Hamertia: The Elven Folly

Elluin, Rychell, and Jorie began walking back to their room. The two younger boys were each holding a book they picked out from the library, eager to get back to the elf dwelling to read them.

“So what do you guys think of the library?” Elluin asked.

“It’s awesome!” Rychell replied. “We never had any books in the southern forest!”

“Do you know how to read them? I mean if you never had any books before…”

“Jastra taught us once,” Jorie explained. “She brought a book down from the library and showed us how to do it. It’s really not that hard once you get the hang of it.”

“Well we have plenty of books up here,” Elluin said. “Those should keep you busy for a while.”

“When were we gonna be moving into our own room?” Rychell asked. “Not that we don’t like it in yours, it’s just that you said…”

“We can get you guys set up in there as soon as we get back,” Elluin smiled. “I don’t know how much stuff Xander had in there, but if you see anything you like, you can keep it. Anything else, just chuck it out the window. The fire mages might come to scavenge it in the night.”

“Awesome!” Jorie exclaimed. “Thanks, El. Is it ok if I call you that?”

“You can call me whatever you want.”

As soon as the trio reached the base of their tree, Rychell and Jorie raced up the ramps, just as they always did. They waited for Elluin to catch up before entering their home. They followed him down the corridor, finally reaching the door to Xander’s old room. Without hesitation, Elluin swung the door open. It was a normal enough room for an elf; a bed, desk, and dresser. The only thing that stood out as peculiar was a giant painting of the room’s former occupant hanging on the wall.

“Unbelievable,” Elluin muttered under his breath. “I guess you guys are gonna want to take that that down.”

The boys looked at it intently for a long moment before exchanging a look with each other.

“I kinda like it,” Rychell said, rubbing his chin in the manner of an art critic.

“Agreed,” Jorie added, mimicking his friend’s tone.

“It adds a unique ambiance to the room, paying tribute to its former tenant,” Rychell continued. “I think we’ll keep it for now.”

Elluin shrugged. “Whatever you guys want, I guess. And where did you learn to talk like that?”

“We were looking over a book on elven art appreciation,” Rychell blushed. “I think I just wore out my brain using all those big words.”

Elluin laughed and patted him on the back. “Well you guys make yourselves at home. Rearrange it, paint the walls, whatever. It’s your room now.”

Elluin walked out of the room and closed the door, leaving Rychell to dig through the desk drawer and Jorie to jump on the bed. Now that his low-born friends were taken care of, he had one last order of business to attend to before the big battle.

After accompanying Elluin back to the library, Jastra made her way back to the southern forest. Just as she hoped, Jharyn was waiting for her at their usual secret meeting place. Assuming the other fire mages were elsewhere, busy training for tomorrow, she didn’t hesitate to run up to greet him.

“So how are you feeling about this battle?” she asked quickly before kissing him. “I worry about you, you know.”

“There’s nothing to worry about,” he laughed. “What do you think’s gonna happen? An old troll isn’t gonna hurt me.”

Jastra sighed. “I know. I just care about you, Jharyn. A lot.” She kissed him again.

“And I care about you,” he said, stroking her cheek with his hand. “But you have nothing to worry about. We’ll go up there, kill a few trolls, and come back. Easy.”

“You’re right,” she smiled. “No elf…or centaur will be hurt. I don’t think trolls even have any special abilities or skills or anything.”

Jharyn nodded. “Like I said, everything will be fine. But speaking of centaurs, I’m surprised they let Feno stay back with them. I figured they would be a bit more reclusive.”

“Well,” Jastra said hesitantly. “They more made him than let him. Just promise you won’t tell the others about it.”

“So he’s a prisoner?” Jharyn asked before sighing. “And you trust them with him?”

“They said he’ll be released as long as no centaur is hurt fighting for the elves, which I’m sure won’t happen. Just please don’t tell anyone else, I don’t want the plans to be jeopardized.”

“Alright, I promise,” he replied. “But I’m sure Druin wouldn’t take the news too hard. The only thing that would make him happier is if it were me taken prisoner…”

Jastra shook her head. “Don’t worry about him, Jharyn. Why do you think you’re the one I’m with and not him? And not even Connak, who thinks he has some sort of right to me? I love you, Jharyn. Nothing else matters.”

Jharyn smiled and leaned in for one more kiss before bidding her farewell. The last thing he wanted was for one of his fire mage companions to come looking for him. We watched as Jastra walked off into the distance before heading back to continue practicing with the others.

Feno sat at the side of Heath’s garden, nibbling on a carrot as the two centaurs watched him intently. This made him feel slightly awkward, but seeing as he was their guest, he didn’t complain.

“I didn’t think you’d be able to eat the same food as us,” Horyn said, never taking his wide eyes off the elf. “Are you sure you won’t die?”

“My food would never kill anyone!” Heath laughed. “Besides, sometimes rabbits come by here and try to eat them. All creatures eat the same food, I guess.”

“We have the same food as you guys do in our forest,” Feno explained. “Of course, it’s usually scraps that the high-borns throw away…”

“High-borns?” Horyn repeated. “The hell is that?”

“In the elven forest, there’s high-borns and low-borns. High-borns get to live in the north and have a pleasant life, while low-borns have to live in the south.”

“Well that’s stupid,” Heath replied. “Why don’t you all just live wherever you want?”

“It just doesn’t work like that,” Feno responded. “But it may be changing after the battle; if Elluin keeps his promise. Not that my leader would ever let me move to the north, anyway.”

“Your leader?” Horyn asked. “You mean the white haired one?”

Feno shook his head. “He’s the leader of the high-borns. At least that’s what it seems like. I’m talking about Connak, leader of the fire mages.”

Horyn and Heath both raised their eyebrows. “Fire mages?” Heath said. “You mean you…”

Feno nodded. “I’m a fire mage. We can conjure and control fire. Well, except for Jharyn, who can only control it. And Connak can make blue fire! That’s why he’s our leader.”

The two centaurs looked at each other. “Can you show us?” Horyn asked.

“I wouldn’t want to be a show off,” Feno blushed. “But if you guys really want to see it…”

“We do,” Horyn responded. “And who cares about being a show off? I say if you have a skill, you ought to be proud of it. That’s the centaur way.”

Feno stood up and cleared his throat. He immediately realized that doing so was completely unnecessary and hoped his audience didn’t think he looked silly, but Horyn and Heath didn’t seem to mind. They were looking at him just as intently and with as much focus as they had when he was eating their carrots. He proceeded to hold his arm out in front of him, palm facing up. Within seconds, flames flowed from his hand, forming a small orange and yellow ball of fire.

Horyn and Heath were mesmerized. Their wide eyes glared at the swirling sphere of flames for a long moment, their mouths hanging agape. Feno then made an outward motion with his arm, releasing the fire ball and sending it crashing into a tree.

“That was amazing,” Heath finally managed to say. “I never saw anything like it.”

Horyn nodded. “Maybe you could help us after all.”

Xander knelt on the ground, chewing on a handful of grass he had plucked from the roots. There was certainly enough of it. Barren grasslands were the only thing he had seen since being banished from his home. No hills, no large sources of water, and no signs of another living soul within miles. He sometimes wished he would stumble upon the centaurs’ grassland. At least they would put a quick end to his misery. He was realizing for the first time just how dependent he had always been on others. Without the gnomes whom he detested so much, he would have no food. Without the other elves that he viewed as inferior to him, he would have no place to live. Now both of those scenarios had come true. Once he forced himself to swallow the last bit of grass, he stood up and continued walking, not sure why he was even bothering anymore. He had walked for days with no sign of progress. He made himself hold onto any small bit of hope he could find. He realized, however, that soon that hope would completely disappear.

Elluin made his way through the thick undergrowth of the forest floor, far from any main path. He was intent on finally confronting Kellam. It took him quite some time, but he eventually found the small white owl bird hovering overhead. He followed the creature, knowing it would lead him to his destination.

“Kellam!” Elluin called out right as Puff landed on his master’s shoulder. “I think it’s about time we had a talk.”

“Ah, Elluin,” he greeted. “What brings you here today?”

“I would appreciate it if you’d stop going around telling everyone what a horrible decision I’m making,” Elluin stated, skipping the pleasantries. “It is for the good of the forest and will leave us better off in the long run.”

“And that’s where I disagree with you,” Kellam replied calmly. “Your actions are going to lead to chaos and violence. The elves have a right to know about that.”

Elluin sighed. “You either stop on your own or I’ll make you. And believe me, you don’t want that to happen.”

“No elf can make another do anything. If they could, I would make you not go through with this battle plan of yours, but I can’t. I can only warn others in the hope that collectively they will be enough to dissuade you. I’m sorry, but I will not stop spreading the truth to others.”

“Send your bird to the dwelling tree.”

“Huh?”

“Tell your owl…thing to fly to the tree where our homes are and wait there!” Elluin shouted. “Now!”

Kellam took a long exhale and gazed into Elluin’s eyes. His face exhibited a look of calm acceptance. “To the elf homes, Puff. Go on.”

Squee!

Puff spread his wings and took flight, flying in the direction of where he was told. Kellam never took his eyes off his faithful companion as he flew off. As soon as the bird was out of sight, Elluin grabbed the handle of his concealed dagger, pulled it from his waistband. With one quick motion, he slit Kellam’s throat. The boy immediately fell to the ground. Elluin hovered over his victim and stared into his eyes, watching as the life drained from them as quickly as the blood drained from his neck. Within only a few short moments, Kellam’s eyes fell shut and all was calm.

“So did we decide on what we’re gonna do about this?” Onvyr asked, addressing the group who were gathered together in the library.

“Elluin thinks that what he’s doing is the right thing,” Rydel said. “He doesn’t even stop to consider everyone who’s gonna get hurt. Those trolls never did anything to us. Only the one did, and he’s gone now. But somehow he thinks they all pose a threat to us.”

“Well can we be totally sure they don’t?” Rania asked. “I mean, they’re all trolls, aren’t they? Maybe it’s just in their nature to enslave elves.”

“It was in that one troll’s nature to enslave elves,” Rydel countered. “It doesn’t mean they’re all like that. They even helped us get the hemlock plant to help Ath.”

“We’re not gonna be able to stop him,” Rania continued. “Just like with killing the first troll. Besides, that turned out fine, didn’t it? We should just let him do what he’s gonna do. It’s not like he’s making any of us get involved in it or anything.”

“But what if this leads to more stuff like this?” Rydel suggested. “Like Kellam said, violence leads to violence. If this goes well, it’s just going to encourage us to solve all of our problems by killing each other. Our peaceful way of life could be threatened, and I don’t think we should let that happen.”

“Kellam isn’t exactly right in the head,” Onvyr said. “I wouldn’t put much bearing on anything he says. But anyway, how would you suggest we stop him?”

“I’m not saying we could do anything to stop him,” Rydel explained. “I just don’t think we should express any approval of it.”

Onvyr nodded. “Understood. Anything to add, Athtar?”

“Huh?” Athtar looked up. “Oh, no. I only really care about gnomes.”

“Then it’s settled,” Onvyr announced. “We can’t do anything to stop him but we also shouldn’t say we support the plan. Sounds good to me. Meeting…” He looked to Rania.

“Meeting adjourned,” she whispered.

“Meeting adjourned!”

“What do you mean I could help you?” Feno asked, raising an eyebrow. “Help you with what?”

“Getting back at Phezran,” Horyn replied in a hushed tone out of an abundance of caution. “For what he did to me and Heath.”

Heath looked at him with wide eyes. “What are you talking about?” he stuttered.

“You said it yourself, Heath. We shouldn’t let him get away with this. We can actually do something about it now.”

“And just what do you think that is?” the nervous centaur asked.

“Well I’ve never seen a centaur on fire before, but…”

“What?” Heath had to stop himself from shouting. “Are you insane?”

“He’s a fire mage, Heath! I’m sure he could make quick work of Phezran and anyone who tries to defend him.”

“And then what? What happens when our entire clan is dead?”

Horyn shrugged. “I’m sure we’ll figure something out. I mean you know how to grow food. It’s not like we rely on them for anything.”

Heath shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe you’d even suggest such a thing, Horyn.”

“We have the opportunity for revenge,” Horyn insisted. “If we don’t take it, we’ll spend the rest of our lives under his power. Centaurs always take action.”

“What do you think about all this?” Heath asked, turning to Feno.

The elf looked at them blankly for a few moments, trying to come up with a response. “I…I mean I’m a fire mage and all, but I don’t think I could take on a group of centaurs by myself.”

“You told me that we shouldn’t take Phezran’s abuse,” Horyn said, a hint of irritation in his voice. “Now are you willing to help us or not?”

“I just don’t think I could do it on my own,” Feno replied. “I wouldn’t want to make the situation worse for you guys.”

“What about those others who were with you earlier?” Horyn asked. “Were they fire mages too?”

Feno shook his head. “They weren’t, but there’s other fire mages back in the forest.”

“So they could help us then,” Horyn smiled, cutting him off. “You can get all of your fire mages together to take care of Phezran!”

“I don’t know…” Feno said hesitantly. “I mean I can’t even be sure if they’d agree to it…”

“Are you our friend or not?” Horyn asked, anger returning to his voice. “You said before you could take care of him for us! And now you’re just going back on it!”

“I’m sorry,” Feno sighed. “I’ve just never actually used my powers on anyone before. But listen, the other centaurs are going to be battling alongside the elves tomorrow. Once I’m released, I’ll do my best to convince the other fire mages to help you. I promise.”

A huge smile spread across Horyn’s face, as if he had just been given the best news of his life. Heath, however, did not appear nearly as enthusiastic. He simply gazed at the ground in front of his hooves, offering nothing but a blank stare.

“Folwin, I got you something!” Elluin yelled as he stepped into his friend’s room, a white bird perched on his shoulder.

“Isn’t that Kellam’s owl?” he asked, lifting his face from inside the cover of a book. “Why do you have him?”

“Since we’ve been exploring the world outside the tree wall, Kellam decided to go explore the natural world out there or something,” Elluin replied, the words rolling smoothly off his tongue, giving no indication that every one of them was a lie. “He said it would be too dangerous for Puff, so he asked if we could look after him.”

Squee!

Folwin looked at him, intently studying his expression. “Kellam never goes anywhere without Puff,” he said. “He just gave him to you?”

“He was concerned for his safety, so yeah. He thought it would be better if Puff stayed with us. You know, in case he runs into trolls or centaurs or something.”

“Alright,” Folwin shrugged. “But why are you giving him to me? I don’t know how to take care of an owl…or whatever he is.”

“I’m gonna be gone for a few days with the whole battle thing,” he explained. “Besides, I thought you could use a pet to help you, you know, relax a bit.”

Folwin smirked. “Well ok then. Thanks, I guess,” he said, walking over to Elluin and allowing Puff to move to his shoulder.

“I don’t think he’s very high maintenance or anything. Just let him fly out the window every now and then for food and he should be fine.”

“Got it,” he replied. “And El…please just be safe tomorrow.”

Elluin nodded as he stepped out of the room. “Of course, Folwin. Nothing is gonna go wrong. Trust me.”

For the remainder of the day, the one thing occupying everyone’s mind was the impending war. Elluin wore an enduring grin as he thought about how he would lead his coalition to victory against the evil trolls. Meanwhile, Folwin’s mind raced with thoughts about what the forest’s future would hold as he stroked Puff’s feathers. Rydel sat at the edge of his bed contemplating how his fellow elves could approve of genocide while Athtar lay on the bed beside him, looking forward to helping his gnome friends in their fight against the boggarts.

Onvyr and Rania sat beside each other on the stone bridge as they considered if they had made the right choice in not trying to convince Elluin to abandon his plans. Jastra periodically contemplated the best way to crush a troll’s skull, but mostly her thoughts went back to her relationship with Jharyn. Likewise, Jharyn daydreamed of Jastra as the fire mages continued to quarrel amongst themselves.

Enjoying their new room while still getting used to their lives in the northern forest, Rychell and Jorie felt a mix of excitement, anticipation, and anxiousness as they thought about leaving the comfort of the forest to travel north to a frozen tundra. In the woodlands, Horyn, visualizing Phezran’s body on fire, couldn’t wait for the battle to be over, allowing much more important business could be dealt with. Feno and Heath, meanwhile, were quite anxious at the prospect, each for their own reasons.

Eventually, nighttime came for all of them. However, either due to eagerness or anxiety, sleep did not come as easily. Nevertheless, the northern forest fell silent once the moon reached its high point in the sky, all elves fast asleep in their beds. The only group not thinking about the upcoming battle were the trolls themselves, having no idea that a coalition of elves and centaurs would soon be marching on their homeland with the intention of ridding the world of each and every one of them.

“Jastra, come on, are you ready?” Elluin asked with a mix of excitement and nervousness as he shook Jastra’s shoulders.

The sun had barely broken above the horizon, providing only the slightest bit of light for the bedroom. Jastra slowly sat up in bed and muttered something unintelligible.

“We have to get going now if we’re gonna collect the fire mages and centaurs.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she mumbled as she forced herself from the comfort of her bed. “And what about Rychell and Jorie? Those two seemed pretty excited to come along.”

“They’re still asleep,” he whispered. “It’s not like they’d be much help anyway.”

Jastra grinned and nodded her head in such a way that signaled him to turn around. When he did, he noticed the two boys standing in the doorway, huge smiles on their faces. He sighed under his breath, trying not to make it too obvious. “Alright then, are you all ready?”

“Yeah!” Rychell and Jorie shouted simultaneously, prompting Elluin to shush them.

“Not so loud guys,” he said in a hushed tone. “You don’t want to wake up the whole forest.”

“Why aren’t the others coming with us?” Rychell asked. “Are they afraid of the north or the trolls or something?”

“They just don’t understand the importance of this or appreciate what I’m doing,” Elluin replied. “So we’re just gonna have to do it ourselves.”

“Well we’re happy to help you, El,” Jorie assured him. “What exactly are we gonna be doing again?”

“You’ll see when we get there,” he answered quickly. “Jastra, are you ready?”

“We have plenty of time,” she sighed. “But alright, let’s go.”

“Get up!” Druin shouted, kicking Jharyn in the ribs. “Unless you’ve come to your senses and decided not to come along since you won’t be of any help to us.”

Jharyn wrapped his arms around himself and grimaced. “The hell did you have to do that for?”

“To wake your lazy ass up,” Druin said, turning to walk away. “Now come on.”

Jharyn slowly pulled himself to his feet and followed Druin to the others, although keeping a bit of distance between himself and the hostile fire mage.

“So are we all ready for this?” Connak asked, addressing the group.

“Dakath is ready to burn faces of trolls,” Dakath said with a great deal of confidence.

“I’m always ready,” Druin added. “Just hope I don’t mistake Jharyn for one of those things.”

Jharyn scoffed, not bothering to reply. He rubbed the sore side of his body while Connak gave Druin his usual death glare. He seemed to have grown accustomed to it, however, so it no longer had the desired effect. Moving along, Connak continued talking to his fire mages.

“Jastra and Elluin should be here any minute and then we’ll be heading off.”

“Yeah, with centaurs,” Druin huffed. “I don’t see why we even need those things to help us. We could easily defeat a bunch of trolls on our own. Besides, do we really want Feno back anyway?”

“Shut up, Druin,” Connak replied dismissively.

“Centaurs very good fighters,” Dakath interjected.

“And fire mages even better fighters,” Druin countered, his voice growing louder. “And Jharyn, why don’t you ever correct Dakath when he says something wrong? At least I don’t speak as bad as him!”

“Because Dakath isn’t an arrogant asshole!” Jharyn shouted, not bothering to keep his true feelings for Druin to himself any longer.

Before he knew what was happening, Druin ran up to him and landed a solid punch on the side of his face. Jharyn fell to the ground before Dakath grabbed Druin and slammed his body into the dirt. Before the fight could escalate any further, Jastra and her companions came on the scene.

“What are you boys doing?” she asked, sounding like an irate mother scolding her children. “We have a serious battle ahead of us, we don’t have time for this bickering nonsense.”

Jharyn and Druin stood up and brushed themselves off. It was curious how a high-born female elf seemed to command more authority over them than their own leader. Putting their bitter rivalry aside for the moment, the two joined their fellow fire mages as they walked off in the direction of the centaur woodlands.