"There are many languages present in Edor. Most races possess at most two languages with many different dialects like the true elves who use moon or sun speech depending on which of the great forests they come from. There are also dwarves, who keep their written language uniform but the way they pronounce the thousands of complicated symbols used to write their grumbling language greatly differs between dwarven holds.

We, humans, are perhaps the strangest of creatures in Niuran since at the time of writing this book in the blessed year of 1401 there are over twenty languages in western Edor alone not including Common which is the universal language of every single significant race since the days of Holy Human Empire or the imperial Caiserspiel or any other language of the Old Principalities before the year 1."

Extract from notes of an unknown Bard found in a tavern in Yorg-Berg.

 

 

---

 

 

  Iris quickly ran toward the ambushed humans with the wind behind her back leaving Kia with her summoned construct. She expected the ogres to sense her approach but not even one ogre turned toward her. 

An arrow loosed by a panicking human whizzed above her head as it missed its large mark. She tightened her grip on the spear's shaft as she drove its onyx tip into the ogre's back. [Crippling Blow]

The ogre let out a surprised groan as he forcefully turned around through the slow effect with his weapon raised. The tall grass where Iris stood was flattened into green mush as the oversize club smashed into the ground. Thick fatty blood began to flow out from the wound and onto the elf's weapon as she ripped it free from the ogre's body as she jumped away to dodge his attack once again. The ogre bull flashed his rotting teeth in a grin as his hand reached for the risen before being swiped away her spear. 

 

  The slowed-down brute painful cry rumbled the air around him before he cleaved through the grass in front of him as Iris's spotted some of his fellow ogres running towards them with uncomfortably large strides.

 

"[Mana Missile]" The hoplite aimed her hand at the ogre's small head causing a bolt of light to scorch the creature's face.

 

  As the ogre bellowed in pain while covering his face with his hands, Iris sprinted closer toward him and thrust her spear upwards at the ogre's throat causing a fountain of blood to erupt directly above the her. The roughly two-man tall humanoid started to gurgle his last cries before falling forwards almost crushing the bloodied elf whose precognition didn't predict the fall.

 

"I am goin' to eat you!" A fully clothed ogre wearing torn merchant jacket which barely fitted his large body shouted as he dashed forward with a crudely made metal imitation of a sword in one hand and a metal shield strapped to his palm bearing a weathered coat of arms of its previous owner. Alongside, the maneater was another ogre who was carrying a large boulder on his shoulder. As the second ogre got closer he unexpectedly hurled the massive rock toward the elf.

 

"Heavens!" Iris yelped in surprise as her newly casted ward loudly burst into a rain of orange glass shards having deflected the boulder just enough to graze her arm, violently pulling her backwards.

 

  The elf outstretched her spear as far in front of herself as she could trying to break the first ogre's charge. In a beat, the metal surface of the shield flashed in front of the elf's violet eyes as the ogre's gut armour knocked her spear aside. 

 

  Iris watched as the world was flipped upside down as she was hurled into the air by the ogre's body momentum which hit her instead of the shield. Her mind detached from her body concerns, calmly focused on landing with her feet.

 

"Got yu, nife ear'" The hoplite felt her body being once again yanked as she suddenly found herself staring at the hideous face of the maneater whose face bore the old scars of brutal combat. His brown eyes one of which was clouded by a thin smokey film closed as he took in the risen's scent. "Huh?" His remaining good eye stared confused at the pale whispering elf who smelled of death.

 

"[Self Combustion]" The risen in the ogre's hand was engulfed by an infernal mirror of hot air before her surroundings flared into a fiery explosion. 

 

  The ogre maneater took in a fatal gasp before he threw the engulfed elf into the ground. Her body thumped into the ground causing the grass to swiftly be engulfed by fire burning on her body. She hurriedly stood up as she felt her Hit Points quickly draining away. Her frown deepened as she casted Firebrand causing the lingering flames on her body to disappear as her weapon was engulfed by fire. She prepared to fight the second ogre who had not yet aided his kin but as her eyes panned across the battle she saw an ogre lying head first between the blades of grass not too far from her. 

 

Status

...

HP 992/1750

MP 1000/2000

...

 

  Iris turned back and saw the girl standing at the foot of the hill while large magical circles spun around her hand, not knowing what the mage was planning the elf turned back toward the human caravan. An ogre wielding a two-handed sword larger than himself held the monstrous weapon above his head before bringing it down on a terror bird running in front of him causing the lone animal to be chopped in half.

 

[Inspect]

 

[Ogre Slaughter Champion Level 153]

 

"Face pink skin? No yu are nife ear?" The large ogre said, puzzled by the risen appearance from the tall grass. "Boss don't fear yu, Boss da best." He stated as he hit the ground with his weapon causing the earth to begin to rumble.

 

  In response to the ogre's ability, Iris casted shackles off and raised her hand to cast another spell. "Boom!" The ogre cackled loudly as the ground beneath the elf fragmented as it bulged up and began to glow with infernal orange light which grew in intensity as the ground started to rumble again. 

 

  A pillar of molten rock spewed out from the depths of the earth causing the two fighting races to stop and look with awe or dread at the towering red column. 

The laughs of the ogre champion grew quieter as the column of fire and molten rock was shrouded with white smoke and through the roar of the raining down firestorm a constant hizzing noise irritated the behemoth.

 

"'Onger wat yu tit to survive dat." The ogre fumbled his thoughts aloud as he rested his cleaver on his bulky shoulder before approaching the source of smoke through the raining down lava. "Shiny not pink skin."

 

  The small yellow eyes of the ogre stared intrigued at the motionless elf standing perfectly still among the smoke coming from her body which gained an unnatural blueish glint. Her finger sluggishly moved again causing shards of ice to break off and fall onto the scarred soil beneath her feet as she gripped her spear again. 

The black spear tip flashed in front of the ogre's eyes as the elf slashed at him while breaking free of her icy prison. A loud snap echoed in the long ears of the slowed elf followed shortly by the dull sound of metal hitting the ground. The elf stared at her mana points with dizziness as her dangerously low MP stabilised.

 

"Boss 'ill get ya! Boss 'ill chomp, chew and munch on yu'r skinny head!" The ogre roared as the thick leather strap attaching his thick gut plate was accidentally cut by the undead hoplite.

 

  The two-handed cleaver cut through the grass in front of Iris as she barely kept dodging the enraged ogre's attacks. As the thick hunk of metal flew passed her head the risen casted Mana Shockwave causing the ogre's weapon to lodge itself deeply into the ground before she pounced at the large ogre with all her might, aiming the spear tip at his throat. Without missing a moment the seemingly simple-minded creature let loose of his weapon and snatched the lunging elf before lifting her into the air. Causing the surrounding ogres to let out a warcry in victory.

 

*Boom*

 

  Iris's vision went black but not from the grasp of death but from another explosion which violently rocked her body like a ragdoll whose its owner lost interest in it. The large fingers around her body lost their grip causing the elf to swiftly escape their grasp and stab the ogre's side.

From the dark smoke encircling her a fist flew toward Iris's face, diving away from the attack she pulled out her weapon and stabbed up toward the dark outline of the ogre. She felt some of her hitpoints return as the ogre's form came into her view after a gust of wind blow away the smoke accompanied by a soft bell chime inside her head.

 

"Boss!" 

"Boss's dead!"

"Grab and run!"

 

  The risen drove her weapon further as the thick crimson liquid flowed down the steel oak shaft and onto her hands as the deep raspy voices of the remaining ogres sounded around the elf followed by the ground shaking from their very foot steps.

She gripped her weapon as tightly as the thick fatty blood caused her hand to slip off the handle and pulled the spear from her opponent's corpse. The slaughter master's body fell onto the ground in front of her and she noticed that the right side of his face was almost gone alongside his upper shoulder with only burned flesh and charred bones remaining.

 

  Iris turned in the direction of the certain undead mage who was the cause of both her victory and her headache. She saw the girl's minion walking toward her but she failed to spot the girl herself.

The silence around the elf hovered for a moment before a wave of quiet whispers assaulted her senses.

 

"Who is that woman?"

 

"You see those ears? She is an elf."

 

"El-!?" Iris turned around toward the whispering humans causing one of them to yelp in surprise.

 

  A human with a familiar white mask with a bloody handprint on it began to approach Iris on top of an ember stone terror bird. Outside of the completely featureless mask covering the front half of his face with only small holes for the eyes to see out of the man who she supposed was the leader, he was wearing simple brown clothes made out of animal pelts with fur lining the cuffs and neck. The clothes were perhaps slightly thicker than what Firmusians wore which she would guess served well against the cold wind currently picking up in intensity. 

Hanging on the man's belt was a short sword with a circular handguard and a quiver with few remaining arrows for the strangely curved bow in his left hand.

 

  The bird turned its head to gaze at the tall elf wielding a bloody spear with its golden-red eye alongside the bird's rider who leaned slightly toward her and examined her. The man's weary brown eyes watched her for a moment before he looked at the carnage around him.

 

"Let the spirits and the wyrm bless you. Forgive me for not telling you my name but you can call me Ruu and I'm a Carei, second to Tserei of the Unalig Clan." The man said while trying to direct his mount closer to the tall silent adventurer which was met with a long squawk followed by a loud thump of its beak slamming shut. 

 

"Sorry for that," Ruu said with his eyes expressing genuine regret for the bird's action. "Ehh... Do you understand me?" He asked but the elf turned toward the endless flat grassland. "To you... speak Me?"

 

"I understand you." Iris replied in the man's native langue causing him to almost fall from his saddle. He was about to speak again but a high pitch scream came from behind him. Both Ruu and Iris turned toward the scream only to see a young human of about maturity charging toward her on foot with a spear.

 

"Damn you elf!"

 

  The pathetically slow charge of the young boy was quickly stopped by Iris who stepped toward the charge causing the boy to hit the air behind her and impact her elbow at full speed. 

 

"I understood that also." Iris snapped the tip of the mundane spear with her heel before turning back toward Ruu whose arms drew cold sweat. It was the first time someone attacked her explicitly because of her being an elf but somehow she couldn't even get mad at the young human sitting in the grass while rubbing his forehead with his hand and staring daggers behind his brown mask with red hands covering the area where the mouth was supposed to be.

 

"I am terribly sorry for Ba's behaviour even after you saved our lives, he is usually very quite," The leader of the humans said hesitantly bowing his head toward the elf. "I hope there is a way to repay you for it." He said while avoiding eye contact with her until another human patted him on the back and pointed at something behind her.

 

"Iris!" A cheerful voice came out from under Kia's green mantle which blended into the ubiquitous greenery around them. A series of gasps followed closely behind the girl's appearance or rather her and her constructed appearance. 

 

"Is that your companion...companions?" Ruu pointed at the newly arrived pair while very slowly and deliberately choosing his words.

 

"Yes." The risen instantly replied.

 

"Could you call for Kasheng," He whispered to the human beside him who nodded and jogged toward the caravan. "I am terribly sorry but we have to bury the dead could you wait here until we finish?"

 

"No problem." Iris replied before turning toward Kia. 

 

"Did you gain a level?" The girl asked before the elf could open her mouth.

 

"I did." 

 

"What language was that?" The necromancer said while watching the humans around her.

 

"I don't know."

 

"Why do humans have soooo many languages?"

 

"It probably linked with their huge population, their relatively short life spans compared to almost any other major race in Edor and the large distances between their settlements," Iris instinctually answered the girl's question before realising what the pale girl was trying to do. "Stop distracting me."

 

"Distracting from what?" The undead mage looked up to the elf, innocently flashing her softly glowing eyes which resembled colourful stars shining brilliantly in the night sky.

 

"..." Iris frowned and bit her lower lip trying to remember what she was trying to say.

 

"What are they doing?" Kia grabbed the elf's bloody hand and pointed her finger at a pair of humans who was carrying a body.

 

"They are burying their dead." 

 

"OOOOOH!" A familiar sound caused the fearless elf to feel goosebumps appearing on her back and legs. "Can we take a look?" A seemingly innocent question caused the elf to begin to feel pity toward the humans who were about to be judged by an ancient being disguised as an adorably lovable girl. 

 

  In about half a bell the twelve remaining humans gathered around a shallowly dug grave divided into separate individual sections.

Kia watched closely as each of the six dead was lowered into the grave accompanied by the quiet sobs of their former companions. 

A woman's head was adorned with a red mask with white markings in a rough shape of a human she was also wearing a silky blue dress with a red cloth tightly wrapped around her waist, holding her dress on her body. As the woman started to carefully take off the shattered masks and generously rub white powder on the brutalized faces, Iris spotted that the woman's hands and neck were covered with tattoos and as far as she could tell the woman's body was covered in them. 

 

  After the priest had finished she was given large white plates similar to the mask's they were wearing with the only exception being that she was enclosing the entire head of the dead humans instead of just their faces. The ceremony seemed to end as the woman stepped out of the mass grave and the head of the remaining humans lifted. Even with the masks, Iris was acutely aware of the numerous glances of gratitude and hate aimed toward her but what confused her the most were the glances of pity and sympathy aimed at Kia.

 

  The tall risen looked away from the approaching human and turned toward the intrigued petite undead whose face was stuck in a frown of confusion, never the less the ancient approved of the nomad's custom and applauded loudly with her delicate-looking hands causing the stolen glances of pity to turn into mild confusion. 

 

"Thank you very much for waiting." Ruu spoke. "Out of curiosity could I ask what a slav- you are doing in the middle of nowhere?"

 

"We were heading south and the heavens made us meet each other." The elf's words confused the human before he looked around at the large motionless mounds of flesh which attacked him and his caravan.

 

*Sigh*

 

"Unless our blessings and goodwill of our gods is enough for you I have nothing not dear to our hearts and survival to part ways with but we could offer you a ride south," Ruu explained. "I was going to say it is dangerous to travel alone but it would seem that you have security covered better than us." The human laughed at himself while avoiding looking at the elf's purple eyes.

 

  Iris looked behind the man's shoulders and onto the caravan pulled by the strange feathered creatures. She would probably refuse the man's hidden temporary guard job suggestion but her MP needed to regenerate, even after gaining some mana back after stabbing her spear into the ogre the amount gained back was much smaller than when she had fought in a dungeon or against vampires. It didn't hurt that the girl looked interested in the strange people and that she will please the petite girl if she would gain another level.

 

"My name is Iris and this is Siri." The elf reached out her hand toward Ruu who seemed surprised.

 

"Appreciated." He replied before grabbing the elf's forearm in a strange sort of handshake. "We will be departing in a little while so you are well come to do whatever."

 

  The tall blood covered elf headed toward one of the small wagons at the back of the caravan with a curious creature following her steps. The wood let out a noisy creak as Iris climbed on top of it with an experienced motion. The roughly head shorter undead clumsily followed the risen who had sat down amongst the tightly packed bundles of animal pelts.

The cloaked girl mirrored the elf as she sat down opposite to her with her legs crossed. Kia curiously watched the grey clouds above her which slowly darkened as the day slowly withered away.

 

  A pair of masked humans brought a large tarp toward the wagon the two undead were occupying. The pair looked at each other with confusion when they saw the blood-soaked elf lying comfortably in the cart but they quickly shrugged their shoulders and covered the waggon with the large fabric covering causing the girl to try to leave.

 

"You are not going anywhere." A soft and gentle voice cut through the darkness before Kia felt her body being pulled by an irresistible force.

 

  The predator's perceptive purple eyes easily pierced the pitch darkness, getting their fill of the girl's pearly white features. The shocked necromancer jumped from surprise as she felt the risen warm forehead touch hers. The sudden jump caused the two purple gems to appear again with a puzzled look. Instead of running her soft, precious and mysterious prey stroked her warm cheeks with slim porcelain fingers while her colourful eyes glowed with otherworldly light.

 

"[Clean]" An angelic voice pierced Iris's mind before she entrusted her mistress's safety to a stone construct diligently standing outside and sank into the comfortably cold void.