Hell of a life

[Admin]

Author's note: 'Hell of a Life' was my first storyline ever written, and which I started around 2012. Through it I immediately learned and practiced English. Although the parts don't always seem to follow up on one another like a book (cause in the beginning most of my stuff was based on experiences in an RP environment), they gradually get lengthier and a plot is revealed. Thank you for reading if you do. I made a lot of spelling and other mistakes on the Dasaria forum where this was originally posted, and by copying them here, I'm trying to set things right. It will just take a bit of time to go through all of those again, but eventually I hope to have them all more or less adjusted. Feel free to message me if you catch any once I'm done. And finally : with thanks to all those Dassies who helped out and contributed!



1. Discovery

Dark... a stormy night... lightning lit up the tree tops... winds howled in the woods... the cry of a child...
The elven group stopped after hearing this last sound. They listened very carefully to check if their superb hearing hadn't tricked them. There it was again. With their pointy ears they tried to locate the source of the crying. Running between the trees bading in completely darkness didn’t form any problem for these graceful beings.

Suddenly they stopped. The trees opened and in the middle of the open spot sat a child. But the elves didn’t immediately approach the child. With open mouths they viewed the spectacle.
The female child sat next to two lifeless bodies, humans so it seemed. Right from them was the corpse of the biggest wolf they’ve ever seen... probably an Elder Dire Wolf. It was smoking, the stench ... unbearable.
The child itself was covered in blood, probably from its parents, since the girl seemed unharmed. But what terrified the most, were her hands... they were glowing softly red in the dark.

The eldest elven woman spoke. “We shall take this human child and burry her parents. We will raise her as our own. She will be like any other good elven childs. Her first name will be Elvina which means 'good elf'.
The accompanying wizard next to her said : "To survive the attack of such animals, you truly must have nine lives. I also see a great magic flickering from within. Therefore, her last name will be 'Hellcat'...

[Admin]

2. Play time

"Mo'oom" A little elf girl ran to the woman near the tree house. She looked up and started to shake her head.
"Mo'oom, Elvina is doing it again. We are playing hide and seek... but I can't find her... and she keeps sending voices without showing herself. Mo'oom, that isn't fair! She has magic tricks and abuses them to spoil our game!"
The elven woman rose up from her work. "Elvina? Elvina! I know you can hear me. Please don't use your tricks on your little stepsister. Can't you see it isn't funny anymore?"
A voice from behind the elven woman had her startled. "But I'm right here". She turned around and saw Elvina with twinkling eyes. She was becoming a big girl now. It was almost 10 years ago when she adopted the mysterious girl. Her hair was growing long but also, very weird, over the years it went from white to bright snow white. Sha-'della suspected this was an effect of the girl's power within. Those powers were still questionable. She was not like all the other wizards. Her energy was coming from somewhere else. Some even suggested that Elvina's magic was connected with the Underworld, or even with the Nine Hells.
Off course that was just rubbish...

"Elvina, will you promise me that you only use your powers in the lessons or in time of need?"
The girl replied "Off course mother". Although she kept her hands behind her back and crossed her fingers...

[Admin]

3. Overthinking

All was quiet at the Great Elven Place, an open spot in the woods named by the elves. A dark figure sat on the ground, the moon shining on its cape. Far away one could hear wolves howling. A small sprite flew by, softly lighting up the ground everywhere it passed. There was almost no wind, the end of a nice summer's day.

Elvina looked up at the rising moon. Her thoughts were teasing her mind lately. She remembered her childhood with the elves very well. It had been a wonderful time, although some of them never liked her...

Days were always filled with lessons, artistic principals, hunting, and magical arts. Especially this last thing seemed to dominate her life and used up most of her time by studying it. She started to concentrate, and after just a couple of seconds her fists started to glow. With one thought she ended it, just like that. Now this is why some of the elves didn't like her. One of them even dared to call her a witch. She grinned by the memory of what she did to the poor guy when he grabbed her once. He really had it coming. His future wife will have to do it without chest hair.

She stood up and made up her mind. Time to leave the protecting aura of the Great Forest. Time to see the world,... time to find out who her real parents were before they died... time to find someone who could help her mastering those consuming powers inside.
Cear might be a good place to start...

[Admin]

4. Arriving

A caped figure entered the gates near Cear. All was quiet. Perhaps a place to rest would take away the pain in her legs. After all, she ran a very long distance. She stopped at the gates and saw a sign : "Mistyvale Inn". That name rinkled a bell. Her stepmother once told her about a certain master Roggins, a dwarf she used to know in the times when a friendship between elves of her community and a group of dwarven merchants was signed. She smiled by the thought of dwarves popping up in the Great Forest. The elves needed to get used to it and the treaty stood after all. Some elves even were invited to visit the mines of the Master Dwarves. After some time trading began. Nice materials like stones, minerals and jewels showed up in the elven village. The dwarves were very interested in what the elves did with it, like those famous Mithral armors... Elvina talked much with the dwarves, especially the Runesmith that set up a shop within her village. He knew a few things about her magic and learned her what he could. Most of it was information though, which she really could use now on her search.
She sheathed her with wolf blood dripping dagger and lowered her shield. Elvina entered the inn. Not very crowded, a nice warm place. "Good evening master Roggins". A small figure behind the bar turned around and his eyes widened when he perceived the long atletic builded woman ... just by looking in her eyes...

[Admin]

5. Exploring

It was a beautiful morning. Elvina jumped out of her bed. It has been weeks now since she arrived at Cear. Master Roggins provided her with one of his best rooms. She looked through the window and enjoyed the view. Rising sun, farmers at work, now and then a cow passing near the window. Still, there was much work to do. And she really needed to earn some money to keep paying the bills. The discount master Roggins gave was nice, but she also had other costs. She touched her purse under the pillow. It was filled with some coin after bringing in a criminal's head to the tracker in town. It wouldn't be enough though for the armor she saw at the local smithy. She liked after all good fashion combined with quality armor... even when it means "expensive". This trait of her could be a real problem. She even tried some adventures that weren't meant for her. Only thanks to some of her special talents she either won the day or retreated without serious injuries.

But with entering the bugbear caves she came very close to the latter. The shaman at the entrance almost burned her hair. She dodged into the shadows of the caves but the bugbears didn't gave up and kept looking for her. She took them out, one by one, the shaman being the toughest of all. It was a real magical fight. Thanks to one of her hiding spells she pulled it off. But the fight took hours and she really started to get exhausted. When the final bugbear fell she ran off, as quickly as she could. Good for her she was a trained runner...

She went down the stairs and asked for her breakfast. Today she would be looking for work in the city of Cear.

[Admin]

6. Chores

She cursed... the stench of the "Royal" sewers below Cear was still noticeable in her gear. Even that fancy new armor smelled like it was trash! Trash! Man, this was the last time she would ever operate down there. Agreed, it delivered good coin and even other treasure... but enough is enough. Time to aim a little bit higher and less darker than those stinking tunnels. One time she almost tripped over some bones and only thanks to her reflexes she saved out a fortune at the laundry and herbalist.

Next on her list were the docks, and even the arena. She felt empowered by the upcoming challenges, all above the ground and in clean environments.
She walked towards the gates of Cear and gave the guard a wink. The man smiled so hard that his mouth opened up to his ears. The fool, he had a crush on her but she only used that for her personal gain. Now and then she did a job that couldn't 'use' daylight. But sometimes it took some big "materials" and when he started asking questions, she wrapped him around her finger by smiling and acting really nice. The man never got further than an 'almost-kiss' but nevertheless, he always lets her pass.
Oh well, it's not that she's done anything really stupid. Some time ago she even helped out the guards by retrieving a young guard who was locked in a dungeon. She even played messenger for some captain. That all was past but still, they haven't forgotten it seemed.
Near the fountain stood a small muscled figure. A dwarf! He turned around and looked Elvina in the eyes.

[Admin]

7. The dagger

She looked at her dagger. It was a fancy thing. While she laid back down in the grass, enjoying the sunlight, she thought back to the day she found it. And she wasn't alone that time. A dwarf, named Raughwar asked for her help on a small adventure. She grinned by the thought of that, "SMALL" he said. They were gone for nearly 3 days and her supplies ran out! She shook her head. Dwarves have another view on time, she forgot that. Best of all is that the dude persuaded her to go down, under the surface... in the dark. At least it weren't sewers this time but more a basement and beneath that a full of undead crawling dungeon. Some guy named Feller or Faller, whatever, asked Raug for retriving his son.
Fighting off undead is never a pretty sight, but the dwarf seemed to enjoy it. Cracking skulls, bones flying everywhere, wielding shades like he was doing his laundry, not to mention what he did to the zombies ... as if it was his purpose of life!
She shivered by the memory, but was still glade that she participated in this adventure. The dagger was her reward.
It felt magical from the moment she picked it up from the sorcerors body. It was sharp, yes, but by wielding it she also seemed more confident when casting her spells.
She also got interested in some altar down there, but before she could examine it further, they had to find their way out since Raug's supplies got exhausted as well.
The worst part was getting used to the daylight again. Dwarves don't have much problems with that but Elvina sat two more days in her half blinded room to recover her eye sight.

[Admin]

8. The duel

The crowd was shouting. It was Elvina's first time in the arena. The big surrounding walls raised high above her. The big gate was locked. Now she didn't had an in or out. She looked around to see her opponent who just entered through a small gate. It was a tall man, with a big red cape. He had very bright eyes but they looked pretty mean. When he saw her he grinned, as if he just won a fortune. He raised the biggest sword she has ever seen and shouted towards to crowd. They loved him!
Elvina cursed herself for letting her get involved into these challenges. Hopefully she had enough fancy tricks up her sleeve to win the day, as an early exit wasn't allowed here. She took her dagger and shield and got in a defensive stance.

The tall Varanite attacked, moving faster than she expected. The first hit bounced off her shield. She felt her arm vibrating under the big impact. Her first spell heightened her reflexes so she would have a chance against this whirling death bringer.
The next hit of the tall blade nearly missed her arm, thanks to her speed preventing it being chopped off.
Suddenly she disappeared, leaving a shadow behind for the Varanite. He shook his head and looked around. Suddenly he felt something burning in his back, right through his armor. He fell on his knees by the pain but didn't hesitate and rolled to his back, evading the second hit from Elvina.

He got up, very pissed now. Right, so this wasn't a girl he could take down like that. He would be more cautious now. They circled around each other. He tried a feint and it worked. The girl stepped to the left when he did an almost-strike, but suddenly he whirled around, hitting her where he suspected her. She made a little scream as the blade scratched her leg. He smiled.... although not for long. The girl seemed to ignore the pain suddenly and threw another blast in his direction. This time his arm took the blow and he felt it burning under his chains. Now he was down to one arm so his mighty blows were out of order. She knew what she was doing. This fight could only be decided by cunningness now. Lucky for him he used to do streetfights in his younger years. He lowered his blade to let it look for her the fight was over. But she didn't attack to finish the job... suddenly she disappeared again. Immediately he raised his blade, now with his left arm. He cursed, ... this was only a test to see if he was really a badly wounded lion.

He fell back to the wall, eliminating the opportunity of another sneak attack. Suddenly Elvina appeared, but far from him, at the opposing wall. He shivered... her eyes looked like burning coals... and her hands glowed...
He took the one shot he had, started running towards her, but not in a straight line. He ran fast, moving left and right. She raised her arm and a flame hit in his direction. He got burned really hard but kept running, determined to win this fight. Elvina didn't expected that and took the full blow of his impact, burning corpse or not. The blade hit her in the shoulder. The tall Varanite grinned one more time before going up in flames, letting go the blade that was still stuck in her shoulder.
She felled dizzy and almost went down. Thanks to the arena master she got quick medical attention... after all she won the fight. The Varanite died, but it was also very close for her. She would draw lessons out of this little adventure.
She heared the crowd shouting as she took the stair down. EL-VI-NA, EL-VI-NA !!
A smile appeared on her face, maybe she would return after all...

[Admin]

9. To Morell

Raug hesitated. He looked at Elvina with eyes that seemed to tell 'please please no'.
They were waiting for the next ship to Morell. As it was entering the docks, the dwarf got more and more nervous.
It was no secret that many dwarves don't like to sail. Most of them even hated water. Thank god this didn't count for Raug, as he was pretty neat, for a dwarf. Most dwarves she knows would rather wash themselves in beer.
The ship entered and as Raug looked up at Elvina she said : "Raug, how about a good cup of ale and a card game?"
She said it while looking at the right were two caped figures also seem to wait for the ship.
"Nice weather hey fellows" she said. One of the men turned around. He seemed to lost an eye as he was wearing an eyepatch. He smiled friendly. "Going to Morell aswell mi'lady? It is a pretty dangerous path now you know."
The other figure turned around aswell, he seemed alot smaller, probably one of the Little Folks. "And the road is crowded by many hostile clans. We are going to try put an end to it." The small figure looked at the dwarf behind Elvina. "Say, would you guys might be interested in some work? You could join us. There are several rewards to be gained and the stronger our party... the more rewards we could collect."
Elvina replied "How about we discuss it over with some cold beer and a card game on our way to Sheppards Landing? I'm Elvina and this is Raughwar."
The small figure stepped forward and bowed. "They call me Soppi and this is Sorc." pointing at the tall eyepatched man.
As the passengers boarded the ship, night fell. Elvina sighed... it would be an adventure in the dark, again.

[Admin]

10. Fighting the clan

Elvina stood eye to eye with a very big rat... suddenly red reflective eyes popped up everywhere. She was almost surrounded. All her senses told her to run.
A memory about the day she almost died came back...

It was a very dark and stormy night. Her ship, with her and all her party members on it, almost crashed. That was thanks to a bandit clan who sabotaged the lighthouse at Sheppards Landing.
The captain of the ship was, thank god (not that Elvina puts alot of faith into the Gods), a very experienced sailor. It wasn't the first time he had to board the ship without any light. The storm was just a little extra but the man pulled it off. Sorc payed the man twice the cost, just being thankful. He was very pissed as well and took the assignment to wipe out the entire clan responsible for this. Along with Soppi and some other dude who wished to stay anonymous (Elvina called him Jim), they broke into the lighthouse. The treacherous halflings were killed in an instant as they were no match for Elvina's party. After that, they busted even more heads in a cave at the beach side... all going very easy ... too easy.

They reached the final door to the person who was responsible for all of this. Soppi quickly took out the guards in front of it.
Elvina and her associates "cloaked" themselves and entered. All the bodyguards, of so it seemed, were detected and taken out. But when they attacked the chief, more clan members came out of nowhere.
It got worse when they killed the headman. Soon the room was filled with little halflings. Elvina quickly counted, it was almost six to one. She came out of stealth with glowing eyes and fists. Around her a circle of fire...

She pointed her left fist to the halflings that surrounded Sorc. A terrible flame was thrown to the gang members. The fire consumed the first halfling. His skin burned of his flesh. You could almost see his veins, just before he further disintegrated. The flames didn't stop and jumped over to its next victim. His hair and skin on his head was blown off immediately, leaving a scorched skull... his body only reacting a few seconds later before falling. One last halfling was struck. He got lucky and only burned his hands... well lucky... he got a quick clean death delivered by Sorc's spear. A blast of fire, from her right hand hit the opponents "Jim" was facing, taking two more down.

The halflings seemed to realize what a threat Elvina could be. Seven of them ran in her direction, leaving behind a still considerable force for her other party members.
It was madness... the halflings seemed to ignore the fire surrounding Elvina. They could see it but, as she guessed, they didn't seem to understand what the power of it meant. The consequences were terrible. Four halflings got a blast right in their face. Their unhuman screams and burning silhouettes almost looked like little demons that just came out of hell.
The others dodged back in time avoiding the blast of the Hellfire Shield.
Sorc was giving orders now when he saw the trouble they were in. He blew on his fingers, a sign to retreat. They had after all what they needed, and no further delay was necessary. Suddenly in front of the halflings the tall lady disappeared.
They saw her other party members running to the door. One of the tricksters threw a blast in their direction just before the door closed.
Behind it, Elvina who was cloaked, fell...

By the time her other party members realized that Elvina was not with them, the halflings destroyed the door and came screaming behind them. They were pushed to the shoreline were an evil Captain and crew was waiting for them.
Meanwhile Elvina lay on the ground, covered by her cloak and still concealed by her magic.
She must have been unconscious for a few minutes. Her wounds were terrible. Her white hair turned red, the result of some cuts. Her back was frozen or burned, it did hurt a lot. But the worst were her inner wounds. Her spells almost consumed her body. Thankfully her cloaking spell still worked. She needed all her energy to get up and keep up the invisibility spell.

By the time she reached the room next to the shoreline, the fight was still going on. Her party members got exhausted very quickly, although the enemy was significantly reduced in numbers. Elvina took a decision. By giving up the invisibility spell she could save the others. Hold on, when did she started to care about other people? This was an exception. Sorc has been a true friend by now and Soppi seemed to be ok aswell. She couldn't accuse them of leaving her behind. It was the fault of that little dirty scum. She would have her revenge!
Suddenly a lady, covered in blood, appeared behind the last halfings. A purple blast was the last thing they ever saw.
Elvina's sight turned black as she fell on the ground.
Sorc and the others got her out and she needed weeks to recover, thanks to some special clerics Sorc delivered.

The rats in the cave suddenly saw their victim disappear.
"Some other time" Elvina mumbled in herself...

[Admin]

11. A druid's issues

Elvina smiled, Master Roggins just delivered a message from the Archdruid. He wondered if she was coming to Lendose... yes, ... he has asked many times.
She remembered the day when she met the dwarf...............


Elvina was hungry and just returned from the Bugbear caves. Just outside the walls of Cear, she stepped into the little forest. There were really lots of animals these days. Tiny rabbits hopped between the trees, and even a deer showed up. Of course where there is prey, there are predators. Elvina was only one of them as the wolves never seem to get exterminated.
She took out two rabbits and a little bird, their bodies hanging over her shoulder. As she stepped deeper into the forest, she heard a voice. "Hello my little tiny friends, you are so beautiful today... ow little birdie I didn't saw you there. Nice rabbit..."

On a open spot stood a little caped figure. A dwarf! And he was talking to the animals, can you imagine. Elvina grinned, he sure brought up enough animals together, as an obvious target for Elvina's hunting needs. She fired a blast towards a deer in the center of the open spot. It died instantly. The dwarf was shocked and turned around, the animals fled into the forest, leaving the fallen deer behind. Elvina stepped out of the forest. "Hello there mister, thanks for the help. I'm really hungry".

The dwarfs face turned very pale, then green and at last fiery red. "How dare you lady, those animals are my friends!"
Elvina turned towards the dwarf, not good knowing of what she heared. Suddenly she saw a little rabbit hopping from behind the dwarf's back. As she aimed her hand, the dwarf yelled again. "Don't you dare it lady. It looks to me you are killing animals for sport".

Elvina replied "No, i'm just really hungry. And why do you care about those animals?"

The dwarf pointed to her shoulder, "Don't you have enough meat yet? By the way, at the inn they have very good food, the animals breeded for the purpose. The animals here in the forest are free spirits. They, ... they complete the life in the forest." Elvina shook her head. The dwarf spook further, "As for i, i'm the Archdruid so that's why i care about this balance in the forest."

Elvina never heard of an Archdruid before, but she knew what a druid was. There were many in the community where she was coming from. "I just like the taste of wild animals", Elvina replied. "Since when is it forbidden to hunt in the forest. I have never heard of such balance".

Suddenly another figure stepped out of the trees. It was a tall man cloaked in a black mantle. "You should pay respect to the Archdruid milady". Elvina walked towards the newcomer, fearless, and stopped 10 inches from his face. "Now why is that, I'm just hungry, never got trouble hunting in this forest, and suddenly someone I don't know says I need to quit it. Not only that, another stranger tells me to pay respect to the one who forbids me hunting!"

"Because he's right milady, you have more than enough meat already. And the Archdruid is a well respected figure. If he says something, you really need to listen."

Elvina felt furious, how dare they saying that! Balancing on the choice of paying their intervention with a blast or walking away, Elvina paused for a sec.

Meanwhile the dwarf invited the tall figure to the inn for a beer. "Perhaps milady you care to join us, have nice meal with meat ... on purpose breeded for the cause."
Elvina mumbled ... after a small hesitation she followed the druid to the inn. After all, a nice beer was always welcome, ... she grinned, ... certainly when someone else payed.
Suddenly she stopped and realized she still had some business to do in Cear. About something she found in the Bugbear caves.
"Some other time druid" she mumbled, as she cloaked herself and set course to Cear.

[Admin]

12. Rats

All was dark, Elvina didn't like it at all... but her pride forced her to go back into the Wererat dungeon beneath Cear. It has been weeks now she visited it... last time she didn't came further then the first room.
She shivered when she thought back to all those red eyes surrounding her. This time she was prepared, mentally and physically. She spoke a few words and raised her defences, her final invocation cloaking her. All was quiet... too quiet when she entered the first room. She searched the place and found a rat corpse. It looked burned somehow and smelled a bit. This vermin hasn't died long ago. There was someone else in these caves! She sneaked to the second room, all doors were opened... and she found even more rat corpses. It looked as if lightning struck them, except there are no clouds down here. It seemed her "fellow adventurer" is a magician of some kind. In the 3rd room she heard some noise... when she got closer it sounded like a fight was going on a couple of rooms further. She quickly looked inside and saw a dwarf standing in the middle of a big place... around him a wave of rats, gnawing, squeaking, biting. There were also very big ones between them, with glittering, snapping teeth trying to reach the figure in the middle, stepping over their fellow rats, crushing their own allies...
Elvina suddenly recognized the dwarf in the middle... it was that Archdruid who prevented her to hunt in the forest. Hmmmm, and he seemed really in trouble. Now why would she help him? Why did she even considered? Elvina walked back to the second room but stopped after a couple of steps. She turned around. If she would save his life it may come in handy later. She grinned, she knew exactly what she would say and ask after this fight was over.
The Archdruid started to sweat. This fight was going on too long. Suddenly a purple lightning struck the rats from behind, killing three of them instantly. Behind the smoke a tall figure appeared and came closer. Another blast struck a big Wererat behind him that was about to bite in his shoulder. The Archdruid launched a final offensive, a mighty storm struck the rest of the rats, while the long caped figure finished them off.
Suddenly all was quiet.
"So Archie, hunting animals hmmm...?"

The Archdruid's eyes widened. He knew that voice! It was that lady from the forest, but what was her name again?

[Admin]

13. Men are useful

Raugwar laughed, the woman who he was drinking with couldn't lift anymore beer. Although she noted some respect in his eyes, probably because she drank more then any normal woman could, even if it would be a dwarf.
Elvina smiled, her pockets were filled thanks to Raug. Last afternoon they were still in the forest, cleaning out some Werewolf caves. Drunk as she was, she already planned the next expedition in her head in the hope to find even more gold and gear. Then she would finally have enough money to buy a nice hat she has seen in a Ravenswatch store. Ow, and a nice set of armor that, as the vendor promised, would even improve her stealth. She even figured out how she would pimp this new set. Naturally she would use much black, as it would raise her succes even more when doing shady quests.

She looked at the dwarf with a fuzzy gaze. Yes, Raug was also becoming a true friend. First she figured that she could use him for her own goals... but after a couple of quests together, saving each others butt most of the time, Elvina started to look differently at their relationship.
Still, she had many secrets she kept to herself, some even meant to never come out. What the hell was she wabbeling in herself. All that mattered for her was keeping her brains together, even when she was drunk. She could not allow that anyone ever, EVER, took advantage of her in a weak moment. That's how she kept herself alive and fortunate so far. No mistakes, assessing every risk, and taking the decisions that would benefit her the most or damage her the least.

She remembered some guy in the Ravenswatch Inn who found her attractive, only saying this to her to get access to her bed. She shivered when she remembered his flattery. Almost she had thrown a zap to his butt to let him pay for his disgusting act. It was then when she first hesitated and resisted to one of her fiery statements. Elvina simply reacted she never did business with 'poorly shaped ones' and turned her back to the man and disappeared in front of his eyes. Everyone at the inn had a good laugh, Raug probably the loudest, with the poor dude who was blushing up to his ears.

[Admin]

14. Homesick

Elvina stood on the hills looking over Tristan... It has been a while since she left her foster parents.
Now and then she had a feeling of some kind of homesickness... weird. Maybe it was also because of the fact she didn't found anything helpful what caused her to leave her community in the first place. Was all lost? Did she had to live on with things still undiscovered? Personal things...
Sure she made some friends, although she called them her friends... she was not sure what people made of her. The road back home would be long, and tough. Thinking over her future she started to humm... a song coming out of nowhere, so it seemed... how did it go again? She started over and over, remembering a song that probably her real mother learned her. Elvina wasn't a professional singer, but this song... she really could...

Elvina took her harp out of her backpack, a small thing but she loved it as child and always kept it, bringing it out on moments when she felt lonely.
The strings of the harp could use a little make over, still she tried... after some moments it finally got to her... the song of her mom.

[Admin]

15. Meeting Celestia

Elvina was on her way to Ravenswatch. The sun was getting low, mists in the highlands were patiently waiting for her arrival.
Her boots started to get wet as soon as she stepped onto the grass. A necessity though, as she walked into the homelands of the giants. Big fierce creatures with clubs big as little trees, capable of smashing a cow a couple of metres further. Luckily, they didn't have much brains. Tactical warfare, defence and intelligence were their weakest skills...

Nevertheless Elvina was cautious, cloaking herself and walking on the grass which is significantly quieter than the gravel path leading towards Ravenswatch.
When she reached the hilltop suddenly a slim figure came out of the mist. It was a very good looking woman, dressed in a short skirt, over her shoulders a long mantle and her hair reminded Elvina to someone else. She was not aware of the hidden Elvina.
She watched as the woman stepped carelessly towards some giants Elvina just passed. Or they didn't saw her or they didn't care her trespassing. Elvina followed the woman, suddenly she stopped, sighed and looked around. She was enjoying the view or what?

Elvina wispered “Heee... pssst, miss, it's dangerous out here.” The woman looked even more startled than Elvina would be were she caught by the giants. “What, who is that, show yourself?”

Elvina replied “Are you crazy, its too crowded here for me, especially with giants.”

The young lovely looking woman smiled “Ow them, ... the giants don’t hurt me, they tolerate me. But who are you, invisible speaker?”

Elvina stepped a bit away from the giants and whispered softly “I’m Elvina, and I’m just passing through to get to Ravenswatch. And who are you, the one who walks with the fearsome giants?"

The woman turned her head towards the direction were Elvina's voice came from "My name is Celestia and I'm here to think, to free my mind, and to relax a bit. But hey, maybe we can talk and see each other down the hill. There will be no giants as they like the hills too much."

Elvina came right behind the woman on the way downwards... she was truly looking celestial...

[Admin]

16. Sliding towards darkness - part 1

(right after this is the first jump to a second character, being Zinna Dawn. The storyline will hop back and forth between them)

The air in the room felt heavy, as if there was no oxygen anymore. Nagging voices were just in range of the auditory senses. The atmosphere, full of expectation that something important and big was about to happen, would drive off every sensible being.
A caped figure sat on the ground, around her mystical drawings on the ground.
Elvina drew invisible signs in the air. She started to feel excited as the magic coursed through her arms and seemed to tickle her fingertops. Although she had no clue what was going to happen, she continued what looked like a ritual, and drew even more signs in the dark air, faster... one after another.
In the corner some kind of whirlpool seemed to appear. Elvina didn't understand what it was. Still she kept drawing, as if her hands and fingers weren't hers.
Suddenly her hands stopped. She looked at the whirpool that seemed to rest now, its surface smooth like a mirror but without its reflection.
She stood up and took a closer look, examining the surface with the point of her dagger.

"QWA OLY UAI !?" The deep growling voice sounded like cracking stones.

Elvina almost flew a meter high, away from the black mirror.

Long but narrow yellow eyes appeared in the centre of the dark substance.

Elvina shivered "Oh my, what have i done."

"Well well, a mortal terran..." the dark voice said amused, speaking every word as slowly as it could. Suddenly the floor of her room in the MistyVale Inn shook heavily, Elvina knocking of her feet.
While she lay on the ground a monstrous head with two large horns came out of the mirror, a couple of seconds later followed by an unnatural looking and winged body. Saliva dripped from its razor like teeth. The creature spread its wings briefly, long enough to spot big spikes on the tops of it.
Its mouth made a move that could have looked like a smile, as soon as it saw Elvina on the ground. She seemed helpless. Maybe she didn't knew how much power she was holding over him. The Baatezu decided that he could have an advantage here. After all, it has been long since he left the Nine Hells once more. He had killed his last summoner, but was still drawn back into the pool because of its strong magics. He grinned, and produced a noise that seemed to shock the weak figure on the floor. He had grown ever since, his resistance improved, his tricks refined. Time, ... time was all he needed. It wouldn't take long until he would have full control over his "physical" decisions. But his mind was free to think whatever he wanted. He decided to charm the woman on the ground, by stretching his left arm and offer it as a way to help her up.

The woman however didn't saw it as a friendly gesture as she shove a couple of metres away, until her back hit the wall.
The devil saw her mouth moving, first as if she was talking without any sound. He froze... suddenly he heard what she said, understanding every word of it. He cursed, this was a cold-blooded mortal, she was preparing the spell of unsummoning.

"NOOOOOOOOOO, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!" the devil screamed. The ground of the inn room started to shake again, just by the force of his voice. The woman stood firm, and seemed now even more determined to speak the words that would send him back to the Nine Hells.

The whirlpool started to boil, the demon who still hadn't full command over his physical body was drawn slowly back towards it. He looked up to Elvina with eyes full of hate. "UNTIL NEXT TIME MORTAL, I KNOW IT FOR CERTAIN YOU WILL TRY THIS AGAIN IN THE FUTURE. YOU WON'T LET IT GO, NOT AFTER SEEING HOW POWERFUL ALLIES YOU COULD HAVE. YOU ARE MARKED BY DARKNESS, I HAVE SEEN IT IN YOUR HEART, ... AND..." the devil hesitated briefly "I KNOW YOUR NAME ... ELVINA HELLCAT !!" He spat out those last two words while he was sucked back into the mirror-like disc.
A short flash, blinding Elvina, appeared from the corner. After that the room was bathing in complete darkness.

Elvina could only hear her own heartbeat...

[Admin]

17. Foreboding

Chaos, the forest was burning, elven children crying, ... her people, ... running in different directions, protecting their loved ones, defending homes, helping the weak flee, attacking the intruders... the automatic magical elven defences running at their full potential, all seemed hopeless...

Zinna stood in the middle of it, was this really happening, it felt so unreal, yet ... not impossible. Zinna gathered magical energy and threw a fireball towards a crowd of little devil-like beings. A cloud of ashes masked the result of the impact. Just seconds later yellow eyes stepped out of the cloud, laughing as if Zinna just gave them a present.
They started to run towards her. Zinna wanted to run, but she seemed glued to her spot, looking in the eyes of her attackers. Just before they reached her, she noticed her legs finally responded to the commands of her brain. She turned around and ran, however, the devils kept coming after her, closing the gap quickly... there was just no escape. She felt a burning heat behind her, her clothes started to ignite, her body felt really hot now. Her mouth openend, out of it came a long inhuman scream...

Zinna jumped out of her bed, fell on the ground, sitting on hands and knees for a while. She breathed heavily... her back going up and down...
"This can't be happening" she mumbled to herself. This was the second time she had the same dream, the outcome... uncertain.
When she got up she made a decision. Her packback was filled quickly. The maps towards Cear carefully studying, Zinna ate some elven bread.
First she had to find the one that caused these dreams, beyond that it became very fuzzy what had to be done next.
Zinna looked around, studying every object in her home, as if she was scared to forget how it all looked like ...
"My love, soon we will be together again."

It was still dark when a caped figure left the shadows of the elven forest ...

[Admin]

18. Traveling with memories

The way to Cear was long, and dangerous. That is why Zinna travelled by daylight, and rested at any inn when night fell.
While she was walking on a small path between some trees, she looked at her bow. It was a small thing, but better than nothing. Normally Zinna used it only in times of need. She feared that the "time of need" could last a while...
Her dreams still troubled her. Why was she dreaming about total chaos? When she compared her dreams, it was almost every time the same. Did it mean that this would happen, and if so, when?
She felt her bracelet around her slim arm. Something very common when you looked at it from a distance, a masterpiece when you studied it closely. It was made from an unknown metal, and consisted figures of little dragons stitched together with small rings. A gift from her mother. Zinna assumed it was magical, yet she never discovered what it could do.

That reminded her about another problem. Now that she left her home, she didn't had access anymore to the Great Library where she spent hours, days, weeks to study about magic and the use of it. She was completely on her own now.
Before she could take any other action besides tracking, she first needed to find ways to improve her magical abilities. For now it felt like she was saving time by already looking for an answer to her dreams. But what if it would come to an immediate confrontation? And what if both offensive and defensive actions were required? What if the dreams were real, and that the person she was looking for indeed had something to do with them.
How would she know when she was ready and capable enough?
This path of her mind brought her to a memory of something similar, smaller scale, but similar...

Zinna was still a little girl. From the day she was born, her mother suspected that she had magical abilities just like she did. Soon Zinna was making light in her dark room after bedtime. Her mother caught her a few times and putted a silence spell in her room. Zinna used to sneak out now and then without using any form of magic. And she was pretty good at it.

It was a summer night when it happened. Zinna got out again, and was sitting on a very big tree trunk, about 10 feet high from the ground. Suddenly she heard wispering, not very far from her. She stood up and looked around. A small mist cloud moved towards her tree trunk. A little hovering woman appeared from it... no, it was more like a faerie, very pale, but definitely looking like a faerie.
Actually a very beautiful one... Zinna got charmed just by the looks of her. She stepped to the side to take a closer look at this marvelous creature. In her mind she was invited to jump off the trunk and to follow her to a beautiful magical place.

Before she got off however suddenly an electric blast came out of the bushes. The faerie was thrown back, Zinna suddenly looked down and realized she almost broke her neck. Quickly stepping back she looked at the faerie. It had changed, still beautiful but ice cold. It showed very long and sharp teeth, growling with an echo as deep as if coming from a well.
Out of the bushes stepped Zinna's mother. Around her a blue mystical protective looking field.
"Begone foul creature, away from her!" She raised her arms gathering energy. The creature hesitated... too late as Zinna's mother threw another lightning blast, hitting the creature fully. A small mist was all that was left.
"Now you know why you just can't leave our village after nightfall. You never know what will cross your path in these woods. And you still have to learn much, my child."

[Admin]

19. Sliding towards darkness - part 2

The inn of Two Bridges came in sight. Elvina got a small letter from an unknown woman, something about earning big money, very quick but with a little danger. So she decided to meet the unknown writer and check if the quest would be doable.

Elvina entered the main room. A nice but familiar music sounded. There weren't many travelers these days and that was also visible at this inn. Many empty tables. Fine, it wouldn't take long to find the writer, ... or vica versa.
She took place at a nice chair near the bar and ordered some beer. Looking around, Elvina was curious about this assignment. She needed money after all, her account at the bank was starting to get really low. While she looked around she saw a shady figure coming out of the corner of the inn. She took place at the same table and looked up at Elvina. It was a tiefling. Elvina shivered since she admired and feared this mystical race at the same time.

"You are Elvina," the tiefling seemed pretty convinced saying this, so she either spied on Elvina or she knew very good how she looked like.

"And who is asking?" Elvina replied.

"That doesn't matter, we .. I need your help. It pays well but its pretty dirty work, altho i think you would define it as ... necessary."

Elvina was interested but tried to look plain. "Go on..."

The tiefling leaned some over the table, "You need to kill a few people. Listen, before you decide. Upstairs are some pretty sick people. Truth is they carry a very dangerous disease, and we ... i want them eliminated before they... infect us all."

Elvina laughed, "And you think that i will step into the rooms of those who are diseased?" She shook her head.

The tiefling replied, "I was not finished yet, you will however get protection and i guarantee that you won't be ill... but, there are some people upstairs who won't like your... actions."
The tiefling wrote a number down on a piece of parchment and gave it to Elvina. The reward for this quest was indeed pretty good. She needed to decide if she would kill innocent people... but for some greater cause. She could also decide that this tiefling was lying and just wanted some folks out of the way.
She could also stay in the middle, taking the assignment, but before executing it (them) she would first take a look.
A choice after a choice... that was how Elvina worked, checking every step for risks.

"Alright, I'll check it out, and see you in a bit."

The tiefling agreed.

Elvina took the stairs up, after receiving a small potion of the tiefling. In the hallway were pretty much people, weird...
She saw a woman walking from one room to another. No one noticed Elvina as she was cloaked. The doors of all the rooms were open. Elvina carefully checked them and discovered a room full of men... and they seemed pretty sick.
She kept observing, while deciding what to do. A choice after a choice...

One of the sick men suddenly saw a woman appearing in the middle of their room. Her hands were on fire ...

[Admin]

20. Searching plans

Zinna needed to rethink her approach. Since she got in Cear she found traces of the person she was looking for. Few people saw a glimpse, and some people even met this person.
But it was hard to follow. The woman she was after seemed to vanish after every contact she had. She was very good as Zinna suspected. It was certain she mastered the skills of stealth. Along with her magic she would be almost untraceable. Fine, Zinna could also count on certain abilities. She was pretty intelligent and decided to give up the tracking. Instead she would weave a net, unnoticable at first, but later on pushing the woman she needed to see out of her cocoon.
It was pretty easy. She took some pieces of parchment and started to write. Every inn in and around Cear would receive a letter meant for innkeeper to look out for the woman. And it was even “allowed” that they would warn her and make her, hopefully, nervous. Zinna grinned. Soon her “prey” would either move out of Cear, or … she would start looking for Zinna...

[Admin]

21. Sliding towards darkness part 3

Elvina sat on the hill before the inn of Two Bridges. It was weeks ago since she was released after the guards accused her of poisoning the well. The guards even didn't care if she was innocent or not. They just kept pursuing. She even tried to talk to the captain, she even went to jail to clear things out... but wherever she showed up, guards did their best to kill her. The only thing she could do was hide and trust on friends for supplies. This period of exile came to an end after Elvina talked to a very influential person. He had hands in law enforcement and was capable of setting things straight, ... almost as if he was connected (wired) to every living soul in and around Cear. The price for this help remained unknown...

After things finally worked out, Elvina was still a bit mad... on herself mostly, but also on all those people who didn't believe her. These dark feelings sometimes made her burn on the inside. Enemies payed double price when they crossed Elvina, ... expressing her feelings by burning them until only ashes were left...
It was around that time she met Josh Swift, a silent guy who also seemed to struggle with certain feelings. She told him about her worries, just a glimpse of her trouble, not showing her full inner being, of course.

He came along on a small quest in the Koalisk lands. Elvina grinned. The man seemed impressed by her talents, and even when it got "terrible", he didn't fall back. Only thing he said, after Elvina fried another five Koalisks, was that it was ok. Perhaps it was indeed a way to release some steam... besides, she wasn't killing any guards, or citizens... she protected them.

But... Elvina also knew there was one man who wouldn't approve her behaviour... a man who might be one of the reasons she left her homelands. He used other magic, he was not of the same race and his view on life was different from hers... still he may be one of the guides she was looking for. Correction, one of the guides she may need to bring her life in balance. And maybe bring her back on the path of her original quests.
Elvina sighed, "Ow Archie, where are you when you are needed the most".

[Admin]

22. A good day

Zinna smiled. Her day has been good. Along with Merrel (or something) she joined a quest in the sewers. Not the cleanest job she took since she got to Cear, but one that needed to be done. A bit of stench wouldn’t hurt too much. And good fine bath like the one she was in right now would do the job.
Although she had to take some terrible news to the little fellow above, she had the feeling she did something good. She freed to guy of uncertainty. And if there is one thing people shouldn’t have, ... its uncertainty about the ones they care, family or their loved ones.
Zinna’s face clouded for a moment. She was not sure her little plan worked so far. Not a trace of the woman she looked for. Zinna started to get a bit anxious. What if she was too late? Or, what if she wasn’t ready enough? How would she react, what would she ask, or even do when she found her?

She stretched her arms and put them behind her head. Zinna slumped down in the bath, feeling the warm water around her soft body, her left foot on the edge of her tub. She freed her hair, it fanned in the water.
While looking at the ceiling, Zinna decided what her next step would be. A friend from a friend told her she needed to pay a ‘visit’ at the Mistyvale Inn. A place she visited once before, when she arrived at Cear. Nothing special about it. She talked to the captain and delivered some papers for him. Shortly afterwards Zinna moved to the center of Cear, spending most of the time at the docks. It was a good place to catch up with news, people always talk more when they drink or relax.
Perhaps tonight would be a good moment to visit the Mistyvale Inn once more.
And she needed more work, soon her purse would be empty. Making people happy was nice, but from time to time coin needed to be earned.
Zinna got out of the tub. Her cat on the pillow opened one eye to behold the pretty appearance. And as if he meant to say that people were not so beautiful as cats, he turned around and slept on. He didn’t even notice that Zinna was gearing up like she was expecting a night full of action... starting with a cat wash...

[Admin]

23. Sliding towards darkness - part 4

Maladict...
"Where do i know you from...", Elvina asked to herself while laying on her bed in Lendose.
Meeting the man touched her deeply... but she couldn't understand why.
She remembered seeing him for the first time. Elvina was heading to Aucklorn Mill when she ran into a battle between some people and undead. Adele was among them. Without hesitation Elvina quickly struck the undead from behind. The stench was unbearable. Scary thing is that they don't make any sound while burning up. They don't feel pain at all. Elvina quickly introduced herself to the others. It seemed they were looking for some cat. Before they could talk further a big force of undead came running down the hill. Among them some really scary nightmares, a ten foot tall zombie in the middle of the horde.
Adele took the lead, Elvina and one of the archers helped two halflings flanking. It was very close but they won the day.
Afterwards she joined the party to find the cat. Elvina grinned... they were lucky she loved cats so much...
Next thing she knows is that they stepped into a foggy forest. Not good at all since they got somewhat disorientated.

Elvina sighed...

She noticed menhirs, and as she stepped closer the silhouette of a man became visible. Actually she saw his eyes first... somewhat red glowing like burning coal. Elvina couldn't resist to step closer, ignoring every risk analysis she normally always does. She knew that man, he had something familiar. He looked at her and smiled. Without saying anything he greeted her, right into her mind. Elvina didn't notice her party also joined the spot. She didn't even hear what they were saying to him. Only thing that seemed possible was staring at Him, while her mind was storming in an attempt to recognize this person.
Suddenly she hears herself calling him Master. And as if her tongue took over control from her mind, Elvina started to speak.
What she said came very close to worshipping.

He radiated power and as everything went automatic, Elvina activated her Hellfire shield. She stepped closer to Him and was surprised. The pain that is normally associated with using hellfire, didn't show up. How the ... hell was that possible? And as her party members fell back a bit, Elvina got closer and closer. All her senses and inner bells were screaming to run off. But her body didn't listen, and her mind soon followed.
Maledict turned to Elvina, his smile ice cold to her party members, made her warm. Her inner fire was peaking.
She felt he was offering power, and wanted something in return... of course. Vague she remembered he offered his help also to one of the halflings finding their cat. He asked 5 years loyalty as reward.

Suddenly he dissolved in the mist, and Elvina felt that she needed to follow him. But where to? Fog was everywhere and before she knew it she lost her party. Ow, yes, she heard them calling for her. Fools, they didn't understand the Master.
She also heard them talking about Maledict and about her. Gossip, Elvina hated it, they dared! A memory came up. She remembered she almost attacked them... punish them, but just before she struck the warm voice in the mists called her.
He gave her an assignment, and the only thing Elvina could do was nod. She was sent back to her party afterwards.

Elvina turned around on her bed. What in the name of the Nine Hells was she thinking back then?? Feelings that almost pushed her to attack friends, well, Adele almost was a friend. Now with her mind clear, she shook her head. No, that is something she would never do. And Maledict also didn't want that to happen. So... her party members didn't like him, some even feared him. But was he evil?
Elvina rolled to her back. And why did he call her "Daughter of Darkness"?

[Admin]

24. Leads

"Are ya the elven trac'ker?"

She turned around to see who spoke to her. It was an old man who was watching her from the first moment she got it. He probably didn't notice that she "watched" him aswell for doing so.
"Who wants to know, stranger?" Zinna replied while sheathing her sword and taking place at his table.
The smell at the inn of Two Bridges was noticeable of lesser... quality then that of Mistyvale.
She traveled here as soon as she could. Master Roggins knew who she was looking for. He didn't say much but mentioned one of her ... "deeds". Zinna could quickly deduce she needed to look more at this area.
Her feline eyes observed the man. He was old, yes, but he nevertheless looked dangerous. On his left side hung a big black bastard sword and his arms looked like he could wield it well. His face was covered by a grey beard, and if you watched closely you could see a scar pop out on his left cheek. Zinna decided to be wary. A typical feature of her race.

"Ow, sorry, nam'es Ratcliff. So are ya?

"Yes mister Ratcliff, I am Zinna Dawn" she replied while bowing.

The man chuckled, "Na need fo bending over like that. I'm not a noble, nor a king. And ya can call me Rat!"

"Ow, I'm sorry if I offended you ... mister Rat." Zinna was kindy used with the goings of humans, but still she maintained her elven manners.

"So, lady, I mus seey... the person ya loo'king fo is quiet dangerous ya kno. Ya must be a smart lady or ... ya have some... ve'ry well hid'den abilities", he said with a big smile on his face while moving his look from her head to her feet.
He didn't expect her to be dangerous. Fine, let him think that. Zinna was not up to a demonstration and reveal her powers.
"Ya kno, she's be'caming quiet nervous kno'ing som'one is loo'king fo her on such many loca'tions at once. Thought a'bout that?"

Zinna's eyes twinkled. So, her approach did work. "I am truly sorry mister Rat. But i need to speak her. It's very urgent and it is hard to catch up with her. She travels in very dangerous area's".

"Ya damn right ya kno, souns like ya kno tha lady. Tell me, are ya go'ing to hurt her? Is the're a reward fo bring'ing her in?"

"Pain can be there in many ways", Zinna shook as if she wanted throw off her elven philosophy, "But no, I want to see her, speak with her..." Zinna sighed. "You know, I'm here now since weeks, without a trace, sent to here, sent to there... like as if people love me running back and forth. Just tell me you have a good lead. You get 500 gold in advance and 500 more if I return with a happy face. I do not wear the gold on me. Therefore you must accompany me to the bank."

Ratcliff looked bewildered at Zinna, saying nothing for a brief moment. He bursted into a roaring laugh.
"Ya a ve'ry smart lady i giv ya!", the man felt it necessary to continue his laughter for minutes.

Zinna started to feel uncomfortable.

Ratcliff stopped laughing, but still chuckled a few times. His eyes all red and wet. "Ya kno, i guess i can help ya, Miss Zinna. ... Ev'er heard of ... Lendose?"

Zinna sighed deeply.

[Admin]

25. Missing

Elvina lay on her bed at the Burning Troll Inn, her hands over her face, crying softly.
"Ow mom, I miss you so hard."

It has been weeks now since it happened. Elvina was part of clearing out some ogre caves. She was not feeling well that day, the result of golem poison. One of the symptoms were her legs feeling very heavy. Celestia, who was also in the party, helped Elvina walk to the exit. The caves were clear, but still the poison effects didn't wear off, even after "treatment" at Lendose before.
When they reached the cave entrance they stopped. Other members of their party were still in the caves and didn't follow. Celestia left Elvina there and walked a few steps back in the cave to look out for them.
Last thing Elvina remembered was Adele coming in sight. Suddenly everything started to fade, she felt dizzy and fell on the ground... She heard Celestia shouting her name and running over to her.
"ELVINA, what happened, are you alright! Elvina, answer me!" Elvina felt Celest was shaking her hands a bit. Then everything turned black...

She can't remember how long she was laying on the ground, but suddenly she felt a warmth building up around her. Next she felt as if being lifted, above her a nice soft warm light. It became bigger and bigger. Her hands and fingers started to tingle. For a moment she stopped breathing. She felt peaceful, yet she was aware of her situation.... or was she not?
"Am I dying?", was the first thing she came up with. She noticed she couldn't talk here. Where was she anyways?
As if it was an answer she heard a voice, softly calling her name. She felt her eyes were filling with tears, warm chills going from her back to her neck.
Elvina knew that voice. It belonged to her mother.

All memories from one particular day came back in a second. The day her mom died in an attempt to protect Elvina from a very big beast.
Her family was traveling to Cear. A long way, that also led through a part of the elven woods. Every night they stopped, mom read some stories. It was their third day in the woods. Elvina's mother was a very sweet person. Everyone just loved her. She was also very beautiful. Her dad was just so lucky being the man out of hundreds to marry her. Now and then she also did some magic tricks. Elvina smiled, her dad didn't like that, the result of being tricked a few times by his wife. He always called her 'faerie' and "accused" her from bewitching him. When he said that his eyes were very playful. Her mom responded this with a warm look. Or, how they loved each other sooo much.
Their third night in the woods, Elvina woke up. A growling sound was audible and it was getting closer. She saw her parents were already up, moving silently to the other side of the camp. Suddenly a big wolvehead showed up out of the dark bushes. At the same time Elvina's dad started to yell. The head of the Dire Wolf turned quickly to him, showing his teeth. Elvina's dad started to step back, and the wolf replied by stepping out of the bushes, showing its monstrous and muscled body. It was almost as big as a horse.
Suddenly Elvina's mom showed up at the side of the camp, throwing a purple light towards their attacker.
The beast howled after the impact, but quickly recovered and looked at the woman who was responsible. He jumped and landed right on Elvina's mom knocking her off her feet. Her father saw it coming and was in a second on the back of the wolf, his short sword stabbing the beast. Another purple blast struck the wolf from below, frustrating the beast more than wounding it.
He bit her mom in the neck, blood spraying out of it. As if the blood gave it extra power, the beast threw off Elvina's dad. He smacked with his head into a tree, the crack of a skull echoing throughout the forest.
This all happened in a couple of seconds. Elvina jumped up and was furious. She felt heat building up in her hands and before she knew it she threw some kind of fireball towards the monstrous hound. It caught fire immediately. Elvina quickly ran to her parents... too late, ... they were gone.
She started to cry, a little child, alone in the forest, alone on the world...

"Elvina", the voice of her mother, "don't cry, I'm right with you".
She looked up and saw a blurry image of her mom.
"My child, you really are in good hands, it's not your time yet. You are a very beautiful young woman and still have a big nice future ahead of you".
Her father appeared next to her mother, laying his arm around her. "We are alright my child, don't worry about us. We know you miss us and we also miss you. We love you, but we can't allow you to join us, not yet. Don't be afraid my sweet Elvina, I assure you we will be together again one day."
Her mother appeared a little bit sharper, was she getting closer? No, Elvina was the one trying to reach her parents.
She noticed being pushed back. "No Elvina, don't come any closer, I forbid you... and I forgive you. Don't worry, nothing will change once it's your time. You will be our little girl again and we will read stories, hug and love each other forever. Now, quickly go back to your friends. They are in need of you. Go! Quickly!"
Elvina sensed for the first time in this... area, she could speak. And the only thing she could say was... "Mooooomm, noooo!!!"

"Elvina, Elvina? Can you hear me". She heard other voices now, she knew them. Celestia and Adele. She opened her eyes and saw her two friends kneeling in front of her. She felt they were using magic on her, in an attempt to ... "cure" her.

Behind them she saw a horde of mean looking ogres, coming in their direction...

[Sponsored content]