MementoDei
R.I.P
Darhan
He was a master of disguise and, as soon as the night fell, he took the appearance of a young scout. The attire covered his face and his hair was a light pink. He couldn't modify his height, but for once he was glad to be way below the average height of pure blood elves. He went out along the kids' mother to find a way back to Elrios, but as they travelled through the forests, his hopes were getting lower. The forests had traces of skulls, old buildings teared down and even the spirits around them were full of grief. On the old ruins, he could barely read names of shops, cabarets and other buildings.
The woman stopped at the end of a road. It was a cliff and down below, a cementery of homes was visible. "You were alive during the first war, weren't you? If I had to guess, you'd be around my kids' age."
Darhan nodded. "I was. In human years, I had eighteen."
"A bit older, then. That said, I can't apologize for what the demons did to your villages, the dead won't come back and the fear will still be there. Just like it will be for us after we lost that war to Ishmael. Not only to her, but to the demons as well. The age of the elves is long over, isn't it?"
Darhan looked down and walked to the woman's right, standing only half a foot away from the edge of the cliff. "After we lost the El, it was over. Our magic got weaker and the humans, who inherited the El, became stronger. There's only one pure blood still alive, and all the hybrids in Elrios died. If so much destruction happened after the first war in Varnimyr, what will this war leave behind of our heritage?"
"The only pure blood left is you, I suppose. But speaking of Varnimyr's hybrids, only a handful of them might survive. And even then, will they remember their heritage, or will they be assimilated the demons?"
What she had said was wrong, but considering that he should keep a low profile, he didn't say anything. The woman continued to walk and Darhan followed her a few seconds later. The path near the cliff turned around towards a taller mountain. More luxurious houses were built around that area. Because they were closer to what seemed to be the old centre of spiritual convergence, Darhan could only assume that the pure bloods used to live here. The sight of a skeleton hanging over a tree, with a X mark on its forehead branch made him frown. Then another one appeared two minutes later. Each two minutes, a hanged corpse was hanging from a branch. It was so strikingly similar to what the demons had done in elven villages that he couldn't help to feel a chill down his spine.
"A demon raid...?"
"Yes and no. These were people hanged by the demon army under Edith's orders. She has a peculiar way to crush people that stick to the true traditions. There was some resistance at first, but I guess the best at seducing demon generals wins."
"I apologize if I'm being too nosy, but wasn't your husband also a person of influence within the demon army?"
"We never married, but he was from an important noble household, but only as a servant. Or a slave, if you must be specific about it. He was important, but only as a General's pawn. His life depended on that general, but..."
The woman took a pause and breathed deeply. "He did dream of breaking his chains, which is why he tried to stay here with me, but he couldn't get over his fears. And in the end, those fears got the better of him. I hope you didn't let the fear win after you survived and weren't captured back in those days."
Darhan thougt about the woman's words. He couldn't say that he was brave and persevered througout the rest of the war, keeping his head and his mind afloat from what he had been put through, but he did decide to live on. He had caused many deaths, but he had given the humans an advantage to win: The Guardian Stone. And after so many people lived and his knowledge was used for the greater good, Darhan felt more at peace with his own actions. It made him think about Yullr, who had told him that he couldn't find any redemption for what he had done unless he died. Darhan couldn't help but wonder how the bright and optimistic child he once knew would grow to think such extreme things.
After half an hour of silent walking, they were in front of imposing ruins made of stone and slowly swallowed by nature. A giant wheel of stone stood in front of them and pillars covered with ancient runes were the boundaries of the path of stairs that lead to the portal. The marks on his skin began to react and his disguise disappeared. Darhan began to focus his power on opening a portal like he would in Ishmael's world, but nothing happened. His marks stopped glowing and most of his mana seemed to be sealed away against his will. Darhan frowned, but noticed he had enough to retake his fake appearance.
"I can't stay here for long, are there other ways to get out of this village?"
"Yes, but those are not paths I'm risking to take. I have children to take care of."
"Just a map will do. I've already passed three weeks here."
"What's your rush to get back to Elrios? Fight some unholy war?"
Darhan squinted at the woman. "...You could say that."
The woman huffed. "You pure bloods are silly men. Going to fight alone like you got nothing more to lose. Let's head back before the dawn scouts see us."
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