Ethmira stood looking down at her grandmother's face. She looked peaceful in death and the ranger took a moment to touch her hand before turning away.
“Her spirit has flown,” she said to Chase. “And so must we. Come, my friend. We have a long journey ahead of us.”
Chase nodded. She bowed to the bier before she followed Ethmira. The village was silent around them and they could almost feel the grief in the homes that they passed as they left.
“How close is the nearest portal to Alderthal?” Chase asked her companion.
They were walking along a well-worn path that moved toward the north away from Imrathstal. The tall trees around them rustled in the cool, early morning breeze and birds sang their joyous songs as they carried on with their day.
Ethmira looked up at the dancing leaves, brightly colored in the morning sunlight, and she smiled with pleasure. Her grief was countered by the joy that all elves felt in the presence of nature. She knew that Salfrena would not want her to grieve. She would have expected Ethmira to do her duty, and that was what she intended to do.
“The portal keeper lives a day's walk to the north,” she replied with a quick glance over her shoulder at Chase. “That is the closest connection to the planet's ley lines from here. We can only hope that the current level of power in those lines is strong enough to send us all the way to Alderthal. It is on the other side of the world, after all and the ley energy waxes and wanes constantly. If the current power level is insufficient, then we'll ask the keeper to send as far as he can and walk from there.”
“It could take us quite some time to reach the Council, if that is the case,” Chase told her.
“I know. But if we must, we will borrow a couple of cervus' and ride the rest of the way.”
Chase smiled at the thought. The giant stags that the elves rode on occasion were powerful beasts that could run for hours. The cervus' were not domesticated. They allowed the elves to ride them because they loved them, not because they were forced to do so.
“It's been years since I rode one of those magnificent beasts,” she said fondly. “If we end up using their services, I just hope that I won't fall off. That would be embarrassing.”
Ethmira laughed lightly as they entered the deeper shadows of the forest.
“A cervus does not allow its rider to fall unless it is offended by them. You are a kind person, Chase. I am sure that you will be fine.”
Chase smiled wryly but she remained silent. There was a long walk ahead of them and she needed to stay alert. There were always dangers present in the wild, even this close to a settlement.
“How did you reach Imrathstal when you answered my grandmother's summons?” Ethmira asked some time later.
They were now walking through the gloom beneath the thick branches and leaves of the towering trees above them. The singing of birds was muffled and they moved like ghosts through the shadows.
“I was passing through Destolla, to the southwest, when the courier caught up to me,” Chase replied as she stepped over the hump of a tree root that crossed the path they were following. “He said that he'd been trying to find me for several days. Fortunately, he'd been informed that I would be stopping by the village to report to the town's leader and waited for me to arrive.”
She stopped talking for a moment as a long, wailing call echoed through the forest. Both women listened intently, but the sound was not repeated.
“Lucky for him that he did,” Chase continued. “I was on a long patrol of the region and might not have reported in again for a week or more. Once he gave me the message from Salfrena, I immediately set off to meet her. The rest you know.”
“Ah, Destolla,” Ethmira said. “I haven't been through there in years. It's fortunate that it is only several days away from Imrathstal. Why were you patrolling the area? Trouble?”
“No, not really. The town was looking for a good supply of timber to build several new houses and the nearby forest had been swept clean of usable fallen limbs and branches. Their leader asked the rangers to do a sweep of the region and report back on any large quantities of wood that might be available. I'm pleased to say that I found enough timber to build a dozen homes, if they need it. I did want to keep searching, but the leader there, a woman named Wenda, was happy with my report and she urged me to hurry to the meeting with Salfrena when I received the summons.”
Ethmira nodded as she followed the path around the thick bole of a tree. A shaft of sunlight briefly illuminated her as it shone down through the branches and her blond hair blazed like silver in the gloom.
“I used to love doing those tasks; helping remote villages that needed our aid,” she said pensively. “That's partly why I went away. Being on the Council left me feeling cut off, removed from the rest of elven society. I never wanted to be anything other than a simple ranger, you know. The accolades and admiration that I received from others made me uncomfortable and I never felt that I had earned the right to be on the Council. And now here I am, going back to them.”
“But not to take back your seat,” Chase reminded her.
“No, to do something even more surreal,” Ethmira replied as she stopped and turned to look at Chase. “To take command of our forces in an attempt to defend Trillfarness. Can you imagine a heavier burden being placed on anyone?”
“I can, yes,” Chase said frankly. “The burden of guilt that one would feel if they stood on the sidelines and didn't help to defend our world. Surely that is something that no one, not even you, could bear.”
Ethmira stared at her blankly for a moment and then let out a long sigh. She pushed back the hair on her forehead and chuckled reluctantly.
“You, my friend, have an irritating habit of being right, do you know that?”
Chase grinned in return.
“Occasionally. But it is easy to be right when the choices are so obvious, don't you think?”
“I suppose so. Well, that's enough self-pity from me for one day. Let's move on. We still have several hours of walking ahead of us.”
They reached the lonely dwelling of the portal keeper just as dusk fell over the forest. It sat in a perfectly circular clearing in the trees, a field that was a hundred yards across and covered with short, thick grass like a natural carpet.
The house was circular as well, made of bleached wood that had been worn smooth over centuries of exposure to the elements. It glowed eerily in the dying rays of the sun as Ethmira and Chase stepped out of the forest and looked around them.
“I've always found these places unsettling,” Chase admitted in a low voice. “The touch of power that you can feel from the ley lines being so close to the surface is disturbing.”
Ethmira nodded as she studied the small house. There was no movement, no signs of life from the dwelling and she wondered whether the keeper was even home. Perhaps he was away for some reason?
“If the keeper isn't here, we have a very long walk ahead of us,” she told Chase.
At that moment, as the darkness deepened over the forest and the first stars appeared in the sky, a flickering light appeared behind a windows in the house and Chase sighed in relief.
“He's home,” she said.
“Apparently. Come on, let's knock on his door before he turns in for the night. I wouldn't want to wake him up. Keepers are notoriously prickly about their status and their duties. If we offend him, we may have to wait a long time before he opens a portal.”
She began to walk forward and Chase followed her closely.
“Would a keeper actually do that?” she asked in surprise.
“It's been known to happen. They act independently of Council rules. The ability to bend and shape the ley lines is so rare among our people that when a child shows that talent, they are treated very differently than other children. They are isolated and trained by other keepers and that often gives them a rather...inflated opinion of themselves.”
Ethmira lowered her voice as she glanced at Chase.
“But keep that to yo
urself. The keepers are essential to fast travel around the world and they will be key in the conflicts to come. We don't want to insult any of them.”
“Understood.”
When they reached the small building, Ethmira stepped forward and knocked lightly on the door. The portal was rounded at the top and made of ironwood, the strongest natural wood on Trillfarness.
After she knocked, Ethmira moved back and both rangers waited for a response.
“Who is it?” a male voice called sharply. “Don't you know what time it is? It's late! Come back tomorrow.”
Chase winced at the sharp tone and looked helplessly at Ethmira.
“Now what?” she muttered.
Ethmira rolled her eyes.
“Oh, for goodness sake,” she growled.
She stepped forward and knocked again, much more forcefully this time.
“Keeper!” she said loudly. “My name is Ethmira. I have been sent by my grandmother, Salfrena, on a mission to the Council of Elders. It is urgent that I travel to Alderthal as quickly as possible.”
She waited for a response, but there was only silence. With a growl, Ethmira raised her fist to slam it on the door, but Chase moved quickly to catch her arm.
“He's coming,” she whispered. “I can hear movement in there.”
Ethmira lowered her arm and listened intently. There was a shuffling of feet approaching the entrance and both women backed away from the door and waited.
They heard several bolts being drawn back and the rangers exchanged a startled look. Most elven homes had no locks on their doors because there was no need for them. Elves did not steal or do violence to each other and so they had never needed to secure their homes. To know that the keeper did so was surprising.
Finally the door opened slowly with a squeal of hinges and a figure appeared, lit from behind by the glow coming from inside the house.
“Ethmira is it? And sent by Salfrena? Fine, fine. Come in then, if you must. Wipe your feet.”
He turned away and the women followed, carefully wiping their feet on a rug just inside the entrance.
The small room that they entered took up the entire building. To their right was a narrow cot covered with several knitted quilts. Ahead against the far wall was a fireplace, made of interlocking stone. Part of the light illuminating the room came from logs burning in the fireplace and the rest was provided by candles made of beeswax scattered here and there. Bookcases covered the walls, stuffed with scrolls and dusty tomes.
The keeper sat down in a padded wooden chair next to the fire and stared darkly at his visitors. The elf was of indeterminate age, his smooth face unblemished and timeless. His eyes were wide and colorless and his small mouth was set in frown. He wore a dark blue robe and his fine white hair fell to his shoulders.
“I am Fiad, keeper of the portal of Imrathstal. You are Ethmira, yes?”
“I am.”
“And your companion?”
“My name is Chase, Keeper Fiad,” Chase said respectfully.
“I see. Another ranger? Of course. And what is so important that you must interrupt my rest, Lady Ethmira? You mentioned the venerable Salfrena. She sent you?”
“She did,” Ethmira replied.
There were no other chairs in the small room, so both women had to stand as they addressed the keeper. Chase wondered if that was on purpose, to make visitors feel as uncomfortable as possible. She rather thought that it was.
“You will not have heard the news, Keeper,” Ethmira continued, “but my grandmother has passed. She has lifted the veil and stepped through, continuing on her endless journey. Her last wish was for me to meet with the Council to discuss a possible threat to our world by the forces of darkness. That is why we are here at this late hour.”
“Passed, you say?” Fiad murmured, his expression changing. “You are correct. I had not heard that news yet. You have my sympathies. Salfrena was a great person. Her legacy is vast and her name will live on for millennia. Forgive my abrupt welcome. I am, perhaps, a little too isolated to practice good manners. Now, what is this about a threat to Trillfarness?”
Ethmira told the keeper about the attacks on Earth against the humans and the dwarves and he began nodding before she had finished.
“Yes, my brothers and sisters have passed that information along to all of us. We believe that the danger is real, as did Salfrena.”
He looked at the dancing flames in the fireplace for a moment and then stood up abruptly.
“Come with me. Your need is great and I must not delay you any further.”
He brushed past the rangers and they looked at each other with surprise.
“He's sending us on our way?” Chase said softly.
“Apparently. I guess my grandmother's wishes carry some weight with him.”
They followed Fiad out of the house. The keeper had stopped just outside and looked at the two women as they joined him.
“Wait here. The ley lines have been volatile of late and I don't know where the portal to Alderthal will appear. If you are caught by its power before I stabilize it, it could tear you apart.”
He walked several steps away from them and bowed his head.
Chase looked around the clearing nervously. She had very little experience with portals, having only traveled through them a handful of times in her life.
Ethmira noticed her expression and smiled reassuringly.
“Relax,” she whispered. “The keeper knows what he is doing. It is his calling to control the power of the ley lines. They are wild and unpredictable to you and I, but not to him.”
Chase nodded and took a deep breath to calm herself. Obviously Ethmira would have used the portals many times over the years. She seemed very relaxed as the keeper did his work and Chase tried to emulate her.
As they watched Fiad, the atmosphere around the meadow began to change. There was a tension in the air, a tickle along the surface of the skin that often precedes an approaching storm. A sharp smell rose from the ground, the acrid scent of ozone. Small bits of debris floated out of the short grass; twigs, leaves, clods of dirt. All began to hover a few inches above the ground.
The keeper's hair began to wave and flutter even though there was no wind. He raised his head and turned slowly as if searching for something. He rotated until he was looking past Chase and Ethmira and he raised his hand to point beyond his home.
“There. The portal will appear there,” he said as his colorless eyes glowed eerily in the darkness. “Stand ready. The power is fluctuating and you may only have a moment to enter the portal before it collapses.”
“We are ready, Fiad,” Ethmira assured him.
“Good.”
He closed his eyes and there was a sudden flash of light, followed by a loud boom, as if a bolt of lightning had struck the glade.
“Now!” he barked. “Move. I cannot hold it for long.”
An oval of blue light appeared on the far side of the house. It shivered and shook, fading in and out of sight like some sort of mirage.
“Let's go,” Ethmira told Chase urgently.
Both rangers raced toward the portal, slipping on the grass in their haste to reach it before it collapsed. It began to hum and crackle, fading almost as quickly as it had appeared and the women redoubled their efforts. Just as the portal was about to dissolve they leaped through it as if they were diving into deep water.
A brief moment of darkness and disorientation filled Chase with fear, but almost immediately she was surrounded by a burst of light and warmth as she landed heavily on sweet grass and rolled to a stop.
She sat up and looked around. Ethmira was standing next to her and smiled as she offered her hand.
“Welcome to the other side of Trillfarness,” she said cheerfully as she pulled Chase to her feet. “We've met the sun again as it rises on a new day.”
Chase looked up and saw the sun rising just above the jagged peaks of distant mountains. She took a deep breath and the smell of grass and tree sap filled her
nostrils, making her smile with pleasure.
“We made it,” she said as she looked around the clearing where they had landed.
It was almost an exact copy of the keeper's glade that they had just left. A small, round house sat in the center of the clearing, surrounded by short grass and bordered by an ancient forest.
The difference was that a tiny elf wearing a pure white robe was standing in front of the house, watching the rangers with a smile on her face.
“You sound surprised,” the woman said to Chase. “Welcome. I am Astrad, the portal keeper of Alderthal. I am pleased to see you again, Commander Ethmira. You have been gone far too long.”
The keeper had pure white hair, similar to Fiad. Chase wondered if working with ley power was the cause. Neither keeper was very old, so age wasn't the reason for their pale appearance.
She had the same colorless eyes, but she seemed much friendlier than her counterpart had been.
“Thank you, Keeper Astrad. It is good to see you as well. This is Captain Chase, a fellow ranger.”
Astrad nodded to Chase and then focused on Ethmira again.
“I felt a surge in the ley lines running beneath this glade, but they felt chaotic and unfocused. What happened in Imrathstal? Was there a problem?”
The rangers walked over to Astrad and Ethmira looked troubled as she answered the keeper.
“I'm not sure,” she said, frowning. “Fiad said that the power was fluctuating. He seemed to have little ability to stabilize the portal that he opened and we barely made it through before it collapsed.”
Astrad tapped her lips thoughtfully.
“How strange,” she murmured. “Ley energy is the life blood of Trillfarness, the power that binds the planet to all living things on its surface, especially to the elves. It gives us our ability to travel vast distances and it allows our scryers to see events from afar. I must admit that I am troubled by this. I will have to speak with others of my kind and investigate this further.”
The Fall of the Elves Page 4
