Tales of Eldelórne Read online

  They headed back to camp glad to have found their tail was an old friend. EJ's gut ached for food. He could smell something good cooking on the fire, the closer they came to their encampment. Dakein gobbled down the dish of food Fionna handed him like he hadn’t eaten a decent meal in weeks. She looked concerned about the man’s unkempt condition. As she met Roe’s eyes, he nodded in agreement with her thoughts.

  “You are blessed ones. I thank you,” Dakein said between bites. "I am sorry, Milady, for my bad manners.” As if he could read her mind, he slowed down. “No one has cooked so well for me in many years,” he gratefully smiled as she offered him another biscuit and some more ale. He did not refuse it.

  “I thought I was the last of our order, Master Roevash. Though I have faded in time, you still hold your bearing of a younger man. It must be the blessing of your fine mother.”

  Roevash smiled and thanked him for the kind comment.

  The party listened to every detail as Dakein told them of the exodus of the elves from Ettenfahls, Caras Eldarhon, Autumwood, and their own Eldelórne down by the ocean shores.

  “The sacred holds of the elves are all left abandoned. Alone, on occasion, I have found simple bare shelter there in my travels. I have also killed a few wild ogres now, and then that thought to settle in. I have heard tales of wild elves who had migrated to an island to the far south to escape the growing population of humankind. They may still inhabit the lands of your kin though I have not seen any in years,” he tried not to give them too much hope.

  “I still call home the old outpost that is across the river. Illianheni is the only place I have known since I was a boy in the service of your uncle. I do travel on occasion to the holds to seek information about the changing countryside. That is when I spied you, Master Roevash. It is good to see one familiar face in the kingdom after such a long time.”

  Roevash realized the poor man had been alone for at least one hundred and ten years or so.

  “You must then stay with us Dakein. I could use a good tracker in the guard up north. There has been a strange migration of plains animals into the mountains. Something big is pushing them out of their territory.”

  “A dragon?” Dakein asked knowingly.

  “I had not thought of that,” Roe said, “I have been distracted, though.”

  “Is that what happened to your face?”

  Dakein pointed at Roe’s scar next to his left eye.

  “Yes, one of the great lions tried to eat us all for breakfast.”

  “Good thing you did not lose another eye then,” the man said, and they both smiled and laughed at that.

  +++

  Fionna and EJ crawled off together to their bedroll to get some rest. She felt the familiar firm grip of EJ coiled around her inner thigh. He was right again at the feeling of completeness it offered her.

  “Tell me more about elven family,” Fionna asked.

  “What would you like to know?” EJ whispered into her ear. His breath tickled the back of her neck as they lay cuddled into each other. Fionna felt a mild queasiness rise in her stomach.

  “How old do we have to be to marry?”

  “Hmmm...” EJ’s voice rumbled deep, tingling across her skin. “Elves marry when they are physically mature. That is at about one thousand years.”

  “Oh...” she sounded disappointed.

  “So I am too young ... and so are you,” she added as an afterthought.

  “We would not be able to have little ones until that time, Fionna, but we 'are betrothed,' and that means we are allowed ... to be together.”

  He turned her around in his arms to look at her.

  “Only if you are sure you feel ready,” his eyes regarded her earnestly.

  “I feel sick, oh, nooo... I do not mean that. I mean strange,” Fionna was searching for the right words. “I want to ...” she blinked at him through soft green eyes that looked sad for lack of the right thing to say.

  “I know of what you speak. I feel this strange loneliness in my gut even when we are together.”

  She leaned forward and meant to kiss him but accidentally bit down on his lower lip. He cringed a little in the pain of it.

  “Oh no,” she wanted to cry at the pain she’d inflicted, “I am always so clumsy. I do not make a very good Edhellen,” Fionna was grieved and tried to look away.

  EJ reached up and stroked her hair, calming her nerves.

  “My beloved ... you could never truly hurt me,” he smiled as he gazed ardently into her shining eyes.

  EJ kissed her softly as she explored his face. He regarded her with a serious expression. He brushed her cheek gently with his fingertips, and an invisible shimmering light flowed out over and around both of them.

  “Let this first time be slow ... ,” he whispered as he pulled her firmly into himself, making her body shudder. ”I am so affected by you, my love,” she moaned, feeling a yearning pain inside her belly.

  Unseen light danced and tingled wherever he ran his fingers. Fionna’s skin blushed. A calming hum of beautiful tones came into her mind as he held her tightly to his heart and rocked her in his embrace. Their eyes went soft, gazing at each other. They could have stayed sharing this bliss for hours or even days if there was time or the place, but rest was needed.

  EJ rolled onto his back, taking her with him. She simply stared at him, with her cheek on his chest. He stroked her hair. Warm and content with the feel of his naked skin along the length of her whole body, they silently kissed again and fell sound asleep in each other's arms.

  +++

  The next sunrise, Dakein headed northward to a new home in Vehlevar with the guard. He was glad to be in Roe’s company. Dakein promised to get the men working on the possible dragon problem they had spoken about the evening before.

  Roe noticed the small bruise on his brother's lip and tried not to stare at him. He shook his head shyly in a knowing way as his eyes searched the horizon.

  Ej blushed and said in a conspiring voice, “The wrath of an elven maiden took me by surprise,” and shrugged.

  “I am standing right here,” Fionna said, tilting her head, staring at their grinning faces.

  Her hands were firmly planted on her hips as she glared menacingly.

  “As I said before, I am glad she is yours, brother,” Roe said, assessing her body language. Roe rolled his eyes and jumped in mock fear at the little elf-girl swatting at his arm, scowling at him.

  “Ahhh, now witness the face that blushes the darkest,” EJ innocently said as they walked onward toward Autumwood forest.

  “I would learn to hold her at the end of my arm's length brother lest you lose a whole limb next time.” Roe winked at EJ as he broke out into giant laughter.

  “We shall all suffer bruising if you both do not shut it!” Fionna interjected.

  “Oooooooooh!” the brothers said in perfect unison.

  Then in teasing EJ just had to say in mock sadness, “Never again will I be able to sleep in perfect chaste innocence with my beloved Fionna,” he lamented in fun one too many times.

  “Aiiieeeeee!” he took off running for his life with Fionna yelling and swatting at him in close pursuit.

  She might as well get used to never having any privacy about anything ever again. There is not even a word or idea of privacy in the elven language or culture. Embarrassment is a human invention that elves do not practice except when joking or as a courtesy to humans should the need arise.

  The trade-off is a strangely liberating feeling in the knowledge that the eyes of your kin, are inevitably fixed upon you. EJ and Roe would be supportive and always genuinely kind and caring, even in her stark nakedness.

  Fionna remembered how alone and orphaned she felt after she met EJ, and now she came to understand how important it is for elves to be outwardly playful and affectionate. Heartfelt comfort and healing are always shared unquestionably with beloved kin. She could see the drastic change, the balanced calm, and happiness that came over Roe as well as that of her own
heart and mind. They had both been alone for too many years in the desolate anguish of elven solitude.

  She did not mind the kindhearted teasing. It gave her a reason to pretend to be agitated and chase them around like little elflings. It seems that this was the part of their lives that was cut short, and it is a welcome game to play.

  “Well, at least we covered good ground today because you two cannot stop flirting with each other.” Roevash marveled at their energy. “You will have to restrain it if we should come into the presence of humans or other elves,” he reminded his brother sensibly.

  “We are having joyous fun.” Eijlam flashed his smile while catching his breath from the last run.

  They stood watching as Fionna finished catching up to them.

  “For someone so short, she can certainly keep up,” Roevash was impressed.

  “She is female. They are always known for their superior endurance,” EJ reminded him with a wink. “I may have to call upon you to help me wear her down… " EJ teased.

  His brother took the bait, quickly cutting him off before he could finish that sentence.

  “Oh, no, brother! You bade her hand, and you must keep it,” Roe feigned fear at this, added firmly, “she would never command me so easily.”

  At that, they both heartily laughed as Fionna arrived out of breath.

  “Carry me, Roe,” she begged him with big pouty lips, blinking her big green eyes. EJ just pretended to be surprised as Roevash, with a somber face, boost her up on his shoulder where she could ride curled up across his large pack.

  “Hmmm,” he growled under his breath and gave EJ a look that said, “shut it.”

  Ej just smiled back at Roe’s ineffective resolve as they quickened their pace down the trail.

  Hermit’s Hovel

  Chapter Twenty One

  “Whatever happened to Daisy, your white pony,” EJ asked.

  “I found she was too old to travel through the wilderness when I had first arrived in Vehlevar, so I ended up giving her to a family with small children. They traveled with me between Breenway and Camloo. The children were kind, and Daisy was happy to stay.

  “Aww, she was a sweet horse. I know you miss her.” EJ put his arm around Fionna’s shoulder and hugged her as they walked. The three finally arrived at the edge of Autumwood forest.

  “If there are any elves here they will know of us before we know of them,” Roe warned. “Our forest cousins are not always so welcoming.” His eyes shifted around at the shadows making sure they were just that, shadows. It was getting to be nightfall again, and they would have to find shelter soon.

  “This part of the province crawls with trolls and Lord knows what else might find us,” Roe said with a cautionary tone.

  They made their way forward into the forest until they came to a tiny pool of water that flowed into the thicket in front of them.

  “Maybe we should find a high tree limb for shelter,” Fionna suggested.

  The forest was proving to be thicker and darker than they realized, the farther in they traveled into it.

  Roe boosted Fionna and EJ into a sturdy looking tree and hoisted himself into another one nearby.

  As they climbed higher, Fionna spotted a fire light a short distance away.

  “Should we go?” She asked.

  “As I recall, there was a wizard who used to have a house somewhere near here,” Roevash said trying to remember, “...but that would have been such a long time ago. It could be anyone or anything by now.”

  “A wizard!” Fionna was excited by the prospect and not hearing anything else, was already climbing down before they could stop her.

  As it turns out, it was the wizard Sibelast’s old cottage. The old place was near a small open stream in the forest, and thankfully, he was still there. He was more than a little bit eccentric. His name was known to Fionna because he had visited her papa on several occasions when she was growing up.

  She knocked on the door and was greeted with hugs by the old wizard. Sibelast recognized her immediately and was happy to see her. EJ and Roe were relieved she wasn’t blindly leading them into trouble. Fionna had her wizard pipe in her pack along with some leaf she picked up at Camloo on the way. Sibelast was happy to receive the gift of some fresh leaf.

  “She smokes a pipe?” Roe whispered, trying not to look disgusted at the scene in front of him.

  “Yes, the wizard pipe is not as bad as it seems,” EJ sounded like he was trying to convince himself otherwise, but he was making a pained face like a memory of something that did not taste good.

  “I have tried it,” EJ confessed, nodding with his attention still riveted on watching the wizard who was admiring Fi’s gift and thanking her for it.

  “It is madness,” Roe was mortified as he glared at his brother.

  “Yes, yes ... it is,” EJ agreed, quickly glancing at Roe. “Doing this thing is a wizard... tradition. It is important to Fionna.”

  EJ stood there with a thin smile plastered on his face, nodding his head, as he and his brother watched politely from across the entryway.

  After the pleasantries of dining on a small meal of fresh fruit and greens, Fi and EJ helped clean the dishes and put them away. Many small animals were hiding in the dark corners around the room watching the invading elves but not willing to share themselves with strangers.

  Roe made friends with a small furry rodent who, in bold curiosity, plopped accidentally off a nearby shelf into his startled lap. He held the tiny animal up gently in his hand to inspect it for injuries and found none. After admiring each other for a moment, Roe looked around for the animal’s home. He finally spied another larger animal of the same kind pacing back and forth on top of a nearby cabinet.

  “Do not be so quick to leave your mother little one,” Roe whispered as he held it near his face and looked into its eyes. He then returned it to it's fretting parent. They all settled down by the hearth when the place was back in order.

  “What is the news of the elves?” Fionna finally asked.

  Sibelast packed his pipe with some of his new leaf as he spoke, “I am sorry to say the last of their company has all departed to Atto’s Landing over one hundred years ago.”

  The wizard shook his head sadly.

  “The mortal realm is a poorer place at their loss. Humans are filling in the spaces, and bringing new inventions. Soon the land will be unrecognizable,” he looked thoroughly at the three.

  “It is good you are not alone and have each other.” Sibelast understood the true nature of elves.

  “We hoped to find more kin someplace. I heard tales of elves far south on an island?” Fionna asked.

  “That was long ago,” Sibelast said, “when there were still elves in this forest. I do not hold hope at this late time. However, see, here you are...” he paused contemplatively. “You never really know, do you...” he trailed off, looking closely at each of them again as he puffed slowly on his pipe.

  Fionna was suddenly tired. It was glaringly apparent, they might be the last elves left in this realm. She was glad they had each other. The three were also thankful to find the wizard had enough room for sleeping arrangements in the tiny shack.

  The wizard’s place was magically deceptive. From the outside you would see what looks to be a small one-room building but on the inside that one room branched off into many hallways and spaces that would appear as the wizard needed them. Fionna had seen this kind of magic before and cautioned the others not to wander at night lest they get lost in its maze. They were all tired, and for safety, sake decided to stay together in the same room nearest the main living area.

  The room had a wonderfully oversized bed. The four corner posts of the bed were made up of live trees that seemed to be in a forest setting. Its canopy was woven branches that were alive with faint sparkling lights. A ghostly white deer wandered past the edge of the room silently and walked through the wall.

  “I am sure he just wants us to feel at home, so the place is faded into the landscape,”
Fionna explained.

  “Can you do this magic?” Roe whispered to her in fascination.

  “No, but maybe Master Sibelast could teach me someday.”

  Ej curled up into Fi’s back with his arms around her.

  “Goodnight Roe,” she said but was surprised to find he was already starting to snore quietly.

  She felt EJ’s arms tighten as he pulled himself up and kissed her gently on the back of her neck.

  “I could not sleep without at least one sweet kiss from my beloved,” he breathed into her ear.

  Fionna smiled and fell asleep deep in his warm embrace.

  In the morning light, the sun shone hot and bright as they followed a path south through the woodland along the east side of the Vodla River. Fionna could see the brothers were getting excited anticipating seeing the old home again.

  “Many times, I had followed this river to scout for enemy forces during the Great War. We could be at our former home in one day if we move swiftly.”

  Roe took the lead at a medium pace. He led them south and soon they were in the Illianheni gardens where Roevash showed them his uncle and his father’s worn graves. The place was hot and dry, and there was no real shade from the sun except the rocky overhang that sheltered the old marker stones. The brothers placed braided floral wreaths on the graves made up of the local hardy yellow and white wildflowers they had gathered from nearby. Their mother’s name was just barely visible on the hard stone surface that had been so carefully carved centuries before.

  “Do you mind waiting here while I retrieve some things for Dakein from inside the old outpost?” Roe asked, finally breaking the solemn mood.

  They watched him go as he turned towards the hidden passageway in the cliffside that led further into the hills.

  “We will wait,” EJ answered wistful deep in thought, but his brother had already gone.