"Unamed-part one" by Jamie M. Juett

Exists two prime races the Ellen and the Human. It has been said, and will be said again, that long ago these two co-existed on peaceful terms. Technology has sought to take and end to all that as the Human race forgot the way of magic and the earth and began created the almighty evil known as machine.

A new sport among man is being played and some elite few members’ of G.E.R.P (Genetic Engineering Resource Project) have been playing god. These parentless children created by the near-sighted G.E.R.P. have stolen life energy from the planet itself and the Elven people have heard her cry.

Now a battle is being fought and a hero will be found in the most unlikely of places.

A lithe figure crept through the halls of one of the many labs that had been built in the human city. This was an unplanned attack and he was sure to be ridiculed when he returned his wife worried constantly and his comrades looked down on his rash behavior. But Mulkuth (or mother earth) would not allow him to sleep, she moaned with pain and he knew she was dying.

It had been no easy task breaking in, but he hadn’t become captain by being slow-witted. He was cunning and quick, all the makings of a general, but he would not allow promotion. Chesed was indeed a strange man to say the least.

He tapped in an admission code that he had acquired by hacking into the computer at the guard station. He had left that guard dead, and he knew this would not go unnoticed, he would have to be swift.

He crept into the room humans stared out at him from yellow chemical bath with soulless eyes from their retaining tubes. His sword sliced through the air and made quick work of the clones.

Several times the Elder's had consulted the human president with information on the harm the cloning project was inflicting on the planet. The human president had listened politely but secretly he mocked the Elven ruler's and their planet-loving ways. To humans the earth was nothing but a place to exist, not a living thing.

Chesed’s swings came more forcefully as he recalled the ignorance the humans had shown. There was nothing left to do but wage war. He would not allow the planet to suffer and die.

Humans were ignorant in more ways than one. They refused to believe in the balance and life energy of the planet. It was common knowledge amongst elves that when a child was born both parents lent life energy to the new existence, and the earth sustained the parents with life energy from relatives long dead. Sometimes the mother lent too much life energy and died, but this was to be expected.

Chesed panted, the chilled air catching in his lungs and making it painful to breathe. He silenced his own breathing and listened intently, distantly he heard a hum of a machine supporting one last retaining tube. Hefting his sword he moved over to the sound and tilted his head. This particular tube was smaller than the rest, which had been adults. Jeremy reminded himself that even this small child had stolen life energy from the planet and therefore, he firmly told himself, must die.

Raising his sword he prepared to make the final blow and make a night of it. But suddenly the tiny form stirred and stared out at him with a smile. Unclenching a miniscule fist the babe touched the glass and bubbles escaped her heart-shaped lips as her giggle was swallowed up by the chemical bath.

Chesed faltered, his heart softening at such an innocent scene. Distantly he heard foot steps in the left wing. With a whoosh of sword and a crash of glass Jeremy was gone...

Binah sighed and stared out the window wistfully, ringlets of gold framing her heart-shaped face. She was used to Chesed’s rash behavior but she feared ever so much for his safety. She loved the raven-haired rogue, despite his shortcomings.

The door swung open violently and a crash of lightning depicted a lone figure in the doorway.

"Oh, Chesed."

Binah murmured her heart fluttering and her mind giving thanks to the planet for her love's safe return.

Chesed averted his eyes, looking pained. Obviously in mental distress, but too strong willed to say it out loud. Instead he said simply.

"I couldn’t kill her..."

And flung his dark burgundy cape aside, revealing a small babe cradled in his strong protective arms. The child stared at Binah with bright blue eyes, a wisp of honey-colored hair on her head. Binah gasped with delight at the sight of the child...Then realized what Chesed had said. This child was a clone, a killer of the planet. Compassion surged in Binah's heart. Surely the circumstances of its birth was no fault of the lovely little creature, in fact, Binah could find no fault with rescuing the babe.

"Chesed..."

She murmured throwing her arms around his neck, leaning into him so as not to harm the babe.

"You did the right thing, love..."

She said soothingly, her voice like a soft summer's breeze. Chesed smiled sadly, Binah always made him feel better. But this situation was too awful for even her soothing voice to fix. What would the Council, the Elders, and their friends say?

"I hope so, love, I truly do...."

He replied with a wistful sigh.

Tipha heard distantly the hum of machinery and schwing of sword blades slicing through the air. She cringed inwardly at the brutal measures her people were taking, though she would never voice this opinion.

She had been brought along on one of her father’s infamous raids, her acute hearing was valued and she made a wonderful look out, and her father believed she needed the practice. She was expected to grow up to be a wonderful warrior just like him, after all. But deep within the recesses of her own mind she thought the raids inhuman and disgusting.

Not that she didn’t love her people and their cause. She understood the drastic measures that her father was taking. Still, killing was killing no matter what the reason. She couldn’t believe that the clones of these labs knew under what circumstances they were being born.

However even Tipha learned to accept her father’s will, and ignore her conscience . She felt as though she owed him that much. Not that she wasn’t a wonderful warrior, top of her class in fact, but because of her looks. She was very beautiful, her hair looked of silken honey and her eyes shone with the brilliance of a virgin sky, but her ears. Oh how she abhorred her ears! They were deformed and very ugly without the slightest hint of point. However small this flaw Tipha wanted ever so much to be perfect for her father, she couldn’t help but love him so.

Tipha abandoned all thoughts as she strained to hear. Someone had found them out and was headed towards the clone facility from the west wing. Tipha couldn’t help but smirk, the fool thought to stop them alone?

"We’ve been found out, make quick work of the rest and be gone!"

She shouted even in a hurried yell her tone sounding like that of a bird. Tipha’s hand went instinctively to her sword, adrenaline pulsing in her veins and causing her head to pound furiously. This was the blood lust her family was known for. She had never felt it first hand, this being only her second raid, but she had imagined what it would be like and by her own imagination this was it.

Either Tipha’s hearing was getting dull or she had under estimated the foe, for the boy was upon her much quicker than she had calculated. Elven alloy met human laser as the two fought furiously with vehemence that could only come from personal racism and patriotism.

Tipha quickly took the upper hand and took first blood catching the boy across his cheek, as his head was forced to one side Tipha noticed his ears and gasped. Her sword clattered to the ground as she realized the depth of what she had just witnessed.

Never before had she seen a human but her father described them as "Much like us, but less graceful and intelligent looking." He hadn’t bothered to mention that they looked like her. Why would he? To do so would only put doubts in the head of his only daughter, the child whom he loved so much.

The boy smirked, a coy and smug look on his face. Tipha wasn’t sure why his expression bothered her, but it did. Dropping his weapon he raised his hands in a sign of peace. Tipha looked at them intently, strong yet almost gentle. She had heard a man could be judged by the state of his hands.

Timidly she raised her hands to his and they touched, each locked in the position, time seeming to stand still just for them. Shadows lingered over his boyish features, wide brown eyes staring sternly into her own sky blue ones. Even in this moment of tenderness he seemed to uphold an air of harsh discipline. Though he was no older than she was , he seemed much wiser in the ways of the world.

Suddenly the boy yanked his hands back, as though he had just realized he had placed them on a very hot iron.

"You realize your human, don’t you?"

Tipha blinked having to pause a moment to decipher the words. Her English was rather bad, it hadn’t been her best subject in school.

"I don’t understand what you mean."

She murmured. She did know very well what he meant, but she didn’t want to believe it. She didn’t want to think her beloved father would ever lie to her. The boy laughed, and somehow his laughter seemed more painful than anything did.

"Then you are a fool. I am Zach, no doubt we shall cross paths again."

"TIPHA!"