\u201cI hear you made\nquite a disturbance a day or two ago,\u201d said Eltuthar. \u201cSomething involving a\ntree, I believe?\u201d He stood solidly on the small plateau, his feet set slightly\napart, his eyes alive in contrast with the rest of his face. The sun of the new\nmorning shone brilliantly behind him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dilmir laughed\ndespite himself. He wore the black leather of the Eth Aniliim now, the red\nsymbol that was so feared etched into it. He did not, however, carry the two\nswords of Eltuthar\u2019s followers; the sword he had trained with for seven years\nand which had weathered every one of Ilrin\u2019s vicious blows was still tied\nsecurely to his belt. \u201cIt was an accident,\u201d he said. \u201cI just gave the spell too\nmuch power.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cExactly,\u201d said\nEltuthar, a light breeze lifting his hair. \u201cWhen you attacked Cyprien on that\nnight, you woke the magic within you. Denying it for seven years had worked\nwell enough, though it would have broken out eventually, but after using it,\nthere was no quelling it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dilmir had\nsuspected something similar. After all, his magic had only begun to grow after\nhe had attacked Cyprien. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSpells,\u201d mused\nEltuthar, \u201ccan be tricky things. If you had ever seen me duel with magic, I\nwould have never cast a spell.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dilmir found\nthis hard to believe. \u201cWhy?\u201d he said. \u201cSurely you had to cast something?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eltuthar smiled\nas he replied. \u201cThe magic that you possess, Dilmir, and that I did, is vastly\ndifferent from that of the other elves. To change something, they must\nconcentrate very hard, forming the magic before they release it. With us, it is\nthe other way around. We release the magic first, then form it however we\nwish.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dilmir frowned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTell me,\nDilmir,\u201d said Eltuthar, \u201chaven\u2019t you ever simply felt something through magic,\nwithout truly casting a spell or enchantment?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dilmir nodded.\nHe had always thought that all elves could do that, however. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat little\nability means that you don\u2019t have to think about what kind of spell you want to\ncast. All you have to do is release the magic, and then<\/em> form it. You\u2019ll be faster at casting a spell than any other\nelf, because they will, no matter how good at it they are, always have to form\nthe spell first.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut then,\u201d said\nDilmir slowly, \u201ccan you cast one spell, and then change it into something\ncompletely different in the air?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Eltuthar\u2019s smile\nwidened. \u201cPrecisely,\u201d he said. \u201cFor example, that tree that I mentioned. You\ncould easily do the same here, but without casting a spell. Try it now.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Wondering if\nthis could possibly work, though it made sense enough, Dilmir slowly stretched\nhis magic out over the ground, conscious now of how he allowed it to flow from\nhim, searching through the ground. In a moment, he found a small seed, and\nbegan to work his magic into it. Once he had learned its simple structure, he\nturned his attention to the magic. Carefully, slowly, wondering why this had\nnever occurred to him before, it seemed so simple, he caused the seed to\nsprout, push its roots down into the earth, and then shoot upwards. The tree\ngrew at an amazing rate, the hard case of the shell falling rapidly away, the\nfirst of the leaves unraveling in less than a second. Slowly, bark began to\ncreep up the stem, and then widen, enlarging the trunk. For a moment, the tree\nlooked oddly absurd, its trunk as wide around as Dilmir\u2019s waist, its branches\nstill thin twigs. Then those too grew, widening and lengthening, splitting in\ntwo many times, leaves sprouting all along them. In another moment, a small\ntree stood, placidly growing in what had been a smooth field a few short seconds\nago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dilmir released\nthe magic. Despite what he might want to think, controlling the tree the way he\nhad was \u2013 there was no other word for it \u2013 fun<\/em>.\nHe liked the sense of control it gave him, but the opportunity to not have to\nwithhold his magic for once was alone enough. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Eltuthar quietly\nobserved the birch before commenting, \u201cThe more energy you put into the tree,\nthe more you\u2019ll be able to grow it, but you likely already knew that.\u201d He fell\nsilent then, and walked about the tree, examining it, as if trying to find a\nflaw. Being unable to do so, he said, \u201cI wish I had seen the other elves\u2019 faces\nwhen you grew that oak. I heard it was quite a sight.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow do you\nknow?\u201d asked Dilmir, puzzled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy Eth Aniliim\nare all about Eld\u2019rin,\u201d said Eltuthar. \u201cThey just keep to themselves most of\nthe time. Many of them saw what you did.\u201d He laughed. \u201cBut their faces! Such\nreports I\u2019ve heard, all of them looking disbelievingly at you.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n He resumed his\nscrutiny of the tree, but the smile that had momentarily come, slowly slid from\nDilmir\u2019s face. <\/p>\n\n\n\n True, the elves\nhad not been able to believe what he had done, but it had been more than that,\neven if Eltuthar\u2019s elves had not seen. Ilrin had been the only elf who was not\nafraid of him or his power. Dilmir closed his eyes. Ilrin. <\/em>Try as he might, he could not shake her from his thoughts.\nHe was reminded constantly of her by everything he did. Only now, when she was\ngone, did he fully realize how much a part of him she had become. They had been\ntogether for nearly the whole time he was at Eld\u2019rin, and he had confided\neverything in her. Everything<\/em>, he\nthought bitterly, but what I should have.\nIf I had told her who I was, nothing would have changed. She would have still\nbeen with me, trying to help. That was all she did, after all: try to help. If\nonly I had trusted her with more. <\/em>But he hadn\u2019t. He had made a choice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This was not the\nfirst time he had thought thus. Over the days he had spent at Arath Imil, he\nhad constantly been reminded of things he should have told Ilrin, and now would\nlikely never be able to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As Eltuthar\nmarveled over the perfection of his tree, Dilmir was slowly turned against the\npower within him, that which made him different. If he had never had it, none\nof this would have happened. If he hadn\u2019t had it, Alfimir wouldn\u2019t have\nattacked him. If he hadn\u2019t had it, the elves would have seen him as just\nanother elf. If he hadn\u2019t had it, he would not now be banished, and the elves\nwould not be turned against him, but most of all, Ilrin, whom had always been\nthere to reassure him and sunder his doubts, would still be with him, likely\nlaughing lightly by his side at this very moment. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cI hear you made quite a disturbance a day or two ago,\u201d said Eltuthar. \u201cSomething involving a tree, I believe?\u201d He stood solidly on the small plateau, his feet set slightly apart, his eyes alive in contrast with the rest of his face. The sun of the new morning shone brilliantly behind him. Dilmir laughed … Continue reading Chapter Eighteen – The Choice has been Made<\/span>