An Alliance of Mortals, page 2
part #6 of The New Earth Chronicles Series
Tamara Forsythe and her brother Sebastian, two of the leaders of Nottinghill Castle and mages in their own right, had known Simon quite well. They had fought by his side in the early days when the old dragon races had scoured the New Earth, trying to destroy anyone who had survived the initial devastating attacks against humanity that had wiped every city, town and village from the face of the planet. When they were asked about their old friend, Sebastian would happily tell stories about their battles together. Tamara, on the other hand, would roll her eyes and say only that Simon had been a good man and a good friend and that stories grew with the telling.
It was to these siblings that Chao made his way after his meeting with the fairy queen, Ellas.
He hurried through the castle, smiling and nodding at many people as he went. There were lots of new faces among the residents of Nottinghill as the several mages who were assigned to searching for any remaining survivors found the last remnants of the human race and brought them back to the settlement. There were over a thousand people living in and around the castle now and it gave Chao some hope for the future. It also made him even more determined to keep them safe.
Tamara, Sebastian and most of the other magic-users had rooms in the northeast tower of the castle. They needed space away from the general populace to pursue their studies and experiment with new spells. Chao preferred living simply in his quarters, far from anyone, casters and ordinary humans alike. He was a naturally shy and private person and only met with his fellow magic-users for official business.
Chao lifted the hem of his robe as he climbed the stairs of the tower until he reached the first level of rooms that circled the outer wall of the spire. He waited a moment to catch his breath before walking around the circular hallway until he reached a heavy oak door. He tapped on it and a few seconds later the portal was flung open and he was staring at the smiling face of Sebastian.
“Chao! Well, this is a surprise,” Sebastian exclaimed. “I can't remember the last time you dropped by for a visit. Come in, come in.”
The diminutive caster bowed slightly and walked through the door. The walls of the sitting room inside were lined with shelves stuffed with dusty books and scrolls made of parchment. Several leather chairs were placed around the room and a narrow fireplace was built into the wall to Chao's right. Sitting next to the mantelpiece was a woman wearing a simple sleeveless blue robe. She smiled as she saw the visitor.
“Ah, one of my favorite people,” Tamara said warmly.
She stood up and crossed the room, taking Chao's hand in both of hers.
“Please, take a seat. Bastian, get our guest some tea,” she said as she led Chao to a chair next to her own.
“Do not go to any trouble on my account,” he told them as he sat down.
“It's no trouble at all,” Sebastian said heartily. “The kitchen just delivered a fresh pot a few minutes ago. Chamomile. I know you like Chef's personal blend.”
Chao looked pleased.
“That is true enough,” he said. “Thank you.”
As Sebastian walked over to a silver tray that held a teapot and several cups, Chao noticed yet again how frail the young man was. Like his sister, Sebastian was thin and tall, with fine, reddish blond hair that he wore to his shoulders. Tamara, the older sibling, always kept her hair cut short. She was more acerbic than her brother and more powerful as well. In all matters, it was Tamara who took the lead.
Sebastian wasn't wearing robes, unlike his sister and Chao. Instead he wore a simple white tunic, black cloth pants and high boots. Nothing marked him as a mage and he seemed to prefer it that way. He was the more outgoing of the two and well loved by the people of Nottinghill. Tamara wasn't exactly loved, but she was greatly respected for her dedication and willingness to fight for her people. They were perfectly balanced and made an excellent team.
As Tamara sat down again and looked curiously at Chao, her brother poured out a steaming cup of tea and brought it back to their guest.
“Careful, it's hot,” he warned Chao as he pulled a chair over and sat down across from him.
Chao inhaled the sweet steam of the tea and sighed with pleasure. He took a delicate sip and then looked from Sebastian to Tamara.
“How are you both doing?” he asked them.
“Us? We're fine, thanks,” Tamara replied with some surprise. “Why? Were you worried about us?”
Chao chuckled and shook his head. He looked into the empty fireplace blankly as the siblings exchanged a puzzled glance.
“What is it, my friend?” Sebastian asked him with concern. “What's bothering you? You rarely leave your rooms anymore, except in an emergency. Is there a problem now?”
Their visitor looked at Sebastian and then at his sister. He nodded slowly.
“I am afraid so. I'm just not sure that we can do anything about it,” he said softly.
“Tell us,” Tamara said as she leaned forward.
Chao began to tell them about his visit with Ellas. As he explained the situation, both of the mages looked increasingly alarmed. And when he was finished, Tamara surged to her feet and began pacing around the room, frowning in thought.
“So let me get this straight,” she said. “Ellas and the Fay, the most powerful group of beings on the planet, are now being attacked and they are looking to us for help?”
She looked at Chao, who nodded silently.
Tamara laughed coldly.
“Is she insane?” she scoffed. “We are barely holding our own here, Chao. The attack last month by the goblins cost us over two dozen lives, including three magic-users. Poor Emilia was riddled with bolts by one of those bat-riding bastards and Collin was carried off by a wyvern. They are chipping away at our numbers and our species is dying out in slow motion. Yes, we are managing to defend ourselves, but at what cost? The goblins and their pet monsters will just keep coming and coming until there are so few of us left that we won't be able to stop them. And that is how they will win in the end, by attrition. We can't help the Fay. By the gods, we can barely help ourselves!”
Sebastian was staring at her expressionlessly. As she noticed his eyes on her, Tamara abruptly stopped pacing and glared back at him.
“What?” she snapped.
“Nothing. I agree that we can't help the Fay on our own.” He glanced at Chao. “But we aren't alone anymore. The world has changed yet again and I'm not sure that the goblins are even aware of how big that change actually is.”
The smaller man looked puzzled as he looked at Sebastian.
“What do you mean, we aren't alone anymore? Are you speaking of the dwarves?”
“Them, yes. We've managed to get in touch with Shandon Ironhand. It wasn't easy and the spell didn't last long, but we got some information. He and his people fought back against a major attack by the goblins and they routed them and then blocked the tunnels that they used to reach the dwarves' territory.”
Sebastian looked at his sister, who nodded at his unspoken question.
“The dwarves have accepted the magic-users in their midst, thanks to the king,” he told Chao. “The stigma of using magic has mostly been swept away and so we were able to speak with each other to begin tentative negotiations.”
“Negotiations leading to what end?” Chao asked him, looking baffled. “They are many miles below the surface, surely too far away to respond if we need their help.”
“Yes, but hopefully we can work on some sort of coordinated effort to fight back against the forces of Darkness,” Tamara answered as she took her seat again.
She smoothed out her robe and took a deep breath, visibly calming down.
“We can't go it alone, that much is obvious now,” she continued. “As I said, attrition alone will defeat us in the end. We have to take the battle to the goblins themselves and the only way to do that is if we have new allies.”
“Which brings us back to the Fay,” Sebastian said to his sister.
As she frowned again, he spoke up quickly.
“Don't you see, Tammy?” he said urgently. “No, we can't help the Fay all by ourselves. But if we join forces with them, along with the dwarves, that would strengthen all of us immeasurably. Safety in numbers, right?”
Tamara looked at him and then at Chao, who was watching her closely. She chuckled softly and shrugged.
“All right, you make a good point,” she admitted. “We are stronger together than we are apart. I don't dislike the Fay, Chao. I want you to know that. Ellas is mercurial and quick tempered, but then I'm told that I am too.”
“Really? You?” Chao replied with a slight smile. “I never noticed.”
Tamara stared at him for a moment and then both she and Sebastian burst out laughing.
“Did you just make a joke?” she said through her laughter. “Gods, the world really has turned upside down, hasn't it?”
She cleared her throat and glanced at Sebastian.
“But we have another potential ally now, one that only Bastian and myself know about. Things have changed rapidly and this new situation with the Fay is just the latest surprise. This is going to take a lot of diplomacy and delicate negotiating to get it right.”
She gave her brother a teasing look.
“It seems that the right person to conduct those negotiations has just fallen into our laps, doesn't it?”
Sebastian stared at her and then looked at Chao, wide-eyed.
“Holy hell, you're right!” he exclaimed with a grin. “Chao is perfect for this. I've never known a more level-headed, even-tempered person in my life.”
Chao looked at the siblings in confusion.
“I don't understand,” he said. “What new potential ally? You are obviously not speaking of the Fay.”
“No, we aren't,” Sebastian replied. “Although they will be a worthy addition to our overall forces.”
“Then who else can we look to for help?” Chao wondered, looked at Tamara.
She sat back and watched him narrowly.
“There is a new player in town, so to speak,” she told him. “A new force on the planet that could very well turn the tide in our battle for survival.”
Chao watched her silently while Sebastian smiled broadly. His sister rolled her eyes at her brother and folded her hands on her lap.
“The elves have come home,” she told Chao simply. “They have returned to the planet of their birth.”
Chapter 2
On the other side of the world from Nottinghill Castle, the two large islands formerly known as New Zealand lay like a pair of jewels in the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean. When the dragons had returned to the Earth and destroyed all of the human life on the islands, they'd then left them alone. For the draconic races, the islands were too small to use as hunting or nesting grounds and so New Zealand was left untouched for almost fifteen years. Its ruined cities and towns were slowly reclaimed by nature, with trees and plants engulfing them over time.
The lakes and forests, the high mountains and grasslands, returned to the pristine state they had once had before people set foot on the islands. The air, the water and the soil were quickly cleansed of pollutants and toxins and nature again reigned supreme.
Into this land of sweet beauty came hundreds of elves. Refugees from the planet of Trillfarness, the elven race was almost wiped out by forces serving the dark gods. They had not been able to defend their world against a massive evil incursion. In a desperate attempt to save at least some of their kind, the elves had found a way to create a portal from the world that they had been given by the lords of Light back to the planet where they had been created. And when they'd arrived on the islands of New Zealand, the elves immediately fell in love with their new home.
The deep forests and rugged mountains reminded them of their lost world. The air was thick with the scent of growing things and the sun was warm and inviting. To a people in shock after losing, not just their homes but most of their race as well, the islands felt like a divine gift. And so, once the refugees had somewhat recovered from their abrupt exodus from Trillfarness, the Council of Elders began to organize their people.
They decided to begin rebuilding in a glade surrounded by the trees of the deep forests. Using only fallen branches and old timber, the craftsmen among them quickly erected small huts and shelters. Hunters under the leadership of Ethmira and Chase, the two most senior rangers who had survived the attacks on Trillfarness, spread out across the north island to look for food. The elves would need supplies quickly and the rangers were very good at finding such things.
Soon, hunters were returning with a steady supply of vegetables and game. Wild deer and elk were plentiful and plants such as Ti Kouka, Karamu, Fiddlehead Ferns and wild mushrooms were easily harvested. Wild nuts grew in abundance, as did many kinds of citrus fruits. Once the rangers had determined which plants were safe to eat, groups of foragers were sent out en masse to gather more.
Meanwhile, the work of building a new settlement proceeded apace. Elves could build very quickly when there was need and since they did not know what the weather would be like on the islands going forward, they hurried to construct sturdy homes for all of their people while the conditions were still good.
And less than a month after they had arrived on the New Earth, everyone had shelter and the first elven town to exist on the planet for millennia was complete.
The town was named Caladur, an elven word that meant rebirth. It was, as Amelda, the head of the Council said, a new beginning for the elves. A fresh start on the world that had once been their home.
A final head count of all of the survivors was reported to the Council at their first official meeting, once everyone had gotten settled into their new homes. In the modest round hall built in the center of town, Malfiess, who was the youngest member of the Council, reported that there were less than a thousand elves who had managed to escape from Trillfarness.
“Exactly eight hundred and seventy-two of us made it through the portal,” he told the rest of the councilors as he read from a scroll.
He rubbed his red eyes, exhaustion plainly stamped on his features, as it was on the faces of the rest of the Council. None of them had exempted themselves from working alongside their people to build their new settlement. Even Amelda had pitched in and worked steadily until she no longer had the energy to carry on. Now she sat at the center of the Council table, a long slab of weathered wood shaped by craftsmen into an almost exact copy of the one back on Trillfarness, and she listened closely to Malfiess' numbers.
“Less than two hundred children survived the attacks on us back home,” he continued sadly, his hand shaking as he scanned the scroll. “They are resilient, as young people always are, but many parents report that their children are having nightmares and quite a few are still in shock. They were torn away from their homes and loved ones and now find themselves in a place that is strange and unknown. It will take time for them to adjust to this new world, but as long as they have the loving support of the community, I am sure that they will eventually accept this place as home.”
“We can only hope so,” Amelda said with a sigh. “Thank you, Malfiess. I was not aware that so few children had made it to safety. We are not a prolific species and our youth are now even more precious to us. The sadness that we all still feel at our loss is only made heavier with this knowledge, but I know that all of our people will care for the young ones as if they were their own. As we always have.”
She flipped through a stack of scrolls as Malfiess sat down in his chair and slumped back heavily.
“Most of the major construction has been completed,” Amelda said as she ran a finger down a sheet of parchment. “Many work crews have been reassigned to help with the gathering of food. The large stream to the south of town is a reliable source of water, or so the rangers tell us. Fed from the mountains, apparently. The healers are satisfied that there are enough public sanitary facilities to accommodate all of the residents, but they will keep an eye on that. We don't want to risk polluting the ground water with our waste.”
She sat back and looked up and down the table.
“Any other pressing issues, from anyone?” she asked the other councilors.
Several of them shook their heads and Amelda nodded.
“Good. Then let us adjourn for now. We'll meet again next week, unless there is an emergency. Sleep well.”
Most of the Council members rose and made their way to the main door of the hall. Amelda watched them leave and then looked over at Malfiess, who was still sitting in his seat at the end of the table.
“What is it, Malfiess?” she asked him as he returned her gaze. “You have something else to report?”
“No, not really,” he replied as he gathered his papers together and pushed himself to his feet, a strained look in his eyes. “But I wanted to mention something to you privately before bringing it up in front of the entire Council.”
He walked around the table and stood in front of Amelda. The dying rays of the sun beamed into the chamber and bathed him in bright light, making the young councilor look paler and more frail than he actually was.
Amelda, who had once had an adversarial relationship with him, smiled in sympathy as she noted his weakness.
“You have been pushing yourself too hard,” she scolded him gently. “Even someone as young as yourself can only do so much, you know.”
Malfiess smiled wryly.
“We are all overworking ourselves,” he replied with a shrug. “Including you, Elder. We can't know how long this warm weather will last and we must be prepared for a hard winter, if this land indeed has such a season. And you and I both know that returning our society to some semblance of normalcy is important for our people's well-being, both physically and emotionally.”
