Burning Embers Part II: Conspiracy [Arc 6-10]

Arc 8 Interlude: Alseiv

—Harutora's Perspective—

14 years ago...

They had got him. It was unbelievable, and unthinkable, that he, a dragon-knight, and three Templar, had fallen for something so cheap. The orcs had ambushed them, and taken two of them out before they could even gather their bearings, but more importantly, there were foes there that even Harutora could not match. Not one, but two of Wrath's generals had shown up, introducing themselves as the first and second generals, they had completely overwhelmed him, and knocked him out.

Those bastards...

He didn't know what happened after, but he was sure none of his companions survived, and pitied their fate. Not knowing how long he had remained unconscious, where he had found himself was the prison of a fortress, and given the events that had transpired so far, this had to be Wrath's. Unfortunately, mana supply was inhibited here, and he could not even use his most basic fire powers to bust his way out. The bars were also reinforced, and not even his strength was enough to break them. Besides, those generals were likely nearby, and he did not want to lose to them a second time.

As such, he bid his time, and a few days had already passed while he was here. Why they even bothered to keep him alive when they could kill him, he did not know. They clearly had some grand scheme they had just set in motion; it had been centuries since one of the generals had even been sighted among human territories. The Templar had been lax, and allowed this to happen, and he had been foolish to rush into this situation without thinking.

Dammit, I should've taken more Templar with me.

It was well too late for such thoughts now, although it was not like he had anything better to do in this cell than dwell on his thoughts and frustration of being captured in the first place. It was complete humiliation; to be captured would be humiliation for any Templar, let alone a Del Roddea. None had been taken alive, ever, and he was the first to suffer this embarrassment. 

Sighing, Harutora slumped against the wall, crossing his legs and closing his eyes, deciding to meditate instead of wasting his time. Taking a deep breath, he emptied his mind, focusing only on his breathing. Templar meditated all the time to practice their battle-readiness. A powerful warrior fought with an empty mind; while emotions could be used as a weapon to fuel oneself, they could also cause confusion and bewilderment in the middle of battle, which would be fatal more often than not.

Hence, it was common practice for them to spend a little bit of time meditating each day; a practice they had adopted from high-elven warriors, as well as those that resided in Kazeji Temple of Lanexi. Unfortunately, in his situation, it was not so easy to meditate, and his mind began to wander off. Was Findaris okay? He hoped so.

That woman, "Elen", was it? She had been incredibly skilled, and fought with a style and weapons he had never seen before. He had been caught completely off-guard, and it certainly didn't help that the "Elevos" person was constantly peppering him with debuffing magic. What was that guy's deal anyway? He had magic stronger than Harutora had ever seen before; even enough to break through a dragon-knight's magical resistance. The pair had defeated him within only a few minutes, and he didn't even have time to focus enough to use his elemental powers.

So that is the strength of Wrath's Demonic Generals, huh?

He would spend a good while there, pondering upon his thoughts, meditating, before the cell door swung open. It was a tall figure with long black hair and sharp eyes, the leaf-shaped ears giving him away as a dark elf.