Author's Rant: First of all, this is a fanfic set somewhere in the future of the conflict now happening (chapter 43, at the time of this writing) so that means soon it'll be a case of 'Kern's canon is over there *points at Washington*, mine is over here *points at Berlin*'.(ignore crappy latin-grammar, it's been a while
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If you still wanna read it, here a short summary: Sarv'swati was not too happy that Waes'soloth called off their alliance after 'Diva'ratrika' was killed at the Val’Beldrobbaen-fortress. As such, true to her nature, she lashed out against the Ill'haress.![]()
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 14
- Chapter 15
- Chapter 16
- Chapter 17
- Chapter 18
- Chapter 19
- Chapter 20
- Chapter 21
- Chapter 22
- Chapter 23
- Chapter 24
- Chapter 25
- Chapter 26
- Chapter 27
- Chapter 28
- Chapter 29
- Chapter 30
- Chapter 31
- Chapter 32
Alternate Ending
“Sarv’swati!” Her voice had never been made for closed areas, the moment she raised it, half the building knew. Now it mattered little: she was the only living person in the building. Behind her lay the two she had brought with her as guards – slain – and the one she had come with here... was gone.
She had been betrayed. Her long loyalty to the Vel’Sharen had not been rewarded. Instead its’ end would cost her dearly now.
“Sarv’swati!” The second daughter of the former Val’Sharess had trapped her, leaving her in a raging inferno and had fled, rather than enjoy the end.
Around her the building went up in flames, much to her horrified disbelief. Had they drenched it in oil? Stone ought not to burn like this. Then again, she ought not to be trapped here like this either, but here she was, inches from burning alive.
How had it come to this?
Smoke filled her lungs, heat rising around her. Her mana-arts had been rendered useless, trapping her in this room. Her trapped! Sharess, it was preposterous, almost blasphemous.
Her hand reached for the iron band around her slender neck. It was locked close, only to be opened with a keystone of Sarv’swati – which she obviously did not posses. By some foul demon-arts it drained her mana to leave her with barely enough to stay awake.
Her mind was swimming, her lungs filling with mostly smoke and hardly air. The lack of mana made her movements sluggish and her limbs heavy.
She was getting closer to fainting already...
Had anyone been watching like a spider on the wall, they would have seen her fall, her clothes and long hair fanning out around her form. A short distance from her unmoving body was the door she could not open.
<><><><><><><><><><><>
A city-block away a group of newly fletched Highland Raiders was returning from the surface to the Sarghress-fortress. Ariel Val’Sarghress was leading them. She had been recalled by her mother, the Ill’haress, now that the war was mostly over. The Vel’Sharen following Sarv’swati had been all but routed, having only small pockets in the Underworld under their control and those were shrinking by the day. Zala’ess was a different matter, but she was well away from them in terms of city-blocks and the oldest sister Snadhya’rune too was far away: she was still in Felde.
In the distance they saw the smoke and flames of Sarv’swati’s treachery – though they did not yet know it to be such: they assumed a simple accident to be to blame.
True to her nature, Ariel insisted they go to see if they could help. Soon they realized it was a Sarghress-controlled territory, the fire having been unleashed in a food-storage-building.
“Clear the surrounding buildings!” Ariel called. “Is anyone inside?”
“I faintly sense someone.” Faen called. “Only very faintly, but someone is still alive in there!”
“I will come with you, Ariel.” Chirinide Val'Kyorl'solenurn stated. She and Shan’naal had stayed with the squad, though they had not been allowed to become a true part of it due to them being Kyorl instead Sarghress. There had been too much trouble for them to reach the Light Elves in Vanaheimr. Both the battles around Dariya’ko and the pushing Hermionne had cut them off from the hidden city. “I’ll keep the flames at bay.”
The Val’Sarghress heir only nodded, unlocking the doors with a gentle touch upon the stone at the center of the door. As they pushed it open a wave of heat hit them, turning their mouths dry within moments. Worse was the stench of burned flesh, filling their nostrils almost immediately.
Using her fire-affinity, Chiri pushed the fire apart for them to look inside. Forms were on the ground, two already burning brightly.
“It’s nearby.” Faen peeked in. “The nearest to the door, I believe.”
“Help me get her out!” Ariel called, rushing in to the fallen form. Her black robes and hair were already sizzling at the edges, the fire hungry for more. Even as Ariel and Faen stamped them out, Chiri ordered the flames apart while Sar’nel and Shan’naal rushed inside to help carry the older woman out. She was bigger than most females, belying a Val-descent, though how she could have ended up trapped in here, where a simple touch at the inside stone ought to have freed her was a mystery.
“Drider-guards.” The Kyorl-warden stated when she emerged again. “Two of them. Slain by blade.”
“Something disrupts my empathy around her.” Faen murmured. She, Ariel and Chiri were the only ones with the female, the others having gone to help extinguish the fire before it spread to other houses.
“It’s this.” Ariel pushed aside the hair of the other a bit, revealing what was locked around her neck. They had seen these bands often lately: mana-draining ones of Sarv’swati. “No wonder she got trapped in there. This is Sarv’swati’s work. Think she’ll make it without your help? We don’t have a keystone for this.”
“She should.” Faen cleared her face of the rest of her hair, recoiling as she saw it.
“Isn’t that?” Chirinide hesitantly reached out to lightly touch the now revealed cheek.
“It is.” Ariel bit her lip lightly as she regarded the one on the ground. “This is Waes’soloth, Ill’haress of the Val’Beldrobbaen.”