New Life in a New World

[Insert lawyer voice here] This story contains scenes of graphic sex and violence. No one under the age of 18 or 21 (depending on your local law) should read this story. Any characters depicted in sexual or suggestive scenes are intended to be 18 years or older. While inspired from many sources, the story and characters are original. Any similarities to any real or fictional persons are coincidental. Enjoy.

A big thanks to Galloglaich for his edits. You rock!

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Solomon confidently walked down the dark cavern corridor. Wearing his black, fitted mandarin suit, he walked with his arms crossed behind his back. He enjoyed wearing this suit, it added a level of elegance to his cruel demeanor.

He passed various chambers as he continued down the corridor. There was very little light other than the orange glow from the few small fires burning from the torches carved into the cave walls. Low, painful moans and screams emanated from the chambers and echoed throughout the cavern. The noises came from his prisoners that he took pleasure in torturing. Some were warriors hunting him, some were unfortunate souls who stumbled into his home, and others were kidnapped for his own amusement. A smile formed on his face when a loud, high pitched wail filled the cavern, almost drowning out the other screams. Music to his ears.

He turned the corner to enter one of the largest chambers in the cave. The ceiling was around thirty to forty feet high and about double that wide. The chamber would connect with a wide tunnel that headed upward and exited deep in the mountains. Stalactites scattered the ceiling, yet the floor was carved smooth. The room was lit by a couple of large bonfires on either side of the chamber. Several sturdy, locked wooden cabinets in the corner contained artifacts that Solomon had collected over the centuries.

Solomon's smile quickly faded when he saw the guest that awaited him. "Why did you even bother coming here?" he sneered.

Before him stood the large, black dragon known as Drahak. Even with his wings tucked in closely, his massive body filled most of the chamber. His back just barely scraped the sharp tips of the stalactites at the top of the cavern. Solomon had sent him to kill John and he nearly succeeded. However, just has he had the young human trapped, the dragoness Sasha had intervened and fought him off. Solomon was clearly displeased by his failure.

"I want the Blue Fire," Drahak growled, "You owe it to me."

Solomon suddenly found himself laughing in amusement. "I send you on a simple task, to kill one meager human. But instead, you failed miserably. Now, you have the audacity to come back and demand I give you the greatest power a dragon can possess?"

"I had him trapped behind a wall of fire with nowhere to run," the onyx dragon replied angrily, "But Sasha Arananth came to defend him."

"And you couldn't kill one dragoness whore?" Solomon said mockingly.

"I am already not in the Dragon Council's good favors," Drahak snapped back, "If I had killed her, they would have sent every dragon in the land after me."

"This seems nothing like the devotion you expressed when you first came to me," the demon replied, raising an eyebrow. "But the fact remains that I gave you a task to complete and you failed...you...get...nothing." Solomon then turned to leave.

"You still searching for the Latchkey Stone and the Divinity Gem?" the dragon inquired.

Those words froze the demon in place, "How do you know about that?"

Solomon turned around to see the massive dragon grinning at him. The demon's brow furrowed, he could not tell if Drahak really knew his true plans or not. Did he come here to stop him?

"You should not be concerned how I know of these artifacts," Drahak replied with an arrogant smirk, "What you should be concerned about is who else knows."

"If you are referring to our young human friend, my wife is taking care of him as we speak." the demon said confidently.

"And what about Sasha Arananth? Granted, a dragoness who chases after lycans and humans as mates does not have a strong voice on the Council. But nevertheless, it's only a matter of time before she seeks their help in locating the artifacts."

Solomon stroked the short beard that just barely hung off his chin, "So...how does giving you the power of the Blue Fire help me?"

Drahak lowered his head so he was at eye level with Solomon, "With the Blue Fire I can take over the council, and as ruler, all dragons will obey me. Just imagine, an army of dragons at your disposal."

"Are you offering your unwavering devotion?" the demon asked, trying to gauge the dragon's true intentions.

Drahak raised his head and looked down on the Solomon, "If dragons are to become the true rulers of the world, then yes."

The smile returned to Solomon's face. The dragon did not know his true plan, therefore he would be easy to deceive. The truth was that it did not matter who ruled the world, because once he was finished, there would be no one alive to rule. While Solomon had no need of an army, certain events had forced him to accelerate his plans. At the very least, they could provide disruption to anyone who could possibly oppose him.

Solomon turned and walked toward one of the locked cabinets in the corner of the room. Holding his thumb and index finger together, a small stream of fire shot out from his fingertips. The flame twisted and curled around until it molded itself into the shape of a key. The demon lightly blew out the flames, the key was now made of metal. Unlocking the cabinet, he pulled out a glowing blue crystal about the size of an apple. He walked up to the base of the dragon's neck and rolled up his sleeve.

The demon chuckled, "This will hurt...a lot."

He thrust his fist into the dragon's neck, burying his arm up to his elbow. Drahak roared at the extreme pain. Blood gushed from the wound and coated Solomon's arm lodged deep into the dragon's throat. Unable to control himself, the dragon breathed a torrent of fire toward the cave ceiling. The room grew brighter as the flames spread.

Closing his eyes, Solomon enjoyed the feeling of the rushing fire past his arm. But not nearly as much as he was enjoying the pain he was inflicting on the gargantuan creature that towered over him. It did not matter how large, small, heroic, or evil one was. Pain and suffering was the great equalizer.

Solomon then tightened his hand around the crystal. He could feel it start cracking under his crushing grip. Continuing to squeeze, the crystal eventually gave way and was crushed into dust. The flames soon absorbed all the fragments until nothing was left. Drahak's body glowed blue momentarily before returning back to his usual onyx shade. The demon retracted his arm, the wet squish of flesh and blood following him. The open wound then began to close on it's own until only a faded scar was left. The dragon took several loud, deep breaths as he recovered from the pain. Once regaining his composure, the beast smiled back at the demon. He then breathed another column of fire into the air, only this time the flames were blue. Drahak now possessed a power no other dragon had, the ability to obliterate any other dragons with his flames.

Solomon narrowed his eyes at the beast, "Do what you wish with the Council, but I want Sasha Arananth dead. Fail me, and you will truly understand what it means to suffer in the fire."

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"So your son was last seen heading in this direction?" John asked as he and the elven woman left the village and were making their way up the southern side of the valley.

"That's right," she replied, "The cave he went to explore is just outside of the town, not too much farther."

The elven woman, named Lilith, had approached him back at the Devine Barrel and asked for his assistance in finding her missing son. He was last seen heading to a cave up in the hills to the south. That was three days ago. Personally, John thought that the boy was dead, but Lilith insisted that her son was very resourceful. Either way, he was going to try to make an effort to find him. At the very least, he could help bring closure to the boy's mother.

"So where did you say you were from again?" the elf asked.

"I didn't," John replied coyly, "But it's someplace far away from here."

"And your weapon, do all warriors in your land have one like it?"

"Well, it is standard issue," he said without giving much thought to the question.

"How does it work?" she inquired, seemingly getting a bit more pushy with her questioning.

"Why all the questions?" John asked suspiciously, raising his eyebrow.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lilith replied apologetically, "We elves are just naturally inquisitive, especially about mechanical things."

A feeling of suspicion crept up on him. Since they had left the tavern, she was not the same frightened and worried mother who looked like she needed help. Instead, she seemed a lot more relaxed than she was earlier. She asked a lot of questions and even if harmless, it was a lot of small talk for someone who was missing her son.

"I didn't think you wanted have to deal with someone who was an emotional wreck," she continued, as if reading his mind.

John looked back through the trees and to the village of Bluemoor now behind them and down into the valley. He and the girls were expected to meet up with a caravan around late morning. He wished that his watch had not gotten destroyed in the IED blast, it would have made keeping track of time so much easier. The sun was positioned near the top of the sky, it was already mid morning. A part of him thought about abandoning the search and heading back to the village. But it just didn't feel right to give up on a mother trying to locate her son. While the caravan would have helped in their journey, it was certainly not vital. He also knew that Sasha, Lydia, and Sirenia would not leave without him.

Suddenly, an image flashed into his head. But it only flashed briefly, like a subliminal message. A sudden chill crept up his spine. He stopped walking as he tried to make sense of it when another image flashed in his mind...and another. The images were horrific, nothing but bloodied dead bodies. Some twisted and mangled, others burnt to a crisp. Terrified expressions frozen on their faces. These did not come from his own thoughts, it was as if someone was forcing them into his head. Yet the scenes looked all too familiar, like something extracted from his memories.

Lilith looked at him curiously, "Is something wrong."

"I...I thought I saw something," he replied, his voice shaking.

"Well, I didn't see anything," the elven woman reassured him, "But we should keep moving." Looking away, she smiled as she knew exactly what he had seen.

Regaining his composure, he continued to follow the elf up the hill. As they continued up the side of the valley, the hill got steeper and their pace slowed. At one point, Lilith slipped on some loose rocks and lost her footing. John quickly caught her before she ended up tumbling down the hillside. Holding her in his arms, he couldn't help but look into her deep purple eyes. She smiled as her stare captured his, a soft perfume overwhelmed his senses. His heartbeat and breathing became irregular as the soft floral notes tantalized him. She moved her face closer to his, her lips so close to his own. Snapping out of his trance, John quickly helped her back to her feet and let go of her.

"Um...the caves are close, right?" John said nervously.

"Yes," she replied with a sly grin, "Very close."

They indeed did not have far to travel because within five more minutes of walking they had reached the entrance to the cave. The round entrance was about six feet high and eight feet wide. The exposed rock on the outside of the entrance was covered by bushes and other overgrowth. The ground did seem to flatten out just at the mouth of the cave. Looking around, John took notice of the close proximity of the large pine trees and the surrounding area. The cave was not exactly hidden in the hillside and was rather easy to get to. He wondered for a moment why no one else had come to search for the boy.

Looking into the maw of the cave, the tunnel seemed to go straight back and into the darkness. He clicked on the flashlight on the PEQ box which was mounted to the side of his rifle. Lilith's eyes opened in amazement at the light generating device attached to John's weapon, a torch without a flame. Shining the light into the cave, it wasn't able to fully penetrate the darkness. This gave him an idea of just how deep the cave really was. He picked up some small rocks on the ground and scraped them against the rock wall at the cave entrance, testing to see which one left a better mark. He collapsed the buttstock on his rifle to allow him greater maneuverability within the tight quarters of the cave.

John looked over to Lilith, "Wait here. If I'm not back in one hour, go back into the inn and find Lydia Ulrica. Let her know where I am."

"Be careful," the elf replied with a worried look on her face.

John gave her a reassuring smile before walking into the cave and disappearing into the darkness. A wicked smile spread across Lilith's face. She had no intention of heading back to the village. No, everything was going according to plan. She didn't think it would be this easy to bring him out here. Then again, he was like all men. Give them a pretty face and a sob story, and you could get them to commit murder for you. She waited a few minutes before also heading into the cave. Chuckling to herself, she knew that the young warrior would not be leaving alive.

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Sasha, Lydia and Sirenia sat in uncomfortable silence back at the inn. The three girls packed into one of the two rooms that they had borrowed for the previous night. The dragoness sat on the bed, her hands in her lap and looking down timidly at the floor. Very different from her usual outgoing and cheerful self. The half-lycan leaned against the wall by the door. She glared angrily at the necromancer in the corner who stared back at her.

A little while ago, John had stormed out of the room after a heated argument with Lydia. Earlier that morning he had been captured by a group of thugs who more than were eager to kill him. Even worse, the thugs were going to send their men to ambush Lydia and Sasha in their sleep. They shuttered to even think what those bastards would have done to them. Thankfully, Sirenia intervened and helped John eliminate the thugs who captured him and scared away the rest.

Then again, maybe Lydia was not as thankful. Of course, she was glad that John was safe from harm. But it was the events after the beautiful necromancer had rescued the young warrior that infuriated the wolf girl. Sirenia offered to give John information about Solomon, but only if he slept with her first. Lydia's fists clenched in anger as she recalled walking in on the freshly fucked lovers. Even worse, this hussy was going to be joining them on their quest to defeat Solomon.

The tension in the air was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. The argument between John and Lydia was so loud, the entire village could probably hear their shouting. No one had said a word since he left for the tavern, and no one wanted to. The emotions between the three dangerous women had turned the room into a powder keg, and no one wanted to risk setting anyone off.

"What did he mean by you ripping out his heart?" the exotic dragoness finally asked, breaking the silence as she looked directly at the half-lycan. She was referring to the comment John had made to Lydia moments before he left the room.

The wolf girl broke her stare down with the necromancer as she let out a frustrated sigh. "It's something between John and myself."

"Not anymore!" the dragoness firmly replied, "You're not just pissed off at him, you're pissed at all of us. So what happened between you two?"

Lydia looked up at the ceiling as she took a deep breath, "On the night that we first met, we did sleep together. But it was more than just sex. It was the result of feelings that had built up between us throughout that day. It was truly love at first sight, and that night I wanted to take him as my mate."

"So why aren't you two still together," Sasha asked the obvious, "He didn't say anything to me during our first night."

"All my life I have been trying to find my place with my people," Lydia replied, staring off into space. "I've been trying to prove that I'm more than just the daughter of our leader. I felt that if I had a chance to lead my people, I couldn't do so with a human mate. So I called things off between us."

"Then you have no right to be angry at anyone!" Sirenia barked from the corner, "You broke up with him, he's no longer yours."

"Take it easy," Sasha interjected to the necromancer before turning back to Lydia. "But she does have a point, you have yet to explain why you're still so angry at him. If he's not involved with you, then he should be free to make his own decisions about who he sleeps with."

The half-lycan locked her hate filled stare onto the necromancer. "He can make his own decisions, but he doesn't have to sleep with every dirty whore that comes along with her legs spread."

"Hey, it's not my fault that you were stupid enough to let go of a man who is absolutely wonderful in bed," the necromancer shouted back. "In fact, you deserve to have lost him."

Lydia moved away from the wall, her eyes narrowed and she clenched her fists in rage. "Say that to me again," she growled, "I dare you."

"I said that you deserved to have lost him," Sirenia replied smugly, her words seething with malice. "After all, why would he want to be with a moody little bitch like you. But don't worry, I'll be sure to take good care of him. In fact, I'll be sure to give him a fucking so incredible that you're nothing more than a distant memory."

Lydia immediately charged at the necromancer, drawing her curved dagger from her belt. Sasha got up from the bed to stop her, but was forcefully shoved away. With the dagger raised above her head, the wolf girl screamed in rage as she lunged at the woman in the corner. But surprisingly, Sirenia did not defend herself, at least, not immediately. The necromancer held her ground as the half-lycan came in for the kill. At the very last moment, the albino skinned woman swiftly stepped aside. Lydia's dagger connected with the wall, digging itself deeply into the wood. Only too late did she realize her fatal mistake.

Her father had trained her to fight ever since she could stand on her own two feet. He wanted her to be more than just a hunter, he wanted her to be a warrior. However, there was always one rule to combat that her father constantly reminded her. Never fight with emotion. While it can be your driving force, fighting solely on emotion clouds your judgment and causes you to make mistakes. Lydia had just broken that rule big time.

Pulling the knife out of the wall, she turned just in time to see a fist coming at her moments before it connected with her jaw. Bam! Lydia stumbled backwards, rubbing her jowl as she slammed into another wall. The necromancer pulled out her own dagger and slashed at the wolf girl's head. She ducked just in time for the blade to pass over her.

Lydia got a better look at the necromancer's weapon. Out of the black handle extended twin serrated blades, separated in the middle by only a few centimeters. The serrated edges stopped about halfway down the blade where the edges became smooth, but very sharp. At the top of the handle was a silver skull, a symbol of her profession. Lydia's own elegantly curved dagger was forged for combat, but also served as a useful tool when hunting. Sirenia's weapon was simply designed to inflect massive wounds and kill.