The Elven Alliance

by J. A. Culican

  I relaxed my body. The tree stood strong and immovable in front of me, there for me to rely on. Comforted by my thoughts, I turned my head towards Gaber.

  “How?” I asked.

  “Trust.” He whispered. “You’re not alone in this fight.”

  I couldn’t help think he was talking about something much bigger than just climbing this tree. More of a partnership between beings. A support system. A system I knew I would need in the future. A future I feared.

  I closed my eyes with my head still tucked against the bark, and placed my other hand on the trunk. I breathed in through my nose, held it and released the air through my mouth. I repeated this action over and over until I no longer feared the climb. In the grand scheme of things, it was just miniscule.

  I exhaled out with new resolve. I would climb this tree. I peered over my shoulder to Gaber and found we were no longer on the ground next to the tree. We stood next to Clara and Eva on the uneven wooden planks high in the air.

  I turned to meet Gaber’s orange gaze, placing his hands over my heart. “It’s true. No mistake.” His eyes flashed bright, then dimmed. “You are the Keeper of Dragons. And she,” he pointed towards Eva, “is the Golden Dragon. The two of you will be burdened with keeping all true beings safe.”

  Clara’s voice drifted to my ears. “The elves of Paraiso pledge their lives to you. We will aid you on your journey in any way you seek.” She bowed her head towards me and then Eva.

  And right there in the evening breeze under the moonless sky, Clara and Gaber pledged their alliance to Eva and I. The weight that had settled earlier on my shoulders began to lift, it was minor but enough for my breath to return. I nodded my acknowledgement, unable to voice any words.

  “Let’s continue. We still have a ways to travel before we reach your new home,” Clara stated as she led the way.

  We filed behind her in a single line down the narrow wooden paths. I held my breath as we walked from treehouse to treehouse in a pattern unknown to me. Orange and yellow lights lit the path as we furthered into the jungle.

  “Where are all the elves?” Eva asked. “I mean, I only see their lights.”

  “Prince Colton holds the tilium of the farro. As bright and strong as it is, it’s still tainted with darkness,” Gaber explained. “It will take some time for the fear he instills in them to dissipate.”

  “How come their eyes glow differently to yours?” Eva motioned between Clara and Gaber.

  “Genealogy,” Gaber stated bluntly.

  “You mean like a caste system?” Eva pushed.

  A sigh came from behind me. “Kind of. Clara and I are the only known elves who hail from the first.”

  “The first elf?” I asked.

  “No.” Gaber paused and tapped his foot on the board beneath him. “The first being.”

  Eva stopped suddenly in front of me. I stumbled over my feet in hopes I wouldn’t fall or crash into her. She peered at Gaber over my shoulder.

  “First being,” she repeated. “Like God?”

  Gaber raised his hands, palms out towards Eva. “I will not debate religion or beliefs with you. You wouldn’t understand. You are human, or dramon. You wouldn’t understand.” He paused, smiling wryly “But you will.”

  “You seem sure,” Eva pressed on.

  “Once you see all. All. Once you see evil. True evil. Once you live for centuries. Forever.” He shook his head. “You will.”

  As Gaber spoke, Eva’s eyes grew larger. She seemed to be taking in everything he said with great understanding. We knew nothing. We’ve seen just a glimpse of what this world is.

  “We’re here,” Clara announced as she took the last few steps towards a treehouse. Breaking Eva and I of a truth I’m not sure we were ready to hear.

  We stood on a deck that surrounded a circular home made of branches and leaves. The treehouse sat much higher than the rest that surrounded us in a great maze around the lake.

  “This was the home of our King and Queen. Our parents,” Clara whispered, looking out over the lake.

  “This is the safest place for you. You are bordered by our fiercest warriors. And,” Gaber pointed to the sky, “the dragons are circling.”

  “And,” Clara’s eyes glowed bright as she pointed below, “the trolls are out in numbers.” She looked up and over at us. “It seems the forest is alive tonight.”

  “Trolls?” I stuttered, searching for such creatures.

  “Yes. I informed them of your impending arrival so as to not startle them,” Gaber added.

  “Why all the security?” Eva asked. “I mean the farro are tiliumless and-.”

  “And. And.” Gaber shook his head. “We will start both of your training in the morning.” His voice rose. “Do not underestimate Queen Tana, the eldens, carnites and-.” He pointed at Eva, his eyes a dark orange. “This is a war. And the two of you tip the scale in our favor.” He paused, fisting his hands tight. “Your mere existence proves we’re all in great danger. We must keep the two of you safe or darkness,” he sighed. “Evil will win.”

  “No pressure.” I muttered under my breath.

  I held tightly to the railing enclosing us in our new cell. The more Prince Gaber explained our predicament, the angrier I grew and began to panic. My fingers started turning white the harder I squeezed. My thoughts suddenly flew to Tana and her crazed laugh and the expression in her pitch black eyes as Queen Annabelle dragged her from Farro Grove.

  With a harsh exhale, the railing I’d been holding onto for dear life shattered between my fingers. It quickly turned to dust and the energy inside me buzzed into frenzy. I dropped the shards that still stuck to my hands to the ground and fell to my knees on the unforgiving wood beneath me. My eyes searched for the ground in the darkness below me. I was met with bright yellow orbs of light and the sound of thin nails running up the tree trunk towards me. I fell back in an effort to get away from the impending arrival of elves or trolls or whatever was on its way.

  “Cole!” Eva yelled as she ran to my side. “What’s going on?” Her voice was full of panic as she searched my eyes for answers. “Breathe.”

  I grabbed at my ears, tucking my head against Eva, the noise of claws loud in the quiet night shook through me.

  “It’s the elves. You called to them. You asked for help,” Gaber said as he knelt down next to me. “You’ve never been around another being with tilium, have you?”

  The night was quiet once again as I looked up towards Gaber and thought of his question. “The fairies,” I whispered.

  “No. Actual contact?” Gaber pressed.

  “No,” I grunted, my head pounding.

  Gaber stood, rubbing his face with his hands. He walked to the other side of the deck and looked out over the edge. “The tilium within you is tainted with darkness. The tilium within myself and the rest of the elves is light and pure.” He turned to face Eva and I as we sat sprawled on the deck. “It’s at war within you.” He shook his head. “I thought it was just your mahier and the tilium together, but it’s much more than that.” He squatted next to me. “Your tilium is trying to decide whether it wants to steal ours or run, like the coward the darkness is,” he growled, eyes blazing. “Tomorrow, we’ll shed some light into the darkness.” He stood and moved to the wooded walkway. “If you need anything, my home is at the end of this path,” He disappeared into the night.

  From my other side, Clara’s voice echoed through the night. “You can find me at the end of this path. Get some sleep, you’ll need it.” Then, she too disappeared.

  I looked over at Eva as we sat in the middle of the dark rainforest. We were surrounded by guards. Guards who were willing to give their lives to keep us safe. Lives I now knew were in grave danger.

  Chapter Seven

  I woke to the sun shining bright through one of the many windows dotting the walls. I lay on a hammock-style bed attached to a huge tree that sat in the middle of a round hut, spanning to the northern wall. Said hut was suspended hundreds of feet in the air
attached to said tree. I could hear Eva as she began to wake. She was also lying on an identical hammock on the opposite side.

  The night before came back to me in a rush. Pushing myself up, I staggered out to the deck and fell to my knees. I held my head in my hands, resting my fingers on my temples and squeezing my eyes shut. Darkness lay within me. Dark tilium. It wasn’t my mahier mixed with the tilium, it was just the tilium within me that had created such turmoil inside me. Unstable. Unbalanced.

  A familiar hand rested on my shoulder. “Actually,” Eva caught my attention, “you’re the only one of us who is balanced.”

  I opened my eyes and glanced at her over my shoulder. Her long red hair lay effortlessly down her back, and her standard Woland trainee uniform was pristine. I contemplated her words. Balanced, me? It was clear-.

  “Unstable. Yes,” Eva finished for me. “But you are the only one who holds both light and dark within them.”

  “The Golden Dragon is right,” a voice rang out from behind us. “You must choose a side.” Gaber walked towards us from the path that led from his hut.

  “I thought I already did,” I croaked, my throat dry.

  Gaber crouched down beside us. “Tell that to your tilium.” Gaber winked and stood. “Today, we’ll see how much control you have over it.” He laughed. “Or how little.”

  Eva and I stood up, too. I broke away from her and rested my hands on the railing of the deck. The sun had just begun to rise above the tops of the trees. From here, the entire compound surrounded us. Paraiso was much larger than I had first anticipated. The tree houses dotted the trees as far as I could see. The turquoise lake broke into slender streams throughout the maze, surrounding the whole compound like a moat.

  Gaber placed his hands next to mine as he too looked over Paraiso. “It’s quite beautiful, isn’t it?”

  “Peaceful,” I responded as I continued gazing at the sight before me.

  “The water intertwines throughout Paraiso.” Gaber pointed. “It’s enchanted with protection spells. If a being were to wander out this far, they wouldn’t see us.”

  “What would they see?” I asked.

  “The jungle,” Gaber stated. “If they attempted to walk through here, they would be transported to the other side. None the wiser that they had just walked through an elven camp.”

  “That’s remarkable,” Eva said, joining us.

  Gaber turned to give her his full attention. “The elves have been here since the beginning. The enchantment living within those waters is ancient. When an elf passes, the tilium they possess is absorbed within the water, keeping all that live here safe.”

  “I figured you were immortal,” Eva stated.

  “Immortal, yes.” Gaber paused as he turned to look over his home.

  “Immortality does not mean death will not find us.” Clara spoke from behind us.

  Eva and I turned to face her, watching as her eyebrows lie scrunched together forming a v. Her orange eyes glowed in sadness. “Breakfast is ready in the main lodge.” She turned and walked down the rickety walkway, out of sight.

  “Let’s go,” Gaber whispered, following his sister.

  Eva looked towards me with a shrug of her shoulders. The two of us followed behind in silence. The walk to the main lodge was shorter than it had been the night before. The silence continued as we entered a circular tree house that was at least five times larger than the one I had slept in the night before. Long wooden tables sat in rows with matching benches pushed underneath. In the middle of the room there was a great round table overflowing with bright fruits and vegetables.

  “Eat up.” Gaber gestured to the table. “I want to test your tilium today,” he said, gathering a plate full of mangos and different types of berries.

  Eva and Clara dug right in. They each piled a plate full and took a seat at a nearby table. I caught an orange gaze staring at me across the pile of fruit in front of me. With a laugh, Gaber shook his head and wandered over to the table with the girls. I grabbed a banana and joined them.

  “You won’t find any of that processed, sugary food you humans are used to here. We live off the land.” Gaber pointed back at the table. “All of that will be gone within an hour of our leave. The elves will make sure nothing is wasted.” With that, Gaber stood with his now empty plate and placed it in a log at the end of the table. “Your peels and cores go there,” He explained, pointing to another hollow log at the opposite side of the table.

  “Better eat that quick.” Clara pointed to my banana as she also stood to clear her plate. “Gaber is itching to try out your tilium.”

  Eva followed Clara and Gaber out onto the deck. I quickly peeled my banana and dropped the yellow skin in the designated log, meeting them outside. Clara and Eva were discussing the water below us, and Gaber was off to the side, looking up. I followed his eyes to the clear sky, where I noticed three Wolands circling above us. They were too far away to know exactly who they were, but I had an idea.

  “They can’t see us,” Gaber’s eyes lowered and met mine. “The enchantment covers the sky as well. I’m sure your guards are going nuts.” Gaber laughed. “They know you’re here. They can feel the two of you, but all they see is jungle.”

  “Did they know this when they left us here?” I asked cautiously.

  “Yes. It was part of the deal. You are the first dragon to ever step through our wards.” He cocked his head to the side. “Don’t worry, we will check in with your guards later today.” He paused. “Also part of the deal.” He shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes.

  I nodded my head. My bet was Jericho and Cairo had already figured out a way to keep an eye on us through the enchantment. No way would they let us out of their sight, especially Cairo. He kept Eva within arm’s length at all times. I’m not sure they had ever been apart this long since the day they met.

  Gaber clapped his hands together. “Let’s get going. I’m excited to open you up,” he said with a grin as he waved his hand towards a ladder.

  We descended the ladder to the ground below. Not much sunlight broke through the thick trees, which left us in an unusual light shaded in orange from Clara and Gaber. Gaber strolled to the edge of one of the tiny streams flowing from the larger body of water. He knelt down and sang a short melody in a language I’d never heard before. Just as he finished and began to stand, the water shimmered and created a bright aqua glow that lit the surrounding area.

  “This place truly is magical,” Eva venerated, twirling wide-eyed in the cerulean glow of the water.

  Tiny specs of silver floated in the air. They gleamed like stars on a clear night as the ground around us morphed into a moss-colored rug. The bushes dotting the ground grew, attaching themselves to the trees that surrounded us. The scenery had created a jungle-themed room of privacy.

  “Amazing,” Eva whispered as she reached her hand out to touch one of the walls.

  “As you can see, tilium is very powerful,” Gaber said as he turned towards me. “It’s one of the reasons your council felt it necessary for you to be trained by me, and to follow our rules.”

  Clara placed her hand on my chest. “You have an abundance of tilium within you. Enough energy to feed an army of farros. Potent, very dangerous, very dark,” she explained.

  “Clara and I will train with you daily on controlling the tilium.” He paused. “With that you will learn to be one with all that surrounds you. Everything you see will aid you in storing this energy.” Gaber stood next to Clara as he pointed to me. “For you are not strong enough.” He put his hands in the air. “No one is. Not I, not Clara, and not the Golden Dragon.”

  “Where do we start?” Eva asked.

  “Well,” Gaber looked around. “Let’s start with releasing the tilium. Think of it as draining a battery. Then, we will see if you can control what’s left.”

  “How do I do that?” I asked.

  “I’m told you already have.” Gaber looked over at me. “Once. The day you breathed fire-”

  “W
hat?” Eva interrupted.

  I looked to Eva then back to Gaber. “I don’t know how that happened. It was like-”

  “You had exceeded your fill point,” Gaber finished.

  “Yes,” I whispered, looking at the ground.

  “You’re there again. Your uncontrolled shift. Super strength.” Gaber ticked off his reasons with his fingers.

  “Okay. So, how do I release it?” I asked.

  “Easy.” Gaber pointed to Eva with a growl. “She. Is. Now. My. Prisoner,” he stated.

  “Wait. What?” I asked in confusion.

  “Look around, Prince. No one is here to save you. Did you think we created a training center for you just now?” Gaber laughed. “No, Prince. This is a cell. Made just for her.” Gaber pointed towards Eva with a sneer.

  “Clara, chain her up.” Chains unexpectedly shot from the wall and dropped to the ground.

  “No! Stop!” I screamed as Clara grabbed Eva, who was attempting to shove her away with headstrong thrusts. After a brief moment of pushing and shoving, Eva was out of luck.

  “Cole, run!” Eva yelled towards me. “Go get help!”

  “Where will you go? Once you leave you won’t be able to get back in. Remember?” Gaber jeered.

  “Please.” My body trembled as my emotions took over. “Let her go.” My dragon itched to be set free as small sparks trickled from my fingers.

  Gaber pointed to my fingers with a laugh. “Is that all you’ve got, Keeper of Dragons?”

  Streams of silver light flew from my fingers towards Gaber, who hastily threw up an invisible shield to protect himself. The tilium bounced off and made a hole through one of the walls. Energy coursed through me. No way were these elves going to imprison Eva.

  I stood tall and flicked my hands towards Gaber once again. Energy zipped through my body as the tilium was released through my fingers, aiming right at Gaber’s head.

  “Stop!” Eva screamed. “You’re breaking through his shield.” Eva ran towards me. “Cole. Stop!” She grabbed my hands in an attempt to stop the force of my tilium.