Chapter Text
I never considered myself a violent creature, not like my counterpart, somewhere far away celebrating his victories. In my dreams, I often caught glimpses of his nightmares, I saw many horrible things there and those things haunted me in waking just as they haunted him.
I had met him many times, after the Makrak crisis, on the road to Ha’Rar, and then after we arranged secret meetings. I held no ill feelings for him, disappointment at worst. I had seen his darkest moments too many times to hate him for what he had done, and I knew he hated himself enough anyways.
But, as I sat by my fire, and calmly unwrapped the loaf of bread a kind podling family had gifted me, I heard a sound in the forest behind me.
It was still following me.
I put the bread back in my bag and stood up, and I turned to face the stalker. I could faintly make out the glint of two eyes in the dark, and it was exactly as I suspected, the gelfing. They’d been following me for days, I had no idea why, but their expression told me it was not for company or curiosity.
“What do you want?” They did not answer my question, they only stared and crept closer, and I saw the glint of a sword in their hand.
“Do you think I am unarmed?” I meant it as a threat, perhaps they would flee, but my gut told me they wouldn’t.
The gelfing only crept closer, a cold determination in their gaze, so I pulled from my bag a sword I had made, it was to be a gift for Conqueror, but perhaps the greatest gift I could give him is keeping us both alive.
The gelfing seemed to falter at the sight of it, but then they gathered themself and continued creeping out of the brambles.
I grabbed again from my bag, trying to find something else I could threaten them with, and found my hammer, it was heavy and less threatening but far more dangerous since I was far more familiar with it. I knew little of how to use swords, but I knew how to make them, and I knew how to swing a hammer.
I brandished the hammer at them, and they didn’t even flinch. Now, as they grew closer, I could see them more clearly. They were a spriton, their hair was black and their freckled face was the color of hickory wood, they wore heavy woven robes in shades of ochre and gold that matched the autumn woods. Their sword glittered in the firelight, and I recognized the cheap craftsmanship immediately— a military issued sword, I’d seen hundreds through SkekGra’s eyes, and I’d scolded him for the low quality several times and warned him they were bound to break. He’d since replaced them, but clearly one slipped through the cracks and never was melted down.
“Decommissioned sword, hmm? Won’t do much… they break easily.” The gelfing didn’t respond, they only narrowed their eyes and kept creeping towards me. They weren’t too far now, I tightened my grip on the hammer, and shifted the sword in my other.
I saw the spriton tense all their muscles and grit their teeth, and suddenly they lunged for me. Maybe it was reflex, maybe it was SkekGra, maybe it was me, but somehow, I moved with an equal swiftness, and solidly cracked them over the head with the blacksmithing hammer.
They collapsed to the ground, I sighed with relief when I did not see blood, and I backed away from the unconscious gelfling.
I put the hammer and sword back where they belonged in their sheathes and bags respectively. I doused the fire and gathered my things, and left, sweeping my tail behind me to be certain I left no tracks.
Perhaps I’d finally lose the foolish hunter, or perhaps I will have to test my gift before I deliver it.
Regardless, I carried on and left them behind, I had a meeting with my counterpart from the mountains, and I couldn’t be late.