CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“Did I interrupt something?” asked Gillock. He had kept his squirrel form until they were safely inside Glavlin's room.
“I am not sure,” was the elf king’s response. “When I am around her my emotions overpower my good judgment.”
Gillock sat down beside him on his bed. “It sounds like you may be connected to her in some way.”
Glavlin gave Gillock a doubting look.
“Don't doubt my hypothesis. No one knows her full potential, or even what all of her abilities are. Koral is an elemental wizard and the fact she is a human makes it an impossible thing. Somehow, she may be sending her emotions onto you. Of course you have to be feeling some of the same emotions for it to be affecting you that badly.”
Gillock, seeing his friend squirm, knew he had hit the mark. A thought, which disturbed him. He was glad to see Glavlin finally thinking about love, something he thought his friend would never consider, but picking a human was not what he expected.
“I think it is because we connected so well these past few days,” came Glavlin's voice a few minutes later. “I do not recall ever feeling this close to someone. I feel I could tell her anything, and she would understand. As if my past would not matter to her.”
Gillock sat up. He had not thought about Glavlin's past being an issue, but apparently, the elf king did. In addition, there were certain similarities between what was going on with Koral and the prophecy and Glavlin's past. “Glavlin, what happened was not your fault. Your birth may have triggered events, but you were not the cause.”
“How many people, including my father, have died over the last ninety-five years because of my birth? How can I justify my own existence when so many have died? I know I am young by elven standards and war is something my people have experienced many times within the last thousand years, but living every day is still hard for me.”
Gillock sat staring at his friend. He was indeed young, only ninety-five years old. By elven standards, he was a young adult, and his entire life had been one trauma after another. He was thrown into his royal duties at the age of twenty when his father disappeared and as he said, his birth had not been a good thing. “I'm glad you are finally feeling something other than guilt. You're a young king, but you are a good king. Don't forget you have many friends, and your subjects are loyal to you. There are many people with whom you can talk to about all of this.”
Glavlin gave him a half smile. “I know you understand, but what of everyone else,” he asked, motioning out the window to Eric, Koral and the rest of the group.
Gillock smiled back. “Your people may not know the whole truth, but they still follow you. Do not doubt them, especially now.”
Glavlin shook his head. “And what of Koral?”
Gillock sighed. “That’s a decision best left to you, but remember, she does have feelings for you. She may not understand what she is feeling, but I'm certain Koral thinks she’s in love with you. Handle the situation with care, but you can let it take its course. Who knows, maybe when all of this is over we will be attending a wedding.”
Gillock's attempt at humour shocked Glavlin, but he laughed anyway. “To dignify that with some type of response would be beneath me,” he remarked. “Now, you should be getting back into your squirrel form. I have to go and find Koral and apologize for throwing her out of the library so rudely.”
Gillock smiled, glad to see his friend’s humour returning. He transformed himself back into the squirrel and set out to find Elizanne. She may want to hear about her daughter’s new found love.
Koral and Eric sat, eating their lunch, in silence. Koral, brooding about what happened in the library, and Eric, about having to sit and do nothing.
“This is getting ridiculous. How long are they going to keep us here?” grumbled Eric.
“I have recommended a month,” said Glavlin. Eric turned to see him approaching, and it appeared to the young prince, he had purposely snuck up on them.
“Why a month?” Eric demanded. The anger in his voice was apparent.
Glavlin moved to stand beside Eric. “You and your sister need to be trained to use your magic.”
Koral nearly choked on the water, she was sipping. She had thought Gillock would be the one preparing them magically. “What are we to learn?” she asked.
“There is going to be a time when the two of you will need to combine your magic to gain something which will help you fulfil the prophecy. It will take some time for you both to master it so we best get started.” Glavlin had responded to Koral's question, but had kept his eyes on Eric. When he started to move away, the twins scrambled to catch up. “What about the mess we have there?” asked Eric.
“I will take care of it,” said Adora.
Neither one turned to thank her; instead, they ran to catch up with the quick moving elf.
They followed him to the library. Eric’s response to its vastness was the same as Koral’s had been, but more vocal. However, Glavlin did not give him any time to digest his surroundings. Instead, he spirited them off to a small room at the back of the library.
“I have already discussed Melarandra with Koral so this will make more sense to her,” he began, taking a seat at the only table in the room. The twins joined him. “There have been many prophecies over the years, but they are all insignificant next to yours. You will be restoring the life force of the earth and thereby bringing back life to the world.” Glavlin could tell they were both a bit confused but continued anyway. “All magic is connected. When some of it dies, other parts will weaken or get stronger, depending on the magic. The strongest magic is that of the earth. The only ones to possess it are the woodland beings. Elves, fairies, some gnome tribes, and dwarves. Humans and other beings possess other types of magic. The only way they have been able to use elven magic has been through the use of amulets, potions, and specific spells.”
Koral was going to comment, but held back. Glavlin, knowing what her comment would have been, decided to make it easier to ask it. “Of course, this all leads to an unusual question. How is it that you, Princess Koral, possess earthly based magic?”
Eric’s mouth dropped but it was Koral who spoke. “Yes, that is an unusual question. Do you have an answer? I had thought my mother possessed it?”
“No, to both. Your mother can manipulate water with the help of the amulet she wears around her neck or with an actual spell. As to you being able to do it on your own, Gillock and I had discussed that curiosity, but neither one of us could come up with a solid answer. All we do know is, you are a very special human, and no one must ever know about your abilities.”
Glavlin saw Eric scowl. He certainly did not like hearing that news. “You are also different, Prince Eric.”
Glavlin’s remark caught Eric by surprise. “Why do you say that?”
“Well, you are a War Wizard. This means you have strong destructive powers that are naturally within you. Your ability to manipulate fire, without the help of an amulet, shows that you are very powerful. That is different because one of your kind has not been born since the Wizards War ended.”
Eric could tell the news shocked his sister, but he was quite pleased. Finally, he was just as good, if not better, than his perfect sister was.
“So when do we get started training?” asked the prince.
“Soon. Gillock and I discovered a passage in a book stating if magic needed to be returned to the land, a magical mist had to be created for it to again be free. That is why the twins were in the prophecy. With Koral’s water ability and your fire ability, you will make the mist.”
“So how do we do it?” Eric asked.
“I am not certain. Gillock thinks it will take much practice for the two of you to be able to do it. It may sound like an easy task, but it will take the right amount of both water and fire to make the proper mist and both of you are not used to using your magic.”
“Well, I guess we should be getting started,” remarked Koral, though
her thoughts were unsure she was capable of doing this task.
Glavlin sighed. “Well, to start I need you both to read up on your abilities. There are two books here. You will need to find them and read every word found within.”
To Eric, this felt like a simple task. “So where are they?”
Glavlin smiled. “You need to find them yourselves. I cannot help you until you understand your abilities better.” The elf king watched them both, searching for reactions he did not want to see. He was not surprised to see the upset look on Eric’s face, but was disappointed.
“How is that fair?” spat Eric. “There must be thousands of books in here and you expect us to find two measly books?”
“It is part of our training,” said Koral, her voice showing a hint of anger. “The books will call out to us, wanting to be read by those who will understand its contents.”
Glavlin was surprised. He did not expect either of them to figure out the first part of the training so quickly. “Very good, princess. So, you both better get going if we are to be ready to leave in a month.”
Eric shot out of his seat and ran into the library. After Koral just showed him up, he wanted to be the first to find his book and prove he was just as smart. Koral had expected him to be enthusiastic about finally learning more about his magic, but she hadn’t expected him to be so arrogant about everything.
Eric ran to the centre of the library and stopped. “Concentrate,” he said to himself. He remembered the meditation Gillock used to make them practice, and decided this was the best way to find his book. Eric closed his eyes, and slowed his breathing. Once he was in a perfect state, he sent his thoughts out to find the book. For minutes, he felt nothing, not even a twinge that he was getting close. Eric could feel his anger starting to swell inside him. His thoughts became that of Glavlin helping Koral so she could be done first.
Eric was quite wrong, of course. He could not sense the elf king, who was standing just a few feet away, watching the young prince. Eric pushed the negative thoughts from his mind and went back to searching out his book. This time he sensed something. It was weak, and felt distant, but it was there. Slowly, and not opening his eyes, he headed in the direction in which the book appeared to be calling from.
Glavlin was surprised at how quickly Eric had put himself into the meditative state needed to find the book. He had expected the prince to just start running around pulling books off the shelves. Glavlin was pleasantly surprised that the prince appeared to finally be making mature decisions instead of rash choices. Maybe he would impress them all by becoming the prince they knew he could be.
Within minutes, Eric had his book in his hand. Glavlin faded into the shadows as to not be seen, and headed back to the little room. Eric arrived in the room a few minutes after Glavlin.
“I found it!” exclaimed Eric, his face beaming with an ear-to-ear grin.
Glavlin smiled. “Then start reading. There is no reason to wait for your sister.”
Eric quickly took a seat and began reading his book. Within moments, he was completely enthralled by the stories of War Wizards of the past.
Glavlin had thought Koral would’ve returned not long after Eric, but almost an hour had gone by and she was still not there. Eric was completely oblivious of this fact as the book had entranced him, but Glavlin was starting to worry. The library was vast, but someone getting lost rarely happened. Something was wrong.
Grund watched as the twins entered the library with Glavlin. “Seems they be learnin’ about their magic,” came Drundle’s voice from behind.
“Those two be needin’ more then o month, I be thinkin’,” replied Grund.
Drundle laughed. “Don’t ye be shootin’ down those two. There be more t' them than meets the eye.”
Grund turned to face her. “What be your thinkin’ on the council’s decision,” he asked.
Drundle’s smile faded. “I be thinkin’ they be fools for tellin’ ya ye cannot be goin’ with them. But, knowin’ ye the way I do, ye be plannin’ on goin’ anyway.”
Grund wasn’t shocked at all by her blunt statement. “Ye be right. This be too important to be standin’ by and waitin’. Will ye be comin’ with me?”
“Try 'n stop me,” she responded with a smile.
He was about to make a comment when the door of the library opened, and Koral came out. “Now what this be about.”
Drundle turned to see Koral, eyes closed, walking towards the groups sleeping quarters. “I not be knowin’ but me thinks we best follow the lass.”
They followed and watched with awe as the princess made her way to the elf sleeping area. With her eyes closed, she was still able to manoeuvre around obstacles with ease. When she arrived at Glavlin’s bedroom door, she stopped. Moments passed, then with a simple wave of her hand, the door opened. The two dwarves did not follow her in, but were quite stunned when she came out carrying a book.
“Now why she be stealin’ from the elf king?” asked Drundle.
Grund just shrugged his shoulders and moved out of the princess’ way as she came past. They had expected her to go back to the library, but instead she went to the centre of the clearing where everyone met each day. Once there, she sat down, opened the book, then did nothing. For an hour, they watched her, and from what they could tell, she was still in a deep trance. “Me thinks it be time to get Glavlin,” remarked Grund.
“Ye stay, I be gettin’ the elf king.”
Grund just nodded his response, but Drundle was up and running towards the library. She was about to open the door, when the elf king pulled it open and nearly trampled poor Drundle. “You best be comin’ with me, yer highness. Yer princess be doin’ somethin’ strange.”
Glavlin followed the quick moving dwarf to where Koral was seated in the clearing.
“She took the book from yer room, highness,” said Grund when they arrived.
Glavlin was in shock. Gillock had told him the twins needed to find two books in which to learn from. It never occurred to him, he had meant the books of magic. Why had Koral been drawn to his? Slowly, he started towards the princess, but she quickly got up. Glavlin stopped as Koral raised her hands above her head. It sounded like she was chanting something, then suddenly Glavlin’s hairs stood up on his arms. He was about to move again, but Koral had begun to glow so brilliantly, no one could even look in her direction. When the light had gone and everyone could again look at her, she was gone. In her place, stood the most unusual looking tree.
“Oh no,” exclaimed Adora’s voice from behind the dwarves. “She has invoked the spirit of the earth.”
Glavlin fell to his knees. “I think we are in a great deal of trouble.”
“Yes, I should say so,” came a voice. Everyone turned to see Gillock. “I think we had better find the prince, before something else happens.”
Everyone quickly made his or her way to the library to find Eric. They arrived in moments, to the room where Glavlin had left him, and found him still there. The room, however, was not how the elf king had left it. The entire room was smouldering, as if a great fire had started and was extinguished. Glavlin moved to try to get Eric’s attention, but it was to no avail. The prince was unconscious, and all attempts to revive him failed.
“We are most definitely in trouble,” surmised Gillock, and no one argued the point.
“What do we do?” asked the elf king.
“We wait,” was Gillock’s response.