by Kelly Carr
The instant the final creature fell to the ground, she hurried to Valeria’s side. Her friend was cut and bruised in several places, but apart from being unconscious, seemed to be in no worse a condition than Liana herself.
From there, she went to each of the soldiers. She thought they were all dead until she heard a rustle behind her. Ignoring the gruesome trail of blood he left in his wake, one of the soldiers was dragging himself laboriously across the ground in the direction of an overturned wagon. Liana hurried to his side and caught him just as his strength gave out. He looked up at her and moved his arm weakly.
“Save her,” he gasped, desperation in his voice.
“Who?” Liana said, confused. “Hold on, I’ll take care of you. Elias, bring me some water!”
“Save her,” the man said again, his voice growing weaker. “Take her home.” With that, the light faded from his eyes.
Liana looked in the direction he had been going. She set him down gently and made her way over to the wagon. It had fallen against the side of a building. One wheel still spun slightly. Curiously, Liana knelt down and peered beneath it. Something lay there in the shadows.
Cautiously, she conjured a flame in the palm of her hand, illuminating the dark space. She gasped in surprise and pushed the wagon aside so she could reach the person that lay against the wall of the house, wrapped in a cloak and soaked in blood. It was the mysterious stranger from the inn.
Elias appeared beside her, carrying a bucket full of water. Behind him, a few of the braver townsfolk were beginning to creep from their houses, looking around curiously for the source of the commotion. Liana ignored them and eagerly took the bucket, plunging one hand into the water. With the other, she tore the cloak from the small form before her.
There, to her surprise, lay a young woman, perhaps twenty years of age. She wore a man’s shirt and trousers, and her long black hair appeared to have been concealed under a hat. Her shirt was torn in three places, and blood was gushing from the wounds beneath.
Hurriedly, Liana applied the most potent healing magic she possessed. The wounds began to knit together, but not fast enough. The woman’s chest rose and fell shallowly. Desperately, Liana reached out and sent a pulse of pure magical energy through her. Her breathing grew stronger again. Liana continued to pour healing magic into her until the woman was out of immediate danger.
Liana held a hand above the girl’s lips to check her breathing. A wisp of air brushed her waiting skin, and with it, a familiar tingling feeling. She snatched her hand away in shock. Hesitantly, she reached out once more and brushed her fingers lightly across the girl’s cheek. Again, she felt the slight buzzing sensation.
“This can’t be,” she said, so softly that no one else caught the words.
Liana got to her feet and turned to Elias, starting to say something, but just then the rush of adrenaline began to fade. She staggered with fatigue and winced at the pain of the various cuts and bruises that were beginning to make themselves known across her body. Weakly, she leaned against the side of a building and closed her eyes. She felt Elias’ gentle hands examining her.
As he bandaged her hand, she managed to whisper, “I’m sorry for yelling at you,” and heard his soft, forgiving reply. She knew there were more important things she needed to say to him, and she tried to muster enough energy to speak again but failed. I’ll do it tomorrow, she thought, and as Elias lifted her into his arms and carried her back towards the inn, she lapsed gratefully into unconsciousness.
Chapter four: Valeria
The next morning, Valeria awoke feeling every muscle she had strained and every cut and bruise she had acquired the night before. Suddenly she appreciated having lived her whole life in a place where there was always an Undine nearby to heal any injury. She wondered if there were enough of them left now to care for all the injured Trevi who had escaped the Lorenai Mountains.
Turning her head, Valeria found that she wasn’t alone. At her side was Liana, and the woman Liana had saved the night before lay precariously perched on the edge of the bed. She was still unconscious. Liana, however, opened her eyes as she felt Valeria stirring.
All of a sudden, her friend sat bolt upright, disrupting the balance of their unknown companion and knocking her to the floor. Valeria winced in sympathy, but the young woman remained unconscious.
Liana got out of bed and crouched next to the stranger, her brow furrowed.
“I don’t understand,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.
“What is it?” Valeria asked.
Liana was about to answer, but just then, there was a knock at the door. Elias entered the room, his eyebrows rising at the scene inside.
“Oh good, you’re awake,” he said. “We need to leave right away.”
“Why?” Valeria said. “The sun’s not even up yet.”
“We made quite a scene last night, you know,” Elias said grimly. “The townsfolk are eager to ask us a lot of questions. It seems none of them saw you using magic, but plenty of people saw the Genvu, and they’re very curious to know more about them. We should go before too many people are awake.”
“Yes,” Liana agreed, “Let’s go. Help me get this girl out to the horses.”
Elias looked incredulous. “You want to bring her along with us? Why?”
“It would take too long to explain, and you’re right, we need to leave. Just trust that I’ve got a good reason,” Liana said.
Elias hesitated, holding Liana’s gaze. Finally, he shook his head in resignation and lifted the unconscious woman from the ground.
The foul weather of the previous day had vanished entirely by the time Valeria, Liana, and Elias slipped down to the ferry. Wrapped in cloaks to avoid being recognized by anyone looking out of a window, and carrying the inert form of the injured woman, they made the ferryman very nervous. The handful of coins Valeria offered him put him in a cheerier frame of mind, however, and he readily agreed to take them and their horses across the lake without waiting for any additional passengers.
The ferry slid out onto the lake just as the sun rose over the peaks of the mountains and bathed the water in lovely shades of pink, orange, and purple. Valeria put the hood of her cloak down and basked in the glow of the sun. The corners of her mouth tilted upwards. Despite the horrors of the night before and the uncertainty that lay ahead, she couldn’t help being cheerful in such a beautiful place on such a nice day.
She turned to Liana but found that her friend was no longer there. She was at the stern of the boat, kneeling over the unconscious young woman. Elias remained by her side, gazing off into the distance. Valeria noticed that he now carried a sword at his waist. He seemed as comfortable with it as if he had worn one every day of his life.
They stood in companionable silence for a while, observing the scenery around them. Eventually, Liana joined them again, her expression one of complete bewilderment.
“I have to tell you both something,” she said nervously.
Valeria's eyebrows rose at her friend’s uncertain manner. “What is it?”
Liana glanced towards the ferryman as though to be sure he wasn’t listening, but he was at the other end of the boat. There was a moment of silence as she seemed to search for the right words to express whatever it was that was on her mind.
“She’s a Trevi,” she said at last.
Valeria’s mouth dropped open in a tiny 'o' of astonishment, but Elias didn’t move, his expression unfathomable. Liana repeated herself.
“I heard you,” Elias said in a dazed tone of voice. He paused. “Are you absolutely sure? How do you know?”
Liana touched his palm with a single finger in answer. Valeria smiled despite herself, remembering when they had played hide and seek as children. Liana had always been able to find her by sensing the magic wherever she was hidden.
Elias began to pace, looking troubled. “Where did she come from? How is this possible?” he muttered.
“I think I did it,” Liana said, sounding as though
she could hardly believe it herself. She explained about sending the pulse of energy through the woman in an attempt to save her. “I didn’t think,” she said. “I’ve done it a few times to the Trevi, so I never considered what kind of effect that power would have on a Human.”
“Well, I suppose we won’t know anything for sure until she wakes up,” Elias said finally, turning away to stare out across the lake again.
They were both quiet for a long time, lost in their own thoughts. Eventually, Valeria decided to try and change the subject.
“So, Elias,” she said, forcing a cheerful tone, “I see you’re carrying a sword now. Can you use it at all?”
Elias said nothing, but Liana nodded. “I saw him use it last night. He’s the most talented swordsman I’ve ever seen.”
Valeria thought she saw the corner of Elias’ mouth curl upwards slightly at the compliment.
“You’ve always refused to use a sword before,” Valeria said. “What was different about last night?”
The smile vanished, and Elias shrugged. “I'm the Mother of Magic’s protector. She needed protecting.”
Liana frowned. “You’ve always been my best teacher and advisor, Elias, but never a protector. Valeria’s right, until last night I had never in all my life seen you wield a blade, not even for sparring practice. Please explain what happened, because I really don’t understand.”
At that moment, they reached the shore of the lake. Each of the travellers led their horse off the ferry and onto a small sandy beach. There, they mounted them and prepared to continue on their journey. Elias nudged his horse into a walk, but Liana didn’t move.
“Tell me, Elias,” she said, the tone of her voice making it clear that she was going nowhere until she got some answers.
Elias ran a hand through his short, grizzled hair impatiently. “Once, a long time ago, I was a proper protector to the Mother of Magic,” he said. “She was the primary target of the Humans during the war, of course. I fought off countless assassins to protect her. Many people considered me the best swordsman of my time.” He said it mildly, without any sense of conceited pride.
“Why would the Mother of Magic need a protector?” Valeria asked. “Couldn’t she take care of herself?”
“Until the war began, there were no fighting spells. They had never been needed, and the Mother of Magic was a peaceful woman. She didn’t care for Human weapons, so she decided to find a companion to defend her.”
“And she chose you?” Liana said. “Why?”
“Because she stumbled across me one day, and saw that I was alone in the world,” Elias said mildly.
“But how did she know you would know how to use Human weapons?” Valeria asked.
Elias turned and looked her in the eye for a long moment with an odd, almost pained expression on his face before he replied. “Because a long, long time ago, I was Human.”
Without offering any further explanation, or waiting for a reply, Elias nudged his horse forward again and disappeared into the trees.
For a moment, both Valeria and Liana were too stunned to speak. It was true that Valeria had never seen him use any kind of magic. She had always just assumed that he was the last remaining member of one of the many Trevi Tribes that had been eradicated during the war.
“Did you know?” Valeria asked as she kicked her horse into a trot to catch up.
“No,” Liana said breathlessly. “He gives off the same energy as any other Trevi.”
“I wonder what happened to him,” Valeria said.
Liana didn’t answer for a while. “If he wants us to know, he’ll tell us," she said finally. "For now, let’s let him be.”
Valeria shrugged, and they rode on in silence down the shady forest path.
Chapter Five: Elias
Elias was surprised that the girls asked him nothing more about his past. He knew they must have a million questions, but he was hesitant to share any more of his personal history. It was all so long ago that sometimes it felt as if it had happened to a different man. He had become what most people had always seen him as: a quiet old man who enjoyed his solitude.
They rode along in silence, stopping once or twice to rest the horses and allow Liana to tend to the unconscious stranger she had insisted on bringing along. Elias found himself missing her lively chatter, but she appeared sober and thoughtful. Hardly ten words passed between them until they made camp for the night.
Elias was fixing dinner when Liana finally spoke. “Elias, something you said has been bothering me.”
Elias turned away, hiding his expression. He wouldn’t deny her the answers to any questions she might have about his origins, but he wished she wouldn’t ask. “What’s that?” he replied.
“Before the Genvu attacked last night, you said you thought you’d seen magic like the kind that caused that awful weather, but that you hoped you were wrong. Why? Where does that magic come from?”
“Oh,” Elias said, caught off guard by the question. “Yes, I should tell you that. I truly had hoped that I was wrong, but I think it’s clear now that I wasn’t. It’s a part of the Mother of Magic’s story that’s been forgotten.”
Liana and Valeria both leaned closer with interest as his voice took on the tone it always did before he told a story. He hesitated, gathering his thoughts, then began.
“The Mother of Magic was created from all the good and positive magic in the world. That much is known to every Trevi from the time they are old enough to crawl, but what no one ever considers is that where there is light, there is also darkness. The two balance one another. When the Mother of Magic took a physical form, the dark magic was left behind to roam the world unchecked.”
“For hundreds of years, all was well, but without the Mother of Magic’s positive energy to balance it out, the darkness slowly grew in power. Eventually, it began to work its way into the hearts and minds of Humans who, without any magic of their own, were the perfect hosts for the ‘Vorshi’, as the Mother called it. She could sense it winding around every living thing in sight, just as she could sense the magic of the Trevi. The Trevi seemed to be unaffected, but the Humans…” here he trailed off. After a moment, he continued.
“It has been said that the cause of the war was defects of character such as jealousy, anger, hate, and a desire for power. Humans are certainly more susceptible to these things than the Trevi, but they wouldn’t have been enough to cause a war if it hadn’t been for the influence of the Vorshi. It brought those feelings to the fore and strengthened them far beyond what they would have been on their own.”
“Perhaps the anger and jealousy of the Humans would have eventually caused a war anyway, but it wouldn’t have come as soon, nor been as devastating, if the Vorshi hadn’t interfered. It brought terrible weather through magic and created a variety of horrible monsters, all to turn the Humans against the Trevi.”
“By that time, the Mother of Magic’s power was much less than it had been originally. She had given up so much of what she once was in order to create the Trevi. The Vorshi had created only mindless monsters which were essentially projections of itself, so it was much more powerful. Moreover, it wasn’t collected in the form of a single living creature that could be caught and locked away.”
“The story goes that the Mother of Magic gave up her life, expending her power to create the Cliffs of Kerval and the Erean Forest. However, while she was indeed very weak when the work was done, she would have survived it. She chose to let go of her physical form because she knew that the only way to save every living thing from being destroyed was to return to the air to restore balance. She wasn't sure she would succeed, weakened as she was, so she created a safe haven where her people could retreat and live in peace until one day she managed to defeat or contain the Vorshi. If that should ever come to pass, she promised to return to us, but we had all expected her to return a bit sooner…”
Chapter six: Liana
Elias’ voice trailed off, but Liana finished his thought for him. “�
�and you were expecting her to be exactly the same as when you knew her before.” She had always known this, always known that the Trevi, who knew no better, attributed her with centuries of knowledge and wisdom she didn’t possess. Valeria, Davu, and Jina knew better, and Liana was sure the Avenai Jevar had their suspicions as well, but Elias had never seemed able to make up his mind what he believed. Sometimes she caught him staring at her from the corner of her eye. It seemed almost as though he were waiting for her to come to her senses and remember who she was.
“Well, having never known the previous Mother of Magic, I can’t say this with any authority, but I think Liana does a fantastic job, and I’m glad we have her,” Valeria said, throwing an arm around Liana’s shoulders and giving her an affectionate squeeze.
Liana had to smile at her friend’s loyalty. “Thank you, Valeria. That means a lot. Elias, I’m sorry you lost your friend, but I am my own person.”
“You have some of her memories,” Elias’ voice was almost a whisper.
Liana’s temper flared. It was true that she had occasionally had nightmares that Elias assured her were memories of the war between Humans and Trevi, but they never came to her during waking hours. She shook her head vehemently. “Only buried deep in my subconscious,” she said. “I have no control over what I see.”
“Clearly,” Elias muttered.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Liana snapped.
“Calm down, calm down,” Valeria said, raising a hand to each of them placatingly. They ignored her.
“I thought you would at least remember me!” Elias exploded, then immediately looked as if he’d said something he wished he hadn’t. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.”
Liana wasn’t ready to let him go so easily. “No, I don't have any of the Mother of Magic’s memories of you. You're my friend and advisor, and the only memories of you I care about are my own. Please accept that.”
