For three moons Loldirr and Ethelston had been sailing on the Sea Horse, a small caravel, from White Harbour. The money that Ethelston had paid was good enough to give them their own cabin and it was now a sight Loldirr had become sickened with.

Her trips topside had been encouraged to be as infrequent as possible. The crew were a superstitious lot and considered having a woman on board a bad omen. The trip was so uneventful though that it seemed their superstitions were the Captain's excuse to keep prying eyes focused on their tasks.

Those same prying eyes brought chills to Loldirr on her brief visits to enjoy the sunshine. They were long intent stares full of lust and even though Loldirr had taken Ethelston's advice of wearing a hooded cloak to disguise her features, she knew that those stares were becoming more longing after each visit.

Ethelston had been completely useless on the trip. This magnificent warrior seemed to not take well to the sea. Within the first couple of hours, he had started to wretch his breakfast and by the end of the day, his head was positioned continuously over a large bucket. It was almost impossible to have a conversation with him without him spewing his guts within the said bucket.

Apparently, this really was the first time he'd sailed on a ship.

The careful swaying and rocking had been far more pleasant for Loldirr and it had helped her ease to sleep.

The sleep, though, was far from pleasant.

It always started with the arrow that hit the doe before switching quickly to the flames engulfing Greenhaven. She never knew how but from there she was always digging up the grave of Edric's so-called wife before treading through the river to reach the raft to try and save her and Willis.

It then always turned to the horrific look on Willis' face as The Shadow took his head in one swift devastating motion before finally being on the plains as the very essence of her life was being drained out from her. That feeling of complete helplessness would normally wake her but this time something strange happened.

This she was floating high in the sky. The wind caressed her body as her vision started to clear. As it cleared, Loldirr realised that she was not floating, but gliding through a mountainous region she had never seen before. Looking to her right, her arm could not be seen, instead, smooth reddened feathers bristled in the breeze.

As she swooped down towards the ground there was a rush of adrenaline as the rocky surface edged rapidly closer.

It felt so real, so vivid and so exhilarating.

Swinging between the rocks and hills before going back high into the mountains, Loldirr then swooped through the clouds. It felt glorious as the sun warmed her face.

There was a gap in the clouds as the mountain descended into a valley. The darkness that cloaked the gorge was at odds with the sun, as it was in a position to provide light.

Looking closer, the darkness was slithering and sliding. Loldirr felt compelled to find out what it was.

Swooping down once more under the cover of the clouds she could see an endless army edging slowly and with purpose geared totally for war.

There was an uneasiness about this army, it felt erroneous and the more Loldirr could see the more chilled she felt.

In the centre of this army stood seven heavily armoured knights and another four lighter armoured archers surrounding two mages. With the bird's excellent vision she focused on one of the knights. The dark battered armour was extremely familiar and the stature of the man within brought an uneasiness to her senses.

Sir Wendon Pykeston, The Shadow.

But it didn't feel like Sir Pykeston was the biggest threat, but the two mages that the knights and archers were protecting. Both were covered head to toe in long flowing gowns and their hoods completely covered their facial features, it was impossible to see who or what they were. They both carried long staffs, taller than their natural heights, with orbs that glowed fervently. One a majestic violet, the other a dull grey. They resonated an immense power that Loldirr had never felt the likes of before.

Controlling the bird to take one more pass she circled back around to gather as much information about this party as she could and whether the Shadow really was amongst them.

Suddenly the grey orb mage looked directly at the bird despite it gliding some distance above them. A flash came from the orb and a spark thrust itself directly at the helpless creature.

Loldirr awoke instantly gasping for air and placing her hand on her chest where the spark had hit the bird. She shuddered as she remembered that exact same feeling as the one she endured as the Shadow was drawing the life from her. That dream felt so vivid and real that she initially struggled to control her breathing but felt at ease again when she heard the deafening snores from Ethelston.

It was a dream but she remembered every detail, every feeling as if she had indeed been that bird.

What if it wasn't a dream? Was it happening now? Had it already happened? Where was this? How big was that army? Were those Knights and the archers the Death Wraiths? Who were those mages? Questions which she knew she would not be able to get the answer to at this time.

Laying her head back down onto the straw bed, Loldirr hoped that she could return to some form of sleep. As she closed her eyes she took a deep breath urging her body to return to its slumber.

Then there was a loud smash urging Loldirr to raise her head anxiously, followed by another one.

As the third echoed through the room the door cracked open in two.

Before Loldirr had the chance to stir Ethelston she was rushed by eight sailors who held her down forcefully. Looking over to Ethelston she realised that he was useless, the days of sailing, puking and minimal sleep had knocked him completely unconscious.

"LET GO OF ME!" She screamed while struggling to loosen the grip of her captors.

The lead sailor, a man of physically imposing stature, smiled as he forcefully held her arm down. His smile displayed his broken yellow teeth "We've been watching you my lovely and we have to admit you are certainly a beauty."

"Tell her what I said!" Another far thinner man whose looks appeared as dim-witted as he sounded.

"Typa says you look like royalty. We've always wanted a taste of royalty."

Loldirr just stared at the large-framed man. For once she didn't feel fear, instead, she felt pure wrath. This journey had been taxing on her physically and mentally and with all she had been through she wasn't about to let eight stupid sailors have their way with her. Her eyes were like daggers as her brow furrowed. "You will not get to taste me!" She spat in his face.

The man wiped his face before slapping her hard in the face. "This can go a lot easier for you if you don't resist."

Loldirr licked the blood trickling from the side of her lip and turned back to him "Before we set foot on land I promise you by the gods that I will kill you."

He chuckled "This one has spirit lads, let's break it."

Typa started laughing "That's a good one Gyf!"

"Spread her legs!" Gyf ordered.

Loldirr screamed a fierce scream, looking towards Ethelston, Loldirr's wrath seemed to grow stronger as he still hadn't moved. The feeling of loneliness gripped her, knowing that Ethelston would not save her this time.

Bruises were starting to appear on her wrists as she was being held tightly. Two of the man were struggling to spread her legs apart and as she looked at each of them she spoke assertively "If any of you carry on with this molestation you will share Gyf's and Typa's fate!"

As she was struggling, Typa stood up slightly fearful of Loldirr's words as she wriggled around ferociously. Looking towards Ethelston and then towards Gyf he took a step back. "I don't want to die Gyf, maybe this wasn't a good idea."

Gyf wasn't interested as he was to busy trying to loosen her shirt, he slapped her again making her whelp with an angry bitter scream.

The ship briefly shook violently. Typa lost his footing while a couple of the men struggled to hold onto Loldirr's leg.

Using the slight loss of concentration, Loldirr forced her heel into to gut of one of the men pushing him back forcefully.

Another slap.

She screamed again. Once again the ship shook violently but this time there was a loud crackle from outside.

A bell started sounding and instantly all the men let go of Loldirr.

She quickly scrambled back and reached for her Bastard sword but none of them was interested in her defensive position.

"ALL HANDS ON DECK, STORM A BREWING." A shout from the deck could be heard.

"Fuck!" Gyf cursed. He turned to Loldirr and smiled again "Till next time."

Loldirr started at him with angry eyes. Her cheek had turned purple and her lip was gushing blood. "There will not be a next time. Enjoy your trip as this will be your last." she threatened.

Gyf was taken aback by her defiance but the ship was shaking harder and his duty was to keep it afloat. He exited quickly after his comrades leaving Loldirr alone except with her unconscious 'protector'.

She screamed again but this time to release the anger that was pent up inside. Calming her breathing, Loldirr took the time to gather her thoughts after the terrifying encounter.

Standing up she placed the sword back on the floor before carefully walking to the sleeping Ethelston. Making sure she kept her balance she kicked him directly in his stomach. "Fucking useless!" She cursed.

Ethelston woke almost instantly and like a flash looked for the bucket to place his head inside.

As Loldirr sat down she screwed her nose up at the sound of Ethelston releasing what was left of his stomach content.

"What is going on?" She quietly asked herself. Placing her hand on the deck so she could feel the energy that the waves were releasing. The energy coursing through her was a feeling that she had never experienced before and it was something she couldn't quite comprehend.

Loldirr had never felt hostility towards another human being before. She had felt pity for the men she killed at Greenhaven, she felt absolutely nothing for the ones in the Emerald Forest but this Gyf had organised people to almost rape her. That thought in itself disgusted her to the core.

A few days ago something like this would never be thought possible, but now she was experiencing the real world, as Edric had warned her, and she did not like it.

Loldirr didn't quite know what type of person she wanted to be. She had wanted to be an adventurer and argued fervently with Edric about the prospect, but this adventure had been brutal in its induction. Should she be forgiving for a situation like this and should she be merciful? Should she be vengeful and ruthless?

If Loldirr was indeed the true emperor of Isovine as Edric's letter had implied she had to embrace this self discovery to determine what type of emperor she would want to be, or more importantly, what type of emperor she would choose to be.

Tomorrow they would be at the docks. Before they would set foot on land, Loldirr would find Gyf and Typa and start that road of discovery. For the first time, she realised that in her hands had the very power of life and death.