“He will not live.” She said.
“He must!” Another voice commanded.
Landis looked about his surroundings. They were still outside, but the snow was no longer falling. He strained his eyes to look in all directions but could see no one else around them. The voice had come from no particular direction. Neither male nor female, Landis thought. He finally came to the conclusion that he had not heard the voice with his ears, but rather he had heard it in his head. The other speaker was using his or her thoughts instead of words.
“I have done all I am allowed.” The elf continued.
“Then you must do more.” The other instructed in return.
“What else is there left for me to try?”
“Share your life force with him.” The voice demanded.
The elf looked shocked by the command. “But you know what the result of that will be.” She spoke defiantly.
“Do it!” The words came through more forceful than before.
Landis looked to the elf as if seeing her for the first time. He had failed to notice her beauty before now. She was by far the most beautiful being that he had ever laid eyes upon. Her long golden hair draped her body, accenting the already perfect features of her face. Landis then noted with astonishment that she was nude; her hair wrapped around her serving as her only clothing. How did I not see that before now?
She settled down next to him. Landis tried to speak, tried to give voice to his confusion, but something kept him from being able to do so. He was unable to stop the elf as she moved closer to him, and felt little desire to do so anyhow. She lay beside him, enclosing her arms about him as their naked bodies rubbed together. Landis wondered if he had gone mad. He no longer lived in the world of reason and sanity, his mind had obviously snapped from the cold. He drifted off into darkness once more. Only this time there was no pain.
* * * * *
When Landis awoke he found that he was feeling much better. He was warm and comfortable. He felt well rested. There was no sign of the elf girl and he was dressed once more in his traveling clothes. He began to wonder if the entire ordeal had been nothing more than a hallucination when his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the elf’s soft, melodic voice, “Good morning, Landis.”
Landis turned his head, seeing the elf standing before him as if she had never been gone. She was now wearing a flowing white dress, but the vision of her the night before filled the half-elf’s mind. “Who are you?” Landis asked.
“I am Triana.” She replied.
Landis rose to his feet, questions coming quickly to his mind. Triana anticipated his actions, cutting any questions short with a soft hand placed gently over the half-elf’s mouth. “I know what you are going to ask,” She interrupted. “Do not bother, for I cannot answer that.
“I am not as you think, Landis. My appearance is that of an elf, but I am no mortal elf as you know them. I come from a higher plane; one more advanced than your own.
“When I found you, you were close to death. I did what was necessary to save you. I gave you a part of my life force and in return took some of your own.”
Landis could not peel his eyes away from Triana’s beautiful face. “I thank you for all you have done.” Landis said, thinking that his words sounded very inadequate, “But why would do so much for me?”
Triana laughed at his question. “I have wondered the same thing myself, Landis. I do not have that answer yet, nor do I know when I will discover it.”
Seeing the look of confusion on his face she added, “I will explain as best that I can, for you would not understand the fullness of what I am, or what I have done.
“We heard your life-force calling for help and I was chosen to respond. I found you and used my powers to nurse you back to health. You were worse off then I had thought at first, so I had to use my own essence to restore you. As a result of this interference in your life the two of us have become bonded in many ways. From time to time I will be able to come into contact with you to offer guidance and assistance. I am, as you might choose to call it, your spirit guide.”
Landis was finally able to pull his eyes away from Triana for only a moment and when he looked back she was gone.
He felt a strange sensation sweep over him. His surroundings vanished, only to be replaced by a more welcomed sight. Landis was now standing in the midst of a garden paradise, a place that he had visited several times in recent years: A place where he had no idea of how he had come to be there or where it was.
Landis realized that he was having a vision again—the same vision that he had whenever Triana would appear to him—he began searching about the garden for the lovely elf-maiden. The vision was a reminder of the first time he had met Triana. He had spoken with her on a number of occasions over the past decade or so since his first encounter with her, and each time began the same way. Triana was no longer the only one to appear in these visions.
There with him was the other guide who Landis knew only as Old One, who had first appeared to Landis six years or so earlier and had been in only a handful of visions since then. Landis remembered his first contact with Old One. Triana had introduced him to the ancient white-haired elf in another of these unwanted trances after he had found himself stranded near the Annon Vale, injured and unarmed. Old One had told Landis of a safe passage out of the Vale that would lead him to a group of healers who would take care of him until he was fully recovered from his injuries. He also told Landis that he would provide him with a weapon suitable for his needs. Landis had awoken from the trance to find the ivory colored bow that he now carried laying by his side. Natis had later examined the bow in great detail, informing Landis that it contained a powerful magic.
Using Old One’s directions, Landis came upon a small band of druids who, as predicted, were able to heal the half-elf.
“Greetings to you, Landis.” Triana’s familiar voice interrupted his thoughts.
Landis looked about and found Triana standing a few feet away, her long golden hair framing her beautiful face as always, behind her stood Old One, wearing a white robe that matched Triana’s long white dress.
Landis bowed in greeting. “It is a pleasure to see you again.”
“Greetings to you, Landis.” Old One echoed Triana’s salutation; his voice sounding old and winded, but still resounding with power. “We have come to aid you on your expedition beneath Sedau.
“How did you know about that?” Landis realized the folly of his question before the words were out of his mouth.
Old One ignored the query, “You seek the magical sword that was once carried by the human Alex Sergius.”
“This is true.” Landis acknowledged.
“There is something else that you need to locate while you are down there.” The elder elf informed him.
“What is that?” Landis asked.
Old One leaned forward speaking in a conspiratorial whisper, “There are three ancient and powerful items buried with the sword that you must retrieve and prevent from falling into the wrong hands: Aaron Sergius’ broken staff and Bytorron’s staff, as well as a bracelet worn by Bytorron.”
“I have heard of Aaron’s staff but I did not know that Bytorron used a staff?”
“There is much that you do not know,” Old One responded to the half-elf, “But I assure you that these items are all down there.”
“What is so special about them?” Landis asked, “Especially Aaron’s staff? If it was broken then wasn’t its power destroyed?”
“The power does not lie in the two staffs or the bracelet. They are merely the conduits for the source of the true power. Each of these items contains a very large pearl—each a different color—as ancient as magic itself. These pearls were cultivated by the dragon gods in each of the four seas at a time when the elves were the only beings ruling the world. One was given to each of the four Elf-Lords to use to rule their domain of magic.”
“Four Elf Lords? But you have only mentioned three pearls.” Landis interrupted.
“Four pearls were created: A white pearl for light, a green pearl for nature, a red pearl for fire and a black pearl for darkness. These are the four rudiments of magic that still exist today. The light represents elemental magic, the same magic that you see exhibited by your human friend Natis and the other wizards from Lonia and the three towers near the other three seas. Darkness is for the dark arts of magic that is best represented—though wrongfully so—by evil. This is the magic that the elves have forbidden the use of. The same magic that Bytorron and others of his ilk prefer. Fire is a very powerful magic that is a combination of both light and darkness. And nature is the magic of the land; perhaps the truest and most natural form of magic such as that practiced by the druids and some clerics.
“In the hands of the Elf Lords the magic spread throughout the world of the elves and they ruled with the four Dragon Gods. But the Dragon Gods were jealous of each other and made war with each other, forcing the elves to follow suit. But the Elf Lords united together and created a way to seal the gateway of the Dragon’s realm: For they were not originally from this world. The Dragon Gods, in their efforts to destroy each other eventually succeeded in allowing the elves to trap them on the other side of this gateway. While it did not rid the world of dragons, it prevented any more from entering, eventually insuring that the dragons will all be gone.”
“Why is it that the elves do not still have these pearls?” Landis asked.
“Greed,” Old one replied. “Things went as expected for a while, but then one of the Elf Lords wanted to rise up and become the sole leader.”
“The Elf Lord of the Dark Arts.” Landis presumed.
“Do not be so quick to judge,” Old One corrected him. “It was not the Dark Elf Lord as you would suppose. It was the Fire Elf Lord who rebelled. Those committed to light or dark can remain loyal more than one who tries to live somewhere between the two. You cannot have a foot in both camps and remain truly neutral; sooner or later you must make a decision, and the Fire Elf Lord chose to side with the Dark Elf Lord, but only long enough to trick him into aiding him against the other Elf Lords and then his plan was to betray the Dark Elf Lord as well.
“But all that was accomplished was the destruction of the Elf Lords and the scattering of the elves. The pearls had been inserted into four natural items; the white and green pearls were placed into the tops of staffs and the red and black pearls were placed into the settings of scepters. Due to the paranoid belief that the other elves all wanted to steal their talisman, all of the elves eventually drifted apart to distance themselves from each other. Over time, they would replace the staffs or scepters holding their pearl when the original wore out. Somehow, through wars and other means of attrition most of these were lost.
“The white pearl eventually landed into the hands of the humans and the staff became the jewel of the Master of Lonia. It was handed down from Master to Master until Aaron Sergius destroyed it while fighting Bytorron.
“The green pearl remained with the elves in the Eastland but was stolen by Bytorron when he began his quest to take over Sedau. That was the true reason he attacked the elves of Delindea as he was afraid that they would come after him for it. It is unknown as to how Bytorron obtained the red pearl or who removed it from a scepter and placed it into a bracelet. But after the elf had both the green and red pearls in his possession he could not stop the desire to get the others. His war with the Westland was an attempt to draw Aaron Sergius into the fray so that he could steal the white pearl from him.”
“What about the black pearl?” Landis asked.
“No one knows where it is. Perhaps Bytorron located it, but that is doubtful.”
“If they are so powerful and such a risk to posses then I would think that it would be best to simply leave them buried beneath Sedau.” Landis suggested.
“Not at all,” Old One disagreed. “They will eventually be discovered. In fact, the Snow-Elves are already in Sedau seeking them.”
Landis was alarmed by this news, “How would they know of their location?”
“What difference does it make? They know of the existence of the pearls and are there trying to locate a way down into the tower to retrieve them. You must prevent that from happening and the only way to do so is to take them yourself.”
“What do I do with them when I find them?” Landis asked.
“Keep their discovery as secret as possible, but I will send someone who is qualified to posses the green pearl and you will give it to him. You will learn what to do with the others when the time comes.”
Landis bowed to the Old One, “Very well, I will do my best.”
The Old One vanished, leaving only Triana with the half-elf. She took Landis by the arm and began walking with him. “I need to warn you of some things before you continue, Landis. Be very careful for there are more than just snow-elves and magical spells of protection in Sedau to be concerned with. There are specters and other beings trapped beneath the city that will seek to do you harm in order to claim your souls to trap you with them or in hopes of stealing your body to escape.”
“I will be very careful indeed.” Landis assured her, shivering at the thought of whatever beings Triana might be fearful of for him.
“There is more, Landis,” She continued. “Evil comes in many forms and may even walk amongst you. Natis knows of the white pearl and is seeking the broken staff of Aaron to return it to Lonia. He may try to stop you from doing what we have asked of you.”
* * * * *
Landis blinked, and when he opened his eyes he was lying on the chilly ground between two blankets, with Jandelie’s arms around him. The sun was just beginning to break through the trees. There was no camp fire as they had decided not to chance anything that would risk allowing them to be discovered by any more snow-elves, orcs or anything else that might be traveling through this isolated region.
“Good morning.” Jandelie softly greeted him.
Landis sat up. “How long have you been awake?” He asked.
“Long enough to watch those colorful eyes of yours twitching and wondering what you were dreaming about.”
Landis felt pangs of guilt as he realized that he had been reliving his first encounter with Triana while embraced in Jandelie’s arms.
Chapter 6
Two days following Landis’ vision, which he had shared—all but the parts concerning the Pearls of the Elf Lords—with his fellow companions, the nine riders crossed the imaginary boundary that once marked the beginning of the outskirts of Sedau. Three centuries earlier, before the Great War had broken out, villages had lined the roads leading into the city. But those had been abandoned well before the combined forces of Westland freedom fighters, Elves and Dwarves had marched onto Sedau to put an end to Bytorron’s reign. Little could be found marking any town or village as most of what had remained standing at that time had long ago fallen and been reclaimed by the soil and forest. The road that had once led to the city was gone, leaving only partial pathways that may have once been the main highway, but now appeared little more than game trails in many places along the way. It did not take much of their tracking skills for Landis, Jaylen and Konik to see plenty of signs indicating that others had been this way recently.
“Looks like your Spirit Guides were correct about Snow Elves going before us.” Jaylen commented. “There are no signs of hoof prints so I would say that they are on foot.”
“That will make it easier to get away from them if we have to flee out of this cursed place.” Eric stated.
“Relax, Eric.” Trevor Kahn assured him, “With your knowledge of the secret entrance to the lair beneath the tower, and Landis’ inside information and warnings, we should be able to circumvent the Snow-Elves, retrieve the Sword of Alexon and have you back to your young Queen-to-be before you know it.”
Eric pushed a low hanging branch out of his way, “What makes you think that I want to return to Petra?”
“You are betrothed to her, aren’t you?” Konik asked
.
“Yes, but it was not of my choosing.” Eric answered.
Konik chuckled, “You royals, you have all the power and money but no true freedom.”
Landis agreed, “Now you understand why I choose not to live in Alexon.”
“Do you have a problem with Princess Petra?” Jordan asked Eric, his voice sounding gruff, “If so speak up, but beware, for I will not permit you to insult her honor.”
The young man had been irritable since the death of his brother and had only recently begun talking on any regular basis, and was still easily angered and defensive. Knowing that he was still grieving the loss of Alek the group gave him a wide berth and overlooked many of his comments.
“I mean no disrespect to Petra,” Eric addressed the Squire, “It is just that I have no desire to become her husband. And I am certain that she does not desire to be my wife. It is our families who wish us to wed to further both of our political futures.”
“Well you could do a whole lot worse,” Konik proclaimed. “The Princess of Alexon is definitely easy on the eyes and seems like a sweet enough girl. Of course I have only met her the one time and we all know that women are never as simple as they appear to be. No offense, Jandelie.”
“None taken,” Jandelie smiled at the big warrior, “First of all, I am not your typical woman. And second, if we were as simple as we appear then we would lose our ability to control you men so easily.”
“Amen.” Landis agreed, earning him a playful slap from Jandelie as she rode beside him.
Eric shook his head, “Believe me when I say that I have no complaints with Petra’s beauty. And she really is a wonderful young lady. But we have known each other since we were kids and neither of us have had any romantic feelings for each other in all those years. And I do not feel ready for marriage. I have been enjoying the company of a few lovely ladies in Birhirm who enjoy being with me, and all of that will have to stop once I become the Prince-Regent of Alexon.”
Elf Lords: 01 - Pearls of the Elf Lords Page 5