In Dreams
By Pyreite
Chapter 2: Destiny
Avallac'h awoke to an unexpected surprise. He stared at the table he'd slept at the night before. It was tidier than he'd left it. The book he'd read was closed, his papers in a neat pile beside it. The brass candelabra was clean, the new candle lit with an amber flame.
There was a satchel on the table, along with a small statuette of an animal. On closer inspection it was a wolf lounging on its belly like a cat. The ears perked in alertness, were upon a head turned towards the observer. The wedge-like tail was a shapely curve against its flank. The eyes were tiny flecks of ruby inset in a lupine face with a long snout.
Fashioned from obsidian, it fit into the palm of his hand.
It was black as a raven's wing and polished till it gleamed. Candlelight glinted off its curved edges in a multitude of colours. He saw yellow, red, purple and blue reflected there like a rainbow in a pool of oil. Even the ruby eyes shone as if lit from the inside. Avallac'h was too unnerved to touch it, so he unbuckled the satchel instead.
He flicked back the flap, expecting to find something unpleasant inside.
He saw not an agitated scorpion, but several wrapped packages. He pulled one out, finding a bundle of coarse linen. He frowned, sniffing it like a hound. He smelt the sharpness of aged cheddar. He unwrapped the linen, staring when he found a wedge of cheese.
He set it down upon the table, more puzzled than appeased.
He pulled more packages from the satchel, unwrapping each one. Moments later he took a seat, gaping at the bounty on his table. There were crocks of honey, butter and jam. A bottle of wine and an uncut loaf of bread beside that wedge of cheese. There was even a leg of ham on the bone.
It was a veritable feast, though Avallac'h wasn't sure whom had left it.
He glanced about the laboratory, wondering if he was being watched. He knew better than to eat a gift of food left out like a slice of cheese for a mouse. There wasn't a cat in waiting, though he wondered if it was bait. It could be a trap, though he didn't know who'd set it. He had enemies aplenty so he chose to be cautious.
He spent the next hour checking every warding spell he'd cast.
He sank back in his chair sweaty, hungry and irritated. The wards were intact, nothing had entered his abode nor left it within the past week. He was the sole occupant of the laboratory he kept on the Pali Gap Coast in Skellige. He was thirsty though he didn't allow himself the luxury of indulgence. He spent another hour investigating if the food was glamoured, poisoned or fake.
Famished and furious, he didn't find signs of tampering.
The food was exactly as it appeared to be. He cursed in Ellylon, nose twitching at the delectable smell of fresh bread. He groaned in annoyance, getting to his feet again. He went off to find himself a goblet, a plate and a knife. He returned in moments with cutlery and crockery in hand.
He helped himself at last, confident in his spellwork.
He groaned when he bit into his sandwich. The bread was soft, the butter freshly churned, the cheese sharp and tangy. His mouth watered when he tasted the ham. It was salty, sweet and tinged with a delicious smokiness. He ate with relish, licking his fingers as he sipped a goblet of spiced wine.
It was the best meal he'd had in weeks.
The rest of Avallac'h's day passed in relative ease. He spent the time researching, making notes and reading about obscure elven legends. He was so engrossed in his work that he forgot about the dream from the previous night. He was dozing at the table by dusk, eyes heavy-lidded with weariness. He slumped in his chair, chin on his chest as he fell asleep.
He knew he was dreaming when he found her sitting in a chair. She'd made herself comfortable, long legs crossed at the knee. She leaned against the table, helping herself to titbits from a plate. He saw slices of ham, cheese, and bread slathered with butter. She sipped from his abandoned goblet, winking at him when she refilled it to the brim.
The bottle of wine was half-empty, though she was far from sozzled.
"You look better after a decent meal", she told him, recorking the bottle. She set it back on the table with a glassy clink. "I'm glad you enjoyed my gift. I hope you're feeling a little less inhospitable. I've made an apology for my unexpected appearance in your dreams last night".
Avallac'h leaned back in his chair, gawking as if she were an apparition. She was the same as he remembered. Garbed from head to toe in leather and steel that glowed an eerie green-gold. She wore a black skirt, split at the hip with a panel in front and back. Much like Zireael though hers lacked embroidery, favouring pragmatism over aesthetics.
"You're real".
She smiled with a flash of white teeth. "Quite". She gestured to the bounty she'd brought for him. The ham was shaved down by a quarter. The bread but half-a-loaf.
He was more confused than afraid. "I thought you were a dream".
"Oh, I am. Although from where I come from. There's a thin line between waking and sleeping. There's an even thinner line between dreams and reality. I'm somewhere between, although I can cross over without difficulty".
He didn't believe her. "That's impossible".
Her green eyes sparkled in delight. "For you it is. But I'm not from this world or yours. So whatever rules you understand of magic and whatnot don't apply to me. Infuriating isn't it?"
The shrew had him there.
Avallac'h liked her even less than before. He already knew that she was abrupt, rude, blunter than a spoon and incapable of common courtesies. That she dangled knowledge under the tip of his nose irked him. He was of the Aen Saevherne, an elven sage wise in the ways of scholarship and the arcane. That this woman hailed from a world unknown to him was an insult.
That she knew it was an even greater offence.
His eyes narrowed, the bridge of his nose wrinkling in distaste. He hadn't found himself at odds with another elf since Lara had questioned his morality. Zireael had done the same during her imprisonment in Tir ná Lia. He eyed the woman at his table, noting the intense emerald-green of her irises. She batted her silver lashes with the coquettishness of a courtesan looking for a patron.
She laughed when he blushed then scowled like a jilted suitor.
"Quite", he repeated, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Who are you?"
She sipped from his goblet, groaning as wine rolled across the back of her tongue. It was sweet with a hint of spiciness, though it lacked that acidic after-taste. She swallowed, setting the goblet back on the table. It was pleasant to eat and drink in the company of another. Although her host was far from welcoming.
"I'm someone in need of help".
So they would go around in circles before she admitted anything. Lara had been fond of word-games too. Avallac'h was reminded of her the instant his guest arched a silver brow. She gauged his worth with a single glance, though with neither derision nor deceit in her gaze. He sensed an honesty about her, even a touch of desperation.
He asked the most pertinent question. "What kind of help?"
"I need you to identify something for me".
"Why?"
"Curiosity".
He considered her request, weighing the risk. He nodded to the satchel on the table, surrounded by the unwrapped food. The leg of ham, the wedge of cheese, the bread and crock of butter were laid out for a meal. She'd helped herself already, though that didn't worry him. He was more concerned about the lounging wolf with flecks of ruby for eyes.
"What of the creature chasing you?"
She followed where he looked, nodding when she spied the statuette. "Another gift. When its eyes glow red, it'll be warning of his presence. You'd best not venture outside. If he finds you than he'll find me. So be vigilant if you want to keep your head where it belongs".
Avallac'h's lip curled with indignation. "Is that a threat?"
"A friendly warning. He's an oneiromancer, but far more powerful than I am. That he can manifest in your dreams is evidence enough of his aptitude. He's also a persistent bastard. I'd hoped he would've given up by now".
That was perturbing news. "Is he hunting you?"
"What would you call being pursued with a relentlessness that borders on obsession?"
He thought of his mad flight with Zireael through a multitude of worlds. They'd never stopped for more than a few days. Eredin and the Wild Hunt had followed with the persistence of a pack of wolves. They'd come close to catching them many times, though never unawares. Their travels between the worlds had caused magical shockwaves too.
The ripples had reverberated across space and time. Although not as loudly or as intense as Zireael, but still traceable if one knew how. Avallac'h wondered if the woman at his table could do the same. Yet thus far she'd exhibited none of Zireael's gifts, a legacy of the Elder Blood. But even Lara had dreamt with a clarity that'd bordered on prescience.
If this woman had her eyes – had Zireael's eyes.
Was it too much to hope?
He was willing to take a chance on her. It was plain that she'd taken considerable risk to reach him. It was also possible that her presence at his table was a ruse. He doubted she was in liege with Ge'els or the court of the Aen Elle. The court of the Aen Seidhe was dust, the ruins of their civilisation scattered like debris.
Humans were unlikely to collude with elves, considering the animosity between their races.
She'd found him on her own, not at the behest of another.
Certain of his judgement. Avallac'h made her an offer. "If I help you. What's in it for me?"
"An answer to a question that only I can provide". She gestured to the tapestry on the far wall of his laboratory. The genealogy of Lara Dorren's descendants on full display. "You're looking for something you can't name for fear that it might be stolen. Again. If you help me than you might find it".
Her perceptiveness unnerved him. "You wanted me to identify something?"
She nodded then turned over her right-hand. She unbuckled the straps on the underside of her gauntlet. The metal shone green-gold in the candlelight. She removed it with the ease of a soldier used to putting on armour. The vambrace came next as did the glove beneath it until she was barehanded.
He saw the scars upon her fingers, across the back of her hand.
"You've been in battle".
"Many times", she replied without conceit. "But that isn't why I'm here". She grasped something that encircled her index-finger. It came off in one piece. She set it on the table before him, sitting back in her seat with an expectant look.
It was a platinum band with a square bezel.
Avallac'h glanced from her to the ring, his brows furrowing. He picked it up, turning it over to examine it. The signet ring was smaller than those worn by noblemen. The engraved bezel plain rather than inset with a jewel. It was meant for the delicate fingers of a woman. The engraving was distinctly feminine – a flower with six petals in the shape of a star.
It could be mistaken for a snowflake.
He recognised it with an immediacy that astonished him. It was a symbol associated with one woman in Tir ná Lia. He inhaled a shuddering breath, brows arching in surprise. He gazed at the visitor at his table, mouth quivering like a plucked lute-string. The corners of his eyes prickled, the pressure almost painful.
A single tear slipped down his cheek. He blinked it away, lashes fluttering.
He held the ring between his thumb and forefinger. He presented it to her with a sense of apprehension. His fingers clenched the instant she tried to take it back. He hesitated to return it, gaping at her as if she were a miracle. His breath hitched when she returned his gaze with the fearlessness of a woman he respected.
The green of her eyes glinted like shards of emerald.
"Where did you get this ring?"
"You recognise it".
"I do", he affirmed, trying to keep his voice steady. Another tear slipped down his cheek, splashing the tabletop. It left a wet stain that glistened in the candlelight. "Don't toy with me", he begged in earnest. "How did you acquire it?"
She said nothing, opening the palm of her hand. Avallac'h swallowed his pride, dropping the band with a pained expression. He waited with bated breath as she slid it back onto her finger. She sat back in her chair, regarding him with suspicion. Her brows knitted, though she answered at last.
"It was given to me".
"By whom?"
"My father. He said that it belonged to my mother".
"Did you know her?"
She shook her head, inhaling a nervous breath. "She left him when I was a baby. I don't know where she went, why or if she's still alive. This ring is but one of two things I have of the woman that abandoned her family. The other is a name".
"Tell me".
"Promise me that you won't repeat it. Not to a friend, ally, colleague, acquaintance or to a stranger. If you betray me in word, thought or deed. You will never see me again. Of that you can be assured".
Avallac'h gritted his teeth, infuriated by her conditions. "That is not fair!"
"I am being hunted!" she hissed. "You will keep my secrets! Or I will take them with me! Do you understand? I will not be a pawn, yours least of all!"
He closed his eyes, feeling the weight of history upon his shoulders. Lara had demanded the same to save the baby in her womb. A halfbreed mongrel the Alder King would've torn from her belly then cast in the dirt. He'd kept his promise, informing Auberon after the child had been born. That Lara had died within hours of giving birth had almost cost him his head.
Her loss had aggrieved the Alder King.
Thousands of humans would be slain or enslaved in the centuries that followed. Their lives taken as recompense for the loss of Lara Dorren, pride of the Aen Elle. A pride Avallac'h had spent centuries trying to reclaim. He'd failed time and again, knowing that Cregennan of Lod hadn't cheated the Alder Folk. Lara had chosen to leave them to carve her mark upon the world.
A choice she'd paid for in blood.
Avallac'h capitulated with a single slow nod of acquiescence. It was enough to reassure his unexpected guest. She exhaled the breath she'd been holding, sighing in relief. She'd expected him to refuse, though he didn't allow her to recover. He returned her scrutiny, seeing Lara peer back at him with the fieriness of her bloodline.
"Your mother's name".
The woman haunting his dreams looked down her nose at him. There was pride in her bearing, even wariness though she didn't back down. She let him see her as she truly was, the glamour falling away to reveal the scars upon her face. The first cut through her right-brow, the lid of her eye and down into the curve of her cheek. The second sliced from her left-ear to her jaw, ending an inch below the corner of her mouth.
"Adalia".
Avallac'h gaped at her in disbelief. Few of the Alder Folk knew that name, fewer still associated it with Lara Dorren. He couldn't believe that she knew it, considering its importance. He glanced at the ring on her finger that glittered like a shard of ice. The flower engraved onto the bezel had been worn by the woman that'd shared the Alder King's throne.
He told her what he knew.
"Your signet ring belongs to a noblewoman of the Aen Elle. She was called Shiadhal by her husband and her people, but to her family she was Adalia. An elven sage with an affinity for ice magic. She was Rhena Gynvael, the Ice Queen who first led the Dearg Ruadhri. Her Red Riders were so feared across the worlds, that their foes dubbed them The Wild Hunt".
Avallac'h went quiet, bracing for her reaction. Where he'd expected surprise, he found disappointment instead. The woman at his table bowed her head, exhaling a weary breath. Her shoulders slumped with a resignation that perturbed him. She shook her head, asking him a question that filled him with pity.
"What if I stole the ring?"
He was quick to dismiss the possibility. "You didn't".
"How can you know that?" she demanded. "Everything I've told you could be a lie. I could be here to kill you".
"You're not".
She lifted her head, her silver brows furrowing. Avallac'h saw the tears welling in her eyes, the indecision, the hurt and anger. He knew she hadn't come to murder him when those tears spilled over. She wiped them away on the back of her hand, scowling when she saw the ring on her finger. She glanced from it to Avallac'h, the width of the table between them.
"How do you know I'm not lying?"
"Because you have your mother's eyes. Your half-sister did too. So does your niece, though you are separated by several hundred human generations. They were honest creatures, incapable of lying even to those they loved. You are the same though you don't know it yet".
She touched her fingers to her cheek, inches below her right-eye. "My father said that too. 'You look like me, but you have your mother's eyes'. I thought he was humouring me, but he was right. Everyone in our clan had grey, blue, brown or hazel eyes but never green".
"You are unique".
"I didn't want to be. But the course of my life has never been a straight road". She sank back in her seat, grimacing as she recalled her past struggles. "Babae said the answers I sought wouldn't bring me peace. He may be right, though I've yet to find out".
It was then that Avallac'h understood. "Did you know your mother at all?"
"She left but hours after I was born. In her absence a widow with a new baby became my wet-nurse. She helped my father raise me until she married him. But no matter how kind, loving or considerate she was. No matter how much she made my father happy".
"You knew that she wasn't your mother".
She nodded, feeling ashamed of herself. "I loved and respected her. I was grateful that she'd given us a family, but I couldn't accept her in that role. It hurt my father and caused her son great resentment. There was little love lost between us when I left them behind".
"You have not been home?"
"Not in a very long time".
Avallac'h knew that he'd never been able to control Lara, or Zireael. He'd tried to influence their decisions, but they'd proven too strong-willed. Neither had been cowed for long when they'd found holes in the net they were entangled in. Lara had left him of her own volition. So had Zireael.
He wondered if the woman sitting at his table would leave him too.
He proceeded with caution, sensing that her threats were valid. If he set a foot wrong than she would disappear like smoke in the wind. He'd failed twice already, he refused to fail a third time. If she was in danger than he would aid her as he had Zireael. Between worlds or across them, the legacy of the Elder Blood had to be safeguarded.
"I will keep your secrets, including your mother's name. I will speak of it to no one unless you say otherwise. As I promised your elder sister, I promise you. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe, for as long as you have need of me. I will also teach you how to use your abilities should you need tutelage".
She stared at him. "You believe me".
"I do".
"Why?"
"If it was Zireael's destiny to find me", he declared with certainty. "Than it was yours too".
She frowned, her eyes narrowing. "You sound sure of that".
"You are here. It is confirmation enough".
"I suppose".
Avallac'h exhaled a weary sigh, feeling his heart sink. He was relieved, elated and horrified by Shiadhal's deception. In the annals of Tir ná Lia she'd perished in battle, allowing Eredin to assume command of the Wild Hunt. A sarcophagus in the royal mausoleum bore her likeness in white marble. Yet if she'd borne a second child than she hadn't died.
The woman sitting at his table contradicted what he'd thought was true.
"May I ask you something?"
She eyed him with suspicion. "That depends on what you want".
The corners of his mouth curved upwards in a half-smile. He didn't expect her to trust him. They'd only just met. It would take weeks for her to feel comfortable enough in his presence to let her guard down. Although he wondered what would constitute the nature of their relationship.
"I would like to know your name".
"You first".
He laid a hand upon his chest, directly over his heart. "I am Crevan Espane aep Caomhan Macha also known as Avallac'h".
"Which do you prefer?"
"The latter".
"Then Avallac'h is it". She rolled her eyes when he gestured to her with a wave of his hand. "I was Elaine when I was born, though my father called me Ellana. He told me that it was 'his way of moving on with his life'. A necessity when he had a newborn that needed constant care and attention".
Her bitterness spoke volumes about her childhood. Avallac'h wondered if her father had even realised the import of the gift he'd had. If she was of the Elder Blood than she was precious beyond words. He would have to test her to be certain. It looked promising, though he was perturbed by her oddness.
Oneiromancers couldn't project themselves into another's subconscious. They recalled past events or foresaw the future. They were supposed to be unable to converse with the dreamer. Or so he'd thought until now. He wondered if the Elder Blood had undergone a mutation.
If Ellana could bend the laws of magic like Zireael.
What else was she capable of?
He didn't speak his musings aloud. "You were a baby".
"Yet growing up it felt as if I was a burden", revealed Ellana with an unhappiness that irked Avallac'h. "I looked like my father, but I had my mother's eyes. I was a constant reminder of the woman that'd once shared his heart and bed. A lingering shadow of a love he couldn't forget. He was a good father, but part of him was always distant".
"Do you hate him?"
"I envied his happiness. He had a wife and family of his own. He was content, while I was restless and wilful. The wayward child preferring to wander than to stay at home. Then the opportunity came to leave him. So I did".
"Like your mother. Do you regret it?"
"I didn't then, but I do now".
Avallac'h saw the craggy line between her brows. The corners of her mouth turned down, her lower-lip wobbling. She sniffed as the tears slipped down her cheeks. Her lashes were wet when he reached across the table. He offered her his hand, palm up and fingers splayed.
"You are not alone. I am here".
She hesitated at first, unsure of herself. She'd been alone for decades, unable to rely on anyone after the disbanding of the Inquisition. Her friends had passed, one after another in the years following the Tearing of the Veil. So many had died in the war that'd come after. That she'd survived was more an insult than a victory.
"All right", she agreed, reaching back. Ellana laid her hand in his, breath hitching when he clasped her fingers. His grip was warm, tight and reassuring. She squeezed his hand, thankful to be accepted. "So it begins".
Her words sent a shiver of foreboding down Avallac'h's spine. "What begins?"
"The hunt", she replied, glancing at the obsidian wolf on his table. Its ruby eyes glowed like hot-embers. "If he finds me than he'll try to take me back. We'll have days at best, perhaps even a handful of weeks. I'll do what I can to keep him off my trail".
"Why does he want you?"
She looked him in the eye. "You know why".
"You're a Source like Zireael".
"Yes. Although my father's people think I'm a living foci. Most are inanimate objects capable of absorbing latent magical energy. I unlocked one by accident, causing an explosion that levelled a mountainside. Everyone nearby was incinerated".
That got his attention. "How did you survive?"
"I crossed the barrier between worlds. It happened in an instant, though I don't know how". She shook her head, frowning. "I was falling then I wasn't and the rest is a blur. I still have trouble remembering what happened".
"Nothing is clear?"
She shrugged, uncertain. "It's easier for me to dream-walk than to travel physically between worlds. I can project my thoughts across the Fade. It acts like a bridge. The transition is seamless, though that might be because I'm in Uthenera".
"Uthenera?" asked Avallac'h.
"I'm asleep somewhere. Or my body is".
"Are you in danger?"
"Maybe. I was hurt, so they made me sleep to heal. But my spirit and mind wandered. Now I can't find my way back. It could've been days, weeks, months or years since they put me under. Time passes differently in the Fade".
His eyes widened in alarm. "You're in limbo".
"Worse", corrected Ellana. "I'm lost".