Origin

by Samantha Smith

  “Ayron, if someone was willing to kill Rhianna to make sure that his or her plans to control the throne were not thwarted,” said Kierra. “Imagine now that that Remi exists and is coming of age, what they will be willing to do to rid themselves of Elwyn,” she said nervously.

  “Elwyn,” said Ayron trying to lighten the somber mood a bit by tossing her an apple. “You have been very quiet for a long time. How is all this making you feel?”

  “To be honest,” said Elwyn addressing them both. “I really don’t know how I feel about any of this. Two weeks ago I was a simple girl from a small village with an uncle, the village healer, and a horse as my only family. Then, I find out that a ruler of a distant land I’ve never even heard of is trying to have me assassinated because I pose a threat to his throne. Along with that there is the discovery that I have a father and a family that will be waiting to meet me. Next I discover that I may be the heir to another kingdom who is having their own difficulties with bigotry and prejudice. And finally, it seems that my existence may threaten the plans of another ruler, whose advisors will want me dead when they hear of my existence.” Elwyn sighed as she continued. “Part of me wants to run away as far and as fast as I can go and forget that all of this ever happened,” she said shaking her head. “But the other part of me knows that I would be running and hiding my entire life. Since I have no desire to hide anymore, I may as well go forward and face whatever my future holds. If it means my death, then so be it”, Elwyn said emphatically.

  “You are very brave, my child,” whispered Kierra.

  “I’m so sorry Elwyn,” said Ayron shaking his head solemnly. “I’d really hoped that coming to Findara and meeting your father would bring joy to you both. It seems that I have only brought you from one dangerous situation into another,” he added while getting up to put another log on the fire.

  “I think we’ve all had a rough evening and should take a break for now. Ayron, while the two of you are riding tomorrow, why don’t you tell Elwyn about Lord Azavon’s council and any other key players in Findara. Elwyn, tomorrow evening, would you share with us the events that occurred after Azavon and Ayron left for Grimsfyne that drove Rhianna to flee Findara. Maybe we can make more sense of things then. For now, I wish you both a restful sleep.”

  With that, Kierra withdrew her presence from their minds. Both Ayron and Elwyn were exhausted. The stress of everything that had happened combined with what might lie ahead was beginning to take its toll on them both. The last thing that Elwyn remembered hearing was her uncle telling her to rest while he went to check on the morden, and Toruk bidding her a quiet good-night.

  Chapter 39 – Friend or Foe

  Elwyn woke up the next morning to the smell of biscuits baking and the raspy whisper of Toruk in her mind wishing her well and letting her know that the drakenhawks sensed no danger. She knew the smell of food meant that Ayron was already up and doing chores. She jumped up quickly hoping to apologize for sleeping late, only to find that she was the only inhabitant of the cave. She went to entrance and looked outside. The day was cloudy and overcast, and there was a slight chill to the air. Elwyn donned her cloak before stepping out into the crisp morning air. She immediately spotted Ayron over by the water grooming the morden. She ran over to greet him and offered to take over some of the work. He laughed and said that he had the chores under control but had saved the most difficult task for her; which was to seek out Keroc, who was sulking up in one of the nearby trees.

  It took Elwyn almost ten minutes to locate Keroc, who was indeed sulky and unresponsive. At first, Elwyn thought that his injury might be bothering him, but after a moment or two focusing on the mental images he was projecting, she realized that he was suffering from a case of hurt pride. Apparently, Keroc offered his services to the six drakenhawks flying north with them and was told that he wasn’t fast enough or strong enough to keep up. Elwyn could tell that Keroc was very hurt and disappointed by this. She tried to help him understand just how much help he had been and was still being by traveling with them. When Keroc seemed puzzled by this, she explained to him that he was the first line of defense if they were attacked. She also pointed out that by perching on Raffe, he was filling in for Thane so that Raffe didn’t feel useless and become lost in his own grief. She said that Raffe needed to feel useful and as if he was contributing something to the group. By riding with him, he was allowing Raffe to be just that. This seemed to cheer up the little drakenhawk, who flew down from the tree and perched on her arm asking when they were going to eat.

  “Thanks,” said Ayron, whispering softly as they walked back to the cave to finish preparing breakfast. “I spent about an hour trying to get him down from the tree before you got up this morning. I guess I just don’t know the magic words,” Ayron said chuckling quietly.

  Elwyn and Ayron quickly ate breakfast, packed their saddlebags, and set out. Toruk and the five other drakenhawk flew overhead, acting as protectors and scouts. As they rode, Ayron continued to talk about the people Elwyn would be meeting and interacting with in Findara. He decided that a good place to start would be with Gelmir, Alysan’s husband.

  “Gelmir is similar in build and coloring to me, except that his eyes are blue instead of violet. The biggest difference between us is that Gelmir is much less physically fit. Due to his father connections, he has always been excused from military service. I have also never seen him at any of the sporting facilities in Findara. I have no idea what he does as a job, beyond shadowing his father Daeglin around while he carries out his duties as Minister of Finance for Silvendil. To the best of my knowledge he has never had a job of his own.”

  “I can tell that you don’t think much of Gelmir,” said Elwyn, looking at him curiously. “You are normally excessively kind in your descriptions of the people you know and try to point out the best in them. Yesterday at lunch, I thought we discussed that Gelmir and Remi just might be a product of Daeglin’s parenting.”

  “You’re right, Elwyn,” said Ayron, his mouth drooping into a slight frown. “I am angry with Gelmir. I have never liked the way he treats my sister or Remi. He acts as if they don’t exist and are unimportant to him. I think he married Alysan for her family associations, and not because he ever had any feelings for her. Who knows, perhaps he was just obeying his father’s orders. I’d hoped that once Remi was born, he would at least spend some time with him, but Remi is sixteen now and I don’t think his father has ever taken an interest in anything he does. Gelmir seems perfectly content to leave the entire job of raising Remi to my sister. It keeps her busy and both of them out of his hair so he is free to do whatever he wants.”

  “From your description of Gelmir, I wouldn’t be surprised if his father ordered him to marry her. Do you think that he has been the person poisoning Alysan’s mind? Kierra said that it would have to be someone she spent time with.”

  “No, I would doubt it,” said Ayron shaking his head. “I don’t think they ever became aware of each other until long after my sister began trying to destroy everything human about herself. However, it wouldn’t surprise me if he shares her feelings about humans.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Because the first name that popped into my mind last night when Kierra suggested we look for the person that poisoned my sister’s mind was Daeglin, Gelmir’s father, and I have discovered over the seasons that my instincts are pretty accurate.”

  Ayron then went on to describe Gelmir’s parents to Elwyn. “I have to admit that I know very little bout Ireth, Gelmir’s mother. She always seems to keep to herself and I have no idea what she does or what her interests are. Of course, she is always in attendance at family or royal functions, but she seems to fade into the background and never draws attention to herself. I have to admit that, with the exception of those times, I seldom recall ever seeing her, even though they live in the royal manor.”

  Ayron was much more verbal in his description of Daeglin, whom he disliked intensely. “Daeglin is the current Mi
nister of Finance and has served as a member of my brother’s Council of Elders since he became ruler of Silvendil. In appearance, he is very similar to Gelmir, except that his hair is a pale, almost white blonde in color. He just seems overly full of his own importance and status. Daeglin is normally the one either starting or taking a major role in the endless debates that take place in each council meeting. I have also overheard him, on several occasions, speaking with the people who work for him. His words are rude and his manner is condescending. I can tell that he doesn’t approve of me either. He is overly polite whenever I’m around.”

  “Why do you dislike Daeglin so much?”

  “I guess the thing that bothers me the most about Daeglin is that, over the seasons, whenever my brother started to get excited or passionate about something that would benefit our nation, Daeglin always seemed to find a way to bring up your mother’s suicide and the death of his heir. It always seems to happen when Azavon is proposing projects that Daeglin disapproves of, and I believe that he tries to manipulate your father by reminding him of the pain in his past. Unfortunately, it often appears to work well.”

  “It seems as if you think, this Daeglin, might possibly be one of the conspirators.”

  “Well at the very least, I consider him to be an annoying and unpleasant person to be around. I’ve seen him manipulate my brother and I just don’t trust him. He is an instigator and it is very difficult to pin down how he really feels about issues. I have never understood why Azavon keeps him on in his position.”

  “Perhaps because he is good at it,” Elwyn added smiling and shaking her head. “I didn’t get along at all with our village elder Ston, or agree with his views on women, but he was excellent at his job and saw to it that our village successfully survived some pretty lean seasons.”

  “You might be right. Maybe it is my military training, but I have a difficult time appointing people to positions around me if I am not fully confident that I can trust them. You never know when your life might depend on that trust.”

  “That is also true, uncle. I guess only time will tell if Daeglin is a serpent in disguise.”

  A light misty rain began to fall, so Elwyn and Ayron pulled their heavy forest green cloaks from their saddle bags. They were both hopeful that the heavy cloaks would protect them from becoming wet and chilled. As they began to ride again, Ayron went on to describe the other members of his brother’s Council of Elders. Three of the members of the council were humans and not a part of the council when Rhianna lived in Silvendil.

  The first was Arlin, the Minister of Justice. “I have always found Arlin to be a very nice, but extremely quiet fellow. He loves books, learning, and has a passion for the law. He is still single and I would be very surprised if he ever decides to marry. He spends all of his free time reading whatever is written down about the judicial systems in all of the kingdoms in the Known Lands. His father Robero was the Minister of Justice before him. A love and passion for law and justice seems to run in Arlin’s family. I guess if I were to have one criticism of him, it would be that he doesn’t speak up often enough, and frequently bows to Daeglin’s longwinded arguments.

  The second human currently serving on the council is Seamus, Minister of Agriculture. Seamus is a fourth generation farmer, who continues to live on and operate his own farm, even after his appointment to the Council of Elders. He is a very humble man who loves his family and has a passion for raising and improving crops and livestock. I believe that he is one of the most honest individuals that I know and I would trust him with my life.

  The third human serving on the council is Kimmel, Minister of Trade and Commerce. I was actually the first person to meet him. He and his family lived in Port Galba running a large shipping operation for a wealthy citizen. I got the chance to interact with him directly, and saw that he was both competent and honest. Azavon had a vacant seat on the council at that time, so I recommended him. Azavon offered him the position, and shortly thereafter he accepted. Silvendil has been able to expand its trade each season under Kimmel’s guidance. Kimmel was already married before I met him and when he accepted the position of minister, he moved his wife and five children to Findara. They live in a large house on the outskirts of the city.”

  Noticing the rain had stopped, Ayron and Elwyn took a quick break for lunch so that the morden could rest. During lunch, Ayron shared with Elwyn that all three of the human ministers seemed to interact well with the elven population, but were married to humans and therefore had no elven blood in their families. He told her that much of the human population of Silvendil were reluctant to marry even part-blood elves because any mix of human and elven blood seemed to at least double the normal human lifespan. The big differences in lifespan often made it difficult for both races, especially, when it came to marriage.

  “Of course,” said Ayron with a smile and a twinkle in his eye. “That fact didn’t seem to matter at all to my brother and Rhianna, or to my great-uncle Amrod and his wife Miranda. So, I guess that decision has to be a personal one.”

  After lunch, Ayron took a short walk with Keroc just to spend some time with him alone. Their life-bond was fairly new and, due to recent events, they had not been able to work on strengthening their relationship. While she was alone, Elwyn spent some time trying to process the information Ayron shared with her during their conversation with Kierra the evening before. There was just so much to remember and it was difficult for her to determine what information was important and what was not. Elwyn found herself wishing, more and more often, that her uncle Rhys was along with them to help to sort through all this information. She sighed deeply, resigned for the time being anyway, that she would have to learn trust the experience and judgment of Ayron and Kierra.

  After a short time, Ayron and Keroc returned from their walk. Elwyn thought that they both looked brighter and more relaxed. She was sure that it had not been easy, especially for Ayron, having to spend so much time apart. Keroc had been so sick that it probably wasn’t quite as difficult for him, but Ayron had to have suffered when that relationship was suddenly ripped away. Elwyn was sure that it had been very painful for him. It was also good to see Ayron less tense now that he was in his own territory. Their break over, Ayron and Elwyn got the morden saddled and resumed both their travels and their conversation.

  The next person that Ayron discussed with her was Ambrose, Minister of Protocol. “Ambrose is the son of a human father and a mother who was half-elf. He has always seemed to relate well to both sides of his heritage, and has always claimed that it was his mixed bloodlines that sparked his love of learning about all the different kingdoms in the Known Lands. He loves traveling from place to place and getting to know the people he meets along the way. I doubt that Ambrose is one of the conspirators. He is still relatively young and wasn’t appointed to his position on the Council of Elders until long after your mother disappeared.

  “The only other members of Azavon’s Council of Elders that are of mixed heritage are my mother, Lady Azriel, and me. My mother and I both became members of the council shortly after Azavon became the ruler of Silvendil. Since I told you about the two of us yesterday, I will just answer any questions that might come up while we are trying to solve the mystery.”

  Elwyn was happy with this because she had no desire to look as if she were casting aspersions on her new family and felt sure that Kierra would ask any questions that might be relevant. The afternoon was waning and as dusk approached, Ayron told Elwyn that they were still about two hours from the village of Kadar where they were going to spend the night.

  “Kadar is a small village, but the inn there is excellent. They always have comfortable beds and plenty of good food. They know me and have always made me feel welcome so, I stop there whenever I am in the area. It is going to be very important though for you to hide your red hair and try to not draw anyone’s attention to your violet eyes while we are there.” Elwyn nodded in agreement. She then checked in with Toruk asking him to keep an eye o
ut for the village, especially since the skies were becoming darker as more storm clouds moved in, and let them know when they were close by. She couldn’t help herself as her thoughts drifted to the inn and the idea of spending a pleasant evening sleeping in a soft comfortable bed.

  Ayron soon interrupted her thoughts and began telling her about the two remaining members of the Council of Elders. Like Daeglin, the last two members of the council were elves with no human blood in their families. He said that the two elves were also members of the Council when Azavon married Rhianna and therefore, had to be considered suspects.

  The first was Safriel, Minister of Guilds and member of the Council of Elders since Lady Silvenna’s rule. “For every type of craft in Silvendil, there is a Guild created to support it. For example, if you were a musician and were willing to join the Musician’s Guild, they would help you to find the best teachers, the best instruments, and steady work. Safriel sits on the council and represents the interests of all of those guilds and, while I have always admired his dedication to the guilds, I know very little else about him. The only other thing that I can add is that he is married to Aylin, also an elf, and currently has no children. I know very little of Aylin except that she is Ireth’s sister. I have only seen her at official functions and she is always close by her husband’s side.”

  The second was Kahril, Minister of Companion Welfare, otherwise known as the Companionkeeper. “Even though Kahril is fairly young, he was still a member of the council during that time. My father, Lord Elwin appointed him to the position, and Azavon felt led to keep him as Companionkeeper when he became the ruler. Kahril dedicates his every waking moment to the companions and their wellbeing. Even though we cannot eliminate him as a suspect, I have to say that I both like and trust him. I would have a difficult time imagining him hating any race the companions were willing to life-bond with. In fact,” Ayron told her, “Kahril was both amazed and delighted when Gemma selected Rhianna as a companion.”