by Shelley Cass
“Well met,” the being replied in a halting voice with a lilting tongue, bowing gently with a graceful sweep of strangely long, lean limbs. “I am Frey. Granx has summoned us to your aid.”
I was breathless at the sight of his strikingly sharp features, which made him look like something carved by the Gods, like an artwork brought to life. His skin was also unlike that of any other ordinary man I’d seen, being of richest midnight black, flawless and deep. And his hair, rugged and unruly, standing up at all ends, was bone white.
“Arn niela rin lissa?” he asked the Granx then, using a beautiful, foreign tongue.
The Granx plucked a long, spike tipped leg free of my trousers and waved it in a small circle before lowering it, as if in answer to his question. Then it scuttled down my ankle and through the grass, disappearing quickly.
The tall stranger, Frey, raised his smouldering eyes to take in Agrudek, who was gaping wide mouthed, and then back to me. I was waiting with a sense of strange calm. I knew things had changed now, for the better.
“We are Elves of Sylthanryn. We have come with the hopes of offering the Three our help and friendship,” Frey said in a low voice, still pronouncing the Awyalknian words carefully. He was a figure of quiet assurance, but fiery, alert energy burned in his eyes and stance. The power ebbing from him as he focused on me, was enough to take my breath away.
“We have known of your Quest, and were aware immediately of your entrance into the Great Forest. The power of the One sent shivers through every leaf and blade of grass with her first step under the ancient treetops. However her power also created a shield over your company that left no trace, and kept even animals who may have seen you from being able to recall the details.”
“You are referring to Kiana?” I asked with a slight frown.
“Her power is already great,” Frey inclined his head. “We could also feel the foulness of Darziates existing within his soldiers as soon as they entered the Forest, and we knew of the capture of yourself and the Raiden because you were not under the One’s shield at that time. However when the One rejoined you we lost our sense of your location once more. Only now have we been able to sense your own presence.”
I was unsure of how to respond, but he spoke once more as if nothing was amiss in his description of our group.
“Where are the One and the Raiden?” Frey asked then, his face serious.
My heart suddenly sank with uncertainty and desperation once more. “We escaped Darziates’ men, but Kiana was separated from us and wounded by an arrow, and Dalin is out searching for her.”
Sounds of concern came like the whispering of a breeze from the trees as the other beings wavered in the shadows.
“The One is injured?” Frey asked sharply, moving forward a step in apprehension.
“Kiana,” I reaffirmed.
Disquiet creased the dark, solemn face of the Elf. “Let us hope the Raiden and One have found each other.”
At that moment a growing whirring sound of something speeding through the air reached my ears. Frey was unmoved, but Agrudek and I looked about in consternation to see a fast blur shooting through the Forest towards us.
The blur came to an abrupt stop in the air beside Frey, and I felt surprise pluck at my brow as the blur became clear and took on an, again inhuman, form.
For the second time myth was made reality before my eyes as I beheld a new creature, the size of a small child, flapping little wings to keep herself afloat. Thick wisps of gravity defying, flaming red hair added to her miniature height, as though a bonfire was sparking away on her head.
She began to speak hastily in a different tongue, until Frey gestured to me and she switched to Awyalknian in the slightly higher pitch of voice that children have.
“Well met!” she greeted.
“Noal,” I responded quickly, still trying to recover composure.
“Asha – Nymph. Adorable squad leader,” she explained herself speedily. Then she turned red coloured eyes back to Frey. “The One’s shielding power has weakened, which is worrying, but it has meant we’ve caught traces of her and the Raiden. The squads are searching, and they’re close. We need to move now, though. Because Krall soldiers are also close. The Lady has warned that these soldiers now covet the One in particular.”
Frey nodded. “Soon your company will be reunited,” he told me, and he held out a midnight hand to Agrudek, who, in awe, reached up to clasp it and allow the lean warrior to effortlessly lift him to his feet.
The other Elves stepped forward then – all of them sharing Frey’s exotic skin and bone-white hair, and as I felt the overwhelming effect of their presence adding to that of Frey’s and Asha’s, I was offered a hand as well.
In wonder, I felt an incredible surge of prickling energy thunder through my fingers as soon as I made contact with the Elf. I felt that I could fly across leagues with a single step, that every cell in my body was being polished and refreshed, that even my hair follicles were more magnificent now.
“Follow me,” Asha instructed, before flying off through the trees at an extreme pace so that I wondered for a moment how we were supposed to catch her.
Then the Elves moved into formation. The Elf who held my hand began to jog, his long legs seeming to make him fly over the ground, and as the burning, prickling feeling travelling from his hand into mine spread upward along my arm, into my shoulder, my chest, my stomach, to explode through my legs – I found I could keep up.
My eyes adjusted to see everything more keenly, and I realised we were moving faster than any human should be able to move.
I passed things too quickly, but I could smell and hear everything with more clarity. Most incredibly, I could feel more clearly. I could feel the overwhelming amount of life and power around me, I could feel Frey’s energy and determination, and I could feel Agrudek’s fear. I could also feel the severe pain of someone close by as their body was overtaken by something terrible.
The trees rushed by and my feet hardly touched the ground until Asha circled back from what she’d seen ahead and pushed to keep pace with us.
“They’re close,” she gasped out. “Frey, they’re being attacked. Only the Raiden’s strength is protecting them. But he is outnumbered greatly.”
“How long?” Frey asked, not stopping.
“He will be overtaken in moments. The squad is regrouping now we’ve found them, but our strength is failing. Our magic is near spent from the days of searching.”
“We’ll be there,” Frey grunted grimly, his eyes narrowing.
She nodded, speeding off in the direction she’d come from, and I was amazed as I felt our group somehow pick up pace.
Soon we could hear the shouts ahead, and could see torches through the trees. In a rush we broke out into the open and found a scene of chaos – but my enhanced sight absorbed everything instantly.
Dalin was facing sixteen huge soldiers of Krall, still monstrous in their spiked armour and with their gleaming, curved blades. He had a gash across his cheek and a deepened one across his thigh. Sweat saturated his hair and mingled with the blood on his exhausted face. But Dalin was fighting with such courageous force that the men who tried to swarm him were kept at bay.
They fought ferociously to reach Kiana where she laid motionless upon the grass behind him. Yet he moved faster and with more power and skill in his blows than his opponents. He had always been a match for many of the soldiers we’d grown up with in practice, but this was something more than the mastery he’d shown in drills and matches at the Palace. Something spectacular and unstoppable had been brought out in him in the face of true combat, and the sound of his sword clanging against the sabres and armour of his enemies rang like fast and savage thunder strikes.
Gushing from the trees there now came a flow of flying Nymphs like Asha. They swooped and swiped at the men who had been engaged in battle with Dalin. Their brightly coloured hair, and hands which glowed with balls of coloured light, filled the clearing vibrantly – but the light
balls sent their foes hurtling backward as if they’d been struck by lightning, and left the soldiers sprawling on the ground.
Dalin seemed to have taken in the fact that mythical beings had materialised to join with him. He had not wavered, but continued his devoted, unrelenting aggression toward anyone who dared to try to get around him to Kiana.
Dalin roared as a soldier tried to duck past his guard, and swung his sword at the hulking soldier with such force that the bulky man only just had time to block the blow. He was sent flying backward by Dalin’s shove.
Our Elves left us to hurry to Dalin’s side, and Agrudek and I sagged as a deflated feeling of normalcy returned to our limbs.
The Elves drew long, double tipped spears from where they were strapped at their backs, and the blades of each Elf burst to life with green light. But I noticed that the Krall soldiers appeared almost undaunted by the supernatural beings, as they fought single-mindedly, almost hungrily to get to Kiana.
Only when Frey’s team joined Dalin to create a semi-circle that blocked Kiana from their view and reach, did they awaken to the hopelessness of their fight.
With Agrudek following, I ran to Kiana’s side as the soldiers began to scatter, and I felt as if I lumbered heavily.
“Gods,” Agrudek gasped as we both knelt beside her and I felt a sick ball tighten in my stomach too.
Her breathing was shallow and I could see that her entire side was soaked with blood – the wound still bleeding sluggishly after such a span of time.
The Krall soldiers were dumbfounded and being chased away at last, so Dalin sheathed his sword and whirled to face me, dropping down on the other side of Kiana.
“Who … what are they?” he asked hurriedly, panting.
“Elves. Nymphs. They’re friends,” I told him. “They seem to think we’re important, and came to aid us.”
“Good.” Dalin gasped, eyeing the unbelievable and enigmatic beings dashing about the clearing. “We need all the help we can get.” His shoulders were heaving as he fought to get his breath back, but his eyes returned to Kiana.
“She’ll get through this,” I told him. “Kiana’s the strong one.”
The Elven warriors were sheathing their double sided weapons, the coloured flames engulfing the blades had disappeared, and the Nymphs sank lower in the air to hover at our height protectively. They didn’t extinguish the glowing spheres that they’d before used as weapons, so the small clearing was still filled with light.
Dalin didn’t rise from where we knelt by Kiana, but regarded Frey and the beautiful, incredible beings surrounding him. He rubbed his hand against his tunic in an effort to clean it of crimson stains, and held it out firmly to Frey.
Frey’s intense eyes burned upon Dalin, and he took Dalin’s unwavering hand in his own strong grasp. “Well met Raiden,” he said solemnly, before they released each other’s clasp.
“Well met friend,” Dalin replied, controlling the fatigue in his voice. “I thank you,” he said simply then.
Frey knelt down with us too. “Will you allow me to see how grave the situation is with your companion?” he asked, and Dalin gave him a weighing look, before moving aside and standing. He sheathed his sword and stood swaying as I rose to stand at his side, worried that he could collapse at any moment.
Frey gently laid his hand upon Kiana’s forehead. Then he moved to begin untying the cord of her tunic. I felt Dalin tense next to me, but as I turned to him, I saw one of the tall, dark skinned warriors reach out a large hand and rest it reassuringly upon his rigid shoulder.
“It will be alright,” the hulking warrior soothed from his great height. “Frey has healing powers. We will allow no more harm.”
Dalin turned as Frey gently eased the front of Kiana’s shirt open enough for the bleeding wound to become visible, and both Dalin and I watched on sickly as we saw Agrona’s brand upon her skin.
It was as if red ink had been tattooed into Kiana’s shoulder, and the blood that stained all of Kiana’s side seemed somehow less alarming than the stark, smooth tear drop shaped branding. The only fault in the shape was where the arrow had pierced the very centre of it.
Frey’s face grew increasingly troubled as he held a hand over the wound until finally he
rose, his face grim. “The poison of dark magic in that mark has been reawakened. It has been released from the original brand and is spreading throughout her body. She is feverish and unable to fight it. The poison makes it so that the bleeding won’t stop. We need to get her to the magic of the Lady.”
Dalin stumbled slightly for a moment, but I caught at him and saw that the Elf warrior still supported him also.
“We should leave at once,” Frey said, looking at Agrudek, Dalin and myself.
I nodded and Dalin stepped forward with a strength that almost hid his weariness, and stooped to lift Kiana.
“I'm ready,” he said gruffly.
Frey regarded him sincerely. “Friend, your courage and strength have been shown tonight as beyond admirable. Will you allow me to carry the One in your stead so that the journey may be faster?”
Dalin looked ready to refuse, having never seen the speed of the Elves as they dashed across the Forest.
“Raiden, we will not separate you from her. We will simply get you all to the care of the Lady as fast as we can, so that she can try to help the One.”
Dalin frowned down at the pale face of Kiana, resting as if in the deepest sleep upon his shoulder.
“Be careful,” he gave in finally.
He stepped warily closer to Frey, and allowed the Elf to cradle Kiana in his own arms, while I went to Dalin’s side to support him. I could feel his body shuddering with depletion.
The same warrior who had steadied Dalin before stepped kindly over to him again now. “Will you allow me to give you help?” he asked, holding out his hand. Dalin nodded his thanks, looking hardly able to stand, and took the huge hand held out to him. Another warrior came to my side, already linked to Agrudek, and offered his hand.
And in moments I was again being carried at a phenomenal speed across the Forest, following the gurgling stream.
Chapter Eighty Two
Dalin
Everything ached as I was rushed across the Forest floor. But it was my heart that especially throbbed and drummed like a cramping muscle in my chest.
In the arms of the richly skinned warrior ahead of us, I could see Kiana’s boots swinging with his motions.
I was dimly aware that the trees were swelling to impossible sizes as we rushed past. And the gurgling of the stream was getting louder as the size of the channel of water grew into a clear gushing river that churned with enormous sound.
I felt removed when I saw the roaring river split itself in two to create a border, and when we ran over that border, our speed such that our feet barely touched the water. I felt removed even when we suddenly entered a part of the Forest where there were brilliant lights in the massive trees. They were coming from gaps like windows in the twisting trunks of the trees, as if these were living, breathing towers.
We passed onwards in a blur and I hardly registered any wonder as I next found myself looking down into the largest, strangest natural hollow in the ground that I’d ever seen. It was as if a great circle of Forest had once dropped away, and the lower level space had been used to create an impossible City that ended with a monstrous waterfall.
We reached a path winding down along the rocky wall and into the sunken City, and only began to slow as we followed it into the depths of the submerged, magnificent area.
I knew dimly that there were faces and lights and blurred figures and crowds waiting. But I hardly saw them as we came to a stop in their midst. The warrior didn’t stop supporting me against his shoulder, and I was grateful because it was getting hard to remain upright.
The whole extraordinary City was alight with golden floating globes that sat like lanterns in the vines all along the cliff walls, in every tree and bush and across every vine bridge han
ging gracefully over our heads, but everything still seemed blurry.
Beautiful beings with dark skin and white hair surrounded us, standing in walkways that seemed to be growing out of the trees, and looking out from lit up dwellings that were a part of the cliff faces. Those strange little winged Nymphs hovered like glowing stars amongst leaves and in the air.
There seemed to be thousands of them as we stepped out into the light, and I was swamped by the extent of the magic they exuded.
I squinted at the crowds as they parted to let a small, ordinary looking old woman through. She was faintly recognisable, and though everything else had failed to hold my attention, she did. Something about her, underneath the surface, made her seem like a Goddess sent from the heavens down to the lands of men. Swells of power rippled around her – so dense that the air stirred and shifted visibly around her, and her flashing green eyes were mesmerising. For a moment I imagined torrents of auburn hair upon her shoulders, but I blinked hazily and it was silver.
Noal had again come to stand by my side and I saw my own wonderment reflected in his face. “She looks familiar,” he breathed.
She stopped before us with her warm, brown face radiating care and a wisdom that was more noticeable to me than anything else in the blurred faces and impossible things pressing in all around. The perceptiveness and strength emanating from this woman was staggering, and it anchored me to reality in a way that I gratefully clung to.
“This was not the welcome we had hoped to give you, honoured guests,” she said in a deep, musical voice that somehow carried all the way up to the top of the round cliff edges.
“We offer you tree towers to rest and recover in,” she told Noal, Agrudek and I warmly. “And I will tend to the One’s healing myself.” She gestured to Kiana with brown, lined hands, and the movement broke my enchanted reverie. I nearly staggered with the memory of my hurts, and Kiana’s, but I felt a firm grip of support from the fierce and terrifyingly magnificent being beside me. His hand encompassed my whole upper arm.