Ellas Past

Kane

Half a mile from Alfent, Anna and I took shelter in one of the ruined buildings that were the remains of what had once been a thriving township.

Very little remained of the town; few buildings seem to have survived with any walls left standing, and ours was as good as any of them, with three low walls and no roof. But it was a clear night, not a cloud in sight – the stars shone brightly across the whole black sky – so shelter was only a means to rest away from prying eyes and the constantly patrolling Nargu.

Anna sat herself down on the hard stone floor in a corner where two walls met. It was strange how she made such a small action, even in surrounding such as these, seems so very graceful.

I dropped down next to her and then rummaged through my pack for the remains of our meagre supplies. ‘Flat-bread and water okay with you, Anna?’ I asked, with a grin.

‘Wonderful,’ she replied. ‘What’s for dessert?’

We both smiled at that; it was good to finally relax our vigil a little. The whole day we had marched at the rear of a troop of Nargu, only slipping away to the ruins when darkness came to shield our withdrawal.

‘Is the mask still in place?’ I asked. It was very unnerving to look at Anna and see Anna, and still hold to the belief that what others saw was a hulking eight foot Nargu.

‘Yes. It is best this way. I will leave it so until we have done here… one way or the other.’

I knew that Anna still had doubts about what we did, but I was pleased that she trusted me enough to follow. I smiled. ‘Thank you, Anna.’

‘For what?’

‘Trusting me in this.’

‘What has trust to do with it? You are bullheaded, and would have come here regardless. I am here to protect you from yourself.’

She laughed, but seeing the so serious look on my face, added, ‘You are most welcome.’

A few moments later, through a mouthful of flat-bread, I asked, ‘So, do you have a plan?’

Anna almost choked on the water she was drinking. ‘Do I have a plan? This is your doing! We are here because you insist that Gremok must be rescued!’

Laughing, I said, ‘I only wondered, Anna. I know what I am going to do, but I merely thought that you might have some magical way in which to locate and free Gremok, that is all.’

‘And this plan of yours is? Oh, don't tell me… its charge in, find Gremok, and fight your way out? That’s it, isn't it? All brawn without any thought or planning at all?’

My face flushed at her words – she had cut straight to the heart of it. After a moment, in a failed attempt to compose myself, I said, ‘That's why I asked of your plan.’

‘Pah! Finish your food and get some sleep, if you can. The morning will be here soon enough as it is without us fretting over a plan.’

‘My father always used to say that sometimes it is better to just get on with a thing, that over thinking a problem will never get it done.’

‘A wise man, your father. It is a shame that he did not pass on some of his wisdom to you. But enough talk. Sleep!’

I awoke early, the sun's rays not yet touching the land. Something walked, prowled, outside. It had been there a little while my senses told me, but now it came closer.

Anna, too, was now sat up, alert. ‘What is it?’ she whispered.

I held my hand up to silence her. Her quiet whisper had alerted the creature – it had stopped dead at her words.

Silently, I stood and made for the back of the building, the side where there was no wall.

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From there, at a crouch, I slowly made my way along the outside of the building to the corner where inside Anna sat, for that I knew was where the creature stood.

I could hear its breathing, deep and strong… and calm. Somehow, I also knew that the creature sensed me, and knew that I approached.

Knives in hand, I cautiously stepped around the corner to confront it.

‘Gremok!’ I said, in complete surprise. The creature stared at me an instant. He sees a Nargu, I thought. He heard a Nargu speak its name.

Then, an instant later, as the over-sized Ella'ren lunged towards me, axe in hand, I knew that it was not Gremok.

Alike as this creature was in size and looks to Gremok – so much larger and powerfully built than a normal Ella’ren – I knew that this was not Gremok Battlehand – the hatred and evil behind its eyes was enough on its own to distinguish the difference.

My knife deflected the axe as it flew towards my face, but even as I stepped forward to strike, the creature’s back-swing forced me to leap away before it cut my legs through.

Fast, I thought, very fast, and then as the axe came again in a blinding arc, I realised that I did not have time for thought.

The creature made no sound, the only noise was that of its deep breathing and the whoosh as its axe cut through the air. Only my speed and agility saved me from being cut in two.

Only seconds had passed, and yet I had already blocked a dozen blows. This could not be – never, not since my training, had I face anyone my equal.

Right-handed, I again deflected the creatures axe, and let fly with a knife from my left, straight towards the Ella'ren's heart.

I gasped as, almost as if in slow motion, the creature released a hand from its two-handed axe grip and casually caught my knife mere inches from its own chest.

As he did so, his axe did not stop, as again it's back-swing forced me to step aside.

A ghost of a smile appeared on the creature's lips, a smile that did not touch its eyes.

Unconsciously, I willed my knife to return, and again I gasped as nothing happened. The creature’s smile widened as he lunged towards me with my own knife, a knife that I knew should never be able to harm me, a knife that should never be able to resist my call.

I dove to the side, rolled and came up with my sword drawn.

‘What are you?’ I muttered, under my breath, and with that utterance realisation came, and I knew why Dar’cen had so wanted to capture the Ella'ren.

I hardly had time to complete the thought before the creature was on me again, axe swinging one-handed as he thrust and jabbed with my knife.

My sword was a blur as I blocked his axe and turned away my knife blade. But I was on the defensive; any attempt at offence led to an immediate and deadly attack by the creature.

He was amazingly fast and agile, and his eyes told that he was every bit as devoid of compassion and humanity as I had once been – a machine, a killing machine.

This might not end well, I thought, just as, behind the creature, I saw Anna step around the corner. Before I could yell out, before I could warn her, the creature spun and raced towards her, his axe slicing through the air directly towards her neck.

Frantically, I leapt after him, raising my sword for a killing thrust to its head, even though I knew that I would be too late to save Anna.

‘Run, Anna. Run!’ I screamed, just as the creatures axe glanced off something mere inches from her face. The unexpected deflection threw the creature off-balance, forcing it to roll to the side to recover, and in so doing it avoided my sword.

Up again, it rained blow after blow upon Anna, while alternating defensive cuts with my knife against the sword that I battered it with.

Impossible! It's holding me off even as it attacks. Impossible!

Anna stood resolutely inside whatever it was that shielded her from the creature’s blows. But perspiration beaded on her brow, and I could see other signs of strain upon her face and in her bearing.

If we did not end this soon the creature would batter through her defences, and that would be an end of the both of us. Her face said that she, too, had come to the same conclusion.

Then, a smile crossed her face and, unbelievably, she winked at me, even as the creature pounded at her obviously failing defences. An instant later, she faded away, and was gone.

At her disappearance the creature made its first sound. A high-pitched scream filled with anger and hatred.

But it wasted no time, for immediately it turned its full attention back to me, its axe once again a blur, its eyes glowing red with fury.

It pressed me harder, much more so than before, anger fuelling each of its swings.

That's it, I thought. Get angry, get careless.

But the he didn't get careless. Each swing of its axe and thrust of the knife was flawless in its execution. He was pushing me back further and further, and I could do nothing but block its blows and retreat.

Then, over its shoulder, Anna again formed from nothingness, the travelling rod held in her hand as if it were a weapon, a knife or sword.

Somehow, the creature knew instantly that she was there, and spun to face her. ‘Gooood,’ it said, its voice high pitched and filled with a horrible delight.

Anna spoke quietly, but her words carried. ‘Die, foul one. Die!’ she said, as she threw the rod at the creature as if it truly was a dagger or a spear.

‘No!’ I screamed. But it was too late, the rod streaked towards the Ella'ren.

Dropping my knife, the creature casually plucked the rod from the air as if it were a plaything.

A laugh, a gurgle of a laugh, escaped its lips even as Anna smiled. An instant, a fraction of an instant, later, as the creature faded from sight, the rod clattered to the floor.

Quickly Anna recovered the rod, and before I could speak, grasped my arm. ‘We must be gone. He will have felt that,’ and as she activated the rod, ‘I will explain when we are safe.’

The bleak devastated landscape blurred, becoming green and verdant, as her words reached me. ‘We must return. He cannot have Gremok… or any Ella’ren. The giants must wait… this, cannot—’

‘Where did you send the creature?’ I asked, almost as soon as the world stopped lurching.

‘Does it matter?’ Anna replied, with another question as usual.

‘Yes, it does,’ I said, testily. ‘That thing is dangerous… far more so than I ever was—’

‘It will never harm anyone again, Kane. Where it went, I doubt other life exists, even. Worry not about him, for now we must return and ensure that no other Ella'ren remain in Dar'cen's grasp.’