Galan pulled on his boots and was shrugging into a shirt as he approached the only familiar face, Ranger Captain Elyon Ryden. Esta listened carefully and she could barely hear them at that distance.
Galan quirked an eyebrow, “Captain? What is all of this?”
The captain actually gave a formal bow to Galan. “We’re here to see the Arch Tzadi. I have an apology to make. These others each have their own business. “
Galan nodded. “Go light on that apology, she’s already going to be hard enough to live with.” He smiled broadly to show it was a joke. The Captain didn’t laugh.
Galan returned to the tent. He looked at Esta and shook his head bewildered, then just shrugged.
Esta knew her brother wouldn’t listen to her but Angvar didn’t want to risk making another mistake, she could talk him into it. “Angvar, Mother should be here if Sha is going to meet all of these people for who knows what purpose.”
Right on cue Galan responds, “She’s an adult now, and an Arch Tzadi, whatever that means but I think it means she probably doesn’t need Mamma to hold her hand anymore.”
Esta just gave Angvar the look, it was enough to overcome his reluctance. “I’ll saddle your horse too.” he said as he left the tent. She just smiled sweetly at Galan and he snorted and finished getting dressed.
Angvar helped her into the saddle, and she couldn’t help but think that for a friend of Galan, he was polite and helpful. Too bad Galan couldn’t learn that trick. She was just contemplating the general nuisance that is brothers, when she realized they were at her grandparents' house, but that the house was empty.
Esta came back to Angvar distraught. “Mamma and everyone was summoned to the Mayors Manor. They’ve been there since early this morning.”
Angvar shrugged, “Well the Mayor’s place is just across town. Let’s head that way.”
Esta was mounting up as she looked over at him. “We can’t just barge in.”
Angvar shrugged again. “We’ll talk to the guards. If they won’t be reasonable, then we’ll go back to Sha. She has a way of making people see reason.” He grinned at her.
Esta just rolled her eyes. She knew this wasn’t something they were just going to bluff their way through.
Local Celebrity
Sha was comfortably resting in Pavel’s dreams when Koloss rumbled. Damn it Galan says they have company. A lot of it. She woke Pavel, and they started to dress for whatever this new situation would bring. Pavel hesitated only a moment before deciding to shrug into at least the chain mail. Plates would be a bit much if combat wasn’t likely but being somewhat armored just in case seemed only prudent. Even in the shadow of Koloss.
Sha was frustrated none of her magical items would have had time to recharge if she needed them. She had only one remaining power stone with not much left in it and her own personal reserves. Still she didn’t expect a fight but this many people, well anything was possible.
She was surprised to see that Galan hadn’t been idle. He had set up a reasonable sun shade and even put tea on to boil. It wasn’t much, as hospitality was measured, but it wasn’t as if they had been expecting to entertain. Sha descended and took the seat Galan had thoughtfully provided, and as Pavel was taking up his place behind her, she looked to Galan who signaled he was just as clueless. She sighed, and he motioned for the first man in line Captain Ryden, to approach.
Sha didn’t really understand why it meant so much to her, but it did, the Ranger Captain’s apology was sincere as was his offer for any help he could provide. She had gained an ally almost by accident, and one of no small ability. She hadn’t recognized his clan, but Mother said it was large and well respected among the Rangers.
The others for the most part just wanted to meet the new Arch Tzadi. It seems that word of her testing had spread and they wanted to see the child prodigy. They were polite gawkers for the most part. She had one heckler who called it all a fraud. She created an alligator much like those in her test. She last saw him running for his life amid the taunts and jeers of his fellow townsmen. Pavel smiled, “Are you going to let it eat him, m’love?”
Sha shook her head. “No I’ve already canceled the spell. Still someone may want to check on him to be sure the gator didn’t get a bite or two of him first.” She smiled as one of the people standing nearby volunteered.
It surprised her when she saw the numbers not actually dwindling but growing. So when Esta and Angvar came riding back into camp as if their hair was on fire, she was duly alarmed. Galan met them as she kept up the show for the crowds that just kept increasing.
Homeward Bound
National Treasure
Esta dropped out of the saddle at close to a run. “Galan, pack up. Grandmother said to pack everything we could carry into Koloss and head straight for Beit Alon. She said all speed and no stopping to camp.”
Galan stopped. “What about Mamma?”
Angvar put his hand on her shoulder. “Relax, go talk to Pavel. I’ve got this.”
Esta looked relieved and dashed off to let Pavel know. Galan rounded on him, “What is going on?”
Angvar shook his head. “They’ve decided to declare Shadrea a national treasure or some such. Basically putting her in the biggest most gilded cage they can find.” Angvar watched Galan face move from incredulous to shocked amazement.
“Are they nuts?” He asked still shaking his head. “Don’t they know how she will respond to that?”
Angvar shook his head. “They think it is some great honor. Listen, we don’t have much time. This is the plan. We all load up in Koloss and make a run for Beit Alon. Sha hides, and creates the giant bat tonight and heads directly for Voivode’s Rest.” Angvar grinned, “That’s right buddy we’re the distraction. They don’t really want us, so even if they can catch us and with Koloss that is far from a certainty, they have no reason to hold us if Sha is already gone. Same goes for your mother. Besides, she already had them pissing their pants when she mentioned the human army that would come for her.” Angvar shrugged. “Sounds like a solid plan to me, but you’re the boss here. What do you say?”
Galan growled. “I don’t like leaving her behind but she’s right. They don’t want us or her, they want their hooks into Sha. Greater fools because of it too, don’t they know what a mess she would make making her displeasure known?” He shuddered. “Not to mention what Pappa and Echal would do?” It was a rhetorical question. It didn’t matter if they knew or not, this was his chance to help them not find out the hard way. “Ok, have Pavel wrap Sha up in a blanket and carry her behind Koloss, let her do her thing, and then wrap Esta in that same blanket and be seen carrying her into Koloss. Hurry about it, this needs to happen quick or they will be on us.”
Angvar went off to get things started, while Galan went to sell the plan to Sha.
Border Run
Pavel and Galan took turns directing Koloss, but it turned out that Elven cavalry had no better plan for what to do about a Koloss than human cavalry had the first time they faced it. This time team Koloss wasn’t slowing down to keep them in range to continue the game, this time it was an all out charge for the border.
Tzadi on wyvern back finally managed to overtake them. Koloss wasn’t up for six wyvern, at least not without severe damage. Damage that only Sha could heal. The Tzadi were very polite, considering that they were stopping the party. Well, until they found out that they had been duped and that Shadrea was already gone, and likely back to the King in Voivode’s Rest.
Galan grinned up at the aged Tzadi with the red stripe in her hair. “Be glad it worked out this way. This is your chance to release us, do what it right, and avoid my father and brother descending on this place like a pestilence.”
The Tzadi were angry to have been distracted from their goal so easily, but orders were to convince the Arch Tzadi to return. Not start a war with the humans. As quickly as they had arrived, they were gone.
Galan shrugged and put Koloss into a long-legged lope toward the border. Beit Alo
n was reached late on the second day. Pavel received word shortly there after that Sha was safe and in the capital.
They spent the next two days shopping for gifts for those back home and telling their stories in the pub. Pavel was on edge wanting to get back to Sha but she was safe and didn’t want him to leave without waiting for Feylynn to catch up.
Esta was looking at a pair of hair combs that the local tanner’s son had made from the wyvern bones. She wouldn’t wear them but she thought maybe they would make a good gift for Sara. She was missing Sara. When they were back home, she still hadn’t quite gotten used to this being home yet, Sara had been her friend and confidant. Almost like having a big sister. She wished she could talk to Sara about Ivor. Still she put the combs down and decided on fine wyvern skin belt for Ivor.
Galan picked up the combs and added them to his small pile. “Those will look good on you Galan.” Esta teased him.
Galan shrugged. “I figure I’ll need a gift eventually, and since these were made from my wyvern...”
Esta giggled. “Planning ahead. You’re starting to sound like Echal.”
Pavel grunted, “Planning ahead is what saved your sister. Maybe you should think more about it.”
Esta made a face, “Plan for what? Mamma is going to keep me home until I’m old and gray. She thinks I’m a baby just because an elven child would still be a baby.”
Galan grinned. “Yeah, we’re not making it easy on her, especially after Sha. Still, it won’t be as bad as you think. Maybe we can come up with an excuse for you to stay in Voivode’s Rest for an extra couple of weeks. Angvar wouldn’t mind staying a bit longer and escorting you home.”
Angvar just grinned. His gifts were smaller, he didn’t have the same budget that Duke Mirron’s children had, yet he still made sure the Elven silk under dress he bought for Sophia was packed before their mad dash from the Elven lands.
Comparing Notes
It felt a little weird having a midnight snack with the King of NoVas in his private study, but Sha realized that if she was going to keep looking into things like this, she would need help. Harder, despite the younger body he wore now, was older than her Elven grandfather, and like Eber Hawthorn, Harder would be around for a long time to come.
“So that’s what Eber Hawthorn said, I don’t know if it means anything to you or not?” She watched him for any sign that he knew more than he was telling.
Harder just let out a long sigh and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “I had always suspected that the Elven ‘deal’ was a bit too good to be true. Death and time don’t like to be cheated, and the price is often more than it is worth.” She could see the strain of him remembering all the time isolated in the red tower. “Still it was old when I was young. I don’t know how to help you with it.” He yawned. “Sorry, this body still needs sleep and don’t let anyone fool you, a king’s days are long.”
“I can let you sleep if you need it. I’ll still probably be here for at least a week until the others catch up.” She knew about exhaustion. She may not need sleep but she had been pushed to her limits in the testing and she just really wanted a week curled up with Pavel and no demands placed on either of them.
“I’ll need it soon. This is important though and thank you for including me. In a very odd way, we are family. I didn’t realize how much my views of that would change when your brother first proposed it.” She could hear the honest surprise in his voice.
“It may have been the spells, or more likely it was just a reconnection with humanity after so many years of hurt and loss, or who knows maybe a combination of factors. Any way that it happened, I am happy to call you family.”
He smiled. “Not many get to hear that from an elven Arch Tzadi.” he teased.
She sighed. “I don’t know how long it is going to take me to adjust my thinking to that. This red stripe in my hair, at all odds with my youth, will cause me all sorts of indignation I’m sure. Still it was good to watch their smug faces melt into shock as the reality set in for them.” She was grinning wickedly now.
Harder barked a laugh. “I’m sure it was. All joking aside, what is next for you?”
She shrugged. “I’m needed at the Red Spire soon, as a new family member is due.” She enjoyed Harder’s smile at that comment. It was hard for her to reconcile this charming man across from her with the terror of the history books. Yet as Echal said, had she been where he was, she may have behaved no better. “After that, Pavel and I may take some time for independent study.”
“Ah, is that what they are calling it these days?”
She flushed slightly. “Funny, that too. All this running around has really cut in to my alone time with him, and he’s been so understanding. We deserve some time together, too.”
“True.”
“Same for Mother and the Duke. I think she’s got some idea that she’s going to try to reconstruct the information from the Green Spire. It should be a quiet pursuit that leaves her plenty of time to spend running Galan and Esta’s lives.”
He smiled again. “And leave yours alone?” She just nodded trying not to let it show just how bad she had been chaffing under the maternal watch during the last few weeks. “Speaking of Esta. I’m told there is a certain young man she has fixated on?’
Sha giggled. “Mother has some ideas about that too, and most of them involve him being a frog.”
Harder chuckled and yawned again. “I think I’ll handle that issue for you, but after I’ve had some sleep. Make yourself at home, my kingdom is your kingdom and all of that.” He said as he was standing and stretching.
“Sleep well, Your Majesty.” She teased him as he stumbled toward the hidden passage that would take him back to his room. She decided to spend a bit more time looking over the new maps he had been looking at when she arrived. Maybe she could find a good spot for her and Pavel to hide for a few years of quiet.
Toward a New Life
Leaving the Elven lands and her parents behind was difficult for Feylynn. She had always assumed she would return home after her husband had passed. This, however, might be her last time in this place that she had always viewed as home.
Elven society, she had always considered to be the peak of culture and sophistication. Even more so after her long sojourn among the humans, but in returning after her absence, she could see the cracks that must have always been there. She could see the, well, corruption was probably the wrong word, but the time-worn imperfections that left her with the feeling of frailty. Elves viewed themselves as protectors of the natural world, as being vibrant and growing as much as the living world around them. Instead, she now saw them as static, trying to maintain an ‘ideal’ in a complex and dynamic system. It was almost as if they were trying to hold a child at the ‘perfect age’ rather than adapting with the child’s growth and seeking only to guide and shape that growth into a productive and responsible maturity.
These thoughts were heavy and depressing, and alone in her carriage she couldn’t escape them. Her own challenges with raising children came to mind like dark clouds. Shadrea being forced to mature way too early and growing beyond all reason into those responsibilities that were thrust unfairly upon her. It was a source of great pride, yet the unfairness of it weighed heavily on Feylynn’s mind. Esta seemed determined to follow, at least to the limits of her talents. Oh, she would never be tzadi, like Pavel she had the talent only to a much lesser degree. Feylynn stopped herself that wasn’t fair, Esta could be a tzadi, just not for another thirty years of study.
She shook her head, Esta didn’t want to be a tzadi. Esta didn’t even really want to have a political marriage and end up a queen somewhere. She was perfectly happy with her retched Alorn. From a noble family, according to Harder, but that hardly meant anything with the Alorn. Might as well say the cleanest pig in the trough.
After a moment she relented, she knew that wasn’t fair. The Alorn had their nobility; they were just a little less class conscious than most other peoples. A smile crept across
her face, remembering her noble Duke all excited and muddy planting his vineyard outside of their little homestead. Perhaps a little allowance could be made for those cultures who didn’t value class so highly. Her time in that other world had changed her as well, and she knew it.
Esta had grown up there, she would have ideas a class that the semi nomadic Alorn would be comfortable with. Still no reason to let that grubby savage paw her on the balcony, Feylynn thought with a flash of indignation. It passed quickly enough as she thought again of her Duke pouring his grief at losing his wife and having to abandon his son into tilling the earth and building their home, and in doing so rebuilding himself. Yes allowance would have to be made, or Esta’s rebellion would make Shadrea’s look mild. She didn’t have to like it, but she would make sure she was still there to provide guidance not enforce stasis. Life wouldn’t be held in stasis, nature was just too powerful for that.
As You Sow
Realization
Sha was shocked to see her mother’s condition when she arrived. Gone was the confident and assertive tzadi and duchess who knew how the world worked and demanded it to work for her. Instead, her mother seemed to have aged. Or not aged exactly but assumed the frailty that comes with age. The woman who got out of the carriage at Voivode’s Rest was quieter and seemed worn and exhausted to the point of collapse. Much as the testing had taken its toll on Sha, this had also been a testing for Feylynn. Sha realized only now how much this trip had upended all the things her mother had seen as important in life.
Sha had never really had these aspirations for herself, so didn’t find herself disappointed with the outcome. Her mother, on the other hand, Sha realized, was deep in what was likely to be a crisis of world view. From here she would need to redefine much of what it means to be herself. Sha remembered having to do something very similar when she was still a novice in the White Spire. Everything ripped away and a blank canvas all around her. She smiled, ok not completely blank. Pavel was always near. She decided to make her mother a bit of a project once they headed for home. Slow the trip down and help her mother’s fresh wounds get a moment to heal.
Life Legacy Page 9
