The Elves of Loth

Chapter Eleven

“Go left, Black-robin!” Aspen-leaf called, responding to a cue from Hawk-wing. They split, Black-robin leading his section left, while Aspen-leaf led hers right, cleverly avoiding a group of tall pines, as they swooped down the forested mountainside, merging once more into a single group.

“Formation six!” Hawk-wing exclaimed quietly from behind her, and she repeated the order loud enough for the rest of her team to hear it. Immediately, the riders shifted their position, moving into a two by four line as the continued to soar down the side of Katakora. Her next command sent the two dragons at the front – Red-rock’s and Black-robin’s – dropped below the other six. Now Aspen-leaf and Crow-talon were in the lead, the two elves standing briefly, as they moved over to one side of their dragon. The first drop was small, the young elves swinging down to hang from their dragons’ backs, legs dangling below. It was the second drop that Aspen-leaf wasn’t as confident about. With a deep breath, she let go, Crow-talon doing the same. With perfect timing, they fell simultaneously, reading themselves for the landing. Seconds later Aspen-leaf’s feet made contact with the scaly back of Red-rock’s dragon, the leader sitting down quickly to avoid a precarious perch so high up. A glance to the left showed Crow-talon wobbling on the back of Black-robin’s dragon and for a moment Aspen-leaf worried he would lose his balance, but he held it.

Seconds later Hawk-wing dropped down behind her, landing surprisingly well. Behind Crow-talon, Hidden-stream managed to land well too. Next, the riders from the last dragons leapt onto the backs of the two strongest dragons who were already carrying three elves each. Glacial-stone landed on Red-rock’s dragon while North-pine now sat on Black-robin’s. Even with elves being extremely light, the scaly creatures were still young and couldn’t support the weight of four elves for long. The two dragons drifted to the side, landing on a large outcrop of boulders.

In awe, the combat hunters watched the remaining six dragons swoop down the mountain and curve back towards their riders in a giant arch. Of course, in a real battle they would be breathing fire at the dark elven warriors below. At that moment, Aspen-leaf’s only thought was that the dark elves had no idea what was coming.

Once the dragons were back with their riders, Aspen-leaf told her team to get some rest before the battle the next day. With any luck, the dark elves would be unprepared for their attack, and they would all come home safely. It was the next battle that Aspen-leaf was worried about. As soon as the dark elves knew that they were facing dragons the tables would turn and they would be able to prepare for dragon fire.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” North-pine waved to her but his face bore signs of grim worry. The others walked on silently, seeming equally tense. Even Crow-talon’s spirit seemed dampened. It didn’t help that a slow drizzle had begun, making the air feel thick and heavy. Large pools of water still remained from last night’s storm, splashing mud on the boots of Aspen-leaf’s team. No one spoke a word until they’d arrived at their cabins, parting ways. Brief goodbyes were said, some elves shaking hands. Aspen-leaf hated the way they acted as if this was the last time they’d see each other, but they had a right to be worried.

As she began the climb up to her cabin, Aspen-leaf wondered where Dark-star was. She’d often thought that the gothic elf had crossed the dark elven border, but had never wondered about what had happened to her after that. She supposed that there was always the possibility that the vile creatures over there had torn her to bits or that she’d been executed by the dark elven army, but she doubted it. Most likely, she’d gone to Rasg’harock where the dark elven armies were being assembled, and every elf was just another soldier.

Had she been accepted? Was she fighting in the war? Was she a commander? None of Aspen-leaf’s questions seemed to have answers that she could find. She often missed her friend, but it seemed to her that the two of them had changed so much that they couldn’t go back even if they wanted to. The forest elf scolded herself for acting as if she didn’t want to, but it was so vastly impossible that there was no point even hoping for it. If Dark-star hadn’t made it to dark elven territory then she would surely be dead and if she’d joined the armies in Rasg-harock – which was the only way she’d be accepted – then that made them enemies.

Shuffling onto a branch, Aspen-leaf let her gaze fall to her silent teammates who were heading to their separate trees which they scaled with practiced skill. What would they do up there, in their houses? Would they be able to sleep? With a saddened sigh, Aspen-leaf turned towards the quiet of the woods, “I’m sorry, Dark-star, but I can neither wait for you nor protect you.” She closed her eyes, letting the whisper travel on the breeze until it faded away completely. With that she began to climb once more.

Inside her cabin, Aspen-leaf passed back and forth with silent steps, trying to occupy her mind. The whole village was still, as if it were holding its breath, a veil of thin, grey mist hanging over it like a shadow. A shiver crept up her spine as she watched the eerie stillness outside her window. In the center of the clearing, a crow skipped about, probing the ground with its beak. Its eyes gleamed evilly and gave the impression that it was looking straight at her. She turned away.

Finally, she slipped into her bed, hoping for sleep, but when it finally came she was troubled by memories of Ice-wing. In her dream, she sat in the window, legs dangling over the edge. Behind her, she could hear coughing, and she knew that she was supposed to go to her little sister but it felt so good to sit in the sunshine, wind combing her hair back from her face.

Ice-wing’s coughing worsened and Aspen-leaf could hear the covers moving as her little sister struggled, but she couldn’t bring herself to go back into that stuffy house. Hearing her mother’s footsteps rushing down the hall, she relaxed, thinking her mother was there to take care of Ice-wing.

She couldn’t have been more wrong. “Aspen-leaf, what are you doing?” her mother demanded, storming into the room. With a wild gesture towards Ice-wing, she began yelling again, “Can’t you see she’s sick?” Aspen-leaf cringed, tears welling in her eyes and throat stinging with effort of holding them back. How could she be expected, at the age of ten, to commit her entire life to one person?

“I know!” she screamed, fleeing from the room. Somewhere behind her, she could hear her mother ordering her to come back, but she wasn’t about to listen. Instead, she waited outside, until her mother came searching for her. Sneaking back in, she climbed the stairs to her little sister’s bedroom. “Ice-wing,” she whispered, “Come quickly.” A mischievous smile spread across the young elf’s face. Ice-wing loved it when her older sister took her on adventures.

Their fingers intertwined, Aspen-leaf helped her little sister out of bed. Ice-wing wore a simple, white nighty the same colour as her long hair and as she stumbled out of bed, her bare feet making contact with the wooden floor, Aspen-leaf saw how frail she appeared. Trying not to dwell on it, she helped Ice-wing down the hallway and the two of them snuck outside, heading into the forest. After a few minutes, Ice-wing developed a limp so Aspen-leaf helped her up onto her back, carrying her as far as the stream. They sat by the water’s edge, Aspen-leaf splashing cool water on the four-year-old’s face. Ice-wing giggled, pausing only briefly to cough before staring deeply into her older sister’s eyes.

“Will you play with me tomorrow?” Ice-wing asked, looking up at Aspen-leaf with bright-blue eyes full of joy. A smile spread across Aspen-leaf’s face. She leaned in close, giving her younger sister a kiss on the forehead.

“I’ll play with you forever.” She assured, inviting Ice-wing into a hug. Pushing away worried thoughts of how thin Ice-wing was, she closed her eyes. Too soon, though, Ice-wing pulled away, regarding her older sister with concern, she hesitated for a moment.

When she did speak she confused Aspen-leaf, “No, you won’t.” she looked sad now, distant. A single tear slid down her cheek before falling to the ground. As soon as Aspen-leaf reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, she pulled away.

Instead of reassuring her, Aspen-leaf asked, “Why?” It was a simple question, with a simple answer. Ice-wing stood slowly with more strength than Aspen-leaf thought she had. Closing her eyes, the young elf seemed to brace herself for the words she was about to speak, then she opened them, staring deeply into her older sister’s eyes once more.

“Because,” she spoke softly, like a whisper carried on the wind, “I’m already dead.”