“I appreciate the compliment,” Elijah said with a smile, while also preparing himself for another strike.
They then charged towards each other furiously. The sound of their blades clashing was equal to that of the clanging of the bells atop the great Cathedral of Brité Lüné.[1] The two exchanged several blows, but neither gained the advantage. Commander Kagé swung his axe downwards overhead, but Elijah blocked the blow with an upwards thrust of his sword with the blade horizontal. Elijah then kicked his right leg out, sweeping Commander Kagé off of his feet. Kagé responded by immediately jumping back to his feet in frustration. As Kagé regained his footing, Elijah changed the grip on his sword, switching to the reverse-grip style of his master Dín Zal?.[2]
Enraged, Commander Kagé charged towards Elijah. Elijah prepared to perform the half-turn slash associated with his master’s style, but once he swung his blade he found that Kagé had changed his path and was now standing to Elijah’s side.
“Too slow, I’m afraid,” said Commander Kagé tauntingly. “Are you sure your confidence was not misplaced?” Kagé let out a chuckle.
Elijah stood before Commander Kagé, studying his opponent. He changed his grip on his sword back to the normal one associated with his own style of fighting. Elijah stared his opponent down for several moments and then closed his eyes and breathed deeply in through his nose. This breathe served the purpose of calming him, and helped him prepare himself for the mighty wave of power he was about to unleash.
Upon exhaling Elijah’s demeanor changed. He stood up straight and relaxed, while Commander Kagé looked on in confusion. Elijah then inhaled deeply once more, and then upon exhaling slowly opened his eyes. The light of Elijah’s gaze was bling, and Commander Kagé stood frozen in awe. From deep within himself, Elijah had drawn forth an ancient magic he rarely used. Standing before Kagé was not the same man he had previously battled. Elijah’s once pitch black hair had now turned a blinding white, and his once deep violet eyes had transformed into a haunting silver. Kagé stumbled backwards as Elijah stared him down.
“Who...what...what are you,” Commander Kagé said shakily, stumbling back.
“ I am,” replied Elijah coldly, in a voice very different from his own. The he rushed towards Kagé like a bolt of lightning.
***
It took many years – in fact lifetimes for a human – before Elijah fully understood his significance. When Dín Zal? rescued him from Es’p?r Elijah was just a babe and had no idea of his importance. It was only during his training at Night Hold in the Drendal Tundra under the guidance of his master Dín and the Grand Master of the Shades, Duncan Caine, that Elijah began to understand the power the lay within him. For reasons unknown, he had been chosen by the Ancient One T?zcál to be imbued with mighty forces. Unbeknownst to anyone, these forces are what protected his mother Silas, allowing her to defeat her father, thus assuring Elijah’s birth.
After the Ancient Ones departed Terra there was peace as the many races achieved maturity. However, soon dark forces arose, and to protect the world, T?zcál, the leader of the Ancient Ones, bestowed a gift to those residing on Terra. Thus, the first imbued was born. This person wielded great power, and was charged by T?zcál with protecting Terra from evil and destruction. After wandering throughout Terra, the first imbued was sent a vision by T?zcál instructing them to journey to the Drendal Tundra – until then unsullied by the presence of any living thing. There, the first imbued found the Night Hold and established the Order of the Shades. Upon establishing the order, the first imbued was again given a vision by T?zcál. This vision instructed the first imbued in the purpose of the Shades, and how the power of the imbued would be passed down throughout the ages.
“I have given thee a portion of my power,” T?zcál said unto the first imbued. “With it, you also receive a charge. You must protect Terra from the forces of darkness that wish to overthrow order. The Order of the Shades, which you have created upon my instruction are to be a peacekeeping force. But a second task they also have. They are also the searchers and protectors of the power in which I have bestowed upon you. Once you die, your power will be transferred to another, and it is the Shades’ purpose to find the one into whom the power of the imbued will transfer.”
The first imbued nodded their head in understanding, and began the task of recruiting members to the Order of the Shades. Then, upon the first imbued’s death, the power of T?zcál passed to another. After many generations, the power of the imbued made its way to Elijah. Who, now after over one-hundred years as a member of the Shades, understood his purpose, and could now wield his immense power with deadly precision.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
***
Elijah’s movements were swift. Commander Kagé stood frozen as Elijah approached, like an unaware building in the path of a tornado. Elijah’s strikes were imperceptible to all of those watching. To onlookers it appeared as if Elijah had passed through Kagé like a phantom. Elijah stood with his back towards Kagé who was facing away from Elijah. Elijah closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then suddenly his hair and eyes returned to normal,, and the aura around him changed. Elijah sheathed his sword and slowly turned around to look at Kagé. As soon as he did, Kagé’s body collapsed to the ground, dead.
The rest of the Ruffians looked on dumbfounded, and an eerie silence filled the air. Then, as if the thought occurred to each of them at once, the Ruffians drew their weapons and rushed towards Elijah, who calmly stood his ground. As the first wave of Ruffians closed in, Elijah drew his sword and delicately dismembered them. Wave upon wave of Ruffians assailed Elijah, as quickly the pile of bodies surrounding Elijah grew. Then, some of the Ruffians began fearing the idea of confronting Elijah in hand to hand combat. Out of this group, many fled, but some drew their thunder fists, and began to take aim at Elijah.[3] Elijah was too focused on those charging him to notice the Ruffians taking aim from afar. Luckily for him, Lily was still watching the battle from an abandoned building, and upon seeing the Ruffians draw their weapons, leapt into action.
Lily, being small for her age, found that creeping up behind the Ruffians quite easily. There were three of them aiming their weapons at Elijah, who was still masterfully dissecting the Ruffians foolish enough to charge him. Lily quickly slit the Achilles tendon on two of the Ruffians – who both fell to the ground screaming in pain – before the third Ruffian noticed that something was happening. The third Ruffian turned around to see what his comrades were screaming about, and when he did he saw that Lily had quickly sliced both of their throats. Shocked, but not shaken, the third Ruffian pointed his thunder fist towards Lily, who was standing just too far away to strike him before he could pull the trigger. The Ruffian stared Lily down, as she slowly stood up to face him. The Ruffian found it quite unnerving to see the young girl drenched in the blood of his fallen comrades, but despite her age, he was not going to show her any more kindness than she had shown them. Lily stood still and calm as she watched the Ruffian lower his weapon so that it was aimed at her face.
“Such a waste,” the Ruffian growled right be he pulled the trigger. Lily closed her eyes anticipating the shot.
But then suddenly Lily heard a blood-curdling scream, and opened her eyes to see the Ruffian standing before her with blood gushing out of what was left of his dismembered arm that once held his weapon. She looked down to see the other part of his arm lying on the ground beside him still tightly clenching his weapon. Looking back up, she saw Elijah standing menacingly behind the Ruffian, and then with one quick and deadly accurate strike, Elijah freed the Ruffians head from his shoulders. It rolled across the ground towards Lily, and once it came to a stop, its cold dead eyes were looking up at her. Lily spit on the head, and then kicked it away.
***
“Thank you for your help back there,” Elijah said to Lily after he had cleaned his blade and wiped the blood from his face.
“No problem!” Lily responded cheerfully. “It seemed like you needed the help.”
Elijah let out a laugh and grinned while he looked down upon the little girl. “Right you are.” Elijah took a minute to glance upon the town, now half-ruined and littered with the corpses of the Ruffians. “Now, let’s get you back to your parents.”
Lily’s mood quickly changed after hearing this comment, and she looked towards the ground away from Elijah, almost out of shame.
“What is it,” Elijah asked, sensing that something was wrong.
“Nothing,” Lily responded, still not wanting to make eye contact. Elijah could tell from the tone of her voice that she was tearing up.
Elijah was quiet for a moment, pondering what he should say next. Then he knelt down beside Lily, and put a hand upon her shoulder. “How long has it been since you lost them?” He kindly asked.
“A little over five years. There was another Ruffian attack on our village back then, and they...they...” Lily was now crying, and could not finish her story, but Elijah had heard enough to infer the rest.
“Do you know what I am?” Elijah asked after a moment’s pause. Lily shook her head yes without looking up at him. “And then I assume you know what I do?” Lily shook her head again. Elijah took a deep breath, as if he was unsure whether to ask his next question. As he was contemplating his thoughts, Lily look up and met his eyes. Tears were streaming down her face, but she no longer appeared sad. Determination blazed in her eyes.
“I want to join you!” Lily blurted out. Elijah stared into her eyes, searching her thoughts. He saw that she was not going to take no for an answer.
“If that is your wish,” Elijah said with a grin.
Lily stood before him in disbelief. She did not think he would have agreed so easily. Then without a word she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. He was the first person to have cared for her in a long time, and from that day forward she admired him, and loved him deeply.
***
After collecting his belongings and preparing Shadow for the long journey back to the Drendal Tundra, Elijah lifted Lily up on the horse and the two of them set out, never to return to the village of Green Bank.
- This cathedral is located in the town of A’p?r’ié in Sédali?. Here the elves hold festivals to the full and new moons. Cathedral in this sense does not implicate a religious function, but only refers to the shape and styling of the building. In Elvish, Brité Lüné means moon light and A’p?r’ié means worship. To read more about the Elvish language see Appendices A and E. ↑
- To read more about the different fighting styles of the Shades see Appendix J. ↑
- Thunder fists is a slang term for the black powder projectile weapons solely utilized by the Ruffians. These weapons are similar to the guns of the modern world. Known as F??nēēd?s in the Dwarvish tongue and Po’er’ié in the language of the Elves. The black powder used in these weapons can only be found in The Forge Lands, and the mining and processing of this material is controlled solely by a criminal syndicate of Dwarves known as the L?nbrütěs. ↑