Chapter 1

A meadow in an unspecified forest...

The meadow was a beautiful and peaceful place. There was a stream of cold crystal clear water flowing through the midst of it, where deer and other woodland animals came to drink, rest, and enjoy the peace. Birds could be heard singing their beautiful melodies as squirrels scrambled between the branches of the trees that surrounded the meadow. It truly was an idyllic place, something a poet might write about, or a bard might sing a ballad about.

At least until a sound like thunder crashed in the middle of the meadow, scattering all the animals in a panic as a light brighter than the sun flashed and the air rippled with energy. From within the light a figure fell to the ground, where he lay very still, and the roaring noise and the violent light disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

The man was unconscious lying in the grass, but he seemed otherwise unhurt. Several hours passed, until he suddenly moved. Only a little at first, but eventually he roused himself from his slumber and tried to pick himself up. It was late in the afternoon, and it was clear that before long the sun would fall behind the tree line, and after that it would grow dark, as night took its turn in the sky.

The man slowly looked around himself, gathering in his surroundings with keen eyes. However it was clear from the look on his face, he was lost. He saw a deer on the edge of the meadow where the stream continued on into the forest. It was drinking from the stream, but it quickly drank its fill and then bound away. The man was quite thirsty himself, so he walked to the stream and knelt before it. It was obviously clean, and the man had never seen such clear water in a stream before.

He placed his hands into the water, and quickly pulled them out. It was cold! Still, he placed his hands back into the water and cupped them, and drew some of it out. He placed it to his lips and began to drink. It was refreshing, and it tasted quite good as water went. The man drank enough to slake his thirst, and then he moved away from the stream.

It was going to be dark before he could find anywhere else to stay for the night, so he decided to set up a camp. The man removed a small tent that was bound to the pack he was wearing, and proceeded to set it up. Afterwards he gathered some branches along the edge of the forest and brought them near his tent. Using a folding camp shovel, he dug a fire pit and placed some stones from near the stream in a circle. He used a lighter to set some of the smaller twigs and grass he'd gathered on fire, and carefully tended it until it was a steady flame. He had a strip of magnesium he could have used to light the fire, but he was being lazy about it.

After the camp was finished to the man's satisfaction, he dug through his pack and took out an MRE, that he then tore open and began to prepare its contents. Once that was done, he ate his meal in silence, and when he was done with that he laid back and rested. He watched the animals that circled the outer edges of the meadow while it was light, and when night had fallen he looked at the stars. He recognized several constellations, but this only seemed to confuse the man. He obviously hadn't expected it.

The Hall of Wisdom in the Elven Nation of Laurina Dor...

Eventually, the man crawled into his tent and attempted to sleep again until the sun rose the next morning. The scene was marred by ripples in the water that filled the viewing pool. Elder Idhrenion had seen enough for now. The aged elf had sensed a powerful disturbance in the magical field that covered the Earth.

It had been more than a hundred years since the last human had crossed over from the realm of men. Fortunately, the last man had been a man of honor and had worked with the Elves to combat the forces of darkness that constantly threatened to dominate their world. What would the chances be that this man would be a man of honor as well?

Whatever the case, Idhrenion knew that the Elves needed to get someone to him first. Idhrenion was certain that he hadn't been the only one to notice the disturbance, he only hoped that he had been the only one to pinpoint its source. If the human was inclined to work on the side of light then he would be welcomed into Elven lands; if not, it would be best to kill him now.

The last human to come from the other realm had brought ideas of profound power that worked outside of the magical field, and he had even managed to utilize the magic to fuel his ... machines. The Elves still had a few of those devices left, but most of them had fallen into disrepair. If this human had brought that sort of knowledge with him, it could destabilize an already precarious balance of power.

The village of Grey Stone, in the Kingdom of Helenium...

Artemis, as she was known to the humans, silently stalked her prey as he walked through the back alleys of the dirty human town. The man was a bandit as well as a murderer. He had murdered five elves that had been traveling from Aglar Taure to 'Mir en i Aear' (Meer-en ee-eye-are), simply for the gold they carried and because he hated Elven kind.

Artemis was unusual as elves went. Firstly, she was a bounty hunter, and a good one, which few elves did as an occupation. Secondly, she was an Elfess, which was even more rare in her line of work. Among the elves she was called "I Hareth en i Faroth", or The Lady of the Hunt. The reward money for his capture was modest as bounties went, but she felt it was her duty to Elvish kind to make sure the man paid for his crimes.

She would make her move soon, and then she would have to flee the town quickly. Humans didn't always take kindly to the abduction of their own, even if he deserved it. It was best not to take the chance that the town would be amenable to her work. As she crept ever closer, a shimmering aura appeared in front of her.

"Rhaich... !" she exclaimed. Her bounty noticed both the aura and her outburst, and ran to make his getaway.

"Falathiel," called a voice through the shimmering aura. She recognized that voice!

"Idhrenion?" she asked.

"It is I, Aranel" he said.

"I am no longer a princess, great elder, please don't address me so" she requested.

"You may have walked away from the position, but it is still your birthright, child" answered Idhrenion.

Artemis sighed. There would be no winning the argument, so she decided to drop it.

"I had almost caught up with a murderer of our kind, until you interrupted me" Artemis said. "I assume there is a good reason why my prey escaped?" she asked.

"Indeed. I apologize for interrupting your work, but my request takes precedence" said Idhrenion.

"What could be so pressing, wise elder?" asked Artemis.

"Something has happened that hasn't occurred in more than one hundred years" explained Idhrenion. "There has been a disturbance in the magical field."

"I felt it, but I couldn't tell the cause" replied Artemis.

"That you felt it only proves just how adept you are to the magic. I really wish you would return to your studies someday." said Idhrenion.

"That is a discussion for another time, great elder. Please explain what you need from me" replied Artemis.

"Of course, Aranel" said Idhrenion. Artemis sighed.

Idhrenion explained what had occurred and Artemis was shocked. She had heard of the human who came to them long ago from the realm of men, and how he had helped her people in their darkest hour. She herself was a descendent of that human and her own grandmother, Vanadesse. Her grandmother was the current queen of the elves of Laurina Dor. Artemis' mother had died at the hands of an evil human sorcerer who had attempted to assassinate Vanadesse. She had given her own life to save her mother's, and Vanadesse was now often called "I Bereth en Nwalma", The Queen of Sorrow.

Artemis understood how important this mission could be. Even she could read the portents of recent years. A new darkness, or perhaps a reawakened old darkness, was coming. Her people were strong, but during the time of "I Kallo" ("The Hero") they had almost been defeated, and if it hadn't been for her human grandfather, they would have been. Artemis didn't generally care for humans, but having human blood herself, she knew that not all humans were evil.

"I will take the mission, elder" she said.

"No galu govad gen" intoned Idhrenion. "No in elenath hîlar nan hâd gîn." {May blessings go with you. May all stars shine upon your path.} "Navaer, Aranel" said Idhrenion as he ended the spell.

"Farewell to you, too" sighed Artemis as she began walking towards the edge of the city.

Her prey would have to wait.

Ashe Mtn. Keep, in the Stygian Empire...

The great hall was dark, with only a few candles to provide any light at all. A dark figure sat on the throne, hidden in the shadow, but his form seemed to absorb any light that came near him, except for his eyes. His eyes were a bright crimson that acted like beacons in the darkness. If one could have seen him well, they would have seen a large pair of black horns coming out of the top of his forehead and sweeping back in a great arc, not unlike a ram's horns. When he opened his mouth, a small tongue of flame could be seen flickering in the back near his throat.

He was the son of Abaddon, The Destroyer, and though the elves believed him dead, he had survived by the slimmest of margins during the last great war with the elves. It had only been the outworlder from the Realm of Men that had saved them last time. He could not let such a thing happen again.

Bar-Abaddon had felt the disturbance, and more than that, he could tell from which direction it had come from. He didn't have a precise location, but he did have a rough distance to which he could send his agents. Something had arrived into the world that hadn't been there before, and it created a powerful ripple in the magical field. Bar-Abaddon felt that such a disturbance couldn't be left alone, so he called one of his most reliable agents before him.

He had been planning the final destruction of Elvish kind for a long time, and soon his goal would be in reach. No unknown factor must be allowed to derail his plans. He had felt a disturbance like it only once before in all his long years, and that had been the arrival of the elve's hero. The new outworlder would work for Bar-Abaddon, or he would die.

Delilah had worked for Bar-Abaddon for most of her life, and never before had she felt him to be afraid. Somehow, this time he seemed almost nervous as he gave her the mission he wanted her to carry out. He was truly bothered by the disturbance he had felt. She herself had felt a minor tremor in the magical field, but she had thought little of it.

Obviously it was more important than she had thought. An outworlder was a very rare occurrence indeed, but could a single being really make that much difference? The armies and dark networks of spies that the Stygian Empire maintained seemed more than adequate enough to her; but then, what did she know? Bar-Abaddon had lived during the last great war with the elves, and had seen his own father destroyed by them. Perhaps he did have reason to be nervous if this outworlder possessed such powers.

Once she had her orders, she gathered her small troop of men and left the keep. They would have a long journey ahead of them, and they didn't even know what this outworlder would look like. The only thing they had to go on was a general direction and rough distance, and the probablity that he would seem unusual compared to the average sentient being in the Upper World. It would have to do. Bar-Abaddon did not suffer failure lightly, and Delilah didn't want to even contemplate failure. It wasn't an option. She must lure this newcomer to join the forces of the Stygian Empire, or he must die. There would be no other alternative given, and no hope of escape.

The Northern King's Highway, in the Kingdom of Helenium...

It had been a few days since she had been given her mission, but Artemis still had a ways to go. More than once she had been forced off the road to evade bandits, and once she had even been held up by a company of Rangers that served the Helenium Kingdom. There was a peace treaty between Helenium and Laurina Dor, so she was eventually allowed to continue on her way once she had given her credentials. Especially since she was leaving the Kingdome and moving towards her own homeland.

Idhrenion had been able to give her the precise location of the outworlder, and had promised to keep her updated if the outworlder began moving away from his current location. Since Idhrenion had managed to get his precise location, he could now continue to keep track of him as he moved. Unless he was unfortunate enough to travel in the Stygian Empire. The wards around that land would negate even Idhrenion's tracking spells, and if he attempted to defeat them it would only alert the Stygians to the fact that their borders had been breached.

Artemis wondered how she should greet the stranger. He must be powerful if he was able to create a portal into the Upper World, so she should probably approach him with caution. Perhaps Idhrenion had been right, and she should have paid more attention to her magical studies. She would need to make it clear she was a friend, but also have a backup plan if he should prove to be hostile. Artemis sighed. The sun was going to go down soon, so she needed to guide her horse off the King's Highway and find a secure place to camp for the night.

If she didn't have any more setbacks, Artemis felt that she would meet up with the outworlder in only a few more days. The meadow he had arrived in was in 'I Bein Taurë' or the Beautiful Forest, which was to the south of Laurina Dor, but 'I Calanlad, ' the Green Plain, was between it and Laurina Dor. It was a large plain, and 'I Hith Orodea', or the Misty Mountains, was between it and Laurina Dor. Wild green dragons routinely flew between the southern face of the mountains and I Bein Taurë, so few people traveled there.