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Authors: Lana Axe

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BOOK: A Story Of River
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Chapter 6
 

“You will not win this war without the
river! There is a war coming. I have seen it. I cannot change a prophecy for
anyone. Not even for you, your Majesty.” Orzi stood with his back bent and his
fists pressing hard upon the table. He was clearly exhausted. His apprentice
helped ease him back into his seat.

“I wish you would make your prophecy more
clear,” King Aelryk said with a sigh. “I have three mages, four historians, and
every scholar at the college looking into this. No one has discovered anything
useful. There simply aren’t any lands of spring. I fear it is hopeless.”

Orzi closed his eyes. It was always the
same with kings. They wanted every prophecy to be specific and tell them
exactly what to do. That just isn’t how prophecy works. Why couldn't they
realize that if he could be specific he would do it? He wished he could always
tell them exactly how to make things right. It just wasn’t that easy.

“My king, I have told you everything that
I can. I will keep trying to see more, but for now that is all I see. An evil
is gathering and you need the river.”

“That raises another question that I
haven’t wanted to consider just yet. How am I supposed to bring a river back
with me? Do I have to move the entire river, or can I bring some back in a
jar?” Aelryk changed to a gentler tone. “Orzi, I know you are doing everything
you can to help. I hope you can understand my frustration. Lives are at stake.
I only wish to protect my people.”

 

*
* * * *

 

The king had just sat down for dinner when
a page burst through the door.

“Your majesty, sir,” the out-of-breath
page said as he kneeled on one knee. “Magister Utric has found an answer to
your riddle, umm, prophecy, sir. He is gathering his documents and said you can
expect him straight away.” The page was still breathing heavily. Obviously, he
had run to the king's chambers all the way from the Tower of Learning.

“Thank you for this information, young
man. You may go.” Aelryk motioned at his cupbearer to pour him some wine. His
appetite had been waning but his thirst had not. He sipped at the wine
impatiently.

Once again the door opened, and Aelryk
looked up anticipating the magister. However, it was Queen Lisalla who entered
the dining room followed closely by her maid.

“Good evening, my lady,” Aelryk said,
standing. As she approached, he reached out for her hand and kissed it.

“Good evening, my lord,” she replied as she
took a seat at the table. Quickly, the king's cupbearer poured her a glass of
wine. She sipped the wine and asked, “Is there any news? I saw the page running
in your direction.”

“Yes, I believe there is. I'm just waiting
for Magister Utric to make his way here. Supposedly, he has figured out where
it is I need to go. With any luck, he has also figured out what it is I need to
do.”

“It's a long walk from the tower, dear.
Perhaps we should go ahead and eat.” She motioned the servants to bring their
dinner. Right away, each of them had a small hen and vegetables placed before
them. The queen proceeded to eat, but Aelryk was preoccupied in thought. He
sipped at another glass of wine and tapped a finger against the surface of the
table.

Finally, Magister Utric arrived accompanied
by his apprentice. Both men carried books and scrolls in their arms. “Forgive
me, your majesty, for interrupting your meal. I thought you would like to know
what I have found immediately.”

“Indeed,” Aelryk said. “Tell me what it is
you've found.”

“Of course, majesty. I have found these
ancient documents stashed away. I believe they were somehow spared from the
great fire that destroyed the Tower of Learning around four hundred years ago.
They tell of a land of eternal spring and of a long forgotten group of elves
who lived in the area. I believe, based on the description of its location,
that it is within the Westerling Vale. The Blue River flows through it and
actually has its source in the mountains just above the Vale.”

“You're certain about this?” Queen Lisalla
asked. “That is quite a long way to travel.”

“Yes, my lady, I am quite certain. I will
of course confer with the other historians, but I didn't want to hesitate to
inform his majesty.”

“Thank you, magister. Please gather the others
immediately to discuss this finding. Send for Orzi as well.” King Aelryk felt
relieved. In his heart, he knew that this was the answer. To the fabled land of
the Westerling Elves was where he would be traveling. As a child he had heard
tales of them, but they were surely just a myth. These were elves out of legend
that had not been seen by any man now living.

Chapter 7
 

Hammers rang in the darkness as sparkling
gems were pulled from the earth. The miners worked without speaking. If the
guards caught them chatting during work hours, they were beaten. Those who
dropped from exhaustion were taken away and not seen again. Rumors began to
spread through the camps that they were being used for experimentation. Some
said they were being transformed into monsters. Others said they were being
drained of their life essence and used to power dark magic. Whatever the case,
the miners preferred not to find out firsthand.

Tu'vad inspected the tables which were
covered with small dark gems. Some of them were so small that they would be
completely useless once they were cut into the proper shape. Many, however,
were large enough to suit his master's needs. Unfortunately, none had yet been
discovered that warranted immediate attention. Master Ulda would need some very
large gems as well, but they were quite rare.

Tu'vad would simply force the workers to
dig deeper and deeper and provide them fewer hours of sleep. That should speed
up the process and make his master happy. Tu'vad would not be blamed for the
lack of larger gems as long as he was pushing the workers to their limits.
Three mines were currently in operation, so with a little luck, larger gems
would start turning up soon.

Two female workers began clearing the
tables. They sorted the gems by size and placed them in chests. The tiny ones,
no doubt, would be ground into dust and used for medicinal purposes. At least,
that was their traditional use in Al'marr. The medium sized ones were formerly
used for jewelry, but they would soon hold the source of power for Master
Ulda's enchantments.

The ladies loaded the chests into carts
which would then be taken to the gem cutters. Each gem would be cut and
polished to Ulda's precise specifications. The facets had to be just right for
the magic to work. A few of the gem cutters had already provided Ulda with
perfectly cut gems, and Tu'vad hoped the new cutters would do the same. If not,
they wouldn't be given another chance to fail. He would see to them personally.

“Guards,” Tu'vad called. Two guards
appeared immediately at his side. “Escort these women and their carts to the
jewelers at the palace.”

“Yes, my lord,” one guard replied, and
both of them obeyed at once.

Tu'vad walked over to inspect the mining camp.
The overnight workers were either sleeping or having a bite to eat. Tu'vad
wanted to inspect the food to be sure they weren't overeating. The cook was
stirring a stew over the fire as Tu'vad approached. “A heavy stomach makes for
a lazy worker,” Tu'vad said. “Add some more water to that stew and only issue
half-size slices of bread.”

“But sir, the workers aren't eating enough
as is!” the skinny cook protested.

Tu'vad immediately grabbed his throat and
pressed his knife under the man's chin. “No one talks back to me. If they do,
they die or worse. I'm going to excuse you this once. Disobey me again, and you
will have my promise fulfilled.”

He released the shaken cook and proceeded
towards the camp guards.

“I want every tent searched daily for
stolen gems. Anyone caught stealing is to be bound and dragged to the palace
dungeons.”

“As you command, my lord,” one of the
guards said.

Tu'vad decided that being in charge of the
mines wasn't so bad. He would continue to prove useful to Master Ulda, and in
time, he would be the richest man in Al'marr. Power was well and good, but he
didn't want the responsibility of running the entire nation. Ulda could have
that. Tu'vad wanted gold, land, women, and servants to obey him when he spoke.
His life could only get better from here.

 

*
* * * *

 

Ulda stood over a large metal table with
an orb in the center. What had once been the king's sitting room was now Ulda's
laboratory. Here he could create enchantments much stronger than any carved
runes. Runes had their purpose, but with the gems and essences of his victims,
Ulda's powers of enchantment had greatly increased.

Extracting the essences of humans is
rather easy. Their souls are young and separated from the world around them
because they have very little connection with the earth. However, if Ulda could
successfully bind the spirits of elves, he would be unstoppable. An elven
essence could power frighteningly strong enchantments, but those experiments
would have to wait. He had not yet perfected his technique to extract the
essence of elves.

There were stories of Telorithan, a
sorcerer from the Sunswept Isles, who had managed to bind the essence of a fire
spirit. No other living being had ever managed to bind an elemental. Ulda
wasn't sure if the stories could possibly be true. If they were, this sorcerer
would have immense power. Perhaps someday Ulda would learn from him.

At this point, he was content using human
essences. The power he derived from them could be the key to collecting the
more powerful souls of elves. That was his goal for now.

A knock came from his door. “Master Ulda,
my lord,” a voice said from the other side. “I bring freshly cut and polished
gems for you, sir.”

“Enter,” Ulda said.

An old man carrying a wooden chest entered
the room. He kept his head bowed and awaited instructions.

“Lay it there on the table and leave,”
Ulda said, pointing at the table in the far corner.

The old man bowed, placed the chest on the
table, and turned to leave.

“Wait,” Ulda commanded.

The old man froze and turned to face him.

“Have you been a jeweler all of your
life?” Ulda asked.

“Yes, majesty. I have shaped stones since
I was a very young man.”

“Excellent,” Ulda said. “You can
personally inspect all of the gems before they're brought to me. It is tedious
work that I don't have time for myself. I will trust you to do this, and if I
find any problems, I'll know who to punish. You're dismissed.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you.” The old man bowed
again and left the room.

The old man was afraid of him, and that gave
Ulda pleasure. Fear is a powerful emotion and seems to make a human
consciousness easier to bind. Torment works well too. If he left a victim in
agony before extracting their essence, the work seemed to go much easier. This
bit of knowledge might help him graduate to binding elves. Elves, however, are
not easily made afraid, and they can withstand greater amounts of physical
pain. On the other hand, mental anguish works just as well, and elven peoples
tend to feel more deeply for the things around them.

That did not apply to all elves, of
course, as Ulda himself could care less for others. He preferred being left
alone to his studies and had little use for companionship. The humans and elves
around him served their intended purposes, and he required no more from them.
Among his kind, the Enlightened Elves, friendship was not necessary. Knowledge
of the arcane sciences was prized above all else. Ulda's intention was to
become the most knowledgeable and powerful sorcerer of them all.

Chapter 8
 

“Adda!” young Alyra shouted as she ran
down the hill towards her father.

“Hello there, my sweet,” River said as the
little girl reached him.

She threw her arms around him and squeezed
tightly. After a moment, she released him and sat on the intricately carved
bench next to him. Here, under the boughs of a weeping willow, was River's
favorite place to sit and think. Within the gardens near his home that overlook
the Blue River, he would peacefully sit for many hours.

Alyra, his youngest daughter, was a
beautiful dark-haired child with features similar to her father’s. Her blue
dress was dirty at the hem, most likely due to some make believe adventure.
Escaping from her lessons had become a hobby of hers. She liked to sneak away
and make the short, but epic in her mind, journey to sit with her father
beneath the willow tree.

“What did you learn today, little one?”
River asked.

“I learned that when Miss Hilla is reading
histories aloud, she doesn't look up in time to see me sneak away.”

River smiled.

Silently, they sat together in the
beautiful spring weather of the Vale. Birds sang, and the wind blew softly
through the trees. The river rushed softly along, filling the air with the
scent of water.

Afternoon wore on and Lenora entered the
gardens to find her life mate and youngest child. Alyra waved cheerily as she
saw her mother approach. She stopped waving, and a guilty look came across her
face as she saw Miss Hilla following closely behind her mother.

“There you are, my sneaky child,” Miss
Hilla said. Her kind eyes danced as she looked at the girl. It was impossible
to be angry with the child just for showing spirit.

“Alyra, you owe Miss Hilla an apology for
sneaking away. It was very impolite,” Lenora said. “Now go with her and finish
up your lessons for the day.”

Alyra stood and started walking towards
Hilla. Suddenly, she stopped, turned on her heels, and ran back to River. She
hugged him tightly, and he kissed her forehead. He smiled as she walked away
with Hilla.

As he stood, he kissed his life mate's
hand and asked, “Shall we walk in the gardens, my love?”

“I'd love to,” she replied, taking him by
the arm.

Together they strolled along the path
leading through the gardens. Blue, purple, and yellow flowers bloomed all along
the path. Trees covered with white and pink flowers swayed softly in the
breeze. The air was filled with the intoxicating mix of these fragrant
blossoms. Yellow butterflies fluttered lazily on the wind.

'Tell me, my dear,” Lenora said. “Has
there been any news of the intruders in the woodlands?”

“Rogin and his troops have increased
patrols. They are searching further into the forest than usual. Some strange
tracks have also been seen, but no other sign of the creatures has been found.
Still, we must be vigilant.”

They took a path leading off to the left
and down to the river. Lenora sat on a bench overlooking the water. River knelt
in front of her.

“Lenora, my love, the attack on the dryad
was not the work of a naturally occurring creature. Some dark magic has conjured
them and is using them for an evil purpose. Through my visions, I have seen
that it was an attempt to trap her essence. The creature wanted to kidnap her,
not kill her. She fought much too strongly to allow herself to be carried
away.”

Lenora sat silent, stunned. Her eyes
widened and she took a deep breath. Her golden hair blew gently in the breeze.
After a moment, she spoke. “Is it possible to bind a dryad's essence? And what
could someone do with it if they succeeded?”

“I do not truly know. Dryads are born of
the woods themselves. It would be like binding the essence of a tree. I'm not
sure it is possible, but if someone is trying with creatures...,” he broke off
and looked at the ground.

“They are most likely planning to try with
people too,” Lenora finished. “Or perhaps they are already doing such a thing.”

“I fear these new creatures have been
conjured by binding the essences of men,” River said. “I know of no other way
to create a new species. This is very powerful magic, and the world of men will
not know how to combat it.”

“Do you think they will come looking for
us? It's been centuries since we have had any contact with them.”

“I have seen it, my love. They will come.
They need us.”

“Well,” Lenora said. “Let's hope they
treat us better than they do the Young Ones. I'm not inclined to trust them,
and I am glad your magic has kept them away so long. Our people are better for
it.”

“Nevertheless, I know they cannot defeat
this enemy alone. If they were to fall, this evil would spread to us next. I do
not know if my magic could keep it away. I do not know what we are facing.”

“Let's sit a while and forget these
troubles, dear,” she said as she patted the bench next to her.

River took a seat and wrapped his arm
around her shoulders. She leaned her golden head on his chest and closed her
eyes.

BOOK: A Story Of River
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