Alfimir tossed\naside a charred branch with his boot. It flipped over three times before\nshattering against a blackened root and dissolving into ash. What had once been\na grand building, woven elegantly by Eltuthar so long ago, was now little more\nthan a burnt husk of what it had once been. The center tree was still intact,\nthough Alfimir doubted that much of the wood had survived the flames. Bits of\nall three floors still clung to it, but most of the rubble lay piled on the\nfirst floor, hiding where walls and rooms had once been. Countless scrolls\nlittered the burnt wreckage, their papers turned to ash. Eltuthar\u2019s findings\nwere no more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alfimir,\nhowever, was not pleased. With the sun\u2019s first appearance, he had hunted for\nDilmir or Eltuthar, but had been able to find neither. He had implemented many\nspells, several of Eltuthar\u2019s own design, but had turned up nothing. His only\nconclusion could be that they had somehow escaped. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oddly, Alfimir\nhad a shrewd idea how they might have done so, though he thought it unlikely.\nThe spell took far too much energy for Eltuthar to cast in his current\ncondition, and he had seen Dilmir fall to floor, knocked out, before descending\ninto the flames. The girl could hardly have known of the spell, it was far\nbeyond her or even any of the council. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alfimir frowned.\nPerhaps Eltuthar had been stronger than he had thought. Sonlen\u2019s curse had robbed\nhim of all magic; what if, after all this time, its power was beginning to\nfade? Dilmir, Alfimir was sure he could deal with. If Eltuthar regained his\npower, however, he dared not consider the consequences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was not all\nthat tugged at Alfimir\u2019s mind, however, trying to distract him from his search.\nHe had underestimated Dilmir. There was no way around it; he knew it to be\ntrue. And yet, Dilmir had let him live, and he had told him why. Though there\nhad been far too much going on at the time to consider it, now that all was\nquiet, Alfimir had time to rearrange his thoughts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Had what he had\ndone been right? Dilmir, ignorant though he may be, had posed a worthy\nquestion. What kind of an elf was he? He had slain innocent elves, their only crime\nbeing related to Eltuthar, and now being interested in his power, and for what?\nTo protect those at Eld\u2019rin? Somehow, killing elves to protect them didn\u2019t seem\nlogical, though it had at the time. Alfimir frowned. He couldn\u2019t let Dilmir\u2019s\nwords distract him. Besides, the elves he had slain had posed a very real\nthreat. Something had had to be done. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alfimir forced\nhis thoughts back to his surroundings. He stopped his pacing, frowning at the\nsky. They weren\u2019t here. \u201cWhere then?\u201d muttered Alfimir to himself. Almost absent-mindedly,\nhe put his hand to his eyes, and cast an enchantment of Eltuthar\u2019s. Shimmering\nlines instantly appeared in the sky, a brilliant white, though some were\ntainted with other colors. The lines were invisible normally, but the enchantment\nallowed Alfimir to see them for what they truly were, the lines of magic that\nfloated aimlessly throughout Feylund, until they met something to attach to.\nNone of the lines were pure white, meaning that they had been absorbed and then\nreleased, likely in a spell. Hanging over the smoking ruin was a shimmering\ngathering of them, like a rainbow hued cloak. Alfimir\u2019s eyes, however, sought\nonly one trail. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carrying taints\nof green, though its edges were red and orange, was a thick line of magic,\nextending from the ruin and arcing across the sky to the West. Alfimir followed\nits trail with his eyes, straight, unwavering, until he saw it land at\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSurely not\nEld\u2019rin,\u201d he muttered. He traced the line again. There was no mistake. The\nmagic left by, as he had suspected, Eltuthar, formed a straight line to\nEld\u2019rin. He had doubtless taken Dilmir with him. In one burst of light they\nwould have been there, but the trail of magic would have been left behind in\nthe path they had taken. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alfimir smiled despite\nhimself, removing the magic from his eyes with sweep of his hand. So Eltuthar\u2019s\nown spell would be his undoing. How fitting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Very well,<\/em> thought Alfimir, clearing his\npath out of the ruin. If they wish to\nbring the fight to Eld\u2019rin, I shall oblige. It would do the elves good to see\nthe downfall of their enemy. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n He cleared a\npath out of the ruin, and quickly mounted his horse. Then, urging it down the\nsteep and treacherous path, he made all haste to the elven encampment at the\nfoot of the mountain. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Alfimir tossed aside a charred branch with his boot. It flipped over three times before shattering against a blackened root and dissolving into ash. What had once been a grand building, woven elegantly by Eltuthar so long ago, was now little more than a burnt husk of what it had once been. The center tree … Continue reading Chapter Twenty-Six – The Teachings of Eltuthar<\/span>