The Chronicles of Ardia: The Company of The Stone

Book One Chapter One: Journey's Start

"To put hope and duty above all,
To fight with justice and valor.
To ensure our enemy's fall,
To live and die with honor."

-Warden's Oath

Book One Chapter One:
Journey's Start

"Oh, come on. There's gotta be more you can tell me." Asked the She-Elf.
"Look, I already told ya what I know. What you're lookin' for doesn't exist." Replied the bartender, mildly irritated by the She-Elf's constant asking of the same question.
"It does exist. I know it does." Said the She-Elf. Her name was Giana. She had just left her home of the Elven Fire Clan to set out on a journey to find an heirloom that would prove her heritage to the great Elf Queen, Raena.

The bartender simply sighed.
"Look, the Stone of Raena is just a legend so gullible little girls like you would risk and lose their lives for nothin."
Giana scoffed.
"I am not a little girl! I am 170 years old!"

The bartender sighed again. "You're still just a kid. Go home. There's nothin' for you here."
"Listen," Giana said sternly. "I came all the way here from the Elven Fire Clan to find the Stone of Raena, who happens to be my ancestor, and finally bring peace to decades of conflict amongst the Four Clans."
"Uh huh." The bartender replied dryly.

Giana ignored his rudeness and continues.
"I came here to this town because I heard many a rumor of the Stone being here, lost in the forest beyond."
"Uh huh."
"I finally come here, after weeks of traveling, and you tell me that it was all for naught?"
The bartender just shrugged. "Welcome to Crowville. Town of disappointment."

A little girl, no older than 13, soon came out of the kitchen and approached Giana with a drink.
"More, madam She-Elf?" Asked the girl as she raises the tray with the drink atop nearly above  her head.
Giana took in the adorable scene before her, giving the girl a smile before taking the drink. She took a good gulp from the cup, surprising the bartender.

"Damn. You could rival a Dwarf in drinking."
Giana puts the nearly empty cup down, then looked at the bartender with a gloomy expression. "Please," she said with a doleful tone. "There must be something. A hint or clue that you can tell me. Anything."
The bartender looked at Giana solemnly as she pleaded with him. Before him he saw the equivalent of a puppy looking for a home. He then took a deep breath, and finally, told Giana.

"Alright," he said. "There is a story of a warrior that lurks in the center of the forest. A guardian."
"Guardian?" Giana asked, curious. "Guardian of what?"
"No one knows. But, the story of the Guardian began around the same time the legend of the Stone did." The bartender takes a cup and fills it up. "And folks around here believe that the two are connected. As such, people call him the Guardian of the Stone."

Giana pondered for a moment. Could this be the moment she had waited for?
"However," Giana's focus went back to the bartender as he continued.
"I don't recommend goin' in them woods."
"What? Why?"
The bartender took a sip from his drink.
"Those who enter, never return. At least, not in one piece."
Giana was somewhat insulted. Was he doubting her skills?

"Don't worry about me." Giana said confidently. "I can handle myself very well. I hail from the Fire Clan, after all."
"That's what the last one said." replied the bartender as he set his cup down. "Only he came from Wind Clan."
Giana stood silently for a moment. Elves from the Wind Clan are considered big deals. If an experienced warrior couldn't retrieve the Stone... what hope does she have?

"Nevertheless, I have to go." Giana said with a stern look. "If I don't, then I'll be haunted by my failure to discover who I am."
The bartender was impressed. Not a single hint of fear lingered in her golden eyes. Perhaps she could succeed, if the story is true. However...

"Alright, then." Said the bartender. "Head to the east end of town, and there'll be a path that leads to the woods that you can take."
Giana was surprised. "You're not going to try and talk me out of it anymore?"
The bartender scoffed. "I now see that you clearly can't be deterred, so what would be the point?" The bartender then looks sternly into Giana's eyes. "But heed here, She-Elf."

Giana walked down to the east end of the town to find a pathway leading into the forest. She felt a chilling feeling. Bad stories are told of this forest. Most who enter almost never return, and a cold atmosphere surrounded it. To the Elves, it is known as Icadres Forest, or Frozen Forest in the common tongue.

This was a bad place, that much was certain. Something had stained this forest, but Giana would not turn back now. She remembered what the bartender told her before she left.

"Heed here, She-Elf. The forest is not a place to be trifled with. Many who enter never return, and those who do are never the same. Heed, and mayhaps you'll survive."

Giana gripped her heart and took a deep breath. "No point in giving up now." she thought to herself.
"Not with all that's at risk." She had to find the Stone. She needed to. If not, then all would be lost to the fires of war. She had a duty. A duty to her people, and to herself. After gathering all her courage, she walked down through the pathway and entered the Frozen Forest. Determination and hope were her motivation and she would not be stopped now. Her future lied ahead.

But little was she aware of what really waited for her in the darkness of the forest. What held her fate in its hands. What held her future. Sparks flew from his sword with the shrill sound of rock scraping metal. And as the cries of battles past, the sounds of despair echoed in his mind, one thing was clear; he would uphold his duty and test the one who comes. They would succeed, or they would fail. Like all before...