What to do now?
Loivissa POV
The cold night air stung Loivissa's skin like a thousand tiny blades, but she ignored it for now as she kept herself hidden in the branches of a tree. Riders with torches and sharp lances were searching the grounds shortly below her, searching for her, but if she could keep quiet, then maybe this group would not discover her.
It had been like this ever since she had escaped three nights ago, or rather, since she had been let go by His aide. Loivissa still did not know how to feel about that, as though she was grateful for being released, the aide had not done so for her sake, but rather because of some strange sense of loyalty to her master.
Still, even though Ilumëo had very bluntly left her to fend for herself the moment that she was out of sight, with no weapons or even her precious Adûn, Loivissa had to admit that if He ever found out about what the aide had done, then she doubted very much that He would look very kindly on her actions, no matter her motives for doing so.
He had after all never been the overly forgiving type.
"I think that I saw her over there!", one of the riders underneath her shouted, which made the others leave with him.
Loivissa breathed a sigh of relief as they left, and when she was sure that they were far enough away, she started to slowly move higher up into the tree without making a sound. If she was lucky, the riders would drop their search for her and go home for the night. If she was unlucky, they would come back with hounds.
She had tried ambushing one of the first search parties, which they had sent out for her, less than an hour after she had made it outside of the walls, but as a result of the month and a half that she had been incarcerated, her body had been weakened and her magic had been useless against them, because all of them had their own sets of wards.
She had only managed to knock out one of the riders, not even kill the man, and then steal his horse before she had had to flee again, though this time, it was from multiple parties that had chased her. She had then had to ditch the horse at the first opportunity, as it was far easier for them to track her on it than off of it, and unlike her, they had been able to switch for new fresh horses regularly.
At first, she had fled eastward, not so much because of any choice on her part, but rather because she had been forced that way, but after she had reached the edge of the Spine, which at that particular point had been nigh on impossible to cross, she had had two choices; go south and hope that the mountains opened up enough for her to slip inside them before she would eventually be forced down the Toark-river and right into the arms of an entire army blocking that pass, or go north instead and hope that she could make her escape that way.
She had chosen north, but she had yet to reach a point where it was somewhat possible to make a crossing.
As the winds rustled the leaves in the tree that she was in, Loivissa wrapped her arms closely around herself to try and preserve as much body heat as possible. She had not gotten out with particularly fitting clothing for a long trek and had unfortunately been unable to procure anything since her escape, so she had had to make due.
The howling winds sent chills through her system, but unfortunately, she did not dare to use magic to keep her warm as she slept, as she was afraid that the energy required would be more than she could handle and that her already dwindling stores would run out while she slept.
A grumbling noise from her stomach broke the howling of the wind, but the riders were fortunately out of hearing range when it happened. Loivissa tried to calm it down by chewing on a root, which she had found out alleviated her hunger for the time, but because she had been hunted almost constantly these last three days, she had had no real food in just as long.
The root helped somewhat, but not nearly enough, so instead, Loivissa spat it out and started to mentally search for any small animals that she might be capable of eating. The reason for her not doing so before was that she had feared that the riders might have had a mage that would discover her presence, but since it had now been a while since she had last heard from them, she chose to take her chances.
She found a family of rabbits sleeping safe and sound in a hole not far from her tree. It consisted of a mother and her four kittens that could not have been more than a few weeks old, and which were nestled in close with their mother.
Initially, Loivissa left the small family alone to search for other creatures nearby, but there was a limit to how far she dared to spread her mind, and when she found no other animals that would suffice, she once again returned to the small rabbit family in their hole.
The kittens were far too small to even try and bother to eat, but if she just killed their mother and left them there, then they were sure to die anyway. Was it really alright for her to kill this family just because she was too afraid to search for anything further out?
In the end, Loivissa prioritized her own survival over the rabbits', so as they slept, she killed the mother and her kittens with one of the twelve words of death that would kill them without them even feeling it. Killing the mother had been the goal, but the kittens were done so out of mercy, as it would have been cruel to them to let them slowly die of starvation without their mother's protection.
After killing the rabbits, Loivissa lifted the mother up to where she was perched with magic, but because she did not dare to light a fire for fear of being spotted, she had no choice but to eat it raw. She had not eaten meat in almost half a millennium, so the very idea of it made her stomach churn.
The first bite would have made her throw up if she had had anything to throw up, but after forcing herself to swallow it, she eventually took another and then another. It became…easier to eat the raw meat the more she ate, but it never became something that she enjoyed doing.
When she was finally full, Loivissa felt very tired and swiftly spun a few spells to make sure that she would not fall down while she rested, before her eyes closed and she entered her dream-like trance.
Loivissa did not see any riders the entire next day, and when night came, she was forced to kill yet another creature in order to feed her hunger, though she dared to light a fire this time in order to cook the meat, which made it slightly more bearable to eat.
On the day after that, she finally found a small pass leading into the Spine, and after working her way further north up the Spine, she eventually came across the remains of a small tribe of urgals.
The tribe had very few members left in it, as most had apparently gone to join the grand army. Loivissa's urgal was more than just a little rusty, and not one of the members left understood the common tongue or the Ancient language, but through showing her gedwëy ignasia, Loivissa was able to convince them that she was a dragon rider.
The communication between her and the tribe members was mostly done by gestures and drawings in the ground, as her vocabulary had dwindled depressingly much during the centuries of neglect, but she believed that she eventually managed to explain who she was and why her dragon was not with her, and after hearing her story, the tribe gifted her with warmer clothes made from pelts of dead animals, as well as food and a small club-looking thing that could be used as a weapon.
Loivissa stayed with the tribe only for the night, before she moved on and continued heading north. She reached the mountain of Nolondil two days after leaving the tribe, where she stayed in Dras Draumr with her distant relatives.
Though they would have been more than happy to let her stay there for as long as she liked, especially since Dras Draumr was still a dragon rider outpost, Loivissa left them only a few hours after she had arrived, as she knew that if her brother lost the battle, then this would be the first place that He might look for her in.
Before she left, she told her relatives that if her brother came by or in any way contacted them, they were to tell him that she would be heading north to stay with her even more distant relatives in Carvahall. Luckily though, when she left Dras Draumr, she was given a small storage of dried vegetables to eat on her way, so that she would not need to constantly kill animals while she was on the move, as well as a regular human-made sword to replace her urgal club-thing.
On the fourteenth day after her escape, Loivissa finally made it into the city of Carvahall, where she was welcomed with open arms by the earl, his wife and their three sons and one daughter, whose family had been close friends to the dragon rider order ever since the days of Roran Stronghammer.
The earl was a broad-shouldered man with the given name of Karl, who was in his mid-forties with a black full beard that had grey streaks beginning to sneak their way into it, while his wife was a sweet lady by the name of Lady Elsa, who was beginning to be a little round all over, but not nearly to the extent of many of the fatter nobles, with the current high king as the prime example.
The two eldest sons that were home were 18 and 21 respectively, and were named Garth and Aaron, while their daughter at 16 was named Katrina and their youngest son at 7 was named Leif. Aaron and Garth both heavily took after their father in appearance, though none of them were allowed to sport the same beard as their father, while Katrina had their father's black hair but their mother's general facial structure and brown eyes, but Leif was still too small for any resemblance to be made, other than the fact that he had inherited his father's green eyes and his mother's copper hair.
The eldest son of Earl Karl and Lady Elsa was a young 22 year old man by the name of Evan that had been about to be wed to one of the daughters of the duke of Ceunon when the invasion had happened, but afterwards, the wedding had been postponed so that Evan could join the grand army that had been forming in Ilirea.
"When do you expect to hear how the battle went?", Loivissa asked as she stopped eating her breakfast for a moment.
Around the table, the other members of the House Stronghammer looked at each other warily for a moment, before Earl Karl eventually cleared his throat and nervously said, "we do not know, but would it not be easier for yourself to find out by contacting your brother on your own? We do have a scrying mirror that you could use".
"No", Loivissa denied firmly, "I cannot contact my brother until the battle is over because of an oath that I had to take in order to escape my captivity".
"Oh", the earl murmured with a look of curiosity and surprise all too visible, before he nervously continued, "then if you do not mind me asking, what was the latest news that you heard about the invasion?"
Though the family had welcomed her with open arms the night before, they had known well enough not to pry too deeply into what she had been through when she had arrived at their doorsteps completely drenched by the rain and probably not looking at all like any dragon rider that they had ever seen. Loivissa half expected it to have been pity on their part that made them welcome her inside before they had known who and what she was.
"I was imprisoned in Teirm the day that the invasion began, and while I was there, I heard no new news other than what my jailors told me, which was limited to the fact that there would be a battle between my brother's army and the invaders' army", Loivissa grumbled as she took a forceful bite out of the bread with honey that she was eating, which she quickly swallowed before continuing, "after escaping, I was chased for a number of days before I managed to lose my pursuers and make my way into the Spine, where I came upon a small urgal tribe, who clothed me and confirmed that the battle would soon take place. I left them the next day and ventured further north through the Spine, only stopping once to leave a message in Nolondil, before I eventually made my way here, so I have been out of touch with the world for quite a while now".
"I see", the earl mumbled thoughtfully as he stroked his beard, "then you have not heard the rumours about a second invasion force from the north".
"What?!", Loivissa exclaimed a bit too loudly.
"Nothing has been confirmed yet, but the last rumour that we heard from Ceunon was that a large snow-covered force came down from the north and swept aside its defences like they were nothing, before they marched on east into Du Weldenvarden".
"But there is nothing but frozen wasteland further north, so where did it come from?", Loivissa murmured more to herself than towards the others.
"I do not know, but I am sure that once your brother is done with the army in the south, he will march the grand army right up and vanquish this one as well. No foreign power has ever managed to beat the Alagaësians before", Earl Karl tried to sound comforting, though for whose benefit that was, Loivissa did not know.
His latter statement about Alagaësia never having lost to a foreign power was not actually that comforting to Loivissa, as she knew that the last time someone really tried to invade Alagaësia, their attempt had been close to successful right up until another foreign power had decided to intervene.
The fact that that intervention had been orchestrated by the very same person that led this invasion was also not comforting to think about, and nor was it comforting to think about how this new invasion was by a nation that supposedly, among others, encompassed BOTH of the two foreign powers from before, as well as it having supposedly already taken the dragon rider city of Estildirin, so no additional help could come from there.
Though these things churned around in Loivissa's mind, she chose not to say them out loud, partly because she did not want to sour the mood at the table any further and partly because she did not want the children to hear it.
"How about we try to find some clothes that might fit you, dear", Lady Elsa suddenly exclaimed in a clear attempt to change the topic, "I think that some of my older clothes dresses might be able to fit you, but I cannot be certain, as it has been decades since I last wore them".
"Or perhaps she can have some of my clothes!", Karina squealed happily at the thought.
Loivissa looked down at her worn out prison garbs that were covered with various pelts, before she caught her reflection in a bowl of water, where she saw that there were still small leaves and twigs that were stuck in her long golden hair, as well as many other signs of a long travel clearly evident on her skin, before she sighed and said, "could I be allowed a bath first to wash out the grime of my journey? I have not had one since I left Dras Draumr, as I was too tired last night to take one before I retired".
"Yes, certainly dear", Lady Elsa said understandingly, "I shall have one readied for you immediately, and then we can begin redressing you into something more proper for a lady".
Loivissa thanked the lady for her hospitality, before she left the table to take her bath shortly afterwards, when a maid told them that it was ready for her. The water was steaming hot when she arrived, but despite the protests from the maid that had helped prepare it, and which had been assigned to assist her, she dove right in anyway.
The scalding water only burned her skin in the start, before she eventually adjusted to it. She liked it that way, as it reminded her of Adûn and the warmth that was exuded near his belly. In fact, it reminded her so much of Adûn that she had to send the maid away, so that she would not play witness to Loivissa's tears at being separated from her partner-of-heart-and-mind.
Eventually though, her tears dried up and she washed away all traces of them from her face before she allowed Lady Elsa and her daughter inside with the dresses that they had gathered. After quickly drying herself, she stepped out from behind the partition and began to try out the dresses.
None of them fit her particularly well, as she was far too high for any of Karina's dresses, and all of Lady Elsa's dresses had been made for a woman slightly smaller and who also had a completely different width and bust size than Loivissa.
Lady Elsa looked at Loivissa's figure critically, before she told her to wait here as she found out whether any of the maids had any dresses that might fit her, though she warned her that they would not be as fine to wear as her own or her daughter's.
Loivissa once again thanked her for her generosity and reassured her that as long as it fit, she would be more than happy to wear men's clothes, which was actually not that far from the truth, as Loivissa would have preferred the more practical trousers and shirts of men to the dresses that she had been presented with until now, but she had refrained from telling them that because the mother and daughter had seemed so eager to play dress-up.
A short while after both of the women had left her alone in the room, Loivissa heard a knock at the door, which was swiftly followed by Aaron's soft voice, "can I come in? I have some clothes that might fit you".
Loivissa quickly retreated back behind the partition cordoning off the bath, before she allowed him to enter. The sound of a door opening and closing was the only indicator of his entry, as his footsteps were completely soundless.
"I have the clothes here", Aaron said as he pushed the stack of clothes towards her side of the partition with the tip of his foot, while he made sure to stay firmly behind the partition.
The stack of clothes consisted of black leather pants, a cream-coloured tunic made from elven lámarae, a leather belt with a steel fastening and a black vest made from soft wool. The clothes were clearly not made for women, but they fit quite well nonetheless, though Loivissa had to forgo buttoning some of the upper buttons on the vest in order to make it fit.
"Whose clothes are these?", Loivissa asked as she stepped out from behind the partition.
Aaron blushed upon seeing her, before he looked down at his feet and softly mumbled, "they are mine. I just thought that with all that I know about dragon riders, you might be more comfortable in more flexible clothing".
His mother chose that moment to barge into the room with both her and her daughter's arms stacked full of various dresses, but upon seeing her son and a now clothed Loivissa, she gaped at both of them and confusedly said, "what are you doing in here Aaron, and is that YOUR clothes that our honoured guest is wearing?!"
"It is quite alright, my lady, they fit me quite well and are more comfortable to walk around in than a dress would have been", Loivissa quickly intervened to save Aaron from his mother's scolding.
"Well, if you say so, but still, a lady in men's clothing…", Lady Elsa murmured disapprovingly under her breath, clearly underestimating Loivissa's elven hearing, before she turned towards her son and harshly said, "I am sure that your father needs you to help with something, so go find him".
Aaron ran off like a pack of hounds were on his tail, and after one last disapproving glance at Loivissa's attire, Lady Elsa took off as well with her daughter in tow, leaving Loivissa alone in the room once again.
Perhaps it would have been better if she had just decided to wait for the dresses after all, but if she had done so, then she would not have been able to move as freely and comfortably as she did right now, and Loivissa very much doubted that the lady would have approved of her securing her temporary sword to whatever belt that they had brought along to fit the dress.
A heavy thud tore her out of her musings, and when another and then another followed, she realized that it could only mean one thing; a dragon was approaching. Quick as a flash, Loivissa grabbed her shoes and tried to get them on as she continued to hump down the hallways and out of the castle.
When she finally managed to get out, the sun blinded her eyes momentarily and she had to blink several times before they adjusted, but when they finally did, she saw the unmistakably golden form of Delvaria descend down from the skies at a breakneck pace.
Her brother had finally come, but had he abandoned his army and responsibilities when he had learned of her survival? Loivissa hoped that this was not the case, though she knew that it would not be the first time that he had done something like this.
Delvaria's landing made the very ground shake underneath their feet, but it was only when Loivissa saw her brother with her own eyes that she knew that there was something wrong. He was still garbed in his battle-armour, though it, and more than a fair portion of Delvaria's upper body, was completely covered in sod and dirt, and his expression was a mixture of relief at finally seeing her and a strong sadness at something that Loivissa did not know what was.
"What happened? How did the battle go?", Loivissa asked while she stormed forward to help him down, as he looked like he could fall down at any moment now if it had not been for the restraints holding him in place.
"It- it did not", his voice cracked as he spoke, "250.000 people from all the races, over a hundred dragon riders and they are all just…gone".
"What about my son?! Do you know what happened to my son!?", Earl Karl said suddenly and urgently from beside Loivissa, though she did not know when exactly he had arrived.
"I do not know", Evandar said sadly, as if still in shock, while he let Loivissa hold most of his weight, "he might have been in the reserves that surrendered, but…I do not know what to do anymore. What can we do?"
"Shh, brother, we will think of something, just relax for now", Loivissa hushed him as she helped him inside, though it did not stop her from thinking, what do we do now?
"They said at Dras Draumr that you were here", her brother murmured in a daze as she helped him walk, "why did you not let me know that you were alright?"
"I will tell you all about it later", Loivissa answered with a twinge of guilt churning in her stomach as His words came back to her, 'the more men that he gathers to fight, the more will ultimately have to die'.
Never before had she hated Him so much for being right.