Shawn

The cabin is once again silent with nothing but the sound of the snowfall outside filling the empty air.

"Anyways, you guys should go," I bluntly tell the party.

They may be a little interesting, but a minor interest isn't worth the trouble they would bring me.

"But-" Hank begins, most likely about to say something stupid again, but is interrupted pretty quickly by Amber.

I guess they are used to his stupidity then.

"Are you sure about this, sir?" Amber asks me with a wary look in her eyes.

"Yep," I reply.

"Okay..." She says before nodding towards Aldred, who waves his hand and points towards the cards on the floor.

Josh quickly reaches the cards and puts them away. The party then proceeds to leave my cabin.

As I am about to close the door, Aldred turns around and says, "We will be searching the rest of the island before going back to The Isle of Drifting Ash to report to the Guild."

He then reaches his arm out and holds it in front of me.

A handshake?

I reach my own hand out and clasp his as he says, "I hope you have a peaceful life here, Your Highness."

I instinctively roll my eyes at the honorific before saying, "Thank you."

Aldred smirks a little upon seeing my eye roll before letting go of my hand and walking away without another word.

I watch them for a few seconds as they leave my clearing before turning around and going back into my cabin.

After that, I walk over and lay down on my bed while staring up at the ceiling.

"Those people are going to cause me problems," I mumble before going to sleep.

Aldred

"Are you sure about this, Aldred?" Hank asks for the third time.

"Yes Hank, I am sure! Now stop asking me already!" I shout at him as we continue our search through the forest.

"We're going to have to report to the Guild about him," Amber whispers to me.

I nod my head and say, "That's true. He seemed like a decent enough guy though, from what we saw of him at least. I hope the Island Lord doesn't go messing with him if he finds out about him."

Amber mutters, "Yeah, as if the Island Lord would leave him be."

Unfortunately, he probably won't leave him alone.

"I still can't believe that we met a member of a royal race outside of the Rings of Aurora or The City of Aurora," Josh exclaims in excitement.

"It is surprising, but maybe he just wanted to get away from all of that politics in the center of Aurora? I mean, why else go to an island like this one in the middle of nowhere?" Amber points out.

"I have been to one of the Rings of Aurora before, so I wouldn't blame him for not wanting to return," I mutter.

"Seriously!" Josh shouts while staring at me in admiration.

"Um, what exactly are the Rings of Aurora anyways?" Elizabeth speaks up and asks.

All of us stop for a second in surprise.

She doesn't know what the Rings are? That's surprising.

I glance at Amber before turning to Elizabeth and explaining, "The Rings of Aurora are the five personal islands belonging to each of the royal races and serve as a capital of sorts for every member of each respective race."

She looks surprised as she vigorously nods her head, as if silently asking for more details.

I look at her for a second before realizing for the first time that she doesn't actually talk very much.

"The first of the five rings is known as The Aerial Crescent. It is the seat of power and home of the Celestials; otherwise known as the rulers of all of the humans and demi-humans throughout Aurora," I explain before adding, "Elves such as my sister and I, as well as you three humans, are all under the rule of the Celestials."

Elizabeth's eyes widen in astonishment after hearing the last part.

She really hasn't heard of any of this before, has she?

I continue my explanation, "Next up is the second of the five rings, known as The Devil's Summit. It is the seat of power and home of the Ashborne; otherwise known as the rulers of all demons."

I briefly glance back in the direction of the cabin and continue, "Up next is the third of the five rings where our new friend back there is from. It is known as Niflheim and is the home of the Draugr. The supreme rulers of the undead races."

I shiver at the thought of the place.

"Let's continue walking while I finish explaining," I tell her before continuing on through the forest.

"The fourth ring is known as The Angel's Palace and is the home of the Archangels," I continue after seeing the others following behind me again, "The rulers of all of the angels."

I stop talking as I think about the last ring.

The only ring different from the others.

"Um, sir? What about the fifth ring?" Elizabeth asks after several moments of silence go by.

Oops.

"The fifth ring is known as The Void. It is home to the Shadow Hunters," I answer Elizabeth, "The lords of all monsters."

"Very little is known about the Shadow Hunters, and no one knows where the dungeon to The Void is located. All we know about them is they have mastery over the shadows, and that they are natural born hunters. Although, some say that they have the ability to shapeshift," I finish explaining to Elizabeth as we arrive at the dungeon again.

"Alright, I think we have searched this island thoroughly enough, so shall we head back to the Isle of Drifting Ash?" I ask everyone.

"Sure," Amber says.

"Finally!" Hank shouts.

After seeing everyone else nod in agreement, I open up the dungeon door and walk through.

In a fancy looking manor on an island covered in ash and the occasional pool of lava.

"Do you think they will find anyone, my lord?" I hear my personal assistant ask from behind me.

I stare out of my office window at the ash drifting in the breeze before responding a few seconds later, "I doubt it."

"You're probably right my lord, it is highly unlikely that anyone would live on a frozen island like the Isle of Fallen Snow," he says before I see him, through the reflection in the window, bow and leave the room.

I continue staring out of the office window for a few minutes before turning to my desk and looking at the paper sitting on it.

"It is the perfect island for my plan," I mutter out loud while reading the line at the top of the paper.

Operation Fallen Ash

I turn around and look out the window again.

It shouldn't be much longer now.