Origin

by Samantha Smith

  Elwyn walked outside and stood in the abandoned village square looking at the huge forest that rose ahead of her like an impenetrable barrier. Tendrils of fog, which had not been burned off yet by the rays of the morning sun, reached out from the huge trees threatening to envelop the last remnants of the small dilapidated village in which she stood. She walked over and leaned against an old overturned cart, her mind working hard trying to make a decision. While Elwyn was confident in her abilities to move forward into the huge forest, she couldn’t just dismiss the possible imagined and real terrors that she remembered Thane briefly describing to her during their time together. He’d mentioned that the woods were mysterious and that many people who’d entered them had gone missing. But, at that time, Ayron had no knowledge of her skills. By now, Kierra would have told him that she was capable and he might feel differently about her traveling in the woodland without assistance.

  Elwyn knew she had to decide shortly whether to move forward into the dark, unwelcoming forest alone, or commit to spending another night here in the village with only the morden, Keroc, and the shades of the missing villagers to keep her company. It was with great fear and trepidation that Elwyn made the decision to venture on alone. Elwyn walked over to the meadow where Gemma and Raffe were grazing and informed them of her decision. While she sensed that they were not happy about moving forward, they offered no resistance to her plan after she walked them through the options she’d considered.

  She then hurried back to her hut to tell Keroc of her decision. After walking him through her decision process, the drakenhawk seemed unhappy and agitated, but Elwyn couldn’t tell if his head bobbing and squawks were frustration with his own helplessness, or objections to her decision. He settled down after a few moments, even though he was obviously still unhappy. He drank some water and ate the raw meat Elwyn had kept aside. He even ate some of the stew, squawking at the vegetables and bobbing his head at the pieces of meat. After Keroc was settled and fed, Elwyn ate about half of what was left of the stew. She planned to bring the rest along with her in case there was no place to camp that evening. Elwyn had no idea just how thick the wood were and wasn’t sure how long it would take her to cross them into Silvendil. After finishing her meal, Elwyn checked her drying meat. She felt that it would be safe to pack in about another hour. Drying meat so quickly like this had its risks, but Elwyn felt that she and Keroc would eat it before it had a chance to spoil. She packed everything left out into her saddlebags and went to refill her waterskins.

  As she passed through the village to get to the creek, she checked out a few of the dilapidated huts and found some material she could use to fashion a bag to carry some extra meadow grass for the morden to eat in case the woods were so thick that grass did not grow there. She filled the waterskins, quickly returned to her hut, got out her sewing material, and in a short time fashioned a sack that would carry meadow grass for the morden. As she searched the huts she also found a small sack of dried grain she decided to take along as feed for the morden as well. Her next step was to go to the meadow and cut as much grass as she was able in an hour. She then hurried back to the hut with her full sack of hay and packed the dried deer meat into her saddle bags.

  Her preparations complete, Elwyn brought the morden to her hut, saddled them, and loaded Raffe with most of her supplies and feed. She then picked up the special carrier that she made for Keroc. She put the little drakenhawk into his carrier and then lashed it to Raffe’s saddle, so that Keroc would be able to look around and see as they traveled. She went back to the hut with a note she wrote letting Ayron know where she was heading and when she left. Elwyn looked around the village one last time. She wondered what had happened to force the villagers to flee. She was also sad not to have had the chance to meet Owen, the village elder. Ayron described him to her as a kind and generous leader as well as a loving and compassionate family man. Elwyn knew that people like that were few. Besides, he’d also been kind to her mother and she would have liked to thank him for that. Elwyn refocused her thoughts to the task ahead of her and mounted Gemma.

  With Raffe following carrying Keroc, they left the village heading north towards the huge trees that loomed ahead. Elwyn searched for a way into the thick woodland in front of her. After a while, she noticed a small animal trail that led into the woods from one end of the village. She hesitated for just a moment, and then plunged forward into the dark forbidding forest.

  Chapter 30 – Signs of Trouble

  Ayron rode steadily southeastward throughout the night, stopping only to refill his waterskins and to let Gerrack graze. By dawn, he felt so exhausted that he could barely keep his eyes open. It was obvious to him that one night’s sleep just hadn’t been enough to prepare him for another grueling ride. With barely enough light to see by, he located the trail that led to the east. He stopped for a few moments to eat a small meal from the supplies that Zuri bade him take. Ayron was reluctant to get down from Gerrack’s back and stretch his sore muscles, for fear he wouldn’t have the strength to climb up again and keep going. After letting Gerrack rest for a half-hour, Ayron began to travel toward Kren.

  At some point he must have fallen asleep, because he woke to unfamiliar surroundings and Kierra gently calling his name. She let him know that Elwyn had not yet left Kren and had decided to wait another day before she left the village. She wasn’t sure how they were all doing, but knew that Keroc was still alive, since she could sense her connection to him. For some reason, Kierra seemed extremely worried about all of them. She either had no details or chose not to share any details with him as to why. She just told him that she hoped he would be able to reach Kren in time to prevent Elwyn from entering Wheryn. Kierra also mentioned that all her efforts to contact Elwyn directly had failed and she was beginning to think that there was something about the land or the village that was causing the communication problems.

  She added that the last time she communicated with the drakenhawks she sent to help protect Elwyn; they reported that they were on their way around the eastern edge of Wheryn and would not be able to reach Kren until sometime the next day. Since then, she had been unable to reach them as well. One of her biggest concerns was that Ayron would reach Kren and not be able to figure out what had happened. She wanted to communicate what she knew to him and warn him, because she was certain that when he reached Kren, she would also lose the ability to contact him.

  Ayron was having a great deal of difficulty assessing his position relative to Kren. He knew that he was traveling east skirting the edge of Wheryn, but had no idea how far he’d come or how far he had to go.

  “Kierra, I honestly have no idea exactly how far I am from the village so it’s difficult for me to assess how much longer I have to travel to reach her. I have to believe that I have at least eight or ten more hours of hard riding to get there though. Since it is already late in the afternoon, it will probably be very late tonight or early tomorrow morning before I arrive. If my timing is correct and she does wait until tomorrow to leave Kren, I should be there in time to stop her from entering Wheryn.”

  “I know you will do your best to reach her before she leaves, Ayron. Please remember to take care of yourself and not behave recklessly in your efforts to reach her. You will do Elwyn no good if you become ill or are so exhausted you cannot provide her with the guidance and support she’ll need from you.”

  “That is wise counsel and I will make every effort to heed your words. Kierra, I know how difficult it is for you to remain connected with me at such a long distance, but I would really appreciate your staying in my mind as long as you can, so that you will know as much as I do about the situation in case you need to contact someone else. Until we are forced to break contact, I will let you know everything I see when I enter Kren. If you have not heard from any of us in the next two days, I would ask that you find a way to communicate what has happened to Azavon. He may be able to rescue Elwyn if for some reason I cannot.”

  “I will do as you ask and ma
intain a link with you as long as I can. Good luck Ayron. I have faith in you and wish you the best.”

  Ayron felt his link with Kierra recede, but not leave his mind altogether. He focused his attention on riding east again, making sure to allow Gerrack time to cool down, drink fresh water and graze for short periods of time as he rode. Even though he knew he was traveling quickly, time passed very slowly for Ayron. He grew wet and chilly as rain fell intermittently during the night. Ayron not only lost track of time, but riding in the darkness at the edge of the thick forest also caused him to lose track of direction as well. It was only Gerrack’s sharp eyesight and unfailing ability to keep to a trail that kept him from getting hopelessly lost.

  His spirits fell as dawn came and he still had seen no sign of the village. He nibbled on some jerky and drank some water as he rode. He checked in briefly with Kierra who had not heard anything from her drakenhawk warriors either. Unfortunately Ayron still had no idea how far away from Kren he was, so his only option was to keep riding east. At some point in the early afternoon, he began to see signs of tilled fields. He and Gerrack picked up speed and rode quickly through the fields. As he rode, he noticed that everything was overgrown and the crops hadn’t been harvested. Kierra confirmed his suspicions that he was getting close to Kren when she mentioned that it was getting harder to keep a link between them.

  As he continued riding toward the village the fields continued to look overgrown and unharvested. When he drew close enough to view the village itself, he was horrified. After everything that Elwyn had been through, he had sent her to a deserted village to fend for herself. Tremendous grief and sadness came over him at the hardships his young niece had been forced to endure over the past eight days. By following his lead, an innocent village maiden had been separated from the only family she had ever known. Since that time she’d to survive vicious attempts on her life, been forced to kill, had to nurse and bury a dying friend, had to try to save an injured drakenhawk, and endured both Kierra and Keroc entering and leaving her mind, without the proper training. In addition to this, she was informed that she had a deadly enemy trying to kill her, that she had another family living in another land, that she wasn’t entirely human, and would have to face learning about whole new culture. Having to endure all of that in eight days would have been enough to terrify most adults, and yet his young niece seemed to continue to persevere. Ayron and Kierra were both amazed that she’d found the courage to push on.

  Ayron quickly perused the village, noting where the morden had been grazing, and identifying the hut that Elwyn stayed in during the time she was here. Kierra was only just barely hanging on to his thoughts so he hurried into the hut, found the note Elwyn left for him on the drying rack and read it quickly to Kierra.

  “Dear Uncle, I have waited in this place for three days and have still not seen or heard anyone approach. There is something here that is not right, and I fear to linger longer. We are heading for Silvendil and hope that you will soon catch up to us. Gemma, Raffe, and Keroc are with me and are doing well. We have headed due north into the thick forest that lies outside the village. I hope that by taking this route that I will be easy to find and that I will reach Silvendil quickly.

  Fondly your niece,

  Elwyn”

  Ayron clutched the note tightly to his bosom. His niece, thinking it was the quickest route to Silvendil, had entered Wheryn. As tired as he was, he could not stop to rest for even a few moments. He bade farewell to Kierra, interrupted Gerrack from his grazing, mounted him, and after locating the small game trail Elwyn had taken, headed into the woods.

  Chapter 31 – The Stagnant Maze

  The air around Elwyn dropped several degrees as the little group wound their way through the trees in the forest. Elwyn pulled her cloak from her saddle bags and threw it around her to ward off the cold chill that began to cut through her light tunic. The sun, whose rays she could see far above the tall trees, did not venture deep enough to challenge the chilly air or provide much light. Very few of the normal woodland sounds were present and those that she detected seemed muffled and distant to her ears. Her progress was slow. Gemma and Raffe had to walk carefully so that they didn’t trip over the thick undergrowth, or the exposed tree roots that seemed to be reaching up as if to ensnare their legs.

  Elwyn reined in Gemma and Raffe as the wind shifted and the air around her changed abruptly from the fresh odor of new growth, to the stench of rotting vegetation. As she slowly moved forward along the small trail, she began to see early signs of a swamp. The ground became increasingly spongy. Rich green leaves and rusty brown tree trunks were invaded by washed out lichens and mosses of varying greens and yellows. As they traveled deeper into the forest, Elwyn noticed that the trees slowly lost their healthy aura, until they were little more than lifeless posts for the foul growth. She also noticed that the spongy ground became a black brackish liquid that oozed between the rocks and rotting logs. Elwyn dismounted and began to lead the morden. They moved slowly with Elwyn testing the water ahead of them for sinkholes or quicksand. As they continued north, the air around them seemed to grow thicker and heavier. As Elwyn looked up, large dark clouds seemed to descend threateningly upon her location creating an impenetrable mist. Rain started to fall, soaking her to the bone within seconds.

  After traveling across the dark, wet, foul smelling swamp waters for about an hour; Elwyn sensed something that felt evil touch her mind. It was reaching out of the vast swamp, attempting to draw her in. The danger was palatable. She could tell that Gemma and Raffe were feeling something similar by the way they shivered in fear and danced around her uneasily in the encroaching mist. They suddenly came to the edge of what seemed to be a deep lake. The waster was very dark and murky. Elwyn couldn’t see bottom, even near the shoreline. Just as she decided to turn to the east and skirt the deep water, she saw a ripple cutting through the inky stillness as something quickly approached where she stood. The sound of rushing water filled her ears as the ripple increased in size until a large black mass could be seen rising up out of the murky depths. As it drew near, she could only stare in horror. She felt frozen by fear; unable to move. Suddenly a shrill cry exploded in her ears. A large black drakenhawk suddenly appeared in front of her face, like a beacon warning her back. It was enough to bring her out of the fog and free her from the compelling urge to stay frozen in place. She saw five other drakenhawks dive at the large black shape in the swamp fiercely attacking the creature with sharp talons and snapping jaws. As the monstrous creature slowly receded back into the black swampy water, Elwyn quickly turned and began to retrace her steps. She froze again as a large dark shadow stepped out to block her passage.

  There standing in front of her was the largest cat she’d ever seen. He was a magnificent creature. She found herself fascinated and frightened at the same time as she stared into a pair of large yellow eyes that were level with her own. His fur was a variegated gray in color and his ears, easily the size of her hands, stood up straight with tufts of white hair at the base. Even though his mouth was closed, it didn’t hide his upper canines which were each about the size of her little finger. His legs rippled with muscle, and his paws, as large as her feet, had powerful claws that weren’t entirely retracted. His tail was about as long as his body and lay curled around his feet as he sat staring at her. The cat made no aggressive moves toward either her or the morden standing beside her. Elwyn felt a familiar tickle in her mind as the largest of the drakenhawks announced himself as Toruk, one of queen Kierra’s protectors.

  “The creature standing before you is a werecat and says he means you no harm. His name is Gral and he came upon you and the two morden while scouting this part of the swamp. He is aware of the monstrous creature that inhabits this lake and patrols this area frequently so that if it moves on to dry land, he can warn the other werecats in his pride. He wants you to know that he would have tried to protect you from the monstrous thing, had we not acted first.

  I would also like to ap
ologize for barging right into your head the way I did, but we found you just as the creature was about to attack, so there was no time for pleasantries. Our queen ordered us, above all else, to ensure your safety; with the protection of the rest of your companions to follow closely after that.”

  “I’m so grateful that you found me when you did,” Elwyn said hoarsely, her limbs still shaking. “I felt frozen and unable to move as that thing just kept getting closer. By the way,” she said, starting to recover her equilibrium. “How do you know what that werecat is thinking?”

  It almost felt like Toruk was chuckling as she communicated her thoughts to him. It was a very unusual feeling.

  “Kierra did say that you were curious about everything, a bit like young Keroc. We are communicating with him just as we are communicating with you. Gral told us he used to belong to a pride of seventy werecats who lived and hunted in this land. That is about all we have learned about him and his people so far.

  Elwyn, Gral is requesting that we follow him to safety and to meet the leader of his pride. We sense no harm in his request, but we are only willing to follow him if you agree that we should.”

  Elwyn, still shaken from all that was going on around her, nervously agreed, knowing that the drakenhawks would never lead her into harm. “You might let Gral know that Ayron, my uncle will probably be following my trail, and may not be far behind me.”

  It was a strange looking group that made their way through Wheryn. The land they crossed varied; some of it was dry and filled with trees and marsh grass, while the rest was wet filled and with shallow swamps and deep dark pools of stagnant water. Elwyn did notice that the small pools of water they passed when they traveled through the dry land looked clear and safe to drink. While they traveled, Elwyn asked Toruk about his companions and the medicine they brought for Keroc. Toruk, the leader of the drakenhawk guard, introduced her to the five other drakenhawks, one at a time. There was Kamir, Nissl, Raski, Morn, and Filn who was a healer. Elwyn made sure to mentally greet each one of them so that they would know what her touch in their minds felt like. She discovered that they were all Kierra’s personal protectors and life-bonded to her alone and were not free to chose another companion. All six of them had eagerly volunteered for the positions, knowing that the safety of their queen was the most important post a drakenhawk could have. Toruk explained that, upon orders from their queen, their protection extended to her as well.