A Requiem of Rage

A tendril of dawn light, carried on a gentle breeze, crept through the window of the treehouse.

On the soft bed, a half-elf maiden slowly opened her eyes, stretching her lithe body with a languid groan.

“Little Red-Eyes! Wake up—!”

“Little Red-Eyes! You big sleepyhead!”

“Today, Grandmother Ancient Tree is going to teach us new magic!”

The maiden yawned, smacked her lips, and rolled over, intent on resuming her deep slumber.

“Still in bed, are we? Take this!”

A sudden spray of water shot through the window, poised to drench the maiden’s small form. Yet, with a slight lift of her hand, a translucent shield of light shimmered into existence, enveloping the window. The moment the water struck this barrier, it transformed into a myriad of bouncing droplets, ricocheting back to create a fine curtain of rain beneath the treehouse.

“Drat!”

“Eek—!”

“Ah… achoo~”

Hearing her companions’ frantic cries and squeals from outside, the maiden giggled, then rolled over and gracefully leaped from the window. Her body, buoyed by the gentle breeze stirred by her magic, drifted softly to the ground.

She lightly touched a dewdrop bloom, using its refreshing moisture to cleanse herself. She bid farewell to her dryad sister neighbor, promising to bring her a jar of flower nectar upon her return that evening. Then, with her companions, she set off down the path, their laughter echoing as they went to seek Grandmother Ancient Tree and learn the ‘magic of making flowers bloom.’

Leading the way was the elder sister, Bena, a blue-haired pure-blood elf whom she considered the most beautiful female she had ever encountered.

Her dearest friend was Seviya, a fellow half-elf. Seviya had crafted a flower crown for her, half woven from ice-blue irises, half from fiery-red sage, with a pure white lily of the valley nestled at its center. As Seviya gently placed this exquisite circlet upon her head, she softly vowed that they would forever remain the best of friends, and no storm, however cruel, would ever tear them apart.

Their company also included the mischievous loner Uni, the clumsy Liriel who could never quite master rune-carving, and the prodigious eater Madeline, capable of devouring three baskets of mushrooms in a single meal. Their group was formidable, resembling a small adventuring party.

‘Oh, “adventuring party,” that’s a foreign term.’ Her mother disliked her using such human words. Feeling indignant, she pointed out that she possessed half human blood. At this, her mother wept, calling it an accident and describing her father as a crude and wicked scoundrel. When she pressed further, asking who her father was, the reply she received was:

“Even Mama doesn’t know. There were too many of them outside the forest that day…”

Uncomprehending, she sadly asked her mother if she disliked her. Her mother, however, suddenly burst into laughter through her tears, playfully calling her a silly goose and assuring her that she was her most beloved little treasure in the entire world.

“We’re almost at Grandmother Ancient Tree’s home!”

Bena announced, and her companions, their spirits soaring, quickened their pace into a trot, chasing the golden, silken dawn light ahead.

It was unclear who shouted, but everyone froze in place, curiously gazing at a vibrant streak of crimson painting the edge of the sky.

“What is that?”

“Huh, how strange. Isn’t it just morning?”

The red began to spread, rapidly transforming into a horrifying, blood-scarlet hue that consumed the entire sky.

“Today’s sunset has come so early…”

Those were the last words Bena ever spoke to them.

Terror gripped the elven maidens. They began to run wildly, their bare feet pounding across the crimson-stained grass. They needed to find Grandmother Ancient Tree quickly, for they knew the benevolent ancient tree was the most powerful entity in the forest, and once nestled within her embrace, they would have nothing to fear.

The air grew increasingly hot and stifling. Some elves wept, others complained, but when they finally discovered the source of the infernal heat, every single one of them was struck dumb with horror.

Flames.

They watched Grandmother Ancient Tree’s colossal form writhing wildly amidst the inferno. In the distance, military horns blared, and countless human invaders screamed and cackled, forming a dense, oppressive legion that advanced with terrifying speed towards their homeland.

Arrows, tipped with burning light, rained down upon them. Many of the elves, however, didn’t even comprehend the nature of fire, merely staring, mesmerized and bewildered, at the beautiful points of flame drawing ever nearer…

The ten-thousand-year-old ancient tree let out a groan that grated on their very souls, its ancient bark suddenly cracking open like a spiderweb. Roots, which should have remained gnarled beneath the earth, burst forth from the soil, forming a living shield that intercepted every single arrow.

“Run… quick…”

The ancient tree hissed, its voice a ragged, ancient rasp.

Their feet suddenly found no purchase. The ancient tree’s roots, they realized, were coiling around them one by one, attempting to hurl them beyond the relentless barrage of arrows.

The entire forest beneath them writhed and contorted.

Amidst the scorching waves of fire, she watched Uni, her throat pierced by an arrow, her head lolling lifelessly to one side as vivid crimson blood gushed forth.

Uni remained forever cradled in Grandmother Ancient Tree’s embrace…

She tumbled onto the slick, damp earth, and beneath her, Madeline’s cries reached her ears. Numbly, she lowered her gaze to see…

The force of her fall had completely crushed Madeline’s abdomen beneath her, exposing her companion’s stark white ribs, which then pierced her own thigh.

Struck senseless by terror, she felt no pain. She scrambled to her feet, stumbling, leaving the wailing Madeline behind. Then, she heard Liriel’s frantic shouts, urging her to hurry and help.

It turned out that the foolish Liriel, in her desperate attempt to help Grandmother Ancient Tree extinguish the flames, had reached out to pluck a burning dewdrop bloom, believing the shriveled plant could provide the water she needed for her spell…

Tongues of fire licked upward along Liriel’s vine-woven clothes. Liriel shrieked as she completed her incantation… The spell failed. Violent arcane energy, unleashed from her control, ripped through her throat, drawing forth a crimson pillar of blood from her mouth, along with the mangled flesh from within her, anointing Grandmother Ancient Tree in a macabre scarlet raiment.

“This way, this way!”

“Seviya!”

Seviya rushed forward, seizing her hand, and together they sprinted wildly back along the path towards their home.

The ground began to tremble, and the flower crown fell from her head. She dared not stop to retrieve it, but then, she suddenly heard Seviya exclaim:

“Hoofbeats!”

Animals were friends to the elven folk.

Seviya was instantly filled with hope. She excitedly turned back, ready to greet the approaching horses, and even let out a long, melodious whistle.

Yet, what appeared were iron-armored knights, cloaked in grey robes.

Beneath their grey cloaks, the flickering firelight cast grotesque shadows on the knights’ visors, making them appear hideously monstrous—like demons surging forth from the very pits of hell. And now, one of them mercilessly lunged towards Seviya…

The human knight raised his flail, its spiked head swinging out ferociously from the warhorse’s side, hurtling towards the young maiden.

The red-eyed half-elf maiden watched, horrified, as her closest friend was utterly shattered like a porcelain doll. Glimmering white fragments splattered outwards, and the maiden’s headless body traced countless crimson arcs in the air before smashing directly against a tree trunk, exploding into a greasy, fleshy bloom.

She fled, only to trip and fall amidst a pile of her own kin’s corpses, where she writhed, howling in a sea of blood and her own urine.

It was then that she heard her mother’s voice.

Mama, Mama was singing…

She scrambled to her feet, her throat raw from screaming, frantically searching for the source of the sound.

“Mama!!!”

Her shriek caught, lodged in her swollen throat.

****

She found Mama.

She found Mama’s two legs, embedded in a fresh tree hollow.

She found Mama’s intestines and stomach, entangled with several strands of dark, lustrous hair, twitching faintly on the ground.

She found Mama’s torso, scattered ten paces away, adorned with broken arrows, sullied blood, and scorch marks, resembling a garish rag doll.

She found Mama, and Mama was singing.

An ancient elven requiem, its melody low and fractured, slowly drifted from her mother’s ashen lips:

♪Silver ship, silver ship, push aside the mists of the River Styx♪

♪Count not good or evil, bear the sorrowful departed far away♪

♪Weave moon-scars into silver threads, to mend the soul’s deep wounds♪

♪Let the mortal coil sink into the earth, to sprout anew♪

****

Such was one of Aquilis’s functions: to grant her these beautiful, fleeting illusions of the past.

Yet, as her thoughts abruptly tore themselves from the clutches of memory, an boundless, seething rage erupted from the depths of her heart.

Kaelan’s eyes were bloodshot, and she frantically tugged at the chains in her hands. She felt as though she might explode, and so she sought an outlet, intending to transform every ounce of her resentment and humiliation into unbridled savagery, pouring it forth without reservation.

On the other end of the chains, of course, was her s*ave, Saranya.

Saranya, ever compliant, gently stroked the collar around her neck, a faint blush dusting her cheeks as she spoke:

“Master, why are you so hasty today…?”

‘You said, you agreed to cooperate with the Shadowscale Gang?’

‘It seems the s*ave hasn’t yet recognized her place. Otherwise, how could she be so presumptuous as to make decisions over her master?’

‘Saranya, so you are just like them—filthy, vile, and conceited. Someone like you will inevitably sink to the level of your kind…’

“Um, Master, actually, Nazareth isn’t as—Aaaahhh!!!”

“Shut up! You wretch!!! You bastard!!!”

“Eugh! Ah! Master… ugh… Aaaahhh!!!”

“Scream! Scream louder!!!”

“Waaahhh—Aaaahhh!!!”

‘Yes, witnessing a filthy human suffer—that is precisely what she desires.’

‘So good… utterly exhilarating…’

“Haha~ Hahahahaha!!! Die!!!”

“It hurts so much… Master… it hurts… I’m going to die… Ah! Aaaahhh!!!”

Within the tavern’s cellar, blinding magical light flared, and Saranya’s tormented cries echoed throughout the night.