[Open to ALL] ~Elthas, my Son.~

[Flamebird]

Home.

The forests of Corone were home. Felicity grew up under the shade of Corone's woodlands, the flowing refreshment of its rivers and streams. It seemed as if today was a quiet evening. Leaning against a thick barked tree, the young woman wrote in a notebook placed in her lap, several flowers laying beside her.

”Another plant that can be used for cuts and burns is the field scabious. It can also internally be used as a blood purifier.”

She took a break from writing for a moment, blankly gazing upon her hand with distant eyes.

The wind started to blow, rustling her red hair. As the fabrics of her white and green jacket fluttered in the wind, she forcefully shook her head. She hunkered over her book, hissing.

”Purple Coneflower can also be used for wounds, as well θ`}

Her pen scribbled down the page as a boom crashed in the distance. Eyes wide, the girl stopped dead. Motionless. Then… she looked up.

It seemed that fire rose from the sky. Above the green leaves of the forest, black smoke shot up from some distant place. Ash clouds already seemed to draw near. The sky erupted in a violent turn from bright weather to chaos.

”There are changes about to happen in this world,” A voice echoed in her mind, a memory. ”You must be ready for it. You must survive!”

“This…” The girl gazed into the sky as bright lava cracked in the heavens, “This is it…”

Her hands fell to her sides. The pen fell onto the grassy forest floor.

~~~

Usually, it rained or snowed, hailed or sleeted.

Now, ash fell from the sky.

The trees were coated in white and black, like winter gad suddenly wrapped Corone in a bitter chill. Temperatures were surprisingly tame, however. White specs fell onto her fedora as she traversed the forest. She stepped over a large root, the hat's brim covering her eyes in shadow. It seemed that the scent of burning and decay caused her to fall silent. Death seemed to fall out of a darkened sky.

Without sunlight, these useful herbs will die. No rain would be even worse! But not only herbs, crops. Will crops die?

She slowed to a stop, breaths suddenly sharp and quick. Her hands shook as the tragic crossed her mind.

Will people die?

“No!” She gritted her teeth, forcing herself onward again. Away from these thoughts, away from her anxieties. Yet, they still caught up with her.

Footsteps were left on the white ground as she trudged on. Where was she going? Weapons were strapped to her belt, a botanist's kit ready for use. She walked on, shivering in her shorts as she lifted her eyes to the sky again, tears falling from peridot gem eyes.

[Elthas]

Elthas felt a little light-headed at that point but he shrugged it off.

The other Elf, Kirin, walked up towards him. "We should check for more survivors...just in case." Elthas looked at the healer taking care of Hayate and Gavner. He nodded to himself gathering his strength as best as he could. He looked at Kirin. "Come with me we should try to see if there are anymore survivors out there on the way to town." Elthas said calmly.

He prepared himself, Elthas also had some minor injuries but his pain could wait.

There were people out there who needed help at that moment.

"Let's go." He said to Kirin, he had a gut feeling someone out there needed their help.

***

Thankfully, perhaps by some miracle...they stumbled upon a survivor. A young red-head who was wandering about by herself.

"Hey!" Elthas called out to Felicity.

***

At that point Elthas' sharp hears caught the sounds of screams from the general direction of The Great Tree. "Shit! You! Red-head, come with us there are people who can help you out in my home town if you need to be treated for injuries. Plus I think I just heard screams from that direction too so we better prepare for the worse." Elthas said he was worried about his people at that point, but he tried to focus the best he could.

[Reina]

Reina jolted awake. Forehead sweating, ears ringing. The sound was impossibly loud and her vision was clouded from a haze of ash.

She had camped just outside a small elven village after passing through the prior day. She gathered her pack together slowly but deliberately. Whatever that ghastly sound had been certainly meant trouble and she wasn’t in a particular hurry to find out what horrible scene awaited her in the tree village ahead. A pot left out the night before was laid at the base of her sack, she neatly wrapped her fishing line, and then double checked to ensure she wasn’t forgetting anything.

Eventually she approached the settlement slowly and a glimpse of what had transpired dawned upon the rose haired woman. It was pure pandemonium within the township.

Injured elves, screaming children, and trees ablaze. Like something out of a nightmare. Embers from a burning branch streamed by her face while she tried to process what had occurred. Was this the work of a demon? An attack by a rival tree-dwelling empire of elves?

An elderly female rapidly approached Reina, blood seeping down her face. She shouted in a panic, “it’s Lornius! A volcano! An eruption!”

That was convenient. Reina now knew the what but was unclear regarding the why.

Before she could process the eruption’s cause her thoughts were interrupted by a commotion coming from a rather large tree ahead. It was too far away to tell what was going on, though that did not dissuade her interest. The thin woman pulled her tan jacket close around her waist and adjusted her yellow scarf to try and reduce the amount of soot she was inhaling. With her katana tightly clipped along her right hip began to meander near the disturbing noises.

Immediately after she had begun her walk she noticed a group of individuals quickly approaching her towards her left side. Obviously they must’ve been heading towards whatever was causing a ruckus in the distance.

Steadying herself, Reina turned and approached the group. Hopefully they could provide some explanation for what was happening.

[Altair]

Kirin, too, had heard the screams. Without hesitation, he whipped around, pulling his knives from where they'd been minimally concealed by his belt. Ignoring his body's protests, he leaped forwards, racing back toward the Tree. The others could follow as they chose.

He paused at the edge of the clearing, silvered eyes darting around the scene. It seemed as if the cleared space was boiling, almost, the survivors Kirin had just met locked in bitter combat with a group that had to be raiders or bandits of some sort. Kirin can count at least ten of them, scattered around--men, mostly, but he can see an orc or two, and at least one race he doesn't recognize at all.

He snarls, throwing himself at the nearest raider, bodily knocking him away from his downed opponent. The Man just laughs at him, condescending and mocking, as Kirin raises his blades, angling them away from his body. He doesn't like the looks of the curved scimitar the man is carrying. Weapons in Radasanth street fighting tend to be whatever's easily at hand, or easily concealed. None of them are stupid enough to pick a fight with the Guards on the regular, and they're the only ones who routinely use swords.

The man twirls his sword, grinning, the epitome of confidence, and Kirin shrugs. He doesn't need to fight the man, not really. He can just--kill him. That in mind, he bares his teeth right back, a dazzling snarl, and closes the distance. The man keeps the sword pointed directly at him, just waiting for his move, and they circle each other, searching for openings. Eventually, Kirin's opponent loses patience and charges, thrusting forward to pierce Kirin's heart. It's a difficult move to anticipate, and an impossible one to block.

Luckily, Kirin doesn't need to block, not a knife-fighter like himself. He bats the flat of the blade away with one hand as he rolls sideways, coming forward and to his feet in a lunge that brings him inside the other's range. They grapple, briefly; the man brings the pommel of his sword heavily into Kirin's ribs and he gasps with pain, but Kirin has two knives and an eternity of rage. His opponent falls, a dozen deep cuts littering his chest and stomach, and does not rise again. With a wince, Kirin straightens from where he bent to cut the man's throat and looks around the clearing, trying to assess where his help could be used most.

[Elthas]

People joined the fray at that point.

There was another girl that joined near the red-headed one and that was all right with Elthas.

Elthas saw Kirn run back towards the village. The kid is very brave. He thought to himself as the fellow dashed off. He assumed that the red headed kid and the newcomers would follow. "Come with me if you folks want to live." Ethas explained to Reina and Felicity.

At that point Elthas also dashed towards the village towards his people, towards Kirin.

What he saw when he got back was a disaster.

A small group of bandits with a very loudly dressed fellow was attacking any who stood in their way. Bandits...but not ordinary ones. The symbols they have on their gear has a familiar aspect. Strange... Elthas pushed forward, drawing his majestic daggers. "Get away from my people!" Elthas yelled at the bandits. He knew that there were a lot of people who were racist towards Elf kind but he had a gut feeling the attack was motivated by some far more sinister goal.

The loudly dressed leader of the group noticed Elthas right away. "Ah. House Belthasar." He said with a slightly amused tone of voice. "How is Halm these days?" The fellow asked. "Was hoping to cross blades with him once more."

Clues...hints. Something far darker is happening. He knows Father...he knows things most folks don't know. Elthas only knew the bandits were harming his people, that's all that mattered. "You there, stand down. I aim to defend my people." Elthas yelled at the loudly dressed one.

"We're a step ahead of you son of House Belthasar." The loud one said carefully. He hand-signaled towards the remaining bandits that were standing. The ones that were not brutalized by Kirin. "Only the target matters, ignore the riff-raff. I'll take care of this would-be Hero myself." The leader said. "Your Father, when last we met gave me a gift. A reminder of our meeting. I was hoping to avenge myself of that meeting today. But oh well, you are one of his sons. You will do."

Elthas prepared himself. "People are hurt, injured. Why are you doing this?"

"Your people have something that does not belong to them. I'm taking it back. It's that simple, civilians don't matter only the target does." The leader said carefully. He readied his sword.

Elthas noticed the weapon that the man used was a elegant curved bladed from a distant land...a sort of blacksmithing that was not native to Corone proper. Fallien was likely the origin source of that craft. Elthas looked at the leader with a harsh stare. "You mean to take things, I mean to stop you. It's as simple as that." The markings that the bandits wore really bothered Elthas, but there would be time to examine their apparel later on after the battle was over.

Elthas started to dash towards the leader, daggers at the ready.

"You really don't get this." The leader said and raised his hand. "Anak-ANDHOR!" And he released a surge of energy from his free hand.

Elthas was knocked back several paces with a tremendous amount of force from the sorcery of the leader. "Sorcery is it...?" The man's mannerisms, markings and other red flags were triggering Elthas. But it was all happening too quickly for him to gather himself. Elthas turned his attention towards Kirin. "Get to the survivors, make sure people get out alive." Elthas turned his attention back to the leader. Elthas' own chest was scorched from whatever spell that the leader had released. "You know my Father. Then you know what type of fighters we are." Elthas couldn't shake the feeling that this exact thing had happened to him before.

A distinct feeling of dejavu struck him at that point.

What is this...why do I feel this way...? Elthas considered that it could have been a Boon from The Great Tree. Though The Great Tree was a burnt husk on the outside, the roots grew strong beneath them, and the magics they radiated were still powerful. Suddenly, Elthas saw in the way the old ones of his kind see. Reality shifted for a moment and he saw himself fighting the leader, in a moment the leader had bested Elthas and killed him...a would-be tragedy. The vision was quick, decisive. I must live...but I must defeat this man quickly The vision subsided quickly and the world returned to normal.

Elthas found himself staring at the leader. His mind was acting quickly, thinking. Apprehend him... As reality returned to normal Elthas looked up towards the leader. The man has a plan, if I act now it will be over too quickly for us...too many lives are on the line.

"You must surely know you cannot win." The leader said carefully.

"Perhaps...but there is something you do not know." Elthas started to move slowly around the leader. His eyes were sharp, calculating considering possibilities. He'd seen his own demise so he could buy himself some time. He could buy Kirin some time and the other survivors.

"I do not have time for games." The leader said carefully. "Send your Father my regards, IN HELL." It started at that point, where the leader raised his hand once more in an attempt to smite Elthas where he stood. "Anak...WHAT???" The leader suddenly yelled. He'd taken his eyes off Elthas for a moment, that was all that Elthas needed.

Their lives are more important than my own...I can be as reckless as needed... He held the leader in his arms at that point, at blade-point. The side of his dagger a few centimeters away from the leader's neck. "Call off your men and I might consider sparing you." Elthas threatened.

"How did you do that...?" The leader asked. "Not even your Father moved that fast."

[Reina]

The peculiar trio ran off and summoned Reina to follow. Grasping at her sheath she followed the small group and noticed one of the elves rush in alone towards a group of ne’er do wells. He brandished his knives in a fantastical manner as the other elf exchanged words and engaged with whom Reina guessed was their leader.

Bandits likely weren’t a common sight in peaceful elven tree towns. But it did make a lot of sense to conduct a raid amidst the chaos of an ash cloud and mass panic. It must’ve made their pillaging quite simple.

Normally at a sight like this the pink haired wanderer would simply turn and walk away. This seemed like it was being handled admirably by the two brave, or foolish, elves. However… there was likely some form of financial reward for strangers who saved a tree village from certain doom in the middle of volcanic devastation. Or at the very least a statue in her honor.

The cursed woman gripped the hilt of her katana tightly. Eyes took aim upon a bandit wielding a battle axe and her legs sprung her forward. In a swift motion she simultaneously unsheathed her saber and struck towards the rogue. Not quick enough he swung downwards with his axe, narrowly blocking her blade in a clang of metal.

Letting out a grunt the axeman lunged towards the would-be hero in a barbaric flurry. Reina sidestepped and bent low, as the vandal was wailing in her general direction she drew her katana low and in a graceful motion swung both arms towards his center of gravity. She felt the satisfaction of steel carving into flesh as her sword struck true, leaving a gaping wound in his torso. Organs descended, blood pooled, and the bandit crumpled forwards into the painful embrace of death.

Before the swordswoman could get her bearings she was struck on her right shoulder with a thick wooden club. The thud drew circles in her vision and sent the woman onto the ground. Hard. She quickly lifted herself up with her right hand, left still clutching her katana. Racing towards her was yet another adversary wielding a jagged saber. Behind her the clubbed brute was raising his weapon towards the sky, hoping to finish her off. This pit of vipers was descending into mayhem.

Reina rolled towards her left, accelerating the pain in her right shoulder down her spine but barely missing the impact of the mallet’s collision with the earth. Pivoting towards her back leg she spun in a circular fashion, slicing at the vandal with the wooden club. As he screamed in agony and fell frontwards Reina struggled to pry her blade from his knee cap as the sabered enemy drew nearer.

These elves better have cash, she thought as she rose to her feet and finally removed her blade from her latest victim and prepared for another onslaught.

[Flamebird]

The moment she saw the glorious elven home, she beamed.

The moment she saw the bandits, instinct kicked in.

She scowled, dropping the book in her hand as she stalked towards two bandits on the side lines. They were well suited for the standard outlaws. They had proper, albeit light, armor with hauberks on top. The dark garbs all had identical symbols on them. Not bandits, an organization.

They both scowled at her. She scowled deeper. Her fists tightened.

Ash fell from the sky as dark clouds loomed. Citizens fled and cried out. The attackers made it all worse. That familiar anger exploded in her chest, vomiting up her throat. Her cheeks were red despite the chill. Dead leaves dropped from the high trees, showering them, as she eyed the soldiers.

“Get out.”

One scoffed from beneath his helm, “Pfft! Give me one good reaso-“

She grabbed him by the scruff of his gamberson, yanking him close. She peered into his eyes, her muscle shaking in powerful spasms of uncontrollable strength.

The other soldier raced off to face another attacker, staying away from the Ragechild. Felicity threw the captured soldier against a tree. The trunk shook as he fell from the impact, leaves skydiving around him. He was dazed.

The redhead heard footsteps behind her, crunching the leaves. She turned around to see a soldier with a gleaming blade. She placed her hand on her own sword's hilt, “I’d rather not hurt anyone, but if you continue this attack…”

The blade was swung. Felicity dodged, feeling the wind of the swipe as she yanked her weapon free. Soon, their blades clashed in brutal combat.

Smoke rose to the coal colored sky. The fight for very survival was at its dawn.

[Altair]

Kirin tucked his elbow close against his ribs, stretching carefully to ensure he can move and breathe without piercing his own lungs, and decided that they were possibly bruised or cracked, but not displaced enough to cause him danger, unless he took another blow there. That in mind, he stalked through the chaos of the abruptly-made battlefield, pausing only when he saw another one of the bandits threatening a wounded survivor of the initial explosion.

He's not close enough, not fast enough, for all his speed and training. Luckily, he doesn't have to be.

The blade left his hand in a curved arc, end over end before slamming point-first into the bandit's back. The man screamed, dropping his own weapon and stumbling forward, and by then Kirin was close enough to strike. He buried his second weapon in the man's spine, below the first one, and ripped it out sideways in a horrible display. The man fell, and Kirin took his other dagger from where it was lodged and cut the man's throat, putting him out of his misery.

He headed for the center of the clearing, where he could see Elthas facing off against a garishly dressed man holding himself with a confidence and skill foreign to the rest of the invaders--the leader, no doubt. Kirin wanted to go help, but Elthas spared a second of his own fight to charge Kirin with the safety of the survivors, and that's not a responsibility he would take lightly. With a frustrated grimace, he turned away, back towards the last few scuffles--a warrior with pink hair had dispatched at least two of her opponents and was facing a third, and a furious-looking redhead faced off with a soldier. Everywhere else, men and elves and orcs lay dead or wounded. Leaving the others to their fight, Kirin began to comb the battlefield, killing the enemy injured and searching among the refugees for those who could be saved.

It was grim work. The residents and the refugees alike had been wounded and exhausted already, before this attack, and even the untrained bandits had wreaked mayhem among them. Kirin straightened, closing the eyes of a boy no older than twelve, and then helped an elderly man with a gash in his leg hobble back towards the Tree. He paused for breath once his burden was handed over to the capable healers, only to freeze as he realized that the bandit leader and Elthas were inches away from each other, a blade leveled at the leader's neck.

[Elthas]

(Note: I am adding in my conclusion to this thread in this post!)

The blade was held a the leader's neck.

"I won't as you again...call your men off." Elthas said calmly.

"We found it." One of the bandits yelled suddenly and all attention was turned towards that particular person.

Except for Elthas, Elthas kept focused on the leader. "What's it going to be?" Elthas growled.

The leader carefully responded to Elthas. "You've won this day but we got what we came for. You can let me go now."

The survivors were more important than the bandits...but something did not sit well with Elthas. He let the leader go though. "Get out of here. You've already gotten what you've wanted. I won't pursue you but you and your folks are not welcome back here." Elthas looked at the leader fiercely. "Next time I see you I will finish what my Father started."

"Noted." The leader said. "We are out of here." The bandits that survived the initial attack from the Heroes began to flee quickly.

Elthas looked towards his companions. "We have to check on the survivors." Elthas felt it at that point...The Great Tree was alive...but altered somehow. That's what explained the vision he'd seen earlier. Is that a new effect of the boon? Will it always happen that way? Elthas wondered. He looked at his friends. At that point, his fedora hat brushed against his leg with a gust of wind from the west. The ash fall still came down...always present. Elthas knelt down and grabbed his hat, dusting it off. He adjusted his hat and proceeded to once again enter The Great Tree. Damaged greatly on the outside, but thriving and alive in the inside thanks to the magic of his people.

***

Many thoughts passed his troubled mind as he assisted the survivors of the attack.

Ashfall kept coming down, it's what Hayate and his people had called the events following Lornius' destruction.

Elthas considered everything he had learned during the unfolding events. The Great Tree was not the only such tree on Althanas. There might be others of it's kind. Perhaps the Thayne initially planted them or perhaps... A thought crossed his mind that sent a chill down his spine. Elthas fancied himself a Hero of sorts, he did not want to consider going back down a dark path. He knew that other versions of himself had existed in the past and throughout the general flow of history.

The Elder's teachings were oft filled with great mystery.

His life was still unraveling before him...

"Are you well, Elthas?" One of the nurse maidens asked.

"Great destruction has fallen to our world. I have to know the extent of it but that is a task for other Heroes...right now my place is HERE." Elthas, the son of Halm Belthasar looked outside of The Great Tree...at ashfall. He shook his head. "There will be others...I have to grow stronger. I have to train more." Elthas said to the nurse maiden.
There will be other attackers as time passes looking to take advantage of this event."

"There are always those who take advantage of disasters." The nurse maiden said as she treated his injuries. "You fought bravely and upheld the honour of your clan."

"It does not matter, I could not prevent the theft." Elthas sighed. "Those are not worries for you though my friend, you have many injuries to treat." Elthas said.

At that point, one of the elders...Xu Bellaparte...walked over to Elthas. "As soon as you are done with getting cleaned up we have something to talk about. There has been a serious complication...Elthas I know what those thieves were after. We have a serious problem on our hands now."

The End.