V: This is a new story for me. I hope you all enjoy it. Please read and review. . Thanks.

Dragons of a New World

Prolouge

A groan came from a form lying on a wooden pallet. The form shifted and the furs started to fall away. A young girl with bright blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and softly tan skin sat up. She rubbed her eyes. She hated it when the sun woke her early. But what was she to do? She was a traveler.

More like she was on a slave route. She sighed as she stood and put away her things. She climbed out of the wagon she had been thrown in the night before. She lined up where she was ordered to be. The only reason she was here is because her people cast her out.

She was an elf in everyone's eyes but the elves. To the elves she was scum. She sighed remembering how she got that title. Her father had turned traitor to the Speaker of the Sun so that made her whole family outcasts. Her mother had died shortly after they were banished from Qualinesti.

After her mother's death her father had killed himself leaving Elensar to take care of herself. Luckily she had been twenty in elven years so it wasn't hard for her. She had started to travel but had been caught by the ogres. They were now on the road to some place where humans would buy the slaves. Then they would head to where ever the human would want to go to sell the slaves.

It was extensive and the ogres knew what they were doing. It was hard on her. The trip had been rough. They had been on ships many times. She had often gotten sea sick. She now despised ships. She hated everything to do with them. She sighed as they were forced to march down the dry dusty road.

Getting up every day and going through this again and again is hard.
Charles Manson

She coughed as dust went down her throat. Since there was a lack of rain in this area dust rose up easily from all the marching that the slaves were made to do. They were almost to where they would be sold to the human slave owner. Then they would be taken care of as he saw fit.

They needed water but they wouldn't be given any. The only reason she didn't look half dead like the others was because she was elf. Elves keep a young youthful appearance. They also normally eat next to nothing. She was starving but said nothing. She didn't want to give in.

She had to be strong. She also had to be smart. She knew there was no chance of escape. So she knew she had to behave herself in order to stay alive. All she could really do is hope that some day someone would free her and she would be able to live a good gentle life.

That's all she really wanted. All she wanted was a gentle life with a good man. Someone who she could stand by and that would stand by her. She sighed softly knowing that the chances of that were really slim. Even more so since she is an outcast now.

It is not rejection itself that people fear, it is the possible consequences of rejection. Preparing to accept those consequences and viewing rejection as a learning experience that will bring you closer to success, will not only help you to conquer the fear of rejection, but help you to appreciate rejection itself.
Bo Bennett

Are they all this critical? She wondered as the man who looked at all the slaves sneered at them all. He stopped and looked at her. She stood up as straight as she could and tried to look her best. From what she could tell he liked the way she looked.

He moved on down the line then finally went to the head ogre. They talked and exchanged money. The slave owner would growl about the poor condition of the slaves but would take them all this time around. She sighed as they were marched down the road while their new owner rode on a horse.

He barked out orders and they all followed them quickly. He then told them to stop. He looked at them all and shook his head. What the abyss had he gotten himself into? This was a bunch of crap. None of them were in good condition. Except that elf. Gods she looks good.

"We are headed to a place called Solace. Course I don't expect slaves to know where that is at." he growled.

We aren't stupid...We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Elensar thought to herself. She dared not speak out loud. She could feel his eyes burn into her as he watched her. She didn't like the attentions he was giving her.

"Elf what is your name?" He growled standing in front of her.

"Elensar, sir." She said softly.

"Not anymore. It's Di'Thang. Which I believe may be elvish for slave." He growled.

She stopped herself before she said something she would regret. "Yes, sir."

"You are going to get me a lot of money in Solace." He smiled.

"Yes, sir." She sounded like she was on auto-repeat.

All he would ever hear from her is 'yes sir', 'no sir', and things like that. She would never care to learn his name. She knew that if you learned their name they wouldn't let you go. She had seen it happen before. She didn't look at him either. They took that as defiance and saw it as a chance to beat you.

You can be around 100 people and be completely alone. People don't realize what it's really like.
Lenny Kravitz

Tanis stood outside the Inn of the Last Home. He watched as the slave caravan drew near. He sighed. He couldn't believe what the world had come to. Ogres were opening selling their slaves to humans who in turn sold them to everyone else. His friends and he did what they could to free as many as they could.

Tika and Caramon had a hard time but they still tried. They usually ended up freeing two or three. They would buy them then set them free once the slave runners were out of town. Solace was a haven for freed slaves. As long as they were in town they would be safe. He just hoped they were smart enough to stay in town.

He went into the inn and looked around at his friends who sat waiting for the news what they had to deal with this time. It changed time to time. Sometimes they had to deal with an army other times they only had to deal with a single guard. They normally hoped for the single guard.

"There are about thirty slaves. Only three guards and the slave driver. We can handle that." Tanis explained scratching his red beard.

"That many slaves? Perhaps we should try to buy out as many as we can that way they don't think anything of it." Caramon suggested.

"I agree with him. It will be misleading if we buy first then attack when they get out of town or something…" Goldmoon said softly as she leaned against Riverwind.

Tanis nodded. "Then that's what we will do. And we can get our money back plus some when we kill the slavers."

The entire group then stood and went outside. They watched and waited for the slavers to stop and start selling the slaves. They then went down and looked over the slaves. Tanis stopped and looked over a slave that had her head bowed. Her bright blonde hair hide her face.

"Look up." Tanis said sounding as if he was a slaver himself.

The girl raised her head and Tanis had to force himself to be calm. This girl was an elf. Qualinost by the looks of it. He reached and moved her hair. He nodded and acted as if he was satisfied. He went to his friends and pulled them close as if consulting the buy. They all nodded and kept up the act.

Tanis then went to the head slaver and pushed the money at him and pointed at which ones they wanted. The elf maiden was among them. She was shoved towards him roughly. She kept her head bowed and didn't look up. She followed them to the house where she thought she would spend the rest of her days as a slave.

When they got inside the building they were all set down then the man with a beard that looked half-elf stood in front of them. He seemed to be the one in charge here. She wondered why they would pick someone like him to lead them. He looked like he hardly knew what to do with himself little lone a group of people.

"My name is Tanis. You are all free. We bought you to set you free. And when those slavers leave we will follow them out of town and wait until they are far enough away then we shall attack them and set the rest free." Tanis explained.

"Now what are your names?" Tika asked as she went down the line feeding them.

They all gave their names but when they reached the elf girl she just shook her head and kept it lowered. She couldn't just carry on that easily. She was strong but being a slave had been hard on her. Only she knew what she had been through. It scared her to the point she doubted she would ever live normally again.

"What's your name dear?" Tika asked kneeling down in front of her. "Please tell us your name."

"My slave name is Di'Thang." She said giving her slave name.

Tanis paled. "That can't be your birth name is it?"

The girl shook her head.

The rest of the group looked confused. They had no idea what the name had meant. They all looked to Tanis for an explanation. When they saw his face they knew that the name wasn't going to be a pleasant. Tanis hung his head then looked at his group knowing they wanted an answer.

"Di'Thang means slave." He explained to them.

Tika turned back to the girl. "What was your name before it was that?"

"Elensar…" The girl said softly.

"Which name do you want to keep?"

"Any that you pick for me."

Tanis sighed. "Will all of you leave us? You slaves are free now. Do as you want. I need to talk to the girl alone though."

Everyone else left them. The slaves going their own ways. Most of them would go back to the families that they had been taken from. Tanis' group would go to the inn and wait for him there. He knew they would. He sighed and waited for everyone to leave except the girl.

"You are free now. I know that they must have done some horrid things to you but please understand that you aren't a slave anymore."

She looked up at him. He stepped back involuntarily. She had incredible eyes. They were the clearest blue that he had seen in a long time. He sat down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. He wanted to help her. He just didn't know how to help her. Why did women have to be so damn confusing?

"You can stay here with us. We will make sure nothing happens. You can work in the inn. And get paid for it."

"Really? I would be paid for my work?"

"Yes. How did you become a slave?"

"My father turned traitor so my family was forced to leave. My mother died shortly after and my father killed himself a few years ago. I was soon caught and I've been a slave ever since. I've had a lot of owners."

"Now come I want you to meet the rest of the group. They will watch out for you. I'm Tanis. What name do you want to go by?" He silently prayed she wouldn't choose the slave name.

"I would like to go by Elensar…"

"Then that shall be your name." He smiled. "Now come on. Time to meet the others."