Author's Note: WHAT IS UP MUCKAAAACHUNGAAAAS!? IT'S TRAVESTY! And today, at long last, I'm finally bringing to you all a new Dungeons and Dragons Fanfiction, this time with everything I can grab from the 2024 Player's Handbook! Hoo boy, I really did enjoy writing up this first chapter, especially considering this is actually something of a remake/redesign of my original Klauthiym Story, in which this one, I've decided to take on a entirely different route this time, and I want to thank my girlfriend, Wolfflight of ShadowClan for helping me get the basics down and figured out. Thank you so much, love, where would I be without you?
So before I begin, let me just lay down a few ground rules for this story:
First, my character creation rules for this story are very very simple, I am going to be taking either the Ability Scores of a monster that has a close resemblance to the Race, whilst having ability scores of 16 or lower, or, if there are multiple version of the closest approximation, I will be combining all of the Ability Scores together and Averaging them out, rounding up whenever possible. The reason why I'm doing this is that I have learned that, due to my paranoia of not wanting my pcs to die, I tend to give them a ton of broken stats, and, after playing my brother in law's campaign, I've learned that having one or more low stats is actually kind of fun, especially if you succeed on a bullshit role that you had absolutely no business actually doing all the while having an abysmal ability score to boot! However, the only exception to that rule is that if the monster or the average numbers come out to having an ability score of 10 or 11, I will be rolling six times for each score, add the results together, and then average them out to get a better score. Anything higher than an 11 will be what is used.
Secondly, the PCs in this story will each have two feats at the start of this story, one from their background, and which I will be choosing carefully to reflect them as characters.
Thirdly, while I will be using mostly the races and classes from the 2024 PHB, there will be one exception when it comes to two members of the party, but they will be showing up later!
Fourthly, this story, while I intend to do it as long as possible, is basically me playing by myself and testing out the 2024 rules before I present them to my family to play.
Finally, as I just said, this story is basically an experiment that I'm running to test the waters for an even bigger project that I have planned later on down the line, a project that I've been preparing to do for years. Now while I won't spoil everything of what I have planned, let's just say that this story takes inspiration from my favorite Isekai Animes and Mangas that have a "harem" aspect to them. But I think it is better to show than to pretty much tell:
Story Title: Role the Dice
Summary: A young man from Earth gets summoned from his old world into a World of Dungeons and Dragons, transformed into a more handsome and physically fit version of himself, making him an Isekai Anime Protagonist. What could possibly go wrong? (Goddammit Bubsy)
Genre (A): Romance
Genre (B): Adventure
Rating: M (Just to be safe)
Language: English
Now when I say "Harem" I mean as in Harem Isekai Anime and Manga, but I'm not doing a full harem as many of you guys will think. My girlfriend and I have very strict limits, and one of them is that no more than 4 Characters of one gender to one character of the opposite. When it is 4 Girls to 1 Guy, we call them Prides, as in a Pride of Lions, while the other way around is called a Pack, as in a Wolfpack. So before you don't get it twisted!
Welp, I guess that is enough out of me for now! Please be sure to Follow, Favorite, Review, and Share this story with anyone and everyone you know who loves Dungeons and Dragons Content! Catch ya on the Flipside! *Rolls* NAT 20!
Prologue: Character Creation
?:
There is nothing… Just a vast expanse of darkness as a young man awakens on a cold stone floor, looking up as he tries to make sense of what is going on, to which he notices a beautiful young woman with brown hair and alabaster skin lying next to him. He recognizes her, and gently pulls her into his arms. "Traves" She asks, she can hear her say his name, but to others, it is inaudible. "Where are we?"
"I am not sure…" Traves says, to which he looks around and sees a woman dressed in dark robes, wearing a porcelain mask on her face as she approaches. "Wait… Is that… The Raven Queen?"
"Indeed, I am…" She says, walking over to the two, golden threads flowing out of their chests, "Your Threads of Fate were cut before they were ready… And both of you were, unfortunately, brutally murdered…"
"I see… Then Ana is to go to heaven then?" Traves asks.
"Wait, what do you mean I'm going to Heaven? You're coming with me, right?" Ana asks.
"I'm afraid I don't deserve heaven…" Traves says, looking down, "I had tried to repent for my sins in life, but I had not done enough to make up for the mistakes I had made…"
"You assume much…" The Raven Queen says, "I am actually going to offer you a chance at reincarnation…"
"Reincarnation?" Traves asks.
"Yes, you two will be reincarnated into a new world, one of fantasy and magic, where you two shall be able to not only live out happy lives if things go well, but, if you wish, you will also be able to become great warriors and protectors of the world." The Raven Queen says, smiling as she looks at the duo, who look at each other. "If not, you can face the Judgment of your Realm's God and see where he sorts you."
"So a Clean Slate or face judgment…" Traves says, looking down as he feels like it would be easier to face God's Judgment and let him decide on where he is to go, even if there is a small chance he could enter Heaven, he doesn't feel worthy of it. However, that is when a hand touches his cheek, and he looks at Ana. "Ana…?"
"Let's do it… Let's go to this new world."
"But-"
"No buts… I know your sense of honor demands you face judgment for your sins in life, but whatever they are, we have been given a second chance, a chance to do things over." Ana says, smiling at him, "Who knows, this time we might even be able to do enough good that we can both go to Heaven together." Traves looks down, she hit the nail right on the head as he sighs, knowing she is right.
"You know me too well, Ana." Traves says, smirking as he looks at his wife, who smiles back at him. "Alright, we'll take this second chance!"
"Understood, now… Before we reincarnate…" She brings out what appears to be small glass mirrors made out of obsidian with bone frames and, as they touch them, the screen lights up to reveal a D Beyond character builder. "We need to reconstruct your new bodies!"
"Seriously, D ?" Traves asks, sighing with a smirk.
"Uhm, Traves, can you help me with this?" Ana asks, looking at him while poking her fingers together.
"Of course!" Traves says, "So… What are the character creation rules for these characters?" To this, the Raven Queen brings them to a table, where she has them sit down with a smile on her face.
"I am going to be having you use a mixture of your 2014 and 2024 rules…" The Raven Queen says, "But I am also going to be using a unique set of rules for your character creation… Firstly, I want you to select a theme for what you wish to do, and I shall have your character's feats and character creation reflect that, at least tangentially."
"Well…" Traves looks around, "Ana, what do you think?"
"Well… I think you said something about the 2024 Rules being that both the Shadow Monk and the Gloom Stalker Ranger being tied to the Shadowfell, I think that would be a good place to start…"
"So we're going with a shadow theme, huh?" Traves asks, "Not a bad idea! But if we're not going to do it as races, how would we do that?"
"Well I actually want to be a Wood Elf!" Ana says, smiling, "I think it would be really nice to be an outdoorsy person!"
"Sounds good! I think I'll go with the Guide Background so that I can match that somewhat!" Traves says, smiling, "However, I also want to be something akin to a half-dragon in my build!" Traves says.
"Then I know how you will be building your character's stats…" The Raven Queen says, and then place stat blocks before Traves and Ana, "Average out the stats of these monsters, and then make them your ability scores, if any of you get an average score of 10 or 11 in an ability, I will allow you to roll the dice to get something better, unless you wish to keep it." Traves nods but sees how many stat blocks he got, four in total, while Ana got two, however she is already doing the math. "And you can round to the nearest one's place if needed."
"Thank you!" Traves says, as they both start doing the math to get their base stats before their Ability Score Improvements from their backgrounds. With everything added together, they actually had a decent set of ability scores, all of them frankly more powerful than intended. But then come the feats, which, the Raven Queen allowed them to choose one more aside from the feat they would get at 1st Level, which both Traves and Ana decided that the best idea would be to get the Shadow Touched Feat, which would allow them to have extra influence from the Shadowfell.
After this, they would each be given the appropriate gear they would require for the first leg of their journey, but after everything is said and done, the Raven Queen stops them. "Before you go, there is one more thing I need to do…" The Raven Queen says.
"What is it?" The curious couple asks, to which the Raven Queen's hand rips through their heads and the two of them stand there mindless.
"I never said I would do this for free…" The Raven Queen says, before pushing the two through the portal with a smirk on her face. "Reincarnation is not something I normally do, and if I do reincarnate someone, I need to take their memories of their previous life from them so that their new lives are genuine… But don't worry you two…" She smiles as he holds a golden thread that flows from the two as they slowly descend into the world, "Your fates are already bound by a love that surpasses even death… So you needn't worry about that. All you need to do is return the favor to me at a time of my choosing. So enjoy your lives until then." She lets go of it as it flies through the portal with them and she walks away.
Sleepy Hollow, Darkwood Forest
The cries of an infant are heard as a wood elven man smiles as he slowly stands up, smiling as he sheds tears, and the shaman allows him in to see his wife and firstborn child. He walks into the room as he sees his wife holding the infant in her arms as she looks at her husband, "Clarence…" The Woman says, smiling at her. "Come meet your daughter!" The man walks over to her and smiles as he looks at the little girl in his wife's arms.
"She's so beautiful!" Clarence says, smiling.
"She is indeed, and now I can clearly see why your mother gave you a human name… The Clarity granted by holding your first born child in your arms…" The Elf woman says, smiling, "We shall name her… Clarity…"
"That is a beautiful name, my dearest!" He then turns towards the dragon egg that is sitting upon an altar near them, and he smiles, "And I am sure our savior's son would agree!"
"Still hoping that dragon egg will hatch someday soon?"
"How can I not hope? Our savior, nearly a decade ago, placed this egg in our care, and told us that the Raven Queen had said that, when the day would arrive, the cries of a firstborn would-" That is when they hear movement and… The egg begins to move, and there is the sound of scratching as the Elven man's eyes widen, shocked. "I just had to open my mouth!"
"You just had to say it!" Freya says, smiling at her husband, and then suddenly the egg falls to the ground, rolling across it until it stops in front of them..
'Tight… Confined…' A spanning thought reaches across a young mind, 'Can't breathe… Must… Escape… Have to…" That is what the little thing extends something, long sharp retractable claws that break open the shell, and, with a swift motion, break out enough that he can poke his head out of the egg and sees somebody approaching the egg.
"That's it, little one… Push! Push!" A voice says to him encouragingly, in which he looks to see somebody whose face is partially obscured by the egg. The little one then begins to push out more, breaking open the egg more and more, before finally escaping the egg, revealing itself, and it begins to crawl across the ground.
"A Dragonborn?" Freya asks, to which the Shaman comes in and carefully takes the little guy and begins to clean him.
"That's no ordinary dragonborn…" Clarence says, as, like the little girl, the creature is cleaned up, "He's a Half-Dragon…"
"A Half-Dragon Dragonborn?" Freya asks, "That means our savior's mate must've been a full Dragonborn!"
"This is certainly something…" Clarence says as they wrap the dragonborn in a warm swaddling cloth. "Though now we have been blessed by both the Savior and the Gods." He smiles as he takes the dragonborn into his arms. To which he smiles as he looks at his wife and the two of them set the two infants next to each other in a crib. As the little girl opens her eyes, she slowly reaches for the dragonborn across from her, who reaches back and their hands gently take hold of one another.
10 years later…
A little brook babbled as water flows through it with a little wood Elf boy standing on a rock. "Ugh! Where are they? I thought I told those two to stay close!" The boy says, sighing in frustration. However, as he says this, the sound of footsteps catches his attention, and somebody blazes past him at high speed. He then sees something running past him, something that is as bronze as the alloy and moving at high speed. The Elf Boy, seeing the person who just breezed past him, starts shouting indignantly in pure gibberish. Running through the forest, Klauthiym smiles the talons on his feet dig into the soil, breathing hard as he dashes through the forest, smiling as he makes his way out of sight and takes a dive underneath a bit of underbrush, which he smirks as he starts starts to look around.
'Heheh!' Klauthiym thinks, smiling as he gets ready to turn to see who is coming his way.
"I FOUND HIM!" A girl calls.
"CRUUUD!" Klauthiym shouts, running as fast as he can, seeing a shadow appearing behind him.
"You're mine, Cloth!" The girl says, smiling.
"Clarity, you're going too fast! I can't keep up!" The boy from earlier calls out, he knows he can't keep this up forever as he is no match for these wood elves in terms of speed, but if he can… That is when he feels something moving past the tip of his tail, and he yelps as he realizes he is almost caught, and in a desperate act, he tries to turn out of the way… Only for him to trip over a tree root, and with the Girl, Clarity, jumping at him and pinning him down.
"Gotcha!" Clarity says, smiling as she sits on his chest, having an adorable face, almost like that of a cat. "You're getting faster!"
"Dang it!" Klauthiym says, sighing with frustration, "Why can't I get away from you?"
"You'll never get away from me!" Clarity says, smiling, to which she gets off him and the two stand up as the third member of their party catches up to them.
"By the ancestors, can you two just calm down when it comes to playing tag?" The young wood elf boy asks. "I can hardly keep up with the two of you!"
"That's because you're just slow, Nalath!" Clarity says, smiling at him.
"Humph!" Nalath says. "Anyway, do you think we should be heading home soon? Cuz I think it will be getting dark by the time we get back!"
"I think that would be-" She would begin, but then pulls them down behind a bush.
"Clarity what the-" Nalath says.
"Shh!" Clarity hisses and the three look beyond the bush, in which she carefully points towards a deer, where they notice something attached to the sickly looking creature as it struggles to get the little monster off. The creature as it is knocked off, the deer collapses, black liquid flowing out of it's eyes and mouth, and the creature makes itself known. It is a wretched little thing, looking like small and pitiable fleshy maggots with two large legs and a mouth akin to that of a lamprey, and two large gray eyes. The creature screeches as it starts sniffing around. "What is that thing?"
"I don't know, but we need to get out of here, warn the rangers." Nalath says.
"Alright, let's get going… Let's move quietly…" Klauthiym carefully steps backwards as his talons carefully flex to feel the earth under his toes, so that he doesn't make too much excess noise. Clarity nods and carefully moves as he does, but makes sure to watch where her feet are going. However, that is when a twig snaps, and the wretched creature starts looking around and unleashes a screech, in which Klauthiym and Clarity look to Nalath, who looks terrified as more of those creatures start charging towards them. "RUN!" The three start running as fast as they can, making their way away from these creatures as they start chasing after them… However, what they didn't count on were how fast these creatures actually were, with five of them rapidly approaching them. The pursuit continues on for only a minute as the two jump over a log, only for Nalath to yelp as his foot hits a slick patch and he trips. "NALATH!" The elf boy picks himself up and tries to run, but the creatures leap at the boy who turns and screams. Seeing no other option, Klauthiym rushes back, and breathes deeply, unleashing a cone of lightning that catches three of these creatures, all of them turning to ash in an instant, while the remaining two, while not completely unscathed, get off with lesser burns. However, they remain fixed on their prize, Nalath, who struggles to get back up, in which one of the two manages to land and bite down into Nalath's chest.
Nalath's agonized screams echo across the forest as blood erupts from the wound and bone is heard being snapped, the little boy crying as he feels the creature's teeth sink into him. "GET OFF HIM!" Klauthiym shouts, in which, zooming past him, Clarity pulls out a dagger she had kept away for self defense, and, as she draws it, black energy is wreathed along the blade as she throws it at the monster, piercing it's skull as it falls to the ground. Nalath, screaming in pain, despite the pain, managed to grab the creature and pry it off him with as much strength as he could muster. Klauthim, looking at the little monsters as it turns to him, slams his tail down on the ground in challenge. The wretched creature screeches back at Klauthiym, who unleashes a roar from his lips as he charges at the little monster, swinging his fist, snarling as the little monster dodges the attack, in which it crouches low, leaping at him, only for the creature, so focused on feeding itself, doesn't see the tail coming in… The force of the blow strikes so hard that the creature screeches as it is torn apart.
Snorting, Klauthiym roars loudly, and once he has the fury out of his system, he turns to Nalath, who is bleeding badly, with Clarity at his side. "Nalath!" Klauthiym says, "It's alright, we'll get you home safely!"
"No…" Nalath says, coughing up blood, "It's too late for me…" Nalath groans in pain, "That thing broke several of my ribs, and I'm…" He coughs up more, "You have to leave me behind…!"
"No!" Clarity says, shedding tears, "We're not leaving you here!" Clarity looks around, "HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!"
"Nalath, stay with me!" Klauthiym says, holding his friend's hand.
"Klauthiym…" Nalath says, smiling at his friend, "I'm so scared… I don't want to die…"
"Nalath… Please, just hang on, we'll get you home!" That is when they hear the sound of more of those things approaching. "No…"
"Somebody help… Please!" Clarity begs, holding Nalath's other hands as the creatures come out of the underbrush, slowly approaching the trio.
"Protect her…" Nalath says, to which he looks at Klauthiym, who feels his friend's pulse slowly fade in his hand. Letting go of Nalath's hand, Klauthiym stands as he slams his tail down once more, roaring at the creatures as they ready to charge once more… However, that is when arrows fly from the depths of the forest and the creatures turn to see wood elves appearing out of the canopy and underbrush as they rush in to slaughter these creatures. The battle that ensues is short, but decisive as the rangers kill every last one of these creatures, and one of them walks over to them.
"Klauthiym, Clarity!" He says.
"Papa!" Clarity says, shedding tears as she hugs her father. "Please help him!" Clarity says, pointing to Nalath, the Lead Ranger walking over to the boy and placing a hand on his neck. "Papa?"
"I'm sorry, Clarity… He's dead…" Clarence says, Clarity looking at her father with horror on her face, and she begins to cry, with Klauthiym walking to his friend and adopted sister, pulling her into an embrace so she can weep into his shoulder. The rangers proceed to carefully wrap Nalath's body inside of cloth before they begin the long trek back to the village, where the guards see the rangers picking up the body.
"First Ranger, what happened?" The Guardsman asks.
"The children had a terrible run-in with the Sorrowsworn… It's as we feared… A Portal to the Shadowfell has opened in the Darkwood…" Clarence says, in which the guards look at him with horror dawning on their faces, whilst they bring everyone inside. The village looks with horror and sorrow as they gaze upon the cloth covered body of Nalath.
"Rangers! My son! Have you…?" An elven woman asks, rushing over, only to see them carrying the cloth covered body, "No…" The rangers set the body down so she can look, with a mournful wail following as she holds the body close, screaming as she holds her son in her arms. "YOU!" She turns to Klauthiym and she punches the boy across the face, causing him to topple over. "HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN TO MY SON!?" Klauthiym, looking at the woman with shock, sees her proceed to get down and punch him as fast and hard as she can, tears streaming down her face. "YOU WERE HIS BEST FRIEND, HOW COULD YOU LET HIM DIE!?"
"ENOUGH!" Clarence says, pulling the woman off, but she then jams her foot into Clarence's, causing the man to let go as the woman draws her dagger and rushes at Klauthiym, who, out of pure instincts, brings out his dagger, as the woman comes down towards him… However, before she can do anything, there is a splash of blood as everyone looks in horror, and the woman looks down to see a crying little girl glaring up at the woman.
"Keep your hands off him…" Clarity says, her dagger plunged deep into the woman's abdomen, before pulling it out. The woman screams as she holds her stomach, lying on the ground as a healer comes out, using his magic to heal the injured woman as another tends to Klauthiym, his eyes blank and emotionless as he witnesses this. Later that night, Klauthiym is sitting in a corner in his room, curled up in a ball, gritting his teeth as tears flow down his face, his nails digging into his skin as he tries to process what happened in his head. That is when the door opens as somebody steps inside.
"Leave me alone…" Klauthiym says, snarling as he bares his teeth. However, the steps get closer, to which he looks up with anger in his eyes, "LEAVE ME!" However, his eyes look to see there is Clarity, who is looking down at him with eyes stained red from crying. "Clarity…" She says nothing, but sits down next to him as she leans against him.
"Nalath was my friend too… That woman had no right to attack you like that." Clarity says.
"But I could've saved him!"
"Maybe, but we didn't make it in time…" Clarity says, "We were too slow to react, but Nalath wouldn't want us moping around like it's nothing."
"What do you suggest we do?"
"We get stronger… So that this doesn't happen again." Clarity says, looking at him, and then gently takes his hand in hers, despite his claws being out. "I won't let anyone like that hurt you ever again!"
"And I will keep you safe, no matter what it takes." Klauthiym says to Clarity, the two of them snuggling up to each other as the find safety and comfort in each other's presence.
The Next Morning…
The Villagers stand around the newly dug grave that Nalath's corpse is to be slowly lowered into… With the elves carefully carrying the casket that carries the boy's body, his wounded corpse carefully surrounded by flowers to hide the ugliness of his injuries, with those closest to him standing in their mourning garments with the procession slowly bringing the boy to his final resting place, Klauthiym standing as the pallbearers carefully bring the casket to it's final resting place, his eyes looking as his friend is slowly lowered into the ground. The Songs of Mourning being sung as Klauthiym approaches the casket, as according to tradition, the last person to speak with the deceased is to be the one who plant the sappling above the deceased grave… Dirt, with the aid of the druids, is slowly moved over Nalath's final resting place, in which Klauthiym carefully carries the sapling over to his friend's mound, using his claws to scoop away some of the mound's earth. With the aid of Clarity, they slowly lower the sapling into place, and bury its roots beneath the mound.
The mourners begin to file away as Klauthiym stands there, looking over his friend's grave, before suddenly a hand touches his shoulder, looking to see his adopted father, Clarence looking at him. "Klauthiym… It is time to go…"
"Just a little longer…" Klauthiym says, looking at his friend's grave, only then for a forceful blow to hit him in the stomach, "GCK! What was that for!?"
"To get you out of your slump… You want to be stronger, right?" Clarence says, throwing off his coat, and glaring at Klauthiym, before taking a stance, "Then prove it…" Klauthiym growls as he tosses off his coat and roars at his adopted father. Clarity, hearing Klauthiym roaring, would turn around and would try to rush back to stop the fighting, only for her mother to grab her.
"Mother, let me go!" Clarity says.
"Let them fight, Clarity…" Freya says, looking to her husband as the two square off, with Klauthiym slamming his tail down.
"Are you going to come at me or not?" Klauthiym snarls.
"If I wanted to, I could easily defeat you with one finger, son… So come at me!" Clarence says. Klauthiym snarls as he charges at his adopted father, roaring in anger, the emotions that he had been bundling up bursting out of him, bringing up his fists to the man he respected for so long. The man takes the swipe to the face, leaving a scratch across it, but Clarence looks at him, unimpressed. "Is that all?" Klauthiym snarls as he begins a kick, only for the attack to be caught with one hand and for Klauthiym to be knocked aside. However, as Wood Elf rears his hand back, the Bronze Dragonborn sees the man seriously only extending a single finger before, in a swift motion, jabbing his finger twice into Klauthiym's chest, the Dragonborn having the wind knocked out of him from those two rather hard pokes. Klauthiym rolls across the ground, gasping and coughing as he tries to pick himself up off the ground.
"Really? You hit me twice in one move?" Klauthiym asks.
"Klauthiym, do you know why you lost here?" Clarence asks.
"I rushed in without thinking."
"It's not just that, you're trying to bury your emotions, to repress them and let them fester." Clarence says, "If you don't unleash your emotions, they will end up turning into something the Sorrowsworn can detect and grow stronger from!"
"Sorrowsworn?" Klauthiym asks.
"Those creatures you encountered were known as the Sorrowsworn, monsters that feed off of negative emotions and grow stronger from them. The monsters you encountered were the weakest of them, known as the Wretched, who embody the Emotion of Unhappiness, they are also the weakest of the Sorrowsworn, and they hunt in packs in order to hunt down those they could get their fangs upon." He then starts moving his arms and creates a shadowy essence from his fists, and then vanishes in this blackness, appearing behind Klauthiym, moving in a shadowy essence. "However, if you can become one with the energies of the Realm by which they come from, then you can shield yourself from their senses." He then vanishes once more, "Or from the senses of others who think they can use the darkness as their ally, for we Warriors of the Shadow are one with the Darkness, just as much as our sibling order, the Gloom Stalker Conclave and the Sorcerers of the Shadows."
Klauthiym looks at his adopted father, who stands there, looking at him. "But to control the Darkness, you must acknowledge and release your inner Darkness so they cannot detect it." Clarence says, but then teleports over to Klauthiym and hugs him, "Please, learn how I fight, so that I don't end up losing the boy I see as a son." Klauthiym, biting his lips, raises his hands and hugs his adopted father, and begins crying as the elven man holds Klauthiym close. Clarity looks at her mother, wondering why she stopped her, but then Freya smiles at her daughter.
"Clarity, if you wish to stay by his side, you will also need to delve into the darkness as well." Freya says, "I will begin your training as a Gloom Stalker Ranger. I stopped you, because your brother needed this. Dragonborn often instinctively represses their negative emotions to the point they fester, and the only way they can release their inner darkness is through battle. If Klauthiym had allowed his feelings to fester, then the Sorrowsworn would've detected them, and would've allowed them to grow stronger."
"Then you're saying this is only to help him release his emotions is through battle?" Clarity asks, looking at her mother incredulously.
"That is exactly it, even more so since he is a Half-Dragon as well." Freya says, looking at her daughter. "That is why he must learn to release his emotions so that the Darkness is his ally, and doesn't overtake him." Freya doesn't like it, but she can understand what her mother is telling her, in which she looks at her adopted brother and gently holds her hands together.
7 Years Later…
Running through the forest in the dead of night, Klauthiym jumps from tree to tree, carefully landing before launching at the next one, looking around with his draconic eyes as Clarity lands on a tree nearby, the two of them wearing garments to best conceal them in the forest's shadows, and both of them sit on a tree overlooking what appears to be a portal to the Shadowfell, and something appears to be exiting from it. "Shadow Mastiff…" Clarity says in Elvish, looking at her brother. "Shall I take the shot?"
"Wait, sister, we need to see if it is in a pack or if it's a lone hound." Klauthiym says, looking at her, the young woman nodding as she gets her bow ready. The Mastiff sniffed around, the two hunters did their best to remain still… However, that is when the sound of wind being broken and the smell of something radiating out causes the Hound to growl, and then unleashed a how in their direction!
"DAMMIT CLOTH!"
"I'M SORRY!" Klauthiym says, jumping down as climbs down and gets in front of the shadowy hound, roaring at it as he slams his tail down at the beast, who snarls back, Klauthiym rushing forward as he raises his dagger at the monstrosity and slashes across it's face, which the Mastiff growls, only to be followed by a kick as the hound yelps. The creature, snarling at him, growls as he launches at Klauthiym, it's rage boiling over as black energy erupts from it's fangs as it bites deep into Klauthiym's arm as he brings it up to block it. Klauthiym screams in agony, as he realizes what is going on, being knocked down by both the wound and the force behind the blow, 'A Brutal Critical! DAMN MY LUCK!"
"KLAUTHIYM!" Clarity shouts, horrified, realizing how bad this has turned out so quickly. Opening her mouth, a sickening green light flashes from it and hits the hound dead, on, who yelps painfully as it is knocked off of Klauthiym, who snarls as he picks himself back up, and readies his claws again.
'I forgot, due to the darkened environment, it is much more durable, however, if I can get one more strong hit and then a blast from my breath weapon, I can end this thing in one more attack.' Klauthiym thinks as he looks at the Shadow Mastiff, who is vomiting. Sheathing his dagger, he swings his leg at the creature, striking first with that, and then smacking it across the face with his tail, and then finally, taking his horse stance as he spins, he breathes deeply and unleashes his breath weapon, a cone of lightning that, the Shadow Mastiff, it's body being engulfed in the bright light of the electricity, screams as it is turned to shadowy ashes, and Klauthiym breathes deeply as he takes a neutral stance, feeling a hand touching his back, and a soothing warmth filling his back. Turning to Clarity, she is glaring at him, having blown their cover. "I'm sorry, Clarity, I didn't feel that one coming."
"First, that's not what I'm angry about. Second, what did you eat today? Third, why did you charge in like that instead of blasting it, sending it flying with a Gust instead of attacking it head on? There was a cliff on the other side of the portal."
"Oops…" Klauthiym says.
"Yeah, major oops, you do have magic, you know!" Clarity says, "You didn't spend all that time training to master it just to forget about it!"
"I forgot about it, okay? I was panicking, you know I don't think when I panic!" Klauthiym, to which Clarity just shakes her head, which begins to hurt. Klauthiym hugs her, and begins purring. "Nope! Not gonna work this time!" She then looks at him making the most adorable face. 'Must… Resist… Blinding… Cuteness…!' She thinks, her eyebrow twitching. "You're ignoring my other question, what did you eat?"
"I… I didn't get a chance to eat lunch today so I ate some mushrooms we found earlier!"
"Mushrooms!?" Clarity says, "You know father told you not to eat those!"
"I was hungry! We didn't have much time to grab a bite before we got sent out on this hunt!" Klauthiym says. "I know they give me gas but would we have fared better if I had nothing in my stomach?"
"Fair…" Clarity snarls, knowing he has a point. "But next time, ask me if I have anything to munch on! I'll gladly share my food with you if you need something."
"Understood…" Klauthiym says, sighing. That is when they hear the portal reacting to something, and they turn to it. "Looks like we got more company headed our way!"
"Yeah." Clarity draws her bow as something seems to fly towards the portal and dives right through it, flying past the two of them at startling speed before landing behind them. What they see is absolutely stunning, it appears to be a humanoid Raven standing at around 5ft 6in tall, with hands at the elbow joints of it's Wings, dressed in dark colors as it turns around towards the group and looks at them. "Who are you!?"
"Wait wait!" The man says, raising his hands, "I mean you no harm!" He then drops his weapons to the ground, making him defenseless. "My name is Nevermore, and I am on a mission from her Royal Highness, the Raven Queen!"
"And what does the Raven Queen want in the Material Realm?" Klauthiym says.
"She is seeking champions who might be able to aid her in the endeavors concerning the Shadowfell! I am looking for Two individuals by the name of Clarity Ravenwing and Klauthiym Shadowflame!" The two of them look at each other and begin to relax their stances.
"Perhaps we could discuss this where it is safer? We were sent on a mission to discover if there was indeed a portal here, but if the Raven Queen is calling aid from the Material Realm, it can't be good."
"Trust me, Lady Ravenwing, it's not good at all, and…" His eyes glow, "I honestly do not know why she would call upon you two, you're both barely halfway through Second Level… Though, admittedly, I'm no better, so I don't understand why she would make me her personal messenger for the two of you." The two nod and get ready to depart, but then notices a Raven sitting on a branch nearby, in which he bows to it and the raven flies through the portal.
Flying through the Bleak and Depressing region, the Raven flies over lakes of fetid sludge, dark and depressing mountain ranges, and towards a great black fortress that sits upon a mighty stone hill, in which it flies among the flock of ravens and lands on the hand of the Raven Queen herself, croaking it's report. "Ah, so it seems that they are doing well… Good… We will need them soon…" She looks over to the Map of the Shadowfell, frowning as she looks towards the location on the map, one of the many Domains of Dread, this one, on the image of the Map, is beginning to glow with light… "Nevermore… Hurry…"
What happens after that… Is a Story for Another Day…