Steven Burke - The Broken Council

"We must go at once to meet with Mistress Kana," she said with ever-mounting anticipation. It is happening just as she had said it would. She felt a rush of wild excitement and passion surge through her body. I will get what I want and save many of the elves from the ill fate that awaits those who will not follow me. General Yukio will be by my side, and then I can go to work on changing the destiny of the elven nation.

"Why are we meeting with an Elemental?" Yukio queried cautiously. A feeling of great trepidation coursed through his body at the prospect of meeting with a guardian face-to-face. "Have we been invited to meet with her ladyship?" He did not know what to think at this point. He had let his curiosity override his common sense. He realized that the princess was anticipating marrying him and that together they would become heavily involved in altering the elves' destiny. He had always been in control of his life and took comfort in knowing he could still use his power against this powerful princess if events got out of control. How could I have been so blind? All I had to do was delve deeper into her thoughts instead of touching so much on her feelings. I should get out of here.

"She is expecting us and is rather anxious to meet you," she said excitedly. There was no point in blocking the mental intrusions by the general. By allowing him access into her mind, he would be more willing to follow her to Mount Quang for their meeting with the Mistress Kana. "General, there is no point in the both of us pretending that you do not have the ability to use magic to enter a person's mind. I have let down all of my defenses; feel free to probe my thoughts and feelings."

A brief look of annoyance crossed his face. How does she know so much about me and my abilities? He quickly hid any display of emotion and closed his eyes. Once his eyes were shut, he reached out with his magic to locate Kira so he could probe her mind for the truth. He first touched the cords of her emotions. He found out right away that she needed him and that she cared more for him than for anyone else. He could also sense her deep and abiding love she had for the elven people. When he prodded these sentiments for the elves to the surface, he understood their plight and felt the desperate need to assist the princess in changing their fate. How is she doing that? Why should I care what happens to the elves?

As he delved deeper, he came across a discussion she had had with the guardian Kana. He quickly understood why they must go to meet with her and why he had such strong feelings for this elven woman whom he had just met. He still thought it unsettling that Kira knew so much about him. Through his probing, he found that she gained most of her knowledge from this guardian. Why does a guardian choose to interfere when they have vowed to never get involved with the races? More importantly, why me?

He lingered a few moments on these thoughts and then opened his eyes. He saw Kira looking right back at him with a sensuous grin. Her eyes did not hide her intent, and she moved closer to him. She knew that he understood now and would not turn back. Their future together was only beginning; they would become so powerful that none would dare question their union.

As General Yukio and Princess Kira emerged from the northern end of the Black Forest, Mount Quang came into view. It was a beautiful mountain covered with trees frosted by fresh snow. There were many places that appeared to be habitable. They looked at one another with loving eyes as they took in the beauty of the moment. They had traveled together over the past few days to reach the base of Quang. The sun was beginning to disappear on another day, and the sky was beginning to turn a reddish purple color. It was a truly beautiful scene. In the morning, they would climb the mountain to the predetermined location for their meeting with the powerful Elemental, Kana. It would be a day that they would never forget.

They used the last few moments of the waning light to set up camp within the protection of the northern trees. Kira moved her hands in waving motions as she worked her magic. Every night she threw out a magical web to protect them from attack and to warn them of any danger that was drawing near. This night was clear, and the stars were bright in the sky above. They lay together for a long while staring up at the beautiful heavens while holding one another in a tight embrace. The air from the mountain was clean and fresh after a recent snowstorm.

They woke early the following morning with a burning desire to reach their destination as soon as possible. They were anxious to begin their new life together and to work on their plans for saving the elven race. As they sat side by side taking in the tranquil scene, they were abruptly interrupted by a sleek black raven approach ing them through the air. At first they did not know if the bird was flying at them, but as it dived down toward the earth, it was clear it was heading right for them. The fell beast came up short and landed right in front of them without being harmed by Kira's magical web. It looked directly at Yukio with great expectancy in its beady black eyes.

The general instinctively knew that the raven was attempting to communicate with him. He had never attempted to communicate telepathically with a raven before, so he did not know what to expect. As he reached out with his magic to touch the bird's mind, he could sense the urgency of the message it was carrying. Once he had established a connection with the bird, he saw flashing images coming at him in rapid succession.

The general winced as the images flew at him. He simply could not process that much information at the rate it was coming at him. He used his magic to slow down the images. Once they started coming at a more reasonable pace, he understood perfectly who the bird was and what it was trying to tell him. This was a messenger from Mistress Kana. He had been sent to give them precise directions to the meeting place and to bid them welcome.

"This is a messenger from our guardian friend," the general explained. "He bids us welcome from his master and asks that we follow him to the predetermined meeting place." Yukio did not go into detail about the numerous images that he saw because it was still unclear to him what they all meant. He had no idea why he saw scenes of horrific battles and of personal betrayals. He could not comprehend their meaning at the moment, but he would discover their meaning. He was extremely adept at solving puzzles like these and would not rest until he understood everything.

As the morning gave way to midday, the sun burned brightly in the clear sky above them. The temperature was beginning to climb already to a very uncomfortable high. They had been following the raven for a couple of hours now, and they were still no closer to the secret meeting place. Yukio had used the time to describe the meeting place in greater detail to Kira. There was a massive waterfall that fell over a hundred feet into a deep pool of green water. This place was enclosed in a veranda of beautiful trees and vegetation. That was where they were heading. The mistress would surely be waiting for them there. However, Yukio did not tell the princess that he saw the guardian in the images he was shown by the raven. The Elemental did not have a solid form, or so it seemed. Kana looked like red and grayish-white mist swirling together by the bank of the eerie pool.

The general's thoughts were interrupted when the trees began to thin out and revealed the scene Yukio had just finished describing. They looked up at the impressive waterfall and instinctively knew that everything was going to be different. They followed the falling water to where it smashed into the clear green pool of water. Somehow they had not heard the stream that they had been following. They were even more bewildered at how they missed the raucous sound of the falling water. They had been caught up in their own thoughts that they missed all of the signs of the end of their journey.