When brother and sister wage war
And the fate of the world hangs by a thread
A child will appear, blessed by fate
With the First Ones' mark on his head
Gadolfi awoke from his slumber as the first rays of dawn crested the waves. He lay there a moment, listening to his crew preparing for the day ahead. This time tomorrow, the Lady Audhild would be anchored off the coast of Northwind, and her captain and crew would already be speaking with the villagers of Sjøtåke. They had just one more day of sailing ahead of them, and Gadolfi was ready to be off this ship. He had never really enjoyed sailing, preferring the time spent in the mines with his best friend, an old dwarven man named Nandruil.
Gadolfi thought back to the day he left home, over a month ago. The King was preparing for a new war and had drafted the best archers into service. Gadolfi's father received the summons, but was too old and frail to serve, and so Gadolfi took his father's place as captain of the Audhild. Gadolfi hand-picked his crew, choosing mostly men from his own village or the two neighboring villages. All three villages came out to see the crew off, proud to send their young men into battle. The crew was showered with gifts and praise, and more than one young woman had promised her hand to a sailor that day.
That was the last day he saw his best friend. The two spent the day sitting in silence in the park. This is how they spent most of their time together; they did not need to speak, simply enjoying each other's company as they worked side-by-side in the mines, or the forge, or at the sawmill. Finally, as the final horn was blown to announce the ship's imminent departure, Nandruil stood and embraced his friend, then pulled a package from his bag and presented it to Gadolfi. He made Gadolfi promise not to open the gift until he was in his cabin aboard the ship.
"I will see you in six months, my friend," were the last words Nandruil said to him, before he walked across the gangplank and boarded his ship.
Gadolfi stood and strode over to the wardrobe beside his desk. He reached in and picked up the gift Nandruil had given him, still unopened. He hadn't found the right time to open it until now. He tore open the package, and inside was a sword. It had a beautiful blade of black damascus, a dark cherry wood handle with a leather grip, and a gold-inlaid engraving naming the sword:
Nightbringer
In the package was a note from Nandruil:
Gadolfi-
I know you wanted to spend your days in the mines alongside me. I wish that we could have had more time together before you left. There are so many things I wanted to tell you, and now I'm afraid I will never get the chance.
I am old, Gadolfi. I am 390 years old. I can feel the Dark Element all around me, and I can feel it strengthening its connection to my core. I am afraid it will take over before you return. The healer says I may not last another month.
I have lived a great life, made better by our friendship the last 23 years. I am glad to have known you, glad to have watched you grow from a toddler to the young man you are today. Do not mourn me. I have but one regret in my life, that I never thanked you for saving my life the day that we met. I thank you now, and I can rest peacefully with the knowledge that you know how grateful I am for your friendship.
I know you will do great things in your life, and I hope that you will get a chance to grow old and grey, as I have done. I know that we will meet again in the next life.
I leave you this sword which I forged for you. Its name is Nightbringer. It was forged entirely by my hand; I mined and smelted the ore, cut and treated the wood, hunted and tanned the leather. It was quenched in the holy oils of the Temple of the First on the anniversary of our great nation's birth. I hope that you will use it to bring glory to our village.
Your friend,
Nandruil
Gadolfi blinked away tears as he read the letter for the fifth time. He put the letter away and prepared for the coming day. He pulled on his boots, tucked in his shirt, and strapped Nightbringer to his hip. He slung his bow over his shoulder and stepped outside, nearly colliding with a young sailor who was hurrying past with a barrel of arrows. Gadolfi paused, then reached in and grabbed a few to shove in his quiver. Some voice in the back of his mind was telling him he'd need them.
As Gadolfi walked across the deck, he watched his crew preparing for the day. He did not know any of them very well, but he knew they were all eager to serve their country, and all were skilled sailors. Many were veterans of the Great Elven Wars, but a few were fresh from the academy.
Gadolfi pitched in and helped his crew with their preparations. Many captains would have sat in their cabin letting the men do all the work, but Gadolfi was not that kind of captain. He hauled supplies around the deck, scrubbed the floors, manned the sails. As he worked, he thought back to the day he met Nandruil. That sentence had been bugging him all morning.
Gadolfi was 5 years old when the two of them met. He had snuck out of the house in the early morning to avoid his lessons for the day, and decided to explore the mines before the workers began their shifts. He walked through the tunnels for hours, until he came to a split in the oldest section of the mine. To the left, the tunnel continued as usual, brightly lit and well-maintained. To the right, the tunnel was a black void. His curiosity got the better of him, so he cast a simple spell that allowed him to see in darkness, and walked into the right tunnel.
He had taken only a few steps when the tunnel opened up into a vast cavern. The ceiling was so high, he could not see the top, and it dropped off below into an inky blackness. He could hear the sound of roaring water below. The tracks at his feet continued out onto an old wooden bridge through the cavern. Gadolfi, not yet satisfied with his exploration, continued onward. About half an hour later, Gadolfi came across a dwarf standing on the edge of the bridge, gazing down at the pit below. Gadolfi wondered what he was looking at, so he walked to the edge to see. As his weight shifted to the edge, the board he was standing on cracked. The sound startled the dwarf, who turned just in time to see Gadolfi plummeting over the side. He dove towards the young wood elf, grabbing his cloak just in time, and hauled him back up onto the bridge. Gadolfi was so terrified he could not walk, so the dwarf carried him out of the mines and back to his house. Gadolfi's parents invited the dwarf to dinner that evening to thank him for saving their little boy, and Gadolfi and Nandruil quickly became friends.
It had never occurred to Gadolfi until now that that branch of the mines had been closed for decades due to the rotting wood in the bridge and the tunnel's bracing. What was Nandruil looking at that day?
Gadolfi was startled back to the present by a shout from one of his crew. He looked over and saw a woman pointing to the west. He turned, and spotted a ship on the horizon. It was far off, but there was no mistaking the red flag flying from the top of the mast. It was a warship from the Southern Empire. They were not allowed this far north after the Great Elven Wars; the terms of the Treaty prohibited it.
Gadolfi had a bad feeling about the presence of this ship. He shouted for his crew to take their stations and ran back to his cabin for the rest of his gear. He grabbed a belt with several daggers and threw it acrpss his chest, strapped his axe to his belt opposite his sword, and tucked a couple of Casting Tools in his pockets. He picked up his shield and went back out on deck, where he found his crew ready for battle.
The Imperial ship was still out of arrow range, but wouldn't be for long. He drew his bow, and the rest of his archers did the same. They would not fire until he did.
