by Mike Ezekiel
Turning on his heel, he left the room calling out for all the staff to gather in the main banquet hall for a meeting. Once all were assembled, he told them that Druantia was dead and that Master Kerwyn was the new Guardian for the Tree of Life’s acorn. He told them that he needed everyone to pledge themselves to Master Kerwyn and do as he commands. Pan also told them that everyone would be out of a job and homeless at the end of the month as the old Tree of Life was dying and it would become uninhabitable. The cries and tears that were shed showed just how much these people had loved Druantia. Everyone outside the three had thought she had been some old mean witch when she really was a very kind old Guardian of the Tree of Life who had been forgotten in time.
As everyone regained composure and came to deal with the news they had all been just told, each creature that was part of the staff of the Tree of Life pledged themselves to Kerwyn and promised that if he had the Tree of Life reborn, they would be back to serve him. Even the dirty old harpy came to them and pledged herself to Kerwyn. She explained that the witch had taken her in after a bad storm made her fall from the sky and break a wing. The witch healed her when everyone else would have left her to die or, worse, killed her. All the creatures that worked for the witch ended up having their life extended and they all felt that it was because the Tree of Life regenerated them every night when they slept. To sleep in one of the bedrooms in the Tree of Life is like having the best sleep of your life plus a vacation all in one. You wake up completely refreshed and ready for the day.
Once all the pledges and introductions were made, the staff ran off to get food and to get the bedrooms ready for their guests. Even the Cyclopes had rooms that were big enough for them to stay in and in each room there was a huge hot water tub that they could even take a bath in. Celie made good use of her tub. She was like a fish and once she got in she didn’t want to get out. By the time she finally did drag herself out of the tub; her skin was all wrinkly from being in the water too long.
Also, in each of the chambers there was the same perfection that was throughout the tree. Kerwyn decided to walk around and explore the incredibly well stocked kitchens and pantries with Durin. The dwarf was always ready to taste test anything that any of the cooks wanted him to taste. There was even one cook who was a female dwarf named Ardwinna and she thought that Durin looked handsome without a beard. She said that most dwarven males rated their masculinity by how much facial hair they could grow and even Kerwyn had to laugh when Ardwinna said the dwarven females did the same thing. When a dominant male dwarf met up with a dominant female dwarf there was always bound to be a lot of hair and bushy beards involved. Ardwinna said she left the dwarf kingdom for the same reason Durin had: she didn’t have a big bushy beard either. The only difference between her and Durin’s family was that her family were just blacksmiths and not royalty like Durin’s. Still, they had been embarrassed by her lack of womanly facial hair. Durin and Ardwinna were hitting it off pretty good so Kerwyn decided to leave Durin there and go back to his room for a bath and an early night’s sleep.
On his way back to his room he stopped in on Master Sernett just to see if he was ok from the day’s events.
“Master, it’s me, Kerwyn,” Kerwyn said as he stepped into his master’s bedroom making sure to knock before entering. The room was L shaped and he heard muffled voices from the other side of the room. Because of the room’s shape, he needed to turn a corner to see who was there. At first Kerwyn couldn’t see who the other speaker was but after rounding the corner, he saw Pan sitting with Master Sernett having tea and cookies.
“Come in, Kerwyn. We were just talking about you,” said Master Sernett.
“Yes, please Master, please come in take my chair. I will stand,” Pan said, jumping up offering Kerwyn his chair.
“Nonsense,” said Master Sernett, “Kerwyn, would you mind grabbing another chair form the other room and bring it in?” Master Sernett asked.
“No, no, no. I will get the chair for you, Master Kerwyn. Please take my chair while I get the spare chair from the other room.
“Please sit back down,” said Master Sernett to Pan in a voice that said do as I tell you, and don’t argue with me. Kerwyn chuckled as he had heard Master Sernett’s tone used with him many times. Thinking back, it seemed almost like another lifetime ago now.
“Not at all, Master, although I won’t stay long as I am tired and I am still having a bit of a problem wrapping my mind around all that has happened today. I still can’t believe that Druantia is gone and she left me the acorn from the Tree of Life,” Kerwyn said as he went into the other room to grab the extra chair. Pan still looked like a deer caught grazing on someone’s flowers and looked as though he wanted to sprint from Master Sernett’s room as fast as he could.
“Kerwyn, it has been a tough day for all of us. Pan here was just telling me about the first time he met Druantia. He was just a young satyr at the time. Pan said that he was out frolicking in the clearing just outside this majestic tree and Druantia came outside, pointed a finger at him and said, ‘you come here; I need some help as I am starting to feel weak, and you look like you are full of energy. You will now be my main caretaker until the time a young wizard shows up with two different coloured eyes, one will be bright ice blue, and the other will be black as midnight, each will have a glow all their own. I instruct that you shall bring them to my room as soon as they are within the clearing’,” Master Sernett said reciting the story that Pan had told him.
“Yes, Master Kerwyn, when we were told that there were two wizards on the path coming here I knew that it was you. Master Druantia’s health had been failing much faster and I was worried that she would pass before you showed up. After the harpy came and told Druantia the story of the wizards, she regained some of her life back, almost like she had saved this burst of energy just to be able to speak to you, Master Kerwyn,” said Pan.
“Pan, why do you insist on calling me Master Kerwyn?” he asked, “I am not a master. I am just an apprentice. Master Sernett is the Master Wizard, not me.”
“Ah, Master Kerwyn. I call you Master for a different reason. You hold the future of the entire world and all life of Alberic in your pocket. You are my master because Druantia chose you to be her replacement as Guardian over the Tree of Life. The honour of Master goes with that. I serve the Tree of Life now and always, and he or she that is the Guardian of the Tree of Life is, and will always be, my master too. I live to serve because life is important and without the Tree of Life, everything will fall to evil and wither away to death. So it is with the greatest of respect that I call you my master and Creator of Life; the one that will give birth to the new Tree of Life,” Pan fell quiet after that last burst of conversation, wondering if he said too much and had offended Master Kerwyn.
“Pan, what if Druantia was wrong and I am not the one she was waiting for? Or what if I am not ready to be this person that everyone wants me to be?
What if I fail, or worse, mess it up so that things can’t be fixed? I have been entrusted with something so important to the world. I don’t think that I am strong enough to do this task,” Kerwyn said, his head downcast and almost at the brink of tears.
Pan stood up and crossed the space to Kerwyn’s chair, placed his hand on his shoulder and said in a very serious and gentle voice, “Master Druantia didn’t make mistakes and she did not choose wrong. The Tree of Life responded to your coming and produced an acorn. If you were able to fool Druantia, know that it is impossible to fool the Tree of Life. Trust me, you are strong enough or the tree would never have chosen you. It only has one acorn and it allowed Druantia to give it to you. Trust in the Tree of Life, as it trusts in you.
Anyway Masters, I find I am tired myself and would like to head off to bed. I bid you both a goodnight and I will see you in the morning at breakfast.”
With that Pan picked up his chair and returned it to the other room. He walked out the door, leaving Kerwyn and his Master sitting there in silence while they pondered the
dilemma they were both in.
“Master,” Kerwyn said about fifteen minutes later breaking the silence and shocking his master back to reality.
“Pan seems very sure that I was chosen for this adventure. How am I to know how and when to do whatever it is that I need to do with the Acorn? Do I just plant it in the ground, water it, and hope that it will grow? Or do I cast a spell and say grow big and watch it grow?” Kerwyn asked.
“Kerwyn, this is the Tree of Life. I have no idea and this tree has been around since the time of man first started. I am afraid there is no rulebook or instructions as to what to do. I hope you will know what to do when the time is right. Anyway, Kerwyn, let’s get some sleep. Go on to your bedroom and get some rest. Sleep would do us all some good,” Master Sernett sent Kerwyn off to bed, as he simply didn’t have the answers that Kerwyn was looking for. The only one old enough to know those answers would be the dragon, Fafnir, but would he be willing to tell Kerwyn what to do, and when the time would be to plant the acorn from the Tree of Life?
chapter ten
THE TREE OF LIFE CRUMBLES
Over the next few days the questions Kerwyn had diminished and he started to accept that things were as they were and that he didn’t have a lot of choice in the matter. He was either going to get the new Tree of Life reborn or he would die trying.
Looking out into the courtyard, he saw the Cyclopes practicing with their weapons. Celie was sparing off against her husband, Byamee, and neither one of them were pulling any punches. Kerwyn stood watching them behemoths in mock battle and it was very impressive and they were getting fancier and better everyday. When they first were learning how to use their weapons, it was mostly a slash and strike attack as though they were still swinging clubs. But now they were dogging and paring with counter attacks, spinning slash attacks and roundhouse kicks added to the mix. They were so perfectly matched with this style of fighting that, as a team, they would be deadly. The elves had taught all of them how to handle themselves in battle. Kerwyn was watching closer as he noticed that Byamee was really starting to push the battle; Celie was having trouble keeping up as Byamee’s speed doubled and now he was moving so fast that he was a blur of motion. Celie was backing up trying to stay clear of his blade and she was losing ground. Further and further back she moved but Byamee didn’t look like he was slowing down at all. Celie called out to stop the fight and Byamee took one last attack and knocked her blade from her hands and caught it before it hit the ground. Kerwyn just stood there mesmerized that a creature so big as a fifteen foot Cyclopes could move so fast. Byamee was smiling with a huge grin that said to his wife, ‘I win.’
Celie shook her head and said to Byamee, “I didn’t think you were going to stop that time. You were moving so fast that you almost cut me a few times and I was lucky that I was wearing my Elvin chain mail shirt today or you would have had a very mad wife indeed,” reaching out she took back her Elvin broad sword from her husband’s hand.
Byamee spun his giant Elvin scimitar with sweeping motions, spinning it end over end and sliding it into his back holder with just the handle sticking up over his head for quick reach. Celie preferred the traditional style of having her sword at her hip in its holder.
Byamee reached out and grabbed his wife. He pulled her close, giving her, a great big hug and kiss while whispering something into her ear. Celie punched Byamee in the shoulder and said, “Not now, Byamee, Kerwyn is watching. You are such a bad cyclops.” She said this with a huge smile and a mischievous twinkle in her eye and then said, “Later if you are a very good boy.” Giggling, she and Byamee walked arm in arm, back towards their room in the Tree of Life looking like they had enough sparing for today.
Kerwyn went looking for his other friends. He found Baldred over on the other side of the clearing, practicing with his bow and arrows. He was not only shooting from a stationary position like Kerwyn would have expected but Baldred was doing somersaults and different acrobatic moves while firing his big bow. He was doing flips and cartwheels all the while shooting his bow at the hardest part of a manoeuvre. Kerwyn was impressed that each time the bow went twang! There was an arrow quivering in one of the five targets that he had lined up to represent a troll.
Baldred caught sight of Kerwyn and called for him to come over and talk. Baldred was breathing quite heavily and the smell of his body was a little sharp. But Kerwyn didn’t comment on that fact as he only stood just six foot one whereas Baldred was just less than fifteen feet tall. Baldred was the shortest of the Cyclopes but being that tall you and big you wouldn’t really notice unless they were all standing shoulder to shoulder. Looking around Kerwyn asked Baldred where Elden and Durin were.
“Master Sernett, Elden and Durin have become very fast and good friends. Elden is helping Durin court the dwarf cook, Ardwinna. I think our little dwarf friend; has a crush on more then just her cooking,” laughing, Baldred thought that he had made a very clever joke. "Elden is there for moral support as Durin is still a little shy and he feels self conscious about not having any facial hair. Could you imagine being with a woman that would have had more facial hair then you did?
Now a cyclops woman has a fine coat of hair across her chest so a male cyclops can cuddle in at night time and get a good night’s sleep. The hairier her chest, the more popular she was with the males.”
Baldred started to laugh at Kerwyn’s facial expressions, “Ah, that’s right, Master Kerwyn likes a woman to be as bald as a newborn baby. You humans don’t know what you’re missing with a woman who has a hairy chest.”
Kerwyn started to gag at the thought of Erlina being all covered in think black hair. Changing the topic Kerwyn asked, “Baldred do you have a wife at home waiting for you?”
Baldred went deathly quiet and said, “No, Master Kerwyn, my wife died some four winters ago. It was a hard winter and she got really sick and she couldn’t get better even with our healer giving her medicines. No, Master Kerwyn, I am no longer married, and there is no one waiting from me back home. The only family I have left is Celie my sister.”
“Baldred, I didn’t know that Celie and you were kindred,” said Kerwyn.
“Oh yes, Master Kerwyn, and Elden is Byamee’s brother. Maybe you didn’t know that Elden was the runt of the litter, and that’s why he is so tall and lanky. Byamee got all the cyclops good looks and strength.
But Elden has surprised me, he has become a master with his spear and he is so funny and fun to be around. I never knew that Elden had such a good since of humour, and he loves that big silly hat he wears. I think he likes it because it makes him feel good. When we were at home you would hardly ever see Elden smile or laugh. It is good that he has made such a good friend as Durin. At home he is a loner and an outcast because he is so skinny for a cyclops. The women cyclopses all make fun of him and none want to have him share a bed at night so he can stay warm.”
“Hmmm, ok, let’s stop and not start that topic again,” Kerwyn said, laughing, “I know that cyclops women have hairy chests, I saw Celie remember?”
“Anyway Baldred I think I’ll let you get back to practicing. I am going to go to the kitchen and see how Durin is making out with Ardwinna. Talk to you later,” Kerwyn waved at Baldred as he left making his way to the kitchens.
Kerwyn turned the corner and entered the kitchen. There he saw Ardwinna, Durin and, towering over everyone, was Elden. Durin was sitting very close to Ardwinna and they were almost touching but there was just enough space between them to say they weren’t.
“Aye, Kerwyn. How are ye today? We was just sitting here with Ardwinna while she has a break. Elden has put in a special request in for a cyclops dish tonight for supper. It has three types of meat, wild boar, beef and venison where you keep stuffing the one into the other and cook it in a roaster with potatoes and turnips,” said Durin and Elden was nodding his head while licking his lips making the plume on top of his helmet bob back and forth like it was a tail of a peacock. Kerwyn had to smile at the thought of a giant peacock s
itting on top of a Cyclops’s head.
Elden thinking that Kerwyn was likening the idea of the dish said, “Kerwyn like meat, cyclops food good. Ardwinna really nice, she makes for me.”
Kerwyn thought that Elden seemed a little slower than usual and reasoned that it must have been because of that hit in the head by the troll a while back.
“Durin, how is your training coming along with the hammer? Baldred said that you were getting really good with it and that you, Elden, were really good with your spear. I would like to see the both of you using your weapons. I saw Byamee and Celie sparing today and it was amazing. Byamee has super speed; he was moving so fast that he became a blur of silver. Celie said that it was a good thing that she had on her Elvin chain mail or Byamee would have cut her as she was unable to keep up with his scimitar today while he was pressing his attack.
Then I saw Baldred practicing with his bow and he was doing some really cool tricks where he would do a somersault or a back flip and still hit the targets. It was really something to see.”
“We should get going, Ardwinna, as your break must be over by now, I’ll see you later,” Durin said to Ardwinna and just before moving away from her, their hands made contact for the briefest of moments. Smiling, Durin left the kitchen with Kerwyn and Elden.
“Did ye see that Elden? I touched her hand and she didn’t pull away. Maybe she does likes me?” wondered Durin.
“Of course she likes you,” said Kerwyn, “She was sitting so close to you I thought that she was going to fall into your lap at any moment.”
“Please don’t ye tease me, Master Kerwyn. I'd be heartbroken if I found out that she didn’t like me. Are you sure that ye thinks she likes me?” pressed Durin. He looked at Kerwyn for some sign that he was either teasing or that he really did think that Ardwinna did in fact like him.
“Oh Durin, I might not be the most romantic guy but even I can see that she thinks that you are one special dwarf. Trust me, she likes you,” said Kerwyn.
