Private Tales Rough Starts (Flashback)

[Vyx'aria]

Vyx’aria was furious. She was happy to be going out of Zar’Ahal on a mission, but she was furious that there were going to be men joining her. She had recently graduated from the military academy, and she had been top of her class. As a result, she was given the honor of leading a patrol out of Zar’Ahal and towards the eastern regions of the underground. There was a rumored dwelling of Eastern Dark Elves that had set up entirely too close to the Zar’Ahal’s borders.

She was slightly behind the frontlines, the entire group silently moving through the tunnels. They could see clearly in the pitch darkness, and they rustled through quietly, always light on their feet. The men were sent up front - they were disposable and would be the first to meet danger. The women were far more valuable and would be behind the wall of men.

Vyx’aria wasn’t even sure if the men knew how to follow silent commands, but they had managed well so far. They had to pause every now and then to listen quietly. There was no sound save for the occasional quiet dripping of water. The air was always damp and cool on the skin, and there was a familiar musk that always lingered down in these tunnels.

After a moment of walking, Vyx’aria could see engravings on the sides of the tunnels. It was clear that there was other life here, and they had begun to leave marks. They were getting closer, and her ears twitched slightly as she tried to listen for any noises. Those that dwelled underground were inherently quieter as there was always silence.

“Approach slowly,” Vyx’aria muttered quietly, “Do not give away our position until we are prepared to attack,” She was addressing the flock of men at the front. They were a mix of warriors and mages. She would rely mostly on the mages to open up before sending the rest of the warriors in.

Cynical Phoenix

 

[Alak Rasivrein]

Alak had come out of the university no worse for wear. In fact, the escape from his family had been a welcome relief. Most of his time was spent with other male dark elves, and he hadn't had to tolerate the perpetual beatings that his constantly insubordinate attitude brought him. He was not looking forward to returning home, and he doubted the patrols would be any better.

As a noble with training as both a mage and a soldier, Alak became the de facto leader of the men in the group, and he was sure that he would be butting heads with their female leader - Vyx'aria - any time. For now, he said nothing, letting his fingers pluck lightly at the hilt of his sword stowed away in its scabbard.

He eased his way to the rear of the formation where he promptly received orders from their commander, giving a nod and signaling back in silent hand gestures that he understood before slipping back to the front and passing on the orders. There were two other mages working alongside him, and another dozen male soldiers in addition to the females at the rear. He knew their commander considered them all dispensable, but it reflected poorly on Alak - and to an extent on her - if all of his people died. He simply couldn't be having that.

Moving toward the cavern, he signaled for the two other mages to make their way to an upper tier of the cave and get positions to rain down lightning and fire on their enemies, forcing them into the pincer of the soldiers set up at the entrance of the cave. Five were placed on either side of the entrance with two - armed with poisoned hand bows - were protecting the mages. For Alak's part, he would take the other ledge as his position to rain down death.

With his troops in position, Alak made his way back and signaled that they were in position and ready to strike on her orders. None would attack until Alak attacked first, and he would not strike until she gave the order. Sreeya

 

[Vyx'aria]

Vyx’aria observed quietly as he got people into position. She would never admit this out loud, but she was impressed by his tactics so far. Normally men were known to simply rush into battle at the expense of soldiers. It was curious that he sought to preserve them, though she didn’t see the point. Weren’t men intended to serve as meat shields? Nevertheless, she would quietly observe him for now, assessing him silently.

After everyone was in position, she prepared to give the signal. Something was slightly off, though she couldn’t place what it was. It was entirely too quiet, even for being in the underground. She hesitated for just a moment, her eyes narrowed into slits. Before she could do anything, arrows began to whizz out from the direction they had been facing. They were a combination of both physical and magic arrows, bright purple jets shooting out to devastate the soldiers.

“Mages!” She called out, commanding them to throw up barriers and wards to focus on defense. She would rely on Alak to cover that while she led the offense. Vyx’aria didn’t hesitate, unfazed by the initial volley as she charged forth with the soldiers with her. She didn’t care then if she rushed in with men or women, but they needed to overwhelm the east elves on the other side.

Vyx'aria could see a few silhouettes, but they rapidly ducked behind stalagmites, "Blast away their cover!" She called out in the dark elf tongue - a dialect the eastern elves wouldn't understand.

Cynical Phoenix

 

[Alak Rasivrein]

Alak was making his way to the upper terrace where he would call down his death when the arrows began to fly. Even with their faint light, the glowing, magical arrows seemed to somehow burn into the eyes in the darkness. One of the other mages shouted above the sounds of the fight, and Alak could barely make out the sound of the spell of protection that now stopped short numerous arrows.

Alak was still searching for his opportunity to strike, looking to evade the possibility of being immediately cut down himself. He had the element of surprise for now, but it would be lost once he struck. That was when he heard her shout to take out the cover, and he knew he had his opportunity.

"Lhun naur -o i skui, dant- bo mui adversarui. Lhun naur -o i skui, dant- bo mui adversarui. Lhun naur -o i skui, dant- bo mui adversarui," he repeated the incantation three times. As he said the words his two hands hovered with space between them. Lightning poured between his two palms and flowed, forcing him to squint against the light before thrusting both his hands outward. A bolt of blue lightning leapt from his hands, ripping sound across the cavern that shook the gut and producing a blinding flash that tore into the large stalagmite, sending shrapnel flying and even managing to injure a few of the eastern elves taking cover.

The instant he did it, he could feel it reverberate through his body, tiring him. He could feel his muscles growing heavier, but he pushed himself up.

I need to kill, he thought to himself. It was an odd thought, but he knew he would need to drain someone to replenish his reserves. While he wasn't empty yet, he was wary of pushing himself too far.

With the eastern elves scrambling back, Vyx'aria had an opportunity to cut down those who ran and move on their forward archers who were now exposed in the open. And Alak hoped she did, because while the bulk of the force had barriers around them, Alak suddenly found himself taking a withering number of arrows directed at his ledge.

He dropped to his belly and rolled to the side, making for a small stalagmite that barely covered his body from the onslaught.

 

[Vyx'aria]

Vyx’aria was impressed. Whatever Alak did, it burst out magnificently and tore through the cover the elves had been using. While they had magic at their disposal, it wasn’t as destructive as what Alak had in his reserves. Vyx’aria, of course, didn’t entirely understand how magic worked. She expected Alak to continue slamming them with the same attack repeatedly till they were obliterated.

Nevertheless, she burst forth with her warriors, charging into the dwellings of the eastern elves. They had been banking almost entirely on their covers, and they were exposed into the open now. Men, women and children all scurried off in different directions. They had been taken by surprise, and they had counted on their volley of arrows to push back any attackers.

Her blade swiftly worked to cut through those in her path, blood splattering as limbs were torn apart. This was what she relished, and it brought her to life. Her eyes glowed red, gleaming from bloodlust as she was lost in the fray. She moved with ferocity, always light on her feet and whirling around with twin blades.

Meanwhile, the defenders prioritized Alak as the bigger threat. He had a constant flood of archers trying to aim and fire volleys at him to keep him suppressed. Vyx’aria began to cut through the soldiers that were guarding the archers behind them, rapidly working to mow them down to destroy the archers that were otherwise vulnerable.

Cynical Phoenix

 

[Alak Rasivrein]

Alak pushed himself back from the edge of his overlook to avoid the onslaught of arrows that were coming his way. His cloak caught on a large stone - or rather a small stalagmite - jutting out of the floor of the cave. He pushed back viciously, trying to free himself before managing to tear a small hole in the cloth and slip into a small overlook that gave him a view of the fight from cover.

Even from here he could see the leader of their patrol cutting into the enemies. She was incredibly efficient. Alak fancied himself a good swordsman - he was a good swordsman - but even he had to say that she was amazing. She cut through the eastern dark elves viciously, and Alak had to shake himself from the thought in order to get back in the fight.

The problem was he knew he only had so much energy left unless he found a new target, which wasn't likely if he couldn't get these archers off of him. That meant whatever he did, he needed to play smart rather than just use raw power.

And then she was upon them. Her dual blades carved through the archers, and Alak had his opportunity. He drew on the flows of magical energy around him. He could feel it send a tingle through his arms as if vibrations traveled up his entire arm. He muttered quietly an incantation and then a bolt of lightning shot into the ceiling.

It crackled and boomed once again, this time dropping stalactites on the heads of the retreating elves and those in reserve, causing them to scatter.

Vyx'aria would see a large opening in the ranks of the dark elves, letting her carve into enemies on either side of her and split them down the middle to isolate and eliminate the drow opponents.