From Iron and Ruin

Unveiled.

            Chapter 21: Unveiled.

There could be no running in Aldwynn.

This Keep had been built in the age of Elves, built with magic and by the red-stained hands of those who would call it their home and pass down a legacy to all those who would come to live inside Aldwynn's walls. It had survived during the wars that followed – the slaughtering of Elves as humans set their sights on the bountiful beauty of Cadelith with its vast rivers, lakes, forests and deep earth laden with precious jewels.

It had survived, a pocket of Elven culture, as the Elves themselves were pushed back to the North-West and relegated to lands that were harsh and unforgiving.

They had survived it all and now these Elves would survive this night too.

The peace of the night was gone. Shattered by the torchlight glowing in the darkness. Silver rippled in my veins as I scrambled to put on my armour, hands shaking. Not again. Not again. I bound my hair, staring at myself in the mirror. My cheeks were flushed, my eyes bright.

Not again.

The Aldwynn Elves at least, had been given the luxury of a little time. The Nirani had not washed over them, taking advantage of their confusion. As the night passed, the Aldwynn Elves were preparing. Their strongest castors, along with the mentors of Aldwynn gathered out before the Keep with their hands raised to the sky. I had joined them and magic had poured out, tethered between all of is to fortify the entrance of Aldwynn and to give us even more time, by blocking the single road into Aldwynn with a landslide of sharp rock.

When I was not helping with preparations, I was planning. Farianne had gathered us with her Mentors in the Aldwynn's Sanctum. The fortifications on the Sanctum had been strengthened. Gwen had returned from the back tunnels, grim and covered with dust. Blocked. All of them.

"I blocked them all Shiny." She washed her dusty hands in a bowl left out for her.

Farianne braced her hands on the table, staring at us fiercely. "Aldwynn cannot be allowed to fall."

"They are here for the second tablet of Asha'da," I eyed the wrapped tablet critically. Even though I did not touch it, I felt it's presence. I hated it for what it had done. For the destruction wrought upon Cadelith for a magic tablet.

"The Insurgent nor his General will touch the tablet," I continued on, bitingly. "I would rather die than see the Insurgent achieve his mission."

"He won't." Mahon said steadily. "If the Insurgent managed to get his soldiers into an ancient Elven Keep and across the barrier into their Sanctum only to be stopped by one woman, then he will not succeed here."

I tried to mirror Mahon's confidence. He looked and spoke as if this battle was completely below him – a minor inconvenience that would be swept away with ruthless efficiency.

"The Insurgent is determined. His General has an unbendable will. Fear soaks into the red-stone walls. Pain will come. Death is certain for some." Kohen's lashes brushed his cheekbones as he released a shuddering breath. "But our will is stronger. Our need to protect is stronger than their need to destroy. Their desire to ravage and burn away all that is good."

I worried for Kohen. Emotions always held a danger of overwhelming him and a battle was a perfect trigger. I would keep an eye on him – I had to. I had left Kendon alone in Dratlan and he had been butchered. I wouldn't let the same happen to Kohen. For a long, trembling moment, I wished that I could take this burden from him. If only for this battle.