She turned from the window as Gavin strode into the room. He was dressed for battle and ready to join the troops at the eastern wall. She hurried over to him and embraced him. She did not like the idea of her fiancé heading towards the fighting, especially after what had happened the night before. However, she knew there was nothing she could say to keep him at the palace. He was determined to help defend his city.
“Must you go?” she asked in a vain attempt to dissuade him.
“You know I must,” Gavin responded as he held her tightly. “This is my city. It is my responsibility to protect it.”
She knew he was right, but she did not have to be happy about it. It looked as though it would be another long night of waiting and worrying. Hopefully Gavin had learned his lesson the night before and would remain safely behind the lines. If not, she hoped Traven would be nearby.
“Have you heard any update on the Wielder Traven,” Kalista asked curiously. The last she had heard was that he had been defeated by the galdak wielder but had been able to escape unscathed.
“Does it matter?” Gavin said as he pushed back from her. The previous warmth in his eyes had turned to ice at the mention of the young wielder. “He failed.”
“That does not mean he cannot continue to help the army,” she responded.
She was still trying to get used to the swings in Gavin’s attitude. One moment he would be his old, pleasant self, and the next he would be depressed and sad or cold and hard.
“I would not plan on it,” he stated coldly. “The Wielder Traven has abandoned the army.”
“What?” Kalista asked with more than a hint of surprise and disbelief in her voice.
“You don’t believe me?” Gavin asked harshly.
“It’s not that,” she responded quickly. “I just find it hard to believe he would abandon us.”
“Abandon us or abandon you?” Gavin asked with a raised eyebrow.
Kalista suddenly realized why he was so upset. He obviously did not approve of her friendship with Traven. He had been fine all evening and night until she had mentioned the young wielder’s name. Gavin was very jealous of him. She supposed he had a right to be. She had spent almost as much time with Traven over the last few days as she had with him. It would be a lie to deny that she found the young wielder intriguing and that she cared for him. How could one not care about someone who had saved one’s life multiple times?
She also could not pretend that she wouldn’t feel personally betrayed if Traven really had abandoned them. Gavin knew her better than she often gave him credit for, but she did not appreciate his flippant question. She kept silent as she turned away from her fiancé.
“Kalista, I am sorry,” Gavin said as warmness returned to his voice. “I should not have said that, but what I said about Traven is true. Several reports have arrived of him racing off into the night heading away from the battle.”
“If it is true,” she responded as she turned back towards her fiancé, “we will have to trust in the discipline of the Royal Kalian Army to save us.”
“It is the greatest army in the world,” Gavin said with a smile. His eyes had returned to their normal softness. His smile faded, but his eyes remained unchanged. “It is quite possible that an evacuation will occur no matter how diligently our soldiers fight. I want you to be prepared for that.”
“I know,” Kalista said as she walked towards him and embraced him once more. “Be careful.”
“I will,” he responded as he held her tightly.
After the long embrace, Gavin stepped back and gave her another smile before turning and walking out of the room. Kalista stared at the door for several moments before returning to the window that she had been looking out of before Gavin had entered. She looked down at her engagement ring. She hoped her fiancé truly would be careful, especially if there was a galdak wielder about.
Her thoughts then turned to Traven. She found it hard to believe the young man would abandon the army. He was most likely involved in a strategy to surprise the invaders. Thinking of her recent conversation with Gavin, she suddenly felt foolish for the letter she had earlier sent to Traven’s chambers. She quickly summoned one of her maids to go and fetch the letter. It would be best if Traven did not read it.
She stared out the window, trying not to worry too much about the battle that by now was most likely raging along the eastern wall of the city. She knew the army would be able to hold its position for the night, but she wondered how many more nights it could keep the attacking monsters at bay. She probably should have her belongings packed and ready to move if an order of evacuation was given. After a short while, her servant returned empty handed.
“The letter was nowhere to be found,” her maid said apologetically. “In fact, all of the Wielder Traven’s belongings appear to be gone. The room was completely vacant.”
“You are certain everything, including the letter, is gone?” she asked.
“Yes, my Princess.”
Kalista dismissed her servant and turned back to the window. Could it be true that Traven really had abandoned them? She began to feel sick to her stomach and slightly angry. She had not thought the earnest young man could do such a thing. How could a hero like Traven abandon them in such a time of great need? How could he abandon her? Her eyes glistened slightly as she stared out into the dark night. Did her letter have something to do with his choice to leave? She wished she had never written it.
* * * * *
Shaman Azulk stood just outside his tent, looking towards the human city in the far distance. It was growing noticeably lighter with the coming of day, but his dark clouds still covered the entire sky. They effectively blocked the intense light of the sun that would be harmful to the eyes of his people. He hoped they would also help to create a feeling of gloom and despair in the hearts of the humans that loved the light of day so much.
The first of his warriors were beginning to return to the camp after a long night of fighting. They had suffered many casualties, but the loss was hardly noticeable amongst a horde so large. All of the galdak warriors knew what they were fighting for, and all were willing to sacrifice their lives if necessary. Those who had died had not died in vain. The cause of the galdaks was progressing forward with each human death.
The humans had suffered numerous casualties during the night. The galdaks had effectively scaled the walls and overrun the archers. They had also broken through one of the holes he had created in the wall and had destroyed several buildings before being pushed back out of the city. Azulk wouldn’t be surprised if his warriors were able to completely overrun the human’s defenses the coming night.
He could guarantee it would happen if he wanted to, but his place was not fighting with the warriors. He was a shaman. As such, he was responsible for healing the wounded, controlling the sky, and defending them against any human wielders. The first two responsibilities would certainly keep him busy throughout the day.
As for protecting the horde against the human wielder, Azulk didn’t think he needed to worry. The young human wielder had accepted his challenge and come out to face him. The boy had been stunned by his power and through cowardly trickery had escaped with his life. The young wielder hadn’t shown his face since, and as far as he could tell, the human wielder was no longer anywhere nearby. The boy in black had realized it would be impossible to defeat a wielder as strong as Azulk. In a true show of his cowardice, the young wielder had fled not only the battle, but the entire city as well.
A sneer crossed his aged face as he rubbed the magic stone that hung around his neck. It had effectively kept his power hidden from Kadrak and now had allowed Azulk to take the young wielder by complete surprise. The stone had served him well.
He let go of it as the first of the wounded began to arrive at his tent. Some walked while others were carried. They would all be healed. All of them would then owe debts to him. Some would even owe him their lives. He stepped to the side and held open the flap of his tent, allowing the fir
st of the wounded to be carried inside. One by one he would heal them. One by one he would add strong warriors back to the horde. He would keep his warriors healthy and strong, and they would do the rest.
It wouldn’t be long before they would have the humans on the run. They would pursue them until they had nowhere else to go. His warriors would then eradicate the remaining humans from off the face of the land. He stepped inside his dark tent with a smile and went to work.
Part Two: Proving
14
Traven looked around the forest with both excitement and apprehension. They had to be getting close. He was eager to see the first sign of elves in their native environment. Over the last two days he hadn’t seen anything but trees, birds, and an occasional critter in the distance.
Darian said they wouldn’t run into any elves until the trees changed, but Traven wasn’t sure what that meant. The forest looked exactly the same as when they had first entered it. He peered through the perpetual twilight into the distance. It seemed to be lighter a ways ahead of them, but he couldn’t tell for sure. He looked over at Darian. The elf seemed anxious. They must be getting close.
Traven slipped his hand into his pocket and felt the soft texture of the letter that rested there. Darian hadn’t let him have it until they had stopped for the first time at the edge of the woods. Traven had kept it safely in his pocket ever since. He was about to pull it out but stopped himself. Darian would just make fun of him. Besides, he had it memorized by now. Darian hadn’t been very talkative as they journeyed, and he had had plenty of time to read it over and over.
The letter intrigued him deeply. After studying it numerous times, he still wasn’t sure what the princess hoped to achieve by sending it to him. He wondered if he was reading too deeply into it. Then again, why would she take the time to write him a letter when she could have just talked to him in person?
He reviewed the letter in his head once again. It had began with Kalista apologizing for asking him if she was in his dreams. He had been surprised when she had asked him but hardly thought she needed to apologize for it. She asked him to forgive her for her lack of decorum. He thought it strange that a princess would ask him for forgiveness. It meant that she saw him as an equal. That was the first surprise of the letter.
Kalista then went on to thank him for spending the two previous mornings with her. She said that she had enjoyed spending time with him as much as she had enjoyed doing anything in quite awhile. She went on to say that she wished there had been more time for them to spend together before the battle started.
The princess had then said she was sorry for touching his arm and that she should not have. She did not want him to have the wrong idea about her relationship with him. She was engaged and would not be able to spend time alone with him anymore. The letter had ended by saying she would always remember him as a dear friend and be thankful for all that he had done for her and her kingdom.
It was so strange. It was as if Kalista wanted to be with him but at the same time didn’t. He supposed it was as his grandfather had taught him: you will never understand women.
Darian had laughed when Traven had let him read the letter. He said the princess didn’t know what she wanted. Traven wished he could laugh at the letter as well, but he couldn’t. It fueled the hope that Kalista had feelings for him, but at the same time, it made it clear that nothing would ever come of them. Why had she even written the note? It seemed cruel to lift his hopes and immediately thereafter crush them.
Then again, he supposed it was nice to know that a princess cared for him. If circumstances had been different, maybe they could have grown to be more than friends. It was an interesting thought. He just wished that Kalista would disappear from his dreams. It was hard to move on when she was at his side every night.
“Stay alert,” Darian said, interrupting his thoughts. “We are now at the edge of the territory of the elves.”
Traven stopped thinking of Kalista and looked closely at his surroundings. It had indeed gotten lighter. The trees began to thin, and rays of light could be seen breaking through the foliage. There was also a new variety of tree growing in the forest. It was taller than the trees they had been passing through and was some type of pine. As they rode onward, the forest continued to change. The dark trees began to thin out more and more. The new, taller trees dominated the area, and the ground began to be carpeted with pine needles.
Traven suddenly let out a gasp. Directly in front of him was the tallest tree he had ever seen in his life. The trunk was a reddish hue with coarse bark. It shot straight up into the air at least four times the height of the trees they had been riding through, and the width of the trunk was a full arm span. As he approached it, he craned his neck upward. The tree’s branches were clustered towards the top. They were short and bristled with pine needles. Traven had always been awed by the massive size of the oak tree in his home town, but this tree’s height dwarfed it.
“That is nothing,” Darian stated. “It is one of the young ones. As we get closer to my haven, you will forget you even saw this small one.”
Traven could tell Darian was being serious, but it was hard for him to believe there could be trees larger than the one he was currently staring at. He lowered his head and continued to follow Darian. It wasn’t long before the large trees began to dominate the landscape and the smaller trees disappeared altogether. It was past midday, and the forest had completely changed, but there was still no sign of the elves.
“How much longer?” Traven asked.
“Not far,” Darian replied gloomily. “We will not arrive at Morian Haven until late in the afternoon, but we are now well into the territory of the elves. I would not be surprised if someone tries to stop us soon. There are elf havens both to the east and the west of us.”
Darian’s mood had been swinging back and forth between excitement and sadness for the last two and a half days. He knew the elf was excited to see his homeland but also worried about how the elves, including his family, would treat him. No elf had devoted himself to a wielder in centuries. If the way the guardian elves had treated Darian at Faldor’s Keep was any indication of what was coming, he felt bad for his devoted servant. He was determined to do whatever he could to make Darian look as good as possible to his people.
“Cheer up,” Traven said. “It won’t be as bad as you think.”
Darian responded with a shrug of his shoulders as he continued leading his mount through the maze of trunks. Traven focused his mind and allowed his senses to travel out into the forest. If any elves did try to stop them, he didn’t want to be caught by surprise. They hadn’t gone very far when he sensed movement to their right. He glanced in the direction of the movement but didn’t see anything. As he turned away, he sensed movement again. Something was definitely nearby. He sent a questioning look at Darian. The elf nodded with a smile. He had noticed the movement as well.
“Should we stop?” Traven asked quietly.
“No,” Darian responded. “They will catch up to us eventually.”
“And you’re sure they will let us pass?”
“No,” the elf replied honestly. “But I think they will. Besides, they cannot stop us. You have plenty of power to continue on whether or not they allow it.”
Traven supposed Darian was right. He could always form a shield around the two of them and keep riding northward.
“Do humans ever accidently stumble upon any of the havens?”
“No,” Darian replied as he looked to the right and pulled up his hood. “There are always elven scouting parties like the one tracking us patrolling the edges of our forests. If a human gets too close to a haven, the scouting party will kill him.”
“Really?” Traven asked. “Just because he’s in the wrong part of the woods?”
“Yes. Sometimes they will try to scare the human away, but that takes more effort. They will kill a human if he actually sees an elf. We do not want rumors of the elves making their way back to the lands of the hum
ans.”
Traven stared at Darian and prepared to raise a shield if necessary. He didn’t want to be mistaken for a random human wandering too far into the woods. After riding a little further, Darian stopped his horse. Traven pulled up and glanced around. He could sense there were several elves nearby, but he still hadn’t caught sight of any of them.
“You can come out,” Darian announced loudly. “We are aware of your presence, elves.”
There was silence for several moments before five elves simultaneously stepped out from behind five different trees. They all wore long cloaks similar to the one Darian wore, but they were not a solid brown. The cloaks appeared to be made of several different materials. Each piece was a different shade of green, brown, or dark red. They appeared to be sown together haphazardly, but the effect was amazing. The cloaks blended in perfectly with the surroundings. Traven now realized why they had been so difficult to spot.
All five had their hoods down, revealing their fair complexions and long, flowing blond hair. They also had the distinctive pointed ears and angular features that had been common to the elves at Faldor’s Keep. All five had solid black slashes over their left eyes. Four of them had arrows trained in his direction. The fifth stood in their path with his hand resting casually on the hilt of a sword. Traven remained ready to create a shield if necessary, but the elves didn’t appear particularly hostile.
“How did you know about us?” the elf standing in their path demanded.
Traven waited for Darian to answer, but his devoted servant remained silent. He had his head downturned, refusing to look at the elf blocking their path. Apparently, he wanted to keep his identity a secret for now. Traven didn’t mind taking the lead, but he had expected Darian would, it being his homeland.
“I’m traveling to Morian Haven to seek an audience with the elf king,” he said, not directly answering the elf’s question. “I come as a friend. I would appreciate it if you would all lower your arrows.”
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