by Joe Naff
Soft murmurs filled the ranks of soldiers. Azalea took her place with her friends. Zehlyr placed a hand on her shoulder as she reached up and pulled away the necklace Killika had placed upon her. “We have seen now your race’s capacity for community, for order. Never have we known you to be so civilized, for we never thought to look.”
“She is right,” Viyana declared loudly. “Killika’s war was unjust, but it would never have come to pass if our races treated you as equals instead of animals.” She looked back at Heeska and smiled. Her own journey of discovery had been unexpected, yet rewarding. “But that ends today. From the ashes of these dark days, a new future will rise. No longer will the balisekt nation be cast out into the Savage Lands to live like beasts. The Lands of Order and their resources are ample enough for all the Lady’s sentient creatures.”
“Let every ear hear that, from this day forth, all balisekts that will lay down their arms will be accepted as equals. A territory of your very own will be carved out of the Lands of Order, one with enough resources to let your nation thrive.”
“Your place will be set at the Temple as well,” Sunrise added. “Tranquility was won on the notion of harmony and peace. We will extend that peace to you.”
“What say you, balisekt nation?” Azalea asked boldly. “Do you accept?”
From out of the crowd, a lone balisekt stepped forward. It was the same that had fed Azalea in the Wilds. She smiled at him as he approached. Though he held swords in his hands, he carried them down at his sides. With a smile, the soldier held out the blades and dropped them onto the forest floor. Azalea looked on with delight, but it soon turned to horror as she watched an angry soldier come up behind him with his sword held high.
“Watch out!” she screamed. The balisekt behind the surrendering soldier let out an angry hiss as he brought his sword down upon his shoulder. A spray of blood filled the air as the balisekt’s wide, frightened eyes turned skyward. Its body crashed into the mud and the attacker let out a victorious shriek.
The scene erupted into pandemonium. The balisekt soldiers drew their weapons and attacked furiously. However, it wasn’t the elves or humans they fought against; it was themselves. With their leader removed and Azalea’s offer of peace laid out, the balisekt nation became a house divided, and their campaign against the Lands of Order quickly erupted into a civil war.
“What’s going on?!” Viyana shouted as she drew her swords. An enraged soldier came charging towards her. With one, swift motion, she deflected its attack and thrust her blade into its back.
“It seems Killika has more loyal followers than we realized,” Sunrise answered as his fireballs dispatched two more attacking soldiers.
In the chaos, Firefly became separated from Sunrise and the others. There was a flurry of activity around her as the balisekts battled with one another. Swords and claws clashed as droplets of blood flew through the air. “Sunrise?! Sunrise?!” she called out. The battle was so loud that she could barely hear herself.
Pulling its rusty swords from the belly of a fellow tribesman, a balisekt soldier eyed the startled faerie. Firefly’s eyes went wide in panic as the soldier stepped towards her. She turned to fly away, but the balisekt reached out and snatched her from the air with its clawed hand.
Frantically, Firefly pushed against the balisekts fingers, but to no avail. The soldier had her by the waist, and its grip was too strong to overcome. As the scaly hand began to crush her, Firefly lifted up her palms towards the soldier’s face.
“Let me go!” she shouted. To her surprise, a pair of bright fireballs suddenly burst from her palms. The flames sailed towards the soldier’s mouth, striking it directly on the tongue and in the left eye. It let out a shriek of pain as it let her go.
Firefly looked down at her hands in astonishment. Her fingers were trembling, but not just from the shock. Tiny sparks fired between her fingers. Her body felt alive with tremendous power. She had done it. She had wielded the Lady’s magic, and in that chaotic moment, she finally understood why.
“Firefly!” Sunrise shouted from amidst the battling balisekts.
Finally finding her mentor again, Firefly zipped over to his side.
“We have to get out of here,” Zehlyr said.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Heeska responded. “But where will we go?”
“We should stick to the plan and make for Tranquility!” Sunrise declared.
“I agree,” Azalea said. The question of her origin had been answered, but she still didn’t have her memories. If the Ashes of Shimmer could restore them, then that was the only course left to her. She ducked just as a clumsily swung blade sailed over her head. The attacking balisekt stumbled unfortunately towards Zehlyr, who was quick to bring the blade of his dagger across its throat.
“Into the southern Wilds!” Zehlyr declared. “Hurry!”
Chapter 27
Zehlyr, Azalea, and their allies moved through the Wilds with great haste. The elves of Moon-hollow poured into the trees as their home became a battleground. With the balisekt army divided into two factions, their ranks had fallen into a chaotic battle of brother against brother, and the elves were caught in the crossfire. However, as the elves stopped and took shelter amongst the trees, the others continued southward. They weren’t simply running to avoid the battle. They had a destination in mind.
Even after crossing the border into faerie territory, the sounds of the struggle still managed to reach their ears. There was a gentle wind in the forest, and it carried with it the faint sounds of swords clashing and balisekts screeching. These horrific sounds kept their pace swift. The forest passed them by in a blur as they pushed onward, not stopping until they could finally hear no more sounds from the balisekt civil war.
It was evening then. The setting sun cast a bright-orange glow across what little of the sky could be seen through the dense canopy. They were deep into faerie territory now. Only Firefly and Sunrise had been through this part of the forest, and they knew they’d reached a safe place to rest.
“Windsong isn’t far from here,” Firefly said landing on a low branch. Her exhausted wings dropped to her sides as she leaned against the trunk of the tree. “Only a mile or two more to the south.”
“Couldn’t we just stop there?” Zehlyr asked. His hand rested against the trunk of a nearby elm. He was winded and tired, but thankful to be out of harm’s way. “It sounds more hospitable than out in the Wilds.”
Firefly shook her head. “I wouldn’t recommend it.”
“Why not?” Zehlyr questioned.
Sunrise laughed as he sat on a fallen log. “The faerie city is up in the trees, and too small to accommodate we larger races.”
“Understandable,” Heeska said. “But they could still offer food and security for the night. The thought of building a fire tonight worries me.”
“Faeries question the intentions of any large creatures approaching their city,” Firefly explained. “They would certainly be hospitable, should we survive getting close enough to explain ourselves.”
“It sounds like we’re at risk either way then,” Zehlyr said. “What are your thoughts, Azalea?” he turned to find her, but she was nowhere to be seen. “Azalea?” he called out. His peripheral vision caught a quick glimpse of her long, pink hair as it disappeared behind a nearby tree. “Azalea, wait!’ he called out as he chased after her.
As Zehlyr ran off into the woods after Azalea, Heeska lifted himself onto a low, wide branch and lay flat on his back. His eyes closed as his head rested against the trunk of the tree. Viyana began gathering wood for a fire.
“Firefly, may I have a moment?” Sunrise humbly asked. He leaned his body against the tree she was perched upon, putting the two at eye level with each other.
“Anything for my mentor,” she replied with a smile.
He smiled back and laughed playfully. He had noticed a change in Firefly ever since they escaped the dwarven city. She seemed stronger and more confident, and he wanted to learn what had chang
ed. “I’m been dying to ask you about Stonemouth. How in the Lady’s name did you manage to rally the entire city to fight off the balisekts?”
Firefly blushed a bit as she turned her face away. “I didn’t do it alone,” he said humbly. “I had the Lady on my side. She gave the sign to attack and the dwarves did the rest.”
Sunrise’s heart was full of pride. “But you went in with no guarantee,” he said. “Your full, absolute faith in Her was all the hope you had. At any point did you…?”
“Yes,” Firefly said confidently, anticipating his question. “I did have some doubts.”
“So, what did you do?” Sunrise questioned.
Firefly took a deep breath. “I trusted anyway,” she answered. “I looked inside myself and found what it was that connected me to Her, what it is that lets me know she is there. In that, I found my faith.”
“You are ready then,” Sunrise said with a warm smile. “You are finally ready to become a true acolyte.”
Firefly closed her eyes and smiled. “No, I’m not,” she said. Her calm voice demonstrated the peace she felt in her statement.
Sunrise was taken aback. “No?” he questioned. “But, you have cleared your hurdle.”
“Oh, Sunrise,” Firefly said with a chuckle. “You don’t understand.” As her elven mentor gave her a baffled look, the she turned her eyes up towards the sky. Through the canopy, she could see the first few stars shining in the ever-darkening sky. “You always said in training that I was distracted, that the scenery was taking my attention away from the task at hand.”
“But it was,” Sunrise argued.
Firefly laughed again. “On the contrary,” she said. “It was in those moments, starting at all the wonders of creation, that I truly felt the presence of the Lady.” She shot her mentor a playfully cocky stare. “You were the distraction.”
Sunrise didn’t know what to say. He’d never heard such things said by any acolyte in all his years of study in Tranquility. He’d certainly not heard a student speak so defiantly to their teacher. “What do you mean?” he asked.
“In those moments, staring at the waterfall, or how the sunlight sparkles on the surface of the lake, or even how the wind makes the young spring leaves dance together, it was then that I felt her. In the Temple, when everything is about order, structure, and ceremony, her presence is lost to me.”
Sunrise was starting to feel offended. “See here, young one,” he said. “The Temple was built over years of sacrifice and faithful diligence! Her spirit dwells within those walls.”
Firefly rose to her feet. “Don’t you see?!” she questioned boldly. “A tomb of stone and metal is not the house of the Lady.” Firefly spread her arms out wide as she twirled in place upon the branch. “This…this is the Lady’s Temple,” she declared proudly. “This is where Her spirit runs free, in the house of worship She herself created.”
Sunrise pulled his lips tight as he took a deep breath. His pupil’s words seemed to border on blasphemy, yet they rang with more truth than he’d heard in even the most passionate speech by the Grand Seryan. “There is truth in what you’re saying, but the Grand Seryan…”
“The Grand Seryan is just another of Her creatures. She is no better than you, or me, or anyone.”
“She was chosen by the Lady,” Sunrise retorted. He couldn’t believe they were having such an argument. The thought of questioning the Grand Seryan’s authority was unfathomable. “She is part of a line dating back hundreds of years.”
“Yes, to Shimmer, the only true chosen one of the Lady,” Firefly declared. “Only Shimmer and Her followers saw her face. Only Shimmer felt Her touch. The Grand Seryan is just an elf; she’s a servant of the forest like you or me.”
Sunrise took a deep breath. He was angry, but also scared. His pupil’s brash declaration went against everything he knew, everything he’d been taught, yet his soul wouldn’t reject it. Nevertheless, her newfound view of the Lady would find no place in the Temple. “You know your words will end your study as an acolyte,” he said coldly.
With little thought, Firefly cast off her white and green robes, revealing her simple, faerie clothes beneath. She had a white vest woven from silk, along with a green skirt made from a bit of cotton cloth. Her sacred garments fell carelessly from the tree and into the mud below. “I welcome it,” she said proudly. “It is a path where I cannot feel the Lady’s presence, so it is not the path for me.”
“Then you will never wield her power,” Sunrise retorted. “Only an acolyte, a seryan, or a priestess can conjure magic. It will be lost to you forever.”
Firefly whipped her head around, casting a confident stare into the eyes of her former mentor. With her hands out to her sides, she flicked her wrists and opened her fingers like the petals of a flower. Atop her tiny palms, a pair of fireballs sprang to life in an instant. She smiled. “My dear acolyte, that is for Her to decide, not you.”
Under the darkness of the coming night, Zehlyr finally caught up to Azalea. Now that their journey had taken a pause, her mind was free to contemplate all that had happened. The result was revelations that made her feel empty, guilty, and alone. Unable to face her friends, she ran off into the night, but it was only a matter of time before Zehlyr caught up to her.
Crouched down on the south side of a wide oak tree, Zehlyr found her crying into her hands. He knelt beside her, scooping her into his arms and planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Azalea, talk to me,” he pleaded. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
Azalea’s tears had started as soon as she disappeared. They’d poured down her face, making it difficult to see as she ran through the darkening forest. Now, out of breath and unable to control her emotions, she sat in the mud and wept. “Zehlyr…” she said meekly. “I know what I did was terrible, but he said he would kill you, torture you, if I didn’t do what he said. I was…I was so afraid to…”
Zehlyr wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close to his chest. The only thing that mattered to him was that she was safe again. It had been the first time they were apart in the three years since their chance meeting, and he’d been fearful that one of them would die before their paths crossed again. The fingers on his free hand ran gently through her long, pink hair.
“It’s okay,” he said reassuringly.
“How can it be?” she questioned. “I killed all of those poor elves. I bound them helplessly to the ground so Killika could slay them like cattle. Can the Lady ever forgive me?”
Zehlyr rested his chin on top of her head. “I already have,” he said. “I’m sure she has, too.”
Feeling a little better, Azalea took Zehlyr’s hand into hers and let their fingers weave together. “Tell me about how Cherin died,” she softly requested. No one had told her about the young man’s passing. In the chaos of their escape, there hadn’t been time for the conversation to take place. However, his absence was quickly obvious, and the look in Zehlyr’s eyes told her he was never coming back.
Zehlyr sighed. “One of the fire demons pinned me to the ground as we were escaping,” he began. “Cherin knocked it off of me, and it killed him before I could even stand up again.”
“How very brave,” Azalea said. “I guess, deep down, he still loved you in spite of everything.”
Not wishing to discuss his lost sibling, Zehlyr searched his mind for a different topic. Of course, there was only one other thing he and Azalea truly needed to face, and he feared it more than anything else in the world. Still, there could be no running away from it forever. “So, is it true? Are you a dryad?”
Azalea closed her eyes and hugged her knees in close to her chest. “I don’t know,” she responded. “I certainly don’t remember being a dryad. Then again, I don’t remember being human either.”
“Did Killika say anything?”
“He said the Shadow Chasers summoned me to be their weapon, but the ritual went wrong somehow and they all died.” She looked up at him, giving him her first genuine smile since they were reunited.
“That’s when you found me, when you saved me.”
Zehlyr laughed with embarrassment. “I didn’t save you,” he admitted. “I tripped over you.”
Azalea squeezed his hand tighter. “True,” she said with a laugh. “But, you did more than that. You gave me a name. You gave me a family. You showed compassion for a total stranger, and sacrificed everything you had.” She rested her head on his shoulder. “Everything good in my life, I have because of you.”
Zehlyr knew the next question he had to ask, but he feared it greatly. “So, what will happen once we reach Tranquility? If you get your memory back, will you become a dryad again?”
“I don’t know,” she replied honestly. “I can’t yearn for a past I can’t remember. I don’t even know how to be a dryad.”
Zehlyr fought back the urge to beg Azalea not to go. Selfishly, he wished they were going as far away from Tranquility as possible. If she never remembered who or what she was, she would never have to go back. She could stay human and live with him forever. It was Viyana’s revelation that stopped him. Sunrise explained that a dryad missing from its part of the forest could leave the land barren and lifeless, and Viyana had tried and failed to build a settlement at the sight of the balisekt’s ritual. She’d informed them that the land produced no plant life. No animals passed through nor birds overhead. He wanted to keep Azalea to himself, never let her go, but it seemed the forest needed her more.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Azalea said softly.
Zehlyr looked up to see her sparkling, green eyes gazing deeply into his own. “Do you now?” he asked.
“I want to stay just as badly as you want me to. It’s just…just…”
“This is bigger than the two of us,” he said somberly.
She smiled as she place a hand delicately on his cheek. Leaning in, she kissed him softly upon his trembling lips. His hands found the back of her head, pulling her in closer as their lips embraced. Passionately, they clung to one another, for they knew their days together were numbered.
