By Accursed Means

The Elder [Chapter 3]

His eyes crept open, and the stiffness slowly receded with a shuffle and turned he picked himself off the ground and looked around at his handy work. The earth mixed with steel in front of his eyes and showed deep carvings and what seems as if they were runes but faded over time. He reached his fingers out, pulling the mud from the mold.

The steel began to take form as he pulled away from the mud, and by the time he entirely stopped what laid before him was a deep carving of a dwarf standing in a stoic pose, the details in his face show a skillful hand had carved this. The dwarf's right hand placed itself under his inch as his eyes looked out.

As Virgil's eyes scanned its entirety, a black ring laid on the dwarf's ring finger, Dust and mud clung to it, but its brilliance shone still. The ring's design had deep scratches and small grooves. Virgil stepped back and gazed at the mural for a moment assessing every detail. The dwarf looked an inch taller for one of his race, and He wore a battle cloak mixed with medium and heavy armor. There was not an ounce of strain on his face; he just stood there.

"COLLECTION TIME YOU DOGS GET THEM READY," a shout came tumbling down to his bars, which cause Virgil to whip his head around and peer out of the darkness of the cave. He wasted no time and moved forward the walk to the actual bars didn't take long he was getting accustomed to the gravity being hammering into him.

He looked out into the pit, and the plate caught his attention, His hunger had taken a backseat to his burst of excitement a short while ago. In a swift motion, he dipped pulled the plate in and began scoffing down the conduction of a meal. As he finished and looked out across, he saw a bit into the other prisoner's cells, and they were loading up the mud and dirt at the entrance of the bars.

He wasted no time and darted back deeper into his cell with his plate in hand. As he got to the mural of the dwarf, he ignored it and began scooping dirt onto the plate and flung it out towards the bars of the cell. He repeated the motion continuously until a voice echoed out. "SEND THEM," the voice shouted, and small trolleys began to mover up and down the walkway the prison.

It took a while, but a trolley eventually came to Bar 89, and Virgil looked out and down at it. The cart had stacks of mud and dirt already in it, so he wasted no time when a small part of the bar disconnected and swung to the side. He flung his Dust in with the others until it was aways filled, so the trolley began to move off back up the walkway.

The bar swung back and locked in after a short click. Virgil stared at it for a moment and turned his back the entire time he'd been fling mud; he could feel a pair of eye's bearing down on his back. He turned and walked in to see just what the hell he was dealing with it.

As he stood just about two feet away from the mural and reach out his hand to touch the now exposed ring, as his fingertip collided with each other, a jolt ran from his fingers to his head and toes then back to his finger. A dark and purple light flashed at that moment; there stood the dwarf in his flesh looking down at Virgil, who was now on flat his ass.

Their eyes met, and the dwarf seemed to be feeling disgusted with the sight before him.

"You unseeded, what year is this" Virgil was quite startled to hear the old dwarf talk to him while pointing his stubbled finger. Virgil sat there for a moment and searched his memory for the answer the old man was looking for. As those ticking seconds went by, the expression on elders' faces visibly change and begun to distort.

"566 TYV," Virgil hurriedly said as he quickly got to his feet. His mouth visually twitched, and a shock was written all over his face. As Virgil looked down at the dwarf from a distance, he began to sweat a little. The Elder looked up again, and a pressure drilled down on Virgil's shoulders, threatening to kill him if he moved.

"Sit," The old man said, and so Virgil did.

"Where am I," he said.

"You are in The Pits of The Dwarven Greats, which is now the Prison of The Gavein Empire," Virgil informed him.

The eyebrow of the dwarf twitch slightly at his words as he sat himself down as well; they locked eye's and the old man proceed with his questions.

"If this is a prison that means you're a prisoner, What was your crime?" He asked, looking at Virgil questionable.

"Being Born under an unlucky star," Virgil spat a sentence. The elders brow arched and looked at Virgil more intently.

"In my day responses like that would get you killed or killed when an elder is speaking to a junior, Hahaha," He said while looking up at the ceiling and caves. Virgil began to shake slight at the laugh that was filled with unimaginable strength.

"Can I ask you a question, How did you know I am an Unseeded?" Virgil looked up from his hesitant place.

"Ohh, that well around 130 TYV, humans like you roamed the land and caused all types of mayhem, and because of that mayhem your bunch racked up, Hunters like me were created SO IKNOW WHAT ONE OF YOU LOOK LIKE FROM JUST A GLANCE." He said, stroking his bread, looking off in the distance.

The shock on Virgil's face show "130, Humans didn't rule back then, what was life like back then," He slightly shouted.

"Seeing as though it's been 500years, a lot must have changed, so I'm guessing the races aren't living together in harmony anymore. Back then, the prissy little elves and you meat sacks, us the dwarfs and giants with some of the orc tribes and fae lived as if we were family. There was nothing that we didn't come together and do with the support of each other, But."

...

The Elder stopped and stared at Virgil for a moment. "Everything changed when your raced attacked." Virgil became stunned at the revolution humans started the war, but as he thought it over humans have aways started wars. It was just in our nature to lust after what we could not have land money or power.

What specific role did unseeded play without power" asked the slightly confused Virgil. The Elder looked over, and anger began to swell atop his face. "You bunch of unseeded spread like wildfire slandering the other races and turning those in the position of power to kill off who they deemed fit to die, The Unseeded where the heralds of death and corruption of the mind; so the elves and Us dwarves created the Argonauts hunters of humans.

Hearing the short but to the point story a question jumped out at Virgil, so he asked in a respectful manner" Elder something is wrong here unseeded are not that powerful" he spoke softly, The dwarf looked over and eyed him "Boy you have a lot to learn, This world is not run by what you see in front but what stand behinds it." he

"Humans with power stood behind all attackers, You unseeded were just the small fish in a much larger pond, and Gavein used them as he pleased; I'm surprised that he's still alive as you said this is his prison.

Virgil shook slightly by what the Elder was saying that would mean for 500 years. The Gavein has held power over the land and is still seeking more, but there is no way that the first Gavein would be alive.

"What are you going to do now elder," Virgil asks, looking for more information. The Elder stood up, and so did Virgil, and he began walking to the bars, but as he got closer, he began to look transparent, and a pained expression flashed over his face. A hued light pulled him back, and he got dragged backward and latched onto the wall.

The Elder looked around, and a calm realization washed over his face. " That goddamn elf" Shouted and slowly sat back down, Virgil watching this squinting stunned the thought of what kind of power could trap a being down here was frightening. The dwarf feeling the boy's eye's upon him, a stroke of genius came to him.

"He boy, Come sit," He said, wagging his stubby finger.

"It seems I will not be leaving this place anytime soon, so, with you being the one to awaken me, I should at least do something for you, so hold out your hand and take what's left of an Original Hunter of Men. Virgil's eyes glued to the man's face as if he was a strange animal that was about to take off into a deep forest. He reframed from saying anything to increases his chances of not pissing of the Elder.

He raised his hand up and out towards the Elder, and the old man hovered his hand over the outstretched hand and with words that will change Virgil's fate forever. 

"BEING NOT OF BLOOD BINDS US, WE ARE THE HUNTERS OF MEN, I RYHARR GRANITE THIRD IN NAMED AND PARTRIACHE OF CLAN GRANITE HAS CHOSEN HIS SUCCESSOR TO CARRY ON THE HUNT. I BEQUEATH MY LANDS AND TREASURES TO HIM AND HIS KIN TO FOLLOW, IN NAME AND BODY I GRANT HIM MY POWER AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE ASHEN ARTS AND ALL MY RENDERED POWER. WITH THIS, I GIVE MY LIFE IN RETURN AS A DARK HUNTER I WALK THE PATH OF ASH."

The cave seemed to have been swallowed as the Elder talked, and Virgil's eye's never left his hands as that jet black ring began to melt off the Elder's finger slowly and began to drip in his palm. As the Elder got to the end of his sentence, a burning pain ran through Virgil's body, and his face began to contort. He pulled his hand back, clutching it with dear life trying to stop the pain, but it wouldn't his body just wouldn't listen to him.

Ryharr looked upon his now successor and scoffed a bit. Never in his dreams, he thought he would be giving his power up to a human and an Unseeded at that. "LISTEN, WELL BOY AND NEVER FORGET WHAT IM ABOUT TO TELL YOU, THE ASHEN POWER IS A COMPLEX ONE, BEING A ORIGINAL ELEMENT IT CAN HAVE A MIND OF IT'S OWN IF THE HOST ISN'T STRONG ENOUGH, YOU BEING A UNSEEDED WORKS BUT ALSO HURTS YOU, NOT HAVING A SEED ALREADY DEVELOP LIMITS WHAT THE ASHEN POWER CAN DO FOR YOU SO, I'VE GOTTEN RID OF THAT SHACKLE THAT BINDS YOU PRISONER HER BUT GETTING OUT IS YOUR PROBLEM, NOW I'VE BEND THE POWER FROM ME AND ALL MY KNOWLEDGE INTO FORM A SEED WITHIN YOU THAT BEING SAID YOUR SEED HAS NOT BEEN COMPLETED AND THE POWER YOU NOW HOLD IS LIMITED, BUT IT'S STILL POWERFUL DEVELOP IT THE WAY YOU WANT BLACK FIRE IS HARD TO PLAY WITH HAHAHA"

Virgil's mind went bank upon hearing that all so he couldn't help but stare out.

"OHH AND ONE MORE THING IF YOU HAPPEN TO COME ACROSS A ELF BY THE NAME OF SIYALTOLIS GYIAME KILL HIM ON SIGHT AND IF YOU CAN'T RUN AND DON'T LOOK BACK HE'S THE ONE THAT TRAPPED ME DOWN HERE AND HAS PLACED THIS GODFORSAKEN TAILIMENT ON ME, hE COULD LOCK ME UP, BUT COULDN'T TAKE MY POWER FROM ME BUT NOW IM ABOUT TO BE FREE FROM HIM AND THIS GOD DAMN WORLD AT LAST SO I CAN'T SAY NOT BUT THANK YOU UNSEEDED FOR FINDING ME AND NO LETTING ME SET MYSELF FREE."

Ryharr face became stoic as he leaned back on the wall and closed his eye's he felt the warm embrace and drifted off to it. His body was visibly turning hard and cracking. Virgil sat there for what felt like hours to him, but only 30mins as the Elder's body slowly faded into Dust, Then Dust and a heavy feeling was released off the area.