Haunted Caladras

[Demented_Delila 1164]

 

12th of Snow's Maiden, 179 S.A.

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“A thousand knives for your grave, king of lies, and no mourners for your tomb.”

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In the aftermath of Caladras’ liberation, there is no wine poured for the lively. There is no cool rain that washes over the rooftops in the night to coax its residents to sleep. There are no roses left blooming in the field, not even a bulb to salvage into something new. There were no hearth fires being lit or candlewicks left to burn so one might read by candlelight. In truth– there was no one left to liberate.

 

And with no one left to liberate, there are no lively souls to pour wine for or residents for the rain to coax to sleep. There are no scholars or guards who might stop to smell the roses or take a few of the vibrant red blossoms home to their loved ones. There was no one left to tend a hearth fire or to light candles to read by the flickering light. 

 

Perhaps it was incorrect to say that nothing remained. When the life is gone, the spirit is all that remains. It clings to the shell of what once was something alive like moss clings to the headstone. It was still a surprise, however, to find that the resolute spirit of the Caladrasi Elves still lingered, ever-present now that the usurping oathbreakers had been driven from their homes. Living first as a whisper on the wind, a cool breeze on a warm night, a presence not quite there.

 

Then an elvish voice carrying a tune in low Adunic, kissing the stonework and haunting the courtyards. The tall, armored forms that still walked their patrol routes on the borders of the forest and lingered on the gangways of the walls, the echo of a lost life reflected in pale mist. The wisping figures that still went about their daily chores. . . They were best seen at night when the moon was full and the stars were bright, their glimmering forms reflecting the lives that once stood here.

 

Here were the Caladrasi Elves, meeting their fates with the cry of “Aurë Entuluva!” until their very last breaths. Here were the Elves of Caladras, but no more– only the spirits remain now, haunting what had once been a home.

 

Spoiler

 

[Disclaimer: This is, at the moment, a matter of IC Belief.]