Legon Ascension (18 page)

Not wanting to get anymore looks than normal, she wrapped around Salmont, making it to the base of the hills around mid morning. Once she was at the tree line, her insides filled with ice. What if that dragon was out again today? She pushed the thought from her mind. The forest was too dense here, it wouldn’t be good hunting, and besides, a dragon hadn’t been seen for a while now. It was probably safe. She adjusted the small daypack on her back and started into the thick woods.
 

Sound stopped once inside and the light dimmed green through the canopy high above. The feeling of foreboding only grew as she went deeper. She could see maybe ten feet in front of her, and without sound or a marked trail there was the risk of getting lost. That fear soon outweighed that of the possibility of dragons. Once she calmed herself, it wasn’t difficult to find her bearing. She knew enough to not get permanently lost, at any rate.
 

As she moved, her shirt clung to her sweaty skin. It was uncomfortable and something she wasn’t entirely used to. Her mind wondered about the many possibilities at hand, the first and foremost her education. Well, that was the first that she could control. The true first was Kovos, but she wasn’t going to think about him now. Her options were clear. She would be able to stay in Salmont until her apprenticeship was over, and from there she would go to Salez and finish the higher levels of training. Laura could, of course, teach her everything, but she needed certification from the Empire. Right now she could claim being a level one or a nurse. That could keep her in Salmont maybe, and she could find work in most of the towns in the territory. If she went to school she could become a level two or three healer and could live almost any place she wanted. Also, if she was asked to go to the battlefront, she would be well away from any fighting. Already the nurse’s band on her arm made her all but immune to any violence. Not even a band of robbers would hurt her. They could take her and force her to fix their wounded, but nothing more. Healers, like smiths, were too important and rare.
 

She stuck her foot through tall grass and it landed on soft level ground. As she made her way between the current of grass she found herself in a small clearing, except it couldn’t be called a clearing. Her eyes and mind tried to make out the shape in front of her, it was a tree, but it wasn’t. The base the trunk bulged with holes that looked like…

“Are those windows?” she said out loud.

Hesitantly, she moved to the tree, or structure or whatever it was. Instinctively, her eyes flashed around and stopped on a white stone lying on the ground. She went to it and knelt. It was square. She leaned closer and saw an engraving: Umquam Omitto. What did that mean? Then it hit her, and she moved quickly to the side, realizing that she was standing on a grave.
 

She whirled to the tree that she now knew, the story of Legon’s past, the one she only knew bits about. It came to her in a rush. The memory flooded her. Lying in Kovos’ arms as she tried to fall asleep, he was prattling about Legon and how he was found. She thought Kovos was playing with her, or that maybe she was asleep, then the next day he was gone. She never gave his ramblings that night any thought, but now she remembered. Her feet moved on their accord to the little dwelling. Part of her screamed to run away, told her not to go in, but another part, a more rational part, told her there was no danger here, not anymore. The bark was rough under her slender fingers. Her hand moved up the oval doorway, and she walked into the little room.
 

Chills ran the length of her spine as she entered the one-room dwelling. Even after years of abandonment, chairs, tables and other belongings covered the floor. The floor was one piece of wood with large splotchy stains she assumed were from blood. The sweet scent of sap was almost inviting, a direct contrast with the scene before her. There should have been a thick layer of dust coating the interior, but the finger she ran across the curving mantelpiece showed less than what you could find in Laura and Edis’s house. Was this place still inhabited? She knelt over the empty fireplace, or at least that’s what she thought it was. There was no stone, just seamless wood. Her hand found a small ridge under the hearth and she lifted without too much force. She looked at an empty space, just the size for a small child. She picked up a small yellow blanket. The fabric was stiff with age but she could tell at one point it had been soft. The compartment closed as silently and easily as it had opened. One hand still holding the blanked, she lifted herself from the ground, holding the wall for support. A bump in the wood gave and she leaped back as flames burst into existence in the fireplace. This was bad, it was just wood. Panicking, she did the first thing that came to mind, and pushed the bump again. The fire stopped. There was a small
plop
as her mouth fell open. The wood looked just the same as it did before, but there had to be a fire; she could still feel heat from the fireplace. Carefully, and still holding onto the blanket, she made her way out of the house and hurried as fast as she could toward town.
 

“Hello dear, what is that you have?” Laura asked as Emma entered the house. Then, taking a closer look, asked, “What happened? Is everything alright?”

Emma looked down at the little blanket and dropped it. She didn’t even know she was still holding it.

“What’s wrong?” Laura was looking a bit frantic now.

“I found the house,” was all she managed.

Laura looked confused. “What house?”

“The house, the one they found him in. The one that’s a tree, not a house.”

“What house that’s a tree?”

“The one they found Legon in, there’s still someone living in it, there has to be, it makes fire and there’s no dust.” She was starting to ramble. The logical side of her brain told her to clamp down and to not be upset. No one lived in the house anymore. Also, she knew what Kovos said. Edis told Legon about it. She just thought maybe Edis had been under a lot of stress when he saw it and remembered wrong. Emma thought perhaps it had been a tree house of sorts, but it wasn’t. It was a tree and it was alive.
 

“I’m not sure how much more I can take… dragons, trees that are houses, my family dying, Kovos gone, the problems in the south, wh…”

“Stop,” Laura said, placing her hands on her shoulders. “Breathe. It’s ok.”

But it wasn’t ok, it had never been ok. She was supposed to be in some little mountain town away from everything! Nothing was ok, and nothing was what it seemed.
 

* * * * *

Sara tossed a rag aside, and walked out of the room. What was the lesson here? The patient was going to die. Why were they still trying so hard with him? She wasn’t in a pleasant mood and her shoes clicking on the granite floor weren’t helping matters. Her right foot clicked “you can’t save anyone,” and her left “you’re going to fail,” on and on.
 

“You ok?” It was Sam.

“Maybe this isn’t what I should be doing.” It wasn’t a question, just stating the obvious.

“You don’t want to go into combat or anything, do you?”
 

She shook her head. “No, no, of course not, but why do I have to use magic? Why can’t I do something else?”

Sam pursed her lips. “Ok, well what do you want to do? Don’t look at me like that. This isn’t the Empire, you can do whatever you like.”

“Yeah, but we don’t have that many Venefica…” Sara trailed off. Also, there was the fact that Legon and Sasha were heads of a great house, and quitting or failing out of school wouldn’t look good. Not to mention that it would be extremely ungrateful.
 

“Are you worried about disappointing them?”
 

She frowned. “That obvious?”

“Come on. Anytime someone mentions house Evindass, you perk up like you were in the inner court or something.” She paused. “You know they wouldn’t mind if you quit, I bet you could even move to the capital.” Her eyes went wide. “Can you imagine what it must be like?”

“I’m sure it’s like the dome.”

Sam went on. “Maybe. I bet it’s amazing. I hear that all the Elvin cities are. I’ve never been in the dome before, what’s it like?”

This was another reminder of the privileges Sara enjoyed. “It’s nice. I guess I can take you in sometime.”

They had been walking side by side when Sam stopped. Sara took a couple of steps back. “What?”

“You can’t just go in. Only high ranking people go in there”
 

She smiled. “This weekend. Come on.”
 

It was mid morning when the dragon dome loomed before them. Keither rode Pixy next to Sara. “It’s going to be good to see Ise again,” he said.

“And Cat,” Sara prompted.

“That’s right,” he laughed.

“Isn’t this a little far for a joke, you two?” Sam said. She wasn’t buying that they could get in the dome at all, but came anyway for something to do.
 

Once dismounted, they started their way up the side, Sam looking more and more apprehensive. Keither seemed to have more confidence in his step.

“You starting to get the Jezeer?”
 

It looked like she pulled him away from some train of thought. “Starting to, yeah, and Barnin when he’s around helps out a lot.”

When they were almost at the top of the dome, a slender figure in pink could be seen. Sara and Keither waved.

“What are you doing? We are going to get sent away, oh no, here she comes,” Sam said, terrified.

“Sam, have you ever seen an Elf hurt someone?” Keither said, confused.

“That’s hardly the point, is it?”

She knew Ise could hear the conversation and didn’t raise her voice. “Are you going to eat us?”

Sam looked mortified, but Ise’s voice didn’t sound angry in the least bit. “Too greasy,” she said, making a face.

When they were a few feet away, Iselin walked forward and gave Sara and Keither a hug, then turned to Sam, “You must be Sam?”

“Yes ma’am. H…how did you know?”

“I talk to these two. Come in, have you had lunch?”

Sam tugged Sara’s sleeve. “What is it?”

“Did you see her eyes?” Sam whispered.

“Yes, she’s ascended, we know. Don’t be awkward.”

Sara was surprised at how good it felt to be in the dome again, with its woodsy smell and pulsing energy. It was alive and in a way, when she was here she was alive in another way too. Maybe she would go to the capital…

Sam ooo’d and ahhh’d at all the right places and was quickly getting over her fear of being in the dome, but still seemed a little uncomfortable.

“It’s alien, I know, but by morning you’ll love it,” Sara gushed.

“We’re staying here?”

Iselin spoke. “Yes, I have arranged guest quarters for you. You’re by your old place Sara.”

* * * * *

Keither stood in front of the wall height mirror examining himself. He was in Mantic’s apartment, a far nicer accommodation than he’d enjoyed the last time he was here. He pinned an Evindass pin to his vest, making sure it was level and gleaming. His fingers slid over the emblem wrought with silver, amethyst, emerald and sapphire. The emblem was so simple, yet it burst with meaning. The human houses never truly got the meaning of a crest. They opted for elaborate symbols that were empty. The green of the emerald was for life, emphasized by the tree showing life growing. The blue sapphire spoke of spirituality, once again emphasized by a shape, this time of a triangle. Last, the majesty and royalty of the amethyst in a dot represented the circle of eternity.
 

Cat wound her way between his legs and he reached down to scratch behind her ears. It was time to go to the dining hall. On his way out Mantic stopped him.

“Here, I think you might enjoy this.” He handed him an old but well-kept black leather volume.

“What is it?” he said, and he ran his fingers over the embossed cover.

“’Who is it by’ is the better question.”

Keither raised an eyebrow but opened the book to read the author. “Hoelaria!”

Mantic smiled. “Yes, it is one of her’s. It’s good to know your enemy Keither, and don’t forget at one time the Elves and Iumenta weren’t at each other’s throats. We fought, but we respected the other’s intellect.”

“But Hoelaria?” He was incredulous that someone so high in the Elvin command would have this.

“She’s thousands of years old Keither, and moreover a master of the Mahann. Read it, there is poison and wisdom contained therein. Now, off to see Iselin. I don’t want on her bad side. She will explain more to you if you like.”

He entered a private dining room. The girls were just getting seated. Sam looked awed by all the Elves and it took him a bit of effort to remember that they kept themselves apart from humanity for this reason. Humans were easily overwhelmed by the immortals. It dulled the mind after generations.

Sara was in a Lavender dress, the pin of Evindass above her left breast like his own. She was showing support for house Evindass in every way she could. She must still feel guilty, he thought. Sam fingered the red velvet of her dress. She wore no emblem.

Iselin walked in and Cat darted to her. “Sorry I’m late, may I look at that book, Keither?” She held out her hand.

He handed her the book and sat next to her at the table. An Elf walked in with a tray of food and set it in the center of the table.

“De Situs ne Cogitatio—one of Hoelaria’s. It’s an fascinating read.” She put the book down next to him.
 

Sam spoke “Hoelaria? The queen?”

“Regent,” Ise corrected. “Yes, and yes I’ve read it and many other Iumenta books, as have they read many Elvin.”

Keither had been thumbing through it on his way down. “Ise, may I get your thoughts on a section I read on the way down?”

She gestured for him to read the section.

Humanity is ruled by time, whereas we are not. The mortal mind cannot fix its gaze on the horizon long enough to travel to any desirable destination in society and ideology. Thus cause issues, an infection that will end the races. Ergo, they must be subjugated in mind, body and spirit in order to avoid the Multo Fino or The Great End in their language.