Ellana
stared out at Raxogar. When she had first looked upon him earlier that evening
she had seen him as a monster, a feral animal of impulse and rage. As he turned
to face her, Ellana’s eyes met with his. The inky blackness she had first seen
in them was gone, replaced instead by a warm golden glow. As she peered into
his eyes, Ellana felt a sense of ease wash over her.
Raxogar’s
gaze switched between Ellana and the woman lying near her on the ground partly
obscured by the wagon. He swivelled around but saw no one else in the vicinity.
He then realized he could not hear any sounds of battle either. The fighting
was over, but there was no way to know which side was victorious.
Quickly and
with purpose, Raxogar strode over to where Ellana was kneeling on the ground
near her mother. Instinctively she scrambled backwards, but stopped as Raxogar
neared and held out his hand towards her. Though it was covered in blood,
Ellana took his hand and pulled herself with his assistance to her feet. As she
once again gazed into his eyes she felt a measure of safety by his presence.
“We must go”
Raxogar stated. Ellana heard only the guttural articulation of the draconic
language, but by his tone and body language she understood his meaning. She
nodded and turned to where her mother’s unconscious form still lay.
Raxogar bent
down over Elisya and looked her over. Apart from her unconscious state, she
appeared uninjured. He placed one arm under her knees, the other behind her
shoulders, and carefully picked her up. Looking over his shoulder he nodded at
Ellana and together they strode around the corner of the wagon towards the
darkness.
As Ellana turned
the corner she encountered a sight that shocked her more than anything she had
seen so far that night. Due to her mother’s quick thinking Ellana did not
witness the death of Darak at the hands of Mondaresh. Having now come into view
of where he fell she froze, staring at the Dwarven warrior’s head, unable to
move or look away.
As she
started to tremble, Ellana felt a strong feeling of dread pervade her body. Her
heart raced and her muscles tensed. She felt the overwhelming desire to turn
and run away into the darkness, but her legs would not let her. She could feel
Raxogar staring at her but could neither say nor do anything to explain her
current state.
With great
courage Ellana stepped forwards towards her fallen friend. Upon approaching his
severed head she fell to her knees and started sobbing uncontrollably. As she
struggled to breathe through her dry mouth she stared into his still open eyes.
With a trembling hand she reached over her friends face and closed his eyes,
closing her own as she did so.
After
several minutes Ellana started to recover from the shock and despair she had
felt for her fallen friend. Wiping the tears from her eyes she slowly stood up
and turned towards Raxogar. He stood motionless, his head bowed solemnly,
Elisya bearing heavily upon his arms. Upon her approach Raxogar raised his eyes
towards Ellana, his empathy towards visible in the furled brow and slumped
shoulders. Without words the two turned away and walked forward into the
darkness.
The two made
their way quickly through the dimness with only the light of the crescent moon
to illuminate their path. Though exhausted after the fight against his brother,
Raxogar pushed on for several hours until fatigue started to slow him down. He
stumbled several times on the loose earth before tripping on a tree root and
falling to his knees. Still holding the unconscious Elisya, with great effort
he lifted his leg to get back to his feet.
Seeing the
exhaustion on his face, Ellana laid a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him.
“You should rest” she said softly. As he attempted to stand again she pushed
down more forcibly on his shoulder.
Bowing his
head, Raxogar gave in to the obvious signal from Ellana. He carefully laid the
form of her mother on the ground before slumping backwards onto the ground. His
head falling backwards, he took several long deep breaths as he let his muscles
relax without the weight of Ellana’s mother weighing him down.
After
several minutes of silent rest, the quiet stillness was interrupted by a soft
moan. Elisya’s body shifted as she started to regain consciousness. Ellana, who
had been sitting next to her mother holding her hand, knelt over her and gently
shook her by the shoulders.
“Mother?”
she questioned as she attempted to rouse her. Her pensive look softened as
Elisya’s eyes slowly opened.
“Ellana?”
she softly spoke. Through unfocused eyes she could barely make out her
daughter’s face, but there was no mistaking her soft voice. She reached up
towards her daughter, cupping her check in her hand. Still lying on her back,
as her eyes refocused she looked around at trees above her.
“Where are
we? What happened?” she asked.
As Ellana
helped her mother into a sitting position she explained what had happened. “We
were attacked by another one of those creatures. We managed to escape…” Ellana
paused as she figured out a way to explain their current circumstances. “… With
a little help from a new friend.” Ellana bit her lip nervously as her eyes
shifted towards Raxogar.
As Elisya
turned and saw the Dragonborn, now standing again and only a few meters away
from them, she instinctively scrambled backwards in self-preservation. Grabbing
Ellana by the arm she made to get to her feet and escape, but Ellana resisted.
“Run! Go!”
she yelled, trying to pull Ellana with her.
“It’s ok
mom” Ellana pleaded, attempting to hold her mother from fleeing. “He saved us
from them. He got us out of there, both of us!”
Still
looking terrified, Elisya looked from Ellana to the young Dragonborn. He stood
silently watching them. Her actions and tone made it clear what she was saying,
even if her words did not. Attempting to assist in calming her, Raxogar took
half a step forward, his hand reaching in front of him. As he noticed Elisya
recoil he stopped to think. After a brief pause he retracted his hand and
calmly thought of a better way to assure her of his intentions. He took back
his step and knelt down on one knee, bowing his head in submission.
Elisya took
several deep breaths as she thought about the situation. Looking from her
daughter to Raxogar and back again, she relaxed her grip on Ellana’s arm and
seemingly accepted her account. Seeing the young Dragonborn in supplication,
she took a step towards him.
The crisp
crack of a broken twig rent through the still night air. Elisya’s grip on her
daughter’s arm once again tightened, and Raxogar sprang to his feet turning
towards the source of the sound. Concentrating all of his attention toward the
source of the disturbance, Raxogar squinted in an effort to make out the cause.
After
several tense moments of silence, Raxogar relaxed. Elisya released her breath,
not realising she had been holding it during that moment of tension. She
lowered her eyes and lessened her grip on her daughter’s arm before looking
back up at the face of the young Dragonborn. Raxogar too looked at her, and in
a moment of eye contact each understood that it was in their best interests to
work together to survive this night. That moment of understanding however was
suddenly broken.
With a soft
thud, an arrow lodged itself in Raxogar’s back. The Dragonborn grimaced in pain
as the impact forced him forward a step. He turned towards what he thought to
be the source of the attack, only to be hit again by another arrow, this one
lodging itself in his chest below the clavicle.
Raxogar
again growled in pain as he stumbled backwards on to one knee. Searching again
for the source he saw emerging from the darkness a large figure carrying a
heavy bow. Though he could not distinguish any facial features, by the size and
shape of the mysterious figure he quickly identified the form.
Into the
soft moonlight stepped a large Dragonborn, one of the largest of his clan. His
immense frame was covered in rippling muscles. His scales were a reddish brown
with crimson tinges around the edges. Across one side of his bare chest were a
series of claw marks, undoubtedly from previous combat with large beast of some
kind. Strung across his back he bore an immense two-handed Greataxe, and in his
left hand he held a gnarled longbow.
Raxogar felt
a sudden weight in his chest drop as the imposing figure of Draakor, Warmaster
of the Krakdargarok clan, bore down upon him. Draakor was the most powerful Dragonborn
of his clan, undefeated in battle. He took no prisoners, felt no remorse. The
edges of his scales had been stained red by all of the blood he had shed over
his lifetime. Having seen him in battle firsthand, Raxogar knew he was no match
for the Warmaster.
Grasping the
shaft of the arrow embedded in his chest, Raxogar snapped the end off in his
hand and bitterly threw it into the dirt. Closing his eyes, Raxogar quietly
accepted defeat.
Death had
come.
