Lithoniel

Lithoniel covered her mouth with her hand, dampening that gasping sound rising in her throat. She didn't know how this was happening or why, but she felt it was unnatural. Wrong. Yet, this was exactly what she needed at the moment: a way out. She calmed herself, controlled her breathing as she sneaked a peek outside, checking on the guards. She saw old Mor, head down and half asleep, staggering back and forth as he leaned on his spear, and another elf she'd never seen before.

"Mor" The other guard said, looking in the distance before nudging him. "Wake up."

"What?" He grunted, rubbing his eyes.

"Your niece."

All of the sudden his eyes were wide open.

"Eh? Where?" He asked as he looked around, searching for her.

Lithoniel squinted her eyes. The night was dark and the ashes falling from the sky seriously affected visibility, but she found her immediately.

Liara? What is she doing here?

"Little one." Mor said, smiling. When she was close enough, he tried to pat her head, but Liara stepped back, avoiding his hand. She was wary, looking at him with suspicion.

"She still doesn't like her uncle..." The other guard said but yelped in pain when Mor kicked him in the shin.

"What do you know!" He barked at him. Then he crouched down and looked at Liara in the eyes.

"Do you came to see me, little one?" He sounded hopeful, but Liara shook her head.

"She never comes to find you, old boot." The other guard mumbled as he rubbed his sore leg.

Mor glared at him. Then he glanced at Liara and sighed. "I'm sorry, Liara. You should know I can't let you see her."

Liara frowned, staring at her uncle with a look of disappointment on her face.

"Don't be like that, little one. You know I would if I could."

Liara shook her head, clearly conveying she didn't believe him. Then, she opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out.

"What? You don't like uncle anymore?" Mor asked, dismayed.

"Anymore?" The other guard smirked. "She never liked you."

Mor started scowling at him but winced when Liara nodded. In the meanwhile, Lithoniel took a step outside, then another and stopped. She expected them to look at her, but they didn't.

Well, no one did except Liara. She frowned, looking at the point where Lithoniel was standing before squinting her eyes, a puzzled look on her faze. Mor followed her gaze.

"What? Did you see something?" He asked, but after a second or two Liara shook her head.

As she went forward, Lithoniel decided to stay away from that main road to avoid the guards. and took a long detour through the organized chaos of the village. It wasn't really necessary since she was like a ghost, unseen by men and the few beasts of burden. It was like she was covered by some kind of cocoon, which protected but at the same time isolated her from the outside world.

Inside of it, the sounds were muffled, the colors less bright and even her surrounding were oddly blurry. Everything looked dull, almost surreal. She couldn't feel the wind on her skin or the smell of smoke rising from the campfires. Actually, she could feel nothing, except that weird itching growing stronger and stronger while she became weaker for some reason.

It was almost becoming too much to bear when she finally reached Naevys' tent. She'd just managed to enter before falling, one knee down on the ground as the world around her became normal once again. Only when the air filled her lungs she understood why she was feeling sick before: she wasn't breathing. Lithoniel involuntarily shivered.

A minute too late and I...

She shook her head, trying not to think about it. Luckily, except for the person she was looking for, there was no else around. She found her teacher sitting on the ground, her eyes closed like she was sleeping, or as Naevys liked to say: meditating.

"Lithoniel?! What are you doing here?"

"Teacher I..." She started, but apparently, Naevys had no intention to let her talk.

"Do you realize you are taking a huge risk coming here?"

"I do but..."

"No, but! Turn around and go back to your tent. Go, go..." She pushed her away and then pointed at the exit.

"Loremaster, I know what you have done."

Naevys froze.

"What? I don't know what you mean." Naevys played dumb.

"Teacher, Kolvar already told me."

Naevys stared at her for a second or two and then sighed.

"I know this would happen. I told Rolim that sooner or later his brother would find a way to meet you." She grumbled, shaking her head.

"Why? Why didn't you tell me, teacher?"

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"And what would have you done then?" Naevys retorted. "Act like a noble idiot as you usually do?"

Lithoniel opened her mouth wide, dumbfounded. "B-But the situation..."

"The situation is much more complicated than you think, Lithoniel. Maybe you think I'm delaying the Conclave just because I want to protect you, but that's not the case."

"I don't understand."

"Exactly, you don't. And that's why I kept you in the dark."

Her expression softened a little, "Listen Lithoniel, I know that you are innocent and that it's thanks to you that the hunting expedition didn't end in a complete disaster. I know you didn't break the vow and I know you don't deserve any of this. However, I would give you up without a second thought if it would help to save lives."

"Then, why?!"

"Like I said" She patiently answered, talking very slowly like this was one of their lessons. "the situation is complicated. There is more at stake here than you think. The Nighstalker is dead, Elwin and I are both old, we are close to winter and low on food. And now this." Naevys shook her head. "We're hanging on a thread, Lithoniel. We can't afford to make mistakes. Not anymore."

"The Nighstalker" She guessed. "You are delaying the Conclave because you don't want Garluin to be the Nighstalker."

"You are half right." She said, a glint of appreciation in her eyes. "Garluin is...dangerous. Too radical, too charismatic for his own good."

"But?"

"But...being elected as the next Nighstalker may be the lesser evil."

Lithoniel frowned. "The lesser evil?"

Naevys nodded. "Let me ask you a question, Lithoniel. Why do you think Garluin forced you to swore that oath?"

"Because he didn't think I would come back."

"True." She admitted. "But you came back. Don't you wonder why he defended you before the tribe?

Lithoniel frowned. "I don't know."

"Then I'll tell you. It's because he never wanted to be the Nightstalker in the first place."

Lithoniel looked stunned, "If he doesn't want to be the Nighstalker, why did he do all this?"

"He aims higher than that, Lithoniel."

"Higher?"

"Who is the leader of the tribe? Who does the Nighstalker take orders from?

"The Loremaster." She answered, suddenly out of breath.

"Indeed. And Lithoniel, do you know who is the greatest obstacle he has to face?"

Lithoniel thought about it for a second or two before shaking her head. She had no clue. Unlike Elwin or the former Nighstalker, Naevys had never bothered to nominate a successor.

But as the Loremaster kept staring at her, Lithoniel began to have this strange feeling her old teacher was trying to tell her something. She was puzzled, but that confusion quickly turned into shock when a crazy idea started to take shape.

"Me?" She whispered, her voice tentative, almost fearful to say it out loud.

"You." Naevys confirmed. "Why do you think I taught you all these years?"

"B-But I am not the only one; there were dozens of children..."

"At the start, yes, but now? You're the only one left."

Lithoniel opened her mouth wide. She remembered the children becoming less and less until one day she was the only one left. She'd paid no attention to it at the time. Actually, she'd believed they didn't want to stay in the same room with tribe's pariah, the Half-blood. She'd thought that maybe the parents complained to Naevys and that's why she became much stricter.

"All the children must attend my class, Lithoniel. But after a while, usually a year, I let them go to learn a craft. After all, only the Loremaster and his successors never stop learning. My successor, Lithoniel" She stared at her fixedly.

"Then you..."

"I was grooming you, training you to take my place."

"But every time we met you seemed..."

"Strict? Intransigent? Unreasonable even?" Naevys laughed. "You can say it, you're not going to offend me. But really, there is nothing surprising about it. The survival of the tribe depends on the Loremaster. Besides, your situation is...unusual. The trials you faced in the past and the ones waiting for you in the future are much harsher than normal. Besides, I couldn't let anyone know you were the person I choose."

It wasn't hard to understand why. Me as the chief of the tribe? Ridiculous.

"How didn't I see that?" Lithoniel said, shaking her head.

"Don't blame yourself. You weren't the only one I kept in the dark. No one knew."

Naevys smiled. "Ironically, it's thanks to your reputation that I was able to keep the secret for so long. Every time you came to see me, everyone believed I just wanted to keep an eye on you."

"Everyone...except Garluin."

Naevys grimaced. "He has always been smarter than the others."

"I still don't understand why he defended me. If I'm an obstacle for him, why didn't he take the opportunity to take me down?" Lithoniel asked.

Naevys looked gloomy. "Because he doesn't want to. Not anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"Because you are the Nightstalker's successor now. I don't know what he is plotting, but trust me, he wants you to be the Nightstalker. Because if you are..."

"I can't be the Loremaster."

It was simple and logic.

Lithoniel frowned. "I still think it's easier to just exile me."

"Maybe so" Naevys admitted. "but that's not what he wants. Otherwise, he would have helped Tinesia. She is trying to convince the people you are guilty."

"He isn't helping her?"

"No." Naevys confirmed. "Think about it, Lithoniel. Tinesia is saying to everyone that Garluin is her husband's successor. If they find you guilty, won't he be in an awkward position? After all, he doesn't want to be the Nighstalker. But let's say he finds a way to step back from the nomination. Other than you and Garluin, who is next in line? Who do you think the tribe would elect in that case?"

Lithoniel frowned. If it was before the hunt, there were at least a dozen people, veteran hunters who could take the Nightstalker's place. But now?

They are all dead. She realized. And there was just one person, reliable and trusted by everyone.

Lithoniel opened her mouth wide. "Rolim?!"

"Yes, Rolim. I don't know what happened exactly between the two of them, but Garluin hates him much more than he hates you."

Naevys was incredibly perceptive, but she wasn't entirely right about this.

Garluins doesn't hate him. He is scared of him.

"Can't you nominate someone else as your successor? If Garluin is bad as we think, isn't it better to find another candidate?"

"Who? Who do you think is strong enough to oppose him?" Naevys asked, a bitter smile on her face. "You know that according to the tribe's rules only the tribesmen under twenty-five years old can be elected. There still some good seedlings, but none of them can stand up to Garluin." She stared at her. "Not like you did."

"What about Rolim?"

Naevys nodded, "He is respected, but he is also a loner, too taciturn and independent to lead the tribe. He would make a good Nighstalker, but the Loremaster? I don't think so."

"Teacher..." Lithoniel but she hesitated when she saw how tired she was. Naevys looked old, her face withered and pale.

"What is it?" Naevys asked, urging her to talk.

Lithoniel bit her lips. "We are talking about the future, but what about the present? You always said that we must focus on the task at hand before thinking of what may or may not happen in the future."

"Little girl, are you using my own words against me?" Naevys asked, her mouth curling in amusement.

"I'm sorry." Lithoniel looked embarrassed.

"And I suppose you're referring to the Conclave?"

Lithoniel nodded.

"I know what you want me to do, Lithoniel. You want me to stop delaying it. Am I right?"

"Yes."

"Stubborn girl." She muttered under her breath. "After everything I said, you still don't understand why I can't?"

"I understand but..."

"Lithoniel" She interrupted. "This is not about you."

"I know, but I can't just stay in my tent, safe and sound while people are missing. Moreover, it is my fault if the tribe's is without a Nighstalker."

Naevys sighed. "I see you've already decided. And probably if I try to stop you again, you'll do something even more stupid, right?"

Despite everything that was happening, Lithoniel smiled. "You know me well, teacher."

"I do, unfortunately, I do." She grunted. "You could lose everything. You know it, right?"

"I could but I won't."

Naevys narrowed her eyes. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because Garluin won't allow it."

Naevys stared at her, completely speechless.

"Didn't you say it yourself, teacher? Garluin hates Rolim more than he hates me. He doesn't want me to lose."