Afraid of the Dark

Prologue

Over a century ago, the minor continent of Narvadin was invaded by their neighboring continent, Varagores. The Tus'Felnis were left with a choice of either fleeing from their home, or being subjected to slavery in service of the Orcs. Many stood and fought, but in the end, the Orcs won.

And the Tus'Felnis were bound to serve.

But the ones who fled took to the seas. Some of them sought refuge in Aramora and Conarita, while the others lived out a life of piracy. For a while, Aramora was safe. The Tus'Felnis were able to avoid capture from the Orcs at the price of discrimination from the humans and Adaliaens, but this was a small price to pay for their freedom.

But those who became enslaved were bound to contracts that forced them to carry out the will of the Orcs. Infiltrate Aramora with their spies. Plant the seeds that would sprout into mistrust and eventually, destruction. And their plan, for the most part, worked.

Ten years ago, the continent of Aramora was destroyed. The land remained, but the lives of millions were lost. Humans, Adaliaens, Orcs, centaurs and Tus'Felnis alike all burned when the light broke the sky.

And before the ashes could settle, the Orcs who remained claimed the remnants of Aramora as theirs. No rulers, no government. No Dev'al Ordon.

But they don't want to stop there. Over the years since Aramora was destroyed, the Orcs have been rebuilding their army. Setting their sights on the minor continents of Letroseli, Manatria and Conarita. Rumor has it that some Orc scouts have even been spotted on the two major continents of Eutria and Utopia.

So far, these scout sightings have been only in the cities of Nerawin and County Sage. But it's only a matter of time before they spread across the continents. The Orcs seek power and aim to achieve it by claiming every continent for themselves.

They already have forced over half of the Tus'Felnis people into slavery, and it seems they now are setting their sights on the Adaliaen people of Letroseli, and over the past ten years, a large population of Adaliaens have expanded south to inhabit County Sage, especially with the hopes of getting a chance to meet the Lost Descendant of Ophelia Dev'mar Angevell after word of his fame from stopping the Imperium reached the other continents.

But as triumphant as the victory was, this was yet another thing that caught the attention of the Orcs. They wish to enslave the Adaliaens next, and they believe that by taking their revered 'Lost Descendant,' they will force the elves into submission.

They seek power. And they will claim it by whatever means are necessary.

Reela sprints forward and pivots her foot on the stone path before leaping through the air and landing on the thin wooden post. She turns and narrowly dodges as a blade strikes past her face, slicing off a strand of her snow white hair that's tied back in a long ponytail.

She balances on the post and twirls around, holding her daggers in each hand as she blocks another strike and kicks her opponent in the chest. He grabs her ankle and pulls, throwing her back but she elegantly flips through the air in time to kick off of a tree, making the pines rustle and snow falls from the branches.

She instantly has to roll out of the way as a knife embeds itself in the tree past her long pointed ear and without missing a beat, she hooks her leg around her opponent's shoulder, grabs his arm and swings herself forward, slamming him to the ground. He immediately grabs her arms and rolls her under him.

He keeps her pinned, but with a quick glance at his shoulder, she snickers and twists her wrist free to pull on the switch, popping the metal limb out from its socket in time for her to escape from under him and kick him in the side, plant her foot on his chest, and point her dagger down at his throat.