Part 1: Sun
Chapter 5
The stars asked
to receive her light
and the fire of the raging dragon stopped
- from Elarion's poem
The town entrance was a small opening between the trees directly next to the left side of the road. People, all elves that she could see just at a glance, bustled around her, hauling wagons and carts, going in and out of stores, talking to each other in a strange accent. Young children, some of them with blue skin and wings, she noticed, played and laughed in the streets, and from underneath her hood, Elarion smiled at the sight.
So cute.
The roads were wide and made of neatly cut cobblestone, and the buildings were about the same distance apart as in her own village, thought the architecture was very different, just as she had seen from a distance as she had passed by elven settlements on her journey; although up close, it was even more impressive.
Swirling, leaf-shaped designs carved into the walls and doors, windows shaped like butterflies or sometimes circles and arches with colored glass, the roofs rising in sharp, curved points with elaborately decorated chimneys made from stones that Elarion didn't recognize immediately, thought she was sure they were some kind of gemstones.
But Elarion didn't gawk at the scenery, though she was tempted to. Being around so many elves, people she had only heard about and seen far off, made her nervous, and she kept her head down for the most part, except for occasionally glancing up at the buildings to see if any looked like an inn. Thankfully, no one bothered her.
After about ten minutes of wandering, she found one. Just like with human inns, a sign hung outward by the door.
The Dancing Unicorn Inn, it read, gold letters engraved in the wood, next to a golden outline of a unicorn rearing up.
She had found what she was looking for. Steeling herself, Elarion pushed the door open.
And blinked at the lights. Outside, the sun was dim from the evening, but here, candles sat in chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, illuminating the entire room. The room itself was a lobby, pretty much the same as with the inns in human towns, with some chairs and tables set about the room and a desk before the far wall, the wall housing keys on hooks. To the left of the desk, disappearing into the left wall, was a staircase, where Elarion assumed the rooms were.
The only difference, besides the lighting, was the dark-skinned elf with gold tattoos behind the desk. As soon as she spoke or he saw her hands, he would know she was a human. Elarion took a quiet breath, and walked up to the desk.
"Excuse me," she said, surprised when her voice came out normal and even.
The elf's eyes snapped up from where he was reading a book. She could tell when her accent registered, and he gave her a quick look up and down, before narrowing his eyes at her. "What do you want?" he asked shortly, his tone stand-offish and impatient.
Elarion swallowed. "I'd like a room for the night, please."
The man gave a short breath through his nose, and he looked away for a moment, seeming to be thinking about something. Elarion didn't breathe.
After what seemed like an eternity, but was in reality only a few seconds, the elf spoke again. "Alright, there's a room I can give you. Do you have anything to trade?" Elarion opened her mouth to answer, but then he continued. "Wait, you humans use money, right?"
Elarion nodded. "Yes. I…have money."
"I'll take that, then."
Surprised, but not about to question it or test this man's patience, Elarion quickly rummaged in her bag and took out the amount that would be for one night at a human inn. "Here," she said. She set the coins on the desk.
The elven man looked at them for a moment, picking up the coins and rubbing them between his fingers. Then, he gathered them up and placed them under the desk, before turning around and taking a key off the hook. He handed it to Elarion.
"The room number is on the key," the man said, indicating the paper tag wrapped around the ring on the end of the key's handle. "One night only," he added sternly.
"Yes." Elarion nodded. "Thank you."
The man grunted instead of responding, and Elarion turned and went up the stairs. They number on the key's tag read "12," and it didn't take her long to find the number engraved on the top edge of one of the room's doors, the symbols also in gold. Elarion turned the knob, and went inside.
A bed! she thought with relief. Elarion shut the door behind her and locked it, allowing herself the moment it took to place the key on the dresser – thankfully right next to the door – before dropping her bag and launching herself on the bed in a belly flop.
And it was wonderful.
"Ahhhhh," she sighed and closed her eyes. She turned over onto her back and splayed her arms across the blanket – which was softer than any material she'd felt – her legs and feet dangling over the side of the bed.
I could fall asleep right here.
It took all her willpower not, too.
She should take off her shoes first, after all, and probably change her clothes, which were quite dirty.
Opening her eyes and sitting up with a grunt, Elarion's gaze met a door on the far wall directly in front of her.
I wonder what that is. Maybe it was a bathroom?
Curious, Elarion got up and opened the door. It was a bathroom. A white tub was set into the wall, with a metal rack with white, fluffy towels, and what looked to be bottles of liquid soap – something she had only heard of – resting in an indent in the all beside the tub. A toilet sat next to the tub and to her right, and next to that was some sort of raised basin, over which was a pipe with a knob. And above the basin was a mirror.
Elarion shook her head. She wasn't going to bother wondering about elven technology right now. Right now, a bath sounded nice.
Or, maybe she should wonder about elven technology. The bathtub was empty of water. Elarion fought down the budding disappointment, and instead turned to wonder about the metal pipe and knob stuck in the wall above the tub. Hmmm…what does this do….
She leaned down, wrapped her fingers around the knob, and turned. With a squeak, the knob turned with them. Then, water gushed out of the pipe and into the tub. Elarion slightly jolted, startled. Then, she giggled.
Running water!
She'd heard of it; tales of such technology told by human travelers who had been to elven cities. But to actually see it and get to use it….!
A breathy laugh escaped her as she dripped her fingers in the water falling from the pipe. It was warm. She stayed that way for a few minutes, before the ache in her back and the need to actually get into that water made her step back.
After closing the bathroom door – not that she needed to; it just felt better – Elarion shucked off her boots and the rest of her clothes. As she did, she glanced up into the mirror.
Boy, was she glad she'd hidden under that cloak. Though she did the best she could do detangle her hair with her fingers and the little water she could spare for things over than drinking, it was still poofy, oddly-shaped nest. And she had dirt on her sleeves and skirt of her dress, though mostly on the edges and hem, with some stray leaves she hadn't noticed before.
Thank the stars she had packed other clothes.
Finishing that, Elarion stepped into the tub and sank into the water.
"Mmmmm…." Elarion shivered a little at the contrast of temperatures – she hadn't even noticed she was cold – then closed her eyes and laid her head back as she let the warmth wash over her. She was in paradise.
After a few moments of just basking, Elarion turned to investigate the bottles of liquid soap. Some were for the body, apparently, according to the names and instructions written on them, and others for the hair. And they seemed to have different properties, too – skin moisturizing, hair detangling, hair strengthening, skin exfoliating, and others. She picked out one soap for her body and one for her hair, the ones that seemed would suit her best. But they all smelled lovely – some scents her of herbs she recognized, and of others that she didn't.
The sun had already nearly fully set by the time Elarion had climbed out of the tub, found the drain at the bottom to let the water out, and dried off. She picked out some clean clothes, another warm dress with leggings, and put them on before crashing onto the bed – the wonderful, smooth-surfaced bed. She snuggled under the soft blankets, wrapping herself up in them, taking a fistful of the fabric and holding it to her chest, tucking a fold of it under one leg.
Wrapped up like that, finally relaxing as much as she could on this journey with the burden over her head, clean and warm and comfortable, she fell asleep.
Elarion was woken up by loud, harsh, insistent pounding on her door. It was still night, the window just beside her bed showing a black sky and glowing almost-full moon. The knocking continued. Scrambling to get up and untangle herself from the blankets, she hurried across the room and opened the door. The elven man who gave her the key stood there just beyond the threshold.
"Get your things and get out," he said, his tone hard.
Elarion stuttered in shock, her voice airy. "What…? But, I paid –."
The man cut her off. "It doesn't matter. We're fully booked with you here, and an elf needs this room. Now get your things, and get. Out."
Shaken, it took all of Elarion's will power not to physically shrink away and pull her arms in close to her body like a frightened child. She kept her hands to her sides, feeling her fingers flexing slightly as she forced them not to curled into fists. Then she nodded, giving the man a quiet, breathy, "Okay," and turning back into the room to grab her things.
Everything was already packed; she hurriedly grabbed her cloak from it, put the cloak on and pulled up the hood, and slug her bag across her shoulders. Then she shoved her sockless feet into her boots.
The man was still waiting for her when she turned toward the door, and he said nothing, only kept his gaze on Elarion as she went out the door, slightly stepping away at an angle to let her pass. Elarion could feel his eyes on her back as she began to descend the stairs.
"Stay off the streets!" the elven man called after her, in a low but stern voice. Then Elarion could hear him grumbling under his breath, the sound of his voice getting quieter when he went into the room, presumably to fetch the key and tidy the space up for the next customer.
When Elarion got to the lobby, an elven woman, with white hair and light skin that was decorated with dark violet markings, stood by the desk, leaning on it with one forearm. She must have been the one who needed the room, Elarion reasoned.
The woman swept a glance over her, and Elarion quickened her steps toward the inn's door. The lack of a burning presence on her back told her that the woman must have looked away. She pulled it open and stepped out into the street.
It was still the middle of the night. After seeing the town in the daylight, and coming from the illuminated lobby of the inn, Elarion felt that she had plunged into another world, covered in darkness. Still, there was some light. Moonlight shone down on the cobblestone, and lanterns high on the walls of buildings lit the empty pathways, cutting through shadows and making other shadows deeper.
Well, not completely empty, apparently. Elarion saw a figure flit through the shadows in the corner of her eye, on the other side of the street to her right, between a few buildings. Though far fewer than during the day, people still wandered around, keeping their voices low, most of them hugging the walls. A shout came from somewhere off in the distance, startling her and making her jump, and Elarion remembered the man's warning about staying off the streets. It must not be safe here, she thought.
Back to the forest it is, then.
The lights from the moon and the lanterns made it mostly easy to find her way back to the entrance of the town. She could have summoned a ball of light, like the last time, but that would have drawn attention that Elarion did not want. Not to mention she was tired – it would be difficult to maintain the light, the ball flickering in and out.
When she got back to the road, though, the lanterns no longer helped her, and the trees blocked out most of the moonlight. A quick look back and forth told her no one was on the road; even in the sparse light, she would be able to see someone traveling along it. Assured that no one would see her, Elarion put her finger into the air to begin a light-ball spell.
Her finger shook, and the light popped in her face and disappeared. Elarion had do the rune several times before she got it right; finally, when she said the incantation, a ball of yellow light appeared in her cupped hand. After a few seconds of staying steady, the light flickered.
Then a few moments later, it went out.
Argh!
She couldn't keep a steady light source like this. Elarion yawned and rubbed her eyes with her left hand. What was she going to do? No way was she going to try to navigate the woods in the dark, with the moonlight mostly blocked by the tree cover. And going back to the elven town wasn't an option.
There was a clear, flat space between the road and the trees.
Elarion curled up there, at the side of the road, wrapping her cloak more securely around her. Hopefully she would be able to wake up with the sun, leave, and continue on before anyone passed by on the road and saw her.
"Hey!"
Elarion woke to a shout. Another rude awakening, she thought grumpily. Elarion squinted in the sunlight that met her eyes, trying to focus them. The voice sounded gruff and male. Something hit against her side none too gently. Finally, her vision cleared, and she looked up into the face of a light-skinned elven man.
"Get out of the way! You can't sleep here! Get up! People are using this road!" the man shouted at her. He roughly nudged her again with his boot.
A young, quiet voice. "Dad…."
What is this guy's problem, anyway? Elarion thought, also grumpy from being so harshly awakened twice in a row. The lack of good sleep certainly didn't help her mood, either.
Still, she got up, brushing the dirt off from her clothes; her bag was still across her shoulders, thank the stars. When she stood, the man huffed and turned away.
Elarion took in her surroundings. A wooden cart stood in the road, near the town's entrance, pulled by a strange, colorful blue, bird-horse type animal. Elarion pressed her lips together and huffed quietly. She hadn't been anywhere near "in the way." The cart had plenty of room to pass by her.
As the elven man crossed in front of the cart and into the town, Elarion could see an elven woman and a young girl – maybe around her age or a few years younger, she guessed – with the same light skin, white hair, and dark violet markings, standing by the cart. And there, climbing off the seat in front of the cart as he dropped the rains, was a human man. Elarion stared at him for a short moment, at first disbelieving, and then stunned.
Elarion didn't think she'd been so happy to see another human in her life.
The woman turned to go into the town, and called to the girl. The held her gaze on Elarion for a few moments, giving her what she could only describe as an apologetic look, as if to say she was sorry for the man's – presumably her father; Elarion thought she heard her call him "Dad" – actions. The woman called again, more urgently this time, and the girl torn her eyes away, seemingly reluctantly, and followed.
The human man stayed with the cart, now dropping the reigns he'd been holding in one hand, and Elarion's eyes turned back to him. He was maybe in his thirties, if she had to guess. He was light skinned, and wore a brown, wide-brimmed hat, wearing a thick-materialled looking jacket that was the same color brown as his hat.
"Hello there," the man greeted, tipping his hat and smiling at her. "You alright?"
At the sound of his voice – warm, gentle, and friendly – caught Elarion's attention, and she realized she had been staring.
Oops.
And now, after over a week of barely any person interaction, with the few people she'd talked to being unfriendly elves, interacting with another human, friendly and asking after her wellbeing, nearly made her want to cry.
But Elarion shoved that feeling down. She wouldn't cry now. She would keep her composure.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Thank you," she answered, relieved when her voice came out steady.
The man nodded, then walked around the cart and began to unload it, first pulling a smaller hand-push cart off the back and rolling it to the front.
"Sorry about that," the man said, making conversation as he worked. He went back to the larger cart, hefted out a crate, and came back around to set the crate in the smaller cart. "So, why were you sleeping out here on the side of the road?"
Oh, yeah. That again. "I got kicked out of the inn," Elarion answered. "An elf needed the room." She couldn't help the bitterness that seeped into her tone of voice.
The man hummed in sympathy, stacking another crate, this one open and with fruit of different types and colors peeking over the brim. He winced in sympathy. "I'm sorry. That's rough."
"Yeah. Thanks." Then she asked, curious as she watched the human unload the cart that apparently belong to the elven family, "Why are you with elves?"
"Oh, I work for them," the man answered.
"You work for them?" Elarion echoed.
"Uh-huh."
"Why?" She couldn't imagine wanting to be around elves every day, let alone working for them.
The man smiled. "An understandable question," he said, lifting another crate from the larger cart. "You see, I was a merchant, but then I got myself into debt with them, and now I'm employed as their servant until I work it off."
Elarion's tilted head and creased eyebrows showed it all. She wasn't sure if this question would be insensitive, but…. "Can I ask…how did that happen? I thought elves didn't use money. Do elves trade with humans?" She hadn't meant that last question, but it still confused her. If elves didn't use money, like she had always heard, how would a human get into debt with one? She thought the elf in charge of the inn was an anomaly, a stroke of luck. But did elves trade with humans after all? They must, to use money, and to even have money to lend or pay a human. How else would a human get into debt with elves?
Now leaning against the front of the larger cart, the man didn't seem offended by the question at all; he just smiled at her. "Some elves do, though not many. Most see money as either silly or useless, or some keep it as a novelty, something from another culture, you know. The ones who do get money through trading with humans, they do it enough, and they get rich with it, since they don't need to use it among their own folk.
"And as for how it happened, well. My parents, my two siblings, my wife, and my son and daughter and I all lived together. We fell on hard times with a famine last year" – Elarion nodded; famines were common all over where humans lived. The elves' magic must keep them from experiencing famines like humans do, Elarion thought – "and on top of that, my business wasn't doing well. So, this elven family that sometimes trades with merchants from my town allowed my family to borrow from them. Not sure if it was out of the kindness of their hearts, or because they had nothing better to do with all their money, but" – he waved his hand in a "that's how it is" gesture. "They wanted to be paid back, but we didn't have it, so here I am." He shrugged.
Or maybe it was the daughter, Elarion thought. The elven girl seemed kind enough: apologetic about her dad's actions.
The man reached back into the cart and lifted out another crate. "My name's Thomas, by the way," he said. "What's yours?"
"Elarion."
"Nice to meet you, Elarion. You're not from around here, I take it."
"No." She shook her head. "I'm from the Mid Spring Valley. My village is just near the west end of it."
"Oh, wow. You're far from home."
"Yeah." Her voice came out with a sigh.
"You all by yourself?"
"Mmhmm."
"Brave kid." Elarion smiled at that. "What are you doing all the way out here by yourself?"
"I'm –" she paused. Should she tell him? Surely he would know about all the dragon attacks that had been happening; from what she'd heard, they were affecting human settlements far beyond just the Midsummer Valley. Would he think she was silly, trying to seek help from elves she didn't even know if she would find, or think she was on a fool's errand?
Well, it wouldn't hurt to tell him, she guessed.
"I'm trying to find a way to stop the dragon attacks that are happening," she told him. Thomas paused, giving her his full attention, and Elarion told him about what she'd read and heard about the star nexus and startouch elves, and her plan to find and petition the startouch elves to intervene on the humans' behalf.
Elarion braced herself, but Thomas didn't tell her she was silly or that her goal was far-fetched. He stared into nowhere at a spot on the ground for a moment with a contemplative look on his face, his arms crossed, then nodded slowly.
"That's as good as a plan as any," Thomas said, giving a sigh and lifting himself off from where he had been leaning against the larger cart. "If something had any possible chance of stopping these dragons, I'd try it." He went back around the cart, hefting out one last crate. "That star nexus is still a bit of a ways, and a tough climb. Have you eaten? Probably not, huh? Since you just woke up."
Elarion shook her head in confirmation.
"Here." From the crate, he took out a small paper bag with green and yellow runes drawn on it, and pulled out a long loaf of bread.
Or rather, a sandwich.
But it wasn't like the sandwiches Elarion had been eating on her journey; plain bread, cheese, and meat jerky dry and tough and sometimes made her jaw hurt from how much she had to chew it, cold or lukewarm depending on the weather and how much the bag was affected by her body heat, though mostly cold.
She could smell the garlic, butter, and rosemary from here. And the soft, fresh, slices of ham, the light green of lettuce that still looked crisp. Not to mention it was long enough to break apart into two or three meals for someone of her size.
Elarion felt a pang in her stomach at the sight, reminding her of her hunger. Thomas wrapped one end of the sandwich in a large white cloth and handed it to her. It was warm in her hands.
"Take this," he continued. "They can spare a bit; there's much more where this comes from."
"Thank you…." Her voice came out soft and nearly breathless, and she grinned so widely she thought her cheeks might ache. "It's warm." The bread was soft, too, and the food inside was as fresh as it looked.
"Magic is amazing, yeah?" Thomas said, lifting up the paper bag and tapping it close to the runes with his pointer finger, making the bag rustle. "These runes keep whatever is inside warm and fresh. As a matter of fact, here." Rustling around for a brief second, he brought out another, smaller paper bag with the same runes on it. "You can put that," he gestured with his head toward the sandwich in Elarion's hands, "in this."
She took the bag and slipped the sandwich inside it.
"And." Thomas paused. "You have water with you?"
"Mmhmm." Elarion nodded and rummaged in her bag with one hand until she brought out her water container. From the very light swishing sound inside it, she could tell it was less than a quarter of the way full – nearly empty. Elarion frowned at the container for a moment, mentally kicking herself. She'd been so tired last night that she had completely forgotten to refill it with the water at the inn.
Thomas seemed to notice as well. He reached over the side of the larger cart and pulled out a water skin, similar to Elarion's own container, put longer and more flexible, also with runes, but blue and green instead of yellow and green. "Here, let's fill that up for you." He gestured for her container, and she handed it to him.
"Does that keep the water fresh, too?"
"It does, indeed," Thomas confirmed, pouring water from his waterskin into her container. Then he closed both and Elarion's back to her.
"Thank you," Elarion said, feeling almost overwhelmed the man's kindness. "So much."
The man smiled and nodded at her. "Don't mention, kid. I'm happy to help." He went back to put the waterskin away, then began to unhook the horse-bird from the larger cart. "Tell you what. The family won't be back for a couple hours or so, and I'm going to take this food to market. It might be a bit before any of us can come back for the cart. Why don't you sit here, take a rest, and eat?"
Elarion smiled and sighed a small laugh. "Thank you. I'll do that."
Thomas smiled and nodded. He wrapped the horse-bird's reigns around his wrist, then gripped the smaller cart's – now filled with crates of food – handles. "Best of luck to you, kid. I hope your plan works. Have a safe journey."
"Me, too. Thanks. You, too!"
Thomas smiled again, tipping his hat, and set off into the town with the small cart and horse-bird trotting alongside them.
Now that she was no longer distracted by the conversation, Elarion's hunger returned in full force. With her sandwich in one hand and her water container in the other, she went around the cart, set the food and water down, and pushed herself up backwards to sit on the open back. Once she was settled, her legs dangling over the cart bed, she opened the bag her sandwich was in, carefully tore off a meal-sized piece, and took a bite.
"Mmmmmmm."
It was just was warm and heavenly as it looked. The water, too, was cool and fresh.
For at about fifteen minutes, she sat there, enjoying the first warm meal she had in over a wee, and a break from having to sit on the ground.
Then, all too soon, she finished, the sun inching farther above the horizon, and it was time once again to be on her way.
The journey to the base of the mountains took a little less time than expected, even with the breaks she took to rest and eat. Maybe it was the food, or the encouragement from Thomas, getting to sleep in a real bed, even though it was for a brief time, that allowed her to walk faster.
As the sun was just slipping over the horizon, still visible, but barely, she was at the mountain's base, having stayed hidden in the forest to be out of sight from the larger elven city on the other side of the road. Now, Elarion looked up at the mountain she would have to climb up. She, very, verybriefly, entertained the idea of sleeping at the base and climbing tomorrow. And though not as exhausted as she usually was by now, she was still tired from walking all day.
She quickly and easily dismissed the thought. She wasn't that tired. She shivered, pulling her cloak around her closer. It was getting colder, she noted. And the farther up she climbed, the colder it would be. It didn't matter, she told herself. She would be fine; she could make it. The sooner she got to the star nexus, the better.
Elarion put one foot in front of the other, and began her way up the slope.
Very few creatures lived on that mountain. And most of them kept themselves buried in the snow at night, or in caves and cracks in the rocks. It wouldn't do to burn all the forests down, especially the ones near the summit, but…now that the danger of collateral damage was gone….
Now he could really have fun.
She'd only been walking for about ten minutes when she heard it.
In the distance, and steadily getting closer, the whooshing sound of heavy wing beats.
ROARR!
No! Not again!
Elarion turned. And saw the dragon, red and fiery in the sunset, flying faster than a crossbow bolt, directly toward her.
It wasn't stopping.
Elarion screamed as its mouth opened wide in an angry snarl, and it swooped low. She threw herself on the ground, just barely missing being slashed by the dragon's claws that gouged the air not three feet above her.
The dragon spun back, shooting a stream of fire, and Elarion cried out again, launching herself to the side and rolling away at the last moment.
She hurriedly scrambled to her feet, racing forward and making a beeline to a place to the side where the trees were thicker. She made it under their cover, the overlapping branches blocking out most of the light.
But then, the trees caught on fire.
Not directly above her, but to her side, as if the dragon knew where she was and was trying to drive her out into the open.
Gasping in fear, Elarion ran to try and outpace the flames that were quickly spreading from tree to tree, heading towards her. Then, she forced herself to stop and turn and to keep her hand from shaking, she drew the same rune to tried back when her village was first attacked.
Please work! The thought was more a desperate, wordless feeling than coherent phrase.
And except for small flickering flames on the ground, which would burn out, the fire dispersed.
Elarion sighed in relief.
Until the trees burst into flames directly behind her.
She screamed. The fire spread far more quickly now. Flames caught on her dress, burning her lower right leg before she could roll on the ground and put it out. She couldn't try to put this on out with a spell. She didn't have time, and there was no way to stop her hands from shaking and messing the rune up now.
Elarion got to her feet as fast as she could with her leg screaming at her, and bolted. She exited the cover of the group of trees just in time to see the dragon circle back toward her. Its claws were outstretched, and she dropped to the ground, the claws barely missing her once more.
Hissing at the burn in her leg, she forced herself to stand up and start running again.
The chase had begun.
It had been hours. Night had well and truly fallen, and it was completely dark except for the stars that littered the sky.
When the dragon hadn't immediately attacked her again, she'd been able to stop for a moment and steady herself enough to heal her leg.
It hadn't given her any more opportunities since then.
Snow gathered on the ground now at this elevation, flakes off and on drifting peacefully from the sky. Elarion wished she could share in their peace.
The dragon would circle back several times and leave, sometimes after scoring a hit on her, before circling back a few minutes later to do it again. But nothing ever life threatening; a minor burn here, a shallow scratch there. It was toying with her. She had no idea why. But whenever she tried to stop and heal herself, or just take break and rest for more than a few seconds, the dragon was there, roaring, chasing her and driving her on.
Elarion had forgotten about the possibility of cliffs. Yet another thing to kick herself about.
Ravines were another danger to add.
Sometimes there were no passes through, and the only way to keep going was straight up. Jagged handholds tore at her hands, the cold – it was so much colder than she'd anticipated it would be – stiffening her hands and making it more difficult to grip. The warmth-infusing spell she managed to do earlier while the dragon was flying away helped, but it wasn't strong enough to ward away all the cold. She knew she'd be shivering more without the heat from adrenaline and how quickly she was forced – by the dragon and herself – to keep moving.
Now, a ravine blocked her path, and there was no way around it. She would have to jump.
It wasn't too far, she told herself, even as her face conveyed her fear as she looked at the other side of the ravine and the drop in the middle.
She had no idea how far she would fall if she missed the other edge.
But it would be okay. It was only a few feet.
(It was her full height nearly twice, the far ledge her height and a half higher than this one, and Elarion tried to – had to – ignore the burning muscles in her legs.)
She took a deep breath, took several steps back, and made a running leap.
Her hands slipped on the ledge.
With a shriek, Elarion curled her fingers against the stone. Thankfully a handhold was there, and she gripped it with all the strength she had, desperately pushing against the cliff face with her legs to find footholds and push herself up.
Her feet found leverage on the jagged rock, and for a brief second, Elarion had to stop and just hang on. Focus on keeping her hands from slipping. Catch her breath, or try to.
A roar in the distance, a great whoosh of wings overhead.
There was no escaping the claws this time.
The dragon swooped down. A wail tore from her already sore throat, her back wracked with knives of pain as the dragon dragged its claws against it. Her cloak and dress did nothing to lessen the damage; the claws tore right through them and into her skin, the blue material darkening with blood. Her hands slipped again, and she struggled to strengthen her hold and keep herself from falling, hot with panic. She reached upward with one arm over the ledge, pushing against it to pull herself up, her back in agony as the motion pulled at her gashes.
She didn't have time to think about how deep the cuts were; they were deeper than the others, but the dragon was obviously holding back, making sure the damage it did didn't kill her. That didn't mean she wouldn't probably need stitches later.
Stone scraping against her hands, her vision swimming with the water that blocked it – oh, she was crying, when did she start crying? –, gasping at the effort and gritting her teeth through the pain, pushing against uneven rocks at the side of the cliff with her booted feet, Elarion pulled herself up onto the ledge.
Another whoosh of wings.
With a final shove, Elarion rolled out of the way of the dragon, barely missing where its outstretched claws scraped the air next to the cliff face. She lay there on her side, panting, watching the dragon soar up into the sky. It would come back, and soon, she knew.
She stayed there on the cold stone for another minute, to catch her breath, calm herself down from the panic – her heart was beating so hard she felt it would punch through her chest –, and gather her strength. Keeping her eyes and ears open for the dragon.
Then, she pushed herself up onto her feet, staggering before finding her balance. She looked ahead of her, toward her destination. The summit of the mountain was in sight, and the stars glittered above it, looking almost as if they had assembled there. The star nexus.
She was almost there. She would make it.
Elarion continued on.
A person was coming up the mountain, toward the star nexus.
A human girl, a child no more than fifteen.
She looked to be in a bad way, stumbling through the snow as she was, and her clothes were torn.
And…she was connected to the sun arcanum.
This human was a magical creature.
The group looked at each other.
"Well?"
"She came all this way. And she has magic. Let us see what she is here for."
A whisper of a private conversation. "Do you think he will come?"
"Him? That eccentric hermit? I doubt it."
"You should respect your elder." A joking tease.
A scoff. "Elder? He is no elder; he is only a mere three-quarters-millennium older than I."
A soft chuckle and a fond shake of the head. "Well, it matters not. Let us go."
Elarion broke through the grove of trees. She held her arms close around her, trying to conserve her body heat. She'd been looking at the snowy ground, watching her feet so she wouldn't stumble.
Now, a radiant light, contrasting starkly with the darkness she had been in as she climbed, made her look up.
Elarion gasped, this time in wonder. And relief.
She had made it. A giddy laugh left her raw throat.
Stone structures, obviously built in elven make, beautiful leaf-like roofs, and swirls and runes carved into the structure's sides. They were so dark they were nearly blue, almost like obsidian but not quite, glittering with starlight, small and large dots that glowed on the stones' surface, along with smaller shimmering specks that looked as if they came from within.
Then even brighter light, and Elarion had to shield her eyes from it. The glow softened to something variable, and she fixed her gaze to what was in front of her.
Elarion sucked in an awed breath.
The light came from elves.
From startouch elves.
They're so beautiful, she thought.
And they were. There were at least five of them, standing about two meters in front of her. Their skin tones ranged from pure white, to tan, to blue, to dark purple, many of them, most vividly the darker tones, sparkling with stars like freckles.
All of them had long hair past their waist, some past their hips, smooth as silk and waving in the slight wind, and their heads ornamented with what looked to Elarion like crowns, some circles and hovering like haloes, others sharp and pointed and set on their foreheads. Long robes covered them from the neck down, some layered and light colored, some pure black and covered in stars like the buildings behind them, as if they were clothed in the night sky itself. And soft, white-yellow glow surrounded each one of them.
Elarion was staring, but she couldn't make herself stop.
Until one of them spoke.
A soothing tone. A woman's voice.
A brief thought: Elarion missed her mom.
"Child. Why have you come here?"
The words registered and snapped Elarion out of her awestruck daze.
Right. Words. She had to use them. The startouch elves were here; she had found them. She had to tell them what she came here for. She had to ask them to help her, to beg them that they would if it came to that, or it would all be for nothing.
"I came here," her voice stalled, and she swallowed and started again. "I came here because dragons are attacking human settlements. Thousandshave died; they're killing off all the mages, all the human mages…and…." Elarion paused, then continued. "Please. Can you help us?" She hoped she didn't sound too pleading, too desperate. But she knew she probably did.
Two elves in front of the group, the woman who had spoken, pale-skinned with dark star-speckled robes and a yellow, hovering halo, and a man standing beside her, with light blue-ish skin, looked at each other. The woman's eyes began to glow, a purple mixed with white, then, after a few second, the glow faded.
"The dragons are attacking the humans because they are angry that you," the startouch woman said, her tone making it clear that the "you" was referring to Elarion "have connected to a primal source."
Elarion nodded. Yes, she knew that was why.
The startouch man standing beside the woman then spoke. "We can help you and stop the dragons. But we will need to take your arcanum from you. You will have to give up your connection to primal magic."
When she heard those first words, that they would help her, Elarion took a breath in happiness and relief.
But then…
The happiness deflated, and so did she.
Give up her magic?
The thing she was so excited to learn about, to do. The thing that saved her village and allowed her to help several more, that kept them from starving.
The thing was precious to her, was part of her.
She would have to give that up?
But now, it was that very thing that was causing the dragons to attack.
She felt tears coming, her throat constricting, and she swallowed the feeling back.
She had to do it. She had to save everyone.
Elarion looked at the white-covered ground, took a deep breath, then lifted her head, and nodded.
"Okay," she said. "I'll do it."
The startouch woman and man nodded. The two of them and the other startouch elves moved to form a circle around Elarion.
"We will begin now," another woman with far-branching horns said as she circled closer, her layered, tan colored robes fluttering lazily; the way she moved so smoothly, it looked to Elarion like she was floating. Maybe she was.
The elves held out their hands, fingers lightly curved and palms facing Elarion. Then they all spoke, their voices loud and reverberating.
"Enim si cigam ruoy. Cigam ruoy ekat i."
And something ripped out of her.
It burned.
Elarion screamed, bringing her hand to her chest where the pain was the worst, and fell to her knees. She saw streams of golden-yellow light move through the air, from her and into the startouch elves' outstretched hands. Their eyes glowed purple before turning jet black. Then the both the yellow of magic – her magic, Elarion's magic, that they had taken from her – and the black in their eyes faded away.
It was done.
Elarion toppled on her side into the snow, suddenly weak. Every inch of her body was on fire, searing as if someone had lit a torch inside of her before forcing the flames up through her skin. She whimpered, then sobbed, tears pooling in her eyes before spilling over to wet her cheeks.
A whoosh of great wings.
Elarion's heart clenched instinctively.
She turned her head slightly to look up toward the sky. A large, blurry figure of red and yellow entered her vision, blotting out many of the stars.
Her vision was then partially blocked by boots and robes. An elf had stepped in front of her, between Elarion and the dragon. The two spoke, maybe the other elves did, too, but she couldn't focus on what was being said.
Then, the dragon turned and flew away. The sound of its wings grew quieter and quieter, fading away completely in the distance.
The sky was clear again, showing the whole field of stars, closer and brighter than they had ever seemed before, the largest and brightest one of all blinking steadily down at her.