Aithlin: Legacy of a Crowned Servant

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RavenKing
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Aithlin: Legacy of a Crowned Servant

Post by RavenKing » Wed Oct 05, 2022 2:23 am

Protecting the Borders: Reclamation

A loud thud echoed in the pass leading North to the keep. Aithlin’s Elven eyes scanned far off into the distance, looking over the tents and patrolling soldiers as he sheathed the “King’s Sword” that Alerion made for him. He continued to observe the patterns of the armor-clad men along the road nearer to the walled entrance as he walked several paces and retrieved his war axe from a corpse. The soft, wet sucking sound made by the weapon being freed from the flesh caused Aithlin’s gaze to return to what is directly before him. He looked down the path leading South towards the main bulk of Black Watch’s current occupants and the scattered bodies from the battle he recently ended. He paused there for a moment, staring down at the corpse with a thoughtful expression hidden behind the horned dragonscale helmet.

“Focus on them, your father says this is important?” “You don’t agree?” replied a young, squeaky voice. “Your father sees the world with a deeper vision than I shall ever pretend to have, young one. Now focus on what you see. Take in every detail, leave nothing, no matter how trivial it may seem out of your memory.” The young elf spent the next several hours watching as instructed and taking in every detail he could. Truth be told, he didn’t know what he was supposed to be looking for, and as young as he was, didn’t have the discipline yet to really maintain focus. He did as he was told though, somewhat, and pretended to understand the purpose while looking down on them all from their cover on high.

As the sun went down he was led to an older Elf who was clearly the younglings father. They spent the next several hours talking about the day's lesson. “That is why they should be respected more than our kind currently treats them.” the older elf restated with patience for probably the fourth time. “I do not understand, should we respect them because they are brutal savages?” The confusion in the boy's face was still standing strong despite his father’s attempts. The elder elf simply laughed and hugged his child. “Yes. Yes, my son. Watch them with renewed ideas tomorrow and witness the savage beauty in them. There is a brutal honesty within Orcs. Their ways may not be our ways, but their ways are honest. It is rare an orc resorts to trickery or lying as the humans do. They are primal, animalistic even, but they are not without their wisdom or intelligence. You can trust an Orc to attack you when provoked. You can trust that any attempt at reclaiming your possessions lost to an Orc will end in a fight. Strength is their chief judge.” The father laughed and swatted playfully as the young Aithlin flexed his bicep muscle. “Not always physical strength, dear child. There are many ways to win a fight, and the Orcs respect most ways to victory. Be through agility, raw strength, talent in the arcane..” Before the father could finish the son finished for him. “Beauty in their savagery.” The boy huffed. His father had never been wrong before, but he didn’t quite understand.

“Reclaiming your possessions lost to an Orc will end in a fight.” The voice was much deeper as Aithlin repeated the words found in a distant memory as he looked out over Black Watch. He rolled his left arm, used the war axe to break the arrows stuck within the metal shield and marched on towards the occupied tents.

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