There was the sound of fluttering wings.
Small and delicate it was, but it was still there.
It was a sound that this particular field had not heard in many years, so desolate and corrupted it had been.
But the war was over now, and the plague that had ravaged the land so badly was now receeding back into the depths of the earth from which it came. An evil born of shadows and dark magic it was, born under the name of Sauron.
And oh, what terror it had brought with it.
He was once born a man, but he had been fouled by evil so badly that he had turned from human into something much darker. The chaos and corruption that he had poured onto the middle earth was so astounding, a war that would forever lie heavy in the pages of history- and in the memories of those who had survived.
But that was then. Now the land was starting to forgive the mistreatment, the wild flowers blooming beautifully where the corpses of the deceased slept eternally. A new era was ready to take the place of the old one, and it showed with every passing day.
The tree's gave fruit with ease and the animals seemed to flourish, now that they werent wrought with disease and malnutrition.
And...
And...
The butterflies had returned. Their beautiful, delicate forms brought with them vibrancy to the land once more. Though small in number now, there had once been a time when the skies danced with their wonderful patterns, as if coming alive itself. It truly was a bewitching sight that few had been privy to.
Eyes the color of gold watched the beautiful little insects for a few more moments with a look of ease. It was rare for Vonic to feel so relaxed, and she certainly wasn't used to the feeling.
... and yet it was too pleasing a feeling to let go so suddenly. Especially with all the stress from war and death that still seemed to linger in her soul. It was hard to let it go when it was all she had known in her life.
A gentle sigh left her pale lips, to linger with the spring breeze. Golden eyes grew heavy, and Vonic found that she could no longer keep them open.
the sun was too bright today...
or at least thats what she told herself.
The truth was, she was tired and had not slept in weeks. She was a Narren, and Narren did not need the sleep that humans did to function.
three weeks though...
It was still a long time for any creature to go without it.
Her eyes slid shut, the itchy feeling of sand in them began to lessen. finally. she hated that feeling.
But she had, had to endure. Being grounded as she was, she had no way of deffending herself if something attacked her. The long shafted arrow that pierced her right wing near the joint at her shoulder throbbed as a painful reminder to her blight, and she winced. It had been just a few days from the current, when she had met with a band of orcs that were on the run. She had been crouching near the river collecting water for her journey home when they had come out from behind a large boulder near the bend in the river. Screeching and howling, the terrible creatures were fast on there feet, and even faster with their clawed hands.
she had killed more than half of the small band before the arrow had made its mark- the little monstrosity was ducked low in the tall grass, and with all of the shouting from the others she had not been able to catch his movement in time.
The white handmakr painted on his face, the mark of its master, crinkled with its leering glee before she had quickly decapitated it.
a growl rose up in vonic's chest and she grumbled a small curse.
"God damn heathens!" her melodic voice lacked the strength of the conviction.
and vonic layed there on her side, continuing to watch the field and its colorful inhabitants, until the blackness of sleep wraped her vision up in its embrace once more.
Vonic's long silvery lashes fluttered against her cheek, her golden eyes were sore from the brief amount of sleep she had gotten. After a while of convincing herself that she indeed had to open her eyes in order to get back to business, golden eyes finally peeked open to a pale heaven.
her chest heaved with a deep gasp, her eyes widdening to the scene laid out before her.
'am i back in Val Morra?'
her confusion only lasted a moment as she stared out at the silver wonderland before her.
'no... im in middle earth'
it was night now and well into it; the large full moon painted the land in a glorious pale light that seemed to sparkle.
vonic still had not moved from her fetal position on her grassy bed, opting to gape at her surroundings for the moment.
'middle earth has never looked so beautiful'
since the time of her fall she had not seen a moment of peace on this rugged rock- though she had always heard the wind whispering through the tree's of times where smoke had not clogged the air and blood did not cover the soil.
for a while she did not believe it, like a fairytell in her living nightmare, it was too good to be true.
but the moon was showing it all to her now, its shadowed beauty was free once more and it brought tears of hope to her eyes. hope that she was not forbidden to a life of brutish violence and black skies.
Vonic stayed laying on the ground, absolutely mezmorized by the sudden appearance of the wonderland, she chose to ignore the ache that her pierced shoulder and wing were emitting for the time being- she was happy. Everything was ok in this moment; silent and pure of all that the war had brought forth.
Vonic closed her eyes one more and smiled.
Yes.
There was hope, still, left in this Earth.
'and i will find it'
The arrow that had once been lodged in the delicate limbs was now laying, thrown, a few yards away from where she now sat. Vonic gave the arrow a menacing look, as if she could make the inanimate object feel her spiteful wrath. Alas, it sat in a puddle of her blood and the sight of it became too much for her wounded pride... and body.
"damn creatures of the darkness! rotten god damn-" her venting was cut short by the sounds of branches being moved and stepped on, the crackling of dead leaves.
She took immediate action, hurtling herself over the boulder to her right, she now crouched low and steadied her breathing. The sound of movement stilled with her sudden movements- she had been seen. Vonic took on a feral look, her stance changing to one of a challenger. Adrenalin pumped through her veins at the prospect of a kill causing her pupils to dialate, the golden orbs becoming black. Her pointed ears zeroed in on anything that sounded remotely threatening.
'i am ready for you!' her inner banshee screamed.
and she waited crouched to the ground like that, for anything to happen; more orcs to come barreling out of the tree line. Only the sound of a light breeze rustling through the leaves came though- not even a bird to chirp or a frog to croak yet, the land was still healing.
Vonics delicate eyebrows drew together and her lips turned up into a snarl.
'why had the prey not come for me yet?'
She tilted her head back a bit and took a good whif of her surroundings, trying to find a hint of something to give her a lead on what was about to attack her. The earthy smell of soil greeted her senses and she welcomed the homely feeling that rushed through her body along with it. A couple of the wild flowers near by gave off a sour sort of scent that quickly turned sweet, almost like an after taste. Vonic had come to like these flowers, with their tiny yellow petals and delicate little thorns. They reminded her of the ones that grew back in Val Morra during the solctice. The grass smelt cool and green, exactly how it felt against her bare feet.
But other than that, nothing was out of sort.
Not even an animal near by...
Vonic deflated with a loud sigh, slouching down into a sitting position and ran a nervous hand through her already tangled and messy hair.
"just the wind?" she was so uncertain and jumpy now a days, especially with the war over. She still expected an orc around every corner, or a motley group of men to come meandering into her territory. And besides the last group of orcs that had come a couple days ago, there had been nothing but peace and silence as she did her rounds around 'her territory'. She had no idea if the small patch of forrest and meadow she had come to claim was actually ruled over by another- and she didn't really care if it was either. She had protected it from the evil that had wanted to pillage and burn it, her little chunk of heaven. She did, no other man came to do so when the time had come, and vonic took it for what it was.
'mine'
she claimed it and now protected all the life within it, a job she had begun to cherish. Vonic enjoyed watching her small plot of land blossom with grace- the small group of deer that had started up refuge on her land now resided there permanently. They knew of her existence, and knew that she was not a threat to them or their young. They roamed about freely- though only a small group still, they were truly noble creatures to behold. They stood tall and proud, the males much larger then the females had whinding, twisting antlers that served as a crown to their species. Vonic enjoyed observing them from the tops of the tree's and though the majestic creatures could not see her, she knew that they knew she was there among them.
a smile curved on her lips, and she layed back against the grass once more.
"i wouldn't trade this place for the world."
