Richard Tuttle - Elvangar

“You may be right,” conceded Eltor, “but you may also be wrong. Elves and humans did live together at one time. Who is to say that it can never happen again?”

“Queen Alycia will not allow it,” Caldal said firmly.

“Do you know her mind so well?” asked Eltor. “What if Emperor Marak is right about an invasion from Motanga? What if Queen Alycia agrees with Emperor Marak? What if she changes the law?”

“I cannot imagine that happening,” Caldal shook his head. “It is just not imaginable.”

“And what if she does want it to be,” posed Eltor, “and we have already poisoned the relationship with the way we treated these humans? Is your stubborn pride worth alienating all humans? Will it burden you so to act cordial to these humans during our stay here?”

“I suppose I could be nicer,” conceded Caldal, “but you ask too much. I cannot feign friendship where none exists.”

“Not even for MistyTrail?” smiled Eltor. “She may be an elf, but she is a product of this land. She has grown up in the land of humans. Are you willing to accept her scorn for the way you treat her friends?”

“Why would she care?” questioned Caldal. “Once she sees Elvangar, she will never return here.”

“I cannot see the future,” declared Eltor, “but I can see the hurt in her face when you are rude to the humans. You must have noticed it.”

“She has been more distant since we arrived here,” admitted Caldal, “but I figured that she chose her human friends over us.”

“It is we who have been more distant,” corrected Eltor. “Ever since we set foot on the human’s ship, we have withdrawn from her and Mistake. I can see it now as I look back on our behavior. I wish I had been able to see it then.”

“You almost sound like you are growing close to these humans,” frowned Caldal. “Next you will be telling them the secrets of Elvangar.”

“No,” Eltor shook his head. “I will never reveal anything that will endanger our people, but I am growing fond of the humans. Think about how we have been treated and then imagine that these people are a lost tribe of elves. How would you feel towards them?”

Caldal thought silently for a moment before answering. “I would feel differently,” he conceded, “but they are not elves.”

“No, they aren’t,” agreed Eltor, “but they have treated us more than fairly. All I ask is that you try to be diplomatic in our relations with these people. You do not have to like them, but try not to hate them. Can you do that?”

“I will try,” nodded Caldal as he opened the door to the palace.

The elves hurried up the staircase and along the corridor to the Emperor’s office. The sentries outside the office nodded politely and opened the door for them. They walked into the office and found a number of people already assembled. Mistake and MistyTrail smiled at the elves as they entered. There were two soldiers dressed in black and silver, the emperor, a person in a black hooded cloak, a sailor wearing black and silver, and a young woman in a simple white robe.

“Welcome,” smiled Emperor Marak. “Our group is now complete. Let me introduce everyone so that we can get to know one another. Our new arrivals are elves from Elvangar. Eltor is on the right; Caldal on the left.”

Everyone stood and turned to face the elves.

“Most of you have already met Mistake and MistyTrail,” the Emperor continued as he nodded towards the two women. “Ophia in the white robe is a mage. Gunta and Halman here are two of the soldiers of my Torak clan, and Captain Mynor is the finest sea captain that I know. He will not be traveling with us, but he needs to know what we discuss here today.”

“If he is for our transport to Elvangar,” interrupted Caldal, “Eltor and I are quite capable of sailing on our own. We just need a ship.”

“Elvangar is not his purpose,” promised the Emperor, “but Motanga might be. I am not yet sure what role he will play, but I think it prudent for him to be aware of what is going on.”

Caldal nodded sheepishly and turned to see if Eltor was glaring at him.

“The last member of our expedition is Axor,” the Emperor continued as he nodded to the hooded man. “He is a Chula shaman from the Pfledor tribe.”

“With the exception of Captain Mynor,” asked Eltor, “are we all going to Angragar?”

“Yes,” answered Emperor Marak. “We will also be joined by others as we get closer. We will meet up with some Fakarans after we cross the Fortung Mountains. A contingent of Sakovans will also join us in Fakara. They will be traveling there by ship.”

“Who is coming from the Sakova?” asked MistyTrail.

“Lyra and three others,” answered the Emperor. “I do not know the identity of the others. It will be whoever Lyra decides.”

“And Rejji?” asked Mistake.

“He and three others will meet us in Fakara,” nodded Emperor Marak. “Again, I do not know who he will choose.”

“This seems like a lot of people just to read scrolls,” frowned Eltor. “Is all of this necessary?”

“That is not the only reason for our trip to Angragar,” replied Emperor Marak. “I believe that the Torak, the Astor, and the Star must journey there together. I am not sure what will happen, but I could not ask Rejji or Lyra to travel without protection. The party is as small as I could make it.”

The door to the office opened and an Imperial soldier entered. Instead of approaching the Emperor, he turned and walked the length of the room to the door leading to the living quarters of the Emperor. He opened the door and walked through it, closing it behind him.

“Are we going to meet Rejji in Ghala?” asked Mistake.

“Much has happened in Fakara since you left, Mistake,” smiled the Emperor. “Rejji has already built two more cities. The city of Meliban now sits at the mouth of the Meliban River, and the city of Taggot was built at the mouth of that river. It is not yet determined where we will meet Rejji. If you will excuse me for a moment, I must attend to something.”

Emperor Marak walked across the floor and opened the door to the living quarters. He passed through the door and closed it.

“I assume that this is important?” asked the Emperor.

“I would not interrupt otherwise,” answered the Imperial soldier.

“Very well, Fisher,” nodded the Emperor. “What is it?”

“There have been random murders throughout Khadora,” answered the Torak spy.

“I have heard reports about them,” nodded the Emperor.

“Yes,” continued Fisher, “but you did not hear that the assassins were hellsouls.”

“Hellsouls?” Emperor Marak echoed with surprise. “They should not be outside Angragar. How did they escape?”

“They are not from Angragar,” replied Fisher. “They are from Motanga, and there are more coming, many more. I am sure you will understand their purpose.”

“To create havoc throughout the country,” nodded the Emperor. “They will do exactly that, too.”

“Vand has also discovered your use of air tunnels,” Fisher continued. “He will seek to use them for himself. He may also try to disrupt your use of them.”

“How could he possibly know about our air tunnels?” asked the Emperor.

“I do not know,” admitted Fisher, “but it gets worse. An air mage from Raven’s Point is missing. Where she normally takes her morning stroll, patches of ice were found in the sand. I suspect that she was abducted so that Vand can learn the workings of the air tunnel. Your communications may no longer be secure.”

“That changes much,” frowned Emperor Marak. “We have become very dependent upon those air tunnels. If he can intercept our messages, we will suffer great losses. It will even be worse if he can disrupt our ability to send messages. We must discover an alternative method of communications.”