The Elves of Loth

Chapter Four

The path was treacherous and slick with ice. Ahead, Aspen-leaf saw the terrified expression on Hawk-wing’s face, how his lips were pressed tight together, and his eyes – wide and fearful - seemed glued to the canyon below, while his back remained pressed against the cliff behind him as he shuffled sideways along the frozen ground. Although the height of the path was frightening, Aspen-leaf was more concerned with how quickly it had turned to ice and snow. One moment they were in a lush, green forest, then, in a matter of heartbeats, the trees shrivelled into nothingness, giving way to the harsh, unforgiving terrain of the mountains. She could still make out the soft, green forest behind them, but it was an almost forgotten memory.

“Over here!” Cliff-breeze hollered from up ahead, and the eight of them hurried onwards and around the corner – all except Aspen-leaf and hawk-wing. Being a year younger than Hawk-wing, Aspen-leaf found it somewhat amusing to see him so terrified of something like that, but she knew better than to mention it and mostly she just wanted him to hurry up so that she could reach the rest of their group. Had they found the eggs?

That was that last thing Aspen-leaf remembered thinking before she felt the ground star to tremble beneath her feet. Instinctively, she whipped her head around, wondering what was going on, but not quite wanting to know.

“Avalanche!” someone screamed, and it took Aspen-leaf longer than it should have to realise that she was the one whose shocked cry echoed from the surrounding peeks. Upon realising that, Aspen-leaf thought she was going to die! She would be pushed from the cliff, falling into the darkness below, and that would be the end of her. Hawk-wing opened his mouth to scream but was cut short by the immense mass of snow that collided with his chest, knocking him unconscious. A split second later, Aspen-leaf was swept up by the wave of snow. Realisation and hope crashed over her as she watched slabs of rock separate from the mountain, creating a steep slope where the cliff had just been. She was going to live.

Pumping her arms and legs, the young elf tried in vain to keep herself above the surface. Unfortunately, every time she reached it she became tired and sunk back into the freezing ocean of snow. It didn’t matter how strong she told herself she was; nature was stronger. It didn’t matter if she was the strongest elf in her squad; all that bought her was consciousness so that she could see her comrades perish. That was when she remembered Hawk-wing. Even if she couldn’t save herself, it was her duty to make sure he survived. That was what she was trained for.

Kicking and squirming, she made her way to the surface yet again, attempting to catch her breath before calling out “Hawk-wing! Where are you?” When she received no reply, Aspen-leaf became worried. The avalanche was slowing down now – soon it would become solid. Plunging forwards into the hardening snow, she probed it with her arms, fully aware that he was probably a lot lower than her reach. As she continued this, it became harder and harder to penetrate the crust, until, finally, her legs became frozen in place.  The avalanche had come to a complete and utter stop. What if she couldn’t find him? What he was stuck somewhere beneath her and she couldn’t reach him in time? Aspen-leaf felt a single tear slide down her cheek.

She forced herself to concentrate, digging her legs free, one by one until she was free from her icy prison. Precious minutes had passed, and there was no time to loose. Just then, as she stood to begin her search, Aspen-leaf’s feet gave way from beneath her,  sending her sliding down the froze crust of snow. In desperation, she dug her bare fingers into the snow-pack in an attempt to slow herself down. It wasn’t until she caught hold of a branch that she was able to stop her descent. Slowly, Aspen-leaf made her way to her feet.  Only then did she realise it was not a branch.

“Hawk-wing!” she cried in surprise. She’d thought she’d never see him again. A split second later she began to dig, chucking handfuls of snow behind her as she went. The snow was less compacted than it had been where Aspen-leaf had been stuck, making it easier to unbury him. Several times, Aspen-leaf slipped, catching the rim of her hole with one hand, barely saving herself from another sledding episode, but soon she had enough of hawk-wing unburied that she was able to pull his head free. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she heard him breathing.

Once he’d woken up, Aspen-leaf helped him stand and the two of them rounded the corner, arriving at a part of the mountain that was untouched by the avalanche. “Are you alright?” Aspen-leaf turned to Hawk-wing, but his gaze seemed to have drifted to something else – something behind her. “What are you…“ Aspen-leaf turned to find over half a dozen large, speckled eggs lying on the floor of the cave in fort of them.

As much as Aspen-leaf wanted to gloat over her incredible find, she knew that the others wouldn’t have a clue where she and Hawk-wing where, and that they’d have no way to find the two young elves. Carefully, Aspen-leaf made her way around the corner and up the steep slope as far as she could without taking too great a risk. “Over here!” her words echoed slightly, but Aspen-leaf hoped it was still clear where they were coming from. “Over here!” she called out again, this time adding “We found the eggs!” Several minutes passed and the young girl was beginning to lose hope when a figure immerged from the slight fog. Her face lit up immediately and she waved to the others as they too came into view.

What had been a terrifying experience became thrilling discovery. Cliff-breeze sat them down in a circle, before turning to Aspen-leaf, “Remember what I told you about your sixth sense. You are the only one here who can truly match dragon to rider.” Not having any clue what she was doing, Aspen-leaf extended her arm towards the nest of stones. Closing her eyes, she searched for something she could base her decision on, but found nothing. Her world was black. Then, she realised her mistake, she was seeking light when that had nothing to do with it. What she felt then was a presence, something tugging her arm towards a certain egg. She relaxed her muscles, letting her arm be pulled this way and that, and although she did not open her eyes she could feel her friends watching her intently.

After several minutes, the pull on her arm began to fade, leaving her anxious to see her egg. That was all it took for her to open her eyes. Each young elf sat before an egg, but one remained in the center. Tearing her eyes from the lone egg, Aspen-leaf focused on the one in front of her. It was a dark shade of grey with what appeared to be a sparse scattering of snowflakes etched across its surface, although it was hard to tell the exact shape of the tiny pale grey speckles. As she glanced around the circle, Aspen-leaf realised that all their eggs were grey dappled with a paler shade of the same colour, or grey with darker speckles. Looking at all those eggs made her realise how special they were, and how grateful she was. She couldn’t stop smiling.