SWNOVELS Chapter 5: Arinella
Arinella was knighted two years ago in her homeland, Spotted Forest. The Order of the Shimmering Light of Illivlis has always been distinguished by their desire for balance on Ermir. Like the earthly magical druids, the members of the order have been concerned with finding a balance between a certain good and a certain evil. Illivlis is a tiny star that could be seen even during the day, but Iglara and Silenta suppressed its glow. But at night, when the luminaries fell over the horizon, and the sky was not overcast by clouds, Illivlis beckoned through the darkness, jealous of the endless canvas of lights, sparks and glowing pieces, which the sky over Ermir was dotted with...
Another few curls of the warrior’s hair did not suit the old woman Rzalu. The last chance has just vanished with the hope of becoming the loyal servant of the one and only, majestic, but still sleeping, dragon. Arinella understood perfectly well that Lanialis was a serious rival. They both were born in noble families; they trained in the arts of magic and endurance and prepared to compete for the right to become the servant of the dragon, that no one has ever seen. The ritual, and the associated entourage, seemed like a simple boring ceremony. The servant of the dragon is an honorable status, but from the dragons only sculptures, images in painting, and words remain, memory in legends, myths, epic literature, and no one has seen dragons from those living today, including the oldenmessers, who can live for millions of years... But why the warrior’s hair didn’t suit? Years of training, of reading books, the path was predetermined, predicted, foretold. And why did she not succeed? She was not married; she was not restrained by extraneous thoughts and desires, unlike Lanialis. However, a similar failure awaited the opponent. It was not that Arinella wanted to concede victory to Lanis, but she was very worried that none of the arqilunian women had succeeded.
Edelmer was not chosen by chance. The oldenmessers combined all the power of their magic and were able to move the inhabitants of Hoogmeerfall from the far north to the southwest, to a place near the Belt of Twilight, which was located in the vast country of Kaushmanashtoon. The ancient elves didn’t care whether the snunorfs survived or not in the conditions of the equatorial belt, where the icy soil of the north and the scorched deserts were neighboring. They knew who was gathering the army in Kaushmanashtoon, but for some unknown reason, they hoped that the northerners would move into the mountains, straight to death in the darkness of the Belt of Twilight... Where is their logical reasoning, filled with the wisdom of the times? Or does such a long life lead to a mental disorder?
Although the forest elves were successful wizards, not all were fluent in magic, and only the most diligent and talented used spells throughout their lives. But some or even many of arqilunians could establish a connection with the argiphones, and such a relationship with the bird lasted for life. Arinella was unlucky enough to establish a connection with a tame giant bird, and she would have been very surprised to know that an argiphone flew to the call of some snunorf... Now that she has failed the task, the ancient elves send her along with her longtime friend, a tonnebeard dwarf, home.
Tonnebeards, dwarfs, short men with long beards, were distinguished by tremendous strength, speed and endurance, however, they were slower than forest elves. Some dwarfs could cast spells, but only one school, the school of illusion, creating their own phantoms, using clairvoyance and the like.
Darfairick is Arinella’s faithful companion, his braided beard reaching down almost to his knees, and how did it not prevent him from fighting? Other braids protruded from the helmet, and bizarre shadows from trees fell on his breastplate, creating a pattern that seemed to be making forms of additional braids. He showed the elf in the “mirror of truth” how Edelmer tirelessly summoned the argiphone and, when the bird flew in, the northerner threw Lanialis’s almost lifeless body on his back and flew to Grandavalnall.
Arinella was overwhelmed with jealousy, she remembered his image, a kind face with some mysteriously wistful eyes, the way she had kissed him when she did not use magic. Or maybe he had kissed her... “But the snunorf is just a task” she convinced herself.
Now, when the ancient elves ordered her to return to her place of work at the Ardolavlak company, which sells decorative utensils, patterned horns, intricate goblets, bowls, flasks, plates and other types of products made of different materials fill the counters of the Ardolavlak store chain, now the elf-woman became truly sad…
“You’ve been quiet today,” Darfairick said to Arinella.
“Why talk when there’s nothing to say?”
“Thinking of the northerner?”
“Snunorf knows nothing. I don’t understand why the oldenmessers want to hide the truth, because they are saving his country,” the arqilunian cast a glance at the karkhashes standing nearby.
“But not his town, not his friends and neighbors, or citizens of Järvanhogen and Jöhnstromken. Besides, their imperial ambitions involve invading other territories,” Darfairick said without emotion.
“Everyone wants to get power, and they especially want it when there is a chance to take it without a fight,” Arinella concluded.
They were in the small village of Frogsel, not far from Järvanhogen. The dwarf let down two karkhashes, which were very similar to earthly horses. One mare was white and skinny, and the other was black with a long mane and tail, black was taller. The difference between earth horses and karkhashes was that the karkhashes had three small horns on their heads.
Tonnobeard instantly climbed onto his black beauty, the elf-woman sat on the white one, and they headed off.