Flashback Six Feet Under (I)

[Elias Caldera]

1st Day of Spring, 509 AV

Elias’s hands shook with the hot anxiety of impatience and inexperience.

There were so many things to figure out so quickly between short, desperate breaths that his mind was spinning.

First passion was turning out to be a complicated dance.

Strangely, it helped that Liara seemed just as impatient. As was only proper given the girl had been the one to ‘suggest’ this daring escapade in the middle of camp despite his concerns, though to imply he wouldn’t have agreed as fast as he had anyway would have been a bold face lie even the Defiler would have cringed at. Now however, the other apprentice held him at bay a moment while she all but tore the band holding up her hair, spilling the raven locks across her shoulders with wild abandon. She was flushed, sweaty, as awkwardly excited as he was, and through that she’d shed the imposing grace that usually made Elias feel so small and stumbling around her. Neither of them could be graceful at such close quarters, and Elias found that an immense relief between the bedrolls sprawled across the floor.

The heat grew in the tiny enclosure of their tent as they wound their arms and legs together, and the shock of actually being there with her gave way at last to the explosion of pent-up longing. Their tongues met, hesitantly at first, and they shared a nervous, muffled laugh. Then they explored the new sensation together, more and more boldly. Their hands, too, seemed to come unshackled from inhibition and roamed freely. Order and planning were thrown to the wayside before long and things became almost hallowed in their chaotic nature. Elias found himself having done things without any realization that he’d even started them. It was a mind numbing jumble in the end. His hands in hers… her lips against his… their final scramble to arrange themselves for something that neither of them understood.

Liara’s hands had just begun roaming to parts unexplored, testing Elias’s ardor, when the tent’s fastened flap slid open barely an inch. Someone moved against the dim light of the morning sun outside, and Elias’s heart threatened to pound right out of his chest.

“Liara its time to- Oh my god!” Taliya squeaked, the usual calm and collected composure of Liara’s sister shattered like glass upon the hard realization of what she had just stumbled into.

“What the hell!” Liara shouted. “What do you want Taliya!”

“I just came to- I just, oh my god Liara, with him?!.”

“Taliya!”

“It’s time for morning mass!” The flabbergasted voice retorted defensively from the other side of the tent’s now firmly shut entrance.

Elias’s relief at not seeing someone like their commander or even the paladin herself outside the tent, though a small reprieve in an otherwise torrential downpour of dismay and sheer embarrassment, was little comfort in the end as he scrambled about the room in search of his clothes. Liara however, had seemed to have developed an unfortunate case of hysteria in the aftermath. Unmoved from her spot and clothed in only the bedrolls they’d used for their impromptu… whatever it was you called it, had begun giggling eccentrically while she watched in lazy delight as the Caldera stumbled and crashed about.

“What are you doing?! Hurry and get your armor back on before anyone else catches us!” He hissed through his small clothes as he shimmied a shirt on.

“You know you’re kinda cute when you’re embarrassed.” She cooed devilishly from her lounge and Elias shot her a glare as scornfully as one could expect from a boy trying to bounce into his leggings.

Word Count: 605

[Elias Caldera]

“Your sister is going to kill me…” Elias mumbled through tightly pressed lips.

Morning mass had gone about as well as expected given how rumors spread throughout the recruits in a camp this small. There were about a hundred or so of Rhysol’s children on this training excursion into the wilds, and most of them were the young, snickering, snot nosed brats known lovingly as apprentices within the Ebonstryfe. Naturally the soldiers and other higher ups hadn’t given a damn about petty children’s hushed conversations, but Elias had noticed more than a few of his fellow recruits whispering and giggling while trying to avert their eyes from his general direction. He didn’t think Taliya was the kind to go gossiping like that, and certainly not about this. She was far too loyal and caring about her sister to ever let a stray word sully her sister’s reputation. Liara herself however, was a different story entirely…

That girl was trouble. The kind of trouble who no doubt had been touting her ‘conquest’ mere moments after bursting out of their tent like some triumphant champion of the battlefield.

Speaking of which, the conqueror in question was sitting nearby, sharing the same campfire and morning pot of bubbling beans as her counterpart, and it seemed she had noticed the sound of whetstone on steel had abruptly stopped. She'd turned around from the weapons rack and found him just staring at the dagger in his hands. “Ah.” She exclaimed, “he returns to us at last. I thought you lost forever in your whittling. And don’t worry about Tal, she actually likes you quite a bit, you know. She just… has a hard time showing it.” The last part of that sounded more like a question, as if she’d been asking to see if he bought her bullshyke or not.

He did not.

“She hates my guts. Always has. One day soon she’s gonna have them roasting on the end of a spit, I just know it… and I’m simply tending to my weapon, mistress Silvermane, forgive my lack of attentiveness.” He retorted dryly after a moment to collect his thoughts. His mockery of a bow and curtsy that followed helped sell his return to form, though in truth his mind was still far away. It troubled him deeply to be out here. To be so far from the city and stronghold he called home. It just didn’t feel right. It never did, and he feared it never would.

“All is not forgiven, apprentice. It shall take considerable effort on your part to earn my mercy for such a heinous oversight. But… if you join in my tent after the next exercise and promise to do that thing you did last time with your tongue, we-“

“S-shut up!” The Caldera hissed, a wave of red rushing to his cheeks as he frantically twisted and turned in his seat to see if anyone had overheard. Liara was snorting with laughter by the time he was satisfied none had been near enough, and the look he shot her, while the intent was to chastise, only set the damnable vixen to another wave of giggles truly unbefitting of one of Rhysol’s chosen warriors.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before Elias too was laughing alongside her.

As far as either of them knew, it wasn’t technically against the rules to fraternize in such a manner with your fellow recruit, and truth be told, with the way he’d seen some of the adults carrying on with one another when they thought no one was looking -or when they knew everyone was- it seemed likely that there was indeed nothing wrong with what the two of them felt for one another. That said, every stolen kiss and longing look across the courtyard felt like a fresh duel with danger. As if at any moment an accusing finger might rise from the crowd and single them out as heretics and traitors for their feelings. Perhaps that was why it had been so damn irresistible.

Being with Liara was exhilarating, and that was at the worst of times. The girl, born of a prominent family within Ravok’s higher echelons, was as rambunctious and rebellious as a hellcat and wielded twice the wit. She seemed determined to cause trouble wherever she went, and was never one to shy away from a challenge. In the beginning that had done more than simply discouraged any kind of interaction between Elias and her, it had sparked a fierce rivalry. The two of them couldn’t have been more incompatible, and yet as the months had gone by and their competitions became more intense and heated, something else had been sparked amidst the conflict. Something bright hot and proved damn near impossible to extinguish.

“You know, it is a very fine weapon I find myself tending to here.” He mumbled, making sure his hand covered the weapon’s details from her now prying gaze.

She cocked a dark eyebrow, curiosity peaked by his less than subtle tone. Liara gaze softened slightly and he heard her walk over to him, quizzically craning her head this way and that to try and gain a better look at the prize he now all of a sudden withheld, until at last her hand, darker than his, reached over and closed around his own.

“What secrets do you withhold from the great mistress Silvermane this time, hmmm?" She murmured softly into his ear, her weight leaning into him from behind. God above, she smelled like jasmine. How did she manage that in the middle of the wilds, sweating and training all damn day like the rest of them? Girls and their secrets…

In her warm grip, Elias allowed the fingers that hid the blade to unfurl themselves until at last the dagger sat nestled in his grip, plain as day to behold. The little gasp of delight and shock he heard her make over his shoulder set his heart a flutter. “Is that?...”

“Mhm.” He hummed boastfully as she wrapped her hands around the hilt.

“I thought it was gone forever after you threw that hissy fit.”

The smile on his face faltered ever so slightly.

“First of all, I didn’t throw a hissy fit-”

“You threw a hissy fit and then you tossed my dagger into the lake, Elias. It was incredibly embarrassing.” She continued as she studied the dagger like one would a diamond.

He stabbed an angry finger at her. “If you’d been a better teacher and shown me-”

“How to throw a dagger properly? I was trying to, you cotton headed ass, until you flung. It. into. The. Lake! It was my favorite dagger, you knew that and you… you…

and you brought it back to me.”

Her fingers trailed the hilt of the simple knife, playing with the engravings that been crudely cut there by untrained hands. Upon the wood that secured the scarred steel, a number of names had been carved. All the family she’d lost had a place on her weapon, and as she’d explained it to Elias, she carried their memory with her whoever she went so long as that blade was by her side.

She gave him a look, the kind that made cotton headed buffoons his age catch their breath, and he found himself fumbling for the right words. He’d spent bells and bells combing the waters for that damned thing, practically catching his death of a cold in the attempt. It had been worth it though. More than worth it.

“Thank you.” She grinned. “Now, I can show you how its done, but you have to promise not to start complaining and crying like last time, ok?”

“I never-”

The scream shattered the moment and bought both their heads snapping round. Instantly both of them knew it had come from somewhere beyond the treeline, and they were already lunging for their arms. Already there were shouts and raised voices as others in the company began to react as well.

It wasn’t long before Taliya had rushed dutifully to her sister’s side, a look of concern plastered on her strong features.

It wasn’t just the sound that had worried them.

It was the fact that they'd recognized it.

Word Count: 1373

[Elias Caldera]

The Stryfe were among the most resolute soldiers in all of Mizahar, and Elias had been relentlessly taught this since childhood. They had ruled over a land vast and varied in its dangers, from the harsh northern weather to the countless predators that roamed it. Where weaker, less faithful souls would have perished, the Ravokian survived, tamed and, indeed, thrived. Forged in a place of death and desolate desperation, they had become a godly people feared and revered, and none more so than their holy warriors clad in ebony.

That was why Elias never thought he would see a broken Stryfer. But when the woman came crashing through the trees and collapsed at his feet, he knew that was exactly what his eyes beheld.

"Ru…"

The young Caldera flinched back as if accosted by a beast or leper. Dirty and sun-tanned skin, visible wherever the tattered and torn leather that had been her armor once was, shivered violently as if battered by winter winds. She twitched and spasmed before him, sweat gleaming with blood upon her brow. The crimson spread across her further still, welling up upon her hands and knees, but the apprentice’s attention was not focused there. Instead, they had locked unto her eyes.

It was her eyes what truly frightened him.

“Run!"

She breathed the word almost as a prayer, then staggered to her feet. Racing figures were soon closing the distance from the campgrounds, all carrying weapons, Liara and Taliya counted among the number of concerned, confused faces that approached Elias from behind, along with Paladin Corinthia, the leader of this company, who led them.

"Run... all of you!" Now the woman was upright for the most part, if not hunched over and screaming with shaking lips. "We have to Run, we have-"

Corinth’s hand whipped around in a blur and cracked across the crazed ranger’s face without warning. The sound of bone smacking into flesh made Elias flinch, shattering the spell of stupor he’d been under. The ragged figure spun down, gasping in pain, breathing hard and heavy on all fours.

Corinth did not relent. She circled the crouching woman and knelt down next to her, grabbing a handful of hair and jerking her face up. Eyes like polished stones stared into those of fear and anguish, and they did not blink.

"Who are you?" She said, keeping her words clear and slow, for obviously this soldier was not herself. "What happened to you? Of whom to you speak?”

For a long chime, Elias and the rest of his regiment watched as the woman struggled to fight her way back to reality. Her eyes flickered and darted around as she seemed to understand she was out of the woods, away from the terror that had driven sanity from her head. She took more shuddering breaths, closed her eyes to calm herself.

"They came from the ground..." Each word seemed dredged and dragged from her mind, as if she was unwilling to share them. But under Corinth's unflinching stare, she did. "They howled, and... and shrieked. We didn't know... know they were out there, until... until... until..."

Her voice cracked and she doubled over again, or tried to, but Corinth's grip held strong and did not allow her head to bow. The paladin shook the ragged figure, forcing her back to the present. By now the rest of the commanders had also arrived, eyes hard with years of experience yet intent with the wary curiosity of children.

"Who?"

“…The Yukmen.

They’re coming.”

Word Count: 586

[Elias Caldera]

The company moved with purpose and speed, but that was not all Elias saw in them. As more and more crowded into the campground, arrayed in ranks and strangely silent, he saw a cold fury in their eyes. He felt the embers of it raging inside him, too.

A unit of Rhysol’s chosen had been destroyed. It was enough to spark a crusade. Then, as realization dawned that none of the other scout parties had returned either, that fury only grew. Dozens of his brothers and sisters had died today, overwhelmed by an enemy so... so...

Loathsome. That was the only word he could use to describe the Yukmen when Corinth took center stage and began to address the assembled warriors.

"The monsters we fight are abominations born of the earth," she said, every Ravokian hearing her, though some knew what they faced anyway. Many did not. "They are twisted and hateful copies of man, without reason or intelligence.”

Her voice turned hard and hateful in a blink, eyes flaming and lips curled back in disgust.

"They exist only to destroy. Rage and destruction are all they live for. They are strong, able to kill with bare hands and weapons. They do not learn anything, but when they see a sword swung or an arrow loosed, they mimic these actions for use in combat. They are a plague, my kin. Wretched things from the blackest pits that have plagued our world for centuries."

She drew one of the two gladii at her waist, raising it high over her head, words becoming a bellowing warcry.

“Today we march not just in defense of the holy city, but to avenge our fallen! We will be the cure that ends this blight. Ours is the fury that will wash away this plague from our lands once and for all!"

Over a hundred screaming sons and daughters of Ravok answered her, all manner of weapons raised and shaken in the air. Elias felt the wave of bloodlust and pride sweep through him and screamed until his throat hurt, sword and shield waving over his head as he did. Then Corinth lowered her weapons and pointed with her gladius to the group.

“These monsters have no grasp of tactics or strategy. They come only as a horde, without mind or subtlety. This is how we will defeat them. Commanders, rally your sqauds. You march with me. Recruits will form picket lines and scouting parties, falling back to this position to catch any stragglers that get past us and endanger the lakeshore outpost."

Elias felt a trace of unease in her voice, the barest hint, but nothing more. Corinth was going about this in a proper sense, taking the best with her to face this threat before it besmirched their lands while also leaving a sizable force to defend it if they could not find their enemy. With five sqauds, or fifty odd soldiers along with their commanding officers, it should have been a simple task to deal with any threat. Those numbers did not however reflect the attaché of apprentices that accompanied the chosen, and of them, there were nearly double the number of fully fledged warriors that day. Yet for all the propriety of her actions, he could see she was unsure. But what else could she do?

"We march at once.”

Her words again stirred frantic motion, but Elias was the still, a confused calm in the storm. He was to stay?! He turned to Taliya and her sister who were standing nearby, and the look on Liara’s face mirrored his own; shock. The Caldera shook his head and stepped forwards through the swell of souls, his head held high and as his desire to prove himself squashed any fear of the paladin.

"Paladin Corinth-"

"Elias, we face a dangerous enemy today," Corinth said, already walking and not slowing, forcing him to nearly jog to keep up, "I know what you're going to ask recruit and theanswer is now. You have not yet been fully tested, and it is best if-"

"Not fully tested?!"

The sheer outrage in the boy’s voice stalled her, and behind her dozens of armed soldiers did the same, almost running into one another. Corinth's hard gaze fell upon him, but he did not flinch beneath it. This was not the day to fear her; too much was at stake.

And, he told himself with a tinge of pride, in this, at least, she is wrong.

“You will find no more tested a warrior that I, Mistress.” he said, voice low and resolved, "I am ranked first in my class at the Vitrax. The instructors tumble over themselves hoping to mark me as their favorite. No one has defeated me in a spar, and yet my victories have grown beyond counting. I have marched with our squads on patrols into the southern lands hundreds of times and all know that the day of my reckoning before Rhysol draws near at hand. I am strong, and capable, and I know the ways of war as well as those who march at your back this day."

Elias straightened his back and Corinth's eyebrows raised ever so lightly, as if seeing her apprentice anew. Confidence... that was what she saw in him, and that desire to prove himself that drove every boy of his age. She saw much of herself in him no doubt.

"I am ready, ma;m-”

"We are ready,” Liara interjected, stepping up to his side. Taliya’s hand had been on her arm, trying to hold her back with plain concern and consternation marring her face, but the unstoppable sister merely pushed her aside. “Were ready to fight.”

Slowly, as if being forced to, Corinth nodded. Then she jerked her head back towards the column of Ebonstryfe behind her.

"Then get into line with the rest, and know that you are as under my command as the rest of them. When orders are given, they are to be obeyed without question. Understood?"

"Yes, mam!”
"Yes, mam!”
"Yes, mam!”

The third voice had belonged to Taliya, who had skulked her way up alongside the other two. It was clear she didn’t want to be there, but it was also clear there was no way she was going to abandon her sister to this madness either.

Feet light and heart racing, Elias rushed into the mass of Ravokians following Corinth and took his place among them. He saw many he recognized amidst their numbers. All were heavily armed, covered head to toe in plate and mail painted black as night. Half-a-dozen broke off, trotting and jogging, ranging ahead to act as Corinth's eyes in the woods before them.

As they began to march, he looked back only once, seeing those younger than him clasping their spears and swords, part of him wondering if this had been a mistake, if he should have just kept his mouth-

A heavy clamp fell on his shoulder and his head snapped around to see his Liara looking back at him.

"Were really in the shyke now, huh." She said with that awful smile.

Word Count: 1150

[Okara]

Elias Caldera

Seduction 2
Socialization 1
Persuasion 1

Liara: Ebonstryfe Recruit and Competitive Lover
Taliya: Ebonstryfe Recruit and Protective Sister
Seduction: Competition Can Lead to Attraction
The Terror of a Broken Stryfer
Yukmen: Abominable Copies of Men
Yukmen: Mimic What is Around Them

Rewards/Penalties/Notes

It was interesting to see Elias written as a teenager with all the bravado of youth. Let me know if you have questions or concerns about your grade.

Please edit your post in your grade request to reflect that it has been graded. PM me with any questions.