Disclaimer: I do not own Hellboy or it characters. I only own Vahn, who I created. I make no money off of this story and I have no intention of ever doing so.
In a time of peace before a great war between human kind and the immortals, there was one which would hunt in the darkness. A woman of grace and mystery who's only wish was to be left to the quiet. She was the one who was hunted most, the assassin of all. She did not choose between her elvish kind and the humans, she only wished to be free from the trivial battles in which they tried to call her for. Though when her kind needed her most, she fought with all her strength, until she breathed her very last breath, which never came.
The elf was an image of beauty, a beauty which was valued greatly amongst the lower class that she was born into. She was trained by those who knew anything of battle, no matter how insignificant. From the old men on the streets to the women who desperately worked for their families lives. Soon, she was greater than those in the army of which her king commanded, but she did not let herself be captured by the ideas of glory that many soldiers put into her head at her young age. No, she ran. She ran far away and lived in the forests, where even her people didn't dare go.
She became the legend. A legend of a phantom who rescued many creatures all around from dangers in which they could never defeat. Some say that she died and that her soul lived on in the forests. Some even went as far as to say that the forests were dangerous now, because she would walk them, waiting for a weak creature to pass into her territory. Thus, how the monstrous stories of the dark forests began. Children didn't play in the forests anymore, women didn't tend to their wild gardens and men constantly crossed the edge, just to see if one of them was the one who would finally be able to slay the evil that the woman elf had turned into.
This is why, to this very day, children are afraid of the forests and the darkness inside them.
A woman walked around trees. along a thin, barely there pathway, cautiously. There was always someone hunting her, and the darkness of the forest, and the continuous fog did not help her sight very much. Her sword was drawn and resting in her hand, ready for battle if need be. Dressed in ragged, graying pants and a long, torn, and dirty white tunic her bare feet stepped lightly on the ground, avoiding twigs and leaves that had fallen from the trees. The boots she had worn at the beginning of her living in the forest had long since been shredded from the hard labor that they had been put through.
She heard a twig snap to her right and she inhaled sharply, spinning around, raising her sword up in the defensive position, in front of her face. Seeing no one she moved her eyes, scanning back and forth before she stepped in the direction of the sound, lowering her sword only slightly.
After a moment her pointed ears twitched as she heard hysterical breathing coming from up ahead. Quickly, she hid behind a tree. Moving closer to the mysterious sound. She peaked around the tree, careful not to make a noise. A large ogre was stalking up to an elf woman around her own age.
"Help!" the elf woman cried, though her quiet voice did not reach very far, no one was the village near by would have heard her. "Help!"
Making a decision she moved out from her hiding spot behind the tree and ran in front of the woman, her sword raised in an offensive position in her left hand, at shoulder height. As the ogre raised it large fist high into the air, preparing for a strike, she leapt off the ground. She spun once, her arms swinging out and around her body, before she landed on the ground in a kneeling position, leaning on her sword for added balance.
Tilting her head up, she watched the large creature through her hair as it stood still for a moment, its eyes searching for what had been done. Suddenly the ogre's eyes widened before it fell to the ground, his head cut clean off his shoulders.
Standing up, she wiped the small amount of blood that was still on her sword on her tunic. She turned around and looked at the woman that she had just protected. Her ankle was twisted, but it would heal. As she looked at the elf woman's face her eyes widened and she instantly sheathed her sword in the worn brown leather sheath on her hip.
"Royalty." She whispered, taking a step back as the fear began to slowly disappear from the woman's eyes.
A moment later she was snapped out of her staring by the sound of someone running towards the clearing. By the sound of the steps, the person had a limp, but they were still able to move faster than most men.
"Nuala!" A male's voice called through the forest.
"Brother!" The woman on the ground in front of her called back and the steps sped up quickly. Knowing that this could only end up with her being accused wrongfully, she ran away as fast as she could.
Nuada sprinted up to his sister, wincing as he ignored his hurt ankle. Entering the clearing he slid to a stop, falling to one knee in front of his sister while his hurt leg was kept straight.
Quickly looking over his sister he crawled over to her and checked her ankle. He was stronger then his sister so he could put pressure on the injured limb, but she on the other hand would not be able to handle the pain all that well.
"Who has done this to you?" Nuada said looking up from his twin's ankle.
Nuala pointed over her brother's shoulder and said, "The ogre was going to attack me and I got caught in the tree roots. Then an elf woman appeared -"
"An elf woman?" Nuada said looking away from the dead ogre, his hand instantly going for the hilt of the sword at his side, "Did she hurt you?"
Nuala shook her head knowing her brother needed the reassurance even though he would be hurt also if she had been hurt anymore than she had been, "No she saved me. She moved like you brother, like the soldiers."
Nuada ignored the pain in his ankle as he stood with his sister in his arms. A frown appeared over his face at the mention of the skill the elf woman had had. No one, other than his father, moved like him. Not even the highest ranking soldiers. The only other elf who could do so was the forest phantom, the dark one, and even that was only a rumor.
"You are not to go into the forest again, with or without a guard." Nuada ordered sternly.
"Nuada! I'm not a child! I do not take orders from you -"
"You will do as I say or I will tell father that you went into the forest today without telling anyone." Nuada said, "You know how much he fears the power of the Dark One, rumor or not."
"If that elf was the Dark One, then I do not see how the name fits. She was more afraid of me than she was that ogre. When she heard you call for me she ran. The poor elf has probably had to kill her own friends and family to survive the attacks on her in the forest." Nuala protested sternly.
Seeing the few people around look at them with shock as they exited the forest, Nuada hissed into his twin's ear, "Be quiet. You know how the village people fear the evil in the forest."
Years later, deep in the forest, an elfish woman sat on the trunk of a fallen dead tree. Small woodland animals were running around her, paying her no mind as they went on with their daily routines. A large troll walked over to her, his steps shaking the earth under his large hoofed feet.
"Dark Lady," The troll said, bowing slightly, "The Elven king has sent a messenger for you."
She shifted in her spot, her head tilting up to look at the troll. Her once bright violet eyes had turned almost white with film from living in the shadows of the forest for so long. Her hair was wild, yet tame all at once, giving her the look of a goddess trapped in a mortal body. She had a horizontal scar across her right cheek, over her nose, and half way through her left cheek. The same scar, only shorter, that the elven royalty bore on their faces. Her skin was pale, even for an elf, from the lack of sun in the forest, but it didn't matter, her appearance was not important, only her will to survive.
Standing up, the readjusted her tight, black corset over her matching tunic. She didn't need to have her clothing getting in her way when she fought. Her tunic itself was long, touching the ground in the back, while the front was cut so it started in the middle at the highest point at her hips then angled down so it gradually got longer until it reached the floor of the forest. Her black pants where of the same style that most warrior elves wore; loose, but still tight to her legs.
"Why are they calling?" The Dark Lady asked.
"I do not know m'lady, they would only tell you. I have sent Mikiya in your place, she should return soon with information." The troll replied.
"No need, I will go myself." She said with a light smirk on her face, "It is rare after all that the royal blood line of the elves would come calling for the Dark One."
The troll laughed deeply as the Dark Lady attached her blade that extended into a spear, with a blade a both ends, to her side, careful not to trigger its lengthening. As soon as the troll stopped laughing, she was gone, disappearing into a sprint.
Nuala stood in the forest, with quite a few yards separating her from the safety at its edge. Three guards were on all sides of her, protecting her from anything that could potentially attack her. She could feel her brother watching over her from their link, ready to come running to her rescue if something went wrong.
Many moments after they had sent the troll with their message, they heard footsteps fast approaching and the guards around her tensed. A woman stepped into the small clearing and Nuala's excitement instantly dropped. She had been hoping to see the woman who had saved her many years ago, but she had been wrong when she assumed that such a kind heart could be the one she called for on this day.
"Why are you calling, royals?" The elf woman spat, a glare in her eyes as she looked each of them over.
This woman had short and spiky black hair, with dark eyes and the white skin of the elves. She wore a short, black tunic that hugged her body and matching trousers. Her feet were bare, and on her hip she carried a regular broadsword.
"Are you the Dark One? The Phantom of the Forests?" Nuala asked softly, clasping her hands together in front of herself.
"I am." The woman nodded.
A laugh came from the edge of the clearing and the guards turned, drawing their weapons and surrounding the princess until their were no spaces left to give an opening.
"Mikiya, its so rude to tell royalty lies." An second elf woman said as she walked into the clearing.
The first, shorter woman gasped and a look of fear appeared on her face, "M'lady. I did not know you were here."
The new elf woman had long, flowing black hair, dark eyes, and extremely pale skin. Her clothes were that of a warrior, but none of them had been ruined by battle. She had most of the mark of royalty across her face, but it wasn't finished, as if she was waiting for the day when she could complete it and be true royalty.
"Who are you!?" One of the guards shouted at the newcomer.
"I am the one you wish to speak with." The elf woman said, raising her hand and gesturing to the other, younger elf woman who was leaving the clearing, "That was Mikiya. She speaks for me when I wish to remain hidden from the world."
"Then," Nuala asked curiously, "Why are you hear now?"
"The interest that King Balor has in me peaks my own interest as to why?" The Elf woman in question answered the princess.
Slowly, Nuala drew into herself and threw up a block from her brother's prying mind. Knowing all the while that she would have hell to pay when she returned home. She knew she had been right in thinking that the Dark One had saved her life. Though she had changed quite a bit over the years, she still had the same look in her eyes, no matter how lifeless they looked.
"My father's interest in you, Dark One, is a grave matter. However I have agreed to give this message to you for my own reasons." Nuala said, stepping out of the ring of protesting guards.
The Dark One tilted her head to the side, showing her interest in the princess's words.
"You saved my life many years ago. I would have been killed by an ogre if it had not been for you. I wish to thank you." Nuala said as she bowed.
The dark elf bit her lower lip before shrugging, "I don't remember." she said casually, "I have never saved anyone from anything, except for Mikiya."
Nuala stood up straight again, a look of confusion on her face. She had been sure that it was the same woman from before.
"Very well," Nuala said, reopening her link to her brother only slightly, already feeling the anger that he was emitting, "My father calls for you, Dark One, on a great matter. Human kind has become filled with even more greed than ever before. They are taking over the villages and destroying our homes. He wishes for you to fight in the upcoming war. He fears that without a warrior like you, our kind will fall."
The Dark One gave a laugh, a smirk plastered on her face, "And why would I accept and join this war. It is of none of my business."
"Because your king demands it of you!" One of the guards cried in outrage.
The dark elf shifted to her other leg and raised her eyebrow at the male elf. Nuala rose her hand to silence the guard before looking back at the Dark One.
"The humans will destroy the forests also. One day, there may be no forests left for us to dwell in." Nuala said, giving her answer to the previous question.
The elf woman looked at her for a moment, considering her words before she spoke again, "You have my sword."