Tales from the Sidelines Blogfest
Author: Anastasia V. Pergakis // Category: "The Kinir Elite", Blogfests
It has been a while since I participated in a blogfest! I missed them but I always seem to be running late lately!
Anyway, this wonderful blogfest is hosted by Cheree Smith. The purpose of this blogfest is to put the spotlight on the side characters for a little while. One of my favorite side characters is an elf name Jardel. He's just so spunky! So, this scene is something I wrote a while back in his POV but not sure if it will stay in the book or not. (Jardel is from "The Kinir Elite Chronicles")
As expected from me - it's a long entry, but hey. Side characters need a little time in the spot light too, so Jardel can take over this blog post for a while. (For those that don't know, Jardel is an elf warrior. In this scene he and the team are going into the dwarf mines to rescue their Captain and team mate - who are the MC's in the story.)
Dawn was breaking. Jardel smiled to himself. He loved being a member of the Elite. It was going to be a great day. He enjoyed the missions and rescuing beings that needed justice. He hated all wrong doers and in joining the Elite, his dream of ridding the world of evil was one step closer to being true.
They arrived at the clearing near the secret entrance to the mines. Rakan, as the veteran of the team, took command and signaled Jardel, Tyn, and Saphierius to cause the distraction at the front entrance. They left to do as they were ordered.
"What should we do? Just run in making noise?" Tyn whispered as they quickly made their way around the base of Gorgan Mountain.
"Perhaps. Maybe set off some of sort of explosion."
"The explosion would definitely get their attention," Tyn said with a smile. Jardel whistled to Saphierius who was flying above their heads. He landed next to them and walked with them as they continued their way around the mountain.
"Saphierius, could you freeze some things down there for us once we are inside?" Jardel asked.
"Of course."
"All right. We are getting close to the entrance."
Jardel readied his bow, to take out any sentries that might be at the front entrance. There were two standing in front of two very large wooden doors. Jardel popped out from behind the bushes and fired two arrows in quick succession. The sentries fell into the dirt with barely a sound.
Saphierius blew his ice breath onto the door. Tyn did the honors of kicking the door, shattering the frozen wood into splinters. Three more dwarves were standing inside. They were momentarily stunned by the flying pieces of wood. Jardel dispatched one with his bow and Tyn ran the other two through with his sword.
The large tunnel could easily hold five elves standing side by side. Tyn ran along one side of the tunnel, Jardel on the other and Saphierius was in the middle. They made their way down the tunnel dispatching any dwarves that were in their way. The deeper they went into the mines, the more dwarves came swarming at them.
"Behind us!" Tyn yelled.
Saphierius turned around to cover their back while Tyn and Jardel tried to push their way forward. When the opportunity came up, Tyn ducked into a side tunnel, dragging Jardel with him. Saphierius followed and they ran down the tunnel, the dwarves close on their heels.
Jardel tried to remember the map from their mission planning. He remembered one of the tunnels looping back around and connecting back with the tunnel. He hoped it was this one. They came to a large cavern. They stayed on the path that ran along the edge. Below them was what appeared to be a town. They made their way around the cavern. Arrows began to fly up at them. Jardel was hit in the calf and he fell to this knees. Tyn turned around and picked him up, dragging him along. Saphierius did his best to freeze the arrows as they flew at them. The ice made them heavy and they fell short of their intended targets. The small dragon could not get to all of them and many times they had to duck in order to keep from being hit.
Tyn dragged Jardel out of the cavern into another tunnel. Jardel reached down and pulled the arrow out of his leg. He growled in pain and tore a piece of uniform. The wrapped the cloth around his leg. He nodded to Tyn to say he was ready to keep going.
He limped after Tyn down the tunnel. His memory had been right. The tunnel led them back to the main tunnel, but closer to the large cavern with the winding stairs. They quickly made their way into the cavern and started down the stairs. They saw Rakan taking up the rear as he led the faeries out of the cavern through the secret entrance. They whistled to him, to let him know they were still alive and on the chase. Rakan whistled back.
Jardel and Tyn raced their way down the stairs to join with the team. The distraction had apparently worked. Once all the faeries were in the tunnel, Aeli returned.
"Legousulip is leading the faeries to the cabin," she breathed.
"Right, let's go get the Captain and Kie."
The problem was they were cornered. The dwarves had swarmed them from both sides. Jardel and Tyn ran back up the stairs in an attempt to get some of the dwarves to chase them through the tunnels again. Rakan and Aeli went in the other direction with the same idea in mind.
Jardel led the way back to the main tunnel. He took a different side tunnel than the one they were in before. However, it was the same type of route. The tunnel led them to a cavern where there was a small village below them. No arrows flew at them this time however and they made it to the next tunnel in record time. When they joined up with the main tunnel again however, the dwarves were waiting for them. Saphierius turned the dwarves in front into ice statues and Tyn and Jardel shattered them. They slowly pushed their way forward back toward the main cavern.
They finally broke through into the large cavern. Tyn looked down, for a sign of Rakan and Aeli. They were just a little ways down the stairs from them. They pushed their way further down trying to meet up with Rakan and Aeli again. Jardel looked down as well, but spotted Derac and Kie instead.
"I spotted them!" he yelled happiness evident in his voice. They were alive. The faeries were safe and Derac and Kie were still alive. Now all they had to do was get out of the mines in one piece and all would be well.
Jardel was having fun despite the apparent grimness of the situation. Knowing that their mission was basically a success just filled him with joy. Every dwarf he dispatched was just the icing on the cake to him. It meant one less enemy to worry about. One less fight to fight. His leg burned but he ignored the pain. It was a welcome feeling as it meant he was still alive. He worked through it, intent on getting the whole team out of there alive. He would blow up the entire mountain if he could and bury the dwarves in the crushing rocks.
As he continued to fight, pushing their way to the secret tunnel, he laughed maniacally. They were going to get out - alive. Their mission was a grand success and Jardel was ecstatic about it. Aeli picked up on his good feelings and giggled a bit as well, as she fought next to him.
It's a great day to be an elf, he thought with glee. And a bad day to be a dwarf, he added kicking a dwarf in the chest, sending him over the edge. He laughed maniacally again, unable to contain the glee he felt. What is evil for him to enjoy killing the enemy? He did not think so. They were the evil ones and Jardel felt justified and righteous for killing them. He would never regret his killing all those dwarves nor would it keep him up at night. Serving justice was just much too fun to feel guilt over it and Jardel was having a lot of fun being a member of the Kinir Elite.
Anyway, this wonderful blogfest is hosted by Cheree Smith. The purpose of this blogfest is to put the spotlight on the side characters for a little while. One of my favorite side characters is an elf name Jardel. He's just so spunky! So, this scene is something I wrote a while back in his POV but not sure if it will stay in the book or not. (Jardel is from "The Kinir Elite Chronicles")
As expected from me - it's a long entry, but hey. Side characters need a little time in the spot light too, so Jardel can take over this blog post for a while. (For those that don't know, Jardel is an elf warrior. In this scene he and the team are going into the dwarf mines to rescue their Captain and team mate - who are the MC's in the story.)
Dawn was breaking. Jardel smiled to himself. He loved being a member of the Elite. It was going to be a great day. He enjoyed the missions and rescuing beings that needed justice. He hated all wrong doers and in joining the Elite, his dream of ridding the world of evil was one step closer to being true.
They arrived at the clearing near the secret entrance to the mines. Rakan, as the veteran of the team, took command and signaled Jardel, Tyn, and Saphierius to cause the distraction at the front entrance. They left to do as they were ordered.
"What should we do? Just run in making noise?" Tyn whispered as they quickly made their way around the base of Gorgan Mountain.
"Perhaps. Maybe set off some of sort of explosion."
"The explosion would definitely get their attention," Tyn said with a smile. Jardel whistled to Saphierius who was flying above their heads. He landed next to them and walked with them as they continued their way around the mountain.
"Saphierius, could you freeze some things down there for us once we are inside?" Jardel asked.
"Of course."
"All right. We are getting close to the entrance."
Jardel readied his bow, to take out any sentries that might be at the front entrance. There were two standing in front of two very large wooden doors. Jardel popped out from behind the bushes and fired two arrows in quick succession. The sentries fell into the dirt with barely a sound.
Saphierius blew his ice breath onto the door. Tyn did the honors of kicking the door, shattering the frozen wood into splinters. Three more dwarves were standing inside. They were momentarily stunned by the flying pieces of wood. Jardel dispatched one with his bow and Tyn ran the other two through with his sword.
The large tunnel could easily hold five elves standing side by side. Tyn ran along one side of the tunnel, Jardel on the other and Saphierius was in the middle. They made their way down the tunnel dispatching any dwarves that were in their way. The deeper they went into the mines, the more dwarves came swarming at them.
"Behind us!" Tyn yelled.
Saphierius turned around to cover their back while Tyn and Jardel tried to push their way forward. When the opportunity came up, Tyn ducked into a side tunnel, dragging Jardel with him. Saphierius followed and they ran down the tunnel, the dwarves close on their heels.
Jardel tried to remember the map from their mission planning. He remembered one of the tunnels looping back around and connecting back with the tunnel. He hoped it was this one. They came to a large cavern. They stayed on the path that ran along the edge. Below them was what appeared to be a town. They made their way around the cavern. Arrows began to fly up at them. Jardel was hit in the calf and he fell to this knees. Tyn turned around and picked him up, dragging him along. Saphierius did his best to freeze the arrows as they flew at them. The ice made them heavy and they fell short of their intended targets. The small dragon could not get to all of them and many times they had to duck in order to keep from being hit.
Tyn dragged Jardel out of the cavern into another tunnel. Jardel reached down and pulled the arrow out of his leg. He growled in pain and tore a piece of uniform. The wrapped the cloth around his leg. He nodded to Tyn to say he was ready to keep going.
He limped after Tyn down the tunnel. His memory had been right. The tunnel led them back to the main tunnel, but closer to the large cavern with the winding stairs. They quickly made their way into the cavern and started down the stairs. They saw Rakan taking up the rear as he led the faeries out of the cavern through the secret entrance. They whistled to him, to let him know they were still alive and on the chase. Rakan whistled back.
Jardel and Tyn raced their way down the stairs to join with the team. The distraction had apparently worked. Once all the faeries were in the tunnel, Aeli returned.
"Legousulip is leading the faeries to the cabin," she breathed.
"Right, let's go get the Captain and Kie."
The problem was they were cornered. The dwarves had swarmed them from both sides. Jardel and Tyn ran back up the stairs in an attempt to get some of the dwarves to chase them through the tunnels again. Rakan and Aeli went in the other direction with the same idea in mind.
Jardel led the way back to the main tunnel. He took a different side tunnel than the one they were in before. However, it was the same type of route. The tunnel led them to a cavern where there was a small village below them. No arrows flew at them this time however and they made it to the next tunnel in record time. When they joined up with the main tunnel again however, the dwarves were waiting for them. Saphierius turned the dwarves in front into ice statues and Tyn and Jardel shattered them. They slowly pushed their way forward back toward the main cavern.
They finally broke through into the large cavern. Tyn looked down, for a sign of Rakan and Aeli. They were just a little ways down the stairs from them. They pushed their way further down trying to meet up with Rakan and Aeli again. Jardel looked down as well, but spotted Derac and Kie instead.
"I spotted them!" he yelled happiness evident in his voice. They were alive. The faeries were safe and Derac and Kie were still alive. Now all they had to do was get out of the mines in one piece and all would be well.
Jardel was having fun despite the apparent grimness of the situation. Knowing that their mission was basically a success just filled him with joy. Every dwarf he dispatched was just the icing on the cake to him. It meant one less enemy to worry about. One less fight to fight. His leg burned but he ignored the pain. It was a welcome feeling as it meant he was still alive. He worked through it, intent on getting the whole team out of there alive. He would blow up the entire mountain if he could and bury the dwarves in the crushing rocks.
As he continued to fight, pushing their way to the secret tunnel, he laughed maniacally. They were going to get out - alive. Their mission was a grand success and Jardel was ecstatic about it. Aeli picked up on his good feelings and giggled a bit as well, as she fought next to him.
It's a great day to be an elf, he thought with glee. And a bad day to be a dwarf, he added kicking a dwarf in the chest, sending him over the edge. He laughed maniacally again, unable to contain the glee he felt. What is evil for him to enjoy killing the enemy? He did not think so. They were the evil ones and Jardel felt justified and righteous for killing them. He would never regret his killing all those dwarves nor would it keep him up at night. Serving justice was just much too fun to feel guilt over it and Jardel was having a lot of fun being a member of the Kinir Elite.
Heh, very god. "It's a great day to be an elf"...classic line, that.
Great character (sidekick or no), I love the way he isn't at all conflicted about what he does, in fact he's happy to do his job no matter what... I wonder what he'd have ended up as if he hadn't joined/been recruited into the Kinir Elite?
Starting to regret not entering this 'fest...hmm...maybe I can still find something...*runs off to rummage through files*
That was supposed to say VERY GOOD.
OOps.
Great scene, that character is fantastic. Thanks for participating.
A nice scene with lots of action. Curiously though, both the first and last paragraphs have the same slight difficulty, in the form of telling us about the character rather than showing. The rest is good though.
Wonderful! How could I have missed this blogfest? I guess cause it's been soooo crazy busy here....
I referred someone to your Questionnaire (I can't get enough of it!) No, I haven't made Moggie finish the rest of it--I'm so busy editing his life away, so... *Sigh*
((Hugs)) Enjoy your weekend, girl! ;)
I like this scene and I agree, "It's a great day to be an elf" is a fantastic line. Thanks for sharing!
I like Jardel! What a cool sidekick! That was an entertaining read!
I finally have time to read everyone's blogfest so I'm off to bloghop lol!