Draylen and Argo walked through the dark streets, side by side. After several hours of gruelling training, the sky had turned dark. The city had quickly shifted to it's night hours, the previous bustling scene replaced with a silent one.

Although he was covered in a thick layer of dust, Draylen couldn't be bothered to pat it all off. In fact, the clothes he wore had now been thoroughly dyed dark brown. If his previous appearance was that of a peasant, he now looked like a seasoned warrior as long as his young face was factored out of the equation.

"Are you sure grandpa Horatio and elder Appafin won't mind us staying out for so long?" Draylen asked doubtfully, playing gently with Barong's fluffy ears.

Argo nodded.

"I go out all the time. Besides, they're likely still discussing some matters."

"Really? But it's already evening."

"That's just how important the things they are talking about are." Argo replied, frowning slightly.

Draylen shrugged.

"They're talking about the Fallen, aren't they." He asked with a small crease on his forehead.

"Yes." Argo said, also sporting a troubled look.

"Well, they haven't made any significant moves lately." Draylen remarked casually.

"That's exactly why my master and yours are so concerned. Whenever they go silent, they are cooking up some big plan. I think my master has already gone around and spoken with several other elders about the Fallen as well."

The street fell silent for a moment, with only the occasional owl's hooting in the background. The two boys turned a corner, walking into a larger ad wider street. The ribbons of moonlight shone down into the street, providing dim lighting.

"Say, lil'bro. Since you and me are like brothers, let's talk about each other's past." Argo said, trying to initiate a conversation.

Draylen shrugged lightly.

"My story is boring. I lost all of my memories from when I was younger, the only thing I know is life as a Dragon Summoner. You know, training, hunting, sheltering during Winter and sun bathing in the Summer. Nothing really special."

Argo nodded and said.

"That goes for the majority of Dragon Summoners. We hold the most prestigious profession yet we live so frugally."

The street fell into silence a second time, with the two making their way slowly to the city gates.

"What about you, big brother? You must have a more interesting story than mine."

Suddenly, Argo let out a strange laugh.

"I guess you could call it that."

He stopped talking, as if building up the confidence to speak. Just as Draylen was about to inquire, he began to talk.

"I was born in a simple village, around the empire's outskirts. I was born into a loving and caring family, like everyone else."

Although nothing had happened yet, Draylen suddenly had a bad feeling. This was mainly due to the way in which Argo had laughed. He had sensed a myriad of negative emotions, sadness, hate, anger and frustration. This, combined with his big brother's unusually morose tone made him feel that Argo's past was full of pain.

"I grew up as an ordinary farm boy, ploughing the fields, milking the cows you get the idea. My life was tiring but also fulfilling. Best of all was the fact that after I came home from working the fields with my father, my mother and sister would have cooked up a frugal but sumptuous meal."

The next line caused Draylen's blood to turn cold.

"It lasted until I turned 6. It was just before Winter, so we had to stock up on food, just like all the other families in our village. My father and I went out to hunt rabbits and check the traps we set out a few days before. It was like any other year, we followed a simple routine and this was no different. I remember going to check the traps, finding several quarry. 'Dad, dad!' I shouted, wanting to show off how many rabbits we had caught."

By now, Argo had stopped walking. He stood still in the middle of the dark road, with different emotions across his face. Draylen couldn't see, but from his big brother's distressed tone ad occasional sniffing, he could tell that the latter was crying.

"I looked and shouted, 'dad where are you?' but got no response. I eventually found him lying on the ground in a pool of his own red blood. A black robed man stood on his corpse, I remember his facial features clearly. Even his expression."

"You know? The man was smiling like a madman. The moment he looked at me, I could feel my hairs standing on end. He looked at me like I was an animal, he looked at me how I would look at a rabbit."

"Do you know what happened next?" Argo asked, voice breaking.

Draylen didn't have the courage to speak, or rather, his voice simply wouldn't come out. Thus he just shook his head slightly. As if sensing Draylen's action, Argo continued.

"I ran, instantly, without looking back. I knew I couldn't defeat that black robed man, I wasn't even able to fight at that time, let alone think properly. And that was also the moment my life turned around. I awakened my affinity with the wind element and also it's sub-type, lightning. A trek that would have taken me several hours took me only a few minutes, even the black robed man couldn't keep up with me."

"But that's not the worst part. Do you know what I saw when I got back?"

This was obviously a rhetoric, yet Draylen felt a strong urge to answer.

"My village and home up in flames, my neighbours and friends slain and lying on the floor."

"I didn't even try to find my family, how could their fate be any different?"

"And so, I ran and ran, as fast as my legs could carry me. I ran so much that I fainted and was eventually picked up by my my current master, elder Appafin."

Argo turned around, looking directly into Draylen's eyes.

"You might be wondering why I'm telling you this."

Draylen nodded slowly.

Argo breathed in deeply, wiping away the tears.

"It's to warn you not to make mistakes that you'll regret. Don't be like me, you don't know what I'd give for a chance to return to that time and look for my mother and sister. Who knows, I might have managed to save them! My point is, make the most of everything you have, you don't know when everything you love will disappear, it could be today, tomorrow, or even never happen."

Draylen nodded. There were several emotions that were rampaging within him, the most prominent one being sorrow for his companion, whilst the other was intense rage. Barong, who had stayed silent the entire time unsheathed his claws, sensing his master's emotions through their link.

"Who did it?"

Just as Argo was about to answer, they noticed a quiet shuffling in a nearby alleyway. Dismissing Draylen's question and casting his emotions aside, he walked over silently.

'It's night time, what kind of person would go out so late?'

Noticing that Argo seemed to want to end the conversation, Draylen followed behind him. They walked into the dark alleyway, with soundless movements. He saw a black robed person shuffling about, seemingly trying to draw on the ground.

Just as Draylen was about to ask the man what he was doing, Argo quickly covered his mouth. The latter shook his head quickly before whispering to Draylen.

"He's a member of the Fallen."

Draylen looked at Argo with a shocked expression.

"What? How do you know?"

"Well obviously from his suspicious movements and that black robe. What kind of person wears a black robe, ever?"

"The Fallen."

Their exchange was quick and quiet, the Fallen didn't notice, instead being engrossed in his drawing. Argo and Draylen stepped back from the alley, pressing themselves against the nearby walls.

"Get ready to attack him. I'll shoot an arrow to begin with and pin him down, whilst you go in afterwards and knock him out." Argo said, gesturing violently.

"How do I do that?"

"Just hit him really hard in the head."

Draylen nodded, before quickly summoning his familiar armaments. The black smoke which accompanied his armaments was completely invisible in the night. He gently placed Barong onto the floor, before unsheathing his wrist blades.

His familiar also got ready for combat, hugging the ground. Argo also summoned his bow, hiding it behind the wall to stop the Fallen from noticing the bright sparks. He then drew an arrow from the quiver that had just materialised and placed it on the bowstring.

After a silent count down from three, Argo crouched out from his cover, aiming and firing in an instant. As soon as Draylen saw the arrow disappear from the bow, Draylen ducked into the alleyway, charging forward.

Barong followed close by his feet, almost like a shadow.

-Thwunk!

A bright yellow arrow passed through the Fallen's leg just as he stood up in panic. He let out a distressed yell as the arrow hooked into his flesh like a fish hook. It then passed through and buried itself into the ground, the sheer force created pulled the man's leg back and caused him to fall into the splits.

Draylen then ran over and kicked the man in the head with all his strength, knocking him to the ground. Barong also helped, shooting out a puff of flame which set the Fallen's clothes alight.

Although it was just a suspicion, Draylen was sure that the people who had harmed Argo in the past were the Fallen. Thus, he silently vowed to never show mercy to anyone who sided with them.

The boy quickly delivered another kick into the man's forehead, before turning to look at Argo.

"What now?"

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Race suggestion: From TigerBloodImmortal

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[Ko'qurochi]

A warlike race that thrives on chaos. They are often called 'four arms' by other races due to their unique physique and have skin as dark as the abyss, the commoners have grey hair and silver eyes whilst Ko'qurochi royalty have golden blonde hair and sun-orange eyes.

The males of the race are straight forward and brutal. They have a somewhat limited thought process but when it comes to violent ways to dismember an opponent, they are unmatched. The female Ko'qurochi are the complete opposite of the males, whilst still war lovers, they have weaker physiques but immense intelligence to make up for it. They are the strategists of the Ko'qurochi.

The Ko'qurochi have a matriarchal society, with a female member being the leader. They also have a War leader, who is a male, with equal say to his female counterpart. They are a race with a unique method of cultivation. Instead of drawing mana into their bodies, their skin absorbs it instead. The Ko'qurochi are able to strengthen their bodies almost indefinitely.

They are often a neutral faction, participating with the side that can offer a bloodier battle. They have a strong dislike for peaceful races, such as the Jade Elves, who are complete opposites to the Ko'qurochi values.

"Our blades are sharp, limbs will sever at mere sight."

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