Dawn and Dusk

Chapter One

Rain was falling. The forest had seen many rains, but this time it felt like the heaven itself was about to come crashing down. No, it wasn't just raining. It was pouring. He ran around, looking for some shelter. That proved difficult: the trees were too widely spread to provide sufficient shelter. His wet dark brown curly hair got in the way, making it hard to see. His bare cold feet got stuck in the mud occasionally. He tripped, and felt blood on his chin. He saw a few drops fall from his face mirrored in a puddle, his blue eyes squinting at his reflection, seeing a tanned face with slightly feminine features. Then he got up and walked on. Finally, he found what he was looking for: there was a hollow log, in which a child could fit. He crawled inside, and sat down with a sigh. He shivered; it was a very cold autumn day. It certainly wasn't a day for children to be out in a forest all alone, anyway. What was he doing here anyway? He couldn't remember. All he could recall was searching in this forest, though he wasn't sure what for, either.

His thoughts were interrupted when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He jumped, let out a yell, and hit the ceiling with his head. Slowly, he turned sideways. A girl was sitting next to him; a little girl, though slightly taller than him. She had long, black hair and green eyes. Her face was pale, but at the same time full of life. She was gazing at him intently. Still recovering from the shock, he looked back. There was silence for a while. Then, the girl pointed at herself. "Syani."

He nodded. Sigh-any. A pretty name, he thought. She then pointed at him, an inquiring look on her face. He blushed. He couldn't even remember his own name. He glanced around, as if secretly looking for an exit to escape to. Behind the girl, he saw a sign: Keryan Forest: Path 3. He stared in front of him for a moment. "Kerryan," he mumbled. It had a certain ring to it. "Kerr-yan," she repeated. She laughed. He looked embarrassed: had he said the wrong thing? But then he noticed she was not laughing mockingly, but in a cheerful manner: in fact, it made him laugh too. They laughed together for a while, and forgot the rain. Suddenly, she stopped and frowned at something behind him. Following her gaze, he saw a spider the size of his head beside him. Before he even had a chance to scream, Syani had stabbed the beast with a sword. Kerryan gasped. "Where did you get that?"

She looked at him and shrugged. "We needed one, didn't we?"

"Did you have it with you?" he asked, almost ashamed he had nothing of the sort to defend himself with.

"No. We needed a sword to appear, so why wouldn't it be able to?"

He was puzzled. Drawing swords out of thin air wasn't your basic daily activity to him. But then again, what was?

Distracted, he felt the cold again. It was now raining so hard, he was afraid the log was going to give way. "I wish it'd stop raining," he said.

Syani sat up. "Well, then why don't we make it stop raining?"

Kerryan gaped at her. Surely this girl was pulling his leg? "You think you can make it stop?"

She raised an eyebrow. "You were the one who said it should stop raining. Then you should be able to stop it too, right?"

It seemed to have an odd effect on him. Inside, he felt she was right. Why not..?

He raised his hand and closed his eyes. He felt a warm feeling from within. When he had opened his eyes, the rain had stopped. There was no longer any doubt or surprise in his mind. He'd done it.

She grabbed his hand. "Come on, let's go outside!"

"R-right!"

Together, they walked through the forest as the sun started to reappear. It was a strange sight to see the two children walking carelessly through a large forest, ignorant to the dangers that lurked in it, and ignorant to what was about to come.

Chapter Two

They spent the next days walking through the apparently endless forest. He felt himself growing closer to her. He had accustomed to his new name, Kerryan, but he wasn't completely used to Syani yet. He was very fond of her, and yet she also annoyed him sometimes. She always seemed to know better: nothing surprised her, apparently. He had the feeling she accepted life as it was, as well as everything that came with it. She was never cocky about it, or mocked him, but it felt as if she had been around much longer than him. He was getting used to it, though, just like he was getting used to the way they seemed to be able to shape their surroundings the way they liked it, and he got used to the forest itself as well. They came across a lot of animals. Most of them just fled when they approached, but every now and then, an angry boar or a sneaky snake would come near them threateningly: Syani was usually the one who drove them off. It occured once or twice that there were more of them: Syani then had to fight them one of the time, while Kerryan mostly braced himself with a shield, or rather, an oval, slightly misshapen piece of metal, which he called a shield. He drew a sword every once in a while, but she was faster. He found himself wanting to surpass her in something, and there appeared to be one thing that happened to fit in with that desire: cooking. He knew more about the mushrooms and the fruits that grew in the forest: conjuring food out of thin air was more difficult than a weapon. She never complimented him, but he could feel she appreciated it.

He hadn't asked her where she had come from, because he knew he wouldn't want to be asked either. He had no idea, and she probably didn't either. All that mattered was that they were here, and they were together.

Another opportunity to surpass her arrived one day, when they reached the border of the forest.

They had been walking all morning, when number of trees began to decrease. "Looks like a clearing," Syani said.

Kerryan looked in the direction she was pointing. "Hey, that's not a clearing… It's the end of the forest."

"The end, huh?" Syani looked thoughtful. "Well, let's have a look."

They walked onward, and saw a large village. It was an odd village: every house looked different from the next one. There were tall houses next to short ones, large and small. There was a wall surrounding the entire village for as far as they could see, but there was a gate in front of them.

In front of the gate, there was a woman with long, pointy ears who had apparently just arrived: she descended her horse and greeted the also pointy eared man. She had long, red hair. Her back was on them.

"Let's see what kind of people they are," Kerryan suggested, and leapt out onto the path leading to the forest. Turning around, he saw to his surprise that she hadn't moved. She was simply staring in amazement at the two figures in front of her.

The woman turned around at the noise, and started. She gestured at the guard, who took the horse and ran into the village through the gate, which closed with a thud. The woman walked towards Kerryan, a grim look on her face. She intimidated him: something about her sent shivers to his spine. He tried to sound casually, saying: "Ah… good morning. I- that is to say, we have come to-" He came to a halt when he saw she had drawn her sword.

"I regret it…" she spoke in a soft but stern voice. "But it can't be helped. The fact that you exist is a contradiction to nature in itself. Therefore… I must finish you to restore balance."

Kerryan stared. What in the blazes is she talking about?!

It seemed Syani had come to her senses: she ran and jumped in front of Kerryan. She faced the woman. "Who are you?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Eydilne Fass. One of the Guardians of the Elves."

Chapter Three

"Guardian…" Kerryan repeated slowly. She gave a curt nod. "You have the misfortune of stumbling upon one of the three strongest warriors amongst the elves."

"Elves?" Syani asked blankly.

"Enough now. There is no need for further discussion." She raised her sword. "Rest in peace, along with your fallen comrades."

"What-" But before he could finish, she leapt at him with surprising speed. Just in time, he managed to defend himself against her sword with his shield. He noticed he had great difficulty controlling it; this clearly was no ordinary sword. She added pressure, and he felt his grip weakening: he was being overpowered. Just when he thought he was going to give way, she stopped; Syani had hit her on the shoulder with her sword as hard as she could; a small gash appeared in her clothing, though her skin appeared to be untouched. Eydilne turned. "So you did not flee." She eyed Syani's sword. "Interesting," she said, sounding anything but interested. "Neither steel, nor Aderium. Clearly an excellent sword. However…" she pointed her sword at Syani. "Even the sharpest sword is but a blunt knife in the hands of one who does not know to control it."

Kerryan eyed Syani in alarm. She smiled. "Nothing to worry about. I don't like this place. Let's go, okay?"

If the situation wasn't as serious as it was, Kerryan would have laughed at this comment. It was one of those moments, where Syani made the impossible sound as the most obvious thing to do at the moment.

Eydilne took a step forward. "I know," Syani said, sighing. "You want to kill us, right? Sorry, I don't like that. We'll be taking our leave, like I said." She aimed, and thrust her sword towards the woman's stomach. Eydilne sighed. Kerryan barely saw her arm move, but the next moment, the sword was flying through the air. He looked at Syani's face, and for the first time, he saw a look of shock on her face. "Enough games," Eydilne said. "The time has indeed come for you to leave."

"So... fast..." Syani muttered, her eyes still wide.

Eydilne's eyes narrowed. She slashed, and hit Syani straight in the chest. Kerryan couldn't stop himself from screaming. Syani merely gasped as she fell to the ground, blood pouring from the cut.

Kerryan felt a terrible feeling of dispair rising up inside him. No... no!

His mind went blank. He couldn't speak. All he could do was stare in horror at the girl.

Eydilne turned, and Kerryan knew he was going to be next. There was nothing he could do about it. He closed his eyes, waiting for the blow...

But the blow didn't come. His eyes snapped open, and Eydilne was pressing her sword against his shield. There was a look of surprise and disbelief on her face. Kerryan stared at the shield. He must have drawn it out unconsciously. Eydilne frowned, and pressed harder. For a moment, they were pushing against each other, then she threw him backwards. He lost his balance and fell on his back, while his shield flung backwards, and fell a few metres away.

Eydilne didn't hesitate. She leapt at him, aiming a killing blow at his stomach, but this time he was ready for her. A second shield materialized into his hands. There was the sound of a clash of steel. Surprised by the sudden hit, she staggered. Kerryan rolled away from her, and stood up, his shield at the ready. She did not attack, however.

"That power of yours surprises me," she spoke, "considering your obvious lack of battle experience. Just now... for a few seconds, I was completely open. Anyone with a power like that should be able to realize he should make use of it."

Kerryan looked at her, puzzled. She obviously didn't regard him or Syani as an ordinary child. But there again, he thought, that was quite obvious already.

"But it doesn't make a difference," she finished. "I'm wasting my time. I have to be done now."

She raised her left arm, and stretched her fingers outwards. Kerryan saw her lips move, but no words came out. Instead, he heard a sound similar to a wind's breeze. A feeling of dread passed over him. Slowly, he saw a silver cord dancing around him, coiling like a snake. He saw a small flash of light, followed by a sudden pain is his stomach. He doubled over, and fell.

Chapter Four

Darkness swallowed him. He felt himself falling, but the way to the ground seemed to go on forever. He couldn't think clearly. He didn't feel pain anymore. He just felt himself descending lower and lower... as if he were falling through an enormous pit... He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt too heavy. He had the strangest sensation that there was a deep fog inside his thoughts. Slowly, a name passed through his mind: Syani... And still, he was falling, and still the thud didn't come. Then all of the sudden, a voice echoed across his mind: a man's voice. He could barely hear what he was saying: "The way... not there..." I can't hear you, he thought. He wanted to shout out to whoever was calling him, but no sound came out. The words became a little more clear: "Why carry a powerful sword if you do not draw it?" None of it made any sense to Kerryan. "If you want to protect... then fight, and draw your power..." The voice faded. "...from inside..."

Suddenly, everything came back to Kerryan: the attack, the pain... and Syani falling to the floor. Determination flew throughout his entire body. I'll protect her... I have to!

It was as if his body were on fire. His eyes snapped open, and he saw Eydilne, flat on her back. Somehow... he'd thrown her off her feet. In a quick moment, she climbed upright. For the first time, Kerryan saw surprise on her face, though it vanished quite quickly. "This is unexpected," she said. "But what is the point of continuing? It will end in the same way, no matter how much you resist. Your friend has already fallen." She nudged towards Syani with her sword. "There is no escape for you."

Kerryan looked her straight in the eye. "Syani... isn't dead."

Eydilne sighed. "True. Not yet, at the very least. But I told you, it is too late."

"No. She won't leave me." He clenched his fist. "After all that... she wouldn't just go like that."

Her eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

Kerryan closed his eyes. "Syani is the one who taught me to live. I don't know where I'd be if I hadn't met her. I don't know why you want to kill us, but you're not going to split us apart. She won't die... and I won't let her die!"

Eydilne froze. She stared at him, apparently pondering something.

He drew back his arm, then made a slashing movement across his breast. As he did so, a wave of white light emerged from it and knocked Eydilne headfirst into a tree trunk nearby. Somehow, it felt as if he'd done this for years. Without taking a further look at the woman, he ran at Syani. She lay on the ground a few feet away, her wound still bleeding heavily. "Come on," he said softly. "We're leaving." He hoisted her up his back, and ran back into the forest.

As soon as he was a good distance away, he laid her down on a soft spot of grass. He looked at her bleeding wound, thinking of what Syani always said. He raised his hand towards the wound, slowly and uncertainly. If we need it to disappear, we can make it disappear... that's what she'd say. Closing his eyes, he concentrated desperately on that last thought. He blinked after a while. He saw nothing had happened. So it's not as simple as that... He looked around, starting to panic. He needed a bandage of some sort. He glanced at the trees around him. Leaves? The trees were tall, and the leaves grew too high for him to reach. He shook his head. Suddenly, he noticed that Syani was holding something. He seized her hand, and saw a large roll of bandage in it. He shook his head once more. It was truly incredible how unpredictable she was, even in a situation like this. Quickly, he started wrapping the bandage around her chest. He didn't really know how to tend to wounds, but he just kept wrapping desperately, believing that it would help... silently praying she'd be alright. When the roll was completely used up, there was a thick amount of bandage around her. He supposed he had overdone it, but at least the bleeding had stopped. He sighed in relief. All of the sudden, he realized how tired he was, after all that had happened. But he had to look after her. Now was no time for sleeping. Yet after a few minutes, his eyelids started to get heavy. He lied down next to her. He held her hand softly. It was warm, which was a comforting feeling. He closed his eyes, and fell asleep next to her.

Meanwhile, on the foot of the village, Eydilne Fass got up, still staring after the boy. The one who taught him to live... She blinked, and turned around to face an elf who was a head higher than she was, with long, blue hair. He wore brown elven garb, and had a quiver of arrows over his shoulder. He was grinning. "Dear, dear. Quite a disturbing way of being welcomed home, eh?"

Eydilne swallowed. "You saw-"

He chuckled. "To think you're still surprised by that. You're still a little girl after all, aren't you, Eydilne?"

She bit her lip. "I hadn't really expected to see non-elves at the foot of our village, to be sure."

He nodded. "Yeah, and that's why I'm really wondering over something obvious. Why did you let them go?" He looked directly into her eyes. "I don't think a little bump to the head's enough to knock you out, hmm?"

Eydilne hesitated, turning away.

He raised an eyebrow. "What's that now? How about you stop acting like a little girl who's been naughty and just open up? I'm all ears! I came especially to welcome you back, you know. I was just surprised to see two kids were on the job already!"

She hesitated, then said, "I suppose... it was because of what you used to tell me. Something you said."

He chuckled again. "You actually remembered a lesson from me, then? That's a surprise, 'little' Eydilne!"

She managed a small smile. "I guess I paid attention once or twice... 'Sir' Arek."

Chapter Five

It took a while for Kerryan to awake. Several dreams slid by his mind. Finally, he awoke with a start, remembering he was supposed to take care of Syani. He looked around worriedly, and was relieved to see she was still sleeping peacefully on her side next to him. He sat upright. He looked at her face, bathed in the bright sunlight. He stroke her hair out of her face a little awkwardly, then carefully moved her on to her back, thinking it a more comfortable position. He smiled softly. He felt assured she was all right. He felt on his own body, noticing he was completely uninjured. He thought back to what that woman had done. She had certainly hit him with... something. Yet there was no trace of it on his body. His arm was a little bruised, but nothing more.

He jerked out of his thoughts when he saw Syani move. He bended over her, softly calling her name. Her lips moved, but he didn't hear her speak. He looked at her uncertainly. "Are you... alright, Syani?"

She didn't respond. "Do you need something? More bandages? Water?"

At his last word, he thought he saw Syani nod. He wasn't sure, but he was glad to be able to do something for her. He ran to a small nearby stream. He closed his eyes for a moment, then saw a goblet in his hand. He was satisfied, seeing he could still do at least something she could. He skooped up some water and hurried back to Syani. When he returned, she was sitting upright. Despite everything he'd said in Eydilne's face, he could almost cry in relief at seeing her awake. He dropped the goblet without noticing it, and ran at her, calling out to her. She blinked. "Kerryan..."

He felt that awkward sensation again as he cast his eyes downward. "Y-yes?"

"Would you mind taking these things off me?"

He blinked. "Eh?"

"I'd like to be able to move my arms, if you don't mind."

He stared at her for a moment, confused. Then something clanked into him. "Oh! The bandages! Sorry, I forgot..." Only now he noticed he had completely bound her with his clumsy fiddling with the bandages. He gently removed them. He was relieved to see there was no blood.

She stretched out, flexing her fingers. "Well, that's that," she said casually, placing her hands on her lap. "So, how about the water?"

"Oh, that..." He turned a little red, looking sideways for the goblet he'd dropped.

She laughed. "Just kidding." She balanced two new glasses of water on her fingers.

He took one silently. He couldn't help feeling a slight twinge of annoyance that she'd outbeat him again, but he was glad she was laughing again. He gulped his water down, then felt himself sobering down a little.

He stared into the forest. After a while, he spoke. "Syani."

She turned sideways to look at him. "Syani. Why... did that woman attack us?"

She lowered her head somberly. "Kerryan... have you ever wondered why some animals in this forest attack us, why some are timid, and some lovable?"

He considered this for a moment. "Well... no, but that's different, isn't it? I mean, she's, well..."

"Do you really think so?"

He frowned at her. She continued, "I disagree. She tried to kill us. That's all that matters. Just because she looks more like us, or because she can talk, that doesn't matter if she's someone who attacks us like that. I think she's no better than one of those snakes."

Kerryan pondered over all of this. It was the first time he'd heard Syani this serious. He was about to say something when she stood up. "Well, it doesn't matter. Let's just stay away from that place, okay? Let's go."

He thought for a moment, wondering if he should argue, but he supposed she was right. It was no use worrying about that woman's motives. It'd be best if they never saw her again. He stood up and followed her. He didn't bother asking her where they were going, and he suspected she had no idea either. They set off, decidedly in the opposite direction of the village, hoping never to see it again.

Yet how very wrong they were.