Chapter One
Tawen sighed as he embraced the comfort of his favourite chair, leaning back to close his eyes and rest with his thoughts for a moment after the intensity of the day. With the Elves and the Dynol preparing for battle, and many of the elves in the settlement feeling anxious and needing a little 'pick-me-up' or wanting something to ease the stress of a loved one who was preparing to go and fight, he had barely found time to breathe, let alone sit down. He was, in fact, completely against the war himself, but would still help these people deal with their unfortunate situation in any way that he could.
Tawen was no healer, but had become one, in a way, for the town of Kamuz as of late. He was more of a herbalist, an alchemist of sorts, or was acting as one for their sakes, for the time being at least. He could conjure up medicines and potions for almost any situation, if he had the correct ingredients, which here, amongst the dense forests, were abundant. He had travelled here, to the north, on the instruction of a dear friend who had informed him that the soul in which he had been searching for was here, in this town, a town he knew well in fact, but he had not found her, had not even come close to discovering who she may be. All he saw here was sorrow, and segregation, a situation that he tried to ease as best he could, but to no real avail, despite this not being his reason for coming to Kumuz, it had become his responsibility in a way, and he would not have changed that. He would stay, just 12 days more, for the elves of Kamuz more than anything else, as he was beginning to lose hope in ever finding this girl, this elf.
This was Tawens' duty for the time being, his calling, to find the other vessels. There were four left, four lost souls who could be residing anywhere within the entirety of Sathrion. He knew not their ages, their names, he did not know their sex or where they could be found. These barriers made searching for these souls seem like an impossible endeavour, but between himself and his dearest friend, they possessed certain gifts which eased the task somewhat. His friend had the gift of sight, the ability to see what others could not, and he had seen the girl, the vessel, here in Kamuz during a restless sleep just three weeks previously. He spoke of her talent for fire magic, and her almost foreign disposition amongst the others of her kind. Tawen had left for Kamuz the very next morning.
He had met an elven girl today, one who was uncommon amongst the other elves, just as his friend had prophesised, but she could not be the one in which he searched for. She was part of the Dynol, and proudly so, and was not from Kamuz, either, but from a town to the south of the forest. This female he sought after was a powerful fire mage, and an Elf, and she, this young girl, seemingly, was neither. He wasn't even certain whether she was a full-blooded elf, even her scent was that of a human. He did, however, feel an obligation towards her. She was, after all, carrying Elven blood within her veins and she had been bought up amongst humans, and so knew little of her own heritage. Her interest in him, as a fellow elf, was undeniable, and he sensed that she wanted to know, to learn, to grow. He would return again tomorrow, and try to talk to her, to educate her on the ways of his people, put her mind at ease, as she currently seemed to hold a very negative view of Elves, and so, of herself. If he could help her to see that Elven people were not to be feared, not the monsters she seemed to believe them to be, she could be at peace.
He had begun to frequent the halls recently, where young elves were taught to control and utilise their gifts, as he thought that perhaps it was one of these youngsters that he was sent here to find, but alas, of all 13 young mages in training, not one was specialised in fire. In fact, a total of 7 of them were gifted in aquatic magic, 3 were earth mages, 2 were air mages and one was a blood mage. This alone began to raise alarm bells for Tawen, as these four magickas were the only four that had an origin right now. An Island from whence the magic built and flowed. One of these four active vessels was currently corrupted. Twisted by the hatred and pain of war, and fighting for the resistance, using powerful magic to cause devastation throughout the land, and yet she still acted as a vessel, passing on her gifts. This was why the others had to be found, in order to balance the natural gifts of elven people and bring back the diversity which would allow them the chance to claim back what was rightfully theirs, even if he did disagree with the wars that raged across the lands, Tawen could not deny his ingrained desire to take back what was rightfully belonging to his people, so although in disagreement with the resistance, their cause was something he could relate to.
Neither Tawen, nor his friend has seen or heard anything regarding the elusive earth mage, but wherever he, or she, currently resided, they could not be too far away, and must have been actively using their gifts, as earth magic was still very much alive. Tawen would have to seek them out and attempt to convince them to join the cause at some point in the future, which would be no simple task, but his priority for the time being was to seek out the fire mage, the healer and the illusionist, because although the other two were not yet his allies, they were, at least, easy to find, and aware of their gifts.
Tawen was not part of the Elven Resistance, the group of extremists that made up the army currently fighting the Dynol, not any longer at least. Tawen was a pacifist. The leader of the pacifists, in fact. They worked exceptionally hard in an attempt to eradicate the war and bring peace to Sathrion, with a vision which would allow both humans and elven people to live together in acceptance. He was not naive, and knew that there was little chance of Elves and humans ever truly seeing eye-to-eye, but even so, creating a mutual understanding in order to allow peace to emerge from the chaos was beneficial to all. If he could find this girl, this elf, the pacifists would be one step closer to achieving their goal.
Tawen looked up as a young elven man poked his head around a curtain which acted as a door to the small wooden shelter he resided within. He nodded in response to the boy's hopeful gaze, and the boy entered, scanning the room cautiously and taking a seat opposite Tawen. He was around 19 years of age, Tawen thought. His heavy mass of bouncing golden curls and flushed cheeks giving him the appearance of one much younger, but his eyes holding a wisdom and maturity which contradicted his plump, childish features.
"What can I do for you Serion?" Tawen asked attentively, sensing the boy's unease. He had met the young elves in the hall that very morning, and for some reason, Serion had remained fresh in his memory, more so than many of the other students.
"Well, I am due to leave for Winters Pass tomorrow, and I am scared. Some of the others, they told me that you could… help me out" Serion looked down at his fingers which twisted awkwardly in his lap, he was ashamed to admit to his fear, especially to one with as high of a reputation as Tawen. Tawen was well known throughout the Mourning Plains and much of Southern Sathrion. Some saw him as a divine being, a deity of sorts, sent by Uneus herself, particularly the older elves who remembered the times past, others saw him as a hero who they believed would be their ultimate saviour during these tired and bloody times. Some saw him as a fraud, a troublemaker, and others doubted his existence entirely, preferring to keep the tales told of him within the confines of the pages in their dusty books. Tawen placed a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder, and offered him a kindly smile.
"You need not feel shame of your fear, Serion, it is merely the minds way of protecting itself from danger, for a fool who rushes into battle without fear will wind up a dead fool. I would be far more concerned had you come to me with declarations that you were experiencing no fear at all, Winters Pass is a dangerous and frightening place" Serion seemed to ease a little at this, but his discomfort was still present and highly palpable. "Is that all that troubles you?" Tawen tested tenderly, sensing that there was more to Serion's discomfort than he was letting on.
"I'm not very skilled, with magic I mean, and even if I were-" he broke off with a pained sigh, both hands suddenly moving to his face, rubbing his temples with agitation. Tawen rose to his feet quietly, and lifted a pot of boiling water from the small fire that acted as a stove "I will make us some tea" he spoke, breaking the silence before carefully selecting different jars from a shelf at the back of the room and mixing their contents into a small wooden bowl before adding them to the pot of water and replacing the pot above the fire.
Once Tawen had finished, he handed a mug to Serion, and despite his own dislike for tea, took a mug for himself before returning to his seat.
"I have never used what little magic I know to harm another" Serion spoke with a sigh, the nectarous steam rising from his cup seeming to help ease his anxiety somewhat, making Tawen smile inwardly with a small sense of pride. He always seemed to know exactly the right blend for any emotional ailment, tailoring it perfectly to fit the needs of the individual. Sometimes, a cup of his special tea was enough to loosen both the minds and the tongues of those who came to him for help, and upon disclosing all that was bothering them, often no further remedies were needed.
"I don't know if I have it in me to go to Winters Pass." Serion continued "I am no fighter"
"I remember meeting you, in the halls. You are an Earth Mage, is that correct?" Tawen asked, regarding Serion over the rim of his cup as he spoke.
"Yes, that is correct" Serion nodded.
"In my time, I have noticed a common virtue among earth mages. They have all been very gentle souls. I have met healers with more of a warrior spirit about them than I have earth mages" Tawen noticed the look of disappointment sweeping its way across Serions features following this comment "That is not an insult, Serion, it is a compliment in fact." He emended, not wishing to negate the composure he had thus far instilled in the youngster "Earth magic is so very virtuous. You speak to the earth, and it listens to you. It would not choose listen to just anybody, a blood mage, for instance, has an ingrained desire to use his magic with malicious intent, it is why he is destined to be a blood mage in the first place, and it takes allot of self-discipline to overcome that, but for earth mages, to be good comes so naturally. To be so pure of heart, it is such a rarity and a comfort to witness during such harrowing times. If everybody were like you, there would be no war to fight" Serion stared thoughtfully into his cup.
"But you are a blood mage Tawen, are you not?" He frowned, regarding Tawen with confusion. Tawen nodded slowly. "But you are a good person, I mean, you help people, so why did blood magic choose you, if it favours those with malicious intent?"
"You forget, young Serion, I am no ordinary mage. Blood Magic chose me at a much younger age than it would chose most, and I was such a very angry youngster, many things had happened in my life that I sought revenge for, and all of the anger and hate coursing through me at that time in my life caused blood magic to choose me, not only as a blood mage, but as a vessel for it. I have fought in wars using the abhorrent powers bestowed upon me, have abused my gifts in ways too harrowing to disclose, but I am not that person any longer. It takes allot of self-control to be a blood mage and use that power for good. There is a reason most blood mages fight for the resistance, it is almost like the war calls to them, beckons them. It can take allot of strength to resist. You though, Serion, you can resist, with ease in fact. You need not go and fight, not if you truly do not wish to do so."
"But I feel I must help" Serion replied "All of the other mages are going to Winters Pass, to help our people, I cannot just stay behind and do nothing"
"Have you heard of the pacifists?" Tawen asked, regarding the boy thoughtfully. Serion nodded his head.
"A little" he replied.
"I will be heading back to Allanar to join them in 12 days' time. You are welcome to accompany me there, if you so wish. How much have you heard about our plight?" Tawen asked, regarding Serion with an interested expression. Not only did he want the boy to know exactly what he would be getting into if he chose to join the pacifists in Allanar, he was also curious as to the general impression the people in these parts had of them.
"You are trying to stop the war" Serion verbalized what Tawen feared was the only piece of information held about the pacifists by the people in the small towns scattered throughout central and northern Sathrion. He nodded gravely.
"And how do you think we go about such an endeavour?" he watched Serion frown as he tried to search for answers he did not possess. "It's alright if you do not know" Tawen smiled in response to the boys' silence before continuing "We aim to bring peace to Sathrion, by making both the Dynol and the resistance stand down" He spoke the words as though this were a simple task, and Serion frowned deeply.
"You believe that they will listen to you, if you just tell them to stop?" His features were a combination of both confusion and doubt, and Tawen chuckled quietly to himself, the boy thought him completely mad.
"They would not listen if we used only words to try and stop them dear Serion, their anger and their demand for vengeance runs far too deeply for mere words to make a difference. No, we intend to show them, in a way that they cannot close their eyes to. Not with further war nor battle, but with power. Magic so strong and so tangible that they will be forced to stop and to listen"
Serion nodded, seeming to understand.
"If you choose to join us, you will be asked to fight no wars, we are not an army, we want only peace, and I believe this to be your desire also, which is why I have offered you this chance to accompany me back to Allanar. You will, of course, continue your studies. We have some of the best mages in all of Sathrion back in Allanar, and under their tutorage your gifts will be adequately nurtured"
"Yes, please Tawen, I would like nothing more than to join you and the pacifists in Allanar, nothing more. Thank you, so very much. I will not let you down" He spoke quietly, his excitement concealed, yet notably tangible.
"Serion" Tawen replied, placing a strong yet gentle hand upon the young boys' shoulder "You could not let me down if you tried. Welcome to the Pacifists"