Purgatory

Silver and Layla were eating in the Tavern area of Dragon's Roost. They had decided to visit Tyren as soon as possible. Silver had spent most of the night brainstorming about water magic, and she had a few theories.

Tyren was supposedly staying in the elements hall. All of the kingdom's greatest mages stayed there. Tyren was widely accepted as the strongest mage, save for the king himself.

Silver and Layla approached the Element's Hall. The building itself was huge. The only thing that was larger than the Hall, was the king's castle. The outside walls were red, and the roof was a beautiful gold color, symbolizing the royal family of Larun.

The large entry hall was teeming with life, NPC's dressed in different colored robes, red, blue, purple, green, yellow and brown. The color of their robe determined their element. Some were reading, and others were cleaning. Silver and Layla walked up to the Elven lady at the front desk. Her name read: "Falia". Silver greeted her.

"Excuse me, miss. My friend and I are here to see Tyren." Silver spoke politely.

Falia nodded at them and simply said. "He's in the room with a black wisp on the door. You can enter at any time."

They entered and met saw Tyren. He was a tall and dark Elven Man. His hair was silver, and his eyes were a violet purple. His skin was a dark gray. It seemed like he was the same race as Krelxia, a dark elf.

Tyren turned towards the two young ladies that just entered. Noticing the ominously red eyes from Silver, he spoke. "To what do I owe the pleasure of meeting a pure-blood vampire?"

Silver smirked. "Ah, but the pleasure is all mine. Krelxia sent me with a letter, and my friend has something for you. If you're free afterwards, I'd love to have a chat about magic as well."

Tyren didn't say anything, but he turned towards Layla. "Alright, what is it you have." Layla took out the Elven Brooch, and Tyren's eyes widened. "My, you're lucky to be alive if you have this. If any Elves had found you, you'd have been hunted down forever. The Brooch of the Elven Empress, truly one of the world's marvels. Apparently, it was supposed to have been lost forever." He took the Brooch, and Layla smiled. He turned towards Silver as she pulled out the note.

After reading the note, his face darkened and he looked towards Silver. "I trust no one besides myself knows about this, save for Krelxia. Tell me about Haran, how you met him, and the condition he was in."

"I met him inside of a cave. I fought many wolves inside, and eventually found Haran. We fought, and he revealed to me that he had been cursed. He called it 'Devil's Blight'. I'm sure you're aware of what it does. He gave me the note before he died, saying that something was controlling him, and he barely had enough strength to resist. Shortly after that, I was exploring, and entered the tomb of Echidna by mistake. The tomb was occupied by necromancers. The grave guardians were made into zombies, that my team and I defeated. The Necromancers were attempting to revive Echidna, but she spoke through the altar, ordering them to find purgatory and set her free. The necromancers are now dead, but I have a feeling that this is nothing good."

Tyren sighed. "You're correct. This is horrendous news." He sighed before continuing. "Purgatory is the resting place of monsters. Upon experiencing true death, they will be sent there, and the Realm is not playful nor fun. It's an eternal hunting ground. Echidna is supposed to remain there, slumbering. If she's awake we will have to take some precautions to prevent her from leaving purgatory, and even then, I doubt it's enough. Thank you for the information, adventurer Silver Moon. Layla, you have done me a great service. Take this letter to the elves, and they will help you, perhaps making you one of their kin. Layla, you may go now. I need to speak with your friend here. Please keep what we've spoken about a secret."

Layla left, not wishing to exploit his kindness. She knew nothing of what Echidna was, nor what they spoke of, but if Tyren was concerned, it was something big.

.....

"Silver Moon, You have revealed yourself to Echidna. You and anyone with you will be targeted by her. Should you die, there is a chance that she will be able to pull you into Purgatory. You and everyone that went with you into Echidna's Tomb must remain cautious. Living beings may be lucky enough to leave purgatory, if they find the entrance." Tyren handed her a compass. "The compass will point you in the direction of Purgatory's gate, and will help you exit should you be pulled inside."

Tyren continued after she took the compass. "Now that all the precautions are set up, what would you like to chat with me about?"

Silver paused. "It would be easier for me to show you. Here." She waved her hand as Crimson Shadows formed around her fists. Tyren looked curiously at them.

"I see. You fused blood and the shadow element to create this. Impressive. What is it you wish to know?"

Silver dismissed the magic. "Can I weave shadows without having the blood infused? I have been trying to manipulate the blood in them to leave only the shadow, but it doesn't seem to work, and I'm out of ideas."

Tyren chuckled. "You're overthinking it. Magic is simple, imagine what you want before you cast the spell, and It will likely do it. Before you cast the spell, just imagine it without the blood, and you'll cast normal shadow magic."

Silver's eyes went wide. She thought. 'Of course, everything has to do with visualization, casting, weaving, creating. all of it. It makes sense.

She spoke politely. "Thank you. I have one more question. Is it possible to mix two different elements, say, fire and water?"

"Yes. All elements are compatible, and much like the first example, imagining will separate them. As for getting them to combine, It would be extremely difficult for me to explain. Each person combines in their own way, and no two people are alike."

Silver nodded. "Thank you. I will be going now."

Tyren called out to her. "Alright, be careful. Keep your allies close."