The Warrior of Elamor (Saga of Zel-Elcon Book 1)

by Richard Wood

  From out of the stand of cattails, he hears the crackly sound of an angry woman’s voice, “Don’t try to tell me what to do cat boy! Your magic means nothing to me!” Planting his staff on to the soft ground, Jesse leans against it and replies, “Magic? I have no magic, what I do have is a name. My name is Jesse and as for my Peace Cat, he’s a gift from an old friend. I come from the village west of here, well beyond the plateaus. Can you tell me ma’am”, Jesse asks, “Are there any villagers in these plains?” The woman’s crackly voice becomes agitated as she shouts back the answer, “Of course there’s villagers here boy! What business is that of yours?” “No business ma’am”, Jesse answers, “Only making conversation while my Peace Cat hunts. When he’s done, I’ll go back home”. Slowly, the woman in the reeds, raises her head. Jesse sees for the first time, the woman all the plains people of Revel call, the “Queen Witch of Revel”. She was very old, her black hair was wild and unkept. Tied into blocks of her hair were small bones and tattered feathers. Her eyes were circled with thick black makeup and her face was full of deep wrinkles. As she spoke, you could see her brown and broken teeth and as her and Jesse’s eyes met, he could see a gaze of bitter defiance, shadowed by bleak fear. Instantly, Jesse knows this is a woman whose soul is locked into a storm of conflict. So many evils in one person and all needing to be kept under control. Jesse is compelled to temper his words with earnest compassion.

  Pointing her crooked, dirty finger toward Jesse, she asks bitterly, “Well tell me cat boy, why should I let you stay by my lake? And don’t lie to me boy, I can smell the death of a lie while you’re still speaking it”. Jesse smiles kindly back to her and answers, “No lies from me ma’am, I just came to give my Peace Cat Dararro a new place to hunt. I saw the lake from the plateaus and knew it would be a good place for him”. “Ok boy”, she replied, “I’ll ask you a question. If you answer it right, I won’t kill you”. Nodding his head, Jesse answer simply, “Ok ma’am”. Pointing her same crooked finger at Jesse, she gnashed her broken teeth and asked, “Who am I and why I should I care about you? But before you answer boy, remember if you’re wrong I’ll kill you!” “Yes ma’am”, Jesse says, still nodding his head. Still filled with compassion for the woman, Jesse answers, “Ma’am, you are the woman who has spent a lifetime working for the love of others but no one ever took the time to work for your love. Over the years, you believed that you were not made to love so you chose the world of death and hate but still no one answers the cry of your heart, so now you are full of bitter sorrows and broken dreams. Breaking other people is your only use for life but you’re not hopeless, you can be put back in your rightful place. You can be brushed clean and you can bring life to your village.

  Stunned by what the boy with the staff said, the Queen Witch of Revel is left wide eyed and speechless. The young stranger new things and events that happened years before his birth. As the old woman looks over at Jesse, she suddenly winces and covers her eyes then screams out, “Take it away, take it away boy!” Surprised, Jesse asks, “What is it ma’am, what do you mean?” The old woman ducks back down behind the cattails and cries out, “Take it away!” Yelling from the cattails, the woman asks frantically, “Are you going to kill me?” “No”, Jesse replies, “I’m just here to feed my Peace Cat”. Yelling back at Jesse, she asks, “Then why the sign boy, why the sign?” Jesse looks down on himself trying to find anything that could be perceived as a sign but sees nothing. Speaking back to the woman, Jesse replies, “I don’t know what you mean ma’am. Where do you see a sign?” The old woman speaks out from the cattails more fearful than angry, “Your staff boy, the sign on your staff!” Jesse turns the staff and sees the carving of his birthmark. Answering back to the woman, Jesse says kindly, “No ma’am, I just carved that in this morning. It’s my birthmark”. Slowly, the woman raises her head up from the reeds again and with carry his eyes she asks, “What village are you from boy?” Pointing to the west, he answers, “The first village beyond the plateaus ma’am”. Looking into his eyes, she asks earnestly, “Boy what did you say your name is?” Smiling, he replies, “Jesse ma’am, my name is Jesse”. The old woman’s body becomes rigid, she points her crooked finger at Jesse and asks firmly, “Boy, who’s your father?” He looks to the ground for a moment, then answers, “My father is dead ma’am, but his name was Eli”. The old woman’s eyes widen, she puts her hands over her mouth and whispers, “It’s Jesse, of Eli!” Suddenly, the woman screams, turns, and runs; disappearing down a distant slope.

  Entering the village of Revel, the old woman runs screaming through the streets, “The Jesse of Eli, the Jesse of Eli!” Some villagers stand speechless and shocked. This old woman is bitter and cutting, she never speaks a word unless it’s to disgrace or curse another but here she is now running unashamed and screaming nonsense about Jesse of Eli. One man waves his hand in disgust, annoyed by the old woman’s craziness. Others shake their heads and mumble. The old woman knocks on a village Elders door. As it opens, she shouts, “I’ve found him, Jesse of Eli, the Warrior of Elamor!” A crowd gathers as the old woman tells the story of the boy with the staff who spoke her past and orders around a giant cat. As curiosity is stirred courage builds, the crowd heads out for the lake.

  After the old woman disappears down the slope, Jesse’s attention is directed back to Dararro. He carefully scans the horizon in all directions but Dararro is unseen. Leaning against his staff watching for his companion, Jesse glances to the ground. At a short distance lays a patch of wild strawberries. Jesse’s eyebrows raise and he smacks his lips. Bending over, he picks one of the berries and plops it into his mouth. Firm, but sweet, the berry bursts with flavor. He lays his staff on the ground and soon both hands are full of strawberries. One by one, he plops the sweet berries into his mouth as he watches for Dararro. Then in the distance, he begins to hear the muffled sounds of a crowd of people. Looking into the direction the sounds seem to come from, Jesse listens intently and hears what sounds like his name being mentioned. Then appearing from the crest of the slope is the old woman, followed by a large group of people. The old woman could be heard shouting, “It’s Jesse of Eli! You’ll see for yourself, he carries the sign”. The crowd tramples a path through the lush greenery, then comes to a stop thirty steps from Jesse. Slightly embarrassed, Jesse holds out the palm of his hand still full of berries and says shyly, “I ate some of your berries”. The witch walks up to him and takes two berries from his hand and says with an unexpected friendly voice, “Thank you Jesse, son of Eli”, then walks a few steps, turns, and stands side by side with Jesse. Pulling a dagger from her belt, she points it toward the village crowd and with her crackly, friendly voice, begins to speak, “I have fought many hard battles and lived through endless pain to become the Queen Witch. But now I lose my title”. Reaching up, she grabs a dry bone tied to a lock of her hair. Using the dagger, she cuts the bone free and drops it to the ground. She continues cutting bones and feathers from her hair until there is a small pile at her feet. Finally, she drops the dagger. The crowd is hushed. They all look at the old woman and Jesse with amazement. Now unprotected, the old woman could be killed at will. Then pointing to the crowd, the old woman speaks in a crackly but courageous voice, “Today I end my place as queen and stand with Jesse of Eli, the Warrior of Elamor”. Jesse looks over to the old woman, astonished that she made the connection between him and Elamor. One of the old men in the crowd yelled back to the old woman, “You’re crazy, you don’t even know who this man is”. The woman looks over to Jesse and asks kindly, “Master Jesse, please show than your staff”. As Jesse bends to pick up his staff, a blur of white flashes as Dararro slides to a stop between Jesse and the crowd. His feathery mane is fully raised and quivering, a line of fur is raised down the full length of his back and his pearly white teeth show as he gives a terrifying roar. Jesse raises his staff and gives the order, “Dararro down”. The Peace Cat, still highly cautious, lowers his full belly to the ground and lays his head on his front paws. Pointing her
crooked finger to the crowd, the old woman says boldly, “See, I told you he was the Warrior of Elamor! He even has the signed”. Turning to the old woman, Jesse asks, “If I may ma’am, I would like them to see the true sign”. The opening his shirt, above his heart Jesse exposes his birthmark. The old woman screams out, “What more proof do you need? Who else will and their place as witches? Who else will stand with the Warrior of Elamor?” One by one, the villagers drop their daggers, jewelry, rattles, and others built fires to burn them.

  Looking up that Jesse, the old woman asks sadly, “Jesse of Eli, I know you must leave us but could you come and feast with us someday? We all want to know the Warrior of Elamor”. Jesse softly wraps his arms around a woman’s neck and answers her kindly, “Mother, I would feast with you today but I must return tonight to my village and family”. The old woman throws her hand up into the air and shouts, “The Warrior of Elamor feasts with us today!” The crowd shouts out with joy. Together, they all disappear down the slope into the village with Dararro following behind.

  CHAPTER 9

  Capital Secrets

  As the sun sets, and the evening insects begin their rhythmic songs, Jesse excuses himself from Abigale’s table. She rises and quickly meets him. “Master Jesse”, she asks, “Will you come back and teach us the ways of Elamor?” Jesse takes her by the hand and replies earnestly, “Mother Abigale, I will return. You and your village have shown the great kindness. You are a great leader of your people and because of that, I will trust you with the truths of Elamor. I know you will embrace them and share them with your people”.

  As Jesse looks toward the western plateaus, he sees in the distant mist a pulsing pillar of light. Smiling, he knows it is a Secret Guardian. Looking back at Abigale, he sees black streaks running down her face as her tears mix with her makeup. Jesse takes one of her hands into both of his and gently says, “Mother Abigale, I have to go but you will not be left alone”. As Jesse looks in every direction, he sees on every plateau a pillar of pulsing light. Looking back to Abigale, he adds, “But you will not be left alone. The protection you don’t see is now all around you. You will be safe as long as you don’t return to the ways of witchcraft. And yes Mother Abigale, I will be back and I’ll bring friends with me too”. And walking toward Dararro, he turns and shouts, “Thank you, people of Revel!” As they all shout back, Jesse mounts Dararro then after one more wave, he gives the order, “Dararro home!” The Peace Cat springs into a powerful burst of speed. In seconds, Lake Revel is in the distance behind them. The plains are alive with insects fleeing the path of the speeding Dararro. Then in a blaze of power, the Peace Cat flies up a slope and onto a plateau. Jesse smiles respectfully as Dararro zooms past a Secret Guardian, who is a glow with invisible light. Down a slope and up another, Dararro clears a path through the starlit countryside. Soon they are in the dry lands, and in a short time will be back at the village of Payne. As they arrive back to Payne, Jesse releases Dararro from his harness, draws water from the well for his companion to drink, then together they walk back to their home. Dararro lays against the house and Jesse goes inside. As he enters the center room, the heavy smell of lavender fills the air. His sweet mother’s aroma. Jesse looks to his mother’s bedroom door and thinks, “Putting Chloe in charge of his mother has turned out to be very good for her”.

  Laying Dararro’s harness in the corner of the center room, Jesse listens. The sound of Valcor’s snoring lets him know that all is well at home and that everyone is asleep. Then quietly, he makes his way to his bedroom door. Going inside, he lays comfortably in his bed. He would not be alone for long though. That night, he gets a new visit from the Lights of Elamor. They explain to him that a trip to the capital is soon coming and they also tell him to take Valcor.

  Early the next morning as Jesse wakes, he has a strong drawing to the wooden box in the blacksmith shop. Rubbing his eyes, he steps out of his bed and puts on his sandals. Leaving his room, he goes through the center room and out the front door. As he closes the door behind him, Dararro raises his head. Seeing Jesse, he rises and is greeted with a scratch behind the ear and a “Good morning boy”. Side by side, they walk together to the blacksmith shop. Opening the doors, Jesse and Dararro go in. As Jesse walks over to the corner for the wooden box, Dararro finds a place to lay down.

  Picking up the wooden box, Jesse carries it to the anvil then lights a fire. Opening the box, he sees the other shapeless, smooth, royal blue piece of metal. Then grabbing the tongs, he reaches into the box for the second piece. Lifting the piece from the box, he opens the tongs and lets it hit the ground. Then going to the wall, he pulls the large sledgehammer free. Standing in front of the piece, Jesse takes a safe stance and swings. The hammer hits with a loud thud and the piece slightly shifts. Another swing and another shift, this went on for a few minutes. The piece was taking on an odd shape, its appearance made no sense to Jesse at all. Reaching down, Jesse touches the metal. He feels that the vibrations are now gone so he picks the piece up to examine a little closer. The piece was smooth and shiny but looked more like a piece of stovepipe cut long ways in half. Holding the piece closer to the fire, he looks at it closely but still can’t figure what it could be. Then placing it on the anvil, Jesse wonders what kind of weapon it will become or how he would use it. For the next half hour, Jesse works the metal piece with a smaller hammer until it quits shifting. Jesse lifts it from the anvil and looks it over. If the object makes less sense now than it did when he placed it on the anvil. The shape of the object fit nothing that he could imagine. Shaking his head, Jesse asks himself out loud, “What does this thing do?” He examines it right side up then upside down but still nothing comes to mind. Dararro rises from his place on the shop floor, walking to Jesse he stops in front of him. Jesse looks over to him. The Peace Cat just stands there and Jesse is now becoming frustrated. Slowly, Dararro moved in a little closer. As he did, the piece began to have a slight quake. Dararro moves in a little closer and the piece becomes almost weightless in Jesse’s hands. Then Jesse saw it. The royal blue, oddly shaped piece in his hand and the shape of Dararro’s breast were the exact same. It was then that he realized that Elamor had created a breastplate for his companion Dararro.

  Jesse moves into place the breastplate, when all of a sudden, the piece flew from Jesse’s hands and placed itself perfectly over the breast of Dararro. Jesse jerks his hands back and looks closely at Dararro. The royal blue breastplate against Dararro’s snow white fur made the Peace Cat look even more majestic. Dararro looked powerful before the breastplate but now he looked undefeatable. Jesse want to see the breastplate in the sunlight, so he and Dararro walked together of the shop. When the sun hit the breastplate, it came alive with a bright shimmer of royal blue radiance and just as with the sword, whenever Dararro moved, the breastplate took on a crystal clear royal blue glow. Dararro was now beyond breathtaking. Looking at Dararro and the plate, Jesse realized it would need straps to hold it in place. Jesse reaches over to pull the breastplate free but it wouldn’t release. Then Jesse realized that it was Elamor that put the plate in place and only Elamor could remove it. The plate covered Dararro’s entire breast, it bridged the base of his neck and shielded his shoulders. Dararro would be totally defended when charging and the light shining from the plate would blind the enemy. Dararro is now a perfect defense in battle. Totally unknown to Jesse and Dararro at the time, was the fact that the metals vibrations are harmless only to them. Both the breastplate and Jesse’s sword are impossible for anyone else to handle.

  Jesse is so excited that he has to show the new shield to his whole family. As they walk together, Jesse laughs as he sees the breast plated Dararro walking almost prance like. Jesse grasps his belly and yells out in laughter, “Dararro”, he says, “You are so big headed!” But the mighty Peace Cat just continues his prancing stride. As they got to their home, Jesse opens the front door and yells into the house, “Come out here and see Dararro!” Valcor was the first one out. Staring at the brilliant looking br
eastplate, he asks Jesse, “Where did you get that thing? It makes Dararro look like a member of the royal guard!” Then looking at Valcor, Jesse says excitedly, “It’s from the metal you gave me!” Pointing to the breastplate, Valcor yells, “That’s the metal I gave you? How in the world did you work it? It’s impossible to touch!” Jesse gets a big smile on his face and says with great honor, “Elamor, it was Elamor Valcor. I hit the metal, but it was Elamor that shaped it!” Valcor stood there shaking his head, totally unable to understand how such a thing could happen. But whether he could understand or not, the truth is, there on Dararro, fastened invisibly, is the most beautiful plate of armor he is ever seen. It definitely made Dararro look like the most powerful animal in the world. Then Valcor asked cautiously, “Can I touch it?” Nodding his head, Jesse answers with an excited grin, “Sure! Go ahead, it won’t hurt you”. Valcor walks confidently over to Dararro and places the palm of his hand against the breastplate and with a painful scream, yanks it back. Turning around, he glares angrily at Jesse. Jesse looks at Valcor with bewilderment then walks over to Dararro and places his hand against the breastplate but feels nothing. Jesse looks over to Valcor, who is now bewildered himself, and says, “Sorry Valcor. I thought anyone could touch the plate but it’s only Dararro and I”.

  Jesse and Valcor both turned as they hear from behind them the voice of Chloe, “That’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen”, she says. Pala just stands there shaking his head, then with a crackling voice he says, “The Forseean cry out”. Chloe stands there with tears filling her eyes and both hands over her heart. As they all stand there an admiring Dararro and the breastplate, an insect is drawn by the soft glow of the plate. As it lands on a shoulder guard of the plate, they all here a crackle and the insect fell dead to the ground. Laughing, Valcor points to the insect and shouts, “Look Jesse, he’s insect proof!” The three men burst into laughter but sweet Chloe still stands there, filled with a soft thankfulness with her hands still over her heart.