<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffffff">Despite the deep and pleasing sleep he had received in the first time in years, he awoke early, before dawn finally came. At first, he didn't move from his side, merely opening his eyes and allowing them to adjust to the dimness of the cave. Sometime, during the night, the fire had gone out. Only a lonely tendril of smoke rose from it now. Raida still slept on the other side of the ashes and he let her sleep. She didn't need to be awake for the next part anyways, he figured. Some things he could and wished to do alone.<br/>
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He rose silently. Slayer, from his position near Raida, lifted head silently to track the elf with his wolf eyes as the elf neared the exit of the cave. Crouching near the falling water, the elf quickly and efficiently removed the final pieces of his armor and stripped naked. He then stepped forward in to the water and the small lake that sat outside the waterfall, stepping forth on water-slick stones with the sure steps of an elvish warrior. Beneath the pounding fury of the waterfall, he washed away the last of his shackles and bathed beneath the surface and arose feeling more whole and of sound mind than he had in years.<br/>
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He returned to the cave and was strapping on the last of his armor when Raida stirred from the edge of the firepit. The beautiful female elf greeted him warmly and he returned it in kind. Despite the chill of the water and the morning, he was in a lively mood. He tended the firepit, getting a small fire going to burn away the chill that had settled in the cave and to allow him to further dry himself as she made a breakfast of fruits and berries. He ate quickly, just as ravenously as he had the first meal but at a far more measured pace. His stomach was not yet acclimated to the amount of solids he had been eating but he was growing used to it quickly.<br/>
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After that, they set out in to the morning mists, just the two of them. Slayer had padded ahead and the two elves followed behind. Eventually the forest began to give way to more shrubbery and the air noticeably heated up, burning away the mists. Despite the fact that they were hunting humans and that Ry'kanos was just recently freed from their kind, he was eager to once more slaughter them, in part for the terror and pain they inflicted on him and because of what they were doing to the innocent animals of the forest,</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff0080">"The bandits camp here and use this place as a spot to cage the animals until they load them up and take them into the city, I’ve heard the emperor always gets first pick.” </span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffffff">He almost growled at the mention of the Emperor but he remained silent.<br/>
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However, he was surprised to hear that there were other elves that called the forest home. It did his heart good to know that yet more of their kind populated the area and that it was not solely limited to Raida and Ry'kanos. But then his rising positivism was dashed as she explained about the nearby castle that kept female elves as pleasure slaves. She wanted to free them but the place was guarded heavily. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Silently, he vowed that he would find a way to bring the castle to ruin and free their kind from the clutches of the cruel humans.<br/>
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He followed her to a large rock that would allow them both to hide from behind it. The steam from the surrounding pools also somewhat obscured them from the nearby humans. From where they were, he could hear the sounds of the humans speaking with each other and it set his teeth on edge. He gripped his spear tightly as she knelt down next to him after peaking and spoke in hushed tones that would not be heard over the bubbling of the nearby springs,</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff0080">"It’s simple, kill the humans and free the animals, they aren’t heavily armed but you never know with humans, I don’t let them take the animals out of here.” </span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffffff">She did not waste any time after that, Ry'kanos admiring her speed, as she arose and let an arrow fly.</span><br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffffff">Ry'kanos acted in his own way. As she let her arrows fly, he vaulted over the rock one handed. One human was down with an arrow in the skull. Another was just toppling with an arrow in the chest as Ry'kanos appeared among them. Years in the arena had honed his martial skills considerably and he stopped thrust with his spear, catching one of the humans in the throat. He ripped the blade out as another human stepped up with an axe raised. Ripping the spear out of the human, he slung the spear one handed, intercepting the arm holding the axe with a loud crack as the human's elbow broke from the force of the blow. The human's howl of pain was interrupted with finality as Ry'kanos slashed the blade of the spear across the human's throat with a neat twirl of the spear one handed.<br/>
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He turned around when he heard the sound of hoof beats. Three horsemen bore down on the elves, swords held high. Ry'kanos cursed but did not hesitate. He hurled his spear with all of his strength. He caught the rider on the furthest right. The punctured human fell out of the saddle and into the path of the horseman in front of him. The middle horseman did not have time to correct his charge. Human and spear fouled the steps of the middle horseman and the sound of a snapping rent the air as the horse tripped and broke it's foreleg on the dead human in front of it. It fell heavily, throwing it's rider clear of the falling horse.<br/>
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Ry'kanos charged forth, unsheathing his sword as he ran forward. He dodged the third horseman's outstretched blade and casually flicked his blade down to stab it deeply in to the fallen horseman's stomach. He turned around in time to see an arrow from Raida catch the last horseman in the eye. With the horsemen dead, Ry'kanos turned to face the last of the hunters.</span>