Into The Heart Of The Story, returned

I’m very glad to see that you are still up and about, bravely fighting against any and all writer’s block, scott. Sorry that I haven’t said anything about the story for a long time, work kept me busy all summer :stuck_out_tongue:

It was half a day later when they were tramping through the wilderness, Matoya had informed them that if they left due North east along the coast and then through two dense forests then they would reach Pravoka in just over a day. They had reached the first forest and entered with Thief leading the way, unfortunatly it was several hours later and they were lost.

Thief had sworn to them that he knew the way back, but when they had seen the same ‘thunder blasted trees’ for the third time running their patience was running thin. Everyone was in a bad mood with him and not too far from resorting to blows.

They finally reached a forest clearing, it was getting dark so they decided to set up camp, Thief took out the map he found in Corenia and began adding notes to it.

“I am sure we’ll reach Pravoka by tommorow, i just got a bit confused because all the local land marks look the same around here” Thief said while carefully scribing notes with his quill.

“Then their not very good landmarks are they, maybe you just need your eye’s checking” Fighter said with disdain.

Thief just ignored him and continued annoting his map.

Black Mage dropped his pack and stood up, he walked into the dead center of the trees and stared up into the darkening sky. The others were not completly sure what he was doing until White Mage finally had an idea.

“He’s using that new spell, the one the broom taught him” White Mage explained to the others.

Black Mage did not respond, he was too busy gathering the energy necessary to activate this new magic, after several minutes of waiting he finally called out.

“TCELES!” he cried, staring into the sky.

Nothing happened at first, he thought he may have done something wrong, but then it felt like his eyes had been torn out of his head. His whole body felt as if it was being pulled thousands of feet into the air, when he finally gained his bearings he realised he could see the whole world displayed before him. The fields and forests, the cities and caves, the rivers and mountains all were before him like a portrait.

He could see all the major cities, the human mecca of Corenia, the grand forest kingdom of elves, the distant land of Gaia, he recognised them all. Yet he realised his freinds would be worried about him if he stayed up amongst the stars all night, he looked down and charted the position of his freinds and Pravoka.

With a last dissmisive mental command he returned to his body, his mind felt like it was falling back to earth, back into his warm body.

Black Mage fell to the floor as he got used to his form again, the others quickly ran to his aid and sat him down. With a drink in hand he recounted the experience of the spell.

“I saw it all, even all the distant places that stayed out of the war, but more importanly i saw the lost Lefain city, the remnants of our masters people” Black Mage told his freinds.

They sat in silence for a short while, Black Mage had seen the one place in the world where their master wanted to go but could not, a home he abandoned so he could raise them.

"I also charted our distance to Pravoka, we have gone too far north and have nearly left the forest, however if we leave southeast tommorow we should reach it by tommorow night.

“At last, a guide that knows where its going” Fighter commented, giving Thief a dark look.

"I said i was sorry’ Thief responded ‘honestly, do you want blood?’.

“You never said sorry, you just keep making excuses” White Mage said softly.

“Fine” Thief stood up “Im sorry i got us lost, but at least im trying, i never see any of you offering to lead us through dangerous territory, i never saw Black Mage use that spell earlier”.

“Thats because you assured us you knew where you were going” Black Mage said.

“Its a lot of pressure being the scout of the group you know, but if you want to rely on magic then be my guest” Thief growled.

He sat down away from the others and continued writing on his map.

“Look Thief, we didnt mean it that way…” White Mage began.

“No dont apologise White Mage, its too late for that” Thief interupted without looking at her.

Fighter looked as if he was about to smack him, White Mage just put her hand on his shoulder and shook his head.

After a few minutes silence Thief finally spoke again.

“You guys can go to bed if you want, i’ll take the first watch”.

The others didnt respond, they set up camp and slowly went to sleep, Thief just stared into the darkness.


The night had passed without event, everyone had taken their watchs and no more crossed words were spoken, they left southeast as Black Mage advised.

Sure enough a couple of hours later they broke from the first forest and crossed the grassy plains to the second one, Thief hadnt said anything all day.

Following Black Mage’s magic they seemed to be on track, once they reached a clearing he used his ‘TCELES’ spell again, when he returned he had good news and bad news. Good news was that they were halfway through the forest and would reach Pravoka before sundown, the bad news was that a major storm was brewing in the area, they would have to hurry if they wanted to miss it.

The group quickened their pace and gained a lot of ground, however as the rain began to blast down on them followed by hail and sleet they soon realised that it was getting harder to tell what direction they were going in.

They reached a conclusion that they should set up camp, the storm was too heavy to travel in, lightning blasted away in the distance as they prepared their meager shelter.


I only got one thing to say, Scott: it’s spelled Thief, not Theif.

Errrr…yeah, well spotted, um…

At last someone has noticed…i put those mistakes in purposely to make sure that…um…someone was reading an i was seeing if anyone was paying attention…yeah.:wave:

So …er…well done, have a prize

…V…V…A…LL…K…K…Y…Y.RRRR…IIII…EEEEE
…V…V…A…A…LL…K.K…Y…Y…R…RR…II…EE
…V…V…A…A…LL…KK…Y…RRRR…II…EEEEE
…V.V…A A A A…LL…K.K…Y…R.R…II…EE
…V…A…A…LLLLL…K…K…Y…R…R…IIII…EEEEE

A giant first name

(dammit your right, iv changed all the misspelt ones to normal, im surprised no one ever noticed it before, least of all me)

Whee, I have a first name now! …Wait.

A few hours later the storm raged stronger than ever, the meager tent (kept for situations like this) seemed likely to be blown away at any moment. The four travellers were huddled around a magical fire that Black Mage held in his cupped hands, Thief occasionally looked outside (his superior elven sight allowing him to penetrate the growing darkness).

The sound of thunder crashing against the ground grew closer as they ate a sparse meal, White Mage knelt in prayer to Odin and wished for the safety of the group. Fighter sharpened his sword while he watched the entrance to the tent while Black Mage took out a small glass orb (a bauble he had been carrying since Corenia) and was carefully scratching runes onto its surface.

Eventually the storm died down, the hail and thunder eventually subsided and all that was left was the rain beating down on the tent. White Mage saw this as a sign that her prayers had been answered and clasped her holy symbol tightly as she prayed.

Now that danger seemed distant the four started talking again (with the exception of Black Mage who continued his work), they spoke of Matoya’s stories.

“Something struck me as odd about what she said” Fighter began “It’s only just occured to me”.

“What is it?” White Mage asked.

“Well she told us about her and her freinds who found the Orb and later our crystals, she also told us what happened to them afterwards, except for the man who found the earth crystal, Ragnor”.

White Mage and Thief looked at each other, they knew he was right, why would Matoya not tell them.

“I also noticed it Fighter” Black Mage spoke, still carving onto the glass.

“How come you never mentioned it?” Fighter asked.

“I figured she must have had a reason for not telling us, i doubt she would have forgotten or mentioned it for no reason” Black Mage replied.

“So why did she mention him but not say what happened to him?” Thief asked.

“That is the question now isnt it” Black Mage answered, still not looking at the others.

"Has anyone even heard of this Ragnor fellow, i think the master might have mentioned his name but i cant think why? Fighter asked the group.

“Dont you know the history of the war?” Black Mage asked.

“I know bits of it but no details, why?” Fighter replied.

“A man named Ragnor was one of our best generals, he was a hero before he joined the army and lead us to victory in most cases” Black Mage recanted want he knew.

“What do you mean 'in most cases?” White Mage asked.

“Well its a strange story, as the final few battles started on elven soil he simply vanished, just dissapeared from his tent one night and was never seen from since, thats when Garland took over” Black Mage answered.

“Do you think Garland did it?” Fighter asked.

“I doubt it, from what everyone has said he was a good man and only turned to evil when the hand of princess Sara was denied him, besides its not easy to just make a general dissapear within an armed camp, even for someone with magic” Black Mage replied.

“So what do you think happened?” Thief asked.

“Well at first everyone thought it was a powerful elven mage or assasin who did it, but even during the war they never claimed responsibilty for it and remained adamant about the fact after it, i doubt it was a monster or anything associated with the gods as they stayed out of the war” Black Mage said, still carving.

“You didnt answer my question” Thief said.

Black Mage put down his knife and the glass orb and looked up at the others.

“I dont know, i dont even have a theory on it, the only specualtion’s i have dont make sense, in fact the only plausible explanation is in the question itself”.

“What do you mean?” White Mage asked.

“That he simply vanished into thin air, never to be seen again” Black Mage said somberly.

The others looked at each other, Black Mage went back to his carving while the others continued talking, all of them felt colder but they were certain it was not because of the rain.


As the night wore on and conversation grew thin on the ground the Light Warriors prepared for bed, Thief once again offered to take the first watch, he stared out into the darkness as the others fell asleep, one by one.

The hour seemed to grow longer as Thief took out two of the daggers concealed on his body and began sharpening them, his anger had dulled since yesterday but he was still not in a forgiving mood.

“They want to rely on magic rather than elven tracking, fine its their choice, just wait until Black Mage has used his energy and cannot continue, who are they gonna turn to then”.

A cracking sound came from outside, very very faint and no human would have been able to hear it.

“Some forest animal probably” Thief said to himself.

A louder cracking came closer, still faint though.

“Must be nocturnal, hunting probably”.

A very loud crack came from outside, very near the tent, a sound anyone could have heard.

“That was no animal” Thief said as he quickly sheathed the daggers, he stuck his head outside then tent and looked around.

Six large figures were approaching the tent.

Thief quietly moved between his freinds and woke them up, asking them to be quiet and to prepare for a fight, an old trick his master taught him that would give them the element of surprise. Soon the Light Warriors were up, armored and ready for to fight.

The sound of garbled talking came from outside, Fighter looked at the others and made a claw shaped gesture with his hand, this was something they had established during their training, the gesture meant ‘everyone attackat once’.

They nodded in unison, Black and White Mage gathered their magical energies and prepraed to strike at the first oppurtunity, with a last nod Fighter led the charge.

The Light Warriors burst from the tent into the darkness, the figures had stopped and seemed to be talking, White Mage called upon her power.

“By the power of Odin, let their be light!” she shouted.

A bright flash of pure light erupted around the figures, revealing in detail what faced them, the most feared creatures in this land had stumbled into their campsite, worse of all it was a hunting party.

Before them stood six Ogres.

They were easily twice the size of Fighter, their arms were little more than muscle and sinew beneath their dark red skin. The whole group was wearing furs from grizzly bears (a fact that didnt fill the Light Warriors with conifdence) and held clubs filled with nails and spikes that seemd to be hewn from an oak tree.

In this region they were the top of the food chain, they had been caught in the storm and were hungry, a meal had just leapt in front of them holding small weapons.

But these were not normal people, the Light Warriors were ready to fight for their lives, the Ogres lifted their gigantic club’s and charged the incoming humans.


Nice. Decided to keep from giving away the whole “Ragnor’s fate” thing for awhile?

And no to nitpick, but I thought it was Corneria, not corenia.

Yeah, i explained what happened to him in the ‘Lefain’ stories and alluded to what happened in Fighter’s dreams (and Matoya explained it in the original version in her home), but anyone who has played FF1 will know that he’s gonna show up sooner rather than later :mwahaha: .

The Corenia/Corneria name switch was done on purpose, i thought it sounded better.

Hmmm…now im thinking of re-doing the Lefain stories…but they will have to wait until i have done this and (finally) starting on Ties of Blood Part 3.

:thud: Groan…:thud:

Back after short break, drugs women and men wont see to themselves :victoly:


Fighter gripped his sword in both hands as he launched himself at the creature in the lead, hoping to deal a lethal blow before the combat truly began. The Ogre managed to deflect the swordblow with its arm, causing a terrible wound but saving its life.

Thief leapt out of the light and into the trees, while it looked like he was running away he was actually preparing to circle around the enemies to attack with more stealth. His comrades attacks were more obvious (and in the case of the mages more flashy) giving him the distraction he needed for his style of fighting.

White Mage unleashed all her energy into her newest and most powerful spell, a gift from the high preist of Corenia.

“Odin the master of light, bend your essence around me, Invisibility!”.

As White Mage faded from sight the Ogre’s realised that these were not easy prey, they started to surround Fighter, hoping to quickly finish him off.

This was exactly what Black Mage was counting on, knowing that his friends lives were at stake he finished his spell with a passion all his own.

“Cold that clings and tears like the northern wind, Cynogax Fury Magic!”.

From Black Mage’s aloft hands hundreds of shards of sharp ice cascaded towards the grouped Ogres, causing several deep wounds and forcing some to abandon Fighter and approach him. He had bought his friend some time, he gathered his energy for another spell to deal with the Ogres coming for him.

With only an undefended mage in sight the first Ogre lifted its club for an easy kill, however its attack was stopped by a powerful hammer strike to the back of the knee, causing it to fall to the ground in pain. White Mage reappeared as her spells enchantment was broken, she quickly rushed to Black Mage’s side to protect him from the oncoming enemy.

At this point Fighter was barely holding his own, it was all he could do to avoid the powerful club hits that would surely kill him, the best he could was an occasional counterattack to try and gain some ground. He knew however that this was getting him nowhere and his stamina would fail before theirs, it was down to his companions to even the field.

The Ogre’s were getting angry, the tricky small creatures were starting to anger them, with renewed vigour they sought to slay their foes.

It was this blind anger that stopped them from noticing the dark figure slink behind them from the trees, with a dagger in hand Thief leapt on the back of one of the creatures and slit its throat, dropping it to the floor in pain.

Fighter smiled as his friend joined the melee, Thief drew his rapier and attracted the attention of another Ogre, easily dodging its slow attacks, giving Fighter the oppurtunity to gain the upper hand on his foe.

Meanwhile White Mage stood in the path of the two Ogres trying to attack Black Mage, with a courage that even her foes recognised she stood defiant, her silver hammer ready to strike. The two Ogres looked at each other and nodded, both ran towards White Mage as one, hoping to bowl her over and strike at the other mage.

However White Mage’s distraction had worked, Black Mage finished another spell which hit both of the Ogres before they reached them.

“Time bends and breaks you, Slow Life Spell!”.

Both of the Ogre’s began to slow down, this was not a conscious decision however as the force of black magic had made their mind’s responses slow down, causing them to react a lot slower.

“Quickly, finish them while they are defencless!” Black Mage called out, drawing his own dagger.

Between both of them White and Black Mage finished off the Ogre’s (including the one White Mage had wounded), they turned to see that Fighter had nearly slew his opponent, his blade striking at unarmoured flesh.

Thief however was the first to win, he ducked beneath the swinging club of his enemy and came back up with a stab aimed at the eye, his fine rapier ending the creature’s life in a flash.

Fighter finally beheaded his opponent with a mighty swing of his blade, the group stopped as they realised they had won.

“We did it!” Thief said, exasperated.

“Does anyone need healing?” White Mage asked.

“It looks like we made it through unwounded, we must be luckier than we thought” Fighter commented.

“Not luck but skill, we earned this victory becuase of our talent and teamwork, maybe what Matoya said is true, maybe we are the Light…” Black Mage started.

He was interupted before he could finish however, the sound of clapping came the trees, all turned to see what was causing the sound.

An Ogre entered the clearing, a nine foot tall monster that was all muscle, it wore a suit of armour made of bones and a gigantic sword made of iron. It was clapping its hands as it stopped at the edge of the trees.

“Well done humans, its not often my lads get beaten, but it looks like your stronger than we thought” the Ogre said in a thick voice.

“We, how many others of your kind wait in the trees?” Fighter asked brashly.

“Just me now, i saw you lot down here an sent me boys to cook you, but it looks like you cooked them eh!” the Ogre said jokingly.

“Why let your men go alone?” Theif asked, his blade in hand.

“I cant be bothered hunting your kind, too often i am running after fleeing little humans with no courage, i have longed for a true challenge and it seems i have found it” the Ogre said smiling.

The Light Warriors readied their weapons and prepared their magic, the Ogre drew its huge sword and entered battle stance, no more words needed to be said between enemies.

The true fight was about to begin.


Yup, still going as strong as ever, scott :slight_smile:

…Christ, its been so long since i updated that i feel like im necroposting, a breif spurt of business has kept me from writing for a while, but thats over now and im back, heres a small update, i promise a bigger one soon.


With a burst of speed that surprised his opponents the Ogre launched himself shoulder first into Fighter, despite being big for his size Fighter couldnt hope to resist the the charging giant. He was thrown back into the darkness, his back slammed into one of the trees and he fell to the floor in pain, if that wasnt bad enough the winds began to pick up again and rain poured gently over the area.

Black Mage cursed himself for not being ready, his opponent span to face him, he would have to cast a quick spell to slow him down.

“The power of lightning bends to my command, Zeus Blade Magic!”.

A single bolt of electricity shot out and struck the Ogre in the chest, it didnt even seem phased as it held its blade out, preparing to run Black Mage through.

Thief had circled around the creature as best he could without being discovered, he was planning to sink a dagger into its back, however the danger to Black Mage was more important. He couldnt tackle the huge creature, so he had to resort to the second best thing.

As the Ogre broke into a sprint Thief ran in from the side, being the swifter of the two he reached his quarry first, as the Ogre’s long blade approached Black Mage Thief crashed into him from the side, knocking over both he and Black Mage.

The sword passed harmlessly over them, the Ogre wasnt expecting this and therefore stumbled, he fell to his knee but was soon back up and ready for combat.

White Mage thanked Odin that her freinds were safe, she turned her attention to Fighter who was still in a bad way, she called upon her diety and cast a spell.

“The power of compassion Incarnate, Cure!”.

A beam of white light flew from her hands and into Fighter, his skin and eyes glowed breifly as the holy magic did its work, although still bruised he was ready for combat.

Thief rolled over and drew his rapier, Black Mage started to gather his energies again for a more powerful spell, if he was to die then it would be in the throes of a spell.

The Ogre once more stood ready for battle, the elf and the wizard looked ready for a fight, however the white witch was undefended, with a cruel smile spread over its face the monster lifted its blade.

White Mage knew she was undefended, without the time for a spell she held her hammer aloft as if to defend herself, she however had other plans.

The charging enemy held his sword at his side, hoping to slice the enemy in two, Thief and Black Mage looked on helplessly as the creature charged past them, their was nothing they could do.

As the enemy neared her White Mage called out as loud as she could the name of her god and with all the strength she could muster she threw the hammer at the oncoming enemy.

The Ogre stopped dead in its tracks after the spinning silver hammer struck it in the face, a pain the like it had never known spread through it like the blood pouring from its shattered nose. While it had temporarily slowed the creature it also made it angrier, soon it was upon White Mage, its sword held high.

Thief sprinted as fast as he could towards the Ogre, it was to no avail, he would not reach her in time.

However someone a lot closer and a lot angrier could, from the trees Fighter came crashing into the clearing, his sword in hand.

The Ogre turned at this new sound, giving White Mage a chance to back away from the creature.

Fighter was in front of the creature now, he ducked beneath its swinging blade and struck with his sword in its arm, cutting through skin and sinew with a sickening sound.

With a scream of pain the Ogre lashed out with its hand into Fighters face, knocking him back as if he was a rag doll, Thief leapt on the creatures back and sunk a dagger into a space between its armor.

The Ogre twisted and launched Thief to the floor, Fighter was back up on his feet and ready to fight, his enemy span to regard him.

Black Mage had drew enough energy for a spell, but he would have to wait until the exact right time to use it.

Swords met as the two warriors fought on, Fighter quickly gained the upper hand as he relied on speed rather than strength (to which he would be outmatched). Evading as many attacks as he could, tiring his opponent who still suffered from wounds.

Thief rose to his feet and drew his rapier, circling his way around the two opponents, waiting for his time to strike.

White Mage had began praying for a spell, one she had never tried before but may help Fighter immesurably.

Almost at once Black and White Mage cast spells, both targeted on Fighter.

“Light and mist decieve you, Prism Sight!”

“Red fire be your weapon, Ares Temper Magic!”

Fighter was starting to lost his edge on the battle when suddenly the magic kicked in, his sword flared with a red flame that burnt as hot as fire yet did not harm Fighters hand. The Ogre was having trouble believing what it saw, now when Fighter moved his body left images of itself behind, it was having trouble working out what to hit, once more Fighter gained the upper hand.


Maybe i should have said ‘very breif’…a well

Here is bigger update as promised, also with little of next chapter for no real reason.


Thief watched in amazement as Fighter’s swirling form cut into the enemy time and time again, leaving images of his form floating behind him, White and Black Mage smiled at each other, the spells had complimented each other perfectly.

The Ogre was getting incredibly angry at this, the stinging sword blows cutting into its skin and sinew like nothing it had experienced before, the enemies sword now burned with magical flame that stung with immense pain. This enemy was one who could think on its feet however, the human wouldnt expect him to pull the move he was planning on doing…

Its timing was perfect, it waited until the shifting form was on its right side, away from its allies, then with one leap at the leading image the Ogre landed into Fighter. Both of them went rolling away from the others, the Ogre rolling on top of his opponent with a smile on its face.

The others hadnt expected this, Thief began to run but knew he didnt have enough time, the Ogre drew a long blade from within its bracers and lifted it.

Black Mage vainly summoned the energy for another spell, White Mage tried to run forward but fell upon the wet ground, Theif screamed in anger as he knew he would be too late.

The Ogre bared its death as it dropped its arm.

But Fighter did not give up, he would leave his freinds to face this creature on their own, not seal their fate becuase of his own weakness.

Muscles tensed around his body, a strength he never existed flowed through him, a righteous anger he had never known before.

With a power unheard of in a human Fighters arms and legs pushed forward, with the blade but inches from his face he launched the ogre into the air, throwing it onto its back.

All were surprised, least of all the Ogre, the creature was nearly three times Fighters size, yet he overpowered him.

The Ogre managed to get onto one knee despite his shock, however an angry Thief was already upon him, his rapier point taking the Ogre’s right eye.

Screaming in pain the creature fell forward, blood pouring between its fingers as it held the wound in its head. Fighter was back onto his feet, sword in hand and a fearless look in his eye, he approached the kneeling creature and kicked it onto its back.

Fighter lifted his sword for the killing blow, the creature did not resist despite its pain, in fact it smiled and murmoured to itself.

“…Jus…what…i…wanted…killed…by a…worthy…opponent”.

No more words need by said, Fighter dropped his blade down, the fight was over.


The Light Warriors stood together once more, the wind and rain howling around them.

“Are any of you wounded?” White Mage asked.

The others shook their heads, despite several bruises no serious wounds had been sustained.

“What now?” Theif asked, looking at the carnage that lay about.

The sound of a horn blowing got their attention, it was a hunting horn.

“More Ogres?” Black Mage asked.

“Its likely” Fighter spoke for the first time since he slew the Ogre “We cannot stay here”.

“We cannot go into the storm, we will be dead by morning” Thief said.

“We have no other choice, we will be found if we stay here, there are tracks all around the place, we must flee into the night”.

He walked over to the camp site and pulled out his gear.

“Hurry, get this packed up, we have to leave immediatly”.

“Where shall we go to, we cannot risk marching directly to Pravoka” White Mage shouted over the howling winds.

“Their is another place we can go to, where we can be safe” Fighter responded.

“Where?” White Mage asked.

Fighter smiled at her.

“Home”.

The others all looked at each other knowingly, that was indeed a good idea.

“Come then, we must leave immediatly”.

Without words the Light Warriors gathered their camp site together.

“Stay close, we cannot lose each other in the storm…”

The group ran togther through the rain and mud as the hunting horns sounded closer.

Part 3 : Whispered legends of the Red Hellion

Fighter stood in front of the house where he had grown up, the pirates had left it alone, for that he was truley thankful.

Part 3 : Whispered legends of the Red Hellion

Fighter had returned to the house he had grown up in, the pirates had left it alone and for that he was truley thankful.

The old abandoned farmhouse was outside the walls of Pravoka, close enough to warrant protection but far enough to not be drawn into the politics and intricate city life. It was perhaps the best place to raise the four who’s destiny was so great and overbearing.

They had reached it in the early hours of the morning, the night had been spent in flight from the Ogre hunting parties that dogged their steps. Two factors ensured the Light Warriors safety that night, the first was Thief;s elven vision which allowed him to navigate a safe path to the home.

The second was down to an event long ago, Ogres began encroaching upon Pravoka when the Light Warriors were still children, their master Berrandar knew that this would jepordise his plans. The Ogres made the fatal mistake of cornering the lone Lefain warrior, they wanted sport with a prisoner and thought he would be the best bet.

The master went to Pravoka that day to tell the mayor that the Ogre situation was no longer a problem, he would not say what he did except that he let one go alive to tell the others what he did.

Since then no Ogre had approached Pravoka, soon they lost the Ogres and made their way to the safety of their home.

Fighter and Thief quickly checked to see if it was safe, but no enemy (neither pirate nor Ogre) had disturbed it, they soon fell into exhausted sleeps in their old beds.

The next day the four had another matter to attend to, before they fled the home they had little time to mourn their lost master. His grave was a simple stone block with the name ‘Master’ carved briefly upon it, his grave was simple and few people were their to mourn him.

The four had spent the day at his graveside, praying and reminising about old times shared. While it was indeed a sad and emotional affair the four felt better after it, they could finally say goodbye to their old friend.

Eventually only person stood at the graveside, the others had went back inside becuase of the cold but Fighter did not feel it. He was having the hardest time of all saying goodbye.

He knelt next to the simple marker and placed his hand upon it.

“I swear to you master, once this prophecy nonsense is over i will make my fortune in the world, i will give you the memorial you deserve”.

A single tear fell down his face as he stood up and walked away, the time for sorrow was over.

He entered the farmhouse and went into the main room, a simple oak table and chairs were the only furnishings there. White and Black Mage were quietly talking when Fighter entered.

“Are you ok?” White Mage asked.

"Yes, i have said my goodbyes, im glad we returned here"Fighter responded.

White Mage smiled and leant back in her chair.

“Where is Thief?” Fighter asked.

“He left through the backdoor about five minutes ago, he said he was going to Pravoka” Black Mage responded.

“What!” Fighter exclaimed, his hand unconsciously went to his sword.

“Apparantly he knows a way into the city that is known only to the theives guild, he wants to see what kind of opposotion we would be facing” White Mage assured him.

“The fool, he will be caught, we must go and find him” Fighter stood tall and was ready to leave at a moments notice.

Black Mage stood up and put his hands on the table.

“You will do no such thing, he knows the city well enough to go undetected, if we follow him we may jeapordise our only advantage, who knows how many opponents we may be facing” Black Mage said cooly.

Fighter still seemed unsure, his hand remained on the sword hilt.

“Dont be alarmed Arthur, he may be feeling that he is not a worthy member since what happened in the wilderness, this is his way of reaffirming his use” White Mage said calmly.

Fighter relaxed, he knew White Mage would not use his real name if she did not mean it.

“Okay, but if he is not back by morning then i am going to Pravoka, i dont care if i have to go through an army of pirates” Fighter said jokingly.

“Good, now thats settled maybe its time we went to bed” Black Mage said.

He said his goodnights and left the room, soon followed by White Mage, Fighter stayed up a little while longer, his eyes fixed on the door.

An hour later his eyes started to give way, the fatigue of the previous day still not shaken. But he did not wish to leave his post, he eventually leant forward on the table and fell asleep.


Fighter was awoken with a start by the sound of something being dropped onto the table, he almost fell out of his chair as he stood up with his sword half out of the scabbard.

“Calm down, its only a jug”.

Thief was sitting at the other end of the table with his hand on a ceramic jug, he took a sip from some liquid inside it.

“Thief, your back!” Fighter exclaimed.

He put his sword down and sat down.

“Hello to you as well, where are White and…” Thief began.

Awoken by the commotion the two mages looked ready for a fight when they came through the doorway, they visibly relaxed when they saw it was Thief.

“Thief, your back…are you ok?” White Mage asked.

“Unbruised but thank you for your concern” Thief responded.

Soon everyone was sat down and pressing the elf for details.

“So, was your trip useful Thief?” Black Mage asked.

Thief said nothing, he pulled out a roll of parchment from his jacket and laid it down upon the table. It was a fairly detailed map of Pravoka and written in ink were several annotations.

“I managed to sneak n through the old Thieves entrance, their is a hidden tunnel outside the city that leads straight to an abandoned warehouse, it was built in case of another war, but now its used by smugglers and what not. The walls of the city are being guarded by pirates who are mostly a drunken rabble, however they outnumber us by at least thirty to one, thats only from what i saw…”

The other Light Warriors looked at each other, concern obvious on their face.

“I managed to liason with the head thief in town, a man named Black Tom who is the person to go for information, we’ve met before and he is willing to help us” Thief said slowly.

“In what way?” Fighter asked.

“Well the pirates are even worse than theives, so little gold is around to be plundered, the theives want them out but know that they dont have the manpower to do it themselves. All of the guilds in the city have secretly aligned to find a way to force the pirates out of the city, even the wizards and preists have joined. We have been granted an audience later today with the heads of this rebellion, they claim to have a way for us to get rid of the pirate leader”.

“Leader, what has happened to the mayor?” White Mage asked.

“From what i was told the pirates sent a single one man lifeboat before the warships arrived, it was bearing a message to the mayor. It offered a peaceful resolution, that the mayor hand the town over to the pirate king Bikke and no blood would be shed. The condition to this was that the mayor would be imprisoned on a warship until the end of his days, the other option was a war that the Pravokians knew they couldnt win, the pirates number too many”.

“What happened, is he still alive?” Fighter asked.

“Apparantly he didnt even take long to decide, he gave up the city and himself rather than lives being lost”.

“What!” the other Light Warriors asked in unison.

“I know, he was too good a man to let the citizens be killed in a pointless war, he is now currently on Bikke’s warship. Bikke is now the ‘king’ of Pravoka and his men hold the town under forced control”.

“The people just let him go?” Black Mage asked.

“They had no choice, i know he was a good man and he helped the master with getting this place but we must put his aside for the moment. Our main concern is what to do next”.

Thief pointed out the notes on the map.

“The underground rebellion have worked out this map of all the barracks and taverns, also their are markings of the normal patrol routes, this wil be needed later i am assured. But we cannot tarry however, our appointment with the rebellion leaders is this afternoon, we must leave soon if we are to be on time”.

Thief stood up from the table and walked over to the window, the others were still absorbing what they had heard.

They did not see his smile, his worth to the group had been earned tenfold.


The fighter, Arthur, was enraged earlier when everyone calls him by his profession rather than his name, yet refers to his companion as Thief.

That’s the only comment I have right now. It is a very good story; I should take notes.

This question was also adressed by Weila the first time i posted the original version of this chapter. The answer is that as time went on (due to the events in Corenia and the meeting with Matoya) they were adressed more often as their ‘light warrior’ names that they slowly reverted to calling each other it.

I guess the idea was twofold, names tend to have a way of sticking and due to the fact their true names were relativly unknown they were mementos of the Light Warriors former lives, also it represents how the group start off unsure and slowly become adjusted to their roles as the Light Warriors.

I hope that answers your question.