Ilrin never\ntired of looking at the mists. Even after years of walking through them, they\nnever failed to present new shapes and sizes to her eyes. The fog eddied and\nflowed about her like something alive, some last vestige of the mystical\nmoments before the sun chased the shadows from Feylund. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She reached the\ncenter of Eld\u2019rin, and paused, as usual, searching for Dilmir. No shape met her\neye; no greeting pierced the sleepy stillness of the city. She sighed as the\nmemories of the past week came flooding back to her, weighing her down like a\nhundred stones. She knew there was no use waiting for him. She knew she would\nonly make herself late; and yet, she did not want to acknowledge that never\nagain would they walk together under the leaves of Eld\u2019rin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She ceased her\nsearching, her heart heavy, and slowly made her way to the gates, her eyes\ndowncast. The fact that the friend she had thought she had known for seven\nyears was in fact a descendant of Eltuthar the Black had not left her in a\nlight mood. Even though what he had done was as clear as the new sun overhead,\nshe constantly found herself looking around, wondering where he had gone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her searches\nwere always fruitless. Dilmir wasn\u2019t there anymore. No one met her in the\nmornings, no one walked with her to the gates, and his place in the afternoon\ntraining had been taken by another elf, Endir by name, who was so depressingly unskilled\nwith the sword that Ilrin found it difficult to avoid running him through,\nthough whether out of his lack of skill or her frustration was sometimes hard\nto tell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ilrin sighed as\nshe walked. What had happened to Dilmir? When they had first become friends, he\nhad told her what he had done to the wolves the night he came to Eld\u2019rin. He\nhad told her how he had discovered the magic within him, the magic that was far\nmore powerful than that which any other elf possessed. But he had been afraid\nthen, afraid of what would happen because of his power. He had told Ilrin that\nhe must never use it again, if the elves were ever to forget it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For seven years, he had done just that: Nothing. And then, just over a week ago, he had acted as Ilrin had never seen him act before. In just four days, he had begun drawing all attention back to himself, until he had nearly killed Aldir. She knew it had been an accident, that he would never hurt anyone on purpose, but she didn\u2019t understand why he had suddenly decided to show his power. It was as if he had suddenly done everything he had told her he must never do, and now he was banished. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her thoughts were\nsuddenly interrupted by a voice nearby: Aldir\u2019s. She glanced up, and saw him\nwalking to the nearest of the four trees of Eld\u2019rin, accompanied by a mage. She\nfrowned. She was sure he had training at this hour in the morning. She was\nabout to continue to the gates, when the mage said Dilmir\u2019s name, causing her\nto stop. Curious, she slipped into the shadows of a high root and crept closer\nto Aldir and the mage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026and excellent\nexecution, I might add,\u201d the mage was saying. \u201cYou\u2019re sure Dilmir had no idea?\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPositive,\u201d\nreplied Aldir comfortably. \u201cAll I had to do was watch him for a space, so that\nI could determine what would trigger him. After the attack by Cyprien, it\nwasn\u2019t hard. He reacted a bit more harshly than I thought he would, but the\nmore the better.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is\nfortunate,\u201d agreed the mage. \u201cHe was too powerful to remain here. It\u2019s good\nthat he went to such an extreme\u2026\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At this point,\nthey entered the tree, muffling their voices and leaving Ilrin crouched in the\nshadows, her heart beating quickly. What did Aldir mean? It sounded as if he\nhad set Dilmir up. And then everything made sense. The elves were afraid of\nDilmir\u2019s power, and Aldir had been sent to cause him to use it, so that they\ncould have an excuse to banish him. Ilrin\u2019s brow darkened with anger. What kind\nof twisted justice was this? If the council could banish Dilmir this way, they\ncould just as easily banish her or any one of its other subjects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And yet, Ilrin\ncould not believe that Aldir could sink so low. Making sure that no one saw\nher, she slipped from the shadows, and hastened to pursue him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aldir, as it\nturned out, split up with the mage quickly. The mage turned, and ascended the\nnearby stairs, while Aldir continued through the tree. Ilrin waited, following\nhim at a distance, until he had exited, and was between the rows of large\nhouses, amongst which Aimim\u2019s sat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He turned as she\ncalled out to him, his face breaking into an easy grin. \u201cWhat is it, Ilrin?\u201d he\nasked. \u201cShouldn\u2019t you be training?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShouldn\u2019t you?\u201d\nIlrin countered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aldir\u2019s smile\nfaltered at her accusing tone. \u201cPerhaps,\u201d he said, slowly. \u201cHowever, there are\nthings that take precedence over training.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLike causing\nDilmir to use his power so that you could banish him?\u201d said Ilrin, unable to\ncontain herself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aldir frowned. \u201cHow\nmuch did you hear?\u201d he asked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEnough,\u201d said\nIlrin, seeing her dark look reflected in Aldir\u2019s face. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aldir was silent\nfor a moment. \u201cI don\u2019t regret what I did, Ilrin,\u201d he said slowly, \u201cI believe it\nwas for the best. I know he was your friend, and I\u2019m sorry for that, but he was\ndangerous and had to be removed. Surely you see that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ilrin was at a\nloss for words. Aldir wasn\u2019t even denying that he had set Dilmir up. And then\nhis words came back to her. All I had to\ndo was watch him for a space, so that I could determine what would trigger him.\nAfter the attack by Cyprien, it wasn\u2019t hard.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n She felt her\nblood rise to her face as she realized what he had meant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t want\nyou as an enemy, Ilrin,\u201d said Aldir. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ilrin looked at\nhim, hate as she had never felt before welling up in her. \u201cThen you\u2019ve failed,\u201d\nshe said, trying to keep her voice steady. \u201cI will never forget what you\u2019ve\ndone, and as long as I live, neither will you.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Aldir\u2019s face\nhardened. \u201cSo be it,\u201d he said. \u201cI did only what I saw as necessary. One day,\nyou will see that I was right to act.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ilrin shot a\nlook of pure venom at him, and he turned, walking away until he was swallowed\nby the houses. Shaking with suppressed rage, she turned as well, and reentered\nthe tree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She barely saw\nwhere she was going, but blindly made her way through the gates, onto the\nfield, and up to Iliadin, who was waiting for her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhere have you\nbeen?\u201d asked Iliadin, as she came up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ilrin started to\nsupply an excuse, but stopped, mouth open, as she saw past Iliadin. The field\nwas full of, not mages and their pupils, but soldiers, hundreds of them. They\nwere all practicing spells and enchantments, the complexity of which Ilrin had\nnever seen. \u201cWhat are they doing?\u201d she asked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHaven\u2019t you\nheard?\u201d said Iliadin, surprised. \u201cThe council means to move on Eltuthar.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ilrin snapped\nher head around so fast she was momentarily sure she had broken her neck.\nRubbing it, she said, \u201cWhy?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe\u2019s getting\nmore powerful,\u201d said Iliadin, shrugging her shoulders. \u201cIf we don\u2019t strike while\nhe\u2019s still weak, he\u2019ll come back worse than ever before, and we might not be\nable to stop him this time.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ilrin glanced back\nat the training soldiers. \u201cHow do you know he\u2019s getting more powerful?\u201d she\nasked, curious, but also a little wary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Iliadin looked\ndown at her. \u201cI thought you would have heard this,\u201d she said, evidentially\nsurprised. \u201cIt\u2019s been all over the city.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve been\ndistracted lately,\u201d said Ilrin vaguely, still watching the soldiers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Iliadin frowned,\nas if to agree with her. \u201cThe far posts have been reporting things, unnatural\nthings, happening over there,\u201d she said, speaking more quietly. Ilrin turned her\nattention to her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor the first\nfew months,\u201d continued Iliadin, \u201cit was just sudden rain clouds and unexplained\nweather like that, but recently, there have been strange thunderstorms that\ncover half of the Great Forest, and that seem to come from nowhere. One moment,\nthe sky is clear, the next, it\u2019s pitch black. Some elves have even reported\ntrees moving, like they were alive. Even the ground seems to be shifting.\nEltuthar\u2019s up there doing something, and the council won\u2019t sit back while he\ngets more powerful. They mean to put a stop to it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n It was a moment\nbefore Ilrin spoke. \u201cBut,\u201d she said, finally seeing a problem, \u201chow can they?\nThe last time elves went to Eltuthar, he knew they were there long before they\narrived.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Iliadin smiled.\n\u201cA Dark Elf was captured lately, and he\u2019s being held in a secure cell. The\nmages are questioning him as we speak. Once he tells them how, we\u2019ll be able to\nambush Eltuthar and end his threat once and for all.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ilrin felt\nherself blanch. \u201cYou captured<\/em> a Dark\nElf?\u201d she repeated. \u201cWon\u2019t Eltuthar interpret that as an act of war?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Iliadin smiled\ndown at her once again. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t know,\u201d she said, \u201cat least not yet. We\u2019ll\nhave his secret out soon enough, before he even realizes one of his elves is\nmissing.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ilrin looked doubtfully\nover the mass of training soldiers. If half of what she had heard of Eltuthar\nwas true, Sonlen had only been able to beat him by a lucky blow, in which he\ncast a powerful curse. The king\u2019s army would have been crushed by Eltuthar\u2019s,\nhad they not surrendered when Eltuthar was beaten. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou know,\u201d\nmused Iliadin, \u201cit\u2019s odd. Those strange storms I mentioned only started\nhappening a week ago.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ilrin felt what\nlittle color was left in her face drain away. Dilmir would be with Eltuthar,\nshe knew it. He wouldn\u2019t be in any elven outpost, where most banished elves\nwent, she knew that much, for he tried to avoid the company of other elves. And\nhadn\u2019t Eltuthar proven that he didn\u2019t mind a little extra power over and over\nagain? Dilmir would fit in perfectly with him, not least because he was of his\nline. Doubtless, he was there at this very moment. And if the storms had only\nstarted a week ago, that meant that\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ilrin shuddered.\nCould Dilmir possibly be following in the footsteps of Eltuthar? Would he? <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIlrin?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ilrin looked up,\nmomentarily surprised to find Iliadin still there, watching her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAre you ready\nto begin?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ilrin nodded\nslowly, her mind still far away. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ilrin never tired of looking at the mists. Even after years of walking through them, they never failed to present new shapes and sizes to her eyes. The fog eddied and flowed about her like something alive, some last vestige of the mystical moments before the sun chased the shadows from Feylund. She reached the … Continue reading Chapter Nineteen – Tidings<\/span>