The training grounds of the Dark Army, are a scorched and barren place. Ullari insists that the training be brutal, often killing many of the recruits. This Ullari deems will weed out the weak, leaving only the strongest to survive. Thus the training grounds are often the first and last taste of just how brutal Ullari and his regime really are. The training grounds consist of a dualing pit, an archery range, as well as a range to practice and hone the recruits abilities. In each of these ranges however recruits are often pitted against one another, the survivor moving on the the next range, only when they have survived all of the ranges are they indicted into the ranks of the Dark Army.
Off in the distance, over El'Arafa, something was happening, a tear was ripped in the very sky. From this portal poured a great host of otherworldly creatures. A host of those who dwell in the Void, a place that is not, the very opposite of the physical world.
Aoris walked into the training grounds wrapped in a spell that made her invisible to all of the 5 physical senses. She would not reveal herself until there was someone worth revealing her presence to.
Ullari sat at the far end, whaching the days recruits batter themselves. He laughed half heartedly before dismising them. He assigned them each to one of the reserve legions, not telling them that these would be amoung the first to respond to darkening storm. He felt the presence weigh in on him, it more intrigued him than anything though
a being entirely neautral...yet already he will be the reason why this world will change not in the way originally fortold he thought to himself as he awaited the other captains arrival.
Rayne stood beside Ullari, her red corset and white skin in stark contrast with her black dress and long black hair. She gazed off at the tare in the sky, an unrecognizable look in her flaming red eyes.
Aoris saw the two and glided over, though she didn't bother to take off her invisibility illusion. If they noticed her magic that was fine, and if not... well it couldn't hurt to see what was happening before she made an appearance.
Zephyre stood amongst the rest of his division, who had been called to the training grounds to meet their new captain. Rumors were flying, the chief one among them being that their captain seems to have only just been recruited to army, and that he (they assumed that it must be a male) hadn't even gone through any tests. It was also said that he had been appointed by Gurthar himself!
Everyone was questioning the supposed abilities of their new captain, and nobody knew quite what to think, not after what their
last captain had turned out to be...
The talk suddenly stopped as everyone noticed a figure heading their way - they couldn't quite make out what the person looked like, though, at least not yet...
Alexus Rose headed in the direction the page had pointed, noticing a large group of men milling about.
That must be my new division... I'm a bit nervous, but it shouldn't be too much of a hassle... hopefully.
She then hurried over to the group, reaching them in no time. Smiling, she looked around, before saying, "Hello, I am your new captain. I hope that we can work well together."
Zephyre froze along with the rest of the men when he heard this strange elf girl say the words "I am your new captain". He immediatly wondered what the girl could have done to impress Gurthar so much as to appoint her to such high authority right off the bat...
He noticed that the others were talking again, saying something about her personality being strange... He looked at the girl again, and his eyes widened.
This girl, she's... she's a dark elf! This pleasant little smiling girl?
Then he noticed her eyes, which were a pure deep black, and although they seemed to give out a happy, cheery feeling, they also had a hint of grief to them.
I wonder what could have made her like that...? he thought absently.
Alexus smiled once more, then turned serious.
"Is there list of names for the people in this division?" Alexus looked around questioningly.
A man towards the back, standing on the edge of the group, raised his voice. "There is, ma'am. In the command tent. Shall I fetch it for you?"
Alexus heard something in his voice, something that sounded mildly strange to her. She walked over to him.
"What is your name and number, soldier?" She smiled so that he knew that he wasn't in any kind of trouble.
"I am Zephyre, #56 in this division," he said stiffly.
Zephyre stiffined when she came over to him, thinking he might be in trouble, but her smile quickly made him forget that idea. However, his next problem was resisting the smell of her perfume, which was a soft lavender. He did his best to ignore it, but his mind began to get a bit fuzzy, so his next reply was a bit stiff.
Alexus smiled again, then nodded. "Thank you for the offer, Zephyre, but having you go fetch the list won't be necessary." She looked up, her gaze following a small red dot in the sky, circling above.
Walking back to the front of the division, she did a quick about-face, so she could look at them. Glancing once more up at the sky, she gave a long, almost-eerie sounding whistle. The red dot dove down, until Pheonixia came into view. Alexus held her hand up, and the small bird landed on it.
"Pheonixia, do you think you could go over to the command tent and retrieve the list of soldiers for this division?"
The bird bowed her head.
Of course, milady.
Alexus smiled, but said a bit stiffly, "Thank you." Then, with her mind, she said wearily
And really, 'Nixia, how many times have I told you to call me 'Lexia?
There are times when the situation is not appropriate for such a thing to be done, milady.
"True, that. Off you go then!"
When the bird had faded off into the distance, Alexus turned back to the soldiers. Clasping her hands behind her back, she said, "While we wait for her to come back, why don't I tell you a little more about myself, okay?" As she said this, a bit of a twinkle came into her eye, and her smile this time had a sense of amusement behind it. She started walking around the group, before turning suddenly and saying with her mind,
I am Alexus Rose, dark elf of the dark army. And your new captain.
Rayne looked to Ullari, "What is it?" she asked quietly, a mixture of awe and fear in her eyes.
Ullari was about to answer when he caught sight of Gurthar. The poor Crusnik looked more like a beggar with his armor and clothes in rags, though the look on his face made him look utterly commical. Gurthar mumbled somthing before slouching against one of the trees closest to Ullari and Rayne "What the hell happened to you?" Ullari asked with a slightly raised eyebrow. Gurthar glared at him "Never....ever
...ever! ask me to patrol a deamon infested forest again!....mind you they where succubus so it was not killing that they where interested in!" Gurthar hated sirens and their kind...Ullari had forgotten this, but it was all he could do to stifle a roar of laughter.
Rayne looked at Gurthar, a little startled by both his sudden appearence, and his state, "Are you not fond of that sort of attention Cursnik?" she goaded.
"And suppose you are fond of such things?" he snapped back. Gurthar hated excessive attention, all the more so when no wasn't taken for an answer...and far more so when it pertained to such nature...not to mention he didn't like being on dinner menu either....somthing Succubus where often known for, and somthing Gurthar did not at all appreciate "Why don't you try it somtime....i gurentee you your mind will change...especially if you get put on the dinner menu!"
Rayne's eyes blazed brighter at his first comment, enraged by what he was suggesting, "If you wish to anger me Crusnik, please, go on."
"What's the matter?....can't take what you dish out?...shove it Rayne...if it's a fight you want...you'll lose" he spat, casting aside the last few remnants of his armor. This happened to be his favorite suite, which only added to his irratation.
Ullari carefully kept himself well out of it.
"You, Gurthar, are insufferable." Rayne snapped hotly. They both knew that he was right, but her pride would never allow her to admit to that.
"And you are a Royal ass...litterally to" he retorted.
Ullari supressed a laugh without showing any signs, though he was glad he was turned away from her.
Enraged, Rayne sent a bout of flame right into Gurthar's face.
He was already out of the way "I rather like that tree...mizz royal ass" he teased, now at a distance that would give him plenty of reaction time.
Ullari rolled his eyes
Rayne stood fuming for a few oments, then did something that she never would have done, even a few days ago, she turned away.
"Took you that long to learn that" Gurthar muttered. A page brought him a fresh shirt which he gladly put on. His eyes glowed a dim red though...it was not only Succubus that he had come across.
Rayne clenched her fists, her fingernails cutting into the palms of her hands, and sat abruptly beside Ullari, her eyes still blazing angerly.
Gurthar ignored her, walking over to Alexus, coming up behind her without her knowing "You seem to be enjoying yourself" he said in his usually quiet tone.
Surprised, and yet showing no sign of it, Alexus smoothly turned her to look at him, her face only inches from his.
Enjoying myself? Hmm, not quite, sir. Alexus replied with her mind. She turned away from him before continuing. I merely find it easier to gain others trust by acting in a friendly manner. And since I will need to work well with these men in order for this division to function properly, trust is a crucial, though rather cumbersome, necessity.
Though, you are right, at least to some extent - however, enjoyment is a bit to strong of a word in this case. It's more like a sense of very mild amusement. Alexus conceded. Her pride didn't like admitting that he was right, and she made no effort to hide that from him; but she did do her best to remain calm, so that she didn't end up making any kind of scene in front of her division. By the way, the dark elf you were just arguing with... She is the one called "Rayne", am I right? If so, then, please, tell me... Is she always so quick tempered, and so easy to read? Because even I could tell what she was going to do before she threw that fireball at you, and I'm definitely no expert at that kind of thing...
Alexus trailed off as she caught sight of Pheonixia returning with a scroll clenched tightly in her claw. Raising her arm up for her, she waited for the bird to land, before taking the scroll from her. "Thank you, Pheonixia." As a reward for helping me out so much today, I shall treat you to roasted rodent tonight - though you'll have to pick what it is you want to eat, She added with her mind.
Truly, milady? Thank you very much - have been growing tired of raw meat, so this is indeed a marvelous treat, Pheonixia said happily, which made Alexus smile. Shall I go fetch my food now? Or do you still need my services?
"No, that's quite alright, you've done more than enough. You can have the rest of the day to yourself." Alexus smiled at the wave of bubbly ecstatic happiness that her bird let loose, before she flew off towards a large clump of trees several hundred meters away. She stared after her for a moment, a slightly worried look on her smooth porcelain features, then looked away, turning her attention instead towards the scroll in her hand.
Aoris continued to watch the proceedings invisibly, stifling laughter during the fight with Rayne and Gurthar.
Gurthar smiled I can still see you young ice elemental....you forget that your body is made of water and i am master of such an art he said in his mind, making her arm move and involuntarily tap her head to prove his point.
Aoris frowned slightly and almost seemed to become angry a circle of cold spreading around her, before she got herself back under control. She stepped out of the circle of ice that had formed around her feet and dropped her illusion of invisibility to stand smiling before them. She curtsied slightly, but despite her polite expression her eyes remained cold.
Rayne started when Aoris seeming appeared out of nowhere. Her eyes blazed brighter and her temper flared, though she sat still for the moment. She was in no mood to watch this woman flirt with her husband.
Ullari had been aware of her. He bowed, not noticing Rayne's boiling temper.
Aoris did notice Rayne's temper and her good spirits were restored somewhat after Gurthar's rudeness. She smiled a little more brightly at Ullari and spoke to him in a low voice. "You requested my presence, my lord?"
He nodded "The captains i want assembled, you are one of them" he said pleasantly.
"As you wish,my lord. And what shall be my first duties as captain?" Aoris arched a pale eyebrow and didn't ask the obvious question being who she was captain of.
"For now you will await until the meeting is convened. There you will recieve assignments of your own" Ullari still had not payed any attention to Rayne's boiling temper.
Rayne's rage and jealousy continued to grow, feeding the flames that gnawed at her insides, and as always, her face was an open book.
Aoris smiled and nodded. "Of course." And she wove herself a chair of ice so she could sit comfortably while she waited.
Alexus looked down the list of people in her division, before rolling the scroll up, and tucking it under her arm.
"Well, for right now, you're all dismissed, since I have no orders for any of you, and also because Lord Ullari is requesting the presence of all the captains. So with that, I'll be off." Alexus smiled and waved, her smile turning into something more like a grin when all of the soldiers stood up straight and saluted her as she walked away.
Well, that was fun, she thought.
Ullari looked around, seeing that all of his captains where present "Since we are all here....let us begin. The Deamonic incursion has begun, fortunately an unforseen intervention has eliminated the worst of it, but there still remains this. How to disslodge the Alliance? I have recieved reports that the larger half is attacking the Cormerant Islands....if you don't already know this, that was our Headquarters for the Tervel blockade" he paused, waiting for reactions.
Rayne did not react, she already knew. She had been with Ullari when the messenger brought the news. That was what had put her in such a foul mood to begin with. She simply sat beside Ullari, unmoving, her eyes blazing with rage.
Alexus frowned, thinking about the implications of this bit of news, as well as some of the benefits to hearing it. She quickly cut off the thoughts when they started to head in a dangerous direction (for she knew about Ullari's mind-reading techniques). She then cocked her head, an intrigued look on her pale porcelain features, and waited for Ullari to continue.
Aoris leaned forward slightly resting her chin on her hands, her pale face showing no expression as she listened to what was said. Her eyes were narrowed and she waited to hear something that pertained to her.
Alexus noticed the look on Aoris' face, and thought with disdain, I bet she's just wondering what Ullari's going to say about her; she obviously doesn't care what happens to the rest of us. I wonder if she knows that Lord Ullari is already married...? If she doesn't, then I'd love to see what her face looks like when it becomes obvious that Lord Ullari only has eyes for Mistress Rayne. Aaah, that would be one for the books to talk about... Her thoughts trailed off into oblivion as she went back to waiting for Ullari to continue once again.
Ullari smiled at Aoris, he enjoyed playing on peoples emotions....it was somthing he did when he thought he had nothing better to do, though in this case he found him playing it double....somewhat of an odd predicament "As you all know...the Deamons where defeated by an as of yet unidentified force. That being said, we have work to do" he smiled "Eldamar and Tervel are defended by five thousand men, the border forts in total are defended by ten thousand. This is the weekest these lines have ever been, and there will be no renforcements for either line for quite sometime. The valley that repelled us is held by an additional a six thousand, but we will not attack this place" He glanced around "We will attack Eldamar and Tervel after we overrun the border forts. Once Victory is achieved, we will have essentially locked Lomien and the Alliance out of Arda, now for your personal assignments" He Turned to Gurthar and Aoris "You two will command two legions each, and march strait for Eldamar but do not attack until ordered" He turned to Alexus "I want you to take the legion under your command and scout El'arafa, i don't want any surprises coming down on our heads as i think there might be. Once you are there Alexus, i want you to establish a base of operations, you will be our frontier monitor for any activity. He paused then turned back to Gurthar "In addition i want you to hand pick no more than five additional legions, three of whom i want beseiging Tervel, the rest use as you see fit" He turned lastly to Rayne, not knowing what to say to her "You...you are to take a legion of your own to the seige of Tervel, report to Gurthar as he knows the area better than most" he sighed "Are there any questions?"
"Well, yes, actually; who shall I report to if I find any unusual activity? And how shall I report to them?" Alexus cocked her head, a slight, interested smile on her face.
Ullari turned to her "Myself, and the quickest way would be your feathered friend if she doesn't mind....if she does well there's always the usual horse rider to do the hoof work"
Seriphim had been listening from a hidden place so many men...Balakor, arrange for all the men to be pulled back to Tervel and Eldamar, place more men at Tervel though as it is vital to hold the port city. I will be there soon. My work here is done The Deamon prince inside him, teleported to the border forts to do his masters' bidding. Seriph returned to his quarters, he would be leaving soon. He figured that if Alexus needed him she could send via the same way Ullari suggested. He would stay just awile longer to make sure though.
Aoris listened to the job described by Ullari and sighed inwardly though she allowed nothing to show on her expression. Two legions of men and a lot of marching to get to... Eldamar. Or at least somewhere near Eldamar and then attack. She was a sorceress not really a leader type and getting people to march in a straight line from here to there would be a lot more hassle than it was worth. No fun at all... and certainly not the sort of thin someone of her talents should be expected to do. She was sure there were more interesting things for her to do, but for now she would have to do as asked. At least for a while.
Alexus noticed Pheonixia coming back, and looked up as the bird landed on her wrist, seeming to appear out of no where.
Well my fine "feathered friend", are you willing to be my messenger bird once again? Alexus pet the bird's head affectionately.
Yes milady, of course. The bird inclined her head towards her mistress.
"Well, that settles that, I suppose," Alexus said aloud. She glanced over at Ullari, then said, "My bird wishes to send out my messages for me, however, just in case she should become too exhausted from flying back and forth, be prepared for a message by horseback rider at any time. Otherwise, everything should go as you planned, my Lord." Alexus swept herself into a low bow, indicating her submit to the man. Her pride once again wounded, she had to keep herself from grimacing, since even she had a hard time dealing with this kind of damage to her confidence.
As Ullari addressed her, Rayne's eyes began to blaze with a new emotion, eagerness. She had not been allowed into battle since she married Ullari, it was about time that he allowed things to return to how they should be. Just because she was his wife now, did not mean that she should remain behind while everyone else furthered her lord's cause without her.
Noticing the look on Rayne's face, Alexus looked back and forth between her and Ullari several times. She then quickly turned away, feeling a little awkward. She almost felt sorry for Aoris, for the poor deluded girl quite obviously had no idea about the relationship between Ullari and his dear Rayne.
Still feeling somewhat awkward, she started to quietly whistle a somewhat random, but cheery tune, hoping to fill in the silence that was left after Lord Ullari finished talking to his wife.
"Awkward," she muttered under her breath.
Maybe it's just me, but for some reason it feels a bit too romantic for my liking... operation escape from the lovebirds commence! she thought, turning once more to face the couple. Actually, I think I just might not like romance very much because I feel jealous that I've never experienced it for myself... Her thoughts became somewhat philosophical as she bowed towards the two, and, hoping to escape before things became drastic, said, "If you will excuse me my lord, but I really must be on my way; I need to prepare my troops and supplies, along with other things..." She backed several steps away, and then hurried off back towards her tent, thinking that now would be as good a time as ever to give her bird the dinner she promised her.
"Mission successful." She smiled in amusement, and trotted off towards alexus's tent.
Back to: Akallabeth RP
Dark Army Training Grounds archive
Stumble!