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+---- Thread: E'lyanei, the Cursed Elven Blade (/showthread.php?tid=3106)
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E'lyanei, the Cursed Elven Blade - Dunisbane - 10-22-2015
His eyes widened in fear and surprise as the shortblade found its mark in his gut. The Aglarondian had no chance to react as he felt the blade twist. "It is Master's will. I am the embodiment of that will." her words came softly as she shoved the dying man to the floor of his own home.
As he felt his life slipping from his grasp, the man gazed fearfully up at the elven woman. His life blood smeared across the blade she held as well as staining the white robes she wore. Her emerald gaze felt cold and piercing as she glared down at him. "W-why? You are one of us." his voice rasped.
"You have been found guilty of treason to Armuthar. Your life is forfeit and as my Master's most treasured weapon you should be honored to die by my hand." Her boot fell upon the man's neck, the pressure of her blow building as the body beneath her trembled.
Her expression fell into a frown as the body beneath her ceased to move and fell lifeless. The time leading to this had been an arduous one. No slaver could have broken the woman's will, at least it was her belief. The murderer she had slain being the seal upon her destiny. Noone believed it was the other and not the blood soaked elf that had killed the crowd of peasants when the authorities arrived back then.
Still, she gave in willingly to the judgement of Armuthar. And the life of chains is what was presented to her. Yet in a way, she was saved by the one that had purchased her. Though he was ignorant, somewhat slow, and horribly racist he protected her. Fed her and kept her safe when nothing but darkness was her future. Despite his flaws, he honored and treasured her. And for that he had won her loyalty.
Her smile slowly returned as she stepped off of the remnants of her latest target. "As long as he lives he preserves my honor as his servant, as well as my life as it is his to do with as he pleases. I will strike down his enemies and preserve his life so he may mine." Her boot struck him once more, the body rolling slightly on the ground in response.
"Perhaps that bartender that blamed his bad food on me trying to poison Master next." she muttered to herself as she walks out of the building. The blood covered elf began to lower her head once more as she shut the door. Her eyes falling once more to the ground before her as she left.
E'lyanei, the Cursed Elven Blade - Dunisbane - 10-28-2015
Alyisse finally left her Master's room that night after tending to his wounds. She moved to sit down into one of the chairs at the table. Her bruised and burned face slumping into the palms of her hands as her elbows sit upon the table. Beginning to sob again, she contemplated the events that had occurred.
"My honor has been torn from me. Even still, I protected him. I never lied to him. My time may come soon. He took the one thing that was truly given back to me. Now what do I do?" she spoke quietly to herself as she watched the door into the building.
"My hands are soaked in blood. The blood my owner had me shed. It will never come off." she was trembling in body and voice as she spoke. "I would shield him from a hail of arrows but he would abandon me for the words of a power mad woman... he would break his promise to me at her whim."
Her hands slipped through the root of her blood caked silver hair as she continued to ramble on to herself. "All of the dead I killed for him. Because of a crime I never committed." Again her body shuddered. She could feel it, the brink of madness creeping in. She knew she needed something to contain it before it was too late. It was good she brought something extra home from Tyrantos.
The kettle whistled in the back room. "Th-the letters can wait until tommorrow." she said as she stood and turned to open the door to the storage room. Her room. Some mist rolled free of the room as she entered and closed the door.
The Curse of the Elven Blade - Dunisbane - 10-29-2015
She took in the mists once more, shuddering breaths beginning to calm. "Home, Silverhair. Remember home." she spoke to herself softly. The elf, alone in the storage room could feel it slipping in once more. Even where she hid to escape it. Viscous red fluid began sliding down the cracks in the walls. There was no escape.
Looking down she could see it. Her hands covered in blood, a knife held in them. Another victim at her feet. Another person she killed to maintain her shattered honor. Her eyes widened as her emeralds gazed upon the horror of the brutally stabbed man on the ground. Her slender lips curled into a smile.
"How many?" she pondered aloud as she continued to stare at the body while the ooze continued to slip down the walls. "How many more will I be allowed to kill before they end Silverhair?" Their self-righteous looks. Their indignant attitude. Oh how delicious was the screams. Aglarondian rebels? They abandoned her. Thayans? Disgusting humans that would wipe their boots on her. The threats of death? It dulls the more it is heard. But to kill. To be unleashed by her Master to murder his enemies. It was now all she had, she could feel the desire to do more fill her body as the mist had filled her lungs.
Her laughter began to echo in the room. It was a twisted and unhinged sound that slipped past her lips. "Today I have met you death, and I will see you perhaps sooner than I hoped. But I will bring you as many souls as I can on my way!"
The laughter continued for some time, until her breath caught short. Falling to her knees, her body trembling and the bloody knife fell from her hands. There was no sound or even evidence the blade was ever there. No oozing walls. No body. Only a young elven girl trembling in the corner, an expression filled with horror and crying in a plain room with nothing but three chests and a ragged cot.
Twin souls - Dunisbane - 11-02-2015
"The blossoms ward me away, clever girl." the voice resounded from the shadows, the silver haired elf sitting in her cot and breathing in vapors once more.
"You are a monster. You would have gotten us killed." the woman turned to look at her twisted shadow made of wings and claws. "She demands respect."
"I was born of your desire to live, little girl. Do not forget this. Was my letter well received?" the voice would reply.
"As well as can be expected. We live and now perhaps the enemy king will become exposed in time." The girl inspected the chessboard on the floor nearby that was not there so long ago. "The bishop has been taken. The Queen and King are safe for now. The rook, knight, and pawn have advanced." she indicated as the pieces were positioned one at a time. "The enemy pieces are able to reach the three, but for now they protect one another."
"You could let -me- take care of it. The locks wouldn't stop us after all. Just a quiet night interrupted by a blood curdling scream." the voice, so similar to the elf chimed almost cheerfully and yearning. "This is the most dangerous game of all for the pawn to play. So many, so easy to kill or overlook in the heat of the battle."
"Yet if the pawn makes it to the end of the board and behind enemy lines it easily becomes the most valuable asset of all." Alyisse interrupted. "The rook is too far into enemy territory but the pawn will help with its withdrawal. Because it must. The stage is set and the pieces are placed. There is nothing left to do but to watch the game play out now."
"Yes, yes. Your friend's look of surprise was delicious when I leaped at her in that house was priceless by the way..." the shadow grinned a deep angular grin, sharp teeth exposed.
"E'lyanei... you tried to shoot her!" she frowned, kicking over the chess set, the pieces tumbling noiselessly as her emerald gaze locked on the floor. "Even you couldn't defeat her. One day, I hope to be half as strong as she is."
"Well you never will be." the shadowy creature near snarled as it continued. "You are nothing but a helpless little girl that plays games to get her way. Fear will drive you back to me, it always does. You may hold control for now, but one day you will slip up and I will consume you. Remember this Alyisse of the Silver hair!" the shadows faded as the silver haired girl laid down on the ragged cot beneath her, balling herself up and shivering despite the warmth the room provided.
On the Edge of Oblivion - Dunisbane - 11-04-2015
The door had closed to the room once more. Alone in the house, half buried in a pile of pillows trembling. She was sweating and her eyes weighed heavily with exhaustion. She could feel E'lyanei's presence, though even the shadow trembled with pain. "Soon. The end comes soon. Queen takes rook. The knight remains protected, but the pawn hangs on the edge of oblivion. So easy for the enemy to take, so helpless... yet so close to the end of the board."
"We did our work admirably though." the voice inside her mind echoed. "Sillaanam knows his enemies and we struck as well as a pawn can against a knight. We can only hope that our new Sillaanam understands our loyalty and honors our value."
The woman's eyes watered as she spoke into the nothingness, "There is one hope yet. A chance we will not end up a mere house servant, dusty and unused relic, or someone's whore." The voice ached and trembled. "We must trust in her judgement."
Her body adorned only with a simple tunic and pants continued to twist and spasm throughout the night, unable to slip into reverie and staring listlessly into the fire as her body ached to breathe in the source of what brought her calm.
The Sharpening of the Blade - Dunisbane - 11-06-2015
She sprung from point to point around the dummy striking at the lower part of the pole with a sweep of her leg followed by multiple strikes at what would be vital points as she continued moving at each strike. Each repetition she became faster, her body flowing with each movement almost as water.
"There is no shame in becoming a splendid blade." she began to remember the words spoken to her as she continued her practice. Her knuckles began to bleed and her legs bruise, yet she continued. "Your body isn't built to stand and fight, it is built to escape." The intensity of her blows increased. Each one in itself not one of much strength or significance at first glance, though each landed on spots vulnerable and deadly to an adversary.
"We are done running. It is time to stand and meet our destiny!" she spoke aloud as she continued her practice, remembering each move she was taught in turn and repeating. "Our edge shall become so sharp that should we be brought down upon the Gods by our Master, they themselves will bleed!" Her training continued into the late hours of the night, the silverhaired elf practicing each movement again and again.
The Great Game - Dunisbane - 11-09-2015
She took in the mist once more. Sitting on the bed in the comfortable if not the same size room as the storage room she once hid in. A deep, relaxing breath. Tomorrow she would be cast off the end of the board either to become a piece in a new game or to be cast into oblivion. But she knew it was worth it.
Despite her honor being shattered, she kept to her duty. She managed to let him see the truth and strike at Sillaanam's enemy. Why the Black Knight was his enemy made no difference to her. She was the weapon of her knight in this great game. A tool of her Queen and King. The rivalry had consumed them both to the point of endangering the game. "Perhaps E'lyanei, we will never know the truth to who was on the other side of the board. Or if there never was a greater foe. But we have done our duty, and that is enough." The collared elf spoke softly to the shadow of her that played softly in the room. Far less intimidating than the creature before.
Each movement she had made in the game was careful, thought through. Every truth was carefully constructed. Yet the victory was not a complete one. She couldn't pull Amalia away in time. The rook had fallen and there wasn't anything she could do. A pawn can only reach so far, after all.
The fact that she would be lost from this game was a certainty. It was the greatest loss that her Sillaanam could suffer before becoming crippled as an asset on the board. She was a rarity. A treasure. Others even now tried to make secret deals to cancel the auction and carry her off into the night. But it was alright. Exposing Sir Black for his actions was not difficult. The situation proved too much, the chance to strike at Sillaanam's heart too open. It had pained Master, but now he at least could see the truth.
In the same stroke the point was proven of his behavior. Sir Black's desire to cause Sillaanam harm had been his undoing. Perhaps there was a twinge of victory in this. To have struck out at someone so much more powerful and succeed. A pyrrhic victory for us both it seems. One to have lost what they fought so hard for, the other to be tossed away into nothingness.
So close to a happy ending. He had admitted to me his love for her. When he signed my writ of passage how he wrote of us closer to a family. Alyisse Savrog. I was given his name. Maybe one day their name. All she had to do was see him for who Sillaanam was. Had she only seen in time. She went with the safer option. Tears would slide down her cheeks as she relaxed in the bed in the room.
"It is for the best. I have done everything that I could do for him. I can only hope my sacrifice is not in vain. That those in the shadows save me from complete destruction. That once again I may shine brightly as the blade of a new owner. So that I may both protect him and give my all to strike down those that oppose him... That perhaps my letter, my last move in this game grants me the chance to further prove myself to Armuthar." she spoke to herself as she pushed herself into a restful state so that she would be ready for the auction the next day.
The Aftermath - Dunisbane - 11-18-2015
"So many eyes on me. Why so many? Why do I possess this much value?" she thought quietly to herself as she began to change out of the rags she was left in from the auction. "The letter must have had an effect. The way the auction went, this was exactly as she planned."
The Mistress. She was already known to the elf. Trusted implicitly. She had taken care of Silverhair even when times were uncertain. The Master she did not know and was warned of yet was told by her Mistress that he was trustworthy. Still, there was so much that would have been invested to have her. Politics. Was even this a political move in the greater game?
All that could be done is to wait and see what would come.
It was the greatest reward. Her new home was a warm one. She felt particularly close to her Mistress. They were so similar, had things gone differently she may be in the same position as her Mistress. There was kindness in that house, peace. E'lyanei had faded away from her over those days. There was no need for the cold killer anymore. She felt something in that place when she was there with her. She felt free. A child born to serve Temple. An exile. A criminal. Then a slave. There had always been a collar around her throat and such a feeling was odd. It was alien to her. Exhilarating but something she feared all the same. Master and Mistress promised to protect her, to keep their treasure safe. There were those now that cherished her, perhaps even loved her.
She had come to realize over the time following the auction that this was her payment. The cost would inevitably be her life. Her Omnipotence had read the letter and this was the result. I have accepted death since the day that I have been bound in these chains. Give me use and purpose. A hand to wield this blade! At least the time until the end will be a good one.
What is a Soulmate? - Dunisbane - 11-18-2015
What is a Soulmate?
It is like a best friend, but more. It is the one person in the world that knows you better than anyone else. It is someone who makes you a better person, well, actually they don't make you a better person - you do that yourself because they inspire you. A soulmate is someone who you carry with you forever. It is the one person who knew you, and accepted you, and believed in you before anyone else did or when no one else would. And no matter what happens... you will always love them.
The cost was heavy but it was worth it. She will have her love and her freedom. I would wear a collar even in the next life if it meant to save such a person from her anguish, when their greatest crime was loving another too much. She is redeemed. I can see it in her actions and her behavior. I can only hope the Seldarine believe as I do. I risk everything that they do. May they find the way to Arvandor and may this sacrifice light the way.
There was a storm on the horizon.
It was certain that she would be required to participate in the war. Her Master and Mistress were there as well. Going back along the path to her past. She felt the grip of madness from the battle as the army proceeded, E'lyanei was gone. Waiting. Soon enough there would be no Alyisse the Silverhaired. The woman born of fear and rage would not be coming to guide her blades any longer. Swimming in a sea of madness. The death of those in her past, having no future. There was nothing left of her as it was.
"Nice shot, Alyisse." a voice ripped through her mind as visions of the woman she had shot's screams echoed through the night. She was from the temple. Another Black Arrow that happened to have been there. Others dead. Those in a time before she had been exiled would have called her sister. She was a traitor to her own people, fighting for the enemy. Dhaerrow. There would be no paradise for her even had she not sold her future away.
After the camp established itself for siege, her Master had wisdom to shed on her of the situation. Advised her on how to find her calm and that she should not partake of the things that kept her mind from shattering. There was so much pain. Anguish. Yet not even death could be a release for her. Not anymore.
It wasn't until that night as she fell into reverie that she allowed her mind to wander again. There was no future for her. Her past has been torn from her as well. What was left? All that was left.. was the moment. The now. That is what she would fight for. For every single moment with everything she had left. She would not abandon those close to her. Alyisse the Silverhaired found her strength once more that night. Her desire to always remain in the moment. To live.
The True Beginning - Dunisbane - 11-29-2015
It all began with that blade. Her Temple housed it for safe keeping, unable to shatter it and it being too dangerous to be exposed to the world. It had been sealed away for safe keeping. Perhaps things would have been different had she not handled it. Perhaps whatever was deep inside of herself would have never awoken. Alyisse couldn't remember much the days following the one where she first handled the weapon. Nor did she know where such a blade wound up. However she knew it is how she wound up with the new name she was called as the Aglarondian guards hunted her relentlessly. The Cursed Blade of Calamity. Even as she sought a place to hide from whatever travesty happened she would hear the townspeople talk about all of those that died. Killed by the Black Arrow initiate driven insane they would say. Alyisse E'lyanei.
She had fled to Thay not to find fame or glory but to escape her past. She knew how dangerous the nation was for elves, but it was her best chance. A new chance at a new life. But it was all foiled by -her-. E'lyanei. One of the men on the street had accosted Alyisse and her mind had slipped away as it had begun to do whenever it couldn't handle itself any longer. By the time she had awoken she was covered in blood, her blade similarly coated before the guard. Five bodies nearby. Four Alyisse didn't even know. The guards were ready to strike her down but instead of protecting herself or fleeing she fell to her knees. "It is better this way." she thought. "She won't be able to hurt anyone else anymore."
Slavery had at least tamed E'lyanei somewhat. Eagerly awaiting the order to kill. Alyisse had not fared as well it seemed. Slowly drowning in a sea of madness. Killing old friends and her kin once more. Having no past or future. It was nearly enough to overwhelm her. She could do nothing more than cling to the one thing that kept her afloat. That kept her from being swept completely away. The one that she loved. That night by the fire. There is one last thing left. And for now, that was enough.