To Belong... (the story of Ithilwen)

[Solaris]

Mercy...


Ithilwen arrives late in the village. She walks directly to her rooms without giving much attention to any who would address her. Her cold demeanor seems even colder than normal. Once in her rooms she wards the doors and stays in for the rest of the night and the next day.

Following the arrival of a large, pitch black bat, the dark figure of Archmage Kael of the fallen Kalinor emerges from the shadows of the forest, stepping into the Dharashan glade as he lowers his face mask under the watchful eye of the rangers. He barely acknowledges their presence, as Ithilwen forges on towards her room leaving a deep winter chill in the air as she walks by. Narrowing his eyes, the archwizard proceeds to follow her with the aim to knock on her door, using his endless magical expertise to...try not to get killed by anything she might have warded the area with...

Shortly after he touches the wards with his magical gift, an icy voice sounds from the other side of the door.
''I know you are there... You do realize those wards are there for a reason? To keep...people...out...''

From outside the door, she can hear the familiar muttering of blasphemies in some dead dialect of a deader language, before he replies: "Good...good...keeping people out is a respectable practice, I do it all the time. However, I am not people, therefore I am coming in. Don't make me dispel your wards...

It remains silent for a long moment. Just as he is about to attempt to dispel the wards, the blue glow fades slowly from the door. A muttering from the other side can be heard containing the words ''stubborn'' and ''archmages''.

Sighing heavily, he takes a look around to gauge the Dharashan folk's reactions, and then he pushes the door open with his right hand after the briefest hesitation.

"Good day to you, dear! I could not help but notice your rather foul mood... Is there anything you wish to share? Anything I may be able to help with?


''Shut the door...''
It remains silent once more after those three chilling words. She sits on the ground in front of the window. She then turns towards Kael, her eyes cold with a hint of rage for the keen observer. ''Foul mood? By the Seldarine I have no idea what you are talking about... I...am the embodiment of sunshine and rainbows.'' Her voice sounds flat as she turns back and stares out of the window.

"Really? Well, I cannot really say I possess the keen eye of Mendel, but when you pass by the village and flowers freeze in a warm day, even I can tell something is off...You will save your time, and most importantly mine, if you tell me what is going on right now...

As he speaks in a sardonic tone, he waves a hand almost casually and the door closes behind him.

Ithilwen turns towards him abruptly. ''Save your time? Save your time... then why would you come in here in the first place? Did I ask you to come in? Save your time and leave...''

"I said save time, not give up. You know what you mean to me, and you know I will not leave..."
He glides towards her, slowly, his left arm gently touching her shoulder as his glove already begins to freeze
"Talk to me. Whatever it is, it's better shared than kept inside, evidently..."

She sighs. ''I just had a rough day. A giant red dragon decided to land on me.'' A slight chuckle escapes her which causes a jolt of pain searing through her. Her hand moves to the left side of her ribcage. She grimaces. ''The odds of that...'' After a short pause she continues. ''I...almost killed someone today....Someone I considered a friend.''

"I take it the Dragon part is a joke, because if it isn't, tell me where it happened and I will bring you dragon soup for the evening dinner. The latter, however, is far more complicated..."

He sits beside her, ice crystals already forming on his black mantle and hood, puffs of smoke escaping his bloodless lips as he speaks close to her ear:

"Tell me everything" he whispered, almost inaudible. Outside, Nightwing was preparing for his dusk to dawn hunting session, circling the homestead...

[Solaris]

More questions...




The stars stood bright in the cold, clear sky. Not a gust of wind, no cloud floating by. All was silent in the middle of the night, high up the Cloudpeak mountains. A soft, humming, pulsating sound broke the silence then, even if barely noticeable. A soft blue glow broke through the fresh snow on the frozen floor. It increased in brightness until a blue beam of energy shot up, vanishing in the cold darkness of the night sky. Silence returned, as if nothing ever happened.

Ithilwen moved to the location where the blue light had appeared. She placed her hand on the snow. She spread her fingers, then dug the tips in the snow. A soft blue glow appeared once more. She muttered some words in the arcane language and for a short moment the light increased, to fade shortly after. She sighed and stood up, walking away as she only left the slightest of footprints.

She looked around the cave she had entered. There was no sign anyone had walked there in recent times. Before moving deeper into the cave she took a hand full of snow from the entrance and shaped it in the form of a small ball. She touched it with her gift, the little ball started to hover in front of her. After whispering some words to it, the little hovering globe started to emit a blueish light. Just enough for her elven eyes to see the inner cave emerge in front of her. A lonely frozen chair and table stood against the wall, ice hanging over it. No-one had used it for years. A small cooking area, mostly empty shelves, some chests, pots, pans and other house equipment. All covered under a layer of ice and frost. It was obvious nothing had been touched for quite some time.

The signs had not told her anything yet. She had placed many. If he was in the area he must have noticed them and send her a message. This place didn't seem to provide any more answers either. A place she had once called home. She had not been here for decades but perhaps he had. She decided to follow the path, meandering down, deeper into the cave. Up ahead the path divided itself in three but she remembered the road she had walked many times, years ago. Many turns followed, many cracks and different corridors. A maze for someone not familiar with the area, but not to her. She walked on until the path lead into a small chamber. Iced stalagmites and stalactites adorned the little bubble at the edges, leaving only a small open place in the middle. She moved towards it and wiped away some of the frost. A piece of dark blue cloth pierced through the ice. Once a warm and soft blanket looked now stiff, frozen over and ragged.

"Hold still! Try not to tense your muscles, fight the natural reaction of your body. Just let it happen. Feel the cold taking over. Let it form a shield around you!" But it didn't matter how hard she tried. The shivering became uncontrollable, her muscles did not listen to her mind at all. How long did she sit here? Candlemarks? She had the feeling her teeth would shatter out of her mouth soon if she had to go on like this. "I...I...Can't...Itt.t.ts too C,c,c...Cold" He took a dark blue blanket and threw it towards her. "Stand up, it was better than last time... But not nearly good enough. Keep on practicing. You need to have this down before we can go on with your training." He walked away slowly. She could swear she heard dissapointment in his voice.

A small smile appeared on her lips as she touched the remnants of the blanket. The memory still fresh in her mind. No longer did she have any trouble with it. The cold was now hers...a friend, an ally, a force at her command. She let out a sigh. Where had he gone to? She lifted herself from the central spot. There was nothing for her here but old memories. As she walked out of the room her eye fell on a piece of parchment, just behind one of the stalagmites. It seemed as if it was ripped out of a journal. There was handwriting on it she recognized as his.

She knows I'm here. I might be too late but so is she. The girl is far away now. Hopefully out of her reach, forever. I taught her all I knew. I hope it is enough. Her gift is strong and it will be her curse. If she ever finds out she won't rest until she has her. Of that I am certain. Jay, if you read this it will be too late for me. You know what you must put in play. She will want to -

The paper had been cut right through that sentence. It was all she could read. She could feel her heartbeat in her throat. Her eyes scanned the parchment again and again. This was Aza's handwriting, of that she was certain. Was she the girl mentioned? Who was 'she' and who was Jay? In all her years with her teacher, he never had any friends visiting him. Or anyone visiting at all for that matter...

What, in the Seldarine's name, was going on?!

[Solaris]

It is dark outside as Ithilwen returns to her chambers. In one hand, the piece of parchment she had brought back with her. After closing the door and throwing her mantle aside, she reads it over and over again. She sits down on the cold floor of her chambers. Her familiar spot right under the window. She glances out over the village that seems to rest under the night sky. A smile appears on her lips at the sight. Her home, her people now. She was theirs and they were hers. She did gain here...then lost, then found back once again...

She found him too...

She lets out a sigh as she stands up and walks over to her desk. She closes her eyes and concentrates to touch a trickle of her gift. A piece of parchment with a quill float towards her. She stares at the parchment and the quill hoovers over it, moving, forming words.

Kael, my love.

I write you these words so you will not be worried. I have to search for something. I do not know how long this will take or if I return with what I seek at all. I might be away for a few days.

Yours,

Ithilwen.

The letter folds itself in the air and she lets it float out of that same window. towards its destination.

At first light, the First Mage can be seen leaving the tranquil village. No emotion shows on her frozen face as she nods to the last of the rangers who guard the elven settlement. A white flash engulfs her, and as the light dissipates, the elven maiden has vanished with it.

[Solaris]

The Search...

He once more unrolled the parchment with his gloved hands, and read the message. And again. The rock boulders kept raining around him, some even crashing against his wards, but he seemed not to mind. All that existed was the parchment, and its content:

Kael, my love.

I write you these words so you will not be worried. I have to search for something. I do not know how long this will take or if I return with what I seek at all. I might be away for a few days.

Yours,

Ithilwen.

The cold wind coming from the Cloud Peaks lifted his black mantle. He raised his masked chin, his emerald eyes scanning the mountains in the distance, his mind wandering. The boulders were more frequent now, and more accurate. He whispered something, moving a hand as an afterthought and a large rock aimed straight at his head was pulverized and subsequently blown away by the same wind tugging at his cowl.

The Hill Giants had gathered a critical mass, and were now charging towards him with large spiked clubs the size of tree trunks. Perhaps they were tree trunks. Still, he paid them no heed. He was already in the kind of trance every mage knew full well, invoking in his mind the arcane formulas, speaking the words of power in forgotten languages written in time-eaten tomes, and tracing in the air the glyphs of power required for spells of the complexity of the one he was casting.
A dark mist enveloped him, cracking with arcane energy. The first Giant reaching him was also the first one to regret it: his oversized cudgel met a steely-muscled forearm, and splintered almost as his very head suffered the same fate, when a powerful fist connected with his face.

Seeing their fallen comrade, the other giants accelerated the pace as two red eyes watched them from the dissipating darkness. They were too late. The frail-looking humanoid shape that was their target was gone, leaving a large, dark-skinned Devil in its wake. Roaring with the guttural sounds typical of the Infernal Language, the creature spread its huge bat-like wings and bolted into the air, cutting straight through the closest Giant as it took off in a rain of blood and knocking down two more with the air blast it created. In moments, it was out of sight, flying at supernatural speed towards the Speartop Mountain.

Judging by the eternal, harsh white waste all around him, the ice crystals long as a giant's blade and every bit as sharp and the chilling wind that shaped the Cloud Peaks into what they were, and would keep shaping them as the ages went by, it was not hard to imagine the place was definitely cold and inhospitable. Imagine, because he surely did not feel a thing.

The persistent ward against cold he had woven was extremely powerful, and nothing short of the First Mage's mastery of the element would be able to pierce it. Safe behind his magical bulwark, the black-robed figure studied the mountain once more, blazing green eyes scanning the dark mouth of the cavern all over again, as if waiting for it to speak, to answer his many questions.

The trail of power was leading here, but it was faint, and hard to follow. It had costed him time...too much time. By now, his kin would be engaged in battle against the enemies of Doron Amar. A battle he should have taken part to...He dismissed the thought, angrily. He would apologize later...now, he had problems to solve. Searching this complex of caves was out of the question. It could take days, or months...he absolutely did not have the time. Besides...Traveling from the inside was going to be complicated, if at all possible, therefore he had no intention to venture forth only to get lost and being forced to level the Cloudpeaks to the ground to get out. As he pondered, a weary sigh escaped his pale, thin lips as the solution came to him. Back to basics it was...

As the gate he had opened, seemingly sliced out of thin air, vanished all of a sudden, his emerald gaze met the red eyes of the summoned mastiff: "This is hers. Smell it. Find her. And do not worry about me keeping up...I will know when you do". Oh yes, he would...he only hoped to hear the explosion before the mastiff's pieces started flying towards him...

Ithilwen touched the iced wall of the small chamber within the cave complex. There must be something...some clue as to what happened to him. The message was not complete. Where was the other part? Perhaps it was still around. She had made a sweep of her surroundings multiple times now. There was nothing...no trace but the old iced over furniture, books and artifacts. What had happened here, and most of all... when.

She reread the parchment again. ''The girl is far away now. Hopefully out of her reach, forever.'' This didn't bode well. So he knew of her past all along? Why didn't he tell her before? A splitting headache was forming and she decided to sit down on the iced floor. She felt helpless.

Candlemarks passed as she just sat there, staring at the paper. She heard something then. Something in the distance, scraping on ice...
She stood up rapidly, gathering the shadows around her instantly. She pressed herself against the wall after tugging away the small piece of parchment. The sound came from up ahead the tunnel. There it was again. Scraping, sniffing... Closer this time. Her breathing picked up. ''Steady...steady... slow...'' She whispered to herself. She moved closer to the sound, foot by foot. Another scratchsound on ice, as if nails moved over it. An animal? In here? Normally they don't venture this deep into the cave systems...

She could hear a yelp now, growling and more scratching on the frosted floor as if it was running. A wolf? She moved on towards the sound. Then she saw it around the corner. A mastiff! Sniffing around, running from one corner to the other as it caught a smell, venturing closer and closer. What by the Seldarine was a mastiff doing down here in the mountains? The question lingered only shortly in her mind. The creature was venturing closer and closer...to her!
Ithilwen took a deep breath and gathered her gift. She could feel the energy build up inside her, gliding down her arm as a soft blue glow grew brighter in her hand. The mastiff came closer, was about to turn around the corner where she stood in shadow. She waited only a moment longer until the beast was right in front of her feet, sniffing where there was nothing to be seen. She unleashed some well placed icedarts on the creature. Empowered by her special gift. One dart pierced through its skull, the other through its spine, a third in the middle of its back, killing the beast within a heartbeat.

A cold feeling creeped up along her spine. A dog, was hardly far away from its owner... Immediately she gathered the shadows around her once more. She moved away from the corpse to keep an eye on the tunnel of who or what might follow. Ready to unleash more deadlier magic.

[Solaris]

The Search... (part II)



Right when the mastiff's body began to disappear, sent back to its far from enviable plane of existence, a black robed figure glided into the cold chamber. A humanoid figure judging from shape and size, but spectral, as if cloaked in mists and shadows. The sinister, wraith-like being turned towards the location the infernal hound was dispatched, and he began raising his hooded head just as the arcane words were spoken in the darkest corner of the cave, and an immensely powerful Polar Ray was woven right towards it. The being lifted one shadow arm to protect its face, and was frozen solid exactly in that position, subsequently falling down and shattering in countless ice shards scattering across the large room.

The First Mage of Dharasha stepped forth to inspect the catastrophic damage inflicted by her deadly spell in the subsequent silence, when a chuckle came from the entrance of the chamber, just as a large bat flew in and began circling the scene. "Since last time, in the forest, during the Shovotar days, in a situation like this one I received exactly the same treatment and I barely managed to deflect the attack, I thought to take some precautions this time...I hope you don't mind...dear."

The Archmage's voice had an amused tone, as if considering the possibility of his own destruction were some incredibly funny jest. He reflexively dusted himself off and adjusted his sleeves, tightened his gloves and touched his hood before adding, as he slowly moved towards her: "Let us leave aside the fact we are missing the battle for Doron Amar, and even more annoyingly I cannot snatch the life out of all those pesky human mercenaries personally, leaving Mendel all the fun yet again...What are we looking for?" he paused a moment, before raising his glowing emerald gaze towards her: "You...did not think a note like that one would cut it, did you?"

The First Mage stood there, motionless in front of him as her eyes locked with his. A hint of rage hidden in her eyes for the keen observer to find. ''Indeed we did walk this path before and I would have believed you to know when to follow me and when not to by now. Why are you not standing with our brothers and sisters for Doron Amar? That I am not there myself makes me feel angry enough, but both of us missing...'' She shook her head slowly. She then stepped over the remnants of Kael's simulacrum to stop close in front of him. ''And yet again, you take a lot of risks. You do realize that when a weave like this one hits you, you'll die in an instant? What were you thinking? A simple sending could have sufficed!'' Her expression changed all of a sudden as something she hadn't thought of entered her mind. ''Sending...'' She walked past Kael with a steady pace, moving up towards the cave's corridor.

The Archmage's eyebrow went higher and higher as she talked, laughing softly when she described his death at her hand scenario. When she mentioned using a Sending, he cleared his throat, before replying in a blank tone, with just a hint of sarcasm: "I am terribly sorry you ever thought I was inclined to do what you tell me to. I realize you wished for me to do as I was told, but there is a hole in that plan, namely I do not take orders. From anybody. Not even the mighty First Mage of Dharasha..."

As he nodded slowly to himself, he glided closer under her piercing, icy stare: "I am not especially happy not to be there for our kin, but I know Mendel, and I know our brothers and sisters: they will triumph, even without my awe-inspiring power (which obviously would have made the entire matter uninteresting...even trivial, really...). As for you killing me with your weave...your concern is heart-warming, pun intended, but there are a few things you failed to take into account in your analysis, few of them being that I am one of the most powerful mages roaming the Coast, I have lived almost four centuries and not exactly quietly, and I know full well how to protect myself...even from one as skilled and gifted as you are, dear..." He paused just enough to lock his gaze into hers: "After all, as you just mentioned, you already tried to kill me twice with that favourite trick of yours..."

He chuckled, before adding: "Had a Sending weave been an option I would certainly have considered it, instead of carving myself a bloody path all the way here, and looking for you with non conventional means to say the least...The same wards blocking Traveling also work on Sending spells, I reckon, so-" he paused as she began moving past him, towards the corridor.
"...Er...Ithilwen? Hello...?" when it became clear she would never have answered, or even listened to him any further, he sighed deeply and hurried after her.

He hated to hurry...

[Solaris]

The Search...(Part III)



Her footsteps moved silent but quick over the frozen floor. She could hear Kael following her. They walked tunnel after tunnel until she stopped in another small room. The wall showed a lot of iced glyphs, similar to those she had left in the cloud peak area. Yet these glyphs failed to glow. Their dull blue color only barely showed through the frosted layer of the room. In the middle of the room a small pillar stood. On top were the remnants of what once used to be a sphere. Some of the shards had fallen down to the ground, shattered.

Ithilwen moved over to the broken sphere. She took a large shard in her hand, observing it. ''Well, that explains a lot...'' She sighed visibly as she placed back the shard. She turned around, sensing Kael stood close by her. ''With this broken...I... I don't know how to find him. I have no idea what happened. I fear to know...'' She remained silent for a long time before taking out the piece of parchment she found earlier. After a slight hesitation she handed it over to Kael.

She knows I'm here. I might be too late but so is she. The girl is far away now. Hopefully out of her reach, forever. I taught her all I knew. I hope it is enough. Her gift is strong and it will be her curse. If she ever finds out she won't rest until she has her. Of that I am certain. Jay, if you read this it will be too late for me. You know what you must put in play. She will want to -

''I have come to a dead end...''


He followed her through the ice maze as best as he could. Getting to her had been easy, just following the summoned mastiff and thumping it on the head with his staff when it was going too fast (or too slow...or too medium...now that he thought of it, he thumped it a lot...). Now, obviously, he was lost, more and more hopelessly after every turn and every new corridor, the fleeting figure of Ithilwen kissed by the shadows and fading in and out of sight.

Even for his overly keen senses, it was increasingly hard to hear her faint steps and keep her in sight. He did not like it one bit. "Care to tell me where we are going, or at least slow down below galloping horse's speed? The frozen soil is slippery...I'm not a 120 years old child anymore!" She obviously did not answer, and just as obviously did not slow down. As he passed more and more intricate sets of ice-carved glyphs, he wished he still had a mastiff to thump with his staff...

Finally, after three tendays (maybe it had been a couple of candlemarks only, but it surely felt like a decade...) of marching through this sort of crystal daedalus, she stopped in front of...yet another small opening which he could not really discern from any other. Except...The pieces of a rather big, spherical artifact were lying on the ground. From Ithilwen's expression, that was probably not a good thing. Correction: it was definitely not a good thing. He had no idea just how bad, before she actually handed him the note.

He had a plethora of questions, of course, but he did not get very far with them: "What the...what is this supposed to mean? And who in the Nine is Jay?!?" She paused for the longest moment, then let a shard of the broken sphere drop back onto the iced floor. "I have come to a dead end". Her voice was utterly devoid of emotion, but he could easily see how desperate she was.

"Perhaps... Perhaps not. Tell me everything, we'll figure it out." He said, exuding a complete confidence he did not possess in the slightest.

[Solaris]

The Search... (Part IV)


'There is not much to say Kael. I know as much as you do. Aza never spoke of someone called Jay. Nor of a 'she' that is supposed to be after me.' She tiredly turned her head towards him. 'We should move back. Perhaps we can still be on time to aid our brothers and sisters in the battle.

The archmage pondered for a moment, his gaze fixed on the broken fragments on the ground but obviously looking far, far beyond the actual scene. After interminable moments, he finally spoke in a soft whisper:
Unless...Aza also had no idea about this, or at least not all the pieces of the Mosaic...What i- Ithilwen...?
He could already hear her footsteps getting farther. Muttering a potent curse into a fortunately long-dead language, he paced to follow her once again...


Once outside she welcomed the cold wind, the few snowflakes falling down and touching her face. She loved this place, she always had. It was a place she could return to in the past, a safe haven. But now it no longer was. She recovered the beacon she placed not too far away from the cave complex. It was useless now the sphere had been broken anyway. As she raised herself from the frozen floor and took a few steps she sensed something with her gift. After lingering for only a moment, as she determined where it came from, she took a few steps forward. She turned around to search for Kael. The snowfall had picked up and it made it difficult to see. She saw his dark form plowing through the snow. She raised her voice somewhat.

'I sense something here, someone teleported from this location. It is old but the magical residue is still strong.'

Staggering towards her through the deep snow, which did not do much to improve his already killing mood at all, he already knew what she would say before he even made out the words she was screaming to him. After all, it did not take the First Mage of Dharasha or its Loremaster to sense what had happened. The fading weave had been cast by a considerably powerful individual. Nowhere near his own level, of course...but then, who was?!

Yes...I can feel it.

She knelt down. Yes, this had been someone with considerable power. She didn't believe in coincidences. This desolate place had been wandered by very few only. She spoke some words in the ancient arcane language as she seized the Weave to try and trace the teleportation. What she sensed, she didn't like one bit.

'Amn... By the Seldarine this leads to Amn...'

She watched towards Kael for confirmation, inwardly hoping she had her directions mixed up this time.

Wait, don't tell me: Athkatla, here we come...?!

He chuckled sarcastically, but there was no mirth in his laughter. Not in his eyes. Especially not in his heart. All of a sudden, he felt bone-weary, and found himself longing for that very goblet of wine he always tried with all his might to avoid...

[Solaris]

Another Day

"I don't understand your anger"

The utter calm in her voice, a frozen pond in a still winter morning, kissed by the newborn sun's first rays...it always soothed him, even when he was furious. Which was most of the times.
He turned towards her, his cloak like living shadows all around him, his hood sliding off, revealing his fluent, white-golden hair. When his emerald gaze met her ice-blue eyes, he slowly exhaled the breath he had so quickly taken in without producing a single word.

"I do not mean to say it is unjustified, dear. I just wonder what the real source of it is", she continued.

In her silky backless dress, fitting snugly to her slim form and glittering like stars in a clear night sky, she was more beautiful than anything he had ever seen, including what he could recall of Arvandor itself. His pause gave her the chance to continue in her patient tone:

"What I mean is: are you angry because you think the Undead are winning, because even if the Council wins many will die, because they won't listen to you or none of these?

He sighed, feeling the energy fueled by emotions quickly draining away. As he shook his head slowly, she continued:

"And if it's the latter, does it have anything to do with your decision to retire from the war, or with the Amulet of the Unburied perhaps? Do you feel responsible because only we can carry it?"

"Don't." he objected, tiredly "Do not go there...you know we do not discuss that..."

"Why not? It's illogical to avoid discussions on points of interest, most of all when you are troubled by something. If anything needs to be done, then I can do it too. You know that I have more than enough power to d-"

She stiffened in surprise for a moment, as he took her into a loving embrace, his lips pressed against her. She relaxed and abandoned herself to it, as his black robes began to freeze. Protected by his wards, he was barely aware of the icy temperature...or anything else.

The Undead...the Amulet...the world itself.

They could all wait.

[Solaris]

Decisions...




The cold wind had picked up since she arrived. Tiny snowflakes were traveling in the gusts that swept around her. She did not mind. In fact, she welcomed it.

She removed the wards she had put in place and entered the cave, meandering through the small corridor until she stood in one of the larger rooms. With a simple wave of her hand the cave illuminated with a blue-like arcane light, exposing her private little palace of ice and frost.
After making herself comfortable in one of the chairs she took out the amulet. She let it hoover and turn in front of her. Such a small trinket, so incospicious, yet so much trouble...

They had driven off one of the attacks on the city's walls with her brethren of Dharasha, together with the humans and their allies. Even if they retreated themselves from the council of knowledge and the war council, they could not let them fight alone. It would be their last gift to the human city, however.

With the exception of her own self, of course. The paladin Aelcar had asked her to stand with him once more, on the wall. This fight was different, heavier, more intense. Yet, brave hearts did not give up and fought on. Despite all odds, and the very commanders shouting to retreat inside the inner city, they held the wall. It drained her to her last drop of energy she had. Other parts of the city were not as successful and hordes of undead now entered through the northern breach, pouring in every moment. The defense of the city looked dire. Didn't the elves do enough already? Was this worth even more of her people's blood? Was there even a chance of success? There was no despair, nor other emotions inside her. All was cold logic. A frozen pond.

She knew Kael fought an inner battle. He probably cared little for the city itself or its people, but she knew he loathed leaving their friends and allies alone...and letting Magmire go free. They could have made a tremendous difference in the defence of the city, probably turn the tide of the entire siege. Maybe they still could. Kael or her. Bound by blood, the pact made it so that it could be only one of them. If only they decided to use it. Such a small trinket, so incospicious, yet so much trouble...

She would rather not let Kael use it if she could help it. He had too much anger in him, too much hatred, too much emotion in general. But the alternative was not exactly appealing. What would the consequences be? After everything that happened? It could mean the end of her, and not only that. If anything happened to her, would she not bring another danger to the coast? She was well aware of the potential the archmage had. She was his anchor, his soulmate, his balance. If she was to fall away, she was sure he would take his revenge on everything and everyone directly and indirectly responsible, carelessly slaughtering the innocents in the process...He would challenge mortals and immortals, even the gods themselves. He would stop at nothing to reach his goal then, no matter how destructive, nor dark.

Their friends...death was just one step behind them. The Order of Lions she was part of, the Order of the Silver Rose that had helped her unconditionally back in the Shovotar days, Sir Aelcar himself. Should the city fall, they would all fall with it. She closed her eyes and relaxed back in the chair. She knew what had to be done, it was only logical to do so. The needs of the many, outweight the needs of the few. She opened her eyes and took the amulet out of the air in front of her. Such a small trinket, so incospicious, yet so much trouble...