Darkness and the Tree of Alfheim

This true self past vision for Anuwah is from recent events over the past few days... Anuwah awakes from her slumber. She gathers her things and looks at the parchment that has been given to her by King Lyindrinar.

She knows who she is searching for. She is known among the elves as a legendary huntress. Being able to track and find those even if they are known to be lost.

She can feel something within her. A memory, rising out of the darkness. She hears a voice ‘It’s happening again.'

Anuwah places her hands upon the table and closes her eyes. She says ‘No, it will not happen again.’

The voice speaks again ‘So many will die. It’ll be just like before. Just like when you lost them.’

Anuwah clenches her fists. Her face appears with an angry expression. She responds ‘I will not lose anyone I love ever again.’

The voice laughs ‘And who do you love?’

Anuwah stands and turns. Staring across at a mirror, a reflection of herself, but she is darker. Anuwah says ‘I love the king. I love what Alfheim has become under his rule. I love the natural peace among the races here.’

The voice says ‘And what about your husband? And your son? Lost, forever wandering the place of the dead. You know what is coming.’

The image fades away from the mirror. As Anuwah gathers her things, a single tear rolls down her cheek. She remembers the time of the Urthak war. The loss of her husband and her own son.

Her husband was in the King’s council under King Yserah. He had taken her son out into the deep forests. There he would walk with him and teach him all he knew about politics in the elven kingdom.

Upon the return on one of those trips, they were ambushed by dark elves and were killed. Their bodies were strewn upon the highway as a warning. Anuwah has since then overcome her hate. Now she fears for something else.

Rumors have been whispered that King Lyindrinar’s mind has been corrupted. The high elven council has begun meeting in undisclosed locations, speaking to a hooded elf who talks of the return of the true King.

Anuwah like several of the dark and light elves who are closest to King Lyindrinar, know the council did serve under King Yserah. The only reason they accepted Lyindrinar was out of fear of Ashontrah.

She tells herself ‘But that is not the task at hand. I must find Fiayuah Lunastar. I must know where she has gone. Fiayuah had information of something. King Lyindrinar knows this, he feels it. I must find her.’

Anuwah gathers her things. Her trusty bow and her short sword. She departs her dwellings and calls for her black mare. As she climbs her, she whispers into her ear.

She holds out a finely woven cloth. This cloth belonged to Fiayuah. She places it in front of the horse’s nose. The mare breathes in deeply. Anuwah then speaks again into the mare’s ear and the mare takes off at full gallop. She has the scent.

She travels far past the great forest and out on to the open plains. She makes her way towards the black mountains in the distance.

As she reaches the edge of the black mountains and the dark forests that lies beneath, she feels a strange eerie presence.

She has been here many times before. Even after King Yserah and the coming of King Lyindrinar. The forests were not always this eerie looming presence of death.

Although the forests are said to be a place of great power and a sacred place among the dark elves, something here is different. She approaches an old dark elf tower that sits along a path leading into the forests.

She says ‘Strange, usually there is always a guard here, watching over travelers and dark elves coming to the sacred place.’

Anuwah then climbs the tower and begins to examine. She can sense that there has been a struggle here. Blood has been spilled. She can see it on the floorboards of the tower.

She says ‘Something’s not right.' She climbs down the tower and back up upon her horse. She hears something. She can hear a strange voice whispering through the forest.

The strange voice says ‘Go back. The time is not now. But soon, the king will rise. Go back!'

The voice becomes stronger. It frightens her mare and stares up. Anuwah calms her mare, whispering in her ear ‘Do not worry. There is nothing to fear.’

Her mare seems unsteady. Anuwah climbs down. She tells her ‘Stay here. I’ll go in alone.’

Anuwah pulls her bow, drawing an arrow and placing it upon it, having it at the ready. She enters the dark forest. She has a strange sense among the trees as if the life is being drained from them.

Anuwah begins to follow the surrounding whispers, that repeat the same thing ‘Go back. Go back. Go back.’

Anuwah begins to concentrate and focus upon trying to find where this strange sense is coming from. She comes to where the forest meets the edge of the mountains. There is a cave.

On the outside she notices several bodies lying there. As she examines them and rolls the bodies over… they are wild elves. She asks herself ‘What would the wild elves be doing so far from their homeland? Why would they come here?’

She stands and looks down inside the cave. She is knocked to her feet by a loud voice, which bowls her over like a wind coming out from the cave. ‘Go back!’

Anuwah quickly regains herself and is back to her feet. She readies her arrow. She asks ‘Who are you?’ The voice remains silent. Anuwah descends into the cave.

She makes her way down a long corridor. There are torches lit. She opens her senses around her, there are others here. She is not alone.

Then she picks up a sense that is familiar to her. She says ‘Doumarae...’ She begins running down the long corridor.

‘What would Doumarae be doing here? This doesn’t make any sense.’ She closes her eyes to see there are dark-robed figures dragging Fiayuah down the corridor. She is bleeding from the forehead.

This is the sense Anuwah has. She can sense things that happened not too long ago in the past. She can pick up the feelings of others. This is why she is so well known for her hunting abilities.

She closes her eyes again as she makes her way down the corridor. Flashes, she can see Doumarae being dragged by those same cloaked characters. The flashes become stronger, so strong she drops to her knees.

She focuses and regains herself. She says ‘Something happened.’ She begins to run swiftly down the corridor keeping an eye on the other corridors making sure there are no hidden attackers. She reaches out and focuses.

There is a strong sense leading her, she is following it. She comes to an old door. She pushes on it and it opens. Inside is a circular chamber. In the middle is a stone. Anuwah places her hand on the stone and she sees Fiayuah laying there and black-robed figures around her.

Standing at the top is a robed figure, holding a blade. He says ‘Rise my King, for your rule is to return to Alfheim. Your followers are ready. Imposters upon the throne. But there are those who are ready. Ready to believe, waiting for you to come show them of its treachery. Return my master. Return my King!’

A robed figure slices the throat of Fiayuah. She gasps and the life fades out of her. The robed figure then removes his hood. Anuwah steps away and opens her eyes. She says ‘Raugunitar...’

Anuwah then hears someone groaning. She turns and draws her bow. A voice asks ‘Anuwah? Is that you? Anuwah...’

She lowers her bow and reaches out with her senses. She says ‘Doumarae?’ She can see a figure leaning in darkness against the ground.

Doumarae says ‘Go back... Go back!’ Then shadows cast around his figure and he is pulled in the darkness as he screams aloud ‘Go back! The tree. Save the tree!’

Darkness swallows Doumarae. Robed figures begin to appear from it. They begin to attack Anuwah. She grabs her bow, loosening arrows quickly. They pierce into the robed figures. Some of them fall to the ground but rise again.

Anuwah draws her short sword and cuts some of them down, making her way back up the corridors. There are too many of them. She begins running faster and faster. She can see where the exit is.

Arrows begins to fly around her. One strikes her leg and she falls for just a moment. She was so close to the exit. Anuwah pulls the arrow from her leg, and with all her strength makes her way out, where her trusty mare is waiting.

She immediately climbs on her back, without saying a word she begins running. These robed figures begin to pour out of the cave entrance.

Anuwah whispers into her horse's ear ‘To the tree. As fast as you can. Run.’ The horse runs at full gallop.

Anuwah holds on tight, her leg bleeds more and more. The blood runs down her horse's leg. She can feel herself losing consciousness. She thinks ‘They must have poisoned the arrows.’

She reaches down in her pouch around her belt and pulls out a strange silver frosted covered leaf. She pops it in her mouth and begins to chew on it.

She makes a grimacing face for the leaf is very sour and bitter. She chews and swallows it. She says ‘That ought to do it.' The effects of the poison begin to wear off.

Anuwah can see the capital of the Alfheim kingdom. She can see the Great Tree of Alfheim in the distance. She is torn between going to King Lyindrinar and warn him of what has happened.

She remembers the last words of Doumarae ‘Save the tree.’ She begins to run full gallop towards the tree. Then she begins to feel strange energy. An energy she cannot understand.

She begins to feel weak and so does her horse. Her horse slows down as she nears the tree. The horse falls to the ground. It is not dead, it is sleeping.

This strange energy flows over Anuwah. She concentrates, fights against it from overtaking her. She gathers her strength and fights it as she nears the Tree of Alfheim.

She collapses forth to the ground, her hand reaching for the tree. She watches before her own eyes as the tree fades and vanishes.

Anuwah faints, collapsing in the grass that surrounds the tree. In a moment, she begins to feel her strength return to her. She gathers her strength and stands. She can hear her mare neighing to her in the background.

Her heart is full of fear. She says ‘The tree. What has happened? I must warn the King. I must go now!’

She hears a voice ‘I knew this would happen.' Anuwah draws her blade. The voice steps out from the surrounding forest and says ‘I saw this. She was right. Fiayuah was right.’

Anuwah sheaths her blade. ‘Elararis. What has happened? What is happening? The tree. Where has it gone?’

Elararis says ‘I do not know. But things are going to change, and we must be ready.’

Anuwah begins to walk by Elararis. She says ‘We must warn the King. It was Raugunitar who killed Fiayuah. I saw it. I tracked it down with my own eyes.  Doumarae was there too. A darkness swallowed him Elararis, darkness took him. Whoever these hooded figures are they serve it. We must warn the King.’

Elararis grabs Anuwah’s arm. He says ‘If you want to save the King, if you want to save Alfheim you must come with me now. The council of elders will meet soon, and they will meet with an urgency. There are happenings that are going on. All across the realms strange things. Yserah has returned.’

Anuwah says ‘Then we must warn them.'

Elararis says ‘There is nothing we can do. For most of the minds of the council have been meeting secretly. They have anticipated his return. Most of them choose to denounce Lyindrinar. His mind has been gone so much since Valeyta fell ill.’

Anuwah asks ‘Where is the queen?’

Elararis nods his head. ‘Safe. But we must hurry. Things are about to change, and it will be felt throughout all the realms. Come with me.’

Anuwah senses whatever it is Elararis knows, she should trust him. As they head into the deep forests, her horse joins her. There are another two white horses. One for Elararis, and one for Draena Silverleaf.

Elararis mounts his horse. He says ‘Draena, I need you to return to the palace. The council will be meeting now. They will denounce King Lyindrinar. But there is something else. Something else that is coming.

You must assure the King’s safety. Bring him here. Anuwah, you must come with me. Some of us who are loyal to the King have been gathering in secret. I must take you to them now.’

Draena bows her head. ‘I will bring the King here safely.’

The three part their ways. Draena arrives to the capital. She must assure King Lyindrinar’s safety. She does not know yet what is in store.

Anuwah rides with Elararis. She senses, she can feel it in all the trees and plants and animals of Alfheim. It seems as if they are fleeing to something. Something is changing.

Then she hears the voice. The same voice that she heard when she woke that morning and set upon her journey. It says ‘It has begun.’

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