Sword Of Souls

Elven Matchio Chapter 1 First Instances (Part 2

Satisfied with his game, Elven Walked back to camp to finish setting up and preparing his meal. Upon entering the camp Elven refashioned his bow into a bow drill and grabbed some nearby tinder, he then went to work making the fire, after a couple of minutes of hard effort and some thankfully dry tinder he had managed a small fire low but strong he added a few larger logs to further feed the growing flame next Elven fashioned a stone circle around the fire using medium-sized rocks scattered around the clearing then using Next Took took three more sticks added them to the top of the fire to finish the base, then using the string of his bow, he hung his fresh game and went to work preparing it for dinner so the campfire was alive and simmering with the smell of cooking meat, he wasn’t the cook that Kate was by any means but he was far from worried about such luxuries.

Once his meal had finished cooking Elven happily tore into it, the meal was exactly what he had needed to calm his mind, Elven hung up his wet clothes next to the now roaring fire and then he sat down and full and comfortable from the fire, he leaned back staring at the stars reflecting on the events of the day his thoughts kept coming back to the first glimpse of the golden wolf by the river. It reminded him of when he was very young and he had snuck out of the house and wandered past the town and into the forest in the dead of night. As he had done so many times before, in fact, Elven had been doing so before he could even talk properly His father Wayne had caught him, and it seemed like he was able to sense where Elven was at all times. He wondered if his father had taken him so quickly to the house because the wolf was there.

While lost in thought of this his mind jumped to another memory of when he helped Micheal. See Micheal like Elven, had been adopted As such he didn't have many people he felt he could confide in, one day, he couldn't handle his emotions very well and decided to cry over by the lake away from prying eyes everyone spent hours searching for him until Elven found him while walking to the lakeshore. Elven had sat next to Micheal asking him what was on his mind “ I feel like I don't fit in” Micheal had responded, “like I don't have anyone to trust and I can't find any place where I belong.” Elven had paused for a moment and simply said “it’s not about whether you feel are accepted or you feel have a place to belong, it's about having the chance to live your life, meet new people, and if you never get along, or feel you belong in this family always remember I’ll have your back no matter what. Elven Leaned in smiling “so if need be, I'll hold you up by myself.`` Micheal had just stared at him, then turned to look at the water and started bawling harder than ever before, he sobbed into his knees before stammering through sobs“no …one has ever…. accepted me for me before”... and…. you're willing to…. For me… a complete stranger”

The Ghost’s Mind

Waiting in the forest alone, a hidden Soul mumbles to himself “Finally I can teach and explain to him everything he needs to know. Elven has grown into a strong kid and you did well Wayne, however, he has a lot of training to do in such a short amount of time. I've got to teach him about the rarities of the animals, teach him how to hunt people, learn how to use his wrist system, and show him his rank and level aren't the same things. I may be able to show him how to make really cheap armor or maybe something like bladesmithing. Maybe just in general I'll explain to him what all his stats mean. I have to remember not to smile and meeting him must be perfect. I think I'll use Ryo to help him learn. Maybe he can understand some animals aren't just pretty, they can be tamed and they will save your life on countless occasions.

“Maybe I will call Ryo now and startle Elven.” Souls Whispers “Ste Vol Et Impa Chos Ryo'' With a great rustling of the wind, Ryo The Wolf appears running towards his friend. He happily leaps over the territorial boundary people think he has and runs as fast as his legs will let him. Ryo can smell his friend; he knows he's about a kilometer or two away. It's been ages since he's been in war or fighting or in protection mode.

Then Soul saw Ryo running as fast as possible and he smirked it's been a long time since anyone was close to him but Ryo was always here always waiting for his friend it's been decades since they've known each other but ever since that one-day Soul looked out for Ryo and Ryo looked out for soul. As soon as Ryo was merely a few feet away Soul nearly cried out “Pen Co Leveta Yim Sok Etsa Bim Fes Ryo ''. As if by telepathy Ryo Knew what he meant and howled back “I’m fine now” Soul was happy but now to challenge Ryo “Yim Etka HIb Sok Etco Es Drago.'' Since Soul felt like not draining all his strength he drew in the sand: here is young Elven. I want you to find him. Soul has camped approximately 2.5km from him. He could feel that Elven was either sleeping, on guard, or worried, thankfully soul’s eyesight has always been good but his senses had also been honed to near perfection over the years. He believed it also has something to do with how well he had known Elven’s father, just being around him for years familiarized him and his family's presence to Soul. He was definitely sad to hear of Wayne's passing, sadder than when he had made the decision to leave the town, but he had to leave for several reasons. For one Brandon, the other one being a sister. No one has yet to ever find her but Wayne always felt Soul could find her. Most importantly Of course was Elven but his father Wayne had looked after him properly.

Wayne had given Soul instructions for when he died as if he could sense his time was coming closer, one might think it a little suspect that later that night it was a heart attack that did him in. How could he have known that something would happen? Anyways Soul had always considered himself a man of his word and was planning to honor his promise but the task of searching for Firey still underway meant Soul needed to stay hidden., So he decided this was the best course of action. The Plan was simple: To lure Elven out by using Ryo to Tempt Elven and attract him towards Soul. It was simple enough because of Elven’s quick temper which he had learned from his years with his father Wayne it was almost an Iconic trait, it was a given when provoked. Soul had planned everything out, the only question left in his mind was “where do I take him, and is he ready for my gift yet?”… “hmm not sure.”

Elvens Mind

Elven decided to continue to wander the forest, his stomach now growling hungry against his meager meal as good as it could not sustain him. “Man, I wish I had some of Kate’s cooking right now,” he mumbled to himself. Kate normally took care of the food aspect. There had been once or twice that Elven had tried picking up food but usually, it ends up Bland and depressing compared to Kate's expertise before Elven had properly learned to cook he even accidentally poisoned kate and himself, and Kate had to rush to heal Elven and herself using her medicine skills another extremely amazing thing she was great at.

“I just need to think''...” what plants were edible again?” thought Elven, He and Kate had survived nights in the forest as part of training before with her know-how but right now Elven just needed to get through the day and safely head back home.

While he was searching the landscape Elven saw a tinge of gold in the bushes. ‘s**t” Thought Elven, that means one thing around these parts, The Wolf had found him and from the look of it was either tailing him or worse possibly hunting him. Right then Elven didn’t have many options, maybe could outrun it if he headed to the west.’ In the west, he would have a good hiding space there. It was time to stop thinking and start running. Elven picked up his bag quickly not waiting to find out if the wolf was reacting to him, he had only taken 3 steps when he heard a loud growl, So loud it sent shivers to his spine but Elven ran even harder if this were the end he wouldn’t give in easily he ran for what felt like an hour, lungs burning leg muscles screaming at him but he pushed through it. At the foot of the river heard another growl this one so loud he felt as if the whole world shook with it but he still didn't stop, he caught a glimpse of the Gold Flash in the river as he ran, it couldn't have been more then 30 or so feet behind him Elven put all his force into sprinting, Cursing himself for every decision that leads to this moment in time “I shouldn't have relaxed and wandered without paying attention” He screamed at himself in his head.

Elven steering his sprint West ducking through trees, falling and stumbling over more often than he would ever care to admit but now was hardly the time to care as long as he wasn't Wolf food yet... While He continued to run he pushed into his second wind, the pain faded and his mind cleared, no longer panicking he noticed the wolf wasn't exactly chasing, more like lightly running behind Elven, almost taunting him. As kids they were always told it was the fastest creature in the forest and that no one had ever befriended it, that was still very believable it must have had a lot of confidence to trot behind Elven. As soon as the thought left his mind, the trees had disappeared and Elven had made it back to the shelter, he could feel the wind on his face however he could also feel the bloodlust radiating behind him, without turning, he could tell he was in danger. slowly Elven turned around and opened his eyes but instead of the gold wolf baring its fangs. It was a sword aimed straight at his jugular.

The Ghost Mind

“Hey kid, you’re dead." Soul said as grimly as he could. Soul could sense Elven's shock and fear and thought it'd be best to start training right away. Soul taunted Elven “well… aren't you even going to fight me?” Elven stammered out “why am I not dead, shouldn't I be? fight? Sir, I don't know how to fight, I'm a simple hunter.” Soul grinned softly. The nerve of this kid reminded Soul of Elven's late father Wayne. Of course, Soul knew what he was doing, it was textbook Wayne so when a sudden leg sweep came sneaking behind Elvens ploy, he easily avoided it effortlessly flourishing his sword to slap Elven on top of the head with the flat edge knocking him to the ground but not enough to seriously harm him. Soul finished the flourish by flipping the blade to point away from Elven's neck after all SwiftBlade was Elven's.

Wayne had found this blade specifically for Elven, it was white and light with a golden handle that stands out a little too much for Soul's liking, kind of like a dagger but extended in length Wayne never said where it had come from. soul guessed it had come from the Stamina Glades because it was a rich blade obviously made of good quality metal.' Soul could tell because he was a blacksmith in his former years.

This blade definitely held a special place for Soul's brother but he didn't know where he got it or why, but it had started to feel heavier when Soul had gotten back to the kingdom, although he was not entirely sure why. It may have had something to do with the stars, maybe the metals but it always felt heavier to Soul. He stepped back, leaning on the sword causally, and said “look kid I'm not here to hurt you. I understand your confusion but I had Ryo heard you to this exact spot to train you… so will you let me?” Elven looked around and out into the distance in disbelief then back to Soul with an untrusting stare but said nothing. “Clearly this kid wasn't ready for training,” thought the Soul, for one Soul, could feel the sadness in his heart, and secondly he was worried. I'm not sure about what but he had that anxious look in his eye.' Elven turned and calmly replied “no I'm not ready for training. I don't know you and I do not know your style. Plus I need more time to heal.” Soul looked at him he didn't want to say this but he knew he knew it needed to be said “look you say you, re not ready and yet you're in the forest training here, and alone no less now I understand your pain but man the hell up you ain't got family anymore you've only got yourself so who's going to fight these battles for you…

Absolutely no one you are on your own and what's more is you’re looking around like a scared puppy Elven, you said you were ready for this at 10 you signed up, you have fought and you have chosen your path so stop taking the easy way to cry your tears at night when no one is around because if you don't number 4999 will come for you and you never know who or where they are”. Soul continued “You will have to sleep with one eye open and you can definitely forget having friends. Your pain means nothing compared to them. A long time ago I had a family too, they were taken from me and you stand here making it seem like you have a choice, no you do not. I will say this one more time, train with me, or I will start aiming for hurtful scores all across your body till you are no longer in the 5000 now raise your damn blade, ignite it and let’s bloody go already.” Elven looked in dismay straight at Soul he could see his eyes they were filled with tears but Elven was holding them back, he stood up defiantly up and said “ who are you to say any of those things yes I chose at 10 to sign up for this but how would I ever have known I'd be by myself.

As if this was even rational, to begin with, I understand you think it's serious but I can always go to King Ray and resign. So sun up tomorrow that's exactly what I will do. Thank you for this awakening, whoever the hell you are.” Soul looked at him again this time with whatever compassion he had left in his Soul he searched for the correct words and spoke “I understand you more than I can say Elven, the only reason you will not train is that you are scared, and yeah buddy death happens it is scary any of us can go at anytime even I. These people in the ranks are all different types of people, some are heroes and some are just straight villains who live for the cash and easy girls.

Do you know why the ranking even exists or what you get or why you should level up?” he wanted the kid to be truly curious maybe Soul could get that childish imagination going again so he didn't grow up to fast he knew he had just said to grow up but that's cause he had to train with Soul Soul had promised his father and for all of the promises he had broke, this would not be one, he would not be disrespecting a dead man's wishes. Elven said “I thought it was just a show, a feat for declaring who the best is like a d**k measuring contest, but from how you are talking maybe it's more than that. I do know I get armor sometimes and my own weapon and some gold, I did not know anyone could come for me at any time. So tell me about it please, anything I can learn so I can protect the people I need to.” Soul smiled slightly. This kid was exactly like his father. His heart comes first. He had known Wayne really well. Sometimes he went too far but for his kid to be like this he must have been an alright guy just a hardass. Soul SIghed

“So there's a lot we need to cover first off. You are ranked 5000 which means you need to aim for 4999. Now he isn't your threat, your main threat is 4998 because she is leveled and ranked incorrectly. As with any system, it's possible to get through loopholes and find your own cubby holes. She is very powerful and she is known for it. I'd say her true rank is more like 4800 but she just wants rent money and food. Any newbies that try to overpower her instantly lose but that’s just because you don’t see her weapon until it's too late. You will see it if you raise your eyesight and to do that you need to learn to hunt. Your eyesight will allow you to catch but your intuition will allow you to determine whether to kill or just m**m it. Now in terms of the ranks and levels, I'll explain it provided you've deemed it worth your time to train ‘til sun up. It's 6 o’clock right now. So what do you say, Elven?”

Elven looked more determined than he had before. “I will train because my friends' lives are at risk, that is the only reason I'll train.” He said. My soul was almost satisfied. I could feel he had fulfilled my promise so he continued to explain what he said he would explain before. “ Okay so how ranks work is there are 5000 soldiers, warriors, heroes, ranked ones, really anything you care to call them but basically they are ranked ones the kingdoms have employed. There are also a lot of war chiefs or mages or priests who are actually ranked people but let's start at the basics.

Now the kings have 3 rules and unfortunately, they usually mean death to a lot of people that don't take them seriously. The first rule is that ranked people must sign up at 10 and if they wish to, they may retire at 40 but if they die in battle to another ranked one they must give all possessions on them to their victor. This means two things, either have your main blade hidden or give it to an ally or it will be looted. The second thing this means is people will be more likely to kill you because they don’t want the long process of finding all your stuff. However, if they capture you they may want something in particular so they may demand it where basically you give it to them or your life is forfeit.

Now rule Number two you must attack the person above or below you not skipping ranks, again this means a few things. Firstly people will watch you battle they will learn your technique and they will definitely be ready this is why it's important to watch them and get your eyesight up as high as possible. Now secondly this allows you to know who will be fighting you but people can die from natural reasons or while training so it is possible to go up 10 to 20 ranks in one night while this is possible it's highly unlikely, especially in the 4000s that you even go up 2 ranks in a night. There are a few reasons for this, mostly you are not a threat until you get past 4000s or if you are rising up quickly while that may seem good to do, you never want to rise too quickly 10 ranks a week max unless you are confident in who you are and your swordplay skills.

Rule Number 3 you serve the kings, and each king has his own army, loyalty Is definitely rewarded but if a king declares no fighting you have to respect their wishes and fight their warriors on foreign soil where it's not breaking the rules. Ok now if you follow these rules you get 5 rewards depending on your rank you will get armor usually just leather until higher levels. Secondly, your pay goes up per rank, sometimes 100, sometimes 10000 just depending on the amount given to the rank. Each ranked person can get 2 things, free nights at any inn or a house to sleep in, though your rank declares the size of the house. I should mention that using an inn for free which costs like 5 to 50 coins per night is highly rude and only to be done if you don't want human relationships the only way this will be alright, is if you are the highest ranked person in the town and you do other favors for them in any way shape or form. Never hurts to ask people what they'd like. Now thirdly you get a weapon you have a blade called Dullfire but this isn't your actual weapon, your blade is a mace called skull crusher real original now it is imperative you learn how to use multiple different weapons if you do not you will never be ready for your next weapon some of them are chains some of them are just swords. Now something that is not mentioned is that you must buy your own shield if you have a one-handed blade. This isn't really said anywhere but surely should be common practice. Fourth you get an inventory chest. You basically get better and better chests to each level you reach right now yours is wooden, a typical 3-key lock system if someone wanted to they could break into it so do not let it go very far. As for how it works it's basically a chest on wheels that locks to your wrist system wheel and materials and lock sizes and which locks are used depending on your stature in rank. Lastly is your armor system and you should also use your journal as well. It has parts so that you can fill out the information when your perception is high enough you'll be able to fill these numbers to the exact marking. Your dad found and made use of a lot of information so be sure to use this to your advantage. This is important because it can get you a lot of information on ranked people, and if you play your cards right you can learn about people before you even see them as a challenger.

Now here is yours as Journal shows….

Elven Matchio Age 18, Rank 5000

Family,

Brother, Brandon Matchio Age, 20

Father, Wayne Matchio Age, 65

Grandpa, Leonard Matchio Age, 82

Skillset,

Blacksmithing, 32

Farming, 35

Archery, 5

1 Hand Bladeskill, 20

2 Hand Bladeskill, 10

Shield bashing, 1

Shield Carrying, 45

Observation, 96

EyeSight, 34

Cooking, 65

Collecting, 40

Mining, 35

Capacity, 24

Speed, 25

Combat, 12

Knowledge, 15

Power, 10

Reaction, 45

Taming, 2

Ancient Dialect, 1 Craftsmanship, 52

Confidence, 0

Strength, 2

Stamina, 6

“Now Elven, this actually shows you something else on the next page basically you can write information down on the person you are looking at. This is helpful but it also shows their power level which is done this way-

Overall power level is displayed by Strength, Power, Stamina, and Combat.

The power level is 2+10+6+12 = power level 30 this is what your power level equals currently this can be affected by a few things. Once your armor and weapon have their own power level most of the time it's just a simple 1 for 1 but sometimes people get gifted weapons and armor shields all of this is able to be found on a lowly target.

Now that is out of the way onto techniques you have your dagger and you have your two-handed blade, what would you like to learn about first?”. Elven looked over and calmly stated “I believe learning my dagger will be easier so let's do a two-handed blade or explain to me why it looks like this. My Soul almost felt bad. “Elven every single weapon is challenging, for instance, your blade is made out of some metal I've never even seen before it's called Swiftblade, but that's basically all I know. Now every blade has a difference in weight but all techniques technically work for every blade you just need power and strength and skill to land said Technique. Dullfire is your father's secondary blade. He achieved this blade when I was across the world. Although it's clearly well made in the hilt region the blade looks well badly made the edge is jarred and not refined whoever made it spent no time caring for the blade. It's made out of obsidian and some silver in the hilt and bridge, maybe some iron in it as well.

The moves you need to do is two hand clasp one hand over another, swing outward toward your left shoulder and then flip your wrists to your right and swing back through. A common move is using your blade as a shield. This is easy to do with gloves and putting your hand on the blade and one hand on the handle and then angling the blade so it deflects away from you. A more complex move is a spinning attack you basically follow through with your basic s***h but you keep going and step down hard so your swing picks up momentum. You of course have your basic stab… wait we are being watched…” Elven who had been used to these woods and constantly around these areas looked around and tried to sense and see if he could feel any of his friends but all he felt was a presence watching non hostile it must have shown up recently whatever this was. Elven said “no I have no idea who or what they are but I feel no hostility. Soul darted off into the woods yelling back “I'm sorry Elven but I gave you the tools to train so now use it, you must leave.” he then turned to Ryo, “Ceft otko pre semnto.”

Soul rushed into the forest. Ryo and Elven were following. Soul knew Even at his level he realized what a terrible sight this was. On one hand, he knew Elven needed to learn the factions but on the other, this was such a strong group. What’s worse is that there are five of them. now burning with anger, hatred, and multiple thoughts colliding on the scale of which an insane man can claim inhumanity he was tired. Ready for training with Elven but this fight is not even close. He'd seen a pink flicker which meant he wasn’t ready for this level of fight. It's funny he knew one of them but he couldn’t let them see his face. Why? It's pretty simple. He used to be a friend of one of their highest ranks. It is funny she’s actually a platinum heart level right now, but if that was her she’d evolve. something about the day felt darker when that thought crossed his mind. Thinking back on how he would have loved to stay even one more day but when he found out the truth. the true reason he no longer could stomach the things he had to endure to be near her. Sister or not some things you just can’t turn back from. Suddenly he tripped as he went to get up he noticed several yellow flickers darting around him. Someone was organizing this mission. As he personally had a solid orange glow almost a flame around him when he ran. One missed step and he was done. Then there’d be no way to teach Elven. Wait. Were they here for him or were they here to find Elven as one of the highest authorities and willing to hunt his kind? They had a purpose for being here. This quite troubled neighborhood could endure no more sinister behavior. Yet alone ice cold maidens instruments of pure death.