eldalyn

~:~
Eldalyn's History
Eldalyn sliced through the air with her sword in a complicated set of moves. Her agile body flowed through the air; her wings beat the air powerfully. She was dancing, and her sword was her partner. "My lady..." the voice startled her out of her concentration, so that she twisted the wrong way and nicked her wing with her sword. "Ouch..." she smiled and gently landed on the mat beneath her. "Yes, Isil? What is it?" The servant didn't smile back. "Please come with me. And you must hide your wings." Eldalyn cocked her head in surprise. "All right." "And leave your sword. You will not need it." "But I always carry it with me." "Orders, my lady. Please hurry." With that, Isil turned and walked down the hallway. Eldalyn's guard immediately went up. Retract my wings, and leave my sword? They were robbing her of two of her strongest weapons. Odd. It was universally known that she rarely hid her wings, unless they were in the way, and also that she never went anywhere without her sword. Never. She left her sword, but slipped a jeweled dagger into her boot. She normally had a matching one, but it had disappeared a few weeks ago. She hurried after the servant while retracting her wings. Something was wrong. She heard Isil's footsteps echoing down the hall and murmuring reached her ears. She rounded a corner and stopped abruptly. A large group of people was standing in the hall, watching her. She saw unit seven on the sixty units of guards that attended her castle standing off to one side. "What is all this?" she said. She was looking at the sea of blank faces when something shining on the floor caught her attention. It was a liquid of some sort, and.......red. She stepped forward and group parted at her movement. A young boy of about twelve or thirteen was lying on the floor, dead. "Thyesten..." Eldalyn gasped. Upon further investigation, she saw that he had a dagger through his head. But not just any dagger......her dagger. It was at that instant that heavy hands were placed on her shoulders. She whirled. "What treatment is this, Ucon?" "You are under arrest, my lady, for the murder of this child." "You can't honestly believe..." One of the guards drew the bloody dagger from the boy's head, letting his head drop down on the floor. Eldalyn winced at the sickening thud. "Do you deny that this is your dagger?" "Well, no, but..." "Then the odds are against you. We're taking you into custody, unless you can tell us where you were this morning." "Not without a fight." With a twist, she was in the air: dagger in one hand, a mass of fire in the other. Instantly, she was surrounded by fifteen guards. She snarled, "Bring it on," and they pounced. Fire flashed, and the fight began. But she was dramatically outnumbered. She fought her hardest, wings, fire and dagger. But a poor move made her dagger go flying from her hand, and one guard had her wings clamped tightly behind her. Another guard grabbed her arms, and forced her hands behind her into metal cuffs. They led her away screaming.....
~:~
A week later, Eldalyn could be found in a stone cell. Her arms were chained high above her head, and her wings were chained to her sides. She was exhausted and weak. She hadn't been fed since before she had been captured. Only her power over magic kept her half-alive, and even that was meager as her strength waned. Then she heard voices ? the now familiar guard's, and.......a vaguely familiar female voice. Why was it familiar? She saw the soldier followed by a hooded and cloaked woman. "Leave us." The woman said. The guard bowed and moved away. The woman pushed her hood back and Eldalyn immediately recognized her. "You. I had you banished weeks ago." The woman seemed unconcerned. "Ah, yes. Funny how you don't have guards who obey your commands anymore, isn't it? And even more ironic that your dagger disappeared at the same time that I did." A growl rose in Eldalyn's throat. "It was you." "Oh, aren't we a smart hatchling now? Of course you fool. The guards did their bit, of course. It's a pity, actually. Your dying father was so upset when he had to sign the warrant for your arrest." "Why are you doing this?" "Why do you think? The normal reasons ? Revenge, power. The next in line for the throne is my nephew, and I am his current guardian, since his mother "unexpectedly" passed away." "You witch." "Ah ha, funny how that works, isn't it? Well, I must be going. More evil plans to scheme. Ta ta!" Eldalyn could only growl. The woman hid her face again, and Eldalyn heard her say, "Do what I said. My work is finished here." And she was gone. The guard's face was cruel as he came into Eldalyn's cell. He unchained her from the wall and she fell to the floor. He tied her to a ring in the wall and taking one of her wings in an iron grip, reached for a pair of tongs......
~:~
Eldalyn's screams could have been heard for miles. The guard had mutilated her wings so badly that puddles of blood stained the floor. She lay crumpled on the cold stone, trying to summon enough water to wash her hurt wings. She had not the energy. With the last of it, she morphed into her white wolf form. The pain was still there, but not as vividly. She rested her head on the cold floor and managed to fall asleep. The next thing she knew, she was being kicked awake. She yelped as she rolled over and stood. She morphed into her mortal form to hear the guard say, "You have a visitor, wench." He moved aside, and Eldalyn saw an old woman followed by a young girl enter her cell. "Go." The old woman hissed, and the guard moved away from the cell. Eldalyn looked up as the girl stepped forward, and gave a cry. "Oh, Alysia!" She cried and took the girl in her arms. "Fee, how could you have brought her here?" The old woman smiled sadly. "She wanted to see you, and she would not be calmed until she did." "It is dangerous for my family at present, Fee. You shouldn't have come." Eldalyn said sadly as she rocked the girl in her arms. With the innocence of a six year old, Alysia looked up at her and asked, "Mother, why are you here? What happened to all your nice things, and why is there blood all over the floor?" Eldalyn stifled a sob at her daughter's innocence and said, "Political matters, darling. Don't worry your pretty little head about it." To Fee, she said quietly. "Listen closely to me. You must take her to the old man, Brucal. Tell him to keep her safe, even if it means taking her away from here." Fee nodded as the guard said, "Hurry it up in there. I have better things to do right now." Fee sighed and said, "Time to go little one." Alysia clung to her mother and said, "But we just got here!" "Come on, Aly." "Okay." The girl's attitude changed immediately. Eldalyn managed a smile. "Fee, your powers are truly amazing." The woman just smiled sadly. Aly gave her mother one last hug and said, "I love you." Eldalyn kissed the top of her head and said, "I love you too, dear one, more than you know. Stay safe." Alysia nodded and skipped to Fee, who glanced at Eldalyn worriedly. "Don't worry about me." She said quietly. Fee nodded, and both she and the girl were gone. The guard watched them leave before walking into Eldalyn's cell with something behind his back. "Ready for some more fun?" he laughed. Eldalyn gazed at him quietly as he pulled a long leather whip from behind his back. Crack. Eldalyn fell to her knees as the whip left a welt across her shoulders. Crack. Eldalyn stifled a cry as the whip hit her again. Crack. Eldalyn let the whimper escape her throat as the lashes continued...for twenty minutes. At the end of her torture session, her back was mutilated and bloody. The witch surely had the kingdom under her thumb. No Linyaari punishments were as cruel as this. Linyaari preferred banishment to death as it was, and torture was a thing unheard of. The guard left her crumpled on the floor, and she whimpered as she passed out.....
~:~
When Eldalyn woke, her back hurt her terribly. She used her limited energy to expand her wings, and examined them. The feathers were already growing back, which was a relief. One of the greatest powers of the Linyaari was the ability to quickly replace lost feathers, no matter how they were lost. She looked up and saw a tray of bread, water, and cheese on the floor in front of her. She grabbed the food and devoured it hungrily. She doubted that the guard had given her the food, but rather Fee, whose skills in magic were unmatched in the peasantry realm. She had learned her powers long ago, in a faraway land, as she was not a Linyaari. The food gave her strength: enough to morph into a white tiger. She felt better now that she was a great beast, with more energy and power than her mortal form, but her white fur was stained with the blood of a hundred wounds. She was left alone for two days....... On the second day, she was in her mortal form when she heard the murmuring of voices. She looked up to see a group of guards entering her cell. One was holding...... "Oh goddess, no." Two guards darted forward and caught her arms and dragged her forward. She was forced up against the wall. One guard had been holding a white-hot piece of pointed metal. She heard the guards laugh at her cry. She felt the heat of the metal behind her, and the last thing she remembered before she passed out was the searing heat, and the smell of burning flesh.......
~:~
When Eldalyn woke, it was dark. She was on the floor again, and she couldn't move. She could feel the pulsing heat flowing through her back, and she whimpered. She had been forced awake several times, only to pass out again from the pain. They had branded the picture of a serpent on her back, fangs exposed, head crowned with flowers. Tears spilled from her eyes. How could this have happened? Suddenly, she stopped crying. She was the princess of her people, and stronger than this...Her anger mounted, and using the wall for support, stood. Her back pounded terribly, but she ignored it. She morphed into the whtie tiger again, and began pacing her cell. However, walking exhausted her eventually, and she laid down to rest. She growled menacingly at any who dared come near her, and kept watch throughout the night.
~:~
Two weeks later, Eldalyn had not been touched again. The soldiers kept her on a meager supply of food, but she summoned her own water. The guards feared her, and they had good reason to. She was steadily regaining her strength, and could have wounded any of them easily. One morning, however, the guard opened her cell door. She presently was in her wolf form, and snapped her jaws at him and growled. He held up one hand. "Be easy, my lady. You are free today." Eldalyn stared at him before morphing into her mortal form. "Go now. The witch commanded it of me." Eldalyn stood firmly. Her wings had healed, and her whip-cuts were faded lines. The brand, however, though it would fade with time, would stay with her forever. She spread her wings and flew out of the cell and over the city. Free? Not likely. She flew into her tower to find things just as she had left them, except her weapons were on her bed. She slipped her knives in her boots and buckled her sword around her waist. Suddenly, Fee appeared in her room. "Fee? What on earth-" The old woman held up one hand. She was panting for breath. "No time my lady. They're coming for you." "Who?" "The soldiers. You must fly, and fly quickly. They're thirsting for new prey since they murdered Eldoradon." "WHAT?!" Fee said, "You are their prey, Eldalyn. I have no time to explain, except for this: Eldoradon was murdered; not killed in battle. Now go - they are on their way." "Wait..." "I said GO!" and the old woman was gone. Eldalyn stood still, shocked momentarily. Then Fee's words sunk in. She snatch up some more suitable clothes, threw them on, and dived out of her window. She soared high above the city at a mediocre pace. Then she felt something rush by her. Arrows... She put on a burst of speed and shot forward. It was a manhunt. She sped forward for hours, looking behind her every few minutes to see if they were still following. She couldn't keep this up much longer. She hadn't had a decent meal in weeks. She stopped looking back for about an hour, and when she checked behind her again, the soldiers had vanished. Were they still following her? And if so, where were they? Eldalyn looked down to see a forest beneath her and dived toward it. She could morph into a wolf, catch a meal, and avoid being seen from the air. She dove into the trees and landed on the ground. She had been flying all day, and she was tired. Just as she was about to morph, she heard a whizzing noise, and pain exploded in her left wing. She let out a cry and fell to her knees. She moaned and looked up to see a young man looking through the trees at her......
~:~