The figure drew closer, revealing it was Eleanor Gray, the third trainee; her long blonde hair a beacon of light in the dim corridor.
Eleanor casually walked over to the duo, and layed a hand on the old guard, and whispered "somnum," causing him to instantly fall to the floor, asleep.
"What? Why did you do that!" asked Ryan.
"To save you, idiot, now come on, we have to go." She responded.
They both began running to the exit while Ryan contemplated whether he should just give himself up and try to explain what had happened or escape.
"Don't stop; you won't be able to explain to them what happened to Toris; they will just think you are an elf spy." Said Eleanor.
"Ho- How did you know that something happened to Toris?" Said Ryan, still tearful.
"You left with Toris to go to the training hall, just you two. Only you leave the hall, and then with what you said to the guard? It's obvious! But why you did it? I'm curious"
The exit was up ahead. Only one guard remained at the gate as the others were checking out the training hall.
"Hey! guard! The others need help in the training hall." shouted Eleanor, who had slowed her pace down to a walk.
"I can't go! I have to protect the gate," responded the guard.
"Damn, my mana's being wasted, somnum" muttered Eleanor, who touched the guard, sending him collapsing to the floor, asleep.
Ouch! He hit the floor at a bad angle, thought Ryan, looking at the guard who fell head first.
Eleanor walked past the sleeping guard, opened the large gate and forced Ryan through the illusion that hid the gate.
Rain poured down from the clouds, quickly
Damn, I'm back in the forest already, and I didn't even much at lunch!
"Okay! Time to run!" shouted Eleanor as she heard rushing footsteps coming from the gate.
"Ignis Pila" A ball of fire smashed into the gate, erupting and splashing the door with fire.
Splashes of water fell onto the fire covered door, rapidly extinguishing it.
The duo bolted off into the forest. After many minutes of full pace running they started to slow down.
Now that the adrenaline had passed, Ryan began to worry for what Eleanor's intentions were. Why would she break him free if he had just killed someone?
"Why did you help me? What are your intentions? Are you a spy who brought me out to kill me?" Ryan asked, fearful for his life.
"What? Haha, No, stupid. I am a human. I just didn't want a hero to die. We need you to help with the giants, elves, and dwarves."
"How do you know for sure that I'm the hero?" Ryan asked.
"Because no one else could be so foolish."
Ryan's face drooped.
"Don't worry; I'll help you with that. I'll tell you everything you need to know about this world to survive, but first, what happened between you and Toris? I can't believe someone as weak as you could even touch him."
"I'm not entirely sure what happened. Toris tried to check what affinities I have, but I suddenly felt an intense pain and fell asleep. When I woke up maybe a minute later, Toris was dead with his head gone. I remember what happened much more clearly now. Something took over my body and killed him, made his head explode without even saying anything; it also said something in a language I don't know and then I woke up and took control again."
"Ahh, I may have heard of this in a myth. The daughter of Jupiter, Juventas, was attacked when she was young by assassins, with no one to protect her she was bound to die. But then, she suddenly collapsed, and moments later she rose up, her eyes perfectly purple, as she murdered everyone attacking her."
She continued, "Some say it was a spell that a parent casts on their child, and when their life is in danger, the parent's soul takes control. I think the soul takeover can only happen once, and then never again or the caster absorbs the targets soul."
Impossible, my parents couldn't be more ordinary. Well, then again my dad did dissapear when I was young…
"Does the caster have to be a parent? Mine were very ordinary. Oh and why did it kill Toris? He was only checking what element I was proficient in." Questioned Ryan.
A frown emerged on Eleanor's face, "Do you think I know everything? I'm very young, younger than you probably!"
"What? You look like you are 29!" Said Ryan, surprised.
"I'm 21," she growled, her frown deepening.
The two were now deep in the forest, and faint traces of moonlight seeped through the canopy above, illuminating their surroundings as they kept trundling further away from the human rebel hideout.
"Soooo, when are we going to stop walking?" Asked Ryan.
"When we find a suitable cave." Responded Eleanor.
"Why not just go up that tree and sit on the branches?"
Eleanor's head twisted up. "I guess we could try that," she said, before grabbing onto the branches of the tree and hurling herself up, followed by Ryan, who was looking around the entire time as he climbed.
The two were now settled into spots high up in the tree and began talking quietly to not attract attention.
Now settled, Eleanor began explaining the basic knowledge of this world required to survive: "So, you know nothing about this world right?" Ryan nodded, "Well firstly, there are four higher races: humans, elves, giants, and dwarfs. Dwarves are mostly against us, but they are split between joining the war and not joining. Oh, and there are lower races, ones slightly intelligent like goblins and ogres but us four races are the only ones that matter. Another important thing to know is that we are currently in an Elven Kingdom near to a city called Foles and a border town named Elerea, led by an elf named Deuteros."
"Okay, that's all for now, try to rest and I'll wake you up when it's your turn to go on watch." Finished Eleanor.