blackwood village

Ase looked at the man who talked to her in a friendly manner using her name, the man had golden curly hair and blue eyes, his simple smile swept away her wariness, she didn't even notice that the man looked unnaturally perfect for a human " uuh, yes " was all Ase could say as a response to the man's question, her cheeks took on a rosy color as she looked at the man with flustered eyes.

This was the effect Angels had on most neutral creatures, humans particularly could easily be deceived by Angels, Ase who was a beginner mage woke up from her confused state, mages were known for their rational and resilient mind, not that Raven used his charm actively he was just talking in a friendly manner.

" Who are you and how do you know my name" asked Ase, looking up and down at Raven who looked like a teenager that was harmless, not even holding a weapon for his own safety in this Forrest.

" You can call me Raven, you must be hungry after waking up, please sit down and join me let's eat while we talk " Raven gestured to a spot on the floor next to him still maintaining a friendly attitude.

Ase who moved slowly to her designated spot, looked at Raven in a weary manner, After sitting down Raven handed her a wooden plate with freshly cooked deer meat, " did you save me " Asked Ase before taking a bite of the food.

Raven's facial expression changed from a smiling face to a serious one " yes, I did save you from a group of lowly vampires in this forest, I was lost in the forest before I heard a commotion and when I arrived at the source I found the vampires fighting your teammates, you were knocked unconscious when I found you" Raven mixed truth and lies to confuse Ase " after fighting off the Vampires it was a dying warrior named Sigval who spoke of your name and entrusted me with saving you Ase ".

Ase was lost for a little moment, her eyes staring in an empty manner at the fire of the camp the loss of her teammates made her sad, Raven put his hand on her shoulder in a reassuring manner " Do not feel sad for your friends, without the help of the hunter and Sigval who fought valiantly until the last moment I could never have saved you, you should feel proud to have lived beside these great men ".

Raven with a face as hard as a cornerstone did not feel any shame, he knew that he was still developing as a new born angel and the best way to understand the situation of this world was to join the local forces and swim in the muddy water, " Ase do you know any close town where we could rest "

Ase responded with a nod, " yes, this forest is called Blackwood and there is a human village in this forest called Blackwood forest " Ase used some kind of magic to localize the village " if I am not wrong the village should be this way, I have a sister that lives in that village with her husband we can go there for now " she said pointing a finger at a direction with her slender hand.

" Why were you lost in the woods, are a traveler or an adventurer like me " Raven understood the loopholes in his story, why would he suddenly appear in this forest and not know the village nearby.

" I come from a place far away, so you can call me a traveler, okay no more questions let get going to Blackwood village we need shelter and safety " Raven decided to be like the father of this body and not reveal his origins after saving the beauty, for now he would need to find out the whereabouts of the Angelique forces in this world the attitude of the gods of this world to the angel family and the attitude of humans to the angels before he revealed anything.

After putting out the fire of the camp, Raven and Ase walked for 3 hours before reaching the Blackwood village, the village looked like a decent medieval village but all the houses were painted black, Ase explained that this was a material used to cover the wooden houses to protect them from bug infestations, and this material could only be produced from the trees in Blackwood forest.

The guards of the village inquired about Ase, her team and Raven the man who was following her lead, Ase explained her situation and how she was saved by Raven who was a lost traveler, the guards granted Raven the right to stay in the village and a sum of 30 silver coins as a reward for saving his fellow humans in the face of danger.

Raven left with Ase to her sister's home, her sister Anna was a warm and mature housewife and her husband a middle aged man named Bruce was a merchant that sold the blackwood material in other cities and villages far away from blackwood forest, Raven and Ase were warmly welcomed by the couple, after knowing the ins and outs of what happened to Ase's adventurer party Anna was scared for her little sister's safety, and she thanked the god of light and protection with a prayer.

After a healthy meal Raven and Bruce left the two sisters to their own and walked out of the house for a walk man to man, Bruce who was a smart man started talking a serious but friendly manner " Look Raven I don't know who you are or what you want, but thank you for saving Ase, here is a gift for your efforts " Bruce extended his hand with a pouch full of what could only be coins.

Raven turned, not even looking at the pouch " this is not what I am after my friend Bruce, you're a merchant so you must know a lot of information from all your travels right " Bruce's face turned ugly for a second if Raven had accepted his money and left it would have been the best option, " yes I do know a lot of stuff, but only general knowledge circulated around the towns, what are you after ".

Raven stood rooted in his position, looking at the setting sun in the sky " As you can see Bruce I am very young, and I don't know much about this world, I was raised by a single mother without even knowing my father, and now I am alone in this world, I am running away from my past in the search of my purpose, talk to me about the general situation of humans and what should one do to start a new life ".

Bruce's eyes softened as he looked at the young man's back, Raven didn't even look 17 years old, "poor boy" a soft whisper escaped Bruce's mouth, " I see now, raised by a single mother there is a lot you don't know about the world around you " Bruce's mind started imagining different scenarios of a mother running away with her baby form a far away land.

Bruce looked at Raven with a new-found light in his eyes " okay, let me first tell you about our human history young man, Long ago our human race was enslaved by the blood sucking vampire race and their Evil god, in his arrogance the Evil god would raise some Human slaves into powerful beings before feeding on their blood for his enjoyment ".

Bruce's hand turned into a fist as he made a short pause before he continued, " But one of these powerful slaves took the chance to escape and helped other humans escape the vampire's captivity, slowly the humans grew in power and generation after generation the humans fought against the Vampires" Bruce wiped some saliva that escaped from the corner of his mouth " For the vampires it was a game, the stronger the humans the more delicious their blood but what they didn't expect was the arrival of angels "

He went on to explain how an angel god fought against the Evil god and how slowly humanity gained the upper hand, but it was not enough as the Angel God could not kill the Evil god, so the Angel god trained the strongest Human into the Human god of light and protection, and together they severely injured the Evil God, now the Humans worship the human god and his master the angel god so humans and angels work together to wipe out the monsters of the night.

Apparently the Evil god was the god of all night monsters, but Vampires were his most powerful race so he was known as the god of vampires, Raven understood that this world was already close to being completely controlled by the angel god, as long as the Evil god died, this world would be shortly swallowed by the celestial realm.

Bruce also explained how humans used the knowledge in the temple to gain a profession and grow in power and became adventurers to hunt night monsters and gain money, fame, power, Raven was very curious about professions and if they could help an angel grow stronger without the need of evolutions.