Hey guys chapter 49 only one more till fifty and we nearly have sixty votes. Remember the agreement once we reach seventy its a double release over the weekend. Hope you enjoy, leave lots of comments.

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Chapter 49

Witness Hell

Slyfer feels anger and disappointment eat away at his heart as he sits in his make shift office. Since hearing about the academy and its history he had wanted to attend it. It was the only thing that kept him motivated as they went towards the capital. Now to have heard that the academy is teaching the dragons caused the current state of the East, is a hard pill to swallow.

He swears under his breath like he has for the last hour. Trisha sitting across from him looks at him worriedly. Through their new connection she can feel the turmoil running through his heart, not knowing what to do she decided to just sit and wait it out until he has calmed down.

Remembering he liked the song she once hummed, she starts doing it and she clearly feels the calming affect it has on him. His voice stops her. “Is it worth it Trisha?”

Her cat ears stand straight eager to hear what he has to say. After a while when he does not answer she asks. “Is it worth what?”

He looks at her his eyes pools of anger and sadness mixed together. “Are these people worth saving? The more I hear experience and see. The more I feel like everything is worthless and I would be better off just leaving them to their fates.”

For a second Trisha feels a sense of alarm at his words. “It is worth it Slyfer, Venon must be the same age as us and it is not her fault that she was taught incorrectly.”

Slyfer snorts. “So? The people older than her know the truth yet they allow it. The Dark and High elves have not even taught their young correctly. Are these people that so easily abandoned the dragons, forsook them and now even turned the history into nothing but lies worth saving? What is the point of saving imbeciles, cowards and those that have turned their backs on us? What is the point?” The last part he said in barely a whisper.

Trisha can feel Slyfer’s resentment and hate grow towards the other races as he speaks. She can not only feel his anger, but the anger of those inside him as well. He would not be able to say those words; if they did not feel the same after all he made the promise with them.

Trisha gets up and goes to sit next to him and places her arm around his shoulders. “Would it be fair to abandon everyone because of the actions of their leaders? Is it fair towards the children who will be born into slavery or worse? I don’t know why or how, but you have already become hope and a beacon of light for the Dark Elves, Great Sun believed in you, Jade believes in you and my people and I believe in you. I cant speak for the Dark Elves, but a light that was not there before seems to have returned to their eyes. You gave them back their pride.”

Slyfer takes a deep breath in an attempt to lift his heavy heart. It works somewhat, but its more due to Trisha’s presence than anything else. He looks at her and the meaning in his gaze makes her heart flutter. Cupping her cheek he leans towards her before saying. “Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?”

She does not get a chance to answer before their lips meet. The kiss is long and deep, filled with meaning. Slyfer’s hands just start to wonder to curves he can’t get enough of when a herald calls from outside.

“My Lord, the Queen of the High elves wishes to see you.” After a brief moment, Slyfer grunts in frustration and breaks the kiss before giving permission for the Queen to enter.

When she does Trisha is sitting a respectable distance away from Slyfer. He looks the Queen up and down a bit irritated and curious to find out what she has to say.

The Queen walks forward and comes to a halt. “I have thought about what you said….” Her voice breaks a little. “… if I could I would apologize for my actions and for abandoning the dragons, but I fear apologies are useless now. I also do not know why it matters to you, however since it has come to this please accept my heartfelt apology, I was wrong and will endeavor to keep to the oath I made that day. As a sign of my good-will I will give you three of our strongest mages to serve you-“

Slyfer holds up his hand. “I do not need guards, I need support. You heard what is going on in the capitol the people are lied to. Even the academy has fallen under Chronos’ control.” An idea starts to form in Slyfer’s head as he speaks the words, he nearly smiles but keeps it hidden.

“I will give you my support if it benefits my people other than that I will not promise you anything. I have made my peace and given you my apology-“

Slyfer once again cuts her off. “Fine we can enter an alliance and I will take the three guards. Can you assure me that they will do everything I ask of them?” her eyes narrow, for Slyfer to change his attitude so quickly is a surprise and has instantly put the wise women on the alert.

“Yes they will follow your orders as long as it is within their power and not against my people.” Slyfer stands up.

“Then it is settled, however I want to exchange one of the mages for someone else.”

The Queen frowns before asking. “Who?”

Slyfer miles back innocently. “I would like Elyna to serve as a one of my guards, I know and trust her.”

The Queen balls her fists. Elyna is a daughter of a great house and her archery is in within the top three of her people. “Fine… Will that be all?”

Slyfer nods. “That is all for now, however we will reach the capital soon I suggest you catch up so that the two armies arrive together in case there is going to be trouble.”

The Queen laughs. “I have already sent word, you are a few thousand years too early to help me with strategy.”

“Fair enough, then I bid you farewell.” It’s the first time for SLyfer to treat her cordially and it somehow makes the Queen feel better about having to give away three of her best people. The feeling somewhat dampens when she sees Slyfer’s clenched jaw.

-He may have accepted my apology, but his dislike towards me is as plain as day. Why?- She promptly greets before turning around.

Slyfers voice next to her ear makes her pause, her senses instantly goes on the alert! She starts to gather magic as Slyfers arms lock on hers. Trisha lets out a startled shout at Slyfer’s actions. He whispers in the Queens ears. “Let me show you the repercussions of your actions, you come here still acting prideful! Let me show you what you abandoned.”

The Queen screams, but sensing the magic around her she knows it won’t reach anyone. Her mind is suddenly attacked out of nowhere. She tries to break out of Slyfer’s arms using her strength alone, but she barely moves Slyfer. “Boy you will die for this insolence!” Her shout turns into a scream as waves of mental power crashes against hers. In her four thousand years she had fought many such battles, but this is ridiculous. –How can one so young be this strong!-

Slyfer clenches his teeth and opens up every gate within his mind, it feels like his soul is about to be torn apart and he screams in pain as hundreds of dragons rush through his consciousness and into hers. In his pain he squeezes harder. “Now Queen witness hell!”

The dragons bombard her defenses sweeping it away like a pebble lost in a tide. She loses control of her body and limbs as the dragons take over every part of her. Then it starts… She finds herself on a battlefield screams of the dying assaulting her ears. Bodies and limbs are everywhere she looks, although she can’t see far due to the nearly black rain falling from above and the dark red tinge that covers it all as if the sun itself is covered in blood. It does not take her long to realize the bodies are mostly wood elves. She takes a step back and stumbles over a limb. The Queen falls on her butt and the impact makes a sickening squelch sound. Still not understanding why she is suddenly wet all over she lifts her hands to see they are covered in crimson, not only that her arms her legs everything is covered in the same sickening color.

A moan to her left draws her attention. A young wood elf cut in halve stares at her with unblinking eyes. The wood elf tries to say something, but no sound escapes her. The Queen starting to panic crawls toward the Wood elf. “Hang on, you can make it just hang on!” The eyes never leave her and the lips move again. The Queen leans closer to hear the last words of a dying person.

“Where were you?”

She jumps back as if physically hit. She intends to run, but a hand grabs her ankle! The groans and moans turn into a chorus all asking the same thing. “Where were you?”

She screams as dead bodies cover her, pulling and dragging her into the heaps of dead. Bloody and damaged hands grope a pull from all sides. It sickens her and drives her crazy. In her panic she tries to use magic, but nothing happens. The blood all around starts to rise and she soon finds herself neck deep in the disgusting liquid. She screams for help but her screams only mingles with the rest. The blood reaches her ears and she turns her face up to keep her nose out of it….

“Where were you?”

-The rain is not rain, but blood!- The sky is covered by it causing the red tinge. Feathers and scales rain down with it as dragons and griffins tare each other apart in the sky dragons roar and griffins shriek ripping, clawing and biting at each other, now and then the storm of blood and gore is ripped open with flashes of magic! The sky suddenly lights up as a huge white dragon falls through the multitude its size squashing everything and anything underneath it. The dragon lets out a loud roar and a light brighter than the sun lights up searing and burning the Queens eyes!

“Where were you?”

Slyfer’s voice booms in her mind. “This is what you abandoned my people to! Three guards! You want to give me three guards… fuck you! You owe us your soul, your body, your very being! I have grown tired of playing nice with you ants. You deserve death all of you.”

“Where were you?”

The blood finally reaches her nose and her struggling doubles. Blood rushes into her lungs making her choke on it. Blind and drowning in blood the Queen starts to break down as the voices increase. “I am so sorry, so sorry. Please forgive me please! I am so sorry!”

“Where were you?”

The Scene starts to turn dark as Slyfer’s consciousness does. He had watched her give her “apology”. He wanted to explode right there and then, but then he realized, -the Queen has no idea what her actions actually led to- He then suggested something to the dragons who objected.

-Boy, if we all go through your consciousness at once you might die. Its like pushing a log through a hole as big as a needles tip!-

Slyfer’s reply was simple. –Weather you act or not I don’t care, I am going to and if she beats me, then it’s done. I have been too complacent and I am tired of it, act! I die by her hands or I barely survive by yours.-

Blood starts to trickle out of Slyfer’s nose and ears. Trisha watches as he curls up into a ball on the ground. She screams for help, but the magic he placed is still in effect. His mind feels like it’s about to explode!

The dragons start to rush back as quickly as possible. They slam the doors shut, hoping and praying they did not take too long.

Slyfer feels the pain fade along with his consciousness, the last thing he sees in his mind before fading into nothing, I the Queen curled up tightly repeating the same word. “Sorry.”

Trisha jumps up and rushes out screaming for help. She can feel Slyfer’s contiousness fading. She nearly bumps into Fira and grabs her by the shoulders. “get the healers quickly something bad has happened!”

Fir does not wait and instantly acts shouting for the guards to bring Nirn as quickly as possible. She shouts in frustration at Slyfer and the Queen’s guards, who in their panic wants to attack one another. “Stop you fools, now is not the time we need to find out what happened first.”

Its not long before the healers arrive. Nirn swears when she sees the state Slyfer is in. She shouts for space and rushes over to him. The High Elves give her a look of dissatisfaction for not checking the Queen first, but she ignores them. She could tell with one glance that the Queen is already conscious.

Everyone is chased out as soon as more healers arrive. Nirn works tirelessly, but to her it seems like Slyfer’s condition is only getting worse by the second. She sends for Trisha and as soon as she sees her, she grabs the girl by her shoulders. “What happened here, tell be every detail you know!”

Trisha looks over at SLyfer in a daze, but snaps out of it when the old women screams at her. “I, I don’t really know. They were talking and Slyfer suddenly appeared next to her. I felt… I felt his mind suddenly explode and rush into hers. They were together for at most three seconds, before both of them collapsed. I, I…I couldn’t do anything! What if he dies he can’t die?”

Nirn pats the Trisha on her shoulder, don’t worry if there is anything I know, it’s that this boy won’t die so easily.” Nirn instruct some of the other healers to give Trisha something so that she can calm down. Trisha wants to refuse, but Nirn has a way of making you drink medicine even though you don’t want to.

In all this time Fira had simply sat one side and watched in silence. Her brow is furrowed, but what she is thinking no-one could tell. She had felt Slyfer now has a connection to Trisha as well, and she had come here to find out why and how, but in her heart she already knew. It made her angry, so, so angry she wanted to beat them both to death she wanted to… and now Slyfer is dying right in front of her eyes and she can do nothing about it. Even their connection is growing fainter, making her feel empty alone like a part of her is being slowly cut away.

Nirn steps back and folds her arms. The hustle and bustle in the room also stops. Fira moves her eyes from Slyfer for the first time since she came in. Her voice is a whisper when she asks, “Why did you stop? Don’t you dare stop, he needs to live, I still need to.. Don’t you dare stop! Heal him!” She gets up her hair turning red on its own.

Nirn gives her a hopeless look. “I have healed everything physically, but I am afraid I can’t heal the soul girl, I don’t know what happened, but it seems like his soul is…I don’t know.”

Trisha walks over to Fira as tears starts to run down her cheeks, she gives Fira a hug. At first Fira wants to push her away, but it is so spontaneous she can’t help but hug Trisha back. Fira wants to cry as well, but barely keeps herself in check. Her mind is screaming at her and yet she feels numb and is unable to assess it clearly.

Aldowin and Vanya arrive and get ushered in. The blade master goes to his knees next to the bed. “I heard it was bad, but this…. Stupid boy! What did you do to yourself, are you crazy, you want to kill me with worry again and what if Alric finds out he already said he is going to turn me into a toothpick…” Aldowin continues to drone on and on as he walks up and down. “You know you two are connected so he can sense everything that is happening to you…”

Aldowin’s voice had long ago turned into a drone in Fira’s ears, she simply stares at Slyfer until something that Aldowin says catches her attention.

“You know you two are connected so he can sense everything that is happening to you…” She mumbles the words and then it dawns on her. She quickly turns to Trisha grabbing her shoulders. “Can you still sense him?”

Trisha looks at her confused and nods. Fira smiles, hope taking over her being. “I have an idea that may help us figure out what is wrong.”

Trisha looks at her and then clenches her fists. “Tell me what to.”

Aldowin watches the two closely as they head to the bed and sit on it in a meditative position on either side of him. They look at each other and give a quick nod. Closing their eyes Fira says. “Just follow my lead.”

Slyfer finds himself in a strange place. To him it looks like a room that stretches on into infinity. One side is darker than night the other, pure white without a blemish. The darkness and Light meet in the middle. He squints his eyes since the line between the darkness and light seems blurred and ever changing. Like the two is contesting against each other for dominance and more space.

He follows the line only to notice that he is standing perfectly between the two. “What is this..”

No answer. He turns intending to walk towards the light, but the line moves with him making him unable to get out of the darkness. Confused and wary he tries to go towards the darkness, but the same thing happens. –Is the line between light and darkness coming from me?-

A sudden voice or voices makes him nearly jump out of his skin. “So you have finally found this place, it is funny that you would come here at a time like this.” The voice is female and male at the same time, soft and gentle yet hard and rough. He looks around, but does not see anything.

-As if I don’t have enough voices in my head already.- “Who are you? Is this another “we are you” thing, I warn you I have not had a very good experience from the last strange voice.”

The voices laugh before answering, “You have no time to wonder about that, your soul is busy falling apart, you were really stupid.”

Slyfer snorts he has no comeback on that, it was indeed foolhardy. He looks up subconsciously expecting the sky, but all that comes to view is the divide. He sighs feeling numb. “Am I dying?”

“Yes.” Is the only flat and straightforward reply he gets.

He snorts. “What a way to sugar coat it.”

“The term sugar coat is not known by us… we are neither evil nor good, we just are.” Slyfer raises his eyebrow and looks at the light and darkness on either side of him.

The voices apparently see his action and cant help but comment. “You doubt us?”

Slyfer sits down, unable to do anything else. “Well yes one is dark and the other light.”

They snort. “When you wield a sword and decide to cut down an innocent is it the swords’ fault or does it belong to the wielder of the sword?”

Slyfer falls quiet the answer being obvious. “But what about the other one that lives inside me, he is pure evil.”

They fall quiet and Slyfer can feel them somehow sifting through his memories. “The being you speak of was not always that way, nor is the lady of light correct in her actions. Is it possible to perceive shadows without the sun’s light and without the shadows how will you know that there is light one cannot exist without the other.”

Slyfer frowns. “So what are you then, what is this place and why am I here.”

“We just are, this place just is and we do not know why you are here, since you came here yourself….”

Slyfer grunts in frustration. “That makes no sense at all.”

“Maybe, but the fact is you are still here.”

He has to give them that one. He starts thinking back on his life and what he accomplished, -I barely accomplished anything, at least I got to touch breasts.- He smiles at the thought, -breasts such wonderful things they make the best pillows in the world… among other things. It seems all this will come to an end now.- He feels sad at the thought.

“Do not despair yet, two who love you may still be able to save you.” Slyfer looks up at well… nothing.

-Two who love me? Could it be…-

Trisha follows Fira closely in her mind. They are in a place filled with different colored…. What seems to be clouds. It did not take long for her to realise what Fira had that they are all emotions. However the color is fading and cracks seems to be everywhere and spreading at a frightening pace.

“What are we doing here?” Fira does not answer and simply continues. “Fira, what…”

“I don’t know okay! I am grabbing at straws here I just want to do something, try anything. SLyfer cant, he cant just die like this. I still need to punish him for choosing you over me, I still need to… I don’t even know anymore!”

Trisha rushes forward. “Choose me over you? He never did such a thing. You can feel his emotions the same way I can can’t you? He cares for you a lot, how can you not sense it?”

Fira pushes Trisha away, “yeah sure he cares for me a lot, so much he went and slept with you! He rejected me ended things with me and took you instead.”

“Hahaha” Fira looks at Trisha as if she is crazy for laughing. Her surprise turs to anger.

“Are you mocking me?”

Trisha shakes her head. “no, I just think you are stupid. He left you because he cares for you. Don’t you see it cant you feel it every time he looks at you. It bothers me so much yet when I went to him I knew I would not… have him to myself forever. When we went hunting that time, I went expecting to show him I love you more than you ever possibly could. The truth is it does not matter how much I love or care for him, I cant control how he feels, I can either accept or abandon him because of ow he feels. Maybe it was easier for me to accept since High elves don’t believe in marriage, maybe its because I already made the promise to always follow him. The truth is I think you are stronger than me, maybe not physically, but your heart. I don’t know if I can continue without him, yet you chose to put your people first.”

Fira snorts, “do you think I wanted to! I hate it, I hate not being able to be close to him, I hate that he does not trust me. I hate that my father chose me and I hate the fact that my brother is so useless.”

Trisha watches as Fira hugs herself she steps forward and hugs Fira close as Fira begins to cry. “I know all that and that is why I am saying you are stronger than me… If it is you I am willing to share… to a degree, I kissed him first after all.”

Fira stops her crying and looks at Trisha in surprise. “Share him? Hmpf I wont lose to you, I will make him mine!” they stare at each other before both start to laugh and soon the seriousness of the situation invades the moment again. They step back and say at the same time.

“We first have to save the idiot.”

Slyfer sneezes. –Someone must be talking about me.- He has no idea how long he has been just sitting here since there is no way to tell the time. “So, how long before I die and what will happen?”

“We don’t know.”

He sighs. “How long have I been in here, whatever this place is?”

“We don’t know.”

He runs his hand through his hair. “What do you know?”

“We know little more than you know.”

He gets up, “well that helps a lot, thank you for nothing.”

“No problem.” He grinds his teeth wishing he could hit whatever it is in the face.

On the outside a strange thing is happening. Aldowin swears as he forces the others back. Fira and Trisha are pulsing in rhythm with Slyfer. Trisha is covered in light, while Fira is covered in darkness. The pulsing meets and mingles over Slyfer and slowly but surely it seems like color is returning to his ashen face.

It had happened unexpectedly. Trisha and Fira were still blindy rushing through the emotions when they saw the darkness and light. They had stopped instantly and stared at it. As in a daze the two had headed in separate directions. Trisha toward the light and FIra the dark. What happened they could not explain but it was like voices were calling them, beckoning for them like a siren’s song.

When they did enter it was like pure ecstasy filed them up Both let out a moan as the aura’s invaded and started to draw from them. They could feel everything that is Slyfer and each other. The ecstacy soon turned painful as it started drawing from them. In the state they were in they could not see, but the cracks started to heal, and the colors that faded started to strengthen as their power or souls continued to be drawn out. The wolves and tigers howled and roars at the affront, the pain, even from them power was being drawn.

Slyfer starts to panic as he watches his hand fade as he is sure the rest of him must be. “SO this is the end, If only I could have touched them one more time, those soft and bouncy-“

His words stop when he completely disappears from the strange realm and is pulled towards something else. He hears two familiar voices that makes his heart quicken with hope, he had acted composed, but feared gripped him. He did not want to die. They call again and SLyfer’s musters his strength willing himself to go towards them with all of his strength!

With a flash of light he appears and sees Fira dark as the night yet beautiful in her devilish way, next to her is Trisha, bright like an angel, she looks serene and innocent. He moves towards them. “Am I dead, is this the afterlife?” He soon reaches them, and their smiles fade only to be replaced with anger…”huh, Wait? I want to go back!’ they slowly makes their way forward…

Both slap him as hard as they can! “That’s for making us worry!” they grab and kiss him on the cheeks they slapped. “This is for coming back.”

Aldowin watches as the pulsing stops and both collapse with sweat beading their brow. Nirn steps forward and quickly checks their vitals and then Slyfer’s. “What just happened?” her question is pointed at no one in particular, but Aldowin answers.

“I have no Idea.” Both of them stare at the trio.

Luna burst between the two and takes in the scene with a flushed face caused by her running. “What is this, cuddling without Luna, so unfair?”

Nirn still wants to object and explain the situation, but before she can Luna is on the bed. She worms her way in with the others and her face beams with a satisfied smile.

“I think it is better that we let them rest now.” Says Nirn feeling a bit embarrassed with the whole situation. She had honestly thought Slyfer was a goner and now the bastard is cuddling with three girls.

Vanya also looks at the scene a bit stupefied and worried. Aldowin takes her arm and they also exit the tent.

They run into the Queen, who is pail as a ghost. “Where is Slyfer I must see him.” Aldowin watches her closely. The Queen suddenly looks around her as if she heard something strange.

Aldowin frowns, “are you alright?”

It is as if she doesn’t hear him. Her body shakes in fear or disgust, Aldowin can’t quite be sure. She suddenly focuses again. “Where is Slyfer we need to talk.”

Aldowin shakes his head. “He nearly died, I don’t know what happened, but if you hurt him-“

She starts to laugh, “me hurt him, what is he Aldowin. Where did he come from. We need…”

Aldowin holds up his hands. “You need to calm down first. When he wakes up we can have a long talk about what happened.”

The Queen looks at him doubtfully. He can see her mind work and a bit of her composure returns. “What he showed me, what I did what we all abandoned, I cant, we… I don’t know what to do… Aldowin I am so sorry for ridiculing you for wanting to help them. I am so sorry, I was wrong. So sorry.”

Aldowin steps forward and looks at the Queen's guards. “I will have a tent prepared for her, don’t be alarmed she just needs rest.”

At first they don’t want to follow his orders, why would they he is no longer a part of the people, however, one look at their Queen and they can’t help , but admit she is in a sorry state. They take her gently and start coaxing the Queen toward the exit, saying things like she needs rest and everything is fine. To the guards it is an eye opener; they have never had to do anything like this for the strong and infallible Queen.

The Queen stops and turns to Aldowin. “Aldowin, do you know if the boy has always had the visions?”

Aldowin looks at her confused. “What visions?”

“The visions of hell…”