Ellany was raised in a shielded place; fed lies since before she could walk. When beasts that should have only existed in her nightmares rip her from everything she holds dear, her will to continue is shattered. She tells herself she is prepared to...
Shadaii stood on all fours, head low, taking fast shaky breaths. The fog in is his head billowed in and out on the whims of the wind. At times he was sure he saw people standing around him. People he didn't recognize, but who exuded a soft familiarity anyway. One face in particular he could swear he had seen before. Green eyes, a young face, but somehow matronly too. She stood closest to him. A memory flickered briefly of her helping him to his feet.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Who -- are you?" He thought. A gentle surprise lit in her features, and then the fog shifted.
The stillness and her face were gone in an instant, and the sounds of battle rang around him. War cries and screams of death, snarling and the clash of weapons. To his left, a squat man -- perhaps less than five feet tall -- was fending of a vague and ugly black creature. A man in dull black armor had his boot on the neck of an ingryd who had fallen prone, and was growling horrible things to her as he crushed her windpipe.
Shadaii blinked slowly, trying to breathe.
"--so sorry, Shadaii." The woman was saying, "I'm sorry we never knew one another. But this man that you are -- the man who lived in darkness for so long, and still allowed the light in -- who has grown stronger and stronger in the face of every monster he faces -- who has learned love when there was no-one to teach him what it was --" She paused, and turned to look at something in the distance. Following her gaze, Shadaii vaguely saw bouts of flame, purple and orange, and two large figures dancing in and out of the low hanging mist. The woman turned back to him. "That man," She said, " is more than I could ever have hoped you'd grow to be."
The fog shifted again, and her visage blinked out, the sounds of battle flooded in feeling closer -- hotter -- than before. It occurred to him then why the woman's face felt familiar. It reminded him of the face he saw in the mirror. He tried to steady his breathing. Where was he? Why couldn't he tear his eyes off the lifeless ingryd a couple paces in front of him?
"-proud of you, son." Her voice drowned out the sounds of death around him again. "And I love you." She had her hand to the fur on his jaw. "Its time to go, though." She said with a sternness in her voice, "You are needed in this fight. You've been on the wrong side for too much of it."
The wrong side..
Shadaii shook his head. Memories ran through him like cold water in his veins. Through the darkened windows of his eyes he had seen atrocities. The fallout after his duel with his father. The loss of his will to Her. The massive army all arrayed in black armor, fur, and scales. Like ants they had known the will of the queen without being told, and had obeyed without question. They had marched so far and so quickly that many had marched to their deaths, and the rest had continued on -- right over their bodies.
His head began to pound. The horror of having been replaced with the darkness that was her will. Overcome so easily by this ancient enticing entity. Held prisoner in his own body. Used as a tool for his own destruction. What a fool he had been to think he could fight her. And the things he had done under her influence!
The picture of Ellany's face burned in his mind. The fear and betrayal in her eyes. The terror and her screams of denial. His legs began to shake beneath him as he recalled the command for her death. The murder and hatred and bloodlust filling him. Ellany's blood. The end of the dragon heiress. Guilt crawled up his throat, suffocating him. He had lunged for her. Ready to tear into her -- rip her heart from her body with his teeth.
No. No no.
He forced himself back to the battlefield, back to the clash of weapons and mess of bodies -- living, injured, struggling, dead. Where was she? He hadn't succeeded, had he? Finally finding the motivation to move, he twisted this way and that, searching the scene of carnage around him. Where was Ellany in all this destruction and death? Not destroyed. Not dead. Please not that.
Then the sky lit up with fire again. Huge winged shapes obscured by the mist and the snow spun and shrieked. Their deadly dance emerged from the clouds for an instant revealing Ellany artfully dodging a swipe of the horrible black claws of a beast he knew the instant he set eyes on it. That was Her. There could be no doubt. Arrayed in scales and teeth, the huge looming shape was truly terrifying to behold. Its eyes and mouth glowed with violet fire as it wheeled in the sky to follow Ellany into the clouds again. Its tail swiped the earth as it did, flinging a black rider from his perch on a dark beast of black feathers, and forcing a giant to dance out of the way, nearly tripping on an elven archer and their mount.
Shadaii traced Ellany in the clouds, following the orange glow of the flames on her skin, feeling a terrible ache set in. She was alive. That was worth some small pittance of relief. And she had not died at his hand. His whole heart rejoiced selfishly in that. Had fate taken a different turn, he would have gladly walked off the nearest cliff and left this sorry world to descend into chaos and darkness. But she was alive, and that meant he had something to fight for.
He was man enough to admit that there was nothing he could do for her-- not as she battled pure evil in the sky like an angel arrayed in fire -- but here on the valley floor in the grit and gruesome truth of war -- here he could do something.
The battle had forgotten him -- no-one sure which side he was on, and afraid of the consequences of dispatching him. Today they would learn what a mistake the darkness had made in letting him go. He was ready to send the whole black army to hell, and go with them if he had to.
He leapt into action, catching the arm of a black clad warrior just as he tried to bring an already bloodied ax down on an unsuspecting elf. He ripped back, pulling the arm off and spraying the snow with hot blood. The man's eyes widened and then went inky as he crumpled to the ground.
The elf turned in alarm and then took in the scene in an instant. His eyes narrowed at Shadaii, with vague recognition, and then grimaced and nodded in solemn gratitude.
"Good to have you," He shouted over the din and then turned to defend himself against a beast that was low to the ground and had far too many teeth.
Shadaii readied himself to rip though several black-armored men who were quickly overcoming a unit made up of a female giant, a cavalryman, and two of the short muscled men -- dwarves he quickly recalled. These must be the dwarves.
Suddenly the fog in his mind returned, and he wavered on his feet, trying desperately to stay upright. There was a figure beside one of the dark warriors, a man in glimmering armor. He held out a hand as the world slowed to a crawl. Shadaii watched unsteadily as the ethereal figure seemed to wait in that position, his eyes on the skies. Above them there was an explosion of bright orange light in the clouds, and a horrible ancient roar of pain. So loud he felt it in his bones. In that instant, the figure pressed his hand against the side of the warrior's face and he thought he saw the dark flee from his eyes.
Just as quickly the fog shifted again and he felt blessedly steady on his feet. He breathed carefully and watched as the world resumed its normal speed. The warrior's sword arm went slack, and he stared with wide yellow eyes around him. Shadaii suddenly felt sick as he watched the bewilderment overtake the ghere forcing him to his knees.
One of the dwarves seized the opportunity and ran his thick blade into the ghere's chest, killing him instantly. The other three black clad soldiers fought on without a glance for their comrade, the black in their eyes empty of any passion.
Shadaii forced himself to swallow his pity and uncertainty. There wasn't time for that on the battle field. As long as She had them, they would be happier in hell. He knew from experience.
Casting a longing glance at the sky, he lowered his head and snarled.
