Tender Mercies

Lunging forward in hopes of impaling her on the point of his longsword, Alesha let him think he had won. She let the blade plunge deeply into her stomach, coming out her back so deep did it go. Kallendel grinned at her triumphantly, then his grin turned to confusion when he saw her own smile mocking him. He raised his dirk to thrust it into her throat but Alesha's short sword streaked across and intercepted it, knocking it from his hand. He stumbled backwards then, letting go of his longsword.

Alesha reached down and pulled it free of her stomach, channeling the pain back into her and instead of feeling the hurt, she shuddered in excitement. When the tip at last pulled free she tossed the sword off to the side then advanced on the elven warlord.

"What are you?" He asked, knowing his fate was soon to be sealed.

Alesha smiled again and reached out with her sword, the magical blade slicing effortlessly through the chain tunic he wore. Kallendel looked down, seeing the rent in his armor. Only a thin line of blood marked a diagonal cut on his abdomen, and he knew that she could have easily slain him had she wanted to.

"Come to me, lover," Alesha said, slashing twice more rapidly and watching a section of his armor fall away from him. The elf stumbled backwards in terror, backing into a wall and beginning to panic.

Alesha felt her own desire burning through her, pushing everything else aside. She had used up most of her energy reaching Kallendel, and very nearly depleted it while fighting him. Ignoring her wound and then healing herself had taken the most out of her. She reached out again and took control of him in his panic.

Kallendel watched as he finished what the girls sword had started, tearing off the rest of the clothing inhibiting his manhood from stretching out in pride. He couldn't seem to stop himself, he only knew that this women who was going to kill him had complete control over him, and that he had to have her.

Alesha smiled as Kallendel staggered towards her, ignoring his own injuries. She threw back her cloak to reveal that she wore nothing underneath it save her loin cloth, a belt for her scabbard at her side, her knee high boots, and her bracers on each forearm. Seeing her body unmarked by his thrust drove the last of his hopes for survival from me, and he surrendered to the lust filling him.

Alesha wrestled with Kallendel when he came to her, trying to force her down so he could rape her. She easily twisted him about and forced him back upon his desk so that she could sit atop him and drive his only remaining weapon deep inside of her. She groaned as she bottomed out and ground her crotch into his. Kallendel fought to regain control and drive himself into her, but her leverage and strength won out, keeping him at bay while she pleasured herself atop him.

Bending over, she found the urge overcame her to lick at the wound on his chest. She licked some more, finding the coppery taste pleased her almost as much as pumping herself up and down on his nearly bursting manhood. Groaning, the elf sensed he was nearly finished when the woman atop him began to shudder and moan. She leaned back abruptly, her short sword still in one hand, and slammed herself down on him faster and harder then before.

She poured the last bit of magic into him he needed so that he exploded inside of her. Timing it perfectly, her sword arced across, biting into his throat just deeply enough to sever both arteries without laying open his windpipe. The sting forced his orgasm to a higher level, knowing that his life was pulsing out of his neck.

Alesha shuddered above the elf's spurting cock, finding herself on the edge of her own release but unable to achieve it. Bending over instinctively, the warm spurts of his lifeblood painted her breasts, stomach, neck, and face, nearly burning her with their heat. She opened her mouth and fastened it to his neck, drinking deeply of the released fluid. Darkness claimed Kallendel with the last thought in his head being that he knew the strange woman sent to slay him was orgasming on his dying body.

*****

Expecting to know no more, Kallendel was surprised to find that he was still conscious, though he had no sensations of anything about him. Considering himself in a void, he felt something dark and terrible coming up to him. He sensed more then felt something evil chuckle behind him.

My thanks, Mistress.

With no voice or way of knowing how, Kallendel's soul screamed at the image of a four armed demon reaching out for him.

*****

"How much longer must we wait?" Helmut asked after draining another flagon of ale.

"Until Kelnozz gets here," Nordan said, ordering another round.

"Another week of this and the tribe will start heading back no matter what I say," Helmut cautioned.

Nordan nodded, scowling. Martin looked about remembering the last time they had stayed at that inn. Alesha had been with them then. He sighed and tried to put her beautiful image out of his mind, disturbed that even after so long she haunted him.

The door to the tavern burst in then and a man stuck his head in long enough to shout, "To arms!"

Looking about, everyone seemed a bit concerned, then people began to react. Leaping out of there chairs, they rushed outside, some grabbing sheathed weapons, others heading for their pallets to get them. Martin, Nordan, and Helmut made it outside at last and looked about to see what was causing all the ruckus. Seeing several villagers looking skyward, their gazes drifted up until they saw the great winged form circling down towards them.

"If you've brought a dragon upon us..." The owner of the inn's threat trailed off when the dragon settled down gently on the ground just outside of the town between the encamped barbarians and the town.

A figure nimbly leapt off the back of the adult blue dragon, landing easily and striding towards the town. Recognizing his stride, both Nordan and Martin felt grins on their faces as they rushed out to greet him.

"Seems you've brought some cavalry!" Martin said, gripping Kelnozz's hand warmly.

"What took you so long, elf?" Nordan growled, unable to keep a straight face as well.

"I had some things to do," Kelnozz said. "My friends, meet Luingirth, a long time friend of mine."

Both Martin's and Nordan's grins faded slowly at this. "Kel, what is going on?" Nordan asked, staring at the incredible dragon who was peering right back at him.

"Come, let us go and have a drink, flying tends to parch your throat and I have a lot to tell you," Kelnozz said, grabbing his friends and herding them back towards the town.

"Don't worry, he won't harm anyone," Kelnozz called out to the assorted towns folk.

"Luingirth, try not to eat anyone," Kelnozz yelled back to the dragon. Several cries of alarm went up at this, which brought a grin to Kelnozz's face. Then he let it fade and yelled to the dragon, "You're scaring them, go do whatever it is dragons do... eat a sheep or something."

The annoyed look on the face of the dragon was all Kelnozz needed to see to make him laugh again. Luingirth took off in spite of it, winging quickly away to the south in search of a meal.

The townsfolk slowly began drifting back towards their daily activities, though for the second time in three weeks they moved a bit more uncertainly. First a small army of barbarians on their doorstep, now a raiding dragon. Life was getting too dangerous!

Back in the tavern the companions, plus Helmut, sat around their recently abandoned table. Everyone watched Kelnozz, waiting for his explanation. He glanced around the common room to see people resuming their seats, though conversation was now hushed and reserved.

"Ages ago, when life on this world was still young, there were two types of dragons," Kelnozz began. "Magic was powerful and even the most common and mundane items were enchanted. Things were unbalanced and chaos ruled the world. Man was nomadic and uncivilized.

"Of these two species of dragons, one was good, and one was evil. The good dragons, known as metallic dragons, and the evil ones, known as chromatic. Elves and the metallic dragons enjoyed peace and prosperity between themselves. But the chromatic dragons viewed all other forms of life as being beneath them, and they were jealous of the mighty works of art and peace the elves created. The chromatic dragons began to corrupt some of the elves and poison their hearts and minds against the rest of the elven peoples.

"Too late, the elven council discovered this. Attempting to heal the wrongs and bring them back, some of the dissident elves were sought out and captured. Instead of being able to counsel them back to rationality, their rage and jealousy deepened. War erupted, in which kin slew kin. The dragons joined in the struggle, good versus evil. In a sign of change, the rebellious elves undertook great magical ceremonies that marked them as being different. Thus was born the first light elves."

Kelnozz paused for a moment and took a drink. Taking a deep breath he saw the look on his listener's faces. Even Nordan was paying attention, for little of the elven history was widely known other then the rumor that a great shame was in their past.

"The dark elves were more numerous, though many of our arts were not tempered towards war. Still, in a war that took hundreds of years, the light elves were defeated and driven over The Periphery. Once home to all elves, now the light elves were relegated to that part of the continent with no outside access. Jailed within the mountain range, it became known as the Lost Lands. In shame, the remaining elves changed their name to dark elves, which means fallen."

"What does this have to do with your companion?" Helmut asked when Kelnozz paused to consider his next words. Kelnozz smiled sadly and waved away the question.

"I'll get to that," He said patiently.

"While the dark elves defeated the light elves on the ground and in the forests, they remained too focused on that battle, and did not aid their allies in the air. The chromatic dragons, with the aid of the light elves, scored victory after victory against the metallic dragons. Seeing them facing extinction, the dark elves intervened and struck back on their behalf. The dark elves were slaughtered. Gaining strength, the chromatic dragons now battled a war on two fronts, and drove into the homeland of the elves on Belurian, laying waste to the city."

"Their spirit nearly broken, the elves fled. Still too mighty to be vanquished, the metallic dragons retreated with them. Faced with the threat to their existence, a deal was made with the light elves and the chromatic dragons. The elves were banished from Belurian for a thousand years and the good dragons magically imprisoned. The warring had lasted for generations already, it was a bitter end with most of the sages of the elven peoples slain and much of our lore lost."

"At the end of their banishment, the dark elves discovered that they were pleased with their new home, a large island many leagues to the east of Belurian known as Innowendyn. Now the bastion of elven knowledge and art, they were hesitant to return to Belurian. Over the years, some elves began filtering back into Belurian, and it was discovered that in spite of their success and freedom, internal strife kept the light elves competing with each other. Most remained within the Lost Lands, involved in struggles for power within their own societies. The might and grandeur of both elven peoples had been destroyed."

Kelnozz took another drink and sighed deeply. The lore he had just shared had never before been known to anyone not of the elven race.

"The elves that lived on Belurian again met with an advanced society of humanity. Man had thrived in the absence of the elves, filling the niche and rapidly advancing their technology and knowledge. Cities had already sprung up all over Belurian. The returning elves moved in amongst them, trying to teach and counsel them against the mistakes that had caused the fall of the elven races. As time passed, the elves of Belurian lost touch with their own history though, treating it more and more as tales told to children to make them mind."

"That's all well and good, but I don't see how this affects us?" Martin asked, signaling another round of ales.

"It affects us because over five thousand years ago I was born on Innowendyn. My mother died during the birthing. My father was gone before I had seen a score of years, assassinated by a light elf who had once been his closest friend. I was sent to our capital, Loralost, for training, and while there I was studied and tested and apparently considered to be something special, the heir of Myragordamar, champion of the elves. For the next one hundred years I was trained. It was then that Luingirth and I were introduced. Using magic and training, we formed a bond and grew up together, learning together, training together, and fighting together."

"Ever since then, I have come to Belurian time and again, looking for some sign of an ancient prophecy the elves have. With Alesha, I believe that prophecy is coming to pass. She is the champion of the chromatic dragons. She will lead their forces against the rest of Belurian again, trying to drive everything out and then destroy the dark elves once and for all."

Kelnozz stopped talking and looked from one face to another, checking to make sure none of them were confused. "We need to raise an army and march on her before she is ready to bring the fight to us."

"Wait," Nordan said. "She will have dragons on her side, how are we to fight that?"

Kelnozz smiled, a hint of his usual mischief showing through. "My friends, we must go and free the good dragons from their imprisonment."

"Raise an army, rescue a bunch of dragons, and march over into the Lost Lands, all as quickly as possible," Martin summed up the tasks ahead of them. "This is no easy task you speak of."

"No," Kelnozz agreed, "it's worse then that, many of the cities in Belurian have agreements with the dragon council, so we will meet opposition at every corner. Far from easy, Martin, it's well nigh impossible."

Nordan groaned at the odds stacked against them. Martin stared blankly for a moment, then reached out and numbly drained the rest of his ale. Kelnozz smirked and looked to Helmut, who sat patiently and quietly on the far side of the table from him. He seemed nonplussed by what was going on.

"This isn't my fight, elf," Helmut said finally. "My people care not about what happens to dragons or elves."

Kelnozz nodded thoughtfully at that. "That may be," he responded, "but you must know that If they are unchecked, they will storm through all of Belurian, destroying everything that resists them. You don't strike me as a people that would thrive under the control of others."

Helmut chuckled at that. "You paint a grim picture, elf, but we are a roving people, we would evade them." Kelnozz opened his mouth to say more but Helmut waved him silent so he could continue. "We will do this though. Not for you, not for the elves, and not for dragons, but because Nordan is on of our own and because he has brought us great plunder and victory before. And because I think this will be a good fight, to not invite us would be an insult!"

The all laughed at that, relieved to have their support. "That will be how we get the aid of the dwarves," Martin said lightly, "tell them there's a big fight coming and they might miss it!"

They chuckled some more at that, then began speaking of how they would be able to recruit more men. Later on, talk turned to leaving on the next day with Luingirth to head for Innowendyn to learn of the prison of the metallic dragons. At long last, they called it a night, with Helmut returning to the tribe's camp while Nordan found a comely tavern wench to help him spend his night. Kelnozz left the inn to go and see if Luingirth had returned. Martin sat at the table alone for a while longer, finishing another ale and pondering how his life had turned this way. He wondered if his grandfather would approve of his latest course of action.

*****

Alesha sat behind her new desk, going over another report delivered to her. She could hardly wait to get out of Mezarbolle and begin marching her armies towards Belurian, but first she had to assemble that army. She had secured the acceptance of the commanders under her in Mezarbolle the day after she had slain Kallendel. Now they were summoning their troops from remote villages and tribes. Alesha chafed at the delay, nearly six weeks would pass before they would arrive, and just that morning she had learned of a group of light elves that refused to side with her.

When Alesha had come down from her rush of excitement and realized what she had done to Kallendel, she had shrunk back in horror. Staring numbly at the mutilated and partially naked corpse, Alesha's mind reeled as she tried to justify and understand what had happened. As the minutes passed, she realized at one point that if anyone were to come upon her, she would be easy prey for them. Off balance, she had gained her feet and looked about to see what it was that she should do next. At a loss, she realized that she was no longer feeling tired and weak. Searching inside herself, she found that her powers were refreshed fully.

Somewhat comforted to know that she was no longer vulnerable, she pondered what she had done. She stared at her sword which still hung limply from her hand. Trapped within it was the soul of Talifernon and now, the soul of Kallendel as well. Raising the blade up before her, she considered how sharp the edge and point were. Looking again at the corpse, she wondered if what she was becoming was worth the price she was paying. Gazing nervously at the point of the sword, she realized she could end it quickly.

Alesha felt a soothing warmth spreading from her forehead throughout her body, calming her. She saw again the sword in front of her, angled closer and closer to the valley between her breasts. Realizing what she had been contemplating, she angrily slammed it back into its scabbard. Alesha chastised herself for being weak momentarily. Never one to quit or give up, she vowed that she would not allow herself to suffer any personal setbacks. She had done what was necessary, she told herself. By capturing the soul and life of Kallendel, she increased her own power as well as keeping Kallendel's knowledge around so that she could more easily slip into her new role of a general.

Alesha rose from behind her desk, pushing her memories aside and striding forward purposefully. Retrieving her symbol of station that she had received from the chromatic dragon council, she quickly donned the set of magical armor. Supple boots rode high on her legs to protect her knees, made of magically enhanced griffin hide that protected and comforted her feet. Above them she wore greaves magically grafted together out of the hide and scales of what she had learned to be a silver dragon. Her breasts seemed on the verge of falling out of the an aesthetically designed silver dragon scale shirt that ended in an enchanted fine mithril skirt that fell just long enough to cover the naked flesh above her greaves. Under the skirt she wore a loin cloth made from the same material, with cloth sewn on the inside of it to protect her skin. Her neck was adorned with a necklace that ended in a small amulet carved out of mithril. In the middle of it was a diamond that glowed with an inner light. Underneath Alesha's bracers she wore long length black leather gloves that fell a few inches short of her shoulders.

Moving out the door, she headed towards where she knew her captains to be. Leaving her cloak thrown behind her, she knew that her captains were all consumed with lust at the site of her, tempered only by the fear and respect her powers demanded of them. Bursting into the office where several of them were gathered, she glanced about at the instant silence.