Private Tales No Longer Alone

[Nasir]

Annuakat

Nasir walked slowly through the markets of the Golden City. He was dressed in robes traditionally worn by his desert kin, gifted to him at the start of his journey into the sands.

The Abtati tribe that he had met near The Savannah had welcomed him as their cousin. They were kind, and had whispered to him of a new God in the east, one that promised great things. Nasir had listened to them keenly, and the promise of a new power had driven him through the sands. His journey home was not near it's end, and he hoped that here in the sands he could find a new path.

It had been long since he'd seen the gates of the Undercity, and the longing had set into his very bones.

If he had to bring low another god to return home, then that was what he would do.

Moving through the streets Nasir came to a stop in the center of a large market square. Soldiers patrolled here, men of the Great Gerra who lead this city and the Empire it controlled. He watched them for a moment, then stepped carefully towards one of the stalls containing a load of fruit. Slowly he pulled down the scarf around his face and the hood from his head.

Black skin fell into view and the man behind the stall dawned a look of confusion for a moment, then simply asked asked him what he would like.

Nasir quietly spoke, answering the man and taking a piece of fruit before taking some coins from his pocket. He slowly reached out to offer them, then suddenly stopped as he overheard a man nearby speaking as he walked.

"Another Dark Elf? Wouldn't have guessed there were two in the entire Empire much less Annuakat."​

The coin in Nasir's hand fell to the ground, and in an instant the Dark Elf stood in front of the man that had spoken. No blade rested in his hands, but he stared down at the human with a scowl on his face. "You have seen another of my people?"

"I-I-y-yes. A the ceremony. A Guest of the God-King."
​

Nasir's head cocked slightly. Had this human mistaken one of the Abtati for his own kind? No, even the ignorant could not mistake the two. Lips thinned, and he slowly leaned forward.

"Tell me all you know." The man quivered and Nasir grabbed his shoulder.

 

[Fieravene]

No one beyond the immediate entourage of the God-King himself seemed to know much more than rumor about the dark elf. She'd appeared at the ceremony, suddenly and without invite, and somehow seemed to have the King's favor on her side. She lived now within the noble's district directly outside of the palace proper and could be seen, from time to time, browsing the markets. A marked curiosity for most here, as Nasir knew already, dark elves were in short supply in the heart of the sands.

Every now and then she would spend an evening at the Tower of the Silver Scarab, a repository of tomes and knowledge, manuscripts and books. An archives, for lack of a better term, though it seemed to serve a much broader purpose than that. Some believed it to be the home of the God-King's spies and there may have been some truth to that.

 

[Nasir]

The Noble District had been enough word for him.

He'd left the quivering wretch of an ape back in the market square, stalking straight towards the Palace. He did not bother replacing the scarf or hood, instead letting whispers slowly spread through the street of another Dark Elf Wandering the street.

As he walked a list of names ran through his mind. The once General knew of few of his people who would ever make their lives upon the surface.

Most he had trusted were killed, and those he did not were too complacent in the Undercity. He felt disgust well up inside of him that one of his old enemies might have fled after his exile, even more so that they were a guest here.

As he approached the Noble District the sight of guards became more frequent, and their eyes lingered on his sight.

An arched gateway stood in separation of the market and the Noble District, four Guards standing before it and watching those that passed carefully. He approached them, the grips on their weapons slowly tightening as he moved.

"Sir, you cannot pa-"​

"There is a woman in this city. Flesh like mine, eyes like mine. I need to speak with her." His words were quick, curt, the guard grimacing.

"I can't allow you to pass, Foreigners aren't allowed without escort."

"Her eyes are red."​

Three guards turned and stared at the fourth, all of them bearing disapproving looks. Nasir followed their gaze, the revelation setting his teeth on edge.

"What? They're creepy."
​

Nasir stared at the fool, then slowly returned his gaze back to the man who had first spoken. "Find her. Tell her I am here, or escort me to her."

The guard hesitated for a moment, glancing at his fellows, and then slowly nodded. None of them knew what the protocol was. The Drow already among them was an honored guest of the God King, and Nasir was only the second of their kind any of them had seen.

Who was to say this man also did not stand in Gerra's favor. With a quick whisper one of the four guards went running into the Noble District in search for Fieravene.

 

[Fieravene]

He would, after some time, return with a look of confusion and a shake of his head, "The Lady Elf's not in," he replied.

"Bee in your bonnet, Captain?" the sound of a woman's voice from behind the group accompanied by the sharp clip-clop of a large, black, gaunt looking horse. Fieravene rode up with a casual stride, bringing her mount to a stand as she looked about what appeared to be a very buzzed-up group of guards.

"Pardon, M'Lady," the guard nodded to her, "this man here says he's looking for you."

Fiera's red gaze shifted across the faces to the only one as dark as her own, crimson eyes mirrored back at her. Her brows immediately raised, "I see." And what she saw was reason for mild alarm. It had been ... veritable decades, perhaps a century or two since she'd seen her own kind. There were other dark elves of this world, it was true, but her people were wholly unique in a way that those who dwelled above ground would not recognize.

"My my. Well," she began, "you've found me. What is it you want?"

 

[Nasir]

His lips thinned as he saw the girl.

She was young, younger than himself certainly. His head cocked slightly and he narrowed his eyes as he searched her features. There was something familiar to her, that much he could tell, but he just could not place it. "I do not recognize you."

It had been three hundred years since he'd been to the Undercity, and this girl had very likely been born after that time. Yet whose progeny was she?

"You have some of Sabal in you." Though that could mean anything. "But you were not yet born before my exile."

Or she had been very young. "Why are you here?"

He countered her question with his own.

 

[Fieravene]

"No? Pity," Fiera sighed, though it was unclear if she meant it or not. This was one of those few encounters she could do without, especially when they recognized her by her kin. Uncle Sabal, that old trollop. The elf spoke of exile and that received a curious glance, a look that followed with some semblance of amusement at his question.

She cast her gaze about, "I have a home here, isn't that right Captain?"

"A lovely home and gracious gift of the God-King, M'Lady."

"It's a bit empty at the present," she sniffed, shifting in her saddle.

"I can suggest many fine craftsmen and artisans to fill its many rooms within the market, if you wish, M'Lady," replied the Captain.

"Thank you, everyone here is so ... helpful," Fiera's gaze landed back on Nasir, "why are you here?"

 

[Nasir]

Briefly he considered killing the humans. They were gnats on the best of days, but now they were interfering with this conversation.

Besides, killing them might have been a kindness. Better to be free in death than live under the yolk of a false god. It was a belief that many of his followers had held true, and these men would be welcome to it. Even if they did not know it.

"I seek a path home." He told her plainly. "Our home."

Nasir briefly glanced towards the guards, his disdain for them was clear.

He frowned for a brief moment, then he felt something shake within him. It was the smallest wave, a ripple over an ocean, but it was there.

 

[Fieravene]

"Seek if you must," clearly the connotation of his words was not lost on her, "but it's not my home and I won't help you," the elf narrowed her eyes at him, leaning forward in her saddle and fixed the man with a heated smile, "it's better that way ...for everyone."

She sat up straight again, taking up her reins that had been hanging loosely for the duration of the discussion, "Are we finished here? I have somewhere to be."

 

[Nasir]

The ripple ran further, and it struck him.

A realization.

Perhaps it should have been there sooner, perhaps he should have realized. Had they truly been so foolish? Had they truly lost what they'd swear they never would?

Yes. They had to have.

A small smile touched Nasir's lips, and then it grew into a grin. Without a thought of decorum Nasir broke into a laugh. It started as a chuckle, and then rolled into a boisterous guffaw. His throat passing a sound the world had not heard for centuries.

Eventually his laugh died down, his features pressed back to the stern glare they were more accustomed to. His words switched away from the common tongue and into their native language.[ color=#e31212]"They named me Nasir."[/color]

His words were like a song, their language older than the race of man.

"And I think..." The Drow stared up at her. "We are far from finished, Child."

 

[Fieravene]

Fiera stared down at him utterly bemused, passing a glance over to the Captain and his Guards with a shrug. Clearly this man was a bit loony. Nasir ... now there was a name she'd not heard in a few hundred years.

"Lovely, but no, we're quite finished," her words were spoken pointedly in common as she nudged her horse forward towards the guards and the gate, "good luck on your journey."

 

[Nasir]

Nasir reached out and caught the bridle of the horse with one hand. His grip was tight enough to bring the beast to a stop.

Slowly his eyes turned up towards Fieravene. "Did it hurt much?"

He asked her in common.

"When they flayed you?" Nasir remembered the barbarity of the ritual well, the pain that went along with it. "When they burned your flesh and entrusted you to the hands of beings who care so little for what we are?"

As he spoke something stirred within him, and anger that was not his own.

 

[Fieravene]

Her red gaze slowly turned down to him, the horse in his grasp flinching not. Fiera held up a hand to the Captain and his Guards who had immediately moved to intercept this apparently crazy elf, "It's alright Captain. I'll deal with him."

"It's been a few hundred years," she replied calmly, "it all sort of rolls into a twisted, burning coil of memory..." the elf made a contemplative face, "I think it rather sort of tickled."

 

[Nasir]

"If I'd had my way, I would have strangled you in your crib." In a way, she represented almost everything that he had tried to stop.

Nasir's rebellion had been against more than the nobility, it had been against the gods themselves. He had wanted to break the yolk his people carried, the obligation to a power that neither understood, nor truly cared.

Yet she was here.

What did that mean?

The ritual had been carried out, that much was clear from her words and the anger he felt inside of himself. Her absence must have caused utter panic.

"How long." He began. "How long after did you leave?"

 

[Fieravene]

"Well aren't you just a little ray of sunshine," Fiera smirked at him, "no wonder they kicked you out, among other things."

"M'Lady?" the Captain had his sword drawn, Fiera shook her head at the man.

"We're nearly finished, just a moment Captain," and back to Nasir. He clearly thought he was on to something here, and maybe he was, but whatever that happened to be she wanted no part of it. "I've already told you, I'm not helping you. Your problems are your own. Unhand my horse, if you please."

 

[Nasir]

"I don't need your help getting back." In a strange way this woman had done more damage to the system of the Undercity than he had.

His own plot would have seen her fate changed completely, but instead she had made her own decision after the fact. Nasir wished he could have seen her fathers face when she walked away. He wished he could have watched the priests as they slowly came unfurled.

It must have been quite a sight. "How long ago did you leave?"

He asked again.

"You may care little for what you left behind." Nasir began. "But It will not hurt you to answer a few questions."

 

[Fieravene]

"No, indeed it would not hurt me," Fiera responded in kind, "but it would help you and I've already made my stance clear enough on that."

"Now," the elf shifted in her saddle and squared the man with a level gaze, "last time I ask nicely - release my horse. Please."

 

[Nasir]

For a few moments Nasir found himself considering just what to do.

Three hundred years ago the decision would have been easy. This woman refused to bend, and thus she would be broken. Now however it was different. He had not seen one of his own kind in over a hundred years.

Could he still kill one?

His own magics were stronger, the piece that he had stolen stronger, but he hadn't fought one of his own people in far longer than he would have liked. The challenge was there, and Nasir looked up at the woman defiantly. "No."

 

[Fieravene]

The elf muttered a single word in their native tongue.

The horse seemed to blink awake, heated red spilling into souless black eyes as a deep, guttural snarl sounded from its now gaping mouth. The creature's long muzzle split open like a gaping wound, exposing rows upon rows of serrated fangs that no normal horse had any physical right to have.

It then, without any further warning, split it's head open entirely into a massive, fleshy, fang-filled mandible and snapped its head around in an attempt to clamp down on Nasir's arm.

Fiera made a hasty, but graceful, exit of the saddle from the far side and stepped back to watch her usually gaunt looking steed change over to a beastly, heathenous creature of Oblivion. Fur shifted to blackened hide covered with poisonous spines, the hair of the tail melded into a long coiling limb, the hooves split and gave way to claws.

People screamed in alarm and began to flee in terror. She didn't intend to stick around and watch, and so took this moment to casually stride her way through the Guards and the gate.

 

[Nasir]

Contempt ran through Nasir, not for the beast, but for the screaming rats that scurried away as soon as something out of the ordinary broke into their miserable little lives.

The grating sound of screeching humans echoed in his ears as fingers slipped away from the now ruined reigns. He was not quite sure what the woman had done, whether the creature had been masked in an illusion or she'd simply summoned it from nothing.

It didn't matter.

As the monsters jaw snapped open in an attempt to bite down on his jaw a pulse ran through him. One moment magic filled his body, odd purple mist rising from his skin, and then suddenly it exploded outward from his hand.

With enough concussive force to burst an elephant, raw and unrefined magic exploded from his hand just as the creature attempted to bite down.

 

[Fieravene]

The explosion verily blew apart half of the creature's face and sent a shower of viscera across the square and everything within reach. Hissing sounded over the squalling of the injured beast, blood oozing openly and freely from the gaping skull. Everywhere and everything the blood touched began to sizzle and burn. Dirt. Metal. Cloth. Flesh. Stone. It burned quickly and cause great agony.

And it wasn't yet dead. The other half of its face blinked at Nasir, clamping down on his arm and furling forward with a gurgling snarl, claws making to dig in, but it was clear the creature hadn't much life left to it.

Fiera strode through the gates, past the throngs of mounting Imperial Guards, "There's a crazed elf outside that attacked me and turned my horse into a demon!" she exclaimed, "Get the people away, stop him!"

Oh dear, oh my. Fiera casually watched the Captain call in for reinforcements before moving to join the throngs of running citizens.

 

[Nasir]

Naisr half turned as the shouting of the Guard rang out behind him.

Gnashing long teeth dug into his flesh, pain spiking briefly before his gaze shifted to the still living beast. His free hand came up, some of his flesh bubbling from the acidic blood that had splattered across his palm. He gripped the creature, and that same odd purple flame drew forth from it's flesh.

There was an inhuman screech, the monsterly mount bucked and heaved, then suddenly fell to the floor as Nasir's smoking flesh quieted itself.

"HALT BY ORDER OF THE GODKING!"
​

A scowl ran across Nasir's face, splotches of his skin missing and the muscle beneath showing from the acid that had dug into him. Lips curled in disgust as he watched the arrayed humans slowly stalk forward. Most of them held spears, some swords.

Killing them all would cause more chaos, and he even he could not take on an entire city.

Briefly he looked back in the direction Fieravane had fled, his scowl deepening as he turned back just in time to see one of the spears rush towards him. The large halbard swung, and as soon as it touched Nasir he disappeared in a wash of purple fire ebbing into the earth itself.