*warning- graphic recollection of battle-scene violence, death, and gore*


*Andy’s POV*

Eliza went all the way back to before she was born. She talked about her Grampy Manson, and her Grammy Gen, and how their arrival in Merry Willows had, at first, been barely tolerated. Over time, she said, the Villagers had apparently grown, relatively, much more accepting after seeing what an asset her grandparents were to their defense.

Their son, her Uncle Henry, had been a problem child in Training, in the sense that he caused severe injury to his aggressors, far more serious than Eliza ever had. Unlike the Wild Ones, Merry Willows had no Conjuration Healers, so on the occasions Henry had paralyzed someone, they were stuck that way for life, excepting the few that could afford to travel in addition to paying for services. His behavior was tolerated, presumably because of the defensive help he brought to the tribe, until he was a teenager. Eliza was still young when that happened, and had assumed he was exiled because of his temper. That was what her mother had told her, what everyone had told her throughout her life: that her Uncle Henry had been a vicious monster. She didn’t remember him that way at all.

Manson and Gen's daughter, Tarja, was Eliza's mother. Seeing how her brother reacted so angrily to the way he was treated, and even later how he was exiled, Tarja refused to take up arms to defend her Village, and Eliza hated her for it. Tarja had gotten involved in politics, and was the Councilmember that presided over Judicial Matters and Law, directly under the Elder, by the time Eliza had left Training.

Tarja had disapproved when Eliza had joined her grandparents on the battlefield before she had even finished Training, but Eliza had felt the Watch wasn't up to handling the burden of defense yet alone, and she had noticed that her Grammy was starting to show signs of aging. With her uncle gone, she began to worry, and had started entering skirmishes as soon as she felt she was able-bodied, against her mother’s wishes.

Merry Willows had grown dependent on Eliza’s family for defense; the Watch had become weak and sloppy. One large orc force had either the uncharacteristic intelligence or the random luck to attack in broad daylight.

What I hadn't known at all was that Dark Mountain Elves were profoundly irritated by sunlight. They were weakened in general, and lengthy exposure gave them blisters that got easily infected. Over about six hours of bright sunlight could even cause temporary blindness. I supposed that explained why her grandfather's kind hadn't taken over the world and stuck mostly to murky crevices.

While Henry and Tarja were able to walk around in long-sleeved garb during the day, Manson was a much different warrior. Normally, Merry Willows only saw brief raids, so it wasn't a huge issue.

When the orcs had come, it was the largest force Merry Willows had seen in decades. Henry was gone. And Gen, though she was loathe to admit it, was finally starting to grow older, as Fae aged a bit faster than Elves. As a Dusk Fae Berserker, she didn't fight very well in broad daylight either. Just as it was for me, it was somewhat blinding. Also not unlike myself, she refused to stay behind, and insisted on accompanying her husband into every battle.

Apparently, on that day, the delicate balance finally toppled. Gen was felled by some orcs when she failed to receive adequate backup from the Day Watch. Part of the Day Watch, fearing Manson's wrath, had promptly deserted the battlefield. Merry Willows had no alarm system to rouse other Watches to battle sizeable forces, as large forces were so uncommon, so the other Watches were never called.

When her Grampy had seen Gen’s body he had apparently thrown all caution and sanity to the wind and more or less eliminated the remainder of the battlefield himself, with the aid of a very few, plucky, enduring Day Watchmen. Eliza had not had the skill yet to make a sufficient dent, as she was just a preteen.

She told me she had run to her grandfather, where he knelt, after he had slaughtered the last orc by disemboweling it with his tusks, then ripping out pieces of its lungs through its diaphragm. She said the dying orc had thrashed mutely and her Grampy had just listened dully, disinterested, for more orcs.

Manson's black eyes had been rattling so loudly she could hardly hear him, and she had never seen his tusks so large, they had grown past the top of his head. He had heard her coming and asked her to bring him to Gen, as he could barely see, he was losing his vision, and he wished to die by her side.

Being just a child she had protested, told him that he needed to go to the Healer, but her grandfather had hushed her. Apparently, earlier, he had received a wound to the abdomen that caused some of his guts to spill. In order to finish the last few orcs, he had simply tied his own entrails off and ripped the dangling bits out. He pointed vaguely where he thought they were with a blistering arm. Eliza told me that image, of her not-yet-dead grandfather pointing at his own insides, with his arm just starting to cook, looking at her with loving but dimming eyes, was imprinted on her forever.

He had said he needed to go soon, and asked her to hurry as he rose to his feet and blood poured down his legs from the hole he had packed with some gore-soaked grass. Eliza took his hand and brought him to where her Grammy still lay. Manson had lifted Gen and Eliza had guided them part of the way home, until Manson had stopped walking abruptly.

Laying her body down, Manson had been unsteady. She remembered his last coherent words had been, "Never lose who you are, Eliza. I am proud of you my little warrior." Then he had keeled over next to Gen, occasionally babbling nonsense in Ancient Common at times, the crude tongue of Dark Mountain Elves, as well as Fae.

As Manson had died, no one came to check on them, no Healers brought relief for the man that had defended their Village for centuries. Eliza hadn't felt like she could leave him, so she propped him up as well as she could, and brought Gen's body close. He had died, gasping, with eyes shaking like maracas, perhaps an hour or two later, with Eliza bearing witness.

Apparently, Tarja didn't come out to check on her dying father, nor her deceased mother. After Manson had died, Eliza had carried her Grammy to the doorstep of their house. Her father, Trent, was a Dawn Watchman, and had come running as soon as he heard her. He had helped her carry Manson home to be buried, as her Grampy was ungainly tall, literally dead weight, and Eliza was still very young at that point.

After what happened to her grandparents, Eliza was the only Dark Mountain Elf descendant left who was still active in combat. But Tarja disapproved of her daughter, who could almost pass as a full-blooded Fae, engaging in combat at all. She didn't want her making her heritage all the more apparent by fighting among adults, prior to finishing Training. Eliza's revulsion towards her mother began to crystallize around then.

She tried to explain to me how her Grampy had always emphasized the importance of the greater good, of doing the right thing, regardless of what society told you. She clearly idolized her grandparents, their bizarre love story, and how they'd come to defend her ungrateful village for centuries.

And so, Merry Willows was left with the Watch alone to defend it while Eliza focused on Training. She spent a crucial period hearing Trent come home and talk about how inadequate the defenses were, how they desperately needed more manpower, and wishing she could help.

When Eliza finished Training and joined the Night Watch, her mother was furious. For the first time, her father openly defied her mother, and told her he was proud.

Eliza fidgeted. Apparently things improved for quite some time. The orcs had stayed away entirely after being massacred wholesale when they had expected to route the Village, and the Watches were able to slowly improve. But, starting a few years ago, unspeakable things began to happen.

Notes

Meet Eliza's mother and father:

Tarja, (half DME, half Night Fae):

Councilwoman, Judicial Matters/Law, would not use weapons/fight, wanted to fit in. Tarja was never able to bond very well with Eliza, and Eliza resented her deeply for not fighting with the rest of her family to protect the tribe.

Trent (Dawn Fae):

Dawn Watchman. Has generally not stood up to Tarja when it came to matters of parenting but is a good man at heart.

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SO: everyone has pre-ordered the new Andy Black album, yes? do you have your tickets for the US dates of his tour yet (or the dates in the UK, for my UK readers- do i even have any)? i do! will I be seeing you in Seattle or Portland?

if you haven't ordered the album yet, do so here (or on itunes):

On the Andy Black Website
Hopefully this link works for the USA Itunes

click here for tour dates:
This will bring you to the Andy Black Facebook page, where bandsintown have listed all the tour dates!

anybody else chomping at the bit for monday's release of the video for WDHTD? who else loved the song? <3