Open Chronicles Dead Elves Walking

[Enthund]

On one end open grasslands, on the other scarce forests that grew denser and denser the further away they were. It was midday and arguably the hottest it can get in these parts of the world.
The sun seemed more like a hellish fireball held directly against one's skin than a benevolent bringer of daylight.
Those that passed the grace of shade were lucky, if only briefly.

The prisoners had little idea for how long they'd been walking from one destination to another, numb from exhaustion. They were a small band of elves bound and tied, and not even the whole group. For stranger onlookers, they could've been anyone. And for those that knew and saw, a small figment of the merciless renegades and murderers that ran amok along the forest edge.


From what Enthund could gather from brief chitchat here and there among the higher captors, the end destination was some larger town, La Sena on the fringes of Falwood, not even fully walled, but a military garrison was stationed right beside.
There was also some talk about a blasted trial before the end. To hell with it, did it even matter now anymore?

She would have wiped her sweaty forehead if her hands were not bound together as tightly the legs of a chaste virgin.

 

[Talus]

Talus was not mounted.

Though he was an Apprentice Dreadlord the position didn't exactly hold much clout. Not among the rank of the soldiers escorting the prisoners anyway. Fifty men had been sent along this little trip, a small contingent of the Anirian Guard, two Knights, and a few Apprentice Dreadlords.

Of course, none of those like him were here as guards technically. Sure they could help out in a fight, but their purpose was not of protecting the prisoners.

Just the opposite in fact.

Talus glanced towards the gathered elves in the center of the columns, lips thinning as he thought about the fate that already befell them. There would be a 'trial' of course, but the results of such things were all but ensured already.

These were Brigands, renegades.

Worse; they were elves.

Talus knew the outcome of that trial just like everyone else on this road knew it. Yet what he knew and they did not was the fact that he would be their executioner. It was another blooding, as they called it. Another opportunity to prove that he had what it took.

It should have bothered him. It shouldn't have been right to him, but he found that he didn't care anymore.

Not father Coraliv. Not after the Jungle. Not after all he'd been through.

The elves were already dead. What did it matter if it was by his hand?

 

[Enthund]

The silhouette of glorious La Sena was already well in view. It's shining white walls and red shingled rooftops.
Of what it's partial wall consisted of, one could already see bodies of elves hanging from it. No doubt of a similar troop. Quite a clashing look for an otherwise gorgeous place of residence.


Enthund rose her head to gaze over the final destination before wandering off between the assorted men.
One of whom was a light-haired lad of few years. The expression on her was overall calm, yet lined with contempt and disgust for the human race.

Plenty of these elves were young too. Dressed lightly and some were painted or tattooed on their faces and arms. The prized capture, however, was the band leader, who wore a hog pelt atop his head and was noticeably older than the rest.

 

[Talus]

Talus glanced briefly at an Elf that walked nearby him, frowning for just a moment before he turned his head towards the city of La Sena.

Sitting on the edge of the Falwood it was probably one of the more...dangerous places to live in. It had been founded during the second Elven War as a military outpost, eventually growing into an actual city and becoming a place of trade.

Unlike most Anirian settlements, La Sena held an architecture all it's own. Instead of sweeping fortress lines and tall towers of attack, most of La Sena was built with an architectural beauty that one could almost ascribe to Elves.

The corpses on the walls of course proved that wrong.

Still, the city held a certain sort of charm, one that was utterly foreign to someone like Talus.

His job was not to appreciate charm, his job was to kill these Elves once they actually arrived in the city. Lips thinned and he glanced back down towards the young looking one. "Eyes forward."

He stated grimly, not liking being stared at.

 

[Harry]

Hal marched behind the rear of the prisoners. He could see Talus through the gaps of bodies at times. Observing others, he could see exposed skin glistening from sweat. No such shine could be seen on his skin. Under the beating sun, he remained unnaturally cool.

A warhammer was fastened to a belt across his waist. The shaft bounced against his thigh with each step, the noise of it amalgamating with the other noises of armor in motion. Occasionally, he would scan his surroundings. There wasn't a bit of care in regards to his surroundings, or to the tasteful architecture that they came upon. Even as they approached a supposed safe area, his senses were still on edge, expecting the absolute worst at any moment.

Henry brought a gloved hand up to his mouth and rubbed the lower half of his face. Stubble that darkened his cheeks had grown out in the last few months. His normally neat, cropped hair had also begun to grow out. His appearance was unkempt and messy, quite unlike the other Apprentice Dreadlords that were dispatched from the Academy.

 

[Enthund]

With an eye roll, the elf peered their gaze ahead once more. The gate was nearing and some soldiers waved their hand at the band, beckoning them to get in.
IT seems as if they were used to these things.
Day to day, rinse and repeat.

 

[Talus]

Talus couldn't help but be taken slightly aback by La Sena.

Not in a bad way, just the opposite in fact. There was almost a natural beauty to the curves and lines of the city, the trees that stood among the buildings were what caught his attention in particular.

Vel Anir had nothing like that, and neither did Vel Luin the city of his birth. He'd seen trees before of course, it wasn't anything new, but within a city wall? That was something completely new. His eyes scanned the streets, and he felt oddly...peaceful.

The Apprentice Dreadlord stiffened slightly, his feet hitting the cobbles.

Eventually the small procession turned, and slowly they moved into a large town square in front of what appeared to be La Sena's central keep.

A man was already standing there, his black coat pin marking him as the cities governor.

 

[Enthund]

Enthund frowned as they entered the city.

It was an aberration. A Horrible horrible aberration.
Nature was sacrosanct, and yet here, the trees fought for water in paved streets and barren soil, robbed of their native turf. They were far more ancient than any wall in here.
The grass was cut to be uniform, to never seed and bear fruit, any other plantlife company they had....destroyed. What for? And what other flora remained were horribly mutated to please man's twisted sense of ... 'beauty'.
And then man forced to grow in mocking, undignifying arrays and rows, as some kind of humiliating punishment.

Yes, man liked to prove to be master above nature. What wretched creatures, a lapse in nature's creation needing fixing. Enthund boiled lightly, her face flushing slightly at the sight of La Sena.



The Burgermeister already had a stage of some sorts arranged, it was a nice clear opening with some other officials and priests present. The rest were the citizens and soldiers of this prosperous town, gathered to see the plague upon mankind executed for their crimes.

 

[Harry]

The chattering of onlookers fell on deaf ears as the prisoners and their keepers paraded through the main road of La Sena. People of all types gathered to observe the procession. Those of middling ages, the elderly, even children. Although unwarranted, Hal could not help but feel suspicion towards the gathering crowd. Although unlikely, he prepared himself to act in the worst-case scenario.

He was so occupied in his thoughts that approaching the town square eluded him. A wood platform that rose above the ground somewhat had been prepared. Atop it stood some notable, an individual that Hal did not care to know of. He was there only to bring an abrupt end to life, and to move on.

He did come up on Talus, quietly speaking as he took a spot next to his friend.

"About time," The words came out as cold as the air around him.

 

[Talus]

Talus glanced at Hal as he spoke, giving the lad an odd look.

He'd noticed the change in his friend as of late, his attitude slowly turning to something more...dark. A part of him thought it was a good thing. He'd never wanted to see Hal fall like some of the others, and his attitude had been a bit too...cheerful.

It had been a bright spot, yes, but...not fitting for one of their rank.

Yet another part of him mourned the loss of that cheeriness. The idea that Hal would become another empty vessel like himself or even Alloi was something he had never thought of. "There's still the trial."

They both knew it would be a sham of course.

The Mayor of called out in that moment, yelling to the Anirian Guardsmen to pull the elves up on the stage. Hal and Talus would stay put for now, watching at Enthund and her compatriots were practically dragged onto the wooden platform.

As soon as they stood there a list of crimes was called out to the crowd.

 

[Enthund]

A man unfurled the scroll and stood before the people, occasionally he glanced at the elves before he adjusted his tiny glasses and funny hat.

He looked really silly in his striped jacket, but the emblems on it made him out to be of a respectable position.
»And so the present day we gath'r to witness justice unfold bef're out v'ry eyes.... the elves before thee.« he rambled for a few minutes straight, often pousing to sniff and cough. »...-convicted of murder in Saarville, murder in Ruecrest, murder in Sel Velani-...« This small band of elves couldn't have possibly been the crux of all of these crimes.
»Nay, nay... nay mercy f'r the elves-They be sentenc'd to death. General!« He waves his hand at the soldiers and dreadlords. »Doth thy bidding.«

The leader in the hogpelt and his right and left assistants were picked by the throats and kicked over the blocks. They beckoned at the apprentices to come closer.

 

[Harry]

Hal listened- or more pretended to do so. He idly toed a patch of grass, clearly not the least bit interested in anything that had to be said. Only when beckoned did he appear to come alive again, moving ahead of the other apprentices to swiftly carry out their duty and to finally leave. Before climbing the steps to the platform, some attendant offered a thin dagger.

Hal curtly waved him aside, “No need.”

As he ascended to the wood platform, he could hear the steps of other Apprentices behind him. As he and his peers lined up, the elves were soon ushered onto the platform and forced to their knees in front of the Apprentices.

Hal looked over the excited crowd with cold, angry eyes, then to Talus with noticeably less anger, mostly to observe his friend.

He looked down at the elf who had been placed in front of him. Hal curled his right hand into a fist, leaving only his forefinger straightened. Ice began to form over the finger until it took the shape of a curved, sharp claw.

He seized a handful of golden locks, and yanked the elf’s head back. A masculine yelp escaped the elf’s mouth, and glossy, large eyes looked up at the Apprentice. He placed his finger against the elf’s neck. He felt as soft flesh sunk in against the sharp edge of ice.

In a swift movement, he dug the point of his claw deep into skin and brutally drug it across the elf’s neck. Skin was more ripped apart than cleanly cut, and Hal pulled farther back on the elf’s hair, stretching the deep gash even farther.

A gruesome spray of blood splashed down on the platform, and even some onto the dirt below. He wanted to show the crowd below a morbid display of violence, to rattle them. The brutality he showed reflected the disgust he had for the onlookers who vehemently desired the killings that currently took place.

Only the sounds of choked gurgling could be heard.

 

[Talus]

Talus watched the grim display of Hal quite literally ripping out the Elf's throat, his face impassive as the blood spewed off the platform and splattered onto some of the crowd who had dared to stand too close.

His head slowly cocked to his side, lips pressed to a thin lie.

A year ago he would not have expected that from Hal. A year ago he would have said the boy standing before him was named Igot Crane. It was a vicious act of cruelty, a point of forcing pain and creating disturbed silence.

It was the new Hal.

He'd seen the change, gradually, over the last few months. A grim determination had set into his compatriot. Something that had never been there before. It was tragic, almost, but arguably inevitable for any student who wanted to make it through the academy.

Silence reigned over the crowd, not a word was spoken, and even the burgermeister seemed too stunned to speak. Eventually Talus pulled himself together, shaking his head and walking across the platform behind Hal.

He stepped up behind the Elf positioned beside Enthund. The woman let out a string of Elvish curses, her knees pushing her off as she tried to get away.

Talus grasped her, but not with his real hand.

An odd faded palm separated from his palm, reaching out and wrapping around the elven womans throat. She took a single step, and then something pulled itself away from her. An after image of the Elf, a picture of her standing body, her face warped in terror.

Then he closed his fist. The image exploded outward, rushing into a hundred different wisps and wrenching itself from existence. In the same breath the elf woman's corpse fell off the platform into the crowd, her body already a pale corpse.

Talus glanced at Hal.

If his friend was going to jump off the ledge, he might as well go with.

 

[Fraeya]

Fraeya was at the end of the execution platform. The last in line. But she'd had a sack-cloth bag over her head. And it wasn't until this moment that it was finally taken off.

Pointed ears twitched and violet eyes squinted into the light.

The girl swayed on her knees with disorientation. How did she end up here? It seemed like only a month or so ago that she'd helped someone in the monster forest. She'd been picked up on the road not long after. Ambushed at her campsite.

Luckily, Ember had gotten away and unseen.

She'd assumed these humans had captured her only to deliver her back to Alliria. She knew word of her bounty was spreading. And the reward was a fair amount of coin. And if they knew what she could really do...they'd probably keep her for themselves.

Head turned and caught a glimpse of someone familiar.

Talus?

Her stomach rolled as she saw what he did next. And she caught only the evidence of what the dark-haired boy next to him did.

 

[Ryan of Tel Idris]

He felt sick.

“Brother Ryan? You’re looking paler than usual.”

The young man did not look at the speaker, gray eyes forward, features firm. He might as well have been carved from marble, save for his auburn hair, the only splash of color on him.

“Brother Balian,” he said in greeting, words crisp and clear despite the building revulsion in his stomach.

“Sorry I’m late, what is that boy doing?”

“He’s a dreadlord,” was all Ryan said.

Then the boy ripped the elf’s soul from her body as they watched.

Ryan watched as the last of the renegades was unmasked, another elf of ethereal beauty, her age impossible to guess. He imagined the dark haired youth caving in that face with his hammer. Ryan couldn’t bear it any longer.

“This has to stop.”

He urged his horse forward with a kick of his heels.

“Ryan wait, we can’t interfere. They’re convicted murderers.”

“I don’t care. This isn’t right.”

One of the guards saw him moving forward, looked at the blue tabard Ryan wore with the white tower on it, and looked away.

“Stop,” Ryan declared, “The prisoners are now under the protection of the Order of Heralds.”

 

[Enthund]

Blood was spilled over the woodwork, soaking and flowing through, staining the floor beneath.
The silence was momentary as the crowd oogled at the bodies, lifeless and gruesome.
Oh, what a 'spectacle' it was. The third that stood behind the bandleader almost felt pressured to end in a grand finale. And so he did. His blade shone like magic, cleaving cleanly through the headdress and neck of the elven leader. The body slumped over the floor, while the head rolled to the ground below the podium. Still twitching with its eyelids.
He didn't listen one bit to a sudden plea to stop within the crowd.

The Burgermeister gazed towards the source of the disturbance in the crowd. The funny dressed man with the glasses, with mouth slightly pouting, took his reading to a halt, if only momentarily.

The sudden call for a stop fueled the crowd, first one man called out and then they began to holler, they wanted blood.
»STINKING ELVES!«

»KILL THEM!«​

»KILL THE MURDERERS!«​

»DOWN WITH THE LOWLIFE SCUM!« ​

 

[Harry]

Hand resting on the head of his hammer on his waist, Hal scanned the now chaotic crowd, searching for the one that initially called out. He was not hard to spot.

Heralds, though. Here?

The crowd, too, was becoming more than a nuisance to the Apprentice. A rare expression of disgust twisted his face. Their incessant hollering made it difficult for him to think.

"This is becoming a chore," He said to Talus, "Let's finish the last ones and be done."

 

[Talus]

Talus froze in place as chaos broke out.

A crowd once deafened into silence by blood began to call for it once more as they saw the opportunity for it’s spilling slip away. The Herald calling out. Then finally one of the elves being revealed to be none other than Fraeya.

He felt his stomach drop at the sight of the young elf. Memories of their journey through a grove to the north rang in his head, and lips thinned as he realized she was one of the prisoners who stood to be executed.

Hal spoke, and Talus’ head half turned to the boy. ”The Herald.”

The Apprentice motioned towards the armored man, nudging his head towards the Blue and white tabard. The Burgermeisters voice drowned out by the crowd as they called for more blood to be spilled.

As Talus tried to speak up loud enough for Hal to hear, the crowd chanted louder and louder, some even attempting to push back the guards to reach the stage as Ryan made his way forward.

He was about to speak again when another of the Apprentice that had come with them suddenly pulled their knife across the throat of an Elf right between Fraeya Elwing and Enthund.

A cheer erupted as soon as the blood spilled, Talus yelling now.

”This is going to get out of control!” Almost as if on signal the crowd surged forward, screaming for blood and pushing through the gaps of the shields holding them back. They surged forward, rushing the stage and the Herald walking towards it.

 

[Fraeya]

Fingers tied behind her back dug into palms. Eyes tried to follow the voice that rose above the rest. She caught a flame of red along the crowd, like an avenging fire.

Fraeya flinched as the elf was slaughtered next to her.

That. Was. It.

Violet eyes closed. Taking a sharp breath through her nose, she called upon nature’s magic. There was vengeance here. This square had once been a lively forest. Trees cut down. Their roots groaning at Fraeya’s touch.

Elvish whispers left her mouth and the apprentices and those in the surging crowd would suddenly find the ground shaking beneath their feet. Trees long thought dead began breaking through the ground beneath their feet and shooting upward.

 

[Ahztoshan Aszdolus]

Amongst the depths of the animalistic crows slithered a lightly cloaked figure. The sweltering sun for everyone would have made him an easy target of interest as they appeared to be not only a queer sight to behold due to their choice of garment for the occurring heat, but also their lack of distinguishing features and their apparent skill of avoiding the people of the barging crowd and not being trampled in the choas.

The cloaked figure wiggled their way from outside of the herd, and appeared to be skipping in accordance to the rise of the was rested foreset. As the trees grew the figure would take the opportunity to be lost in their foliage mounting a firm enough branching and positioning themselves above. Of course within the rapidly rising choas, their movements and actions would not only be lost in the events unfolding but possibly even disregarded due to attention being needed in more pressing matters. Though any who did find themselves curious of the strange hooded person would see they took a particular interest in the Elvin female below, this could be deduced from their apparent blackened stare at them. Whether or not it was hostility or simple observation in their mind was indeed a mystery.

 

[Ryan of Tel Idris]

The crowd started chanting, the Burgermeister heedless of Ryan's words. The mob swarmed the platform, ready to cut the elves down themselves. Suddenly, the trees and shrubbery trembled and roots erupted from the ground, spraying clods of dirt everywhere.

Brother Balian rode up beside Ryan and grabbed his arm. "It's time to go, Ryan. We can't do anything for them."

Ryan stared as chaos consumed the platform, then hung his head. He jerked on the reins and, following Balian, rode away.

 

[Enthund]

As the chaos of plantlife and men commenced, Enthund was quick to seize the opportunity. She wedged her hands that were bound behind her back past her hind and legs to get them before her, the bindings themselves can be cut later.
The dreadlord apprentice between her and Fraeya got entangled between the rapidly growing wood as he tried to lurch forward and stop the forward rushing crowd, ending up somewhere in the canopy mere moments later.

Enthund grabbed Fraeya by her shoulder, pulling by her it, if only to nudge her aside. » let's go! Now!«

 

[Harry]

The earth shifted beneath the stage and as it rose, the platform could be heard snapping apart as their footing became unstable. The crowd pushed forward, pushing the line of shields back inch by inch.

With a grimace, Hal turned to face the two elves, specifically the one responsible for the annoying growth of vegetation. He began to stomp across the platform and pulled the hammer free from his belt. Those that stood atop the platform could feel as the air suddenly dropped in temperature.

The Apprentice continued forward, unfazed as roots sprouted around him, curling up over the platform and tightening their earthen grip on their loose footing.

“Talus!” He called without casting even a glance back at his friend, “Let’s finish this.”

 

[Talus]

A root suddenly jutted up beneath his foot, half pushing the young Apprentice back as he was forced to back up.

Three big steps took him far enough away to see the stage beneath him bend and warm before quickly snapping into a hundred different pieces. A forest grew from the stone beneath him, the remnants of an ancient Grove reborn as he heard Hal call out from the left of him.

A chill fell over the space around him, the roots almost shirking away from the cold as they continued to grow.

The crowd by mow had broken out Into a screaming panic. Some of them were still charging the stage, though most were running in the opposite direction as they tried to get away from a magic they did not understand. The town guard had grabbed the Mayor, dragging him away.

Talus scowled as he glanced through the wood, spotting Fraeya being practically dragged by another elf as one of the other Apprentices caught himself within the vines. "I got her! Take the other one!"

The Apprentice dashed forward, his sword swiping through the vines as he moved towards Fraeya.

He had no idea what he would do if he reached her, but right now he knew that he couldn't let Hal get to her first. Not until he knew what he was going to do.

 

[Ahztoshan Aszdolus]

The cloak figured his amongst the canopy of leaves that nestled wildly above. The jungle of vegetation was like a living body swaying at the command of Fraeya. Her will was it's command.

The cloaked figure took little to no time in traversing the wooded foliage and taking other forms of the natural sceneries blessings in order to close horizontal distance between themself and the Elf. The canopy provided plenty of cover for him and it's movements disguised his own. Gifted in stealthy approach and with awareness of their surroundings they purposfully moved with the flow of the growth and leaf movement as if they were part of the green ecosystem of leaves, branches, vines and trunks.

Once positioned they saw yet another female, the permanent smile plastered on the cloaked entities silhouette expanded. As if they'd gained even more interest in the events trespiring. They took notice of the two men approaching the female elves. And without the movement of the smile, a raspy although high and playful, voice came from the figure.

"Now they don't look very friendly."

Having positioned himself to be above the females. They'd drop from the canopy. Sliding down the forest vertically and avoiding any foliage that would attempt to pass them on the way down. They landed in between both parties in a silent but swift crouch with his cloak completely covering their body. Directly infornt of the elves and block the approaching males path to them, with their back to the elves. The cloak figure stood slowly and revealed the smile on their face to the men. They didn't have any notable feature on their blackened face, and even though the brief kisses of the sun shined upon the figure the black silhouette that was his form stayed strong as if it wasn't a shadow casted by the cloak but his actual appearance. With no eyes the permanent white sharp tooth smile was prominent extending ear to ear. Their cloak was ragged and of an unconventional fabric possibly of a silk when looked upon closer.

The figure gave a brief turn to the females and bowed their head to them in courtesy, a signal of sorts that they were an ally to two the female elves, and returned to face both men.

With the drape of their rags there was no way to tell who, or what this person was. Nor what they had on them. Only their face had shown, and with such a light bearing appearance they didn't seem to be equipped with much. The cold temperatures didn't seem to bother them.

"Well hello there gentlemen. What a pleasant noon we find ourselves do we not."

The figure said bowing to the man placing their left arm behind their back as they arched forward. Rising back up but keeping their left arm behind them.

"I apologize for the brief interruption of your ceremony. But I believe I find myself in need to take you're guest of honor for myself. So I shall, I hope it is not a bother or an inconvenience to you both."

The figure giggled between words often and didn't seem to be all right in the head. If any one were capable of aura reading, they would see absolutely nothing attuned to an aura or energy from him rather his presence alone, it was confusing mysterious even and wafted from his in a vaporal mist though unseen to the naked eye.