Disclaimer: Same as always (chk previous chapters)

Pain. The only thing his mind registered was pain. There was nothing else. The pain filled him, leaving no space for anything else. Exerting a great force, he brought himself to some state of consciousness.

Kratos. His name was Kratos. He reached his hand to his stomach, finding his movements extremely sluggish. A large gash met his touch, and the pain that shot through him threatened to bring the engulfing darkness back. He opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came forth. Instead, water came filling in. As his breath left him, he snapped his eyes open. He saw a shimmering set of fingers descend upon him as his mind ceased to respond.

With a sudden gasp, Kratos awoke. He was out of the water. Opening his eyes, he noticed a wooden roof above him. The pain from his wound was far less. He was surprised to notice that he was still living. Without turning onto his side, he could somehow tell that the elven leader was beside him. Somehow, he found that he had received an awareness that he did not have before.

A sudden spark in his consciousness informed him that his mother was outside the room he was in. He was proved correct as she walked in.

"How is he, Elder?"

"Take a look. He is awake."

She came over and saw Kratos lying on the bed, brown eyes staring up to meet her black ones. His body was covered by a thin blanket, but she knew that beneath it were swathes of bandages. He had his chest wrapped in cloth. His other wounds, gashes across his limbs were similarly bound.

After Kratos had fallen into the Ymir Lake, the elven leader had jumped in after him and pulled him out. With all the elves out of magic and the elder tired, they had no choice but to give in. The Sylvarant and Tetheallan armies had both fought. In the end, it was the Tetheallans who had achieved the Vorpal Sword. Having achieved their goal, the humans left, the Tetheallans in triumph and the Sylvarant in retreat.

The elder had tended to the young boy's injuries. The wounds had been healed with what little mana the elves had left. Those that were too serious for the magic to work on were bandaged and treated manually. However, it seemed as if he would not survive. Kratos had lost too much blood. No matter what they did, they could not revive him.

The elder had then taken a step that no other elf ever had. He had decided to repay Kratos for saving his life by giving him his blood. This had given the human the ability to use magic. Kratos was now a human swordsman with elven magic. Because his blood was part-elven and not aonis-infused, his magic was far stronger than the Tetheallan mages. His swordsmanship, through his self-training was now stronger than that of the Sylvarant warriors.

Kratos emerged from the house where he was staying. He enjoyed walking around Heimdall. It was very refreshing with the clean air and water. The trees grew tall and green. Lush and thick bushes dotted the village. Unlike Ymir Forest, Heimdall was not built atop a lake. It was more like a village on one end of a large island in the middle of the Ymir Lake.

On the other end of the island was the Torent Forest, an area held sacred by the elves. It was there that Origin, the king of summon spirits, lived. He was the one who had created the Flameberg and the Vorpal Sword, the former by crystallizing fire, the latter by molding ice and water. The Kingdom of Sylvarant had won the Flameberg, labeling its weilder, Cruxis Aurion, as "Odin." Now, the greatest warrior of Tethealla, Mystar Wilder, wielded the Vorpal Blade. He had been named "Fenrir."

The young boy would often go and stand at the entrance to the forest. Staring into it, but never entering out of respect for the sacredness that the elves held it in. It was there that he had met Seraphim. She was a human scientist from Tethealla who had run away from Ozette after marrying an elf named Lersil Yggdrasill. She had reached Heimdall and there she had lived in her husband's home with her daughter, Martel. The Tetheallans had chased her since four years ago around the time when her daughter was five. Now, she would sit at the entrance to the Torent Forest with her second child, the two-years-old Mithos Yggdrasill.

The elves had allowed her to live out of respect for Lersil who had been one of the key warriors involved in keeping the elves out of the humans' wars. Her daughter had been allowed to live only to keep the family together. Now, however, with her newborn child, the matter had been brought up again. The elves were again reminded that she was not elf, but human. Now they had to endure not one half-elf but two.

Another matter, far worse, was that the Tetheallans had seen her and recognized her during their raid. Because of their injuries and casualties and the presense of the Sylvarant army, they had been unable to do anything. Now, with the Vorpal Blade, they would surely return.

As Kratos went over these matters in his head, he heard the cracking of a twig behind him. Turning around, he noticed that Seraphim Yggdrasill was approaching. She wore a long green dress with silver patterns on it, and as always, she wore white gloves over her hands.

"Kratos, how nice to see you!" Seraphim spoke in a soft voice. "You look worried. What is on your mind?"

"I was wondering about what would happen to you. With the Tetheallans arriving any moment and the support of the elves waning, how will you handle yourself?" Silence reigned after he asked his question. Finally, Kratos continued on. "I am worried about you and your family. While Martel seems to have picked up quite well on magic, she can only heal. You cannot fight yourself. The only person who can struggle is your husband."

"It is okay, Kratos," she reassured him. "I'm sure I will be fine."

"Tell me again. Why would they come after you?"

"I was the top researcher in Sybak. When they began the battle enhancement project, they sent me to Ozette. There, I met Lersil, who was working undercover as a spy for the elves. I helped develop a device known as the exsphere. However, as Sylvarant too discovered, it held great drawbacks. Although it brought out a person's full potential, in return, it drew the mana into itself. Whenever a person exerted themselves, the crystal would help them, and as they tired, it would draw the mana into itself instead of letting it return to the person. The way to prevent this side-effect was by creating a seal that would not allow the exsphere to drain the mana. This seal was created from inhibitor ore, a fragment of zircon and another fragment of mana. However, it seemed that the seal was too strong and that it blocked out the desired effects of the crystal as well.

That was when I began to seriously research into this phenomenon. By removing the fragments of zircon and mana, I managed to bring it to a stage where the exsphere could function without being overly dangerous. The old seal was called a Rune Crest, and the new one was the Key Crest. Because I managed to handle the project so well, they tried to get me to develop a stronger version of the exsphere. By taking a look at the crystal they salvaged from the Sylvarant commander, Cruxis Aurion, your father, I managed to develop what we named the Cruxis Crystal. Its effects, however, are not fully known. All that we know is that it can strengthen the body to such a stage as to even stop aging. However, I did not allow them to have the designs to this crystal. I ran away with them, and now they are still seeking them."

"I see. Then I shall try my best to protect you."

"Thank you, Kratos."

Kratos lay awake on his bed in the elven elder's house. He had had the talk with Seraphim only a few days ago. Try as he would to go to sleep, he kept on waking up again with a bad premonition. He knew that something would happen tonight. Getting up, he walked over to see how his mother was doing. Standing outside her door, he tried sensing her using his magical abilities. All he found out was that she wasn't there.

Starting to panic, the young human left the house to look outside. His heart suddenly calmed as he saw his mother standing just outside, staring up at the many stars.

"What is wrong, mother?"

"I see you couldn't sleep either. I have a feeling that something terrible will happen tonight."

"I fell the same, however, I believe that we should go back inside. You should get some rest."

"Okay. Don't worry, I'll go inside after a little while."

After watching his mother for a little while, Kratos walked on. Elven houses lined the path that he walked down. Trees lined up behind the houses, creating a sense of being isolated in a separate world. As he came close to Lersil's house, he noticed that the elf stood outside.

"Lersil, how are you?"

"My health is fine, Kratos. However, everything is not okay. The elves had a meeting yesterday as you know. They decided that although my family is welcome to stay here, they will not get involved if anyone comes for them. In other words, if Tethealla comes for my wife, I will be the only one protecting her."

"You will not be standing alone." Kratos looked into the elf's bright green eyes. As the wind softly lifted strands of Lersil's green hair, he explained himself: "Even if the elves do not fight alongside you, I will."

"Thank you, Kratos. For a human to do so much for an elf and his half-elven children is a rare thing. I hope that you can hold to your standards as your life continues."

After their conversation, the two men separated. Lersil entered his home while Kratos continued on. Soon, after the houses ended, he turned off the path and entered the surrounding wilderness of trees. There, he walked aimlessly, trying to collect his thought. The feeling of dread struck at him and it kept him from focusing.

Deciding that the only way to distract himself was to train his mind, Kratos readied his mana. He began chanting under his breathe as he envisioned his target, a large rock two yards away from him. As he finished his preparation, he let out a hiss, "Grave." Rock spires pierced out of the ground in a circle around his target, leaning towards it. Soon, the boulder was covered in a teepee formed of the earth. Then, as the brown pentagram that had formed around the magic swordsman disappeared, a single stalagmite larger than the rest rose from the center, splitting its quarry in three parts and sending them all rising into the air. Kratos gathered his mana again, quickly unleashing a "Fireball" spell. A trio of red balls flew from him, heading to the tree pieces of airborne rocks in a blazing line. As all three made contact with their targets, Kratos unleashed a third spell. A giant sword of thunder fell from the sky, pinning the three smouldering pieces of the boulder into the ground. With a sudden snap, a shock of electricity vaporized everything within a short distance from the "Thunder Blade" spell's center.

Sitting silently, recovering his used mana, Kratos suddenly stiffened. Something was wrong. He listened closely to the silence of the forest, sending out tendrils of his mana to help his senses. Suddenly, his eyes widened. Fear rushed through him. He had reached out and touched the elven village with his magic, and what he saw caused him to freeze with fear.

I don't know. I just feel a little uncomfortable with this chapter. It just doesn't seem to flow together too well.

Anyway, I hope I can get the next chapter up soon. I'm starting to get rather busy with summer college courses (Is there anyone who thinks that taking 41 credits in the fall isn't a bad idea?).