Origin

by Samantha Smith

  “Oh, and by the way, he finds it a bit humorous that you have trouble believing that we can communicate, and says to tell you that he can communicate with anyone he wishes to, depending on the need. It may be part of the drakenhawk culture for the hatchlings to life-bond with a companion of the same sex, but they can communicate with anyone they choose to. Keroc believes that in this case, the success of his mission may depend on his ability to communicate with us both, so he is attempting to get me used to hearing him and sensing him entering my mind.”

  Elwyn looked at Keroc sitting on Thanes gloved hand and said sheepishly, “I’m sorry Keroc, I’ve just had a really stressful day and my mind is having problems wrapping itself around everything that has and is happening. I know that you are not trying to be rude and are just trying to help me, so please forgive me for my rudeness to you.”

  Feeling stunned at this revelation, Thane could only watch with his mouth agape as Keroc jumped from his gloved hand and landed on the pommel of Elwyn’s saddle. He was even more shocked as she stroked his back and wings with her ungloved hands and then patted his head. As Keroc flew off to take watch for the evening, Thane realized that he had a lot more than he’d previously thought to discuss with Elwyn. She seemed unlike anyone, human or elf, that he’d ever met. He dismounted and started to unsaddle Raffe. He noticed that Elwyn did the same with Gemma. As he watched her brush down her mare, he felt relieved that, at the very least, she knew how to show respect to her mount. In Silvendil, all young riders were taught to treat their mounts, whether morden or horse with the utmost respect and love. Every rider was taught that their lives might one day depend on the physical condition of their mounts, as well as the relationship they were able to establish with them.

  After Gemma and Raffe were tended to, Elwyn and Thane split up the job of setting up camp for the night. She was to gather wood and kindling, make the fire, and search for some tubers, while he would set up a shelter and try to catch some fish in the nearby stream. They both worked hard and within the hour, they had a savory stew of dried beef, edible tubers, and herbs bubbling away on the fire. They were also grilling the fish he’d caught on a rack she’d made. Before cooking the fish, she stuffed the body cavities with herbs to help add some flavor to the flesh. Thane realized, with the way she went about quickly gathering wood and starting a fire in such a short time, that she was experienced in camping and surviving in the woodlands. This small feat made Thane feel less as if he was babysitting and more as if he was on a mission with a fellow warrior; actually four warriors, not wanting to leave Keroc or the two morden out.

  When the stew was finished, they sat down to dinner on the soft leaf covered ground, using an old log as their table. At first, the only sounds were those of the morden munching on a nearby patch of grass. Elwyn and Thane, having had nothing to eat all day, were famished and focused on eating as well. The stew turned out to be delicious and they both used some of the travel biscuits that Clayre sent along to sop up the left over gravy. The fish also tasted wonderful. The skin was crispy, but the flesh was moist and flavorful. They both ate until their bellies felt like they could burst. As they relaxed by the fire, their hunger sated, he asked her if they could spend some time talking and strategizing.

  Elwyn was happy that Thane was planning to share information with her. She was also happy that he was treating her more and more like a traveling companion and less like a helpless guest. She hoped that her skills would live up to his expectations. He had been particularly quiet through dinner and she wasn’t sure if it was because he was worried about what lay ahead of them, or his discovery that she could actually hear Keroc. He interrupted her musings by asking a question.

  “Elwyn, are you absolutely sure that you can hear Keroc’s thoughts? It occurred to me during dinner that perhaps he understands what you are saying and was reacting to that.”

  “Yes Thane, I hear or see in my mind whatever he wants to communicate. I really do believe that he is trying to get to know me so that if we get into any trouble, I will recognize him and not panic if he needs to contact me. I have been speaking to him out loud, but I’m not sure that it’s necessary, because he knew instantly that I saw something moving in the brush behind you when the assassins attacked us in Tarlon.”

  Thane looked intently into her violet eyes and said, “You are certainly a woman of mystery. You are the first woman to my knowledge that a drakenhawk has ever communicated with. I do wonder what it is about you that causes companions and people to befriend you, to want to protect you or, if necessary, lay down their lives for you.”

  “Thane, I wish I had some answers for you. I know very little about my parents. Until today, I thought my uncle Rhys was my only living family. My mother died shortly after my birth of an illness and I never knew anything about my father, not even his name. I still don’t know very much. I only know that he lives, his name is Azavon and he is a brother to Ayron. And that is news that I heard for the first time today. I hope that by traveling to your land, I can find the answers I seek. Ayron says my father lives far to the north in the city of Findara, and when we get there he will take me to meet him.”

  “Well that explains why Ayron is so anxious to get you safely to Findara as soon as possible. Your father, Lord Azavon is the current ruler of Silvendil and you are his heir. The ramifications of your existence will ripple through our entire nation. Do you realize what that means?”

  “No, I know nothing of Silvendil or of Lord Azavon. Rhys and Clayre just told me to trust Ayron because he is my uncle and I am now part of a larger family.”

  “Well, Ayron is the person who should fill in the details, but you should know that your reaching Findara safely has got to be our highest priority. I realize that this will mean nothing to you now, but you are the heir to the throne of Silvendil and must stay alive at all costs, even if it means sacrificing all of our lives.”

  “Ok, there you go again. Please stop talking like that,” she begged while fighting to hold back the tears. “I would be horrified if anyone made a sacrifice like that on my behalf. I can’t deal with anymore death talk today. Can we please go back to discussing your conversation with Ayron?”

  It was all Elwyn could do to hold back the flood of tears just begging to be released. Speaking with him was just causing her to feel more and more overwhelmed.

  “That’s fine,” he said smiling, deciding it would be prudent for him to change the subject. “But first, before we get to the business at hand, can I ask you where you got your mare Gemma?”

  “Sure, but unfortunately I can’t tell you very much. Gemma has been around for as long as I can remember. My uncle gave her to me as soon as I learned how to ride. He told me that Gemma had been left in his care by someone very special, and that she was to be mine. It wasn’t an easy relationship at first. It took me almost a season to get her to warm up to me. But once she did, she has been my constant companion. With her I always feel safe. She has always been the strongest, fastest, most intelligent horse in my village. Oh, and the tallest too,” she said with a giggle. “I used to have to climb a fence to get up on her, but I’ve grown tall enough now to mount her as I would any other horse.”

  “You should also add “the most understanding” to that list. Gemma is a morden, and you have been calling her a horse for all of this time. No wonder it took her a season to warm up to you,” he said laughing. Then his voice grew more serious as he added, “I have never seen or heard of a morden outside of Urafiki or Silvendil. I wonder where she came from.”

  Thane tilted his head to get a better view of Gemma as she grazed. “She is white, which indicates she is from the purest morden bloodlines. She also has some age on her. I would guess that she is somewhere between forty or fifty seasons.”

  “Are you sure?” She looked out at Gemma grazing, giving her a worried look. “I would never have guessed her to be so old. Do you think that she is strong enough to make the long trip we have ahead of us?”

  “You have d
o have a short memory, Elwyn. Remember I told you that morden have a very long life span, unlike horses. Gemma is just beginning to enter her prime. She’ll do just fine.” Thane got a serious look on his face as he said, “I was wondering if you are aware that Gemma has life-bonded with you?”

  At that comment, Elwyn looked at him with puzzled eyes, and Gemma stopped grazing and came over to stand next to her with Raffe trailing closely behind.

  “See how she watches over you when you seem upset. She knows how you are feeling almost all of the time, even from a distance. She would also die to protect you. Gemma must be a very special morden. Can you see how Raffe keeps his place and honors her lead? If you can be patient and want to learn, you can be taught how to better understand her.

  “Can you teach me as we journey together?” asked Elwyn jumping up and stroking Gemma’s neck. “I love her so much, and I do sense that she watches over me,” she said smiling as Gemma nickered in return. “But I definitely don’t understand this life-bond thing.”

  “If time permits, I can show you some simple techniques as we ride together over the next few days. But first you need to sit back down. We have several important issues to discuss before we sleep and I need your full attention.”

  Elwyn was amazed at how fast the time flew by as they discussed the journey they were to make together. Thane showed her the map that Ayron gave him to help him find the village. The map was an old one of Silvendil that included the small land of Unity and parts of both Avrelan and Urafiki. There was a dark mark on the map that represented her village of Tarlon and another up by the border that Unity shared with Silvendil that represented Kren.

  “Ayron told me that the route we are taking to the north is seldom traveled. That is good because we will probably not pass anyone who could give away our location. However, it may also mean that the trail might be so overgrown in places that it will be impassable. If that happens, we will need to look for a way around the blocked areas.

  Ayron also warned me to stay out in the open as much as possible to lessen the possibility of surprise attacks. He said that I should keep having Keroc fly to the south so that he can warn us if a group of men are trying to catch up to us. He also said that we should try to avoid having to camp at night near the shadow of the woods. He warned me that we could be attacked by a group of assassins known as a shadow squad. While we aren’t aware of how these shadow squads sense the presence of their prey or travel so fast, we do know that they always appear between dusk and dawn, emerging from the cover of thick shadows, suddenly and silently.

  Ayron said that we should travel straight to Kren as quickly as possible. Once we arrive, we are to speak to the village elder, Owen, a good friend of Ayron’s. He said that Owen will be happy to feed and shelter us until he arrives.

  Ayron also instructed us not to travel beyond Kren under any circumstances. He said that if anything happened to him on the way to Amarni, Keroc has orders to communicate with Torjon, Lord Azavon’s drakenhawk, so that he could send troops to get us and bring us safely to Findara.”

  “Why is moving forward such a problem?”

  “To be honest, I don’t really understand why myself, but apparently there is something very dangerous about Wheryn, the small strip of land that lies just to the north of Kren. Perhaps Owen can tell us more about it. We can certainly ask him if you want.”

  After a brief rest to pour himself another mug of hot tea, Thane then moved on to the next subject, as if working from a mental checklist.

  “I noticed earlier that you seem to have some experience camping out in the woodlands. You also mentioned, while we were waiting for your uncle, that you won an archery contest against the young men of your village. I was wondering if you would share with me any physical training you have had. I am trying to assess where you would be the most valuable if we do run into trouble.”

  She was a bit amused by his awkward attempt to discuss her physical abilities.

  Elwyn was actually not worried about her abilities as much as she was her capacity to use them against another human being.

  “My training has been more similar to that given a male than a female. I have trained alongside the village boys in archery, the short sword and in hand-to-hand combat. In the evenings, my uncle and I would spar to continue honing my abilities with both the short sword and hand-to-hand combat. I have also spent a lot of time in the woodlands surrounding my village hunting for game, gathering herbs for Clayre, or just practicing to improve my skill with a bow.”

  The relief on Thane’s face was impossible to miss as she described what she was able to do. Even though he was pleased, he was also a bit puzzled that her uncle had insisted on this training for her and had actually spent many evenings sparring with her at home. It was definitely not normal training for a female from that area.

  “There is one more thing that I think I need to clarify for you. While I am quite proficient using the weapons and fighting techniques I described, I’m not sure that I would be able to use them in serious combat, or to take another human life.”

  “I wouldn’t spend too much time worrying about that if I were you. There is a good chance that your natural reaction would be to defend yourself and protect your traveling companions.”

  Elwyn still had her doubts, but decided to leave the issue alone for now and hope they weren’t attacked. As they continued the discussion though, she became increasingly uncomfortable as he explained to her that if they were attacked by shadow assassins, he would probably not be able to defeat them without her help. Thane then told her a little bit about the shadow squads.

  “There is a race of people called Salissians that live in one of the Known Lands to the east that border Avrelan. Very few people actually know much about this race of people. It is rumored that the Salissians are descendants of an ancient race of intelligent serpents. I do know that they worship serpents and are best known for their lethal poisons and willingness to assassinate anyone for money.

  The term shadow squad you’ve heard me use several times refers to a team of four Salissian assassins that hire themselves out to the highest bidder. They have no particular loyalty and will work for anyone from any nation in the Known Lands, as long as the price is high enough. There are several things that make these assassins hard to fight. They have a unique ability to travel quickly and unseen over long distances in the shadows of the forest. They then reappear heavily camouflaged and close to their prey. We have been unable to discover how they travel, or how they identify their targets. Another thing that makes these assassins so dangerous is that their weapons and arrows are all dipped in lethal poison. While we believe that the morden are immune to their poison, even a small nick from one of their weapons is enough to kill a person or a drakenhawk. The assassins themselves appear to be immune to most of the poisons in the Known Lands and the only way we know to kill them is to wound them so severely that they die of blood loss.”

  “It sounds as if there are a lot of unknowns about this race of people as well as their assassins and how they operate. It is hard to find a weakness, if you don’t understand your adversary Thane,” Elwyn said shaking her head.

  “I agree with you, but it is very difficult to find out information about the Salissians. They are extremely private and suspicious to the point of paranoia. They keep to themselves and don’t often communicate with the other nations. When I was learning to come up against one of these squads, my instructors always assumed that we would meet them at least one on one. In our case, there are only two of us, so the morden and Keroc will have to take on the other two. Our instructors told us that even the sharp eyesight of an elf cannot spot these assassins coming because they blend in so well with the forest and the shadows. We will need to depend upon the senses of our companions and heed their warnings. The most important thing to remember is to stay outside the range of their weapons and to try to shoot their archers first.”

  Elwyn felt her head dropping down toward her chest. She was hav
ing trouble keeping her eyes open but was trying very hard to be polite and listen to all Thane had to say. After all, he was telling her these things to keep her safe. She was very happy though, when he told her that it was time for them to get some rest. He asked Keroc to stand watch so that they could both get some much needed sleep. Keroc readily agreed and sent them both feelings of safety and comfort.

  As Elwyn lay down on her bed pad, trying to get her mind to slow down, she realized that she was still having trouble believing all the events that occurred during the day were real. Part of her believed that she would wake up the next morning in her bed as usual and discover that this was all a dream. The other part of her realized that her whole life had been turned upside down this day and that things would never be the same again. She chuckled to herself thinking how, earlier in the day as she walked on the beach, she expressed her fears about having a boring and limited future. Part of her wished that she had some of that plain and simple life back again. As she drifted off to sleep, her last thoughts were of her uncle and Clayre. She wondered how their journey was progressing.

  Chapter 12 – Inconsistencies

  Ayron wasn’t sure just how long he’d been dozing in his saddle, but as he worked to focus his eyes on the surrounding landscape, he realized that it must have been at least two or three hours. The sun was just beginning to dip below the distant mountains in the west. He called his troops to a halt, knowing that he was actually waking a few of them, and told everyone that they would be stopping to refresh themselves and eat an evening meal. Ayron went over to the wagon and smiled as he took in the sight of Clayre and Rhys holding hands and sleeping quietly. He touched Clayre gently on the shoulder so as not to startle her, and asked how he was doing. She motioned him to help her down from the wagon and then walked with him a short distance away so that their conversation would not disturb Rhys, who was still sleeping.