CHAPTER 5

Past, Present, and Future

Octobre 31, 5599

 

As Alizabet entered the cottage through the door into the kitchen, she stifled a gasp as she saw Maidawn. Could this be the human child I have been searching for all these years? She thought. No. The prophesized one was supposed to be a male and a prince. Alizabet mumbled something under her breath and sent out tendrils of magic toward the girl. As the magic enveloped the girl, Alizabet felt the raw, untamed magic within her. The enchantress’ eyebrows raised in amazement, realizing that the Aramis Prophecy had been wrong. Or, was the prophecy correct and had she herself altered things when that branch fell all those years ago? I have been looking for a boy all this time, Alizabet thought. I wonder what Theleisium will think about this?

Angustus introduced Alizabet to Betishine, Maidawn, and Zift. “And this little bundle of energy is Wrecker,” he said, indicating the smallest welcorg in the room who was running around the table in excitement because it was time for supper.

Alizabet reached down and touched Wrecker on his head. This caused the small welcorg to suddenly plop his rear end down on the ground and look up at her with adoring eyes. Alizabet laughed, which made Maidawn smile. The woman’s laugh sounded soft and breathy. Alizabet gave Wrecker another good scratching, this time behind his ears, which made him close his eyes in pleasure.

Betishine turned to her daughter and said, “Maidawn, why don’t you go and grab the chair from your room? Alizabet will need something to sit on if she’s going to eat with us.”

Maidawn, who had never seen another human before, barely heard her mother. She was busy staring at this woman who seemed familiar somehow, but she did not know why. She had never seen anyone with green eyes before. Alizabet’s eyes had gold flakes in them that seemed to fairly crackle with energy.

“Maidawn, did you hear me?”

Maidawn jumped. “Yes, Mother. Right away,” she said, scampering out of the kitchen to return a moment later with her bedroom chair.

“Thank you, Maidawn,” Alizabet said, taking the chair from the girl. Their hands touched for a second, and Maidawn was shocked when she suddenly sensed a great deal of magical power within the woman. She tried to keep her face passive, but Alizabet had been watching her intently. She smiled with understanding at what Maidawn had sensed.

Maidawn sat down and gave Alizabet the once-over. Suddenly, the girl gave a slight jump in her chair. This is the woman from my dream, she realized with a start. Just exactly who is she and why is she here? Does she know the others that were in my dream? Maidawn nervously wrung her hands together, anxiously anticipating what this woman would say as she settled back in her chair.

Betishine served up supper, which consisted of leftovers from the other night of plotatoes and eggels, which she had made into a stew. Alizabet ate slowly while observing Maidawn, who kept glancing shyly back at her. She reached for a piece of toasty bread and spread some dewshine berry jam on it. The meal, as usual, was delicious.

There was an abundance of small talk during the meal which eventually tapered off into an awkward silence.

As supper came to a close, Angustus put down his spoon and said to their guest, “What is this quest you spoke of? What is it that you have been seeking for so long?”

Alizabet wiped her mouth on her sleeve, turned to Betishine and said, “Thank you for this wonderful meal. It was delicious and quite filling. There isn’t much better than breakfast for supper.”

Betishine smiled and said, “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

Alizabet took a drink of water and then turned to Angustus. “Sixteen years ago, a special human child was born . . . at least we, my partner and I, always hoped so,” Alizabet started. “The magic that helped bring this child into being was passed down through a couple of millennia in the form of a prophecy.”

Maidawn sat up straight upon hearing this. I turned sixteen yesterday, she thought. Is she talking about me? What does she mean by “special?”

“For the last decade, I have looked for this child,” Alizabet continued. “During that time, I hadn’t found a trace of him. I wasn’t even sure if the magic had worked or if the child had been born . . . until today. This morning, I felt a rather specific kind of magic. It was the same kind of magic that we used to create the child.”

She stopped speaking and looked around at the welcorgs.

She said “him.” I guess she isn’t talking about me, Maidawn thought, slightly disappointed.

 “I see that I was wrong about one thing though,” Alizabet continued. “The Aramis Prophecy proclaimed that a male would be born from this magic. I’ve always been looking for that boy. The magic we created and released sixteen years ago should have entered a human prince about to be born. I spent years in Devinshyre searching the entire city and its outskirts, and never found the one I longed to discover. King Fremmon doesn’t have a son who is sixteen years old, or even a male heir to the throne. I was at a loss as to why I could not find this child,” Alizabet said, shaking her head.

Angustus looked from Alizabet to Maidawn. A worried look began to creep over his face.

The enchantress looked down at her hands in her lap. “Theleisium, my partner, tasked me with looking for this boy, as he would need to be trained in the ways of the magic that resides within him. Left to himself, he could become tainted by the wrong person, and the boy’s magic used for evil purposes. My task was to bring the prophesized one back to Theleisium by the time he turned thirteen so that his training could begin. I never found him though, and I began to lose hope that I ever would.”

Maidawn clenched the spoon tightly in her hand, guessing what might be coming.

Alizabet looked up, and the two humans locked eyes. “I see now that the Aramis Prophecy was wrong about one thing.”

Maidawn gulped in anticipation.

“The person I should have been looking for was a girl.”

Maidawn dropped her spoon onto the table with a loud clatter, and Wrecker laughed at her.

Is she talking about me? Maidawn thought, her hands shaking.

“Quiet, Wrecker,” Betishine whispered.

Angustus looked at Alizabet and was not exactly sure what this woman was getting at, but worried nonetheless. He knew he was supposed to give the swords to Maidawn, but he never understood why or what the consequences of his actions might be. He did know that they came from a monk named Brother Aramis thousands of years ago. Is the monk the same person that Alizabet is referring to with the Aramis Prophecy? he wondered. Oh no.

Angustus began to fear for the safety of his daughter. “What do you want of her?” he asked with a slight growl in his voice.

“I believe that Maidawn is the human child I have been searching for. No, I’m sure of it,” Alizabet said, clenching her fists on her lap. “She was born of great magic, and I can sense it within her. She has an important role to play in the unification of the races.”

Angustus looked at Maidawn, and his adopted daughter returned his look, shrugging her shoulders as if to say, “I don’t know what she’s talking about.”

“What do you mean by ‘unification?’ The races have never gotten along very well. Some of them are always seeking trouble. The blorcs have been a problem, as they have attacked many of the other races in the past. But we haven’t heard anything from them during my lifetime. Maybe they are no longer an issue. They aren’t the smartest of beings, you know. Maybe they killed themselves off,” he said hopefully.

“No, they are still with us, and their numbers are growing. They just haven’t left the Febrile Desert. The human race has been dying out for the last thousand years,” Alizabet said, steepling her fingers together. “There are barely ten thousand humans left in this world. There were once over half a million. The constant battles with the blorcs over territory have not been kind to us.”

“I didn’t know,” Angustus replied.

“If the blorcs kill the remaining humans, they will sweep over Chelt and nothing will be able to stop them. The races must come together if we are all going to survive. We must eventually have peace, not continuous war. But we may have to wage war before we have peace. Brother Aramis had a vision of a great leader who would be born of magic who would unite the races under one banner.”

“What does that have to do with Maidawn?”

 “I believe that Maidawn is that leader.”

Maidawn shook her head, not quite believing what she was hearing.

“She is in great danger,” Alizabet stated as a matter of fact. “I felt her use her magic today, and if I felt it, others may have also. I need to take her to Theleisium. He’s the mage that I worked with to help create Maidawn and is the only one who fully comprehends the intricacies of the Aramis Prophecy. He’ll know what to do. He’ll know how to protect her. Only he understands how to train her for what’s to come.”

“You mean to take her away?” asked Angustus, shocked.

“You’ve done a fine job raising her. But she needs . . .”

“No, you may not have her!” Angustus said loudly, banging a pawhand on the table. All the dishes bounced and settled back into place.

Wrecker’s eyes went wide and he mouthed, “Oh.”

“She has always lived here, and we have kept her safe,” Angustus continued. “In fact, you’re the first visitor we’ve had in many decades, and now you want to take her away from us?”

“More will come,” Alizabet replied calmly. “I won’t be the last.”

“She’ll be fine here. There’s no way I’m letting you . . .”

Maidawn interrupted in a soft voice, “Is anyone going to ask me what I want to do?”

Everyone grew silent and turned to look at her.

Alizabet caught Maidawn’s eye and said, “You were created from magic for a specific purpose. Living with the welcorgs has been wonderful, I’m sure, but the magic within you is growing, becoming more powerful. You must learn how to shape it. You must learn how to control it. You must learn how to channel it. You must learn everything you can about it and use it for the purpose for which you were destined. Without that training, the magic itself could be your undoing. I understand that this is all so sudden, but your body is changing, and with that, the magic within you is also changing. Something activated it today, and the magic you released was wild and untamed. It could’ve killed you.”

“My swords protected me,” Maidawn said. “They’ve promised to keep me safe.”

“Swords? What swords?” Alizabet questioned. “May I see them?”

“Sure. Their names are Jati and Torrid,” Maidawn said excitedly. “My father gave them to me for my birthday. I turned sixteen yesterday.”

Maidawn jumped up from the table, ran to her room and retrieved the two amber swords. As she entered the kitchen, she drew Jati from its scabbard and laid it on Alizabet’s lap.

Alizabet looked at the sword and then reached down and turned it over, having to use almost all of her strength to do so. She gasped when she saw the symbol of the horaft tree on the pommel. Maidawn reached down and replaced Jati with Torrid, the symbol of the lightning bolt visible. She slid Jati in its scabbard.

“I don’t know how you obtained these, but they were forged around fifteen hundred years ago at St. Randall’s Sanctuary on Kexy Island,” Alizabet said, caressing the pommel gently. “Theleisium talked of them often, wishing he knew where they were.”

“Brother Aramis delivered them to an ancestor of mine a very long time ago,” Angustus said. “We gave them to Maidawn yesterday, as I believe was intended. When she practiced with them for the first time up on her hill . . . well, that’s when the lightning started and the horaft tree started swaying.”

“He was singing, Father,” Maidawn said.

“What?” Angustus questioned, his brow furrowing. “The tree was singing? Trees don’t sing.”

“You can hear the trees?” Alizabet asked in amazement.

 “Yes, they do, Father,” she answered her father first, and then turned to the enchantress. “I’ve always been able to talk to the horaft trees, but they’ve never sung to me before today. I became overwhelmed with their singing, the wind, the rain, the lightning bolts, the magic, and I passed out . . . I guess.”

“The horaft trees are the only indigenous intelligent species originally from this planet,” said Alizabet. “They are known as the Hourm and they rarely speak to anyone. I have never heard them sing before.”

Alizabet stopped speaking and just sat there looking at Maidawn.

Maidawn turned from Alizabet to Zift. “Thank you for bringing me home, by the way.”

“I was watching you practice, and you were amazing. When you collapsed, I knew I had to do something,” Zift said, while looking at Maidawn, but now talking to Alizabet. “I carried her home. I figured that Mother would know what to do.”

“You did the right thing,” Alizabet said, patting him on the shoulder. “You protected her.”

Zift bowed his head toward Alizabet.

Maidawn looked around the room at her family and ended up on Angustus. “Father, something within tells me that I can truly trust Alizabet, and I wish to travel with her wherever she needs me to go. If what she says is true, I must help. I just can’t remain here, ignore the problem, and wait for all of the rest of the humans to die off. That’s not who I am.”

Betishine whispered, “No,” as a tear ran down her hairy cheek.

Angustus bowed his head, realizing that his daughter was talking about leaving their village and putting herself in danger. He wanted to go with her to help keep her safe, but as the leader of Whails, he knew he also had a duty to his people here.

“If you are taking Maidawn away, I’m going with you too,” Zift growled. “I won’t let anything happen to her. She’s my sister and I vowed long ago to protect her.”

Alizabet looked at Zift and saw a young and virile welcorg. He had a very determined look on his face, and she knew better than to refuse him.

Angustus looked over at his oldest son, and his heart swelled with pride.

“Zift is the best warrior of our younger generation. I have trained him myself,” Angustus said proudly, “and you can trust him in any type of battle.”

Alizabet nodded at Angustus and then said to Zift, “We have a long journey ahead of us, young welcorg. You could be gone for years. You may not see your family again for a long, long time . . . maybe never, if things turn out badly.”

With the intent look on Zift’s face, Alizabet knew that he was not going to back down. “Like I said, I vowed long ago to see that my sister came to no harm,” Zift said, rising to stand beside Maidawn. “Although we do not share the same blood, she has always been, and shall always be, my sister. Where she goes, I must also.”

“Very well then,” Alizabet said, trying to hide a smile. “We could always use a mighty warrior on our journey, as there are occasionally blorcs, trolls, and goblins throughout the land of Chelt.”

Angustus turned to his son, proud of him and his bravery, but worried about both him and Maidawn leaving the protection of the village. They had never traveled farther than a day or two walk from Whails.

Betishine approached Zift, grabbed him by his nose, and looked into his eyes. “You keep her safe. She’s my only daughter and she means the world to me. You bring her back to me someday. Promise me she won’t be harmed.”

“Mother, of course. I’ll lay down my life to protect her and see that she’s always safe wherever we go.”

Betishine gave Zift’s nose a slight squeeze and a little jiggle before she let go and backed away, wiping tears from her eyes, shaking with both worry and grief.

Angustus stood up and said to Zift, “Follow me outside. I have something for you.”

“You do? What is it?” Zift asked, prancing with excitement as headed out the door and followed his father out to the communal barn.

Betishine turned to Alizabet and said, “We have a spare room. I’d be happy if you rested here for the night.”

“That would be wonderful,” Alizabet said with a sigh. “I’m quite weary from my journey.”

Maidawn took Torrid back from Alizabet’s lap and slid it into its scabbard.

Alizabet rose from the table and winced at the pain in her left hip. She took a step and faltered. The pain was intense, as riding on a unicorn for hours really took its toll on her old injury.

“I have an item here that you may be interested in,” Betishine said, turning around and grabbing a blue jar off the top shelf. “It’s something welcorgs make out of the pumpinni plant, found only in the Sherran Hills. It’s a salve we use on wounds to help them heal quickly. It even helps heal what is underneath the skin.”

Having lived with the pain for a long time, Alizabet eyed the jar both warily and hopefully. She had tried many ointments, salves, and spells over the years. Although these things seemed to work for a short time, nothing was ever a permanent cure. At this point, anything was better than nothing.

“I haven’t heard of that plant, but I’m willing to try anything,” she said, touching the jar with her left hand. “It’s an old injury from when I was but a child. I fell on a rock in a riverbed and cracked my hip; at least, that’s what the healer said.”

Betishine opened the jar, and Alizabet dipped two fingers into the smelly salve. She sniffed it and wrinkled her nose.

“I know it doesn’t smell very nice, but it heals almost everything,” Betishine said, with a smile. “Just rub it over the spot that hurts until it’s absorbed into the skin.”

Alizabet raised her robe and rubbed the salve on her hip. Almost instantly the pain receded, but did not totally disappear. Alizabet was so overjoyed that tears sprang to her eyes. The pain that she had suffered with for over four hundred years had all but vanished, at least for the moment.

“You’ll need to rub this on your hip every evening for about a week,” Betishine said, handing Alizabet the jar. “It should make the pain go away permanently. You will know when to stop.”

“Thank you, Betishine. I don’t know how I can ever repay you.”

“Just keep Maidawn safe . . . that’s all I ask.”

“I have every intention of doing so.”

“Where . . . ?” Betishine paused, as if she were trying to hold back her emotions. “Where will you be heading?”

“For your safety, and for the safety of your family and village, I’d rather not say,” Alizabet said, picking up her staff. “Just know that what we do will benefit all of Chelt. I’m so relieved that I finally found her.”

Turning to Maidawn, she said, “It would be a good idea to pack a bag with all the essential things you think you may need for a long journey. We’ll leave early in the morning, just after sunsrise.”

“Ah, good idea,” Maidawn replied. “I have a great backsack that my mother made for me.”

“That will be perfect.”

After Maidawn turned away to begin packing, Alizabet walked outside, all the while testing her hip. She saw Angustus and Zift through the open doors of the barn. The younger welcorg was bouncing around like a playful puppy. They exited the building, and Alizabet noticed something on Zift’s pawhands, making him walk awkwardly.

“Father, these are grand,” Zift said, swiping the air with a pair of shiny metal claws. The blades on each of the claws were at least four inches long and looked very sharp. Zift reared back and slashed left and right, using his strength and agility to leave deep gouges on a large tree that stood by the well.

“Let me show you something,” Angustus said to Zift, who reluctantly stopped attacking the tree. “Hold the claws in front of you.”

Zift raised his left arm and held it with his palm facing upward. Angustus approached and stopped right in front of Zift.

Angustus put his face up to the claws and whispered, “Çòmändéröús Zift.” Then he lightly bit Zift’s left pawhand.

Zift did not say a word as a drop of blood ran down his pawhand onto the claw, which magically absorbed it. Then Angustus bit Zift’s other pawhand too.

Angustus nodded, “The claws will now obey your mental commands. Think about the claws retracting.”

Zift looked down at the claws and thought, Retract!

With a metallic sliding noise, the four blades on each claw quickly disappeared into the metal glove of the claw.

“Now,” Angustus said with a smile, “think about the claws extending.”

Zift thought, Extend! The blades quickly slid out.

Zift smiled and let out a howl of delight. “I’ll treasure these always, Father.”

“They were your grandfather’s, and he used them in many battles against goblins and other evil creatures,” Angustus said. “They were enchanted by a passing elven mage who spent a month recovering from an injury in your grandfather’s cottage. The mage headed north never to be seen again. When my father became too old to battle anymore, he passed them on to me, and now I pass them on to you. The blades will only obey you, as your blood has activated them. They’ll never need cleaning nor sharpening. I know you’ll use them well. Your grandfather named them ‘Ripper.’”

Angustus turned and walked beside his son, examining Zift’s armor. The harness he wore was outfitted with metal plates that protected his back, neck, and chest, leaving his legs free for battle and running. He grabbed the plated harness on Zift’s back in his teeth and shook it back and forth, throwing Zift around like a rag doll, as he was still quite a bit stronger than his son.

“Father, st . . . sto . . . stop!” Zift yelled, slightly embarrassed at being thrown around so easily.

Angustus released the harness and said, “Seems like it’s in good enough condition. Nice and tight.”

“It’s fine, sheesh,” Zift said, shaking back and forth getting the armor back in place. “I work on it every evening making sure it’s always ready for battle.”

“I have one more gift for you,” Angustus said. “It’s a battle helm I had designed for you and planned on giving to you in two months on your next birthday.”

The shaking his father had given him totally forgotten, Zift replied excitedly, “Really? A battle helm? Wow!”

Angustus walked into the house while Zift waited outside with Alizabet, showing her his new claws. A minute later, Wrecker came tearing outside, followed by his father.

Angustus placed the shiny metal helm on Zift’s head and fitted a leather strap over the front of each ear, which would help make the ear protectors pivot left and right with Zift’s ears. From the top of the helm, a long metal protuberance ran down the length of Zift’s snout to end just over the tip of his black nose. The sides extended downward below his eyes to protect his jaws, and a leather strap went under his jaws to hold the helm in place.

Zift rotated his ears left and right and was amazed how quiet the ear protectors were when they moved and how easily they pivoted.

“This is a fantastic gift, Father,” Zift said, his eyes welling up with tears. “I’ll treasure both the claws and the helm forever. Thank you so much!”

“I’m pleased you like them,” Angustus replied, laying a hand on his son’s shoulder as a serious look came over his face. “You have two jobs on this journey. The first is keeping your sister safe. That’s your top priority,” he said, turning his head and nodding to Alizabet.

Alizabet returned his nod as if agreeing with Angustus’ assessment.

“And the other?” Zift asked.

“Your other job is for you to return safely to us. I’m the leader of Whails right now. Someday that job will fall onto your shoulders.”

“I promise to return, Father,” Zift said with a hint of emotion in his voice. “I’ll not let any harm befall my sister. I’ll see to it that she’s always safe and sound, and I will do our family proud.”

Angustus smiled and grasped his son in a fierce hug while Wrecker ran circles around them barking.

After a few moments, Alizabet cleared her throat and said, “Zift, tonight you should make sure that you pack up anything you’ll need for a long journey. We’ll be setting out early in the morning.”

“Yes, I’ll go do that right now,” Zift replied to Alizabet, backing away from his father. He looked into his father’s eyes and they held each other’s gaze for about five seconds. Angustus nodded to his son, who nodded back in return. They lowered their noses and touched their foreheads together, still looking each other in the eyes. After a couple of seconds, they backed away.

Zift turned and bounded into the cottage with a shout of glee. He could be heard excitedly telling his mother about his new gifts.

“I’ll not ask where you are going,” Angustus said to Alizabet after Zift had disappeared. “I trust that Maidawn will be safe with both you and my boy by her side. It’s hard to believe that she’s the one from this prophecy that you speak of. But she did bring the rain and lightning and made the horaft trees sing. She is . . .”

Angustus stopped speaking, choked up by his emotions. He wiped away a tear.

“. . . everything.” Alizabet finished for him. “I know. I’ve learned over the centuries that children are quite precious to their parents. I’ll do my best to protect Maidawn and Zift and keep them out of harm’s way. I’ll treat them as if they were my own.”

“That’s all I could ask for,” Angustus said.

They both headed back into the cottage as Pasq descended below the hills to the west and night descended on the quiet welcorg village. The kricketts took up their nightly song and the village settled down for a peaceful evening.