Avalyne Series 02: The Easterling

by Linda Thackeray

  ‘I am sorry about your friend,’ Melia said sincerely as they moved through the square where the bones of the krisadors were piled.

  ‘Thank you,’ Tamsyn answered glancing at him. ‘I know it cannot be easy for you to say that after what he did.’

  ‘I do not forgive him for anything,’ Melia said icily, not about to deny that her feelings towards Edwyn would ever be anything but bitter. There were no words for what he had done, no justification she would accept for the lives he had destroyed but she did see how much his death affected Tamsyn and the wizard who saved both their lives deserved her sympathy. ‘I am sorry for your pain. I know that he meant a great deal to you.’

  ‘He did,’ Tamsyn nodded. ‘You may not know it after what you have seen of him but there was a time when he had more heart than any of us. He was determined to rid this world of all evil. Perhaps that was his weakness, wanting it too much. I had hoped it was not too late for him.’

  ‘I am sorry,’ Melia repeated and once again, her heart could not bring herself to feel sorrow for the dead Mage but she could feel a great deal for the one before her. ‘You did what you could for him. Take comfort in that.’

  Tamsyn did not reply because he knew it was a lie. He had not done enough and certainly not in time. ‘It will be a long time before I am ready to take comfort in anything regarding my brother. I left him because I thought he did not need me and that mistake will follow me for all time.’

  Melia nodded sombrely, unable to say anything that might change that fact for him. At the moment, her heart felt as burnt out as the hall they had left behind them and there was nothing left inside her that wanted to feel. Buried under all her grief was her love for Aeron but she could not see it for the anguish she felt at Ninuie’s loss.

  Tamsyn sensed this within the young woman and it alarmed him greatly for he believed that the watch guard was about to reach a heartbreaking decision driven by pain that was premature and ill advised.

  ‘You are leaving him,’ Tamsyn declared. It was more of a statement more than it was a question.

  Melia did not reply but she did not need to, her eyes spoke for her.

  ******

  Elves were not prone to such black sleep but when awareness finally came up Aeron three days after he had fallen, he was gripped with a great sense of lost time that left him uneasy upon awaking. His dreams were unpleasant and when he awoke to find himself within the same cave that Tamsyn had first offered them refuge, he could not shake the sense of foreboding that took root in his heart.

  At least he knew his return to lucidity meant that he was on the road to recovery after the battle with the River Daughters. Though he felt tired still, there was none of the fatigue or the life draining exhaustion that had threatened his life during the fight.

  Upon awaking, his first thought was to sit up and upon doing so, saw Tamsyn staring at him from across the small cave. A fire was burning in the middle of the space and outside Aeron saw that it was night for the stars brought the twilight alive with its glitter. Tamsyn’s expression was sad and Aeron supposed that it was most likely because the wizard was still suffering the loss of his dear friend. Aeron had seen Edwyn's state after their battle and he doubted that the disgraced Mage survived the combat. However, something else soon dawned upon the Prince of Eden Halas, something that struck cold fear into his heart.

  ‘Where is she?’ Aeron demanded for he saw no sign of Melia or her belongings in the cave.

  Tamsyn drew in a long breath and even before he spoke, Aeron knew the answer.

  ‘She is gone Aeron.’

  ‘Gone,’ Aeron said simply as he absorbed the word.

  ‘She said you would understand,’ Tamsyn continued but could tell by the fading sparkle in his friend’s eyes that Aeron did not understand at all. Not one bit. ‘She helped me bring you here and then she departed once she knew you would recover. I believe she was returning to the Baffin.’

  Aeron swallowed thickly, forcing down the bubble of frustration and anguish that was rising up his throat like bile. His mind screamed in betrayal and fury as her departure. He could not believe after all they had endured together, she still did not have faith in their love. Worse yet, she could not even trouble herself to face him, to give her farewell in person. Once again, he was forced to wonder how much of this she had planned before her departure.

  After all, she refused his proposal, using the quest for her mother as an excuse to deny him. Had she ever planned on staying with him? Was everything she said a lie? To ensure that he remained and to help her find Ninuie? Aeron refused to believe Melia could be so calculated and yet he was still furious that once again, he had woken up to find her gone. He swore by his life that she meant everything she said to him and yet she was still gone.

  How could he not believe anything else?

  ‘Are you alright?’ Tamsyn asked quietly, aware that he was anything but that. Still, the Mage felt compelled to inquire.

  ‘Yes,’ Aeron answered using a voice that did not feel quite like his own. Considering what was happening inside his heart, Aeron acquitted himself rather well, showing little sign of grief or his anger as he stared into the fire.

  The pain that was coursing through him was beyond belief but on some level he knew he should have expected this. Hope had blinded him from the reality of the situation. What took place with her mother was further proof of why they should be apart, the unbridgeable differences between mortal and elf. Knowing this, did not make it any easier for Aeron to bear and the emotion that churned through him more than astonishment and anguish was fury. Once again, she had made this decision for the both of them without consultation.

  After Eden Halas, had he not learnt how accustomed she was to running whenever she was faced with something she could not cope with?

  ‘She wished you well,’ Tamsyn offered, knowing what words he offered the Prince was no comfort. Aeron was doing his best to keep his emotions contained but it was obvious that he was hurting badly by his lady's actions. ‘She said you fought bravely and that she will always love you but you know the reasons why she had to depart.’

  Aeron did not speak.

  He lay back down on his bedding and rolled away from the wizard. His eyes were glistening despite his best efforts to contain his sorrow and he wished to be spared the indignity of having all his emotions exposed to Tamsyn. With his back to the man, Aeron was grateful when the Mage did not try to console him with words but left him alone to his silent tears.

  ******

  Despite the emotional pain he suffered at Melia's abrupt departure, Aeron recovered quickly and far sooner than Tamsyn gave the elven Prince credit. In a number of days, they were ready to depart the Gahara Plateau.

  Aeron invited Tamsyn to return to Eden Halas with him and as the wizard had no present destination in mind for himself, the suggestion did not disagree with him. Tamsyn decided it would not be so terrible to visit with Halion again as the King was one of the few beings in Avalyne who shared the same longevity as him. Another part of his decision was because Tamsyn was reluctant to let the Prince make the journey alone, despite the facade he presented that he was recovered from Melia’s abandonment.

  Particularly after he had saved Avalyne from an unimaginable peril by destroying Edwyn’s creations.

  While Tamsyn understood the reasons for Melia's departure, he did not condone it, not when it was bringing them both such heartache. He suspected that much of her desire to leave stemmed from the guilt of being the one to order her mother's death. Even if Ninuie had asked for her life to end, it was no easy thing for any child to see dead the parent she had spent so much time attempting to find.

  Once they had begun the journey towards Eden Halas, Aeron spoke nothing of Melia and seemed to purge all thoughts of her from his mind. Of course, Tamsyn knew that this discard was only skin deep and the lady was never far from Aeron’s heart. However, he respected Aeron’s wishes and made no attempt to broach the subject with the Prince.


  ******

  When they returned to Eden Halas, Halion was visibly grateful to see the return of his son, particularly after how things had been with his wife since Aeron’s departure. Syanne’s anger with him had not abated as it had done in the past when they had other quarrels. This time it seemed as if neither were yielding the point and the days after the Prince and his lady’s departure from Halas were tense ones for the court. It was clear to all present that the King and Queen were not in good terms.

  Aeron’s return however, ended that tension with Halion pleased to see that his son had not carried out his threat to never see his father again. Although they did not immediately speak of the argument that had driven him away from Halas during his last visit home, both father and son seemed to regard each other with a new understanding. Halion was also pleased to see the return of his old friend, Tamsyn. Tamsyn had been a comrade during the Primordial Wars and was one of the few people in Avalyne who knew him before he was King.

  Melia’s name was not mentioned.

  It was plain to see that some rift now separated the Prince from the watch guard because he did not speak her name and left it to Tamysn to explain that Melia had returned to her duties at the Baffin. At the feast to welcome Tamysn to Eden Halas, Aeron played the part required of him even though those who knew him could see the sadness in his eyes of which he would not speak to anyone. Even Halion who was normally able to maintain an impressive facade of indifference could not hide the pain he felt at seeing his child’s anguish and being able to do nothing to ease it.

  Aeron tried hard not to show the court his sombre mood but he could not help it. He displayed an impassive front to all that saw him because a Prince always kept his emotions well hidden, Halion had taught him that. On this occasion, it seemed to serve because it kept anyone from asking him any uncomfortable questions. He could see it burning in their eyes every time they looked upon him, the intense curiosity to know what it was that had transpired between Melia and he. Especially after her last appearance at court had seen her wearing his mother's necklace, a gesture that could only mean intimacy between them.

  Since she had left him, Aeron had done nothing but rationalize her behaviour, trying to see their relationship from her point of view. He knew she feared he would leave her, the way her mother had abandoned her father. Surely, he had proven himself to her by his love and his actions, that he would never do such a thing? How much more did he have to earn her trust? He bound himself to her and he knew that until he passed into the next life, he would always yearn for her.

  For better or for worse, Melia was apart of him now and that was all there was to it.

  In the meantime, he distracted himself with the real reason he returned to Eden Halas and that was to put into motion the plans he discussed with Melia when he still believed she might marry him.

  As expected, there were more than a few elves in Eden Halas, particularly those who had fought at Astaroth, who were willing to listen to his dreams of reclaiming Eden Ardhen and building a new kind of elven city. His Eden Ardhen would not live entirely within the Veil, it would remain in the woods of Arden where men and dwarves could come. No longer would they live in isolation as had been the practice of elvenkind since the Primordial Wars.

  Elves were granted immortality to fight in the Primordial Wars because it was too difficult to keep growing new soldiers when old ones who not die on the battlefield withered with age. However, when the war had ended and they should have used their immortality to become teachers and recorders of history for the younger races as the Creator had intended in the forming of the Sacred Three. However, resentment had disrupted that plan instead and the promise of the Three was never fulfilled.

  Balfure’s invasion had awakened a good number of elves to the world outside the Veil. Some had been born without ever leaving its confines and were eager to see what lay beyond. Aeron had been fortunate to travel with Dare and see breadth of the Western Sphere at the mortal’s side. He wished to be apart of the world and knew many at home in Eden Halas who felt the same. All they had to do was leave with him and they would build a new home for themselves in Eden Ardhen.

  If his father knew the discussions Aeron was having with his people, the King did not mention it although Aeron knew the time to discuss the matter was fast approaching. How Halion would take his efforts was as much a mystery as everything else about his father.

  *****

  When Aeron returned to his room that night, he found Syanne waiting for him. Since his return, he had taken pains to avoid talking to his mother because he knew she would want to discuss Melia and Aeron was in no frame to approach that subject with anyone, not even her. He had successfully buried all thoughts of the watch guard deep inside his heart so that he would not feel the pain of it and discussing the matter would only bring to ruin that careful interment.

  Syanne was seated on the same bed she had tucked him into as a child when her son entered the room.

  To her, he would always be the most precious of her sons, the sensitive, thoughtful one that took so much after the brother she had lost instead of his father. Growing up as a girl in Sanhael, Syanne had adored her older brother Aeron, who would lose his life at the hands of the Primordials. When her youngest son was born, Syanne stared into that tiny face and knew his name could be nothing else.

  ‘You have been busy since your return,’ Syanne announced herself when he entered the doorway. ‘I thought I better make some time to see you alone before you embarked upon your new venture.’

  Aeron suddenly found himself feeling like a child that had been caught playing where he should not be and felt immediately guilty for evading her. ‘I would have seen you before leaving,’ he said closing the door behind him before coming to sit next to her.

  ‘Would you?’ Syanne asked, knowing her son better than that. Melia was not the only one who knew how to run.

  Aeron could not meet her gaze. This was precisely the reason why he had avoided her. Syanne could look into his soul no matter how deeply he thought he buried his feelings. That was the power of all mothers he supposed, their ability to see past all the barriers because they alone had seen their children before any had been constructed.

  She took his silence for an answer.

  ‘I am sorry about Melia,’ Syanne said quietly.

  Aeron stood up and walked away. ‘I do not wish to speak of her. She made her choice, she is gone.’

  ‘Son, whatever else you may think of what she has done. She loved you,’ Syanne said trying to offer him comfort. ‘I truly believe she acted in the hopes of sparing you.’

  Aeron turned around and faced his mother, allowing himself to vent his rage for the first time. ‘Spare me?’ He exclaimed. ‘You are right mother, she did love me but not enough. Not enough for her to see that I could never love anyone after her, not enough to believe that I would not abandon her or have faith that we could have had a life together. I do love her and I will love her until the day I die, however long that is but I do not forgive her.’

  ‘Do not speak so quickly,’ Syanne said gently, standing up to come to him. Resting her hand on his shoulder while another brushed his forehead, Syanne wished she could soothe this hurt as easily as she was able to soothe a scrapped knee when he was a boy.

  Instead, she gazed into his eyes and said firmly, ‘I think it is time you spoke to your father.’

  ******

  When Aeron sought his father out at Syanne’s request, he believed it was to discuss his intentions of leaving Eden Halas with some of its citizens.

  Stepping into his father’s study, Aeron could not help but think of the last time he had been in this room and felt immediately embarrassed by how harsh he had been with Halion. After all, Halion was trying to protect him by sending Melia away and in retrospect, Aeron supposed he was not so misguided in the wake of what transpired after they left Tal-Shahar. Nevertheless, Halion being right did not make it any easier to face his father.

  ‘Father,’
Aeron announced himself as he entered the room.

  ‘You are up early,’ the King glanced at his son before lowering the scrolls he had been perusing. ‘Then again, I suppose rallying some of my people to leave their homes requires an early start.’

  So much for small talk, Aeron sighed. ‘I am sorry, I wanted to know how interested people would be to come with me before I approached you with my plan. I did not mean to offend.’

  Halion eased back into his chair and looked at his son with puzzlement. ‘Do you think that I am offended?’

  ‘Well yes,’ Aeron replied, not expecting any other reaction. He knew his father.

  ‘My son,’ Halion sighed as if he was resigned to never understanding Aeron before he stood up, ‘let us take a walk.’

  Aeron stared at his father in puzzlement as Halion stepped away from the desk and left the room for the balcony outside his study. The balcony ran along much of the outer wall of the city like streets running through Sandrine.

  As Aeron followed his father outside, he wondered what it was that Halion wished to say to him. For years, Aeron had thought he knew his father until Tamsyn’s revelation showed him he knew little at all about Halion himself, just the persona the elf King chose to show the world.

  When they were outside, with the sun on their faces and the morning air crisp in their lungs, Halion finally spoke, ‘You were always the one child I understood the least when you should have been the one I recognised the most. You were always so introspective. Face value was never good enough for you and you had some far seeing eyes. You are just like your mother’s brother and I should have remembered that. Its odd how time blunts the memory, especially when he was my best friend.’

  Aeron blinked. ‘He was?’

  ‘Oh yes,’ Halion nodded with a faint smile, pleased to surprise his son on occasion. ‘We were inseparable, Aeron, Gavril and myself. Not unlike your Circle with Dare. For most of the Primordial Wars, we fought at each other side. Tamsyn was there too and the other mages but it was on each other we relied the most. We were young, hungry and there was nothing we thought we could not do.’