Adventures Of Natur: The Greyhorn

Chapter I

Silver Forge, Gundar Hills, Teraen

The Blacksmith barged into the storage room to his two young apprentices, Lee and Luna. They were siblings and both had elvish features; dark, glossy hair with sharp eyes and pointed ears. Lee was really tall for an elf and had a muscular body, like that of a Human. Luna, on the other hand, had more in common with the elves. She was really small, about 5 feet tall and had a petite figure.

Lee noticed an unusual frown on the otherwise calm Blacksmith's face. Knowing something was up, he inquired about the situation, but the Blacksmith seemed to be preoccupied with his own sea of thoughts. Lee didn't know about the tempest of worries that shrowded the Blacksmith's mind. It took Lee two more tries to finally get an answer from him, "That's not just a normal man. He is part of the Order of the Lotus. We have to find the Post Scriptum,"

The apprentices didn't know about the Post Scriptum, but they knew what the Order was. "The Order is involved?" Lee asked with an anguished look on his face. There was a rumour that the Order manipulated King Aurelius into declaring the Iron Conquest and when the war was over they killed off the poor King and took charge over the Human Empire. But Lee knew this was more than a rumour. He knew that the Order played a big part in his Mother's death after which the Dwarvish blacksmith adopted them into the forge.

"Yes, son. We are in a danger," the blacksmith said with fear filled eyes as he held out a scroll to Lee and added, "I want you to listen carefully. This is the Post Scriptum and I want you to deliver this to the Elves in the Sacred Woods. Use the hidden passage under this room and don't let them see you and make sure you keep Luna safe. I am afraid my time has come. Raising you both have been nothing less than delightful. Now go!!" The Blacksmith yanked open the door and left the two young souls to themselves. 

Both of them stood still, shell-shocked, trying to find and get a grasp of the situation, happening as it had, in such urgency. Feeling the full weight of the Post Scriptum in his hand, Lee could barely believe the events that had just unfolded before them. The Blacksmith had been a parent figure for them ever since he could remember and now he was...

As if sharing his thoughts, Luna pleaded "But brother! We can't just leave him here to die!" Lee snapped back to reality at his sister's cry. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to an otherwise unnoticeable niche at the back of the room. He then opened the hidden passage by moving a fake floor tile. The Blacksmith had taught Lee about this passage and had cautioned him to use it if they ever ran into trouble. Lee slipped out a knife from his belt as he entered the passage, dragging his unwilling sister inside. If Luna didn't realise that the Post Scriptum was worth more than the Blacksmith's life, Lee did, though it broke his heart at every step he took away from the Forge. 

Lee stopped, "Luna, I want you to take this scroll and deliver it to the Elves. Here take this knife for your protection. I am afraid the master needs help and I have to go now, sister. I cannot begin to tell how much I love you and how deeply sorry I am for leaving you here," Lee finished with tears dripping from his sharp green eyes, kissing her on the forehead, looking at his sister for one last time, before he exited the passage. Once back into the storage room, he grabbed a sword he was working on and went for the Blacksmith's aid.

That was the last Luna saw of her brother. She fiddled with the Post Scriptum, unsure what to do. She cared deeply and sincerely for her Master, who took her and her brother into the forge when they had no other place to go and even more for her brother who was there for her all 17 years of her life. Now she may end up losing both of them and the pain was unbearable. But she was aware of what she was expected to do. Determined once again to complete the task at hand, she made a run for the exit at the far end side.

Once finally at the exit, Luna saw much to her surprise, that she had run way ahead from the Forge towards the Outskirts of Teraen. She kept running away from the forge when she saw a blonde man exit the forge with two other men and she realised what had probably happened but she was prepared for it. She continued on her journey to the Sacred Woods, with the seed of vengeance, rooting deep inside of her.

The Exiled Path, Outskirts Of Teraen

The Exiled Path was a road which connected Teraen to the Sacred Woods and seldom was used by people, fearing the Elves. Various creatures roamed the paths these days, making it all the more dangerous for travelling alone. The Cinber tree illuminated the dark paths at night with its luminous floating pollen. The same tree was used to make the legendary Elven armoury which was on par, if not better than the Dwarven ones.

This was the first time Luna was so far away from the forge in Gundar hills as her brother took extra measures to keep her from any harm. She had always wanted to meet her people, but for some reason, both the Blacksmith and her brother were against the idea. She had heard stories of the Sacred Woods, the home of the Night Elves, which later started to occupy the highborn Elves in exile too. She had also heard about how dangerous the Exiled Path was but she thought different after seeing it with her own eyes. The night sky was illuminated by the pollen from the Cinber Tree, and the sight was no less than ethereal.

Amazed as she was, she was not without caution. She could hear the movement of animals and she felt like she was being followed, but she didn't stop. She was really good at running and was rather athletic owing to her elven side. She kept on progressing through her path, only to be stopped by what lay ahead. Total darkness faced her, and no pollen illuminated her path anymore.

The darkness, for some reason beyond her knowledge, made her ever the more adamant. Plunging into the shroud of darkness, she ran. She was as good as blind here, but she kept on running, until she felt the presence of someone nearby, or was it something.

"Who's there? I only came here to deliver something to the Elves in the Sacred Woods" Luna said with a little fear for her life and added, "I don't want any trouble, you hear me?" No one answered back so she took a few steps forth with caution and felt the familiar tingle of someone right in front of her, and she had to curse the impenetrable fog that the darkness had clothed all over her. She equipped herself with the knife her brother gave her and thrust it forward without hesitation. It seemed to hit something although not plunged. When in reality, it was blocked by someone but she was too late to notice that as the stranger pulled her close and started choking her with their elbow.

"Who...are...you?" Luna managed to get the words out of her throat just when the clearing began to illuminate from the pollen. Luna's eyes adjusted to the light as she saw the stranger's form. An elf. 

Luna felt a sudden jerk and in the same movement, felt her back hit flat on the earth. The elf stood looming over her as he threw a handful of dust, that being the last thing she could comprehend clearly. Luna quickly began to lose consciousness, feeling the ground slipping away from underneath, her eyelids forcing themselves shut. She tried with all that was left in her to get back up, but too weak for herself, fell back down.

The elf picked her up and grabbed her by her hair, and glanced at her face and started to sniff her. A look of disgust loomed over his face as he whispered, "You reek of impurity, girl,"