The Woodland Tombs of Eliantar

by Gary Gaugler, Jr

  Chapter 10

  After several days of walking and swimming with limited rest, both Ara and Vale finally noticed that the landscape was beginning to change. Lakes and streams began to give way to more mountainous terrain. A powerful wind had also picked up, which made both of them shutter.

  Under normal circumstances, Ara wouldn’t have minded visiting Steedo, the wind realm, but after their encounter with Destor, he wasn’t thrilled to be surrounded by any type of breeze or weather-related occurrence. Come to think of it, the thought of any inclement weather made Ara’s stomach turn. To lighten the mood a bit, Forr began his history lesson of Steedo, to which Ara and Vale only half listened.

  “On the fifth day of creation, the suns rose as the goddess of wind, Zefra, appeared on the planet as a giant storm cloud. Much like the others before her had done, she surveyed the new terrain and the new creatures that surrounded. Flying on a powerful wind of her design, she looked down for a place to make her own mark. Landing in the northeastern area of the land, bordering Fornar, she fumed at the chunk of land that she wanted to make her own. The goddess of land and rock had already created ridges of mountains all along the space that the goddess wanted to claim for herself. And, what annoyed her more was that the previous goddess already had a realm of sand, caves, and sinkholes belonging to her. The goddess was infuriated and yelled loud enough so those in the heavens could know it. She shared a fierce rivalry with all of her brethren, but of all of them, her sister who commanded the ground, infuriated her the most.

  “What the goddess didn’t realize was that the angrier she got, the more the wind in the area was picking up. Before she knew it gale force winds were ripping through the land and loosening chunks of rocks from the mountains. The goddess smiled to herself. She named the realm that would be hers, Steedo. Surely this was a terribly inhospitable place that few would survive. However, she wasn’t a heartless or cruel goddess. She loved humans and other creatures as much as the others. So she concocted an idea for a breed of creature that would fit right into this cruel world, which would respect and fear the powers of wind as much as she did.

  “This was how the Vintens came to be in Steedo. Vintens were small, dark brown, mole-like creatures that inhabited the gray, windy mountains.

  “Turning back to the rest of the new world, the goddess blew out a slow, gentle breath which became the light breeze throughout the whole world that people came to love. It caressed the grassy fields and rustled the trees. It scattered the flames and embers from Fornar, but also made it slightly more pleasant for the Lexerros. Even they were not immune to the overwhelming heat.

  “And in no time at all, the two suns were setting and it was nearly time to ascend back to the heavens. This is when Zefra remembered the nerve of her sister to build giant mountainous landscapes in a part of the country that clearly was not hers. Losing her cloud form and taking on a human one, she raised her right arm in the sky and began to slowly make it rotate. Each time she spun it around, she sped it up just a notch. After several moments her arm was spinning madly and with one final grunt she stopped her arm and pointed in the direction of Errandomn. She couldn’t help but smile at how childish she’d been.

  “Zefra was gone before the massive sandstorm even started. It was a new phenomenon to the world that the citizens of Errandomn had no idea how to handle. Many ran to their caves as the enormous tornado pushed through spewing sand and rock in all directions. The sandstorms came much the same as this way, every day. It seemed that the goddess was so offended that another’s mark was left in her realm that she would leave her own mark in theirs.”

  “Thank you, Forr. That was interesting.”

  Ara turned away from Forr and rolled his eyes. The old man kept his distance while they were traveling unless he had something to say and then when he had finished, he would fall behind again. It was beginning to wear on Ara’s nerves.

  “Have you been to Steedo before?” Vale asked Ara. “I realize it’s not the most hospitable place, especially compared to Quale.”

  “No,” replied Ara gruffly. He wasn’t feeling himself at all. They had spent the last week doing nothing but walking, not to mention surviving near death experiences. Ara was used to the life of a nomad, but this was getting absurd. He wasn’t used to fighting for his life as he traveled, let alone fighting to protect someone else’s.

  “You may notice there aren’t many Elites living in this realm,” Forr stated, still struggling to keep up with the younger men. “Not that there are many that live in any of the realms, of course. The gusts of wind are strong down here through the valleys, but they become increasingly worse the farther you go up the mountains.”

  Ara looked around and saw only mountains. He didn’t like it here one bit. It had none of the charm and beauty that Quale had possessed. The sky was gray for as far as his eyes could see and the wind that blew through the valley was biting and cold. Everything looked dismal. He was not pleased.

  “It doesn’t even look like you could get up any of those mountains,” he observed. “There isn’t a single one that doesn’t look completely jagged.”

  “From what I understand there are very few people who attempt climbing them,” Vale said as he walked on. “Somewhere atop one of these mountains is the Wind Citadel, but I’ve never actually seen it. Of course it’s easy for Volaticas. He just uses his wind powers to lift him to the top of the mountains. I think he’s become accustomed to being secluded up there.

  “You probably noticed that I wasn’t impressed him with him during our meeting,” Vale grinned. “He can be so smug and selfish. Frankly, a man that full of himself has no business in the political arena. He seems to only make decisions that benefit himself rather than his realm. But, he is what he is. Mother always seemed able to keep him under control and she had wisely pointed an interesting observation out to me once about him. I mean look around you. Volaticas Temed has obviously descended from a very wealthy, aristocratic family and is used to living in divine locales. Then he accepts a job as Ambassador of Steedo. You almost have to feel sorry for him. The only Elites who live here are those that run the storage houses creating weaponry and building materials. But, even they’re isolated on the other side of the mountains. Growing up I doubt he ever envisioned this place being his home.”

  Ara looked around and shuddered. He hated to ever think of this place as home. No matter how far they walked, slate-colored mountains and dark skies were the only pieces of scenery around.

  “Look, Ara!” exclaimed Vale pointing up at one the mountains. “See them scaling that mountain over there. Vintens! We’ll have to be careful. They’re not the friendliest of creatures.”

  Ara looked up and saw the dark-brown creatures scaling halfway up the mountain. He had never before laid eyes on one but had certainly read enough about them. They were small creatures, about four feet long and weighing under 80 pounds. They were also completely blind, having no eyes whatsoever. They made up for it though by being highly aggressive. They possessed tremendously large claws on their hands and feet that they used to scale the high mountains. With their extra-long, rock-hard snout they were able to sniff out food that other creatures might miss with the powerful winds blowing so strong. Even though they were incredibly slow, they were efficient hunters as they could move along without being heard over the roaring winds.

  “Have you ever been here before?” Ara asked as they continued walking. “You seem to know an awful lot about this place.”

  Vale looked upset and Ara immediately wished he hadn’t asked. He didn’t want to overstep his bounds as bodyguard, even though the Prince had been opening up quite a bit lately.

  “I was here once two years ago and I swore I’d never come back again,” Vale replied mysteriously. “It’s incredibly dangerous to be an Elite in Steedo. I lost my best friend out here.”

  “Lost him?” gasped Ara. “What do you mean? Did he wander of
f? Didn’t they send a search party or rescue squadron?”

  “I’m sorry, no,” Vale smiled. “I meant to say that she disappeared out here. I can’t help but think between losing her and nearly getting killed, the last two years have not been my best.”

  “Will you tell me what happened?” Ara asked quietly. “That is, you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

  Vale began with a slight shudder, “We were best friends for as long as I can remember. Her parents were Elite nobles, so she was often in the castle and we’d play together as children. As she got older, she started to develop into a powerful young woman. She became interested in the Royal Guard and begged my mother to allow her to train with them.”

  “Did she end up joining then?” Ara asked. “Would she have even been old enough?”

  “She wasn’t allowed to but my mother did allow some of the guards to train her in basic self-defense and attack skills. She was only about sixteen-years-old at the time, but she picked up the skills very quickly.

  “It was right around when we had both turned eighteen, that Mother suggested she be trained as my personal bodyguard. Mother thought that since I was older and spending so much time outside of the castle that I should have some kind of protection.”

  “So, what happened?” Ara inquired, unable to wait.

  “Well, she took her new assignment much more seriously than I did. I mean, she was my best friend for eighteen years and now she was my bodyguard. It’s hard to treat a person seriously when all you know of them is light-hearted jokes and fun times. In any case we had gone out touring the countryside as usual, when we saw the mountains of Steedo in the distance. It was my idea that I wanted to camp out in the wind world for at least one night, just to say I could. My friend was very much against it and kept saying how dangerous she thought it would be and that it was far too windy to set up camp. I thought this was kind of strange since she was often more adventurous than I was.”

  “Were you attacked out here? Was it the Vintens?”

  “No, we weren’t attacked. I woke up in the middle of the night because I heard the wind when she stepped out of our tent. I got up and grabbed the bow and arrow from underneath her pillow. I pulled back the canvas and through the dark I could see her standing there with her back to me. There was no one and nothing around. She was just standing there, staring straight ahead at the gray mountain so I was concerned, especially when I saw the trelamna staff in her hand.”

  Vale took a deep breath before continuing, “I was about to step out and ask what was going on when she suddenly turned around and stalked towards me with her staff aimed down. The look in her eyes was…fierce and angry. She yelled that she was sorry, but she didn’t look it.”

  “What did you do?” Ara gasped.

  “I didn’t know what to do,” Vale began to tear up. “Before I knew what I was doing I had pulled the bow back and fired an arrow at her. The first one missed, she glared at me and pulled the trelamna apart. I fired again and it went right through her. Then she ran off.”

  “What do you mean it went right through her?” Ara looked confused.

  “She had the ability to dissipate herself into particles so that she could pass through thin walls or objects would fly through her. She could never hold it for more than a few seconds, but it was enough time for her to avoid my attack. And she ran off before I could get her with a third arrow.”

  “And she said nothing when she took off?”

  “She looked….furious. It was Opo’s impression that she meant to kill me and may have stepped outside to make sure there were no Vintens or other Elites in the area. For the life of me, we couldn’t figure out why she would do it.”

  “Why do you think she would do it?” asked Ara thoughtfully.

  “I do not know. My mother was shocked but had Forr come to my room and tell me all of the stories throughout Eliantar history where kings and queens were betrayed. It didn’t make me feel any better about the situation. But, at least I knew that I was not alone.”

  “Yes, the history of the Procers is stained with blood,” Forr began, wisely. “In the year 189, all the townspeople of Castle Village stormed the castle and dismembered Laus the Greedy for his tax increases and in 427, Kleok the Enchanter was killed with poisoned food fed to him by his own daughter.”

  “Those were treacherous times though,” Ara exclaimed. “Even during the Civil Conflict 300 years ago, no one attempted to murder the King.”

  “I think you’ll find that murder doesn’t go out of fashion young man, especially not when thousands and thousands of people are expected to obey the rule of one person.”

  “Did they ever catch her?” Ara asked incredulously, turning to Vale.

  “No and that’s the strange thing. She’s been on the Most Desired List of Eliantar for two years and they never caught her. It’s not like she doesn’t have a unique look about her either. Trust me, a woman that goes translucent would stand out in a crowd. It made her whole body flicker in and out and she was tall and strong with dark skin and long, black hair. She was exceptionally beautiful and you’d think she would have been spotted by now.”

  “How is that possible? There aren’t that many places in Eliantar for someone to hide.”

  Vale sighed, “Frankly I think she’s probably dead. When she took off, she phased through one of the mountains and didn’t come back out. Like I said, she couldn’t stay that way for long. I think her power probably failed her as she was passing through the rock and was crushed.”

  “Well that was unsettling,” said Ara quietly. “After hearing that, this place looks even darker and more treacherous.”

  Vale laughed, “I do apologize. Do not be concerned with it. Whether I’m right about that or not she must be dead by now. Hiding out in Steedo or one of the other realms for any length of time is incredibly dangerous. Vintens or a band of thieves would have killed her by now. Still, it’s just that that was the first time that I was ever in danger before. Now, it’s becoming much more common.”

  Ara could tell that this had not been any easy subject for Vale to discuss. He felt terrible for the Prince. It wasn’t any wonder that Vale had no interest in being a king. Clearly, his experiences with power and privilege usually ended with enemies or regret. Still, it made him feel special that Vale could share this with him.

  “What is that thing?” Vale asked, straining his eyes. “See it there, off in the distance?”

  “I don’t see a thing.”

  “Yes, just down at the bottom of this hill. There’s something hanging from off the base of the mountain there. You can’t miss it. It’s the only bit of color anywhere in the vicinity.”

  Before Ara could respond, Vale had jogged ahead. Keeping up, Ara chased after him down the little hill between the walls of mountains and stopped right behind his friend. Forr, achingly, shuffled along behind them. Ara glanced over at Crown Prince Vale and saw that the color had drained from his face.

  “What is it Vale?” Ara was concerned. “Are you alright?”

  “The mountain…” Vale whispered. “What in the world could have happened here?”

  Vale looked and sounded frantic. Ara was not used to seeing the handsome man look so appalled. It was as though he had seen a specter and would never be the same again. When Ara walked around Vale and looked at the base of the mountain he could see why the Prince was so upset.

  Streaks of a dark liquid smeared a few large boulders at the foot. Ara bent down and touched the rock with his fingers. It was unmistakably blood. He wanted to pretend and rationalize what else it could possibly be, but the stench and deep claw marks into the rock were unmistakable.

  “There was a struggle here very recently,” Ara whispered. “Look at those claw marks in the stone. I’m guessing the Vintens got an animal here and it tried to put up a fight.”

  “I know what that animal was,” Vale cringed, looking just a few feet down from whe
re they stood.

  Ara looked too and saw a large black root jutting out a few feet from the mountain of dark stone. It twisted and curled as if frantically trying to escape from its rocky prison. There, at the end of the root, caught on a snag, was a piece of purple cloth. The shredded piece of fabric jumped and swayed in the incessant breeze.

  “Is that…” Ara trailed off. “I think that might be…”

  “It’s Destor’s veil,” gasped Vale. “It must be. We have not seen any other Elites through this pass and now we come across this.”

  No sooner had they made this revelation when they heard a sound from behind, like sharp metal against glass. They turned and saw five Vintens slowly crawling down the mountain towards them, their long snouts desperately sniffing their prey through the air. Ara shuddered at their razor claws as he looked into an eyeless face.

  “They’re so slow,” Vale observed. “They’re even slower than I had been told they would be. I can only assume that Destor must’ve been sleeping for them to attack him like this.”

  The Prince closed his eyes and thrust both arms in the direction of the Vintens. The creatures let out a howl as they were all thrust flying from their mountain and off several yards into the distance.

  “We’re not safe here,” Vale shouted, over the wind. “We won’t be able to sleep or rest here or we’ll be attacked. Obviously, it’s a miracle that I wasn’t eaten alive the last time that I was here.”

  “So what do we do now?” Ara was filled with desperation. “Do we assume that Destor is alive and keep looking for him or do we go back to looking for Sorpa Veneficus?”

  To Ara’s surprise, Forr responded, “Neither, we’re going back to the Ivory Towers. Destor is more than likely dead and anyway we never should have diverted from our hunting of Sorpa. I should’ve been wise enough to realize before we left that this is a deadly situation and the two of you can’t be expected to stop it alone.”

  “Forr…” Vale began before sharply getting cut off.

  “My foresight is all but gone, but you’ve still kept me on as your advisor and as your advisor I am telling you that confronting your enemies alone will only put you and your kingdom at risk.”

  “I did not want to cause a panic among the Elites, but I suppose you are right. We shall return to Ivory Towers.”

  “You’re ready to get the Royal Guard involved?” Ara asked. “I think you’re making a wise choice. Even if the Elites find out and panic, it will benefit them in the end.”

  “I suppose from time to time we need others to tell us what is the right path to follow,” Vale looked to Forr. “Let’s get out of this godforsaken realm and back to Ivory Towers while we still can.”