The Hunt For Tresh'ta

Tara'li

For weeks I have to wait. Even with all the smiths working on my armor and the armor of Rashter it is still a lot of work. Not only that, I have to let them forge the armors for five other dragons to. When we are finally partially armored I gather the squad and prepare for the journey to the front lines. Tera'shi walks up to us with her ten centaurs, wearing her new armor with relative pride. 'I see you are going back to your war?'

I check some of the saddle straps once more and then start putting on Rashter's armor. I respond in the process of lifting one of the heavier plates up and working on tying it on. 'Yes. This last attack showed me we have to turn up the heat. I'm going for Tresh'ta. I will start hunting down the Demon Commanders with my squad. To show them that messing with me is a bad idea and only puts a price on your head.'

Tera'shi nods. 'In that case I have to wish you luck on your upcoming battle, your majesty. May the seasons bring you fortune.'

Finally the plate slips on and with one hand and a lot of sweat I manage to get the plate strapped onto Rashter. Taking a breather I respond. 'If you can get your centaurs to the front very quick I would appreciate it. I told the smiths to forge armor for the centaurs that request it and I told the guards to let the centaurs into the kingdom. However this does not mean the centaurs can misbehave as they are still to follow the same laws as any Elf.'

Tera'shi hands me over the next plate to put on Rashter. 'That much has become clear to me already. I will see you on the front lines, your majesty.'

With some help of my squad I put all the other plates on Rashter. I know it is dragon armor but with how unwieldy it all is, it feels nothing like Elven made armor. It must be the size of Rashter. Not for the first time I wish Rashter wasn't this massive. In my mind he chuckles. 'Finally realizing the disadvantage of size?'

I grumble softly. 'Oh shut up... you know how heavy these plates are for me. You must be a hundred times my size if not more...'

As the final plates are put on he tests his mobility and then turns his head to me. 'I don't really notice them that much. Are you sure it is actually armor instead of just clothing?'

I softly push against his head. 'Come on, Rashter. This is forged steel. Now you can't make any mistakes again that get you injured.'

He helps me get into the saddle. 'I'm just teasing you, Tara'li. I'm glad you care so much for me that you order a full on armor to be made for me just because I walked into one of those long pointy sticks.'

Oh Rashter... he never changes. I pat him on his armored back a couple of times and then give the command to take off.

As we fly over the lush plains I see clouds of dust rise from a wave of some charging group of creatures. Rashter, feeling my curiosity, flies lower for me to see what it is. Surprisingly it is the Orks. We made it in time. Ahead is the Elven camp. Rashter angles his wings and glides to the camp, depositing me in the middle of it. When my squad is landed I dismount and see the Elves around me, worn but all alive. One of the generals approaches me. 'Your majesty. What is the news?'

I walk over to him and motion to the tent where mom used to do her strategy. There I turn to him. 'There is good news and bad news.'

The general turns to me. 'Well, your majesty... I'd like the bad news first.'

I tap the table with the maps and statues. 'The Lamia aren't coming, nor will the Dragon Guard be coming. Even as their new council member I cannot send them into war. None of their dragons are armored.'

The Elf lowers his head. 'Then... this is all over. We cannot go into a full on war without the Dragon Guard. Morale will drop even lower than it is already.'

I then grab my shield and hold it up to him. 'Not exactly. The Dwarves are coming with all their forces. So are the humans and the Orks are close by, almost at the gates of the camp. I have also met with the centaurs, and they will come as well. Though victory will be hard, it is not impossible. We don't have the numbers but we have the strength, the variety and most of all we have unity. The symbol on my shield shows that unity. I want you to give a new order. I want all the banners replaced with this symbol.'

The general shakes his head. 'Your majesty, the tree of life is our symbol. It stands for our home, the green in the world. You cannot ask us to get rid of it...'

I hold out the shield to him. 'You don't understand. I don't ask you to get rid of it. However, though all races will show their heritage, we will march into battle under one banner. This is it. The Dwarven King and I crossed sword and hammer. This is our banner.'

He puts his hand on the shield, where a couple of gashes do show in the wood but it mostly being unharmed. As he looks at the two crossed weapons he gets tears in the eyes. 'It was her sword, wasn't it. The sword of queen Reshilde?'

I nod softly. 'Yes. Yes it was her sword. I hope that at least makes up for it...'

Both swords drawn. Sha'iva and three Elves surrounding me. The rest of the squad and a couple of the Orks watching and inside me, peace. From nowhere all four of them charge me. I sidestep and deflect two of the attacks, using their swords to block the other two attacks. Then I rotate on the ball of my feet and lash out at one of them, striking out at the other. In return Sha'iva tries to stab me, which I barely manage to avoid. Then I jump away from them, making them all stand at the side from me. As they attempt to get back into the fight I counter attack which catches one of the Elves off guard, allowing me to aim down at him for a moment though I do have to keep the other three at bay with my other sword which nearly ends bad for me.

Sha'iva now leads the charge. Without a shield she is a much harder opponent to beat and I find myself sorely lacking in both speed and defense, though I do push through. As both the other Elves try to flank me I kick at one of the Elves blades, hitting the handle and almost kicking the blade out of his hand. The other Elf tries to attack now as well, however I cross blades with both him and Sha'iva. Then I push both the blades aside and aim my blades at their necks. Right then the last Elf tries to finish it off. With a lot of effort I manage to block his attack with my blade crossing over my back, rolling around on the balls of my feet again.

Now with several flurries of attack the Elf takes the full grunt of my attacks. With a lot of effort he blocks most of them, however I slip past his guard and stop my blade in front of his nose. I won. 'Well done all.'

As I step back and put my blades in their sheets I turn and walk away. I go to the planning tent and sit there at the table. My sword fighting is getting lackluster. First getting wounded and my armor damaged in the Emerald City and then here almost losing a routine four against me training battle. This was getting way to close. Sha'iva then comes into the tent. 'They are thinking you are unhappy about their performance.'

I look up from the table. 'Far from that. I'm unhappy about my own performance, Sha'iva. In the last battle I got injured more than once and now I nearly got beaten by only four of you. If I can't even easily beat all of you, then how can I beat Tresh'ta?'

Sha'iva seems dumbfounded. 'Tara'li, you are fighting against four Elven blade masters. Of course it is a rough battle!'

I turn fully to her. 'Sha'iva, I have to fight against a female Elf who has had more years to train, is enhanced by the Demons and who already killed her own sister. I have to increase my performance or I'll find myself in the same position as mom. Buried at the roots of a tree having failed my task.'

Sha'iva puts a hand on my shoulder. 'Sister, you are the best swordsman we have. You killed more Demon Commanders than any alive. If anything you will be remembered for that, and otherwise you will be remembered for your way of bringing all the races together. Even in your short reign you unified everyone. The Orks respect you, the Elves would follow you until the end, the Dwarves share their greatest secrets with you. You even managed to gain the trust of the centaurs. No queen in the history of the Elves did any of those things. You are a legend already...'

I put my hand on hers. 'Sha'iva, I'm close to completing moms final wishes. However I feel my faith waning. I don't think I can send countless people to their deaths fighting off the Demons. As well I do fear I don't have the strength to kill Tresh'ta...'

Sha'iva looks me in the eyes. 'Tara'li, you are strong. When the time comes you will do it. I know you can do it. Mom meant more to you than she did to me. I hope you will see it...'

Sha'iva then gets up and walks out, leaving me to ponder the maps in front of me. No information has come through about any of the enemy movements or positions. I guess I will have to do this all myself again. With the rough hewn knife I don't even remember making or getting I start carving new figurines to represent the Ork reinforcements we got. I do feel bad about not doing it like the other Elves but it gives me something to do and it puts my mind off of my fear of failure.

There. Another small Demon force. An idea starts to form in my mind. Rashter doesn't agree with it but angles his wings down to do it. We land in front of the Demon army. My squad seems to be thinking I lost my mind as I yell towards the Demons. 'Let the Commander of this Demon Legion come forth and meet me in single combat!'

The Demons seem to look at each other confused until the lines split to show a man in the same dark armor. 'The child of Tresh'ta. Well, well, well... I'll be rewarded royally if I bring you to your mother unscathed...'

I dismount Rashter. 'Where is she? I got a score to settle with her.'

The commander smiles a toothy smile. 'Drop your weapons and let me bring you to her... otherwise you'll not see her.'

I draw my swords. 'You will tell me where she is or I'll turn your entire legion into strips of Demon. I'm sick of all you Demon Commanders hiding her. Either she shows herself or I will hunt all of you Demon Commanders down one by one until none are left!'

The Demons start backing up in seeming fear. The Commander on the other hand charges me. With both swords I bash his aside and I kick him straight in the stomach. As he backs up grabbing his stomach I start lashing out at him. The guy barely blocks my attack in time and while recovering backs up further. Without any mercy I start pushing in further. The Commander fully goes into the defensive and behind me I hear my squad charge into the Demon legions as well.

Meanwhile my mind starts to focus as my Glider starts helping me in the fight. The Demon Commanders sword goes all over the place and as he desperately tries to block attack after furious attack his sword starts lashing into his own Demons. Then I jump forwards, using my own sword to force the commanders sword aside while stabbing moms sword into his stomach. As he drops down he stares at the sword. I kneel to his level. 'Tell me where she is and I'll make your passing easier.'

He spits up some blood at my feet. As he does that I draw mom's sword out of his stomach and start engaging the Demons as well.

Tresh'ta

'TRESH'TA!!!'

As I run through the fortress to the Demon Lord I hear him call my name once more. Quickly I find my way to the throne room. There the Demon Lord sits. 'I want an explanation NOW!'

I quickly bow before him. 'What is it you want explained, Demon Lord?'

He gets up from the throne and walks over to me, which is a miracle with how fat he is. 'Two legions attacking the Emerald Realm got wiped from the map with commander and all. Now I heard three more got nearly wiped, their commanders killed by a little Elven queen. YOUR DAUGHTER!'

I get up. 'My daughter should be of no concern. She is weak and her faith is waning. She should be falling soon...'

He steps around me. 'She is hunting Commanders. She is hunting YOU! Every Demon said the same thing. She came upon dragon back with fourteen others, engaged the Commander alone with fury and questioned them about where YOU are. Not one has cracked but YOU are costing me legions!'

I get up. 'Let me haunt her one more time. I can tip her balance. Make her fall. I know why she does that. My sister found a heart before she died and decided to support my daughter when she did.'

The Demon Lord turns to me. 'I do not care why. I want it to stop! Every Commander is a significant investment and she cost me five already. You got one more chance to make her fall. Then you take the legions from this castle and lead them to the front. Overrun the Elves and capture that queen of yours. If she doesn't fall to you, she will fall to me. Enough is enough.'

I nod and leave the Demon Lords halls. From there I go to the Projector room. I don't know how it works or how the Demons made a magical machine like this, but it allows a single person to project itself into the dreams of another. Without this thing speaking to my daughter would be impossible, especially with her aggression towards me. Maybe it was stupid to kill my sister but orders are orders. As long as the Demon Lord holds my soulstone I'm bound to him. I cannot disobey his orders or it will kill me, at least that is what he claims. I put my hand on the Projector and then enter it. Time to attempt this one more time.

Tara'li

The clouds part. She is there. Instinctively I ball my fists. 'Tresh'ta. Come and face me already. Come and fight me or I will keep murdering the other Commanders.'

She shakes her head. 'Daughter, your fury and anger suit you ill. Calm down. See the world as it is.'

I move towards her. 'You know nothing about what suits me and what doesn't. You have never been there to see such. You sicken me, Tresh'ta, as you speak about things you have never known. Know that moms blade is waiting for you. It is waiting to pierce your heart and take revenge.'

She seems in shock and lays a hand on her stomach. Then she steels herself. 'You don't know why I did it, do you? The Dragon Guard is not protecting anyone any more. All they do is stand watch. Elves hide in their forests to live with nature. Dwarves just sit in their mountains, mining for metals and gems and forging. Humans hiding away in their cities and villages. No one cares about what happens in the world. Only we do. The fact you convinced my sister to find her heart surprises me. But then her leading the Elves into the offense... it troubles me. This way there won't be any Elves left to lead once this war is over.'

I falter there and then. So she betrayed the Guard not out of spite but because she cares for the world. Now it is my turn to steel myself. 'Rubbish. You had the power to bring peace to the world and you threw it away. First with abandoning me, then with abandoning the Guard and killing your squad. I don't believe your lies, Tresh'ta. You know the difference between you and me? You fell for a fake reality, where I clench to the reality that is true. Now, I will meet you on the battlefield. As will moms sword, in whose light you will be cleansed from my heritage.'

As I wake up I take a couple of deep breaths. My mother... she isn't truly evil. However she did do some unforgivable things. Can I truly kill her? I start putting my armor on, noticing two semi circles of spikes angled inwards have formed from my spine. At first I'm confused until I stand in front of the mirror with my armor facing the back. The spikes seem to be like hooks on which I can hold the armor in place. I no longer need the lace. After removing the lace I hook the armor on the spikes, feeling the pressure it puts on my spine but then noticing how it slightly increases my mobility. This Glider is smart.

When I finished putting my armor on I walk outside my tent and turn to one of the guards. 'Please get Sha'iva. I need to talk with her. Let her come to the planning tent.'

With quick paces I go there myself and turn to the table again, looking at the small statues. When Sha'iva enters I motion to a chair. 'We have to talk, Sha'iva. Something troubles me.'

As Sha'iva sits she looks at the table. 'You know I know nothing about tactics, sister. I cannot help you there.'

I tell her in short about the dream I had. Then I sigh. 'I think she will be facing me soon. She knows about all the Commanders I killed.'

Sha'iva tilts her head slightly downwards. 'Both of you are teetering on the edge of falling. She to the light, you to the Demons. If you can find your footing again... you may be able to salvage her. Get your mother back. I know you need it, sister. Just... stay with me in the process.'

I nod once. 'Sha'iva, if I fall, I want you to take moms sword and take my life with it. In case I fall you have to take my crown and lead the combined armies into war. I trust you with it, sister. You are all that stands between me and havoc in the armies.'

She shakes her head. 'I can't do that, sister. I can not kill you. You are the only family I have left.'

I walk over to her and grab her slender hands. 'Sha'iva, if I fall I'm not your sister any more. If I fall I'm nothing but a shade of whom I used to be. That is what happened with my mother to. She fell and now she only wishes to be what she should have been in the first place. What she never will be. That is why I have to face her. Once I killed her she can be free of her fallen shackles.'

Sha'iva smiles. 'I hope you can find your redemption then, sister...'

Then we hear the horns moaning outside. I put a hand on my sword and run outside half expecting an attack...