The Avatar's Flames (Through the Fire Book 1)

by Benjamin Medrano

  Once upon a time, there were five great elven clans, each with their own ruling family; Antar, Emris, Illisyr, Kortak, and Sylvan. Each clan was said to have been created by one of the goddesses of Nature’s Court, with the chosen of the Queen being clan Antar. The majority of elves in modern times were primarily descended of Sylvan, Ruethwyn knew, but the clans had all mingled over the millennia, all but the Illisyr.

  When the rulers of clan Antar had vanished, the Illisyr had attempted to take their place at the head of the royal houses. The resulting war was often called the War of Supremacy, and the combined forces of Kortak and Sylvan had barely defeated the Illisyr, who’d then been exiled into the Thorned Wood for their crimes. The Illisyr had spat on the kindness of not simply executing them outright and had declared themselves no longer one of the elven clans before entering the Thorned Wood of their own volition, vanishing into its depths without a trace. That was when the details of the book grew speculative at best, Ruethwyn found. Perhaps there was some truth to the author’s claim that the Illisyr had made demonic pacts to survive, considering Essryl’s demonic features, but since the clan had been assumed destroyed at the time, it wasn’t as though he had any proof.

  Ruethwyn finally set the book aside with a sigh, shaking her head. She’d hoped to glean information on how Essryl had healed her to begin with from the tome, but that appeared to be a lost cause. The dark elf had indicated that healing could be done, but she hadn’t given Ruethwyn any clues to work off of.

  “Or did she?” Ruethwyn murmured, considering the possibilities as she sat back in her chair, thinking. “Other allies, was it?”

  She was sitting in one of the back corners of the library, the close stacks and musty smell of books oddly comforting. Most other students didn’t come back here, which also gave her some privacy that she appreciated, especially since Madeline hadn’t stopped sniping at Ruethwyn with every chance she had.

  A shuffle of footsteps came closer, and Ruethwyn blinked, hearing what almost sounded like sniffing. A moment later, Korima came around the corner, her chin inclined to sniff the air more easily, then the kitsune lowered her head, smiling broadly as she exclaimed. “Rue, there you are! Were you trying to hide or something? This is pretty far back.”

  “Calmly, Korima. We’re in a library,” Ruethwyn scolded gently, shaking her head at the overeager woman. “I’m not hiding, I’m simply picking a spot without much traffic into it. It makes concentrating easier.”

  “Oh! That’s an interesting idea… maybe I should try it. I just get so distracted when other people come into the room…” Korima said, looking slightly speculative as she ran her fingers through her hair. “I’m making progress in class, but not as much as I’d like to.”

  “You’re doing well. Better than Lissa, as far as I can tell,” Ruethwyn replied, considering the kitsune for a moment before asking, her voice softer than it had been, “I can’t imagine you came to see me for no reason, Korima. You tend to get along with Barthel, Tadrick, and Sella more than with me. Was there a reason you came looking for me?”

  “Right! There was a person here to see you, and one of the teachers asked if I knew where you were. I remembered catching your scent in here and decided to come find you,” Korima explained quickly. “The teacher said that he was Sir Alaran, or something like that.”

  “Sir Alaran? He’s back, then?” Ruethwyn asked, sitting upright quickly. “He’s the knight I met with before, Korima, back when you were learning to condense mana.”

  “Okay, that explains it. Yeah, he’s waiting in one of the meeting rooms in the north wing,” Korima said, relaxing a little as she smiled broadly. “I was wondering if you were in trouble or something. I didn’t want that.”

  “No, but I should go meet with him. I’ve been a bit…” Ruethwyn paused as she pushed herself upright, then swayed in place as the blood rushed out of her head. She took a moment to steady herself before explaining. “I just was worried. I gave him a token from one of the people who was kidnapped from Mellesyn, and maybe he has news about them.”

  She deliberately was keeping Essryl’s visit to herself. She’d probably share with the captain, but Ruethwyn didn’t want to risk upsetting Essryl and getting lots of people killed. One thing the book she’d read had been quite clear on was that Illisyr were almost universally dangerous, with even the least skilled among them being equal to a trained soldier of other realms. It was the only way they could survive in the Thorned Wood.

  “Oh! I hope it’s good news, then!” Korima exclaimed, her smile bright. Then it faded as she continued, with her ears drooping slightly. “I can’t imagine… what it must’ve been like. I’m sorry, I just… sometimes I start talking without thinking, and I don’t realize how you must feel about things. If I lost my entire family back home, I have no idea how much that’d hurt. I also didn’t think about how being burned must have made you feel about fire. I’ve been meaning to apologize, but it never seemed like I thought about it at a good time.”

  Ruethwyn paused, looking at Korima with a bit of surprise. The woman’s contrition was obvious, and Ruethwyn couldn’t help a slight smile. Korima always gave her mixed feelings, but it was obvious that the kitsune didn’t mean to hurt anyone. She was simply enthusiastic, and quick to speak her mind.

  “It’s alright, Korima. I won’t say that it doesn’t hurt at times, because not a day goes by where I don’t wish that I could wake up and that everything that happened was a dream… but I don’t blame you,” Ruethwyn said, watching Korima’s expression grow less unhappy as she explained. “Just try to hold back a little, please? It isn’t easy for me.”

  “I’ll try. Thank you for not being upset. Now, um, shall we? That knight should be waiting for you,” Korima said, looking relieved and a bit nervous. “I just… I got sidetracked.”

  “Of course,” Ruethwyn agreed and followed Korima as they began heading out of the library. Hopefully the librarians wouldn’t come across the book on the table before Ruethwyn got back, as she’d hate to give them more work.

  Sella and Tadrick were at a table with Dana and Delvin, Ruethwyn noticed, and Tadrick looked up to see them as Ruethwyn headed for the door. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before waving at Ruethwyn, and she gave him a gentle wave in return as she followed Korima from the library.

  It wasn’t far to the north wing, and Ruethwyn heard faint sounds through the doors of the chapel to the Queen. A part of her wondered what had happened to the royalty of clan Antar, considering that the book had said they vanished, not that they’d died out. Most of Selwyn didn’t have a close link to clan Antar, so it wasn’t something she really worried about, but since their patron had been the Queen…

  Ruethwyn shrugged the thought off, instead continuing onward. A mystery that hadn’t been solved for millennia wasn’t something of use to Ruethwyn, and she had more important things to do. A minute later, Korima stopped in front of a door and spoke brightly. “Here we are! Do you want me to wait for you or anything?”

  “Thank you, Korima, but no. Is there any chance you could go keep an eye on my books, though? I’d rather they weren’t put away while I’m in the meeting,” Ruethwyn asked, smiling again at the kitsune. “Thank you for coming to get me.”

  “Of course! I’ll go grab them and sit with the others, actually. Come sit with us afterward? I still think you need to be more sociable. It’s good for you,” Korima said, then darted off before Ruethwyn could reply.

  Ruethwyn shook her head, then knocked on the door. A moment later, Alaran’s voice replied. “Come in.”

  Opening the door, Ruethwyn stepped inside and paused. Closing the door behind her, she spoke calmly. “Captain Whisperblade, I’m afraid you’ve looked better.”

  “I’ll agree with that, though I got off easy compared to you,” Alaran replied, smiling thinly. “Why don’t you take a seat? I doubt this will take long, but I’d rather you were comfortable.”

  Ruethwyn walked over to a chair and took a seat, studying Alara
n. The knight had a sealed cut on his forehead and cheek, and he wasn’t wearing armor this time, but loose clothing that exposed bandages on his arms and around his neck. The man looked ever so slightly haggard, but not too bad off as he sat on the other side of the low table between the chairs.

  “From the looks of things, I take it that you made a rescue attempt. I also suspect that it didn’t go as planned,” Ruethwyn said, still debating how to bring up Essryl’s visit.

  “That’d be a good summary of things. It went well, right up until we tried to break into one of the keeps,” Alaran replied, letting out a heavy sigh, his eyes haunted. “I lost everyone else, and your Illisyr threw me over the parapet.”

  “She’s not my Illisyr! I’m not sure she’s even the dragon’s, so much as her own,” Ruethwyn protested, shivering slightly.

  “I can believe that. Still, she came down afterward and confronted me. I wasn’t in good shape, I’m afraid,” Alaran said, pausing for a long moment. His tone was contrite as he continued. “I also feel the need to confess something. When we met before, I was quite skeptical about your claims. The idea of you attempting to fight her after you’d been injured as horribly as you were, and that she chose to help you because of it… I didn’t think that it was likely or possible. After meeting her, though? That pretty much eliminated my doubts. I have to say that she seems a touch obsessed with you, though. I truly don’t envy you, because I suspect she’s going to be keeping an eye on you in the future.”

  “Um, actually…” Ruethwyn hesitated for a moment, then admitted, “Essryl visited a few days ago. She ambushed me in my room, which is part of how I knew that your attempt had failed.”

  “She what?” Alaran exclaimed, sitting upright abruptly. “And no one’s dead? I’d think someone would’ve told me if someone had died!”

  “Fortunately, she warned me that if I called for help or tried to attack her again, she’d kill everyone in her path on the way out. I… believed her,” Ruethwyn said, swallowing and shaking her head. “It was a frightening visit. She didn’t tell me much; she was actually considering killing me, from what she said. She probably would’ve if she thought I’d given up.”

  “Dear gods. I’m sorry to hear that… well, I’m not sorry she left without hurting anyone, but that she could even get into the academy is bad enough as it is. I’m going to have to report to Her Majesty about it, though I imagine we won’t be able to do much.”

  “Um, that does bring up something else. Essryl… when she spoke to me, she said that I’d best find allies outside of Selwyn if I was to have a chance of rescuing the others,” Ruethwyn said, bracing herself as she asked, “Do you know why she said that?”

  “That… well, I shouldn’t be telling anyone about it, but if you already know that much…” Alaran paused, then asked, “Do you promise to keep this to yourself, Ruethwyn?”

  “Of course,” Ruethwyn said, his warning sending a chill down her spine.

  “Good. When Essryl confronted me at the bottom of the ravine, she was quite clear that Resvarygrath would ignore our attempt, but that if we tried again, it would invite retaliation. Full retaliation, as opposed to the minor raids that he considered the previous attacks,” Alaran said heavily, slumping back in his chair. “We’d have modest chances of victory if he did, mind you, at least with the numbers we have, but a full-scale war… I suspect any victory would be pyrrhic in nature, leaving our armies devastated and much of the kingdom in ruins. As much as I know Her Majesty would love to defeat Resvarygrath, I just can’t see her taking such a risk right now, not without an imminent threat.”

  “Oh,” Ruethwyn replied, her voice soft as she looked down, some of her hopes dying. She’d hoped that Essryl had been bluffing, but what Alaran said made sense.

  “I’m sorry, Ruethwyn. I wish I’d been able to rescue Anara and the others for you, but as it stands… I can’t do anything right now,” Alaran said, reaching into a pouch and pulling out the ring of hair that Ruethwyn had given him. He gently set it on the table as he added, “As such, I have to give this back to you.”

  Staring at the golden strands of hair, Ruethwyn tried to keep her hopes alive, swallowing before reaching out to take the ring. Turning it over in her fingers, it took Ruethwyn a few moments to speak, her voice husky as she fought back tears. “May I ask… do you know who might be willing to face him? I can’t give up, not now.”

  “I don’t know. His domain abuts against the northern steppes, but there’s nothing truly of note there. The only countries bordering the Golden Dominion are the Kingdom of Ovara and us, then there’re the Frostglades and the Thorned Wood. I suppose that the Illisyr might be willing to challenge him, but with Essryl serving him… I doubt it,” Alaran admitted, sighing heavily. “I wish I could help. Hells, if you come up with some way you think it can be managed, I will help, come the gates of the hells themselves! But for now, I just don’t know. I need to heal and see what I can do to salvage what we can.”

  “I see. Thank you for being honest with me, Captain Whisperblade,” Ruethwyn said, toying with the ring for only a few more moments before slipping it into her belt pouch. “And… thank you for trying. I’m sorry about all the others who went with you.”

  “They knew the risks, and I’m sorrier than I can say that I didn’t succeed. Good luck to you, Ruethwyn,” the knight replied, then smiled as he said, “Also, in the future? Call me Alaran. I think you’ve earned that much.”

  “As you say,” Ruethwyn conceded, bowing her head and stepping out.

  Ruethwyn wasn’t in the mood to go back to studying, but Korima was waiting for her, and anything would be better than stewing over a problem she couldn’t solve. So Ruethwyn started back down the hall toward the library.

  Halfway there, she paused, just outside the doors of the temple. Blinking, Ruethwyn’s eyes narrowed as she murmured. “Wait… the Frostglades? What about Valisair?”

  After a moment, she continued onward, now thoughtful. Ruethwyn didn’t know much about the fair folk, just the bits she’d heard in passing from Sinera. She’d have to do some research, but it was a possibility, which was more than she’d had a moment before.

  Chapter 14

  Despite the unusual events of her first few weeks in the academy, Ruethwyn slowly found herself settling in and relaxing slightly. The classes with Master Mara rarely had any information which was new to her, but at times, going over the basics was useful. Ruethwyn generally spent much of the classes working on diagrams for enchanted items, which she could use more easily than spells.

  Aside from a single time when an inopportune gust of wind from her blind side had knocked her into the bushes, Ruethwyn had adapted to her injuries relatively well. Ruethwyn suspected the particular incident had been Madeline, but it had taken her so long to extract herself from the bush that she couldn’t be certain. If she managed to find a way to heal her arm, Ruethwyn was never going to take having two hands for granted again.

  That didn’t mean her days were completely uneventful, though. Little by little, she’d found herself drawn into an odd sort of social circle composed of Korima, Sella, and Tadrick. Mostly, she’d been dragged into it by Korima, honestly, and a few others occasionally associated with them.

  Madeline and Yalline avoided their group, Ruethwyn noticed gratefully, preferring to associate with Barthel, Dana, and Delvin. The odd one out in their class was Lissa, who only seemed to retreat deeper into her shell when Korima tried to do the same thing she had with Ruethwyn. It was understandable to Ruethwyn, especially when Korima got odd thoughts in her head and wouldn’t let go.

  “You want to get new clothing? Why?” Ruethwyn asked, glancing down at Korima’s blouse and trousers before continuing. “Your clothes look perfectly fine to me; I don’t see why you’d need new ones.”

  “No, no, I don’t want clothing for me. I want to get new clothes for you and Sella,” the kitsune corrected quickly, her eyes shining brightly. “Aside from Lissa, you two have the least impressive cloth
ing in the class, and it’d be good for you!”

  “Why does that matter?” Ruethwyn asked, sitting back in her chair as she set down her mug of water. She didn’t understand why Korima wanted to get her clothing, after all. “I like my clothing, and almost nothing will make me look good.”

  Sella looked down at her own robes, then at Tadrick as she asked plaintively, “Are my robes really that bad? I brought my best clothing when I came here.”

  As Korima opened her mouth, Tadrick spoke, looking a little uncomfortable. “Um, well, they are a little plain for the academy. I suppose since a lot of the students are nobles, it can be a bit different, though… they often expect people to dress up.”

  “It isn’t just that. The academy has a reputation for raising amazing magi! If we’re going to be going to school here, shouldn’t we look the part?” Korima added gamely, but something about the look in her eyes made Ruethwyn suspicious, and the flicking of her ears didn’t help the kitsune’s case.

  “What’s the real reason, Korima? It isn’t just that you want to have an excuse to go shopping, is it?” Ruethwyn asked calmly, smiling slightly as she added, “Besides, the last thing I need is to go to a tailor or dressmaker. It simply isn’t necessary, unless I need something like a court gown, and you’d need to drag me into something like that.”

  “I… I don’t have any special reason,” Korima said defensively, but her tone drew the attention of the other two, as well as their suspicion.

  “Come on, tell us,” Tadrick said, playing with his spoon, then taking another sip of the broth from his stew.

  “F-fine! Umm, you know that a lot of kitsune are performers, right? Since a lot of us are illusionists and shapechangers,” Korima asked, shifting in place.

  “Of course. They never came up to Waterstone, but I heard about them before, especially the one traveling troupe, the Starlight Troupe,” Sella said, smiling more widely as she admitted, “I’ve wanted to see them perform before, but they only go to major cities.”