The Dram

Flux's veins pulsed with a chilling hatred as the memory which had long since tormented him ended. Lost in the events of this foreign realm, he'd almost forgotten his sole purpose for existing—seeking vengeance against the Bastard God who had wronged him, who had ruined his life and indirectly killed everyone he loved. This current life was but a means to an end, a chance that he would take to accomplish his goal.

'I promise on my soul and life that I will kill that Bastard God!' Flux inwardly thought as violent images flashed through his head. But before he could revel in fury further, quickly approaching steps snapped him out of his rage. 

The steps reached him and he felt a figure loom over him as he futilely attempted to open his eyes.

"Good morning." A familiar voice that Flux discerned to be the female creature, called out as he was quickly picked up. Angela softly muttered sweet words to Flux, though he could only think bitterly: 'I don't understand what you're saying...' 

'This is frustrating; I can't get anywhere with this reliant body, and I can't communicate with anyone. At this rate, that damn Bastard will be dead before I can kill him myself!' Flux furiously thought.

His situation was perilous and left him with no real options. However, as he thought of what he could do and as he wished to put his efforts towards something that would be productive and truly beneficial towards his goal, he felt a sudden gnawing pain in his belly as it rumbled. He was enraged at the teasing smells of food and the lack of nutrients in his body. After all, he hadn't eaten in more than half a day.

Angela smiled at this noise as Flux inwardly grumbled. She had prepared for this earlier in the morning and had asked one of her pregnant friends for some milk; when asked why she needed it, she made up some sorry excuse.

"Hopefully he can eat this, even if he is human; Dark Elf milk shouldn't hurt him, right?" Angela expressed her worry as she made her way into the kitchen.

"Calm down; the boy will be fine; milk is milk," Nyzen said with an annoyed expression. He and Angela had talked earlier in the morning and had come to the agreement that the child was to not be exposed to the rest of the town until he had grown older and that if he caused any trouble or reflected any signs of vile human nature, Nyzen would personally put the child down. Yet even amongst this agreement, it annoyed him to see her get so close to the human child in less than a day.

His middle-length silver hair was unkempt as it spilled along his face, which was both young and striking. His posture was perfect, and his figure was muscular and lean. He stood at a staggering 6'8" (203cm)—similar to most of his kind. Long pointy ears and ethereal, piercing grey eyes revealed Nyzen's race as he watched Angela care for Flux.

Elvie, who sat next to Nyzen, asked curiously, "Mommy, is that the thing from the forest?"

"Yes, he is honey, and he is not a thing; he is a human," Angela said to Elvie as she carefully passed Flux on to Nyzen, who looked at the baby strangely. He had to admit that the baby was cute, but he still wouldn't relent. Dark Elves were enemies of the human race; they weren't supposed to be raising one.

Angela made her way outside to the back of the house via a door located near the kitchen. She quickly came back inside with a small sealed pot, no bigger than a mug, as she quickly undid the cap and approached Nyzen, who held Flux in his arms. Nyzen wore an incredibly troubled expression as Angela took Flux from him, saying, "I'll feed the boy. Make sure Elvie showers and gets her ready for a hunting trip; you'll be taking him too."

"What?! We've talked about this; he's not going outside until he's older; yet you already want him to come hunting with me?" Nyzen said in shock that he wondered if everything he said to Angela had gone through one ear and out the other.

"Are you really that dumb, Nyzen? How do you expect the child to develop if he can't even get any sun? I'm not saying to flaunt him around so the entire village can see. Just sneak out back into the forest with Elvie and him to hunt for dinner; it'll serve as an outing for the boy, food for dinner, and training for Elvie." Angela said with a sigh as she chuckled and exclaimed at how dense her husband could be sometimes.

Nyzen lightly nodded as he thought about what Angela said, concluding that what she said indeed made sense.

"Ok fine. Let's go, Elvie; it's time for a cleaning." Nyzen relented as he led Elvie outback, where she would quickly wash up, and then they'd leave to hunt some game for dinner.

...

Nyzen prepared some gear as Elvie excitedly danced about. Flux finished the portion of milk that Angela had provided him as he thought:

'I have to admit, that wasn't half bad. It tasted much better than I originally suspected.' Flux inwardly thought of himself being fed milk by this woman who was imitating a mother, and it made him feel humilated. He would never get used to the feeling of dependency and relying on others to live.

"Alright, it's time to head out..." Nyzen reluctantly grabbed Flux as he wrapped him in some cloth and looked at Elvie, asking, "Are you ready?"

"Yes!" Elvie quickly replied as she hopped about excitedly.

"Be safe, honey..." Angela kissed Nyzen as he firmly assured her and quickly left the house. Holding Flux in his arms, with Elvie closely trailing behind, Nyzen quickly left the open fields abounding with trees, flora, and other Dark Elf residences and soon entered the densely packed jungle-like forest. With its towering trees and quiet atmosphere, Sword Forest was truly a sight to behold.

Nyzen didn't blink twice at the magnificence of the forest; its beauty was one he had grown accustomed to. He was a native of the forest and knew the true dangers lurking at every corner. He knew that letting one guard down only meant certain death. Dark Elf's and powerful Magic Beasts and Monsters are the reason neighbouring kingdoms have yet to pillage Sword Forest; doing so would be suicide.

Nyzen and Elvie quickly reached deeper into the forest as Nyzen raised his hand in a strange gesture, causing Elvie to come to an abrupt yet quiet halt.

'Do you see that?' Nyzen thought inwardly as he looked at Elvie and made some more hand gestures.

Understanding what he had meant, Elvie nodded as she slowly shrugged.

'Good,' Nyzen thought with pride as he shuffled about the tall grass and dense greenery in an attempt to gain a better sight of what lay before them.

Barely a hundred meters distant, a four-legged animal, with a rugged grey-brown pelt, a tail of lustrous fur, and black horns curving downwards in a subtle golden sheen, held itself with an air of elegance while grazing. The creature occasionally sniffed the breeze and, with a casual flick, its hind hooves sent tufts of grass fluttering into the sky. Unaware of the looming peril, it moved with serene peace across the field.

Nyzen smirked as he thought, 'Today seems to be my lucky day. To think I would find a Dram this easily.'

He subconsciously drooled at the thought of the Dram's delicious meat before his gaze turned serious as he looked at Elvie and quietly said, "Elvie, this will be your first time experiencing a true Warrior's Technique, so pay attention. As I conjure my technique, feel the air and watch as the Technique structures itself; watch as the energy coalesces together to form an attack."

Not saying anything, Elvie excitedly nodded and noted down Nyzen's descriptive wording as he began to form the technique.

As Nyzen began to form his attack, Flux, who had felt fluctuations in the air and discrepancies' in the surrounding energy, began to clamour as he attempted to use Sense.

'What the hell is happening? Why is the surrounding energy converging around here? Could it be that this male creature is capable of using abilities similar to the holy teachings?' Flux questioned him as he cleared his mind. His thoughts became void, blank, and empty as one focus appeared: Sense the surroundings.

In an instant, Flux became completely focused, as all the surroundings within a ten-meter area became visible. Flux felt dazed for a moment; this was partly due to sensory overload and partly because he was able to activate his senses so easily. Nevertheless, he reorganized his thoughts as he observed his surroundings.

Familiarly huge trees reached into the sky, and luscious, bewildering flora densely packed the forest. Strange small beasts covered the forest grounds as Flux 'looked' to Elvie and Nyzen. Flux sat in Elvie's small arms as she stared at Nyzen in admiration and wonder. 'Looking' at Nyzen, Flux observed him as small dark orbs of light; no, a better way to describe them would be orbs of anti-light, things that contained no light at all, quickly circulated Nyzen.

'Interestingly, this power is very different in its composition in comparison to Holy Energy. Hmm, it seems like energy is coming from within this man's body...' Flux thought inwardly and analyzed as the energy Nyzen circulated finally took form.

Black-glowing ancient runes suddenly formed on Nyzen's body, covering it in a plethora of different patterns, conveying a meaning that Flux did not know. A construct of a bow was formed. Like the orbs of darkness, the bow too looked strange in Nyzen's hands as it devoured all of the surrounding light. The bow's construct was vague and unrefined, but the shape was set; it was a bow completely formed of energy.

Flux was interested as he thought of his days in the Holy War. This ability was not dissimilar to the low-level techniques he had learned when he first started cultivating holy energy. He watched intently as Nyzen pulled back the bowstring; it let out a light hum as he let it go. A ferocious gale, in the form of an arrow, condensed in Nyzen's fingers as he loaded the arrow and once again pulled back the string.

Swoosh!

The air flew out with unprecedented speed. Its arrow pierced through the air with a vicious hiss; it was inexorable in its trajectory as the air surged, grazing the trio's faces. In an instant, the arrow arrived in front of the Dram. It was unable to react, as if frozen, as the arrow ripped through its throat, killing it with a shrill cry. Its body fell with a loud thump as a clean and clear cut marked its neck. Blood stained the grass as Flux's face contorted in surprise.