The truth is known (part 2)

Tri'lanna stands upon the crest of a small hill, no more than thirty feet away from you, staring down in the wake of the destruction of your hometown of Gutandor. A hooded, suede black cloak covers most of her body, but glimpses of her creamy skin reflect the flames of your home, painting her face and arms in a scarlet overtone. You feel your throat seize up as you watch your Elven friend make her way down amongst the burning buildings towards the closest group of lizardmen.

"No." You finally hear yourself say. The voice sounds strange, like a strangled gasp and a whimper all wrapped up in shroud of dread. "Please, no."

How? How could Tri'lanna be here? It doesn't make sense. She was a mindless **** of goblin traders only a day or two after this, how did she end up there if she was right here in your hometown? Then, your heartbeat quickens and a thick, heavy pain seizes your heart.

Working for Vanarim. That's what Morianara said.

Before you can stop it, the cynical, suspicious side of your heart takes over. Maybe she had fallen out of favor with The Great Pretender. She failed to get the the Shining Stone, failed to kill everyone in Gutandor, and Vanarim punished her for it, leaving her to be a **** for some of his lesser minions. And then you came along and freed her. She must've thought that it was a gift from the Gods itself. The Shining Stone and the last survivor of Gutandor, both falling right into her lap.

You shake your head and vainly struggle against the stream of depressing thoughts. As you watch her stride purposefully towards the lizardmen, frustration and agony boil in your gut. Was this what Noan wanted to teach you? To show how nobody was actually helping you and the only real way to win is to rely only on yourself? You grit your teeth hard and ignore the sounds your jaw creaking from the pressure, ignoring the pain.

"Ssssso, the Elfbitch returns."

The throbbing intensifies as you tear your gaze away from Tri'lanna to the serpentine voice you know all-too well now. Nautilex, the lizardman champion of the demon overlord, Vanarim, stands to your right, at the head of the pack of lizardmen watching the elfmaiden approach. His trademark serrated blade unsheathed on pointing almost lazily towards the ground, the lizardman's grip light against the hilt and he acts nonchalantly despite the fact that your village is burning down all around him.

"It's about time you ssshowed up." Nautilex said, "Care to actually help now? Or shall I do all the work again?"

You are on your knees before you know what happened. The blood pounding in your head returned ever more savagely, and you no longer have the strength to fight back against something you couldn't refute. Nautilex's words finally broke your back. Tri'lanna, was and always has been a servant of the Pretender.

Kneeling on the floor, you can only throw your head back and howl in despair.

"You've met Hans before? How? When?" Ceinwyn said.

Tri'lanna eyes waiver, unable to hold the Druidess' gaze. Keeping her head carefully averted and facing the tiles on the floor, Tri'lanna replies. "When the Pretender awoke from his coma, I knew. I suspect all the spellcasters knew in some underlying way, the permeating filth of his presence. The wrongness of his being. But I knew on a more conscious level, I knew his energies from the past, before the war, and there was no doubt in my mind that he returned."

"I couldn't let him win, not after everything my elders did to defeat him the first time, but I was alone. I tried to get my mother and my sisters to listen, but obviously they wouldn't listen. I appealed to the King of Elohin, but neither he nor his administrators would even allow me a hearing. The humans of Morgent would not join in my fight so I did the only other thing I could think of."

The elfgirl breathed in deep and looked back up at Ceinwyn, locking misty eyes with her. "I went over to Vanarim's side, and hoped that I could undermine him from the inside.

"I stole, murdered, and defiled." She said in a low tone, shaking with each word, "All in the name of the Pretender."

Ceinwyn put a hand over her mouth, not in horror but in sympathy for Tri'lanna. How it must have hurt, to have no one believe you, and to be **** to work for the one you hated most in order to prove that you were right. Both she and Hans lost her family and home, but Tri'lanna had lost something much worse in the war against the Pretender - She lost a part of her soul.

Moving intently, Ceinwyn walked forward and put her arms around her Elven friend, holding her tightly, reassuringly.

Tri'lanna went rigid, not expecting such intimacy, but then, slowly, her body relaxed. Then, like a bottle unstopped by a cork, all the buried emotions and all the secrets that tore at her heart poured out and she began to weep. Ceinwyn held even tighter as Tri'lanna's body spasmed and shuddered with each wracking cry.

"I'm...I'm sorry. I'm s-so sorry." Tri'lanna whispered between sobs. "I never meant to hurt anyone, I only wanted to stop Vanarim, but before I knew it, my hands were covered in blood and I became a monster like H-Him. I-I-I...I never...."

Ceinwyn shushed her friend, and stroked her back reassuringly. Slowly, Tri'lanna calmed down and buried her face in the Druid's shoulder. Ceinwyn remembered what Master Derreth told her, 'Take our lessons from nature: It asks for nothing and gives only silence and privacy. The answers will come unbidden.' She held Tri'lanna warmly and said nothing, not judging her and not asking for explanation.

In time, the Elfmaid laughed sadly, "He did teach me much more about magic than I would have ever learned on my own. I never lost sight of my goal though. I obediently followed his commands, and when he charged me with the vital task of locating his essence, locating the Shining Stone, I thought my opportunity had come."

Tri'lanna broke the embrace with Ceinwyn, nodding in reassurance, and stepped back to rest against the wall. "This was my chance, if I could find the proof that the Shining Stone was real, and show irrefutably that Vanarim was looking not for peace but to close off his weaknesses, so that he could strike with impunity, then all my work would have paid off."

"But in the end, Vanarim proved to me why he was the greatest of the sorcerers. Not for his magical aptitude, but from years and years of basic knowledge and wisdom." Tri'lanna said, "He knew all along that I was a mole, and when I finally led him to the Shining Stone, when I finally led his armies to Gutandor, he brought the guillotine down on my neck."

"What are you doing?!" You hear Tri'lanna yell out.

Confused, you turn back to her. A small, timid feeling makes itself known but you keep it smothered, watching carefully. The Elfmaid lowers herself into a defensive stance, one arm extended, her hand slowly glowing violet from crackling magical energy, a cloud that envelops her hand entirely. It is definitely a stance of aggression and not of collusion.

"Your Master promised He wouldn't hurt them! Would you dare renege on your vow?" She yelled, holding up her magic-embued fist threateningly, "The Pretender will flay your hide from your bones for this treachery!"

"My master promised that he would not hurt them." Nautilex bares his teeth, "He never said that I couldn't hurt them."

You watch the Elfmaiden's face contort in fury, and snarl. "Bastard....You will pay for this! All of you!"

In a sharp, slicing motion, Tri'lanna extends her first two fingers like a blade and swipes diagonally. An arc of purplish energy materializes, tracing the path of her hand, and flies forward in a blur, scything through the crowd of lizardmen holding in front of her.

Nautilex and a handful of his troops dive and roll out of the way, but the rest behind them are hit full-on by the magical attack. The violent crescent slices right through them, cutting some in half, and as the arc loses momentum, it strikes deep cuts in the remaining monsters, leaving them crippled or bleeding openly.

The lizard commander cackles gleefully and barks orders to his remaining soldiers, ordering them to encircle and flank your Elven friend. They call back in acknowledgement. Breaking off immediately, they divide into groups and slip in between the flames, disappearing from sight, leaving Nautilex alone with Tri'lanna.

She quickly scans the village and in that exact moment, you see the younger version of you emerge from the smoking ruins, disoriented and frightened. You look so pathetic and small, covered in soot and blood, and yet there is a glimmer in your eye, one that reflects defiance and the stubborn will to survive. A single moment passes, when you watch Tri'lanna lock onto your form, and commit it to memory. Then you watch yourself run off again into the chaos and disappear.

And then, as she turns back to Nautilex and his men, you feel for a brief moment that she is looking at you.

"RUN!!" She hollers, calling up her magic again.

This time, her magic layers her whole body in the purple haze, much lighter and thinner but still impressive, and stands ready for battle against Nautilex, the nightmare of your dreams.