18+ Shadow of Death

[Aethalia]

PROLOGUE
4E 205
Thalmor Embassy

" You need to leave, now!" The robed Altmer commander shouted, blowing another Nord attacker to the ground. Aliah Stormwind shook her head stubbornly, the blade singer spinning into an attack pattern that slashed a pair of enemies open from shoulder to hip. Her red hair fell like a waterfall as she took a stationary position, deflecting a third man. "I'm no coward!" She shouted over the thunder of spells and the screams of the dying. The other man, an Altmer commander of no small power,turned and smiled at her. "My love please...I could not do what must be done knowing you too would perish..."

Aliah spat a curse at him as his hands went into a new spellcasting. This time, the spell was aimed at her. She sprinted towards him, intending to interrupt the spell of paralysis before her lover, Dalamir Qurion could cast. She was too far away, and she saw the wave of green energy roll towards her, felt her body stiffen as the spell took affect on her body. As she hit the ground, she heard Dalamir shout to a pair of his men, " get her out of here!!" Aliah strained against the spell to no avail. Being a vampire, she should have been able to resist, but her muscles would not obey her commands.

She felt a two pairs of hands gently lift her stiff body from the cold cobblestone ground. Thalmor soldiers, marked as elite units by the red stripes on their armour surrounded Dalamir, protecting him from the Nord warriors as the wizard cast his final y spell. The soldiers carrying her were halfway down the road when the inferno spell went off, killing every living thing in the embassy, and more importantly, the highly sensitive information inside the building.

With the death of the spell caster, the paralysis wore off. Aliah slumped in the grip of the soldiers carrying her. Setting her on her feet, one of the soldiers, Almir asked "ma'am, are you fit to move on your own?" She nodded. Now was not the time to grieve for Dalamir. Almir turned to the last member of the trio, Lithanir, a tall solemn warrior and another of Aliahs' friends. He held a hand up for silence, frowning . Then he turned to his companions, hand on his sword, and spoke rapidly in elven "we are not alone"

All three elves drew their blades, two elven, two ebony swords. Then nearly three dozen Stormcloaks rushed from the woods roaring fiercely. The three Altmer fought valiantly, but they were hopelessly outnumbered. Disarmed and tied down, they anticipated instant death, but the Nord leader had different thoughts. "I am commander Torin Stonehammer. You, are elven filth, and will face instant death. Except for you, my girl" the man stated, grinning wickedly, and undoing his belt. She suffered through the rape as stoically as possible, knowing her death was close. But that was not to be the case. They executed Almir and Lithanir in front of her, oblivious to her enraged screams. They then tied Aliah to a tree, her uniform torn and bloody at her feet.

 

[Aethalia]

Chapter One
4E 209
Forests near Falkreath


The two Stormcloaks ran, their breath coming in harsh breaths as they sprinted across the wet ground. They were the remnants of their unit, a group of twenty men. They had just settled down in their camp on their march to take Falkreath from Imperial legionnaires that had held the city for the past four years. Then that Altmer woman had found them, moving from one victim to another, cutting apart seasoned Stormcloaks like they were fresh recruits. Only Tori and Falm had survived.

Tori stumbled and gripped the trunk of a nearby pine tree, panting and shaking his her head. Falm came back to her and grabbed her arm, tugging desperately "what are you doing? We need to keep moving!" But the woman shook her head, bending at the waist in a vain
attempt to get her breathe back. " I'll just slow you down, get moving!" Falm turned away and sprinted trying to put as much distance between himself and his doomed companion.

A branch snapped behind Tori, and she turned slowly to face her pursuer, holding her hands out in a conciliatory manner. The Altmer was tall, like all kind, just over six feet. She wore a long leather coat, black as the night, with hair that was the colour of arterial blood, with pale gold skin and eyes that gleaned in the night. "We can talk..." Tori started to say, but the Altmer cut her off.
"I can talk, but I doubt you'll find the voice" she said in a cold voice. And with that, the woman struck out with one of the ebony swords in her hands, severing the woman's throat.

As Tori fell to the ground, gasping and gurgling blood, Aliah sniffed the air, picking up the scent of the second man. The elven vampire leapt up into the trees, landing up on a sturdy limb balancing easily. She leapt to another bough and then another, until she saw the remaining man fleeing beneath her. Her night vision allowed her to see him easily, while he kept looking behind him, expecting her to be on the ground. He quickly realized his error when a slender figure dropped from the trees, not two metres from him. He desperately dried to
wrench his war axe from its' holster, buy Aliah was the faster by far, chopping down with her right hand, the ebony sword easily cutting through skin,muscle and tendon.

The Nord howled and clutched at the stump where his hand had been seconds before. Aliah stood before him, one of her blades resting casually on the man's shoulder. "Shut up and listen, pig." She snarled, moving the blade from the man's shoulder to his neck. The mans' screams subsided to low, pained groans. " I have a message for general Stonehammer: I will hunt him down, and make him pay for his
crimes" she removed the blade from his neck, and he nodded stupidly. " If I find out you didn't deliver the message, I'll be back for your other hand"

"I'll tell him" the man promised, struggling to his feet and stumbling off the way he'd come. His back was to her, and so he didn't see the elven woman bring the bloodied blade to her lips.

 

[Madrar]

Very well written. Only thing I would change is describe Aliah more and longer chapters.

 

[Aethalia]

Ok, I'll try to include a better, more complete desc. In my next chapter. There will be less action anyways.