Of The Past
(330 Dolefaren 376)
I find that I can no longer contain the secrets that have been held for countless ages and I accept any punishment that is sentenced upon me. The attack on my house by the abomination showed that I can not escape the past. Nor will there be a future for my children, for the knowledge that I possess could be the undoing. The date is unimportant, only that it was recorded in the histories of the Elven – Human wars is of relevance. I have lived longer than any Elf should.
He arrived in the night as Yavash rose above the horizon. The ghastly hiss sent a chill throughout the house. I had seen this type of abomination once before. I had never dared to dream I would see another. The bone claws tore at our belongings in a fruitless search of something it would, or perhaps could never find. It was lost so long ago. My children cowered beneath their covers as the screams of my wife resounded. I knew what was beneath the phantom cloaked figure before me and I also knew it could not rest. A lost soul, once of great honor, was now a dark servant. My family feared for their lives and I struggled in vain to keep the creature at bay. It”s bone arrow protruding from my leg ignited and I fell to my knees. Only when it began it”s assault on my family did I utter the words so long forgotten. It halted it’s attack upon us and withdrew, dissolving into nothingness. It will not return to us.
My wife beckoned me to tell her all I knew, and I realized there was no use in hiding any longer. I gathered Fi’aren and the children beside the fire and began to tell the tale. Perhaps it was to give them comfort, or maybe it was to cleanse my conscience. I had served under General M’vania of Lord Teiro”s army in the Elven – Human wars. I had seen many wars since those times but none could ever compare to the devastation of those days. Powerful magics and creatures of mass destruction unleashed. The guardian Dragons, which have not been seen by me since that time, towered above all that was imaginable and raged a fire across the lands for as far as one could see.
Victory was to be ours and a new beginning to dawn. But in that fierce final battle, I saw my Lord Teiro fall. I battled on as my General dropped to his knees in disbelief and in that moment, a warrior of Lanival thrust a spear through his body. I rushed to the aid of my M’vaina but it was too late. I grasped him by the shoulders in an attempt to remove the weapon from his body but it would not move. The general ignored the impalement as he watched our fallen lord. Tears, not of pain from the spear but of loss, streamed from his eyes. He spoke words that were mere whispers to me as his body slumped to the ground, his eyes forever closed. The war was over and the corpse of Teiro was never found. I took the body of my general to the mountains and prepared the funeral rites. The winds were too strong and I feared his body would not burn, but of some strange fortune, the flames rose and engulfed him. What was left of our once magnificent army disbanded and I never spoke of it again. My children sit in awe of the tale revealed. My wife sits motionless with a concern for our future.
The pain of that memory pales in comparison to the fear that I know hold. Lord Teiro has long since departed and a peace among the races never seen before has been formed. There is lingering mistrust of the humans, as well as their Gor’tog and Olvi allies from those of us who remember. I generally avoid contact with them. Warriors of my era had the hardest time to adjust and some never did. I see my children, my grandchildren and now my great grandchildren free from the prejudices I hold. I am too old to learn new ways.
-A’rielon