{"id":625,"date":"2019-09-20T17:20:12","date_gmt":"2019-09-20T17:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/matrixwriting.net\/fanfiction\/?p=625"},"modified":"2019-09-20T17:20:12","modified_gmt":"2019-09-20T17:20:12","slug":"chapter-fifteen-banishment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fiction.armyoffour.org\/index.php\/2019\/09\/20\/chapter-fifteen-banishment\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter Fifteen – Banishment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The elder stood at the head of the long\ntable, his words echoing throughout the room for all to hear. \u201cDilmir, son of\nFelmir, you are hereby banished from Eld\u2019rin by the moment you leave its\nboundaries. Since you have seen fit to break our laws, they shall no longer be\nbound to you from that time on.\u201d He raised his hand, and Dilmir felt a shift of\npower in the room as an enchantment was placed upon him. The elder sat back\ndown, the tips of his fingers touching, his head slightly bowed. \u201cBe gone from\nour sight.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dilmir opened\nhis eyes, the memory fading. Sharp edges of untamed bark cut into his back,\nthough his leather tunic dulled their power. The rays of the new sun poured\nover the tops of the trees, illuminating the forest floor about him. Squirrels\nchattered, unseen above him, and the first of the birds flitted about, enjoying\ntheir own innocent pursuits. It was a beautiful day in the Great Forest, fit\nfor many a great event. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dilmir saw\nlittle of this, however. His head was bowed, his brow furrowed, his eyes scrutinizing\nthe ground at his feet, seeing none of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did I get into this mess? If I had just\nnever used my power like I promised myself before I even came here, none of\nthis would have happened. But Alfimir had to intervene. He had to attack me. If\nhe hadn\u2019t, what I did to Cyprien could have easily been passed off as his work.\nIt all comes down to Alfimir. He\u2019s the reason I\u2019m banished, my status as an elf\nrevoked, and Ilrin turned away from me. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWalk into the Great Forest, and wait until\nsunset. They will find you.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The assassin\u2019s\nwords rang clearly in Dilmir\u2019s mind. He was in the Great Forest now, but he\nwasn\u2019t going to wait until sunset for they, whoever they were, to find him. He\nknew who he wanted to see. Rising, he plucked a twig from the ground. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKelther imir en\nshenith Alfimiril,\u201d he said, shading the twig with his palm. Dilmir knew the\nwording of the spell was rough, but could not think of the right words. The\nelven tongue was an ancient language, nearly forgotten, barely kept alive by\nthose that used it. His concentration appeared to be sufficient, though, as a\nsoft green glow lit up the stick momentarily. It brightened against his skin,\nthen twisted in his hand, and pointed due East. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dilmir carefully\nreplaced it on the ground, and turned into the trees, his face set. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It did not take\nhim long to reach his destination. He soon came across a small clearing, a little\nbrook running nearby, and sunlight pouring in through the gap in the trees. In\nthe center of the clearing sat Alfimir, calmly cooking something in a hollow in\nthe ground. He looked up as Dilmir approached, but did not seem surprised to\nsee him. His pale features looked out of place in the bright forest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dilmir stopped,\nobserving Alfimir silently. After a silence, in which they both looked at each\nother, Alfimir said, \u201cIs there anything you want, Dilmir?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There seemed to\nbe a hundred things Dilmir wanted, but all he could say was, \u201cWhy?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d repeated\nAlfimir. \u201cWhy did I try to kill you?\u201d He smiled. \u201cI told you at the time. You\nare too powerful for your own good or for that of the others. I would be doing\nFeylund a service.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you had just\nleft me alone, none of this would have happened,\u201d said Dilmir. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, I think it\nwould have,\u201d said Alfimir, \u201cthough much later. And when it did, it would not\nhave been the nicely organized affair that you just went through.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dilmir could\nfeel his anger building, and with it his power. His magic began to bubble\nwithin him like boiling water. \u201cYour words are twisted, Ael<\/em> Alfimir,\u201d he said, emphasizing the honorary title. His voice\nshook slightly as he spoke. \u201cRiddles are all that reach my ears.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alfimir stood.\nHis face had worn a pleasant smile, but now all pretext was gone. His visage\nwas rapidly darkening. \u201cThen allow me to make things very plain for you,\u201d he\nsaid, his voice suddenly powerful. \u201cI know why you possess the power that you\ndo, and why you are able to wield it when still so young. You are Dilmir, the\nson of Felmir, the son of Eludir, the son of Delthimir the Cursed, who\u2019s father\nwas Eltuthar the Black. You are the Dark General\u2019s descendant, and his heir. It\nis his power that you wield, the same power that killed hundreds of your kin.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dilmir felt the\nblood slowly drain from his face. \u201cYou wiped out Eltuthar\u2019s line long ago,\nerasing it from the records of history,\u201d he said, his voice suddenly quiet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOr so I\nthought,\u201d said Alfimir, towering over him. \u201cWhat I failed to do when I sought\nout Eludir was to seek out his wife as well. When I killed him, she was already\nwith child, Felmir, your father. I assumed that Eltuthar\u2019s line would follow\nthe customs of the elves, but no; they bred with a rapidity which amazed me,\nhoping that I might miss a descendant. And it appears that I did. No, Dilmir,\nyou are Eltuthar\u2019s heir, and you know this perfectly well.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dilmir could\nfeel the last of the color draining from his face, so that he looked oddly\nsimilar to Alfimir. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alfimir sat back\ndown, his comfortable smile back in place at Dilmir\u2019s look. \u201cYou\u2019ve been\nfriends with that Ilrin for seven years,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat would she think of you\nif she ever found out?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something\nclicked in Dilmir\u2019s mind. Ilrin already knew, he had told her himself in the\nsanctuary. Alfimir didn\u2019t know everything. Dilmir\u2019s momentary shock at having\nhis line recited in front of him, no matter that he had known it already, began\nto fade. Slowly, a smile crossed over his face, matching Alfimir\u2019s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alfimir had\ntracked down his grandfather and killed him for a crime he didn\u2019t commit. He\nhadn\u2019t even hid the fact. He had also sent an assassin to kill Dilmir, and when\nthat failed, had threatened the lives of two other elves, both innocent, and\none of which had no part to play in the matter, just to get him to comply to\nhis wishes. As these thoughts went through Dilmir\u2019s mind, whirling in and out\nof his magic, he began to get angry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He had been\nangry before, but never like this. Slowly, his blood began to run faster, and\nhis pulse quickened. He felt his power begin to throb within him, beating in\ntime with his heart, so that the edges of his vision began to flicker with each\npulse. His magic grew and grew, mounting inside of him until he thought he must\nburst and was nearly blinded by its might, and then it stopped, as if holding\nits breath. The entire forest seemed to have fallen silent, waiting in the\nstillness. In one controlled motion, Dilmir lifted his arm, his palm pointing\nat Alfimir, and fired a bolt of heat at him so powerful that it knocked him\nflat to the ground. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou would kill\nme, Alfimir,\u201d he said, his voice perfectly controlled, \u201cfor crimes that my great\ngreat grandfather committed, just so that you may have peace of mind. And yet,\nyou killed my grandfather for a crime that he did not commit. What kind of an\nelf are you?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alfimir rose to\na sitting position, his eyes fixed on Dilmir\u2019s. \u201cMerely one that would protect\nhis people,\u201d he said. He then raised his hand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dilmir was not\nquite fast enough. The spell struck him in the chest and he was flung to the\nground, pain searing the length of his body. He reached for his magic, and\nfound it somehow withheld from him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slowly, his hand\nstill outstretched as though to hold Dilmir down, Alfimir got to his feet. His\nface showed nothing but contempt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ponderously, as\nthough he considered every motion with great care, he drew a curve in the air\nbefore him with his free hand. The air shimmered orange, and Alfimir drew from\nit as if drawing from a pocket a long and curved dagger. He fingered the hilt,\nlooking down at Dilmir thoughtfully. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dilmir tried to\nget up, but found quickly that he could not. Alfimir was indeed holding him\nstill in place. Out of options, he lay back on the ground, watching the dagger.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alfimir\nconsidered him for a moment, his head tilted to one side. \u201cPerhaps,\u201d he said\nslowly, \u201cthe Dark General was not as powerful as I thought.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A moment later,\nhe raised the dagger high above his head, and then plunged it downwards,\nstraight for Dilmir\u2019s frantically beating heart. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The elder stood at the head of the long table, his words echoing throughout the room for all to hear. \u201cDilmir, son of Felmir, you are hereby banished from Eld\u2019rin by the moment you leave its boundaries. Since you have seen fit to break our laws, they shall no longer be bound to you from … Continue reading Chapter Fifteen – Banishment<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dilmir-repost"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fiction.armyoffour.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fiction.armyoffour.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fiction.armyoffour.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiction.armyoffour.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiction.armyoffour.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fiction.armyoffour.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fiction.armyoffour.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiction.armyoffour.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiction.armyoffour.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}