40. Know your enemy - Loldirr
Cold, so cold.
Never before had Loldirr experienced a cold like this before. The wind stung like thousands of bees and cut deep through to the bone. Despite the constant rubbing of her hands across her body, she only felt the unbearable pain of pins and needles on her fingertips. Her cheeks burnt like fire but felt cold to touch, and despite wearing the bearskin coat she purchased before reaching the Everpeake Mountains north of Lionmane, her body ached for warmth.
For days now she had travelled north over the mountains and turned west towards the Fæordic tribes in the hope of gaining an alliance, but the trek had been one of the most brutal she had encountered.
Over the mountain tops, she had been hunted by wolves, though fortunately, she had outwitted them, only to walk unknowingly directly into an endless blizzard that brought visibility down to zero.
The snow bombarded violently against her face, and every step was fraught with danger, not knowing what was ahead of her. She longed for warmth, longed to stand next to fire even for a moment, but the below-freezing temperatures instantly eliminated every flame she tried to create.
On another day, Loldirr would have spent her time complaining about how she got into this predicament, but she could not think. The pain that tore through her body was the only thing that embraced her thoughts. How long could she endure this torture?
Sleep had been difficult. It was impossible to find anywhere safe and the cold floor would tear through Loldirr's body like the blaze that engulfed her at Lionmane. Which was worse, she could not recall, she just hoped this nightmare would end soon.
Every step forward disappeared into a thick blanket of snow, making travelling feel like walking through treacle. Loldirr's body ached yet her determination kept her going.
If only she could see the sun, at least then she would be able to know for sure which direction she was heading.
Taking a step forward, the crunch and sinking feeling of the snow in front of her had become supremely familiar, when placing her next foot in front the crunch and sinking feeling never came, and before she knew it, she was falling.
It couldn't have been a long fall, but the unknown made it feel like an age. As her mind span tales of plummeting to her death, she fell into deep snow, feeling it envelop all around her.
Her body ached from the cold; her mind was exhausted from the tribulations; she just wanted to curl up in a ball and let death embrace her.
"You are the Elemental Sorceress, the True Empress of Isovine" the voice of Erdudvyl echoed in her mind. Loldirr realised that her subjects and the world needed her to survive, to overcome and to endure.
Despite the pain that coursed through her body, she pushed herself up, gradually losing even more feeling in her fingertips than before, determined to keep ongoing.
Looking up Loldirr couldn't tell how far she had fallen, the blizzard was too thick. As she looked down her imprint that her body had left was already being covered in a blanket of snow, looking behind all that could be seen was darkness.
A cave!
Without hesitation, she clambered into it, thankful that her face was no longer being stung by the cruelty of the weather.
Fear briefly embraced her, what if she was not alone in this cave? It was so dark, so mysterious that an animal could have taken shelter here. In the end, it did not matter; Loldirr would instead have faced some dangerous creature for the right to have protection than to endure more of this atrocious weather.
Opening the palm of her hand, all she could feel was the stinging sensation of the cold yet something else stirred inside of it. A warmth that wasn't there before. Concentrating on that warmth, it grew and grew to culminate into something more significant. As she closed her eyes that heat turned into a burning sensation that she embraced wholeheartedly, opening her eyes, she could see it floating tentatively above her hand.
A small ball of fire.
If her tear ducts were not frozen, she would have cried at that very moment, her nose unconventionally dripped mucus, but she didn't care. For the first time, the Elemental Sorceress had created an element out of nothing.
Attempting not to get carried away, Loldirr examined the cave half expecting to be brutally attacked by a polar bear, but she was alone with the ball of fire that she had created.
Using the same focus technique, her whole body started to warm, it initially throbbed painfully, but as her body temperature rose, a serenity coursed through her. Loldirr had longed for this moment for days. Chuckling to herself, she revelled in the new powers she was starting to embrace.
It had been days since she last managed any decent level of sleep. By curling behind a rock to avoid the gust of wind stubbornly pushing its way into the cave, she closed her eyes, and within moments all tribulations had left her as she entered into a deep sleep.
***
As her eyes gradually opened, the initial pain from the bright light forcing its way into the cave was unbearable. Still, as Loldirr's eyes adjusted, it had become evident that the blizzard had subsided.
At least it initially seemed like it; standing to her feet, her body felt light and unnatural. Was she dreaming?
Dream or no, Loldirr felt compelled to investigate. Wrapping her bow over her shoulder and placing her sword in her hand, she took steps forward to once again sink into the snow.
The first crunch into the snow was the most satisfying, feeling the white cold powder envelope her foot was always exhilarating. Looking up to the sky, it didn't take her long to identify which way was west and as she took steps forward into the white wasteland, Loldirr spotted a large tree peering over the white horizon. She hadn't noticed that tree before.
It was when she took more steps forward that she felt an uneasiness that would be expected in some sort of nightmare. Loldirr was being watched intently. The burning sensation of eyes boring into her back made her feel out of sorts as if she wanted to scream and wake up.
Turning around, her heart felt like jumping through her mouth.
Fourteen dark shadowy figures stood behind her. A couple, both archers in black leather armour stood on the ridge she had fallen from, others stood spaced out around her, encircling to ensure she could not escape, one of them she recognised instantly.
Fear gripped her as the towering figure slowly pushed his way through the snow to complete the circle. His battered and scarred armour had become familiar, and the feeling of death that Loldirr felt last time they encountered each other was something she could not shake.
As he wheezed through his charcoal coloured helmet, Loldirr was hoping and praying this was just a nightmare and that the creature had not been summoned once more.
Sir Wendon Pykeston, The Shadow.
"So this is the one from the so-called prophecy?" an unnaturally deep booming voice pierced from behind the armoured soldiers encircling the fear-stricken Sorceress.
As two of the soldiers separated, a dark-cloaked man stepped forward, revealing very little of his face. Part of his greying beard could be seen through his hood, but the rest of him was well covered, leaving all but a faceless man. As he spoke, his words felt dark and empty.
"She is but a mere child."
Part of Loldirr wanted to get angry, but the soldiers around her suggested otherwise. These were not soldiers, though, these were Death Wraiths, all of them. As another equally daunting cloaked figure flanked the faceless man, one which held an orbed staff, she realised that this was the man that wanted to plunge the world into chaos.
The Necromancer.
Still trying to gather her thoughts, and examining the situation that she was in, Loldirr remained still, but her eyes flickered back and forth between the men and women that surrounded her. This dream had to be some sort of twisted nightmare.
"She reeks of fear!" the Necromancer chuckled, "This is no Elemental Sorceress."
Loldirr refused to rise to the bait that was being thrown at her. "Speak your business Necromancer."
The deep chuckle from the hooded figure sent a chill down Loldirr's spine. "She speaks, finally, I would feel it less of a challenge if I had to deal with a mute. You run around playing your games, trying to survive in your pitiful, pointless world, yet there is only one certainty of it all. You and all you know will die, either by my hand or another."
Loldirr calmed her breathing as if she was to fire an arrow at a target. Only in a relaxed state could she respond to this intimidating figure. If she were to die today, she would refuse the enemy the satisfaction of seeing her scared.
"There it is, " the Necromancer continued, "that defiance in her eyes. The foolish and pointless notion that she can have a say in her destiny. Your destiny is to die little girl, embrace it."
His condescension angered Loldirr. "I am no little girl, and my destiny is to defeat you."
"Do you really believe that? I have encountered many Sorcerers of the Elements over my years, and while some have joined my cause, the others have perished in agony. You are a but an irritating fly that will be swatted during my emancipation."
"If I was such a fly, then why come to speak to me personally?" Loldirr replied, hoping to call the Necromancer's bluff.
A deep, irritated sigh escaped the faceless man. "You may be an annoying fly, but you are still a Sorceress of the Elements, and out of courtesy I'm giving you the chance to join me."
Anger rose within Loldirr at the thought of joining the side of death. "Why would I do that?"
"We come from humble beginnings. Human, Elf, Orc, Goblin, Halflings, Dwarfs, Draconids, but these are mere insects in a world ruled by gods, gods that can control and manipulate the elements and I am calling for you to join me at a seat of the gods to serve me but to rule others."
"Gods? We are mortals who have been blessed with gifts, and it's our responsibility to care for those around us." Loldirr replied.
The Necromancer chuckled once more. "Naive and foolish. I am not a mortal; I have walked this earth for over five hundred winters, I have conquered death because I am death. Your simple mind must accept what is inevitable. Death will rule this world."
Loldirr grew frustrated by his constant insults, "Do you hear your narcissism? If you are death, then I am life. Whatever you stand to conquer, I will be there to counter. I may only be just short of my nineteenth winter, but as long as I draw breath, I will not allow you to dominate."
The Necromancer growled and placed out his hand. "Choose your next words wisely, little girl. I have defeated men and women far more powerful than you. Join me and my forces, and not only will you receive immortality, but you will be able to rule as a god when the world is mine. Do not accept it, and you die today and rot in this frozen wasteland."
'So was this a dream or not? ' Loldirr thought to herself.
Looking around at the creatures surrounding her, Loldirr knew she would never survive if this were real, but it did not matter. She thought of all the people who counted on her, Ethelston, Erdudvyl and Chrys, of others she did not know so well, Arminell, Jarendrud and the little boy Ioco whom she spent so little time within Lionmane.
Then the thoughts of the fallen came to her head. Willis, her closest friend, his family and the village of Greenhaven. Most importantly, Duke Edric Darke, the man who he raised as his own. The father figure who was brutally taken by the wheezing creature that stood just mere metres away from her. He raised her for this; he taught her everything in preparation to fight the Necromancer. It was her destiny to rise against the faceless man in front of her.
"I'll embrace death before I embrace you." she spat towards the Necromancer.
The Necromancer lowered his hand and sighed. Turning around, he commented "So be it!" before disappearing into thin air.
The Sorcerer beside him did the same, and as Loldirr twisted her head, she watched as each of the Death Wraiths vanished.
Taking a deep breath, she smiled as gradually one by one, they all disappeared, knowing that this probably was all part of a twisted dream.
As her head snapped to the right, she prepared as the Shadow was the last to disappear. Smiling as he shifted just as the others had done before him, for him to disappear from this dream and leave her in peace.
Before realising what was happening, he placed his hands on his greatsword, lifting it high and swing it violently towards Loldirr's head.
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