Drow II

The Slaver Tommen expression couldn't have been uglier, bashing his foot across an elven boy no more than eight. Teeth pressed from out his mouth in a fountain of blood as he gave a long, pitiful cry. 

He cowered, whimpering in a ball. 

"Thirty Slaves, and now all I'm left with is fucking nine! What useless tree fuckers." he spat, kicking the boy away in a blinding outburst of rage. 

"Sir, it'll take two hours to repair the carriage," One of the knights exclaimed. "But the high elf is safe; that's all that—" 

"You've ever had an Elf?" Tommen scowled, his large belly heaving back and forth. "Lordlings grow mad because of it. An elvish cock and cunt are so delectable to us humans a single Elf is worth nearly a hundred thousand Rels, you stupid idiot. And I've lost twenty-one. Two million Rels gone. Just like that. Two million!" He sucked in a breath, reaching for the flagon of wine on his belt, and took a large swig. "FUCK!!!!" 

The Twelve Knights all glanced at each other, not daring to speak of their Lord's rage. They knew the signs, and at times, silence was their best friend. 

"Get me the ledger. I need to write down our losses. Damn it all!" Tommen roared, kicking dirt. He sneered, looking into the carriage towards the shackled thing so matted by the filth that no one would shoot her another glance. 

"Carriage approaching!" One of the Spotter Knights shouted. "Archers ready you're— Wait! It's a carriage from Trinity!" 

Tommen grumbled, pulling his eyes away from the serene gaze of the little girl towards the set of the approaching carriage that stopped nearly five meters away. His gaze scanned the seven guardsmen, landing on an emblem of the Wolf. 

'Who could that be? The school year hasn't even begun.' He thought, forcing a smile, and approached. 

"My Lord—" Tommen began. 

"You are speaking to the Countess Selene Delmont," Shouted Jessica with fire in her eyes. 

"Do forgive," Said Tommen with a foxy grin, sweat dripping from the folds of his fat around his neck. He laughed. "My Lady, do forgive the inconvenience, but a set of Lunar Wolfs, powerful cryptids, attacked us. And one of our tires was damaged in the process." 

Within the Carrage, Selene frowned, covering her nose with the horrid stench exuding from the morbidly obese man, said, " How long until repairs are in order?" 

"My Knights said two hours, m'lady." He bowed, or at least what semblance of a bow he could perform, with his belly stopping him. 

Zariel arched a brow. "We could just blow up the carriage blocking the road. A simple firebolt will do the trick," he said as he glanced at Aurelia, who looked a little excited. "You remember the spell, right?" 

"You betcha! Aurelia will make the carriage go boom!"

"Azalea's Grace! Are you two insane? We don't go blowing stuff up." Selene sighed. "The last thing we need in a forest is a fire. Let's—" She stopped when a sudden flicker of light came from out of the forest, like a beam of light. It tore through her Spirit Domain. "Get out!" 

But by the time she had finished those words, Zariel had already leaped out of the carriage window with Aurelia. 

Liquid fire heaved itself into the air in the form of embers, nesting a pyre of flames the moment the spell struck against the carriage. A shockwave rustled the tree, snapping a few leaves. The horses reeled from out of control, slowly catching fire as they neighed wildly. 

"My Lady!" Jessica roared when she saw a black mist form from out of the carriage, congealing into Selene. She angled her head towards the firebolt that had struck her carriage with a dark frown. 

Zariel winced, annoyed at how all his supplies had been ruined in the blink of an eye.

"Where under attack!" Jessica barked, " Get into formation, protect the lady!" 

"Protect the children," Selene commanded when several arrows flew from the forest depths, striking against the Tommen's knights and killing seven before they could ready themselves for battle.

Blood rained over the grass as an arrow entered from the eyeball of an unsuspecting knight, exploding out of the back in a luscious glow of red. He dropped when several more arrows came, pinning him to the carriage like a puppet. 

"Ah, how I've missed bloodshed." The Silver Devil mused aloud, sliding his tattered blade off his back. His domain opened, spanning nearly fifty meters, enveloping all that occurred with poised precision. 

Aurelia did the same when she realized she didn't have a sword. She glanced at one of the felled knights. And moved. Like a shadow cat, she blurred towards the nearest night, snatching up a sword just as an arrow came towards her head. She deflected it with ease, casting [Resist] on the blade as she slid across the earth. 

"You there! Help! Help me!' Tommen cried, holding up a dead body to block some of the arrows. 

"Ignore him," Zariel said, noticing that the volley of arrows came to an end. "On the battlefield, there will always be collateral. And those that can't wield a blade are collateral." 

From the shadows of the forest, they emerged dark-skinned men and women with long, elongated ears and almond-shaped eyes that seemed to compliment their striking features. There was something soft about them but vile at the same time. 

"A drow?" Selene muttered with a dark frown, cursing her luck. 

Of the twenty that approached, a tall, emerald-eye drow that bore silvery hair held a severed head in his hand: One of an elf. 

Zariel noticed the wetness of the severed head: A fresh kill 

"Which one of you is Malos?" The Drow asked. 

No one moved or glanced toward Zariel so as not to give away the boy's identity, but Zariel was mildly interested. 

"That'll be me. Is that present for me?" He asked, and against the eyes of everyone, he approached the Drow. 

Tovekien studied the silver-haired boy, not even half his height, wielding a tattered blade that looked as if it couldn't even cut flesh. 

"What shat you out?" Tovekien asked, amused by the boy's boldness; he tossed headed toward the boy's feet. "Do you know who this is?" 

Zariel glanced down at the head and shrugged. " No clue. Don't really care, either. However, I am curious what your aim is. Few who attack me live." 

Tovekien noted the arrogance one his age should not wield. And nearly laughed. 

"Malos, for the love of Azalea, get back now," Selene begged but was promptly ignored. "Dark elves like this bastard are known for their bloodlust." 

 Tovekien lifted the scimitar in his hand towards Zariel, "I need your help." 

"Then Kneel." Zariel looked up at the man. " Your eye level is a little too high." 

The Twenty or so drow all looked around before erupting into a guffaw. A gale of mockery opened up, but Zariel did not seem to hear any of it as his eyes settled on the Drow before him. His silver eyes were like two blades, ready to strike. 

The only one not laughing or rather was unable to laugh was Tovekien. He could feel an indomitable veil of authority around the boy. The others couldn't sense it, but he could…

Tovekien stilled the quickening of his heart and said, "We saved your life." 

"My life?" There was mockery in his tone. "Do tell me? How did you save my life?" 

From within his tunic, Tovekien pulled out a parchment with a broken seal and tossed it to the boy. " Read it." 

The parchment levitated in the air opened itself to the boy, startling all but a few, and began reading its contents. 

'An Assassination Attempt,' he thought, his spirit domain focusing on the little girl within the Slavers cage attached to his carriage, though his gaze never left Tovekien. "And you believe I owe you for this attempt on my life?" 

"Does it not?" 

"There are several attempts on my life. An elven Assassination is no different to me." He glanced at the several drow who'd lost their smiles. "Yet here I am. Here I stand. Do you believe me, simple, that I would allow you to attack my carriage and destroy my clothing, all for what? To frighten me?"

The Drow's calm gaze was quick to anger when he flicked his wrist, slashing his scimitar at Zariel's left ear. The blade was halted as if met with an immovable wall. 

"Eldritch Slash," Zariel intoned in a heartless incantation of iridescent light nodes that expanded from his forefinger and middle finger, slashing through flesh, muscles, and bones. Tovekien sword arm was lopped off as the iridescent slash tore through two more Drow, severing them in half before they had time to dodge. 

It had all happened so quickly, so fluidly, that only Tovekien and Selene were able to perceive what had happened. 

Tovekien had neither the time to scream nor chant as his body was suddenly hurled by a horrid force smashing into his face, shattering his jaw and skull. He glided over the earth like a rock on water, snapping through trees like a twig.

Zariel's domain expanded, drowning all who stood in range with a sensation of authority. He grinned, gesturing with his tattered blade, "Come." 

'A-A-Attack!!!!" 

They charged, covering a few meters in seconds, slashing their swords and spears, catching air. Zariel had already retreated, unwilling to be surrounded. He invoked Eldritch Slash upon his enemies. His fingers blurred, following dozens of luminous lines cutting towards the Drow at inhumane speeds. 

Two were severed in half by the hip while the rest escaped. 

Aurelia came from the skies, having propelled herself into the air with Feather Foot to make her body wait close to zero; she canceled the spell mid-air, dropping down at a blinding speed with her sword, carving through another Drow shoulder before he saw what struck him, he was severed in half at an angle. She kicked off the ground, seeking the battle not with her eyes but with her mind's eye through the use of her Spirit Domain. 

Suddenly, a volley of arrows came, shadowing the skies. 

Selene snorted, opening her fingers and conjuring a protective barrier through the use of the School of Abjuration. Arrowheads splintered and shattered, falling to the earth like rubble down a mountain. 

At the same time, Jessica and her team moved, covering Aurelia and Zariel; their silver blades shone beneath the yellow suns, carving through flesh like hot tar. 

When, from out of the bushes, Tovekien stood up, his face nearly caved in, one eye hanging incredulously from its socket. He felt none of it. So caught up in the fog of battle, he ignored the darkening of his vision, the death signs of omen within his heart. He opened his domain and pointed towards Zariel. 

"FIREBOLT," He said, gathering the arcana from the air. The winds reeled as an intense flame-like bolt of energy congealed at his finger. It exploded an eruption of embers firing off through the battlefield with such precision it was sure to hit. 

And yet, just as it arrives toward Zariel, the boy raised a palm, and the bolt of fire froze mid-air, halting all movement on the battlefield. 

Incredulous eyes found everyone, their jaws snapping wide. 

"Oh, this is awesome," Zariel said, feeling a heavy strain on his Astral Qi; he flicked his finger forward, manipulating the Astral Force to redirect the Firebolt. 

Tovekien's right arm was blown from off his body as liquid flames tore at the flesh of him, rendering him unfit for battle.