Draklar's History

[Draklar]

Volume 1: Secrets of The Past


Chapter 1: Child of The Wild


Is there anything in the world of greatest beauty than the sight of a forest going through its upmost bloom? The sight which gives all spending their time there a pleasant, soothing feeling, often accompanied by drifting away to the enchanted realms created by, so strange and distant to our minds, nature\'s game. The green tracts spreading their might and majesty during the warm kravaan days grasp their visitors\' attention, inviting them to the nature\'s dance, dance led by tall trees swaying under the force of gentle yet mighty winds. The sound of streams rushing through rocky areas become so soothing for the ears of those who each day have to experience the city\'s racket, it often becomes an emancipation from the disturbing civilization that they have been forced to live in. Finally, the beauty of the forest gets fulfilled by various flowers presenting themselves in most charming shapes and colors, as if trying to drag us away from everyday considerations and worries. It leaves no wonder that in such amazing world, always can be seen rich and vigorous life. Many birds sing their serenades all day long, a blessing and a form of thanking the forest for the shelter and wonders it creates. And while the birds cheer on the trees, down on the ground can be seen all sorts of animals roaming around in search for food or taking care of their younglings. The variety between them can be so great, that it becomes an amusement, or even adventure, just trying to observe all of them.
It was a creature just like that resting nearby a vigorous stream, every once and then chewing on quite long grass. Traces of water on its short, gray fur indicated that it could get splashed not much time ago. Those creatures didn\'t like their fur wet, they rather stayed away from the streams and drank only from forest\'s ponds. It certainly wasn\'t big. Such a small mammal with rather short limbs would be quite an easy prey for various predators roaming the forest, if not for its fossorial forefeet. It didn\'t take much time for them to dig themselves into the ground. That didn\'t discourage the predators however, as their meat was widely known as a titbit. Very rarely could they feel completely safe. Even in that very moment a hunter was awaiting behind a nearby tree for a chance to attack. It wasn\'t a common predator however. The one standing behind the tree was a seventeen years old male elf. Draklar was no different from other dermorians. He had long blonde hair resting upon his shoulders, sometimes covering his cheerful blue eyes. Like most of other elves he was quite slender and not so muscular either. He had however some fighting skills that he learned from his father, or simply from wandering around the forest. At the moment he was wearing some green clothes, showing many rips as a sign of numerous adventures undergone in the woods. He was also wielding a two meters long staff, sharpened at one of its ends.
Draklar was living in a small hut located next to the forest. With the nearest village over five miles away, most of the time his only companions were his parents and various creatures roaming the woodland. From time to time two of his father\'s friends would come to pay them a visit. Draklar was always glad to see them. Everytime it was an opportunity for him to test his fighting skills and the two knights were always glad to spar with, as they called him, \"eager cadet\". Draklar first started using a sword when he was fifteen years old. His father, Gordor, made a broadsword for him in his smithy located just by the hut. Draklar often watched his father work there. He wished to learn smithing himself, but he knew his father wouldn\'t let him practice that until many years later. Gordor, in his wisdom, knew it wouldn\'t stop his son from reaching for smithing tools. He knew him too well. It was quite obvious that Draklar would go to the smithy while his father was away. Thus Gordor decided to drag away his son\'s attention, forging a new sword just for him to train with. The results were as expected. Draklar started staying away from the smithy, trying to make use of his new weapon. He didn\'t manage to use it properly, but he never hurt himself either. Mostly because the forged sword was pretty blunt. After the three years he still was no match for the old knights. None the less, fighting with them was giving him a lot of joy. Still, fighting wasn\'t the only reason why he was glad to see them. Everytime they would come to their hut, they told stories of battles and adventures. Draklar kept listening to their stories, hoping that one day, he would take part in one of such quests. Besides the knights\' visits, the only chance for him to meet different people, were occasional trips to the nearby village, where his parents bought necessary accessories. Draklar didn\'t like it too much. After years spent in the wild, he couldn\'t get used to so many people in one place. The crowd was overwhelming the young dermorian. However, with most of his days spent near his home, Draklar\'s life was a very peaceful one.
Draklar looked from behind the tree, checking what the mammal was doing. The furry creature was turned away, carelessly chewing on the bits of grass. It seemed like a good moment to attack. The dermorian stepped away from the tree a bit and aimed his weapon at the animal. He had to move silently or it would disappear in the ground in a blink of an eye. Draklar assumed he was close enough. He threw his weapon, hoping it would pierce through his unfortunate prey. He wasn\'t so lucky however. The sharpened staff digged itself into the ground a few inches away from the mammal. It was enough of an alert for it to start running away.
- \"Swounds!\" Draklar exclaimed and removed his weapon from the ground.
He glanced in the direction in which the animal ran off to, to see if he still would have a chance in chasing it. He could still see it, that gave him a bit of hope. He rushed after it, avoiding any stones and tree-trunks located on his way. On its way, the animal encountered a stream of water. Afraid of getting wet, it changed the direction of its escape. It was now on its way to a forest clearing. Draklar kept running after it, but after getting to the clearing he couldn\'t see it anymore. He took a look around and soon he knew what happened. On the clearing, there was a small mound of loose earth raised in the middle of it. A certain sign that the animal dig itself into the ground. Draklar, now filled with anger and disappointment, thrust his weapon into the ground and sat down on a nearby stone. He didn\'t feel like hunting in that day anymore.
Draklar was about to stand up and head back to his home, when suddenly he heard a worrisome sound, a silent growl that filled his heart with a fine dose of dread. The dermorian slowly picked up his weapon and made few steps backwards. However, before he could get to a safe distance, from the bushes emerged the beast\'s head. It was all black and had a pair of glowing red eyes angrily staring in the elf\'s direction. It bared its teeth at Draklar, as if trying to show him that those lethal weapons shall end his short life. When the creature walked a few steps forward, Draklar could see more details about it. It was walking on all fours, if it stood on its rear limbs, it probably wouldn\'t be much shorter than the elf. It had short fur, almost as black as its skin. Generally, the beast looked dangerous and draklar wasn\'t going to wait for it to attack. He turned around and started running away, hoping that he would lose the predator. It started chasing him in the same moment, supposedly holding a need to taste elven meat. Draklar kept running away, until he encountered large tree-trunk lying on the ground. He jumped behind it, hiding from the predator. Soon after, the beast jumped over the tree-trunk and landed few meters in front of Draklar. It stopped for a while, sniffing in order to locate the dermorian. Draklar slowly approached it and just when the beast turned around, he swinged his staff at its head. The creature groaned, stunned by the mighty blow and made an attempt to keep the balance. Draklar didn\'t wait for it to react, he swinged his staff, once again damaging creature\'s head. It groaned again and made a few steps backwards. The dermorian turned around, giving spin to his staff and launched an uppercut at the beast\'s chin. It got thrown up into the air and landed a few feet away on its back. Draklar looked at it, the creature was certainly dead. The stench coming from its corpse discarded Draklar\'s idea to take it as his prey. He had to head back home with empty hands. He didn\'t encounter any other problems on his way back home.
The day was still young and draklar didn\'t rush on his trip. The forest was really dear to him. A certain bond was forming between him and the woodland. He never thought about moving away from it. He kneeled at a stream to get himself some water. When he glanced at all the trees and other plants forming the unity, a dome known as forest... he knew it was his true home. He stood up and approached some bush, picking small, red fruits from it afterwards. It wasn\'t the same as the hard earned meat, but it would do. With a sack full of delicious snacks, he turned back to his home. It didn\'t take even an hour before he could see the familiar hut. He walked further with the intention to go inside, when suddenly something dragged his attention away. He could hear a distant sound. Draklar turned around to see what it was: two horse riders - a diaboli and an ynnwn. It left no doubt to him - the two visitors were his father\'s friends.
The door of the hut opened and Gordor appeared on the porch. He was a robust dermorian, with no doubt he could do very well in any battle. he had a long brown hair and at the moment a smirk was appearing on his face. His gray eyes showed that he had much joy in seeing his old friends. They also showed a lot of wisdom. Gordor always thought that a warrior needs as much wisdom as strength. Many times such approach saved his life and many times it earned him respect among the people he met. Because of his common sense and high tactical skills, he was offered a high position in Hydlaa\'s army. He had to turn down the proposition however. Back in those days he met Sil, Draklar\'s mother. She didn\'t like the city\'s life, preferred to live close to the forests. Gordor had no doubts about what should he do. Soon they got married and moved to a hut located next to the forest.
The two knights finally arrived at the hut, both wearing full heavy armour. Gordor approached them with a grin on his face.
- \"How was the trip?\" He finally spoke.
- \"Ah, \'twas quite pleasant one\" The diaboli jumped down from his steed. That old warrior was much stronger than a common diaboli. Dragor had gone through many battles in his life, many scars on his face could certainly prove that. With his high charisma as well as uncommon wisdom he would make a great leader. He wasn\'t aiming for that however, he preferred a simple life as a knight. He and Gordor had known each other for twenty years. In that time they managed to develop a trust that helped them on the battlefield more than once. \"We would be earlier\" He continued \"If not for Alkar flirting with a wench in the last tavern\".
- \"Hey!\" The ynnwn exclaimed \"You are just jealous\" A grin appeared on his face. Alkar was always a fun-loving fellow, he had often proved to have a certain weakness for the women. Physically he was not very different from other ynnwns. He had bright, almost white hair and a dark red skin. Alkar was only a bit stronger than the typical ynnwn. He also had a tail, a heritage from his mother, as he always called it. A fairly big crack could be seen in his breast-plate, many times his friends told him to fix it. Each time he refused. He believed that this crack was bringing him luck on the battlefield and in fact, many who saw him getting out of various troubles thanks to nothing but sheer luck, were ready to believe him.  

[Draklar]

- \"Jealous, ha!\" Dragor chuckled \"If my wife found out about it, there would be nothing to save me.\"
- \"I would save you, my friend\" Alkar bursted with laughter.
- \"Thou? Thou?!\" Dragor was now laughing as well \"Thou would\'st be enjoying the show!\"
The three knights and Draklar soon walked into the hut. There was already a meal waiting for them there. Sil was a great cook, the food she made was always both nourishing and delicious. Sil was also a great herbalist. She knew about any herb growing in the nearby forests. That leaves no surprise, as she lived there for sixteen years. She was a beautiful dermorian. She had very long blonde hair and always cheerful, green eyes. At the moment she wore a long and quite loose red dress. Most of the time there was a smile on her face, however during dinner, from time to time, tears were running down her pale cheek. When everyone ate the food, Gordor started collecting his armour.
- \"Wher\'ya goin\', father?\" Draklar approached the warrior.
- \"Well\" Gordor smiled to his son \"Yet another adventure awaits me.\"
- \"Take me wit\'ya!\" Draklar\'s eyes started shining at the thought of joining one of adventures he heard so much about \"I can fight!\"
- \"Aye, you can.\" The old warrior chuckled \"But who shall take care of your mother whilst we would be gone?\"
- \"All right\" Draklar crossed his arms. \"How long will ya be gone?\"
- \"I shall be back before Azure Sun ten times will proclaim its existance.\" Gordor picked up his sword.
Soon the three warriors were riding away to meet their destiny. Draklar and his mother both watched them disappear behind the horizon. Draklar only whispered:
- \"Fair winds, father...\"



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Don\'t really like posting my stories here, but I will this one anyway...
Because I need some opinions on whether I\'m getting better or worse
And because second Volume will contain much of the MB history... and probably most of the famous people that I have met during it...
Anyway, enjoy... will add more soon.... I hate this max characters per post thingy...

[Draklar]

Chapter 2: Tears


The world in which Draklar came to live was truly amazing. One could gather all sorts of informations about it, explore deep forests and high mountains, talk with its inhabitants and still, after decades of researches, he wouldn\'t be able to say \"Yes, I know it all\". Very few people had the will to join the quest of learning Yliakum\'s most guarded secrets, even fewer had the will to carry it on. Many sages left the dream of finding the \"ultimate secrets\", after all a guaranted treasure chest is always better than the mythical holy grail which, in fact, might even not exist. So what made the other few carry it on? They weren\'t fools, they knew that after many years, after many hardships, when their lives would be reaching the twilight, the fate could come to them and with its usual arrogant smirk say \"Sorry buddy, but all this time you fared towards dead end\". It is safe to assume that they never had any regards for that. It was their lifestyle, the sense of their existance, only thing that made them different from the common city folk.
The commoners didn\'t care about the unknown, at first glance Yliakum was quite ordinary, not much different from the worlds that gave birth to their ancestors. But that was only the first glance. After all, not many worlds are hidden underground, in the old times no one actually believed such world could exist. As the old sages said, \"It is not possible for a whole world to fully shape and grow down in the depths of the subsurface. Ancient underground complexes are to be expected, but anything besides that is just a myth\". And they would stay with their statements no matter what happened. After all, what could be worse for a sage of a great renown, than being proved wrong in the eyes of all possible authorities? It is said that back in the old days, when Yliakum was still devoid of all advanced life, in a distant realm appeared a rather unknown bard, who proclaimed that he came across an amazing world hidden down in the underground. It had trees, ponds, animals... everything that could be seen on the surface. At first people were admiring him. The bard quickly became famous and many times was he invited to the royal mansions. People of the higher lines were always glad to listen to the tales of the newly discovered world. It even came to this that the bard was not only a source of a great amusement, but also the bringer of politic popularity. Mansions on which he performed quickly gained honor and renown. As could be expected, his pouch was never getting empty. But whether his stories were true or not, there were people who didn\'t like this situation. The reputations of local sages were going down on daily basis. They gathered together and moved forward dubious \"facts\", which quickly ridiculed the storyteller. The former hero was forced to move into shadows, while the sages retrieved their reputations. That is until the Yliakum was discovered. All they could do then was admit its existance, however they still stated that Yliakum was created by an ancient magic outburst and it was certainty that after a longer time the world would start to decay. Strange as it seems, many people believed them and the new discovery didn\'t damage sages\' reputations... maybe even made them stronger.
But the truth was that Yliakum was a creation of two gods, Laanx and Talad, who changed this formerly uninhabited world into their very own specific playground. But with the gods\' greed growing from day to day, soon the playground changed into a place of power struggles. All in all, Talad threw his former friend down and even after a relative peace came back to the land, Talad\'s power still was superior to that of Laanx. The mighty god was widely acknowledged and worshipped by the people of Yliakum and his possibilities were manifesting themselves in the shape of krans, a strong and endure race once created by the god himself. The two deities weren\'t perfect. Many people could see that and often have they turned to the other divinities. Still, Talad\'s power didn\'t seem to get seriously damaged and with his latest merits, it could be expected that his popularity would constantly grow throughout the ages.
Many of those who ventured into Yliakum, left their believes behind. After all, the land of Yliakum was seen as a blessing given by Talad and Laanx themselves. Such goodwill certainly deserved thanks in form of a worshipping, the more that for some tribes, this new land was a saving from many oppressions, as it could be seen in the case of dermorians. This nature loving folk was chased away from their homeland and it seemed as if sorrow and grief would never leave their kind. But that changed with the discovery of a portal leading to Yliakum. They were given a new home and most of all, a new life. Draklar\'s parents kept that in mind and gladly worshipped Talad, the saviour of their ancestors. In many cases, they could be even seen as paragons of the religion. Once Draklar was born, they decided to go through the ritual of the sign, an old practice that took its beginning in a story of Talad\'s high priest, who was born with a glyph symbol on his belly. The story quickly became very popular and in some families, just after birth the baby had a glypg painted on its belly by its mother.
And thus, when Darven, an old ylian general, called a crusade in the name of Talad, no one was surprised that Gordor decided to join it. A crusade which was supposed to, once and for all, cleanse Yliakum from all the infidels was going to turn into a great event, luring brave warriors from all around the land. The primitive tribes, as they called them, weren\'t supposed to stand a chance against the united forces and with one of the greatest leaders in the history of the new realm, the war wasn\'t supposed to take even a month. Gordor decided to take part only in the first battle, the one which was going to decide about the outcome of the war. He knew that Sil was greatly worried and didn\'t want him to go. Going away for a whole month wasn\'t even an option. He promised that he would return after less than ten days. Although that was much better than a whole month, Sil still bid her husband farewell with tears in her eyes.


It was the seventh day after Gordor left the hut with Dragor and Alkar by his side. Sil was looking through a window with a hope to see her beloved coming back. Draklar stopped eating his meal and glanced at his mother. Seeing her sad in the last few days was getting him a little worried. Still, Sil seemed to have enough problems on her mind so he tried to hide it from her.
- \"He will come back soon, mother.\" Draklar finally spoken, hoping to make her cheer up for a while. He missed his mother humming various melodies. It always gave this place a happy atmosphere. Over the last few days the atmosphere was pretty gloomy and usually dull.
- \"Yes.\" Sil sent Draklar a smile \"It\'s just that this place seems so empty... I miss your father\" She turned back to the window, trying to catch any sign of movement over the horizon.
Draklar suddenly recalled Gordor\'s response to his proposition of him joining the adventure. Just in that moment he understood how important it was for him to keep company to his mother. The young elf got back to eating his meal, finishing it soon after.
- \"Will we go to collect some herbs today?\" He finally stood up and approached his mother.
- \"You know you don\'t have to accompany me\" She giggled and once again smiled to her son. Sil was very proud of him, Draklar was always very helpful and glad to assist others. In fact, very rarily had she any troubles with him and always knew she would have his support.
- \"But I want to.\" Draklar shrugged \"Unless... ya\'d rather have me stay \'t home...\"
Sil\'s face suddenly brightened \"Of course I want you to go with me!\" She cuddled him and whispered \"I love you...\" as a tear ran down her cheek.
They stood like that for a while, forgetting about the troubles surrounding them and for that short moment the atmosphere in the hut got brighter once again. Sil glanced to the window and this time she noticed something she has been waiting for ever since her husband left. On the far horizon appeared horseriders, galloping in the direction of the hut.
- \"Your father is back, Drak!\" Euphoria could be heard in Sil\'s voice. She grabbed Draklar\'s hand and rushed with him outside. A wide smile appeared on her face as the knights were getting closer. Nothing could describe how happy she was, the bliss that filled her heart made her eyes glimmer like the stars that could be seen at night in the ancient land of Dermoria. She felt like singing, like screaming in joy. But she kept all that inside, only expanding a charming smile, seeing which many men would lose their senses. A smile which was a perfect present for the husband who just got back to home. But after a while something changed. The smile disappeared from Sil\'s face, it got replaced by a curiosity. She could see only two horseriders and neither of them was her husband. A cold chill ran down her spine. Finally the two horseriders stopped by the hut, Dragor and Alkar jumped down from their steeds. They couldn\'t say anything, Dragor only glanced at Sil and slowly hanged his head. She looked at them with shock and shaked her head. \"No...\" She whispered and rushed inside.
Dragor glanced at Alkar with resignation and walked inside after Sil. She sat on a chair, leaning against a table with tears running down from her eyes. Draklar slowly walked inside, uncertain of what he should do. He saw his mother in a complete despair, something that he never experienced before. Dragor approached her.
- \"Sil, list...\" He spoke, but had no idea what he should say next. He just looked at her, hoping for something to make this moment less painful and cursing the fate for making them go through this.
- \"No! No!!\" Sil screamed through her tears. She clenched her fists in agony, as the sorrow scorched her heart and her soul. Draklar was in deep shock, he never saw his mother in such state. It was the most dreadful moment in his short life, his mother\'s tears brought him a great pain and his heart felt as if an ice needle pierced through it over and over again.
- \"Gordor died as a hero...\" Dragor continued, still uncertain whether his words would make her calm down. \"That be the death he always want\'d\"
- \"My husband wanted to come back to home!\" Anger could be seen on Sil\'s face as she turned to the knight. \"He wanted to come back to me and Draklar!\" She shaked her head and set her eyesight back on Dragor \"He shouldn\'t die... Why did you take him to this war? Why?!\" She screamed again as the anger returned to her face. The knight slowly turned his head in Draklar\'s direction and after a moment he hanged it in shame. Dragor couldn\'t say anything.


- \"Be everything ready?\" The diaboli knight spoke to Sil while looking for a way to comfort her.
- \"Yes...\" She sighed \"I packed everything...\" It took few days for her to fully calm down. Over those few last days Sil brought a hell upon the two warriors. Not even the hardest of battles gave them as much despair as the woman mourning after her dead husband. Strange as it seems, Draklar\'s behaviour was opposite. All this time he remained completely calm, \"too calm\" as it once described Alkar. From time to time another strange thing was happening. Draklar\'s eyes seemed to change their color from blue to light azure, something that neither of the warriors could explain. Luckily, the strange phenomenon had its end after few days and soon the hut became relatively peaceful. Dragor decided to take care of Draklar and his mother by taking them with him to his village. After a day of slow preparations, they were ready to go.
Sil once more took a look around the hut. She was leaving behind so many memories. Memories she didn\'t want to forget although she knew that they would bring her much sorrow. She loved her husband and would do anything for him. One thing that was plaguing her mind at the moment, was the thought that she wasn\'t on Gordor\'s side at the moment of his death. He died so far away from her and she would never see him again. The only thing that was left after him was their son. Sil glanced at Draklar and smiled weakly. She would probably lose her mind if not for him. At the moment that young dermorian was the only thing that brought some happiness to her life. Draklar glanced at her and sent her a smile \"Let\'s go, mother\". Sil nodded to him and slowly moved to the doors. A tear ran down her cheek. The last of the many tears that dropped in this home.

[Draklar]

Chapter 3: New Home


When you live in one place for many years, lots of things can get pretty dull and something inside of you just might start screaming, begging for a change, for a new style of life. It is enough to look at all the people who leave the city\'s racket in order to find some solitude in one of the small villages, while a villager would find it fascinating to move to a large city, where everything seems to be so big and hard to ingest. It is easy to understand - people need constant changes to fully please themselves. But not all tribes are like that. One of the many characteristic things about the dermorian folk was their strong will to stay with their traditions. It was quite visible that they didn\'t like changes. Despise the fast advancement of civilization, many refused to move to the cities. It seemed as if the primitive life deep in the forests was much closer to their hearts and to their needs. It was quite hard for them to move to other places, they didn\'t like to leave something they got used to over the many past years. And even if one could forget about all the things he left behind... what if one of those things had a strong bind with his soul?
Draklar\'s eyes filled with sadness as he looked at the forest, which was now staying far behind him. It was the place where he experienced his first adventures, the place, which he considered his true home. Draklar was now leaving its solitude and harmony, instead of the place of endless dreams, he was entering something he didn\'t know, possibly something that he wouldn\'t like to learn about. At that moment everyone were silent. The young elf rode together with Dragor. He knew that from now on, they would spend lots of time on training together. Sil was riding right next to them, together with Alkar. Both seemed to have their minds elsewhere, lost in the endless considerations. Draklar sighed silently. This diaboli village that they were going to - he knew nothing about it. And yet, that village was the place where he would spend many of the incoming years. Various thoughts were swarming his mind. What does it look like? Is it crowded like all the other villages he visited? And most of all, what are the villagers like? He closed his eyes, trying to recall the good old days, but something was blocking his memories. A distant thought was telling him that he shouldn\'t dwell on the past, that the future might hold things about which he wouldn\'t even dream of. Draklar opened his eyes and started gazing at the horizon. He became somewhat anxious about what still awaits him.
Hours passed and further travel seemed to be impossible. Both Sil and Draklar were completely tired and in need of something to eat. Moreover, the Azure Sun appeared to be giving the last of its light. It seemed that the best thing to do, was to stop there for a night. They quickly gathered some wood and soon there was burning a nice, warm fire.
- \"The weather seem\'th to be on our side\" Spoke Dragor while gazing at the sky. He was somewhat happy that the worse was behind them. Still, death of his dear friend and mourn of Gordor\'s family left deep sadness in his heart. \"We shall enter a route tomorrow\" He continued \"From there our journey shall be much faster\"
- \"How much \'till we get to the village?\" Inquired Alkar after grabbing a piece of baked meat.
- \"Two days\" Dragor turned to him \"Give or take...\" He glanced at the other two travellers and after a while got back to gazing to the sky. He wished there was something he could do to cheer them up.
Sil and Draklar were still quiet. The young dermorian from time to time was glancing in his mother\'s direction, checking if she felt any better. Sadly, it didn\'t seem so. The atmosphere in the group was very mournful, but no one expected it to be any different.

Draklar woke up early in the morning. He couldn\'t sleep much that night. Although he was very tired, it was the first night of his new life. Life that he yet had to get used to. There were already some birds singing on the trees. The morn was quite warm and same could be expected for the rest of the day. Draklar wasn\'t the only one awake. Dragor sat by the fire, making sure that it wouldn\'t burn out. The young elf approached him and sat by his side. The diaboli looked at him, a little surprised to see the lad that early in the morning.
- \"Good morrow, Draklar.\" He finally spoken. Dragor wished to make Draklar talk with him at least a bit. Such a young dermorian shouldn\'t hide his sorrows inside. It could prove to be catastrophic in the future.
- \"Hello...\" Answered Draklar. It could be heard in his voice that he didn\'t fully wake up yet. The elf yawned loudly and started gazing into the fire. He seemed as if he tried to find something in it. A solitude or his lost memories.
- \"How dost thou feel today?\" The knight made an attempt to continue the conversation, trying to bring the young elf from the world of dreams, back into the reality.
- \"I feel fine, thanks\" Draklar answered casually, not taking his eyesight away from the fire. It seemed as if it had an almost hypnotic effect on him.
- \"Be\'st thou sure?\" Dragor wasn\'t giving up. Just this short conversation made him believe that Draklar was getting at least a little better. \"Belike thou would\'st like to talk about something?\" He gave the lad an inquiring look.
- \"Well...\" Draklar glanced at the warrior, finally taking his conscience back from the fire. \"I am a little worried about my mother...\" He sighed quietly.
- \"Ah, worry not\" Dragor smiled slightly to the dermorian. \"She shall be all right... She just need\'th some time.\" He smirked and turned back to the fire, making sure that it wouldn\'t burn out. At least now he caught some conversation with Draklar, that made him feel a little better.
- \"Yea...\" Draklar sighed again. \"I also miss my father...\" After saying that, he turned back to the fire, returning to his deep thoughts. Dragor didn\'t say anything else. It seemed as if the young elf should be left to himself for a while. With the time they would spend together in the future, Dragor was standing before many occasions to talk with the lad about what is troubling his mind.

Just half an hour later woke up Alkar and by the time the breakfast was ready, Sil stood up as well. It appeared that the day would be quite warm and very sunny. After the meal, all four travellers quickly packed their belongings and as soon as the steeds were ready, they got back on their way. Just as Dragor estimated, they soon got to the route leading to the diaboli village. Many trees grew on the sides of the road, making it somewhat easy to distinguish from the surroundings. The atmosphere in the group, although still gloomy, was a little better than the day before. Sil even participated in some of the conversations and few times a smile appeared on her face, particularly meant for Draklar. The second hour since they entered the route was about to pass, when suddenly some noise came to Dragor\'s ears. It was too late to react in any way though, as the source of the noise soon emerged from behind the trees. In front of the travellers appeared four men. Two came from behind the trees to the right, while the other two appeared soon after by coming from the left. All of them were armed. Two ylians wielded longswords, not particularly well forged, but they weren\'t blunt either. Another ylian was smirking to the group while extanding his dual shortswords, seemingly well forged weapons which could prove very lethal in such combination. There was also a dermorian hiding a little behind them. He didn\'t have any blades by his side, but seemed to hold a shortbow. They were poorly armoured, but with nothing but leather armour, it was probably easier for them to hide behind (or even on) the trees. The diaboli knight had no doubts about who the strangers were.
- \"Outlaws\" He whispered and nodded slightly to Alkar. They seemed to have a plan ready just for such occasion. That shouldn\'t be surprising, as during their lives, both knights gained lots of warfare as well as dueling experience.
- \"Avast ye!\" One of the longsword-wielding ylians stepped forward. There were many scars on his face and his mouth seemed to miss few teeth. He was wearing a studded leather armour and high combat boots, which, as opposed to his face, appeared to lack any signs of fighting damage. \"We be collectin\' da tax for da safety on yer travel!\" He continued \"Give us da richies and ye shall be allowd to pass by!\" The outlaw leader grinned \"We haf little need for yer blood...\"
Both Sil and Draklar were a little frightened by the encounter. They didn\'t know what could the bandits do, nor did they know whether valuables they carried with themselves would please the outlaws. But Dragor and Alkar weren\'t afraid at all. The two knights jumped down from their steeds and kept looking at the bandits for a while. It was obvious that they wouldn\'t let anyone rob them. Alkar reached behind his belt and quickly got out of it a well-sharpened dagger. A shock could be noticed in the outlaws\' eyes, who seemingly didn\'t expect two men alone stand against them. Alkar threw the dagger in the archer\'s direction and although the dermorian managed to save his head by dodging the attack, the bow got released from his hands.
Archers were dangerous foes, especially for the poorly armoured warriors. A single arrow could pierce through one\'s flesh sending him to the death realm before he had any chance to approach the archer. However, the two knights quickly learned that a surprised archer is very likely to release his weapon on the moment of getting out of the thrown weapon\'s way. Sometimes this technique worked even if the thrown item wouldn\'t have a chance to reach its target. Psychologic tricks like that often were turning out to be the life savers on many battlefields.
Dragor charged at the outlaw leader, in same moment releasing a loud battlecry. He swinged his sword at the enemy\'s weapon, almost making it fall out from his hand. Another swing, this time aimed at his torso, slashed through his flesh, quickly ending the bandit\'s life. Alkar charged right after his friend and with one swing aimed at outlaw\'s throat, he sent him dead to the ground. The archer, standing there in shock, didn\'t even reach for his bow. As soon as he got out of the stun, he turned around and started running away, not even looking behind him. So did the last remaining outlaw. Draklar observed the whole event. His mind was filled with various thoughts about it. He was part terrified and part amazed by the fight and the skills of his warrior friends. The fright caused by the outlaws was already gone and Draklar felt now much safer in the company of the two guardians.
They didn\'t encounter any other troubles on their further journey. Still, everyone were more careful while riding towards their destination. After two days they finally arrived there. Draklar was now about to see his new home for the first time. About to see the place in which he would spend many of his further years.
- \"Behold!\" Exclaimed Dragor as a smirk appeared on his face. \"The village of Garano!\"

[Socrates Demise]

Dracklar the forum is horid to try to read on...

all I see is solid blocks of text... If you could Make a pdf or break it into smaller paragraphs it would help.... I seriously just cannot read it.

[Draklar]

Try this

[Valbrandr]

First of all.. wow... let me read through it and I will edit later.