The Awakening

by Gary Alan Wassner

  “The terrible things the Lalas did? We had not heard anything about this, though we have spoken to few people recently,” he said, his eyes taking on a faraway look. “Is she here now too, this woman from Talamar?” Tomas asked warily.

  “No. This is simply a rally. We all have to show up just to show our support. She would not bother to come to this. She sent her cronies to represent her. You saw them? The big trolls and the men with the green trees on their shirts,” she replied.

  “Perhaps it is better that I not meet her now anyway,” he muttered quietly, as if to himself.

  “What did you say? I could not hear you,” Stephanie replied.

  “Nothing, Steph. It was not important. I was just thinking out loud.”

  “What about you, Tomas?” she asked. She was so anxious to hear about her friend. “It is truly so good to see you alive and well. You have grown, you know?” she said tenderly. “Where have you been all this time? After the fire, everything was so chaotic that I did not even find out you were missing for days. We buried the remains of my father, and I had heard from Borland who came to help my mother and me, that your house was caught in the blaze too,” she said, her eyes still soft with sorrow. “Although he did not actually say you were dead, when he and his friends finally went to your cottage, they believed that it was impossible for anyone to have survived there,” she related. “By the First, it must have been awful. You were right in the middle of the worst of it. How did you get away?”

  “I was in the woods when they attack… when the fire broke out,” he said, almost slipping for a moment. “I was so beside myself with grief for my aunt and uncle, that I just left. The house was in ruins, everything was destroyed and I had no reason to remain there,” he said, not noticing the young girl’s face pale at his last remark. “I wanted to get as far away as possible, as fast as I could. I walked all the way to Pardatha.”

  “You what?” she asked enthralled, recovering quickly from her disappointment. “You went to the city? May the Gem never cease to shine. What was it like, Tomas? Was it beautiful? Were you there during the battle?” she asked in an uncontrollable flow of words, impressed with her old friend’s recent experience, and terribly excited. “Did you see the Dark Lord? And the Selgays? It must have been terrible. Are the stories about the Valkor true? Did you really see one?” she continued without even taking a breath. “We heard all about it. A few soldiers from the Delphan Hills passed through here, and they told us stories that I almost could not believe. Tell me all about it. Did the lake erupt and drown them all, like we heard?” she questioned him in a voice much louder than she realized.

  “Hush, Stephanie. Someone will hear you,” he reminded her, keeping his eyes open all the time and scanning the area. “I will tell you everything as soon as I can. But not here,” he said, turning to the trees behind him. “I am not here alone, Steph. There are some others I want you to meet,” he said, and he signaled to Elion and Preston to join them. Stephanie sidled up close to him for protection, as the other two entered the clearing from behind the trees. Her eyes were wide with wonder and concern.

  “Do not be afraid, Steph. These are my friends,” he said, pointing to the elf and the dwarf.

  Elion dropped his hood, revealing his pointed ears and elfin eyes, and Preston did the same, his dwarven features clear as day. Stephanie gasped and put her hand over her mouth, partially concealing herself behind Tomas, yet never taking her eyes off of the newcomers.

  Elion stretched out his hand to her and introduced himself.

  “I am Elion, son of Treestar and Elsinestra, Prince of Seramour,” he said, bowing to the maiden.

  “And I am Preston Daggerfall, son of Brimgar, of the Thorndar Daggerfalls. I am very pleased to meet you, mistress,” he said, bowing as well.

  Stephanie was so impressed with their behavior and the fact that she was being greeted by an elf and a dwarf, let alone a Prince of the elves, that she forgot how frightened she was. She emerged from behind Tomas and curtsied, accepting Elion’s hand to shake. Preston offered his as well, and after they shook, she relaxed a little bit, though her face was as red as a summer beet. She had rarely traveled out of the county, and she had never seen an elf or a dwarf before.

  “We fought side by side in Pardatha, and afterward they agreed to accompany me here when it was safe to leave,” Tomas explained with as little detail as possible.

  “Well, I am certainly pleased to meet you. If you are friends of Tomas’ then you must be good people,” she said, relaxing a little bit. “Are you really a Prince?” she asked Elion, her timidity giving way to her boundless curiosity.

  “Yes, mistress. I am really a Prince,” he replied, smiling.

  “We should not linger here much longer, Tomas,” Preston warned, his eyes upon the forest’s edge. “If the girl is missed, someone may come searching for her. I get the feeling that it would not be a good idea if we were to be discovered here now.”

  “Yes, you are definitely right, Preston,” Tomas replied, needing no convincing to agree. He turned to his old friend. “Can you come with us, Steph?” he asked.

  “Well,” she started to think. “I don’t suppose anyone will really care if I am gone. I came here with a large group from the village. Many of them were strangers to begin with. Only that awful man Marto, actually knew me, and he always stays until after the rest of us all leave anyway. There are so many new faces in Pardeau, what with the troops stationed there and all,” she continued.

  Elion, Tomas and Preston eyeballed one another at the mention of troops.

  “Where are you going?” she then asked. “My mother is alone in the house.”

  “We are going to Pa…” the young dwarf began to say.

  “We were about to leave for Pardeau ourselves,” Tomas interrupted Preston. “I wanted to show my friends where I grew up,” he concluded, looking soberly at the tall, young dwarf.

  “Surely, I can go back there with you. I just would rather that no one see me leaving with three strangers. Who knows what they might think,” she said, still afraid. “Meet me at the bottom of the hill to the east, by the boulder that stands out above all the rest. You cannot miss it. I will tell them that I am not feeling well, and that if they do not wish to carry me back to Pardeau, then I had best leave before them,” she smiled knowingly. “They will let me go. They are going to be here for quite some time.”

  “In thirty minutes?” he asked.

  “In thirty minutes. I will be there. It should not take me longer than that to make my excuses and to say my good-byes,” she replied while grasping Tomas’ arm and squeezing it tightly. “It really is so good to see you, you cannot imagine,” she said, before turning and walking back toward the hilltop.

  When she reached the tree line, she stopped and looked back at the three travelers. A warm smile spread across her care worn face, and for the first time since they had encountered her, she looked like the young woman that she was; the carefree, innocent girl that Tomas remembered. As soon as she was out of sight, Elion walked over to Tomas, head cocked to the side.

  “Pardeau? Are you sure that is where we should be going?” he asked.

  Preston too walked close to the others with a look of surprise upon his face.

  “It was meant to be this way,” Tomas said in his characteristically knowing manner. “There are things happening in the countryside that we must learn about if we are going to avoid walking into trouble. I think that we may find that this detour to Pardeau will provide us with some of the answers,” he said. “Besides, Ormachon is there, and it is time that we visit him.”

  “We?” Preston inquired, surprised at the idea of meeting a Lalas.

  “Yes, we,” Tomas emphasized.

  “How is it that one of the great trees thrives in the midst of all the turmoil your friend described near your home?” Elion questioned, though not suspiciously. “How could all of these terrible things happen so close to a Lalas?”

  “No one knows of Ormachon
,” Tomas said candidly. “He was never seen by anyone other than me and my aunt and uncle. Until Cairn arrived, that is. Prior to that, it was his decision that I not be identified as a Chosen. He felt that the only way to protect me, was to keep himself concealed,” he related. “As far as everyone was concerned, my family was like all the others. But it was not fire that killed Trevor and Safira,” Tomas said seriously. “They were murdered— Though I do not think the assassins were specifically looking for me, they came to my home searching for something,” he told them with a saddened, far away look in his eyes. He had never dwelled upon that fateful afternoon. This was really the first time he talked about it since the early days with Cairn, and even then, he was reluctant to linger upon it for long. “Whoever it was, ransacked the house. They even pulled up the floorboards. But I wonder even now if they knew what to look for?” he said, as if questioning himself. “They may have had suspicions, if it was the Dark Lord who sent them. But even he does not know of Ormachon and me, and he could not have known about the ring,” Tomas said.

  “What were they looking for then?” Elion inquired.

  “They must have been uncertain, sent on a mission of death and destruction, yet seeking a wellspring of power somewhere in the rubble that they could not clearly discern,” Tomas answered. “They perceived a threat, and they killed ruthlessly and with determination,” Tomas recalled. His green eyes glowed sagaciously behind a loose lock of blonde hair.

  “Lucky at least that they did not find anything of importance,” Elion replied.

  “Luck?” Tomas repeated quietly, briefly catching Elion’s eyes.

  “Are there other trees whose whereabouts are concealed?” Preston interjected, not noticing the previous exchange.

  “Well, surely the First,” Elion answered.

  “There may be others too. I do not know,” Tomas said honestly. “It is not easy, though, for a Lalas to remain a secret for long. It took great effort on Ormachon’s part, but he always felt it was necessary. Despite his endeavors, his power radiated, drawing the enemy regardless,” the boy said, as if thinking aloud.

  “He did not save your aunt and uncle,” Preston commented, sadly.

  “He could not intervene. I understand that now, as I did then. The fabric weaves of its own will. He would have revealed more than his own existence if he came to their aid,” Tomas lamented.

  “But after you left, why did he not help the people of Pardeau? It seems as if a lot of citizens suffered badly since then,” Preston asked.

  “And they still suffer,” Elion concurred, though with no malice in his voice.

  “We will find out the answers to our questions when we speak with him. He has not elected to inform me of any of what happened since I left. Maybe he thought I would be influenced by the information and want to come back too soon,” Tomas speculated.

  “Maybe,” Preston agreed, though he seemed to find all of this far too complicated to understand.

  “There are things that the trees know and do not tell, for reasons of their own. Ormachon has never tried to get me to return to Pardeau. He never hinted that anything was wrong there. Now, it is time for me to go home. Greater things are amiss there than we realize, I suspect,” he said in an ominous tone that revealed more than the words themselves.

  “Then to Pardeau we must go,” Elion concluded. “I, for one, am anxious to meet your Ormachon.”

  “It is funny that you said that,” Tomas smiled at his elfin friend. “Cairn also called him (my tree’ the day we first met. I remember that well,” the boy related fondly. “It is a strange perception. The trees belong to us all. The Chosen possess them no more than the rest of the world.”

  “It was just a figure of speech, Tomas, nothing more,” Elion explained.

  “I suppose,” the boy replied. “But it certainly is the most misunderstood aspect of the relationship. The Lalas live solely for the earth and the living things that populate it. There is no other reason for their existence. The Chosen are not special. In fact, most sacrifice more than anyone could ever imagine in order to perform the tasks required of them. There is most definitely a closeness between the tree and its Chosen, greater than imaginable in many cases, but there is no sense of possession on either part.”

  “You need not explain all of this to us, Tomas. We never accused you or any of the Chosen of anything. It is the woman from Talamar who requires this lecture,” Elion replied, indignant.

  “I am sorry, Elion, Preston,” Tomas said, looking kindly at his two friends. “It is just difficult for me to believe that people could turn against the trees. They do not know of the sacrifice, nor of the devotion,” he apologized. “I was not referring to the two of you. You understand me better than anyone by now, other than Cairn, I suppose,” he said fondly. “Words alone will not convince this woman from Talamar of anything. She obviously knows how to use them to her own advantage though, manipulating the feelings of these people by concentrating upon the areas that are most confusing to them when it comes to the Lalas and their bond-mates. I know that you both comprehend the truth, though even you spoke as if Ormachon and I were detached from the world by virtue of our bonding. It is a misconception that can be used to our disadvantage, it seems,” Tomas concluded.

  “We are clear on the issue now, Tomas,” Preston added, not wishing to upset his friend any further. “I guess we will have plenty of opportunities to explain it to the other people around these parts. I hope they are willing to listen. Your friend Stephanie seems not to have succumbed to this evil woman’s beliefs.”

  “It is unlikely that our explanations will fall upon anything more than deaf ears in Pardeau. Or in Talamar, for that matter. Although you are right about the girl, Preston. Not everyone has given in so readily. I wonder at any rate just how far these ideas have spread,” Elion opined.

  “Steph comes from strong and noble stock. Her father was a loyal friend to my aunt and uncle. I always thought he suspected that we were different than the others, though he never raised the question, out of respect I believe now,” Tomas recalled. “As for the rest of the people, we shall soon find out, I fear,” Tomas rejoined.

  “In Pardeau, you mean,” Preston clarified Tomas’ comment.

  “No, in Talamar,” the Chosen interjected.

  Both Elion and Preston looked at Tomas with wide eyes once again. They were not surprised that their destination had changed, but it never ceased to surprise them how Tomas informed them of these alterations in their plans.

  “We must first go to my old home and then it is imperative that we visit Duke Kettin and his Duchess, the Lady Margot. There are many questions that need to be answered, and they are the ones who will be able to do that for us,” the boy said.

  Preston cocked his head. “You think that they will listen to us?” he asked.

  “By the time we get there, they will listen to us,” Tomas nodding his head, assured of himself once again.

  Elion was unconvinced. “Is there something more you should be telling us,” he asked, sensing that Tomas was not being totally candid.

  “Nothing that I can put into words just yet. It is merely a sensation, the beginning only of a distinct feeling. Perchance Ormachon can clarify it for me. I will not keep anything of importance from either of you,” Tomas reassured them both. “I only know that what we seek now lies in the southeast, in Talamar, not in Parth as I originally thought. The fabric weaves…”

  “…of its own will. Yes, we know that so well,” Preston finished his sentence. “But, are we following a pattern that is already there, or are we creating a new one?” he asked, his dark eyebrows furrowed in thought. “Or maybe both,” he concluded.

  “I suspect the later,” Elion responded. “It is hard to imagine that we three could wander through the world together and not affect the weave.”

  “Whether we can repair this new damage to the cloth is the real question…” Tomas stated, “…before a pattern is revealed that none of us wish to see.”

>   Elion and Preston noticed their friend’s grim expression, and turned to gather their belongings without speaking any further. In silence, the three travelers prepared to set off for their rendezvous with Tomas’ friend, and then onward to Pardeau and ultimately Kettin’s dukedom. Their thoughts were preoccupied with this turn of events, with the rebels and their disturbing beliefs, the trolls and the freemen, but most of all, with their menacing leader, the Lady Margot of Talamar.

  Chapter Thirty-five

  They rode through the woods in silence as each one’s I thoughts were dominated by the events of the past few days. Queen Esta could not forget the anguished look upon the knight’s face as he told the story of the Talamaran’s betrayal of the trees. She thought with a heavy heart, about how hard it must have been for him to deal with the emotions foisted upon his unsuspecting spirit. Having left him in the able hands of Lord Markal, she was at least comforted by the hope that he would be protected from any further intrusions into his mind while she rode to discover what she could do to assist him and his fellow crusaders.

  Marne too, contemplated the plight of the visitor to Avalain. But, her speculations and concerns were preoccupied more with the powerful woman who twisted the innocent minds of these woefully beguiled people. She hoped and prayed that her friend had information that would help them to determine how best to thwart this new threat to the land. She also hoped that whatever news he had to impart to the Queen about Filaree, her beloved daughter, was good news and not another jarring situation that would cause them more anguish and worry.