Richard Tuttle - Elvangar

“Did you have a hand in its creation?” asked Emperor Marak.

“No,” Axor replied, “although some from our tribe did. There are broad fields of grain a ways into the forest. I suspect that is where the Fakarans would construct an inn. We should arrive at dusk.”

Further back in the column, MistyTrail rode alongside Caldal. He rode with a continual frown upon his face.

“What is bothering you, Caldal?” asked the Sakovan. “You always look so sad, or angry. I can never tell which.”

“This land is desolate,” replied the elf. “It is not a land that elves should be in.”

“I doubt that is the reason for your moodiness,” countered MistyTrail. “You were the same riding through the lush fields of Khadora and over the majestic Fortung Mountains. Do you not trust me enough to be honest with me?”

Caldal rode on in silence for several minutes as he was weighing MistyTrail’s question in his mind. Finally, he sighed and faced the Sakovan.

“I like you a great deal,” admitted Caldal, “and I am eternally grateful for your part in rescuing me from the Island of Darkness. I want very much to be honest with you, but I find it hard to express my feelings. I should not be here. I do not belong in the land of humans, yet here I am, riding with a group of my enemy. In some ways I think that this is a great chance to learn about the humans, but then I realize that I am not here of my own free will. I am not chained as I was in Motanga, but I still have no say in my future. I am a prisoner.”

“You are no such thing,” protested MistyTrail. “Emperor Marak would allow you to leave if you wished to. I think he would try to talk you out of it, but in the end he will allow you to make the decision for yourself.”

“And leave you and Eltor?” questioned Caldal. “Perhaps the two of you are the chains that hold me here.”

“I don’t believe that you are being honest with yourself,” retorted MistyTrail. “You are not being forced on this journey against your will. In fact, you are being privileged to accompany the Torak to the lost city of Angragar. Many Khadorans would have volunteered to take your place. There is something deeper bothering you.”

Again Caldal fell silent for a time. As the column entered the forest, his spirits seemed to brighten.

“Maybe you are right,” Caldal said. “Emperor Marak has been a gracious host. The chains that hold me are wholly within my mind. I am not sure that you can understand this, but I will try to explain.”

MistyTrail smiled and nodded encouragingly.

“Elves are taught early that we have no friends in this world,” Caldal continued. “There have been times throughout history when the elves have reached out to others. Each and every time that hand has been cut off. Now the elves are isolated from the rest of the world, and we are taught that our existence depends on maintaining our distance from others.”

“Yet you and Eltor rebelled against that,” MistyTrail pointed out. “You sailed past the Barrier Islands to see what the rest of the world is like.”

“We did,” nodded Caldal, “and look what happened to us. We were destined to die at the hands of the humans on Motanga. You and Mistake intervened to save us, but the experience proves that our lessons were the truth. We should never have left Elvangar. Now our very existence is a threat to our people.”

“How are you a threat to anyone?” asked MistyTrail.

“While Emperor Marak has been quite friendly towards us,” explained Caldal, “he is human. He will now seek to discover the secret of Elvangar. He will not be able to help himself.”

“What if he does try to find Elvangar?” asked MistyTrail. “He would never bring harm to your people.”

“He would not do so intentionally,” agreed Caldal, “but trouble will follow him nonetheless. Once Elvangar appears on the charts of humans, others will seek us out. Some elves may even think it is time for us to return to the world and encourage the humans, but that would be folly. Once the humans learn of Elvangar, the land of the elves will begin to perish.”

“So you are blaming yourself for some future destruction of your people?” questioned MistyTrail. “Is that what is truly bothering you?”

“I think it is something like that,” nodded Caldal. “If Eltor and I had not rebelled and broken the law, Elvangar would remain a myth to the humans. I feel as if I am guilty of the worst nightmare one could ever imagine.”

“You forget about the other elves that were captured by Vand’s people,” noted MistyTrail. “You and Eltor are not the only ones to have strayed from Elvangar. You also don’t realize that the humans from Motanga are the ones that the elves need to fear.”

“The fact that others disobeyed the law is hardly a reprieve from my own transgressions,” frowned Caldal. “I do not stay up at night worrying about what others have done.”

“But you are missing my point,” MistyTrail persisted. “No matter what you do, humans are going to find Elvangar. If Eltor and you were never born, the humans would still find Elvangar. Can’t you see that?”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better about the end of my people?” snapped Caldal. “Do you expect me to sing for joy just because it is not me personally that will be responsible for the death of the elves?”

Caldal suddenly realized that he must have shouted at MistyTrail. The entire column had stopped and everyone was staring at him. Emperor Marak turned around and rode towards Caldal. The elf tried to avoid the human’s eyes, but Emperor Marak sat patiently until Caldal looked up.

“I will not be a party to the destruction of the elves,” the Emperor declared softly. “Whether or not the elves join with us to defeat Vand, I will never allow the elves to be attacked by humans. If that is what is affecting your attitude, be reassured that my intentions are honorable.”

“I have learned that your intentions are honorable,” admitted Caldal, “but that only means that you are a rare human. Once Elvangar is on your charts, elves will begin dying.”

“Elves will begin dying as soon as Vand sets his sights on Elvangar,” replied the Emperor. “With the number of elves he has already captured, do you really think he does not already know the location of your homeland?”

Caldal’s mouth dropped open, and he stared into Emperor Marak’s eyes as he saw the truth in the human’s statement.

“The only saving grace for Elvangar is that Vand intends to attack us first,” Emperor Marak continued. “And I intend to defeat him before he can turn on the elves. Help from your people would be invited and welcomed, but we intend to stand against Vand’s armies regardless of how badly we are outnumbered. If you really want to help your people, alert them to the threat of Vand and prepare Elvangar for the inevitable attack should we be defeated.”

Suddenly, six arrows flew out of the forest towards the Khadoran column. Two arrows struck Emperor Marak in the back, knocking him off his horse. Two arrows struck Gunta and Halman caught another. Both Torak soldiers fell to the ground. The sixth arrow hit MistyTrail’s horse. The horse shrieked and bolted, tossing MistyTrail to the ground.

“Everybody down,” shouted Mistake as she dove at Eltor, knocking both of them off their horses.

Caldal dropped to the ground and threw his body over MistyTrail as the horses ran past. Axor turned his horse and galloped away after the other horses. More arrows flew through the trees, but everyone flattened against the trail. All of the arrows missed.

Eltor shook himself free from Mistake and grabbed his bow. He nudged Caldal with the end of it. Caldal looked up and saw Eltor making motions with his hands. He rolled off of MistyTrail and grabbed his own bow. The two elves nocked arrows and split up. Eltor backtracked along the trail, keeping low to avoid being seen. Caldal did the same in the opposite direction. Mistake and MistyTrail crawled to the Emperor’s body.