A/N: Well hello there, welcome to Elven Blood! I have tried my hand at the Witcher before but the idea I had for that story simply felt better if developed from the start sooo here I am.
I think the elves never got enough love in the books and games (if any) so I decided to write my own story based around an elven protagonist just a few decades after the human landings. As the elves are not completely explored in the witcher I will have to build up the gross of the elven culture and stuff around them myself so bear with me!
I would love a review here and there if you guys have feedback for me or ideas/questions! Let me know what you think! ;)
Update: I changed the perspective from first to third person and corrected a few minor details. Let me know what you think of that change!
Chapter 1
The spring flowers are in full bloom illuminated by the light of the afternoon sun as a young elven woman with long dark hair and grey, almost black eyes hums softly while entering an elven village called Gweynloch seated inside de forest between the Pontar and Dypkar rivers.
The young elf, clothed in a flowery red dress, has a basket of mushrooms and herbs securely held beneath her left arm. People greet her with wide smiles as she passes by.
Her name is Sylvyaess Tywyll. The oldest daughter of the mayor of Gweynloch. A well loved and very sought after young woman who unlike her two younger sisters hasn't given marriage any thought yet.
Her younger sister Vysla Tywyll married two years ago to a mage called Rhonin Haulcoron. He came from Gwynnastyr - the city of the white towers to the south and has taken her sister with him, recently two beautiful young baby boys had been born to the delight of the whole family.
Her youngest sister - Veressa Tywyll had not been as lucky however, while she danced around the boys of the village no one really really stood out to her untill now and in the meantime she had a change of heart and started focussing on the arts of alchemy, especially healing alchemy. Recently she had gotten an invitation from the school of alchemy in Gwynnastyr to further develop her abilities.
The Tywyll sisters all have the family trait of dark hair and the rare trait of beautiful dark almost black eyes. A trait wich is even found in the family name Tywyll, wich means 'Dark' in elder speach. Their father always said it had more to do with an ancester who was executed a few centuries ago after going insane from the use of necromancy but the sisters always laughed it away as a bedtime story to make them behave when they were small, furthermore there were barely any family members who ever had any significant magical traits only her aunt, the duchess of Saviean is a mage but she married into the family.
Sylvyaess had always been a sight in the village with her, even for an elf, tall and proud posture. As the oldest of the major's daughters she had to be the embodiment of a true elven aristocrat, a role she bloomed in and enjoyed with all her heart. But that is not the only reason people smiled at her and greeted her. Around the village she has always been known as a kind and helpful young elf who could always bring a smile to even the most gloom situations.
Her herbs still secure under her arm Sylvyaess - also called Sylvi by her family and friends greets the neighbour with a smile as she is doing the laundry. Reaching the largest house in the village, my home. She spots her mother Gwennead doing the same next to her beautiful flower beds filled with blooming spring flowers. She looks up from her work and smiles at her oldest daughter. "You have been gathering herbs for your sister again haven't you?"
"Of course mother, Vera needs her training material to prepare for the big day next month!" Her oldest daughter responds thinking about her little sister who has been working hard day and night in preparation of leaving for Gwynnastyr the next month.
"And you forgot your loving old mother?" She responds in a mock-hurt voice. Straightening her back exposing her tall figure, hands on her hips.
Sylvi smirks. Looking at her mother who is almost a copy of herself, only older with an odd wrinkle here and there and with long brown hair and contrasting green eyes. "How could I forget you mother!?" "She responds grinning - showing her basket wich has besides different types of herbs a bundle of red mushrooms.
Her eyes grow wide. "I didn't know cockatriceshrooms were already that big in this time of year. Where did you find them?"
"found them in the caves to the east while I was looking for a few mushrooms for Vera, I guess I got lucky spotting them in a small side cavern while leaving." Sylvyaess responds, shouldering her basket again, inwardly smiling at surprising her mother.
"Well let's get them inside shall we?" Mom responds finishing the last of the linen and shouldering her laundry basket. "You know how long those mushrooms have to cook before they get tasty."
"Of course mother." Sylvi grins swirling around and taking the lead towards the side door. She arches her brow a little as she spots a large brown stallion laden with heavy saddlebags and furs. The horse looks up for a second from eating grass as she opens the door but continues eating as it looses its interest.
Back inside Sylvyaess helps her mother with the preparations for dinner. Groaning She lifts the heavy iron pot over the large fireplace in the middle of her mother's spacious kitchen before filling it with water. Concentrating hard and extending her hand small sparks form in the fire place setting the wood alight, making me smile in triumph.
Sylvyaess's parents have always told her that she should attend Vintrica in the Blue Mountains, a renounced school of magic. Rhonin studied there and told her all about it in the times he visited our home. Before sneaking off with her sister of course, but that is besides the point, Sylvi's mother would always roll her eyes at her when that happend. Getting an eye roll and a smirk in return from she because she knew her parents used to do very similair things in the past.
But in the end she always laughed it away. It simply takes an extreme amount of effort from her part to do anything with magic. As she saw Rhonin create portals to their house she always stared in awe. Knowing she could never do something like that. Sylvyaess told everyone she is simply not talented enough to become a real mage and they accepted it after a while.
Finishing the preparations with her mother she picks up her basket again and walks over to her sister's room on the first floor. Sylvyaess sneaks in, a small smile covering her lips as she looks at the mess in front of her.
Her youngest sister is sitting on the floor carefully trying to scrape shards of glass together with her bare hands. A dark purple liquid covers the floor around the broken vial.
She wears a light green dress, a golden hoop hangs from her left ear. Suddenly she curses as she cuts her hand on one of the glass shards.
"Need help with that?" Sylvi says raising an eyebrow.
Veressa spins around in her sitting position, surprise in her dark grey eyes, and jumps up hugging her sister tightly. Trying very hard not to ruin the dress by smearing blood all over it. "Sylvi!" She squirms, finally releasing her sistee to breath, but before Sylvyaess can greet her back she has snagged the basket from her arm and has started inspecting its contents.
"Very good, very good." She mutters walking over to her small 'laborotry' as she calls it, wich is nothing more than a collection of vials and a small copper set used for brewing concoctions.
"No thank you for your big sister?" Sylvyaess remarks clutching her chest mock-hurt.
She sighs, turns around and performs a very exaggerated bow. "I thank you o great sister, may the gods be with you, may you find fortune, etcetera, etcetera."
Sylvyaess bursts out laughing, barely containing her tears as she walks out of her sister's doorway before something pops up in her head. "I want that basket back in one piece." referring to an incident a few weeks ago where she managed to break my last basket after stumbling over it after a long night of experimenting.
Sylvi hears a groan from the open door as she walks away into her own room making her laugh even harder, tears flowing over her bangs while she tries to contain them.
Wiping them away she looks around her own room, a cozy bed under the window, a large wardrobe and a vanity table on the other side and a wall with my bows, mostly old ones she used in the past but also her favorite bow right now.
Because Sylvyaess never looked into becoming a real mage she learned hunting from her father. It took a decade or two but she has developed into a very decent hunter. She feels the smooth wood under her fingers as she takes her bow, it is a darkwood bow made from wood from the foot of the Dragon Mountains. Runes are etched into it to improve it, a small enchantment Sylvyaess learned herself a few months back.
She puts it on the wall again, murmering to herself that she should go hunting tonight. Sylvi goes back downstairs after that, knowing that dinner will be ready soon as she smells the delicious cockatriceshrooms in the hallway.
She goes over to her father's office to warn him it is almost time for dinner. As she walk through the doorway of his office she is greeted by the sight of her father and a large man, a head taller than her, covered in heavy armor and fur pelts with two swords strapped to his back.
"Ah Sylvyaess, back from the forest. You managed to help your sister?" Sylvi's father, Erin Tywyll, speaks up.
"Yes got everything she needs father." Sylvyaess responds absentmindly, looking at the huge man in front of her.
Witcher. Goes through her head as the man, who has obviously heard her voice and footsteps, turns his head and looks at Sylvyaess with his green catlike eyes. He has a scruffy beard and brown hair. A scar covers his jaw and splits his lip reaching the side of his nose. A medallion with a bear baring its fangs hangs around his neck.
He keeps his penetrating gaze on the young elf but she look straight back into his eyes and tilts her chin up. She won't let myself be intimidated by a mere witcher.
"You are her for the leshen in the Westwoods aren't you?" Sylvyaess asks him, still not breaking his gaze.
"I am." He responds in elder speach with a thick accent she has never heared before.
Sylvi tilts her head slightly. "You are not from these parts." she remarks.
A small smile forms on his lips, well rather a grimace. "I am from the skellige isles, far far away."
Sylvyaess has heared of those islands once from a travelling bard but that was years ago and she has always thought it was just a stupid story to write a song about.
"You know, if you hadn't shown up I would have probaly taken care of the fiend myself."
Now his grimace turns into a mocking smile. "Well if you can stand fighting a crazed tree while wolfs and other forest dwellers try to rip you limb from limb be my guest."
Sylvyaess glares at him and he glares straight back until her father clears his throat and the witcher comes to his senses, breaking her gaze and turning towards the young elf's father. "I will set off now to deal with the monster mayor Tywyll, you will hear of me shortly."
Sylvi's father nods approvingly at him and the witcher makes to leave. The elf and the witcher glare at each other, as Sylvyaess is still half in the doorway and doesn't step aside he has to squeeze his way past her brushing along her, the smell of dried blood and wildflowers suddenly assaulting her senses making Sylvi shiver against him.
He gives Sylvyaess a last grin before he departs.
Sylvyaess turns back to her father. He looks deep in though standing tall behind his full desk. He moves his hands through his dark with a few specks of grey hair.
"Couldn't we have taken that leshen out with a few towns gaurds father?" Sylvi asks looking at the wrinkles on his face.
"It would have been too costly." He responds rubbing his temple. "And besides the point this witcher is a decent lad, he will manage it just fine."
She snorts at 'decent lad' but Sylvyaess composes herself. "Dinner is almost ready father, we shouldn't keep mother waiting."
Sylvi enters the kitchen again seeing a table full of delicious food, her mouth waters at the sight and she takes a seat just before her father and sister show up. The smell of cooked venison and mushrooms enters her nostrills.
Dinner with the family has always been a real happening at Sylvi's home. Her mother is a great cook and managed to teach her a thing or two and her father would always tell the strangest stories he heared from merchants and the townsfolk. That while Sylvyaess and her sisters would joke around about each others lifes.
Digging in Sylvi compliments her mother for her excellent cooking. After eating her fill in record time she asks her father about his day. His face turns grim as he looks up from his venison. "There was another incursion at the Pontar today."
Before Sylvyaess can respond Veressa speaks up, disbelief in her voice. "But that is like the third time this week! What are those humans thinking?"
"They think this land with our riches should be theirs as their numbers grow while ours stagnate." Her father responds.
"What happend this time?" Sylvyaess interjects.
Father sighs, looking a few years older. "So called 'Aedernians' crossed the pontar with wagons full of building materials and woman and children to settle these lands, just like before the great truce. The problem this time however was they were gaurded by a Keadweni escort."
"Keadweni soldiers? They really want those people off their lands... What happend next?"
"After a fair warning, one they ignored. Our border gaurds started picking off the escorting soldiers. The caravan surrendered after their leader had been mortally wounded, we disarmed them and escorted them back over the pontar, their wagons however were looted and burned at the banks of the river as a reminder." Sylvi's father finishes his tale.
Sylvyaess contemplates for a minute.
But her sister asks the next question before she can. "How many where there father?"
"Around two-hundred he responds, with thirty wagons."
Sylvyaess whistles between her lips. "They are getting more determined."
"Yes, and more numerous." Her father responds gloomily.
"Are the human kings not keeping them in check as written in the truce?"
"These people are not under any king, they just want to get away from the north and the only way they can go is south into our lands."
"Erin, enough politics for one night, we will not talk about this again today." Mother chimes in bringing the conversation to a halt but the damage has already been done. Sylvyaess and the rest of the family are quiet for the rest of dinner not knowing the danger that lurked outside.
Gweynloch was by no means a strategic town, the surrounding area is covered in thick woods while the road that once led towards the Pontar has overgrown after the retreating elves destroyed the bridge connecting it to the other side during the human invasion of the north. The road to the south is the only good connection to Gweynloch.
Because of the lack of any strategic importance other than a wood supplier for the south Gweynloch never had any defences build around it to defend it. Protection is provided by a few gaurds and a fence to keep willife about.
The problem with that is that strategy is that the humans do not care about strategic importance as the south is simply a way for a new beginning for the poor, away from the lack of lands and resources in the north.
So they crossed the Pontar that night in silence. Supported by a few Keadweni knights and footmen the armed peasants traversed the tricky woods and came closer to the lights of the town under the cover of a moonless night.
Sylvyaess didn't know of any danger however as shr changed into a grey tunic with green leafs embroidered onto it and grabbed her bow and a quiver full of arrows ready to hunt that night.
She smiled as she walked past the open door of her sister's room and saw her sleeping peacefully on her desk.
Personally Sylvyaess has always loved hunting in the dark, everything just becomes so different during nighttime, a simple tree during daylight can become a monster in the night.
As she traverses the jungle towards her hunting grounds in the north it feels wrong like there is something she is missing. Sylvyaess listens closely to the sounds in the woods. It is far to quiet. It could be a predator, that would be the most logical explanation so she crouches down further and looks around.
She feels a typical spring chill come over her making Sylvyaess shiver. Ignoring it as best as she can Sylvi pierces the night with her gaze.
Something moves to her left and Sylvyaess immidiately draws an arrow.
She spots a crouch-walking figure. Sylvyaess trains her arrow on it ready to ask for a name but then she spots another figure behind it and another one and a faint silhouet of someone on horseback.
This is bad. It goes through her head. They have rounded ears. Humans, lots of them.
Sylvyaess prepares to stalk away as suddenlyI hears a silent gasp in front of her. Quickly she points her arrow towards the sound. Her heart thumpinh in her chest. It is a woman clothed in scraps, armed with a meatcleaver. As Sylvyaess looses her arrow the woman releases a half scream that gets cut off by the arrow piercing her jugular.
Sylvyaess stares in shock at what she did, crimson blood spurts out of the woman's neck next to the arrowshaft, her body still trembles but her eyes are hollow.
Sylvyaess's body is flooded by a numb feeling.
A cry close to her shocks her back into reality and she backs away towards the village through the undergrowth.
But she has already been spotted and hears them charging after her. Breaking out in a run trembling on her legs and oblivious to the world around her Sylvyaess simply runs.
Sylvyaess's longer legs and better night vision give her an advantage but the humans are determined. An arrow barely misses her head and she hears shouting behind her getting closer and closer.
Suddenly the fence and the lights of the village appear as she breaks through the treeline.
Two stunned gaurds lift up their torches as Sylvyaess runs straight at them, completely out of breath. She come to a stop forcing herself to choke out a few words. "Humans... Lots of them... Raise... Alarm!"
The gaurd closest to her tries to help Sylvyaess to stay upright but she ignores him and snatches the horn from his belt before forcing all the remaining air she has left through it. The sound pierces the night.
Behind her humans break through the treeline igniting torches as they go. Sylvi gasps eyes wide as she sees the sheer number of them as they shout battlecries.
The gaurds grab thier swords but Sylvyaess has already taken off deeper into the village, lights are ignited in the houses around her as elves, mostly in nightdress run outside in confusion.
Sylvi breaks through a group of them spotting her own house with her parents and sister out front, her father has his curved blade in his hand.
"Sylvyaess what is happening out there?!" He shouts at her. Sylvyaess reaches them, collapsing against her mother and sister.
They hold her up as tears stream down her eyes. "Humans father... So many of them." Sylvyaess manages to mouth out.
Her father stares in silence, determination in his eyes. "Gwen get our daughters out of here."
Sylvyaess's mother complies with a nod trying to guide her shaken sister and oldest daughter with her but Sylvyaess breaks free and runs back towards my father as she nocks an arrow.
"Sylvi get over here!" Her mother shouts franticly.
"Mother I will stay to protect our ho... NO MOTHER!" Sylvyaess's sentence turns into a scream of terror as her mother suddenly gets pierced by an arrow through her chest.
She runs back clasping her mothers falling body into her arms together with her sister but Sylvyaess doesn't notice her as she is too focussed on her dying nother. "No no no..." She murmers into her mother's neck as the light slowly leaves her eyes, a weak hand brushes past Sylvyaess's cheek. "Stay... Strong..." She whispers to me. A cold feeling suddenly falls over Sylvi as her mother dies in her arms, the light finally leaving her eyes. Pain floods her system as she murmurs incoherent words into her mother's still warm neck. Sylvyaess doesn't feel her sister's teardrops falling on her skin as she is simply to numb to react.
The numbness turns to more pain, but Sylvyaess has a bright moment and hoists up her sister who fights back as she tries to hold on to their mother.
"Vera. Look at me!" Sylvyaess shouts at her sister, both their eyes full of tears. She grabs her chin forcing her to look up at her. "Run sister and don't look back!"
Her eyes darkened by tears look back at Sylvyaess, full of pain.
She doesn't react.
"NOW!" Sylvyaess shouts even harder.
It takes a second. Than Veressa turns. And runs as fast as her legs can carry her towards the other side of the town.
Sylvyaess forces herself to grab her bow and not look back at her mother's body. Turning around towards the battle she finds herself looking at a slaughter.
Already a few village houses are burning as the few remaining gaurds and villagers led by Sylvi's father try to hold off the waves of humans. Sylvyaess joins them. Nocking arrow after arrow time seems to stop around her. She doesn't care anymore as they struck human after human. She doesn't feel anything, for Sylvyaess they are nothing more than animals. Animals that need to be slaughtered.
Her father and the gaurds keep resisting to give the others time to escape, but we are losing, being overrun by their sheer numbers. Suddenly it is over as a Keadweni knight flanks us and rides down Sylvyaess's father cutting his throat.
A crimson line floods along his neck and mouth. Sylvyaess releases a wail of pain, as she shoots an arrow between the plates of his armor killing him.
Falling to her knees, her wail pierces the night sky. she doesn't know she is the last elf left, the humans advance on her but Sylvyaess doesn't see them.
Something snaps inside of the young elf. The pain turns to anger. A burning hate. A Dark power floods over her and unbeknowest to Sylvyaess she channels it.
Through her tears Sylvyaess sees her fathers body stir and not only his, the bodies of the fallen around her as well and her mothers body. The humans around her look in confusion and fear at what is happening.
The risen bodies, fed by the pain hatred from Sylvyaess, suddenly start attacking everyone around them tearing them apart where they stand, a knight cuts off an arm of one of his dead companions but it doesn't matter. The dead do not feel as it rips the horse of the knight apart with his other hand.
screams fill the air as the few remaining humans run for cover in the woods as dead is on their heels.
Sylvyaess looks up, spotting the wicked dead and twisted trees and plants in the area around her as she has drained all life force from them in her hatred, the dead stand around her. The young elf looks up through her tears at the empty unseeing eyes of her parents. Her heart burning inside her chest. As suddenly as it came over her all the unnatural energy leaves Sylvyaess and the risen bodies fall as puppets whose strings have been cut.
Releasing a silent scream as her last energy leaves her she falls down, arm outstrectched towards where her parents fell before crumpling up into a small ball of dispair.
Alone in a corrupted forest, the dead littered arround her, darkness claims Sylvyaess at last.
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Well that was the first chapter! Let me know what you guys think!
Second chapter will be following soon!
