That Escalated Quickly

Eversong was quiet and peaceful, only the sounds of nature flowing beneath the carefully sculpted trees. In eternal spring, the forest was alive with a diverse number of creatures that called it home. Atop the small hill overlooking a lone stretch of road below it, the sounds of nature were muted where a group of Sin'dorei had established a small camp.

There were about twenty of them in all, five in the central camp and three other groups of five scattered amongst the trees and bushes down below. All of them wore clothing that blended in with the natural colors around them, the intent to conceal themselves from observers. In the central camp, a small, portable table had been erected and maps were strewn about its surface.

“Lady Sunfire's route will take her past this position within the quarter hour,” a soft, feminine voice said. Around her, several other Sin'dorei nodded at the priestess as she explained the plan. “As soon as I give the signal with magic, each group will launch their offensive, cutting off any chance for her entourage to advance or retreat. We slay all of them and move the bodies to the dead scar, making it look like some of the undead did it.”

Around the table, the other Sin'dorei nodded. They had already been briefed on the assassination plans, but it didn't hurt to review the details one last time, especially when dealing with a powerful magistrix like Biara Sunfire. As the priestess opened her mouth to speak, a voice drifted to her from the group, one that sounded unnatural, as if it were coming from beneath the ground.

“Wow, your dress is GORGEOUS. I know you are really busy and everything, but after you're done can we talk about where you got that?” the voice said.

Blinking in utter shock, the priestess turned to find a horrifying sight standing amongst the Sin'dorei within her ambush group. Ghastly white, an obviously dead elf was leaning forward, smiling at her through blue-painted lips, her eyes running over the dress as well as the map spread out on the table. She was armored in bits of deep purple plate armor that did little to cover her flesh and likely explained why her approach from the Dead Scar had gone undetected.

“W-what?! Who are you? Identify yourself at once!” the priestess snarled.

The dead Sin'dorei's smile widened and she offered a curtsey that was stiff and unnatural, “I'm Dame Ebondawn, miss. You can call me Lirallel though or Lira! I didn't mean to mess up your meeting but that dress is just AMAZING.”

As she spoke, Lirallel leaned forward, her purple gauntlets running down the sleeve of the priestess's dress. The Sin'dori looked at her with a mixture of shock and disgust, while out of the corner of her eye she noted a small dot in the distance that likely heralded the arrival of the carriage carrying Lady Sunfire on the road far below.

“More likely you are a spy!” the priestess snapped. She reached out and shoved Lirallel away from her with an angry gesture, nodding to the others in the camp. “Seize her for questioning. We will find out who she is working for after we've finished our business here.” For her part, Lirallel stumbled backwards in surprise, her mouth open in an 'O' of shock. She was roughly grabbed by two Sin'dorei who stepped up behind her.

The Sin'dorei priestess would never comprehend the sheer lethality of the mistake she'd made.

Lirallel's eyes became unfocused and she began to mutter to herself quietly even as the priestess turned away, “But it's so pretty. And I just wanted to ask about it. Why wouldn't she tell me where she got it? It's so pretty. I should have pretty things. But she said I can't, just like the others. I don't know why she's acting like this. She's going to die anyway...”

As the last sentence left her mouth, a change came over the dead Sin'dorei's face. The facade of innocence that had been present faded, and her eyes glowed maliciously. She began to speak, her voice much less friendly and accommodating, the tone firm. “It SHOULD be mine. She's not going to need it when she's dead. I DESERVE to have nice things too. She's going to be dead anyway. It's pretty, it should be mine. It IS mine. Give it to me now. Give it to me or DIE.”

She jerked her arms forward, her unnatural form much stronger than its size would hint at. The two Sin'dorei holding her were thrown to the ground and she stepped over them, ignoring them as if they were nothing to her. Her malicious gaze fixated on the priestess, she reached back, drawing an ax from its holster on her back. The weapon was cold saronite, the blade etched with glowing runes of death, blood, and frost. It glittered with an evil light as Lirallel brought it up.

The priestess turned as she heard her men being thrown to the ground, her eyes wide. She began to chant, hoping to cast a spell, but by then it was far too late. The unhinged creature had quickly crossed the distance between them, the ax arcing through the air with a delicate grace. A second later, the headless corpse of the priestess tumbled to the ground, her spell firing up in the air.

Lirallel was spattered with gore, the red shockingly bright on her bleached white skin. She took in an unnecessary breath, as if being cover with the vital fluids of another living being gave her some semblance of life. Around her, the other Sin'dorei began to react, their shock slowly fading.

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On the road below, Biara's carriage came to an abrupt stop as magic flared into the air on a nearby hill. As cries of alarm came from the guards, Biara herself opened the door and stepped onto the running board of the carriage, watching the magic fade in the air. In the woods ahead, elves began to move, some of them looking at her entourage, and others glancing up at the hill above where the spell had fired off prematurely.

Biara's fel green eyes tracked up to the top of the hill, where she could see a pale white figure bending over something on the ground. Even as she watched in surprise, what could only be a Sin'dorei assassin rammed a blade through her back, sending black ichor spattering everywhere.

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They had stabbed her. It didn't hurt much since she really didn't feel things anymore, but she was aware of it. She didn't really care except for the fact that the sword had plunged out of the front of her body, sending black ichor splattering to the ground in front of her. It had ALMOST gotten on the dress, and Lirallel knew how hard it was to get that ichor out of clothing. It was intolerable.

It was infuriating.

She rose, surging forward and yanking the sword from her back as she did so. Her eyes blazed with scourgelight now as she brought her ax up. Her would-be killer swung again, only to find his weapon shattered against the razor sharp edge of her ax. A second later, his mutilated body joined the weapon on the ground.

Other Sin'dorei ran at her, and from the woods around the camp the ambushers rushed towards their command post, sensing something was amiss. It didn't matter now, Lirallel was in her element. She was DESIGNED to kill. She existed to be a weapon of war, and they had foolishly decided to make war upon her. Living elves, with their frail little bodies and need to live. Sin'dorei who held weak emotions like fear, mercy, and compassion within them. She had none of these things, none of the weaknesses that would stop a true warrior. She had only her rage, and the unending need to bathe in their blood.

And so she did.

Blades flashed in Eversong's sunlight, metal clashing on metal as her weapon moved with unnatural grace. Sin'dorei struck at her, only to find her moving, or finding her weapon parrying blow after blow. She struck back, aiming not for vital organs but for limbs and extremities. Attempting to maim them so that they would bleed longer, so that they would cry out in agony for her. She laughed as she cut at them, the joyous bliss of feeling them suffer filling her like nothing else could. More and more of them rushed from the woods, only to be thrown down into the pile of howling, agonized victims laying in the leaves around her.

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The House Sunfire guards watched warily as the hilltop became a killing ground. They muttered amongst themselves, understanding that if not for some chance of fate, they would have met an ambush on the road ahead. Amongst them Biara remained silent, her eyes affixed to the distant hilltop where what seemed to be a ghost was engaged in a most bloody slaughter.

More than a dozen had already fallen, and there were few left now to face whatever the pale thing was. By pure luck, one of them managed to hit its ax at just the right spot, sending the weapon flying in a glittering arc end over end. A bowman amongst the group fired, the arrow deflecting off of the pale creature's armor.

Biara's eyes widened slightly as she felt magic surge on the hilltop. The bowman clutched at his throat as the figure pointed at him, his windpipe crushed. Another Sin'dorei hurled a spear that impaled the creature, but she merely stumbled back before ripping the weapon from her flesh and swinging it in a wide arc, gouging the throat out of one of her attackers.

A second later the hilltop was enveloped by an unnatural blast of freezing cold air, the temperature change causing a dense fog to roll in and snow to temporarily fall. Just before their visibility was cut to nothing, the elves in Biara's entourage saw the pale figure bending down to retrieve her ax, a grin on her face as she stalked into the fog.

The final screams were cut off mercifully soon after.

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It took ten minutes for Biara's men to reach the hilltop. During that time, the sounds of battle had faded, and there was utter stillness and silence. In the warmth of Eversong, the fog dissipated rather quickly, and the elves found themselves walking into a scene of utter carnage.

Dead Sin'dorei lay strewn everywhere, many of them wearing assassin's garb or at least having covered hoods to hide their faces. That they were part of an ambush was without a doubt, but none of them had any marking to identify who they had been working for. There were many who would see Biara Sunfire dead however, so it mattered little.

Biara herself walked carefully amongst the dead, making sure not to get any of the gore from the battlefield on her robes. As she made her way to the central camp with its now destroyed map table, she spied a strange sight. There, sitting in the grass was a pale white Sin'dorei, her body covered in gore and ichor. Nearby, a nude and headless corpse was laying in the grass, and in the Sin'dorei's hands was a beautiful but now stained dress.

The pale thing looked up at Biara as she approached, scourge blue eyes boring into her, “They said I couldn't have it. They always say that I'm not pretty enough to have nice things. I don't know why they had to go and try to hurt me. I was just ASKING. It's mine now though, do you understand? It's mine and no one can have it.”

Biara approached slowly, her guards tense as she bent down before the undead Sin'dorei. She offered her a false smile, nodding gently, “Of course it's yours. You won the battle after all, so the spoils go to the victor. It would be ungrateful of me to take something from you when you have likely saved my life miss....what is your name dear?”

Lirallel smiled, her bleached white teeth blending into her face, “I'm Lira! And thank you! Finally SOMEONE sees reason here! Sorry if all of this has bothered you but I think they were going to try to kill you anyway. At least that's what that map over there said.”

Biara turned and nodded to one of her guards. The elf quickly hurried to the ruined table and pulled the shredded map out, studying it. He turned back to Biara and nodded. The Magistrix smiled, “Indeed, you have saved my life Lira, and for that I owe you a debt. If you ever find yourself in need, you have but to come to House Sunfire with your request and I will see to it that you are given aid. In fact, given how well you fought here, I could see that you might find a role amongst my fighters if you were interested.”

Lira looked up at Biara, a smile plastered on her face, “C-could...could I get more dresses do you think? And I'd LOVE to help out! I'm really good at helping!”

Biara's smile was somewhat genuine this time as she nodded, “Of course you could get more dresses. If you wish to put your skills to work, return to Silvermoon and visit the Blackhearts chapter-house. I am sure we can find something for one with your skills to do.”

Lira surged to her feet, making Biara's guards tense up. She didn't attack though, instead hugging her stolen dress to her body, “Oh THANK you so much! You will totally not regret this! I'll go get cleaned up and go RIGHT over there! You are really nice!”

With that she bent down, picked up her gore-encrusted ax, strapped it to her back and walked away, leaving Biara and her men to pick through the clues left behind amongst the dead. Biara watched her go, studying her deadly form for a moment with a smile on her lips.

“I cannot wait until you meet my mother, Lira,” she murmured to herself with amusement.