The slow-moving stream provided a canvas for the crescent moon that had ascended high up at night sky. The crackling of the bonfires beside it joined the sound of the crickets and frogs. Being hidden by the oak and pine trees and the large boulders that surround it, the elves had chosen the spot for their temporary encampment.
Away from his resting retainers, the prince approached the waters to wash himself. His likeness was faithfully reflected by the brook: his silver hair, his green eyes, his clean-shaven youthful face, even the sadness in his countenance. The reflection shattered when he scooped out a cold splash up to his face.
Refreshed, he let out a big sigh and looked upward. The beautiful night sky greeted his eyes, for a while, lessening the heaviness in his heart.
"The stars had not grown old. The world below is aflame, but they shine so brightly still." he whispered as a cold breeze pass him by, "A beauty that could never be touched nor filthied by the hands of men."
He pulled out of his reverie, and slowly stood up, accepting that he could never live among the heavenly host.
"What are your plans, my prince, where do we go next?" one of his elven guards inquired from behind him. Meldor had known his presence, and so he was not in a bit startled.
"I do not have the answers, Baldomir. Even Chaeld had betrayed us." the prince answered.
"There is somewhere we might be able to go to, my lord."
"Where?" Meldor turned to face him, a tug on his forelock and a tired look.
"The Crimson Woods" the guard uttered. Upon hearing the name of the place, Meldor shook his head in disappointment and started to walk way.
"In one of our explorations there, my lord, we have found an abandoned fort." Baldomir continued, slightly raising his voice, unwilling to give up the conversation. The information halted the prince in his tracks.
"An abandoned fort?" the prince pivoted his head.
"Yes my lord. The walls were still intact, we could use it as your temporary base of operations." Baldomir suggested.
Meldor paused to think, rubbing his chin. Baldomir closely observed his expression for any hint of what was going in his mind. As if he had remembered a painful memory, the prince closed his eyes, and clenched his jaw.
"What do you think… my prince?" the guard asked, wanting to know what caused the sudden change of expression.
"That is a good plan. However, I must first satisfy this anger in my heart." Meldor said, placing his fist on his chest. "It grows heavier every passing second."
"What do you wish to do, lord?" the elf nervously asked.
"We shall pass by Chaeld. I plan to burn that wretched place to the ground. And I shall seek everyone dear to that traitor's heart, and slit their throats."
"My lord! Please refrain from such barbaric thoughts! The fault of the king is no fault of his subjects!" exclaimed Baldomir, frightened by the cruelty of his words.
"They are all the same, Baldomir. They had betrayed us many times. My father, who had treated them ever so kindly, they beheaded him!" Meldor grabbed the older elf by the collar, and spoke near his face.
"I shall fight them fire with fire! I had run out of mercy. They are of inferior mind, lower than the orcs and the goblins! I shall treat them as such!"
"Calm yourself, Meldor. I have taught you nothing of hatred! No elf in the history of the Atherdaine, not even in the olden times, ever dared speak such words or bear such thoughts!" the elf called him by name, being his mentor since he was a child.
"None of them had grieved as much as I do. None of them had lost as much as I have." Meldor lowered his voice, but spoke as passionately. He unhanded the elf, and slowly stepped away.
"You are wise, old elf, but your wisdom had been outworn by time."
++
Meldor announced his plan the next morning, and as he expected, it was met with firm resistance. There were, after all, citizens of Atherdaine, educated with the teachings of old, all the morals and the virtues. But the same education had caused their fall.
"All those who disapprove of my plan, you are free to leave my company." Meldor sternly informed. He sat by a rock, elevating himself from the crowd he was addressing.
"But those who do, I will make sure to forget their names. And never again shall they be accepted in my presence." Meldor further warned.
The elves murmured to themselves, some arguing for the prince, some arguing against him.
"My lord, why must you divide us this way!" a younger elf called Naelif, his cousin and a captain of the guards, protested, hands on his hips.
"Silence, Naelif! This is my offer. Either you obey my every command, or leave my side." the prince eyes glowed, and his voice became that of a thousand, something only those with royal elven blood could do. While the sorcery does not have any real power, it can be effectively used to demand attention or emphasize a message.
Naelif dared to stare into his eyes, gauging the prince's seriousness, but Meldor stared back and there was not a shadow of doubt with him. The elven warrior then angrily walked away, heading to where they had kept the horses. Although reluctantly, others also began to leave, his lieutenants and others directly under his command. The crowd before him slowly thinned. Only twenty-five guards remained, most of which were his closest.
They watched Naelif and others stick to their word, the leaving hoofbeats lasted for minutes. What followed was an unfamiliar silence. The wind howled, bringing with it a chill that made the parting much lonelier.
"My lord, please stop this nonsense. We are few to be further divided!" Baldomir, who had chosen to stay, was the first to speak.
"Why are you still here, Baldomir if you so disapprove of me?" Meldor said with a spiteful chuckle.
"You know that I can not." the frustrated elf lifted his palms to his chest, "I have promised your father I would never leave your side."
"For someone who claims to respect my father's memory, you are not outraged enough with his terrible end." the prince sniggered, folding his arms in front of his chest.
"I am outrag-"
"Leave Baldomir. I no longer hold your word in high regard." the elf interrupted and motioned him to where the elves had gone.
"Well then. If my prince has no use for me anymore." Baldomir threw his hands up in defeat, and like the others made his way to his horse. But not after glaring at everyone who has decided to remain.
He expected more to leave with the departure of the respected elder, but the remaining few kept their numbers. He lifted his seat and stood in front of them. Pacing back and forth, he scanned the crowd.
The elves stood in attention. The prince recognized that those who had remained, were the closest to him. The ones he had grown up with, and since they were able to pick up a sword, he had brought to his every battle.
"You shall rest and prepare, we shall ride past noon. We attack the town at night. Any more questions?"
"Lord Prince, Chaeld has walls, and we clearly do not have an army." a question came up.
"Do not worry, neither do they. We have broken their army at Ortem Gates. The Chaeldean lost their king, they would be few guards, if none at all."
"What do you plan to do to the citizens when we are in, Lord Prince?" asked Orlem, a close friend, and the captain of the company that remained.
"We shall burn their houses, we shall squeeze them dry of their riches, but if they do not resist, only Frederick's relatives shall lose their lives." he assured.
"But… but why do we have to kill the king's relatives? 'The sin of the father is not the sin of his son', do we… do we not hold this true?"
The question was from the elf in the front row asked, stuttering in his speech, fearful of the prince's reaction. Meldor caught others nodding in agreement.
"Sauldor, we are not fighting elves, they do not hold the same values we hold. So, why must we apply what we learned to them? Should you fight in the coming attack, do not let your blade be burdened by what you have believed." Meldor gently pressed the young elf's shoulder, and spoke loudly as to be heard by all.
Sauldor nervously nodded, caving to the intensity by which the prince expressed his opinion.
"And I say the same to the rest of you, until we return to glory, there is no need for such intricacies. We shall not repeat the same mistake, we shall treat savages as savages." the prince addressed everyone.
"And do not forget, that we come in the name of vengeance."