“We are friends of Eldana and demand you to stop hunting her.”
Lord Taboon’s smile disappeared. He looked at the young her for a few seconds before continuing. “So you must be Siem.”
They had not met before, but the seven must have spread the news that Eldana is not alone after the battle on the forest clearing.
“I’ve heard a lot about you, that you were this naive wasn’t one of them. “Siem didn’t give him the pleasure of being unsettled. She had known her plan was a long shot, but she had come prepared, and she wasn’t alone either.
“Tell me, child,” Lord Taboon said, “Do you understand what is at stake?” He took a step closer. Mikko looked nervously behind them at the door, then at the several large windows that went from the ceiling to the floor, but they all were on Lord Taboon’s side.
“I know what’s at stake, and it has nothing to do with Eldana’s life or anyone else’s, we need to defeat evil, ”Siem said angrily, desperately. She suddenly realized how futile this plan had been. It wasn’t that Lord Taboon couldn’t listen to reason; it was that he had chosen not to. He was obsessed with maintaining the old ideals.
“But child,. Lord Taboon came one step closer to her. “We don’t have to defeat evil. We just have to keep the balance, that’s all.”
Siem took a step back. Mikko already grabbed on to her and was ready to jump. Maybe, she had made a mistake coming here. She had heard the man was a man of reason.
“No, that’s not going to happen,” she said.
Lord Taboon’s hands changed color to a blazing blue. “Yes, my child,” said Lord Taboon, as he began to speak to the runes. Mikko cried out and grabbed Siem, trying to jump out of the window, but suddenly Lord Taboon was standing in front of them.
Mikko screamed his name and attempted to jump with Siem through a portal. It was not as relaxing or as exhilarating as the last time. It hurt this time. When they came out of the warp they were still in the air. Mikko’s spell had worked, but through the glimmering light of the magic warp tunnel, they could still see Lord Taboon at the end. Siem landed hard and rolled, as did Mikko, too, as they saw Lord Taboon’s fading image summon his warriors to his side.
“She is here. Find her,” Lord Taboon shouted, before he finally disappeared from their view.
When Siem regained consciousness, she found herself laying in a dark room. She got up immediately and saw Mikko laying nearby. She rushed to him.
“Are you okay?” She asked.
He turned around and got up. “Well, that wasn’t my best work.” He teased, making Siem laugh despite their situation. “But next time you try to attack the strongest mage in our kingdom, please let me know!”
Siem nodded with a smile on her face “I’ll be happy to do that and trust me there will be a next time. Tell me where you took us.”
He pointed his finger outside. “See for yourself.”
Siem went to the window and peeked through the thick curtains. There was a mighty gate with guards outside. “The city gate, perfect!” She mumbled to herself and Mikko smiled. Siem needed more time to recover. The jump had taken a toll on her. She was not yet back to her full strength. She kept watching the entrance gate while Mikko picked himself up again. This unexpected, violent flight had cost him greatly. Siem did not seem to notice. Her mind was somewhere else. She hoped that Eldana was safe and had better luck with her mission than they had with theirs.
Eldana and the King
Eldana hated it in the king’s chambers. She had snuck past the guards outside without anyone seeing her, leaning into the shadows, and becoming one with them. Inside the palace, things were different; there were no guards.
The hubris of the King was clear in every cornice, stone, and tapestry. This place was old-fashioned, inflexible, the whole ambiance that came with the place gagged any imagination; all meaningless opulence and glorification of dead people who did not deserve the right.
One of the reasons she hated it was that time here appeared to stand still. There was no change. She didn’t want to be part of a machine that followed rituals without understanding them. That’s exactly why she was here. She needed to convince the King. She also knew there was a possibility she would suffer an instant and cruel death, especially if she failed. She was not afraid of death though.
Eldana was alone, with a hood pulled over her head. Her mind wandered briefly down memory lane. Everything seemed to be an irony. Why make her train so hard only to sacrifice her?
Maybe the gods are greedy, she thought. Maybe they wanted what power she had to offer at its fullest manifestation. There were no guards or staff. Eldana knew why. There were mirrors all over the walls that kept the palace in order. Each mirror had the power to read intentions and communicate with its observer.
When Eldana looked into one of the mirrors, she saw stories of her childhood., questions from her master and friends, which she answered as naturally as a dream. But it was no dream, some catchers recorded everything and then passed it on. It all felt like a dream...but Eldana knew that it wasn’t.
Her mind was being probed.
This allowed the King to know everything about everyone. The king was a man whom Eldana barely knew. She scarcely remembered him from when she was a child. Emotionless, he sat on the throne like a statue. Eldana tried to avoid the mirrors, but it was not easy. Every time she came closer to one she felt the pull to look into it and dream.
Eldana wandered through the halls along the path that had been paved especially for her. She eventually found some larger
