Chapter 11
I need to get out of here.
Kairi shut her door behind her, and lay down on her bed, listening to all the bustling activity in the hall with displeasure. She was accustomed to whiling away her time admiring the quiet countryside, where the only sounds were of birds twittering to each other and the steady hum of insects in the fields. Here, the constant din and the incessant chattering of Mages and their familiars reached nearly every corner of the Tower, echoing through the corridors, leaving her no place of refuge from the chaos. It only made her homesickness worse, despite the fact that she knew she could never go home.
Kairi sighed. After being in the library all week she longed to be outside in the sunshine. She needed some fresh air, and the pull of the grounds outside the tower was irresistible.
Well, Kairi reasoned, I wont stay out for long. I’ll be back before lunchtime. It’s not like anyone will even notice I’m gone.
Steeling her resolve, Kairi grabbed her cloak and her satchel containing the books she was supposed to read from the peg beside the door. She headed down the winding stairs to the entry hall, throwing her cloak on.
Kairi pushed the heavy doors open just enough for her to slip through, closing them quietly behind her. The Tower entry hall was deserted except for a small cat the colour of shadows curled up in a shadowed corner. Kairi’s footsteps reverberated around the marble room, and she glanced about nervously. As she closed the main door, finally outside, all the subtle sounds of the Tower were instantly muffled. Kairi breathed in the fresh air, thick with the scent of flowers, and smiled, feeling her spirits lift already.
Inside, the cat opened one large, yellow eye. After several seconds it rose to its feet, stretched, and silently padded off to some other part of the Tower.
Kairi ran across the field surrounding Tiethar Tower in the direction of the great forest, her cloak billowing behind her. Revelling in the cool breeze, she stopped at the edge of the trees and turned around to look back at the Tower. From the outside it looked so serene with the sunlight gleaming off the glass-like turrets, but on the inside it was surprisingly dark and gloomy, even despite the massive amount of windows.
Kairi sighed and shook her head. She turned and continued into the forest, eager to spend the rest of the afternoon with some interesting reading and Nature.
Kairi picked her way through the dense foliage, pushing aside branches and stepping carefully over roots with no particular destination in mind. Eventually she came upon a quick-moving creek and, deciding the spot seemed right, took off her boots and sat down on its grassy bank. The cold water felt good on her feet and she opened the large book on her knees to the first chapter.
The Ancients:
The Gayrr’jiin, the Ancient Races, are made up of the Gayrr’iimokh (the Elves), the Gayrr’aniih (the Animals), and the Gayrr’dehhrn (the Mages). The Ancient Races were created by the Kai’iimokh, the Immortals, to watch over and protect Gelarrial. The Ancient Races all possessed Power, although each race had their own means of producing and using it.
The Elves are often referred to as “the Fair Folk” by mortals. Their skin is pale and their eyes are said to reflect the moonlight from which they were made. They once reigned over the vast forests spreading over present-day Gellarial. They were able to use moonlight in their Magics as well as manipulate the elements as mortal Mages can do. Elven Mages are said to be the most powerful of all races, because of this ability. Today, however, true Elves are nearly extinct, and pure-blood Elves are even more rare, so few can still bend the moonlight with any proficiency.
The mortal Mages are the largest surviving ancient race. A Mage can only be born of two parents with Mageblood in them, although they themselves may not show any Power. Pureblooded Mages, that is those who are born from two true Mages, are usually considerably stronger than those born from parents without Power.
The three Ancient Races lived over one-thousand years in peace until the Humans were created. Soon struggles began breaking out between Humans and the Gayrr’jiin. The Humans believed the creatures of Magic to be unnatural, and set about destroying them.
These struggles grew in number and violence until the Mages of old developed a Powerful magic weapon, beginning the Gayrr’shynnzai, the War of the Ancients. This weapon was used a number of times throughout the war, destroying countless humans and Elves as well. After one-hundred and twenty-four years, the Elves, not knowing how else to end the war, stole the weapon and hid it.
Whether it was destroyed is unknown, but as a result of the loss of the weapon and a lack of resources to continue fighting, the Humans and the Ancient races came to a fragile truce. From that point on they agreed to live in peace. The remaining Elves and Mages either hid in their own corners of the earth or attempted to blend in with the humans. Those that lived among the humans unnoticed often bred with them, resulting in the many interracial mixes we have today.
The Animals, who, for the most part, remained distant from the fighting and from the other races, are the ancestors of today’s lesser animals and aniih. The ancient Animals used the Power of Earth, and used it mainly for the protection of natural resources. The aniih of today are close to the ancient Animals, which once had the power of speech and complex thought. After the Gayrr’shynnzai, however, that ability was lost as they lay hidden for many years, save a few who were able to retain their ability. Today, most aniih can only communicate with their chosen aniih’hayrr through mhiin’likh, or “mind-linking.”
The first chapter went on for a few more pages, describing some of the subsets of aniih and some of the important battles of the Gayrr’shynnzai, and Kairi red them eagerly, hoping to find more mention of the Elven Mages. She guessed she would qualify as an Elven Mage, at least in part, although she didn’t know how much Elven blood she had in her. She wondered whether that meant she could bend the moonlight too. Kairi laid back and closed her eyes, listening to the quiet babble of the water racing over the stones in its path and thinking about what that great battle must have been like. Soon after her head touched the warm grass, however, the sounds of the stream lulled her off into a light slumber.
***
When Kairi awoke, she opened her eyes to darkness. She sat up, abruptly pulled from her reverie and, putting on her boots, she prayed that no one had noticed she was gone. She looked up at the sky, thinking that she must have missed both lunch and dinner.
Kairi began to stand up, but froze as her eyes fell on two ghostly shapes on the other side of the stream, surrounded by wisps of fog. She opened her mouth to scream as her gaze locked with those of one of the creatures, but the golden eyes seemed to pull her in and she was powerless to make a sound.
She felt herself falling, images and emotions chased themselves around inside her head, until she was overwhelmed by the dizzying sights, unable to determine which thoughts and feelings were her own. The most prominent scene repeated over and over in her mind until her body was wracked with sobs and desolate grief--
Her mother wolf licked her twin brother while she pulled on his tail playfully. She looked up into the loving eyes of her mother, then curled up against her warm fur, her brother snug at her back. Her eyes caught those of her brother, and she growled contentedly....
She was following her mother wolf as they bounded through the trees, fascinated by the unfamiliar sights and sounds, playing happily with her twin brother. A loud yelp and her brother’s whimper cut through the calm forest. She looked up and saw a sharp stick protruding from her mother’s neck. She howled as her mother stumbled and fell, eyes glazing over as her warm blood flowed out onto the ground. Sniffing at the motionless body, she recoiled at the sharp smell of death and the unfamiliar tang of metal. She rubbed her nose against her mother’s soft fur, devastated. She howled again, a heart-wrenching sound, echoed by her brother as they gave their mother a last farewell, fleeing the sounds and smells of the hunter and the death that followed.
***
The whirling images slowed and finally came to a halt. Kairi opened her eyes wearily, fighting off nausea. The two young wolves still sat in the same positions as before, as if no time had passed at all, although the sky seemed lighter than before. Her eyes were drawn to the second of the two, and again she was lost in the swirl of scenes through the other’s eyes. Kairi clung to her own identity, fearing that she would be lost forever in this second barrage of images.
***
Diander was just going through the last book Sythrian had brought him, grumbling as he saw the faint glow of dawn through the window, a wave of dizziness passed over him. He gripped his desk as the room seemed to sway before him. He squeezed his eyes shut until the room settled back into place.
Diander looked up as his grey cat, Hallie, leapt nimbly up onto his desk, nudging his white-knuckled hand with her pink nose. He glanced with amazement around the room; nothing was out of place. Not even a picture was crooked. An earthquake?
Seconds later a sleepy-looking boy rushed into the room, panting. “Sir, Jaspyrr needs you. He says it’s urgent, Sir.”
“Well if it’s about that earthquake, it damn well is urgent.”
“Earthquake, Sir?” He raised an eyebrow.
Hallie meowed, pawing the air, and Diander looked sharply at her. The boy jumped as Diander stood up suddenly, knocking his cupful of tea all over the desk. “Fiieh!” He swore, throwing a rag on the steaming liquid. He strode out of his room, leaving the door open in his haste. Another page came around a corner and they collided. In the flutter of falling parchment Diander swore and apologised as he rushed around the boy frantically trying to pick up the pages scattered on the floor.
Diander reached Jaspyrr’s quarters in minutes, surprised as he saw one of his elder female colleagues, Rosamynd, and her student, Gracie, as well as Tevel, hurrying towards him. Diander’s concern intensified; something terrible must have happened if Jaspyrr needed an expert scryer and her top student at this hour. A page ushered them into the room where Jaspyrr was pacing in front of his desk, his face seeming more old and haggard in the pale light. He looked more weary than Diander had ever seen him.
Jaspyrr opened his mouth to speak, but his words were drowned out by another Quake, this one stronger than the first.
Diander fell to his knees, gripping the floor as though his life depended on it. He looked up and was surprised to find that Jaspyrr remained standing, still talking to the other three, and while Rosamynd and Gracie appeared ruffled, and Tevel looked like he might be sick, and even Jaspyrr was slightly pale, all seemed fine otherwise.
As the second quake passed, Diander rose unsteadily to his feet. He passed a hand over his sweating brow, and waved off Gracie’s hand as she offered to help support him. “A magical attack?” He ventured.
Jaspyrr shook his head, turning to him with a grave look upon his face. “It’s not focused enough for an attack, and not set on destruction. Someone has just worked two spells of enormous energy," he paused, frowning. "Enough energy to break through all of the tower's shields.”
“Is one person really capable of one such spell, much less two in such close succession?” Rosamynd wrung her hands anxiously.
“I couldn’t say for sure. What I can tell you is that those energy bursts came from outside the Tower walls. Is everyone accounted for?”
From the door, Hallie meowed, causing them all to turn. All of the blood drained from Diander’s face as he whispered, “Kairi.”
I need to get out of here.
Kairi shut her door behind her, and lay down on her bed, listening to all the bustling activity in the hall with displeasure. She was accustomed to whiling away her time admiring the quiet countryside, where the only sounds were of birds twittering to each other and the steady hum of insects in the fields. Here, the constant din and the incessant chattering of Mages and their familiars reached nearly every corner of the Tower, echoing through the corridors, leaving her no place of refuge from the chaos. It only made her homesickness worse, despite the fact that she knew she could never go home.
Kairi sighed. After being in the library all week she longed to be outside in the sunshine. She needed some fresh air, and the pull of the grounds outside the tower was irresistible.
Well, Kairi reasoned, I wont stay out for long. I’ll be back before lunchtime. It’s not like anyone will even notice I’m gone.
Steeling her resolve, Kairi grabbed her cloak and her satchel containing the books she was supposed to read from the peg beside the door. She headed down the winding stairs to the entry hall, throwing her cloak on.
Kairi pushed the heavy doors open just enough for her to slip through, closing them quietly behind her. The Tower entry hall was deserted except for a small cat the colour of shadows curled up in a shadowed corner. Kairi’s footsteps reverberated around the marble room, and she glanced about nervously. As she closed the main door, finally outside, all the subtle sounds of the Tower were instantly muffled. Kairi breathed in the fresh air, thick with the scent of flowers, and smiled, feeling her spirits lift already.
Inside, the cat opened one large, yellow eye. After several seconds it rose to its feet, stretched, and silently padded off to some other part of the Tower.
Kairi ran across the field surrounding Tiethar Tower in the direction of the great forest, her cloak billowing behind her. Revelling in the cool breeze, she stopped at the edge of the trees and turned around to look back at the Tower. From the outside it looked so serene with the sunlight gleaming off the glass-like turrets, but on the inside it was surprisingly dark and gloomy, even despite the massive amount of windows.
Kairi sighed and shook her head. She turned and continued into the forest, eager to spend the rest of the afternoon with some interesting reading and Nature.
Kairi picked her way through the dense foliage, pushing aside branches and stepping carefully over roots with no particular destination in mind. Eventually she came upon a quick-moving creek and, deciding the spot seemed right, took off her boots and sat down on its grassy bank. The cold water felt good on her feet and she opened the large book on her knees to the first chapter.
The Ancients:
The Gayrr’jiin, the Ancient Races, are made up of the Gayrr’iimokh (the Elves), the Gayrr’aniih (the Animals), and the Gayrr’dehhrn (the Mages). The Ancient Races were created by the Kai’iimokh, the Immortals, to watch over and protect Gelarrial. The Ancient Races all possessed Power, although each race had their own means of producing and using it.
The Elves are often referred to as “the Fair Folk” by mortals. Their skin is pale and their eyes are said to reflect the moonlight from which they were made. They once reigned over the vast forests spreading over present-day Gellarial. They were able to use moonlight in their Magics as well as manipulate the elements as mortal Mages can do. Elven Mages are said to be the most powerful of all races, because of this ability. Today, however, true Elves are nearly extinct, and pure-blood Elves are even more rare, so few can still bend the moonlight with any proficiency.
The mortal Mages are the largest surviving ancient race. A Mage can only be born of two parents with Mageblood in them, although they themselves may not show any Power. Pureblooded Mages, that is those who are born from two true Mages, are usually considerably stronger than those born from parents without Power.
The three Ancient Races lived over one-thousand years in peace until the Humans were created. Soon struggles began breaking out between Humans and the Gayrr’jiin. The Humans believed the creatures of Magic to be unnatural, and set about destroying them.
These struggles grew in number and violence until the Mages of old developed a Powerful magic weapon, beginning the Gayrr’shynnzai, the War of the Ancients. This weapon was used a number of times throughout the war, destroying countless humans and Elves as well. After one-hundred and twenty-four years, the Elves, not knowing how else to end the war, stole the weapon and hid it.
Whether it was destroyed is unknown, but as a result of the loss of the weapon and a lack of resources to continue fighting, the Humans and the Ancient races came to a fragile truce. From that point on they agreed to live in peace. The remaining Elves and Mages either hid in their own corners of the earth or attempted to blend in with the humans. Those that lived among the humans unnoticed often bred with them, resulting in the many interracial mixes we have today.
The Animals, who, for the most part, remained distant from the fighting and from the other races, are the ancestors of today’s lesser animals and aniih. The ancient Animals used the Power of Earth, and used it mainly for the protection of natural resources. The aniih of today are close to the ancient Animals, which once had the power of speech and complex thought. After the Gayrr’shynnzai, however, that ability was lost as they lay hidden for many years, save a few who were able to retain their ability. Today, most aniih can only communicate with their chosen aniih’hayrr through mhiin’likh, or “mind-linking.”
The first chapter went on for a few more pages, describing some of the subsets of aniih and some of the important battles of the Gayrr’shynnzai, and Kairi red them eagerly, hoping to find more mention of the Elven Mages. She guessed she would qualify as an Elven Mage, at least in part, although she didn’t know how much Elven blood she had in her. She wondered whether that meant she could bend the moonlight too. Kairi laid back and closed her eyes, listening to the quiet babble of the water racing over the stones in its path and thinking about what that great battle must have been like. Soon after her head touched the warm grass, however, the sounds of the stream lulled her off into a light slumber.
***
When Kairi awoke, she opened her eyes to darkness. She sat up, abruptly pulled from her reverie and, putting on her boots, she prayed that no one had noticed she was gone. She looked up at the sky, thinking that she must have missed both lunch and dinner.
Kairi began to stand up, but froze as her eyes fell on two ghostly shapes on the other side of the stream, surrounded by wisps of fog. She opened her mouth to scream as her gaze locked with those of one of the creatures, but the golden eyes seemed to pull her in and she was powerless to make a sound.
She felt herself falling, images and emotions chased themselves around inside her head, until she was overwhelmed by the dizzying sights, unable to determine which thoughts and feelings were her own. The most prominent scene repeated over and over in her mind until her body was wracked with sobs and desolate grief--
Her mother wolf licked her twin brother while she pulled on his tail playfully. She looked up into the loving eyes of her mother, then curled up against her warm fur, her brother snug at her back. Her eyes caught those of her brother, and she growled contentedly....
She was following her mother wolf as they bounded through the trees, fascinated by the unfamiliar sights and sounds, playing happily with her twin brother. A loud yelp and her brother’s whimper cut through the calm forest. She looked up and saw a sharp stick protruding from her mother’s neck. She howled as her mother stumbled and fell, eyes glazing over as her warm blood flowed out onto the ground. Sniffing at the motionless body, she recoiled at the sharp smell of death and the unfamiliar tang of metal. She rubbed her nose against her mother’s soft fur, devastated. She howled again, a heart-wrenching sound, echoed by her brother as they gave their mother a last farewell, fleeing the sounds and smells of the hunter and the death that followed.
***
The whirling images slowed and finally came to a halt. Kairi opened her eyes wearily, fighting off nausea. The two young wolves still sat in the same positions as before, as if no time had passed at all, although the sky seemed lighter than before. Her eyes were drawn to the second of the two, and again she was lost in the swirl of scenes through the other’s eyes. Kairi clung to her own identity, fearing that she would be lost forever in this second barrage of images.
***
Diander was just going through the last book Sythrian had brought him, grumbling as he saw the faint glow of dawn through the window, a wave of dizziness passed over him. He gripped his desk as the room seemed to sway before him. He squeezed his eyes shut until the room settled back into place.
Diander looked up as his grey cat, Hallie, leapt nimbly up onto his desk, nudging his white-knuckled hand with her pink nose. He glanced with amazement around the room; nothing was out of place. Not even a picture was crooked. An earthquake?
Seconds later a sleepy-looking boy rushed into the room, panting. “Sir, Jaspyrr needs you. He says it’s urgent, Sir.”
“Well if it’s about that earthquake, it damn well is urgent.”
“Earthquake, Sir?” He raised an eyebrow.
Hallie meowed, pawing the air, and Diander looked sharply at her. The boy jumped as Diander stood up suddenly, knocking his cupful of tea all over the desk. “Fiieh!” He swore, throwing a rag on the steaming liquid. He strode out of his room, leaving the door open in his haste. Another page came around a corner and they collided. In the flutter of falling parchment Diander swore and apologised as he rushed around the boy frantically trying to pick up the pages scattered on the floor.
Diander reached Jaspyrr’s quarters in minutes, surprised as he saw one of his elder female colleagues, Rosamynd, and her student, Gracie, as well as Tevel, hurrying towards him. Diander’s concern intensified; something terrible must have happened if Jaspyrr needed an expert scryer and her top student at this hour. A page ushered them into the room where Jaspyrr was pacing in front of his desk, his face seeming more old and haggard in the pale light. He looked more weary than Diander had ever seen him.
Jaspyrr opened his mouth to speak, but his words were drowned out by another Quake, this one stronger than the first.
Diander fell to his knees, gripping the floor as though his life depended on it. He looked up and was surprised to find that Jaspyrr remained standing, still talking to the other three, and while Rosamynd and Gracie appeared ruffled, and Tevel looked like he might be sick, and even Jaspyrr was slightly pale, all seemed fine otherwise.
As the second quake passed, Diander rose unsteadily to his feet. He passed a hand over his sweating brow, and waved off Gracie’s hand as she offered to help support him. “A magical attack?” He ventured.
Jaspyrr shook his head, turning to him with a grave look upon his face. “It’s not focused enough for an attack, and not set on destruction. Someone has just worked two spells of enormous energy," he paused, frowning. "Enough energy to break through all of the tower's shields.”
“Is one person really capable of one such spell, much less two in such close succession?” Rosamynd wrung her hands anxiously.
“I couldn’t say for sure. What I can tell you is that those energy bursts came from outside the Tower walls. Is everyone accounted for?”
From the door, Hallie meowed, causing them all to turn. All of the blood drained from Diander’s face as he whispered, “Kairi.”
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