Master's Mind: The Dagger of Dragon Rose: Book 1
Page 7
Their wait lasted about ten minutes. The dragon flew in through the opening, hit the Web of Eternal Slumber, but did not fall asleep right away, as was supposed to occur. Instead, she cast an exit spell on the five intruders, causing them to be ejected from the cave before they could fasten the Mother Dragon down with the ropes.
A week later Paron stood before the Elfin counsel to report his failure in his quest.
"You have done well, young Elloy,” The Elder complimented him. "Much better than many of us thought you would,” The Elder walked over to a tiny stand that stood at the far side of the room that was used to display a golden crown. He lifted the crown from the stand, and then very carefully placed it on Paron's head. He then, very gingerly, dropped to one knee. "My liege.”
The story wasn't very long, but it was full of meaning that much of the crowd did not understand. The meaning was not lost on the foremost Elves in the crowd. They'd seen the young Elf that was sitting, mostly hidden, behind the bard. They recognized the regal look in the young face, even if they did not choose to accept it.
"Tonight we have a special guest,” Shantar said as he stepped aside, revealing Taren sitting behind him. "I present to you Taren Elloy, son of Paron Elloy and rightful heir to the Elven throne.”
There was much muttering as Taren stepped forward in his fine clothing. He could hear both approval and disapproval from different locations throughout the room. An old Elf stood; a defiant look on his face.
"Surely you jest, good sir,” He said to the bard. "It is a well-accepted fact that the Elloy children perished along with their father.”
Shantar nodded, expecting this. "The children's bodies were never found, as explained on the epitaph that you yourself engraved on their tomb,” He looked at the old Elf. "Do you deny this?"
The Elf shrugged, murmuring something unintelligible.
"I assure you that the children survived the Mother Dragon's attack. I have been here watching over Taren until he came of age to take the throne.”
"How do we know that you didn't find a look-alike to take control of the Elves yourself?" The Elf asked.
Shantar's gold eyes glowed with power and the foundations of the Inn began to shake. "You dare to impugn my honor?"
The old elf began to shake with fear under the bard's terrifying gaze.
Taren stepped forward and laid his hand on Shantar's arm. "Let me take this one.”
The bard stepped aside, and the shaking stopped.
"Until today, I had no idea who I was,” He explained to the room at large. "I was raised by Human parents with no knowledge of my lineage or my destiny. That is until this found its way into my possession,” He pulled Cyan out of the scabbard.
A collective gasp sounded throughout the crowd. "I believe this was my father's sword,” He turned to the belligerent Elf. "Do you doubt that this is so?"
The Elf stared at the sword in awe. He had seen this sword many times at the king's side. There was no doubt in his mind that the sword had belonged to the king.
"I apologize to all of you,” Shantar said. "I should not have lost my temper,” He turned to the Elven side of the room. "Many of you recognize this boy as the son of Paron. He has his father's look about him. I tell you that he is who he appears to be. I do not mean for him to take the throne unchallenged. Let him go on a quest, just as his father before him did.”
"What kind of quest,” The old Elf asked.
He turned to Taren. "Taren Elloy, you are to find the Sun Fire Orb and destroy it. Upon completion of this quest, you will ascend to the throne of the Elven kingdoms.”
The old Elf took his seat looking appeased by the difficulty of the task that had been assigned. Several other Elves nodded their approval as well.
"You leave in the morning,” Shantar told Taren. "You should rest tonight.”
CHAPTER SIX
The Hunt Begins
“When the hunter becomes the hunted, that 's when the animals rejoice.” - Fillion the hunter
In the twilight of the deep forest, a solitary figure sat on a carved tree stump pondering. Not far from where he sat, a large white tiger anxiously paced back and forth. She hated seeing her master like this. He was angry, but not with her.
She hesitantly approached him, coming up behind his chair. He jumped as she tentatively nuzzled his hand, causing her to shrink back in fear. She had seen him destroy benign creatures with just a glance, and she did not want to incur his wrath. He was Dareth, the lord of night, and he was quite literally a god.
"I am sorry, kitten. I did not mean to startle you.”
He had always been very gentle with her, even when he had not been so with any other creature. She didn't know what made her so special, but she was glad for the gentle attentions with which he usually administered to her. She nuzzled his hand more confidently, and he began to absently scratch behind her ears.
"How can he have survived? I gift wrapped the boy for the ogres, yet the boy lives. Not only does he live, but one of the ogres is in jail, while the other one hides in fear,” Dareth shook his head. "What is it about the creatures that I create that make them so flawed? First the Dark Elves… I created them to be the pinnacle of perfection. Then came the rebellion. They thought that they were so smart, too smart to keep following me, so they aligned themselves with Cara.”
"Next I tried creating the Ogres. I made them less intelligent, so they would not rebel, but I made up for it by giving them strength. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to have helped,” He lapsed into an uneasy silence, his fingers still absently stroking the tiger's fur,”
"What am I to do, Narissa?" he asked. "My brothers think that the flaw in the weapons design will be enough to ensure our victory, but I am not so sure. Why should we take any chances? If we kill the child master then the prophecy will fail,”
Narissa hated to see her master like this. She began to purr affectionately.
He sat up on the stump. "I have an idea,” He turned to face her. "You have never failed me. Will you track down the Elf King? When you find him, kill him and anyone with him,”
Narissa growled menacingly, signifying to her master that she would undertake the task.
"Here is something of his that I liberated from the thieves guild when it was destroyed;” He held forth a tattered traveling cloak so she could catch his scent. She sniffed at it a few times and then sneezed.
"Go then,” He said, pointing into the forest.
As Narissa passed over the threshold of the natural structure that Dareth had adopted as his home, a black collar attached itself around her neck, causing her to cough uncomfortably. She hated this collar.
Dareth watched as Narissa disappeared into the forest, smiling wickedly. "Yes my pet, you will kill your king,”
Neither Dareth nor Narissa saw the small four-pointed star that flew off into the forest, following the tiger.
A shadow materialized in the dense swirling mists that hung over the landscape. It paused a moment, appearing to take its bearings, before slumping to the ground. “I wished I would never see this place again” A female voice echoed through the strange stillness.
She sat there listening to the strangely muffled sounds. She strained to hear the sounds of the waterfall in the distance but was unable to hear the distant roar that had always brought her such comfort. She scanned the landscape, marveling at her ability to see clearly, even on the foggiest of nights. She saw the rubble that was the ruins of the castle. She saw the once manicured gardens, now overgrown and wild with neglect. She remembered very clearly the last time she had been here. It was the day that her life had been shattered.
An uncomfortable feeling began to creep into her soul, causing her to climb quickly to her feet. “I must get away from this place,” Panic caused her voice to break slightly.
Shaunna Nightshade began to run west, as fast as her legs could carry her. She needed to get as far away from the old Elf castle as she could. Besides, she had a job to do.
She ran throu
gh the forest heading towards Brightbay for most of the day, stopping only when she needed to eat. When the sun went down she continued to run, relying on her excellent night vision to keep her from harm.
It was just after midnight when she found him. He was sitting alone on a stump in a clearing. There were two tents on the far side. That must be where the other was.
She was prepared to step out into the clearing but was stopped by the sound of a twig snap echoing through the night. She watched as the large tiger emerged from the trees. She decided she would wait to see what happened. If the boy happened to defeat the tiger, she would step in and finish him off.
The city was covered in a thick blanket of fog when Taren and Parel stepped out of the Dragon Storm's Refuge Inn. Taren took Parel's hand to lead her, as he could see through the fog as if it were not there. Her Human eyes would not be able to do the same.
"I really don't need your help, Oran can guide me,” She protested.
"Oran will need to save his strength. It wouldn't do any good if we got into trouble and Oran was too tired to cast a spell,” Taren reasoned. "Besides, you usually jump at any chance to hold my hand,”
She let out a loud harrumph and pulled her hand from his.
They walked side by side, both of them seeing images in the swirling mists, but neither of them admitting to the other how scared they were. They were both stepping into an unknown future and their lives would forever be changed.
"You don't have to..,” Taren started to say, but Parel cut him off.
"We have been through this, and the bard agreed with me. I have to go with you,” She said, sounding angrier than she had meant.
Taren looked into the fog. Even though he could see through the mists, the images that he saw in the mists unnerved him.
"Maybe we should wait until this fog lifts to leave.”
"Oh... A fine king you will make, jumping at shadows in the mist. Pull yourself together, and let's get going,” She adjusted the pack on her back and started walking faster.
The fog was too thick for her to see through, and Oran's vision spell caused her to feel a bit dizzy as the view that it showed her was a bit distorted. It was a bit like viewing the world through a large magnifying glass. She swayed slightly and was angry with herself when Taren caught her elbow to keep her on her feet.
"If you are going to insist on coming with me, at least let me help you navigate the city,” He offered his hand to her once more. "Once we are out of the city walls, I will not assist you any further, unless you ask me too,”
She grudgingly agreed, and they were off, winding through the maze of houses, doubling back on their tracks, and generally trying to make it as confusing as possible for anyone that might be trailing them. This was on the bard's orders. He was nervous after the events of the previous couple of nights.
A light pink glow could be seen on the horizon when they reached the city wall. The fog had not thinned, and the light refracting off the moisture particles played tricks on the mind that were worse than they had been when there had been no light at all.
As they passed through the gate, Parel pulled her arm out of Taren's grip.
"I can manage on my own now, thank you,” She said, and she set off towards the rising sun.
Taren just stood there watching her go, trying to figure out what he had done to earn such animosity from her.
"It's not you,” Cyan told him. "She is terrified. She was told some things that has her anxious about this trip,”
"What kinds of things?"
"That is not for me to say. She will tell you when the time is right. Just be patient with her.”
"Do you know what the bard was talking about when he told me that I was not free to give her my love?" Taren asked.
"Yes.”
"Will you explain it to me?"
"No,” Cyan answered. "As with the bard, it is not my place to tell you. All I can say is that your father made an oath, and it falls upon you to keep it.”
"It appears that my father did a lot of things that it falls upon me to continue,” the bitterness in his voice was palpable. "What if I fail to live up to the standard that my father set?"
"Your father did not do it alone. He had help from a small group of friends that he trusted.”
"You are talking about the Guardians, aren't you?" Taren asked.
"The Guardians of the Balance were more than Paron's companions or his comrades in arms, they were his friends. They were all friends. The hardest day for any of them was when Shalarandra was murdered,”
Taren was confused. "Shalarandra Kaardrannan? She was a Guardian? She was a dark elf.”
"The Dark Elves are no longer the monsters that they once were. They have been working tirelessly to protect the world from the wrath of the Dark Lords. In a way, you could count them all as Guardians. The Kaardrannans have been the most valiant of them all in keeping the fight alive. It is very likely that you will have to decide whether or not to let one join your quest. The time for the next generation of Guardians to take up the mantle is at hand,”
Taren was not sure exactly what Cyan meant. The bard had alluded to a similar event when he had told Taren that claiming his birthright would be more difficult than just claiming the throne. He was to take his father’s place as leader of the Guardians.
He shook his head at the thought. He was only thirteen, and he wasn't even sure of that. They had always celebrated his birth anniversary on the same day, presumably the day that Zorah and Jarno had found him.
"You are as old as you think you are,” Cyan told him. "The day that the Mother Dragon attacked the castle was the day of your first birth anniversary,”
"Are you always going to read my mind like that?" Taren was annoyed,
Cyan's mechanical voice was almost filled with mirth when he answered. "You will get used to it.”
Taren shook his head and continued to walk in silence; following the path that Parel had blazed in her haste to outdistance him. The trail was not hard to follow, even through the thick fog. Apparently, she was in a hurry to get somewhere. Where this place was, he did not know. He wasn't even sure that she knew. When they left, they had no destination in mind. The bard had just told them to travel east, so that is where they were headed.
He was slightly worried that he could no longer see her, but she did have Oran. The little knife would not permit any harm to come to her.
He continued to walk at a leisurely pace, enjoying the smells and the sounds of the forest, trying to not look around too much, because the mist was still swirling through the trees. It was around mid-day when the fog finally lifted, giving way to a cloudless warm day. The chill of the morning evaporated quickly, leaving him feeling better than he had about everything.
He had always loved nature; he supposed that was his Elf blood, so living in the big city had always been hard for him. Whenever life got too hectic, he would just spread his wings and fly to a wild spot somewhere, and just sit and enjoy the feeling that he got from just being there.
"Flying sounds like a really good idea,” He said to nobody in particular.
As he removed his cloak, he took a running start, spread his wings, and jumped into the air. His wings were still sore from the beating that they had taken over the past few days. He could still feel glass lodged in the tender flesh from the window that he had smashed through. The muscles that moved the large appendages were sore from the effort of trying to carry a second body while flying. Despite these things, however, flying felt incredible.
He flew east, keeping a sharp lookout for any sign of Parel. After searching for a couple of hours, he came upon a clearing where a thin plume of smoke betrayed the location of a small campfire. His sharp eyes picked out a pack, very much like the one that Parel had been wearing, lying next to a large rock that was situated not far from where the campfire was slowly burning itself out. There was a stream not far from the would-be campsite where the small form of a raven-haired woman crouched washing a pan.
He waited for quite a long while for Parel to return to the clearing. He was getting ready to go to the stream to check on her when she approached him. It was apparent from her red eyes and the streaks down her cheeks that she had been crying. Her skirt was dirty from her kneeling on the creek bed. Her blouse was dirty and torn in a few places. Twigs and leaves stuck out of her usually immaculate hair.
When she saw him, she burst into tears again.
"Oh, Nathan... I am so sorry,” She said, not realizing that she had called him by his Human name. "I didn't mean it. I didn't mean any of those mean things that I said to you this morning.”
"It's okay,” Taren answered. "I know you are scared. I know that this journey is going to be as life-changing for you is it is for me.”
She stoked the fire as she sat down, and added some wood to it. She produced the pan, a strip of meat, and some herbs.
"Are you hungry?" She asked as she began to rub the herbs into the meat
Nathan had not realized how hungry he was until she asked him. "I am famished. I haven't eaten since before we left the inn.”
Parel nodded and continued to prepare the food.
They sat in silence while the meal was prepared, Taren reveling in the wonderful smells of the herbs cooking into the meat. When the meat was finished cooking, Parel placed it on a small, light, metal plate and handed it to Taren. She then grabbed a small cup and went toward the stream. She returned a few minutes later with the cup full of fresh water from the stream.
The meat did little to curb Nathan's voracious appetite, so he pulled a bag of nuts out of the bag that Zorah had packed for him. He was surprised when the little cylinder that he had found in Knoro's mansion fell out of his pack. He picked it up to examine it and was shocked when he saw the words flash across it again. Choose your color!