This story will follow the basic plot line of Dragon Nest, but the writing posted here and how I chose to represent the characters are all my own. They are not meant to represent any players in the game with the exception of Amerise, who is an unused archer of a guild mate of mine. Any similarities to players are unintentional. Dragon Nest belongs to Eyedentity Games and its publishers.

Rated T for violence, language, and possible adult themes.

Please do not complain about pairings. My own pairing preferences are very fluid and there is no guarantee that you will not see hints of every possible pairing from the game in this game. My focus is not to write about one pairing, but to flesh out the characters and story where I felt it was lacking.

Oak and Holly

Schoolyard Scuffle

A sharp wind shook the canvas of a tent, the only sound in the snow covered clearing just below the mountain town of Mana Ridge. The sky was slowly turning gray, the temperature dropping rapidly. It would snow soon. Instead of taking shelter from the wind and the cold inside, two figures were outside of the tent, ignoring each other. The torches outside guttered and died, but only one of them seemed to notice.

"I don't think prayers are going to stop you from freezing to death." An irritated woman, she was very close to kicking the man kneeling on the ground in the back of the head. No one would find him in the snow: his clothes and hair were both white. "Or stop you from taking me down with you. Let's go."

He waited a long time before speaking, perhaps to make her suffer in the cold wind a bit longer. She was not dressed for the weather by any means. The only thing keeping her warm was a very small caplet. "Elora. I understand we have our differences, but please respect that this is something I have to do. You can return to Mana Ridge, if that is what you want to do."

"Of course it's what I want to do, Braedon. But two clerics are dead and I'm a sorceress; you know what they'll think if I go back alone and they find you frozen in prayer in the snow! I can't go back without you, holy man, like it or not." She scowled, moving closer and bending down to try and get him to look her in the eye. His head was bowed and his eyes, of course, closed. His fist was clenched in front of his mouth, but she could still see his lips moving in prayer.

Elora closed her own eyes in anger. Her orb floating safely beside her, she reached out and shook his shoulder, causing him to fall over into the snow. "Knock it off, already!" Her staff was already in a defensive position in case he lashed out at her; she had seen Braedon fight, and she did not want to be on the receiving end of his righteous fury even though she had provoked him. Infuriatingly, he just lay in the snow.

She had never imagined that, for the second time in her life, she would be carrying a cleric to shelter in order to save him. Knowing Cynthia had likely—and happily—assumed she was dead the moment she had sent her after the Vision Orb, there was no real hurry for her to return to Mana Ridge other than to get out of the snow. Braedon seemed to recoil in pain as soon as she dragged his feet across the threshold of the tent, so she dropped him on the ground in exasperation.

Considering the circumstances of their first meeting and their time together after that, it would be correct to assume that she would have trouble mustering up any sympathy for him.

When she had been returning to Mana Ridge, she had been unfortunate enough to witness a caravan of clerics being attacked by monsters, and while most of them had fled up the path to town, one Cleric had been cornered by goblins. If she had been able to, she was sure she would have simply walked by, but there was only one path up to Mana Ridge and they were in the middle of it, so she had no choice but to step in.

Though she was still essentially saving the man from the goblins, she had been unfortunate enough to have another cleric come up the path behind her and mistake her casting spells near a cleric a murder attempt. So he attempted to murder her. Of course she had turned her attention to scuffling with him, and it was coincidence that the goblins had all been killed by the end. As they were helping the injured cleric up to town, he denied it and swore on his life that wasn't true, claiming he had been attacking a goblin that had been behind her, but she knew that if she hadn't dodged, his mace would have cracked open her skull.

When he had finally introduced himself, he also finally apologized, admitting that she had been correct. If looks could kill—and they could, really, she just hadn't mastered it yet—she and Braedon would have never been forced to run errands with each other. They hadn't been forced to at first, of course. It was also unfortunate for her that after they realized a precious cleric relic had been stolen she had found a cleric's rosary and he had found a dragon cultist mask. Someone else would likely also try to steal the Vision Orb, the Astral Coven's precious relic. Of course Cynthia had sent her everywhere the cleric went, telling her to keep an eye on him to make sure he wasn't up to anything.

She had been annoyed with the preaching she still had to endure while fighting with him; the backhanded compliments about how admirable she was for a sorceress with a gambling problem. He certainly had been annoyed when she often cast her magic just a bit too close to his position or when a stray orb would knock him out of prayer, followed by a not so sincere apology. They had both been surprised that they had not killed each other by the time they had tracked the orb to Farellina's Rest.

They had also been surprised that they had not let each other be killed by the Minotaur that stole the orb, or that they had not killed each other when they heard that the orb had been stolen yet again and she had immediately cast the blame on him. Despite all those hiccups, they still hadn't been as bad off as they were now.

Their first standoff at Marion's Hall with a dragon cultist had been the start of this downward spiral they were stuck in now. Braedon had been almost too ashamed to return to Mana Ridge and inform Leonard of what had happened, taking Cedric's betrayal as a personal embarrassment since they had saved his life, as well as an embarrassment to all clerics.

Leonard hadn't agreed, even though he had been Cedric's superior. That made Elora like him a little better; she had been rather annoyed that Braedon was so broken up over a man that had nearly killed her first.

Brother Thomas, Braedon's superior, had immediately gone on high alert and reasoned that there was no way that one person could have done everything alone, or that they could ignore the blatant clues that had been left behind for them.

When they had been sent back a second time, to supposedly stop the cultists once and for all, he had gone in filled with the fury of a man seeking revenge. Not for her, of course, but for the honor of the Knights. They could both clearly remember the moment Braedon had grabbed the mask, and listening to it clatter to the floor after it fell out of his numb fingers seconds later. It would likely be something they remembered for a long time.

"By the will of the Goddess."

Braedon was pushing himself onto his hands and knees, apparently struggling. Elora did not offer to help him, instead deciding to offer him the opportunity to keep some of his dignity by turning her back on him. It was obvious from his voice that he was fighting back tears. She was not going to stare at him while he struggled to keep a brave face. It had been hard enough being there with him in that old library, watching him yelling at a dying man.

"It is by the will of the Goddess that I am here—that I was sent here to kill my friend, my brother!" Elora turned in surprise when he began shouting, barely managing a blink before a swift kick knocked a small trunk over. Clothes, coins and books tumbled out onto the floor, uncovering a broken statue of the Goddess. They both looked on as if it would suddenly burst into flames. Braedon knelt and picked it up, as if trying to figure out how it could be fixed. "Someone filled his head with lies, made him question his faith. This is no place for a cleric among these—"

"Do I have to remind you that I'm standing right here? Don't you dare blame the Coven!" Elora snapped, pointing her staff at him in warning. "Jacob was a cultist long before he ever set foot in Mana Ridge and we would never disgrace our Lady by supporting filth."

"Jacob was not filth!"

A loud crack; his mace was inches away from her head, held back only by feeble arms and an old, flimsy staff that was quickly splintering. She vanished in an instant, sending Braedon crashing into a cot with a blast of dark magic. The tent shook slightly, the air filled with loose paper and dust from an obliterated statue. The cot had snapped and collapsed to the floor on impact.

The silence that filled the tent then was awkward, and Elora found herself again averting her gaze as Braedon sobbed. There were no tears, but she stood and watched as he screamed and thankfully took his anger out on the broken cot and not her. She still wanted to run and by the look Braedon was giving her, surrounded by charred cloth and wood, he wanted her to do that as well. But, she had not been lying earlier: she could not go back without him.

Even as badly injured as Jacob had left her, and even though she was a laughing stock among the other sorceresses—she hadn't even taken her Master Test until she had been hunting for the cultists—it was not a secret that she had once been a prodigy; the Divine Order would not doubt her ability to supposedly murder three clerics and make it out alive. Neither of the groups in the Order would ever believe her account of what had happened, and she did not trust Braedon to come back to validate it if she left him here alone. The Coven and the Order would be at war.

"You said that you would destroy every dragon cultist you could find. Well, do it then! Stop feeling sorry for yourself and make them pay, they're the ones to blame here!" It was her final bid to get him to do something, anything, besides wallow here in the tent that Jacob and Cedric had shared. From all of his chatter of how important it was to vanquish evil, she hoped he would at least cling to that long enough to spur him forward.

"You're right… for Jacob's sake—for his honor..." he trailed off. He was not completely convinced, still wrestling with his grief and his anger, but after the scuffle he was feeling a little clear headed. They were both injured, and Elora had the Vision Orb safely tucked in a pouch at her hip. He would have to fall back on obedient instinct to complete the tasks given to him; it was of the utmost important that he continue to carry out his duties as a Divine Knight somehow.

"After you, holy man." Elora pushed aside the flap of the tent, dramatically sweeping one hand to guide him outside. "You should get there first so you can surprise me with a new staff."

Braedon of course had no intention of buying her a new staff, but he stepped outside before her to avoid another altercation. She could use the money she had been harassing out of Cynthia and the others to buy one if it was so important to her. It was certainly no business of his to worry about the state her staff was in; he had his own business to take care of as a Divine Knight, and it did not involve helping a sorceress earn enough money to pay off her gambling debts.

He was not going to need to rely on her staff to work after this.

The novelty of a sorceress and a cleric coming back to town together, injured, had worn off after their second trip out. Tara was the only one that ever acknowledged them, much to Elora's disdain; it was usually only to make a snide comment about their physical state and how she had never seen anything so endearing when they walked about together. It was hard to ever imagine them as friends, given how much Elora dreaded speaking with her.

There had been a bit of a disagreement over whom to give the Vision Orb to, but after threatening a pummeling with her own orb, they eventually took it to Cynthia. "Of course you can trust me with the Coven's precious artifact," she mocked. "I'm so honored you thought of me. Get out of my sight, already."

"I risked my life getting that back you know," Elora protested, gesturing to her battered appearance. "We both did. I think you owe at least a little something, don't you?" Braedon had been embarrassed when he had first seen this happen, watching her stand there with her hand out, waiting for payment and refusing to leave until she got it. She usually did, resulting in a little payment for him as well, but this time Cynthia waved her hand away.

"Not yet. We have to make sure the Vision Orb wasn't damaged first. Go get cleaned up, Leonard and I have work to do."

"Now hold on Cynthia, I think they've earned the right to at least watch the ceremony and see what happens," Leonard interjected. Cynthia's lip curled as she rolled her eyes, but she waved a hand.

"If that's really what you want to do then stick around. I can beat both of you sooner if the ceremony fails, because it would be your fault," she reasoned. Elora sneered, but Leonard was impatiently waiting for Cynthia to place the Vision Orb in its place; she was cautious when placing it, and the two took a step back together, watching warily as it clicked into place. Cynthia and Leonard both looked amused until the orb glowed brightly and the cane seemingly unlocked. Leonard let go of the cane in surprise as he and Cynthia also stepped back, the top pieces separating and allowing the orb to float freely.

A voice, unfamiliar to them, began to speak but Elora at least was focused only on the image of a young woman that had appeared in the light given off by the orb. She had never seen anything like it before, and it barely registered that the voice coming from the orb was declaring that woman the prophet. Only when the orb and the cane went crashing to the ground did she refocus. Everyone stood in a stunned silence and the gravity of what they had heard seemed to be slowly sinking in.

Finally Cynthia clapped her hands together. "Both of you. Now go get cleaned up and taken care of. The adults have to talk."

They both turned and left together; it was starting to become second nature apparently, to go where ever the other went. Elora was complaining the whole way, certain that Cynthia really didn't have to wait to pay her for getting the Orb back because she would clearly forget.

She complained the entire time while getting bandaged up as well, and it took her awhile to notice that Braedon had not uttered a single comment about how it was better to live with few material possessions, which only kept a person further from the Goddess, or made any mention of the news about the prophet.

"You aren't even praying. You're having a hard time with this, huh?" They looked at each other, both apparently wondering if she was actually asking out of concern. It had been about twenty minutes since they had left Cynthia, and it was definitely strange that he wouldn't utter a single word. "You're always praying. I'm not allowed to make an observation when that changes?"

"You, too… were honestly surprised to find Jacob in that place. I could tell that you were not treating it as lightly as you had Cedric, though the fight had been just as hard. And now this warning about the prophet being in danger..," Braedon frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. Elora scoffed, narrowing her eyes at him as he leaned back against one of the supports of the tent they were in. "I'm not allowed to make an observation when something changes?"

"Wow, I really hate you."

"Break it up you two. You," Cynthia had opened the flap of the tent, jabbing a finger in Braedon's direction. "Go speak to that stammering superior of yours." He stood and left without a second thought, making Cynthia sigh. "If only you had been so obedient."

"Oh please, you wouldn't want to teach an obedient idiot," she scoffed. Cynthia sighed and waved a hand.

"This is serious now, Elora. You have to find the prophet. I had suggested that you go alone, but Leonard and I both realized that given your track record as an utter failure, it would be better to send you both," Cynthia explained.

"The prophet is in danger. You can understand that much, can't you? I know I taught you this story. I have a feeling the cleric has it memorized! It's time to reclaim some dignity and honor, bright star of mine. You need to find and protect this girl with your life. My life depends on it." Cynthia waved a hand, unsurprised when Elora stood and glared at her in indignation.

"Pay me extra and I'll be out of here before you can blink."

"If that will get you out of my hair, then by all means I'll pay you! But, you have to swear to me you'll take this seriously, Elora. Go straight to Carderock Pass and speak to Deckard. You may have squandered your skills but you were still one of my better students," she explained, giving her a stern look. "I'm trusting you with a lot right now and you better not let me down again."

Elora looked at her blankly, and even Cynthia seemed to be flustered by the slip; she dropped the money and a note into a waiting hand and neither of them spoke as Elora left the tent. That woman doling out praise was unheard of. She should have been gloating to everyone right now. It had been a perfectly good opportunity for a snappy reply, but she had been too stunned to even think.

In the end she simply packed up a bag and used the money Cynthia had given her to buy a new staff.

She didn't know if she would be successful, or if she would even give this mission the time of day, but she still felt compelled to leave Mana Ridge and at least be prepared. Her gaze was completely focused on the snow, and all she heard was the crunch of it beneath her feet. She did not notice that Braedon was standing near Tara until she had nearly run them down.

"Well you certainly didn't see that coming did you?" Tara joked, before sighing. "That one was a little stale…"

"What are you two doing having a conversation? This isn't about another love potion, is it?" Elora grumbled. She noticed that Braedon was looking more solemn than usual, and only Tara seemed to be embarrassed by her question.

"I foresaw some trouble ahead for him, so I wanted to speak to him before he left. The Sight can be a heavy burden but I think I should do my best to offer guidance," she sighed again, brushing blue hair away from her face in exasperation. "Sometimes you have to actually make use of your gifts. And as always, my vision proves to be crystal clear."

"Sometimes I think your gift is being full of hot air and bad sight jokes." She sighed as well, gently shoving Tara's shoulder. "I'm sure that he can handle any trouble on his own, he does enough praying for the entire country!"

"Can't you be serious for once? You treat everything like it's a game and I think it's about time you start treating things with a sense of urgency. Or do I have to remind you that you only just finished your Master test?"

Elora chewed on her lip for a moment, regarding Tara with an utmost look of annoyance. Tara had made it her job to nag her ever since they were kids, and she had been pretty glad to get away from her when she had been sent to Lotus Marsh early. Of course, maybe she could have used some nagging once she had made it to Saint's Haven…

Braedon cleared his throat, ready to speak now that the bickering had paused long enough for him to be heard. "What did Cynthia have to say to you?"

"Is that really any of your business? We brought back the Vision Orb, so as far as I'm concerned our little partnership is over," she said dismissively.

"You're going to Carderock Pass, aren't you?" When Elora looked angry with his snooping, he simply cast a pointed look at her hands, where Cynthia's note was still clutched. He held out a scroll of his own and continued speaking, his voice tight. "I've been ordered to go there as well, for the sake of the prophet. I believe that should also be the reason that we agree to continue to be somewhat civil towards each other, as our paths are not yet done crossing."

"Are you sure you didn't foresee trouble for me, Tara?" She was looking at their papers with such an angry expression it was likely a miracle they didn't burst into flame. "Because this is very distressing."

"What I saw was definitely of Braedon's concern and none of yours," Tara said stubbornly. "Travelling with him is hardly troublesome, you should consider yourself lucky!"

She blushed after the outburst, Elora smirking at her reaction and Braedon regarding her with a small amount of gratitude. "Thank you, Tara, but if Elora doesn't wish to travel with me that is her decision. I don't take offense to it."

"Oh, trying to show me up, are you?" she glared up at him, adjusting her bag and pointing her staff at his nose. "I have a sense of duty as well. In fact, I'm taking this so seriously I'm going to leave immediately and not stop until I get there!"

He seemed to always be running after her.

New Chapters will be posted every weekend as long as there are chapters finished by then. Chapter 2 will be posted this Sunday (one day from the point of posting this).

This story is also posted on my WordPress, along with Bonus Chapters that I will not be posting here.