Snippet #1617926

Lily gingerly made her way down the building where she had landed. Nowhere during the descent did the normal grace and fluidity of the young elf shine through. She was wracked by grief and pain. Near the body of the building a brick gave away and toppled the elf into the street where the laid for a few moments, numbed to all that surrounded her. From within the Bloodleaf huntress, she found the strength to stand once again and began to hobble towards the fallen berserker. Along the way, sticking out of a crack in the cobblestone was a silver saber, the white tassel blowing in the wind. Caine's.

A welt of pain erupted in her heart and she felt a tear slide down her grimy face. Caine. Her brother, not by blood, but by battle, was dead. Died saving her and Mikana. As the tear fell to the ground, the took the saber in her hand and carried it with her. She would keep it, and Caine's memory alive. She had lost her Bloodleaf bow, but gained a human warrior's blade. She held it in her hand and stalked over to Caine. The human was as peaceful as he ever was, still wearing the defiant and hardened scowl. A true warrior, and a true warrior's death. If he had been one of the Bloodleaf, he would be buried at the base of an ancient tree, to become part of the tree forever more. A burial given only to the greatest warriors of her clan. But there he lay. In the middle of the street, broken. A sweep of air flushed her blonde hair forward and the scrape of talons halted behind her. Her golem. Liliana MK II.

Lily turned her back on the fallen warrior and pushed past the draconian golem. Much of the metal on the dragon was dented and bent, and it's left wing was mangled. As she passed her mount she whispered to it, "Keep his body safe. Protect it. He will not be forgotten in this manner." And she was off, dashing through the streets. There were others that needed her help. There were others who were fighting. She needed to be with them. With her family. She pushed past the tears of losing two, a brother and a sister, and sought to protect the rest.

For once in her life, she felt the Bloodleaf within soul creep out into her mind. The cold and calculating killer of the forests. The guardians and protectors of her clan. As the red scales descended from the sky, Lily felt no fear, nor remorse. Only an urge to hunt. She fell into line with others of the legion, her family, as they tore into the dragon loyalists. She fought with reckless abandon with the saber she had just picked up. The Bloodleaf wasn't foolish however, and fought smart. She would wait for her moment and strike at an opening. She remembered faint wisps of Wrath fighting by her side at one moment, and the flash of magic the next. The huntress was cold, her feelings reigned in, the soft and caring individual hidden behind Bloodleaf killer instinct.

She found herself with Wrath and Beezles among others of the blackguard. She was bloodied, but not all of it hers. She had a visible limp and blood flowed freely from her cheek. Lily finally looked the part of the title "Bloodleaf". Lily felt miles away from the conversation at hand. The Reds apparently wanted to ally themselves with them for some bullshit reason like heroes. She looked to General Wrath however. He was their leader. He was the only one she would follow. Whatever his choice was, it would be hers as well. The option was obvious. Lily took it without a word, only lightly laying a hand on the human's shoulder. A hand saying that she was with him, whatever his choice.

---

The next day as dawn rose over into the skies, Lily aimlessly walked around the city. The city was theirs, but at what cost? She stepped over many of the legion who were sleeping in the streets, passed by many of the campfires giving only an acknowledging glance to the legionnaires circling it. She found her way to the wall, nearby where the bodies were being disposed of. She made it just in time to witness Pel's body being tipped into the fire below. Within the shell of the elf's heart, she felt a pang of remorse. Of sorrow. Many friends had died that night. She shook her head as Gurgen came next, not finding the tears to cry for her friend. She was long past crying.

However, she did find Turha and wrapped him in an embrace. She whispered her apologies in his ear and retreated back into her shell. She stood near the procession, watching as the bodies were filed down the line and hoisted into the air and dropped into the fire below. A grim procession. She watched however. These were her comrades, her family. They deserved that much. At the end of the procession, one last body was tipped into the roaring flames below.

"Caine Abel... Human... Berserker."

She sniffed at the sight of her brother falling into the mouth of the flames. She shook her head and looked to the golden horizon. "Heroes... They said they wanted heroes," Lily began, "We aren't heroes... They. They were Heroes. Gurgen. Pel. Faera. Caine. All of them. Heroes. Let us hope they will bless us with their strength. We will need it before dusk breaks..." She said, turning away from the horizon and gripping the silver saber all that much harder.

---

It was like laying on air. He saw only darkness, but he heard... He heard sounds. The gush of a gentle stream, winds caressing the grass and trees. He no longer felt cold... He felt warm. Like he was bathing in the sunlight. Then he opened his eyes. A cloudless sky welcomed him. Where... Where was he? Where did he go? Caine slowly began to sit up, expecting the shock of pain at any moment. However, pain did not eat at him. He sat up feeling perfectly fine. He looked at his hands. His hands were unscarred. The human stared long and hard at his hands. No scars... Where did they go? What happened to him?

His unscarred hands went to his face. Nothing. The skin... The skin was perfect. He felt no rough scars, only his patchy beard, he could never grow a decent one. He looked up and scrambled on all fours to the stream. He had to see it with his own eyes. It couldn't be true. It just couldn't. At the water he looked at his own reflection. The man staring back was him. But... He wore no scars. His eyes no longer had the murderous gleam of a berserker. The man's eyes could even be called... Gentle. His hands went to his earlier wounds. The wounds he sustained during the fight with Urantonon. Nothing. Not even a scar. Where was he?

He finally noticed what he wore. It was a simple brown tunic. His live armor was gone, long gone. Not a trace of it was left. His head whipped back and jerked side to side looking for his armor. Where in the hell did it bloody get to? There was nothing only... Only his black katana sticking out of the ground. Funny. The man thought it was broken. He remembered having the hilt in his hand. Caine shook his head sharply and laid back on the soft grass. What happened? Where was he? The last thing he remembered was falling. Falling with a white dragon and riding the beast into the ground. Mikana... Where was Mikana? Was she okay? Caine sighed. What happed to him? And more importantly... What was he going to do now?

Then... Then a voice. A familiar voice tugged at his ears. He hesitated for a minute. Did he just imagine that? He had to. His mind playing with his memories. That had to be it. But then it called for him again. It was feminine.. Gentle.. Loving. It couldn't be. It can't be. It was impossible. He saw... He knew... Caine picked his head up and looked behind him.

"... Caine?" The woman whispered. She wore a white satin dress and her raven hair danced in the gentle wind. One of her hands covered her mouth while the other arm was clenched around her waist, as if to hold herself together. The woman was stunning, and Caine only stared at her. Dumbstruck. "... It.. Can't be? Li-.. Liera?" Caine stuttered. For the first time in years, tears welled up in the berserker's- no, in the man's eyes. The woman nodded vigorously and ran towards Caine. Caine jumped to his feet and went to meet her.

They met in an embrace long over-do. They kissed, they embraced, and they never threatened to break the moment. Finally they pulled apart long enough to stare into each others eyes. His hazel eyes into her brown. "I thought you were... I thought I'd never see you... I missed you," Caine said, stumbling over his words. Liera gave and small smile and laid her head against his chest. "I missed you too. I never stopped waiting you know. I never gave up on you." She whispered. He pulled her in closer to his chest. "Liera... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! For everything. Liera... Forgive me?" He said, tears streaming down his face."I love you..." Caine whispered into her ear. She broke the embrace in order to look him into his hazel eyes. Tears were streaming down her face as well, "Of course I forgive you. There's nothing to forgive... You're home now." Now he knew where he was.

He was home.

He took one long look at the black katana sticking out of the ground. A reminder of what he had been through. Memories of Dragons, of the Children. Of Talae, of Faera, of Lily. Even Kisikoni, Alistair, Niera. Of Captain Wrath and Leutinent Sid. He would never forget them. They would always be his friends, and he would keep them in his heart forever more. He tore his eyes away from the black blade and back to his love. Back to his Liera.

He was home.