by Toni Cox
No Riven.
Shaking, Maia paid more attention to her own senses, wondering what could have triggered this irrational fear. There were deer grazing in a small clearing not far from where she stood. A woodpecker sat on a branch not twenty paces from her. All seemed well.
Then, a faint Eläm caught her attention. She almost missed it; it was more dead than alive. The moment she spotted it, the fear left her and she stumbled forward. She stared at the spot where she had seen the faint Eläm, taking a hesitant step towards it. Her elemental senses prickled with her urge to help it and she took another step, her fear forgotten.
Disturbed from its sleep by her footsteps, it opened its eyes, the whites glowing eerily in the gloom of the forest. With a sob so hard it hurt her chest, Maia sank to the ground.
“Blaid,” she called to him as she knelt next to the emaciated wolf.
His scrawny head lifted up, eyes sad, and she took it in her hands, his fur rough on her skin.
“Oh, Blaid, what has happened to you? You are so weak. Can you hear me?”
The wolf whined.
Maia dropped her bag beside her and rummaged through it. With her recent unusual desire for meat, Maia had packed some dried meat for her journey. She now opened the packet and held a piece of it out for the wolf.
Blaid sniffed it, then gently took it out of her hands. He struggled to chew and his head dropped lower with the energy he expended to eat. Feeling helpless, Maia stroked his shaggy fur, letting some of her energy flow into him. It helped and Blaid chewed with more vigour, soon looking for another piece.
“There you go,” she cooed to him, holding out piece after piece until the packet was empty.
Finally, Blaid looked up at her one more time, then dropped his head onto her lap and closed his eyes. She felt his exhaustion, but knew the food had helped. She kept up a constant stream of energy, stroking him and speaking to him softly.
Riven!
Maia startled at Midnight’s thought, but did not move. The need to protect Blaid in the state he was in was stronger than the fear she knew was to come.
She stared around the forest, giving Midnight an opportunity to look for the beautiful colours of the Riven’s soul. When Midnight saw it and told her where to look, Maia was surprised to find she could see the Riven.
It leaned against the same pine tree she had earlier. It almost looked like a tree itself; all brown branches, twisted to form the shape of a person. Maia felt no fear and she stared at it for a long time. Although it had taken the form of a person, she instinctively knew it was not its true form.
Carefully, the Riven stepped away from the tree and approached them. It moved awkwardly on its two branchy legs and Maia suddenly felt bad that it tried so hard not to scare her.
She now felt foolish for having been so fearful before. Where had that fear come from? The wooden form walking toward her now exuded nothing but calmness and she almost had the urge to get up to help it walk over the uneven ground.
Belura call. You come. You help.
Maia froze as the alien thoughts reverberated in her head. The wolf in her lap whined in his sleep. Had the Riven just spoken to her?
I hear him, Midnight sent.
Wolf hungry. No energy. No change.
Maia frowned, but her concern for Blaid made her overcome her shock. He has no energy to change back to his other form?
No energy.
I have fed him and given him some of my energy. He is sleeping now. How long has he been like this?
One cycle of the moons.
Maia looked down and stroked Blaid’s head. His ears twitched, but otherwise did not move. She concentrated her energy on him and checked his body for injuries. She was horrified at what she found. Injuries, a few moons old, most healed, but still tender, others still open, but without pus. Maia remembered Blaid speaking to her father after the war, so the injuries could not have come from the fighting.
These injuries felt like they should have been fatal. Severed arteries, broken spine, and sliced tendons and muscles. How had Blaid survived? Without help, he would have been dead within minutes.
Did you save him? Maia looked up and found the Riven sitting beside her. The fright made the hairs on her arms stand erect, but she felt no fear.
Saved him.
Maia noticed some hesitance in the Riven’s thoughts, but dared not ask about it.
Thank you, she thought to him instead. I will look after him and help him get stronger. Is there anything I can give you in return for your kindness?
Come. The Riven stood and, to Maia’s horror, bent to gently lift the sleeping form of the Wolf into his arms. Come, the Riven repeated and then moved slowly away from her down a narrow game trail leading east.
What do I do now? Maia asked Midnight, panicking.
He means to help. Go with him.
Maia stood. She shouldered her bag and followed the stick-like form ahead of her.
As they walked, calm settled over her and she became more at ease with the thought of the Riven carrying Blaid. Opening her mind, she searched for the Riven’s Eläm, knowing the calm was emanating from him; as before, she could not see it.
With her mind open as it was, she was intensely aware of the forest around her. It appeared dark, forbidding, malicious, yet it felt peaceful, happy, and vibrant. From the Eläm of the plants and animals around her she learned that they were all thriving, even more so than the plants and animals around Shadow Hall. She had never seen, or felt, anything like it.
After a short while, the Riven turned off the narrow trail and climbed a steep embankment. Maia followed, struggling to get a good foothold on the moss-covered ground. Once at the top, Maia stopped briefly to look around. The forest looked wilder here, overgrown with vines, ferns, and lichen.
Holding on to the branches around her, Maia stepped carefully over rocks and roots as she followed the Riven, which went ever deeper into the dense forest. Often, the straps of her bag would snag on branches, or roots would grab hold of her foot to trip her up. The Riven moved completely unhindered, even with his burden.
Struggling along, Maia watched the peculiar creature suspiciously. Now that she was paying attention to it, it seemed as if the forest made way for him as he passed, retracting its branches and roots. Once he had passed, they would reappear, just in time for her to walk into them.
At first, she cursed the trees, yanking the branches out of her way in irritation, but the Riven’s calming influence eventually got through to her again. With her irritation gone, she felt the life of the forest around her and a thought popped into her head. Feeling a little uncertain, she silently, and politely, asked the forest to let her pass.
To her utter amazement, the moment she thought her request, the trees complied and let her follow the Riven unchecked. She suddenly felt a oneness with the forest such as she had never experienced. It was as if the forest itself had a mind, a combined consciousness of all the living beings within it.
Maia was so engrossed in the feeling, she almost missed it when the Riven stopped. Standing still, his tree-like form was near invisible against the backdrop of the roots of a large tree that clung to life atop a steep cliff.
Then, the roots moved. Apprehensive, Maia took a step back and watched in awe as the roots twisted and curled, unveiling the entrance to a dark cavern.
Come.
Maia obeyed and followed the Riven into the darkness. Smooth ground, covered in leaves and moss, made walking the first few steps easy and then, when the ground became more uneven, thousands of silvery glow-worms hanging from the roots that dangled from the roof of the cave lit their way.
The narrow passage soon opened up to reveal a well-used space, complete with sleeping quarters and a fireplace. The Riven made straight for what Maia thought to be a bed and gently laid Blaid on it. The wolf whined softly, but did not wake.
Want fire?
Maia glanced around the cave. Although most of it was hidden in darkness, the glow-worms cast en
ough light for her to see by. She would not need a fire to see. One look at Blaid, though, made her reconsider her need for a fire. She had the dried meat, as well as some vegetables. She could cook him a broth to put some strength back into him. He also needed to be washed.
A fire would be nice, thank you.
The Riven made a strange sound, and strode over to the fireplace. Maia watched him lower awkwardly to his haunches and dig through a straw basket with his twig-like fingers to produce two objects. After placing sticks and dry moss in the fireplace, the Riven took the two objects and smacked them together.
Maia realised one object was a flint stone, the other iron ore. The Riven struggled to hold them with his strange fingers and the way he smacked them together did not produce any sparks. It was obvious that the Riven either did not make fire often, or he did not use this form to make fire. Feelings of annoyance washed over Maia as the Riven struggled, and she eventually plucked up the courage to step closer to the fireplace.
May I help?
The Riven made that sound again; like bark rubbing together. Maia took it as confirmation. Moving slowly, she knelt beside the fireplace and piled logs on top of the sticks and moss. The Riven tilted his head, watching her, probably wondering how she could start a fire without lighting the kindling first.
Once she had a good pile of logs, Maia leaned forward and waved her hand once over the logs. Channelling her energy to produce the magic for fire was second nature to her and she did not even have to think about it. Instantly, the logs caught fire and within moments all burned evenly.
With a terrified shriek, the Riven fell over backwards and scrambled away from her. Getting a fright herself, Maia jumped up and away from the terrified Riven, who looked from her to the fire and back again.
Suddenly, that intense feeling of fear washed over Maia; the same feeling she had that first day she met the Riven. At the same time, the Riven transformed. No longer was he a figure made of sticks to look like a person, but shifted in and out of so many different forms that Maia could not decide which his true form was.
She backed up until her backpack hit the cave wall. She stood there, rooted to the spot, terrified, all the while watching in horror as the Riven shifted. Wings, then hooves, then claws. A snout, a beak, more teeth.
When the wolf whined on his cot, the Riven’s shifting suddenly stopped and that terrible fear that held Maia incapacitated, released her. She sank to her knees, blinking rapidly to comprehend what she was seeing.
The Riven, now focused on the whining wolf, was finally in what Maia thought to be his true form. Black, shadow-like, humped back, flowing appendages and either six or eight legs, Maia wasn’t sure. His head, and face, probably the scariest thing Maia had ever seen, with strangely silver glowing eyes, odd-shaped nostrils on a broad nose that appeared squashed to his face and a disgusting dangly bit underneath his chin.
Maia shuddered, but watched in morbid fascination as the Riven moved over to Blaid and gently laid one of his black hands on the wolf to calm him. Maia noticed seven fingers on each hand, about twice the length of her own. With precision, unlike his clumsy attempts with the stones with his stick fingers, he checked the wolf, all the while stroking him to keep him calm.
Finally, the Riven stood. Maia looked up with wide eyes as the Riven’s head nearly touched the roof of the cave. He cast her a quick glance, then walked on two legs over to a corner where he retrieved a bowl and a few little bags, each made from a different material.
Back by the wolf, the Riven crouched again, set the bowl on the ground and then proceeded to untie each of the little bags. Carefully he added measured amounts of their contents to the bowl before rising again to fetch a cup. This he took to the back of the cavern to fill with water from a little spring, which Maia had not noticed before.
Carefully, the Riven added some of the water to his mixture of herbs and whatever else he had put in the bowl and then stirred it all together with one of his long fingers. Maia felt, although Blaid was clearly in pain, the Riven did not rush this part of his task, but took his time to do it correctly.
Only once the creature was completely satisfied with the consistency of his creation, did he attend to Blaid again. Taking a few steps forward, Maia watched the Riven take the dark paste and gently apply it to one of the few unhealed wounds on his chest, well hidden within Blaid’s thick, black fur.
Blaid whined louder as the Riven touched his wound. Worried, Maia reached out to Blaid with her mind, but she was shut out, Blaid too focused on his pain to let her in. She stood ready to defend Blaid from the one creature Maia was truly afraid of, when Blaid’s whining stopped.
Maia halted halfway between the cave wall and Blaid’s cot, unsure of what to do. Whatever the Riven had applied to the wound seemed to be helping Blaid deal with the pain, so she did not want to interfere, but she also did not want to stay here. All she really wanted was to take Blaid and go truly far away from this forest.
Female.
Maia started at the Riven’s thoughts in her head and she looked up into his face.
You save him now. My magic not strong enough. Care for him long. Injuries in his head, not his body.
Maia frowned at the Riven’s comments. She knew Blaid had physical injuries; even if most of them were healed; so why would the Riven say his injuries were in Blaid’s head? She had so many questions, but was afraid to ask them. Never in her life had she been in a situation like this. She had met different races before, but nothing ever as strange as the Riven.
He wants you to heal Dark-Silver-Moon. Riven only knows Earth magic. Blaid needs more.
Midnight. Maia quickly mind-linked with her dragon, glad for his company. In her terror, she had forgotten he was still out there. He scares me. I feel like a child. I don’t know what to do.
Be yourself. Be Elemental. Be Healer.
Maia stood a little straighter, and removed her bag from her shoulders. Clenching her jaw, she purposefully moved past the Riven and sat down in front of Blaid’s cot, which, she now noticed, had a support structure made from branches and a mattress made from moss and leaves.
She propped her bag up against the cot, then started by gently moving her hands all over the wolf’s body. She noted where his injuries were and how serious they were, before she set to work. Closing her eyes, she channelled her energy.
Again, she was astounded by the fact that Blaid had survived. Any normal Healer would not have been able to save Blaid’s life. This fact alone made Maia desperate to discover what the Riven kept in his little bags. She decided to find out if the opportunity presented itself.
For now, she concentrated on the small but gaping wounds on Blaid’s body. Maia had healed Wolf often enough to know the physiology of a wolf and now had no difficulty in repairing the physical damage to Blaid’s wolf form.
Blaid was so weak, even when she healed some of the deeper wounds, he merely whined softly. She considered her datura, for the pain, but decided Blaid was not strong enough for this type of medication. The datura could kill him just as easily as it could help him.
Maia was unaware of the time, or her surroundings, totally focused on the man she had set out to find. She had not expected to find him so soon. Neither had she expected to find him in his current state.
Now that she thought about it, she didn’t know what she had expected. Her only thought had been to find him, plead with him to help her save her people and then form a plan with him on how to accomplish this. She had some ideas, but without Blaid’s input or consent, none of them were viable.
With her hands on the wolf’s body and her mind on knitting the fabric of his being back together, she forgot about the Riven hovering behind her. She forgot about the dark cave around her and did not notice her own discomfort of sitting awkwardly on her knees on the uneven rocky ground.
Once she had healed his external injuries, she delved deeper and deeper into his body, repairing what she could. There were limits to what even she could do. Just as s
he had not been able to regrow Fire’s missing flesh after the wound had already healed, she was now not able to reattach some of the blood vessels that had been severed. They were small blood vessels and Blaid would be able to function normally even without her reattaching them, but it made her feel inadequate. She was just glad, however he did it, the Riven had managed to repair Blaid’s spine.
A heavy hand settled on Maia’s shoulder and she opened her eyes. Bewildered, she looked around, trying to comprehend where she was. The cave came into focus, so did Blaid and the cot he lay on. The smell of earth and damp rock assaulted her senses, as well as an intense smell of forest, which, she realised, came from the Riven, standing so close beside her.
Startled, she tried to stand, but immediately toppled over. The Riven reached out and steadied her, then set her gently on a woven mat next to the fire. Fighting her dizziness and exhaustion, she looked up at the black creature and felt like she knew him.
The Riven, with its smoky, shadowy form, came to rest before her and looked her in the eyes. She stared at him, stared at his eyes that now glowed red, instead of silver, and she felt no fear.
Rest now. Wolf will sleep. I will get food.
Maia nodded, unable to speak, or think the words, and the Riven left without another comment. Feeling confused, but not uneasy, Maia turned on her side and rested her head on her hand, staring at the red flames in the fireplace.
Healing Blaid had cost her a lot of energy. She had not noticed it at the time and, had the Riven not stopped her, she might have pushed herself too far. She wondered exactly how far she would go for the man she was in love with.
The smell of mushrooms bubbling in a pot on the fire brought her out of her sleep. She blinked a few times to shake off her sleepiness and considered the fact that the terrifying form of the Riven hovered around the fire, cooking.
Maia sat up and turned to look at Blaid. The wolf lay curled up, his tail tucked beneath him and his large snout resting on his hind legs. She wondered how she had ever been afraid of him.
