The Fall of Alister

Rania tilted her head slightly as she looked to him. “Dustin.” She repeated and gave a soft smile. She searched his eyes as he spoke the next part, a bit of a smirk curved up her lips as he told her not to thank him. “I’m certain that with the way that you speak, the look in your eyes...you’ve seen my kind tortured before.” Her voice was soft as she leaned her back against the cool rocks of the cavern. Her arms crossed over her chest slightly as she too seemed to think of her next words.

“War. Isn’t something that I wish upon your people.” Rania spoke, her emerald eyes lifted to look to the man. “I only wish to restore Alister. The magic….the life was taken from the lands of my people when King Penn attacked us in our homes...he spilled so much blood over the years...” She shook her head. “Most humans are shocked if they even lay eyes upon an elf.” Rania scoffed slightly.

Rania...where have you gone...

The elf lifted her eyes, her brows scrunched together. “This crystal.” She spoke as she slipped it from her pouch. Magic radiated it from it, it seemed to hum as she held it in her grasp. The crystal took on a gentle white glow. The elf drew in a breath as she felt the power swell within the artifact. She stared to it a long drawn out moment before she slipped it into her pouch once again. “It will allow me to bring Alister back.” She spoke, a soft smile upon her lips. “Though...my father...” A troubled expression befell her then. “It seems that King Penn has kept him alive...” She drew in a long breath. “I’ve gone so many years with the thought of his death like a dagger in my back and...I’ve grown numb to the feeling...” She let out a soft pained laugh. “Yet to discover that he is alive...that he’s been waiting for me...” She shook her head and swallowed back tears. “But that is neither here nor there, a simple mercenary doesn’t care to hear my tale of pain.” She shifted slightly.

“If you choose to. You may go. If I encounter you in this war you speak of. I’ll show you mercy.” The elf gave a smile then. “Perhaps you can become an ally.” She let out a laugh, “I’m certain many humans would be allies to our kind if it was not for the hate of King Penn.” She let out a breath and pulled her water skin from her pack to drink from it. Silence settled within the cavern then as Rania seemed to stare off. Rania. Please. The voice was as clear as day in her mind. As clear as the voice of her father that she recognized from so many years ago.

The elf turned her eyes to the mercenary as he spoke, seemingly breaking her from her trance. Her eyes filled with curiosity, she hadn’t been around humans much. She wasn’t sure what to expect from them. She knew them as selfish cruel creatures. But perhaps, not all humans fell into such a broad category. Perhaps there were those that did not wish harm upon the other races and species. “I would think not.” She replied to his comment about the good look. A bit of a smirk curved up her lips. “At least the knights I dealt with won’t remember a thing. I can’t say much for the guard that you had a run in with.” She stepped to her horse and pulled her bed roll from it. She walked back to her placement against the wall and rolled the bed out carefully. She brushed a bit of dried grass from it before she sat upon it and looked to him as he admired the coins.

“No one.” She replied quite simply. “I know better. But, I had to offer you something that you couldn’t simply turn down.” She gave a bit of a smile then. “Mercenaries like their gold don’t they? I feared that if I did not offer you a reason to keep quiet that you would run to King Penn himself and tell him that an elf made to break into his castle and steal some precious jewel. I couldn’t have that happen. You understand?” She pulled her knees to her chest slightly. “Besides, having a mercenary accompany me into the castle came at its advantages.” She gave a bit of a smirk. “You surly seemed to know your way around the castle. Quite curious.” She tilted her head slightly as she looked to him.

His next question caused the elf to draw in a long breath. “Ah, you wouldn’t understand that, now would you?” She questioned. She moved forward to the small fire that she’d build, her eyes focused on him. “Alister is a place of magic. There is no other place upon the crust of this earth that holds such wonders.” She gave a smile as she held her hands up to the fire to warm them. “You’ve never seen a dragon I imagine.” Her eyes locked on his. “Alister is where dragons are born. Faeries...or pixies as some call them...” She sighed softly. “The world has grown barren without the influences of magic. You cannot see that, but I can. Outside of the forest...” She paused suddenly.

The elf cleared her throat, “Outside of Alister.” She spoke and then gave a smile. She’d almost given him too much information. She’d almost told him that her kind hid within the forest of Muier. “Without the influences of magic plants do not grow like they used to. Alister is rotten...I’ve seen no dragons since King Penn stole this crystal from our people….took our magic...” She let out a shaken breath, it was evident that she was upset by the past that she shared with the king. “Magical creatures seem to have vanished in the wake of his war on magic.” She whispered softly as she held her hands up a bit more. A dragon formed within the flames. It was an illusion within the flickering flames of the fire, the wings of the dragon flapped and it flew about before it vanished once more. “Only a few of my kind hold magic like I do...” She moved then and sat back on her bedroll. “The elders have entrusted me with bringing magic back to Alister. With restoring the lands and my people. King Penn may seek to destroy us once again, but this time we know that he is not one to ally with.” Rania paused slightly.

“But I’m certain that I’ve carried on too much. Haven’t I?” She gave a smile, her thick elvish accent carved each word with a tone that Dustin might not have heard before. It was quite a unique way of speaking. She looked to the mercenary for a long moment. “Tell me Dustin, were you once a knight for the king? Is that how you know the castle so well? An escaped prisoner perhaps?” She asked the questions with curiosity in her eyes.

Rania rose a brow slightly when he spoke of dragons and pixies. She frowned slightly as he spoke that the townspeople claimed that they were dangerous, that they attacked the people. The elf let out a soft sigh and shook her head, “That is as far fetched from the truth as the King’s claim that all creatures of magic are of the devil.” Her emerald hues were focused in him. “Humans hunted down dragons. They hunted them for their scales. They could think of nothing more than the armor that could be created from the magical scales of the beasts.” Her voice held frustration, her brows were creased together. “A defense mechanism cannot be called an attack when it was not the dragons whom attacked first.” She spoke as she rested her arms upon her knees, hugging her knees to her petite body. “Pixies were captured as well. Bled for their magical blood. Did you know what humans did with their blood? Hm?” The elf stared to the mercenary. “They drank it for youth.” She spoke with a sadness to her voice as she shook her head. “Humans are selfish vile creatures. I’ve yet to meet a human that was not such. Perhaps with the exception of you.” She put a smirk upon the end of her statement. “You’ve given me no reason to think otherwise. Not yet in the least.”

The elf relaxed slightly then, the talk of dragons was gone. The mercenary spoke of his time as a chamber boy. He’d run away. Escaped the prison of a castle. She watched him, a curious gaze in her eyes. She was focused in on him closely. “To have escaped from the castle must have been quite the feat for a young lad. You aren’t terribly old. I can’t imagine how difficult that must have been. Did you take the very passages that we walked within today?” She tilted her head slightly. Rania grew more and more curious about this mercenary the longer that she spent time with him. She’d never thought that she would care to know anything about a human. All of her life she’d spent with the ideal that her kind could never coexist with humans. Now here she sat within a cavern with a human that was perhaps an ally.

Rania gave a sad smile when he spoke of the whole kingdom as his home. “That is no way to live, Dustin.” She spoke, her voice smooth. “Without a place to lay your head, without a roof over your head.” She shook her head slightly. “Even I have a home. You deserve as much. Escaped Chamber boy or not.” She let out a soft laugh as she moved and lay upon the bedroll. She pulled her blanket up over her body. Rania, please don’t leave me. Her father’s voice caused her to wince slightly. It was fuzzy and faded. Unfocused. It almost sounded far away this time. The elf allowed her eyes to slip shut as she curled onto her side, her body facing the gentle flickering flames of the magical fire. The warm glow across her face highlighted her cheekbones and brought her tipped ears well into the light. Soon enough she was fast asleep.

**

Rania’s eyes shot open, she reached her hand forward and the flickering flames of the fire snuffed out without so much as a plume of smoke. In the darkness of the cavern she sat up silently. It must have been late in the night. She heard the sound of armor clanking, her brows rose slightly. Had the knights found them? She swallowed as she slowly stood and drew her dagger. Her eyes gazed about the shadows of the cavern as she moved forward slowly. She pulled her hood over her head as her footsteps silently fell upon the ground. The closer she drew she realized that it was not a troop of knights, but a small group. Bandits perhaps. The young elf slipped within the shadows as she gazed upon the three bandits.

“Well.” She heard a voice from behind her. Armor clanked and suddenly an arm wrapped tightly around her neck. “Well, well look what we have here boys.” The bandit snickered. He gripped onto her wrist that held the dagger. “Drop it, dear.” He ordered as he held her more tightly.

Rania grit her teeth, “Let go.” She spoke, her voice commanding.

Another bandit stepped forward. “What’s that? Orders from a prisoner?” He questioned as he cupped her cheek, a snicker came over his lips.

Rania struggled, a smirk curved up her lips. “Ilya Fumme.” She spoke as she gazed into his eyes, her own glowed white as she spoke.

The bandit that cupped her cheek crumpled to the ground asleep. “What the hell?” Another bandit questioned. “How the hell did you do that girl?” He snarled.

“Wait!” Another bandit rushed forward and covered her head with a burlap bag. “She’s a mage. Didn’t you see?” He chuckled.

Rania struggled as her wrists were tied behind her back tightly. “Let me go.” She spoke again before she was pushed to her knees upon the ground.

“We could turn this one in to the king and get a lump of gold for her. Did anyone tell you magic is banned love?” A bandit spoke into her ear.

The elf managed to bring her elbow up and into his chest. Though that was returned with a swift kick to her back and she fell flat on her face in the dirt. She struggled against the bonds. Without her eyes to see she could not cast her magic. She grit her teeth as she took in quick breaths. “What else did you have in this cave love?” One of the bandits spoke as he walked inside with a torch held high to see.

Rania groaned as she felt the foot of one of the bandits between her shoulder blades. The downfall to her small size was if she couldn’t use her magic, or if she was not able to use her daggers…she couldn’t overthrow an attacker with brute force. She’d fallen into the same trap with Dustin when she’d pinned him against the rock. He’d easily turned the tables on her. It was a disadvantage that she’d lived with most of her life, but it didn’t keep her from trying. “What do you say, hm? Why were you hiding in the cave?” The bandit questioned as he pulled her hood from her head to get a good look at her. He smirked, “Well, well look what we have here. You’ll make us quite the pretty penny won’t you? A mage and an elf, all wrapped up in one convienient package. King Penn will pay us quite handsomely for you. Or perhaps I should cut an ear off each side. Make a bit of extra money while we’re at it.” He leaned down and replaced the cover over her head. “Don’t get any ideas elf, you’re not going anywhere without my say.” The bandit spoke just as the screams came from within the cavern. “Eh what’s all that racket about? Scared of a few bats?” The bandit called out. Though his eyes widened slightly as he saw his comrade come sprinting from the cavern, engulfed in flames. “Two mages…” He spoke just before the sword pierced into his chest and he fell from Rania’s back.

The young elf lay silently, had her ears heard correctly? Another mage. Surely the mercenary was not a mage. She was still as he pulled the bag from her head. Rania gazed to him as he cut through the thick rope around her wrists. She sat on her knees and let out a bit of a laugh as she slowly stood. She rubbed her wrists that were red from the pressure of the rope. “What would I do without you?” She smiled then as she repeated his question. “Well, I couldn’t say that I know.” She glanced to the man that still had the sword stuck from his chest. She walked over to the body and looked down upon it as she let out a breath. The elf placed her boot next to the sword and gave a good tug on the sword. It was heavy, well balanced. She moved it about in her hands and smirked slightly. High quality for a simple mercenary. She looked to the inscriptions upon the sword curiously for a moment before she cleaned the blade off on the body of the bandit. “Perhaps we will never know what I would do without you Dustin.” She spoke as she held the sword forward to him, her emerald eyes locked on his. The sun was beginning to peak up in the distance, casting pinks and oranges into the starry sky. She raised a brow slightly, “Or perhaps you’d rather not know, maybe that is the proper response.” She gave a grin then as she made to walk back into the cavern to gather her goods. “If you are staying around we must ride to the west toward what remains of Alister. When we make it to our destina….” She stopped midsentence. Her eyes looked to the poor bandit that had been burned alive, her head tilted slightly.

Rania stepped up to the body and pushed him onto his back with her right boot. She stared at the charred remains for a long silent moment, speculating it seemed. “Interesting trick you have there.” She commented as she straightened slightly. Her eyes looked to Dustin once again then. She stood there for a moment before she moved and lifted her dagger that she’d dropped and she slipped it back into its sheath. “Maybe one day you can teach me such a trick. As you can tell I am of no use without my magic.” She commented before she entered the cavern. It was a bit of a stab, the comment. She wondered just how he’d pulled off burning a man alive. Magic was nearly the only response that she could drum up. Though, why would a man gallivant as a mercenary within a kingdom that had banned magic? He could lose his head quite easily if he were caught practicing the devil’s work…as King Penn called it. All magic was the form of evil. Nothing good could possibly come from magic. Rania snapped her fingers and the fire relit. She pat her horse upon its shoulder before she began to roll up her bedroll. The elf was quiet as she did this she tied the roll back behind the saddle of her horse before she pulled a small pot from one of the saddle bags. “Would you fancy a bit of breakfast?” She questioned with a bit of a smile, she stared to him a moment before she began mixing together oats and dried fruit to create an oatmeal. She positioned the pot over the fire and stirred it as it cooked. Soon enough she poured half of the mixture into a metal cup that held elven inscriptions upon it. She held the beautifully crafted metal bowl toward him. “For you.” She spoke with a nod of her head before she sat down against the rock and leaned her back against it. “It will be at least two weeks for us to make it back to Alister.” She spoke her eyes upon him once more. “Are you certain that you are up for such a journey?” She seemed to be feeling him out. Trying to learn his true intentions. The more time she spent around this mercenary the more questions that seemed to rise up.

Rania looked to the mercenary with a bit of a judgmental eye as he stated that he simply blew wine in the bandit’s face. “Of course, how silly of me to think anything more or less of a mercenary.” She smirked to him then. She was focused in on gathering her things as he’d spoken about her movements. A chuckle came over her lips. “Ah the art of fighting is much like a dance in Alister. Then again I already knew that elves moved with much more grace than humans. But I wouldn’t say no to a few pointers from a mercenary like yourself. Perhaps I could learn something of use.” It was like she was always playing a game of cat and mouse with him. She never truly seemed fully interested in him, yet other times she seemed to be incredibly curious.

The young elf thought to herself a moment, “My size has always been a disadvantage for me. I’m nimble and quick, but alas if you catch me it is much like trapping an owl within a net. My wings will be taken away without the ability to truly fly.” Once again she strung the words together in a sweet pattern with her thick elvish accent. It was as if she’d studied in the highest of courts amongst the royals. But that was the way of her people. That was the way that she as the princess of Alister, as the future leader of Alister, was expected to act. Rania looked up to Dustin as he frowned, a laugh came over her lips as he spoke of his lack of magic. “But of course.” She replied quickly, an amused look in her eyes. “How could a mercenary like you wield magic? Especially in King Penn’s kingdom. No. No I’ve no doubt that the only magic that you have are simple tricks up your sleeve. Much like the street magician that hides a coin behind an onlooker’s ear. Only to find out later that the coin was indeed one that belonged to someone in the crowd.” She smirked happily at the end of her statement. Though deep down she didn’t believe him. She believed nothing that came from a human as truth. It would take time for her to fully trust this man that she shared her breakfast with. For all she knew he only wanted to unravel her plan, or discover where the elves were hiding. Unlucky for him the faeries would tear an unwanted intruder to pieces upon entering the forest. If the human got too deep within it. The magical aura of the forest would drive most mad before they even ventured far enough to cause any sort of harm.

She finished her meal and cleaned her cup with her water skin as she watched him. “Hm, yes not everyday do you lay eyes upon a supposedly extinct creature. I suppose you should count yourself as lucky hm? You are a part of history in the making after all.” She dried the cup before she tucked it away in the leather saddle. She stepped to him and took the bowl before she gently cleansed it just as she had the cup. She dried it carefully and tucked it away as well. “Shall we?” She spoke before she climbed upon her horse. Rania glanced to him a moment as she waited. “We will make as much headway as we can we’ve quite the distance to overcome.” She pulled upon the reins of her horse and the clop of the hooves sounded as they left the cavern. The young elf was quiet as she rode along, her hood was pulled up carefully over her ears. They moved through the forest for quite a ways before they met a main pathway. Rania clicked her tongue to her horse as they turned upon the path to head west toward Alister. Ultimately to the forest of Muir. Though, she didn’t intend on allowing him to discover the forest. Such information was forbidden. Then again she hoped that with the magic of the crystal she could cloak Alister from existence so that her people could live in peace. They were passed by other travelers headed toward the kingdom of Penn. Most gave a nod of the head to which Rania returned a nod. But for the most part she was unmoving upon the back of the horse, her eyes would gaze out, deep in thought.

The elf was content in her silence it seemed. A punishment to her actions for leaving her father behind. His voice was gone now, they were far enough from the castle. She only hoped that he understood. Perhaps she could return to save him...if the King did not take his life. Rania had her eyes closed, almost as though she was meditating when the mercenary began to hum. Her brows furrowed slightly to the sound as she listened. Though after a few verses she found the soft sound coming from Dustin to be something welcomed in passing the time within the silence. She wasn’t used to entertaining others. Much of her training within the forest was to be carried out alone, to prepare her for this moment. So conversation, well that wasn’t something that she was entirely used to striking up.

Her emerald eyes gazed to the setting sun off in the distance as Dustin struck up a conversation. She glanced to him as he spoke, a smile curved up her lips. “All things that yo u can imagine. Perhaps they do not wander our earth now, but once Aliser is restored and the magic swells within the land...” She nodded to herself. “Magical creatures are deemed evil because your kind does not take the time to understand.” She bit her lip slightly. It was a painful idea that humans did not want to understand the elves. Her kind was hunted simply by the hate of one man and his ideals that he pressed upon his people. Rania thought to herself a long moment, “One day you will see.” She spoke as she glanced to him once again. “You will see that magic is not inherently evil as the king states...” She then chuckled lightly. “Though I will say that Imps are not the friend of anyone. But then again you are a man of tricks. Perhaps you and an Imp would get along.”

The young elf looked to the mercenary curiously. “What creature do you wish to know about? Certainly I have an answer for you.” She smiled, a genuine smile finally. It wasn’t her usual smirk. She looked ahead toward the town that they were approaching. Her brows narrowed, she could see knights of the king posted at the entrance of the small town. Rania grit her teeth slightly as she glanced about. They were in the middle of a valley, there wasn’t much coverage from trees to offer.

Rania glanced to Dustin with a bit of worry in her eyes, “Now we shall is if that guard that you had a run in remembers you at all, hm?” She spoke and let out a breath as they approached.

“Evening travelers. State your business for travel.” A knight spoke as he looked up to the two.

Rania whispered something in elvish below her breath. “Oh young child. We are on our yearly pilgrimage to pay our respects to the god of winter.” Her voice sounded different. The accent was gone completely. She’d practiced well at hiding it before she ventured into the human world.

The knight looked to her, “Remove your hood.”

“I’m sorry young man but I cannot remove my hood.” She spoke with the same strange voice.

The knight approached her and gazed up into her eyes. “Oh...oh I see...my apologies.” He spoke and glanced to Dustin. His eyes stayed on him a long moment, as if there was something memorable about Dustin. “Very well, carry on. Do be careful. Word from the castle is someone broke into it. Could be dangerous bandits upon the trails you two.”

“Oh dear, how awful.” She gasped slightly as she held a hand to her chest. “Thank you for the fair warning young man.” She spoke as she rode her horse forward into the town. She rode straight through, she glanced over her shoulder once, Dustin would have caught a glimpse of her illusion. She looked as if she was nearing 100 years of age. As they exited the town the illusion dropped from the elf and she let out a heavy sigh. “Time to find a place for came, shall we?” She looked to Dustin. “You know this kingdom by heart you said. Do you know of any safe places to make camp for the evening?” She glanced to the quickly setting sun.

Rania glanced to him, she saw the curious gaze in his eyes. The subtle lift of his brow, she smirked to him slightly. “No I most certainly do not want to camp this close to the town, and risk a run in with bandits again? Once is enough.” She let out a laugh. She’d had more than one issue in her trip to the kingdom though. But, mostly her trip had gone smoothly. The elf tilted her head slightly to him, “We will continue further than a grove, that’s far too open in the vicinity of the towns. Someone could stumble upon us, and if you have forgotten I seem to have ears that are a cause for great attention.”

She looked ahead to the sky as it continued to darken. Dusk was truly beautiful. She only shook her head to his comment. “Concealing my identity is the only reason that I have been able to survive my trip into this kingdom. A knight won’t question an old lady as to why she is wearing a hood.” She scoffed slightly. “It’d be just rude, now wouldn’t it?” She looked to him with a smile lighting up her face. “But you have trickery that I as an elf do not know. A master of the sorts as a mercenary I’d imagine. So you’ve proven at least.” She looked back ahead. It was almost as if she was constantly jabbing at him. Though, it was hard to tell if she meant ill by her actions, or if it was simply a comment that meant no harm.

The elf raised her brows slightly to his question, she hadn’t expected it and that was evident on her expression as she looked to him. “Dragons are a gift.” She spoke her eyes searched his. “They are a creature of magic.” She looked back ahead as she gripped the horn of the saddle. “Long ago my ancestor Olari came upon the first dragon. In the caverns near Alister that reach deep into the crusts of the earth. Where it is said that magic can be felt floating in the air and on the right night…magic could be seen almost like the auras of the north.” She had a soft smile about her lips as she spoke the story. “Olari was a young elf at the time, he was simply doing what we do when we are young. He was exploring. But. He was not alone.” She glanced to Dustin her eyes locked on his. “It is said that a fairy caught Olari’s attention that evening. That Olari was led deep within the cavern system to where the very font of magic grows.”

Rania had a smile upon her lips of fascination, of excitement. His question had sparked a different side of her entirely. She wasn’t making snide remarks, she wasn’t jabbing or giving her usual smirk. She was truly passionate about the talk of dragons. “Olari found an egg within that cavern. A single egg. It had a glow to it that he had never seen. As he touched it the egg began to crack and soon enough emerged a scaled creature that he had never seen with thick leathery wings. The beast looked to him and he to it.” She paused a moment in thought. “The beast was born of magic. The great dragon Fuiher. It is said that Olari was gifted that day with magic. Soon enough the magic from within the caverns spread throughout Alister, soaking into the dirt…into the people….the fauna of the forest surrounding Alister took on a magical glow in the dark nights of winter. The flowers bloomed larger than ever in the spring and summer. Magic spread to each and every elf of Alister and within my veins magic still runs…though…” Her breath shook slightly after the last sentence, her brows tugged together. “Stifled now.” She lowered her head slightly.

“You see Dustin. Your King took more than you could imagine from my people. He took our life blood. He drained us of the force of our very life. The dragons disappeared. No one knows where they have gone, but…the magic of the caverns…” She shook her head. “After the fall of Alister the magic no longer belongs…whatever this crystal did…I only pray to the gods that I can reverse it. That…I can save Alister and restore it. Only then we may hope that our dragon ancestors return.” The elf drew in a breath her eyes looked to him. “I just…I have never understood what caused the king to complete such an act of hatred. Why did he come to Alister? Why did he offer us allegiance…? If only to turn on my people the moment that he had his claws into our backs…” She shook her head then. “The only excuse that I have is…he had planned it all along. He took advantage of our kind nature, and he drove his sword into our backs up to the hilt of the blade.” Rania stopped speaking then, her voice had trembled slightly. She shook her head.