Elwyn was startled but pleased to sense Kierra’s presence in her mind.
“How are you, Elwyn? I understand that you have had another very difficult time and I am glad to hear you are safe. I was happy to hear that the potion we developed to combat the assassin’s poison was also effective for the werecat. Toruk filled me in about all your exploits and I am very proud of you. I would like to ask you to contact Gral and tell him that we will send some of the potion to the werecats as a gift for seeing to your safety while you were in Wheryn. Tell him to look for a pair of drakenhawks in about a week. They will each be carrying a supply of the medicine and will contact the werecats as soon as they cross the border into their land. I will contact you again soon, but first I need to speak with Ayron for a bit. He has a lot on his mind.”
With that, Kierra withdrew and Elwyn’s mind was quiet again. She thought about Gral and was soon able to sense his presence. She thought about what Kierra communicated to her so that he would be able to notify his pride. Elwyn could sense that Gral was very excited by the news. He was anxious to return to his pride and tell Madrigal about the medicine and the way she healed Dras with it. Many members of their pride had been lost over the past season or two from Salissian poison. Elwyn bid him farewell and wished them a safe journey home. As Elwyn felt his presence leave her mind, she realized just how tired she was. The adrenaline rush that hit her during the attack of the shadow squads and the crisis with Dras was wearing off. The thought of sleeping in a bed and taking a real bath again comforted her as she drifted off to sleep to the rhythm of Gemma’s hooves striking the hard ground.
Ayron was so relieved when Kierra contacted him that he almost shouted for joy. He spent some time filling her in on the problems he saw telling Azavon about his daughter’s existence. He expressed his great sorrow and concern that his niece seemed to be under attack at every turn. He also added that he didn’t want to add to that danger and was concerned that telling Azavon of her existence just might do that. The other issue that he discussed with Kierra was Elwyn’s incredible abilities. She seemed to excel at everything, far beyond the abilities of even an elf, and he had no explanation for it. He already knew that when Azavon saw her features, he would know something about her was different. If it hadn’t been for that mass of curly reddish gold hair and those deep violet eyes, he wasn’t sure that Azavon would believe him.
Ayron was grateful and excited that Kierra had some ideas about how to deal with both situations. Over the next two days as they camped and shared information, Kierra planned to also listen to what was said.
“I think that we may be able to fill in some of the missing information by examining Rhianna’s diary. So I suggest that you and Elwyn spend time each evening reviewing the information written in its pages. I will speak with Lady Silvenna to see if she has any explanation for Elwyn’s appearance and enhanced abilities. She spends much of her time nearby teaching the hatchling drakenhawks, so she is easily accessible.
I also recommended that we let Lady Silvenna speak with Azavon. She has more political savvy than most, and would know how to explain the danger in letting anyone know of Elwyn’s existence before she could be properly guarded in Findara.
Ayron agreed wholeheartedly, thought that Kierra’s ideas were wonderful, and felt strongly that they should follow her plan. He smiled and whispered his thanks as he felt Kierra leave his mind.
Feeling in a much better mood, he turned to speak to Elwyn only to discover that she was sound asleep. He had already made up his mind that the best thing they could do was to ride through the night. There was a small village about a day’s ride from where they were. If they could reach it sometime tomorrow, perhaps they could actually stay at an inn and rest for an evening. Ayron thought that, as long as they didn’t run into any more trouble, they would be able to reach Findara in about a week. He also hoped that, for Elwyn’s sake, that they could space their travel to find an inn at least every other day.
If they were going to stay at some of the inns in Silvendil, it was going to be important to hide her identity. There was a pretty good chance that they wouldn’t meet anyone who might question who she was. He often traveled with one or more of his soldiers accompanying him. Just to be sure, he would have her pull back her hair and wear a cap so that the people they met didn’t notice her strange hair color or her curls. He would also suggest to her that she avoid making direct eye contact. Those deep violet eyes were never seen outside of his family line, and they would be a dead giveaway if they were noticed by the right person. With that Ayron drifted off to sleep after asking Keroc and Gerrack to keep them traveling north.
Elwyn woke up as the sun was rising over the top of some distant hills. She noticed a small pond off to one side and woke Ayron to suggest that they stop for a brief rest. He agreed and while the morden ate the lush grass that grew around the edges of the pond, she and Ayron refreshed themselves, collected some wood, and started a small fire for tea. Ayron dug out some of the dried meat, dried fruit, and travel biscuits and the two ate in companionable silence while watching Keroc practice stretching his wings by flying up to perch on the low lying branches of some trees that were located close by the pond. Elwyn also contacted Toruk and instructed him to rotate the drakenhawks out to hunt while they traveled. When he growled at her in response, she added that they should try to stay within a few minutes of where the group was traveling in case of another attack.
After lunch, Ayron dug into his saddle bags and brought out a cap that he requested she wear. Elwyn had always tried to use her large masses of curly hair to hide her elven features. Now Ayron was asking her to do just the opposite. She had to try to hide her hair and her eyes, but not try to hide her pointed ears and slanted eyebrows. It was definitely a challenge for her, but she understood his reasons for asking and said that she would do as he requested. Having a conversation with Elwyn about changing her looks proved to be both difficult and sad for Ayron. Elwyn came from an environment where her elven feature were not accepted and felt she had to hide them, and now, he was asking her to hide the only features that linked her to her human mother as well as her elven father. Ayron would be happy and relieved when this deception was at an end and his niece could embrace her dual heritage. That was the basis upon which Silvendil had been founded. It seems to him that his people had somehow wandered far from the path.
As soon as Elwyn donned her disguise, they set off again. They rode throughout the afternoon, only stopping for short periods to let their mounts rest. As dusk approached, they spotted some cultivated fields and knew they were approaching the small village of Elbran. It was dark when they rode into the center of town. The people seemed kind, and they were quickly directed to the stable and from there given directions to a small inn. The stablemaster agreed to look after the morden for the evening; promising to feed and groom them. Then, Ayron got them two rooms at the inn. After they were settled into their rooms, they met in the dining hall for dinner. Ayron was glad to see that it was a very busy place. He explained to her that it probably meant they served good food.
Shortly after they were seated at a table near the far corner of the room, the innkeeper brought them a hearty stew, a large loaf of freshly baked bread, and a flagon of hot spiced cider. Both Elwyn and Ayron ate and drank until they were beyond full. Feeling stuffed, they decided to walk off some of their meal by walking over to the stable and checking on the morden. Then they returned to their rooms, both looking forward to a well deserved rest in a comfortable bed. Before retiring, Ayron asked the innkeeper to have some hot water brought up to their rooms. He was pretty sure that Elwyn would enjoy soaking in a hot tub almost as much as he would. Giving her a quick hug, Ayron bade her good-night, and asked her to meet him in the dining hall for breakfast.
While soaking in the tub, Elwyn checked in with Toruk who was waiting outside the village in some woods directly to the north. She let him know that they were safe and would be traveling north again in the morning. She also tol
d him that all the drakenhawks should use the time when she and Ayron were safe from attack in the village to hunt. Then she finished her bath, dried her freshly washed hair by the small fireplace in her room, climbed into the big soft bed, and fell soundly to sleep.
Chapter 37 – The Royal Family
Elwyn woke the next morning to a sharp rap on her door and the sound of her uncle wishing her a good morning, and pronouncing that breakfast was down in the dining room waiting. She yawned and definitely felt reluctant to leave the warm cozy bed, but told him she would be dressed, packed, and down to breakfast in five minutes. As she jumped up from the soft warm bed, Elwyn was very happy she’d thought to pack her belongings into her saddle bags before she fell asleep. She’d pulled her hair back into a tight braid after her bath while it was still drying, so she quickly washed her face, jumped into her woodland gear, pulled on her cap, and hurried down to meet Ayron for breakfast.
For the first time since they met, her uncle seemed to be in a really good mood. Granted most of their time together had been in the middle of one crisis or another, but he always seemed weighed down about this or that. Elwyn was beginning to wonder if he was always that way, and was pleased to see that this morning, he seemed downright jovial and relaxed. He had perched Keroc on the table next to him and was feeding him pieces of ham from his own platter. Keroc had not yet healed enough to hunt on his own and Ayron was using the opportunity to draw closer to his little drakenhawk. As Elwyn took a seat across from him, the innkeeper rushed over and put a large platter down on the table before her. It was full of fresh eggs, thick ham slices, savory sausage links, and piled high with biscuits. These were not the type biscuits they ate on the road, but big fluffy tender biscuits that could be eaten with either a heaping helping of butter or dripping with honey from the large jug that sat on the table before her. There was also a large pitcher of hot tea and two mugs sitting in front of her.
“I must say that I am shocked at how generous these people are with their food and hospitality,” Elwyn commented as she stuffed a large piece of biscuit dripping with honey into her mouth. “If I ate like this on a regular basis, I would grow as large as Gemma.”
“Well to be truthful, they know who I am here and treat me and anyone that travels with me as well as they possibly can. That, and the way they try not to draw attention to us, is their way of thanking the military for providing them with safety and protection when it is needed,” he said while feeding another strip of meat to Keroc. “But I have to say that this is one of the nicer inns in this area. The innkeeper is very hospitable and his wife is an excellent cook,” he added, as he bent his head over his platter and continued eating.
After breakfast, Ayron and Elwyn said their thanks and farewells to the innkeeper and his wife and went to the stable to get the morden, who were, coincidentally, also finishing their breakfast. They had been groomed until their coats were sleek, smooth, and so shiny they gleamed. Their manes and tails were also combed and smelled fresh and clean. As Elwyn looked at the three of them, her breath caught in her throat. Having just spent the last two weeks with the morden under considerable stress, she’d almost forgotten just how incredibly beautiful they were. It was obvious that her uncle felt the same way because he thanked the stablemaster profusely and tipped him generously before they left the village continuing their journey. Elwyn caught sight of the six drakenhawks flying overhead, as soon as they were beyond the borders of the village. She wondered if they had seen or heard anything unusual during the night. Toruk assured her that they had searched the area surrounding the village while they hunted and sensed no threat in the shadows. Elwyn didn’t want to seem too optimistic, but she was hoping that the assassins would be too nervous to come any further into Silvendil than they had. From her uncle’s description of the Salissians, they seemed like a people who wouldn’t want to incur a political incident. They appeared to enjoy using stealth, cunning, and treachery to achieve their purposes and not open conflict. Elwyn then conveyed Toruk’s report to Ayron, who also seemed pleased at the news.
As they rode through the grassy meadows and along the well maintained trails of Silvendil, Ayron began to talk about his family. He was honest with her about not knowing where his relatives stood when it came to Rhianna and her marriage to his brother. He couldn’t remember any of them stating objections to the proposed union, but added that elves often kept their feelings to themselves. Ayron felt that if he described each of his relatives to Elwyn, it might help her know the people she was going to meet when they reached Findara. The other reason Ayron had for talking about both his family members as well as the members of Azavon’s council, was to begin putting some pieces together about the mystery surrounding Rhianna’s disappearance and reported death. The plan they agreed upon was for Ayron to share what he knew during the day while they rode, and for Elwyn to read relevant information from her mother’s diary while they were camped in the evenings. Ayron was hoping that, by pulling together all the information they possessed, he would know how to better protect his niece. He also hoped that they might be able to identify a starting point to begin the investigation his brother would insist take place upon their return to Findara.
Ayron started the discussion by talking about his grandparents. His paternal grandparents were Lord Elrin and Lady Silvenna.
“Lady Silvenna is a true warrior queen, with the compassion of a healer. She has excelled in almost anything she has ever tackled, from archery to the nurturing and healing of the companions. She was the person who led the fair folk, as they used to be called, from the hostile environment of the Unknown Lands to settle in the land now known as Silvendil. She and Lord Elrin, along with thousands of fair folk, fought their way across the Punabi Desert and the Evinrode Mountains into this land. The last remnants of the drakenhawk civilization chose to come along with them on the journey. Unfortunately, my grandfather, Lord Elrin, died in one of the many battles they fought making their way to the Known Lands.”
Ayron went on to describe how Lady Silvenna carried on alone, working with the human population, who already lived in the area, to set up a government that was mutually supportive to all.
“The idea she had was that the two races would learn to live side by side and form a symbiotic relationship with each other. Occasionally they intermarried, but often just lived together in harmony. It worked very well. People were happy here and when the time came to name their land, the unanimous decision by both the human and fair folk was to call it Silvendil, in honor of Lady Silvenna.
Lady Silvenna was also instrumental in instigating the name change for their people from “fair folk” to “elves” because she wanted to make sure that no one interpreted their former name as giving one people group status over another. During the time that all this was going on, she also raised her son, Lord Elwin, to succeed her as the next ruler of Silvendil.
These days her focus is in helping the drakenhawk civilization. She has worked hard to set up an environment that would be suitable and pleasing to the drakenhawks and spends much of her time there. He added with a chuckle that the family was lucky if they ever saw her because drakenhawks were her passion and since she was no longer ruler, she was able to devote herself to them on a full time basis.
“The medicine that the drakenhawks brought to Keroc to cure him of the assassin’s poison was made by Lady Silvenna, with help from the drakenhawk healers,” Ayron said proudly.
“My goodness, your grandparents seem like truly heroic and compassionate people,” Elwyn said, very impressed by what she’d heard. “What of your other grandparents, Ayron?”
Ayron then went on to describe his other set of grandparents to her.
“Amrod, my maternal grandfather, came across the mountains with Lady Silvenna and Lord Elrin. He was instrumental in helping Lady Silvenna work out agreements between the humans and the elves so that they could live in peace together.
Amrod was also largely responsible for establishing the original governm
ent structure. During negotiations with the humans that lived in the area already, Amrod met, fell in love with, and married Miranda who was the daughter of a local farmer. They lived happily together until Miranda died of old age at eighty-seven. They had one daughter who was Lady Azriel, my mother.”
“So, if I understand it correctly, your father was an elf and your mother was half-elf,” Elwyn said thoughtfully.
“That’s correct,” said Ayron. “I always thought that it didn’t matter who was what, but it seems that there is some prejudice going on, in Findara that may have spread to all of Silvendil.”
Ayron then proceeded to tell her about his parents, Lord Elwin and Lady Azriel.
“My father, Lord Elwin, became the ruler of Silvendil as soon as he finished his education and physical training. He did this so that Lady Silvenna, whose passion was never to rule, could step down. My father fell in love with Lady Azriel the first moment he laid eyes on her. He was fascinated by how different the two of them were in appearance, even though they had some common ancestry. My grandfather had dark hair, pale skin, and deep violet eyes much like your father and I do, while Lady Azriel had pale blonde hair, rosy skin, and dark brown eyes. He always loved her soft and gentle look, although my mother has proven herself able to contend with the most complex and difficult political situations.
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