Richard Tuttle - Elvangar

Rejji led the way into the palace. He ushered them into a huge room that had a large table and chairs in it. The room was also full of people standing around in groups talking quietly. The room fell silent as the small group entered it, and everyone turned to face the newcomers. Rejji took Tamar around the room introducing him to everyone.

The humans were all smiling, and Tamar could feel a sense of excitement in the air. He thought it odd that everyone was fawning over him when he was just a mere soldier, and the real honored guests should be Mistake and MistyTrail, the princesses of the elves. He turned and saw that people who already had been introduced were gathering around the girls. He smiled as he understood that the humans were being polite to a friend of the girls. It was obvious that the girls were already highly honored and cared for. He had not expected humans to act in such a manner.

“And this is Emperor Marak of Khadora,” Rejji was saying. “He is the Torak.”

“I have heard much about you, Emperor Marak,” nodded Tamar.

“And I so little about you, Tamar,” smiled the Torak, “and please, call me Marak. I hope we have some time together to talk. I would like to know more about your people.”

“And Lyra, the Star of Sakova,” continued Rejji.

“I have also heard of you,” smiled Tamar. “I did not envision you as one so young. You are quite beautiful.”

“Why, thank you,” blushed Lyra. “I would love to join you when you speak with Marak. I, too, have a burning curiosity to learn about our ancient allies.”

“This is HawkShadow,” introduced Rejji. “I believe he will be going with you to the Island of Darkness.”

Tamar’s eyes measured the Sakovan. He was impressed with what he saw.

“Tayo, Tamar,” greeted HawkShadow as the Sakovan also measured the worth of the elf.

“Tayo, HawkShadow,” Tamar grinned at being met with an elven greeting. “I am happy with MistyTrail’s choice. We shall do well together.”

“That we shall,” HawkShadow nodded confidently.

Rejji continued with the introductions, and Tamar struggled to remember all of the names. When everyone had been introduced, they gathered around the table. In the center of the table were two large charts. One depicted the mainland and the Island of Darkness in relation to it. The other was a detailed chart of the coastline of the Island of Darkness. Captain Mynor moved to the center of the table and picked up an arrow to use as a pointer.

“Angragar is here,” the captain pointed. “The temple on the Island of Darkness is right here. It will be dangerous for you to sail a direct course for it.”

“Why?” asked Tamar.

“It is one of their busiest patrol sectors,” answered Captain Mynor. “It is also one of their busiest harbors. I certainly don’t want to tell you how to go about your mission, Tamar, but I am willing to share what knowledge I have. I have spent a great deal of time mapping the coast of Motanga and determining the placement of their patrols.”

“No, please continue,” urged Tamar. “I have never seen the Island of Darkness. Whatever information you can share will be most welcome.”

“Not far from the city,” nodded Captain Mynor, “is a lonely stretch of jungle. The patrols from both directions stop short of covering it. It is right here,” he pointed. “It would require you to go through some dense jungle, but you should be able to get close to the city without being seen. Also, if you can get your ship right up to the beach, it will be protected from view of the patrols. There is a small natural cove in that area.”

“That sounds rather promising,” nodded Tamar.

“We are not going to have a lot of people trying to go with us on this mission, are we?” Mistake asked as she scanned the faces in the room.

The Torak smiled and replied, “You can have as many people with you as you want. You can also have none if that is your desire. We are all gathered here to support you, but not to interfere with what you want to do.”

“Is that true?” Tamar asked skeptically. “Would you really send an army if Mistake wanted you to?”

“We would,” nodded the Torak. “Personally, I think an army would be shredded before they reached the temple, but I would commit the troops if asked. Although I personally would love to see Mistake and MistyTrail reunited with their father, this is also the King of the Elves that we are talking about. I have made no secret of my desire to form an alliance with the elves to defeat Vand. I fear that we may fall before his armies without your help. So, yes, I would sacrifice an army for this mission.”

“Are things really that dire?” asked Tamar.

“Vand has an army of one million men,” answered Lyra. “He has kruls to squander, and he has already sent hellsouls to attack us from within. We don’t know what other tricks he might be planning. The situation is dire. Will the elves help?”

“I am a mere officer,” replied Tamar. “In fact, I am probably now a criminal.”

“A criminal?” asked Rejji. “What did you do?”

“He helped us escape from prison,” replied MistyTrail. “Now is not the time to discuss it. Tamar is no more a criminal than I am, but the reality is that the elves will not be aiding in the fight against Vand.”

“Does that change your mind, Marak?” asked Tamar.

“Not a bit,” the Torak answered without hesitation. “There are things in life that are inherently right or inherently wrong. Freeing the King of the Elves is the right thing to do, regardless of whether he aids us or not.”

Tamar stood silently for a moment gazing at the people in the room. He ended with his eyes studying Marak.

“I believe you,” Tamar declared, “but the point is not open to debate. We have decided that the mission is best accomplished with a small group. It will be just the four of us.”

“I figured as much,” grinned the Torak. “I took the liberty of having five Motangan uniforms made up. The three for MistyTrail, Mistake, and HawkShadow have already been tailored. We will need to have yours properly tailored before you leave.”

“What is the fifth one for?” Tamar asked with suspicion.

“For the king,” replied the Torak. “You may not need it, but it won’t hurt to have it just in case.”

Tamar nodded appreciatively. “You do plan well, Marak,” he grinned. “I think I should have the uniform tailored immediately. I would like to leave for the Island of Darkness as the earliest opportunity.”

“I will take you right now,” offered Bakhai. “Follow me.”

Bakhai led the elven officer out of the room. As soon as he was gone, everyone started talking again. Marak, Lyra and Rejji approached Mistake and MistyTrail.

‘What kind of trouble did you get into in Elvangar?” asked Lyra.

“We were accused of trying to assassinate the queen,” replied MistyTrail, “but we really didn’t mean to hurt her. She is our mother.”

“Your real mother?” asked Rejji.

“Yes,” nodded MistyTrail. “She wasn’t very nice to us. In fact, she doesn’t believe that we are related.”

“I hope our father is nicer,” added Mistake.

“You can’t choose your parents, Mistake,” smiled Marak. “Just remember that you have many friends here. If you ever need a home, you have three countries to choose from. Not many people can say that.”

Mistake grinned and hugged Marak. HawkShadow called to MistyTrail and the girls moved across the room to talk to the Sakovan assassin.

“How is your Jiadin gathering going, Rejji?” asked Marak.

“Fairly well,” answered the Astor. “Twenty thousand have joined with us so far, but that still leaves a great number of them on the loose. Myka is doing a great job and loving it, too. I don’t think she has had this much fun in a long time. She is racing around all over the country to make the Jiadin think that there are dozens of dragons. Her flying skills are fantastic. I have watched a few of her raids. I often thought that she would actually gore some of the Jiadin, but she has not.”