Aran o Erain
Part I
(by Taliaferro Erucolindo)
Taliaferro walked under the night sky, moving across the Eastern Plains of Karana. Normally, he would have been running, but something about the night sky seemed calming. Tal thought back to recent events, which had left him few chances to be calm. Constant fighting. Concerted raids against the enemy, fighting alongside his allies and guildmates alike. War was the life that Tal had chosen, like his father before him, but such a life is not without a price. How many monsters had Tal slain, how many enemies had drawn their last breath, only to have it run out of their bodies onto the blades in Tal's hands? So much blood. Tal, like other Warriors, had a tough exterior...but beneath that outter shell, beneath the armor that protected him....beat the heart of an Elf that knew the full weight of taking life after life after life. It was a dichotomy that never really made sense to anyone, least of all Tal. Yet, here he was, on his way to see Tenal Redblade. Tenal had been Tal's last point of contact with his deity, the god of war, Rallos Zek. Tal wasn't sure what Tenal had done to deserve to have the god of war speak through him, yet nonetheless the Warlord had spoken to Taliaferro through this human, had told him what he must do to prove himself worthy of the Jagged Blade of War, the twin blades of strategy and tactics. Tal had completed another step on his quest, thanks to the selfless sacrifice of his guildmates, and was going to Tenal in hopes of learning what his next task would be.
As Taliaferro walked along under the starlit night, his mind drifting over the task before him, a shadow moved to his right. Elven eyes, able to detect the heat radiating from all living things (and even the undead), failed to notice the movement of one trained to not be seen. A Teir'Dal Rogue, moving with preternatural silence from shadow to shadow, slipped ever closer. Tree to tree, down the side of the hill toward the roadway that the weary Fier'Dal Warrior trod upon, the Dark Elven Rogue stayed ever in the shadows, until he was practically upon his target. Normally, Taliaferro used his magickal bracer to augment his sight, enabling him to see things which are normally hidden, but tonight he was lost in his thoughts and hadn't noticed that his eyes had stopped tingling. Closer and closer, until he was directly behind the target....then, with a quick glance to ensure that none of the guards from the nearby town were in range to hear......the Rogue lunged forward and stabbed Taliaferro in the back, slipping the cold steel of his dirk between the links in Tal's chain mail shirt, through the padding underneath, and piercing one of Taliaferro's lungs! Poison and pain shot through Tal's veins, causing the Wood Elf to seize up, temporarily unable to move! As the would-be assassin reached around Taliaferro with his other blade, aiming to slit Tal's throat, Tal mustered the strength to bring his weapon up and block the attack, but stumbled and rolled down the hill to his left, desperately trying to draw breath.
The Rogue immediately leapt for the shadows, to attempt and hide from any counter-attack from his target, but now alerted, Taliferro quickly fumbled into his pack and produced the Bracer of the Hidden, which immediately betrayed the Dark Elf's location. Though the poison burned in his veins, Tal sprang to his feet and brandished his weapons. Spitting a curse (and blood) from his lips, charged at the Rogue, who realized that he could no longer hide, and responded by leaping over Tal's charge, flipping in mid-air, and launching another attempted backstab at Tal as he passed underneath. However, Tal was no longer off his guard. Sweeping one of his twin Lamentation blades behind him, Tal parried the attack, then spun in place and kicked the Rogue's legs out from under him just as he was about to land. Rather than landing in an awkward heap, the Teir'Dal twisted in mid-air, brought his off-hand weapon up, and parried Tal's counterattack. Faster than most mortal eyes could follow, four weapons flashed in the starlight, tracing intricate patterns of death, but each slash, thrust, and stab was parried, riposted, and dodged. Sparks shot from the blades when they intersected, and for every missed swing, a counter was immediately launched. Taliaferro pressed the attack, realizing that the longer the poison coursed in his veins, the more danger there was the the enemy would land a fatal blow. Ducking under an overhand slash, Tal inverted his primary hand's weapon and drew it violently across the exposed flank of his opponent. Hissing in anger and pain, the Teir'Dal responded with a backhand slash of his own, that Tal didn't quite duck. The blade snaked through the eye-slit in Tal's helment, and just barely missed Tal's right eye. A jagged cut along his brow bleed into Tal's eyes, and he knew he would have to fight even harder to overcome the early advantage his opponent had. Snarling, the Feir'Dal spun and swept low, only to have his target leap over the strike. Tal began to feel a numbness growing in his extremities, and feared that the poison might cost him this fight and his life. Tal lowered his guard on the left side a fraction of an inch, as though the sword had suddenly become too heavy to raise in defense. The Teir'Dal, blinded by his hate for the Fier'Dal (and for all creatures of the Light), took the bait and lunged with a stab at Tal's heart. Sidestepping to his right, Tal brought one sword up and the other sword down, crossing at the weapon that had just missed him. The torque was more than the Teir'Dal could hold onto, and the poisoned dagger went flying into the air. As the Teir'Dal recoiled, Tal spun and swept both swords around, cutting parallel arcs. The Dark Elf blocked one sweeping slash with his remaining blade, but the other one tore through the leather armor and ripped deeply through muscle and bone. Tal's moment of victory was cut short, however, as the bleeding Rogue fell back, scrambled to his feet, and sprinted past Tal, up the hill. Before Taliaferro could pursue, the Teir'Dal spun suddenly and launched a throwing knife! Tal managed to dodge the blade, but as he did, the Rogue recovered the poisoned dagger from where it had fallen, and began to race away, further up the hill. Tal knew that if the Rogue escaped, he would only come back and finish Tal off when he least expected it. Still feeling the effects of the poison, Taliaferro raced up the hill after him.