Carth grinned. “We could never keep it safe.”
She started to reach for her pocket when a blast of energy hit her, sending her sliding back toward the wall. Danis appeared briefly and dismissed Rsiran as he tried to push knives at him, waving them away as if they were nothing.
He sent another surge of energy, this time striking the A’ras fighting against Venass, almost all at the same time.
They fell.
Within the blink of an eye, he attacked Valn, and Sarah, and Naelm. All fell.
Rsiran didn’t have a chance to check on his friends.
“Do you think you can win, grandson?” Danis asked. He started to turn toward Rsiran as he reached for his sword. Danis pushed, and Rsiran was unable to unsheathe his sword. “You may take the crystal from here, but I have learned how to control more power than you will ever understand. I will destroy this city and all that you care about. I will destroy—”
“You talk too much,” Rsiran said.
He pulled himself to Carth and then Slid, praying that he reacted faster than Danis.
Emerging in the dying Elder Tree, he grabbed for the crystal in Carth’s pocket.
As he did, Danis appeared.
He glanced at Rsiran, and then around him, as if recognizing where he was, and grinned. “You are such a fool.” Looking to Carth, his smile widened. “All this time, facing the great Carth of C’than, and she’ll fall like this? She has evaded me for years, but no more. I’ll have the crystal and I’ll have succeeded in removing the only threat I had.”
Carth moved. It was nothing more than the flicker of shadows.
Something pressed into Rsiran’s hands.
The crystal.
“He does talk too much,” Carth said.
Danis’s eyes widened.
Then everything went black.
Rsiran felt like he was floating, bodiless and without pain. It was like he Traveled, but different from when he’d held the other crystals. This time, there was the sense of the movement, and the sense of wind, and the sense of a vastness all around him, an enormity that he could never understand even were he to stare at it for centuries. There was everything.
And nothing.
Rsiran was aware of both, just as he knew that he wasn’t strong enough to fully comprehend what he saw around him. There was life, and there was nothing.
Elder.
It seemed as if a voice spoke in the vastness. Rsiran shivered—or would have, if he had a body—and tried to withdraw.
Elder. You must rise.
Rsiran tried turning to see if he could find the person or being that spoke, but he saw nothing.
Only, that wasn’t true. There was the vastness that he sensed. Within that, there was the sense of power and creation, that of the Great Watcher, much as he had seen him before.
Rsiran looked toward that sense, trying to peer into it, but there was nothing for him to see.
Elder.
Visions flashed through his mind in a dizzying succession.
With them came knowledge and understanding. Rsiran saw the beginning of the world. He saw the first of his kind appear in the forest. He saw them leave the forest, and some went farther, wandering beyond these lands and beyond the sea. The visions flashed faster than he could comprehend, faster than his mind worked, until all that remained was one: that of the crystals.
They pulsed, each of them, throbbing much like they had when he’d attempted to place them within the trees. The pulsing crystals strengthened, drawing power from the Elder Trees, and somehow feeding them as well. They were incomplete, the missing crystal leaving the defect in the strength of the crystals. All he had to do was return the missing crystal and…
The visions stopped.
Rsiran floated.
Rise, Elder.
Was the Great Watcher talking to one of the Elders?
Rsiran thought they were in the vision he’d had, but with those visions, none had spoken. This was unlike any of the other visions.
Did the Great Watcher want the dying tree to rise?
Those answers didn’t come.
Darkness faded.
Rise.
The voice was like a distant memory, lingering at the back of his mind.
Then Rsiran was back within the tree, holding the crystal that now throbbed in his hands much like the others had done. Rsiran knew what he needed to do, but didn’t know if he could be fast enough.
Danis stood, his attack building. Rsiran could feel it, and wondered what that meant.
Before Danis could act, he Slid, pressing the crystal into the cove within the tree.
Danis grinned. “Do you think that will stop me now?”
Rsiran took a deep breath and unsheathed his sword. Power surged through him as he did. It was the power of the Elder Trees, and stronger than he’d felt since he had first discovered them. It washed over him, filling him, demanding that he use it. Light filled the inside of the tree.
Rsiran saw it as Danis tried to Slide. Using the power from the Elder Trees, Rsiran held him, pulling him back and wrapping him in bands of power. For the first time, he detected hidden implants in Danis. He pulled, tearing them free. Lorcith, heartstone, and even shadowsteel all peeled through his flesh.
Danis screamed.
Wrapped in light as he was, Rsiran healed him, but the screaming didn’t stop.
Danis tried Sliding again, but couldn’t. Cold burned against Rsiran’s wrists as Danis tried to Read or Compel him, and his grandfather grabbed his head, dropping to his knees.
“What have you done?” he demanded.
“Less than you deserve,” Rsiran said.
He should kill him. After all he had done, Danis deserved to die.
Danis reached for the metal from the implants, but Rsiran pulled it from him. How was he able to pull even shadowsteel?
That would be a question for later.
Wrapping the metals together, he formed a ball and then turned that into a liquid that he vaporized. Danis screamed again.
Carth slumped forward, and Rsiran pushed the light and power over her, letting a healing wash over her, not certain that it would work. She looked up and took a deep breath. When she breathed out, some of the light dimmed. It was faint, but it was how he knew that she would be fine.
She stood and watched him, waiting.
What would he do?
“He’s yours,” Rsiran decided, nodding to Danis.
Carth unsheathed a knife. For a moment, Rsiran thought she might kill Danis, and he wondered if that would be acceptable within the tree, but she used it to jab into each of his shoulders and then his hips. Whatever she did, it looked like darkness sliding into him, and Danis screamed again.
Then she sheathed her knife.
“What did you do?” Rsiran asked.
Carth watched Danis, as if gauging how he would react. “Danis Elvraeth is now powerless.”
“Carth,” he started, not certain she would answer. “What are you?”
“I am shadow born, Rsiran Lareth. And I will take Danis Elvraeth where he can no longer harm anyone.”
“What can I do?”
“I need to get to Asador. From there, I will take care of the rest.”
Rsiran nodded. “I can do that.”
Carth lifted Danis as if he were nothing more than a child. Rsiran Slid them from inside the Elder Tree and emerged outside of Asador. Carth narrowed her eyes and nodded. “You will tell Galen of Elaeavn that he has my thanks?”
“I will tell him whatever you would like.”
She studied Danis before looking to Rsiran. “You might share the same bloodline, but you are nothing like him, Rsiran Lareth.” She lifted Danis. He didn’t fight, and in the fading light, Rsiran realized that streaks of black ran up his arms. He wondered if the same worked along his legs.
“I’m not,” Rsiran agreed. “He’s Elvraeth born and I’m—”
“Elder born,” Carth said.
She winked at him and started away.
; As she did, shadows swirled around her until she disappeared, leaving nothing but black night.
Rsiran closed his eyes, holding tightly to his sword and feeling the power of the Elder Trees flowing through him. It was time to return to Elaeavn and end the war.
Epilogue
Bright sunlight gleamed overhead. Rsiran stood in the middle of the lawn within the Floating Palace, looking up at the masons as they worked to repair the damage. Much of the city had been destroyed, and many buildings—like the palace—had been damaged enough that they would spend a long time trying to repair them, if they ever could fully.
He had returned to Elaeavn carrying with him the power of the Elder Trees. Even here, he could pull on it. His first act had been removing the power of the implants placed within the Venass fighters. After that, the battle had changed, quickly ending.
Cael stood next to Galen, holding his hand. Luthan, with his gray hair and eyes that could seem both clear and incredibly clouded at the same time, watched over everything. Rsiran wondered what he now Saw, if anything.
“What will you do with the council?” Rsiran asked Luthan. He couldn’t meet Cael’s eyes, unable to mourn the same as she would at her father’s loss, and he had returned hoping that he could avoid serving on the council. With what had happened here, he would if Luthan pushed, but the old councilor knew about Rsiran’s resistance.
“The council seeks to add another member,” Luthan said.
“Do you have someone in mind?” he asked carefully.
A wry smile parted Luthan’s mouth. “There is someone I would choose,” he started. When he shifted his gaze to Cael, she looked away. “You have wisdom your father occasionally lacked, and compassion that most of us lack. You would be a great addition to the council,” Luthan said to her.
Rsiran smiled.
Cael looked up, shaking her head. “I don’t deserve—”
“Why? Because your father couldn’t see beyond the past to accept the present?” Luthan asked.
“I’m not experienced enough—”
Luthan waved his hand, cutting her off once more. “Not experienced? How many from Elaeavn do you think have ever ventured beyond the borders of the city? After the attack, how many do you think will ever attempt it? We would ask Lareth, but he has no interest in ruling.”
“My responsibility is to the guild.” To all of them now, and perhaps in ways he still didn’t fully understand. There was a part of him that wondered if the comment about the Elder in the vision while holding the last crystal had not been about the fallen tree, but about him. It was a question for Della, but later. Now, he had much he still had to do.
Cael turned to Galen. “What do you think?”
The assassin looked up at the palace, then over to Cael. “I was banished for my impulsivity and anger, trained to use that anger for profit, and now find I want nothing more to do with it.” He took her hands and met her eyes. Rsiran noted that Galen’s hard features seemed to soften. “That’s my way of saying that I’ll go wherever you go, Cael.”
Luthan looked at Rsiran. “What of you, Lareth? Where will you go?”
“I have a few other things I need to do.”
“Will you remain in the city? You can claim your Elvraeth heritage if you want.”
Rsiran smiled. “I can Slide, Luthan. I am never far from the city. And I’m a Lareth, not Elvraeth. I might be descended from the Elvraeth, but it’s the blood of the Elders that drives me, not the blood of the Watcher.”
The old councilor clapped him on the shoulder and nodded. “Be that as it may, I pray for the Great Watcher to look upon you favorably, Rsiran Lareth.”
“The council—and the Elvraeth—have to change, Luthan,” Rsiran cautioned. “You know what I think.”
Luthan nodded. “We are bound to the forest in ways we had forgotten.” He glanced to Galen, a deep frown across his face. “The council and the Elvraeth will lead, but all will be offered the chance to hold one of the crystals. Besides, now it will require the guilds even more. We won’t be able to reach them otherwise.”
The crystals remained within the trees. With the return of the missing crystal, he had considered moving them, but for now, he thought they needed to stay. The alchemist tree, the one that had been dying, already began to heal. Eventually, Rsiran wondered if he would need to place them back beneath the forest in the crystal chamber, but they seemed as if they belonged within the Elder Trees for now.
“There’s the other thing I mentioned,” Rsiran said.
Luthan’s brow furrowed, and his jaw clenched slightly. “That will be more difficult, Rsiran. You know what happened.”
“I know that many were exiled for reasons no better than Galen’s, and many for much worse reasons. Not all will want to return, but they should be offered the chance. Don’t you want your daughter to return?”
Luthan lowered his eyes. “We’ve all made mistakes that weigh upon us. Mine are as heavy as any.”
“Then change what you can.”
Luthan forced a smile. “You should be careful, Rsiran, you’re getting close to ruling with statements like that.”
“Not ruling, but even you can’t deny the consequences of the way it had been done. We have to find a way for fairness. Letting all have the chance to see—and hold—the crystals is one step. Not exiling those who should be a part of the city is another.”
Luthan nodded slowly. “The council has much work to do.”
Cael looked to Galen before she spoke. “I know what I would do. My father made a mistake once. The entire council did. We will find a better way, Rsiran, and we will work with the guilds.”
Rsiran glanced at the palace and the dozen men working along the wall trying to repair the stone. Some were of the Miners’ Guild. Already, they began to work together in ways that they had not for many years. “That’s all I can ask.”
He Slid.
Rsiran emerged in the Aisl. The forest was busy with activity. The small, temporary huts would become more permanent, and countless new faces moved through the forest. Word had gotten out about the Aisl as a refuge for those displaced during the attack, and many had quickly sought the protection here.
Jessa worked with Della, coordinating the activity here. She saw him emerge and hurried over to him. “Well?”
“Luthan suggested Cael serve on the council.”
Jessa bit her lower lip and leaned toward a small white flower that she’d found somewhere and stuffed into the charm. “Cael? She would be a good fit. Elvraeth born, so that would satisfy many. What of the other part?”
“We’ll see. The crystals will remain here for now, and I’ve made it clear that I think they should be available for any to try to reach. Not all will be able to. And I’ve suggested they call the Forgotten back. There should be no exiles.”
From what he’d learned from Galen, there was a large pocket of Forgotten who wanted only to return. Most had no greater crime than Galen’s. Others were even less.
“When will you leave again?” Jessa asked.
“Soon.”
“You’ll be safe?”
“As safe as I can be.”
“You’ll return before the services?”
Rsiran swallowed and glanced toward the forest. They had lost so many in the attack. Friends and those he had cared about. Valn was gone, and with him Sarah. Master Kevan and two other master smiths. Nearly a dozen miners. Almost thirty of the Elvraeth had fallen. And thousands had fallen in the explosions. People Rsiran had never met, but mourned nonetheless. Those responsible were gone now, either powerless like Danis and Josun, or destroyed, but it didn’t change the sense of loss they all had. Neither did holding Josun imprisoned, but they had yet to decide what to do with him.
“I’ll return before then.”
“Do what you have to.”
Rsiran nodded and left her to work with Della organizing the growing population of the Aisl.
He found his father near the Aisl forge, working without a shirt, a
sheen of sweat covering his body. Rsiran watched him work for a while, noting the way his father paused, likely listening to lorcith now—something that he hadn’t done when Rsiran was his apprentice before hammering once more.
His father glanced up, and he smiled at him. “Rsiran. I thought that you’d be too busy…”
“There’s something that I need your help with, Father.”
His father set the hammer down and left the pot he’d been working on atop the stump to cool. “You’re the guildlord.”
“It can wait until you finish.”
His father nodded to a younger man working the coals. “Let Therin finish. He’s been doing good work these days. Helps that he can hear the lorcith as well as he does.”
Rsiran smiled, still shocked by the change in his father. “And you? What do you hear these days?”
“I hear how Ilphaesn nearly collapsed. The lorcith sings of something…” He tipped his head, frowning.
Rsiran had heard it as well. He’d returned to Ilphaesn and used the power of the Elder Trees to save the mines and stabilize the mountain. With that much power, he’d been able to pull on so much more than he ever had. After he did, the lorcith seemed to change, almost speak to him instead of only singing. He wondered what that meant.
“Come then,” Rsiran said.
He Slid his father into Elaeavn, and into his family smithy.
It still stood. In spite of all the destruction, most of the smithies still stood.
“What is this?” his father asked.
Rsiran grinned. “I thought you’d recognize this. It’s the Lareth smithy.”
“I see that, but why bring me here?”
“Because you need to return. This is a Lareth smithy.”
His father shook his head. “This is yours. You’re the Lareth master smith now.”
Rsiran swallowed back the lump in his throat at the comment. How long had he wanted to hear something like that from his father? How long had he wanted that kind of acknowledgment? And now to get it, but have to refuse?
“This isn’t for me,” Rsiran said.
His father clasped Rsiran’s shoulder. “I heard about what happened with your smithy, son. This should be yours. I was too blind to see that when you were my apprentice, but I see it now. A guildlord needs a smithy.”
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