Month: April 2016

“Ye must find yer way through a great bluewood door. Fire
won’t get ye in. An axe won’t scratch the hard wood. Only a friendly
knock gets ye in! Ye must be smart. Ye must be wily. Ye can’t hide
yer smell from the keen noses of the giants. They’d as soon eat ya
as look at ya.
“But me…I befriended the old red king. Old Saifferd’s got a fiery
red beard and long red hair. He carries a wondrous silver axe and
has rooms filled with treasure. He has a cup that creates wondrous
draughts- best ale I ever drank. Ye wouldn’t think it to look at me,
but I’ve seen a hundred and seven winters. I quaffed elixir of youth
from the cup of wonder and riled the ole boy up! Yeah, he thought he
had me, but I tricked him and sneaked away from old Saifferd. He
gnashed angrily and chipped three teeth when I got away. No man
is braver than me- Phestus Phagyn. Did I ever tell you guys, I’m
wanted by the King of Donothor? ‘Sniffed by the beast’ I’ve been,
and I sit here before ya. No man but Phestus Phagyn ever escaped
the dungeons of Castle Lyndyn. An old dragon smells every poor
soul locked up there. The filthy dwarves built them well, but the
dungeons and traps weren’t strong enough to hold old Phestus. I’ve
escaped from the Red Giants and the King of the West. Nobody in
Rancide can say that but me!” The old man gloated.

The following morning Ravenna went to the buttery to join Knarra for breakfast. A tall young man who bore striking resemblance to the Priestess sat with Knarra. He stood respectfully when Ravenna entered and extended his hand toward the elf.

Knarra said, “Captain Ravenna, I’d like you to meet my and Roscoe’s son Eyerthrein, the High Priest of Donothor.”

Eyerthrein said, “I’m honored to meet a true hero of Donothor. Stories of your valor fill our tomes and fireside conversations. Mother, you did not exaggerate about her beauty and resemblance to Erinnia.”

Ravenna said, “Take your seat, Eyerthrein. You said, Roscoe is his father. That means you and the Mage of Briar Garden are… together.”

Knarra smiled and answered, “Yes, he is my life mate.”

Ravenna sat down and said, “Lots of things have happened while I was away.”

The three had a glorious breakfast. The fruits of the forest had sustained Ravenna during her recent journey. The elf ate ravenously. After the repast the three made ready. Curates supplied Ravenna with riding gear. Farriers had prepared three stout warhorses.

“Why are the horses not armored? Where are the Rangers that will escort us to Lyndyn? Why are no archers on the allure?” the elf queried.

“We enjoy peace. The men work the fields. We have not felt a threat these fifteen years,” Eyerthrein answered.

“Youth! But were it to return!” a gruff voice interrupted.

“Roscoe! I could never forget the voice. Are you well?” Ravenna politely asked.

“As well as three millennia will allow, my red-haired friend. Seeing you makes me remember the vigor of youth, but I also remember constant peril. I am comfortable with my station in life. I am loved,” the old Sorcerer answered.

King Eomore Aivendar looked onto the quiet inner ward of great Castle Lyndyn. The quadrangle was almost empty. The king of Donothor usually slept well. This night’s insomnia and an unnerving sense of foreboding baffled him. He had left his warm bed and the closeness of his beloved Queen Cara and stepped out onto the balcony that overlooked the enceinte. The call of a night bird and a muffled cough from one of the guards high on the allure of the outer curtain disturbed the silence. Peace had prevailed since the victory of the sheriff of Knottington Lyana Rikmon and feminine warriors of Donothor against the demon and made guard duty largely symbolic. Castle Lyndyn was the most fortified place in the Kingdom of Donothor. Unlike the Fane of the Setting Sun and the dwarves’ citadel Hillesdale, Castle Lyndyn had never been under siege.

Eomore sighed. A faint fluttering caught his attention and grew louder. The caw of a griffin announced its arrival. The beast flew into the torch-lit area of the balcony. The creature carried a pouch emblazoned with the symbol of the Fane of the Setting Sun.

Griffins were among the most trustworthy and intelligent creatures in the realm. The muscular beasts were often trusted with the guardianship of children. griffins were often empathetic to light sorcerers, and the beasts augmented the healing capabilities of the light sorcerers.

Eomore Aivendar approached the winged creature and removed and unrolled the parchment. The king immediately recognized the flowing runes that categorized the Priestess Knarra’s handwriting. The king gasped. This could not be true! Was this glad tidings or a baneful notice? The message did not help king’s sleeplessness. Nonetheless he knew that Cara would miss him soon and quietly returned to their bedchamber and lay beside her to feign sleep. The king did not hear the soft lyrical elfish phrases. He never did and again slept.

Cara Nightshade Aivendar smiled. Forty years of marriage and her beloved had never detected the Sleep Spell. She would awaken him in the morning.

Ravenna answered, “The blood of your world flows through my veins. I’ve been away. I encountered an enemy our world glimpsed in the Iron Mountains War. I found the realm of the green elves. We called them Greelves, but they prefer the name Vydaelians, after their conurbation.  I’ve been a prisoner in the caves of a great underground cavern. I escaped from my prison and found my way to a world of three suns, one bright yellow, one black and distant, and one gray. The light of the three suns creates a night less amber world. The peculiar gray sun drew near and somehow empowered me. With new strength I reentered the caverns and sent many of the malicious creatures to the depths of the Abyss. I discovered a means to return to Donothor, a portal  between this world and ours. I’ve made my escape to warn you.”

“Ravenna, you have been gone a long time. We discovered the Portal Gate northwest of Lyndyn. Initially we found adversaries, but now the Draith Lord Calaiz numbers among our greatest allies. We call this world Parallan,” Knarra said with confusion.

“Knarra, the gate of which I speak lies in a Mender’s tomb and connects to the dungeon of Red Mountain in the Northern Range of the Iron Mountains in the room between the monk’s prison and Domingo’s door.”

Knarra interrupted, “Yes, we discovered the gate in the Iron Mountains War. We defeated the giants and their allies, took the evil chalice, freed the monk, but could not open the sealed entry to the realm of the Deep Elves.”

Ravenna replied, “The way is now open. The dwellers of the surface of the World of Three Suns know nothing of the Deep Elves. The Deep Elves grow stronger in the darkness of their world. Both the World of the Three Suns and our world are in peril.”