Chapter 2
Yazadril’s home was formed in the side of a great oak tree that was over six hundred feet tall. After a quick stop at the top of the pass, Yalla flew him to his balcony, two hundred and ten feet above the ground. She bade him a quick farewell and flew off, stifling a yawn.
The senior wizards of his people were waiting in his home when he returned. All twenty-four of them were gathered in his central room, chatting brightly about the human and speculating imaginatively about him. Yazadril’s wife and daughters bustled about, serving refreshments.
“Were you not informed that I wished you to keep these matters confidential?” Yazadril sternly and loudly asked, and the group suddenly fell silent. “And yet the moment I return I find you in my home, and two of you discussing how the human passed the Wards, right in front of my wife and daughters! Thus, you are needlessly endangering them, and ultimately all of us!”
“Calm yourself, Yazadril.” Theramin smiled, smoothing his graying beard down over the front of his blue satin robe. As always, the stout little horticultural wizard was unperturbed. “It was necessary in order to maintain a semblance of normality. The fact that we have a great secret is itself a great secret, and if we act like we are trying to conceal a secret, the fact that we have one is revealed. Thus we meet here, as we would if the human truly were unimportant, rather than in The Council Hall or the Hall of New Magic, where we would be expected to meet if the danger he represents were more immediate. And since we are meeting here, it was necessary that your family be trusted with this, as it would have been impractical to exclude them.”
“Yes, yes, I see your reasoning, though you should have consulted me before endangering them with this knowledge!”
“I am sorry about that.” Theramin smiled, not looking sorry at all. “At least you know that your home is absolutely proof against eavesdropping, be it intentional or accidental!
“Now please, tell us what you have learned, we are bursting from the suspense!”
“In a moment!” Yazadril snapped, then his manner softened completely as he turned to his wife. She had set her tray of appetizers on a shelf and moved to his side, where she stood patiently waiting for his attention, her light blue eyes glinting with the little smile of amusement that she gave to no one else but him.
As always, his heart soared as she flowed into his embrace, and he knew he was the most fortunate being in existence.
“Ahh, Nemia, I love you so.” he crooned into the thick, curly blond hair just above her ear.
“As I love you, my husband. You are well?” she returned.
“Very well, my lovely wife. Though these developments do bring unknown dangers, they bring unknown opportunities as well.”
His twin daughters, Talia and Dalia, were practically identical, and very similar in appearance to their mother. Rather than approach their parents upon their father’s return, they continued unobtrusively serving cordials in tiny crystal stemware, but they shared a warm smile with their parents by way of greeting. After all, their father had been home only yesterday, and there were guests. And of course, this strategy lessened the chance that they would be sent from the room before the interesting news was delivered!
Yazadril quickly related the gist of the day’s events, finishing with his decision to invite Alilia to join him in studying the unique phenomenon that had manifested in their new guest.
There were dubious looks exchanged among the assembled, and again Theramin spoke. The rest, as usual, were content to let others take the initiative in anything that was out of the ordinary.
“That was well done, though you take a risk in revealing so much to your new pupil.” Theramin nodded. “But, I think you did not do so well in your negotiations with him. Five years is not so long.”
“True, but his wants are modest, and he was resolute. It is difficult to bargain well with such a person.” Yazadril conceded. “I gained the right to study him for the rest of his life, and that was the most important thing, even if it means being out in the world.”
“Granted.” Theramin agreed. “But you may wish to reconsider having Alilia assist you in this learning. The work she does here, with yourself and others, is valuable, but it is also well known that she comes here to do such work because she considers it a welcome vacation from the stresses and tensions of her role as Princess of the People of Life.
“And Yazadril, I can assure you that the majority of the stresses and tensions in the lands of the forest elves are caused by humans. As I am sure you know, Alilia’s folk are bordered by three ethnic groupings of humans, each with their own kingdoms, language, culture and customs, who have each hated and mistrusted the others for millennia, with petty wars and feuds unending. This has had a disastrous effect on their cultures, which have become cruel, excessively restrictive, and at times reprehensible. This has been reflected in their dealings with The People of Life.
“Because of this, Alilia’s feelings toward humans in general are not kind. To put it bluntly, she despises the lot of them.”
Yazadril considered. “You are right in that her opinion of humans will not make this work any easier. But given a few hours in which to get to know Markee, she will see that he is not like that. And she will be able to see the importance of this research. What one can do, others can learn to do, and she will not like the thought of humans walking unimpeded through her Wards, any more than I do.
“More importantly, she is the only one who has the qualities I need to assist me in this, beyond one or two of the wizards of the plains elves, and I must admit that I am unsure that those are entirely trustworthy anymore, since they have embraced living among the great empires of the humans.”
“That is all true enough.” Theramin agreed. “So I suppose you must ask her, though she may refuse.”
“I think I can convince her.” Yazadril smiled, and turned to the group of wizards. “Do any of you have anything to add?”
None did.
“I will serve as barber and tailor to your young friend, my love.” Nemia smiled. “I will gather the supplies for such a task. And Theramin here is the obvious choice to supervise the construction of a house.”
“I am.” Theramin agreed proudly. “Though I will not grow him a tree outside the valley. I will consult with him as to the style of architecture he would prefer.”
“Excellent, and thank you both.” Yazadril smiled. “I will cast a Speaking to Alilia now, while we are all still gathered here. She is more likely to control her temper before such a group, I think.
“Alilia?” he called.
Rather than answer his Speaking, Alilia responded by casting a Projection of herself. Her image suddenly appeared before him in all her glory, her bright white hair flowing from beneath a slim gold and diamond tiara, and cascading down over her white silk robe, which was belted with a sash of woven gold thread. These were contrasted by her warm brown eyes and her peaches-and-cream complexion.
“Yazadril! What a surprise to hear from you! And in such august company, too!” she laughed. “You know I am not due there until next spring! There is not a problem, I hope?”
“A potential problem, and a potential opportunity as well, dear Alilia.” Yazadril replied, and quickly outlined the developments.
“Kill him.” Alilia stated flatly when he had finished. “Kill him now, before he can escape, before the human wizards can learn of him!”
“It may be too late for that. His entire people were horribly killed by magic most foul, and while I think they were merely caught in the crossfire between two distant wizards, we cannot know for sure until we investigate those events.” Yazadril stated. “Besides that, even if I were willing to destroy the knowledge and research opportunities he represents, I have sworn that he will not be harmed or impeded by me or mine.”
“Which does not include me! So I will kill him!” Alilia insisted.
“I have placed him under my protection, Princess.”
??
?But have you sworn to it?! Damn it Yazadril, I love you like a brother, but you are being as gullible as an unfledged duckling! Can you not see that he was probably sent to breach your Wards, whether he realizes it or not? Can you not see the danger here, the danger to us all? Imagine if this spreads, and suddenly anyone can breach our Wards! We will be engaged in warfare until the sun burns out, simply to hold our lands!”
“I do see the danger, Alilia, and I am not quite as gullible as all that.” Yazadril exclaimed patiently. “I can assure you that no one has sent him here by Compulsion, or by any other magical means. Given his condition, such a thing is impossible. You can trust my knowledge on that. We must understand this, so that we can strengthen our Wards against a repetition of it, if nothing else! And it is within my jurisdiction, so it is my duty to deal with this as I think best, for my people, and for all of us.
“And beyond that, he is truly a gentle and honorable person, and so young he is barely adult. He is my friend, Alilia, and I am sworn.
“You see that I need someone of strong power to assist me in this, so that we can completely test his limits, and that assistant must be an intuitive, someone who can act instantly without calculating first, in case one of our experiments goes awry. And I need someone I can trust to keep our findings confidential, should they prove to be as dangerous as we fear.
“You are my dear friend, Alilia. And you are uniquely suited to this task. I will not ask it of you, if you can honestly recommend a suitable replacement for yourself in this project. Think on it a moment.”
Alilia’s timelessly beautiful face clouded as she considered, her warm brown eyes squinting in concentration. Finally she shook her head. “Damn you Yazadril, why must you be right about absolutely everything absolutely all of the time?” she asked in quiet frustration. “Yours is the best course of action, and I am the best possible choice to help you.
“Give me an hour to prepare things here for my absence, and to assign a regent.”
She suddenly turned her head, obviously listening to someone at her location who was beyond the range of her spell. “Yes I am, it is Yazadril. I am off to The Nine Valleys, and it is likely that I will be gone for five years. Yes. Take my travel case there with you, for I will have enough to bring without it.”
She turned back to Yazadril. “My young son Bezedil wishes to come visit for a time, as he has never been to The Nine Valleys. He will be there shortly.”
As she said the word ‘shortly’, a young adult elf appeared beside her image, accompanied by the soft ‘poof’ of a Translocation that had been accomplished with less than perfect atmospheric displacement. Like most forest elves, he was dressed in cotton-lined mottled brown silk trousers and tunic with deerskin boots, and had dark brown hair and eyes. He had appeared in a slightly bent over position, maintaining contact with his hand on an ornately carved wooden trunk. The effect of his presence on the magic field showed him to be a wizard of serious power.
He straightened and glanced around, then bowed with a smug smile. “Greetings, you must be Yazadril! My apologies for the error in displacement, I am afraid that I had slightly miscalculated the volume occupied by Mother’s travel case.”
“If you have truly Translocated here from your mother’s tree in a single step, while carrying that luggage, then you are being overly modest. It was magnificently done, my fine young fellow!” Yazadril exclaimed. “How did you target it, since you have never been here?”
“I followed Mother’s Projection, actually. That was the challenging part.”
“And it was foolishly done!” Alilia’s image snapped in anger. “You know what would have resulted if someone had been occupying that space!”
“And I know that no one would have the audacity to stand so close to you, Mother, or even so close to your image!” Bezedil laughed. “Besides, you could see that the space was clear, and I picked that up from you when I encompassed your Projection as a targeting beacon.”
“And you were showing off!” Alilia stated angrily.
“Yes I was, and I wonder where I might have picked up such a trait? Perhaps from a dear mother who would use a full-body Projection to answer a Speaking?”
“Bah! Be more careful, or you will find yourself stuck in the middle of a mountain some day!” Alilia scolded, and turned back to Yazadril. “I will be on your central room’s balcony in an hour. Be sure it is clear.” And with that, her Projection abruptly ended.
Yazadril realized his Speaking was still active, and ended it.
“Well young fellow, allow me to introduce you to the senior wizards of The High People!” Yazadril grinned, and began making introductions.
An hour later Alilia appeared on the balcony, along with a tall wardrobe full of clothing and several boxes and baskets of personal possessions. She knew the size and shape of herself and her possessions to the thickness of a hair, ensuring that they exchanged places with the air that had filled the space they now occupied without a whisper of sound.
“Be welcome as always, Princess Alilia, to my home, and to the lands of The High People!” Yazadril said in greeting as he stepped out onto the balcony, and they exchanged a warm embrace.
“Thank you, Yazadril. As always, it feels good to be within the tranquility of The Nine Valleys.”
Nemia had followed her husband out, and she also exchanged a warm embrace with Alilia as Yazadril stepped back. “Welcome, Alilia. How is your husband?”
“Thank you, Nemia, it is so good to see you.” Alilia smiled. “And my husband is a drunken stud with an eternal erection, as always. I will call him here when I desire his presence in my bed, but until then it is best that he stays out from under my skirts. How are your young twin daughters?”
“They are well. Talia is as shy as always, and Dalia is as bold as ever. In fact, one could almost see the sparks flying when Dalia met your young Bezedil, and as we speak, she is ‘showing him her room’!”
“Ah, that would be a good match, I think!” Alilia chuckled as they entered the central room and sat. “Of course, at their ages, it is almost certainly nothing more than youthful dalliance, but I thrill to think of the children those two might produce in a century or three!”
“Yes, it is good that our girls inherited their mother’s strength with the power, as well as her beauty!” Yazadril chuckled.
“And their father’s incredible intellect!” Nemia laughed as she poured cinnamon tea for the three of them. “The thought of our blood being joined with yours through our children is a profound and joyful one!”
“Indeed. Your Bezedil certainly does you proud.” Yazadril commented.
“Yes, he is my son through and through!” Alilia laughed. “Luckily, he inherited nothing from his father, beyond his handsome looks. And perhaps his eternal erection, if I can judge by his popularity with the young females, and with some not so young!”
They shared a laugh at that.
“You know, he did not show it from birth like I did, but he is as much a wizard now as I was at his age!” Alilia continued proudly.
“I am not surprised.” Yazadril chuckled. “Even if he has less inherent power than you, he has had you for a teacher.”
“Perhaps, but his style is different from mine. He can work intuitively, but he enjoys knowing the theory behind what he does as well. Perhaps you could give him some of your time in that regard while he is here?” Alilia inquired.
“I will be glad to.” Yazadril nodded. “Though I am unsure of how much time I will be able to give him. I am already committed to teaching my girls and Markee, and this research project is of great urgency.”
“That is truth.” Alilia agreed. “You know, I simply cannot picture you being friends with such a… person. What is he like?”
“Well, he is well educated, for a human of his age, and very respectful, in his way. Not deferential, mind you, except when he first met me, for then he thought I was a god! But he is respectful.”
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“A god! You? Why would he think that?” Alilia giggled.
“He said I was glowing. I believe he can see my power, somehow. But he is a good youth. He trapped some small game, a rabbit and some squirrels, and said a prayer to apologize to their spirits for their deaths.”
“You refer to his youth. How old is he?” Nemia asked.
“He is sixteen years old, though one would never guess it to look at him.” Yazadril chuckled. “Here, let me show you.”
He cast an Illusion of Markee, and the young man’s image appeared in the center of the room, or at least his image from the shoulders down appeared, since the ceiling was only seven feet high. “That is how huge he is. I will move the image down, so you can see what he looks like.”
The image moved down, its feet and ankles disappearing into the floor, until the top of the head was below the ceiling.
“By the Source! He is a monster!” Alilia exclaimed.
“Hardly a monster!” Yazadril laughed. “He is simply more in need of a barber than anyone else I have ever seen! Nemia has agreed to perform that service for him, which I am sure will leave him in a far more presentable state.”
“His body hair is disgusting!” Alilia said with a shudder, and pointedly looked away. “You should shave him from the neck down when you shave his face, Nemia! He is probably infested with lice and ticks and vermin of every variety!
Suddenly Nemia stood and screamed: “Dalia!”, and Translocated so hurriedly that she made no attempt to compensate for air displacement. The sudden implosion of air that resulted sucked both Yazadril and Alilia from their seats to their knees on the floor.
Then Alilia screamed: “Bezedil!”, and she also disappeared, though she compensated for displacement perfectly, without even considering it.
The horror and terror in their voices struck Yazadril’s heart with a lance of panic. Though he was risking his own life and the lives of others to do so, he Translocated to follow, targeting his wife’s unknown location without taking the time to project his consciousness there, aiming to appear three feet behind her.
His aim was understandably off a bit, and he appeared a foot above the ground below his home. He fell to his knees in the grass, just as Nemia looked straight up and screamed: “Talia!”
He looked up, following her gaze, to see his daughter falling directly toward them!
Nemia cast Levitate on her daughter faster than Yazadril would ever have believed possible, but Talia was then only twenty feet above them and falling sickeningly fast. Nemia had more than enough power, but it could not be in time! But someone else was also throwing their talent and power into Nemia’s spell, and Yazadril thought for a fraction of a second that it might be enough.
Then his shoulder was seized in an iron grip and he was thrown forward to his hands and knees, and Alilia’s voice was screaming in his ear: “Read him!”
There before him, close enough to touch, were the twisted, shattered and bloody bodies of Dalia and Bezedil. He gaped in shock.
Beside him, Talia impacted Nemia with a sickening thud and drove her to the ground, as his wife physically caught his remaining daughter. Even with another to boost her, Nemia had been unable to cancel all of Talia’s momentum without hurting her.
Yazadril did not even have time to consider whether either of them lived.
“Too late for Dalia! Read him!” Alilia screamed in grief and rage, and she roughly seized Yazadril’s head with both hands. Her immense power and will flooded into him, and he had no choice. He cast the Reading, and merged with the sickening remains of Bezedil’s dying mind. Less than a twentieth of the young elf’s brain still lived, and it would be dead as well in a second or two, but the power that Alilia poured into him was of such immensity that he was able to Read the last few seconds of Bezedil’s life. He was later to learn that everyone in the valley was forced to experience it with him, so intense was the power and projection of the Reading.
For those few seconds, he was Bezedil. He was in a dim room, and Dalia was in his arms, her lips soft beneath his in a loving kiss, their bodies about to join, his heart filled with love for her. There was the sound of a door opening, and sudden light from the doorway. He looked up in surprise to see Dalia in the doorway, her face struck with the grief of betrayal. He looked down at the girl in his arms, and realized to his horror that it was not Dalia he held, but Talia. He looked back up as Dalia ran across the room and leaped through the curtains and out the open window. He tried to scream “No!”, but his voice could only make a hoarse croak around the lump in his throat as his mind filled with guilt and horror and grief. He sprang from the bed and ran naked the three steps to the window, leaped through without slowing, saw Dalia’s sickening and fatal impact against the ground far below. Hopelessness overcame him, and he made no effort to save himself.
Alilia wrenched them both out of the vision before they could experience Bezedil’s impact, as the last of the young elf’s mind died.
Alilia released Yazadril, and he slumped to the ground as he was overcome by a blinding headache. He vomited violently, and barely managed to avoid choking on it.
Then he was overcome by panicked concern for his wife and Talia. He forced himself to his hands and knees and looked to them in time to see Nemia finish Healing his daughter and herself. Then they both began to cry, with great wracking sobs of utter grief, Nemia on her knees holding Talia, who lay utterly limp and naked in her mother’s embrace.
He looked to the shattered bodies before him, and his own eyes flooded with tears as the reality of Dalia’s death struck him fully.
“You caused my son’s death! Now you will die!” Alilia suddenly screamed, her face awash with tears as she seized a fistful of Talia’s hair.
“NO!!!” Nemia screamed as she knocked Alilia’s arm away from her daughter and imposed herself between them.
Talia simply lay there limp and crying, and did not appear to have noticed that Alilia had ripped a handful of her hair out when Nemia had knocked the arm away.
“If you kill her you had best kill me too, Alilia, for you will make a Death-Enemy of me!!” Nemia screamed, her sudden rage matching Alilia’s.
“SO BE IT!!!” Alilia yelled, spraying the other with spittle, and gathered her power.
“Have mercy!” Yazadril croaked, and spat out the remains of a mouthful of vomit.
“She raped my son by trickery, and because of that he is dead!!!” Alilia screamed as she turned on him. “Why should I have mercy on her?!!”
Yazadril swallowed hard and shook his head to clear it of lingering stars as he struggled to his feet. He forced himself to speak with a semblance of calm. “Have mercy on me, Alilia! I have lost a child this day, as have you! Please, do not take my remaining daughter as well! Do not take my wife! I am begging you, Alilia, for the sake of the friendship we have shared these last four thousand years!
“Talia has lost her twin sister, and her love as well, for she could not have done such a thing if she did not love your son! She obviously did not mean for this to happen, and could never have foreseen such a horrible consequence! She will have to live with this result for the rest of her days, and it hurts her enough that she tried to take her own life! Has she not suffered enough?”
“I cannot let this pass!!!” Alilia yelled as she shook tears from her eyes, and her power gathered to her so strongly that the magic field seemed to boil around her. In a split second, so quickly that Nemia could not impede her, all of her power concentrated in her right fist and she spun and struck over Nemia.
“I CURSE YOU!!!” she screamed as she punched Talia in the face, breaking the girl’s nose even as all her gathered power was passed into Talia with a bright flash at the violent contact.
Alilia was left completely drained, both physically and magically, and she slumped to the ground.
Nemia quickly Healed Talia’s bloody nose, though her daughter’s inherent healing had already begun.
Talia had suddenly stopped crying with the blow, and stared in utter shock at her mother’s face as she was Healed.
Yazadril also stared in shock. As overwhelmed as he was by events, he realized that he had never heard of any curse being delivered with a tenth of the power Alilia had used. A tenth?! Not even a hundredth!
Alilia crawled to her son’s bloody remains and slumped upon them, crying piteously.
Talia screamed. Her scream was louder and more horrible than was physically possible, as she involuntarily augmented it with her power.
Nemia cast Sleep upon her daughter, to no effect, and the scream went on and on.
Yazadril staggered over and cast Sleep upon her as well, and again, and finally the scream ended as Talia lost consciousness.
He realized that a few of his people had gathered, and four of them were huddled together twenty feet away. The rest stood about in shocked sadness at what had occurred.
Dilimon rose from the four who were huddled, his tears flowing freely, and walked over to Yazadril. “He will be all right.” he stated.
“Pardon?” Yazadril asked in confusion.
Dilimon indicated the three who had been huddled with him, who were now rising to stand, one of them holding a very young elf in her arms. “It is little Jinimin, only twelve years old. He drained himself almost to death boosting Nemia’s Levitation spell with his own, to help save Talia. But we reached him in time. He will be all right.”
“Oh. I did not know.” Yazadril said, almost unable to think. “I… I owe him much, then.”
“Yes.” Dilimon nodded gravely. “I think he arrived here just before you did, and acted in a panic. An amazing thing, really. At his age, he should not even know how to attempt such a feat yet.”
Theramin arrived in the shape of a great eagle, and assumed his own form as he landed. He looked around for a moment, taking in the scene. Then he walked over to Alilia and cast Sleep upon her. She was so drained and grief stricken that she did not even realize he was doing it. He gently rolled her away from her son’s body, and straightened her now bloodstained white robe.
He stepped to where Nemia was quietly sobbing as she sat and rocked her unconscious daughter in her arms, and cast Sleep upon her too, catching her as she slumped backward and lowering her gently to the grass.
He straightened and turned to Yazadril and Dilimon.
“Thank you, Theramin, that was kindly done.” Yazadril said quietly. “No need for them to watch while the children are… are… By the Source, I cannot even say it! My poor Dalia!” He covered his face in his hands and wept again.
Theramin nodded sadly. “Dilimon?”
The young Sentry nodded, and deftly caught Yazadril as Theramin cast Sleep upon him as well.
Yazadril woke late the next morning in his own bed, clad in a white cotton nightgown. Talia slept fitfully beside him, similarly clad. The tears had been washed from her face, her blonde hair brushed and tied back with a blue ribbon. He could see from the state of the bedding that Nemia had been asleep on the other side of Talia, but had already risen.
He found Nemia in the kitchen, still in her own nightgown. She stood before an empty teapot, the tea leaves spilled on the counter beside it, her head bowed, quietly crying. He moved to her, and she turned into his embrace as his own tears flowed anew.
“Oh Yazadril, how could this have happened?” Nemia sobbed.
“Ah my love, young hearts are wild, and their emotions are strong and sometimes overwhelming.” Yazadril told her softly. “And it is not so surprising that Talia and Dalia should fall in love with the same young male. They were so exactly alike in so many ways.
“I have suffered the death of my children before, but the pain is so much greater this time, as Dalia was so young. Her life had only just begun.”
“Yes. She was barely out of childhood, and now she is gone. What will we do, Yazadril? How can I live without her? How can I live with this horrible grief?”
“We will cling to our love for Talia, my dearest, and care for her with all our hearts. She will need all the love we can give her. And we will hold to our love for each other.”
“What will happen to her?” Nemia cried. “I have never seen such a curse as she has suffered! And I cannot believe that Alilia was ready to kill us both!”
“Alilia was driven to madness by her own pain and grief, my dearest. I cannot truly blame her too much. Mind you, if she had killed either one of you, she would have paid dearly for it.”
“Easy to say.” Nemia stated bitterly. “But no one among the High People has the power to harm her, as you well know.”
“Ah, you are wrong there, my love. I would truly have hated to do it, but I could bring her down.” Yazadril sadly mused. “I have never had to face one as powerful as she is in combat, but I have triumphed over others who were far above me in pure power. It takes very little power to kill someone, if it is applied correctly. The outcomes of such encounters can never be accurately predicted. That has never been more clear to me than it is right now.”
His voice gained its own note of bitterness. “She with all her power, and me with all my knowledge, and neither of us could even save our own children!”
“We cannot blame ourselves, Yazadril.” Nemia sobbed. “As you say, it was the foolishness and impulsiveness of youth. No one could have foreseen such a tragedy.”
The door chime sounded, and Nemia stepped back and bravely wiped her tears away. “I will cry for Dalia at times for the rest of my life, I think, but you are the Prince of our people, and we have our duties.” Nemia said as she tried to regain her composure. “You answer the chime, and I will clean up this mess, and make us some tea and some breakfast.”
“Thank you love.” Yazadril nodded.
When he opened the door, he found Hilsith waiting on the railed lifting platform that served those who wished to visit his home without flying, Translocating, or climbing the many steps that spiraled up the outside of the trunk of the great oak tree. Hilsith was an immigrant from the northern elves, and she was the most skilled Healer among the High People, though she was only seven hundred and sixteen years old. Her hair and her skin were both pure white with the slight blue tinge of new snow, and had been so since the day she was born. Her eyes were such a light gray they were almost white as well, and she was dressed this day in a simple blue smock.
“Greetings, Prince Yazadril. I have come to check on you and your family, especially Talia.” she said as she stepped inside. “And I must offer my most heartfelt condolences on the passing of dear Dalia.”
“Thank you, Hilsith.” Yazadril nodded as he led her to his bedroom, and a sob escaped him, though he tried to contain it.
Hilsith wrapped him in a warm hug and let him cry on her shoulder for a moment, then he stood back and tried to regain his composure. Hilsith let herself into the bedroom without another word, and closed the door.
Yazadril rejoined his wife in the kitchen, where she was preparing flat cakes manually, without the aid of the magic she would usually have used to speed such a task. Recognizing that it was wise to busy themselves in such activities, he began arranging sausages in a pan for heating in the oven.
When Hilsith entered the kitchen they had filled their plates and poured tea, only to find that neither could bring themselves to eat a single bite.
“Talia will sleep for a few hours yet, if none too restfully.” Hilsith reported as she seated herself and was handed a cup of tea. She waved away the breakfast she was offered with a polite gesture. “There is little to be done for her right now, especially without knowing the nature of the curse that Alilia has cast upon her.
“Dalia and Bezedil have been prepared for their final ceremonies, and lie in state in the Council Hall. You should go there to see Dalia and mourn her. Your last memories of her should not be as she was last evening.
“And Yazadril, Theramin asked me to tell you that he has conveyed your apolog
ies to the human out by the border, for your having missed your meeting with him last night. Apparently, he also consulted with the human as to his preferred style of dwelling.
“You both must eat, even if food is like ashes in your mouths. Especially you, Yazadril. At your age, if you do not keep yourself up, your body and your spirit could fail in an amazingly short time. One cannot live on self-healing alone, and if you try to, you will soon lose the will to do so.”
“I still have a beautiful young wife, and a beautiful young daughter, and my duty. I will not fail them, you can be sure of that.” Yazadril stated. He hesitated a moment, then forced himself to eat.
“Was it you who cared for us as we slept last night, Hilsith?” Nemia asked.
“It was.” Hilsith nodded.
“Then I thank you. It could not have been easy or enjoyable.”
“I have cleaned and bedded down many sleeping and unconscious patients.” Hilsith said with a dismissing wave of her hand. “It is a common duty for Healers.”
“Of course, but I thank you nonetheless. How… How fares Alilia?”
“About as one would expect. She woke early, and has recovered her physical strength already. And even as expended as she was, her power recovers quickly as well, more quickly than I ever would have guessed. She is in the Council Hall now, viewing Bezedil and mourning him.”
“Ah. We should follow her example before too long, so that we can return before Talia wakes.” Nemia murmured sadly.
“That would be best.” Hilsith nodded. “I will remain here, in case she should awaken before you return. If you can, speak with Alilia. Ask her to tell you the nature of the curse she has cast upon Talia. It is the opinion of the Council that Talia does bear some small responsibility for the suicides of Dalia and Bezedil. But for the most part, it is thought that they chose their deaths of their own will, and with insufficient provocation, especially Dalia. It is also recognized that Alilia, in her disconsolate state, may have meted out a punishment that is unjustly harsh. If so, well, there may be little to be done about the injustice of it, but that will be decided by wiser minds than mine; primarily yours, Yazadril. If it is decided that the curse is unjustly harsh, it will be my task to try to minimize the suffering it may cause to Talia. With your assistance of course. And possibly Alilia’s.”
Yazadril continued eating without reply.
Nemia took a bite and chewed. She tried to swallow, but choked on it and had to spit it back onto her plate as she was again overcome by weeping.
Hilsith embraced her just before Yazadril did. They rubbed Nemia’s back and murmured soothing words, to little effect.
Finally Nemia rose and tearfully excused herself to dress. Yazadril decided he had choked down enough food, and did the same.
The Council Hall of the High People had long ago been a tunnel between First Valley, where Yazadril and his family lived, and Kemsah Valley, the second of the Nine Valleys. Over time the tunnel had been expanded into a great hall, a hemispherical hollow in the bedrock two hundred and twenty feet across and a hundred feet high, its floor and the dome that formed the walls and ceiling polished to a smooth light-gray shine, brightened by skylights and glow-spheres.
Today a few hundred elves were within, most gathered into small groups scattered around the vast floor-space, talking quietly among themselves or softly weeping. A few were standing at one of the two gleaming white marble open caskets that had been placed twenty feet apart near the center of the hall, viewing the deceased and paying their respects.
Yazadril and Nemia were offered many subdued greetings and condolences as they slowly crossed the vast floor to Dalia’s casket. Their relatives and Dalia’s closest friends were gathered around it, a few of them crying softly, all with tear-tracked cheeks.
Dalia’s body had been expertly prepared, and at first glance she looked like she was merely sleeping, clad in a white silk robe, her blonde hair softly flowing over a white satin pillow. It was difficult to believe that this was the same flesh that had lain so twisted and broken on the forest floor beneath her window on the previous day’s afternoon.
Nemia would have collapsed at the sight if Yazadril had not supported her, and they were again overcome with weeping.
Nemia drew them away until they could no longer see Dalia, and they cried a few minutes more. Silently, they prayed that Dalia’s spirit had found peace, though they knew that the missing gods would never answer.
Then they made their way to Bezedil’s casket, which was loosely surrounded by forest elves of The People of Life. Those made way for them, and as they drew within sight of Bezedil’s body, they saw that Alilia sat beside it on an ornate wooden chair, her hands folded in her lap.
“Alilia,” Yazadril said, then choked on the lump in his throat. He cleared it a bit, then tried again. “Alilia, we are deeply sorry for your loss.”
“As I am for yours, Yazadril, Nemia.” Alilia calmly told them. Her face was a rigid mask of self-control, though tears still slowly trickled down her face. “And I must apologize for my behavior yesterday. My treatment of you during Bezedil’s Reading was… atrocious, Yazadril, as was my threat to your life, Nemia.”
“We do forgive you that, Alilia, as it was quite understandable under the circumstances.” Nemia softly said.
“Thank you.” Alilia nodded, never looking away from Bezedil’s face.
There was a strained silence for a moment.
“I have lived four thousand, eight hundred and fifty-six years.” Alilia quietly stated. “And during that time, Bezedil was the only child I have ever borne. I am not very fertile. I will probably never have another.”
“I… I did not know that.” Nemia stammered. A moment later, she began softly crying again.
At this, Alilia rose from her seat and embraced Nemia and Yazadril, and all three cried together.
Those gathered around moved back, to give them a semblance of privacy.
When their weeping had subsided, Alilia went back to her chair, and to her contemplation of Bezedil’s face.
Yazadril cleared his throat as he tried to think of a kind way to ask what he had to ask. “Alilia, I… I hate to have to ask this now, but we must know. What is the nature of the curse you have cast upon… Well, what is the nature of the curse?”
Alilia did not answer for a moment. “I was thinking that my son is forever dead because she had raped him by trickery, and so I cursed her to be raped until the end of days. That is her sentence.”
Yazadril and Nemia could only stare in shocked surprise for a moment.
“But… Raped?” Nemia finally asked. “How is that possible? No one could do such a thing, no matter if it was justified or not!”
“No elf could do such a thing.” Alilia quietly agreed, nodding.
Again there was a long, strained silence.
“So, how then…?” Yazadril began before Alilia interrupted him, her eyes flashing to his, her voice tight with anger and bitterness.
“I have given her to the damned human!” she cried, seeming loud in the great quiet space.
A moment later Nemia fainted, and Yazadril caught her, swept her up in his arms.
“He will only live another seventy years, at most!” Yazadril stated accusingly. “If he were any other, I would expect the curse to extend his life to match Talia’s life span! But since the curse cannot directly affect him, I expect it will kill her when he dies! So you have sentenced her to an early death after all!”
“She is not sentenced to be raped until the end of her days, Yazadril, but until the end of days!” Alilia barked. “As long as the sun rises above this world, he will rape her! Forever and ever, as far as we are concerned!”
“But… How can that be?”
“How should I know?” Alilia asked, her voice returning to calm, her gaze to Bezedil’s face. “It is not a spell, it is an intuitive curse. It is enough that I said that it would happen, and the curse took enough power
from me to make it so. My power may not be fully recovered for a year, or it may never be. A human can live longer than you think, perhaps as long as one hundred and twenty-five years. The curse will last at least that long, for it will let nothing kill him. Perhaps after he dies, it will animate his corpse, so that his dead body can keep raping her, and perhaps when she dies, it will do the same to her. One corpse being raped by another, until the sun eats the world. Or perhaps when he dies the curse will fail. I do not care. It will last long enough that I will see her punished for my son’s death.”
“Your son killed himself in a moment of youthful foolishness, as my daughter did!!!” Yazadril yelled. “Can you honestly say that Talia deserves what you have done to her?!!! That for a few moments of stolen pleasure she deserves to be raped by a corpse for millions of years?!!!”
“No.” Alilia admitted calmly. “It was done in a moment of thoughtless anger, and it was horribly excessive. I do not care. I can do nothing about it now. After I have seen that she is punished by him a few times, you can kill me for it if you wish. I will not hinder you from taking my life, for with Bezedil gone, my will to live is gone with him.”
Yazadril could only stare in shock for long moments, then his eyes hardened. “Perhaps I will kill you, Alilia. Or perhaps I will gather the power to cast a similar curse upon you. You can spend a few thousand years taking turns with my daughter, being raped by the corpse of my friend.”
He waited only long enough to see the shocked fear on Alilia’s face, before turning and carrying his wife from the hall.
Nemia woke in his arms as he left the hall and emerged into bright sunlight. “You have not carried me like this since I was a child.” she murmured. “I knew even then that you were my destined love. I was only eight years old when I first saw you, and I knew in a moment that you were destined to be my husband.”
“Did you?” Yazadril asked in surprise. “Well, you certainly took your time at letting me know about it!” he chuckled.
“Would you have believed me, if I had told you at the age of eight that you were my destiny?” Nemia giggled.
“No, I suppose not.” he smiled.
“When I became an adolescent I rebelled against the idea, as I was so attracted to young males my own age.” Nemia mused. “I convinced myself that you were too old for me, and that my feelings for you were only childhood foolishness. Still, my heart leaped in my chest every time I saw you, and to escape that, I moved to Final Valley to live with my aunt. As far away from you as I could get while still remaining within the lands of The High People. My parents could not dissuade me, so a month later, they moved there as well. And there I dwelt for two centuries, happy but lonely for love. Then came the day you visited, to oversee the renewal of the Wards. The moment I saw you I knew how wrong I had been, and I ran away and cried for all the decades I had wasted. Then I washed my face and brushed my hair, and put on my prettiest blue dress…”
“And you came and told me in no uncertain terms, that you were to be my wife!” Yazadril laughed, caught up in the memory.
“Yes! And you stared at me like I had grown another head!” Nemia laughed.
“Is that what it looked like to you? I was so smitten by your beauty that I could not even speak! Your words filled me with such hope, that I was terrified that you were only teasing me!”
“Truly? I was so afraid that you would reject me that I stepped up and kissed you! I knew you would not reject me after that!” Nemia giggled.
“I remember. I remember it like it was this morning. And from that moment, I knew not one moment of unhappiness. Until yesterday.”
Their mood sobered, and he continued carrying her home, between the widely spaced gigantic trees.
After a while Nemia spoke again. “Yazadril, my love, I know not what will happen to Talia, or what the curse will do to her, but as long as we have each other, I know we can find a way to be happy. I will never stop loving Talia, or stop trying to help her, but even if the worst happens, we cannot give in to despair. Right now I feel more horrible than I ever dreamed I could, but whatever happens, we cannot let it ruin the rest of our lives.”
“I know, Nemia. I cannot lose you. I could not bear to live without you.”
“Or I without you.”
When they arrived home they discovered Hilsith asleep at their kitchen table. Yazadril called to her, then shook her shoulder a little, then more firmly, to no effect. He quickly read her aura, and shook his head in consternation.
“She has had Sleep cast upon her. By Talia.” he pronounced.
“Talia!” Nemia cried as she ran from the room.
Yazadril hurriedly cast Awaken on Hilsith, and hurried after his wife.
He found her hurrying from their bedroom.
“She is not in there!” Nemia told him, sounding on the verge of panic.
“Check her room, I will check Dalia’s!” Yazadril said.
“Talia! Talia!” they called as they hurried from room to room.
“She is here!” Hilsith called from the central room, and they hurried there, then out to the balcony, where Hilsith stood in amazement.
Talia floated in mid-air, four feet past the balcony’s railing, spinning slowly in all directions like a child using her first Levitation spell, with no attempt to control her orientation. Her nightgown was mostly covered with her blood from the waist up, because Nemia’s largest kitchen knife protruded from her chest. It was clearly through her heart, because the handle bounced a little with her every heartbeat. Of course, her heart should not have been beating still, with the big knife through it, but there it was. Talia was softly crying, hanging limply in the air.
Yazadril cast Movement upon her, and gently stopped her spinning while drawing her into his arms. Then he almost fell with her, because the moment she was back onto the balcony the Levitation spell dissipated. Talia had not dismissed it, it simply ended.
Yazadril carried her in and gently laid her on the couch. He discovered as he did so that the knife point protruded from her back, when it cut his arm.
He Healed his wound as Hilsith carefully tore Talia’s nightgown from the neckline down the front. Only a few drops of blood still leaked from around the wiggling knife blade. Hilsith firmly grasped the handle and pulled it straight out. Talia gave a short scream and convulsed a moment. The wound healed as fast as the blade was removed. It was completely gone the moment the tip of the knife came out of her flesh, and no scar remained to show it had ever been there.
“Talia? Talia? Please speak to us my love.” Nemia quietly begged.
“I cannot kill myself!” Talia sobbed. “The curse will not let me fall, it will not let me die, and I will go to him! I will go to him soon, I cannot resist the urge to do so! I am damned!”
“Talia, we know what you are going through.” Yazadril gently told her. “Alilia has told us of the nature of the curse. It is a powerful curse, but I will find a way to defeat it, I swear I will!”
“You should have let me die yesterday!” Talia sobbed bitterly. “I cannot live without Dalia! I cannot live without Bezedil! I cannot live with what I am going to do! Oh sweet Source above, the curse is so horrible!”
“Listen to me, Talia!” Yazadril told her insistently. “You must have faith, my love! In eight thousand years, I have never met a problem that I could not solve eventually!”
“Then kill me! Find a way to kill me! You must, Father! Swear it to me, please!”
“I will not.” Yazadril stated firmly. “Listen to me Talia; Alilia made a mistake when she chose to give you to Markee, of all people! He alone is immune to magic, my love! The curse cannot affect him, and it cannot make him do anything! He is truly a good soul, and he will not rape you! I am certain of it!”
This finally seemed to release Talia from her dark mood a bit. Her crying slowed, then stopped. She slowly sat up and wiped her eyes and face with the hem of her ripped and bloodied nig
htgown.
She looked up at her father, and he recoiled a bit from the horror and intense pain he saw in her face, then he threw his arms around her and hugged her tight.
“You do not understand.” she told him, and her heart-rending pain was plain in her voice. “He will rape me. I will make sure of it! I will do whatever I must to make him do it!
“The poor boy is damned for eternity! If he truly is a good soul, it is the most tragic part of this entire tragedy.”
She gently pulled back from Yazadril’s embrace and took his hand in one of hers. She held her other hand out to Nemia, who clasped it in both of hers. Tears flooded both their faces, but they managed to not be overcome by weeping.
“I am so very sorry for the death of Dalia.” she told her parents. “She was… She was half my soul.
“And now I must go to him. Father, please cast Tongues upon me, so that I can speak his language.
“Mother, please help me to choose something to wear that might make me appear attractive to a human, if such a thing is possible. I know that it may not be, since we are not even of the same race. But this will be easier for him if he does not find me repulsive.
“Actually, since humans and elves have been known to produce half-elven children, you are of the same species, if just barely.” Yazadril told her. “At any rate, it is well known that many human males find elven females to be very attractive indeed. And you are very beautiful, Talia.”
“That is good, then.” Talia nodded. “Please, help me prepare quickly. The urge to go to him grows stronger by the moment. If you do not help me, I will go to him regardless. You cannot stop me, and I cannot stop myself.”
“Come then.” Nemia said as she stood and wiped her eyes with her handkerchief. “I have some clothing that I made for myself when I was preparing for my marriage to Yazadril, when I worried that he might be too old to feel desire for me. A needless worry, as it turned out, but the garments are very enticing. And I will enhance your coloring a bit.”
As her bedroom door closed behind her and Talia, Hilsith turned to Yazadril.
“Theramin and Dilimon have requested to accompany you when next you visit the human.” she told him. “And I think it would be wise if I was there.”
“I agree, and I will inform Theramin and Dilimon that we are preparing to go.”
“There is a knight of The People of Life on the ground below us.” Hilsith continued. “I suspect he is monitoring Talia’s whereabouts somehow, so that he can inform Alilia when Talia goes to the human.”
Yazadril shrugged.
“And Yazadril, I am sorry I was caught unawares by Talia’s Sleep spell. I should have monitored her more closely, as I should have suspected that she may still be suicidal.”
“That is all right.” Yazadril nodded. “We learned from it.”
“We learned?” Hilsith prompted.
“That Talia cannot suicide, and perhaps cannot be killed in any way.”
Theramin and Dilimon arrived a minute later.
“Greetings, Yazadril.” Theramin gently said when Yazadril answered the door. “I have been chosen to represent the Council of the High People in dealing with the question of Alilia’s curse upon Talia. Dilimon here will represent the Sentry Corps.”
“Welcome, both of you.” Yazadril said as he ushered them in.
“We both met Markee last evening, when we explained to him that you would not be meeting him due to a family emergency.” Dilimon told him. “We gave him a few supplies and things to make his camping more pleasant, and visited with him for an hour or so. He is quite a likable fellow.”
“He is that. And he has had a grave injustice done to him.” Yazadril sadly revealed, then related what he had learned of the curse. “We will see what we can do to minimize the suffering that he and Talia face. Time enough to reach judgments after that.”
Soon they were ready. All except Talia had changed into their hiking clothing; stout boots, pants and tunics suitable to walking in the forest, as Yazadril had worn when he met Markee. Nemia carried a large basket of barbering and tailoring supplies.
Talia wore a garment that was as enticing as any there had ever seen on any elven female. Since Yazadril had seen it years before, and had happily removed it from Nemia’s giggling form, he knew that it was composed of a long white silk ribbon with hundreds of strips of almost-transparent white gauze sewn to it’s edge. The ribbon was artfully wound around Talia’s torso from her armpits down to her hips and back up again, where the two ends were tied in a bow over the center of her collarbone, so that when she stood still the overlapping strips of gauze covered her from just below her shoulders to halfway down her thighs. When she moved, the gauze strips moved in the breeze, revealing tantalizing glimpses of her nakedness beneath. Her tiny feet wore matching sandals of white silk ribbon over white leather soles. Nemia had enhanced Talia’s color, brightening the blue of her eyes to an incredible magic sparkle, and deepening the pink of her lips and the blush of her cheeks in a subtle way that enhanced the fine bone structure of her face. Dilimon had stared at her a moment before he recovered his aplomb.
“We are ready.” Yazadril told Talia, unsure how she wished to proceed.
“I will walk.” Talia said, the horror and pain still plain in her voice, though her eyes were now dry. “I must go to him, but I am in no hurry to begin my torment.”
“Then we will walk as well.” Yazadril said, and led the way to the door, then down the many steps to the ground.
When they reached the ground, they found Alilia waiting for them by the foot of the spiraling stairway. Talia faced her, and spoke unflinchingly.
“I sorrow for the death of Bezedil.” she stated quietly. “I would gladly have burned in fire for eternity if it would have saved him.”
“Then you should be glad that I did not think of that, for if I had, that is exactly what would have happened to you.” Alilia calmly returned.
Talia simply nodded, turned, and set her feet upon the path to the pass.