Dusk fell\nquickly. Bats fluttered freely over Eld\u2019rin, darting in and out of its massive\nleaves, playing in its strong branches. Moths fluttered low to the ground,\ndrawn by the lights of the elven homes. Ilrin walked amongst the roots of the\nlower district, though her steps were wandering. She need not go home\nimmediately, now that training was over for the day, Endir having pulled off\nanother incredible all-time low in his swordplay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She walked the\nroots, her mind far away, heedless of the fog beginning to appear. As she\nwandered, the scene of that morning, of hundreds of soldiers training, invaded\nher mind. After nearly ten more minutes, she finally came to a decision. She\nhad no love for Eltuthar or his ways, but if Dilmir was with him, which she\nbelieved him to be, he must be warned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She had seen how\nthe soldiers were training, for they had trained in the afternoon as well.\nEvery move they made, every spell they practiced, was designed to kill. They\nmeant to take no prisoners. Eltuthar and every one of his followers would be\nslain immediately when they attacked, unless someone warned them. Ilrin\u2019s blood\nchilled at the thought, but, whoever he might be, she could not let Dilmir be killed.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, she had\nto know something first. Directing her steps for the first time in nearly half\nan hour, she made good time towards her home. She passed the door, however,\nleaping over the squares of light which poured from the windows, and made her\nway to a dark staircase set into the wall of the root instead. It was narrow,\nand twisted downwards, out of sight, to be consumed by shadows. Without a\nsecond thought, she plunged down the slippery steps. After a brief sojourn in\nthe darkness, she found other steps and climbed them. They led to a small\nhallway, located just behind her house. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She shuddered as\nshe saw what lined the far wall; her parents had forbidden her to ever come\nhere, for this was where wrong-doers were held to await their trial. Most of\nthe cells set in the wall were empty, she knew, but the place still held a\nsinister feeling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She walked\nquickly, not wanting to spend any more time in this place than she had to.\nEvery door she passed was open, indicating that the cell was ready to receive a\nnew prisoner. Because elves could use magic, the cells had to be shielded with\na stretch through which nothing could pass. Air, flesh, or magic, all would\nstop upon encountering it. Or at least air and magic would. A hand would simply\nexplode. Ilrin shuddered at the thought. The doors used to all be closed until,\nupon opening one to put an elf inside, another was accidentally let out. After\nthat incident, all cells that were empty had their doors left ajar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ilrin soon found\nherself before the only cell with a closed door. Vines stretched across the\ndoorway, shielding the interior from view. Slowly, Ilrin crept up to the cell,\nknowing that the elf who lay inside was nearly as powerful as Alfimir. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Knowing full\nwell that she would be banished in an instant if she were caught, she stretched\nforth a shaking hand, and touched one of the vines. At first, nothing happened.\nThen, a thin tendril snaked forward, and wound its way into the cell, granted\nstrength to resist exploding by Ilrin\u2019s magic. It slowly grew, resolving itself\ninto a hollow tube barely an inch across. Warily, Ilrin lowered her eye to the\nopening she had created, which was by itself enough to allow the Dark Elf\nwithin to escape. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Slumped against\nthe far wall was a large elf. She shifted her position, trying to get a better\nlook, and gasped as she saw his face: It was Felnir. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her intake of\nbreath, unfortunately, woke him. He leapt up in an instant, searching for the\nsource of the sound. Ilrin hastily drew back as he spotted her looking at him.\nShe retreated to the far wall, and soon saw Felnir\u2019s eye scrutinizing her\nthrough the tube. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou,\u201d he said.\nHis voice was neither accusing nor reassuring, it simply conveyed a fact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPlease,\nFelnir,\u201d said Ilrin, \u201cdon\u2019t try to get out. If you did, they would catch me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Felnir looked at\nher, his eye conveying nothing but an inscrutable patience. \u201cWhat do you want?\u201d\nhe finally asked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou have seen\nEltuthar?\u201d asked Ilrin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Felnir nodded\nslowly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIs Dilmir with\nhim?\u201d asked Ilrin, abandoning all pretext. Time was of the essence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Again, Felnir\nnodded slowly. \u201cYou speak of the one that trained with you, Dilmir, son of\nFelmir? Yes, he is with him. But why must you know? Surely you did not risk my\nescape to merely inquire after his health?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI must warn him,\u201d\nsaid Ilrin, taking a step closer to the vines. \u201cThe elves mean to attack\nEltuthar and slay all with him.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Felnir\u2019s eye blinked\nand a low curse escaped him. \u201cSo that is what they were after. If only I had\nknown.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ilrin looked at\nhim fearfully. \u201cYou\u2026 You told them?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo,\u201d laughed\nFelnir, his voice painful nonetheless. \u201cThe information was taken from me\nagainst my will. Listen,\u201d he said suddenly, \u201cif you truly mean to warn Dilmir,\nyou must do it tonight. Long have the elves waited for what I have given them,\nand I fear that they will waste little time. They may even be on their way\nnow.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow will I get\nin?\u201d asked Ilrin, taking another step closer and feeling her stomach tense into\na knot. She was actually conspiring with a Dark Elf. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTell them you\nseek to speak with Eltuthar,\u201d said Felnir. \u201cDon\u2019t tell them you bring a\nmessage, he has had enough of those already. Tell them that I sent you on a\nmatter of great importance.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ilrin nodded,\nher face barely a foot from the vines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGo,\u201d whispered\nFelnir, \u201cwaste no time.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Ilrin\nwatched, the tendril forced its way back into the vine; Felnir would not betray\nher. She didn\u2019t hesitate another minute, but ran from the place, her footfalls\nsoundless in the darkness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She arrived at\nher home a moment later, just as her mother was opening the door to see if she\nhad arrived yet. Fortunately, she did not notice that Ilrin came from the wrong\ndirection, and ushered her into the house, inquiring about her reason for being\nlate. Ilrin supplied a vague excuse, and sat down at the table. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo tell me,\u201d\nsaid her father as they began to eat, \u201cwas Endir any better today?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The last thing\nIlrin wanted to do was talk about Endir, but she had to humor her father, to\nkeep him from being suspicious. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo,\u201d she said,\nfeigning tiredness, \u201che was even worse today than he was yesterday.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ilrin\u2019s parents\nlooked at each other. Whenever they discussed Endir, she had the distinct\nfeeling that they wanted her to like him. However, she flatly refused to do so,\nthough none of this had been said openly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow about in\nthe morning, though?\u201d asked her mother. \u201cI thought he was good at magic.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe\u2019s all\nright,\u201d admitted Ilrin. \u201cHe did master spells faster than anyone else his age.\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And so the\nconversation went, Ilrin squirming uncomfortably to be free and go to her room.\nAfter what seemed an eternity, the meal was finished, and, feigning tiredness\nonce again, she retired. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She sat for a\nlong time on the edge of her bed, fully clothed, a small pack beside her,\nlistening to her parents. They remained talking far into the night, though all\nshe could hear was the muffled sound of their voices, as no words reached her. Nearly\nan hour after she had closed her door, she heard them rise, and retire as well.\nOnly then was the house silent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ilrin waited for\nanother five minutes for good measure, then, unable to wait any longer, grabbed\nher cloak, strapped her sword to her belt, and slung her bow and quiver over\nher back. Then, raising her hood over her hair to cast her face in shadows, she\nslipped silently from her room. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elves should never be taught how to go\nunnoticed when they are only fourteen,<\/em> she thought as she placed her hand\non the door. They can slip away far too\neasily.<\/em> She smiled despite herself, and then caused the vines of the door\nto weave back together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She had only\nslipped out of her house during the night two other times, neither of which she\nwas overly eager to remember. Quietly, she weaved her way between the roots,\nparting the mist before her, and watching it close in behind her as she moved.\nSoon, she reached the center of the sleeping city, but did not stop. She turned\nright, past a silently shimmering pool of water, and entered the elven stables.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Proud horses\npawed nervously at her entrance, nearly all of them fair. White, light brown,\nand dappled gray were to be found, but in all the stables, only three horses\nwere dark brown or black. No one knew why the elven horses were such a light\ncolor, just that they had always been that way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ilrin selected\none of the gray ones, since it would be harder to spot, and saddled it. She had\nhad plenty of experience with horses when she was fourteen, and had little trouble.\nShe had soon mounted it, and led it out of the stables. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She did not head\nfor the main gate, but instead turned the horse\u2019s head towards where she knew\nDilmir\u2019s house lay. The horse\u2019s hooves made little noise as it walked sedately\nbetween the houses, heading for the side gate that led directly to the training\nfield where Ilrin had dueled with Dilmir. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She turned in\nthe saddle and glanced one last time at Dilmir\u2019s house as she passed. All but\none window was dark. She turned back and turned the horse sideways so that she\ncould place her hand on the vines that sealed the gate. They parted at her\nlight touch, and the horse cantered through. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ahead of her,\nIlrin could see the line of trees that was the Great Forest. It surrounded\nEld\u2019rin on two sides, with a wide field between. It was crossing this that was\nto prove difficult. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The elves\ndefended Eld\u2019rin against their mortal enemies, the wolves, with more than\nblades. The very grass was enchanted to grab hold of any intruder, and thorny\nbrambles would sprout from the ground to repel any force. Ilrin, however, was\nan elf. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She forced her\nhorse into a trot as it made its way onto the field. It moved lightly over the\ntraining field, Ilrin glancing up many times at the wall overhead, hoping that\nnone of the guards would see her. She forced it to go faster as it reached the\ntaller grass, finally causing it to gallop towards the trees. With barely\nenough time, she saw the grass begin to rise up to meet her. Raising her palm\ntowards it, she released a bolt of energy, blasting it flat to the ground as\nshe thundered past into the dark trees. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dusk fell quickly. Bats fluttered freely over Eld\u2019rin, darting in and out of its massive leaves, playing in its strong branches. Moths fluttered low to the ground, drawn by the lights of the elven homes. Ilrin walked amongst the roots of the lower district, though her steps were wandering. She need not go home immediately, … Continue reading Chapter Twenty – Treason<\/span>