It had only taken mere moments for Galadion to fall into the realm of slumber, even he must not have known exactly just how tired he had been, the amount of fatigue that he had built up during his time in the wilds had been considerable. Every second had been spent either evading the creatures that had been mutated by the deadly spores of the region or attempting to sleep with one eye open keeping himself on a constant state of alert so that he wouldn't get snuck up upon during the night. Yet not this night, this night he had a real bed to sleep in and a pillow under his head, not the rocks that he was beginning to grow accustomed to which was another factor that played into him falling asleep so quickly. But that was also part of the problem, he had been out in the wilds for so long that at the first opportunity to sleep under a solid roof surrounded by four walls he jumped straight at it. All thoughts of security and precautions completely banished from his mind and a good nights sleep was the only thing that he could think about, but even here in the protection that this house offered from the creatures and elements he would find no sweet relief. But that had been his mistake, only thinking about the comfort that that bed was going to offer him in the short term and not thinking about what could happen to them in their sleep, hell he even noticed all the signs that someone had been using this house recently but failed to do anything about it. Just because he had been so obsessed with his sleep didn't mean however that he was a light sleeper so even though the intruders had tried to silence him, Galadions eyes flashed opened the second he heard Aurora begin to cry out before it got muffled by one of their hands. He laid there on the bed for a second longer before he slowly rose to his feet and turned to look at each one of them, even though they were Yladian that had to be the dumbest individuals alive, they had accused Aurora of treating him badly and keeping him as a slave yet he had been the one that was sleeping in the bed while she had been on the floor. That simple fact alone should have told any even remotely intelligent individual that he was not her slave and if anything it was he who was treated her unfairly. He honestly couldn't believe how stupid these people could be before looking down at the knife that they had handed him before looking back up at her. Perhaps these idiots had inhaled some of the fungal spores during their time outdoors and that was what was affecting their intelligence, rotting their brains from the inside causing them to devolve until they would be no better than slobbering idiots. Well if that was the case then they wouldn't have to wait long until they reached their final stage and were barely better than beasts, lifting his head he looked at the intruders with a blank expression upon his face "Are you guys complete fucking idiots? You say she was keeping me as her slave and treating me badly but yet I was the one sleeping on the bed while she had taken the floor. Tell me, do you know many slave owners that allow their slaves to be more comfortable than they are? No I think not". A sigh escaped his lips as he shook his head and waved his hands before all of them before he pointed off to the corner "You guys should also pick your battles a little more carefully and pay more attention to your surroundings", when the intruders turned and looked that would see a medium sized Wyvern sitting in the corner, its wings folded up and its sulfur yellow eyes peering at them from the darkness, saliva dripping from the teeth that were the size of real life steak knives before it hissed slightly "Leave now and I won't feed you to my pet. Trust me you can ask her, this is a far more generous offer than the last people got who had put me in this position and its only because you are Yladians but if you harm her in anyway I promise you that our racial bond will not save you from my wrath"
The men stiffened in silence as the king had given a very valid reason as to why the human girl was innocent but still. They refused to believe that a human could treat a Yladian with kindness. The four men had suffered a lot by the hands of those creatures. Humiliated with no one to truly help them, treated as nothing more than disposable working machines, not even life stocks were treated with such cruelty. It made sense as to why they couldn't accept the tall man's words about the freedom he got by staying with a human. What shocked them even more was when the male used magic, something that was very rare to see, and try to protect the young human. Meanwhile, Aurora watched in horror when @Galadion mentioned the men turning animal food. She vigorously shook her head no, telling her companion not to do such a thing. Even with her own life on the line, she just did not want to see blood shed. Chomp. In an attempt to speak, the girl bit the hand of the male who had tried to silence her. She spat the saliva in her mouth, not liking the taste that filled her mouth when she dug her teeth into the mud covered hand. Enraged at her action, he pressed the sword closer to her neck a small line of blood trickling from her neck but it seemed she did not care "Galadion, No! Do not kill anyone. Mass murder is not the answer to this. Remember the last time you did this?!"she cried out, her eyes filled with fear that the king would actually do as he threatened. The room was in utter silence with Galadion's confession and Aurora's plea to let the Yladian men live. That was, until one of them started to laugh. "Ahaha. I see now! This is what she ordered you to tell us right? She must have known we resided here by the way this house was kept and let you sleep on the bed so you could then say you were not treated in an ill manner way from that human. Now, little miss goody toe shoe is trying to be an angel and make us believe that she is a good person..later when our guard is down, she will just have us captured and taken back into the field to work as slaves" The man's reason left the girl dumbfounded. If he wanted to convince himself, at least he should have given a better reason. She gave him a 'you really think that is true?' look. Either way, one thing was clear. They refused to believe the king. "Look. If that was the case, he would have sided with you all if he wanted "freedom" like you think he needs. Please don't do anything rash. That man will seriously kill you!" she pleaded, not for her life but mostly for theirs. "An enchantment spell perhaps? That seems much more reasonable" The light haired girl let out a sigh of exhaustion at the more unbelievable theories the man had created. All just so he could deny the clear facts in front of their eyes. "Galadion, please be the bigger man and not attack. Think rationally" She once again spoke to her companion, hoping he would not bring harm. If worse came to worse, she would just use her Arcanamancy. Not enough to bring the whole house down but enough to get the men distracted enough to run out with Galadion.
Galadion stood there in the middle of the single room building staring forward at the man who had a blade pressed to the throat of the female who had decided to share the house with him. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at the man, this man who had invaded the building in the middle of the night and now was interrupting his sleep, the first night that he would have been able to sleep peacefully and these assholes just had to ruin it. His patience with them was already extremely low but here this man was, arguing with him and his arguments weren't even logically sound which irritated him even more. He was honestly considering killing each and every one of them just so he could finally go back to sleep, if they had been any other race besides a Yladian that would have been slaughtered long ago. But as it was every one of the invaders were Yladian and he couldn't exactly claim to want to build a kingdom for the Yladian elves and then go around and kill them over a simply misunderstanding. It really was a pain in the ass but he would just have to try and reason the severely mentally damaged former slaves but if they insisted on harming his companion then Yladian or not, he would put them down. Galadion allowed his gaze to roam away from the invaders and over towards the creature that sat in the corner of the room, it would have been easy for him to simply give the beast his command and watch as it tore them to pieces. A soft sigh escaped his lips as he turned his attention back to the men before him and shook his head ever so slightly "You guys must really have had it hard to be this mentally damaged, it seems you lack any common sense when it comes to the Human race". As he stood there Galadion brought his hands up behind his back and interlocked his fingers which he had found to be a rather comfortable way of standing, not to mention it also helped him look more like a royal or at least a arch mage in his mind. "Listen guys, my name is Galadion. I am the new King of Yladia and I am building a kingdom that is made entirely up of our race. However I do not intend to let people who needlessly bring pain and suffering to the other races be apart of this kingdom. I am sorry for what you have had to endure in the passed but this I can promise you, if you lay down your weapons and follow me I will lead you to a better tomorrow. We will rise and rise again until lambs before lions, this is the promise that I make to you here and now" He stood there looking at each man individually for a few seconds, he had made that speech and promise to each of them. He had meant his words as well, while he wanted to build his kingdom he didn't intend to just repeat the cycle of abuse, he had no intention of ruling a kingdom of people that were mentally broken and wanted nothing more than to bring pain to the other races, if they acted that way then they were no different than demons who had pushed them from their home in the first place. Either way this was the mens last chance, if they reject logic and pushed away his offer then it would force him to result to violence, he had no intentions of wasting his time on men that just couldn't be reasoned with.
All the men glanced at each other, surprised at what the Yladian king heard. They all had heard rumours about the new king, never did they think it was true. Their empty eyes filled with hope as he spoke about rebuilding their motherland. Even if it was a lie, their weak hearts were ready to believe it. They let the young girl go, not wanting to further anger their saviour. Aurora let out a sigh of relief as she rubbed her neck, small amount of blood staining her glove. "We will also help! if we can do anything to quicken the revival of our homeland, do not hesitate to call upon us your majesty" "We should let the king rest" 'that..was easy. I thought they would try to argue' the girl thought, surprised at how their hostility was gone. "What are we to do of her though?" One of them pointed at Aurora. "Do not worry. No one is in danger and if there was someone who would be in danger between us, it would be me. I am still a new pla-I mean, I am still a new adventurer and not that strong" "Of course. Our king could not be defeated by a mere human who cannot even protect herself" "Yes, let us leave" With that said, the men left, probably to live in another house. The girl frowned, knowing the men weren't that wrong. She wasn't strong in the slightest, especially when compared to the Yladian king. "..you must still think I'm naive and stupid, yes?" She asked when the two of them were alone once again. She went and sat back on the floor, watching the night sky through the window. "even back then, I decided to stand up for that stranger who wanted to kill a comrade..You said it yourself, that our naivety would have us dead. And I do not think you are wrong. I know my personality and actions will not only makes me a person who could be easily used but also puts myself and others around me in danger" she did not know why she brought this event again. Maybe it was because they found themselves in the same situation, only this time it was the girl's life on the line. Aurora was never good at letting the past go. "You still came to my defence, even though back in our mission, it must have felt that I betrayed you, going as far as to defend the man who wanted to take your life." Another sigh left her lips. After he saved her, she wanted him to know what had happened after he left "Do not get me wrong. I still do not regret saving that man's life. He wasn't bad, Just misunderstood. He was just as naive and foolish as me. He was lied to by people he wanted to protect. He just thought we attacked and killed them for no reason. Don't think he was in the wrong for attacking us without listening us though. He was just hurt" She shook her head before looking back at him. "My point was..Sorry if you felt betrayed and.. thank you for saving me even after everything I did to you." Her apology was genuine, as she looked into the Yladian's eyes, waiting for his reaction.
Galadion stood there and listen to the men slightly and nodded his head slowly a small smile upon his face as he had seen the light of hope get rekindled in their eyes. This was exactly why he had decided to do this and that was to bring hope to a broken and scattered people that they could maybe one day return to their home. Everyone that he had met along the way had so far either laughed at him or decided that he had different motives, hell a lot of them kept trying to compare him to the other player king that ruled the land of Astorea but the just simply wasn't the case as he had every intention of one day turning the kingdom that he built over the the non-player character. It was them after all that had to live in this world every second of their lives, while this was just an escape for him from his real life to them this was their world, it was their life and it only seemed right that one of them ruled its land but they just simply didn't have the power needed to push the demons out. And that was where Galadion and his rag tag band of players came in, there were others who had chosen to follow him and help him build his kingdom, four in particular that were of a great help, he had even thought about naming them to the Kingsguard when his goal was finally accomplished. Players who were bound by honor to serve and protect the king with their lives, it was a very prestigious post to hold back in a time such as this one, one full of honor and only held by the best warriors in the kingdom and he couldn't think of anyone who better deserved it than those who had helped him the most in building this kingdom. Finally the men who had busted into the house that they had been using for the night finally left, a small sigh escaped his lips as he closed his eyes and once again allowed his body to relax. He stood there for a couple of seconds like that in silence before he opened his eyes and lifted his head looking over at the beast in the corner and chuckled for a couple of seconds before he shook his head and with a wave of his hand the creature shimmered ever so slightly before disappearing entirely. It had never truly been there in the first place, he had conjured it up using his skill in the Illusion Magic Master that he had completely mastered, it had looked real enough that anyone would have thought that it was a real creature and the illusion was so strong that if they had reach their hands out they would have been able to feel themselves touching it. Turning his head he looked at the human female for a couple and second before another soft sigh escape his lips as he thought back to the last time that he had seen her. A random Yladian NPC had broken into their camp in the middle of the night and attacked them as retaliation for him slaughtering his men, a sentiment that he couldn't say that he didn't understand. However the man had plunged a blade deep into his side and when he had went to make his own attack against the man, each one of his companions had decided to take it onto themselves to protect the man who had attempted to kill him, there was no question about it each one of them had betrayed him during that time and that was just the simple truth of it. But that was then, this was now it was a completely different time in a completely different part of the world and he wasn't going to hold a pointless grudge over something that hadn't ended in his death. Turning his back to her he reached up and slowly tugged off his shirt so that it revealed the skin beneath before turning back to face her. His skin was smooth and very well toned with muscles however there on the side of his stomach as a long scar from where the mans blade had pierced his body, reaching down he ran his fingers along the scar slightly before sighing once more "There was no feeling as if you betrayed me Aurora. You did betray me, you all did and this right here is the ever present reminder of what can happen to you when you trust other people. I don't care what his reason once that man had attacked me, he stabbed me and instead of protecting me the man who was your traveling companion, each and every one of you had decided to protect the man who had attacked me there is no other word for that other than betrayal and that's just the way it is" Turning around he reached down and grabbed the shirt that he had just pulled off and placed it back upon his body so that he was once again completely clothed before he turned around and faced the human female again. "However I have bigger things to focus on that how you and that part of adventurers turned your back on me, none of you were really my friends so I honestly expected you all to do it at some point". Slowly he made his way back over to the bed that he had been sleeping on and lowered himself down upon it so that he was in a sitting position and sighed once again "I have to figure out a way to drive out an entire demon army from these lands but not just them, I also have to figure out how I am going to get rid of the people that they have enslaved and became their thralls and the occultists who have taken up worshiping the demons." shaking his head ever so slightly he allowed another sigh to escape his lips "Not to mention I also have to figure out a way to prevent the neighboring countries from invading this one the minute I actually accomplish pushing out the demons and those working for them so compared to that what time do I have to worry about a few players betraying me?"
Aurora's eyes widen as she saw the male take his shirt off, only later realising it was to show her the scar that was caused by the Yladian male who she protected. The girl listened to every word, her mind registering the scar that was across Galadion's skin. He had every right to feel betrayed, because yes, now that she thought about it, she did him. And if it weren't for her, none of the others would have went against the male's desire to kill his attacker. She watched him wear his shirt back and looked him in the eye as he explained how he had a feeling they would have betrayed her. How he didn't care they turned against him because he had other things to worry about. The frown was now evident on her face. She still thought he was too brutish in nature but at the same time, he lived with so much independence, she admired that. 'He was only able to survive here because of his personality. He got strong and a name for himself because of this same reason. I wish I could steel my heart in such a manner...but at the same way, I want to believe there is good in everyone.' She didn't want to lose her nativity, even if it was a negative trait she had. She wanted to live in the middle, have the best of both worlds. To become strong and at the same time, remain naive. "Carissimi animarum. Auxilium interfectorum tuorum" Healing Paw-er She whispered the spell she had learnt during her stay in Terrasphere. She had been practising her spells, especially the healing ones. Out of no where, a feline sat behind the Yladian king. It rubbed its head against the scar, through the shirt. She wasn't sure whether the scar would disappear or not, but it was always worth a shot. The feline soul purred as though asking for the male's attention. "Is that why?" she inquired. "-Is that the reason you took upon the request sent by Richard? Do you think by helping the citizens of the neighbouring countries, it would lessen the risk of being attacked by the other countries when it comes up?...Speaking of demons, I'm surprised none of them came here even with our presence...do you think they are smart enough to wait patiently for others to think it is safe and slowly when everyone returns, they would attack?"
Galadion sat there upon the simple and plain straw bed there for a few moments looking down at the wooden floor of the small building that they had taken up residence within for the night, in his mind his limited interaction that he had had with the female human in his past running through his mind. It was partly because of her actions and the actions of the others that he had a distaste for the other races of Terrasphere, many called him a racist but he really only preferred to be around those of his own kind but then again that could just have been because of the inherit nature of the Yladian race that he had chosen to play as. With every day that passed and ever interaction that he had with the other races he found that he disliked them more and more each time, although so far a lot of his interactions with several of the non-player character Yladians that he had hadn't ended much better either. The one who had given him the scar that he had just shown the female mere moments ago had actually been a Yladian himself, something that irritated him more about that encounter than anything else, and even now his latest interaction with other Yladians had also almost ended up in violence. Maybe he needed to rethink what exactly it was that he was doing, why should he create a paradise for the native NPC Yladians of this world if every time that he came across them they tried to kill him? Maybe he should just create this kingdom because he desired to, use his strength to rip a chunk of the land away from the demonic horde in Yladia and use it to create his very own kingdom for his own purposes, one that he could design and shape as he seen fit and wouldn't be expected to live by customs from a culture that no longer existed. This actually didn't sound like a half bad idea really, maybe he would run it by the group of players that he seemed to be destined to continuously keep running into. He had been sitting there lost in his own thoughts that he hadn't even noticed that the female had spoken a magical invocation that she needed to cast a spell, he didn't even notice the creation of the magical familiar that took the form of a house cat until he felt its head rubbing upon his stomach where he had shown her where his newly acquired scar was at. Ripped back to the world around him, his silvery eyes flicked down to the feline familiar next to him and felt the magic that it was attempting to work upon him, something that caused anger to flash behind his silvery eyes. Now she tried to come to his aide, not when they were actually working together on the quest where he had gotten this wound in the first place no not then but now she wanted to show him concern, after all of this time? With a slight grunt of frustration he pushed the familiar away from him before he raised his head and looked at her, anger flashing in his eyes as he rose to his feet "You couldn't be bothered to come to my aide when I actually got this wound but now that your feeling guilty over your naive actions you want to do something about it? No, I refuse to accept it and I refuse to accept you, its because of people like you that I prefer to stay away from everyone especially anyone that isn't a Yladian" He stood there and glared at her for a second, the anger behind his eyes slowly turning to hatred and disgust before he turned his back upon her and made his way over to the door, reaching out he gripped the handle in his hand before turning and looking over his shoulder at her "This is my last act of kindness to you, I will give you twenty four hours to leave the borders of my kingdom. Come the new day if you are still here it will mean your death", with that he pulled the door open and stepped out into the night air. Reaching down he pulled out a rolled up piece of paper that was titled 'Summon Wyvern', it was a magical scroll that he had crafted himself using his Magecrafting vocation by combining it with his Summoning Magic Mastery. Tossing the scroll into the air "Summon Wyvern" after he spoke the words the rolled up scroll unrolled itself as it levitated in the air before destroying itself by bursting into blue flames, when the flames died down a portal opened in the street and when it closed a large creature that possessed long leathery wings remained in its stead, the summoned wyvern. Slowly he made his way over to the creature and climbed onto its back, sitting himself at the base of its neck just between its wings and took a tight grip as the creature shot into the air. The sound of the wind rushing past his ears was all he could hear as the large creature carried him off into the night sky, there was always something so thrilling about sailing through the heavens atop the back of a creature that was the smaller cousin to the mighty dragon. Now that he was in the air and away from the human female his mind set upon a new goal and all that it would take to accomplish this new quest.
She gasped and went over to the spirit feline and held it in her arms. Luckily, the pet seemed to be fine and in fact, started to rub its head against her injuries. Aurora looked up at Galadion, who was clearly upset with her. She finally looked away from him, not able to handle the anger and disappointment the man had towards her. She heard him as he left and just stayed in the house, sitting alone with her thoughts. Aurora didn't know how to react. He was right. She helped him because of the guilt she had and not because she cared for the Yladian. "Purr" she looked down to see the feline purring just to make her feel better. A bitter smile reached her face as she cradled the cat. "I keep messing things up. I know very well that every actions has its consequences..yet I still act on my emotions..Yes, I saved at man..but at what cost? I hurt someone else not only physically but emotionally as well..You heard him right? He just ended up having a worse impression of other races because of me. " her jaws tightened as she opened her palm menu, wanting to log off, to run away from trouble but she found herself stuck. No matter where she she tried to run, she found herself in trouble. In problems she just kept carrying, not even trying to act of them or face them. A single tear fell from her emerald eyes which shined with water. She took a deep breath and got up, the spirit feline disappearing from her arms. Just like Galadion said, she had to leave. It wasn't wise to stay in the village any longer. With a defeated look on her face, she got out of the house and walked back into the forest, not caring whether she got attacked.
