Lumen!
ROB
I release an audible groan, as I slid out of the saddle. The skin on my legs worn from days of riding. I turn to help my companion off her steed, but she jumps gracefully off the saddle landing perfectly. I grumble insults under my breath, as I follow her to the wooden rail to tie up our horses. I then hobble up the worn wooden steps into the tavern. All noise stops as we walk in. Whispers are passed throughout the room, as they study my partner. “Go away, you bloody elf!” is yelled across the bar. She then looks the man square in the eye, and he cowers in fear.
“Where is the owner of the tavern!” she demands.
“Here,” chides a stout man who hurriedly traverses the length of the room to meet us.
“I wish to purchase a room for the two of us.”
“That will be ten coppers. And you will do well to remember that no magic is permitted inside these walls.”
“Thank you,” she says coolly, giving him the money. He then gives her a key with “28” carved into its handle.
I wake with a start, and groan again from my aching thighs. When I go to stand, my back gives out and I fall back to the wooden floor. I wait a few minutes, and try again to stand; this time I manage the feat. I turn to wake Iye, but she is not there. Then I begin to hear crashes coming from down stairs. I quickly put my boots on, and hop down the stairs, wincing with at every step.
At the bottom I see Iye fighting four men at the same time, and seems to be winning. She flys around them, as if they were bumbling idiots. Landing blows left and right, dumping under swinging arms, and missing kicks. I quickly run into the brawl and grab her, and I see such a look of anger across her face. I release my hold, but at that exact moment a fist zeros in on my face, and I don't have time to move before my lights are punched out.
IYE
I quickly begin to work up a sweat, as these men continue to fight. I’m just getting the upper hand, when Rob comes barreling down the stairs. Quickly trying to end the brawl before he has a chance to intervene, I begin to hit with more force. I get one down, and aim to get another, when Rob jerks back my shoulder. Fury shoots through me, that he would try to stop me. His arm lets go, but as I turn I see a fist only inches from connecting with my face. I duck out of instinct, but Rob is not so lucky. There is an audible crack, as Robs nose snaps. He falls to the ground, motionless. Now even more angered, I quickly knock the remaining three buffoons, but not before the rest of the people in the tavern crowd around me.
I grab Rob, hefting him on my shoulder, and storm out of the building. From the back I hear the men begin to steer. With a wave of my hand, his eyes fly open. “What happened…?” Rob mumbles.
“Don’t ever step into a fight again!” I scream at him.
“I was just trying to help.”
“I had it handled!”
“Okay, I’m sorry. Besides, you shouldn’t be fighting with them anyways.”
“Those men deserve everything that they got!”
I fume in anger, at the thought of those men. Their rough hands grabbing me, thinking that they would win. I throw my self up on the saddle, and zone out as the steady beat of the horses hooves fill my mind.
ROB
I bend down by the stream and try to rub off the blood from my face and neck, and surprisingly find it in my hair. Seeing no other option, I simply lay down, and dunk my head under the water. The cold water drips down my shirt, as I stand back up.
“Where to next, Warrior Queen.”
“You will not call me that if you wish to keep peace.”
“Alright, grouch,” I mumble under my breath.
“We do not have much money left, so we will have to go into town and make some,” she says with a sigh.
“Do you ever feel badly about taking money?”
“At first, but not any more. It is the only way we can survive.”
“Well what if we could find dragon gold, or something!”
“You know dragon gold is cursed, and besides, do you think you could steal from a dragon and live to tell the tale?”
“I know. I’m just saying, or maybe a hoard of dwarf gems.”
“Do not even suggest it. I would rather starve than live of the product of dwarves.”
“Okay. Well we will be going into town shortly, and this time no fighting please.”
“I do not make promises that cannot be kept!”, she said with an air of actuality that quickly stopped the conversation.

The smell of cattle hits me first, as me near the city. Gagging under my breath, I pass the guards stationed at the gate. With a quick nod, we are ushered into the crowded streets. Desperate for money, we ride around the hive of people, looking for a chance to make a little coin. We press on for a little longer, when we pass a poster of the Boy Prince’s. Getting closer, we soon hear that he has been captured, and a there is a great award for his safe return.

“What do you think Iye?”

“What do I think? I think I would like to have that reward.”

“As would every other bloody peasant in this town, but what makes us more capable?”

“I have been aware of the Boy Prince’s capture for some time.”

“What!? How could you know!? We have been on the road for a week!”

“If I told you everything, then you would not look at me the same,” and with that it was very clear she was done talking.

Iye turns her steed abruptly, and races away. I struggle to keep up with her, given her head start. She spurs her horse into a gallop, and we speed out of the city after only being there for an hour.
IYE

“Where are we going?” whines Rob from behind me.

“I’ve told you, we are going to the Pine Valley in the mountains!”

“How can you know that? That is like so specific!”

“Again, I’ve told you that tracking is really easy when you have magic,” I say, while waving my hand in the air.

“Could you teach me some magic?”

“Seriously! We have already tried magic, you simply do not have the gift.”

“Well, could you atleast give me a spell to practice or something?”

“Fine. How about the spell for light? The words…...oh, lucem.”

“Lucem! Lucem! Lucem!-”

“Stop, stop you're irritating me.”

With that he was silent, but only a few minutes later I hear him whisper underneath his breath. Done listening to him, I speed farther ahead, so that I cannot hear his quiet chant.
ROB

“Iye, we have been riding for three days, and my bottom is not faring well.”

She ignores me and I’m about to make a comment, but my voice leaves me as I see the grandeur of the mountains. They are like grey arrowheads that reach up to gouge the clouds and sky. I think of the stories of men freezing to death in the snow capped regions, but its immense size is still awe inspiring and takes my breath away. Finally catching my voice, I scream, “Iye, look at the mountains!” My eyes follow the trees, as they stretch across the mountain side, and I then a red dot appears from around the side of the jagged landscape.

“A dragon!” I exclaim. Fire shoots from its maw as it nears us. Still a great deal aways from me, I stand petrified at it’s beauty. The light glistening on his scales dances on the ground. The beast approaches, but I do not stir.

“Rob!!” screams Iye.

Her exclamation brings me out of my stupor, and I search for my companion. I eventually see her behind a boulder, and I quickly join her. “What were you doing?” she chides.

“Did you see that dragon?”

“Yes, and you're lucky it did not see you! They are deadly killing machines. If it had seen you, neither of us would be alive right now!”
IYE

A light of understanding suddenly crosses Rob’s face, as he realizes the danger that we narrowly avoided. He begins to apologize, but I cut him off. We then sit and watch as our horses notice the dragon and run in fear. This, of course, gets the attention of the mammoth lizard, who is quick to descend upon the poor beasts of burden. Furious that we lost our steeds, I storm off, hefting my pack on my back.

With great reluctantly I knock on the wooden door. A great commotion is heard from inside the building, before an extremely stout man answers the door.

“Ah, look at that. An elf has come to ask for something!?” cries the grey bearded dwarf.

“Trust me, I would not request help if it was not absolutely necessary,” I force out through gritted teeth.

“What does a filth elf need from me?”

“All that we request are two new steeds, as ours were eaten by a red scaled dragon.”

“Aye, the beast has made a nest on the east side of the mountain, and has eaten many of my cattle. So why should I give two of my horses to you?”

“We have gold!”

“Oh really, then let me see it then.”

I reach into my bag, whispering words of magic, and pull out a small sack of gold coins. Knowing that the dwarf would be able to tell their inauthenticity by touch I agree to only give him the gold once we get out steeds. Overcome with greed, the dwarf slams the door, and exits the other end of the stone structure with two horses in tow.

“Now give me the gold!” he says, throwing us the reins. Me and Rob mount the beasts, and I throw the sack at the dwarves feet.

“Run!” I scream to Rob, and he quickly catches on to the rouse as the dwarves begins to scream curses in his native tongue.
ROB

The sun begins to set, as we find a cave. After our little horse heist we have been running them near to death to make as large a distance as possible from the dwarf,and now that night quickly approaches we search for shelter in the rocky terrain.

“How about this one?” Iye screams from thirty feet ahead of me. Not having much of a choice I consent and follow her into the cavern.

My eyes fly open, as a crack sounds through the cave. A blue then begins to emit through a fissure in the stone wall. I turn to see Iye, hands raised, chanting in a language I can only assume is the one of magic. She abruptly cuts off, and the blue light grows and traces a door frame into the rock face. The sectioned out rock then falls forward, giving way to a staircase leading deep into the mountainside.

“Now you understand why I wanted this cave,” Iye says with a smile of victory.
We descend the dusty stone steps into the dark abyss. I trip three times on our way, because the light that Iye conjured casts odd shadows across the rock floor. After what felt like hours, we finally reached the bottom of the steps. Irritated at Iye’s light, I try to cast my own. I whispers the word under my breath, with varying passion, but to no avail.
IYE

We finally reach the bottom of the steps, and Rob descends to try his hand at magic again. It almost breaks my heart to see how hard he tries, until he doesn’t stop saying the word. Over and over he repeats it like a chant, stripping all meaning of it from my head, as it becomes a mesh of sounds. We continue to walk around the dark cavern, only able to see a mere eight feet in front of us. Rob begins to complain about he damp air, when I hear a gasp come from ahead of us. “Did you hear that?” I ask him.

“I didn’t hear anything. Do you think we are getting close to the Boy Prince?”

“We are definitely very close.”

Not having anything more to say to each other, we continue on in silence. A silence that is soon broken by Rob’s hushed whispers, “Lucem, lucem….”

My patience is the next thing to break, and I scream, “Will you please stop saying that word over and over again. You have no magic, you are just a human! I am the only one with magic here.” Just as the words leave my lips I regret them, but I do not have time to reconcile with Rob before my back explodes into pain I have never felt before. The agony rips away at all of my defenses, and leaves me bear and meek. Writing on the ground, I watch as Rob frantically searches for out attacker.
ROB

I look away from Iye, as she begins to scream at me about whispering words of magic. She only confirms the deep fear in my heart, that I will never have magic. Ready to just go back, I begin to turn, but Iye screams in pain. I quickly turn to see her on the ground with a dagger protruding from her back. Now frantic I look all around, but Iye’s light begins to fade, as she loses unconsciousness. Now in complete darkness I am filled with only fear. I stand this way for many moments, before a deep voice speaks through the darkness, “Ah, you have found me at last! I would have expected more of a fight from an elf, but I guess she is only a woman.”

I can only manage a stammer of nonsense in reply. “Sh-sh-show your self!,” I force through my shaking jaw. Then the most horrifying of all happens. A face emerges through the shadows, revealed by a light that has no source. A light without warmth. A light without light, but still I can see the grotesque man-like figure that stands before me. Shrouded in shadows, he approaches. My mind goes numb, as I stare in awe at the sight. Though terrified, I can’t help but notice the beauty in the dark cloud of light circling the man. The light that is dark.

“Do you know what I am?” he asks me.

I am at first paralyzed with fear, but I soon remember a story about men who had committed the most vial of crimes, and were changed because of it. Their souls did not decay, but became black to match their hearts. Their entire being was sucked away, not hollow, not decayed, but dead. They live only in the darkness, for the sun burns them. They are said to feast on the flesh of humans, to try and remember what it is like to live, but they are forced to live in eternal sorrow.

“Ah, you do actually know what I am,” he says having read my countenance, “A shadowling. Not many actually get the pleasure of fully understanding what I am capable of,” he says with a smile that causes bile to coat my throat.

Fear grips at my insides, but when he advances toward Iye’s unmoving body, my entire body hums with a different feeling. Not of fear, or even bravery, but a an intense sensation all the same. As he pulls a sword from the air, and rises it to strike her, I scream the only thing on my mind, “Lucem.” Immediately a light so bright, it burns my eyes. I scream in pain, but my screams are drowned out by the monstrous wailing that ensues from the shadowling. I watch in amazement, as it’s very being seems to be ripped apart by the light. Chunk after chunk of dark shadow is peeled away, then disappears, until there is nothing left of the vicious creature that once was.
A FORTNIGHT LATER
IYE

“Oh, my boy, you have returned to me!” screams the Queen.

“Mother,” cried the Boy Prince, moments before colliding with her.

“Thank you so much for finding our child. We cannot give you enough as payment, but what was promised,” says the King, as he reaches behind him to grab a sack next to his throne. He then passes the sack to Rob, who looks inside with a look of disbelief. “A bag of gold that will never run out, as promised for the same return of my son.”

Rob and I then thanked the King and Queen for the reward, and left the castle to go on our way. “So, you say that you performed magic, and killed a shadowling all by yourself?” I questioned Rob one last time.

“Yes, that is what I’m saying!”

“You realize that only light from the sun can burn a shadowling, warelights simply irritate them.”

He did not have a reply to that, as a feat of magic that powerful is unheard of. Many users of magic have tried to produce sunlight, but none have worked as well as the real thing.

“And after that you carried me, with the Boy Prince in tow, to the dwarven healers, who then proceeded to help you after we stole from them?”

“Yup, that right again.”

I then started to get butterflies in my stomach, as I thought about Rob doing all of those things. Acting all big and strong, and I reached my hand over and grabbed his. We walked in this fashion all the way into town, hand in hand forever.