by Duncan Lay
‘And where do humans fit into that?’ Huw asked.
‘Somewhere between the lowest servants and something you would scrape off your shoe,’ Sendatsu said grimly. ‘As such, it will be easy for you to offer insult. We shall have to tread very carefully in Dokuzen.’
‘And who are the elves out to kill us — and who will help us?’
Sendatsu sighed. ‘As to the ones who want to kill us, I fear they are led by my father. The twelve clans of Dokuzen compete among each other for power and control. The ruling faction is led by an elf called Daichi. My father leads the opposition — and seeks the top seat for himself. Then there are the Magic-weavers, who have the magic and also seek power.’
‘So we shall be aligning ourselves with this Daichi, the opponent of your father?’
‘No, we are being helped by the Magic-weavers,’ Sendatsu admitted.
‘The ones despised by everyone else?’ Huw asked flatly.
‘That’s right.’
The awkward silence fell once more.
‘Magic is a power like no other. With our help, they shall change Dokuzen, the way we have changed Vales,’ Rhiannon declared.
‘Do you want to stop and have something to eat?’ Sendatsu suggested, after a long pause. He could not shake his fear there was something very wrong with Rhiannon. She was showing them a hard shell but he worried she was crying inside.
‘A couple more miles, then we’ll eat,’ Huw said. ‘How long to Dokuzen?’
‘A couple of days. But there is one place we need to go first — the old church where I found the book. We might find more answers there,’ Sendatsu said.
‘Then let us waste no more time.’ Rhiannon spurred her horse past them.
4
At first we welcomed these strangers into our land, for there was more than enough to share. It was rich land, with deep valleys, gentle hills, wide forests and a beautiful lake. We let them live among us, for we were always welcoming.
Huw’s song
The woods were thick, forbidding. The squad of Forlish scouts was used to operating far behind enemy lines, where death lurked around every corner, but there was something about the woods here that set their teeth on edge.
For a start, there was no evidence that anyone had been here before. There were a few game trails but apparently nobody had cut down anything for wood, sent pigs in to forage or hunted animals. Ever.
Then again, it was the legendary Tregarth Forest, home of the elves.
Sergeant Caelin, the Forlish leader, looked around warily. He had heard many stories about the north as a child. But now it seemed less like a vision of wonder and more like a place of fear. He knew some of the men who had come north a few moons ago to deal with the Velsh, and had been secretly pleased not to be given that task. He was happy fighting the king’s enemies but terrorising unarmed villagers was dishonourable. Not that he would say that, of course.
‘Spread out,’ the sergeant ordered. ‘We are here to watch and find things out. Nothing more. If we are attacked, we turn and run. At least some of us must get back to report what we find.’
It was hardly the sort of speech to stiffen men’s spines and get them ready to do or die. But Caelin had his orders, even if he didn’t really understand them. He had served in the king’s armies for more than ten years, grown from a skinny youth into a respected sergeant, and he had the scars to show for it. He was only average height but had hugely broad shoulders, close-cropped fair hair and an unremarkable face, save for a scar beneath his left eye that stretched almost to his nose. He was also uncomfortable because this squad had been scraped together. The orders had come so fast, they had ridden north so urgently, that he was yet to know all his squad’s abilities.
‘Hey, sarge, do you think we’ll see an elf?’ asked one, a lanky man with long brown hair, protruding teeth and a long nose. Caelin was tempted to call him Ratty but remembered his name in time.
‘Not if you keep shouting like that, Harald.’
‘I’d love to see an elf maiden about now,’ muttered the soldier next to Harald. Short where his mate was tall, curly haired with huge shoulders and a cheeky smile, his name was Ruttyn.
‘You wouldn’t know what to do with an elf maiden if you found one,’ Caelin told him.
‘I wouldn’t like to see one. I hear they can work their magical wiles on men they desire, drive us crazy with lust, until we will do anything they want,’ Harald said ominously.
Ruttyn nudged his mate. ‘Well, you should be safe then. Any elf would have to be blind to find you attractive.’
‘What do you mean? I am a vision of Forlish manhood!’ Harald declared.
‘You mean you look like the reason the elves put up a magical barrier?’
Caelin grabbed the pair of them by their arms and turned them to face him.
‘We are here on a scouting mission for the king. If the elves find us, they won’t be blowing us kisses — they’ll be shooting arrows,’ he snarled. ‘Now, unless you want to get us all killed, shut the rut up!’
‘Sorry, sarge,’ Harald mumbled.
‘Won’t happen again,’ Ruttyn said.
Caelin slapped the pair of them across the head. ‘Now get back up in line,’ he ordered.
The pair of them turned to go — only for Caelin to grab their arms again.
‘We told you we wouldn’t do it again, sarge —’ Ruttyn began but Caelin held up his hand.
‘The birds have gone quiet,’ he whispered.
‘What does that mean?’ Harald hissed.
‘Are you a scout or not?’ Caelin growled.
‘Not really. We’re here because it was either this or latrine duty,’ Harald confessed.
‘Marvellous. So now I’m the one who ends up in the shit,’ Caelin spat. ‘When the birds go quiet, that usually means there’s someone out there.’
He pulled the pair of them down, where they crouched in the bushes, their actions copied by the men ten paces further ahead, their only other movement to carefully draw weapons. Caelin looked around frantically but could see nothing, which made him feel worse. He prided himself on being able to tell when someone was hiding from him but this time it seemed as though the trees themselves were watching.
When nothing happened, the squad stood and took a cautious step forwards. Next moment the trees exploded into life.
Caelin, Ruttyn and Harald ducked low, watching, horrified, until the screaming had stopped and it was over. Caelin stood on trembling legs as Ruttyn vomited into the bushes.
‘We — we need to report back,’ Caelin said shakily.
‘What was that, sarge?’ Harald gasped.
‘I don’t know, lad. But I hope I never see it again.’
‘Finally, something is going our way!’ Sumiko crowed. ‘It is as if the humans sense our troubles and come to our aid.’ The leader of the Magic-weavers had begun to feel as though her plans to restore her order to glory, to take the power that was rightfully theirs, would never move forwards. She had sent Sendatsu out into the human world but nothing had come back. She had made Asami steal the books of power from the tombs of their forefathers only for Jaken to take them himself and burn the tombs to hide his crime. She had other plans going on behind those, things happening that nobody else knew, but they were not ready to be brought into the light yet. Then, just as the certainty she would avenge her father and seize power began to slip, help had arrived from a most unlikely source.
‘Sensei?’ Asami prompted, stepping back as plants slithered across the path in front of her.
Sumiko noted the concern that Asami tried and failed to hide. ‘The humans are testing the magic barrier, like they have not done for centuries. The Council has ordered the Border Patrol out, to make sure no humans can get past the weakening barrier. They try to keep it silent but we are spreading the word through the streets. Once the Border Patrol is summoned, it will reach everyone!’
‘And what if they get in? I heard the latest class of magic students has several
who show no magical ability at all. Oroku has been telling everyone how he cannot get them to even sense magic. Will the barrier fail?’ Asami asked, alarmed, thinking of how she had proved her sensei’s theory that the magical barrier that surrounded Dokuzen was somehow linked to the amount of magical ability within the elves.
Sumiko shook her head irritably. ‘The barrier has some life in it yet. Those students have ability — Oroku is my deputy. He only says what I tell him to. I knew it would spread like wildfire and reinforce what we have been saying for the past moon. The people will hear tales of humans testing the barrier, stories of the barrier’s power slipping away and the latest class not having much magic and they will turn to us. Now the Council sends away the Border Patrol and leaves themselves almost defenceless. Once they are all gone, I shall seize control.’
‘And afterwards, sensei — what of Sendatsu?’ Asami asked boldly.
Sumiko paused and, behind Asami, vines slithered out of the ground for a moment, before falling back again.
‘First things first. Let me control Dokuzen before anything else,’ she said blandly.
‘This is the perfect opportunity,’ Jaken said with relish, leaning back in his chair. The leader of clan Tadayoshi had worked patiently for the last twenty years to seize control of Dokuzen. The scandal of his son, Sendatsu, killing Council Guards and vanishing into the human world had slowed his plans — but only slightly. He had manoeuvres going on in the background that Daichi, the Elder Elf, would never expect. Soon his real plans could be unveiled and the foolishness of the humans testing the magical barrier around Dokuzen was an opportunity too good to miss.
‘Lord?’
‘If the Magic-weavers do not plan something now, they never will. For some reason the humans are testing our barrier — and discovering their crude ways cannot hope to compete with our knowledge. But Daichi has ordered the full Border Patrol out to the barrier, to make sure everything is secure. The Council is more vulnerable than it has ever been. The Magic-weavers have disappointed me so far, being unwilling to fall into my trap — but they will not be able to resist this. I wonder, even, if they have somehow been in contact with humans, managed to ask them to help out. Perhaps my son is involved somehow …’
‘Surely not!’ Gaibun exclaimed.
Jaken smiled briefly. ‘I doubt it. But it would be pleasant to think so — it would demonstrate a subtlety and imagination in my opponents that has so far been sadly lacking. It is no triumph to beat an unworthy foe. Where is the honour in such a victory?’
‘But victory is an end in itself, lord,’ Gaibun said.
‘Not enough for me,’ Jaken snapped. ‘Remember that. Now, attend. Once the patrol is out on the border, the Magic-weavers will surely strike, thinking this is the most opportune moment. But I shall have our clan ready. When the Magic-weavers make their move, I shall make mine and show Dokuzen that Daichi is no longer fit to lead us. Clan Tadayoshi will rise to glory and the Magic-weavers will do our bidding when we march out to take the world for ourselves.’
They stayed overnight in a village called Worthing, claiming they were simple travellers. They were given food and bundles of furs, then offered a small barn to sleep in, the goats taken into the owner’s home instead.
‘He would rather have goats sleep in his home than guests?’ Sendatsu muttered, trying to breathe shallowly in the smelly barn.
‘Even though they were not raided, they would have seen the smoke and heard the tales of the raiders. Would you want three strange travellers in your home in times like these?’ Huw pointed out.
‘Perhaps not,’ Sendatsu said grudgingly. ‘Anyway, we should be away early. I want to go back to that burned church again, have a good look around there and see what we can find before we make contact with Dokuzen.’
‘And how will that work?’ Huw asked.
‘There is a tree near the village where we first met. An oak tree. At each phase of the moon, my friend Asami will open a magical gateway to Dokuzen through there.’
Rhiannon perked up for the first time that evening. ‘A magical gateway!’
‘It is very difficult magic. Only a handful of elves have that power — although I am sure Asami can show you,’ Sendatsu promised.
‘So why are we wasting time with a ruined church?’ Rhiannon grumbled.
‘Well, there might be more books or answers there,’ Sendatsu said. ‘I searched the church carefully but not with magic.’
‘If the gateway only opens up at night, then we can look at the church during the day,’ Huw said. ‘As long as we are on the road at dawn.’
Sendatsu was about to agree, and try to make his rough bedding at least a little comfortable, when he caught Rhiannon’s eye and sensed she was trying to tell him something.
‘Right. To bed then,’ he said, giving her a tiny nod of the head.
Sendatsu wrapped the furs around him, shuddering a little at the smell. The closer he came to Dokuzen and all the old comforts, the harder he found things like sleeping on the floor in old wolf fur. He waited patiently until Huw’s breathing had eased then looked up to see Rhiannon staring at him. Silently he signalled towards the open door of the barn.
‘You want to work on magic,’ he whispered when they were outside.
‘It is the only thing that can stop the nightmares,’ she said flatly and he found himself worrying how she would fare in Dokuzen. But, he reasoned, helping her to develop her powers now could not be a bad thing.
‘I’ll give you a few things but remember I was never that good and the real training must happen in Dokuzen —’
‘Just tell me what you know,’ she demanded.
‘I am trying to help you!’
‘Yes. I know your help. You helped me into bed before —’
‘Have you got anyone else to help you?’ he snapped. ‘And why are we doing this behind Huw’s back? Why can he not see your powers?’
Rhiannon glared at him. ‘The thought of magic is what is holding me together. I cannot stand Huw fussing over me, staring at me with desperate eyes. I see that and I think of his lies, of my father’s lies. I want to think of magic instead.’
‘What you have been through —’
‘I don’t want to talk about.’
‘Fine, then let us speak of magic.’
He had to work hard to remember his lessons but a surprising amount came back. Most of it was basic, simple exercises to clear the mind and focus thoughts but they worked on those until the frown lines on Rhiannon’s forehead eased away.
‘It is all about imagination. If you can think of something, and it can be done by something in nature, then you can make it happen.’
‘Why nature? Why not something purely out of your mind?’
Sendatsu shrugged. ‘You will have to ask a Magic-weaver that. Perhaps because the magic is all around us, in all living things.’
‘So that is why I can feel every living thing around me,’ she marvelled.
‘The magic you take and use must be replaced from within yourself. This is the danger of using magic. If you are fed, and rested, then you have plenty of energy to replenish the magic all around you. But do too much and it can take everything from you. Life is a big circle. We are born through magic, use magic as we grow and then release that back into the world when we die.’
‘I shall be careful,’ Rhiannon promised. ‘But why can I do so much and you cannot, when you have had training?’
Sendatsu smiled briefly. ‘A question that has consumed elven minds for centuries! The best explanation we can come up with is that everyone has some sense of the magic around us. But only the truly talented can see all of it. To me, the magic around us is like a mist — I know it is there but I struggle to catch it, to bend it to my will. To you, on the other hand, it is real and solid and you can form it into anything you want.’
‘It does seem real to me,’ Rhiannon admitted. ‘I think I could always feel it before. Through the music, you know? When I danced and sang, things used
to come alive around me. Now I know what magic really feels like, it makes sense.’
‘Tomorrow you should reach out to things around you,’ Sendatsu suggested, hoping this would help her escape the depths of despair. ‘Test the magic.’
‘I will.’ She smiled now, the first time he had seen that since her father had walked into the clearing and back into her life, then reached out and gripped his arm. ‘Thank you. If there is one thing that can get me through this, it is magic.’
Sendatsu smiled, hoping it would be enough.
‘Sumiko thinks this is her chance. She is ready to make her final move,’ Asami said gloomily.
‘Jaken is much the same,’ Gaibun admitted. ‘And tomorrow I must talk to the Council, tell them about the humans attacking the barrier, and give them both a reason to plot a little more.’
‘How did it come to this?’ Asami cried. ‘By Aroaril, sometimes I think we are little better than gaijin, fighting among ourselves.’
‘Well, what should we do?’ Gaibun asked.
Asami shrugged in frustration. ‘I do not know. I love working with Sumiko, testing the barrier and helping young Magic-weavers find their powers. Working with the magic is all I ever wanted to do but now I struggle to trust her.’
‘I never trusted Jaken,’ Gaibun said with a smile.
‘Sometimes I wish Dokuzen would fall down, dissolve into dust and then we could build it again, do it properly this time. We are so locked into tradition, every move, every thought set in stone. I long for freedom, for the chance to break with the past and make something new.’
‘And what would you do then?’
Asami hesitated. Make my own decisions, choose to be with Sendatsu.
‘Exactly!’ Gaibun nodded. ‘Nobody knows what would happen then. We can only do so much. Why don’t you heat water, I shall make tea and we can talk about what you are doing with the barrier?’