by CJ Brightley
The supplies they had brought were more than enough to bring them here and see them home in a fortnight. Were they staying even longer than that? No one seemed to have an answer, save for the emperor himself and he had been tight lipped to everyone.
Save for Cedric, the blasted priest.
Just thinking about him made Coriander check the docks for any sign of the orange robed priest. Elves hustled in every direction, fighting the current of the normal dock workers and sailors of Darrion who had their own tasks to tend to. Purple and silver gleamed in every direction. But the orange of the comet priests didn't appear to be present. More noticeably, the tall figure of Cedric wasn't ordering his minions around or preaching some doom and gloom message for the time being.
Coriander sighed gratefully and went back to his checklist. But his mind couldn't focus. The priest had been all over the docks that morning, talking as loud as he could about the dangers of the elves who opposed the Enoth empire and feared the comet.
Elves who lived in the trees of Irradan seemed of little importance to Coriander. What did they matter to the empire? Even if they were barbaric, like Cedric preached, how could elves with branches oppose an army as grand as any Enoth could send to them?
No. The elves were not a threat and best left to their own devices. They posed no danger.
But to listen to Cedric was to believe that they stood poised to invade both the southern empire of Enoth and the northern human kingdom of Darrion at the same time.
Such a scenario seemed unlikely and foolish. It had been a hundred years since the last major war of Enoth. Coriander himself had seen to victory of the Enoth elves over the southern rebels. How easily they had swept over the last hold outs of their brethren who had forsaken the care of the empire! Destroying elves who carried no more than vines for whips and branches for swords would be easy by comparison.
"Sir!" said a voice that snapped him back to reality.
Coriander was not organizing an army to repel elves armed with tree branches and rocks.
He was on the dock of Lone Peak, attempting to ensure that every elf would have somewhere to sleep at night and some food on their plate. Evelyn stood at attention by his side. How long had she stood there, waiting for him to look up from his list? Coriander shook his head and directed his attention at his second in command.
"My apologies," he said. "What requires my attention now?"
She saluted him before speaking.
"Finore has every elf bedded down either in an establishment in Lone Peak, in tents outside the gates, in the houses of a noble family of Darrion, or on the ship where they were stationed before departing."
Coriander nodded, impressed.
"I thought we were trying to ensure the ships were mostly empty?"
"Yes sir!" she replied. "Only a third of the force will remain aboard the ships as guards."
He was very impressed.
Since leaving from the capital city, Emperor Rophilborn had given few direct commands. The exception being that, once they arrived in Darrion, the elves should mostly stay off ship.
The quarters had been cramped on their voyage and some had complained about needing to find lodging off the vessels, but Coriander found the specific request odd.
No matter, he thought. They had done it and could now attend to other duties.
"Thank you, Evelyn," he said, saluting her back. "You've done well. Where are you bunking down tonight?"
"Aboard the Emperor's Blessing," she replied.
Coriander knew that she would want to be close to her troops if necessary. He would be finding his own quarters aboard the ship as well.
"Let's see if we can't get a bite to eat before we see to other matters," he suggested.
Evelyn was a smart commander, an excellent leader of troops and, in Coriander's mind, not bad company. He appreciated her nearby.
A slight smile appeared on her face, before she saw the expression on Coriander's change from pleased to annoyed.
"Sir?" she stammered out, perhaps trying to discern how she had changed his mood.
Coriander sighed. Cedric was walking down the docks toward their ship, preaching.
"Beware the lovers of trees and dirt! Prepare for the heathens and their coming!"
The tall, deep voiced elf was weaving his way through the elves who were walking the docks and the Darrion residents who were interspersed among them.
"Can't get a moment's peace," Coriander said under his breath.
Cedric, flanked by four of his priests, saw the general and Evelyn and a wicked smile crossed his face.
He approached them boldly.
"Finding ways to occupy your time until the dirt lovers attack?" he said with a superior tone.
Coriander rolled up the parchment in his hands and turned to Evelyn.
"I'd prefer we head aboard our vessel now," he said, gritting his teeth.
Evelyn nodded and they made their way back down the docks towards the ship.
"The inevitable is coming!" Cedric shouted after them. "The woods are alive with the foes of Enoth!"
Something about that stirred in Coriander.
"What foes?" he said as he spun around and shouted back at Cedric.
It was very unlike him to let Cedric spur him to action, but it had been a long day and his self-control waned.
"What invasion? We've not seen these elves you speak of for hundreds of years! Yet you talk as if they are ready to strike out and murder us! Why would they?"
Cedric's face was illuminated by the torches his followers carried, giving him an eerie glow. His eyes looked like dark holes in his face.
Those gathered around the docks must have taken notice, because they backed away from the priest as he spoke.
"Listen to my words!" he shouted, knowing full well the audience was listening. "The elves of the forest have hated the honest and fair minded for a millennial! They despise us for our knowledge. They covet our cities! While we sleep in comfort, they recline on dirt and rocks! For this, they cannot forgive us! For this, they will attack us if we are not ready!"
"Proof!" Coriander shouted back, wanting those around to know his argument. "What proof do you have of this?"
Instead of faltering back, like the general had anticipated, Cedric stood up taller at this.
"The time when all will be made known is soon!" he answered.
Coriander scoffed.
"None," he said. "No proof! Stop this rambling of yours and go preach to your own fools who'll listen."
With that, the general stalked off. The crowd around him began to disperse, but not before Cedric began preaching again. Coriander made a mental note to ask the Emperor why he allowed the priest to spread this foolishness and what good it would do to anyone.
"Why do you think he has such a hatred for the elves of the forest?" Evelyn asked as they reach the Emperor's Blessing.
Coriander had no answers. He had known the order of the comet had always preached the superiority of the Enoth elves and that the comet foretold of a great battle sometime in the future. This new rhetoric against some of their own kind, though the forest elves were remarkably different than they, was a new teaching unfamiliar to the general.
"I don't know, but I'm sure the Emperor will," he answered as he made his way over to the entrance to the upper cabins. “I hope to hear his opinion soon.”
Just as Evelyn had told him, most of the elves had left the ship and were now lodging within the city of Lone Peak. Others had retired to the tents located just outside the walls of the top most cliff.
The situation made for a strange assortment of organization, but at least it was all taken care of for the time being. The smell of fresh bread and coffee met Coriander's nose and he was grateful that someone who knew how to cook had stayed behind. The emperor himself was a guest of honor in the House of Nobles, Lone Peak's castle.
Since so many of their Nobles lived in and around the House, guest rooms were sparse.
Coriander did not m
ind. He was used to being with his troops and being separated from the them was odd. He opened the door to the officer's dining room anticipating whatever meal was set before him with gladness.
Instead of food on the table, however, he found Finore stitching up the eyebrow of one of the priests of the comet.
"All the medics have gone above, sir," Finore said to Coriander's unasked question.
Neither the priest nor Finore seems too thrilled at the situation. Wincing in pain, the elf robed in orange gave Coriander a skeptical look and then rose from his seat.
"That will do," he said as he left from the table in a hurry, holding up the remainder of the thread that held together the left portion of his eyebrow. He brushed past Coriander and Evelyn, keeping his head down.
"You're welcome," Finore said to the departed elf as he lay down his needle, thread, and scissors.
"You know," he said as he went to fetch some of the bread left on the table and serve it to Evelyn and his general. "You would think he didn't want to be in a room with you, Coriander."
"My dislike of their order has become popular knowledge, I think," he said as he gratefully tore away a mouthful of bread.
"What happened?" Evelyn said as she sat down at her place.
"Stormed on board asking for a medic, claiming some Darrion elf had knocked him into a wall," Finore answered.
"Darrion elf?" Coriander asked skeptically, swallowing his portion of bread.
The elves of Darrion were far and few between. One of the dock master's had said he'd only seen five in his entire life before the empire showed up.
"I thought it was strange as well," Finore said. "But he was bleeding and swearing so profusely I thought I could at least show him some kindness.”
Finore scoffed at this idea as he tore into his food, apparently quite ravenous.
“Well received,” he finished.
Coriander shook his head.
“The day's events have been strange and only seem to be getting stranger,” he said softly, more to himself than his commanders.
"I'm going to speak with the Emperor tomorrow about Cedric and his order spewing such hate. I think their speeches could be put to better use."
His two officers nodded in agreement and took their drink of coffee.
Surely, Coriander thought. If the emperor knew about this hate coming from the order of the comet, he would put an end to it.
Attempting to drive away the echoing voice of Cedric from his head, Coriander unrolled his parchment and looked to Evelyn and Finore.
"What does our food situation look like for tomorrow?" he asked, preparing himself for a long meeting with his two officers about the necessary provisions to feed an army.
Instead, he was interrupted by a young elf coming through the door with a note in hand.
"General Coriander," he said with a bow. "A message from the Emperor."
He took the letter and dismissed the elf with his thanks.
"Seems awfully late for a message," Finore observed, putting down his mug and leaning forward.
"But apparently not too late for an audience with his Excellency," Coriander replied looking over the note.
His meeting with the emperor was going to come sooner than he had anticipated.
26
Unexpected Acquaintance
The rest of the company had left a good half an hour before Blume came downstairs, having put the baby down for a nap. At least, that's what she thought the toddler wanted. She cried and kicked and screamed and fidgeted for a long time while Blume had tried to play with her.
Then Blume sang.
It had been so long since she had sung that it felt awkward at first, then she remembered how much she loved it.
Either she got carried away, or Lily really enjoyed the lullabies she sung. Whatever the case may be, the toddler was asleep and Blume wasn't going to do anything to wake her up. She spent enough hours during the night listening to the baby cry as it was.
So when she emerged from the upstairs to the smell of dinner wafting in from the kitchen, she had no intention of going far off from the house. All Blume wanted to do was to stretch her legs in the evening sun before returning to the house to eat.
A few houses down from the one they called their home, however, Blume saw something that caught her eye. Robed in purple and white, a tall pale elf boy, if it was really right to call him that, was making his way towards her, looking puzzled.
A few hours ago an elven host had marched right up to the gates of Lone Peak. They seemed peaceful to Blume. She had figured most would stay outside of the city and the rest might be residing with important nobles higher up.
To see one of their number down on the lower parts of Lone Peak struck Blume as odd. This young elf, with the air of a pampered life, looked like he intentionally avoided the sun if possible. His skin was as white as snow.
Blume had seen many elves in her day and considered herself good friends with a few. Something about this one, however, seemed different. Perhaps it was his strikingly green eyes. It could have been the way he walked down the street: unfamiliar but collected and calm, like he was exploring.
Or maybe it was just that Blume realized how much she missed her friends back on Ruyn: an elf and a dwarf she had spent months traveling southern cities and getting into all kinds of trouble with.
Of course, their adventures were not only accidental but completely Blume's fault. When the war was over, the two of them both returned to their families. The only family Blume had left sailed with her to Irradan.
Feeling brave and emboldened by her recent singing, which always put her in the best moods, Blume approached the elf.
“You seem like you're looking for something,” she said as she stepped up to him and made a small curtsy.
She wasn't quite sure what brought that last part on, but it felt appropriate, given the fact that she didn't often introduce herself to strangers. The elf stopped in his tracks and considered Blume.
He was a good head taller than she was, which wasn't saying much really. Though Blume was growing like a weed, of her company she was only taller than Jurrin and Jurgon. Being taller than halflings was no great accomplishment.
“I quest for the library,” he said with a mild indifference, looking off to his right and left.
Blume was certain that not all elves talked like he did.
"I know where it is," she said, swelling up and being glad now for all those hours spent with Holve and Ealrin in the dusty catacombs. "I'll show you if you don't mind me escorting you."
It was something about the elf that she wanted to get to know. Surely he would come with her and tell her about the faraway lands she had only read about in the library. Maybe he could tell her about his country and she could talk about Ruyn.
The elf nodded slightly and began to follow Blume as she led him toward the library.
She had known elves to be proud and others to be not as talkative as some friends she had. But then she remembered Abigail, her elf friend, and how quick she was to launch into a tirade of explanations and words. This elf's sullenness and lack of conversation was disheartening.
As they walked along the streets and stairs of Lone Peak, encountering many more elves than Blume had ever seen in the city, the most he would say without prompting was that he had been sent to find the library from one of his superiors. He didn't even tell Blume who that person was.
He answered her questions in short pointed sentences and asked her no questions of his own. It been so long since Blume had held a conversation with someone who was unwilling to talk that it felt more than a little awkward. Still, even with his short answers, she was able to find out a good deal about the elves who had journeyed to Darrion.
There were ten boats of nobles, soldiers, craftsmen, servants, and dignitaries.
All of them had come to accompany the emperor on this diplomatic mission to seek peace with the other countries of the continent. There was one other mission that the elves were unde
rtaking, but Blume was only able to find that out by accident.
"Is there anything else the elves have come to do except visit countries?" she had asked as they turned away from the stairs that led down to the lower peaks where their house was.
"Yes...no," he had said.
The second word came out more harshly than the first and carried a tone of finality.
Blume had stopped walking when he gave the answer and looked at him with an eyebrow raised.
"Well which is it? Yes or no?"
The elf took a few steps forward before turning back and looking at Blume.
"You ask about that which you cannot understand," he said looking at her sternly.
This made Blume all the more curious to ask about what the elves' other mission might possibly be, but she refrained and began asking questions about the elf himself.
He was thirty-three, no longer a child to his race. He lived in the capital city of the empire with his parents who were both nobles and servants of the emperor.
She almost decided it was time to start talking about herself or the land of Ruyn, where she had lived, when she found herself standing in front of the great steps leading up to the library.
"Oh," she said, forgetting to stop herself. "This is it."
Blume thought that the building was quite attractive, a well built structure to be admired. She looked unexpectedly at the elf, which she had just realized she had not even learned his name, when she saw the look of disdain on his face.
"It's four stories tall," she said, as if defending the building. "And I'm not sure how deep it goes. Ealrin won't let me explore down past the second basement."
Thoughts of Ealrin made Blume's face flushed with anger. She was still rather upset with him.
"What's your name?" she asked, pushing the dusty brown haired man's face from her mind.
"Dilinor Mene," he replied simply. "This is where we part."
Without even a second glance back at Blume, the young elf left her side and ascended the steps towards the library. She took just a moment to feel deflated before she decided on her course of action.