A War of Silver and Gold

by Minerva J. Kaelin

  The castle had been fairly silent that morning. It was a wonder to see that the halls were not being haunted by Lord Griswold. In fact, it was so suspicious she hadn’t seen him the last days that Cassia wanted to crawl back in a hole in the ground and hide. He was preparing something, something she wasn’t going to like.

  Not to mention she had to duel with him. Duelling was not something she was afraid, she could easily beat him if she wanted. It wasn’t about the forthcoming war, but to teach him a lesson. Whatever had happened in the past, his personality was fouler than hers and that was saying something.

  At least, he was the least of her worries. The King’s demand for Adalon’s necklace was the final piece in his game. Cassia hadn’t studied it extensively, it was thought an Adanei artefact, forbidden and despised, none of the tutors she had wanted to do anything with it. It was said to have been cursed by Adalon himself. The necklace was a red line for many elves. Nature, if Beathan had it, why wasn’t he using it? It would spare many lives.

  Many things would spare lives, but the apparently the King didn’t want to approach a more peaceful agreement with the Adanei. It was his red line. The elf had no need for morality, Cassia had witnessed it firsthand. It was what he tried to beat into her. Morality was for the weak. Sia shook her head, that elf was as insane as a blood depraved lam.

  The door opened and Ael walked out, locked it and turned to look at her. His brow creased as he asked, “Where will the port lead?”

  Sia gulped and clicked her tongue. “Why would I know? Do I look like bloody Nadeer?”

  “Nadeer is a seer?”

  “The bitch was, or at least pretended.”

  Ael turned away and began walking towards the breakfast room. Cassia gritted her teeth; there was no time for breakfast. “What are you doing?”

  Ael cocked his head to the side and donned a lopsided smile. “Breakfast,” he yelped. “You don’t anticipate such a big lycan as me to go there without having breakfast.”

  “Well damn, I do.” She walked towards him and grasped the side of his leather jacket, dragging him away from the breakfast room and down the corridor. “No time for breakfast. We can go later to your mother’s.”

  “That sounded like a curse.”

  “Lycans,” Cassia murmured. “They sleep where they shit.”

  “What?” Ael stopped, towering over Cassia, his trademark smirk plastered on his face, showing his bright white teeth. “You can’t blame Nature. I am still as irresistible.”

  She dragged him out of the castle with the ease of a giant squid. He winced the whole way of how breakfast was the most important meal of the day, and Cassia could do little but ignore him. It wasn’t easy, to put up with a lycan. Once outside Cassia let go of his jacket and turned to face him. The day was rather pleasant; of course, every day in Feremony was pleasant. The sun up high, the breeze just enough cold and the little essence of cedar whisking in the air around them. The city stood proudly in the middle of the mountains’ embrace, aerial and untouched by the world.

  It was a wonder, a wonder that something could still remain unspoiled by the war, the Second War. It was far worse than the First one, though, far worse. Both sides ended up broken and destroyed. For Cassia there was no winner, there were only victims, victims of the game a demented King and a bunch of Lords decided to draw. Pity none of them died in the War, instead of ignorant elves were forced to desert their homes, desert their wives, husbands and children to participate in the hideous action, the most deleterious notion.

  At the end of the Second War, Dark Elves had gotten out so devastated and damaged that none looked at the King with nothing but distaste, and he was not a kind sovereign. He demanded taxes beyond the norm, to fill his vaults. Not many could stand up for their beliefs though, those few that survived the War, died within a hundred years from the hand of the King. Cassia had averted herself from him that day when he had sent those publicans and their mercenaries in her city.

  They had destroyed a great part of the market back then and Cassia had taken the matter in her hand, delivered their heads on the King’s doorstep first thing in the morning. In a nice, golden sack. They had ventured into her city, destroyed her property, killed three elflings and raped two courtesans. That was something Cassia would never, never forgive. She would have killed the King too, she would have. But she had cowered away, afraid for herself, afraid that her people would see her as a traitor and not as the saviour she was.

  The King’s head would have to wait. It would have to wait. But soon, soon she would be able to stuff it and place it in a nice box on her desk.

  She turned her head and looked at Ael; he gazed at her with a quizzical crease on his brow. Cassia cleared her throat and asked, “Where would it be a proper place to write the rune?”

  “Backyard,” he whispered. “Let’s hope Beathan would not throw a fit about his precious lawn.”

  Cassia rolled her eyes. “How about behind that nice tree?” She pointed her index finger at one of the cherry trees around the gardens.

  He shrugged. “Alright.”

  Cassia marched towards the tree, hiding behind it. Ael reluctantly followed her, dragging his feet on Beathan’s lawn. At least, the Lord was rather amusing when he reprimanded someone for damaging the lawn. He always had an affinity for gardening anyway.

  Ael leant onto the tree trunk as Cassia surveyed the space around them. She dug in her boots and found a silver dagger. She pulled her sleeve up and readied the dagger to slice on her skin.

  “What are you doing?” Ael asked, eyeing the knife.

  “I have to write the rune with blood.”

  “Use mine, then.” He pulled his sleeve, but she stopped him, placing a hand on his elbow.

  “It has to be my blood.”

  “Why?”

  She glared at him and turned away, sadness clouding her features. She pushed her hair away from her face and back into the messy braid. It was a long sad, story better remain unsaid for a few years more. Her history was just as obscure, and she didn’t’ want to mar anyone with it.

  She dragged the dagger over her flesh, slicing skin, her blood oozing slowly, heavy and metallic. She dipped her fingers into her blood and knelt on the ground, fingers coated with the shimmering substance as she glided them over the grass. A circle first wide enough for both of them to stand inside. Then she dipped her fingers in her blood again and drew three vertical lines, she took a look at Ael who gazed at her, glowering.

  She paid him no heed as her fingers took another dip in her wound and drew a bit of more blood. She smeared it over the grass, shaping the three arrowheads. Ael took a step closer to her, taking a better look down at her blood. Cassia gritted her teeth; it was something that happened every time. Every time. That was why she preferred magically binding her wounds in the War instead of seeking out a healer. It contained fewer questions.

  Ael cleared his throat, hand rubbing his throat anxiously. “Cassia,” he said; his throat bobbing. “Why your blood...” He trailed, shaking his head.

  She clenched her jaw, cleaned her dagger on her clothes she pulled it in her boot. She stood, chanting something silently, allowing the wound to close and the blood to vanish from her white skin. She turned around and glared at him, “I don’t know.” She answered quickly. “I asked the King once, but he said that I was blessed by Nature. I researched about it, but I only found out that he didn’t know the answer, too.” She took in a short breath. “We have to move,” she allowed a small smile to reach her lips. “Quickly.”

  “Is it safe?”

  “I don’t know.” She shook her head. “I haven’t used Wonfare before.”

  She stepped into the circle, stretching her hand forward to drag him in, too. He gulped, slowly easing his hand in her palm before he stepped inside, eyes locked with her strange ones. She smiled before she closed her eyes and grabbed his other hand in hers.

  Elaine.

  + + +

  The world spun silently around them i
n silver and blue and green and red hues, before it settled silently. Ael’s hands in hers were the only comfort of facing the unknown. Her disoriented mind was able to distinguish only a few things at a time. The certainty that soil still stood unfaltering beneath their feet was enough to reassure her. She was still alive, they were still alive.

  She opened her eyes, eyelids fluttering a few times before the blurriness in her vision cleared. She let go of Ael’s hands and took a step away, glancing at him, thankful to see him in one piece. Cassia’s hands immediately went to her daggers; it had become a reflex after all those years of being on the brink of Death.

  Cassia took a look around. Trees vast and clear, springing to life in their own green way, flowers... there were flowers. Cassia’s heart clenched. Even Nature knew that it was a time for a change, a brilliant change, a monumental change.

  The lake seemed calm, the waters clear and bright, it was still early in the morning, and the sun was barely up, lighting the lake waters and blending them with an orange shade of pureness. Moss clung onto the rocks with unrelenting power, grasping and never leaving, moulding itself with the hard material.

  Sia had been there before, she knew this place. It was not Adanei. No. How could it be? She knew it, she had observed it from afar, the wards around this lake had never allowed her close to the metallic waters. She had loathed it, loathed it because she had never been able to touch the greenery, the lake water. The violet bubble of magic kept it well hidden, well preserved, kept it away from unwanted Nevdor hands.

  Lake Shryvvar had ever been a mystery for the Dark Elves.

  The Lake simmered in many shades of silver, in a great variety of colour, reflecting the sky with precision on its docile surface. The clouds remained unmoving in the sky, the world seemed to still, everything stopping, every breath seemed heavier. Ael beside her grasped her hand, trying to see for certain that she was alive, there beside him, breathing. Not a wraith, not a phantasm, or a far away fairy.

  The trees were humming, though. A melody, a sad melody, as if something was gone, a part of them missing. The tall, brown branches, like long limbs of gigantic beings, loomed over them, leaning towards the Lake and whatever existed in there. Their leaves seemed immobilised, never waving with the winds, never yielding to its soft caress. The wind was not a lover, not a gentle hand.

  Small ripples appeared on the lake's waters. First, a head, a female head with white eyes and long dark hair emerged from the water, unaffected by the silverness of the lake. Then, a body, dressed in a plain white frock, with a golden long, belt around her waist. The tall female floated above the waters, taking tentative, but calculated steps onto the liquid, never sinking, never faltering away.

  Her grace astounded Cassia, something she would never have. She swallowed, uneasiness and anxiety settling in her stomach. That was the Lady of the Lake before them, with her sad expression, her delicate features and her white eyes. This was the vision that made many lose their mind. Cassia kept her spine straightened, unafraid. She had met greater terrors; she had faced beasts and monster. She was dauntless.

  The female walked before them, the water seemed marble underneath her feet as she took another step, planting her barefoot on the grass. A mother-like smile reached her pink lips, a knowing glaze glistened in her creamy eyes. Cassia's fingers curled into fists. Her one hand firmly grasping onto Ael's.

  The Fairy Lady eyed their joined hands, a frown appearing in her gentle brow. Her voice full of accumulated wonder as she said, "It is a wonder that so many have unravelled Leondir's secret."

  Cassia blinked. "You are Elaine, then."

  The fairy smiled. "Of course, I am. What did you anticipate, little death?"

  Cassia clenched her jaw and asked, "Where is the sword?"

  Elaine raised an eyebrow, defying Cassia's question with one of her own, "Is that the reason you have come here?" Elaine took a step closer, eyeing Ael with those fathomless eyes. "Is that all you need to know, little death? I can tell you a great many things, especially about that elf of yours here."

  Cassia's throat bobbed. No one never tried to intimidate her. She was a force of Nature, blessed by the hands of the Mother. No fairy ever tried to question her motives. She trusted Ael, she did and a lunatic fairy would never make her change her opinion about the elf beside her.

  "Where is the sword, Elaine?"

  "Why should I tell you?" The fairy tilted her head as she stood before Cassia, a blank expression spreading over her pale features. "You are the King's right-hand warrior, you killed and gutted and humiliated, but now..." She trailed, eyes forever serene and eternally pale. "Now, you feign allegiance with the Adanei, so low you have reached, so low. To grovel at the feet of your enemy. Is that what you really want? The sword?" Elaine huffed. "I could give you your father; I could grant you the wish of living peacefully with your mate."

  Cassia's nostrils flared, her vision turning red, angry, hateful. Her mate was dead and that... that harlot was playing with her fragile mind. She leashed forward, dagger in hand and dangerously close to Elaine's neck. "How dare you mock me? Have you any idea to what one word from me could do to you?"

  Elaine chuckled, "You are extremely ridiculous. Has anyone ever told you this?" Elaine nudged the dagger away with her fingers and smiled, her eyes directed at Ael. "Tell her,” she motioned to Cassia with her chin. "Tell her the truth. Tell her your part in this game."

  Ael shook his head, "Where is the sword, Lady Elaine?"

  "Away, somewhere, at a place where thankfully none of you will find."

  Cassia glowered. "I swear to Ramos-"

  "Swear?" Elaine chuckled loudly. "You swear? You swear to Ramos that you would do what? Kill me and feed me to whatever monster you nurture? Oh, you are more demented than the elf beside you, than his father."

  "Enough," Cassia clenched her jaw, they were running out of time and the wraith was playing with them. "That's enough. Where is the sword?"

  "Why should I tell you?"

  "I am fighting for the Adanei, away from the King, against him. And I will sacrifice anything I have to see him off the throne, dead. Anything."

  Elaine tapped her left foot against the grass, smiling. "He was rather pretty you know. The elf that took it. His heart and soul were clear, pure, good. Unlike yours, both of yours. I am afraid I do not know the current location of the sword. He's a rather smart elf, the one that took it. He hid it, he hid it well."

  Elaine turned away from both of them, reaching back into the lake, her feet floating again above it. She took a few steps away from the pair, her back turned towards them. "You are the King's courtesan, Cassia. Never forget that, and the male beside you is a rather unpleasant imitation of your infernal master."

  Cassia growled, her voice heavy with spite as she chanted a spell for death, directing it towards the fairy. But it passed through her, somewhere in the waters. "I will kill you, you bitch. I will struggle you with my bare hands. You rutting, harlot!"

  She took a step closer to the lake, before being pulled away by Ael. She threw another hex at the Lady, but it fell in the water. Cassia cursed again, ripples coming from the depths of the waters, the earth shook, vibrated and moved beneath their feet. Cassia kept her chants in the air, spewing words of dark magic towards the Fairy, but nothing got to her.

  The Fairy stopped somewhere in the middle of the Lake, turned around to face them and said, "Your life is nothing, but a wavering mass of diluted blood." Then she added louder, "In snow, you must search, little death. Snow as cold as your heart."

  Then the Fairy disappeared in the waters, but the ripples continued and the Lake seemed to shrink, moving inwards and inwards and the waters darkened.

  The earth shook again and an animalistic sound echoed through the valley, forcing the trees to end their humming. Something... something had awakened down there, in the lake.

  42

  A long, tentacle, white and deadly spread along the side of the Lake. Cassia's hands went to her longer daggers at
either side of her hips. She grasped the silver handles, feet planting firmly, unfaltering on the grass. Whatever that fairy hid in the Lake couldn't be good and Cassia had done more than she could to acquire the anger of an immortal entity.

  The tentacle slid on the grass, further into the trees, grasped around them, circling their trunks in a suffocating way, using them as leverage to pull whatever body existed inside the Lake, well hidden and preserved in the waters. Another tentacle mimicked the moves of the first. A loud groan emitted from the trees behind as they bent forward to assist the sea beast.

  Cassia's blood froze in her veins as she came to face the monster.

  Round, yellow eyes, eyes of death itself.

  White, slimy skin. Almost death like.

  A myriad amount of tentacles, long and curvy, grasping wherever they could find. Trees, flowers, rocks.

  Cassia was yanked at the side. Ael had pulled her behind him. No one never denied her the privilege of a good fight. The trees' humming had been reduced to nothingness, just a silent veil of unyielding force. The morning sun seemed to freeze at its position, low at the skyline, just below the mountains. But the orange hues, reflecting upon the many clouds, varying in shape and shade were a piece of brazen art, raw and natural. A force among the living.

  The sloshing sounds of the beast emerging from the waters reverberated throughout the clearing. Cassia's keen elvish ears managed to detect the vague position of the beast inside the Lake. However, the monster struggled to keep itself hidden. A great slimy body shone, irradiated, from underneath the vast colours of the Lake. Cassia's magical blasts had managed to wake up the Lake's giant beast. If only that wraith hadn't meticulously avoided her magic!

  Another tentacle burst from the colourful waters, concealing the gigantic body underneath.

  The many cups spreading along the long limbs, grasping, suffocating, breaking, shattering the trees, the small little blades of the grass, crushing the mossy rocks to dust.