Rise of the Elder

by D. K. Holmberg

  They had attacked the one place he considered home.

  Emotions welled inside of him as he stared at what had been his smithy, the only place he’d ever felt that he belonged. Anger at what Danis and his Venass fighters had done. Sadness at what he’d lost. And an overwhelming desire to see that he didn’t lose his smithy for nothing.

  Another explosion sounded, and this time, it seemed farther away.

  Had he not been near his smithy, he doubted that he would have heard it. This came from deep beneath the ground, like thunder that rolled from beneath him and to the north.

  Why north?

  The only thing that he could think of that was there was Ilphaesn.

  He Slid, appearing inside Ilphaesn.

  The walls trembled around him, the lorcith in them shaking.

  Not shaking. Charged. Something had changed with the lorcith here.

  Rsiran raced through the tunnel and used his connection to lorcith to attempt to calm it. If he didn’t, he didn’t know what would happen, but the tunnels felt like they would collapse. The entirety of Ilphaesn might collapse. That by itself wouldn’t be a problem, but they were close enough to Elaeavn that the mountain might crumble and roll toward the city, destroying it.

  Even as he went through Ilphaesn, he wouldn’t be strong enough to stabilize it, or fast enough.

  The entire mountain started to tremble around him.

  Rsiran Slid, emerging on the top of the mountain. From the peak, he could feel all of the mountain below him shaking. He pushed on the lorcith, trying to hold it steady, but there were limits to his strength, even when it came to lorcith.

  How had Venass done this?

  The only thing that he could think of was that they had used some sort of connection to shadowsteel, but when?

  Unless they had been planning this for longer than he had realized.

  Rsiran didn’t dare move, fearing that the moment he did, the entire mountain would begin to collapse.

  As he stood there, a vision flashed through his mind.

  He’d had this vision before. It was the one where the crystals went dark, the Elder Trees went dark, and the powers sitting behind the Great Watcher suddenly failed.

  His heart fluttered. Why should he have that vision?

  Why now? What did the Great Watcher want him to see?

  Unless the crystals were in danger.

  What he needed was some way to stabilize Ilphaesn while he searched. If he could connect to the Elder Trees, it might be possible, but he couldn’t do that, not without Traveling, and he didn’t dare risk losing that much of a connection to make Traveling work.

  Was there another way?

  Could he reach for the energy of the Elder Trees through his sword? It had worked once before, so it was possible that it would work for him again.

  Grabbing the hilt of the sword, he pulled on lorcith, this time, attempting to do so through the sword, through its connection to the Aisl. There came a sense of a deep groaning, and something of a shift. Whatever happened was subtle, nothing more than the barest of movements, but it was enough for him to know that the mountain would not collapse. Stable, but not sturdy.

  It would have to be enough.

  How much of the Elder Tree power had he drained doing what he had just done? Rsiran couldn’t even argue the necessity. If he hadn’t, they would have lost the mountain—the lorcith—along with the city.

  The flash of the vision worried him. Had the flicker of shadow in the crystal chamber been real? If it had, then he might already be too late… and perhaps he should have remained there.

  If he had, then he would have missed whatever was happening to Ilphaesn.

  They needed help, but he didn’t dare spend time trying to find others. If he did—and if the vision was close to coming true—then he needed to act. Would he be strong enough to stop Danis? Would he at least be able to keep him from reaching the other crystals?

  But stopping wasn’t enough. He needed to capture Danis, not kill him.

  As skilled as he believed himself, he wasn’t certain that he could do that by himself. For that, he needed help, but he’d have to find it quickly.

  Rsiran listened for the familiar pull of lorcith, readying to Slide.

  As he did, he wondered—in all of this, where was Carth?

  Chapter 37

  Finding Galen proved easier than he expected. The assassin had still been in the palace yard, so when Rsiran emerged, he grabbed him and Slid again. Galen had barely had a chance to react.

  They emerged in the crystal room. The crystals glowed with a faint blue light.

  “What is this?” Galen demanded, jerking free as they emerged.

  “I need your help. I think Venass intends to attack here.”

  Galen quickly glanced at the crystals and shook his head. “And you only bring me?”

  “Look at them,” Rsiran said. “They’re dying.”

  “The crystals can’t die,” Galen said.

  “I think they can. Whatever Venass is doing is killing them.” He looked around the room, but saw nothing. There was no sign of movement, nothing that would make him think that the crystals were in danger.

  “The crystals cannot die. They are or they are not.”

  Rsiran watched Galen a moment. “You’ve held one.”

  The assassin flushed a moment. “I traveled with the missing crystal for a time. I think I would know if they were changing.”

  “This isn’t just about changing, though. This is about power fading.” Rsiran motioned overhead. “Venass has already proven they can damage the Elder Trees. The crystals are tied to the Elder Trees somehow, so if a tree fails—”

  “That’s how the crystal disappeared,” Galen said.

  “I think so.”

  “Why would the crystals fade with the dying of a tree?” Galen asked.

  “They’re connected. That’s all that I can tell.” Now wasn’t the time to explain to Galen about the vision of powers stronger than even the Greater Watcher who he suspected powered the crystals—and maybe even the trees. That could come if they succeeded. For now, he needed to protect the crystals. “Do you see anyone here?”

  Galen studied the crystals, and then looked beyond them. “There’s nothing but darkness here. I don’t see…”

  With a fluid motion, he pulled a dart from his pouch and flicked it.

  There was a grunt, and someone dropped to the ground.

  “Damn,” Galen breathed. “Barely saw him. Shadowed. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

  Rsiran tensed, trying to peer into the darkness and failing. “I have.”

  Galen glanced at him, but Rsiran shook his head. “There will be others. If Danis has sent others here, they will already be here.”

  “Why wouldn’t they have come any closer?”

  “Because the crystals create their protection,” Danis said. His voice sounded as if it came from everywhere, a heavy, booming quality that filled the crystal chamber.

  As he spoke, the light from the crystals seemed to dim even more.

  How much time did they have?

  Rsiran began to suspect that capturing Danis wasn’t enough. Then he’d still somehow have to figure out a way to coerce Carth into a trade. And if they were running out of time, what would happen when the crystals finally went dark?

  Rsiran jerked his head around, searching for Danis.

  “Isn’t that right, grandson?”

  Rsiran readied the knives on him, nodding to Galen. The assassin had already grabbed a handful of darts, and prepared to throw them, but the rapid way that he looked around told Rsiran that he didn’t know where to target.

  “Danis. Why don’t you show yourself?”

  “I think I have time to wait. Not much longer, grandson. Then I’ll be able to claim these crystals.”

  “Much longer, and the crystals won’t be of any use to you.”

  “Is that what you think?” Danis said. “A good thing that you won’t be resp
onsible for watching over them for much longer. It doesn’t seem as if you’re the right fit, though you haven’t been the right fit for many things, have you? First you lose one of the Elder Trees, then you lost the crystal, and now… now you’ll lose the rest.”

  Danis appeared at the edge of the light coming off the crystals for a moment before disappearing. Galen threw a pair of darts, but Danis Slid and the darts missed.

  His laughter echoed in the small chamber. “Decided that you can’t do this on your own? I thought you were stronger than this, grandson.”

  “I thought you were smarter than to risk yourself against me,” Rsiran said.

  “I am smarter than that,” Danis said. “Why do you think you’re in there?”

  Rsiran started to Slide, intending to chase Danis, but Galen grabbed his arm. “Don’t let him taunt you like this. I don’t know what he wants, but he keeps dancing around the outside of these crystals.”

  “That’s why I’m going after him.”

  “Think, Lorst! That’s what he wants you to do. Play the game!”

  Rsiran studied the crystals, trying to think of what Danis might be attempting.

  As he did, he realized that Galen was right. Danis wasn’t attacking, not because he waited for the crystals to fade, but because he couldn’t. The crystals prevented him from accessing this part of the chamber. Galen could because he’d held one of the crystals before—the same as Rsiran. But if Rsiran went after Danis—if he left the protection of the ring of crystals—then Danis could attack.

  What did Danis really want?

  All along, Rsiran had thought that he wanted the crystals. Rsiran had attempted to seal them off, but that had only risked preventing everyone else from reaching them. Were something to happen to Rsiran, he couldn’t leave the crystals blocked like that. He’d be doing as much damage as the others if he did.

  But could he move them?

  The crystals no longer blocked him, and from what he could tell, he’d held each of the crystals once before. Shouldn’t he be able to move them?

  Where would he take them if he did?

  The answer came to him quickly. There was only one place he could take them.

  “Can you watch me?” Rsiran asked.

  Galen glanced over to him. “What are you going to do?”

  “Something either really smart or really dumb.”

  Galen offered a half-smile. He grabbed a handful of darts and readied them. “Sounds like me.”

  Rsiran approached the first crystal and held his hands up to it. Would it even work?

  “If this goes right, you’ll need to stay close so I can Slide you to safety.”

  Galen took a few steps back.

  Rsiran reached for the crystal.

  There was no resistance. It was almost as if the crystal knew what he intended. He lifted it, and rather than having a vision, or anything like he’d experienced before, the crystal simply felt warm in his hands. He chose not to think about it and slipped it into his pocket.

  Moving to the next, he hurried, grabbing it and placing it next to the other.

  “Lorst!”

  Rsiran glanced over as he reached the third crystal. Shadows had started to separate from the walls. What had Danis discovered? Was Carth somehow involved?

  He grabbed the third crystal and slipped it into his pocket.

  When he reached the fourth, they were attacked.

  It felt like the night closed around him. Pain shot through him, burning up through his legs and through his arms, feeling much like when he’d been poisoned. He tried taking a step forward, but couldn’t. He tried Sliding, but couldn’t.

  His arm worked.

  Reaching for the hilt of his sword, he pulled, trying to draw the power from the Elder Trees. It came slowly, oozing through him. With this power, he pushed against the darkness, forcing it back.

  The darkness moved slowly, but it moved.

  The remaining crystal started to flicker, as if it would go out.

  Rsiran reached for it, but was too late. Someone else touched it first.

  “Galen!” he shouted.

  Galen grabbed onto him, and flicked darts into the darkness. Rsiran pushed on lorcith, using the power from the Elder Trees as he did, drawing more and more strength. It almost wasn’t enough.

  Light surged from him, and the darkness evaporated.

  A man with a gray face and shaggy dark hair lay on the ground outside the circle, the crystal gripped in his hand.

  Rsiran felt a flicker of metal.

  Danis.

  He Slid, emerging and grabbing the crystal before Danis could and Sliding again.

  When he emerged, he stood inside the base of one of the Elder Trees. He hadn’t come here since their people had first returned to the forest, but this was the source of the Elder Trees power, and he would use that power to protect the crystals in a way that not only he could remove.

  But which crystal should go where?

  He didn’t think they were paired, but didn’t know. Taking the crystals from his pockets, he noted that one seemed to pulse in his hands. He set it in a small shelf that seemed as if it were made for the crystal.

  “Lorst?” Galen whispered. “Where are we?”

  “Inside an Elder Tree.”

  “Inside?”

  “Hold on.” Rsiran Slid to the next tree, and again there was a steady pulsing to one of the crystals. The light within it hadn’t changed, and when he set it on the shelf much like he had the other one, nothing really changed.

  He did the same with the other two.

  Would restoring the last crystal matter at this point? Returning them to the chamber wouldn’t be possible, not unless he stopped Danis, and he didn’t think he was strong enough. He might not even be strong enough to keep him from the trees, especially if the power that the trees stored faded.

  “What now?” Galen asked.

  “Now we need to—”

  Rsiran hesitated. The vision of the crystals and the trees fading flashed through his mind again. Why would it do that? The last time that it had, the crystals had been in danger, but the crystals were in the trees… unless it was the missing crystal.

  He Slid, dragging Galen with him, and emerged in the crystal chamber once again.

  Rsiran stood in the middle of the chamber, a battle taking place around him.

  Lorcith and heartstone flickered as the Hjan Slid, but that didn’t surprise him. What surprised him was the change in temperature within the chamber. Heat intensified, reminding him of when he’d faced that woman with the strange power.

  Galen gasped softly. “She’s here.”

  “Who?” Rsiran asked, looking around.

  Galen moved out of the center of the circle, pulling two fistfuls of darts and scanning the chamber.

  “Galen?” Rsiran asked.

  He nodded toward the back of the chamber. “Carth. She’s here.”

  Chapter 38

  As Rsiran readied to move within the crystal chamber, heartstone flickered.

  He recognized it as a knife he’d forged, but when the person with the heartstone appeared, he was shocked to realize that it was Josun.

  Josun glared at Rsiran and aimed a crossbow at him.

  “You will suffer for what you did,” Josun said.

  “I stopped you once,” Rsiran said.

  “You may have stopped me, but you will not stop him. He’s too powerful for even you now. I have seen it.”

  “You support him after the way he used you?”

  “Used? I would gladly be used if it helped him find this place, if it meant I would learn what he knows! I would gladly—”

  He fell over, a pair of darts sticking out from his neck.

  Galen shrugged. “Coxberry. You can decide if you kill him later.”

  Rsiran stared at Josun a moment and then Slid toward the far wall. If Carth had come, then there was some part of her plan he needed to know. But rather than Carth, he found a younger woman with bright red hair
swinging a sword with amazing precision. Heat radiated from her, and flames practically licked along the blade as she fought with Venass. Three fallen Hjan lay scattered around her, and there was another lying unmoving—a man with a similar sword and long robe—who she stood over.

  One of the Hjan appeared behind the woman. Rsiran pushed on his knives, catching the Hjan as he did.

  The woman glanced toward the fallen Hjan before turning to Rsiran.

  He readied his knives, not certain if she would attack. Could they work together, at least for now? If she fought the Hjan and Venass, couldn’t they find a way to work together so that they could stop them? She started to raise her sword, and Rsiran prepared to fight.

  “Easy, Isha.” Carth appeared as if from the darkness and laid a hand on the woman’s sword, pushing it away.

  Isha turned away with a nod, hurrying toward another clash. All around, fighters of Venass attacked. Most faced people like Isha, but there were a few of Elaeavn. Rsiran saw Valn and Sarah, as well as Galen throwing his darts, and Cael was there with Naelm of all people.

  “Was this all your plan, Carth?”

  “Do you think that I could have planned this?”

  Rsiran surveyed the chaos around him. Had she planned this—as part of her game strategy that Galen spoke of—or had she simply reacted, the same as he had? He no longer knew.

  “Galen seems to think you played all of this like some game of Tsatsun.”

  She briefly glanced over her shoulder. “Ah, well he has seen the game from a different direction, so I suppose it’s not surprising for him to feel that way. What do you think?”

  “I think you want to stop Venass.”

  She nodded. “Venass. Danis Elvraeth. All of them.”

  “You waited for them to attack.” She nodded again. “You intended for me to draw him out.”

  She shrugged. “When I learned you were his grandson, I found the move I’d been missing. Danis is far too clever to be easily pulled into action, but you unsettled him. I had never seen him react so… predictably.”

  “And the crystal?”