Nightfall (Book 1)

by L. R. Flint

  “Thank you,” she said, smiling smugly. She stood up, stretched her arms out to either side and slowly spun in a circle. “Welcome to ‘Within the Wall’.” I caught the hint of a laugh in her voice. “Still hoping to get farther than this?” she asked innocently; I only smiled. I noticed that Alaia rolled her eyes and guessed she had seen Eskarne and I go beyond the Wall through the tunnel, this did not surprise me though, seeing as she was supposed to be keeping an eye on me.

  “I will leave now,” the woman said.

  “You can wait until the storm lets up,” Eskarne offered.

  Alaia glanced in my direction as if asking permission; I shrugged, indifferent. There was no way I was going to start telling her what she could or could not do. Alaia bowed slightly at my friend. “Thank you.”

  “Not a problem,” my friend replied, sitting down beside Arrats and indicating for me to follow suit. Alaia sat down next to Ekaitz, who was again reading the nameless book which seemed to go with him nearly everywhere he went. The two ended up deep in conversation, the topic of which seemed to have changed each time I listened in for a moment.

  “Why do you have dirt in your hair?” Eskarne asked.

  “What?”

  “You have dirt in your hair.”

  “Sand,” I corrected, without thinking.

  “Whatever—sand,” Eskarne said, exaggerating the last word.

  “I fell in a puddle and there must have been sand in it.” I stood and turned away from everyone to shake the stuff from my hair. Once I got as much out as I could, I sat back down. “Are you happy now?” I asked, smiling sweetly. She rolled her eyes, unsurprisingly.

  “So, this is inside the Wall?” I murmured.

  “Yep. Want to see something cool?”

  “Sure.” She stood and began climbing the vines on the room’s wall, quickly making her way to the ceiling.

  “Are you coming or not?” she asked. I climbed nimbly up behind her, wondering what it was that she thought was so awesome. “Alright, help me with this door, will you?” Eskarne asked. I climbed closer to her while she pulled some vines out of the way, to reveal an iron ring at the bottom of a large, wooden, window shutter.

  I lifted the door to reveal: more vines. “This is…awesome,” I said sarcastically, thinking she had meant to play a joke on me.

  “Oh, you are so dull. Move the vines. There is a hook for the door’s ring up there.”

  I lifted the door to the mentioned hook and slipped the ring over it. With my arm free, I pulled some of the vines out of the ‘window’ so that we could see outside. The view was beautiful—for Caernadvall anyway; the storm had finally passed and as the sun set behind us its last rays were reflected onto the sides of buildings, causing them to glow. The moon was already up and shone with a pale white light on the Eastern horizon, looking like a white pendulum hanging in the sky, which was a deep turquoise-blue. Many of the housetops reflected the rich coloring of the sky, in puddles caught in their uneven spots, and a couple of white clouds floated above the city, reflecting the light of the sun on their undersides, while a few rooftop puddles also mirrored the same brilliance.

  As I perched there, looking out across the cityscape I realized just how long I had been absent from Caernadvall while the sprite’s spirit took me gallivanting through the dunes. A brisk, cool breeze flowed over me and Eskarne and on into the room, sending a chill up my spine. “Nice view, no?” she asked softly. I nodded.

  “If that is clear sky I see out there, then I think it is time to go,” Arrats called up to us.

  Eskarne grumbled a complaint under her breath and said, “Fine.” I closed the window and began climbing back down the vines but was stopped by Eskarne. “Oh, no. No, no, no.”

  “What?”

  She said nothing in response, but grabbed a loose vine and swung out to the middle of the room and waited for the rope to stop swinging. Once it was stilled, she did back-flips to the bottom of the vine, alternating holding onto it with her hands and knees. Once at the bottom of the vine, she did a last flip through the air, letting go of the vine and landing safely on the floor in a crouched position. “Are you coming?” she called up to me, a smug look on her face.

  “Yes.” Not wanting Eskarne to one-up me, I leapt from my perch out to the stilled vine. When I grabbed it, it began to sway widely back and forth, and not using any common sense, I let go of the vine and did a flip midair as I waited for it to swing back to me. Luckily, I caught it halfway down and slid to the very end. I then swung myself forward, caught some momentum, and pulled off a double flip midair, landing silently on the floor in the exact same spot that Eskarne had.

  “Show off,” she mumbled, smirking as we all headed down the ladder. I shrugged it off, acting as if it were nothing, though my heart was still pounding away from the moment I had almost missed the vine as I freefell through the air.

  “If the King would still let us hold carnivals you two could be acrobats,” Arrats laughed.

  “Not a chance,” I immediately replied.

  Alaia and Ekaitz were still conversing while we headed out the long entrance and back into the city, but by the time we had gone far into the labyrinth of streets the woman had disappeared and Ekaitz was joking around with the rest of us.

  7 D. I. D.

  The sounds of another market were fading behind me when I heard commotion down an alleyway and decided to investigate. Two Guards struggled against a slender figure that fought valiantly, but was easily outnumbered and I, quite frankly, was surprised that they were still at it. A Guard jammed the likely perpetrator hard in the ribs and she yelled in pain, ducking to avoid another blow. The woman's hood flew off as she spun around and I openly gawked as I recognized the green-eyed and auburn-haired Alaia. Physically I supposed it was possible for two guards to overpower her inhuman strength, but I was dumbfounded that the Guards had not yet fallen prey to any spells. Unable to simply stand there watching, I called a sword from Lietha and charged toward the dragonlady and her opponents, raising the sword as I approached the nearest of the men. The other Guard warned his companion of my approach and the man spun around just in time to get his sword up to protect himself.

  The Guard was a bit slow so I stayed on the attack and he on the defense until a gaping hole appeared in his defenses and I threw in an extra lunge. I felt my sword stick in the bone of his thigh as I pulled it free, producing a scream of pain from the wounded man. I quickly severed his head, silencing him forever. Without a moment’s hesitation I went after the other Guard, who had just raised his sword to murder Alaia, who was now completely defenseless and had fallen to the ground unconscious, after a hard blow to the head.

  I deflected the man’s downward thrust and his sword sprang away from me, I spun my weapon to attack him again before he could retaliate but he regained control of his weapon and it met mine with a resounding clang, a hair's breadth from his face. The second Guard’s skills matched mine more evenly and so we were constantly swapping the position of attacker. At one point he deflected my thrust, angled his blade so that the force of my blow would propel me forward and off balance. He tried to use the opportunity to chop my legs out from under me, but I rolled quickly to the side and the tip of his blade barely grazed the flesh on my shins.

  “That really was unkind of you,” I scolded. I then attacked with more fervor and slammed his sword with such force that it flew from his grasp. The man’s face contorted in fear as I approached him, ready for the kill, and he screamed. His head jerked back in anguish as I dealt the final blow; as I removed the sword his lifeless body crumbled to the ground, never to move again. I returned my sword to Lietha and the blood which had been dripping along its form splattered into a small puddle on the ground. Alaia groaned quietly behind me and I turned to help her back to her feet. “Thank you,” she said.

  I sighed, thinking of the men I had just killed. “That was not something that deserves praise.”

  “Others will come to kill you, you must leave now,” she
then told me, ignoring my remorse.

  “What about you?”

  “I will leave as well—do not worry. Take this,” she handed me a green crystal which hung from a leather strap and glowed just as brightly as her eyes.

  “What is it for?” I asked.

  “You have proven yourself. Go now.” I pocketed the crystal, wondering what she meant. After hesitating for a split second I began running; Alaia followed just behind me.

  “What happened before I came?” I asked, unsure of what else to say as it became apparent that she was leaving for good.

  “I was careless,” she said coldly. “Farewell.” Her cloak flashed from existence and she jumped easily into the air and soared toward the sky's far-reaching dome. I continued on my way home, shoving from my mind—for a time—the wish that I could have gone with her.

  ~ ~ ~

  “What happened?” Arrats asked as I walked down the cellar stairs with a blank look on my face.

  I had been contemplating recent events and it took me a moment to reply. “I saved a D.I.D.”

  My friends grinned. “Who was it?” Ekaitz asked.

  “Alaia.” The two looked at me with a mixture of curiosity, shock, and disbelief. “Some Guards found that she was a dragonlady.”

  “How were you able to defeat them if she was not?” Arrats asked skeptically. “Not to be rude, but she is better with a sword than you are; stronger too.”

  “She made a promise that she would not use magic to harm anyone while she was here,” was my reply, based off the dream I had had of her many days before. Arrats breathed an exaggerated ‘oh’.

  “Well then—what happened?” Once I had given a satisfactory account they wanted to inspect the crystal, so I handed it to Arrats. “Can I?” I shrugged and he slipped the leather cord over his head. Lifting the crystal from his chest, he asked, “Any idea how it glows?”

  “Nope.”

  He slipped the crystal back over his head and handed it to me, I placed it around my neck and a strange tingling sensation began behind my eyes, followed by a sudden enhancement of my vision. The dark room suddenly became as clear as it would have been outside in the light of a bright, noonday sun. “Whoa. What the—” Both Arrats and Ekaitz quickly stepped back.

  “What just happened to you?” Ekaitz asked guardedly.

  “What?” Only having noticed the change in my vision, which they would not have seen, I wondered what could have caused their suspicion.

  “Your eyes—they are like Alaia’s,” was Arrats’ reply. I was not sure whether to believe him or not, after all, they both were as fond as I of playing jokes. “Are my eyes green?” he asked, almost sounding panicked. The other two of us replied to the negative.

  “My eyes are green?” I asked over Ekaitz’ continued speculations.

  “Yes,” Arrats replied.

  “Can I see the crystal?” Ekaitz asked. I agreed and handed it to him, as I did so, I realized that its light had dimmed. My friend hesitated before slipping it over his head. Nothing happened. “Anything?” he asked. Again the answer was negative. “Oh.” I was unsure whether he sounded relieved or disappointed.

  "My eyes truly are green like Alaia's?" They both nodded solemnly until Ekaitz burst out laughing, pointing at me as if I were the greatest joke ever told.

  "Just kidding," he finally breathed. I glared at my younger friend, but before I could give a sharp retort, Arrats cut me off.

  "They really are green Izotz." I glanced skeptically between the two of them, unsure which was playing the joke. "I promise you." We both stared at Ekaitz until he gave up.

  "Alright, alright. They really are green."

  After a moment of thought I said, “I need you both to promise me that you will do something.” They nodded noncommittally, so I added, “Or in this case, to not do something.” Arrats smiled crookedly and the two of them agreed. I knew they would give anything—possibly even their lives for me, as I would have for them—but that was not quite what I wanted. “When the people notice—which I know they will—I do not want either of you to stick up for me. I do not want this,” I indicated my eyes, “to affect you.” The two started to argue with me. “Please,” I said.

  “Alright.” Ekaitz was the first to break the silence but Arrats soon followed suit.

  ~ ~ ~

  Unused to as much light as my new sight provided, I had to sleep with my head wound tightly in my blanket. It helped a little, but not as much as I would have liked. I spent that entire night tossing and turning, my bones and muscles ached and no matter what position I moved into, nothing helped and I barely slept. I woke from my uneasy sleep an hour after sunup, to find the cellar empty of everyone but myself; my friends’ voices floated to me softly on the breeze. I awoke completely and rolled away my blanket before standing. In my haste, I lost my balance and fell over; again I attempted to rise, but yet again the same result occurred. Frustrated, I crawled over to the wall and slowly stood, using the solid surface to steady me.

  I stood there for a moment, hoping the unsteadiness would pass. As I waited, I realized that I was much lighter than I was used to, but I could not determine the cause; overnight I could not have lost enough weight to make a difference. Slowly I grabbed my shirt and walked cautiously from the cellar, taking careful steps and staying close to the wall for as long as I could. “Good morning,” I said to my friends as I crossed the uppermost step.

  “Good…” I looked up when Arrats stopped, mid-sentence, and the distraction caused me to fall over again, my concentration broken. The two boys were staring at me with their mouths agape and Eskarne whistled admiringly, as if my fumbling had been the greatest feat of strength or agility ever attempted by mankind.

  “What happened to you?” Ekaitz finally asked in awe, as I slowly stood. I chose not to reply since it was only too obvious that what had happened was that I had fallen over.

  “Very nice,” Eskarne added.

  “Excuse me?”

  “You look rather dashing,” she clarified.

  “Oh. Thank you.” I blushed at the unexpected remark but lucky for me, my skin was naturally dark enough to let the tinge go unnoticed. I far from understood the reason behind her words, but if she was going to compliment me, I would not argue. Eskarne rolled her eyes and called a flat piece of metal from Lietha, then handed it to me.

  “What is this for?” I asked, taking the metal skeptically.

  “A mirror.”

  “I already know about my eyes,” I said.

  “Just look.” I followed her direction and looked at my reflection on the plate; my bright, solid green eyes stared back at me from below regally arched brows. I held the mirror out at arms’ length and first glared at my reflection, then smiled hugely, before gazing imposingly at myself. Ekaitz and Arrats chuckled, but Eskarne was far from amused by my antics. “Look at your face,” she growled.

  “I thought that was my face.” Her only reaction was to glare at me until I gave in and inspected my face, from my jaw up to my forehead. “Alright, so something changed but—oh, wait, it was my eyes. I forgot.”

  “Your face looks more refined; basically you look too good to be you.”

  “Ouch,” Arrats chuckled. I glanced back at my reflection and realized that the first of Eskarne’s comments were correct. I no longer looked quite the same as I had, but the changes were far from drastic. I assumed that I could possibly have passed for an elf.

  “I am curious to know why you fell over when you saw us,” Arrats said.

  “You should have seen me when I woke up,” I chuckled.

  “Meaning what?” Eskarne asked.

  “I feel really light and it has left me off balance.”

  “Sure,” Ekaitz scoffed and I just glared at him. As she stepped next to me, Eskarne punched my shoulder lightly and said my face was not the only thing to have changed. I looked down at my bare chest and saw that my muscles were more defined and, for once, abs lined my stomach. I then turned my attention to my arms a
nd, as I moved to a few different poses, flexed my biceps. “Nice.” I could not help but smile in delight.

  “Be careful not to let it go to your head,” Ekaitz joked.

  “Hey, I think he might have grown too,” Eskarne announced from behind me.

  I turned around. “Really?” Arrats reacted skeptically to her comment so Eskarne made us stand back to back and then measured our heights against one another. When she announced that she was done, Arrats and I stepped apart, awaiting her pronouncement. “Izotz is my hand’s width taller than you, Arrats.”

  “How did he—how did you—” he said, turning to me, “grow so much in one night?” Eskarne then asked how any of the changes had come over me and I retold the tale of saving Alaia from the Guards.

  “Did she place a spell on the stone that would only activate once the band was around your neck? And why turn your eyes green?” The three of us boys scowled at her, disapproving of the insinuation that the dragonlady would do something so treacherous, for the way she had placed the argument made it sound as if the dragonlady was trying to get me in trouble for having the appearance of a creature of magic.

  “Is it possible that you are an elf?” Ekaitz queried.

  “No. My ears are not even…” I stood for a moment in silence, feeling the elongated tips of my ears. “Pointed,” I finished softly. “But my parents were—” In fact, I could not recall whether my parents’ eyes had been solid green or of a design normal to mankind. And their ears; I did not know their form, but was it possible that I had memories of my mother’s protruding from her long, black, flowing hair? In my mind I mused over the hope of actually being an elf. Eskarne muttered that I was probably a Night elf, but I was too preoccupied by my thoughts to hear it. Arrats insisted that I was not a knight, after which Eskarne called him a dunderhead and gave him a description of the word ‘night’, going as far as to spell it out for him.