10.2 Know Peace

Day 95

After a tasty breakfast of fish we get back on the road towards Deldrin. All is peaceful until we get in sight of the human town we had avoided on our way here. A pillar of black smoke rises from the town.   Abruptly, I remember to tell Camellia about the Severed. It is a potent reminder. She responds, somewhat irrelevantly for the problem at hand, by asking about my plans for long-term recovery and healing for myself. That’s a problem for later. She does also suggest enlisting the aid of human mystics to undo whatever awful magic some of them inflicted on the Severed. We could clear a stronghold to serve as a hospital for the Severed.   In the moment, we ride onwards to see about offering help. When we get close enough to see clearly, ¼ of the settlement is smouldering and three elf heads are hanging outside the gates with eyes gouged out. We send Bran and Camellia onwards to see what help is needed, while Hella and I retreat. Alder insists on entering the settlement unseen to gather more information. I don’t like it, but I let him go.   Two hours later Alder returns. The attack from the Severed came at dawn to burn a temple of the Fisherman. 30-40 humans are dead, including all of the Fisherman’s mystics, though the Candlemaker’s escaped notice. The humans reported 3 dozen elves, some of whom were shadow-stepping. The numbers may be an exaggeration, but the shadow-stepping is probably not.   When he returns to gather more information, Kadia and I discuss how to handle the Severed. We could track them down and try to win over a small group of them before speaking with all of them. It’ll be hard to win them all over at once.   We are interrupted by Alder returning to us and firmly telling us to ride for two hills towards a copse of trees saying, “They’re injured”. So we ride, knowing that Bran and Camellia will be following as soon as they’re able.   Over the last hill we find the copse of trees and a very small camp site. There are nine elves lying wounded (three are in dire straits) with burns, cuts, and punctures. Their armour is rough and practical. One nocks an arrow as I approach, and asks who I am.   I give them my face name, and many of them kneel. The one with his arrow drawn remains staring at me, angrily. “If that doesn’t mean anything to you, or you don’t care, I am someone who is here to help you,” and another elf steps forward and calms down the supposed leader.   Hella and I get to work helping the wounded. Their battlefield medicine is impressive for their circumstances, and I tell them so. I’ve seen my fair share of it.   One of them approaches me and introduces himself as Knotrael. He is not Severed, but he has sworn to protect and help them. He served in Doraal’s army for 70 years as a heavy fighter, and was assigned to evacuations later on. He is very helpful to talk to, and it’s like getting a glimpse of Doraal again.   Willow, the one with the bow, is the most toxic of the elves here. The entire group of Severed is around 50 people, but around 6 in the inner circle. The ones who lead them are nearly mad - they enjoy the suffering of humans not just as revenge, but for what it is. They used to kill, but now they torture.   Just in time, Bran and Camellia arrive to help the three most injured elves. They work quickly while I continue speaking to Knotrael.   All of this could change! I can’t help but hope that the people in charge of this group could become sane and caring again with the pain stricken from their hearts, but Knotrael seems skeptical of this, even though he believes that I’m capable of mending them. He recommends that I try to win over Willow first, and that will give us a good start towards the others.   And then Bran is beside me. One of the elves is too far gone, and he wants to know if he should ease the boy’s passing or try to fight the radiant thing inside him in the hopes that he dies and joins the Empress. It’s not my decision, and I ask Willow (who calls himself ‘Will’, in a human fashion) to make it instead.   The boy, Preesha, is a smith. How fitting that Bran can tend to him and we have the opportunity to bring him into the shade again just for a moment. Will agrees to let us try, and he will fight with us to give Preesha as much time as we can.   All of the Severed present fight with us against the radiant creature that we draw out of the wounded elf. I can feel it targeting the other Severed, calling to the creatures inside of them and making them smoke ever so slightly.   It is not as harrowing as it was before with Nidrae. With Knotrael guarding my flank and a fist or two of makeshift soldiers around us, it’s easier to defeat the monster. I can feel Preesha rejoin the Empress, and then feel him slip away.   Then, I hear her voice.   “Know peace, but don’t come home. Stay, and walk in shade,”