Long Story | The Elven Cutthroat

The lands of Urt had always been a land gratified by the blessing of the gods. All of my ancestors served the guardian of the land for millennia, but that was five years ago. Today, destiny led me to a new path and a new dawn.

— Alena... What are you doing?

The light of the great tree shined with its splendid blue color, a mystical energy that brought peace to the world and echoed the feeling of the earth. My mother, one of the priestesses of the temple discovered me sniffing around in that place forbidden for the rest of the elves of the village.

— I just wanted to observe a little. —I said.

— You know you can't come in here...

My mother was one of the most important women of the village, a short time ago that the great tree had chosen her as its protector and in her hands was now the destiny of many people, or at least that is what the legends said.

— I'm sorry... —I replied.— ...I just wanted to know why it shone so bright.

I moved away from the entrance of the temple and walked in the opposite direction to the village, I understood that it was forbidden to be there and I did not want to cause problems to her.

— Alena...

My mother made a single call to me and as she turned her face I saw her opening the door of the temple and beckoning with her hand to invite me in. Her smile was full of a complete tranquility that comforted me and showed that "everything was going to be fine".

— This site Alena... —she said after walking down a long hallway.— It's one of the most sacred places in the world.

The walls were covered with thick layers of ivory and alternate roots that made the exterior look like a completely different place. In spite of the years, the temple remains as alive as what it kept inside.

— For more than a thousand years our ancestors have been in charge of taking care of this mystical space. —she continued.— Someday perhaps your destiny will be the same as ours.

A light radiated brighter as we walked to the end of the tunnel.

— We're here.

His energy sprouted everywhere in a visible form and expanded throughout a beautiful flowery garden, in it, small spiritual creatures fluttered and hid when observing strangers like me. The warmth and vitality of that great tree invited me not to leave it.

— It's beautiful, Mom! —I said after running, trying to go around the big trunk.

— Not only is it beautiful, Alena, it's life. —she replied.— If you pay attention you can hear the voice of the earth.

I stopped for a moment and closed my eyes. I could feel an energy enveloping my body, but no matter how hard I tried, it was impossible for me to hear anything beyond the wind.

— I don't hear anything, mother.

— When you are ready you will hear it.

I ran to her and hugged her for a few minutes that seemed like hours, since her incursion as a priestess it was almost impossible for me to see her so I tried to take advantage of those moments as best I could.

— Master Allhm. —said a man from an upper floor.— We must prepare everything, the full moon is approaching.

— I'll be right there, Tarniz.

My mother was surprised to hear that news and asked me to return to the village as soon as possible.

The full moon was a cult symbol for our lineage. Each month, on a special night, the temple priest and the other wizards of the people prayed to it to bless the great guardian and allow the prosperity of our lands. It was such an emblematic night that many people from different towns and cities came to observe the great celebration that took place after such an event. This time it was my mother's turn to perform the ceremony that same night.

— Alena, where were you?

— I went to the temple with my mother.

My grandfather looked worried, he had been out for hours and everyone in the village was already making preparations for the big night. He even had the great task of initiating the ceremony with one of his well-known speeches by everyone in Urt.

— You know you can't go there Alena... —he said after patting me on the head.— However, you were with Allhm so I think it's okay. Go change.

— . . .

I preferred not to answer and ran to my room, I hated being treated like a child even though I was 213 years old and had done and seen things that an ordinary human would never have thought of. However, I was right, not even one of the great elders could access the temple without any permission, and I always looked for a way to be there, attending the call of my dreams, trying to discover its meaning through vague images of the great guardian tree and of the woman who approached me in that sacred place. I think that from the beginning, from the first dream, I should have told my mother but I always considered it silly and unimportant.

At least until that night.

Chapter II : The grey night

• Master Allhm, how do you feel?

• I'm fine Tarniz. It was just a dizziness.

• If it feels bad we could.

• No! It is my duty...

It had been several hours since people were arriving in town and approaching the entrance to the temple where the ceremony would take place, but for some reason I couldn't stop thinking about dreams and that sensation of energy enveloping me returned again to me and clouded my sight. The images began to swirl through my mind and a voice echoed in my head.

— Stop him...!

— Who's that? —I replied.

The voice became distant and I could not hear it again. As I awakened from my trance and regained control of my senses, I observed roots, flowers and the blue light of the great guardian tree around me.

— How did I get here? —I asked myself.

The light intensified in front of me and I saw a small opening in the bottom of the tree, the roots moved around and gave way to a small cave.

— Stop him...

For some reason I felt connected to the call of that voice and I walked to that place where I was covered with its energy.

— ¡Zintar!

The images followed one after another and I saw the devastation of my people, the terror of a whole generation and the fall of the great tree. No doubt that being of darkness named Zintar would destroy the peace of the world and bring death and destruction in its wake. I had to warn him, I had to run to the village and tell my mother.

— Mother! Mother!

I screamed as I ran in hopes that she would still be within the temple, but apparently the ceremony was about to begin, the moon was rising high and its color took on a strange gray tone that washed over the great tree. Something was about to happen and I had to make sure I helped my people.

— People of Urt! Guests from faraway lands! Today we begin a new era of hope and prosperity to the continent and beyond, to the entire world!

I heard the grandfather shout his speech to start the ceremony but he was still too far away from me, on the other side of the crowd in the direction opposite the entrance to the temple.

— Grandpa! —I shouted, as I ran through the crowds of people.— Stop it! Stop it!

My mother was on a higher level next to Tarniz, watching the event and waiting to start the ceremony.

«blockquote>—Stop him...

The voice echoed again in my head and a dark mist settled around Tarniz, a mist that only I seemed to be able to observe.

— Is he Zintar? —I asked myself just before I stopped to observe.

«blockquote>—Stop him...

— Mother!

At the top of a tree that served as a balcony, my mother Allhm watched the event as she focused on canalising the lunar energy to transmit it to the large tree and allow for the prosperity and well-being of the region. However, his face looked tired and busy, something was not right.

— Master Allhm. —Tarzin say behind her.— You must rest, I can take care of the ceremony.

— No Tarzin. —she replied after getting up.— It's my duty.

— It's a shame...

A palpitation invaded my chest and I looked again at my mother's face. Her skin color changed strangely to a purple tone and Tarzin's shadow moved away from her.

— Mother!

I ran as fast as I could and saw how his body began to fall from on high. The audience was watching, scared, and my grandfather was already starting to run like me, even my mother.

— I've got it! —grandfather shouted after catching my mother.— Daughter!

— Mother! —I shouted a few seconds later.— Mother!

She was cold, her skin was very dark and she could barely breathe.

— Charming...

A mist invaded the village and I watched Tarzin coming out of the shadows and walking towards us.

— Don't worry so much, young lady. —he said as his body began to change shape until it took on a greenish tone.— She'll be dead in a few minutes.

— Tarzin? —asked grandfather, approaching him.— What's going on?

— Shut up, elven! —Tarzin shouted after throwing grandfather far away with a simple wave of his hands.— I'm tired of you and your people...

— Alena... go away...

My mother could barely stand, yet she used all her strength to get up and landed in front of Tarzin.

— Who are you? —she said in a barely audible voice.— What do you want from us?

— Allhm... —he replied, taking just one step.— I don't want anything from you, it's the guardian I come for.

— You won't touch the guardian! —shouted my mother, but then she fell to the ground.

— Mom!

The man began to laugh and applaud as all the people settled around him in an attempt to confront and contain him.

— Do you really think you can do something?

His body levitated a few centimeters from the ground and after a movement of his arm the vast majority of people flew out of the place, crashing into walls, trees and anything in their path.

— The only person who could stop me was you, Allhm! —he said as his body began to transform.— I have been absorbing your energy throughout this last century in which you were elected as a temple priestess and yet you never realized who I was!

— Tarzin? —my mother said.

— Zintar —I replied.

The wind blew strongly bringing with it a complete darkness, from which various spectral creatures began to appear and surround the temple. Tarzin's body was covered with a black mantle and a strange vaculum of bone appeared in his hands. The shadows were devouring everything in their path and the cry of the villagers was heard all around.

— Stop it, Zintar! —I screamed after taking a small dagger that a man had left on the ground and pointing it in his direction.— Leave us alone!

— What do you think you can do, little Alena? —he replied.— You're nothing but a little elven.

There was really nothing I could do. Zintar turned and walked to the entrance of the temple. It was an abominable creature and as the minutes passed the moon moved from its height, leaving behind the time needed to perform the ritual and turning the guardian into a vulnerable creature.

— Alena... —my mother tried to get up again but it was in vain. Her skin began to turn gray and her body took on a stone texture.— You must go, far from here....

— I can't leave them...

— Alena... —Mom took off an old necklace on which an old pearl shone and put it on my head.— No matter what happens, I'll always be with you.

My mother's warm embrace marked the beginning of the end. A dark, mowing light covered the entire environment and slowly I saw the great guardian tree and all that lay around me disappear. There was nothing more to do, I just felt my body disappear in the darkness.

Chapter III : Guardian.

«blockquote>— Alena, you must wake up...

My body felt tired, the sun shone brightly and my eyes could barely withstand that intensity. I pushed a couple of rocks around me and I was able to get out of that cloister of stone and sand.

— Mother...

All around there was only sand, the whole forest disappeared and the temple had been reduced to a few giant rocks scattered in a circular shape. The great guardian tree had become a gloomy, petrified figure of lesser size. All was finished.

— Grandfather! Grandfather!

I shouted as much as I could, ran around, reviewed every remaining space of what was once our village. There was no one, I was alone. My tears fell on the earth and I no longer knew what to do or who to turn to.

Live Alena...

I thought I heard my mother's voice. Maybe my people would be alive somewhere, they had just disappeared. That was it, it was no time to cry.

— I promise to bring them back...

I dried my tears and looked at the big tree. I promised myself that everything would be different, that I would fight to restore peace and life to my people. It was not the time to be sad, Zintar had disappeared but his work could be reversed in some way, I could feel it.

During each day that passed, I gave shape to what the people were: fields, animals, huts. I dedicated myself to training to get the necessary strength, I learned the art of the sword, I thought for a long time about what to do, nothing came to my mind.

Little by little the idea of bringing back my people was disappearing and with it, the hope of ever seeing them again.

Alena...! Alena!

I heard a voice in my head, it hadn't happened in a while. When I opened my eyes I saw how a light shone under a stone and after approaching I could see my mother's necklace with the small pearl shining of an intense blue color.

— What's going on?

I took the necklace and felt its warmth. That energy of a long time ago invaded my body and invited me to go in some direction.

— The temple? Why go there?

A fine thread of light made its way into the darkness of the night and pointed in the direction of the temple, in which the same light shone faintly within.

— The great tree!

I ran as fast as I could and crossed the now reconstructed roads of the village until I reached the temple. The weak light was already at the bottom of that place and I had to know what was happening now, the hope of finding my family was shining inside me again.

— Mom!

I shouted as I reached the main area of the temple, watching the withered plants and the petrified trunk. My mother was not there, there was nothing but rocks and weeds.

— Mother...

I fell to the ground and cried, I cried like I had never cried before, no matter how hard I tried to have hope, nothing would ever be like before, Zintar had taken everything I ever loved.

Don't cry Alena...

The light from the necklace became more and more intense, enveloping my body and resonating all around. The central area of the temple, whose flowers had died long ago, began to fill with life once again.

You must leave soon...

— Mother? —I said trying to find the place where the voice came from.— Where are you, mother?!

Little Alena... I'll always be with you... all of us will be.

— I want you back, mother!

A new guardian is born... go on his quest... you must wake up.

A splendorous blue moon illuminated the sky. The temple was somehow alive and the tears on my face were no longer of fear, they were of hope and happiness. My mother lay somewhere very distant, a place beyond my own reality, perhaps floating with the vital current that fills this earth and struggling every day to maintain peace and tranquility.

The lands of Urt had always been a gratifying terrain for the happiness of the gods. All my ancestors served the guardian of the land for millennia, but that was five years ago. Today, destiny took me to a new path and a new dawn, to a faraway place in search of a new guardian to protect this land.

---

The man walked through the forest of Urt, it seemed somewhat strange to follow in the footsteps of those bandits, yet my mother's necklace shone so brightly that I could not help but follow.

— Who's there?! —I wondered after drawing his axe.— I won't repeat it one more time!

The Grumpy Dwarf...