Hamertia: The Elven Folly

Squee!

Athtar and Rydel were walking up to the stream in the southern forest. To their surprise, rather than being greeted by the sounds of an elf talking to himself, they saw Kellam sitting at the water’s edge with his faithful companion.

“Hi Kellam!” Athtar called out. “Where’s Nealey? Ry said he usually sits on that rock there. I don’t think he went to the library or we would have seen him on the way here! Did you know we’re all librarians now? Onvyr and Rania are back there now cleaning everything up! You could even be a librarian too if you wanted! Isn’t that awesome?”

Squee!

“Sorry,” Kellam said, stroking Puff’s feathers. “He’s not used to hearing so much…noise all at once.”

“Sorry,” Athtar said in a hushed tone. “Anyway, have you seen Nealey?”

Kellam stood up from the ground and sighed. “Nealey’s dead.”

“What?” Rydel gasped, a look of genuine sadness instantly taking over his face. “What do you mean he’s dead?”

“I mean he’s dead,” Kellam repeated. “His body was burnt to a crisp in the late hours of the night.”

“H-how?” Rydel asked.

“Fire mages would be my guess,” Kellam replied, shaking his head. “When elves start killing, it only leads to more death. I try to warn everyone of this, but they refuse to acknowledge the teachings of nature. Well…good luck to you.”

Kellam began walking away after Puff returned to his shoulder, quickly disappearing into the undergrowth. Seeing a tear rolling down Rydel’s cheek, Athtar pulled him into a tight hug.

“It’s alright, Ry,” he said as consolingly as he could. “It was probably just a terrible accident. And don’t worry about what Kellam says, we won’t just start killing each other. Elves are good, they must be! You’re an elf, the best one I know! So if you’re an elf I can’t imagine it’s possible for us to be bad!”

Rydel pulled Athtar in tighter and smiled. “Thanks, Ath. And I hope you’re right. It was probably just some weird accident…”

“It must’ve been!” Athtar repeated. “Come on, let’s go see the gnomes and get some flowers for a memorial.”

Back in the northern forest, Rychell and Jorie were just waking up. The two elves unwrapped themselves from their blanket cocoons and stretched, welcoming their first day as residents of the northern forest.

“I don’t think I’ve slept that good in…ever,” Rychell said.

“Me either,” Jorie yawned. “I never thought I’d see the day. A couple of low-born elves waking up high in the trees of the northern forest.”

The boys smiled. It had been the first night that they didn’t have to worry about being chased around by fire mages or sleeping on the cold, hard ground. In fact, this was the first time they had ever slept under a roof. They were ecstatic to think it would be the first of many.

“Where did Elluin go, anyway?” Jorie asked. “We didn’t sleep in that late, did we?”

“You know how high-borns are,” Rychell grinned. “Sleep with the moon, rise with the sun and all that. Let’s go out exploring! Maybe we’ll come across him.”

They made their way out of the room and headed outside. Quickly descending the ramps leading to the forest floor, they were eager to freely explore the northern forest during the day. They happily skipped along, taking in all the sights. Although it wasn’t the first time either of them were in the northern forest, it was the first time they felt they belonged there. They decided to make the library their first stop.

“Oh!” Rania shrieked, startled by the two little elves who burst through the door.

“Hi guys,” Rychell said, just as happy as ever. “We’re just here to check out the library.”

Rania gasped excitedly and turned her attention to Jorie. “Well, just look at you! Green hair! I’ve never seen anything like it!”

Jorie blushed.

“Um,” Onvyr said hesitantly. “Are you guys supposed to be up here? You are in the northern forest, you know…”

“Elluin said we can live up here now!” Rychell replied. “He said the stupid old rules don’t apply anymore! Isn’t that awesome?”

“Elluin is certainly…making a leader out of himself,” Onvyr grimaced.

“Well I think it’s wonderful,” Rania said. “Is there anything specific you guys are looking for?”

“We just wanted to see what the library is like,” Jorie answered. “We could never come in here before. But now that we can I think it looks awesome!”

“Glad you boys like it,” Rania smiled. “If there’s ever anything you want to read about, just let me know.”

“Thanks!” Rychell replied as he led Jorie back outside to do some more exploring.

“Do you think it’s a good idea, Rania?” Onvyr asked after the two had left. “Letting low-borns roam free in the northern forest?”

“Of course I do!” she responded, as if it were obvious. “They’re a great couple of elves, no different from you or me. You could really learn a lot by giving them a chance and getting to know them.”

Onvyr sighed. “I guess you’re right. We’re just so used to the old way of doing things. I hope these changes don’t cause any problems…”

Rania snickered and shook her head. “The forest is going to be even better now because of them. Just give it a chance, you’ll see.”

Onvyr was about to reply but was cut off by yet another elf walking through the door. Appearing a bit worn out, Folwin stumbled into the room.

Giving up on their quest to locate blank paper, Athtar and Rydel made their way to the gnome garden to get flowers to make a proper memorial for Nealey. As soon as they saw the gnomes, however, they could sense that something wasn’t quite right. Usually very graceful while tending to their garden, the gnomes seemed distracted and distant.

“Hi guys!” Athtar greeted them just as he always did. “How are you today, Filwood?”

“Fine…just fine,” the gnome stuttered, not even bothering to make eye contact. “Wh-what can I help you with?”

“Is everything alright?” Rydel asked. “You guys seem a little…off.”

Filwood sighed and turned around. “Follow me,” he told them.

He led them to the tree that the boggart was currently tied to. The creature appeared erratic, shaking his head around and mumbling to himself.

“Holes, holes…holes, holes! M-m-must dig…”

“What is that thing?” Athtar gasped.

“That, my dear elvish friend, is a boggart,” Filwood replied. “We caught it sneaking around here last night trying to dig holes in our garden. The terrible ordeal still has us shaken up.”

Athtar and Rydel took a moment to observe the creature, maintaining a safe distance. It continued its strange behavior, only ever mumbling about holes and how important it was to dig them.

“Do you have to keep it tied up?” Rydel asked. “It doesn’t look too happy. Can’t you just let it go?”

“We weren’t too happy when it snuck in here and desecrated our garden!” Filwood yelled. “It will stay tied up here until we can get some information from it.”

“What kind of information do you want?” Rydel inquired. “Either way, I don’t think it will tell you anything while it’s in this state.”

“We want to know everything about them,” Filwood answered. “How many of them there currently are, any future plans they have, everything. And this boggart will stay tied up here until it tells us all that we want to know. We’re going to war…”

With morning training complete and a break before evening training was to begin, Heath slipped away from the group and headed to his favorite place. His garden was a modest plot of dirt that he managed to remove the top layer of grass from and plant some miscellaneous seeds. Although the others were always quick to criticize him for taking up such an activity, they never hesitated to fight over the food that he grew for him. Due to the thick coverage of the trees above, there was little sunlight to bring nourishment to his plants. Heath seemed to have a natural knack for gardening, however, and always managed to produce a decent bounty of fresh vegetables. As he sat there gently stroking the leaves of his pepper plant and loosening the soil below, Horyn approached him.

“You’re not gonna impress Phezran by sitting here alone with plants,” Horyn said. “You should be practicing with me.”

“Phezran already doesn’t like me,” Heath replied. “There’s no changing that. Besides, it’s break time.”

“A good warrior never takes a break from training unless he’s galloping into battle,” Horyn responded, as if he had repeated that motto countless times before.

“Well maybe I’m not a warrior,” Heath muttered under his breath, not sure if Horyn could hear him. He didn’t care either way.

“I’m sure your plants will do just fine without you here all the time,” the eager centaur continued. “Come on, I want to practice some more!”

Heath sighed. “I just want to be left alone with my plants right now. Why don’t you go find somebody else to spar with? I’m sure they’d be happy to since they all love fighting so much…”

“Yeah, and they’re also three times our size,” Horyn groaned. “Even I wouldn’t stand a chance against them.”

“Then shoot your arrows at a tree or something!” Heath snapped, growing ever more irritable. “I’ll be back when training time starts up again! For now I’m staying at my garden!”

Horyn huffed and turned around to run off, but not before kicking up a mound of dirt into Heath’s face. With the intruder gone, Heath returned to tending his plants. Along with reading, it was the only thing that made life in the woodlands tolerable.

“Have you guys seen El?” Folwin asked. “I’ve been looking all over for him.”

Onvyr and Rania shook their heads. “Sorry,” Rania said. “Haven’t seen him.”

Folwin sighed and threw his head back.

“Is something wrong?” Onvyr asked. “I’m sure he’ll turn up.”

Before Folwin could respond, Athtar and Rydel returned. Looking upset about something, the others’ attention turned to them.

“Are you guys alright?” Rania asked cautiously. “Did you find out where to find blank paper?”

Rydel shook his head. “No, but we found out that Nealey died and the gnomes are planning a war.”

“Who’s Nealey?” Rania inquired, perhaps not sounding as sympathetic as she should.

“He was a low-born who helped us find hemlock for Athtar,” Folwin said. “He was a bit…off, but he wasn’t a bad guy. What happened to him?”

“Kellam thinks it was fire mages!” Athtar responded. “But me and Ry don’t believe that. I think he just fell of his rock.”

“Shame,” was all Rania offered in reply.

“And what about the gnomes planning a war?” Onvyr asked, sounding rather skeptical of the news. “Against who?”

“Boggarts!” Athtar exclaimed. “One snuck into their garden! They’re gonna return to their homeland and take it back!”

“I know you like the gnomes, Ath,” Rydel said. “But what they’re doing isn’t a good idea. The boggarts are just doing what comes naturally to them. They should work on figuring out how to get along, not fighting each other…”

“Boggarts stole their land and destroyed it, Ry!” Athtar responded passionately. “They’ll never let the gnomes back unless they take it back. The gnomes deserve all the land they want to plant on!”

“That may be the last of our problems,” Folwin said, bringing everyone’s attention back to him. “El is planning on starting a war with the trolls up north. I couldn’t find him this morning, but I assume he’s going around recruiting allies.”

“A war…with the trolls?” Rydel asked, the look of concern on his face growing. “Why?”

“He’s convinced that the trolls are evil and will try to enslave us again if word ever gets out that we killed the one that was here. He wants to eliminate their entire race.”

“We have to talk to him,” Rydel said, his voice stuttering ever so slightly. “We can’t let him do this.”

Folwin nodded. “If we can find him,” he replied. “You can come look with me if you want.”

Rydel and Athtar followed Folwin out of the library in search of Elluin. Left alone, Onvyr and Rania looked at each other. Their facial expressions conveyed the question of what the hell is happening to our world?

Elluin and Jastra returned to the northern forest and entered Jastra’s room before discussing their plans any further.

“I can’t believe I actually convinced the fire mages to fight with us,” Elluin smiled.

“I told you those guys will jump at any chance to burn something…or someone,” Jastra replied. “Centaurs are going to be the real challenge. Are you sure you really want to try that?”

“The fire mages are a good start, but we’re going to need a larger group of warriors just in case. I’m not sure how many trolls there are up there.”

“When was the last time a centaur saw an elf?” she asked. “You’ll be lucky if they don’t trample you the second you enter their land.”

Elluin sighed. “It’ll be just like going to the southern forest,” he replied confidently. “As soon as I tell them what my plans are they’ll all fall in line. Centaurs love battles. From what I’ve read, anyway…”

“At least let me come with you,” Jastra insisted.

“Well, yeah, I assumed you would,” Elluin grinned. “Like I said, we need a large, powerful group of warriors who love fighting. Who better than the centaurs?”

“You got me there,” she admitted. “We can head down there tomorrow. It’s too late in the day to start such a journey now.”

“Alright,” Elluin said, failing to conceal the look of excitement on his face. “Hey, Jastra?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for helping me,” he said, blushing. “Nobody else realizes how important this is. But they’ll be thanking us after it’s all over.”

“It’s like I’ve always told you guys, there’s nothing I like more than seeing an elf take charge to get things done,” she replied with a smile. “As long as you do that, I’ll be here to help you.”

Elluin nodded and left the room without saying another word, the smile never leaving his face. He stood outside her door for a long moment thinking about all the great things they could accomplish together.

“Are you guys sure about this?” Feno asked. “What do we have to gain from fighting the trolls?”

“We get to burn stuff,” Connak replied. “Isn’t that enough?”

“And move north,” Dakath added. “Not that Dakath would do that.”

“There’s stuff down here for us to burn,” Feno continued. “Besides, shouldn’t we be investigating what happened to Nealey instead of fighting for a bunch of high-borns?”

“Stop worrying about that!” Druin barked. “There’s nothing to investigate! Stop being so weak. We’re going to march north and eradicate the trolls like the fire mages we are!”

“Lay off him,” Jharyn said. “His friend just died and he’s apprehensive about fighting an enemy we know nothing about. You’d be wise to do the same.”

“And you’d be wise not to be so insuborbinate against your leaders!”

“You’re not my leader!” Jharyn shot back. “And the word is insubordinate! In-su-bor-di-nate! Maybe Jastra would show some interest in you if you actually knew how to speak properly!”

Druin scowled and began closing in on his fellow fire mage. He stopped his charge about halfway through, however, when he noticed Dakath moving in to intervene. Not wanting to end up on the ground again, he froze in his tracks. Clenching his hands into fists, he stormed off.

“Are you just gonna let that go?” Jharyn asked Connak. “You’re our leader, you shouldn’t tolerate his crap.”

“Dakath agrees,” Dakath said. “Druin lacks respect for his fire mage brothers.”

“We’re never going to be a strong group when one of us hates all the others,” Feno added.

“It’s one thing for us to banter, but what Druin does is just…wrong,” Jharyn continued, getting in the last word before Connak finally responded.

“Just let him calm down,” he sighed. “Druin is no threat to my leadership. He’s got a temper, but I don’t think it’s anything more than that.”

“I hope you’re right,” Jharyn said before walking off in the opposite direction as Druin. Feno followed closely behind.

Dakath looked to Connak. “So…what about battle plans?”

Connak sighed once more. “Later,” he replied. “Perhaps when everyone is more interested in killing trolls than each other.”

Evening training was about to begin in the woodlands. Heath was still sitting beside his plants, enjoying the momentary solitude. The tranquility yet again came to an end when Horyn came trotting up to him. This time, however, the horned centaur boy was holding something in his hand; something Heath never thought he would see him with.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” Horyn said timidly, something completely uncharacteristic of him. “I got this for you. It’s the only one I could find. I’m guessing it’s Phezran’s, but I don’t think he’ll miss it.”

Heath took the book from Horyn’s outstretched hand. The Centaur Warrior. While not his usual reading material, he certainly appreciated the gesture.

“Thanks, Horyn,” he said with a genuine smile. “And I’m sorry for yelling at you earlier too.”

“It’s all good,” Horyn replied. “No point in us fighting. Evening training is about to start, we should get heading back.”

Heath nodded and stood up on his four legs. The two centaurs galloped back to the clearing that functioned as a training yard. Some of the others were already engaged in practicing battle tactics when Phezran glanced over at the boys. The look on his face when he saw them made Heath’s heart drop to his stomach.

Phezran pulled a thin branch from a nearby tree and made his way over to them. Wasting no time, he got straight to his point.

“Well I see I’ve caught my thief,” he scowled. “A piece of advice, boy; when you steal something, it’s not a bright idea to hold it out in the open in front of the centaur you stole it from.”

He raised the switch in the air and quickly swung it downward, striking the center of Heath’s back. A deep red welt appeared immediately as the young centaur yelped and tears came rolling down his face. He delivered several more strokes, each hurting worse than the last. Phezran then ripped the book from his hands and went along on his way. Heath stood there sniveling for a long while as Horyn looked on, unsure of how to react.

When Heath slowly began to regain his composure, Horyn inspected his back. While the lashes were quite hard and left rather nasty marks, they stopped just short of breaking skin.

“Well, you’re not bleeding,” he said, sounding as sympathetic as he could manage. “Why don’t we start with some training? Maybe it’ll get your mind off it.”

“I wasn’t even the one who took the book, Horyn,” Heath whimpered, his voice still shaky. “And he just came over and whipped me…”

Horyn looked into his friend’s eyes and saw the genuine pain in them; not only from the physical assault, but from it being the result of such unfair treatment. He sighed and gently rubbed Heath’s shoulder. Afterwards, he left without saying a word and made his way over to the tree on which Phezran was currently leaning.

Rychell and Jorie had spent the entire day running around the forest, exploring their new home. The look of wonder and awe never left their faces. With the sun now beginning to set, they figured they should make it back to Elluin’s room for the night, assuming that’s where they’d be staying again. As they approached the tree ramps, they crossed paths with Folwin, Athtar, and Rydel, all of whom were also going back to their rooms for the evening, having given up on their unsuccessful search for Elluin.

“You guys haven’t seen El around, have you?” Folwin asked the boys. “We’ve been searching all day.”

Rychell shook his head. “Sorry guys, we haven’t seen him either. Might be up in our room though.”

“Our room?” Rydel repeated, perplexed. “What do you mean?”

“Me and Rychell are staying in his room until we make other arrangements,” Jorie responded.

“But aren’t you guys low-born?” he asked.

“Well yeah, but Elluin got rid of those stupid rules. We can live up here now!” Rychell smiled. “Isn’t that great?”

“Well I think you guys should be allowed to live up here,” Rydel replied, returning their smiles. “Just as long as the more…dangerous elves don’t think they can come up here.”

“He would never let that happen,” Jorie said. “We gotta get going. We’ll let you know if Elluin’s in the room once we get up there.”

With that, Rychell and Jorie charged up the tree ramps.

“You guys really think the other low-borns aren’t gonna cause trouble if they find out we’re letting some of their own kind live up here?” Folwin asked after the two disappeared into the tree’s branches.

“I don’t think they’d even want to live up here!” Athtar replied. “I don’t think it’s a bad thing. The ones who want to be like us can live here and the ones who don’t will stay south. Guys like Rychell and Jorie shouldn’t have to live where they’re not safe just because they’re low-born!”

“Ath’s right,” Rydel said. “Rychell really helped us when we needed it and he deserves to be happy and live up here if he wants. And now that I think of it, I think he’s right about the others wanting to come up here. They’d much rather live in the south where they can live their chaotic lives.”

Folwin sighed. “Well I hope for all our sakes you’re right. Come on, let’s head up.”

The three elves ascended the tree to their home. When they entered the dwelling, they were ready to bid each other farewell and head off to their respective rooms. As they entered the corridor, however, they found Elluin, still leaning against the wall outside Jastra’s room.

“There he is,” Folwin muttered under his breath, partly relieved and partly aggravated that it had taken this long to find him. “Somebody needs to set him straight.”

Folwin took a single step forward before Rydel extended his arm, blocking his path.

“Let me talk to him,” Rydel insisted. “I think I know what needs to be said.”

“Well good luck,” Folwin sighed. “There’s a lot riding on this. He’s really trying to overextend himself. Nothing good will come out of what he’s trying to do.”

Rydel nodded and began walking over toward Elluin, who was still unaware of the others’ presence.

“Hey Ellie,” he said in his usual calm voice. “Were you heading back to your room? Mind if I come with you?”

“Wha?” Elluin stuttered, breaking out of his trance. “What did you just call me?”

“Sorry,” he replied. “I’m just so used to hearing Ath call you that.”

“It’s fine,” Elluin said, grinning to lighten the mood. “And yeah, you can walk back with me.”

They walked to the room together and didn’t speak again until the door was shut behind them. Rychell and Jorie were sitting together leaned up against the wall, discussing the things they had seen during the day’s excursion.

“Do you think they could step out for a minute?” Rydel asked, gesturing toward the younger boys.

“Whatever you have to say to me you can say in front of them,” Elluin replied. “Besides, I don’t think they’re even paying attention.”

Indeed, Rychell and Jorie were not paying attention. They were far too enveloped in their own conversation that they hadn’t even noticed Elluin and Rydel enter the room.

“Alright,” Rydel began, taking a seat on the bed next to him. “Folwin said you’re planning a…war of some kind?”

“That’s right,” Elluin nodded, eerily nonchalant. “We’re gonna eradicate the bastards who enslaved us.”

“But they didn’t enslave us, El,” Rydel said, maintaining his calm demeanor. “One of them did. The rest have nothing to do with it. What do you think will happen if you don’t go through with what you’re planning?”

“Another one, or even more, will come down here to enslave us again,” he replied. “I’m making sure that we remain free. I know you don’t like this kind of thing, Rydel. I get that, I really do, but sometimes drastic action needs to be taken.”

“You killed the troll that was here. You freed us, and we’re all thankful for that. But that was as far as you need to take it. Please Elluin, starting a war will just lead to suffering of innocent elves…and trolls who had nothing to do with what that one did. Nothing good will come from this.”

Elluin sighed. “Tell you what, Rydel. If I take some time to think about what you just told me, will that satisfy you?”

Rydel offered a light, genuine smile. “Of course, El. Just think about it. That’s all I ask. I know you’ll realize that it’s not worth the suffering and make the right choice.”

“Alright,” Elluin said, standing up from the bed. “Thanks for sharing your feelings with me. I’ll see you around.”

Rydel stood up from the bed as well and followed Elluin to the door. He exited the room and walked back to his own, satisfied with believing that he had at least made Elluin reconsider his plans.

“So how’d it go, Ry?” Athtar asked. “Is Ellie not gonna go to war with the trolls?”

“I think I got through to him,” Rydel replied. “Getting rid of the troll that was here was enough. There’s no need to take it any further and cause more suffering.”

Athtar nodded. “That’s good! I just want to live here in peace.”

“Me too, Ath. Now if I could just convince the gnomes not to do the same thing with the boggarts.”

“I really think that’s different, Ry,” Athtar sighed. “The trolls don’t deserve to be killed over what just one of them did. They’re not all bad, you even said they’re the ones who gave you the hemlock for me! But the boggarts are different. They stole the gnomes land and destroyed it! The gnomes are just trying to get it back.”

“But do you really think violence is the best way to do that, Ath? Have they even tried talking to them?”

“The only thing boggarts can talk about is digging holes! And I hate violence just as much as you, Ry. But…I don’t know…the gnomes just don’t want their home destroyed. They have the right to protect their land, Ry.”

“I just think they could try to work something else out before resorting to fighting each other,” Rydel replied. “There’s been so much bad stuff happening lately, Ath. I mean it’s never been like this before.”

Athtar put an arm around his shoulder. “And it won’t be anymore,” he assured him. “Ellie will change his mind about the trolls and…well…we just have to let the gnomes do what they wanna do. But nothing else bad is gonna happen! Some new elves like Rychell and Jorie are joining our big family up here! Isn’t that awesome? We can go to the library whenever we want and don’t have to worry about dancing for some old troll! It’ll all be alright, Ry. I promise!”

Wanting nothing more than to believe him, Rydel laid his head down on Athtar’s shoulder, hoping everything he told him was true. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the two elves sat there on the bed together, Athtar stroking Rydel’s hair and reassuring him that everything would turn out alright.

Folwin was in his room preparing for bed when an angry knock on the door startled him. Quickly regaining his composure, he called for the elf on the other side to come in.

“Why did you tell Rydel about my plans?” he yelled as he swung the door open. “That was supposed to just be between the two of us!” He slammed the door behind him.

“I think the others should know what’s going on in their forest, El,” Folwin replied defensively. “This kind of thing affects everyone.”

“You don’t have to tell them before the plans are fully developed, Folwin!” he shouted. “Do you have any idea how much that complicates things? Besides, you should have let me be the one to tell them!”

“You’re claiming too much power for yourself!” Folwin shot back. “What makes you think you have the right to declare war on our behalf, to let low-borns live in our northern forest, or decide who knows what’s going on?”

“I’m the only one who’s ever taken charge!” he yelled. “So yeah, maybe I do have the right to decide these things! Oh, and don’t you remember that time we were talking about Xander? You were the one who said you’d rather have low-borns up here instead of him! And now that I actually let a couple of low-borns join us, you do nothing but complain!”

“I never thought it would actually happen!” Folwin shouted. “You’re going to completely destroy our way of life if you’re not careful, El! Taking charge isn’t a good thing if the things you’re doing are wrong!”

“I’m saving our way of life!” Elluin screamed. “You’d rather have us get dominated by trolls because you’re too afraid to do anything about it! Well I’m not gonna let that happen! I’m making our forest better! For everyone! And there is nothing any of you are gonna do to stop that!”

Elluin stormed out of the room, the door nearly shattering when he slammed it behind him. Folwin stood there in the center of his room for a long while in disbelief. Elluin had never acted like that before. In fact, no elf in the northern forest had ever behaved quite that aggressively. A deep feeling of dread enveloped him as he failed to make sense of it all.