5 Is he Insane?

"What the HELL!" He looked at himself with utter surprise and dejection.

"I … I am dark GREY!! GREY!!"

Falling to his knees, he screams to the heavens in hopelessness. Having thought he escaped any weird modification.

'Why couldn't I grow some feathered wings or have extreme beauty?'

Lamenting at the color of his skin, he cradles his head in his hands, but as he did so he felt long and pointy ears!

'Noooo!'

"If I have these ears then … then I might be an elf!! A Hipster … Ugh, I am going to be sick." He cringed in complete disgust, wishing to be anything other than a nature loving, tree hugging, flower kissing Elf.

'But aren't Elves supposed to be super white, tall, and with silk-like hair? Or am I just a subspecies… That would be even worse! I don't want to be considered a minority in some medieval era!'

Sighing heavily, he understood that he would just have to deal with it.

'Might as well be the MLK Jr. of this world.'

Feeling sore, he stretched in hopes to get relief from the weird pain, yet it clung to him like a leach. He then remembered that he had attributes and Magic!

"Blue Screen! Profile! Attributes? Status?"

'What happened to those pesky screens when you need them! Constantly bugging me until I need them, then they just disappear!'

For hours he called out different words in both languages hoping to see his attributes, but they never appeared. Finally giving up due to his unusually great hunger and thirst, he got up to look at his surroundings.

"Damn …" Looking as far as his enhanced eyes could, he could only see grass, more grass, then even more grass. A veritable sea of grass stood in front of him.

"Ugh … might as well as start walking, might see something somewhere."

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

POV change – General Harold Winsten

"Goddess Damn this!" As a retired general of the Duchies and more importantly of the Orbeian armies fighting those Damnable Dark Orcs, one would think he would be treated with a modicum of respect and even reverence! But no! He must deal with this!

Screaming at the top of his lungs,

"I am titled as the Impenetrable Fortress! The Bane of Venral – City of those damned Dark Orcs! I have not lost a battle since I first took command! Yet, here I am reading this piece of Parchment from the Duke!" Continuing his tirade of the most vulgar words he could come up with, he was interrupted by the opening of his large carriage doors. Waiting to put whoever dared to interrupt him in their place, he breathes in as much air and holds it to start another 30-minute tirade.

"Father …" Letting out his breath, he couldn't treat his wonderful daughters to such things.

The two walked in with unmatched elegance and poise. His first daughter, who he and his wife (May the goddess protect her waiting soul) had adapted, was a Tigress. His wife had wanted to name her after her grandmother, Lana because she reminded her of the incredibly strong personalities she had. Lana was roughly 5'9 with an extremely powerful build. Red hair rolled out of the scarf she had on to protect herself from the rays of the sun. She had a habit of constantly swiping at the hair which hung loose.

His second daughter, Sarah, was his actual daughter from his wife. She somehow got nothing from his side of the family except the brown hair. Everything else was from her mother. Her short stature, voluptuous body, thin nose, and sharp chin. Many times, he wondered if that chin of hers would cut through metal.

"Father, you need to watch your tongue." Lana berated,

"Ahh! But this political Oelcrap is infuriating! After everything I have done for this nation, I am being sent to a border city. I should be given some prime land within the royal borders! Not being sent as an aid to some stuck-up lower nobility! I, Harold of the Family of Winsten – a Middle Noble, am to be sent as an Aid to the Frank family."

Giggling, Sarah leads her father to his seat.

"Father you don't want those peacocks to hear you speak like this. You are supposed to be a cultured man; who speaks nothing but the most eloquent words. Not a Sailor from Trelas. Or a pirate from the island of Bonlan."

"Yes, you are supposed to be the shinning general that all admire. We will make it to Thols and make it worth being mentioned by the king himself soon enough. Another accolade added to your repertoire. They will remember you as the man that lead that backwater village to a city of epic proportions! That will have waves of those Orcs, crash on to its walls to break like every army that has ever faced you." Lana completed her sisters thought,

Sighing in happiness, he exclaimed,

"It is a wonder what you two can do to my mood. I was ready to lead an army to the capital of the duchy and challenge Dendar Orbes himself! But now, I have hope again that we will somehow make due with what little we have."

Embracing them, Harold could not be happier with his daughters. The first an accomplished warrior and leader of men like her father. And the other a genius mage just like her mother.

"Let us eat dinner, father. You look famished." Sarah suggested,

"Yes, my lovely flower. Let us eat."

During their dinner, a knock sounded on their carriage door. Frowning at the interruption of his time with his daughters; something he knew he had preciously little of. Getting up, he slammed the door open and glared at the guard fidgeting in front of him.

"Who dares interrupt dinner with my daughters!"

"Umm … G… General!" the guard saluted clumsily, "We have a situation that needs you and your daughters to attend to it."

"What could possibly be so important or out of place that you will need not only my presence but also the presence of my daughters!"

"I … Its best if you come yourself, General. You would not believe me otherwise",

As the general was about to lose his temper, Lana, touched his shoulder and consoled him,

"Father, it is okay. Let us see what is going on."

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"What the Hell?" Sarah exclaimed at the odd sight in front of her

"What the Hell, indeed. Have you seen anything like this father?" Lana asked,

"No. This is a first" replied Harold,

As they stood there with ten guards watching this most confusing scene happen, the guard captain had to ask,

"Is he talking to the Oel?"

In front of them was what seemed to be a tall Dark Elf with bright clothe talking to an Oel.

Suddenly, the weird man started to laugh maniacally

"Hahaha! This is one funny Ox!"

"Mooo"

"What you're not an Ox? Then you must be a Yak, no no no! An armored Byson 7 feet tall! Haha"

"Mooooo Moooo"

"Neither? Then what are you?"

"Mo Mooo Maooo"

"A Mooo"

"Maooo"

"Oh, my apologies armored one! You are a Maooo!"

Hearing this, the Oel grunted in satisfaction

Lana "He must have a sunstroke; the heat is unbearable, and the sky has no clouds"

"More like insane," Sarah replied,

As they continued to stare at this most baffling sight, the general ordered a few guards to grab the man, but once they touched him, they exclaimed in pain while the man fell to his back.

"What is going on now?!" the general shouted

"He is burning hot, General. And he fell unconscious, so it may be better to get a stretcher and the healer to see to him."

"Hurry! Guard Captain, get a few men and clear out a wagon or carriage to put him in."

After giving out orders to his men, the general and his daughters all left the scene and the unbearable sun.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Will he be okay Master Healer? Every few hours he starts screaming like his soul depended on it."

Sarah asked the healer not because she really cared about him per se, but because she thought that no one should go through what this poor soul is. Throughout the night he had screamed his lungs out and flayed his arms until they bruised. That is until they could tie him down to a wagon, but even then, that just made him cry out louder.

Worse was the fact that they could hear his bones grind against each other, and see his skin boiling.

"Worry not little one. He will make it. Though how much pain he will have to go through till its done is not known to me." Said an old wizen man that looked like he was about to keel over at any second.

Sarah, though she thought healers where secondary to mages, still had a great deal of respect for this man. His looks might deceive you, but he was the greatest battle healer within the Seven Duchies. His mastery of the staff challenged her father's mastery of the sword. He was also the reason her father was being sent out to a backwater village, named Toe'l, or was it Thowl? She could not remember the name of the city for the life of her! She couldn't ask her father, or he would berate her for not paying better attention at his family meetings. Those meetings were just horribly monotone. How Lana could survive them, she did not know.

Her father and this old man were the best of friends, having met each other during the war. Both eventually became respected and feared names. Each having a modicum of power for serving so long. Once they retired, the Orbes Family had wanted to hire the healer for their family, but he rejected them to stay with her father. Unable to get retribution from them, Dendar Orbes had convinced the Royal Duke not to give her father the land he requested within the royal duchy, but a village close to the border using the Dark Orcs as an excuse. That if the hordes to break through the line, it would be imperative to have a General there to take hold of the defense. And what better person to be there than the Impenetrable Fortress himself, General Harold Winsten. Somehow, Dendar had convinced the royal duke not actually to give him the city itself but to be what accounted as an aid to a lower noble family, in exchange their family got 25% of all money circulated within the city and its surrounding villages and hamlets. Even though they would be getting an enormous amount of coin, but the dishonor in serving a noble with a lesser rank was detrimental to her father's mental health.

"Until what is done?"

"You see these stretch marks all over his skin and how you hear his done grind against each other?"

"Yes," Sarah answered,

"Well, those are signs of a transformation! His body is being changed! But, even compared to what I've seen this is different. It is quite intriguing!"

"You have seen something similar to this?"

"Yes, a long time ago, when your father and I were still recruits. There was a slave we met who used a potion to transform his body after he got out of those chains. I got to study his transformation! It was amazing! But, this here is different. It is like he had already used the potion, but his body is forcing itself back to his previous form! It will be quite painful, especially if he gets any taller. Which he will be."

A transformation? Sarah couldn't believe what she was hearing. If a slave could transform his body, then anyone can! Everyone would have the perfect body and every country would be filled with spies!

"What is stopping everyone from getting this potion?"

"Well, the guy died ten days later and with him the secret to creating the potion. But it seems like he made more than two, and this young fellow somehow got his hands on one."

Lana, who was quietly standing in the corner quietly, finally decided to speak,

"If he is an escaped slave, do you think we should send him back to his owner?"

Laughing the old healer, turned to look at Lana, with a grin he said,

"Well, that's up to what he was before he turned into this dark elf and considering his size…" Stroking his wispy beard, his voice suddenly had a sharpness and solemnity that was not usually heard,

"If I am right, then I do not think any of us would survive if we tried to capture him."

Shocking the girls at his sudden solemn tone and words, they tried to get him to explain further, but he would not speak.

"All I can say is, May the Goddess of Life have mercy upon him. For he has much more pain to go through."