Grim Ruination, Birth of a Soul (On Hiatus)

The Day Off

At an age before humanity spread throughout the world, elves used to rule near the upper planes. Their magic prowess was unrivaled even by the strongest mages of the present age. When the elves had become so bold as to stand against the gods, they were struck down from their pedestal and cast down to the material plane; stripped of their magic in the process. Now all that's left of the great elves known as the Icaryians are the overgrown ruins of their once great civilization which had fallen from the heavens with them. The strongest of the elves had made great magical craters when they'd fallen, their magical power flowing into the area around them; into the very soil.

"Okay Trent, thanks for the history lesson," Darris shouted sarcastically to his comrade as he explained the history of the ruins they were currently in.

"Let him talk. Otherwise, he won't shut up about it 'till sundown." Elrik said, walking past Darris, stepping around an old stone pillar that, at one point, might have held up the roof of the crumbling temple around them.

"For all we know, one of those old Icaryians could've been an ancestor of his." Elric smiled jokingly and nodded to the tip of his ear, referencing Trent's elven heritage.

At that moment, Trent slid down the slanted stone wall he had been standing on top of. The roof it had held up had long since fallen away into rubble, and the wall fell against the other in a way that anyone with decent climbing skills could scale it to reach the top.

"Where are Isak and Tempest?" Trent asked, wiping away the dust from his light blonde hair.

Darris just shrugged, then turned and pointed to the pathway emerging out of the crumbling temple's exit. "Out there." He said.

Trent scoffed and jogged out the doorway before looking both ways down the path. He turned back to Darris and Elrik and put his arms out from his sides. "Why didn't either of you tell me? Now we don't know where they are! How far do you think they've gone now?" He said, panic now rising in his voice.

Trent was an invaluable member of the Fame adventuring guild's Squad 12, being a skilled mage. He was able to summon some minor creatures using magic, however, they were mainly used as distractions more than anything else. While his magic was simple to use, it came at the cost of durability.

All three of them along with Tempest and Isak were part of Squad 12 within the Fame Guild; one of the largest adventuring guilds in Sige. Guilds like the Fame Guild were tasked with protecting anyone within the nation, a large continent that sat just north of the Royal Blue; a large sea of small islands home to no government.

Most missions Squad 12 were assigned were killing bandits or wild beasts that terrorize cattle and steal crops, along with the occasional band of goblins or orcs if they are particularly unlucky. The higher-staged squads of the guild get more dangerous jobs, but none of Squad 12 were ever skilled enough to go on them.

The Fame guild ranked the skill of their members by these stages: 1st stage being the weakest, to 6th stage being the strongest, although they were extremely rare. For most people being at a 4th or 5th stage by the end of their life was acceptable. They were all only 2nd stage members in the guild alongside Tempest, the leader of Squad 12, who was a 3rd stage.

Regardless of their stage, however, this was their day off. So what better way to spend the day than to go on a trip to the nearby ruins of an ancient Icaryian temple? Well, Darris could think of a few better ways to spend his time. However, this venture was a suggestion by Tempest and it would've been rude to turn it down. Plus, spending time with his squad while they weren't constantly on the verge of death was a nice change of pace.

"Oh calm down, they've probably just gone down the path to set up camp. Or look at the scenery," Elrik said.

Elrik was a large half-orc; the 'wall' of the group, as they called him. He wore heavy-scale mail and wielded a large battle axe slung over his back. As far as pure strength went, he was superior to anyone else in the squad.