Legends of Belariath

Ryla

Ryla was born in a small clan, she doesn’t even remember the clan name now as it’s story was a doomed one, for once it was the most powerful clan around, even though small, until the day she learned in a rather bad way that there is no such thing as a permanent power. Things have always gone easy for her, she was the daughter of the chieftain of the clan as was destined to become one day leader from those people. She was trained to fight from an early age, something she didn’t liked much at the time even though she had a natural gift towards it, she did had a good mind too, she quickly learned how to use the best warriors in the right place for a battle, quickly learning how to lead the clan in battle. Yes, everything was going right, till one day, she was 10 at the time and then clan had gone to war against another clan who had defied them for their land. Of course they have gone to battle, they were the most powerful clan around there so they feared nothing, but in that battlefield they faced an army they weren’t expecting, for they arrived at the scene, the enemy’s army was almost twice as big, but still fought them, they were fighters, and prideful ones they were, they never backed down, and it was only in the heat of the battle that they discovered the why to such a great army, there were members from at least 4 other clans there, all rallied under one leader that wanted to end the power of the most powerful clan in the area and thus proclaim himself the new rightful ruler of all the land. Well then battle ragged for half an hour, both sides having great losses but the clan eventually fell short of warriors, only about a dozen of them left when Ryla’s father decided to call for retreat and make the final stand in the village. The new war leader of course couldn’t let them get away and rallied the troops to finish off the remaining warriors and wipe out the village. Close chased by the enemy, the remaining warriors along with Ryla’s father reached the village and started the evacuation of the same, but there was no time. The enemy was already upon then before they knew it, both warriors and villagers being killed by the army that now greatly surpassed their numbers, Ryla's father ran home only to find his daughter there and he took her to run off with her as the village was already doomed, but as they left home the new arisen war leader was there and he had come personally to kill Ryla’s father, and so they fought, the battle lasting for well over 5 minutes both opponents wounding each other, but it was fate that Ryla’s father wasn’t so strong as the opponent and he fell in battle. The new war leader then landing his eyes on Ryla, knowing that she was now the only left of the lineage he decided to kill her too. Afraid for her own life and crying for the death of her father she picked up a small sword laying on the ground from a fallen warrior, she couldn’t of course stand a chance against this opponent even if wounded, but it was also the fate of this new warlord to never rule as Ryla’s father grabbed his leg when he was going to attack his daughter and made him trip, he fell this new and proud war leader and he fell on Ryla’s sword, it burying deep in his chest and killing him quickly, however even this had come at a price fir Ryla as the sword from the new war leader fell over Ryla’s face and made a cut that would later leave a nasty scar. Ryla cried even more when the sword hit her, the tears mixing with the blood and making a huge mess in her face as she couldn’t see now from one eye even though it wasn’t damaged, the blood kept her from opening the eye, she let go of the weapon in that time and took her fathers dagger. He was dead now, she didn’t even had the chance to say good bye to him but she then saw the remaining warriors of the enemy coming to get her, she only had time to grab the vambraces of a warrior which had the symbol of the clan and then run to the woods, losing herself there, but also remaining alive. As for the warriors, well without the newly arosen leader, and a common enemy they started to fight among them for the spoils, every one suffering great losses and in the end, no clan claiming anything, just managing to destroy the most powerful clan and leaving only the ashes of the wooden houses to tell the tail.But what happened to Ryla? She couldn’t certainly have died could she? Well, the gods deemed that she wasn’t to die just yet, she was found weak and almost dead from starvation and blood loss a few days after, near the road of the forest by a couple of humans this ones never being able to have a daughter took her home and feed her. They kept her alive and even wasted most of their savings to save her by hiring a healer to help her as she couldn’t even eat in her weakened state and her wound had a nasty infection. The healer didn’t go easy on the price to save her but the couple paid and thus Ryla was saved, she was then raised in that family and lived a happy live till she was 19 when she met a boy, he too was a warrior, trained to use the sword and he lived alone as it’s parents died at an early age, he had to take care of himself for long and was a mercenary, living of his skill with the sword. It was fate that led her to met someone who would teach her once again how to wield a sword again and with him she began to practice once more gaining now some good knowledge on the weapon. But the gods seamed to play another trick on her, to gave her a new live only to destroy it once again in the worst way possible. It was now 2 years since Ryla met that boy, she was 21 and she was thinking of marrying him, the boy had already told her that he’d wait the day she was ready to marry him and by then he’d accept it. But he then received a mission, it was to kill an important man, but it should have been an easy mission but the Intel on the mission had been wrong, and even though he managed to kill the target and get out alive, there had been much more guards than expected, and they were not to happy to see the man who paid their salary dead, so they planned on revenge and on the following day when he was with Ryla 4 armed men attacked him and Ryla. Ryla taken by surprise couldn’t do anything but watch as her boyfriend killed two of the attacker, but the other two had circled him and drove a sword through his back. The boy had a quick death and didn’t suffered, but this wasn’t good for Ryla, her boyfriend killed by such merciless people, she cried and took his boyfriend sword, she attacked both men as they were the ones taken by surprise now, and in two strikes both were falling dead to the ground. After that, well Ryla’s hands lost the strength and dropped the sword to the ground, she just laid on the body of her lover crying, Staying with him for over an hour. Only then she had the strengths to get up once again she would arrange for his funeral herself. She took him to the woods and made a hole for his grave under a tree, placing his body there and crossing his arms together like a warrior who had fallen in battle. She took his sword then and cut her long hair with it, placing then the sword and her hair with his body, then she’d burry the body and instead of making a cross of wood, she made a cross on the tree with her father’s dagger. She then left that town, not saying a word to her new parents, just leaving a note home and taking only her dress, the dagger and the vambraces which she would latter sell for she was being tormented every night with the memories of her lost clan, her lost family and her lost love. She found her way to a new strange town, it seamed like a place to start over, but her heart was perhaps not prepared yet to accept love or friends yet, she was now too afraid of more people she cared dieing on her, but still she made a few friends, and now her heart is starting to heal once again, but it would still take some time for it to accept love once again.

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