Krakeru: Mikansia's dark elf father. It was revealed that Krakeru and Makirta, Mikansia's mother, were brother and sister, born to be broken and abused by the eldritch cult the Lone Keep. Eventually Krakeru had decided to own the role assigned to him by his family, finally getting Makirta to conceive Mikansia. Decades later, he met his daughter, and was asked by her how to hear the Nameless. He raped her and then channeled the Nameless at the human fort of Elfwatch, causing the humans inside it to lose themselves, a day at a time.
Jabez: a fellow Sword Singer who helped Mikansia to get to the surface, by hiring human smugglers to get her away from Kotae Mah. He paid for this by giving his elven sword to the smugglers to sell. Mikansia swapped out her sword for Jabez's, vowing to return it to him someday.
Nomi: A dark elf from Sabina's Castle, Nomi had been given a Dagger of Betrayal to stab into the back of her sister, Anneli. She decided not to, and that about broke her. Anneli left what was left of Nomi with Marian, the Countess of Fire, who promised to take care of Nomi.
The Dragon: Also from Sabina's Castle, the Dragon was formerly the Dwarf, who had become cursed to be in draconic form by misusing a Dagger of Betrayal. Marian promised that she would help The Dragon find redemption, somehow.
Tyce: a soldier that Mikansia had slept with in a one night stand. When he began to be destroyed by the Nameless Mikansia helped him regain his sense of self. He had somehow broken through the siege lines, promising to send help.
Akseli: Mikansia's commander. He had been in love with Makirta and abandoned her when she revealed that she was a dark elf. He was wiped by the Nameless, and by the time he regained himself Makirta had long gone into the Void. Finding Mikansia, he vowed to never abandon Mikansia.
Yngvar: Mikansia's Firstsword. He had been in love with Makirta, like his best friend Akseli, but was burned by her earlier on and nursed a grudge against her. He had transferred this grudge over to Mikansia, only to repent when he saw Mikansia's nobility.
Content Warning: Lots and lots of psychological torture, some sexual assault, and just a generally dark and awful series of events that somehow goes the right way. Somehow.
The dark elf resembled a giant party more than a military camp. There was music playing, wine flowed, and there were a number of elven women wandering about, flirting with the men. Mikansia was disgusted and surprised. Someone grabbed Mikansia by the waist, from behind. She slipped out of the grasp and whirled around.
It was Jabez. but his eyes were wrong.
Mikansia froze.
Jabez knocked Mikansia over. He pulled her pants off. She was too surprised to resist. That's when Mikansia realized that Jabez was naked already. Hard. And barking, whining.
Krakeru yanked Jabez off Mikansia and kicked him so hard Mikansia could hear the ribs cracking. "Down boy!" he yelled. Mikansia hurredly pulled her pants back on as a crowd gathered. Mikansia jumped up to stop Krakeru from further harming Jabez, but a very pointed look stopped her in her tracks. Krakeru wasn't just threatening; he actually seemed concerned about the other elves finding out about her bond with Jabez.
Some of the females joked that they'd not seen such sire in the males in a long time! One of them nudged Mikansia; too bad the Yetekaida couldn't have any fun, because she knew for a fact that Jabez was a ton of fun.
The crowd dispersed and Mikansia pleaded with Krakeru: how had Jabez, with all his nobility, descended to barking like a dog and almost raping her? Krakeru produced a vial: the most powerful aphrodisiac ever devised. It was also highly addictive, to a level that was impossible to understand. When Krakeru was younger they'd kept him on it. It took twenty years for Krakeru to come off it. Krakeru produced another vial. This drug produced such an incredible high! And it was always given whenever Krakeru consented to make a female pregnant, especially Makirta. it took thirty years to get off of that drug. Jabez had been passed along a good number of women, all over Elfharrow. He'd had the drug so often Krakeru was pretty certain he'd die from the withdrawals.
Krakeru took Mikansia to his tent, which made Mikansia almost have a panic attack. Krakeru tied Jabez to a nearby tree, told him to stay, and motioned inside to Mikansia. Steeling herself, Mikansia went inside. The tent was big enough for both of them to have their own space, and Mikansia took it. She asked why Krakeru had gotten off the drugs. Krakeru said he didn't need them to do his duty, and so they weaned him off. Outside Mikansia heard someone straddle Jabez and got to work. A couple of minutes later she got him, declared herself pregnant, and was escorted to the special tent for pregnant dark elves. Krakeru got up and gave Jabez his drug, getting him high. A few minutes later she heard Jabez sigh in relief, and actually verbalize thanks for the drug. He was coherent, finally.
When he came back into the tent Krakeru had some steak and a cup of human wine. The wine didn't smell quite right, and Mikansia should know, considering how much she had been drinking recently! Krakeru had put something into it. She tried to fake drinking it. Krakeru lay down and closed his eyes. Mikansia waited.
And waited.
Blinked. And waited.
Krakeru's breathing never sounded quite right.
So Mikansia waited.
Eventually Krakeru sat up. No use pretending! He asked why she was still awake. Mikansia said she had gone through a lot that day, and was still trying to process it. What would happen when the dark elves figured out she wasn't the Yetekaida? Krakeru scoffed; nobody but him could channel the Nameless in the whole camp. Their lives were in his hands, not the other way around. Krakeru took a long, hard look at Mikansia. She asked him why he was looking at her liked that, and Krakeru told her that she looked a lot like Makirta, just then. Krakeru got up: time to go pee. Mikansia could hear him crunching through the snow as he left.
Mikansia snuck to the front of the tent. Jabez sat under the tree out front, asleep. Other elves were around, but were doing their own thing, ignoring Krakeru's tent as much as they could. Mikansia gently woke up Jabez. She tried to reach him, but there was something fundamentally different about him. Mikansia pulled out his sword and showed it to him and told him she'd been trying to get it back to him. Coldly, he told her to keep it.
Mikansia heard Krakeru coming back, so she snuck back into the tent, promising a nonplussed Jabez she would get him out of there. She lay down just in time. But it didn't matter; Krakeru asked her how the talk with Jabez.
Mikansia burst into tears.
Krakeru grabbed her by the chin, gently but firmly. He told her she was wasting her tears. Life was about pain. Either you were dealing it or receiving it. And Krakeru wanted Mikansia to be a dealer. Mikansia drew back, furious. She didn't have the dark soul Krakeru had, and she never would! What Krakeru and Makirta had done, all those years, was impossible for her to do. She thought they were disgusting and could never repeat their actions.
Krakeru caught her by the throat, eyes practically glowing with anger. Mikansia froze. Krakeru told her she was no better than he, and that he could prove it. Shoving her back by her throat, Krakeru told Mikansia to go behind the tent and wait. Mikansia asked why she would do that. Krakeru threatened to tell the entire camp about how he'd raped her, and therefore she was not Yetekaida. And then he'd stand back and watch as they tore her apart. Mikansia said he had to be bluffing, that he had just talked about burning down the whole world to give to her. Krakeru said calling the bluff was unwise.
Mikansia went behind the tent and waited. Krakeru's tent was on the edge of the camp, as no one really wanted anything to do with an elf of the Lone Keep, nevermind Krakeru. As she waited Mikansia could hear there was a commotion going in the camp: a dragon had been seen flying over them, and then flying in the direction of Elfwatch!
Krakeru brought Jabez, and told Mikansia to start walking. They walked about a half hour, into a clearing in the Iron Forest. Krakeru took the leash off of Jabez and produced one of the vials out his pocket. He told Mikansia that if she didn't drink it he'd cut Jabez's throat. Trembling, she unstopped the cork and downed it.
She felt giddy. Great.
And then she was uncontrollably aroused. So badly that she wanted Jabez and Krakeru to take her, right then and there. Krakeru grabbed her wrist; her whole body erupted with longing. Combined with the near-constant arousal she always felt around Krakeru... it was almost too much.
Krakeru pulled Mikansia over to Jabez (Yes, one step closer!) and told him to tell Mikansia what he had said about month into his life as a breeding stud for the dark elves. Jabez paled taht; some of that familiar presence Mikansia knew returned. All the better if that helped him take her faster. Jabez pleaded with Krakeru. He didn't want to revisit this! But Krakeru insisted. So Jabez, trembling, began to speak: he had loved Mikansia since the second he'd first met her. It had hurt when when he'd sent Mikansia away (thanks for not telling him that Krakeru was her father, by the way!) and it had hurt when the king had banished him for aiding desertion, but Jabez had stood by those decisions. But these last two months? Being raped by every female dark elf, finally giving his consent and having so many children condemned to a life of evil because of his own cowardice?
Mikansia was not worth any of that.
The pain was so great, was so awful, that Jabez had told Krakeru that he had been wanting to hurt and defile Mikansia in the way he had been, to spread the pain around. He wanted her to say yes, to hold the consequences of hurting him for decades and decades to come.
Mikansia threw herself at him. She'd heard every word he'd said. And it had only gotten her more worked up. She was so ready. He knocked her onto the snow. She helped him take her pants off, fingers trembling.
And then the whole earth shook. Krakeru jumped. The whole dark elf camp was afire, with a dark and profane light. Above them roared a raging hurricane, the dragon.
Mikansia couldn't let this happen. She had her head back, if only for a moment. Jabez was still atop her. She pleaded with him, not like this! He looked confused, shocked by the explosion and Mikansia's change of attitude.
And then his eyes were right.
Jabez stood up.
So did Mikansia.
Jabez grabbed his sword. He told Mikansia to run. She balked. Krakeru laughed. But Jabez insisted; he was a dead man, regardless, because even if he defeated Krakeru the drug's withdrawals would certainly kill him. And Jabez desperately wanted to die on his own two feet. But Mikansia would not move.
A hurricane blast knocked them all over. The dragon was landing in the clearing! Off jumped Akseli and Yngvar. The roar of the Nameless knocked them all over, even cowing the dragon. Krakeru walked foward, still channeling the Nameless. With one smooth motion he gutted Jabez, who had managed to stand up, in front of Mikansia. Krakeru had already turned to to Akseli and Yngvar, who could not get up.
No.
Not this time.
Mikansia began the Song of the Sword, a low and angry hymn that undercut the roar of the Nameless coming out of Krakeru. She caught Jabez's sword as it fell and drove forward into Krakeru. He gasped, dropping his sword. He teetered onto Mikansia and grabbed the back of her head, pulling her close. Looking into her eyes, Krakeru said he didn't...
He became heavy all of a sudden. He fell backwards. Mikansia didn't catch him. She stood above Krakeru, staring at him as the life bled out of his stomach.
Someone's hands were on her bare waist. She threw him over her shoulder. It was Akseli. He had a blanket in his hands. They all laughed. She pulled him up, and then got her pants back on. And then Akseli and Yngvar were holding her. She relaxed.
"Um, I'm up here. Can we go now?"
Sitting atop the dragon's head was an elf. She waved "I'm Nomi. I know a lot of dark elves in that camp who I personally want to kill. Want to come?" Mikansia laughed and nodded. Nomi told her that Tyce told her hello. Mikansia beamed at that.
Yngvar helped Mikansia get Jabez's corpse atop the dragon; she kissed his forehead. She walked back to Krakeru's body and crushed the remaining vials he had on him.
Climbing back aboard the dragon, she held Jabez's body as they flew away.
Krakeru's body was left there, all alone.
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