Lillandra

It was a pleasant evening. The moon was high, the stars were shining, and the air was brisk and cool -- a welcome relief from the heat of the day. The three of them had made camp at the top of a ridge overlooking a long valley, and were now gathered around a campfire, having just finished a meal of Addish acorns and dandelion greens. Arai had whittled a toothpick out of a tree branch and was using it to pick his teeth, while Lillandra was trying to teach Shell how to use the Candle of Hours, the zemi she had made out of a twig and a bit of candle wax. When activated, the Candle emitted an extremely bright, glaring light, but no matter how hard she tried, Shell just couldn't seem to get the hang of it.

"I've already performed the calculation," Lillandra told her. "All that's left is to draw the spell out of it."

"But how?" Shell asked. "How do you do it?"

"You pull just a little magia out of the zemi," she said, "while thinking very hard about what you want it to do. In this case, you want the tip of that twig to start glowing. Concentrate on that."

Shell stared at the Candle of Hours, her green eyes intent. Arai thought he saw a little flicker of light kindle itself at the tip of the twig, but it was gone in an instant.

"You're not drawing enough magia out of the zemi," Lillandra said.

"It's hard," she complained. "I can feel it, but as soon as I try to grab it, it slips out of my hands."

"It gets easier with practice," Lillandra said. "Don't be too hard on yourself. You're making excellent progress."

"Am I really?" she asked excitedly.

"Two weeks ago you couldn't manipulate magia at all. Who knows where you'll be two weeks from now?"

"Will I ever be as a good a sorceress as you?"

The Night Queen smiled sadly. "No."

The elf girl deflated. "Oh."

Arai snorted. "You should be more encouraging," he told Lillandra.

"Well, I don't want to get her hopes up. Some people are born with a little potential; some people are born with a lot. You can't change that. Shell here has the makings of a minor sorceress, and if she's good at calculation she might even be able to create a few zemi of her own someday. But she'll never have my strength."

"It's bad manners to boast."

"It's not a boast," she said. "It's a fact. Spellcasting isn't just a matter of skill. The ability to manipulate magia and perform complex calculations is, to a certain degree, inborn -- some people simply have more aptitude for it than others."

Shell frowned at the Candle of Hours. "Why should I bother trying to get better, if I can't be as good as you?"

"My father was a much better swordsman than I am," Arai told her. "I sparred with him hundreds of times, but I never beat him once."

"So?"

"So there's always going to be someone better than you -- at sword-fighting, at spellcasting, at anything you can think of. That's no reason to give up on those things. Concentrate on yourself, on doing the best you can with what you have." He picked at his teeth some more. "That's all any of us can do, really."

Lillandra nodded. "He's right."

Arai blinked in surprise. This was the first time that Lillandra had ever actually agreed with anything he had said.

"If I'd wanted a sermon I'd have gone to a Lenstable," Shell muttered. "Tallise's breath."

Arai's brow furrowed. Shell had used this phrase before, usually when she was annoyed with something, but he wasn't quite sure what it meant. "Who is this Tallise, anyway?" he asked her.

"You've never heard of Tallise? She's a goddess."

"A goddess?"

"The goddess of the elves. She lives in the clouds, and brings the rains, and stirs the wind with her breath. And when we die, she takes us into her home, dresses us in new clothes, and eventually sends us back to Iona Magister."

"New clothes?" Arai asked.

"A new body," she clarified. "A new life."

"And you believe in this goddess?" Lillandra asked doubtfully.

She nodded. "What about you? What gods do you worship?"

"I don't believe in gods or goddesses," she said flatly.

Arai narrowed his eyes at her. "You shouldn't say things like that."

"I shouldn't say what I believe?"

"You're a fool if you don't believe in the gods. We all know demons are real; they invaded the world during the Harrowing. And if demons are real, why not gods?"

Lillandra bristled. "I'm a fool now, am I?"

"What gods do you worship?" Shell asked Arai, possibly in an attempt to deescalate.

"My god," he said slowly, still glaring at Lillandra, "is the god of my father, and of his father before him. The God of the Monuments."

"I've never heard of that one," Shell said.

"He's a Velonese god," Arai explained. "His monuments are scattered all over the Frozen Mountains -- gigantic monoliths, which he placed there with his own hands. The demons tore most of them down during the Harrowing, but some of them are still standing."

"Does he cloak you in a new body after you die?" Shell asked.

Arai shook his head. "He rewards those who live good lives, and punishes those who don't. The righteous go to live with him in his castle; the wicked spend an eternity rotting away below, in his dungeons."

"Nonsense," Lillandra snorted.

Arai decided to ignore that. "There are other gods, of course. Some in Velon worship the Great Bear, others worship Estellaria. In the Holy Empire they worship Arl, whom they call the captain of the gods. They say that Arliel, the Empire's founder, was an incarnation of Arl."

Shell absorbed all that. "The only gods I know of are Len, and Tallise, and the Perfect Knight of Galleus. The world is a very big place, isn't it?"

"Very big," Arai said. "Very big indeed."

* * *

They set off early the next morning, down a long, straight road which ran through several farms and villages. Lillandra and Shell walked side by side, chatting pleasantly about this and that, while Arai followed quietly behind them. The Night Queen had been skeptical of the elf girl at first, but she seemed to have warmed up to her now, and they seemed to be getting along very well. This actually made Arai uneasy. Shortly after they had left Kingsaile he had taken Shell aside and warned her about Lillandra, explaining to her that she had spent the last century terrorizing Velon and that he was taking her back there to answer for her crimes, but he was pretty sure the elf girl hadn't believed his story. To be fair, it was a rather incredible story -- who would believe that a sixteen-year-old girl had managed to single-handedly conquer an entire kingdom? In any case, Shell had ignored his warnings, or forgotten them, and the two of them were becoming very close. Arai wasn't sure he liked that.

The day started out sunny and warm, but by the late afternoon some dark clouds had begun to roll in, and by the evening it was raining. They were in the middle of nowhere when the rain started, and there was no place for them to take shelter, so they simply threw their hoods over their heads and trudged on, miserable.

At last, they arrived on the outskirts of a small town, with a population of perhaps a hundred people. The streets were paved with stones, which was unusual -- most of the little villages they had come across had only dirt roads running through them -- and it seemed to have a few small businesses as well, including an inn and alehouse. They went immediately to the inn, to get out of the rain.

The interior was cozy -- there was a merry fire crackling in the hearth, and the air was pleasantly smoky. The common room was mostly empty, although there were a few older men drinking quietly here and there. A friendly-looking little man ran up to them almost as soon as they entered, helping them out of their cloaks and hanging them up on a portmanteau. "Welcome, welcome!" he greeted. "Come in, and warm yourselves by the fire."

"Thank you," Arai said. "We'd like to spend the night. Do you have any spare rooms?"

"Oh, certainly! Would you like a meal as well? And some good ale? How long have you been on the road? Please, sit down!"

He led them over to the fire and sat them down on some chairs. "What would you like to eat? We still have some stew left, or if you'd like, I could have Danya make some tokra for you."

Arai frowned. "What's tokra?" Lillandra's Stone of Many Tongues had given him the ability to speak and understand the Addish language, but some words, phrases, and cultural concepts remained alien to him.

"It's an Addish dish," Shell provided. "Meat and vegetables, wrapped up within a piece of unleavened bread. The meat is usually diced ham."

That sounded good to Arai, who was beginning to grow sick of stews anyway. "We'll take three of those," he said, and he handed the innkeeper a few coins.

"Wonderful!" He disappeared into the kitchen, but returned a few moments later with two mugs of ale for Arai and Lillandra and a glass of hot barely tea for Shell. "It'll be a few minutes for the tokra."

"That's fine."

"What are your names? Where are you from? And to where are you bound?" The innkeeper was very talkative, and obviously very interested in them. Arai, humoring him, told him that they had come from the capital and were headed west. Just as he had at the inn at Kingsaile, he told the man that Lillandra was his wife, and explained that Shell was an orphan they had adopted.

"I see, I see," the man said. "Well, I hope you'll be comfortable here. Enjoy your drinks!"

The fire was warm, the chairs were comfortable, and it only took about five minutes for Shell to slurp down her barley tea. "Can I have another?" she asked Arai.

"I suppose," he said. "I'll go ask the innkeeper." He got up, but on his way to the counter, he accidentally bumped a man's elbow just as he was taking a drink. Ale splashed down the front of the man's shirt.

"Pardon me," Arai said quickly. "Here, allow me to--"

But the man had already surged to his feet, whirling around to face Arai. He was furious, and from his breath and slurred speech, obviously drunk.

"What do you think you're doin'?" the man asked, sizing him up. He was a tall man, taller than Arai, but much older, probably in his forties. His face was gaunt, and his eyes were yellow.

"I'm sorry."

"You're some kind of damn foreigner, ain't ya? You lookin' for trouble?" He stood up straight and puffed out his chest, and took a step forward. He still had the stein in his hand -- it was a big, heavy thing, and it looked like he might try using it as a weapon.

Arai, unafraid, took a step back, looked the man in the eye, and touched his hand to the pommel of his sword. "It was an accident."

"If it's a fight you want..."

The innkeeper suddenly came rushing out of the kitchen. "What's going on here? Uther? Are you bothering my guests? Perhaps it's time you headed home for the night."

Uther glared at the innkeeper, and then he glared at Arai, but he did back down -- he slammed his stein on the table and stormed out of the inn without saying a word. Outside, thunder rumbled.

"I apologize," the innkeeper said. "Uther is a friend of mine, but when he drinks..." He trailed off there, shrugging.

"I understand."

Their food arrived a few moments later, and Arai was able to arrange for another glass of barely tea as well. The tokra was very good.

The talkative innkeeper sat with them while they ate. "I'd like to apologize again, on Uther's behalf," he said. "He really is a good man. He was never the same after his daughter disappeared."

"His daughter...disappeared?" Shell inquired.

"His only daughter. She was only ten years old." He shook his head. "A terrible thing. She went to the Haunt all by herself and never returned. Uther warned her to stay away from that place -- everyone knows to stay away from the Haunt -- but some children just won't listen, you know? Anyway, that was about seven or eight years ago, and he's never been the same since. He started drinking heavily, and after his wife died..." He shook his head again. "Poor Uther."

"Poor Uther," Arai agreed.

"What is this Haunt?" Lillandra asked.

"Ah. It's an old abandoned castle a few miles north of town. A powerful sorcerer took up residence there about fifty years ago, but he was old then, and he must be dead now, because no one's seen in him in ages. But the castle's crawling with monsters, and the townsfolk know to stay well away from it. No one ever returns from the Haunt."

"A sorcerer, eh?" Lillandra mused.

"His name was Nharlek. He used to come into town to buy supplies; I remember seeing him when I was a boy. He never caused any trouble, but he used to scare people half to death, especially when he would just appear out of thin air."

"He would...appear out of thin air?"

"It was very strange. I remember playing with my friends once, in the middle of the street, when he just appeared all of a sudden, blinking into existence right in front of us. And he would leave the same way."

"Teleportation," Lillandra said.

"Teleportation," the man agreed. "Anyway, he must be long dead, as I said, for he was older then than I am now, and this was over forty years ago. But the castle still stands. You can see it from town. It's a very unusual castle, I think you'll agree; it was built before the Harrowing."

"I see."

The innkeeper dismissed the story with a wave. "All this talk about monsters and sorcerers...I hope I haven't frightened you! Please, enjoy the rest of your meal, and I'll have Danya go upstairs and make up your beds."

He finally left them there. "Teleportation," Lillandra said again, thoughtfully. "He must have been very powerful indeed; not many sorcerers are capable of on-the-fly translocation. Perhaps he had an Eagle's Wing."

Arai froze, his fork halfway to his mouth. "What did you say?"

"I said teleportation is difficult--"

"No, the other thing. Do you really think he might have had an Eagle's Wing?"

"It's possible. Why do you ask?"

"Don't you see? If we could get our hands on this thing, we could use it to teleport ourselves back to Velon."

Lillandra opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again, considering the matter. "Possibly."

"What are you talking about?" Shell asked.

Arai explained: "An Eagle's Wing is a kind of zemi. It's what brought us to Addis -- Lillandra had one affixed to her staff. When I struck it with Silus, the spell went awry, and we ended up here, halfway around the world. If we could acquire another..."

"It's not that simple," Lillandra said. "My Eagle's Wing took years to make; it was only able to transport us so far because of the large amount of magia within it. This Nharlek's Eagle's Wing -- if he even had one -- might have only had a range of a few miles."

"It could still be useful to us. And you don't know how skilled this sorcerer might have been; his Eagle's Wing might have been just as powerful as yours."

"Unlikely," she said, rolling her eyes.

"It's been fifty years, though," Shell pointed out. "Would it still work after all that time?"

"It depends," Lillandra said. "If he was using it a lot, drawing out a lot of magia..." She shrugged.

"It sounds like no one's been to this castle in years," Arai said. "Or made it out alive, anyway. This Eagle's Wing might still be there. If there's even a shadow of a chance that it could get us back to Velon--"

"The innkeeper said the castle was full of monsters."

"I'm not afraid of monsters."

"I am," Shell said.

"It could take us years to get back to Velon. You know that. We've been traveling for almost two months and we haven't even made it out of Addis yet. If we can find this Eagle's Wing, and if it works, we could be there tomorrow. We wouldn't have to try to cross the Scarred Lands."

"You keep telling me you're going to kill me when we get back to Velon," Lillandra said. "You'd really trust me with this Eagle's Wing?"

Arai frowned. Could he trust her? She might, after all, use the Eagle's Wing to drop him in the middle of the sea, while she returned to Velon to retake power. "I told you, I haven't decided yet whether I'm going to kill you," he said uncertainly.

"Well, that's reassuring," she muttered.

"You wouldn't really kill her, would you?" Shell asked.

He turned his gaze to the crackling fire. "You don't know who she is," he said quietly. "You don't know what she's done."

"She's my friend," Shell said.

He sighed. He hated it when things got complicated. "Very well. I promise not to kill her after she reverses the spell on my friends, but to see to it that she's treated fairly." He gave Lillandra a stern look. "You're still my prisoner, though. Best not forget that."

She scoffed. "How could I?"

"All right, then. Tomorrow we'll go to this sorcerer's castle and try to find this Eagle's Wing. At the very least we might find something there that will aid us on our journey back to Velon."

"What about the monsters?" Shell asked.

Arai grinned. "You just leave them to me."