Prologue
Swords clashed as the storm raged. Two men fought on the edge of a dark mountain, one in furry, the other to defend himself. The thunder rumbled, seeming to match each strike upon steel, shaking the earth to its core as these immortals went toe to toe. Lighting lit up the freighting night sky, casting shadows as the men fought. The rain held nothing back, pouring down upon them, stinging their eyes and blinding them as the swords continued their dance of death amid the turmoil.
The shorter man was muscular, his hands scared from fighting, his skin tanned from the sun, and his gunmetal gray eyes glaring at the warrior he believed was not only a friend to him but to his family. His leg shot up, kicking the elf in the chest, grinning when he heard ribs crack from the impact and pushed his shaggy black hair from his face. The warrior elf's tall, thick body crashed against the mountain's side with such impact that the sound challenged the thunder above. "Your cursed kind has wreaked havoc long enough in this world! That's why the Huntsman were made; now we are sent to fight. The evil that your kind has unleashed is at an end!" He yelled at the man, crumpled to his knees on the hard rocky ground.
The elf forced himself to stand, his muscles and height massive compared to mortals but not much to the Huntsman he now faced. The man stood to his full height, eyes glowing from the emotion and fangs extending, ready for the challenge. The elf wiped the mud and blood from his face, staring at the Huntsman tampering down the beast that lingered inside. "I don't want this Crispin. There has been a mistake; don't let words that are spoken in untruths guide your hand this eve. All will not go as you hope if you continue down this road." He exclaimed, his voice booming over the storm. "I do not wish to fight you!"
Crispin laughed a laugh that only a man who has seen much sorrow and horror in one's life could. "Look at you now. Trying to be all noble for me." he hissed, swinging his sword in his hand for an attack. "But you and I both know that you have fallen from that grace many years ago. You are now just one of the stained." He growled, baring his teeth. "You no longer hold that power in your hand that you once did; all you hold is lies and deceit. And I will not let you corrupt my family with it."
The elf dropped his sword, his hands raised as he shook his head. "I know not of what you speak. I have been earning my way back to grace, to live in peace and help you and this world," at his words, anger bubbled up. All the things that had been lost, that his kind had lost, and was trying to make up for when he roared, "You know this!"
Crispin's eyes squinted and his nose flared. "You lie! I know the truth of what you've done. How could you think he would not turn on you and tell me everything. You should have known he'd make sure that I found out about your deception?" his body shook, his hands squeezing the metal in his hands to where it creaked under the strain. "You were my best friend, and you betrayed me. You betrayed my family, the promise made between Huntsman and Elf for peace... you lied!"
The elf stood still, a lump forming in his throat at his friend's accusations. "What are you accusing me of, Crispin?" but as he spoke the words, the insight that was gifted to his kind told him that his worst fear was coming true. "Listen to me,"
The crease between Crispin's eyes was deep; the snarl was transfixed onto his face as he roared. "You dirty fucking hobgoblin. You sold out! You sold us out. Damn you!"
The elf's head shook back and forth, knowing the truth of what his friend said, causing his stomach to turn. "It's not what you think, Crispin… just let me explain!"
"You lie, just as your kind must and always does!" His sword went into his other hand as he prepared for the reaming of the fight. "I want all your kind extinguished, every last one of them who invaded our world and made it a living hell," he seethed when a smirk appeared, and he chuckled. "And don't worry, my family knows the evil of your kind now. I made sure to tell them everything. If there's one thing I can promise you, it is this... Anything you thought was promised to you is dead. I've made sure of that. And now, your kind will never be anything more than trophies on our walls."
The elf's shoulders stiffened, and his foot stepped forward. His head tilted absorbing Crispin's meaning, not thinking his friend would cripple the promise between families. "You wouldn't have done what I think you're suggesting. I know you wouldn't have stripped my life, my chance, our happiness from us? Think of what you are saying. You would not just destroy me but my people. The only thing left to us was what the oracle had promised!" he thundered, shaking the ground from the power he held back. But Crispin's smirk grew deeper, telling him everything he needed to know. "What have you done, Crispin?" his knees felt weak at realizing what it meant. "You've corrupted everything! You have stolen our future, my future from me!" He seethed.
Crispin crouched with his sword, waiting. "I've corrupted nothing. You have caused your own pain and brought this destruction upon yourself!"
The elf swiped up his sword, launching himself off the wall, while Crispin waited for the attack. The elf knocked his friend to the ground with a thud, the two sliding backward in the mud and almost off the cliff. The swords were knocked free from hands as the two rolled on the soaked earth, striking blow after blow, one from the other, and neither holding back in full fury.
Crispin managed to get the upper hand, pinning the warrior elf in the mud and snatching his dagger from his boot to deliver the killing blow. The elf fought to hold the tip from his chest, struggling as it dipped down closer when Crispin seethed, "For my family and my sister, you die tonight, elf!" but as the blade came down, the elf closed his eyes, taking power from the beast and maneuvered the blade to shove it deep into his friend's heart.
Crispin's eyes went wide as the pain shot through him, falling to the side, clasping the hilt in his hands.
The elf's hands shook, seeing the blood washing away in the rain. His eyes peered at the man whose life he'd just snatched away. "No, please no," was all his breath would let him get out.
Crispin laughed a wet, soggy laugh as his life slipped from his body and met the elf's eyes. "You and I both know that even though I lost this fight tonight, I will be the true victor."
The elf stood, knowing Crispin's words were the undeniable truth. He looked down at his best friend, bleeding into the earth, and for the first time in eon, remembered what hate was. "I did not want this! This wasn't what I wanted! Why, why would you force my hand?" he roared.
Caspin gasped for breath like a fish out of water. "You chose the evil; therefore, you chose to lose. You knew this when you made your choice. You knew the kind of man I was and what I would do if I found out," a gurgled cough came from his chest as blood ran from his mouth. "You will now know suffrage of the heart like you have done to my family," Crispin whispered with his dying breath. As his eyes fluttered shut, the elf's hands went to his head, and he howled like a beast into the darkness.
He looked at Crispin, who lay dead at his feet, fear taking root. "No. No, this can't happen, this can't happen. The oracle said, she said that this world, that this was... I've been told; I've been promised what was mine!" The elf shouted up to the heavens. Fate could not be this cruel. But in response, the thunder shook him from his spot, and lighting crashed around him, letting him know he would be further punished for the ill-fated decisions.
The elf fell to his knees next to the man he'd just slain. The blood seeping into the fabric of his clothing as his head fell into his hands. His fingers dug into his flesh, and in one swift move, he snatched the blade from Crispin's chest and pulled his long braids of his hair into his hand, slicing it short to the back of his neck.
The hair fell next to the dagger, Crispin's blood staining his flesh as he fell forward into the mud, his claws digging into the soil before his arms whipped up, his back arched, and his body quaked as he screamed up to the heavens with all the agony that was being born in him over a loss, he knew he'd never recover from.
