Verange

Chapter 4

As Elis walked away from his room she let her shoulders slack as she hadn’t all day. She had awoken from her sleep after two days and immediately jumped into action.  She made her appearance among the people, acting as normal as one can after what she went through, earlier in the day after the decision was made. They were all happy to see her back again. After leading them for almost 5 years now, they all trusted her judgment and relied on her to help them with their problems. Once a week she would hold council and all disputes would be brought before her and she would solve them. She tried to be fair but with the small amount of wages her people received and the tensions of living under a mountain, it was hard to keep everyone happy. However, they knew she did the best with what she had and few questioned her decisions. Not after she did what she had done for them.

As she went to her room she met many people still about. The night was young and many young people partook in mead. The many people she met felt the need to ask if her health had returned to her. When she said it had, they often hugged her, causing her extreme pain. Few questioned her large tunic and even fewer seemed to notice how she cringed whenever physical contact was made. Had she still lived among the elves, she would willingly embrace any contact she received. But the years among the Verange had hardened her. Being an elf, she would always be slim and muscled, as well as graceful and lithe. But constant fighting and fearing for her life had stripped her body of any fat it could have produced. Constant injuries made her worry about contact, wondering if someone would make contact with her wounds. Crowds made her nervous, fearing that one of her enemies were among them. Very few managed to get into their secret haven and even less escaped with anything other than death or a mind to jumbled to do anything other than babble.  The elves were a happy race and hardly slept, if at all. They lived in small, unobtrusive houses in the forest. Elves used no money, for they could create anything they needed. The forest provided them with food and shelter. The weapons were forged by a few elves but they asked nothing in repayment for every elf did as they loved and simply doing that was payment enough. Almost every elf had the ability to use some degree of magic and could heal themselves. All were trained in the way of the sword and their keen senses were honed carefully, making them meticulous killing machines if the world ever called on them for war again. They did not enjoy fighting but they would willingly do it if it was required of them.

In Elis’s eyes this was plenty a reason for them to join the war effort. The Capitol was getting closer and closer to their home, threatening to discover a haven they had called home for nearly 500 years. Her queen had asked her to come back numerous times. To leave the Verange and go back to being an elf who only lived to study their passion. Elis’s passion was this cause. She had been with it nearly since it had started 30 years ago. The man who had started it had died 4 years ago, before she took command. Little had been done to choose his successor until he became ill. His sickness traveled fast, killing him in less than a week. She was the one who tried to hold everything together. After over 25 years, she wasn’t about to let it just fade away because their leader had perished. A mission had been scheduled for her during the week of Fabyli’s sickness but she did not go. And it was a grand thing she didn’t. The day after Fabyli’s funeral, the Verange was attacked, forcing them to move to their current location.  She had taken over many responsibilities while everyone else mourned. She too felt their pain, for he had been one of her closest friends, however, she forced herself to be strong and continue making sure people took their watches seriously and that their home wasn’t attacked. She had been on watch herself when she saw the warriors in the distance. The signal fires were lit and they readied themselves for war.

Elis ran through the camp, yelling at people to ready themselves for battle. Her elven speed carried her through the camp at great speeds. When she reached her tent, she quickly donned her armor and quickly ran back to command the forces. Before Fabyli’s death she had helped him command the forces as his right hand woman. Together, they brought the Verange many victories in battle. Elis had assumed she had gained full control over the armed forces. She gathered the army and soon had them organized to her liking. As they marched into battle Elis led them on her tall black steed. With her blue sword raised high she cried a battle cry and the Calvary charged into battle. They easily overpowered the lesser force and began attacking the foot soldiers. At her prompting her own foot soldiers joined them and they overcame them as well. Elis didn’t let her men retire though. It had been too easy. Too few men died. She stood up on her stirrups and looked around. A cloud of dust was rising in the distance. Once again she rallied the men into their positions and preparing them for another battle. Much to her dismay the next force was larger and led by the man she despised. Conrad. His hair was dark brown and his eyes were black with hate. Their armies faced off in a fierce battle that greatly damaged both sides. Elis wasn’t in that battle. She and Conrad faced off on the top of a hill nearly a mile away. It was understood that whomever came out on top in this face off would clearly win the fight. And what a fight it was. For nearly 4 hours their blades were locked together. A showdown of the century. Sparks flew each time their blades touched and they were both drenched in sweat. Conrad was no normal human, for human he was. But he was a magic user, and one of the few humans whose ability was nearly equal to an elf’s. He changed his body to have the speed and agility that she did. Only by sheer luck did she manage to disarm him and remove his right hand at the wrist. His loss of blood forced him to stop and claim his loss. He fled back to wherever he came, taking his equally destroyed troops with him. When Elis stumbled back to her men she was weary but was greeted as a hero.

Elis sighed as she relived the fight. She should have killed him, for he caused many more problems than he was worth, not to mention recently capturing her and nearly killing her. If only she hadn’t been so scared.  After her return from the fight she was given the position of the leader. She had never wanted a position of power for one who never ages should never rule those who do but she was unable to refuse.  No one else had her abilities. She had told them at that moment that she planned to rule no longer than Fadyli did. 25 years of her life she would serve. But then she would hand her position off to another able being. During her 25 years though, she planned to bring down the Capitol and appoint one who would be able to lead a nation properly as the king. She would never take the position.

The anniversary of her 4th year was in a week and she was very happy to see how far they had come. They had nearly doubled their numbers and Elis was ready to temporarily leave the Verange and go to the elves and enlist their help. They had always been sympathetic to their cause and lent them help when they asked for it but to ask them to fight with them was a huge step she was worried about taking. The king, Conrad, was a known magic user, and a powerful one at that. To take him on would require at least 6 to 7 elves that were excellent in magic. Elis, being gifted in both the sword and magic, would go along and act as the functioning focal point for the other elves. With their combined strength they would hopefully be able to destroy the King forever.

Elis finally walked into her room and collapsed down on her bed. She slowly removed her tunic and wrapped her torso and shoulders tightly in bandaging, preventing them from bleeding through her tunic again. When she finished she unbelted her sword from her waist and tucked it under her bed, next to her bow and Hayden’s.  She laid face down on her bed, unable to sleep on her back as she usually did because of her injuries. She laid there awake for nearly an hour before sleep consumed her.

She woke just before dawn and changed her clothes. She checked her bandages, seeing that they held through the night and emerged into the hall. Few people were up this early and she was able to slip to the council room without being seen. It was nearly an hour before they all emerged and took their places around her. “It is time I returned to my people and sought their help in our war against the King. We cannot win without them, for the King himself could slay us all with but a few words. If we plan on marching into his castle and destroying him where he stands we need the Elves assistance. I can run there within a week, have a month for deliberation, and be back in time for us to move our position out into the open once more. “Faces of anger, confusion, and, most of all, fear stared back at her. One of the men, named Raythand, spoke first. “You were just gone for 3 months. You can’t leave again so soon. As our leader you have responsibilities here.”

Elis stared at Raythand long and hard. He looked down at the table under her gaze and she sighed. “I have many responsibilities. I did not want this position; however, as the best suited for it and the fact that it was forced upon me by you, I had no other option. I do not plan to leave right away. I am too injured to leave right away and I do not plan to go alone. All of you will have to work together while I’m gone. I will take a guard with me this time, with a horse as fast as mine, not one of our mountain ponies.”

This seemed to sate them somewhat and she offered them a small smile. “In two weeks time I will leave. When I return I will have the whole elven army behind me and we shall march on to war. You must ready our men. Have the forges work double to unsure he have enough weaponry and armor. “

Leyer stood up and walked over to her. He whispered a few words in her ear and her face fell slightly. “No. not yet.” She replied quietly. He shook his head slowly and returned to his seat. “If it still hasn’t by the time you leave, I refuse to let you go. It is not safe for you to go without it.”

Elis sighed and stood up, pacing the room slowly. “You cannot stop me Leyer. Even if it hasn’t returned I will still go. Any men we meet along the way can’t be more powerful than myself and another man. Especially the man I intend to bring with me.”

“Who do you intend to bring with you?” One man asked her.

Elis shook her head. “I can’t reveal that yet. But he is very competent with a blade.”  She glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed. It was nearly noon already. “I must go and attend my other duties. We are adjourned.”

 

She walked out and headed back to her room, grabbing her bow and quiver as well as Hayden’s.