Introduction (Chapter 0)

The sky was dull and gray and cloudy, with no sign of the sun nor moon on the dim horizon though that was the norm in this place. Shadowfell is the world's dark image, a plane where sunlight is replaced by shade and darkness in which creatures of the night reside, hidden in plain sight among the inhabitants of this Realm. Ruled by the Raven Queen, Shadowfell is home to the more not-so-do-gooders of the planes of existence and in this grim world, the story begins.

Ilamin rode his horse through the dark, dense forest, his angelic appearance concealed behind his metal helmet and the plating covering most of his body. If his true nature was revealed within the plane of Shadowfell, all hell would break loose; no celestial would be able to withstand all its creatures upon them should they decide to attack. That's why finesse and discretion were crucial for his mission.

Out of the corner of his eye, the paladin spotted a lone tavern, worn down as rot had begun to creep into the wood. The inside was lit, casting a dim orange light that contrasted the darkness outside, which indicated that it was open and possibly in working condition. He felt an urge to approach the building, guided by his God, though his senses were keen. "This place must be of some importance" he muttered to himself, before leading his horse nearby and hitching her on a blackened tree stump that seemed sturdier than the rest in the area. "I won't be long, be safe" he spoke, as the mare huffed in response, a strange sight to the outsider, but not them; they shared a bond, a connection between celestial beings so powerful, that they understood each other without ever having to utter a single word.

He turned his attention towards the tavern and marched in its direction, having to bow his head to enter unless he wanted to slam against the door frame. In his defense, he did stand at almost a head taller than most customers who, upon his entrance, seized speaking and turned their heads to the stranger. The bartender, a dark blue Tiefling with a large scar tracing from his cheekbone under his left eye down to his chin, disfiguring his lips and making him look all the more intimidating, stopped wiping the counter in front of him to stare the newcomer down with his golden eyes. The Holy Warrior paid no mind to the glares and stares he received for interrupting the customers' leisure time but instead sat and waited, kindly dismissing the half orc waitress who came to take his order - much to her surprise. He needed to be alert and ready for anything; Tyr had led him here for a reason, there must be some - "BOOM!"

The blast was deafening enough to stun the paladin momentarily, but he collected himself just as the sound of the wooden ceiling breaking and shattering into splinters right above his table reached his ears, followed by a figure falling on his table with a loud thud. Oddly, they didn't appear to be injured, though he could not tell.

Ilamin looked up to examine the hole in the ceiling that led to what appeared to be merely a simple, vacant bedroom before lowering his gaze to the body sprawled across his table.

He felt the eyes of everyone inside the tavern burning daggers into his back but he dismissed the feeling; he couldn't blame them for assuming that he was the cause of the disturbance. The man did land exactly in front of him not long before the armor wearing celestial set foot in the establishment. Although, upon closer inspection, the man on the table wasn't that much of a human... Strong jawline, slim chin, thin lips...elven ears.

"An elf?" he thought, "Here?". Elves weren't exactly uncommon in Shadowfell from what he had gathered, but the only ones he had encountered so far had been Drows; elves of the underdark, sensitive to light, with ashen skin and faces masked with hatred and evil intentions. This one wasn't a drow though, no... This one was different.

The elf stirred, lifted his face from the table with a grunt and proceeded to roll off it, clumsily landing on his feet. He looked around as he slowly dusted his clothes off, growing more confused by the second at the lack of memory of the place until his gaze was met with metal plating.

He took a step back, a bit intimidated by the height difference before the paladin spoke through his helm : "Where did you spawn from? What was the cause of this?"

"Spawned?" The elf thought. "I didn't spawn from anywhere, I was ... Nevermind... You wouldn't believe me even if I swore to speak the truth."

The celestial scoffed lowly, rather amused. ''I've seen things you could never even fathom'' he thought. His expression shifted to one of intrigue, though no one could see his interest pique with his silver helmet covering his face.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," The elf said as he began pacing towards the door, his eyes scanning over the faces of the on lookers inside the tavern before looking up at the taller figure "I have matters to attend to."

Ilamin followed the elf with his gaze for a few moments, just as everyone else had already began dispersing and slowly returning to their previous activities, as if someone falling through the ceiling seemingly out of nowhere was an everyday occurrence.

"You have not even the slightest idea of where you are, let alone how to get to where you want to be." he spoke, his voice strong and certain. He normally wouldn't pay the elf any more attention, but something within him suggested otherwise.

"Come." he said as he started walking towards the exit. "I'm headed towards the nearest town. Perhaps you'll be able to obtain a sense of where your home is from there."

He passed the elf on his way to his steed, who had paused a few steps outside the tavern and was in the process of attempting to understand where he was in relation to, possibly, where he had been. Ilamin wasn't sure.

Upon closer observation, the paladin noted that the elf was fairly lean, didn't wear any armor other than a studded leather vest and sported a long, dark brown coat. He had a bow strapped to his back, a quiver on the side of his waist and a short blade on the other.

"Not much of a fighter" he thought. "That bow is undoubtedly of elven origin though... It's been quite some time since I last saw such a fine piece of weaponry. Maybe he'll be of some use."

"You're in Shadowfell, and I suggest you-" he unhitched his steed, petting the animal's side"-get moving. There are more things lurking in the dark than what you may believe."

The paladin climbed onto the steed's back before looking at the dumbfounded elf still stood outside the tavern. "I'm leaving. Whether you come or not is none of my concern. But if you do, you shouldn't waste any more time."

"Why are you so eager to help a stranger?"

Ilamin steered his horse which began slowly trotting away from the tavern deeper into the forest. "I doubt anyone inside there would"

The elf looked around once more and breathed deeply before hesitantly following the armored figure into the unknown.

Chapter 2