Ethria- the Pioneer

by Aaron Holloway

  By the time I reached the third or fourth cord Tol’geth rounded on me. “Do not pollute the air here with outside song.” His tone was not angry, at least for him, but it was firm. “Music here is sacred, precious. The trees and nature respond to it.”

  After a few seconds, an elven hand rested on the man's shoulder and a feminine voice from behind him said “It is alright protector. Let the human have his diversion of a good tune. Besides, I have not yet heard that particular human traveling song before, it would be nice to have something new fill my ears. Even if it is human in origin.” Tol’geth moved to the side and revealed who had spoken. It was a female elf I had not spoken with before and had only caught a glimpse of as we walked through the thicker forest. She wore the same flowing camouflage cloak as the rest of the elves, but underneath it she wore robes of purple and white and carried a staff tipped with a yellow-white crystal rather than a bow like the other woodsmen.

  I bowed, recognizing a magic user when I saw one. As I did, she said, “I am curious to hear it.” She turned her gaze from the large two-handed sword-wielding man who stood between us, to my eyes as I rose from the bow. “However human, I would require that you sing the song in its fullness, not just provide us with the music” she gestured around her to the entire forest, the trees, the grass, and even the stone path. “For the forest is a place of wholeness, not one for partial truths, easy oaths, or in this case partial songs, or so I have learned.” I nodded, then cleared my throat. Some of the other elves had returned to see what had happened to the rest of the party, and suddenly I found myself expected to give an impromptu performance to an audience whose vocal prowess probably outstripped anything I had ever done, by the time they were halfway into puberty.

  Knowing the song wouldn’t be good unaccompanied, I looked around me and found exactly what I was looking for. “Um, please excuse me for just a moment, would you?” I asked, she smiled slightly as I bent down and began building what I needed.

  “What are you doing meathead,” Ailsa asked me, her voice a harsh whisper from my shoulder as she watched me build the thing.

  “Sssh, and be patient. You’ll see in a second.” I had learned to build them when I was younger at a youth camp put on by my local “ward” or church congregation. The things never lasted long, but they were fun to make and by the end of the three-week trek I had become a near master at building the things. I just hoped that my skills hadn’t gotten too rusty. With a few quick blows on the wooden-leaf harmonica to test its sound I found it functional.

  “I don’t believe I can do justice to the song I was humming a moment ago with what I have here,” I said bowing slightly towards the small crowd of curious if slightly annoyed looking elves, and the mage who was more patient and curious then the others. I realized then, the annoyed-looking elves were more annoyed at her then at me.

  This all had the air of an elderly grandmother who stopped to do a little window shopping, while the adult children grew annoyed at having their carefully laid schedules disrupted at her every whim. Not that their mother cared one whit about their plans, she had her own. Every matronly woman did.

  I hesitated just a moment as I processed the scene before me before saying “However there is a song I know you have never heard before, that I am sure my voice and this instrument can play well enough. If you would permit?” The female elf mage, whom I suspected was one of the village elders, bowed slightly permitting me to change songs.

  I blew on the harmonica I had made lightly at first, to the tune of You Are My Sunshine. I pointed to Markel said, “Do you think you can play that?” After showing him one more time, he tried it and he did pretty well. “Just keep playing that same thing, but let me set the pace okay?” The elf nodded smiling, obviously excited to try something new.

  I put up a three count on my fingers, counted down to one, and then sang the first chorus of the Johnny Cash version I had grown up listening too. It was one of my father's favorites, and if I was being honest, I had always liked it too. Tinney and simple harmonica sounds wound their way through the nearly silent forest as I sang the soulful lyrics that were at once sad and yet somehow optimistic; as only songs from a certain era could be. The song filled the place, it seemed fragile as if even a single word spoken anywhere in the world could shatter it like crystal.

  Once I ended there was a silence that lasted just a few seconds before Telli asked me “Did she leave him?” tears brimmed in her eyes as she waited expectantly.

  Wow , I thought, I’ve never seen this song have that effect on someone before.

  “Yeah,” said Tim from behind the elder “what happened? Did she leave him?”

  I was about to answer when another asked: “Was it all just a dream?” I looked at this one, and I realized that most of those around me were very young, if not still children.

  I was getting good at telling those who were children, from the fully grown adults. The adults were the ones in the back, with folded arms and tapping feet wearing annoyed expressions.

  Most of those in the group though where old enough to get into trouble, but not old enough to really be accountable. I turned and saw ‘too cool for school’ Markel, with a few soft tears running down his cheeks as he held out the reed harmonica to me.

  I grabbed the young boys hands and closed them around the Harmonica. “You keep it, I can make another whenever I want. When this one breaks, come back and see me and I will teach you to make one of your own.” Markel’s eyes went big with awe and gratitude and he walked back to be with his friends.

  Elves all around started to pester me with questions again. Even some of the adults whose expressions had shifted from annoyed impatience to mildly interested impatience. “Now, now,” said the elder elf mage, that didn’t look so elderly. “One should never ask an artist to reveal the meaning of their work. One should find meaning in the work for oneself.” She said this in an instructional tone to the younger group of elves but obviously meant it for all, including the few adults who now looked a little sheepish at the mild rebuke. “Well, that was a very pleasant diversion, thank you human. Rayid was it?” I nodded, confused how she knew my name. “Yes, well, we should continue.” She turned and motioned for the small crowd to move on.

  She and Tol’geth both stayed back with me as the group passed by. Eventually she motioned for the large man to take the lead, and as he did she grabbed my arm in hers as we walked, and whispered “What I’m more curious about, is how you sang that song in a completely different language, one none of us know, and yet we all understood you.” A cold shiver went down my spine and I could practically hear Ailsa, who had been flying lazy circles around the group of elves as I sang, calling me a meathead.

  “I know some master bards have the skill, but somehow I don’t believe you are a professed bard. Well, there are odder mysteries in the world, stranger.” After she said this she cackled, just as I've heard almost every old woman in any world do. As if she knew the truth behind some great joke that no one else had even heard before. She dropped my arm then and picked up her pace, moving in front of the barbarian leaving me in the rear of the party again.

  Crap , I thought, but grew distracted as I received a notification.

  “Congratulations! You have discovered another aspect of your Gift of Tongues trait. You can communicate in your original language, and be understood as if speaking in the listeners first language. The listener will know that this is happening.”

  Cool, but I really have got to be more careful about these things.

  ---

  We walked for hours without stopping, without singing, or telling stories. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, but it was odd for me. Every other time I had been on a long hike like this, the people I was with had been social. Humans by our very nature, frail yet oddly adaptable, are social creatures. From what I was learning about elves, they were far less so than their human counterparts. And Tol’geth, the only other member of my race there, was hardly a typical specimen.


  So I entertained myself with cleaning the bark, moss, and other detritus off of the thick walking stick that I had procured earlier. The wood was dense and heavy, despite the length of wood only being about as thick as two of my thumbs. It was certainly a type of hardwood, and once I was able to peel away the bark and moss, I found that despite that fact it was lighter in coloring then other hardwoods I had encountered from Earth.

  The wood itself was a light sandy, almost white coloring, but definitely on the denser and heavier side of hardwoods. I pulled out a small carving knife I had pilfered from the supplies of the bandits camp and started attempting to flatten the bottom of the stick, cutting away protrusions, and making where it would touch the stone more level. Then, I pounded the thing on the stones as I walked, pulping the bottom slightly, so that it would take a nail and metal tip easier later on.

  The elves didn’t like the disturbing sound it seemed to make when the wood bounced off the walkway. The noise was a ghostial sound and reminded me of a breaking violin string. I ignored them, as I only needed to do it a few times. The stones under feet were remarkably hard, and flat for a cobbled walkway.

  Eventually, around what I thought was noon, we stopped and ate lunch. When I pulled out a piece of bacon, a hardtack biscuit, and my canteen, an elf I was sitting next too snatched my walking stick and began examining it. “So this is what you have been making all that racket with?” The blond-haired elf said as he lifted it high into the air and looked at the pulped bottom of the stick.

  I abandoned my food efforts for a moment, as I was sitting cross-legged across a small cloth from my Ailsa who was already snacking on a piece of honey cake that Riggil had procured for her at the market the day before. I put out my hand for the elf to give it back “Please return my property.” I said it in as non-hostile a tone as I could conjure, which admittedly with my short temper, was not very amiable.

  The elf was one of the few actual adults in this group that seemed not to be connected with one of the myriads of children. He looked at a friend of his who was sitting nearby as he said “Oh look, the monkey wants his stick back” his comment earned him a few chuckles, but it also earned him a glare from Tol’geth and my fairy friend who shot up into the air. “Human, this is wear-wood ash. It is not yours to take.” The smug elf spoke as if I were a child, and my blood began to boil “Besides, you don’t have the skill or magical talent to turn this into a proper staff.”

  That took me by surprise. Staff? What does he mean? A magic staff? My walking stick could become one? I wonder what kind of enchantments I can get on it. Probably need to learn more spells first though. I could be like Harry Dresden from that awesome movie from a few years back! My mind started racing with possibilities and my anger was diverted as I became engrossed in thought for a moment. Fairies aren't the only ones who are riddled with ADD you know.

  “Besides with the racket you're making, you’re ruining everyone else's pleasant trip and setting a bad example for the children. I think I'll hang onto it. If you’re a good monkey I might be persuaded...” A purple aura pulsing with tinted red light shot into the elves smug face.

  “You give that back right now or so help me I’ll portal you to the Fae realm and you can chat with the courtiers about manors for the next thousand years!” Ailsa yelled the elf fell back startled by the purple ball of fury, off the rock onto a bed of moss between the boulder and a set of stones behind it. It looked rather snug. I laughed, his friends chuckled behind polite hands, and a few of the other elves nearby who had witnessed the encounter got a good laugh out of it too.

  I stood up while the elf was flailing trying to get back to his feet. Dang, even elf flailing is graceful, I thought annoyed as I ripped my walking stick from his hands. “Thanks, jerk-wad.” I spat as I left him there, and returned to my meal. Eventually, one of his friends helped him out of the moss-covered hole he had found himself in.

  “Thanks, Ailsa,” I said as we both sat back down to our lunch, my one-day staff, sitting next to me, on the opposite side of the jerk-wad.

  “No problem,” she said calmly, but I could tell she was still upset, her aura pulsed occasionally with small red flashes. She went back to nomming on her honey cake, and her aura went back to a normal gothic purple.

  “Our Fae cousins can certainly be a humbling experience.” Came the voice of the elder from before. I looked up and saw her just before she sat down with me and Ailsa, facing directly at the trouble-making elf from a few seconds ago. “Wouldn’t you agree Sim’ell?” The elf who had just returned to is perch atop the rock, as if nothing had happened, bowed his head slightly to the elderly mage.

  “You are correct Ambassador. I will remember the lesson learned.” He said outwardly contrite, but I didn’t buy it for a minute.

  “A person's disdain for another isn’t so easily overcome, particularly disdain born of prejudice and arrogance. Challenging an arrogant persons ego typically leads to them stabbing you in the back later, not changing their behavior.” I said as I glared at the blond-haired elf.

  “Wise words for one so young. But in my experience, Sim’ell is a good sort. This incident was born of annoyance, not hatred. Am I wrong Sim’ell?” The ambassador asked the elf.

  “No, you are not Ambassador. If you will excuse me? I will take my team on patrol.” The ambassador nodded and Sim’ell stood, his two friends following him, and left melting into the woods in a few steps.

  “Would you care to share some of the food I have?” I asked offering her a piece of hardtack.

  She grimaced and shook her head. “No. Human travel food does not agree with me,” She moved her hand over her stomach reflexively. “In my younger days I would not have hesitated on a long trek, but that was many years ago. Thank you for your willingness to share, however, I brought my own.” With a gesture she produced a rift of yellow and white magic in the space between us, the colors reflected the crystal in her staff that sat next to her. She reached into the rift and pulled out a sandwich that looked freshly made.

  “That is awesome!’ I said grinning from ear to ear. “I mean, you and Ailsa can both do something like that.” The ambassador genuinely smiled as she took a large bite of her sandwich.

  After she swallowed, when my mouth was full of jerky, she asked “Would you like to learn how to do it? It is but the weakest of spatial magic.” I nearly choked on my jerky.

  Me? Learn a Cosmic Energy? I hadn’t even learned how to synchronize with the all of the Lesser Powers, let alone the Greater. To skip all the way to Cosmic would be amazing! I nodded enthusiastically while I choked down the food with a generous swig from my cantine.

  I looked at Ailsa, but she only nodded encouragingly as her cheeks bulge with honey cake. “Yes, of course, I would love to! What do I need to do?” I asked eagerly.

  “You are in luck. I am a Grand Master of spatial magic, so I can teach spells to my students whom I deem worthy without them having to learn the underlying magic. Only Grandmasters of a type of magic can do this for that magic, but I would be willing to do it for you. All you must do is close your eyes, calm your mind, and give me access to your characteristics sheet. I will imprint the spell directly onto your spell list from there.” The ambassador said taking another bite of her sandwich. A screen popped up in front of me asking if I wanted to give her access.

  I looked at Ailsa and her eyes went wide, with her cheeks full of food she tried to subtly shake her head, but it was cumbersome. If the Ambassador noticed either my look or her response, she didn’t say anything. “Regretfully, I must decline your generosity,” I said the wind taken out of my sails. “And sadly I can not tell you my reasons. But suffice it to say that it is not an innate distrust of you or your people.”

  A few seconds later the ambassador swallowed and spoke. “This is a greatly missed opportunity. Are you sure you would not relent? I could potentially teach you much more than what I have offered you yet. I could help you bypass much of the training that I sense you must still do to grow.”


  I nodded in acknowledgment of what she was saying and gave it some more thought. She would see that I am not from Ethria, and if she went poking around in parts of my sheet she wasn’t supposed to she could learn all about me, and potentially do a lot of things to me that could be detrimental.

  “Unfortunately that is simply not an option. Though If I may ask a boon of you in its stead?” The Ambassador was taking another bite, her sandwich almost done, and raised her eyebrows inquisitively. “If you have a library of tombs I could read through, I would be very appreciative.” Ailsa began spitting and choking on what little food she had left to swallow and both the Ambassadors and my gazes went to her in concern.

  “You perhaps do not know what you ask.” She said as she patted Ailsa’s back as she choked. “Access to a Library,” she said the word as if it had meaning beyond a simple repository of books. “Is prized above many things by us magic users.”

  “I can see how having access to books on magic lore can be a prised thing, but surely it is not such a heavy burden to simply allow another access to read.” I said confused.

  “He…” Ailsa began before choking and coughing again. “Doesn’t….” More coughing “Understand.” My fairy guide was finally able to swallow and downed a mouth full of water.

  “Ah, I think I see the problem. Perhaps in your strange island nation, you do not have Libraries as we have them here. Indeed many parts of the world have never heard of a Library, and their use of the term is for places that are repositories of the printed word.

  “A Library as the term is used here on the continent of Tor’sel, is a powerful magical institutional building in a settlement. It takes great effort to construct such a building, meticulous magical work, enchantments that take years to craft and years more to imbue in the stones of such a place, along with careful architectural and material design. The selection of the Magical Books to be entered into such a place is also carefully curated, as their magics can interfere with one another. Both play an important role in how the magic of such a place works, and access to such places around the world are highly prized by masters of magic.