Chapter Seven: Sun And Moon
The shadow hawk gave a screech as it dove for the Storm Spire and dissipated in time to allow the head of the arrow to embed itself into the rock of a cliff. It was spotted and tugged free by Jinku, a winged Skywing elf and member of the new Dragonguard. He tugged the message free and landed outside the cave to read it. His eyebrows rose seeing that it was from the Earthblood elves. Jinku's wings propelled him forward quicker than running would have been, leaving a gust in his wake that alerted his fellow Dragonguard as he glided to the Dragon Queen. The seven other elves slowly gathered in the room in confusion, save for Jinku whose eyes were wild with fear. This caught Zubeia's attention. Zym, meanwhile, was engrossed in a firefly that had somehow gotten in.
"Jinku?" she asked. "What troubles you?"
"A message from the Earthblood elves, my queen." The elf struggled to keep his voice steady. "Two humans and a Startouch elf invaded their home, stole their magic, killed some of them."
"The same three who invaded the Silvergrove?" Lykis asked warily. He and Malin listened closely.
"The letter says that, specifically, the humans were a young woman and a middle-aged man. The stench of dark magic was all over them but came most strongly from the man." Jinku reported.
"It was them." Malin said gravely.
"They used dark magic!" The Skywing elf said.
"So, they are on the move." The queen took a moment before she straightened up and began giving commands to her guard. "Send word to Lux Aurea, Aviana and Flactus. Warn them of this band of dark mages traveling around. That they have brought the Silvergrove and Concordia to their knees and they must be wary of strangers. Ibis, send a message to Callum and Rayla; let them know what's going on."
The two skywing elves bowed deeply and left to write the messages. Amer stepped forward.
"My queen, how do we know where they're going next?" he asked.
"I'm afraid we don't." the dragon conceded. She looked at her son, who was happily batting at the glowing bugs from his nest, safe and oblivious to the trouble going on. "We can only hope that the warning will alert the remaining elves, and that it will stop the dark mages in their tracks."
The dark blue moon dragon had shocked Callum with his speed. Moon dragons weren't as flashy or grand as sun dragons. They were smaller, many colored to blend with the night sky and covered in finer scales and sleeker mains to help with the camouflage. Callum prided himself on connecting this back to illusions; this arcanum would be easy to grasp…he hoped. He'd never connected to an arcanum without the shameful aid of dark magic before. Callum and Rayla flew, neither having the faintest suspicion that they were already being tracked down from the ground. The trip from the Storm Spire to the Moon Nexus took a mere half a day. Callum had to admit that Rayla was right, this was much faster than his mage wings. Lujanne was there to meet them.
"Callum, Rayla welcome back." the moon mage greeted as they landed and dismounted the dragon. Callum only took a second to run a hand through his hair in an uncaring effort to tame it. He had long gotten used to his hair being windswept, and Rayla had even told him it looked cute, but he felt he should at least make an effort to look presentable.
"Hi, Lujanne." Callum greeted her back. "I'm ready to start whenever you are."
"I didn't have a choice, the Dragon Queen made me come with him to keep his head straight." Rayla said dryly, her arms crossed. "And I was overpowered last night by those stupid extra fingers of his." Callum smirked at her and fluttered his fingers at her in a playful taunt. She rolled her eyes, but she couldn't suppress the smile on her face.
Lujanne smiled mischievously and raised an eyebrow at the couple, her eyes on Rayla specifically. "Sounds fun." she said with a wink. Callum's hand dropped and their faces practically lit up with red.
"I-it was a tickle fight!" Rayla stuttered. She had considered defending herself by telling Lujanne that it wouldn't have happened if Callum hadn't found that weak spot on her neck, but with where the elder mage's mind was at the moment, she thought better of it. "He has more fingers than me."
"Oh, I suppose you two are too young anyway. As for the lessons, we'll start tonight; moon magic is its strongest at night. Until then, make yourselves comfortable." the mage shrugged and turned around. Callum and Rayla, still blushing, followed her to the living quarters.
Unaware of the trouble brewing elsewhere, the elves of Lux Aurea were having a peaceful day. In fact, things were rather boring until a high-ranking soldier entered the throne room, kneeling before the queen.
"Pardon me, Your Radiance." he said, "General Amaya and Commander Gren of Katolis have payed us a surprise visit."
Janai, now bearing the crown of her late sister, raised an intrigued eyebrow; that certainly was a surprise. "Let them in."
The soldier nodded and ushered the two guards to open the door, revealing the humans, who entered the room, standing tall, with a large, mysterious object covered in a white tarp behind them, being wheeled into the room by two other elven guards. It looked like a full-body mirror by its shape. Janai rolled her eyes when they bowed to her; these formalities were so very unneeded. She smirked when they rose.
"Amaya, Gren, you two are looking well." Queen Janai said, unable to hide her smile at seeing Amaya.
It had been a few months following what would come to be called The Battle of the Storm Spire, in which General Amaya and her commander had insisted on staying in Lux Aurea for the time being, to help Queen Janai get things settled after the attack. In those months, between the general's teasing looks and their many talks (with either Gren or Kazi standing by, of course) they were able to convince her that there was nothing to be ashamed of, no matter what her sister had said, and that Amaya felt the same way. It was a great relief to finally not need to hide her feelings for the human any longer. She was the queen of the Sunfire elves; anyone who didn't support her personal life choices would either have to learn to live with it or were welcome to leave. Just so long as they didn't get too cozy in public, decorum was still decorum after all.
General Amaya returned the smile to her beloved before her face grew serious and she began signing. Kazi, who these days was often in the throne room lest Amaya drop in like this without Gren, studied the rapid hand and arm movements closely, always eager to absorb more knowledge. They quite liked when Gren was here for more reasons than that; he was also a good personal friend.
"You too, but I'm afraid this isn't a social visit." Gren translated. "After the Dragon King's death, a mirror went missing from the king and queen's chambers. We found it in our palace just yesterday. Knowing Viren, he probably brought it back to unlock some kind of power. We were hoping you could loan us a couple of your hotcats to help get it to the Storm Spire as soon as possible."
At the mention of Viren's name, Janai immediately had to control her temper. If whatever was under that tarp had anything to do with that vile, monstrous false king of humans, she did not want it in her court. She stood from her throne and made this passionately clear, to the nervous glances of both her guards and Gren. Amaya, though, didn't flinch. She just looked at the queen with those cunning but kind eyes in an expression that was easy to read after so long: I understand. At this, Janai was able to calm herself.
"Is this the mirror?" Janai asked, gesturing to the tarp. Amaya nodded to her and then turned to Gren to give another, firmer nod. Gren removed the tarp, revealing the mirror with the library in it. Janai's eyes grew wide with fear and a murmur of alarm grew into a deafening roar in the courtroom, the guards all shaken as well. Janai was soon frustrated with the noise and gave a loud command: "ENOUGH!"
All went silent and still save for the two humans. Gren was tending to his hurt ears, and the unaffected Amaya was looking around in confusion and concern at the uproar. "I shall summon a dragon. They are far faster across the skies than any other creature." Janai said. "That mirror must not be left anywhere where the Dragon Queen cannot keep an eye on it." Only the questioning looks of the humans were all she needed to know that she'd need to elaborate. "It is called the Mirror of Aaravos, something that all elves know and fear. I'll explain on the way, come."
Janai began marching down the throne room towards the door at a brisk pace, Amaya and Grin falling into step with her. The guards hesitated for a moment before they began pushing the mirror after the trio, too intimidated by their queen's temper to ignore her order. Almost as an afterthought, she shouted back; "Kazi, you're in charge until I get back."
"I-I…what!?" the small, scholarly and at the moment very stunned elf stammered as the door closed behind the three.
It was night. They were down to half of their numbers now. The Storm Spire had wiped the others out, and then the coward went running to the Moon Nexus; so they'd overheard days ago and had begun their trip early. The five of them couldn't have been ten feet up the mountain when they were cut off guard by a sky spell that left them encased in a powerful blast of ice. The five had been shaken to see the dark mages and the Startouch elf again, but obviously refused to show it. All the woman had said was that the Moonshadow elf at the Nexus was her kill and that no one was going to touch the human. She and her companions had left without another word as the five struggled to break free.
Callum, Rayla and Lujanne were unaware of any of this. First thing was to actually connect to the moon arcanum, something that would be a new experience for both mages; Lujanne had never had to teach such a thing before. Rayla had figured that this was a private lesson, so she left them to it. She lay down in a patch of grass and stretched out comfortably, gazing up at the moon and stars and watching the moonmoths fluttering around in the peaceful night.
This was far more relaxing than her last visit, when she had had an egg, and later a baby dragon, to protect. All she had to do this time was make sure Callum didn't get a swelled head which, from what she understood, wouldn't be a real risk for a while. Now, she found the Moon Nexus to be a lovely place, teeming with invisible energy at night that wasn't present in the daytime. Callum didn't seem to feel it, but she did and it invigorated her.
The sound of footsteps yanked her from her reverie and in a flash, she was on her stomach, propped up on her elbows and listening intently, eyes darting around. Nothing. The footsteps stopped the moment she flipped over, as if whoever was moving around knew they were caught, but there was nobody she could see. Part of her told herself she was just jumpy. Her people's scorn, that creep Amer, her nightmares. She had been under a lot of stress lately. Another part said that this was the Moon Nexus, where moon magic, illusionary magic, was its strongest. Anyone could have put an illusion on themselves that allowed them to become invisible. Her mind went to the assassins that she knew were pursuing her. She stood up, looking around in a defensive stance. Foolishly, she had left her swords back in her room in anticipation of a safe night.
"Come out." She commanded to the air and waited. A minute crept by, then another, then a few more. At last, she relaxed and settled back down into her spot with a heavy exhale. She really needed to calm down. She closed her eyes and fully relaxed herself. She was a little unsurprised to feel herself drifting off. She welcomed the embrace of sleep as it approached.
She vaguely registered the soft words she heard, dismissing them in her tiredness as her hearing things as she apparently was tonight. Rayla was violently torn from her would-be sleep by the sudden, intense pressure around her neck. Her eyes shot open, seeing someone who she had met a few times, but only just barely recognized. Her skin was much paler and less healthy-looking, there was darkness under her eyes like she hadn't been sleeping, and most noticeably, half of her hair had gone completely white. Her eyes were darker and filled with a blazing hatred. She was kneeling beside the elf and choking her.
Rayla tried to move but found herself paralyzed. She wouldn't have screamed even if she could with this pressure on her throat, she was much too proud even now when she was completely helpless, physically speaking. She knew paralyzing spells were temporary, lasting a mere two minutes at the most, the dark spell even shorter. All she had to do was try to stay awake long enough for it to wear off.
Before long, Rayla's lungs began to ache for air, Claudia's nails digging into her neck, only to leave behind scratches when she was yanked away. Rayla's head was spinning in dizziness as she gasped for air. The elf's hands and legs began to fidget on reflex as the paralysis started to wear off, and a cold, smooth something was pressed under her chin and moved her face to look at her new attacker. Her blood ran cold in her ears.
"Viren." Her voice was small and shaky. Every nerve in her body was yelling at her to run, but she was rooted to the spot, not just from the spell. Viren was looking down at her with anger. He removed his staff from beneath her face and raised it, only to bring it down on her hard, slamming the broad top into her stomach. A wave of pain pulsed through her body, producing an agonized cry against her will.
"You." The man growled, standing over her, digging the end of his staff to her neck. "You took away my destiny. My kingdom."
"Aspiro Frigis!"
Then like that, Viren and Claudia were out of her line of sight. Rayla finally rose, propping herself up on her arms and shivering; the spell had just missed her, but she was close enough to feel the frost in the air. They were frozen to a decorative wall that marked the border of some now doomed flowerbeds. She stood up, feeling the developing bruise on her torso as she ran to Callum and Lujanne, feeling the fury of the dark mages on her back the whole way.
Callum's anger, already a rare emotion in his life so far, was mixed with disbelief in looking at Viren. "How did you survive that fall?"
"Hardly your concern, prince." Viren said. The word prince was mocking. It made Callum's skin crawl. Seeing the rare anger on Callum's face, Rayla laced their fingers together and Callum squeezed her hand, calming down a little. The sight of their clasped hands filled Claudia with a renewed anger.
"Callum, has your precious connection to the sky driven you insane?" Claudia demanded. Callum was momentarily stunned as Rayla had been over her drastic change in appearance; she was like some watered-down version of the Claudia who he had once called a friend. What had she done to herself? "She's an elf." She said this like Callum was some slow-witted child who needed to be reminded of something for the fiftieth time and who she was losing patience with.
"I don't see how that's your business." was Callum's cold retort. Lujanne placed a hand on his shoulder, getting his attention. She looked horrified. Callum followed her gaze to the elf leaning against a tree who had been watching the exchange as though for entertainment. By how similar he looked to Kaiya, it was clear he was a Startouch elf; younger and more magnificent than she was. His eyes were firmly on Callum, and everyone was now watching him.
"At last we meet." His voice was smooth, silky and absolutely sinister. It gave Callum a sense of dread he had not felt since the night King Harrow was slain. But he wasn't a helpless little boy anymore, he was a sky mage, so the fear was far easier to keep in check. "Prince Callum of Katolis."
"How do you know me?" he asked.
"Why, your reputation precedes you." the elf said, not taking his eyes off of Callum. If he were honest, there was something about those green eyes of his, tinged with the ferocity and unpredictability of a storm. The defiance, the distrust, the illusion of righteous rebellion that so frequently twisted the minds of the young. They rather reminded him of his son. "The first human mage to connect to an arcanum. It truly is fascinating. I regret that this little visit must be cut short, but we have places to be. Just know, mage, that I will be keeping my eye on you, following your journey. I know you aim to become an archmage, the best ones always do."
"If I'm gonna have some rival out there, watching my every move, I think I should at least know their name." Callum said, somehow keeping his composure in the face of obvious trouble. "You know me, somehow, but who are you?"
"Oh dear, how rude of me. Perhaps you've heard of me, as well." the elf smiled. "Aaravos."
Callum, Rayla and Lujanne's eyes all widened, which turned out to be a mistake. The elf raised a hand to the sky and yelled: "Minimo!" A light flashed, blinding all three of them. Callum would be the first to recover his sight, and by then the ice would be melted and he and the two Moonshadow elves would be alone again; no Viren, no Claudia…no Aaravos. The night ahead would be a troubled and restless one, the moon arcanum now thoroughly forgotten.
Author's Notes: So, I've seen a couple of people speculate about a connection between Callum and Aaravos. I know what I'm thinking, but I'd like to know what all of you think. There's a poll on my profile page. I want to know what you guys think will happen. 'Minimo' is Latin for 'blinding light'. Review.