Private Tales Behind enemy lines..

[Sorai]

Sorai was living on her nerves- traumatised, grief-stricken and terrified of what she may be yet to face, but there was no denying the sense of calm that fell over her when Myr assured her that Katyr would return home, no matter what. Nothing mattered to her more right now, than that.

'I cannot say what my people will do with you.'

"That's okay.." she offered with a shake of her head and a timorous smile in reassurance.. "This is most important."

If it was death that she faced, then she hoped at least her deed might have warranted her a swift one. Imprisonment? Well, if Katyr had endured it for a century, then she could hardly blame them for throwing her in a cell to rot. But Katyr would be home and she'd tell them what he told her to tell them, and then it was up to the elves to make their choice.

As they walked, she remained close, a hand on Katyr's shoulder, as though it made any difference to the weight of Myr's quarry.

"I really am grateful for you mending my feet.. I'd forgotten what it felt like to walk without pain." she sighed, savouring her steps without glass in her feet and blood squelching in her boots.

 

[Myr]

”That's okay.”

The words reverberated within his mind. Lips pressing to a thin line as he considered the weight of them. The truth that he could hear echo through every syllable. It only added to the strangeness of this moment, the oddity of a human so caring about the fate of one Elf.

An elf who was already dead.

A smile formed at her next words though, and for a second at least he forgot the darkness that had brought them here. ”I have always enjoyed mending things.”

He admitted softly.

”Much of my life has been teemed with death.” He had fought In two of the three wars of Elves and Men. Both of which had been utterly brutal for either side. He remembered the blood, and at times, could still feel it upon his hands.

”After I lost…” Myr trailed off, glancing at Katyr's body for a moment before shaking his head and shifting his thoughts. ”After the wars.”

He began again. ”I was lost for a very long time. I could not go home, not could I go to the homes of my friends. Instead I walked into the Falwood, fully intent on never returning.”

A somber look crossed his features, but he did not offer more detail. ”What I found instead, was a forest almost as broken as me.”

Myr explained softly.

”There was a comfort in that, as though I were not alone as I thought.” He smiled, glancing over to Sorai. ”And so I stayed among them, and slowly together, we healed.”

At least as much as they could.

 

[Sorai]

Sorai listened in silence as she walked, taking in every word and trying and failing to fathom living a life such as he had. Such as Katyr had. So many trials and troubles, so many losses and such a long time to suffer them. But, also, such a long life to see and understand the world around them and to appreciate it far better than her kind ever had. They were truly remarkable.

She glanced at him as he mentioned his loss, chewing on the inside of her lip as she took on the guilt that wasn't hers to bear, so heavy it might've ground her bones to dust had it been a physical thing.

Sorai looked around the forest, wondering if, given the chance, she could find some way to heal too. In such a short time, Katyr had had such a profound impact on her short life, that she very much doubted she'd have enough time left to soothe the ache in her chest.

She smiled back at him, though it was sombre and her eyes glistened with unshed tears once more. "How many had to die and suffer for all these years, because we are not the same?" her brow furrowed with a flicker of anger. She laughed under her breath and shook her head, swiping away a tear in frustration.

"Perhaps the rebellion will change something." she shrugged. "But we have already lost." she looked to Katyr's body and then to Myr.

 

[Myr]

"Many thousands." Myr said softly, shaking his head in disappointment.

In the years past he had reflected much upon the wars of Elves and Men. The stories that surrounded those times and even the ages before. Many of his people were long lived, and for them the last battle was still a recent memory. Those memories tainted the etchings of how things really were, a fact that Myr keenly remembered now. It had taken the trees to remind him.

"There is a lesson to be taken from those times." He said softly. "Humanity sparked the war between our people, but it is not as though even we are innocent."

Though Myr had yet been war, he knew the stories of the first time Elves and Man had come to clash. It had started with the cutting of the Falwood, and the reprisal his people had brought had been nothing short of a campaign of extermination. They had nearly wiped Vel Anir out, stopping only at the city walls and pulling back for reasons even he did not know. The campaign had been utterly brutal by all accounts, and had down the seeds of hatred even further.

The truth was, neither side had the innocence they might have wanted to proclaim. "My ancestors wrote of a time in which they worked with Humanity, even with your founder Anirius."

Those tales were old, even the eldest of his kind barely remembered now. Over a thousand years was a long time even for an elf.

"Perhaps one day such things might happen again." He mused, catching her words with interest. "Rebellion?"

Myr asked inquisitively.

 

[Sorai]

Sorai flashed a quick glance to Myr and nodded, the memory of Katyr slaughtering Rhea and a few city guards as he stole her away was one she tried not to conjure. "I know.." she frowned. Still, she doubted that elves treated their own the way humans treated their fellow men.

Her brow rose as he spoke of his ancestors and hers, searching his face for any sign of a lie. She found it too difficult a thing to imagine. "I.. have read no such text. Anything I've ever read or been told about your kind portray you as savages, hell bent on eradicating us." she laughed mirthlessly under her breath.

"As long as there is land or status, or wealth or differing faiths, men will fight over it. They started this and your people fought back.. One of my own people was happy to murder me just to get to him. They were slaughtering one another in the streets when he took me from the city. My father was involved in the uprising. I.. had no idea.." Nor did she have any idea if he or the rest of her family survived. She chose to believe they had.

 

[Myr]

Myr listened carefully to her words. The sorrow which flowed through them, the pain that still harbored itself within her. He could hear it in how she spoke, the pangs of bitterness and the stabbing hatred for what her kind had done to itself. They were emotions he well understood, for he had felt them all before.

”Humans have short lives, and even shorter memories.” The Elf said ruefully. Wondering just how much they had lost.

”A thousand years is a long time, even for us.” He explained. ”And there are many of my own people who would deny such things ever happened, but the Eldest remember.”

Though even some of them would contest the claim that peace was possible. There had been far too much strife over the ages, and hate often took far deeper root than other emotions. It was easy to hate, especially for a thing that was so unlike you, for a thing that had hurt you.

The truth was, many of his people would gladly act as the savages humanity had painted them as if it meant wiping out their ancient foe.

”I see.” Myr said softly as Sorai spoke of her father, still wondering what the purpose of this uprising had been. What changes it had brought to Vel Anir, what it would bring. It was strange, this girl was the first to bring him news of the outer world in so long a time, and now he felt as though his curiosity had been sparked anew.

”I will not pretend to understand the minds of your people.” Myr said softly. ”But if there are more humans like you, then perhaps this uprising is not a bad thing.”

The Elf contended. ”There are those who want to kill, to maim and murder, but there are those who…simply do not.”

Myr said as he looked over at Sorai.

”Look at us now.” He mused softly. ”Two strangers, an Elf and a Human. Walking side by side.”

He said, an odd sadness in his eyes. Two centuries ago, I would have hated myself for this, and now I am glad for it.”

 

[Sorai]

Sorai turned to look at him then, as he mentioned others like her. She felt her chest ache, but this time it was not with grief. She couldn't fathom what it was about her that had earned the acceptance and kindness of beings like Katyr and Myr, but she felt a profound sense of honour to be walking beside them.

"Thank you, Myr." she whispered, her voice choked with emotion. "For seeing beyond the differences, for showing me kindness when others would turn away. I... I don't know what I've done to deserve it, but I am glad for it too."

She sighed. "I most certainly have no desire to kill or maim or murder.. I want to heal. When I was a child my sister and I would play with our dolls. She was always having tea with hers, whilst I was wrapping up pretend wounds and prescribing tonics for stomach aches." she laughed easily and smiled fondly at the memory.

"My father has always discouraged it. He wouldn't allow me to study it, or even discuss it. I remember my sister skinned her knee one day, it bled and bled and she screamed and screamed, until somehow it stopped bleeding, as though there had never been any wound. All I had done was held my hand to it." she frowned. "My father was so angry with me, he forbade me ever to do such a thing again, so I didn't. I wouldn't know how."

"I realised when I got older, that he didn't want me to have to go through the academy.." she frowned. "It is a terrible place. Humans will do terrible things for power."

 

[Myr]

Myr listened to each note in the story Sorai told, smiling to himself. ”A healer is a wonderful thing to be.”

The elf interjected briefly as she made her dreams known.

Though his own meager talents had been enough to help Sorai with her wounds, Myr had never much strength in magics. Compared fo Katyr and the others of his former squad, he was nothing to speak of. All their people had some affinity towards the gift, his own had only been honed over the last century of exile.

As Sorai continued to speak, Myr’s expression became an alabaster mask. Allowing the description of her inherited magic to unfold without comment until a frown pulled at her features. ”A truth that could be said of many people.”

The elf counseled, though he did not disagree.

What Vel Anir had done to save itself was despicable. The creation of the Dreadlords was an utterly abhorrent and twisted thing. Even now the thought soured his stomach, and he had to keep the bile from rising in his throat with sheer force of will.

”Your father, whether you realize it or not, may have saved you in more ways than one.” Myr offered softly. ”I have killed Dreadlords, both old and new.”

His jaw set slightly, as though he kept a memory at bay. ”I have seen what it is they do, how they live, and even…”

Myr trailed off, shaking his head as he pushed away a memory that was better forgotten.

”There is a man among my people, an Elder.” It struck him as odd, how open he was being with this little human. He had never spoken so candidly even to many of his own peers, yet strangely somehow Sorai made the conversation easy. Perhaps it was because her kind was so short lived, getting to the point was more important. ”He pities them.”

The Elf explained, the words on his tongue sounding foreign and even disgusted in some way. ”He sees your Dreadlords as victims. Twisted things who had no choice in what they became.”

He continued, sounding as though he was not quite sure himself.

 

[Sorai]

Sorai nodded, knowing that it had been her father's intention to protect her. That Myr had killed Dreadlords however, seemed to surprise her. When she had come across Katyr, everything about him had been violent, she had witnessed how he'd killed those guards, and Rhea - how brutal her death had been. But, when she'd come across Myr in the grove, talking with the trees, he hadn't seemed violent at all. She supposed everyone could be violent if they had to be, or wanted to be.

"You must be, quite skilled." she commented quietly, and continued to listen as he spoke of an elder of his, noting that something about the subject of Dreadlords had unsettled him. She supposed they unsettled most people.

"I've known some terrible Dreadlords, and I've known kind Dreadlords.. Regardless of how they end up, they had no choice but to let the state beat and hone them into the weapons they are. As children, some are given to the Academy by their parents for a fee, others are ripped away screaming from parents trying to protect them, as my father did for me." she frowned.

"I had always pitied them.. Then again, I had never been in the war path of a Dreadlord until quite recently, and I would not like to be again. He wasn't just following orders, he was just bloodthirsty. He wanted Katyr dead at all costs, and me along with him. It's very difficult to pity someone with such brutal hatred so deeply sown."

"But.." she sighed. "They are not all the same, I suppose."

 

[Myr]

”In our time, Katyr and I were part of a squad.” He explained as they stepped on their path through the forest. ”We hunted Dreadlord's during the war.”

The Elf said as Sorai continued.

Myr’s head inclining in agreement as she finished. In many ways she was, as humans said, preaching to the choir. The Elf had experienced the hatred of Dreadlord's more than once in his life. Some founded on revenge, and some simply for the nature of his birth.

In truth, even after all these years, he was not quite sure how he felt.

A part of humanity still disgusted him, just as it had during the wars. But another part had long since been able to see something else within their kind. Sorai was proof of that. He wondered if the coming days would make him change his perspective even more.

”In truth, it is not for me to judge.” Myr said softly.

”I have committed as many sins as most of them.” The Elf admitted. ”And such is a weight that each must be judged on its own merit.”

His gaze shifted to Sorai for a moment. ”A heavy subject.”

Myr said with a soft chuckle. ”Anyone listening would think it's all were capable of.”

 

[Sorai]

"Well.. We know better."

She looked up at Myr, her expression contemplative. "I can't imagine what it must have been like." she said quietly, "To be in the middle of all that, fighting for your people, against such powerful enemies. And to still be able to see past the hatred in someone like me... it speaks volumes about you and Katyr."

"I think, that acknowledging our flaws, makes us better. It helps us understand others, maybe even forgive them. It doesn't erase the pain or the mistakes, but it gives us a chance to grow."

Sorai managed a small, bittersweet smile. She glanced up at the canopy of trees above them, the leaves rustling softly in the breeze. She wondered if they were speaking.

 

[Myr]

”My father would have said you have wisdom beyond your years.” Myr said with a soft smile on his face. The trees above rustling and shifting with the wind.

”We elves have the benefit of centuries to reflect and think.” He said, the smile slipping from his lips. ”I do not know how Katyr felt at the end, aside from what you have told me and the evidence of your presence here.”

Which alone spoke volumes of his old friend. ”But it took me decades to see past my hate. The anger that I had learned, and truthfully a part of me still hangs on to it now.”

Myr stopped for a moment, looking up at the same trees as Sorai.

”You have been given a unique opportunity.” He remarked as they stood. ”I truly hope, that in time, you choose to share it with others of your kind.”

The Elf looked down at Sorai. ”For such wisdom will mean more coming from one of their own.”

 

[Sorai]

Sorai listened to him, a small smile on her lips as he spoke of her wisdom. She never considered herself to be wise, or powerful, not like her cousins were. They were the ones who held sway. Her house was far less significant, but she understood the opportunity he spoke of. The responsibility.

She looked up at him, her gaze reflecting the sincerity that she felt. "Thank you.. I just, I don't think my words will hold much weight. Far more powerful people than me have far greater voices. But, if I return, I won't let fear of failure stop me from speaking my mind again." she assured him.

The sun made its way across the sky before falling into the land, casting golden strands across the forest floor. Dread gripped her as night started to settle in once more, though at least this time, she wasn't alone. Her steps had grown wearier by the hour, but she would not stop until Myr decided it was time to do so.

 

[Myr]

”Power is a subjective thing.” Myr counseled softly as the twilight hours of the day began to fall upon them. The sun growing to distant strands of orange light on the horizon, and the leaves of the great trees above seeming to shy away from the sky that they so craved.

”I think you will be surprised.” The Elf commented. ”One voice, can often call to dozens.”

As he spoke, his eyes seemed to grow distant. As though for a second he was lost in a memory long since passed by. A breath drawing into his lungs as they cut through a small piece of underbrush and stepped into a large clearing. The only decoration being a large tree, long since fallen and hollowed out by rot.

”Ah, there we are.” Myr said cheerfully.

”Shelter for the evening.” Th Elf said with a smile, glancing down to Sorai and looking as though he had read the weariness within her mind. ”Just in time for the rain too.”

He added, a crack of thunder echoing in the distance as though he had told the future.

 

[Sorai]

When he smiled, it was as though the warmth of Myr's expression could chase away the lingering shadows of fear and doubt from her mind. There was a reassuring strength in the way he carried himself, a quiet confidence that made Sorai feel safer and more at ease.

She cast her gaze toward the sky and the darkening storm clouds, smiling at the smell of the charged storm in the air. "I have always liked storms.." she sighed.

With Katyr's body placed down, Sorai settled down beside him, the rain already playing a sporadic yet steady beat on the husk of the tree. She smiled quietly as she listened to it.

"I feel like I've walked across Arethil and back." she laughed under her breath, her muscles and feet aching. Her eyes were already drowsy as sleep clutched at her.

 

[Myr]

As he placed Katyr down onto the ground, Myr lingered for a moment. Looking at his old friend and reflecting on the conversation they'd had. A small smile touched his as he peered down at the wrapped body of his old friend. I never thought you were one to make friends.

The Elf thought to himself as he slowly pulled away.

Taking a step back and slowly lowering himself to the ground. A chuckle escaping from his lips as Sorai quipped.

"The Falwood is vast." He told her. "But worry not, we'll not make the entire journey on foot."

Though the Forest was massive, there were rivers and massive lakes that would have to be crossed. They presented their own dangers, but Myr didn't mention that now. "Is this the furthest you have ever been from your home?"

Myr asked softly.

"I know many humans never go...all that far." At least from what he'd read.

 

[Sorai]

"That's reassuring," she replied, a hint of relief in her voice. The thought of not having to traverse the entire forest on foot was a welcome one.

She nodded silently at his question. "It is. I used to beg my father to take me with him when he travelled, but it wasn't my place." she shrugged.

"I had no idea the world was so.. big. It's, a little overwhelming, but also sort of liberating." she laughed quietly and felt her cheeks warming. "How naive you must think me." she smiled sheepishly at him.

"What about you.. Have you seen any more of the world outside the Falwood?"

 

[Myr]

"Not at all." The Elf said with a shake of his head. "I've lived what I think is your lifetime ten times over already."

More, he thought, but he had never been all that good at guessing the age of humans. For a time they seemed to look almost exactly the same as always. It was only when they started to grow fray hairs and find wrinkles in their skin that they began to appear more mature. "And it took me half that time to leave my home."

The elf said with a laugh, remembering the first time he had taken a step out of Fal'Addas.

He smiled at the memory, shifting in the soft dirt as the rain began to pour down faster and faster.

"I have seen many of your lands." Myr said, though of course did no expand why. There was no need to return to such dark subject. "But many others too."

He explained. "For a time, I thought that leaving was a way to escape my demons. It was not the right way, but...while I could not escape, I did find something else of value."

 

[Sorai]

Sorai's brows shot up. Ten times? She doubted she'd ever get used to how amazing elven lives were. He looked so young, about her age, but he had seen so much more than she ever would. She listened with obvious fascination as he spoke, tugging her boots off to rub at her aching feet.

"Oh?.." her head tilted, meeting his gaze. "What did you find?" she asked curiously.

 

[Myr]

"Perspective." Myr replied with a laugh, the sound of genuine mirth from the elf's lips echoing out almost like a song.

He shook his head as the joy rippled through his chest, the laughter lasting only a few seconds before he took a breath and smiled at Sorai.

"For a long time I was fixated." Myr explained. "Stuck on humanity, the Elves, this war of ours."

The smile on his face faltered somewhat as he continued. "But the world is...is not us. There is much beyond my home and yours. An entire universe of men, women, monsters, and everything in-between."

He continued.

"The more I saw, the more I understood." Myr went on, taking a breath as he began to gently gather loose and broken sticks around them. Standing up so that he could grab a few which had been flung afar. The pitter patter of rain echoing out from above them. "To us, the wars of our people have dominated our societies. To the people of the Tundra, a world away, they have never even seen men with pointed ears."

Myr smiled, as he gestured to his own. "It is a humbling experience. To be told you are nothing but a legend."

 

[Sorai]

Sorai felt a warmth spread through her chest at the sound of Myr's laughter, the genuine mirth of it somewhat contagious. Seeing him smile like that, hearing the joy in his voice, made her heart lighter. She couldn't help but laugh along with him, the sound easing some of the tension and sorrow that had been weighing her down.

"Yes... I suppose I've gained at least a little of that perspective over these past weeks.." she sighed, though her smile softened as her gaze fell upon Katyr's body. The memories of the past weeks, the lessons learned and the pain endured, seemed to intertwine.

"I should like to see much more of the world someday. My mother's ancestors came from across the wastes. I should like to visit sometime. Oban, too, where my father came from. He says the army there rides gryphons. It's always been a dream of mine to see them.." she said, her voice carrying a mix of longing and hope. She yawned, feeling the day's weariness settling in, and she settled down to watch Myr gather sticks for the fire, her hand resting gently on Katyr's shoulder, ensuring he knew she was still there.

"Katyr told me a story.." she began, her voice soft and reminiscent, "..of a great tree in the Falwood, whose roots stretch the world over and keep Arethil together." A sad smile touched her lips at the memory. "I should like to see that tree too." she sighed, her eyes growing drowsy as she fought against the pull of sleep.

 

[Myr]

Myr gave no answer to Sorai as she spoke of her dreams, setting the small pieces of wood he had gathered into place. The soft smile on his face telling it's own sort of story as the little human spoke of her Mother's Ancestors, Oban, and even the lands of his own people. "Perhaps you will."

The Elf said softly, speaking a soft word as a spark flickered from his hand.

Fire caught within an instant, the small bundle of twigs lighting and casting warmth over their small hovel. The patter of rain fought by the crackling of flames within just a few moments.

"It lays not in our path." Myr admitted, for he knew the tree that she spoke of. The twin of the Aelder, nestled so deep within the Falwood that even some of his own people feared to tread there. Not because of the danger, but because of the peace that could be found within. "But, who is to say?"

Myr smiled. "You have already come this far, Sorai. Perhaps, in time, you will go a little further."

The Elf said, finally settling down for the night.

 

[Sorai]

Sorai felt warmth settle over her at Myr's words. It was a kind thing to say, and a pleasant thought to fall asleep to. "Thank you.." she mumbled. She would try not to gaze too far ahead into the future, knowing that such futures were uncertain. She walked a dangerous path in a world she wasn't meant to be in, but the thought of seeing more, of venturing further, gave her a glimmer of excitement.

Her eyes closed as she let the gentle sound of rain and the crackling fire lull her to sleep. In her dreams, she was sure Katyr was present, sure that he was speaking to her, offering words of comfort and guidance. But when she opened her eyes, he remained still, silent. The ache in her body was a painful reminder of her arduous journey so far, but she forced herself up with a yawn and rubbed the sleep from her face..

 

[Myr]

The next morning came quickly, and was filled with the same journey as the day before.

It was to be their fate for three more days, and within those days their conversations began to turn to happier things. Myr told more stales of his journeys across the world, Sorai spoke of some of the teachings she had learned in Vel Anir. It was, by Myr's estimation, a pleasant enough trek through the outer groves of the Falwood.

To his surprise none of the trees tried to stop or oppose them, though whether it was through his own influence or the breath of Katyr's passing he did not know.

On the fourth day, the River drew near, and the sound of flowing water began to call out into the air. With Katyr's body still hefted upon his shoulder, Myr began to slow as they broke from the trees and stepped out onto a long beach. The Elf's head panning from side to side, until he found what he was searching for. "Ah, there."

He noted, pointing so Sorai would find the small boat that was simply perched upon the shore. As if it had just appeared.

"Precisely where it should be." The Elf said, as though the fact of the matter could not have changed.

 

[Sorai]

Over the past few days, she had grown surprisingly at ease within the Falwood. The towering trees and the whispering winds had become familiar companions, and Myr’s steady presence had become a source of comfort.

As they stepped out onto the long beach however, Sorai's heart quickened at the sight of the river. She watched as Myr pointed out the small boat perched on the shore, seemingly waiting just for them.

Sorai forced a smile, trying and no doubt failing to mask the sudden nervousness that gripped her. She had never learned to swim, and the memory of the river she had tried to cross with Katyr made her stomach twist with anxiety. She glanced at Myr, who seemed completely at ease, and took a deep breath to steady herself.

"Is it.. Safe?" she said, her voice wavering slightly despite her attempt to sound confident. She stepped closer to the boat, her eyes studying it carefully. "I've never been on a boat before." she admitted, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. "And I can't swim."

She took another deep breath, reminding herself of the promise she had made to Katyr and the journey they had already undertaken. This was just another part of their path, another step towards fulfilling the promise she had made.