Erway Soldiers

They said that the Erways could only be killed with wood. All Elyssa had on her side was a metal dagger and whimsical sword, Miner. Elyssa pressed her back up against a tree as she caught her breath, exhausted from the sprint she had been making. She needed to get an idea of the layout and where she was. Also, how far away the four Erway soldiers were from her location. She didn’t dare to look back though as to reveal her location if they were close. Her eyes strained as she realized their sight was not the only sense that could be used to identify her. With haste, she scavenged the ground, looking for anything that would help. Her knees dropped to the ground and her hands scooped up the mud puddle to her face careful not to make too much noise and she descended. She scattered it across her face, up her arms, and down her waist. She gagged as she continued to immerse herself in the dirt water that reeked like rotten vegetables and uncleaned bathroom stalls. Elyssa knew her scent wouldn’t be masked too well by the earthy substance, yet she hoped it would buy her time.

Hope, that was what she was relying on in this moment. While she had been skilled at the art of self-defense, her chest rang with doubt - no, fear, of the approach of those soldiers. All of her training couldn’t prepare her for the Erway men - four of them - that could not be affected by the steel blade she had trained with. She of course had trained with other weapons, bows and arrows, axes, even nunchucks during her time at the academy. She had taken a special liking to the dagger though. The dagger was beautiful and versatile. It was built for combat of a close and personal nature. The force of the strike would send shivers down her spine and the accomplishment she would feel from a successful hit was a feeling like no other. Not to mention Elyssa’s attraction to shiny silver accessories.

Daggers would be of no use against the Erways though. They were immune to most weapons due to their magical lineage. Wood though, wood was their biggest weakness. Tale was told that the most effective way of killing these men was through a single stiff stake through the heart. Elyssa scanned the environment. A wooded area surrounded her and yet all sticks were shaped too skinny to have any significant impact against the soldiers. She picked a few up feeling for their size and durability. Nothing was going to be dense enough to scratch a soldier let alone stab one. Perfect.

Her body stiffened as she heard the crunch of a twig behind her. Eyes wide, Elyssa had to think fast on how to securely exit without catching the attention of the men desperate for her capture. To her left, she noticed a dark hollow cave through a field of trees. That would be a good place to hide, she thought. If they found the cave, however, she would be cornered and there would be nowhere to escape except further inside. Bad idea, she decided. She looked to her right and found a heavier brush of trees. Half of them looked to be Brine trees, riddled with thorns and green leaves so heavy they could knock you out if you got hit hard enough with one. It was no wonder the forest path didn’t lead that way. Path makers would be covered in scratches and blood just trying to get a few feet of those trees down. Going through the brush would attract more attention due to the leaves and wooden twigs she would have to run though to get by.

“Aye! Over here!” she heard one of the soldiers exclaim. She didn’t know if he was shouting about her location or if they had actually identified where she sat. All she knew was that it was time to make a move. She looked left, then looked right, trying with extreme control to not whimper with fear as she felt the proximity of those soldiers near. One last time, she looked behind her shoulder to measure the distance between her and her potential captors to realize they stood closer to her than she realized. With that sudden awareness, she flung herself forward pushing off the ground with her hands and feet, and burst into a sprint.

As quiet as she tried to make herself as she strode towards the Brine trees, she couldn’t help but crunch the dead leaves and thin twigs under her feet step after step. With each loud snap she heard, she winced knowing with confidence that her location was now more apparent than ever. The soldiers would follow the sounds of the obvious creature sprinting away and capture her as originally planned. She was toast. She hit the brushell of Brine trees and it undoubtedly hurt more than she expected. Passing by one of these would guarantee atleast a few scratches on the face and body. So running through a forest of them? She was wondering if she would get out of this forest with half her skin in tact.

Behind her she heard the soldiers grunt as they followed her. Deep voices that now seemed more frustrated than they had before. Likely due to the miles long venture Elyssa had taken them on as she continually escaped a few steps ahead of them. Step by step, Elyssa covered her face with her hands as she ran through the thorns. Her skin was pulsing with pain as she received cut after ct after traveling inch after inch only worrying about protecting her eyes as she moved forward. Each breath was a never ending pain of small slices and tears. Her adrenaline kept her pace steady though as she could only think about making it through the next day - no hour to stay out of captivity.

In her blind race, her foot caught on what felt like a root. Stuck underneath the mighty wooden piece, Elyssa fell face first into the cold slushed mud, burning the fresh wounds that had graced her arms, torso, and legs. Her eyes welled with tears immediately upon impact. Her mouth gaped as if to scream but no words came out. She laid in the mud in pain and terror. Looking up at the sky, populated with grey heavy clouds, she stared at them. Elyssa looked into the open air and realized that this may be the last time she used the privilege of enjoying the fresh air, the smell of the trees, the calm of the woods. She stared up in acceptance, spending what would be her last seconds of freedom soaking in nature’s beautiful, forgiving breath. Her eyes closed with a final tear drop falling down the side of her face, and allowed her exhaustion to overcome her.

-

Elyssa woke to a dripping on her face. With extreme soreness, she propped herself up on her elbows seething at the mud still penetrating her now-slightly closed wounds. Her hand brushed against her cheek to find the splat of water that had awoken her out of unconsciousness. From her hand, her eyes gazed up at the sky. Just as she did the rain began to pour down. Realizing the state of her vulnerability she frantically rose onto her feet and scanned her surroundings. No sign of the Erway soldiers was to be found anywhere close to her. “What has happened?” she whispered. “How long have I been asleep?”. She grasped her thighs to feel her dagger still perfectly sitting in her scabbard, untouched. She loosed a few deep breaths to regain her grounding and listened to the sounds that rang around her. All she could hear at the moment was the sounds of the harsh rain pattering on the wood of the trees and bushells that surrounded her. “Dear lord, the bushells!” she cried. Her chest sank as she looked at the bushells and realized she would have to walk back through them in order to escape. She was certain that continuing down the way she was originally headed would’ve meant miles of walking surrounded by painful thorns and more scratches than she could bear. At least this time around she had the luxury of time.

As she trotted back through the Brine trees, she was careful to step over, under and around the thick branches of thorns. No amount of caution could completely save her from the cuts that would wound her on her way back. However she was definitely experiencing less than when she barged through them blind. Her body shook as it adjusted to the cold temperature that came with the rain storm. She guessed she was lucky though that the rain would fall over her gashes and wash away the dirt and rubbish that covered her body.

She was moving forward as her foot, again, caught a large log on the ground. She fell down, this time catching herself on her hands as knees saving her face from yet another ungraceful meeting with the earth. This time she yelped loudly. Out of pain or frustration, she didn’t know. All she knew was that she was tired, and needed to be home.

Leveling herself again on her hands and knees, she looked back to investigate what had been so large that she managed to trip over and scar her hands even more than they had already been. The whites of her eyes grew and her skin turned pale as she laid eyes upon the source of her misfortune. One of the Erway soldiers laid on the ground, covered in mud, dead. For a moment, Elyssa just stared, in disbelief. Too scared to move as if he could somehow awake from the dead and manage to continue his mission of capture. Her ears rang loudly and her body once again shook. Under the soldier, a puddle of blood encompassed him. Blood that had now covered Elssa’s clothes and hands after she had fallen atop it. His body was riddled in cuts and tears. “The Brine trees.” she whispered, her voice now hoarse. The soldier had run through the Brine trees after her and had been repeatedly cut by the thorns strewn across each branch. His body, weak to the wooden mini spears around him, was not able to clot his many wounds fast enough. He had bled out almost completely after being assaulted with thousands and thousands of tiny cuts.

Again, Elyssa scanned her surroundings. What had happened to the three other soldiers? Did they stop chasing her after realizing the extent of their wounds? Were they at the entrance still waiting for her? They could be anywhere. No place was safe.

She looked upon the direction in which she entered, nervous to make a decision. One misstep could cost her her freedom, her personhood, and her autonomy. She had to think quickly in fear that they would be back. If she were a soldier, what would she do? The cuts on the bodies of them along with the sight of their dead comrade had likely told them enough. They weren’t going to get through any further, and even if they did capture her, they might not make it on the way out. Her eyes widened, they must have gone back to get healed. She traced the area to determine the direction in which they came. It was then she noticed the trail of blood leading West, the way they had followed her. She looked to her right towards the Eastern hemisphere and made her decision. She would travel East and hope that along the way she would not run into anymore Erway soldiers.