The Fallacies of Vision
Book 1: Mesmerize Me
By: Furia
Chapter 1: One night
~I ain't no damsel in distress~ -Ani DiFranco
It had been dark. And cold. So devastatingly cold.
Her teeth chattered as she wrapped her damp cloak around herself, trying to block out the windy chill. Though it seemed obvious that nothing would ever hold anything of warmth anymore. Noe here she was, tired and worn… scared. A shaky feeling passed through her then, as she felt herself start to choke on her sobs.
~Gandalf, please…wherever you are now…~
To Avarion… Avarion. Yes, that's what he had said a long time ago. Avarion. That was where she was going.
She ran, as her tears fell down her cheeks.
***
The night was as dark as always, midnight blue overhead in a silver streaked sky. As quiet, as ever; that a footfall would sound thunderous.
The darkness, in which some thrived, and in which some others feared and brought to life the most terrible monsters in their own heads. Usually in the form of vengeful spirits come to take the living breath out of you, or gruesome looking —and smelling— ghoulish creatures that burst out from the deepest recesses of the earth.
Funny, the nature of the living: to fear the dead.
But then of course, Middle Earth had its share of beasts, may they be beautiful or hideous, they were always deadly. And when you live in a place where orcs—who fit their description of monster pretty well— loved to hunt at night…
Erdaliel rolled her eyes at that thought, knowing that storytellers had gone overboard with that one. Hmph. Any orc was as expendable as any other monstrosity out there, just one twist of a blade and their black hearts stopped beating.
In the North Eastern edges of the forest once called Mirkwood, everything stood still. No unlikely prey getting lost in the dark thick maze of overgrown trees, bushes and vines… nor predator, stealthily sneaking up on its meal to make the kill. Only the sound of crickets chirping, and a flutter of wings overhead.
And yet here she was, long limbed, and nimbly making her way through the drooping branches, protruding roots and low bushes. The grasses muffled her footsteps, as she carried a satchel slung over her shoulder, looking for something among all the foliage. Though the night was so dark and the green so lush, that one might consider her finding anything in that forest a lost cause.
She stepped into a small clearing, where the trees and bushes encircled a small patch of grass, and stopped. Breathing deeply. The gentle silver glow from the moon overhead filtered through their branches and caught in her short helplessly wavy pale colored hair, fair skin gleaming; a complete contrast against her dark surroundings.
She wore men's clothing, though fit just enough to reveal a woman's body. A belt of leather secured on her waist, where her knife was strapped in its sheath.
Walking over to a few bushes that lined the clearing, she stooped down, and bending her knees, reached out to feel the plant against her fingertips.
Smooth… she sniffed. Fragrant… She sniffed again.
"Kingsfoil." She sighed impatiently, confirming her suspicions. She plucked off a few branches and placed them into her satchel carefully, as to not bruise the leaves.
The wind blew against her, almost a freezing touch. Maybe ghosts were real after all.
Erdaliel shivered.
Gently slinging the bag over her shoulder, she stood up and made her way back, slinging her small sack over her shoulder. Ignoring the sudden feeling of anxiety in such a claustrophobic environment. And a sudden instinct of alarm of too quiet a place. Noise and chaos were loud, and terrible. But at least you knew what was going on.
You could never be too careful in places like this.
It wasn't as though she liked spending her nights in such a place. In fact if it were up to her she'd much rather stay in the village than out here in this… death trap.
She sighed, tucking her short hair behind her pointed ears.
Of all the chores to do, this was the one she looked forward to the least. Her master had run low on supplies this evening so she'd been instructed to gather the usual. Master did a lot of spells nowadays, and he had mentioned before that something was coming up.
Something was coming up alright. She just wanted to get back to the town soon.
Erdaliel went over the list of herbs needed in her head as she walked, to make sure that she had gotten everything. Rue for purification… pennyroyal for strength… marigold for clairvoyance… wormwood to call spirits… sage for protection… myrrh for…what was it again? It slipped her mind. The last of all was kingsfoil. The most powerful of healing plants.
She broke out into a run, her long limbs eating away at the distance. It had been already a while since she left the house of her master and he didn't like being kept waiting too long. She hurried along, boot clad feet making no sound when they touched the soft earth.
Despite herself, she found herself thinking how beautiful these woods looked in the day time. It had been her favorite place to go to when she was much smaller, when she was much more faultless, for there were times when the wood elf in her took control. The trees were strong and good for climbing, the grass soft under her feet. Everywhere the smell of wildflowers and herbs…
That all changed at night it seemed. But that appeared to puzzle her master. He said that in the old years, elves would wander these forests, day or night. There was a sense of adventure then, he would say, a slight twinkle of his teasing showing in his blue eyes. Whenever he did that, she just laughed along. Let him daydream about his old years if he wanted to.
She shook her head with a faint smile. How long had it been since she'd actually thought about those things?
*Thud*
Erdaliel stopped short, fixing the satchel to a better position across her back. It had been falling in her run back. Her fingers were fumbling at the knots when—
*Thud. Thud. Thud.*
~What the—~
*Crunch*
She stiffened, all senses on alert. It wasn't Kain, he had stayed back in the village this time. But she was positive she had heard that sound before. Certainly no forest animal… Through her keen senses Erdaliel picked up a rotten smell wafting from not far at all. A disgusting smell particular to…
*Thud*
Silence.
It was close. And it had stopped, that made things even more dangerous. Without hesitation, her free hand drew her knife and she made sure that the satchel was secured on her body.
Knees bent, arms ready for defense, weapon in hand, senses alert.
*Thud*
The rotten smell grew stronger, and from where she was standing, angry, acid yellow eyes peeked through the dark green.
It was watching her.
***
A/N: Come on, review!