Private Tales Behind enemy lines..

[Myr]

Would he regret this choice? The question was at the forefront of his mind even as the human thanked him. He could see her gratitude, practically feel the relief that washed over her. There was a purity in that, not something he had often seen from her kind during the war. A small knot of tension in his stomach unfolded, though another formed.

This task would not be an easy one. ”Your debt is not to me.”

He said softly.

Though there was no evidence besides her words, Myr believed the girl. Katyr had asked her to do this, or perhaps she had taken it upon herself. He could not say which one, but it did not matter.

”Rest, for a while.” He told her as he took a step forward and finally knelt down besides his old friend. The human looked haggard, half broken. Even with the help of the birds her task so far had not been an easy one. ”The Grove will keep him in repose.”

The Elf continued, his knuckles gently brushing over Katyr’s cheek. Gaze lingering on his old lost friend before he finally turned his regards back to her. ”What is your name?”

He asked, before adding. ”I am Myrdin, though most call me Myr.”

 

[Sorai]

Sorai felt a flood of relief wash over her as Myr spoke, his soft words carrying a sense of understanding and compassion that helped ease the turmoil within her heart and mind.

"Thank you," she murmured softly, her voice thick with gratitude. "I appreciate your kindness.. more than I can express." she frowned. She'd fully expected that the first elf she came across in the Falwood would kill her on sight, particularly when she carried such a quarry.

As Myr knelt beside Katyr's resting form, Sorai watched in silence, her gaze filled with sorrow and reverence.
"My name is Sorai," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

With a sense of resignation, Sorai gave Myrdin his space with Katyr and shuffled back before she began to tend to her own wounds. She grit her teeth against the pain in her feet, her hands trembling as they gingerly probed the wounds no doubt still embedded with glass.

 

[Myr]

Myr said nothing else to the girl as she revealed her name. His head tipping in a nod as he silently watched her go. The trees seemed to shift within the wind as she moved towards them, though none lashed out. A mark of their remembrance of the man they had brought here.

For a few minutes the Elf simply knelt by his friends side.

He allowed himself to remember the time he had spent with Katyr. The training they had endured together, the laughs they had shared, the times of war they had suffered through. A bittersweet feeling drifted through his core, and for a time it seemed as though Myr would sit there forever. Staring and remembering the friend that he had lost, and now mourned for a second time.

Yet after a while the elf turned away and back towards Sorai. She would see the small trickle of tears that had fallen down his cheeks, though he did not wipe them away. There was no shame in them.

Without a word he walked over towards the girl, his steps remarkably quiet upon the forest floor. Slowly he knelt besides her, eyes investigating the wounds upon her feet with a deep frown. ”I can help with this.”

He offered. ”If you will let me.”

 

[Sorai]

Sorai's heart ached as she glanced up and saw Myr knelt by Katyr's side. Anger, grief, and regret churned within her, a tempest of emotions that threatened to overwhelm her fragile composure. She clenched her jaw, swallowing back the bitter taste of resentment that rose in her throat. She felt anger at Katyr, for not going home, at the Dreadlord who'd taken his life, at herself for surviving when he had not. And, at the city and the people she belonged to.

Her hands trembled as she plucked a sliver of glass from the tender flesh of her heel, a sharp sting of pain shooting through her with each movement. She winced, sucking in a sharp breath. She hadn't heard Myr move, and she startled as he suddenly stood before her, fear flashing across her features, though as he knelt beside her and assessed her wounds, she eased a little.

She hadn't expected him to offer her help, hadn't dared to hope for such kindness from an elf who had every reason to despise her kind. Yet here he was, extending such an offer. She smiled sadly as she thought of Katyr, and how he had helped her too.

"I... would appreciate your help very much," she replied softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "Thank you."

 

[Myr]

Myr smiled briefly, and then knelt down in front of Sorai. He delicately lifted her heel, inspecting the wound with a grimace as he sat there for a moment. A slow breath drew into his lungs, and he laid his palms flat within the air.

"Atio claran." The words left his lips in a song, and then a strange flash appeared over the elves hands. A pale blue glow seeming to cling to his flesh as he slowly shifted and began to pluck the glass from her feat.

As he did so, the wound left behind slowly knit shut, enveloped by the soft blue glow from his hands.

"Last I saw him." Myrdin began quietly as he worked, ignoring the process as though it were something he had seen a thousand times before. No remark or significant brought to it. "Katyr stood in a field, standing between myself and two Archons."

Myr frowned for a moment, and he glanced at Sorai. "You have those, still, yes?"

He had not kept up with human events. For a time he'd tried, but the pain of it had grown too heavy to bear after a time.

"Regardless, even then, he sacrificed himself for us." A sad smile touched the elves face, his eyes wandering away from Sorai's wounds for a moment and settling upon his friend. "That was always his way."

 

[Sorai]

Sorai's lips parted in awe as she watched the wound stitch closed, the warmth spreading through her foot bringing both relief and wonder. "It feels warm," she commented with intrigue, her voice tinged with amazement. "You're a healer?" she asked, looking up at Myr with wide eyes filled with curiosity and admiration.

As Myr spoke of Katyr's sacrifice, Sorai's gaze drifted past him to where Katyr lay, her heart heavy with sorrow. She nodded silently as Myr mentioned the Archons, realising the gravity of the situation in which Katyr had found himself. The memory of his selflessness brought a sad smile to her lips.

Her voice was soft, tinged with regret, as she recounted the events leading to Katyr's death. "There was an uprising, in Vel Anir," she explained quietly. "The city was...chaos, and he broke out. He took me, to bargain with if he was hunted down. Maybe at first he planned on killing me, I don't know... Knowing what I know now, I wouldn't have blamed him. But instead, he ended up saving my life more than once. He didn't deserve this," she added, her brow furrowing with anguish as she looked to Myr.

"I'm so sorry, Myr," she murmured softly, her voice filled with genuine remorse. "I knew him for only a short time, but I cared about him greatly," she confessed, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "I can't imagine how difficult it must be for you, grieving him after years of knowing him."

As she spoke, Sorai's gaze softened, offering a silent apology and a shared moment of grief for the friend they had both lost.

 

[Myr]

"No." Myr would never call himself a healer. He knew a spell or two, could heal a small gash or a few wounds, but nothing serious. Among his people healers were something to be cherished, especially those of the mind. "I just know enough."

The elf explained, just before Sorai told her story.

Strangely enough, her journey seemed more like an end than anything else. It was missing...centuries, from what he could understand. She was human, and from what she had described everything had happened within the last few months, if not days.

He couldn't have said any of it surprised him, not in the least. Katyr was...he was Katyr, The fact that his friend had not changed after all this time was remarkable. Elves were long lived, but centuries was a long time even for them.

"I thought him dead a long time ago." Myr, admitted. "But now I mourn him a second time."

His head shook. "It feels strange, but I cannot change it happening. I miss my friend, I am sad I could not speak with him before his passing."

As he finished his healing, plucking the last of the glass free. Myr took a deep breath. "We will honor his last will."

That would be enough.

 

[Sorai]

She offered him a small, tight smile at his answer, and tried not to squirm or flinch as he carefully removed the glass from her feet. Once again she everything she had believed about elves had been proven wrong, as once again she was offered kindness instead of being faced with violence and savagery. Her head shook slowly as she recalled such teachings, feeling the nausea of shame churn in her stomach.

"I miss him too.." her brow furrowed. "In all the years I spent amongst my people, I'm not sure there is a single one of them who would have done what he did for me." she contemplated, the memories of Katyr's final moments causing the ache in her chest to worsen.

"Thank you.." she sighed a sound of relief. "Is.. There somewhere I can get cleaned up a little?.." she asked, acknowledging how she must have looked.

 

[Myr]

Plucking the last shard of glass from her foot, Myr looked up at her. "There is a small pond in the grove."

There was something painful about admitting such a thing to her sort.

A part of him couldn't help but feel that pain. The weight of allowing humanity to step within the Falwood. Some of his kin would have seen it as the greatest sin of their kind. A pain that none of them should have had to suffer. An ache that the forest did not deserve.

"You should be alright." He offered softly, glancing towards the trees. "They remember Katyr."

Myr's lips pressed into a thin line as he gazed around the ancient grove. "And they will see what you have given in his return."

A small, almost imperceptible smile touched his features.

"There, is a bath." He said, pointing to the left. "But do not linger, you are still human."

Which in the Falwood, spelled more danger than most would admit.

 

[Sorai]

Sorai flexed her feet with a soft sigh. They were still tender, but the pain was gone and she smiled gratefully at him. She followed his gaze toward the trees, her brow furrowing briefly as she searched for any sign of anyone in the trees, but it quickly dawned on her that he meant the trees themselves.

"They.. Can see me?.." she asked hesitantly and gingerly got to her feet, wrapping her arms around her chest as she looked around the grove. What an odd feeling it was to have her presence known and judged by trees.

"Can they.. harm me?.." she asked in a whisper, her dark eyes filled with trepidation and sadness at the thought. She unsheathed her little blade and set it on the ground, taking a few steps back from it, lest they think she might chisel at their barks.

By the look of her right now, it was laughable that anything might consider her harmful. She was sickly pale and trembling, with dark circles under her eyes, her skin, clothes and hair matted in blood and mud. The journey here had taken its toll physically and emotionally, and she wore every bit of it in plain sight.

 

[Myr]

"Perhaps 'see' is not quite the right word." The Elf answered with a slight frown, watching with interest as the girl slowly pulled a small blade from within her cloak. Cocking his head to the side as she placed it upon the ground and slowly stepped away.

Amusement played across his lips for just a brief moment, though it was quickly replaced with an expression of sorrow.

Is that why you spared her? Myr thought to himself quietly. Because she is not like those we slaughtered so freely centuries ago?

The thought was bittersweet, tainted with the hatred of old memories. Despite what he had seen, what she had said, Myr could not help the thin ribbon of mistrust that he felt as he looked at Sorai. It was difficult to see the person behind the haze of hatreds that hast stood for more than a generation. "They can."

He answered Sorai finally.

"But they will not." Not for now anyway.

"The Falwood is old, very old." Myr said softly. "And although humanity has harmed it greatly in recent times, the trees still remember a time where you walked freely among them."

As he spoke, a wind seemed to rush through the grove, the breeze soft enough to jostle only leaves. "Bringing him home brought those memories back."

Myr said softly, glancing towards Katyr.

 

[Sorai]

Sorai's brows shot up as the image of murderous trees flashed across her mind, imagining the behemoths uprooting themselves and coming for her, their branches lashing out. "I had never thought to fear trees.." she commented quietly to herself, and she vowed then and there that she would always, always respect the forest.

The breeze played at the stray tresses of hair that weren't currently matted to her head, and she listened to it whispered through the leaves, the smallest and saddest of smiles on her lips. She hadn't truly understood just how much Katyr must have ached for home, within his cell of iron and stone. It hadn't only been his own people who mourned him, but the forest too had noticed his absence. No wonder they hated her kind so much..

She turned, giving Myr a quiet nod before she walked gingerly in the direction of the pond he had told her of, though she paused at the first tree, a towering oak that was clearly ages old. Hesitantly she lifted her hand, thinking to place it against its bark before thinking better of it and recoiling. "I'm sorry." she whispered instead, hoping the tree could hear her, and wandered off to bathe.

She found the little pond in the prettiest of clearings, surrounded by flowering shrubbery, with lotus and lilies floating on the surface. Cautiously, she undressed amongst the bushes, her brown eyes shifting from tree to tree, half expecting one of them to move on their own accord.

The pond was cold, and Sorai sucked in a gasp as she sunk into it. Her bruises were many, but thanks to Myr her wounds were few, and she clenched her teeth as she scrubbed her skin as hard as she could, trying not to think of the blood she was washing away. By the time she was done, she might even be recognisable to her family. She cleaned up her clothes as best as she could before dressing quickly, and finding her way back to where she'd left Katyr.

 

[Myr]

By the time Sorai returned, Myr had wrapped Katyr's body in a strange leaf-like creation.

He had never been the most magically gifted of his squadron, his talents laying within his knowledge of the Falwood itself and a keen eye. Yet he knew enough to keep his friend whole for the journey, and the leaf which now wrapped around his body would assure that.

The Elf sat quietly besides the corpse of his long lost friend, legs crossed and eyes closed as though he were settled in a deep meditation. "You should take a night to rest."

Myr said softly at the approach of her steps.

She did not snap a twig, nor did she crumple any leaves, in fact her footfalls to most would have sounded as silent as a grave. Yet the Elf heard her coming all the same. His eyes never opening as he sat in rest besides his old friend.

"I would offer you a blanket, or shelter." He said softly. "But I have none here."

A long breath dragged into his lungs. "Tomorrow I'll take you, but the journey will be long, and the reception..."

He frowned for a brief moment, shaking his head. "I do not know how his father will take this loss."

Myr admitted silently.

 

[Sorai]

Sorai paused for only a moment as Myr spoke. She wasn't sure how it still surprised her, but that he and his kind could had senses so keen was something that would always fascinate her.

She twisted her hair around her shoulder to wring out a few last droplets of water. "If there is time.. Then I would appreciate the rest.." she answered as she approached, her gaze falling to Katyr, now wrapped up, and her heart ached all over again.

Dropping onto her knees at the opposite side of Katyr, her hand lifted as she intended on reaching out to pull the leaf from his face, though her fingers curled into her palm and she recoiled with fresh tears in her eyes. A frown creased at her brow however, at Myr's words..

His father?

Sorai held a breath hostage for a long moment before it shuddered free and she looked at the elf with a nod and a look of resignation. "I never expected a warm welcome. I just want to take him home, like I said I would." she answered with as much bravery as she could muster. Sorai would tell them what Katyr had told her to tell them, and if that's wasn't enough to spare her life, then so be it. He had been willing to die for her, and she was willing to do the same, though, she hoped his sacrifice wouldn't be in vain, not that she could blame his family for hating her when she already hated herself so much.

She lowered herself into the grass and curled up close to Katyr, her filthy cloak wrapped tightly around her.

 

[Myr]

"Sleep." He told her, his eyes finally openening as Sorai stepped around Katyr's body and came to sit besides him. Her soft words somehow echoing in his ears. "We will take him home, and the Falwood will keep him whole."

Myr said softly.

The journey would not be long, not with how the trees would shift, but that did not mean there would be no danger. In truth, the travel was the least of his concern. He knew the trees well enough that they would not harm him, even as he walked with one of her kind. It was their arrival in Leth'Loren that concerned him.

The troubles they would find there.

His lips turned to a frown as the human girl shifted.

A strange sort of discomfort worming itself into his mind as he watched Sorai move closer to Katyr's body. His lips turned to a frown. I don't understand old friend.

Myr thought to himself as he watched Sorai, his expression a masque of nothing.

What changed? He had heard her story, had listened, and yet...he could not understand. Katyr had hated them, had despised humanity more than even those who had watched their homes burn. Yet he had saved this girl, lead her here even in death. Why?

He asked himself softly. Why did you do it?

Myr thought as Sorai drifted off to sleep.

 

[Sorai]

Sleep came quickly for her, and she fell deeply. Katyr was there, amongst the trees, speaking to her though she couldn't hear him. She moved toward him, only to find he grew further away instead of closer. The sleeping girl murmured his name as in her mind she screamed it, running now as the forest closed in on her, roots of trees lashing at her, ensnaring her wrists and ankles and dragging her down into the dirt until she couldn't breathe and sat bolt upright, clawing at the cloak tangled around her neck and arms.

Her breaths came in short, sharp rasps as her head whipped around, taking in her surroundings before she remembered where she was.

 

[Myr]

A wind seemed to rustle the grove as Sorai awoke with a start, her head whipping back and forth as her head turned in search of a phantasm that was not there.

"Nightmares." Myr's voice drifted softly. "The sign of an unquiet mind."

The Elf said softly, though there was no hint of judgment in his tone. "I had them for many years, after the war ended."

There was a moment of pause, before he added. "I still do at times."

It was odd. He did not know why he said the words, why he wanted to offer the girl a measure of comfort. A part of him thought it was because of her determination, the promise she had made, but another piece...another piece said it was not enough.

"Why is it..." Myr asked softly. "That the death of one elf haunts you so?"

She had already told him, already explained her story, but it did not seem enough. Her people had always hated his kind, and by her own admission Katyr had practically kidnapped her. This bond, this weight, he wanted to know why. He wanted to understand, so perhaps the people of Leth'Loren would too.

 

[Sorai]

Sorai clutched at her chest as though she might grip hold of her racing heart and slow it. Her eyes blinked away the bleariness as he spoke and she felt embarrassment creep into her cheeks, until he empathised with her and the shame dissipated.

Myr looked as young as she did, it was easy to forget that he was likely centuries old. How much he must have seen? She wondered how tales of the war would sound, spoken by an elf, but she didn't care to stir his memory of such things if it was that which haunted his sleep.

His question hung in the air as Sorai frowned at him, pulling her knees against her chest. She was certain the forest stilled as though awaiting her answer. Honestly, her heartache had taken her by surprise, but she had felt that before he had died, she'd felt loss when he left her to go to the village, when he'd been supposed to return home and she knew she'd never see him again.

"He didn't deserve any of it." she answered quietly.. "Even after everything that my people put him through, he cared for me when I was sick. He could've left me to die several times over.. But he was so much better than that. Than us.. I don't think anyone had ever truly saw me like he did.." Sorai swallowed.

"I will never return to Vel Anir." she said confidently. "If I leave the Falwood alive, I will never go back there."
Sorai had never felt true hatred before. She had been taught that humans were superior and that everything else was to be reviled, but she had never had cause to hate anything other than unsweetened porridge and sewing. Now, she understood what hatred was, what true revulsion and rage were, and she felt it only for that dreadlord and for the city and the people that made him. She felt it for Vel Anir, for those who hunted and captured elves and dragged them from their homes and families, leaving them to rot in cells.

"He opened my eyes." she frowned.

 

[Myr]

For a long moment Myr remained silent, the Elf's face an unreadable mask as he processed every word that he said. A small smile eventually pulled on the edge of his lips. You always were the better man.

He thought to himself, remembering the long discussions he and Katyr had had even during the war.

The man had been as rabid as any of them in their fight, but always he had sought a different angle. In a way, it was good to see that part of him had not died through the centuries of his imprisonment. That he kept the tenants of his own words.

Katyr had always derided those of their kind who had slaughtered innocents, even if they were Human. It was rich to pretend such things had not happened, for in the first war they had been nearly as brutal as humanity. The revenge they sought taken easily and every day.

A long minute passed, and then finally Myr spoke again.

"Perhaps that is exactly why you should go back." The Elf counseled, the small smile still pulling at his lips as he slowly pulled himself to his feet. Standing in one fluid motion.

"But not today." Myr said as he offered Sorai his hand. "Today we bring him home."

 

[Sorai]

She was surprised to see the semblance of a smile on Myr's lips, surprised again by his comment and once more by the hand that he offered. Sorai looked up at him, her expression weary, and despite the sadness that shrouded the task ahead, she offered a small smile in return.

"Yes.." she answered, and reached a cold hand out to take his. "We do.. Thank you."

Sorai retrieved her blade from the grass where she'd left it, and slipped it into her cloak out of sight. Her eyes drifted through the canopy of the trees before she looked back to Myr. "There were birds before, they helped me find this place, and helped me carry him." she frowned curiously. "Did you send them?" she asked, readying herself to leave.

 

[Myr]

Myr watched as the girl picked herself up, and then went to scoop the blade she had left earlier from the ground. His expression did not change, but a breeze softly tussled his hair as he stared. "No."

He answered as she returned to his side.

"I did not even know you were coming." It was the truth. He had simply been minding his own business in the grove, attending to the trees and seeing that they cooperated as they should. Her appearance had been a complete surprise. "It was the Falwood that found you, and I suspect it was Katyr that guided you here."

The Elf explained. "The magic within the forest is old."

Briefly he wondered if a human could even understand.

"The roots grow deep, and it is not oft the trees forget one of their own." For a brief moment Myr paused, wondering if he sounded like a preacher in the midst of a sermon. "I'm sorry, I do not mean to assume you ignorant."

Myr said with a frown. "You must understand, the Falwood has a will of it's own, and bringing you here was part of its will."

Which was half the reason why he was so adamant in taking her further.

"Perhaps it is because of him." Myr said as he glanced to Katyr's body. "Or perhaps it is because of you, I do not know."

He continued softly. "But you are here because the Falwood wanted you to be."

 

[Sorai]

Sorai's brow arched slightly as Myr offered his explanation, absorbing his words with a mixture of surprise and fascination. The idea that the forest itself had played a role in guiding her to this place, driven by its own ancient will, was a concept she had never considered before. It was as if the very land beneath her feet was alive, pulsing with a consciousness of its own.

"It's... quite wonderful," she murmured softly, a sense of awe colouring her words. Despite the grief and uncertainty that weighed heavily on her, to think that Katyr's spirit still lived on within the Falwood was a comfort to her. He might even be watching over her.

Her lips curved into a shaky smile as she glanced around at the towering trees, their branches reaching skyward like silent sentinels. "It's not what I pictured at all," she realised aloud, her voice filled with wonder and reverence.

 

[Myr]

"There are many parts of the Falwood." He continued to explain, a small smile playing over his lips.

He had spent many of the last centuries among the trees. Traveling through the groves and stepping into parts of the Forest which even some of his kind had forgotten. In their tongue, the Falwood could be translated as 'Ancient Grove', and in truth many parts of it were so old that even the Eldest of their race could not say how long they had been there. "Some are like this, others are not so pleasant."

The Elf said cryptically.

As they spoke Myr slowly walked over to the now neatly wrapped corpse of his old friend. For a moment he stood above it, then reached down and began to heft his bulky form. Slinging it over his shoulder with a grunt before he turned back towards Sorai.

"Leth'Loren, where Katyr was born, lays deep to the South." He said as he began to walk towards her. "Along the way, you will see things that I suspect no human has seen in centuries."

Perhaps even longer, it was difficult to say.

 

[Sorai]

Sorai's lips pressed into a thin line as she nodded in understanding. She was not as naive as she had been before she'd been stolen from her home, and she'd remain vigilant.

She watched as Katyr's body was lifted from the ground, her chest squeezing. She hadn't been strong enough to carry him, instead she'd hauled him for miles, for days, until the birds had come and offered her reprieve.

"Leth'Loren.." she repeated quietly, staring through the trees, their path ahead. "I don't expect others to be so tolerant of my presence here.." she said calmly. On the contrary, she fully expected that she would never leave the Falwood alive.

"Whatever happens, do you promise to get him home?.. If you need to leave me behind then do so, please." she asked, raising a hand to settle it on Katyr's shoulder.

 

[Myr]

"No, they will not be." Myr said with a nod of his head. There were still some Elves, more than most cared to admit, who would slit a humans throat on sight. Many of them did not leave the Falwood now, and that meant Sorai had walked herself right into the greatest danger she could have.

Though he would not tell her that fact, not when her footing was already unsure. "But rest assured."

The Elf said softly as he hefted Katyr's Body, staring at the girl as she placed a gentle hand upon him.

"He will reach home." The journey was a long one, and even without Sorai at his side it would have taken him at least a month to reach Leth'Lorren. Yet there was no doubt in his mind that the journey was worth it, that Katyr was.

"I cannot say what my people will do with you." He told her truthfully. "But Katyr was honored in his time, and after."

Myr said cryptically, not wanting to get into the details of why that honor existed. "He will get home."

He assured her softly, though never speaking to if he would leave her behind or not. An odd sort of feeling curling in his chest. A part of him still hated her, despite what he had learned. The gift she had brought him and the peace that she exuded. He could not help the centuries of anger that still welled within him, the rage he had learned not through one war, but two.

Yet all the same, Katyr had saved her. Made sure that she lived.

Perhaps he would too.