Athonlaurism/Histories/Book of Thalaer

The Wars of Dust had ravaged the lands. The Arkerim and their part-human brethren had come down from the mountains in the west, called upon their unwilling slaves, taken from their homes by the dark powers of the Arkerim, passed across the plains with no resistance, and conquered the sprawling city-state of Kajima in the east. There, they joined with their cousins, the Orcs, who dwelt in a great federation of tribes south of Kajima, and turned to the great forest where the Serestel dwelt. Their numbers were many, their strength terrible, and their hatred unrelenting. The armies of the Elves were driven back further and further into the forest, until at last, at the great temple fortress of Othandar, they at last sought to stand firm. But the Elves were betrayed: for one of their number was a spy for the Arkerim, and slew the leader of the Elven army, and opened the gate, and the armies of darkness poured into the stronghold.

Now, among the Elven host there was a warrior, named Thalaer, who was especially devoted to Arelien, and when the gates were opened, he was in Her temple, praying for victory. "O Bright Lady, in Whose service I am now and always," he prayed, "Let us not be defeated, here, in Your temple and the place of Your power. For these are servants of Your dark sister, Elanzil, and it is their wish to defile all that is good and bright and true. Lend us Your strength to fight them here this day: and if there is aught that I can do to assure our victory, shine upon my path to it, and I will go, and do what You will, though it mean the death of my body and soul."

And Arelien heard his prayer, and was moved by his words: for in this time, few of the Serestel yet did Her honour, and this was the last of Her temples north of the Starshield Mountains. Thus it was that when Thalaer opened his eyes, and stood, he saw on the stone floor nearby a dappled light, as of sunlight shining through trees: but there was no sunlight, for the Arkerim had worked the weather to call in dark clouds to hide them wherever they went. And Thalaer followed the light, and it seemed to illumine a path to the temple's armoury, where a single ray of light shone on a sheathed sword on the wall. As Thalaer took down the sword, the call to arms came, and he knew that they were betrayed.

Thalaer ran back through the halls of the temple and emerged into the middle of a battle. The Orcs had breached the inner gate, and were fighting the Elven defenders on the very steps of the temple themselves. The humans who fought under the control of the Arkerim were moving along the outer wall, slaughtering the guards as they came with numbers too great to hold back. The part-humans who followed the Arkerim and used the same dark powers were fighting with the temple priests. The leader of the Arkerim himself stood atop the inner gate and gave orders to all.

Seeing his companions thus beleaguered, Thalaer drew the sword he had taken from the armoury and charged into the fray, brandishing it and crying out the name of Arelien. As he did so, the sword burst into flame, and it carved through the flesh of the Orcs as easily as if it were soft cheese. Before this sight, the Orcs faltered, and fell back from the steps of the temple. But the Arkerim, who had seen all from the wall above the inner gate, floated down to stand before his army, and with a gesture he flung aside the Elven defenders on the steps. But Thalaer stood fast, and said for all to hear, "This place belongs to Arelien, the Shining Warrior, the Bright Lady, and I am Her servant. As long as I stand, it shall stand, and as long as She protects me, I shall not fall."

But the Arkerim general merely sneered, and pulled from his belt a scourge with many cruelly barbed tips, and on those tips glistened a foul venom, that brought pain, and paralysis, and a slow death. And then he and Thalaer fought, there on the steps of the temple of Arelien at Othandar, and though the Arkerim was wise in the ways of war, and of trickery, and though he had strange dark powers to aid him, yet Thalaer was unafraid, and he stood on ground sacred to his Goddess, and Her strength was in his arm, and Her sword was in his hand: and at last he struck the Arkerim a mortal blow, and as he fell, Thalaer raised the sword high, and called on the name of Arelien, and the noonday sun broke through the dark clouds at last. Then the eyes of the Orcs were blinded, for they cannot stand bright sunlight, and this sunlight was the brightest they had ever beheld, and was made even greater by the temple itself, which was made of a stone that shone from within in the light of the sun; and the sword outshone them all. Then, too, those whose wills had been enslaved to the Arkerim were freed, and they knew all that had been done to them, and were enraged, and with the Elves they fell upon the Orcs, and the part-humans skilled in the dark arts, and slew them all: and not a one escaped, for the Arkerim had caused the outer gate to be shut before his battle with Thalaer.

Now, though this was only a part of the force that the Arkerim commanded, and the Wars of Dust raged on yet for many years, and would not end until the Battle of the Crystals, in which many innocents perished and the fate of the world hung in the balance, the Battle of Othandar was the first true victory against the Arkerim, and it was the turning point in the war. And when it was over, and the honoured dead were laid out, and the dead of the Orcs and their part-human comrades piled outside the wall, the Elven army gave honour to Thalaer, and the High Priest of Arelien came to him, and Thalaer knelt before him, and held up the sword, and would return it to him, for it was not his: but the High Priest said, "The Bright Lady has spoken to me, and said that this sword, which was Hers in the Battles Before Time, is to be yours and your house's now and forevermore, and your house is to be called with its name: thus arise, Thalaer Anaris, Hero of Othandar!"