The story of Atanyan, High Elf Prince of Tiranoc

[LochNESS]

The story of Atanyan, High Elf Prince of Tiranoc

Atanyan took a deep breath, his keen eyes staring towards the horizon, nothing. The sea was calm and the wind seemed to be willing to help Atanyan and his crewmembers. The sky was clear and sun was at its highest point bathing the ship in a flood of bright yellow light. Two weeks ago Atanyan had been summoned by Finubar, his quest was noble but dangerous and chances were Atanyan would not come home again and see the fair land of Ulthuan. The other Elves on the ship didn?t know their destination and still all of them knew it was an important mission, the existence of Elvenkind was depending on them. Though the mission was a mystery to the rest of the crew, the direction the ship was sailing towards was clear to all Elves: northeast, Old World.

Bad memories came up again and Atanyan was not sure what they meant. Images of war, clouded skies, lighting, a great crowd cheering at some champion of past times and finally? himself. What did these dreams mean? What were they trying to stop him from? He didn?t know, when he looked around all seemed fine. His crewmembers were pretty happy and the journey had been without any incidents.

Lathanial came to Atanyan, the noble young Elf had was an impressive appearance and excelled in all arts at an age of only 500 years. ?What is bothering you my lord?? asked Lathanial. Atanyan looked up, on his face were the deep thoughts visible that were bothering him for the past two weeks. Lathanial seemed someway to notice feelings and thoughts before anyone else noticed them. ?Well Atanyan? What is on your mind?? Atanyan took a second look at Lathanial, his robe seemed made out of better cloth than the other Elves were wearing. A great ancient pattern was embroidered on the back of it and the wind was slowly playing with the ends of the robe. This caused a continuously changing pattern and this even confused Atanyan for a second. ?Dark thoughts, very dark thoughts are troubling my mind? answered Atanyan. Lathanial shivered, his lord had feelings of disaster and such feelings deemed to be true. ?No Lathanial, it does not affect any of the crew. I think?? he added. ?Well Atanyan, I hope your feelings deem to be false for we must accomplish our mission.? ?The the problem is mission. I was send on this mission, not you nor any of the other crewmembers. My mission is dangerous but if I succeed the rewards will be numerous.? Lathanial didn?t have an answer, as he knew what his lord was talking about.

The rest of the journey seemed calm, no changes in weather or wind direction. The ship was sailing at an unimaginable speed for humans. The bow of the ship pierced the water like a knife through warm butter. Some human trading ships had been spotted on the horizon and even an Elven ship from Chatay but no time was available to meet the Elves and hear the latest news from the Orient. The final stage of the journey was coming near. The weather changed when they got near Albion; rain was blocking all sight and flooding the decks. Thunder and storm made even the Elven ship hard to handle. Waves collapsing on the ship were trying to take Atanyan?s crew with them as they retreated from the deck when another wave came splashing on the deck again. Atanyan had foreseen this but not in this amount, it had to be some test of some kind as he knew he would still have other parts to play. What would happen if he would fall into sea, leaving his ship leaderless? Lathanial needed to take over command in such a situation and guide his crew back to Ulthuan or Lathanial could take over his mission... He called for Lathanial and within minutes he was in Atanyan?s quarters.

Lathanial seemed troubled and as his lord started to explain his mission Lathanial got even more troubled. ?But Atanyan, what would happen if I took over your mission and die too?? ?We must not speak such dark words Lathanial.? Atanyan said rebuking. ?We will succeed for our families? future depends on it, maybe even the whole world. The young Elf seemed shocked, his bright green eyes were faint and the normally uplifting mood he had was gone. Even his clothing seemed darker. ?The burden you give me is great my lord, but for the Asur, my friends and family, I will accept.? The prince seemed happy to have told his story to Lathanial, after all he was the most competent Elf after himself. The boatman entered the room. ?All is save Atanyan? he said, ?we will arrive in Marienburg in 2 days.? Atanyan smiled, the first part of his mission was completed. What would happen was vague but he knew great danger was ahead.

-------------------------------------------------------------

The ship entered the port of Marienburg. A crowd of people were staring, the sight of the Elven ship taking their breath away. While the crew was cleaning the ship Atanyan took a look around Marienburg, the Empire style town did recall memories. A burning town, people screaming for help, water shortage, fireballs dropping from the sky, terror, Chaos? It was but one of his painful memories happened in his long life and for a moment he did not regret dying. Searching the city he suddenly noticed the odd foreignfeelingin Marinburg. s a fre countr Marienurg had grown bigger and bigger and lots of traders from all over the world were arriving and departing its busy harbour. People seemed friendlier to foreigners than in most other towns he had been but someway a dark cloud was going through the city.

When Atanyan got all the supplies he needed he went back to the ship, the crew had finished cleaning up and was ready to leave for Gr?nburg. Atanyan had told his men he had to fight, the best champions of the gods were selected to fight each other in close combat. All champions were allowed to use as many magic items as they could afford, many would no return to their homes or heavily injured. As far as Atanyan knew there were 24 champions fighting to determine the fate of their races. The fights would be in an arena near Gr?nbrug and would take at least 3 days of travelling.

Atanyan and his crew started their journey to Arena of Death. He had heard some rumours about this arena as the people in Marienburg called the fights between the chosen champions. The name send shivers through Atanyans bones for he knew the name was thru. He also got an idea what the great crowd was cheering for. He had heard some stories about an old championship were heroes would fight each other to death. Lathanial walked next to him, noble, straight and above all certain. ?You will win these fights Atanyan, your equipment is the best our smiths have even created and your skills match those of the great heroes of the past? he said. ?Thanks Lathanial but I have my doubts about these fights, are we just some puppets of the gods or does this mean the tides of darkness will come to an end?? ?I don?t know Atanyan? he replied. ?The gods have weird ways of blessing their worshippers and taking some Chaos champions, Vampires or Dark Elves down would be a blessing to the complete world.? ?Yes, you are right but what if I have to fight another Elf, a faithful servant of the emperor or even a Dwarf. Killing any of our allies can?t be a good thing to do?? ?No my lord but you will have to do this for the Asur, the world and Asuryan?

The company marched on, walking day and night. Roads should not be used nor any smaller paths for the locals were not to friendly and Elves were not too popular anymore. The forests and mountains on the other hand were not save either. Beastmen, Goblins and other foul creatures were lurking around. Stopping could be fatal for an attack could be launched at any time. As they went deeper and deeper into the forest the trees got bigger and darker. The bushes also grew more hostile, sharp branches and weird looking leaves showed the Elves something was wrong. They lowered their pace as they looked around. Fog was filling the forest and the sun started setting. Soon the forest was a dark, hostile place were even the Elves could hardly see anything.

A few breaking branches took their attention. Quickly they grabbed their spears and bows. A soul-piercing scream came from a few bushes nearby, when an Ungor jumped from the forest. A white-feathered arrow pierced the heart of the Ungor. Kicking his legs and arms the creature blew out his last breath screaming to his mates. Suddenly a group of Gors came from the bushes and started attacking the crew of Atanyan. Atanyan picked up his finely balanced great sword and started slashing. His skills were no match for the puny Gors but the their sheer numbers forced the High Elves to take losses.

Again Atanyan swung his sword, the blade cut easily through the neck of the Gor. His body fell to the ground but the head stayed in place. The eyes started glowing and the head was trying to say something. ?You will not win the tournament.? ?Find that shaman! It must be killed, we cannot do anything while he lives? screamed Atanyan. ?You will die before you reach the Arena, and will be forgotten by your family? the head replied. The group of Gors kept fighting, already 5 of Atanyan?s crewmembers had been killed, the number of dead Gors was many many times higher but having such a small crew made him decide to run, run as fast as they could. ?RETREAT, get out of here!? Atanyan ordered. Lathanial went in front followed by the rest of the crew while Atanyan took the rear to protect his crew. The Gors didn?t follow, leaving them hopeless within the forest, when suddenly they came to an open spot in the densely grown forest. A few rocks were placed in a circle, the mushrooms growing in the circle were weird looking; a yellow head with some big red spots on them. The beastmen shaman was casting his spells from this place. Atanyan knew what to do. He stepped into the circle raising his mighty sword. The shaman took a glimpse at Atanyan, tried to cast a spell and failed when the sword had split his head in two pieces.

The fog started to disappear they continued their mission and made it to the village. The Arena of Death was located in the hills near Gr?nburg. After a short walk they got at a huge coliseum build in a dark stone rising from a high hilltop. The gothic windows were all broken and the roof had collapsed, the wind was howling through the catacombs but they had made it. The battles were soon to begin and what would fate bring Atanyan?

[LochNESS]

And the story continues

Chapter 2: The Arena of Death; Group A

Atanyan had not slept well; bad dreams had ruined his night. The days before were normal; other heroes, creatures from all over the world came to the arena and prepared themselves for the upcoming battles. Some came in peace even those smelly Dwarfs. Others came in slaughter leaving a trail of blood, their swords still dripping with blood when the entered they entered the ruined building. Atanyan felt Orcs were near. He got out of bed and picked up his sword from the chestnut drawer. Slowly he walked through the dark room, his keen eyes focused on the door. Footsteps, some people were talking and laughing. Then he heard a primitive mumbling. The sound came from the other side of the door and it was not easy to understand. ?Ghark? smurka ?. struk? were the words he could hear, he knew a green skin was behind the door but it wasn?t an Orc.

He stopped near the door, got the keys and quietly unlocked it. ?Get out? he shouted in his best Goblin when he opened the door. But it wasn?t a Goblin behind the door; a group of Snotlings was playing poker while making fun of the Goblins at the table. The Snotlings hurried away and Atanyan closed the door again. Snotlings, he thought, the special creatures of Gork and Mork. While he walked towards his bed somebody knocked on the door. It was Lathanial. ?Hello, lord Atanyan? he said. ?Please don?t use that title here.? He replied while they entered the room.

Atanyan lighted the fireplace and seated in a chair in the room. The room had not been used for years; the paintings were covered in dust and the dark red carpet was grey and brown of soil. When Lathanian seated he started about the upcoming arena. ?They have formed the groups? he said. ?You will be fighting against Hurin the Bretonnian duke, a dreadful bane-beast and Ramatep a Vampire.? ?Hmm interesting? Atanyan replied. ?How are my chances?? ?I?d say the Bretonnian duke shouldn?t be too much of a problem. The Vampire and the strong bane-beast could be a problem.? ?That doesn?t seem too promising a bane-beast? Atanyan said. The bane-beast was a huge creature, blood thirsty and skilled. The mussels of the creature were enormous; he remembered when the creature came to the arena two nights ago. His sword was brown of the dried blood and dripping from fresh slayed victims. ?What can you tell about the bane-beast?? Atanyan asked. ?Well, as you might have noticed he is blessed by Khorne himself and his armour is very, very twisting. The magical powers causing terrible organic forms distracting your attention from the creature. He also carries an enchanted shield, that?s all his equipment useful to know.? A magical talisman carried by Atanyan negated all magical weapons and reduced them to mere weapons of iron so magical weapons were not a large problem for the High Elf prince.

Atanyan went to bed and dreamed weird. The images were unclear but very intimidating. Slashing swords, slaughtered towns, rivers of blood. What would these dreams mean? It was only a few days until the tournament and the fate of the world could be determined here. Were the gods against or in favour of you? It would all become clear during the upcoming months. The fights were dangerous and for the sake of safety only one battle was fought each day. This was because the wizards couldn?t hold the magical fields around the arena for a complete day and guaranty the safety of the locals. Atanyan would be in the first fight in the Arena of Death. His first enemy would be the vicious vampire thrall Ramatep.

The arena was being prepared for the battles. Special gutters to let the blood flow away were dug. People from all over the Old World were coming towards Gr?nburg to see the Arena of Death. Slowly but steady the group of doom preaching flagellants was growing. Mages were gathering and talking about the difficulties to maintain the force field in the fierce battles that were due to come.
Atanyan went to the village to get food for the next few days. It was crowded and the market place was filled with people from distant states; Tilians, Arabs, Bretonnians and many others were searching for a sleeping place or shopping. Atanyan walked to the bakery, followed by the gazes of the crowd not used to Elves in their towns.

After he got the goods he needed he went to the tavern ?The Flying Pegasus.? He took the cap of his coat over his head and entered the dark drinking room. The few candles in the room created a cosy atmosphere. Paintings of drinking and fun in pubs and the nature in the Empire decorated the walls. Atanyan took a seat at the bar and ordered a blueberry drink. ?Lot of crowd around? Atanyan opened the conversation. ?Yeah, the outsiders bring bad influences to town? the barkeeper replied.? ?Do you know what is going to happen?? The prince asked. ?A huge fight is going to take place. That is nothing unusual; we have that all the time here. One of the biggest arenas in the world here? he said with a smile on his face. ?But these outsiders are bad, evil rats, strange reptile creatures. That can?t be good. When we had Dwarfs or Elves it wouldn?t be that bad, they brought many good things but these things??

The road towards the arena was filled with people when Atanyan walked back. The sun was dark red and caused a gloomy glow over the landscape. All heroes had made it to the arena and the fights were starting the other day. Atanyan had to fight in the first round and had the honour to start in the first fight of this Arena of Death. His enemy would be Ramatep. The thought caused a shiver. He hoped his fight would start well and this night would be a silent one this time.

The night was indeed silent; the world had never been as silent as that night Atanyan remembered. The sun started to rise from behind the horizon and the birds started their songs. All seemed awfully calm for a day like this, the world's ending might be decided during the upcoming months. A large crowd had already gathered in front of the arena and the wizards took their places inside the a special ring around the pit where the fights would be held.

Atanyan walked trough the catacombs of the arena, former prisons for slaves and gladiators were filled with skeletons. Cries from wild animals caused fear in the hearts of their caretakers and the few torches were hardly enough to light the long, low corridors. Guided by a servant Atanyan was leaded through the dense and dark system of paths and chambers below the pit of the arena. He knew an assassin was participating in this Arena of Death and he was careful to avoid any incidents that might cause an early death.

The bright light blinded Atanyan when he entered the pit. When his eyes were adjusted to the light he saw the large monumental building. High in the construction were bright banners flowing on the wind, each representing a hero participating in the Arena of Death. The tribunes were filled with people from all over the Old World and beyond and a couple of entertainers were showing their tricks while the vampire entered the pit from the other side of the arena. The entertainers finished their show and the pit was free for the first fight.

A loud trumpet signal marked the beginning of the battle. Atanyan charged towards the vampire while the vampire was running towards Atanyan. Ramatep shouted a loud battlecry and Atanyan replied him. The crowed started cheering when the two warriors were reaching each other. Atanyan raised his fine, balanced sword. He hit the vampire with all his fury and the vampire?s head was launched from the body. The head flew a hundred feet before it hit the ground. His first enemy was slain without any hard effort. The wizards revived the vampire for the next fight in his group. Atanyan thanked the crowd and the wizards and went back to his room.

Lathanial was already there and congratulated Atanyan with his first victory. He took off his armour and placed his sword in the corner of the room. The sun was shining bright and a good dinner was served to celebrate his first victory in the Arena of Death. Two more fights were due to happen in this group. ?What can you tell about Hurin?? Atanyan asked Lathanial. ?Hurin is a heavily armoured knight from Bretonnia. He carries the Cuirasse of Fortune, Mithril great Helm and the Enchanted Shield. This gives him a very high resistance against your attacks and his Mantle of Blood will prevent instant death like you caused against the vampire.? ?Interesting? Atanyan repied. ?I will have a long fight I assume, that will be way more interesting than the last fight which hardly challenged my skills.?

He took a bite from the large steak and it tasted really good. The rest of dinner was spent talking about Ulthuan and the future of the world. It was too bad Hurin had to be fought, the Bretonnians were not evil and didn?t deserve to die. He hoped the battle would come out for the best. In these rounds you were still revived but in the next round you would just be dead. It was hopeless, this way of deciding the end of the world wasn?t the right one in their opinion but how could they reject the will of the gods? Not following orders from a god was even worse then betraying your allies and Atanyan and Lathanial knew their allies would also fight to their death.

The following days were spent with his crew and they visited the other fights to see how his opponents and friends were doing in the arena. It was odd to see these great warriors fighting each other while you were not fighting yourself. There was no way you could help or stop the fight, it was so close and yet so far away. The crowd outside was still growing and was enthusiastic supporting the fighting heroes. The sound of the flagellants was far away when he was looking to the fights and preparing himself for the next fight against Hurin.

When Atanyan entered the arena Hurin was already waiting for him. Hurin started running and Atanyan charged the Bretonnian knight. He unleashed his sword but the skilled Bretonnian knight avoided two of his blows. The other two hit the knight but the think armour plates and magical aura of the blessed knight were able to stop the other two blows. Hurin raised his sword and had time to unleash four attacks on the noble High Elf. Atanyan duck, jumped and stopped the first three attacks but the fourth swing of the sword hit him, his armour was pierced but the magical enhanced armour protected him in a moment where times changed and powerful attacks were useless. Hurin retreated and prepaired himself for a second charge but the skilled prince was faster and Atanyan charged Hurin. The prince hit Hurin three times and the armour seemed to give way. A magical flash caused the first hit to bounce of the armour. The second hit was stopped again by the magical aura but the third attack pierced the armour and caused a major wound.

The Bretonnian knight seemed to need that hit and with a striking fury he attacked Atanyan. The experienced prince was surprised by this fury and this caused a little dip in his concentration. Hurin caused two hits and again the sword pierced the armour of the prince. This time the magical layer of the armour didn?t stop the all hits and Atanyan was wounded. His leg bleed but he needed to go on. He raised his sword and attacked again. The knight didn?t do much anymore and stopped only one of the four attacks. His armour was weakened by the blasts before and two pierced the armour. The blessed armour didn?t stop the hits either and Hurin dropped to the ground. Atanyan raised his sword to show the public he was victorious and left for the rest room.

Lathanial saw his lord was wounded and took care of the deep flesh wound caused by the Bretonnian knight. Magical potions were sprinkled over the wound and finally bended. Atanyan was tired, the fight took a long time and the strong armour took a lot of strength of him. The next week was off and he Atanyan went to town again. He didn?t bother about his looks this time and his fair clothing drew a lot of attention. Some people approached him but were too amazed to see an Elf to ask any questions. Suddenly a small boy came out of the crowd in Gr?nburg and stepped towards Atanyan. ?Hello mister? he said. The prince smiled, ?Hello little boy. You are quite brave for a child your age; you may have a great future ahead. What is your name?? ?Felix mister.? ?Hello Felix, my name is Atanyan.? ?Here, I want you to have this? said the boy while he took a small drawing from his pocked. It was an Elf fighting a vicious vampire. ?Thank you, I really like this? said the Elf. ?You are a great drawer, what do you want to do when you grow up?? ?I want to fight evil vampires and save the Empire from evil creatures but my mother doesn?t want me to do that, she is afraid.? ?Many people are afraid little boy, I also have fears, it helps us to do things we wouldn?t normally do. Like fighting Chaos.? The boy was surprised by this answer and thought a little while. ?Just practice a lot little boy and something good might happen? said Atanyan. ?Ok, I will practice well Atanyan, good luck in the arena.? ?Thank you, live long and prosper.?

The last fight in the group was due to come and Atanyan was resting to heal the wound faster. The final opponent would be Kaptain-Kaos a terrible bane-beast of Khorne. The wound had healed well during the last days and was almost gone. Atanyan spayed a little potion over the wound and went to bed. He woke up with a strange feeling. He picked up the talisman from the drawer next to the bed and hung it around his neck. The finely crafted armour suite fitted Atanyan perfectly and his sword was a richly decorated jewel. He walked towards the pit and entered it. He saw the public that was mainly dressed in Atanyan?s colors and smiled. After a few minutes a loud scream came from the other entrance of the pit. A dead body flew into the pit; it was the guard that should lead the bane-beast into the arena. The runes on the sword of the bane-beast were glowing with a dark red light, activated by the blood of the innocent victim slain a moment before and frenzied creature wielding this terrible sword seemed hungry for more blood.

When he noticed Atanyan in the arena he started his charge and howled a terrible cry. The spectators protected their ears but Atanyan didn?t move a single step. The light of the sword faded with each step towards the noble prince. And when he reached the High Elf prince the sword had lost all of its power. Atanyan stepped aside and the bane-beast ran next to Atanyan. When he had passed the fair Elf, it was the prince?s turn. He charged the bane-beast but though the magical weapon had lost its power the bane-beast still had his skill and stopped three of Atanyan?s attacks. The twisting armour had no effect and was pierced by the fury of the prince? slash. The bane-beast screamed in pain but his anger only grew. He started to swing his sword in an uncontrollably frenzy, Atanyan?s skill wasn?t enough against this sheer power and he failed to stop three hits. His armour was pierced but a sudden screen created by the magical powers of the armour protected two hits.

Atanyan tried another tactic, he jumped backwards, the bane-beast stepped forward and at that moment Atanyan struck the creature. He pierced the armour again and the heavily wounded bane-beast fell to the ground. Atanyan stepped towards the bane-beast to finish the creature but suddenly it struck Atanyan, it was a trick. Atanyan screamed and the crowd was struck in fear, how could an evil creature like that use such treacherous tactics. The armour was pierced and the magical aura didn?t prove strong enough to stop both wounding hits. Atanyan, heavily wounded was still not intimidated by the continuously morphing and knew if he didn?t finish the creature now he would die himself. His four attacks were weak and the dying creature defended two of them. His armour was so weak it gave way and the creature fell to the ground, this time forever.

He was victorious but terribly wounded. More dead then alive he walked towards the resting room. The complete crew was there to help Atanyan to his room and they took care of the prince. The next days were silent and Atanyan didn?t leave his room. The wounds healed slowly but steady and it proved he would be ready to fight in the next round as normal. The only thing he didn?t know was against whom...