My brain froze at that. What did that mean? We had powers strong enough to do such a thing? Surely not.
'Elena, we thought a love spell we cast brought us here,' Sian confessed blushing. 'Was it you who brought us?'
Elena's full lips twitched and the hint of a dimple appeared in a cheek, making her seem much younger. 'No, I didn’t bring you here. You simply appeared. What was the spell you cast?'
Sian spoke the spell while Elena listened and she had Sian repeat it a couple of times.
'Yes, that sounds like it would work. As the spell says, it will create the right time and place for it to work and obviously that’s on our world, not yours. Did the consequences not occur to you?' Elena asked.
'NORMALLY WHEN WE cast spells in our world it’s to draw positive energy to the cause,' explained Sian. 'I’ve cast many spells on Earth before and none of them did this.'
'This only happens in fairytales,' Kassie added. And only in fairytales are there magickal abilities, and griffons, and scary creatures like elgrids, she thought; oh God, I hope we can get home. The horrible butterflies returned to her stomach, somersaulting about and made her feel queasy. She spat out the question she knew they all wanted to know. 'How can we get back to Earth?'
Elena's face went slack, her eyes wide. 'But you didn’t ask for that,' she said in astonishment. 'You asked to find your soul mates and that is why you are here. There is no reason for you to just ‘zap’ back when you find them.'
THE FOUR OF us stared at her, aghast.
We can’t get home.
The answer to the question we’d been waiting to ask but this wasn’t what we wanted to hear. The realization hit hard. I felt like I’d taken a solid punch to the chest and leaned forward, trying to breathe. Beside me Kassie began to cry, silent tears running down her cheeks, both hands pressed over her mouth. Sian stared at Kassie with an expression of agony and I reached out to her.
'We know it’s not your fault, Siany.' I caught her hand and squeezed it. Tears began to run down our faces and we wrapped our arms around each other.
'I’m so sorry.'
'It isn’t your fault.'
'We’re okay,' Loi’s voice sounded hoarse. 'We’re okay, we’ve got each other and we’ll make the best of it.'
'But our families,' Kassie moaned, pressing her head to my shoulder.
Our families. I’d never see mum and dad again. I started breathing hard. Oh God that hurts. Images of them flashed through my mind and the tears flowed faster. We clung tight to each other while Audi whined and cried at our feet. It was some time before we stopped and Elena sat silently, allowing our grief.
Wiping away the tears, I glanced at her. 'We’d been hoping that you might have been able to get us home.'
'Yes, I gathered that.' The Sorceress' eyes softened and she regarded us sympathetically. 'I’m very sorry I can’t. Inter-world magick is not easy, almost impossible.'
The room fell silent again while we pulled ourselves together, managing tentative smiles. Now calmer, we shifted about on the couch so we faced Elena again but stayed close enough to touch, holding hands and leaning against each other. It felt necessary. A soft knock on the door broke the silence and Elena smiled and called out, her voice echoing in the large room. 'Come in.'
The door opened a fraction and a petite woman with short dark curly hair stepped into the room. She crossed the floor to where we sat. Elena gave her a look when she registered our damp faces and she kept hers impassive.
'I would like to introduce you all to Ada. The castle’s newest and most gifted fabricer.'
Ada beamed at the compliment and bowed.
What is a fabricer? Is it like a tailor? The atmosphere shifted from somber to curiosity while we waited to see why she’d been summoned.
'I’m very pleased to meet you all.'
We responded likewise and Ada took a seat next to Elena, quite comfortable with her.
'Ada is here to discuss ideas for your gowns. There is a ball at the end of the month,' Elena explained.
Well that was a change of pace, we go from never being able to return home, to ball gowns. I just resisted the urge to glare at the Sorceress. Loi squeezed my hand and I gave her a rueful smile. Can’t blame her I guess, it isn't as though it matters to her.
'What’s the ball for?'
'Alek’s birthday.'
My brain froze. Surely they didn’t throw a ball in honor of anyone’s birthday. Hesitantly I asked, 'Why? Who is Alek?'
Elena looked very amused. 'Elion’s Crown Prince, of course. Did he not mention that?'
Suddenly the bowing and standing at the table made sense. I flushed. 'Apparently it slipped his mind.'
Elena let out a peal of laughter.
SIAN WATCHED CAT flush and spoke up, hoping to give her a few moments to compose herself. 'What is it you want with us then, Elena? Or was it solely to keep us out of the way of those who would take our abilities?'
'I would like the opportunity to train you all to use your powers. If you do have the abilities that I think you do then you would be very valuable allies,' Elena said frankly.
'How do we know you’re the good guys?' Loi asked. 'We could be allying with the wrong side.'
Elena let out an exasperated sigh. 'Here is the offer I make you. I will train you and provide for you. You will have free reign to explore as you like and ask what you like. All I ask is that you give it at least one month before you make any final decisions as to what you are going to do.'
'Why one month?' queried Kassie.
'Because it will take a month to develop your abilities to a level that will be of any use to you. Hopefully to a level that will allow you to defend yourselves if necessary,' Elena explained.
'What do you think we’re capable of? And are you saying you would want us as allies? Why would you need such allies? Who are you at war with?' Sian wanted to clarify a few more things.
'As I’ve mentioned, I suspect you have the gifts of the elements. If you are blessed with these abilities then you would be a great help against our Southern enemy and anyone else who threatened our realm.'
'WHO IS YOUR Southern enemy, Elena?' I figured I could safely join in the conversation now.
She gave me a sympathetic smile then answered. 'Her name is Jenviet DeNaga and her family’s treachery spans about nine millennia.'
I’m pretty sure it wasn’t just my jaw that dropped at that sentence. Nine millennia! I stared at Elena in shock. Elena shifted position and turned to Ada, who still sat there silently. 'Why don’t you create some concepts that the girls can look at later?'
Ada bowed her head and left, closing the door behind her.
'And so let me tell you the story of my family, the Mestarns, and the beginning of the Royal Thalian lineage.
Nine millennia ago in the Southern realm of Vo’Arum two families, the Mestarns and the DeNagas, inherited special abilities. They were chosen by the citizens of the realm to rule Vo’Arum jointly. Both families accepted and at first it was the perfect arrangement, the realm prospered greatly from their joint abilities.
Then members of the Mestarn family began to disappear in seemingly innocent accidents; a tehnear attack, or a landslide. But one of the bodies was found by a Mestarn who discovered that it had been drained of its gift and they realized something sinister was afoot. Aware that the only ones with that kind of power were either a member of their own family or a DeNaga, they investigated and established it was the DeNagas.
The Mestarns knew that in a fight the DeNagas would win. As now, not only did they have higher numbers but greater abilities. The Mestarns did the only thing they could, they gathered the remaining members of their family and fled to Elion. Elion had just come out of a massive civil war and King Thalian, as the successor, had ascended the throne. The Mestarns met with the King and, after negotiations, settled on an agreement which would be prosperous for both families.
The agreement was that the Mestarns would permanently hold the positions of Archd
uke and Archduchess of Elion, which made them second to the ruling monarch. In the event that a regent was required they would fill that position and no decision would be made without them.
In exchange for this, the Mestarns would protect the Thalian line at any cost and keep them on the throne as the foremost royal family in the realm. If for any reason the Thalian line was not on the throne, then the Mestarns would lose their elite position.'
Loi whistled and the others wore impressed looks.
'That’s one heck of an alliance.'
'Are you the Archduchess of Elion?' Sian asked.
'Yes, it is one of my titles. The alliance was swiftly put to the test when the DeNagas appeared on the horizon with a large army of Arumites, gragnolls, elgrids and trolls. That is how they came to be in Elion,' explained Elena. 'They aren’t native to our lands. Fortunately, the General Guard was already gathered at the castle after the fight for succession, and so a large fight between both sides ensued. The battle was fierce and several more Mestarns were killed, along with two members of the Thalian line. But in the end the DeNagas fled, with only three remaining. Their severely decimated allies also fled although some hid in the forests resulting in some of the creatures you see now in Elion.
The realm rejoiced at the success of the battle and the wisdom of their new King who had allied himself so valuably. Everyone approved of his choice of Archduke and Archduchess.
The next two and a half millennia were peaceful and prosperous, with only occasional skirmishes. Elion was and still is the wealthiest realm in the world. The Thalian line grew stronger, the Mestarn also, and their joint management of the realm proved extremely successful.
Within the space of a year four babies were born who at birth threw off an impressive energy pulse. Curious, the Mestarns used their powers to track the children and spent time watching them. They observed that the children emitted an unusual energy when expressing any type of intense emotion. At puberty this developed into the ability to harness the skills of an element, each child aligned with one element.
The Mestarns were urgently recalled to the castle as it was under assault from dragons. When they arrived the dragons vanished, leaving everyone astonished. When they went to return to their study of the children they experienced a deep and wrenching pain. They suddenly realized the dragons had been a diversion and raced back to the elemental children.
They were too late.
They arrived to find the families' houses destroyed and every family member brutally slaughtered. The children’s corpses drained of their unique gifts. Devastated, the Mestarns returned to the castle and reported to the ruling monarch all the details and agreed that it would be wise to gather the General Guard and prepare for battle. Less than a month later and with their troops barely in place, their fears were proved correct. A massive army was seen on the horizon approaching the castle.
The DeNagas had allied themselves with more creatures, all of whom appeared to have been enhanced with the DeNagas’ powers. The dragons which had assaulted the castle were also with the massive army, circling overhead.
The war that commenced was vicious and hard, with both sides taking many casualties. The enhanced creatures were formidable foes. Even a slash from one could mean death for many were venomous. Giant scorpions climbed the castle walls and shadow creatures flashed amongst the dim corridors. The four DeNagas who had absorbed the elemental children’s gifts exhibited the powers and even without the time to truly master them, they were able to utilize those powers with devastating results.
Several of the Mestarns whisked the members of the Thalian line away to safety at the Southern Keep and kept guard over them. The remaining Mestarns were desperate. The fight was not going well and the chance of the DeNagas winning increased. Linking hands they sent out a call to all gifted and willing creatures asking for help in their time of need in exchange for alliance with Elion.
Several species responded and some troops of goblins, who are renowned for their skill in archery, arrived along with Halenine fae—an exceptionally quick fae with a fatal bite. The odds appeared to improve for the Mestarns and then twelve griffons appeared in the sky and offered their services to the Mestarns. Astonished, they joyfully accepted the offer. The griffons tipped the scales in the Mestarns favor and the only surviving DeNagas with the stolen powers fled the land again.
The Mestarns watching over the Royal family brought them back to the castle. As neither side was in a position to finish the fight, the DeNagas set to practicing with their stolen gifts while the Mestarns and the Thalian line worked on their relations with their new allies and set shields in place to warn them should their enemies attempt to invade again.
Due to the immense damage to the castle, they decided to rebuild it at a more secure site, where it is now. Those gifted with the ability to work with stone were hired from all over the globe and a new castle was built from a gleaming white stone called senolite.
The Mestarns kept a close eye on the four remaining DeNagas over the next millennium and, while they learned more about their stolen powers and did horrific things to their realm with them, they did not risk another attack on Elion. They instead appeared to focus on bringing their numbers back up.'
Elena shifted in her seat and smiled wickedly at us.
'But what the DeNagas did not know was that unlike our families’ gifts, the elemental powers cannot be inherited by those born to them. They realized too late that they would lose the stolen powers, which proved a minor comfort to us. My family turned to studying history in an attempt to find out more about the Elementals. Their study took them far and wide, to many obscure places. The little information they did manage to dig up told them this:
The Elementals are very rare and possibly even the same spirits being re-born.
Those born as Elementals will be natural leaders and generous by nature, never power hungry.
An Elemental born to royal lineage may be able to pass the powers on to their offspring.
Elementals appear to have much longer life spans than most.
Unfortunately, while the information was interesting it didn’t really help to understand Elementals any more than they already did.
After a few more millennia another four babies were born, again with the gifts of the elements. The Mestarns sensed the babies’ arrivals and took them and their families back to the castle to live under its protection. This time the children grew up happy and healthy and learned to utilize their gifts effectively. The realm thrived from their presence. When they came of age they moved out of the castle to start their own families and that is when the DeNagas struck.
Sneaking into the realm with newly acquired cloaking gifts stolen from some unique creatures they discovered in another realm. The DeNagas started killing off the Elementals’ families. The Elementals made their way to the DeNagas, determined to kill them all, but somehow it went awry. One was killed by a DeNaga creature and two offered their lives in exchange for their families. The last Elemental died fighting.
Now that they had the powers again the DeNagas began to lay waste to Elion. This war is known in our history as the Norard—or all encompassing—War. An enormous battle, which in the end nearly decimated the entire world. It only ended when all the other realms banded together against the DeNagas. The first Griffon Guard was created at this time, when five warriors had linked with five griffons. It was thanks to the Griffon Guard that two of the DeNagas with the Elemental powers were killed.
The only surviving DeNagas; a small single family unit, fled the battle and lived out a nomadic life in Vo’Arum to avoid detection.
The next three millennia slowly restored the world and all the realms to their former glory and again the Elementals were forgotten to history. Until now,' Elena said confidently. 'Or so I hope.'
Chapter Nineteen
WE STARED AT Elena, our expressions a mixture of shock and horror.
'Are we meant to be excited about this?' Kassie looked understandably
dubious. 'We may have super powers and if we do a family of nutters is going to hunt us down and suck us dry?' Her voice increased an octave.
Sian stared icily at Elena. 'Well put, Kass.'
Loi and I gave the Sorceress similar unimpressed looks.
Elena appeared a little stunned by our not so rapturous response and stared at us in shock before exclaiming, 'No, NO! That is not what’s going to happen at all. There are a couple of reasons, please let me explain. Do you know how the late King died?'
Loi, Sian, and I shook our heads but Kassie spoke up.
'Yes. Well, I think I do. Rumal told me it was in a fight, and his first griffon, Ofelaan, died in it too.'
'Yes, but there is more to it than that. The late Queen Ariadwen, Alek’s mother, died not long after she gave birth to him. We thought at the time that it was an unfortunate complication from the birth, but now I suspect she may have been murdered. That left just Alek and King Nikias, as the surviving members of the Thalian line. Understandably we watched over them very closely. When Alek turned ten he linked with a griffon, Loushka. He was the fifth to link with a griffon within a ten year period. All of the five were suitable candidates for forming a new Griffon Guard. And so we; the King, myself and Yakov, began to train them. It was at our first training camp that we were attacked by Jenviet and her brother Diantew. In the ensuing fight King Nikias and Ofelaan were killed.'
Elena gave a sad sigh, her eyes sorrowful. 'The one good thing out of it all was that Diantew was also killed in the fight, which brings me to one of the reasons why I am sure that this time we will succeed. Jenviet is the only remaining DeNaga, so our odds are much greater and, unlike the past Elementals, you four are already warriors and used to defending yourselves.'
Warriors? I wasn’t sure if I’d use that word to describe myself. The look of astonishment on the others faces was comical.
'Is Alek is the last of the Thalian line?'
'Yes, all our power goes into protecting him. That’s the reason Jenviet and Diantew attacked us then, in the hope of wiping out the Thalian line and thus effectively throwing the realm into Civil War again. I am not able to remain in the castle if the Thalian line isn’t ruling, they came dangerously close to succeeding in their cause that night.'
The Arrival Page 20