The War of Light and Dark

[Alacer Phasmatis]

((Shoddy post? Yes. But I plead sleepiness!))

"General Heraldrus!" Bellator roared in his native tongue, "rein in your forces!" No need for a telepathic commander when his own voice could roll like thunder over the clang of weapons and screams of the dying. "Adisa, Gerthanus, all Generals! On my command!"

If the men were shocked, they gave no sign of it, simply turning their angular faces upwards to regard the usually stoic man, the wildly streaming hair of he and his regiment writhing in a tentaclesque fashion during their crazed dive. Bellator himself pulled out of the free-fall, rising above the carnage to view the field in full. There was one good thing in the death of the mages: no one else here can speak Fae, so my commands will be undecipherable.

"Heraldrus, take Xerthanus's troops at the rear!" Even as the shadows began to swirl and take form, signaling their doom, the lone General fought for their glory. "Do NOT let your men balk! Guard your minds, let no emotion betray you-- protect yourselves as you did your secrets when the Dei was among us!" For if there was one thing she taught us above all else, he thought grimly, it was how to safeguard your emotions. Still, there was little to be done when the first men fell, screaming and clutching their heads. The shifters themselves broke ranks upon seeing the new threat, but their maddened fear made them easier to target, like fish swimming into the net.

An image of the calm-faced Altus surfaced to his mind, the man fighting as though without thought, silver-bright Argenti looming over him as barking Foertis razed the earth with fire.

"Lose yourselves!" He hollered. "Give in to madness, pay no heed to your next move! Fight with the strength of a berserk wolf or rabid lion!"

"Die!" He raged, turning the word into a chant. The faeries went mad, shouting that proclamation as though it would save them, giving up logic to wild abandon. If they must die, then they would do it with honor, like a river breaking past the dams! Those who attempted to desert were crushed by the mad stampede. The capricious elves, maddened with hate and grief at the fall of their loving commander, joined the faeries in their chant. How ironic that they were truly united only in this, their last moment of moments.

"Die!"

"Die!"

"Die!"

[ShadowPhoenix]

((The Avelate))

There was a soft knock at the door. Without bothering to glance up from a few papers spread out on the desk in front of him, the Avelate said, "You may enter, Healer Asa." The feline shifter slid into the room, making sure that the door was closed behind him. He strode to the Avelate's desk and waited. As he did, his blue eyes scanned the room, noting that the map of Aduro and Cetairiacelos was gone. All that remained was the map of Aduro on the opposite wall.

"You know then?" he asked, breaking the silence. It was purely a rhetorical question; if the Avelate didn't know of the most recent happenings, then they were as good as dead.

The Avelate looked up and smiled slightly, his piercing eyes seeming to search the short man's soul. "Yes, and the orders have been given. Within the hour, all of our spies and assassins will know that it's time. Luckily for us, not too many people decided to stick around up here, so all we'll have to deal with are the people with the misfortune of being assigned in the South," here the smile flickered across his face again, as if he knew something that the other man didn't--which he undoubtedly did--, "as well as whatever refugees they bring with them."

The Avelate's forest green eyes lit up, as he said, "This will force us to update a lot of our records. Since I am not going to be the one running around and collecting such data, I will find that process to be an enjoyable one. " I bet you will,Healer Asa thought, knowing from experience how much frustration would be felt by the unlucky souls chosen to carry out that task.

Healer Asa said nothing, and simply waited, his mind reviewing the facts of the past half-hour. Jael had reported to one of their telepaths that the war was as good as lost, and that telepath had sent it along the chain until it had reached the Avelate's ears. Most likely, Lilith had used the spelled pieces of glass to shift into Samir, who had no metal magic. Since Jael was connected to the elf by magic as well as blood-oath and soul, he would have felt the change.

"This shall take care of things quite nicely," the Avelate murmured, brushing his rich brown hair out of his eyes. He continued, glancing up at Healer Asa for confirmation. "I'm assuming that you told Lilith why her Pylleomin hates her so much?"

Receiving a nod from a slightly puzzled healer, he briefly explained what the albino and the Pylleomin had to do with anything. "Recently, I have become aware of rising… discontent against me. It seems that our favorite-” here the word held a trace of sarcasm “-faery has been spreading a few rumors about me. Since we shall be in the middle of the first war that our country has ever officially participated in, I do not believe that it would be in its best interest if its leader were killed during a coup d’état.” He paused, and looked at the short healer.

Asa’s eyes grew bright with comprehending. “So you’re hoping that she’ll kill him for you, as is allowed by our laws of revenge for the death of a family member,” he flatly finished. “But what if she can’t?” he added, remembering Lilith's constant struggle with magic, and her lack of experience.

Here the Avelate smiled and passed Healer Asa one of the papers. On it was a list of all the mages in the camp, categorized by species then name. There was a short paragraph next to each entry, stating things like age, appearance, family background, and magical ability. “If you would take a look at the faery Argenti Malkeya, as well as Altus Signum Vulnus?” he asked, handing the blond another paper with all the healers.

Healer Asa briefly skimmed the specified paragraphs. “So they have two poison mages?” he asked, realizing what that statement meant. Lilith would undoubtedly have found a way to convince at least one of the mages to teach her something.

“Yes,” the Avelate said, smiling slightly—a smile that forced Healer Asa to repress a shudder. “Then after a short amount of time—anywhere from a year to three, depending on how well everything is organized by Adurians—we should expect to see one of the aforementioned mages. If I were in the habit of betting, however, I would place my money on Altus Vulnus.” Here he pulled up another sheet of paper, this time an old report from the Border filed by the well-known Raven Twins, as they had been nicknamed.

“He was already here when he about three or four. If he still has any recollection of it, and if Lilith dropped a few hints, there is a very high chance that he shall return to satisfy his curiosity." With a shrug, the Avelate continued.

"At any rate, when either of them comes, we shall send Lilith—who will most likely spend her time here as Samir—back with him. That will place two of our five metal mages in the South, as Jael will follow Kaedo into the gaping maw of Hell itself. And since Kaedo has loyalties to his country, I highly doubt that he shall not participate in the eventual rebellion.

“As for Sorea…” here the Avelate trailed off, his eyes full of uncertainty for a fraction of a second. Jael had told them that the daggers had bonded the faery’s mind and soul to the elf’s, which meant that Sorea undoubtedly knew about the existence of Cetairiacelos.

“What she will do remains to be seen,” he finished, the brief flicker of uncertainty gone. “We shall simply wait, and respond accordingly.” Healer Asa nodded silently. “Now if you will excuse me…” the Avelate said in a very pointed voice. Bowing slightly, the blond-haired man left the room.

After the shifter had left, the Avelate gazed at the map for a few moments. In a soft voice, he said “Now, we wait for their move. And then,” he said, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly, revealing teeth in a feral grin, “we shall make ours.”

--End--

((Here's the link to the sequel's OOC: http://www.roleplaygateway.com/freedom-forsaken-ooc-t11368.html. As soon as Alacer creates the IC, I'll post it.))