1 comments/ 5911 views/ 5 favorites Walking Through Shadows By: Silver_ink Master Orlaigh lifted his eyes from the papers on his desk and looked out of his study window. For some reason, he was struggling to concentrate this afternoon. As chief mage to the court of King Taral Shadowbane, Orlaigh was tasked with many things. Lately, his main concern had been the school for nobles that the King had put him in charge of. For too long, the noble classes had been barely literate. The previous incumbent had been more concerned with training students in the art of battle rather than decent penmanship and the King had decided that it was shaming to him that noble families had to employ private tutors rather than them receiving their education at the school as was the custom. With this in mind, King Taral had approached Orlaigh and phrased his request with such diplomacy that Orlaigh had smiled and held his hands up, knowing that he was beaten before any discussion could begin. In the most part, Orlaigh enjoyed the work. It had taken a lot of work and, in some instances, the application of a magical flick to the odd ear...amongst other things, to get the school to the standard it should have been. He chuckled as he remembered the reaction of the master of protocol as he'd felt the bite of a magical lash to the back of his legs after he had made one complaint too many about the fact that people who were from merchant families were mixing with royalty...or some such nonsense. If he was honest with himself, Orlaigh had stopped listening after the man's first few complaints. All he remembered was looking into that puffed up, self-important face and losing the little patience he had left. Seeing the pompous twit yelp and leap about had been a bright point in a very grey few weeks. However, all that was in the past. A few more signatures on a few more bits of paperwork and the mage could go back to his own studies for a little while, leaving the new staff he had brought in to run the place. If anyone asked, he could always say that he was leaving them to it to see how they fared. The thought of getting back to the work he loved made Orlaigh smile and he bent his head to his current work with a will. Within an hour he had everything finished. Summoning a servant, he dispatched his papers to the relevant people and rose to stand at his window. Looking out over the forest to the west, Orlaigh felt a warmth and a peace sweep over him. Without warning, the feeling intensified and he felt a touch on his mind. Sagging against the windowsill, Orlaigh frantically tried to trace the direction the feeling came from in order to send back an attack of his own when he realised that this was no attack. The feeling was a call, and a familiar one at that. Orlaigh fell to his knees, overcome by the pleasure of the feeling in his mind. There was a faint echo, a voice asking him to come and find the source of the feeling. Without thought, Orlaigh rose and headed out of his rooms. His work forgotten, he turned in the direction of the palace. His one thought was to see the king and ask, no tell his majesty that he had to go. Arriving at the gates of the palace, Orlaigh paused. How could he tell the king that he was running off and leaving his duties to go and chase a feeling? The call in his mind repeated at that moment and the mage's resolve hardened. All but running up the steps, he burst through the castles main entrance and ran straight into... something. Orlaigh lay on the floor, stunned, and heard a deep laugh. He looked up into the eyes of King Taral and realised that the thing he'd ran into was actually the king! "Y, your majesty...erm...I...erm...was just coming to see you" he stammered, feeling his face grow hot as he realised that several courtiers were behind the king, giggling. "Clearly" responded Taral, dryly "Is everything alright?" "Yes, but I need to speak to you as a matter of urgency" said Orlaigh. "In that case, you should probably get up off the floor..." Orlaigh realised that he was still lying at the Kings feet. Flushing again, he climbed to his feet and brushed himself off. King Taral looked at him and, taking in the mage's distracted expression and the lack of dignity that he usually carried himself with, headed towards his private study. Addressing himself to the still giggling courtiers he ordered that he not be disturbed and then beckoned for Orlaigh to follow him. Orlaigh sighed and shook his head; this was not going to be an easy conversation. Especially as his behaviour just now would probably convince the King that he was bewitched. His mind drifted to how he was going to explain himself when he realised that the Taral had perched on the end of the desk and was looking at him with some concern "Speak old friend, you said you had to tell me something and I hardly think that it is something so unimportant that you would come racing in here as if The Shadow itself was at your heels as you just did" Orlaigh looked down at his feet and took a deep breath. The tentative speech he had prepared fled his mind and the story of what had happened in the last few minutes came tumbling out. As he wound down, he looked up at the King, expecting to see disbelief or concern or pity or any of a hundred other emotions in the eyes of his leader. Instead, he saw... thoughtfulness. "You are sure it was a call that you, personally, must answer?" There was another question hidden in that one, Orlaigh was sure, but he knew that answering would bring up memories that he didn't want to think about right now. "Yes. There is no way for me to tell you how I know, only that I do and I must go. Now. I have to leave. The task you gave me at the school is almost complete and my being here will not change anything in that respect. I have no other duties apart from my own studies and, well, I don't know. I just have to go." "Very well. You are due a rest, not that I'm sure that this will be one. However, I cannot allow you leave this very minute" Taral raised a hand, stalling Orlaigh's protest before he could speak "You seem to be forgetting about a certain someone my friend" continued Taral. In his obvious haste to depart the truth just began to dawn upon Orlaigh. "If I allow you to leave this kingdom without bidding my son farewell he will no doubt show his displeasure with unruly behaviour towards his tutors. We all know what that means now, don't we?" As Orlaigh opened his mouth in an attempt to tactfully explain the repercussions Taral responded to what was clearly a rhetorical question. This obviously was a topic that the King felt very strongly about mused Orlaigh. "Yes Orlaigh, word will get out and then I'll have every damned noble father in the land telly me that MY child needs a mother. Oh and what a coincidence, this father just happens to have a daughter who would be a perfect match AGAIN...you know I have only just managed to put a stop to all this nonsense." Orlaigh smiled. The nine year old Prince Alexander was certainly strong willed. He eyed the King and saw the sadness in his eyes. Despite not wanting to think of it, Orlaigh remembered the night of the child's birth and felt a familiar guilt wash over him. The queen and gone into labour too early and Orlaigh had been summoned. His guilt had stemmed from the fact that he had been away from the Kingdom for some months prior to the birth of the prince. A similar call had pulled him away from his duties and he had followed. He remembered only one part of that journey and he had never discussed it with Taral. He had been returned to the castle in the night, sick and weak and had spent weeks in and out of consciousness, recovering mere days before the birth. Even with all his power, he had been unable to save the queen. He had doubted that the child would make it either but, although he was small, he had fought. After three days spent over the child's crib, Orlaigh had gone to the King to tell him that the child would survive. He had felt so much guilt and was sure that he would be cast out. He hadn't been sure that Taral would accept the child after the death of the Kings love but he knew that he would need to tell him himself what had happened. King Taral had looked at him with dead eyes that night. He had felt that his own heart had stopped along with that of his wife's and that the mage had only come to add to his suffering with the news of the death of his infant son. Instead, the mage had told him that the child lived! Rising, the King had ran to the nursery and scooped the child into his arms. Then, he had whispered the oath of Kings and his own love into the boys ear. The Kings mourning had taken its toll on the nation, although all had rejoiced in the news of an heir. As soon as they had felt it decent, Nobles across the land had come to present their daughters to the King, hoping for a match that would secure them more power. In the end, Taral had declared that he would not take a wife again until his son was old enough to accept it. Although the declaration had worked, Prince Alexander was known to be a handful and word of his tantrums would get out occasionally, prompting a new round of Nobles and daughters to come to palace, convinced that the child needed a mother and they could provide such. Matters had not improved with age. Although no longer prone to tantrums, the young prince was just as strong willed and definitely mischievous! The King sighed, jolting Orlaigh out of his memories. "Orlaigh, is this something to do with the last call you had?" He asked "Yes" "Will you ever tell me what happened when you left us?" Orlaigh paused. The one memory he had was of something beautiful and amazing and so cherished in his heart that he felt that to speak of it would be to sully it. "I honestly don't think I can. There is only one part of that journey that I remember and it is not something to discuss with anyone. All I can say is that I have to go and finish what I started and I do not know how long it will take." Orlaigh paused again; although he knew that nothing would have saved the queen, he had always wondered if the King had blamed his illness for the loss of his love. "Your Majesty, I know that I came back last time as if I were a broken man. I was not, although it seemed so. I know that the timing was bad and if I could go back and change things I would. I never meant for Alyana to...die" Orlaigh trailed off. This was as close to speaking of his guilt as he had ever come. "Shadows blood, man! I have never blamed you for anything. Do you think that I would have kept you at my side if I thought you hadn't done everything you could to save her? You are like a brother to me and I know that you loved Alyana as if she were your sister. I have never, ever blamed you and I will not have you blame yourself!" Crossing the room, Taral took the mage's hand. He didn't need to say more. The look on his face showed the love he held for his friend and the understanding he felt for his friends guilt. "Thank you Taral. I have thought a lot about that night and I know that I could do no more whether I had been well or not. Despite that, the guilt was always there. I am sorry to burden you again but this is important." "Then go and take my blessing. Pack well and be safe. I have to go and be complained at by one of the southern lords. Remember to say farewell to Xander and come back quickly and safely." With that and a quick squeeze of the mage's shoulder, Taral left, rolling his eyes and muttering over lords who couldn't command themselves to get in the bath, never mind a whole region. Orlaigh smiled at his friends back and shook his head. No doubt his Majesty would handle the lord with perfect tact and diplomacy as he always did but he knew that if this lord caused too much trouble, Taral would not hesitate to put his into his place, by force if necessary. Taral held the nation because of strength as much as diplomacy and was never afraid to prove his reputation. Smiling again at the thought of this lord getting on the wrong side of his friend, Orlaigh left to return to his apartments and make preparations for his journey. Walking Through Shadows Ch. 02 Orlaigh stood at the edge of the forest and scanned the tree line. He had left the city three days ago with no idea where he was heading; he had just set his feet on the path and allowed the call to pull him along. This morning, the call had intensified and he had all but ran to the spot in which he now stood. Anticipation was strong in his mind, he was excited and nervous all at once, it was indescribable. He desperately wanted to move forward and see who had called him and why but he was scared that he would be rejected as well. There was also calmness, an acceptance that whatever happened was meant to be. Examining the thoughts, he realised that they weren't all his own. The fear belonged to someone else, someone who was waiting to see him...the caller. The acceptance was theirs as well. A large part of the excitement was coming from the caller too but part of it was his own. Thinking back, Orlaigh remembered the first time he had stood at the edge of these trees. It had been almost ten years since he had been here last and most of the memories of his time were hazy at best. Orlaigh had not been lying to the king when he said that to speak of his one clear memory of this place would be to sully it. In fact, he rarely thought of it himself for the same reason. Now, however, he was back here and he knew that the call he had received was linked to that wonderful time all those years ago. The memory that he had kept locked away these past years came to the front of his mind and with it, the memories from his entire time in the forest unlocked. The last ten years melted away as he looked back and remembered. The call in his mind wasn't from the same person. It was from Nia. His Nia. His first and only love. She was calling him back to her. ***** A small, hooded, figure had stepped from the shadows of the forest and beckoned him to follow "Who...?" The figure waved him into silence and motioned again that he should follow. Orlaigh paused, not wanting to follow some unknown person into the forest, who knew what would be waiting for him there? Sensing his indecision, the figure spoke softly "You have followed the call from our lady this far and now you hesitate?" There was derision in the tone; a mocking quality that nevertheless spurred Orlaigh on. Without further pause he stepped after the figure and into the forest beyond. They walked for some time in total silence and Orlaigh had plenty of time to look at his guide. Elf, he decided. Elves were by no means unusual in the land of Kuin, but it was unusual to see one away from the battlefield. Three thousand years ago, a pact had been made between humans and the elder races. The elders would provide warriors to help fight the shadow spawn that plagued the land and would not interfere with any decision that was made by humans as long as the Elves were given controlling rights to all forests and Dwarves the same with mountains. The copy of the contract that was held in the palace stated that it was not the full agreement; there was a part held by the Elves that no human had been allowed to see since the original pact had been made. Orlaigh wondered if this was why he had been summoned. Dragging his mind away from his musings, Orlaigh realised that he and his guide were no longer alone. They had been joined by several other cloaked figures. Seeing his surprise, his original guide dropped back to walk with him "There have been sightings of a...I don't know if your language has a word for it" she said with a frown "It is a...creature...made of stone and hate. They are sent by the Shadow to hunt in the mountains but sometimes they are turned here. If it comes we can kill it but it will be hard. You will keep out of the way if we shout." She explained, brusquely. "We have no word for that. I have never heard of anything like it!" Exclaimed Orlaigh "I am a mage though, I could help fight?" The elf raised an eyebrow "No, you were called here for a purpose. You will stay safe and do your duty" With this rather cryptic comment, the elf moved as if to go back to her place in the lead and then stopped. Turning, she looked at him for a long moment and appeared to come to a decision "I am Tininiathalasa. You may call me Nia; I know that humans sometimes struggle to pronounce words they are unused to. I cannot keep calling you 'human' I understand that may be seen as impolite. You will tell me your name." Orlaigh smiled. In the past he had usually met with Elvish ambassadors who dealt with humans regularly. However, from the odd conversation he had had with some of the warriors, he knew that most humans were seen as never getting old enough to acquire enough knowledge to have a wise and open minded perspective on the world around them. If he were being honest with himself he would agree, humans had much to learn, fortunately he had devoted most of his life to the art of acquiring knowledge. "Thank you Nia, I am Orlaigh and you are right, we humans do sometimes struggle to pronounce words we are unaccustomed to. However, as the Elvish scholar Lymedriirn'ven said: 'Namo avene delotha, ri namo lle'" "You are right Orlaigh. I forget myself. You would not have been chosen if you lacked intelligence." Nia smiled "You mention again that I was chosen. What for? I doubt that there is any magic I can do that your people cannot and I have no other skills that you would lack" "You have learned the first lesson of Lymedriirn'ven: 'Judge without hate or judge yourself', you will have to trust his words. Now, I must return to my duties" Before Orlaigh could open his mouth to question her again, Nia strode away to retake her place at the front of their party, leaving Orlaigh alone with his thoughts again. The rest of the day passed uneventfully although Orlaigh was glad when they stopped to make camp that evening. He wasn't used to walking much anyway and to walk through the forest and keep pace with a band of Elves was more tiring than he had realised. He sat by the fire and stared into the flames, wondering what he was here for. The call he had been following had ceased but he knew that if he turned back now, it would restart and this time he may not even be given a guide to help him. Deep in thought, he hadn't realised that someone had sat next to him "You trouble me, mage" said Nia, softly Orlaigh started and turned to look at her. In the firelight, she was beautiful. In fact, Orlaigh realised, she was beautiful anyway. He had just been too busy watching where he was going to fully realise it. Pulling his mind back to what she had just said he opened his mouth to ask her why. Before he could frame the question though, Nia had started answering "I have watched you since you left the city. I was supposed to guard you and then guide you through the forest. I thought you were going to be...childish. I was raised to believe that humans are children that can never grow to their full potential. You are not what I was raised to believe in." Once again, Nia walked away before he could answer and left him with more to wonder about than why he was here. The next day was more of the same. Orlaigh followed the Elves ever deeper into the forest as they walked in silence. At mid day, they stopped to rest and eat. Orlaigh opened his pack and brought out some of the food that he had brought with him to share with the group. Nia came and sat with him while the others busied themselves preparing the meal and started questioning him on his knowledge of Elven history. "I am surprised that you know of our scholars, I would not have thought a human would have the patience to study our history" she told him "I have made it a point to learn what I can of all the people that help in the battle with The Shadow" he replied. "There is much we need to know in order to use our forces effectively. It helps that it is a fascinating thing to study. You have a beautiful culture and language." Nia smiled and flushed slightly "A pretty compliment mage. Do all your people flatter strangers in this manner?" "It is not flattery. I have studied the history of Elves and Dwarves as closely as I have studied my own people's. I find the Elves to be the most interesting. Your long lives mean that you have a complex and varied past when you deal with humans. You are more aware than we are...although, there are times when your great age does seem to work against you" As the words came out of his mouth, Orlaigh wished he could snatch them back. Nia's eyes flashed with anger at the implied criticism. "Pray tell me how someone so young can see so much" she said in a tone that made it clear Orlaigh must tread carefully "I meant no disrespect. It is only that, as you have so much time to grow and mature, you can gain your wisdom over centuries. What you can take seventy years to learn, the average human must learn before they become adults. I phrased this badly. I had no intention to anger you, only to explain where one of the biggest differences between our races come from." Surprisingly, Nia smiled again. Such quick changes in emotion were rare in the Elves that Orlaigh had met in the past and he was unsure of how to continue. Before he could decide how to proceed, Nia spoke. As before, it seemed that she was answering a question he hadn't yet asked "Yes, you are right and I believe my temper has just proved your point. You are a young man when your age is compared to mine. However, you would be older than me if we were the same race. I am 200 years old. An adult, barely, by our standards. Equal to a female human of about 20 years old. You are thirty-two, yes?" Without waiting for an answer, Nia continued. "You have achieved much in those few years. Never before has a human mage been as strong as you are at such a young age, as you must surely know. There was one, many years ago. It was he who helped create the pact between our people. Now you must come and do what he did and I must help. It is my duty." Rising, she left him again. Irritation touched Orlaigh as he was again left with more questions. What was her duty? What was his duty? Why did she leave him so quickly when she must know he had questions? After a short break, the party started again. Once more, Nia dropped back to talk to Orlaigh. As she did so, he heard a snigger and one of the Elves said something in their own language that caused more sniggers. Nia glared at the speaker and snapped back at him. The Elf had spoke again, an apology it seemed, and walked to the front of the group. "What was that about?" Asked Orlaigh "Nothing. They think it is odd that I would spend time talking with you. Few of us have felt the need to leave this place and interact with humans before. I am interested in you though. They think it is cause for laughter" she said, wryly. For the next few hours, Nia and Orlaigh discussed much. Both their histories, personal and cultural, politics, the ancient pacts were all things that they were both interested in. By the time they stopped that evening, they were fast friends. The pattern was set for the next few days. The group would set off with Nia in the lead, they would stop at midday and then continue for several hours in the afternoon. Each afternoon, Nia would drop back to talk to Orlaigh. After the first day, Nia had become more interested in questioning him about more personal aspects of his life and Orlaigh had ventured a few questions of his own about hers. Before breaking camp on the morning of the third day, Nia came to Orlaigh and told him that this would be the last day that they travelled together. They would arrive at their destination the following evening. As she left to take her place at the head of the group, Orlaigh sighed. He hadn't realised how much he had come to enjoy her company and he would miss her. Hearing him sigh, Nia hesitated and then returned to him. Waving at one of the others, she indicated he should lead today. This brought a flurry of Elven, as usual; it was far too fast for Orlaigh to understand. He had come to realise that he was not as skilled in the language as he had thought! "What was that about?" he asked "I will spend today talking to you. I will not have time tomorrow and I wish to know more of you" Without further comment, Nia set off. As they walked that morning, her questions turned ever more personal until without warning, she asked a question that stopped Orlaigh in his tracks. "I have heard that mages are celibate. You take no wives or lovers. Is it true? Are you?" Orlaigh turned red "I, erm, well, erm, no. No, we aren't" "So you have a woman at home?" Orlaigh felt his face heating up as he tried to think where this was going "I...have no woman in my life." "Now or ever?" Giving himself a mental shake, Orlaigh drew himself up to his full height "This is not something we talk about in polite society." Realising that Nia had not meant to embarrass him, he relented However, I...well...no, actually. I spent most of my childhood and teenage years in an all boys school and then I was in service to the king. I've never really had the chance. Not that I wouldn't! I just suppose the right woman has never come along." Pausing, a mischievous twinkle came into his eye "Now that you've made me blush, I think it's only fair that I ask you the same!" Nia did indeed blush at this. She looked down at her feet as they walked and then raised her eyes to meet his. As their gazes locked, Orlaigh felt as if he was falling into her eyes. He had noticed before how beautiful she was but, after days of getting to know her, he had realised that she had unlocked feelings in him that he didn't know where there. Asking her this question, even though it was just what she had asked him, had made him realise just how much he cared about the answer. He desperately wanted her to say that there was no one in her life in that way. With all of this passing through his mind, Orlaigh had stopped watching where he was going and tangled his feet in a root. As he fell,, he reached out and grabbed the first thing his hand touched. Unfortunately, this was Nia and he pulled her down with him. They both lay there, stunned, for a moment before bursting into hysterical laughter. The others looked at them and shook their heads. Helping each other up, Orlaigh and Nia asked each other if they were ok before laughing again. As their laughter subsided, Nia suddenly became serious again "There is and never has been anyone in my life in that way" she said quietly "However, there is someone I have recently come to care about a lot and it will make my duty that much harder." Saying this, she walked away. The rest of the day passed in silence. At their midday break, Nia moved off into the forest and didn't reappear until after they had set off again. She took the lead and didn't look back once at Orlaigh. He was left wondering if he had upset her somehow and resolved to ask her that night. Walking Through Shadows Ch. 03 The rest of the day passed slowly for Orlaigh as he prepared himself for the conversation he was determined to have that night. He planned speech after speech and discarded them all. His first thought had been to corner Nia and force her to tell him what was going on, why he had been brought here and what her duty was but, as he watched her walking ahead of him, he realised that he could no more force her to tell him anything than he could fly. The woman was strong, independent, and stubborn but so beautiful and vulnerable as well... Orlaigh's mind drifted into fantasy. In his mind's eye he saw her come to him, her long black hair swirling around her shoulders, her emerald green eyes locked on his and her soft, full lipped mouth raised to kiss him. As his mind wandered, he stopped watching his feet and, for the second time that day, fell over. Standing quickly, Orlaigh blushed as he realised that the Elves surrounding him were laughing at his lack of grace and Nia was shaking her head while trying not to smirk 'Damn the woman' he thought 'She has me so besotted I can't concentrate and she doesn't even know!' Smiling at the others, Orlaigh started walking again and soon found himself drifting into fantasy again. This time he pictured Nia in the firelight at camp, they were alone and he watched as she slid off the dark leather armour she always wore, revealing a thin tunic and leggings. In his mind, she slowly removed her clothes to reveal creamy white skin, unmarred and smooth. Her toned body and full breasts were perfection as she walked towards him and.... CRASH Orlaigh found himself on the floor again, but this time the crash had been a landslide ahead of them rather than his own clumsiness. One of the fallen rocks had taken his feet out from under him and he wasn't the only one. Rising to his feet, he looked around to check if everyone was all right. Although he didn't know the names of any of his fellows, he knew that there were fifteen of them, including himself. Counting quickly, he realised that there was only fourteen. With a sudden feeling of dread, he moved towards the pile of rubble ahead of him. His stomach dropped as he saw a pale, blood covered hand and a sweep of midnight black hair among the debris. The missing Elf was Nia! With a cry, he ran forward, shoving the elves who were already trying to dig her free out of the way. Summoning his power, he began to lift the rocks away much faster than the others could. As he moved the final rock, he uncovered her broken and bleeding body. Amazingly, she was still conscious and stretched her hand towards him and tried to speak Taking hold of her hand with tears in his eyes, he bent towards her to hear the words she spoke to quietly "You...care...about...you" Nia gasped as she slid into unconsciousness. The tears Orlaigh had been holding back began to run down his face as he realised what this meant. In the few days that they had known each other, they had become so close. He had thought that his feelings would be unrequited. Elves took so long to come to a decision about anything, how could he know that she would come to look at him as he looked at her? Taking a breath, he looked deep inside himself to the well of power that he carried within. Adding his own life force to it, he fed healing magic into her body. Under his hands, bleeding stopped, bones mended and bruises faded. When he finished, he collapsed, still holding Nia in his arms. Orlaigh awoke alone. He was lying in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar hut. The last thing he remembered was holding Nia as he healed her. Sitting up quickly, he groaned as his body protested. Shrugging off the aches in his muscles, he rose from the bed and then immediately sat back down as a wave of dizziness washed over him. Realisation that he had added his own life force to his power in order to heal the elf was what had left him weak; he slowed his movements as he looked at his surroundings. From outside, he heard voices approaching. "Ah, you are awake" came an unfamiliar voice as the door to his left opened. The speaker was an aged, male Elf. Orlaigh was amazed; he had not known that Elves aged so. As if reading his mind, the elf spoke "Don't be so surprised Human. Elves age, just much slower than humans. I am...old. I remember the pact that humans and elves made so many years ago. I was born to be the keeper of that pact and to ensure that it was renewed. If you look at the pact, you will even see my name as one who signed it. I am Isymir" Orlaigh sat in silence while he listened to the elf talk. Very few records had survived through the years and, other than the pact, nothing was really known about that time. This old woman, however, was a walking library. She explained the first coming of the Shadow to mortal lands and how it had nearly wiped out the humans before turning to the elves in an attempt to swallow them. Both races had banded together and fought back. This much was still known in human lands. What Orlaigh hadn't known though was how and why the pact had come about. After the Shadow had been defeated, humans and elves lived side by side for many years while both races re-built. It was this rebuilding that had made the pact necessary. The damage that had been done was extensive with large areas of the land belonging to both races left uninhabitable. The elves had the ability to help the land recover quickly and used them to bring life back to the ravaged country. However, humans had tried to move into the newly healed lands, pushing the elves back further and further. Eventually, the elves had started erecting barriers to keep humans out, leaving everyone with little habitable land. Seeing the misery that everyone was now living in, a group of Elven elders and humans had come together to form a contract to ensure fair dealing for both the races. The dwarves had been called in to mediate as their mountain kingdoms had been largely unaffected. The pact that Orlaigh was aware of meant that all regions on the coast and inland to the foot of the Dwarven Mountains belonged to the humans while all forested areas and the uncharted areas of the country behind the mountains belonged to the elves. The mountains continued to be the realm of the dwarves. As the mountains were uninhabitable by the standard of both humans and elves, this had never been an issue. However, as Isymir explained, there was much more to the pact than humans were now aware of. The elves had healed the lands that humans inhabited and then created wards to help any future damage heal quickly. They would not try to claim land from the humans after this and would provide warriors to fight the Shadow whenever necessary. The cost of this help had been that a child would be conceived between an elven woman and a human male. This child would go on to hold high office in the country. At first the elves had wanted the child to take the throne and so ensure that there would be elven blood in the royal line for generations to come. However, as the pact prohibited the elves from claiming human land, this had not been feasible. Instead it had been decided that the child would be conceived of the most powerful human mage and the most powerful elven mage and taken as the king's advisor. The elven blood in the child would ensure that they lived long enough to accumulate wisdom enough to give good advice to the king while the human blood would allow the child to be accepted. At this point, Orlaigh stopped the elf "How does this relate now? I was an orphan, nobody knew my parents and I am the king's advisor." Isymir smiled sadly at him "Ah child, all the king's advisors are orphans in these times. As the centuries passed, and the original pact was forgotten by humans, it became tradition for an elf to select the king's advisor. This is how we ensured that one of the correct line was always chosen. This included you. You were born from the blood of those who formed the pact so many years ago. You are, in fact, my many times grandchild." Isymir paused to let the news sink in. He had expected anger at the fact that Orlaigh had been allowed to think that he had no family as he grew up. Instead he was surprised when Orlaigh calmly stated that he understood and asked him why he had been brought here now. "It is simply that the blood started to run thin and the children of my line lived shorter and shorter lives. We were slow to intercede as the intelligence and wisdom the children still showed remained enough for us to believe that the pact was still valid. Now there is an increase of the Shadow Spawn in the land and it is time that our connections were reaffirmed." The anger that Isymir had been expecting a few moments ago now flashed into Orlaigh's eyes. "So, let me see if I have this right. You are my Grandfather and for reasons that I do genuinely understand, you allowed me to grow up thinking I was alone in the world. One of your people made me Kings Advisor and then had no further contact with me. Next you call me into a forest in the middle of nowhere to meet with you because you want to make sure you get your own way if there is another invasion? And I have to calmly accept whatever you tell me because it's my duty to continue this pact and I have no idea....." Orlaigh broke off as the word duty brought to mind the conversations he had had with Nia. "Nia has a duty too. Let me guess, the 'duty' is to father another child, yes?" Isymir nodded and drew breath to explain further. He had known that this would be difficult and had planned out what he was going to say in order to convince Orlaigh that this was for the best. Before he could speak though, there was a knock at the door and Nia herself walked in. Seeing Isymir sitting with Orlaigh, Nia bowed low to the elder and asked leave to speak privately with Orlaigh. Isymir nodded again and rose to leave. As he reached the door, he turned to look at Orlaigh "I am sorry that you were alone for so long. I have watched you and you have made me proud" With that, he left, leaving Nia and Orlaigh alone. Without looking at Orlaigh, Nia began to speak "I hated you for a long time before I met you. I didn't want to grow up to have the child of a human and to never see it again. I wanted to have a home and a husband. I wanted to take my child in the forest and teach it all I knew. I wanted to do so much and so little. I wanted to have what every other person around me had. A family. I never aspired any higher." "When I was told about you, I resented that those things had been taken from me without my consent. I have the most powerful magic but I am not allowed to use it until I have had your child. I wanted to be a healer. I had hoped to go out into the world and work with warriors fighting the Shadow and then come back to live a normal life. I can't do that though." Orlaigh tried to speak but Nia raised a hand to stop him. "When I first saw you, you were teaching. You had taken some students out into the meadow behind the palace and were teaching them about herbs. One of them fell and you picked him up. There was a look on your face that was so...gentle. He had hurt his knee and you healed it. Your assistant said that it was a waste of power when there was so much else it could be used for and you told him that if you have the power to stop someone hurting then you should. The only pain you should never try to stop is the pain in someone's heart because sometimes there are things you cannot forget, you can only learn to live with." Orlaigh sighed as he remembered that day. He had seen the boy's tears and had wanted to stop them. As a child, no one had ever been there to comfort him when he fell and he had learned to live with that. It was why he always healed grazed knees! "That was the day I stopped hating you. I still hated my duty though. I hated it more because I know what having to abandon this child will do to you. I do not want you to have to learn to live with this pain. Do you remember when I told you that you trouble me? It is because of this. I don't want to hurt you. I have come to care for you a lot. I know that we have only known each other a few days but I have been watching you for many years. I want to go ahead with the ritual. Once it has been completed and I have had the child, I will become the elder here. I can make changes. I can speak to your king, make the pact common knowledge again and you can see our child and help raise it." Nia finally paused and looked at Orlaigh "Nia, I don't know where to begin. I...care for you too. I didn't know that you could come to care for anyone this quickly but I do. I damn near killed myself to save you. Don't ever think that I don't care. I just don't know if I can get you pregnant and then not see you again until the child is born. Plus how can you turn over three thousand years of tradition on your own?" Nia smiled in relief. She had expected outright refusal, at least this way she could explain her plans to him "Not all our people are happy with the way we are secluded now. In fact, the majority would be happier if the pact with humans was made public again. We feel that our growth is being stunted by the secrets we keep. We keep away from your people so that we don't say too much and it limits our relationships with you. I have spoken to many of my kind and they will stand with me when I make the changes." "As to you not seeing me, one of my supporters is skilled at manipulating memories. He'll wipe out your memories of your time here, leaving you with just the memory of our time 'together' and my name. When the time comes, I will call you back and your memories will return." "NO! I will NOT be manipulated into like that! You cannot expect me to willingly forget everything" Orlaigh yelled Nia gently placed her fingers over his mouth as she continued to explain "Listen to me. When the time comes, I will need you to be at my side. Until that time I need you to carry on with your duties to the humans as you always have. There can be no hint of what is to come and, if you are left with the knowledge, it is possible that it will come out before I am ready. Please, try to understand. We need to do it this way so that no one gets hurt." Orlaigh grasped her wrist firmly and moves her hand away from his mouth "I will think about it. I need some time to myself to process everything. Can you leave me until tomorrow?" Disappointment shone in Nia's eyes and it broke Orlaigh's heart to know that he couldn't immediately give in but he remained firm. "Please, you have had years to come to terms with this. I have had an hour. All I ask is for one day to think things over." Nodding, Nia rose and left. As the door closed behind her, Orlaigh heard her giving instructions that he was not to be disturbed unless it was mealtime. When he was sure that she was gone, Orlaigh rose and dressed in the breeches, boots and shirt that had been left in the hut. He was still feeling weak from his healing efforts and thought that the fresh air would do him good. Hopefully it would help him clear his mind and calm him turbulent thoughts. Heading out the door and further into the camp, he saw several elven warriors sitting around a fire. Moving closer, he listened to their talk. His understanding of Elvish was enough for him to get the general gist of what they were discussing. The Shadow attacks were increasing and they needed to increase their numbers. The talk turned to plans of them banding together with humans and training them but they had been told to keep away from human settlements in accordance to the pact. Concentrating as he was on translating, Orlaigh didn't realise that he had moved close to the group. As the warriors saw him, they stopped talking and watched him. Orlaigh smiled faintly and moved on. Had Nia arranged for them to be sat there for him to overhear? But that would have meant she had known that he would go outside. Maybe it was coincidence. Either way, it gave him more to think about. Orlaigh was quickly beginning to tire. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. A night of sleep would allow his body to replenish its lost energy and, perhaps, allow him to think more clearly. With this thought in mind, he headed back to his hut to sleep. Removing his boots, Orlaigh lay down on the small bed and closed his eyes. His mind was still working overtime trying to process everything. He had discovered he was part of an ancient tradition and one that had saved millions of people over the millennia. Was it fair of him to refuse to do his part? His mind kept travelling back to the conversation he had overheard. This race, these people, had done so much. Humans had done so much. He had a foot in both worlds now and the ability to ensure that both races worked together to continue to save lives. Maybe even push back the Shadow far enough to grant peace for a few centuries. Nia wanted him to help her make changes that would bring the people together and allow them to make that push. All he had to do was to spend one night with this beautiful woman. A woman he had come to care for deeply in such a short time. He wouldn't remember it and it wouldn't hurt him and then, when the time was right, he would be brought back. He would be given the memories back and he would have a child to care for and love. He would be forever bound to Nia, the woman he knew deep in his heart that he already loved, and he would be serving the people of the country that he loved. Orlaigh laughed bitterly. ALL he had to do was have a child and then forget it. ALL he had to do was allow a child to be used as he had been. But then, the child would be loved. It would have parents to guide it. It would be safe here and when the time came, it would have the guidance he wished that he had been given... but was it right to allow the child to be born for duty rather than love? After many hours, Orlaigh reached his decision and was surprised that sleep claimed him quickly once he had. When he awoke, the sky was still dark but he felt rested as if he had slept for a long time. Looking outside, he saw enough small changes around him to know that he had slept through the day and into the following night. Fresh cloths and a bowl of water had been left on the table in his hut along with some food. Orlaigh quickly washed and dressed himself in clean clothes and then forced himself to eat despite his nervousness. Leaving the hut, he wandered through the trees, stopping occasionally to ask the few elves he saw where Nia was. They all smiled at him and pointed him in the direction of a small clearing, well away from the main camp. Orlaigh was uncomfortably aware that they knew why he was looking for her and, as usual when he was distracted, found that he was spending a lot of time tripping over his own feet. As he approached the clearing he saw that a fire was burning there and a lone figure was standing beside it. Coming closer, he saw that it was Nia and felt his heart skip as he drank in her beauty. Her midnight black hair was loose around her shoulders, her skin was as pale as the moonlight, her mouth full lipped and pink and the fire light reflected in her eyes, making them glow as he looked at her. The black suede leggings so wore seemed to fit so closely as to be part of her skin and the leather corselet she wore as part of her armour seemed to have been designed to fit so that it was a part of her. Her mouth curved into a smile as he realised that he had been staring at her for several seconds without speaking. Drawing a breath, he looked away and began to speak quickly. "I don't know if we are doing the right thing but I know that we are doing it for the right reasons. I know that I care for you a lot. Even though it's been such a short time, I know that I love you. I want to be with you, even if it's only for tonight. I know that I won't remember you until you let me and I won't remember that I have a child. It hurts that I won't know you until the time's right and it scares me that if anything happens then might never again know what happens tonight. I don't want the child to grow up not knowing me or knowing me and hating me for it. Despite all that, I still want to do it." Walking Through Shadows Ch. 03 Nia opened her mouth to speak but Orlaigh shook his head and continued "I don't want tonight to be about the Shadow or about both our races. I want it to be about us. I want to conceive this child in love, as it should be. And I need you to promise me that, should anything happen, if you can't give me back my memory or anything happens to me, then the child will know that I loved you and that it wasn't just a tool to achieve an end. I need you to promise me that, no matter what, the child will be loved for who it is, not what it represents." Finally looking at her, Orlaigh saw tears in Nia's eyes. He paled at the thought that he had hurt her but this was important "Promise me, Nia" "Oh Orlaigh, I told you that I wanted a family, I wanted to be loved. I never thought I could have that. You have shown me that I can still have what I dreamed of. Of course I will promise you those things. I do love you. I have since I first spoke to you. The gentleness I saw in your soul all the years that I watched you spoke to me and I will gladly promise those things to you because it's what I want for our child too." Moving away from the fire, Nia took his hand. Her touch made Orlaigh fell as if a bolt of lightning had shot through his body. He thought that, no matter what, he would forever feel the heat from her palm pressed against his. She led him to a small hut at the edge of the clearing. As they walked through the door she turned and wrapped her arms around him. Orlaigh bent his head as she looked up at him and their eyes met for a moment before he kissed her and all his doubts melted away.