Chapter Six
"That's enough for today, I'd say," Syani said, and dropped down on the floor exactly where she had been standing. Kerryan nearly bumped into her at her sudden halt. He'd been thinking of going on just a little longer, but there was no point in arguing. After all, he decided, there's hardly a reason to prolong a walk when one isn't going anywhere. He sat down as well, facing her. "Are you alright? Tired?"
She shrugged. "Nah, I just don't feel like walking anymore for today. So what's for dinner?"
He looked around. The trees were starting to lessen, and the few trees around them bore no fruit. They were in quite a bare location, as there was even hardly any grass growing. When he pointed this out, she scratched her head, and said, "Oh well. I'm not that hungry anyway. Let's just lie down for a bit."
Kerryan nodded. It was late in the evening. The sky was red, and the sun was halfway through setting. He moved next to where Syani was lying, on a small patch of grass. He felt a pleasant sensation of satisfaction. "It's warm," he commented.
"Hm." She nodded, her eyes closed.
"You know, Syani..." He paused shortly, looking at the setting sun. "If we were to continue traveling like this for the rest of our lives... I'd be fine with it." He smiled. "I'm happy just walking on with you every day. I really feel like my life's complete like this." Hesitating for a moment, he looked back at her. "With you."
He saw a small smile on her face, her eyes still closed. "Good night," was all she said.
Kerryan looked back at the edge of the sun, just before the last bit of light disappeared. "Good night, Syani." He lay back, watched the sky darken for a while, then fell asleep.
The next day, they continued in the same direction as they'd been headed for the previous day. They had barely walked for half an hour, however, when they stopped. The trees were gone. They were standing entirely in the sand now. Kerryan squinted in front of him, but he saw no end to the sand. He cursed softly. "Looks like we were on the edge of the forest yesterday. This is a desert. We've got to turn back."
Syani looked around. "We're outside the forest?"
"Yeah. But don't try to pass through. Really, we don't want to end up in the middle of there."
She looked a little disappointed. There was a silence for a moment. Kerryan hoped she wasn't going to make a fuss. He was sure arguing with her would be a bother.
Finally, she said, "It's getting hot over here. I say we'd better go back."
Annoyed, Kerryan started, "That's exactly what-"
He noticed she'd already started moving back towards the trees. He sighed. "...Yeah, let's go."
So there they went, walking off in the exact direction they had come from. After an hour or so, the trees were thick again, and the cool feel of the forest was back. Kerryan started recognizing certain paths they'd taken before, and started worrying about the fact that they were heading straight back to the village. Just then, as if reading his thoughts, Syani took an unexpected turn to the right, and they wrestled through a few bushes, after which they were on a new path. After having walked on in silence for a while, Kerryan pointed out a few particularly pretty flowers or insects, in an attempt at a conversation. They talked about idle things for a while, until they heard something.
Kerryan felt a sudden breeze pass by him. It gave him a chill, and by the looks of it, Syani had felt it too. They edged a little closer, and saw the spectacular sight of a boar getting hit by a rain of small icicles. The creature groaned and tried resist it. Looking closer, Kerryan saw a boy, a head taller than they were, raising his hand towards the boar. He narrowed his eyes, and the icicles seemed to increase. The boar struggled a little longer, but finally gave up and collapsed to the ground.
The boy lowered his hand and sighed. "There we go. Everyone alright?"
It was only now that Kerryan realized there were several smaller children behind the boy, some of them anxious, others fascinated. "Is it dead?" a little girl piped up."
The boy shook his head. "No, it's just knocked out. When it wakes up, it'll be able to take care of its little kids again."
"Its kids?" a tiny boy repeated, a look of curiousity in his eyes.
"Yeah. That's the reason it attacked us, you know. She was afraid we'd harm her little ones." He looked around. "Anyway, it's okay now. Run off and play. I'm with you."
They looked at each other, then one by one, they ran off, apparently chasing each others. Kerryan was too busy watching them to notice Syani tugging at his sleeve.
"They're coming our way!" she hissed in his ear. He turned around, and sure enough, two of them were running in their direction: a boy chasing a taller girl. She outran him easily, and passed Kerryan and Syani. The boy tapped Syani, then ran away from her, shouting "You're it!"
The two looked at each other, confused. Then they saw the older boy standing next to them. He had long, blonde hair, combed to one side, the other revealing a long, pointy ear. There was something wise about him, yet at the same time, he had a very boyish feature. He smiled. "Were you two late? First time?"
Syani hesitated. "Um..."
"Don't worry," he said. "Just join in. They're playing tag right now. Just chase the others. If there's trouble, just call me," he added proudly. "I'm already getting close to mastering basic magic."
Seeing their confused expressions, he chuckled. He held out his hand, which they shook. "I'm Wayne. Don't be shy, I doubt these kids even know every one of the others. Some of them have just gotten to know each other as well. Go on then, I'll see you all later. We're going back in about half an hour."
Kerryan thought he ought to say something, and looked sideways at Syani. He noticed a gleam in her eyes, and she beamed, as if this kind treatment meant the world to her. "Okay, thanks!" she said, and ran off. Kerryan struggled, and nearly fell. "Wait up, Syani!" He ran after her, and soon they'd joined the other kids, laughing and playing idly. It was somehow a new kind of happiness they felt as they chased each other, playing and running about.
Finally, Wayne walked up to them and said it was time to go back. Every child stopped playing after a few minutes, and finally formed a group. Syani and Kerryan walked to each other, mutually asking the same question: What now? As the kids made to leave, Marilyn, one of the children they'd gotten to know during a game, looked at the two and called for Wayne to wait for them.
Looking sideways to her, Kerryan mumbled to Syani, "How about we just go with them?"
He turned back to her, seeing she looked a little uncomfortable with the idea. Before he could say anything however, she smiled, and nodded slowly. So they joined the others, and started walking 'back', wherever that might be.
After half an hour, Kerryan got a nasty feeling in the pit of his stomach. He saw Syani had halted, so she must have felt it too.
The village was getting in sight.
Chapter Seven
"Here we are," Marilyn said. It was a small cottage, but it looked quite comfortable. It seemed to be made almost entirely out of wood, with a straw roof.
Syani eyed Kerryan, a slightly worried look on her face. "Er... are you sure this is okay?"
She smiled. "Don't worry! It's a little late to go further. I'm sure my parents will be fine with this."
Parents... Kerryan hadn't considered this. What if they noticed they weren't from the village? He wasn't ready for another Eydilne scene. He had felt a little apprehension when Marilyn, assuming they lived on the other side of the village, had offered to let them stay at her place. Syani had agreed, and he knew he was curious towards this village as well, but he couldn't help worrying something might happen. When they'd seen the village, they had felt an urge to turn around and run right back in the forest. But a curiosity had kept them from doing so, and here they were. Deciding there was no turning back. Kerryan nodded. "Okay. Thanks."
Marilyn opened the front door. The interior matched the outside: the decor was simple, but it gave a warm, comfortable impression. At a wooden table sat an older girl with long, blonde hair, reading an enormous book. At the shutting of the door, she looked up. One look told him she was Marilyn's sister, with the same blue eyes and the same thoughtful look on her face. "Visitors?" she asked.
Marilyn nodded, and introduced them. Her sister presented herself as Anna, then continued reading without another word. Marilyn called out for her mother, but no answer followed. Without looking up, Anna said, "They're out."
"Oh yeah, that's right!" Marilyn said, slapping her own face. "They're visiting some kind of place," she explained to the other two, "so they won't be here until tomorrow. Anyway, want a drink?"
Kerryan suppressed a sigh of relief. At least they were safe until the next day. "Sure."
They'd made two places to sleep out of a few extra bed sheets. It was quite warm in the house, so they needed little more. Kerryan and Syani lay next to Marilyn's bed. It was a strange feeling, suddenly sleeping under a roof. The soft bed sheets were a change as well. They chatted a little more, but finally fell asleep.
After a good night's rest, they were awoken by Anna, who had prepared breakfast. This was Kerryan's first time eating bread with cheese, and it tasted delicious compared to the scarce food that grew in certain parts of the forest. But then again, he rarely felt hungry.
He had a lot of things he wanted to ask Marilyn, but it wasn't easy asking them without revealing himself, so he mainly kept silent while Marilyn did most of the talking. From what she told them, he caught on that the village was called Eserikto, that its inhabitants, were eleves, that she lived together with her sister and parents, and that the previous day had been one of the occasional strolls to the forest, accompanied by one responsible older child.
When breakfast was done, they went outside. Marilyn waved to them. "Well, see you soon!"
"Uh...?" Syani looked a little taken aback by the sudden parting.
"Well, you're going back home, right?" Marilyn asked.
"Oh- Oh yeah..." Syani's face fell. Kerryan felt a twinge of disappointment as well. He'd hoped they could have been spent more time with the kids. But it was still early, and obviously, if they'd really had parents on the other side of Eserikto, then they would be quite worried by now. There's no helping it, Kerryan sighed.
"It's that way, right?" Marilyn pointed.
"Uh, yeah," Kerryan said, and took a few steps in that direction. He turned, trying to look cheerful. "Bye then!"
Syani just waved. Her face was beaming, but he could tell she regretted this early depart as well. They walked off, aware that they were walking deeper into the village rather than back to the forest. They both were rather gloomy, knowing they'd lost their only place to stay in the village. "Well," Kerryan said, "We might bump into them again on one of their 'strolls'."
Syani nodded silently.
"Let's just have a look around while we have the chance," he added. He was about to continue when he stopped in tracks. "Hey... Hey! Syani! Over there..." He pointed to one of the houses. They looked through the window, and Syani saw the woman he was pointing at. Sitting and laughing with three children around their age was none other than Eydilne Fass.
It was hard to recognize her. With a smile, she looked like a completely different person. By the looks of it, she was playing a board game with the children. They stared at her for a while, then Syani finally pulled him away from the window. "We'd better get going, before she notices us."
He hurried after her. "Isn't it incredible? Could that really have been the same woman who attacked us like that?"
"Maybe it wasn't."
"Oh, come on. You know it was her. But don't you see? There must be a reason she attacked us like that. You've seen for yourself now that she isn't some kind of monster."
She stopped. "Kerryan."
"Hm?"
She looked sideways at him. "You're missing the point. We don't have any idea why she tried to kill us. There's no use wondering about it."
"That's right," A voice came from behind them.
Syani jumped, and turned to face a young man, apparently the age of about 20. He had short, dark blue hair which was held up in the front by a headband. There was a bow over his shoulder, and he was wearing a dark green cloak. He was frowning. "You two have got nerve. I hadn't expected you to return."
Kerryan gasped. "You're... one of them? One of the Guardians?"
He remained motionless, surveying him. "And if I were, what difference would it make?"
Syani glared at him. "So, you've come for us. Isn't that it?"
He shrugged. "Well, that's what it boils down to. Syani and Kerryan, isn't it?"
"How did you-"
"Never mind that. Just get ready." He raised the bow off his shoulder. "I am known as Arek. And yes... I came here to fight you."
Chapter Eight
Kerryan clenched his fist. We should've gotten out of here while we had the chance...
Syani took a few paces in the elf's direction. "Before that, tell me why. Why do we have to fight?"
The young man folded his arms. He surveyed her for a moment, then turned his back on her. "I'll keep my reasons for myself. I have told you my name. There's no need for further conversation. All we need now is... a better location."
With that, he stuck out his left arm sideways. There was a silence for a moment, then Kerryan heard that sound again. The same sound that Eydilne had made... like the rustling of the wind. "Watch out!" he shouted to Syani, without knowing how one could watch out for something without knowing what was coming. A green circle of light appeared around them. There appeared to be ruins engraved into it. Kerryan turned around and tried to run out of it, but he felt immobilized, as if he was chained to it. He could hear the sound of the wind swelling, and he was suddenly blinded by the green light, as it flashed once or twice. He snapped his eyes shut instinctively. After a while, the sound died down, and he dared open his eyes. He gasped, seeing the were back in the forest. In the distance, Eserikto could still be seen. He turned around, and noticed Syani beside him. He still felt slightly dizzy. Arek was standing in front of them, an amused look on his face. "First time warping, huh? Well, doesn't matter. You'll feel all right in a moment. There's no need to look so angry," he added, seeing Syani's glare, "I just brought us to a better fighting location. No need to get the villagers involved, right?"
Kerryan frowned. He was clearly putting himself in an unfavourable position. He didn't want help?
"Anyway," Arek continued, "You can be angry with me... after you've tasted one of my arrows." He raised his bow, and drew an arrow from a quiver which hung over his cloak. "Let's go!"
We've got to run! Kerryan mouthed to Syani, but she wasn't paying attention. They ran, each to a different side, as the first arrow flew at them like an angry bee. Its aim was considerably off, however, and it hit a tree a few metres away from where Kerryan was standing. Arek whirled around to face Kerryan, and quickly took aim with a second arrow. Kerryan stretched his left arm out, praying the shield would hold, and at the exact time Arek let go of the string, the metallic wonder appeared in Kerryan's hand. The arrow bounced off the shield, but the force nearly knocked him off balance. He staggered for a moment, and Arek took advantage, whipping out a third arrow. Before he could aim, however, he had to step aside in order to avoid a splitting chop from Syani's sword. His timing wasn't perfect, however: she managed to land a blow on his right shoulder. He aimed a kick at her, and she jumped back.
He touched his shoulder, and held his hand in front of him, seeing blood. He looked mildly impressed. "Hm. You're actually quite good, aren't you?"
This jigged something in Kerryan's memory. Just like Eydilne, this Arek somehow gave the impression that he knew them. He hardly had any time to ponder over this, however, as Arek was getting ready for a new storm of arrows. He shot them alternatively to Syani and Kerryan, but they managed to dodge them every time. Kerryan considered this. Their enemy was fast, but he didn't take the time to aim his arrows perfectly. There had to be a way to take advantage of this fact...
But as he thought, he noticed Arek was getting more and more accurate. At last, he jumped aside to dodge an incoming arrow, and knocked right into Syani. He heard the arrow whistling past his air, making his neck hairs stand on their ends. Then, it hit him what Arek had been doing. They'd fallen right into his trap. He had been missing on purpose, firing a little to one side, so they'd instinctively moved the other way. They'd both been moving in a half circle, finally reaching each other. He'd forced them back together, removing their advantage of having him closed in. He cursed. He should have used his shield and stayed where he was. Arek had chosen the perfect spot for him to fight: it was a clearing: a grass field, with next to no places to hide. The nearest tree was a good distance away. He raised the shield in front of him, as a flurry of arrows hit it. It was hard to keep it steady. Syani held the handle together with him, and the shield seemed to swell: it grew large enough to shield them for any attacks. It blocked all sight as well, however.
"He'll be behind us before you know it," Kerryan said worriedly. "If only we could see him..."
Syani faced him. "Can you do that... thing again? What you told me about?"
Kerryan hung his head. "I tried, but it's just not working."
Syani sighed audibly, then turned around all of the sudden and slashed her sword forward to meet Arek's blade. Surprised by her reaction, he was knocked back. Kerryan wheeled around.
Arek had removed his cloak. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt that matched his dark blue hair. The cut in his shoulder was clearly visible now, yet it was not as deep as it had first appeared. A belt was around his middle, with a scabbard attached to the side. In his hand was a polished gleaming white sword.
Syani smirked. "If you're going for a suprise attack, then try not to be so loud about it."
Kerryan gaped at her. He hadn't heard a thing.
Arek appeared to be shocked as well. "You..." He stared at her for a moment, then shook his head. "Dear, dear. Sorry I took you lightly, then. Let's go."
He jumped in on her, aiming for a direct hit this time. Syani swung her sword, and they locked blades. Kerryan hurried out of the way. He felt he ought to do something, but what? He desperately tried to remember the moment when he'd unleashed that blast on Eydilne. He tried to repeat the movement he'd made then, but it was no use. All he could do was watch helplessly as Arek and Syani each put as much pressure on each other as they could. Finally, Arek gained the upper hand. He shoved her sword aside, and struck. She'd seen this coming, however, and made to dodge his swipe. His sword cut her in the side, but it hadn't dealt nearly the damage he'd intended to. He lunged at Syani again, and she fell to the ground, narrowly avoiding it.
Kerryan could see Arek was going to add to the pressure. Syani was losing. However, concentrating solely on Syani, he had his back to Kerryan. And, for the first time, Kerryan felt it. Something unknown to him. A desire to cut, a desire to fight. Battle lust. He glared at his opponent, who was about to deal a direct blow, and struck.
The next second, it was over, and Arek fell down next to Syani, whimpering in pain. Syani looked up at Kerryan, and her eyes grew wide in shock. It was then that Kerryan actually looked at what he had hit him with, and nearly dropped what he was holding in utter disbelief. This had to be a dream. This was utter lunacy.
He was holding a gigantic crooked poleaxe. The pole was long, crooked, and broad. The blade was at least half as large as himself, but its most disturbing aspect was the fact that it seemed to be burning, only it felt cool to the touch, despite the fact that his hand appeared to be on fire. The axe itself, felt remarkably light, considering its abnormal size.
Arek gasped. He couldn't bring out a word. He felt his back. There was a massive cut were the axe's blade had hit him. Kerryan looked from his axe to the wound in amazement, then recovered. "Syani, let's get out of here! We're done!"
Syani hesitated. She seemed to have lost interest in the axe, and had started preparing for the final blow. Kerryan pulled her arm with his free hand. "Come on!"
She didn't move. She continued looking at Arek. "If we don't finish it now, he'll just continue to come after us."
"Yeah, but-"
"Heh. You're a little too early to argue about that."
They turned around. Arek was grinning. He had gotten to his feet, and though he was having trouble standing, he picked his sword up, and readied himself. "I'm not done yet. I don't know what the hell that thing is, but it's not gonna be that easy." He was panting while talking. His clothes were getting soaked with blood, but he was still grinning.
"Don't be stupid!" Kerryan shouted. "If you try to fight now, you'll kill yourself!"
"I can't fight, can I?" Arek sneered. "Don't... underestimate... me!"
He raised his right arm, his palm facing them, and mumbled a few words. Slowly, a small vortex of water appeared from the centre of his palm. He gripped his wrist with his left hand, and the vortex slowly grew, stretching out in front of them. Syani and Kerryan each ran to a different side again. Arek turned, and the vortex followed the direction of his hand slowly. Arek pointed it at Kerryan, but he was much faster than the spell. Arek dropped his attempt to hit him, and ran away from them, the vortex drifting along. It shrunk back to the small size it first had. Kerryan squinted at hem, then saw what Arek was running at. He dived for his bow, pointed at Kerryan, and pulled the string. The vortex suddenly seemed to become more solid, thinner and longer. It fit perfectly on his bow like an arrow. Kerryan frowned. He's planning on firing a spell at me like with a bow?!
Arek fixed his aim, but just then, a hand knocked his bow upwards and the column of water shot up in the sky. As he turned, he was hit by the side of Syani's sword. "Stop that," she said. "It's over."
She brought down her sword. Just before it made contact, an arrow flew in between them, and she had to jump away from Arek to avoid it. "Who's there?"
"Dear, dear," a voice said. "You seem to have made quite the mess for yourself, Arty."
Chapter Nine
An elf approached. He looked quite like the one they'd been fighting, with the exception that his hair was considerably longer, more curly, and had a slightly lighter shade, and he looked a head taller. He seemed to be about four years older than Arek.
"What did you say?" Kerryan said.
The man raised his hand. "One moment, if you will." He knelt down before the other, who had fallen down. "Well, well. You've still got a lot to learn, eh? I must say though, you did all right. You were just a little too casual."
He stirred. "Sorry... I..."
The man chuckled. "Don't worry about it, Arty. You did fine. It's over now."
He held his hand to the wound Kerryan had made, and a blue-white light appeared from it. The wound got slightly smaller, and the bleeding stopped. He placed his hand on Arek's shoulder, closed his eyes, and the elf vanished.
The man stood up. "Sorry for my rudeness. Things were getting quite hot back there, I saw." He eyed the axe in Kerryan's hand. Seeing their faces, he smiled. "Ah, of course. My name is Arek. Keryan Arek. It's a pleasure."
"Arek?" Syani repeated. "So that other person..."
"Oh dear," the man sighed. "He didn't introduce himself? He still lacks good manners, that boy." He brushed a curl of hair out of his face. "Artea Arek, my son."
This took a moment to sink in. Then, Kerryan repeated, "Your... son."
Syani actually had a priceless look of disbelief on her face. "How old are you then?"
The elf laughed. "Heh... You couldn't pass off for elves for a day. Don't let yourself be fooled by appeareances, little girl. It can be more dangerous than an arrow pointed at your pretty face."
"What's that supposed to-" she blurted out, but Keryan interrupted her.
"But enough about me. So you two, Kerryan and... something ending with 'any', right? Nice to meet you! I couldn't help noticing our names are pretty similar," he added to Kerryan with a wink.
"They are?" asked Kerryan, puzzled.
"Oh sorry," Keryan said, smiling. "Not in pronounciation, only if you spell them. It's a difference of only one accent! Or," he added, seeing Kerryan's puzzled face, "in your preferred writing, only one letter."
Kerryan wondered if he was being rude, not understanding a bit of what this man was babbling about. Said man obviously noticed this, as he said,
"Oh well, I can see I'm not making any sense to either of you, so I'll stop talking."
Kerryan, fearing the worst, started, "Um, just to be clear..."
"Oh, if it's about the letters, don't bother asking. I'm not good at teaching that kind of stuff."
Kerryan thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No, not that! I mean, just to be clear, you aren't here to..." he hesitated.
Syani looked sideways, and finished, "To fight us?"
"Ah," Keryan said, and his face fell. "Well, that's the problem. See, as much as I regret it, well... to put it bluntly, yeah, I did come here to fight you."
Syani folded her arms. "Then why did you-"
"Oh, that was just a bit of small talk before getting down to business. It's considered polite, you know. Actually..." He smiled. "You still haven't properly introduced yourselves."
Syani sneered slightly. "As if you didn't know our names in the first place. If you've come here to fight, then be done with it!"
Kerryan turned sideays. "Syani..."
With a soft chuckle, Keryan snapped his fingers. "That was it! Syani! I knew it, something with 'any'."
Kerryan saw Syani's eye twitch. "Will you just... be quiet?! Get on with it!"
He couldn't help feeling the comical side of this situation. Keryan was obviously doing a good job at annoying her. He suppressed a laugh, but quickly sobered down when he saw a grim expression on the elf's face.
"All right," he said darkly. He slowly raised his bow over his shoulder. "I hope you're ready..."
An anxious feeling swept over Kerryan, and he became aware of the axe in his hand again. He heard Syani readying her sword. He concentrated on the man before him, waiting for him to make a move.
Then suddenly, two arrows flew right in their direction. In an instant, Kerryan knew he'd be too late to dodge it. Instinctively, he swung the axe upwards, and miraculously, it blocked the arrow just in time, making an arc directly above his head and landing a few feet behind him. He turned around wildly, and saw Syani blocking the arrow with her bare outstretched hand. Or so it appeared, but when he looked closer, he saw she was actually keeping it at a small distance to her palm, slowing it down. When it was hardly moving anymore, she closed her hand. The arrow hit her hand relatively softly, then fell to the ground. A cut appeared on her finger, and blood began to trickle down. She was frowning, perhaps considering something.
"Hm... Nice one," Keryan said. Noticing a slight gesture of his hand, Kerryan somehow felt he was about to fire another arrow. He ran away from him before he could let go. Yet as he ran, he heard the whistling of the arrow. He turned too late, and the arrow hit him in the left shoulder.
He felt himself drop his weapon as he doubled over. It felt as if a cruel wasp had stung him. The pain stung from the outside as well as from inside him. Vaguely, he heard Syani shout something, but he couldn't make sense out of it. He was blinded, unable to even think as all feeling left him but that stinging pain...
Then, clearly, he heard Keryan's calm voice. "Sorry..."
He clenched his teeth, awaiting the arrow that would end it... He heard Syani jump in front of him. He wanted to warn her, to tell her it was useless, that she should run...
Just then, Keryan's voice reached his ears again, but this time he almost sounded... afraid? "What the...?"
There were footsteps. "No..."
He opened his eyes with great difficulty, and vaguely saw Keryan turning around. "Sorry. Looks like this'll have to wait."
With that, there was a flash, and he was gone.
Chapter Ten
As soon as the man had left, Kerryan instantly felt the pain wearing off. Within a few seconds, the pain was reduced to that of a simple cut. He opened his eyes, dazed. Groaning, he stared down to the arrow in his shoulder- except there was no arrow. There actually was a simple cut, albeit a considerably large one. Confused, he turned, and saw an arrow sticking in the ground bare inches behind him. Apparently, he had only been cut from the side.
Then he noticed Syani crouched beside him. "What was..."
He stopped, feeling her hand on his cheek. "You're... alright, Kerryan?"
He looked in her green eyes, feeling a little awkward. "Y-yeah, I'm okay..."
Just then, there was a loud noise, like the crunching of wood. Looking up, they saw a large silver coloured bird flying directly towards them. Kerryan groaned. Even with the pain close to gone, he felt exhausted, and barely had the strength to stand up.
"Get down," Syani whispered, rising to her feet. "Don't worry. I'll get it..."
Yet even as she spoke, he noticed she wobbled slightly, and realized her condition wasn't much better than his. Just as he began to despair, he noticed something. He heard a voice, yet at the same time, it felt more like a breeze. He recognised it: it was just like the chants the elves made before a spell. There was a more powerful feel to it, however. It was fiercer, more commanding, yet had a more delicate feel to it. A white circle, about seven metres wide, appeared around them. As the voice got louder, he saw smaller circles and a triangle appearing inside it. Runes emerged around and inside them, as if a visible hand was writing them. After a few moments, it stopped, as if the image was finished. The voice had stopped as well, and now spoke. Kerryan realized it was Artea who had chanted. He shouted to the two: "Get down! Duck, now!"
The bird flew nearer, and it was even larger than Kerryan had presumed from a distance. He hesitated, then obeyed, dropping himself to the ground. Syani didn't move, uncertain. The bird was no more than ten metres away. "NOW!" shouted Artea. Kerryan, deciding they had no choice, pulled at Syani's foot, and she resigned, and lay herself flat on the ground next to him. Directly above them, light gathered in a small vortex to the center. The bundle grew larger and larger. The bird flew at them, baring its talons. It opened its beak and let out a high, horrible screech. As soon as it entered the circle, the bundle separated into tiny particles of light which fired off in every direction, thus creating a large shockwave. Kerryan and Syani watched in amazement as the creature was struck. The particles pierced the beast as they passed through it, and with a flash, the creature was forced out of the circle, after which it fell down with a tremendous crash. Slowly, the light faded, and a burnt smell emerged from the bird.
Kerryan was still wondering if he'd actually seen what he had just seen, when he heard Artea behind him. "You can come up now, you know."
Syani leapt to her feet at once and folded her arms. "So, what are you doing here?"
Kerryan reacted a little later, still staring at where the image had been. He rose to his feet slowly. "Rather," he mumbled, "What was that...?"
Artea shrugged. "Oh, it's a simple display of our more powerful magic."
"Magic?" Syani repeated.
Kerryan looked up at him. Somehow, the word seemed familiar, though he couldn't place it.
"Sheesh, you don't even know about magic? Man, you two couldn't pass off for elves-"
"...for a day," Syani finished grumpily. "So we've heard. So just what is it?"
"It's the pride and joy of the elves," Artea said rather smugly. "While some of us have trained with the bow and the sword as well, every elf is born with the ability to use magic. That beauty back there was called Fry, by the way. Being able to use that spell is a sign of adulthood, it seems. Anyway, humans need weapons to fight, whereas elves can defend themselves at anytime with magic. It looks like you two are a different story as well, though," he added, glancing at Kerryan. "You with your stupid axe..." He showed them his back, where his tunic was ripped, and some bandages were visible.
Kerryan thought about what he'd heard. Humans... That word rang a bell as well, but he couldn't remember where he might have heard it before. When Artea mentioned the weapon, he turned around, and saw the axe had vanished. "Ah right." He was about to apologize, when he remembered why he'd used it in the first place. Syani, probably thinking the same thing, rounded on Artea: "So, what have you come here for? If you're trying to attack us again-"
"Hey!" He prodded her forehead. "Think, will you? I just saved your lives! What way of thanking is that?" He folded his arms, and frowned. "Anyway... you beat me, fair and square. There's no reason for me to fight you again. But I've been talking too long. There's danger here. There are loads of these birds around our village. That's why Dad- why Keryan Arek left, you know. He and Lady Eydilne are taking care of most of them at the northern side. But I sensed another one over here, on the eastern side, so I thought I'd better get rid of it."
"So you came to save us?" Kerryan asked.
"Hey, don't get me wrong! I didn't come here to save you, I came here to protect my village! It just so happened you got saved in the process."
"Right." Kerryan thought for a moment, then said, "You mentioned that Eydilne earlier..."
"We've stood here chatting long enough, thank you!" Artea cut in. "I'm going to round up the rest, so-"
"Arek!"
Artea turned, and saw a younger boy staggering, holding a bundle of cloth in his hands. "Hey! What's going on?"
The boy, white as a sheet, tried to respond, then fainted. As he fell to the ground, Artea rushed towards him, catching the bundle right before it fell. He peered in it, and gasped. "It's... Karyn..."
Kerryan and Syani ran up to him. Looking over his shoulder, they saw a little baby in the clothe. "What?"
Artea looked pale. "It's... Eydi- Lady Eydilne's kid..."
At that moment, the sound of flapping wings emerged in the distance.