Thalien

Thalien\'s confrontation with Senneth had not gone as well as Thalien had hoped. In fact, it had gone somewhat terribly. He\'d trekked up to the common rooms after the dinner rush was over and he wouldn\'t be likely to be seen, then discreetly had one of the other kitchen slaves pull Senneth aside. He\'d dutifully delivered his message about what had become of Eleth, and humbly requested that he be taught Human and allowed to visit Eleth in secret.

Senneth was livid when Thalien finished pleading his case. {Never!}

{Senneth!} Thalien exclaimed, startled.

{You\'ll get yourself killed, or get one of us killed! The less you know, the better!} Senneth snapped.

{I\'ve already gotten in trouble over this without knowing what\'s going on!} Thalien kept on. {The least you can do is tell me!}

{How do I know you wouldn\'t turn around and blab everything to Valsgav or Valenn?} Senneth said. He ran a hand through his hair, wearily.

Thalien didn\'t know what to say, and fumbled for a moment. {Senneth, I\'d never....}

Senneth turned away from him. {There are rumors about you, Thalien. That you\'re pampered because you surrendered to the humans... or helped surrender the city to the humans.}

Thalien blanched. He\'d never paused to consider what other elves thought of him. He wanted to defend himself, but the words turned numb in his mouth.

{Get out,} Senneth said.

{No! Senneth, I\'m not like that! I\'m no more a coward than everyone else here who didn\'t want to just lay down and die!} Thalien\'s defense suddenly came pouring out of him, anger coloring it. {If I could do something to help our people, you know I would!}

Senneth glanced back at him, eyes cold. {What about your master?}

Anxiety began twisting in Thalien\'s stomach. Did Senneth suspect Thalien\'s feelings? He meant what he said about wanting to help their people but, deep down, he really just wanted to able to speak with Valsgav. Someone like Senneth could view that urge by itself as deeply traitorous. Elves weren\'t supposed to care about humans, they were supposed to hate them.

{What about him?} Thalien finally mumbled, turning away from Senneth.

{Are you loyal to him?} Senneth asked. {If he sent you to root out elven traitors, would you?}

{No!} Thalien was able to reply instantly, because he knew this was true. He wouldn\'t do that for Valsgav. On some level, he believed it would not be asked of him.

Senneth frowned. {You might be able to learn some language. It will be hard on you because you\'re not social. You\'ve never had to learn the basics of their tongue.}

{You know I\'m clever,} Thalien said. {I can make up for that, or find ways to study....}

{You are clever,} Senneth repeated, still lost in thought. {Still, you\'re not strong enough. If you want to do anything with Eleth, you need training.}

{Training?} Thalien asked.

{You would need to become a Raven,} Senneth said. {Would you dare that much for your people?}

Ravens were what elves called their shadow-thieves, silent warriors trained in the art of stealth and assassination. No one knew much about them, even at Salthessen\'s height, other than that they were supposed to exist. Stories claimed they had a magic bond with the darkness, and could move unseen and unheard even by the most powerful mages. Thalien had simply assumed that they didn\'t really exist after Salthessen\'s fall, because how could the city have fallen if they had?

{Ravens aren\'t real,} Thalien replied nervously. {You must be joking, Senneth.}

{Is that what you think? Then get out.} Senneth began to turn away from him again.

Panic set in again, and Thalien found himself speaking without thinking. {No! I\'d become a Raven, Senneth... I\'d do it if it\'d make me strong enough to make a difference.}

Senneth gazed back at him, his mouth drawn into a tight line. Thalien could simply look at him and know that he was thinking. The tension made Thalien feel the urge to babble.
{I just want to know what\'s going on, Senneth. Something big is happening to us and I don\'t understand what it is, but I can see it how the humans act and how you act. I have the right to know.}

{I suppose you do,} Senneth muttered. {Thalien, speak of this with any human, ever, and you\'ll not live long after you do. I, and Eleth, are part of a group that\'s trying to learn human language so we can report on human activities to a group that escaped the city. They\'re trying to build an army and create a counter-attack plan. All they lack is intelligence.}

Thalien choked down the urge to gasp, fearing he would look foolish. He had not expected any explanation so large.

{Valenn suspects us... so it might be useful to involve you, since you\'re not among the kitchen slaves,} Senneth continued, thinking aloud. {He knows what we could do if we could read and understand Human. I\'m sure they all do. Right now, we can trust no one.}

Did Valsgav know? Did he condone the things that Valenn was doing, what he had done to Eleth? Thalien\'s head swum under the weight of all the new information he had taken in.

Senneth watched him, carefully, and Thalien suddenly had the irrational feeling that Senneth could read his mind. It was foolish; he knew Senneth was no mage, but a warrior.

{Go back to your room, Thalien. If I decide that our group needs you, then a Raven will visit you this evening to begin your training. If I don\'t, then do your part by pretending that we never had this conversation.}

This was a judgment Thalien could live with, although it was hard not to seem a little overwhelmed and disappointed. He had much to think about as he returned to his gardens. {Yes, Senneth. Of course... thank you for hearing me out.} On some level, Thalien felt sure he had been rejected.

Falling back into mundane gardening work was soothing, although his mind continued to churn over the events of the past few days. His feelings for Valsgav, his feelings for Eleth, and his hatred of Valenn mingled uncomfortably with Senneth\'s news of a conspiracy. His mind kept returning to the uneasy thought that the conspiracy was why Valsgav was so worried, so intense, and so distant with him.

No one else visited the garden that day, for which Thalien was glad. He was in no mood to humor lustful human males today. Instead, he returned to his rooms and prepared to lay himself down for bed.

His sleep was unusually light and troubled, with strange, indistinct nightmares twisting through his mind. He woke up with the moon high in the sky, and pale light filtering through his window. Thalien tried to sit up, to collect himself after his dim nightmare had taken some forgotten turn for the worse.

A hand pushed him back down. The light streaming in through his window faded unnaturally, making the stars seem larger. Thalien\'s entire little room, hardly more than a few square feet of space and a small hearth that sat around his bed of woven reeds, seemed to sink into absolute blackness.

Terror seized him, and he felt his heart begin to beat faster. He had forgotten his meeting earlier in the day, and had no idea of what could be going on. Eyes begin to twinkle at him through the darkness, and he caught a glimpse of long, pale ears sticking out underneath hair as perfectly black as the darkness that threatened to choke him.

{You are chosen,} spoke a voice. Thalien could see no lips moving to make the words. Suddenly he remembered his talk with Senneth, but somehow this offered no comfort.

The voice continued. {You will pledge yourself to me, master of the night secrets. Your only true master will be shadows, before which all else is illusion.}

Thalien felt compelled to speak. {Yes, I will pledge.} The words tumbled out of his mouth, stiff and alien.

{Words are not enough. Pledge to me your body and soul.}

Thalien suddenly felt the night air against his bare skin, cold and damp. Where had his covers gone? For that matter, where had his clothing gone? He never slept in the nude, for that only seemed to invite trouble.

Hands soft as velvet and firm as steel gripped his shoulders, then caressed him tenderly. Lips pressed against his mouth that felt the same. A shock of pleasure ran through Thalien\'s body with stunning force. He found himself opening his mouth to the person - no, to the Raven that kissed him. The Raven\'s kiss was deep, leaving nothing of him untouched. Thalien felt himself responding with a kind of passion wholly different from what he felt for Valsgav.

The velvet hands took hold of knees, pushing them up and apart. Thalien tried to reach for his dark lover, but it was like trying to embrace smoke. He could not stroke the face that loomed over his, or put his fingers on the dark hair. He could only feel the Raven\'s lips, and tongue, as he was kissed. The excitement and frustration made his whole body feel taut and alive.

Something choked back his cry of pleasure when the Raven entered him, somehow warm and slick enough to dispel the usual pain. Thalien could feel every inch of the penetration and this somehow made it more agonizing, made his spine arch with need. The Raven gave him no rest until he had buried himself in Thalien so completely that he could feel the Raven\'s skin rubbing like velvet against his scrotum. He began to grow erect and full.

One of the velvet hands reached out to take Thalien\'s hand in its own. He drew it down Thalien\'s body, his own fingertips brushing his skin, until Thalien could feel his own erect cock underneath his fingers. Still, the dark hand pulled him further on, until his hand stroked the very base of the Raven\'s member, right below where it joined with Thalien\'s body. Its touch made Thalien burn all over.

{This is our bond, flesh to flesh and soul to soul. You will never betray me. You cannot,} the voice intoned. Thalien knew it spoke the truth. After this he wold make love to the shadows forever. The Raven\'s hand left his, and torturous pleasure wracked Thalien\'s body again as the Raven began to fuck him. Thalien stroked himself in time with the Raven\'s long thrusts, whimpering with need.

Despite Thalien\'s state of severe arousal, the Raven proved to be an agonizingly slow fuck. He built his speed and force up slowly, so slowly, enough that Thalien was completely out of his mind long before the Raven allowed him to reach climax. Stroking himself only made his need worse, without satisfying it or giving him release. Instead he could only grind and clench at the Raven as it possessed him, straining to find satisfaction by satisfying the hungry darkness that had seized him.

He was dimly aware of a sigh like a midnight breeze, before he felt the hot, rough sensation of the Raven orgasming inside of him. That, in turn, seemed to loose Thalien\'s own bound ability to feel pleasure. He drew in sharp breaths and shuddered against the Raven, muscles clenching, his own erection jerking as it spilled its seed over his fingers and onto his chest. It seemed to go on forever, although he knew it could be no more than seconds; the feelings were intense and somehow crystal clear.

Thalien could feel the Raven draw wetly out of him, and the pressure of its hands left his body. He was again aware of the eyes, which seemed more crystalline and alive to him than ever. The face seemed close to his, although much of the features were hopelessly buried in shadows. Even the elegant ears seemed too far away to touch. {Remember,} the voice commanded. {Remember, and tomorrow, you will begin to learn.}

There seemed to be no reply needed from Thalien; he could only take a deep breath. He would do or learn or say whatever the Raven wished of him when it returned. As quick as it was over he could feel the Raven\'s spell of darkness end. Suddenly he could see the moonlight bright against his skin, and the contours of his hut\'s interior. His blanket had somehow been tossed to the floor, along with his clothes. His skin was wet and warm with semen.

Thalien realized he had absolutely no idea what had come over him, what had actually happened. He didn\'t know who the Raven was or how it got into his room, or... well, anything. The memory of the pleasure was suddenly dim to him, replaced with an urge to get up and clean before he tried to sleep any more. He wondered if it had all just been some kind of dream. Perhaps he would learn tomorrow night.