— Chapter Sixteen —
The Gathering Storm
Iadrawyn sat bolt upright in a damp sweat. It was several moments before the familiar, shadow-cloaked surroundings of her bedchamber intruded on her senses. Realizing she was clutching at her blankets, she forced herself to release her grip. She took several deep breaths to slow the terrified beating of her heart. She was safe, in her hut in Vila Eadros. Although she knew this to be true, she couldn’t shake the fearful sense of foreboding that loomed over her.
Realizing sleep was no longer an option, she rolled off her pallet to stand. Despite the woven grass mats strewn across the floor, her feet were cold. The chill of the packed earth beneath the mats seeped up her legs. Winter was coming.
Although the turning of the seasons had wreaked havoc among the Light Elves during their first year together, it was now a familiar cycle. However, this winter seemed to be approaching sooner than most. Iadrawyn slipped on a pair of fur-lined slippers and a woolen cloak before going to stand at the window.
She twitched the curtains aside to look at the sky, which still seemed wondrous to her after all these years. The moon was in the west, but the sky was still dark. The stars shimmered overhead like diamonds in the velvet darkness, shrouded only by the occasional cloud. It was several hours before dawn.
With a sigh, she let go of the curtain and made her way on silent feet into the common room. The embers of the fire glowed a dull orange. Kneeling on one of the cushions surrounding it, she used a stout branch to stir them to life, blowing on them as she added more fuel from the pile. In moments, tongues of flame sprang up, crackling merrily, the smoke spiraling upward to drift out of the hole in the arched center of the ceiling. She hung her kettle over the fire to make some tea. After what she had seen in her dream, she doubted she would be able to sleep.
It was three years ago to the day that the drakhalu had invaded Vila Eadros. It was strange when she thought about it. It seemed like it had just happened yesterday, and at the same time she felt as though an entire lifetime had passed. Perhaps the tragic anniversary was what had prompted the dream.
Deep down, Iadrawyn knew it was more than just a dream. She had spent more than enough time communing with the Quenya over the last few years to recognize the clarity and feel of a vision. Her mind reeled. What she had seen was not possible. Perhaps it had simply been garbled by her lingering guilt. Even with her special relationship with the Quenya, she had been unable to keep her people safe. So many had died that night…
She knew she could not tell Valanandir what she had seen. The implications would only distract him. He had enough on his mind as it was.
The Light Elf numbers had swelled since the invasion. Those Shadow Elves who survived the frustrated drakhal attacks on their scattered tribes had arrived at Vila Eadros as refugees and undergone the transformation of the Quenya. Now all the remaining elves were Light Elves. As far as Iadrawyn knew, the Shadow Elves had become extinct. Although the unification would make the elven people stronger, it had come at a high price.
Iadrawyn’s family still had not come. What little information she managed to gather from the terrified Wood Elf arrivals indicated that even after her warning sent by the Quenya, her father and eldest brother had insisted the drakhalu were powerful allies to be negotiated with. They had refused to leave their wood. By the time Iaralys and Linlevni realized the danger, it would have been too late to escape.
Although Iadrawyn grieved to learn the fate of her mother, father, and Linlevni, the news of Eranalfia’s death hit her hard. She had always held out hope her brother would one day arrive at Vila Eadros so she could share the wonders of the Quenya with him. He was the only one in her family who had ever tried to understand and stand up for her. If not for him, she and Valanandir might never have escaped her village. She felt his loss keenly.
Iadrawyn pushed away her now-familiar grief and returned her thoughts to her vision. It could not be possible. Yet the presence of the Quenya in what she had seen warned her otherwise. She painstakingly went over the vision and memorized every detail. Even though it seemed impossible, the Quenya had never been wrong before. This realization renewed her fear.
Regardless whether the vision was accurate, Iadrawyn knew she must do everything in her power to prevent it from coming to pass.
Light Chasers (The World of Lasniniar Book 0) Page 33