A small group of soldiers marched through a small village, the residents giving the men cautious glances. They knew what time it was, and knew many of their young men and women would soon be gone.

The soldiers split up into groups of three once they got to the town square, all five groups going in different directions. There was only a handful eligible for the competition in this small village, and it was dire that all were found.

The first was a farm boy near the outskirts of town. His fighting skills were unique, and something not many people would use against wild animals.

The second was a blacksmith's daughter in the market. Her skills with various swords and other blades made her excellent for being flexible with whatever she may need in combat.

The third was a retired knight's late son. Rumors were told that the child was learning magic, but evidence of where he learned it could never be found.

The fourth and fifth were next-door friends towards the east of town. One was noted to be half-elf and skilled in archery and sword fighting while the other was brutal with his almost inhuman strength.

But these two weren't willing to comply easily...

---

Eadward hauled another large bushel of hay onto the wagon, wiping the sweat from his brow once his hands were free. His blue-gray eyes scanned the amount filling the wooden dray, seeing most of it was filled. A smile danced its way to his rugged face before hearing a loud bang from the house next door. He paused in his work and glanced over at where his neighbor lived. Shouts and the sounds of fighting could be heard, soon all being silenced after the owner of the house yelled out in pain.

He stopped doing his chores quickly and ran over to the stone building, shouting out the man's name while doing so.

"Get your hands off," shouted the voice of Ladrel.

"Oh no..." Eadward muttered. He hurried around to the back door instead of the front, ducking below any of the windows before sneaking in.

He was in the small storage area, cut off from the rest of the house with another door. With quick thinking, he grabbed the hayfork that rested against the stone wall. The young man then bolted through the second door into the small hallway, which was blocked off by a patrol guard.

He readjusted the hold on his improvised weapon before charging forward, raising the hayfork until the prongs were the same height as the guard's exposed back. Only a startled cry came from the man and nothing else as the room dropped silent and the guard fell to the floor, still trying to overcome the pain in his back.

But the new view for Eadward was no better. Malon, the man of the house, was on the floor, gashes across his back. Pure, blond white hair stained with dirt and blood. Even his pointed ears seemed wrecked from the treatment he had received as well, all to save the young woman in the grasp of the other guard in front of him.

The female looked young, like one who had just reached womanhood, but Eadward knew her to be just a year younger than him. And she was more of a threat than he could be. She shared similar features to the elf man on the ground, save for her features being slightly softer and blonde hair holding a soft red tint to it as well. Her fair skin was red, both from her own frustration and possible smacks on her face.

"And who are you?" A third guard blurred out as he aimed his sword at Eadward.

The brunet eyed the man before slowly speaking. "Eadward. Their neighbor. Now let her go before I use this hayfork on you." The item in question was yanked out of the guard on the ground, another groan of pain coming from him as the wound opened.

The one who questioned the young man only smiled before a small chu noise left his lips. "Spellcaster Milon, put these two to sleep."

The only one of the militarized men not wearing armor nodded his head, his eyes beginning to glow as he chanted a spell towards the young farmers in their grasp. The half-elf was the first to go under, her willpower already lowered from losing the earlier fight. The human male though began to charge with the bloodied hayfork still in his hands, aiming it at throat level as he got closer to the spellcaster. But it was too late.

When Eadward paused in his attack stance, his legs faltered and buckled below him. Next was his grip on the wooden handle, loosening until the item fell from his hands and to the stone floor in a large clatter. Blue eyes looked up at the glowing ones, determination to stay awake evident.

But alas, it didn't last long until something blunt hit his head and make his vision go black.

The burns of the impact were the first thing Ladrel felt as she came to. Next was the feeling of rope tightly binding her hands together behind her back. No matter how much she flexed, the bindings wouldn't give. And while her eyes were still shut, the redness began to grow in her vision, indicating she was in sunlight.

As she opened her eyes, she immediately recognized the girl in front of her. She had long brown hair pulled back into a bun and her old and worn smock still tied around her work clothes.

"Edelin? They took you too?" Ladrel asked. She noticed movement on her right, taking a glance and seeing Eadward in the same bondage as her.

Her eyes returned to Edelin as the teenager spoke to her. "Yeah, although I did give them a fight too. But that damn spellcaster with them healed them up afterward..."

"I stabbed one in the back, hopefully, that makes up for it," Eadward commented, struggling to move hair out of his face with his shoulder in the process.

"Barely..." Edelin looked at him and then back at Ladrel, studying the fellow woman's strawberry blonde hair and how it looked like flames in the bright daylight. But her attention then went to behind Ladrel, seeing a new set of soldiers walking a tall and muscular man their way.

"They found Owun it seems." She stated quickly.

The man had faint traces of elf blood in him, mainly in the ears. Although he wasn't much of a human either with the weird abilities he showed others in the village. Whatever magic he was learning let him turn patches of his skin to metal.

Unlike Ladrel and Eadward, he hadn't been put under a sleep spell, but it was obvious the soldiers had subdued him.

"Get in there," one soldier said as he shoved Owun forward. He turned around after the male was in the wagon with the others to speak to the rest of the soldiers there. "Only these four... The other escaped. We will report this once we get back to the capital."

"Where we're gonna die..." Owun muttered under his breath.

The other three nodded to his comment.

King Darren was only sending these young men and women to their death.