land, and the Elves and very likely all of the races inhabiting the Four Lands will be faced with a war that could easily destroy us all!»
He leaned forward sharply. «I am a King; I am that and nothing more. You are a Druid, a sorcerer. If you have any help to offer, then do so. There is nothing more that I know to do.»
The Druid cocked his head slightly, as if considering the problem.
«Before coming to see you, Eventine, I went into the Gardens of Life and spoke with the Ellcrys.»
The King stared at him incredulously. «You spoke with…?»
«Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that she spoke with me. Had she not chosen to do so, there would have been no communication between us, of course.»
«But she speaks only to the Chosen,” Ander interjected, then fell quickly silent as he saw his father frown in annoyance.
«My son is correct, Allanon.» Eventine turned back to the Druid. «The Ellcrys speaks to no one but the Chosen — and seldom to them.»
«She speaks to those who serve her,” Allanon replied. «Of the Elves, only the Chosen do so. But the Druids have also served the Ellcrys, though in a different fashion. In any case, I simply offered myself to her and she chose to speak with me. What she told me suggests that you are mistaken in your view of matters in at least one respect.»
Eventine waited a moment for the Druid to continue. He did not He simply sat there, staring at the Elf questioningly.
«Very well, I will ask it then.» The King forced himself to remain calm. «In what respect am I mistaken?»
«Before I tell you that,” Anon said, leaning forward, «I want you to understand something. I have come to give whatever aid I may, for the evil that is imprisoned within the Forbidding threatens all life in the Four Lands. What aid I can offer, I offer freely. But there is one condition. I must be free to act in this matter as I see fit. Even though you disapprove, Eventine Elessedil. Even then. Do you understand?»
The King hesitated, his blue eyes studying the dark face of the other man, searching for answers that clearly were not to be found there. At last, he nodded.
«I understand. You may act as you wish in this.»
The Druid sat back carefully masking any emotion as he faced Ander and the King.
«First, I believe that I can aid in discovering the location of Safehold. What I was shown of Safehold by the Ellcrys when we spoke was not familiar to me, as I have said. It was not familiar because it was drawn from her memory of the world at the time of her creation. The Great Wars altered the geography of the old world so completely that her perception of it now is quite faulty. Still, we have the name Safehold. You have told me that the histories of the Elven Kings and those of the Order of the Chosen do not record the name. But there is another place to look. At Paranor, within the Druid’s Keep, there are histories devoted entirely to the sciences and mystic phenomena of the old world. Within those books, there may be some mention of the creation of the Ellcrys and the location of the Bloodfire. This is a distinct possibility because much of the information contained in those histories was gathered at the time of the First Council of the Druids — drawn from each member as it had been handed down since the holocaust. Remember, too, that the guiding light of that council was Galaphile, and Galaphile was an Elf. He would have seen to it that something about the creation of the Ellcrys and the location of the fountain of the Bloodfire was set down.»
He paused. «Tonight, when we are finished here; I will go on to Paranor. The histories are well hidden to any but the Druids, so it is necessary that I go myself. But I believe that within their pages is recorded some mention of the name Safehold. From what is written there, we may hope to discover the location of the Bloodfire.»
He folded his hands on the table’s edge, and his eyes fixed on those of the King.
«Now as to the Chosen, Eventine, you are mistaken entirely. They are not all dead.»
For an instant, the room went deathly still. Amberle! Ander thought in astonishment. He means Amberle!
«All six were killed… !» Eventine began, then stopped abruptly.
«There were seven Chosen,” the Druid said quietly «Seven.»
The King went rigid, his hands gripping the edges of the table until the knuckles were white. His eyes mirrored anger and disbelief.
«Amberle,” he breathed the name like a curse.
The Druid nodded. «She is one of the Chosen.»
«No!» The King was on his feet, shouting. «No, Druid!»
There was a scurrying of footsteps in the hallway beyond and then a pounding on the study door. Ander realized what his father had done. His shouts had brought Dardan and Rhoe. Hurriedly, he went to the door and opened it. He was surprised to find not only the guards, but Gael as well. All peered curiously into the study, but the Elven Prince carefully blocked their view. Then his father was beside him.
«I told you to go home, Gael,” Eventine reprimanded the young Elf sternly. «Do so now.»
Gael bowed mechanically, his face showing the hurt he felt at the other man’s words, and disappeared back down the hallway without a word. The King nodded to the Elven Hunters, reassuring them that he was all right, and they returned to their watch.
The King stood silently in the open entry a moment, then closed the door. The penetrating blue eyes swept past his son to Allanon.
«How did you find out about Amberle?»
«When the Ellcrys spoke with me, she told me that seven had been chosen to serve. One was a young girl. Her name was Amberle Elessedil.»
The Druid paused, studying carefully the face of the Elven King. It was lined with bitterness. All of its color had drained away.
«It is unusual for a young woman to be selected as a Chosen,” Allanon continued calmly «There have been no more than a handful, I think — not another in the last five hundred years.»
The King shook his head angrily «Amberle’s selection was an honor that meant nothing to her. She spurned that honor. She shamed her people and her family. She is no longer one of the Chosen. She is no longer a citizen of this land. She is an outcast by her own choice!»
Allanon came to his feet swiftly, his face suddenly hard.
«She is your granddaughter, and you speak as a fool would.»
Eventine stiffened at the rebuke, but held his tongue. The Druid came up to him.
«Hear me. Amberle is a Chosen. It is true that she did not serve the Ellcrys as did the others. It is true that she forsook her duty as a Chosen. It is true that for reasons known only to herself she left Arborlon and the Westland, her home, despite the responsibilities that were clearly hers, that she disgraced her family and particularly you, as King, in the eyes of her people. It is true that she has made herself an outcast. It is true that she does not believe herself to be one of the Chosen any longer.
«But know this. It is not for you nor for her people to take from her what the Ellcrys has given. It is not even for her to do that. It is for the Ellcrys alone. Until the Ellcrys says differently, Amberle remains a Chosen in her service — a Chosen who may bear her seed in search of the Bloodfire, a Chosen who may give her new life.»
Allanon paused. A King may not understand all things, Eventine Elessedil, even though he be a King. Some things you must simply accept.“
Eventine stared at the Druid without speaking, the anger gone now from his eyes, replaced with hurt and confusion.
«I was close to her once,” he said finally. «After her father — my son Aine — died, I became her father. She was still a child, only five. In the evenings, we would play together…» He stopped, unable to continue. He took a deep breath to steady himself. «There was a quality about her that I have not since found; a sweetness, an innocence, a loving. I am an old man speaking these words about his grandchild, but I do not speak blindly. I knew her.»
Allanon said nothing. The King moved back to his chair and slowly seated himself once more.
«The histories record no other woman selected to serve as a Chosen since the time of Jerle Shannara. Amberle was the first the first in more than five hundred years. It was an honor others would have given anything for.» He shook his head wonderingly. «Yet Amberle walked away from it. She gave no explanation — not to me, not
