The Axe's Edge

by Summers, Derick J. M.

  Alright, she answered warmly. Call me if you need me.

  That taken care of, he wandered toward the tree line that bordered the Hammersmith land. With each step, he felt himself gaining a bit of breathing room, a bit of much needed space.

  After an hour, he found he was still asking himself the same questions. He didn’t know why the anvil was so damned important to him. It was just a piece of metal. What did it matter? Why was it so important to pull it from the earth? Where was his mind trying to take him?

  He was fairly certain that El could help him figure things out, but she was back at the ruins.

  Besides, he thought ruefully. I should be able to work some things out for myself.

  A nice thought, but unfortunately, he still had no better understanding now than when he set out.

  Logan hadn’t really been watching where he was going and it took him a moment to notice that he had walked in a large circle. He found himself standing at the edge of the forest looking towards the ruins of his home from the exact spot he’d witnessed his parent’s murder two years before. As he stood there, lost in those horrible memories, a tear slowly rolled down his left cheek.

  “Finally,” El’s voice was soft, but it still startled him and he whirled around to face her.

  “Elves really are too damn quiet in the woods,” he snapped fiercely at her. She merely smiled.

  Even so, he thought to himself. She really shouldn’t have been able to sneak up on me so easily. I really must be lost in my own head.

  Of course, now he had to wonder just how long she’d been there, but she spoke before he could put his thoughts into words.

  “Logan,” she began. “You need to let it out. You need to grieve.”

  “I have, El,” he replied, feeling more than a little out of his depth. Smiling sadly, she moved forward and gently caressed his cheek.

  “No, Logan,” she said softly. “You haven’t. You’ve done everything you were supposed to. You gave them the proper last rites, you stood vigil over their remains and then you brought vengeance to their killers. But, the one thing you’ve never done was let yourself grieve. You’ve held all your anger and pain inside. Eventually, you will have to let it out.”

  Logan felt a flush pass through his cheeks.

  Hades, he thought. I don’t even want to think about this. It was in the past and it should stay there.

  He turned to face the clearing, face the ruins of the life he’d once had.

  “I’m fine, El,” he said with all the calm and restraint he could muster.

  “No, you’re really not,” she answered, refusing to let him hide from his feelings any longer. “They’re gone, Logan! It’s not fair and it’s not right, but it is true.”

  Logan shook his head in denial.

  “They’re gone Logan,” she continued. “And, there is nothing you can do to bring them back.”

  Logan whirled, his face red with rage. Tears had finally broken free and streamed down his cheeks, rage filled him as he slammed his fist into a nearby tree, splintering its trunk with the impact.

  “Don’t you think I know that?” he screamed at her.

  Frustration and sorrow warred across his face as he stared into her eyes. She calmly held his gaze and waited.

  “They’re gone…” he continued. “I know that, El.” His head dropped and his eyes closed as the sobs racked his body. “I know that,” his voice barely a whisper.

  Reaching out to him, El placed her arms around him and pulled him close. She held him while he cried.

  “It’s okay, Logan,” she murmured. “It’s going to be okay. Let it out.”

  Roots I Tell You, We Should Lay Down Roots

  By the time Logan and El returned from the woods, the sun was hanging low on the horizon and Tanel was the only one to be found. Smiling as they approached, Tanel quickly explained that she had put the others to work. Assuming that they’d at least be spending the night, she’d sent Smash out into the surrounding forest to find wood for a fire and Lan’thor and Raeth were out trying to hunt down dinner. She herself had been gathering herbs and tubers from the surrounding woods, she added with a warm smile to Logan. Logan returned her smile. Both he and his sister had been helping their mother gather herbs and plants from the surrounding forest for years and both knew exactly where to search for them.

  In fact, he thought with a chuckle. Mother had planted many of the herbs that continued to grow wild in the forest.

  Tess had firmly believed in keeping things as natural as possible, always insisting that plants grew better and stronger in a natural setting, like the forest, than they ever could in a field.

  It wasn’t long before Smash returned cradling a massive armload of wood for the fire. Tanel, Logan and El had cleared a place for the fire, checked the well, and bustled about through their packs setting up camp. Logan was pleasantly surprised to find that the water in the old well was still good. He had been concerned that the slavers, given the rest of the destruction they had wrought, might have fouled it before they left. But upon pulling the first bucket, he found the water clear and pure. He had not realized how dehydrated he really was until he pulled that first bucket. He gave in to the urge and drank thirstily from it.

  “What about the rest of us?” El said sharply as he finished the first bucket, streams of water running down his chin.

  Logan glanced sheepishly at the Elfin maid and quickly pulled several more buckets from the well, refilling his companions’ canteens and a large pot for cooking with later.

  With the wood piled to one side and a fire already started in the quickly created fire pit, Tanel began fussing the cooking supplies, clearing a place to work and trying her best to anticipate what would be needed when Lan’thor and Raeth returned. She had no doubt that they would find something, the surrounding forest was filled with game and both were excellent hunters. The question was what they might catch and how best to prepare whatever it was.

  Her timing was excellent and she was just at the point where she could do no more prep when Lan’thor and then Raeth emerged from the woods. Each had one end of a long pole braced against a shoulder and dangling between them was the freshly bled carcass of a wild pig. The fierce animals ran wild through the Southern Forest and were the bane of many a farmstead. They would eat almost anything and could wreak havoc on a farmer’s field in hours. Add to that their aggressive nature, their thick hides, and their sharp tusks, which they used when defending and attacking, and you had a pretty impressive pest. Generally, they were best avoided. Many a farmer and many a farmer’s dog had found themselves mauled by an angry pig’s razor tusks for failing to do so.

  The beasts were also great eating, if you could take one down, and Lan’thor and Raeth had seemed to make short work of this one. Logan noted survival in the Southern Forest was relatively easy after his travels across Tir’an, especially in comparison to some of the other regions of Tir’anish. The Dragon’s Spine, the long mountain range that ran across the continent of Tir’an and separated the north from the south, came leaping to mind. Here in the far south, there was no shortage of food living wild in the forest. If you knew where to find it and how to catch it, you could live quite comfortably in these forests.

  Logan greeted the returning hunters with another smile and took the proffered pig and pole from them. Carrying it a short distance away from the fire, he made quick work of the butchering, while Tanel joined him, massaging her herb mixture into the freshly butchered meat. El turned her magical attentions to the waiting fire pit causing a small spark to catch in the dry tinder that resided there. Using more skill than magic, she soon had a good fire cheerfully crackling in the pit.

  Logan found himself relaxing in the comfortable routine of camp life. In many ways, it felt like old times and he was drawn back to a time when he, El, Lan and Raeth had first started north to free his sister. Logan’s gaze moved from companion to companion before settling on Tanel. That time was good, but there had always been that tension. Hi
s mission to avenge, his mission to save, it had hung heavily across his shoulders, a great weight he couldn’t - no wouldn’t - remove.

  Now, with his sister free and his parents avenged, finally that weight was lifted. He could breathe easier and truly enjoy these pleasures. And this, this simple camp with these people, this was his family. Being here with them on his family’s land, so close to the final resting place of his parents, made everything feel complete. Logan relaxed and savoured the simple contentment of being with people who cared.

  While the meat cooked and the tubers boiled, the friends sat round the fire, chattering amiably, leaning against logs they had pulled from the forest, relishing the simple joy of open sky and solid ground.

  When he finished his dinner, Logan leaned back against his log and stared up into the stars of the clear night sky. The day had been a full one and Logan knew it was not one he would soon forget. He had seen much devastation today, in Solan Bay and here in his old home. He knew that the rebuilding process for both would be a long and difficult one, but he felt better than he had in months. He was finally prepared to go on with his life. Prepared for whatever was to come. He smiled to himself as he sat by the warmth of the fire.

  “I’ve been thinking.”

  Tanel’s voice startled him back to reality.

  “I think, I want to try and rebuild.”

  Logan opened his eyes to find Tanel looking expectantly in his direction. He pulled himself up a little straighter against his log before responding.

  “If that’s what you want to do, I’ll definitely support you. I was already thinking that I might want to rebuild Da’s forge and start blacksmithing again. I miss it more than I ever thought I would. I think it might be good to spend a little time creating instead of destroying.”

  Logan looked to each of his companions and smiled.

  “This is something that I want, maybe even need, to do for me. I would never expect any of you to stay and I understand if you feel the need to move on,” he continued. “Though, and I think I speak for Tanel when I say, you’re all more than welcome if you do stay and will always be welcome back if you don’t.”

  Tanel smiled at the companions and nodded emphatically.

  “Absolutely,” she assured them.

  “Smash... stay!” the troll announced in his broken Tir’anish. Logan smiled and nodded to the big man.

  Lan’thor leaned forward and quietly stared into the fire for several moments, before finally speaking.

  “Logan, while part of me would love to stay here, I’ve been thinking that it might be time for me to get home.”

  Lan looked toward his friend.

  “I’ve got a duty to my father, to take my place in the clan, to be a leader to my fellow warriors. I have grown so much and learned even more, I finally think I might be worthy enough to take that role,” concluded the Elf.

  Logan gave his friend a reassuring smile.

  “Lan, it’s all right. You do have responsibilities back home and I have no doubt that you’re more than worthy enough to fill them. Go back and take your place in the clan, let your father see the Elf you’ve become. I know he’ll be proud. And, if you ever need me, I’ve always got your back.”

  Lan smiled at that and a look of understanding passed between the two friends.

  “I think,” said Raeth softly. “I’ll go with Lan.” She caught the Elfin warrior’s eyes before she continued. “If, that’s all right with you?”

  “More than all right,” he announced excitedly with a significant measure of relief.

  As the laughter died down, all eyes turned toward El, the only one of the companions who had not voiced her intentions. She looked surprised to find herself the centre of attention, and looking from one companion to another, her gaze finally fell to rest on Logan.

  “If you think,” she announced sharply. “Even for a minute, that you’re getting rid of me that easily…”

  Logan quickly leaned in and cut her off with a kiss.

  El was blushing as Logan pulled away. She ‘harrumphed’ loudly and she gave him a slight frown and a dirty look, to the utter amusement of the others.

  “Besides,” she said flatly, a smile sparkling in her eyes. “Someone has to keep you out of trouble, and it’s too big a job for Tanel and Smash to do on their own.”

  “Oh, come on.” He replied. “We’re talking about settling down for a bit. What possible trouble could I get up to spending my days working a forge?”

  This, of course, elicited a chorus of groans from his companions.

  “Logan, my dear,” El explained. “It never ceases to amaze me how much trouble you can get into, even in the most mundane of situations.”

  Her smile softened her words and she pulled herself closer to him, cuddling against his arm. Softly patting her hand and giving her a small smile, Logan looked to the rest of the companions.

  “Well, I guess that’s all decided then,” said Logan. “I suggest we all get a good night’s sleep tonight and start making our plans in the morning.”

  Go North Young Elf, Go North!

  Over the next several days, Lan’thor and Raeth made their preparations to leave. Now that the decision was made, Lan found that he was anxious and restless. The Elfin warrior hadn’t realized how much he missed his home in the forest. Not that he regretted his journey, quite the contrary, actually. His adventures with Logan had taught him much, both as a leader and as an Elf. He had learned a great deal about many of the other races that inhabited Tir’an, both good and bad, and found that his Elfin brethren had given up much with their decision to live apart from the rest of the world. On a personal level, he felt that he’d grown up, that he’d made that transition from the foolhardy immortality of adolescence to the deeper appreciation of life and his own abilities and limitations that came with adulthood. He was going home changed.

  He smiled as he thought back to when he’d left the Elfin village an inexperienced young Elf, so certain he’d known everything. In fact, it had only been when Logan had nearly beaten him in a misguided fight over El that he had questioned his superiority to all others, Elves included. That shock had left him uneasy and unsure of himself. And, after a night of internal struggle after his near defeat, he’d decided to accompany the strange little man. The Elf that was returning home was far more experienced. He had lived and fought and loved. He had finally achieved a good understanding of how little he actually knew.

  Even though he was comfortable that he had grown and changed for the better, it did not change the fact that this had been his first time away from the trees he’d called home for his entire life. As exciting as all this had been, he could admit to himself that he was feeling more than a little home sick. He was eager to go home, eager to share his experiences and his adventures with his father and his kin.

  The only thing that dampened Lan’s spirits about returning home was the prospect of introducing Raeth to the village. He had fallen deeply in love with the assassin and he was pretty sure she felt the same about him. He knew that alone would be enough for his father, but the rest of the village was a different matter. Many, many years ago, the Elves had chosen to separate themselves from the rest of the world. Contact with outsiders was extremely limited, with only members of the merchant clan having any regular contact with the other races that inhabited Tir’an, and even they kept contact to a minimum.

  Lan’thor wasn’t sure how accepting the Elves would be, particularly if they learned that Raeth was a changeling. Even the most inclusive of peoples, which the Elves definitely weren’t, had problems with the changelings. A creature that could become anyone was a terrifying concept, one that was not aided by the fact that the changelings, or so rumour said, had a habit of becoming assassins and spies. Raeth herself gave truth to such rumours. She had become a master assassin. Logically, it made complete sense given her particular skill set and the skills of the race as a whole. But logic was oft ignored and a certain stigma was attached to Raeth’s people. No, tal
es of overthrown monarchies, assassinations, and havoc cast her reputation, and that of her people, in the stone of legend.

  Even if they hid the fact that she was a changeling and let the village believe she was human, the Elves never took well to inter-racial relationships. The purity of the bloodline was a very, very big deal. Lan’thor shuddered to think about the challenges El would face when she finally disclosed her relationship with Logan. El’s father, Aerlian’thor, was the mage clan’s chief, and in Lan’thor’s opinion was more than a little scary. Thankfully, that wasn’t his battle to fight, though he wished his friend the best of luck.

  The companions spent several evenings discussing the situation. Raeth’s original suggestion was that she simply take the form of an Elf. Initially, Lan’thor had found the suggestion tempting and as a shape shifter Raeth could easily change her form to look the part. It was El who pointed out that though she could pass for an Elf in the short term, over a long period of time her mannerisms and lack of familial knowledge might trip her up. Elves were extremely long lived, hundreds of years, and it was entirely conceivable that one of the elders would know some supposed relative from whatever tribe she claimed to be from. Once that happened, things would quickly fall apart and Raeth would be looked upon with suspicion and fear. The more Lan thought about it, the more he realized El was right.

  The answer finally came to Lan’thor one evening as he slept. Posing as an Elf was too risky, but what about a relative of the Elves, a relative that had separated from Elfin society over a generation ago. Raeth could take the form of a Dark Elf. The nearly forgotten dark skinned brethren had parted from traditional Elfin society many hundreds of years ago, long before any of the Elves living today. They had forgone magic and had moved deep into the swamps, an area that Raeth knew well as her own people had also settled there. They were different in appearance and manner, but they shared the same origins and more importantly, they hadn’t been seen in more than a generation. The more he thought about it, the more Lan felt that it might be a viable answer.