Stop.
Suddenly, I was pushed back into my body. Pain made my eyes water. I was back in my miserable, hurting, abused body. Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes. Colours flooded my mind. Used to the black shadows of my prison cell, the multitude of colours, shapes and smells overwhelmed me. There was a fireplace right in front of me, but instead of a gently crackling fire, there was a silver cage standing in the hearth. A masterful craftsmanship showed in the many embellishments and flourishes that the silver cage bars formed. Inside was an animal that looked like nothing I had ever seen. First, I thought it was a chicken, but it was a larger than that, the size of a large cat. While its legs, feet and body looked like that of a rooster, it had no feathers, but scales that shimmered golden in the light of the fire. Its wings were too small to be much use for flying, and its beak was long and curved. But the most peculiar thing about this strange beast was its antlers. They looked like those of a stag, but much smaller. They sprouted from the place just above the creature’s eyes. They were of a dark red colour, and its ends looked sharp enough to do serious damage. The animal was sitting on a nest made from a variety of materials, with wooden branches bound together by colourful strands of cloth. Its eyes were closed, it seemed to be sleeping.
“I gather you have not encountered an elvedritsch before”, the deep voice said behind me. I startled. Staring at this peculiar animal had made me forget about the second person in the room. “They are not very easy to catch. They are quick, but also very curious. Hunting elvedritsch is a skill that not many possess. You need several beaters who try to find and rouse the elvedritsch. They will then drive it to the catcher, who has prepared a variety of interesting things for the elvedritsch. I have heard that candles, sweets and a mirror are most effective. While the elvedritsch inspects the offerings, the catcher throws a sack over the animal. Elvedritsch are naturally scared of the dark, and won’t move while they can’t see. Once you’ve got an elvedritsch in a sack, it won’t even do so much as squawk. This one has been with me for quite some time. To my knowledge, she’s the first of her kind that has laid an egg in captivity.”
Now that he mentioned it, I could see a light orange egg peak out from her scaled lower body.
“Their eggs grow while they are close to their mothers. Soon, it will be large enough to hatch. I’m quite looking forward to that.”
He stepped into my field of vision, and I saw him for the first time. He was a tall man, dressed in a black suit. He was quite handsome, with his dark hair and slender figure. His skin was darker than that of most people in this region, but if it was from the summer sun or his parentage, I could not discern. Were it not for his piercing blue eyes, he would not stick out in a crowd. He was wearing no jewellery or other decoration but still looked striking in his simple black clothes.
He gave a small bow in my direction.
“I am sorry, I have not yet introduced myself. You may call me Lassadar. And what is your name?” He smiled kindly, and I felt the urge to tell him anything he might want to know.
“They call me Eona.” My raspy voice sounded foreign to myself. I had not spoken for a long time. Until then I hadn’t noticed that I had spent the last weeks in silence. My thoughts had been loud enough that I had not minded the silence.
“Welcome to my tower, Eona. Would you like something to drink - wine perhaps?”
He did not wait for an answer but went straight to a little shelf on the wall. He took out two crystal glasses and filled them quietly. He then offered me one of the glasses with a flourished move. Grateful, I took it, my hand shaking with the effort. The wine was excellent, although after living off stale water for so long, anything would have tasted good. When I put down my glass, I caught a glimpse of my own reflection on the polished silver. I was a skeleton, with huge, dark green eyes in a bony face framed by dirty pastel white hair. I had never been beautiful, but now I was just a shade of whatever I had been before.
Lassadar pulled a chair close to my armchair and sat himself down. He settled his elbows on his knees and leant his chin on his fingertips. Then, as if it only just came to him, he looked at me, and said, “I am so sorry for how you have been treated here. I only just arrived earlier today, otherwise I would have seen to your accommodation myself. But I put someone else in charge of my affairs here, and he must have misunderstood my orders. Don’t worry, he will be punished for how lowly you have been treated. Of course, from now on you will live in better quarters. I will have my own physician see to your needs. He will probably suggest that we start you on small portions of food, but soon you will be able to eat anything your heart desires. And once he says you are fit to travel, I will take you to my own dwelling on the banks of Lake Veilvar.” He paused and looked at me. I felt as if I had just been struck by lightning. His words were so beautiful; they were promising things that I had not thought possible. It made sense that someone as noble as himself would not have known of my painful time in a prison cell. Surely, he could not have known.
I took another sip of the wine. It ran warmly down my throat, making me feel light and happy. My seat was comfortable, and it was nice and warm in this room. Here I could stay, here I felt safe.
I must have fallen asleep because when I woke, I was lying in a soft bed. I was warm and comfortable, something I hadn’t been for a long time. I was wearing a simple nightshirt. All the grime and dirt that had covered my skin for weeks had gone. It was almost as if nothing had happened, as if I was lying in my bunk bed in Mara’s vardo.
The smell of freshly baked bread filled my nose, and hungrily I sat up. There were three pillows behind me, and one large, fluffy duvet keeping me warm. On my left, a tray with hot soup and a few slices of bread was waiting for me. I reached over and put the tray on my legs. I had not eaten in bed for years. The soup was delicious, small pieces of meat swam in the nicely spiced broth. I broke off a piece of bread and dipped it into the soup. It was a such a meal as I had not had in a long time. After a few spoons full of soup, my hunger was stilled. I had gotten used to much smaller rations of food, and this bowl was more than I had got in several days combined.
I put the tray on the little table once more and pushed away the duvet. The small window beckoned, I wanted to find out where I was. Unsteadily I stood up and moved towards the window. It took me a lot longer to walk across the small room than I had thought. I opened the window and a cool breeze flew into the room. I closed my eyes and breathed in the fresh air for a while, before leaning out of the window to look around. Vertigo overcame me. There was no ground, only water a long way down from where I stood. I was on a high tower, far below me waves crashed into black cliffs. This must be Lake Veilvar, the largest inland lake known to men. Gyntkeep, the homestead of King Gynt himself, lay on its shores. Was my room in the keep itself? Or was I in one of the other towns and villages that were built on the shores of the lake?
I leant out further to see more. The tower was built from the same rock as the cliffs down below. I turned to both sides, but I could see nothing but the rounded tower walls. The buildings I had seen when the gaoler had carried me to this place must be on the other side of the tower. In the distance, I thought I could see low hills on the horizon, but it may have been a trick of the light.
The window wasn’t a way out then. I looked around the room and thought why I would need a way out. The man I had spoken to, Lassadar, seemed nice enough. Why would I want to leave when he was giving me this lovely room, and food, and his attention.
There were two doors leading away from my room. I tried the larger one, it was locked. The other one led to a tiny room where a hole in the floor served as lavatory. Through the hole I could see the water below, waste would simply fall into the lake.
I left this small garderobe and sat back down on my bed, saving the little strength I had.
There was a short knock on the door, then a young man entered the room. He was dressed all in green; the colour of his loose shimmering trousers reminded me of moss in the dark s
hadows of a forest.
“I see you’re up already. When I looked in on you earlier today, you were still sleeping. How are you feeling?”
“Not too bad, I guess.” Which was a lie. I was feeling amazing. But I liked his mothering attitude. “Who are you, anyway?”
He gave me a shy smile. “I’m Healer Reaving. His lordship has ordered me to give you any assistance you need to get back to your usual healthy self. Which is why I have brought along some potions that will help you to get back your strength.”
He pulled out several small bottles from the leather bag he was carrying over his shoulder. Each one of them had a carefully glued-on label, filled with spidery writing. He removed the tray from the table and then sat out the bottles in front of me. I picked up the largest of them and tried to decipher the tiny handwriting.
“You can read?”, he asked, and when I nodded, he smiled. “That will make this a little easier. The potion you are holding is to increase the amount of nutrients your body absorbs from food. It will help you gain weight again quickly. You might feel a little drowsy after taking it, but this will pass quickly.” He gave me a conspiratorial wink. “Most ladies of the court request potions that have the opposite effect. But I won’t let you gain more weight than what suits you, don’t worry.
“Then, we have a potion to give you energy should you feel too tired or worn out. This blue bottle contains medicine that will help with nausea and vomiting that might occur if you eat too much too quickly, which I advise you to do, because you need to get some more flesh on your bones before the winter starts. The potion in this bottle is against your cough. And lastly, this one here is one of my favourites. It’s quite bitter, I know, but it will make you feel good. Nothing more and nothing less than that. You look like you could do with some happiness.”
His broad smile is contagious, yet I don’t know what to say to him.
“Thank you for your kindness”, I finally manage to say.
“Don’t thank me. I’m only doing what his lordship has asked me to.”
“His lordship, do you mean Lassadar?”
He pauses for a moment as if to think about what to say, then he replies, “Yes, I mean the man you know as Lassadar.”
With that cryptic answer, he leaves the room, slowly shutting the door behind him.
5
Lord Levatius Lassadar
Lassadar was the court magician (some have called him a sorcerer) of -> King Gynt the Wise. Nobody knows where he came from originally, save that his darker skin tone suggests his descent to be from the western counties. His first name is not known, nor is his age. He was known for his charm and sense of humour, behind which he often hid his sharp intelligence and - some say - his malice. He quickly rose to fame as the magically gifted protector of the king early in Gynt’s reign. The other tasks he was given by the king are not specifically known, yet there are rumours of Lassadar being called an assassin or the ‘King’s hangman’. It is also known that people who speak of or spread these rumours vanish and are never heard of again.
- Andros’ Chronicle of King Gynt’s Reign
Several days had passed by the time I was called to Lassadar. I had spent the last few days recovering from the time in the dungeons. I was brought meals three times a day, all of them delicious. Once Healer Reaving had learnt that I could read, he had brought me a book on herbs, one of his favourites, he said. I had never had a book for myself before, there had only been one in the possession of the Ghorres family, and that had been a selection of essays on the history of the travelling people.
I used the time my body needed to recover to read in Reaving’s book, which became the first encounter I had with the art of healing. Some herbs I knew as cooking herbs, others I had thought to be nothing but wild-growing weeds, and again others I had never seen or heard of before. On the second day, I asked my healer for some paper and ink to make notes on what I had read in the book. Gladly, he did so, and passionately offered to answer any questions I might have on the things I read. It seemed that he did not have anyone else who shared his passion for healing. Yet after noticing his discomfort during our first conversation, I did not want to strain our burgeoning friendship by asking questions about his master.
But now, Lassadar had sent a servant to ask me to join him in his study. It was the first time I left my room since I had arrived there. He led me up a winding staircase that began close to where my own room lay. It took a long time for me to climb the stairs, I had trouble breathing at every step.
The study turned out to be the same room where I had met him for the first time. This time, it was him sitting in the armchair. He stood up when I entered, and motioned me to take a seat on a simple, but comfortable chair opposite of his own.
“You look so much better today. I trust you have found everything to your liking?” He smiled at me, sure that I would agree. And agree I did. I told him how I was so very thankful for giving me room and board and sending Healer Reaving to tend to my physical needs. When I had finished, he cleared his throat. He picked up a little bell from a small table beside him and rang it. The servant, who had left once he had seen me to the door, reappeared.
“Find Lor and send him up to me”, Lassadar ordered. The servant bowed and left the room. Lassadar turned to me. Again, he was dressed all in black, yet his simple attire did not hide the quality of the fabric it was made from.
“When I saw you a few days ago, I promised that I would punish the person responsible for your mistreatment. This has not been done yet, as he was away from the keep, but now that he has returned, I thought you might like to witness what happens to people that mistreat my guests.”
I was not sure if I did indeed want to see this punishment, but when I thought of all the time I had spent shivering in the wet and dark hole they had kept me in, white-hot rage filled me. Yes, I wanted to see the person responsible punished. I wanted him to pay with pain for the pain he had caused me.
“While we wait, would you like to have a closer look at the Elvedritsch? You fell asleep last time before I got the chance to properly introduce you.” Without waiting for an answer, he got up and bent down to the cage that was still sitting in the empty fireplace. He drew a small golden key from a pocket and opened the upper part of the cage. The elvedritsch, who had been sleeping peacefully, lazily opened one eye and peeked at Lassadar. He smiled, and carefully lifted her from the cage. She protested noisily over being separated from the dark orange egg that was left lying on thick velvet scraps in the cage. Her little wings went up and down; she looked a little like a grilled chicken that had suddenly come back to life. With antlers.
Lassadar sat her down on the floor beside him.
“We need to give her something to look at, otherwise she won’t shut up. Could you pass me that little mirror from the cupboard over there?” I got up and walked over to the other side of the room. The cupboard was a magnificent chest of drawers made from mahogany and black ebony. Its drawer handles were made from gold in the shape of leaf garlands. On top of the spotless commode lay a small silver mirror. It looked old, its back had started to tarnish, yet it was still beautiful. I took it over where the elvedritsch was being held by Lassadar.
“Put in right in front of her,” he ordered. When I did, the fowl stopped struggling in Lassadar’s strong grip and began to curiously eye the mirror. Once he was sure that she would not run, the man loosened his grip and let her explore her new toy. Curiously, she put one of her bony feet on the mirror, exploring her reflection. She tilted her head to both sides, trying to see the effect that would make, and then opened her long beak, examining the insides of it with the mirror.
“You’d think this is the first time she does this,” Lassadar laughed. “I gave her the same mirror only yesterday, and still she is fascinated by it. Well, while she is busy looking at herself, we can have a closer look at her egg.”
We moved over to the cage again, leaving the elvedritsch to her toy. I had only seen a glimpse of the egg the last
time I had been in this room, but I was sure it had not been as big nor as shiny previously. It was about as large as a man’s fist, and its smooth surface shone as if it had just been polished. Its colour went from light gold at the top to a dark yellow where it touched the ground. It was neither translucent nor opaque, but somewhere in between. When looking at it closely, I thought I could see a shape within the egg, but it might have been a trick of the light. I yearned to touch it and feel its smooth surface, but I did not know whether Lassadar would allow it.
As if he had read my mind, he said, “Go on, you can touch it. He won’t mind.” Wasn’t the elvedritsch female? Then why had he said ‘he’?
I stretched out one finger to touch the egg. The closer I got, the more it called to me. At the first contact, I pulled back my hand immediately. Questioningly, I looked at Lassadar, but he only smiled and beckoned for me to repeat my action. The egg had hummed. I lay my whole hand on it and felt the vibration go through my arm up into my shoulder. I closed my eyes, and opened my mind, looking for the egg that my hand still touched. When I found it, I could not believe what I felt. It was as if a golden flame burnt brightly within the egg. It was neither hot nor cold, the flame did not radiate any kind of warmth. While I was staring at it, the flame turned and looked at me. Startled, I opened my eyes again. Lassadar smiled at me.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” I simply nodded, feeling unable to speak. It had felt as if the egg knew me, as if we had met before. There was a familiarity between us that was unlike anything I had ever felt. I knew then that if I connected with the egg again, the thin bond that now connected us would become stronger, maybe even unbreakable. I was not sure if I wanted that. There was too much that I did not know. What would a bond to an egg mean? Would it only stay while the chick had not yet hatched? Too many questions, not enough answers.
Heart of Time (Ruined Heart Series Book 1) Page 6