Jordan could have leaped through the ceiling. While he did not get the answer that he dreamed for, he had not been rejected or spurned either.
“But you must understand one thing, Jordan.” Petra added. “In fairness to you, I must tell you that should Landis return, no matter what my feelings are, I would have to give him the opportunity to decide if he would want to continue our relationship, as doubtful as that would be. But I owe him that much.”
Jordan looked on quizzically.
Petra took a deep breath before continuing. “You see, Jordan. I am carrying Landis’ child.”
* * * * *
The King’s Road ran southeast from the city of Alexon to the city of Aeth. Just short of the midway point lay a westbound road leading to the nearby city of Treel. After passing Aeth the road continued on until crossing the border, eventually linking to the Birhirmian Road. One of the benefits of traveling this route was that the kingdom had established hostels along the way no more than a day’s travel apart to ensure that travelers had lodging available to them. Small villages had built up around some of these places. For the most part the hostels were owned and operated by representatives of whichever of the three cities was closest. This was enacted to try to prevent price gouging and criminal behavior against people traveling throughout the kingdom. At Bix’s urging the riders chose to stay at one of these places that first night. Landis and his father—who was now aware that Landis carried the Sword of Alexon—were uneasy at first but believed that Petra would have bought them enough time for them to be well ahead of any potential pursuit, and that staying in the warmth of the hostel this night would be safe, so long as they were on the road before sunrise.
Eric reminded them that should Thenamin choose to contact the Birhirmian Network for assistance, that there were ways to send word ahead of them. Remembering the success Diabolis had in using similar tactics Landis did not take this warning idly. They would stay here this night, but afterwards they would be more cautious as to their route and accommodations.
The weather was cold, so the warmth and comfort provided was well worth it. Bix had spoken with the innkeeper who lived on the premises to inquire about ReShard, Boric, and the others, but had been told that no riders matching their description had been here. Indeed, the place had been unoccupied for three nights. As they sat around the fireplace talking, Jaylen decided that it was time for Seebaul to explain himself in greater detail. “You have told us some pretty impressive things, Seebaul. I think that you owe us the whole story.”
“I would definitely like to hear more.” Natis agreed.
Seebaul made eye contact with each of them one by one before speaking. “It has been a long time since I shared anything of my past with anyone old enough to understand. I believe that it was Nigelie Wone who last heard the full story; although I have shared it with you, Landis, when you were a baby, as I have with almost every child of the Royal family. That has been my only safe way to share it without revealing my secrets.
“I will not give you the full account but will do my best to share with you the truth. It is a shame that the elves do not remember most of this, as it is their history.
“My story begins eons ago, after the birth of elves and when they were the dominant race. Man was few in numbers and looked upon as little to be concerned with. It has always amazed me how such a short-lived species has grown to dominate the world. Dwarves existed and were somewhere between man and elves on the scale of civilization. But they chose to remain in the safety of the hills and mountains.
“The elves were more advanced than they are now. But over time they strayed from the teachings of El-Jah—the elves’ name for their god, and the source of the name the Temple of Jahan—and this departure led them to become warlike. This became so problematic that they were threatening their own existence. Recognizing this threat a small band of elves began searching for ways to reverse this trend. These were the original magi of our race. Using their skills they somehow discovered the Dragon Realm. They managed to communicate with those who would later be called the Dragon Gods: That name is used in error mind you, but is what you would recognize most. These beings promised to give the elves great secrets that would reverse the downward spiral the elves were in. These elves established what has forever been called the Cult of the Dragon.
“Through the guidance of the dragons, they built four magical gateways. It was discovered that each gateway required a guardian who would become the representative to one of the four Dragon Lords: Or Dragon Gods if you will. My father, who had become the leader of the cult, chose his four sons to become these guardians. Thus, we were ordained by the Dragon Lords to become what would eventually be dubbed the Elf Lords. Each of us was taken into one of the gates and infused with the magic of the dragons. Then we were each presented with a talisman containing a large pearl that had been magically cultivated by the Dragon Gods in each of the four seas and would enable us to master one element of magic from the dragon realm.
“I was given the Green Staff with the Green Pearl that controlled the magic of nature. With it I could command the elements of the plants and even wildlife to create great and powerful miracles. My brother, Artaexer was given the White Staff with the White Pearl that mastered the elements of light and the air. My brother Dro was given the Black Scepter with the Black Pearl that enabled him to master the elements of night and darkness…”
“Evil magic.” Jaylen commented.
“Wrong, Jaylen,” Seebaul corrected, “most people assume that. And even the elves have banned the use of what they call dark magic. In truth, it all comes from the same source. It is what is made of it, and is equally good or evil.”
Continuing on he said, “Lastly, my eldest brother Kataard was given the Red Scepter containing the Red Pearl. To him was granted mastery over all of the elements. He could call upon parts of each of our powers to create his own. We were all supposed to be equal, but all organizations need a leader and Kataard was that for us. He was closest to the Dragon Lords.
“We were but children at the time and were raised with the teachings of the dragons. And we learned well. Through the gates magic entered the world and through us it was mastered. Using draconian methods we brought control to the world of the elves. In truth, we subjugated them to near slave-like conditions. But they were not aware of it as they envied our powers and sought to learn from us. We truly were the Elf Lords.
“And through the four Dragon Gates dragons entered the world…”
“How could a creature as large as the one we saw fit through the gate?” Natis asked, “We saw the gate in Sedau and it is only large enough for a man to walk through.”
“All is not as it seems, mage,” Seebaul began as he answered Natis. “Dragons are creatures of magic indwelled with flesh and blood. They can shape shift into any form. They can even appear as we do. There is a chance that the white dragon that you encountered was one of the original dragons we brought into the world. But it is more likely that it is only an offspring. Once dragons could be seen throughout the skies, but after the gates were closed most died off; or were killed off. Few remained and those that did were cut off from their source of power and grew weak. Well, weak according to what I remember. To you they would still be great and powerful beings. Their children are weaker than the parents and would grow weaker with each generation. Magic still exists even with the gates closed. But it is limited and must remain so.”
“What happened to the Elf Lords?” Landis asked, remembering what he had learned from Old One, and wanting to see if Seebaul’s version would be similar.
Seebaul’s face grew poignant. “I betrayed them. We had become all powerful. The elves had no choice but to do our will. Nothing could stand in our way. Some of us even created life. Dro created what you now call orcs. They were not always the pig-like, degenerate beings you know of today. But they were creatures of the night and deteriorated without Dro’s guidance to become what they are now. Kataard’s creations became tr
olls. Artaexer was wisest of all and chose not to create life in any form, at least not in this realm. What he has created he has done in another realm and those creatures are probably more dangerous than all.”
“What did you create?” Katryn asked.
Seebaul looked caringly at the blonde then continued, “There were elves who realized that we were nothing more than slave masters. That the Dragon Lords we served were evil beings, and they banded together to try to stop us and the dragon gods. At some point—I do not remember where or how—they managed to convince me of that truth. I realized what I had grown to become. Believe it or not, up until that time none of us even realized how long we had lived: The power given to us by the Dragon Lords made us immortal. Do not get me wrong, I can die. But it must be by non-natural causes. Once I realized what I was I fell before the followers of El-Jah and repented. Together we devised a plan to rid the world of the Dragon Lords.
“What benefited us was Kataard. He became so corrupted with absolute power that he began to see his three brothers as threats. He plotted against us. I sometimes wonder if he realized that one of us was betraying him. He decided to kill us and take our pearls. He succeeded in killing Dro and taking his scepter from him after deceiving him into plotting with him and then betraying him after Dro had served his role. Afterwards he was sorrowful for a time. But Artaexer and I both knew that he would eventually come after us. So we combined our forces against him. The war that followed was devastating but we eventually succeeded in toppling him. It was our plan to imprison him within the gate, but Artaexer decided otherwise and killed him.
“That left only the two of us. We each took one of the scepters, he the black and me the red. We decided that we would close the two Dragon Gates. However, it takes four to open or close a gate. Only one person can place one of the keys—the colored pearls—into the sockets controlling the gates. If one person puts in two or more nothing will happen. And, once a key is inserted it cannot be removed until the other three are inserted with it. This was something that the Dragon Lords devised to keep any of us from opening or closing the gates on them on our own, as I surely would have done.
“We chose two elves to help us close the Red and Black gates. The Dragon Lords did not mind as they still had the Green and White gates open to them. And it was only supposed to be until two new Elf Lords were ordained. This is when my plan came about. Since it was known that we would need two more Elf Lords, the Dragons chose the successors: one being Artaexer’s only granddaughter. To be ordained, they would have to be taken through a gate into the Dragon Realm to ordain them. I had three followers of El-Jah who vowed to assist me in my final act of betrayal. I convinced Artaexer that we should close my gate, so that none could enter the Dragon Realm without our knowledge while we went into the Dragon Realm using his gate. With our two associates, we closed the gate and traveled to his gate, with his granddaughter. But my allies were waiting for us. When we reached the gate I stabbed my brother in the back with a dagger, hoping to kill him. He dropped his staff and stumbled forward. Seeing what was happening, the two elves with the scepters panicked. It was easy for my allies to capture them. But Artaexer’s granddaughter grabbed him and helped to pull him into the gateway in effort to escape us. So with the help of the followers of El-Jah we used the pearls to close the gateway, trapping him in the Dragon Realm.
“Afterwards I took possession of all four of the Pearls of the Elf Lords. I transported the gates to places where I believed they would never be found. I had to be very careful as I was now being hunted by the dragons that remained in our world. I succeeded in placing two of them in locations where they are unreachable for certain. Mine is secure. But somehow Bytorron found the gate belonging to Artaexer. He carried it away to Sedau—you see, the gate is transportable as it is only a doorway to the Dragon Realm—and there he began studying it. I am certain that Artaexer made contact with him and it is he who now pulls the strings that control Twaller Oakleaf.”
“How did you lose the Pearls of the Elf Lords?” Natis asked.
“Oh, that was rather stupid of me, wasn’t it? I carried them with me, vowing never to use their power again. But it was quite stressful trying to deny the pull they had on me. So I decided to hide them. I believed that I could do such a good job that perhaps I could even hide them from myself. And as time moved on and the world changed all around me I would occasionally go and move one to a safer location. I always kept my own staff of course. Well, once I decided to move the Red Scepter and it was not where I had hidden it: At least where I thought that I had hidden it. It was discovered and taken and eventually fell into the hands of Bytorron: I have no idea how it ever ended up removed from the scepter and placed into a bracelet.
“I believed that the Black Scepter was securely hidden away in the ice of the north. How was I to know that snow-elves would move up there and burrow through the ice and somehow discover the thing? And then I went and somehow let the White Staff get discovered by humans.
“You can say that I really messed things up. But I kept my staff close at hand; I gave it to the king of the Delowe’ elves where it was passed down from king to king, where I could keep watch over it without being tempted to use its power. Since the Delowe’ do not possess the ability to use magic, as other races of elves do, there was no threat of their misusing the staff. Until, Bytorron came along and stole it. I trailed him here to the Westland, but he was already running amok so I had to sit and wait. Well, now the wait is finally over.”
“After three hundred years.” Bix stated.
“Oh, what is three hundred years to an immortal? I had time.”
Landis considered something that Seebaul had said, “How is your brother able to work with Twaller?”
“The same way he works with you. You already know him and his granddaughter, Triana, very well. But beware, Landis. You do not really know them at all.”
Chapter 38
The weather had turned unpleasantly cold as the eight riders crossed the Alexonian border, leaving the limited comfort of the hostels behind them. They had continued at an above average pace and were certain that there was no serious pursuit coming from behind them. Their only concern now was the possibility that Boric and his cohorts may have arranged for an attempted ambush somewhere along the way. Eric—using yet another connection established by his father’s spy network—had gathered information at the last hostel they stopped at. He learned that men matching the description of Boric’s party had past through the area two days previously, with an accompaniment of at least a dozen armed horsemen, all heading south. He also learned that his father’s army had successfully cleansed the road between Sedau and the Birhirmian Road of the orcs who had been their nemesis during their flight from Sedau.
After the King’s Road became the Birhirmian Road, Eric led them off the main highway onto a little used road that was nothing more than a wooded path. He assured everyone that this direction would save the better part of a day’s journey, if they rode hard and fast. It also enabled them to avoid the necessity of crossing directly into the northern territory of Birhirm, where he feared that his father would have someone waiting to discourage his continued involvement with this expedition. After a week of traveling—finding the road clear along the way—the companions were on the cusp of entering Sedau. With the memory of the previous visit to the dead city only several weeks behind, Jaylen suggested that they make camp in the same clearing in the evergreens that was used on the first trip, so they could scout the area before going in after the fugitives. He and Landis had already decided that their best course of action would be to sneak around the western side of the city and enter from the same direction that they had fled when escaping Sedau.
As they approached the campsite Jaylen motioned them to a halt. “There is someone up ahead.” He said softly, “I can smell a campfire.” He slipped off his horse, deciding to scout ahead. Landis dismounted, insisting on going with his father. The others climbed down from their horses and
readied themselves for whatever might be waiting for them as Landis and Jaylen slinked off into the mostly leafless forest heading toward the grove of evergreens. The duo crept along stealthily, certain that whoever it was ahead of them would not be able to see or hear their approach. The smell of the campfire became more pronounced as they neared the campsite.
“It must be someone who is not afraid of being discovered.” Landis said.
“We are far enough from both the main road and the city that the humans would not notice it.” Jaylen reminded his son, “they are not as sensitive to smells as elves, or even orcs, are. So there is not much danger of them being discovered by Boric’s men, assuming of course that these are not his men.”
They continued forward, beginning to make out the fire through the brush. They could see a neatly built lean-to on the far side of the fire. “That should prevent it from being seen from anyone patrolling from the city, but not from our side.” Landis observed.
Jaylen’s eyes scoured the campsite. “Landis, you are not going to believe this.” The elf pointed out a squat, muscular figure seated on the ground near the fire.
“Weslocke.” Landis realized, seeing the dwarf sitting there sharpening his axe. The half-elf spoke loud enough for the dwarf to hear his name spoken and scramble to his feet. Weslocke watched as Landis and Jaylen appeared out of the trees, “Well it is about time you got here.”
“What in the Abyss are you doing here?” Landis asked as he approached the old dwarf, clasping hands with him.
Elf Lords: 01 - Pearls of the Elf Lords Page 29