Part 2
(Raelag)
Chapter 6
The entrance to the Labyrinth, the realm of the Dark Elves, was a large door built into the side of a cliff. It wasn't the only entrance to the underworld. According to Ylaya entrances to the caves and tunnels existed all over Ashan but this was one used for trader caravans.
It was old, very old, made from basalt stone with no mortar holding the stones together. It stood at least twenty feet high with archaic designs decorating the outer edge.
Clan Lord Raelag, the ruler of the Shadowbrand, was there to meet them and when he saw the body they were escorting his welcoming smile disappeared in a flash.
He was average size for an elf with an angular shaped face and long black hair slopping behind him with a bluish sheen. His bright blue eyes were small in the near pure white face and as he walked near the expression he wore was grave yet cold like stone.
Menelag's body was concealed by a cloth, his face hidden from view yet Leanna had not moved from her uncle's side.
Raelag's clothing was impressive. It was near one piece suit with armour across the forearms and shoulders, interlaid with gold. The gold made patterns, intricate, precise and painstakingly moulded. Straps across his chest held on a cloak made of violet material that hung to his knees. His pointed pale ears were pierced and the ear rings he wore were made of a strange stone, angled into a jagged leaf and they glinted in the sunlight.
"This was not supposed to be." He muttered in a rich boyish voice with a shake of his head. "Of all the losses we could take this was one I did not wish to endure." His tone was intensely regretful yet resigned.
"It is to my regret that I confess my intervention was too late to save him." Ylaya said with a short bow to her lord.
"You have nothing to reproach yourself for, my child." He told her softly without looking up. "This is just so…" He stopped and then looked over at Leanna. The girl simply stood there with her head drooped so they could not see her face.
"Take them back to Virbeth; see to all their needs and wants." He told his keeper of the law and she nodded to him and then gestured to her riders, who began to herd their lizards towards the entrance to Ygg Chall
Wyngaal sighed.
"I'm afraid this is where we part ways my young companion." He began to Sareth. "For you must go on now without me."
"What are you talking about?" The young man asked. "You aren't coming with us?" That surprised him. He'd been journeying with the elf for much that it seemed, now, to be unnatural to be going separate ways.
"'Tis not my inclination but I have no choice." Wyngaal reclaimed. "There are places which I can not go and you are about to set foot in such a place." He gestured with his bow at the large door leading underground.
"No elf loyal to Sylanna may set foot in the caverns of those under the protection of Malassa, just as no Dark Elves are permitted in Irollan."
"But…" Sareth started.
"It's the law of both nations." Wyngaal elaborated. "It keeps peace between our two peoples. They keep to themselves and so do we." He cast a glance at Raelag, who was ignoring him. "We must go. They've been tolerant and polite ready by permitting us to the very border of their land."
"That's hardly fair."
"Possibly not but it keeps the peace and I'll not disrupt the harmony." He smiled. "No my young friend, I'm afraid that for now, this is goodbye."
He offered a hand forward and Sareth looked at it as if it were the end of a piece of his life that hadn't been soaked in blood.
Wyngaal had been the first one to truly offer him friendship and now he had to leave.
Unable to refuse the gesture, Sareth shook his hand.
"Might I prevail unto you to look after Lady Leanna." Wyngaal added with a whisper, looking past Sareth towards the young woman as she silently followed her uncle's body as the Dark Elves took it with them. "She will need a strong foundation upon which to rebuild her life and you can supply that. Be a foundation to her, young Sareth."
The young man nodded.
"Believe me I will."
Wyngaal paused to look at him with a more critical eye as if he were evaluating his friend once more. The spreading smile across his face spoke volumes.
"I look forward to the day we meet again." He said. "For I know when we do, I'll be seeing a living legend. There's potential in you enough to shake the heavens."
Sareth knew that the assessment was an exaggeration but it was quite flattering so he said nothing about it.
"Till we meet again, Sareth. Look to the forests and I'll be there."
Then he turned and he and his elves about faced and made their way back through the long grass towards the trees. Sareth watched him go and strangely, the separation did not seem so bad with the way Wyngaal had phrased it.
He kept his eyes on them for at least two minutes before he turned and looked up at the imposing door leading into the labyrinth of Ygg Chall and the Clan Lord Raelag, standing there waiting for him.
Wordlessly they past from the world of light and into the dark calm of the underworld.
Sareth kept glancing back over his shoulder right up until the large doors to the labyrinth closed after them.
Instinctively he expected to be instantly surrounded by perpetual darkness but that was not the case.
The light was definitely dimmer but it was easy to see the interior of the large tunnel. Lighting the way for them were a series of jagged, luminous rocks that emitted a soft blue light.
It took a moment Sareth's eyes adjusted to the dim and he began to see more and more of the new world around him.
"Come." Ylaya told him, looking back. "The tunnels of Ygg Chall are not for those who do not know their way. If you get lost you will wander in the darkness forever."
Gulping loudly, Sareth quickened his step and fell in beside the group.
The entrance widened spilt off in many different directions, each new tunnel with a checkpoint guarded by Dark Elves, who all stood to attention as the mournful procession past through the central tunnel.
The tunnels were not just made up of stone. Roots from the trees above fed down through the earth, some forming walls and others floors and ceilings. Mushrooms and fungus covered these roots and the air around them was almost drenched with a strange perspiration.
Sareth could not help but note these details. He didn't want to given the circumstances but he seemed to be doing it instinctively and there was little he could do to stop.
He cast a glance at the riders who accompanied them.
Their reptilian mounts were perhaps the oddest creatures he'd seen thus far. They were clear predatory animals with sharp teeth and a pair of curved claws one on each foot. The tails were long, possibly to act as a counterbalance.
The Dark Elves riding them carried lances, long poles with a spear point. Tied beneath this point was a ribbon, differing in colour from rider to rider.
Ylaya rode one of these, although hers was slightly larger and had pale red scales rather than green.
Raelag had a reptilian mount of his own, one of the larger breeds with scales that were almost blood red.
Virbeth, seat of power for Clan Shadowbrand, caught Sareth by surprise. He had read much about the Dark elves and their culture under Phenrig's tutelage. But that was mere theory. Seeing an underground city, built into a rock pillar at least a three miles across across, was something else.
The tunnels twisted back and forth until Sareth was certain he would never find his way out on his own and then they came into a huge cavern.
Virbeth was something to behold. It was just as large as any city on the surface but it was built mostly from the cavern ceiling. The building was clinging to stalactites, interlocking with each other almost like a web that arched around in a circle.
The focus of the circle was centred directly in the middle where a massive pillar of rock stood, branching the distance between the high ceiling and the low floor. Built into this pillar was what Sareth understood at least at first glance to be the cities fortress.
It was built like a fortress with battlements and towers, all styled in strange swirling ballast architecture. A large set of stairs led from the cavern floor to the entrance and more stairs lead up from the top, high above to the rest of the city. Virbeth twinkled at them, every house and building marked by faint blue or violet lights.
The fortress' main feature was the state. Sareth couldn't be certain what stone it was made out of from her but it looked like marble.
It depicted a female dark elf; clad in strange chain mail armour holding both hands aloft and in them burned what appeared to be ceremonial fires. It looked like fire but the flames were a strange purple colour and they gave out only light and no smoke.
It didn't take them long to reach the palace gates and Raelag ushered them inside.
"My Lady." He began to Leanna, placing a hand on her shoulder as they moved the body of her uncle inside. "I would like to speak to you at some future time regarding what arrangements have been made for the funeral but I will postpone that discussion until such time as it is appropriate.
In the meantime, I hope I will not overstep my bound by placing your uncle's body in cold storage to preserve him."
Leanna only nodded once and Raelag released his awkward grip.
"Ylaya, show them up to the guest rooms while I make arrangement." He commanded and the female dipped her head.
"It will be as you say my lord."
The rooms arranges for them were quite large and Sareth noted that it was meant for more than two people. It was lusciously decorated with rugs and drapes, but these didn't match with the style of the walls around them. The furniture looked in its place though.
"The lord will speak with you when he has free time." Ylaya told him, showing them in. "Would you like some food brought up in the meantime?"
Sareth was at once reminded of the fact that he hadn't eaten, properly, for two days.
"Yes, although I'm not sure what Dark Elven customs are about eating." He confessed with a look of regret on his face.
"We are not as peculiar about our eating habits as other races." Ylaya assured him. "Our kitchens cook whatever is desired of ourselves and our guests. Shall I have prepared some more usual for human dinner tables?"
Sareth smiled and nodded.
"I'll have it brought up to as soon as it is ready."
The boy cast a quick glance at Leanna. The girl sat on a bed at the far end of the room without looking at either of them.
"There is no cure for grief." Ylaya added in a quieter tone. "But warm food can help."
"Eh, good idea." Sareth agreed quietly. Ylaya left and there was a long silent pause after that.
The boy kept his eyes directly on Leanna, watching her without moving. He didn't know what to do, to say.
"Are you alright?" He asked but even as he said it he knew it was a mistake.
"How can I possibly be alright?" The girl asked waspishly. She had stopped crying now but mainly because her tear ducts needed time to replenish.
"Ok that was a stupid question." Sareth admitted out load.
"I think you ought to be spending less time on the girl and more time wondering what you're going to do." Xana stated to him in his mind. "They got you here to safety. Their job is over. Now we have to think about what our next move is. Let her cry her eye's out here if she insists. We have more important things to do."
"You're a real saint you know that?" Sareth muttered back sarcastically.
"Look, I'm just saying that you put things in perspective." She sounded irritated now as if annoyed by the mere prospect of the man she guarded being anywhere near this potential rival. "This is time better spent on finding solutions for our own problems."
"I owe her his much at least." He replied to her adamantly and in a tone that cut of any possible argument.
He pulled up a chair and sat down beside Leanna. If he was honest he would admit that he hadn't the slightest idea of how to go about doing this. It was in this stark moment of realization that he came to grips with the gaps in his education. Phenrig had taught him magic and Douglas had taught him swordsmanship but neither of them had bothered to educate him in the arts of social integration.
He had grown up learning only what they had wanted him to know, even in spite of his defiant sprit towards them. That victory over him filled him with a sense of chagrin that forced him to take this next step.
"Tell me about your uncle." He began and Leanna looked up at him with confused eyes. "Tell me everything about him, all the things you can remember."
That was how the next half hour was spent. Leanna began to tell him about her uncle and the life she had led while under his tutelage.
"My father died during Queen Isabel's war, lending the forces of StoneHelm to fight against the undead." She began. "He was fighting amongst the rebellion and was killed by Markal's forces when he briefly ran the empire." Her tone clearly displayed what she thought of the infamous Markal.
"After that my uncle took over Stonehelm and had to withdraw support for the war to avoid retaliation. I was only a baby at the time but he looked after me well."
"What about your mother?"
"I haven't the faintest idea who she is." Leanna admitted and Sareth looked a bit confused. "My father must have met my mother before the war began because he returned one night to Stonehelm and handed me over as a baby to my uncle."
The one thing Sareth did have in abundance was a good imagination so a million thoughts and possibilities rushed through his mind at that point but he wisely chose not to voice them.
"I grew up in the court and there were loads of children to play with. I had cousins by the score and friends from nearly every noble house. My uncle was a good ruler and the people loved him."
"Hold on." Sareth cut in suddenly. "If your father was the rightful ruler of Stonehelm then your uncle was merely a regent."
Leanna paused and then nodded.
"I suppose." She agreed.
"Well… wouldn't that make YOU the Duchess or something now?"
There was a moment of silence and the Leanna burst out laughing. It wasn't quite the reaction that Sareth had been expecting but it was a whole lot better than crying.
"Me? Duchess of Stonehelm?" She asked with a smile. "Oh no. I already made it quite clear to the court there that I have no desire to rule. They can choose between my cousins for that."
"But if you're the next in line…"
"No. How could I rule a city state? No my uncle had something different in mind for me, that's why he began teaching me magic at such an early age.
Perhaps if the Silver Cities hadn't been in so much turmoil I might have been sent there to study but I got a home education instead.
I loved those lessons; really I did, out there on the battlements with the sun shining. It was always the best way to practise."
Sareth muttered something ineligible and began to detest Phenrig even more for the closed door, classroom way he had been given magical instruction. Why could he not have been tutored in this way?
He really felt cheated now.
"It was after the war that we began this operation to hunt down the cultists. My uncle must have spent hours in his private study researching dark magic and how to counter it, especially after they caused that eclipse. I'd just past the exams he'd set me and I begged him to let me help.
He was going to leave me behind but eventually I was able to persuade him and the two of us began that investigation." She stopped. "Oh Elrath, how am I going to tell Jonathon?" She reverted back to intense melancholy, burying her face in her hands.
"Jonathon?"
"My cousin who agreed to rule Stonehelm while we were away. I promised him I'd look after his father and I failed." Sudden fear crept into her eyes. "I can't… I can't go back to Stonehelm, I can't face them!"
"You're afraid?"
"Of course I'm afraid. I can't go back, no… they'll hate me for failing!"
Something warned Sareth that he was on the verge of loosing her to grief and doubt, she was slipping back further and further. He was going to have to do something quite radical.
The young man stood up and placed both hands on her shoulders.
"Leanna, listen to me." He began. "Listen, do you think your uncle would want you to think like this?"
She glared up at him, as if suddenly outraged he would use Menelag's name to further his arguing point.
"Look, this is going to sound harsh but people die all the time. How do you think I feel, Phenrig killed his servants in that horrible ritual and they were people I'd grown up around as well.
You still have a family to go back to."
She looked at him with a startled expression evidentially forgetting that he had no place anymore; that he had been cast completely adrift and had no place to which he could return.
"Don't you have a mother or father?" She asked.
"I suppose that I must have." Sareth admitted. "Although I haven't the faintest idea who they were. Phenrig raised…" He stopped himself. "…Phenrig taught me things I needed to know but I don't know who gave me to him to do that."
He could no longer say Phenrig raised him as, now that he thought about, the wizard hadn't. Phenrig had merely taught the boy some things and waited for him to grow up.
Before either of them could say anything else there was a knock at their door. The door opened without their prompting and a Dark Elf came into the room. He was obviously a servant of some kind as his uniform showed and he carried with him two trays, one in each hand.
"Your dinner honoured guests." He remarked and laid the trays down on the table by the door.
The food he had brought spelt so good after so long on travel rations that they both moved to the table nearly instantly. The servant bowed to them before leaving them to their meal.
Leanna said nothing after they had finished eating yet clearly she was still subdued. At least she wasn't crying anymore and Sareth supposed that this was the best he was going to be able to get today.
It wasn't long after that when Raelag came to their chamber. Surprisingly however he was not there to talk with Leanna.
He strode into the room with a purposeful expression on his face and they both looked up at him, surprised that in his unannounced entry.
"Excuse me, but I must talk with the young man in private M'lady." He remarked with a short bow to Leanna. Before she could answer, the clanlord walked up to Sareth and took him by the arm.
"You and I need to discuss certain important matters." He told him and then proceeded to remove him from the room.
Once they were outside, Raelag shut the door behind them so that Leanna could not ease drop and then turned about to look the surprised Sareth straight in the face.
"How much do you know?" He demanded so harshly that the young man backed off a step.
"About what?" He asked in a genuine tone of ignorance. Realag softened his own glare and pressed his lips together.
"About this operation." He began again, this time a lot more slowly and far less passionate. "About the Cult that Menelag took you away from."
"Nothing." Sareth replied. "I've been trying to work this out myself. It wasn't until Menelag arrived that I had any idea why Phenrig wanted me."
He phrased his statement to give over the impression that he was completely clueless and watched Raelag's expression soften once more. It became clear to Sareth even at this early stage that Raelag knew something, something that he did not want to share.
"Ohh how very shrewd." Xana agreed.
Suddenly Raelag's eyes widened as if he heard her voice and his gaze darted over Sareth as if he were looking for something.
Then he found it. He reached forward and into the young man's shirt, grasping the amulet and yanking it forward despite the chain around his neck.
He glared with an expression of growing anger at the icon engraved on its surface.
"Who gave you this?" He demanded. "Answer me! Who?"
"Phenrig." Sareth managed to say despite the fact that Raelag was chocking him. With a look of pure disgust, the Dark elf released his grip and Sareth fell back against the wall gasping.
"Alright, come on out." He began glaring around at the empty air. "I know a binding icon when I see one. I know you're there, come on out now!"
There was silence.
"I can force you out if necessary." He added with a venomous remark as slowly raised his hand.
A moment later, Xana appeared, manifesting beside them both. Apparently Sareth was not the only one with the ability to see her. Perhaps it required a certain degree of magic talent to behold her form but whatever the reason, Raelag could definitely see her.
"I might have known." He spat. "I could have expected they'd never let him wander loose without someone to hold his lease!"
"Wait, you don't understand!" Xana began to him.
"Save your breath!" Raelag told her. "I'll not be risking my city and my people to host the likes of you!" He held up his hand towards her in a gesture that Sareth recognised instinctively as the posture one assumed before using a spell.
Without thinking he put himself between the Clanlord and Xana, spreading his arms out to bar the way.
"Move aside!" Raelag snapped his voice like the crack of a whip. Sareth stood there, honing his newly acquired defiant spirit in the face of this new challenge to its integrity.
"No."
"I said, move aside!"
"She's my friend, I won't let you hurt her!"
"Friend? Friend?! Have you any idea what she is?" The clan lord jabbed a finger at the girl. "She's a…" he froze, his gaze fixed on the pleading expression Xana had on her face; her imploring eyes wide and thick with emotion. Her mouth was ajar in a horrified gape at what he might say next.
"Oh." Raelag started again, a lot softer this time. Slowly he lowered his hand. "I see." To Sareth's surprise the Dark Elf actually looked a tiny bit embarrassed. "Well that certainly puts this on a different footing." He continued before taking another moment to look the pair of them over.
"Look just, leave her alone." Sareth insisted.
"I'm going to have to now." Raelag replied irritably. "It used to be simple. Now the two of you have made this situation needlessly complex." He folded his arms behind his back and paced for a moment, as if trying to think of what to do now.
Xana took the opportunity to disappear, fading away as quick as she could. Sareth glanced back at the empty space where she'd once been.
"Alright boy." Raelag began once she's gone. "I'll forget she exists, for now. What I need to know is what you intend to do."
"I intend…I what?" Sareth asked, put off guard by this apparent sudden change of stance.
"You're here in my city and under the protection of the Shadowbrand. That much I give you because of my interests in thwarting the designs of the cultists and as much as Menelag needed you to be. What happens now is your decision."
"My decision?"
Now it seems was the time to make that choice.
He had gone further away from Phenrig than he had hoped now and all that remained to leave that part of his life behind forever was to make a choice, his own decision out from under Phenrig's thumb.
"I want to learn magic." He blurted out. "All magic's of all races."
Raelag raised an eyebrow.
"Well," The Dark Elf started. "…that's certainly ambitious."
"Leanna told me that you're an authority on elemental magic." Sareth continued. "I was hoping that perhaps you might consent to be my teacher."
"Elemental magic?" Raelag actually sounded a bit offended. "Is that honestly what the humans think we practise down here?" He muttered some illegible after that and looked thoughtful. "I will consider your application." He eventually replied. "But even if I accept you as a pupil you won't be an ordinary student. Too many people are interested in owning you to make that possible."
"I don't suppose you'll tell me why?"
"Quite frankly, no. Enjoy the hospitality of my house young Sareth because I doubt the life you'll live is going to have much hospitality in it at all."