The sound of thundering hooves filled the damp morning air. The sun, having not yet peaked the horizon, threatened the sky with her morning rays, kissing the clouds upon the mountain peaks.
Deep in the Mountain Valley the chatter and movement of worried men and women filled a small village nestled deep in the 9 Kingdoms, as they listened to the sound of hoofbeats grow nearer. A mother's cry erupted as hooded, Man-like creatures on horseback came into view, breaking from the tree line. The clatter of metal arriving with them, and they appeared fully clad in blackened battle armor. There was a total of forty heavily armed figures, saddled upon grand black stallions, peering back from the magnificent beasts were smoldering red eyes ….war horses. Elven Warhorses.
You could feel the tension begin to rise in the air, as it was becoming almost palpable.
The village chieftain, a broad hefty man, came to the front, and several men who were of age, as well as some who were too old to be capable, came to stand alongside him.
They each held whatever they had on hand for a weapon. A few of the men held old steel longswords, whose blades were blunt and rusted. Others held simple wooden farming tools, while the elders held wooden staves, it was better than nothing, or so they believed.
The Village men pointedly held their 'weapons' high, as if ready to fight the formidable force before them. The nervous chieftain waited patiently for the leader of the Elven entourage to dismount. The arrival of Elven-kind, in any form, Dark, Golden or Forest, to human lands was rare…. exceedingly rare. It meant something was amiss.
An exceptionally large figure in the front leapt from his horse and lowered his hood. His face came into focus… a Dark Elf, looking around, they were all Dark Elves. The human men took a step back at the revelation, all of them taking in the large Elven Leader before them. His grey skin and silver hair complemented his black eyes, and a faint scar graced the side of his face giving him a dangerous appearance.
The chieftain took in the powerful figure, eyeing him suspiciously before he realized…this dark elf, wore a dark crown upon his head.
Elven Royalty.
The large Royal cocked a challenging eyebrow at the man as he stared. His human knees buckling at once as he tossed his stave aside, and came down, laying his head upon the dirt.
"F-Forgive the insolence your Grace!" spoke the chieftain, his voice breaking in fear.
The rest of the villagers followed suit. Dropping their weapons, and dropping down, bowing as far as they could, parroting the chieftains' words in unison...
A Dark Elven Prince was here…in the lowlands. And now their lives were on the line…
Dark Elves were often unpredictable, at times vicious and murderous, although sometimes they could be found 'feigning' graciousness. A Dark Elven Prince was certainly no exception, and they had just greeted this Dark Prince with weapons in hand. They silently awaited their fate…All of them keenly aware humans were no match for elves.
The sound of the prince's heavy boots thudding on the ground as he began pacing back and forth in front of them, filled their ears. The villagers and their chieftain stayed head down…maintaining the submissive pose, desperately hoping to avoid his wrath.
"Lift your heads," finally snapped the prince. The crowd did as commanded, gawking at him as they were now able to look upon him freely.
He towered over them, wearing intricate Elven armor…Black and Silver, in masterful patterns was weaved across his breast plate. The shapes of poisonous ivies, and thorns were on display. The Blood Red Nyberian Crest embellished his dark cape, which flowed to sit around, his armor-clad boots which hosted similar designs. His crown sat upon his forehead. Shaped from fine mithril in woven patterns, as Black diamonds adorned it.
The Prince's masculine features were striking: a long-pointed nose, full lips, high cheekbones, with a strong square jaw. While his eyes were as black as coal.
His long silver hair was pulled up into a war braid with fine silver cuff-beads locking in the small braids.
They say that all Elves were beautiful to behold, and this one held that statement to be true. Power and raw masculinity oozed from his every step. He stood at over 7ft tall towering any normal human, and his voice was deep and commanding.
The chieftain finally gaining an ounce of courage, swallowed hard, struggled to make eye contact, but managed to ask "What b-brings you t-t-to the Low-lands my Lord?"
A few villagers shifted anxiously, a baby began to cry in the crowd, and the mother rushed off into a hut. Her shushing sounds came out nervously and you could hear her muffled coos to the child as she fearful of disturbing his highness. The prince smirked while following the mother's quick movement. Before looking back to meet the Chieftain's eyes.
"What is your name, human leader?"
The chieftain sat up trying to straighten his tattered robe, "Darlag your grace. I am the chieftain of this village; we call Gorda and-"
"-I only asked your name." The prince cut him off.
"M-My apologies, my name is Darlag." The Chieftain quickly corrected.
"Darlag…I need some information from you."
The Chieftain stepped forward "I will tell you whatever it is you wish to know sire."
"Have there been any…'other'…Royal Entourages that have passed through your lands?" The prince was staring at Darlag hard. Trying to look for any signs of deception.
"My Lord?"
The prince growled in annoyance, then speaking plainly…."Have you seen any small groups of High Elves, passing through your lands? Or have your hunters noticed any strange trails in the nearby areas….?"
Darlag's eyes widened, "Oh, no sire, not that I have been made aware of." The human leader turned around to look to some of the hunters, to verify, and they agreed that there have been no sightings of Elven-Kind or strange movements in their lands.
The prince let out a labored sigh…Of course humans wouldn't notice High Elves sneaking through the woods. Humans are feeble creatures, with little to no awareness of their surroundings. The prince glanced over his shoulder, looking at his right-hand man.
"Novus, scour the woods, search for any sign that the princess was smuggled through the here, and inform me Immediately."
"Right away highness," said Novus, while motioning to some of the other Dark Soldiers to follow him. Their massive horses disappearing back into the tree line.
The prince looked back to the villagers, his eyes locking onto a movement in the crowd, as a small child grabbed his attention, making its way forward. As the child came to stand directly in Front of the Crown Prince, the boy's father immediately began trying to make his way to the front in a panic.
The dark prince raised his hand to the father.
"Be still," he commanded, and the man froze. You could see his fear paint over his face, as he was afraid to offend the prince.
The prince dropped down, so that he was face to face with the child. He studied the boy, observing he must be about 5 or 6 years old, a mess of blonde hair, and brown eyes. Dirt smeared on his cheek and a piece of straw stuck out from his hair.
The dark prince chuckled inwardly to himself, reminiscing. He used to show up for the evening meal, covered in dirt, and his mother would grumble to him about how filthy he was. Pushing the memory to the back of his mind, he returned his full attention to the child to see what the child had to say.
"What is it little one?" The prince asked, his sharpened canines causing the boy's eyes to grow wide, then a mischeivous smile spread across his little face.
"Hello highness, my name is Rolyn, I think I saw your princess last night." Pausing to take a big breath the boy then continued, more than willing to talk, "she was riding through the woods over there." The boy turned around and pointed to the opposite side of the little village encampment.
"Really? And were many of her friends with her?" The prince asked tilting his head to the side, curious about how much information the child, Rolyn, would be able to offer.
"Oh Yes, she had this many soldier elves with her," the little boy lifted his two hands to show ten fingers, " I know they were soldiers, cause they all had swords and armor like your friends, and one of them looked like he could be a Prince elf." Taking another breath as the boy excitely told his story "Oh, and she had some Girl elves riding behind her." The boy announced, quite proud, that he had the information the Dark Prince was looking for.
The Dark Royal smirked at the boy, "What makes you think it was a Prince that was with her?"
The boy smiled even bigger, "Oh, that's because he was bigger than the other Elves, and his Armor looked like very nice, like gold and glass. It was nicely made like yours, oh and he even had a giant spear, and his horse had good armor…"
The dark smile grew on the prince's face as the boy unloaded as much as he could remember …"Did there happen to be a green stone at the head of this spear?"
"Yes your Majesty. A big giant green stone." the boy shook his head matter-of-factly, while crossing his little arms.
"You have the watchful eyes of an elf, youngling" The prince stated with satisfaction…rising to his feet. He then took a small pouch of coins and handed it to the young boy. "You have helped, Rolyn. I thank you for being more competent than your elders."
The child's eyes lit up and he looked over at his father, who was just as surprised at the Dark Prince's sudden kindness. "Oh, thank you Sir Prince!? M-May I ask your Name?"
Having been humored by the boy's eagerness moments ago, the Prince decided fo entertain the boys question.
"I am the Prince Godwynn…Godwynn Elladar Raydon, of the Dark Elven Kingdom Nyberius. And soon to be the next High King of the Nine Elven Kingdoms." The prince spoke over his shoulder as soon as he mounted his horse. He said nothing else as he and his remaining riders returned to the Forest. Leaving the villagers standing in silence at the odd event which just took place.