Barra backstory

by ZePrlpleScraggeez

Barra awakens to a world which he once saw through the eyes of a woodland elf; the light he once saw as beautiful is now an enemy.

What am I? This riddle rules my ever running mind, it ensnares and mocks us in our fitful four hours of rest as much as it does in our wary waking hours. This curse corrupts us and constricts us to creep in the cold shadows of this warring world. We fight and we fight for naught but to control ourselves, to keep us as us. I fight my blood, my unnatural Drow blood which persuades me to do evil. I cannot say when it shall make us evil or it shall lose and allow us to do good, for this reason I fight against myself. This curse of Darkness enslaves my every action and thought, I must free myself of it.

Istolla: "Thou are not cursed, you knoweth not what thou speaketh of."

Barra: "But then why am I as I am?"

I harbor this curious conscience close to my own, she is as am I, alone and yet not empty. I have lived with her all my life with it in my own, save five years that I remember not. It has no physical form other than the blade that I carry, a tanto of under 1 feet of blade length. I hold it in my hand and question how it can even exist, I see only the form and not a detail upon the blade. The light lingers not in the presence of Istolla, it is as if the light is fleeing from this anomaly that I hold in my hand.

Istolla: "The light is not fleeing my friend, it is just passing at a distance, fear not for it is of no ill effect."

Barra: "You speak as a friend and yet of are of darkness, you are evil so for what reason should I trust thee?"

Istolla: "Thou speaketh and yet thou know not what of, for what reason doth thou speak of me as evil?"

Barra: "I speak for the reason of the common knowledge of all creatures; darkness is evil and the light is good."

Istolla: " If I am evil then what are thou? Thou thinkest thyself to be good for thy natural association with light and yet thou have never been without me for but the span of five years."

Barra: "What does this prove Istolla, what does our constant state of unity prove?"

Istolla: "It proves that we can only be distinguished from one another by our thoughts and our actions. I, being a blade, cannot act thus all actions are of thine own nature and not mine. It proves that all evil done is of your own free will and not of mine, I am not evil."

Barra: "You have guarded me and kept my life for the last 7 years, forgive me for being imprudent. I know that you wish for me to believe that you are good but it goes against every fiber of my being."

Istolla: "That is natural, thou art wise to respect me but thou should not fear me as do others. I make thee neither good nor evil, just or unjust, cruel or kind. I am power, I am a blade in all respects of thought and should be treated as such. For what man calleth the blade which draws innocent blood evil and calleth it's wielder good?"

Barra: " I understand your reasoning but one part, this blade does not speak in his wielder's mind and yet you do."

Istolla: "So I am a blade that speaketh in his wielder's mind, what of it? What have I spoken that has caused thee to do evil?"

Barra: "..."

Istolla: " If I have not caused thee to do evil and yet thou hast done evil art thou then evil? Thou were once a creature of light and now thou art a creature of Umbra, that is why you are named Umbra Habitator for thou dwellest in the shadows. Look upon the creatures of light, do they do evil as do you, a creature of the shadows?"

Barra: "You mean to say that light is evil and darkness is good?"

Istolla: "Nay, I say that light is neither good nor evil as is darkness neither good nor evil."

Barra: "Then why does evil dwell in the dark and good in light?"

Istolla: "Thou speaketh true, evil dwells in darkness but so does man in huts, does this make the hut man?"

Barra: "I see, fish dwell in water and four footed beasts on land, this is as evil dwells in darkness and good in light, it is where they can survive."

Istolla: "Thou are correct, evil dwells in darkness to hide and be hidden as good dwells in light so they may see and be seen. One element may be preferred yet both can survive in the other, does not man live in both light and darkness equally?"

Barra: " Then what am I, good or evil? What does that make you?"

Istolla: "You must answer that."

These conundrums that I call conversations are normal and in all regards natural to me, I have had them for the last 7 years and I see no end to them in the future. This is part of my existence but it is made possible by Istolla, ever since I found it within the temple. I once was a woodland elf, a tall proud race that makes their homes in the trees and by the rivers, I now am an unnatural Drow. I assume that I found her in the temple for that is where I awoke and found myself with her and having become a Drow. The temple was so very dark, hidden underneath the earth in a vast cavern, greater even than the great halls of dwarves. My eyes were heavy when I first gained consciousness, my head hurt as I sat up from the cold and damp floor. A thousand needles of pain accompanied this rise but yet I still had no answer for why they plagued me. I looked at my hands, something seemed off, different and yet I knew not why. Everything appeared to be normal, two hands with 5 fingers adorning each, not a scratch or cut on either of them. It was wrong, the color of my skin, my skin had always been white and now it is black. I had heard tales of the Drow and now I wore the skin of one as my own, I know not where I heard the tales and yet I know they were from a woodland elf. I was a woodland elf, I remembered that clearly after a while, I had to leave this place. I had no memory of being a woodland elf but yet when I crept into the forest that night I felt as if I had been there before. Of course, I got no closer than a mile to the village before two silent and pale forms dropped from the trees. It was eerie unnatural how they made no more noise than a leaf falling from a tree, it was even stranger how they did not draw attention as they dropped. It was almost as if they were invisible and yet in plane sight, they blended in and drew little to no attention. They were not hostile but rather confused but yet friendly, they kept their weapons out of hand and smiled faintly. They made one mistake though, they attempted to lay hands upon me before they identified themselves as friendly. For this mistake I decided to defend myself, that is when I realised that I had a blade, one that at this time could not be see by them or myself. I made note of the blade, it was very peculiar how it appeared to be a shadow in my hand. I decided to withdraw rather than use this blade, I jumped backwards and into the shadows, it felt natural to just disappear and yet still be able to see those who struggle to search me out. The pale elves searched desperately for me but to no avail. Both appeared to be quite agile and strong yet one appeared to favor a bow while the other a sword at his side. There clothing was that of a ranger, simple and a dark green were there cloaks, their hair a gold finer than that of woven silk. I knew the pale one with the bow would be a problem so I set him as my target. I darted silently from tree to tree above their heads and attempted to predict the paths he would take. I easily rested my small frame into position and waited for him, his fate was sealed. I dropped, time slowed and the world became very loud, I could hear all. I could hear his heartbeat like a small drum slowly beating away, baaaaaah dum, baaaaah dum, baaaah dum. His footsteps echoed in my ears like a hammer on wood but they were as whispers compared to the crickets. The sound of his breath was in my ears, rising and falling like the sound of a saw cutting through wood. The cold night wind licked my face and whispered past my ears as I plummeted upon my prey. The cacophony rose and then the world went silent, everything was calm and peaceful upon the moment I readied my strike, time and sound each respectfully stopped as my blade fell upon the nape of his neck. It got but a hair's width from piercing his skin and severing his spine when I heard a "NO" and the blade shot away from his neck. The elf turned as I landed behind him, it appeared that he too had exceptional hearing. I knew now that I could not use my blade so I darted at him and punched him in the gut. He had no time to react for I was far quicker than him, he silently gasped in pain and doubled over, I took this opportunity to bring my knee up and into his forehead. I now knew the extent of my speed, my knee was a black streak that arced into his face with absolute silence save the crunching of his nose as leaves do under foot in fall. Time froze once again as my first victim began to fall to the ground, I knew the second elf was only about 12 yards behind me, I could feel his gaze upon me. The cacophony rose once again as I darted forward like a serpent and snatched an arrow from the elf just as his limp form struck the ground. I could hear the footsteps of the sword wielding elf behind me drawing closer, his speed was only a little less than mine. He was much quieter as well, I could only hear his breath as he drew closer to me but it was not as saw, it sounded like two rocks rubbing together. I then pivoted and dropped to my hands and knees on the ground, not a moment too soon, I saw a blade come flashing out of a sheath and over my my head, a silent streak a silver light cutting the night air. This elf was far superior in all respects to the one that lay in a heap behind me, his speed was not something to ignore. Despite this advantage I could see it in his pearly blue eyes, terror, this seemed to be an unnatural sight to behold, elves do not show fear. Time stopped again, once again the world went silent, I saw the blade before it even began to swing this time. The silver streak that was the sword hurt my eyes, the light of the moon reflected off of it and left and trail behind it as it swung. That is when I found what it was that terrified him, as I dodged the blade and it passed by my head I saw the wraith that was haunting the poor elf in the reflection of the silver blade. It's form was invisible in the endless and ensnaring darkness around him, nothing of the creature could be seen but its two eyes. The left eye was a bright blue that shone faintly in the dark like a sapphire ghost, the eye was that of a hunter preparing to cut the throat of his prey. This eye was not what frightened the poor elf, the right eye was what terrified him, the eye was something unnatural, even more so than the left. It was black but not the same as the forest around it, the eye was darker than pitch black, darker than absence of light. This darkness sapped the courage and the spirit out of the elf and brought him to the brink of insanity, this darkness was the darkness of death. It ate and destroyed light, this darkness could eat the sun, the moon, and the stars and that it did. Darkness fell as the moon's light was extinguished and even the ghostly-blue light of the left eye was eaten by the anomaly. Absolute darkness, the elf could no longer make out out the form of his assailant, the woods he knew had disappeared as it had been eaten by the abyss. The pale elf became many shades paler as he jumped back with a shriek that too was muffled in the unbroken darkness. It was clear that he was no longer able to see anything, the elf lashed out blindly at the darkness with rapid strikes that cut nothing other than air. That is when I noticed, my blade was back in hand, it had returned. This is when I hear the voice again,

Istolla: "What is thy plan, Barra?"

I know not how but I knew at that time that the blade was the source of this voice, be it that it was heard only in my head. The darkness surprised me in no way nor did the fact that I was hearing voices in my head, my lack of surprise was what surprised me. I knew what could and could not be done, I knew that I could not use the blade to kill the elf, the voice would not allow me. I still had the arrow in my left hand, it had a dark shaft made from wood with three rose red feathers and an arrow head upon opposite ends. The arrow head looked sharper than even the blade which swung above my head only minutes ago, this would go through the elf before he even knew that it had pierced his flesh. It would be so easy to slip underneath the desperate flailing blade and shove the arrow into his heart. I could picture it as it pierced first the green cloak, and then within an instant the very same material, but on the opposite side of the elf.

Istolla: "Are thou sure that thy will is to kill the elf?"

This stopped me, Istolla stopped me, for what reason why was I after blood? They had only tried to grab me at first, was this justification to kill the both of them? Upon the moment that this passed through my mind the darkness around the elf solemnly yet quickly gave passage to the light of the moon and stars. The abyss receded from whence it came and the world returned to its natural state.

Istolla: " Thy hand is eager to kill, you must hold it back."

This is the point where I understood my right eye was not only mine but hers, she could see all that I saw and hear my every thought. I had planned to destroy the physical form of the elf but it appeared that I had broken his mind instead. He was sitting there hugging his sword as a mother would her child if she had not seen him in years, his eyes told us that he was scared of us as a mouse would be of a roaring lion. We decide to drop the arrow and walk to the unconscious elf behind us, we took care to watch the second elf as we did this though. It was clear that he had great honor and courage when he noticed that we meant to move toward his ally, this manifested by a slight twitch and concern for his fallen friend. This courage however was overwhelmed by the absolute terror, he fell back into place. We then made slow and deliberate motions when bandaging the head of the first elf as not to scare the second, no reaction.

Istolla: "I think it best to wait here and ensure that this elf is tended to by his own kind"

We waited for fifteen minutes, a dozen more elves dropped from the trees but this did not surprise us, we saw them coming 5 minutes before they arrived. They understood two things, I am a monster but I have tended to the wounds of my victim. They quickly picked up the first and second elf and warily made a circle around me. I could see that if I was an elf or anything lower then I would surely die at the point of their swords. Instead of fearing the elves I looked into their eyes and saw that they feared me even more so than I them.. I surrendered but kept my blade, one who looked to be a leader and stepped forward started speaking.

Darresial: " I am Darresial, Guardian of this forest and servant of the Queen, I wish to know thy name and why thou hast attacked my men."

Barra: "They made to seize me."

Darresial knew I was dangerous but I also saw something else in his eyes, something that looked like concern, shock, and grief. He requested that I spend the night outside the village and wait to morning, we knew that this was the best offer that would come from these men so it was accepted. I learned that I could sit and rest for four hours, this rest was disturbed by the light of the sun as it broke over the horizon. The blood red orb rose over the stretching horizon and the light touched the leaves of the whispering leaves upon the trees around me. This created shadows, these shadows were where I retreated instinctively as the cruel yet beautiful beast peaked above the mountains in the distance. Darresial, walked over to me slowly and looked at me calmly yet earnestly, something told me he knew something. By his side was an elf of greater age but much smaller stature, she looked as if she was in no way surprised by my appearance, in fact, she looked scared and happy at the same time. She looked at Darresial and he then looked at me, paused, drew a deep breath and spoke.

Darresial: "You cannot reside here for long Umbra Habitator, we must ask you to leave but we will escort you to a home. The war tearing our world apart, we see a great power in you but you must be trained."

(end of Part I)

Barra Story (Part II)

As a thousand bones breaking and a score of snakes hissing do the fires about us crackle and hiss in the darkness of the night. The chaotic popping is accompanied with the aimless and yet vicious dance of flames, they flail about our body as an ever shifting wall. The elves have nine such fires entrapping us, they trust us not. We travel only by day for then are we weakened and plagued by the beautiful yet brutal light. They are wary and watchful, we must at all times have a guard with attention bonded to our very being. There are four of them total, two old faces and two new, each distrusts us but none more so than the one with the sword. He has changed from when we first saw him and when we last saw him, this change is evident by how his kin act in his presence. The face of pride has not yet returned yet the complexion of abject terror is not adorning his features any longer. As it is neither of these it is also nothing in betwixt the two, he is consumed by something of a different breed. He is quick to be startled and not calm of nature, his men are distracted by his skittish state. He refuses to remove himself from the fires at night, it is as if he is a moth flitting from one to the next yet at all times watching us. Always watching he is, he will relieve the guard assigned to us but only half an hour into the watch, we fear that this half hour is the time in which he sleeps. He watches us as one would a ghost that threatens to vanish as a vapor in the air. The affair of moving about is not quite as we would wish it to be, our hands are bound behind our back and our body is covered in sackcloth, light hurts us and we feel it through the filthy bag they put on us. A noise, a whisper of a whisper,

Barra: "Kaane, count your men."

Our voice had we not used for a long time, a span of time as long as this journey and longer yet. The elf looked at us, we stared back at him in solemn silence that was severed only by the song of his blade leaving it's sheath.

Kaane: " how do you know my name?!"

We could see the confusion in his eyes clearly as we could see the wall of flames about us, the light's wicked tongues licked the night air about his form. Another whisper, this one but only a little louder than the first, but unlike the last it was accompanied by a soft "thip."

Barra: "count your men."

We could see the muscles in his neck strain and tighten like thick ropes being pulled taught, his eyes bulged with rage. The knuckles of his blade hand turned white as he walked through the fire to us, his rage overpowered his fear. A pale lion is as we saw him then, overcome with the desire to kill but with no mind to where he was. Another whisper, this time far louder and with a "thip" and seconds later the sound of what only could have been described as a bag of potatoes hitting the ground.

Barra: "We count three dead and one standing, you are the one."

We could see the anger in his eyes as he prepared to bring the blade down upon our neck, he loomed over us as a lion perched upon a rock waiting to pounce. This is when we saw the wraith again, revealed for a second time by the reflection of the sword. It sat there, grinning with a maw filled with teeth as white as the moon and as sharp as spears. The cheshire grin stretched wide and violently contrasted with the charcoal black skin of the creature. Two sapphire blue eyes glowed with a ghostly light. The little monster melted into the shadows and was only bound in sight by the flames that cast their light in a desperate attempt to keep the creature from disappearing. Then the little monster spoke, its eyes gleaming with a sick joy as it told what it knew to the elf.

Barra: "We can feel our kin, the blood in our veins calls them to us and us to them, we can feel them. You do not know what has happened for you have ignored everything around you, I name you a fool Kaane."

Kaane: " Speak you little beast, tell me what it is that you know."

Barra: "They are playing a game, have you not heard anything?"

Kaane: "Speak plainly!"

Barra: "It is a fun game, we like it and have been watching them play it, have you truly not noticed yet?"

Kaane: "No, I have no time for your silly game, what did you say about my men!?"

Barra: " It is a simple game, find the perimeter guard and cast a spell upon him which binds his tongue and renders him unable to speak. He will be bound by his honor and his fear to run to his brethren and warn them that the camp is under attack. When the mute guard is but yards away from his brethren, "thip," he is felled with an arrow. The cycle is repeated once again, the guard that is now alerted to an attack by watching his brethren die is bound with a spell to hold his tongue and he does as the first, this goes on until the commander receives the message, until you receive the message."

The little monster giggled in the reflection of the silver sword, Kaane however did not pay any mind to this. We could see upon his face the anguish and fear that overpowered him, he knew now what had befallen his men. The lion hesitantly withdrew his sword and turned about to look upon the perimeter of the ring of fire. Kaane now saw what the little monster spoke of, there lying face down was the figure of an elf with the fletching of a black shaft protruding from his back, the feathers red as the petals of a rose .

Kaane: "They….my men? They are all dead? We are under attack?"

Moment's after the fool realised this, out from the darkness emerged a dozen dark figures, each tall, slender, black of skin, and with glowing red as ruby eyes. They all grinned with maws filled with razor sharp white fangs, they had begun their game.

Drow: " Three dead and one standing, how do we play with our last toy?"

Kaane: "What do you want with us?"

The flames danced upon the faces of the Drow, the light licked at their skin and it was clear that it caused them pain. However, this pain was ignored, the black wolves glared at their prey hungrily and the pain meant naught to them. They stood silently but the one who had spoken,

Drow, "You matter not to us, what does a superior being care of a vile specimen. We wish to claim our own and you are merely an insect. One step and you shall no longer be, your guts will we spill tonight."

Terror filled the pale elf, he knew he was trapped but yet he stood his ground, we thought this to be very brave of such a pathetic creature. We could see his eyes darting betwixt us and them as rapidly and with much fear as the feeble creature that he is. He knew he would die if he set foot outside the dancing ring of fire, this terrified him, but we saw that he was even more afraid of being trapped in here with us.

Drow, "Now the game shall begin."

The drow lifted his hand into the air and let it fall, a great wind blew as a thousand horses charging and the fires were no more. The wolves pounced, we saw a dozen pairs of red eyes streak through the night like red comets toward the pale elf. He raised his sword to strike and time froze, for the last time we saw the wraith, we saw us.

Istolla: "Barra!"

I had seen it the entire time, the monster I saw in the reflection of the blade was me. As I realised this the glow of the creatures eyes faded and the right eye became black.

Istolla: "Thou must not let they Drowish blood consume thee."

I saw now the very same figure in the reflection of the blade but it was that of a different creature at the same time, a charcoal black wraith sat upon the ground but not the very same as afore. This wraith did not have the grin of a ravenous and gleeful beast, it had the set figure of a warrior determined to weather the battle ahead. The left eye glowed once again as a pale sapphire ghost and the right was taken over by Istolla, it had become darker than the darkest of nights. The wraith in the reflection grew very still and then it disappeared.

(End part II)

(Part III)

I shot through the air like a black arrow loosed from a bow setting my target upon the nearest drow, Istolla set her target on his heart. This surprised the assailants, so much so that they withdrew a couple paces from the pale elf and I.

Drow: "Why do you kill your kin?"

Instead of answering I permitted Istolla to instill her power upon the world through my eye, the abyss started to manifest. The pale elf fainted for his fear of this abyss was far too great for his mind to overcome. The moon was swallowed and the stars extinguished, the light of the ruby red eyes of the drow flickered and then were devoured. The darkness enveloped the dark fey, the abyss had captured her prey. The once hungry wolves now were as blind sheep darting about in a futile attempt to find a way out, now and then one would run into the other and lash out in fear. I could have left them as they were and they would have killed each other without being any the wiser. However, I decided I could not risk allowing them to live for the pale elf was also in this trap. I walked slowly over to and behind another drow, like a viper my arm jabbed Istolla into the nape of his neck severing his spine. I did this thrice more to those who moved slowly and cautiously, that left me with 4 dead and 8 to go. The next one decided to swing his sword about him like a crazed oxen thrashes it's body, I knew that I could not approach him thus I decided to use him. I took a stone and threw it at the back of his head, he charged in my direction with his blade whistling through the air. The drow lunged past me as I dodged and the blade made contact with a wet crunch as it tore the jaw off of the drow behind me. Using this momentary lapse in the fury of strikes, I took Istolla and pierced her through the drow's back and into his heart. I then quickly severed the spine of the jawless drow as to alleviate his pain, I decided to kill no more than these 6 unless absolutely necessary. This left me now with 5 drow and their leader, I knew I could knock the 5 unconscious with Stella's hilt and that I did, they fell one by one as sacks of flour over the span of 3 minutes. That left the officer as the only drow standing, the only drow who had not moved from where he was standing since the abyss manifested, this one was peculiar.

Istolla: " be wary of him"

This is the Alpha male of the pack, his powerful presence permeated from every point of his poisonous being. He stood a full foot taller than his dark fey brethren and appeared to possess a greater strength. His face is calm, one could have sworn that he had sailed the sea of the situation many times afor. His eyes are closed and his stance is of one who is basking in the luxurious light of the sun. I grabbed a sword from a fallen drow and paced about the dark wolf, I kept my distance for I knew he was searching the darkness but I know not how. I decided to test him, I positioned myself 5 yards behind him and threw the blade in hand at him. The blade traversed the distance as a beam of steel lightning, it made not a noise as it flashed through the air. The drow twisted upon his planted right leg and turned 180°, within this motion he threw his right arm out and caught the blade as it past the position where his heart would have been. He then shot through the night as a black streak of lightning, twice as fast as the blade. I had but only dodged to the left afore the steel flashed in a downward arc where I once stood. The black wolf could not see yet he knew which way I dodged, the downward arc became a horizontal streak toward my gut. I brought Istolla up to defend myself, I thought this would be the end, my skill with the blade was minimal and I knew I could neither block or dodge the steel streak. Within the instant I realised this Istolla's form changed, she became a rectangular black shield with two wolf fang blades at the front. I blocked the attack and shot away from the black wolf, he made no attempt to follow.

Istolla: "Thou must retreat and find other means to fight."

I now only held her shield form in my right hand, I knew there was no way I could attack with her in this form.

Istolla: "Kaane's sword, grab it and we shall use it."

I saw Kaane's form lying in the center of the field, I darted to him and grabbed the sword. As soon as I had the sword I whirled around, the black wolf somehow had caught my scent, he shot through the night once more. This time I did not make way to evade the oncoming attack, I ran to meet it, the duel lasted but only a few seconds. The drow brought his sword down once more in a streak of black steel, I blocked this with Istolla. The drow was an expert fighter yet he is in my realm, the abyss, I can see and he cannot. He never had a chance at knowing that as his blade met with a loud crash with my shield, the blade in my left hand was arcing toward his neck. The shoulders of the dark wolf no longer held the burden of his dark head, it fell upon the ground with a dull thud.

(End part III)

(Part IV)

I sat next to the Kaane in the shadow of an elm tree as he awoke the next day, the sun hurt too much for us to stay in the middle of the field. After the battle had ended the abyss had receded, I sat and watch as the sun arose. I watched the drow that were yet alive wake as the sun bit their dark skin, they each woke and looked about them. It did not take long for them to realise that their leader was no longer able to lead, they bolted into the shadows and off into the east. Kaane panicked as he awoke, he knew not that I had defended him and thought me still to be an ally to the drow. He looked about him and grabbed his blade, I left it by his side for it was not mine to keep. Kaane bolted from the tree and out into the light, he knew I was weak there. I sat and watched him as he pointed his blade at me, he meant to defend himself and kill me, one or both.

Kaane: "My men, you killed them… you monster!"

I looked into his eyes and he stared back into mine, that is when he realised that the wraith that plagued him that night was different than the one before him. He looked off into the field hesitantly and saw the corpses of the enemies lying about.

Kaane: "You...killed the drow...but you are one of those filthy monsters! Why!?"

Barra: "They too are my enemies."

Kaane took a considerable time of pacing about the forest before he could formulate any coherent thoughts, this was to be expected. He decided to bury the dead, elf and drow, although the dark fey were not granted their own graves. Kaane was clearly an emotional mess, two of his men and what could only be described as a brother had fallen before him, each died in agony knowing that they could warn not their brethren of their approaching doom. Kaane, walked stiffly and silently beside me to the orphanage, no sooner had I reached the threshold and the broken elf wandered off from whence he came, I saw him no more after that.

(End part IV)