This is part of the Community Engagement Challenge: https://peakd.com/splinterlands/@splinterlands/splinterlands-community-engagement-challenge-theme-explore-and-expand-splinterlands-lore-soeofj
I kind of screwed up the publication of the first part, and it doesn't show in the #splinterlands feed - no idea what I did. Here's the first part: https://peakd.com/splinterlands/@beelzael/community-engangement-challenge-the-value-of-pain
Anyway, it wasn't planned as two parts, but I somehow got a little inspired while taking a break, so here's part 2.
[“Show me,” he whispered with a voice shaking of fear. There was no melody anymore, no beauty, just the rasping sound of determination.
She took a deep breath and kissed Fenlin on the forehead. Her tears fell onto his face and mingled with his. “This is going to hurt so much,” she said while carefully liberating the first memory of his war. “I’m sorry.”]
It didn’t take much to bring Fenlin to break down. Too long had he drowned the memories in the deepness of his mind, too long had he not felt the suffering. Iziar stood beside him while he saw the smoke in the distance, and the horn blowing. The Chaos Legion had arrived in the shire. The halflings were at war. She stood with Fenlin in the line, killed with him, felt the skill and power that he once wielded. And she saw his friends die at his side. She saw the retreat. The next line of defense. The last friends dying. The next retreat. The last line of defense. The last retreat, the flight.
She did not let him see all that. Feeling his pain of having to fight, being forced to kill, it was more than enough. She had underestimated Fenlin. He had been, probably still was, a great warrior who preferred the peace, who only fought when it was inevitable. He was a trance fighter, it didn’t bring him any joy, he just did it because he must.
They sat silent for a while, as in meditation, while his mind was desperately trying to make sense of the sudden flood of brutal memories, the unexpected opening of well-guarded doors. Little by little, it calmed down, the breathing got steady again, the tears dried, and his aura got lighter.
The Halfling sighed and watched into the far-away. Iziar, too, felt a little alleviated. It was never to know how the other would react, what the memories would do, and she was glad that Fenlin was strong enough to not have broken, on the contrary, she felt that a healing had started, a wound had been sawn shut and was now able to create the thicker, stronger scar tissue.
“What heals, becomes stronger,” she whispered, more to herself, conscious of her own.
“Like when you’re in battle?" Fenlin looked up. "You always seem to attract all the enemies’ attention, and so many attacks towards you.”
“It’s a little more complicated, but yes, it’s part of it. First, I’m a giant – I stick out, even next to the Drybones. There’s a simple rule in battle – kill the biggest enemy first, and maybe the rest will think twice. Second, there’s a certain mind influence I can use to protect the rest of you by having the enemies wanting to strike me down before all else.”
She smiled grimly. “It’s a little paradox, but the more scars, the harder the skin. Attacks become nothing more than a tickle in time. You will see – what hurts you now, will turn insignificant in time. The pain won’t disappear, but you will be stronger. I've fought so many battles, I can take way more damage than anyone, so I rather have them break their teeth on me than attacking my fellows."
She nodded, as if to convince herself of the said. Then she looked at Fenlin, for quite a while.
"Just…” she started without finishing her thought, not sure it wasn't too much.
“What?”
“Just don’t forget. Don’t let it just slide away, all the memories, even the painful ones. Remember all of them, let them inspire you, let them give you strength instead of having them take it from you.”
The Halfling looked puzzled. Iziar laughed, loud and sincerely. “A lesson for another day.”
Thank you very much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it at least as much as I enjoyed writing :-D If you have any comments or feedback - please let me know! And don't forget to leave your own posts for me to curate. Thank you very much!
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