The journey begins...

The girl, maybe twelve years old, had white silver hair, purple eyes and skin as white as alabaster. Her cloths were a stark contrast to her otherwise almost divinely white and adorable attire. They were made crudely out of black leather and a brown leather bag was swinging on her back as she made her way along a small path through dark and dense woods. But the most striking part besides her cuteness were her silver white draconic wings as well as a matching tail which went between left and right matching her relaxed walking speed. But she herself was not so relaxed. Her gaze went cautiously along her surroundings, always on the lookout for magical beasts or people. One hand always on the beautifully ornamented hilt of her sword. It had been 3 weeks since she left her home, and every step took her further away from her beloved home. She had repelled a few attacks already, while her sword manship was crude and unrefined, she more than made up for it with superior strength and agility. And the one time a flink Sabertooth beast ambushed her, despite her wariness, she used magic to gain the edge regardless. Still she knew that the rest of her species had gone extinct and were all killed in a brutal war. How that happened and who or what that was, she and her master didn't know. Thus, her master had engraved the necessity to hide her true form and use an innate ability of higher Dragons to present herself as a "half-dragon". to allow her on the one-hand to use large parts of her strength despite her young age and keep her true nature hidden on the other. The world they lived in was a dangerous one, even without the mystery of the Dragon slayers. Thus, a minimum of power was necessary to traverse within it. She often thought that she would move a lot faster if she could simply take to the skies in her true draconic form. But the danger of being spotted and rumours spreading about her were far too great of a risk to take. And flying in her half-dragon form was extremely difficult, though not impossible. But still difficult enough that she had yet to master it. Her master Solum had bestowed upon her the name Valeria, even though he always said that he was simply a messenger and that that name came from someone else.

Her master had left the world 1 month ago and now was her time to explore the world and maybe find clues about her ancestors and their demise. Following the suggestion of her master she had made her way south ever since. And due to the remoteness of her home she had yet to meet any other people. Well not entirely, she had seen small villages and caravans along the way but was too wary of them to approach and kept her distance. She wanted to find a village or other settlement of half-Dragons to start. Even though they might notice that something was amiss with her. So, with no real destination she kept on pushing south, she travelled along the great mountain range which encircled a large part of the Continent in the middle and was now in a relatively hot and humid climate. Relatively because it actually was quite moderate and changing seasons seemed to be a thing. But for her, who had lived all her live at the edges of the Mountains, it was warmer than usual, but she wasn't really bothered by it. She continued following the trail, which was more an animal path than one formed by any people. Her thoughts were once again moving towards her former master, she was sad that he left her, but she knew that it was coming, he had prepared her for that day all her life. Still, she had shed many tears on the day she realised he wouldn't be coming back.

The lack of knowledge and a distinct goal left her with a feeling of uneasiness. And the only reason she still left her sheltered home was the many memories of her now gone master at every corner. As well as a lack of alternatives. She couldn't, or rather didn't want to live her whole life in a secluded area all alone. And it wasn't as if she didn't feel any excitement of travelling into the unknown and learn about the world. Thus, she made up her mind and left. But now? She had no idea where she was and wasn't even sure if she could find her way back home. She felt lost and alone. But her only option was to keep pushing forward day after day.

After another three hours of continues walking and the sun slowly going down. Valeria decided to make camp. She started by searching for a small, sheltered place. A few minutes later she found a big rock with a small overlap which would likely shelter her from rain. With a sigh of relief, she took of her bag and placed it on the ground. She opened it up and removed a small roll of leather from it. Normally such a roll would fill a bag this size almost entirely. But with the help from her master and her innate ability to change her own size and weight, they managed to increase the capacity of the bag roughly five-fold, without increasing the weight by too much. She also took the last bit of the raw meat she obtained by slaying the Sabertooth two days prior, she would need to go hunting soon. She was still deep in thought as she prepared a fireplace. It took her no longer than a few minutes and after that she was back into the Forrest in the search of suitable firewood.

She was quite far away from her camp and was just about to throw another chunk of dead wood into her bag as she heard something. Valeria immediately drew her sword from her waist. Its blade was jet black and the last light from the almost sunken sun seemed to be sucked in to the blade. Her expression changed from a relaxed look to a cautious one. "-o the left! Irena protect the Refugees!" Valeria's head instantly turned to the voice which was carried to her through the wind. It was "common" the language bestowed upon the living by the gods and most other languages were derived from it. Valeria carefully moved in the direction of the Voice. A few minutes later she heard angry shouts, cries of pain and the howling of wolfs. She went a bit faster but was careful to remain unnoticed. The noises became louder and louder with each step now and as she pushed aside a Bush, she saw the origin of said noises.

An old rusty wood carriage was standing in a ravine. Said ravine contained a proper road made out of old and cracked stone. The ravine was at the place of the carriage roughly 100 meters wide. The carriage was parked in a small indentation and a large campfire was burning in front of it. A group of 30 or so people were covering behind the fire and 4 others tried to fend off a pack of originally 7 Dire wolfs of which 5 remained. Most of the defending group had suffered minor injuries but their situation was dire. All of them were close to being overwhelmed. A human man in his 30's and brown hair was swinging his steel sword against the head of one dire Wolf while blocking an attack from another one with a small shield. Blood was leaking out of his left side where the sturdy leather of his armour was ripped apart. To his right a dwarf in full plate armour blocked the bite from one of the beasts with his gigantic Warhammer. His beard which looked like burning coal, and was skilfully tied together, swung wildly around with every movement he made. On the right most side a Women, seemingly in her twenties and with bright red hair, evaded the jump of a dire Wolf with a leap and counterattack with two daggers from the side, but wasn't able to pierce the sturdy fell. On the left most side another woman, probably an elf with long blond hair, used wood magic to hold an attacking beast in place with big and sturdy roots. "Should I help them? Master said I should be careful around humans and dwarfs, but Elves were most likely friendly... Master what should I do?" Valeria was still deep in thought as the wolf that was stuck in roots broke free and leapt at the defenceless elven women and panic crept into the women's verdant green eyes.

Without further thinking Valeria rushed to the edge of the cliff and pushed herself into the Air with her legs. Once Airborne she used her wings to go into a fast glide towards the Elv. The dire Wolf already reached her and sunk his giant teeth into her neck. "NOO! IRENA!!!" The human male shouted and tried to come to her aid. But the two dire wolfs he fought of, saw this as a prime opportunity to go in for the kill. Both leapt at him but one missed, the other one did not. This dire Wolf was a bit larger than the others, standing at two meters from front paws to his head, a gigantic beast. And it easily brought the running man to the ground and he just in time managed to block a bite at his head with his shield.

Valeria was now nearly there. Because the sun had already set and only the last trays of light illuminated her surroundings, she hadn't been noticed yet, but that would change now. As the dire Wolf was still occupied with ripping apart the elf, Valeria came down upon him and swung her sword with unbelievable speed and decapitate the wolf in one go. Her dark blade shimmered, and dancing lights of crimson red sparkled on the blade like rubies. But the Elven women was nowhere near being saved. Large amounts of blood flooded out of her neck as her breathing became heavier and sounded like a death rattle. The people behind the campfire were shocked into silence. But Valeria had no time to waste, she didn't want the Women to die. She quickly opened her backpack and removed a glass phial with a water-like substance from within and first sprinkled half of it over the elf's neck and forced the other half into her mouth. "Drink up, Elven lady or you'll die" Valeria turned around to the Human who was still somehow fighting of the savage attack of the dire Wolf who pinned him down. Valeria rushed up towards him but the other wolf who missed his jump earlier came in to interrupt her. "I have no time for this!" She shouted as she aimed at the wolf with her left hand and blue flames engulfed the approaching wolf in an instant. A few moments later nothing but Ash remained. She reached the man, and the wolf was still focused on him but just as Valeria was about to strike the head of the beast its ears twitched, and it leapt back. And instead of chopping its head off, she only managed to deliver a deep cut near the beast's right eye. "Th-thank you" the men said weakly and tried to get back up. "It's fine, you can rest. I'll hush those guys away" The man starred at her. But Valeria had no time to waste. The Alpha, probably, was starring her down, with blood leaking out of its right eye which was pressed close and then howled. The other two stopped their fighting and disengaged. With an angry growl the three remaining wolves ran away into the looming darkness along the road further south.

"You bastards! come back here!" The dwarf shouted angry behind them. Valeria however paid it no heed and sheeted her sword. "Hey who are you little girl?" The women with the two daggers asked as she slowly sheeted her daggers as well. Now that Valeria was closer to her, she saw small red scales at her hands and in her face. "I am Valeria" she said maybe a bit louder than necessary. The women doubtfully looked at her. "Valeria? Never heard of you. You are pretty strong for someone your ag- stature, and you can use magic. Where do you come fro-aHAAA!" just as she spoke those words the dwarf in full plate Armor used the long handle of his hammer to hit the back of her head. "Sorry little lassie. Isn't proper to question one's Saviour. Forgive this little punk." And he bowed his head. "IRENA ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" They heard the man plead as he kneeled beside the elf. A shocked expression came over the dwarf and the women with scales. And they immediately run over to the pair. Valeria tilted her head, slightly puzzled. But then her gaze went to the 30 people behind the fire. There were all sorts of races. A few Elves, Lizardmen and various beastmen, some with only slight features like cat or dog ears and tails or others who were fully covered in fur and possessed wolfish looking heads. Most of them seemed to be adults and their children and there were just one or two elderly people among them. But all of them had one thing in common. They wore tattered rags and looked skinny and filthy. As they looked at each other Valeria felt uncomfortable as 30 people starred at her with a mix of emotions. Some in Awe. Other in disbelieve. And a few with fear. A beastmen child with blue fur and a wolf head asked fearfully "A-are you a-a, a de-de-demon?" Valeria's head tilted to the side even more and a confused expression came over her face and her left Eyebrow went slightly upwards.

A man which looked like the child's father pulled his son behind his back and fear was on his face. "She not a demon! Just look at her! She's more like an angel... maybe she's one of the children?" A male elf answered with an expression of Awe. "B-but aren't the children said to possess eyes shining like a Sun? And they don't possess wings like that... at least that's what I heard." All the Refugees began arguing quietly about their Saviour. Meanwhile Valeria just starred at them dumbstruck and just a little "huh?" Came out of her. Sure, she had no experience dealing with people other than her master but still, she didn't expect such a reaction.

"No, she none of the children. I have met one of her kind a long time ago. She's a Dragonkin..." The voice belonged to the female elf she saved from the ferocious beast. She was still a bit weakened and had her arm around the human man who supported her. Her statement was met with doubt initially but slowly the expression of Awe increased on most of them even further. A few even got down on their knees and prayed towards her, this behaviour in particular made her really uncomfortable, and she took a few steps back. A few others looked at her now with anger. "Dragon...Kin?" Valeria asked silently and puzzled. She was sure her master said she was looking like a half-dragon... but he also said that the time he walked upon this world was very long ago, so maybe they were called differently now. Thus, she choose to be known as a dragonkin. At least this one had "Dragon" in its name, and she had no idea what these "Children" were. There were children present. Sure, she looked like a child. And was a child. But these "children" seemed to refer to something different.

Now the Elven women had a slightly puzzled expression on her face, she must have heard Valeria's question. "Or are you not one of the Dragonkin?" Valeria now nodded happily and grinned. "Yep, one of the Dragonkin, that's me!". The human looked puzzled "I have so many questions right now..." "Oh me as well mister human! But I have to sleep for now. But maybe I come around tomorrow again." And with that Valeria turned around, also to flee from the stares of all the people and started heading back to the cliff. It was five meters high, but with the help of her wings she could "jump" that high. "W-wait little lassie! Where do you sleep? Are your parents nearby?" Valeria turned around again and looked confused and used one of her hands to scratch her chin. "Parents... parents? Ahh those! Ugh... no don't have any. I sleep alone. See ya!" Valeria smiled. While her first encounter with people was really weird, she still liked it somewhat, at least until they all started starting at her. "Alone? In the black woods? Sure, you are strong, but you shouldn't do this. There are monsters far stronger than these dire wolfs out there... why don't you camp together with us?" The partially in crimson scales covered women asked Valeria with a commanding undertone. "Y-yes then you can also ask all kinds of questions!" The elf added with a much more friendly, persuasive tone than the scary women. Valeria looked surprised for a moment but then her expression changed into a smile "Sure that seems like fun! If ya all could stop glaring so much that is... well, I'll just fetch my stuff real quick and maybe you get those guys to calm down a bit. It's scary" And with that she jumped up the cliff and staggered a bit until she regained her balance. And then waved to the group below. All their mouths went wide open.

"Wait you brat! You can't just go alone I'll come with you!" The women with the daggers said with a tone which allowed no further discussions. As Valeria was still standing on the edge her expression changed to one of slight annoyance. "Huhhh... fine. Your just like master..." the last part she more or less whispered to herself. But regardless she waited at the edge and the women came towards her with sturdy steps and started climbing up the cliff immediately. "Be careful Liz!" The human shouted. She just grumbled a bit and climbed at extraordinary speed and was up in no time. Valeria didn't wait long and started walking into the woods. The women called Liz followed her, always on guard. They walked for a few minutes in complete silence. "Hey... thank you for saving us back there..." Liz said quietly and bit her lip frustrated as she did. Valeria looked at her with a smile "Sure! No worries! Master told me that Elves are good people so I couldn't just let the first one I meet die. Even though... he also said to be careful around humans and dwarfs, but I don't see why? They seemed like good people too!" Liz chuckled a bit. "I wouldn't disagree with your master. Those two are more the exception than the norm. But most humans from the south are fine. It's different in the Holy Kingdom and the Empire. And of course, there are also groups of dwarfs which can be quite nice... just didn't meet any as of yet..."

"Mhh..." Valeria seemed to be thinking. "By the way you haven't told us your name yet, have you? My name is Lisandra, but everyone calls me Liz" "Mhh my name is Valeria, good to meet you Miss Liz...Ahh were here!" Valeria exclaimed a few moments later. They were back at the rock Valeria had planned to use as her camping ground. She quickly took her leather mattress and put it in her bag. "Well, that's all. We can go back now" Liz nodded and they made their way back towards the others. "This master of yours, where is he and why did you travel alone?" Liz asked roughly half the way back. Valeria's expression darkened and for the first time during their short time together Liz regretted asking a question.

"Y-You don't have to answer. I was just curious...sorry" "No...no its fine. He was the one who raised me. But now he's gone, and I am on my way south" "Oh...sorry to hear that. But South? Your pretty far south already, any further and you come to the Saltu Empire, is that where your goal is?" "Don't know... he just said go south. I don't really have a destination. I don't really know what I'm supposed to do..." "ohh is that so?" With that they arrived at the ravine. And Valeria shacked her head and her usual smile appeared again, and Liz quietly sighed in relief. "Let's go!" Valeria exclaimed and jumped down the cliff. "Not so fast little Valeria!" Liz shouted and slided skilfully down the cliff as well. A few things had changed since they were gone.

The corpses of the 3 slain wolfs, not including the one burned to Ashes, were skilfully butchered and the remains were burning in a separate fire a few hundred meters down the road. The group of refugees had built a big tent of cloth and wood against the worn-down carriage. Most of them were probably inside and only a few of them were still out to reinforce the tent with wooden sticks and some wayside stones. And once Valeria and Liz came close, they had already went inside the big tent. The campfire was a bit further away than before. The horses were silently eating grass nearby. A big cauldron was hanging above the campfire and the other three fighters were sitting around it and were speaking to each other. "Hey you lot. Were back!" Lisandra shouted and the three of them looked in their direction and signs of relief rushed over their faces. "You sure took your time!" The human grumbled bit angry. "Just calm down Brandon. Your always such a worrywart... geez" Liz replied slightly annoyed but she still seemed a bit happy about it.

"You hungry you lassies?" The dwarf said and held up a small wooden bowl with some sort of soup in it. Valeria smelled the scent of the soup which she never smelled before. Her Eyes seemed to shine, and a little drool was flowing out of her mouth. She instantly ran to the dwarf and took the bowl out of his hands and started gobbling it down immediately as soon as she seated herself on the hard ground. They all looked surprised at how fast this little girl had gobbled up the soup. "HAAHAAH little lassie ya sure have a thing for food, haven't ya?" the dwarf laughed as the first one who awakened from their short stupor and a smile came across everyone's face. Valeria paid them no heed and finished her bowl in no time. "Haaa..." she sighed happily "That's the best food ever!! Can I have some more pretty please?!" The dwarf still grinning took her bowl and filled it back up. "Sure, eat as much as you want. Since it was you who killed half of them... but still the best food ever? Surely you must jest?" The human man called Brandon said a bit uncomfortably. "NO! I never had such tasty food! It's so good!" Valeria replied all smiles and begun gobbling down the second bowl just as fast as the first one. "Ohh really... that's terrible..." Brandon said more to himself than to Valeria.

Now Liz began to speak as she also took a Bowl from the Dwarf. "That little lady is on her way south as by her master's suggestion. Her master is... Well... she travels alone now. Her name is Valeria by the way." All nodded in unison understanding what she was getting at. "So you really are a Dragonkin?" The Elven women called Irena asked curiously. Meanwhile Valeria was at her third bowl and talked between stuffing her cheeks with the simple soup made from wolf meat, various herbs and a few vegetables. "I think ... so ... though... mu master called me... a ... half-Dragon...dktn ... known if that's the same" Irena went silent and seemed to be thinking. "Half-dragon? Yes, I have heard that before. If I remember correctly that was what ancient dragonkin with strong ties to their Draconic ancestors were called. But since the great Purge orchestrated by the Holy Kingdom only few of the Dragonkin remained and most of the modern Dragonkin have mixed ancestry. The one I met 30 years ago said that his mother was one of the Lizardmen and only his father carried a bit of Dragon blood within him. But that the Dragon blood still shows in the form of wings. But his were far less... I don't know… Refined? Big? Majestic?... Than yours are. So, you must have a much closer connection to your Draconic ancestors than him. This would also explain your strength... maybe because of your pure bloodline your master called you a half-dragon... or maybe... no that can't be. But just out of curiosity, how old are you?" " I am twelve!" Valeria said who had only listen to Irena with half an ear while she was occupied with eating her fifth bowl. "Ahh, good..." Irena sighed with relief.

But Valeria had heard one thing which piqued her curiosity. "Ahem... Miss Irena said that only very few Dragonkin remained? Because of that purge-thingy in the Huly Kingdom? What's that?" An expression of shock came over all of their faces and Valeria just looked puzzled as she slowly took one spoonful of soup after the other. It was a comical sight. A cute Dragon girl sitting on the ground with a serious and confused look as she steadily put more and more soup inside her mouth. But no one laughed. "Y-ya seriously don't know little lassie?" "How on earth is this possible?" "Didn't your master tell you about it?" The three of them broke the awkward silence. Only Brandon remained silent. "No? My master and I lived in a very lonely place. You are the first people I talked to since my Master... left this world..." """Ohh...""" all of them exclaimed in unison. But everyone just looked at each other and their eyes seemed to say "you have to tell her" "why me?! You can do it too you know" "Your better at such things!".

Their silent conversation was broken by Brandon who was the only one who remained silent ever since the topic came up "Well I think it is my responsibility to tell her... Valeria what do you know about the Godblight?" "Godblight? What's that?" "Hmmm... you know that all the true blooded Dragons vanished 600 years ago? Many believe that Dragons are the stuff of legends, of myths. But there are many reasons why I and many others think that they once existed. They all disappeared during the "war of Liberation" in which the northern alliance of the human Empire and the Dwarfen Kingdom invaded the Dragon Empire. It was, as far as we know, not a nation of Dragons but one which had close ties to them. However, from some records made by the Elves..." and he gave a sign at Irena to continue. "Yes, our records state that the northern alliance justified their invasion by arguing that the Dragons had enslaved the People of the Dragon Empire and wanted to do that to everyone. Many of these records seemed to have come from various Elves who had lived in the empire and fled towards the great Elven nation to the east once defeat was unavoidable." Now Liz was stepping in "as far as we know there lived many different kinds of species inside the empire. And especially demi-humans like beastmen and Dragonkin lived there under the Protection of the Dragons. They are said to be golden times. And the imperial family is said to have been Dragonkin as well." Now the dwarf added to the story. " Indeed some of our Ancestors are believed to have lived there as well. While the claim that the Dragons dominated these citizens is doubted by many there are still some instances which show the Dragons in such a light. But in the end, it is impossible to say how it really was." Brandon took over once more "So you see the Empire is seen by most people today as a glorious and beautiful country. Except for those in the Holy Kingdom, which was created after the fall of the empire and is composed of almost all the former territory of the empire, and the northern alliance.

But the sentiment that humans and dwarfs were gifted by the gods with unfathomable strength to eradicate the Dragons had let to the idea that those two are superior to the others. And recently the Holy Kingdom had begun enslaving all remaining non-humans. except for dwarves. But one race was more hated than all the others. The Dragonkin. In the beginning of the rule of the Holy Kingdom some 500 years ago. They sought out all Dragonkin all over the Continent to kill them. That's why so few are left. And while it mostly ended with the momentum of the northern alliance stopped by the Beastmen nation and Elven nation. A few of these zealous "Dragon hunters" remain. you should be careful. Those who pray and devote themselves to Vi will attack and try to kill you on sight as well." Valeria gulped down the last bit of soup from her sixth serving. "Hmm 'kay. My master told me some stuff about the empire. Thanks for the story" she grinned again, and the others doubted that she truly understood how dangerous her life will be.

Even though they thought that many who hated the Dragonkin would probably enslave her because of her looks instead of outright killing her. But neither was sure if that was a good or a bad thing. "Since you now know the danger of travelling alone, why not come with us? We are quite strong and can help you against anyone who wishes to harm you. Since you saved the life of Irena and probably the rest of us as well, we would like to repay that debt to you" Brandon said and looked at her expectantly. All the others nodded in unison and smiled warmly at Valeria. The little girl smiled broadly at the others "Sure! Sounds like fun! Don't have anything else to do anyways"

"Great! I think we should all introduce ourselves. My name is Brandon, Fighter, E-rank adventurer, freelancer and leader of the D-rank adventuring Party 'Withering tempest' " the man bowed slightly and gave Valeria an earnest smile.

"Well met little lassie. Name's Knut Heißhammer, Paladin, E-rank adventurer and we are all part of 'Withering tempest'"The dwarf said with a gentle smile.

"Irena Woodrunner, forrest Mage, E-rank adventurer" with that she turned her hand and placed the flat side between her medium-large chest roughly over her hearth and bowed slightly.

"Well, I already told you most but anyways. My name is Lisara Virale, Rogue, E-rank adventurer and newest member of 'Withering tempest'" she gave a military like salute with her partly scaled hand.

Valeria stood up and placed her empty bowl on the ground "Nice to met 'cha everyone! My name 's Valeria and I am a half-dragon or dragonkin or somethin. I know a little about sword fighting and magic. Don't have a class"

Everyone smiled at her. Then Brandon spoke up " Thank you for saving us and the Refugees earlier Valeria... sorry but I must ask, 'how did you save Irena from that fatal wound earlier?' Did you use a high-grade healing potion?" Irena made the same gesture when she introduced herself and the other two looked at her curiously. Valeria smiled up and took another phial with the clear fluid out of her bag. "I used water from the silver-fountain!" She proclaimed proud and matter of factly. The others looked confused. They often looked like that... why is that? Valeria thought.

"Water?" "Silver fountain?" Brandon and Irena asked respectively. Valeria nodded "It's a fountain by my home, it's really good if you're hurt. And you don't get hungry or thirsty. I have 11 bottles left!" Irena bowed again "thank you for using such a rare item on me. Could I trouble you to lend one of them to me for a moment?" "Sure, no problem! You're my friends now, aren't ya?" Irena smiled "Sure, we are friends" "Yaayy I made friends! If only master could see me now!" Knut and Brandon smiled bitterly while Irena's smile became even more gentler than before. Liz expression remained largely unchanged. Valeria gave Irena one of the phials. Irena held the phial in one hand and put the left hand slightly above [Appraise] In a strange voice filled with many different tunes and a sense of might, she chanted a spell and her left hand started glowing and shortly after her eyes glowed as well. But only for a moment. Valeria had seen her master cast spells like that and she had tried it herself. But apart from basic fire magic, which she could use without chanting, she had yet to successfully use other spells. Even though her master said that she did have the aptitude for it. All eyes were on Irena as the light faded.

"Well, what did ya find out?"Knut asked. Irena needed a moment to gather herself. "Well... you may or may not believe me... but this is water from the fountain of eternal Spring, at least that's what it's called in Elven mythology. The more common name is simply the fountain of youth" Brandon who had been drinking from his water pouch spat the water in his mouth out and his face was filled with complete shock and utterly disbelieve. while Knut and Liz looked confused and a bit disgusted at him. "SAYY WHAT?!?!?!" Brandon shouted. "Keep quiet! The children are sleeping" a Voice came from inside the tent which was roughly 30 meters away. Liz hit him on the head and Brandon calmed down a bit. "It is as I said. It's the legendary fountain said to grant eternal life. But from what I can see it 'merely' puts the body back into perfect condition and slows down the aging process for a short while. Still though, I can't even see everything about this item... even with 6th level appraisal, so their maybe other effects." "Unbelievable..." Brandon muttered. "Seems like quite the useful potion ya got yaself there little lassie" "Indeed, while I never heard of such a fountain before, one of those phials must be worth quite a fortune. Probably more than the highest grad of healing potions...which would mean 200 gold coins at the very least..."

Brandon turned his intense gaze towards Valeria who took a step back "You know where the fountain is? Can you take us there we co-" Irena interrupted his squabbling with a swift chop on his head "You idiot! Not under my watch! will you go on and about and sell that stuff! Wasn't it you who told little Val here that she had to be careful and that we would watch over her?! Can't you imagine what attention this will draw? Seems like even you possess the typical human greed..." Brandon looked more hurt by her words than the hit she delivered and immediately sunk to his knees and grapped her pleadingly at her waist "I'm so s-sorry Irena... I didn't mean to... I just thought... sorry please don't look at me like this! It won't happen again. I-I promise! please. please. Please forgive meee-e-e!" Tears swelled up in his brown eyes. Irena looked coldly upon him and had her arms crossed. "You know that you shouldn't apologise to me, do you? What you did was extremely rude! Going so hard on a little girl like this... aren't you ashamed of yourself? you lousy excuse of a man"

Even Valeria felt a small sting in her chest. She wasn't angry at Brandon who realised that her homes fountain was so amazing, and she wouldn't mind telling them where it was. But she still felt that Irena had a good point and that she should avoid drawing too much unwanted attention. Even though seeing Brandon, whom she thought of as a brave warrior, now laying in front of Irena wailing and crying like his death sentence had just been delivered was a gruesome sight. And Irena just regarding him with a cold gaze was a bit too much for her. She noticed that she was sad, as well as terrified of Irena. And tears started flowing out of her eyes. "Ehm Irena, while I totally agree with you... you should probably consider that a child is present..." Liz carefully interrupted her and discreetly pointed to Valeria who looked utterly terrified and sad. Irena's mood changed immediately, and her cold gaze turned to a warm, almost motherly, smile and she walked over to the still terrified Valeria. Valeria froze up as she noticed a warm embrace and Irena's long blond hair falling on her cheeks. "Don't cry little Val. I just got a little angry with Brandon. Normally he is actually quite a nice man, but sometimes his inborn human traits show up. And then I have to remind him of his mistakes and discipline him a little. But don't worry I will always be there for you" Valeria relaxed a bit and returned the soft embrace. All though a bit hesitant. Her master had only very rarely comforted her in such a way. Thus, she had little experience, but she liked it. She felt save here in this small little world. "Y-you really mean that Irena?" Brandon asked through his still heavy panting. Irena turned her head around and all the warmth disappeared from her verdant green eyes. "EHHEE!" Brandon coward before her again "I am so sorry Valeria! Please forgive me for my stupidity, greed and unproper behaviour!"

"Val, you can let him stew a bit more if you like?" Irena asked gently. "N-no it's fine... I can show it to you another time... " Valeria carefully answered. "My Saviour!" And Brandon prostrated himself before her. Irena clicked her tongue "She may forgive you, but I will not let this slide by so easily. It is the duty of adults to protect children such as her. While she may be strong. At heart she is still a child and thus I will protect her from such dangerous, selfish beings like yourself Brandon..." her cold gaze travelled along Brandon's body, and he begun to shiver before her. "Geez, Irena, you'll kill him if you go on with this... don't you think he got enough?" Liz interrupted. Irena swung her head back to Valeria who was snuggling herself against Irena with a disappointing "Hmm!" And turned her attention towards Valeria. "My my aren't you just adorable! You can come to me anytime you want a hug! Whoever let such a fragile little thing as you wander around all alone truly deserves a good ol' spanking!" "Fragile? Irena did you forget that this 'little girl' literally decapitated a dire Wolf with one swoop of her sword?" Liz asked a bit concerned for Irena's mental health. "Sure, she did. But you see that her feelings are so unstable! The danger was not for her body, but her soul! A child should have adults to rely on and receive unconditional love and support. No matter how strong she is she needs motherly love, and I will give it to her!" She hugged Valeria even more tightly and got down to her knees to fully embrace her. Valeria flushed a bit but did not reject Irena's hug. "Isn't it a bit to sudden to declare your motherly love to the girl who saved you? You sure you aren't the one who is 'unstable'?"

Now Liz got a full load of Irena's death-gaze "Didn't you see how easily she trusted us?! She needs me! And I will gladly accept her as my foster daughter!" Irena declared matter of factly. Even Valeria was a bit uncomfortable to regard this women she met just an hour ago as her mother, but the thought was not sooo bad... "We need to teach her to be more careful around strangers! What would've happened if the first person she started to trust would have been a selfish meanie? Like Brandon for example?"

"Uhh..." Brandon who was just about to stand up again on his shaking legs grasped his heart and sunk back to his knees.

Knut who had been sitting silently in a corner up until now stood up with a sigh and went over to Brandon "It's alright Pal, you know how she can be from time to time... even so... haven't seen her that fired up before" He whispered the last part and pulled the still crying Brandon back on his feet.

"Ahem Miss Irena? I like you... I really do but... mother?... that's a bit sudden..." Valeria said silently and let her hands go back to her side. But Irena showed no sign of ending her embrace "Don't worry about that! Just know that you can trust me wholeheartedly! And when the time comes, I will gladly accept you as my cute, little daughter!" Even though Valeria doubted that her embrace could become even tighter... in that moment, it did. Liz looked troubled upon Valeria "You need a hand?" "It's-s fine. I guess?" "Well, ya finished fussing about our little lassie? Sun's down for quite a while now, so shouldn't we prepare a night watch plan? And since we told the Refugees to give the little lassie some space earlier, we didn't build up our tent or anything else." "Knut is right, while I don't want to disturb this new motherly side of yours... you still should consider that the young missy here should rest properly. Isn't that important for growing children?" With that said Irena's expression turned serious and she slowly ended her embrace of Valeria. "You're right. Then let's get to it guys! You too Brandon! Do something to repent your grave sins!" Valeria was still a bit dumbstruck about the recent events but now the thought of leaving this lively and warm place to sleep alone in the dark Forrest and continue her lonely journey, she found that thought... terrifying...

With a little squabbling here and there and the almost demonic attitude Irena used to instruct her fellow companions, the tent stood firmly in place just a few minutes later. "Good. Could've been a little faster. Especially you Brandon really messed up in the end! But I'll let it slide just this once" Brandon shivered again but had no more strength to resist and just lifelessly sat upon the fire and begun eating the rest of the soup. "Well for night watch. Let's leave the tent to Valeria this time around. She needs some space. Probably won't rain anyways. I will have the last shift you can make the rest out yourselves, right? Come Val let's go into the tent." "Didn't you say she needed some space?" Liz asked Irena puzzled. "Sure, she does! But she was alone so long that sleeping with me will heal the emotional Wounds such an experience left behind. And as her mother I will keep her save in there. Good night."

And without allowing anymore questions she pulled Valeria behind her into the tent and a few minutes later the sleeping utensils of the other three were coldly thrown out of the tent.

"What the hell happened today..." Liz asked herself and the other two. "Don't ask me Liz. But it seems like her new 'motherly' instincts will not vanish so soon... so we better prepare ourselves. And Bran my friend... I am deeply sorry, but she will probably treat you all the same for the next few weeks... just hope it won't be any longer..." Bran couldn't even answer anymore his eyes were dead and he slowly ate away the soup in an almost robotic fashion. "Na, I think it will be fine, I mean we all agreed that we will help our little Saviour out. And having such an incredible addition to our combat strength isn't half-bad. In the end I would say we gained more (Valeria) than we lost (Brandon and part of Irena's sanity)" "Ya're darn right about that Liz. Our little lassie 's a prodigy. She'll go far I know that" " agreed Knut. "Even without her exceptional combat capabilities, she looks like a princess out of a fairy-tale. And even that feels like an understatement... when she grows up..." "I see what ya mean Liz. If she would grow a beard then... huhu that wouldn't look half bad" Liz shook her head "Weird dwarfen beauty standards besides, couldn't she be a descendent of the imperial family?" Knut carefully went with his hand along his long beard "Not many records of that exist. But I always thought the whole of the family was executed after the Siege of the Capital" "Maybe... maybe not..." "Na we ain't gonna get anywhere. Just to many questions about out little lassie flying around. And I ain't sure if sha' has the answers to them herself."

Inside the tent Irena carefully prepared their bedding using Valeria's leather roll as the base and put her own feather filled cloth mattress on top. "Here my dear. You don't mind if we share, do you?" Valeria shook her head "No it-its fine" "Good. Don't know what your master teached you but you may never sleep with men and only women you trust, so it's fine if it's me... or maybe Liz but I doubt she is very fond of such things..." Irena seemed to drift away from the topic. But Valeria knew already what Irena was getting it. This lecture was the second most important to her master, behind hiding her true identity. But she really did trust Irena... at least when it came to herself. In general? She seemed a bit... over emotional? But her master had told her that Elves usually feel emotions much more intense, graded and different from most other species. So maybe that was the reason for her sudden affection.

"My master told me something like that, but why?" Valeria tilted her head. Irena looked a bit troubled "Well... ehh let's just say it's improper and potentially dangerous. But the reason is... Well, that's something for when you're a bit older, let's leave it at that" Valeria still looked a bit confused but nodded in agreement. Valeria got into the makeshift bed and snuggled herself into the soft cushions. "It's Amazing! It's so sooofft~" "Well as soon as we're in Tervilla you can sleep in much more comfortable beds! But I'm glad you like it. But isn't it uncomfortable with your wings?" Irena asked a bit concerned. "No, its fine, they are really flexible. I often used them as my cushions so it's much better now!" Irena placed herself behind her and embraced her, meanwhile one of Valeria's wings was on top of her while the other one underneath, but Valeria didn't seem to mind. Irena was quite surprised that these leathery looking wings felt much more like silk and got even closer to her pet-dragon girl. Valeria had expected as much but she couldn't help but remember the small fluff dragon her master had made for her when she was still little. She thought it must've felt like she did right now... Valeria only hoped that in contrast to her stuffed dragon she would not be accidently lit on fire by Irena... While she was tired, this was still the most eventful day of her live thus far. And the first time she hadn't had to sleep alone... while it felt a bit weird to not sleep alone, she was feeling a peace of mind whenever Irena embraced her... and sleeping while she felt the warmth of Irena was comforting...and with those thoughts she slowly drifted into the realm of Dreams.

The next day

"So, and that's why you should join the adventures Guild and our Party!" Irena proclaimed enthusiastically. They were on their way to a small city called 'Tervilla' on the edge of the Dark Woods, which they were currently traversing. The proposal was made by Irena, but all the other members of Withering Tempest concurred and seemingly had discussed this with each other before Valeria woke up. The idea was that as a guild member she would have a certain degree of protection from those who hunt down the Dragonkin. Even if those were extremely rare in the southern part of the Continent. Another reason was that it would allow her to travel to other Kingdoms and still receive protection. Even in the Holy Kingdom powerful adventures were tolerated to a certain degree, regardless of what race they belonged to. This was due to the high numbers of dangerous C- and even B-Threat monsters. And the Holy Kingdom was a natural destination for Valeria who wished to seek the reason for the extinction of the Dragons. "So, what do ya say little lassie?" Valeria who walked beside Knut and Irena at the front of the group of Refugees and the Carriage thought shortly about it "Hmmm... seems like it would be fun! But can you tell me more about adventures?" "No problem. So, for starters we are mostly monster hunters and explorers. Folks hire us for certain jobs, and we complete them. The guild manages the requests and gives them difficulty ratings. Usually they only allow parties, or people, with a rank equal or higher than the request to take them on. Monster ratings are also derived from that system. If a single Monster is targeted the difficulty rating of the target and the mission are the same. And adventurer ranks indicate if they are able to take such foes down. That also goes for individuals. Party rank implies what the entire party should be able to complete a quest of equal difficulty rating. Even though at the higher ranks the threat-level monsters are usually more powerful than an adventurer of the same rank. And beginning at rank C its mostly groups of similar ranked adventures who can defeat the corresponding monster, this also means that higher ranking solo adventures are exceptionally rare. And they are treated a bit differently. While our Party is rank D we will be assigned D-rank missions from time to time. For solo adventures they mostly go on quests one level below their rank, because fighting a similarly ranked monster is far too risky. You could say that individual adventures are rated differently than the monsters, while party-ranks are pretty much equivalent.

I'll now roughly explain the threat level of Monsters..."

G-rank: A normal person is stronger than them and even a farmer should be able to deal with one of them.

Examples: Wild dogs, Deer's, foxes, small slimes, horses

F-rank: Strength similar to a usual grown-up human. But can be dangerous.

Examples: Goblins, wolves, Boars,

E-rank: stronger than the usual human, a typical human village will have to work together to get rid of such a being themselves.

Examples: Bears, Young Basilisks, Crag Cats, Dire wolfs, Hobgoblins

D-rank: can bring ruin to small villages. City militia or a Knight squadron is needed to take care of such a foe.

Examples: Basilisks, Minotaur's, Yetis, Dire wolf Alphas, Sabertooth, Trolls

C-rank: can pose a threat to medium sized cities and smaller ones may face an existential crisis. An entire Knight brigade is usually needed to tackle such beasts.

Examples: Chimera, Cyclops, Elemental Spirits, Sabertooth tyrant, lower giants like hill or stone giants, lesser demons

B-Rank: can level entire cities or Baronies. Only the mightiest individuals in a country can deal with them. Otherwise, whole Armies would be needed to subjugate such a monster.

Examples: Hydras, Liches, Greater Giants like fire or Ice giants, intermediate Demons

A-Rank: Can destroy entire countries. Only the strongest and bravest Hero's on the Continent are able to deal with them.

Examples: Greater Demons, Giant King's, Titans, Elder Liches

S-Rank: Legendary Monsters only found in myths. Capable of levelling the entire Continent or the whole World. No 'ordinary' Adventurer group can take care of them, except for Legendary Hero's or the gods themselves.

Examples: Legendary Dragons, The great Leviathan, Demon Lords

These threat-levels indicate the individual strength of a Monster. So, the fight yesterday was probably at the higher end of D-Rank or at the lower end of C-Rank, since multiple E-threats and one lower rank D-Threat fought together. But of course, such a pack wouldn't be able to pose a threat to a fortified city. So, this categorization is very broad and only a roughly indication of the danger one faces when encountering foes. This also means that theoretically a higher threat than S-rank could exist if two or more S-rank monsters teamed up. But the guild never bothered to actually implement such a thing, since the likelihood of two S-rank monsters occurring at the same time is impossibly low and them teaming up is even less likely. And even if such a thing happened, even the gods themselves might have a hard time fighting them. So, such an event would probably spell doom to the world, thus there is not a need for it. But adventures often have a thing for the dramatic so sometimes they bring it up as a joke and the "unofficial end of the world" is sometimes used in Stories.

"That's pretty much it little lassie, any questions?"

Valeria's head was spinning, and she only got a fraction of what Knut was saying. While Knut looked extremely proud of himself. Irena leaned over and whispered in Val's ear "Don't worry too much about this stuff little Val. You can rely on m-, on us to take care of these matters." "Thanks Irena" Irena chuckled and winked at Valeria while Knut was so fired up that he now talked about all kinds of weird rules in the guild, but nobody listened. "These guys you protect. Was that also a guild quest?" Valeria asked a few moments later. In general, the Refugees seemed to avoid her. In the morning most of them had thanked her for saving them and offered assistance if she ever had a need for it. But since then, they have mostly kept their distance.

Irena's happy attitude vanished in an instant and looked like she had bitten into a sour apple. Even Knut went silent and looked away as they walked along the road. "No. It was not a quest... it was a personal matter" Irena answered trying to hide her emotional turmoil from Valeria somewhat. "You see Liz joined us about a month ago, she had fled from her village in the Holy Kingdom as soon as the widespread enslaving of the non-humane begun, which means everyone besides Humans, dwarfs and Elves. She was quite strong for a newbie, and she quickly earned our trust and we hers. And since we had already heard about the troubling development in the Kingdom, we decided to go on an undercover mission to see how her village was doing. For Bran and Knut, it was also a possibility to lighten the weight of guild they feel because of the awful things some of their Kin committed.

Since it was a secluded Area where the Kingdom still had to gain proper influence, we thought they would be fine for the time being and we could slowly evacuate them South. But we were wrong. They had acted faster than anticipated and when we arrived, they were already in shackles and about to be shipped of. Liz lost her usual composure when she saw her neighbours in such a state and attacked the guards. And we helped her out. And now we're escorting these people to Tervilla where they will hopefully be able to live a life in peace." Irena gained back her smile, but it looked a bit forced to Valeria. "But that's good then, right? Is helping people good?" "That's right little lassie! Helping people in need is always the right thing to do!" Knut happily replied and hit his Chest plate with his right fist, which produced dull sound. "Well... Knut is not wrong... But it depends on the situation. If your live could be in danger because of it, you shouldn't do it." Irena answered a bit troubled. Valeria fell deep into thought and her right hand began scratching her chin. "So as long as I don't have to ... it should be fine... I guess?" Valeri mumbled to herself. Irena seemed to have luckily misunderstood "Yes, using your... fountain water could be very dangerous for you. You have to be careful" Valeria was a bit startled "Ahem... yes Irena" Irena came a bit closer to her and took her right hand. "You will also have to learn which fights to take and from which to run away. From what I've seen most D-rank monster won't be a problem. But please be really careful when it comes to C and above. Running from a dangerous fight is nothing to be ashamed of!"

Irena pressed her hand even harder and looked intensively into her purple eyes. Valeria's eyes filled with determination, for some reason. "You're right! I have to get SOO STRONG that I don't need it to save good people like you!" Irena looked a bit worried "Don't push yourself too hard, okay? You're still a child and you have to take your time, understood?" Valeria nodded wildly and looked at Irena with admiration "Irena can you teach me magic? I want to learn magic!" Irena looked a bit confused "Can't you use magic already? Some of the Refugees told me that you used fire magic yesterday" "Yeah, but only fire magic. I don't know how I would do other magic and I don't chant either" "Oh okay... must be an inborn trait of pure-blooded Dragonkin then. That's... interesting.... But, eh, do you have the aptitude for other magic?" Valeria nodded enthusiastically "My master said so!" "Oh WoW, its rare for people to have an aptitude for more than one Magical element without a patron. Did your master tell you for which other schools of magic you have an aptitude for?" Valeria thought about Irena's question for a moment "No he just said 'for magic'" "Hmm, well then, we'll just have to test you for it once we arrive in Tervilla. Come to think of it we should be out of the depths soon and come across Woodfall"

It was already noon, and they were walking since the morning with only small breaks here and there. The Carriage could only carry the luggage and 4 additional people. The Refugees shared these four 'seats' and took breaks in shifts. The journey was unusual quiet, and no monsters attacked the group in the meantime. "Ehm Irena, why aren't any monsters showing up?" Irena looked at Valeria with her usual warm smile, at least when she was talking to Valeria it was her usual expression. Brandon was not so lucky the usual expression he got was Irena's Death-gaze. "Hmm makes sense that you wouldn't know, but there are two reasons for that. First, as you can see, this road is in a magically created ravine and except for small breaches here and there, it is an annoying obstacle for monsters, and they often choose to go after prey in less bothersome territory. Second, there is a magical barrier which uses some kind of mental pressure to keep most monsters away. But that doesn't mean it's safe here. As you could see yesterday sometimes monster ambush caravans on this road, maybe because of starvation or because they got chased away." "Hmm, but when the road is so safe why aren't more people using it? Or aren't so many around?" Irena chuckled a bit. "No that's not it. But this route is mostly taken for trade between the Holy Kingdom and the Kingdom of Armonia. But there isn't lots of that happening right now."

"Hmmm... 'kay"

"Ehm little Val. Could you do m-, us a favour?" "Sure! What is it, Irena?" "Well, you see it could be problematic if word got out that we killed officials of the Holy Kingdom to free slaves... we have to tell them a little lie" Valeria tilted her head and her eyes filled with curiosity "'a lie'? What's that?" Irena looked a bit perplexed. "You seriously d-, na makes sense if you didn't have any contact with other people... but seriously what was your master teaching you... Well, that besides a 'lie' is when you deliberately don't tell another person the truth and deceive them" Valeria's curiosity vanished in an instant "ahh.... that yes... my master told me about such things, just not that it was called a 'lie'. But sure, I won't tell anyone!" Irena sighed in relief "Just know lying can sometimes be better for everyone, but to me you have to be always honest, okay?" Valeria who was mostly smiling up until this point averted her eyes and looked to the ground as she slowed down her walking. Irena looked at her with concern "Hey is everything okay?" Valeria nodded slightly and moved on, her face still facing downward. Irena knew that Valeria must be hiding something, which she considered to be a lie. And was at a loss of what to do.

"It's alright Val. If there is something, you don't feel comfortable sharing with me... it's fine to keep it for yourself. But such things can be a burden to carry alone. Whatever it may be that your hiding, you can share it with me, and I promise I won't reprimand you for it. Whatever it is!" Irena nodded as if to give herself courage and walked over to Valeria and got down as to look into Valeria's eyes which were still facing downwards. Irena placed her hands on Valeria's shoulders. "Take your time, don't worry about it. I am not angry with you. Only a little sad that you don't feel you can't trust me just yet... but on the other hand you really just met me the other day... so maybe it's good that you're not so… open." She shook her head as if to clear her mind. Irena then hugged Valeria and the whole Caravan stopped.

"I hope you one day think I am worthy to be your mother and that you can trust me!" Valeria tried desperately to hold back her tears and returned Irena's hug tightly. Maybe too tightly because some creaking noises could be heard. "I-Im sowwy Irenaa... b-but I can't tell you..." Valeria managed to press out these words half sobbing and some tears rolled down her cheeks. Irena tried to ignore the pain of nearly being crushed by the hug of this small, cute Dragon girl. She started patting Valeria's back and tried to ignore the confused stares from the Refugees. "Its-HMPH- FINE... guhh.. it's fine Val. I- Krrk- I understand..." Valeria let go of her and wiped her tears away with the back of her right arm and an honest smile shone, like the sun breaking through thick clouds, on her face.

"Thanks Irena. You're the best! And I promise one day I'll tell ya!" And without waiting for a reply Valeria moved forward and Irena got up and followed Suit.

"One day..."