The Halfling Rises (The Eva Chronicles Book 1)

by Livia Lance

* * *

  Lana and Nym were trying to prepare to leave the small village but the elves were making it very difficult. Every time Lana turned around, someone was nearby waiting to catch her attention. They would hug her or give her a gift of cloth or fruit. No one would meet her gaze directly and they acted deferentially toward her. It was making her extraordinarily uncomfortable. It didn’t help that Nym was also treating her with some newfound respect that bordered on fear.

  The two other children in the tent were now awake and none of them were sick anymore. They all repeated the story of how Lana had appeared in their dreams and helped them find the music again. The story spread and suddenly these elves were acting as if Lana was some celestial being and they treated her with a reverence that was almost worship. She couldn’t stand it any longer.

  “How did you heal that child? What did you do?” Nym asked her when she was able to get Lana alone.

  “I didn’t do anything!” Lana exclaimed, exasperated. She had been asked this question many times by now and she was getting tired of it. “I just laid down with him and fell asleep and then he was well, that is all!” She paused for a moment, thinking back to when she had laid her hand on the boy.

  “Actually, there was something… odd that happened,” she said slowly, frowning. “You know how we can feel the trees? I could feel the boy’s thoughts in the same way. His emotions. I didn’t realize that elves could do that.”

  “We can’t, Lana,” Nym said, color draining from her face, her blue eyes troubled. “That isn’t something I have ever heard of an elf doing. Are you sure that’s what happened?”

  “I don’t know,” she replied, pulling her hair over her shoulder as she tried to think back to that moment she felt Josiah’s mind. “Perhaps I only imagined it. But he felt sad and lost as if he was searching for something that was so important to him and he couldn’t find it no matter how hard he tried. It was heartbreaking.”

  Nym looked away, apparently lost in her own thoughts. She seemed to have nothing more to say so Lana continued packing her things away, trying to ignore the cluster of people waiting nearby, watching her preparations. A man approached and Lana turned, ready to politely send him away but she paused. It was Ilann, the elf who had been sitting with Nym at breakfast. He was more muscular than most elven men Lana had seen, with close cropped, sandy blonde hair and dark blue eyes. He smiled and ducked his head respectfully to Lana then grinned widely at Nym and she blushed, smiling back at him.

  “Nym, Lana, I would like to journey with you if you would have me,” Ilann implored. “I’m a collector of stories and I think that perhaps your story will be an interesting one, to say the least.”

  Lana looked at Nym with raised eyebrows, letting the other woman know with a glance that it was up to her. Nym gazed at Ilann and chuckled softly then nodded.

  “Yes, you may come with us,” Nym told him warmly. “I wouldn’t mind the extra company.”

  No, I don’t suppose you would, Lana thought wryly, watching the looks exchanged between the two elves. There was definitely something between them, Lana had no doubt. She was happy for her friend but it also made her feel a little sad and lonely. Banishing thoughts of Clay for probably the hundredth time already that morning, Lana turned to leave and then froze.

  It looked like the entire elven village had come out to see them off. They were gathered in a half circle outside of the tent where the women had been preparing for their journey. Lana looked at Nym, frightened, and the elf looked back at her, shrugging. They were blocking the way through the village and Lana didn’t know what to do.

  She stepped forward and the crowd gazed at her expectantly.

  “Thank you for your hospitality,” she said to them, unsure of what they wanted from her. “You are all very kind to take us in.” She shot Nym a questioning look, wondering if that was what the people wanted to hear from her. Nym was watching the crowd, clearly troubled. Her black hair was swept behind her ears and her brow was furrowed. Shaking her head at Lana, she adjusted the quiver of arrows on her back and walked forward toward the cluster of people. Lana followed, and then Ilann, trailing behind the women.

  As the trio approached the elves, they parted to make way. Some of them reached out to touch Lana as she passed, thanking her and blessing her on her travels. It was absurd and she was extraordinarily uncomfortable with such attention. Lana had been closeted her whole life, kept away from any adoring crowds and this made her very nervous.

  Eventually they were able to break free of the village and continue on the road toward Thelsamel. Lana breathed a sigh of relief as the little gathering finally stopped following the trio and shrunk in the distance until she could no longer see them.

  “What in the world was that all about?” she asked Ilann. “Are you from that village? Do you know why they behaved that way?”

  Ilann shrugged, and glanced behind him before replying.

  “No, I was merely traveling and happened to be there when you arrived. I have never seen elves act in such a manner. Normally we are not a fawning sort of people.” He frowned. “But if you did heal those children, then there is something special about you. Healing is something no elf has seen since the days of the high priestess.”

  “Well, of course not,” Nym told him sharply. “No elf has had a reason to need healing. We heal from the land. The land provides.”

  Bowing his head to Nym, Ilann relented. “Indeed, the land provides. But I get a sense that it’s not providing as it once did. If those children went deaf to the sound of the mother…” He trailed off. Clearly, the idea of no longer being able to commune with nature was something no elf could bear the thought of.

  “What does it mean?” Lana said aloud, not intending to address either of the elves but simply speaking her thoughts.

  “The land weakens,” Nym said sadly, reaching out to clasp hands with Ilann. “There will be a time of war again soon. I can feel it in my bones.” The two elves gazed at each other silently, sharing a moment of mutual heartache.

  Lana shuddered. She wanted to come to Eva to find peace but it seemed like perhaps it would be short lived.

  Kindermer

  As Lana, Nym and Ilann continued traveling toward Thelsamel, they happened upon a number of other elven villages where children were mysteriously falling ill and dying. It was the same every single time. They would be in pain and then feverish, eventually cooling and falling into a state of deep slumber. Then, death.

  As they passed through the tiny villages, Lana would spend the night with the children, reaching out and touching each of them to feel their spirit, knowing what she would find. They were sad and lost, something was missing within them and it was killing their soul as well as their bodies. The next morning, the children would wake and recognize Lana from their dreams. The people would fawn over her as if she had performed some miracle.

  Eventually, Lana was tempted to avoid villages altogether but she realized that doing so would be selfish and unforgivable. If there was some way she could be of help, she had to do it. Eventually, word had traveled ahead of them somehow and the elves knew her on sight from descriptions passed along. She had become something of a legend to these people and she didn’t like that one bit.

  She had gathered a following, as well. Every time they stopped, a few elves would decide that they wished to travel with her to Thelsamel and she felt she had no right to send them away. This wasn’t her land, not in the same way it was their land. She had no power over these people and wouldn’t try to order them around. There were now twenty elves following the three of them, men, women and children.

  It was a clear, crisp morning the day Lana saw her first elven city. Kindermer was grand compared to the little villages they had come upon before now. It was one of the oldest cities in Eva and the buildings were actually trees twisted around each other in such a way that, with the aid of awnings, elves could live and work within them, protected from the elements. The trees didn’t create rooms exactly, but they w
ere situated in such a way that one could walk along the trunk to get from level to level and the branches grew close enough together to provide stable flooring. It was a breathtaking sight.

  The elves in Lana’s group dispersed once they reached the city, most likely to spread word of her coming. She sighed wearily, knowing that she could do nothing to stop them.

  “Is there an inn here so we can rest?” she asked Nym and Ilann. “Do elves even have inns?”

  Ilann laughed and took her by the arm, steering her toward the largest tree.

  “Yes, we do have inns. It’s not quite the same as in the human lands but you should be comfortable,” he said as they walked.

  The roof of the inn was a bright red cloth that had been fastened cleverly to various branches, casting everything in a rosy glow. A lovely elf woman with silver hair and dark brown eyes bowed low to Lana, a look of awe on her face.

  Oh, dear, Lana thought. Here we go again.

  “Welcome to you travelers, welcome to you Halfling. It’s such a pleasure to host you for the night,” the woman said, not daring to meet Lana’s eyes. “I’m called Talia.”

  “Please,” Lana said softly, reaching out to put a hand on the woman’s arm. “I’m just another traveler looking for a place to rest. You don’t have to do that.”

  “I will see you to a room straight away, ma’am,” Talia said, straightening. “How many will you need?”

  Lana looked at Nym with a raised eyebrow. Nym grinned and winked at her.

  “One for Lana and one for the two of us,” she said, linking an arm with Ilann who smiled down at her fondly.

  “Of course, this way please,” the woman said deferentially and led them along the path provided by the tree. One level up, she paused and showed Nym and Ilann to their room. Lana couldn’t see inside because cloth had been draped around in such a way as to provide a ceiling and walls. Then, a little further along, she stopped so that Lana could enter her own room.

  The bed was a plush mattress on the floor, stuffed with down. There was a clay chamber pot nearby and a basin and pitcher for washing up. The cloth walls were light enough to allow good airflow and the room wasn’t stuffy or hot.

  “Thank you for your hospitality,” she told the innkeeper.

  “Of course,” Talia said, bowing again. She straightened and almost looked Lana in the eyes, but not quite. “Please feel free to come down whenever you feel hungry or I can have food sent up to your room.”

  When Lana was alone, she set her belongings down and tried the bed. The villages on the way to Kindermer were not as well provisioned and few had a mattress as soft as this. It was nearly as comfortable as her bed in the castle.

  Lana spent a moment reflecting on all she had left behind. The creature comforts of being a princess, having a bed to sleep in every night, food served to her, feet that weren’t all callouses from walking every day, dresses instead of trousers and coats. She laughed softly, realizing that she didn’t miss any of that for a second. She had come a long way from being the captive princess. She had no idea what she was now. And there was a nagging worry about what she was becoming.

  What had happened to change her? Was it her encounter with the high priestess? The word that the woman had engraved into her heart which she couldn’t recall? Was it the gift from the tree, her staff, such an odd occurrence that both Clay and Nym had been shocked and alarmed?

  Lana reached out and ran a hand along the staff, thinking back to the day she had found it. It had seemed like the most natural thing in the world at the time. Why hadn’t she questioned it more? As usual, the staff was slightly warm as if it had been sitting out in the sun. No one but her could feel that warmth, she had asked both Nym and Clay to touch it and they claimed it felt normal. Perhaps it was her imagination.

  Sighing, Lana stood up and stretched her back. She decided she would eat with the others and try to pretend as if nothing had changed. Although Nym had initially treated her as if she’d grown another head, she now acted normally. Well, perhaps not quite normally because she no longer touched Lana if she could help it. Nym knew that Lana was now able to feel the thoughts and emotions of elves in the same way that elves could feel trees, so perhaps she didn’t want Lana to know her heart. Lana respected the other woman’s need for privacy so she never asked her about it and simply accepted that she must give Nym the space that she wanted.

  Lana made her way down the trunk of the tree and back into the main floor of the inn. Nym and Ilann were already seated and feasting on a dinner of bread, cheese and vegetables. Lana sat with them and filled up her own plate from the spread before them.

  “This looks delicious,” she told Talia when she came by to check on them.

  “Thank you, ma’am,” the innkeeper said, bowing deeply and obviously pleased.

  Talia straightened then left them and Lana turned back to her companions, sighing heavily. Nym looked over at her with compassion in her eyes.

  “We have never seen anyone like you, Lana,” she said. “You are an enigma to us. We see you as a savior because you are. I know it must be difficult but try to bear it if you can.”

  “I feel responsible for these people,” she told Nym and Ilann. “But I don’t know them and they don’t know me. I feel I have a duty to perform for them, to save the children, but…” She didn’t know how to express her frustration. She had no space to try to understand what was happening to her, no privacy, no solitude.

  “I understand,” Nym told her quietly. “But it cannot be helped. Perhaps we can find some answers in Thelsamel. The elders know much about elven lore.”

  “I know quite a bit as well,” Ilann told her. “I’m a storyteller, after all. It has been my life’s work to gather the stories of our people.”

  “Have you heard of the elves falling ill like this before?” she asked him. “Do you know of any malady that would strike the children so?”

  Ilann frowned in thought. “Not exactly, no. But I do know a lot of theories about the elves that may shed some light on this.” He took a bite of bread as he pondered, mentally thumbing through the knowledge he had collected over the years.

  “The elves were made from the land itself. Some of us call it the mother, since it birthed us, but we are still referring to nature. A human child is born and it will be similar to its parents and all other humans. They share the same natures, the same types of bones and organs. They are intrinsically linked together. The same can be said for elves and yet it goes further because elves are also linked to the land.”

  Lana nodded, following his train of thought.

  “I’m concerned that the elves are losing that link,” he continued, frowning. “These children claim that they could no longer hear the song of the earth. It was as if that cord that tied them to the land was cut. For elves, that connection is spiritual, it’s nourishment for our souls. To alter or completely remove that link may be enough to cause the spirit to die and the body cannot survive that. I don’t know why it would be happening to the children only. Perhaps because they are young, their connection is fragile still. It could be that eventually all elves will begin falling ill.”

  “You are suggesting the end of our race,” Nym said, horrified. “This cannot be, Ilann. It must not be.”

  Ilann reached over and cupped her face in his hands, staring into her eyes sorrowfully. “All things die eventually, Nym. Even elves die when they are old enough. It’s the way of things.”

  A tear slid down her cheek as she gazed into Ilann’s eyes. She turned to look at Lana.

  “I will not accept this,” she said, her voice full of determination. “We must not allow this, Lana. We must not.”

  Lana nodded to her solemnly. “I will do all that I can,” she said and reached out to touch Nym’s hand, hoping to offer any comfort she could.

  Nym’s heart was full of sorrow, Lana could feel it. It was so intense she could almost taste it. And underneath all of that was an extraordinary guilt that should have left the woman weepin
g on the floor, gnashing her teeth. Lana gasped and pulled her hand back, looking at Nym with wide eyes.

  “What has harmed you so?” she asked the elf woman, bewildered. “How can you hurt so much?”

  Nym had gone pale and clutched her hand to her chest.

  “I have done much in my past, Lana,” she said quietly, rising and making her way to her room, not meeting Lana’s eyes. “I don’t wish to speak of it.” And with that, she left Lana and Ilann to the rest of their food but both had lost their appetites.

  “I will see to her, Lana,” Ilann said quietly as he rose. “Try not to worry too much. She loves you a great deal and when she’s ready, she will come to you.”

  “Yes, of course,” Lana said, thinking about all of the hurt and pain her friend was dealing with. She wished she could heal her spirit the way she was healing the children but this was a different sort of malady.

  Lana stood and turned to go back to her own room, then stopped. Just outside the inn she could see that a crowd had gathered. Sighing, she gave up the idea of sleeping any time soon and instead walked toward the cluster of elves. Some were those who had begun following her, but there were some newcomers as well. Many had children in their arms, and those young forms were a sad sight.

  Without a word, Lana went to each child and placed her hand on their heads or held one of their hands. Just long enough to get a sense of them, to connect with them in some way. She didn’t even need to touch them, really, she only had to be nearby. She had worked this out from trial and error at each of the villages they passed by. It seemed that any child within about a twenty foot radius of her would be healed but beyond that, her newfound power floundered unless she had felt their spirits. It was as if she was planting a small seed in their mind which would heal their connection to the land overnight, but the seed could only spread so far.

  When Lana was done, she turned and quietly walked back to the inn and her rooms. As she passed through the crowd of followers, she heard shouted blessings. Many of them were openly weeping - both women and men alike. Lana wasn’t sure she deserved such adoration, wasn’t sure she was worthy of their faith. She let it wash over her and retired to the peace and quiet of her room.