Sasha noted the lack of dust in his hair and face. His clothes and apron would always have dust in them from the previous day’s work, but the lack of it on his face and hair showed that he hadn’t been working at all today. She found this odd. Arkin was a hard worker and he had said the other day that he was busy and needed to get stuff done, but he didn’t look like a carpenter that had been hard at work.
“Yes, we came for tea,” she said. She figured that he would ask them to come back another day but she wanted to play this smoothly.
“Ah… you guys are going to be disappointed, but this is a bad time. Perhaps next week?”
She broke in. “We know about Legon’s mother.” She tried to keep her voice conversational.
“You know… Edis and Laura told you then?” he sputtered.
“We know you were there and we know that you are busy, but we need to talk to you Arkin. What’s wrong? It’s obvious that you haven’t been working in the last few days. The air in the shop and your face are free of dust.” As she spoke she gestured around the room.
Legon was surprised by the tone in her voice and how she went from being sweet and nice to formal without skipping a beat. He could see that she had taken Arkin off guard. He would have to give in to her requests or face interrogation about whatever he was up to.
“Ok, ok I’ll talk about how we found you. Let me close the shop,” Arkin said with resignation. He walked over the main door and clicked the lock and pulled some blinds down over the windows.
“Thank you Arkin. What kind of tea do you have?” asked Sasha sweetly.
Arkin chuckled. “The same as always: mint, or mint.” He smiled.
“Ooo, I think I’ll have the mint,” said Legon.
“I’m going to change it up and go with the mint,” chimed in Sasha.
“Ok you two, let’s go in my house. I don’t have anything for tea out here”
They walked out of the back door and turned right to walk in the back of Arkin’s house. The inside was immaculate. Everything had its place. The wood in the house was a light pine, which was a change from the normal dark color on the inside of most houses. The air smelled of cinnamon despite the lack of candles or incense. The house had the same layout as Legon’s, with a large table in the center of the main room and a kitchen toward the back. It was in the kitchen that you could see how tidy the house was. The counter was wiped clean, and all of the knives and other cooking articles were grouped together in a neat line. Everything was perfect, and it was obvious that Arkin would see if even one thing was moved. On either side of the fireplace were paintings of landscapes of the mountains. Above the mantelpiece there was nothing. The table at which they sat was made of redwood.
Sasha noticed that the table stuck out in the room. Everything in the house was light in color but the table. It was dark and red, drawing your eye when you entered. You couldn’t help it. The more she thought about the house, the more she realized that it commanded respect and, moreover, action. The room led you through it, making you naturally go where the owner wanted. She had been in this house hundreds of times and never noticed the genius of it. She began to see that Arkin was much more than a carpenter.
“So Legon, you have been told how we found you,” Arkin said, placing cups in front of both of them.
“Yes, and…”
“And you know what your tattoo is, don’t you?” continued Arkin.
“Yes, and…,” he began, but this time was stopped by the look on Arkin’s face. It was somber.
“What color is it?” asked Arkin flatly.
Legon began to sputter, but Sasha silenced him by placing her hand on his. “What color is it supposed to be, Arkin? It’s a tattoo.” She knew that Legon’s reaction had given away the fact that his tattoo had changed colors, but she wasn’t planning on losing control of the conversation that easily.
“Legon, guard your reactions. I don’t know what color it is, but I would venture to guess red, green or purple.” Sasha could hear the change in Arkin’s voice. It was obvious that he had taken control back.
Arkin was impressed with Sasha. She was smart and noticed more than she let on. She wasn’t as good as him, however. Maybe in time and with some training, but not yet. “I have to figure out what they know,” he thought. “So what is it?” he said confidently.
She had lost. There was no way around it. Legon had given them away. Arkin had been waiting for today. “Purple,” she said.
“I was hoping you were going to say green.” She could hear the sadness in his voice.
“Why green? What’s wrong with purple?” she asked in a calm but commanding tone.
“Green means that you’re not part Elf. Any change in color means that you are.”
“So what does that mean, Arkin?” asked Legon, looking agitated but not unsurprised.
“It means that one day the Elf in you will die and you will be full blooded human. Or the day will come when the Human part will die and you will be full Elf. The change in color shows that the Elf side is winning.”
She noted the resignation in his voice; he didn’t want this to be true. He wanted Legon to be full human, but why? Elves were immortal. The thought came to her then: But humans are unnoticed. Legon was looking down at his drink. She knew the same thing was going through his mind. There was no need to ask Arkin about how or when it would happen; the day would come when he would change.
“Why does the queen hate the Elves? I need to know why she is going to hate me or why she already does,” Legon said.
“I will tell you, but you need to save your interruptions to the end. I will have to give you some history and you will have to accept that what I tell you is true, and that I will not answer all of your questions. Does that work for you?”
“Yes,” said Legon. Arkin turned to look at Sasha. “Yes,” she said.
“There was a time when Elves were like humans. They died just like us and lived just like us. There was no magic. They were led by two Dragons-two brothers, one whose scales where white as pearl and glittered with brilliance, and the other whose scales were black as coal and pulled the light from the sky. One was good and the other evil. I don’t know too much more about how they parted or what all happened, but the Elves say that when they did they used magic so strong that they can’t take physical form anymore. I don’t understand it, so don’t ask.” Arkin sipped his tea and continued.
“Up to this point only the two dragons could use magic, and after they disappeared, magic was available to all. The Elves split into the three races: the Elves, the Iumenta, and Humans. I don’t know how this happened, but the Elves claim it did. The Elves were loyal to one of the brothers and the Iumenta to the other, and it was at this point that Dragons began to appear in the land. You see, if a magic user gets strong enough he will ascend and become a dragon.”
Legon always knew that Dragons were strong in magic, but now he began to appreciate just how strong. He couldn’t imagine the power it would take to turn a person into what he’d seen in his dreams. He knew now that what he’d seen in his dream was one of the brothers. He didn’t know how he knew this but he did, and the knowledge was frightening. Arkin was going on. Legon focused, trying to catch everything. He could think later.
“To put it simply, the Elves and Iumenta are blood enemies. The Iumenta went to the wastelands to make their home. They rebelled against anything that connected them to the Elves. There came a time, however, when they realized that humanity could be of use to them. Not only could humans be used for labor, but they could be a tool for destroying the Elves.”
Sasha interrupted. “How can humans destroy the Elves? Humans are weak compared to Iumenta and Elves.”
“Humans can do the dirty work,” Legon answered. “They can fight and die, and that will save an Iumenta’s life.” The thought was disgusting to him, that one race would use another to kill its enemy. At the same time, the logical side of his mind said, “It’s an effective plan if you view the fighting force as animals.”
“And humans breed faster than Elves and Iumenta so their stock will never run dry,” Arkin added. “Humanity is the perfect resource. It is easy to control with magic and dragons; it will work hard, breed hard, and kill your enemy. There is some extra pleasure in turning humans against Elves, as the Elves have always been advocates for our race.”
Something Arkin said didn’t seem to stick.
“Arkin, how are we easy to control with Dragons and magic?” After Legon spoke he could see that Arkin was impressed by his perception.
“That is a good question for another time, but suffice it to say that Dragons influence the people in whatever
