For a few days, Nomad had set up camp near the Tannik River. He hadn't wanted to leave. Most people didn't want to. He was an interesting elven traveler making his way around the land of Fonde Ssique.
He was dressed all in white and exuded a strange but natural charisma. The people who had visited Tannik gave him the name Nomad, and it had stuck. For a nomad was always on the move. However, this nomad stayed a while longer waiting, like he was expecting a friend.
The area was stunning, tranquil, and inviting. The air was fresh and invigorating. The crispness of the morning combined with the calmness of the approaching afternoon. The Tannik River flowed just a few steps away and behind him were the gates of Crenith.
It was the river that brought Nomad to the other side, to the realm just before the land where all evil lies.
He sat quietly admiring the sacred river surrounded by tall white columns at four corners. The water was very beautiful. It was almost clear. All was calm and peaceful. The water forked out of the river and fell into a waterfall leading out towards the Crystal Sea. The trees danced gently in the breeze. A few birds perched on a weeping willow. Yes, Tannik was a respite for the weary. This was a sacred place of change and purification, a symbol of life and death. Tannik flowed through the valley that separated most of the lands. The elve was so calm that he barely felt the arrow fly close to his ear. It had buried itself in a tree. The arrow was green and beautiful, but it had an etched leaf on it, a symbol of Westerian. It had come from across the river. A man stood staring through a green hood.
"The next won't miss!" he shouted.
"Why should it?" replied Nomad.
"Because you killed Eddipus!"
"There is some truth in what you say."
The hooded figure raised his bow, drew the string, and took aim. The small, shiny green arrow whistled as he let go and It flew toward Nomad.
He felt the soft wood of the arrow in his hand.
"The arrow," the hooded man said. "You caught my arrow."
It was true, Nomad held it in his hand. The head was inches from his eyes.
"Very nice craftsmanship."
"Enough small talk, Jezzaul."
The hooded man charged across a nearby bridge and lunged at Nomad. He brandished the arrow like a knife. It was not his only defense, for his sword was at his side. He felt that the arrow was a quick means.
He stood up and faced the hooded man.
"Come to me, Val."
The hooded man, Eddipus's old friend, and confidant, was out for revenge. Val stepped forward and grabbed the arrow from Nomad. He threw it into the river and struck him on the cheek with a closed fist.
"Fight me."
Nomad was silent. Val looked down at his sheathed claymore.
"Why do you have Eddipus's sword?"
"Because it isn't his anymore." he began to laugh. The laughter was deep, soft, and joyful.
"You're crazy."
"Anyone in their right mind would be crazy traveling with people like you."
"Og should have killed you."
"He did." Nomad laughed again.
Val's eyes lit up with fear as he turned and ran.
"Where are you going, my friend?" Nomad stepped forward, still laughing.
"Are you mad?"
"Sure." He laughed again.
Val tripped and stumbled over an uneven spot, falling face down and spinning onto his back as he pushed off with his feet.
"Jezzaul, you've lost your mind!"
"In a way. You see, I have a new one now." He continued, holding out his hand and beckoning Val to take it.
"I don't need help from a murderous mutt."
Val reached for an arrow and brought his bow back to meet Nomad's hand... or was it Jezzaul, Val wasn't sure.
He put on his arrow, drew, and relaxed. He paused and put the weapon down beside him as he stared into Nomad's eyes. Familiar eyes. His friend's eyes.
"Unless I see you with sword in hand and you block my arrows, I will not believe."
The day progressed. Tannik residents visiting the picturesque river watched as Val took out his bow.
Although the onlookers watched them, Nomad held up his sword in a defensive stance, unshaken and unnerved.
"Peace be with you!" He continued, "Bring on your arrows, see me block, and know that it is I, your friend. Let them fly. Test me and believe."
Val withdrew his arrow back, "Steady sword, murderer - ready, aim and focus on my arrows!"
His arrow flew and as quick as it was released Nomad swung wildly, knocking the weapon away, but he had not wavered.
"Again!" roared Nomad.
He had definite information that his friend was before him, just in a different transmutation. Therefore, he was still not sure. He doubted his own eyes and ears. Could it be true? Alive, Val's friend still breathing and standing here?
Val was not the emotional type, it had to be a very special moment to touch his heart's cord. The sad or happy feelings had left him when he was very young.
"Steady sword, Eddipus - ready, aim and focus on my arrows," his voice rattled but he did not cry.
How was this even possible? Val dropped his bow and ran to Eddipus. This was not just any nomad, it was not Jezzaul. It was his friend, his brother.
Val, while giving his friend a warrior's forearm handshake, drew him into a manly embrace.
"My ally. My confidant!"
****
"It's in," Dante said.
Hilda cried out as she felt the serrated scoop sink in. He reached into her right eye with the circular blade of Exorpanning knife and the small shiv sank through muscle, blood, and nerve. Dante thrust it closer and applied pressure until he felt her eye socket.
"Kneel down and rest your head, or it will kill you, my dear."
The priestess obeyed.
"Please hurry, Master," Hilda cried as she laid her head on the pillow of the cot.
Dante gently touched her shoulder before going back to the instrument lodged in her socket. "You has soon be free of the demon."
Hilda bit down a little on the sheet that covered her to keep from biting her tongue.
Dante grasped and tilted the Exorpanning knife and managed to move past a light layer of tissue.
"Now hold very still."
Hilda winced as he penetrated further into her right eye.
Dante thrust the blade past a nerve.
There was a popping sound and red ichor spurted.
The world around her seemed to stop and darken.
***
Her name was Adeve.
No one would know, considering that she was mute and had a terrible, fatal disease.
She could barely move. Parts of her were already dead and decomposed.
She was tended to, but nothing could cure Adeve's poisoned condition.
The environment around her was cool, wet, and dark, but comfortable. Beneath her was a hard surface of earth and wet soil.
The woman was taller than most and had to look down to meet the gaze of others. She appeared frail in her sad, dying state. She was waiting for someone to return. Someone she knew could save her. He had taken something from her. Something that was part of her and not functioning properly.
Adeve looked up at a gap in the ceiling. She soaked up the light of the sun.
'I do not feel well,' she thought. 'I am scared.'
Death. It coursed through her and she knew her dark end was near.
Her limbs twisted and a raindrop hit her. A piece of the magical sage fruit fell from her branch onto the cobblestone walkway.
'Please hurry, Eddipus,' she thought.
***
Sunlight shimmered through the clouds onto the calm sea and warmed the waters around Alchov. It was a port of call and the center of trade.
Situated in Westerian, it was small, meager, and built on several levels leading to a shipyard and a small fishing station that housed boats for rent, tours, and trade.
The air in Alchov felt clean but cool. One could inhale and smell the fragrant odors of fish and salt and breathe in the scent of warped mahogany wood.
The flat, top level held a blacksmith store, the governor's hall, a mead hall called Honeyed Wine, and a very small town square where a small market was held.
The second level housed a grayer, poor quarter called the Canals. On the sides of the walls were dwellings, while fisheries and a few shops were built into a foundation.
What stood out from the other shops was a family-run business called The Huntsman's Trade Post.
A young red-haired boy walked through the large, open oak door and entered the store. Alchov was a community of fishermen, sailors, destitute, freelance, and commissioned traders. The youth loved his old home. He respected the hard work and dedication his parents put into running a business.
"Veileen! Come here. Bring the books."
A boy of no more than twelve and average height wrapped a torn shroud around a disheveled stack of receipts. "Coming, Mother!"
His hands clutched the papers and he handed the tattered diaries to a red-haired woman. "I had an argument with a customer. He needs proof of--"
A NOISE, SHOUTS, SMASHING OF GLASS! The sounds were fast approaching.
"Veileen, go to the cellar and keep quiet! The village is under attack."
He stood there almost in shock as the clanking of swords came closer.
"We do not have time, Veileen!"
Yet, he stood like a rock. His face was turned toward the open door, his eyes squinted to look outside.
"Do you hear me? Please move!" she called, holding him by the arm and pulling away a corner of the carpet to reveal a basement door below.
His eyes fell on his Mother. Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes as he saw flames outside.
"Veil. I love you. Now please go."
"No Mother."
"Raiders are coming, Veil." Her words were frightening and tender. The beautiful love of his Father and Mother, the steps they would take for his safety knew no bounds. She looked into his eyes with genuine sadness. "Father is out hunting. You must!"
Mercies hugged Veileen tightly and her green eyes welled up with warm, fearful tears.
"But--" Veileen choked.
"YOU WILL!" A single tear rolled down Veileen's soft, boyish cheek and disappeared into his collar. Before he could say anymore, Veileen felt Mercies gentle push, forcing him to fall. He closed his eyes, the pain in his arm so great as he hit the dirty floor beneath him.
The cellar door slammed hard. Veileen was now alone and burdened.
"Give us everything or we will take it." He heard muffled voices above his head. Veileen heard Mercie's frightened, shrill cry.
"I do not care, take what you want, scum! Take it all, curs. You do not scare me!"
A laugh was heard, deep and hardy.
"We will," came a sensual murmur.
"NO! Stay back... Stay back!!! . ."
He heard scuffling as his eyes met a bow hung on the wall.
"Leave my store now, beasts! Be gone with ye!"
Veileen stood up and clutched the weapon.
He wiped his wet cheeks with his palm, readied the arrow, and pushed open the cellar door.
There were very large men tearing his mother's dress and laughing. They assaulted her, grabbing at Mercie's breast and pulling at her legs. Veil had never seen giants before. He had heard of people called Rapha who were very powerful. He'd even heard of the Raiders.
The gang kept tormenting her. Veileen stifled his tears. He pushed the basement door open hard. It slammed open behind him.
He shivered as he pulled the string tight on the bow. He was frightened.
"Leave my mother alone!" He shouted to them.
They laughed at him as he aimed his arrow.
A slightly taller Rapha stomped over to him. He pressed his finger into the head of the arrow and laughed deep and loud.
He watched the giant from behind his small bow and noticed a slight glow in the giant's six-fingered hand.
A shot followed, shattering the edge of the wood into tiny splinters. The fragments splattered across his angelic face and neck. Blood ran down thin and dark. Veileen's eyes were full of shock as well as rage. He took a deep breath and looked up at the grinning creature as his mother grabbed the giant by his very large forearm.
"Veil," she called out, pounding on the man's large chest. He flung her like a small rag doll. She hit a wall and fell, lying on her side, eyes open and still alive, as she rose again.
Nothing would stop her from protecting her boy and, conversely, he would stop at nothing to protect his Mother. His Father was the same.
"Get out!" A man's voice shouted as an arrow flew through the back of the giant's head, gouging his eye forward and spattering Veileen with blood. The giant fell forward past the child down the steps to the cellar floor. The other giant stood.
"I see you brought your toys."
A man with a bow at the ready sauntered in, looking bald, tall, and regal. He drew another arrow.
"Best you leave now, Rapha. Or my next toy will enter through your eye, Savvy? Now take your magic and leave our store."
The huge man, muscular and broad, spoke. "Alright, I am going to say goodbye to your fine shop, but there's one thing you should know, Alhcovian filth. The Rapha Raiders have conquered your village."
Veileen closed his eyes as a curse found a comfortable place on his tongue.
"You are all devil dogs, do you hear me? You cowards! You break into our houses with magic! You rape, pillage, and storm! Damn you!"
The boy swallowed a lump in his throat and opened his eyes, looking up at the Rapha with cruel, vengeful distaste. Unable to say much more, he tensed, stiffening his whole body and dropping the broken bow.
"You dare challenge me, you puke of a pup!" The Rapha sneered.
"I do. Get out of here."
He wrapped his arm around Veileen's neck. "You dare challenge me, you impotent pup?!"
"Let go of my son, Rapha. My arrow is trained. I will not miss!"
He pushed Veileen against the wall near the cellar stairs.
"Let me help with those ugly splinters first. You do not want your boy to be uncomfortable."
He clawed at Veileen's face, digging violently at his wounds. "That's a face only a mother would love, huh?"
He threw the boy down next to the stairs by the throat and headed for the door.
Before he finally left, he turned to Mercer, Veileen's father, and spoke.
"Take any grievances to your new lord and master, Galith. He may be merciful, or he may feed your bones to the fowl."--
"I remember it well - the image of those great Titans rising above my people. I remember corpses laid out like cattle. They lay across the ruined village on the coast of Alchov."
"It's all right, my friend. You do not have to." said Eddipus, looking at his companion.
Val shook his aching head, his empty eyes wide open and staring off at the sky.
"There's more."
Eddipus reached up and squeezed his shoulder. "You can tell me later if it burdens you, Val."
He nodded and swallowed deeply. Val hugged his friend and sighed. He broke away from him, stood up, and looked at the bright, orange, blue, peaceful clear horizon - toward the inspiring sunset.
"I needed to speak of it." He breathed through the tightness in his throat.
"You did well." A small smile crossed Eddipus's thin lips.
Val looked back to the open, gilded gates of Crenith. They would leave Tannik, which was so serene and beautiful, so peaceful and spotless. They were entering a place of the fallen, a place of evil.
They were leaving the light for the dark.
"I was handsome before." Val smiled and laughed awkwardly, knowing that lighting the mood was moot and meaningless.
"Brother. You got real ugly," Eddipus laughed, patting Val on the shoulder. "But Crenith is even uglier."
***
Priestess Hilda groaned and tried to blink the sleep out of her eye, squinting to see through the blur.
Pain shot from her head. Her right eye was now throbbing in its socket. She tried to ignore the pounding pain and reached up to feel a cloth wrapped around her head covering the eye.
She could not see anything - with her left eye still working, she could not see much more - but she started to remember what happened. She felt her face buried under the cloth.
"You has awakened, priestess," said an older voice. She felt a hand on her shoulder.
Awakened? Hilda was barely alive, at least it felt that way to her aching muscles. Just because she was lying on a cot with one eye open did not mean her mind registered her awake, let alone moving with ease. She swerved her hips and tried to sit up. She reached further behind the headcloth until she felt a concave hole and nothing more. Master Dante had performed the Exorpanning and removed the offense, the growing spirit.
"I'm fine," Hilda rasped around the dryness on her tongue. "How long have I been gone from this world, Master?"
"Days."
"Why did this have to happen?"
"Evil had taken root in your soul as would a disease." The master lowered his head so he could meet her eye, "It had taken hold of your gaze." Dante sighed sadly.
Hilda tried to stand up. She became weakened and fell back onto the cot, exhausted and dazed. Her head and the spot where her eye once was still ached.
"You need food and drink."
Hilda swallowed. She still wanted to find Eddipus's body and bring him home. She still wanted to set off a quake and send the seductress into the pit of despair. But she needed nourishment more.
She pushed her anxieties aside, an act she wouldn't be capable of before the Exorpanning. Dante brought her a bowl of stew and set it down.
There were emotions that even seasoned priestesses and warriors battled. Hilda was no different.
"Forgive me," Dante whispered. He had no other choice.
****
Lisa's mind started drifting, saddened. 'Dante knows best.' she thought.
The stallion's mane was sienna and epidermis was tan. He emitted a low-pitched, soft pulsating sound, his head raised and ears perked. She reached her arms around his neck. Lisa calmed the stallion's great excitement. She greeted him "Hello Tana ma'hra." the Lonely Wind. She lead him, petting his muzzle.
They traveled halfway through Red Tree Valley and trekked Southern Mountain Range. A few more paces and they saw it...
Ahead was the beautiful, small elven village. A path led through a shrubbery with wood watchtowers on each end. Steps went up and into Hilltop.
"Come handsome." She spoke.
He nuzzled her warm, soft hand.
"Shaheill saell!" Hello and greetings, someone called out to her.
She replied. "Heill," back as a simple greeting.
Tana gave her a gentle shove. "I love you too." Lisa smiled as they kept walking, through the pathway into town.
They climbed the steps and Lisa unlatched the elven wood-post gate. She lead Tana through. He snorted. They past the square and through the bazaar. The village was so peaceful and serene, like stepping into another world.
"You hungry?" she said, pulling out a carrot. Tana made a soft, low, breathy cry' "Yes, bring me the food."
He gave her a look of appreciation and bit down on the carrot as they approached a small hut with a pen. She opened the hutch and let Tana inside, feeding him an extra carrot. The area smelled of apple and baked bread. Sister Elda welcomed Lisa, ushering her inside the hut. The old lady's smile was warm and inviting. The elve sat her down near the burning hearth. She was silent as she brought her a wool blanket and steaming Alcorn Deer stew. Sister Elda sat next to the fire and sighed. She smiled again.
Lisa cried. She couldn't hide her feelings for Hilda's plight anymore. She shared her story of what had happened. Sister Elda sipped a cup of warm stew and placed it down.
"You'll be fine, dear," she said at last. "Endur Samuell..."