Mikansia: The main character, a female elf played by Lena. Previously she had somehow helped Tyce, a human that she had slept with, to overcome The Music. He had left. She's still wondering what the hell happened.
The Music: A discordant noise that Mikansia can hear when she's near certain humans, who can also hear it. It's driving them crazy, wiping them of all they ever were.
Akseli: Mikansia's commanding officer. He had followed Mikansia to the surface when she chased after her evil father, Krakeru. Since then he's been stuck in the human fort Elfwatch, which is currently under siege. Akseli knew Makirta, Mikansia's mother.
Yngvar: Mikansia's First Sword. He really doesn't seem to like Mikansia at all, and has made many an off-color remark about her character
Lore Note: While elves do not have the same issue with being wiped clean by The Nameless like humans, they still cannot bear direct contact with them for long. The site that's touched becomes a nasty scar and never fully heals. Intense memory loss is usually associated with the wound, although motor functions remain intact. This process is called hulling by the elves.
One week passed. Multiple people began to hear The Music at the same time and grouped together; they started tailing Mikansia. She began keeping her bed under her door, sleeping on the floor in the far corner of her room. Firstsword Yngvar had been getting nastier and nastier to Mikansia, and finally consigned her to painting all the myriad rocks in the fort, out where all those groups were roaming. Mikansia became even more tense. Captain Akseli started to become distant and a bit weird.
Eventually the General called a meeting. Supplies were almost out. No one had gotten through from the outside, and so the General was organizing one last push through the lines, to ask for help. He would not force anyone to go on such a mission; he wanted volunteers only. Mikansia's hand could not shoot up fast enough. But Akseli forbade it, openly, in front of the other officers.
Yngvar and Mikansia stared at Akseli, dumbfounded. Yngvar started arguing with Akseli, publicly. He told Akseli hewas letting his emotions cloud his judgment, particularly because of what had happened between him and Makirta. Realizing Mikansia was still there, Yngvar commanded Mikansia to leave the meeting, that this did not concern her. Akseli, against all form, countermanded the order, shooting Mikansia a look that would have spoiled new milk. So she stayed.
Finally realizing where he was, Yngvar tried to back out, but Akseli commanded him to speak. Yngvar pleaded for reasons of decorum, but Akseli told him to finish his tirade, in a voice cold with fury. Yngvar told them he didn't think Akseli's judgment was clear on Mikansia because he had been in love with Makirta, who had been a whore, a spy, a dark elf, just like what her daughter was turning into.
Akseli was on Yngvar in an instant. The human officers pulled them away from each other. Akseli's hair came off in the struggle.
It was a wig.
Akseli was actually bald.
A nasty scar, still looking like it had not fully healed, traced its way acrost the back of his head; it could only have come from fighting The Nameless. They had attempted to hull him. Akseli grabbed his wig, blushing from embarrassment. Mikansia was seized with pity and horror at the sight. Yngvar left immediately. Akseli asked Mikansia if she would come and talk with him, in private. She agreed.
They went back to Akseli's room. Akseli told her that he had been injured by the Nameless after Makirta had left, and could only remember one thing about Makirta: when she had come clean about being a dark elf, working on behalf of The Lone Keep. Akseli had Makirta escorted out by his servants. He would not talk to her, as she came to his villa for the next week, beginning forgiveness, telling him she truly loved him and he was why she had revealed herself, that she wanted to change. Akseli ignored her. At the end of that week he left to fight the Nameless and received his wound and lost almost all of his memories. Makirta had left shortly after he had, fleeing house arrest. It took Akseli twenty years to recover from his wound. By then the trail had long gone cold. He couldn't even remember Makirta's face, her smell, how she sounded. He guessed that Mikansia looked like Makirta, only because he had met Krakeru a few times and she didn't look very much like him. They mourned, together.
There was a knock on the door. Akseli let in a sheepish Yngvar. He apologized to them both for the public outburst... and then proceeded to tell Akseli he didn't think Mikansia should go out, after all. He'd had a moment to actually think about it, and Yngvar didn't think Mikansia really had it in her to be a sword singer, period. She was showing Makirta's lack of character; she'd been drinking herself under the table whenever alcohol was available, had slept with Tyce (Akseli paled at that) and, if rumors were to believed, had screwed anything with two legs, male and female alike. Akseli looked like he was checking out.
Mikansia declared this was beyond ridiculous. She was a sword singer and have proven her place, over and over again! Yes, she'd had a slip of judgment following Krakeru to the surface, but Mikansia felt she had more than a right to go on this mission. She then asked why Yngvar thought she'd slept with Tyce and the whole base. But Yngvar was stubborn; he reiterated that he knew that Mikansia had used Tyce like an animal, why else would she have had the connection to bring him back? Mikansia felt the sting, but ignored it. Yngvar went on, saying she clearly had the same proclivities to vice and evil that her mother had, who had slept with anything that moved in order to get her information for the dark elves, including a pass that she had made at Yngvar at one point. Miksansia said that made no sense: she had done nothing to deserve this level of vitriol and besides, soldiers said a lot of ridiculous things, particularly about the elves, so why was Yngvar listening to them only about her? Voice dropping almost to a whisper, Mikansia told them how she'd already had a chance to turn, after Krakeru had raped her, when he'd channeled that scream. Mikansia had made her decision then, and she was not going back.
Yngvar told her how sorry he was that had happened to her, but that it wasn't a question of that one decision. Mikansia may have millennia ahead of her. There would be many more decision points like the one she had already been through. And yet Yngvar didn't think Mikansia had it in her to keep making that decision, just like her mother Makirta. Mikansia said she knew it wasn't a one-time decision, but she would not go back. Becoming like Krakeru was not an option. She demanded to be taken seriously, on her own terms. Mikansia did not claim perfection, but she was tired of being coddled and reviled because of someone else. She deserved to go on the mission and that was all there was to it.
Yngvar was speechless.
After a minute he said he heard hear, but he couldn't stop worrying anyway. He was coming with her. They looked to Akseli, who nodded in agreement. Yngvar and Mikansia would leave the next day with the humans.
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