The Queen said, He is strange. She paused, then added, There is no sense of kinship when he is before me.
Acaila nodded. These Taredhel have changed far more than any of our kin during their time out among the stars. He looked thoughtful. Though he does seem almost enthralled by our great trees; he calls them the stars, at times. When he is not with the Spellweavers he wanders the forest floor, touching the boles, almost as if he disbelieves they are real.
Aglaranna said, We may be as strange and unexpected to him as he is to us. We think of ourselves as unchanged since the time of the Chaos Wars, but that is probably not true. She looked at her husband, knowing Tomas had memories of those days.
You are a stronger people, more noble, more at one with the world around you. You have risen. He looked back out over the forest below. These Taredhel have risen, too, but in a very different fashion.
He talks of cities, said Acaila. Great cities of stone and glass, with massive walls and sky-vaulting towers, elven cities.
Aglaranna said, That sounds strange to my ear, elven cities.
He hides things, said Acaila, but makes a common error speaking of things he assumes we already know. Like geomancersSpellweavers who work with rock, stone, and mud as our Spellweavers work with the living magic of our forest.
Others who command fire, water, and air.
Elementalists, said Tomas. I remember. He looked out over the forests again. When the Valheru were gripped by the madness of Drakin-Korin, and built their first city at Sar-Sargoth, they gave that magic to their chosen builders. He turned to see the Queen and Acaila looking at him intently. He smiled. You dont think the Valheru dirtied their hands building that city, do you? he asked wryly.
Acaila said, Then what happened to those who built Sar-Isbandia?
Tomas shrugged. Those who remained here, who became the Moredhel, they lost those arts, apparently. Their magic-users have never been a strong presence, or a threat to us. Tomas paused, then said, What this says to me is these Taredhel may be more of the Moredhel than Eledhel.
Aglaranna said, We are all Edhel.
Acaila inclined his head in a gesture they both read to mean I wish it were so.
Tomas spoke, Yes, it would be a noble thing if all the tribes of the Edhel were as one. He looked at his wife. For every Moredhel who finds his way here, who returns to us and forsakes the Dark Path, we have slain a dozen. It is in their nature to seek out power. He looked at Acaila. And it appears the Taredhel have found that power.
Aglaranna said, What do you propose, husband?
I think it is time for me to have a private discussion with our guest. He turned to Acaila and said, Ask Gulamendis to meet with me at the entrance to the Holy Grove.
The old Eldar bowed slightly, then bowed deeper to the Queen, and departed. After he was gone, Aglaranna said, Why the Holy Grove, Tomas?
This Gulamendis seems to be struggling with something, that thing I see as bringing danger. I dont presume to know what it is, but I do know that there is no place on this world that can give any elf more strength to make difficult choices than the Holy Grove. Acaila says Gulamendis is almost consumed by wonder over these ancient trees.
She nodded. I understand.
Tomas sighed deeply. And I think I need to provide one more, additional prod.
She watched silently as her husband went into their quarters to don his white-and-gold armor.
Gulamendis followed the elf detailed to escort him to his meeting with Lord Tomas. He found her a fair example of the females of the Eledhel, though their women were too dainty for his taste. Most of the Taredhel women stood as tall as the Eledhel men and were more strikingthen he considered it was mostly a matter of taste and that this female was attractive in a rough-hewn fashion.
They passed down a path in the woods that took them some distance from the heart of Elvandar, away from the majestic trees the Demon Master could not help but think of as stars. When they reached a clearing, she halted and said, Lord Tomas will meet with you shortly.
He said, Thank you, and she left him alone.
At first glance, there was nothing remarkable about this clearing, but he did feel a faint, gentle flow of energy. It was nothing he could identify, yet it did feel familiar, as if he heard the echo of a song he couldnt quite remember. Since arriving at Elvandar, Gulamendis found himself feeling an unexpected conflict; his agenda was anything but simple, but it was straightforward: establish a relationship with these primitive elves and use them as a means to recruit allies against the Demon Legion. He had no doubt the demons eventually would follow the Taredhel to this world.
The blame heaped upon him and others who explored demon lore was unfounded; it was by no arts of his or any other Taredhel magic-user the demons reached the first outpost of the Clan of the Seven Stars, the colony on the world of Estandarin. And it certainly was no fault of any demon master the colonists had not destroyed the translocation portal before the demons reached the translocation hub in Shadin City on Dastin-Barin. From there they spread like a cancer, infecting four other Taredhel worlds.
At first the Taredhel were supremely confident they could crush the attackers, for they had never known defeat in any conflict. But the demons appeared endless. Despite taking uncounted casualties, the demons were unrelenting.
The Demon Masters knew the truth, but no one in the Regents Meet would listen to them; there was a gate, somewhere, on Estandarin perhaps, through which the demons were pouring into this realm. Gulamendis tried to find other Demon Masters with whom to consult, but their years of isolation and distrust, as well as several having been killed outright as being responsible for the war, made it impossible for any coherent picture of the demon realm to be drawn.
He only knew what he knew from his years of study and consulting with his handful of trained demons. But whatever the truth behind the demons reach into this realm, he was certain somehow they would follow from Andcardia to Midkemia. If he was wrong, no harm done in gulling these elves into allying with the Taredhel; they would be allowed to serveyetThere was something about this Queen, this Aglaranna. She may truly be of the ancient line, for when he beheld her for the first time, Gulamendis felt something deep, basic, andsomething right. This woodland was not familiar to him, yet there was something profoundly familiar to him.
As if reading his mind, a voice from behind said, It is the ancient home.
Gulamendis turned and felt a shock close to a physical blow. Tomas, the Warleader of Elvandar, stood behind him wearing a suit of armor, white and gold, but in a style alien and arcane. The golden dragon on his tabard captured the Demon Masters eyes, and when he finally looked Tomas in the face, he saw something behind his eyes he had not seen before, when in the Queens Council. Within this being resided an ancient power, and now he let it show through.
The Demon Master felt himself tremble, albeit slightly, for instincts long-stilled in his people awoke, and he found himself in awe and terror of another being for the first time in his life. Generations of arrogance and a self-aggrandizing certainty of superiority fell away. If his experience with the Demon Legion had given him doubts about his peoples supremacy, one look at this being, this avatar of an ancient power, and he was humbled.
Almost whispering, Gulamendis said, Ancient One
Tomas held up his hand and the Demon Master fell silent. This demonstration is to cut to the heart of this matter, Gulamendis.
Master, whispered the Taredhel magic-user. Even though he stood nearly six inches taller than Tomas, the Demon Master felt dwarfed in the presence of this icon of the ancient race that ruled over all elves.
Tomas said, This is the Holy Grove. This is the heart of Elvandar, and the fundamental essence of your race springs from here.
Gulamendis turned to regard the young trees and then he recognized it. This grove was where the saplings of the great trees the Taredhel called the Stars, were tended and nurtured. He had seen the majestic boles of the mature stars, but this was the first time he s
aw them being cultivated. He knew with certainty than when his ancestors fled from this world, this is where they uprooted the Seven Stars to carry them to Andcardia.
Yes, said the Demon Master.
This is where the Edhel began, said Tomas.
Yes, repeated Gulamendis.
It is a time for plain speaking. Why are you here?
The Taredhel looked away from Tomas and back to the grove. He said, I have reasons for what I do, Lord Tomas. As he spoke, his feeling of being overwhelmed by the presence of the man in ancient armor diminished, though it never fully left. He took a deep breath. We are fleeing a horde of demons, beings who have swept across every world the Taredhel have taken as their own. He looked at Tomas. How many live here?
Tomas thought a moment and said, Within the heart of Elvandar, ten thousand and a few more.
Throughout the world?
Tomas said, We only guess, but the Moredhel to the north likely number more, perhaps as many as twice our numbers, but they are widely scattered and fight among themselves more than they trouble us.
Others?
Across the sea, perhaps four, five thousand of those we call Ocedhel. Down in Baranor, another thousand and some, most of whom migrated from here.
Perhaps thirty thousand among the scattered tribes of the Edhel, said Gulamendis. He reached out and gripped Tomass tabard front as if needing to hang on to something. Hoarse with emotion, he said, We were millions! We were the Eldar! We were. Acailas band were what we were when we left Home, but we made ourselves so much more than you can imagine, Dragon Lord.
He let go of Tomass tabard and turned away, moisture in his eyes as he look around. At last he said, This is like looking into the past, for me. He turned, hands outstretched. We can never be this. He made a sweeping gesture. We can never return to living in trees. His eyes welled up and tears ran down his face. No matter how beautiful or venerated those trees are. We have become something else.
Looking directly into Tomass eyes, he said, We will never wander into these woods to ask to be taken in, to have returned, as I have heard tell. The Moredhel were the least of uswe call them the Forgotten, for they were those base servants who were permitted to serve us, the Eldar! They envied us, their betters. You remember!
Tomas nodded. Since he donned the white-and-gold armor of a long-dead Valheru, memories came unbidden over the years, sometimes triggered by circumstances or a word, other times seemingly at random. His memories of the long-dead Ashen-Shugar were not complete, but many of the things said by Gulamendis he knew to be true.
Gulamendis made a sweeping gesture with his hand. You permitted this, Lord. You and your brethren. This was where the elves arose, to serve the Valheru! Without this, we are nothing. He turned and again looked directly into Tomass eyes, his expression almost defiant. We took this with us! We uprooted seven saplings from this grove, bound their roots as a mother wraps a child, and we carried them across a bridge to another world.
The foundation of our history was that journey. Before thathe again waved at the grovemay as well be myth, for we arrived on Andcardia with what we carried, seven saplings, a few tools, and our knowledge.
We planted those seven trees, our Seven Stars, and we built our home around them. First, hovels of wood and animal hide, but we mastered that world, and now our cities make those of any other world look like rude mud huts. We are a prideful race, we of the Seven Stars, Lord, but we have earned that pride.
Tomas nodded. I take no issue with who you are, Gulamendis. I need only know your purpose in coming here. If it is not to take refuge from the Demon Horde, what is it?
To find a way to save what is left of the Clans of the Seven Stars.
Explain, said Tomas, crossing his arms before him.
We cannot survive if the Demon Legion follows us to Midkemia. None of us.
Tomas said nothing, regarding Gulamendis coolly.
We need you, and the humans and the dwarves. We need anyone who will resist the Demon Legion.
Tomas said nothing for a long moment, then asked, Why not simply tell us this when you first came to us?
I needed to Gulamendis paused, looked completely around the grove, then said, This calls to me. Itspowerful. I see you, Valheru, and fear, hate, and a dread all echo through my being. I thought He paused, gathered his thoughts, and said, When my brother and I, and a few others, conceived of our plan, we knew we must quickly find those already on this world, our Home, who would unite with us should the Demon Legion come.
So you understand clearly, when you remember the days before the time of chaos, when the gods raged across the sky, and the Dragon Lords rose to challenge them, in that time we, the Taredhelwe stood first among your servants.
Tomas closed his eyes a moment, and then opened them to look at Gulamendis. The Eldar were our most trusted servants.
The use of the word our was not lost on the Demon Master. He said, Acaila and his brethren are descendants of librarians. They were stranded on the world
Kelewan, supplied Tomas.
Kelewan, echoed Gulamendis. One of the Dragon Host abandoned them there. What they achieved was remarkable given their limited resources.
But we are the true Eldar. We were your housecarls, your ministers, your emissaries when you needed to negotiate with one another, and we were your lovers.
Tomas again closed his eyes and memories of elven females of astonishing beauty kept near his throneAshen-Shugars thronereturned to him. He nodded. Yes, you were first among our slaves. There was a hard edge to his voice, and he didnt fully understand why he felt the need to emphasize the elves position relative to the Valheru.
Gulamendiss eyes narrowed and his expression was almost defiant. We are more than what we were, Tomas, he whispered and his tone was full of menace. I have no doubt you could cut me down with your golden sword before I could take a step. I will not contest that, but should you face a dozen of us in the field, you would be challenged. And we number in the thousands.
A threat?
No, a warning, perhaps not even that; lets call it a courtesy. We do not come to you as lesser beings. We come to you as equals. He looked back at the grove and said, We venerated those who had the responsibility for these groves. They were the most fundamental of us, those closest to the soil of this world and the very life-giving things nature offered.
But they were gardeners. Your Queens ancestors were gardeners, nothing more.
Tomas said nothing for a moment, now fully understanding. You view them as your inferiors.
They are rustics. They are farmers and hunters and fishers of the sea, nothing more. Those are honorable crafts, but they are not who we were or have become.
We are the scholars, the academics, the explorers, the crafters of devices and weapons. He pointed to Tomass chest. That armor, that sword, my ancestors crafted it for you. The devices that let you fly to other worlds, they were our invention.
How do you think we were able to flee during the time of madness and find safe haven on Andcardia? We were the builders of the translocation portals and we were the ones who took the tools and tomes, scrolls and books. We were forced to contrive the means to do by arts what you did through hereditary magic. It was the dragons who could carry you across the void to other worlds not your own. We bowed to your might, because we could not command dragons to carry us, but we found ways to achieve what you achieved, and we did it without you! He looked back again at the grove. His voice softened. And we took from here that which reminded us of our beginning.
But we are not who we once were, and we have returned here out of need. But we will take what is ours, without asking your leave.
You present a troubling attitude, Gulamendis, if it is shared by all of your people.
With a wry smile, the Demon Master said, I am moderate in my view. The Regent Lord will look upon your wife as a threat.
Tomass eyes narrowed as anger rose up, and he said, You do your cause little good. Let any threaten my Queen and they will k
now the extent of my power, Gulamendis.
I am not a threat. But you should know there are others among my people who will see you as one.
We thought it would be fairly simple. We assumed the elves remaining on this world would be in ascendance, as we have been for thousands of years, and that any other races we might choose to deal with would be an afterthought. Then my brother spent months exploring this land.
Tomas said, It was your brother then who was seen in the valley north of Dolgans holdings?
He was seen?
Humans number some gifted trackers and your brother was not adept at hiding his passage. A Ranger of Natal came across his spoor and was curious as to why there were tracks and yet he could not recall who made them moments after seeing your brother. So he followed and when your brother established a rift
Rift? said Gulamendis.
His way home.
We call it a portal, said the Demon Master.
Ah, said Tomas. That is when your brother revealed himself. He was closest to King Dolgans village, and from there came to see my Queen. You can imagine the concern at the appearance of an elf unlike any encountered in the memory of any elf or dwarf.
At the mention of Dolgan, Gulamendiss features darkened. Weve had issues with the dwarves in the past, and they have never come to an easy conclusion.
Tomass eyes narrowed. Dolgan is among my oldest friends, a dwarf of gentle heart and iron resolve. I have placed my life in his trust on more than one occasion and he has proven stalwart. I trust him as I trust few others.
Gulamendis inclined his head slightly as if to say it was of no serious concern.
Tomas said, So then, to the heart of it. Why have you come here?
To seek an alliance should the demons come, and to help you understand that while you and your lady command respect, that is all; obedience will not be offered. We are no other races thrall.
It was Tomass turn to indicate by a small gesture that this was not important. Your ancestors fled this world before the one whose armor I wore took to the skies to tell all below that they were now a free people.