Prologue: Part 1
~~~5 years old~~~
"Mama!" , the little elf girl grasped out to her mother, who was now surrounded by four humans, their weapons drawn, and by their slight staggering, drunk as well. She couldn't hear what they said to her, but she saw the sneers on their faces and the fear in her mother's eyes.
"Shush. Quiet Artalise," whispered her father, stretching his hand out to block the girl's attempt to run to her mother.
"Father? Why aren't we helping Mother?" question Darrian, his eyes looking up at his father questioningly. The older brother put a hand on his sister's struggling shoulder, trying to reassure her as well, but he was no less confused as to why they just stood there when their mother plainly needed help. Cyrion sighed. How to explain to his children that his presence would only make violence come faster?
"Your mother is the quickest talker I've ever seen. She'll talk her way out of this, wait and see." He smiled down at his children, but he wasn't able to disguise the worry in his face. The scene was starting to draw the attention of other elves in the area. Hopefully it would reach a resolution soon, before the guards come and undoubtedly arrested his wife for causing a commotion, or whatever lie the men now surrounding her came up with. Presumably the only reason humans ever came into the Alienage was to cause trouble.
One of the men, the obvious leader, smiled lewdly, and wrapped his hand around Artalise's mother body and leaned in to say something to her. Whatever it was caused the instant response of the woman slapping the man across the mouth hard, her eyes ablaze with indignation.
The moment the human put his hand on his wife, Cyrion had started to run towards the group, causing his daughter to fall to the ground, unbalanced by her father's sudden movement.
Her wide eyes looked up and saw only the dagger plunge into her mother's stomach and the deep red blood blossoming across her dress, as the man spewed insults at her. " No! MAMA!" Her eyes looked at the man now staggering away from her mother's collapsing body. That man had hurt her mama!
She howled, the sound filled with despair and anger. Mama! Darrian had left her side and was rushing to join his father beside his mother who struggled to cling to life. Artalise watched the humans turn and run, fleeing back to the safety of the human world, unpursued and once they left they would never have to answer for their crimes. NO!
She didn't know where it came from, but suddenly the few elves scattered around her gasped and pulled away from her, as flames appeared and started to lick at her hands. Hello. My name is Artalise Tabris. You killed my mother. Prepare to die.
Suddenly, her back arched and she screeched out in pain, before collapsing to the ground. This would have normally received the attention of most in the square, but today the gasps were directed at the humans who were screaming in pain as they were burned alive by an inferno of flames. So great were the flames that they started licking the wood roofs of a nearby building, and soon were devouring it. All attention was for the moment taken away from the unconscious girl as the elves in the Alienage sought to douse the flames before they spread further.
"Darrian, grab your sister. Let's get her back to the house, " Cyrion said softly to his son, as he himself gently lifted the now lifeless body of his beloved and carried her to back to their house, to prepare for her Final Rites.
Darrian was hesitant at first to touch his younger sibling, the image of flames dancing around her hands still emblazed in his memory. But she had killed them. She had killed the bastards that had killed their mother. While he feared a little her now, he also felt a flicker of pride.
"Come along now, Arty. Time to go home now" At first he tried to pick her up, but he realized that he wasn't strong enough to carry her that way. He leaned down and lightly patted the side of her face. "Arty? Are you awake? Can you hear me?"
Her eyes remained closed but she moved ever so slightly and coughed. He took that for a yes, "Arty, I need you to wrap your hands around my neck. Come on, Arty. We need to get home." He knelt down to make it easier for her. She merely whimpered. Darrian pursed his lips, before grabbing one of her arms and draping it around his neck. "Just hold on, OK? Arty, OK?" He inquired, wanting a response. The only sound that came out of her mouth was another whimper, but he felt her arm stiffen a little, as if she was trying to hold on. It would have to do.
He stood up tentatively, doing his best to both maintain his balance and ensure his sister stayed on his back. He leaned forward as far as he could to make it easier to her to stay on his back before walking briskly back to the shanty they called home.
I love you, Arty.
~~~V~V~V~~~
The sky was dark by the time she opened her eyes again. She groaned and rubbed her eyes. Down below she heard her father and a voice she didn't recognize arguing. Suddenly she grimaced as she became aware of an unpleasant taste in her mouth. What had her father given her? She looked over to the other side of her ratty mattress and saw a small vial. Grabbing it, she held it to the window, marveling at the delicate blue color of its contents in the moonlight. She'd never seen a blue liquid before and tasted a drop of it. Its tastes nasty! She set the vial down and moved to the door, anxious to hear what was being said below. Much to her surprise, the door opened slowly and she saw Darrian look inside, his eyes widening when he saw she was awake and staring right at him.
He held his finger up to his mouth, willing her to be quiet as he quietly opened the door further and slipped into the room.
"They've come to take you away Arty" He whispered to her urgently.
She was shocked by this statement. The guards have come? She didn't want to go to prison! "Who?" She whispered back, tears of worry starting to well in her eyes.
"I think he said he was a Templar."
"A Temp-what?"
"Templar, Arty. They are from the Chantry. They…they guard mages."
She crinkled her nose, not understanding, "So why is he here? Is it about mama?"
He sighed, "In a way, Arty." He paused before continuing, "Don't you remember what happened in the square?"
Her brow wrinkled as she thought back. The men around mama, the dagger, then the blood and then…nothing.
"Mama died."
"Yes, but after mother died. What happened to the humans, Arty?" He pressed on, looking at her intently.
She shook her head, sad that she was disappointing her brother.
Darrian sighed again, and looked down at the floor as if thinking about what to say next, before looking back up at her, "You used magic, Arty. You're a mage."
Artalise blinked, and stared at her brother, not fully understanding what he was talking about. Magic? Mage?
It looked like Darrian was going to continue, but he was interrupted by their father's voice, "Darrian? Is your sister awake yet?" Darrian's eyes widened in surprise and he scampered out the door, "Ye-yes Father! She just woke up"
"Can she walk?"
Darrian looked at Artalise, wanting her to answer the question for him. She nodded numbly. "Yes Father!"
"Good. Can you bring her down here, lad?"
"Yes, Father."
Darrian moved to his sister and wrapped his arm around her, not to help her walk, necessarily, but to give her some comfort. Besides, he gulped, who knows when he would see her again, if ever?
Artalise slowly climbed down the ladder, and turned around to face her father and the stranger, but her eyes were instantly drawn to the largest and shiniest man she had ever seen. She gasped and instantly fled to her father, hiding behind his legs while watching the shiny man with wide eyes.
The man looked right back at her, his own eyes stern and cold, "This is the girl, then?"
Her father nodded, before patting Artalise on the back, and smiled at her, but his eyes were full of remorse, "Artalise, this is Ser Greagoir. Say hello. "
Artalise bowed her head a little bit, "Good evening… s-ser", but she still kept her hands clamped on her father's leg. The shiny man scared her.
The men exchanged a look, and her father nodded in silent understanding before kneeling down beside her and placing his hands on her shoulders and looked straight into her eyes, "Artalise, this man is going to take you away to a much better place than this Alienage. You know that slice of cake you get on your birthday?" She nodded, tears starting to well up in her eyes again. With a gentle hand, he brushed the tears aside, "Now now…no need to cry, child. Where you are going, you'll be able to have cakes and cookies everyday and sleep in a proper bed, and read books to your heart's content. Haven't you always said how much you wanted to learn to read? They have hundreds of book in this place, all for you. Wouldn't you like to go there?"
Artalise whimpered and grabbed a hold of her father in a tight hug, "No daddy! I want to stay here!"
Cyrion shushed her, and gingerly unwrapped her arms, brushing her cheeks again to wipe away her tears, "Arty, you will always have a place here, but now you need to leave, ok?" He dug around in his pocket before pulling out a piece of candy, the type that he knew she loved so much, "Here, look at this? Isn't this your favorite type of candy? Now if you are a strong girl and go with Ser Greagoir, you'll get this piece of candy. Now what do you say, my girl?"
Artalise sniffled but after eyeing the candy for a few moments, nodded her head. Cyrion smiled, "Now that's my strong girl!" he handed the piece of candy over to her, before pushing her gently towards the Templar, smiling, but his entire face etched with sadness.
She looked back at her father once more, her bottom lip trembling from her attempt to hold back her tears, and took a few small steps towards the shiniest man she's ever seen. A shiny hand moved and directed her towards the door, which she opened with a shuddered breath.
She took one final look back at her father, who had his hand on the shoulder of Darrian. Her brother wiped away a tear but said nothing. Cyrion wave to her, and that was the last thing she saw before the shiny man shut the door.
"Follow me, Artalise." He turned and set out towards the gates of the Alienage at a pace that made the young elf jog in order to keep up with him.
~~~V~V~V~~~
Artalise was having a hard time keeping her jaws closed, so in awe was she of the building she found herself in. She had never left the Alienage in her life, but she'd heard stories about the buildings the humans had built just outside the only world she had ever known. This was apparently the "Chantry" and, at this time of night, there were only a few Sisters milling around. Ser Greagoir paused and looked around as if trying to spot one in particular. He seemed to spot her, "Sister Irena!"
A Sister, her head crowned with white hair walked over to the Templar, her hands clasped together. She got within 10 feet before noticing the small elf child behind him. She twisted her head around to get a better look at the obviously frightened girl before turning to face the Templar again, "Found another one, have we?"
He nodded gruffly, "I was tipped off by the Captain of the Guard earlier today that there had been an…incident in the Alienage. Thankfully the men she killed were nameless vagrants, otherwise she'd probably have been locked up by now. Or worse."
"Killed, Ser Greagoir?
"Fireball. Killed the men who apparently killed her mother"
"Oh Maker."
He nodded, "If you could put her in the room with the other one, I'll be back around dawn to take them down to Tower." When the Sister nodded, he turned and left, not noticing how Artalise's eyes followed him sadly. The only person she knew, even if it had been only for an hour, had left her. She was totally alone.
The elderly Sister smiled kindly at her, bending down and extending a worn old hand, "Come, my child. I have a friend I'd like you to meet"
Her eyes wide with fear, Artalise tentatively put her hand in the Sister's, and she was slowly led to a small room down a hallway.
The door opened to a small room with a couple of beds, one of them which supported a waking little boy. He rubbed his eyes at the sudden appearance of light, and asked, his voice heavy in sleep, "Is it morning yet?"
The Sister took a torch from the outside, and placed it in the holder near the door before lightly tapping the elf's back toward an empty bed, "No, Jowan, I've brought you a friend. She'll accompany you on your trip tomorrow"
His face immediately brightened up, and he sat up, "Really? I thought I was going to be all alone with Ser Greagoir and he scares me."
Artalise climbed up into the bed, and the sister moved to help tuck her in, "Ser Greagoir is a good man, Jowan. He will bring you no harm, so there is no need to fear him." She sighed as she stood back up after she finished, "Now you two children go to sleep right away. You have a long journey ahead of you tomorrow and will need all the sleep you can get."
"Yes Sister Irena" Jowan intoned as the sister shut the door behind her. There was silence for a few moments before Artalise heard a whisper, "My name's Jowan. What's yours?"
"Artalise."
"I'm glad you're here."
He chattered on for a few more minutes but when he realized that she wasn't going to respond he turned over to face the opposite wall and she soon heard the soft noise of him falling into deeper sleep.
Artalise, however, didn't sleep at all that night.
Brother! Father! Mama!
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