The Moon Ring

Chapter 4

It had been six weeks since that fateful night.  Laoch hadn’t seen or spoken to any one besides the people who went on duty with him.  He had never been given a break, had never been allowed to rest.  This was a time of war; if everyone was given a break to grieve when they lost someone they loved hardly anyone would ever be working.  The first few weeks after Dreasa’s death, Laoch’s dreams had been plagued by the memory of Dreasa’s mangled body.  The nightmare came less often now, but sometimes he would still wake up in a cold sweat, tears rushing down his face.

 He walked along the slat walkway that was the higher border of Ashlenair, his hand roving along the coarse twine handrail.  He stared out at the trees beyond the border.  He had always loved the forest that Ashlenair was situated in, but now it was nothing more than the forest Dreasa had died in.  Sult Forest would never be beautiful to him again.

He looked down at the ground border: a 4m high stone wall, a metre taller than Warriors, the tallest Elves in Ashlenair.  How had they gotten over?

The sound of distant talking snapped him back to reality and he silently scolded himself.  After what happened to Dreasa, he should know better than to lose his focus!  What if more Elves got past him and died as a result?

He walked further north, in the direction of the voices.

“Can you imagine a girl like her as a Houseminder?  It’ll be disaster!”

“Who cares what kind of girl she is?  If she had chosen a good, respectable job when she was given the chance, then she wouldn’t have this problem, now would she?  Houseminding is the only option she has left; no Academy is going to take on a 41 year old!”

Elven children start school the year they turn 14 years old, and spend the next 20 years doing compulsory studies.  The year they turn 34 years old, they go to a Training Academy of their choice; the only exception is girls who choose to become Houseminders.

Laoch’s heart clenched at the conversation.  He sped up until two fellow Guardians he was on duty with came into view.

“Who’re you guys talking about?”  He asked.

“That girl who survived the Dwarf attack,” one of them replied.

“Yeah, she’s finally realised that beyond the borders is no place for a woman and gone and quit Herb Collecting to become a Houseminder,” the other laughed.

“What?  But she loves Herb Collecting!  It’s her dream to take over from her father!”

“Oh yeah!  I forgot you were friends with her!”  The first one replied.  “Sorry, mate, but the Dwarf attack obviously scared her off it.”

Laoch looked up at the sky, he had one more hour on duty, and then he would go see Feimeach.

Two hours later found Laoch walking through the Healer Village Feimeach lived in.  Laoch had been assigned to the South-Western section of the border and his village was situated in the Far North of Ashlenair, near the border.  It had taken some time to head home, wash, change and then head back towards the Near South where Feimeach’s village sat, near the Elven Castle.

He strolled casually through the criss-crossing lath footpath that connected and inter-connected the villages.  All of Ashlenair was built high up in trees, except the Castle, because it was built atop 600 tons of solid marble.

He watched idly as Herb Collectors brought fresh herbs to the Healers, or Healers sent fresh potions and poultices to various other villages.  Most of them probably went to the Protector villages, to the Warriors, Laoch thought distractedly.  Laoch would have loved to be a Healer, but it would have shamed his family if he, a Warrior’s son, became a mere Healer.