Page name:
Ullari's tent archive2 [Exported view]
[RSS] 2009-05-28 02:46:33
|
# of watchers: 1
|
Fans: 0
| D20: 2 |
Gurthar carried Rayne into the bedroom healing her sword injuries "Does anything else feel out of place?" he asked her softly "Pert!" he called out, hearing a crash and a bunch of things falling a very angry Pert came in "What the hell is you!...oh..i see.." she said "I will attend her then"
Rayne stirred a little, she was still shivering violently.
A few hours later a tired an concerned Ullari walked in, casting off his armour an mail shirt so he was now shirtless he realised somone was in his bed, turning in surprise "Rayne! what happened...whe
re were you?" he asked walking over to the bed an sitting down beside her.
"I'm alright my love." Rayne murmured, still weak and in pain, "Tearzai is dead." she said coldly, "We fought, and Gurthar killed her."
Ullari laid down beside her, his mouth next to her ear "I had a feeling it would come to that....Gurthar didn't seem to happy nor did Pert when i saw the two of them walking out to the woods"
"I knew it would come to a fight when I asked to speak to her. She hurled insults at me within my own mind...pet, slave...Dark Elf bait..." Rayne looked off at a far corner of the room, "Was she really your mistress?" she whispered, not entirely sure she wanted to know the answer.
"For a time" he said drawing her shivering body close to him "It ended shortly before i took you in" he traced her wounds gently. Ullari regreted having brought her to the meating "I should have kept you hear...." he sighed, he had had a sinking feeling as to how Tearzai would have reacted....but he hoped a thousand years would have cooled that off eveidently not he thought to himself.
Rayne continued to gaze into the corner as he pulled her close, "I don't know why I ever thought I could be the first. You have lived so many years before me, of course I would not be the first." she murmured, half to him, half to herself. She was not offended or mad, just a little dissapointed, she leaned her head against his chest, hiding the single small tear that dropped from her eye.
"She was my first Rayne.....i regret it, why does it upset you?" he whispered softly, holding on to her. Ullari buried his face in the back of her neck, playing gently with it an exhaling down the back of her.
"It doesn't matter, I should not be upset by it." she whispered, putting her arms around him and stroking his hair.
"Why are you upset though? it won't bother me to hear it" he enjoyed feeling her fingers in his hair "I'm not exactly your first either" he hoped he didn't offend her in saying that. He held on to her, gently playing with her neck.
Rayne stopped playing with his hair, "That was not entirely my choice." she whispered almost inaudibly. She began to play with his hair again, "I wanted to be your first." she whispered, "But that does not matter, there is no use wishing for what cannot be. At least I have you."
He stopped playing with her neck "I know" he whispered in return, rolling over and staring off alittle what a day....scratch that what week! he thought pleasantly to himself. Ullari's bare back which was turned to her had five deep scars that looked like they where still bleeding...this was only because the wounds went down into his musceles and had never fully healed.
Rayne drew in her breath at the sight of his scars, she reached out and traced them gently with her fingertips, "What happened?" she asked in a whisper.
"Dragon" he replied, shuddering at the memories of that encounter. Ullari felt the icy breeze come in from the two open windows, yet somehow it was strangely soothing.
Rayne shivered a little, feeling the breeze. She still was not fully recovered from her fight, she drew on some of the warmth in the room, just enough so that her body could again regulate it's own temperature normally. "What happened?" she asked.
Ullari, feeling her drawing heat cause his hands to heat up, he turned over placeing one on her hip an the other on her head "All you had to do was ask" he said softly to her "During the initial stages of the war Lomien employed the Dragon's....this nearly destroyed the entire army in a day....but there where those who could bend the dragon's to their will...so the dragon's rebelled, killing each other and scattering both armies...Lomien relied to much on them though so he did not have enough to capatalise on what would have been a swift end to the war....i wish he had"
Rayne smiled a little, "I am just so used to having to take care of myself." she said, "Why do you wish that?"
"I will take care of you as long as i am able to" he whispered into her ear, playing an nipping it "Why do i wish that? because i grow weary of life...and that would have meant the end"
Rayne enjoyed feeling him play with her ear, but she pulled away so that she could look at him, "Why?" she asked, "Why do you wish for an end?"
Mistaking her pulling away, he took his hands off of her propping himself up against the head board "Because i was weary of life...you gave me somthing though...a reason to stick around"
Rayne sat up beside him and leaned her head on his chest, "How?" she asked quietly, closing her eyes.
"Because i love you" he said stroking her hair with one of his hands "Rayne you gave me somthing to hang around for....first it was raising you however poor a job i did at that...then i grew to love you"
Rayne smiled, her eyes still closed as she turned to wrap her arms around him. "I am glad that I could do that for you." she whispered, opening her eyes to look at him as she brushed her fingers along his jaw.
"You have been" he whispered near inaudably "Can i do or get you anything?" he murmered into her neck. Ullari placed his hand on her back, feeling her gentle heart beating into his palm.
"Hold me close?" she whispered in his ear, wrapping her arms tighter around his neck.
"As you wish...my love" he said drawing her shivering form closer to him. The temprature continued to drop, Ullari liked it "Are you cold? Do you want me to warm you?" he asked her tenderly, he cared for her and it showed for he was not at all afraid to hide it any more. He was afraid of losing her, to long had he tormented her and tortured her....no more he thought plesantly to himself.
"Warm me how?" she asked, a mischievous glint in her eye.
Slightly taken aback, a mischeivious look of his own arose in his eyes "However you want to" he whispered nipping her neck. Ullari ran his hands over her softly, nipping an playing with her awaiting her response.
Rayne flushed red, "Last night was nice." she whispered.
"You want that again?" he asked moving to take off her dress, flushing a deep crimson, he was sure anyone could here his heart pound.
Rayne nodded silently, her heart pounding just as loud as Ullari's.
He gladly did as she wished. When he was done he lay down next to her breathing heavily "You alright?" he asked wrapping his arms back around her.
Rayne nodded, trying to catch her breath as she wrapped her arms around him, feeling his skin against hers.
He smiled down at her resting his head atop hers he decided instead to burrow his head into her neck, he began nipping an playing with her neck softly, drawing alittle blood as he stroked her bare back and legs.
Rayne flinched slightly as he drew blood, she held tighter to him, pressing herself up against him and sliding her leg up his.
He rolled her over so that he was atop her, as he caressed her holding her tightly rolling off to the side again, breathing heavily holding onto her leg "What's on your mind? what do you want to do?" he asked breathlessly.
Rayne gazed at him, her breathing heavy and her heart pounding, "I want to stay here like this forever." she sighed, "I want to stay here and never leave your side."
He ran his hands over her bare back, all the way down to her thighs "As do i...Unfortunatly this war will have to end in order for that to happen..." he said playing with her neck.
Rayne trembled, feeling his hands on her. "Then we must end it, mustn't we?" she whispered, brushing her fingers along his back.
"Yes" he breathed grabbing her inner thigh "You warm enough or do you want me to wrap you up in a...oook that was cold" he said as snow got knocked off the ledge by one of his owls...landing right on her...the rest landing on his back.....he liked the cold...just ice on a deep scar tended to not be his forte.
Rayne froze in shock, forgetting to breath for a moment. She recovered, drawing in a deep breath and huddling against Ullari.
"And that is what i get for letting the owls out at night...i'm sure the cat is around here somewhere to...mind you it's no ordinary cat" he smiled as she huddled up to him. He broke from her embrace only to retrive the large down blanket folded at the end of the bed "That better?" he asked drawing it over them.
Rayne nodded, her shivering subsiding, "Thank you." she whispered.
Ullari played with her shoulders and neck "Any time....now lets hope the c.o.u.s doesn't come in the same window....cause he will dump alot of snow an ice im sure....it's his way of telling me he is home" Ullari said with a disgruntled sigh.
"C.o.u.s.?" Rayne asked, confused. She found it amazng that after so many years in Ullari's service, there was much that went on in his home that she knew nothing about.
"Cat of unusual...ooofff...size" he said with a grunt as he was engulfed in snow, a regal snow white leupard sitting atop him, purring loudly "And who might you be?" the animal spoke with a deep throated voice.
Rayne's eyes widened as she saw the large cat on Ullari, "I thought they were just myth." she whispered, awed by the creature's beauty.
Ullari groaned as the cat sat down on him "Us? well we are...you see we are spirits trapped inside an animals body....though i hardly consider it a prison...i met this guy here awile ago" the great cat said thumping Ullari with his paw as he mentioned him. Ullari had had enough of being a pillow "Bernard!! off!!!" he said as the cat flew off into the cellar "Sorry to have disturbed you lady Rayne" he called after her as he vanished down the cellar door closeing it with his tail. Ullari turned to her, covered in ice and tuffs of hair.
Rayne watched the cat leave, then turned back to Ullari, laughing when she saw the mess he looked, "Here, let me help you." she smiled mischievously, reaching like she was going to brush the snow off of him, but instead pushing it under the blanket.
"Cold cold cold cold!!!" Ullari yelled to can play that though he thought pulling one of the canopy strings, whaching the snow and ice bury Rayne he dubbled over laughing.
Rayne shrieked, laughing as she pulled the blanket tightly around her, trying to keep the snow out, it did not work. She lunged from the bed, shook the blanket quickly and wrapped it around her, laughing and smiling at Ullari who was now half covered in the snow that he had intended for her.
Ullari sat there buried in snow, he enjoyed the cold....though this time it brought out a memory he wished to forget. He laughed, happy to see her happy, resting his head on a pillow, his body covered in ice. The memory was him as a small boy cast out into the snow where he lay barely concieous whaching his entire family be put to the sword. He pushed the memory from his mind, shaking off all the ice before pulling a thinner sheet over him.
Rayne stopped laughing and walked around to sit beside him on the bed, "What are you thinking about love?" she asked, seeing an emotion that she didn't quite recognize in his eyes, sadness perhaps?
He removed the blanket from her "You look beautiful" he said kissing her softly, sitting up and placing his hands on her bare hips "The snow...just reminded me of somthing..that's all my love" he whispered into her ear as he played with it "How about you? same question"
Rayne returned his kiss, blushing a little as he played with her ear, "Do you mind if I ask what it reminded you of?" she asked quietly.
"When Lomien discovered me...it was, coincidentaly half frozen and half buried in snow...what it reminds me of though? I was knocked unconcieous when Lomien's family came to finish off the war between his family and ours. I lay buried in the snow conceious only enough to whach every member of my family be put to the sword...that was when i was all of seven years old" he said quietly, looking at her mischeviously as she stood in front of him "Cold?" he asked using the blanket he had taken from her as a wadded up pillow.
"Seven," Rayne breathed, gazing at him. Her eyes widened as he rolled up her blanket and lay his head on it, "Hey! Yes, I am cold." she said smiling a little as she slid under Ullari's blanket, placing her cold feet against his leg.
"Aww i was enjoying the veiw" he teased her, giving a start at how cold her feet where. He smiled at her "Yes...seven, Lomien lied, cheated, and stole to keep me alive....nothing hurt more than to go against him...but i hated the council, where as Lomien despite his bitter dislike of the council was willing to sit back and submit....it burned really, more so when he denied me Gurthang, then Ninquelote...which im glad he did the latter....i wouldn't have you then" he nestled into her shoulder. He warmed his hands placing them on her neck and back.
"Ullari!" Rayne exclaimed, flushing bright red, "I am not entirely sure if I am." Rayne whispered, her eyes far away, "Had he not denied you her, there likely would have been no war, you would have been happy." she rested her head against his chest.
"He never would have though because she was not his to give...she had already made up her mind to love him" he whispered stroking her inner thigh and back "What? i was enjoying the veiw" he teased her kissing her "The war happened because i gave a sword to those who hated the council....i thought it would be over soon...Lomien had forseen it though and had an entire army to oppose me, though he had no intention of keeping Telpurion...he hated the place as much as anyone"
Rayne looked at him, taking in these new bits of information, "There is so much that I do not know." she murmured, wrapping her arms around him.
"There is alot i do not know...it is apart of life. Anything you wish to know and i shall tell you to the best of my abilities" He mouthed her arm, embracing her while warming her body.
"I do not know...There is so much that I thought I knew, but I am finding that what I thought is not truth." Rayne whispered, wrapping her arms around Ullari's neck.
"Like what?" he asked running his hand down her inner thigh "I will tell you anything you wish to know Rayne" he spoke softly into her ear.
Rayne trembled at his touch, she looked at him a moment, not sure if she should ask the question that was on her mind, not sure if she wanted to know the answer, "Did you really try to kill Ninquelote?" she asked in a whisper.
"I...i..i don't know, i want to get back at him for the betrayel, make him hurt...to feel what i have had to endure. Yet when i think about it....i don't want to, because i know how i would feel" he said quietly.
"And how would you feel?" she asked quietly
"Devasted beyound recovery" he mumbled running his hands over her, playing with her neck and shoulders. He moved her back alittle, looking up an down her "Hmmm, nice view" he teased her slightly.
Rayne blushed, then looked at him for a long moment, "You still love her." she whispered, "I don't blame you. I wish that she had loved you as well, I hate to see the pain on your face when I know you are thinking of her." she looked Ullari in the eye, nothing meant more to her than Ullari, not even her own happiness, her own life.
"Those are dangerous thoughts" he said sorrowfully to her, reading her thoughts "I do not love her, i never really did....all i wanted was the power that she had to offer if her abilities could be tapped" he whispered into her ear, reaching down quickly and grabbing her inner thigh as he played with her "I love you, no one else Rayne" he said breathlessly.
Rayne closed her eyes, taking in a sharp breath, "Then why would you be devastated Ullari? Why do I see that look of longing and regret in your eye when you hear her name?" she whispered, a little breathless herself.
"Regret and longing because i wish i could bring peace and give you a life of luxury...and like i said; Lomien and Nin where like brother and sister to me...it cut deeply when we parted ways" he said breathing heavy as he ran his hands up an down her "I only regret the life that i lost...the life i would have like to have given you" he kissed her neck.
"Before you loved me?" Rayne pulled back gently to look at him, "Ullari, you don't have to lie to me, I will not be at all offended, I understand." she whispered, "She would have been better for you than I."
"She was not mine to take. She was always infatuated with Lomien...particularly his scars...poor guy...she would insist as a child on seeing every one of the new ones and toy mercilessly with them...or so he told me...and for that i do not envy him" Ullari laughed at the memories sitting up, pulling his shirt over him "It was nothing more than an obsession and jelously"
Rayne looked at him for several long moments, then sat up beside him, "Stay love?" she asked, laying a long white hand on his chest, "Or must you attend to something?"
"At this hour? no, only if there where to be a break in" he mumbled, rolling over and propping his head up on a pillow, he fixated on the wall he was staring at, remembering the very battle to take the town he now called home.
Rayne slid back under the blanket, laying her arm over him and resting her head on his shoulder, "What are you thinking about?" she asked him gently.
"Memories" he whispered "Things that where done that have led to this war...all that has been lost....how about you?"
"Yesterday, last night, today... How did I find a way to your heart Ullari?" she whispered in his ear.
"I grew to love you" he replied simply "What about it?"
Rayne blushed a little, "I love you Ullari." she whispered, her lips nearly touching his ear, "I think I have for a very long time. I am glad that I can share my life with you."
"Love you to Rayne" he said at a near whisper turning red in the ears "How come? how so?"
Rayne kissed his ear, "I...I just do. You have given me so much, you have raised me, shown me how to live, and how to love." she whispered.
Ullari rolled over to face her, his black shirt still on as he pulled her close and held her "You are my child Rayne, i love you and i wish that you could have been kept safe...." his voice trailed off. He was glad his ching was resting atop her head...she wouldn't see the anguish in his eyes.
Rayne pulled her head back away so she could look up at him, "Do not blame yourself any longer." she whispered, placing her hand on his cheek and gently tracing his jaw and lips, "It is forgiven."
"How can i forgive myself for throwing the one i love to a den of wolves? to be raped, beaten, poisoned....." his voice faded as his eyes turned glassy "I never meant for them to do that to you, yet somhow i knew and i still forced you to go....knowing that you would do so reguardless of your fate" he wretched inside, tasting blood on his lips where is this coming from? he wondered as he gently drew her close....tracing the cruel scars along her body "What did they do to you?" he asked, seeing fully the extent of the damage as the moon shone down on her.
"I...they..." Rayne dropped her eyes, resting her head against his chest, "They did exactly what you said." she whispered.
Ullari felt the blood run down his chin, he was so angst as to have blood coming from his mouth. He drew her closer, tracing the deep indentations all over her body "What did they use to do this?" he asked horrified, his voice shakey. A chill wind swept through, putting out the candles and touching everything with it's icy bite "Do you want a blanket love?" he asked concerned.
"That depends," she whispered a little bitterly, "a stick, a whip, their fingernails...I can hardly remember half of what must have happened." She suddenly thought she felt something wet on her head where it touched Ullari's chin, she looked up to see blood running from his mouth, "What happened?" she exclamed
He tenderly stroked each wound "It's nothing....think of it as a nose bleed resulting from anguish" he said softly to her "Some of these are two deep for anything....Rayne...tell me...what did they do to you? They are under my command...i can punish them however you want" he whispered to her. He wanted to avenge her, he wanted to give back some of what she lost.
"I do not believe that it is nothing," she said, "there is too much blood for it to be nothing. Ullari, you must stop blaming yourself, you will destroy yourself." she tried hard not to let tears fill her eyes, but they did anyways.
"It will pass....." his voice trailed off "Your beautiful Rayne, you still are, but oh how i wish that i could have saved you from that" his hand met a particularly nasty gouge "What is this?" he asked turning her on her back to see the brutal mark on her stomach, his eyes widen in horror before he drew her close again "You cold?" he asked looking at her bare form in the frigid room.
"I...it's nothing." she said quickly, burying her face in his chest, "No, I'm warm enough." she huddled close to him, plenty warm enough just as long as his arms were around her.
"Rayne....this is not nothing...what is this?" he asked her softly wrapping the blanket he had around him over her "Don't want you to catch a cold...your body is still unstable despite all that has been done to counter the effects"
Rayne was quiet for several moments, then sighed, "One of then had a knife." she whispered, "It must have been of Dark Elf craftsmanship, I have never seen one like it...I could tell it was poisoned, but it was probably just something to inhibit the healing process."
Ullari gave a start he was familiar with dark elf weapon craft "Rayne i know this is going to be hard for you but i need you to describe what happened when he used that blade, who was it? did he say anything? what did the blade look like in shape?" he asked her earnestly.
Rayne looked up at him, surprised by his reaction, "I...I can't really remember...I think it was the one with the long scar on his neck. The knife was shaped strangely...I don't remember...it was jagged...it is all such a haze though."
Ullari gazed at her intently. He reached over glad he was fond of practicing his weapon craft in his room..or at least the poisoned part of it. "This might hurt alittle" he said "This is to counter the poison in you and help the healing process...you can thank Gurthar and his team for this one" he said softly holding her with one arm as he injected a long needle into her back "This will burn but that will be the medicing kicking in" he soothed her.
Rayne held still until Ullari removed the needle, then relaxed, only to stiffen a few moments later as a severe burning sensation spread through her body, she clutched the sleeve of his shirt, and closed her eyes as she took in a shaky breath, trying to steady herself.
Ullari wrapped his arms around her "It will pass soon" he said softly "It should only last maybe five minutes at the most unless you have an alergic reaction.....let's hope you don't..." he spoke softly caressing her back "What's on your mind?"
"Just the pain right now." Rayne whispered, forcing herself not to whimper, the burning was intensifying, but she was sure it would pass soon.
Ullari decided to have alittle fun, pouring some of his special alcohol into a glass he turned over "Here this might help" he said softly to her....no signe of mischief in his eyes or face. It was true it would help.....but it would also make her leap of the bed because of how strong it was.
"Thank you." she whispered, taking the glass and taking a long drought of the cold liquid. She doubled over, choking and coughing, her body warming, the pain dulling, and her head growing a little fuzzy, almost immediately.
Ullari feighning innocence "Sorry wrong bottle...i keep water and that little kicker both under the bed....here yah go" he said handing her what she would think would be water...it wasn't. Ullari took a long pull of the stuff..the one he said was the kicker "Wow...haven't had that in awile" he said as he put the newly opened bottle down...he had given Rayne the last of another one...the most powerful part. Ullari felt a strange feeling come over him i don't recall ever feeling this from alcohol... he thought to himself. The burning didn't stop, though he normally felt none and this concerned him.
Rayne looked suspiciously at him, then at the new glass he handed her. Taking the glass, she took barely a drop of the liquid, "Nice try," she smiled, the pain dulled by the warm tingling feeling that the drink had brought, you should know better than to try the same trick twice..." Rayne trailed off at the look that crossed his face momentarily, "What is it?" she asked.
Ullari's body shook as the poison kicked in "C-c-c-cold.." he spluttered, his eyes turning a dull purple, blood began to come out of his mouth no! h-h-a-a-v-v-e-e to f-f-fight this he thought panicked, he turned to her "Poison" he whispered near inaudable as the the lethal toxin rampaged through him. Gurthar could be heard now snoring loudly in his tent....even through the walls and closed doors.
Rayne sat up, her eyes wide, "I...I'll go get Gurthar." she said, bolting from the bed, barely thinking to grab one of Ullari's robes that hung over a chair. She flew from the room, down the hall and out the door to Gurthar's tent.
Gurthar walked in...by now wide awake thanks to the frigid cold that had frozen the inside of his nose and mouth. Sitting next to Ullari "Where did you get it from?" he asked all buisness now. Grabbing the bottle Ullari gestured to he looked worridly at it "Well this will be fun to pull out" he said quietly, making two long cut marks in Ullari's arm. He drew out the blood, as it flowed in a large arc from one slice to the next. Gurthar carefully began to weed out the poison...which looked like a sick light blue liquid. Gurthar deposited it into an empty bottle.
Rayne sat on the bed, taking Ullari's hand in hers. She looked away, squeezing his hand, when Gurthar made the cuts on Ullari's arm, then leaned down to kiss his forehead, "Will he be alright?" she asked Gurthar in a whisper.
Gurthar intentionally sat on a bunch of needles to wake himself up "Yi yeow! ok much better now that i'm awake" he said turning to her "The poison is extensive and has thus far not done any damage to his insides so yes he will be alright kid" he said with a smile "Now the question remains....who did this? this poison would have killed him if i came so much as two minutes later" his voice solemn as the bottle filled up with the sick poison.
Rayne's face hardened, "I shall make certain that whoever is responsible for this will die a horrible death." she growled, her eyes blazing angrily.
Ullari stirred slightly "What are you two doing in my bedroom? wait...what..oh..what happened?" he shook his head dizzily. Gurthar lept up "Easy easy, i can't have you passing out now" he said warily "This stuff is all over and i can't have it rushing into your vital organs" he said forcefully laying Ullari down....somthing that he was one of two to have the privelage of doing. Ullari groaned "What is this? it feels like back when i misderected my fire element and burnt the inside of my arm...only this time it is all over me...yet i know it's not fire" he sighed wearily with a shiver.
Rayne's face softened, though her eyes still blazed, "It will pass my love." she whispered, bringing his hand to her lips, then pressing it to her cheek.
Gurthar looked at her happily, knowing Ullari could only lip read he looked at Rayne "I am happy for you Rayne....it is good to see you freed, he will be fine....however we can't expect a full recovery for some time...how long it is hard to tell as like i said this particular poison is designed to kill...that much is thwarted, and he should be back to normal soon....by the way" he said his curiousity getting the better of him "How did it come about between the two of you?...." he smiled working away at removing the poison.
Rayne blushed a little, "It happened rather suddenly," she told him quietly, "I am not entirely sure I understand it myself. After you left to retrieve my box for me, Ullari came in. He was...different, gentle. He held me and old me that it was over, that I was safe from them...that he loved me..."
was that really that binding? Gurthar wondered "I don't know if he told you just what he went through to regain what he had cast off...to be honest i'm not entirely sure myself...all i know is that for breaking the pact the Dark Elves sentanced him to the deepest parts of Hell, and well since he obviously isn't there...I know of ways to escape that...neither of them are pleasant...He always did have a fancy for you though Rayne...which is why i tried to keep you in once peice as much as i could" he said with a sigh "Well i'm finished here" he said lowering his voice to a whisper "If he starts to cough up things...well...i'll be waiting in the parlor" he said dissapearing down the hall.
Ullari moaned slightly as the he could still feel the burning from the antidote "Rayne?...." he asked softly, his voice shakey from the poison and his distorted senses "I feel like i'm drunk and got run through with a burning sword" he sighed.
Rayne nodded to Gurthar, then turned back to Ullari, "It will pass." she whispered, kissing the back of his hand again, "You will be feeling as good as ever soon."
Gurthar's throaty snore could be heard already in the other room...somthing wich Ullari heard "Guess poor Gurthar is quite tired...how about you love? Is that all you have on?" he teased her tearing it from her not realising how cold it was, nor the thin layer of ice on his own blanket.
Rayne flushed as Ullari took the robe from her, "Maybe you should just rest." she said, slipping under his blanket, shivering a little.
"True" he said propping his head up, his senses where in overload and it was all he could do to keep from screaming in pain...though this didn't show. Folding his arms across his chest he began slipping into a self induced trance....one in which he was hoping he could rid himself of the rampant after affects of the poison.
Rayne lay her head down and put an arm across him as she watched him slip into his trance, "Rest well my love." she whispered.
Next morning
Ullari had hardly slept the whole night, between the horrors of his past revisting him. He slipped out of bed unnoticed by Rayne. He dissapeared, today there was nothing on his agenda, he was glad of this as he vanished below the surface...there was somone he wanted to talk to...somone he had kept prisoner there for his ties to the brutal cabals along time ago. Infact he ensured that Telmar be created as a ruse for this secret prison. The person....was Rayne's father, captured and made to dissapear shortly after the outbreak of the war due to his connections with the occult.
Rayne began to stir shortly after he left, she reached over to wrap her arm around Ullari, then opened her eyes when she felt only the pillow. She slipped out from underneath the blanket, pulled the robe that she had worn the previous night over her, and walked through the house, trying to find Ullari.
Once he had securly locked the doors from the inside to prevent himself beign followed, Ullari descended into the dungeon pits. Each of the tunnel shafts where numbered...he ventured down shaft 3, the oldest one built, the number there intentionally to confuse. This one unlike the others had a gate further in just out of sight. Unlocking the gate there where many narrow holes with ladders, all of whom numbered. Ullari ventured down one into a hall leading to a single cell.
Having found the cellar door locked, Rayne assumed Ullari had gone down there. Worrying a little, she wandered into a room of Weapons Ullari had taken from the greatest of his fallen foes. She wandered the room, studying the various weapons and remembering some of their previous owners. Someday Gurthang will have a place in this room, she thought to herself, along side the sword of Ninquelote, I am sure...Someday soon.
Ullari unlocked the cell, inside was seperated by four different thick panes of glass with a tube in the middle just large enough to talk through and a dog door like opening on the bottom for food an comodeties. On the enclosed side sat an Elf with long, deep silvery grey hair. Ullari sat down staring at him "This is your last chance to tell me what i need to know" he said sternly to his prisoner.
Ullari had had enough waiting, he had been acused of so much and he knew the one sitting infront of him had the answers. Ullari reached out into his mind, psychic shockwaves resonating as the brutal interrogation began, Ullari finished in shock "You where the one to begin the Deamon incursions? You divided the council? you ordered the assault and massacre of all those people?" Ullari was severely weakened by the exsursion of his powers "She thinks you are dead, and it is for the better now i think" he spat in disgust. The haggard elf raised his head in anger "Let me see my Daughter! you stole her from me! you turned her into a slave and defiled her!" Ullari turned away at the ranting man, coming to the base of the stair leading into the house he sat down, feeling the intense psychic power unleashed, so intense that it made everything heavy and would force many to the ground in shock.
After a while, Rayne left the room and went to Ullari's small kitchen to look for something light to eat.
Focusing himself Ullari phased through the doors vanishing off into his bedroom. Seeing Rayne wasn't there he assumned she had gone about her day, he ventured into his closet, opening up a door he ventured into an inner sanctum of sorts, where he could meditate and recoup. The room was made of black stone with runes carved into it. On the floor a pentagram sat inscribed, in the middle of which Ullari now sat.
After finishing a light meal, Rayne returned to the bedroom, and finding the closet door open, she ventured inside. She saw Ulari through the door, sitting on the floor, and watched him from the doorway, his robe still about her.
Ullari was entirely entranced now, white mists could be seen tracing him, taking the form of arms with spindly hands at the end. Whisperes permeated the room, the pentagram grew red in color.
Gurthar sensing somthing he didn't like shook himself awak.
Rayne watched, growing a little alarmed, but not daring to interrupt. She listened, trying to decipher the words of the whispering voices.
A shadowy figure stepped out, red eyes and with a blue flame coming from both its' hands "Ullari you have defied the sacrifice required of you for freeing yourself from this pact, you have denied both the sacrifices how do you answer?" his deep voice resonating. Ullari stirred, a cool almost musical voice answered "Because neither are yours to take or mine to give, the first gave herself to another, the secound is mine. Hell you sentanced me to for breaking a pact? I never sealed it in blood" he sneered at the Deamon judge....who was the equal of a legion of princes.
Rayne stiffened at the sight of the figure. She had only read of Deamon Judges, but she knew it immediately when she saw it. She stood frozen in the open doorway, her black hair all about her shoulders, fearing for Ullari.
The Juge bowed his head, he was contained in Human form but it was a poor ruse, as it was apparent that he was much more powerful "I see, so it was never a pact just an oath Ullari. I have alot of respect for you old friend, i fear this war is rash, the Deamons are getting harder to hold at bay. Have you found out any information from him?" Ullari stiffened at that "Zadakail his is the one who initiated the opening of the gates, though he had no intention of doing so, i must now intercede for i planned on surprising my wife on her birthday....he is a long lost aquaintance of hers that she thought to be dead" Zadakail for the first time showed what looked like to be surprise "You would intercede for the sinner? Normally i would say that this is out of the question...but under the circumstances i believe that a repreive can be made" he said bowing to Ullari in respect "Until we meet again old friend" with that the Judge vanished.
Rayne stared in surprise, she could believe neither her eyes nor her ears. What gates? What acquaintance? How did Ullari come to call a Deamon Judge "friend"?
Gurthar came up behind Rayne muffling her mouth "You've seen enough to get yourself killed now, ask your questions later...beings of that power don't like intruders" he hissed in her ear, warily looking around for any minions.
Rayne started, feeling Gurthar's hand suddenly over her mouth. She allowed him to pull her away from the room, still staring at Ullari.
Gurthar was unusually gentle with her, this was because he knew of her injuries and did not want to be the source of unwarrented bruising he sat her down on the bed "Well i would pretend like you saw nothing, ask to your hearst content when he comes back, but say nothing about what you saw" he cautioned her "A Sentinel Judge does not lend its' friendship lightly and it will guard that friendship fiercly. I bid you farewell M'lady" Gurthar said with a bow turning to leave, not realizing he had forgotten to put a shirt on...the brutal scars all over his body painfully visible.
Rayne sat on the bed, staring after Gurthar's retreating form. She was stunned by what she had just seen. She waited there for Ullari to return, her face a little more pail than usual.
The room was darkend by the set in of the clouds. Ullari walked leasurly in, not noticing Rayne sitting stock still on the bed. By now exhausted "And on my day off to" he growled annoyed by now at the biting cold and his sapped energy.
"Ullari..." Rayne's voice was frightened, "what just happened? What was that?"
"An old friend, Zadakail is what we call a Deamon, but in reality he is a Judge and a Sentinel, one who keeps the Deamons actions in check" he sighed burying himselfe deeper into the sheets and blankets, frost was setting in, and all heat was leaving because an incursion was about to begin....one that could potentially destroy both armies. This incursion though was years off, the chill, and plumetting tempratures where symptoms though that the incursion had been sped up "Rayne, today is your birthday correct my love?" he whispered almost pained.
"I...Yes, it is." she said, still bewildered, "Why?"
Ullari cradled her in his arms holding her head close to him "Would you like to see your father?" he asked gently, keeping a soft yet firm hold of her.
Rayne rested her head on Ullari's chest, closing her eyes, "If only I could." she whispered wishfully.
"Rayne, what i am saying is that he is alive....he's not dead love and if you so desire you can see him right now if you want to" he said softly stroking her neck "This is what i meant when i told you all your pain is over...i will warn you though that in seeing him there will be pain unimaginable to you....." he said holding her tighter.
Rayne moved to sit up suddenly, though Ullari was restraining her, she knocked his chin with her head, "He...He is alive?! Why did you never tell me? Why did you allow me to believe for so may years that he was dead?" she demanded almost hysterically.
Ullari took her firmly by the shoulders "Because of what he was involved with Rayne" he said shaking her "Because of what he has done there may be an incursion the likes of which none have ever seen!" his voice then turned soft as he looked at her "I never told you because i never wanted you to be privy to what he is involved with, and thought that if you knew he died well then you would be at peace with it"
Rayne collapsed against Ullari's chest, her shoulders shaking as she tried not to cry. She was in shock, she did not know how to feel. She wanted to see her father again, but he had denounced her before the High council, and the pain was still as sharp as it had been over two-thousand years ago. "Let me see him?" she whispered finally.
"First off you might want to put on somthing more than my fur blanket, and yes Rayne i will let you see him" Ullari had a black dress fetched for her how will the old coot react i wonder? i'm the only face he has seen for two centuries he thought to himself.
Rayne slipped into the black dress with a red sash, then went over to where she had left her little red box and put the necklace around her neck. She turned to Ullari, hesitating for a moment, she took a deep breath, "Take me to him." she whispered finally.
Ullari sighed "Stay by my side and do not under any circumstances touch anything" he warned leading her down the icy cool cellar, arrayed in armour this time with a sword at his side. Turning down the tunnel he came to the gate "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked her oh great feeding time for the mutants he thought as distant wailings and moanings could be heard.
Rayne nodded, trying to look emotionless, but as always her face was an open book. She was nervous, unsure, but she was determined to go through with this.
Ullari was fearful that she would not get to see her father in a normal state of mind after all that he has trapped within him? he said not relishing digging himself out of that particular senario. Lowering Rayne into one of the small shafts he led her to the cell door. He opened it, revealing her father behind the glass wall.
Rayne entered the room slowly, gazing at the man on the other side of the glass. She hardly recognized him, he was older, haggard, but he had the same pride about him, and the same eyes that she had never forgotten. She slowly approached the glass, "Father?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.
Ullari stepped forward to a huge earthen door signalling for the warrden to lower it "You have a visitor Yuriel" he said to the figure sitting in the chair, on edge. Yuriel arose looking at Rayne, one of his red eyes completely white, the other blazing red "You...you betrayed me!" he spoke bitterly before straightening up alittle "So i see and hear from people that you have made yourself his pet...disgusting Rayne, what became of you!" Ullari stepped infront "She is my Wife Yuriel, not my pet" he said holding her hand up next his, the rings seeming to be the source of light.
"You do not think that I felt betrayed?" Rayne whispered bitterly, "You denounced me, your own daughter, before the High Council. Where else was I to turn?" she asked, her voice rising a little, "I had nothing. Ullari sheltered me, taught me, cared for me...And now I am his wife." she looked him in the eye, a mix of feelings on her face. She was hurt and bitter, but she longed to embrace him, to hear him tell her that he loved her again.
Yuriel stood torn, he reached out and drew Rayne in closer "I'm sorry it has to be this way, Rayne i do love you, the shame you brought though was irrevocable...i had no choice, and you ran off to become his pet before i could even say anything to you" he said with Distain towards Ullari. He began shaking, Ullari seeing this yanked Rayne away, Yuriel's hands shot forth two long blades from each side of his hand. Ullari turned Rayne's head into him, covering her ears and blocking her sense of hearing. Yuriel composed himself "As i have said before Ullari, i can see why you keep me hear but why must she be your slave? why must she be so wretchedly defiled when she adores you Ullari!" he said shouting, Rayne could hear him. Ullari faced him "Yuriel she is no longer my pet, she is my wife, and in most all matters equal with me, i couldn't bear her suffering and i wanted to end it and so i have" he said calmly with his arms aroun Rayne's waist ready to sheild her from another attack.
Rayne looked at Yuriel, tears in her eyes, "He has not defiled me," she growled, "and I am no one's slave. You do not know the pain that you have caused me. More than just shame, betrayal, like a knife wound that has not healed, the pain has not even been dulled by well over two-thousand years."
"Your a foolish dimwitted and worthless girl" Yuriel spat. Ullari flinched at what was said but remained passive. Rayne had chosen to go to her father, he would not let anything happen to her but he would not save her from the consequences unless they would pysically harm her.
"Then I blame you for that." Rayne whispered coldly, "For two hundred years you raised me, it was your duty to teach me to grow. If you say that I am foolish, rash, then I blame you."
"You are petty and worthless Rayne...you spent your life enthralled with gangs and whatever you could latch onto before i even had a chance to come to you" Yuriel glared down at her "You are foolish....i was there during your initiation..you remember that? when you passed out? you where turned into the group pet!" he nearly screamed. Ullari flinched....he hadn't been there and had only heard rumors.
"That is not who I am now." Rayne too raised her voice, she was now shaking with rage, "I am no one's pet now. Ullari has raised me above that, he has given me a life with more meaning than you could have offered me."
"Yeah...he allowed you to be turned into a plaything by a bunch of crazed youths on drugs? hardly somone i would have expected you to side with..your pathetic...selling yourself so cheaply" he said, going into a ribald filled with horrendous insults and and things he had remmebered. Ullari held her tight horrified at what was being said "They...they did that to you?" he asked her, rage boiling just under his voice as his body temprature shot up....his fire element swelling to almost an incontrollable level.
Rayne's own temper flared, she could feel heat in her hands, like she held smoldering embers in her fists, "Silence, you rambling old man!" Rayne yelled suddenly, stepping away from Ulari and toward Yuriel, "I will not stand here while you insult me! I have sold myself to no one. I am the wife of Ullari Uldor, leader of the Dark Army, I will not be insulted by the likes of you!" her voice rose, louder than it had in several years.
"And you think i'm weak and frail?" Yuriel said, his voice taking on a hence forth undeard of tone, that was dark and menacing. Yuriel could feel his own anger rising...and that was not a good thing. Ullari had been handed a stack of overdue paperwork by the Warden....and he was sitting at a desk with a sharp eye now on Yuriel.
Rayne drew in a deep breath, "I know better than that." she said almost evenly, though her eyes still blazed, "However, I will not be insulted by you."
"You are one to insulted" he spat, struggling to contain the bitter powers in him "You turned your back on everything for what? a place in an Army that has been the source of such havoc for the last twelve years?" His eyes began to turn an eerie yellow...somthing Ullari didn't see.
"No," said Rayne, "I joined a brotherhood that was dedicated to the righting of the wrongs of the Council. I had no intention of turning my back on anything. You turned your back on me."
"The Council was in the process of purging those you all thought where corrupt and immoral...they where and they got what they deserved! We where righting the wrongs of the Council and restoring it it's former glory" Yuriel growled, inside his arms there burned a fiery wrath "You turned your back on what little hope there had been left of averting war...i denounced you because i had to! I had to in order to prevent the council memembers from taking to war to resolve their issues!"
"Was I that unimportant to you, that you publicly denounced me, instead of finding some other way, was I that insignificant to you? You know not how that hurt!" Rayne yelled angrily, though tears swam in her red eyes.
"If i did not denounce you then there where at least five council men with at least ten thousand soldiers behind them who would attack me as a sympathizer and a traitor, which would have achieved the same end that has now already been so beautifully achieved" Yuriel's voice sunk low again, this time gutteral and deamonic. Ullari raised an eyebrow but was also preoccupied with various reports that concerned him greatly "These i suppose can be dealt with though the outcome i would rather avert" he sighed quietly to himself.
"There is always another way!" Rayne yelled, not even noticing the change in her father's voice, "You were the one who told me that. What happened to change your mind? Or did I just cease to matter to you?"
"Rayne i was given the choice of denunciation or war! i had every intention of coming to you after wards and taking you back in an hiding you till it all died down" His voice permeated the room now, the lights dimming, his eyes blazing, his fury rising as his control over his darker side weakened.
In her rage, Rayne was unaware of the change that had come over Yuriel. Her fists glowed red, the ends of her long black sleeves beginning to smolder, "But you did not! You left me to Ullari's underlings, to be treated as a pet until I finally met Ullari himself!" she nearly streaked.
Yuriel glared at her "I could not because you would not listen to me! i warned you of what would happen an asked you not to yet you did so the fault is yours!" The room turned chill, anything water based froze. Ullari feeling the chill looked up, raising an eyebrow now clearly taking interest in what was going on....this was a family matter so he would stay out as best he could.
"You told me nothing of the sort!" Rayne yelled, "You ordered me to remain home. I was just a child to you, you did not believe that I needed a reason, did you? But I was old enough to see that your reason was prejudiced."
"Rayne your going to dig yourself a hole that your not going to like" Ullari hummed musically to himself, keeping a sharp eye on Yuriel...he could sense he would break soon...and who knew what that would entail. Yuriel drew himself up to his full height...nearly seven foort tall "I told you Rayne...i even wrote it down for you but you burned it...." he was no desperately trying to contain the raging power...he knew if he allowed the new phase to start that it would be all over. The warden...who knew better but was ignored by Ullari scampered out and left.
"You were blinded by your prejudice, you still are! You could not see the good that Ullari could have done, if the Council had only given him what he asked! But you never cared about that, you cared only for your own reputation, your own shame, your own hurt pride." Rayne spat, a hot tear running down her face, despite the cold.
Yuriel screamed inside as he lost control I'm sorry Rayne.....i..i..love you he thought as Black chitonous armour, a long glowing sword in one hand, his eyes blazing Yellow. Ullari nearly flew back into the wall in surprise when did this develope? he wondered awaiting what would happen next.
Rayne took a few steps back at his sudden change, then crouched down, a ball of fire suspended between her hands, ready to be used in her defense.
Yuriel, the pride of the deamon's within him now incensed unleashed a massive fire ball at Rayne. Ullari stepped in front, absorbing the entire blast though it catapulted him back, landing feet first against the wall he launched himself, crossing blades with the huge Deamon sword "Yuriel you are not yourself! calm yourself! you are feeding the Deamons rage within you and will only make it worse!" Ullari said struggling slightly underneath the immense weight of his opponent.
Rayne cried out as she saw Ullari flung toward the wall by a blast that was meant for her, she stared at Ullari and her father, her fireball dwindled, forgotten in her mix of rage and fear.
Yuriel reached down with a clawed hand grabbing Ullari by the neck and lifting him up to eye level "You tormented us! you imprisoned us, first he trapped us then you made sure we could never leave!" the deamonic voices echoed forth. Ullari smiled visibly, which unnerved the Deamon as he took a step back holding Ullari at arm's lengh. Ullari began to laugh audably, because he had an immense amount of power channeling through him "Yuriel you forget who i and my brother are....yes we are elves, but do you know what i or my brother am? and why there are no longer any who are like us?"
Rayne stared at Ullari, her mind racing. What was happening? Would he be alright? What was he talking about?
Yuriel regained his mind for a moment "Ullari...what do you mean?...please...please end me while i am still myself!" he pleaded with Ullari. Ullari smiled "I am a substitute Sentinel, Lomien is a Sentinel and granted me the posistion that i have...as such...i can pass judgement on the Deamons within you and free you from Damnation...but it may kill you and destroy you utterly and painfully" he warned...sorrow rife in his tone.
Rayne gaped at Ullari, taking in what he had said. Her rage subsiding, she took a few involuntary steps forward, "Father?" she whispered, tears in her eyes, "I am so sorry."
Yuriel smiled "Then i guess then i will have to crush you" he said squeezing tighter around Ullari's neck. Ullari dropping his sword vanished, only to reappear behind him, a blazing gauntlet made of pure incandescent energy glowing a bright blue. Ullari thrust the gauntlet through Yuriel with a sickening crunch, his fist coming out the other side. Yuriel looked down an smiled "Thank you Ullari...now my sould can rest peacfully" He turned tendurly to Rayne "Goodbye Rayne, my soul is leaving this body now...the necklace you have though is a special one...it will house my soul in it for you...you have him to thank for that...." with that Yuriel left his body an joined her necklace. The Deamon swatting Ullari against the glass in pain.
Rayned just stared at her father, her mind not fully comprehending what he said, then stared at Ullari as he was flung against the glass.
Ullari broke through all four paynes landing on his back in the former cell. The Deamon now enraged "Well then judge, pass judgement on us!" it sneered, raising high it's sword and charging. Ullari was to fast though, feighning injury he cut the sword arm clean off. The Deamon howled in pain.
Seeing the Deamon fling Ullari through the glass, Rayne smapped out of her daze, she gathered her will, and flung a large burst of flame at the Deamon.
The flame dissolved harmlessly against the Deamon's armour. Ullari looked at Rayne "Run, go now, i'll see you at the top Rayne!" he said forming an energy sword again...he was exhausted but knew he had to fight. The sword vanished as he straightened up "Yavan ien, terminus lictor" he uttered, his eyes blazing red. A blast of crimson energy hit the Deamon sending it to it's knees. A huge hole where the center of its' body had been. Ullari stood with sword raised over....the sword of a judge. Deciding to insult the dying Deamon he looked at Rayne "Deal the final blow my love" he said tenderly to her.
Rayne approached, "I will not leave you here." she said to him. Then, started when he asked her to deal the final blow. Nodding, she stared grimly at the Deamon. Rayne gathered her will and unleashed her rage upon the Deamon in the form of a blaze that enveloped it.
Ullari gave an exasperated sigh, and the Deamon a feeble growl of defiance as it felt its' power being fed "With the sword my love?" he asked looking at her with a raised eyebrow "You're only feeding it with your fire"
Rayne looked at him, a little surprised, he knew that she did not know how to wield a weapon, how was she supposed to know that was what he meant? Never the less, she moved to Ullari's side.
Ullari held the blade...a large double handed weapon, balanced in the palm of his hand though it weighed in excess of ninety pounds "Take it and drive it into his head my love" he said softly....forgetting that she had never really heald a blade....yet alone one that atuned itself to the weilders psyche and abilities.
Rayne gripped the handle of the word, and lifted it from his hand. The blade of the sword dipped toward the ground, almost causing her to fall over, but she managed to keep her balance, she stood there, gazing at the blade, struggling to hold it up off the ground.
To even further humiliate the Deamon Ullari rolled it over on its' stomach placing his foot firmly between the shoulder blades "Can you raise the sword love?" he asked looking at her "You have to bring the symbol at the center as close to eye level as you can" he said gently.
Rayne nodded, following his instructions, For Father. she thought to herself, as she brought the sword down on the Deamon's head. The sword clattered to the ground, and Rayne stumbled back a few steps before sinking to her knees and burying her face in her long white hands.
A small voice whispered in her head I am not gone Rayne...i am still here, finally myself....unbound by the torments of this world Ullari smiled as he sensed Yuriel at peace, as he reached down an took hold of her hands "Come, i think you have experianced enough with the Deamonic...what else would you like to do?" he asked her tendurly.
Rayne nodded, staring at her father's dead body. She rose to her feet, her hands still in Ullari's, "I feel as though a piece of me just died," she whispered, "...though I believed it to be gone over two-thousand years ago..."
"He still lives on after a fashion" Ullari said gently raising the necklace she had on to her lips "He is still here....this time though he is how he was before you rememebered him and better...he is free and unburdened save by the guilt incurred in his life time"
Rayne curled her long slender fingers around both her mother's necklace, and Ullari's hand, she looked up at him and nodded, tears still in her eyes, "For that, I am thankful." she whispered.
Ullari smiled releasing her hand and vanishing down a long dark corridor...there was somthing he had a mind to do, and he hoped she was still in to much shock to follow...theses where not pleasent parts, the inhabitants alot of whom where free and many could over power her if they chose to...not to mention the stench "Does anyone ever clean this place?" he mutttered.
Rayne started a little as Ullari vanished, her hand suddenly empty, save for her mother's necklace. She stood there, staring at her father's body.
Ullari found what he was looking for, a massive gout of intense, poisonous blue fire shot out, billowing out the tunnel he had come down. Ullari swiveled alittle from the noxious fumes....which where designed to paralyze then render the victim unconsious. Ullari purged his body of the poison, weilding it as a weapon now as he froze it in ice. The Deamons set upon him, seeking to tear him apart for destroying what had protected them an what they had called master.
Rayne turned from her father's dead form, and left the room. She stood outside the door, still dazed and not sure which way she needed to go to get back. Unknowingly, she wandered down the same way Ullari had taken.
Ullari's eyes blazed orange as he fought with the Deamons, their weapons impacting on his armour without so much as leaving a dent....he was a Judge, and it would not be easy for their weapons to even cut him with how little energy they where using.
As Rayne walked, she began to recover from her shock, she knew that she was lost, and she only hoped that someone would find her...She should have stayed put. She could now hear faint noises down the tunnel, she walked slowly, so as not to stumble suddenly upon anything unpleasant.
A form materialised out of the shadows "Young girls should not be down here alone miss" He said tendurly "I am one of the tunnel keeps, you need not fear me....come then i will lead you out" He looked like a tall thin, dark skinned boy...what set him apart where his crimson red wings "Mind i ask how you got down here? are one the holes broken into?" he said with a smile.
Rayne looked a little suspiciously at the boy, "Ullari brought me down here...to show me something." she said, "Do you know where he is?"
Now it was his turn to look suspicious "Mind my asking what relation you have to him? Last i recalled he only had one woman in his life that he ever cared about and he certainly wouldn't be happy if he found her in this part of the tunnels" he said cautiously....he knew where Ullari was.
Ullari felt a blunt impact as the energy weapon met with the energy around his body they are growing stronger....though there is now three instead of six left he thought make that two! as he sliced through one of the critters.
Rayne hesitated a moment, but decided that the boy probably was who he said he was, "I am his wife." she said, "Could you take me to him?"
The gaurdian glanced down the tunnel "I'm afraid my lady that i can not do that, and that i will have to take you back to the former prisoner Yuriels waiting room" he said solemnly "There are things down there that would put you through worse than you could ever imagine" he cautioned hearding her back down the tunnel gently.
Rayne nodded, "Will he meet me there when he is finished?" she asked, knowing that he was taking care of some sort of business.
"Yes...unless he is quite mad an decides to go out one of those ways, yeah i know he is a Night shroud an all but even they must have their limits" he sighed leading her into the room "I will wait here with you....it is not safe to be alone" he said perching on a ledge above where she now sat.
A very bloodied and battered Ullari sat down in the tunnel as he crushed the Deamon it sent out it's poisonous fire cloud....so great was it that it reached Rayne, filling the chamber with a toxin that would knock her out an render her immobile an paralyzed. Meaning she couldn't move her limbs.
Rayne thanked him as he sat above her. A few moments later, a noxious smell permeated the room, she began to cough, then her vision went black, the last thing she would remember was the ground rushing up to meet her.
Ullari came out of the tunnel coughing, slputtering and cursing....he hated noxious odors...this being perhaps the foulest of them. He was cut in one or two places but otherwise unscathed...till he fell head over heals tripping over Rayne and crashing into the wall "What the...who's there?" he growled.
Rayne groaned, still not quite conscious, when Ullari tripped over her.
Ullari picked her up realizing who she was "You've been through alot little lady, let's get you to some fresh air first....this place stinks" he felt blood on his head. Bringing her up he had the servant (with much complaint due to the smell) clean her up with a new set of clothes. The necklace he returned to the box. Once she was resting in bed he dissapeared to rid himself of the stench.
Rayne came to some time later, she opened her eyes to find herself back in her and Ullari's room. She lay there, wondering what happened, and how she got back, and where Ullari was.
Ullari came out, walking sluggishly from water room to closet, steam seeming to flow off his shoulders, a towel wrapped about him. He was happy to be rid of the horrid smell, but ticked because the cold had turned a hot bath into an ice walk.
Rayne smiled a little at the look on Ullari's face, guessing the reason for it. "What happened?" she asked quietly.
Ullari started "Wa..who?..huh?" he mumbled, exausted from the amount of will an energy he had spent, a large cut on his forehead now stood where he had hit his head on the wall.
"Oh Ullari," Rayne got swiftly out of the bed and was at his side in a couple of strides, but then her time unconscious caught up to her and she nearly blacked out again, "are you alright?" she asked him, placing a hand on his shoulder to steady herself as she recovered from her lightheadedness.
Ullari layed her back down kissing her on the forehead "Yes i'll be fine...i'm just tired" he said dissapearing behind the closet door tossing the towel out. Returning he had on a white long sleve an black silk pants. Laying down next to her he sighed in contentment.
Rayne turned toward him, propping her head up on her hand, What did happen down there?" she asked him quietly.
"All the little friends that your father and i sealed away decided to attempt to break free....and i had a nice fight...see you got yourself fumed though....you won't have the ability to move your limbs soon though" he said softly to her.
Rayne looked at him curiously, "I feel fine, aside from a little lightheadedness." she said.
"Try moving then" he said teasingly, knowing that at this point it would be useless "The poison is from a type of Deamon given over to hunting....you are perhaps the only one to survive that is not on the Sentinel council"
Rayne tried to reach over and kiss Ullari's forehead, but found herself unable to move her arms and legs, just as he said, "Why can't I move now?" she asked, "Hod did I survive?"
Drawing her closer to him he leaned against her ear "Because i pulled you out...and you can't move because that poison is designed to paralyze you so that the attacker can inflict whatever pain he wants, only the victim will not feel it...till it wears off...then they will feel it ten fold...so i am going to protect you for awile" he said tickling the back of her neck.
"How long will I be like this?" she asked quietly.
"If i let it wear off on it's own....a month. If i purge your body...a few hours or even a day" he said softly to her.
Rayne groaned, closing her eyes for a moment, she was not sure she could stand to not have control over her body for that long, "Do what you can?" she asked him.
"I will...but at the moment that would meen waking old doc Gurthar...and i think the poor guy deserves alittle rest....besides....i think your just fine how you are now" he purred in her ear, flushing bright red.
"And why is that?" she asked him, narrowing her red eyes suspiciously, though she was sure she had a good idea what the answer was.
"I meant nothing by it...least you'll stay put an out of trouble" he said rolling over with his back to her. He had folded up all the blankets....most of whom where making a rather nice foot rest. He felt the chill wind whip against him, enjoying every bit of it.
Rayne tried to squirm uncomfortably, but her body wouldn't respond, "What is on your mind my love?" she asked quietly.
Ullari heard a strange ringing in his right ear, preventing him from hearing her. He felt a warm sensation move down his neck, and another down his forehead great..blood he thought to himself, though it preplexed him as to why his ear was bleeding could it have been that siren Deamon?...ugh..perhaps he sighed.
Rayne would have sat up abruptly if she could have, "Is that blood?!" she exclaimed, "Are you alright Ullari?"
Ullari rolled onto his back in answer of her question "I'm fine Rayne...just a minor injury of my own is all" he said softly, as blood trickled down from his forehead and ear.
Rayne looked worriedly at him, "Are...are you sure?" she asked, wishing she could reach out and wipe the blood from his face.
"Besides alittle ring in the ear facing you, and the headache...yes i am fine" he smiled, realizing now why his back was on fire "And this would be why i looked like i had swallowed somthing nasty" he said extracting a throwing knife that had embedded itself into his skin.
Rayne's eyes widened, "Oh Ullari..." she breathed, "Will you be alright?"
"Yes Rayne" he whispered as his eyes began to dim from the loss of blood. It was begining to dry but he was covered in the stuff. She could not see it, only the little running down his ears. The poison in her began to wear off rapidly.
Rayne could feel her control over her limbs returning, "Are you sure?" she asked, reaching up a little bit awkwardly to wipe the blood away. She still did not have very good control over her arms, and she nearly hit his eye, but she placed her hand on his cheek, and wiped the worst of the blood from under his ears.
Ullari had strategicly maneavured his head so that she could not see his face caked in dry blood...though he was begining to lose conscieousness. He felt very giddy, and could feel the slice that had just missed his jugular vein.
Rayne ran her fingers across his face, then felt the caked blood, she turned his head so she could see it, "Oh Ullari!" she gasped, seeing all the blood, "You need a healer my love."
Ullari winced in pain as the cut on his neck was aggravated "Rayne it's all dry love...it should be fine now" he said softly.
Gurthar came out of the parlor where he had been napping, and began rumaging in the kitchen for somthing to eat. The smells of a hot meal waffed through the house.
Rayne hardly noticed the smell of whatever Gurthar was cooking as she gazed worriedly up at Ullari, "You are sure you do not need a healer?" she asked.
Ullari nodded weakly. Between the power expendature and the severe loss of blood combined with the brain trauma...he was quite put out.
Gurthar began munching quietly on his first meal in days, helping himself to whatever he could find...such was the liberty of a long time an close friend of Ullari's...not to mention Gurthar was imaculate...and you never even knew he was there save for the smells of what he had cooked.
"Take it easy then my love." Rayne whispered, moving closer to him and resting her head against his shoulder. She was trying not to frett too much, for she knew that he did not like that, but she couldn't help but worry.
Gurthar decided to sneak scraps to the birds "Ah they're probably busy doing who knows what" he snickered as he tip toed into the avery. He was met with joyous squaks as the birds anticapated what he was bringing.
Ullari cringed at the noise, his ears hyper sensitive. In doing so his neck arched to reveal the deep slash along it, as he was being tormented by his beloved birds...unbeknownst to Gurthar.
Rayne looked back up at him as she felt him move, and gasped when she saw the gash in his neck, "Ullari, let me call Pert, please my love. You are wounded, more than what you let me believe."
Ullari cringed as the birds sqwauking intensified "Make it stop...ugh...why can't i move my legs?" he said as his hands shook.
Rayne sat up, "Pert!" she called, holding his head to her chest, "What is it Ullari?" she asked him quietly
A quiet patter of feet, followed by a pause....proceeded by a loud crashing, and Pert cursing at the top of her lungs at Gurthar "Out you crusnik i told you not to feed the birds!" she shrieked followed by enough swearing to fill a book. Gurthar left down the hall to the parlor...he had a headache now. Pert forgetting why she had been called began reorganising the avery.
Ullari moaned "The noise...why so much noise?...i think it's just poison that is wearing off" he said, his voice regaining some of its original tone.
"Pert." Rayne called again, placing her hand gently over his ear, "It will be alright my love." she whispered, stroking his hair.
A dishelved, half pecked to death and very grouchy Pert stalked in "Is there a reason why you of all people keep waking me up?" she asked...half tempted to go drag Gurthar into here. A siren call echoed through the room....Ullari had not finished all of the Deamons...and this one did not like being trapped below.
Ullari winced at the sound "Her call burns in my ears" he moaned weakly.
"I am sorry Pert, but...I think he needs a healer." Rayne said pulling away a little to allow Pert to see Ullari's condition, then stiffened at the sound of the siren's call.
"Well for the most part those are just nasty cuts...his main problem is that trapped bitch down there that is calling out for the rest of his blood" Pert said with a primal growl "He should be fine....just sit on him if he so much as tries to move from that bed" she said eyeing Ullari. Pert healed the cuts and wiped the blood off "There much better...not that you where ever one for looks" she teased as she danced off.
Rayne watched Pert go, then looked back to Ullari, "You look just fine." she smiled, "I just wish that you did not always have fresh wounds...How are you doing my love?"
"Ah the wounds don't bother me..it will pass, i'm just giddy from loss of blood" he said faintly.
Rayne nodded, holding Ullari against her and stroking his hair again. She sat there, running her long white fingers through his dark hair, wondering how long it would be before they no longer needed to look ahead to the next battle, the next campaign.
Ullari slowly sat up "I think i will go see what Gurthar wanted, he told me he had somthing for me as well as some ideas for the next Campaigne" he smiled, reluctantly getting up "You rest here, i'll be back shortly" he walked slowly out the door. Ullari headed out down the long hall and into a meeting room of sorts, he was recovering...though still not at all fully and to say the least not interested in planning for the spring campaigns.
Awile later Abarhi walked in through the front door, his bulk seemned to fill the hall, and the cold air felt as if it originated from him. He had been told that Ullari was not at home, which was good...more time to talk to Pert without interuption...it had been nearly a thousand years since he had left her in her damaged for at Ullari's door step. He walked silently into the bedroom. He wasn't stupid, he knew of Pert's occupation...however much it may have surprised him. He either didn't see or didn't think much of Rayne as he walked quietly from the bedroom door to the far end where Pert had her rooms.
"Ullari, Pert told you to stay put." Rayne called after him, but she didn't follow, she did not think she was quite recovered enough to walk. Sighing and shaking her head, Rayne settled back against the headboard. She closed her eyes, resting them until she heard someone enter the room, "What did Gurthar want?" she asked quietly opening her eyes, then stiffened when she saw a tall dark figure instead of Ullari, "Who are you?" she demanded, ready to lash out at him should he threaten her, "Who let you in here, and why?"
Abarhi glanced at her, sitting down in a chair across from her, setting his massive sword aside. The blade was nearly as tall as he. His hood remained on, no sign of his hair or eyes for his hair he kept neatly tucked back, and his hood shrouded most of his eyes. He looked up at her "You would not know who i was even if i where to tell you...but tell me, has the toy finally found her way into the bed of her obsession?" he mocked. He had only heard snipets from Pert, and he had not heard that Ullari had gotten himself married...to his former toy.
Rayne's eyes narrowed and her body shook with rage, "Who are you that you presume to know so much?" she asked, her voice low and dangerous.
"You wouldn't understand even if i told you girl" he said casually...he did not like speaking so much, save to Pert or one of the other Sentinels "You really think that you could so much as harm me?...don't try it" his voice sunk even lower.
"Rayne glared at Abarhi, she opened her mouth to give a hot retort, but was interrupted by Pert's entrance.
Pert entered Ulari's room to check on him, but stopped short just inside the door, her mildly irritated expression turned to one of pure joy, "Abarhi!" she exclaimed, running over and hugging him. Pert looked tiny next to Abarhi's massive form.
Abarhi got up embracing and holding on to her "Long time no see" he said warmly eyeing Rayne. He easily held pert in one arm, the other half extended, challenging her almost to a fight "Well i see you haven't changed a day" he said to Pert as he let his long flowing hair out, which nearly covered her head.
Rayne blinked in surprise at Pert's reaction to the stranger, "Pert, who is this?" she asked, glaring suspiciously at Abarhi.
Pert grinned up at Abarhi, then looked at Rayne, "This vagabond is Abarhi, my brother." she said, her face looked as if she had just revealed a deep and abiding truth of the universe, then broke into a huge grin.
Abarhi nodded "Well then where would you like to go while i am around these parts" he smiled alittle "And not that you are exactly as clean as a whistle" he said tossing her up into the air "And i suppose then that the pet's name is Rayne?" he said laughing.
Pert giggled as her brother tossed her in the air. She looked more like a child, than like an ancient being inside a child-like body.
"I am no one's pet." Rayne snapped, before Pert could respond to Abarhi's question.
Pert's face sobered a little, "She is married to Ullari now." she informed her brother, genuinely serious this time.
"You know my thoughts on that" he said softly to her "Come little one, i believe there is much to talk about" he said walking out the room with her nestled neatly in the crevace of his arm.
Ullari came in, seeing Abarhi he gave a slight start of surprise before entering the room again and collapsing on the bed looking over at Rayne "You look slightly angered" he said casually.
"Slightly?" Rayne growled, "Slightly is an understatement. He insulted me, in one of the worst ways."
Abarhi walked into the parlor. Seeing no one there he set Pert down before sitting down beside her. Gently placing one of his arms around her and drawing her close "I have been over long haven't i? i'm sorry sis i meant to come sooner...this war is picking up, and travel is getting harder. And i wanted to also give you my reason for leaving you in this form at Ullari's door" he said softly. She was one of the few things he had left in this world, and the only one precious to him that was not lost.
"What is it?" he said softly to her. Ullari sipped lightly out of a bottle of whine he had.
"Indeed you have, but I understand brother." Pert said, leaning against him.
"Has the toy finally found her way into the bed of her obsession?" Rayne quoted angrily, "As if I was no more than your mistress."
Abarhi smiled softly, allowing his otherwise stern demeanor to cool "So what has been going on here? i see the pet got herself married" he said with a tinge of disgust "I always thought Ullari had better taste....guess there always are surprises" he said absentmindedly "I have much to tell you little one, but first i would like to hear from you"
"Why does that bother you so much?" Ullari mused, forgetting what he was talking about "Abarhi is a rather rough individual...last he saw you where a pet with an obsession....." he bit his tongue realizing what he had just said.
"So much has happened." Pert told him, then launched into her tale, telling him all of what had happen since they had last spoke, ending with that morning's events in the tunnels below. "Rayne does have potential, Abarhi. She just needs to cool that fiery temper of hers, but she may very well become a leading character in history."
Rayne looked over at Ullari, about to tell him exactly why it bothered her, but sighed when she saw that he realized what he had said, "Is that truly what people see? Do they see one who has finally gotten what she wanted, to be your mistress. These two-thousand years, that was furthest from my mind Ullari, I never so much as thought of this." she said quietly.
"Hmmm" Ullari mused, sitting up to check the bandage around his neck. His heart was in his stomach at what she said...not that he expected anything else, he didn't know why it stung though.
Abarhi smiled "Yes i know, Ullari is like a brother to me though...and it surprises me that he even married...." he spoke softly. Deciding he had kept her waiting long enough he told her of all that had happened, ending with a spectacular seige in the Dark woods "The wood elves won..just barely..i showed them away to another fortress" he said with a smile.
"Why?" Pert asked her twin, mildly surprised, "Abarhi, we do not influence history, we never have, why now?"
"Do not misunderstand me," Rayne said quietly, "I love you, I am happy to be your wife Ullari...But your love is not what I have striven for. What I have striven for is the success of your cause, for your happiness. All I ever wanted was to serve you." She moved over and placed a hand tenderly on his shoulder, "And now you have rewarded me by returning my love, by granting me the happiness that I never hoped for." she whispered in his ear.
Abarhi looked down at Pert with a smile "Because sister you forget that i am also Guardian of this world, they had won the battle, i simply redirected them to where they would serve better purpose" he said lightly.
Ullari felt as if insult had been added to injury don't patronize me he thought to himself cocking his head to her side"I know, as am i" he said softly, alowing no sign of the emotions boiling inside to escape him.
Pert nodded, understanding his actions now, "I am glad to see you again brother." she smiled, leaning happily against him.
Rayne smiled little, wrapping her arms around him and laying her head on his shoulder, but once her head was on his shoulder where he could no longer see her face, she ceased to smile. Ullari was stiff, what was wrong? She had not meant to offend him, had she? How?
Abarhi smiled, though this faded with "I think i might leave in the morning" he said reluctantly "It looks like you are well taken care of here Pert...better than i could ever do for you, and at least you have stability" he said stroking her hair.
Ullari had grown weary, and lay down with his back still turned towards her "I've been thinking about a campaigne against Tervel and the kingdom there...it is small but well populated and nearly all its' people can fight..the legion will finish marshelling in the morning" he said with a sigh.
Pert's smile also faded at his mention of leaving in the morning, but she nodded and smiled again, "I must be very good at conceiving for myself a convincing form, you seem to have it in your head that I am a child." she teased her brother, "But yes, I will stay here. The story of the Dark Army has proven quite interesting thus far."
"Well you are younger, i did raise you after mom and dad dissapeared, so to me you are both my sister and in a way my child" he said lovingly "Remind me to tell you like i promised just what happened to them...i have not forgotten" he whispered in her ear "If you want me to stay longer than i can"
"Younger by only minutes," Pert reminded him, smiling, "I am just as ancient as you. There is no need for you to stay if you must be moving on. But do not stay away so long this time." she smiled.
Rayne released him, her face falling further as he lay down with his back to her, "Will you accompany the legion?" she asked him quietly.
"I am not sure" he said to Rayne "It has been awile since i have had the opportunity to lead such a full scale assault...i'm not sure" he said casually.
"I think i will remain for a short while...i could use a rest in a decent place...one i don't have to worry so much about wild animals coming up at me" Abarhi said with a smirk.
"If you go, so shall I." Rayne said quietly, leaning back against the headboard, watching him.
Pert smiled, "You are welcome to my cot, it will not hurt me to sleep on the ground for a night or two."
"No you will not go Rayne" Ullari said firmly "I plan to launch that attack when Lomien arrives back from Telpurion and i do not want you finding yourself pitted against him" he spoke with a tone that said there was not much that could dissuade him.
Abarhi smiled "I will sleep on the ground or in here" he said softly "There is no need to inconvieniance you on my part"
"You never forbade me from going into battle before, why now?" Rayne asked, "Ullari, where you go, I will follow. I will not leave you, I never have, I never shall." she said firmly, but lovingly.
"It is little inconvenience brother," Pert said, "it is the least that I can do for you."
Ullari turned over "Because then and now are different Rayne, and if you recall i always had you sent with a body guard. I want to keep you safe..you and potentially the child in you" he said tendurly placing his hand on her stomach "It is different now Rayne..you are no longer just a soldier"
Abarhi gazed down lovingly at her...he missed her "Why would i inconveniance you when i can have the same comodity naught two doors down from you? besides...aren't i alittle big and heavy for your cot?" he asked with a boyish laugh.
Rayne stopped short, "The..." she stared at Ullari, "What makes you think....."
Pert shrugged, you know these army cots, they're all made the same." she smiled.
"You can keep your cot sis, i will sleep on the couch" he said softly "I won't be a bother to you just because i decide to show up for the first time in a thousand years" he said lightly.
Ullari raised an eyebrow "How do i know?...last i checked when what happened on our wedding night happens...that tends to be a by product" he blushed you can't be seriously this clueless??? he wondered to himself.
Pert smiled, "As you see fit brother."
Rayne blushed furiously, "I know that." she said, "...I guess I just never thought of that until you mentioned it. Do you really think..." Rayne trailed off, blushing even brighter.
"Do you want me to bunk down in your room?" he asked Pert running his fingers through her hair like he used to so long ago.
"Do i really think what?" Ullari asked nosing her neck alittle befor looking into her eyes.
"Sure." Pert said, her smile growing brighter, "I am sure we can find some way of making you comfortable in there."
"It would be too soon to tell." Rayne shook her head, smiling a little, "Still, it's a nice thought. Except for having to stay behind." she said, her smile fading, "I wish to follow you Ullari. Even if you do not allow me to go into battle, I wish to travel with you my love."
"I'm sure we can sis" he said softly. Abarhi began to gently dose off, he was weary from his travels, and relaxed to find his beloved sis safe and happy.
"I suppose it is. Yes i know you want to travel with me...but i know you..you'd sooner sneak a full suit of armour an come up an join me in battle before i knew it, and Rayne i don't want to risk that" he said softly to her "But if you absolutly want to my love then i will let you come with me" he said reluctantly.
Pert smiled as Abarhi began to doze off, she shifted him gently so they were leaning against each other and closed her own eyes, happy to see her brother after so many years.
Rayne smiled, "I wouldn't have to sneak anything, I do not fight in armour, remember?" she teased him gently, "But I give you my word that I shall not go into battle." she said, looking him seriously in the eye, she was reluctant to promise that, but she knew that it would make him happy.
Gurthar came into the parlor intending to sit down. Seeing Pert and Abarhi there he gave her an odd look, before taking his seat across from them.
"Like i said if you want to fight than that is up to you" Ullari was not sure he liked the idea, though he also did not want to keep her caged.
Pert looked more like a child than usual, sitting there on the couch with her feet pulled up under her and a contented smile on her face. When she heard Gurthar enter she opened her eyes, "Do you often interrupt reunions?" she asked him, a small hint of a playful smile on her lips.
Rayne sighed, "I do wish to fight at you side, just as I always have...But I do not wish for you to be looking out for me better than for yourself. I shall stay in the camp during battle, both for your peace of mind, and for your protection."
Gurthar looked at her, catching the smile and the tone "Nope just yours" he said teasingly. "I didn't know you had a brother" he asked softly so as not to wake Abarhi.
Ullari smiled "Thank you"
Pert smiled, "Few do." was her simple reply.
"You are welcome my love." Rayne smiled, leaning her head against his shoulder, "So, we leave in the morning?"
Gurthar was well aware of sentinels, who they are and what set them apart "You are both Sentinels correct?" he asked softly, he had always been on good terms with pert so he felt like he was safe in asking this.
Ullari smiled "No we will leave as soon as Lomien nears Tervel...we have plenty of scouts so there will be ample warning" he sighed, reluctantly looking at her "Rayne if you wish to fight than you may" he said stroking her hair and back "You won't worry me either love"
Pert nodded, she was sure that Gurthar had figured at least that much out, "I am confident that you will keep your knowledge to yourself." she looked pointedly at him
Rayne nodded slightly, then looked up at him, "I do wish to, I do not wand to leave your side." she whispered, "But at the same time, I want to please you, to do as you wish. I do not wish for you worry, or worse, to cause you pain."
Gurthar nodded serenely "As you wish" he said simply "So where did he come from anyways?...and what is that smell about him?" Gurthar asked realizing a foul odour had permeated the parlor he had spent all morning ridding of the smell of Crusnik and alcohol.
"Rayne you are no longer a slave..you are equal to me love" he said kissing her on the forehead "Do as you wish...bear in mind you may also have another life to consider besides yours and mine" he said flushing alittle.
"Come to think of it, I do not know where he came from, or what the smell is." Pert said, looking rather comical as she wrinckled her nose when she too noticed the smell.
"I know..." Rayne trailed off, she was torn between her desire to fight at his side, and her desire to keep him safe, and free of worry and pain, he had enough on his mind. "We shall see." she whispered.
Gurthar was clearly aware of the smell "Any idea what it is?" he asked realizing that it was coming from under the floor boards "Uh Pert...i don't think it's your brother" he said now alert.
Ullari smiled at Rayne "It is entirely your choice Rayne"
Pert stiffened, running the inhabitants of the tunnels through her head, trying to decide which one it might be. She nudged her brother, knowing that whatever was making the stink couldn't be good.
Rayne nodded, she would wait and see how she felt. If she felt no different than she did just then, she would follow him into battle...If not, she would stay behind.
Abarhi stirred looking down at her "What is that wretched stink?" he asked gagging at the smell.
Gurthar sighed "So who is it this time Pert..you or i that gets to go down and break up the mutants" Gurthar said with a cough.
"You go." Pert said, exasperated, "Unless you think you might need us."
Gurthar stormed down the cellar door...the stench vanished as shouts and a comotion could be heard belowm, which was already frozen over without the wrath of the Crusnik
Ullari smiled at her feeling an unusually bitter breeze sweep through. The comotion in the hall caught his attention "Is one moments peace to much to ask?" he said with a growl.
Pert smiled a little, "Sorry to wake you brother, it seems that we did not need you after all."
"Do not allow it to worry you." Rayne whispered, placing her hand on his cheek and turning his head just enough so she could kiss him lightly, "What is going through your mind my love?" she asked, kissing him again.
"Weary, and wishing that could get a moments rest with my wife!" he belowed down the hall.
Gurthar came back into the parlor "Mission accomplished" he said hear Ullari below "Uh-oh".
Abarhi raised an eyebrow "You guys got him into a mood" he said with a musical yet teasing tone.
"Oh, the boy has spent the past two days with her." Pert laughed, "He can deal with hearing us take care of his business."
Rayne smiled, "So ignore them." she whispered, leaning her forehead against his.
Ullari hearing everything that Pert said decided to be mean. Reaching out to Pert's spirit he turned her into a puppet...more or less a dancing girl. "Try that one on for size Pert" he snickered.
Gurthar's eyes widened "Uh Pert...what are you doing?"
Abarhi bit down on his lip to keep from roaring in laughter "Yeah sis...just what are you doing?" he teased.
Pert pushed Ullari away easily, "You have no control over me boy!" Pert called out to him, "You should have more respect for your elders." she snickered, knowing that such a comment would sound strange coming from one who looked like no more than a thirteen year old human girl.
or so you think Pert...did you forget who i am? or for that matter that only your brother and Lomien are more powerful than me? Yes you may be older but no where near as powerful Ullari sighed, if she was going to play the ass then he wouldn't fight it...he was to tired to...as much as the thought of her dancing around like some drunk amused him.
Abarhi smiled at what Ullari said you two fight like a bunch of bikering children...thank you for canning it Ullari...i'm not in the mood to put up with it
Rayne laughed a little, guessing what was going on by what was being called out between the two of them, "Just ignore her my love." Rayne smiled, "She's just trying to get under your skin."
"So what if we do?" Pert asked her brother jokingly, "I have not been in a good mood for well over a thousand years, let me have my fun."
Abarhi roled his eyes "Gurthar how do you put up with this? I thought Crusnik hated racket" he said mildly exasperated.
Gurthar guessing that Abarhi was talking to him smiled "Because i can turn my hearing off if it ever is to much.." he said pleasantly. This earned him a look of envy from Abarhi.
Ullari sighed "What are they all doing in my house anyways?" he realized this.
Pert smiled, but said nothing, in consideration for her brother.
"Well, Pert does live here too." Rayne said, "But as for Gurthar and that brother of hers, that is a good question."
Ullari mused "Well i suppose then i could give them all the boot...and make pert sleep in your old tent...that way we wouldn't hear all of it....oi...what's on your mind love?" he turned kissing her on the neck.
Gurthar who was himself in a rare mood had found a loose floor board, that had been a ventalationshaft. Realizing that it was damp underneath he quietly walked out, the board coming off seeming of it's own accord....all the sounds and smells of the mutant cells wafting in.
Abarhi blanched "Where's that coming from now?" he asked..the board Gurthar had taken with him.
Pert glared at the doorway where Gurthar had just disappeared, "From there." she said, pointing to the missing floorboard.
"You could." Rayne smiled, leaning against him as he kissed her neck, "We might even get some peace then."
Ullari had the huge snow leopard deliver his message for him. The regal cat decided also to have some fun.
Gurthar nearly put a hole in the roof and Abarhi with him when the cat screamed behind Gurthar. Peering down glaring at the cat "and just what was that for? Did Pert forget to feed you again?" he asked from the rafters that he had ended up in.
Abarhi was on his feet and had lept clear of the noise as well "What was that?" he asked ears ringing.
Ullari, now pissed walked in "Alright you noise makers...you want somthing to do? Gurthar, Pert go hurass Lomien and Nin wherever they are" he growled "And you Cat can guard the Mutants...i'm sure your voice will come in handy there" he said with a smirk.
Rayne leaned back against the headboard as Ullari left the room, smiling and laughing silently to herself as she listened to the commotion down the hall.
"As you wish my lord." Pert said with a sweeping bow, when she looked up there was laughter in her eyes, then she puled Abarhi from the room.
"Doesn't Ullari know better than to pester Lomien...i do and i don't know him half as well" he said with a smirk lowering his voice so Gurthar couldn't hear "Lucky for us Lomien is in the mood to be hurassed" he said as he followed her out the door.
Gurthar trailed after them, not liking the idea one bit of bothering the powerful Elf.
Ullari smiled returning as he flopped down on the bed "Finally..peace..and quiet"
"Oh?" Pert looked up at her brother, "and how do you know that?"
Rayne smiled as she lay down beside him, her head propped in her hand so she could look down at him, "Mmm," she sighed, "I love you."
"Lomien, Ullari, and myself are senior members of the Sentinel council...and i know better than to bother that elf because he is not one to be trifled with" Abarhi said with a smirk "And judging by Gurthar's reaction one could draw the same conclusion"
Ullari smiled, nosing her neck in response.
"I know that," Pert laughed, "but how do you know that Lomien is in the mod to be harassed?"
Rayne smiled and wrapped her arms around Ullari's neck, sighing contentedly.
"Because i just came from where he's at" he stated simply.
Gurthar hearing this dissapeared, reappearing in front of Ullari and Rayne.
"I see." Pert mused, noticing Gurthar's suden dissapearance.
Rayne started at Gurthar's suddenn appearance.
"I thought i told you to get lost" Ullari growled, arising.
Gurthar took a step back "I think we have a spy on our hands...Abarhi from what i heard works for Lomien...and is infact good friends with him" he said noting with amusment that Ullari did not seem terribly phased by all of this.
Rayne stiffened at this news, "I am confident that we can take care of that." she growled, then looked up at Ullari when she suddenly realized that he had not reacted.
Ullari nodded, looking as if he had merely heard the weather report "The matter of Abarhi is of no concern to me. Why? Because he is a Sentinel, one of the last true Nightshroud" he said simply "There is nothing to take care of..."
"Ullari, if he's a spy, then he needs to be taken care of, we canot afford any news to get back to the Alliance." Rayne looked at him, confused by his lack of concern.
"A Sentinel is a judge, the Sentinel council together strives to prevent Deamonic incursion. As a Sentinel we do not normally wage war in this world and before now never against eachother...Abarhi holds to a strict code acting as judge and protector"
"And what makes you think that he will not take any vital information back to Lomien? And what does this mean about Pert?" Rayne asked.
"He is no spy, and even if he did this camp is like a fortress...not to mention Lomien could never mount an attack effective enough to wipe out the entire army without us being aware of it"
Rayne nodded, though she still didn't trust Abarhi, she didn't like him one bit, especially after his first impression on her, "I still don't trust him." she muttered, then looked up at Ullari and sighed, "But if you believe that he will not take any information before Lomien, then I will tust your judgment. After all, you do seem to know him." she said.
"He is a long time friend...he gave and taught me how to use my abilities as a Sentinel, that was before the inner war...to which the after affects are still around us today"
"The Inner war?" Rayne asked curiously.
"Yes an inner war...there is a reason why there are few Sentinels left here in this world...most of them are dead, i only know of four including myself"
"So there was a betrayal." Rayne observed, looking at him with eyes that asked to hear the story.
"Of sorts" he mulled her words, the affairs of the Sentinels where known only to the Sentinels themselves and he was hesitant to divuldge any details.
Rayne watched him, wondering if he would tel her, "I understand if you cannot tell me, I know that the Sentinels keep to themselves."
"Many of the memebers fell from grace so to speak...embracing the very beings and practices they had vowed to fight...i was one such being..." his voice trailed off.
Rayne wathed Ullari silently, laying a long white hand on his arm, waiting to see if he would say more.
Ullari sighed "One such Deamon promised me power and a simple easy life, free from the tumolt and sorrows of the world i lived in...and i fell for it...myself and twelve other Sentinels led a rebellion...Lomien and Abarhi chose to remain neautral though they eventually killed nearly all of those who rebelled...by the time the war had ended, the stage was set for what we have now"
Rayn gazed at Ullari, she had come to realize that he was not the infalable being that she once believed him to be, no one was infalable, but exactly what his past held, she did not know, "What happened to th Deamon?" she asked quietly.
"It is apart of me" he said quietly.
Rayne started and stared at him, not sure what to think, "What do you mean?" she whispered.
Instead of answering her, Ullari outstreched his arm "Seris pha nor reveal yourself as you are permitted in shackled form" he whispered. A black drago tattoo snaked along his arm, writhing up and down as if imprisoned "Be gone now" he said near inaudably. The tattoo vanished...but not before lashing out at Rayne with images of what could have happened to her had she been abandoned and kept alive by the Dark elves..which they would have done.
Rayne recoiled at the images that assulted her. Appalled and frightened by what could easily have been her fate, she sat there staring at Ullari, trembling.
Ullari's eye had turned bright orangem, the color now receding and with it a black claw like shadow. They receded and dissapeared. Feeling her tremble as the Deamon mounted a fresh assault on her, forcing her to relive the pain of what happened "Rayne?...what's wrong?" he asked, unaware that of what the Deamon was doing.
"Make it stop." Rayne whimpered quietly, shaking her head and putting her hand over her eyes, though the images and the pain only came all the more clearly.
Ullari sat up "Rayne" he said rolling her over to look at him. The Deamon seizing this opportunity to play made him look like her chief tormentor. The Deamon though knew it was running out of time, so it replayed the worst of her violations in her mind only amplifying them ten fold. Ullari felt a sickening sensation in his stomach "Rayne..speak to me..what's wrong?" Ullari's senses where muddled from lack of rest amoungst other things.
Rayne pulled away, seeing the tall Dark Elf instead of Ullari before her, "Let me go, don't touch me." she cried out, struggling against imaginary hands and more, "I am not yours." she whimpered, curling up, one arm around her knees, the other protectively over her head as she cried out in pain, "Ullari...help me." she whispered through the pain and images.
The images and pain, blurred into a black haze, which inturn coalesed into Ullari's hand back into the form of the Dragon tattoo on his arm "Rayne?" he asked her softly, stroking one side of her shoulder "It's me, it's ok love"
Rayne lay there shuddering, her head tucked into her knees, "I...Ullari?" she looked slowly up at him, then threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest when she saw only him.
The Deamon before Ullari sealed it sent one final message You are bait, we will come for you since your love denied us what we wanted...hmmm..i can see why the Dark elves like to play with you...you have alot of fight in you, but ultimately can not defend yourself. Ullari sealed the Deamon away drawing her closer to him "What happened?" he whispered into her ear.
Rayne gripped a handful of Ullari's shirt, holding tight and burying her face deeper into his chest as she heard the Deamon's words, "It...all that happened...everything...He said that you denied them something...that they would come for me." she whispered.
Ullari shivered slightly as he read her mind, his own thoughts drifting to a knife that he had created in the event that the Deamon proved to much...the blade was like Gurthang, though instead it destroyed the soul not imprisoned. Ullari gently gathered her up into his arms "They won't come for you Rayne because they are bound to me" he said grimly.
"What...what do you mean?" she asked, "Ullari, what are you thinking?" she asked, seeing the grim look in his eyes.
"Meaning that inturn for the Deamons giving me their power i had to preform a ritual to let loose some of their friends in return...since i did not...well..they aren't happy..because they are sealed and so are their friends"
"I see..." Rayne looked at him, not sure that she liked the look in his eyes, "What are you thinking Ullari?" she asked, almost fearfully.
"I have a way to keep the Deamons forever sealed....." he said bringing up a long knife with ancient runes and symbols on it "I made this as a last resort should i lose my hold on the Deamons" he said giving it to her "This is for you to use in the event that they begin to take over me...to alow me to not only die as an Elf, but to revoke some of the wrong that i have done"
Rayne took the knife, her eyes troubled, "I understand." she whispered.
"What's on your mind Rayne? speak your mind love" he said soothingly to her.
Rayne looked down at the knife, turning the long blade over in her hand, "I fear having to destroy you, the way that I had to destroy my father." she brought her eyes up to meet Ullari's, "I would rather destroy myself." she whispered.
"You father is still with you..you can talk to him still. All you need to do is place both hands over that necklace" he said softly "You destroyed his body, not him...you alowed him to die peacfully..as you would also allow me to in destroying me while i was still myself"
"I know," Rayne whispered, "but it doesn't make the thought a whole lot easier."
"Well then let us hope that i will not force you to do that" he said softly drawing her close.
Rayne nodded silently, wrapping her arms around Ullari and holding tightly to him. She was troubled by what she had just learned, the thought that Ullari may not always be there had never occurred to her, but now she knew now that she could lose him, and she did not want to let go. "Is there no other way?" she asked him quietly.
"Somthing like what i was about to do to Ninquelote...they are all more or less along that same line....i suppose if Gurthar could be convinced along with Pert and possibly Abarhi then there could be another way...it's very painful, slow and tedious though" he said softly, eyes gazing off as he thought over it all.
"Would it no be worth it? I...I do not want to have to kill you." she whispered tearfully.
Quietly tucking her head into him "Maybe...it involves releasing the Deamons though...and i'm not sure i want to do that..." his gentle voice trailed off.
Rayne let him hold her, trying not to let her tears spill. There was no use shedding tears over something that would only happen in the future, "Please try." she whispered.
"As you wish my love" he whispered "War will come, desolation will be their lot, sickness and sorrow that they have known not, whispers of a fear unamed voices of spirits untamed. Reckless shadows or sins forgotten arise now in the earth you've long forsaken" he murmered inaudably. This was an ancient incantation, though this time it was to expediate the Deamonic incursion "I only hope i can direct it" he said to himself.
Rayne listened to his voice, though she could not hear his words, "What were you saying?" she asked quietly when he was finished.
"It's an incantation..." he said softly outstreching one arm. A bright blue pentagram appeared in the door way as he now spoke in a clear voice "War will come, desolation will be their lot, sickness and sorrow they have known not, whispers of a fear unamed, voices of spirits untamed. Reckless shadows of sins forgotten arise now in the earth forsaken. Take Fire, wind, water, spirit and drown this world anew in tears unamed" his voice mingled with doezens of others to sound disembodied "This is the begining.....i only hope now Rayne that i can control it once it has begun" he said softly to her as the Pentagram dissapeared.
"What happens now?" Rayne whispered
"We wait until the shroud weavers arrive to erect the gate way" he said simply "When that happens then this war will become a shadow of what will come..though it will not last"
Rayne nodded, "And if you cannot control it?" she asked, not sure if she wanted to hear his response.
"Then we may lose the the vast majority of the Army fighting it" he said grimly.
"Would anything happen to you?" she whispered.
"No, nothing would happen to me as of yet..it would be controling those inside me" he said quietly.
Rayne looked at him in horror, "You mean...They would overcome you?" she whispered.
"They would strive all the harder as this is what they had planned to lead" he said absentmindedly
Rayne put her hand on his cheek, "Ullari, we must do something about this." she said tearfully, all the more worried by his apparent lack of concern, "What can be done?" she asked.
"I will not endanger you or our child Rayne, there is somthing that can be done love but first Gurthar needs to get back here...and when he does then we will do somthing about it" he said softly.
Rayne nodded, trying to swallow the lump in her throat, "Then we shall wait." she whispered looking into his eyes...She hated to wait, "What happens in the meantime?" she asked, looking up into his eyes.
"Alot, and nothing at all if you wish" he said softly "Plans are set in motion to blockade Lomien in at the wood elven sea ports....the seige of Tervel and the North fortress...the usual" he said with a slight laugh.
Rayne smiled almost imperceptibly, "Should we travel to oversee the comming events?" she asked
"I actually planned on taking to ship in the morning, setting sail then for the high seas to await the scout's information" he smiled. Ullari like the sea, he was a high elf in this way like the mariners of his time.
"Then I shall follow." Rayne said softly, resting her head back on Ullari's shoulder. She too liked the sea, though perhaps not so much as Ullari.
Ullari smiled "Well then shall we?" he asked her. Even though it was drawing to mid afternoon he was all to willing to set sail "Everything is already loaded up, and i'm sure the fleet admiral will be happy to move out sooner"
Rayne nodded, "I am ready when you are." she smiled, glad to be getting away from the camp again.
Ullari dressed in a gold leafed armour set, leaving out the helmet (as was his want) taking with him a new taloned gauntlet and long elven sword "We may be doing battle with the Human kingdoms soon....as will Lomien i'm sure" he said...exsasperation on the subject rife in his tone.
Rayne strapped a blood-red corset on over her black dress and clasped her mother's necklace about her neck, her fingers lingering on the pendent momentarily before she turned back to Ullari, "Humans are a nuisance." she said, her usual tactless self.
"Yeah they are...the fact is though that they are tall, strong and resourceful..i'm sure we will run into them...the Sea fareing ones are the nastiest of them.....the mountain and plains men are of little concern..backwater scum that they are. The sea men though are somthing to be marveled at almost" he said with scorn dripping in his voice.
"Marvels? They're human Ullari. They're slower, weaker, and much younger than most any of our best soldiers. They're pawns." Rayne said, her scorn just as thick as his.
Ullari smiled she will soon have a great deal of respect for these...pawns he thought to himself "The Sea kings as they are called are tall, proud and strong...more than a match to any save the most powerful elves in strengh and ingenuity...and i must say they are quite the challenge to fight at sea...doesn't help that they are good swimmers as well" he said laughing.
"Hm, perhaps." Rayne conceeded, though she ws sceptical.
Ullari led her down to the docks at Telmar this should be interesting....especially when she meets a fire cannon he thought with a smile.
Rayne followed Ullari to Telmar.
Return to: Akallabeth RP
Ullari's tent archive
| Show these comments on your site |
Stumble!