Nara had brought the young man to a nearby cave she sometimes used on long hunts. It was dry, and food was near. She knew she should not be too far away from him while his life or death was still yet to be determined. Nara had been feeding him ancient remedies to help heal him from the inside, and salves for his deep wounds. All were healing quite well, yet she wondered if some would yet leave scars. But that was not what bothered her. Nara worried if his mind would survive the trauma that had brought about such damage. If he was not strong of mind, he would forever be lost in the labyrinth within, never to wake to reality again. She had done all she could, even the Calling ritual, and now it was up to him. Nara looked once more upon him, then walked out of the little shelter.

When Nara returned, she first checked on the man and then began to mash medicinal plants along with blackberries, which seemed to help the young man take down the medicine. A cry escaped the man’s lips. Nara looked up in surprise. It was the first hopeful sign she had yet to see. He may just come out of it. Another cry broke out, followed by unintelligible mutterings. Swiftly walking to his side, Nara hoped to learn something about him that may bring him out of his deathly sleep. Nara reached over to touch his arm. As her finger tips came to lay on his arm, he inhaled and excessive amount of air. His chest heaved up, and when it reached its peak capacity, his eyes flashed open. He felt her hand and his eyes followed it up onto her face.

“Who are you?” he asked. Afraid the stunningly beautiful woman in front of him was a sprite waking him from a dream, only to disappear when he regained his bearings. Then he remembered everything.

Could this be heaven? Had the beast from the Tilian Mounds truly killed him?

The recognition of the boy’s language hit Nara like lightning. She had come across writings of it in the Eldar’s library and had been then taught to speak and read it after begging her aunt.

“I am Nara. I found you in the Shallows and have been taking care of you for some days now. What happened to you? Where did you come from? I worried you would not make it.” Almost as an afterthought for his sake she added, “You are in the protected forest. The Charnel River brought you here so you would be safe.”

Orlin found her accent strange as if the words were not only foreign on her tongue, but that she was trying to sift honey through a fine filter that was his language. He wondered what she would sound like speaking in her own language.

Well, she mentioned the Charnel, so since it flows east, “In that case, I am from the west, from a village called Selton.” Orlin’s mind was still catching up to him when he realized one of her off hand comments. Surprise registered on his face as his mind ground out slowly churned thoughts. “The protected woods! I thought it was just an old wives tale! This has indeed been an insightful journey. I have come to find the answers to some of my questions. But ultimately my quest is to find where the herds have gone. For myself, I have also come to find the reasons for the drought and resulting famine. Some evil has come into my home and I intend to force it out.” Judging from the curious look painted on Nara’s face, Orlin began to recount his journey, though short it was, unintentionally answering some of Nara’s burning questions.

Nara worried. What was this evil, and would it come to her sanctuary? The Eldars had been edgy, growing more so when she reached fourteen, and now she thought she knew why. This was only part of what they had kept from her. She had the strange feeling that she would be receiving even more answers to her questions in the near future.

When Orlin finished, Nara knew what needed to be done when the young man was well enough to travel—maybe even before then. This news was too important.

“This troubles me. Though you may not yet be fully healed, I think it best to travel to the Great Oak. Yet at your current condition you would never make it. But I think I have an idea.” Nara left him, without allowing him to speak.

When Nara was a good distance from the cave, she stopped and looked about her. This will do, she thought to herself. She began to sing, softly at first, then stronger and louder, as she slowly raised her arms. As she did this a wind whispered. When her arms reached the peak she chose, the wind blew straight at her with such force she should have been knocked down. Yet standing she remained. The wind stormed on, brining her words with it. The wind died down. Nara looked across the land, this forest she loved with such vigor and wondered if it would last. The news the wind whispered was of a growing evil coming to surround her home. It must be stopped. The trees worried, and the animals were gathering near the sacred oak, father of the woods.

Nara and Orlin talked for some time that day. Nara wanted to know about everything; his village, currently played children’s games, and those that resided in his home. All things Orlin took for granted, he was now looking at with new vision. Orlin was amazed at how little she knew, and et she had an insightful wisdom that went so deep. She seemed almost…ancient…ageless…a wisdom that cannot be gained over one petty lifetime, but hundreds, even thousands of human years. Orlin was almost sure some magic was at work here. Though, magic was the work of story tales and not any reality he knew.

Early the next morning, even before the sun rose, Nara left silently for the little clearing she had visited the previous day. She waited for a moment, then turned around with a smile on her face.

“Hello friend,” Nara said. In an instant, a spectacularly ethereal, pure white, almost to the point of glowing, stallion stepped out of hiding. They walked towards each other and embraced, arms around neck, and head curved to gently caress the back. Nara jumped on his back and they galloped towards the little cave.

Orlin had awoken some time after Nara had left. He was worried. She had left without telling him where she had gone. He saw food laid out for him, so he did the only reasonable thing he could think of—he ate.

Soon after Orlin began thinking about his situation again, he was suddenly face to face with Nara.

“Ee-ah! Where did you come from?” He said jumping back. Se had caught him off guard. Not good. He would have to be especially wary of her.

Nara just smiled in response, knowing he was feeling a bit inferior to her. He may have been lacking the knowledge, but his intelligence was comparable to her own. In time he may learn.

“Come. Let me help you out into the sun. It is time to leave now.”

Though he could hobble around on his own, Orlin was glad to have help. Things moved much faster then, though he sometimes got the feeling that a slug could even pass him.

“So what’s this plan of your for getting me to this place you kept talking about?”

Then that sly smile again. Would he ever get any answers from her?

Soon they stood not too far from the entrance to the cave. Nara stood with purpose, as if waiting for something. Out of the misty morn, a figure appeared. A shadow at first, but then the mists folded away to reveal a creature Orlin thought only legend. A unicorn. Silver mane and golden horn. As if brought from the pages of a child’s book.

“Under normal circumstances, Lumius would never bear you. Women, and young innocent ones at that, are the only one’s that can be trusted. But you already know this,” Nara assumed.

But he did not. Yet he vaguely remembered hearing something about the innocence in maidens that attracted unicorns to them. Men were never trusted. Well, the unexplainable happens every day. For a fleeting moment, he envisioned himself nimbly jumping astride the—horse? Could it be called that? A subspecies maybe. But then it was gone, and Nara helped him to the horse.

“Blow into his nostrils gently,” she advised. “This will give him your scent so that he will know you as friend in the future—hopefully.” She twisted her lips in a wry smile.

Orlin did as he was bid, feeling slightly stupid the whole time.

“That’s enough.” At the moment he stopped, the horse’s gaze bore down into his own, seemingly revealing things Orlin knew were far beyond him. Lumius tucked his right leg under him and gave a bow before laying upon the ground—the sign of trust in Orlin; he would be allowed to sit on Lumius’ back.

Nara helped him up, but it was a little difficult all the same. No saddle, no bridle. He hoped Nara would walk slowly so he would not fall off.

Nara went back into the cave and emerged carrying a bundle of what Orlin assumed were rations for the journey—to where he did not know. Nara came astride Lumius and asked Orlin to scoot back. When Orlin realized what she intended to do, he burst out with a single “Ha!” Nara’s response was to lift a single eyebrow.

“Do you truly believe we can ride a small horse such as this together?” Orlin thought it was logical. Then he grew slightly pale. Idiot.

“Lumius is no ordinary horse. He can bear three times what a normal horse could, and still it would not slow him.” Nara could not believe Lumius’ kind were unknown to him. Had the men of the land lost touch with it so much? She could not think it possible.

Orlin slid back and she leapt lightly onto Lumius’ back. With a slight shift of her position, Nara urged the unicorn forward. Soon it ran. The golden hooves gently trampled the underground as rays of light cascaded down from holes in the forest canopy to play with eh light of the single horn that rested on the center of Lumius’ head. It seemed as though all time had stopped outside of their movement.

As the bright halo in the sky reached its peak, Nara halted Lumius near a small pool fed by an underground spring. All three drank deeply. Nara left only to return minutes later carrying four of the ripest apples Orlin had ever tasted in his life. Lumius seemed perfectly content with two of the treats.

“Where are we going?” Orlin inquired yet again. “How long do you think it will take us, and how far have we traveled?”

“We’ve ridden twelve cantos. We head for the heart of the forest. It should take us another full day.”

As they traveled to the Heart, Orlin noticed the trees seemed to strengthen and grow to gigantic proportions. They took on a silvery hue that seemed to glow in the misting sunshine. A light green cushion of moss softened their steed’s step. The underbrush was lush with life. Orlin felt as though all life was drawn towards this place. More tan once he had seen small hunting game and predators of the night traveling together as companions. It was as if the natural order of things had been completely forgotten in this land without time. The day seemed endless; time was slowing and contentment filled the whispers in the wind. Then, as suddenly as they had begun, Lumius was at a dead stand still. What lay before them mystified Orlin’s wide eyes. An ancient realm without time, a vision perhaps created by the encompassing soft gold light from the sun through the leaves, stood erect among the massive trees looking just as established in its existence as the forest. A place so old yet looked so youthful all in the same moment. It was a place out of dream that no mortal could ever hope to see without the inner eye. And with a word, Nara put t all in a strange perspective—“Home.”

The airy castle, for lack of a better word, was nestled in the grove with surrounding trees that looked as though they had grown up around the castle instead of before it was built. There were no doors, only high arches between rooms that let the surprisingly warm air circulate uncontrolled. It was made purely of wood with undeniably brilliant craftsmanship. You saw not a piece of uncarved wood. Everything was immensely intricate, yet subtle. It looked as though totally made by a single brilliant architect, but it was impossible. The castle must have taken a larger number of years than held in a single lifetime to finish. Yet that was only what was to be seen from the outside.

Nara slid gracefully to the forest floor and gave Orlin a smile that lit up her face as though she owned the sun…no, more like the radiance of the moon. Time seemed to stop, and the next thing he knew, he was standing beside her, quite inside the normal space one gave to another. Nara whispered a few words to Lumius before addressing Orlin.

“Come, it is time for you to meet my people.” With a nod of head, and a quick pat of thanks to Lumius, he followed Nara into the Heart.

A tall man stood in front of the gateway. He glowed with daylight in his face with his body full of grace, not commonly known to any men Orlin had known. He seemed just as the castle did—ageless. His face giving away a feel of old turbulent times, grave he was with the weight of many years, but he could not have seen that many more years than Orlin’s own father. Quick in her pace, Nara swept up the path towards the man. Orlin took him to be her father with the look of utter bliss and tender love on her face. This was not far from the truth. She had known no true parents, but if parentage only meant the passing of time with loved ones to walk safely with on the path of their future, for a time, to guide and help sculpt them—then Father to Nara this man truly was. She stopped directly in front of him only a pace away with a look of bottled emotion clouding her face, as though she would explode with her love of this man, while trying to control it all at once. Humorously, Orlin envisioned this scene as a loyal, loving dog seeing its best friend and master again—the person that cared the most for them—and thus responded in like, with utter devotion, when seeing them again. The man who had looked like that of stone only seconds before broke out in a wide knowledgeable grin and opened his arms to her in welcome. Nara ran forth into them and held him tight.

When she pulled away the man spoke. “My daughter has returned.” Hi voice was almost dual in tone, with a hidden bass Orlin could feel in his bones.

Orlin held back during these tender moments not wanting to intrude. He felt as though he had witnessed a moment not for his eyes, and it was awkward for him—more than usual. This man bothered him for some unknown reason and the answer tugged at him inside. As though hearing these thoughts, the man turned toward him. The depth in his dark eyes drew Orlin down, down into the abyss they held within. This man had been witness to terrible things and his words and every action held depth that only those who grew from adversity could ever have. Those eyes; they whispered of the unknown and that which was to come, and all that had come before. Knowledge was a powerful tool used well by the wise—even more so when one knew how to apply it when needed. It felt as though the man was searching his mind deciding his worth. Words formed in Orlin’s mind, and his trance was broken as he blinked his eyes in realization that someone was talking.

“…so good to see you again. Father, this is Orlin. I found him in the Shallows and brought him back to health. Come closer Orlin.” Nara asked as though Orlin were being foolish acting scared of a harmless man. Orlin wondered if she knew how wrong she was. “Meet my Father, Thenolan. He is the Lord of the last of our people. This is our home. We call it Elentía.”

The man released Nara’s shoulders and stated, “you are one of those from near the Crossing, just to the south and slightly on for a shadow time.”

Orlin blinked in surprise at the bold, yet exceptionally precise statement. How could he know that with but a glance?

Nara smiled, and gestured for Orlin to follow as she led her Father and new stranger into the city.

There were naught more than a hundred people in the “city” which was more of a giant house or many linked rooms with few physical barriers. Orlin saw both men and women with the same strange, deep eyes as Nara’s father, only less so in some manner Orlin could not specify. He wondered what trials these people had gone through to look as they did. The weight of such things can scare the soul deeply. He noticed a strange atmosphere in this place. The quiet bothered him and he now knew why. The laughter of children playing was common to Orlin and after a time became part of the background. Yet here he saw no young, no laughter of children, the tears and cries of the infant or coy flirtations of blossoming ladies and soon-to-be-men. They looked all his age or older. And another thing captured his mind with these thoughts. Where were the ailing and the wise elders? The eldest appeared to be Nara’s father himself. How was this a race of men without new life?

Then he began to notice the differences. They carried themselves like lords and ladies. They had acute hearing and sight. He could tell because though they lingered about in groups, their attention was most definitely on the new comers, and certain things he had said in response to Thenolan’s questioning brought flurries of hushed talk to people quite far from them. And they were the fairest people he had ever seen. Though Nara was beautiful, something in her was missing that separated her from the rest. She was a piece of this puzzle Orlin could not fit in, and many pieces were still missing. All in good time.

Thenolan led them onto a long hall which opened before them into a large banquet hall. Food had already been placed at three settings at the head of the table. Lord Thenolan, though by Orlin’s observation perhaps King Thenolan was more appropriate, stood before an ornately carved chair, slightly taller than the rest inset with glittering jewels, and outlined by highly polished silver and gold. In the most simplified description, it gleamed. He spread his arms with his palms opened out towards them.

“You must be famished. Sit and dine with me.” With that he sat himself and motioned for Orlin to do the same—Nara had comfortably seated herself to her father’s right; likely her usual seating place with left Thenolan’s left for Orlin.

The food was exquisite. There were four courses cooked to the utmost perfection by skillful hands—some work had been put in to make this feast.

Orlin questioned whether this was an everyday occurrence or if they had somehow known of his arrival. It would not have surprised him if the latter was so, but he was curious to know by what methods they had. Unless the scouts were riding unicorns as well, he could think of no other possibility—but he was beginning to think he must be very narrow minded when presented with this hidden people. Rolling a spiced piece of venison over his tongue, Orlin mulled over the turn of events, and with an inner smile relished the unknown new tides his future was bringing.

Orlin swallowed down the bite and felt the hairs on his neck rise. His cheeks flushed red with an influx of blood as he became acutely aware of himself. The sudden self-consciousness he was feeling he diagnosed as the result of someone watching him. He reached for his glass slowly and peered out of the corner of his eye.

Nara was talking softly with Thenolan, and his attention seemed to be fully focused on her. He caught little snatches of what they spoke, something about the movement of the forest creatures and his own reasons for traveling. Neither was looking at him however, and taking a quick glance around the room he saw no others. His eyes darted up to look on his company again and met Thenolan full in the eye. It was one of those moments one can have, and never looks forward to. Glancing around, sure to meet no one in the eye, and suddenly the eyes lock and you have caught each other in a moment of pure self, an unguarded glimpse into each others souls. It comes as a shock at first, and so the contact is not broken for a seemingly very long moment in time—though it is truly but the merest fraction as the illusion is created by the touching of souls; immortal as they are time leaves its mark but the soul does not know time as does the body. When the moment was over, Orlin was left unsettled, and if Thenolan felt the same he did not show it, but he did seem more content and comfortable as far as Orlin innately felt.

Silence suddenly filled the room, though it held an undercurrent of a brewing storm. The intensity he felt when Thenolan looked upon him again stirred something within, a stubborn, fierce, struggling piece that held a great depth of potential, and then it stilled as if crouching on all fours.

“The Great Dark has come.”

Author's Note:

Thank you Salem! I swear knowing you liked it made me happy for a week. :) I really hope I can continue to help sate your fantasy hunger. Let me know when it goes too slow or fast, or really, just anything you think would be helpful.