"I didn't know you could make jokes!" Said Cain in the midst of his laughter
"That man is much older then you! And while yes you are old, but not that....old?"
Suddenly silance came over Cain.
His eyes along with Erisha's widened as they witnessed the scene before them.
Dawn's face was suddenly sorrounded by crimson red smoke and before their very eyes he began to age rapidly.
In mere moments Dawn's jet black hair was no more, instead it was replaced with a pure white one while his face began to be covered with wrinkles.
Then once the crimson smoke cleared the elfs gazed upon a completly differant man.
"As I said. This is a picture of me." Said an aged Dawn
The elfs continued to be bewildered with those same shocked expressions.
They kept watching him with unchanging expressions as if it was the only face they could make.
"Do you have something to say?" Dawn asked
After hearing this Erisha was the first to snap out of it.
She quckly bowed her and Cain's head.
"Please forgive us! We did not mean to disrespect you!" Erisha said in a suprisingly respectful tone.
It was too respectful even for her.
Her sudden change in attitude even suprised Dawn himself.
Just then Dawn realized why they acted in such a way and immidietly started turning back to his usual younger self.
After the process was done he faced the elfs one more time.
Even when he changed his face back they still had their heads bowed and this annoyed him.
"What are you doing woman? Why do you bow to me so easily?" Asked Dawn in a stone cold tone
"We are truly sorry for not recognising you until now, great spirit!"
Hearing her resopnse Dawns face distorted.
In a blink of an eye he appeared before the elfs.
Even when he was this close they were still bowing to him.
This disgusted him.
"STAND!" He shouted.
Instinctivly the elfs stood up only to be met by Dawn's sharp gaze.
"I am not what you think I am! I am not a spirit that was sent here by the world tree to guide you home! I am no gods messenger! I am just a man like the rest!"
His voice echoed througout the laier, reaching every little corner in every room.
The elfs who were at the front of it all were dumbfounded and could not utter a single word.
"You insult me if you belive otherwise." Dawn concluded.
He then turned his back on the shocked elfs and went back to his bag.
Once there he layed down and used it as his pillow.
"Rest, we will leave early in the morning." Dawn said as he layed on the ground.
After processing what has happened the elfs decided it was best to listen to him.
They exchanged a silent nod and began to prepeare a place for themselfs to sleep.
Cain and Erisha were gifted the bear fur by Dawn so they could stay warm even without a campfire.
They hugged eachother tightly furthur heating themselfs up with the others body tempeture.
The night continued smoothly.
The animals and monsters of the forest began to rest as the snowstorm began to slowely lose its strenght and dissapear.
It was Erisha who was assigned the role of night guard first.
She stayed beside Cain who hugged her tightly while he slept.
Erisha ever so slowely pulled back his cowl revealing his pure white hair and sharp, pointy ears.
Carefully not to wake him up she began to caress his hair.
Every action was carried out with the purest form of love and care.
She loved his little brother and now that they were in this strange new world they must depend on eachother.
But a dark though kept lurking in the back of her mind.
Is she strong enough to protect him?
She was no warrior, she was an assassin turned resercher.
Even with the touch of the abyss enhancing her body and giving her control over the shadows she had doubts.
While Erisha was stroking Cains head she failed to notice the shadows around the blue torches beginning to move around strangely.
A dark, ominous being jumped from torch to torch slowely approaching the elfs.
As it got closer the shadow increased in size almost reaching the hight of the chimera Dawn fought.
Once behind the elfs a wide grin slowely spread across what appeared to be its face as it slowely began to open its large mouth.
With its two long arms and knife like fingers it began to reach for Erisha's neck.
"Did you think you can sneak up on me from the shadows?"
Suddenly the shadows that were once its allies shot towards the creature piercing its dark flesh.
It tried to scream from the pain, but a shadow in the form of a tendril wrapped around its mouth and neck holding it tight while preventing it from making any sound.
"You have the nerve to try harming me and then wake up my brother with your disgusting screech?"
Then to the creatures horror it was suddenly cast out of the shadows and with a thud it landed in the middle of the room.
Hearing this Dawn immidietly woke up and jumped to his feet.
Sweat dripped from his forehead and dark circles were around his eyes.
From a glance one could tell he did not sleep well.
Seeing his primary target wake up and realize its presence the creature flaid its body around, trying to escape, but it was of no use.
The creature mearly used the shadows as medium to sneak up on its prey, while Erisha was cursed by the eternal darkness.
She was partly a living shadow now.
"Dawn can you tell me what this is?" Asked Erisha in a strangly calm tone.
"A night fiend."
Night fiends are servent type monsters like golems.
They are arteficial life forms created by those who dwell in the dark arts.
They are mainly used as assassins since they can step in to shadows, concealing themselfs from the naked eye.
"We cannot extract information from it, but the fact that it is here means our enemies are close."
With that Dawn reached for his bag.
"We need to move, now!"
Erisha nodded silently.
With a snap of her fingers the shadowns began to tear the night fiend apart, brutally killing it.
As Dawn put his equipment away Erisha awoke her brother with a kiss to his forehead.
"Wh- what?" asked Cain in a muffled voice.
"We are leaving you need to get up~." Said Erisha in a sweet voice
"Can't we stay for a little bit longer?"
Suddenly Dawn cut in to the coversation
"Only if you wish to die."
Hearing his cold deep voice Cain's eyes immidietly widened and he jumped to his feet.
With everyone awake Dawn and the elfs began making their way towards the laier's exit.
Dawn was in the front with Cain in the middle and then Erisha following closely behind him.
Once they made their way out Dawn gripped the metal doors handle and opened it.
As soon as he stepped foot outside his eyes began to dart around, while his hearing became more sensetive.
He heard the wind hit against the trees branches, the insects and squirrels inside them despretly trying to escape the cold.
He raised his left hand and signaled for the elfs.
Soon all three were outside.
"Woman, do you sense anything inside the shadows?"
"I would appriciate if you called me by my name at least once. As for your question no I- wait! There is something."
Erisha closed her eyes and reached her hand out.
"I can feel something, but it is very faint."
In that moment the the wind stopped blowing and the snow stopped falling.
Dawn and Erisha immidietly sensed it while Cain looked at them with a confused face.
The trees shadow that surrounded them began to form bubbles as if they were heated up by something.
Then the black liquid began to fly towards a single point in front of them and started taking the form a of a door.
"Woman! Stop it at once!"
"What do you think I am trying to do?!"
Despite Erisha's best efforts the process still continued and the obsidian door was formed much to Dawn's dismay.
"Boy!"
"Huh y-yes?"
"Fire, now!
"W-what kind?"
"Deadly!"
With that Cain's eyes began glowing with a firey orange glow as he held his hands above his head.
Sweat began to come down from his forehead and veins began to pop on his pure white face.
Above his hands a large ball of fire began forming.
Slowely it became bigger and bigger as Cain struggled to contain in the form of a ball.
"Fire the moment that door opens and do not hesitate!"
Finally the obsidian door slowely opened.
A small figure about the same size as Cain stepped out closely followed by adult sized figures in dark cloaks.
"NOW!"
Just as Dawn ordered Cain hurled the large fireball towards the cloaked figures.
The snow melted and the wood burnt as the fireball traveled at high speeds towards them.
But strangely the figures didnt seem to be bothered by it.
"Oh, is this the power of a royal elf?" Said the short figure.
He then extended one of his hands and pointed foward with his pale white finger.
Just before the the fireball could make contact a sharp light shone from the finger.
"I expected more."
In that moment the red light shot forward and pierced the fireball, making it disappear as if it was not there at all.
But that was not all.
The red beam continued to move forward, towards Cain who was still recovering.
It was clear it wouldn't stop until it found flesh to tear in to.
And soon it did.
With the bone chilling sound of flesh and bone being blown to bits the beam finally disappeared.
Cain's face was covered in blood and it dripped down his snow white face and hair.
But it was not his.
Instead it was Dawn's.
In the last second before the beam hit, Dawn reacted and put his hand in front of Cain's face which resulted in his hand being compleatly blown off.
Blood spilled from the wound like a fountine much to the enemies amusement.
"Oh my." Said the shortest in an amused voice.
He pulled his cowl back revealing a wicked smile on the face of a child.
He had blood red eyes and white hair as white as Cain's.
"To react to my attacks is impressive~. But unfortunatly you are not quite sturdy enough to take them head on~."
Even his voice was that of a child.
Dawn did not reply instead he simply raised his wounded arm.
In an instant his hand that was compleatly blown off began to regrow as bone sprung from the wound with muscle, then skin following shortly.
First the palm then shortly after the fingers began forming.
It was a disturbing sight to the elfs but a fascinating one to the mysterious figure before them.
He then proudly shoved his newly grown hand forward in the direction of the bastard that blew it off ehile making a beckoning sign.