Posts by _owly

The battlemage would soon find, however, a force pushing his magic back with a frightful amount of power. Within moments, his magic was subdued to a quiet flourish of light, and Devorad would find himself exhausted, his magic used up, despite hardly tapping into his reserves. As the light died down, he'd find a form standing before him, hidden by a cloak of earthen brown. A single, slender and feminine hand was raised; a casual gesture that brought the human dow. So terringly easily.

In a heavy accent from an ancient, foreign tongue, the feminine form spoke, "forces of nature, you have called."

She lowered her hand.

"And a force of nature that'wil send you away, unless it is death you wish to face."

The form was slightly taller than Devorad, and she raised her chin. To Devorad's surprise, Estrei was no longer laying on the ground, rather held by another, absolutely massive and mighty cloaked form who moved beside the other. "I will take care of my forest."

"You are human. You have fallen for one of my nymph's tricks. That is all you are here. A mislead human." Her words became venom. "No place here for you."

With that, the mighty spirit turned, and she and her companion began to leave.

The form said nothing more, disappearing with Estrei into the remnants of the forest.

Weeks passed, and the burnt forest never returned to its former glory, however, new trees and plants began to take over.

Should Devorad have searched the forest, he would have seen nothing, heard nothing. He was left with his human companions, who did their best to be quiet and stay out of his way, aside from the occasional, fumbling words of comfort. He was completely welcome into their lives, as he was Devorad Winnstren, and they all hoped soon he would snap out of his daze.

The men and women Devorad worked with were brilliant people, despite how they first appeared. By burning the small portion of the forest, the constant attacks and damage inflicted on the people and the town itself had ceased. Whether they had killed the oreads or scared them away, was unknown. However, being able to subdue the powerful Fae warriors long enough to cause so much devastation truly made the band a formidable foe- by anybody.

Devorad would soon learn about the Fae, that he faced their ancient and dangerous leader, Enalae Hapap Therarsian, something no human had had the privilege of doing without being killed in the process. It was known her animal form was as ancient as she, herself, embodying a long gone myth: a dragon.

The group all looked at each other questionably. What happened in the castle that night was only known by those who died with its secret, beside Devorad, of course.

"No..." said Faren, looking back at Devorad. "Does.. Does she relate to anything?"

Everyone looked at Devorad in shock, as her calmly surveyed the map. It was Feran who spoke again, "W-What? What are you saying?"

They all sat around their leader, as the sun sank under the horizon and they were all full from a generous dinner. It was bitterly cold outside, but the fireplace was roaring with life. It was a comfortable and usual night, except it seemed everyody had a chill run down their spines. Enalae, the fearsome Fae leader, being the cause for all of their loss and suffering.

"N-No. Ever since the night you came, we haven't had any factual reports of sightings or encounters." Quin's voice was quiet, but serious, as he always was. He was the most talented swordsman in the Requin remnants, without a drop of magic flowing in his veins.

"I have a bad feeling about it. I feel something might change that soon, like they're planning something. . ." murmured Feran, crossing her arms.

Everyone straightened and looked at Devorad with wide eyes. They all silently and quickly nodded and dipped their heads, hurrying off to do as he had ordered. Within the next hour, the camp was secured, and the majority of the people headed to bed.

Devorad was given a bed the moment he stepped into the house-- it was the first comfotable bed he had slept on in years. However, he spent his nights in it alone.

The next week passed with nothing, as unusually peaceful as it has been. However, not much later than that, hell broke loose in the dead of night.

The Fae broke in as a torrent of animals and magic, wind and fire and sheer force destroying the wall in one corner, toppling it over and flooding into the small town. It happened so quickly that people were only beginning to wake up from the noise when they would find their home had caved in on itself, crushing them in the process. If they lived, the fires that tore through ended their lives painfully slow.

The Fae destroyed a quarter of the camp, and then left as quickly as they had came, howling and snarling and screeching into the night like the savage rave they were.

It was Quin who heard him, and nodded, disappearing to do as ordered. Soon Devorad would find Quin return, swords drawn, alongside twenty or so of the best warriors in the camp. They all had the same expression: fearless anger. They all wanted to face this force in the name of justice.

Looking to Devorad, lit by the firelight, they waited for their permission to fight. To hunt down a race they were silly to once believe was extinct.

The warriors all charged into the black, blades drawn and magic crackling in the air. They followed the noises, drawing closer, yet never seeming to come upon the mysterious beings.

Quin stuck towards the front of the group, as they slowed. The noises stopped with an unexpectes abruptness, and he would find himself and his comrades plunged into complete silence to accompany the darkness of a cloudy night. The grip on his sword shifted, and his determination guttered. They had been drawn out here, to attack a race that has been a deadly force for thousands of years. Did Devorad have his whole head with him, or was part of it still in that nymph's breasts?

Not speaking, Quin waited silently for a response of some kind--from anyone.

There was no expected response, and the only sound that accompanied them was the bitter wind. Quin could hear the season's first snow gently sting his face, and he squinted softly, straining to hear anything. His voice was low, careful, "Winnstren, I don't think they'll show up. . ."

They all did as he said, Quin taking up the rear and looking over his shoulder more than up ahead. He heard nothing, saw nothing, his own racing heart feeling as if it might burst from this night's brief and detrimental events. They had no choice but to hide in these mountains with their enemy, as it was the only place that the Dezik didn't bother in taking over--completely. Boundaries weren't quite set in this region, but they were far enough away from the nearest military outpost to remain safe and undetected.

But how much longer could they stay here, with such a looming force holding them by their throats?

The next morning, the hesitant patrols hurried back to find Devorad. When they found him, they told him something unspeakable happened: part of the decimated forest was restored to its healthy and lively state, as if not a lick of flame had grazed it.

~~

Quin surveyed the forest from underneath his fur cap, his gaze unreadable. The pines were green and thriving, a thin layer of snow covering the branches. It looked as if they were never disturbed, but Quin knew these very trees were charred black when he had patrolled here yesterday.

Quin just shook his head, his voice low. "No, sir," but, he could certainly feel presences that resided here; energy that was not their own. Without a word, he walked forward, into the newly repaired forest, and approached what was not yet touched by healing magic.

The pine trees were black spears that stabbed into the sky, only the tops of the tallest retaining some dying green needles. Quin crouched, resting on his heels as he quietly surveyed the destruction they had caused. These were lives scattered all about, suddenly brought down to their deaths. Faith that was entrusted so loyally to the Fae warriors, who failed them. Who might fail to protect more lives.

Breaking the cold quiet, he whispered,

"It's an exchange, a life for a life. Our lives for the lives of the spirits who live here."

Quin didn't turn to face him, and his gaze didn't stop surveying the skeleton of a forest. Winnstren did not understand what they have undergone these past years as he hid himself away, losing his humanity with the nymphs. What was once a large army of former soldiers, families, and nobles of the Requin, was now the small, thrown together and desperate camp they now were, thanks to the attacks that happened regularly on his people, picking at the weakest. This was a desperate attempt to try and scare the Fae into leaving them be, after countless attempts to send peaceful groups to Enalae only resulted in slaughter. They could not peacefully find a resolution, nor could they afford to leave the mountains and find a safe home elsewhere. Not telling Devorad any of this, and feeling anger slowly ooze into his veins, he simply said quietly, "I suppose your nymph will be alive in the next few days."

"That's not an option. We need to call this place home whether we like it or not," Quin rose to his feet, looking back at Devorad.

Nass, for once, was actually listening to a court meeting, her eyes wide and her mouth agape, without her noticing. An oread had come here directly weeks ago, speaking of Devorad Winnstren heading into the uncharted Fehri Mountains, or at least, she was planning to take him there. Straight into the maw of the Fae warriors, where hopefully he would be distracted long enough for the Dezik to finally close in on him.

The Dezik King, Nass's father, was murmuring urgently with the closest members of his court, while the dozens of other nervouslt whispered to each other. The room was tense with fear, and Nass found herself shifting in his seat, adjusting her dress of midnight blue.

She wanted so badly to no have to wear such dresses for a day.

Quin clenched his jaw, stifling his words. He was not going to risk fighting over this. If anything, Devorad was the fresh blood, the fresh hope, they all needed. For a brighter future.

Just as he was to turn and begin to leave, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Turning, he saw off in the distance an unmistakably Fae warrior. Crouched in a tree, arrow drawn back in its bow, pointing straight at him. Something in Quin knew it wasn't going to actually shoot, and the two locked eyes; predator and prey. A wild and untamed force of nature, blessed by the gods and granted unbelievable power, simply for existing. It was a ghost in the forest, watching over pitiful humans, most who only knew their way around a sword.

The Fae was far in the distance, and it seemed that neither it nor Quin heard Devorad as they stared at each other. Surveyed each other.

Looking away slowly, Quin simply began walking back to camp, saying nothing. As usual.