Miras Last (2 page)

Galena awoke to sunlight streaming in through
the bare branches of the trees surrounding her. She sat up quickly
and realized she was in the bed she made the night before. Elenio
glanced at her from the side of the campfire and seeing she was
awake resumed eating the loaf of bread he’d started. Galena blinked
and tried to recall exactly how she ended up in the bed when she
distinctly remembered sitting by the fire talking with Mira when
she had drifted off. Try as she might, she was unable to think how
she managed such a feat.

“I saw you sleeping on the ground sometime
last night and brought you back to bed. You didn’t even stir,”
Elenio answered her unspoken question through a mouthful of
bread.

“How long have I been sleeping?” Galena asked
as she stifled a yawn.

“Through most of the day. I couldn’t bear to
wake you when I know you’ve had so little sleep the last several
nights.” He stuffed the last piece of bread in his mouth and dusted
off his hands before he stood. “Do you want me to get something for
you to eat or will you grace us with your presence today?” he asked
grinningly wickedly as he bowed low, his gaze never leaving her
face.

She needed something to throw, but found
nothing that would do damage within reach. Getting up with as much
dignity as possible, she walked over to her pack and retrieved some
of the food at the very bottom. She found a few crumbs of what
looked like sweet bread and some minute pieces of cheese. Taking a
brief moment to make more of the food so she wouldn’t completely
deplete their supplies, she sat down next to the fire. She hadn’t
put up the protective barriers for the last couple of nights
because she knew Rau had called all things dark to Blackwell in
preparation for the coming war, but now with the chill of evening
settling around her, she regretted it. Taking a moment, she quickly
set up the air hut and ring of fire, instantly feeling a difference
in the temperature around her.
Nice and cozy
, she thought
dryly.

“Sure, when you’re cold, you create an
instant change in temperature. Don’t mind that I’ve been cold for a
while.”

“Well, I am more important. Besides, you
could have stirred the fire,” she said saucily to him, taking a
bite of cheese as she did so. It was the first time in days she
felt properly hungry. Elenio chucked a piece of wood at her for
which she waved a hand carelessly, blowing it off course with the
wind that she directed.

“Well, that wasn’t fair,” Elenio said, brows
furrowed in disappointment.

Galena just grinned in response. She made
quick work of her meal, taking care to leave enough to make more
with later and shoved those pieces in her pack before she stood,
brushing her backside off as she did.

“Feel like going a couple of rounds with me.
I need to burn some energy if I’m going to sleep more tonight.”

“Had a good rest then?” Elenio asked,
curiosity and happiness written all over his face and in his
thoughts.

“A dreamless one,” Galena said, shrugging
nonchalantly as she bent down to retrieve her sword. She hadn’t
fought with it before and was worried that it would handle
differently than her old blade. When she picked it up though, it
felt natural in her hand, like an extension of her arm, which is
what she had always learned a proper sword should feel like.

Twirling the blade around her and getting
into her starting stance, she waited for Elenio to retrieve his own
blade, smiling as he bumbled along. He grabbed his sword and
striding over to her, he prepared in his own way. Not giving him a
chance to land the first blow, Galena came at him immediately.
Within two strokes, she found her blade at his throat while he eyed
her strangely. Stepping back, she prepared to go again, only this
time, waiting for him to begin their session. He came at her,
moving quicker than she ever saw him move, but once again, she had
him on the ground within a couple of moves, her sword pointing at
his chest.

“Okay, you’re normally very difficult to
beat, but you have a whole new level of quickness you didn’t have
before and I’m guessing it has to do with your new blade,” he said,
sitting up as Galena backed away once more. “I’m not going to be
able to get the better of you no matter how many times we go around
unless I have several elves helping me.”

Galena looked at the sword with new respect
in her eyes. She knew the sword gave her a greater awareness of
everything around her, a clearer way of thinking, but more energy
as well. She noticed this as soon as she touched it in the cave.
Elenio even told her she seemed to glow with a subtle light ever
since she left the entrance of the cave. Apparently, there was more
to this sword than she had originally gave it credit. She looked at
the sword in her hand, wondering what other surprises she had in
store as the owner of this infamous blade.

Chapter
Two

Tark watched his generals work with the
different groups they’d chosen for the purpose of training as many
elves as possible in the shortest amount of time. Granted, Mira
sped up this process considerably, but Tark still felt it was
necessary his lead elves teach several groups just as he taught
them. This allowed them to train many more elves than it would have
been possible for just him alone. He still worked with his top ten
chosen on a daily basis to keep up their skills, but they spent
most of their time now helping to prepare others for the upcoming
war against Rau.

Among the other elves was his commitment
partner, Taura. He placed her in Morgo’s group because Morgo had
become one of his most trusted advisors and generals as well as an
excellent teacher. Tark wanted to make sure he gave Taura every
chance to become the best possible warrior she could. He hadn’t
been crazy about the idea of her joining in the war with hundreds
of other elves, but after their argument, he relented. Now, not
only did she train with Morgo most mornings and evenings, but also
with Tark any free moment he could spare. He knew Morgo was a very
able teacher. Even so, Tark felt it was his training that pushed
Taura the hardest and made her the capable fighter she was
becoming.

While Taura was busy training and dealing
with every other aspect of being the leader of a small army, their
daughter, Silva, spent most of her time with Quona, Amrick’s
daughter. Amrick was the main leader of the village the elves
claimed as their training site, as well as Silva’s guardian should
anything happen to him or Taura. She’d opted out of being trained
for the sole reason that the remaining elves would need a capable
leader and she felt she was just the elf for the job. She was
strong, able and decisive when the moment called for it. She didn’t
back down from a challenge, and the only time Tark ever saw fear in
her was the time she thought she had lost Quona to some
torlics.

Before Tark would even agree to training
Taura, they made sure Silva would be taken care of by a capable
elf. They both considered Venia for a short moment before deciding,
due to her mental state, they would have to find someone else to
take care of her and her infant son as well. With the death of her
husband, Melan, Venia had been stricken. She was mentally broken,
much to Tark and Taura’s dismay. She was barely able to take care
of herself. However, since her arrival at Corista, she had made
some progress. Such as starting to feed herself and acknowledging
others by staring vacantly at them. Although taking care of her
infant son and grooming herself was completely out of the
question.

After ruling out Venia, that left only one
other elf in their mind who could raise their daughter well. They
approached Amrick with the request of being Silva’s guardian to
which she graciously agreed. They approached Morgo with the request
of caring for Venia if they were unable to return and if nothing
happened to him during battle, as he had taken a particular
interest in her since the moment of their meeting. He took in her
vacant expression and her lack of participation in daily activities
or anything surrounding her with great interest. On the second day
of their arrival, Taura found him patiently setting food before her
and talking soothingly to her all the while. He held her young son,
Jamin, on his hip like an experienced father. Other times, he could
been seen leading her around the village and pointing out things
that interested him or just reading to her while she stared blankly
at different objects in the room. When Taura told Tark this, he’d
been amused and approached Morgo. Morgo simply stated he found
Venia interesting and left it at that. Tark however, suspected
there was more to it.

Almost a week went by when they began to
notice small changes in Venia’s demeanor because of her time with
Morgo. Life would flicker in her eyes and dance around her mouth
for a few short moments before fleeing her once more. She showed
signs of noticing Jamin when her son became upset or laughed. Taura
even found Venia staring at the washbasin, as if she was waiting to
be bathed. They were small victories, and Tark couldn’t help but
see them as good omens.

Tark focused once more on the mock sparring
occurring all around him and smiled with satisfaction. He noticed a
group of elves collecting in the center of the training field and
wandered over to see what was causing all the commotion. In the
center of the group of elves, he found Naradin going against Hasa
and Weila in a practice battle. He smiled, thinking Naradin didn’t
stand a chance against the terrible two. The twins were incredibly
fast and although Naradin had a great knack for staying calm in the
midst of fighting, he still couldn’t compete against their speed.
However, he lasted a great deal longer than Tark would have ever
thought he would. It was several minutes later and to a great roar
of cheering from the watching crowd, Naradin pinned Hasa, but found
himself at the mercy of Weila, who had a knife at his throat. Tark
clapped with the rest of the crowd. It was a great effort on
Naradin’s part.

Tark had met with his closest elves, the ones
he considered his ten generals that morning on the progress with
the different groups they selected and worked with on a daily
basis. They too, were extremely proud of how far all the elves in
each of their groups had come in the short amount of time. They
hadn’t known as he did, that Mira was at work in the elves’
training. He felt it was an unnecessary piece of knowledge and
decided to let them take the credit for the incredible progress. He
figured this would do wonders for their self-esteem.

Hasa and Weila decided to train groups
together due to their uncanny ability of working as a team. They
had been very successful in this particular area. Morgo and Nina
had been working with the underground elves on honing their magical
abilities during battles and using their powers to aide others
during combat. They both reported the few underground elves who
chose to fight, had come a long way. They were able to increase the
amount of magic they were able to do, without passing out.

Before leaving the underground world, most of
these elves only used magic for day-to-day use and were
unaccustomed to using it for any other purposes. The first week
alone, caused most of them to remain unconscious off and on for
hours at a time. Now, only one or two would overdo it, causing them
to lose consciousness for a short time instead of the hours that
would have been normal before. The other generals were also
reporting the same improvements, much to Tark’s delight.

It was nearing noon and Tark was starving,
but he had to head toward Amrick’s house first. He had received a
message that some of the scouts he sent out were coming back with
reports earlier that morning, but he hadn’t had a chance to head
there until now. They were waiting for him at Amrick’s until he had
a chance to discuss the happenings in Tomiro. Tark was pleased to
be heading there because he hadn’t been able to see his daughter
yet that day and he missed her dearly. He was called away for an
urgent matter long before she awoke and then stayed busy for the
remainder of the time.

Tark strode into Amrick’s front yard, smiling
as his tiny daughter and Quona came into view. They both wielded
sticks, practicing their own form of sparring, before ending in a
fit of giggles at each other’s attempts to disarm the other.

“Keep that up and I’ll have to recruit both
of you for the coming war,” Tark said with humor in his voice.

Silva spun around, squealing with delight as
she took off at a full sprint toward her father. Tark braced
himself before stretching his arms out wide in preparation to catch
the flying spitfire known as his daughter. Taking one last step and
propelling herself forward, she sprung into his arms, wrapping her
own little limbs tightly around his neck.

“I missed you this morning, Daddy,” she said
quietly into his ear.

“I missed you too, little one.” He hugged her
tightly and kissed the top of her head. “Do you want to come in
with me while I talk to the scouts I sent out?”

Silva shook her head as she answered, “Amrick
told us we needed to stay outdoors while you talked with the elves.
She said we could come back in when it was time for our noonday
meal.”

Tark pulled back, evaluating Silva’s serious
expression while the feeling of his stomach dropping filled the
rest of his senses. It always made him nervous to discuss with
others the whereabouts of Rau or any of his soldiers. Now, with the
knowledge Amrick didn’t want the little ones to overhear what the
scouts had to say, did not bode well at all. “Well, run along then
and I’ll see you in a few minutes,” he told her as he set her down,
his voice sounding falsely cheery in his own ears.

Silva kissed him on his cheek before running
toward Quona. The smile he wore just moments before, slipped from
his face as he walked up to Amrick’s front door, opened it, then
stepped through. What he saw confirmed his fears. The news he was
about to hear was not going to be good. So much for hoping Rau
would have a change of heart, deciding he’d had enough ruling and
was going to join the elf ranks. Tark sighed heavily and then sat
at one of the chairs surrounding their eating table. “Let me have
it. What has caused all the gloomy faces?”