I started another story as well. The inspiration came to me while I was playing a Drow character in my modded Skyrim game. Then I thought 'Well, why not? I'd be far more original and not a work of fan fiction.' Keep in mind that this is the first chapter and it's still not finished, but it is long enough to give you an idea. Also there are some rather long-winded description within the frame of the chapter and it may seem a little rough or 'all over the place at once'.
A Drow of a tale
The air was clear, the grass fresh from the recent morning dew, and birds were happily chirping away the day. Midday was at its height and the sun's rays penetrated the virgin soil with warmth and light. Several herds of animals had gathered to feast on the emerald green grasses and trees, not paying attention to anything else around them. A gentle breeze helped to take the heat off and make the hot noon day more tolerable. Or at least it would be. A figure slowly approaches one of the herds. The largest herd she could spot within miles of her surroundings. And she had her sights set on the prize; the alpha male. Titanic in size, this beast's neck stretched out from within the sanctity of the herd and made itself known. The stranger look upon the mammoth lizard with a sense of awe and greed. She had been the first to set foot out of the deep underground in eons, and now she was going to lay claim to a creature none of her kind had seen before. Her thoughts raced in her mind. Could she do it? Would she be able to lance out a single killing strike against a monster much larger then her? Yes, she thought. She had to. The head was small and controlled the rest of the body. If she could but put a single arrow though the upper-side of the giant lizard it would surly tumble down dead.
The moment of truth...
For her it was now or never. Beasts of this size were slow and could not move very far, very quickly. This gave her the advantage. Not only that but she was small compared to them. And sneaking around in the foliage with the sun slightly behind her gave the best chance at landing a prey which would feed her people much more then the smaller cave-dwelling creatures ever could. A beast this size was food for an entire tribe for possibly over a few months. A year at best if not consumed greedily. Slightly sticking her head out from the underbrush the stranger looks around before deciding her best course of action. Her snow-white hair glistening in the sun's light off-set her dark blue skin. However in the darkness of the caves where almost no light shawn she was almost jet black. Two bright blue orbs gazed up at the giant lizard as the female brought about her composite longbow. A large weapon of the greatest of range, and beast-stopping power. It was strong enough to pierce thick armour plating with superior accuracy at a distance of just under a single mile. It was the perfect weapon of choice for this particular hunt.
"My family is starving. And I need you. I need you to give your life to feed many others."
The woman's greed was not without purpose. It had been days since the creatures of the deep caverns ceased appearing. Other hunters had been coming home less frequently with food over their shoulders. Almost everyone in her community was going hungry. It was this disaster that prompted her decision to go above ground--to search the world above for greater bounty. Things were changing below ground and she knew this. It could be felt all around her. Packing what little she had and bidding her family goodbye, the hearty woman had made the perilous journey to the forbidden land of their ancestors. A place where they once dwelt in vast communities and cities until the great calamity. Then they were forced underground and became the Drow. A race of elven decent. There were other tribes then as well before the calamity. There were those whom dwelt in the low valleys, some tribes lived in the deep woods, others made their homes in the swamps, and even in the highest peaks of the land. There were also desert dwellers and inhabitants of the grassy highland hills. Most died out during the loss of their homelands, and many afterwards because they could not adapt quickly enough. And very few recorded scrolls contained the truth about them. The only thing her people were sure of is that they were once Dark Elves. They were already accustomed to living in partial subterranean dwellings, but not fully underground. Many other elves could not adapt to subterranean life and, before-long, disappeared from the records. The Elves who lived in the deep woods survived much better as they found an underground forest with which to dwell. They stayed there for uncounted centuries until another great change killed off the plant life and subjected them to starvation and disease. The Dark Elves however seemed far more suited to survival then any other Elven race existing. And they had continued to survive long after the last of the other Elven races died out. But that was then and once more another great change was on the winds. It would soon be time to change along with the environment. They would have to in order to survive into the next eon. And Xeel was hoping to be the one to save her people.
She was ostracized for her rash decision by the elders of the Drovin council. Even with her family's approval it still hurt her to hear the harsh objections from the others. The common folk themselves were on the fence about her decision. Some believed in her while others scorned her. In the end she was banished, but change was in the air and she used it as leverage to get what she would need--what her people needed most. As the titanic creature continued to pay the tiny Drow no mind, Xeel unfastened an arrow from her quiver. The head of the implement was designed for maximum penetration, and the hooks slightly behind the point would guarantee its stay within the victim until death. Xeel rested the arrow onto the bow staff. She then holds both the arrow and the bow string and preps for a pull-back. The bow itself was difficult to draw and required a lot of arm strength. Fortunately Drows were a very strong race. More-so then the ape-like tribes she had recently seen inhibiting the surface. They were curious creatures and seemed well-suited for surface survival. But they were also very primitive. Little to no vocal communication at all. Instead they talked with hand gestures and grunting noises. They did however posses the skills to craft tools and weapons from stone which indicated to her that they were still in the process of evolution. But they were not the reason why she was here. The beast in front of her was. Xeel slowly stands and wrenches hard on her weapon. With the arrow primed she points it to the tiny head of the beast way up in the sky. If she missed then that would be the end of it. Xeel breathes in and aims her bow. She then exhales and lets go of the string. A strong snap of the thick silk-like thread and the arrow sails towards its target. Just as the beast opens its tiny eye an arrow is seen puncturing through it.
* * *
Gasp!
Bolting up-right in bed, Xeel wakes from another restless night. The perspiration on her body felt cold compared to her body temperature which was hotter then normal. Turning her head over to the left she sees the time on her bedside clock. 3:42 AM. Great...
Her long, pointed ears easily pick up the screams of the city beyond the pane of her window. The nightlife was in full swing but would soon wind down for the dawn of another day. Xeel still hadn't fully adjusted to this newfound life of hers. Though it had been a decade already, that amount of time was peanuts compared to her age. Gazing up at her calendar she spots her birthday.
"I guess this'll make my two-thousandth and sixteenth birthday on the morrow... I feel old."
Taking age well was not one of her strong suits. Nor was the fact that the home she knew was no-longer a reality. It took ten years, countless scientific analysis, and a lot of controversy by the local and global media, but Xeel was able to adapt and conform to human society. The primitive tribes she had once seen making stone tools and weapons were now the dominate masters of the entire world. A feat not even her ancestors dared accomplish. Then again Antarctica at that time was an isolated paradise compared to the Antarctica of 1986. Humanity's greatest bargaining chip for global control was a magic they called technology. A force that her peoples' never achieved as they were always one with nature yet advanced enough to be civilized. This technology she once marvelled at was now commonplace in her life, though some facets of it still took her breath away. Objects like her digital clock, the radio, and her television set made her see wonders never before imagined. At first TV viewing was a severe culture shock. Seeing people talking and interacting within a tiny box with only a single window. Then she became a regular couch potato as she repeatedly tuned in to things like the History channel, National Geographic channel, the movie channel featuring films like Rambo, The Terminator, and much more. Heck, even the playboy channel caught her attention every once in a while. Since sex was usually a sacred act to her people it was a strange thing to see it broadcasted to everyone around the world. And seeing the people acting in ways never before conceived of such a sacred act shocked her even more. It was indeed a strange new world.
Resetting her bed sheets and fluffing up her pillows Xeel tries to go back to sleep. However her thoughts were still dwelling on her family. The husband who walked out on them, only to die from a fall after the ledge he was on gave way. And then there were her five children whom she loved very dearly. Also dead now. Antarctica had changed so much that not even simple bacteria could survive the harsh cold climate for very long unless it was specially adaptable to it. And since the land itself had drifted far to the south, the lush landscape of vegetation had given way to hard ice and harsh skin-tearing winds of blowing snow. That's where they found her. Imbedded in a chunk of solid glacial ice, just beneath a mountain range. The changing of the climate must have hit so suddenly that she had no chance of escape. Xeel had no memory of what had happened to her. Her mind was still thawing out even though she had fully recovered from being cryogenically frozen by nature for over several million years. It had been too long since the change. Her people--the álfar as the old human tribes would call them--had long-since vanished. The Drow were the last of the Elven races to survive. Yet even they could not stop the march of time. It was depressing to think that she was now the last of her kind. No. Not depressing. Heart-wrenching. It hurt her deeply, and she was scared at the prospect of the reality she now faced on a daily basis. Nobody understood her pain save for those in the nerd community and still others from species protection agencies like Green Peace, though she never heard of them protecting a sentient being before. It was somewhat of a relief to find out that her people were truly legends amongst the human world where magic was in the realm of fantasy. Brave Elven warriors and magicians lending their skills to a cause. Although many stories had them overshadowed by human heroes. even worse was that regular Elves even overshadowed the ones whom actually out-lived them all. Xeel's people; The Drow.
Once more, tears ebbed out of her eyes and gently poured down to her pillowcase. If only the stories of time travel were true, then could she return to her beloved family. However H.G. Wells' The Time Machine, and Hollywood's Back to the Future were nothing but fiction and could never grant her a trip back in time 3 1/2 million years or so. But she was strong. She had to be in order for her to survive the way she did. She was strong when her idiot husband left them on their own. She was strong when the council sought fit to banish her. And she was strong for having survived millions of years in solid ice. Now she had to be strong once more. It was required of her in order to survive a world ruled by humans. Humanity had conquered the world in a very short span of time. Much shorter then the entirety of her races' existance. Now they were close to conquering the heavens, or 'space' as it was now called. The space race, she heard, was simply another excuse to beat their competitors in the so-called Cold War. Whomever took the heavens, took the prize. Xeel never understood it at first, but the more she learned of humanity and their destructive capabilities, the more it frightened her. A cold war was fought with things like espionage and sabotage--spies versus spies. But Xeel had since gotten over her fear through her knowledge and a measure of wisdom, and was now ready to face whatever the gods could throw at her. But she would need allies as well since there were no more Drow left to rely on. She had considered anti-war groups and the like, but that was back in the late seventies. Once the eighties had rolled around she felt a little different about the situation. Almost as if humanity itself had changed after the turn of the decade. This had brought about and end to the Vietnam war for which she was relieved to hear. Now humanity, though still fighting in the middle east, were making some progressive steps in order to stop the conflict. And the majority of the world's people spent their hard-earned time living it up. Not only that but new and wonderful inventions and innovations were taking the markets by storm. Never before had she seen such rapid evolution concocted by a sentient species. However she did worry that their rapid progress would someday outstrip their wisdom. Such a disaster was not unheard of in her time and not limited to any one race either. In fact Xeel had read several books about the apocalypse and other end of the world scenarios proposed by lecturers, prophets, religious practitioners, and political scientists the world over. She even heard about the infamous 'Big Red Button', that when pressed, would unleash Nuclear Armageddon over the entire planet. Did these people not value life as did hers?
With all the confusing thoughts swimming through her head Xeel decided to give it a rest and get some rest. She had a busy day ahead and wanted to get in some much-needed shuteye before the sun rose to rouse her sleep. She checked the time again; 3:53 AM.
A watched pot never boils... She though to herself as she started to drift off once more.
* * *
Once the sun had risen it was time for the day to begin. By the time noon rolled around everyone was busy going about their daily lives. Xeels ears could now pick up the chatter of people out on the streets. Looking at her clock she almost had a spaz attack
"Shit..!"
The naked Drow throws off her bedding and hops into the shower. Since it was almost midday, when the heat was almost unbearable, a cold shower was the best thing for it. It didn't take her very long to finish up and get dressed. After that she was out the door and running down the stairs of her dingy apartment complex.
"Whoaw!"
Acting fast Xeel recovers from almost tripping over a homeless man.
"I told you not to sleep here Ted!"
The Man doesn't look up be answers back. "An why not. M'got noweres ta go-"
"Anywhere is better then a publicly-used staircase!" before Xeel could get a reply she is once more on the move.
"Ah, fuck it! He wants to injure someone, then he can answer to the authorities."
Around the corner of her apartment towards the main drag she find the parking lot. In it are all sorts of vehicles ranging from cars to trucks. Xeel walks around till she finds what she's looking for.
"Great! More city Bums..." Xeel walks over to her car.
"Off my rider ya dick, you're ruining the finish!" The dirty, bulky man doesn't move, and instead, gives Xeel the finger. "I ain't mov'n bi-"
Before the man could finish Xeel has him up off the car and over her head in one move and in one hand.
"Jesus!!"
"Off of my car. Now!"
The man doesn't bother protesting as he can't believe what is happening. "Okay-okay, I'll leave..! Just don't kill me-"
"You're not even worth an arrow to the face." With a simple arm gesture, the man lands on the lot behind her. After getting up he stumbles away at a jogger's pace.
"By the gods these roaches are everywhere!.." Brushing off the hood of her cobalt blue two-door 1959 Cadillac convertible, Xeel opens the door and climbs on in.
"Alright baby, it's a scorcher today. Better make sure you're in more drivable condition." Xeel turns of the ignition and folds down the top of the car.
"That's better, isn't it? We won't let those awful city bums ruin our day, won't we." Xeel pulls out of the parking lot and towards the central core of Los Angeles. Looking at the time Xeel can't help but shake her head.
"I was supposed to meet the archaeological division much earlier then this. Why didn't they just phone me up?!"
Pulling onto the freeway's fast lane, Xeel starts accelerating.
"Now that I'm underway let's start this day off with some tunes." fumbling through her cassettes she finds what she's looking for. "All right!"
She pops the tape into the player and cranks up the volume. "Sing it girl!"
"Driving down those city streets
Waiting to get down
Wont you get your big machine
Somewhere in this town?"
Wearing a smile on her face as the music plays Xeel throws on a pair of blue-tinted Aviators, then rests her arm over the car door.
"..Now in the parking lot garage
I found a proper place
Just follow all the written rules
Youll fit into the space"
Before getting carried away Xeel checks the speedometer. It was still under 65 MPH so there was no worry about getting pulled over.
"..Pull up to my bumper, baby
In your long black limousine
Pull up to my bumper, baby
And drive it in between"
Xeel's gaze passes over the roadway and onto the heart of LA itself. When she was first woken up the city itself caught her by shock. Never had she imagined glistening structures of glass and steel rising high into the sky before. The old legends of the Elven races told stories of massive cities prior to the great change, but they were composed of monolithic stone architecture and stood greater then the tallest of trees. It was as if she was amidst the gods of her lore. It had been ten years and LA was not as large back in 1976. New construction projects and the Hollywood film industry kept the city growing steadily outward as well as higher.
Soon the freeway conjoined with the downtown core. Taking the off ramp Xeel's car graciously maneuver's through the traffic till it's consumed by the on look of skyscrapers.
"This view never gets old. I just wish my family were here to see this with me..."
Just as Xeel puts aside her depressing thoughts, she catches something in her peripheral vision as well as her sharp ears picking up the sounds of running footsteps. Slamming on the breaks the antagonized Drow looks at her near-fatal victim in the eye.
"What're you doing!? Use the crosswalk idiot! It's right there, down the block by at least ten meters!" The young man is stunned but quickly regains his composure.
"I'm sorry! I'll be more careful next time!.." After his apology he takes off running down the street. Xeel puts a hand to her forehead.
"I swear to the gods this town's getting worse by the decade!.." Before Xeel could drive off a voice grabs her attention.
"Everything alright ma'am?" She looks back and sees a patrol officer walking towards her.
"Yes, officer. Almost had an accident with an adolescent youth jumping out on the road like that."
"I saw it too. What's with kids these day, I tell ya." Xeel nods in agreement. "So don't worry about it, no harm done to anyone. Have yourself a good day ma'am."
"Thanks."
With that the officer returns to his bike and lunch tray. As soon as there was an opening Xeel pulls her car out into traffic and continues on her way.