Eron

    It was early morning in Aslinsi. The sun was just peeking up from behind the trees. The young elf boy, Eron, was sleeping peacefully in his hut high up in the trees. He woke with a jolt. Eron stared at the door as a frightened rabbit might do while being stalked by a wolf. He heard the uniform clang of soldier’s boots, and talking coming closer to his room. The noises stopped for a moment other than faint whispering. A sudden, almost casual knock came from the other side. Eron was not to be fooled for he knew all too well who was there. He had been dreading this moment for weeks. Eron had turned sixteen two weeks ago and as was tradition, every suitable male shall join the King’s Alliance; an elite army of elves specially trained to fight the mungs, or as they called themselves, humans. The elves and mungs have been at war for centuries and just recently forced the elves into near extinction with contraptions they called muskets. That was hundreds of years ago and who knows what they have now. The elves preferred to honor the ways of their ancestors and use swords and shields. They also lived their everyday lives like them too. No electricity or even indoor plumbing. Elves did not need those useless things. They substituted it with magic. They could manipulate it to do everything the mungs did and more. Only the most corrupt elves use the mungs weapons and living ways. Now they are a force to be reckoned with. Eron had refused to join the Alliance and the king had given him two weeks after turning to decide. The two weeks were up and Eron knew what was coming. By now the casual knocking had become pounding with loud shouts. Eron jumped out of bed, already dressed, and grabbed his pack.
The pounding was louder than before. The soldiers were getting impatient. Eron sprinted across the length of his room and leaped out the window. The fall down was a good sixty feet but Eron smoothly rolled as he landed and continued running. A feat such as this would kill any normal being, but elves were far from normal. They had superior strength, hearing, sight, and smell compared to the mungs. They also had the ability to call upon their vast reserves of energy and use magic. Eron didn’t know how to use magic yet, for it was part of the training the king provided.
As Eron ran through the forest of Aslinsi, he could hear the faint shouts of soldiers yelling and chasing him. He knew they couldn’t catch him in their heavy steel armor because it slowed them down greatly. Eron did not see the need for steel. Leather or mail would be fine. There was never any danger in Aslinsi other than the occasional vandal. Aslinsi was hidden deep in the forest of Nolfaverel and was never under any threat of attack. Once he was a good league away, he slowed to a brisk walk. When sunset came, he started to set up a camp. A simple tent and bedroll made of pine needles and cloth he had packed. Eron crawled into the tent and fell asleep quickly.

Eron awoke the next morning bleary eyed, to see someone sitting near him cooking a rabbit on a small fire. He assumed it wasn’t a guard and rubbed his eyes. It was an elf girl about Eron’s age. She was attractive, had a slim figure, dark auburn hair, bright green eyes, slim arched eyebrows, and was wearing a leather tunic with leather breeches. Belted to her waist was a fine eleven sword Over her back was the finest bow Eron had ever seen.
Without looking up from her cooking she asked, “Are you hungry?”
“Yes,” Eron answered dumbfounded.
“Good. It will be ready in ten minutes.”
There was silence in the camp for what seemed like hours while she cooked. Eron finally worked up the courage and asked, “What are you called?”
“My name is Fyrneldar, but you can call me Fyrn. Everyone does. Do not fear me
Eron, I will not harm you. I know of you and why you fled. I have done the same.”
    More silence came after that. Eron had many thoughts going through his mind. Why is she here? Who is she really? How does she know why I ran away? He pondered the questions for a moment and strangely he seemed to hear the answers to them all. The strangest thing was, he heard them like they were his own thoughts.
I am here to assist you on your journey. I am who I told you I am. Everyone thinks you left because you are scared and weak, that you do not want to fight. I know the real reason though: Glaedr.
It was the strangest feeling. Eron knew not what was going on. He looked around the camp but there was nobody. Then he looked at Fyrn and she chuckled and said,
“Guess you’re wondering how I did that don’t you? It is magic of course. And I can teach you how to use it if you want. Along with how to use either the sword or the bow also. Which do you choose Eron?”

Back in the city of Aslinsi, the king was furious about the guards letting Eron escape.
“You idiots! He was the one! You let him escape! Anyone else would be fine! But no, you had to let Eron escape!”
The guards had only one thing to say, “My lord! He was the one! We know that! That is the only reason he escaped us. We pounded on his door and even kicked it! It seemed to be reinforced! He must have used magic!”
“Shutup! Eron did NOT use magic! He cannot!” He quieted down and said, “He has never learned how. There is only one possibility… that Fyrn girl. I know her mother has been secretly teaching her magic. Bring her here!”
The king’s guards ran off to fetch Adurna, Fyrn’s mother.
They came back minutes later dragging a screaming woman. She tried to run but the guards put their swords to her neck and she calmed down. The guards dragged her up to the king so she was so close she could smell his foul breath.
“Ah, Adurna,” the king said calmly. “ I am glad you could make it. I have some questions to ask you.”
Adurna now looked sick to her stomach. She was sweating and looked like she was about to die.
“Now then, Adurna, Where is your daughter?”
Adurna was breathing hard now. Come on Adurna. Stay calm. Think of something. Your daughter is in danger because of you. Finally she said,
“My daughter, Fyrn, is out hunting and I know not when she will return.”
“You LIE! I know where she is. She is not hunting, but she will soon be the hunted! Now take her to the dungeon! When she decides to tell the truth, bring to me once again.”
The guards dragged the squirming Adurna away as the king laughed as a mad man might do.
The dungeon floor was cold when Adurna was thrown down onto it. Her hands had been tied and her mouth gagged so she could not scream, only make the slightest squeaks. The guards closed the cell door and tromped away. The clang of their boots could be heard for minutes until it faded away. All was silent other than Adurna’s shallow breathing and dripping of water on the cold stone floor. This is horrible. I am in the dungeon, and my poor girl is going to be hunted like a filthy animal. Well look on the bright side, Fyrn is old enough to be out on her own. She is better than I with the sword and the bow. She knows all of the basic spells and more. And she said something about a boy. His name was… oh I can’t remember. The dripping stopped for a second and then continued. Eron. It is Eron she is with. Well, Fyrn will teach him the basics, and he will be just like his father. She started weeping uncontrollably at the thought of Eron’s father.

“Which one? I really don’t know. I have never used a sword, and only used a bow while out hunting,” Eron replied.
“Well in that case, we will start you out with a bow. Stay here while I gather some wood to make your bow.”
 She came back soon after with a sapling and some flax. She held the sapling in her hand, stared at it, and said,
“Kengr skógr.”
The wood arched into the shape of a bow. She then took the flax and said,
“Gora bogastrengr.”
The flax spun itself into bowstring and Fyrn started to string the bow.
“I don’t know how to make arrows yet, so I will lend you some of mine. I have plenty.”
“Thank you.”
She handed Eron the bow and some arrows. Then stood up and walked a few dozen feet away. She grabbed a decaying log and propped it up against the side of a rock. When she got back to Eron she said,
“Now, shoot that log over there. Try to get it right in the middle of the knot in the wood. Eron nodded and knocked an arrow. He raised the bow eye-level and let an arrow fly. It flew through the air and landed just to the left of the knot.
“Very good. You at least know how to use a bow,” Fyrn praised, “we just need to work on your aiming a little. Keep practicing.”
Eron practiced all day and by sunset, he could get it directly in the center of the knot.
“Very good,” she praised, “Now sleep, for tomorrow we must move camp and you will need all the energy in your body.”
“Goodnight Fyrn.”
“Goodnight to you as well Eron.”
Eron crawled into his tent and lay down. Before he went to sleep he wondered, where is Fyrn going to sleep? I cannot let her sleep outside. It gets cold and there are beasts. He crawled out of his tent. Fyrn was sitting by the fire practicing some spell.
“Where will you sleep?” Eron asked.
“I can sleep out here. It will be fine.”
“It gets awfully cold, and there are beasts. You can sleep in my tent with me.” Eron realized what he just said and started stuttering. Fyrn blushed. “I mea- it’s big enough for both of us.”
“No really, it’s fine Eron. I can build a tent if it will make you feel better.”
Eron was too embarrassed to reply and went back into his tent and fell asleep.

Eron woke with a start the next morning. Fyrn was outside loudly packing her things. Eron crawled out of the tent and asked what was going on.
“There are soldiers heading this way. I am assuming they are coming for us. We must leave now.”
Eron grabbed his pack and broke down his tent. He took the fabric but left the twigs. He grabbed his bow and he and Fyrn took off. They could already hear the soldier’s horses galloping towards them at full speed. Eron turned around to see at least a dozen soldiers clad in red and gold: the king’s colors.
“This way! I can see their camp!”
By the time they got to the camp, Eron and Fyrn were long gone.
“Continue east! I see their footprints!”
Eron and Fyrn were elves and could run very fast, but the horses were bred for speed and soon caught up with them. The soldiers were so close now they were goners. Fyrn suddenly grabbed Eron’s hand and screamed,
“Fara til Taurth”!
Eron was blinded with a sudden light. He crashed to the ground and when he got his sight back, observed his surroundings. He was in the middle of a street. Mungs were walking past them. They weren’t staring though. Mungs cannot use magic so they would wonder how they got there, unless… they weren’t mungs. No they weren’t mungs, they were elves.
“Where are we?” He asked Fyrn
“We are in the elf city of Taurth.”
“I thought Aslinsi was the only elf city.”
“Elves don’t need to be hidden from humans to survive. We can defend ourselves.”
“Where are we exactly?”
“Just outside of New York City”
“New York City. Never heard of it. Sounds like a mung city.”
“It is.”
“Don’t the elves fear being attacked? The mungs have muskets!”
“Oh, dear Eron, they have much more powerful weapons now. Still, the elves of Taurth do not fear. They use magical wards to not only protect themselves, but hide the city too. A similar spell can be used on an individual person or object. I have to teach you some time.”
“Did you teleport here?”
“Yes.”
“Why are we here?”
“You will see soon enough. Now have you exhausted your list of questions, or do you have more?”
“No I’m done.”
They walked down the street until they came to a tavern. Inside was a neat and clean bar, and some tables in the corner. The room was filled with talking and singing of drunk elves. They sat down at the bar and the bartender asked them,
“What will it be then?”
“Hello Glaedr. I will have just water please,” Fyrn said.
“And you boy?”
“Nothing, thank you.”
Eron was astonished by what Fyrn just called the man. Did she just call him Glaedr?
 Then the response came; yes I called him Glaedr. He is the Glaedr you are looking for.
Did you know he was here all along?
Yes.
Then why didn’t we just teleport here in the first place?
Well you might not be able to tell, but I am very exhausted right now. Certain spells, like this one, take a lot of energy.
How can you do all of this magic though? Your only sixteen aren’t you?
Yes I am sixteen. My mother has been training me since I was seven.
Then Eron realized how they were conversing,
Hey! Why are you inside my head again? Are you always in there? Can’t a boy have some privacy?
Now that I think about it, I do not know. We seem to be linked in a way far beyond the means of magic.
You sure?
Not entirely.
They ended the conversation there and Eron waited while Fyrn downed her water. When she was done, Glaedr leaned over the bar and whispered something to Fyrn. She nodded and they walked off into the kitchen. When they came back Glaedr resumed bartending and Fyrn grabbed his hand and led him out. She was walking briskly down the street until Eron asked,
“Where are we going?”
The response came within his head, don’t talk aloud! It is not safe.
Why not? Where are we going?
We have to leave the city for a while. The guards that were chasing us when we teleported, they must have had a spellcaster with them and all of them followed us. It would take a great spellcaster to teleport all those men.
Spellcaster? I thought all elves used magic?
We do. Just most only know basic spells and some combat ones too. Only spellcasters are trained in more complicated ones.
Like teleporting?
Like teleporting.
When they were a safe distance from the city, Fyrn looked around and said,
“Now, while we are out here I will teach you some magic. The basic spells you learn in the Alliance. I cannot teach you the harder spells. As you know Glaedr is a master spellcaster and swordsman. He will teach you both.”
Eron was excited to finally learn magic and said, “When do we start?”
“Right now.”

Back in the cell Adurna was in, she had just stopped crying. I miss him so much. I just wish he could be here today. If only I… A spark went off in her mind. She had the perfect idea. She stood up and stretched, stiff from sitting so long. She stood by the cell door and kicked it. The guards walked to her and said,
“What do you want? Are you finally ready to tell the truth?”
She nodded.
“Good. To the king we go!” He laughed coarsely as he unlocked the cell door.
She was led through the dungeon and up steep steps. They rounded two corners and went through a door. They were in the great hall. Adurna could see the bony, pale king sitting on his throne.
“Ah, what do we have here?”
“She is ready to tell the truth my lord.”
“Perfect. I just finished dinner.” He chuckled horribly.
The guards took the gag out of her mouth and the king said,
“Now then, where is your daughter?”
“My daughter is… not hunting. She ran away with that boy Eron. Eron did not escape, Fyrn forced him to flee with her. She sent me a message explaining. I burned the note after I read it. Do not blame Fyrn for her actions, she has had a troubled life since her father died.”
The king pondered this for a moment and said,
“Yes, Vrael was a good man. The best warrior we’ve ever had I think. This satisfies me. Let her go, she is free, but make sure she stays in Aslinsi and does not leave for anything.”
“Yes my lord,” mumbled the soldiers.
They untied Adurna’s hands and pushed her out the castle door. She walked back to her home followed by two guards. Are they going to be standing outside my house all the time? She giggled silently. I can have some fun with them. And maybe distract them while I escape. She opened the door to her house and sat on her bed.
“At least those lugs didn’t follow me inside,” she chortled. She got undressed and lay in her bed. It was night now. She must have been in the cell for at least four hours.
She fell asleep and dreamed that night, about Fyrn’s father. Her husband.

When she woke the next morning, she could hear the guards talking outside her house. This is the perfect time to pull a little prank, she decided. She looked out the window and to the left, she could see the guards standing with their backs to her. Perfect! She concentrated on the guard closest to her and uttered a spell under her breath,
“Svefn.”
The guard slumped to the ground and started snoring. She had put him to sleep. The other guard started shouting and kicking the sleeping man, but he did not wake. Ha! Idiot! He will not wake til’ I say so! She admired the comedy of one guard kicking his sleeping peer and then uttered another spell,
“Vaka.”
 The sleeping guard woke up and looked around. The other guard yelled at him and they both exchanged screams for a moment. Then it was silent. Adurna hopped into bed and pulled the covers over her head pretending to sleep. The guards burst through the door and glared at Adurna for a moment. Their eyes burned a hole in her forehead. They slowly backed out and closed the door. Then resumed conversation. That was so fun! I haven’t had fun like that since I was a teen! She was pumped with adrenaline now and decided to do one more. This one would be far greater than her previous one. She looked out the window again but instead of focusing on the guards, she focused on a clearing in the trees near them.
She said the spell that would summon a great beast,
“Stefna dýr.”
Slowly a great, shadowy beast came into existence. It stood patiently looking at its master, waiting for a command.
“Sneida.”
The beast slowly trotted towards the two guards. They noticed the large mass coming towards them and started trembling with fear. They drew their swords and waited for the beast to come to them. When it got there it pawed curiously at them. The guards slashed at it with their swords but it did nothing. The guards ran away realizing they could not harm shadows. Perfect! Those idiots actually left! My perfect time to escape. Adurna ran outside and made a run for it. As she did, she dismissed the beast,
“Brott.”
She ran through the forest knowing her destination. Her daughter really had sent her a message: she was in Taurth. Once she was a good distance away, she said,
“Fara til Taurth!”

Back in Taurth, Eron was trying to summon the essence of water.
“No you’re saying it wrong,” Fyrn tutored, “Say it like this, ‘Vatn’.”
Eron held his hand above the ground and said,
“Vatn.” Nothing happened. “Vatn.” Still nothing. He concentrated as hard as he could and suddenly Eron felt great energy flow into his body. “Vatn.” He felt all of the energy flow from his body and out his hand. A slick stream of water protruded from the ground. He waved his hand side to side and the stream of water danced like a snake. Eron was having too much fun playing with the water, he didn’t realize how tired he was.
“You feel tired now, am I correct?”
“Yes, very.”
“That is expected. As you get more experienced with magic, that spell will drain next to nothing out of you.”
She handed Eron a flask of wine.
“Drink this. You will feel much better and we can proceed with the lesson.”
Eron drank graciously before returning the flask.
“Okay, next we are going to try a spell that is a bit harder.” She picked up a small twig. “Focus on this and say, Lypta.”
Eron focused on the twig and this time, the energy flowed into his body with ease.
“Lypta.”
The twig rose into the air, wobbled a little, then fell. Eron felt an even greater drain of his energy than before. He became unconscious for a moment, then sat back up.
“Even greater drain from your energy. Although, the energy came easier this time didn’t it?” Fyrn asked.
“Yes. Why did it come so easily? It is only my second time using magic.”
“Do you think it would take weeks of practice to master the flow of your energy? Elves are meant to use magic. It has been that way forever. It is supposed to come that easily. You practice those two spells over the next couple of weeks while we travel, and they will not tire you a bit. Once that time comes, I can continue teaching you.”
Eron pondered what she said for a moment and then said,
“Where exactly are we going?”
“The energy in your body is not from where you think it is. Find the source, and you will discover our destination. Now we need to sleep. We are both tired from working magic today.”
She walked to a clearing in the trees and stared at the ground. Eron studied their surroundings with curiosity. How am I supposed to find the source of my energy. If it is not from my body then where is it from? And how will finding it reveal our destination? Maybe the energy is hidden in some city. No, that makes no sense. That is the only explanation I can think of though. Eron looked back at Fyrn and was astonished to see two tents and a small fire in the clearing she was staring at.
“How did you do that?” Eron asked
“All in good time, dear Eron.”
They went into separate tents and fell asleep.

That night, Eron had a dream. It was the weirdest dream he had ever had. He was in a dark room sitting in a chair. Opposite from him were four figures clad in deep red robes. They too were sitting in chairs, but they were chained to them. The figure on the far right stood up and started to walk towards Eron. The short chain stopped him abruptly. He moaned and screamed loudly. Eron went to cover his ears, but couldn’t for his hands were chained to the chair tightly. He was forced to listen to the agonizing yells while the other figures sat there like nothing out of the ordinary was happening. The figure stopped screaming and sat back down. All was silent for a moment, then a bright light filled the room. The light blinded Eron. When it faded, he was standing in the bar where they were earlier. The bar where they had met Glaedr. Only this time, he was not in his own body. He looked at the door and say himself and Fyrn walk in. Fyrn. We can talk to each other through thought, through our minds. She said it was magic. Mind, magic… Magic must come from the mind! Not the body! Well I figured that out, but I still don’t know our destination. Eron looked over at the bar and saw Glaedr whispering to Fyrn. She nodded, just as before, and they both walked into the kitchen. Eron was curious and followed the two.
“Glaedr, my friend. Long time no see. What’s up?”
“No time to catch up Fyrn. Some of the king’s soldiers followed you here. You must leave the city now. Go to my home in the Forn Mountains. You know where it is. I will be there shortly after you arrive. In the meantime, make yourselves at home. When I arrive, I will need your help placing the necessary wards around the area. Now go. You are in danger this very moment.”
The conversation ended there and the two walked back out. Eron was blinded by another bright light, and when it faded he was back in the same dark room with the same robed figures. The one on the left then said in a deep voice,
“Now you know your fate Eron, son of Vrael.”
Eron experienced a feeling of falling and woke in a cold sweat. He had only one thought before he fell asleep again, my father. I never knew my father. Vrael was, or is his name. Where have I heard that name before? Later that night, he had one more dream. An image of Fyrn flashed before him, hung there for a moment, then vanished.