Elowyn

Elowyn sat on her favorite pillow, leaning back against the wall of her home as her mother stirred a pot on the other side of the room. Various trinkets dangled from the ceiling, beautiful crafts of birds, bears, wolves, a dragon, and many more. Her mother often carved when she wasn’t busy tending to the home and garden. Elowyn loved all her mother’s figures. On occasion, she sold something to wealthier citizens of Dalstava, but only when she really wanted more money. Her works were always in high demand, though nobody was ever invited to their home.

Mother hummed to herself as she stirred, and Elowyn knew a song was on the tip of her tongue. Mother had a gift for music, like her voice was from the gods themselves. Elowyn could sing as well, but her own voice always seemed to pale in comparison. As the words to mother’s song began, Elowyn was enraptured, as always. All other sensation ceased, wrapped up in each word that filled the room.

Lost, we roamed, defeated

Safety gone, retreated

For many years we wandered, ready for the grave

Lives were all but squandered, until we found the cave

Horrors there we faced,

In terror’s dark embrace

Such few emerged victorious, with magic in our veins

Powers strong and glorious, reward for our pains

Those who persevere,

Arise reborn, Grimnir

A thousand years we battled, with monsters cold and heartless

Until the world was shattered, fading into darkness

One hope, a key, a shield

The portals of Avskild

Elowyn could practically feel the air tingle, as if the song itself were some form of magic. Each word rested in Elowyn’s mind, telling her a deeper story. There was more to this story, and though she felt it in her soul, she did not know how to fully connect it to meaning. It was more a feeling than a description. One could only experience it through the words of the song.

She had to wonder if there was some enchantment to her mother’s singing. Whatever mixed blood flowed in their veins must have left them with something supernatural, despite any of mother’s denials.

Wooden chimes outside the home clanked, drawing Elowyn back to the room. She took a deep, sharp breath and found that mother was staring at her with a subtle smile on her lips. Elowyn blinked quickly, realizing there were tears at the edges of her eyes. The minor tone of the song had left a somber weight in her chest, but it escaped as she heaved a deep sigh.

“Is there nothing but darkness outside of Avskild?” Elowyn asked, still encumbered by the mystery of the missing Voyagers. What purpose did Voyagers have to travel outside of Avskild if there was nothing but death? Perhaps this was why they were no more.

“We do not know,” mother said, ladling out some of the soup. She had three bowls set out.

Elowyn had expected Hallik to be here by now. Knowing him, he was probably off getting killed by another monster or something just to test out the sword. Thinking of monsters, death, and darkness, Elowyn hurried across the room to a wooden wardrobe and withdrew her dagger, a gift from her late father before he disappeared. Supposedly it was of elven make, from a time when the portals were still actively used. It was possibly the most expensive thing in their home, complete with an elaborate sheath of black and silver. The weapon itself appeared like a long, double-edged spike, a thin groove running up the middle. Perfect for stabbing and slitting. Paired with an axe or a hammer, she’d be well equipped to fight most anything. If she was stealthy, anyway. An area in which she had plenty of room to grow.

The chimes outside stilled and mother looked at the door. “Somebody comes.”

Less than a second later, the door burst open and Hallik stumbled into the home, eyes wide, his body covered in blood.

Elowyn gasped, but mother merely furrowed her eyebrows and brought out a fourth bowl. Four?

“Nature’s rays, Hallik. What happened?” Elowyn said.

Hallik sputtered for a moment. “A portal must have opened. And we, uh…” He glanced behind him before returning his attention to mother. “I fought a monster—”

“—And I killed it,” a man said, stepping up behind Hallik. His eyes flicked between Elowyn and mother, and he was armed head to toe in armor and weapons, though he held nothing in his hands.

Elowyn kept her dagger held ready.

Hallik gave mother a nervous smile as he gestured at the man. “This is my new friend.”

“I have no friends,” the man said, lowering his spoon to glare at Hallik.

Hallik smirked. “He’s joking, of course. He has an excellent sense of humor.”

The man’s glare hardened.

“Anyway,” Hallik continued. “His name is Jaysen Bjorn.”

“Just Bjorn will do,” the man said.

He was not as tall as Hallik, but he still struck an imposing figure, and his brooding expression was dark enough to insinuate that he perhaps had a terrible stomach ache and was struggling to suppress it.

“Hello, Bjorn,” mother said. “I’ve made some soup, if you’d care to join us.”

Bjorn didn’t respond immediately, but he scanned the room, eyeing each of mother’s carvings as though they might be traps. Occasionally his eyes lingered on a carving, particularly those that depicted some of the various beasts.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Sit,” mother instructed, pointing at a bench.

Hallik moved to take a seat, but mother cut him off.

“Not you, Hal. Go take that tunic off and wash up outside. I don’t need that gore in my home.”

Hallik nodded. “Yes, Selke.” He rushed outside, loosening his belt before he disappeared.

Mother returned her attention to Bjorn. “You have questions. We will answer them as best we can. Have a seat. Eat some soup.”

Bjorn obliged, taking two stiff steps to the bench before sitting down, back straight, feet planted as if ready to bolt at a moment’s notice. “You are Hallik’s family?”

Mother glanced at Elowyn. “As close to a family as he’s got, yes.” She handed him a bowl and spoon. “El, could you light a candle?”

Elowyn nodded and quickly drew out a candle, lighting it on the simmering flames beneath the stove mother had just used to cook.

Hallik returned, shirtless, body glistening with water from the rainwater trough. There were four small wounds on the top of his left shoulder. Red, but not bleeding.

Elowyn diverted her eyes and grabbed his spare tunic from the bedroom.

“Hallik, provide us with some context,” mother said.

Hallik coughed a laugh as he took the tunic from Elowyn. “Well, I was on my way here when I heard a scream in the woods.”

Mother’s sigh was practically palpable. Elowyn couldn’t restrain the words. “It’s basic knowledge to not chase after a scream in the forest, Hallik.”

“I know,” Hallik said, holding up his hands. “But it could have been you or Selke. It seemed close enough to your home that I wanted to be sure.”

“You wanted to test your sword,” Elowyn said knowingly.

Hallik shrugged. “Maybe. Regardless, I chased after the sound until I came to a clearing in the woods that turned out to be a portal. There was a dead Watcher there, and the portal was a little shiny, and a giant wolf bear monster started hunting me.”

“A liowolf,” Bjorn mumbled between sips of soup.

“Yes,” Hallik said, pointing at Bjorn. “One of those.”

Liowolf. Elowyn had heard about them from Lind’s class. “It uses vocal vibrations to distort reality and dull the senses, lulling them into incapacitation before killing them from behind. They’re also said to mimic human sounds. That would have been the screaming you heard, Hallik.”

Bjorn’s spoon was halfway to his mouth, but he stared at her without moving or blinking. “You know of them?”

“Elowyn knows practically everything,” Hallik said, giving her an approving nod. “But yes, despite its cuddly appearance, it wanted to kill me. I thought it was using some kind of magic to distract me, but I fought it for a moment before our new friend here made quick work of it.”

“It was about to kill you,” Bjorn said.

“Also true,” Hallik said, “but that’s what friends are for. Helping each other not get killed. Thank you for that, by the way. You did have incredible timing. Was that intentional?”

“Somewhat,” Bjorn said. “It was a tactical decision, but stop using that word.”

“Friend, right,” Hallik said with a shrug. “Helpful acquaintance then.”

Elowyn struggled to hide another smile. There was something starkly pleasant about watching Hallik interact with someone who was completely immune to his charm.

Mother chimed in. “Well, helpful acquaintance, why don’t you tell me how you ended up here.”

Bjorn’s jaw clenched for just a moment before he responded. “I am a monster hunter. I was in the forests along the shores of Lufar hunting after this monster. I followed its trail here. Simple as that.”

“Lufar,” mother said, as if to affirm that was what he’d truly said.

Heat rose to Elowyn’s neck. She knew of Lufar. Mother’s songs sometimes mentioned that land as a place ravaged by monsters. A place of danger. A place completely separate from the island of Avskild. “He… he is an outsider,” Elowyn said, placing her bowl aside, her other hand resting over the handle of her dagger.

“Yes,” Hallik said, “but he’s… a helpful acquaintance, as we’ve established.”

“And we can reasonably conclude,” Elowyn said, “that as he followed this monster through the woods, that somehow he was able to pass through the portal in Avskild. That’s the only way he could have gotten here through the shield and across the sea.”

“Avskild,” Bjorn said, the muscle of his jaw clenching. “So it is not gone.”

“No,” Elowyn said, ignoring a look from mother. Perhaps she wasn’t supposed to let that slip. “What do you know of Avskild?”

Bjorn shook his head. “It’s a legend where I’m from. It was said to be the home of the magicians who held back the tide of darkness, but it vanished, swallowed up in an ever churning storm. We’ve been ravaged by monsters ever since. Everything has been in gradual decline for the last… however long it’s been.”

“Are there many people left in Lufar?” Elowyn asked, curiosity peaked. This was the sort of thing she’d been wondering about for years. Perhaps all the Voyagers were gone because monsters slew them when they traveled the portals.

“A few scattered settlements, clinging to life,” Bjorn said, frown returning to his brow. “Inevitable destruction awaits us all. I saw the dead Grimnir after coming through the portal. If he wasn’t able to defeat the monster then your people will fare no better than mine.” He shrugged, eyeing the dagger in Elowyn’s lap.

Hallik caught sight of the weapon, and his expression shifted to one of surprise. “You have a nice dagger as well?” Elowyn had never revealed the weapon to him in all these years, keeping it tucked away in her wardrobe.

“Yes,” Elowyn said carefully.

Hallik nudged Bjorn, who swatted him away, glare turning into something so fierce it could kill. Perhaps he would. “Bjorn, even Elowyn has a dagger, and all I have is this old sword. You could easily spare one of those two-hundred knives of yours.”

“No,” Bjorn said. “I earned each of these blades, either with my purse or by killing someone. I doubt you’ve killed anything in your life.”

“Nonsense,” Hallik said. “I killed a draugr just yesterday, right Elowyn?”

Elowyn wasn’t sure what to think of the strange interaction between the two of them, but she nodded. She was much more concerned about the worry manifesting as a tightness in her chest. “With my help, of course.”

“A draugr?” Bjorn said, his jaw hanging for the briefest moment before he snapped it shut. “How?”

Hallik pointed at Elowyn. “She threw a lamp at it and caught it on fire. Then I yanked it by the arm, and she hacked its head off with an axe.”

Bjorn smirked. It was the first time he’d smiled since arriving. “So she slayed the beast. Not you.”

“It was a team effort,” Hallik said. “I’m a great team member.”

“Sorry to interrupt your banter,” Elowyn said, heat tingeing her tone. That tightness in her chest demanded some kind of action. They couldn’t sit around her chatting while monsters from the outside world seeped into Avskild. “I think we should inform the Grimnir Guard immediately. They will want to know about the portals malfunctioning. A Grimnir was killed today. By a monster. The entire island could be at risk.”

“In the morning,” mother said, rising to her feet. “I won’t have any of you running through the forest at night time. Especially not right now. In the morning, we can head to Dalstava together.”

Elowyn glanced outside. She hadn’t realized how dark it had gotten.

Mother shared a knowing look with her, a hidden message glinting in her eyes.

“What was that?” Bjorn said, looking between the two of them. “You two looked at each other. Will you be killing me in my sleep?”

Hallik guffawed. “No, Bjorn. Except maybe Elowyn. She might try to kill you out of jealousy that you killed the Liowolf instead of her.”

Elowyn rolled her eyes. “Hal.”

“I believe you are joking,” Bjorn said, eyes narrowing. “But I will sleep outside. It’s not wise of you to allow a stranger to sleep in your home, especially where I’m clearly more heavily armed than the three of you.”

“If that pleases you, but stay close to the home” mother said. “We will discuss this more in the morning.”

Everyone shuffled off to prepare for bed, but Elowyn remained in her spot. The portals were failing. Their shield was failing. Elowyn had not even gone through Vanalf yet. She had no magic. She was not ready for this.

She felt as though she needed time to prepare, but time would not allow it.