Feyrith paced back and forth in Lanna and Arbane's house. The humans had told him to come for tea and some very late-night dinner, which had been very nice of them, but it did nothing to calm his reeling mind. Enaryl and Ralis, as he'd found out the other elf was called, had come here without the Council's permission. He'd not managed to find out more so far due to how many people they'd had to tend to tonight, fixing anything from scrapes, to his injured shoulder, to bone fractures. But that fact was enough to completely overwhelm him.

"Fey, you need to sit down," said Arbane from where he was sitting at the table, rubbing his eyes. "At this rate, we'll need to fix the floor by the time you're done pacing."

Feyrith looked down at the wood beneath his feet, his cheeks growing warm when he realized Arbane had been joking. He begrudgingly sat down with a sigh, looking down at his half-eaten fried oriam meat. The humans had gone right to work, taking the fallen beasts apart and preparing them to celebrate that they were still alive, which Feyrith couldn't fault them for, it was quite delicious. But the food didn't seem to lift his spirits as it had done for the humans.

"Apologies."

"Why are you so anxious?" asked Lanna, leaning in as she looked him over with a concerned frown. "Elves came to help us. That's good, right?"

"Yes, but...." Feyrith huffed, not sure where to begin explaining this. "They received no orders to come here. They will be punished severely for it." Feyrith sighed. While that did bother him, it wasn't all of it. He couldn't lie to himself. "And...I can't help but wonder why they did it. Prior to coming here, I never would have even thought to leave Aendor like that."

Arbane and Lanna exchanged a look that, as usual, Feyrith couldn't read.

"Well, you could ask them yourself," Lanna said, turning her gaze back to him. "But if this you wondering if you're a bad person for not wanting to come here before being sent here, the answer is no."

Lanna's tone was gentle, but also firm, letting Feyrith know that she would take no arguments from him. But he had none because he knew she was right. Feyrith had had no idea what the outside world was like before actually coming here, or that the humans here faced deadly danger so often. It would have likely changed his opinion, but there was no use wondering about it because he was here now.

"Will the Council come after them, you think?" Arbane said, sounding more intrigued than worried.

Feyrith shook his head, absently beginning to chew at the fried meat. It truly was delicious. At least something good had come from this attack. Apparently, while there had been grave injuries, no one had died, which was a miracle in and of itself. Enaryl and Ralis had arrived just in time, it seemed.

"I doubt it. There are too few of us." And if they did send someone, it would likely only result in that elf wanting to stick around to help, as they'd been told they should be doing their entire lives. Whatever the reason the Council was turning a blind eye to this catastrophe, Feyrith doubted they wanted everyone on Aendor to know that they were ignoring this crisis.

"Weird that no one's run away like that before," Lanna commented. Feyrith was immediately about to explain why it didn't happen, but he did have to pause for a second to think it over. With the Council acting the way that it had with first banishing him without a second thought to them ignoring the humans' plea for help, it was entirely possible that someone had run away in the past, and they'd simply not revealed it. There were rumors about elves disappearing sometimes, but Feyrith had always assumed they'd been killed on a mission.

"Where would they go? Their home is on Aendor."

Lanna shrugged. "Do you guys never want to go anywhere else?"

This wasn't something Feyrith had ever thought about. He'd never wanted to leave. Andor hadn't just been his home, it had been his life—his studies, his goals, all he'd ever wanted to do was master magic. And he knew his peers felt the same. The most differing interest he'd heard was someone wanting to specialize in quasir breeding and caretaking, and even then he'd thought privately that it was a waste of time, that such things were fit for elves with little magical talent, the ones who couldn't progress further than the Second Circle.

"No. Not permanently. And the kind of consequences one would face after leaving without permission would not motivate anyone to return."

Feyrith wasn't sure if he was even talking about himself now, though. He did long to return to Aendor, but the more he thought about it, the more that longing became hollow and fake, something he felt only because some part of him thought he should feel that way. If he ever got his magic back, then he should want to return to Aendor, surely. But even if the Council accepted him, the idea left a bitter taste in his mouth. The only reason he'd want to rationally return was to get better at magic, so he could help more people.

"Well, if you're really curious, you can ask them," Lanna suggested, and Feyrith nodded. Yes, he should do that. But in the morning. They all needed to rest after what had happened. And so he finished his meal and excused himself.

He was very tired after today. Even though he'd not spent too much time fighting before being prevented from continuing, he'd spent the entire day traveling, which was exhausting on its own, so the thought of lying down to sleep, even with his mind still reeling, was a very pleasant one.

But as he headed toward Edwyr's house, the peaceful silence around him was suddenly interrupted by what seemed to be a heated conversation. Angry voices snapped at each other, though not yelling at any point. Feyrith would have let the people be and not involve himself if not for recognizing who the voices belonged to immediately. One was Ayd's and the other Ralis'.

Feyrith turned right, following the voices, quickly finding both elves in the middle of the road. Feyrith couldn't see them too well, but even in the dark, he could easily tell that Ayd was glaring.

"Well, if I ever require advice from a Cursed elf, I will let you know," Ralis said, her voice icy. Feyrith hadn't been listening much until now, but it didn't really matter. He could imagine why they were so angry with each other, just on account of one being Cursed and the other not. He himself had argued with Edwyr so many times just because of that. It made Feyrith feel more than a little guilty every time he thought about it.

"You do that," Ayd replied, a sharp, dark smirk on his face. "I have experience with the Council banishing me."

Ralis took a step forward, her fists clenched at her sides, which was an almost shocking show of emotion for an elf from Aendor. What had Ayd said to her before now to make her so angry? "What is that supposed to mean, exactly?"

It was time to step in. Feyrith walked up to them, which thankfully made both of them turn to look at him. He'd had no idea what to say to get their attention at all.

"Oh, good, another one," Ralis said. Even though her change of expression was subtle, Feyrith could easily sense her distaste caused by his presence "Are you also here to blame me for your problems? Or just to leave a general complaint about the Council's inaction?"

Feyrith tried not to sigh. She was assuming he was Cursed, and even though he couldn't blame her for it, his heart clenched at the reminder. "No, I heard you arguing and wanted to check if everything was all right."

The flat, tired voice that came out of his mouth almost didn't sound like his, but at least it made Ralis' expression turn a little less hostile. Well, less hostile toward him, at least, as she immediately pointed her finger at Ayd. "It would be if your friend here had a single drop of respect and gratitude in his body."

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

Feyrith knew that she meant the word friend as an insult, but he couldn't help but entertain the possibility of having Ayd as a friend. He quite liked the concept now that Arbane had introduced him to it, even though he wasn't quite sure what exactly it encompassed in its entirety. He'd certainly rather have Ayd as a friend than an enemy.

"Gratitude? For actually doing your job for once?" Ayd snarked, laughing. "And you will have to excuse my inability to respect a blind follower."

"If I were a blind follower, as you say, would I have come here in the first place?"

Ayd opened his mouth to argue, but then he gave a nod, looking almost impressed. "Good question. Why did you come here, exactly?"

Ralis relaxed her posture a bit, adjusting the strap of her staff. "I have had my suspicions of the Council's actions for quite a while now. When Enaryl came to me, telling me that not only is the Council ignoring the destruction of an entire village, but also that they banished an elf named Feyrith for supposedly losing his magic after being sent on a mission without bothering to investigate it...." Ralis' eyes turned somber. "Well, I knew it was time to do something."

Feyrith wasn't sure what he was supposed to do now. He wanted to point out that it was him Ralis was talking about, but he stood there, frozen, waiting for whatever Ayd would say next.

"You...." Feyrith risked a glance the other elf's way, surprised to see shock on his face rather than anger. "You lost your magic?"

"Oh, you are Feyrith," Ralis said, nodding, her voice perfectly calm and collected once more. "I see. That does make sense. Excuse me, I assumed there were more Cursed elves here."

"When did it happen?" Ayd asked him, looking completely bewildered as if he couldn't accept that it was possible to lose magic. And to be fair, Feyrith hadn't believed it either. Perhaps he wouldn't have if it hadn't happened to him. "How did it happen?"

And so Feyrith told them, just like he'd told Enaryl, in as few words as possible describing his failure while staring at the ground. Though he had left out his theory of his magic being transferred to Edwyr. Even though Feyrith was fairly certain of it, for some reason he didn't want to name anyone. Edwyr hadn't known how it worked, Feyrith was sure of that.

Having explained, he felt even more exhausted now. A moment of stifling silence followed before Ralis spoke.

"A group of elves not affiliated with the Council? And the Council refused to listen to you once you revealed that?"

Feyrith shook his head. He wondered if they were doing something about his warning. It would be so easy to accept that as fact, use it to explain away why they'd refused to help since perhaps they simply had no one to send, too busy investigating, but Feyrith refused to let blind faith comfort him like that. He needed to face reality, and the reality of the situation was that the Council was turning a blind eye to these things because it was easier.

Feyrith wondered how whoever they'd sent to Urzikal instead of him was faring. He hoped they'd not met the same fate as him.

"I thought you were like me," Ayd said. His tone was perfectly even and his expression blank, and yet Feyrith couldn't help but hear disappointment in his words.

"A stain on elven history, you mean?" Ralis said and Ayd's expression immediately darkened. He glared at her, pulling a dagger from the sheath hanging from his belt.

"You want to fight? Let's go."

Feyrith let out an aggravated sigh, especially at the spark of amusement in Ralis' eyes. She should be trying to soothe the tension, not make it worse. The sudden burst of frustration and anger within him couldn't be stopped.

"Ayd isn't a stain on elven history, but I definitely am," he snapped, making both of the elves turn to him, their eagerness to kill each other forgotten for the moment. "He was born without magic. I managed to lose mine, which has never happened before, and now I'm useless. The Goddess should have Cursed me, just to spare us the humiliation."

Feyrith looked away, feeling his eyes start to sting now that his anger was replaced by sorrow. He tried to blink his tears away, but he was barely holding them at bay. It was time to go, it seemed.

"Just stop fighting," he said, turning away. "We need to focus on the jungle beast attacks. If we fight each other, we will all die."

Feyrith began to walk away, not waiting around for their reaction. He didn't stop even when he heard Ayd call after him. He didn't walk fast enough for the other elf not to catch up with him, though, just as he was about to walk up the hill to Edwyr's house.

He wondered why Ayd had felt the need to chase after him. Perhaps he wanted to rub his failure in. But right now, Feyrith was too tired to worry about it too much. He just wanted to lie down, put the day behind him, and in the morning try to think of what to do next now that they had two elves who could use magic on their side.

"Are you okay?" Ayd asked once he was next to Feyrith, frowning in concern. That made Feyrith pause and look at him, searching for any sign that Ayd was secretly mocking him. But no, he seemed sincere, even as Ayd turned his gaze away with a grimace. "Right, stupid question. I still remember how hard the first few months after being banished were, but I never had magic. I can't imagine losing it."

Feyrith felt all of his remaining ire from before drain out of him. He'd not expected that. He'd been afraid that Ayd would immediately stop talking to him once he found out that Feyrith wasn't Cursed, not in the usual sense, anyway, but it didn't seem to be what Ayd wanted.

"What happened?" Ayd's gaze was soft and sympathetic. Feyrith would assume that he wanted to know more about the elves who had taken his magic so he could find out more about getting magic himself, but Ayd didn't know about that part yet, so that couldn't have been his motivation. Still, Feyrith supposed he would have to tell him the full story if he wanted to hear it.

"If you wish to know, come inside," he said, unlocking the door to Edwyr's house and walking in. He supposed he could handle a little more talking before he lay down, assuming that this wasn't going to be too unpleasant. But Ayd didn't seem to want to find out more just so he could mock Feyrith later, so hopefully it wouldn't be.

"You have a house here? How long ago has this all happened?" Ayd closed the door behind him, looking around.

"A month ago. This is someone else's house. Someone who does not live here anymore," Feyrith replied, sitting down at the table. He would have all but collapsed into the chair if he were alone, but like this, he had to try to act proper when he had company, even if Ayd, being Cursed, likely had no respect for the elven ways. Not that Feyrith could blame him.

"Dead?" Ayd asked carefully as he sat opposite him.

Feyrith shook his head, sighing. "I was sent here to recruit help from a Cursed elf named Edwyr. This is his house."

Ayd frowned in confusion, his eyes immediately full of skepticism, but he said nothing, only nodding along. Feyrith wasn't surprised by his reaction, though—it was still difficult to believe that the Council had asked a Cursed elf to help him, after all.

Feyrith took a deep breath, readying himself for what he was going to say next. There was no point in putting it off. "In the end, Edwyr ended up joining the elves who took my magic. I cannot know for certain, but I believe they gave my magic to him, and that is why they took it in the first place."

Ayd's eyes widened, his mouth hanging open. "That can be done?"

Feyrith shrugged, not sure what else to say. Of course Ayd would be interested in this. He would no doubt love to be rid of his Curse as well. But he would have found out sooner or later anyway, just from Arbane, Lanna, or even himself mentioning Edwyr at some point, if Ayd was to stay here for a longer period of time.

"That isn't right," Ayd said, shaking his head. "I understand wanting to have magic, but taking it from someone?"

Now it was Feyrith's turn to stare in shock. Ayd didn't even seem interested in the concept himself. But how was that possible? Surely, he must have been at least tempted. And why wouldn't he be? If Feyrith hadn't lost his magic due to his own mistakes, he would have been interested in gaining it also, even though he doubted he could do it when he knew what it involved.

"I suppose that explains it, though." Feyrith frowned, not sure what Ayd was talking about, but before he could ask, the other elf explained. "Your earlier trust in the Council."

Feyrith looked down at the table. He felt very foolish over it still. It had worked out in a way since him telling Enaryl what had happened had brought her and Ralis here, so it was not wasted time at least, but he was still ashamed of his naivety.

"You are not useless, Fey."

Feyrith blinked up at Ayd, shocked at the sympathy in the other elf's eyes. Ayd sighed, looking away. "I used to think like this as well. That I could do so much more if only I had magic. But the truth is, I don't have it, and I can do nothing to change that." Feyrith opened his mouth to argue that there was something he could do, but Ayd raised his hand. "Nothing I would be willing to live with, anyway. So what I do is strive to become better at the things I can do instead of wallowing in self-pity because of what I cannot."

Feyrith pondered the elf's words carefully, unable not to feel impressed by Ayd's wisdom. He'd not come across as wise when Feyrith had met him at all. But he knew Ayd was right. Feyrith would just have to somehow make peace with the situation. Hanging onto hope that one day he might find the people responsible and somehow make them undo what they'd done was not a good idea.

"And you are a great shot with a bow," Ayd said, smiling. "Just keep working on that. It is more than good enough."

Feyrith looked down at the table again, looking directly into Ayd's eyes being for some reason too intense to handle. "You are quite good as well."

Ayd chuckled, but there was nothing scornful about it. In fact, the elf seemed quite happy.

"Think we can stop whatever is making the beasts so aggressive?" Ayd asked after a moment of silence, his voice suddenly tired and somber. Feyrith sighed. He hated that he couldn't be sure the problem was coming from the jungle itself, or where exactly it was, but they had elves who could use magic with them now. If he could feel the disturbance with the sliver of magic he had left, maybe Enaryl or Ralis would be even more sensitive to it than him. So perhaps their chances of stopping this were not as abysmal as he had assumed.

"Yes. We have to. If we don't, more innocents die."