Valley of Shields

by Duncan Lay

  ‘And maybe we could have pretended Asami saved us — all know they are no longer friends.’

  ‘And maybe the moon is made of cheese! The alliance was doomed from the start. They would have turned on us eventually. Or were you planning to pretend that everything we found out about the elves and humans, the answers we sought for so long, the memory of the humans they murdered three hundred years ago — all that meant nothing?’

  ‘One step at a time,’ Huw said. ‘First an alliance and then we could have brought the truth out, slowly and carefully. They were not ready to accept they are not elves and are merely Elfarans …’

  ‘They will never accept that, the arrogant bastards!’

  ‘There might have been a chance, had we been able to work with them for longer. Sendatsu believes us, as does Asami —’

  ‘Two of them! You need to accept your plan failed and we have nothing to show for it. You are trying to put the blame on me when it was your idea to come here and try to make an alliance with the Elfarans.’

  ‘I am not blaming you!’ Huw yelled. ‘Maybe you are right and the alliance was doomed the moment Sumiko decided to break it apart. But we owed it to those poor boys who died yesterday to do everything we could to make it work.’

  ‘Well, it sounds like you’re trying to blame me!’

  Huw took a deep breath. ‘I am worried. For Vales and for you. The Elfarans will deal with the Forlish first — but how long before they come for us? How long before they come for you? Sumiko wanted you to stay here — for your own safety. We got you away now but surely they will not give up that easily. Sumiko wants revenge for you defeating her, and the other Elfarans won’t want a human with your power running around outside of their control.’

  Rhiannon checked more angry words as Huw’s tone softened. ‘You are right,’ she said. ‘So what do we do? Do you want me to stay here, to live in Dokuzen as the price of the alliance?’

  ‘No,’ Huw said. ‘I won’t put you at Sumiko’s mercy while there is breath in my body.’

  Rhiannon smiled. ‘Very noble. But, given the Elfarans will come after us with magic, I think I might be the one protecting you!’

  ‘We need to find more of our people who have magic. It’s impossible to guess how many that might be. We found many bodies of humans murdered by the Elfarans but did they all have magic? Even though the magic is disappearing from the Elfarans, still they have far more than we do, so that’s not an accurate prediction either.’

  ‘Asami told me that the Magic-weavers always ask the new class of magic students if any of them dreamed about dragons. Maybe that is a place to start?’

  Huw thought about it. ‘Send out a message saying anyone who has dreamed of dragons as a child should come to Patcham? I think many Velsh will think we are crazy.’

  ‘Perhaps, but others will remember their childhood dreams and wonder. And it is as good a place to start as any.’

  ‘That can be your task. As for me, I need to get our eastern villages ready, in case the Elfarans decide to ignore the Forlish and come for us first.’

  ‘Maybe we should think about an alliance with the Forlish.’

  Huw gaped at her. ‘An alliance with Ward? After what he has done to us? He killed my father!’

  ‘No stranger than our alliance with the Elfarans — after we knew what they had done to us in the past.’

  ‘But still — alliance with that murdering bastard? The dead children of Rheged would hate me forever more. I cannot see the day when that will happen.’

  Sendatsu took Asami home and saw her into the care of the servants.

  ‘I will go back and speak to my father. I cannot believe Sumiko was able to manipulate him so easily. I expected her to be thrown off the Council for her behaviour, not rewarded.’

  ‘Be careful.’

  ‘Of course. But we are talking now, at least. Besides, I have to make sure you are protected. Sumiko is obviously after revenge. She failed to remove Rhiannon — you will be the next target.’

  ‘I can take care of myself,’ Asami said.

  ‘But I would never forgive myself if I did not intervene with my father for you.’

  Asami smiled. ‘If only you had said that ten years ago!’

  Sendatsu hesitated, his father’s words about reward and marriage flooding onto his tongue. ‘I hope to make that up to you,’ was all he said.

  ‘A little late now,’ she said with a smile, ‘but perhaps better late than never.’

  Sendatsu turned back at the doorway. ‘Are you going to be fine here?’

  ‘Yes! I feel a little strange, that is all. Probably a reaction to all that went on.’

  ‘Probably.’

  She was about to call him back, tell him how she was willing to help the Velsh now, how she would make sure the humans had magic, the way he wanted, but he had already gone. She shrugged. There was no hurry.

  Sendatsu could not find his father at the Council Chambers, so he walked to the Moratsune family home. Guards at the front door told him his father was home. He recognised the two of them as the ones who had been on duty the night when he had arrived to trick and betray his father — but that gave him no pause.

  ‘I am here to see my father,’ he announced to the pair of them.

  ‘Lord Sendatsu, the Elder Elf is busy,’ the taller of the two said carefully, looking up and down the street nervously.

  ‘I have brought nobody with me,’ Sendatsu said with a trace of amusement. ‘You are safe.’

  Neither of the two guards smiled back.

  ‘Tell my father I am here and will be with my children until he is ready to see me,’ Sendatsu continued, stepping forwards.

  After a moment’s hesitation, the guards glanced at each other and then opened the doors.

  His father’s office door was shut and Sendatsu did not linger there, instead walking through to where he knew his mother and children would be.

  ‘Papa!’ Mai and Cheijun stopped their game in the garden and raced over to him. He felt some of his worries drop away as they engulfed him.

  ‘What are we doing today? Where are we going?’ Mai asked.

  ‘Are we killing more gaijin?’ Cheijun asked.

  ‘I have to talk to my father,’ Sendatsu told them. ‘Then we shall go home.’

  Mai looked at him while Cheijun raced off to find his sword. ‘What is the matter, Papa?’

  ‘Nothing.’ Sendatsu tried to smile.

  Mai cocked her head to the side. ‘You were never any good at lying, Papa. What happened?’

  So Sendatsu found himself telling her how everything had gone wrong, how the Velsh had been forced to leave and many elves feared them more than the Forlish now — in between wrestling Cheijun.

  ‘Father could have stopped it but he did not. Now I don’t know what will happen.’

  ‘Are you going to tell your father he is being silly and needs to be friends with the Velsh, like I would with you?’ Mai asked. ‘Are you going to tell him the bedtime story you told us, the truth about our history?’

  Sendatsu chuckled. ‘Me, tell your grandfather that?’

  ‘Why not? What were you going to tell him?’

  ‘Well, I wanted to make sure Asami was safe from Sumiko —’

  ‘But what about our friends? What about Daffy and Roowelly? We have to help them! You promised to help them!’

  Sendatsu shook his head. ‘But I can’t.’

  ‘Yes, you can! I know you can! You will make Grandfather listen to you and see sense.’

  Sendatsu met her fierce gaze and was reminded of Jaken for a moment. He wanted to tell her that was impossible, Jaken would never listen to him, then he paused. He had risked his life yesterday, seen his young dragons, from the likes of Tadd, one of his first students, to Gareth, the berserker he had sacrificed, fight and die for Dokuzen. He owed them. The least he could do was talk to his father.

  Mai smiled and patted his face. ‘I know you will do it, Papa,’ she told him.

  Senda
tsu grinned and reached out to lift her up.

  He was just thinking of finding some food for them when a guard announced Jaken was ready to see him.

  ‘You can do it, Papa. Tell him the truth, make him help our friends,’ Mai told him and he gave her a hug before following the guard into his father’s office. Mai was right and he would stand up for the Velsh.

  The guard opened the door and Sendatsu strode in, a new determination within him.

  ‘Come in, Sendatsu,’ Jaken said. ‘There are so many things I need to catch up on. We are missing several clan leaders and I have to make sure the right ones take over — ones who will be beholden to me. If we are to send an army out to punish the Forlish, then we cannot leave trouble behind at home. I have to know Dokuzen is secure.’

  ‘Father, we need to talk,’ Sendatsu said.

  Jaken put aside the scrolls he was going through.

  ‘What about?’

  ‘What happened today.’

  Jaken paused for a moment, then grimaced. ‘My apologies,’ he said. ‘Events got away from me. I have spoken to Sumiko and rest assured, that will not happen again.’

  ‘Good!’

  ‘I shall have to find the right time to raise the matter, of course.’

  ‘Well, as quickly as possible!’

  ‘What is the rush? It has been like this for years, surely a few days more will not matter?’

  Sendatsu shook his head. ‘But they will leave today!’

  Jaken looked at him. ‘What are you talking about? Who leaves?’

  Sendatsu fought through the sudden confusion. ‘Huw and the Velsh! We have to speak to them, make them understand that the alliance will eventually —’

  ‘That was not what I was talking about,’ Jaken interrupted. ‘I thought you were speaking of your reward, and the chance for arranged marriage to be put aside and for you and Asami to be together.’

  Sendatsu shook his head. ‘Yes, I want that — but it is far more important that you speak to Huw. Father, the Velsh fought and died to save us. They deserve better than to be sent out from Dokuzen without anything to show for it.’

  Jaken’s face tightened. ‘They lied to us! They have magic — and they believe they are our equals. There can be no alliance based on such lies.’

  Sendatsu met his father’s gaze steadily. ‘Those are not lies!’

  ‘Do you really mean that you believe we are not elves but merely humans with magic? Would you deny your own birthright?’

  ‘It is all a lie. We are Elfarans. I know the truth and we must all accept it —’

  ‘I will never accept that. We are elves and we are superior in every way to humans. We were put here for a reason. Aroaril wants us to rule the humans, take our natural place as leaders of these lands.’

  ‘That is all wrong. None of that is true. We have been lied to.’ Sendatsu tried to put every last scrap of persuasiveness into his voice. ‘The Tadayoshi clan were selected to rule the Elfaran people by the forefathers themselves but were betrayed by clan Kaneoki, who seized control of Dokuzen for three hundred years and used the lies about being elves to keep themselves in power. We don’t have to believe what we were told, when the truth is right before us.’

  Jaken looked at him for a long time and Sendatsu dared to hope his father would listen. Then Jaken shook his head.

  ‘I do not believe that. We have let slip our magical abilities, that is true. But I am convinced this is because we did not respect the Magic-weavers enough. With their new position, more elves will devote themselves to magical study and we can regain the power we had —’

  ‘That is impossible!’ Sendatsu shouted. ‘You can’t make that sort of ability. I could have trained for another ten years and I would not have half the magical talent Asami had as a child! You cannot turn back the tide and you cannot make magical ability where none exists. Who has convinced you of this foolishness? Sumiko? What hold does she have over you?’

  ‘Do not question me, boy!’ Jaken snarled.

  Sendatsu surged to his feet. ‘Stop calling me boy! The days when you could frighten me into agreeing with you are long gone.’

  Jaken leaped up a moment later and they faced each other.

  ‘I am your father and I am the Elder Elf. You will do what I say,’ Jaken said.

  Sendatsu stared back at him. Everything inside him was cold; it felt as if he were outside of himself, watching from a distance. He had dreamed of this for so many years but had never thought it would really happen, let alone that he would be so calm. He had begun this because he could not go back and tell Mai he had done nothing, but it was more than that now.

  ‘No,’ he said.

  His father’s face contorted in anger. ‘You dare to defy me?’

  ‘Yes, I do. You are wrong and leading the elves — our people — to ruin. Putting your faith in Sumiko and ignoring the truth of our history will be the end of Dokuzen.’

  ‘Is that a threat?’ Jaken asked, astonished.

  ‘Not at all,’ Sendatsu said. ‘The truth is there for anyone to see. We can read what the forefathers wanted, learn our true history and the real reason we came to these lands. With that knowledge, we can find our rightful place in this world and finally be at peace with these lands. We cannot defeat the humans with strength of arms alone, for there are too many of them. And to rely on magic will be the biggest mistake of all. Using magic around the human lands will only awaken those among them with the power. You can take the countries from our fellow humans but you’ll never hold them.’

  ‘And you expect me to listen to you, above all others?’ Jaken asked.

  ‘You should. I am the only Elfaran who really knows the humans and what is out there. And I am your son. Everyone else wants something from you. Sumiko knows more than what she is telling you. She read some of the book, she is playing her own game.’

  ‘Do not speak about her to me. I control her. She obeys me,’ Jaken insisted.

  ‘You are wrong. She is leading you to ruin. What hold does she have over you?’

  Jaken’s eyes bulged. ‘How dare you! I will not be insulted like this. I know what I am doing.’

  ‘Do you?’ Sendatsu fired back. ‘You need to use this chance. The people hail you as their saviour. You need to use that to change Dokuzen, build something new, something better —’

  ‘Your head is stuffed with foolishness still!’ Jaken interrupted. ‘My decision is made. Now it is time for you to leave.’

  Sendatsu paused. ‘Maybe it is,’ he said carefully.

  ‘Good. Shut the door behind you.’ Jaken turned back to the pile of scrolls waiting for him. ‘Come and see me when you have come to your senses.’

  ‘No — it is time to leave Dokuzen. I thought I was doing the right thing, making changes that will help Dokuzen — but now I see everything I tried just made it worse,’ Sendatsu said.

  ‘Leave Dokuzen? What nonsense is this now?’

  ‘Make a new alliance with the Velsh. Tell the people the truth. Find a new beginning for Dokuzen, as you said. You need to do all these things. But you would rather listen to Sumiko than me. I would rather live among the Velsh than live in a Dokuzen ruled by Sumiko.’

  Jaken leaped to his feet again. ‘I am the ruler here — not Sumiko!’

  ‘But you do not act like it.’

  ‘You go too far, boy!’

  ‘And once again you resort to calling me that, when you know I am right. Thank you, Father. This has been most instructive.’

  Sendatsu turned and began to walk out, his insides clenched around a knot of ice.

  ‘Don’t turn your back on me, boy!’

  Sendatsu instinctively spun, memories of childhood beatings making him wary. Jaken, however, had not moved, although his eyes were full of fire.

  ‘If you leave, then you renounce your position — everything. You will no longer be my heir.’

  ‘And you think I care about that?’

  ‘You will regret this!’

  ‘I regret I did
not do it earlier.’ Sendatsu offered his father a short bow, keeping his eyes on him throughout. ‘Farewell, Lord Jaken.’

  He shut the door to the study and waited there for a few moments, partly to see if his father would come storming out but mainly to calm his heart. How had he done that? Had he really said all that to his father? Slowly he walked back to where his children waited. He did not know if they would be happy with leaving Dokuzen again but it was his only choice. He felt as though he would be leaving the old Sendatsu behind when he walked out of here. It was time to control his own destiny. His children would go along with him. Now he just had to get Asami and all would be complete.

  38

  There is no barrier any more and these evil Elfarans are part of the human world. They still seek to rule us but must pay for what they did three hundred years ago.

  Huw’s song

  Captain Edmund broke out into the sunlight and allowed himself the luxury of enjoying its warmth and light, after the darkness, damp and fear of the retreat through the woods. Elves had pursued them the whole way, arrows flickering out of the darkness to take the slow and the wounded. Any who fell, or even fell behind, were dead men. It had spurred his men to keep pushing on far better than anything Edmund and his surviving officers could do. Now they were paying the price for it, however. The exhausted column rushed out into the open, urged on until they were comfortably clear of the threat of the woods, then collapsed onto the grass, unable to go any further without rest.

  ‘You have done well, leading us out.’ Edmund clapped Caelin on the shoulder. ‘You and your men have served the king well.’

  ‘We just did our duty, sir,’ Caelin said.

  ‘If only all of us could say the same thing.’ Edmund sighed.

  ‘Shall we scout out wider, see where we need to go and make sure there are no elves waiting for us, sir?’ Caelin asked.

  ‘No, you can rest. We can all rest for a while. I doubt the elves will follow us out here, where we can see them and use our numbers against them,’ Edmund replied absently, scanning the horizon.