Wardens Of The Dragon Tattoo

Chapter 8 - From Vakyr to Vera

Mahrek and Arianne traveled for four hours until midnight before arriving at the town of Vakyr. There was a strange mist hanging in the air which made it hard to see. As Mahrek and Arianne got closer they discovered the destroyed town.

"No, who would do something like this? All these innocent people... Killed. Mahrek, look! There at the inn!"

A badly wounded man pulled himself out of the inn and waved for help before passing out. Mahrek and Arianne ran to the man. "Mahrek, his injuries are really bad. I will try to heal him, but I can't make any promises."

Arianne's hands started to glow as a white light entered into the man's wounds. "It's not working, he's too wounded to heal." Arianne sighed. "I can only wake him up and suppress his pain for a little while."

The man regained consciousness. "Blood witches... Ugh... Out of nowhere... Killed *cough* everyone... My daughter *crying* No! They took her... Please..."

The man grabbed Mahrek by the shoulder in desperation for his daughter's life. Mahrek could see the pain in the man's eyes, not physical, but the emotional pain of losing his daughter. He coughed badly and Mahrek saw the life drain from his eyes and he passed away. Mahrek just sat there, waiting.

"Mahrek, we have to go it's not safe here. Mahrek?"

Arianne shook Mahrek until he came to his senses. "Sorry. It's just, I didn't expect the world beyond the town to be so harsh. It's a lot to take in you know. We had bad fights and people passed away back in town sure, but nothing ever happened there which could possibly have prepared me for this."

"I understand Mahrek and I'm really sorry. I promise you we can talk about this later, but right now we need to travel to the city of Vera, in the Dawn Forest, to see King Valinor and tell him about this attack. He would want to know about this."

"Yes, you're right. I have to suck it up and keep going. We have more important things to do than to sit around and mourn."

Mahrek and Arianne buried the man and made a memorial for him and the town. They headed northwest towards the Dawn Forest. Upon arrival at the Dawn Forest, they were greeted and escorted by Elven knights, by order of king Valinor, to the city of Vera.

"Now you see why King Valinor would want to know about this, he knows everything that's going on in and around his forest. He sent his knights before we even reached the forest and the fact that blood witches made it through the Dawn Forest without him knowing is very strange."

Mahrek and Arianne arrived at the city of Vera and they were escorted into King Valinor's palace

"Look, Mahrek. His armor is amazing, isn't it? One of the finest elven pieces ever crafted."

King Valinor's armor was similar in composition to that of all the elven knights in Vera: a cuirass and fault of interlocking lames of steel plate over a hauberk of fine mail, together with dark green pauldrons and black braces. However, befitting his status as High-king, his armor plates were black and etched with dark green vine like tracery. The plates were embossed with House Valinor symbols and his armor included dark green leather pants, which gave greater protection. At the throat, he wore a steel collar that bore his house's insignia, seven stars on a dark, forest green field. The rare dark green color may have reflected an association with the forest; in any case, it was certainly a dye that was rare in Tamra, and it would have required a great deal of time and knowledge to locate enough of the rare flora or fauna with which to make it. His cloak was dark green and his armor was golden, and instead of a helmet, he wore a golden crown, fashioned for him by the Dragon Dwarfs' master smith, Maldrin himself.

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