Aamini sits quietly in the back of Ug's wagon while his red wolves pull it through the darkness of the fugan forest. She has no idea where they are headed nor does she care. All she wants to do right now is make sure the elders do not wake up. She has seen what they are capable of doing. Their energy is the purest of all and as ancient as it can be, especially the eldest of the elders. She was a very young elf when he first showed up at her village. He, along with some of the not so elder elders that lie before her, came looking for any signs of dark creature infiltration. Their methods are cruel and without mercy. She lost her best friend that night. Her mother was suspected of conspiring with the necromancers but they had no proof. A simple rumor started by a jealous mage who could not have her, brought pain and suffering to that family. The enchater that came with them could not find any thread of evidence to support those claims but the eldest of the elders took it upon himself to try a different method and make an example of them. He grabbed Aamini's best friend, a very young elf barely grown into her ears, and threatened her parents to burn her alive if they did not confess to wrongdoing. Some of the other villagers stood by while this brute lifted her by the feet and lit a pyre spell under her head. Her parents pleaded and screamed in horror to let her go. They swore over and over again there was no truth to the rumors. Her mother threw herself at his mercy and even offered her own life in exchange for her beautiful daughter, but there was no reasoning with the bastard. Even their own enchanter tried to intercede in the family's name but he too was silenced under threats banishment. When her father could take it no longer, he summoned a mud slobber from the ground and sent it to attack the eldest of the elders. That move was interpreted by them as an admission of guilt and the poor young elf was set ablaze. Her mother tried to save her from the fire but she was also engulfed by the flames. Even with her clothes lit up like a torch, she embraced her daughter and brought her close to her chest as they both went silent while the flames fed on their bodies. The father was held down and forced to watch as his family was consumed alive in front of him. He begged Aamin's father, the most powerful druid in the village and his best friend since they were young elves, to summon a deluge but he too turned his back fearful of the elders. Aamini tried to reach out for her friend but her father picked her up and walked into the density of the fugan forest to spare his daughter the pain of witnessing her best friend's demise. The mage was sent to spend the rest of his life inside the cave of infinite depth; a magical prison for those who have dared challenge the elders' authority throughout the history of the world. Demons, dark creatures, necromancers, fallen erudites and influenced creatures of light that have lost their way now reside in this dark cavern of despair. Their magic is stripped by the forces that guard the cave's entrance and once inside, everyone has to learn to survive without it, just like a common human. A horrible fate for any creature that has experienced magic.
Aamini wants to avenge her best friend's death but her magic is not powerfull enouigh to challenge an elder yet. She does see a future inside her head in which she can seek revenge though, something she could never even imagine a few nights ago before coming to live with her uncle. Ug is very quiet at the front of his wagon and the only noise she hears is the occasional growl coming from the red wolves and the clacking of their claws on the ground. The fattest of the not so elder elders farts every once in a while, expelling what could only be described as what one would think the most evil of creatures' breath would smell like after feasting on the second most evil creature left in the world, but thankfully the wind takes most of the poisonous aroma with it leaving a deathly cloud in their path. Aamini wants to know where they are headed to but is too afraid to ask in case her voice would wake one of the elders up. Every once in a while she thinks she can make out a small light in the darkness of the forest that gets bigger the longer they travel. The eldest of the elders suddenly sits right up and opens his eyes. Aamini is caught by surprise and lets out a squeal as she scrambles to reach a bottle of the magical ale. Ug stops the wagon in haste and she is sent tumbling over the still slumbering not so elder elders. Surprisingly, the eldest of the elders does nothing. He just sits there, wide eyed and mouth hanging open. Ug slowly crawls onto the back of the wagon and carefully gets close enough to inspect his condition. He grabs the elder's hand, lifts it and drops it. It falls without strength, a sure sign he is still sleeping. Aamini opens the bottle and hands it to Ug, "Here, pour some down his throat. I am going to do the same to the rest of them before we have more pop ups. That scared the living daylights out of me." Ug does as he is told and pushes the eldest of the elders down onto his side while closing his eyes. He starts to crawl back to his seat when a scrawny pale hand grabs his arm and screams, "Buyaca!" The eldest of the elders is now dreaming about Buyaca, whomever or whatever that is. Ug's skin returns to normal and he looks at Aamini who's face is devoid of color. She is even more freaked out than he is, "What the hell is Buyaca?" Ug bursts out laughing, "Who knows! These buggers have been alive so long that it could be his sister or the first girlfriend he ever had. I have never heard of it though. Lets just keep moving, we are almost there." Aamini wants to know, "Are you going to tell me where we are going? It would be nice to know in case something happens." Ug sits down, grabs the reins and yells out, "Hold on to something hard Aamini!" Instead of getting an answer she is caught off guard and again is sent tumbling over the elders.
The small light in the distance turns into several torches that she can discern moving around through the thickness of the forest trunks. She can smell the aroma of burnt wood in the air. As the wagon nears a big bonfire in the middle of nowhere she makes out several tall figures she has never seen before. These are not like the tall elders she is carrying in the wagon. They are tall, quite robust and a little hard to look at. Their ears are pointy like elve's ears but instead of very elegantly complimenting their faces, they stand on end and move around in every which way. Their skin is hard as rocks and covered in bumps. The few they pass along the path keep grunting in a very threatening manner. Aamini is not intimidated just yet but she does sit next to Ug, "What are those things?" Ug says nothing. He makes a sharp turn onto a smaller path that leads straight into the biggest of the bonfires. It is hard to make out their figures with so much smoke around the fire but Aamini does recognize a few of the smaller ones. There are black dwarves using the firepit to forge what seems like weapons and armor at a massive scale. Ug halts the wolves near the biggest of the pits on the ground and one of the tall creatures runs out of it with open arms and squealing in a different tongue, one that Ug apparently is very familiar with. He too spreads his arms and takes off running towards the creature with a huge grin on his face. The two must be very old acquaintances because they are just oozing sheer happiness. After the creature lifts Ug off the ground in a really tight and somewhat innapropriate embrace he calls for me to join them, "This is Lissy. She brought her friends to help with the mining and forging for the big battle. She will take care of the elders for us until the king sends for them." Lissy extends her paw to greet her but Aamini is a bit shy. Lissy is not and in a flash grabs Aamini's hand, brings her close and gives her the warmest, kindest and most wonderful embrace she has ever experienced in her short life. At first she fights it, trying to escape the tight grip by squirming around like a ground wormite, but once she realizes there is no way out, she gives into it and quickly understands why Ug was so happy to see Lissy. It is an experience like no other. It is something completely unexpected coming from such a creature. It really takes one by surprise. Lissy lets go of the young elf and walks over to the wagon saying something to Ug in her tongue. Ug bursts out laughing and nods his head in agrement to whatever she said. Lissy summons one of her friends over with a loud screetch. Another of the creatures shows up, this one is not as friendly looking as Lissy. His skin has a bunch of spikes, oozing lumps and open sores all over it. He just walks up to the wagon, steps on it's back and causes the elders to slide right out onto the muddy ground. Their once pristine looking robes are quickly covered in a mixture of mud and ash. The creature picks them up one by one as if they were sacks of meat and throws them over his shoulder.
Aamini follows Ug into the ground pit where many more of those creatures are mining for fugan iron. She moves up really close to Ug, "What are these things anyways?" Ug turns to her, "They are not things child! They are beings. Trolls to be more specific. The most ancient intelligent creatures in Rodinia. The strongest warriors are trolls. The most skilled tailors are trolls. The most loyal friends are trolls. They are not native to these parts and it is very likely that if not for the war that looms ahead you would never have the distinct pleasure of meeting one of them, much less these many at once. They are usually very shy and have isolated their race from the rest of the magical community since the begining of time, but the king have some ties with Lissy and she decided to bring her friends here to help. The queen doesnt know anything about it though so when we go back, you have to shut up and not say anything. Do we have a deal?" Aamini rolls her eyes and agrees. She is certainly being given too much damn responsibility. Everyone keeps asking her to keep secrets. At the bottom of the pit, Lissy takes one of the elder sacks from her friend and drops it in a recently dug up hole. Her friend drops the rest of the elders on top of hers, then several other trolls quickly bury the bunch with fugan iron. Ug tells Aamini, "The black dwarves found out the fugan iron has magic blocking properties in it's raw form. The black iron we put over them will not kill them, just preserve their magical state indefinetely. When the king sees it fit, we will come back and dig them out. Lissy and her friends will make sure that nothing happens to them." They turn around and go back to the wagon. When they get to the top of the pit, they find the red wolves have chewed through the leather straps that kept them attached to the wagon and are chasing the black dwarves around the fire while the trolls place bets on which dwarf will be eaten first. Lissy lets out a really loud screetch that makes everyone stop on their tracks. The red wolves run back to the wagon where Ug quickly ties them back up. The black dwarves get back to forging their armor and the rest of the trolls scatter around an dissapear into the forest. Aamini looks at Lissy by her side and smiles. She is completely impressed with how much confidence Lissy exudes. That is one proud and powerful troll.
Ug calls out, "Aamini, wake up! We have to get back. Come on." Lissy smiles at Aamini and waves good bye at Ug before turning around and going back into the pit. Aamini feels like she needs another hug, "Lissy!" The troll turns around and smiles. Aamini runs into her arms and steals one more embrace before returning to the wagon. Ug shakes his head and smiles, "You smell like troll now!" Aamini jumps on the back of the wagon, "You are just jealous she hugged me and not you!" He yanks on the reins and the red wolves take off. The morning mist covers the entire forest and Ug cant see any further than the wolves' asses but this is what they are best at. They were born in this forest and know it like no other creature. Their eyesight helps guide them through the fog just as it did in the darkness of the night. Ug does nothing with the reins. Aamini watches as he holds them in his hands but does not give any orders to the wolves, "Aren't you afraid they will get us lost in the woods?" Ug drops the reins and climbs onto the back of the wagon with her, "They know where to go better than you or I. Berot has them very well trained. I do not know what he is putting in their food but they cant get enough of it. As long as we do not encounter any wild fugan goats on the way we should make good time getting back to the school. I know you are very good friends with my son, I want to thank you for all you have done for him Aamini. Since your arrival he behaves like a new elf. There is no chore hard enough or responsability he does not take on and successfully accomplish. His mother and I are both very proud of him. The night of the necromancer attack on the school I could not contain my tears when I saw him answer the call to arms without any encouragement from us. His mastery over the red wolves and the defensive skills he learned from you and the king, have made him a magnificent soldier worthy of defending the princess. I know he still has a lot to learn but with you and the princess by his side, he is sure to give it his all. Aamini agres with him, "I give him a hard time but he knows I have his back and I am sure the princess will too once she gets to know him better. He has a great heart and is loyal like no other. His friendship runs deep and I look forward to having him by my side in the battlefield. I do want to know how he controls those beasts though. I know where my kinship with them comes from but he has no ancient energy running through his veins, right? Ug shakes his head, "Nope! No energy there, just an endless supply of courage and curiosity that we thought would get him killed one day. His firrst encounter with the princess saved his life, believe it or not. I0t taught him to accurately gauge the consecuences of his actions before fully commiting to an act that could bring his life to a close. He is the only elf I know that can walk into the wolves' den, pick up a pup and walk right out without losing an arm to the pup's mother. When we first came up to the school, his body was covered in open sores from the fire. He pushed through the pain and got to work with the wolves right away. The first time he walked into the pen, the smell of his blood brought the entire pack out of hiding. They surrounded him and started to sniff their prey. His mother thought he was a goner but I know my son. He had no fear. He stood in the midst of a ravenous pack of beasts and extended his hand out to them. The pack leader saw the courage in his eyes. She stepped forward, licked Berot's hand and sat down in front of him, letting him place that same hand on her head. The rest of the pack backed off and went back into their dens. Berot sat in the middle of the pen all night with the pack leader by his side. The next morning his mother and I went to check up on him and we found everyone in the school surrounding the pen, watching him. He was playing with the wolves as if they have known each other their entire lives. The king was so taken by him that he invited Berot to join his class. I guess he thought the training would come in handy if the wolves ever decdied to turn on him. The kitchen gnomes call him the "Crazy Wolf Boy" because they can see him out of their window spending all of his free time with the wolves. He feeds them, bathes them, plays with them, helps them raise their young and makes sure the goats stay away. His mother worries sometimes that he will never find a good elf to have little elves with because he stinks like a wolf but I tell her to let him be. He is happy.
The light in the sky starts to burn the mist that fogs the trail home and the entire forest starts to clear up. Aamini can make out the sky above through the thickness of the forest's canopy. The wolves seem very excited now and pick up speed. Ug goes back to the front of the wagon, "We are almost there Aamini. Can you smell the gnome's bread? We should be there in no time." Aamini jumps to the front seat with him, "I can smell the bread Ug, and I am so damn hungry."
They take one last turn out of the forest and Aamini gets her first look at the school during day light. She has never really witnessed it's true magnificence when there is light out. She was brought to it in the middle of the night and hasn't left since, but now her breath escapes her. The light in the sky is at the right place over the mountains to shine onto the front of the buildings. Their walls are made of rodinian glass rocks imported from the main land. When the light hits them, the entire wall sparkles so brightly that it can be blinding to look at them directly for long; a very good defense if ever attacked during the day. Ug senses Aamini's amazement, "Impressive huh? Just make sure to look at the ground every once in a while or your uncle is going to kick my ass for bringing you back without sight." Aamini snaps out of it and looks down, "It's so hard not to look at it though. How did they build it?" Ug shrugs his shoulders, "Those who know were sworn to secrecy with penalty of spending one night alone with the queen. Nobody has faltered yet." The wolves go around to the rear entrance and are received by the princess. They seem to recognize her. Her beauty alone could disarm the strongest enemy. She stands by the school's back gate, wearing only her leather straps, eyes closed, arms extended to her sides, head tilted back and long black hair flowing in the wind, taking in the forest's morning energy. The wolves stop on their tracks right in front of her. Ug jumps out, "I am so sorry princess! I didnt mean for them to do that. Please forgive us." Aamini is not so apologetic, "Stop it Ug. It is her own fault. Who stands in the middle of the road like that? Ruscotelep, get out of the way, we have news for your father! And go put something on, nobody wants to see all that!" The princess moves to the side and the wolves take Aamini and the wagon the rest of the way. Ug runs after them, "Aamini! You cant speak like that to the princess. If her mother ever finds out she will have you killed." Aamini jumps down, "Nah! The princess and I are tight. I can say anything I want and if she doesnt like it, she can talk to me about it. That or kill me!" Ug tries to help her down by extending his hand but she walks past him. Ug decides to go make sure Berot is back to normal. Aamini finds the king and Calien hovering over the war table in the main hall, "It's done. Can we get on with my training now?" Calien looks at the king,"Look at her face. How much do you want to bet that she met our favorite troll?" The king looks at Aamini, "Oh yeah! They met!
Aamini scowls at them, "Yeah, we met. And thanks for the heads up by the way. First, your dearest eldest of the elders high elf meat bag scares the entrails out of me by fake waking up in the middle of the forest screaming for Buyaca, then we encounter not one, but an entire tribe of trolls, creatures that I have never seen or even heard of, digging a huge hole in the ground and setting every tree in their way on fire. I must admit Lissy is one hell of a nice troll though. Is there any chance we can bring her here. The way she handles herself around fire makes me think she might be a great asset to have around Ruscotelep. Don't you agree?" Calien is very impressed with her wisdom and turns to the king, "You know what? She is right. Ruscotelep would benefit much from having Lissy around. If I know that troll, and believe me I do, she will put the princess through the paces. I think she would be the best trainer, no offense to his majesty." The king is very excited, "None taken. I agree with all of you. Aamini go tell Ug to go get Lissy and bring her back to us. Tell him to hurry." Aamini takes off running. The chance to have those hugs so close by, the true reason for her idea, is something she can not pass. She almost knocks the princess over on her way out. Ruscotelep makes one hell of an entrance. When she communes with the forest early in the morning her skin lights up like a wisp. Her entire body glows like a lantern for all to see. Calien admires her splendor, "You look stunning my princess! I think those leather straps do not do your body justice though. We have to come up with a better wardrobe for you. Those students are having a hard enough time keeping their eyes away from you as it is. If you show up to training class wearing those straps there will be a few fires set for sure. Why dont you go put on the armor suit the black dwarves made for you?" The king points to the window, "There is no need! Look at what they came up with while you slept." She runs outside and in the middle of the arena, standing on it's own in one magnificent statement to the black dwarves' skill with the hammer, a golden suit or armor catches the morning light and fills the entire space with a yellow glow. It is awe inspiring to look at and quite intimidating to admire up close. Ruscotelep steps onto the sandy floor of the arena and Calien signals for everyone else to stay back. This moment has to be hers alone. A true warrior and his armor must get to know each other intimately. She is speechless. Her fingers caress the surface of the polished golden breasplate. The reflection of her image on it's surface looks back at her with lust in her eyes. Her hand reaches for one of the gloves and she puts it on. Something she has never felt before happens. The iron melts onto the surface of her skin and takes its shape. At first, she is taken aback by this but after getting a feel for it, she realizes how much more effective and less cumbersome this new material will be in the battlefield. She grabs the next glove and it too mleds with her skin. She takes off her leather straps and right there in front of the entire student body, school staff, Calien and her own father. Completely oblivious to her surroundings, she proceeds to put on the rest of the suit to the whispers of everyone around her. Once finished, she lifts her gaze and looks at Calien, "This is amazing. I feel so strong with it on. What material is this?" Calien runs to her, "I have no idea. This is something your father did without asking me or your mother. I know they have been looking for a rare stone to mix with the fugan iron for the longest time. I guess they found it. Is it painful when it melds with your skin?" The princess is too busy admiring her new threads to answer.
Calien summons a staff away from one of the students and hits the back of the princess' legs. She drops on the sand like a bag of wolf crap. Calien reaches out to help her get back on her feet, "Its nice to look at and quite sturdy but it wont save you if you are on the ground. Lets get going with today's training. You are going to stand there with your eyes closed and every single one of the students is going to come and whack you with their stick. We need to find out how strong this thing really is." Ruscotelep is not very happy about the plan, "What do you mean stand there with your eyes closed? Am I not to engage any of them? That does not seem fair." The king steps onto the arena, "And you think the ability to burn them alive with just your stare is fair? Give me that staff Calien, I want to see what my money paid for!" He grabs the stick and charges forth in full force, hitting his daughter right across her breastplate. She instinctively plants her feet on the floor and braces for him. A loud crack is heard and the king feels his stick break in half, sending pieces of hardened fugan oak bouncing off the buildings nearby. Calien pulls a wooden shard from his right arm, "I think we are going to need better weapons!" The king smiles, "I think I am going to get my money's worth. Those dwarves did good." Ruscotelep grabs the king's neck from behind and forces him to the ground, "Thank you so much for my new armor suit father! Now, say you are sorry for breaking a staff on your daughter's breastplate or I will show you how good a warrior I can be without weapons. Calien has taught me many fighting styles that do not require the use of a stick or a knife. Say you are sorry!" The king fights to catch his breath. The princess is putting great pressure on his windpipe. Calien jumps on her back and tries to pull her off but she is not giving in. The more he pulls on her the greater the pressure on the king's throat. She is relentless, "Say that you are sorry father!" He squirms under her weight but cant get away. Calien lets go of her as not to make it worse for the king, "Ruscotelep! Let go of your father right now! I swear I will tell your mother and you know she can still kick your ass, new armor or not."
The princess lets go of him and stands up. The king finds it very hard to breathe, "Ruscotelep go to your room." Calien tries to help him but the king pushes him away, "I said go to your room now!" She steps back, "I have training to take part of. I am not going to my room father." The king stands tall in front of her, stares right into her eyes as no one has ever done before and repeats, "Go to your room Ruscotelep, right now!" Nobody has ever spoken to her like that. Nobody has looked into her eyes before and demended respect like that. Not even the queen. She looks to Calien for some support but he looks away and gives her his back. She looks around and everyone avoids looking in her direction, and not in fear of her abilities but in solidarity with her father. Defeated, she runs away with tears in her eyes. Calien whispers to the king, "Are you sure you want to embarrass her like that in front of her subjects?" The king walks away from him, "Out there she is their princess, in here she is my daughter and will be treated as such. Stay out of it Calien!" He walks into the main hall chasing after her. Calien calls for the students to pair up and begin their training.
Inside her room, the princess is furious and throwing whatever furniture was there into the walls. She just cant believe her own father would put her down like that. How is she supposed to command respect from her troops in battle if they see her being treated like a spolied elf by her own father. The king knocks on her door but she wont answer him. He wont stand for it and kicks her door in, "You will treat me as your father Ruscotelep!" She turns away from him, "I am the heir to the throne and will not be disrespected. You embarrased me in front of the same elves I am to lead into battle. How am I going to ask them to risk their lives for my kingdom if they think of me as a spoiled brat who gets scolded by her father?" The king calmly walks around the room, "When you act like the heir to the throne then you can ask them to give their lives for your kingdom. In the meantime, you are no better than any of them on that arena. You are just another student seeking knowledge from your elders. In here you are my daughter and my student. Outside those crystal walls you can call yourself the Queen of Rodinia for all I care but the moment you decided to walk through those doors you became my student. The moment you crawled out of your mothers woumb you became my daughter and it is not easy to reconcile the two, so give me a break. I am not going to treat you any different than my other students, most of which have been training under me for a very long time. You got here yesterday and already think you can disrespect me in front of them. How am I going to tell them what to do if they see that you can treat me with such disdain. Everyone in this island is fully aware of your abilities. A true champion is able to call the right time when to use those abilities and when to pull back. There will be times in battle in which you will have to rein in your power in oder to come out victorious in the end. What you did with your kick yesterday for example. If you find yourself surrounded by a dark army and use your energy to knock them out, you will lose the support of your own troops that stand beside you. Then who will protect you against a second wave of such army?"
The princess starts to understand what he means. There is much to learn and she doesnt have much time to learn it in. She turns to her father and lowers her hed, "I am so sorry father. I let my pride get the best of me. Please forgive me. I did act foolishly, but how do I face them now that they have seen my true weakness?" The king steps out of her room, "Follow me into the arena and fight without your abilities. Show them you can control your power. Let them see that they are safe while fighting by your side. Prove to them that you are deserving of their loyalty. Be the real you! The one I know lies within you. My daughter, the future queen of Fuga!" He extends his hand, she places her golden covered hand on top and they walk back to the arena. Calien has been busy beating the crap out of the students but when the princess makes her entrance, he misses a beat and gets kicked in the head by one of them. Many lie unconcious around the perimeter of the arena and many more hide behind the columns that surround it. The one student that was able to kick him in the head walks about with raised arms claming victory until he sees the princess and falls on bended knee. The king orders, "Stand back and get some rest. My daughter needs to practice. Any volunteers?" Behind them a familiar voice, "I will go first!" It is Berot. He has a new staff on hand and seems ready for battle. The king stands back and pats him on the back, "Do not take pity on her. Let her have it. Remember everything I taught you." Berot nods and moves forth. Just as he is about to charge another voice yells out, "Stop! I think you should use this instead." Jacho Centeno walks into the arena with a golden staff, "I used this here stick against the queen when she was a young elf. It was made for me by my father with metal from the breastplate that the fire king himself wore the night of the crescent beach battle. It will serve you well young elf." He hands it to Berot and as soon as the staff hits the palm of his hand both ends light up with flames. A loud gasp is heard. The king walks up to Berot, "Let me see that thing!" Berot hands it over to the king but the flames are extinguished as soon as they leave Berot's touch. The king turns to Jacho, "You never told me about this!" The dwarf is as susprised as everyone else, "I never knew! Ask your wife. That stick never did that when we used it. I dont know why it is doing that now." The king throws is back at Berot and as soon as it hits the elf's hands, lights up. Louder gasps are heard. Calien takes the staff away and inspects it, "I feel ancient energy flowing throughout the weapon. It must be due to the material used to forge it. Other than those flames, it feels like a pretty cool stick. If the princess if up to it, then I say we let Berot go with it. What is the worse that can happen? That the princess gets burned?" Everyone laughs. Calien throws it back at Berot, "Go ahead big boy! Let her have it!" Then he walks up to the king, "You need to find Berot's father. I think he has some explaining to do."
Ruscotelep stands in the center of the arena and unsheathes her swords. Silence reigns over the crowd. Berot plants his feet in the ground, "Are we going to be fair about this?" Ruscotelep lowers the visor of her helm to hide her eyes, "You are the one with the fire stick in your hands. I am not allowed to use any fire against you. You tell me how fair that is!" Berot grins, "I guess we are going to have some fun then!" The two engage and surprisingly, Berot's new stick is doing really well against the princess' new armor. She is finding it really hard to keep up with the wolf tamer. Her new armor, although quite nice to look at and very sturdy, is quite restrictive. She is having a hard time keeping up with Berot but ever the honorable warrior, she will not concede defeat. Berot, with a renewed confidence level thanks to that fire stick, forces her to retreat against one of the columns and pins her, "I guess the princess is not much of a warrior without her powers." His insolence irritates her. She pushes him off and jumps out of the way. She can feel the fire within starting to burn but her father's words keep her from flaming out. Berot charges forth and turns the staff against the side of her neck while kicking her legs from under her. As she falls, all she can think of is how much fun would it be to just put Berot out of his missery, a dark place in her mind. She fights against it and gets back up. Berot now choses to use his huge cavern of a mouth to incite more hatred from the princess, "Aparently all the riches in the world cant buy the young princess any real battle skills. Her mother has demonstated over and over again true control over her powers but I guess her daughter just did not inherit any of her skills." The king knows what Berot is doing. He taught him to taunt the enemy and keep it focused in him. By using his words, Berot can waken his enemy and make it's confidence waiver. The king knows all that but, the enemy in this case is his own daughter. Should he allow Berot to humiliate her like that? He takes a step forth but Calien pulls him back, "She is fine. Let it be! Just give her a chance."
Ruscotelep has to focus. So many things to keep track of. Do not kill Berot. Do not allow your fire to come through. Do not open the visor on your helm. Do not use any of your powers. Do not, do not, do not. That is a lot of don'ts. She misses the training with Calien when she could go all out without fear of killing him. That is one tough rat! Berot hits the side of her thigh and she feels the energy of his weapon become one with her armor. The longer she fights, the more familiar she becomes with the golden suit. Every single time Berot touches the armor with his weapon she can mitigate more of it's force. At first Berot does not notice but pretty soon it becomes quite evident that he is not causing much damage anymore. The princess now pushes against him while he tries to stave off the inevitable. The king smiles. Calien is now worried for Berot but the king holds him back, "Do not worry. I have taught him well. She wont hurt him!" Calien looks at her, "I wouldn't be so sure. I have seen her lose control and it ain't pretty!" The king looks at Berot, "He has one trick up his sleeve. He thinks nobody knows about it but I have seen him do it with his wolves. Sometimes they get a little too frisky while playing with him and his skin hardens." Calien cant believe his ears, "That is a wood elf innate ability but the wood elves live on the other side of Rodinia. There has never been any contact between the fugan elves and the wood elves. It would explain the fire on his stick though. We need to have a nice long talk with Ug. He has been holding out on us." Ruscotelep's swords light up for just a moment and every student in the arena lets out the loudest gasp yet. The king yells out, "Princess!" She stops, takes a deep breath, the swords go back to normal and to the cheers of her subjects, charges forth agains Berot once more. Berot's mouth continues his verbal assault on her but thats about all he has left. The fire stick is on the ground while he runs around the arena, dodging in and out of corners and columns avoiding getting hacked to pieces. His running around does not end well and he finds himself in a tight corner with no weapon and no escape. In front of him, a charging princes rushes at him with a loud scream. With no way out, Berot puts his hands in front of his eyes and hears a loud thump. Ruscotelep goes quiet and everything stops. There is no pain on his arm. He can feel something on it but there is no pain. The king comes running followed by Calien's wabble.
The king pushes the princess aside, "Berot! Is there something you want to tell me?" Berot lowers his arms and open his eyes, "Yeah! She has got some tough skin with that new armor. I gave her everything I had but she kept coming back. I am done being her punching bag." Calien points at Berot's arm, "How did you do that?" Berot looks down and there is one of Ruscotelep's swords stuck to his forearm but no blood. He freaks out and starts trying to pull it out. The king pushes him against the wall to stop him, "If you pull it out there will be a lot of blood. Leave it in for now. Just tell me how do you make your skin harden like that." Berot looks at the king with a very confused look on his face, "With all due respect your majesty, but what the hell are you talking about?" Calien casts a healing spell onto Berot's arm and pulls the sword out before handing it over to Ruscotelep. The king orders the rest of the students to charge the princess and avenge Berot's injury. Ruscotelep runs to the middle of the arena and gets ready for a good fight. The students run after her. The king puts his arm around Berot and they walk back to the main hall. Calien stands near Ruscotelep in case the students need some healing. Once they enter the room, they find someone who can provide all the answers they seek. Berot's mother sits near the window while drying her tears with a kitchen rag. Berot runs to her side, "Mother, I am fine. There is no reason for you to cry. I am going to be ok, look! Calien healed my wound. Please stop crying." The king grabs a chair and sits next to her, "Brunildabria, is there something that you want to tell me?" She nods while sobbing into the rag. Berot starts to catch up, "What do you mean? Have you been hiding something from father and I?" She again sobs while nodding her head. The king puts his arm around her, "Berot, let her be. I am sure she had her reasons but the time has come when we need to shed light onto everyone's dark secrets." Brunildabria stands up, "I thought it would go away. I am so sorry your majesty, I should have told you or the queen sooner. When he was born there was no indication that he was a wood elf. My people as very similar to your kind. I was so relieved and his father was so proud to have a son. We raised him as a fugan elf his entire life and I was able to conceal my secret until today. The day the princess set his sneaky ass on fire was the worst day of my life. I thought someone would figure out that the reason he didnt die was because of our natural high resistance to fire but nobody did. It took all I had for me not to crumble and tell his father. I am so sorry your majesty."
The king stands up and starts pacing, "According to Calien, your kind lives in the forests on the other side of Rodinia. How did you end up in our island?" Brunildabria walks up to Berot and embraces her son, "It was a wizard's screw up. My sister was born with ancient energy and after making it rain one too many times by accident, wiping out our village, the elders decided to bring her into their fold to teach her the magic way. While in their temple, she met a young human wizard in training and they fell in love. Their union was forbidden by the elders for many reasons. Humans are considered by them to be lesser beings, plus wizards and druids should never procreate because the magic of their offspring would turn dark. The combination of the two is nothing but a recipe for disaster. Trying to explain that to two magic beings blinded by love and with the ability to teleport does nothing but create mayhem. Since she was my sister, I let her sneak into our home the night they decided to escape the elders' tutelage. They were not counting on the trackers and were found in no time. We were trapped inside that tree for a few nights but alas my sanctuary spell wore off and their spells started to hit us hard. My sister and her human cast their exodus spells at the same time and instead of taking us to the nearest portal, I was sent to the coast of this island near the wizard's portal on the north beach along with half of the human. I wandered through the forest for a while until one night I met Ug. He gave me refuge and tried to help me remember where I was from but I was too afraid and lied. I told him I had no memories of my previous life. He thought I might have fallen victim to the warlocks that often attack the island and they might have done something to my head, making me forget who I was. He was so kind and took such good care of me. Eventually we became lovers and had Berot. In the beginning we lived in the forest but once the little elf came along Ug got it into his head that we needed to provide a better life for him. That is when we went to work for the queen. Please your majesty, if you have to punish someone, please let it be me. My boys never knew of my treachery. I am so sorry!" The king is still in shock that there has been a wood elf living amongst them for so long and nobody was the wiser. That being said, Calien walks in the main hall and inmediately catches on, "Now it all makes sense! Let me guess. You must be Berot's mother. Am I right?" Berot stands in between her and the rat as if trying to protect her, "How can you tell?" Calien smiles, "She smells like pine trees and this island only has oaks. Its so easy. How did any of you not know though? Look at her ears. If you look behind them there is scales of bark growing back there. Her feet! The bottom of her feet is the color of wood and not green like the rest of you." The king gets up from his chair, "Well, if we knew what to look for then maybe one of us would have known, not that it matters anyways. For what I can see she is just like us. No need to look for bark behind her ears. I just wish we knew the truth about Berot. His life would have been so much better."
Ug steps in through the back door, "What truth about my son? Why is my wife crying? Berot! What did you do now?" He charges at his son fists raised only to be held back by the king, "He didnt do anything Ug. Everything is fine. I think your wife has something to tell you though. Why dont you take her into the kitchen and get her something to drink? The rest of us have to come up with a new plan. Did you get Lissy?" Ug puts his arm over his wife's shoulder and they walk away, "She is in the arena already. Aamini is showing her around." Calien runs outside and screams, "Lissy!" She stops on her tracks and turns around with a huge smile on her face. Calien opens his arms and she runs across the arena towards him lifting a huge cloud of dust behind her. The students are standing there in awe. Their eyes follow Lissy as she moves towards Calien while their mouths hang open. Ruscotelep can't believe her eyes. Aamini stands next to her, "Isn't she amazing? You two are going to be great friends, I promise. She is awesome." Ruscotelep scowls, "What do you mean friends? Have you seen that thing? What is it anyways?" Aamini moves away from Ruscotelep, "She is a troll, and a magnificent one at that. Just wait until you get to know her." A loud screetch fills the arena and the cloud of dust is now headed towards the princess. Lissy got her orders from Calien and is going to teach the princess a thing or two about hand to hand combat. The students run to get away from her path and Aamini casts her healing spell over Ruscotelep right before jumping out of the way to avoid injury. The king leans against one of the columns next to Berot, "This should be interesting. Trolls are inmune to fire. I wonder how she is going to react when her strongest skill does nothing to Lissy." Berot watches intently, "I am sure she will figure it out." Just as those words leave Berot's mouth, another loud screetch brings focus to the battle that ensues. Ruscotelep tries to slash Lissy's skin with her swords but they just slide right off her. Lissy picks the princess up and over her head before launching her across the arena. Ruscotelep's flight leaves a lot to be desired and her landing is even worse. Lissy does not let her get back up. She picks her right off the floor and punches her in the head. Ruscotelep manages to squirm her way out of the troll's grasp and runs up the stairs nearby, "So thats how you want it then? Fine! I am going to kick your ugly ass from here to whatever hole you crawled out of!" Calien appears next to the king with a couple of drinks, "This is going to be fun to watch. I have pushed Ruscotelep to the brink of exhaustion before but Lissy's stamina rivals no other. We are in for a long battle." The king grabs a drink and they both sit on the ledge to watch. Aamini is busy trying not to get killed while healing the warriors. Even though there are no weapons being used, there is a lot of blood spilled. It is a good thing Aamini is there to keep them from bleeding out.
The king tells the students they could call it a day but nobody wants to leave. In fact, the rest of the school's residents come out to watch also. The two warriors continue their slaughter on each other until the light in the sky hides behind the fugan mountains. Between Lissy's loud screetches and Ruscotelep's constant taunting of her, the two seem exhausted but unwilling to surrender. Aamini seems bored stiff and if not for the need to heal the two of them, she would have gone to sleep already. Calien and the king are drunk past their limits and have passed out right where they are sitting. Berot decides to call it a draw and yells for them to stop fighting. Ruscotelep ignores him at first but after a few more screams from Berot the two of them sit on the ground speechless. Aamini walks past thema nd casually casts one last healing spell before dissapearing into the main hall. Berot turns around and leaves the two warriors completely exhausted in the middle of the arena. He walks past a couple of sleeping students and picks up the king, throws him over his shoulder and takes him up to his bedroom. Calien lets out a loud fart to call it a night as he rolls over and falls from the ledge onto the arena's floor without missing a beat in his snoring.
Aamini wants to avenge her best friend's death but her magic is not powerfull enouigh to challenge an elder yet. She does see a future inside her head in which she can seek revenge though, something she could never even imagine a few nights ago before coming to live with her uncle. Ug is very quiet at the front of his wagon and the only noise she hears is the occasional growl coming from the red wolves and the clacking of their claws on the ground. The fattest of the not so elder elders farts every once in a while, expelling what could only be described as what one would think the most evil of creatures' breath would smell like after feasting on the second most evil creature left in the world, but thankfully the wind takes most of the poisonous aroma with it leaving a deathly cloud in their path. Aamini wants to know where they are headed to but is too afraid to ask in case her voice would wake one of the elders up. Every once in a while she thinks she can make out a small light in the darkness of the forest that gets bigger the longer they travel. The eldest of the elders suddenly sits right up and opens his eyes. Aamini is caught by surprise and lets out a squeal as she scrambles to reach a bottle of the magical ale. Ug stops the wagon in haste and she is sent tumbling over the still slumbering not so elder elders. Surprisingly, the eldest of the elders does nothing. He just sits there, wide eyed and mouth hanging open. Ug slowly crawls onto the back of the wagon and carefully gets close enough to inspect his condition. He grabs the elder's hand, lifts it and drops it. It falls without strength, a sure sign he is still sleeping. Aamini opens the bottle and hands it to Ug, "Here, pour some down his throat. I am going to do the same to the rest of them before we have more pop ups. That scared the living daylights out of me." Ug does as he is told and pushes the eldest of the elders down onto his side while closing his eyes. He starts to crawl back to his seat when a scrawny pale hand grabs his arm and screams, "Buyaca!" The eldest of the elders is now dreaming about Buyaca, whomever or whatever that is. Ug's skin returns to normal and he looks at Aamini who's face is devoid of color. She is even more freaked out than he is, "What the hell is Buyaca?" Ug bursts out laughing, "Who knows! These buggers have been alive so long that it could be his sister or the first girlfriend he ever had. I have never heard of it though. Lets just keep moving, we are almost there." Aamini wants to know, "Are you going to tell me where we are going? It would be nice to know in case something happens." Ug sits down, grabs the reins and yells out, "Hold on to something hard Aamini!" Instead of getting an answer she is caught off guard and again is sent tumbling over the elders.
The small light in the distance turns into several torches that she can discern moving around through the thickness of the forest trunks. She can smell the aroma of burnt wood in the air. As the wagon nears a big bonfire in the middle of nowhere she makes out several tall figures she has never seen before. These are not like the tall elders she is carrying in the wagon. They are tall, quite robust and a little hard to look at. Their ears are pointy like elve's ears but instead of very elegantly complimenting their faces, they stand on end and move around in every which way. Their skin is hard as rocks and covered in bumps. The few they pass along the path keep grunting in a very threatening manner. Aamini is not intimidated just yet but she does sit next to Ug, "What are those things?" Ug says nothing. He makes a sharp turn onto a smaller path that leads straight into the biggest of the bonfires. It is hard to make out their figures with so much smoke around the fire but Aamini does recognize a few of the smaller ones. There are black dwarves using the firepit to forge what seems like weapons and armor at a massive scale. Ug halts the wolves near the biggest of the pits on the ground and one of the tall creatures runs out of it with open arms and squealing in a different tongue, one that Ug apparently is very familiar with. He too spreads his arms and takes off running towards the creature with a huge grin on his face. The two must be very old acquaintances because they are just oozing sheer happiness. After the creature lifts Ug off the ground in a really tight and somewhat innapropriate embrace he calls for me to join them, "This is Lissy. She brought her friends to help with the mining and forging for the big battle. She will take care of the elders for us until the king sends for them." Lissy extends her paw to greet her but Aamini is a bit shy. Lissy is not and in a flash grabs Aamini's hand, brings her close and gives her the warmest, kindest and most wonderful embrace she has ever experienced in her short life. At first she fights it, trying to escape the tight grip by squirming around like a ground wormite, but once she realizes there is no way out, she gives into it and quickly understands why Ug was so happy to see Lissy. It is an experience like no other. It is something completely unexpected coming from such a creature. It really takes one by surprise. Lissy lets go of the young elf and walks over to the wagon saying something to Ug in her tongue. Ug bursts out laughing and nods his head in agrement to whatever she said. Lissy summons one of her friends over with a loud screetch. Another of the creatures shows up, this one is not as friendly looking as Lissy. His skin has a bunch of spikes, oozing lumps and open sores all over it. He just walks up to the wagon, steps on it's back and causes the elders to slide right out onto the muddy ground. Their once pristine looking robes are quickly covered in a mixture of mud and ash. The creature picks them up one by one as if they were sacks of meat and throws them over his shoulder.
Aamini follows Ug into the ground pit where many more of those creatures are mining for fugan iron. She moves up really close to Ug, "What are these things anyways?" Ug turns to her, "They are not things child! They are beings. Trolls to be more specific. The most ancient intelligent creatures in Rodinia. The strongest warriors are trolls. The most skilled tailors are trolls. The most loyal friends are trolls. They are not native to these parts and it is very likely that if not for the war that looms ahead you would never have the distinct pleasure of meeting one of them, much less these many at once. They are usually very shy and have isolated their race from the rest of the magical community since the begining of time, but the king have some ties with Lissy and she decided to bring her friends here to help. The queen doesnt know anything about it though so when we go back, you have to shut up and not say anything. Do we have a deal?" Aamini rolls her eyes and agrees. She is certainly being given too much damn responsibility. Everyone keeps asking her to keep secrets. At the bottom of the pit, Lissy takes one of the elder sacks from her friend and drops it in a recently dug up hole. Her friend drops the rest of the elders on top of hers, then several other trolls quickly bury the bunch with fugan iron. Ug tells Aamini, "The black dwarves found out the fugan iron has magic blocking properties in it's raw form. The black iron we put over them will not kill them, just preserve their magical state indefinetely. When the king sees it fit, we will come back and dig them out. Lissy and her friends will make sure that nothing happens to them." They turn around and go back to the wagon. When they get to the top of the pit, they find the red wolves have chewed through the leather straps that kept them attached to the wagon and are chasing the black dwarves around the fire while the trolls place bets on which dwarf will be eaten first. Lissy lets out a really loud screetch that makes everyone stop on their tracks. The red wolves run back to the wagon where Ug quickly ties them back up. The black dwarves get back to forging their armor and the rest of the trolls scatter around an dissapear into the forest. Aamini looks at Lissy by her side and smiles. She is completely impressed with how much confidence Lissy exudes. That is one proud and powerful troll.
Ug calls out, "Aamini, wake up! We have to get back. Come on." Lissy smiles at Aamini and waves good bye at Ug before turning around and going back into the pit. Aamini feels like she needs another hug, "Lissy!" The troll turns around and smiles. Aamini runs into her arms and steals one more embrace before returning to the wagon. Ug shakes his head and smiles, "You smell like troll now!" Aamini jumps on the back of the wagon, "You are just jealous she hugged me and not you!" He yanks on the reins and the red wolves take off. The morning mist covers the entire forest and Ug cant see any further than the wolves' asses but this is what they are best at. They were born in this forest and know it like no other creature. Their eyesight helps guide them through the fog just as it did in the darkness of the night. Ug does nothing with the reins. Aamini watches as he holds them in his hands but does not give any orders to the wolves, "Aren't you afraid they will get us lost in the woods?" Ug drops the reins and climbs onto the back of the wagon with her, "They know where to go better than you or I. Berot has them very well trained. I do not know what he is putting in their food but they cant get enough of it. As long as we do not encounter any wild fugan goats on the way we should make good time getting back to the school. I know you are very good friends with my son, I want to thank you for all you have done for him Aamini. Since your arrival he behaves like a new elf. There is no chore hard enough or responsability he does not take on and successfully accomplish. His mother and I are both very proud of him. The night of the necromancer attack on the school I could not contain my tears when I saw him answer the call to arms without any encouragement from us. His mastery over the red wolves and the defensive skills he learned from you and the king, have made him a magnificent soldier worthy of defending the princess. I know he still has a lot to learn but with you and the princess by his side, he is sure to give it his all. Aamini agres with him, "I give him a hard time but he knows I have his back and I am sure the princess will too once she gets to know him better. He has a great heart and is loyal like no other. His friendship runs deep and I look forward to having him by my side in the battlefield. I do want to know how he controls those beasts though. I know where my kinship with them comes from but he has no ancient energy running through his veins, right? Ug shakes his head, "Nope! No energy there, just an endless supply of courage and curiosity that we thought would get him killed one day. His firrst encounter with the princess saved his life, believe it or not. I0t taught him to accurately gauge the consecuences of his actions before fully commiting to an act that could bring his life to a close. He is the only elf I know that can walk into the wolves' den, pick up a pup and walk right out without losing an arm to the pup's mother. When we first came up to the school, his body was covered in open sores from the fire. He pushed through the pain and got to work with the wolves right away. The first time he walked into the pen, the smell of his blood brought the entire pack out of hiding. They surrounded him and started to sniff their prey. His mother thought he was a goner but I know my son. He had no fear. He stood in the midst of a ravenous pack of beasts and extended his hand out to them. The pack leader saw the courage in his eyes. She stepped forward, licked Berot's hand and sat down in front of him, letting him place that same hand on her head. The rest of the pack backed off and went back into their dens. Berot sat in the middle of the pen all night with the pack leader by his side. The next morning his mother and I went to check up on him and we found everyone in the school surrounding the pen, watching him. He was playing with the wolves as if they have known each other their entire lives. The king was so taken by him that he invited Berot to join his class. I guess he thought the training would come in handy if the wolves ever decdied to turn on him. The kitchen gnomes call him the "Crazy Wolf Boy" because they can see him out of their window spending all of his free time with the wolves. He feeds them, bathes them, plays with them, helps them raise their young and makes sure the goats stay away. His mother worries sometimes that he will never find a good elf to have little elves with because he stinks like a wolf but I tell her to let him be. He is happy.
The light in the sky starts to burn the mist that fogs the trail home and the entire forest starts to clear up. Aamini can make out the sky above through the thickness of the forest's canopy. The wolves seem very excited now and pick up speed. Ug goes back to the front of the wagon, "We are almost there Aamini. Can you smell the gnome's bread? We should be there in no time." Aamini jumps to the front seat with him, "I can smell the bread Ug, and I am so damn hungry."
They take one last turn out of the forest and Aamini gets her first look at the school during day light. She has never really witnessed it's true magnificence when there is light out. She was brought to it in the middle of the night and hasn't left since, but now her breath escapes her. The light in the sky is at the right place over the mountains to shine onto the front of the buildings. Their walls are made of rodinian glass rocks imported from the main land. When the light hits them, the entire wall sparkles so brightly that it can be blinding to look at them directly for long; a very good defense if ever attacked during the day. Ug senses Aamini's amazement, "Impressive huh? Just make sure to look at the ground every once in a while or your uncle is going to kick my ass for bringing you back without sight." Aamini snaps out of it and looks down, "It's so hard not to look at it though. How did they build it?" Ug shrugs his shoulders, "Those who know were sworn to secrecy with penalty of spending one night alone with the queen. Nobody has faltered yet." The wolves go around to the rear entrance and are received by the princess. They seem to recognize her. Her beauty alone could disarm the strongest enemy. She stands by the school's back gate, wearing only her leather straps, eyes closed, arms extended to her sides, head tilted back and long black hair flowing in the wind, taking in the forest's morning energy. The wolves stop on their tracks right in front of her. Ug jumps out, "I am so sorry princess! I didnt mean for them to do that. Please forgive us." Aamini is not so apologetic, "Stop it Ug. It is her own fault. Who stands in the middle of the road like that? Ruscotelep, get out of the way, we have news for your father! And go put something on, nobody wants to see all that!" The princess moves to the side and the wolves take Aamini and the wagon the rest of the way. Ug runs after them, "Aamini! You cant speak like that to the princess. If her mother ever finds out she will have you killed." Aamini jumps down, "Nah! The princess and I are tight. I can say anything I want and if she doesnt like it, she can talk to me about it. That or kill me!" Ug tries to help her down by extending his hand but she walks past him. Ug decides to go make sure Berot is back to normal. Aamini finds the king and Calien hovering over the war table in the main hall, "It's done. Can we get on with my training now?" Calien looks at the king,"Look at her face. How much do you want to bet that she met our favorite troll?" The king looks at Aamini, "Oh yeah! They met!
Aamini scowls at them, "Yeah, we met. And thanks for the heads up by the way. First, your dearest eldest of the elders high elf meat bag scares the entrails out of me by fake waking up in the middle of the forest screaming for Buyaca, then we encounter not one, but an entire tribe of trolls, creatures that I have never seen or even heard of, digging a huge hole in the ground and setting every tree in their way on fire. I must admit Lissy is one hell of a nice troll though. Is there any chance we can bring her here. The way she handles herself around fire makes me think she might be a great asset to have around Ruscotelep. Don't you agree?" Calien is very impressed with her wisdom and turns to the king, "You know what? She is right. Ruscotelep would benefit much from having Lissy around. If I know that troll, and believe me I do, she will put the princess through the paces. I think she would be the best trainer, no offense to his majesty." The king is very excited, "None taken. I agree with all of you. Aamini go tell Ug to go get Lissy and bring her back to us. Tell him to hurry." Aamini takes off running. The chance to have those hugs so close by, the true reason for her idea, is something she can not pass. She almost knocks the princess over on her way out. Ruscotelep makes one hell of an entrance. When she communes with the forest early in the morning her skin lights up like a wisp. Her entire body glows like a lantern for all to see. Calien admires her splendor, "You look stunning my princess! I think those leather straps do not do your body justice though. We have to come up with a better wardrobe for you. Those students are having a hard enough time keeping their eyes away from you as it is. If you show up to training class wearing those straps there will be a few fires set for sure. Why dont you go put on the armor suit the black dwarves made for you?" The king points to the window, "There is no need! Look at what they came up with while you slept." She runs outside and in the middle of the arena, standing on it's own in one magnificent statement to the black dwarves' skill with the hammer, a golden suit or armor catches the morning light and fills the entire space with a yellow glow. It is awe inspiring to look at and quite intimidating to admire up close. Ruscotelep steps onto the sandy floor of the arena and Calien signals for everyone else to stay back. This moment has to be hers alone. A true warrior and his armor must get to know each other intimately. She is speechless. Her fingers caress the surface of the polished golden breasplate. The reflection of her image on it's surface looks back at her with lust in her eyes. Her hand reaches for one of the gloves and she puts it on. Something she has never felt before happens. The iron melts onto the surface of her skin and takes its shape. At first, she is taken aback by this but after getting a feel for it, she realizes how much more effective and less cumbersome this new material will be in the battlefield. She grabs the next glove and it too mleds with her skin. She takes off her leather straps and right there in front of the entire student body, school staff, Calien and her own father. Completely oblivious to her surroundings, she proceeds to put on the rest of the suit to the whispers of everyone around her. Once finished, she lifts her gaze and looks at Calien, "This is amazing. I feel so strong with it on. What material is this?" Calien runs to her, "I have no idea. This is something your father did without asking me or your mother. I know they have been looking for a rare stone to mix with the fugan iron for the longest time. I guess they found it. Is it painful when it melds with your skin?" The princess is too busy admiring her new threads to answer.
Calien summons a staff away from one of the students and hits the back of the princess' legs. She drops on the sand like a bag of wolf crap. Calien reaches out to help her get back on her feet, "Its nice to look at and quite sturdy but it wont save you if you are on the ground. Lets get going with today's training. You are going to stand there with your eyes closed and every single one of the students is going to come and whack you with their stick. We need to find out how strong this thing really is." Ruscotelep is not very happy about the plan, "What do you mean stand there with your eyes closed? Am I not to engage any of them? That does not seem fair." The king steps onto the arena, "And you think the ability to burn them alive with just your stare is fair? Give me that staff Calien, I want to see what my money paid for!" He grabs the stick and charges forth in full force, hitting his daughter right across her breastplate. She instinctively plants her feet on the floor and braces for him. A loud crack is heard and the king feels his stick break in half, sending pieces of hardened fugan oak bouncing off the buildings nearby. Calien pulls a wooden shard from his right arm, "I think we are going to need better weapons!" The king smiles, "I think I am going to get my money's worth. Those dwarves did good." Ruscotelep grabs the king's neck from behind and forces him to the ground, "Thank you so much for my new armor suit father! Now, say you are sorry for breaking a staff on your daughter's breastplate or I will show you how good a warrior I can be without weapons. Calien has taught me many fighting styles that do not require the use of a stick or a knife. Say you are sorry!" The king fights to catch his breath. The princess is putting great pressure on his windpipe. Calien jumps on her back and tries to pull her off but she is not giving in. The more he pulls on her the greater the pressure on the king's throat. She is relentless, "Say that you are sorry father!" He squirms under her weight but cant get away. Calien lets go of her as not to make it worse for the king, "Ruscotelep! Let go of your father right now! I swear I will tell your mother and you know she can still kick your ass, new armor or not."
The princess lets go of him and stands up. The king finds it very hard to breathe, "Ruscotelep go to your room." Calien tries to help him but the king pushes him away, "I said go to your room now!" She steps back, "I have training to take part of. I am not going to my room father." The king stands tall in front of her, stares right into her eyes as no one has ever done before and repeats, "Go to your room Ruscotelep, right now!" Nobody has ever spoken to her like that. Nobody has looked into her eyes before and demended respect like that. Not even the queen. She looks to Calien for some support but he looks away and gives her his back. She looks around and everyone avoids looking in her direction, and not in fear of her abilities but in solidarity with her father. Defeated, she runs away with tears in her eyes. Calien whispers to the king, "Are you sure you want to embarrass her like that in front of her subjects?" The king walks away from him, "Out there she is their princess, in here she is my daughter and will be treated as such. Stay out of it Calien!" He walks into the main hall chasing after her. Calien calls for the students to pair up and begin their training.
Inside her room, the princess is furious and throwing whatever furniture was there into the walls. She just cant believe her own father would put her down like that. How is she supposed to command respect from her troops in battle if they see her being treated like a spolied elf by her own father. The king knocks on her door but she wont answer him. He wont stand for it and kicks her door in, "You will treat me as your father Ruscotelep!" She turns away from him, "I am the heir to the throne and will not be disrespected. You embarrased me in front of the same elves I am to lead into battle. How am I going to ask them to risk their lives for my kingdom if they think of me as a spoiled brat who gets scolded by her father?" The king calmly walks around the room, "When you act like the heir to the throne then you can ask them to give their lives for your kingdom. In the meantime, you are no better than any of them on that arena. You are just another student seeking knowledge from your elders. In here you are my daughter and my student. Outside those crystal walls you can call yourself the Queen of Rodinia for all I care but the moment you decided to walk through those doors you became my student. The moment you crawled out of your mothers woumb you became my daughter and it is not easy to reconcile the two, so give me a break. I am not going to treat you any different than my other students, most of which have been training under me for a very long time. You got here yesterday and already think you can disrespect me in front of them. How am I going to tell them what to do if they see that you can treat me with such disdain. Everyone in this island is fully aware of your abilities. A true champion is able to call the right time when to use those abilities and when to pull back. There will be times in battle in which you will have to rein in your power in oder to come out victorious in the end. What you did with your kick yesterday for example. If you find yourself surrounded by a dark army and use your energy to knock them out, you will lose the support of your own troops that stand beside you. Then who will protect you against a second wave of such army?"
The princess starts to understand what he means. There is much to learn and she doesnt have much time to learn it in. She turns to her father and lowers her hed, "I am so sorry father. I let my pride get the best of me. Please forgive me. I did act foolishly, but how do I face them now that they have seen my true weakness?" The king steps out of her room, "Follow me into the arena and fight without your abilities. Show them you can control your power. Let them see that they are safe while fighting by your side. Prove to them that you are deserving of their loyalty. Be the real you! The one I know lies within you. My daughter, the future queen of Fuga!" He extends his hand, she places her golden covered hand on top and they walk back to the arena. Calien has been busy beating the crap out of the students but when the princess makes her entrance, he misses a beat and gets kicked in the head by one of them. Many lie unconcious around the perimeter of the arena and many more hide behind the columns that surround it. The one student that was able to kick him in the head walks about with raised arms claming victory until he sees the princess and falls on bended knee. The king orders, "Stand back and get some rest. My daughter needs to practice. Any volunteers?" Behind them a familiar voice, "I will go first!" It is Berot. He has a new staff on hand and seems ready for battle. The king stands back and pats him on the back, "Do not take pity on her. Let her have it. Remember everything I taught you." Berot nods and moves forth. Just as he is about to charge another voice yells out, "Stop! I think you should use this instead." Jacho Centeno walks into the arena with a golden staff, "I used this here stick against the queen when she was a young elf. It was made for me by my father with metal from the breastplate that the fire king himself wore the night of the crescent beach battle. It will serve you well young elf." He hands it to Berot and as soon as the staff hits the palm of his hand both ends light up with flames. A loud gasp is heard. The king walks up to Berot, "Let me see that thing!" Berot hands it over to the king but the flames are extinguished as soon as they leave Berot's touch. The king turns to Jacho, "You never told me about this!" The dwarf is as susprised as everyone else, "I never knew! Ask your wife. That stick never did that when we used it. I dont know why it is doing that now." The king throws is back at Berot and as soon as it hits the elf's hands, lights up. Louder gasps are heard. Calien takes the staff away and inspects it, "I feel ancient energy flowing throughout the weapon. It must be due to the material used to forge it. Other than those flames, it feels like a pretty cool stick. If the princess if up to it, then I say we let Berot go with it. What is the worse that can happen? That the princess gets burned?" Everyone laughs. Calien throws it back at Berot, "Go ahead big boy! Let her have it!" Then he walks up to the king, "You need to find Berot's father. I think he has some explaining to do."
Ruscotelep stands in the center of the arena and unsheathes her swords. Silence reigns over the crowd. Berot plants his feet in the ground, "Are we going to be fair about this?" Ruscotelep lowers the visor of her helm to hide her eyes, "You are the one with the fire stick in your hands. I am not allowed to use any fire against you. You tell me how fair that is!" Berot grins, "I guess we are going to have some fun then!" The two engage and surprisingly, Berot's new stick is doing really well against the princess' new armor. She is finding it really hard to keep up with the wolf tamer. Her new armor, although quite nice to look at and very sturdy, is quite restrictive. She is having a hard time keeping up with Berot but ever the honorable warrior, she will not concede defeat. Berot, with a renewed confidence level thanks to that fire stick, forces her to retreat against one of the columns and pins her, "I guess the princess is not much of a warrior without her powers." His insolence irritates her. She pushes him off and jumps out of the way. She can feel the fire within starting to burn but her father's words keep her from flaming out. Berot charges forth and turns the staff against the side of her neck while kicking her legs from under her. As she falls, all she can think of is how much fun would it be to just put Berot out of his missery, a dark place in her mind. She fights against it and gets back up. Berot now choses to use his huge cavern of a mouth to incite more hatred from the princess, "Aparently all the riches in the world cant buy the young princess any real battle skills. Her mother has demonstated over and over again true control over her powers but I guess her daughter just did not inherit any of her skills." The king knows what Berot is doing. He taught him to taunt the enemy and keep it focused in him. By using his words, Berot can waken his enemy and make it's confidence waiver. The king knows all that but, the enemy in this case is his own daughter. Should he allow Berot to humiliate her like that? He takes a step forth but Calien pulls him back, "She is fine. Let it be! Just give her a chance."
Ruscotelep has to focus. So many things to keep track of. Do not kill Berot. Do not allow your fire to come through. Do not open the visor on your helm. Do not use any of your powers. Do not, do not, do not. That is a lot of don'ts. She misses the training with Calien when she could go all out without fear of killing him. That is one tough rat! Berot hits the side of her thigh and she feels the energy of his weapon become one with her armor. The longer she fights, the more familiar she becomes with the golden suit. Every single time Berot touches the armor with his weapon she can mitigate more of it's force. At first Berot does not notice but pretty soon it becomes quite evident that he is not causing much damage anymore. The princess now pushes against him while he tries to stave off the inevitable. The king smiles. Calien is now worried for Berot but the king holds him back, "Do not worry. I have taught him well. She wont hurt him!" Calien looks at her, "I wouldn't be so sure. I have seen her lose control and it ain't pretty!" The king looks at Berot, "He has one trick up his sleeve. He thinks nobody knows about it but I have seen him do it with his wolves. Sometimes they get a little too frisky while playing with him and his skin hardens." Calien cant believe his ears, "That is a wood elf innate ability but the wood elves live on the other side of Rodinia. There has never been any contact between the fugan elves and the wood elves. It would explain the fire on his stick though. We need to have a nice long talk with Ug. He has been holding out on us." Ruscotelep's swords light up for just a moment and every student in the arena lets out the loudest gasp yet. The king yells out, "Princess!" She stops, takes a deep breath, the swords go back to normal and to the cheers of her subjects, charges forth agains Berot once more. Berot's mouth continues his verbal assault on her but thats about all he has left. The fire stick is on the ground while he runs around the arena, dodging in and out of corners and columns avoiding getting hacked to pieces. His running around does not end well and he finds himself in a tight corner with no weapon and no escape. In front of him, a charging princes rushes at him with a loud scream. With no way out, Berot puts his hands in front of his eyes and hears a loud thump. Ruscotelep goes quiet and everything stops. There is no pain on his arm. He can feel something on it but there is no pain. The king comes running followed by Calien's wabble.
The king pushes the princess aside, "Berot! Is there something you want to tell me?" Berot lowers his arms and open his eyes, "Yeah! She has got some tough skin with that new armor. I gave her everything I had but she kept coming back. I am done being her punching bag." Calien points at Berot's arm, "How did you do that?" Berot looks down and there is one of Ruscotelep's swords stuck to his forearm but no blood. He freaks out and starts trying to pull it out. The king pushes him against the wall to stop him, "If you pull it out there will be a lot of blood. Leave it in for now. Just tell me how do you make your skin harden like that." Berot looks at the king with a very confused look on his face, "With all due respect your majesty, but what the hell are you talking about?" Calien casts a healing spell onto Berot's arm and pulls the sword out before handing it over to Ruscotelep. The king orders the rest of the students to charge the princess and avenge Berot's injury. Ruscotelep runs to the middle of the arena and gets ready for a good fight. The students run after her. The king puts his arm around Berot and they walk back to the main hall. Calien stands near Ruscotelep in case the students need some healing. Once they enter the room, they find someone who can provide all the answers they seek. Berot's mother sits near the window while drying her tears with a kitchen rag. Berot runs to her side, "Mother, I am fine. There is no reason for you to cry. I am going to be ok, look! Calien healed my wound. Please stop crying." The king grabs a chair and sits next to her, "Brunildabria, is there something that you want to tell me?" She nods while sobbing into the rag. Berot starts to catch up, "What do you mean? Have you been hiding something from father and I?" She again sobs while nodding her head. The king puts his arm around her, "Berot, let her be. I am sure she had her reasons but the time has come when we need to shed light onto everyone's dark secrets." Brunildabria stands up, "I thought it would go away. I am so sorry your majesty, I should have told you or the queen sooner. When he was born there was no indication that he was a wood elf. My people as very similar to your kind. I was so relieved and his father was so proud to have a son. We raised him as a fugan elf his entire life and I was able to conceal my secret until today. The day the princess set his sneaky ass on fire was the worst day of my life. I thought someone would figure out that the reason he didnt die was because of our natural high resistance to fire but nobody did. It took all I had for me not to crumble and tell his father. I am so sorry your majesty."
The king stands up and starts pacing, "According to Calien, your kind lives in the forests on the other side of Rodinia. How did you end up in our island?" Brunildabria walks up to Berot and embraces her son, "It was a wizard's screw up. My sister was born with ancient energy and after making it rain one too many times by accident, wiping out our village, the elders decided to bring her into their fold to teach her the magic way. While in their temple, she met a young human wizard in training and they fell in love. Their union was forbidden by the elders for many reasons. Humans are considered by them to be lesser beings, plus wizards and druids should never procreate because the magic of their offspring would turn dark. The combination of the two is nothing but a recipe for disaster. Trying to explain that to two magic beings blinded by love and with the ability to teleport does nothing but create mayhem. Since she was my sister, I let her sneak into our home the night they decided to escape the elders' tutelage. They were not counting on the trackers and were found in no time. We were trapped inside that tree for a few nights but alas my sanctuary spell wore off and their spells started to hit us hard. My sister and her human cast their exodus spells at the same time and instead of taking us to the nearest portal, I was sent to the coast of this island near the wizard's portal on the north beach along with half of the human. I wandered through the forest for a while until one night I met Ug. He gave me refuge and tried to help me remember where I was from but I was too afraid and lied. I told him I had no memories of my previous life. He thought I might have fallen victim to the warlocks that often attack the island and they might have done something to my head, making me forget who I was. He was so kind and took such good care of me. Eventually we became lovers and had Berot. In the beginning we lived in the forest but once the little elf came along Ug got it into his head that we needed to provide a better life for him. That is when we went to work for the queen. Please your majesty, if you have to punish someone, please let it be me. My boys never knew of my treachery. I am so sorry!" The king is still in shock that there has been a wood elf living amongst them for so long and nobody was the wiser. That being said, Calien walks in the main hall and inmediately catches on, "Now it all makes sense! Let me guess. You must be Berot's mother. Am I right?" Berot stands in between her and the rat as if trying to protect her, "How can you tell?" Calien smiles, "She smells like pine trees and this island only has oaks. Its so easy. How did any of you not know though? Look at her ears. If you look behind them there is scales of bark growing back there. Her feet! The bottom of her feet is the color of wood and not green like the rest of you." The king gets up from his chair, "Well, if we knew what to look for then maybe one of us would have known, not that it matters anyways. For what I can see she is just like us. No need to look for bark behind her ears. I just wish we knew the truth about Berot. His life would have been so much better."
Ug steps in through the back door, "What truth about my son? Why is my wife crying? Berot! What did you do now?" He charges at his son fists raised only to be held back by the king, "He didnt do anything Ug. Everything is fine. I think your wife has something to tell you though. Why dont you take her into the kitchen and get her something to drink? The rest of us have to come up with a new plan. Did you get Lissy?" Ug puts his arm over his wife's shoulder and they walk away, "She is in the arena already. Aamini is showing her around." Calien runs outside and screams, "Lissy!" She stops on her tracks and turns around with a huge smile on her face. Calien opens his arms and she runs across the arena towards him lifting a huge cloud of dust behind her. The students are standing there in awe. Their eyes follow Lissy as she moves towards Calien while their mouths hang open. Ruscotelep can't believe her eyes. Aamini stands next to her, "Isn't she amazing? You two are going to be great friends, I promise. She is awesome." Ruscotelep scowls, "What do you mean friends? Have you seen that thing? What is it anyways?" Aamini moves away from Ruscotelep, "She is a troll, and a magnificent one at that. Just wait until you get to know her." A loud screetch fills the arena and the cloud of dust is now headed towards the princess. Lissy got her orders from Calien and is going to teach the princess a thing or two about hand to hand combat. The students run to get away from her path and Aamini casts her healing spell over Ruscotelep right before jumping out of the way to avoid injury. The king leans against one of the columns next to Berot, "This should be interesting. Trolls are inmune to fire. I wonder how she is going to react when her strongest skill does nothing to Lissy." Berot watches intently, "I am sure she will figure it out." Just as those words leave Berot's mouth, another loud screetch brings focus to the battle that ensues. Ruscotelep tries to slash Lissy's skin with her swords but they just slide right off her. Lissy picks the princess up and over her head before launching her across the arena. Ruscotelep's flight leaves a lot to be desired and her landing is even worse. Lissy does not let her get back up. She picks her right off the floor and punches her in the head. Ruscotelep manages to squirm her way out of the troll's grasp and runs up the stairs nearby, "So thats how you want it then? Fine! I am going to kick your ugly ass from here to whatever hole you crawled out of!" Calien appears next to the king with a couple of drinks, "This is going to be fun to watch. I have pushed Ruscotelep to the brink of exhaustion before but Lissy's stamina rivals no other. We are in for a long battle." The king grabs a drink and they both sit on the ledge to watch. Aamini is busy trying not to get killed while healing the warriors. Even though there are no weapons being used, there is a lot of blood spilled. It is a good thing Aamini is there to keep them from bleeding out.
The king tells the students they could call it a day but nobody wants to leave. In fact, the rest of the school's residents come out to watch also. The two warriors continue their slaughter on each other until the light in the sky hides behind the fugan mountains. Between Lissy's loud screetches and Ruscotelep's constant taunting of her, the two seem exhausted but unwilling to surrender. Aamini seems bored stiff and if not for the need to heal the two of them, she would have gone to sleep already. Calien and the king are drunk past their limits and have passed out right where they are sitting. Berot decides to call it a draw and yells for them to stop fighting. Ruscotelep ignores him at first but after a few more screams from Berot the two of them sit on the ground speechless. Aamini walks past thema nd casually casts one last healing spell before dissapearing into the main hall. Berot turns around and leaves the two warriors completely exhausted in the middle of the arena. He walks past a couple of sleeping students and picks up the king, throws him over his shoulder and takes him up to his bedroom. Calien lets out a loud fart to call it a night as he rolls over and falls from the ledge onto the arena's floor without missing a beat in his snoring.