The Elven Slayer Princess

The Task at the Mountain Part 1

   As Liv galloped with her horse deep into the foggy mountainous terrain, she was more focused and determined than ever before. She felt there was more of a family around her. A family of community. Her father was fighting to stop the elf/orc squads in Ashview, Denbrook, and in western parts of New Manteau. Her father was a proud man. He did not like what these attacks were being seen as. But he couldn't let those people view him as being weak. And Olivia knew that. But she also knew that there was something drawing the elven/orcs here. She had heard through reports in the cities of when they arrived, there was instant carnage. Bodies laid in the streets, and in villages. Bodies that she knew and had a connection to. She flinched from hearing those reports from fellow citizens in the Kingdom. She reflexively grabbed the hilt of her sword next to her.

   Being an elf, she knew she had keen senses. She listened for any sign of motion in the vast number of trees surrounding the mountain. She stared closer as she got to the top, her silver horse slowed its pace. The mountain was steep and getting steeper. The horse whinnied as it could feel a tense situation unfolding. She could feel it herself. Something wasn't right. Olivia felt from this point on she couldn't rely on her horse. So, she climbed off and saw a nearby tree and allowed it to graze. Liv touched and rubbed the horse on its mane and snout. "Good girl. Rest. I shall be back for you." The horse whinnied back.

   She looked up. The sky was cloudy with a dark and misty undertone. Olivia could see the fog rolling in. At this point, Liv was high up enough that there it felt like there was less oxygen to breathe with than at ground level. She looked up and saw the wide expanse of the mountain. It had cracks and crags upward of the summit. Olivia had misgivings about scaling it. She had never done it. She began to feel a little lightheaded. It was a daunting task for her. Heights always were. Olivia knew that she could not ride her horse any farther. The steps were fragile. The horse turned rather quickly. 

   Liv stepped tentatively alongside the edge of the mountain. Olivia prepared to climb this titan. She pulled up her gloves on her hands. The gloves were thin and flexible so they fit. They were warm enough to keep the cold out. She grabbed her parka and pulled it over her head. It was tough to advance on the craggily parts. She clung to the granite rock that made the edge prominent. The shape of the summit was jagged on the outer rim. It had spikes in the small parts of the center and sides. They could not be seen from the air but up close they were sharp. The wind was whipping with a steady pace, Liv didn't think she could scale it. Olivia began to feel a little lightheaded. She pushed herself back against it.

   Liv breathed slowly as the cold air trickled up her body. The size of the peak dwarfed other mountains on the continent. Some citizens of Ashview had hoped to trek the vastness of it,but with the icy trails leading up to it, few were willing to challenge. Liv had heard in school about the famed Scarsbone Mountain but thought it was more myth than legend. She found out that it was the latter. She lifted herself up above another crevice of rock to get to a solid surface.

   She breathed a sigh of relief as she climbed the next hurdle. Her father would have said this trek would have been foolhardy. For one sole girl coming from a dastardly poisoning of an arrow to her kidneys, this mission was at best silly and absurd. Her royal compatriots in society would have expected her to be in the competition for marriage. Her age, her stature, her beauty, she definitely was a contender, for the matrimonial throne but she felt that there was a more pressing issue. Her family brought her to this continent, even if they couldn't be here themselves. And she felt it was dishonorable not to honor them.

   A brisk but steady wind howled down from the peak of the mountain. Olivia climbed slightly upward ignoring her unsteadiness in her movements. The temperature was cold enough, high up on Scarsbone Mountain. She couldn't deny it. Her bones in her arms and legs shivered. Most of the furry animals in the treetops had hidden away their food and chicks in their nests. They wouldn't survive the long winter as long as the furious wind howled. Liv picked up the pace of her trek up the steep mountain. There was a large rock impediment above her. Olivia struggled to gain a grip on it. The icicles above her were like a glaring sharp teeth on a predatory animal.