By the Blood of Le'Fey

Ch.4 Edicts in Stone

Hey guys! I apologize for my huge absence, but now I'm on my break so hopefully I will post some more. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy my next chapter.

Ch.4 Edicts in Stone

Strickler stood proudly in his troll form, facing the still armored Claire and his back to a wall of stone, carved with various images. "Our story, the story of trolls, begins in the times of Knights and Kings, fire and steel, the Dark Ages." He stated, and the stone wall began to move on its own, glowing with an arcane power as the carved lines glowed with a dark purple energy. The stone shifted and move to make a mosaic of the stone, depicting a fortress of stone, bright marble contrasting against the slate grey of the wall.

"The world then was riddled with danger, and trolls fought amongst themselves below ground." He stated, and a mural of a multitude of monstrous beings battling one another appeared on the stone wall.

"But one troll rose above the rest, he desired to unite the trolls under one ruler, that troll was Gunmar, the true king of the trolls!" He said proudly. Strickler's face however had then twisted into a scowl. "However, Gunmar's revolution to reunite all the tribes was thwarted by the one known as the Trollhunter, a champion of the wizard Merlin, and the enemy of your ancestor." Strickler said and the stone painted a mosaic of three figures. On one side, the mosaic of Morrigan Le'Fey clad in armor, while on the other was another figure in bright silver armor, protecting a robed man.

"The war between trolls was aided by the two powerful wizards, the Trollhunter persecuted Gunmar and those loyal to him, and labelled us Gumm-Gumms, a slanderous name for a noble clan." He explained to Claire, whose eyes were focused with rapt interest, her eyes shifting from the wall to Strickler.

"Wait, Merlin is the bad guy here?" Claire asked Strickler as she looked at the figure meant to represent Merlin. "I mean, I have never really heard anything good about Le'Fey, but Merlin was always made out to be a good guy." She said, seeming somewhat confused. Strickler could only sigh at this.

"The victors get to write history, and Merlin wrote it to paint him as the hero of our story." He told Claire. "It was at the final battle that doomed our kind. The champion of Merlin, Deya the Deliverer, engaged in battle with Gunmar and the Darkslayer. The battle was long hard and hard felt, many trolls on both sides had fallen and become stone before long. Merlin had struck a dishonorable tactic, casting a spell on Le'Fey that trapped her soul and essence within her own Amulet. Deya had banished us Gumm-Gumms into the Darklands, an essential hell that most of our kind had been driven mad by." Strickler stated. "The few of us that had managed to avoid banishment, now work to free the others from the Darklands." Strickler finished his story, and the stones that moved along the wall receded into themselves.

"That is the story of us trolls of the Darklands, at least, all that we know." Strickler said. Claire looked at Strickler, her eyes filled with sadness at hearing Strickler's epic of his race's history.

"Mr. Strickler, I'm so sorry to hear about this, all this." She said, and she looked down to her own body, clad in the dark purple armor. "I promise you, no matter what it takes, I'll help you free the others from the darklands." She told Strickler.

The man smiled, and he looked Claire over. "I must thank you Ms. Nunez, I couldn't be more in your debt." He told Claire, and approached her, helping her to stand again.

"I must say though, you will be going up against some deadly enemies. Trolls are not known for their merciful nature, and if you engage in combat you are likely to be… eliminated in a multitude of quite unpleasant ways." He said, holding his chin in thought. His eyes snapped open in realization.

"Ahh yes, I remember now! I have someone I'd like you to meet." He said and whistled. After a couple of minutes of waiting, a middle-aged woman stepped from the hallways, looking rather irate. She wore a fuschia dress that came down to her knees and she wore black heels. Her hair was black and straightened to about neck length, with emerald green eyes, along with black lipstick and pale skin. She would have been attractive if it weren't for the fact that she had a scowl on her face.

"What is it you want Strickler? You know that I have tons of papers to-" was all the woman got out as she looked to Strickler and the armored Claire. Her gaze shifted between them before she smiled. "Well, good work Strickler. It seems you've found us a champion." She said and approached Claire. "It's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Nomura." She said, shaking Claire's hand.

"Aww, thanks. It's a pleasure to meet you too." She said to the apparently human woman.

Strickler cleared his throat and looked to the two. "Nomura here is a proficient combatant, and will be training you in the ways of Gumm-Gumm combat." He said. Nomura grinned as her body glowed, releasing her human form and becoming much more menacing.

Nomura in her troll form stood at a full 6ft tall and her skin was fuschia. Her eyes were now completely green with cat like pupils. Her limbs were long and lanky, with her hands ending in talons and her legs ending in hooves. The woman's long face was dominating by a fang filled grin and a large rectangular nose.

"Are you ready to train, child? We Gumm-Gumms are quite deadly on the battlefield." She said, arming herself with a pair of large metallic sickle blades. It was at this point that Claire could only smile. The feeling of exhilaration that was welling up in her body was driving her as she placed her helmet back on, and she began to give the glaive she held a couple of spins.

"I'm more than ready."