The Castle of NinUin

[Peace Alliance]

 Its a little long, but its worth the read. oh, and since i'm posting it like this the parographs might/might not go all funny, i donno.

The Castle of NinUin


?How could this be?? I asked myself. I?d searched the entire ruins, all the surrounding area but there was no trace of him. His body couldn?t be found.
I ran up to the main tower. It was on the west side of the city, the sun was now setting and the eerie orange light was filling the main hall.
?Sir, are there any reports from the night elves?? I asked formally
?Yes Captain, no findings? the knight responded. I hesitated, how could there possibly be no trace of the orcs? Just like the battle of NinUin, it was as if they just vanished off the face of the earth. What orders could I possibly give now? I was new to this position. Many died in the battle of L?Ifnar, not only the heroic Tuk, but my captain as well. ?Just like the battle of NinUin? I thought. There had to be a connection, it was brutally obvious.
?Prepare the troops? I said, my mind was made up.
?But Tin?Ja, what could they possibly do?? the knight said.
?We will travel to NinUin? I told him finally.

   I got message in the middle of the night. I was to prepare to leave and be ready at the gates at sunrise. This was to be my first time in combat. I was away on an ambassador?s mission when the battle of L?Ifnar took place, when I returned the city was already starting to rebuild.
   I quickly prepared everything I would need, carefully placed my bow around my shoulders and packed extra arrows. An archer like myself is trained to know how to make his own arrows quickly, but in the middle of a battle, there is no time. I was out before the sun rose, so I decided I?d make a quick trip over to Lexu?s place. She was one of my best friends; we had grown up together and knew everything about each other. When I got to the back door and did my special knock, I stepped back as usually expecting her to come running out. When more then 5 seconds went by I got a little impatient and knocked again. When I still got no answer I got a little worried, I knocked harder, this time leaving out the secret childish knock and still there was no answer. I heard scrambling inside and then all of a sudden she busted out with a bag in her hands. She looked at me and whispered ?Goodbye Hovn, I love you.? And ten ran off down the street.
?Is this some kind of game?? I shouted back to her as I jogged after. Then she lost me around the corner, by the time I got there I had no idea where she had gone. What was going on? This didn?t add up, where could she possibly be going? And what was with the ?I love you? part? She had never talked like that to me before.
   I ran down the narrow street, but I couldn?t see here anywhere.
?Now what?? I muttered. I looked around for a while longer. After I thought about it, I decided to call it a joke, and headed over to the main gates.
   The troops were already lined up, the sun was just rising and the chill in the air was hopefully not an omen. The captain was no doubt going to address us soon. Everyone was unaware of what the situation was.

   My address to the soldiers went well, I managed to lift they?re spirits and raise they?re moral. Now we march, a 3 day march until we will be at the base of the NinUin Mountain.

   I ran until I couldn?t run anymore. I ran all day until night started. When I stopped it was only to eat. I found a bushel of blueberries and some water, after that I ran until morning again and then found a small cave to wait in. My mother had told me not to stop, but everyone?s got to stop at some point. I would wait here, take a nap and get refreshed, then set out again before nightfall.
   I had no idea what was so important. The urgency in my mother?s voice was unbelievably strong. All I could do was exactly what she said to me.
?Take the bag, run to the north until you find Gwall. Give the bag to the emperor and tell him to protect you. This is the only way. You must complete this task; the fate of all elves rests upon this. Go my lovely daughter, and never look back.? I was too scared to question it. I took the bag and ran up to my room to pack, my mother came in moments later and told me there was no time to pack. I tried to tell her there was no way I could make it to Gwall without packing. But then I heard the door, it was Hovn, I knew from the knock. He was no doubt leaving with the rest of the troops, I ran for the door but my mother stopped me. ?I know how you feel about him, this will be the last time you see him. Are you sure don?t want to run out the front??
I brushed passed her, leaving without saying goodbye to him would kill me, I knew that. If I hadn?t finally told him before I left, I knew I would never make it there.
   I rested until the afternoon, but I urged myself to leave then. My mother wouldn?t make such a big deal out of this is if wasn?t important. I would have to travel as fast as possible until I got there.

   From the base of the mountain we could see the high snowy peeks rising into the clouds. Luckily for us, that was not our destination. We were to travel to the Castle of NinUin. The mightiest stronghold in the entire Elven world. Built into the side of a massive cliff, its tunnels dig deep into the mountain. Its wealth is mighty and its power greater. In a time long ago, it was threatened by the Orcs. But after the Great Battle of NinUin, the Orcs were told to have been banished. They?re race was said to be whipped out entirely. I guess we know that?s not true now.
   There was very little daylight left, so Tin?Ja decided we were going to set up camp and head up the mountain tomorrow.
   My tent was a small one, made for me and another archer. We set it up quick and went to sleep, it had been a long hike and we were all very tired. At about midnight a soldier came to our tent, he asked me to leave with him to see the captain. When we got there she had a small group of soldiers with her already.
?Welcome. Thank you for coming.? She said, she was deep in concentration.
?Something is bothering me? she said ?I?ve been to NinUin many times before, and every time there would be a runner come to great me before I was at the base. I have gathered you knights and archers to join me. We are going to travel to the castle early and check out what?s there, I want to know what I?m heading into tomorrow morning.?
I thought hard for a second, this was hard to believe. What could possibly be wrong at NinUin, it has always seemed like the safest place in the world to me. This was all very strange. I worried that maybe Lexu had been headed to NinUin. Maybe she thought she could help us by getting there before us or something. What was wrong?

My worried only grew as I came closer to the castle. Not only should a runner have come to use, but by now we should be able to see the fiery glow from the castle windows. It was foggy, yes. But nothing seemed to feel right about this. I had all of L?Ifnars troops at the base of this mountain, if something were to go wrong I would not won?t to be the cause of it. L?Ifnar is one of the stronger cities; they would be called on in any battle with the orcs.

Gwalls walls stood high in front of me. It was one of the most well protected Elven cities. It was home to the Elven emperor. The emperor is the most respected of all the elves. He is the smartest, oldest elf alive.
As I approached the gate a runner came to question me.
?Hello miss, may I ask why you are here, and furthermore why you are in such a hurry.? He said, he was trying to be very nice but he still had a job to do.
?I?m here to deliver this bag to the emperor, my mother sent me. I come from L?Ifnar? I said hastily.
?How is the re-construction? Any word about the whereabouts of the Orcs?? He seemed to be trying to make a conversation with me; I had no time for this.
?I don?t know, some troops were sent out 3 days ago? I sped up, hoping he would get the hint.
?Interesting. OK, you may continue, miss.? He finished.
?Thank you.? Is said, the gate was in sight.

   The fog was not thick. Thicker then I?ve ever known fog to be. The entire place around the castle was bitterly frightening. The castle itself was not in sight. Its height was so high that we couldn?t see the top because of the thick black clouds overhead. There no rain, but the clouds were black like a thunderstorms. I found myself wondering why I had come here. Why had I sent all these men to a place like this? What could have possibly been here? As we approached the main gate, I noticed that it was punctured. The massive wooden gates had cracks in them, big enough for a dragon to get through if such a thin existed. As I neared it I came to a startling conclusion. The clouds above us weren?t for a storm. They were the smoke from a massive fire. As I got closer, the stench of dead bodies being burned was overwhelming. I was gagging along with the rest of my group. We entered the building to find it in ruins. The ashes of many brave soldiers lay on the ground. The great Castle of NinUin had been destroyed. Even in the great battle of long ago, a massive army of Orcs could not beat the mighty fortress. Yet, somehow now, a race that shouldn?t even exist has destroyed it.
   I prepared to turn back, bring the army back to L?Ifnar and be safe from whatever it was that destroyed this great fortress. But before I could turn around and give the troops the orders, I saw something move in the shadows. It leapt from the darkness and sailed smoothly through the air. Immediately I went to investigate. My soldiers bravely followed.

   What was that object lurking in the darkness? Is it possible somebody had survived? I wondered what the captain was planning on doing, but just to be safe, I downed an arrow to my already positioned bow. There wasn?t much to target, just a shadow here and there. We were moving in slowly, Tin?Ja had drawn her sword and the rest of the knights followed her lead. If this was one of the things that did this, I don?t think I wanted to battle with it. It NinUin couldn?t deal with him, the 5 of us certainly couldn?t.

   I saw them walk up from a distance. I wasn?t sure who they were, and I didn?t know what do to. I felt compelled to see them, to watch over them. My hazy memories left me with little to go on. I decided I would go to the hall and get a better look. Once I got there I had to get closer still. I don?t know why it was so important to me. But come to think of it I don?t know why any of the stuff I?ve been doing were important. Running through the dark caves, following the fire at the end. It was all just instinct to me; I had no logical reasons to do it.
   I hopped up onto a broken pillar to try to get a better look. They were elves. But not like me, they were slower and louder. One of them interested me though. The one in charge, she was leading them over the ashes. I jumped through the shadows trying to get to the top of an archway that they would go under. They saw me, I froze. Moved once or twice to make sure I was in perfect shadow so the archers couldn?t shoot me. Logically I should have ran, its what any sensible elf would do. But something kept me there; I had to see this through.

   ?You there? I said after a long time of trying to get the courage.
?Who are you? Come out here? I said. I found the silence disturbing; I needed something to happen and quick. All of a sudden an image appeared. It was like he stepped out of nothing, the shadows had cloaked him completely. I leapt forward to attack, thrust my sword at him but before I could get to him he was gone again. I heard an arrow fly past my head from my handpicked archer; it flew into the shadows and made a loud noise as it hit the stone wall. Then all of a sudden I heard a stuttering.
?T? t-Tin?Ja?? said the voice, the creature seemed to be having a hard time saying it.
?You can?t? can?t stay here, its not safe Tin?Ja? The voice became more recognizable. I then realized what it was that compelled me to come here. It was in search of my hero, in search of my loved one, in search of Tuk.

   Gwall was a beautiful city, surrounded by mountains, large stone buildings, and large streets. I wanted to spend more time looking at what was there, but I knew I had more important things to do. I headed to the Keep in the middle of the city. The important thing was that I get there as soon as possible. Who knows what was going on with the Orcs, Judging by the way my mother was talking, they would have taken over L?Ifnar by now and be on they?re way here.
I ran down the corridor to the emperors room, the guards refused to let me through during his lunch, but I decided I was more important then that. So I headed to the kitchen and through into the emperor?s hall, he was eating there with his royal family and guards. I ran up to him as fast as I could, dodging a few guards on the way there, when I got to him I tossed him the bag, I told him it was an important message from L?Ifnar and I then I was tackled by the guards.
The blindfold was taken off my face minutes later when the emperor came to my cell in a hurry.
?You mean to tell me. I am to get all the cities in all the lands to come together? That the end of our civilization is coming? This is impossible, how could such a threat exist?? Even though he seemed unsure, it was obvious that he took such a thing seriously.
?My mother sent me here to deliver the message. She said the fate of all elves rests upon this.? I expressed as much urgency as I possibly could. ?She asks for you to protect me? I finished but the emperor seemed to be drifting off.
?Bring me the warlord, we have a lot to plan? the emperor said another.
?But sir, you can?t possibly think we?re in any danger? It?s impossible that ~? The man tried to continue but the emperor broke in.
?Have you heard from NinUin lately?? said the emperor.
?No sir, but its entirely possible that they ~? he was cut off again.
?That they have been slaughtered by a massive army of Orcs? I think so, now get me the warlord!? He was firm this time and the other man rushed off. ?Oh, and please give Miss Lexu safe accommodations?
?Thank you sir emperor? I replied as they directed me towards the door. My task was done, now all I had to do was sit back and worry about Hovn.

   I don?t have any idea how I knew her name, I don?t know how I knew she was in danger and I don?t know why that was such a bad thing to me. But I had to make sure they left right away. Something terrible was going to happen and I couldn?t let it happen to Tin?Ja.
?Please, go. I c-can?t explain? I was urging them to leave.
She approached me slowly.
?Tu~... Tuk? is that you??
?Tuk? I remember that name.? More came back to me. I remember running amongst the trees, running from something. I was scared, I needed to get somewhere, get away from? That?s when it hit me. That?s when I tall came back.
?Oh? Oh no! Please, we must leave! They?re coming, the Orcs are coming back! They know your hear, why always know! Please run, we must leave!? I sprang out from where I was and ran towards the door, urging the elves to follow, they complied and ran out the door with me.
?They?ll be here soon, I know it!?

   We started running back to the base, I looked back every once and a while. I took a glance over at the captain but she seemed to be in a strange kind of trance. As if she wasn?t fully conscious to what was going on, I still didn?t know who strange night elf was.
   We were almost out of site of the castle when I heard something. A loud roar from the castle, it was an Orc! I could see it plain as day, sitting on the top of one of the towers. He was warning the others, we wouldn?t have much time before, who knows how many Orcs, would be charging after us. I decided to end this early warning. I took one good hard shot at the monster. The arrow cut straight through his throat. The weakest part of an Orc is right under his chin.
   The group was running faster then any of us ever thought we could, when I heard the roars start again, I looked back. It was probably not a good thing to do. What I saw horrified me. Thousands of Orcs, charging like raging bulls out the gate of the castle.
   We ran until we got to the camp, but the Orcs were gaining on us quickly. What I saw at the camp must have been one of the most inspiring moments of my life. As I ran from thousands of blood hungry Orcs, what I saw in front of me was an army of hundreds lined up to fight this impossible enemy. The archers were lined up behind the knights. The battle that was about to take place would be nothing but a slaughter and everyone knew it, but they stood there to fight anyways.
   As I got closer I all of a sudden saw the archers draw they?re arrows. I heard the Evlen orders ?Set bows?  and then ?Fire!? as hundreds of arrow soared skilfully through the air many wising right past my head killing the beast who were only meters behind me. Once I got behind the line of knights I considered stopping, but one look at the army chasing me fixed me straight. The Orcs slammed straight through the first line of knights. Hundreds of specially trained heroic elves annihilated in an instant from these massive beasts.
I took a look to see where Tin?Ja and the others were, Tin?Ja was still following ?Tuk? so I made my way in that direction as well. I passed another line of knights before I caught up to them, this one fell just as quick. Tin?Ja and Tuk were heading down a small valley towards the woods, there they planned to outrun the Orcs, or at least hide from them I guess. My mission now was only for survival. I was told to fallow the captain, and so I shall.

I ran fast, faster then I ever imagined. Chasing the one I thought I?d lost for ever, how could this be possible? I saw him fall into the rubble. Yet there he was, sprinting in front of me, leading the way towards the forest. Following him was all I could think of. I knew fighting the battle would be useless; the Orcs would eat through our army in seconds. Somebody had to get home and warn the city, somebody had to call for allies to protect the city, and if to do that I would have to chase after Tuk. Then so be it.
I noticed Hovn fallowing me as I entered the forest. The forest was a nigh elves greatest friend. I watched as Tuk leapt into a tree and waited patiently for me. As I ran up to him, he jumped from that tree to another and the other to the ground. He then crawled into an almost invisible cave. Ran up and stood outside of it, making sure Hovn knew where I was going. Once confirmed I slip inside to find total darkness.
Tuk started a small fire, enough to light the small room. Hovn entered later and sat in the corner, his hand was ready on his sabre, he was here to protect me.
?Tuk what has happened? How could you be?? I couldn?t finish, I was overwhelmed with joy. Tears came out involuntarily.
?Your OK, that?s all I care about? I hugged him tight, he hugged back but not meaningfully.
?I?? he started ?I?m having problems remembering things? He said and looked at me like I was foreign.
?I remember you? Somehow, I remember your name and I feel like?? he paused, then he walked over to the entrance.
He shushed me with his finger and then backed away from the whole a little. Then in the blink of an eye, some unfortunate beast pushed himself through the whole only to have a jade sward shoved through his head. It made a quick grunting noise and then died immediately. Both I and Hovn were backed up against the back wall. Tuk dragged the beast outside and hid it. He then returned and put out the fire.
?Get some rest, we have to travel tomorrow?

   She lay awake all night, I could tell. Every once and a while I could sense that she was about to say something, she wanted so bad to talk to me, and I her. I was just so confused. I needed to figure out what went wrong. I needed to go back to L?Ifnar.
   The next day we set out. We kept off the trails and in the bush. I would climb the trees to watch for anyone around. It was a slow way to get there but if we didn?t watch out we might not have gotten there at all. I saw a few Orcs in the distance, traveling trails. None picked up our sent and we so managed to avoid them. I had no idea what was coming next.
I was climbing in the trees my thoughts were about Tin?Ja I was watcher her, wondering what she meant to me. Everything was fine, and then when I looked up I saw 4 Orcs rushing straight for us. I immediately dropped down, pulled out my jade sward and prepared to fight.
Tin?Ja revealed her sward, a bright golden Elven sword. Then I saw Hovn quickly climb the nearest tree and then prepare his bow. 3 elves against 4 Orcs, the odds were certainly against us.
They all came lunging at us at once. I managed to leap up and slit ones throat, then when I landed on the ground another went at me. I wasn?t in a very good position, so I dove out of the way. Tin?Ja was dealing with another one, it was hovering over her and she was slashing at it madly. I was charged by another one but it fell dead before I could get to it from Hovn?s arrow. Before the great beast dropped to the ground I leapt up onto his shoulders and from his to the shoulders of the beast attacking Tin?Ja. I ducked as it swiped at my with its club, he missed me and hit himself in the head. Then he stopped to rub his head while the last remaining Orc attacked me too. I jumped into a tree last minute and the dumb monster clubbed his friend in the face. While one danced around in pain, the other concentrated on trying to find me. He looked up in all the trees until he found the lucky spot. He looked up to see Hovn directly above him with his arrow pointed right at his eye. It was a quick death for this one, the other slowly died, but we left before making sure.
During the 3 day trip to L?Ifnar, I managed to remember a few new things. First was that I was a specially trained night elf, second was that I had a home with the night elves, and last was that I don?t like killing. I killed many of those beasts. I understood that it was either kill or be killed, but somehow I still felt bad about it.

When we arrived in horror at L?Ifnar I didn?t have much to say. At first I was sad, I cried. But eventually that turned into anger. The Orcs had destroyed the whole city; they just went in and murdered every civilian they saw. Women, children, all were killed by the clubs of those monsters. It just wasn?t fair. Elven kind had dealt with these beasts in the past, why do they return?
I looked around for my dear Lexu. She was no doubt at home when it happened, scared. The Orcs would have come in and killed her in her own home. So that?s where I went, I entered the house cautiously. I wasn?t quite sure I wanted to see what would no doubt here. I searched the whole house, but there was no sign of her. Had she ran out when they came? Or? Of course! When she ran from me? She ran fro L?ifnar! She must be safe! But where is safe anymore? The Orcs were talking over the world, bit by bit. There was no stopping them. So I sat there, in the roof of Lexu?s house, and thought about where she is, and what she could be doing.

I sat in the newly build East wall. It was now partly shattered by the Orcs, but it was still standing. I let my feet dangle off the edge as I sat, thinking of what to do now. My entire army, my entire city? All was lost. It seemed to me there was nothing left. Everything I worked for, everything I cared about was gone. Well that wasn?t entirely true. Tuk was back, but who was he? Even he didn?t know who he was. I looked over at him; he was standing on one of the walls surrounding the garden. Looking at the ruins that he once lay upon, did he know what had happened to him? Did he finally have his memory completed now that he saw the place where he lost it? I doubted it. At least I doubted it for a while. Then he walked over. Looked into my eyes and said.
?All is lost but you and me. I feel like nothing else matters.?
Then we embraced each other at last. Tuk was himself again, my hero has returned.

[Mark]

 *doesn't read it* :D *wonders how lond it took peace to write that...*

[Peace Alliance]

 40 sleeples hours in a row :)

[Bravehart]

 *is impressed by Peace's determination*  Must have taken a lot of caffiene.  Eventually, you get strong enough where you can actually inject yourself with pure caffiene.

[Peace Alliance]

 I had one cup... but all it did was make me shake so much i got scared... so i didn't do it again  :blink:  

[calria]

 w00t!
*luffs it*

[Dark Claws]

This is officially the oldest unstickied unlocked topic ever. *Revives*

[Rakefur]

Hmm. Make it redwallish.

[Dark Claws]

*redwallish*

[Durza]

enjoyed the tale  :)

[Camaclue]

Ha! Didn't read it!