Content

Chapter One Changing

“This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper.” ~T.S Eliot

As my brother pulled me through the soot and flames of our burning home I heard the cries of my brethren being murdered, raped and rounded up for slavery. "We have to hurry Tamuríl we have no time for anyone, besides mother and father are waiting in the woods we must hurry now!" he shouted with urgency that snapped me back to my senses "I'm sorry brother but, I can't leave Enelya please can we at least save her?" I cried out, but instead of saying yes he threw me over his shoulder and then the roof caved in.

3 years later

As my brown hair fell in front of my face I felt the stabbing pain ricochet through my body, I held my ground as the blond elf made another move to hit me "STOP!" yelled my brother in a loud booming voice that gave me enough time to spit out the blood on my mouth onto Blondie’s face, which earned me another hit in the face “Is that all you got Blondie, if so you are never going to be able to protect your family with such weak strength like that.” I spat out more blood welling up in my mouth onto the ground when he spewed out the normal curses, but then he said something that made me attack he said “Well at least I didn’t abandon my own clan.”

I screeched and then punched him hard enough to make him fall flat on his bum “I will kill you for saying that you bastard.” I yelled as I tackled him and started wailing punches to his face, but fortunately for Blondie my brother made it in time to stop me from making any permanent damages. As my brother pulled me off of the poor man he yelled for me to calm down, saying that I proved my point, I had finally calmed down enough to see he was right I felt immediately felt pity for the poor bastard, he became a punching bag.

I sighed to my brother “Let’s take this poor guy home, I’m guessing he’s had enough of beating on me for today.” As he helped me up he said “Ril I don’t know why you let them all think that it’s your fault that the clans were attacked because of you, in fact it’s insane so please stop letting them think these things as your older brother it is killing me to stop these people every day, to see you beaten, bruised and bleeding, so I’m begging you please stop this.”

As we dragged him home I told Elros the truth “they need it to survive to keep themselves together till they come back to sanity and most of the towns people have realized what I have been doing and they are grateful and very guilty for what they’ve done, and brother as lenient as I am, I’m no saint, I have done horrible things let’s just say I’m repenting.” After that we ended the conversation got Blondie back to his home and then we went home, only to discover it crawling with hunters.

I felt an arrow fly past my head and hit the tree behind me, and then I knew that they had seen us “RUN!” I screamed at my brother, I grabbed him to make him move faster, but he just stood still and gave me a chuckle, I gave him a confused look and said “Elros what are you doing, we need to get moving before they kill us!” Instead of moving he grabbed me and said “we’re not going any ware Ril.” His face seemed to change, in fact it became a completely different face.

As I screamed in horror as what I thought to be my brother transform into a different person, and as fate had happened his grip loosened but only for a split second and that was all I needed, I slipped out of his grip and ran to the village, they must be warned I chanted in my head over and over again as tears pricked in my eyes it’s happing again why, why must the world be so cruel as I thought that rage filled my chest and I pressed on even harder to go faster, faster and faster. I will not let this happen again over my dead body enough innocent blood has been spilt I thought to myself, as I reach the village I cried out in joy nothing was wrong but not for long, as I raced across the village to the head clan leaders house Blondie stopped me.

“MOVE!” I yelled at him, I didn’t have time for him they are coming, they are coming. He sneered at me and asked in a snooty voice “Why should I killer?” snap, crack and pop, I broke his nose, dislocated his left hand and the chief snapped his fingers to warn me to stop.

“Hello Tamuríl Nénharma, what brings you here to my home?” He asked while his grey blue eyes pierced through me almost like it was looking into my very soul.

“Sir Hunters are here, and they are close we need to evacuate now.” I said in a worried voice with eyes full of fear and then laughter shattered the silence.

“H-hunters you say?” said Blondie as he stuttered with laughter as he spoke “There hasn’t been a Hunter here for years, so why would they attack now of all times.”

“Shut up Galdor.” Said the chief in a voice you rarely hear “She is telling the truth we must evacuate now, sound the alarms!” Galdor had a hurt look on his face, but like the good solder he is he ran off to sound the alarms. “Come in Tamuríl Nénharma of the Fingolfin Ancalimë clan, the heavenly warriors the most feared and respected clan.”

I felt my blood run cold from memories rushing back from the dead, “How did you even know what clan I came from?” I whispered

He gave me a sad smile and motioned for me to sit, and as I sat down you could hear the panic outside along with alarms going off adding to the chaos and then he spoke in my native tongue which surprised me more than what he said “I have lived far too long and have seen far too many things, but as time goes on it also repeats it’s self over and over again, and I have brought you here to change that.” As I stared quizzically at him he reached over to a chest and pulled out a; very long, very normal scarf that was a shade of dark purple.

I looked up at him confused “what is it?” I asked but before he could answer a blood curdling scream that could make a banshee go deaf cut short what little time we had left. As we stood up he handed me the scarf and as it touched my hand I felt my own presence disappear “how strange” I muttered to myself.

“Listen now and very clearly for I have no time to explain this fully you must go on a journey with Galdor.” I was about to complain when the crashing sounds go closer and closer “No time for complaints for on this journey their won’t be time for simple complaints, no listen you must change the world, you must set the elves free make the people who refuse to notice you notice you, bring what’s in the dark into the light bring our people to freedom and this scarf will help in many ways, now go before they catch you.” He said as he started to push me out the door.

“But where do I meet with Blo-Galdor and how will he even know where to meet?” I ask while correcting my mistake of almost calling Galdor Blondie in front of the Chief.

He smiled at me and said “Meet at Enelya Lossëhelin not even your changeling of a brother knows where that sacred place is.” As he said those two words I immediately knew how to get their even though I had never even heard of that place in my whole life.

I pause to ask more questions, but our time had run out the thing that once looked like my brother was now standing in front of us, and boy was it ugly; it had a pig’s nose and tusks, a fat pudgy body, with warts all over his body, some were even pouring out puss, yellowish green skin and to top it all off he had one patch of hair on top of his greasy head that was covered in slime and muck.

“Well, well, well what do we have here?” He said snickering which sounded more like a hog snorting. “Well now.” He said in a serious tone “What will we do with you, since you are one of the few who were captured lucky for you, you will be sold to the highest bidder, or will we sell you piece by piece who knows?” and as he said those words I felt my body go ridged with white hot rage to ware I began to shake and all I could think about was hurting this thing as much as it has hurt us and then he began to laugh once again.

“What’s the matter little Tamuríl, so scared you’re shaking in your boots?” he snorted out and then I snapped and took a step forward about ready to kick his ass “ah, ah, ahhh I wouldn’t do that if I were you I have a hostage that you of all people would be interested in.” he said as he leaned over to one of his ugly henchmen and whispered something. Once done the henchman went off somewhere and quickly came back dragging behind him a person with a bag over his/her head.

“And how would that elf interest me.” I asked with hints of snide in my voice.

“It would interest you because.” He said while waddling over to the poor person, and as he took off the bag I felt the blood drain straight out of me “Because it’s your dear brother.”

“E-elros?” I stuttered out looking at my poor brother from what I could see he had cuts, bruises, few broken bones and half his face was swollen.

“Tamuríl? What are you still doing here run!!” he screamed at me before they gagged him, I took a step forward about to rip him away from there grubby hands when the pig spoke.

“Enough with the touching heart filled reunion for god sakes it’s almost more grotesque than bitches in heat.” He said as he laughed so hard it looked like he almost choked on his own fat. As he calmed down a smug look came over his face and as he spoke it got even smugger “Now then Beck what do you think we should do, should we have a hunt, a fight for their lives or just throw them into the slavery cart with the rest?”

And the man who I suspected to be beck spoke up with a voice as greasy as he was “Nah sir, we could always pin the feisty bitch up against our own berserkers.” He said the last part with such a smile that almost made me throw up right then and there.

“Ahaha this is why I keep you around Beck you always give such great ideas.” He said chuckling

“Thank you sir” replied Beck and as I looked over at my brother I knew that if I didn’t fight we would die.

“I will fight any fighter you wish for me to fight for all of our freedom.” I said as I wrapped the scarf around my neck I could use all the protection I could get.

“No, you will fight for your lives and you will still be sent to slavery if you’re still alive in the end, Beck get her Aranel Anwarünya.” Said the piggish man

“What sir?” Asked Beck while staring at the chief.

The pig then smacked his head and said in an angry tone “The twin swords you idiot, the ones I forbid you idiots to touch.”

“Oh yes sir, right away sir.” He said as he scampered away.

“My dear Ril you have no idea what it has been like living with these idiots I must say when I was living with you was a breath of fresh air oh how I could go on and how I wish you would convert to our kind, but we both know that you would kill me in a heartbeat.” As the Pig finished talking Beck arrived with a bundle of cloth and before I realized what was happening the bundle was thrust into my hands, practically knocking me off my feet.

As I gained my balance all of the hunters gathered and were shouting out random names, who I think are my opponent.

“Face it against borg”

“No face it against Blarg”

Then fights started to break out about who I should face until Pig’s face got so red and then

“ENOUGH I chose who it fights!” He roared “And it will fight Nightmare, so elf you better be prepared to fight for your life.”

As he said those words I could feel my heart jump into my thought ‘calm down calm down calm down calm down’ I said in my head like a mantra ‘I can do this I can do this’.

“Bring it on.” I said without an ounce of fear

“Tamuríl, you don’t have to do this, in fact you shouldn’t you don’t know how these people fight how they trick and warp you.” Said the chief with a worried tone in his voice

“I’m sorry chief, but I will not run away from this nor will I cower as innocent people are being hurt because of fear, NO MORE!” I shouted

"HA being hurt out of fear now is that what you call it, it’s more like sport for us we don’t care about anything but money and you elves are sold at a high price since the revolution.” He said wiping tears of laughter. ”And to think that you things actually believed that we humans even had emotion towards you.”

I unwrapped the cloth as my body shook with rage and under the cloth I saw two silver handles that seemed to sparkle like stars in the sky, but there were no blades.

“Beautiful aren’t they, power just radiates off of them although there’s a catch to using them.” He said as I stared at him waiting to find out what the catch was when I realized, the son of a bitch was playing me ‘well two can play at that game’

I unsheathed the blade with lighting speed and pressed the blade to his throat “I could kill you right now pig.” I said with a hint of a smirk on my face, but then he burst out laughing

“Oh really and with what blade.” He said with spit spluttering out of his mouth as he laughed like a mad man. I looked at him confused till I saw what he was talking about, the blades had no, well blade.

“How the hell am I supposed to fight with no blade?” I screeched at him “I may not be a blade master, but I at least need blades with goddamned blades!” his laughter stopped and his face went cold.

“You have tested my patients you better shut your mouth before I knock it out tammy.”

I gave him the most deadly look I could muster, but before I could talk he talked first.

“Ah our favorite swordsman is here, Ril it’s my pleasure to introduce you to our best swordsmen, Nightmare.”

As the man walked down to me he had chains covering his body and his face had a metal muzzle, but the thing was he was the same age as me, now I know I should never judge a book by its cover, but this man seemed harmless from afar.

As he closed in I gripped the blades to settle my running heart, the next thing I knew was that he was right in front of me hit eyes were pure black with golden flecks his eyes carried which seemed to me the weight of the world.

“Release him.” Said the pig the men who held his chains began to unlock them the sound the chains made when they fell to the ground seemed like my impending doom ‘attack now while I still have a chance’ I thought to myself, but this man who carried the weight of the world, maybe he wouldn’t attack maybe he might join me and help me out of here, but those thoughts all dissipated when I saw all of the scars I knew that he was most likely raised to fight. Now my fear began to settle in my stomach I’m not going to live.

“That’s not an option, I must survive, and I will survive.” I muttered to myself after I said those words I heard the sound of metal sliding comfortably against metal almost like someone waking up from a pleasant dream. I look down at the knives and there are blades that seem to sparkle like diamonds ‘what in the world’ I thought to myself.

“Well it seems that they approve of you, just like I thought they would with someone like a will to survive like yours would most definitely draw it out to bad they are wasted one a dead man.” He then started to walk away while dragging my brother along with him.

“Clear the way, the fight is going to start.” Yelled some hunters who started to push the crowed back

“You should go inside the tent old man, after all this is not going to be pretty.” I said to the chief, he look down at me and then started to wrap the scarf around my neck.

“They won’t let us go you know?” he said with a sad look in his eyes

“I know.” He then went back into the tent and sat in the door way to watch the fight, more or less my own death but I will not let that happen I will get us all out of here even if it costs my own life

“Are you sure of that.” Said a voice that seemed to come out of no ware

“Must be my imagination.” I muttered to myself as I walked forward. The scarred warrior held his hand out as if to shake my hand I stretched my hand out only to feel a piercing pain in my stomach as I looked down I saw a knife plunged deeply in me.

‘Is that all you have last warrior and here I thought that you of all people would last longer against him, I mean come on are all of my soon to be owners doomed to die before they achieve.’ Said a voice that seemed to come from my mind ‘I am not just a voice you stupid barbarian, I am a girl well at least to you I am, who or what I am is not of importance what I want to know is if you want to survive.’

‘Of course I want to survive! Bu-. ‘Before I could finish what I was saying she made a zipping motion and my lips just wouldn’t seem to open.

‘That’s all I need to know for now. Listen closely barbarian I am willing to cut you a deal, I will give you a boost that will heal your wounds and make you stronger than 100 men, but there’s a catch depending on your personality you will have a handy cap between two senses or even both, so will you accept this deal?’ asked the voice girl

I need to survive I must survive

‘I will accept your terms what senses will I lose?’ I asked, she giggled and said

‘That’s for me to know and you to find out.’

I opened my eyes and gasped everything seemed to be painted in red, people’s faces seemed to melt off their body’s leaving a ghostly shape behind all I can hear are people chanting survival over and over again till all I can think is survival all are enemies they must die, they must die, they must die and then everything went black.