Hamertia: The Elven Folly

Feno was once again walking back to Jastra’s room to inquire if she was ready for their rescue mission when he noticed something out in the distance. Rubbing his eyes, he realized it was two centaurs galloping toward him. He froze for a moment in disbelief before running up to meet them.

“Heath! Horyn!” he smiled. “How did you guys get here?”

“We figured you forgot about us,” Horyn said, too relieved to be angry. “So we just came here ourselves.”

“How did you get through the tree wall?”

“The gap is still there from when you first came to the woodlands,” Heath replied. “Do you still plan on letting us stay here?”

“Of course! I was just about to come for you guys; well…as soon as Jastra got done with Jharyn. Anyway, I’m so glad you’re here. Come on, you need to meet my friends!”

Feno led them back to where he had just been playing in the trees with Rychell and Jorie. The centaur boys grimaced as they approached.

“They’re your fire mage friends who were supposed to come for us?” Horyn asked. “They look even more feeble than you…no offense.”

Feno shook his head. “Most of the fire mages don’t live here in the northern forest,” he explained. “Just me and Jharyn. You can meet him and Jastra as soon as they get out of their room.”

“What would they be doing in there?” Heath asked.

Feno shrugged.

“Woah!” Rychell and Jorie blurted out in unison as Feno and the two newcomers approached. “Are those…centaurs?”

“This is Heath and Horyn,” Feno announced happily. “They’re gonna be living with us!”

“They’re not like…the others, right?” Jorie asked timidly.

Feno gave them a quizzical look.

“We left the woodlands because we’re nothing like the others,” Heath replied calmly. “You don’t have to be afraid of us.”

Feeling a bit reassured, Rychell and Jorie slowly approached them and gently stroked the horse part of their backs, something the centaurs found to be rather awkward but didn’t bother protesting.

“So…um…,” Heath said, clearing his throat and taking a small step back. “You guys have gardens up here?”

“Of course we do!” Rychell exclaimed. “How else would we eat? This isn’t the southern forest. Come on, we’ll show you!”

Rychell and the others led them to the gnome garden. The excitement Heath felt when he arrived was unfortunately not mutually felt by the gnomes, who proceeded to break out in a panic at the sight of centaurs approaching their garden.

“Protect the plants!”

“Ready the water buckets!”

“That only works on boggarts, you moron! Kill them!”

“Calm down!” Feno called out. “They’re with us!”

“Well get them out of here!” one of the gnomes yelled back, peaking around the corner of a gnome home. “What are those things anyway?”

“They’re centaurs,” Feno explained. “Just young ones, though. And Heath here is a gardener. He wanted to meet you guys.”

Heath meekly waved at them. “I used to have a small garden plot in the woodlands,” he said quietly. “I was hoping I could help with your garden here.”

“We don’t need help from a centaur,” a different gnome replied. “Besides, you’ll probably crush all of our plants with those hooves of yours.”

Horyn stepped forward. “Heath is the only reason all of us in the woodlands didn’t have to eat grass all the time. He cares about plants and helping to feed others just like you all do. Give him a chance.”

The gnomes rubbed their beards for a moment before speaking up again. “We’ll prepare a private plot for you for the time being so you don’t compromise the rest of our plants. That will let us see just how good you are. It will be ready tomorrow, come back then.”

Heath’s face lit up. “Thank you! I’ll be the best centaur horticulturalist you’ve ever seen.”

“The only centaur horticulturalist anyone’s ever seen,” Horyn whispered as they walked away, lightly nudging Heath with his shoulder.

Heath looked at him and smiled as they walked back toward the tree that held the elves’ living quarters.

“Are we supposed to give them a room?” Rychell asked Feno.

“Well we got a room when we moved here,” Jorie interjected. “So why not?”

“They’re centaurs. I’m sure they’ve always just slept outside.”

“So did we.”

Rychell paused to think for a moment. “Good point.”

Everyone looked to Feno for a response, but he only shrugged.

“I don’t know, do you guys want a room?” he asked, turning to face Heath and Horyn.

“What? Like a tree to sleep under?” Heath asked innocently.

“A room. Like a place of your own where you can sleep or just hang out and stuff.”

This explanation was met only with furrowed brows and looks of confusion.

“Up there,” Feno said, pointing his finger up at the tree’s branches. “A room in that building.”

“Why would we want to live in a tree?”

“Never mind.”

Connak, Druin, and Dakath were once again on the backs of the Red Centaurs travelling to the base of the volcano. Quite impressed with what they had seen on their tour, they were eager to call this place their new home. For a territory occupied by volcano worshiping man-horse hybrids, their civilization was surprisingly developed. Artisan shops, fire chapels, and even taverns lined the paths. Perhaps they were the truly superior race, Connak thought, considering no one else had reached this level of societal development.

After a short ride, they arrived at their destination just as the sun began descending below the horizon.

“Why couldn’t we just stay here earlier?” Druin asked as he hopped off the back of his centaur. “Seems kind of stupid to make so many trips in one day.”

Aodhan shook his head and smirked. “You elves have much to learn. We can’t stay here while the fires stir inside the volcano. We have to give the spirits time to prepare before we come to honor them.”

Noticing the confused look on their faces, Aodhan motioned for them to follow. As they got closer to the volcano, they noticed narrow streams of lava flowing down its side.

“Is this safe?” Connak asked, sounding more concerned than intended. “It’s not gonna like…totally erupt, is it?”

“Children of fire have nothing to fear,” he assured them. “Grab a torch, the ceremony is about to begin.”

The elves each picked up a torch, which was simply a girthy stick about three feet in length. Aodhan and four other Red Centaurs, two on either side of him, took their places in front of the volcano and faced the crowd.

“Ve elten fer hemon natan. Volcanis Centaurin!”

Connak made a mental note to remember to ask for language lessons as the five centaurs touched their torches to the lava, igniting both ends. Holding onto the center of the torch, they began performing the traditional fire dance, skillfully swirling it around their bodies. The sun now halfway below the horizon; the twilight ambiance made for a mesmerizing scene. The fire mages watched in awe as the flames danced in the air.

One by one, the other Red Centaurs stepped up to the volcano and lit their torches. Not wanting to get to close to anyone wielding the fire stick, the elves used their conjuration abilities to set their torches ablaze. Their attempts at swinging them paled in comparison to the skillful maneuvers of their adept Red Centaur brethren. Nevertheless, they were simply happy to be participating in the ceremony.

Losing track of time, they allowed themselves to fall into a trance. Feeling truly connected to the spirit of fire, they mimicked the Red Centaurs’ hooves with their feet and swung the torches around their bodies, not really concerned with whether or not they were doing it correctly. When the sun finally disappeared, they were pulled from their trance as Aodhan blew on the end of his torch, sending a stream of flames blazing into the air. The dancing suddenly stopped and he made his announcement.

“Tonight we solidify our role as the superior race of this world! By annihilating elf and woodlander, the role of the children of fire will be uncontested! The woodlanders will not take our land. Instead we will burn theirs to the ground! We will set the trees of the forest ablaze and reduce the rest of the world to ashes, eliminating anyone who dares to resist us! Volcanis Centaurin! To victory!”

The Red Centaurs, now thoroughly riled up, held torches in their hands and pounded their hooves on the red ash. The fire mages got themselves mounted and prepared for the journey. However, nothing could have prepared them for the sensation they felt when the centaurs suddenly bolted forward.

Any concern that Aodhan and the others wouldn’t make it to the forest in time for a night assault were immediately diminished as their hearts dropped to their stomachs and wind whizzed past their heads. Looking to their sides, everything flew by in a blur and the red ground quickly turned green. Even if the Red Centaurs weren’t the superior race, to which there was no doubt in the fire mages’ minds that they were, they were certainly the fastest.

Once their bodies got used to the speed they were travelling at, the reality of the situation suddenly hit them. They were riding on the backs of Red Centaurs galloping toward the elven forest with the intention of destroying their old home and killing everyone they knew. This made Connak feel a bit uneasy, but he managed to put any reservations aside by remembering the betrayals he had been a victim of. Druin grew more excited by the second, fantasizing about all the different ways he could kill his enemies. Dakath, however, gave it no further thought. He was a warrior; as long as he was fighting alongside fellow fire mages, he didn’t concern himself with the details.

It wasn’t long before they saw the tree wall out in the distance. The Red Centaurs didn’t slow their pace as the trees appeared to grow larger. Both the centaurs and fire mages prepared for the moment that would define their destiny.

In the northern forest, Feno, Rychell, and Jorie had spent their day giving Heath and Horyn a tour of the forest. So far, they had been well received by the other elves. They met Onvyr and Rania along the stream, who were just as amazed by the centaurs as Rychell and Jorie had been. Their last stop for the day before climbing up the tree to meet Elluin was the library. However, they got to meet someone else on their walk there.

“Feno!” Jastra called out as she ran up to them. “I’ve been looking all over for you. We’re supposed to…who are they?”

“This is Heath and Horyn,” he told her. “They came here by themselves because they thought we gave up on them. I was gonna tell you, but I figured you were busy and I didn’t want to bother you.”

“That was very considerate of you,” she chuckled, winking at Jharyn who stood by her side. “Did they meet Elluin yet? I’m sure he’d like to know that they’re here.”

“We’re taking them to the library first,” Rychell responded. “Besides…they’re a little nervous about going up in the tree.”

“We’re not nervous!” Horyn insisted. “We just think it’s weird that you live in a tree.”

“Of course,” Jastra said. “Well you guys have fun. If everything’s taken care of, I think Jharyn and I are gonna go back to our room and have some fun of our own…”

The boys, elf and centaur alike, grimaced and exchanged confused looks with each other as Jharyn and Jastra grinned and began walking back the way they came.

“They’re so weird,” Feno mumbled under his breath once they were out of earshot. “Anyway, let’s get to the library. It’s getting dark.”

They resumed their walk and arrived just as the gnome was leaving. He jumped when he saw the centaurs approaching, but quickly regained his composure and scurried off. Looking inside, they saw Athtar and Rydel sitting together at the desk.

“You sure made a lot of progress today, Ath,” Rydel said. “That gnome is a really good teacher, even if he is a little…short tempered.”

“Only with you, Ry!” Athtar laughed. “He doesn’t have a problem with me.”

“I’ve noticed.”

“Just keep being real nice to him, Ry! Soon the gnomes will like you as much as they like me!”

“We’ll see about that,” Rydel smiled. “We should get back and get some rest. I’m sure he’ll have us practice a lot more tomorrow.”

Rydel took a step back and Athtar’s face lit up as the small group of elves and centaurs entered the room.

“No way!” Athtar exclaimed. “Centaurs!”

He ran up to them and eagerly rubbed their backs just as Rychell and Jorie had done. Again, they thought this was a strange way to greet someone, but figured they should learn to embrace the elven ways if they planned on living with them.

“You guys are so cool! Are you gonna be living with us? Did you meet the gnomes yet? I know they don’t like boggarts, but I’m sure they’ll be fine with centaurs! There was just one of them in here! They read, write, and garden! Can you believe that?”

Before the centaurs had a chance to answer any of the elf’s questions, Feno addressed Rydel.

“See Rydel, these are the guys I was telling you about. You wouldn’t want to leave them somewhere that they’re abused, would you?”

Rydel slowly walked up to them and gently rubbed their backs, assuming that was the standard thing to do when first meeting a centaur.

“Of course not,” he said quietly. “You guys have really nice fur.”

“Uhhh…thanks,” Heath replied awkwardly.

“And I like your horns,” Rydel continued, turning to Horyn.

“Yeah…that’s why my name’s Horyn. The only centaur with horns…I like your…ears.”

“Thanks.”

Heath and Horyn found this exchange of body-related compliments to be a peculiar trait of the elves as well, but tried their best to go along with it.

“It was great meeting you two,” Rydel said. “I’m exhausted. Me and Ath are gonna be going to our room for the night. Hopefully we get to see you tomorrow.”

The two elves smiled at them as they walked out.

“Well they were…interesting,” Horyn said once the door closed. “Now aren’t we supposed to be meeting Elluin or something?”

Feno nodded and was about to respond when he noticed Heath’s face light up. The centaur’s gaze was fixated on the wide assortment of books that lined the shelves.

“Wow,” he whispered. “This place is beautiful.”

“You like books?” Feno asked. “I didn’t think there were any in the woodlands.’

“I found one lying on the ground one day,” he replied, still looking around in awe. “I never thought I’d get the opportunity to read any others. I can’t wait…”

Horyn stood next to him and put an arm around his shoulder. “And no one will hurt you for reading them here.”

Heath turned to him and smiled.

“We’ll have all day tomorrow to do some reading,” Feno said. “For now we need to go see Elluin. He should be up in the tree. You guys sure you’re not nervous?”

“Why would we be nervous?” Horyn replied defensively. “We told you already, centaurs are just used to living under trees, not in them.”

“Calm down, Horyn,” Heath sighed. “It’s no big deal. You might like it.”

“We’ll see,” he mumbled.

The group left the library and made their way toward the tree ramps.

“So is Elluin like your clan leader?” Horyn asked as they began their ascent.

“Well, he’s kind of our leader,” Rychell replied. “But we don’t call ourselves a clan. That would be a little weird, don’t you think?”

Heath shrugged. “Centaurs always called our groups clans.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Horyn said. “If he’s your leader, then we have something to ask him.”

They reached the proper tree branch and entered the structure that housed all of the elves’ rooms. With Feno leading the way, they arrived outside Elluin’s door and knocked.

“Come in,” they heard a voice from inside say. “Unless it’s Folwin.”

Feno looked over his shoulder and shrugged, pushing the door open.

“Feno?” Elluin said, sounding somewhat surprised. “What do you want?”

“I wanted you to meet Heath and Horyn,” he replied as everyone filed into the room. “Me and Jastra were supposed to go get them, but they ended up coming here on their own.”

“Well in that case,” Elluin said, standing up from his bed. “Welcome to your new home.”

To their relief, the elf didn’t walk up to them and pet their backs.

“Thank you,” Heath replied. “It really means a lot to us.”

“We do have one thing to ask you, though,” Horyn added.

Heath gave him a quizzical look.

“We ask that you help us defeat our old centaur clan in battle. The abuses we suffered cannot go unpunished.”

Heath wondered where he got the ability to speak so poetically all of a sudden.

“Feno already came to me with that same request. And you’re safe here now. So what does it matter?”

“You fought the trolls even though they were far away from you. You knew that you weren’t truly safe until they were eliminated. It’s the same with our old clan. They hated us and will hate us even more when they find out we ran away. They’ll hate you too if they find out this is where we are. Your only option is to strike them before they strike you. For our safety and yours.”

The room fell silent for a long moment as Elluin thought everything over, Horyn looking at him in anticipation. Finally, he nodded his head.

“You’re absolutely right. I’m not sure how we’ll do it, but we’ll find a way. The elves will go to war with the centaurs.”

“No!” came a voice from outside. A second later, Folwin burst into the room.

“Folwin?” Elluin shouted. “Were you listening to us this whole time?”

“Yeah, El. I was. Come on, I know you’re mad at me right now, but just listen to reason.”

“I shouldn’t have let you talk me out of doing everything that needed to be done before, Folwin! We could have created a safe world for the elves, but for some reason I listened to your nonsense. You’re not holding me back anymore! I’m gonna lead our race to victory and make the world a safe place for us and our allies! Now get out!”

“El, please…”

“Get out!”

Before the altercation could escalate any further, every head in the room suddenly turned to face the widow. Screams were heard from below as they watched the western tree wall go up in flames.

“What the hell…”

With the help of the fire mages, the Red Centaurs were making quick work of the western tree wall, setting it ablaze with their torches. At the southeastern border, the woodland centaurs saw the smoke rising in the distance. Undeterred, they proceeded forward through the gap in the tree wall.

“Forward! Gallop!” Aodhan shouted as a large section of the barrier was reduced to smoldering ash.

The Red Centaurs rushed forward with the fire mages lagging behind. When they entered the forest, they were surprised to see a group of woodlanders running toward them.

“They’re actually here?” Connak exclaimed, looking to Druin and Dakath, who only shrugged.

The two centaur clans let out a war cry as they clashed with one another.

“Forget it!” Druin shouted. “Let them fight it out. We need to go find the elves!”

The fire mages ran around the left flank of the battling centaurs, heading toward the tree that housed the elves. Within the chaotic scene, they saw Aodhan bash a woodlander over the head with his torch, knocking him to the ground. He then stood back on his hind legs, bringing his hooves down on his enemy’s face. With the centaurs focused on killing each other, they were able to slip by the carnage undetected.

As they ran up the third tree ramp, Jastra and Jharyn rounded the corner.

“What the… Connak, Druin…”

Before Jharyn could complete his thought, Druin snarled and lunged at him, tackling him to the ground.

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited to do this you little bastard!”

Before Jastra could react, Druin conjured a ball of fire in his hand and shot it at Jharyn’s face.

“No!” Jastra cried. Her plea went unheard over the sound of Jharyn’s screams.

Before Druin could conjure more flames, Jastra was on top of him. She knocked the fire mage off of her lover, sending them both tumbling to the forest floor below. She maintained her position on top of him, wrapping her hands around his neck as soon as they hit the ground. Panicking, he was unable to defend himself with fire and quickly went quiet. Jastra removed her hands from his throat, revealing the damage she had done to him.

Looking down, Connak grinned at the ghastly scene. “Thanks Jastra!”

He turned to face the defenseless elf lying on the ground. “You’re mine now.”

Conjuring a blue flame in his hand, Connak shot a stream of fire at Jharyn, which quickly engulfed his entire body. He screamed in agony as he was burned alive, Connak enjoying every second of it. Eventually, Jharyn too fell silent, his charred remains motionless and smoking.

“Come on,” Connak said calmly, turning to Dakath. “We need to find the others.”

“You guys need to go to your room,” Elluin told Feno and the others as they watched the chaos erupt outside. “And stay put until we come for you.”

“But…” Feno uttered.

“Now!”

Declining to protest any further, the young elves and centaurs scurried out of the room, leaving Elluin and Folwin alone.

“El, what are we gonna…”

“Shut up!”

“El…”

“Shut the hell up, Folwin! It’s your fault this is happening!”

“What are talking about?”

“We could’ve attacked them before they attacked us. But you just refused to listen to me! I let you talk me out of defending our home! Now we’re all gonna die because you couldn’t accept that the other races were a danger to us! Just like the trolls were!”

“Those aren’t regular centaurs down there, El. Well…some of them are, but there’s others too. They’re setting the forest on fire!”

“And it’s your fault,” he mumbled, shaking his head. “I should have never listened to you…”

At that moment, the door swung open, Connak standing in the threshold.

“Connak? What the hell’s going on?”

“Let me ask you something, Ellie. Do you regret disrespecting the fire mages?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You should’ve recognized our superiority long ago, high-born. Now our new friends are gonna burn your precious forest to the ground. But don’t worry, I’ll make sure you’re not alive long enough to see it.”

Elluin locked eyes with him and said nothing.

“I’ll burn you alive, just like we did to your buddy Jharyn. Surely you understand. I mean, you did kill Kellam for disrespecting you, isn’t that right?”

Folwin’s eyes widened as he swung around to face Elluin. “What?”

“You’re not leaving here alive,” he mumbled. “Neither of you.”

Before anyone knew what was happening, Elluin pulled the dagger from his waistband and stuck the blade so far into Folwin’s abdomen that the handle pushed against his skin. He gasped and fell to the ground. Still holding onto the handle, Elluin fell on top of him.

Looking up into his friend’s eyes, Folwin uttered his final words. “El,…why?”

“You should’ve listened to me,” he said, his glossy eyes staring back into Folwin’s. “I was only trying to protect us, keep us safe. Now all we’ve ever worked for is gone. Goodbye Folwin.”

With that, he pulled the blade from Folwin’s abdomen and slit his throat. He watched as the blood drained from his friend’s body and felt him go limp. Standing up, he turned to face Connak who stood there grinning.

“You really are one of a kind,” he snickered. “I always thought you high-borns were above this sort of thing. Murder. It’s not very proper of you. Anyway, let’s move this along, shall we?”

Just before Connak could launch the blue fire ball he had conjured in his hand, his body suddenly jerked forward. Taking a deep gasp for air, he fell to the ground. To Elluin’s disbelief, the dagger-wielding elf who now stood before him was no other than the one he had banished so long ago.

“…Xander?”

“There’s no way I was going to allow some low-born to kill you,” he sneered, taking a cloth from his pocket and wiping the blood from his blade. “No, absolutely not! I didn’t come all this way to let some inferior creature do what I’ve dreamed of for so long!”

Elluin wiped the dagger’s blade on his pants before holding it out in front of him.

“Let’s end it.”

“Rania, come on! We have to get out of here!”

Smoke now filled the interior of the Elves’ home. They could feel the branch losing its strength under their feet as the fire spread throughout the forest.

“What about the others?” Rania cried.

“They might already have gotten out! We can’t stay here! The tree won’t hold much longer!”

Running out the exit, they saw that the bottom half of the tree was already engulfed in flames, including the ramps leading down to the forest floor.

Tears rolled down Rania’s face. “What are we gonna do, Onvyr?”

Onvyr frantically looked around. “There!” he shouted, pointing to a large bush below. “If we can land in that, we might have a chance.”

“Are you crazy? We can’t jump from up here!”

“It’s the only chance we have.”

Rania looked back at the bush, her body trembling. Onvyr gently raised her chin, looked into her eyes, and kissed her.

“It’ll be alright, Rania,” he promised her. “I love you. Take my hand.”

Without looking away from his eyes, she did as he said. Running up to the edge of the branch, they jumped.

“Come on, Ath. We have to get out of here!”

“But what about the others?” he asked, looking out the window. “There’s just a bunch of centaurs down there! Everybody else must still be up here!”

“We’ll look for them as we leave, but we need to get moving! We’ll suffocate if we stay here any longer!”

They were running down the hall when Feno, Rychell, Jorie, Heath, and Horyn came stumbling out of their room.

“It’s too smoky in there,” Rychell coughed. “What are we gonna do?”

“I knew we shouldn’t have come up here,” Horyn said.

“What’s gonna happen to us?” Jorie whimpered. “I don’t wanna die.”

“It’s alright,” Feno tried to reassure them. “Everything will be alright.”

“Come with us!” Rydel called as he and Athtar came running up to them. “We’ll help you…”

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone round the bend in the hallway. Before he could even turn his head to investigate, Athtar fell on him, the side of his shirt on fire. The blast was so strong that it knocked the elf unconscious. Looking up, Rydel saw Dakath standing only a short distance away.

As the fire mage snarled and prepared another fire ball, something caused his head to jerk to the side. His neck snapped and his lifeless body dropped to the floor.

“Come on!” Jastra yelled as she ran toward them. “We have to get out of here now!”

She patted out the flames that engulfed Athtar’s shirt and picked him up, putting his limp body over her shoulder. His skin was dark red where the fire had hit him. Rydel stood motionless as the others began following Jastra.

“Rydel, come on!” Rychell cried.

Rydel didn’t respond; his expressionless face staring at the wall in front of him.

“You two go get him,” Jastra said, looking to Rychell and Jorie. “The rest of you follow me.”

Rychell and Jorie ran back to the disoriented elf, each of them taking hold of an arm.

“He’ll be alright, Rydel,” Rychell assured him. “We have to get out of here so we can all be safe.”

“Jastra will save him,” Jorie said. “Now come on, we have to catch up with her.”

Rydel didn’t move his head or say a word. Nevertheless, with some prompting from the boys, he allowed his feet to move as they pulled him along down the hallway. They bumped into Jastra and the others as they rounded a corner and came upon a peculiar scene.

“Elluin…Xander?” she exclaimed. “What the hell is going on?”

The two elves, having managed to disarm each other, were now engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Their faces bloodied, they were tirelessly lunging and taking swings at each other.

“Stop it” Jastra shouted. “The whole tree’s gonna come down! We have to get…”

Without warning, the tree branch that held up their home suddenly gave way to the flames. No longer able to support the building’s weight, it came crashing to the ground, along with everyone inside.

What was once the home of the carefree high-born elves of the northern forest was now reduced to ash and rubble. The entirety of the forest was engulfed in flames as the few remaining centaurs continued their fight to the death. Blood and ash covered the once vibrant foliage that gave their homeland its beauty. As the forest’s last remaining tree succumbed to the inferno, so did the dream of creating an elven utopia.