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Forging Love's Weapon
thelickingtoad
Member, Neverwinter Beta Users Posts: 51
“Run! Run!” Underbrush snapped under booted feet, as two tieflings fled from their pursuers. The mob was not far behind them, requisite torches and pitchforks in hand, their hatred building on itself, feeding the crowd’s hysteria.
The woman stumbled, but she caught herself before the bundle in her arms fell to the ground. She hastily checked on its status, murmuring soft words of comfort to it. The pale red face of her daughter looked back at her, wide-eyed and clearly fearful, but silent. On the other hand, her twin brother, carried by her father, was alerting the entire forest to their location.
Father tried to console son, but his own fear was apparent to his flesh and blood, who continued to wail.
“Why are they doing this?”
The man looked to his wife and narrowed his eyes. “They fear us. They believe we are the cause of their problems. And if they … get rid of us, then their problems will stop.”
“Here. Let me hold him.” The two traded children, and the boy began to calm down, seeing the face of his mother. She sighed and closed her eyes. “We’re not going to get out of this, are we?”
The male tiefling couldn’t look at his wife as he slowly shook his head. “No. I don’t think so.”
Suddenly the woman began looking around the forest. “Come on.”
Following, the man heard the sounds of the approaching crowd. “What are you doing?” He followed her until she stopped at the roots of a great tree and pointed.
“We may not live, but they will, gods willing.”
The father shook his head. “They’ll die in the cold. It would be better for them to die a quick death at the hands of those humans than die slowly from hunger or some animal.”
“Do you really think they will do it quickly? They think we’ve caused them so much hardship. Will a quick death be on their minds?”
He sighed and shook his head again. “No. No, it won’t. But what will we do?”
The woman looked deeply into her son’s eyes and kissed his forehead. “We will hide them, and we will pray that they will be found by one sane voice. And if that is not the will of the gods, then we will pray they find a painless death.” She held her son’s face tightly to her own, and her tears fell freely. “Goodbye, Illidari.”
The man silently said his goodbyes to his daughter, then handed her to her mother, who gave him the son, and he repeated the process. The mother cried more, and she kissed the top of the girl’s head. “Goodbye Cellaani.”
The parents kneeled before the tree and nestled their children between its large roots. The man held his wife and spoke to the children. “Take care of each other. Remember that we love you. Always.”
The woman’s words were soft. “I know our ancestors committed some great wrong, but I beseech whatever god might be listening in our time of need, please, please protect our children. Their lives are now yours. Use them as you see fit. I beg of you—just keep them safe from harm. Let them live full lives.”
The pair stood slowly, and the woman looked to her husband. “Do you think they heard?”
He smiled. “It was a good prayer. It will find someone’s ear.”
The two embraced and parted with a loving kiss.
“Well, ain’t that just a thing. Demons think they know what love is.”
The tieflings turned to see the mob had caught up to them. “Get ‘em!”
The mother shrieked in terror. “No! Leave them alone! They’ve done nothing! Leave them alone!”
A heavy fist slammed into her nose. “Shut up, devil! Your tricks won’t work on us!”
Seeing his wife getting beaten, the father let loose a cry of rage, and broke away from the villagers holding his arms behind him. He grabbed the one who was hitting his wife by the head and slammed his own head horns-first into him. The jagged edges of the horns caught the skin on the villager, and peeled off a portion like the skin of a grape. He smiled cruelly as the bumpkin fell to the ground wailing in agony, then his face went blank as he collapsed to the ground, the bloody shovel of a villager held over him. “Just for that, we’ll make it slow, hellborn filth. Where are their spawn?”
Back under the tree, the boy cried loudly, but his sister stared calmly at a resplendent figure in front of them, with feathery wings spread wide. It carried a sword wreathed in flames and a shield upon which stood the face of a beautiful woman. It stood between the children and the angry villagers.
“We can’t find them. They must have ditched them to run faster.” The villager kicked the prone form of the tiefling father. “<font color="orange">HAMSTER</font> don’t even respect their own.”
The one holding the shovel shrugged. “Maybe the animals will get their revenge, then. Let’s get this over with.”
The woman stumbled, but she caught herself before the bundle in her arms fell to the ground. She hastily checked on its status, murmuring soft words of comfort to it. The pale red face of her daughter looked back at her, wide-eyed and clearly fearful, but silent. On the other hand, her twin brother, carried by her father, was alerting the entire forest to their location.
Father tried to console son, but his own fear was apparent to his flesh and blood, who continued to wail.
“Why are they doing this?”
The man looked to his wife and narrowed his eyes. “They fear us. They believe we are the cause of their problems. And if they … get rid of us, then their problems will stop.”
“Here. Let me hold him.” The two traded children, and the boy began to calm down, seeing the face of his mother. She sighed and closed her eyes. “We’re not going to get out of this, are we?”
The male tiefling couldn’t look at his wife as he slowly shook his head. “No. I don’t think so.”
Suddenly the woman began looking around the forest. “Come on.”
Following, the man heard the sounds of the approaching crowd. “What are you doing?” He followed her until she stopped at the roots of a great tree and pointed.
“We may not live, but they will, gods willing.”
The father shook his head. “They’ll die in the cold. It would be better for them to die a quick death at the hands of those humans than die slowly from hunger or some animal.”
“Do you really think they will do it quickly? They think we’ve caused them so much hardship. Will a quick death be on their minds?”
He sighed and shook his head again. “No. No, it won’t. But what will we do?”
The woman looked deeply into her son’s eyes and kissed his forehead. “We will hide them, and we will pray that they will be found by one sane voice. And if that is not the will of the gods, then we will pray they find a painless death.” She held her son’s face tightly to her own, and her tears fell freely. “Goodbye, Illidari.”
The man silently said his goodbyes to his daughter, then handed her to her mother, who gave him the son, and he repeated the process. The mother cried more, and she kissed the top of the girl’s head. “Goodbye Cellaani.”
The parents kneeled before the tree and nestled their children between its large roots. The man held his wife and spoke to the children. “Take care of each other. Remember that we love you. Always.”
The woman’s words were soft. “I know our ancestors committed some great wrong, but I beseech whatever god might be listening in our time of need, please, please protect our children. Their lives are now yours. Use them as you see fit. I beg of you—just keep them safe from harm. Let them live full lives.”
The pair stood slowly, and the woman looked to her husband. “Do you think they heard?”
He smiled. “It was a good prayer. It will find someone’s ear.”
The two embraced and parted with a loving kiss.
“Well, ain’t that just a thing. Demons think they know what love is.”
The tieflings turned to see the mob had caught up to them. “Get ‘em!”
The mother shrieked in terror. “No! Leave them alone! They’ve done nothing! Leave them alone!”
A heavy fist slammed into her nose. “Shut up, devil! Your tricks won’t work on us!”
Seeing his wife getting beaten, the father let loose a cry of rage, and broke away from the villagers holding his arms behind him. He grabbed the one who was hitting his wife by the head and slammed his own head horns-first into him. The jagged edges of the horns caught the skin on the villager, and peeled off a portion like the skin of a grape. He smiled cruelly as the bumpkin fell to the ground wailing in agony, then his face went blank as he collapsed to the ground, the bloody shovel of a villager held over him. “Just for that, we’ll make it slow, hellborn filth. Where are their spawn?”
Back under the tree, the boy cried loudly, but his sister stared calmly at a resplendent figure in front of them, with feathery wings spread wide. It carried a sword wreathed in flames and a shield upon which stood the face of a beautiful woman. It stood between the children and the angry villagers.
“We can’t find them. They must have ditched them to run faster.” The villager kicked the prone form of the tiefling father. “<font color="orange">HAMSTER</font> don’t even respect their own.”
The one holding the shovel shrugged. “Maybe the animals will get their revenge, then. Let’s get this over with.”
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“Silvanus, accept this wayward child back into your fold, and grant it the rest and comfort it has been denied.” He patted the fallen bear on the side. “Rest now, friend. The Father will welcome you.”
The hunter stood and found a clearing, where he built a large fire, in which he burned the remains of the animal. After ensuring the fire was out, he turned back toward Arabel.
As the sun began to dip below the tree tops, the elf came upon a large tree, which would serve well as shelter for the night. He looked around the area, finding no animal dens which he might disturb. Then he looked skyward and his breath caught.
The limp forms of two tieflings—one male, one female—hung from a thick branch, spears sticking out from their flesh. The hunter severed the ropes suspending them above the forest floor. “Damned humans. These innocents did nothing to you.”
He spent the next few hours digging graves for the wronged tieflings. When they had been buried he knelt beside them. “Forest Father, I ask you to intercede on the behalf of these wronged souls for whichever deity they worship, and see that they find the rest in the afterlife they deserve.”
Moving away from the graves, the elf lay down for the night and slept. In his dreams, an angelic figure came to him. It was not of his goddess, but another—a human goddess. It thanked him for his kind actions, and assured him that the souls of the tieflings would be cared for. Then, it showed him the tree, and beckoned him to look between two roots. There, he found two tiefling children, only a year old. The angel spoke again, and the elf saw that the angel had no discernible mouth.
“Sune has answered the prayers of those who were wrongly killed. Their children are hers now. She asks one more service from you, who have shown compassion for those not of your kind. Please bring her children to her heartwarders in Waterdeep so they may live fruitful lives. Now rest, servant of Silvanus. You have a long trek ahead of you.”
In his dream, the hunter became sleepy, and his vision went dark.
When he awoke, the hunter packed up his camp, and as he was about to leave, he checked the tree where, in his dream he had seen two tiefling children, though they had not been there the night before. When he could see between the roots, he saw them: two tiefling infants, spared from their parents’ fate. He found some fallen branches, and he made a small sled to carry the children away from the place where their parents were killed.
As he moved toward his destination, he felt a small breeze at his back, and his legs, tired from the past few days’ hunt, found renewed vigor. He thought back in his mind, and he remembered a place where these children could be taken in.
“Devil!”
“My dad says she’s a succubus, and one day she’ll kill us all.”
Cellaani was circled by four boys. They shouted at her and taunted her, calling her all manner of mean things. All she could do was stand there and take it, crying.
“Oh, look. We hurt its feelings!”
“<font color="orange">HAMSTER</font>!”
The boys looked around and saw a tiefling boy running toward them. “Leave her alone!” The new arrival tackled the biggest of the boys and began widly driving his fists into the bully’s head.
The other three boys ran off, completely taken by surprise by the brother of the "succubus" they had been taunting. Cellaani placed a hand on her brother’s shoulder, and he calmed, letting the human boy get off the ground and run home, blubbering.
“Run home, <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font>! If I see you around her again, I’ll kill you!” Illidari turned to look at his sister. “Are you alright?”
She nodded and sniffled, speaking quietly. “You shouldn’t speak like that. Sister Aleia says it is bad.”
“I don’t care. They need to be taught a lesson.”
“Sune doesn’t like it, either.” She turned to walk away, toward the woods to which she liked to escape. “I’ll be home later.”
“Going to visit your imaginary friends?”
Cellaani turned and shouted at her brother. “They are not imaginary!” She sprinted away from her brother, who tried to follow her, but then let her go.
The young tiefling girl worked her way through the trees from memory, finally finding the small clearing, and the log upon which she had sat so often the past six years. She covered her face with her hands and cried.
She felt the log shift, and a firm hand rested on her shoulder. She looked up to see the warm face of her friend. She tried to give a smile. “Hi.”
“The children were taunting you again.” It wasn’t a question. Cellaani nodded. “My mistress finds it sad that such hatred is in this world. It grieves her to see it instilled in those so young.”
The little girl sniffled. “What is a succubus?”
“That is what the boy called you.” The man seemed lost in thought. “Succubi are devils. Father Mendel will teach you more when it is time. Just know that, while your people have devilish features, my mistress judges each person based on his or her actions. She hopes that people like Sister Aleia can teach the rest of her people to do the same.”
Cellaani sighed. “Your mistress sounds like a good person. I wish I could meet her.”
The man stood up. “You will soon enough. Know that you and your brother are special to her, and you will soon be needed more than you can even imagine. Stay true to Sune, Cellaani. Keep faith.”
As Cellaani’s friend faded away, Illidari emerged from the trees. “What were you doing?”
The girl stood up and hugged her brother. “Talking to my friend. He says we are loved by Sune.”
She took her brother’s hand and began to lead him back to the city gates.
“All I heard was gibberish. It sounded like you were making weird noises. By yourself, I might add.”
“Shush. We need to get back before supper, or Sister Aleia will be very cross.”
The two tieflings made their way back to the city. The children walked down the street, following the roads to the large temple deep in the city. As she headed inside, Cellaani smiled to both sides of the door before entering. Illidari was becoming more and more convinced that something was wrong with his sister.
He didn’t see the two guardian angels nod to her as the children entered the temple.
“Many years ago, the city of Neverwinter was nearly destroyed by the eruption of Mount Hotenow. I'm sure you know this. Now, though, a number of groups have gone into the city to help rebuild it. There is a lot of conflict there. Lord Neverember has appointed himself Lord Protector of Neverwinter. He says he is a descendant of King Alagondar. There is a group calling themselves the Sons of Alagondar that oppose him, as they believe him to be a pretender. I've also heard that the Thayans and Netherese have laid claim on some parts of the city, as well.
“But that's not all. A tribe of orcs has moved into the city, taking part of it as their home. A deep rift to the Abyss has opened in part of the city, and the guards there are under constant siege.”
She looked at the two tieflings and smiled. “Cellaani, I can think of no one better to begin spreading the love of Sune Firehair to these people under such duress. You are one of the first tiefling heartwarders—if not the first—and that makes you a wonderful example of Sune's message.”
The young woman blushed, deepening the red of her cheeks. “Thank you, Sister. I would be honored to go.”
Beside her, Illidari shuffled his feet. “And what about me? I'm not one of your clerics.”
Sister Aleia turned to him. “You are 18 now, Illidari. You have reached the age of maturity, and it is time for you to find your own path in the world.” She smiled to the young man. “You have always been a great protector for your sister, and I thought that perhaps you might remain with her and continue in that role.”
Illidari nodded.
“There is a wagon leaving for Neverwinter tomorrow morning. You two both have space on it.” She sighed and moved around her desk to embrace both of the young adults. “I have been caring for you for the past 16 years or so. I could not be more proud of either of you. Your parents' deaths were a horrible tragedy. But I am glad you two made it here to us. You have brought much joy to my life, and I love you as if you were my own.”
The next day, Illidari and Cellaani loaded up the few material things they had into the wagon. They took seats in the back and watched the church get smaller. Before she turned away, Cellaani saw a number of angels take flight to the south. Atop the steeple, the temple’s guardian waved to them.
She wished more than ever that Illidari could see them.