Disclaimer: I own nothing of J.R.R. Tolkien's brilliant plot, fantasy world, and characters. I only own my new characters, which will be introduced throughout the story.
Author: born to be hanged a.k.a. Meltintalle
Title: Poisoned Turquoise
Rating: PG-13 (an R chapter is possible; there will be a warning)
Genre(s): Action/Adventure/Drama/Romance
Compact Summary: Aressëa is captured by orcs and blinded by a poison, which causes her eyes to turn an unnatural turquoise. This is the story of an Elf who tries to find her true colors in a world of only darkness. Will she succeed in finding her starry night whilst in the midst of a moonless darkness?
Author's Note:
indicates an author's note at the end of the text
italicized text indicates a character's thoughts
A special thanks to my beta, Miranda (a.k.a. Lailonniel22)
Prologue
Voices surrounded her, never dying, never ceasing. Their harsh, guttural tongue sounded throughout the night, until she thought the sound would embed itself so deeply into her mind that she would never be able to remove it. Their taunting and jeering never ceased, and even though she could not understand their raucous words, the manner of the speech was unmistakable. The rasping words lashed through the air around her like the snap of a serpent's fangs. They were constantly cutting her deeply, harvesting feelings of bitterness, resentment, and hurt so powerful that they lay upon her skin for all to see.
When the sound had first assaulted her ears, she had given into anger and annoyance. But as time progressed, she came to realize that they were merely insults, lowly accusations that she knew were not and would never come true, even if she could not fathom what their words meant. She quickly withdrew from all emotion, promising herself that she would never allow them to see their effects on her face. It became an ordeal of the mind, one which she accepted quickly, vowing never to allow them the pleasure of the sight of her broken thoughts and emotions.
But this ordeal of the mind quickly became an test of the hroa, soon to develop into an trial of her very faer. Endurance soon became her only means of survival. It became the only ray of hope that she saw through the murky atmosphere. It was the one thing that allowed her to see the possibility of escape.
She held the endurance close to her like a prized possession, and it helped her to feed on courage and strength from other sources that the orcs would not tolerate nor understand had they known of them. She used this strength to shield at least a part of her pride, something that the vile creatures would have soon taken had she not protected it.
They constantly hounded her steps, pushing her towards purposes she could never understand. Evil sounds always surrounded her always, keeping her mind in constant turmoil and blocking out memories of a time of silence and peace. Memories of foliage and bright colors faded from her mind along with those of clean water to drink and the taste of luscious fruits and sweet nectars. Fond remembrances of loved ones and the sounds of their voices were ripped from her. Her mind was stripped almost completely clear. The only memories remaining were those of a dark ruthless world covered in dust and grime. The light of hope and love that had once been her strength soon waned, leaving her in nothing but darkness.
Night fell and they came for her once again. She was held down, and her hands were bound tightly with a coarse rope. They forced her face towards the light of the fire that she could barely see. A malicious smile met her eyes for only a moment before her face was roughly turned towards the pile of arrows and blades, the weapons that were ever ready to by dipped into a jug of poison that was black enough to match even the dark souls of the orcs. Her body was dragged over the rough dirt and rocks, tearing her dress and cutting her bare calves and feet.
The malevolent grin faced her once again, and in its owner's black hand was a large, metal ladle. The ladle was dipped into the toxin, and slowly extracted. The back of her scalp burned where she was being held brusquely by her hair. Air seemed slight now, and her deep gasps did not provide her body with enough air to sustain her need. Her lungs began to burn from fright, and the hand at the back of her skull shook her once.
A moment later, the burning in her lungs was no longer her greatest trouble. Her eyes and face were on fire, and her screams were heard high above the noise of the orcs into the night. Her hands writhed behind her back as the toxin slowly worked its way into her eyes, changing the color of the irises from a dark brown to a clear turquoise. The scars around her eyes and face would heal in time because of the Elven blood that ran through her veins, but the turquoise color of her irises would serve as a constant reminder to her and to all who knew the tale.
For the few moments before she collapsed, she could see a bright light from the sky, and she struggled to decipher what it was. Her vision was becoming hazy, and all colors were blending together. The entire world was becoming shadowy and obscure; all except for the bright light that looked like a vast star far above her. She looked down from the sky; the light was becoming dimmer as she took a few deep breaths.
There was laughter from above where she lay on the dusty ground. Anger coursed though her veins; never before had she wanted to hurt another being so badly. But her sense of hearing was dying also, though much slower than her sight. She tilted her head up, letting her chin rest on the rocky terrain, to see the face of the one who laughed at her torment. Though fading eyes, Aressëa looked up and saw the last of the moon's light shine upon the malevolent sneer of the creature of darkness before all light was diminished.
Author's Note: Any and all feedback will be greatly appreciated!
Hroa is the Elven body
Faer is the Elven spirit. It is also called Fea
