Chapter 1:

Mesopotamia, 3000 years ago

Usually, there is nothing but silence in the desert. If one was to travel in it and remain quiet enough, he would hear flies moving around. Usually, but not today, there was a storm marching forward. Mobilising in the valley were two armies, one was a nightmare made real. A gathering of thousands of orcs, trolls, goblins and other creatures from the dark stood opposite to an alliance of elves, gnomes, dwarves and few humans. The goblinoid army was a rag-tag group of brutes growling and screaming in an attempt to scare their opponents. However the elves kept a calm expression, the dwarves screamed as well, trying to be louder than their counterparts, the gnomes focused on their work, assembling catapults and other war machines while the humans bashed their spears on their shields. Anyone walking up to the scene would have thought that the Earth was splitting apart from the sound.

Both armies stood face to face barely a few hundred meters from one another. The air was soon filled by the sound of a horn being blown so loud that it buried the noises of both sides. Then it began, the monsters charged forward with furry and rage in their eyes. The humanoids ran to meet their foes with courage. It took only a few seconds before they had reached each other in the middle of the valley. The sound of thunder sounded for miles as the two armies clashed. Bodies were torn, guts were spilled, heads flew and everyone was covered in blood. The goblinoid army caused chaos and disorder by their sheer ferocity but the alliance of humanoids held fast.

Away from the battle, on a cliff overlooking the valley, sitting in a chair was the ugliest of all orcs and perhaps of all goblinoids. His name was Ghrall and if he was to stand up, he would be 7 feet tall. Built on a massif frame, his shoulders are almost as large as two men standing side by side, all in muscle covered by a dark green skin. His body showed many battle scars, a mark of honor and power to his people. His red eyes reflected more intelligence and cunning than anyone ever expected from someone of his race. He bore his hair tied in a dreadlocked pony tail and his lower jaw was accentuated by a pair of tusks uncommonly large even for his own kind.

Although it would be hard for any uninitiated eye to noticed, any experience war commander could see that the tide of battle was slowly shifting in favor of the humanoid alliance. Ghrall certainly could and the prospect made him curse under his beard. So focus was he on the greater battle that he barely heard the sound of his personal guards having their throat slipped.

"Impressive, not many warriors could make it this far." said the orc leader.

"You have lost Ghrall. It's only a matter of time before you army in exterminated." replied the warrior.

Ghrall stood up and turn to see his interlocker. Before the beast stood an elf in armor. His outfit was composed of a greek looking battle skirt, thick leather armor with silver accents, a red cloak and a silver battle helmet with an overly large bright red feather on top. The elven hero looked indeed quite over dress compared to the orc who was wearing nothing but a fur loincloth. Both fighters stared at each other for a moment before the brutish Ghrall grabbed his oversize double bladed battle axe and charged at his opponent. The elf however, by far faster and nimbler, was easily able to dodge under the weapon and slashed the evil general in the side which made the orc cry in pain and anger. The dark creature then rained a series of ferocious attacks hoping to overcome his opponent with his superior strength but to no results. The duel continued for a few more minutes with the brute becoming more and more enraged and the elven soldier always dodging the attacks and countering with little cuts that served no other purpose but to anger and unbalance the opponent.

After a few minutes, the moment the elven warrior waited for had finally arrived, the orc leader, so blinded by his rage and frustration had made a fatal mistake and gave his opponent the needed opening for a killing blow. It took a while for Ghrall to notice an elven blade going through his chest. Despite his best efforts, the brute simply couldn't stay on his feet and fell to his knees.

"Well done warrior, I never would have imagined an elf could defeat me in single combat." Ghrall said.

"It didn't have to end like this Ghrall." The elf replied.

"Such naivety can only be found in one who is very young. What is your name?" The dark leader asked.

"Andorel." A voice coming from behind the two warriors yelled.

The elf, whose name really was Andorel, turned around to see a young woman running and waving her hand towards him. The girl, clearly an elf as well given her pointy ears, had blond hair that went down to her waist. She wore thigh white pants with soft leather boots that reached her knees and a blouse that matched her pants in color with large fluffy sleeves and a neck opening that was so big it didn't cover her shoulders.

"Idril? What are you doing here?" Andorel asked before she jumped in his arm to hug him.

"I was so worried." Idril answered as she held the warrior even tighter.

Off to the side, Ghrall, the orc leader, was breathing his last few breaths.

"Andorel, Idril, I'll remember those names as I curse your memory for eternity." Ghrall said as a dark crest appeared on his right hand.

The crest was a dark circle with demonic writings around it and an eye representing the orc's evil god in the center. A larger version of the crest appeared on the ground around Ghrall as he began screaming in pain. The agonizing sound catching their attention, the two elves broke from their embrace and turned around in time to see Ghrall being consumed by black flames. Soon, as his flesh was consumed, his body was replaced dark scales and he grew in size. Where there once was an orc now there was five meters tall black dragon. Its lower jaw had the same tusks as the orc leader but its face was elongated and was adorned by two black horns resembling those of a ram. The body of the evil reptilian was lean and covered in thick scales as well with two leathery wings on its back. The beast let out a thunderous roar before taking flight.

Andorel and Idril watched helplessly as the dragon flew over the battlefield below and incinerated the humanoid army with flames as black as the night.

"He really did it. He sacrificed his soul for power." Idril said as she watched the dragon.

"He must be stopped." Andorel said as his sight was locked on an object he was holding.

The female elf followed her companion eyes and saw what he was looking at, a green medallion with a lion's head carved on it.

"You can't, even if you use the medallion, you'll never be able to defeat that." Idril said in a pleading voice.

"I have no choice." Andorel replied in a solemn tone.

With his left hand, he pulled out a silver belt buckle and placed it on his lower belly. Two belt straps emerged from the buckle and went around his waist to meet at his back forming a complete belt. The buckle itself had a clear crystal orb in its center with glyphs forming a circle around it and on the right hand side there was a handle. Andorel pulled on it revealing a tray large enough to fit the medallion which Andorel placed in.

The dragon formerly known as Ghrall was about to do another pass on his enemies when his attention was caught by a green glow coming for the cliff where he went through his transformation. As it flew closer, it could see clearer and clearer the source of the light. At the edge of the cliff stood a warrior glad in armor unlike any the beast nor the orc had ever seen. Two black boots with bronze circles covered in glyphs at the ankles and the top near the warrior's knees, with another circle on each thigh. The belt was the same as before Andorel had transformed, for the warrior was indeed Andorel, except that the crystal orb on the buckle was now green. His body was covered in a black body suit with a green chest plate that had bronze highlights. Around his wrists, he also wore bronze circlets covered in glyphs but there was also on each a green gem. The elf's head was covered by a bronze helmet shaped like a lion's head with two large green lenses for the eyes. On his back, he had a long sword and a shorter one; the two were paralleled and accessible over his right shoulder.

The dragon charged Andorel but the armored glad elf didn't moved. From her point of view, a few meters away, Idril saw the glyphs on his ankles and wrist circles lighted in a green glow. Ghrall was now less fifty meters away when Andorel finally decided to move. With a loud battle cry, the elf jumped in the air fist first and flew straight for the beast's mouth. Andorel was swallowed whole by the monster before it blew up itself. Idril screamed and cry as she watched the explosion. The giant ball of fire fell down in the valley leaving only charred remains behind.

Sometime later, after the globinoid army had dispersed and the humanoid alliance had pickup its wounded, Idril made her way to the remain of the black dragon. There was no sign of Andorel, no trace left behind. As the young elf dug around, she found the belt buckle with the medallion still in it. The young woman held it thigh to her heart as she fell to her knees and broke into tears.

The war was over. The orcs, trolls and goblins never stood united again and fled the world of light to hide in the shadows of the underworld. Elves, gnome and dwarves returned home as humanity began its expansion. And the war became a memory; the memory became myth, legend and fairy tales before being forgotten as well as those who lost life in it. And over the centuries, elf, gnome and dwarf alike left the light to hide in the shadows as well.

Montreal, present day

In the lights of the early morning, the metropolis had a mystic fell with its skyscraper slowly emerging from the fog caused by the river that flows around it and the sudden change in temperature. That is the sight that welcomed Alice as the bus she had been riding for the past 20 hours was making its way to the island city. More than fifteen years ago she had left it behind to live with her mother in Florida but now that she had passed away, the young girl was forced to come back and live with her father whom she had not seen or heard of during all those years.

As the bus pulled in the central station, the passengers prepared to disembark. Alice, happy to be able to stretch her legs, got up and pulled her backpack from the racks above her head. The girl was 5 feet 6 inches tall and wore thorn jeans with sneakers, a white tank top and a grey hoodie over it. She had raven hair that ended just above her jaw line and baby blue eyes. On each ear she had three ear rings and she bore a golden pendant around her neck.

Alice was taken by surprise as she exited the bus to fell the chilled of this October morning. Having spent most of her life in an environment where it's warm all year long had made her forget that here, fall had arrived and in less than two months, the ground would be covered in snow. The young woman tightened her hoodie around herself and went to the side of the bus to find her suitcase and made her way inside the station. Fifteen years ago, when she was only three, her parents got a divorce and she left with her mother never to see or hear of her father again. The only clue she had to finding him was a picture she held tightly in her hand of him holding her in his arm as a baby.

Central station or Gare Centrale was a transportation hub linking Montreal's subway system to the many bus lines travelling through the city or to either the North or South shore and all the train lines. Needless to say, the place was huge; a small shopping mall was actually inside it. Alice walked around looking for the man in picture. As she searched, she noticed in a corner of the place, a young man in his late teens to early twenties who seemed to be watching her. It was impossible to make his features because of the black hood he had pulled over his head and the black clothes and leather jacket he was wearing wasn't inspiring confidence in Alice. Turned for a second trying to see where she was going and when her sign returned to where the stranger used to be, he was nowhere in sight. The young woman sighted in relief and made a B line for the exit.

Once outside, Alice was greeted by a large man, about six feet 5 inches tall. He had long blond hair tied in a ponytail and was wearing a dirty pair of jeans with a black t-shirt and khaki military style jacket. Though he was larger and bulkier than the 15 years old picture, Alice recognised him as her father.

"Dad?" Alice asked in disbelief.

"Look at you, you've grown girl." The man answered. "The car is this way."

Alice followed her father who seemed to lead her away from the station. After a few minutes, a doubt came to the girl's mind, why would he have parked so far away. Her suspicions rang even louder in her head when they turned into an empty back alley.

"What is this? Where are we going?" Alice asked again with a little panic in her voice.

The only answer she received was her father grabbing her by the wrist and dragging her along and no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't break away from his grip.

As she was forced along deeper into the alley, Alice noticed some changes in the man she thought was her father. His skin had gone from a normal complexion to a greyish blue color, his ears became long and pointy and his long blond hair fell to make place to a blackish fur. The man who was once 6 feet 5 inches tall was now a beast who stood over 8 feet tall. It had small claws instead of finger nails and its eyes were replaced by dark orbs.

"Walk along little girl or be drag along." The monster told a scarred Alice.

Too afraid to resist or struggle, the young woman was dragged along through a series of back alleys and small streets until the two reached what looked to be an abandoned warehouse.

Inside the warehouse, Alice and her captor were met by a group of creatures who seemed to be waiting for them.

"Skagard returns with the target." Skagard said.

"Well done, bring her." A woman, obviously the leader, said.

She was a little taller than Alice; her skin was dark, not like someone of African descent but truly onyx colored. She had a pretty face accentuated by her crimson eyes, pointy ears and snow white hair. She was dress entirely in black leather along with spike heeled boots and a trench coat. With the mysterious woman were a group of smaller creatures, standing at 5 feet tall with long nose and pointy ears as well as a sickly green colored skin. The little beings were dancing around Skagard and Alice as the colossus brought his prisoner to an altar place in the center of a dark crest painted on the floor.

"What do you want?" Alice asked with tears coming out of her eyes as the smaller monsters were tying her down.

"To prevent your awakening my dear." The woman answered.

"Who are you?" The younger girl said attempting to buy some time.

"Well, I am Vernia, a dark elf." The woman answered and then pointed to Skagard. "He is a troll, my hired muscle. And they are goblins, my assistants. Don't ask me their name; I never bothered to learn them."

The dark elf laugh a little bit before she and the goblins began chanting in a language unknown to Alice.

The chanting had been going for a few minutes already and Alice had given up all hope when the ceremony was interrupted by one of the goblins who cried in pain before falling numb on the ground. Behind the little beast stood a man, the same one who had been watching Alice back at the station. Not wasting anytime, the stranger drew a dagger from inside his jacket and threw it in one of Skagard's eyes blind the eight foot monster before anyone had a chance to react. The five remaining goblins let cries of battle in unison before charging the intruder who drew two more daggers and met the attack head on. In a matter of seconds, two more beasts fell to the newcomer who quickly engaged a third opponent and stabbed it in the throat before cutting open the belly of the fourth goblin and spilled his guts. Finally, the goblin went for the legs hoping to unbalance the mysterious warrior who simply stepped aside and planted both of his knives in the back of the ugly creature and pulled them down side by side of the spine creating a gusher of blood.

With the small fries out of the way, the would be hero could now focus on Vernia and Skagard. The troll however, was still trying to pull the blade out of his eye leaving only the dark elf.

"Just who do you think you are?" Vernia asked the impudent.

"My name is Ereinion." The stranger said as he pulled his hood down revealing short blond hair, dark blue eyes and pointy ears.

Ereinion was about to charge the sorceress who lifted her right hand in the air creating a fireball in her palm. As she brought her arm down, the ball turned into a three meters long whip which the ground with enough force to dig a hole in the concrete floor. Noticing the damage caused by the flaming weapon, the elf tried again to attack the sorceress but was force again to stop in his track and jump aside to avoid another hit by the whip.

Meanwhile, Skagard had finally pulled the dagger out of his skull…along with the eyeball it was stuck in. Once separated from the main body, the orb quickly dried up and turned to dust while a new eye grew and took its place.

"Puny elf, die." The troll said as he picked a large rock from the ground and threw it at Ereinion.

The throw was easy to dodge which was good thing since there was enough strength behind it to rip someone's head off. Alice for her part was struggling to break the bounds that held her to the altar, yet at the same time she couldn't help but admire Ereinion's courage. She wanted to help but what could she do. She never was much of a fighter and never really interested in stories about monsters and other creatures.

Suddenly, the warehouse interior was filled with a white blinding light forcing the three fighters to shield their eyes. A few seconds later, when the lights seemed to have dimed a little, Ereinion dared a look trying to find the source of the flash. On the altar where once was a bound Alice now stood a completely different figure; a young woman with blond hair that went down to her waist, sky blue eyes and pointy ears yet her face remained identical to Alice's, she even retained the six earrings. But all the rest had change; her clothes had been replaced by white skin tight pants with soft brown leather boots that reached to her knees. She wore two belt straps on each of her thighs as well as a black belt around her waist. Her top was now a white blouse with fluffy sleeves and didn't cover her shoulders.

"It can't be." Ereinion said when he saw her.

"Idril." Vernia said half angry and half afraid.

As Idril stood in all her glory, a small orb of green energy appeared before Ereinion.

He reached out to the orb but was interrupted by the elf's voice rezoning in the empty building.

"To accept it is to pledge yourself, body and soul, to me." Idril warned.

Ereinion seemed to hesitate for a second before grabbing the orb. In his hand, the green glow slowly faded away, revealing a green medallion with a lion head carved on it. There was a dim light coming from his waist and when it left, the young elf saw in its place a belt with a silver buckle that had a clear crystal orb in its center. Reaching to the right side of the device, he was able to pull out a tray where he placed the medallion.

"TRANSFORM." Ereinion said as he slammed the tray into the belt buckle.

"Courage Form." A deep voice coming from the buckle said as the orb emitted a green glow.

A green crest representing the medallion appeared under his feet and slowly rose to his head. As it moves up, the magic circle replaced his clothes with armor and disappeared after passing his head. At first the armor was all black but the colors quickly appeared as the excess energy was released.

Vernia and Skagard took a few steps back as the armor glad warrior slowly walked towards them.