by Jeff Inlo
Chapter 3
Lief Woodson stood patiently in the limbs of a very tall oak tree. His eyes scanned the forest while noting the positions of the elf guards that stationed themselves in surrounding trees. The dormant season made this endeavor slightly more possible. All but the evergreens had dropped their leaves. Most of the elite elf guard managed to conceal their presence well, but those that were forced to reconnoiter wider paths gave away their position with slight movements.
A muffled breeze pulled in colder air from the north, but because elves, for the most part, enjoyed indifference to colder temperatures, Lief felt no true chill. If anything, he welcomed the fresh air that would keep this day crisp and dry. The sun hung low as it was the season of lesser light, but the sky remained a deep blue and even the penetrating grey of the woods could not dampen the sparkle of sunlight when it chanced upon scattered ice trapped within the surrounding branches.
Lief switched his gaze downward upon the members of his camp. For the most part, they busily moved about the forest floor. Nearly all seemed occupied with other tasks—collecting wood, mending clothes, crafting weapons or tools. Only one or two of the camp elders seemed to pay his meeting with Standish Loftber any true mind.
Loftber also stood silently in the very same limbs as Lief, leaning carefully against a stout branch that angled slightly toward him. His gaze was far off, focused on nothing in particular. It was almost as if the deep grey of the forest swallowed his consciousness. He closed his eyes heavily as if garnering his strength. When he opened them, they bore into Lief.
“Petiole has been delivered to the dwarves of Dunop, as you already know,” the older Loftber began. “I have no idea whether they will condemn him to death for his crimes or imprison him in their dungeon for what is left of his life, nor do I care.” This last was said with near disgust. “I only know he will not be returning and this leaves our camp without a leader.”
Loftber paused and bowed his head slightly as he corrected himself.
“Actually, without an elder leader,” the Loftber stated almost apologetically.
Lief narrowed his eyes at the camp elder, wondering why Loftber would make such a gesture. It seemed as if the older elf was almost apologizing directly to him for making a simple statement of fact. Their camp had no leader now that Petiole was gone. That much had become painfully obvious in the past few days.
Petiole had been the senior camp elder, the oldest elf on the council of elders with proper lineage in elflore, and thus the leader of the camp. Petiole, however, was a weak and foolish elf, an elf that committed the heinous crime of dropping shadow tree seeds on the underground dwarf town of Dunop. He did this not out of necessity, but out of resentment, out of ignorance, and out of weakness. Petiole acted out of selfish desires to prove what was obviously not true, that he was a powerful leader that should be feared or respected. Now, instead of being revered as he hoped, Petiole was languishing in the vast underground cave dungeons of the dwarves.
As to the camp being without a leader, that was almost bewildering to Lief Woodson. Elves lived by tradition, by the guidance of elflore. Such guidance made it clear as to what should happen next. It was now up to the council of camp elders to rally around Standish Loftber, the current eldest of elders, and allow him to lead. Something, however, had prevented this.
While the elders met over the past few days, no indication was given that Loftber would take the reins of leadership. Instead, there had been late discussions—not heated arguments, nor debates of power—just simple deliberations without any clear direction given to the rest of the camp.
In fact, it appeared as if the council was almost as directionless as it had been when Petiole had been in charge, and that was something Lief would not allow again. He had almost said something himself when Loftber called for this private meeting.
It was now Loftber that spoke inquisitively to Lief.
“You look at me with a question on your lips,” the elder elf noted with an expectant expression.
“The question is not mine to ask,” Lief deferred. “The council must address the issue, as I’m sure it will.”
“Address it we have, but at the moment we are in a dilemma. This camp needs a leader. At present, it has none. Well, not a proper leader.”
Lief again offered a puzzled expression to the elder elf and Loftber offered a quick explanation
“You wonder why I say we have no leader and then correct myself? This camp does have a leader of sorts, and that leader is you. Please forgive any lack of respect. None was intended.”
Lief could not remain quiet. His expression revealed surprise, but his tone betrayed more than a hint of annoyance.
“Lack of respect?” Lief questioned with a near harsh tone. “What are you talking about? I do not lead this camp. I am not an elder. I am not even on the council…”
Loftber cut him off.
“You are right on the last, but not on the first. You are not an elder, thus you are not on the council, but you do lead. The elves of this camp now look to you. You are the one that gives them direction.”
Lief would have stepped back in denial had it not meant him falling out of the tree. Instead, he had to hold his ground, but he vehemently shook his head in dissent. “No, I do not…“
Again Loftber quickly interrupted. “Please Lief, I am not accusing you of anything other then perhaps denying the truth you do not wish to see. Hold for a moment and let me speak what you eventually will know as the truth.”
Lief took a deep breath but acquiesced to the elder and remained silent.
Loftber looked down upon the elves below and nodded to them as he began his explanation.
“No one, not a single elf believes for a moment that you forced yourself into power, that you purposefully and deliberately grabbed the role of leadership from the proper elders. No, you are a victim of circumstance just as this camp is a victim of circumstance. You are the elf that stood on Sanctum and helped destroy the Sphere of Ingar. Thus, you are a hero and more. You stood against Yave and helped to stop her. And you were with Ryson Acumen when he saved Dunop from the shadow trees.”
The elder elf turned his attention back to the forest and looked once more to the trees in the distance and beyond.
“And it was you that stood up to Petiole and his crimes, stopped another elf-dwarf war, and sent that criminal to justice. Petiole was an elf elder and the leader of this camp. His word was final on all matters. When he committed his crimes, you put an end to his lead. You faced the elf guard, you faced the traditions, and you did what was right and necessary.
“In less than a full cycle of the seasons you acted more heroically than most of the legendary elves in elflore. You have a place now with Shayed as one of the most respected elves in all our history. Yes, you did all these things and not out of a sense of adventure, or out of ambition. You did all of this because you had to, because circumstances dictated you do it.”
At this pause, Lief finally spoke.
“I do not deny anything you say. I’m not sure of my place in history, but I’m sure of my place in this camp. Whatever I did, it does not make me its leader. It was Mappel that directed me during each moment of our trials with Ingar and his sphere. When Mappel died on Sanctum and Petiole took over, I looked to Petiole to make decisions to spare this camp. I never placed myself above him. I pleaded with him to do what needed to be done and still he did not listen to me, thus I never led at any point.”
“You led when it mattered,” countered Loftber. “You led at the end. When Petiole committed his crime, it was you that stood up against him.”
“I did so, but not as a leader!” Lief stated harshly as he became visibly frustrated. “I waited for the council of elders to act. I waited for you to act! It was the responsibility of the elders to stop Petiole. When you failed, I had to…”
“We failed in many of our responsibilities,” Loftber admitted. “I do not flee from that charge for one single instant. Still, to understand elder l
eadership is to understand what keeps us together, what allows us to survive. Certainly there have been poor leaders in the past, but never one so poor as Petiole that followed one so great as Mappel. We could not have asked for a worse situation. Mappel was exactly what we needed at the very time we needed it. Petiole was exactly what we did not need at a point we surely couldn’t afford to have him. As I said, the circumstances dictated what you had to do, and there is not a moment I don’t thank all of elflore for what you have done. That is why what I must do is so much more painful.”
Lief could not hold his tongue and it lashed out with further disbelief in its tone.
“So now you believe me to be the true leader of this camp and you wish to throw that burden upon me?”
Loftber mumbled barely loud enough for Lief to hear him.
“If only it were that simple,” Loftber sighed.
The elder elf steadied himself once more and again looked into the face of an elf for which he had the greatest respect and admiration.
“No, I will not ask you to take the role of leader. I had considered it, but it would not solve the problem. The problem is actually very simple; there can not be two leaders, two different voices of authority. An elf camp has to have one clear direction, one clear message when the good of the camp is involved. The council of elders serves as advisors, allows for greater communication, ensures stability during times of upheaval, but it is the camp elder that leads. Age, health, commitment and elflore have always been the determining factors in selecting the new camp elder. When a camp elder has passed or becomes too weak to lead, it is a simple process for the camp to select its new leader. The eldest elf serving on the council with proper lineage outlined in elflore becomes the new camp elder as long as he or she is healthy enough to take on the responsibility. Thus, it is always clear to the camp which elf must lead.”
Lief jumped on this point.
“It is clear now. You are that elf! The entire camp knows that. It is now your responsibility.” Lief softened his tone. “I know you, Standish. You are not Petiole. I have no fears of your leadership. I know you will serve us all well.”
“And you think that is that?” Loftber shot back quickly. “You will simply retreat into the shadows and allow me to lead?”
The sharp retort took Lief by surprise.
“You think I would stand in your way?”
“You really don’t understand, do you?” questioned the elf elder. ”Leadership is not simply dependent on the leader. It is also very much dependent on the ones that must follow. There must be little doubt in their minds about who has the authority and the responsibility to lead them. How will you make the people of the camp forget you? Will you simply go out and tell them they should ignore you? Go ahead, for all the good it will do. In their hearts and in their minds, you have already taken on a position of power in this camp. If you tell them you will not lead, they will accept that at face value. They will look to me and follow my direction.”
“Then what is the problem?” Lief demanded.
“The problem is that they will follow my lead for only as long as they agree with my decisions or as long as we don’t face difficult times. The moment, and I mean the very instant I make a decision which with some might disagree, they will look for an alternative. They will look to you. That is something we can not have, even you would agree to that. The magic has returned fully to the land, we are using it to our best advantage, but we also face so many dangers that we have never faced before. We have an opportunity for a truly wonderful time or a truly desperate time. We can use the magic to help our camp prosper, but we also face dark creatures returning in force to our home. That means we face difficult decisions at every turn. This camp must act with one voice, one direction, or else we will not survive.”
Loftber’s expression turned more sympathetic as he tried to explain his own understanding of the dilemma he believed the elf camp faced.
“Again, understand I know it’s not your desire and I don’t believe you would interfere even if you disagreed with every decision I make, but it’s simply not just up to you. The elves of this camp now view you as a legend, as part of elflore. The very mention of your name is now done in the highest regard. You simply can’t brush that away, and in truth, I wouldn’t want you to. It does, however, mean that you hold an important standing in this camp. You are regarded not just with respect, but as holding authority.”
Lief took long moments to consider the situation put before him. He looked once more at the elf guards that stood nearby. It was their job to protect the camp elder, the leader of the camp. Certainly, they were there to protect Loftber, but were they also protecting him? Did he now count more than the other elves of his camp?
“I find it difficult to argue with what you say,” Lief allowed. “You are right on many counts, we do face difficult times and we must have one true leader, one voice that will direct us all. I suppose for all Petiole’s faults he understood that as well. Perhaps that is why he acted toward me as he did, perhaps I should have done more to help him.”
“Petiole would have viewed your help with disdain, would have looked upon it as an insult to his authority.” Loftber interjected.
Lief nodded. “I suppose my help would have simply created greater controversy.”
“Indeed, it would have.”
“The same type of controversy you talk about now,” Lief admitted.
Loftber said nothing, simply looked closely at the younger elf before him.
“So where does that leave us?” Lief wondered aloud. He then stopped and returned Loftber’s gaze. “I asked you before if you were going to put the burden of leadership on me and you said it would not be that easy. If you can not lead, and I can not lead, where does this leave us—a problem with no solution?”
“There is a solution,” Standish Loftber said with more than a hint of sorrow, “a bitter one, but a solution none the less. No, you can not lead this camp for you are not the camp elder. You would face the same challenges I would face. The camp will follow you even during difficult times, probably much longer than they would follow me, but if times grew truly dark, their loyalties would eventually be torn between following you and looking to an elder. Elflore is powerful in its guidance to keep us together. If you were to assume the role of leadership, it would be in stark contrast to the very essence of elflore. Eventually, even your leadership would be questioned.”
“Then how can there be a solution?”
Loftber answered quickly this time as if he knew he must forge ahead and any delay would only make it more difficult.
“There can be a solution because it can be possible for an elder to lead. The dilemma occurs only if you are here. If you were not, there would no longer be a question of authority. The problem exists only while you are a member of this camp. Do you understand?”
Lief grimaced as if a sword plunged into his chest, and Loftber continued so as not to let silence deepen the wound.
“If you leave, this camp survives. If you stay, I and the other elders on the council believe we will fall into disarray. You will witness the chaos of anarchy as dark creatures prey on us because we are no longer able to act as one. While it pains me to ask you to leave, understand that if you stayed you would only witness the destruction of your camp.”
“So I am to be exiled, and the camp will follow you as the camp elder?” Lief questioned with an edge of anger beginning to grip his voice.
Loftber answered Lief’s bitterness with somberness of his own.
“It will be a short tenure of leadership. Once I announce that you are leaving the camp at my request and with your agreement, I will announce that I am leaving as well.”
For a brief moment, any trace of Lief’s growing resentment was quickly replaced with bewilderment.
“You’re going to relinquish? Then again the camp will have no leader! This is not making any sense.”
“It makes perfect sense,” Loftber stated with a steadfas
t determination. “This camp will have a leader, one leader, and a leader that can not be blamed for sending away the legendary Lief Woodson just to accommodate his own weaknesses. I will hand over the camp elder position to the next in line. Shantree Wispon will take over. She will then be in position to lead this camp with no bitterness, and no question to her authority. No one will blame her for your departure, and after you have departed, no one will wonder whether her decisions meet with your approval. I believe she is well suited to handle the situation.”
“I have no doubts about Shantree’s abilities,” Lief argued. “But that is not the point. You are supposed to lead, not her. How can you ask me to leave because it will restrict your ability to lead, and then turn around and avoid what is required of you?”
“Is that it? You think I am simply surrendering my responsibility? No, that is not the case at all. It is just the opposite. I am taking full responsibility. I see clearly what I am doing. First, I am asking you to leave your home, to accept banishment as a reward for your noble actions. You have done nothing for yourself. Your actions saved this camp, indeed the entire elf race. And now I stand here and tell you to go. I believe you will eventually understand why I’m doing this, but that is not nearly enough. If I am to ask that of you, I must be ready to make the same sacrifice myself.
“Think for a moment, Lief. What I ask of you, I feel I must. I do it because I believe it is the only way this camp will survive. If I stay, then it appears I did if for myself, to remove you as a challenge to my authority. I will appear as Petiole, weak and selfish. I could not live with myself. If, however, I accept banishment as well, I will have acted purely in the best interests of this camp. No one can second guess my intentions. No one can for one moment believe that I acted to satisfy my own desires. It is the only way for the situation to truly be resolved. You accept banishment, I accept banishment. We move on and allow this camp to survive as it has for generations and will for generations more.”
The elder elf quickly moved to a related matter so as to make his understanding of the matter as clear as possible.
“There is something else you should know,” Loftber continued. “I will also be asking Holli Brances to leave this camp. For the very same reasons you must leave, she also must go. Holli is a guard and is looked at in a different light than you. She went to Sanctum as part of her duty and she assisted against Yave as a trained member of the elf guard. Still, she now also has her own place in elflore, a legendary standing. If Shantree faces difficult times, and I believe she will with so many dark creatures appearing in our midst, then she can not afford to have anyone in this camp that would be viewed as—what is the best way to put it—an alternative.”
A cloud of confusion began to swirl in Lief’s thoughts. The bitterness he could almost taste was growing. It was becoming hard to think and harder still to control his anger. A sharp question flew from his lips.
“And have you spoken to her of this yet? Have you tried to soften her banishment with your unselfish decision to leave on your own?”
Loftber paused. He did not like the tone of Lief’s voice and liked even less the raging glare that was glowing in the younger elf’s eyes.
“No, but I have no doubt she will agree. I am a camp elder, she is an elf guard. She knows her duty. She will do what I ask, though I believe it will be a greater burden on her than on the two of us.”
“Duty?” Lief almost laughed at this word. “You wish to speak of duty, the all encompassing word that will ensure her cooperation? You can say that word to her and you know she will do as she is told, but you wonder whether or not I will agree?”
“Indeed I do. And that, Lief, is truly an illustration of the problem that exists. If you do not agree, I can not force you. I could order the elf guard to remove you, but I wonder if they would actually follow that order. Only an elf guard might be able to answer that, and I am not ready to put that to the test. The traditions of the elf guard are very strong. I do not wish to be remembered as the elf that destroyed those traditions.”
With this, Lief tensed. His glare became almost hateful and Standish Loftber could actually sense the deep anger that boiled in the younger elf. The elder elf did his best to control the situation and sooth the growing tensions between them.
“As you said, I am the camp elder. You ask me to lead, then I will do so. Any wisdom I can draw on tells me that I am doing exactly what must be done, no matter how difficult it is. I take responsibility for resolving the issue before this camp. If you stop me in this— my first order as leader—then you prove my point and allow the dilemma to continue. If you realize that instead I am doing exactly what you want me to do, what this camp needs me to do—to lead, then you will cease your objections. I need you to withdraw from this camp, to strike out on your own. You are now legend and no one will forget you, but your final days in this land must be spent elsewhere. Where you go, I leave that to you. Once you accept this request, I will also withdraw from this camp and will seek refuge elsewhere. The legend will be gone as will the one that asked him to leave. The camp moves on without both. Do you really wish to continue to debate this with me and prove that my leadership means nothing to you and start our spiral to final oblivion? Look upon the elves below us, see how they all now watch us and understand that there is no other way.”
Lief, however, ignored the stares from the elves below. He vented his ire directly at the elf before him, the elf that represented the elders of this camp that did nothing when Petiole acted so foolishly.
“Words… words of so-called wisdom.” Lief now spoke in a low growl as he tilted his head downward ever so slightly. He brought his glare of sheer anger directly upon Loftber. “How long did it take you and the other elders to put together such an eloquent speech?”
Lief paused only long enough to allow Loftber to open his mouth, but the younger elf pressed forward before a single utterance could be spoken.
“Where were these words when they were needed? You said you didn’t want to be remembered as the elf that destroyed the traditions, is that what you are concerned with… how you will be remembered? Let me tell you how I remember you, as a member of the camp council that did nothing when we faced our greatest dangers. You now think you make a grand sacrifice so your name can be placed in elflore? It would be a disgrace to those that truly belong there if such an attempt was ever made. Here is some truth for you and the other elders, something for you to contemplate during your self-imposed exile. You bickered and argued when Petiole led this camp, the lot of you. You showed all the courage of a yearling deer that bolts at the first snap of a twig. You allowed Petiole to drop the seeds! Do you hear me Loftber?!! You and the others allowed this to happen. You knew what was happening and you allowed it! You should all be facing judgment in Dunop right along with Petiole himself.”
Lief could feel the anger that he had swallowed for so long during the reign of Petiole throb and expand in his head. No longer would he swallow his fury, no longer would he try to be diplomatic. That would end now. The younger elf stepped forward on the tree branch that held them both. He stepped so near Loftber that he could feel his breath on his face. His eyes continued to blaze, but now they danced with a true fury and the elder elf felt great fear.
Loftber tried to step back, but the limb he leaned upon held him in place. Panic took hold and to anyone watching it was clear he feared for his very life. Still, the elf guards did not move to his side.
Lief spoke now with guttural hate.
“I want to repeat this so I know you understand. You allowed the shadow seeds to fall. You could have stopped it… SHOULD have stopped it. You did nothing! How much less would you have been responsible if there was another elf-dwarf war? You wish to throw all the responsibility upon Petiole? It does not work that way. You said it yourself only moments ago. You said that leadership also depends on the ones that follow. Think long and hard about that during your seasons alone when you want to consider your so-called heroic gesture.
Petiole made the decision, but the camp elders allowed it to happen.”
Lief took his eyes off Loftber for just a moment and gazed down upon the other camp elders that were now frozen, eyes fixed upon them both.
“You are all guilty!” Lief roared.
He then turned his fury back toward Loftber. “I would be within my rights to slay you here and now. In my mind, you are nothing less than a criminal guilty of the most heinous crime.”
It was at that moment that Holli Brances dropped onto the tree limb.
“Lief!” she spoke in a soft tone, but with no less conviction than if she shouted across a battlefield. “You must not do this. I cannot let you do this.”
Lief at first said nothing. His body shook as his hands remained clenched in tight fists at his side. Finally, he turned swiftly about, away from Loftber, as if the sight of the elder elf made him sick. He spoke directly to Holli. “You have nothing to worry about. I have no intention of wasting any more energy on this pathetic excuse of an elf, or on any other elder of this camp. In fact, I’m going to do exactly what he wants, but not because of his reasoning. I do so of my own reckoning and I do so gladly. Good luck to you, Holli, wherever you might end up.”
Holli’s expression remained stoic and steadfast, but she tilted her head slightly in a moment of confusion.
“Ask him.” Lief waved his hand in backward disgust toward Loftber, and then he simply leapt away.