Evermeet: Island of Elves (single books)

by Elaine Cunningham

  Demand for places in the Tower was high, and elves of great promise waited for their turns. The other High Magi began to clamor for Rennyn's dismissal. But Amlaruil was unwilling to do this, and not just for fear of alienating the powerful Aelorothi family. She saw much to value in Rennyn. Although his skills were not those highly prized by the elven culture, she began to envision a role in which he could excel.

  The day she called him to her private rooms, Rennyn came before her with the stiff pride of one who saw his fate approaching and was prepared to accept it standing tall.

  "You know that I am dedicated to the service of these Towers, but I will be the first to admit that they are not all of Evermeet," Amlaruil began, putting the young elf immediately off guard. "There are other important tasks to be done. I think that an elf of your talents might do better for himself by looking beyond these Towers."

  "And what talents might those be?" Rennyn said with bitterness. "I am a failed mage, however you wish to gild me with your golden words!"

  "Not so," Amlaruil countered. "You have gained facility with many types of magic. You have not the makings of a High Mage, I agree with that, but with a little assistance from the right devices, you could accomplish any magical task you might need to undertake."

  She took a ring from her hand and gave it to him. "There is a looking glass on the wall behind you. Put on the ring, and imagine that you need to speak with a forest elf, a stranger to you."

  The elf gave her an incredulous look, but did as he was bid. He turned to face the mirror, only to pull back, startled by the strange face that gazed back at him. His own face, albeit copper in hue and swirled with green and brown tatoos, stared out from the glass with inscrutable black eyes. The familiar golden hair had darkened to brown, and was ornamented with weavings of feathers and beads. Rennyn lifted a wondering hand to touch his face, looking surprised anew as his reflection followed suit.

  Amlaruil smiled. "The ring's magic suits you well. You have a natural talent, Rennyn, for being other than what you appear. I have seen you charm an elf maid with a smile, convince a soldier with a few bluff words that you are his comrade and friend. And yet-forgive me-you are never touched in turn. You hold yourself apart from those you easily befriend, and give only and precisely what you chose to give. And in truth, the elf maid and the soldier would not know you from each other's description."

  Amlaruil leaned forward, her face earnest. "I have in mind for you a role in which you can truly excel. While it might not sound as grand as a councilor or a war wizard, it is every bit as important to Evermeet. I want you to be the eyes and ears of the Towers. You will travel, both on Evermeet and to distant lands, and send me word of such things as we here should know."

  "You would have me be a spy?" he said, more in astonishment than disapproval.

  "A hidden diplomat," she agreed. "You have fine judgment and excellent discretion, and if ever these talents should fall short of the task at hand, your fighting skills are impressive and should more than fill that gap. Your first task is an important one, something I would not entrust to an elf of lesser talents."

  Amlaruil stood and shrugged off her mantle. The silken folds of her gown clung to her rounded belly. "As you can see, I am again with child," she said serenely, her hands framing her belly as if cradling the life within. "Before the winter is past, I will bear twin sons to King Zaor. They will be raised in secret fosterage with my distant kin, and trained among the warriors of Craulnober Keep. You will accompany them as their guardian and bodyguard, and see that they are delivered safely. None must know of their identity, or yours." Amlaruil smiled at the astonished elf. "Would I give you a task so near my heart, if there was another better suited?"

  With effort, Rennyn stopped gaping. "And the king?"

  "Zaor knows of my choice, and approves it," Amlaruil told him. "When you have done this, you may sail for the mainland. The ring you wear is also an elfrune, a device of my creation. I have enspelled it so that you might speak to me at will. It will also transport you magically, instantly, back to Evermeet in times of grave danger. I will show you how to use these powers. But first," she suggested, "show me the guise you will use when you go to Craulnober Keep."

  Rennyn turned back to the mirror. A faint, sardonic smile lifted his lips as he confronted his changed image. He was now a Moon elf warrior, white-skinned and silver-haired. His frame was heavier, almost human in appearance, and his arms and shoulders gave promise of daunting strength.

  "Forgive me, lady," he murmured, "but I doubt my parents would approve this transformation."

  Amlaruil came to stand beside him, her hand on his shoulder. "Trust me with your family, as I entrust you with mine," she told him firmly. "I will tell the Aelorothi whatever they need to know to help them understand how important their son is to Evermeet. Your kindred are honorable; they will keep their council and only say with pride that Rennyn travels on missions for the king."

  The elf turned and bowed low to Amlaruil. "Thank you for allowing my family to save face."

  "Do you still think that is my intent?" she demanded. "You are a remarkable elf, Rennyn, with unusual talents. And though you serve King Zaor, you will also be my personal representative and the guardian of my sons. I do not assign this task lightly."

  "The queen's knight," Rennyn murmured thoughtfully, pride kindling in his eyes.

  Amlaruil lifted one brow. "I do not think that Queen Lydi'aleera would thank you for that description," she said dryly.

  "Lydi'aleera is a vapid fool," Rennyn responded without rancor. He shrugged. "Forgive me, but it seems to me that you, not Lydi'aleera Amarillis, are Evermeet's rightful queen. And I say this not just for the heirs you have given Zaor."

  Before Amlaruil could respond to this pronouncement, Rennyn drew his sword and lay it at her feet. "I will serve you and your children, in secrecy and in honor, the hidden knight of a hidden queen," he said, and knelt before her.

  Perhaps because the young elf looked up at her with such shining expectancy, perhaps because he needed so desperately to believe in his worth and hers, Amlaruil took up the sword and with reverent solemnity declared Rennyn Aelorothi a knight of Evermeet. And when he left, she found that she did not regret the action.

  Amlaruil slipped back on the concealing mantle of High Mage. But before returning to her duties, she paused to gaze thoughtfully at the reflection in her mirror.

  It seemed to her that the faint shadow of a crown lingered upon her forehead. And she wondered if, perhaps, the magic of Rennyn's ring allowed him to see through illusions as well as create them. The young elf had seen a truth that she herself was just coming to accept: Though she ruled only in the Towers of the Sun and Moon, in heart and spirit she was Evermeet's true queen. The gods knew it: for had not she as a girl touched Zaor's moonblade, the king sword, as if it were her own?

  What did it matter that the elves did not recognize or acknowledge her? She would still serve-a hidden queen, Rennyn had called her, but a queen nonetheless.

  Well content, Amlaruil left her chambers to take up once again the rule of the Towers.

  20

  Windows on the World

  Amlaruil tried to look sternly upon the identical scamps standing before her, their tousled blue heads hanging sheepishly low and bare toes scuffing at the polished marble floor.

  It was difficult, though, to summon anything resembling maternal wrath over the boys' latest misdeed. Indeed, it was all she could do to keep from sweeping both of them up into her arms and forgiving them outright for this, any past and all future offenses.

  Xharlion and Zhoron, her twin sons, were small replicas of their warrior father. Sturdy and stubborn, they had inherited Zaor's sharp features-right down to the dent in the center of their chins-and their father's distinctive sapphire-colored curls. Amlaruil could not help but smile wistfully whenever she looked upon them, a blessing which came to her all too seldom.

  "You boys are under the fosterage of Lord and Lady Craulnober," she
reminded them with mock severity. "You are to obey them as you would me, and study with diligence all the things they would have you learn."

  "But dancing?" Xharlion exclaimed, spitting out the word with exquisite disdain. "What need have warriors of Evermeet for that?"

  "It is the custom of the Craulnobers to teach all the young elves in their care the ways of court life as well as the skills of the battlefield," Amlaruil reminded him. "It is, I might add, a custom with which I wholeheartedly agree. Life does not present us with a single task, and an elven noble must be able to comport himself well in many circumstances. And what have you against dancing, anyway? It is as important to an elf, and as natural, as magic!"

  "Well, the two things aren't so bad, when you put 'em together," Zhoron observed, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief. The twins exchanged a sly look. Their shoulders shook as they snickered at their shared memory of the morning's events.

  Amlaruil struggled to keep from joining in. The image of the primly sedate Chichlandra Craulnober shrieking and clutching at her fly-away skirts was almost Amlaruil's undoing.

  "You should not have enspelled Lady Chichlandra to dance upon the ceiling rather than the floor," she admonished them.

  "Lady Chicken-legs," Zhoron improvised, setting the twins off in another bout of giggles. "That one ought to wear longer bloomers, I'd say!"

  "Dances like a chicken, too, she does," Xharlion said. He tucked his hands high up on his sides, flapping his elbows like wings as he minced through the first steps of a roundelay. His small face was set in an eerily precise imitation of Lady Chichlandra's tight, prissy smile.

  At last Amlaruil succumbed to a chuckle, which earned her a pair of identical, conspiratorial grins.

  "Do not think for a moment that I approve," she cautioned the boys. "Whatever your opinion of Lady Chichlandra's dancing-or her legs, for that matter-you need to show her proper respect. Terrifying and embarrassing your hostess is not the sort of behavior I expect from you."

  The genuine disappointment in her voice finally pierced the twins' high spirits. They mumbled apologies, and when Amlaruil dismissed them, they actually walked from the room and down the hall that led to the garden, rather than bolting headlong through the open window as was their usual custom. In moments, however, they had found wooden swords and were bashing at each other with great gusto, emitting battle whoops lusty enough to give pause to a well-armed ogre.

  Amlaruil sighed as she watched the boys at play. "My work in the Towers keeps me from them far too much."

  "They are being well taught here, lady," Rennyn Aelorothi assured her, coming from the shadows to stand beside the mage. The Gold elf was a frequent visitor to Craulnober Keep, and he had come to look upon the twins as his personal charges. "There is no finer swordmaster than Elanjar Craulnober on all of Evermeet."

  The mage turned to smile at Rennyn. "Why, I never thought to hear such sentiments from you concerning any Silver elf!" she teased him.

  Rennyn responded with a shrug. "I have seen much in the last ten years. Things are not so simple as I once thought them, nor are the Gold elves quite the paragons we like to think ourselves. There are elven cultures that, although very different from that of Evermeet, are worthy of respect."

  "So you said, earlier. Tell me more about the elves of the Moonshaes," she prompted, knowing that her young advisor was eager to speak more on the matter, having recently returned from a trip to these islands.

  "They are fierce fighters and fine riders-on horseback, they are as nimble as centaurs," Rennyn began, speaking with great enthusiasm. "Their magic is different from ours, too, and very much a part of the land. Even an elf would have a difficult time finding their valley, for it is hidden from common view by magic." He paused. "In fact, this sheltered valley might be the very place for restless young princes to begin exploring the world."

  Amlaruil nodded thoughtfully as she watched the warring twins. Their play had progressed from sheer exuberance to fierce competition. As she watched, they threw aside their swords and leaped at each other. They fell together, rolling and pummeling as they went at it with fists and feet. Fortunately for Amlaruil's peace of mind, it appeared that the twins were dealing far more damage to Lady Craulnober's flower beds than to each other.

  "They are too like their father in that they will need to find or form kingdoms of their own," she mused. "I fear there is little future for them here on Evermeet, since Ilyrana seems destined to rule."

  "The Sonorian Valley may have need of such warriors as Xharlion and Zhoron will become," Rennyn said. "The elves are secure enough now, but I fear for them as humans become more numerous on the island. Perhaps the presence of the young princes will help persuade the elves to set up a gate between Evermeet and their valley."

  "A fine idea," she commended him. "You have done well, Rennyn, in forming ties with other elven settlements, and in training the Ahmaquissar elves to follow your example."

  The elf bowed. "I thank you for your words, my lady. They remind me, however, of my fear that we will soon lose the services of one of our agents. Nevarth Ahmaquissar."

  "Oh?"

  "He wishes to remain in the High Forest, in the company of a young elf woman."

  "Ah." Amlaruil nodded in sympathy, even if she found the image hard to conjure. Nevarth was a roguish, carefree elf who changed ladyloves with a frequency that rivaled that of the new moons. "You have met this girl?"

  A troubled look crossed Rennyn's face. "I have. She is very beautiful, and very bewitching. I suppose I can see why Nevarth is taken with her."

  The mage heard and understood her agent's hesitation. Though she knew full well the power of young love, she also knew that Nevarth had trained long and hard to win his place among the High Mage's advisors. He would not lightly cast it aside.

  "Perhaps I should summon him home, and try to learn more about his intentions."

  "That would be wise. If you please, lady, I would as soon not be present when you speak to him." Rennyn paused, and again he looked disturbed. "He would not thank me for speaking against his ladylove. He is very jealous of her, and has already accused me of trying to come between them, thus to win her favors for myself."

  Amlaruil frowned. That was very unlike Nevarth. He was sounding less and less like an elf enamored, and more like one ensorcelled. "I will speak to him now through the elfrune he carries. Go then, Rennyn, and I promise you I shall be discrete about my source of information."

  The Gold elf bowed and left the room. As soon as she was alone, Amlaruil touched the ring on her small finger and spoke her agent's name, followed by an arcane phrase.

  A few moments passed before Nevarth answered. His voice sounded unusually distracted, even impatient. Amlaruil, her concern increasing by the moment, insisted that he meet her at once, at the small lodge near the Lake of Dreams that the Grand Mage and her agents often used for such meetings.

  When the light from her ring faded, along with Nevarth's reluctant assurances, Amlaruil gathered up her skirts and ran out into the garden that had become the boys' impromptu battlefield. There was but time for a quick embrace and a brief admonition concerning future behavior before her duties took her, once again, from those she loved.

  "Why must you go?"

  Nevarth Ahmaquissar stopped tugging on his boots long enough to cast a wistful glance at the elf woman curled up among the silken pillows of their shared bed. Even newly awakened, she was stunning-the most beautiful Moon elf he had ever seen. Her masses of night-black hair were still tousled from his touch, and the skin of her lithe, naked body was the rich, pale color of new cream. As if sensing a momentary weakness, Araushnee pouted prettily, then patted the cushions in renewed invitation.

  "What is this Amlaruil to you? You do not rush so when I call you," she said in a voice that reminded Nevarth simultaneously of feywine and dark velvet.

  "Rush?" The elf grinned. "Never that! You are meant to be savored, my love."

  "Yet you are leaving me."

&nbs
p; "Only for a while," he said in soothing tones. "I have business on Evermeet, and then I will return. And when I do, I need never leave again."

  "Pretty words!" scoffed Araushnee. "How many elf maidens have heard the famed minstrel Nevarth sing that song?"

  The elf caught one of her hands and raised it to his lips. "My heart is yours alone," he said, speaking with a simple dignity that was very unlike his accustomed banter. "You know this to be true."

  Araushnee lifted her other hand and smoothed a finger over the ring Nevarth wore on the small finger of his hand. "Then give me a token to keep until you return. This ring."

  "I cannot." He hesitated, as if wondering how much to reveal. The words came out in a rush. "I would give you this or anything else, but I cannot. The ring is enspelled. No one can wear it but me-it cannot even be removed from my finger while I live, and when I die its magic perishes with me."

  The elf maid lifted one ebony brow. "Powerful magic for a simple minstrel to carry."

  "Yes," he said, and though she waited, he did not offer further explanation.

  After a moment, Araushnee sighed and took a ring from her own hand. "If you will not give me a token, at least wear one of mine! Take this to Evermeet with you, and think of me when you look upon it."

  Nevarth willingly held out his hand to her. He glanced down at the ring she slipped onto his middle finger, noting that the band shifted to fit his larger hand. The stone, a ruby, seemed to stare up at him like a malevolent crimson eye. Nevarth blinked and shook his head as if to dispel the odd image. When he looked again, the ring was merely a lovely red stone, as bright and vital and wonderfully fierce as the elf woman who shared his bed and held his heart in her white hands.

  Araushnee rose up on her knees, entwining her arms around his neck and lifting her face for one last kiss. Willingly, eagerly, the elf made his farewells. When at last he stepped away, his smile said without words that he would not need her token in order to remember her long and well.