by Clark Graham
"Bones," Sarchise responded. "There will be mostly nothing left of the city."
"It's a shame; I hear the Elves were true artists with wood, I wonder what it looked like when they still lived there." Hemlot replied.
Amlius overheard their conversation and came over and sat beside Hemlot, "It was a beautiful city. The walls were made out of living trees that had grown so tightly together that you could not get the blade of a knife between them. The palace was sat on a small hill in the middle. It was carved wood figures of the past kings and queens. The inside was a great hall at the far end is where the Grand Chancellor sat. He sat a dispensed justice and fairness from a solid silver throne. His advisors sat on either side of him, giving him wise counse."
"I used to be one of those advisors, "Amlius continued,"and if the Grand Chancellor would have listened to my advice, the Elves would not have been driven out of Elvenshore by the evil of our own making."
"Have you been back since the Gremlin war?" asked Sarchise.
"I have not been back since I was banished. The echoes of the city still exist in my heart, but my soul has let the past go. I do not belong in there anymore." Amlius said.
The Ruins of Tarlina
In the morning the group set out early. There was barely enough light to navigate by when they were loaded up and on their way. Even Amlius seemed to be moving faster as he walked down the trail.
When the noon day sun started bearing down on them a few hours later, the group came around the last curve in the trail. They were already facing the shattered gates of a large city. The ferocity of the fighting that had taken place there was obvious. The walls had been mostly burnt to the ground. Piles of bones and Minotaur horns were piled here and there were bodies were stacked and burned. None of the houses were left standing. The courtyard in front of the palace had broken stones. The steps to the palace were torn out and the building had been badly damaged.
It looked like the palace had been the place that the Minotaur had made their last stand, as the doors and windows had been covered as a make shift fortress. The front doors had been battered down and those that died inside the palace had been left where they lay. Only the bones and armor of Gremlins and Minotaur bore mute testimony of the participants’ last moments.
Amlius let a tear roll out of his eye, across his cheek and onto the ground, before he regained his composure. He quickly dried off his cheek with a swipe of his hand. He walked up into the remnants of the palace and into the great hall. There, at the end, sat the silver throne of the Elves. He was amazed it was still there.
Sarchise came up and said, "Looks like the Minotaur fought bravely in the end. We tried to prevent them from occupying the old Elf cities, but we were too late."
"They didn't take care of the trees," Amlius said "The trees that made up the walls, they didn't tend them. The trees never would have burned, if they had cared for them. The wood of the trees is black and is as hard as stone when it is alive."
Amlius continued, "the gate was not correctly barred, or it never would have shattered like that. The bodies were burned before the attack on the palace. Most likely a lot of those that were burned in the piles were still alive when they were set on fire. It was all to horrify those that were left."
"Tabor was a truly evil man; you did right by killing him," Sarchise said.
"I have done the right thing every time I have killed, but it still cost me. It cost me the companionship of my people. I was banished by the Elves anyway." Amlius said. "I just wonder why Tabor didn't take the throne."
"He didn't care for riches, he just wanted power," Sarchise answered.
"Very well, let's do what we came to do and have it over with so we can leave the dead to rest in peace," Amlius said. He walked over to the throne. There were the bones of three Minotaur at the base of it. He reverently pushed them out of the way.
"Help me with this," Amlius said. Sarchise, Hemlot and two of the other Dwarves came to his aid.
Together they pushed the silver throne off its pedestal. Amlius then pried the wood off the base of the pedestal, where the throne had once sat. There was a hole, deep enough for an Elf to stand upright in directly under where he had taken the wood off of. Amlius jumped down into the hole and felt around the stones that made up the walls of the hole. Amlius ran his hand across each stone in turn. Sarchise and the Dwarves were looking down on Amlius, trying to figure it out. Amlius started pushing in small stones that made up the wall.
"We found out this trick from the Dwarves. You push in seven stones in the correct order, and then the door opens." Amlius said. Just then he pushed the seventh stone and a section of the hole's wall slid straight down into the floor of the hole that Amlius was standing in. Through the doorway that had just opened was a vast room filled with scrolls and papers.
By now the Valkyrie had gathered around the hole. Amlius reached in the records room and pulled out a torch from a holder. He lit it and sat it back into the holder. "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's find out all the secrets of the Elves that have laid hidden here for so many years," Amlius said as he walked into the room. Quickly the others climbed into the hole and then walked through the door and into the records room behind him.
After all of the torches around the room were lit, the group started looking at the records. Most were written old Elfish, so Amlius had to translate them. Whenever someone found something that looked important, they would take it to him and he would look at it to see what it said.
Sarchise found a map of High Mountain and he showed it to Hemlot. "They show all of High Mountain’s cities on this map, even the hidden ones," Sarchise whispered.
"They should not have had that information. Only the Dwarves are supposed to know where the hidden cities are," Hemlot whispered back. "They even have all of the names of the cities. Even the Dwarves are not allowed to say those names out loud. Everything is mapped out correctly. This is very upsetting to me. It even shows where the breeding pits were at."
"Yes, it upsets me too," Sarchise agreed.
Sarchise set the map down and went to look for other things that might be important. Just then, he came across another map. "Look at this one," Sarchise said as he unfolded it, "It is a map of the Mountains of Iron."
"I have never seen a map of it before," Hemlot said. "Since we have retaken the mountain, we have been trying to map out all of the passages.”
"Look, here, there are passages up to the surface that we have not found yet, and look here, there is a city that is shown at the end of a tunnel. There is no city or tunnel there; I have been in the passageway that is supposed to connect to it a hundred times. I have never seen this tunnel or city," Sarchise said.
"What do you think 'Vil Loree' means?" Hemlot whispered.
"City of Gold," Amlius said, "Sorry, Elf hearing is a little more acute than yours. I always seem to key in to whispering. It attracts my attention, like the child who listens only what he isn't supposed to."
Sarchise sighed, rolled up the map and said, "I'm keeping this map."
"No, you are not," Amlius said.
"Can I make a copy of it at least?" Sarchise asked.
"Yes, you can make a copy of it if you want to," Amlius answered.
Sarchise started looking around for something to use to make a copy of the map. He found several writing tips and some parchment but all the ink in the wells had dried years ago.
Seeing Sarchise's issue, Amlius said, "Add water to the ink, it will come back." Sarchise went back up out of the chamber and the hole and went and got some water. He came back and added some water to the ink and started redrawing the map.
Fawn saw a large volume that looked important, so she brought it to Amlius. He smiled and said, "Ah,yes, this should give us some enlightenment about your lost city. It is called, The History of the Dwarf Wars.'" Amlius started reading it out loud.
'The First Dwarf War'
'Dwarves were discovered in the West Forest, “ Amlius began, “ when Aarlious w
as King of all the Elves in the land of Elvenshore. He despised anyone and everyone that wasn't Elf blood. The Dwarf language and mannerisms are barbaric to the Elf. The Dwarves chop down a large part of the forest just to make a few houses. They are not good with wood and waste vast quantities in their efforts to build. Their talent abides in the working of stone. The statues they carved to decorate their halls and houses are intricate and beautiful.'
'King Aarlious had commanded that the Dwarf invaders be killed immediately, but his son Daren requested that he stay his hand. Daren had made friends with the Dwarves and saw some good in them, despite the differences in language and customs. When Daren was on his way back, one day, when visiting the Dwarves, he and his two body guards were attacked by a razor bear. The bear was killed, but Daren was badly wounded. He was brought to his father's palace at Tarlina. Daren tarried three days, while the healers cared for him, butwhen the fever set in, Daren died. The King was inconsolable. He went mad and unjustly blamed the Dwarves for the death of his son.'
'The Elf army was dispatched to kill all Dwarves, but the armies of the Elves found that, even though they are small in stature, they fought strong and brave. In the first battle the Elves attacked the Dwarf city of Amluc. The city was destroyed and the Dwarves retreated back to their city of Neiu. The Rlves attacked again, this time it was the city of Neiu. That city repulsed the first attack on it. Many died on both sides.'
'King Aarlious was even angrier at the lack of results. He sent even more armies to attack the Dwarves. Secretly an Elf by the name of Anatornic met with the Dwarves. He had them agree to leave the forest to the Elves in exchange for peace with the Elves. They agreed.'
'When Anatornic gave his proposal to the King, the King tore it up and had Anatornic thrown in the dungeon. Again the Elves attacked; again they were repulsed with many dead on both sides. The King wanted yet another attack, but his commander refused. The commander was tired of seeing so many Elves die for nothing, when a treaty with the Dwarves could be achieved. That commander was thrown into the dungeon for speaking his mind.'
'The third time the city of Neiu was attacked, the Elves prevailed and the Dwarves retreated to the Mountains of Iron. There the Dwarves’ talent of working with stone was put to its best use. They built a fortress of stone that was strong and mighty.'
'Again King Aarlious sent his army to destroy the Dwarves. Upon seeing the fortress that had been built by the Dwarves, the commander of the Elf army refused to attack. Too many lives had been lost already. Knowing that he would be sent to the dungeon if he returned home, he sent his army home and disappeared, never to be seen again.'
'King Aarlouis was about to send the army back to attack the fortress, when Uen, the brother of Anatornic slipped into the mad King's bedroom and slew the King in his sleep. He slipped out of the palace and left the forest without being discovered. Patrols were sent out to find him, but they never did.'
'The King did not have an heir, since his son had died. The Elves did not want to ever have another King, since the last one had gone mad and caused many needless deaths. Anatornic and the King's commander were set free. The voice of the people chose Anatornic as their first Grand Chancellor. He was strong and brave and had attempted to stop all the death and destruction. After the King's commander was set free, he was again set as head of the armies of the Elves.'
'So ended the first Dwarf war,' Amlius concluded as he closed the missive.
Sarchise looked up from his map copying and said, "That was very interesting, but that does not tell us about the Lost City of the Valkyries, or how to reclaim it."
Hemlot spoke up, "I did not like that part where it said that 'The Dwarf language and mannerisms are barbaric.'"
"You must understand that this is written in the point of view of the Elves," Amlius explained, "It doesn't mean that they were right. There is another part, maybe this will answer the questions we have."
'The Second Dwarf War'
Amlius resumed reading aloud.
'The years of peace that the Grand Chancellor Anatornic had established in the lands had been good for the Elves. They had settled in the cities of Amluc and Neiu. After rebuilding the old Dwarf cities, they renamed them Tyrolis and Santera. His people were a happy people and he ruled with justice and mercy. Trade routes were established between the Westwood and the Mountains of Iron. As a symbol of friendship the Dwarves Gave the Chancellor of the Elves a throne of pure silver, for the Dwarves had found both gold and silver in great abundance in the Mountains of Iron.'
Hemlot interrupted, "That was not a Dwarf that made that throne, it looks more like Elf craftsmanship."
Amlius seemed annoyed at the interruption and looked up from the manuscript, "It is a written history. Since the writer of this history is not here to argue with, I think we take his words at face value." He then looked back down and began reading again.
'Anatornic began to be tired and wished to find where his brother had fled to. The people selected Relios, his son, to be Grand Chancellor in Anatornic's stead. Relios was not the ruler that his father was, but was impatient and rash.
'In the days of Grand Chancellor Relios’ rule, a group of warrior women appeared in the West forest. They had been cursed and banished by the Druid King Elmond from the lands of Valkyrie, and sent on ships to the land of Elvenshore. The women were beautiful, nearing the beauty of Elf women.'
Fawn wanted to comment on that part of the story, but seeing how annoyed Amlius had been at Hemlot’s observation, she held her tongue.
'The cursing of the women, Valkyries they are called, was that they would have no male children until they quit their wild ways. The Valkyrie settled near the city of Santera. Grand Chancellor Relios was irate at the damage to the forest that they did when they built their camp. He vowed to drive them from the forest like the Elves had done to the Dwarves, but calmer heads prevailed in the way of his advisors. So Relios let it be for a time.'
Amlius continued. 'When male Elves were observed walking out of the city and going to the camp of the Valkyries at night, Relios had the men brought before him. None of them had a recollection of leaving the city, so the Chancellor sent spies to the camp of the Valkyrie to see what was happening. When the spies reported back that the men were being seduced against their will, Relios sent the Army out.'
'The battle of Santera Camp ensued. The Elf army entered the camp and set about destroying it. The Valkyrie had seen the army coming and acted as if they were fleeing, but when the Elves were otherwise engaged in destroying the camp, they came back at full gallop. The power of the horse warriors has never been lost on the Elf after that. Indeed, the Calvary of the Elf thereafter was based on the Valkyrie’s skill. The foot soldiers of the Elves did not stand a chance. The Valkyrie entered the camp when the Elves were spread out and vulnerable. They routed the Elf army who then fled back to the city of Santera.'
'Santera sent out messengers to call for help from the other two Elf cities. Men at arms were provided. This time they presented a unified army. When they arrived at the camp, they found a Dwarf army ready to fight them. The Valkyrie had secretly begun a pact with the Dwarves for mutual protection.'
'The Battle of the High Plains ensued. The Elf had supremacy in numbers, but the Calvary attacks by the Valkyrie were devastating. A frontal attack by the Dwarves was defeated. It was then the Elves’ turn to attack and they pushed the Dwarf army back. When the sun was long in the sky, the Dwarves finally retreated from the field of battle. There were many dead on both sides. The Elves did not pursue, as their ranks had been badly depleted.'
'One of the Dwarves that was captured that day was Turis. Turis turned against the Dwarf and gave many of their secrets to the Elves. The Elves called him Turis the Traitor. He drew maps of the cities of High Mountain and the Mountains of Iron. He described the tactics used by the Dwarf warriors.
'When the armies of the Elves approached the Mountains of Iron, they recruited the Gremlins to help them in their fight. They made an
attack to get at the gold stockpiles that were in the city of Vil Loree, but found that the map they were given by Turis the traitor was not accurate. When the Elf warriors arrived back at the capital of Tarlina, they slew Turis for his treachery.'
'King Leones, of the Middle Kingdom of the Humans, brokered a peace deal between the Valkyrie, Dwarf and the Elf. The Valkyrie would leave the forest, the Dwarf would return to his mountains and the Elf would stay in his forest. All three nations were to burn their records of the war so the hatred would not be able to be remembered over time. Grand Chancellor Relois refused to sign the treaty, and thus he was removed from his place by the people. They had had enough of war. Anatornic was placed back on the silver throne and the treaty was signed.
'The Dwarves built the Valkyrie a large city just outside the forest. They called Vil Vahl. It had thick walls and strong defenses. The people of Santera did not think it was far enough from them and worried that the Valkyrie would again start their seductive ways, so the asked the Grand Chancellor Anatornic to remove them from their city.'
'Anatornic refused, but he had the Elves planted fast growing trees and plants at the edge of the forest next to the city of Vil Vahl. After a few years the city of Vil Vahl was now part of the forest. The Elves demanded the Valkyrie move from there because of the treaty.'
'The Valkyrie refused and King Elonis again arbitrated. He ruled that since the city was built outside the forest originally, that the Valkyrie should not have to move.'
'It was at this time that the Crystal caverns of Enderon were discovered underneath the city of Santera. The caverns were possessed by Shadow Men. The Shadow Men, called Ghouls, loved to kill for the joy of killing and soon many Elves that lived near the mouth of the caverns were disappearing. The Ghouls feared not sword nor arrow, for neither could hurt them. They only feared fire; one touch of flame to their bodies caused a flare of fire and a scream as the Ghoul died.'