The gentle rustle of the tree leaves filled the forest. Birds sang from their green valed perches, and the soft murmur of the nearby creek added to the tranquility. The canvas of the trees shielded the inhabitants of the forest from the harsh summer sun, but allowed just enough light for the colorful plant life below to grow.
This was Aerysdren's favorite spot in the whole forest. He had spent many nights on this tree, sleeping among one of its broad, loving branches, the stars twinkling down on him from between the leaves. The frogs that lived in the creek close by always sang to him as he drifted off. He had grown quite fond of those frogs, truth be told, despite the fact that he had never seen them. They helped him sleep at night.
On this day, the young Sylvanaar elf sat in his usual spot high up on the tree, his back against the trunk, and one leg dangling down and swinging in the air. A bottle of very, very expensive wine was in his other hand. He smiled when a woman wearing the camouflage clothes of a Sylvanaar Wild Runner climbed up the tree and sat down on a branch next to him.
"Mishka!" Aerysdren grinned. "It took you long enough," he teased. "I've been here for an hour."
"I-" The woman's dark brown eyes gazed upon the wine bottle in Aerysdren's hand. She frowned. "Aerys, where did you get that? What did I tell you about stealing? You do realize that most folks in this side of the forest cut the hands off of thieves, yes?"
"No no, calm down." The boy held a finger up to the Wild Runner. "I bought this with my own money, Mishka. My own money. For the past month, I have been picking flowers and ingredients for a nice old lady in a village by the Thon-Tharkian River." He held the bottle in front of him, pride glinting in his ice blue eyes. "And, since today is the anniversary of my Day of Life, and I am officially an adult, I thought that I would celebrate with this. I spent all of my savings on this single bottle too, by the way. I am officially an honest worker." His eyes gleamed with pride.
Mishka sighed and shook her head, but her lips still twitched into a small smile. "Well, if you say so, kid." She untied her long, curly brown hair and let it cascade down her back. "Did that boy give you anything? I can't remember his name for the life of me. But you know who I'm talking about, right? Real tall, long hair...I think he sings and plays the lute-"
"Uh, Mishka, I-we weren't like that. Ysrendyr is only a-a friend." Aerysdren looked away and rubbed the back of his neck. He blushed. "I've not even seen him today. He went hunting with his father-"
"Ah, forgive me." Mishka chuckled. "I forgot that friends kiss each other in the trees at night."
Aerysdren's blush deepened. His eyes widened. "We-we're very, very close friends," he said with a vigourous nod of his head. He quickly took another drink from the bottle, casting a sideways glare at Mishka. "So you spy on me now?"
"I'm a Wild Runner, Aerys," Mishka returned, her brown eyes smiling. "We know everything that goes on within the borders of Sheeth Alinar. Sometimes I just happen to see things. But don't worry, my lips are sealed," she assured him with a lighthearted eye roll. She leaned back against the tree. "So, is there something you want to tell me?"
"Yes, actually." Aerysdren nodded. "If you are finished embarrassing me with my love life." He turned around in the tree so that he was facing her. He swallowed. "Remember that little thing we were talking about a while back?"
Mishka's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Yeah. What about it?"
"I wanted to tell you that I have made up my mind," said Aerysdren after a slight hesitation.
"Oh for Lyna's sake." Mishka groaned and rolled her eyes for real. "For the last time, Aerysdren Valorian Ravenshard, you are not leaving! I thought that I made that quite clear the last time we discussed this-"
"I am fifty five! I am an adult now, Mishka. I make my own decisions," Aerysdren angrily shot back. "
"You've been an 'adult' for three hours," retorted Mishka. She turned around to fully face him. "Listen to me. You have no idea of what it's like out there! You won't last a week out-"
"No, you just listen to me." Aerysdren jabbed a finger at the older elf.
Bad mistake.
Mishka's eyes glinted. "Excuse me? Are you talking to me?" She cocked her head at him. "You better watch your tongue little boy, or I'll come over there and cut it out!"
"No no, my mistake, my mistake," Aerysdren hastily interrupted, his hands held up and his eyes wide. He quickly put the wine bottle in a hollowed out hole in the tree. "I am sorry, Ms Mishka! I just-" He groaned and put his head in his hands. "You've been a mother to me since I was a child.
"You have helped me through so much, and I cannot thank you enough for that," he whispered. "But I do not want to stay here any longer. All the bad memories that I have in life come from here. I need a break from everything. From my parents, from the stress...it isn't healthy. I want to see the world outside the forest, Mishka. I want to see humans, dwarves, and fae...I want to be free...."
Mishka's eyes gradually softened. She let out a deep sigh and gently leaped over to the branch Aerysdren was on and sat down in front of him, taking his hands and looking into his strange, ice blue eyes that no Sylvanaar has. "You're a brave boy, Aerys," she began, moving a stray piece of black hair out of his eyes. "I cannot stop you if you wish to leave. I just hope that I have raised you well enough to do what is right. But you're a smart kid." She nodded, her eyes damp. She let out a shuddering sigh before continuing, "You can take care of yourself."
Aerysdren smiled at her. He put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. "Of course I can! It's because you taught me everything I know. I owe everything to you...I am going to make you proud," he added, pulling back. He wiped away a tear that slid down Mishka's cheek. "Just you see!"
"Oh, my little Aerys...." Mishka looked away and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I know you'll make me proud...you always have."
~-~-~-~
Lorthrendel collapsed to his knees, blood down trickling from his mouth. He gritted his teeth. His ears rang, muffling out all sounds around him. His body hurt with each breath and his eyes were almost too heavy to hold open. He had to keep going...he was supposed to be stronger than this.
He glanced out of the corner of his eye. He saw Isendir and Varenyl standing back to back against the hordes of Mydrahkgnyrs that surrounded them. Leravacha stood over the body of her dead brother with Ragnus. Hundreds of human warriors littered the beach, dead, their cold, fixed eyes staring up at the demonic red sky.
The undead dragon continued to circle the bay, doing nothing but watching. And then he saw Aerysdren standing under the shield he had raised, helplessly beating against it to try and get out. Tears streamed down the boy's face. He was shouting, but Lorthrendel could not hear it.
He slowly looked up. A Mydrahkgnyr stood over him, with soulless, reptilian eyes and rows of razor sharp teeth. It snarled and raised its curved, serrated blade.
Lorthrendel summoned a blast of lightning and struck it. It dissengrated and Lorthrendel jumped back to avoid the pool of acid that it became. But he never saw the one standing behind him.
The sword entered his body like fire. He felt it tear through his flesh and scrape horribly against bone. He heard somebody scream, but it wasn't him.
It was Aerysdren.
The monster pulled the blade from Lorthrendel and the mage fell forward, clutching at the wound and gagging in pain. He could no longer hold the shield over Aerysdren. It fell and the boy ran over to him.
"Lorthrendel!" he screamed. He charged at the Mydrahkgnyr and climbed on the creature's back, plunging his knives into its head.
But that did nothing but anger it. The monster roared in pain and grabbed a hold of the elf and threw him to the ground like he was nothing.
"Lorthrendel!" Aerysdren crawled over to the mage. "Stay with me, stay with me!" he choked.
"Get...back!" Lorthrendel turned around and raised a shield over him and the boy, blocking the Mydrahkgnyr's sword just in time. "What did I tell you?" he wheezed.
"I'm not letting you die!" Aerydren shouted. His eyes suddenly softened in realization. He looked at the Mydrahkgnyr standing above them, its weapon grinding against the shield. He saw the monsters overrun everything around them, and Isendir and Varenyl fall to the ground. He slowly looked back at Lorthrendel. "You know what to do, don't you? You have to let the shield down," he said quietly. "Let the shield down and cast one last spell to everyone out of here." He positioned himself right in front of the dragon man's sword. "We never had a chance here. But the gods had this all planned out from the start. It's the only way."
Lorthrendel grimaced. He couldn't hold this for much longer. "Aerysdren...we do not trade lives. I am not letting you do this." He felt his life ebbing from him like grains of sand falling through his fingers. He began to see flashbacks from his past. He saw the first woman he ever loved, he saw his adoptive parents...he saw his failures and mistakes....
"If you don't, everyone will die," Aerysdren gently returned. He smiled, tears glistening in his eyes. He gently wiped the blood from the mage's face. "It's okay, Lorthrendel. It's okay. But you have to do this. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, afterall...."
The shield fell.
Aerysdren cried out in agony. The monster's blade pierced his heart. His icy blue eyes locked with Lorthrendel's scarlet ones as they rapidly dimmed.
With a cry, Lorthrendel cast a final spell.
Everything went silent. The battlefield disappeared. The screams faded, the thunder ceased.
When the companions realized what had happened, they looked around in confusion and saw that they were laying in a field of grass surrounded by tall trees. A small homely house stood right in front of them.
They were safe. And only one of them would be dead by sunset.
***🐉***
the sad part is that i actually tried like extremely hard this time and it still sucks ass-
i really need ya'lls honest opinion on this one. i restarted about five times because i didn't know how to write it- i really wanted to do like a large scale battle scene because i feel that is what it needed, but i had no idea how to write that. i read three different articles, but i didn't get nothing. it's a lot easier to envision than it is to put it in words lmao
so please tell me what you think it needs, because this ain't it chief
anyway, thank you so much for reading as always <3
until next time~