Richard Tuttle - Elvangar

“You have accomplished much more than that, brother,” interjected Bakhai. “You have united the Free Tribes and begun the restoration of Fakara. No other person could have accomplished that. You destroyed Grulak’s army and halted the total domination of our homeland by Vand’s people.”

“What has Kaltara told you to do?” asked MistyTrail.

“Told me to do?” echoed Rejji. “What do you mean?”

“You haven’t spoken to Kaltara?” gasped MistyTrail. “Tell me that you are not serious. Have you talked to Kaltara?”

Rejji stopped pacing and stared at MistyTrail. “How am I supposed to talk to him?” Rejji asked.

“Through prayer,” explained the Sakovan. “You must to talk to Emperor Marak about this. How can you expect to know what to do if you have not asked Kaltara?”

“Has Kaltara spoken to Emperor Marak?” asked Bakhai.

“I am sure that he has,” nodded MistyTrail. “Kaltara has even spoken to me. Why wouldn’t he speak to the Astor?”

“Kaltara has spoken to you?” queried Rejji. “What did he say?”

“Many things,” MistyTrail said guardedly as she remembered the days she spent in prayer when Mistake had run away. “If he had not instructed me, I would not be here today.”

MistyTrail walked to the bed and sat down next to Mistake She lovingly put her arm around her sister and smiled.

“You two look so much alike,” Bakhai noted as he stared at the sisters. “I can’t imagine having the two of you around here. It will be interesting.”

“They won’t be staying,” frowned Rejji. “Didn’t you hear the elves earlier tonight. Mistake and MistyTrail are going away with them.”

“To Elvangar,” nodded Mistake as she stared at Rejji. “Why does that bother you so much?”

Rejji sighed and sat on the floor facing the women. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I guess I always took your presence for granted, but since you have been gone, I have thought of you constantly. Not a day has gone by that I had not wished to see you by my side. Now you will be leaving once more. I will probably never see you again.”

“Nonsense,” smiled Mistake. “We are just going to see the land of the elves. It will be an exciting trip. Maybe you should come?”

“That is not possible,” replied Rejji. “The elves would not even name their homeland in front of me. There is no way that they would allow me to go.”

“How do you know that without asking them?” retorted Mistake. “Eltor and Caldal are good friends. They are quite eager to take MistyTrail and me there. Why wouldn’t they let you come too?”

“And that is the problem,” Rejji nodded sadly. “You call them good friends, but they wish to be more than that. Didn’t you see their reactions when you invited us up to your room? It was a look of hatred for Bakhai and me.”

“Nonsense,” Mistake shook her head. “Caldal just has trouble sometimes dealing with humans. He is getting over that. It must be your imagination.”

“They are in love with you,” interjected Bakhai. “At least they think they are. Even one who has not spent much time around humans can see that easily.”

“What do you mean by that?” asked MistyTrail with sudden interest.

“You are not aware of their feelings for you?” questioned Bakhai.

“No,” MistyTrail shook her head. “I meant the part about someone not used to being around humans.”

“Bakhai was raised by animals,” explained Rejji. “It is only recently that he has spent much time among the people.”

“Really?” the Sakovan said excitedly. “There is much that I would love to ask you. I have spent my life trying to understand how animals in the Sakova act so that I could mimic them. It is one of the tricks that I used to remain invisible while guarding the forest.”

“You two need to spend some time in the forest alone,” laughed Mistake. “I can just see MistyTrail trying to sneak up on Bakhai. I wonder who would win such a contest?”

“Bakhai, without a doubt,” answered Rejji. “He would have all of the forest animals spying on MistyTrail.”

“Can you really do that?” MistyTrail asked Bakhai. “Do the animals really tell you things?”

“They do,” nodded Bakhai, “but not as you might expect. Animals don’t think like you do, and each species is different, but quite a lot of information can be determined by what they say. I would certainly know where you were hiding in the forest, but I might not be able to tell if you were planning to attack or merely sleeping.”

“We must test this out on the trip to Angragar,” MistyTrail said excitedly.

“Speaking of the trip,” frowned Rejji, “it is getting quite late. We should all get some sleep before the dawn comes. We can talk more on the way to Angragar.”

Rejji and Bakhai said goodbye and slipped out the door of the room. Mistake waited a few minutes before talking.

“Do you really think Eltor is in love with me?” she asked MistyTrail. “He has never said so.”

“Nor has Rejji,” smiled MistyTrail. “I am not sure how Eltor feels, but Caldal won’t leave me alone. I think he would cry if Marak managed to get another horse for me to ride.”

* * *

Emperor Marak and his two shadows stepped out of the Kheri Inn and into the predawn streets of Meliban. Dozens of men were already moving through the streets towards the waterfront. The Emperor watched curiously as the citizens moved quickly but quietly. Across the street the door to the administration building opened. Marshal Wyant strode across the street and stood in front of the Emperor.

“You are up early this morning,” greeted the marshal.

“I had a good night’s sleep,” smiled the Torak. “Your city appears to waken early.”

“Only when a Khadoran ship comes to port,” replied Wyant. “We try to unload it as quickly as possible. The captains have told us that they must move with the tides until the harbor is dredged, so we oblige them.”

“I am sure that they are grateful,” Marak replied distractedly. “Do my ships still go to Ghala?”

“Only one a month now,” answered Wyant. “Ghala has become self-sufficient. The ships go there only for trading purposes now. Pretty soon the same will be said for Taggot and Meliban. Your mages have worked wonders with the fields and forests. Fakara’s future is bright today because of you.”

“I only gave help where it was needed,” replied the Emperor. “It is the Fakarans who should be credited with winning back their country. You have been a great help to Rejji. I am glad that you saw the light so early in the war.”

“Even that is partially due to you and your shadows,” Wyant chuckled as his eyes darted to Gunta and Halman. “I still remember that night that you saved me from the slavers’ caravan. I thought my life was over then.”

“Your life is what you make of it,” smiled the Torak. “You have chosen wisely. I know that Rejji depends on you a great deal.”

Marak turned and stared at the backs of the citizens as they moved towards the waterfront. He turned and touched Halman on the arm.

“Go speak to the captain of the vessel,” he ordered. “Tell him that I am in the city and that I don’t want him to leave without my authorization.”

Halman turned and ran towards the waterfront. Wyant stared with curiosity and then looked questioningly at the Emperor.

“I would normally be loathe to utilize one of my ships for personal reasons,” the Emperor explained without being asked, “but it sounds like there is no longer a great need to supply Fakara. I am thinking of using the ship to get to Ghala. It will save us from a long trek through unfamiliar territory, and it would not disturb the shipping schedule a great deal. Perhaps the next ship to Ghala would be a day late.”