The waves of the Faerwayer Sea slowly crept up onto the shore as a young boy played on a small beach of white sand and grey rock. Water flowed freely around his ankles as he splashed around, happy and content as a young boy should be. He waded a little more into the sea, the water almost reaching his waist.

“Don’t wander off too far” called a voice from the island, after the warning the woman turned again towards the person she was speaking to. It was his mother, an Elven woman.
“Yes, Mother” the boy shouted back before moving a few steps deeper into the water. The sea began to move stronger and more fiercely than before, and the boy turned around and waded towards the shore when a wave crashed into him, squarely at the back. He was pushed forward and then back as the rip of the tide pulled him into the sea.

“Help! Mother!” he yelled out frantically but the water was entering his mouth, causing his words to be impaired.

The Sea was merciless and continued to thrash about, causing the boy to be pulled out further and further away from the island, his Mother not knowing of the danger her son was in.

“Mo-th....he..!” screamed the boy as the water began to pull him under.

The Sea was relentless, with the current thrashing the boy around. Water began to enter his mouth, choking him. As his eyes began to close, he saw a shadow gliding through the water below him. It was large and serpentine, with the only distinction that he saw was what looked to be limbs. As his eyes closed and his life hanged by a thread, he heard a voice in his head speak to him.

“It’s okay, young one” the voice said in a calm and assuring way “I will save you”

He suddenly felt something take a hold of him and pull him towards the surface.

“Who are you..?” he asked in his head.

“It does not matter right now” the voice replied

The boy stilled his tongue as he felt air surround him as they broke the water’s surface. The being then placed him onto the soft sand of the beach. As the boy opened his eyes, he saw a splash in the ocean as a teal coloured tail slip into the water, disappearing from sight.

“What...was that?” the boy asked himself as he stood up and shrugged the sand off his clothes before making his way back to his mother, who had been oblivious the whole time to the event that had just transpired.

“Janus!” yelled his Mother as she saw him “Look what you’ve done to your clothes!”

The boy ignored his Mother and looked back into the sea, a million thoughts running through his mind. “Did you see that?” the boy asked.

“See what?” asked the Mother “Look what you’ve done to your clothes!” she turned to the person next to her, “Sorry, I’m going to have to get him some clean clothes, I’ll be back, can you mind him for me?”

Her friend who she had been talking to nodded as the Mother left.

“What was that...” the boy kept asking himself.

“I saw it too...” the Woman said “What saved you...”

The boy looked up at her, his face full of surprise that she had saw what had happened. “Why didn’t you come to save me then if you saw it?” he asked

The woman smiled enigmatically. “Because he told me he would save you”

“He? Who is he?” the boy asked, eyes wide with curiosity.

He looked into the woman’s eyes then at as she spoke.

“He is...”

The boy watched her lips move but heard nothing as a bright light began to shine towards him. The light became brighter, blinding his eyes.

“Oppa.... wake up...” a female voice said

As he opened his eyes again, the surroundings changed. He was no longer at a beach, surrounded by ocean. He was inside a tent, with the entrance opened and sun shining inside and his sister staring at him.

“Wake up, Oppa!” she said as she walked off.

Janus began to rub his eyes and get up from the hard floor he had been sleeping on. He picked up his canteen and took a drink of water before throwing on his shirt and walking outside. The morning was calm and the sun was sitting calmly on its throne in the sky, with not a sign of cloud or rain in sight.

“Good day, isn’t it?” said a voice to the left of Janus.

There sitting down on a large log was an Elf with a piece of fruit in his hand and his staff leaning on the tent wall behind him. His white blonde hair produced a glowing shine in the morning sun as he stood up next to Janus

“Indeed it is, Lasgaelin” replied Janus.

“We have been blessed. I sense today will be very fruitful” said Lasgaelin as he took a bite out of the apple in his hand.

“Let us hope so” said Janus as the two walked over to the others who were eating breakfast.

“Is everything prepared?” he asked those who were sitting there.

Different nods and replies of the affirmative reached his ears.

“One of the village scouts reported that at least one third of the bandits left last night to go somewhere” said the girl with two swords in sheaths attached to her back.

“Did they say anything else, Penotere?” asked Janus.

“Nothing that we don’t already know” she answered casually. “He did say that the majority of them are based on the West side of the encampment.”

“So what’s the plan?” asked the male sitting on the far end on the table.
He looked slightly uncomforatable, fidgetting in his seat. Janus nodded to his sister who took out a map of the surroundings and laid it out on the table.
 "Okay, there are 3 entrances to the compound, the main one at the front, one to the north forest and one to the south west forest. The Blackwold bandits have taken the valuables here and are holding the target hostage over here."

His finger pointed to multiple spots on the map as he spoke, "What we're going to do is have a group attack from the main entrance, bringing out most of them before two pairs infiltrate from the other entrances"

"Who's going to do what?" asked a female elf.

Her name was Alateriel Amarie Tinuviel, or Amarie, as she preferred to be called. Always an inquisitive woman when it came to their plans, she asked what she had to do and nothing more. She hated to linger on discussing things. She held her bow in her left hand, eager to go complete the mission.

"I'll take the main entrance" spoke a husky and earthy voice.

Amarie turned to her left to see Riku, Janus' second in command speak. Riku was a particularly interesting character to find in these lands. He was, after all, of the Kel'Dari, a canine-like race who live to the East. The Kel'Dari tribes were not known to venture out of their lands, save for a few individuals, Riku one of them.

"Anyone want to join me?" he asked, this long snout often scared travellers who came across them.

"I'll join you" said the Knight, Yvan, who had been sitting at the end of the table, still fidgeting in his seat.

"So will I" added Penotere

"Okay" said Janus "Anyway, I think you and Sephira should take the South West entrance"
He pointed to Amarie and the female sitting next to her, who had been silent for the most part. She gave him a stern nod and moved to her tent to prepare herself. Sephira had a slight grin on her pale face, and her lips. She had been itching for battle for a long time.

"I'll take the North entrance with Lasgaelin" said Janus "Haru, I want you to go with Riku, okay?"

She nodded. "Yes, Oppa" she said softly before leaving for her tent.

"Alright, that's settled. We move at Noon so Lasgaelin can use some of that sun energy for spells"

Amarie whistled and emulated a bird call. From the branches of the forest, an Eagle emerged, flapping its wings and moving swiftly towards Amarie, resting on her right arm.

"Come, Orel. I have work for you" she said as she the eagle's plume. She fed it a little food before whispering into the bird's ear. "I want you to watch over the Blackwold encampment, the one we looked at yesterday. If there's anything going on before noon, tell me"

The bird squaked before flying off into the sky.

"Estu naiel modu Orel ala" Amarie said in Elvish as Orel flew towards the Blackwold encampment.

Hours passed and it was almost noon.

"Any news from Orel, Amarie?" asked Lasgaelin who had approached the female Elf as she sat on a log, waiting for the eagle to return.

There was an awkward silence before Amarie spoke.

"No... not yet" she replied "Wait... hold on I think I see him"

The pair looked into the distance as the wings of Orel came into view. It's brown feathers streaked through the sky as it made it's way towards Amarie, perching itself on her arm which always wore protector because of his sharp talons.

"What news, Orel" she asked him.

The bird let out a few chirps and cries, letting Amarie know what he had seen.

"What is it? What does he say?" asked Lasgaelin who had never been able to understand Orel but yet was always fascinated by him.

"He says that a group of soldiers wearing armour arrived when he was doing his rounds. They are also better armed than the Blackwolds but most of them left as he made his way here"

"I see" said Lasgaelin "I'll go let Janus know"

The Elf picked up his staff and made his way towards the Leader's tent.

"Janus, I have news." he said, stopping at the entrance of the tent.

"Come in." replied Janus

Lasgaelin stepped inside the dark and cool tent and spoke.

"Orel has returned. Amarie says that he saw a group of soldiers wearing armour arrive but the majority have departed already."

Janus stood up from his chair and began to think. "Soldiers eh? They can't be from Numendor or Calabrax, they hunt down these bandits"

"I'm not sure" said Lasgaelin "But that's what Orel saw"

"Hm..." thought Janus "Perhaps Garagan?"

"They're so far north though" replied Lasgaelin, "Why go to all this trouble to aid bandits?"

Janus nodded thoughtfully.

"You've got a point. Alright, it's almost noon, let's go"

The two walked to the  centre of their camp where the others were waiting around the campfire that had gone out already.

"We're ready, Janus" said Riku as he held his warhammer in his hand.

As they were about to leave, a group of villagers arrived.

"What is it? What do you want?" asked Yvan.

An old man approached him and spoke in a deep yet frail voice.

 "We heard you were going to attack the Blackwolds today and we want to help you"

Janus walked towards the gaunt figure of the old man and looked at his face.

"You're her Father, aren't you?" he asked

The man nodded.

"Yes... I am her Father." he replied

Janus remembered his face from a few nights ago when he met them. He was the father of the girl being held captive and probably felt helpless if he couldn't do anything to save his beloved. Janus looked at the men accompanying the old man. They weren't warriors or men of great deeds and bravery. They were farmers, not soldiers. But they too, wanted to help.

"So, young man" the old man spoke "Will you let us join you?"

Janus turned around at each of the faces of his group. Lasgaelin and Yvan seemed uninterested. Sephira looked impatient, wanting to draw blood already.  Finally his eyes fell upon his Sister, Haru. She smiled at him and nodded.

"Okay, you will go with Riku here and attack from the front" he said to the villagers, pointing to Riku.

The old man nodded and looked at Riku with a sense of assurance that he would be with a Kel'Dari warrior. One of the villagers with him was not so assured though.

"A Kel'Dari? What is this madness?" he whispered to the fellow next to him.

Lasgaelin, who had been blessed with great Elven hearing had overheard what he said. Amarie had also heard this.

"If you do not trust Riku then you can leave" Lasgaelin snapped at the villager who was clearly taken aback by this.

"Lasgaelin, it's fine" said RIku

But Lasgaelin wasn't as calm as Riku. He had always had the greatest respect for Riku and hated the discrimination and undeserved hate he received. In fact, the whole group had great respect for Riku. He had saved their lives many times and would die fighting beside him.

"Still your tongue, Dolmeric!" shouted the old man

"Yes Sir, sorry..." said Dolmeric feebly

"Right" stated Yvan, clutching at his claymore "Let's just get this over and done with"

The groups then separated and headed to their destinations. The signal to attack and infiltrate the encampment was Orel flying above and calling loudly. Timing was important. If the attack wasn't all done at the same time, they'd be terribly outnumbered.

"There's two guards here..." whispered Amarie who was with Sephira.

Amarie held her bow tightly in her hand, with an arrow ready should they be discovered. Her Elven eyes began to survey the area. The walls of encampment were made of wood, dug into the ground and sharpened at the top. Around it, the trees were scarce, save for the ones that reached the base of the small mountain where the Blackwolds had built their base on.

"I'm going around" stated Sephira, swiftly making her way through the shadows of the trees.

"Wait for the signal"

Sephira nodded and positioned herself on the branches of a tree.

"Any minute now..." she whispered.

On the other side of the encampment, Janus and Lasgaelin waited. They had been watching two guards conversing for a good five minutes when Orel appeared in the sky, crying loudly.

"That's the signal. Wait for the guards to move." said Janus.

The two guards were called by another and rushed to the front of the encampment where RIku lead the frontal assault.

"Let's move."

Lasgaelin lifted his staff over them and cast a spell of protection.

"Iromun lastinol dae!"

A slight burning sensation came over the two as the spell came into effect.

At the front of the encampment, the battle had begun. Swords clanged against each other as shields were shattered by the power of Riku's warhammer. Flakes of wood flew threw the air, almost impailing themselves on the farmers that had join them.

"Watch yourselves!" shouted Riku in a loud, bellowing voice.

 Off from the main battle, Yvan had found himself slightly outnumbered by some Blackwolds. Carefully looking at the Blackwolds and seeing their frail weapons, he knew he wouldn't have much of a battle against these measly bandits.

"Bring it!" he jeered with a smirk as he placed his shield in front of him and held his sword high

The three Blackwolds charged at him, swinging their swords wildly against his shield. However his shield was no ordinary shield. It was made of an alloy that combined steel with mithril, an impenetrable metal that was easily malleable and could be made into any shape or form.

"Is that all?" he mocked as he knocked them back a few feet with his shield and slashed them down with a swift of his long blade.

Yvan looked around at the others fighting. These Blackwold's weren't much of a fight. He saw Penotere make short work of the ruffians easily with her dual blades, cutting them down one by one.

"How many you got so far, Peno?" called out Yvan, a slight smirk on his face.

"Nine, you?" she answered.

The smirk came off his face as he kept his head down.

"Three..." he said softly, ashamed that she was once again besting him.

Meanwhile, the two pairs had made their way through the encampment largely unnoticed, taking out guards silently.

"Let's find the girl." said Amarie as she shot down an unsuspecting Blackwold from behind.

"Right" said Sephira as she quickly made her way to higher ground to look around.

Climbing up a watch tower, she pushed the guard who was preoccupied with the battle at the front and killed him as he fell to the ground. She then slowly surveyed the surroundings, seeing the fighting take place in the distance.

"Do you see her?" asked Amarie.

Sephira looked around again and saw a girl tied up to a post with two guards around her. Sephira jumped down and began making her way towards her.

"This way!" she said hurriedly as Amarie followed behind her.

Soon they had reached where the girl was being held captive.

"Shoot them down!" whispered Sephira "I see no one else."

Amarie nodded and fired an arrow at the guard on the left while Sephira threw a knife into the throat of the other, instantly killing them. Sephira looked around before moving towards the girl.

"Are... you guys here.. to save me?" she asked weakly

Amarie smiled sweetly, nodded and reassured the girl as Sephira untied her. "Yes, come with us"

As they attempted to escape, they were confronted by a group of Blackwolds, including their leader.

"And what do you think you're doing?" he asked sarcastically

Amarie and Sephira stood in front of the girl, shielding her from the Blackwolds.

"I can't let you take that girl..." he stated "She's going to be very important to the Master's plans."

"The... Master...?" asked Amarie

The Blackwold Leader had an evil grin on his smirk. His face was ragged and he had a small beard on his chin that was brown, matching his wavy hair.

"The Master who will lead us to glory!" he replied "But I've said too much... kill them!"

The Blackwolds then began to encircle them, motioning to attack. Amarie held her bow up but didn't know who to shoot at. There were too many. As they closed in, Amarie noticed the Blackwold Leader walking away, talking to someone wearing weird armour and a flowing red cape.

"Who is that...?" she asked, staring at the cape which had markings on it.

"Don't you mind that!" snapped Sephira "We have other problems on our hands"

As the Blackwolds jumped to attack, a strong gust of wind blew into the group of Blackwolds and cut them down.

"Lasgaelin!" Amarie knew immediately, recognizing his characteristic wind magic.

The remaining Blackwolds turned around and saw Lasgaelin standing there. As they charged at him, he put up a small force field between them. They hacked and slashed at it but were unable to breach it. Knowing they couldn't do anything to him, they turned their attention back to the three females. One of them ran towards them, sword in hand when a defeaning sound halted them as they held their ears.

It was like a Lion had roared loudly as a bright flash of blonde hair appeared and with a swing of the sword, defeated the remaining Blackwolds. The blonde headed figure then stood up and turned to Amarie, Sephira and the girl.

"Let's go!" said Janus


They nodded and began to exit.

"Who's that?" the girl asked Amarie.

"That's Janus" she replied "Our Leader"

"Wow..." the girl said in awe.

"Did you find it?" Janus asked Lasgaelin.

"Yes" replied Lasgaelin "I gave it to Orel and he's flown it back to Camp"

The group had reached the exit of the encampment.

"There's one thing though..." said Amarie "I saw someone wearing weird armour..."

Janus looked at her, confused.

"Not a Blackwold?" he asked

Amarie shook her head.

"No... there was an insignia or something on his cape"

"Tell me more when we reach camp" Janus stated.

The group soon met up with the others, with the girl running towards her Father, hugging her.

"Oh thank you!" he said to them "Thank you for bringing my girl back."

As the old man began to pay them for their services, Yvan cleared his throat and approached the young woman.

"Hey, I'm Yvan" he said, trying to make conversation.

"Oh... hi." she replied awkwardly

Yvan moved closer.

"So... you just got saved, eh?" he asked, weirdly

She looked up at him, confused as someone smacked Yvan on the back of his head.

"Ow what was that for?" he asked as he held his head in pain

Penotere had seen him try and flirt with her and intervened. "Don't scare the poor girl" she said laughing.

The group then packed up and began to leave for home.

"Tell me Amarie, what did you see?" asked Janus

Amarie thought for a second, recollecting her thoughts before speaking.

"I saw a red cape... it had a white circle and black and white fist in the centre..."

Janus eyes opened wide as he heard this. It was not something he had expected to see in this region.

 "A black and white fist on a red cape?" he asked, looking rather confused.

Amarie nodded. She did not know why Janus was so surprised or why he had that look on his face.

"What is it?" she asked

"That's the symbol of the Garagan Empire.”