The Protagonist Speaks

Dear readers, tonight we bring you the transcript of a live interview with two characters from a fantasy world not our own. They are here to talk about an attack from an ancient god, a government determined to cover it up, and a heartbroken elfan maiden certain to find answers, as they embark on a journey of mystery, terror, strange magic, and cosmic powers.

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Host: Good afternoon Kamille and Ayela- or should we call you Tsana [Teh-Shaun-uh]?

Ayela: No, please; Ayela is fine. It’s the name I’ve always answered to and known.

Host: Very well, then, Ayela- I have to say, you have a lovely accent! Where did you say you came from again?

Ayela: Well, I was born in a country called Songriveii on my world, but when I was just a baby, I was kidnapped and taken to an orphanage. I don’t really know who did it or why, but that’s how I ended up in the northern part of the Empire of Enthedrill. My accent comes from there.

Host: Gotcha! On earth, we have a country called France. Your accent seounds very similar to that- anyways, I’m getting off track. Welcome to Protagonist Speaks, where we sit down with the very people at the center of stories all across the vast universes of- well, of reality! We prepare a list of questions so our audiences can get to know you better!

Ayela: It’s a pleasure to be here- also, how did you manage to get that portal open to get us here-

Host: That’s not important- anyways, I’m joined here with Ayela Rhexa, a beautiful crimson-haired elvish woman from the world of Thaerv, and her best friend, Kamille Lameen, another gorgeous Korokian elf from the same world! They’ve been through so much as members of the secretive hacktivist group called ‘The Darklings’-

Kamille: Let’s not start announcing-

Host: daring to battle the third-rail capitalist regime that set their world ablaze in war; the Empire of Enthedrill. And even more: they’re doing so without spilling a drop of elvish blood-

Ayela: there’s no need to share our methods-

Host: Let’s give them a warm round of applause!

Crowd: [Applause]

Host: Now, before we begin, I know there are concerns about the things you answer being aired on television in your world. I want to reassure you that we do not have connections to any of the worlds we retrieve guests from. The only television networks we broadcast on are the ones here in our own universe on earth. You can rest assured your confidentiality will be utterly honored.

Kamille: I have so many bloody questions.

Host: And so do we! Kamille, I hear an accent in your voice as well, though a bit more British. Are you not from the same area where Ayela gew up?

Kamille: No, actually. I was born in eastern Enthedrill, in a city called D’Vnora [Div-Nor-Uh]. My family and I lived in the lower half of the hold, called the undercity. It’s rife with poverty and racism, and for elves of color like myself, law enforcement painted targets on our backs. Most of my family was slaughtered in a raid by the police.

Host: That’s… That’s horrible! I can’t imagine going through something like that! Is that why you joined the Darklings?

Kamille: We don’t join, per say. We’re recruited, and from there we can accept or decline. Our leader, a figure dubbed Ruat, has a way of getting a hold of us and letting us know that we’re in, and then we’re told who to talk to from there. The only one who came to us differently was Ayela, here.

Ayela: Yes, I was given a message that told me I was the last, and I went straight to Kamille without any prompting to do so.

Host: Fascinating. We’ll get back to all of that, but before we do, I want to touch a bit more on your upbringings. Ayela, let’s start with you. I know you explained you were orphaned, but let’s get a bit more into the details. From our intial interview, you explained that no one adopted you. You had to learn and study on your own, and when you were sixteen, after you graduated from primary, you applied for citizenship into Enthedrill, using the orphanage’s owner’s surname as your own?

Ayela: Yes. I watched most of the kids I grew up with get picked by families, but they were all ‘ivory elves,’ so they had a much easier time than I did.

Host: Ivory elves?

Ayela: Elves that look like you. Pale skin, gold or brown hair, blue or green eyes. I’m a Songrivan elf. Our country’s royal family is rumored to be a pure bloodline, meaning they’re inbred, so anyone with red hair, freckles, and purple eyes like mine are overlooked. They call us ‘blood elves’ as an insult.

Host: But your race isn’t the only reason you were overlooked, is it?

Ayela: …No, it’s not. I’m also something called a divine logician. I was born with telekinetic, telepathic, and reality warping abilities, and growing up, I struggled to control them when I had emotional outbursts. The Orphanage’s owner was the only one who looked after me, and he put me in dance classes at a young age.

Host: And when you got your citizenship, you had already learned three cultural arts of dancing?

Ayela: Correct. I also took on martial arts classes from a few different cultures, and advanced pretty far in those styles. All of this, of course, was to hone and control my powers.

Continue reading “Ayela and Kamille (of The Kult of Salom’Sileyum, by Zachael T J Presgrove)” →