"Oh, thank the Creators," came a familiar voice.
"Huh?" the young elf sat up, quickly regretting doing so. Her head reeled in pain, and she held it in her hands as if it would still the agony.
"Do not rush yourself, da'len."
Her eyes adjusting to the sudden brightness, Lyna looked around her, trying to deduce where she was. The camp. Had it been just a dream then? So why were the Keeper and Ashalle kneeling down next to her, their eyes full of concern?
"What... what happened?" Lyna dared to ask. She looked around her once again before addressing the Keeper with another question. "Where is Tamlen?"
The Keeper frowned. "So you do not know. I had worried as much.
"When you and Tamlen did not return from your hunt, I sent Chandan and Fenarel out to look for the two of you. They discovered you outside of a cave, unconscious, but Tamlen was nowhere to be found."
"What?" said Lyna, her voice a whisper, just barely audible to the Keeper and Ashalle.
"I'm so sorry, da'assan," Ashalle said, gently placing her hand onto Lyna's head and stroking her blonde locks.
"The ruins," Lyna immediately replied, earning a confused look from the elder elves. "Tamlen and I, some shemlen told us that they had found an elven ruin in a cave. Tamlen and I went into the cave; it was all so strange. The architecture, it barely looked elven, and then we found a mirror. It was so odd. Tamlen looked into it, and he said he saw something. Then he went to touch the mirror and I-I tried to stop him, but... that's all I remember. We have to find Tamlen. We have to find him!"
"Very well," the Keeper said after a moment. "Gather what you will need. I shall speak to Merrill."
Lyna hurriedly grabbed her weapons, which Ashalle had taken from her when she was unconscious. Once Lyna had done so, she hurried to the Keeper, who had just finished speaking with Merrill.
"So, are we to go now?" Merrill asked. Lyna nodded, confirming Merrill's inquiry. Lyna wasn't exactly close with Merrill, but then, no one in the Saebra clan was. Merrill was the Keeper's first, and though Keeper Marethari had never admitted it, everyone knew Merrill was her favorite. Merrill was different, but for the moment, Lyna didn't care. All she cared about was finding Tamlen.
She didn't.
"Keeper, we can't destroy it!"
"We can and we will," the Keeper said firmly. "You saw that mirror, did you not? It has been corrupted. You said yourself that there were darkspawn in the ruins, and now that poor child is ill. The Eluvian has been tainted; I would assume by the darkspawn. It took Tamlen away from us, and now it very well may end up taking Mahariel. We cannot allow it to remain standing. I have already sent Harshal and several others to the ruins. I ordered them to destroy the Eluvian."
"This isn't right!" Merrill insisted. "It's a part of our history! Think of all it could teach us!"
"I swore to myself that I would protect that child," came a voice; it was Ashalle, who had just exited the tent where Mahariel was resting, "and now I fear that I won't be able to. That mirror must be destroyed."
"We could fix it!" Merrill said.
"Whatever knowledge it holds is not worth the risks," Marethari said adamantly.
"If you will excuse me, I am going to retire for the night," said Ashalle. Marethari nodded, and the elven woman solemnly walked away.
"Merrill, I am going to see if the others have returned," said Marethari. "Please check on Mahariel."
Merrill nodded and pulled aside the drape of the tent. She entered the small tent and knelt down next to her clansman.
"I am here, lethallan," said Merrill.
"Merrill, please..."
"What is it?"
"Don't do it, Merrill. That mirror, it took Tamlen," Mahariel said. Merrill waited for her to say more, to go on to say how the mirror had made her ill, but the young Dale said nothing. She cared only for Tamlen, Merrill realized. What was it like to have someone like that? Someone to care for, someone who cared for you. Merrill didn't know.
"I won't," Merrill lied.
"I pray you mean it," Mahariel said. The elf was pale, sweat running down her face. Merrill felt the young woman's head; still hot, deathly so. Mahariel grunted in pain; her skin tingled, no, more than that. It felt as though she was being stabbed by a thousand knives, and her skin itched to the point that she wanted to scratch until all her flesh was gone. "I can't do this anymore."
"What do you mean?" Merrill said, worry managing to creep its way into her tone.
"This pain," Mahariel elaborated. "Please, Merrill, end it."
"You can't be serious," Merrill said.
"I am! I am, so just do it!" Mahariel begged. "Tamlen's gone now. He's dead, I just know it. I don't want to live without him. Everything hurts. I'm going to die anyway, so please just kill me, Merrill, please."
"I-I can't," Merrill said. "You can't ask me to do this. I... I won't. I..." But even in the dim light Merrill could see the pained, pleading expression on Mahariel's face, and she felt herself cave in. "Fine... I'll do it... Creators forgive me."
"Just, just cast a spell on me," Mahariel said. "I'm dying anyway; they won't be able to tell."
Merrill placed her hand on the sickly elf, her heart pounding rapidly in her head.
"You know, I was wrong about you," Mahariel said. Merrill's eyes widened in shock. "We all are. You're so distant; it makes you seem cold. Everyone feels that you're the Keeper's favorite, but..."
Merrill couldn't hear anymore. Mahariel's words were kind, but they hurt Merrill more than any insult ever could. Merrill whispered some words, and she could feel Mahariel's life draining from her. Mahariel stared at her blankly, but rather than curse the First, she smiled. "Thank you... lethallan."
When her breaths stopped altogether, Merrill held back a sob and closed her clansman's eyes. Feeling the tears stinging in her own eyes, a few managing to escape, Merrill shut her eyes tightly and made a new promise.
"I won't let your death be in vain."