Stories/Untitled Fantasy
From Transsexual Support
An ancient oak tree from an age long ago stood strong, its boughs blowing gently with the wind. A man and a woman stood in front of one another with stern faces and swords locked. \"Ye be getting good with that sword, Alyth\" Alyth\'s father, Throndul commented through gritted teeth.
\"Don\'t try and flatter your way to victory, father\" Alyth retorted.
Alyth leapt back and crouched. Throndul raised his blade and slashed it downward upon Alyth\'s head. Alyth quickly rolled to the side and tripped her father. Leaping back into a standing position, Alyth positioned her sword dangerously close to her father\'s throat.
Alyth\'s father resignedly let his sword fall to his side. Alyth relaxed the grip on her sword and sheathed her blade.
\"Well ye win this time daughter, ye won\'t be so lucky next time\" Throndul stated.
\"So cocky today aren\'t we father?\" Alyth replied and smiled.
Alyth helped her father to his feet, and they both walked back to their cabin. \"Since ye won today, I guess I will prepare supper today\" Throndul offered.
\"Id prefer to go and eat in town\" Alyth replied.
\"What ye don\'t like me cooking?\" Throndul inquired.
\"No, just burnt food loses its appeal very quickly\" Alyth replied and stuck out her tongue.
\"Very well, we shall dine at the inn I guess\" Throndul stated.
Alyth and Throndul strided out of the house, and mounted their horses. Alyth looked up at the sky and frowned, \"A storm be a coming father,\" Alyth stated then sighed.
\"Ah well we can\'t control the weather can we?\" answered Throndul. Alyth agreed and they began their trek to Estoria.
An hour and a half later...
The wind had picked up and storm clouds approached from behind, still the looming storm couldn\'t dampen the spirits of Alyth.
\"It will be summer soon\" Alyth spoke, she paused then continued \"Will we be seeing mother sometime soon?\" Alyth asked to break the silence. Throndul was unusually quiet today and Alyth was deeply worried.
\"What\'s wrong dad?\" Alyth asked meekly.
Throndul stoically replied, \"I don\'t know, but I feel a great evil approaches\"
\"And what about mother?\" Alyth asked with tears welling up in her eyes.
\"She\'s not going anywhere anytime soon, there are more important things at hand\" Throndul evenly replied.
\"How could you be so heartless?\" Alyth questioned, tears flowing freely from her eyes, Alyth paused a moment to regain her bearings and continued \"Can\'t you think of anything apart from your whole were all gonna die bit?\" Alyth angrily cried out.
\"You don\'t understand young lady!\" Throndul snapped.
\"Lets stop this now, she wouldn\'t of wanted us to be like this\" Alyth angrily resigned.
Throndul just nodded and returned his eyes to the road ahead. Alyth was worried, her father wasn\'t usually like this and she knew her concern was far from misplaced.
The rest of the ride to Estoria was quiet and the pace was quick.
Within a mile of the bustling city they knew something to be wrong, they heard little bustle among the vast city and it smelt of fire and brimstone.
\"Something\'s definitely amiss father\" Alyth calmly stated. Throndul just nodded, and dismounted his horse.
\"You take care of the horses, I will go and investigate\" Throndul commanded.
Alyth nodded and Throndul drew his sword and walked cautiously through the now unguarded city gates. Throndul stepped out and signalled Alyth to come over.
Alyth proceeded to the gate uneasily. A pang of dread had overcome her. The guards were dead.
\"We must do something father\" Alyth urged her father.
\"No, I must do something\" Throndul managed to reply. \"You are to go home, now!\" Throndul commanded.
\"No father, I refuse to leave you to die\" Alyth retorted.
\"That wasn\'t a request, Alyth\" Throndul snapped. Throndul punched his daughter square in the face. She fell to the ground, bleeding. Satisfied his daughter was subdued and out of danger he began his trying trek through the streets of Estoria.
He was bombarded with images of massacred men and women. The air smelt thickly of blood and burnt flesh. Surrounded by a miasma of what he knew to be evil, he drove on. Disgusted by these gruesome sights and smells, Throndul dropped to his knees grieving for the victims of a horrible crime. Little did Throndul know his daughter stalked him in the shadows and felt the same grief he was experiencing.
Throndul came to the town square and saw a large band of orcs torturing, raping, and killing what remained of the town. Alyth close behind saw the same horrific sights her father did.
Overcome with rage, Throndul stepped forward with his sword drawn and his face red with anger.
\"What you have done is a unforgivable, I shall slay all you vile orcs\" Throndul cried.
\"Do ya thinkz ya can kill uz all?\" a brutish orc stepped forward and questioned.
\"Indeed I do\" Throndul replied evenly. Throndul surged forward and impaled the brutish orc before it even had a chance to draw the massive sword strapped to its back.
\"Who\'s next?\" asked Throndul. 4 more orcs were up to the challenge and rushed forward clubs drawn.
Throndul retreated into a shopkeeper\'s doorway so he would only have to deal with the orcs, one at a time. More and more orcs came rushing at the brave man, he slew several but fatigue was setting in. Finally he collapsed. No sooner than he fell, an orc club crushed his head. Alyth was watching all of this from the shadows.
She saw her father slain and a pain she never felt before came over her. She didn\'t know if she felt sorrow or vengeful, more than likely it was a combination of the two. She swayed her view to the left and saw a fallen guard, with a crossbow and quarrels next to his mangled corpse.
Alyth leaned over to pick up the crossbow. She clasped the crossbow in her hands and slowly pulled the bowstring back. Alyth slowly levelled the crossbow and took aim upon the orc who slew her father. Alyth felt a hand grasp her shoulder... She looked over to see an ogre with many scars upon its body. \"Da party is in da town sqware little miss\" the vile creature stated.
Alyth was about to reply but she heard a bowstring twang, instantly blood was gushing out of the side of the ogre\'s head. Alyth seeing her opportunity to flee sprung from the ground and ran for her life.
Running for several blocks fatigue set in the young woman and she fell to her knees. She heard growls from all around and a feeling of dread came over her, she was surely doomed.
Orcs riding wolves and wielding long spears looked hungrily upon the young woman. Thick gobs of drool fell from the mouths of the underfed wolves Alyth gripped with depression, shirked off her fatigue and rose to her feet. Sword drawn and heart heavy, Alyth prepared to meet her end.
The commanding orc strode forward calmly, licking his lips. Feeling that this mere woman posed no threat to him, he playfully jousted his spear forward. Alyth ducked underneath the spear and sprung forward. Quickly she thrust her sword forward and into his head. The orc fell and its mount went berserk unto the other orcs.
Alyth giggled as the orcs tried to subdue the rabid wolf. Seeing her opportunity for victory she cut down the orcs one by one. The man who shot the ogre and saved her life observed her fight from the sidelines. Impressed with the girls cleverness he smiled
Alyth staggered back to the city gates, where she had left the horses. Sitting upon her fathers horse was a slender man clad in green with black hair and a dark green cloak, he was hungrily biting into an apple.
\"How dare you sit on my fathers horse\" Alyth angrily poured out
\"Not like it will do him much good where he is now...\" The dark haired man callously replied.
\"Take that back you monster of a man!\" Alyth cried.
\"Calm down lass, you\'ll attract more of them wolf riding orcs, and we all wouldn\'t like that now would we?\" the mysterious man. Alyth still irate with the man couldn\'t deny the logic behind what he was saying.
\"What a fine way to thank the man who saved you from being raped and murdered like all the rest\" the man sarcastically stated.
\"I thank you sir, but who are you and why did you aid me?\" Alyth questioned in a slightly more calm tone.
\"Why do you ask such a question? Do I need a reason to save a lady in distress?\" The man answered.
The man paused then continued \"But I shall answer your questions. My name is Valegan Ardarith. I saved you simply because you needed to be saved\" Valegan said, cutting Alyth off before she began to speak.
\"Then why didn\'t you save the others?\" Alyth asked.
\"Do ye think 1 man can take on an army of orcs? Surely a warrior like yourself would know that much\" Valegan replied evenly.
\"I\'m hardly a warrior sir\" Alyth replied, face blushing from the compliment of \"warrior\". She\'d never been called a warrior before.
\"Anyway id love to stay and chat, but I have some matters I must attend to elsewhere, Id advise you to leave this town, no good can be wrought by your hands alone\" Valegan stated.
\"But how may I repay you?\" Alyth asked.
\"Your fathers horse will suffice\" Valegan answered.
Alyth nodded and gazed at this shady character, he rode off a moment later.
Alyth sighed and straddled her horse. She decided to go to a nearby stream she loved as a child. It didn\'t take her long to find the stream. She tied her horse to a tree and sat down on a log by the stream.
Alyth raised her head and gazed upon the sky, it was no longer stormy. \"Why did my last words with my father have to be ones of conflict?\" Alyth regretfully asked herself. She sighed for she knew no answer would come.
Alyth slowly rose and untied her horse, straddled it and trotted back to the main road. She did not look sad, nor did she outwardly show any signs of grief, on the inside though her grief was tremendous. She took one last disdainful look upon the town that took her father from her and trotted slowly down the same road Valegan travelled...
\'\'Contributed by Angela (7/1/2004)\'\'
