Prologue

Prologue: The Elven Village

There was once a vast forest, its expanse covered many miles. It was thick and lush, but also dangerous. Not many people dared to enter it, as many who dared lost their lives for it. The forest was so vast that it was easy for inexperienced navigators to get lost and die before finding their way out. Thus it became known as the "Endless Forest".

In the deepest part of the forest was a village walled off with a large wooden barrier that protected the location from the elements and wild animals. Most of the structures inside were huts and small houses that served as homes for the villagers, but there was also a monastery, a school, shops, a town hall, to name a few buildings. A little more than one hundred villagers called this place home, these people were elves. They named it "Elfandall", the elven village.

The elven people were a beautiful race of people, their men and women meeting the beauty standards of even the most shallow of folks. They were not only beautiful, but graceful and efficient as well. Their movements were flawless, every move they made had a purpose. Their combat style, which was used for hunting and fighting the beasts of the forest, was as elegant as it was effective.

The elves, with very few exceptions, did not leave the forest. Centuries ago, a party of elves left the forest to explore the world beyond its boundaries. Years passed before one elf, the only surviving member of his party, returned. He warned his kin that the outside world was far too dangerous for their kind and evil forces would soon be entering their domain. This led to the mightiest elven wizards erecting a barrier that covered the entire expanse of the forest. This barrier was designed to repel any hostile force that attempted to enter, and it worked. Demons, monsters, and malicious humans that tried to enter found themselves walking into an invisible wall that nothing could penetrate. However, those who held no ill intentions could enter and leave the forest as they wished, this allowed well meaning but foolish humans to come in but sadly many of them got lost and perished. Eventually, humans began to avoid the forest entirely.

Over the centuries, the elves became content to stay inside the barrier, becoming willing prisoners. They had everything they could want within the forest, so why leave? The world outside was likely more dangerous than it was centuries ago, but they were safe as long as the barrier held. Any human magician lacked the power to break it, and it was especially effective against warding off demons. So as far as the elves were concerned, nothing existed outside of the Endless Forest. However, there was one elf who did not share this view. This curious elf wanted more than anything to see himself the world beyond the woods. That elf's name was "Tiafell".

Tiafell was a kind-hearted, intelligent, and gorgeous elf. All elves were beautiful, but his beauty was exceptional. Despite being a male, his appearance was very feminine. He had smooth pale skin, gentle and feminine facial features, long flowing brown hair, and a lithe hourglass figure with wide hips, though his chest was flat. His mannerisms and voice were also feminine, those who did not know him would easily confuse him for being a female.

Elves ranked their kind partially on their appearance, which ordinarily would have gotten Tiafell a high rank in Elfandall, but instead he was treated as an outcast. Most of the villagers ignored him or treated him quite rudely, almost as if he was an outsider. Adults seemed to fear and hate him, and their children merely mimicked the attitude of their parents without questioning it.

He had no family in the village, having grown up in the monastery with other orphans. All he was told was that his mother left the village at some point and returned years later fatally wounded and carrying the baby Tiafell. She entrusted him to the elders and died from her injuries soon after. He was never told anything about his father, the subject seeming to be taboo.

The elders of the monastery, and the other orphans, served as the closest thing to a family he had. He made friends with most of the other orphans and the elders, though still keeping him at arm's length, treated him better than the rest of the elves did.

As children, elves were taught to focus on studying and developing their magic as their bodies grew, physical training in hunting and combat would come later. Tiafell was very studious, loving to read books, particularly about the outside world. He read stories about mighty knights, powerful wizards, scary monsters, and adventures involving these things and more. Due to his treatment from most of his kind, these stories served as a distraction from his hard life and sparked his curiosity to see all of it for himself one day. As for his magic, he was a quick learner, mastering most spells with ease, earning him admiration from some of his fellow students and jealousy from others.

When Tiafell became a teenager, it was time for him to begin his physical training. While the orphans studied entirely within the monastery as children, they joined the other teens for the rest of their training, which put Tiafell with elves that hated him. The sparring matches with other teens often became hated grudge matches, as the others wanted to harm and humiliate Tiafell for bragging rights. This would lead to fights with the few friends that he had stepping in to help him, only getting themselves punished harshly while the perpetrators only got a mild slap on the wrist. This was the last straw for Tiafell. Though he had friends, so many more elves hated him that he decided to train harder than everyone else, not merely for revenge, but so he could leave the Endless Forest one day and not look back!

He knew that the outside world would indeed be dangerous, but it had to be better than staying in a village full of people who hated him. So, he trained with all his heart and soul, eventually becoming skilled enough to turn his opponents' attempts to humiliate him against them and win most practice matches, which earned their begrudging respect.

Years passed, Tiafell turned 18 and rose to the top of his class. When elves turn 18 and prove themselves worthy, they are sent on a hunting mission alone to find assigned prey and bring it back to the village. If successful, they would be considered adults and their training would be complete, Tiafell passed his mission with flying colors. However, this was not enough for him personally. He had made his mind up long ago that he was going to go on adventures like what he read about in books. In order to survive outside of the forest, he felt that he needed to hone his skills further. Sparring with elves that wanted to humiliate him was one thing, but fighting an opponent that intended to kill him was another matter. His training in Elfandall had run its course, so he began practicing on his own in secret.

A year later, at the age of 19, Tiafell felt that he had polished his skills enough to at least begin his journey in the world beyond the forest. Having spent so much time training, he felt that his body and mind needed plenty of rest so he could recover and be in top form when he left. He spent the next three weeks taking it easy and relaxing, letting his body heal. Once recovered, it was finally time for him to begin his journey!