Clouds covered\nthe moon as Dilmir walked. His feet made little noise on the well-worn path\nbetween the roots of the lower district, and already the first of the mists\nwere creeping upon him. Eld\u2019rin was silent, and Dilmir found the calmness to\nhis liking after the day\u2019s events. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After stopping\nat his aunt\u2019s house to tell her where he would be, Dilmir and Ilrin had gone\ninto the lower district, where Ilrin had introduced him to her parents. Both\nher father and mother were kind elves, and it was nearly midnight before\nDilmir, stuffed full of excellent food and nearly forgetting Ilrin\u2019s duel, had\nbade them farewell and set off for home. He didn\u2019t know the roots the way Ilrin\ndid, but he was able to find his way well enough. There were several wide paths\ncarved amongst all the roots, and it was on one of these that Dilmir now\nwalked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Crickets chirped\nnearby; the sound was quiet and pleasing to Dilmir. Somewhere far above, an owl\nhooted. He glanced up at the full moon as he walked, glimpsed briefly through\nthe leafy roof of Eld\u2019rin, but no sinister black shape appeared against it;\nCyprien wouldn\u2019t try another attack for several nights. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Out of habit,\nDilmir turned towards the black shape of one of the four massive trees of\nEld\u2019rin. The city was practically empty at this hour, but he did not alter his\ncourse: Aimim would have long since gone to bed, and he was in no hurry to get\nhome. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fields of grain\nwaved at him lazily in the light breeze as he walked. Many of the elves that\nlived in the lower district were farmers; Most of the fruit, vegetables, and\nbread that the elves ate were grown inside Eld\u2019rin\u2019s walls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dilmir turned\ninto the giant tree, his footsteps echoing in the empty hall that was grown\ninto it. To his left was a stairway, leading to the second level, but Dilmir\ncontinued walking. He was almost half way through the tree when he stopped, his\neyes drawn to the stairs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A faint light,\nmore of a glow, had caught his attention. He took a few steps back and looked\nup the stairway, from which it seemed to come. The stairs curved, their origin\nhidden by a wall, but the strange green light was definitely coming from their\ntop. Intrigued, Dilmir climbed them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They curved\nupwards for a short distance before widening into a landing, which flowed into\nthe trunk of the tree like the stairs themselves. Hanging mysteriously in the\nair over the landing floated a strangely glowing orb. As Dilmir approached, he\ncould see that it was neither solid nor gas, leaving only one thing left for it\nto be \u2013 magic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dilmir had heard\nof unbound magic before – strange globes of light that just floated around\nuntil they found something, or someone, to latch onto. There was nothing to\nfear from them, but Dilmir had never heard of any so close to Eld\u2019rin, where so\nmany magic-sensitive elves lived. Besides, the magic should have entered the\ntree itself at this distance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He approached it\ncautiously, but even as he did, it flickered, and then went out, plunging him\ninto darkness. He stood there for what was at least a minute, listening. No\nsound met his ears, so he turned to leave; strange magic that couldn\u2019t be\nexplained was best left alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A faint hiss\nreached his ears, a rasping as of metal on metal. Dilmir didn\u2019t even think –\nthere was only one object that could make that sound: A blade. Summoning the\nmagic within him, he flung it outwards in a powerful wave of force. The tree\nabsorbed the magic easily, but behind him, Dilmir heard a crash as something\nwas flung to the floor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He turned, but\neverything was still black. Thinking back on what Elmir had taught him, Dilmir\nuttered two words: \u201cVeneth lith!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Soft green\nlight, not unlike the light that had drawn him up the stairs, suddenly poured\nfrom a point just in front of him. Momentarily dazzled, it took Dilmir a moment\nto see the figure struggling up against the far wall. Without pausing to\nconsider, he flung his magic outwards and slammed him back down. He then approached,\ncautiously. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The figure\nappeared to be dressed in black, and Dilmir\u2019s first thought was of the Dark\nElves. The elf, however, as it turned out was only draped in a black cloak. The\nrest of his garments were a dark shade of green. Resting a few feet from his\nhand was a long, evil-looking dagger. His face was hidden in shadow beneath his\ndark hood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWho are you?\u201d\nasked Dilmir, a little uncertainly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The figure did\nnot reply, though it shifted its invisible gaze to Dilmir. Then a rough male\nvoice spoke from beneath the hood, sounding intrigued and, inexplicably, calm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey said you\nwere powerful,\u201d it mused. \u201cThey said you posed a threat and had to be removed.\nI see now they were right.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat do you\nwant?\u201d asked Dilmir, trying to figure out what the elf had meant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat do I\nwant?\u201d laughed the elf, \u201cI want nothing, save what has been promised me. Those\nthat sent me, it is what they want that you do not know.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWho are they?\u201d\npressed Dilmir. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWho are they?\u201d\nmimicked the elf. \u201cLook around, you will see them everywhere. Surely you know\nwho they are Dilmir, even if you don\u2019t know they want you dead.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A short pause\nfollowed this statement as Dilmir digested the elf\u2019s words. Who would possibly\nwant him dead? Obviously Alfimir did, though he didn\u2019t know why, but he was\nsomewhere in the Great Forest at the moment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI see now that\nI cannot kill you, however,\u201d continued the elf, \u201cso I offer you an\nalternative.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAn alternative\nto what?\u201d asked Dilmir, seizing on the word. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The elf ignored\nhim. \u201cWalk into the Great Forest, and wait until sunset. They will find you.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd why would I\ndo that?\u201d asked Dilmir, thoroughly bewildered, and a little frightened by now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The elf smiled\nbeneath his hood, teeth gleaming in the green light. \u201cThe one that sent me\nknows who you truly are, Dilmir, and you know that the others will easily\nbelieve the same. Go into the forest, or the elves will soon know what you have\nkept from them all these years.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dilmir felt\nhimself blanch, but gripped the elf by the throat. \u201cI can crush you in an\ninstant,\u201d he said, thoroughly believing it. \u201cTell me what is going on if you\nvalue your life.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The elf merely\nsmiled again. \u201cYou won\u2019t kill me, Dilmir,\u201d he said. \u201cThe other elves believe\nyou would, but it is for that reason that you won\u2019t.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The last word\nescaped him like a whisper and echoed in Dilmir\u2019s head. At the same time, the\nelf melted into the wood which Dilmir held him against, leaving him with\nnothing but his own thoughts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dilmir sat, his\nmind reeling. That was two attempts made on his life now; if only he knew why. There\u2019s only one person who both wants me\ndead and is powerful enough to have others to do it for him, and that\u2019s\nAlfimir. That must be why the elf wanted me to go into the forest: Alfimir\u2019s\nwaiting for me there.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dilmir mulled\nthis unpleasant thought over for awhile, but the more he thought on it, the\nmore sense it made. It all came down to why Alfimir had attacked him. If he\nknew that, perhaps he could figure things out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Shaking his head\nto clear it, Dilmir doused his light and went down the stairs. He resumed his\njourney through the quiet city, keeping an eye open and watching the shadows,\nbut no one else surprised him that night. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Clouds covered the moon as Dilmir walked. His feet made little noise on the well-worn path between the roots of the lower district, and already the first of the mists were creeping upon him. Eld\u2019rin was silent, and Dilmir found the calmness to his liking after the day\u2019s events. After stopping at his aunt\u2019s house … Continue reading Chapter Ten – Blade of Shadow, Elf of Darkness<\/span>