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

5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: A Grim Future

The passing days were relatively uneventful and somewhat tense for the company of chevaliers and Malekith himself. The prolonged exposure to his company did little to ease the obvious concerns that the human knights had for their elven "captive".

Malekith felt himself growing more and more annoyed with this arrangement as the days went on since he couldn't even take a piss without the knights staring him down. Henri in particular was always with him when he had to answer nature's call. Fortunately, the paladin didn't make things more awkward than they needed to be, but Malekith was reaching the end of his patience at this point. He couldn't even sleep properly without worrying about his throat being slit.

His paranoia was doubly apparent as the knights even took shifts to watch him sleep at night. Fortunately, he was a light sleeper, but even he eventually had to let his guard down when exhaustion overcame him. Every time he fell asleep, it seemed like a miracle that he would awaken later. While he certainly didn't trust them still, Malekith was at least grateful that the knights seemed less likely to kill him for no reason as the days passed. Empathizing slightly with their predicament, he couldn't really blame these men for being as vigilant as they were in watching him. Most elves were wary of magic users, and he could only imagine how anxious simple humans would be around a mage.

Despite the inconveniences, the trip had been mostly decent with no major incidents or near-death experiences. The only notable thing that occurred during their ride to L'Anguille was Repanse mentioning that the land looked blighted around Mousillon's territory.

Being the pessimist he was, Malekith assumed they would want to detour there, but thankfully they didn't. Whatever their quest was about, he knew it was vital to these knights. Part of him actually wanted to know what their mission was and why they were looking for a dwarf.

His curiosity was mostly pointless though, because he highly doubted these knights were going to trust a mysterious elven mage with any relevant information regarding their objectives. As the days progressed along, Malekith kept trying his best to remember more of his lost memories.

Sadly, no specific vision or memory came to his mind. He did however manage to remember a lot more about Ulthuan and the wider world as they journeyed along. Thinking about Repanse's words of southern sorcerers, he remembered several notable human civilizations. One being Nehekara, the desert kingdom in the Southlands. Another other was Grand Cathay.

His memories of Nehekara were rather interesting as he remembered many strange facts about the kingdom and its remarkable architecture. Part of him wondered if that was the group of people that Repanse was referring to. He couldn't recall any specific memories of being there, but he knew about it. He also inherently knew they were one of the oldest human empires and had sorcerer kings.

Cathay was another human empire he remembered. He considered them remarkably advanced and cultured for humans. He specifically remembered that the humans of Cathay were good at magic, which to an elf was respectable…since magic wielding humans were insanely rare. These thoughts were also a result of his confusion about the notion of human mages. The only ones he knew of were Nehekarans and the humans of Cathay. He found it odd that Bretonnians had mages too.

'She mentioned this prophetess and her damsels we're going to meet are mages. Since when did the primitive human kingdoms in this land learn magic? I wonder what kind of magic they're skilled in? I can't imagine a human being proficient at Qhaysh. They might be able to bend a single wind.' Malekith pondered.

He was drawn from his thoughts when Repanse shouted to the group, "Chevaliers, hold!"

The knights all came to an abrupt stop on their horses, along with Malekith's horse as well. He perked up from his inner musings alertly as he tried to figure out why they stopped. The company was currently at the top of a hill looking down over a distant horizon. It was then that he saw a city.

"Are we finally at L'Anguille? I counted at least three castles on the way here." Malekith complained unenthusiastically.

"We are…but this is bad," Repanse answered slowly.

Malekith briefly wondered what she was talking about as he moved closer to the front, but his confusion was cleared up immediately when he noticed what was wrong. Below them was a large human port city, but it seemed to be under attack. With his acute elven hearing, he could make out the frantic ringing of town bells in the distance as well as the muffled sound of screams. His eyes widened with disbelief at the sight of what looked to be a floating city surrounded by dark ships with purple sails in the harbor. Fires were also raging at the docks.

"By the Lady! What is that!?" one of the chevaliers exclaimed with horror.

"It looks like a ship. I've never seen a ship that big before! It seems to be built into rocks. How does that monstrosity float?! It's the size of a city!" Henri seemed both amazed and horrified.

Repanse shook her head grimly, "I don't know, but this would explain the lack of communication. Its escort fleet is docked at the port. The city is under attack."

"I don't recognize the heraldry or ships, but the tower structures on that massive ship look elven in design. I think it's an elven ship," Malekith spoke up.

The mere mention of it being elven was enough to cause the knights to direct hateful and condemning looks his way.

Repanse herself was leering at him with furious intensity, "You know what that is?!"

"No, I've never seen anything like that…or at least I don't remember. I do think it's elven though. Maybe it's dark elves? Everyone keeps mentioning them. That seems to be the only logical explanation. There's no way that's a ship from Ulthuan. The peasant bailiff, Bernard, mentioned something about a dark elf black ark not attacking in a long time. Maybe that's a black ark," Malekith explained.

"The bailiff knew all of that?" Henri asked disbelievingly.

Malekith shrugged, "I guess so. He certainly seemed smarter than the rest of the humans in Seafield."

'Including you people.' Malekith added mentally.

"This sounds a little too convenient. You sure these aren't friends of yours, elf?!" one of the chevaliers spat.

Malekith shook his head, "No…I'm from Ulthuan. I do remember what our ships look like, and it's not that. Whoever these dark elves are, they're clearly not a part of Ulthuan. They are no friends of mine; I can assure you. Plus, Ulthuan elves don't attack humans like this. My memories are still a blur, but I remember that much."

"If you speak truly then does that mean you'll take up arms against them? You'll help us fight them then, mage?!" Repanse asked.

The elven prince nodded his head, "Normally, I wouldn't…but I'm very curious about these dark elves. That fleet and that ark are a threat to Ulthuan as well as your kingdom. Besides…if I'm already in your company, then I don't have a choice anyways. I'll help you fight these dark elves. Just make sure your people don't try killing me down there."

Repanse sighed, "I'm going to trust you, Malerion…but you're staying with me the entire time. If you try anything funny down there, I'll cut your head clean off your neck. Understand?! I'm not afraid of your magic, and I have ways of dealing with witches and sorcerers…so keep that in mind."

"Fine…" Malekith sighed in acceptance.

"Jean, put a banner on his horse so nobody attacks him," Repanse ordered one of her chevaliers.

The knight obeyed her without question as he attached a banner to Malekith's horse. The man Jean wasn't wearing a helmet currently and was glaring intensely at Malekith. He had crystal blue eyes, short blackish-grey hair, and a pronounced goatee. The man spoke seriously as he went about his task, "It is a great honour to carry a chevalier banner, elf! You are unworthy of this. Be grateful the duchess has granted you this holy privilege!"

Malekith kept his cool as he nodded calmly, "I'll keep that in mind, human."

"I have no wish to challenge anyone's courage, but can we truly do anything about that enemy fleet? Riding against that behemoth ship's army would be suicide. It could have thousands of troops aboard," one of the questing knights voiced his concern.

"It is our sworn duty to fight evil! The Lady will protect us!" a higher ranked chevalier dismissed the idea of them avoiding the obvious deathtrap they were about to ride into.

"This is not a matter of courage! We can't defeat a force like that with our numbers! Is fulfilling the Lady's quest not more important?" the questing knight objected.

"You cowardly churl!" another knight bellowed.

"I am no coward or churl! I merely speak with reason! What could two hundred of us do against an entire army? The duchess has made it clear that the Lady's quest takes priority over everything else! I do not fear the enemy, but how can we fulfill the Lady's quest if we die down there?!" the questing knight aggressively defended himself.

"Enough! We will do whatever the duchess demands! Madame Repanse…what are our orders? Do we prioritize finding the prophetess and her damsels to flee, or do we fight with city's defense?" Henri asked the female paladin.

Before Repanse could answer, they heard the sound of a horn blaring. From an adjacent road in the distance, the company saw a legion of mounted knights riding towards the city's defense. This seemed to alleviate the obvious stress most of the knights had as they now had a substantial force to help them repel this colossal ship and its attacking army.

"There is our answer! I can make out those banners from here. That's Couronne's heraldry! We need to find the prophetess and her damsels, but we're obligated to assist the king's army as well. Move out chevaliers! We'll join them in the opening charge! Move into the city and slay these attackers! Henri and I will stay with the elf. Jean, I want you to take half our forces to the castle and seek out the prophetess and her damsels! Meet us back at the docks when you're finished!" Repanse announced.

Jean bowed his head dramatically, "I will fulfill this endeavor, duchess!"

"Fight with honour my brothers! For the Lady! For Bretonnia!" Repanse shouted.

"For the Lady! For the Damoiselle de Guerre!" the knights answered in a unanimous roar. Mere seconds later, they were charging down the hill on an intercept path to join ranks with the king's approaching army.

'Ughhhh…how did I get involved in this nonsense?! So much for a quick detour. At least I'll get to see these dark elves for myself.' Malekith thought dreadfully.

As they rode down to join the king's charging army, Henri blew into a warhorn announcing the chevaliers to the other knights. Malekith didn't really understand why they felt the need to do this, but he figured it was probably to announce them joining the battle.

Being the fearless paladin she was, Repanse even called out to her chevaliers, "Move to the front! We're spearheading the charge chevaliers!"

Malekith spent the next few seconds staring at the female human as their company cut off the king's army and rode in front of them. Repanse and her knights had quite a bit of heraldry and banners on them which probably made it easy for the king's army to identify them.

The paladin herself was holding a banner and had her sword drawn as the cavalry charged in towards the city. The humans manning the walls saw them approaching and quickly opened the gates on their side for the cavalry to enter L'Anguille.

As they rode into the city, they saw people hunched over on the sides of the streets, and some even running away from the coastal side of the city. It didn't take them long to encounter enemy forces as they moved further along

Hundreds of strangely armoured elves were rampantly terrorizing the docks and blitzing further into the city. What was unusual however, was they weren't killing civilians. Malekith could vaguely make out the sight of several elves dragging away humans back towards the enemy elven ships.

These elves were quick to respond to the army of knights however, as many opened fire with handbows at the knights. While normally arrows and bolts might have proven ineffective against fully plate-clad knights, the elven projectiles easily pierced the armour of many nearby knights.

This, however, couldn't stop the cavalry charge as countless mounted knights ran over most of the enemy elves and a few unfortunate civilians that happened to be in the way. For the next half hour or so, the knights moved throughout the city and mowed down easy targets as they tried their best to take down as many of these black clad elves as possible. Civilians were either running away in a panicked frenzy or trying to hide in alleyways as the mounted knights butchered the elves on their push towards the port.

While he considered humans unimpressive, Malekith was actually surprised at how good these Bretonnian knights were at killing people. Despite their losses in the push, they fought with fearlessness and made quick work of the marauding elves terrorizing the city.

Granted, most of these elves only had blades and handbows. None of them thus far had shields or spears. This made them easy kills for mounted knights. He made sure to cut down his fair share of these dark elves along the way with his sword, and it only seemed to reinforce the Chevaliers' trust in him the more of them he slew.

Upon finally reaching the docks after an exhausting slaughter, the majority of the elven raiders seemed to be routing as they fled back to their ships.

"They're routing! Run them down! These curs will not get away!" Repanse bellowed as the knights went charging down after the fleeing elves to the docks. The entire port was in ruins as most of the shipyard was on fire, and all the Bretonnian and other foreign trade ships there had been sank.

Despite routing most of the enemy elves from the city, many started to fortify their landings at the docks. From what Malekith could see, they appeared to have set up some kind of defensive position in preparation for the knights reaching the port. The sight of shielded spearmen soon met them as a phalanx of elves moved up to cover the retreating handbow raiders. Behind them, a massive formation of crossbow wielding elves came charging off one of the smaller enemy ships into a formation behind the spearmen.

That wasn't the most concerning sight though…behind them a considerable number of the elven raiders were rolling out what looked to be elven ballistae. They reminded Malekith of Eagle Claw throwers. He knew how dangerous those things were.

"Wait! Don't charge down there! They have bolt throwers set up! They'll tear your knights to shreds! You should wait for front line infantry and missile troops to back us up." Malekith tried to dissuade Repanse from leading the cavalry down the road towards the newly erected enemy formation.

"Shut up elf! We're not waiting for unchivalrous commoners to help us!" one of the knights dismissed Malekith

"Make the charge! We can't let them set up a defense!" Repanse announced.

'They already have...' the elven prince thought annoyed by the stubbornness of the knights.

Malekith cringed in contempt as he reluctantly rode along with the delusional knights against the newly formed defensive fortifications.

Unlike the handbow wielding raiders and the shield-less marauders they had been fighting up until now, this enemy formation proved to be lethal to many charging knights as volleys of automatic, repeating crossbow fire opened up against them.

The cavalry's reckless charge was punished severely as the bolt throwers also fired far more rapidly than any of the humans anticipated. Wave upon wave of bolts rained into the human defenders, killing a substantial number of them.

Nevertheless, the knights continued onward as they charged the elven formation. It seemed quite futile though as the shielded elven warriors all lowered their spears and locked shields in anticipation.

Realizing that this could only end in disaster, Malekith decided to intervene as he readied a spell during this suicidal charge. With a massive surge of magic, he unleashed a wave of white fire through the front line of spearmen. He had fortunately remembered a decent amount of basic Qhaysh in the past week and was glad to see his white fire spell was successful.

This caught the enemy elves completely off guard, as a massive surge of flames, knocked many over and set quite a few ablaze. It also disrupted a good portion of their phalanx. While the magical attack did spook the knights and their horses, they charged onward regardless as they mowed through the first few lines of spearmen.

Repanse's company took quite a few casualties during this initial clash, but the freshly arriving knights from the king's army kept pouring in behind them. The cavalry charge seemed effective at first, but the endless volleys of bolts were starting to eviscerate the knights at close range. It was even more brutal due to the fact that the elven spearmen were in a fresh new phalanx trying to push the knights back.

The spearmen were clearly experienced at killing cavalry, as they worked to hold and trap the knights so they could be skewered from their mounts.

It was then a flanking force came from two adjacent directions with elves wielding dual swords. One of them even shouted at the others, "Corsairs, flank them!"

Malekith could hear many of the strange elves yelling at each other throughout the battle thus far. He found it bizarre that they didn't speak Eltharin, the primary and basic elven language. He knew variations existed, but he had no idea what their variation of Eltharin was. For some reason though, Malekith could still understand them as they shouted insults or orders to their fellow elves.

The flanking corsairs managed a successful flank against the mounted knights, but volleys of flaming arrows quickly came to the knights' rescue. Malekith glanced up to see countless humans firing crude bows with flaming arrows into the enemy formation from three different angles.

He didn't have much time to take in the scenery as the obvious sight of his silver and gold ilthimar armour was drawing him a lot of unwanted attention. Many of the enemy elves that were now aware of his presence among the humans were diverting extra attention towards killing him.

"There's an Asur with them! He's the mage! KILL HIM!" one of the elves shouted in Druhir as a storm of black bolts flew in Malekith's direction.

Instinctively, he held up his hand and unleashed a large warding shield around himself and many nearby knights. He couldn't even process what he had just done when the sight of several massive bolts from the elven artillery hit his ward.

Unsure of how he even spawned the shield, he couldn't maintain his focus on keeping it up as the ward quickly collapsed under heavy bolt fire. Being elves, his enemies wasted no time taking advantage of his staggered state as they promptly killed his horse beneath him.

Malekith nimbly rolled off the poor butchered steed and saw that nearly all of the nearby dark elves were obsessed about trying to kill him specifically now.

The knights were making good progress against the rest of the enemy forces, but they didn't seem to realize that Malekith was now surrounded and fighting a horde of ravenous dark elves all by himself on foot.

A whirlwind of steel is the only way he could have described the following moments as dozens of dual-wielding corsairs came at him from all sides. Despite his massive disadvantage, Malekith somehow managed to hold off this crazy flurry of blades as his instinctive warrior prowess kicked in. He moved and flowed with elven alacrity as he constantly parried, dodged, and deflected the enemy storm of swords. During the skirmish, many of these apparent corsairs were insulting him and yelling hatefully at the elven prince. Most of these insults were about how weak he was or how they were going to ransack his corpse.

Knowing he couldn't keep this up indefinitely, Malekith seized a brief respite by igniting the area around him in white flames. This caused all the corsairs to leap back and stare him down.

He wasted no time preparing another spell as his sword erupted with flames. Malekith looked over them with deadly eyes as he responded almost automatically in Druhir, "I don't know who you dark elves are…but you're going to die for wasting my time with this!"

"AHAHA!" one of the corsairs laughed at him, "Cut off his arms and legs and then drown this Asur fool! That armour is mine though!"

Their laughing stopped mere moments later as Malekith's non-sword hand began to chill with dark frost. Before any of them knew what was coming, he shot a massive gale of jagged ice through their ranks. This brutally froze and impaled a number of them which caused some of the other elves to back away concerned.

Malekith immediately took advantage of their stunned state as he reaped through their ranks with his flaming sword. Avanuir proved to be far superior to whatever swords these corsairs were using as the magical blade easily cut enemy swords in half with its added magical power.

The blade siphoned the winds of magic and beautifully transferred them into white Qhaysh fire. With each swing of his blade, Malekith sent out arcing waves of pearly flames. This set quite a number of enemy ranks ablaze. Several bolts managed to hit Malekith during his onslaught, but it wasn't enough to stop him as he kept going on with his slaughter. In fact, every time he actually took a hit, he became angrier or moved quicker. It was doubtful the bolts embedded in his armour had poison on them as these elves were trying to take prisoners. That didn't mean they weren't painful though as some managed to draw blood. Even in spite of this, Malekith was just grateful that his Ilthimar armour was properly suited to dampening the piercing shots of elven bolts.

Malekith did his best to rip off the shallow embedded bolts whenever he could in the brief respites of battle. With tactical and merciless fervor, he used freshly slain enemy corpses as a bodyshields while cleaving his way through the now panicking enemies. There was not much these enemy elves could really do at this point as he advanced.

The more of them he killed, the more he seemed to lose any sense of awareness. It wasn't long before the setting of the human city and the nearby human knights were completely gone from his mind. All he saw were enemies, and all of them had to die.

Similar to his memory of when he fought an army of beastmen with his troops, Malekith felt himself getting angrier and angrier the longer this went on. Before he knew it, his sight almost seemed red and grey as a haze of bloodlust consumed his senses. His speed increased dramatically now as he dashed fearlessly towards the crossbowmen further away.

It was then a strange vision finally filled his sight for the first time in days. This wasn't a good memory though…it was one of him slaughtering elves. For some reason, in the vision, he could see himself wearing black and gold armour, and felt as if his entire face was covered in a metal mask. The uncomfortable hot breath of his frenzied panting blew back in his face as he butchered his enemies. A familiar burning pain could be felt all over his body even despite his armour. The pain made it nearly impossible for him to focus on what he was seeing or to process the context.

He couldn't make any sense of the vision as it almost seemed to be occurring in sync with his current battle against the enemy elves at the docks. Swinging his sword powerfully, he started sending ranks of the enemies flying back in waves. Some even went flying from the brutal combination of forceful magic and personal strength.

Deeply horrific and echoic laughter escaped him due to the massacre he was creating. He spoke against his own will in sync with his bizarre memory as he yelled at his enemies in Druhir, "I'm not the monster you've heard of! I'M MUCH WORSE! I've killed more elves in a single day than all you have in your entire lives! TREMBLE AND DESPAIR! The Wailing Doom has come!"

Fortunately, this horrific vision didn't last too long as Malekith felt himself snap back to his senses a few seconds later. He had no idea what this memory or vision could have possibly been about, but it was clear that he relived it against his enemies at the Bretonnian docks. When he returned to his clarity, he saw countless corpses around him and the enemy elves fleeing in pure terror.

'What just happened?!' he wondered as he felt the bloodlust dissipate.

"I'm not dying for this! He's crazy! RUN!" one of the corsairs shouted.

"He's too powerful! Someone get a damn sorceress over here to kill this lunatic!" another added.

"Return to ship! Signal the Ark! We need backup now!" a following comment announced.

Malekith blinked in confusion for a moment until he noticed that he had killed almost all the elves manning the Bolt throwers and scattered the entire formation of crossbowmen as well. Dozens of smoldering, hacked up corpses littered the ground beneath his feet.

"Get back to the Ark! He's insane!" one of the crossbowmen elves added as they continued to rout.

Nobody dared to try attacking Malekith now as he saw the enemy elves running for their lives. Most were ungracefully cut down by the massive army of knights who had all finally reached the port. That or they were pelted with arrows from the human bowmen now littering the area.

A few knights almost ran him down, but Malekith was fortunate enough that the massive chevalier Henri was nearby to wave them off, "Don't attack him! He's a high elf! He's with us!"

Repanse and the rest of her surviving Chevaliers left the mop up for many of the fresher arriving knights as they rode back towards Malekith's location. The duchess looked around in disbelief at the slaughter that surrounded Malekith.

She blinked several times and spoke with shock, "Did you kill all of these elves?!"

"He did, duchess! I saw the whole thing! They started running after he used his magic on them. He must have killed nearly a hundred of them!" a nearby knight answered her.

"Still think I'm your enemy?" Malekith asked calmly despite the raging battle around them.

Repanse shook her head, "No…we'll discuss this later. The battle isn't over yet! Jean, what are you doing here right now? Did you find the Prophetess Celine yet?!"

"Madame Repanse! I've been asking people around the city what happened! The entire castle was raided! These elves abducted the Prophetess as well as the half the nobility of the city! They're on that massive ship!" a frantic knight answered her as he rode up closer.

"What?!" the female paladin gasped.

"They've been captured!" the knight reiterated.

Malekith let out a heavy sigh, "This just keeps getting better, doesn't it? My life is nothing but a petty amusement for the gods to laugh at. Nothing's ever easy. I take it this means we have to go rescue them now, doesn't it?"

"We must rescue them! Prophetess Celine is vital for our quest! The Lady told me so!" Repanse announced.

"With all due respect, Madame…how are we going to get to that ship? All of ours are destroyed, and their last ship is leaving port right now!" Jean shook his head despairingly.

Repanse gritted her teeth, "Are you positive that the captives were taken to that black ark?"

"A peasant man-at-arms told me their ships had been coming and going for about an hour before we got here. He said he could see them sailing into the big one. The captives were likely taken before we even arrived at L'Anguille. Without a ship, we have no way getting to their ark, and now they seem to be in full retreat. We were too late to save the prophetess..." Jean explained almost depressingly as if he had been responsible for the failure.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that..." Malekith interrupted as he pointed towards the final elven ship sailing towards the Black Ark. The sight of some strange smoke coming off the deck drew everyone's full attention.

"What is that?!" Repanse asked aloud.

"Some type of smoke flare I assume. One of the enemy elves said something about signaling the ark for help," Malekith answered calmly.

"It's moving now! It looks like it's coming closer. I think it's going to dock." Henri interjected with disbelief in his voice.

"By the Lady! Jean, go and warn the King at once! Henri, gather up our forces and set up a defense! That colossal ship is coming to port! We can't let them land their troops!" Repanse announced.

As the black ark got closer to the port, most of the dark elves in the city had finally been killed or subdued. This gave the garrisoned forces and the Bretonnian army a brief amount of time to set up a defense for the ominous city-sized flagship's approach.

Countless men-at-arms with shields and spears were reluctantly pushed to the front of the defense. Most of the human knights positioned themselves at all angles to charge whatever forces the Black Ark was likely to disembark. Hundreds of archers were lining the walls, buildings, and open plazas behind the shielded armsmen and knights as well. Despite this halfway impressive defense setup, many of the peasant soldiers were obviously scared as the imposing Black ark neared.

Many of the newly arriving humans had been directing confused looks at Malekith, but the sight of him standing around with Repanse and her surviving knights was enough to ease their concerns. Plus, his armour made him distinguishably different from the enemy elves.

'I guess they're not going to give me another horse...and here I thought they were starting to trust me.' Malekith thought annoyed as the knights pretty much ignored him in their preparations. This left him standing near the men-at-arms spearmen who continued to form up behind them.

Other than tactical information, nobody in Repanse's group said anything relevant as they anxiously awaited the encroaching ark to reach the shore.

Malekith took the opportunity to loot one of the repeater crossbows from a dead elf. He made sure to pick up plenty of ammo as well and loaded the weapon up. He then strapped it over his back in preparation for the ark to reach port. It didn't take long, even despite the city-ship's size, for it to almost beach itself into the port of L'Anguille. Many wooden docks were splintered apart as well as half the shipyard when the ark made landfall.

Quite a number of supposedly important knights gave speeches or orders to the obviously worried human soldiers as it was happening. Malekith ignored most of it as he was far more fascinated with the sheer enormity of the ark and what was going to come off of it.

He didn't get to enjoy the view for long as right when the massive ship hit the port, a ramp opened up beneath the bow. The ramp was the size of a city street and it slammed through a nearby building clamping itself to port.

Not even seconds after it came down, a swarm erupted from the interior of the ship. It looked like winged monsters of some kind. Malekith recognized them quickly as harpies and watched with confusion as the vile beasts flocked ravenously towards the archers manning the walls.

Arrows were firing everywhere into the sky now against the horrible, winged abominations, but it didn't spare some men a grim fate as they went plummeting off their posts or thrown into the water in their iron armour to drown.

Shortly after the harpy swarm softened the human archers, armoured horseriders came barreling down the Black Ark's ramp. Some had shields and spears, but quite a number were wielding large automatic crossbows further back. Behind them was something Malekith couldn't make sense of…fully armoured elven knights riding on the backs of raptors.

The deadly looking reptiles were also fully armoured and seemed to run almost as fast as the horses they followed. These armoured warriors and the dark riders ahead of them were merely a vanguard for what Malekith immediately recognized to be chariots behind them.

"ANNIHILATE THEM!" one of the dark elves shouted as loudly as possible from the front reins of the leading chariot. Two other elves flanked him on his chariot with crossbows and he himself was wielding a massive whip and had a crossbow of his own. If that wasn't bad enough, the chariots had blades on either side of their wheels jutting out. The blades let out a spine-chilling and whistling hiss as the chariots picked up speed.

Malekith counted at least a dozen, and each one was being hauled by two armoured raptors.

"Bretonnians, Charge!" some important looking human commanded all of the mounted knights as they ran to meet the enemy cavalry head on.

Repanse and her Chevaliers also charged in which surprisingly left the horseless Malekith by himself. He briefly wondered why, but then it dawned on him, 'She's going to try going up the ramp...she'll be killed. I can't let her die. That woman is my voucher for getting out of this human land. Why didn't they give me another damn horse?!'

He could only watch the following moments as the elven cavalry collided with the charging Bretonnian Knights. Blood and gore littered their collision as man and elf alike skewered one another and ran through opposing lines. The Bretonnians were heavily disadvantaged though since the dark elves were using ranged weapons and they weren't. The chariots also caused a bloodbath as they sliced through the legs of horses on their path. The raptors pulling them were also stronger than horses as they were even starting to run over mounted knights as well. That in addition to the raining black bolts and the swarm of rabid harpies made it apparent that the knights weren't faring nearly as well as they expected to.

"I'm not dying for this! RUN!" a nearby shielded commoner shouted in terror as he tried to run away.

Malekith immediately felt his commander instincts kick in as he snatched the man mid-run and threw him to the ground. He then spoke loudly for all the fearful spearmen to hear, "Breaking formation and trying to outrun cavalry on foot is the worst possible thing you could do right now! If you rout, those chariots will carve right through you…assuming the crossbows don't fill your miserable corpses full of bolts before then! Isn't this city supposed to be your home?! Are you truly prepared to abandon it because you're too feeble of heart to sacrifice your own meager lives for its defense?!"

"I don't know how you got here or what your purpose is in L'Anguille, elf, but this battle is out of our league! Those elves are slaughtering the king's knights!" the soldier shrieked.

"So, you'd rather live on your knees than die on your feet?! You're pathetic! Run then cravens! I'll handle this myself!" Malekith spat in contempt for the fearful peasants.

The soldiers seemed equally as afraid of Malekith as they were of the elven cavalry approaching in the distance. That was saying something considering how bloody the clash of cavalry appeared to be from where they were standing.

Many of the humans started to panic and fall back as chariots mowed through more cavalry and another undisciplined formation of peasant foot soldiers ahead of them. The chariots were now coming their way.

The formation that was near Malekith seemed to either be frozen in fear or they were starting to run. Most however, stopped and watched with disbelief as Malekith charged towards the chariots on foot. Normally, he wouldn't do something this crazy or reckless, but he wanted to comandeer one of the chariots. He fired his crossbow accurately at the passengers on two of the incoming chariots and did his best to dodge their bolts.

'I might be able to get one to crash into another. I'll use magic when they get closer,' Malekith thought as nimbly side-stepped several bolts and narrowly missed shooting the front charioteer. He kept advancing despite the unfavorable odds as winds of magic began to gather around him.

For whatever reason, his fearless stand against the incoming chariots seemed to inspire the peasant soldiers. He quickly realized a lot of the spearmen were also charging behind him now to help. Malekith stopped briefly as he held up his hand, "Hold! Lock your shields in a phalanx and extend your spears!"

He found it strange how the humans seemed to trust and obey his commands now as they caught up to him and locked shields. As the chariots closed in, their crossbowmen continued to pelt the formation with bolts. Malekith remained close to the human formation and watched as the five chariots picked up speed for an obvious collision course.

This was clearly an intimidation tactic as Malekith knew the chariots couldn't safely run over a properly held phalanx. Some of the humans seemed to be getting skittish though as brutally accurate bolts sniped many men in the chariots' advance.

The front-line spearmen next to Malekith were starting to show signs of running again as they were clearly worried about the fearless elven charioteers running them over.

"Hold this line! Brace your shields! SPEARS DOWN!" Malekith shouted at the humans.

"They're going to run us down! We're all going to die!" someone started to panic as he tried to run away from the phalanx. The unfortunate soldier was immediately filled with bolts for leaving the group.

"Stand or Die! They won't run us down!" Malekith announced angrily as he finally unleashed the winds of magic. A gale of frozen wind shot outward and created a massive line of jagged ice in their direction. The chariots managed to dodge it, but two went left and three went right. The sight of Malekith using magic seemed to alleviate the fear most of these soldiers had now as he followed up with a fireball at one of the chariots setting it ablaze.

That and his complete lack of fear gave the peasants the resolve to hold formation despite the chariots nearly reaching them. To the mens' astonishment, the chariots then veered away at the last second and moved around either side of the phalanx. The side blades on the chariots carved against the shield wall as they moved around the formation, but this seemed to slow them down a great deal.

Malekith seized this opportunity to unload his own crossbow into the drivers of two of the chariots and several of their crossbowmen. One went spiraling out of control as it crashed into a building while the other crashed into a Chariot next to it flipping both over.

The remaining chariot now quickly began to retreat as its driver brutally whipped the raptors pulling it. The armsmen peasants took the opportunity to kill the downed riders of the other chariots and seemed to be far more confident in their ability to fight the enemy now.

The fleeing chariot was quickly intercepted by mounted knights as they lanced the crew off of it. Malekith saw this as his golden opportunity to take it as the chariot went skidding almost to a halt further along.

The knights fortunately didn't kill the raptors dragging it as they were busy charging against the enemy horseriders who were now coming in to flank them.

Malekith swiftly ran over to the chariot and got on it. To his annoyance, the raptors wouldn't move when he got the chariot upright again. The human foot soldiers quickly followed him over and stared at him awaiting orders.

"What do we do now, elf?" one man asked.

'I find it strange how these humans are so willing to obey me now,' Malekith thought confused as he picked up a whip from a dead charioteer.

He glanced over at them seriously, "I have to enter that ark…regroup with all the spearmen you can and reform a defensive line to keep the dark elves from entering the city. Find survivors and hold the docks. You should also gather up archers and protect them so the harpies can't pick them off. Leave the enemy cavalry to your knights. You need to protect your archers! They're getting slaughtered!"

"Y-you're going in that giant ship alone?!" one of the men asked horrified.

Malekith didn't bother answering the man as he cracked the whip and forced the raptors to start dragging the chariot again.

As he progressed closer to the ark, he was attacked by Bretonnian knights and enemy dark elf horseriders. He made sure not to kill the knights as he managed to dehorse a few with a wave of magic wind. The enemy elves on the other hand were either shot by his crossbow or avoided altogether as he kept moving forward.

It didn't take long for most of the human knights on the frontline to realize that he wasn't an enemy as they stopped attacking him now. Unfortunately, more and more dark riders and raptor mounted elven knights were now focusing their attention on him.

Malekith was shot a few times by crossbows during his advance, but only one managed to draw blood as it lightly pierced his cuirass beneath the arm. He grimaced in pain, but quickly managed to rip the jagged bolt out without losing control of the chariot.

His luck was impeccable as he had just enough time to then drop the whip and draw his sword against the blade of a nearby raptor-mounted knight.

These knights were faster than his chariot and he soon had over two dozen of them moving in to make their cheap shots against him. He battled them off as best he could during his brutal advance to the Black Ark's ramp, but his luck quickly ran out as an enemy spear formation was now blocking the entrance.

Knowing he was dead if he stopped and dead if he kept charging, Malekith was left with few options on how to deal with this new dilemma. He could barely think of a plan as he rabidly slashed and blasted the enemy knights away from his chariot with magic.

The only option he had left would be to punch a hole through the spear formation somehow. After dropping his crossbow, Malekith did his best to channel the winds of magic in his off hand as he kept battling off the elven knights with Avanuir.

The situation only seemed to get worse now as crossbowmen formed up behind the elven phalanx up ahead. Without any regard to their allied knights fighting Malekith, they unloaded a large volley of bolts at him.

Instinctively recalling the arrow attraction spell he cast in his memories, Malekith cast the white-blue magic into the volley of bolts. The swarm of projectiles then glowed white as they redirected themselves into all of the dark riders and cold one knights around him.

This gave him the perfect opportunity to abandon his chariot as he jumped onto one of the raptors a freshly killed knight had just fallen from.

The chariot kept on going as Malekith wrestled his way onto the stubborn reptile. It hissed and bucked angrily in rejection at its new rider as its neck twisted back and tried to bite him.

Malekith then charged a surge of dhar into the beast causing it to let out a submissive shriek. For some reason, he almost felt as if he understood how to control this creature. With instinctive wit, he then applied painful pressure to a vertebra sticking out of its neck.

The raptor quickly calmed down and seemed to accept him as its rider in the following moments. By then the empty chariot had crashed into the front line of elven spearmen. It nearly broke through their entire formation before plummeting off the side of the ramp.

Malekith wasted no time directing his raptor mount to charging at the staggered formation. They weren't really able to reform in time as Malekith sent out a wave of jagged ice and leapt his armoured raptor through a hole in the formation.

"Did that Asur just subdue a Cold One?!" Malekith heard one of the elven spearmen shout in disbelief.

Their disbelief at Malekith's mount swap and reckless charge was short-lived as a massive follow-up of Bretonnian cavalry was now barreling through their defense mere moments later.

It was then that the elven prince was finally aboard this massive black ark. As he charged through it, he was met with more and more enemies. Most of them seemed caught off guard though and couldn't respond fast enough to stop him as he charged his "cold one" deeper inside past them.

Malekith soon found himself somewhat lost aboard this city-ship as he couldn't quite figure out where he should go. He certainly couldn't stop though, or he'd be quickly surrounded and killed.

Fortunately, he eventually managed to locate a large group of humans being herded in chains to a nearby structure. They were getting directed by brutal dark elf overseers who were cracking whips at them.

These overseers were not expecting Malekith's swift arrival as he rode by and started killing them with efficient speed.

The human captives seemed a bit panicked but couldn't really do much while being chained. Most fell to the ground and tried to not get caught in the crossfire as Malekith started butchering all of the nearby elves with magic and sword work.

"Who is this?! An Asur?! KILL HIM!" one of the dark elven masters shouted angrily at a formation of elves trying to catch up to the renegade high elf aboard their ark. The lead master tried to crack Malekith with his whip, but the prince easily cut the whip in half with his magical blade before running by and decapitating the overseer.

Malekith wasted no time killing the rest of the dark elf masters and their nearby troops in the following moments. Upon finishing his slaughter, he looked down at the dozens of chained humans cowering on the ground. His use of magic and the grim direness of the situation likely had many of them terrified.

The elven prince spoke to the humans as calmly as he could, "Where is Prophetess Celine and the nobles of the castle?!"

The Bretonnian captives seemed surprised that Malekith was looking for a human and one bravely answered him, "S-she is somewhere up ahead…w-who are you anyways? Why's an elf killing other elves?"

"I'm not with these dark elves. Now point me in the direction they took her!" Malekith demanded with deep-voiced intensity.

The human that spoke to him visibly flinched as he shrunk back and pointed, "T-that way…sir."

"Make your way back the way I came. Bretonnian knights are right behind me. They should be able to clear you a path off this ship. It's docked at the port!" Malekith commanded the humans as he used his sword to cut away most of their chains.

The magically lit blade clearly scared them, but most seemed shocked and relieved that Malekith was freeing them. A good portion of the humans quickly started to run for their lives, but the one that spoke to him remained behind briefly and voiced his confusion, "Why are you saving us, elf? We're just peasants…"

"If you want to get off this ship alive, then start running…NOW!" Malekith shouted at him before directing his cold one to move out.

The warhorn of Bretonnian knights filled the air as the human cavalry were now making their way into the area. They made quick work of the unsuspecting elven troops who were frantically trying to chase after the escaping slaves.

Many of the humans Malekith freed also did their best to free other slaves aboard which soon turned the entire plaza into a massive prison break of pure chaos. Malekith couldn't quite make sense of why this ark even decided to port. Whoever made that decision was certainly going to regret it soon.

A short ride and a few kills later, Malekith finally reached the large structure where the human had pointed him to. Things were far less chaotic over here as a large formation of elves were guarding the area. For some reason, the chaos aboard the ark didn't draw these elves from this post. He knew it would be difficult to avoid them, but the sight of slaves being herded away in chains behind him quickly affirmed his belief that he was in the right place.

The nearby enemy elves were in a strong and disciplined formation facing him. It was almost as if they were waiting for him to get there. His concerns were immediately confirmed as flanking formations came out of nearby buildings and surrounded the prince on all sides. They consisted of spearmen, corsairs, crossbowmen, and more.

The ones he found most unusual were the scantily clad female elves. Most were wielding daggers and short swords. These warrioress elves had faint paint and were dressed rather whorishly in his opinion. Many had the sigil of khaine on their clothes or body somewhere. They were likely priestesses if he had to guess.

Malekith glanced around anxiously and found it strange that none of them tried to attack him yet. Most of the enemy elves snickered at his confusion and his grim situation as if he was royally screwed. Though from their perspective, he pretty much was.

'Damn it! How did I let myself get surrounded like this?!' Malekith thought angrily as he tried to come up with another miraculous solution.

"I've never seen an Asur tame a Cold One before. But then again, I've also never seen an Asur as reckless as you. I wondered when your little fleet would make its counterattack. I knew you wouldn't be able to resist showing up again if we started sacking these human hovels! You've charged right into my trap! I'm guessing you're one of Aislinn's vanguards? You must be if you're crazy enough to attack me!" someone finally spoke.

Malekith glared hatefully at the speaker who was now walking to the front of the formation ahead of him. It was a female elf who was armoured the same as the corsairs he had been fighting all day. Granted her armour was far more prestigious and flamboyant which made it obvious that she was some kind of captain or admiral. She had long black hair, deep blue eyes, and an angular pretty face.

"Who are you supposed to be she-elf?" Malekith asked as he alertly watched the enemies for any sudden movements.

The corsair officer laughed at his question, "What?! You don't know who I am?! You're joking, right?"

"Clearly, you're someone who commands this ship, I assume?" Malekith responded dryly.

"You're not getting the princess back, you delusional Asur fool! she shot back with smug contempt.

Malekith cocked his head in confusion, "Princess? I'm not here for a princess…what are you talking about?!"

The corsair officer gave him a perplexing look now, "What are you saying?! Why else would an Asur risk this suicide endeavor to attack my Black Ark?! Quit lying to me!"

"I'm just here for the humans you abducted from the castle. What's this about a princess and a fleet? I don't even know who you people are…" Malekith shook his head completely lost.

The corsair officer started to laugh hysterically now, "Wait a minute…you're here to rescue humans?! HAHAHAHA! Oooh, that's funny! I guess some Asur do have a sense of humor. I'm not buying it though…so how's about you tell me who you are, Asur? I'll enjoy informing the princess how her vaunted rescuer failed pathetically to save her!"

"You first, my lady…" Malekith replied sarcastically.

"My Lady, huh? Are you trying to charm your way out of the gruesome torture we're about to subject you to? Or are you just hopelessly attracted to me?" she chuckled.

Malekith didn't respond as he used the time to think of a practical way to get out of this trap, 'If I use more magic, I might be able to break through on one of these flanks…but in the open plaza those crossbowmen will easily be able to hit me. Plus, there are bolt throwers on that tower up there. I can't trust my magic to stop all of them. I need to figure something out fast! Maybe those human knights will be able to catch up with me if I keep this bitch talking. They don't seem to be taking the humans seriously.'

"You are rather lady-like. It's a shame we couldn't meet under better circumstances. You're the kind of girl my mother would approve of...beautiful and heartless," Malekith finally responded. It was clear that he meant it insultingly, but a lot of the enemy elves found it rather funny that he was having this kind of flirty verbal exchange with their leader.

"Cute…if you weren't an Asur, I might actually find you appealing. You're quite brave…I'll give you that, but your little rescue ends here! Tell me who you are! NOW! Are you a loremaster? An archmage? A Prince?! My soldiers reported that you've been casting Qhaysh against them…so clearly, you're someone important! ANSWER ME!" the female elf hissed.

"My name is Malerion…I hail from Nagarythe," he finally answered her.

Her eyes went wide with hatred now, "Nagarythe huh?! Are you a servant of the Shadow King then?! I guess that explains where the black hair comes from! I look forward to delivering you to Naggaroth! One of the Hag Queens will certainly pay me a fortune for an amusing Asur slave like you! Malida pays the most for Nagarythe slaves. That armour will sell quite nicely as well!"

'Naggaroth? The peasant bailiff mentioned that place. I wonder if that's the land northwest of Ulthuan? He said it was northeast…I thought he was talking about Norsca. All I remember about that land was it being nothing but mountains, forests, and tundras. So, these dark elves live out in that wilderness? No wonder I've never encountered them before. These fringe-living, barbaric elves must be responsible for those cytharai cults. Maybe that's where mother learned her dark magic? I wonder who the Shadow King is though? Maybe they mean me…I am the rightful ruler of Nagarythe after all. That might be what these dark elves call me? I wish I could remember!' Malekith thought over the information briefly.

"Might I know your name, corsair? I gave you mine," the prince requested calmly.

"Hmph…do you truly not know? Alright, I'll humor your pointless request…only so you know who it is that you're dealing with! I am Captain Meira Stormspear, the Black Ark Fleetmaster of the glorious ark, Mathlann's Blade, that you feebly stand upon! Bow before me servant of the Shadow King! I am the master of this ark!" Meira boasted flamboyantly.

"I've never heard of you. So, you people are slavers then? Why?" Malekith asked much to their disbelief.

Almost all of the dark elves watching him exchanged confused or amused looks at his question. Meira actually couldn't contain her laughter from it, "Hahaha! I can't tell if you're serious of if this is just game to you! I've never seen a captured Asur this relaxed and inquisitive!"

"Why don't you acknowledge the lordship of the phoenix king? What's your issue with Nagarythe?" he asked another few questions. He was trying his best to understand their motives and buy more time.

"This fool can't be serious…are all Asur this daft?!" someone shouted in annoyance at Malekith's question.

"Captain, why are we even indulging in his mind games?! We should put him in chains already!" another elf shouted at the fleetmaster.

Meira shook her head with a devious smile, "Don't worry, Malerion of Nagarythe. I'll happily educate you more about the druchii in a torture chamber all the way back to Karond Kar. Plenty of personal time...just for the two of us. So, how's about we cut to the chase...do you want to do this the easy way or the hard way? Either option ends with you being my slave...though I might be gentler if you just surrender now."

"That's some imagination you have...I'm nobody's slave. You're not capturing me." Malekith replied dryly.

His sheer nonchalant assuredness was enough to invoke fury among many of his surrounding enemies. A lot of them began to shout insults at him, but he tuned most of it out as he kept his attention on the corsair leader.

"Ooh…is that right?! I've heard enough of your smug remarks! Take him down! Put him in chains and have him delivered to my quarters!" Meira commanded her troops.

Fortunately, since they wanted to take him alive, Malekith was not shot by missiles and instead swarmed by melee combatants charging on all sides. Instead of fighting them, like the dark elves expected him to, Malekith then began to run away.

He had been slowly gathering up more winds of magic this entire time and had enough to ignite a massive wall of fire to cover his retreat.

"Running away?! You talk big for such a pathetic coward! You're going nowhere, Asur fool! Shoot his cold one!" Meira howled angrily.

Things seemed to be going well for a moment as he started to clear away from the surrounding enemies and make a clean break. Then of course his luck ran out at the worst possible time. A barrage of reaper bolts pelted his raptor beneath him causing the beast to go slumping to the ground injured. Malekith didn't have time to do anything else but continue running on foot now as the dinosaur cried out in pain.

Though he was fast, even in armour, Malekith could not outrun all of the pursuing enemy elves. The whorishly clad female ones in particular were ridiculously fast as they caught up to him in practically no time at all.

"Hag Queen Malida is going to enjoy you, Asur!" one of them hissed as she tried to throw a dagger at him.

Malekith managed to catch it midair much to her surprise, and quickly threw it back into her face. She immediately fell over dead. This only seemed to piss off the other crazy whore elves as they were actually trying to kill him now.

Many more tried to cheap shot or stab him with daggers during their chase, but he battled them off as best he could for another minute of running. These rabid she-elves were insanely bloodthirsty as they did anything they could to get ahold of him.

Finally, one managed to wrap herself around one of his legs and fell back with dead weight, keeping him from running. She desperately tried to stab a blade at his groin, but Malekith quickly set her on fire. Her dying attack missed his groin but went into his thigh instead. It was surprisingly able to pierce his greave partially.

Malekith grimaced in pain but let out no sound as he kept moving. With more of the rabid female elves closing in, the prince quickly swung his sword in wild arcs releasing waves of flaming magic to slow them down.

It didn't take long for him to feel a numbness in his leg a few seconds later. The embedded dagger in his thigh was obviously poisoned. He quickly tried to stop it from spreading as he tore out the dagger and cauterized the wound with magic.

Malekith's magical solution seemed to stop the spread of the poison, but his leg was still half-numb now. He cursed his lack of vigilance for allowing himself to be injured like this, but it wasn't much worse than the bolt shots he had endured up until now. Content with his quick solution, he maintained discipline and focused his attention on slaughtering anyone else who got too close to him.

He couldn't deny the blade skills that many of his foes had, but for some reason they were nowhere near his match in martial combat. Their lack of armour also made them easy to slay. Malekith must have felled dozens of the whorish she-elves before they finally let up and backed away.

'I might have to use Dhar at this rate…the winds of magic are starting to deplete and I'm physically exhausted,' Malekith thought grimly as he caught his breath for a moment. Up until now, he had barely used dark magic other than Chillwind as he did not want to scare the Bretonnians with it or risk any further repercussions to his own health.

Nevertheless, it seemed apparent that he would need to try and cast a greater spell to get out of this situation alive. As he caught his breath, he saw the Black Ark Fleetmaster, Meira, had caught up to him along with most of her other troops.

"You're not getting away, you craven Asur weakling! How dare you talk down to me and then run away! I'll enjoy hearing you beg me for mercy! Stand back warriors! I want to humiliate him myself!" the fleetmaster growled.

"Allow me to assist you, Meira…he's dangerous. I'll even the playing field," another voice spoke.

Malekith looked for its source and soon noticed another scantily clad she-elf. This one was wearing an elaborate headdress and showed quite a bit of bare skin in her promiscuous clothing. Malekith was quick to realize that she was a mage as she carried a nasty looking staff. The top of the staff had a black and purple idol in the shape of a hydra head and was glowing intensely. She also had a shortsword sheathed to her side.

'A dark mage?! Just what I needed!' Malekith complained mentally at the danger he now faced.

"So much for a fair fight…and you think I'm the coward?" Malekith taunted the captain.

Meira immediately drew two swords as she charged him angrily, "I'm going to break you!"

"Wait, Meira, don't!" the sorceress called out, but it was too late.

She was already whirling her blades angrily at Malekith. She was definitely a combat expert, but he didn't find keeping up with her attacks all that difficult as their blades clashed and clanged repeatedly.

Malekith had no intention of fighting fair though. Avanuir lit up with more magic as their skirmish progressed. His counter swings against the corsair fleetmaster came with waves of fire, which were not easy for her to deal with. After using a deadly blade combo that his father taught him, Malekith managed to disarm one of her swords and twist around for a decapitation.

Surprisingly, Meira managed to parry it with her remaining sword and pushed against his blade with both hands holding her remaining sword. Malekith gave her a calm glare as she aggressively tried to overpower him.

His use of only one arm seemed to infuriate her as Malekith slowly pushed her blade closer to her face. As it was happening, Meira failed to notice that his free hand was charging with magic. Before she knew what happened, she was blasted back by a point-blank fireball to the chest.

This sent Meira flying away on fire now. The nearby sorceress quickly intervened as she warded the fleetmaster and put out the flames with her own magic.

Meira was surprisingly okay but looked even more upset upon recovering. She sent a hateful look to the sorceress, "I don't need your damn help, Saerina!"

"From where I was standing it sure looked like you did. This Malerion is clearly a melee master and an expert of Qhaysh. I'll even the playing field and I'll help you subdue him. You're not taking down this Malerion without my help," the sorceress Saerina said haughtily as she strutted closer.

By then, Meira had already picked up her disarmed blades. She rolled her eyes at Saerina, "If you insist, then fine!"

The sorceress wickedly smiled as she snapped her fingers and caused Meira's dual blades to light up with a dark purple aura of magic. The whorish mage then drew a her shortblade which erupted with dark flames. A moment later, she charged a ball of fire over her staff and blasted it towards Malekith.

He couldn't move fast enough to dodge the attack, so he instead tried to cut through it with Avanuir's magically enhanced flames. White flames clashed with blackened purple as his attack managed to cut through her spell and send it flying in two different directions.

Most of the surrounding dark elves quickly distanced themselves from the obvious magical crossfire that they were about to be in as Malekith threw his own fireball at the sorceress in retaliation. She had no issues warding it as she held up her staff and grounded the spell.

Malekith didn't consider her a better mage than himself, but he had a hard time countering her follow up spells as Meira was now flurrying her dual blades against him with relentless speed. He battled the two of them off for a short while, but Malekith was forced to stay on the defensive as he could not counter the sorceress with the Black Ark captain locking him into a defensive melee skirmish.

He quickly realized that they were trying to exhaust him with their tactics as he started to slow down against their endless assaults. Avanuir's white flames were visibly dampening in the following minute of intense combat and Malekith could literally do next to nothing but defend himself.

"I see you slowing down, Malerion! You're done for!" Meira boasted as she managed to sweep his leg after he parried both of her blades simultaneously.

Malekith rolled on his side and dodged her following sword swings as he tried to get back to his feet. Halfway back to his feet, a powerful kick nailed him in the chest and sent him flying back to the ground.

"Ahahahaha! Bind this fool, Saerina!" Meira laughed.

The sorceress nodded her head as she casted a powerful binding hex on the downed Malekith. He managed to get back to a knee before the spell reached him, but waves of her dark magic were now pinning Malekith down. He felt the hexing Dhar crawling over his skin and causing extreme agony. It almost felt like his soul was being drained.

"ARGHHH!" Malekith roared in pain as he used all of his willpower to resist the hex.

"Mmmm…I love the sound of Asur screaming in pain. Not so tough now, are you?! I have to say though...you've been fun. I love the ones who try and fight back. It makes moments like these all the more satisfying." Meira laughed at his futile attempts to break free of Saerina's spell.

Even in spite of Saerina's magic and his pain, Malekith was slowly starting to stand up. Saerina seemed a bit annoyed at Malekith's ability to endure this spell to some degree. She grimaced in anger as she amplified her magical output, "Just give up already! My Dhar is all-powerful, and you are NOTHING before me!"

Just then, a second wind came for Malekith. He could sense it was coming from the Sunfire Amulet. It slowly began to repel the binding hex and allowed him to move his arms. Malekith used the opportunity to hold up his hand against Saerina's spell. It glowed a whitish blue as it started to absorb the magic the sorceress was pumping out. Saerina's eyes went wide with disbelief moments later as Malekith fully rose to his feet.

His battle instincts took over him again as he gathered the captured magic into violent wind overhead. Meira tried to attack him when it became apparent that Malekith was stealing the magic, but it was too late to stop him as Malekith unleashed a powerful shockwave of the siphoned magic in all directions.

This knocked many enemy elves off their feet and sent Meira skidding back towards Saerina. The sorceress warded herself from the spell and was already preparing another spell to counter the newly invigorated Malekith.

"That won't work twice! I am a supreme sorceress of Ghrond! My Dhar is more powerful than your Qhaysh! You will not defeat me!" Saerina hissed bitterly as her staff erupted with a stream of black lightning at him.

Malekith countered her spell with black lightning of his own now, which caught everyone off guard. His fingers began to burn as he continuously unleashed his tempest of dark energy against hers. The two spells clashed momentarily and lit up the area in dark sparks of chaotic magic. This also sent random doombolts spiraling around the battlefield.

Saerina looked completely horrified and was starting to wane from his obviously superior dark magic, "I-Impossible! You can use Dhar too?!"

"A lot better than you can...whore." Malekith said darkly.

In the following moments, his black lightning easily overpowered Saerina's as it redirected both spells back in her direction. She shrieked in agony as Malekith started to electrocute her with his dark magic. This would have easily killed her had he maintained the stream a while longer, but a desperate Meira managed to stop his channeled attack as she swooped in to try cutting off his arm.

Malekith was forced to cease the spell, but he easily parried her. Before she could do anything else, he high kicked the Black Ark fleetmaster in the head. She fell over dazed and wasn't able to move in time to stop Malekith from swinging Avanuir down on her.

Saerina saved Meira this time as she charged into melee range to block Malekith's sword with her own. She was physically much weaker than him though, which made it easy for Malekith to press her blade away. He stared at the sorceress hatefully as Avanuir lit up with dark flames now. The sorceress struggled against his superior strength and desperately pressed her staff in for added support. He kneed her in the bare stomach a moment later and disarmed both of her weapons at the same time.

Malekith followed up with a powerful punch to the beautiful elf's face. This sent her to the ground bleeding and dazed.

"So much for being all-powerful," Malekith scoffed at her as he readied his blade to execute the sorceress.

"Everyone, Kill him! DARKSHARDS FIRE!" a worried Meira shouted. It was clear the captain was afraid of him now.

Malekith didn't have the opportunity to finish off his two opponents as bolts flew at him from all of the ranged enemies nearby. He stopped the first volley with magic but decided not to test his luck in dealing with more. Seizing his chance, he swiftly started to run away again.

"AFTER HIM! Don't let him escape! Beastmasters, release Chromescale and Slimefang! They'll put this arrogant bastard down!" Meira commanded.

'Where are those damn humans when I need them?! They should have reached this area of the ark by now!' Malekith thought angrily as he zigged and zagged between any cover he could find to avoid the raining bolts landing all around him.

Upon reaching another structure for cover, he saw gates opening up nearby. The sound of whips and terrifying howls froze him in place as a five headed monster came out of the nearest gate.

He recognized it was a hydra, but he couldn't make sense of how he knew that. Out of an adjacent gate, a many mouthed and many-headed slime-covered monster also exited. Both of these dreadful beasts were being directed in his location by dark elves with whips.

The hydra was practically right next to him and was charging full speed. He did not want to test his luck fighting this creature, but he had little choice as the five-headed beast exhaled flames during its approach.

He managed to brace the flames with his magic, but the monster was now in melee range and was chomping and stomping wildly in an attempt to kill him.

By then, the bulk of Saerina and Meira's warriors had caught up to him and stood a safe distance away blocking any paths of escape.

Saerina magically amplified her voice and spoke loudly, "You're no match for a Hydra AND a Kharibdyss!"

The Kharibdyss, which was apparently what the slime monster was, exhaled icy breath as it closed in. Malekith did the only thing he could to avoid it as he ran around the hydra for cover.

Despite humiliating their leaders mere minutes prior, his enemies were laughing at his futile attempts to avoid being squished or torched by the hydra. To make matter worse, the kharibdyss was closing in fast. Between the two monsters and random bolts flying his way, Malekith was in a bad situation right now.

Doing what he could to dodge bolts and the breath attacks, he kept using the hydra as cover. It didn't take long for the beast to corner him against a wall though as it caught on to his tricks. He then found himself staring down the five-headed hydra as it prepared another flame breath.

He stared into the eyes of the central head and felt time almost slow down as its mouths began to ignite. Unsure if it would work or not, he tried to hex the hydra as he channeled a streak of Dhar into the beast's head.

Its veins visibly showed all over its body in a dark purple spiderweb pattern as the creature ceased its flame breath.

Malekith couldn't make sense of how he knew to cast this spell, but he finished it a moment later, "Afar Hekarti liwo, obeausan alnej beaukav!

The hydra immediately became docile as its bestial eyes relaxed at the sight of Malekith. The central head even lowered right next to him as it let out a calm subservient hiss. This was short-lived though as the brutal whippings of nearby beastmasters quickly agitated the creature again.

"Kill them!" Malekith commanded the hydra.

It obeyed him without hesitation as the hydra turned around to kill the beastmasters that were whipping it. This shocked everyone watching that someone could magically bind a hydra's will in this way.

"What the?! D-did he just take control of Chromescale?!" Meira exclaimed with utter disbelief.

Saerina's mouth was wide with a mixture of awe and horror, "T-that's impossible…he hexed it! Who is this Malerion?!"

Malekith then turned his attention in their direction, "Chromescale, kill them all!"

The hydra obeyed him and promptly charged at his pursuers. The enemy ranks were clearly panicked at the sight of the charging hydra, and everyone was soon forced to fight the creature as it started slaughtering dark elves. The surviving beastmasters had no choice but to direct the Kharibdyss, Slimefang, into fighting off Chromescale. Malekith didn't stick around to watch the two monsters battle as he ran for a nearby wayward horse in the distance that was fortunately missing its rider.

With elven grace, he leapt onto the steed's back and began to retreat to where he last saw the Bretonnians. To his surprise, the enemy finally stopped pursuing him. He could hear abyssal howls in the distance from the hydra and kharibdyss fighting each other though.

'That ought to keep them occupied for a while. How did I do that though? I just thought about mother hexing sky basilisks, and I just did it without thinking. I can hex monsters?' he contemplated the unusual escape he just pulled off.

A short bit of riding later, he finally saw Bretonnian knights again. He had never been happier to see humans in his life as he caught up to them. Some were initially hostile at his approach, but fortunately Repanse and her surviving chevaliers were there to greet him. Many of the knights were holding enemies at bay as escaping slaves were shepherded towards the ramp to escape.

Repanse perked up with astonishment at Malekith's presence, "Elf?! How did you get on this ship?!"

"I followed behind you. I managed to locate where your Prophetess was, but I ran into the captain of this ship and a large bulk of her followers along the way. I just managed to escape them," he explained.

"A likely story…how do we know this elf isn't working for them?" a non-chevalier knight interjected into their conversation.

"He's with us! He cut down plenty of these dark elves on the way," Repanse calmed some of the suspicious knights.

"We need to go find your prophetess and damsels while the captain of the ark is occupied," Malekith stated.

Repanse actually smiled at his remark, "We already rescued them. They were being held at a tower near the middle of ark. Henri and Jean lead them off the ship a few minutes ago. I'm just covering our retreat with the remaining knights here."

"You…already found them?" Malekith asked surprised.

He could barely believe the good news or the fact that the human knights did something competent. In fact, the whole notion of something going right actually surprised him considering the day he had been having so far.

"Madame! More enemies approaching! We won't be able to hold off that many!" a chevalier announced to Repanse as he pointed at a horde of the Black Ark's crew rallying together to charge.

Only a few escaping slaves were left now. Repanse looked at them grimly, "Everyone, pick someone up so we can get out of here!"

"I'm not letting a commoner ride with me," one knight complained.

"Do it! That's an order from a duchess!" Repanse commanded. This immediately silenced any complaints.

The knights all quickly went to work picking up the last escapees to ride on their horses with them. Malekith stayed with Repanse as more and more knights fell back. By then, many missile troops were shooting down the unfortunate few left behind.

"Duchess! We need to go, now!" a panicked chevalier shouted at Repanse as he did his best to hold onto a young girl.

"Let's go! We've saved everyone we can!" Repanse commanded as she signaled for everyone left to fully retreat. One knight immediately signaled the retreat as he blew into a warhorn.

Malekith didn't follow initially as something strange caught his eye…he saw a blonde-haired elf girl running for her life in their direction.

Judging by her clothes, she was clearly not a dark elf and she seemed like a fairly young adult. The elven maiden was being chased by the scantily clad whore-elves who cackled in glee at her futile attempt to escape.

'Is that the princess they were talking about?' Malekith wondered.

Against his better judgment, he rode towards her. It didn't take long to reach the girl, but he was now in range of countless missile troops who were unleashing waves of bolts at him.

He deflected the first volley with magic before clasping his hand tightly, 'Might as well use up the rest of my reserves…'

"ELF?! What are you doing?! We're leaving!" Repanse called out from the distance. A volley of bolts forced her to keep moving though.

With the Bretonnians now out of sight, Malekith calmly repeated the Bladewind spell he saw in his memory of fighting beastmen. Winds began to swirl around wildly now deflecting all incoming missiles as magical dark blades formed overhead. The vortex of magical blades then began to churn violently through the enemy forces closing in.

This magical attack slaughtered countless warriors and halted the dark elves' advance long enough for Malekith to knock over the nearby awestruck witch elves. Without wasting a moment, he snatched up the young blonde elven maiden and placed her in front of him on the horse. He was on his way out immediately afterwards.

The blonde female seemed completely confused and terrified about what was happening and tried to get a good look at Malekith and the pursuing enemies behind them.

Ignoring her, he focused his attention on escaping. Malekith periodically threw up magical firewalls to delay his pursuers and then ran for the ramp as fast as his horse could take him. The shaking of the ship promptly alerted him to the fact that the Black Ark was leaving port now. As he neared the ramp, he saw it starting to come back up. He knew he would be screwed if he got stuck on the ship, so he kept running even in spite of the closing ramp.

Upon finally reaching it, the ramp was now parallel with the docks and the ark was getting further away from shore. Malekith kicked his horse and forced it to make the long jump as it fearfully leapt off the closing ramp and landed on the completely devastated docks of L'Anguille.

Upon touching down, the horse pranced around panicked, but Malekith did his best to calm it. When it was manageable, he directed the horse to keep moving in order to gain some more distance from the ark. Stealing a glance back, he saw that it was now moving away from the city along with its fleet.

Malekith let out a huge sigh of relief upon getting to safety. He almost seemed to forget about the elven lady he just rescued as he got off the horse and fell to his back. He stared at the sky completely exhausted and thanked the gods that he somehow got through all of this alive. He was deathly tired now, and the excessive use of magic had him feeling drained. Nevertheless, he felt much more confident about his magical abilities now. Though he would certainly restrain himself from using as much Dhar in the future. It seemed more appropriate to save it only for times of necessity as his Qhaysh worked perfectly fine for most of the battle.

Pushing those thoughts aside he exhaled deeply, 'Allisara was right…this Sunfire Amulet IS lucky. Maybe I should start worshipping Lileath too? I think it did something to protect me during my battle with that other mage.'

"Thank you so much for saving me!" a voice spoke to him in Eltharin. He immediately remembered that the young elven maiden was there and sat up to look at her.

The young elven maiden was obviously a highborn just based on her voice alone. She was quite beautiful though with long golden hair. Half of it was in a hightail, and the other flowed freely down to her back. Her skin was a perfect porcelain complexion, her facial features were delicate but defined, and her eyes were a sky blue. She lacked any jewelry for obvious reasons, but Malekith could practically see a tan line from where she probably wore her crown.

The lady elf was much smaller than him and seemed a bit too peitite to be a warrior however. He found that odd since he was under the impression one had to be martially competetant to be a Prince of Princess. Though she was clearly from outer Ulthuan judging by her accent. Malekith was already guessing either Cothique or Yvresse.

She had tears of relief in her eyes as she knelt over and hugged him tightly, "Thank you…thank you…I was so scared! Where is everyone else? I don't see any other Asur here. Are you from the fleet? Who are you, for that matter?"

"I don't even know who you are. There are no other elves here except for you, me, and those dark elves," Malekith answered the elven maiden as he peeled away her hug and stood up.

She wiped away her tears and blinked several times in stunned confusion, "Y-you mean you're alone here? Judging by that armour, I thought you were part of a rescue army!"

"No, I was helping these humans rescue their mages and nobles who were captured from the castle here. Who are you, child?" he asked

"I am NOT a child! My name is Naerelia and I'm the princess of Tor Andar! I have been for the past ten years!" the girl stated with elven pride.

"Right…you're slightly young to be a princess. You seem to lack combat skills as well. I've never heard of you before," he remarked carelessly.

'I thought Seleiria was the princess of Tor Andar? Maybe she died? Oh well, I never liked her anyways. So, this girl is from Cothique? Great…I can't stand Cothiqueans. She's actually a princess though. Maybe I can figure out what's going on from her. Granted now is probably not a good time. She doesn't recognize me...so I might be able to keep my identity a secret from her until I get back to Ulthuan. I need to unravel all the facts before exposing myself in this vulnerable state.' Malekith thought to himself.

"You're clearly not culturally accustomed to Ulthuan if you think it's okay to speak to a princess that way. Who are you and what are you doing with humans?" she asked somewhat flustered by his lack of acknowledgement or care to her title.

"My name is Malerion…I'm from Nagarythe," he replied vaguely. He did NOT want this girl to know he was Aenarion's son or a prince…at least not until his memories were fully restored. Part of him was convinced that someone might have tried to assassinate him. The Lady of the Lake's warnings also added to his paranoia.

"Nagarythe? No wonder you're so rude and uncultured. Are you a shadow warrior then?" she asked.

"Not really," he shook his head even despite not remembering what a shadow warrior was.

She shook her head, "Well, regardless of your gross lack of etiquette, I am eternally grateful for your rescue Malerion of Nagarythe. What part of Nagarythe are you from anyways? That's not an easy place to live I hear. Admittedly, I don't really know much about it."

"Umm…more specifically I am from the mountains north of Evershale right on the border of Avelorn and Nagarythe. I had a parent from each kingdom," he added to reinforce his lie.

"Oh, so you're from one of those mountain towns? That explains a lot…" she sighed, "so why are you helping humans?"

Before Malekith could answer her, Repanse ran over on horseback and quickly dismounted her steed, "By the Lady…I can't believe you made it out of there!"

"Are they retreating?" Malekith asked Repanse as he glanced at the dark elf fleet sailing away with the black ark.

"It would seem so…we managed to rescue a lot of captives aboard the ship. I can't imagine they're going to let our retaliation go unanswered, but at least Bretonnia will have time to prepare now. I'm not sure why they're leaving, but I'm guessing the King's army was enough to scare them off. It's good they got here when they did, but there were still a lot of casualties," the duchess sighed.

"Excuse me, but I'm pretty sure I just asked you a question. Why are you with these humans?" the elven princess asked with a petulant annoying voice.

Repanse gave the girl a puzzling stare, "Who is this elf? What's she saying?"

"Don't tell them you're a princess…I'm technically a captive here. These knights were escorting me to Marienburg so I could go back to Ulthuan. Just go along with what I say for now," Malekith told Naerelia in Eltharin.

The princess then decided to speak in their human language now as she looked at Repanse, "Where are we, human? Who are you?"

"If you can speak our language, elf, then you should obviously know we're in Bretonnia," Repanse shook her head at the dumb question.

Naerelia rolled her eyes, "I know that, but where specifically?!"

"Watch your tone, elf! I think it more appropriate that you tell us who you are first!" Repanse shot back aggressively.

"Who do you think you're tal-" Naerelia didn't get to finish her remark before Malekith interrupted her.

"She told me her name is Naerelia. She's a ship tailor from Cothique. It's the Northeastern coast of Ulthuan to be specific. If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to bring her along to Marienburg. She was a captive of the dark elves and wants to go back to Ulthuan as well," Malekith tried to alleviate the unnecessary tension.

Naerelia shot a strange look Malekith's way, but she seemed to go along with his request as she nodded her head, "Yes, that's right. I'm…sorry for my rudeness, but I don't have much experience dealing with humans. Can you tell me where we are…please?"

Malekith could tell it almost hurt the princess to say please. He kept a straight face as he awaited Repanse's response.

The duchess sighed, "Great…another elf to haul along our journey. So be it. You've proven you're trustworthy, Malerion, so I'll let us bring your little sweetheart along. Still…the King has requested an audience with me and my Chevaliers. I would like you to come along too. Many of the knights have been asking questions about you, and Henri tells me they've almost attacked you numerous times. I'd like you to clear up the confusion."

'When will this nonsense end?! Now I have to meet their king?!' he groaned mentally.

"Let's just get this over with," Malekith sighed dreadfully.

Repanse nodded as she turned around on her horse, "I think everyone's meeting up at the castle. Follow me."

Malekith immediately mounted his horse again and started to follow Repanse. Naerelia was quick to call out to him in confusion, "Where's my horse?"

"You're walking…Naerelia. Unless you want to ride with me," Malekith stated carelessly.

"Ughh…fine! Wait up for me!" she sassily complained as she jogged over to Malekith's horse.

He didn't offer her a hand and watched with a bit of amusement as she tried to get on the horse. After a moment of ungracefully having to grab ahold of him, the princess managed to get on behind him.

The two then followed on horseback behind Repanse as they walked through the devasted docks and into the streets. As they made their way further along, Malekith saw soldiers cheering in the streets at L'Anguille's victory against the retreating dark elf fleet in the distance.

'This battle was too easy…why did they leave? That ship had more than enough forces to conquer this city. Maybe they didn't think it was worth the resources? Princess here seemed to be expecting a rescue army. Meira was also talking about an Asur fleet. Maybe that scared them off?' Malekith thought as he glanced over the crowds of celebrating humans.

Although he didn't really care about the humans, Malekith was somewhat curious to watch them along the way. Most were chanting with jovial relief, some were mourning, and others were lovingly reuniting with family. Seeing the last one made him think of his own family. As they continued further along, many of the soldiers and civilians alike were staring at him almost hostilely as they likely equated him to being like the elves they just fought off.

The many confused and condemning glares of onlookers were lifted along the way as gossip began to spread about him. Malekith could scarcely overhear many conversations about his deeds during the battle from countless nearby people. News of him apparently being a 'good elf' swept through the crowds like wildfire as people were starting to almost cheer for him after a while.

The obvious spreaders of this gossip soon became apparent when Malekith saw a group of familiar shielded spearmen. Many walked up to the side of the street and addressed him shamelessly, "Thank you, Lord elf for saving us!"

"Sir!" another one shouted with respect as he saluted Malekith. Many other men-at-arms quickly did the same. He found their gratitude completely alien and shocking. The last group of humans he saved had no gratitude for his help. He also didn't really do much to warrant this type of response in his opinion. Malekith felt an uncomfortable knot in his stomach from the high praise they were giving him as he moved past them.

'Why do they think I saved them? All I did was tell them to stand and fight before going into the ark. Humans make no sense to me. I need to get out of this place…' was all Malekith could think.

He was so used to most elves disliking him that it seemed almost impossible for ignorant, prideful, and primitive humans to show praise. The prince did his best to ignore the crowds as he followed Repanse all the way to the castle.

As they got closer, Naerelia spoke for the first time since they left the docks, "These humans really like you…I've never heard of humans showing an elf such respect."

"I'm certain there a lot of things you've never heard about child," he said carelessly.

"Stop calling me a child! I'm 110! I'm an adult and I'm highborn! You're lucky you saved me…or I'd have you punished for being so rude to a princess!" the feisty elf complained.

'I wonder how old I am? Probably at least twice her age…maybe more? It's clear a decent amount of time has passed if Bel'Shanaar is the phoenix king.' Malekith thought to himself as he ignored her whining.

"I find it strange how the humans seem more grateful for my help than you, princess," Malekith muttered back.

Naerelia looked taken aback by his comment and huffed, "I am grateful! But you don't even seem care who I am. Maybe it's escaped your attention, but your entire life could change for the better depending on what I have to say about my rescuer. I find it strange how YOU keep dismissing my pedigree. Maybe I won't give you the massive reward I initially intended to."

"I don't need your money and I don't need any rewards from a princess. We can just go our separate ways when we get back to Ulthuan. Make up a nice story about how you broke out of that ship by yourself. I'm certain it will be the talk of the court for years to come. I don't want any attention from your types," he scoffed at her.

Naerelia's jaw dropped in complete disbelief at his lack of interest in being rewarded. She shook her head almost offended, "No! I will be giving you your rightful reward for saving me. I'm not lying about what happened. What kind of stuck-up lowborn elf are you? Don't be so dismissive of me just because you apparently don't like highborns. We're not all bad! Why'd you even bother saving me if you don't care about who I am?! What's your problem with me anyways, Malerion?"

"Other than you being a Cothiquean? Nothing really…I'm just not in the mood for any political nonsense or delays on my journey. I want to go home," he replied coldly.

Although his true home was Tor Anlec, for some reason the thought of Evermoon Inn was all he could think about. His mind lingered on that warm, comfortable room facing the mountains with nobody to bother him except for maybe Allisara. He could almost visualize Allisara's coppery hair glowing in the sunlight as she came to visit him. Her gleaming smile and the caring hug that he would reluctantly reciprocate…the smell of pine and that flowery perfume he couldn't stand. For some reason he missed that intoxicating fragrance right now. He could even stomach the idea of talking to Arryn too.

That was probably the first place he was going to visit once he got back to Ulthuan. A small smile escaped his face as he stared distantly in thought of better days. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to be there instead here.

"So…you're quite a skilled mage I noticed," Naerelia broke him from his blissful thoughts.

Malekith glanced back at her and shrugged, "Not really…my mother is a far better mage than I am, but she taught me a lot."

"So, your mother was a mage too? Did she train at the White Tower? Or Gaean Vale maybe?" she asked curiously.

The dark-haired prince nodded, "Yes…Gaean Vale."

'What is the White Tower? I've never heart of that before,' Malekith wondered.

"That's very prestigious. Only the Everqueen's mages can train there. It must be quite nice to be a mage of the Everqueen's court," the princess was trying her best to be friendly and warm his mood up.

"I have a question for you, princess. Who's the ruler of Evershale now, do you know?" Malekith changed the subject.

Despite him not wanting to talk to Naerelia, she was a valuable font of information. Plus, his own curiosity was starting to get the better of him.

"Princess Aerith of the House Silverwind last I heard…h-how long have you been gone from Ulthuan anyways? That seems like something you ought to know considering how close it is to your home," the princess replied.

'Silverwind?! Wasn't that Arryn's surname?! They're innkeepers! How are they the rulers of Evershale?! What about Prince Alluin's family?! Allisara and Ariel aren't there?!' Malekith thought disturbed by the new information.

"Aerith Silverwind…right I remember her." He lied.

'Maybe more time has passed than I initially thought. How could those lowborns become the rulers of Evershale?! It just doesn't make sense. I should keep my mouth shut about this until I figure out what's going on. I don't like this…not one bit. I need to find Ariel or Allisara. Someone I can trust to help me figure out what's happened!' Malekith thought grimly.

"I would hope so. Princess Aerith is one of the most beautiful members of the court. You could spot her red hair from miles away. I hear she's beloved by her subjects. The Everqueen certainly loves her too. She's a bit rebellious though and isn't married. It makes her all the more desirable I hear," Naerelia chuckled.

'I really hope this doesn't mean what I think it does. Is Allisara's whole family dead?! Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions. Ariel could have become Everqueen…or an archmage or something. Allisara might also have moved somewhere else. Maybe they took lordship over Aerilya's family estate? Though if that is true, Alluin and Aerilya are both likely dead. Damn it…I guess I could go find mother at Tor Anlec. Though I'm not entirely comfortable going to her before I remember everything. I still can't remember much about mother…only things she's said to me. There's no ruling out mother was involved with whatever happened to me either…so I should be cautious before finding her.' Malekith pondered his options.

"I've never seen the Everqueen before. What's she like?" Malekith asked carefully after a long silence in the hopes he could figure out who she was.

"Alarielle the Radiant? She's wonderful. Truly a gentle and beautiful queen. She is as magnanimous as Isha herself. Want to meet her? I can probably arrange that if you wish. She would certainly love to hear of your bravery in fighting off the druchii. In fact, most of the court would probably love this story…a lone elven mage rescuing a princess from a black ark. It's the kind of thing you hear about in uplifting tales, you know?" Naerelia responded with a smile.

'Who the hell is Alarielle?! So, neither Yvraine nor Ariel became Everqueen then? That must mean this Alarielle is married to Bel'Shanaar? Ughh…this is all making my head hurt,' he mentally groaned.

"Do you know anyone named Allisara?" he decided to follow up.

Naerelia cocked her head in confusion, "Allisara? I've never heard of anyone by that name before. Who is she? Why would I know her?"

"She was a highborn I knew back in Ulthuan. I'm not sure where she was from. I thought maybe you might have heard of her before," Malekith lied.

The Princess simply shrugged, "I have never heard of her. Maybe she lying about who she was? A lot of nobles use alias names when traveling alone. I'll help you find her when we get back to Ulthuan if you want though. I feel like I owe you that much at the very least. What is she to you anyways? Did you have feelings for this, Allisara?"

"No…but this necklace belongs to her. I wanted to return it," Malekith responded as he flashed the Sunfire Amulet.

Naerelia's eyes shot open with astonishment, "What is that?! I've never seen an amulet like that before! It looks magical!"

"It's called the Sunfire Amulet of Lileath, I think. It belonged to Allisara…or it did. She gave it to me a long time ago." Malekith kept digging deeper into his false story now.

"Wait a minute…that's THE Sunfire Amulet?! D-do you have any idea what that amulet is?!" Naerelia gasped.

"I just told you what it is," he scoffed at her foolish question.

"That necklace is a priceless lost artefact of Lileath! It was lost to ocean millennia ago by the Phoenix King's son when he drowned in the Churning Gulf! Is that really Lileath's Amulet?! You're saying this Allisara gave that to you?! Why would she do that?! How did she get it?! Maybe she was actually Lileath herself?!" Naerelia seemed elated with amazement at the news.

'Lost to the ocean? The Sunfire Amulet is a relic of Aerilya's family from Yvresse. It was House Corresyn's most prized possession, wasn't it? How do I remember that?!' Malekith was somewhat surprised by his sudden recollection of these obscure facts.

"You think Lileath herself gave me this amulet? Don't be ridiculous…" Malekith followed up doubtfully.

"I mean…how else could this Allisara have retrieved it and given it to you? The Amulet was at the bottom of the ocean. I think Lileath herself gave you that necklace, Malerion. This is incredible. The High Loremasters will be elated to hear of this! Considering the remarkable rescue you just pulled off, it only makes sense that Lileath saw something in you! You must be really special for a goddess to show you such favor!" Naerelia seemed extremely excited and joyous at this bizarre conclusion she just reached.

'Wait a minute…she said the necklace was lost when the PHOENIX KING'S SON fell into the ocean?! That's a clue! But…she said that happened millennia ago?! That's impossible! Am I who she's talking about? The prince who drowned in the ocean?! I can't be that old, can I?!' Malekith felt his insides twist in horror at the mere idea of that much time passing.

"I'm not so sure I believe that. Which Phoenix King were you referring you exactly? When was this amulet lost, I mean?" he asked calmly as he tried to mask his horror at the revelation.

"Have you never heard the tale? I guess it would make sense for a lowborn to not know ancient history. The Amulet belonged to the Phoenix King Morvael. He gave it to his son, Prince Aravael, but the prince was lost to a great storm in the Churning Gulf where his ship sank to the bottom of the sea. That amulet has been missing ever since," Naerelia explained.

'Morvael?! WHAT?! I thought Bel'Shanaar was the new Phoenix King? Plus, how did those people get Allisara's necklace?!' Malekith thought horrified.

"Which Phoenix King was he again?" Malekith asked uncertainly.

"Someone should seriously read up on our history…Morvael was the 9th Phoenix King. He was a High Loremaster of Hoeth and formerly of House Corresyn in Yvresse. He ruled about a thousand years ago," Naerelia answered.

'Hourse Corresyn…so Aerilya's family did get the necklace back? Never mind that…9 phoenix kings?! 9?! How many have there been since Bel'Shanaarl?! Just how much time has passed?! Everyone I know is probably dead if that much time has gone by. Does anyone even remember who I am? Was I frozen in time somehow? Maybe…I know that in the realm of chaos that time flows differently there. Maybe some spell teleported me into the future or maybe I was trapped in the realm of chaos by a spell until recently? DAMN IT! NO! IT CAN'T BE REAL! Everyone I knew…they're all gone! Mother…father…Ariel…Allisara…I can't remember anything! ARGHHH!' Malekith stayed as calm as he could on the outside, but inwardly he was starting to lose his mind.

He couldn't suppress his obvious wave of depression however as he sunk lower on the horse and stared blankly in despair, 'What do I do now?! I'm probably not even a prince anymore! Is House Tinuron even still ruling Tor Anlec?! I never had any heirs that I can remember…maybe Yvraine or Morelion's progeny rules there now? Not like that helps me though…'

"Are you okay, Malerion?! What's wrong?" Naerelia asked concerned when she noticed him sink into a pit of sadness right before her eyes.

"Nothing…I'm fine," he immediately tried to rebuild his walls and endure the emotional agony plaguing his mind.

How was he supposed to live now if thousands of years had passed? All he had ever known was being his father's son. Being a prince. He couldn't just walk into Nagarythe and reclaim his crown if this much time had passed. His life's goal to be like his father was unachievable now. There was nobody from his past left who could help him make sense of his new and dreadful future either. For the first time since he arrived in Bretonnia, he felt completely hopeless and lost. He was nobody now. The only thing he could do at this point was to figure out who did this to him. Even if he could…what then? His life was essentially ruined already.

'The Lady of the Lake said it would be hard to learn the truth. She was right…what am I supposed to do now? I guess Malekith is dead. If I'm not even a prince anymore, then what's the point in going back to Ulthuan?! I refuse to go back and be some servant to the descendants of my peers!' he thought with bitterness.

"It's strange to think that this used to be an elven city," Naerelia broke Malekith from his brooding despair.

"It was?" he asked confused.

"Of course…I've heard of L'Anguille. They say it's built over the ruins of Tor Alessi. The humans kept the lighthouse though. There it is out there, see! That's an elven lighthouse," the female elf pointed at the horizon.

His eyes widened as memories of it filled his mind, 'That's the lighthouse of Tor Alessi…I remember it! I've been here before! Tor Alessi…yes, this is Tor Alessi! I recognize the shoreline now and those walls! How did I not see that?!'

His epiphany of Tor Alessi soon drew him into another vision of his past:

Malekith's Memory

"Malekith! Over here!" a cheery red-haired elven woman called out to him as he stood on the coastside cliff of Tor Alessi staring at the lighthouse.

Turning around he spotted none other than Allisara. She bolted over and embraced him in a tight hug. Shortly after the hug she crossed her arms and glared at him, "It's been decades since you last visited me and Ariel, Malk! Then you make me travel all the way up here to meet you?!"

"I know…I'm sorry Allisara. Bel'Shanaar has me playing envoy and general to everyone these days. It's busy work being the ambassador of Ulthuan," he sighed.

"Yeah well, at least you're here now. It's just…every time you leave, I get this feeling you're never coming back. I miss you…" she sighed longingly.

"You're welcome to come with me, Allisara. I'd certainly love if you joined my travels. At the very least I'd love it if you moved back to Ulthuan. The colonies are fun to explore, but highborns like us belong in the homeland," Malekith responded.

"I'd love to travel with you more, but your mother made me extremely uncomfortable the last time. She still doesn't like me. Besides, Ariel gets lonely without me. Not to mention, it would just feel awkward going back after what happened. Ariel and I really like it out here. This place is so beautiful and peaceful. No war, no politics, and no drama. It's everything we ever dreamed about. Oh, and there's this incredible forest further inland that I'd love to show you. It's way better than Avelorn. It even has mountains nearby too. I know you love mountains!" Allisara chirped cheerily.

"Is that where you two are living these days? I wouldn't mind seeing that place. I thought you still lived close to here or I would have arranged a closer meeting point," he noted.

"We have a really nice manor over there. Ariel says the forest is flowing with magic too. I would have told you to meet me there, but it's a bit tough to navigate. I'd have to show you the way in person. Ariel and I built our house practically in the wilderness," Allisara explained.

"I'll definitely make time to come see it. I find it amusing how Ariel has turned into such a nature lover now," Malekith chuckled.

"Trust me…if you saw this place, you'd want to stay too! Plus, in the heart of the forest, there's this amazing gigantic tree! It's some natural wonder of the world. You have to see it, Malk!" Allisara exclaimed.

Malekith smiled warmly at her, "You sound happy…I'm glad. I worry about you ever since you two moved to the colonies. It's good to hear things are going well. How has Ariel been other than that?"

"I haven't seen her this happy since…well, ever since before the incident with Yvraine. I know it's not fair to you, Malk, but Ariel couldn't stomach living in Avelorn anymore. She's my sister, so I have to stay with her. She asked about you though when she heard I was meeting you here at Tor Alessi. Ariel wanted you to have this," Allisara handed Malekith an acorn.

He looked at it briefly, "An acorn? She has a strange sense of humor still I see…"

"Hey, she said it's lucky and magical. Maybe it'll come in handy one day," she giggled.

Malekith rolled his eyes as he placed the acorn in his pouch, "I guess I'll take her word for it."

"Hahaha, Ariel also wanted me to tell to move next door to us!" Allisara added.

Malekith frowned, "If only I could…but my duties cannot be ignored. Since I don't know when I'll be able to see you again, there's something important I wanted to talk to you about."

"I had a feeling this was more than just a friendly visit. Though I would have made the trip regardless." Allisara chuckled.

"I wanted to do something that I should have done a long time ago…" Malekith replied as he reached into a pouch.

Allisara looked confused by his remark, but her eyes lit up with absolute disbelief when Malekith pulled out a ring.

She stepped back and shook her head, "By the gods…is that what I think it is?! Is this really happening?! Lileath never showed me this!"

"Allisara…daughter of Prince Alluin and Princess Aerilya…will you marry me?" Malekith asked as he lowered to a knee.

Allisara was crying tears of joy as she could barely contain her happiness. She answered without hesitation, "Y-yes!"

With centuries of pent of desire, she embraced him hard and let out all of her feelings as the two kissed over the cliffside of Tor Alessi.

The memory continued on for a while in flashes of intimacy and a forest wedding before ending abruptly. After it was over, another follow-up memory came up. It was the same location, but it was clearly a decent amount of time in the future. Possibly even centuries.

"Somehow I knew this is where I'd finally find you. Where have you been Allisara? I've been searching everywhere for the last ten months! I even went to that forest, and you weren't there! Ariel said you were missing! What's going on?!" Malekith demanded.

She didn't even bother looking at him as she spoke softly, "You spend years at a time away, and only in the past 10 months were you determined to find me?"

"Have you been avoiding me?! We had a great time the last night I saw you! You seemed happy too? What's wrong? Did I do something to upset you?" Malekith wondered.

"I've been unwell most of this past year. I didn't want you to see me like that." She said vaguely without looking at him still. It was extremely obvious that she was sad about something.

"Why wouldn't I want to see my wife? What's going on? You're feeling ill? Tell me what the issue is, and I'll deal with it at once. I'll make it my first priority." he followed up.

Allisara slowly turned to meet his gaze, "Why didn't we ever settle down, Malekith? You and I always talked about having a family. Is that something you still want? Because I still want that…more than anything."

"Of course, it is. We can settle down in Ulthuan, Allisara. I'm going back home for good, and I came to bring you with me. It's not safe for you out here with the cults running rampant the colonies," Malekith replied calmly.

"No…I'm not going. I can't watch you do what you're about to do. I don't feel safe being there either," Allisara stated sadly as tears fell down her face.

"What are you talking about? You're safest with me, Allisara! Ariel will be fine. I want you to come home to Ulthuan." he stated with annoyance at her refusal.

"I had a vision about it…about you going back there. I know what you're planning to do, and I want no part in it. I just wanted us to raise a family…but that's not good enough for you. Nothing was ever enough for you. The world loves you and yet you can't accept it. Everyone offers you happiness and instead you choose misery. You don't love anyone...not even yourself. There's a gaping hole in your heart that can't be filled...no matter how hard I've tried. I would do almost anything to make you happy, Malk…but not this. This path you seek will only bring you more pain," she sobbed emotionally.

"Is that how you truly feel? Like I'm crazy and I don't care about you anymore? That's nonsense and you know it! Allisara, I don't know what it is you think you saw, but I'm going back to save Ulthuan! If you had any idea about the visions I had of the future, then you would know I have to do this…not just for Ulthuan but for the entire world! I'm doing this for us! So we can have the future we deserve! I've just spent the last year looking for you! Isn't it obvious that I care about you, Allisara?! If you're so worried about what'll happen, then just come with me! Your visions can help me deal with the dangers." Malekith tried his best to convince her.

"Don't go! PLEASE! Just retire in Athel Loren with me and Ariel. You don't have to do this!" Allisara was getting a bit hysterical now.

"If not me, then who else?! I'm the Son of Aenarion! It is my destiny to save the world, Allisara! Believe in me like you always have! We'll start a family and you'll be Queen! I'll give you whatever you want, and we'll be happy!" he shot back.

"You just don't understand, do you? I was happy...you were already everything I ever wanted. Listen, Malekith...I only let you find me so that I could talk you out of this! If you go, your life will be ruined! As someone who cares about you…it's my responsibility to tell you when you're doing something wrong. Don't go…Stay." Allisara wept desperately.

"So…you're not coming with me, then?!" his voice darkened.

She shrunk back from him and shook her head, "That crown you found in the chaos wastes changed you Malekith…your evil witch of a mother changed you too! You can't do this! Lileath gave me a vision! I saw you burning alive! I saw an elven civil war! People…dying everywhere! The world shaking...daemons reappearing again! I won't be a part of it. I think it's best if we said goodbye now...you've clearly made up your mind and I've made up mine. We can't be together anymore. Don't come looking for me after today."

Malekith felt completely betrayed as the full reality of Allisara's rejection hit him like a dagger in the bag.

"Tch…I guess my mother was right about you after all. I was wrong to doubt her. I should have known you'd be no different than the rest of them. Fine, walk away like everyone else does! I won't look for you after this. I guess all those vows about eternal love and loyalty meant nothing to you! Go live in your damned forest then! I'm the true heir of Aenarion and I'm going to claim my destiny as the hero of Ulthuan with or without you, Allisara! I'll just get a new wife like my father did!" he shouted heartlessly before stomping away.

His words pierced Allisara to her core as she collapsed to the ground and bawled her eyes out. Malekith hatefully ignored her and channeled his spite into purpose as he departed. He never once looked back.

Along the way, one of his lieutenants greeted him, "Is everything alright, Prince Malekith? Is your wife not coming?"

"I don't have a wife, anymore…gather the troops! We set sail for Ulthuan at once, Alandrian!" he spat bitterly as he walked past his friend.

"At once, your highness," Alandrian nodded.

Present

"Malerion! Malerion, you there?! Hello!" Malekith soon found himself back in the present and was almost dazed by the memory he had just witnessed.

Several tears were rolling down his face as he gasped in emotional despair at his horrible traumatic memory. He was quick to realize he was quietly crying and immediately wiped his tears away with embarrassment and shame.

"Are you crying? What's wrong, Malerion? You've been ignoring me for the past few minutes." Naerelia showed a genuine level of empathy and concern for him.

"It looks like we're at the castle gate now," Malekith changed the subject as he continued to wipe at his face and remove any evidence of his tears or emotional weakness.

"I know now's probably not a good time, but if you want to talk about it later…I'll gladly listen," Naerelia said with soft compassion.

Malekith simply just ignored her as he tried to make sense of what he just saw, 'I married Allisara?! And then I divorced her to go save the world?! What happened though? Why did she abandon me? Allisara was my closest friend...we loved each other I thought. All those things she said...about me never being satisfied. About a hole in my heart...maybe she was right? Why would I say those horrible things back to her though? I guess it doesn't matter anymore...I'll never get the chance to make amends because she probably died along with everyone else I ever knew millennia ago. What did I do when I returned to Ulthuan back then? I mentioned saving the world...and some vision. Allisara also said she had a vision. An elven civil war?! Daemons reappearing?! Maybe this all has something to do with those dark elves. I must have wanted to go back to stop them. Perhaps they were taking over Ulthuan and summoning daemons? Allisara also mentioned me burning alive. I somewhat remember a fire...I can't make sense of it. Maybe it's a result of the spell that hit me before I ended up here? Perhaps it was the realm of chaos if daemons are involved? That also explains the vast passing of time. At any rate...I definitely need to be wary of these druchii in the future. Can't trust anyone from Ulthuan yet either. I need to figure something out though.'

Malekith was also very hung up on another detail of his second memory, 'Athel Loren…that's where Allisara said she and Ariel lived. Didn't the bailiff say Wood Elves are from there?! Maybe one of their descendants lives at this Athel Loren. Does that mean wood elves are descendants of the elven colonists? It's definitely worth visiting if this Ulthuan trip doesn't work out. Where the hell are dark elves from then? Has Naggaroth always been there and I just didn't know about it? Maybe they were ancient separatist? Some of their iconography looked slightly similar to Nagarythe, but they clearly hated Nagarythe when I mentioned it.'

"We're here, Malerion." the voice of Repanse announced.

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Alright boys. For my handful of readers, here's chapter 5! We clocked in at a meager 22 thousand words for this chapter…you know what I call that? ROOKIE NUMBERS! But it's not like it really matters since barely anyone reads this. Alas, it was a fun chapter to write. (not to edit though!)

A LOT of crazy shit went down in this chapter, and Malekith ends up remembering a lot more about who he is and just the world in general. What's notable though is he now realizes that millennia have passed and everyone he knew is long dead. Stack that horrific epiphany on top of his memory of marrying Allisara and her later abandoning him. Malekith is very confused now and he's in a pretty emotional state at the end of this chapter. He's operating the belief that his current amnesia is a result of his failure to save Ulthuan from whatever was going on there. Obviously, he hasn't put it all together yet that he just lost his mind and wanted to take the Phoenix Throne. In fact, he blatantly rejects the possibility of him wanting to kill Bel'Shanaar whom he vaguely remembers was his friend now. He'll be in denial for a little while until he realizes he's the Witch King.

What's interesting to note about these memories of his past is Malekith still can't piece together what dark elves are despite his large exposure to them in this chapter. He's still operating under the belief that they are some militant offshoot or possible progenitors the cytharai cults that were plaguing Ulthuan and the colonies. Technically he's not wrong. *cough* Hellebron *cough*. Malekith is also under the impression that someone in Ulthuan must have attempted to kill him...and as a result he was sent forward or frozen in time. His revelation at the end of the chapter only adds credence to his belief that he was trying to stop some terrible event before he lost his memories. Our boy Darth Oedipus is really gonna lose his shit when he realizes that he's just been alive for almost 7 thousand years…most of it being trapped in the Armour of Midnight. During the battle in L'Anguille, he had a very brief glimpse of being the witch king. It'll be interesting when he eventually manages to piece it all together. At the current moment, Malekith is going through a bit of an emotional slump. He is fully aware that despite whatever happened, he's definitely no longer a prince. Being a proud elf, that is s crippling low blow to his ego. Right now, he doesn't even want to go back to Ulthuan since he believes there is nothing there for him but a life of humility.

Now he may seem a bit emotional and sappy in this chapter…but you have to remember that he's not being influenced by the Circlet of Iron anymore. He's still mean, arrogant, and dismissive...but he's seeing things with more clarity and humanity (elfanity?). In that regard he's a lot like Prince Arthas from Warcraft prior to finding Frostmourne. I believe that the Circlet of Iron affected his mind almost as much as Frostmourne affected Arthas. Minus the whole losing his soul thing, I guess. Another similarity there is Allisara's goodbye is very much like Jaina's goodbye at Stratholme. I did that by design. Hopefully at least one of you gets the Warcraft similarity. The way I see it…it's essentially what sends both of these characters off the deep end.

With all that said, what will "Malerion" choose to do now that he knows there isn't much for him in Ulthuan to return to? Will he just start a new life and find some new purpose? You'll have to wait and see. One thing's for certain though…those dark elves sure as HELL aren't about to forget how one guy just embarrassed their Black Ark, schooled their leaders, and sicked a hydra on them to flee. He even gave them a nice bladewind before leaving. They'll be especially pissed off when they find out he actually saved Princess Naerelia too.

What might the dark elves of this ark report to Naggaroth when they return? Will they admit this failure to the Black Council and risk looking like incompetent chumps? Obviously they ain't filling the slave quotas which will definitely cause concern. How will Morathi react when she hears about "Malerion"? What's this Princess of Cothique going to tell the court of Ulthuan about her brooding rescuer and the legendary artefact that Lileath supposedly gave to him? Will she convince Malekith to come with her? Will she join Malekith on the fellowship of the ri-…I mean the quest to help the knights? Will Malekith go in this quest now that he has nothing else better to do?

On a side note, we'll definitely get the rest of Malekith's memory of Rae as well as his father's death next chapter. You can also expect a League of Evil/black council meeting among Druchii either next chapter or the following one. "Malerion" is about to become extremely well-known to Ulthuan and Naggaroth alike. We'll get to see some lovable favorites like Kouran Darkhand, Morathi, Hellebron, Malus Chadblade, Tullaris Dreadbringer, and more! The ones in this chapter will certainly appear again as well. As he regains his full power, Malekith will probably end up schooling some more of his higher tier followers later on. Keep in mind that we're about to start veering away from the canon timeline as well. One of the witch elves mentioned Hag Queen Malida. She's technically dead I think in canon, but she was one of the youngest Hag Queens (a couple thousand years old) and lead the Karond Kar sect of the Cult of Khaine. She's alive in this fic...just so you know.

Something else to ponder as well...does Morathi know about Malekith's alias name? If she does...will she tell anyone else who "Malerion" is? Being the manipulative schemer she is, probably not right away. She'll certainly know of only one male elf who uses Dhar and Qhaysh though. Also, how long was Malekith actually in the realm of chaos for? These questions will be answered soon, reader...though I think it's worth mentioning that it's definitely longer than canon. Just because it's my favorite Malekith moment, we'll also shoehorn in a "I learned this from my father." moment at some point in future chapters.

Speaking of Morathi…Malekith remembers a lot of indirect things about his mother, but he doesn't remember her face or any specific memory of her yet. Probably a good thing too considering how much a sick deviant she is and all of the horrible memories he definitely has of her. Now, if you read my other warhammer fic, then you definitely know how I do things. I'm a sick Slaanesh-worshipping madman. Be forewarned here and now that I'm not glossing over gross details of what I think went down. Messed up stuff will be shown, and we'll get some more insight into why our gloomy protagonist has a hard time accepting affection.

As always, thanks for reading...and if you're a fan of my 40k fic, then don't worry. Chapter 33 is in the works right now! Coming soon to a screen near you!