{"id":5879,"date":"2018-01-23T06:33:53","date_gmt":"2018-01-23T11:33:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tellest.com\/?p=5879"},"modified":"2018-01-31T07:14:18","modified_gmt":"2018-01-31T12:14:18","slug":"lavos-final-night-part-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/lavos-final-night-part-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Lavos and His Final Night, Part One"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lavos and his Final Night
\n<\/strong>A Story by Aaron Canton
\n-Part One-<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When word came back that the elders\u2019 terms had been accepted, Lavos abruptly stood and stormed towards the edge of the encampment. A few of the lagano\u2019s friends tried to stop him, but he brushed them away like flies and said nothing to anyone until he was safely beyond the farthest tents and ensconced in the darkness of the surrounding woods. Then he finally allowed himself to clench his fists, slam them deep into the rotting wood of the nearest tree, and let out a scream that reverberated through the forest around him.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, our diplomatic efforts didn\u2019t go well?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lavos spun on his heel just in time to see Illria, his best friend and personal bodyguard, stepping into the clearing. Her earrings and necklace, all taken from enemies she had personally felled, sparkled in the faint starlight and helped Lavos to see her despite the darkness. \u201cNo,\u201d he growled. \u201cThe Hillslash tribe demanded compensation for \u2018trespassing\u2019 on their territory.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we didn\u2019t trespass,\u201d said Illria as she slipped closer to Lavos. \u201cThey have to know that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lavos\u2019 mouth turned upwards in a thin smile. \u201cOf course they know. Their tribe\u2019s mage, Orayl, has spells to compel others to tell the truth. If they really thought our hunting parties had gone on their territory, they could have summoned the parties and interrogated them. But they didn\u2019t, because whether we did it isn\u2019t important. They only care so they have an excuse to attack us the other tribes will believe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Illria was silent for a long moment. \u201cSo what did they want?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cComplete submission. Our magical artifacts, our hunting lands, tribute from our stored provisions. And, of course, my head on a pike.\u201d Lavos was silent for a moment before his fist slammed into another tree. \u201cThat way I can\u2019t lead a rebellion later on. I\u2019m the chief\u2019s son, after all. Lagano might listen to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the elders…?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAgreed.\u201d Lavos\u2019 voice was low. \u201cThe Hillslash tribe is too powerful, especially with that mercenary group they hired. We can\u2019t stand up to them. All we can do is roll over and hope they find a use for us. So why not?\u201d His voice turned bitter. \u201cIt\u2019s not like the Hillslashers want their heads on pikes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Illria said nothing for a long moment, and Lavos turned to stare into the woods. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing I can do. If I run, hide, resist in any way, the peace deal is off and the Hillslash have the excuse they need to slaughter all of us. I can only wait until tomorrow morning, when their delegation gets here. And then…\u201d He made a slicing motion with a hand. \u201cThat\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d murmured Illria, slipping her hand into his. \u201cLavos, I\u2019m so sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lavos grunted something inarticulate. \u201cI didn\u2019t think it\u2019d end like this. I thought I\u2019d die a lot older, doing something important. Leading our tribe to some glorious victory, defending us from ogres or gnolls or something. But now?\u201d He raised a fist again, then slumped to the ground. \u201cNow I\u2019m going to die tomorrow. I won\u2019t have done anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Illria sat next to him. \u201cI\u2019m surprised the chief didn\u2019t try to ambush the Hillslashers. That\u2019s his style, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe considered it, but they have dozens of mercenaries protecting them… they\u2019re too strong. And even if we somehow won, then what? The Hillslash tribe would lean on the other tribes to have us investigated, and Orayl could interview our warriors one by one and make all the ones that attacked their mercenaries confess. Then the other tribes would exterminate us for making an \u2018unprovoked\u2019 attack on Hillslash.\u201d\u00a0 Lavos shook his head. \u201cWe can\u2019t fight them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Illria was silent for a long moment. \u201cThat\u2019s not necessarily true. What if some warriors killed their mercenaries in a sneak attack but then weren\u2019t around for interrogation? They couldn\u2019t prove we\u2019d done it. Plus, even though I know we can\u2019t get out of the treaty we already swore with them because the other tribes would attack us for being oathbreakers, we\u2019d still have more leverage over Hillslash in the future if we got rid of the mercenaries now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think Hillslash would believe us if we said we\u2019d coincidentally misplaced a dozen of our strongest warriors shortly after all their soldiers died,\u201d snapped Lavos. \u201cOr the other tribes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the warriors went missing, yes, but what if they died? There wouldn\u2019t necessarily be anything suspicious about that.\u201d Illria nodded. \u201cFor instance, what if they were executed as part of a tribe treaty?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lavos stared at her for a moment as his eyes widened. \u201cWait. You think I should attack the mercenaries?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou did say you wanted to do something important,\u201d said Illria in a calm voice. \u201cWeakening our tribe\u2019s enemies is important. And because they\u2019re the ones calling for your execution, they could hardly complain if you weren\u2019t available to be interrogated afterwards.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow does that keep me alive?\u201d<\/p>\n

Illria shook her head. \u201cYou said yourself that was impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean I want to go on a suicide mission!\u201d Lavos scowled. \u201cIt\u2019s easy for you to say. Your life isn\u2019t at stake\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

His words cut off as Illria stiffened and turned to him. \u201cWhat exactly,\u201d she asked in a quiet voice, \u201cdo you think will happen to your bodyguard once you are dead?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lavos was silent for several seconds. \u201cThey\u2019ll kill you too?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s not your fault!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat doesn\u2019t matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody told me\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t want to burden you,\u201d said Illria. \u201cI myself was warned never to tell you. But, yes, our lives are one, as per tribe tradition. Whether you fall in combat because I fail to protect your body, or… or you get executed because I fail to protect you politically, I fall by your side.\u201d She smiled sardonically. \u201cThe only difference is, nobody even bothered to tell me I was to die tomorrow. Had I not seen you storm out of camp, I may not have known until the executioner seized me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lavos looked away. \u201cI… Illria, I\u2019m sorry. I didn\u2019t think you would suffer as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, and I don\u2019t blame you,\u201d murmured Illria with a soft sigh. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t want to die either. Not after all the work I did trying to become one of our strongest warriors.\u201d She brushed her earrings, which she\u2019d taken from a powerful ogre bandit she\u2019d slain the previous month, and managed a faint smile. \u201cBut it\u2019s been decided. And I, for one, don\u2019t want to lie down and die without a fight. Do you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course not.\u201d Lavos shook his head. \u201cI don\u2019t want to die at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have that option. You said yourself, we die tomorrow.\u201d Illria gently cupped her hand under Lavos\u2019 chin and turned his head towards her. \u201cThe only question is how. Do you want to spend your last night in your tent, feasting and partying and trying to cram in a life\u2019s worth of enjoyments into a few final hours? Or do you want to spend your last night fighting for your tribe?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lavos squirmed. Death seemed so close and moved nearer every second. He wanted to curl up and hide, to scream and vent his rage in the woods, to gorge on the finest meats and wines he could get until he was completely insensate before the next day. But more than that…<\/p>\n

He wanted to matter for his tribe. He\u2019d always wanted that, ever since he\u2019d known what it meant to be the chief\u2019s son. He couldn\u2019t lead his lagano to greater glory now, not when he would die the next day. But maybe he could defend them for the first\u2014and last\u2014time.<\/p>\n

\u201cFighting,\u201d he murmured. \u201cI want to go down fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood,\u201d said Illria, and as Lavos heard the pride in her voice, his skin grew warmer. \u201cI\u2019ll gather a few warriors I know who will be willing to help us. Get your weapons and armor and meet me back here\u2014it\u2019s a few hours\u2019 march to the enemy camp.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lavos nodded and stood. \u201cOf course. And Illria… thanks. For talking to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

A smile flickered across Illria\u2019s face before she turned and vanished into the woods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lavos and his Final Night A Story by Aaron Canton -Part One-   When word came back that the elders\u2019 terms had been accepted, Lavos abruptly stood and stormed towards the edge of the encampment. A few of the lagano\u2019s friends tried to stop him, but he brushed them away like flies and said nothing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3274,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[145,146],"tags":[273,266,1600,149],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Short-Story-Panel.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1UVey-1wP","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5879"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5879"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5880,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5879\/revisions\/5880"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}