The Reclaiming: The Keepers Saga: Volume Two

by Dillon McNaight

  The guards laughed as they each hugged her and said their goodbyes for the second time. She walked a little south to not expose her direction of travel, then turned back west to where the Drykan teen was waiting. She couldn’t help but feel differently about the way her friends callously talked about the Drykan’s deaths, for she didn’t know how she felt about it… the realization that the Generals and their Drykan followers ruthlessly attacked the Kain, killing thousands. But something was not right with how they were killed. Why would the prince above all else try and help them escape? Why would he risk treason, even as the Prince of Kain? If she tells him that they are alive, then he will probably try to save them, even knowing he can’t, and if she tells him the truth, the sheer devastation could consume him, making him run away, most likely getting lost, captured, or killed. Could she live with the guilt of either scenario? When she was a small child, her father disappeared, and was never seen or heard of again. Then, her mother fell into an incurable depression, which led her to drown her baby brother. She planned on killing her too, but instead, killed herself, all in front of a frozen Anabel. At only eight years old, she was then sent to live with her uncle and his wife near the small village of Deer-Run, northwest of Menethiel. She knows exactly how it feels to have your entire family, life, being, and soul taken from you in an instance. The pain that she felt will never go away, and she will live with it until the day she dies… but she was lucky in the fact that she had her adopted parents. They loved her as if she was their own, for her uncle’s wife couldn’t have children of her own. At the same time, she knew that she couldn’t look after him, for she knew nothing of raising a child, let alone a Drykan teenager. She thought about what she was going to say and do for what seemed like only minutes, but before she knew it, she was back where she left Briev and her dog Cami.

  As she approaches, the young Briev looks upon her carelessly revealed emotions. She tries to quickly change her persona, but he can see through it. She doesn’t have to say a word, for her face says it all. A knot quickly bundles inside his stomach, and submits up his throat, causing the air to be locked out. Once she realizes that her falsified attempt at fake reassurance is seen through by the innocent Drykan teen, she tries to find the right words… but fails to. His knees begin to grow numb, and shake. Soon, the weight of his emotionally fragile body could no longer be supported by his traumatized knees, and he falls upon them. Anabel takes a step towards him as if to help his descent, but stops. He desperately tries to compose his body void of feeling, but he cannot. He tries to speak, but no air is allowed to aid his voice. Wetness fills his dark eyes, and the overwhelming realization that his entire family, existence, and reason to live was stolen from him in the blink of an eye, overcomes him. Finally, after what seemed like a short lifetime, his emotions were finally able to escape his imprisoned body in the form of an incoherent scream. Unable to resist any longer, Anabel rushes over to the foreign burden, and falls to her knees in front of him. As if she has known him all her life, and as if he was of her kin, she embraced him wholly.

  “Stop… I’m here,” says Anabel as tears of her own begin to fall, “I’m here… I’m here. I don’t know why, but I am here. I don’t know why you were sent to me, or why the gods decided to lay such an unspeakable tragedy upon you… but I am here.”

  Briev acted against the mentality instilled upon him since birth, that the Kain is the enemy, and embraced her back. He buried his hot and crying face into her chest and wept like a newborn child. His tears and emotions were free from any confines, more than he has ever felt since his mother was alive, whom he barely remembered.

  Anabel pulled back as his emotions calmed a degree as she stared deeply into his eyes, and said, “Come with me… I will take care of you, and you me. We will take care of each other. I promise to keep you safe, and that you will NEVER again have to feel this pain that you feel right now! I swear it to the gods!”

  Though he could barely see her through his cloudy eyes, he knew that she meant what she said, and deep in his heart, through all the pain and resentment… he accepted. She held the young Drykan for several minutes as he faded in and out of lucidness, reliving the tragic news over and over. Anabel decided not to travel to the Shorelands, instead, she will take the grief stricken ‘enemy’ north to a small village called Deer-Run where her uncle and aunt live. From there, she and Briev would have to decide what to do next. He would still be considered an enemy of the Kain, so they would have to be careful in their long journey north. She trusted that her uncle would spare his life, and might even take him in, but it was all still full of uncertainties, and only time will tell what will happen to the now orphaned Drykan.

  Back in the city of Riverton, the King of the Kain sits alone in the royal chambers, which were reserved for when the royal family visited. He could think of nothing else than seeing his son be thrown into a cell, now a prisoner of the Kain. He couldn’t wrap his thoughts around the events that took place. None of it seemed right, from Dathian’s demeanor, to the White Queen’s readiness to convict him of treason. Was he right in his decision to lock his own son up? The very thought of it tormented his soul, and no amount of prayer could wipe away the sight of his son’s look of betrayal. There was, however, a sense of relief for the time being that his only child would no longer be marching to war by his side. No matter the outcome of the battle to come, he was comforted by the fact that his son will be safe. Was this the intention of the White Queen all along? He would suspect that Kale would do whatever it took to keep the prince safe, even if it meant tricking him into a treasonous act, yet none of this was confirmed.

  As Daane stared at a glass full of wine, contemplated whether or not to drink it, he suddenly felt a presence behind him

  “Hello, mother.”

  Surprised, Evelyn replied, “How do you do that? Always know it’s me?”

  Daane turned around with a saddened heart, and said, “How do you always know when I need your guidance?”

  “Call it a mother’s intuition,” answered Evelyn, “and besides, after what happened, is there any reason to think that I wouldn’t come?”

  Growing slightly defensive before she said more, Daane replied, “If you came here to tell me to release Dathian, then I am sorry, you are wasting your time. Dathian broke the law, and is being rightfully punished. He’s lucky I don’t lock him and that boy up in the dungeon.”

  Evelyn smiled softly as she walked over to her eldest son and placed her hand on his shoulder. “I’m not here to judge you. As King, you sometimes have to make tough choices, and as hard as it may be, you made the right one. You can’t show your people that your flesh and blood is above the law, even the prince. But, nevertheless, it was clearly a hard thing to do. I just wanted to come down here and let you know that I support you, whatever you choose to do. I know you will make the right choice.”

  As Evelyn turned and prepared to leave, Daane said, “That’s it? You know I will make the right choice?” Evelyn just smiled as Daane continued, “How do you do THAT?”

  “What?” innocently asked the Mother.

  Daane laughed slightly as he replied, “Tell me what to do, without ‘telling’ me what to do.”

  Evelyn simply answered, “With practice.”

  “I will make sure that he is moved to a more comfortable location,” said Daane, “but he will have to remain under guard until the matter in the north is resolved.”

  Evelyn nodded in approval as she left the room to get some well-deserved rest, leaving her oldest son to prepare his mind for the journey ahead.

  We now travel forty miles southwest of the City on the River. On a terrace, nearly one hundred feet above the ground, stands the imprisoned prince’s love. Savannah is wearing a soft pink nightgown of the Ela, made of only the finest silks. The terrace she stands on belongs to an Ela Lady by the name of Fwendriella, though she prefers Lady Ella. After Dathian and the Golden Army departed just a few days ago, Lady Ella offered her lavished home for Savannah
to stay in until she is called away back to the hopefully reclaimed capital. She understood that could be many weeks from now, if at all, but offered her home nonetheless.

  Lady Ella is a Lore Master of the Bailyen Clef over seventy miles south of the capital. She has a youthful appearance, with soft blonde hair, usually tied up with silver grape leaves. Her eyes are more gray than blue, but are piercing nonetheless. She is considered amongst her people as very beautiful and desired for, though she keeps no suitor. She has a very elegant presence about her, but so do most high-born Ela women. She wears a silver and gold dress made of a heavy fabric, making it durable and resistant to the elements.

  The Bailyen Clef is made up of a series of towering cliffs topped with plateaus that line the Southern Sea. At the center of the Clef sits a massive castle littered with ivory towers. This castle made of gold and white stone is the home of the Velen family. Lord Pheydrien Velen serves as High Priest, and is the leader of the Lore Masters, wielders of extensive knowledge and powers of the wild. Lady Ella is the great-granddaughter of Lord Velen. She is only fifty years old, young in Ela years, but Lord Velen is in his three hundred and eighty-fifth year. He is the fifth High Priest to serve as leader of the Lore Masters, and is nearing the end of his long rule. His supposed successor, and Ella’s grandfather, is the current leader of the Skyborn Tribe, Krendweil. Lord Velen was only thirty-five years old when he gave birth to his only son. When Krendweil turned twenty, he wanted to leave his studies of the Lore Master and travel the world. Pheydrien was furious and forbade him to leave, but Krendweil left, nonetheless.

  Several years into his travels, Krendweil ended up with the Skyborns to the northwest, where he met the future love of his life. He had many children and lived a long and happy life before he agreed to lead the Skyborns at the ripe age of two hundred and thirty. He hasn’t seen Pheydrien since he left, and has no intentions of doing so. Although he refuses to see his father, he always makes time for his granddaughter Ella, who was the only one of his line to ever go back to Castle Velen to study in the way of the Lore Master. When he was in Brethiel prior to the Golden Army’s departure to Riverton, he met with Ella in her home amongst the mighty Oaklings. She told him of Lord Velen’s health, and that he wouldn’t live much longer, and that he was next in line for High Priest. Krendweil didn’t say much, just that they would speak further on the issue when he returned from battle, and that was that. It wasn’t but a day later that she volunteered to take in the young Lady of Kain.

  As Savannah stares deeply into the forest, she rubs the jewel of her magic ring. All her thoughts of late were that of the ring, and the slight power she now felt running through her veins. She wishes that the Angel was there to help her understand her new powers, and teach her how to use them. Unaware of the Ela Lore Master’s presence behind her, Savannah kept polishing the Ruby.

  “You know, if you rub that thing any harder, it’s going to fall right off,” said Ella.

  Slightly startled, Savannah quickly ceased and turned around, and replied, “Sorry, I didn’t know you were there.” Acknowledging the ring, she continued, “I can’t help it, I don’t even know I’m doing it. I am not going to pretend that I wasn’t raised around many lavished things, but this… there is nothing like this.”

  Ella laughed as she sat down in a chair next to a small table in front of an elegant fireplace, which was built into the inner trunk of the massive Oakling. The fireplace stood in the center of the room, which was carved around the center of the tree. The rather luxurious home has four levels, with the fireplace being in the bottom room. A stairway carved into the trunk spiraled upwards to the other three levels, which housed three rooms, a kitchen, a bathhouse, a private library, a study, and all topped with the canopy terrace, which resembled a smaller version of Nilliath, the White Queen’s former throne. The terrace is where the Lore Master studied the many ancient secrets of the world, and where she kept a careful eye on the forest, for she was more than just a Lore Master.

  As Ella poured a cup of tea, she asked, “How do you take your tea? Do you like cream, or just sugar?”

  “A bit of both, please,” answered Savannah as she walked over and sat in the other chair. Once there she stared into the fire, trying not to think of the ring.

  Ella handed her the cup as she prepared her own. Savannah took the cup without taking her longing eyes away from the fire. Ella could tell that many things troubled her young mind, not just the ring.

  “Do you think that he is thinking of me?” asked Savannah, staying with the fire for a moment, then turning to face Ella.

  Ella sipped her tea casually as if the question wasn’t directed at her. Finally realizing it was, she put the tea down and replied, “Oh, you’re asking me. I… I can’t say that I have ever met him, so I could not tell you. But if he is the way that you describe him… nonstop might I add… then he probably is, at least for a moment or two.”

  Embarrassed at her constant talk of Dathian, Savannah said, “I know, I know… it’s pathetic. Here I am in the most beautiful place in the entire world, and all I can think about is him… and this ring. My thoughts are forever consumed by both, and I don’t remember what thoughts replaced them prior. You must think me a fool.”

  Ella laughed as she replied, “A fool? Oh, sweet girl, you are anything but a fool. You’re smart… I knew it from the first words you spoke to me. You are no ordinary socialite of Kain, at least from what I can tell. Tell me, did you enjoy your studies?”

  Welcoming the much-needed distraction, Savannah answered with pride, “Oh yes, I loved school. It was the part of my day that I looked forward to the most.”

  “And what about books, did you read much?” further probed Ella.

  “Oh yes, yes, I love to read more than anything else in this world!” exclaimed Savannah as her face brightened and her voice lifted. “I had almost forgotten, for it seems so long ago and unimportant now.”

  Ella abruptly stood up and stood in front of the socialite and proclaimed, “Don’t ever let me hear those words come out of your mouth again young lady!”

  Shocked and confused by what she said, Savannah said, “But, what did I…”

  Interrupting her, Ella continued, “Books will NEVER be and have NEVER been unimportant! There is no history without them, for it wouldn’t exist outside the lifespan of a mortal being. And not just books, for they are just a discovery as the methods before them were, and before them. All the way back to the beginning of time has there been recorded history of some sort.” Ella calmed herself, but maintained her compassion, and sat down as she continued. “Thousands of years ago, before books or even scrolls, history was recorded on stone. Those stones, which we now call Runes, laid out the timeline of the Ela, the Kain, and even the Drykans. From the legend of the Shaman, to the War of the Three Races, it was all recorded for us to learn and grow from.”

  Savannah replied in apology, “I am sorry, I did not mean what I said. Just like you, I have a thirst for knowledge, always have, but it is hard to see that in light of what has happened. I am sorry if I am not so easily able to brush all of this off like so many around me. I have no idea if my father, who is the only family I have left, is even alive. I watched as the love of my life marched away to war, uncertain to come back.” Soft tears start to well as she continues, “The only thing that keeps me from completely losing it is hope, and where do you think I learned that?”

  Ella replied in an empathetic tone, “…Not a book. Listen, sweetheart, as a Lore Master, I have dedicated my life to learning everything there is to learn about this world, and the world as it has been throughout history, but that does not change the fact that I am mortal… like you. I too know the ways of the heart, and I can feel the way of yours. I am not the wisest of my kin just yet, for I am still young, like yourself, but if I could give you any words of encouragement, they would be to be hopeful for the future, but do not forget the past.”

  Savannah stood and took the Lore Master’s hands, and said with
a smile, “You are wrong… you are much wiser than you say. Thank you, for everything you have done. Your home is beautiful, and I am grateful to stay here… more than you know.” Ella smiled back as she tightened their grip. Savannah ended with, “Thank you for a lovely evening, but I think that I shall retire. All my worries have made me quite tired.”

  Savannah then turned and started up the stairs to the room she was given. Ella watched her until she was out of sight, waiting until she heard the door of her room shut and latch. Once clear, the smile on her face quickly faded as she rushed up the stairs, past Savannah’s room, and onto the terrace at the Oakling’s canopy. She walked over to a series of wooden tables littered with the bibs and bobs of Lore mastery. From one desk, she opened a locked chest with a key, and took out two ordinary looking stones. She kissed each one as she put them in her leather shoulder bag. She then walked over to the next table, and another locked box, and took out a necklace made of shiny shards of Shadestone. She closed her eyes, chanted some verses into the necklace, then placed it around her neck. After that, she took some dried garlic and crushed it in a wooden bowl until it was a fine powder. She then took the garlic powder and dusted her entire body with it. Last thing she took from yet another locked box, was a vial full of black sand.

  “Varda va’la nul, breth’na va’la heer,” said Ella as she chanted a language not known in this world to the corked vial of sand. She then repeated herself, but in the common tongue, “Take me from this stead to the Eves of Brethiel.”

  She then threw the sand onto the floor as it erupted into a cloud of black smoke. It spired inconsistently for a moment, before it conformed itself into what appeared to be a portal. The sand circled around the blurred vision of the outskirts of the Great Forest. Ella took a steady breathe as she walked through the center of the sand, which was in fact a portal. Once through, the sand simply fell to the floor. In a matter of seconds, the Lore Master reappeared at the outskirts of Brethiel and the Great Forest to the east. The sun has been set for hours, and the night sky is shielded by clouds, making it a particularly dark evening. As soon as she walked out of the portal, now outside the Great Forest, the swirling sand was siphoned back into the glass vial. Ella put the cork back in, and tucked the vial away in her shoulder bag. She then stood still for a moment, as if she hesitated against her next move.