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(Braiddan) The Darkness of Elandaria (Luna)

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Braiddan

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Joined
Jan 12, 2009
Location
Where rivers flow upside
Elandaria, once a peaceful seaside kingdom, the the type of kingdom that only had a small standing army to quell revolts. But in the early years of the kingdom, there was no need for such. Finally, though the era of peace inevitably came to an end, and the shortsightedness of the royal family cost them their lives. The warlord Benegrin invaded, his cavalry squashing any defense the kingdom had put up. It took less than a year to occupy the kingdom. Finally Benegrin had the leverage of the sea to create a formidable navy, and a resource rich town to maintain his large army, not to mention a great center for trade. Benegrin went right to work on establishing his empire went he enslaved the remaining members to turn the town into a giant fortress. Once the final stone was set, he declared himself emperor, and Elandaria his new capital city.

A decade later, Benegrin assigned the villagers once more to build another monolithic structure. The wizard college, a structure that had claimed countless lives during it's construction. The reason behind building it very few knew, many believed that it was the boot camps for his inhuman Death Knights. The law of the capital city, men clad in black armor, without emotion, masters of sword and spell. Any lawbreaker and free thinker sat in fear, watching their every word and every step. But the real reason behind it's construction, Benegrin had feared death, feared aging. There was a platoon of wizard at his charge warding off illness, and keeping him eternally at the age of 30.

Benegrin had claimed seven wives, usually the remaining members of the royal blood line. But they did not share his benefits , in fact, as soon as they were with child, they were executed. Benegrin had a fear of siring children in his paranoia, thinking one day that a son would one day rise up and defeat him. So when the youngest daughter of the royal family was executed, he had found out she was the last remaining member. Of course, he still craved the rush of having a young woman's flesh to sample, this time he dispatched his Knights to find him a new wife amongst the villagers.

At the other end of the kingdom, a weeks journey away, but only a mere three days for a deathknight on an enchanted war horse. A peasant named Asher toiled in the grain fields, but the grain was not used to feed the starving citizens, it was used as ale for the emperor's numerous feasts. Finally the sun began to dip down below the horizon, the end of the work day at last. Asher got as far away from the fields as quickly as possible, he didn't want to be around when the lord finds out that there was a few things missing. Namely , a loaf of bread, a block of cheese, and a wineskin filled with watered down mead. It was not much, but it was a feast compared to the hard, stale , cracker and a tin cup of water that given to him for lunch break. Asher retreated to an alley, his usual spot to meet his friend, whom he decided to share his plunder with.
 
Luna had been awaiting her friend for a while. She had just got done delivering silk to one of the fortune tellers of Elandaria. She could afford nice things, and Luna envied her. She had a few coincidences under her belt and common sense, but she was no fortune teller. She had told Lunas fortune for free, but it was nothing Luna didn't already know. "You will have a terrible fate..." She said with closed eyes. Luna was a peasent. Peasents always had terrible fates. They worked for so little and put themselves in danger everyday just to get by. She had accepted that fate when she had turned eighteen and had to start providing for herself.

She was pretty hungry, and usually Asher brought something to eat with him. She scolded him in the past for doing such a thing. But once she tased the loaf of fresh bread..hell even stale bread was better than the thin crackers that they could only afford. And he brought tasty things to drink as well opposed to the well water they usually had.

It was dangerous though. Stealing things was dangerous. Especially stealing from royalty. It did not matter what you took. You could take a hankercheif and be excuted for such blasphemy. It was common sense. But he kept putting himself in danger, and she encouraged it by eating what he shared with her. Oh, but it was so damn good.
 
Asher went into a short jog as he saw Luna. He knew she had been waiting for a while, and was probably worried. Once he met up with her , he opened up his rucksack and pulled out the loaf of bread, breaking it in half. "I could only get into the watered down stuff they keep for peasants at the yearly fair. Varcinex has his cellar locked up tight and guards are swarming it." Of course it was always locked, but he had no trouble picking the lock. There was a time once a month that guards were positioned there. And that was when he had to pay tribute to Benegrin, of course Varcinex procured many tributes from the peasants and merchants, so it did not hurt him.

Asher took the wine skin from the sack, along with two tin cups. He filled both cups to the brim with the honey spirits and handed Luna one. "This will be the last time I will be able to do this for a while. I heard Varcinex say that the DeathKnights were coming to town. Apparently, The emperor is looking for a new wife." He said, not really as a warning that he might pick her, he thought peasant women were out of the question for the great emperor, but more of a warning that they will be watched.
 
She sighed and then shook her head. "Honestly, how many wives does that demon have to go through? I think he only got two to love him, but then he began to take women by force with the terrible death knights." She rolled her eyes and took a bite of the loaf of bread. "I think he needs to get assasinated. One of us has to be stronger than him. If my dad were still alive.." She trailed off and stopped talking. Why had she said that? She didn't even know her dad. He went to go work for the over lord when she was three. Sometimes he sent her gifts and presents but he never came home. And then he stopped sending letters. One day her mother was crying her eyes out and she wanted to know why only to find out he had been set for execution.

They were required to attend, so she saw him for the first time in twelve years, only to see him get his head chopped off. She really hadn't thought about it much.
 
Asher took a bite of the bread and nodded, he fully agreed with her, though he felt powerless against him. He wasn't even allowed near a knife as far as defense goes, it didn't stop him from stealing one though on one of his trips to the pantry. It was a simple looking dagger that one of the guards have, for when their swords weren't nearby, but Asher used it for less violent task, for example, cutting a block of cheese.Which was what he was doing at that moment after pulling the cheese out of the ruck sack. He cut the block in half and just like the bread handed one half to Luna. He knew she would probably scold him for how much he had taken that she didn't know about. Like say, twenty pieces of platinum that he had been stealing bit by bit to plan a trip for them both.

"Well Luna, I'm not much of a fighter, but I did find a way to run" He said finally, he figured it was about time to tell her about the trip, seeing as he had enough for it now.
 
Her eyes were on the dagger, but she only sighed and took the slice of cheese. "To run where?" She asked, ripping what was left of her bread in half and putting the cheese in the middle. "And what way was that?" She had a feeling she didn't want to know the answer to her second question. They barely made enough to eat and clothe themselves, but to travel one had to be very rich. They weren't even close. She took a sip of her watered down drink, savoring it like it was the finest wine in the land.
 
"I've been stealing a lot more than bread and cheese. " Asher said finally, pulling out a coin sack and dropping it. He pulled on the cord that held it closed and loosened it, causing the bag to fall open. In side were twenty pieces of platinum and one hundred gold pieces. "I learned that the trade city Verbanoc has been smuggling citizens out of the empire. One of the merchants came to me and said he'd help us get out. I just needed to get enough for two horses to the capital city. Lodging for when we are on the ship. The rest of the money is ours to spend freely. I am sorry I have hid this much from you" He would understand if she got mad at him, this was enough to give them a decent house, and food for a long time, and he was gambling it on an escape plan.
 
She stared at the pieces of gold and platinum and her mouth fell open. She had never seen platinum before in her life. "You stole this? Have you gone insane?! Yeah, I'll go with you, but only because you need to leave before they figure out what you took!" She was whispering but the anger could be heard in her voice. However, she was really happy to hear that they had a possibility of escaping this hell hole. The only problem was the chance of running into Death Knights. It was easy to upset them.
 
"I know, it's crazy to steal from the emperor's military and agricultural adviser. But, I really don't know how long we'd remain alive here, and I do not want to see what the emperor is going to come up with next. The merchant said he shall port in two weeks, if we can get a carriage to the capital three days from now, we should be able to make it on time" Asher said, he had this all planned out, they just had to avoid the Death Knights. Merchant's were easy enough to deal with, they don't care how someone obtained coin, just as long as it is being used for their goods. He finished his bread and cheese, washing it down with the liquid. He handed Luna the remainder of the wine skin, simply because he knew he'd try to drink it all in one night, when it could last for days.

"So anything planned for tonight?" He asked finally.Of course there hasn't been a lot to do around town now a days, it seemed everything was illegal now.
 
She sighed and then nodded slowly. "Yeah, I still have to retrieve my payment and hand it over to my mistress." She hated that woman with her heart and soul. She couldn't wait to leave the land so she wouldn't have to serve her anymore. "She'll get suspicious if its not on time and report it to the authorities. Then we'll be found out a lot sooner, Asher. So help me deliver it..we have an hour walk ahead of us." The village they were from was south east of the town they were in. They had to take the main path that led to the castle and turn midway to get there. Little did they know, the death knights had just been dispatched early and were headed that way..
 
"Very well then" He said nodding. He knew of Luna's mistress very well, she was a rather detestable woman who loved her money. He knew of people only one copper short on payment that have been thrown to the authorities by her. Asher pulled himself to his feet and threw his things back into his sack. The walk came without incident, at first. But soon the echoing clatter of horse hooves filled the air, by the sound of it three men on horse back. And they stopped right infront of them along the road. Three deathknights fully clad in their gear, they looked to Asher and then to Luna, she seemed to be their main focus.
 
Luna stopped in her tracks when they stopped front of them and hid behind Asher. It was easy because he was a half a foot taller than her. "Step aside, peasant. Let me see that girl." One of them demanded. It was clear he was speaking to Asher. Luna blinked, realizing that they had stopped for her. She hadn't done anything, but she didn't want Asher to get in trouble. She stepped away from him and a long silence passed before he spoke again. "Come here.."
 
Why would they want Luna? Asher thought to himself, she hadn't done anything wrong. But it dawned on him, he thought peasant women were left out of this search but he could of been wrong. Did the Death Knights think that Luna could be a possible candidate to be the Emperor's wife? "Take her to the other women in Elandaria. She fits the qualifications." Asher's eyes grew wide as he heard this, he stepped forward to protest. But, before a word could be uttered some force lifted him off the ground and threw him back, making him land on the cobbled road hard.
 
Luna whirled around as she heard him land. "Asher!" She shouted, only to find herself being pulled closer to the death knights. She tried to break away from the black magic, but she couldn't. She was suddenly on horseback, and she turned to his still figure. "Asher..don't die!" She called as the knight turned his horse and began riding back to the capital. She could no longer see him anymore and she hoped the other two wouldn't kill him or he wouldn't defy them in anyway.
 
Groaning escaped his lips once Asher stirred back to consciousness. His eyes open to find that he was in a dark, leaky, dungeon like room. Obviously he has been out of it for at least a couple hours because the moon was high in the sky and beating light through the small window. He could see barrels all around him, he was in a wine cellar. Apparently, the Death Knights are holding him here temporarily until they come back.

After locking up Asher, the other two Death Knights joined the one who had Luna. Off the side of one of the horses, Asher's sack was dangling from the saddle, it seemed they already knew of the contents. "We put the other peasant in a holding cell, sir. It appears he has been stealing from Lord Varcinex. I figured you would like to determine his fate."
 
"Put him to death." He said simply. Luna gasped and shook her head. "No! Don't do that, I'm begging you!" She screamed. She was cooperating with them for the most part, but this she would not go along with. She rose from her seat and the knight simply pushed her down. "No. Nobody steals from Lord Varcinex." She looked up at him wide eyed and he simply looked to his underlings and ignored her. "Not right away. We'll have him hung the day after our Lord picks his queen." He then walked past them and left.
 
"Nothing like a public execution after a wedding" One of the death knights replied, letting a dark, husky chuckle escape his maw. Of course, from the words of his commanding officer, he could still deal the torture he liked to bring upon criminals so much. He pulled back on his horse, letting the other two ride ahead as he headed back to the area he locked Asher. The one that remained, caught up with the man holding Luna. "Let's hope this one is not as dense as her friend. "

Asher looked around the celler, sighing. There was no window, the door was locked on the outside. It seemed that he would be stuck here until his captor comes to get him. Seeing as the captor is a deathknight that wasn't much to look forward to.
 
"If she doesn't get picked, then we can always beat and rape the idiocy out of her." The knight laughed and that caused a shudder to run up and down her body. She couldn't leave Asher like this. But she had to do something to save him. Since the knight wasn't holding her down anymore, she threw herself off and landed on her back. She ignored the shock and got to her feet and ran back towards the shack. "God damn it. You get her, I'm going to go to our original destination and pick a woman from there."
 
The knight made his horse do a complete u turn and persue Luna. Of course, no matter how enchanted the horse, it was still hard to make such maneuvers, so Luna had gotten quite a head start. "This woman answered my question for me." He mumbled under his breath as he closed the gap between them.

Asher heard the slamming of a door upstairs and groaned. "Gods be damned" His captor was here, and he had his back to a wall. He knew all to well that he was either goingg to wind up tortured or dead from this encounter. Asher had to least do something hesitate the inevitable.
 
Luna could hear the knight coming after her and she ran even faster. She managed to get to the shed before she could get snatched up and she tackled the death knight with all her might. However, she only managed to push him due to his armor. She fell down with a thud and her head began to spin. "Asher.." She said loudly, getting to her hands and knees. "Asher, run!"
 
Asher saw the door open, heard the voice of Luna so he charged up the stairs. As he brushed past the deathknight, he managed to grab a hold of the morning star that was at his side. Asher swung the weapon causing it to collide with the back of the knight's knee. Of course, for reasons of mobility, that part was left unprotected and the deathknight took a spill down the stairs. Asher grabbed the dazed Luna by the hand, and tried to pull her back to her feet.
 
Luna blinked a few times but snapped out of it and got to her feet. Once they got outside, she pulled away from him. "Leave me behind, Asher. If we split up, he'll come after me." Luna said as she saw the one death knight that remained not more than six feet away from them. Techniqually, they couldn't hurt her until after the choosing that was three days from now. She didn't wait for his response, she jumped onto the other knights horse and slapped its rear and it started galloping. It was fast, too.
 
"What!? I can't let you do that!" However, before he could do anything about it, Luna jumped on the horse and it took off. With the enchanted horses that the Death Knights had, he had no hope of catching up to it. Looks like he had to walk, and he better get out of there fast. Sure, he knocked he knight down some stairs, but he was sure all he did was anger him.

The deathknight sped off, heading to the capital city. Luna on the back of his horse, he couldn't believe it, she simply jumped right back to him. "You know I can't wait for the day Benegrin chooses. You see I have a good feeling he'll reject you. Then you and I shall have some fun"
 
Luna didn't say a word. She knew that she wouldn't be picked, but there was some shred of hope that Asher would rescue her before any harm could come to her. She knew how the procedure went. The first night everyone would be groomed and fitted for clothing. The next night the emporer would inspect each of them from head to toe, although Luna would call it violate and not inspect. The next night he would have sex with ones he deemed worthy. And the next morning he'd pick his bride to be married.
 
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