Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ To Wars End ❯ Some Mild Entertainment ( Chapter 3 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

A/N: The translations for the elvish are at the bottom of the page, so you’re not completely lost. I’d have indicated them with an asterisk, but they weren’t showing up each time I saved the document, so we’re just going to have to live without that little convenience.

I was being led (willingly, mind you) to…somewhere. I could only assume it was their camp. We’d been walking about half an hour and the members of the group had finished their staring halfway through. The leader hadn’t said a word since we began our trek, which was fine with me. I knew I was going to be interrogated when we reached camp and I really didn’t want to repeat myself.


I was absorbed in my thoughts and didn’t even notice that we had entered a clearing. I blinked back to the world and looked around. There was nothing there. Just more trees and bushes. This place was so boring….


“What are we doing?” I looked at the leader questioningly.


He turned around to face me. “Making camp.” He released a series of shrill whistles. A groaning began above our heads and we all looked upwards. I was actually slightly surprised. The camp wasn’t on the ground. It was built high in the trees.


Being lowered was a wooden lift. When the lift reached the ground, we loaded in threes: myself and two others, then the remaining three. After reaching the landing, we waited for the last group before they led me up a flight of stairs wrapped around the trunk of the tree, almost naturally.


They led me through small crowds and up more stairs, across bridges to other trees, and through leafy tunnels. I was wrong. This wasn’t a camp. It was more like a village. I was once again receiving curious stares. Some were even whispering behind their hands. I could hear the lilting words perfectly, though I couldn’t understand them. I was trying to keep my eyebrow from twitching in annoyance. It was really hard not to glare at my admirers.


I made myself look at me from their points of view. My skin was much paler than it should have been, with a now-natural blue tint. That’s what happens when the sunlight can’t penetrate through the smog and pollutants in the air.


Then there was the fact that my hair changed tints to match my surroundings, much like the chameleons of old. My eyes had the habit of changing tints with my mood or the weather. My clothing was unique. I wore shirts fairly tight, as loose clothing would prohibit my movement. Which means that claw was really close.… Anyway, my jeans were also tight, and very expensive. They were real leather, the spoils of one of my many jobs. Leather was hard to come by in my world, as most of the animals were either extinct or held in captivity to use as either money attractions or food products, so I held onto these.


Currently, my hair was turning blue in places and remained green in others due to the vegetation and strange blue lights the elves had strewn about.


My captors took me into a building carefully carved from the tree. We waited again, most likely for their leader. Or leaders, as the case may be. While we waited, I let my eyes wander. The building appeared to be a small meeting hall, and wasn’t full of much grandeur. There were chairs to the sides should someone wish to sit down and more of those strange blue lights hanging from the ceiling. The only elegant thing about it was the carvings on the walls, and maybe the set up of the chairs. The carvings depicted nature at its finest, which I hadn’t seen since I was a very small boy….


We didn’t wait long. Soon the elegant cloth hanging above the door on the other side of the room moved aside. Two men and a woman entered. The elves made a gesture of respect: a closed fist over their hearts and a small bow at the waist.


All three looked to be in their early to mid-twenties. However, one of the men and the woman held a wisdom that made them look much older. The second man resembled the first, yet didn’t look nearly as old-wizened.


He must be their son or something.


The elf that had spoken to me stepped forward and bowed again. “Heruaminea ar’ arwenamin.”


The “older” elf stepped forward. “Nim’mil, lle maa quel.”


Nim’mil inclined his head. “Diola lle, heruamin.”


“Mani en sina edan?” He looked at me with mild curiosity, though it was well hidden behind his eyes.


“Amin uuma sinta beika, heruamin. Amin sinta ro quen Common Tongue.”


“Diola lle, Nim’mil. Aa’lle alta.”


“Diola lle, heruamin.” Nim’mil and the others bowed again then left quietly through the front door.


The elves turned their attention to me and the lord gestured to a chair behind me.


“Please, sit. You are among friends here.”


I gave a small, wry smirk. And yet if I threatened you in any way, I’d become a living quiver. “Thank you, but I’d much rather stand.”


He inclined his head. “Very well. Allow me introductions, if you will. I am Lord Tahlethil. This is my wife, Lady Araera, and my son, Ky’thil.”


I nodded. “Edin.”


He mimicked my motion of nodding my head. “Edin. A pleasure to meet you. Now, may I ask how it is that my patrol found you in Fir’eplith?”


I shrugged. “As I told…Nim’mil, I don’t know how I came to be in this…area. I was having a few…problems, and next thing I knew, I was lying in a meadow in Fir’eplith.” I was amazed at how easily I could speak the strange names. Perhaps I could yet learn their language in time to understand what goes on here.


“Hmm. Well, my people are only here until the winter months are finished. You may stay here with us, since you don’t know the terrain, for the time being. However, I hope you realize that until we know you can be trusted, you will have a personal guard.”


“Yes, I assumed as much. It’s understandable. I wouldn’t trust me, either.” I gave another wry grin. The boy, Ky’thil, was looking at me with great interest. I had to admit, he wasn’t too bad on the eyes. In fact, I found him very attractive, along with ninety-nine percent of the elvish population. Must be an elf thing.


Tahlethil nodded. “Wonderful. Now, I would like to ask you a few more questions if you don’t mind.”


I had a feeling this was going to take a while. That chair might just come in handy later on….

After a few hours of answering and dodging questions, I was allowed to leave the meeting hut. As Tahlethil had said, as soon as I walked out the door, I had a second shadow.


I glanced behind me on a turn. My shadow turned out to be none other than Nim'mil. I smirked and continued on my way. Tahlethil was kind enough to give me directions to a tree house I could use for the time being.


I took my time to reach it, observing my surroundings. The trees appeared to be healthy, all of the leaves a vibrant green.


Must be their summer home or something.


It wasn't long before I reached my little tree house. It just so happened that there was another one nearby, most likely for my "guard."


I could still sense the elf behind me, so I turned with a small smile. "Good night, Nim'mil. Pleasant dreams."


With that, I moved aside the cloth and went inside.


"Feels like home already." There was a bed in a secluded corner, with walls on three sides and a curtain to pull for privacy. A little primitive, but I can live with it. A small table and two chairs were against another wall and a small fire pit was in the center of the room. It was small and simple, but I wasn't going to complain. It was better than most places I'd called home.


I'd gotten into the habit long ago of sleeping with nothing on. Those I'd lived with had insisted on it, and I'd not really had a choice. They'd strip me down anyway, so why not save us both some trouble? Besides, I wasn't really shy about my body. I knew a few concealing tricks to hide my scars, so I didn't have to worry about that. Only about keeping my concentration up enough so I wasn't asked a bunch of unnecessary questions. While dressed I didn't have nearly as many to hide, but being completely in the nude was an entirely different thing. And my scars...They weren't pretty.


I crawled under the covers and lay back, my hands behind my head, and stared up at the ceiling, thinking things through.


Alright, so, I'm in some mythical world that has been considered pure fantasy for millennia. I come from a world where rotting corpses can literally suck the life out of you. I should be in hysterics by now. But all I am is bored. Maybe I should talk to Tahlethil tomorrow and see if there's anything I can do for fun around here. Maybe go on a patrol or something...


By this time, my eyes were becoming heavy with sleep. I still wasn't fully recovered from my earlier ordeal with Markus, and sitting in a stuffy old room while being interrogated for hours on end was a bit draining. So I allowed myself to drift off.

I awoke a few hours later to some shuffling in my room. It didn't sound exactly human and it was too heavy and clumsy to be an elf. It was slowly making its way closer to my bed, tipping items over and snuffling through my clothing.


I'd say that was some kind of animal, but we're too high up and that thing just reeks. Wait...I know that smell.


I felt myself dissipate into a fine, dark mist and drift past the thing. In this form I couldn't observe much, only shapes of objects. I knew this one had arms and legs, but I still didn't know what manner of creature it was. So, rather than possibly getting into trouble for breaking out in a fight, I decided to go and get Nim'mil. I didn't need any more trouble for right now.


As soon as I exited the hut, I was almost blown away by a strong gust of wind. As I swirled around, trying to literally pull myself together, I caught glimpses of another creature, and even more milling around Nim'mil's current residence. I drifted on a breeze until I reached an area of shadows. I then solidified into my normal form. I peeked around the corner, wrinkling my nose in distaste. It was the same manner of creature as those I'd killed in the forest.


I was a little amazed the creatures had managed to make it all the way up here, avoiding elven sentries as well. I was highly annoyed that I was awoken. Unfortunately, my main weapons were still in the hut, which still had an unwanted visitor. So, instead, I took some of the shadows into me, turning my pale blue skin midnight black. My annoyance was turning my eyes a dusty orange, and I was struggling to turn them as black as the rest of my body.


Eventually, I managed my camouflage and slipped out as a perfect shadow. I made my way toward Nim'mil's hut to warn him. I didn't know why I did it. I only knew that my body was leading me in that direction.


I was nearly there when all of the blue lights were put out and there were many thumps on the wooden walkways around me. I cursed and rushed forward. There was a shout from Nim'mil's hut and a lot of scuffling around.


In my haste, I ran into one of the disgusting beings, knocking it down. A split second later, a bright green flash appeared, blinding me.


I let out a shout of pain and covered my eyes, hunching over. There were other shouts now as the elves awoke and began to fight back. Orders were shouted in their odd language. There were women and children's screams as they ran or hid from their attackers.


I sensed a presence coming up behind me, and judging by the stench, it wasn't an elf. I waited a few seconds, then gave a vicious kick backward. There was a shriek, which quickly grew quieter, and the clatter of a sword hitting the planks. Well, they can't fly.


I rapidly blinked my eyes, trying to clear my vision, but everything remained blurry. The fighting figures all looked the same in the residual green light. I couldn't distinguish between friend or foe. I let out a small curse, ducking as an obvious elf flew over my head.


I quickly made my way to my tree house, knocking people aside to get there. One of the odd beings swung its sword at me. I did a spin kick, knocking the sword from its hand. I then did another, hitting it at the joint where neck meets shoulder with enough force to snap it. It fell and I nonchalantly stepped over the body.


I entered my abode silently, on full alert. It was empty. The absence of the odd green light allowed my eyes to focus, and my vision cleared. They were glowing a mixture of bright yellow and orange in my excitement.


Soon as my vision was back on par I grabbed my swords and made my way out the door. One of the creatures was making its way in. As soon as it saw me, it raised its sword and slashed. I easily blocked with one sword, and stabbed with the other. It fell and I continued on my way.


When I exited the hut, I looked to my left to see Nim'mil surrounded and down on one knee, still fending off death. I slashed my way to him and cut down the one in front of him. It had been preparing for a killing blow while the elf's back was turned.


It screeched and Nim'mil turned in a flash, sword ready. His eyes widened in slight surprise when he saw me. I held my hand out to him. He took it in a strong grip and I pulled him to his feet. He gave me a nod and small smile in thanks. I returned the nod, and the two of us resumed our fighting.


I was slowly making my way along the bridges, helping when needed. I finished dispatching one of the sickly green beings when I looked out of the corner of my eye. I spotted the young prince, Ky'thil. His form was perfect...His form with the sword wasn't bad either...


He caught me looking at him and returned my stare. A small pink tinge began to stain his cheeks and I smirked. The tinge darkened a bit before he turned his attention back to the battle. My smirk only widened before I followed suit.


The fight was almost over. Most of the things were either dead or had fled. The remaining ranks were quickly being cut down or captured. I noticed a group of them down below, on the ground. They seemed to be planning something. So, without even thinking, I jumped. It was a good forty foot drop, yet I landed with no trouble, bending my knees to reduce the impact, yet I was already starting forward to begin my work.


They'd seen me jump down and had two of their little group both ready to fight me. Halfway there, I stopped. Something was different about this handful. They were larger and stood in a more upright position. Their arms were more muscled and they weren't quite as ugly as the others (though they came pretty close). I put that information in my head for reference, then snapped my gaze to the two as they charged me.


As they did, I noticed they didn't come blindly, but with some semblance of skill. I was again intrigued. Apparently, these creatures were a bit more intelligent than those up top. I smirked and twisted my blades. Hopefully, this will be a bit more entertaining...


A/N: Okay, here are the translations for the elvish in the story. This form of elvish may be slightly different than that of which some of you may know, and there is a reason for that. The asterisks would disappear each time I put them in and saved the document, so I'm afraid that I couldn't mark them. But I put the meanings in the same order they appear in the story. But, anyway, here you go:

My lords and lady
Nim'mil, you look well.
Thank you, my lord.
What of this man?
I don't know much, my lord. I do know he speaks the Common Tongue
Thank you, Nim'mil. You may go.
Thank you, my lord.
Nim'mil: deep bond
Tahlethil: blade wing
Ky'thil: ruby wing
Araera: golden song
Fir'eplith: Dark Forest

Eventually I am going to get into Edin's past...not sure when, but it will get there eventually. Hope you guys are enjoying this so far...haha. If not, oh well.
© Copyright 2007 Tsukiko Katsumi (MediaMiner ID: 150477). All rights reserved. Distribution of any kind is prohibited without the written consent of Tsukiko Katsumi.