Private Tales The Past and The Present.

[Gwendolyn Vollmund]

Vel Anir. It was mid day, and the sun beat down on the denizens of the city.

The jewel of a city rules by ruthless politics and enforced by even more ruthless dread lords.

Gwendolyn hated it.

The politics of the place never bothered her. Quite to the contrary. She actually enjoyed it very much. These people spoke her language.

They operated in a fashion she had mastered long ago. She was highly regarded here. And yet still…

Her hatred lingered..Because while easy to navigate and stimulating to operate in..She had no friends here. Even distant ally’s was a strong way to put her relationships here. There were no friends. Only mutually beneficial relationships and enemies.

Speaking of..

As she walked in the street she suddenly took a quick turn down an alley and came into the opposite street on the other side at a rather brisk walk.

Only for the 4 people dressed in common clothes she had been watching to do the same at the same brisk pace.

They were keeping her in their sight line, and had been for a bit…

She took another turn at the next random ally. Watching them quickly adjust to do the same.

Only rather than keeping her brisk pace Gwen fell into a deep sprint as soon as she made the corner. Sprinting down the alley at break neck speed making a quick turn and falling into a casual walking pace once more.

Taking another alley she repeated the action around the same building. Making a quick loop she came into the alley right when the 4 came to its middle. Glancing about to see how the woman had seemingly vanished.

“Looking for someone?” She asked with a smirk. They all turned to look at her. “Gwendolyn Vollmund.” One answered. Gwen blinked. “Well yes, I assumed you would be looking for me. I was..Hm.” Gwen placed her hand to her chin in thought as the four began drawing hidden blades and began to slowly surround her.

“I guess that lines a bit played out..Tell you what..” She said deftly drawing her own blade stealthily. “Follow me for another two hours. And we can circle back here. Maybe

“is this a private ambush party, or can anybody join?….No..That’s almost as bad as what I first said..” She mused as the first man dove at her. She stepped to the side and allowed the man to firmly plant himself on her extended blade.

Pushing past him and allowing her own momentum to pull the blade free and his momentum to carry him past her.

A slice from his stomach until the blade was halted by the bone of the bottom of his rib cage.

He fell in a gurgling heap with a wet plop with his organs acting like a squishy pillow.

Gross.. Gwen thought as a blade whistled past her cheek. She struck the second man’s outstretched arm and snapped it. Forcing him to drop the blade he carried and allowing it to fall into her outstretched hand underneath.

A flick of her own blade silenced the man screams.

A flick of the second blade sent it thudding into the third man’s skull. The bone holding no resistance from the force of the throw. The last figure was smaller than the rest.

A woman. She had watched her comrades dismembered so quickly, so casually that she was stunned it seemed. Her mouth simply opened and closed as Gwen approached.

“Fish gape darling. Not highly trained hit squad members.” She said placing a hand under her chin and closing her mouth before grabbing her by the throat and slamming her into the opposite wall. It wasn’t hard enough to kill. But it did ever so lightly crack the stone.

“Now. Who sent you this time.” She said.

“G..go to hell..” The woman spat back. She braced for the impact of a strike for her words…But was greeted by laughter.

“First your gaping like a fish. Now you want to be gutted like one. It’s..Its rather funny.” She said before all casual humor left her face. Only chilling hatred. And deadly serious eyes bore into the woman at her core.

“But hilarity aside. You can tell me or I can stuff your head into your friends chest cavity until you want to. That is the choice before you today. Not where I should go.” She stated as plainly as explaining a punishment to a child.

The woman paled and looked sick at just the thought.

“Now. Once more. Who sent. You.” She whispered. Pulling close to the woman’s face as her eyes began to fill with darkness and her voice took on a tone that would haunt her victims for years.

“She sent us.” The woman said after a solid moment of bladder evacuation and a prayer to her gods.

“You really want to smell that guys guts don’t you.” Gwen said beginning to pull her towards her fallen comrade.

“That’s all I know. They said you would know her. And that we didn’t need to..” The woman pleaded as Gwen halted. Dropping her prey. “Oh..Her..” she said after a moment as the woman pulled herself up.

“I won’t forget this Gwendolyn Vollmund. You’ve killed 4 of my friends today. And the boss does not forget targets that escape.” She hissed before running off. Gwen waved her away as she ran.

“Right right add them to the list..” She muttered.

“After you change your pants..Fucking amateurs..” She muttered before she paused..4 friends..but she had only killed..

The arrow thudded into her neck before she could realize it. The attacker running from the roof tops. “Damnit..” Gwen cursed clutching her neck before firing a whip of shadow at the man’s legs.

Grabbing a hold of one she jerked him down to the ground floor from his perch and smashed him into the ground. He split open like a bag of fruit. It was like a tapestry of gore against the wall as wet bits of him slid down the stone slowly.

Gwen sank to her knees clutching her neck. A string of curses flowing from her as her blood began to flow down her neck.

That familiar feeling of shock taking over her mind for a moment and making her vision swim. “Shit..” She muttered. Reaching and breaking off the shaft of the arrow as close to her skin as she could without leaving it completely under her skin.

She had to move quickly or she could bleed out right here..

Adjusting her cloak to hide the injury as best she could she pulled herself up and dragged herself from the alley leaning on the wall for support.

Wobbling on her own feet as she emerged into the street. She glanced about.

Her eyes falling on a small church. It was a church of light. A smaller version of the much larger one deeper in the heart of the city. This was a place for the common people to revive healing from the priestesses in training for a reduced price or no charge.

The church was no fan of hers but she would die on her feet before she could get somewhere she could trust that could heal her..

She would just have to chance it. Wobbling in through the doors she would fall forwards to the floor. Into a rather vacant sanctuary. People rarely came to the church this time of day.

There was work to be done after all. The church was most busy early in the morning or late at night when those not going to bars or working had time to visit.

A young girl seemed to be manning the church alone for the time being. A nun must have left her in the lull hours to tend to the churches business.

“Help..Me..” Blood was slowly filling her throat as she choked on her words.

“Please..” She said finally collapsing. On to the desk and sliding to the floor.

 

[Eilerias]

She was only a child. In the wrong place, at the wrong time.

She was born somewhere between the Falwood and Vel Anir, abandoned shortly after in an orphanage within the latter of the two cities. A city that would not welcome her kind, despite sharing half of her blood with its natives.

Like the others who were not one hundred percent human, she was told to “know her place” early on in life. It was a lesson she was taught over and over by the other children as well as the Director, a ‘mother’ of sorts, of the orphanage. The mother, an avid supporter of the Dreadlords, despised the elven race.

She hated Sylvanna- this was no secret. She deprived Sylvanna of the schooling other children received under the premise of education only being for human children. If she wished to learn, she could do so by ‘going back to her kind’ as mother would say.

She was isolated from the other children. She was punished for trying to fit in. Beatings, starvation, anything the mother could do to make her suffer. That was when the voices started. The shadowy figures stirring in the night began to speak to her and to the amusement of those she lived with, she spoke back.

Around this same time, she discovered a natural ability for healing after assisting one of the other children who was isolated because of their race after a particularly bad beating by the other human children. Mother disapproved of her assisting the undesirable children and soon after the normal children joined in, avoiding her completely or treating her even more poorly.

She was twelve when she learned of the Way of the Light and chose to devote herself to the Holy Lord of Light, Sol’Nityr due to the only source of encouragement she had ever received. Father Arlumin, a high priest, told her he saw potential for her to be a healer within the smaller church of light.

Of course, this wasn’t entirely the truth. Her move to the church was more a result of the mother paying the church to take her in. Any opportunity to get rid of the filthy elven mutt would be attempted.

It wasn’t all bad. Sylvanna really did have a natural ability to heal and through the way of the light she managed to develop it, surpassing any other member of the church until she was officially their resident healer.

The light couldn’t stop the shadows from reaching out… but Father Arlumin told her they were evil. Their existence must be ignored and the urge to work with them was to be suppressed.

She tried. She prayed. She lit every inch of her room up to hide the shadows. But they couldn’t be silenced. So she spoke to them in secret. For years, she would awake in the middle of the night to the sounds of their whispers.

Father Arlumin caught her talking to them. The gentle priest found her in violation of his orders and a beating followed. The only beating to have ever occurred within the walls of the Church of Light. It was effective. She now fully believed the darkness was there to corrupt her with its evilness. She would never disappoint Father again.

And so now, she spent her time alone in the church at the beck and call of those who required her services. Even during the hours where the church was least active, she spent her time walking its quiet halls-

Help me…please…

Her ear twitched as the door opened and a tall woman with white hair collapsed just within.

“I-” She rushed over, eyes widened as she watched the blood leaving her mouth.

Sure, she healed broken bones and illnesses she didn’t even know of, but she’d never seen such an awful state. She wasn’t even confident her attempts would resuscitate the woman if she tried.

“I’m just going to help you…” She grunted, moving the woman into a position that would stop her from drowning in her own blood. “Get more comfortable.”

Her hands glowed softly at first, growing to a bright shimmery gold as she held the woman’s neck. There was too much blood to even tell if what she was doing made any impact on her injuries. If she was dead, she was dead. There was no bringing people back.

“Please…don’t…die….” The light grew stronger with each word until with a scream it would blind her, blowing out all of the candles in the sanctuary, before settling to nothingness.

Gwendolyn Vollmund

 

[Gwendolyn Vollmund]

She was in and out.

The world sliding between light a nothingness.

She felt hands try to roll her on her back and she helped with the motion.

Those same hands moving to her neck. The pain and the sensitivity of her neck combined to force a slight flinch and a whimper escaped her lips.

Her hand flying to pull the hands off on instinct, but quickly weakened to simply sliding off as she seemed to remind herself she was being healed.

“Please…don’t…die….”

“I’m trying my best darling..N..No promises..” Gwen struggled out as a a light finally blinded her and blew out every candle thrusting them into darkness. Her eyes slowly opened.

Blinking away the stars Gwen would notice the girls hands still on her neck.

“Um..Thank you..young one..” She said sort of awkwardly. To be fair it wasn’t Gwen’s fault.

Usually it was she who was receiving the thanks..

Well..

Most of the time..

…..at a steady rate….

…..

Always.

She never had to thank people genuinely. At least not in this century at the very least.

“I never usually get this injured..I’m sorry for just barging in and bleeding everywhere..” She would say glancing about at the blood covering the ground and her clothes. Pushing some tangled hair from her face she would look at her bloody hands.

“You can let me go now..” She would say good naturedly. “”I think death will have to come back some other time..”

The blood on the girls clothes…Her silvery eyes seemed to glow in the darkness as she stared into the young priestesses own. Blood covered her. She was almost the priestesses age.

How someone that young and unarmed had over powered a fully grown adult intent on stealing her bag and hitting her in the street..

or how he had ended up in three pieces..

Had been perplexing to the guard…

But they had brought her home nevertheless.

Her mother wept for her. Held her in her arms. Her father was distraught that his “little cherry blossom!” had been in such danger! Whatever wou…

The door shut as the guard took their leave.

Her mothers weeping shifting to her usual plain state.

Drying away tears that had meant nothing. But while her emotions were what some would say “cold.” Gwen saw the approval in her eyes. Her father on the other hand was beaming.

“That’s my little dire wolf.” He would say ruffling his daughters white hair. A arc of lighting dancing between his fingers as he pulled away.

“Three pieces Nishka.” He said to her mother.

“He said they found the man in three pieces!” He picked up Gwen and twirled her around. Cleo entered carrying some papers looking the same as she always had. Never aging a day.

“Cleo! Did you hear…” he began.

“Yes sir. Three pieces. Truly remarkable control of magic and shadows for her age.” She would say with a raised eye brow as Gwen’s father sighed. Handing her off to Cleo but not before kissing her on the forehead.

“You’ll be useful yet little one.” Gwen’s somewhat slight frown slowly curling into a smile. She blinked. Just the past..Nothing to worry about..

“S..Sorry..again..There’s not many healers that will aid my…” She noticed the girls slightly pointed ears..Her eyes narrowed slightly.

“Our..” She corrected.

“..Kind here..As I’m sure you know..” Life for anyone other than a human could be hard in Vel Anir..Maybe..Gwen had just found her new healer.

She had skill.

Gwen had felt it. And more raw potential than most..

She would be a highly educated prodigy if she had been born anywhere but this racist dump of a city..Gwen thought for a moment longer before handing the girl a small drawstring bag.

“Here..” She would say slowly.

“Take this and hold it for me. The people after me need this..They won’t set foot here..But they will be hounding me until they get it back. I’ll be back tomorrow night. Hold on to that for me too then and I’ll make it worth your while. I promise..” She would say pressing the bag into the priestesses palm.

“And also maybe don’t mention to anyone that I was here. In fact I can help.” With that she would stand gracefully reaching out a hand to help up the priestess.

The shadows around her soaking up the blood from her clothes and the ground. She looked good as new. If not slightly better.

A glowing grey light in the darkness around them. The shadows surged and left in an instant leaving the place and Gwen looking as if it had never arrived. Her hand remained. Her eyes locked with the young woman’s.

“What do you say young one.” She would ask. Something about the moment felt tense.

A weight felt like it was hanging over them both. Waiting.. She held the girls gaze. It was like her orphanage mothers.

But different..

While her “mother” had always gazed at her harshly the woman’s eyes held something in them few humans could see and not dread. However savage her “mother” had been…

This woman was worse..Far worse..but also unlike her “mother.”

There was something else in her gaze. Understanding. Kindness. Genuine love. All wrapped up and guard by the iron gates of cool, calculated hatred behind her eyes.

 

[Eilerias]

"You know you don't have to thank me, ma'am." Sylvanna cradled the woman until she was instructed to let her go. "I'll admit I've yet to see someone in such a state...but it is my job to cleanse all wounds with the holy light."

She grinned as she began to speak, the young girl practically beaming with the same radiance her healing hands gave off as she worked. "You were in pretty rough shape, lady, but as long as you aren't some shadowy demon my powers should keep the twins at bay. That is, if you believe in 'em. I know the humans have their own fears, but I used to hear the elven kid talk about them back when I lived in the orphanage."

"And if you were some shadow demon, Sol'Nityr would snuff out the essence of your life faster than any common mugger on the street." She hadn't noticed the older woman seemed to be engrossed in her own thoughts as she rambled on about whatever came to mind.

“Here..” She would say slowly.

“Take this and hold it for me. The people after me need this..They won’t set foot here..But they will be hounding me until they get it back. I’ll be back tomorrow night. Hold on to that for me too then and I’ll make it worth your while. I promise..” She would say pressing the bag into the priestesses palm.

"And if you're interested in learning mo- huh?" She tilted her head to one side as the woman pushed the bag into her hands. "But what is it? I won't tell a soul you were here, but I could get in trouble if Father searches my room and finds something I'm not supposed to have. I mean one time I snuck an extra piece of bread in my room at night because I was hungry...and it was only a small piece, but he was so angry with me..."

She rambled for a bit more before stopping herself, noticing the heaviness of her gaze. "I...I guess I can keep it. But only for a little while! You must come back and get it as soon as you can. Please."