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Chapter One

In the Great Forest of La'Thar, in the realm of L'Vareth, there was an elf named Ralen. Ralen was not like an ordinary elf, though. He had dark skin instead of the fair white skin of the high elves of Athana. He had black hair, not blond; his eyes were deep red rather than blue eyes.
 
As you might have guessed already, Ralen was not a high elf, but a Dark Elf from the evil land of Shanathac. He had escaped torture from the high elves when he wandered into their forest. He had to learn how to hide from the Elven Guard which patrolled the forest. He could not escape from the forest, as the edge was guarded by more than just guards. After the War of The Thanath (In which the evil race of the Thananthians was obliterated by the elves and the last remnants of men. Almost all of man had been destroyed by the Dark Elves of Zed.)
 
After the great battle at the Hills of Cavan, at which the Thanathians and The Dark Elves of Shanathac fought against the Elves of La'Thar and the Men of Galath (the last kingdom of men left). At this battle, the Thanathians and the Shanathac were defeated (half of their army was killed). Ralen was one of the luckier soldiers; he only had been pierced by a single arrow. During the battle Ralen fled. He came across the La'Thar River and followed it all of the way the the forest. There, he was captured and thrown in prison.
 
The elves tortured him for months, lashing him with a whip daily, chaining him to the wall constantly, and feeding hardly anything. Ralen was almost dead when the chance of escape came. The guards had chained him to the wall. They were drunk and forgot to lock down. They all passed out and Ralen grabbed the chance to escape and released himself from the chains.
 
He got out by way of the emergency corridor, which was to be used by the guards in case of an invasion. He limped down the corridor, a waste of skin and bone, his back, ankles and wrists all scarred and bleeding from long abuse. After hours of limping, he came to the door which led outside. He attempted to push it open, but he was too weak. He laid there for over a day. He knew that the guards were going to find him soon, and he had no hope of getting out alive. He had not eaten for over a week, and he felt death creeping up when the door cracked open. He had been sitting with his back to it and the weight of his body had opened it a little.
 
He had just enough strength left to push it open just far enough for him to slip through, and when he got out he found himself on a cliff overhanging the river. He now heard footsteps coming up the corridor and was sure this was the end. He could now see the guard's torch's light dancing on the walls of the corridor.
 
Out of hope, he jumped off the cliff into the river just as the guards emerged out of the corridor. He fell a long ways before smacking into the water. It must have been a miracle, but he survived the fall. He awoke on the shore of a large lake. He had only been adrift for a few minutes, though he felt as though he was dead. He could hardly lift his head. He had just the strength left to turn on to his side. After this, he passed out?