Allister was not pleased. From further analysis of his Physical Strength and Mental Capacity, he would be Incredibly weak by the time the Quest was done. Not that he was doubting the Mountain Incursion's success of course, though if the High Warden decides to raid the coast he would pit his foot down. What was annoying was, that if Neria would come out of it even slightly stronger than him, he would expect nothing but a knife to his back, repeatedly, over the course of the night. His safeguards would still be in place of course, just that if he would suddenly wake up to Neria's Visage and a knife in my chest, he would be unable to react fast enough.
He shivered slightly in Rage. This will NOT happen. No way in HELL will this happen. I will not be a Helpless child sitting in the Rot and Shit of the World, begging for scraps. Not again. I will stand triumphant over Gods, and Demons. I will stand among the Heavens, twirling the Cosmos to MY Will. I will NEVER be that Helpless, EVER AGAIN.
Unbidden to the Bloodmage, the memories intruded again. He welcomed it. Knowing that the Pain from them would give him purpose. Allow him to carry on......
The Abomination jumped him. Wrapping it's foul Arms on Allister's head and began to pound it to the ground relentlessly. Allister fought bravely, but uselessly. Having vainly grabbed on to a rake and trying to poke his brother's eyes out. The stench coming from his breath was Horrible, like the stench of rotting meat in a battlefield, and Allister fought back the urge to vomit. In the end it was too much, and Allister fell to the ground. The Abomination stood over him, grinning demonically as Allister weakly tried to crawl away. After a few seconds, the Demon stepped on Allister's leg, forcing him to stop as he grimaced in Pain. The Abomination looke at Allister then, and said.
"Hello Brother! Why won't you come play with me? I'm sure we'll have lots of Fun!" the Demon said in a voice borrowed from his brother. Allister would discover later on in his studies that the Demon was using his Brother's Soul, and his Brother had truly meant it. But the young elf did not know it that day, so he grabbed the fallen rake and hit the Abomination over the Head, causing It to fall down in surprise as Allister scrambled away from it.
As Allister broke open the Door of the Barn to the Rain outside, he heard the Abomination speak, still in his Brother's Voice "Brother? Why did you do that? I should kill you for that you know, it Really HURT! But I won't, your my Brother and I still love you Even if you're hurting me by running away....." Allister had a split second desire to turn towards his brother then, but he still remembered the stench from his mouth, the dead look in his eye, and the promise to not hurt him.....So he ran, he ran far away from the Abomination. He didn't run towards the rest of the Village, fearing they wouldn't believe him. He didn't run towards his house, believing the Abomination to be too close by. He would regret it later, after the Nightmare ended, but not at that point in time, where his Adrenaline and Fear told him to keep running. So he did, he towards the most isolated place he could find and didn't stop. Eventually he stumbled upon a rock and fell, injuring himself. Even then he started to crawl, terrified of what lay behind him. He didn't know how long he crawled for, but he did recall how he stopped.
He had stopped when he saw a metal boot in front of him. He had stopped when he had looked up and saw a Templar looking down at him with worry in his eyes. He had stopped when the Templar asked him what had happened. He had stopped when he saw the Templar's eyes growing wide and ordering his men to follow him. Allister was left alone, with the Templar's squires left behind as well, as they moved towards the place he knew was his home. He did not cry, not yet. In his young heart, he could not believe what was happening to him. He still believed that everything was going to be all right, he still held on to some, miniscule chance, that it was all still a dream. The Squires gave him a blanket to hold onto, but nothing beyond that. They believed him to be a waste of time, as all elves where. So they gave him only what was decently right and no more. Allister didn't care, and he sat, hugging his knees as he waited.
Eventually the Templar arrived, with all of his Company returning with him. Allister looked him in the eyes and got a cold stare in return. The young elf could deduce what had happened. That his village was destroyed, and his family slaughtered by his Brother was all that could occur to him. The truth of the matter however, was that the Templars had wiped out everyone in that Village. Making sure nothing demonic would survive. Allister didn't know that. The young elf looked at the Templar and hoped he would take him away from that village, thinking he was a good man. What he didn't know was that the Templar was contemplating killing him and only the attempts from his brethren had stopped the Templar Knight. But Allister didn't know this, so he wept. Instead of Fear though, he wept in Sadness, Relief, and Hatred. Sadness that everyone he had ever known was dead. Relief that he was not. and Hatred for the fact that he felt Relief. That he could not save them never crossed his mind.
Allister opened his yellow eyes, hatred brewing in them now. He looked towards the steadily growing mountain, and he quietly said to himself that he would NEVER be that weak again.