For thirty years, the brotherhood had stood strong, but in a single night it lost almost all of its members. The survivors—Murple, Kromnir, Rylen, Tarnash, Sadagat, and Mervilion—decided to head south together, continuing the mission they had sworn to complete. Straga and Serot were nowhere to be found. When Mervilion looked around during the battle, he had seen everyone's bodies scattered across the field, yet neither Serot nor Straga's corpses—or living bodies—were anywhere in sight. Still, beneath his anger and grief, there was another feeling. Relief. Because it was clear that Befar had betrayed them, and Mervilion had already delivered his judgment upon him.
Mervilion and his companions rode for nearly two straight hours, putting as much distance between themselves and the battlefield as possible. Eventually, they stopped on a hillside near the edge of a cave. The sun had long since set. For the first time, Kromnir was riding a horse, yet he was surprisingly not bad at it.
At that moment, Mervilion counted the horses.
"Where's our sixth horse?" he asked.
Everyone immediately began counting.
"We're fucked," Sadagat said. Because the missing horse carried supplies that could feed them for an entire month.
"Well, I agree with you Sadagat." Kromnir said.
"We'll manage for today. But we need to hunt. I don't think there's a town nearby," Mervilion said.
"Rylen. You're good with a bow. I think you can shoot a deer with it."
Rylen accepted Mervilion's request, grabbed his bow and arrows, and went off behind the hill to hunt. The others entered the cave.
It was spacious enough for the whole group. Moss had grown inside, creating a relatively comfortable place to rest. Murple gathered small plants and branches from inside the cave to start a fire.
While lighting it, he didn't forget to ask a question.
"Befar's betrayal is obvious. But what about Serot? He caused all of this. He brutally killed Maria. But he left Befar alive. And now we're in this mess because of that fucking bastard!"
"Don't forget Straga either. He's gone missing too," Kromnir added.
"Straga… that bastard Serot obeys him like a damn dog," Murple replied.
"Our brotherhood fell apart in a single night. And we couldn't do anything about it. We are the last ones left. We'll carry the memory of our fallen friends," Mervilion said.
Sadagat pulled a beer bottle from his bag and handed out cups to everyone. He raised his glass.
"To Fatnir," he said.
"To Burrei," said Kromnir.
"To Aftul and Avania," Murple said.
"To Firan and Buyarn," Mervilion said.
"To Palwar," Tarnash said.
"And to young Rylen!" Mervilion added.
"And to the brotherhood," Sadagat said.
They clinked their cups and tried to shake off the exhaustion of the night.
Mervilion lay back and thought about his homeland, Srudef. He remembered the monastery he had joined there. He also remembered the destruction of his homeland and how his loved ones had been killed before his eyes.
Srudef had not been destroyed by humans or orcs. It had been wiped out by the Saraer Ents.
These tree-like beings living west of the Saraer Forest hated humans unlike their kind, and that hatred had led to the destruction of Mervilion's home.
In truth, Mervilion's real name wasn't even Mervilion. He had forgotten his real name that day. The only thing he remembered was his mother screaming his father's name as she died: "Mervilion!"
So he introduced himself with that name everywhere.
While lost in thought, something caught his attention.
At the edge of the cave, there was a trapdoor leading downward.
Without hesitation, he lifted it and revealed a staircase.
Holding his torch, he went down.
At that moment, horse sounds came from outside.
The rest of the group immediately woke up, unsure what to do.
"Come here!" Mervilion shouted.
Everyone grabbed their gear and went down.
They listened carefully—and then they heard voices.
"They camped here. Search the area and find them!"
"These must be elves! They're after us," Murple said.
Then another voice came.
"Sir! That kid is one of them."
"Then capture him!"
"They found Rylen! Rylen is in danger! Mervilion, what do we do?" Murple asked in panic.
"They won't kill Rylen right away. They'll interrogate him to find us. Once we're sure they've left, we'll go get him," Mervilion said.
"Are you sure?" Kromnir asked.
Mervilion nodded and went deeper.
On the walls, he saw faded drawings resembling Srudef. Among them were images of Ents attacking a city.
Sadagat noticed Mervilion's frozen expression.
"What is it, Mervilion?"
"T-this is Srudef. My homeland. My home."
Sadagat was the only one who didn't know.
"You're from Srudef? Why didn't you ever mention it?"
"It wasn't necessary. Now you know."
At the end of the chamber stood a sarcophagus.
"Look at this," Kromnir said.
On it was written: "The Lord of Srudef rests here."
Mervilion opened the lid.
Inside was a corpse, heavily decayed, mostly bone.
But a sword caught his attention. Its hilt bore the crest of Srudef: a blue goat surrounded by trees.
As he examined it, something unexpected happened.
The corpse began to glow with white light—and suddenly, it rose.
The group stepped back instantly.
Mervilion reached for Ardanel.
The others drew their weapons.
The risen man floated in the air—and attacked immediately.
He grabbed Mervilion by the throat and slammed him against the wall.
Kromnir rushed in with his axes, but the man was too strong and threw him back with a single punch.
Mervilion tried to stab him with Ardanel, but the blade passed through bone as if it were nothing.
Finally, Tarnash and Sadagat coordinated an attack, forcing him to release Mervilion.
"Who are you!" Mervilion shouted.
"What do these markings on the wall mean?"
"I know you. Mervilion's son. What was your name again?" the man said.
"My name is Mervilion now! I asked who the fuck you are!"
"I remember… I read those stories," Sadagat interrupted.
"You are the so-called traitor who abandoned his people. Yrgert the Traitor!"
Hearing this, Yrgert lunged at Sadagat and punched him in the face, knocking him down.
Mervilion and Tarnash attacked together, but Yrgert blocked everything effortlessly.
"You cannot fucking beat me!" he shouted.
In the chaos, Tarnash was struck down.
Now only Mervilion remained.
"Why do you want to kill us! Did we ruin your comfort?"
"Because of people like you, I've been branded a traitor for years! What was I supposed to do? Stay there and share the fate of those idiots?"
"My family is among those idiots! Dying as a leader is better than living as a traitor!"
"No, Mervilion's son. Living is always better. Death ends everything. Life is full of possibilities," Yrgert said.
He jumped at him.
Mervilion blocked the first strike, but Yrgert's strength was overwhelming.
Eventually, Mervilion dropped Ardanel.
Yrgert grabbed his throat and lifted him.
"Your end has come… first you, then those pathetic ones," he said.
He stabbed his sword into Mervilion's stomach.
"NO!" the group shouted.
But something strange happened.
Dark tattoos wrapped around Mervilion's arm began to glow, and his brown eyes turned flame-red.
Suddenly, Yrgert's strength faded and he collapsed.
There was no wound in Mervilion's stomach.
His hands ignited in fire.
He grabbed Yrgert's face.
Yrgert screamed in agony as he died.
"What the hell was that!" Kromnir said in shock.
"Mervilion… there's something inside you that's far beyond an ordinary orphan," Murple said.
"We need to find Rylen. Move," Mervilion said.
"What about this sword?" Tarnash asked.
Mervilion picked up the crest-bearing sword and Ardanel.
"You already have two swords. Isn't two enough?" Kromnir asked.
Mervilion smiled slightly and handed Ardanel to Tarnash.
"Take it, brother. Ardanel is yours. No one among us wields a blade better than you."
Tarnash accepted it and hugged him.
"Let's go," Sadagat said.
They returned to the surface.
A wooden sign waited at the cave exit:
"We found the boy. Come to us—or we will kill both him and you."
"What do we do?" Kromnir asked.
"Enough blood has been spilled today. Those elves will regret this. Soon Rylen will live—and so will we. Those elves will pay," Sadagat said.
They left their horses and followed the tracks on foot.
After about twenty minutes, they found a camp between two hills near a tree.
Rylen was tied to the tree, being interrogated by three elves.
Ten armed elves were in total.
There was no chance for stealth.
"Fuck it!" Kromnir shouted and charged.
The others followed.
Kromnir threw his axes and killed two instantly.
Sadagat knocked a sword out of an elf's hand and crushed his head.
Mervilion tested his new sword and killed two more.
Murple threw a dagger, killing one of the elves guarding Rylen.
Tarnash killed another.
Three remained.
A 3 vs 3 duel began.
Kromnir attacked the closest one, but the elf used his height advantage to knock him down.
Rylen intervened with his foot, saving him.
The elf fell and hit another elf, causing chaos.
All three enemies collapsed and died from the chain reaction.
Murple freed Rylen and hugged him tightly.
"How was the hunt, kid?" Mervilion teased.
"There's… there's a lot of food here to last for days." Rylen said.
"Did you tell them anything?" Kromnir asked.
"N-no, I swear I didn't. But if you had arrived five minutes later, I might have," Rylen said.
Kromnir laughed and slapped his shoulder.
"Let's gather the supplies and return to the cave. Lakeby is two days south," Sadagat said.
"Alright then. Let's go," Mervilion said.
As they walked back with supplies and gold, Sadagat spoke.
"What was that thing back in the cave, Mervilion? I'm not talking about your flaming hands. That sword didn't kill you… it gave you power."
"I don't know, Sadagat… I don't know. When it pierced my stomach, I felt my whole body burn, and I saw the day Srudef fell. Whatever it is… I guess I'm not normal anymore," Mervilion said, laughing.
"Guess not. But remember—if you can't control your power, it will control you. And that leads to unpredictable consequences. You don't want that, do you?"
"Of course I don't. But we still don't know what this is. We should just keep moving."
"Yes… we should just keep moving."