|
by Sin The young crew filtered nervously about the deck of Arashni, edgy ad unsure. Sharmna chuckled darkly to himself: nervousness about an elf raid were times long ago for a man of his age. Still smiling, he turned his gaze outward, viewing the murky sea about him. It was black and deep blue, and as mysterious as moonshine. Just out of the surrounding pitch, a darker spot emerged from the gloom, signifying Breech, port to the Elven city, T�jinar. He glanced at the anxious cluster of boys, looking to see if they had spotted Breech. They had. The young crew- boys of eighteen, mostly�twittered about the front of the ship, pointing and gibbering amongst themselves as the one-port shone ever-so-slightly in the bow-light. Sharmna grinned menacingly. This would be a good assault �especially with this lot, he thought to himself. Indeed, it would� ~*~ Tian�ras laughed merrily�the brief giggle sounding like chimes of silver�as he sprinted through the woods, not stirring leaf nor twig and making no noise. The young elf stood roughly five feet and six inches, had near-white blonde hair, trailing slightly past his mid-back. Eager and wide sapphire-blue eyes watched everything around him with innocent wonder. His skin was pale and milky, his features sharp and handsome. Tian held a lithe, almost feminine, figure, but beset with the lean muscles of his age. By looks alone, one would assume him to be sixteen, however, Tian was just closing his twentieth year of life, young by any stands�be they Elven or Human. A wolf ran at his side, her beauty stunning and rare-to-match. Her fur was as bleak and colorless as a winter storm, her eyes the crimson of fresh blood. She is larger than most wolves, and loyal only to Tian, her name is Khalissa. Suddenly, Khali stopped short, her ears quirked and her nose twitching fervently in the cool breeze. Tian halted, turned, and trotted back to her, concern marring his lovely features. �Khali..? What-� he began and was abruptly cut off by a scream like crystal shattering against rocks. Glancing up sharply, he looked toward the Elven shriek. Turning away from Khalissa and standing in one motion, he began to dash toward the sound, toward his home; the Elven city, T�jinar. More delicate screams arose in high urgency. Tian ran with renewed status, the terribly beautiful sounds harrying his steps. His breath tore through his lips in short gasps, his lungs burnt for the cool touch of oxygen. Upon reaching the trees he had known so well, his blue eyes clouded with black, a storm over a sea. His emotions shone in his eyes, building the blackness, growing, just as the fires grew and strained higher in the once magnificent city of Elves. The flames tore and pulled at buildings and trees alike, destroying unrivaled splendor, shimmering in Tian�s eyes. A child�Tian knew the boy; he was but seven years of age�saw Tian in the shadows of La�r�os�n�Mer�ode, the forest surrounding T�jinar, and sped toward him. His name was Koraln�ai, no more than a babe. Tian began heading for the boy, but stopped instinctively. A tall figure walked in front of him, unnoticing. The form was stout�not by human standards, but definitely by lithe basis of Elvish means�his scent was one overflowing with blood and sheer joy of the kill. Tian watched, blue-black eyes still huge and terrified, as the human sprang forth at Koral, a wide, curving blade preceding him. The child was halved; the blade sliced deeply at the waist and through Koral�s spine. The child fell short of Tian, looking pleadingly at Tian, tears in his eyes and screams of agony dying across his lips. Tian stared at the halved boy, terror ripping at his heart, tears brimming his eyes, which were quickly darkening. He started forward to soothe the smaller boy�s pain with a quick, graceful death but the jaws of Khalissa snapped shut on his tunic, yanking him back into the dense forest, back into safety. He muffled a startled cry as the human strutted into view once more to the innocent elf-babe. Tian struggled to be free of Khali, pulled at his tunic edge and tried frantically to unsheathe his dagger. He cried openly. The human laughed at the elven-babe�s despair and agony, raising a boot-clad foot to further the little ones� distress, just as Tian blacked out. He quit struggling, slipping easily away from Khali�s frozen grasp. Slowly, delicately, his hands flickered through gestures his young mind should have never been able to grasp, his lips mouthing words of power that were too complicated for a child to speak�yet he did. Ancient magic slipped around him, cloaking his form. His eyes were black as midnight. Ancient magic protected him� �and hunted him. An entire loss of feeling save for true and utter contempt for this human�this monster. A black glow enveloped him, crimson lightning raced over his skin; wrist to elbow, elbow to shoulder, down his body only to return up again and crawl over his face. The human paused, hearing the musical words slip from the elf�s tongue, terms hanging�chiming in the winds. Turning to face Tian, he grinned cruelly, his fate not thoroughly settled in. He stepped brutally down on to the infant�s skull. The whimpering of Koral stopped. �So, Elf. Come to save the child, no?� the human called out gruffly to Tian, in the common-tongue of humans. He kicked the corpse that was Koral to emphasize who he spoke of. Tian glared, did not move, did not understand the words, but only the gesture toward Koraln�ai. He made no true indication of caring about the fallen boy, other than by the sheer hatred radiating from his form. His face was calm, masking the sincere loathing that raged within him. Tian�ras stepped forth; the strands of bloody light crackled angrily. He spread his arms out, bracing his feet in a stance made for speed. He curled his right hand into a fist; the blood-red lightning drew to it and coiled around it, creating a ball of enraged, pulsating red light dark as new-spilt blood. The human smiled, the motion tainted with bloodlust and battle-joy, wrapped into a sneer. Tian, still hatred-filled, walked icily to the mortal. The human�s sword snapped up into a defense-offense position. �Alright, Elf!� He snarled in his gravely tone, still in human dialect. �Let us fight over rights to a broken corpse! My name is Sharmna! Yours, doomed Elf?� Tian�ras, undaunted and uncaring, lifted the ball of energy, hurling it at the hated and misplaced human. Sharmna ducked and rolled to the side, shooting up to his feet. His lips were quirked of what may have been an insult that never made it out of his mouth, his eyes were wide in pain and surprise. The elf named Tian�ras Moonstream stood less than an inch from the disgusting display of Men. His dagger was sheathed in Sharmna�s heart. Tian, without remorse and never taking his shadow-black eyes�which were beginning to earn blue puffs of color�from the light brown of Sharmna�s, pulled the dagger slowly from the human�s chest. Sharmna toppled to the earth in a heap, dead. Tian�ras Moonstream collapsed onto the corpse of Sharmna, unconscious. Somewhere, a pure white wolf howled into the endless abyss of the moonless night. |