How it started. I sing of tragedy, greater than most would ever know, greater still for the few who remember the tale. I sing because this tale must not be forgotten or the tragedy would be complete. I am among the few who remember it; I am called fool for this dedication of mine to ensure that heroes remain heroes and not simply ghosts. I am also called Annisharnan-masterbard but that title is my gilt show-sword, encrusted with honors and gems. Shan is my usual name, a name like steel crafted well into an unassuming but deadly sharp blade. My story or rather the story of the generation above us who gave so much and got so little begins in another place, another time, in a dream I once had. The setting was a café of sorts surrounded by commercialism and tired parents attempting to ensure their children had the latest fashion in jeans and underwear. Marie was neither a tired parent in search of fashion nor did she wear the latest fashion in either jeans or underwear. She instead was devoting her attention to a cup of mediocre coffee and largely ignoring her friend's chatter. Her friend was wearing the cutting edge of fashion not just limited to her jeans and underwear but even the way she sat and sipped occasionally at an iced mochasomething or other was fashionable. Rodney was her name I think. I forget the name of the drink Rodney was seen drinking and the café and even the world they were in, those wern't important. What was important was that Rodney was taking time from her pursuit of all that was hip to have mediocre coffee with a friend who had just gotten back in town. Marie had been on a different coast and for all intensive purposes, a different world, as she came back shabbier, and tireder, and much more boring than remembered by Rodney. Well several years of severed friendship will do that. So the café; amongst the racks and stores a man emerged, who so recently was a boy that the term man fit unusually poorly. This was Justin. Marie raised an eyebrow, Rodney bounded up to kiss her beloved. Well they had been dating for four months and for all intensive purposes that could only be love. Marie had no fond memories of Justin. Rather she viewed him as she viewed scabs, a rather unpleasant transition between wounds and scars. A third chair and a third form of overpriced coffee was brought to the table. Then came a fourth, with the introduction of Lisa, who had emerged from her shopping as well. Lisa was a nice girl. Rodney adored her, Justin flirted with her when he felt like no one was looking. And Marie didn't like her. As you could probably tell, Marie didn't like people. The biggest exception was probably Rodney, who was a charmer of surprising and rarely divulged depth, though she was wearing more makeup and less clothing than Marie remembered. Three chatted and Marie said nothing. To the outsider there were three bright, pretty and magnetic youths ranging from reasonably handsome in the case of the boy to stunning in the case of the girl dating him, and a sullen coffee drinker with a nasty scar that someone had probably brought along out of pity. Alex was not such an outsider. He was rather sullenly drinking his own coffee and putting up the pretense of studying while really just watching Marie. He knew her name and that she once danced but didn't anymore. Justin made some form of joke at Rodney's expense and three laughed. Marie got up on the pretense of finding a bathroom. Alex followed her into an elevator. "When did you get back into town" he opened. The response was a sigh and then a rather forced "Tuesday" "I missed you. Why didn't you call me when you got back?" "wasn't planning on staying long." A rather long pause preceded her next statement "I missed you too. As much as I hate to admit it" "why." Her response was simply to draw nearer to him and take his right hand, which was formerly arrayed at a hip into hers. He tried to kiss her. It didn't work or rather there was no passion or love in her lips and he gave up quickly and with a start of embarrassment. He turned subtly red, the curse of fair skin. He turned redder when Rodney and her friends walked up to the then opening elevator door. Marie's hand was quickly released and Alex was slightly flustered. He was wondering how the elevator had been called back to this floor without his noticing. That wasn't like him. Rodney smiled as his discomfiture as she was the only of the three that had just entered this scene to understand the back plot. Her smile was the last thing Marie remembered before the world fell in.
The next section.
Lisa woke up cursing. She was feeling the effects of the previous night's booze. Then she remembered that she had not been drinking the night before; likewise the bed she was sleeping on was hard and smelt too oddly to be her bed. Opening her eyes was a rather monumental task and all in all not worth the effort. There was a girl hovering over her whose eyes reminded the semi somnolent Lisa of Marie. Except that this girl had red hair, and lots of it and much darker skin than Marie. It must be Marie despite the coloring because no other girl Lisa knew had that scar on her right cheek.
"good you're up." Marie's voice came from that mysterious girl. Lisa tried to sit up then regretted it immediately. Marie-who-was-not- Marie caught her shoulder and helped her into a sitting position. Lisa was clutching her head and too exhausted to notice the strength in Marie's hands. Justin was collapsed at Lisa's right and Rodney beyond that. Alex or whatever his name was was curled up in fetal position near her feet. Rodney was the only one who was remotely decorous. Lisa winced at the sunlight, which further served to confuse her as it was far too yellow and the trees that were overhead, "wait trees?" Went her inner monologue. Desperate gazes furthered the impression, this was not the mall that the friends had been in, nor was this anyplace she recognized. Panic arouse and inner monologue was something along the lines of " ohshit wherearewewhyismarietheonlyoneawakeisthatreallymariegodshesprettysomebodyple ase helpmeplease?", but was doused slightly by marie's offer of what appeared to be the glass of mediocre coffee that she was drinking sullenly earlier, "good we cant be too far from home." Went the inner monologue. She was wrong. Panic returned as clouds or fogs or something drew closer in a way far too similar to little cat's feet for the tastes of either lisa or marie. Lisa had never seen fog roll in in such a manner, but to be fair almost no one else had either. The fog things resolved themselves into human forms, but human forms with perfectly white skin and bows and odd aboringial style garments carrying bows or spears and having an intensity about their perfectly white eyes that ensnared marie and passed over lisa who was at the time screaming. One of the fog things sighed in the way that any worker who has just realized that the easy shift that he traded for with a friend was not going to be the easy shift by any stretch of the imagination. Then he spoke which surprised lisa enough to cause her screams to subside.
"we come only to help and only because we were called."
"well that explains everything" Definitely Marie, she was the only one who could summon that much sarcasm when faced with things that were fog a minute ago.
"excuse me, who are you?" Lisa figured that diplomacy was probably a passable idea considering their weapons which may have been fog but seemed sharp enough.
"we are the arnath-dar-lisen" the one that was speaking stepped forward a bit enough that one could see the impressive scars and tattoos that covered his oddly white body. "we come to protect you. The humans want you all with a desire that strikes us as madness but we wish to ensure your survival above all else."
"you aren't human?"
"Duh lisa theyre the arnath-dar-lisen" came Marie's snappy response. Lisa was going to feel hurt until she saw the rather mischevious smile on Marie's face. She decided to laugh instead. All of the strange fog men smiled and sighed and seemed to relax.
"we have waited so long for you lisen." Came the voice of one of the lesser fog things. There was a general sigh of agreement which was interrupted by a trumpet fanfare. Three heavily armored mounted figures and a proud handsome man in robes rode up followed closely by a figure in a tan cowl. Lisa fainted. Marie didn't.
"five? There should be one or maybe two." Spoke the proud man. The arnath-dar-lisen arranged themselves with weapons towards the newcomers and backs towards the sleeping figures and marie. Two of them picked up lisa with utmost reverence and