"Elf-Determination" and "Elf-Control"

Artizza

"My name? It is Artizza ... this is Fertal..." I finally say, shivering a little as the words.....Fertal’s name seem to strike a chord within me....

.....

I repress a shiver of surprised, deliciously erotic delight as I almost taste the name with on my lips...

No, must not leave our rescuers awaiting. Would be....rude....

Slowly, I and my....love.....?

Since when did I decide I....?!

Alien memories (but mine now) rush forth and tell me why. My heart, elfin, has chosen him (and his mine)....

Will later find that such pairings (“Astras” and “Fred”) seem common, speaking of shared destinies....

That said....

....

Yet another thing I find I love about my new self....so much....easier that way. Remember some suitors who’d....

Ar....never mind. Makes my elfin blood boil...

....

Makes my blood boil like it did back then, those arrogant “would be husbands”? How much did I really change?! I’d thought that....

Later...

Well, I and my love tell our tale (re: 4234, 24811, & 24818).

They say that the path to Hell is a wide, easy path and HERE I did it, almost dancing all the way in delight!!

Idiot!! I scream to myself. How could I have let myself be so blinded....

Fierce anger swirls within my elfin heart, suitable companion to the feeling of dread and betrayal. Then, a bit of chagrin as it as swiftly (the anger towards myself for being fooled) dissipates somewhat. After all, I and Fertal had been rather intoxicated with our new elvish nature (and still somewhat bedazzled by it, truthfully, but at least clear headed now). That and you should remember that the Army of Darkness is rather adept at such trickery!!

But.....I and my love only wanted to just live and love with them, what we'd felt was our new people, and they’d....

Oh God, I....hurt....

What I feel must show, for Fertal has reached out and stroked my ears in concerned love. My mood (mercurial now when I look back to what it had been as a human), shifts and I manage to even giggle a little as we go off together to someplace this human calls a “galley”. Something about coffee and tea. Sounds like...interesting drinks....

"Oh, Fertal, I'm so glad you joined us!" I giggle in a melodious soprano. "I'd hate to think of going without you!"

Teasing him in fun, you see. I shall NEVER go anywhere he is not...

"Never fear, dearest elfling," he declared, tenderly stroking the delicate points of my ears. "We shall make merry and carouse the whole night to celebrate our return.

“Aye,” he continues, looking up at Eric. "Let us inbide and dance with our new friends....and family!"

Eric nods slightly, as if expecting this sudden expression of us adopting him and the rest of Eternity Inc as our friends and family!

......

Ah, I see now. Apparently the other analogs like ourselves made similar decisions and declarations in the past so our sudden impulsive decision (elfin heart driven), wasn't so...unexpected.

.....

I must admit, I rather never liked being called "predictable" even before becoming an elf.....

Then again I guess that could be a foundation of sorts for a roadmap towards trust between the non-elves of Eternity Inc and us. I mean, if you try to befriend somebody who's so....different that you cannot know when he'd turn on you for some perceived wrong or whatnot.... Not a stable situation, I fear. Fear that is somewhat the reason why elves of my world and humans are NEVER trusted....and vice versa. We just don't....understand each other....

Now, as I implied before we have never heard of these exotic drinks: coffee and tea. At first we are somewhat.....put off....that they are not.....spirited enough to intoxicate the sense like they should be during celebration. But however that custom is . . . a Dark Elven custom anyway.....and us being "proto" or not...does not give us license to impose our customs onto our new family, right?

Besides, our soured demeanor brightened considerably after Friend Eric suggested that dulled senses wouldn't just do for something we later....do that night, I and Fertal between the sheets.

Oh, I don't mean sleep. Elves like those of Terra Prime (and us) don't need to sleep. Can't sleep, even.

.....

Oh, don't look at us like that! Isn't like we'd do it without Sanction from the Church! Even have a "wedding ring" and "wedding liscense" (quaint tokens), to prove it! I and Fertal STILL are good member in standing within the True Faith....

.....

Oh, crave pardon! I.....I Uh.....

Look, I and Fertal are of the Christian Church and we sometimes, being aristocracy (even now despite being elfin) can get....narrow minded on some things.

Will promise not to again impinge on your beliefs, oh listener! Old habits picked up from Church going betrayed me there. I....will admit that there is a possibility that I am wrong in my religious beliefs and you're right!!

Still, will stick with "my brand" until I know for certain. Must keep one's faith in their religion, you know....

Must say, that I and Feral got a BIG shock when we met this Agent 7 (a Celestrial Entity not spoken of in our Book).

That said, it didn't stop us from joining. Oh, we took to becoming a Champion because it.....appealed.... That and it was the most tolerable (very appealing even) of the proffered choices on how to get the Demons from hounding us forevermore until a Choice was made.

I guess, however, such a "lateral transfer" from the "Office of Evil" wasn't expected at all! Rare, I'm led to believe. With it, any claims the Demons had upon our now immortal bodies were null and voided by the transfer!

The other choices we had were this. We could have joined up with the Demons and they'd then stop harassing us (hah, like THAT proposal appeals!!). The other was only appealing by degrees, for being harassed by Demons isn't high on my list of "fun things". The other choice would have to have let the Celestrials.....change us back to mortal human beings!!

Look, have nothing against human beings (had been one, in fact). However, I and Fertal definitely don't want to return, period!! Too....fun....and exciting, now, being elves. More....alive....

Hrmph.....

After the wedding and celebration (and a hearing of a small.....funeral for that one strange....dark skinned elf named Rayek. God, somehow from the way the other Champions react to him makes me feel he wasn't.....well liked.), we were told by this Agent 7 that our "Validation Quest", by needs because of the rather complicated negotiation that had gone on.

Being that I and Fertal had only met Rayek briefly (and not long at that) during the elfin flood that had swept us into the shuttle craft, I and my love can't.....muster any real feelings for him. No grief. Indeed, we're actually happy for him, for he's gone to a better place and existence now!

Had a horrible existence here, crippled and in pain, before dying, so it was a mercy. That and he did die bravely. Not many can do that, so it is....something.

I put that aside and try to think of happier things....and succeed.

Now, as for what some could call a....

Couldn't help but notice he looked a little....worried about something. That and how he as of YET hadn't told us what our Quest was to be. Being that the Demons weren't going to easily let go of their claim upon us, we'd better expect a lot of....adversity. Wouldn't say what, but just to expect it for our Quest (whenever that would be). Then again, he had said we'd find out here soon enough. Figure that it'll happen sometime tomorrow after our.....

....after I and Fertal are done with our.....celebrating on our wedding night, shall we say.

Hmm. Later Agent 7 actually says he's sorry for what had to happen....but I agree with him when he said that there....

Yep, there'd been no real choice. Embarrassing and confusing. Vexing, even, but at least our immortal souls were spared the Demon's ministrations......more on that later...

Maybe....

Later that night.....

The world whirls and twists about the elfin couple in the middle of....things.....

.....and they suddenly find themselves (still covered with their blanket) staring out at some very.....surprise and embarrassed "opposition mages" who'd summoned them by a special ceremony.

Summoned them in order to do for them what they'd been having trouble doing on their own.

See, elves (mortal or immortal) are like the wind. Can pop up and fire at you with arrows and such and disappear into the woods or vegetation like.....magic.

Basically, the mages had come upon the desperate idea of calling upon what they'd termed the "darker entities" in order to save their world. See, they feared these mysterious mages of Erica's and Illura who'd appeared from nowhere (and seemed to herald these wild "mage storms"). Seemed to herald the end of the world. Something to be avoided, don't you know!

Guess who they wanted to go out and kill to avoid that?

Guess who it included? One woman named Rebecca, by their scryings, was THE keystone for whether their world eventually lived on or slid into a strange....horrible condition somewhat akin to Hell on Earth! Readings were confusing and contradictory, but the mages had finally agreed that her death would....save the world. For the greater good, Rebecca must die!

After sputtering over the....interruption they'd caused, the mages finally explained what they'd call the "Fey elves" (Artizza and Fertal) up for and just why.

In ill humor indeed, the elves listened and....for the time being said they'd do what they could to save this world.

Some mages had expect....more elves to show up than just two.....but frankly after that embarrassing fiasco....they weren't going to complain to the elfin couple for being the only elves to show up....

Though, privately, the elfin couple said to themselves that....something just smelled....wrong here. That and they KNOW something was....wrong within themselves....

Now, for those who are wondering, here's the deal. The Demons, as per usual, drove a very hard bargain in finally giving up Artizza and Fertal....only made less so by some transgression by attempting to bend a Challenge's Outcome that Cuthbert Allgood (re: http://www. geocities.com /rule179/ CharacterBios/ Cuthbertbios. htm#Cuthbert ) and friends had been on. Frankly, it would have been a gross violation to have let the Demoness Jasmine onto the playing field without some kind of counter ( for full detailed recap see episodes 24031 and 24339). Well, the Phobos Phasor was a good counter, but still.....that cheat had still nearly voided the Challenge and the Demons had to give up something in compensation for that transgression. Their claims on Artizza and Fertal was that. Letting them become Champions was that. Their lateral transfer was that.

However, it's not that simple. The Demons just weren't going to let them go, without some kind of.....problems for their lost prey. No, not easy. For this Validation Quest, they're mission is exactly like Cuthbert's mission: to save this world. However, they face Adversity of a very high order!! They don't even know they are Champions and who they're working for because memories (expect for vague feelings) are blocked. The last thing they DO remember is just before Fred 8 calling out a warning to them (re: 24838). They know now, however, that they cannot trust Dark Elves and know, somehow, they'd been....rescued from a dire fate. The experience has sobered them enough to realize that perhaps this mission as laid out before them by these human mages might NOT be as simple as it appears, as.....sincere as they'd actually been in their beliefs.

Another lingering, unintentional bit of adversity was implanted subconsciously within the elves. Interestingly enough, it stemmed from a rather....naughty gift from Mr. Dean. Something called a "right light" cartoon featuring characters from Disney's Alladin, which featured some kind of cat woman named "Mirage" as the head villain. Had been...stimulating for the elves, that cartoon...but the thing is....if they DO see the other Champions with their Mirage....what's going to happen? Will they trust the other Champions as they might have otherwise done....or fly off the handle?

Makes for a delicate situation, eh? Especially when Cuthbert's group has no idea that the elves even exist (let alone that they might be coming their way).

Remains to be seen....

Now, the elves do have a feeling that they've....changed in a way beside becoming elfin. Something about immortality and such...working for a higher power and such and they are on a Quest. Details, however, aren't clear (foggy or blank memories). Feelings however, tell them that saving the world IS at least (in part) what they must do! But how?

If they chose the wrong course, they could prove to be the undoing of this world....instead of it's savior!

If nothing else, these transformed elves still have a very developed sense of adventure they'd kept within themselves even after becoming elves. Staying home and singing and dancing no longer seemed....as appealing as before. They wanted to do something. Some strike for "justice and good" for the people, as it were, just like they'd done as humans.

That said, right now, they were heading for what their elfin sense told them of a herd of Pegasuses (Pegasi?) now grazed

They (the winged horses) were former mundane horses transformed into fantastic creatures who now were grazing in old, hazy memories of places to feed).

As for that, whatever the elves were to do, they'd do it faster by flight!!

....

What to do? That was the subject of discussion as they sincerely try to figure out just what to do as they travel down the paths away from their arrival point.

The mages had been kind enough to provide gear and clothing for their journey. Good, considering beside blanket they'd been....naked.

Still the elves had refused the magical stuff offered, still not quiet...trusting their benefactors. Not sure they wanted it, in case it proved to have some kind of "spy spells" upon it, as it were.

They had an instinctive knack for simple spells because of being "Fey Elves", but still it wasn't going to be easy to just look at it and tell if "extras" were there....

Wanted their privacy after such an...embarrassing intrusion upon their last time....and were using small wards to throw off some (surely well meant) spells cast their way to keep tabs on them....

Heh....To say they'd been less than pleased about that would be a vast understatement. Took a lot of elf contr....er....self control in order to not fly into the mages for the...interruption.....

That said....

1. "Fertal, what in God's name are we doing?" Artizza asks Fertal, shaking her head (which was still spinning from the sudden situation they'd been thrown into here).

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