Eternal Forest: The Shadow of the Throne

by Faith Naff

  Once upon the trail, Ilderra’s company changed from a massive crowd to just two. The male acolytes in her hut that morning were charged with bringing her to Meadowgold safely. It was during this long, silent ride that Ilderra discovered how different her life would be on a more personal level.

  Neither of the acolytes would speak to her, even look at her. Growing up in Meadowgold, she’d often been the unfortunate victim of teasing, and when she wasn’t teased, she was dismissed. She remembered how that felt, to be unimportant and not worth another’s time. However, this felt very different from that. The acolytes didn’t have to say what they felt. She could read it in the way they carried themselves. They kept their distance not to get away, but to give her more space. Their eyes were turned away, but occasional glances conveyed nervousness where she was used to seeing distain. They didn’t think she wasn’t good enough for them. They thought they weren’t good enough for her.

  “It’s a long ride before we camp for the night,” Ilderra said pleasantly. “Some conversation might make the miles go by faster.”

  “Whatever you wish, High Priestess,” one of the acolytes said. Many of her belongings were strapped to the sides of his horse in large sacks. In fact, the only horse not weighed down with luggage was hers.

  Ilderra groaned. “You don’t have to call me that.”

  The young man snapped his eyes forward again. “Yes, I do. You’re the high priestess, and that title will be respected.”

  Feeling annoyed, Ilderra kicked her heels against her horse. The animal trotted faster, bringing her alongside the young man. She reached out, placing a hand on his arm, but he quickly jerked away.

  “Jayce, it’s still me!” she said with an exasperated tone. “Come on. I remember when you came to Tranquility. I remember when you both came. We used to talk for hours after training. We confided in one another. We were friends. Nothing has changed.”

  The other acolyte rode along Ilderra’s other side. He reached out and patted her knee. “No, High Priestess,” he said with a remorseful coldness to his voice. “Everything has changed.”

  Much of the next hour was spent in silence. The acolyte’s words were as heavy as they were true. She was only fooling herself. Everything had changed. She was a person with a title now...a lofty title. No one would ever look at her the same again. It made her wonder how the people of Meadowgold would look at her. Would they remember the clumsy, useless girl that had left years ago? If so, would they believe she’d been transformed?

  Her worries made her head hurt, and the smells of soot and charcoal weren’t helping. They were still in the heart of the Savage Lands between Tranquility and the Lands of Order. This was where the demon army had marched. Their burning hides had charred the landscape, making the whole forest look black and lifeless. The rains had washed the smoke and ash from the air, but the smells of them still lingered.

  On the surface, the forest looked completely dead, but Ilderra knew better. She knew there was still life in the soil just waiting to be nurtured, and the balisekts moving amongst the burnt trees knew it, too. With all the turmoil in her own life, Ilderra had forgotten the events surrounding her weren’t the biggest news in Tranquility. Silvermist had declared the balisekt nation would take stewardship of the ruined forest. They would cultivate it, nourish it, and return it to a state where they Lady could once again thrive. In return, it would be added to the Lands of Order as the balisekt’s official territory, stretching from the Tri-Leaf Road all the way to the mountains in the east. It would touch the faerie land to the north and Tranquility to the south. The balisekts were coming into the fold of the Lady’s chosen.

  It still felt strange. For as long as she’d been alive, the image of balisekts hung in her mind next to goblins, trolls, ogres, and other savage tribes from the dark parts of the forest. Even now, seeing so many of the lizard-like people around her, her first instinct was to run away. But these balisekts weren’t taking up arms to fight. Their arms held bags of seeds. There was kindness in their yellow eyes, not malice. They bowed their heads as she passed, showing reverence for her position.

  In the struggles of the balisekts, she saw her own. These creatures were trying to outrun their history and the perception others had of their race. They were seeking acceptance in a world that, even a few months ago, wouldn’t have ever dreamed of welcoming them. She could relate to how the balisekts were feeling and she found strength in being around them.

  “I wish to stop,” she said. It nearly frightened her how naturally the statement took the form of a command and not a request.

  “I don’t advise it,” Jayce said. “We have a lot of ground to cover before nightfall.”

  “I’m certain that Meadowgold will not start my welcome ceremony without me,” she responded. “I wish to stop.”

  “This is not a good place, my Lady,” the other said.

  It was unbelievable. For as much as they said they respected her new title, they still felt no weight from her authority. They may bow when she approached and use her title in the most respectful of ways, but when it came too truly valuing her demands, they were just as unsure in her capabilities as she had been. If the power truly was with her, it was time to make them feel it.

  Ilderra pulled on her reins, causing her horse to come to a stop in the middle of the road. The other two trotted on a few more paces before realizing their new leader was no longer moving with them. The other horses stopped and turned, letting the three humans all face each other. Ilderra stared at the acolytes authoritatively. “I said we’re going to stop,” she said.

  The looks on their faces said it all. Their wide eyes and slightly opened mouths showed just how much they didn’t believe what they were witnessing: little Ilderra has it in her after all. Jayce closed his eyes and nodded his head. “As you wish.”

  The balisekts gathered around them as they descended their horses. Ilderra shook their large, scaly hands, greeting them warmly and inquiring of their progress in revitalizing the land. The balisekts were as friendly as they were excited by the surprise visit. Ilderra could understand why. With no home, the balisekts had been adrift in the forest. They’d been seen around Tranquility, though few would acknowledge them and many hurried away when they came too close. Having passed down this road twice in the last few weeks already, she’d seen pockets of them wandering about. She’d wanted to stop and talk to them, but her masters always hurried on by, and she was expected to follow.

  This time was different. On this journey, she was the one with authority. The direction, pace, and itinerary were all up to her. She’d wanted to stop and interact with these new members of the Lady’s fold, and now she had the power to make it happen.

  “To what do we owe the honor, High Priestess?” one of the balisekts said. Like all of her kind, her common tongue had a strong lisp. They had never met before, but the color and cut of Ilderra’s robes communicated her position, and the balisekts had been here long enough now to start learning the basics of Tranquility’s hierarchy.

  “Your progress is moving along so well after only a day,” Ilderra said warmly. “I wanted to congratulate you on your new home.”

  “How very kind of you,” the balisekt said. “We’ve seen many travelers through here these last few days, but you’re the first to stop.”

  “It’s like a whole different world from the chaos last month,” Ilderra said as her eyes scanned the forest. “You’re going to do an amazing job; I have no doubt.”

  “Only a handful of us are clearing the battleground,” the balisekt replied. The two began walking into the trees. Ilderra’s nose was struck by the lively smell of fresh soil. The balisekts must have dug deep to find earth untainted by the battle and bring it to the surface. It reminded her of the smell of the farms in Meadowgold during planting season. She already felt closer to home.

  “Where is everyone else then?” Ilderra inquired.

  The balisekt smiled. “Why, building our city, of course.”

  �
�That’s wonderful. Where are you building?”

  “Deep within the territory, where the demon army never set a single tree alight. They’re building the huts at the base of the mountain.”

  Ilderra was troubled by her words. “That’s not just deep in the territory, that’s near the eastern edge. The Savage Lands will be close to your homes.”

  The balisekt nodded her head. “That is the idea.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  There was a pause, giving Ilderra’s ears a moment to soak in the sounds of the balisekts working all around her. A month ago, she and her fellow acolytes were fighting these balisekts, now they were conversing as friends. Their terrible shrieks and hisses still haunted her memory, but seeing them in this gentle, civilized way reminded her that they weren’t the animals her kind had always thought.

  “There are many of our kind still living like wild creatures in the uncharted forest,” the balisekt said. “We do not fear their proximity to our homes. We want them to see the lives we’ve made for ourselves. If there are any balisekts still following Killika’s notion that conquest is the answer, our lives will serve as proof that they are wrong. Perhaps, in time, they will join us, and the balisekt nation will be whole again.”

  “You have such optimism,” Ilderra said with a smile. “It is inspiring.”

  A loud commotion from the road abruptly ended their conversation. Shouts and cries mixed with a series of sinister cackles. Ilderra and her balisekt companion looked at each other in alarm. Turning back toward the road, the two women raced through the trees. Ilderra could see frantic movement in the clearing where the road was cut. She could see the acolytes in her company moving rapidly about. Balls of fire and bolts of lightning shot from their hands, striking the combatants she couldn’t yet see.

  Ilderra broke through the tree line as more balisekts poured out around her. Now with a clear view of the road, she could see what had come to attack them. From the other side of the road, in the Forest still uncivilized, goblins were rushing through the foliage and charging the balisekt workers. They were short statured creatures, standing no more than three and a half feet tall. Their bodies were bulbous, and asymmetrical. Many had one eye larger than the other. Their arms were long and bony, sporting a trio of slender fingers that each came to a sharp point. Their mouths were large and filled with needle-like teeth.

  The balisekts cast their plows and seeds aside. Their claws spread wide as they charged the oncoming goblins. A chill raced across Ilderra’s skin. This was how she’d seen the balisekts a month ago, animalistic and terrifying. Instinct and upbringing nearly compelled her to attack the goblins and balisekts together, but reason focused her on the true threat.

  The two factions clashed upon the road. There were at least three dozen of the savage creatures from what Ilderra could discern in the chaos. Long claws slashed through the afternoon air. Snarls and hisses echoed between the trees. Ilderra wasn’t sure what had brought about this sudden battle, but she and her acolytes had been thrown into the middle of it and the only way out was to win.

  The balisekts were clearly the goblin’s target, but that didn’t mean they showed no interest at all in the humans passing through. Several of the deformed looking creatures broke off from the main battle to lash out at the travelers from Tranquility. Ilderra watched as a nearby goblin reached out with its bony arm towards Jayce. The acolyte stepped back, letting the claws sail in front of him, barely brushing his robe. With his hands at his sides, Jayce let two balls of fire ignite above his palms. Before the goblin could swing with the other arm, he sent the twin flames into its face and abdomen. The now blackened goblin was tossed back across the road, landing hard against a tree and crashing onto the ground.

  The other acolyte was busy dispatching his own attackers. Ilderra feared for him. He’d been a fully recognized acolyte for only a month or two and his spells were weak and took far too long to build up. She watched as he tried to strike an oncoming goblin with a lightning bolt. The shot amounted to little more than a spark. The goblin stalled, but did not stop. With its mouth open wide, it was nearly ready to sink its teeth into the poor boy’s right arm.

  Ilderra threw up her hands, letting the long sleeves of her robe sail up her arms. A funnel formed in front of her, spinning the dust in the air in an ever quickening vortex. Before the goblin could latch onto the acolyte, Ilderra thrust the funnel forward with a push of her hands. The goblin was swept up in the swirling wind and carried northward down the road along with a few more of its kind unfortunate enough to be in the path.

  “Behind you!” the female balisekt called out.

  Ilderra spun around just as another goblin leapt towards her. It was close, but she was powerful enough to raise her spells rapidly. A pair of fireballs roared to life over her palms as though brought on by small explosions. With a outthrusting of her hands, the flames shot out and engulfed the goblin’s midsection. The force halted its momentum, causing its blackened carcass to crash into the dirt in front of her.

  The goblins had brought a sizeable force against the balisekts, but three spell casters fighting against them had quickly turned the favor of the battle. The path soon became littered with the corpses of the small creatures, though a handful of balisekts also lay motionless in the dust. The last trio of goblins retreated back into the Savage Lands, seemingly smart enough to know when there was no chance of victory.

  Ilderra brushed off her robes and turned to her acolytes. “Is everyone okay?” she asked.

  “I’m fine,” Jayce assured. The other seemed shaken and out of breath, but he was alive and unharmed. Ilderra found the balisekt she’d been conversing with before the battle. The female was grasping her right arm with her left hand. A stream of blood ran between her scaly fingers and down her forearm.

  “Lady’s grace!” she said.

  “It’s a flesh wound,” the balisekt assured, though the tension in her voice showed she was in more pain than she let on.

  “What’s a band of goblins doing this close to Tranquility?” Jayce asked.

  The balisekt female tore a strip of cloth from her garments and worked it into a pressure bandage around her wound. “We’ve been seeing them the last couple of days, but it’s always been one or two watching from a distance. They’ve never appeared in numbers like this, and certainly never attacked.”

  “Perhaps they mean to claim the land you’ve revitalized,” Ilderra suggested. “Tranquility should send you protection to…”

  The balisekt lifted her hand, halting Ilderra’s words. “We do not require assistance.”

  “I feel I must insist,” Ilderra responded. “This was not a chance encounter. This was a planned attack.”

  “Whatever it was, it is a balisekt problem and the balisekt nation will deal with it,” she said again. “We are a part of your Lands of Order now, and we will prove our worth in the Lady’s forest.”

  Chapter 9

  Living alone in the Wilds for weeks on end had shown Sunrise how much he’d taken for granted in his life. Spending time in the home of his human friend, Viyana, he discovered just how much he’d never had before even that. Where he would have been happy to get bread and water, he was given wine and cake. Where he would have felt blessed for a soft pile of straw to sleep on, he was given a warm bed covered with fine linens. Where he would have settled to bathe in the river without feeling exposed or defenseless, he was treated to a heated, relaxing bath. And, of course, where he would have been overjoyed just for the companionship of one who didn’t seek to capture him, he was in the company of a dear and trusted friend.

  It was late morning when Sunrise descended the stairs into the main room of Viyana’s home. Now finally in a safe and comfortable place, his body was making up for sleep lost in the Wilds. He’d been here for three days now, resting and eating his way back to health. Viyana had told him how soundly he’d slept the last few nights. She’d chuckled as she admitted to putting a finger under his nose, just to make sure he
was still breathing. Even though he rose this morning well after dawn, earlier days had seen him not getting up until the sun was sinking down the other side of the sky.

  “Lady’s grace, I’ve never seen a creature sleep so much,” Viyana said with a warm smile. The Lady of Meadowgold was leaning against the wall, a goblet in one hand and a small loaf of bread in the other. As usual, she was dressed in rugged, light armor with her sword swinging low at her side. Her hair was pulled back, letting the light from the windows illuminate the weathered skin and small scars on her face and neck.

  “I at least feel rejuvenated now,” Sunrise responded. “I should sleep like a normal elf tonight.”

  Viyana took another bite of her bread before setting the loaf and her goblet on the table. “Help yourself to anything while I’m gone,” she insisted.

  “Important errands this morning?”

  “Tomorrow is a big day,” Viyana said proudly. “Our high priestess will be here at dawn. I need to make sure the arrangements for her welcome are going as planned.”

  “It does my heart good to see the human race finally accepting a high priestess,” Sunrise said. “The Lady’s blessings are truly upon Meadowgold.”

  Viyana made her way to the door, making one last check of her belongings before opening it. “I will be gone for several hours. Please keep the door closed and stay away from the windows. The people will be suspicious if they see movement in my home when they know I’m out in town.”

  “Wait,” Sunrise insisted.

  Viyana stopped pulling on the door, leaving it halfway opened. “What is it?”

  Sunrise gave a small nod, a gesture intended to reassure himself that he wasn’t making a foolish decision. “I want to come with you.”

  Viyana shut her eyes along with the door. “You know that’s not wise.”