This Bonus Chapter was literally written as a thank you to my reviewers. Al x Scor will be back by thursday or Friday (Depending...)
Hope you enjoy.
Agniel the Great Tree.
Silvarion POV
I fled the Darkwood where we had discovered the human whelps as fast as possible. I did not want to be caught there by the Darkness without my wand. I raced through the branches of the bonewood, from blackened limb to limb, over mountains of bone that swallowed all, leaving sign of no clean, or pure earth beneath. Through the swampwood, and the riverlands I fled, making my way ever towards the capitol. No Alfa knew these lands better than I. I soared over the darkened moss of the Agethir and the outer farmlands until finally I arrived home: The Tree of Forests. My mind wandered then, wondering how those two would have felt at the sight of it.
Agniel: our great Mother. So large was she that her twigs were themselves each a tree and each branch a forest, so large each forest that they supported the ground of the above world the humans called southern Scotland. It had been my home for nigh on a century and a—
"—You should have let Kathriel sever that pup's head from his shoulders for his insolence. It was plain rudeness." I raised an eyebrow at Sylphariel as he landed lithely before me.
"So you've already been told of tonights excitement then." I offered back disinterestedly.
"I assume you ordered the party's withdrawal so you could discipline them yourself?"
"I did no such thing" I returned, handing my bow and quiver to a guard of the gateway, stopping only to caress my favorite litherion by the stables. Home, its good to be back in the great capitol after such a long hunt...
"But why? I would have killed him if he presumed to dishonor you so—"
"Then sad is what you would have made me, for he was but a frightened child protecting the one he loved. Are we in the business of murdering children? I seem to recall a time when a young svartalfa had put himself in danger to save his prince from Glordjling. Fending off a gloom dragon is no small feat, even for one of the alfa. In fact so foolish was this youngling thought, that both the prince's own sister and his paramour believed the two might be more that subject and ruler."
Sylphariel flustered as I reminded him of his recklessness. He even blushed as he tried to find his words again. I enjoyed teasing the idiot.
"My sister had even dared to call them friends." I finished slyly.
"You are my prince. I merely did my duty to you, my lord. Is it not also your duty to protect us from them? The humans rule the above world, killing or enslaving all that lies in their way. We have fought hard to keep ourselves hidden from their kind. So long ago were the wood elves enslaved that they have since withered and warped into those stunted creatures that we quiver to call members of the alfakin."
"Those two are special. Very special. I sensed in the dying one… blood from the queen of our forgotten brothers, and the other, is a fontling of immense power. I left them alive because I feel they have a part to play in the final battle. They are important." Sylphariel seemed to falter at my words considering the gravity of their meaning. We moved through the streets of the lower quarter, greeting dozens of subjects who had seemed overjoyed by their prince's return.
"Even so, the humans are altogether evil. You must recall how Voldemort threatened to destroy us should we deign refuse to join his cause. Were it not for your father's bravery and wisdom we would have fought and died in a human war that had nothing to do with our kind. The man-creatures are ignorant of what lies beneath them and that is how it should remain. We must be thankful that Voldemort did not reveal our presence to his lieutenants or anyone else for that matter."
"I let them keep their lives. It is done."
"Well they will long keep them. No human child could survive this world without an army behind them. If you failed to give them our protection they are as good as dead." Sylphariel had grabbed a glass goblet and was filling it with water for me as we walked up the private stairs that led directly towards the palace in the upper tier.
"I would not be so sure. I was in the overworld tonight, watching as I have done for years, when I witnessed the boys and their magic. One is in possession of a Dark Gem, which makes him a prince by our law. It is customary of our kind to exchange gifts on such meetings. So he gave me wisdom and I gave him Caledfwlch."
Sylphariel dropped both the goblet and carafe, letting them shatter noisily against the floor. He turned to me with an expression I'd rarely seen on anyone's face, let alone his. He grabbed me and forced me against the wall of the staircase, his sharp teeth bared in anger.
"Who are you to give away the treasures of our people? You are our Prince not our King. What would your father say if he were still here to counsel you? What will mother say when she finds out? Or your people? You gave away the most powerful wand in existence to a human child? Excalibur was entrusted to our kind by Merlin himself at the end of his life! It is our most sacred treasure."
"Sylphariel" I started softly. "Release me."
His face contorted in fear and disgust as he realized the liberty he'd taken in his action and speech. He retreated several steps in abject horror.
"I'm sorry. My Prince, my brother, my friend… forgive me. It was not my place—"
"Peace Syl. All is forgiven" I offered, putting my forehead to his. Those two children remind me more of our kind than their own. What will become of them I wonder? "Lets go greet mother. Our Queen must be informed of these two and I am the only one she must here it from. Besides the Lost One's meddling has obviously increased. Vivian had taught the Prince the ancient tongue of our people. As to why I know not."
"You were so stupid to go looking for that dragon in the first place. Nobody ever remembers that part do they brother?" Syl scowled as I wrapped my arm around his shoulder.
My half brother had indeed had a difficult life. Our mother, the current queen, was once one of the most powerful spellweavers in any of our realms around the world. As such it was her responsibility to produce royal children for the King. She had of course already fallen in love with a young noble from her homeland when she was summoned by the royal court. Ga-lerion, the young noble, moved in secret to the capitol city so that he might be near her, if only in secret. Being a skilled hunter and fighter he won himself a position at court and fast became friends with my father. Unfortunately two years after I was born, my mother grew pregnant again. This time King Taur had been away visiting the other realms and so could not have been responsible for her condition.
My father grew furious upon his return. When the queen refused to name her lover, Taur had ordered Ga-lerion to head the investigation. Instead Ga-lerion turned to his friend of forty years and knelt before him. My mother wept as Ga-lerion confessed his treason. He had been guilty of loving our mother since their childhood. In his anger my father smote his friend down, never to rise again, an act he came to deeply regret in later days. Out of remorse and love for his Queen, My father the king gave the child a princely name to match mine own. The prefix Syl, much like Alpha for those twisted Valois of legend, was enormously sacred. It was an act that had baffled the capitol and the entire kingdom.
King Taur took me aside then and told me that from thence on I had a brother, and I was to love him as though we were the best of friends. "Protect your youngling Sylphariel for he is truly a treasure of our kingdom."
Syl lived in fear and awe of my father who had raised him as his own. The problem was Sylphariel always loved me a little too much. We would rarely be seen apart and he endeavored to always stay by my side. Our people however never accepted him as prince and so they had named him the Prince's shadow.
I wonder what history surrounds the lives of those little boys. I knew we would be seeing them again. I hope the Blond one survived the night, and that they had the good sense to avoid the stone path. The Keeper is not to be trifled with. Not ever.
Hope you enjoyed a glimpse into Silvarion's world. Although you probably won't see any more of it, the prince himself will play a part in the later half of the story. Reviews = faster update, no reviews = no story.
(Since this is a bonus chapter don't feel obligated to leave feedback for it unless you really want to.)
Also keep in mind i do feel a sense of community with my readers and often respond to requests or write bonus chapters for people who leave particularly detailed or consistent feedback.
