1 Chapter 1

Run! All she could do was run. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She sprinted through the woods twigs snapping behind her. She could hear the shouts of the guards behind her

and the beating of her own heart pounding obnoxiously loud inside her head. Slowly the sounds

of the guard began to fade into the distance and she came across a frozen river. She stopped and

nervously looked across the thin ice, threw an anxious glance over her shoulder, then stepped out

onto the thin ice, she slowly walked out across the ice and her heart pounded with fear as

whispery cracks blossomed out from underneath where she stood. She gulped squeezed her eyes

shut, took a shaky breath of the crisp winter air, and took another slow step, then another and

another. She crossed the center of the river and exhaled in relief. Alas her relief was short lived,

she took another step and suddenly there was a loud CRACK! And she fell through the ice into

the freezing water of the Traigo River.

She burst up out of the water and gasped, coughing and sputtering and clawed her way up

onto the ice and crawled across the last several meters of ice and stumbled onto the South bank

of the river. She was numb with cold and every breath felt like she was breathing shards of glass.

She knew she couldn't stop, she would die if she did, so she heaved herself to her feet and started

walking. Dawn would be here soon. She stumbled along for some time and then all of a sudden

she tripped on some sort of line and then ZZZZZIIP! She was hanging from a tree in a trap. She

blinked a few times and slowly the rope twisted her face to the east and she saw the first light of dawn, her eyes blurred, and her head spun, she saw her breath billow out in front of her then

everything went dark.

I woke with a start sitting up fast and looked at my surroundings. I was in what seemed to

be a one room cottage similar to what my sister, brother, and I had grown up in. I could smell a woodfire

burning pine. There was a man in a rocking chair by the fire and I saw the rest of my belongings

at the foot of my bed. Suddenly he spoke, "Been through a lot yesterday haven't you child?" He

stood up and I realized that he must be a dwarf. He was short and round-bellied with a thick gray

beard streaked with white. He stood, and as he walked over to the wood stove asked, "You

runnin' from somebody child? Get yourself into trouble sorta trouble with an important person?"

He dished some soup out into a bowl and said, "Found ya in one of me coyote traps right south by Southwest of here yesterday mornin, oh, a bit after dawn I'd say." He picked up a spoon and sat down in the

chair beside my bed and handed me the bowl of hot soup. "Thought you were dead till I cut you

down and you groaned. Your clothes were frozen and you looked like a drowned rat lyin' on the

ground like that covered in ice" I ate a couple of spoonfuls of soup and glanced at my clothes

sitting at the end of my bed. The soup was simple, made of tomatoes with some basil sprinkled

on top. He continued, "Anyways me name's Bolsanto, figured I'd bring you back here and warm

ya up 'fore ya actually died. Me wife woulda killed me if I'd done any differently anyhow." I

looked at him then returned to my task of sipping the soup. "Now tell me young un, what's a

pretty little wood elf like yourself doing this side of the Creia River?"

I looked sharply up at him and said, "I can't tell you that…"

"Well what can you tell me?"

"Nothing, I can't tell you anything!"

He seemed to get a little bit frustrated with my refusal to talk and so he quickly retorted,

"Well you can tell me your name can't you?"

I looked down at my bowl and weighed the danger of telling him my name. If Imperial

guards found out that he had helped me and knew where I was they would torture it out of him if

he refused to tell them. Then I thought, if they managed to make it here, at least the information

would prevent him from being killed. He sighed and took my empty bowl from me and he said,

"Well I best be going now, I've got animals to feed and traps to set."

I decided to tell him my name at least so I called out, "Bolsanto?"

"Yes?" He replied.

"My name.. It's Anastrianna"

Bolsanto smiled and said, "You needn't worry 'bought me child, I won't be tellin'

nobody." I nodded gratefully in his direction. "Just so you know, me wife should be gettin' home

sometime within a few hours, you can fix your hair up a little with her stuff on top of that dresser

there.." I looked sharply up at him with a look of serious disinterest and he continued, "Or not." As he was leaving he turned and said, "Oh, and child, you can call me

Bolsan"

I smiled and dipped my head in his direction. He turned away and I watched him put on

his leather pack and leave.

After he left, I stepped out of bed and dressed myself and silently thanked Bolsan for

drying out my clothes. I promptly busied myself with inspecting my weapons. My two

short-swords, were in need of sharpening, I needed more bolts to go with my crossbow, and Ineeded a new string for my bow. I pulled my pair of boot knives out of their sheathes and was

pleased that they hadn't rusted. As for my belt knife, that definitely needed sharpening since a

little rust had formed on the blade. I unlaced my pack, took out my sharpening stone, and went to

work on my shortswords. After that I did what I could to sharpen and get the rust off of my belt

knife. I stood and looked down at my weapons and considered my bow. I'd need to pay

somebody to make me a new bow string so I pulled out my pouch and counted what money I had

left in it. I had enough to pay for a new bow string and several new bolts. I sighed with relief and

placed my gold and silver pieces back into the pouch and refastened it to my belt. I proceded to

sheath all of my blades when I heard a thump on the door. My hand went down to my sword

handle, when the door opened and a short heavy woman with long red hair streaked with white

and grey stumbled in muttering under her breath about how Bolsan needed to fix the door so it

was easier to open. I let my hand fall from my sword.

She looked up and said, "Oh hello there, glad to see you're up and moving, how long

have you been up?"

I replied, "Long enough, where can I find a weaponsmith?"

She looked up at me in surprise and asked, "You're not leaving yet are you?"

"I think it would be best if I left as soon as possible." I replied.

"Why?" she asked in dismay.

"Because it just is." I explained irritably.

She paused, and looked me up and down then commented, "That's quite the arsenal

you've got on you little one."

I was getting increasingly irritated with this dwarf, and snapped, "If you won't tell me

yourself, I'll just have to find someone who will!"

She opened her mouth, sighed in defeat, and said, "I can tell you've gotten yourself into

some sort of trouble, I was just trying to figure out if there was anything we could do to help you

figure it out.

I sighed, and replied, "Anything I say would just put you in danger. You and Bolsanto

have shown me more hospitality than I have seen in a long time, and putting you in danger

would be a pretty poor way to repay you on my part. Now please… Can you tell me where the

nearest weaponsmith is?"

As if on cue, Bolsanto walked in, and asked, "Leaving so soon child?

I turned to him and said, "Yes, my presence here can only bring you danger, and you

have been too kind to me to keep you in this peril."

He looked me in the eye, smiled kindly and said, "Aye, you have a good heart my child,

and I can see you need to leave. Let us help you restock your supplies and rations before you

go."

I smiled, "I would be very grateful." Bolsanto nodded at his wife and she busied herself

with packing bread, jelly, and a large amount of dried meat into a bundle, and Bolsan crossed the

cottage and sifted through a dusty box and walked back up to me. He was holding a dusty box

about a foot and a half long and a a book wrapped in a cloth. He opened the latch on the box and

lifted the lid. I inhaled in awe. Inside was a stunning dagger. Ith had a ruby embedded in the

pommel and gold swirls blossoming up from the hilt like vines. The hilt was gracefully curved

and the handle was twisted with black and red stone. I picked it up and was shocked with howlight it was. The sheath was just as beautiful. Simple, black leather with a silver edge all the way

around with red and gold vines lacing their way down the metal. The face of the leather was

embossed with elven writing on both sides, though she did not know what it said as of yet.

He looked kindly up at me and spoke, "Twenty-two years ago I was returning from a

hunt, when I met a woman. She asked me to take this and when the time came, give it to a young

female warrior of her kind who would be in need of my help. She did not know when, only that

the girl would be of her blood and she had not given birth to the child yet. When I saw you

hanging in that trap, I knew. Your face was so similar to hers and you called to me. Not aloud

my child, but I felt it all the same. The magic that runs in your veins told me you were her."

I blinked back tears and asked in quiet disbelief, "What? Magic?"

"Yes my child.", he replied. "Without a doubt. Your mother was of royal blood, and her

magic confirmed it. I watched her cast a spell on it that would prevent any who was not of her

blood could not wield it. This dagger contains magical properties, but what those are, you must

discover for yourself." With that he gave me the box and unfolded the book from the cloth. "This was hers. I do not know what it contains, but she said it would be one of your greatest tools in

the years to come.

My tears ran freely now, at a loss for words upon this New knowledge. Knowledge about

my mother. My mother whom I never had the chance to really meet. The mother that left my

father and I one night when I was three years old. I blinked away my tears sheathed the dagger,

and fastened it to my belt. I took a deep breath and said, "You have been beyond kind and you

have given me something I cannot count in value." I stood in front of the dwarf and bowed myhead. " For this alone I owe you a deep debt. Before the end of our days I will see this debt

repaid on my honor as a warrior and my loyalty as a friend."

Bolsan put his fist over his heart and bowed his head towards me as was custom in The

Warrior's Oath.

As I stood up he said, "Aw, child, your heart is pure and the world is wicked. I

fear for you out in the wilds of this land. Royal blood like yours is not easily come by though it is

sought by many creatures good and evil alike. If there is any information or advice I can give

you I will gladly do so."

He motioned to his wife, who had taken the liberty to pack the rations into my pack and

she heaved it up and waddled over to us with it. Then she spoke, " There's a smith two days

journey northwest of here. His name is Kainin Vulcreig and he is the best one around these parts.

He has had a dark past, so you must be careful around him. You must gain his trust, but he is

loyal to a fault. There is nothing he won't do for you, once you have his loyalty. You would be

wise to keep him close my queen."

I looked at her sharply, and said, "I am not your queen."

She smiled and said, "But it is the destiny that you will never be able to escape. When

you get there, tell Kai that Alaina sent you." With that, I said farewell, straightened myself up,

and left the little cottage behind.