The Merciless Alpha(erotica)

I was enamored with the new world around me. The trees were so different, the birds were different, with different songs and looking at the sky I saw two moons in the sky, one a crescent and the other a three quarter moon. The crescent moon appears more red, and the three-quarter moon was more blue. The air was crisp and clean and tasted of exotic herbs and spices, at least exotic to me.

Now realizing that Tavorwen was in fact not human, her features seemed even more exotic and enticing. I did worry for her though, a warrior who got so easily exhausted could be at risk on the battlefield. Especially one so physical as to use swords and have a max range as dictated by a bow.

“What about yourself? Are all elves so easily worn out?” I asked.

Tavorwen’s nostrils flared, “So easily… I will have you know I’m one of the lead warriors of the Emerald Serpents. My stamina is well above mediocre, in fact it is considered to be good!”

I recoiled in shock at the outburst. “I didn’t mean to offend. I suppose my expectations were based on a lack of experience with elves and assuming my human standards applied. My apologies.”

Tavorwen blushed, “I.. uh… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have snapped.”

She got up and brushed a leaf from her pants, “Well. Let me show you my endurance is not lacking. If we push hard we can reach the City of Endless Shade within two days.”

Tavorwen pushed on with renewed determination. As the afternoon pushed on, Tavorwen refused to rest. I could see that our pace was taking a toll on the elven maiden. Her face flushed and sweat ran in rivulets down her neck. Her breath was ragged and hard.

“You need to rest.” I finally told her when her steps became unsteady.

“No,” Tavorwen gasped, “I can go… just as long…. as you.”

“I’m not letting you kill yourself for pride.” I insisted firmly, “We’re resting.”

“Fine.” She panted, falling against a tree and sinking to the ground. “You should eat… before you collapse.”

Tavorwen pulled out some jerky and what appeared to be dried bread of some kind, but tasted of fruit and was still supple. She pulled out a waterskin, and we shared the food and water.

“So… What is this ‘science’ of your home like?” Tavorwen asked as her breathing calmed.

“Well, we learned how to harness electricity… the force that lighting is composed of… to power all sorts of devices that do everything from transport us at high speeds around the world to helping us preserve food and keep our homes at a comfortable temperature.” I explained. “We even made devices called computers that can be used to calculate values faster than people were capable of and perform repetitive simple tasks, freeing up manpower to work on more complex tasks.”

“We can accomplish many of those things with magic.” Tavorwen explained. “I can see how a people without magic would seek alternate methods though.”

I leaned forward, “How does your magic work? I’m really interested in learning it.”

Tavorwen smiled, “Here, hold this.” Tavorwen held out the now empty waterskin. She held a hand under the waterskin. “Ha qura o talinval.” She chanted in a reverent voice.

The waterskin filled with water, growing heavier in my hand rapidly as it reached full capacity.

“Amazing.” I breathed, “It was even sealed and you didn’t have to let the air out. Did you turn the air into water, or was the air taken out another way?”

Tavorwen shrugged, “I suppose we never really think about that as we use our magic. It works so we don’t… I guess we don’t question it.”

My mind was going a mile a minute.

“Can you create things other than water with magic?” I asked.Exclusive © material by Nô(/v)elDrama.Org.

“Yes, creation magic is one of the most common forms of magic, known as conjury, or conjuration.” Tavorwen answered simply.

“If I could give you an exact composition, could you make me more of a compound?” I continued.

“Like an alchemical mixture?” Tavorwen clarified, furrowing her brow. “It is simpler than that. If you could simply provide some of the mixture, a conjurer could make more. Like my quiver.”

She unslung her quiver and showed me, “It has fifteen arrows in it. And if I remove one…” She pulled an arrow from the quiver. “There are still fifteen arrows in the quiver. However, after a minute….” The arrow in her hand disappeared. “.. The magic that created the arrow expires and the arrow ceases to exist. This type of magic is far easier than permanent creations, such as the water I created earlier. I can only create small amounts of water, and even our strongest mages can only create so much of any given substance in a day before they are exhausted. Would that accomplish what you are thinking of?”

I nodded, “I think that would accomplish exactly what I want.”

Tavorwen reshouldered her quiver, “Why do you ask?”

I scratched my chin with the beginnings of stubble. “I have a little bit of an understanding of why I am here. As I understand it, your people are at war, and you asked for help and I was the answer.”

Tavorwen nodded, “Kathra has made her intentions clear, she means to eradicate my people.”

I nodded, missing something important in her statement, “Hence the Soldiers of Kathra that tried to stop you from summoning me.”

Tavorwen nodded, “If I wasn’t able to make the normally three day journey in two days, because of my stamina, they would have occupied the temple before I got there and I wouldn’t have been able to perform the ceremony. They expect me to reach the temple tomorrow with the summoning relic and they probably hope to take it and use it themselves, but I’ve already summoned you. So with any luck, you will be able to turn the tide.”

She bit her lip.

I noticed the apprehension in her body language. “Is something wrong?”

Tavorwen lowered her head, “Honestly, I…” She picked up a fallen leaf. “You aren’t exactly what we expected.”

I was taken aback, “What do you mean?”

“Well… Summoning attempts are common. Kathra has tried to summon allies from beyond at least 4 times in the last 20 years and we couldn’t stop them, but nothing answered their calls. The last successful summoning we have records of was nearly 1, 500 years ago. The summons were answered by a being of fire and water, an elemental it was called, and it was a creature of life and destruction. We thought you’d be a creature of great power, but while physically strong, and possessed of great endurance, you seem… well… Normal.” She admitted.

I sat back. The angel hadn’t mentioned anything about this.

“What was it like?” She pressed, “Being summoned?”

I leaned back on my tree. “Well, it was… strange. On my home world, I guess, I was a soldier, special operations. We were trying to make a difference, removing the most dangerous extremists using the most advanced tactics and tech. My group got betrayed by someone we thought was on our side, and…” I swallowed, “I took a hit intended for my friend. It wasn’t something that could be survived.”

Tavorwen’s eyes widened as she realized what I was saying.

“I guess the God of my world decided I deserved a second chance and had an angel that gave me the chance to answer this summons. Said I could make the difference. Told me that this was a good world and that I could learn the magic here. So I accepted. And that’s when I appeared in front of you.” I told her.

Tavorwen looked down, her eyes darting back and forth as she thought. “Could you help us make this ‘tech’ you used?”

I shrugged, “Not the advanced stuff. Though… if you have someone that could help me, I know enough I could guide them in making me a rifle.”

“Is that the weapon you used?” She guessed.

“Yes.” I verified.

“We can help with that.” She assured me. “But I am not sure how that will help. Maybe you can teach us better tactics?”

I shrugged, “I need more information before that really becomes clear.”

Tavorwen nodded, “That makes sense. To know how to adapt your tactics to our capabilities, you need to know our capabilities.”

“And the capabilities, values and a basic knowledge of your enemies.” I asserted.

“Why would that matter?” She retorted. “Are your tactics not universal?”

“Different enemies require different tactics. And finding and exploiting weaknesses is key in conflicts like this.” I emphasized, “If the morale of an enemy can be broken, then you can reduce the loss of life on all sides.”

“Wouldn’t that just encourage the enemy to build up their forces and return later?” Tavorwen prodded.

“Depends on your capabilities.” I explained, “If your capabilities negate the advantage of numbers, then you can build a peaceful relationship where hostilities are held at bay by the threat of provoking the dangerous group.”

Tavorwen’s eyes narrowed, “What kind of a threat could be so great?”

I almost explained the concept of nuclear weapons, but decided that kind of threat could make me too dangerous an ally, and I had no idea how to make them anyway. “The kind I couldn’t make right away, I supposed.”

Tavorwen seemed to accept that and relax. “You scared me there. We considered the possibility that we could summon an archmage or something, but it was deemed to be worth the risk. I hope you become the ally that we hoped you would.”