Weaponforger (Guardian's Prophecy Book 3)

by D A Godwin

  Warmth flared in Shining Moon. She felt it through his hands, suffusing herself in his awareness and taking hold of his strength and desire, and turned it to her own.

  Enough.

  Silver light flashed, and the haze that enveloped her exploded outwards. Elothlirial rocked backwards, and more than one of the other Sisters stumbled to a knee. Whatever the woman had expected the rite to reveal, it had not been that. She looked at Shalindra with her mouth open and eyes wide as she struggled to regain her composure.

  Shalindra felt tired and ill-used. She had come seeking answers but had been presented only with obstacles. This time she did not allow diplomacy to mask the displeasure in her voice. “I did not come here to play games, nor to bend my knee to your will. Eluria sent me here with a purpose, and I will see it fulfilled with or without your help.”

  She turned her back on them and strode from the glade, accepting Shining Moon from Tormjere on the way.

  That went well.

  Shalindra did not disagree, but as the trio marched back down the trail towards the large clearing they had first entered, she could not help but think she had just thrown away her best chance at finding the answer to who she was supposed to be.

  Enna was on the verge of tears, but she ignored the crowd that pressed eagerly around them and directed her out through the tunnel and across the street to a long multistoried building.

  Upon entering, they were greeted by an older elf woman in white robes. She was the plumpest elf Shalindra had ever seen, though she moved with a spryness that defied her age.

  “Ennathalerial!” the woman exclaimed. “My dear, it has been too long.”

  “It is good to see you, too, Olya,” Enna replied, her face briefly lit by a smile. “My friends and I require a place to stay.”

  Olya’s penetrating gaze made Shalindra feel she was being evaluated more thoroughly than in the ceremony she had just come from, as if the woman were taking an inventory of every smudge and blemish marring her attire. Shining Moon did not escape her inspection, but she controlled her reaction to a momentary pause of surprise.

  “I can see that they do,” Olya said matter-of-factly. “When will she be presented?”

  “We just came from the temple,” Enna said sheepishly, before wilting beneath the scolding look she received.

  “By Her Light, child, what were you thinking? She looks like she just fell down the side of a mountain.” Olya made an unpleasant sound in her throat. “Well, nothing to do but set it straight. Come with me, Sister…?”

  “Shalindra.”

  Olya paused in surprise and pursed her lips, then turned and directed a finger at Tormjere. “You may occupy the first room, there. Do not leave it unless escorted. She will be quite safe here, and I’ll not have any scandals from you wandering about.”

  * * *

  It was evening when the three of them reconvened in Tormjere’s room. The chamber, like every other one in the building, was small, containing only a bed and nightstand in addition to a tiny window.

  Enna sat on the bed with her head in her hands, dreading what awaited them tomorrow. She should have waited instead of rushing in, but the gathering crowds had driven her to throw aside caution. There was little her mother could have done to make the day any worse, and her stomach rebelled at the thought of what damage might have been inflicted.

  She peeked through her fingers at Shalindra, who sat next to her on the bed, lost in thought. Her hair was now clean and her robes new. Shining Moon lay across her lap, and her blue eyes shone bright for no other reason than because they could. She was so strong and so beautiful. How could anyone deny that she was who was promised?

  “Why did your mother react when I said Her light shines brightest in the dark?” Shalindra asked, running her hands up and down her bare arms in spite of the warmth of the room.

  “It is the most recent component of the prophecy, given to us by the last Guardian. The words are considered suspect due to their method of delivery, and they have never been written down or shared with anyone not of our race, save the one who first spoke them to us.”

  “Why?”

  “I do not know, and I question the explanations I have been given. It could be attributed to simple rivalry more than any legitimate reason.”

  “There is so much wisdom here of which I am unaware,” Shalindra said with a sigh.

  Enna continued to stew silently. She needed a quiet place to contemplate the dilemma she had put them in. Remembering where she had sought such refuge as a child, she sat up straighter and spoke with a sudden resolve. “Would you like to see them?”

  “Who?”

  “The Guardians. They were laid to rest here.”

  “Yes, I would like that very much.”

  Enna almost leapt to her feet, eager to have a clear direction, but as they emerged from the building a guard who had not been there when they entered drew to attention and blocked their path. “May I ask where you are going, Revered Sister?”

  “Wherever I feel like,” Enna snapped, pushing past him. “This is still my home.”

  The guard’s hand raised as if he might reach for her, but it returned swiftly to his side as Tormjere stepped between them. Though Tormjere was not a large man, the guard still found himself looking up to meet the warning glare directed his way. Enna was annoyed enough that she almost wished the fool had actually grabbed her, just to see what Tormjere would have done to him. She silently prayed for Elurithlia’s forgiveness almost immediately, for it was not a thought befitting one of Her faithful.

  Dusk had settled over the city, and soft lights glowed in the branches above to provide just the right amount of illumination. She crossed the street towards the temple, but rather than take one of the tunnels which would return them to the cavernous Glade of Worship, she turned towards an almost invisible break in the trees surrounding it. The path she sought was narrow and marked by only a small pedestal of polished wood shaped with an image of the very warhammer that Shalindra now carried. It could have been Enna’s imagination, but the column seemed to shimmer in awareness of their passing.

  The evening breeze provided a soothing murmur as it rustled the canopy of leaves above them, and the light dimmed as they wound their way down a short hill. Enna’s feet knew every root and irregularity, but those behind her did not and so she slowed her anxious steps. It had been so long.

  The base of the trail widened into a secluded vale, and it was only then that Enna realized Tormjere was no longer with them. She resisted the urge to remove her boots and feel the carpet of soft grass between her toes as she had done so often as a child. She looked up past the treetops, to a sky lit by the moon and a multitude of stars.

  Arranged around the perimeter stood a series of seven wooden statues, each a life-sized replica of an armored woman. Not a one bore any mark of carving, seeming to have grown into shape atop pedestals which had sprung from the ground beneath them.

  Shalindra gazed at them in wonder. “It is a strange thing that I have never learned their names.”

  “You do not know them?” Enna asked in surprise. How could she have missed that? In all the years and all their conversations, the history of the Guardians had only come up in passing. The two of them had become so close, had helped each other through so many moments of weakness and trusted each other with doubts. How had she failed Shalindra so badly?

  “It never crossed my mind to ask. But standing here… I can feel them as if they were alive, and they call to me.” Shalindra came to stand before the statue closest to their entrance, an ancient depiction of a woman in simple robes who cradled in her arms the hammer and armor worn by every other statue. “Who was she?”

  “The first Guardian: Shalindralia.”

  Shalindra looked at her as if she had made a jest, but Enna held open her hands. “I thought you knew, and I assumed that you had taken your name in honor of hers. It is not uncommon.”

  “You are correct that Shalindra is not the name given to me at
birth, but it was also not a name of my own choosing.”

  “Who then bestowed it upon you?”

  Shalindra gave her an amused look that answered her question. Of course it was Tormjere.

  “I need to learn to read elvish,” Shalindra said, peering at the base of the statue, where the graceful script flowed like a vine grown across the scrollwork.

  Enna had no need to look at the words—they were practically the first ones she had ever been taught.

  When Her gifts follow the blood moon west

  A Guardian shall ascend

  To walk as two where only one may tread

  And with the wisdom of the fallen

  End that which should never have begun

  “There is more to the prophecy than that, is there not?”

  “Yes. Every Guardian has left us with their own piece of wisdom, discovered as they attempted to fulfill their sacred duty.” She indicated the next statue, whose effigy stood atop a base of mountains and forests. “Ellilanlia, who led our people to this land and named it Ildalyirilia.”

  “These names roll from your tongue like the melody of a harp, but my lips would struggle to make such sounds.”

  Enna smiled with understanding. “They are old names, from an older time. Even we grow weary of pronouncing some of them, and few outside the temples speak in such a manner. There have been debates about simplifying the language every so often, but tradition has always won in the end.”

  Shalindra considered this as she gazed at the statue. “What did she add to the prophecy?”

  “She foretold that the Guardian would be able to raise the dead. Something for which I am eternally grateful.”

  “As am I,” Shalindra agreed with a comforting smile.

  Enna resisted the urge to rub her chest where the demon’s claw had pierced her body on the battlefield outside Tiridon. How would her mother react, she wondered, if she were told how her daughter’s life had been spared? Enna put the horrors of that day from her mind and continued to the next statue, which rose from a pedestal twisted and warped in unnatural ways.

  “Ylvalia. She was rendered mad due to the influences of magic, but before her death, she foretold that the Guardian was destined to lose what was most precious to her. There is some debate about the exact meaning, as the wording could have referred to our people as a whole or simply a single person.”

  “So many things are precious to me. I can only pray that I will never be faced with such a loss, should I truly become a Guardian.”

  Enna moved to the next, where the woman stood triumphant above a winged serpent coiled tight around the base.

  “Allatharial, who sacrificed herself to slay the vile dragon Valteroth. She declared that what must ultimately be given was ‘all that was and all that will be.’”

  Shalindra shivered. “What could that mean?”

  “I am speaking in translations, first from the ancient tongue to modern elvish and then to the common speech that you understand. Some words do not have an equivalent in the other’s vocabulary. Scholars interpret this to mean that our devotion to our goddess was incomplete. Not only must our Sisters devote themselves more completely, but our society as a whole must bend itself to this cause. It was after this that the churches of Elurithlia and Lithandris rose to prominence.”

  “Fascinating.”

  “It remains a touchy subject, as the realignment of our values caused a schism that split our race. Three hundred years later came Illathalirial, perhaps the most powerful Guardian there has ever been. She vanquished the withered hordes that had toppled one of the Three Great Empires. It was she who proclaimed that the Guardian would call to her a Valtilaniar, one who would defend her on her quest.”

  Shalindra seemed drawn to this representation, circling the statue as she studied the upstretched skeletal hands that sought to ensnare the woman above. She stared at it a long time before she spoke.

  “‘In all ways, he shall protect her,’” she quoted. “Her name is so similar to your own. Were you were named for her?”

  “Yes. I was given my name when my mother first saw the whiteness of my hair.”

  “I have always thought your hair to be beautiful. Is the color common among elves?”

  “No.” Enna hurried to the next statue, this one perched above a creature that looked all too familiar. “Next to ascend was Erithrial, who saved us from the demon Mentarashrhu but did not survive. Maetholmir was also lost. It was during this period that we achieved our knowledge of demons, though it remains limited. She claimed that the Guardian could succeed only with the wisdom of the fallen.”

  “When Kayala first showed me Shining Moon, she said she feared that she had placed me on a path filled with pain. From their stories, I can only believe that she was correct. And the last?”

  Enna stood before the final statue, whose base was noticeably bare. “Alharania. She was convinced that Erithrial had been close to unravelling the true meaning of the prophecy. It is known that she ventured high into the Ironspike mountains, but she left no record as to her purpose. She was betrayed by her companions at the last, and though her body was returned our Mistress’ gifts were lost.”

  “I wondered how weapon and armor became separated.”

  Enna hesitated, but the time for secrets was past. Shalindra deserved to know. “Shining Moon was found by humans and carried east. Her armor, forged from the same metal, was recovered years later and returned here. I should have told you these things before we came in search of it. I did not realize that my mother would attempt to reunite Her gifts so quickly and without setting aside old hatreds. I am sorry.”

  Shalindra placed a hand on her arm. “Such matters are easy to avoid when they are so painful to discuss. I do not believe that what you have conveyed would have changed any decision that has been made.”

  Enna swallowed the lump in her throat. “Your kindness is more than I deserve, but I thank you for it.”

  Shalindra’s gaze encompassed the entire glade. “They are all elves.”

  “It has ever been this way.”

  “Until me. I have done as I have been asked, or at least in whatever way I was able. But when I look at who they were and hear what they have accomplished… how can I judge myself worthy to stand among them?”

  “Whatever doubts you witness in yourself, Elurithlia has certainly seen strengths that you do not know exist. Listen to Her, believe in Her choice, for it is a good one.”

  Shalindra’s smile was tinged with sadness. “I do not believe that your assessment is shared by many here.”

  “They do not know you.”

  “At times I wonder if I know myself. I feel as I did when Shining Moon first called to me: lost and uncertain.” Her impossibly blue eyes bored into Enna. “I cannot help but think there are others who have been better prepared.”

  Enna looked down to see Shining Moon resting on Shalindra’s open palms, and her breath caught in her throat.

  “I do not know any of this history,” Shalindra said. “I know nothing of my purpose beyond protecting Her armor. I offered to return this to Sister Kayala if she doubted that I should carry it. I would offer it now to one better suited for its purpose.”

  Was she serious? Was she actually willing to step away from everything she was meant to be?

  It was captivating the way the light shone from Shining Moon, dancing along the edges of every inscription in the silver metal. Enna longed to feel its touch again, as she had done for the briefest of moments just days after her life had been spared. She knew the power contained within. Were she to appear before her mother with Elurithlia’s weapon in her hands, she would wear the Guardian’s armor by the next full moon, and with it lead her people with the honor she had been told was hers from the day she was born.

  Her hand shook as she reached towards it and wrapped Shalindra’s fingers around the shaft. “There was a time I would have accepted your offer, certain that I would be fulfilling my destiny. But I have grown to know you too w
ell over the years. You have been strong when I was not, you have inspired loyalty from those who should have been your enemy, and you have always carried Her weapon with the confidence and compassion it deserves. You have become my most cherished friend. Our Mistress has made Her choice, and you should never doubt that decision. You are the Guardian we need.”

  Shalindra’s eyes were damp as she embraced Enna. “I could never have become what I am without you. But still I wonder, if I succeed, will I be laid beneath a statue here with them? What wisdom could I leave behind?”

  There would be no higher honor in all the world, but Enna knew that such a simplistic explanation was not the answer Shalindra wished to hear.

  “May I have a moment with them?” Shalindra asked as her gaze returned to the statues.

  “You may have all the time you desire. They are your Sisters, and they have been waiting for you your whole life.” Enna bowed her head. “I will await you outside.”

  “And tell Tormjere to stop worrying.”

  Enna blinked. “Of course.” She would have an easier time converting her mother to Toush, but as Shalindra had asked, she would make the attempt.

  Tormjere had placed himself conspicuously near the small pedestal that marked the path. A small crowd had gathered across the road, likely awaiting Shalindra’s return, and Enna’s reappearance drew murmurs of excitement.

  “No harm will come to her here,” Enna said to him.

  “After that mess of an interrogation, I don’t trust your mother.” He inclined his head towards the crowd. “Or the ones sent to watch us.”

  Enna looked at the crowd once more, this time noting that a few of the onlookers were far too serious to be there for idle curiosity. “Neither do I. But my mother she remains, and as the Manalathlia, she has almost complete control of what happens.”

  “Is that why she wanted you to be the next Guardian?”

  Enna could not even be surprised that he knew, and in many ways, she was thankful that both he and Shalindra now did. “Every parent has dreams for their children. I am not the first who was prepared for such a role, nor am I the first to fail.”