The Eldars

3

A pair of  Eagles soar high in the sky a short time later. One lands next to the man. It looks at the dead evil ones and seems both satisfied and angry. The man isn't surprised, the evil ones are natural enemies to the giant eagles.

The eagle speaks, "The evil ones dare much to come this far south and west to kill so many humans. It looks like it is time to go hunting again." It then looks at the girl lying so still and white, "Put the girl on my neck and climb on behind her. You'll need to hold onto her tight with one hand and to my feathers with the other, it might be a bumpy flight." The eagle commands the man. As the man complies with the instructions the eagle continues, "I will be taking you to the eyrie, there we will watch over you and the human until such a time as you are both ready to leave."

The man holds tight to Katiri through the whole ride and although he keeps calling to her and reassuring her that it's alright he can feel her flame growing colder and the emptiness inside her becoming greater. Soon it will be too late to save her he fears.

He is therefore very thankful once they reach the eyrie. He slides off the Eagle's neck and carefully grabs hold of Katiri. Behind the nest he finds a cave and with the permission of the eagle he takes some of the nest material for a fire. He takes enough to keep the fire going for some time and still the lack is barely noticeable when looking at the nest.

He gets the fire started after thanking the eagles.

The man sets her down and makes them both as comfortable as he can. He once more looks into himself and transfer more energy into the girl's flame. It glows brighter for a short time then starts dimming once more. He looks for and calls out to the girl, he finds her far away and calls to her. She doesn't respond and so he runs to her trying to coax her back the entire time.

"Why should I go back? Pain is what surrounds me, overwhelms me, is me. Let me be, I saved your life, go back to your people and family." Katiri's spirit or soul what have you tells him when he catches her. She is no longer strong enough to break free of his bonds.

"The pain is blocked, it won't overwhelm you or surround you. Please, I had no intentions of harming you earlier, let me truly repay you for your help," the man pleads with her.

"There is no reason to repay me, what I did was in payment for you killing those things. What were those things anyway?" Katiri is interested in finding that out. She had estimated that they would be the height of an average human male, but they were actually a bit taller than that. She doesn't like being off when she estimates her opponents like that.

"Have the humans then forgotten all the tales of the great war?" The man asks curiously.

"Not all, after all I remembered about the eagles did I not?"

The man looks at her curiously, "Did you? Then perhaps you'll remember what the enemy of the great eagles was during the war?"

"The enemy of all the good aligned races, the evil ones..." Then it hits her, the stories tell of creatures the heighth of a man or greater with great strength and parts of its body that look both human and that of an animal. They have no other name than evil one, no other name could describe it so aptly.

The girl's spirit seems to pale and become even fainter with this realization, "My family was killed by evil ones. I thought they were all killed in the great war.

"Wait, I thought you said that my pain wouldn't be strong?" The girl says as she hugs herself and falling to her knees.

"I created the shields to allow you to deal with the pain as you can handle it and not overwhelm you. All memories dealing with the evil ones should have been kept behind those shields. I am more than a little surprised that you are able to remember anything relating to the evil ones, let alone your family's passing. I am very sorry for your loss.

"Might I know the name of the one that saved my life after I should have died?"

"It has no meaning, I believe I told you that before? However, if you insist, my name is Katiri." Katiri just sits there with her arms wrapped around her middle and starts rocking back and forth.

The man softens his voice as he walks a bit closer to her, "Katiri, would you take my hand and return with me?"

Katiri looks at the man and the hand he holds out, she is hesitant to take it. "I promise the overwhelming pain won't come back. I only meant to find your name, I hadn't intended on destroying your mind shield. I am more sorry than you can possibly know. Please take my hand?"

She hesitantly takes his hand, "Who are you?"

The man smiles, "I'll tell you when you wake." Katiri nods and returns to her body. 

Katiri is tired, so unbelievably tired, but she needs a few answers before she can sleep. She wakes up to find the stranger looking over her and tending to her. Her cloudy blue eyes look into his deep emerald green ones, "Who are you?" This time it's a demand that he will not ignore.

He watches her closely as he gives his answer, "My name is Mauntie."

It is enough, the girl recoils. Her already pale face pales even further as she whispers, "You are an Eldar."

"Yes." Mauntie watches closely to see if he will need to chase after the girl once more.

"It is a day of myths and legends coming alive. Where are we?" Katiri demands, hiding her fear behind her steel mask.

Mauntie with all his abilities to read people couldn't get a read on her once she set her mask in place.

"We are in a protected place high in the eagles' eyrie. This cave is behind their nest, or at least one of the nests. We are to use this cave for as long as we need it."

Mauntie looks at the human before him, she is tired and wan. She fights to keep her eyes open and doesn't remove them from him the whole time since she learned what he was.

"Katiri, I won't hurt you. No matter what your stories say, the Eldar were never the enemies of the humans that fought on the side of good. We only killed those that joined with the evil. Just as those of your ancestors that fought alongside of us. Go to sleep, you can ask me whatever you wish when you wake." Against her wishes she finds her body giving into the exhaustion that it feels. The dark of sleep overtakes her and she sleeps without dreams.

Mauntie once he is assured that Katiri is truly asleep and not dying once more contacts his people.