Arando

Arando Schindler, a rare Arcane Knight, was a level 17 Arcane Knight of high standing in Canlus (a famous city in the North, bordering Icewind Dale to the north and Neverwinter to the south. Spanning the mouth of the Mirar River, it is the gateway to the rich mineral deposits of Mirabar. Known as the City of a Thousand Sails, it is a dangerous place, a port teeming with pirates and bloodthirsty bandits). He even commanded a sizable gang in this city rife with underworld activity.

The Blackpeak Knights he led were even hailed as the number one knight order of the underworld. Although they called themselves a knight order, their actions were the exact opposite of chivalry.

The Blackpeak Knights were essentially involved in every evil, from arson and murder to looting, with their biggest business being slave trading; they were the largest source of slaves in Canlus.

Until he decided to cut out the greedy slave merchants and get involved in the trade directly, his world underwent a cataclysmic change.

His former partners turned on him, his own subordinates betrayed him, and he was stabbed in the back by his most trusted brother. It was because of that man's betrayal that his most loyal followers—the brothers who had not wavered even in the most critical moments—all perished in that final shootout.

The greatest blow, however, was that his family, who had been sent to another city for refuge, were tracked down by those people and executed one by one right before his eyes. If not for his brothers sacrificing their lives to save him at the very end, he would not have survived either. But what was the point of living alone? His career, his ambitions, his brothers, his family—everything was gone. What meaning was there in living a life of mere survival?

In his deepest despair, he thought of ending it all; perhaps he could see them again in the Underworld. But he was unwilling. He refused to let his family and brothers die in vain, so he wanted revenge. He had to have his vengeance before he died.

Thus, Arando snuck back into Canlus. He wanted revenge. But first, he had to know who had destroyed his life and why. He had only wanted to get involved in the slave trade; there was no reason for others to push him to the brink of annihilation.

After returning to Canlus, he found his old friend, the information broker—the halfling Old John. From him, Arando learned that the force behind all this was the largest organization shrouding Canlus: the Arcane Brotherhood.

This was an ancient organization of mages that could be traced back to the distant era of Netheril, though Arando thought that was nonsense. Yet, the organization was indeed ancient. They had been secretly manipulating the situation in Canlus for a long time, operating in the city even thousands of years ago during the Dark Age when it was still called Luskan. But Arando truly could not fathom how he had offended such an organization.

He knew clearly how terrifying this organization was. Every gang or underground group in the city had to pay tribute to them, and he had always dutifully handed over his monthly dues. Despite being a level 17 Arcane Knight, he was nothing to this ancient mage organization; the Arcane Brotherhood would never go out of their way to trouble him over a bit of slave trading.

When asked, Old John didn't know the reason either, only that the Arcane Brotherhood was searching for something, and they believed that item was in Arando's possession. It seemed they would not give up.

Upon learning the reason, Arando immediately fled Canlus. He knew what the Arcane Brotherhood was looking for: the Arcane Eye. It was an item Arando had obtained by accident. It wasn't a magic item or an artifact; Arando had initially treated it as a rare piece of jewelry and only knew its name, but now it was clear it wasn't that simple.

Since his enemy was the Arcane Brotherhood, he clearly couldn't take his revenge. However, since they cared so much about this Arcane Eye, he would not let them have it, even if it meant his death.

He began a life of hiding, but he knew this was only a temporary measure. With the power of the Arcane Brotherhood, they would eventually find him. One had to know that the Arcane Brotherhood had legendary mages; being found was only a matter of time. But heaven never closes all doors; he knew of a place that would never be discovered by the Arcane Brotherhood: the Sanctuary of Heroes—Avalon.

In the North, many people knew of this legendary place, Avalon, but no one could say for sure where it was located. Some believed it was a paradise, while more thought the place was entirely fabricated. But Arando knew that Avalon truly existed.

Moreover, Avalon was protected by a mysterious power, and all divination or divine spells were unable to predict or detect the place.

Arando knew of Avalon because a friend of his came from there—an Avalon Orc. That friend had traveled everywhere in his youth, and they had become friends during their adventures. Arando had even saved his life once. Although they parted ways later due to differences in philosophy, the orc had given him a small totem. By using this totem in the Spine of the World, he could find this legendary place, and by finding him, he could repay the favor from back then.

Relying on that totem in the Spine of the World, Arando searched for nearly a year before finally entering Avalon. However, Arando felt his friend had been completely bragging back then about how great Avalon was. Arando felt this place was no different from the rest of the North—it was just as snowy, and just as full of endless monsters.

For instance, right now, a monster he had never seen before was attacking him. This monster looked somewhat like a wyvern and somewhat like a bird; it was fast, strong, and had high magic resistance. Arando had no good way to deal with it, but as a level 17 Arcane Knight, he could at least protect himself. Killing it, however, was proving difficult.

Just as Arando was in a dilemma, he noticed someone approaching. Arando immediately thought it must be an Avalon Orc, as only they lived in this place. Although he hadn't encountered any Avalon Orcs in all these days, there was no other possibility for the figure approaching now.

However, in his heart, Arando remained extremely cautious. He had lived his whole life in deceit and treachery; the person approaching might have ulterior motives. Although his friend had told him how simple and warm-hearted the Avalon Orcs were—and he didn't doubt his friend, who was indeed a true man—the gap between people could be greater than the gap between a man and a dog. It didn't mean every Avalon Orc was like that. So, caution was never a mistake. On the surface, Arando acted as if he hadn't noticed the newcomer, but secretly, he prepared himself.

As for Solam, he was still crawling forward in the snow. One had to know that a Snow Dragon was very alert, so he had to remain patient. If he were discovered, the Snow Dragon might turn its focus toward him. While he wasn't afraid, it would be very troublesome.

Arando kept his attention on the approaching figure. Seeing the person sneaking toward the Snow Dragon's blind spot, Arando's heart settled by at least half. At the very least, the first thing this person would attack was definitely the monster.

It looked like the newcomer intended to ambush the beast. Arando weighed his options; his greatest threat right now was the monster in front of him, and joining forces with this person would be advantageous. As for what would happen after the monster was dealt with—would he be afraid? He was, after all, a level 17 Arcane Knight, a powerful figure in his own right. He had great confidence in his strength; if the newcomer really had bad intentions, he would definitely make them pay.

Although Arando was thinking about these things, his hands were not slow. As the Snow Dragon lunged again, he rolled to the side and, while dodging, struck a heavy blow with his blade, leaving another wound on the Snow Dragon's flank. However, the Snow Dragon's skin was truly incredibly tough; every attack failed to leave a deeper wound.

Arando had no intention of landing a killing blow. The most important thing right now was to keep the monster's attention firmly fixed on himself, creating an opportunity for the other person to ambush it. Otherwise, if the monster discovered the person, the chance for an ambush would be lost.

Solam also noticed the dark figure attracting the Snow Dragon's attention and immediately gave him a mental thumbs-up. A man who understands the situation. Looks like an old hand. Not like those rookies who shout and scream the moment they see someone, unable to keep their cool.

However, while Solam and Arando had a good plan, the Snow Dragon had no intention of cooperating. It directly unleashed its spell-like ability: Blizzard.

This ability didn't have much offensive power; it simply triggered a small blizzard around the Snow Dragon, obscuring the enemy's vision with dense snowflakes so they couldn't lock onto it, which was very advantageous for either an ambush or an escape.

The effect of this spell was quite impressive. At the very least, Solam was enveloped by it. His vision was filled with snowflakes, and he couldn't see the situation ahead at all. However, Solam wasn't entirely without options.

Solam closed his eyes, concentrating his mind to the limit, and fully utilized his "Communication" ability. An image of the surroundings immediately formed in his mind. This was a new way of using the "Communication" ability, somewhat like the "Heart's Eye" from his past life. He could observe his surroundings without using his eyes. The range wasn't huge, but it covered a radius of over 500 meters, and his observation wasn't restricted by terrain or environment; it was almost like seeing through illusions. Relying on this ability, Solam could easily discover things that were hard for others to see with the naked eye, such as traps or dangers. That was why whenever Solam went out with a hunting party, he could always detect danger or prey in advance.

Now, in the image in his mind, he saw that the Snow Dragon hadn't fled; instead, it was landing softly just behind the figure.