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"Saverial, why do you choose to leave?" The master of the Ritual intoned.

"To go forth and hone my skills." Saverial replied.

"To hone your skills for?"

"For when this World's peace finally breaks. Tensions can only be held back so long and I intend to be prepared for it."

"Very well. Do be aware, Spellblade, your magic will be nothing at night, and strongest during the day."

"Greeat." Saverial muttered, annoyed.

Taking one moment to look over himself, the Svartalf checked his sword, belt and his pack with a few changes of clothing. No telling where he would land. He himself had dark silver hair, a deep brown colored skin, piercing crimson eyes that were hardened with life's experience, surprisingly few wrinkles that told of age. His clothing? Simple, rugged black clothing, with gold scrolling on the coat cuffs.

The Ritualmaster nodded and began the incantations. Saverial took a deep breath, and felt the attraction that others who had gone and returned mentioned, and closed his eyes.

~~~

Soren walked home, adjusting his grip on his grocery bags while changing the song on his music player, then proceeded to check his phone. Again, no messages, nothing.

Figures as much. It occurred to him that no one ever called, ever visited, ever... anything. It was though he were alone in the world and no one gave a damn if he dropped dead, except for the landlord and his boss.

Even then, one would be annoyed about taking his things out of his apartment, while the other would be pissed off about him randomly dropping dead

Elli grabbed her mother's half eaten tv dinner and shuffled to the kitchen to dump it. she had assumed that she was finished since she was asleep on the couch with a nearly finished bottle of wine dangling from her fingertips. clearing the black plastic tray she tossed the fork on the three week old mountain of dirty dishes and shuffled back to the living room of their trailer. watching the tv for a brief moment she continued to clear the oak coffee table while her mother slept. balancing a few glasses in a stack in one hand and a plate full of silverware in the other she shuffled slowly to the kitchen and set the plate down. then it happened... her little fingers slipped and the tower came crashing to the floor. the crashed echoed in her mind as her heart began racing, "I'm sorry..." she whimpered as she began slowly scooting away from the glass.

Her mother stirred from her drunken slumber and stumbled into the kitchen, "You goddamn cluts. Why the hell do you bring so many dishes to the sink."

"I thought i had it..." she cried as she began slipping down the one hallway to her room.

"Where the hell are you going?!" her mother growled as she stomped to her feet and rushed down the hallway, using the walls for support, "Don't expect me to take the blame for this when your father returns." She grabbed Elli by the hair and dragged her back to the kitchen and threw her to the floor. "Clean it up quick and he may never notice," she tossed a rag to the ground and stumbled back to the couch to continue watching tv.

Elli sobbed softly to herself as she cleaned up the shards of glass... her little six year old fingers getting stabbed as she swept the shards into a pile and gathered them with the rag.

As she dumped the last of the blood stained glass in the garbage she heard the screen door slam, "I-I'm sorry daddy.... i didn't mean to...."

His glazed brown eyes fixed on the little girl and he smiled, "Sweetheart... why are you bleeding?" He knelt at the child's feet and began to gently examine her hands. "Laura! What the hell did you do to our child?! What the ******** is wrong with you!" he yelled as he rose once again and ran into the living room and slapped his wife,"What the hell did you do?!" he demanded again as he grasped her arms firmly and pulled her to her feet.

"It's my fault daddy! I did it!"Elli cried as she ran to her father's side.

He kicked her aside and continued beating and screaming at Laura, who slipped out of his grasp and began running to the other side of the trailer.

Elli hid behind the love seat and buried her face in her arms.

Chasing after Laura, he grabbed a gun from under the couch and threw the bedroom door open. Three shots echoed in the trailer and a woman's screams silenced.

Elli muffled her screams with her glass covered hands and held her breath...

Coming back from his drug induced world he had realized what he's done... and knows what is to come of him. Knowing he can't go back to jail, there's only one way out. "Elli, Everything's alright now... It's time to go though... We have to leave this place now... Come out sweetie."

Elli trembled and proceeded to hide... she closed her eyes and folded her hands 'Dear God, if you can hear me.... Please save me... i'm so scared...I-I'm sorry i keep messing up....I'll try to do better'

~~~~~~~~~~
Kelcie pulled her back pack straps together and shivered, 'Why can't I have a car like every other sixteen year old at school... I think i would at least deserve that... am one of the top five in my grade and i get absolutely nothing for it... Nothing! why even-' Her thoughts were interrupted by a pair of black leather business shoes in her path. following them up she noticed a middle aged business man smiling at her.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to get in your way... But you look cold... Would you like a ride? My car is just over there." he pointed just across the street by a park.

"Ummm... I would hate for you to go out of your way, sir, but it's a nice offer... It isn't too much farther now." she stammered as she tried to slide past him.

He stepped out in front of her and moved the pocket of his suit coat against her. a unmistakable blunt object pressed against her abdomen and she paled.

"No, I insist." he whispered as he guided her body to turn around and walk down the street... the gun still pressed to her abdomen.

The world around her began to spin as she stepped down the side walk. Kelcie choked on the words balled in her throat, preventing her breath from forming. They neared the cross walk and she closed her eyes. The light turned green and cars rushed passed as she stood there with a concealed gun pressed to her side... if she gestured she'd be shot... so there was one thing left to do.

'Three..... Two.....' she took a deep breath and stepped into the crosswalk.

The man grabbed for her arm, "What the hell-" he shouted as he stepped forward and hesitated.

Darting through cars and jumping at the horns and eventually making her way to the park across the street she ran, knowing her killer was not far behind her. She found a grove of trees and hid behind one holding her breath she peeked around a side, and a gunshot echoed in the trees.

"s**t..." she whispered as she tried her best to hide her tears... Tears wouldn't help her now...

"Come one lovely! I only wanted to give you a ride home..." he called out as he shuffled through the grove, "It's only a matter of time before i find you..." he smiled maliciously as he pressed the gun to her neck.

"Found you."

She dropped to her knees to avoid the shot and screamed, then sprung forward darting in and out of trees. three more shots echoed out, and the forth embedded itself in her calf. She yelped in pain and skid across the fall ground and cried, "Son of a-" she cussed but was cut off by a hand covering her mouth.

"Move and i'll shoot... Be a good girl.. And you might live to see tomorrow." he whispered as he lay on top of her body.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

stepping into the single spotlit area in the room she awaited her conviction.

"You slaughtered every man in your village between the ages of twenty and twenty four.... Why?" a voice in the shadows asked...

"They drove him to take his life... and I took their soul as payment..."she smiled.

They gasped as the whispers surrounded her. a hammer brought everyone back to silence,"You have two choices... spend your life on another realm, or death here..."

"I want death."

mumbling broke the silence and a man stepped forward, his shoes visible to her. a bright light and a circle appeared under her feet.

"You Bast-" she began to shout as the light engulfed her and she appeared in an apartment building, her sword staring at her from the corner of the room, "ard..." she looked around the room in confusion and grabbed her sword, "Great... now what..." she muttered, hoping for a response

Kelcie stared at him, jaw dropped, 'Where the hell did he come from.... ' she thought as she slid out from under the man, curling into a ball.

The man pulled up his pants and pointed the gun at the strange man's forehead, "Walk away and I won't kill you."

Kelcie began to slowly slink away, when the man turned around and shot his last round, hitting her shoulder. She fell to the ground releasing a scream of pain.

He turned knowing he was out of ammo, but keeping excellent composure; After all the foreign man had no idea he was out.

Kelcie looked up at the man with tears in her eyes, "Help me... Please... I need to get out of here..."her hoarse scratchy voice called as she pressed her hand into her shoulder, winced and continued to sob softly, "Please... Help me..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She lifted the sword, the hilt over her right shoulder and the tip of the sword pointed to his chest(Sephy stance 8D), "Who I am is none of your concern as of right now... Call me what you's like.... I need to know where I am and anything about the realm I inhabit..." she said in all seriousness her midnight blue eyes fixed on him.

"Elli...Please come out...I just scared her with the gun...I put it away...we need to go see the doctor and have him look at your hands." He was lying through his teeth, but he just needed a sign to flush her out. He was coming into the living room, his breathing was fast even after coming off his high, and he really didn't have time for this childish crap.

"Elli, sweetie, I promise everything is fine..." The phone rings, and looking at the caller ID he curses under his breath and answers it. "Gunshots, yeah I shot out the bedroom window again...no everyone is fine...Elli is hiding as usual...well she never did like them since...no that won't be necessary...Laura...She's pissed at me for shooting out the window and kicked me out of the bedroom. Yes i know it was a foolish thing to do...goodnight Miss Johnson."

He hung up the phone and tossing it on the coffee table he notices the bloody handprints on the floor. "Elli, I'm done being nice, if you don't come out on the count of three, I'm going to whip you good when I do find you, we really don't have time for this..." He started to move towards the love seat.

Jezabelle looked at the dead woman in the bedroom, yet she still felt the strong fear close by, and it was making her feel agitated and defensive. Her ears picked up on the sound coming from the living room, and not understanding the waste of life at the moment she walked down the hall towards the sound.

The source of fear was getting stronger, she hated feeling afraid, she wanted to hide and wait for the fear to subside, but the great tribes of Roe did not sucumb to fear. being the daughter of a tribal leader she had expectations of her to be even better than a common person.

The living room was a mess, blood mixed with other foul scents, this is not the proper way to live, but in here the fear was the strongest. Jez was itching to lash out, to destroy the fear was being caused, her hand brushed against her thigh, and looking down her claws had come out from instinct rather than conscious choice.

The male kneeling on the love seat and reaching down behind it with one hand was trying to talk calmly even though their was panic in the rest of his actions. The gun in his other hand made her crouch down and approach with more stealth. The mage warned her to avoid a device of this shape, that its poison was very strong, and could reach long distances.

She got close enough, she reached down and grabbed the hand holding the object squeezing until her claws began to pierce flesh. The gun dropped, but the element of surprise was short lived as he began to fight Jez. I was not as one sided as Jez hoped, apparently this male had some training as well, but Jez endured the pain well. She calmed down a little to start avoiding attacks thrown at her, and stay between him and the object on the love seat.

He charged at her, and she ducked down wrapping him around the waist and picking up she dropped him on the coffee table. Dishes leftover still sitting there broke, the glass center broke, the table naturally buckled from the force, and Jez pulled herself back up to stand. He was still breathing, but no longer moving it was some comfort to Jez that she didn't kill him.

She moved back to the love seat, and grabbing one side she pulled it out from the wall exposing Elli. Jez looked back at the male laying on the shattered remains of the coffee table, and then back at Ellli. Moving close she knelt down; and reaching out she placed her hands lightly on Elli's back.

There is nothing to be afraid of now. Jezabelle had hoped her words would reach the fear stricken mind of the child.

Saverial looked at the injuries. No worse then broken arrows, maybe?

"...Bullets? Nevermind. The scarring, I cannot help you with, I'm not that good of a healer." A surge of cold flowed through Kelcie, and the very uncomfortable feeling of the bullets being pushed out of her body followed.

A hot rush flowed through her as the spell completed its work, replacing the blood lost and knitting the tissue.

"Be careful on your shoulder. It will not bear much weight for a few days as your muscles finish knitting." It was unmistakable but this was very much magic.

Cursing softly in his own tongue, Saverial turned his attention to the incapacitated man, his rage slowly growing. Squeezing the hilt on the sword, he repeated the same thing, except left the broke bone alone, merely to bring him back to consciousness.

When he did, Saverial intended to have Words with this man.


Soren nodded slowly. "I uh, see." He slowly approached the table and took out his wallet, dumping some miscellaneous change and taking a few bills out, laying them on the small table.

"This is our currency, the American dollar." Soren said slowly. Getting stabbed was not on his agenda.

"As for clothing, uh..." He slowly moved to the living room area and swept the remote off the coffee table and turned on the TV to Faux News. "Its hard to explain... uh, watch that? It'll answer a lot of your questions."

"As for the can? That's Mountain Dew. It's... one of the best drinks."

Kelcie shivered and pulled closer to him as the rush of cold stung her body. To her, It felt like death's frozen hands clawing at her insides, but as the rush of warmth soothed her, she looked at him in disbelief, "Y-you... healed me?"

leaning herself against a tree she moved her arm out to the side, back, forward and poked her shoulder wincing slightly... It felt bruised, but the hole was gone. the only proof of its existance was a small scar on her shoulder and the bloodstain on her shirt. Kelcie then proceeded to examine her leg in much of the same fashion. Doing random stretches and poking the muscle belly... What this man did was a miracle.

Coming back to consciousness the man stared up at Saverial and rubbed the top of his head. "What the hell is your problem man? Can't you just mind your own damn business..." He groaned while staggering to his feet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tipping the can to one side she admired how the light glistened on the can, "What... Does it taste like?" She asked, completely ignoring everything he had said before he introduced the can of Mountain Dew.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elli pulled away from Jez and ran down the hall yelling for her mother. Throwing herself into her parents bedroom door she revealed her mother's corpse; a shot to the abdomen, the chest, and finally the head. She screamed and threw open the closet door, dove behind two boxes and held her breath. she didn't know what was going on, but she didn't want to come out...

Ms.Johnson was fed up with John's terrible behavior. she had covered for him enough and she knew Laura was trying to divorice him, but he wasn't going to let that happen without a fight... it was time to take matters into her own hands. She had called the police shortly after the last gunshot, making sure they knew she was going to have her shotgun with her in case things got out of hand.

Kicking in the screen door of their trailer she waved the barrel of her shot gun and screamed, "John! I've had enough of that damn gun! The police are on their way and...." Ms.Johnson came around the corner of the kitchen and saw john with a bullet in his head and young Jez standing over him.

"Murderer!!!" She shreiked and squeezed the trigger of her shot gun, falling backward from the recoil.