{"id":676,"date":"2019-10-01T02:08:03","date_gmt":"2019-10-01T02:08:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/matrixwriting.net\/fanfiction\/?p=676"},"modified":"2019-10-01T02:08:03","modified_gmt":"2019-10-01T02:08:03","slug":"chapter-twenty-five-through-flame-and-spell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fiction.armyoffour.org\/index.php\/2019\/10\/01\/chapter-twenty-five-through-flame-and-spell\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter Twenty-Five – Through Flame and Spell"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dilmir\u2019s eyes\nopened. For a moment, he wondered what had wakened him, but then, the shapes of\ntwo tall elves darkened his doorway. For a very brief moment, Dilmir and the\nsoldiers stared at each other, Dilmir noting the insignia on their chests. The royal army,<\/em> he thought. So the king is now involved.<\/em> That boded\nill for Eltuthar. The council he might have ignored, but not the king. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In another\ninstant, the two elves rushed him. Dilmir sat bolt upright, and, barely thinking,\nreleased a rush of magic at them. The soldiers\u2019 reflexes were impressive: They\nboth conjured their own shields in time to block his. Unfortunately, his\ncontained so much magic that it simply overpowered theirs, and threw them\nagainst the far wall, where they slumped, unconscious. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dilmir stood,\nsurprised at his own calmness. He strode to the door, and looked out. Dark shapes\nflitted about the open halls, entering and exiting the rooms. Muffled cries and\nthe distant clash of a blade were all that met his ears; it seemed that less\nthan half of the elves knew what was going on. At that moment, he heard the\nclang of steel on steel, much closer at hand. Another instant, and he realized\nthat the sound came from Ilrin\u2019s room. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He rushed\nforward, but found himself suddenly confronted by an elf which seemed to sprout\nfrom the wall itself, sword raised. Before he could move, Dilmir blasted him\nout of the way, sending him skidding along the floor to strike the wall with a\nsickening thud. Dilmir glanced at him, fearful he might have killed him, but\nanother clash from Ilrin\u2019s room made him race through the door. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was just in time\nto see one of her opponents, for she had two, lock her blade with his, and then\nthrow his entire weight upon it, forcing her arm backwards painfully so that\nher sword cut into her own shoulder. She cried out as she was slammed against\nthe wall, and slid down it a ways, her sword arm clearly useless. She dropped\nher sword, unable to hold it, her eyes wide with fright, as the soldier raised\nhis blade, preparing to strike the finishing blow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dilmir stretched\nout his arm, paying no heed to how much of the boiling magic within him he\nreleased, and slammed the two elves away from Ilrin, throwing them against the\nfloor. Vines immediately sprung from the wood, holding the soldiers in place\nand slowly began to choke them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre you all\nright?\u201d asked Dilmir, calmly striding towards Ilrin, ignoring the gurgling\nsounds behind him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes,\u201d said\nIlrin, though her arm was limp and twisted at an odd angle. \u201cDilmir,\u201d she said,\n\u201clet them go.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dilmir turned,\nand the vines withered beneath his gaze. Instead, they turned to the elves\u2019 spines,\nand they fell limp instantly, not dead, but as unconscious as if Dilmir had\nstruck them with an iron pole. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t stay\nhere,\u201d said Dilmir, raising Ilrin to her feet. \u201cThe king\u2019s army arrived sooner\nthan Eltuthar expected. If any of the soldiers recognize you \u2014\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe king\u2019s\narmy?\u201d interrupted Ilrin. \u201cWhat are they doing here?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dilmir shrugged.\n\u201cHe has better soldiers than the council does. They must have convinced him to\nexterminate Eltuthar himself. Now follow me and stay close.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ilrin nodded, and\nDilmir turned, scanning the halls before leading her out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the sounds\nof it, most of the elves had been awoken, and Dilmir knew they were more than a\nmatch for even the king\u2019s men. He had to get Ilrin out before they found her,\nhowever. He preferred not to think what the results might be if he didn\u2019t. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eltuthar struck\nthe elf opposite him with the side of his blade. The soldier crumpled\ninstantly, sagging against the wall of the staircase, and then fell. He rolled\ndown several steps before sprawling to a halt. Eltuthar leapt the last few\nstairs and came upon a terrible scene. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still plunged in\nhalf-darkness, the flashing of blades, most dyed crimson, was all too\nobvious.  At least they\u2019re awake now,<\/em> thought Eltuthar wryly. Without a\nsecond thought, he flung himself at a nearby soldier, his blade the same hue as\nhis. Before their blades had even met, however, the elf was flung to the floor,\nwhere he remained. Glancing behind him, Eltuthar saw Dilmir, palm outstretched,\nhurrying towards him, Ilrin close behind him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It dawned on\nEltuthar briefly that Ilrin was dressed for travel, and he wondered why for a\nmoment, but soon discarded the thought for a later time as another elf rushed\nhim. Vines sprouted from the floor, pinning the elf to it as Dilmir\u2019s palm\nglowed a fierce shade of green. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same\nmoment, Eltuthar hurtled to the right of Ilrin, blocking the blow of the soldiers\nwho had crept up behind her. Ilrin shied away as the clang of steel\nreverberated in her ear, and Eltuthar noticed that her sword arm hung limp at\nher side. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The soldier\ntried to parry Eltuthar\u2019s blows, but he was no match for his knowledge of the\nblade. He wasted no time, but disarmed the elf quickly, snaking under his guard\nand driving his sword between his ribs. The time to not kill had passed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dilmir had\nsensed that fact as well, though he still continued to blast his opponents away\nfrom him, rather than use more deadly means. The soldiers simply kept coming,\nhowever, and he knew he could not last long against such numbers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEltuthar!\u201d\ncried Dilmir over the din of the battle that now raged all about them. \u201cWe have\nto get out!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot without\nthem,\u201d Eltuthar yelled back, jerking his head towards the fighting Eth Aniliim.\n\u201cI owe them that much!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dilmir opened\nhis mouth to argue, but whatever he was about to say was interrupted as an elf\nlaunched himself at Ilrin. She, in a brilliant display of sudden awareness,\nneatly sidestepped the barreling elf, allowing him to crash onto the floor,\nwhere Eltuthar quickly dispatched him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIlrin,\u201d said\nDilmir, turning to her, \u201cI have to at least get you out of here. Eltuthar\nshowed me a way to transport elves from one location to another. It takes a lot\nof energy, but I can manage. I\u2019ll put you in the middle of Eld\u2019rin. Go home,\nand act like \u2014\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately,\nthe rest of Dilmir\u2019s instructions were lost as he was hit by a spell. In an\ninstant, he had been flung several feet to crash into the wall beyond. Any\nother elf would have been incapacitated by the spell, but Dilmir leapt up,\nwarding off the effects with an enchantment. He managed to block the spell that\nflew towards Ilrin barely in time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou!\u201d spat a\nfamiliar voice, and Dilmir, looking for the source of the spells, saw Alfimir.\nHis hood had fallen back, and his face was livid, giving him the appearance of\na vampire. \u201cI knew you would join your ancestor in his dark practices. Now you\nwill burn in the punishment of his doings.\u201d With these words, he raised his\nhands, and the walls about him burst suddenly into flames. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The entire battle\nwas suddenly illuminated in flickering orange light. Blades flashed in and out,\ndarting here and there, dancing gracefully about each other. Blood sprayed\nagainst the walls; dead or unconscious elves were everywhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou cannot win\nthis fight, Alfimir,\u201d said Dilmir, blocking the barrage of flame Alfimir\nsuddenly launched at him. \u201cWe possess knowledge that you know nothing of; your efforts\nhere are futile.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre they now?\u201d\nsaid Alfimir. \u201cI have knowledge that not even Sonlen knew of.\u201d As if to\ndemonstrate it, the walls about him suddenly writhed with vines, seeking to\nassail Dilmir. He blasted them out of the way easily, but was unnerved\nnonetheless. No one but an Eth Aniliim could have done that that fast. Alfimir,\nseeing Dilmir\u2019s hesitation, sent a lowly curse under Dilmir\u2019s shield to strike\nIlrin. She fell with a cry of pain as the curse struck her, but Dilmir undid it\nwith a flick of his hand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour argument\nis with me, fiend!\u201d he shouted at Alfimir as three elves beset Eltuthar behind\nhim and he was forced to stumble forwards. \u201cI would advise you to direct your\nspells with more precision.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alfimir\u2019s only\nreply was to grin wickedly. \u201cAnything to defeat you, Dark Elf,\u201d he spat.\nAnother section of the wall burst into flames. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dilmir looked about\nhimself as another elf joined the duel against Eltuthar. He was running out of\noptions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDilmir!\u201d cried\nEltuthar, as a stray blow sliced his arm, \u201cyour magic can do things you never\ncomprehended! Think no longer of spells or enchantments, think of what is about\nyou! You are more powerful than Alfimir in every way!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dilmir turned,\nflicking Alfimir\u2019s spell out of the way as he did so. Eltuthar was right. He\nwould never beat Alfimir if he continued to use spells. Alfimir, however, would\nnot give him time to think on his situation. He fired another spell at Ilrin,\nthis time, coated in a deadly poison. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everything froze\nfor Dilmir. How dare Alfimir attack another to provoke him. It was the lowest\nof strategies. Unfortunately, it usually worked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His anger blowing\nout of him like pent up steam, he flung a ball of pure energy at Alfimir,\nblocking his pitiful spell out of the way as he did so. Alfimir was momentarily\nlit up in its glow, his smile turned to a grimace of fright, and then he was\nflung into the wall. He did not slump down it, but went half way through it,\nwhere he remained, imbedded in the wood. Vines sprung immediately from the\nwalls and bound him in place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dilmir, still\ncommanding the vines, walked slowly towards him, his eyes burning with hate. Many\nelves rushed at him, and many spells sought him out, but all were deflected by\nan impenetrable wall of energy about him. He stopped inches from where Alfimir\nhung, helpless. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a brief\nmoment, they stared at each other. And then, Dilmir released Alfimir. \u201cYou tried\nto kill my line,\u201d he said, between gritted teeth, \u201cand I asked you in the\nforest what kind of an elf you were. But I will not slay you, though you\ndeserve it a thousand times over, or you would ask the same of me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd who are you\nthen?\u201d asked Alfimir from the floor, a half sneer upon his face. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dilmir looked\ndown on him. \u201cI am Eltuthar\u2019s descendant, and his heir,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two of them\nstared at each other for nearly five seconds, until Ilrin screamed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dilmir whirled about,\njust in time to see Eltuthar dive in front of her, parrying the blow that had\nbeen aimed at her heart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI will not kill\nyou, Alfimir,\u201d said Dilmir, turning to him for a last fleeting glance, \u201cbut\nnever will I forget what you have done here.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A grin slowly\nspread across Alfimir\u2019s face. \u201cI\u2019ve done nothing yet,\u201d he breathed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The familiar\nwords broke Dilmir\u2019s focus. The next second, Alfimir had conjured a sword from\nthe air, and in one deft movement, sliced it towards him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sword met\nwith another with a resounding clash. \u201cNo,\u201d said Ilrin, her eyes venomous,\nholding her sword in her left hand, locking it with Alfimir\u2019s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A scream of pure\nrage tore from Alfimir\u2019s lips. He whirled the sword, disarming Ilrin easily,\nand drove the blade towards her instead. His sword never made it another inch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a blast\nfrom his palm, Dilmir sent him falling into his own flames. He would not kill\nhim, but there was no reason he couldn\u2019t make it a very real possibility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a moment, it\nappeared as though Alfimir would not rise. But then, somehow unharmed, he\nstepped from the fire, and more of the walls, including the floor, burst into\nflames. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ilrin let out a\ncry and backed away from the flames that licked eagerly at her feet, Dilmir\nwith her. Alfimir smiled maliciously at them as they retreated. \u201cYou may be\npowerful, Dilmir,\u201d he said, \u201cbut you aren\u2019t Eltuthar.\u201d As if in reply to this,\nEltuthar himself slew all six of his opponents with one deft stroke and turned\nto face Alfimir, blood streaming from his arm and a fresh cut on his head. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo,\u201d he said,\nlooking at Alfimir with hate, \u201cI am.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In another\nmoment, Alfimir had once again been flung into the wall. The flames, however,\nresisted even Eltuthar\u2019s efforts. The three of them continued to back up, until\nthey were trapped in a corner. Here, flames around, behind, and above them,\nthey huddled, the space they had left being slowly constricted. The entire\nbuilding, save for where they stood, was consumed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dilmir saw,\nhelpless through the enchanted fire, for it would not be doused, Alfimir rise and\nslay the last of the Eth Aniliim that remained. Knowing that he had little\ntime, he turned to Ilrin. Silently, he produced a shield about her that would\nprotect her from physical harm. The spell was complicated and difficult to form,\nbut he finished it. He then turned to Eltuthar, and did the same to him. As he\nprepared to cast the same spell on himself, however, a branch, finally weakened\ntoo far by the fire, snapped and fell, striking him on the head. Dilmir fell\nsilently, oblivious to Ilrin\u2019s cry. He struck the floor, and it, weakened by\nthe fire as well, crumbled under his sudden weight. The three of them fell\nthrough the flames to the raging story below, rubble falling both beneath and\nabove them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A cloud of smoke\nand flame rose from where Dilmir, Ilrin, and Eltuthar fell. Ilrin, shaken, but\notherwise unharmed due to Dilmir\u2019s enchantment, rose from where she had landed,\nand quickly made her way to the pile of rubble under which she knew Dilmir lay.\nEltuthar, after a moment, threw aside the large piece of wood that had fallen\non top of him, pinning him down, and joined Ilrin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Above them, the\nsounds of the raging fire and the last of the battling elves could be heard.\nAbout them, flames spiraled upwards, and pieces of debris fell from the ceiling\nat an alarming rate. Ilrin, however, saw or heard none of this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only thing\nthat penetrated her mind was Dilmir\u2019s face, which was revealed as Eltuthar\nflung aside the piece of burning wood that had covered him. He was alive, she could\nsee that much, though unconscious. An ugly cut was on his head, blood pouring\nfrom it freely, its edges black from the fire. Several burns marked him elsewhere,\nbut Ilrin merely sighed with relief. He was alive. She was brought back to her\nsenses, however, as more of the ceiling caved in and fell, bringing several\nelves with it. They were buried under the debris, and moved no more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As she watched,\nseveral bolts of flame jetted across the burning room and imbedded themselves\nin the wall, adding their fire to that already burning. Confused, Ilrin turned\nto see several mages, their insignias showing them to be of the council\u2019s army,\nstanding in the burning antechamber, firing burning bolts at random to make\nsure no elves escaped. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ilrin knew they\ncould not see here, for the darkness and the flickering flames conspired\ntogether to make it impossible to tell what was moving and what wasn\u2019t. Shadows\ndanced repeatedly over Ilrin\u2019s face, distorting its shape to any that might see\nher, and for this, she was grateful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ilrin\u2019s thinking\nwas interrupted as a flame fired from one of the mages spiraled directly\ntowards her. Too surprised to act, she stumbled backwards, tripped and fell,\nbut the flame was harmlessly absorbed before her eyes by the shield that Dilmir\nhad cast. In that moment, two things were made clear to Ilrin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, Dilmir and\nEltuthar had to escape now, before it was too late. There was no time to save\nthe others; from the looks of it, the elves were burning them along with their\nown, something unheard of in Elvish warfare. The second thing was not quite as\napparent as the first, but Ilrin knew she had to do it all the same. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGet him out of\nhere,\u201d she whispered to Eltuthar as more flame flew above her head. \u201cDilmir\ntold me he could transport an elf to a different location, can you do the same\nto yourself and him?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eltuthar\nhesitated, looking at Dilmir. He turned steely eyes to Ilrin and nodded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen I\u2019ll buy\nyou some time,\u201d said Ilrin, rising. Before Eltuthar had a chance to argue, she\nwas gone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She quickly raced\nthrough the flames and rubble, which was no easy matter, ducking fireballs as\nthey whizzed past her. Two struck her, but both were absorbed by Dilmir\u2019s\nshield. Soon, blackened, her face nearly unrecognizable, which was fortunate,\nshe stood before the antechamber, looking directly into the cold eyes of\nAlfimir. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mages behind\nhim would have fired on her directly, save for the fact that Alfimir did not.\nTo them she was a Dark Elf. Only Alfimir knew who she was. She leaned close to\nhim, and whispered so that only he could hear, \u201cLet me pass and return to\nEld\u2019rin, or I will tell all exactly what kind of power you possess.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alfimir\u2019s face\nhardened as he looked at her, a deep hatred flickering in his eyes, reflected\nin the flames before him. He knew she meant every word she said, for he had\ntold her that he possessed knowledge that not even Sonlen knew of. If she told\nanyone, it would eventually reach the Council or the king, and then he would be\nbanished for real. He stiffly motioned her behind him, and she slipped into the\nshadows. Before any of the other elves could see her, she slipped down the path\nand retrieved her horse. In another moment, she was galloping down the trail,\nheaded for the dark forest, and Eld\u2019rin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile,\nEltuthar had been busy. He usually refrained from casting spells, especially\ndifficult ones, but he had no choice. He knew that Sonlen\u2019s curse would fight\nhim the whole way, but he stood nonetheless, holding Dilmir upright, and began\nto pull energy from the flames. They flickered and waved towards him, but he\ndid not stop. The curse within his blood clawed at his insides, tearing at his\nmind. The pain was terrible, but still Eltuthar sucked the energy, for he would\nneed it all. He grimaced to himself as he did so, not out of pain, but because he\nhad yet to use magic, when the pain would truly begin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then, in one\nglorious burst of dazzling light, he threw his hand aloft, surging the energy\ninto both himself and Dilmir, and speeding them away from the flames, the cliff,\nthe forest itself, for there was only one place he knew they could go to in\nsafety now\u2026 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dilmir\u2019s eyes opened. For a moment, he wondered what had wakened him, but then, the shapes of two tall elves darkened his doorway. For a very brief moment, Dilmir and the soldiers stared at each other, Dilmir noting the insignia on their chests. The royal army, he thought. So the king is now involved. That … Continue reading Chapter Twenty-Five – Through Flame and Spell<\/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-676","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\/676","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=676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fiction.armyoffour.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fiction.armyoffour.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiction.armyoffour.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiction.armyoffour.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}