by N. Saraven
As he wandered around, trying to find something new, he forgot that he had not heard from the dragons for a while now. Halgor too knew about his flaw, that if he lost himself in something, everything else ceased to exist for him. Which now could mean a huge problem.
The elven did not notice the passing time, nor that he should have checked in with the dragons several times by now. In truth, they should not separate from each other farther than eyesight. The team had to stick together at all times. It was a very important rule, which Halgor repeatedly disobeyed.
The elven sat on a trunk, chewing a tough jerky with some dried fruits. With his free hand he drew some kind of insect which rested on a mushroom. He felt like a child again, discovering the wonders of Life. He watched its spots, antennas, and how many legs it had with widened, sparkling eyes.
Abruptly, he heard a rattling sound, which made him stiff, and looked around warily. His eyes then caught the newcomer’s golden stare, which looked at him directly. Halgor sighed in astonishment as he gazed at the huge bird stepping closer. Then it picked up some leaves from the ground, looking under them, maybe for food.
The bird was so big the dark mage most probably could sit on its back. It would be a crazy ride, however. From its strong, long legs, Halgor estimated that it could run very fast, or kick very hard—and with the formidable talons at the end of its toes, he did not really want to behave disrespectfully. Maybe he was a powerful mage, but if he were careless, the bird might even kill him.
Halgor watched the animal strolling around, looking for food, then it turned to him. Curiosity shone in those eyes, along with some level of intellect. It opened its beak, showing the bright-yellow throat and red tongue. Maybe it was for show, to establish something. Then it closed its mouth and stepped closer to the calmly sitting mage. It tilted its head as it walked; it was obviously curious about the elven. Stretching its long neck, it poked Halgor’s knee.
It hurt, but the Master did not move. He really did not want to startle the bird, nor had the reason to do so. Why would he do something hostile just because another creature took interest in him? He was the intruder here, a guest, nothing more. He had no reason to be aggressive. It will be bad enough if we learn that it’s edible, he thought with a faint smile, imagining Agony.
The warrior almost fainted when he heard the news: all unknown food was forbidden until they gathered more information about them. Varomor had reserves when it moved away, but it looked just enough for a season long, with strict rationing.
After they arrived, the leaders had to find an animal which could be a good subject for observation. Those which that animal could consume would most likely be edible for the inhabitants of the Tower as well. Hunting was forbidden also because not only plants could be poisonous. Furthermore, the mages stood by all the time if something did happen to anybody. As a result, no lethal accident happened, although they had had some nasty cases …
Halgor smiled, remembering, as he watched the bird still examining him. He had all the time in the worlds. He thought that after the strange bird learned what it wanted it would leave, and he proved to be right. A few moments later the creature left; its brownish feathers hid him immediately in the dim light.
Halgor swayed his head, still smiling, then finished his lunch. Afterwards, he sighed in contentment—everything seemed perfect at the moment, he felt full and just liked being. So he continued with his search. He focused only on that; everything else slipped his mind completely.
The Sun had set a course for the horizon when he bumped into a gigantic animal which rested behind a huge tree. Halgor halted immediately, looking at it warily.
The creature was twice as big as a shadow dragon, so he really did not want to disturb it. The elven also discovered a huge scar on its side, which seemed pretty serious. Maybe an even bigger hunter tried to invite it to dinner …
Anyhow, the mage rather retreated, choosing another direction. It was not wise to poke a sleeping, unknown creature of any kind, so he did not.
“Nighthunter and the others would love to eat that thing.” The elven chuckled, but then he stopped, frozen in place. He suddenly realised what felt off all along.
“Oh, the seven-bolted lightning struck them all!”
He burst into a run immediately, although if he did not want his baggages to scatter their contents all over the forest, he ought to slow down—not to mention that if he held them close to prevent that from happening, he lost the support of his arms, which meant a great deal on that terrain.
He rushed forwards at a slower pace. His heart throbbed, as if it wanted to break loose. He felt almost dizzy and weak as panic flooded his mind. He had screwed up big time, and he knew it.
Whatever the others thought of him, he was not cruel particularly. Heartless, maybe, or even ‘evil’. But letting three innocent dragons wander around in an unknown terrain shook him too. This mistake of his could hurt them, very much so, which the elven never intended for them.
The dark mage always put signs wherever he went, to guide him back if needed. It still took a while for him to arrive back at the landing point. He did not realise how far he had wandered off. When he finally arrived, he skidded to a halt and almost tripped over a root. Panting heavily, he swirled around a few times, trying to find a clue, anything that would indicate where the dragons could be.
But he saw nothing.
“By the Gods, this cannot be happening!” he moaned desperately.
This had never happened before; he had never completely forgotten that he had company. That he wanted to escape from Varomor and its problems so badly, he endangered shadow dragons.
Panic started to rise, but the mage closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Fear was the biggest enemy at the moment, so he made himself calm. When he succeeded, his cold, blue eyes started to look for clues. Maybe he missed something at first.
The Sun was setting, making everything even gloomier. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, almost not even a broken branch. Halgor could not curse his unfortunate luck more.
“Yes, they are useless in everything, cannot learn a thing. Their incompetence is unimaginable, and the only thing they actually CAN do is DISAPPEAR WITHOUT A TRAIL!” shouted the elven.
Anger clouded his mind for a few moments, which only grew when he thought about the shadows’ unconditional trust towards everybody who lived in Varomor with them. Sometimes the reptiles behaved like children who had their full confidence in their parents, who would never let anything happen to them.
The mage snorted as he strolled around, looking for clues. Maybe he missed something. Twice …
Unconditional trust, or trust of any kind, was something the elven could not really understand. In his mind, Trust was something for which one had to work very hard for a long time. It had to be earned, not just given away as the dragons did. Life had taught him that he must choose carefully about whom he cared and had faith in. That person had to be unique; otherwise he could be hurt deeply—or the other way around, as it turned out.
Halgor regretted deeply some of his actions which broke the Trust between him and Neila. He knew, even though circles had passed since his betrayal, she still did not Trust him completely. Whatever he did now, he could see the ‘alright, what will go wrong this time, I wonder?’ look in her eyes. She would most probably never forget, nor forgive. So he never really wanted those things.
Halgor suddenly realised that he was standing in one place, staring at a tree in front of him, instead of actually searching. He growled. He could hardly see anything, since it was almost nightfall. So he had to make a choice—either return home, leaving the three shadows alone in the dark, or contact somebody to get help.
Contact, yes, but whom? he asked himself. Neila would probably not answer, so it was useless to try. On the other hand, the mage had a hunch that they would need her help with this one, that this task would not be so simple.
So who else? He needed somebody who could reach Neila, and get her here too.
Which meant only two people.
Halgor almost exploded when he thought of this. He felt so helpless about the woeful situation, like rarely before. Two people—Enargit and Veilon. The former announced when he first came to the Tower that he would never let any ‘unworthy’ mind into his head, not even the Masters. How he managed this, nobody knew, but the Leader could close his mind from anybody.
So that meant …
The elven started to rampage at this thought. For a few moments, he only cursed anything and anybody of whom he could think. His rage made him draw his sword and try to cut an innocent tree into little bits. Not that the tree felt the sting of the gorgeous magical blade …
Finally, Halgor just stared angrily at the trunk before him, panting heavily. He could hardly stand, he felt so tired. He almost dropped his sword from his shaking hand.
He really, really did not want to speak to the kobold. He would rather face Indrek and his whole army, or Lexénia herself. Asking a favour … from HIM! It struck him, which made him cry out in fury, and with whatever force remained in him he pierced his sword into the tree.
During his emotional outburst, nightfall came. He could still see something, but soon total darkness would rule the landscape.
The elven just fell to the ground, leaving the sword in the trunk. He was exhausted beyond imagination, which slowly took over his mind as well. Not to mention that his water and food had run out. He had only packed for a day, although at the moment this was the least of his problems.
He clenched his jaws in determination.
Veilon climbed the steps absentmindedly. As he got closer to his destination, his heart pounded faster and faster, and his palms sweated. He passed several apprentices too, who always showed respect towards him, although their eyes showed questions. They obviously did not know why the kobold lurked around their Master, whom they protected from anything, including him.
The mage left his caste, which was considered a terrible offence, yet he was not punished by any means. It remained a mystery why the paragon left Varomor so many circles ago, although many had theories regarding the matter. In a way, it did not matter to the apprentices; they just wanted him gone.
On the other hand, while Neila did not speak against him, nobody said a word. Out loud at least …
Veilon could not care less about what they were thinking. It was nobody’s business, and he had learned a long time ago how he could move on. However, as he passed the apprentices, all of his thoughts swirled back to his destination—Neila’s room.
He shuddered.
Although it might be because he had just stepped through the barrier which stretched under her personal chamber. As far as the paragon knew, only a few could pass this point, even on foot. Not anybody was allowed to know the spell which let one through the barrier.
Veilon stopped for a moment when he reached Neila’s door. He held up his hand to knock, but he never actually finished the motion. He felt nervous, he realised, which only deepened his unease. Why would he be so worked up about the fact that he had to visit her …? It seemed ridiculous, yet he could not do anything about it.
Furthermore, he knew the reasons perfectly.
He could not hide the truth from himself—he came to Varomor to see Neila. Mostly for that, if he wanted to be honest. Yet he had never thought that the loss of her would ever hurt him so deeply. After the Dragonwars, he only saw her two times: once, when she appeared and ensured him about her survival; twice, when they visited Setal’s Temple together.
Veilon sighed as he stood at the door, ready to knock. The unwanted thoughts swarmed his mind.
He knew that he would never give up trying. When he studied in Varomor, he almost succeeded in charming away the Master. They thought alike in so many ways, but most of all, they loved to discuss their theories about the worlds, like what could their existence mean, or what could be its purpose. With a glass of light wine in the hand, they philosophised about many things. Which, according to Neila herself, was completely missing in her relationship with Halgor. The paragon would even say that they started to trust each other.
And then something else emerged too. Thanks to Neila’s fiery temper, she always liked to flirt with everybody, which Veilon reciprocated more and more heartily. They developed some moves which were designed to irritate and tease Halgor the most. The elven had a tendency to sometimes give more attention to his apprentices than his mate. Which Neila did not handle so well after a certain point.
It took not much time before Veilon had to realise and accept the fact he wanted more than mere flirtations. Much more. So he started to wonder about the ‘what ifs’—what if he could give Neila what she longed for? Something that a renegade, without-a-people dark elven could not?
At least, everybody thought Halgor became an outcast, although nobody, not even Neila, knew for sure. He never spoke about his people, nor tried to go back by any means. Veilon thought because the elvens would never tolerate a ‘dark elven’ amongst themselves, he had no choice but to leave and never return.
The kobold growled and swayed his head to get rid of his useless thoughts. Nobody cared what happened so many circles ago; he should do his job at hand, not wonder about the past.
He had little time. Nightfall had come, bringing home every possible scout, so Halgor would arrive shortly as well. Although he should not worry about the Master so much. He still was just an elven, who could not revoke his nature completely—no elven would take on such a stressed atmosphere that nowadays surrounded Neila. They loved free life, eluding these strangling situations at all cost. Which gave Veilon the perfect opportunity to sweep in.
The paragon took a deep breath, almost starting the knocking motion, when a voice burst into his mind.
“You MUST go to Neila and tell her to come at once!” He heard the order in his head which made him so surprised that he forgot to react.
The fact that Halgor contacted him was fascinating in itself, and the kobold just could not miss such a perfect opportunity for mocking. He even overlooked the fact of how rude the elven behaved by simply barging into his mind, instead of sending an impulse first.
“Why didn’t you contact her then, if you need her so badly?” He took a step away from the door so Neila would not sense his presence, if she had not so far.
“I’ve tried. She didn’t respond. Just do as I said!”
Veilon knew for a fact that Halgor lied. Neila actually would answer him, if he tried to contact her. But the Master did not even try, which meant that he was more unsure about their relationship than ever before. This made the paragon smile, although he contained his mirth.
“Maybe. So what can I do for you?” he asked innocently, feeling the other’s fury. Probably he could hardly restrain himself.
“Go to Neila, and ask her to find me!”
“Why?”
“Just do as I said!”
“Neila will not go out just because of my pretty eyes, and you know that. What happened to Nighthunter?”
He did not get an answer right away, so he guessed right. The elven hesitated.
“We lost each other at the landing point, and now I cannot find them. We need to search for them.”
Although Veilon was dying for an opportunity like this to make Halgor’s life even more miserable, he did bring in serious news, which could not be overlooked.
“Alright, I will do what I can. You stay where you are. Don’t go alone anywhere. We don’t know what’s out there.”
“Tell me something I don’t know …” growled the elven and ceased the connection.
Veilon thought through the news as much as he could in a few moments, then started for the door again. He knocked firmly. When he got no answer, he knocked again, hurriedly this time.
“It’s open,” said a voice from inside, so the kobold almost pushed down the handle. He stopped himself just in time and murmured a spell instead which showed it was really free to go inside.
One time he had had permission, exce
pt Neila had forgotten to deactivate the spell on her room. This ‘small’ forgetfulness caused the paragon to lie in bed for days—the first one unconscious, then another trying to skin himself alive in his agony. Learning from this, Veilon now made absolutely sure that he could enter safely.
When everything seemed safe, he walked in.
He saw Neila in a comfortable armchair by the hearth, reading. Alone. This was not particularly strange in itself, but the fact that Veilon did not know where Enargit could be made him uncomfortable. He hoped that with Neila he would find the dragon as well. He did not like when he knew nothing about something.
He got rid of his useless thoughts and turned to Neila.
“We need to talk.” The paragon broke the silence, although he got nothing as an answer, not even a nod or a glance, as if he were not heard. Assuming this happened, he stepped to Neila and touched her arm.
“Neila!” Veilon called to her, which startled her. She glanced at him, as if she knew nothing about why he was there.
“Veilon! Well, I haven’t see you around much.” She smiled, although not much life shone in her eyes. “Imagine this … these books mention these lands where we live now. Enargit brought it to me. It is very interesting, though a little hard to comprehend.”
“Fascinating, I’m sure. But we need to talk about something. Are you listening?”
“Yes, of course, go on.”
“Nighthunter and two others are lost.”
“How did that happen?” asked Neila, although she did not look up from her book, which meant that she was not listening. At all.
“I don’t know exactly, but they must be found.”
“Isn’t a mage supposed to be there with them?”
“Yes.”
“But …?” Neila looked up. She seemed very annoyed by all of this, which made Veilon clench his teeth hard.
“The elven was with them.”