The Dark Phoenix

by Angelus Titanus

After his defeat at the hands of Tyrion and Teclis at the Finuval Plain, Malekith banishes himself into the Realm of Chaos to escape the Flames of Asuryan. Crippled and dying, he is saved by an unknown entity. She returns Malekith to the mortal realm with no memory of his past or identity. Washing ashore in Bretonnia, he is discovered by local humans. Anti-hero Malekith fic

4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: A Noble Quest

Malekith's memories continued to come back about the night he spent in the mountains. He barely seemed aware of his current surroundings as he absentmindedly sat in the middle of Seafield under the watch of multiple knights.

They were staring at him with intensity and cautious curiosity. No doubt their newfound awareness of his magical abilities brought vigilant anxiousness. The elf's eyes were focused on the ground as he completely ignored the chevaliers following Repanse around and gathering up notable villagers. Some of the peasants seemed spooked or almost condemningly angry at Malekith's reappearance in the village.

Others seemed overjoyed that he was literally in chained handcuffs being watched by knights. All were undoubtedly confused to see him in armour, but that likely added to their distrust of him. He could overhear a few speaking further away about him.

"That elf makes me uneasy...why doesn't the Damoiselle de Guerre just kill him?" one of the knights asked another. Due to his superior elven hearing, Malekith could make out their conversation with perfect clarity despite them being nearly fifty feet away.

"I couldn't say...but who are we to question such a legendary paladin and a champion of the lady. We are mere questing knights in the company of the exalted Chevaliers de Lyonesse. I knew this errantry quest would be unlike anything I've ever seen. So far, it's turned out to be strange. Do you think the elf was telling the truth? About the lady speaking to him?" the other knight asked.

The first one scoffed, "That is impossible...I've never known one of these knife-eared knaves to have any chivalry or honesty. They are duplicitious, arrogant, and selfish. He could be here to spy on Bretonnia for all we know. I wouldn't put it past elves to try attacking us in these dire times."

"He surrendered though. The townspeople even say he saved peasants in the fields," the second knight noted.

"Of course he surrendered! Even a smug elf would know better than to fight a company of knights. I don't trust his intentions...did you see what his magic did to that field? There's ice and fire everywhere. This elf should be hanged," the first knight shot back with condescending dismissal.

"Yet judging by the battlefield, he must have killed nearly a hundred beastmen by himself. If he were truly evil, then why would some of the peasants be defending his integrity?" the second knight countered.

The first one laughed, "Ha...you would trust the word of mere peasants to vouch for this elf's integrity? Don't be ridiculous. They don't know anything and can't be trusted to speak truly."

Malekith found their conversation annoying, but eventually managed to tune out the following argument. Thinking deeply, his mind focused harder on the rest of his previous memory.

Malekith's Memory

"Hey, Malekith, wake up!" a voice drew the young elven prince from his weary slumber. He opened his eyes and saw what looked to be Allisara over him.

Still half asleep and absent his typical mental reservations, he groggily embraced her. For some reason, she was extremely close to him. Their faces were almost touching now as the young elf maiden was now lying over his supine body. This had to have been a dream or something. In his trance like state, he thought nothing of indulging in this dream as he cupped her cheek.

"I'm glad you're okay…" he said softly in his dream-like state.

"W-what are you doing, Malekith?!" she protested shyly.

"It's a shame I can't marry you," he said in his groggy voice as he continued to enjoy this impossible dream. Against any sense of good judgment or thoughtful clarity he indulged in his adolescent desires and kissed her.

Sadly, his pleasant dream seemed to end a second later as she violently pushed herself off of him and shrieked, "Ughh, let go! Did you just kiss me?!"

Staring at her confused for a moment, he immediately realized something was weird about this dream, 'Her voice sounds different. Also, Allisara's hair is a copper colour. I don't remember it being so golden white…OH NO! This isn't a dream?!'

Jerking upright with despairing horror, the full reality of what just happened finally hit him, 'I was in the mountains with Ariel. By the gods, tell me I didn't just do that to HER of all people! How could I have let my pathetic mental weakness take over me like that?! Damn it! How did I let this happen?! I thought I was still asleep!'

Ariel shrunk away from him almost fearfully at his sudden movement and backed off with a nervous look on her face. He blinked several times at her as he tried to think of what to say. His obvious distress and look of disdain were undoubtedly intimidating the girl.

She also looked like she was lost for words as he stared at her blankly. Deciding he couldn't possibly justify or explain this in any respectable way, Malekith chose to pretend like it didn't happen instead. The prince immediately went to reequipping his armour and packing up travel gear. He did his best to avoid eye contact during the following minute.

"M-Malekith…" Ariel tried to break to painfully awkward tension as she spoke up, "w-what was that all about? Why did you kiss me?"

"I'm…sorry. I was having a dream. I thought I was still asleep," he decided to partially admit after another long silence.

Less fearful of him lustfully attacking her now, Ariel slowly came closer. She responded skittishly, "Oh…"

"We should go check on the horses as soon as possible. It looks like we were snowed in overnight, but between the two of us, we can probably burn a path through the snow until we get down the trail a bit," Malekith did his best to move on from the shameful incident.

Sadly, for him, it wasn't the sort of thing a teenage elven maiden was going to let go. She seemed to regain a bit of her usual backbone as she responded angrily, "That's it?! You kiss me and now you're just going to pretend nothing happened?!"

"Ughh…I already apologized for it. What more do you want from me?" he sighed in annoyance.

"Are you being serious right now?! That was my first kiss…and you just stole it from me!" she whined girlishly.

He had next to no experience with this sort of thing and groaned, "You're acting like I just stole your maidenhood. It's not a big deal. I won't say a word about it if you don't. This whole situation was an accident. What were you even doing that close to me anyways?"

"You have some nerve! Do you have any amount of decency and sensitivity to the way girls feel?! It's not the fact that you stole my first kiss…it's the fact that you don't even care! Have you nothing to say about it? It's supposed to be special!" Ariel ranted.

"It was my first kiss as well. I never expected it to be with you, but it's not the end of the world. Sorry to ruin your special memory. I was just having a dream. It was never my intention to kiss you. Can we just move on already?!" Malekith shot back.

"Wait…I was YOUR first kiss?!" she seemed to be less angry and more surprised now.

"I guess so. It's not the type of thing I think about," he shrugged carelessly.

Ariel was blushing now as she tried to maintain some level of dignity and emotional distance. The girl shook her head at him, "Well clearly you do think about it if you had THAT kind of dream. Who were you dreaming about anyways?"

"Just a girl I met at the Evermoon Inn," he lied. It was the only excuse he could think of.

Given all the recent drama with Ariel, he didn't want to confirm to her that it was of Allisara. He imagined that she would probably get defensive about him dreaming lewd things about her sister. He also didn't want to say it was of her or anyone Ariel knew. This excuse seemed the most appropriate and vague.

"A girl?!" Ariel's eyes got wider now, "was it that innkeeper that you think is an assassin?! Do you fancy her? Is that why you spend so much time there?"

"No…just a girl I met named Rae. I don't know why I dreamt about her. This has never occurred before. I wasn't in my proper state of mind. Please just forget it ever happened," he lied.

The flustered elven teen crossed her arms and had a sour look on her face, "Rae huh? Well, she must something special for someone like you to dream about kissing her!"

'Why is she getting mad about it being someone she doesn't know?' Malekith wondered cluelessly as he gave her a perplexed look.

Twiddling with her hair now, Ariel huffed with petty sarcasm at his silence, "Well sorry I'm not Rae then. I didn't mean to turn your dream into a nightmare. Thanks a lot for stealing my first kiss and then dismissing it as irrelevant."

"Get off it already, Ariel. I already apologized for tainting your precious sanctity. I swear to Asuryan that I will never speak of it to anyone. It'll just be another secret between the two of us along with everything else in these mountains. For the sake of our objective, can you just let it go? We're wasting daylight. I'll make amends for this somehow later, alright?!" Malekith replied defensively.

"I…look it it's not a big deal, but I…" she paused briefly as if contemplating on saying something she didn't want to.

Choosing to be more empathetic, he let her finish her thoughts. This seemed to go against her expected outcome as she started blushing awkwardly at him waiting on her words. It was almost as if she expected him to interrupt her or walk away.

Malekith eyed her with confusion as she nervously came a bit closer now. In the most awkward adolescent way imaginable, she then finished her statement, "I wouldn't mind if it was proper…and consensual. Since you already stole my first kiss, then we might as well do it the right way. Gods…I can't believe I'm doing this!"

"What?" he tilted his head with uncertainty.

Before she could die of embarrassment or back down in shame, Ariel grabbed his head and pulled him in for a second kiss. Malekith didn't have time to process what was happening as it caught him completely off guard.

This second kiss was long, intense, and silent. After it was over, the flustered Ariel aggressively pushed him back with rose tinted cheeks and an angry expression, "There! Now we're even! That's how you kiss someone properly. This stays between us…got that?! You better not tell anyone about it, Malekith!"

Malekith was still standing there in complete shock as he blinked several times with a distant stare on his face. Finally, he snapped back to reality as he felt a bit of blood rushing to his cheeks as well. Part of him couldn't believe what had just happened…or the fact that he liked it. A cold shiver ran down his spine just then. Almost as if he could sense his mother's mood darkening…wherever she was.

'Mother can NOT find out about this…EVER!' he thought horrified at the idea of what she would do.

"For the record, I'm way better than that Rae girl could ever be. Consider yourself blessed that your first kiss was with me. Don't get any funny ideas though! I don't fancy you in that way…just so we're clear! Understand!? I just wanted to make sure my first kiss wasn't ruined by your brutish lack of social etiquette." Ariel tried to reassert emotional security over the situation. This was clearly to hide her embarrassment, but Malekith being clueless to intimacy and female nature didn't actually realize that. To him none of this made any logical sense.

"I…think it's best we get moving now," Malekith responded finally. He did his best to not look at Ariel as he made his way to the cave entrance.

'I can't believe that just happened. What would Allisara have said had she seen it?! She can't find out about this either. I don't want things to be tense for no reason.' he thought grimly.

While he knew he had some level of connection to Allisara, he also knew the idea of being with her romantically was impossible. Ariel on the other hand could be his potential wife one day…but only in this exact moment did he wonder how Allisara would react to it. This also left him somewhat confused. He would be lying to himself if he didn't admit to having some attraction to Ariel. She was a lot like her sister after all. The main difference being Allisara was serene, and Ariel was tempestuous. For some reason, the idea of marrying Ariel didn't seem as horrible as he initially considered.

He then mentally berated himself for indulging in those types of thoughts as his typical demeanor quickly returned.

"So… you heard what I said right? Just because I kissed you doesn't mean I like you in that way," Ariel seemed like she was trying to convince herself more than him.

He eagerly went along with her statement and nodded, "I understand. I never assumed any other possibility."

"I mean I do like you now…but I'm not like those court girls or anything. We're just friends…I mean if you're okay with that. The only reason I'm allowing you to live this down is because of what you did yesterday for me. Besides…kissing you wasn't THAT bad I suppose." Ariel kept the uncomfortable situation alive.

He glanced back and her and smiled lightly much to her disbelief, "Well…I'm glad we're friends at least. Now I have two honest friends. Three if I count your father too."

"That's so unusual…since when did you and my father get so personable with each other?" Ariel finally changed the subject.

"We talked a bit about this last night. Alluin is brave and he's very empathetic and respectful to me despite my young age. I actually trust him, and I'd even marry you if he asked me," Malekith replied. He didn't want to reignite the awkwardness, but he knew he'd have to find some way to ease her up to the idea. If he wanted to be the Phoenix King, then Ariel was his only viable option as a wife. It pained him to do this, but he'd rather do it now while things were already awkward, and they were alone. In a way it was like ripping off a bandage quickly as opposed to slowly and painfully peeling it away. Now also seemed the best time to do it, while she was in a friendlier mood.

For once, Ariel was left completely speechless. Malekith immediately regretted saying those words as he walked away and started clearing out the snow at the cave's entrance. Using basic fire magic, he burned a good portion away. Ariel quickly followed suit, but neither one spoke a word to each other or made eye contact afterwards. It wasn't long before the two of them managed to burn away the snow with relative ease. Sadly, there was a ridiculous amount of it. The snow came clear up to Malekith's chest and almost to Ariel's neck. As they cleared the path, Ariel broke the silence and groaned at the laborious task, "This is ridiculous. I am never coming up here again. I hate snow!"

"It's not that bad," Malekith shrugged.

"You actually like it?" She gawked in disbelief.

He nodded, "I'd rather be cold than hot, and I definitely don't have any problems with snow so long as I don't burn my way through it like this."

"You're strange…you know that Malekith? Though I suppose a tough prince of your reputation wouldn't like anything comfortable or reasonable. Gods forbid you're not constantly suffering." Ariel chuckled at him.

Malekith was utterly relieved that Ariel was speaking again and that she ignored his earlier comment. Now they could speak civilly and pretend like nothing happened.

"Cold breeds strength and endurance. Besides, snow can be beautiful," he noted.

"I think I'll keep to the temperate weather, thanks," she countered.

They didn't speak much again for the following hour as they burned their way through the snow and back down the trail to find the horses. Before long, they came upon the half-cave cliff cover that Ariel had left them under.

Fortunately, the snow was not nearly as deep or extreme this far down the trail and the horses seemed to be mostly fine if not a bit bored and cold. They perked up with anxiousness upon seeing the two elves approach.

Malekith's horse neighed at him as they walked up recognizing his master immediately. The dark-haired prince gently placed his hand on the black stallion's head as he calmed him down, 'The horses seem a bit spooked. It's fortunate they survived the night from predators and the snow. He looks a bit anxious…I'll have to calm him down.'

Ariel watched quietly as Malekith soothed his horse by patting and speaking to the creature. After about a minute, the steed finally relaxed. He followed up by putting on the gear packs and untying his mount. Mimicking his actions, Ariel calmed her horse down the same way and before long both were mounted.

"You're surprisingly in tune with animals. Allisara said you were, but I didn't believe it until now," Ariel noted.

Glancing at Ariel again, Malekith ignored her comment and got back to business, "We should be able to reach Evershale by sunset at the latest. The snow looks light down the path and once we reach the road things will be clear. Good work securing the horses in this cover. I probably shouldn't have left them here yesterday, but I never expected you were going to come all the way with me."

"Thanks…I hope we reach Allisara in time," Ariel responded distantly.

"We will…we didn't come this far to fail. Let's go," he nodded before going back down the trail.

Several Hours Later

The trip down the mountain was mostly uneventful thankfully. Malekith felt a great sense of relief that nothing else delayed them as the two made their way back to Evershale. It was currently past midday, and they were finally coming up to the gates of the city on their horses.

Both elven teens were extremely exhausted and had barely spoken during the ride. As they came up to the gates, the guards standing sentry spoke urgently, "It's the Lady Ariel! Open the gates!"

Shortly after passing inside, they were greeted with a large group of elven soldiers blocking the path. Some were on horseback, and all of them seemed a bit relieved at the sight of their prince's eldest daughter.

"Lady Ariel, you've been missing for a day and a half! Your father is worried sick. We have orders to bring you to the palace at once," a guard captain addressed Ariel as the two rode further inside the city.

"That will have to wait…I need to go see my sister immediately!" Ariel protested.

The guards seemed a bit hesitant at her demand as they likely didn't want to have to force her to come. The guard captain spoke up slowly in response, "My lady, we have our orders…Prince Alluin wanted you back home as soon as we found you."

"Tell Prince Alluin that the Lady Ariel is under my watch," Malekith cut into the conversation after it became obvious the guards wouldn't let them go.

"Who are you to make such a presumptuous remark?!" the guard captain said with condescending hostility.

For a moment Malekith felt a bit annoyed that this guard had no idea who he was…but then it quickly dawned on him that he purposely kept his identity vague in Evershale and lacked notable iconography.

"I am Prince Malekith of Tor Anlec…son of Aenarion." the dark-haired prince responded dryly.

"I…oh…f-forgive me then. I-I…didn't realize you were him," the captain replied fearfully.

'"Him?" Why did he say it like that? He's clearly not one of the army soldiers or he would have recognized me. This captain is nothing but a glorified gate guard. He's so pathetic. Why is this guard so afraid of me?' Malekith thought disgusted.

"Lead the way to the healers, Ariel. We're going there now," Malekith instructed his fellow teen.

He then glanced at the guards as if daring them to say something. Unsurprisingly, not one of them objected as Ariel rode off past them. Malekith then looked down at the guard captain, "Tell Prince Alluin that we've brought sky basilisk glands to heal his daughter Allisara. I would also appreciate if you kept my presence here a low profile."

"Yes Prince Malekith!" the guard captain nodded as they immediately departed to go find their prince.

Without wasting another moment, Malekith rode off to follow Ariel who was galloping through the streets to where Allisara was being treated. About fifteen minutes later, they reached their destination. Ariel didn't even bother to tether up her horse as she went charging into the building with the pack holding the basilisk glands.

Malekith promptly followed behind her. Upon passing inside, they were greeted by a strange sight. Both of Allisara and Ariel's parents were actually already there.

'They must have been here prior to us arriving in the city. There's no way news reached them this quickly,' Malekith deduced as he followed Ariel up to the healers.

"Ariel! By Isha, thank goodness you're alright!" her mother exclaimed with feverish concern as she ran over to embrace the girl.

"Let go of me mother!" Ariel shrugged off her mother's embrace as she ran past her parents to the healers which were standing over a grimly ill and unconscious Allisara.

The teen quickly pulled out the basilisk glands and held them up to the healers, "We got basilisk glands! You can make the antidote, right?!"

"My lady?! You actually have fresh glands?!" one of the healers remarked with astonishment as he tenderly accepted one in hand.

He then glanced over at one of his assistants, "Get this distilled immediately! Gather up the ingredients to make a petrification antidote!"

"At once!" the nearest assistant nodded as she bolted away with the gland in hand.

"I-I have more too! Here, take them all! Please save my sister!" Ariel pleaded to the senior healer.

He gently placed a hand on her shoulder, "We will not rest until it is done my lady. Gods what a relief it is that you brought those when you did. I had just told the Prince and Princess that she wasn't going to make it through the night."

"No…she can't die! Please save her!" Ariel pleaded emotionally. Tears were beginning to well up in her eyes.

"Ariel, what is going on?! Where did you go?! H-how did you get a basilisk gland?" Her mother interjected sternly.

"Forgive me…mother and father. When I heard there weren't any glands to make an antidote, I went to go get one myself," Ariel slowly turned and explained to her parents. The girl quickly wiped away her light tears and tried to look presentable to them. Not that it mattered much since her mother had clearly been crying as well.

Prince Alluin seemed much calmer than his wife, but that was likely due to the fact that he saw Malekith there too.

"You…got one yourself?! How?! Are you implying you killed a sky basilisk up the mountains to get those glands?! Do you have any idea how worried sick we've been?! Gods, you could have been kidnapped or killed for all I knew!" her mother ranted on.

"Everything was fine, mother. I went with Malekith. Allisara told me he knows the Annulii mountains very well. He kept me safe up there," Ariel explained.

Aerilya then turned her glare onto Malekith, "You took MY daughter up into those treacherous mountains!? How dare you!"

"I asked him to help me, mother. If you want to be mad at anyone, then be mad at me. Malekith agreed to help me because he and Allisara are good friends. He insisted that I go home many times, but I wasn't about to do nothing to help my sister! It's my fault she's even in this state to begin with!" Ariel defended Malekith much to his absolute disbelief.

"That isn't true, Lady Ariel. You said the beast attacked you on the road. You had no way of knowing such a danger was present," A nearby healer tried to take away her unnecessary accountability.

"So...you killed a Sky Basilisk then? That's quite an impressive feat for even the most accomplished of elves." Alluin asked as he looked between Malekith and Ariel.

"Technically Malekith killed it…he also saved my life up there. I…wasn't used to the cold, but he kept me safe the entire time father. Please don't be mad at him. I accept responsibility for all of this." Ariel said with her head held down. It was clear she feared and respected her father a lot more than her mother.

Prince Alluin let out a heavy sigh of relief, "By the gods, I'm just glad you're okay. You have my thanks for helping my daughters, Prince Malekith. Truly, you don't know how grateful I am for your actions. I feel as if I owe you substantial compensation for this great deed. My family means more to me than anything in the world. I will make sure the courts hear of your selfless bravery."

"Alluin?" Aerilya seemed a bit confused at her husband's immense gratitude.

"Don't bother...Allisara is my friend. I require no compensation, acknowledgment, or gratitude for helping her. I am just relieved that Ariel thought to ask me before it was too late. Judging by the weather in the mountains, there's no way a hunting party would have made it there to kill a sky basilisk in time to save Allisara. I took this time off from the battlefield here mostly because she insisted on it. My vacation in Evershale would have been pointless had she passed away." Malekith elaborated as nonchalantly as he could.

Aerilya looked a bit shameful now as she glanced over to the healers which were hard at work saving her youngest daughter. The girl's mother faced Malekith and briefly made eye contact, "I…I apologize Prince Malekith. Forgive my rudeness, but I am still in shock about this whole situation. Thank you for helping our daughters."

"Malekith, can we speak alone for a few minutes, please?" Alluin asked.

The prince nodded at his older peer and followed him outside and a considerable distance away from the building. Alluin glanced around a few times to make sure nobody was in earshot before speaking, "The healers told me that it was extremely unusual for a sky basilisk to be down in the forest. Do you have any idea why it was down the mountain? I've never heard of one coming so close to the roads either. I know you have some knowledge about the nature of those mountains. Any ideas?"

"I couldn't say, Prince Alluin. The one I killed was likely different than the one that harmed Allisara. I didn't detect anything unusual about it," Malekith lied.

Part of him wanted to confess what he found out, but another part of him still trusted his mother a lot more than anyone else in the courts of Ulthuan. Not to mention, incriminating his mother in this type of scandal would only ruin his reputation further.

'Mother must have had a reason to hex those basilisks. She isn't fond of Allisara, but I can't imagine her going out of her way to target Allisara specifically. Maybe it was meant to attack someone else? There are also a lot of strange cults popping up around Ulthuan these days. It might not have even been mother at all. I can't tell anyone about it until I'm certain. Though I don't know if it's a good idea to ask mother either. The most important thing is to make sure Allisara is kept safe. I can't trust anyone…I'll have to investigate it personally,' the Prince mused mentally during a long pause.

Alluin frowned, "Hmm…well at any rate, I'll definitely ask some of the mages and hunters if they can investigate this matter. That aside, I had something else I wanted to ask you."

"What is it, Prince Alluin?" Malekith responded curiously.

"Can you please stay at Evershale? I will ensure Aerilya's attitude is kept temperate and accommodating. She's still in an emotional state. I am certain that once Allisara is in full recovery that she'll be far more grateful and kind to you. A prince of your prestige and pedigree deserves better than to stay at some Inn with lowborns outside of the city. I cannot let it stand that my family wasn't accommodating to the son of Aenarion…especially after you risked your own safety to save my daughters," Alluin followed up.

"I…I think I'd rather wait a few days to be certain. I spend enough time in palaces and courts. It's rather nice being in a place where nobody knows me. It's peaceful. Perhaps when Allisara is recovered, I'll consider it. For now, I'd prefer to be alone for a while. I still haven't even had a proper night's rest since we returned from the battle," Malekith sighed.

Alluin nodded his head empathetically, "Neither have I. Very well...I respect your decision then, young prince. Though Allisara will certainly insist you stay with us whenever she gets better. Good luck telling her no. By the way, I noticed Ariel was extremely defensive and supportive of you back in there. Did you two gain affinity for each other on this adventure into the mountains?"

"I don't really know to be honest…she has been friendlier. I just think she's grateful I helped her." Malekith shrugged.

Alluin smirked, "I know my daughter well…it would seem you succeeded in gaining her trust. I am glad that something good came of this at least. It will make convincing her to marry you easier."

Ignoring Alluin's remark, Malekith quickly changed the subject, "That aside, I have an unrelated question, Prince Alluin. There's this girl who is staying at the Evermoon Inn who I was curious about. She's a noble, I think. Older than me but younger than you. She told me her name is Rae. Do you know anyone like that visiting Evershale?" Malekith wondered.

The other prince cocked his head curiously, "Rae? I've never heard of anyone named Rae. It might be a minor noble or someone's bastard child. I wasn't aware there was a noble staying at the inn besides you. Why do you ask? Does this girl concern you?"

"No…but I don't want her finding out who I am. If any of your guards come by to the Inn, make sure they don't address me as Malekith. I go by my alias, Malerion when I travel. They just think I'm an emissary army officer," Malekith explained.

Alluin nodded his head, "I'll make sure your secret identity isn't revealed then, if that's what you're asking."

"Thank you. I would also pass the information along to your guards in the city as well. Please let me know when Allisara is feeling better. I'm going to go back to sleep. I am very tired," Malekith bowed his head respectfully.

"I will ensure you receive a proper reward for this, Male-"Alluin didn't get the chance to finish his comment before Ariel interrupted. She was running over to find out what was going on no doubt.

"Where are you going, Malekith?!" the teen seemed equally as confused by his actions.

"Back to the inn so I can go to sleep," he answered simply.

"I'll send Ariel to come get you when Allisara has recovered…with a proper escort of course. Enjoy your reprieve Prince Malekith," Alluin bowed back politely.

"W-wait, Malekith!" Ariel whined as he rode off.

Without another word, Malekith departed. A short ride outside the city later, he eventually found his way back to the Evermoon Inn.

Malekith didn't know why, but he really loved this place. It almost felt like home to him. If only he could have the entire inn to himself, then it would be perfect. After tying up his horse in the stable, he gently patted its head and spoke to him, "I'm sorry I had to put you through that…get some sleep in this warm stable."

Grabbing his pack of gear, he then walked inside the inn. Upon entering, he saw many of the travelers inside eating food, drinking wine, sharing stories, and even playing tavern games. One elf was even playing a harp in the corner which added a relaxing ambience to the inn.

He was used to seeing it busy sometimes, but it looked livelier than it normally was much to his annoyance. As usual, everyone quieted down and stared at him as he walked inside. Malekith was quick to spot Arryn, who looked a bit skittish for some reason. She seemed happy to see him though which was always surprising.

"Oh hey, Malerion…you're back? Thank the gods. I was worried about you. How did your little job go for the Lady Ariel?" Arryn asked him nosily.

"It went well," he answered her with uncharacteristic disposition, "but I'm glad it's over. Nobles are a pain to work for."

"Oh? Hahaha…yeah, she was something else though. Beautiful girl…just a bit scary. By the way, some guards came by looking for you two. I didn't say anything, I swear." she whispered nervously.

He simply shrugged, "Don't worry about that, Arryn. She's safely home with her family and her guards now."

"So, what did she want to go do anyways? Something naughty? Are you seducing highborn girls now you heartless paramour?" Arryn smirked suggestively.

"More like reagent collecting. Never mind that…do you have some wine?" he asked.

Arryn's eyes lit up with joy upon hearing him ask, "Wine?! You drink now, Malerion?!"

"Ughhh…forget I asked," he instantly regretted asking.

The innkeeper beamed joyously as she ran behind the counter pulled out two giant bottles, "This is our good stuff! It's never been opened either! C'mon, let's go share a drink! On the house too since you always tip me so much."

"Ughh…fine," he reluctantly accepted. He didn't want to drink with Arryn or be around the other guests…but right now he just wanted to find a way to destress himself so that he could sleep better. He knew in his current state of mind that he would not be able to sleep despite being deathly tired.

As they walked over to a table by the fire, Arryn was greeted by a number of the guests. Most were half intoxicated and just being friendly, but some were clearly trying to flirt with her.

"Hey Arryn, you look beautiful tonight as always." A male elf whistled.

"Thank you. I'll be around to get you all some more drinks in a bit. My mother is cooking your meals right now," she replied warmly as they passed the table.

"Who's your handsome friend, Arryn?" a female patron asked sultrily from the table right next to the one they were walking to.

Malekith was not used to interacting with people like this and did what he did best…ignore everyone while expressing a fixed sour look on his face.

Upon sitting down, he took his bottle of wine from Arryn and opened it without much effort. Everyone nearby watched curiously as Arryn spoke to him, "It's nice to see you opening up for once. Are you hungry too? I'll have my mother make you something to eat."

'Why are these damn people staring at me?!' Malekith thought annoyed as he felt the piercing and curious gazes from almost everyone nearby.

Doing his best to ignore them, Malekith began to start chugging his wine without stopping. Being a highborn and a perfectionist, he didn't spill any or show a lack of grace while doing so.

"Hey, slow down there soldier! That stuff is strong!" Arryn laughed at his stoic enthusiasm.

After chugging half the bottle, Malekith slowly lowered it back onto the table. He then felt a light buzz envelop his senses. He could still think coherently, but some of his tense dismissal began to fade away. He could actually feel his scowl lighten as a calming daze took effect.

"I want to drink with him!" a half-inebriated elf exclaimed as he pulled a chair up and sat next to them.

"Me too! Tell us about your friend, Arryn! I see him here sometimes, but he never talks to anyone. What'd you say his name was again? Malerion?" the sultry female patron asked.

Malekith examined her briefly…she was a lithe but well-formed maiden with light brown hair and brown eyes. The elf had an accent he recognized being from Chrace. The male elf looked like a simple trader, but he had some amount of protective equipment including a sword sheathed at his side.

Arryn nodded at the female elf, "Yep, he's more of a seasonal visitor here. He's from Nagarythe."

"Nagarythe huh? That must be where that beautiful black hair comes from. Can I touch it?!" the female patron asked in her intoxicated state. Before even waiting for permission, she ran her hand through the jet-black locks without hesitation.

Malekith immediately peeled her hand away and looked at her intensely, "Don't touch me."

"Aww, you're no fun," she chuckled playfully.

"Boundaries, Taerili! That's extremely rude," Arryn chastised the other female elf.

"You better keep a tight grip on that one, Arryn…" Taerili, the female patron, goaded.

Arryn sharpened a glare at her, "Back off…"

The social trauma of having someone he didn't know touch his hair was enough to make Malekith take another large swig of his wine.

"Were you in that battle all the soldiers came back from recently?" the male elf asked curiously.

"I was…" he answered bluntly.

He shook his head, "Tough times we're living in…it's why I carry a sword even though I'm just a merchant. I'm lucky enough to not be conscripted into the local militias and fight. Granted, I can't say being a traveling merchant is much safer. How was the battle you were just in?"

Malekith simply shrugged, "Bloody…"

"Really?! I heard it was terrifying. Even more so because we don't see nearly as many daemons or monsters here at the inner part of Ulthuan. It's strange to think how dangerous it is out there. My uncle is a soldier for Evershale. An officer too actually. He said he was out on the front line with the Phoenix King's men during the battle! He said there were all sorts of important people there. He even met Prince Malekith too! Can you believe it? The Phoenix King's own son was out there. He's a lot of things, but that Malekith is no coward." the merchant exclaimed with inebriated excitement.

"Your uncle met the prince of Tor Anlec?! How lucky! I've been there before and I've never even seen him from afar!" Taerili interjected herself into the conversation.

'Why would someone from Chrace consider meeting me to be a lucky occurrence? The highborn court of Chrace doesn't like me from what I've seen. Do the commoners not hate me there?' Malekith thought confused.

Normally Malekith would not even bother responding to these types of enthusiastic inquiries, but he quickly found himself curious about their perspectives and decided to humor it.

"Your uncle truly met Prince Malekith?" the prince asked.

The merhcant nodded, "Sure did! My uncle said even though he's young that Prince Malekith is quite intimidating."

"Really? Why is that?" Malekith cocked his head confused.

"He said it was unnerving being around him…like he could just snap and kill someone in an instant. Though that might just be a Nagarythe thing. A lot of their troops are brutal from what I hear. It's no surprise their prince would be even more extreme. That rumor about the Phoenix King's bloodline being cursed might have some merit to it after all," the merchant shrugged.

The dark-haired prince glared at the merchant now, "You should mind what you say about your betters…especially the Phoenix King and his family! I won't tolerate any disrespect to Nagarythe either! Has it escaped your awareness that I'm from there or are you simply stupid?!"

"Wait, hey I didn't mean it like that! I love King Aenarion and his family. My uncle did say that Prince Malekith was also very brave and reassuring to be around on the battlefield. I don't have anything against Nagarythe elves. That's just what my uncle said. No need to get upset," the half-drunk merchant seemed apologetic and frightful now.

"Don't mind Keldor, Malerion…he's just a bit drunk right now and is rambling," the sultry Taerili tried to ease the tension as she shamelessly sat next to Malekith and wrapped an arm around one of his.

Malekith simply responded by drinking more wine and ignoring her.

"You seriously thought badmouthing his Prince was a good idea? Malerion's an officer from the Nagarythe army. I think you've had too much to drink, Keldor. Apologize to him right now!" Arryn interrupted scoldingly.

"Yeah...you're probably right," he chuckled shamefully, "my apologies, Malerion."

"Prince Malekith is very difficult to be around…I only took offense about your remarks to the Phoenix King and the soldiers of Nagarythe. I'll forgive your ignorance of our culture. Nagarythe isn't the easiest place to grow up and many of the troops are hardened from the endless daemon attacks. I can see why they might have a negative reputation here at inner Ulthuan. You haven't seen war the way we have," Malekith eased the tension and finally spoke. Under normal circumstances he never would have responded, but the alcohol was doing its work now.

Keldor, the merchant, looked relieved as he let out a heavy sigh, "Please forgive me…I wasn't thinking. Hey, Arryn...get this warrior another drink on me when you get a chance, please."

"I for one really like Nagarythe. I'm from Chrace and we've been fortunate to have their aid during numerous attacks," Taerili added as she leaned her head against Malekith's shoulder. She was obviously doing anything she could to seduce him.

"I will do that in a minute, Keldor. I'm curious about this now. So, you've been around Prince Malekith, Malerion? What's he like? I hear he's really beautiful just like the queen," Arryn interjected.

"Where in Ulthuan have you heard that? Is beautiful really the appropriate word to describe him? That is a description fitting for a maiden…not a prince." Malekith shook his head.

"My uncle said he looked just like his mother…and the queen is unquestionably the prettiest elf in Ulthuan. Well, I guess besides the late everqueen," Keldor added unnecessarily.

"You ever seen Queen Morathi before, Malerion? I hear she's goregeous," Taerili giggled.

"No, I can't say that I have," he lied.

"Well, I have a question for you, Malerion…forgive my bluntness, but are you married?" Taerili asked sultrily.

The dark-haired elf sighed, "No…"

"What's the point of all that fighting if you don't have a lady to come home to? Have you ever been in love before?" she followed up foxily with an inebriated grin.

Malekith answered her by finishing off his entire bottle of wine. Arryn gave her a sharp glare as she pounded a fist on the table. The two seemed to be staring each other down now which left Malekith somewhat confused. Part of him understood what this was about, but another part denied the possibility of its existence.

He continued to drink and eat for the next half hour as he occasionally spoke to the other elves that seemed to enjoy his company for whatever reason. Arryn had been working off and on most of this time while spending every moment of her free time around Malekith. She periodically kept chasing Taerili away when the drunk maiden invaded Malekith's personal space. For once, Malekith was actually grateful for Arryn's presence. Part of him wondered if maybe she was just a normal innkeeper. The idea of her liking him romantically was not something he entertained though. Something about accepting the possibility made him feel sick. Plus, every time he pondered the idea, it immediately made him think of Ariel, Allisara, and that mysterious Rae girl. He hated this pathetic fluttering feeling in his gut. He hated the idea of being weak and letting his guard down to a girl. This wasn't something either one of his parents ever really educated him on properly.

Doing anything he could to get rid of things he didn't want to think about, he kept drinking. After a while, things were beginning to get a bit hazier. With his last sliver of cognitive awareness, he forced himself to go upstairs to his room where he could rest.

Unfortunately, the completely drunk Taerili was trying to follow him, but he was grateful that Arryn held her back. Stumbling up the stairs, Malekith blinked groggily as he swayed and swerved.

'There's my room,' he thought drunkenly as he tried to open it with his key. Despite fidgeting with it for about a minute, he couldn't get it to open.

"Damn it…stupid door," he murmured in annoyance.

Just then the door opened up. On the other side, he saw the girl from the other day…Rae. She looked at him a bit bewildered and spoke shyly, "Umm…hello? Can I help you? You were…Malerion, right?"

"Why are you in my room?" he asked confused.

"This is my room. Yours is across the hall. Are you drunk?" she asked curiously as she examined him a bit closer. The sight of his gear made it apparent that he had been out and about for a while, and his swerving incoherent cognition was a clear sign of intoxication.

"Oh…right. I forgot you stole my room," he drunkenly announced as he turned around and stumbled back to his own. He had a hard time with the key again, but surprisingly enough, Rae helped him open it.

"Thanks…goodnight, Rae," he managed to sober up just enough to say.

"A-are you okay? You don't look so well…do you need any help?" she asked as he narrowly opened his door.

His defensive instincts kicked in as he swiftly closed it behind himself before she could see inside. With his last remaining bit of sobriety, he locked and barricaded the door before stripping off most of his gear and collapsing on the bed. He was asleep in less than a minute afterwards.

The next day

A long twelve hours of sleep in an actual bed did wonders to reinvigorate Malekith from his weariness. That didn't change the fact that he had a massive headache and felt extremely thirsty sadly. He spent the first two waking hours or so taking a bath and reorganizing his gear. Due to the high quality of this room, it thankfully had an abundance of water and other luxury amenities. He even took the time to clean his clothes and armour with the supplies there.

He didn't feel like going outside today. In fact, he didn't even want to leave his room for any reason whatsoever. Malekith was perfectly content enjoying his solitude at the Evermoon Inn. Over the following hours, he enjoyed the peaceful solace and read over one of his mother's books. This was turning out to be a perfect rest day. That's why he wasn't surprised to hear knocks on his door a little while later breaking his blissful solitude and comfort.

He set the book down and sighed heavily before opening the door just enough to see who was outside. Malekith expected it was probably Arryn or someone from Everhsale to inform him of Allisara's condition. What he didn't expect to see was Rae.

"Hello, Malerion," she greeted him warmly.

"What do you want?" he asked with his typical stoic defensiveness as he kept view of his room out of her line of sight.

"Well…I wanted to ask you some things," she said slowly.

He sighed heavily as he walked outside and closed his door behind himself, "Alright, what did you want to ask?"

"I was hoping to ask in private," she followed up. It was clear that she was confused about why he was so paranoid about anyone entering his room.

"Ughhh…I don't see anyone around here, do you?" he complained.

"We can talk in my room…err your old room I suppose," she quickly tried to deescalate the situation.

Malekith nodded as he followed Rae over to her room. Upon entering, he was surprised to see she had books everywhere. A lot of them were about magic much to his curiosity.

"Sorry about the mess…anyways, thank you for agreeing to speak with me. You seemed to be in a bad mood last night. I assume that's probably why you were drinking. Nevertheless, I'm happy to see you're feeling better," Rae did her best to ease the awkward tension.

"Can you get to the point already?" he asked impatiently.

"Yes…sorry. The other night, I awoke to the sound of you leaving. I just wanted to let you know that I overheard about your employment to the Lady Ariel. Forgive me for eavesdropping, but I was watching when she threatened the innkeeper to stay quiet about it. I know it's not my place to ask, but you're clearly important if someone like the Lady Ariel would come employ your services. I apologize in advance for even overstepping your boundaries, but I wanted to know if you knew the Prince of Tor Anlec? Judging by your armour, you must be an officer in the Nagarythe army, correct? As an emissary too…I thought maybe you might know the Prince?" Rae asked a bit hesitantly.

Malekith gave her a straight-faced stare as he evoked no obvious reaction. He simply scoffed at her a moment later, "I'm a captain and an Emissary of Nagarythe. What's it to you anyways? Are you some noble? Is that why you're so curious about Nagarythe? Looking for a new scandal or rumor to stir up the courts?"

"You think I'm a noble? Was I that obvious?" she asked shamefully.

He nodded, "You're not half as bad as some of the ones I've had the displeasure of knowing, but highborns are easy to notice…especially in a place like the Evermoon Inn. What are you even doing here, Lady Rae?"

"Well, I…it's not something I feel comfortable telling you to be quite honest. I am a noble…you got that much right. I'm not like most of them though. I spent the majority of my childhood in humble hardship. My curiosity carries no malicious intent." she admitted with obvious reluctance.

"And tell me what it is about the Prince of Tor Anlec that fascinates you so? What is he to you? Why ask a soldier like me about my prince? What do you expect me to say? That he's a lunatic warmonger cursed by Khaine? That he's an insidious example of nepotism and he embodies the corruption in Nagarythe? Is that what you want to hear from me?!" Malekith asked bitterly.

"N-no, I don't believe crazy things like that…but I was just curious since you're from Nagarythe and you seem important enough to possibly know the prince or any of his family members," Rae responded sheepishly.

Malekith rolled his eyes, "Why?"

"Well, I hear the Phoenix King trains him and that he's a brave warrior. I just wondered what he was like as a person. I'm not nearly important enough to meet him, but I was curious. Forgive my brazen disrespect in asking you such things," Rae apologized again.

"Prince Malekith is a callous introvert for lack of a better word. He hates politics, he has little patience for nonsense, and he spends most of his time training. The majority of rumors about him are exaggerated, but he's not a kind or empathetic person. Other than that, there's not much I could really tell you about him," Malekith sighed.

Rae nodded her head, "I see…well do you know what his mother is like?"

"I've actually never met her…" Malekith lied with a lackluster shrug.

"They say she's the most beautiful elf in Ulthuan…she certainly must be for the great Phoenix King Aenerion to marry her," Rae noted.

Malekith shook his head, "I wouldn't know…or care. Is that all you needed from me? If so, I'm going back to my room now."

"W-wait…there was one other thing I wanted. Since you know I'm a noble and you were willing to work for the Lady Ariel…do you think you could do a job for me? I-it wouldn't be anything extreme, I swear! I…I just need someone to guard me while I gather herbal reagents and do some traveling around Evershale. Normally my brother protects me, but he's all the way in Eataine right now. With things being as dangerous as they are lately, I'd welcome a temporary bodyguard," she followed up sheepishly.

The prince scoffed at her, "Are you being serious right now? Isn't that what your own troops are for? There's a large garrison nearby in Evershale. The prince himself is reasonable and would offer you sanctuary. I'm certain Prince Alluin's troops would happily oblige a highborn's request to guard her while she frolics about in the forest picking flowers."

"It's not daemons or bandits that concern me or I would do that. I need something more discreet. Lately I get the feeling that someone is trying to kill me. I think it's an assassin hired by someone important in Ulthuan. A large group of guards would scare them away and I wouldn't be any closer to figuring out where the danger is coming from. Please help me, Captain Malerion. I'd pay you well! Oh, and I could maybe talk to my father about getting you an accommodation, a promotion, or something like that?" Rae followed up nervously.

'I wonder what noble family she's from. Depending on who her father is, I definitely don't want that kind of attention. The last thing I need is some other prince declaring that I abducted his daughter or something. Ughh…though it is interesting that she believes someone is trying to kill her. That might be a clue to who injured Allisara. I should go along with this just to figure out if she's involved with the sky basilisk attack at all. Maybe the attacker was trying to kill her and not Alluin's daughters?' Malekith thought over the situation.

"I would prefer not to get that kind of attention. Accommodations and promotions that aren't won in battle or from our own rulers are seen as undeserved in Nagarythe. Many would assume it to be political in nature as well. I declined compensation from Prince Alluin for the exact same reason. I'll help you out…I suppose. You can just pay me and for the love of Asuryan, don't go telling anyone about it." He responded rationally.

Rae's eyes lit up with relief, "You'll help? Oh, Isha bless your kindness, Malerion. Thank you for agreeing!"

"So…someone is trying to kill you?" he ignored her thanks and got straight to business.

The elven maiden nodded, "Yes…I don't know who or why, but any time I travel it feels as if I'm being watched."

"Why don't you just stay with your family then? Are you trying to lure out the assassin by traveling alone?" he wondered.

"I could, but my father is fighting in the war right now and I don't exactly trust everyone. My business here is private, and I would prefer to keep it that way as well. I'll gladly tell you later, but right now it's for my own safety and yours that you don't know everything," she elaborated meekly.

'She sounds like she ran away from home or something. Maybe she was being abused by her family? I can't really figure out why anyone would want to kill this girl unless I know what family she's from,' Malekith thought seriously.

"Fine then. I'll respect your privacy in the matter…though I can't help you much unless you give me some idea about your would-be assassins," he noted.

Rae nodded her head, "For the past two months now I've had the ominous feeling that someone was following me. I'm sure you've probably figured this out by now, but I'm laying low at this inn."

"How do you know I'm not the assassin trying to kill you?" he immediately poked a hole in her assurance and gullible trust.

"There's no way it's you. I mean you just helped the Lady Ariel and you're a soldier. No offense, but you don't seem to be the assassin type to me. Your presence is commanding, and you really stand out. I also know it can't be you because my would-be killer is female. I did get a look at my stalker one time when I traveled the road here. She had white hair, she was around my age, and she was at every town I passed through," Rae explained her logic.

'None of the guests I've seen at the inn have white hair…so the assassin might not know she's here. Rae seems just as much of a shut in as I am. I doubt she leaves her room much to avoid being seen. That might explain why she was so skittish and wary around me initially too,' he deduced.

Glancing around her room for a moment, his eyes focused on a book about the nature of Dhar. He stared at it briefly before walking over to pick it up.

Rae quickly explained herself, "I don't practice that kind of a magic…it's an academic book about how to protect yourself from Dhar."

Skimming through the contents briefly, he almost outwardly scoffed, 'Whoever wrote this book had no idea what they were writing about. This information is laughably inaccurate. This nonsense might protect you from an inexperienced cultist, but mother or I could easily bypass this type of defense. Though I suppose mother is the only real Dhar expert I know of in Ulthuan. I should ask her where she learned magic from. Maybe there's more to these hidden cytharai cults than I initially thought.'

Malekith's silent thinking clearly concerned Rae as she took a step closer and continued to speak, "Is something wrong, Captain Malerion?"

"Why would you need to protect yourself from Dhar? It's an extremely rare and uncommon school of magic." Malekith asked curiously.

"I…I'm convinced my would-be assassin is some kind of dark mage. I know it sounds crazy, but I've seen some strange things lately that can only be possible from dark magic," Rae sighed.

"Like what?" Malekith tilted his head.

"You wouldn't understand…you're not a mage. Just trust me on this alright. I know she's a dark mage," Rae avoided the question.

Malekith read through the Dhar book briefly for another few seconds before he reached the page about hexes. He glanced over it as he thought about the new facts, 'This can't be a coincidence...this assassin might be the one who hexed the sky basilisks.'

"You may be right, Lady Rae." Malekith finally broke the silence as he looked over at the young maiden.

Rae seemed relieved that Malekith believed her as her eyes lit up with hope, "So…you believe me then?"

"I'll help you find this assassin, Lady Rae," Malekith nodded.

"Oh, thank you so much!" Rae exclaimed with relief, "I've been so scared lately and there's nobody I could really talk to about this. It's nice knowing that someone can actually help me. I won't be safe until my brother gets back from Eataine."

"What is he even doing there? Is that where you're from?" Malekith asked inquisitively.

Rae cautiously answered him, "I'll answer that question another time. I'm sorry, Captain Malerion, but I don't feel like getting you too involved in the politics around my family. Your own prince might find it questionable as well. It's like you said…Nagarythe might not like you helping my family."

"Do you actually need to collect reagents? What do you need and what do you need it for?" Malekith changed the subject immediately.

"Well…it was mostly things to make a special type of elixir with. It renders one immune to most poisons and venoms for about a week. It takes a bit of magic as well. I have most of the ingredients to make more, but I need Queen's Foil, Amberweed, and Black lavender to brew another batch. I know I sound crazy, but I drink a lot of antidotes with my food. I can't be certain if someone will try to poison me. It's a common concern among some of the highborn," Rae explained.

Malekith completely understood her logic as he did the exact same thing. In fact, he even knew the recipe to the potions she was trying to make. It was something his mother made regularly, and he had quite a number of them packed with his own gear. Under different circumstances, he could just give her some of his own, but that would raise a lot more questions that he did not want to explain away.

'Queen's foil, Amberweed, and Black lavender all grow close to the Shrine of Lileath near the waystone quarry off the mountain pass entrance. It's also isolated enough to lure in an assassin since there's only one way in and out. They would try to corner her there and I could ambush the assassin,' Malekith already began to make plans.

"I know a perfect place to get those reagents. I'm fairly certain we can collect them and find your assassin today if you do exactly what I tell you," Malekith responded knowingly.

Rae eyed him confused, "Find her today? How do you plan on doing that?"

"I'm going to use you as bait. We'll lure her into a trap. There are waystones near the mountain pass and a shrine to Lileath. All three of those reagents grow near it. I know because I went there with the Lady Ariel once before. It's very isolated and it only has one practical way in and out. Here's what you should do…go to Evershale alone and try to get noticed. If your assassin has any amount of competency, then she should easily notice you there. Go to certain shops and try to buy the ingredients. They won't have them, but you don't know that yet. The main apothecary in the city will direct you to the Shrine of Lileath. Your assassin will likely then prepare to ambush you there. I will follow very discreetly once you're outside of the city. She'll doubtfully try to assassinate you anywhere in sight of onlookers, and I imagine she wants to dispose of your body as well. That means you'll be safe while you're in Evershale so long as you stay to busy areas. If you have a map, I'll make locations of where to go," Malekith unveiled his master plan.

Rae seemed a bit hesitant about it at first, "I…I'm not so sure about this. If she's a dark mage, it might not be a good idea to go somewhere so remote. I have no idea how powerful she might be. I'm confident in my abilities, but that seems risky. Also I don't feel confident in wandering the city alone. What if she just kills me in the streets of Evershale and runs away?"

"I highly doubt she'll take that risk. If she's followed you this long, it's likely she wants you to go missing. Killing you in the streets would not be in the best interest of the assassin. She'd put herself at great risk of being captured as well. Luring the assassin into this trap by presenting yourself as vulnerable and alone is the only way you'll embolden her enough to make an attempt on your life today. I have training on how to take down mages. I won't let her kill you…of that you can be certain," Malekith stated assuredly.

"Okay…I'll trust your plan then captain. Here's my map. Go ahead and mark those locations for me," Rae sighed nervously.

Upon doing so, Malekith nodded his head as he went for the door, "I'm going to get my armour and gear. I'll be close enough behind you until you get to Evershale. I won't follow you into the city, so be careful while you're there. Once you get back on the road, I'll remain nearby. Despite what you may think, I do have some competency in stealth."

"As you say…I hope this works out," Rae smiled hopefully as Malekith went for the door.

Several Hours later

The following hours saw Malekith's plan unfold exactly as planned. Rae managed to get into Evershale and to reach the Shrine of Lileath all in believable timely fashion. While the whole ordeal was quite boring for him personally, Malekith was glad to be taking a proactive approach at finding who hexed the sky basilisks.

He wasn't able to spot Rae's stalker along the way, but he did feel some amount of magical disturbance as he kept following a considerable distance off the road. His best guess was some manner of illusions were being used to conceal the assassin. He made sure to simply use pure stealth and caution so that the other mage could not detect him. After a long and arduous following, Rae eventually got to the Shrine of Lileath. Shortly after arriving, she went to work picking up various plants to make her potions.

Malekith always liked this shrine. It was Allisara's special place that she had taken him to once before. It had mountains behind it, trees all around and a beautiful pond in the center reflecting the shimmering silvers and golds that adorned the statue of Lileath at the shrine. It was also completely isolated minus the rare visitor to the nearby waystones.

Rae was clearly starting to get nervous now as Malekith got closer and examined her from cover. Minutes passed, and the assassin hadn't made a move yet for some reason. The whole situation was concerning as he began to wonder if the assassin would take the bait. Malekith could see Rae's hands lightly shaking from his concealed distance as Rae actually dropped a piece of Amberweed on the ground.

The girl knelt over to pick it up and that's when everything finally happened. Multiple shots came from a location Malekith did not expect as small arrows nearly hit Rae in the head. She nimbly managed to dodge them, but not before a glowing purple dagger flew from the brush and plunged her in one of her legs.

Rae let out a loud shriek as she slumped over from the attack. Moments later, the white-haired female assassin dove from cover and ran at the downed noble girl like a shadowy blur.

With all his training and combat experience, Malekith leapt out of cover and managed to intercept the assassin with incredible speed and prowess. He drew his sword Avanuir and managed to parry the assassin's dark short blade just in time.

A few furious and dexterous swings quickly overwhelmed the assassin at close range as Malekith managed to cut her across the leg and disarm the short blade with his superior martial prowess. The assassin jumped back fearfully from his attack and began to channel Dhar. Black lightning crackled from her fingertips as she readied a barrage of magic.

Before she unleashed the spell however, the assassin stopped mid cast. Malekith cocked his head at her confused as the assassin's pale blue eyes showed fear and disbelief. Wasting no time, she immediately picked up her short blade and ran away without even trying to test her luck.

'What in oblivion?! Why is she running?!' Malekith thought confused.

He didn't think long over it however as he chased after the assassin as fast as possible. As he bolted behind her, Malekith gave no second thought to checking on Rae. He knew he had to catch this assassin here and now if he was to have any hope of finding out who hexed the sky basilisks.

The chase lasted about a minute, but the assassin's leg injury left a clear trail of blood and drastically slowed her down. Malekith quickly managed to corner her near a large cliff with a waterfall nearby.

Looking around desperately, she tried to jump off the cliff into the river. Right before she could, the assassin found herself frozen in some type of stasis from Malekith's own magic. He yanked her back with tremendous force and ragdolled the assassin against an adjacent tree.

Malekith followed up by channeling dark black lightning from his hand against her. He made sure it was enough to cause agonizing pain, but not to kill the assassin.

She groaned in a high-pitched shriek before trying to launch her own counterspell with Dhar. Malekith easily overwhelmed her magic with his own before charging over and pinning the limping assassin to the ground. With expert pinning, he managed to apply weight over both of her legs and arms, while leaving his sword arm free.

He hatefully held it up to her covered face and spoke darkly, "Who sent you, assassin?!"

Her eyes were full of absolute despair and horror as tears actually began to well up in them. She then spoke with complete subservient remorse, "My Lord…please forgive me. I didn't know it was you I attacked."

"What?!" he asked bewildered.

"My name is Teryssa…you might know me. I serve your family." She said with quiet worry in her voice.

Malekith followed up by cutting away her mask and drawing back the hood with his sword.

This revealed the assassin's face to him in its entirety. He almost couldn't believe his eyes, 'I know this girl…she's one of mother's handmaidens! She knows Dhar?! Mother is teaching her handmaidens magic too?!'

The assassin cried pathetically under him now, "P-please don't kill me. T-the queen sent me. I-I-I had no idea you were here my lord. Please, I'll do anything Prince Malekith. Please please I'll be your slave…whatever you want. Don't kill me. I'll do anything for my life. Anything…Anything you want…PLEASE."

"My mother sent you? Why is she trying to kill that girl?" Malekith asked with quiet anger as he ignored her begging.

The assassin continued to beg pathetically for him to spare her without answering the question. Malekith then heard the sound of Rae's voice in the distance, "Malerion?! Did you catch her?! I heard shouting! I see a blood trail! I'm following it now! Hang on, I'm coming!"

Fearing the assassin speaking his name within Rae's earshot, Malekith immediately covered her mouth with his non sword hand as he moved his knee up to pin her arm and leg.

Malekith then glanced at the girl under him darkly, 'I can't leave her alive…Rae cannot find out about mother's involvement in this.'

Relaxing his hold on the assassin, Malekith stared at her blankly for a moment. The assassin seemed to think this meant he wasn't going to kill her. Malekith then whispered quietly to Teryssa, "Don't make any noise and I'll let you live." He then let her up which caused the handmaiden assassin to show absolute relief and gratitude.

"Thank you my prince. I swear I'm yours to command forever," Teryssa spoke softly with joyous relief.

A moment later, Malekith shot black lightning out of his hand to a tree behind him before shrieking loudly as if he had just been hit by it. Teryssa looked confused for a brief second and barely realized that Malekith had also just stabbed her through the heart with his sword. The girl died quickly, but her last moments of life were of pure despair and horror at his betrayal. Malekith then went to quickly looting her for any noticeable Nagarthe iconography.

Luckily it wasn't much…just a ring and necklace. Her handbow was also a notable Nagarythe item that he quickly looted off of Teryssa. Malekith was able to seize them before Rae could catch up. He finished just in time too as he could hear the crunching of leaves and the rustling of branches closing in. He then braced himself before firing dark lightning at himself and slumping over the dead Teryssa. This was somehow perfectly timed as Rae was now entering the clearing and looked to be clutching her leg which had been quickly patched.

While he detested this deceptive act, it had to be done for the good of Nagarythe's reputation and for his own mother's safety. Malekith felt real pain from shooting magic at himself, but it really sold the act. He grimaced painfully and slowly rose to his feet to look at Rae.

"Is that you, Lady Rae?" he asked.

"It's me! You got her?! Thank the gods! Are you alright, Captain Malerion?! Did she manage to injure you?" Rae asked concerned as she limpidly ran over.

"I tried to subdue her, but her magic was too dangerous. She hit me with one of her spells and I had to kill her. I'm sorry Lady Rae…I wasn't able to find out who employed her," Malekith lied.

Rae shook her head, "I understand…I'm just grateful you managed to catch her. Why did she run away though? She didn't even try to fight you after you cut her leg."

"Assassins are cowards, and they don't like honourable combat. She fled the moment she lost her advantage which is the most tactical decision she could have made. She obviously knew she wasn't a match for me in a close-range sword fight," Malekith noted.

"Did you manage to find anything out? Any clues at all?" Rae wondered.

Malekith quickly shook his head, "No, but allow me to search her first. There might be some clue on her corpse about where she's from."

Rae soon began to help him search and sighed heavily as they found nothing, "This isn't too surprising. I guess it was too much to hope that an assassin would keep some iconography of their homeland on them."

"Only a foolish assassin would do that," Malekith noted.

'Which Teryssa clearly was. She wasn't much older than I am. She is one of mother's favorite handmaidens. I never would have imagined her to be a mage assassin. This girl used to brush my hair and bring me meals after all,' Malekith thought troubled by the notion of her unfortunate fate. Teryssa was a doe-eyed white-haired elven maiden who was extremely beautiful and considerably kind from what he remembered. His mother only picked the best girls to be her handmaidens. Malekith distinctly remembered his mother killing a guard for trying to seduce the girl once.

Despite his willingness to betray Teryssa, Malekith genuinely felt guilt about the situation, 'I had no choice…I couldn't risk Nagarythe being caught up in an assassination scandal. It was for the greater good of the kingdom. Mother has a lot to answer for…why is she trying to assassinate nobles? Nagarythe and especially our family can't afford these kinds of incidents sullying our reputation further! DAMN IT! I don't care who Rae's family is…there is no justification for trying to assassinate members of the court!'

Rae stared at the dead girl's face briefly, "She looked so terrified and sad when she died. This girl doesn't even look like an assassin. She could pass as a milkmaid or a handmaiden. Look how soft and gentle her features are. It's strange to think that she was the one trying to kill me."

"I'm surprised you can handle the sight of a dead body and blood like this," Malekith couldn't help but comment.

"I'm no stranger to death. Though I'm certainly not your equal in that regard, captain. What a shame for this poor girl. I hope she finds peace in the next life," Rae shook her head sadly.

'I'll say…it's not like any of mother's handmaidens can tell her no. I can't believe mother is training them to use Dhar and become assassins. Why?! Why would mother teach all these people dark magic? It doesn't make sense. She lied to me. I was under the impression she only taught me dark magic. This is damning news…I need to keep mother in check before she does something else. I just don't understand why she would do this? Mother is extremely intelligent and cunning, and she rarely does anything without a good reason though. Did I do the right thing intervening? I truly don't know. Even so...at least I know mother wasn't trying to kill Allisara. That's a relief, I'd say,' Malekith pondered over the grim epiphanies of the situation.

While he was thinking, he noticed Rae praying for the dead assassin much to his confusion.

He glanced at her perplexed, "You're praying for her?"

"I think she was just doing her job…this girl had nothing to do with whoever plotted to kill me. At any rate, at least this should keep me safe until my brother's return. News of this girl's death shouldn't reach her employer for a while," Rae answered him after finishing her prayer.

"There is the possibility that she wasn't working alone. A high-tier assassin would certainly have a spy network working under them. You should avoid the cities until your brother returns," Malekith noted pessimistically.

"True…in that case, do you mind if we keep our arrangement going for a while longer? After seeing you in action today, I'm certain you can keep me safe, Captain Malerion," Rae asked hopefully.

Malekith let out a long, exaggerated sigh, "For a while longer I suppose. Though I think I've had enough adventuring for the week."

"That's perfectly fine with me. We can just relax at the Silvermoon Inn. I have a bunch of elixirs to make anyways. You don't have to watch me. Just knowing you're a room away puts my mind at ease," she smiled.

"Hmph…well let's get out of here then," he shrugged.

'Someone will find this body if we leave it here…I can't risk an expert examining the girl either. I'll come back for it when I get a chance. I probably shouldn't mention my involvement in this to mother. Whatever her reasons for this were…it's best if I find out more about Rae before doing anything rash,' Malekith thought tactically as the duo walked back to the inn.

As he began to walk along, Rae grunted in pain behind him. Malekith glanced back at her uncertainly, "What's wrong?"

"That dagger she threw at me was poisoned. I managed to negate it with my magic and heal the wound…but I'm starting to lose my balance. It still hurts…and the pain is getting worse," Rae explained almost shamefully.

Malekith sighed as he walked back over to her, "Let me look at your wound."

"Ughhh…okay. I'm not sure what good it will do, but feel free to examine," she replied anxiously.

It only took one look for him to figure out what type of poison was afflicting her and what else was wrong. 'Manticore venom laced over a magical dagger. Teryssa must have put an agony hex on it as well to slow her down. She knew her target well. Rae was wary enough to expect poison and have a failsafe for it, but she would be too weakened to fight back with an agony hex on top of it. Teryssa would have been able to kill her if I wasn't here.'

"Well…how does it look to you?" Rae asked grimly.

'There are not many ways to cure an agony hex without me revealing I have magical prowess. It won't kill her, but she'll be unable to travel in this condition. Wait! I do have one of those numbing potions from mother. It should keep her from suffering, but it means I'll have to carry her back. Ughh…what is it with me carrying people lately?' Malekith thought over the dilemma.

"I have a pain numbing potion that one of the army battlemages provided. We usually give it to maimed soldiers to ease their suffering. It will make the pain stop, but you'll be a bit numb and mentally unreserved. I'll need to assist you in walking back to the inn. Just so you don't think it's poisoned or something, I'll even take a sip first," Malekith announced as he reached into his pack and pulled out the small vial.

He poured a bit on his tongue and swallowed before handing it to Rae. She seemed desperate to make her pain stop and didn't even show hesitation in trusting him. The noble girl quickly grabbed the vial and drank the whole thing in one gulp.

Malekith was actually quite impressed how high the girl's pain tolerance was as he knew firsthand how painful an agony hex was. His mother used to cast them on him when he did something to displease her. Rae's uncomfortable grimace eased up mere moments later as she let out a long breath of relief.

"Thank you, Malerion…I couldn't have done this without you. That girl probably would have killed me if you weren't here. It's strange to say this aloud, but sometimes I think I'm so much better than those who aren't mages. Who would have guessed a normal soldier would have saved my life with pure skill, cunning, and experience. I am greatly in your debt, captain. I know you're against the idea of getting merit for this…but just know I'll always be grateful for your help. I can see now why the Lady Ariel trusted you to help her too. It's strange to think that someone as great as you are as just a lowborn soldier. You deserve more than that. If it were up to me, you'd be a noble highborn today." Rae began to start rambling in approval.

"Thanks…I suppose," he responded dully to her unusual rambling remark.

'That numbing agent in the potion makes people talk a lot more. I forgot about that side effect. She still appears mostly cognitive, but it's probably best if I get her back to the inn soon. Things could get quite awkward if I spend too much time around her in this state,' he noted mentally.

Present, Seafield

"Hey elf! Elf?! I'm talking to you!" the shouting voice of Repanse drew Malekith out of his trance like memory. He saw it with such perfect clarity and was caught off guard when the present reality reappeared before him. Malekith was eager to see more of his memories, but now wasn't the time. Still…they appeared almost like visions. It was as if Lileath herself was showing them to him.

He pushed aside his distant thoughts and looked up at the female paladin calmly, "I'm listening."

Repanse narrowed her brow disapprovingly before responding, "I've interrogated a lot of the peasants in this village. They have contrasting things to say about you. The majority of it is poor, but some claim you saved villagers. With that said, your story and the facts presented all do align. The bailiff of this village and his entire family confirmed that you washed ashore unconscious and nearly dead. Most of the townsfolk also claimed that you were in peasant clothing prior to leaving the village several hours ago. It seems unlikely you would have recovered armour like that in such a short time given the fact you also have amnesia…supposedly. I also heard you roughed up some of the town guard as well. I can't fault you for that considering how ignorant these peasants are. Plus, since you didn't kill them…I wholly believe it was self-defense and justified."

Malekith stared at her blankly without responding. It was clear she had more to say, and he wanted to minimize the interaction if at all possible.

Seeing he wasn't going to respond, Repanse continued, "They mentioned you had something wrong with your fingers…care to explain that?"

"From what I can remember, I think it's a side effect from magic. I believe I was subjected to a great spell prior to losing my memories. Most of it is still hazy and unclear to me but it might be responsible for my amnesia as well," Malekith vaguely avoided the question by giving a sliver of honesty.

"Hmph, well I appreciate the honest answer at least. As for other testimonies…the bailiff's daughter in particular said you rescued her from the beastmen horde. Several others also confirmed that you did indeed rescue a group of women. With these testimonies in addition to your accurate description of the lady, it leads me to believe you were telling the truth and that your intentions aren't malicious. With all that said, I've decided that we won't kill you…unless we have to," Repanse followed up with stern calmness.

"So can I go now?" he asked carelessly with the smug tone only an elf could evoke.

The paladin shook her head, "The bailiff told me you are a high elf. It surprises me that he has knowledge of such things, but it also makes you slightly more trustworthy than the vile dark elves or savage wood elves. Even so…I can't just release you into the countryside on good faith. I also can't make a detour to directly escort you out of our lands right now either. We are on a very important and holy quest that demands our immediate pursuit. That leaves me with few options. You will have to remain in our custody until we find a suitable time and location to release you. With your current amnesia it would also be a safety to you and anyone around you as well. The alternative is immediate execution. I'd suggest keeping you temporarily imprisoned, but I can't trust any Bretonnian prison to hold an elven mage captive. What say you, elf? Do you accept these terms?"

'Why am I sitting here letting a human give ME ultimatums?!' Malekith thought angrily as he rose to his feet. This clearly made the surrounding knights wary as most reached for their weapons.

"I have another alternative…" Malekith spoke darkly as he magically broke his restraining chains off in mere seconds. Before anyone could immediately react, Malekith then magically summoned his sword to hand with pure subconscious instinct. The blade flew from a nearby knight who had the weapon laid across a table.

The knights were definitely not expecting Malekith's ability to call it like this as they all took a step back warily from the elf. Every nearby knight readied their weapons, but the town guards and villagers in proximity wanted no part in the altercation.

Avanuir lit up with white hot magic giving the blade an aura of Qhaysh. With his freehand, Malekith readied himself to cast any necessary spell.

The knights' horses neighed nervously as the obvious fluctuation of magic spooked them. Nobody moved for a moment and Repanse herself looked shocked by how quickly it had all unfolded. Malekith glared at her intensely, "Don't make me kill you…because I will if you try anything foolish! I've endured this nonsense long enough. Letting you put me in chains was a formality! I need to find my kin and to go home."

Repanse quickly regained her resolve and jerked her head motioning for the knights to move in and surround Malekith. Several nearby peasant archers also readied their bows and nocked arrows with anxious speed. They made sure to stay a safe distance away though.

"I can't tell whether this elf is delusional or just plain crazy…" one of the knights commented with disbelief at Malekith's serious attitude about potentially fighting them all.

Repanse then drew her blade and stared Malekith down fearlessly, "Do you honestly think you could kill all of us?"

"I suppose we won't know for sure unless you push your luck. Listen to me, humans…all of you! Some of my memories have returned, and I think it fitting that you know just who I am. My name is Malerion as I told you knights earlier. I was once an elven noble…I hail from the land of Ulthuan and the kingdom of Nagarythe specifically. As you can see…I am also a mage. I am not your enemy…but my honour demands I defend myself against this unjust confinement that you seek to force upon me. You will NOT give ultimatums to me! Now how's about you rethink the options at hand! I am not going to be your prisoner!" Malekith ranted feverishly.

His deep voice and apparent violent intensity were enough to concern quite a few of the surrounding humans as they did not want to be the person to test their luck against this potentially crazy elf.

"The law forbids me to let a high-profile trespasser wander about our lands…whether he came here willingly or not. We have a code of chivalry elf…and we are bound to our prideful duty as well. I can see that you are actually willing to fight us…I respect your courage. Nevertheless, no glory or chivalry would come of it. You may be a high and mighty elf who has no appreciation for our kingdom or it's customs, but you are clearly not malicious considering you fought off beastmen in defense of this village. You said earlier that you came back in repayment to the Lady. If that is true, then perhaps we were meant to cross paths. Everyone lower your weapons," instead of ordering the humans to attack him, Repanse was actually a voice of reason.

Malekith was rather surprised by how civil she was trying to be. He didn't sense fear in her, but the woman was clearly aware that Malekith wasn't a pushover. Her eyes made it obvious that she knew a real threat from a bluff. She knew Malekith would actually fight them.

"Duchess Repanse…is this wise?" one of the bretonnian knights asked. He was in full armour, so Malekith couldn't really get a detailed examination of the man's features. The only notable thing about the man was his enormous size. Malekith had never met a human his own height before. This man definitely was.

"Henri…we cannot question the Lady's will. I believe she saved this elf for a reason. I think I know why now," Repanse responded to the massive knight.

"Everyone lower your weapons…that's an order! You too, elf. I have a proposition for you…Malerion of Ulthuan. We are on our way to Marienburg. It lies outside of Bretonnia's borders to the east past the mountains. Our current quest objective is in that city. Journey with us to Marienburg. It has a large elven population there. Some are traders and mariners. Perhaps one of them would be willing to help you get home. This would allow us to honour our law and to assist you in a reasonable way. Is that acceptable?" Repanse announced as she stared the elf down.

Malekith slowly lowered his sword and calmed the winds of magic as he tilted his head doubtfully, "What does this quest of yours entail exactly?"

"I don't know, to be quite honest. The Lady was vague. The Lady wanted us to find a dwarf in Marienburg. I will say no more…but that is a fair amount of information to ease your doubt I hope." the paladin responded with a sigh.

The elf frowned at the notion of having to ride with these Bretonnians all the way to some distant city. Then again, it would be reassuring to go to a city that had elves in it.

"I'll come along then. Your request is reasonable enough for me to accept. I won't be going in chains though…" Malekith replied sharply.

"No…of course not. Normally I wouldn't even offer you a horse either, but this detour has delayed our journey for too long. We are leaving soon," Repanse followed up.

Malekith nodded his head, "Let's hurry then. The sooner we get to Marienburg, the sooner we can go our separate ways."

'Where is Marienburg anyways? It doesn't sound familiar to me…' Malekith thought confused.

The following minutes were especially uncomfortable for everyone as the knights found a spare unarmoured horse for Malekith to ride on. Repanse's warhost wasn't large by any means, but she had nearly a hundred mounted knights in her company.

As the massive knight Henri brought Malekith a horse, he tilted his helmeted head at the dark-haired elf curiously, "You speak our language quite well, elf. Though I've never spoken much to any elf before. It fascinates me how fluent you are in it despite knowing nothing of Bretonnia."

'It's almost subconscious…I've been speaking their language since I saw I was among them. I wonder how many more languages I know?' Malekith pondered briefly.

"I might know more than you think, but with my amnesia, who could say. I'm also highborn…so it's expected of me to learn many languages for diplomatic reasons. Human languages are all quite simple. The language of dwarves was more difficult to learn," he replied.

Upon saying that, he immediately remembered that he also knew the dwarf language. A brief memory of him and one of his lieutenants speaking to a dwarf filled his mind for a few seconds.

'Alandrian learned dwarvish…he taught me. Alandrian! I remember him! He was one of my trusted followers and friends…we traveled across the world. That still doesn't explain what happened to father. How did he die? I obviously didn't become phoenix king…nothing makes any sense. Especially these references to 'high' 'wood' and 'dark' elves. I seriously need to learn more about these different types of elves. I have no recollection of what a wood elf or a dark elf could be. The bailiff said dark elves raid…so are they pirates then? Wood elves are clearly some type of backwater savages I imagine. It would make sense for elves to be less civilized living away from Ulthuan,' Malekith reflected over the unusual information. He was also doing his best to repress his sadness at the thought of his father being dead.

Repanse who was close enough to overhear them shot a serious look at Malekith, "You can speak the language of the dwarves?!"

"Yes…" he reluctantly answered.

"It would seem the lady's wisdom has granted us a translator," Henri noted.

'Damn it…why did I mention that to them!?' Malekith thought annoyed.

Repanse tilted her head at Malekith curiously, "The Lady works in mysterious ways…"

'I am NOT about to be dragged along on some quest by these knights. The moment we get to this Marienburg city, I'm finding the first ship back to Ulthuan,' Malekith thought dismissively.

For some reason, the Bretonnian knights seemed more at ease about Malekith coming along now. He found it strange how quickly they were willing to overlook his earlier threats now that they believed he was involved in the prophecy of their goddess.

About ten or so minutes passed before everyone mounted their horses and departed. As they strode towards the gate of Seafield, Malekith could see peasants lined up on both sides of the street watching the knights depart. Most seemed confused at the sight of him going with the knights unchained, but all had some measure of relief in their eyes.

The sight of the Bailiff's family at the edge of town was an interesting one, and it was enough to make Malekith stop and glance down at them.

The elf looked over the three humans briefly before speaking, "You have my thanks for saving my life. I will ensure you're properly repaid for it one day."

"Malk…you're going with the knights?" Michelle asked him confused.

"Apparently your Lake Lady gave them some important quest, and they're bringing me along for now," he gave them the bare minimum explanation.

Bernard nodded his head, "Thank you for saving my daughter, elf…no Malerion. Even if most of the townspeople won't say it, many here owe you their lives as well. I'll remember your name…and make sure the Duke hears about your chivalry, noble elf. He will certainly be astonished to hear of the legendary Repanse de Lyonesse returning."

"If you say so. Farewell…" Malekith concluded with a curt nod as he got back into formation with the knights. Most seemed quite fascinated by the elf's willingness to thank the humans who saved him. While it was clear the knights carried some measure of animosity, the simple act of seeing an elf thank peasants almost made Malekith look less sinister in their eyes.

Not long after, they were on the road, and Malekith was surrounded on all sides by the mounted knights. Most had eyes on him constantly as he rode next to Repanse and Henri near the front.

Once they were a fair distance away from Seafield, Repanse glanced over and spoke to Malekith, "Alright, Malerion…we do have to make one detour on the way to Marienburg. I have others joining us. We're meeting them at L'Anguille."

"How long is that going to take?" Malekith asked immediately.

"It should take a few days to get there on horseback…ideally, we're only stopping to eat and sleep. Once we reach the road between L'Anguille and Couronne, we can get to Marienburg within two weeks," Henri chimed in.

'Great…two and a half weeks with these people,' Malekith sighed mentally.

"I've never heard of L'Anguille. Who are these people you're recruiting anyways?" the elf asked inquisitively.

"A prophetess and two of her damsels. I'd tell you their names, but I imagine you don't really care. Considering the nature of this quest, I wanted magical expertise. It might also keep you from getting any crazy ideas," Repanse answered.

"So long as you keep your word, I will keep mine. I'll tolerate this detour then," Malekith stated assuredly.

"I won't put you in chains…but we're not letting you run off. Consider yourself fortunate that a sensible noble like me came across you instead of someone else. Another duke or lord might not have even humored the notion of your innocence…nor given you a chance to earn their trust," the female paladin stated with conclusive passion.

Malekith sighed, "You're certainly more sensible than those villagers were. Although, for someone who claimed to be in such a hurry, I admit I find it strange that we're making a detour to this L'Anguille city. Why can't this prophetess and her damsels just meet you at Marienburg?"

"We've lost contact with them. It's been nearly two weeks since we last got word. I assume it's likely just some noble event or minor trouble keeping them occupied. The king himself also could have mustered troops to deal with a local threat. L'Anguille does lie in the crownland's serfdom. At any rate, it will be faster if we just enlist them at L'Anguille," the paladin added.

"If you say so..." he rolled his eyes.

"You're quite arrogant for a captive…are all elves this petulant and rude?" one of the knights couldn't help but interject. Malekith didn't respond to him as he didn't care to get into a needless conversation.

While the entire situation was bizarre, Malekith was actually thankful that he didn't have to fight these knights. He felt confident in his ability to battle them, but something about their fearless zeal led him to assume that they weren't the standard pushovers most humans were. Repanse herself was rather interesting to him as he distinctly remembered the peasants mentioning that she died centuries ago. That and her fearless calm attitude was something he rarely saw in any human he had ever encountered.

The female paladin noticed Malekith's piercing gaze and stared back at him, "What is it, elf? Was there something else you wanted to say?"

"It was said that you are a paladin. What is that exactly?" he asked.

Repanse traded looks with several of the other chevaliers who seemed equally as surprised that an elf was this curious about them.

She shook her head, "It is a champion knight for lack of a better description. One who is sworn to fight evil. I am also a Duchess of Lyonesse…though that title likely carries less weight in my long absence. I am not here to reclaim lost land or titles. I am here to serve the Lady. It is for that reason that I'm not going to stop at Lyonesse even though it's on the way to L'Anguille."

"You died a long time ago…according to the peasants. They said you were a famous hero. Your quest must be important if you were brought back to life for it," Malekith stated the obvious.

"Not just me…Henri and many of my greatest chevaliers. The rest here are questing knights who have chosen to join us on this holy quest. They may become full-fledged Chevaliers when we succeed and if they still wish to follow me. All are here to answer the Lady's calling," the woman replied.

"Do you remember being dead?" Malekith asked.

The paladin frowned, "I wasn't truly dead. At least not in the way you might think. We were cursed by the evil death magics of the blighted undead in the Southlands. An evil undead sorcerer bound us into some type of half-dead stasis. My lady deigned to save us with her divine power. It was surprising and disheartening to learn how much time has passed since then."

'What was the human lifespan again? A century or so? Probably less for a commoner and more for a mage,' Malekith thought to himself.

"I suppose we're somewhat experiencing a similar circumstance then. Recovering from a magical spell that separated us from the world we knew," Malekith noted.

"Our situations are nothing alike elf!" an overzealous knight couldn't help but denounce his comment.

Repanse and Henri didn't say anything, but they weren't offended or bothered by it from what Malekith could surmise.

The elf then decided that it would be best if he stopped talking for a while. Focusing his gaze forward, he attempted to recall more of his lost memories. He was extremely curious to figure out more about his vacation in Avelorn.

'That Rae girl…why did my memories focus so intently on her instead of something more relevant? I can't remember what happened after I stopped the assassin. We went back to the inn and then what? This is harder than I expected it would be. It almost seems as if some of my memories are locked away. I vividly remember so much about Ulthuan and even the wider world…and yet I can't picture my own mother's face. Those people in my memories…they called her Morathi. My mother is named Morathi…why can't I remember anything about her?! All I know is she is supposedly the most beautiful elf in Ulthuan and I look a lot like her. In my recollections, I myself realize how dangerous and unethical she is. I wonder why she was so adamant about killing Rae? Did I make the right choice in stopping her? And what ever happened to Allisara…or Ariel?! That's what I want to remember right now! That or how father died…I still can't believe he's gone. He's gone and I'm here in the custody of savages. Maybe I wasn't meant to be phoenix king if I let myself get into such a pathetic situation like this. Although, it could be possible someone tried to assassinate me so I couldn't ascend the throne. That must be what happened! In that case, it might be too dangerous to immediately return to Ulthuan. The Lady of the Lake was right…I need to remember everything before making it known who I am.' Malekith brainstormed over the new influx of information as he tried to spark another vision of his lost memories to return.

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Alrighty folks…that's another chapter for this crazy little story of mine. So, most of it was of Malekith's memories continuing on from the night he spent in the Annulii mountains. He and Ariel successfully manage to save Allisara and our brooding protagonist decided to go back to the inn immediately afterwards. Social guy huh? Even though he wasn't evil back in this time, he was still a sourpuss and had a stick up his ass about a lot of shit. Granted, with Morathi and Khaine-juiced Aenarion as parents, who can blame him?

When he gets to the inn, he does actually drink some wine to ease his stress over the strange series of events that occurred with Ariel. Now we all know Ariel married Orion and became super mage Isha Avatar butterfly lady…but she was a normal girl once upon a time. Her and Malekith sharing their first kiss with each other is one of the great ironies and tragedies in this narrative since they both despise each other in the modern times. I know it's not canon...so relax. Obviously, this adolescent love triangle ends with Allisara being Malekith's wife, but Ariel at this time did have some feelings for him. Though it's quite apparent that she eventually gives up on the idea because she cares too much about her sister. Malekith remembering these times will make his future interaction with Ariel and Orion quite dramatic and interesting.

Moving on from that, the real meat and potatoes of this chapter is Malekith helping Rae to stop the assassin that's after her. To his utter disbelief, Malekith finds out it was one of his mother's handmaidens. He pulls some deceptive rigmarole to kill the girl in 'self-defense' and makes sure Rae can't find out anything about her. We can clearly see Malekith had no reservations about lying to people or killing his own servants for the greater good of Nagarythe…however, this is an important insight into his past. It shows the extreme nature of his paranoia and is one of thousands of small cruelties that built up to eventually make him the Witch King. He didn't become Darth Oedipus overnight…because the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Now I'm sure it's quite obvious why Morathi wanted Rae dead. What's going to happen when Malekith finds out who she is? Drama folks…DRAMA! On a side note, you guys might actually catch a few feels when we get into Malekith's memories of Bel'Shanaar. They were actually cool with each other for over a thousand years.

The chapter ends as Malekith and Repanse discuss how they're going to handle his presence in Bretonnia. After a bit of posturing and talking, they eventually agree to just bring Malekith with them to Marienburg. Now I'm sure many of you already know this, but Marienburg used to be the elven city of Athel Toralien/Sith Rionnasc'namistahtir. There's some speculation Athel Toralien was actually Bordeleaux, but it's ridiculously vague from what I've seen. I had a hard time figuring it out when I read the Sundering. For the sake of simplicity, they're just the same place for this story. Obviously L'Anguille used to be Tor Alessi. Malekith has a lot of important experiences in both of these ancient cities, and he will remember some things about them when they arrive.

Tor Alessi is where he gets with Allisara in the lore, I think. Athel Toralien on the other hand is a VERY unique setting because it's where Hellebron was born, and it was given to her father Alandrian by Malekith himself. So, our boy Darth Oedipus is going to have some flashbacks of his homie Alandrian when they get there. I actually really liked Alandrian in the Sundering books. Malekith obviously liked him a lot too. Too bad Emo Batman Alith Anar tortured him to death. This is also an important detail because Hellebron is one of the few living elves who remembers what Malekith looked like prior to the Sundering and his edgelord Witch King years.

That all leaves one important question to ponder though…what is the quest the chevaliers are on and why are they looking for a dwarf? Let me just give you a vague spoiler and say that it involves a trip southeast.