Bill - 2001-05-15

he sun was dipping low into the sky spreading its red rays majestically across the sky. The snow covered peaks of the Roof of the World caught the light and glistened like rubies set in a stone crown. A cold wind gently pushed its way through the sparse trees and whistled a tune as old as the mountains themselves.

Aedon shifted the weight of his pack and watched the sunset for a short while. It had been a week since he had left his farm. A week of aimless wandering. His first thought had been to set out for the small town of Crystal Spring in the valley below his farm. There were people that knew of him there and perhaps a warm welcome or two.

He had stopped at a stone outcropping that soared high above the tiny village and gave a perfect view of the people below. He was somewhat familiar with the location, having stopped here many times before on his supply runs. It was a good location to camp for the evening, which left the descent into the village for the morning light.

That evening he watched the farmers in their fields finish their chores and saw smoke lazily rising from hearths preparing the evening meal. It was then he realized that he had no desire to deal with old friends who would offer their sympathies. No desire to answer questions he was not prepared to face. His loss was still too fresh and raw to be probed by friends and strangers.

By next morning he had made up his mind. Shouldering his load he turned westward and began to walk. As he traveled he realized that he had no destination in mind. Traveling along whatever path took his fancy, he slowly worked his way westward. The direction seemed as good as any other and there always seemed to be a ridge or game path that opened up invitingly.

It was perhaps a week or so later, that he began to notice a change in the land. Instead of scattered trees clinging precariously to the foothills, wide swaths of forest were covering the land. Majestic pines rose several spans high and their deep green branches all but blotted out the sun in some places. Instead of the tough scrub and brush that had covered the hills there were ferns and other dense undergrowth.

Aedon was a bit surprised, and somewhat relieved, that he had not run into any other people on his solitary trek. He wondered why none of the villagers had settled out this way, where the soil was obviously more fertile and the wood plentiful. However, thoughts like that were few and far between as he reveled in the solitude of the land and the company of his own soul.

Another day of wandering and the forest thickened and matured. He now traveled over thick carpets of pine needles and wandered through virgin glades. He could smell rain on the air through the pleasant aroma of the pine and was glad that he would have some shelter when the rain broke.

That evening, he spread his bedroll at the base of a massive pine. If it were to rain tonight, he might manage to stay dry under the mammoth tree. Like evenings prior, he cleared a small area for his fire, gathered wood from the ground and started a small cook fire. Heating the remnants of some fish he had caught earlier in the day, and some flatbread, his meal was humble but filling.

== * ==

"Exactly how did he come this far?" Silalianth asked the scout.

"We're not really sure. He didn't come from any of the populated areas and he hasn't caused enough of a disturbance to be noticed," the wiry scout replied.

Silalianth looked hard at the young man and noticed how he embarrassedly stared at the floor. With a sigh, Silalianth considered the problem at hand. A lone human shows up fairly deep into Kethiel and none of his scouts can give him a good reason. To make matters worse the lummox had staked out his camp at the base of Lilianti's tree. In fact, they still might not have known about the man if he hadn't cooked up a meal right under her home.

He still could feel the Lilianti's fury as she berated him with a passion that was seldom seen among the elves of the woods.

"You're not sure..." Silalianth said letting the words hang in the air.

The young scout shuffled nervously, "I sent a scout to track his path to see if there were others that he was leading. It appears he came from the North East. Perhaps out of the foothills near the Roof of the World. As you know, we don't watch up that way all that much. There are few humans there, and even fewer have the courage to steal so much as an acorn from Kethiel."

"So what has he been doing then?"

"Nothing of notice. He finished his meal, and has gone to sleep."

"The fool has no notion of what he is doing does he?"

"Apparently not."

"You may go. Keep a close watch on him, but don't do anything as of yet. However, if he defaces Lilianti's tree or sees one of us, kill him."

Silalianth didn't hear the scout leave, although he would have been surprised if he had. As the chief scout he knew all of the men and women who guarded Kethiel from the encroaching humans. They all were dedicated and skilled in their profession, which made this situation so inexplicable.

His dilemma was what to do with the human now. Normally, the scouts would have fired a few arrows asked a bear to rampage through the camp, or any other number of tricks to warn the man away. However, this man had managed to get several days into Kethiel without notice. That was disturbing enough.

If he now had the scouts scare the man off, he would have a panicked human fleeing Kethiel woods for several days. Who knows what damage he might cause in his flight? Of course, he could have them kill the human out of hand. Yet, it appeared that the man hadn't violated the forest in any way or they would have felt the distress in the trees long before now. While the Elves had no compunction against killing humans, they did try and avoid bloodshed and outright slaughter.

The slight scent of lilac alerted him to Lilianti's presence.

"My Lady of the Grove."

Her musical voice answered him, "What are you to do about this man thing camping at my tree?"

She stared at him with a noticeable lack of expression.

"At the moment, My Lady, we are keeping him under close watch. I do not wish to panic him when there are so many soul trees about. Nor do I desire to kill him when he has yet to truly violate these woods."

"His presence violates these woods as you well know."

"I don't know that the spirits of Kethiel would agree with you. He has harmed no tree and gathered only food for himself, or my scouts would have know of his presence long ago."

He could sense her anger rising. She knew that he was right, but wanted nothing to do with the human sleeping peacefully on the roots of her home. It was a situation that had rarely happened in the history of the woods. Humans consumed and bent nature to their wishes, few of them had ever trod through the forest without notice of its keepers.

"So what are you going to do then?" she asked after a long pause.

"I don't yet know..."

== * ==

The morning came quickly for Aedon although he slept soundly enough. There was a peace to this glade unlike anything he had ever encountered before. It reminded him of the little copse of trees where he lay his wife and son to rest, but not in a sad way. Instead, the trees seemed inviting, and practically sung with the joys of life.

His mind at peace, and feeling rested and refreshed he walked over to the small stream that ran through the grove. The water was crystal clear and sparkled in the light that made it through the towering trees above. He quickly washed, reveling in the shock of the frigid water and feeling quite invigorated.

Breakfast consisted of some cheese, a bit more of the flatbread and the water from the brook to wash it all down. While he ate he tried to decide which direction to head today. The stream looked inviting and might make an easy path to follow through this ancient forest.

After eating he carefully packed his gear and checked it all for needed repairs. Satisfied that it was stowed in an efficient manner he began to burry the fire and move the blanket of pine needles back. As a man living from the bounties of nature, he had an intimate respect for the land and did his best to preserve it. Throughout his travels he had disturbed little and taken only what he needed.

Satisfied with his efforts he hefted the pack and set out along the stream bed. It was a humid day and Aedon was certain that a storm was brewing. He just hoped that he had some decent shelter by then.

== * ==

"You're not seriously going to let him walk off. There are villages down the path he's taken. What if he stumbles on one of them!" Lilianti whispered.

Turning to the beautiful elf, Silalianth whispered back, "As of right now my Lady, yes I am. Be sure that I will let none come to harm. I have yet to see the right of this myself. As long as the spirits of the grove can accept him, I think I can a bit longer."

Lilianti groused to herself for a moment, "I was sure that he would flee in terror last night. There were enough Faerie clustering around him to drive him mad. You'd think they had never seen a human before."

"You never can tell with the faerie my Lady."

"No *you* can't" she said reminding him of her position and abilities.

The stocky human was already a ways down the stream when Silalianth motioned to four scouts to shadow the man.

"My Lady, shall we see where our quarry leads us?"

== * ==

It was midday when the scant bit of light that the trees allowed to the forest floor started to fade. The wind grew still and the persistent noise of the forest faded. Aedon knew the signs, there was a storm coming and a big one at that.

Looking around, there were plenty of trees, but little in the way of shelter. All day he had been alert to any place that he could weather the storm, however, none had appeared. So resigning himself to getting soaked, he picked the largest tree he could find and huddled close to it.

Sure enough, heavy drops of water began to fall soon after and a wind was whipping through the branches overhead. The tree offered a small amount of protection as the rain began in earnest, but it was better than nothing. Aedon tried to press himself closer to the protecting trunk, but the howling wind seemed to mock his efforts driving the rain in sheets at him.

As the water cascaded to the ground, lightning flashed enough to light the grove as if it were noon on a sunny day. The thunder that followed rumbled ominously and boomed across the heavens. It was only going to get worse, Aedon thought to himself as the now gale force winds ripped through the glade.

== * ==

Lilianti had been steadfastly ignoring the Faerie that had been buzzing about her all morning. They were trying to warn her of the storm and begging her to seek shelter. Creatures of flight and fancy, they seldom realized true things of importance, like the man walking steadily ahead of them.

Silalianth kept looking to the sky, he realized that there was a storm, but didn't have her Faerie sight to converse with the spirits of the woods. Instead of passing the warning on, she kept quiet, determined to rid Kethiel of this human as soon as possible. That the scouts did not just kill the human and be done with it irritated her. Even though the man had not violated their care, the woods, his mere presence was enough to warrant his death. At least in her mind.

At least Silalianth's scouts were as good as he claimed. The four of them kept the human encircled while remaining out of sight the entire time. Even she, gifted with the Faerie sight, could only catch glimpses of their mud coated faces as they effortlessly glided through the woods. While the human was not supposed to know of their presence, her irritation grew by his apparent ignorance of the danger he was in.

Silalianth held up his hand, breaking her train of thought and halting her.

"He is taking cover at the base of the trees... perhaps he has spotted one of my scouts..." he whispered to her.

She was about to reply when the Faeries began their incessant warning about the storm. She was going to dismiss them, when, reluctantly she opened herself to the woods. Letting go of her sense of self she drank in the power of the ancient trees. Her senses spread out to become one with Kethiel.

It was only then that she realized her folly. Blinded by her hatred of the human, she had not heeded the warnings of the Faerie. There was a storm coming, the size of which she had not seen in her hundreds of years of life. Retracting her senses from the woods and regaining her sense of self was slow and disorienting. However, she made as much haste as possible.

Silalianth, who doubtless felt her use of magic, was waiting for her to return. He began to speak when he saw her eyes focus, but she cut him off.

"The human is irrelevant, get the scouts to Kesselani and warn them. The other groves, I am sure, have made preparations, of which I have failed for us. There is little time, go now and do what you can. I will watch over this human."

Silalianth looked at her for a moment, she thought he might object whether over her safety or some other concern, but in the end he did not. She watched him go silently into the woods.

"Curse you human, you are an ill timed omen that costs my people dearly. For that you have earned your death, although its coming will have to wait."

Sitting down on the soft ground she let her senses go wide to the forest and tried as best she could to prepare her ward for the coming storm. The rain was already beginning to fall, and she had so little time.

== * ==

Aedon had never seen a storm like this one. The rain slashed in horizontal waves and lightning played across the sky like sheets of white fire. The thunder was deafening as the noise echoed across the forest floor. There was real danger here, Aedon realized, beyond getting soaked through.

As if in answer to his thoughts a large limb crashed to the ground beside him as another wave of thunder pounded his senses. The wind had grown enough that it was difficult to stand and impossible to see through the driving rain.

All around him branches and limbs were falling to the wind and rain. Treetops exploded in light and fire as the lightning played amongst them. It took all of Aedon's effort to remain against the tree and hold on for his life. The fury of the storm continued unabated and unchecked, ignorant to the damage it was causing.

With the wind wailing about him, Aedon began to get a tingling sensation along his back that was not caused by the rain or wind. He became certain, although why he could not say, that there was grave danger and that he needed to move. Reluctant to move from the scant shelter of the tree, the itching sensation grew until he could not ignore it.

Letting go of the tree which had been sheltering him, he stumbled to the middle of the grove. Moments after he left the sheltering boughs a blast of lightning struck the mighty tree as blew it asunder. The shock of the echoing thunder blasted him from his feet and into the stream bed he had been following earlier.

Stunned from the force of the blast, he lay there, pelted by the rain and watching the lightning unable to move to any shelter. Time seemed to move is spurts as the storm played havoc with the grove. He soon lost track of the time and lived in an eternity of cold and water He only realized the storm had ended when the distant echo of thunder played about the peaks of the Roof of the World.

Realizing that he still lay in the stream and that his legs had gone numb in the frigid water, he dragged himself from the crick. It took several minutes of rubbing to get painful sensation back to his limbs. More time was required to remember how he got in the stream in the first place.

The grove itself was a shattered mess. The beatiful serentiy that lay in the mighty trees was gone, as they toppled like wheat to a scythe. Even the trees that remained, had gaping holes where branches were ripped from their trunks to be tossed about with abandon.

I was a startling realization that his pack was long gone, and its provisions disappearing with it. That was an ill blow. Without the food and fishing line, he would be hard pressed to survive in this untamed forest. Even worse was the loss of clothes and his axe. In fact, other than a herb pouch at his belt and a small knife, there was little that he had left.

With civilization more than a week away, and a cool evening coming, things did not look promising. Still, Aedon was not a man to quietly succumb, so with little hope he began the search for his gear.

== * ==

The storm had been worse that she had feared. Giving strength where she could she tried to protect the trees and wildlife that was her ward. However, she was too late and she knew it. The strength that she needed required hours of preparation and ritual instead of the half ditch effort that she provided now.

Still, this was Lilianti's grove and she threw all of her being into protecting it. Strength to a limb here, power to a trunk there. Shift the winds a bit to soften the blows, harden the earth to hold on to the precious trees. Most importantly, protect the trees and her kin in the nearby village.

Her despair was great when the full force of the storm hit and the grove that her life was dedicated to, was ripped asunder. The death knell of trees shattered by lightning or rended on the fierce winds assailed her sanity and only her iron will allowed her to continue her silent struggle.

As it raged on, she kept her unending efforts salvaging what she could ignoring what she could not help. Extended as she was, struggling as she needed to, she never felt the blast of lightning that toppled a tree near her. She never felt the limbs crash onto her vulnerable body. Never knew the fate of the forest she loved.

== * ==

Aedon had searched the area several times and began to resign himself to the fact that his gear was gone. With a sigh, and a shiver from the cold, he began to silently trudge along the river. As long as he didn't freeze to death, there was the hope of finding civilization. It was a slim hope, but Aedon was ever an optimist.

As he trudged along the river bank the noises of the forest began to return. It was a small comfort, but a welcome one.

He had only been walking a short while when the odd tingling sensation began to bother him again. While he felt the same sense of urgency, he felt none of the impending danger like he did during the storm. Where, or why this was happening was beginning to trouble him. As all good Torrigon folk, he distrusted magic and was beginning to fear he was ensorcelled.

Whatever the feeling was, it did save him during the storm. As the feeling changed to the equivalent of an itch that he couldn't quite reach, he decided that he had little to loose by trusting it. It became obvious pretty quick that someone or something was leading him. If he veered from the unseen path, the itch became worse and if he stayed to what it wanted, then it became better.

It was not long that he came upon a large limb that had fallen in the storm. It was still precariously balanced between two smaller trees which looked ready to snap at any moment. The itch was absent and he was beginning to doubt his sanity when he noticed a pale hand sticking out from under the leaves.

Realizing that it was possible that the person under the limb might still be alive, he moved quickly. Running to one end of the limb he began to consider how best to move it. Perhaps if he could snap the thinner of the trees then the limb would roll away from the person underneath.

There was little time to consider other actions, so he began to try the thin tree. With nothing but calloused hands and arms conditioned by years of hard work he pulled, pushed and tugged at the young sapling. With a final shout of victory, the tree snapped and the limb rolled with a vengeance towards Aedon.

Leaping out of the way, the stocky farmer narrowly got out the path of the limb. Gasping with breath, he turned to see who had been trapped under the branch.

A slender woman, with long dark hair intertwined with flowers and beads lay before him. Her beauty struck him just as he realized that her pointed ears marked her as not human. Immediatly his Torrigon bred distrust in Magic reared its head and begged him to leave this place and this strange woman alone. However, Aedon also knew right from wrong, and this woman needed help. He could put aside his misgivings and do what needed to be done.

He quickly checked her for injury and found, among other minor cuts, a large wound on her head. Blood was matting in her hair and slowly oozing from her scalp from a wound that would probably be her end if he couldn't do anything to staunch its flow.

Working quickly, he made a poultice from his herbs and part of his shirt. He wished for a pan of hot water, but time was an issue so the cool water from the stream was going to have to do. Wetting the shirt down and cleaning it as best he could, he lay the potent healing herbs down and let them soak for a moment before gently applying it to the backside of her head and tying it off.

He was able to lift her light body up with little effort and carried her back to the stream. If he had his pack, he might have started a fire to brew some restorative tea and a salve that would stop the bleeding and prevent infection. However, he had none of these things, and realized her need was great.

Picking a direction along the bank of the stream he began to walk hoping to find more of her kin that could care for her better than he could. The blood oozing from the poultice was telling him that his ministrations were a temporary cure at best and that her condition was critical.

== * ==

Silalianth moved through the shattered woods with the grace and speed of a deer. The village had been warned in time and there had been only minor injuries. The fact that the brunt of the storm never quite seemed to hit them he attributed to Lilianti's protective magic.

With their people secure, he and two of the scouts now ranged back to the stream to find her and help if need be. The fact that there was an unknown human in the woods as well worried him. In fact a sense of dread had overcome him ever since the storm had broken.

He reached the glade just ahead of the scouts. Noting the shattered ancestor tree that the human had been trying to use for shelter he could only hope that the lightning that claimed the tree rid him of that problem as well.

A whistle to his right paused his examination of the tree. Turning he saw one of the scouts was waving him over.

"Tracks leading this way, Silalianth," the scout exclaimed pointing to the ground.

"Good job, lets be off."

Moving quickly they came to the copse of trees that he had left Lilianti at. He saw the downed limb and the blood pooling on the ground. Despair welled through him as he feared the worst. Lilianti had protected them for ages and should something have happened to her, they would be in dire straights.

"More tracks this way, it looks like the human is limping now."

The human again. This man was becomming more distracting than he could allow. The village lay in the direction he had chosen. While he longed to search for Lilianti, the people's safety came first.

"You two, circle this area and find Lilianti or her body. I will take care of the human like we should have when we first found him. If blood is to be spilled on my orders, then let my hand do the spilling."

The scouts nodded their agreement and disappeared into the surrounding woods. They would find Lilianti or her remains, he was certain of that. Now all that was left was the unpleasant task at hand.

There was no difficulty in tracking the human Silalianth noted with a bit of disgust. He was going to kill a being that probably had no notion of what it had done. Well, he would be merciful and make sure the human felt nothing.

It didn't take long to catch up to the man, moving as slow as he was. He caught a good glimpse through some brush and unlimbered his bow. A single shot, and the human would never know what hit him. Even though he could barely see the man through the vegetation, it didn't matter his aim was legendary and he needed just a glimpse.

Without thought, he raised the bow and drew the arrow. His release was flawless and the arrow flew true to the human. As he watched the shaft fly towards the human's unprotected back, he saw the man turn and look right at him. To say he was shocked would have been an understatement. For when the human had turned he saw the body the the man held so irreverantly.

The arrow slammed home, not in the back as he had expected, but lodging deep in the side of the man's ribs. With a groan and a cry of pain the man's eyes went wide as he dropped to one knee. His turn had saved him from the merciful death Silalianth had planned. Anger that the man would dare take the Lady as captive surged into him and he was glad that the man would not die easily.

Silalianth nocked another arrow and ran as fast as he could to the man. Certain that the human would take his vengeance on his prisoner, Silalianth moved as fast as he could. Urgency spurred him to speed and he was quickly coming upon them.

As he ran the human drop to both knees, blood welling from the arrow wound. He already had another arrow nocked as the man dropped Lilianti and tried to turn to him. The human spread his arms wide, asking for mercy Silalianth guessed. He was about to fire the killing shot when the human called out.

"spare... woman... needs... healer"

He did not make out all of the words as blood was beginning to trickle from the corner of the man's mouth and he was having a hard time breathing. However, he heard enough to stay his hand. Moments later the man fell forward into the mud, unmoving.

Silalianth moved quickly to Lilianti's unconscious body. As he got closer, he noticed the rags tied about her head. Kneeling down he saw the blood dripping from around the dressing. Checking the cloth, he found crushed herbs wrapped inside. Tasting one confirmed what he already knew healing herbs. Even dying, the human, was trying to protect Lilianti from him, a suposed attacker.

"Oh gods what have I just done." he mumbled to Lilianti.

Copyright (c) 1999-2001 Abigail Laughlin and the members of the Circle of Stone.