14

Devilkghth, a knight in purple armor with violet hair was running through town with his two friends, Tethrall the elf and Halduron the orc, the prince of Riften had been attacked by orcs while he was on patrol, it wasn't the first time that had happened so far but it still made his blood boil.

"I'm sure the king will have our heads if we don't catch up to them!" Halduron called out as he sprinted ahead. The trio reached a crossroads which lead them to two separate roads. One road lead straight ahead while the other lead straight into town to the castle.

Tethrall looked at the road leading back down the hill. "Do you think I should follow this one?" He asked the blond orc, the two of them weren't very close and didn't talk much.

"Yeah, it's probably faster than the other way, it goes straight to town," Devkil said.

"If you're sure..." The elf trailed off not sounding completely convinced, he turned around and took the path that led directly up the hill. Tethrall followed closely behind. They both knew he could take care of himself but the thought of his friend getting hurt worried him. They passed an alleyway and Devkil heard voices coming from it.

"It sounds like someone got attacked," Halduron said. Both Devil and Tethrall peeked around the corner. Two guards were holding someone pinned against a wall, a guard had a spear pointed at the person's neck but he couldn't get close enough to finish the job.

"What are you waiting for?! Kill the bastard! I said kill him!" The second guard yelled, the third kept trying to grab his weapon but it didn't seem like he could do anything since the guard with the spear had grabbed his arm.

"Hey, watch it man!" Tethrall shouted. The three men looked up at the young half-elf that was walking down the alleyway toward them. He was dressed in green armor similar to what the guards wore, he held a bow in his right hand and the blade of his sword was drawn. The guards let go of the poor victim they'd captured and jumped away from him. As soon as their backs were to him Tethrall lunged at one of the guards with his blade. Before the guard could react Tethrall sliced his throat causing him to fall to the ground and gurgle blood. The remaining guard tried running away but Tethrall chased him. The two swords clashed and the guard fell to the ground.

The prince stopped in front of the dying guard. "Are you ok? Is this guy alright?!" He kneeled next to the injured warrior, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he fought to breathe.

Devkil stood a few feet away from where the prince knelt over the fallen guard. "Hang in there! We'll get you help soon!" He ran off after Tethrall.

"You really don't need to-" The injured warrior managed before another wave of pain took hold of him. He fell forward, his head lolling onto the ground. He was barely conscious when the others returned, he must have lost consciousness again.

Devkil dropped to his knees next to his friend's prone body.

"Damnit." Devkil cursed under his breath, "He won't make it." He stood up and stared out at the road that led back into town.

He was tempted to just leave the unconscious man there and try to find his brother. But, his instincts told him something was wrong. He had a bad feeling about the stranger he'd found, it felt like he knew him from somewhere…but why was he here?

Devkil shook his head, it wasn't important. The important thing now was making sure that no one else died today.

Devkil walked to where the wounded guard was sitting.

"What can I do to help you? Do you need me to heal you?" He asked. The injured warrior lifted his head slightly and shook his head slowly, his gaze drifted from the boy kneeling next to him down the street towards a small building.

"Who is that?" He asked hoarsely, his voice raspy. His tone sent shivers down Devkil's spine.

"That's my friend, Halduron." Devkil replied cautiously. "You've seen him before haven't you?"

The warrior nodded slowly and winced at the movement. The dark skinned boy frowned at the lack of reaction. "Are you afraid of him? Are you afraid of any other guards he might send?"

The injured fighter closed his eyes and gave a pained sigh, "There is nothing to fear, I am simply tired, that's all." He opened his eyes and looked at Devkil. "Why did you bring me here? Why are you even helping me? You shouldn't help these pathetic excuses of human beings," The warrior growled as he shifted his weight. "Your kind always gets killed in battle. Your kind are the reason why so many people have gone missing. Why do you bother saving lives when you don't even know how to defend yourself?!" The warrior screamed the last part.

Devkil flinched, his face twisting in confusion, "Wait, you're saying that your name is Devkil? And that your name is Halduron?" He asked. "How old are you exactly?"

"Old enough to know better." Halduron sneered. "Now answer me! How old are you?" He repeated.

"I...I'm eighteen years old." Devkil stammered, trying to regain some control of the situation.

Halduron scoffed and rolled his eyes, "So you claim to be human? Humans are weak and stupid, they cannot handle the hardships that this world throws at them, but what makes you any different?"

"Maybe if you weren't so selfish all you would ever want to do is kill your own kind then maybe you wouldn't feel the need to steal from humans or hurt anyone." Devkil retorted angrily. "I am not weak or stupid! If you are going to be like this then fine, but I'm leaving anyway!" He snapped as he started to walk away from the injured man.

"Stop!" A soft voice called out to him.

Devkil froze, his hand halfway to the door, "W-what?"

"Please, stay. This place isn't safe, and besides you have nothing to lose. My life has already come to a bitter end and I only wish to rest peacefully, if you'l spare me a moment I would appreciate it greatly." The wounded warrior pleaded.

Devkil hesitated but ultimately nodded and sat down beside him again. "I'm going to tell you my story, but please try and pay attention, I don't want you passing out from exhaustion."

"Ok."

"This whole time, I have lived in a tower in the north. When I came into my powers I realized I was different. There are things about me that make me inhuman, I can turn invisible, move at lightening speed and I'm also able to summon fireballs."

Devkil noticed that Halduron was looking more awake.

"But, my parents decided that they didn't want anything more to do with me. So, they cast me out to fend for myself. It seems as though every creature I met feared me, everyone I encountered fled away screaming." Devkil sighed as he remembered those days.

"What about you, what brought you here?" Halduron asked, the question catching the dark-skinned boy off guard, Devkil thought for a few moments before answering.

"My mother was a priestess of the gods, she told me that I possessed a special power, whatever it was it was strong. So, she trained me to become stronger." He explained. "She was kind and caring and taught me everything she knew. She was the best, I mean her husband was too, but she was the only one who truly cared for me. After we moved to Rivendell my parents decided that they could live without me, so I went out on my own to look for something better. Unfortunately, I wasn't successful, I ended up in Whiterun which was a city full of humans and orcs. I was pretty lonely but I liked the human's hospitality. Most of them didn't mind me wandering the streets as long as I stayed out of trouble. I made friends with a group of boys around my age. They called themselves the Companions and they were nice, they welcomed me easily and treated me like a real part of their group. They were the first humans to accept me as a friend since my father died. They helped me learn how to survive and they protected me whenever I needed it, that is until the dragons showed up…"

Devkil finished the tale as silence filled the alleyway. "I'm sorry about your father," he mumbled as he gazed up at the sky through the windows above them.

"It is of little concern." The injured warrior replied coldly. "He did what he had to and so have I."

Devkil smiled softly at the response.

"Anyway," the injured man continued, "when I met the wizard I began seeing visions. Visions of great beauty and joy and love, they haunted me night and day. The wizard told me that it meant I was being guided by destiny to protect a princess. He said that the person I was supposed to meet was waiting to be found. He warned me never to speak of the girl's origins because it was very dangerous for me to do so." He turned his head to the side and looked directly at Devkil. "When that happened you came, right? To rescue her?"

Devkil nodded sadly. "Yeah, I guess I saved her, although that's not exactly how it works I think. I mean technically she doesn't exist in our world and I don't exist in her." He chuckled lightly. "It's hard to explain really. She's a human named Nerea. She lives in Skyrim and she's going through a bit of a hard time right now. We haven't seen each other in a while and she's been missing me."

"And now you seek to bring her back here? How foolish." Halduron spat.

"No, no, she's not here. She's traveling across the sea with her family to get away from the monsters who keep attacking us."

The wounded warrior's frown deepened. "Then where would she go? The elves will never let her return."

"Well, that's where my journey ends for now." Devkil smiled sadly and stood to his feet. He looked down at Halduron's limp form and frowned. He crouched down again and gently pressed his hands against Halduron's abdomen, concentrating hard to sense what lay beneath the bandages. It took him only moments to determine the cause of Halduron's wound.

"I see, you have an arrowhead lodged in your stomach. That is very bad news, I'll have to cut it out somehow." He murmured.

Halduron stiffened and tensed as he tried to force himself up. "No! Don't remove the arrow, save it for when she arrives. Please…" He pleaded.

"Sorry, buddy. No can do." Devkil stated, getting to his feet once more. He reached over and put his hand against Halduron's cheek and leaned forward to press his lips to the warrior's forehead. "Rest now, you'll be alright. Just stay here, I'll bring you water soon."

"Don't worry. I'll be fine. I've survived worse." Halduron gritted his teeth against the pain.

Devkil pulled back his hand and gave a small smile before turning to leave. Halduron watched him leave and he couldn't understand how someone could leave like that and yet, he felt a warmth spreading throughout his body as he did so. It reminded him of home, of home…of…

Devkil walked away from the alleyway as he thought about the words the older man had spoken. He stopped walking when the realization finally struck him. Was he wrong after all? Had he misunderstood what the man had said? Could he be mistaken and misread everything?

"Ohh..." The young boy shook his head. He couldn't believe he had been fooled by that. But he didn't dwell much on the matter, he had bigger problems to deal with right now, he had another dragon to find and free. He pushed that thoughts from his mind and focused back on searching for the way back to his home. His mind started running wild as he tried to remember the way he had come to arrive at the alley. He had run fast but not that fast; he hadn't gotten very far yet, the alleyway had been narrow and winding so maybe he could have lost his bearings completely if he had ran blindly, but he had heard the sound of metal hitting flesh behind him.

The boy clenched his fists as anger filled him. He quickly picked up the pace even though he was still tired and sore. He had to find that stupid dragon before the other one arrived. Suddenly a loud crash echoed through the alley, followed by the sound of screeching and growling and finally, silence.

A low chuckle escaped from Devkil's throat. Oh no, I must be getting close to my destination! He laughed gleefully to himself. He slowed his pace just enough so that he could hear the sounds of his pursuer's approaching footsteps behind him. Once he could tell they had caught up to him he smirked evilly.

He waited patiently until the two figures had finally caught up with him. "Alright, come to take me in?" He challenged the pair.

The taller one raised an eyebrow. "Why do you presume we're coming for you? Are you certain you haven't forgotten where your home lies?" The dark haired hunter demanded.

Devkil stared at the hunters in front of him, his face fell. "You...you're…?" He stuttered.

"That's correct. You've obviously failed to take note of this, but we are the hunters. We've been sent to hunt you, and by all means, you can come along quietly or we might have to take our pleasure from you ourselves." The hunter sneered and drew an axe from his shoulder.

"Come then, show us your true face child." Another hunter added.

Devkil stared at his tormentors for a moment, before he grinned, a wicked grin, then he slowly removed his hood. The two hunters' eyes widened and then narrowed menacingly.

"It's you, aren't it?" One hunter hissed as his eyes flickered towards the hooded figure.

"Yes, it's me." The hooded figure agreed.

"You little worm!" The second hunter growled and stepped forward with his blade drawn. Before he could attack though, his companion grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him back.

"Wait, I think I can use a trick like this to my advantage, it will be quite useful." The man whispered.

"How can you be so sure about that? And besides, there's a chance that this thing isn't human, that it has some kind of magic, what if-"

"We need to try, don't you remember that spell that the wizards used to trap the monster in the temple and make it obey him?" The cloaked figure asked, cutting the other hunter off.

The first hunter hesitated, before nodding and pulling out an enchanted knife. "Very well, I suppose we should give him a try."

The other hunter smiled sinisterly at the masked man in the hood, as if he was proud of the plan he had concocted. Then he slowly raised his dagger. A blue light formed at its tip as he closed in on the young warrior and then he threw the dagger straight into the hooded figure's chest. At the same time the last hunter drove his sword through the stranger's back and held him tightly against his chest. Both men jumped back in shock as the hood slipped from the fallen warrior's head revealing bright crimson red hair, blood dripping from his mouth and nose. The hunters immediately recoiled in horror, drawing their weapons as they backed further away from the creature in the alley.

"What have you done?!" The tall, lean hunter yelled angrily.

Devkil's green eyes flashed angrily as he glared at the man who had attacked him. "You dare attack a member of the Night Elves?!" The young warrior snarled.

Both hunters stared at him nervously as the young warrior struggled desperately to rise back to his feet.

"Do you know what you've just done? I am a hero of legend, a warrior destined to unite Skyrim under the banner of peace. If word got out that any of the elves of Skyrim were responsible for this atrocity then…" the young warrior paused to gather his breath as he looked over at the other assassin, "...the consequences would be unimaginable." He looked back toward the hunter who had injured him. "So you see, you have no claim on me. I am a warrior of the Night Elves, not a common criminal. You have violated both of our customs by killing me, by trying to harm my people, and you shall be punished severely for such acts." With those words said, Devkil charged the closest hunter and swung his sword at him.

The elf barely managed to duck out of the way, as the sword sliced through the air. The elf drew his own weapon, a long dagger, and thrust it forward to strike at Devkil's legs. The assassin hopped nimbly backwards and blocked his dagger with his sword. The two continued to exchange blows for several minutes until suddenly the taller hunter shouted, "STOP THIS!" and pointed his weapon at the younger warrior, who had already landed three blows. He turned back to face the hunter. "What? Are you too cowardly to fight alongside your fellow warriors? Is your pride preventing you from risking your life? Perhaps you want a reward instead?" He taunted the shorter man. "Go ahead, I dare you."

The Hunter snarled and tightened his grip on his sword. Suddenly he lunged forward, driving his weapon at Devkil, who deftly dodged. Then he stabbed forward to impale the hunter, who stumbled back. The older hunter took hold of the young warrior's arm and twisted hard. The young warrior screamed in agony and dropped his weapon, as his eyes grew wide. He then turned around and looked at his assailant, whose eyes were glowing brightly and his expression was distorted.

"NO!" The young warrior cried as he saw his attacker raise a fist high into the air.

At the same time the hunter punched the young warrior with full force, sending him flying backward and slamming onto the ground hard. The young warrior gasped for air as he rolled to a stop on his back. Blood poured from his wounds. Devkil approached the unconscious male and knelt down next to him, his brow furrowed deeply as he looked closely at the young warrior's wound. "What…?" He muttered.

A few moments later, the wounded warrior groaned. He opened his eyes, winced slightly, and sat up, coughing. He wiped some of the blood off of his mouth and looked around confusedly. "Where..am…I?" He rasped.

A soft chuckle sounded next to him and he looked over to see the older hunter watching him curiously from a few steps away. "Well…it appears to me that you made a wise choice, leaving the city. This place seems rather dangerous and even though we did not get much satisfaction from that chase, we have a job to do and it is best not to stay here. So let us go, my friend. We'll bring you back home before anyone notices that you're missing." He offered him a hand.

The younger warrior accepted the help and staggered to his feet, holding onto the wall for support. He nodded to his rescuer. The older hunter nodded back and then turned towards his friend who stood silently, still holding his bow with an arrow ready to release in case the young warrior decided to flee.

The three of them left the alley, with the younger warrior limping behind them. When they reached the end of the alley they went outside. The sun was beginning to set as they stood outside on the street. They could see a lone rider approaching them, which they assumed was none other than the hunter who was supposed to be looking after the boy, Devkil, when he wasn't busy hunting, the hunter explained to them. As he rode closer, they realized that he was a young man, perhaps a year or two younger than them. They also noticed that his face was heavily scarred and his eyes glowed eerily as the darkness of dusk settled upon the streets.

When he stopped in front of them, the old hunter spoke up first. "There you are, you missed dinner. Come on, we should go inside the tavern."

The hunter led the way to the door of one of the nearby taverns and waited outside while the others entered. It didn't take long for them to return with three drinks in hand. After the other two placed the drinks on the table, they took the two empty ones and walked past the hunters to sit down near the entrance of the inn.

Devkil sipped at the drink suspiciously, but then he realized how good it tasted. The other two hunters eyed each other, clearly waiting for something, but the young warrior just ignored them, taking another sip of his drink. Finally they sighed and started chatting amongst themselves. The hunter with the scar watched them carefully from across the room. Eventually the others noticed and began talking to him as well.

Devkil listened intently to what they were saying, as he drank slowly. Eventually he heard the hunters discussing an upcoming mission. He frowned as he realized that they would likely be gone for a while, they would be gone for months probably. The youngest hunter leaned closer towards the oldest hunter, whispering something to him. The eldest hunter glanced over at Devkil, who hadn't yet taken another drink from his glass. He tilted his head a little, asking a silent question, and received a nod in return. A short time later the elder hunter stood up and walked over to the table where his companions were sitting.

The two younger ones looked up in surprise as the newcomer joined them.

"I hope you boys have found everything alright." The older man asked.

Both hunters nodded in reply.

"Great. That means you have finally arrived." the hunter continued.

"You mean we will be staying for a while now?" the younger one asked incredulously.

"Of course. We need someone in charge here since there has been an incident in the city earlier. The city guard lost a few members today." The hunter responded.

"So what happened? Was anyone hurt?" The second hunter asked worriedly.

The older hunter shook his head in denial. "No. Everyone who fell to the monsters escaped unscathed. But…"

Suddenly one of the hunters raised his voice. "But what?"

The older hunter glanced nervously over at Devkil. "They have claimed the lives of two more guards, including one of the guards' sons, and it seems as if the killers are still roaming around town." He said as the two hunters gasped. "And since these criminals are still roaming freely, they won't rest until they catch these thieves and make them pay for the crimes they have committed against everyone in Nordheim." The older hunter added seriously.

The other hunters exchanged surprised looks. "Are you suggesting we join forces with these robbers?