The Ballad of War

-Maylin-

Avoiding the kicking and screaming, he carried the tiny child into his home, in hope of rescuing her. He set her down on the floor, “Here, get in here! You’ll be safe in here!” He shouted, pushing this tiny child into the closet and shutting the door. He didn’t hear anything more from her. Maylin ran outside to find more civilians and planned to get them to safety. He ran through the smoke and flames and could find nobody to help. Although he was only six, he was brave. He looked at his bare feet, and saw a bow right next to him with an arrow in ready. Maylin was in awe, for he had never seen a real weapon so closely before. He picked it up nervously. It felt like sin just to be holding it. “Help!” He heard from a voice from behind him. An elf was running after Iraphar, is brother, with a knife in hand. Iraphar could do nothing about either, as he had nothing. Maylin looked around and found two arrows on the ground and grabbed one to held it up. He had never had to hold a weapon, much less use one. Maylin didn’t know how to use a bow, but he would have to try. He held up the bow with the arrow at it’s string, and tried to aim it at the elf, who now had Iraphar in a corner. He let loose his hand and to his luck, the arrow soared through the air. The diamond tipped arrow flew and sunk straight into right leg of the elf. The elf fell to the ground bleeding. Maylin covered his eyes, for he didn’t want to actually kill the elf. He turned away, but when he heard Iraphar yell again, he turned back at the elf. Iraphar now had the knife at his head, and would be killed soon. Maylin picked up the other diamond tipped arrow and let it fly as well. This one flew again, and into the chest of Iraphar’s attacker. The elf fell again but this time faced the one who had shot him twice. The elf, which Maylin could now see was female, widened her eyes at the sight of a seemingly young six-year-old.

“She’ll live!” Maylin shouted! He didn’t want her to die, he just wanted her to leave. He looked at Iraphar, who had taken the knife that the elf dropped. Iraphar held it above his head, ready to thrust it into the wounded elven attacker. “Iraphar! No!” Maylin cried out letting everybody hear him, “Don’t kill her! Don’t kill–“ Maylin stopped his sentence at the sight of Iraphar driving the shortened blade into the back of the elf, taking her life. Tears drizzled down Maylin’s cheeks. He ran over to his brother Iraphar to confront him. “She would have lived,” Maylin stammered at his brother. “She could’ve made it out and alive easily!” he yelled.

Iraphar shook his head. “This is still a war,” Iraphar told him. If we let one live, they’ll come back by the thousands.”

“Your not a knight Iraphar!” Maylin reminded, “You said that we were going to save people on the streets, not kill!” Maylin hammered his fist into Iraphar’s stomach. “I saved two children, and one is in our house right now,” Maylin yelled still crying. “And you took somebody’s life away!” He walked over to the body of the elf, bowed his head, and prayed to the Divines. Maylin had no desire to talk to Iraphar now, or actually maybe for a long time. He held tightly on the bow and walked home to ask the young girl he rescued about her family.

Maylin sat on the hard wood floor with the holy book in front of him. He turned to the crying Delphin, whom had just been born. Maylin stood up to tend to the crying child when he heard Tyru, his sister, running down the stairs. “Mum! Dad! Iraphar and Maylin, I can float!” He heard her cry out. She stopped at him to see that him and Delphin were the only ones around. Maylin nodded and Delphin cried some more. “Okay, watch Maylin!” Tyru said as if in a rush. She fumbled for a moment and then waved her staff through the air, releasing he feet from the ground. Slowly but surely she went higher and higher. Maylin was very impressed with this, epsically for Tyru’s age. Maylin applauded and congratulated her, then returned to the crying Delphin as Tyru rushed out the door to the Academy of Magery.

Finally Delphin stopped crying and Maylin set him down. “You know,” Maylin said to Delphin, even though he knew that Delphin would not understand him, “Tyru really isn’t your sister.” Delphin got a quizzical look in his wide, blue eyes. “One day a long time ago, we took her in after her parents were taken by elves.” Now Delphin payed no attention. He just sat their fascinated by his own fingers. “She has been with us for so long, we just got used to being family.” Maylin said as he turned the page of the Holy Book. He placed his bookmark, an arrow, in and shut the book. “Tyru wants you to be a magician,” Maylin said poking Delphin in his small tummy. Delphin giggled and bounced around. “But Iraphar wants you to be a Rose Knight,” he told Delphin. Delphin looked like he was about to cry now. “But I want you to be whatever you want to be!” Maylin said tickling Delphin. Delphin trounced around in happiness and laughed a loud laugh.

Maylin put Delphin to sleep and went to his room to continue reading his divine book. Maylin did actually enjoy talking to himself when nobody was around. He talked as if Tyru or Iraphar was always with him. “The chapel has taken me in as a lower priest!” Maylin said at loud in excitement. Maylin wanted more than anything to be a priest when he was older. He felt like he lived for the Divines. “At this rate I might be head of the Rose Chapel when I’m older!” Maylin shouted loudly. Maylin jumped up like a child and envisioned his future of him becoming a head priest, which to him was almost his life goal. He mellowed down again and continued reading until Iraphar returned home.

Maylin grabbed ten-year-old Tyru and three-year-old Delphin and ran downstairs. Iraphar sealed the door on them for their own protection. Once again the elves were fighting to reclaim their land that was stolen from them. This was their second attempt in a number of 10 years to begin and end the war. Elves had charged into the Maylin and his family’s house and were killing everybody in sight. Iraphar remained with his parents to try and fend them off. From downstairs, Maylin could hear their screams and calls for assistance. Tyru tried to run up to them, but Maylin held her back. He tried his best not to run up to help them as well. A loud shriek was heard, and it was obvious that it was their mother, most likely now dead. Soon after another scream was heard from downstairs, this time from their dad. He too had now perished by the hands of the elves. Tyru cried more than ever before, at the sound of her second parents being killed. Maylin cried too, and kept her close to him while he covered Delphin’s ears.

Much time passed and at last, Iraphar came downstairs to let them now that it was fine to come out now. “They’re gone,” Iraphar said. “The elves, Mum, Dad,” He put his fist to his heart. “They are all gone now.” Tyru put her eyes in her hands. Delphin sat in a corner crying, but not totally understanding what had just happened. Maylin walked up to Iraphar, chest out, and stood at his eye level. To this day, Maylin had not forgiven Iraphar for what had happened seven years ago on the streets. He didn’t always have it on his mind but when things like this happened, Maylin and Iraphar rarely spoke. “How many did you kill,” Maylin asked as if the law. Iraphar broke eye contact and stared at the wall. “Tell me!” Maylin said demandingly as he grabbed the collar of Iraphar shirt. Iraphar pushed him away, still remaining silent. Maylin grabbed Tyru’s hand and picked up Delphin, covering the young child’s eyes, as he went up stairs to put them in their rooms. On the way their he saw three or four elven bodies on the floor, as well as the corpses of his parents. Tyru was still crying, as she kept her thumb in her mouth with concern, totally unaware of her babyish action. But Maylin didn’t care. He was just upset with Iraphar. Saying that Maylin was angry was far beyond an understatement.

“Maylin, get ready.” Iraphar told him kicking him in the leg. “The elves will be here at dawn, and you haven’t prepared yourself.” He turned his head away.

Maylin shook his head, “I’m not fighting,” he told Iraphar. “I’ve told you that before! I will take the horses and ride off with Tyru and Delphin.” He now stood up. “I will not let Tyru or Delphin get hurt.”

Iraphar pushed him back down. “Valendew needs heroes! Valendew needs us!” Iraphar stammered hammering his foot into the floor. Ever sense the day when their parents had been killed, Iraphar nor Maylin had been seeing eye-to-eye.

“Dammit Iraphar! Your not a hero!” Maylin protested, yelling almost as loud as possible. “You’re a blood seeker!” He threw his fist at Iraphar, but Iraphar stopped it from making any contact. “Heroes don’t do things because they want to! They do it because they know it’s right!” He flung his fists high in the air. “Heroes are rare, and most of them aren’t really heroes,” Maylin finished. “I’m going to take Tyru and Delphin far away from this. They have seen enough death for a lifetime!” Maylin yelled at the knight. Iraphar reached out his leg and drove it into Maylin’s shin, knocking Maylin on his knees.

Iraphar looked at the fifteen-year-old priest and withdrew his sword. Iraphar held his sword at Maylin’s shoulder, having no thoughts about what he was doing. “If you don’t fight, I will be your eradicator. You will march into Hell for this Heavenly cause,” Iraphar said sternly. Iraphar grabbed Maylin’s bow, the very same bow he had found on the street many years ago, and put it in Maylin’s hands. He removed his sword from Maylin’s shoulder. Maylin nodded with flare in his eyes.

“Fine!” Maylin yelled. “I’ll fight, but I’ll never forgive you for anything!” Maylin stammered. He was completely serious. He now had a rivalry with his brother Iraphar. Maylin grasped his bow tightly, picked up his quiver, and shut his eyes to think.

He opened his eyes just as Iraphar had yelled “Charge!” He watched in disbelief as many knights ran with swords on high to the Elven army. Maylin looked at his bow. It was silver trimmed and had a sharp point on the end. He then felt his quiver on his back, and all the arrows it carried. They were diamond tipped, just like the first ones he had shot. Maylin still didn’t want to kill, for all he wanted was to be a priest of the Divines. He knew that if he ran, Iraphar would find and kill him though, without any hesitation. Now Maylin felt his pocket, and the small kine it carried. This was is own hand crafted knife, and was only on him in case somebody confronted him hand-to-hand.

He scanned the battlefield, unaware that fighting had been happened for almost ten minutes. “Okay,” Maylin said looking for a target, just to please Iraphar and save his own life. He looked at Tyru who was flying, but with a petrified look in her eyes. She looked as though every thing was now wrong, and all she wanted to do was go home. Maylin tried to ignore this and he continued looking until his saw an archer elf aiming at Iraphar. He upped his bow and put an arrow to it’s string. He sighted this elf carefully, and took caution while aiming. He had practiced with the bow before and was actually very good. He could simply hit the elf and he knew he could. Once he knew that his arrow would hit, and he had thought about whether or not to shoot, he loosed his finger from the sting. But, right as he let go of the arrow, Maylin had heard a loud, “Help me Maylin!” from his brother Iraphar. This made Maylin jump while he shot, and completely messed up Maylin’s shot. He turned to help Iraphar, but then focused on his arrow to see if luck was on his side. The arrow soared through the air, and finally stopped. Maylin gasped for breath as his heart sank as if to the depths of the Earth. Maylin covered his eyes and ran away from the battle sobbing in every step, and he dashed of to the woods in sight. The arrow had made perfect contact with Tyru! He had shot, and certainly killed, Tyru! I couldn’t bare this. He no longer had any desire to live. The only thought he had was that he just killed the very same girl he had saved long ago. Maylin dashed, and dashed quickly into this near-by woods in which he still didn’t stop running.

Maylin continued until he finally stopped at a small clearing in this woods with a lonely tree stump right in the middle of it. Maylin gasped for breath, as he sat before this tree stump. Suddenly, a figure popped out in front of him and stopped. It was Annoica, the elven warrior Iraphar wanted dead. He held a knife, but had no intension of fighting Maylin. Maylin stood up with tears flooding his eyes, with his knife in hand in case this elf attacked. They looked into each other’s eyes for a while. The two races that had been at war for so long, were not fighting here. Maylin spoke up, “If you want to pass, then pass.” He said. Annocia bent down on one knee and bowed to Maylin, nodded, then ran off past Maylin.

Maylin sat on the tree stump in this forest with agony at his side. “I hate you Iraphar,” He whispered to himself, although he really didn’t mean it. “I’m so sorry Tyru, please forgive me,” he cried out covering his eyes. Maylin knew he couldn’t live on knowing that he had killed his sister that he had previously rescued. Maylin sat down on his knees in the grass, facing the stump. He gasped his knife that was in his pocket and held it high above his head. “Shina Criosia, en vadious te ontevio iara Tyru!” He rehearsed from the Holy Book. He yelled out louder than he had ever yelled before. “Masa intodian kes Divines.” He held tightly onto the knife as he drove it down, quickly and powerfully, into his chest. He let out an atrocious yell and released the knife, leaving it in his body. He watched his blood flow down his shirt and breeches and he rested his head on the stump in this clearing. He could now be liberated from this pain he had just felt and would have lived with forever. He shut his eyes and withdrew enough air to say, “Please forgive me,” an Maylin let out a small gasp. He shut his eyes again and knew that he was now free from this war and it’s suffering. He looked up as he could ever so faintly see Tyru, and his parents far, far away, but then right beside him.

Note: I do apologized for the character’s swearing. To me it just seemed suitable for the position they were in. Sorry!