Chapter 78: Ayan’s History With The Elves

Chapter 78: Chapter 78: Ayan’s History With The Elves

Arin had spent most of the morning mulling over Saira’s story. She had been brought to the Elf Lands as a slave a century ago. She had suffered under the elves, but a young elf named Elmora had secretly snuck in to see her every night. She had brought along food and water, as well as teaching Saira to control her mana, becoming her closest friend. Then Elmora had died and Saira had refused to say anything more.

Arin respected that, but something was bugging him. Saira wasn’t the only one in their group with a history with the elves. Ayan had one too. Arin found him later that afternoon, standing at the edge of the settlement. The dragon was looking towards the forest, his usual stoic expression on his face. "Ayan." Ayan turned around. "Yes, Master Arin?" Arin walked up beside him. "I want to ask you something." "Of course." "You’ve been to the Elf Lands before, yes?" Ayan nodded. "Yes." "Before Elias?" At that question, Ayan paused. Then he answered, "yes. Before I ever met Elias." Arin’s eyebrows went up. "So your first trip to the Elf Lands had nothing to do with him?" "Correct."

"How did you end up here?" Ayan looked towards the forest. "I was travelling alone at the time." Ayan said casually, like it was something he barely remembered. "I found the Elf Lands and stayed here for a while." "You didn’t stay for long?" "Not for long." Arin nodded. "And the dungeon?" "I learned about it during that period." "So you knew about the Elven Dungeon before you even met Elias?" Ayan nodded. "Yes." Arin smiled. "That explains how you knew about this place." Ayan nodded. "I remembered roughly where it was." The dragon paused for a moment, eyes distant. "Later, I met Elias." Arin’s expression softened. He had heard more than enough stories about Elias to understand just how important that first meeting had been.

"What happened after you met him?" "Our paths crossed a few times before we actually became companions." Ayan looked towards the settlement. "Eventually, I told him about the ancient dungeon in the Elf Lands." Arin immediately caught on. "And that’s when Elias became interested in it." "Very interested." Ayan gave a small smile. "He had always been fascinated with ancient dungeons." "And he wanted to conquer it?" "Yes." Arin nodded. "So you came back here with him?" "This time, I didn’t come alone." Ayan’s expression became a little distant. "Elias and I came back to the Elf Lands together." Arin looked towards the forest. "That’s when you met Saira."

Ayan’s eyes moved slightly. "Yes." Arin waited for him to continue. "When we arrived, things had changed since my first trip here." "How much?" "Enough that a lot of places weren’t recognizable." He paused. "The elves had become more organized, and the settlement itself had grown." "Eldran wasn’t chief yet?" "No." "Who was?" "I don’t remember his name." Arin nodded. It didn’t matter. Not right now. "So what happened after you arrived?" "We went to the dungeon." Arin’s interest perked up. "Immediately?" "After talking with the elves and gathering what information we could." Ayan nodded. "Elias wanted to see the dungeon for himself." So they went inside. The dungeon had been old then, the halls carved out of the very ground of the Elf Lands. Some parts of it had been damaged by time, while other parts remained untouched. Elias and Ayan had fought their way through the dungeon, past the monsters, past the defenses, past whatever it was guarding. And eventually, the two of them had conquered the dungeon. Arin stared at him.

"So Elias actually conquered the dungeon?" "Yes." "Then why didn’t he claim it?" Ayan shook his head. "Because the dungeon already had an owner." Arin frowned. "He couldn’t become its master?" "No." "Even after conquering it?" "Even then?" Ayan’s gaze became more serious. "Elias tried to claim it, but the dungeon rejected his mastery." "Did he know who the owner was?" "No." "Did the dungeon tell him?" "No." Arin rubbed his chin. "So it had an owner, but you had no idea who it was?" "Correct." "And Elias couldn’t claim it?" "Correct."

Arin mulled that over for a moment. That was strange, but before he could ask anything else, Ayan continued. "We left shortly after that." "And that’s when you found Saira?" "Actually, not right away." Arin nodded. That made a difference. "You found her on the same trip?" "Yes." Ayan’s expression changed slightly. "She was already a slave when we encountered her." Arin’s eyes darkened. "So everything Saira told me happened before you met her?"

"Yes." "She was already captured, beaten, and tortured." "Yes." "Elmora was already her friend?" "Yes." "Then Elmora died?" Ayan nodded slowly. "She had already lost her." Arin’s voice was quieter. "And that’s when you found Saira?" "No." Ayan answered immediately. "We found her after Elmora’s death." Arin looked at him. "What happened?" Ayan took a breath. "Saira had learned about Elmora’s death." Arin remembered what Saira had looked like when she had told him that. The look of rage on her face. "She became enraged." "Yes." "She lost control of herself." "Yes."

"And the elves came after her." Ayan’s eyes darkened. "They formed a mob." Arin’s expression hardened. "How many?" "A lot." Ayan shook his head. "I don’t remember how many there were." "But there were enough to surround her." "What were they going to do?" "Kill her." Arin went silent. "Saira fought them off." "She wasn’t thinking clearly. She had just lost the one person who had been kind to her." Ayan looked downwards slightly. "She was surrounded by people she had every reason to hate." "So she fought them off." "Yes." "Was Elias there?" "Not at first." Arin looked at him. "You were?" "Yes." Ayan’s voice was quiet. "I saw what happened and notified Elias." Arin nodded. "And then?" "And then we went there together." Ayan paused. "The mob was already out of control." "Saira was fighting off everyone who came near her."

"The elves were attacking her from all sides." Arin clenched a fist. "And Elias stopped them." "Yes." "How?" "He stepped in between them." Arin stared. "Just him?" "Just him." Ayan gave a small smile. "You know Elias." Arin laughed lightly. "Yeah." Ayan continued. "Elias used his Dungeon Master Authority." Everything went silent. The mob stopped. Saira stopped. Even the elves who had been about to kill her turned away. Elias hadn’t killed them, but he had made them stop. "What happened to Saira?" Arin asked. "She attacked Elias." Arin raised an eyebrow. "She attacked the guy who just saved her?" "She was enraged." Ayan shrugged a little. "She didn’t trust him." "What happened?" "Elias didn’t retaliate." "He let her attack until she was worn out."

"And then he talked to her." Arin stayed quiet. "What did he say?" "I don’t exactly remember." Ayan looked away. "But he told her that she didn’t have to continue attacking him." "She had lost everything." "And he gave her another option." Arin understood. "He offered her a place with him." "Yes." "That’s when he made the bond." Ayan nodded. "Elias made a Dungeon Master’s Bond with Saira." Arin looked back towards the settlement. "So that’s how she became his servant." "She didn’t become his servant because of coercion." Ayan said firmly. "She chose to stay." Arin nodded. It made more sense now. Saira and Elias made sense together. She had been brought there after Elmora’s death. He hadn’t forced her to forget what happened. He had merely given her somewhere to go. "And you?" Ayan looked at him.

"What about me?" "You were there." "Yes." "You watched everything happen." "Yes." "You stayed with Saira afterwards." Ayan nodded. "She became part of the group." Arin gave a small smile. "So you, Elias, and Saira were together again?" "Yes." "And you went back to the dungeon again?" "Yes." "Did Elias try to claim it again?" Ayan nodded. "He did." "And?" "The same thing happened." "The dungeon rejected him." Arin sighed. "So even after all that, he still couldn’t claim it." "No." "Did he ever find out who owned it?" "No."

Arin stared towards the forest. The ancient dungeon had stood long before Elias arrived, and it had its own master. A Dungeon Master strong enough to make it, and even Elias couldn’t take it. There were too many things left unanswered, but one thing was certain. Ayan’s connection to the Elf Lands began long before Saira and long before Elias. His first trip had been on his own, and his second with Elias. And it was on the second trip that he had met Saira.

Arin looked towards Ayan. "When you first came to the Elf Lands by yourself, did you ever meet Elmora?" "No." "Did you meet Saira?" "No." "Then everything that happened with them came after you met Elias?" "Yes." Arin nodded. It all made sense now. Ayan’s connection to the Elf Lands came first. Then Elias. And then, eventually, Saira’s story. Arin looked towards the trees again. "I wonder what it looked like to you when you first came here." "It was quieter." Ayan said thoughtfully. "Anything else?" "It felt older." Arin chuckled. "That’s not very helpful." "I am old, Master Arin." "You’re avoiding the question." "I am answering it." Arin shook his head. "Never mind." Ayan gave a quiet laugh. For a long moment, the two of them stood in silence. Then Arin’s expression turned serious again. "So the dungeon is still here."

"Yes." "And it still has an owner." Ayan nodded. "Or at least, it still recognizes that it has one." Arin looked at him. "What do you mean?" "I don’t know." Ayan turned towards the trees. "When Elias tried to claim it, the dungeon rejected him." "That’s all we knew." Arin frowned. "So even Elias couldn’t figure it out?" "No." Arin sighed. Another mystery. It seemed like this Elf Land had more than its fair share. He looked towards the distant trees. Somewhere behind them was an ancient dungeon. One that Elias had conquered, but never claimed. One that still had an unknown master. And Arin had a feeling that there would come a day where he would have to enter it himself.