Sorrow. Woe and Sorrow. I did not know how to respond once I heard the news that Vardarianna had been captured.
"WHAT?!" I yelled, my voice carrying over the passages of Tâl Bruinen, I shook my head in anger, "B-but how?!"
Minyelaire did not respond, instead staring at me, intently yet...-
A sight which I was never prepared for took hold of my thoughts. In Horror and shock, I watched, as the proud Kinn-lai Huntress folded herself in defeat before me, sobbing hysterically, vulnerable, exposed, and defeated.
I knelt down to her level, and she immediately clung onto me for dear life. We held each other, trying to comfort ourselves with this, yet, once I got out my harp to play a comforting song to her, she stood up in turn. She promptly decided that she would not rather listen to my music and my requests, and instead she bid me stay here (Much to my chagrin. I insisted until I gave up), before she ran off to the tracks.
In shock, I ran after her, forgetting to give her something.
"Loteriel!" I yelled.
Minyelaire turned around, and eyed me, "Did I not tell you to stay here?"
"Yes, but I have forgotten to give something to you...." I held out ten phials of freshly prepared athelas essences. She took them gratefully, and I smiled at her.
"I am proud to call you my sister..." I said, "Go... May the blessings of the Valar go with you. You shall need it."
"The Valar are worthless to me," She scorned, "They could not prevent what had happened to Vardarianna a few hours ago. However... your blessing would do me more good than theirs."
Not wishing to get into an argument, I instead nodded, "Fine... my blessing it is then. May my blessing guide you..." I trailed off and looked at her, "Promise me you shall get back... if you can." I grinned cheekily.
"I will come back." She said simply. She frowned but hugged me tightly, before she ran up the road to Eregion.
Sighing, I trailed off; I would have dearly wished to accompany in her rescue, but I knew that she would rather rescue Vardarianna on her own... and Vardarianna would not have appreciated my appearance. I chuckled, thinking of the coming battle, and, as I crouched down by the water, I noticed that my eyes dullened to a darker blue and were darkening to... black?
I heard shallow breathing behind me. Someone was there. I could hear it: "You'll come with us nice and put..." I reacted instinctively. I elbowed the man behind me near his groin, and promptly unsheathed my sword, turned, and slashed at the man's legs. He fell down, screaming in pain. I jumped up and looked at the two figures standing before me, with sword and dagger in their hands. Swiftly I charged at them, but the one man sidestepped the blade, while the other, who had stood up, was pierced by the blade, yelling in agony as blood gushed from his wound.
I listened for the other man, standing still and watching the now dead man before me, sword still in chest, before I heard it. The rustling of a cloak. Behind! I swiftly pulled my sword out of the corpse and brought it over my head, now gripping it with two arms, and a clash told me that I had just prevented an incoming dagger strike. The blade of my scimitar moved to the hilt of the dagger, and I brought my sword down before me. The dagger clunked to the floor and I turned around. The man before me held his arms up.
"No need to kill me, sweet..." He said, seemingly pleading, but his eyes glinted with cruelty. Suddenly, I felt myself losing consciousness as an unknown something briefly etched a small, yet somehow excrutiatingly painful cut unto my arm, and I fell to the floor. They were of the same group that captured Vardarianna... was my last thought, before the world blackened.
_______________________________________
I woke up with the wind rushing to my face and felt how my arms were tied beneath me. My left arm hurt, painfully. I was on horseback, being carried across the Trollshaws, or rather, still across Tâl Bruinen, face down, and bound.
Quietly I peered around, my left arm still hurting. The man who was carrying me seemed rather oblivious to my awake state. Fools... I thought, trying to spot something which would help me escape. Fools! I thought, this time triumphantly, as I saw a dagger gleaming on the saddle on which I was being carried on. I slowly edged my chin nearer to it, hoping to catch the hilt with my teeth and roll off the horse.
Ha! I gripped the dagger in my mouth, my teeth securely grasping it, and I rolled over, hitting the ground, hard. I brought my tied hands to the dagger, and cut through the rope. As the ropes fell, a sword attempted to cut through me. I barely managed to evade the attempt, and sprinted towards the horse carrying my weapons, which was now drinking from the Ford of Bruinen. I took my sword and shield, and slung my shield on my left arm, though it hurt doing so.
"Get her!" A man yelled. Two hooded men yelled as they sprinted, rather recklessly towards me. I threw the dagger at the first man, hitting him square in the chest, and he doubled over, seemingly dead within moments. The other man, who was bulkier and more muscular, proved to be more of an opponent, but in a matter of moments, he too lay dead. It was now only me and their supposed leader.
"What do you want from me?" I hissed. We both began circling each other, like aggressive bears about to kill, which we were.
"We want information," He scowled, "Information about Minyelaírë."
I laughed, and smirked, "You shall never get information from me!"
The man charged at me with another dagger of his, I swiftly sidestepped the attempt, but I felt myself lightly bleeding, as I realized that he had managed to strike my shield arm. I doubled over and screamed in pain. I began to stutter and shiver.
"P-poison..." I trailed off, "Only a filthy orc w-would dare use p-poison."
The man smiled cruelly, "I care not. The only thing I need from you is information..." He swiftly crouched down at her kneeling form, touching her left arm in a sickening way, "Do not worry, once we have disposed of you "Loteriel" will receive the same fate."
In anger and shock, raged coursed through me, "NO!" I screamed, and I began slashing back and forth, back and forth, relentlessly attempting to cut through him. I felt the blood rush in my head, and all thought was erased from me. My instincts took over. Despite the pain in my arm, I quickly managed to kill the man before me, who was overwhelmed by my wild reaction. I stood over the man, who was now with sword in chest, and I whispered into his dying ears, as his eyes flickered to and fro in shock and disbelief.
"Dost thou n-not know what an Elf c-can do to you?" I smirked, still stuttering from the poison. I watched him die in a cruel way, not feeling like myself anymore, and disgusted, I took over the job of disposing of the bodies. I buried them swiftly by the Bruinen, and peered at my reflection in the waters, like I did many thousands of years ago when my hair was cut, and I noticed something odd.
Instead of the usual sea-blue, my eyes were strangely black, glinting with an oddly sinister spark to them, yet, as I relaxed and watched, curiously, my eyes returned to their sea-blue state, and it left me bewildered as I brewed something to appease the foul poison which I had received, and to temporarily stop it from spreading through my body.
I sighed as the strength in my left arm came back to me, yet I knew that the pain would not go away forever unless I find the missing ingredient needed to brew the antidote. I only had enough for three days unless I found more herbs to brew and prevent the poison for a little longer.
I dreaded to think of what would happen if I did not find it soon...
Swift I was to slay them, and I felt that I was not myself when I killed those men. I felt like a new being, and this worries me slightly.
((OOC: Uh oh, looks like 1% of Minyelaírë's corrupted portion has been transferred over to Daerundros! (Since Minyelaírë is 30% corrupted this would leave Daer with roughly 0.03% of the 100% it takes to fully corrupt a being... but eh, that's just what I think ^^)This is a new possibility i'm experimenting with; If certain emotions, feelings, and events trigger Daer's 0.03% Corruption she'll erase all her thoughts and her eye colour changes to black and glints. I know it sounds crazy and lore-breaking, but I really can't think of anything else that would leave a physical hint of Daer's 0.03% corruption. I hope people don't mind this! :)))
