The Wind Lords

Making Alliances (Chrysanthys)

I am sleeping, I am sure of it. I see my mother standing in a forest surrounded by mists at the edges. She looks at me intently, but I can only stare in disbelief.

"What is wrong Chrysanthys?" She asks.

"I am dreaming." was my reply

"Yes, you are. I did not think you would enter the Dream World. Your power is strong." Tears mist my eyes, I reach out for my dream mother, wanting to make her real again.

"You went down in the forest. I saw you fall." I whisper softly. Her hand covers mine softly and I look up.

"I am fine. Even now I am on my way to the city. You need to practice your magic. There are dangers i must tell you about. If you come here again, try to find me. You must wake now, you are not alone any longer." She says as she stands and walks back into the mists.

I awaken on the balcony with my harp still in my hands. I think on my strange dream, and smile. My mother is alive. The sun seems to shine brighter today and the wind blows softly through my hair as I walk back into my room and wait for the girls to arrive. When they do not come, I figure Rathim has forbidden them to come. I am surprised when his mother, Lillia, enters the room instead. She is a foot shorter than I am. Her dark hair is properly in a bun on her head. Her eyes are a lively green and very penetrating, as if she can see right through you. She has a very matronly air about her as she examines me. I had a feeling there is a purpose for her unexpected visit. Perhaps I have gained an ally.

         "Chrysanthys, I apologize to you for my son's behavior. I did not expect him to be so much like his father. But I do fear that some of this is your own doing." She gives me a hard stare, pushing the blame of all of this onto me. I only wish I knew what had caused all of this to happen.

         "How could this be my doing? I did not make him do any of this. He has broken tradition. You are lucky the god's have not brought down their wrath." Anger edges my words slightly, just to see what reaction she will have to what I have said. I am not sure of the God's intent and they have not made their intentions known.

         "By your own hand, my dear." She holds up my dream journal. My faces colors in embarrassment and anger. "You have written much into it that makes our household wonder at what your motives are. This city has been plunged into chaos since this book was placed in our possession." My expression does not change much, but my voice does. It is much stronger than before, fueled by my anger at such an intrusion to my private feelings. My confidences, aspirations, my private thoughts, and dreams are in there, and this woman has read it. I felt so violated. I wish I knew how she had gotten a hold of it.

         "Madam, that is my book. I have dreamed many terrifying and horrible things in there. I wrote them down so I could reflect upon them and divine their meaning. That book does not now and never will express love for your son." My fists tremble slightly and I feel for the first time a desire to grab something and throw it. "Give me my book back." She flinches, such hard words have never come from me before. Instead of handing me my book, she holds it in front of her and stares at me.


         "Do you think I do not know about your kind Chrysanthys? I know your mother is a Seer. I know you are her successor. This book may not be a profession of love to my son, but you have given him stronger ambitions than love. The things you have dreamed in this book, how many of them have come true?" I try to answer, but I am cut off as she reads an excerpt from my journal.

         "Dear Journal," she reads aloud. " Again I have had this dream and I find it most terrifying. The green races have raised a new leader, Igrak. He is uniting the scattered bands and they will attack the city of Dreadfort. They will swarm it like locusts, many will die. I have taken refuge in the forest with the children. The fire burns high in our once peaceful town." She looks at me fear and her own self righteousness stare me down. I snatch the book back in anger and hold it possessively. Lillia looks at me in shock, surprised by my reaction. She begins to pace now as he lectures.

"How can you not expect my son to worry about entries like that? Clearly even your mother did not see your rising powers. You must be uncommon even among your kind. Don't you see? This is one of many reasons he is possessing you. He thinks by having you as his wife you will drive back the hoards of green invaders. He does think that the orc, Igrak will strike at our home." She looks into my eyes, searching for an answer I do not have.

         "Lillia, your son does not want this, your husband does. Rathim would be happily preparing for his marriage with Ansilla had my book stayed with me. Your husband is a power hungry man. As for the book, even if what you are saying is true. If my own mother did not even see my power rising, there is little I can do to save our home. I would need training. Training I do not have and cannot attain while I am here." I made eye contact to make sure she was absorbing all of this information. While I have her attention, I go further.

"Then there is a matter of lifemates. Do you honestly think my own life-mate will allow your son to keep me here indefinitely? Was not your own lifemate exactly what you wanted?" I ask, waiting for her to nod her head. "I can never be your son's wife, I can be a friend and maybe an advisor. Nothing more." Lillia sighs tiredly and turns to leave. Her purpose was clear. She was supposed to have coerced me. I do not have an ally in her. Lillia looks at me, she seems to be more like a deflated balloon now than the intimidating matron that entered. She opens the door and offers me her last words.

         "My son wishes you for a bride. I have tried to coerce you against tradition. I have done irrepairable harm. There is nothing more I can do for you. Good day, elf maiden. Your attendants will be here soon." She turns and walks out. Seconds later, the girls arrive. My eyes are on the door, wishing there was something else I could have said to Lillia. She is just another mother looking after her child.

I turn to the girls now as they were wait for me to follow them. I smile at them this time and follow them down the hall as they talk about the changes in town. Many are angry at Rathim's breach of protocol, but no one has a force larger than his to stop him. Why had I not listened before? These girls know a lot, especially Lissa. As we walk to the bathing room, I listened to what they had to say.

          "Did you know that Rathim increased patrols to the south?" Lissa said as she selects my dress for the day.

         "I heard every man in town is being trained daily in the salle for defense." Resa replies as she finishes brushing my long hair out and begins to braid it. "And the women are being taught the bow."

         "I heard from my father that every blacksmith and bowyer in town is creating weapons. The towers on the walls are going to be manned at all hours." Tansy says as she closes the curtains so I can be dressed.

         "My father is in charge of the farmers who live in the farms outside of the keep. He says they are on curfew after the sun goes down. Every farmer has a weapon at the ready." Ollis says in her whispery voice.

Listening to these girls, I realize that my plight is nothing in comparison to the lives at stake in this walled fortress. It would be selfish and foolhardy if I thought only of myself. I sit still and think about what I will say before I speak to them. When I turn to address them. They stop talking as if they had been waiting for me to say something all along.

          "Ladies, I know you must be scared, with all of the changes going on. Rathim is acting to protect the city. Whether or not there is something to protect it from is another issue." I try to envision my mother saying those same words, hoping I would have the same effect. Their shocked reactions are reflected in the mirror in front of me. They did not expect me to address them, much less defend Rathim's actions. Lissa is the first to break the reverie that they all shared.

          "They tell us it was your vision that saw the orc and goblin attack, Chrysanthys. Is that true?" she asks, it is obvious in her tone she wants it to not be true.

          I hold up my book I had taken back from Lillia. "Lissa, this book is only what I have written from dreams. I do not know if any of what is in here is true."

          "Then why don't you open it for us? Read some parts for us." Tansy insists as she sits on my bed. They have a right to be suspicious of what I say. I do not even trust my own words yet. I fear that they may be right and that frightens me more. My time for such childish fears has ended. I gather the strength to open my book and find something to read, something I hope is not a vision. The girls pile onto the bed as I flip to a random place and begin to read, except for Resa who labours on my hair.

          "Dear Journal, There is nothing like a summer's heat that makes you enjoy the cooler weather when it sets in. Today is the Festival of the Sun in honor of Helia, goddess of the Sun and giver of Life." The girls nod as they are familiar with the holiday and its painstakingly exact rituals.

          "My mother drills me in the Elven tongue. She tells me we will return to our people when I am a woman, so I can be joined with my life-mate. she does not tell me his name. When she says this there is a sadness in her eyes, and I think then she mourns my father. He was a great warrior, his eagle, Corvathor, is the mighty Eagle king of the Aerie. She weaves me stories of our people riding eagles. They are our best friends and companions. When I ask her about her eagle, she shakes her head at me in that "I do not want to talk about it" way. I change the subject, but I still wonder what her eagle is like. Today is the first time that I will go among the humans of Dreadfort. I am one hundred years old. I have sixteen more until the Coming of Age ceremony. Then I will be an adult in the Elven community." I pause and look at the girls. I want them to know how old I really am so they understand why I have written about a day in the past that they do not have knowledge of.

"You're really one hundred years old!" Ollis asks excitedly. "You don't look one hundred."

"Yes, I am really one hundred years old." I cannot help grinning as I reply.

"Wow, I wish I could have seen your mother's eagle close up." Tansy said wistfully, changing the subject.

"Girls, she can't finish her entry if we keep talking." Lissa reminded. They all quiet down again as I flip the page and continue reading.

          "We leave the house and I walk down the street looking at the people and learning their names. My mother and I get odd stares, we look very similar they tell me. I do not feel that I resemble her in any way. There is a graceful presence around my mother that I can only hope to accomplish. I follow my mother as she makes her rounds to the women who have just given birth. She is looking at the children to determine if they are the life-mates of some of the older villagers. I am following so I can become acquainted with the humans here and become a part of the community.

(indent)Lillia Nytel is the last one we see. She has given birth to her first son, Rathim. He is a strong baby with a zest for life. Lillia smiles radiantly as my mother says his future is bright. Then she introduces me to Lillia who is shocked to see me. She is a woman who seems to know everything about everyone in this town. But it is a motherly thing to accept things as they are and move on. It is Lillia's husband, Dravon, that I do not like. Even from a hundred feet away I can feel his presence over me like a predator looking for prey. His beady black eyes are suspicious and calculating. My mother continues to talk to him like there is nothing wrong, but it is another of the elven graces I have not honed yet. I do not know why I have a distinctive dislike of a man I just met, I just know deep down in my very soul he will be trouble for me." I close the book and look at the girls specifically Lissa, since this entry has a lot to do with her family. Lissa takes in all of this information slowly before she responds.

         "I understand why you cannot stay here. You are one hundred years old, but to your people you are still like a youngling. You still have learning to do." I nod. Lissa is very wise for her young years.

          "I also understand now why my brother cannot marry you. You will live far longer than he will. It would not be appropriate to match you like that. You need one of your own people." Lissa whispers making us all have to move closer to hear every word. The girls nod in agreement.

          "We can get you out of here, Chrys." Ollis says, shortening my name much like Rathim has done, but from her I feel more comfortable with that moniker.

          "We know ways out of the city. We can sneak you out." Tansy adds in conspiratorially. The girls nod together. My eyes get that familiar watery feeling again. these girls really wish me well, and I think I have finally found allies who I can trust.

          "I appreciate you all for your suggestions, but I can't leave yet." I reply, as their expressions become puzzled.

          "I have to make things right in the city. Ansilla is still Rathim's life-mate. They belong together. I cannot leave knowing this will be unresolved." I reply sadly. I have to do this one thing even if the cost is high.

          "If I help you out Chrys, will you tell me one thing?" Lissa queries as her and the girls head to the door. I am dressed now for the evening, but I wonder what she is thinking of.

          "What would you like to know?" I reply cautiously as I open the door.

          "I want you to tell me who my lifemate is." She says quickly as she slips out of the door before I can respond.




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