The Elven Tales: The Company of the Rose

by Fabi Ghittoni

  Prudence waited nervously for a few moments. Nothing happened. She slightly opened one eye and looked around. The elves seemed very anxious and worried at the same time. Then, trying to refrain from doing so, she looked at her father and quickly closed her eyes tightly.

  The light inside her roared hard and made its way out. Prudence could feel a great wave of electrifying energy flowing through her body. A halo of light exploded out of her hands, and then she directed that halo toward the king's body, covering it completely.

  In her concentration, Prudence could see something inside that halo responding to the call. A tiny, tiny sphere of light emerged from the King's body, and Prudence directed the beam of light into the sky that was seen through the crystals on the ceiling. The sphere began to grow in size and to rise — first slowly, and then with greater force as the king's body faded behind it. Until suddenly, having reached a certain height, it subsumed completely to that flow of fiery light, as would a drop of water poured into the river.

  The glow died away until the light ceased altogether. The altar was empty, and tears fell from Prudence's eyes once again.

  It was late at night as they walked through the palace corridors to the great hall where they would meet the chief elf commanders. The defense strategy had to be prepared. But there was another question that was still pending for Trodor: the coronation.

  “It should be done as quickly as possible and you must guarantee the safety to do so,” he warned the assembled commanders.

  “I'm afraid it will not be possible to do the ceremony. We ran out of time,” Forod exclaimed. “We must act now”

  Then something came to Prudence’s mind. “Do you have allies?”

  “We do,” Forod responded. “The nearest to arrive will be the giants.”

  “Call them! Let them know we need their help!” Prudence exclaimed.

  The throne room was packed. All of them had waited in vigil for the arrival of dawn. The watchmen stationed on the towers were responsible for giving the signals before the first sighting of the enemy.

  A cry was heard before the sun broke at dawn.

  “The city is surrounded! The Azarias are attacking the walls! ” an agitated messenger exclaimed as he burst into the great hall.

  The trumpets sounded announcing the call to arms and it triggered the sound of hurried footsteps on the marble floor of the royal palace of Arkana. The footsteps echoed high and wide, as if it were a temple.

  The giants came from the east and had to arrive, not counting anything that caused an eventual delay, a few hours after dawn. The royal correspondence was sent to them during the night with messenger eagles, which were among the fastest means possible.

  But the giants must necessarily move by water, for between Ghezgal, the giants’ Kingdom, and Arkana, averted the obstacle of the Mitheus mountain range, and going through them would take them days.

  During the vigil came an unexpected correspondence that surprised many of the elves and caused discomfort in some that were with the newly rescued heiress. The dwarves refused to send armed troops to fight Alanel and his army of Azarias due to the misappropriation of the confiscated Entheas. The fact was classified as an incident of notorious illegality and the members of the Company of the Rose had been declared enemies of King Gurdan to have contradicted its real authority.

  "This is an outrage! The Council must take charge of King Gurdan!" exclaimed Trodor, full of fury.

  "They are abandoning us to our fate. The Sidfur Kramgar pact is being trampled," added Honas, another counselor.

  "We all know the folly of the dwarves. That help is lost," said Zidgar, the youngest of the members of the King’s Assembly.

  Every sword in the town was sharpened, every warrior was armed up for battle, every bow and arrows were stocked.

  “Wait,” Trodor commanded to the crowd of soldiers heading out of the palace. Among them were Prudence, Dedric and Genuss. All stopped in their march and turned to him.

  “Today, Alanel must be ended once and for all. He would not have returned if the work had been done well seventeen years ago. We owe this to our king and his heiress.”

  CHAPTER 17

  The doors trembled under the ferocious onslaught of the orcs trying to knock them down to open the way to the Azarian army. This was how the battle began. Trodor, the counselor, who was the oldest and one of the most magical beings to still inhabit the kingdom, invoked an incantation to fool the enemies, which completely covered the city. Storm winds began to blow hard. A thick, black mist took over the sky and in the middle of the darkness a fire broke out between elven arrows and fireballs that were thrown by the enemy army. Soon, the fire began to take over the vegetation that covered the walls and the mountains on which they were battling. Columns of smoke spread rapidly, causing confusion in the invaders by making their task very difficult.

  At the top of the walls, the elves arranged their best archers, who made a brave defense of the gates. Despite this, orcs and Azarias persisted in their clash. The plan was to resist the occupation of the city until the giants came from the east and rounded the Azarias on the north. If the plan failed, and the Azarias won the doors, they should pass over a thousand elven warriors waiting on the bridge, blocking access to the city.

  The elven archers charged. Arrows flew and many orcs and Azarias fell, but the hordes did not stop coming. Beneath them spread a dark multitude that was advancing without rest.

  Arkana did not have just one door; it had two. The second gate was located to the east, under and between the mountain. Forod was the captain in charge of defending the east gate, and who at that moment escorted Skuld, Dunhill and Nefyyd to the interior of Arkana.

  A group of elves hurried to secure the door once the group had finished crossing the threshold. Powerful iron bars were deployed to cover the entire length of the doors. Suddenly, a crackling sound began to be heard from the top of the mountains.

  "A collapse! Get covered! Cover yourself!" shouted an elf soldier from Forod's battalion.

  The horses on which they were riding rushed back, and then enormous stones twice the size of their mounts fell on them.

  "The enemies have entered the walls!" exclaimed Skuld after looking up. A thunder of screams and roars filled the air.

  The enemies had split off into different factions and a hundred orcs had climbed the southern slope of the mountains at which the walls ended. Many of them rushed to the balconies where the archers stood, while others fell to the precipice.

  "Good heavens!" muttered Skuld, shivering.

  "Look at me," Dunhill ordered, averting her gaze from the dozen corpses of orcs crashing in front of them. "They are orcs. They must die. They're here to annihilate us," Dunhill asserted and Skuld nodded.

  The orcs who managed to reach the balconies ferociously fought against the archers and were defeated, although there were also elves who died at the hands of orcs at the top of the walls.

  Meanwhile, at the front door, the metal gears gave away before the fire and opened up causing a burst of ammunition among the enemy, who rushed into the interior of the city. A frontal collision occurred between spearmen and Azarias. The sounds of lances against swords were deafening. Even worse was the sound of metal ripping through flesh. The onslaught was devastating and the soil was stained with the blood of both sides.

  The knocks came and went; swords and spears fluttered without rest, along with arrows flying in all directions. Emerging alive from that sea of ​​Azarias, orcs and elves was a real miracle.

  Meanwhile, the gates of the palace were reinforced by the cavalry. The elves knew that the Azarias could not gain access to the palace, for this would imply a situation of irreversible gravity. So they had decided that sweeping them in a stampede would be most effective.

  The day passed sooner than expected, and the evening fell on them. In the throne room, Prudence could no longer stand there, watching the crowd from the heights, not knowing what to do or what kind of help to bring. With terror
, she watched as the harmonious beauty that she had admired upon her arrival was slowly being shattered. The Azarias fought against the elven army while the orcs, faithful to their style, persecuted the population and caused all kinds of damage in the city — burning, demolishing and destroying.

  Prudence sought out Skuld, Dunhill, and Nefyyd among the soldiers, but there was no trace of them.

  A moment later, Trodor appeared at her side. The expression on his face was not at all pleased. He looked into Prudence’s eyes and took a moment to find the right words.

  "Your friends were on their way to the palace, escorted by a battalion of swordsmen under the command of Captain Forod. Sadly, a group of Azarias had rushed down the mountains to the east side of the city, leaving them trapped in the crowd, having to fight. Reinforcements have been sent," he informed Prudence.

  She opened her mouth to reply, but no sound came out. Terrified, Prudence looked at Dedric and then at Genuss. They looked back at her. Then there was no need to say any words, for they knew exactly what was going through each other's heads at that moment. The three stood up, determined to leave the room.

  "Your Highness, what are you doing? You cannot leave this room. Going out at the moment would be a death sentence," said Trodor, trying to stop them.

  "I'm sorry, but I cannot let them die out there," Prudence retorted.

  "Neither can we," Genuss said, taking up her sword and holding it to her belt.

  "I cannot allow you to leave the palace. It would be very reckless," argued Trodor.

  Prudence held her breath. "Those are my friends out there! My friends! Do I have to ask permission to defend the last thing that remains mine?" she argued.

  He held his position quietly. "Thousands of our soldiers are fighting this war in your name, Your Highness. Many elves with long lives ahead perish in front of this palace, and have prepared all their life for battle. Understand that it would be extremely absurd to go out and die down there."

  "No! It's you who do not understand. I have my own war against Alanel! Please, let me fight it."

  Trodor couldn’t resist Prudence’s pleading eyes. He could see the desperation inside her. Surprised and honored by her determination he said, "It requires a lot of courage to go out and embrace who you are, as well as a lot of strength to be compassionate enough to risk your own life for those you care about. Not only I will let you go, I will fight by your side." Prudence nodded at these words.

  Genuss, Dedric, Trodor and Prudence left through a back door of the palace. A group of elven soldiers accompanied them. They ran, and they entered the labyrinth of streets, their hearts beating loudly in their chests. Behind them rose the sounds of cries and exclamations of soldiers in battle, and of blades and arrows slicing through the air.

  "This way!" shouted Trodor, guiding their way through the steep streets. They made their way up the hill to the east gate.

  When they were near, Prudence watched in the distance, and could see the dark silhouette of the enemies. They were fighting. Then Prudence knew that Skuld, Dunhill, and Nefyyd were trapped inside that crowd. Panic gripped her.

  Trodor pushed many orcs away with strong bursts of wind that emanated from his hands and snaked through the air. Elven soldiers made their way through the crowd of enemies using their curved swords. The elves showed no pity for the orcs. Prudence watched in horror as the beasts' heads were torn from their necks, or their bodies sliced ​​in half under their torso. Then she saw them. Skuld and Dunhill struggled to cover each other's backs. Forod and the other elves also charged in battle against the orcs. Nefyyd did not fight against an orc — he fought against a large Azaria whose agility was surprising. After a moment, he turned to her and Prudence recognized him. It was Cirid. He raised his hooded face and looked right at Prudence.

  Prudence would have expected him to move quickly toward her and attack her, but the next thing he did was take off toward Skuld. His movement was so fast that she could not dodge him in time. He struck her head with the end of his sword.

  "No!" cried Prudence. Skuld staggered backward as blood trickled down the side of her head. Dedric lunged at Cirid.

  Prudence ran to Skuld and examined her face. "I'm so sorry about this," she whispered.

  "I'm fine," exclaimed Skuld.

  "I really wish I had not gotten you into all of this," Prudence said apologetically.

  "Easy, Prudence. You did not force me. I made my own decisions and it was them who brought me here. It's not your fault at all," Skuld admitted as Prudence helped her to her feet. An orc fell dead beside them. Prudence took Skuld's arm and pulled her away from the corpse.

  "If from the beginning I had not insisted that you come, you would be safe now, far away from here."

  "I probably would be, but I could not let you come alone. I do not regret doing it. A knock does not take away how much I have won on this trip. Also, look at this mess! No one will fix it if we do not!" Skuld said passionately. They turned their eyes to Cirid, and at that moment they saw Dedric fly away and crash into a wall. Genuss stepped forward and faced him with her sword held high. She attacked Cirid fiercely, but he blocked her movements. Then he turned and, with a heavy blow on the back of her neck, made Genuss fall to the floor.

  Cirid walked toward Prudence.

  She stepped forward and covered Skuld. They were face to face, with only a few feet between them. Prudence could not take her gaze from the sword in Cirid's hand.

  He waved his sword at Prudence. She jumped back, dodging the cut. Cirid charged once more, but Prudence again dodged the reach of his sword. Then she directed a beam of light that struck the hilt of the sword, causing it to fly out of his hand.

  Something happened at that moment. Behind Cirid there was a confused mass of chainmail, axes, mattocks, banners, and shields advancing. The giants had arrived. The giants wore thick, fur coats over which there was strong armor on their chests and legs. Some of their helmets had inlaid horns twisted as a badge of value in earlier battles. Under their helmets it could be seen that they all had long, loose hair or braids. A large group of them rushed over Cirid and the rest over the orcs. The ground trembled under their steps. The enemies realized that they were trapped. Immediately, they engaged in battle. Without too much difficulty, the orcs perished, crushed by the heavy hammers that the giants carried in their hands. The dead and wounded gathered in the ranks of the enemy army. With the help of the giants, the Company could now make its way back to the palace.

  "Quick! To the throne room! Now!" shouted Trodor.

  They all ran down the hill, ramming some Azarias on the road with their swords. However, the danger remained latent. The road was blocked. Four gigantic Hammerheads had demolished much of the walls and a great mountain of wreckage stood on the road blocking it.

  "Oh no!" exclaimed Dedric. "Are we going to get out of here alive?"

  Suddenly, there was a rumble of footsteps, which grew rapidly until the floor and everything around them shook. Then the construction of a temple collapsed in front of them and over the stones and rubbles an immense Hammerhead raised.

  "I think that answers your question," exclaimed Skuld.

  "Run!" said Dedric, frightened. Prudence saw his fear as they tried to escape the beast. The Company rushed to the palace.

  Alanel was there, escorted by Citrine and a group of Azarias. Many were already standing on the steps of the palace, fighting against a group of elves who tried to prevent them from reaching the doors, but they could not close the way for much longer.

  He's going to kill us, Prudence thought desperately. Her heart twisted at the sight of him.

  A sea of ​​Azarias with their dark garments and hoods on, with their masks covering half of their faces, formed in front of the palace to upkeep their Lord. If they reached the doors, Alanel would take the palace and take Arkana. Victory was close, he could almost taste it, but first he had to finish what he started so many years ago. He would take Prudence as his prisoner again and use her to find the
rest of the runes. He would kill the others.

  Lord Alanel turned to look at Prudence. He also laid his eyes on the rest of her companions. A cold smile of satisfaction washed over his face.

  "I'm here," Prudence shouted from the bottom of the stairs. "If you want me, you can take me, but let the others go. Do not do anything to them. They have nothing to do with this," she continued.

  "You dare to ask for clemency?" asked Lord Alanel. "Haven’t you seen enough?" He took the air rune that hung around his neck.

  Prudence's heart gave a great thud in her chest at the sight of it. "You do not have to kill them all!" she cried.

  "Your supplications will not change anything. There's nothing you can do." Lord Alanel laughed and shook his hand. There was a flicker of fire, and his palms burst into flames.

  It's now or never. I must kill him now, she thought within herself.

  Prudence raised her hands and a bow of burning light slashed the air. Terrified cries were heard and the next thing she saw was Lord Alanel hurt, with his knees on the floor. One hand pressed on his abdomen and the other supported his body. His breathing was laborious. The troops of th elf army exploded in outcry.

  Surprised, Prudence held her breath. She grabbed Dedric's arm, and without hesitation they all ran in the opposite direction to the palace.

  Lord Alanel straightened. At a signal from his hands, the four giant Hammerheads turned in the direction of Prudence and her friends. A twinge of horror twisted their stomachs as they realized what was about to happen.

  "They're coming," Genuss said, breathless.

  The Hammerheads advanced with ease as the multitude of warriors succumbed under their footsteps, trying to avoid being crushed. Some could not escape.

  Prudence looked back and saw that the beasts were behind them. Fury and despair exploded inside her. They snaked through streets and narrow passages trying to escape the Hammerheads. When they reached a point where the street ended with a high stone wall, they took another street to the left. One of the beasts was there.