[IC] The dragons' heart crystal

[Vampiretwilight]

Intro:
The valley lay quiet in a bad way. It had been this way ever since the great dragon died. He had been a great man. Everybody had loved him. It was sad when he departed from their home forever.

The rumors had started. The crystal was still out there. It was hidden away or perhaps just lost. Seekers would search for it now. They knew that whoever found it would be in possession of a great power. They'd be as powerful as the great dragon himself.

The story was about to begin...

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EBONGROVE

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^{A Small Farming Village | Fourty-Five Miles Southeast of Dark Storm. Time, 4:00am}

Feyrith slowly made his way through the empty dew covered streets of the small hamlet, his hood concealing his face and his armor helping him blend seamlessly into the shadows around him. As he walked, Feyrith took note of the poor, ramshackle, and rundown houses the Human's lived.

"And to think you and your god were our greatest enemy during the Sundering. Now look at you. Forced to live in huts..." Feyrith mused as he strode towards the village inn which was, much to his suprise, open for business. He supposed that the humans would have spent the four thousand years of relative peace after the Sundering, rebuilding their once great empire, not drowning themselves in ale.

He shook his head as he got closer to the inn. The Council had sent him here to the realm of Man to see if the rumors of the Great Dragons death were true, not to reason out why Humanity was in such a sorry state. He kept his hood up as he pushed in the rough wooden door and entered the inn. He couldn't let people know he was an elf and a Dhaerain at that. While the memory of his kind and what they had done during the Sundering had faded, Feyrith knew that there were some who still had a hatred of Elven kind, or at the very least an irrational fear. And he supposed it wasn't entirely undeserved....

Feyrith chuckled. In his youth he hated philosophy and now he seemed to do it constantly. He shook his head once more before entering the establishment, the rough wooden door swinging shut behind him.

[Vampiretwilight]

Amelia had arrived back in the valley many days ago. She sat in a small pub with a drink in front of her. She ordered some food and asked for a place to rest, which was granted to her by the owner of the pub. He had rooms that he often rented out.She sighed as she glanced outside through a small window near the table where she sat. She frowned a bit. The swordswoman thought about the dragon's heart...they key to saving or destroying depending upon whomever possessed the crystal. She was determined to retrieve it to keep the valley safe. Amelia needed to find it quickly, lest someone with an evil heart find it first and take advantage of the power that lay within it. She had to keep that from happening at all costs, she thought. Dark storm was rather quiet these days. She hoped whoever lived outside the valley were doing alright.

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THE EBONGROVE INN

The first thing Feyrith noticed upon entering the inn was the thick smell of sweat lingering in the air. He scanned the room and identified the source of the offending oder. Seated at a small round table directly ahead of him were five men who looked like they just came from the fields which, now that Feyrith thought about it, they probably did. They stared at him suspiciously as he walked over to the inn keeper, a bear like man with a bushy black beard, and sat down at the wooden bar. Feyrith glanced back at the men again once he sat down. He couldn't place it, but something seemed....off about them.

Before he was able to think about it further, the inn keeper came out of a back room and walked over to the bar.

"What can I get for ya?" He asked in a thick accent.

"I need you to confirm something for me." Feyrith replied, sliding twenty gold coins over to the man.

"Alright. What is it?" The man asked as he took the coins and placed them in a leather pouch on his belt.

"Is the Great Dragon dead?" Feyrith could hear chairs shifting behind him, but he did not look. Instead he kept his gaze fixed on the inn keeper. The man shifted his gaze to the group of men currently walking up to Feyrith before returning his attention to the elf.

"A...aye, that he is." The man stuttered while slowly backing away from the bar. "And I suggest ye leave before you end up like em." It was at this point that the man hurriedly went into the back room he had come from earlier and locked the door, leaving Feyrith alone with the men.

"You shouldn't pry into things that don't concern you...Dhaerain." The man growled as he pressed the tip of a steel short sword against Feyrith's neck. It was at this point that he knew why he had a bad feeling about these men earlier.

They were spies.

"So..." He began nonchalantly. "Who sent you? Was it Livana? Or Malkus perhaps?"

"Does it matter? It's not as if you'll be leaving here alive." The man said a sadistic grin.

"That's debatable..." Feyrith said with a smirk. It had been too long since he'd had a chance to use his skills in combat.

[Vampiretwilight]

Amelia was still a long way from home. After she gave a yawn, she looked to get a room for the night. However, the pub she was in did not rent rooms. And so, she was on her way again. She still had a ways to go before she was actually home. She found an inn not too far away from the small pub. She went inside to rent a room for the night. That was when she sensed the tension in the air and saw a swordsman seeming to confront someone who appeared to be an elf of some kind. She knew that it was none of her business and yet she could not help but feel rather concerned. However, she was not sure what to do. She bit her lip for a brief moment, thinking. Her sword was shinning in the light of the inns few lamps.

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Feyrith sat there motionless for a few minutes before spinning around to the left, whilst simultaneously drawing Spire and plunging it into the man's throat. He quickly withdrew the dagger and went into a crouch as one of the other men charged at him, before grabbing his attacker's left leg with his free hand, causing the man to lose his footing and plummet, head first, into the wooden bar behind Feyrith. As the man fell to the floor, Feyrith calmly stood up and used a nearby rag to wipe the blood from his blade.

"You know..." He said looking each of the remaining men in the eye. "If you leave now I might just let you live." The men stared at him critically for a moment before drawing their weapons and rushing him.

[Vampiretwilight]

Amelia took a breath. Her body seemed to make the decision for her. Instinct took hold. One man got a decent slice across the back long before he could even see it coming. He fell to the floor. Amelia blinked. She looked around at the other men and the rest of the chaos. She took a step back. She was spotted though. The person who spotted her charged at her. Amelia, then, made to defend herself. She held her sword out, ready to fend off an attack coming her way. She narrowed her eyes. She was not going to let this guy win. She would not go down easily, if at all.

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Feyrith watched from a distance, wanting to see how this would play out. He kept Spire unsheathed however.

[Vampiretwilight]

Amelia fought hard. She took down two more men. The rest fled when they realized who she was. Amelia was out of breath. She fell to her knees. She was covered in blood and needed to wash up. She glanced up in time to see others staring at her. However, the innkeeper seemed to be smiling at her.

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Feyrith calmly sheathed his dagger and walked over to the girl and extended his hand to help her to her feet.

"That was impressive." He said, the hint of a smile on his lips. "I don't believe I've seen a human with your skill and determination in a while."

[Vampiretwilight]

Amelia was a bit out of breath. However, she managed to speak normally.
"When you've grown up and trained like i have, the skills come naturally."

She accepted his hand up, and managed to get back onto her feet.
"Who are you anyway? Dark storm valley doesn't get too many visitors."

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"My name is Feyrith. Feyrith Grevaris." The Dhaerain said with a small bow.

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"I came here to investigate the rumours concerning the death of the Great Dragon." He said. "Rumours, which I see are true..." Feyrith went silent at that, briefly overcome with grief before quickly composing himself.

[Vampiretwilight]

Amelia nodded. She blinked and frowned. She sighed and nodded again.

"Yes. They are true. He fell asleep one night, years ago, and he never woke up. A loyal swordsmen found him in his bed in his home. We have no idea how or why."

She sighed again and then tried to quickly compose herself.

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"I see. And what of his body? Were there any marks on it?" Feyrith asked as he crossed his arms.

[Vampiretwilight]

Amelia shook her head no.
"And there is no body anymore. His ashes were scattered to the wind a long time ago."

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"Hmm...then that would mean only his heart would remain..." Feyrith mused. He looked at the chaos around them for a moment before continuing. "I guess we should help clean this up." Feyrith said as he took a few steps back and surveyed the mess.

[Vampiretwilight]

Amelia nodded. She started cleaning up.

"They say also called his magic crystal a heart. It was known as 'the dragons' heart crystal'. It is a very powerful magical object."

[King Tai]

Asad found himself in this part of the land he was not familiar with. After speaking the tribe leaders about his intentions to go out and help find the crystal to help stop this problem with racism towards his kind. So far on his journey, he's run into several ones who sought to bring down the beast kin just for the fact they feared what he may do. Not that he wanted to fight but he just needed to defend himself.

Walking into the inn, he looked around for a moment.

[Vampiretwilight]

Amelia blinked. She felt a new pair of eyes looking around. She glanced behind her, towards the doorway. That was when she saw him. He looked to be a beast person of some kind. She was rather curious about him, but dared not ask anything.