Chapter Thirteen: Where the Heart IsA Chapter by JakeChapter Thirteen: Where
the Heart Is Arcaena
slipped out the door of Deyann’s house, Carsten close behind her. In the days
since they had left their prison, Carsten had done his best to trim his
ever-growing beard and hair. Even so, he did not look well, having just awoken
from a whole week of sleep. The dark elf gestured for him to follow. “It is over here,” she told him.
“There is a small ridge on the east side of the town where no one goes. Come
on.” He followed her, trying his best to keep pace. She was moving remarkably
quickly for having just gotten up yesterday. Still, she was on her feet, so
there was a bright spot to being left behind. They passed many of Haven’s
wooden huts as they moved, but Carsten did not see them as so small and rustic
now. From inside, he could hear voices, some tense or sorrowful, but most
nonchalant or even happy. These people had next to nothing, Carsten realized,
but they had given of what little was theirs to help people they barely knew.
Further, they seemed not to notice their state in relation to the rest of the
world. In this, it seemed, they had found happiness and peace. Now, the houses
seemed to be spaced farther apart, and the stockade around the village seemed
to bow outward. At its very edge was a small, but noticeable knoll, which rose
high enough that one could see over the walls and into the world beyond.
Arcaena smoothed her dress and sat in the grass, and Carsten joined her. Almost
reflexively, their hands intertwined, and they sat together in silence for
several minutes, waiting for the sun and enjoying each other’s company. The dark elf noticed something
immediately about Carsten’s hands. They were rough to the touch, but not
unpleasantly so. To her surprise, she felt his head resting against her
shoulder, though again, she was not altogether displeased by the sensation. The
sun had not yet risen, but a few pioneering rays had already superseded the
mountains in the distance. “It is truly a sight to behold,” she
whispered. “I never noticed how beautiful a sunrise truly is.” Carsten nodded. “It is,” he said. “The problem with
appreciating nature is that, in life, you rarely have the time or energy to do
so, after the world has finished throwing its worst at you.” “We came through all right,” Arcaena
remarked, squeezing his hand. Carsten closed his eyes and sighed. “Barely,” he told her. “And that was
perhaps more of luck than merit. I still have no idea how it happened. By
rights, I should never have made it out of that prison, much less here with you
and the others.” “The fact remains that you did,” the
dark elf pointed out. “You are alive, and there is no regret to be had in it.”
She was silent for several seconds, pondering everything that she had seen and
heard in the days since their escape from the sorceress’ castle. Then, she
decided to ask a question. “In five years, where do you expect to be?” Carsten
looked up at her. “What?” “In five years,” she repeated. “What
do you think you will be doing, and where?” The dwarf sighed. “I do not know,” he said finally. “I
have nowhere to turn, really. Everywhere I go, I am a new, unfamiliar face, and
the only place I am not an outsider is the only place I cannot go.” “Where would you want to go, if you
could?” She asked. “In all honesty,” he replied,
“staying here sounds like the best thing for me. What about you?” She looked down, turning her
sapphire pendant over and over in her hands. “In truth, my future seems more
straightforward,” she said. “My father expects me to become his archetypal
daughter; beautiful, graceful, refined, and dignified. I am to be queen, and he
sees it as his duty to shape me into his image of an ideal leader.” “Well,” Carsten remarked, “you have
three of the four down pat. The last should not take that long for you to
develop.” “No,” Arcaena said, “you do not
understand. He wants me to be that, but nothing else. The woman that he sees me
becoming has no room for anything unforeseen. Or anyone else, for that matter.” “Hold on,” Carsten said. “Are you
saying…” “I am saying that I no longer care
what my father has for me to do,” Arcaena said. “I will be the queen he wants
me to be, but the queen does not mold the woman. Rather, it is the other way
around. As for where I will spend my time…well, barring my father disowning me
for telling him how I feel, I will live the rest of my days at home in our
capitol. If you want it, the army’s auxiliaries had several open spots the last
time I heard. Someone as skilled as you should have little trouble getting them
to take you on.” Carsten said nothing, but he felt
like he was being ripped apart inside. Part of him wanted to go with her, to
take this position, do anything that would keep him close to her. Even so, he
could not shake the feeling that this was where he was meant to be. “I…I would
like that,” he said hesitantly. “If it were possible.” “You think it is not?” She asked. “I would hesitate to say
definitively today what will be,” he answered. “Look around us; the whole world
is different than it was less than nine months ago.” “Still, you can dream,” she
admonished. “You should keep that in mind, Carsten. Honestly, I would really
appreciate it if you would smile a bit more and brood a bit less.” He nodded, a
slight grin twisting his lips upward. “All right,” he said. “If you
insist.” And, with that, they both remained quiet and watched the sun come up. Haven Mycal’s house “Come again?” Rolf
asked. “You say I am what?” “You’re a Therian,” Mycal repeated,
trying to remain patient. “You, like me, and like so many of our brothers, have
the power to change your shape. In your case, you are capable of taking the form
of a wolf. The size and strength of the Therian’s beast form is dependent on
their skill at changing shape, which comes with practice.” “So how do you…” “Take on the beast?” she finished.
Rolf nodded. “I cannot say. It’s different for each Therian. For some, it’s
memories of parents and loved ones that bring the animal to the fore, a
positive memory. For others, anger or pain can bring out the beast. For you,
though, I think it might be simple focus. If you can find the point at which
nothing else clouds your mind, I believe you’ll unlock your abilities.” The gray-haired man lowered his
eyes. “Do you…do you think I could still stay here? Is that offer still open?”
Mycal nodded. “You and your friends are welcome as
long as you want to stay,” she answered. “We might not have much, but we’ll
share what we have with you.” “Why are you doing this?” Rolf
asked. “You owe us nothing, after all.” “That’s not quite true,” the
golden-haired woman replied. “You’re one of us, a Therian. We couldn’t be
happier to see one of our own come back to us. But also, you’re mostly
Outlanders. If we don’t stick together and help each other out of tight spots,
who’s going to stand for us?” She reached inside her fur-lined dress and fished
out her own wolf medallion. “Like you, I’m a wolf. There are a few bears in the
village and one family of dragons, but the rest of the Therians are wolves.” “About that…” Rolf said. “The
raiders we fought had wolf mounts that were much larger than any I have ever
seen, and they had marks on them that resembled the head on the wolf necklace.”
Mycal sat up, her eyes suddenly alert. “What?” she asked. “Are you certain
of this?” “Yes,” he replied. “I even found a
wolf pendant worked into the collars they wore.” Rolf reached into his belt,
extracted the collar in question, and handed it to her. Mycal took the item and
examined it closely, her eyes narrowing as she did so. “This…changes things,” she said.
“Rolf, until we know more about this, I’m afraid I need to ask you to stay with
us here in Haven.” He nodded. “It would be my
pleasure.” Deyann’s
Home Arcaena and Carsten finished
watching the sunrise and returned to the house, which they did their best to
clean up. Carsten neatly folded the still-rumple bedrolls and washed the dark
elf’s cookware in the bucket of water he had provided. Arcaena took the clean
dishes and stacked them in the barrels that Deyann used, and she put the spoons
back in beside them. After they had finished making the place look at least
presentable, Carsten asked, “Where did you put my sword?” Arcaena pointed to
one of the packs in the southeast corner of the house. “Over there,” she replied. “It is
behind the bags, and you should have little trouble getting to it.” He nodded
and went over to the backpacks, which he moved until he found the weapon. He
took the sword about an inch out of its sheath, just to have another look at
the blade. That was when it hit him; the weapon was not forged of steel, but shilthain. Quickly, he snapped the
weapon back into the sheath and turned around, trying not to think about what
that and the words now permanently graven on his wrist meant. He had read the
script the second it appeared, and he still wondered exactly why it had
appeared. The script was not difficult to read; although ancient, Carsten’s
father had taught him to read Kortish calligraphic writing, and thus he could
read the word now seared into the flesh of his right arm: WORTHY. “I cannot help but wonder why you
tried that stunt with the sword,” Arcaena told him. “Part of me thought you
might have rather killed the dragon.” Carsten shook his head. “To what purpose?” He asked. “The
beast is hundreds, perhaps even thousands of years old. Its hide grows with
every year of life; if a dragon that size could not be slain that young, it is
doubtful that it could be done now in its old age.” The dark elf nodded. This made sense
to her; after all, her family had had its share of run-ins. In fact, it was in
one of these confrontations that her mother had been killed, burned to death by
a dragon’s fiery rage. Tywana’s death had left an indelible scar on her
father’s psyche as well as her own; being the oldest of her sisters, and the
most mature, she had been called upon to act as de facto mother to them.
Parenting was not exactly one of her gifts, and she still remembered long
nights spent trying to instruct her sisters in proper spell-casting, posture,
and needlework. By day, she had taught them archery, swordplay, protocol, legal
syntax and diplomacy, and preparation for formal occasions at the palace. “How many siblings do you have?” She
asked abruptly. The question came out of her mouth before she could stop it.
While her mind had been on the subject of family, it had seemed like a logical
next step to ask Carsten about his. Now, she wondered whether or not she was
just making small talk. “Four,” Carsten answered. “One
sister, three brothers. All of them stone-tough and extremely sharp. You?” “Two sisters,” Arcaena replied. “My
first sister, Miera, is a better shot than me, and has absolutely no regard for
formal interaction whatever. Eyna, my youngest sister, deigns all physical
engagement, preferring the intricacies of court interaction to the ebb and flow
of battle’s tides.” Carsten nodded. “And your parents?” “My father, Oriem, is a good king. A
bit impulsive, I grant, and a worrier of great skill. Still, he is truly a good
parent. He had to be; after all, he is the only one we have left.” “What happened to your mother?”
Carsten asked. “Oriem was the second son of the House
of Blackfire, not the first,” Arcaena explained. “He married young because he
did not expect to be in line for the throne. His wife was an Airknight from the
Sky Brigade named Tywana Ironeye. Within months of his coming of age ceremony,
they were wed. Within two years, I was born, and another baby was on the way in
four. By six years of marriage, they had already had three children. It was in
the seventh that my mother died. What happened was simple; the current king,
his eldest son, and the captain of the guard took the Airknights out into the
field to kill a dragon that had been troubling the countryside. It turned out
that it was not one dragon, but many. The king, in a moment of haste, charged
the beasts. He never had a chance; the first slew him with a single strike from
its bladed tail. The prince killed the beast, but another killed him with a
blast of fire. Of the seven Airknights that left that day, two returned. My
mother was not one of them; there were too many dragons, and she fell trying to
get another knight to safety.” “That is horrible,” Carsten said.
Hearing Arcaena’s tale made him feel all the worse for the joy he drew from
having a family that was both whole and happy. “Your father must have been
devastated.” “He was,” the dark elf answered. “In
one day, he had gone from happily married nobleman to royal widower. He has
spent the nineteen years since doing his utmost to prepare us for the roles
that he expects us to play, and any others that we might be forced to take on.
That loss made him cold, reclusive, and calculating. Even so, he has feelings,
and they sometimes break through the chill armor he wears. He is a good man; I
just wish he would remember it a little more often.” Carsten shrugged. “I can see how he
might become so. Speaking of family and home…” he paused. “When did you want to
leave?” “Today is the last day in the week,”
she informed him. “I had planned to leave in the middle of the next. How does
that suit you?” “It suits me just fine,” he
answered. “Have you asked the others about it?” She nodded. “They are all fine with
the plan. As long as you are, we will plan on beginning the final leg of our
journey then.” Haven Market Edessat and Thomas were following
Arcaena’s directive to acquire food and gear for the journey, though it was
proving a little easier than they had anticipated. Several bakers in the city
made a concoction they called journeyman’s bread, a hard baked good (if it had
been baked and not carved out of a conveniently present mountainside) that
looked as though it might take a few good hits from a war-hammer. They
purchased several loaves of it to last them the journey, as well as several
skins full of water. As they turned to return Deyann’s house, Thomas saw
Arcaena and Carsten walk through the door. But that was not what caused his jaw
to drop; it was the fact that the two were holding hands. “Did you…” he began. Edessa nodded,
smiling at the stunned expression on his face. “What is wrong?” She asked, enjoying
herself immensely. “Have you never seen a couple before?” “Couple?” Thomas echoed. “You…you
knew about this?” The Huntress shook her head. “I had no solid evidence, just a
suspicion that there might be something between them. Now, I suppose they
decided to confirm it,” she added thoughtfully. Thomas stared after them. “How…what
did you see?” She grinned at him and started
walking back toward the house. “Are all men that emotionally ignorant?” Edessa
wondered aloud. “You could truly not see the way that he looked at her? The way
she looked at him? They felt the same way about each other long before they
conceded it. I suppose this was just the push they needed.” Thomas nodded. “I did not say that those two do not
make a good couple; I just wondered that they were so close already,” he
muttered. “I myself am surprised,” Edessa
answered. “Carsten is reticent about anything. I wonder what finally got him to
say what he felt.” “Are you ready to go home?” Thomas
inquired, changing the subject. “Almost two years have passed since we were
captured.” “Yes,” Edessa said. “I do. However,
I fear what my mother will say if I speak of this.” “I would not,” Thomas advised. “Are
you referring to Carsten specifically?” The Huntress nodded. “My feelings on him are mixed,” she
told the other. “I have seen his noble side, and he was willing to give his
life for the other prisoners first, and then the dark elf specifically. At the
same time, I know the family from which he comes and what they have done.” “Are you willing to at least give
him a chance?” Thomas inquired. “I am,” she answered. “But I doubt
that my mother would de so understanding. What am I to say?” “Nothing,” Thomas counseled. “Simply
tell her we escaped. Say neither with whom nor how. Come on,” he said, changing
the subject. “They are probably waiting.” Deyann’s
House Evening That night was
spent in relative celebration by the travelers that night. Deyann had helped
them celebrate the occasion by obtaining a butchered wild boar for the evening
meal. To go with it, he had brewed an entire cauldron of ilsae, a combination fruit-juice drink favored by the Outlanders in
lieu of alcohol. Sanitation being an issue for the financially challenged
region, water was less popular due to the potential for carried diseases. The
atmosphere was happy, and everyone took note of the fact that Carsten and
Arcaena were siting extremely close together. Mycal had joined them as well,
and she and Rolf were speaking together quietly in one corner. Halfway through
the meal, Arcaena got up and went to get a second serving of the barley bread
that she had helped prepare that afternoon, at which point Deyann came over to
speak with the red-haired dwarf. “So,” he said, “it seems your friend
is restored.” The dwarf smiled broadly, perhaps
more so than he intended. “Yes. She is doing quite well, better than I
anticipated.” “What are your plans now?” the dark
elf queried. Carsten lowered his eyes, carefully planning the words he would
speak next. “I would like your advice on that,”
he said slowly. “Have you…have you ever had two choices in front of you, one
that you want and know is not wrong, but another that you know with all your
heart is right?” Deyann looked at him. “What do you
mean?” He asked. “I…I love Arcaena,” Carsten told
him, “and she said there might be a chance that I could stay with her in
Karkopolis.” “But?” The dark elf prompted. “I want to stay here,” he said. “I
really do. And, though I have no way to explain it, I know that this is where I
ought to be.” Deyann nodded at that. “You know,”
he said, “If you want, you can stay. We always have room for more people here.” “But why would I?” Carsten asked. “How
could I help you?” “Harvest is not very far away,” the
dark elf replied. “You could easily stay on as a farm hand. Also…” He stopped. “I
hear you are quite the capable warrior.” Carsten shook his head. “I get by,” he replied, “but I know
I can be better.” Deyann pointed to the swords in the
corner. “I was once Dawn Festival champion. Did you know that?” “Festival champion?” Carsten echoed.
“How is that possible? Are Outlanders not barred from competition?” Deyann
grinned. “That would be true if my people had
been exiled officially,” he answered. “They closed that particular legal
loophole after I pounded the elven king’s son in the final round of the
tournament.” “Why are you telling me this?”
Carsten asked. “I would like to offer you a chance
to improve,” he said. “Do you want to get better?” Carsten nodded. “I do,” he replied. “But what do I
tell Arcaena?” “Wait,” Deyann advised. “There will
be a right time to speak with her, trust me. Be honest and straightforward, and
share the entire truth with her.” Everwinter
Waste Ring of Chiefs The Vanahym chiefs
stood at the center of their ring once more, meeting for the second time in
three weeks. This time, Golthe, Thalek, Lahden, and Galsdom were joined by
Jyrrok, the fifth of the Vanahym leaders, who traditionally did not attend
meetings. That was due to the fact that the people group he led was nomadic, which
meant that he was hard to track down in the massive expanse of the Waste. Also,
he placed very little stock in councils, preferring to accomplish things on his
own. That he had come without being called to the ring testified to his serious
view of the situation. Golthe began the meeting by taking the
bundle he was carrying and dropping it in the center of the ring. “Friends,
elders, father, fellow chiefs,” he said. “I bring to you news more grievous
than any that this council has deliberated upon in recent memory. I come to you
tonight to speak with you and to confirm reports that the Exile has indeed returned.
And now, not content to merely massacre the Outlanders, he now turns his wrath
upon his own people and the Therians, slaughtering the former like hogs and enslaving
the latter to serve as beasts of burden.” “I found these impaled on spears
outside one of my villages. He had the gall to enter one of my settlements,
promise help to the people, and then kill them one by one.” Jyrrok pounded his fist on the
stone. “Then why do we still debate? We must find him and destroy him as soon
as may be.” Thalek shook his head. “I agree,” he
said. “He must be found. Even so, doing it is not quite that simple. He has
been moving throughout our territories at will, and we cannot find him.” “We could use the Whisperers-”
Lahden began. But Jyrrok cut him off. “We can do no such thing,” he
countered. “The Whisperers are a risky venture at best. Like our old
Berserkers, they are an axe that cuts both ways. They would be just as likely
to turn on our own if we should restore their position as they would be to hunt
him down.” “Then we must find him by
conventional means,” Golthe extrapolated. “That is quite true,” Lahden said. “But
the truth of a matter does not detract from the difficulty thereof.” “So we are no closer to tracking him
than when we started,” Thalek grumbled. “Actually,” came a voice from the
rear of the circle, “that might not be the case.” The Vanahym chiefs whirled,
and to their surprise, they saw not one, but several figures standing at the
edge of the icebound ring. Before the man (if man he was) had finished speaking,
Golthe’s axe staff was in his hands, and he had assumed a combat-ready stance.
Thalek had readied his mace and Lahden his sword. Jyrook reached into his belt
and drew his crossbow, which he raised and pointed in their direction. Only Galsdom
seemed unconcerned with this development, even though his expression was far from
serene. “So you have come,” he said, turning
to face the shadowed figure. “I wondered if you would have the gall to defile
this ground with your presence.” “Defile?” The tallest of the figures
challenged. “I defile this ground? Or do you, you who speak and debate and idly
fret while our people languish in oppression and fear? Our lives are little
better than death. So do I defile this ground, or is it you, you who profess to
be interested in their welfare and yet act in opposition to it?” “In their interest?” Golthe
exploded. “In their interest? Since when is ceremonially beheading innocent
women and children in their interest? Since when is the bloody, ruthless
sacrifice of a young mother in my people’s interest? Do not presume to speak to
me about the interests of our people, Exile. You forfeited that right long ago,
and you continue to prove your disregard for them even now.” The man they called the Exile
stepped forward, into the ring. He was wearing a gray-and-black suit of armor,
jagged and cruel-looking. The helmet on his head looked like an eagle, wings
outspread and claws extended. Beneath the visor, red eyes glittered with cruel
intelligence. While it was not in his hand, a massive, double-edged sword hung
at his side. “You are a fool, boy,” the man spat.
“You are too young to yet understand this, but you will in time.” “Understand what?” Golthe rejoined
hotly. “That you are a psychotic, murderous piece of rubbish bent on destroying
everything we value? The armored man now drew the sword
and took off his helmet. Beneath it, they saw a sharply angled face, an aquiline
nose, and a mane of unhealthily white hair. “Am I destroying it?” He
challenged. “You already did that. You have thrown our people’s greatest assets
aside in favor of a more ‘civilized’ society. And you, old man,” he said,
rounding on Galsdom, “your father would vomit at the sight of you.” “My father was a fool for believing
what he did,” the elder answered. “I have done better for us than he ever
could.” The blow came without warning, but Galsdom saw it in the man’s eyes a
second before it fell. He brought his staff up, deflecting the sword thrust and
returning the favor by cracking the blackwood rod across the Exile’s jaw.
Before the man could respond, the older Vanahym began raining merciless blows
on his wrists, elbows, shoulders, and back. With each strike, it seemed that he
sought a new weakness to exploit and more pain to cause, and was succeeding admirably.
Suddenly, his torrent of blows stopped and he suddenly went rigid, stock-still.
From where he was standing, Golthe had seen the crossbow fire, but had been
powerless to do anything more than watch in frustrated helplessness. The archer
reloaded and fired a second time, striking the elder again between the shoulder
blades. Galsdom’s eyes glazed, and he collapsed to the snow. No blood poured
from the wounds, as the first shot had stopped his heart instantly. The Exile
watched in muted satisfaction as the sage died, smiling evilly. Then, when he
was certain that his enemy had fallen, he turned to the others. “Your elder was afraid of these
warriors,” he told them. “They are Whisperers and Berserkers, proud warriors
once respected by our people before your leader cast them out. Tell me: who
else wants to die tonight?” “Not quite,” he said. “Sickness is matter
of the doctor’s diagnosis, and I find yours both tiresome and outdated. So,
will you follow me, or die?” Golthe looked at the others, his
eyes showing the rage and frustration that he felt. Thalek shook his head. No, boy, he mouthed. Wait for the right time. It will come. We will destroy him. But why wait? He mouthed. We must be sure of his destruction if we are to win, Thalek replied. That was enough for the youngest chief. “All right,” Golthe said. “We will
follow you. For now. But do not expect that we do this out of our devotion to
you.” “No,” the Exile said, his grin
broadening. “You are acting out of respect for power. Whether or not you conceded
it, you have always coveted it. Join me permanently, and I will give you power
beyond your wildest dreams.” Golthe closed his eyes, not sure what to say or
think. Everwinter
Waste Frostspire Castle Issavea’s eyes snapped open, her
body heaving with exertion. What she had seen had been so horrible she thought
it first a nightmare, but she soon realized that what was no dream. He was
gone; she had never known anything so certainly in all her life. The Exile had
returned, and now Galsdom was dead because of it. How had it happened? How
could someone they had believed to be dead for so long have suddenly returned?
And, more importantly, how could she not have seen it? “My lady?” It was Sadens, standing
at the door. While she had not called him, he had heard the sounds of her
distress and naturally come to see what it was that she required. “Are you in
need of anything?” Slowly, she caught her breath and managed to regain some
level of composure. Even so, she could not quite get the graphic images of her
mind. The words pounded in her mind like the beat of some terrible drum. Gone…dead…he comes…but she knew now was
not the time to be paralyzed by fear. “I am indeed,” she said. “Muster any
gryphons or riders we still have. Send an urgent message to King Shargann, and
tell him to come here immediately and to bring his best warriors. Our enemy is
moving, and they have just struck the first blow.” “What?” Sadens asked. “What has
happened?” “The Vanahym, child,” she answered. “Their
primal desires have awoken, and they are strong. I fear that we need not look
far for war; they have determined to topple us from within before they crush us
from without.” The guard-master bowed. “As you
wish, my queen. I will have a gryphon saddled and gone within the hour.” “Within the half,” she said. “Make
all speed.” © 2016 JakeAuthor's Note
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StatsAuthorJakeAboutStudent, writer, LEGO fan. I love fantasy and science fiction, and my background as a history student has led me to experiment with some historical fiction as well. more..Writing
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