Raven's Quest...prologue

Prologue---Raven’s Quest


The clash of sword against armor could be heard all the way to the village. The battle had been raging for weeks, and the invaders kept coming. She could only imagine what kinds of horrors her husband was facing this day. She wondered if he would live to see the precious daughter she had just given birth to during the night. It had been a difficult labor. The spirit of this child was overwhelming. Alqua had her father’s spirit, fierce and strong but with a tender heart.

“Conlar please come home to see our child,” she whispered to herself.

Larrina had lived in this village all her life and had married Conlar on the summer solstice. She loved everything about him. The way his shinning black hair fell down his back, his tender smile, the way he aware of everything around him, and his sleek and powerful muscles. Conlar was tall for an elf, standing a full head above all others in the tribe. He was strong and proud, a good warrior. They had chosen well when the tribal leaders had called him to lead the battle against the Banator invaders. No one could match his skills with a bow or sword, and she prayed those skills would keep him alive.

The battle had been coming closer all night and now the screams of the wounded and dying could be heard over the clanking of metal. A sound from outside caught her attention and she crouched behind a chair, clutching the baby to her. Larrina stifled a scream as the door to her hut crashed open and a soldier lunged in. He was covered in mud and blood from the battlefield. She could smell the sweat and earth caked on his clothes and in his hair. As he stood there scanning the room his eyes fixed on the bed sheets and his shoulders slumped wearily. Silently, Larrina stood up from her hiding place. She was no coward, and would face death if it came to that. The soldier took a deep breath and removed his helm, and as he did a cascade of black hair fell from under it.

“Conlar!” she cried. He spun around when she called his name as she rushed to him.

“Oh Larrina, I thought you were dead when I saw the bed sheets. What happened here? Are you hurt?” He asked with concern, his eyes examining her for wounds.

“Nothing bad has happened here my dearest husband. Our child was born this night. Your child, Conlar, you have a daughter. I have named her Alqua,” she told him as she placed the infant in his arms.

He had never seen such a perfect child in his life. Her tiny head was covered with hair the color of coal. He loved her tiny nose and delicate pointed ears. He placed a light kiss on her soft, pink lips. As she lay sleeping in his arms, he prayed she had her mother’s gray eyes. Those eyes had captivated him so long ago when they had first met. One look and he was hers for life, but that thought made him snap back to the reality of the moment. They needed to run. He had to get his family to safety. They must leave now.

“Gather what provisions you can, Larrina. We will need food, water and blankets, only necessities. They will be here any moment. We need to go quickly! The Banator wraiths have slain most of the soldiers and we don’t have much time. Most of the village is already dead and those still alive are leaving. I have to get you and Alqua someplace safe!” he exclaimed while he scanned the trees outside the window for signs of movement.

Larrina was gripped with a sudden, intense feeling of dread. It could only mean the wraiths were near. The fear she felt was almost overwhelming, but she would not let her husband and child down. She focused on getting the items Conlar had told her they needed.

“Hurry, my love, they are very near,” he told her while putting their packs on his horse. He had also taken the time to take off his heavy armor and now wore only chain mail over his leather shirt and breeches.

“Ready?” he asked her while he attached his weapon sheath to his belt and slung his shield over his shoulder.

“Yes, dear.”

Leaving the hut she glanced over her shoulder and a tear fell down her cheek. Will I ever see home again? she wondered, her heart laden with sorrow for having to leave everything and everyone she had ever known.

Conlar put his arm around his wife and helped her into the saddle. He settled himself behind her, handed Larrina the baby, and kicked the horse into a steady gallop. They left thier home behind. He knew they would never be back. They had to start over somewhere new, far from the possibility of another invasion. He would take his family to the coastal town he had heard of, and they would raise their daughter by the sea. He would miss the trees and mountains of his home.

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They had been riding for days and were exhausted, but he knew they had to find the safety of a town. They were too vulnerable in the open and on the road. Larrina was tired. The baby needed to be fed, so he decided to stop for a bit. He could see a clearing up ahead, and he could hear the sound of running water. Maybe there was a brook nearby. They could water the horse, and maybe he could find them something to eat. He dismounted and helped Larrina to the ground, then looked around.

“We will stop for the night here, love, and I will make a fire. You can go sit over there, under those trees, and feed Alqua. I won’t be long. I just need to water the horse,” he reassured her, heading toward the brook.

He came back to find Larrina asleep under the trees holding the baby asleep in her arms. He pulled out his tinderbox and lit the twigs and branches he had gathered. Soon the small clearing was bathed in campfire light. Rubbing his eyes as he yawned, Conlar realized he couldn’t remember the last time he had slept. The firelight reflected off his sleeping wife and made her brown hair shimmer.

He stood there for a moment, walked to where they slept, and laid down beside her on the soft ground. Pulling her close to him, he could smell the herbs she always used to wash her hair, and he knew this was home. He would do anything for her, but right now all he wanted was to fall asleep with her in his arms. No matter what happened, they were home if they were together.

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Kanatry knew venturing out was a bad idea, but it was imperative she get supplies from the shops in town. She needed to pick up some rare herbs. Her own supply was exhausted. People, from all over the woods and grasslands, inflicted with disease and wounds that only one of her skill could mend, were coming to her for help. She just couldn’t turn them away. Kanatry had a bad feeling about this trip. Something was wrong; she could sense it.

“I only need to get to town and then back home.”

Mumbling to herself, she quickly looked around for anything out of the ordinary. She rounded the bend in the rough road. It was then she remembered she had forgotten to fill her flask with water. She would stop at the brook by the clearing and fill it.

As she approached the small clearing, Kanatry realized something was not right. There had been trouble in the night with bandits, and she knew now that this poor couple had fallen prey. The man was bound and had a horrible gash to his skull. As she examined him she realized there was nothing she could do to help him. He was dead. By the way he was dressed she could tell he was an elven warrior with rank, he had been important. The man had older wounds that he had probably obtained in battle. She admired the ornamentation on his shield and sword, laying half hidden by some bushes. Very skilled craftsmen must have forged them. She wondered for a moment, why these items were still here. Kanatry could only guess they had been robbed for their horse. With the invasion moving towards the coast, it would be only a matter of days before Seaford’s Landing would be under siege. People were heading north in hope of escaping war.

The man looked to be from one of the mountain elf tribes, but she couldn’t be positive. Being human she didn’t know much about the different tribes, she just healed them.

The woman lay not far from the man, bleeding, severely beaten and abused, but she was alive. The woman was very weak. Gazing down at her, Kanatry realized the elven woman would not live long. She rifled through her pack to find the necessary potions and herbs, but as she was doing this the woman tried to speak.

“Hush now, let me heal your wounds, dear child. I will not hurt you,” Kanatry said in a soothing voice.

The woman tried again to speak, but her throat had been crushed. Try as she might, Kanatry couldn’t understand her.

“Is that man your husband?” Kanatry asked while applying a moss compress to one of her many wounds, in an attempt to stop some of the bleeding. The woman gave a weak nod. “I am so sorry, but he is dead. I can do nothing for him, but lay still. I will do my best to heal you.”

Softly she checked the wounds, trying to be as gentle as possible. She wondered what the woman was trying to say to her. The elven woman was starting to panic, causing her breathing to be horribly labored. She was too weak, losing too much blood and soon her breathing stopped. Kanatry had done all she could, but it had been too late.

A raven in flight above the trees caught her attention, and she watched it for a sign. She would listen and watch the intelligent creature. The large raven landed on the ground next to the man. Kanatry thought it was strange the raven was not trying to scavenge the man’s dead body. It looked at the man, took flight again and landed in the tree by the elven woman. It gazed under the tree and cawed loudly. The bird followed this pattern several times then sat there waiting.

Sure the bird was trying to tell her something, Kanatry looked under the tree. She saw nothing at first but then spied a bundle in the underbrush. Probably just their supplies, she thought standing up to take a closer look. When she walked closer, it moved! It was not supplies. It was a child, she discovered, as she unwrapped the tiny package. A newborn baby! “Oh, good Lord and Lady above,” she praised, looking thankfully to the heavens.

The small child had black hair like the man; clearly he was the child’s father. She picked up the now wailing baby in her arms and smiled down at it. This child needed a family. Kanatry couldn’t leave her here to die, so she would take the tiny elf with her. She would raise her and be her family. Where these elves had come from, or what tribe, she couldn’t know for certain. She mourned for the child’s loss. Kanatry would do her best and raise her strong in the knowledge of healing herbs. She would teach everything she knew to this wee one.

“It is okay, small one. I will care for you and love you like my own,” she promised the infant, trying to soothe its cries.

Gathering up her herbs and other supplies, she went to the brook to wash the blood from her hands and fill her flask. Kanatry took another look around, and decided to collect some items from the slain couple. The weapon, shield and some other small items, Kanatry put in her pack and slung the shield over her shoulder. She would save them for the infant, now sleeping contentedly in her arms.

Kanatry realized she would need to talk to the constable when she got to town. He should be alerted of the dead couple, and he would see to it they were taken care of properly. She felt quite guilty about leaving them there, but was not equipped to bury them. Kanatry was confident however; the constable would send someone to do that. Without further delay she was on her way to town, carrying the baby close to her heart.




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Raven's Quest  (18+) Fantasy story about an Elven girls journey through the world. #688037 by Skyraven