Silvon’s POV
“I woke up in Melinda’s arms. We were in the room Zidg managed to rent for free, but other than that, I don’t remember many details.” I said, for probably the third time. Each of the council members had questions, but unfortunately I couldn’t answer all of them.
General Ivor thumbed over the rough patch of stubble on his chin. The news I brought was good, so I didn’t understand why he seemed so concerned with the details. Councilman Odel had readily accepted my report of events, only asking about the identity of Zidg. Once I explained what I knew of the dwarves artificer he tried to move on, but Ivor and Sienna both pressed me for answers about a major lightning storm that came out of nowhere and dissipated just as suddenly.
The storm was caused by Styrmir, I knew that. What I couldn’t remember was how I survived, fighting alone, against an elemental. Even an army would be easily defeated by a creature of that caliber.
“If you really can’t remember it, then something pretty significant must have happened,” said Lady Sienna, “You don’t have to trust us or tell us everything, but know that trust is a two way exchange and the more you keep us in the dark—”
“He’s told you everything accurately already. I was there as well and I can confirm what Silv is saying.” Melinda cut in despite me asking her in advance not to say anything. “We were asking around town about Styrmir and the bandits when lightning started to strike buildings at random. Once we got to the central building, Silvon managed to contain the elemental somehow while I searched for your people.”
“She found us locked in a massive chamber beneath the room where they encountered Styrmir.” Silvia added. “When we got back to the surface, the elemental was gone, Silvon was unconscious and that was that.”
Lumia shifted uncomfortably beside me. She didn’t say anything, but her emotions were bleeding through our bond. She was suspicious of the story, but she didn’t want to doubt me or Silvia. Melinda she was fine writing off as a liar.
“Our people are safe, our prince is safe and apparently strong enough that he need not rely on the power of an eidolon to protect us. Isn’t this news we should be celebrating?” Odel asked. He sounded tired but forced an unnatural amount of cheer into his words.
"That's true," admitted General Ivor, "but then what happened to the Elemental after Silvon fainted? Did it just skip off for peaceful stroll?" He paused, taking time to make eye contact with everyone at the table. "If that creature is still out there, it will come back for revenge; when it does, our whole nation could be at risk."
Ivor looked directly at me again. It was clear he wanted some kind of answer from me, but I didn’t have one. All I had heard thus far was speculation based upon nothing solid. My own mind was completely blank on the events, even what I’d told them so far was just what Melinda told me when I awoke.
Odel nodded slowly. Then he stood abruptly, saying, “Let us save discussions of Styrmir for another day. For now or people need hope and rest. We should send hunters into the jungle and prepare a feast to honor this occasion. Then tomorrow, once the people have eaten and rested, we continue on our way north."
Naelina had been unreadable and silent the entire meeting, but she grimaced at the mention of continuing our journey. I understood her feelings. Even with Argenta cleared out, the beast plains were still a dangerous land.
Letting out a heavy breath, Lady Sienna stood as well. “If everyone agrees, then we’ll adjourn for today and resume discussions on this topic when next we meet.”
Silvia nodded and everyone else followed suit except for Lumia, who simply got up and left the chamber. She wasn’t formally a part of the council, but as my bond it didn’t make sense to exclude her. Her vote wasn’t necessary to adjourn, but that didn’t stop a certain party from using her actions to his advantage.
General Ivor cleared his throat loudly. "It seems the dragon is the only one among us who still retains her good sense.”
Councilman Odel shot him a knife eyes glare, then both men turned away from each other.
“It’s decided then, this meeting is over.” Lady Sienna announced then slumped back into her seat.
Ivor, Odel, and Naelina all made a speedy exit from the chamber, apparently eager for some time to themselves. Silvia smiled at me from her seat then got up and followed after Naelina, leaving Melinda, Sienna and I alone in the chamber.
Sienna met my eyes with a callous expression. “I don’t know what happened in Argenta; frankly I don’t really care,” she began, “but if there’s any chance of that elemental coming back for revenge, you need to tell us.”
I wished I could say for certain it wouldn’t happen, but all I knew for certain was that I faced him and somehow survived. “Yea, I’ll let you know if I remember more about what happened.”
Grabbing my hand, Melinda said, “come on, Silv. You’ve earned your rest, besides I’m sure your sister is eager to spend some time with you.”
Eager may have been an exaggeration. Mimi was definitely happy about my return with our mother, but she was still dealing with her grief over the death of our father. Vorlin was a great man, but sadly I hadn’t had the chance to grieve him properly. Maybe I could do that now, hold a ceremony for him and remember him with my sister and Silvia. We wouldn’t be alone in the mourning. Only a little more than half the elves survived till now. It was certain there would be much weeping in the camp for weeks to come.
“Silv,” Melinda called again, tugging on my arm.
I got up. “Right, let’s go.”
Exiting the meeting room we entered directly into the dining hall. Roots woven together formed a dozen large tables and dozens more stools lined up around them. Currently there were only a handful of people present, setting out candles and arranging flowers in preparation for a vigil. It would have been ideal to craft leaf caskets for everyone we lost, but it would take too long without magic and using magic would defeat the purpose. We didn’t have the bodies either, or an exact number of dead.
“Silv,” Lumia called. She was leaning against the wall just outside the meeting room. “Can we talk?”
“Yea, I’d everything okay?”
Biting her lip and pushing aside her bangs she gave a shallow nod. “Everything’s fine, I just want to ask you about something, in private.”
Melinda nudged me forward then spun on her heels and headed off saying, “I have something to check on anyway. See ya.”
Lumia didn’t wait for my answer before taking me by the hand and rushing out of the dome shaped building. As soon as we were outside, she transformed and knelt down for me to climb on her back. I grabbed one of her neck spikes and swung a leg over her back, but before I could settle into place she leapt into the air.
She flew low and fast over the jungle until we came to a lone mountain surrounded by trees and cliffs. Finding a cliff with sufficient depth, she landed and let me off. Her emotions were swirling wildly and so jumbled that I couldn’t make sense of what she felt. My own emotions were confused as well which didn’t help.
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I was curious about her question, but it had been some time since we were alone like this and I wanted to enjoy the moment. Sitting at the edge of the ledge, I looked out over the jungle. When Lumia, in her human form, sat beside me on the ledge, I said, “It’s beautiful isn’t it?”
“You say that a lot, Silv.” Lumia sighed deeply.
“Is that a bad thing?” I asked.
Looking away from the forest below us, Lumia turned toward me. Grabbing my face, she gently turned my head toward her and leaned in close. She was wearing a silk slip that barely covered her breasts and legs. Her red eyes glowed bright in the light from two suns reflected off a lake below. A strange mix of fear, worry, anxiety and excitement swirled within her gaze. She parted her lips but didn’t speak immediately, instead taking a shallow breath and closing her eyes.
My heart pounded loudly enough to drown out all sounds except our breathing. I wanted to kiss her, I thought she might’ve wanted the same, but something about the situation didn’t feel right. After a tense moment Lumia let go of my chin and pulled away from me. Then she frowned as she said, “I love you Silv, and I’ll always stand by you…but it hurts that you lied to me.”
It took me a moment to realize what she meant, but once I realized I immediately felt bad. I hadn’t intended to lie to her about why I couldn’t remember what happened in Argenta. I wanted to tell her everything, but I didn’t want to worry her, or anyone else. “I’m sorry, Lu. I just…the truth is I really don’t know what’s going on. All I can say is that after I fought Gerald I had a very strange dream that I can hardly remember now, but ever since then my core has been different and the effects of my curse have been more intense.”
Lumia locked eyes with me. There wasn't any anger there anymore; only sadness and disappointment. Turning towards the water, she began speaking again. "Why didn’t you tell me?”
I didn’t answer. I didn’t know how. I didn’t have a reason, I just didn’t want her to worry. For a long while I found myself staring at the surface of the water below. Then Lumia spoke again. “I guess that also explains the movement spell you used when we were chasing the bandits.”
I nodded.
Speaking intensely, Lumia chided, “You need to be careful Silv. Your rate of growth is too fast. What if that’s why…” She paused, biting her lower lip hard until it bled. Looking up she whispered, "What if your curse is getting worse because of the changes?"
It was possible, I had considered the same myself, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it. Besides, it wasn’t like I intended to forcibly strengthen my core. Once again, I didn’t know how to answer her. Just like I could feel her emotions I knew she could feel mine as well and I hoped that would be enough.
Exhaling her concerns and worries, Lumia leaned against my shoulder. I wrapped my arm around her and we stayed there another hour before returning to the camp.
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Lumia landed beside the hut marked with the spell blade symbol when we returned. It was nearly dusk already and the air was cooling, but high humidity made being outside miserable. I wanted more alone time with her, but I could already hear my little sister shouting inside. “Was that them? Is Sam back?”
Any second now she’d burst out of the hut and—
“Saaaaaaaaaaaamm!”
I couldn’t help but smile seeing her so full of energy. “Mirina,” I replied quietly.
"Where did you go?" Mimi asked excitedly.
Lumia’s face softened slightly, "Your brother said he wanted to fly so I took him to a cool place I found."
With wide eyes, Mirina exclaimed, "Really?"
Smiling at my childlike sister, I played along,"Yes, really! She brought me to a quiet little mountain with a really pretty lake." I tried to sound excited, but Mirina didn’t seem impressed.
“That sounds boring,” she whined.
Tilting her head to the side, Lumia hummed and said, “I thought it was really nice. We even saw a unicorn, but I guess a kid like you wouldn’t be interested in a place like that.”
This seemed to amuse Mirina as she began jumping up and down and clapping her hands together saying, "Yes, yes I would!" When Lumia and I laughed, she stopped and lowered her arms, looking somewhat embarrassed. “It’s not funny.” She groused.
Turning away from her embarrassment, Lumia giggled, “Sorry Mimi, you just have a way of bringing cheer to things.” Then she went inside.
I could see the confusion on my sister’s face as she tried to decide whether to accept the compliment or stay mad. I tussled her hair as I walked past her into the hut.
Mimi looked up at me with obvious aggravation then she followed me inside. The rest of the evening was bitter sweet. We gathered with the rest of the elves in the dining hall to mourn those who passed. During the ceremony we laughed, cried, and told stories about the ones we lost. I knew Silvia had been bottling up her emotions, as had I, but that night she let everything out.
When morning came and we finished clearing the camp, Councilman Odel asked me to speak to the people before we set out for the day. At first I wasn’t sure what I’d say, but I agreed knowing that if I was going to succeed my birth mother as ruler of the elves, I’d have to get used to this sort of thing.
Several of the council members spoke before me. They expressed sadness over the deaths while exaggerating my role in saving those who’d been captured. Odel was especially liberal in his retelling of events related to the elemental, saying, “…our prince did the impossible to bring you back. Our prince faced certain death, unafraid, and he was victorious! Our prince did not run from the storm; though he had no eidolon and his dragon bond was leading some of you back to safety, our prince did battle with Styrmir and he won!” Odel was forced to pause then as the crowd roared with applause.
His words mostly lined up with what Melinda told me happened, but the way he said it made it sound like I killed Styrmir and I wasn’t so sure I had. Unfortunately I knew it would be unwise to contradict him and try to clarify things, especially since I couldn’t explain what actually happened. All I could do was smile as Odel puffed up my accomplishments.
When the crowd quieted, the councilman continued, “Our prince is a hero. He is brave, humble and worthy of your respect. Like Saint Mirin, Silvon is a true paragon and he will lead us to prosperity.”
I hated being compared to Mirin, but it was not unexpected. Mirin was the standard for every elven leader.
“Before we depart, let us hear a few words from the man who saved you all from a life of slavery.” Odel stepped beside the podium at that point and I stepped up next to him.
Public speaking was never something I was good at, Odell’s puffery didn’t help either. Now instead of just being myself, it felt like I needed to be something more. Like I had to be the hero described or the people would be let down. The pressure weighed heavily on me. But despite my fears, I opened my mouth and words began flowing out.
“Hello everyone. Thank you for listening to what I have to say…” I paused, realizing they didn’t really have much choice, and I didn’t really have anything to say. Clearing my throat, I began again. “For many years you have known peace. Faerelle was protected from the horrors that plague the rest of the world and our people became complacent. I grew up on earth, but I’ve spent more than half a year here and I never considered that our capital could be attacked. Now we have lost our home, our brothers and sisters lie slain on battlefields where we can’t retrieve their corpses, and each day is a new struggle for survival.”
Odel jabbed me in the ribs with his elbow and whispered, “enough with the gloom, give them hope!”
I nodded and continued speaking. “You have not been alone in your suffering. I saw my mother, Queen Riona killed by the cursed mages who stole our home. I have grieved the loss of Avantia and lamented the rotten land it has become. Now I travel with you through this wilderness and I promise you, we will find a new home. We will rebuild and grow stronger because of the loses we have suffered. No matter what threat we face, we will overcome it. We must rise above hardship and despair to continue living free. As long as there are those willing to fight, there will always be victory."
Silence fell upon the gathering hall once more. My voice carried well enough without amplification, but the silence seemed awkward somehow. Everyone stared at me expectantly waiting to see if I'd fall apart under such scrutiny. I didn’t know what else to say, so I stood there staring back. Then councilman Odel clapped loudly. Someone in the crowd clapped, then another and another until the whole room was filled with the sound of applause. I gave a low bow then backed away from the podium. I felt ready to throw up and hoped I wouldn’t have to do that again any time soon.
General Ivor spoke after me, keeping things brief. “We will continue heading north through the best plains. Though the journey ahead is dangerous, rest assured we will all arrive safely on the other side. Stick to your assigned groups and trust our prince, his companions, and the remaining hunters we’ve hired to protect us.”
With those words he walked out of the building and the crowd began to break into groups.