Chapter 19: A Bit of History – Part 1
For those who want a bit more
(16 Years Ago)
The sun had just set on the village of Siocháin. The darkness had fallen quickly and completely this night, as the clouds of a dark and terrible storm rolled over the village.
The village was an orderly and clean place, comprised of neat rows of similarly shaped and sized huts. Normally it was a bustling hub of activity, but today it was quiet and still. The pathways and common areas should have been filled with people chatting and sharing the happenings of the day. However, on this day, the communal fire pits and cooking hot plates lay cold and unused. There was no sign of life.
Lightning flashed, striking a thatched hut near the center of the village. The roof of the hut burst into flames that popped and crackled, as the flames spread quickly, too quickly, even with the wind fanning and feeding them.
The flames moved with a life and purpose of their own, rising high and illuminating the village with a fiery orange glow.
A violent explosion of thunder crashed immediately behind the lightning flash, delivering a blast of force that shattered windows and sent loose items rolling.
The flames of the fire reached the edge of the hut, flared stronger, split and jumped to the next hut. Two huts were now burning fiercely, and still there was no movement, or sign of life, in the village.
“That was a close one!” said a voice, in the dark branch of a nearby tree. The tree was the hiding place for two very tired and weary Aelfin. The two Aelfs had been searching for an enemy of their people, a criminal responsible for stealing items of unimaginable value to the Aelfin. The long search had led them to this small village.
“Yes, it’s no wonder the villagers left, when they saw the storm coming,” replied the second Aelf, in a fatigued tone. “You don’t have to be an Aelf to know this lightning isn’t natural.”
The Aelfin trackers had encountered the people of the village some miles away. The people were fleeing, running for their lives from the storm they’d seen approaching their village from the south.
The villagers had told the two Aelfs that a faceless man in dark robes, accompanied by a heavily pregnant woman, had arrived at the village ahead of the storm. The man had been fierce and angry, and had frightened the villagers. He had told the villagers a battle was to be fought, and had convinced them to leave if they wanted to live.
The description the villagers gave of the faceless man in the dark robes, matched one of the criminals the Aelf trackers were looking for. Not wanting him to get away, the Aelf trackers had hurried to the village and had snuck in unnoticed, as dusk had settled.
“How long do you think before that fire reaches the hut?” asked the first Aelf.
“I would guess a couple of hours, if the rain picks up a bit,” replied the second Aelf.
As if on cue, the rain suddenly poured stronger and the wind fanning the flames died down to nothing.
“Cricket, was that you? Did you do that?” asked the first Aelf, worriedly.
“No, Maple, it wasn’t me. I mean, I could have, but I don’t want to let him know we’re here.”
The sound of a woman screaming shredded the stillness.
“Come on, it’s time,” declared Maple.
The two Aelf stretched on the branch of the tree, and flexed their shoulders. Delicate, yet sturdy wings flicked out, flapping strongly.
The wings were a very special part of the Aelfin people. An attribute the Aelfin proudly claimed made them superior to flightless elves. The name Aelfin, loosely translated, meant ‘angels of the earth’.
Maple and Cricket launched themselves from the tree and flew silently towards the point of the scream. Lightning blasted into a hut near the scream, causing the thatch to burst violently into flames. The resulting thunderous shock wave, blasted the two flying Aelfs sideways, and downwards into the side of a neighboring hut. They lay still where they had crashed, oblivious to the pouring rain, and rapidly spreading fire.
The flames on the now fiercely burning hut scuttled across the thatch, as if following some invisible instruction. Two sections of the flames split from the main fire, jumping to new huts, one in the direction of the scream, and the other onto the hut where the two unconscious Aelfin lay.
⚔
Lightning exploded again, and yet another hut burst into flame. Nearly half the huts in the village were now blazing merrily, despite the heavy rain and total lack of wind.
A black robed figure emerged from the burning hut that was the source of the scream. In his arms, he carried two tightly wrapped newborn babies, one carefully balanced in the crook of each arm. Glancing around, he took in the fiery destruction raging about the village.
A snarl escaped from the figure, when he saw the sprawled, winged bodies lying against the wall of a nearby hut. “You two! You choose a very poor time to catch up.”
The robed man adjusted his grip on the babies. One of them responded by giving a very healthy wail. Looking down at the baby’s face, a sad smile crossed his dark, scarred face. “Yes, you have every right to cry,” he whispered.
The robed figure made cooing noises to the wailing baby, took one more look at the pair of fallen Aelfin, and then vanished.
⚔
The two unconscious Aelfin lay still against the wall of the hut. Above them, the fire crept steadily and hungrily towards them, as if stalking prey.
The robed man reappeared in the same spot that he had vacated only moments before, but minus the babies. He scanned around the village, quickly assessing the situation.
The robed man’s name was Nudge. Nudge knew Maple and Cricket were hunting him, and he felt at least partly responsible for them. While it is true the Aelfin considered Nudge to be a criminal, he had no bad feelings towards the Aelfin, and he certainly didn’t want these two to be killed.
The flames on the hut that Nudge, and the babies, had emerged from, flickered in anticipation, and made ready to leap onto his back.
“Not this time,” Nudge said, determinedly. In a dramatic gesture, Nudge flung one hand towards the fire that was about to consume the pair of unconscious Aelfin, his other hand reached for the flames making ready to jump at him.
Nudge had an impulsive tendency towards quick action, and was a bit of a show off. He liked to be dramatic and impressive. It often helped in his line of work if people were somewhat in awe of him.
On the ground, Cricket groaned and rolled over. His eyes opened, focusing slowly on the man in the dark robes.
Nudge stood with his legs and hands spread, as if commanding the flames to come to him. In the fiery glow from the burning huts, Cricket could see the man was totally dry, despite the pouring rain.
As Nudge glanced at the fallen Aelfin, the opening in his hood became visible to the now conscious Aelf. A grey mist swirled within the hood, concealing the owner’s facial features.
The eyes of the now fully conscious Cricket narrowed, an angry scowl crossing his angular face. “You!” he shouted.
The flames on both huts flared brightly, flashing eagerly across the gap towards Nudge, and the two Aelfin.
Nudge grinned within the mist of his hood. He was pleased Cricket had regained consciousness in time to see this. His hands, dark and scarred, came together in a clap, that was almost as loud as the thunder. The flames winked out of existence mid-jump, as did all the other fires on all the other huts.
Pain creased Cricket’s face, and he slumped back against the wall, unconscious once more.
A distinctly angry and inhuman scream rent the air.
Nudge scanned the village with a satisfied smile. The owner of the scream hadn’t expected his ‘Chasing Fire’ to be snuffed out like that. It would have caused him a great amount of pain, to have so powerful a spell, be broken so rudely.
Gathering his dark robes around him, Nudge knelt next to the unconscious Aelfs. Despite his little misunderstanding with the Aelf king, he couldn’t leave the two Aelfs helplessly lying around, whi
le the enemy was about.
He leaned forward to gather them into his arms, but before he got close to touching them, he vanished.
⚔
Pitch black, total darkness.
A soft, ethereal female voice broke the silence in the darkness. “Where are they?”
“Put me back, I wasn’t finished there,” Nudge replied, angrily. He hated it when The She summoned him in this way. It showed no respect at all.
“First things first, where are they?” the female voice asked, more firmly. “You were supposed to bring them to me”.
“They’re safe, now put me back. There were Aelfin back there and we both know that shouldn’t be possible.”
“Really? Aelfin? Are you sure?” the voice of The She sounded half concerned, half amused.
“I’m positive. And not just any Aelfin. These two are the king’s sons, and they’re in trouble.”
“Well, the Aelfin are not short of being able to help themselves,” The She said, a bit huffily.
“The enemy was throwing around that extra powerful lightning, and using the Chasing Fire,” Nudge replied. “Put me back now, they need my help!”
“My, my, you really have annoyed him this time, haven’t you?” The She said, impressed. “First, tell me what you’ve done with them?”
“Don’t worry, I put them somewhere safe. Somewhere even you won’t be able to find them. You said things would work best if no-one meddled with them. I figured that included you.”
“You figure too much. Bring them to me now; they will need my protection,” The She demanded.
“No!” Nudge replied. “I don’t trust you entirely either. If you hadn’t trusted the Aelfin in the first place, we wouldn’t be in this mess now. This way, there can be no interference, and that’s how it’s supposed to work.”
“Hmmmm,” The She mused. “Maybe, just maybe, you are right in this. The only problem I have, is that you know where they are. What’s to stop you meddling?”
“You’ll just have to trust me,” Nudge said, feeling he now had the advantage in the matter.
“Oh I think not.” A white light suddenly glowed in the darkness, and a delicate female hand appeared out of the center of the light. Before the startled Nudge could react, the hand touched him gently on the forehead. “There, that should do it.” The hand pulled back, the light faded, and total darkness returned.
“What have you done?” Nudge demanded.
“Evened things up a bit. I don’t know where they are, and now neither do you,” The She replied, smugly.
“What!” Nudge exclaimed.
“Go on. Try to think about where you put them. Go on,” The She really did sound quite pleased with herself.
“What have you done to me?” Nudge asked, worriedly. “I can think about them as a concept, but I can’t remember anything else about them. My mind is a blank.”
“I could have used a simple block, but the enemy is out there, and he is definitely angry with you. If he got his hands on you, he wouldn’t be as gentle as I am. He would rip the information out of you, and leave you drooling like a baby sucking an orange. I have permanently wiped any recent knowledge of them from your memory.”
Nudge shuddered. “They are truly on their own, then?”
“They are for now. Help will come to them, as prophesied, as will hardships and enemies,” The She replied, with certainty.
“And what of the Aelfin?” Nudge asked. He knew that if The She desired it, time had no meaning in this place. He still worried, though. The She’s grasp of time was a little flakey. If he were to save the two Aelfin from a fiery death, The She would have to put him back at the exact point in time, from where She had taken him.
“Yes, what indeed? Whatever are they up to? They withdrew hundreds of years ago, and have kept themselves totally removed from events. Their king was so against his people getting involved.”
“I should at least go and make sure they’re safe,” Nudge said.
“After your last encounter with the Aelfin, do you really think it wise? Hasn’t the Aelf king declared you the number one enemy of the Aelfin?” The She chided.
“We both know that was necessary. If I hadn’t acted, you would have had to find another way. I don’t like taking the blame, but there was no other choice, at the time.”
“Yes, well, off you go, then. It wouldn’t do for the king’s sons to fall into the enemy’s hands, at this point in events. Just one more thing…,” Again, the white light glowed brightly in the darkness, and again the delicate female hand emerged to touch Nudge on the forehead. “Forget them completely, and forget this meeting.”
⚔
Nudge shook his head, as some vague thoughts slipped from his grasp, like sand through open fingers. Try as he might, he couldn’t remember what he had just been doing. Glancing around he saw the two unconscious Aelfs slumped against a burning hut. An enraged scream pierced the night air, jolting him back into the moment. The Demon Lord was here, and he sounded very put out. He needed to get the Aelfin away from here.
The ground shook, as something huge landed on a nearby hut. The hut exploded into kindle, blasting Nudge through the air, to fall next to the unconscious Aelfin.
A monstrous figure uncoiled from the debris of the shatter remains of the hut.
This wasn’t the first time Nudge had battled the Demon Lord, and he knew it probably wouldn’t be the last. He also knew he didn’t need to stay for a fight. While the details were fuzzy, he knew he had done whatever it was he needed to do here. He could and should, just leave.
Nudge’s face contorted with hatred, as he stared into the fearsome face of his old enemy. “You ugly, pig faced freak,” he spat, venomously. Rolling over to the unconscious Aelfs, he threw an arm around each of them, and triggered his travel trick. All three vanished with a quiet whuff.
⚔
As far as Demons went, Bajii was a large one, perhaps the largest. He was red scaled, and had a pig like tusked face, with a human torso and goat’s legs. He stood as tall as a house, and was as angry as a Demon can get.
The Demon Lord, Bajii, stretched out of the wreckage of the hut, and bellowed in unearthly rage. He had chased Nudge, and the mother to be, for many weeks. Yet, somehow, Nudge had kept one step ahead of him. Bajii scoured the remains of the village, seeking signs of life. They had been here; he could smell them.
Bajii snorted in disappointment, there was no life left here. Raising his arms, he made an angry gesture. In response, Demon fire sprayed in all directions, igniting every hut with hissing and spitting flames.
⚔
Nudge dropped the pair of unconscious Aelfin in some bushes, near the outskirts of the ancestral home of the Aelfin people, Aelfinholme. They would wake up with sore heads, which they would no doubt blame on him, and add to his list of crimes.
Nudge sighed. Sadly, Maple and Cricket would never know he had saved their lives. He had pulled them out of there just in time. The Demon Lord had arrived in person, something he almost never did. Bajii normally threw things from a distance, or forced one of his underlings to do the dangerous work.
Now that the Demon Lord was out and about, Nudge couldn’t just leave Bajii free to roam this world. He had a responsibility to send the Demon back to his own realm. Reminding himself that this was how he served The Purpose, he prepared himself mentally, and made the jump back to the village.
⚔
The Demon Lord turned and grunted, as a blast of frozen air smacked into his backside with the force of a lightning bolt. Sprawling forward on hands and hooves, Bajii howled with rage. Another blast smashed into the Demon Lord’s rear, knocking him onto his stomach.
This really was too much for Bajii to take. He was, after all, the foremost Demon of the Second Circle. He was a king amongst Demons, and he was the most feared being in his realm.
Waves of blistering heat rolled out from the Demon Lord, as he staggered back to his hoofed legs. The remaining huts, until now spared damage from the Cha
sing Fire, exploded outward in a fire flash of blinding strength. Standing shakily, Bajii searched the now completely flattened village for some sign of his attacker.
A blast of blue, frozen air streaked downwards, striking the Demon Lord on the top of the head, eliciting another bellow of rage. The force of the blow smashed the Demon Lord into the soaked ground, burying his goat legs up to the knees.
Nudge appeared, as if from nowhere, about twenty yards from the Demon Lord. His disgust and hatred of the enormous and hideous Demon surged through him, enflaming his lifelong ambition to destroy the beast, who had been pillaging his realm for decades.
Bajii struggled against the constraining earth, striving to get his hairy legs out of the mud.
Striding forward, his robes flaring, Nudge readied himself for the killing blow. “Well …,” he stared his farewell speech.
A purple imp, a sort of minor Demon, hopped up behind Nudge, smacking him in the back of the head with a huge bone.
Nudge fell forward lifelessly, splatting into the soggy ground. The rain that had been falling in a steady torrential downpour, suddenly stopped.
The purple imp danced a little jig. “Got him for ya boss!” he squealed. “Got him, real good!”
Bajii let out a triumphant roar, followed by a deep chuckle. Pulling his legs painfully out of the mud, he strode forward quickly to grab the imp. Without any hesitation, the Demon Lord lifted the imp to his mouth, and bit its head off.
While chewing contemplatively on the imp’s head, the Demon Lord sized up Nudge, who was lying face down on the soggy ground. A huge smile spread across his ugly pig face. Nudge was still breathing. The imp hadn’t killed him.
The imp still had to die, though. If the imp had told any of the other major Demons what had happened, Bajii would have to spend the rest of his time fighting his own kind, to prove his continued strength.
Nudge had hurt the Demon Lord badly, and Bajii had expended a vast amount of energy in crossing into this realm, to chase Nudge and the woman across the countryside. It would be a few years before he would be able to build up enough strength to return to this realm again.
The woman was dead. Bajii could sense her body in the remains of one of the huts. She had given birth, but the offspring were no longer here. He had failed to capture the prize that would ensure his victory in the coming confrontation, but as luck would have it, the solution to that particular problem lay at hand. The Demon Lord scooped up Nudge in one huge hand, walked to the middle of the now flattened and burned out village, and vanished.
⚔
Silence hung over the destroyed village. Nothing moved. There wasn’t even a hint of a breeze.
A faint light suddenly glowed, where Nudge had lain. The light pulsed gently and moved about the burned-out village, as if looking for something. The light found the spot where the Demon Lord had disappeared and stopped.
A soft female voice, with more than a hint of worry in it, said, “Oh dear, that wasn’t supposed to happen.”
The End of Part One
The Adventures of Paddy and Seamus continue in The Broken Angel
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