Wooooosh... Thunk.. Thunk.. Thunk.. Wooooosh...
In a tiny wintry city, more of a group of huts, all was quiet except the crackle of a fire and the thump of a hammer. The only light in the small village came from under the doorcrack of the metalsmith's shop. Inside outlined in the darkness by the fire was a dwarf. This was no ordinary dwarf mind you, most dwarves despise magic in any form, be it healing or wizardry. This dwarf however was slightly different, he was Alymir, a dwarven wizard that could conjure up a flame in an instant or freeze your veins into ice just by looking at you. At the moment he was doing a dwarf's best skill, metalwork. Oh Alymir was by far the best metalsmith known throughout Aden and Elmore. He could make anything from a delicate, shining hummingbird to a razor-edge battleaxe sharp enough to cleave a blade of grass in two. Alymir wasn't odd in his lifestyle though, he lives quite harshly by human standards but from a dwarves' point of view, he lives quite lavishly. He is what some call a rouge but actually, he owns a shack in almost every town that was available to trade his goods in. He specializes in mage's staves entwined with magical spells designed to respond only to the one they were crafted for. He is one of the richest, most powerful beings on the planet although you wouldn't know it just by looking at him. He carries only his metalworking tools and a meager seven day supply of food for his journies between towns. He wasn't always this way though.
When he was young he was taken in by a Dark Elf that witnessed the ransacking and massacre of his hometown. During that horrible raid by the ogres and goblins outside his village, Alymir ran and hid, he never denies that. After the fires had burned themselves out and all the hostages had been taken from the area, the Dark Elf was part of a search party trying to find survivors. She found Alymir huddled behind a stack of crates near a warehouse. The Dark Elf, called Kerian took him home with her. She fed and clothed him until he was old enough to know the truth of his origins. When she told him he started to cry and thrash about in fury. He wanted to know who his real parents were, where his home used to be and what happened to his mother and father he never knew. She could tell him nothing. He continued to cry and scream in fear and anguish until he cried himself to sleep. As his eyelids grew heavy and he started to nod off he made a solemn vow to find out his ancestry and make his life a normal one.
What he didnt know was, Kerian was a wizardess. She knew of his plot to run away and find out the truth about his parents. What she knew but never told him was that his parents were slaves. They worked in a mine on the outskirts of the Forbidden Gateway that led to the portal into the realm of gods. Kerian was a worshipper of the goddess Shillen. Kerian held vast powers of magic and knowledge given to her by this very goddess. When Shillen was banished to the Underworld she left behind seven solid and pure silver rings. Each of these rings gave a certain power to the wearer. Kerian owned three. She had the power to see into the mind and communicate telepathically, the power to enhance certain magical artifacts with destructive powers never imagined by the crafters of these relics and also the power to resurrect the dead and take over a living creature's soul and control it's mortal body. Kerian had been searching all her life for these rings. She knew soon after adopting Alymir that he was a special dwarf, he lusted for powers he never knew existed. He was an especially gifted bounty hunter. She knew that if given the right offer, she could win him over to her side. This was her time to act.
When they sat down for breakfast the next morning she asked him to listen to her for a moment. He obliged. She began to tell him the story. As he listened his eyes grew wider and wider until they seemed to fill is entire face. When she finished he just sat there gaping at her until she thought he was fozen. Suddenly he started to smile, then it turned into a chuckle and finally a loud and obnoxious laughter that filled the room. Alymir rolled off his chair and started to cry from the pain his laughing caused him. Kerian watched all of this with a slight smile. "So, Alymir, do you accept my offer?" "You're serious!?" Alymir stopped laughing at once and sat back on his chair stone-faced and serious. "Very." "Well, i've always thought about going to find my parents and figuring out who I truly am..." "Then this is your answer, go on my mission to get me supplies for a spell I must cast in exactly three years when both moons are perfectly aligned in the sky. When you have gathered all of them, return to me and I will help you find your parents." Alymir thought it over and decided. "Ok, i'll do it." Kerian smirked and told him to go get ready. Alymir came back with his bedroll and his carving knife. Kerian almost laughed out loud at this. "Sit down for a moment Alymir." Alymir looked slighty confused but obeyed. "Alymir, do you know exactly how perilous this mission will be?" "Not really...." "A carving knife and a bedroll won't last you past the Western Mining Range. Tomorrow we will use the Gatekeeper in town and go to the city of Gludin to get you proper supplies." Alymir's eyes grew wide at this statement. "Gl.. Gl... Gludin!?" "Yes, Gludin, do you have another place you would like to see?" Alymir just sat staring at Kerian. "Then it is settled. Meet me at the front door at seven o' clock sharp." "Ok, whatever you say."
The next day proved to be so exciting for Alymir that he nearly forgot to take his meager allowance from Kerian with him to buy his supplies. "You needn't bring send that today Alymir. I have enough for us." Alymir was once again stupified. Once they reached the gatekeeper Kerian handed her a small note. The Gatekeeper read it quickly and crumpled it up. "Gludin I presume, Mistress?" "Yes, please" Alymir was about to grab the note when everything went dark. He felt as though he couldn't breathe. Soon everything became clear again and he saw Kerian standing some feet away bartering with a blacksmith on the price of something. "Ah, there you are, come here." she said to him. Alymir walked over. Kerian began to pick things up off of the blacksmith's anvil and hand them to Alymir. A bronze breastplate and gaiters, a long and very heavy club and a shield made from bronze and the skull of a demon. "Uh, Kerian, who's all this for?" Kerian turned slighty and just smiled at him. "Who do you think?" Alymir almost fainted and dropped all of his new gifts. "Now we need to collect some potions from an alchemist and some capsules that enhance the attack of your weapon." Alymir followed the elf and looked at her with a newfound respect and reverence.
Once they had completed their task, it was too dark to use the gatekeeper again so they bedded down in an inn. In the morning Kerian made sure that Alymir knew how to use the weapon correctly and don his armor properly. Then she gave him a tightly wrapped package of scrolls and told him they were for emergencies only. She showed him how to use the scrolls and capsules then showed him to the village gate. "Now this, Alymir is where we part." "But.. But... What abou-" Kerian cut him off with a finger to her lips. She could sense the presence of another. She carefully crept around the edge of the gate. There stood a bounty hunter stripping his kill of anything valuable. Kerian stood motionless for a few seconds watching him. Then she began to chant. The other dwarf knew the spell she was about to cast and began to run as fast as possible. A swirling vortex of energy developed in front of Kerian and soon her chanting ended and she made a motion as if to throw the vortex at the dwarf. The vortex shot away from her at lightining speed and soon caught its prey, the dwarf was hit sqaurely in the back. He fell to the ground motionless. "Now Alymir, come here." Alymir ran to her as fast as he could not wanting to upset her and be struck like the other dwarf was. "Yes ma'am?" Kerian began to laugh at him. Alymir looked puzzled and a more than a little scared. Kerian showed him how to find if anything about his kill was valuable, gold necklaces, bracelets, armor, anything. They went over the bounty hunter's corpse also and recovered his set of armor and weapon. Kerian handed it to him. "Here, keep this when you feel you are ready for it." "But how will I know?" "Trust me, you'll know." "Bu-" "Enough, it is time for you to leave." Kerian smiled warmly at him. She hugged him tightly and kissed him on the cheek. "Good luck Alymir, if you ever need me, just send a letter addressed to me and I will get it. Otherwise, the world is now your's." Alymir walked over to Kerian to hug her but she suddenly vanished in a flash of light. Alymir suddenly heard her voice in his head "Remember, i'll always be there." Alymir started to cry a little as he turned and started away from civilization only knowing that his parents and mission called to him. Alymir soon started to feel the fresh air and crisp air of the outdoors. He had never felt like in in his life. He started to walk faster and keep a steady pace headed into the wild where anything awaited him. Alymir heard a crack behind him and turned around. Kerian was standing there holding a traveling pack out to him. "Here." Alymir took it without question. Kerian turned to leave and walk back to town but she stopped. "Oh, I almost forgot." She began to chant again and Alymir's face went deathly pale. Kerian stopped her chanting and paused the spell. "Im not going to hurt you Alymir, don't worry." He felt slightly comforted. Kerian began her chanting and soon Alymir began to feel... different. Soon Kerian stopped her chanting and looked at Alymir. "Now im done." Kerian smiled and winked at him "Goodbye once again Alymir, and next time i see you I want it to be in three years." Alymir smiled at her, he walked over and hugged her, soon they broke apart and Kerian waved to him. "Bye Alymir, good luck." Soon there was the now familiar flash of light and she was gone. Somehow Alymir knew the words to a spell he never knew before. Alymir somewho also knew how to cast it and say the words to use the spell effectively. Alymir looked at a young sapling tree and said the words to the spell. The tree exploded into a ball of flame and knocked Alymir to the ground. Alymir got up and shook his head. "I may just get to like this...." Alymir turned away and began his walk again, never looking back......
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The name Kerian and Alymir are merely names thought up for this story. Any resemblances of names used are not meant to be related to any person or character on any server. They are strictly imagined.