As he worked, his mind kept whipping up images of Eldana and Siem. He had been friends with them for a long time now. He had seen much by them, done much by them, and so had they by him. He could not help but worry about the amount of time that had elapsed since they had gone in search of Mikko.
What if something has happened to them? He asked himself. Something dangerous.
Sometimes, when such thoughts came to him, he tried to immerse himself fully in his work, but he usually never succeeded.
He had cut and gathered foliage from the surrounding forest and arranged them into a large platter, on which he arranged the strips of meat, seasoning them with salt. He was about to light a fire to begin smoking when he heard it.
He brought his head up and sharpened his hearing. Hermon had thought he had heard a voice. Several heartbeats passed, and he did not hear a thing. So, he waived his concern aside and turned back to the meat.
Then he heard it again.
This time it was clearer; the gentle voice of a woman, singing in a language he could not understand. Hermon’s fingers let go of the dagger he was using to process the venison, as he felt a soothing flush of cool bliss inside him. The feeling spread throughout his whole body, exerting overwhelming dominance, until the look on his eyes drained out, and was replaced with a vacant expression. His face held a wide grin, as he got to his feet, and began to sway like one who was being a marionette.
As Hermon danced, there was nothing else on his mind save the intoxicating tune. People marched out of the cover of trees and surrounded him. But Hermon was too far gone to notice them.
CHAPTER SIX
In Times Past
A much younger Eldana ran down the stairs, her hair flying free in all directions. She giggled, and the sound bounced off the walls. She had sped down a flight of stairs, when an older woman came around the corner, just behind her.
“Eldana!” The older woman called, an anxious look on her face. “Come back here.”
“No.” Eldana’s gleeful voice floated back to her in response.
Eldana giggled and ran off.
“O, what am I going to do with this child?” Her pursuer complained. She held up the skirt of her dress, and hurriedly descended the stairs after Eldana. As Eldana came off the last stairs, and into a huge room, she bumped into somebody and fell hard on her haunches.
The fall hurt just enough to bring tears to Eldana’s eyes. Some parts of her hair had fallen across her face, so she parted it, tucking each part behind her ears. Then she looked up to find a man looking down at her.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked.
His voice was deep and had a reassuring quality to it.
Eldana shook her head in the negative, and he smiled.
“What is a princess like you doing running about the palace?” The man asked.
Eldana smiled sheepishly. “Nothing?”
“Ah. You should take extra care when running about.” The man advised.
Just then, Eldana’s attendant maid, the older woman who had been chasing her, stepped off the stairs and happened on the duo. “I’m sorry, sir.” She apologized to the man when he took a glance at her.
“No, need to be.” He replied. “I take it you are here for this little adventuress.”
“Indeed.” The woman replied, stretching out an open palm towards Eldana. “Come, Eldana, we must be off.”
Eldana sighed and placed her tiny hand into her maid’s palm. The man smiled at her, and she smiled in return.
A few steps up the stairs, Eldana turned and asked, “What is your name?”
The man smiled. “You will know that soon enough.”
Just then, one of the guards walked up to him.
“The king will see you now.” The guard told him.
It would be almost a month before Eldana saw him again. Though it was under very different circumstances.
Eldana had gotten into a rage, and as a result, had released a blast of raw energy that smacked her maids into the wall, and upset object in the room. Fortunately, the maids walked away with but a few scratches and swellings, nothing grave. The king had heard that she was getting more erratic with the use of her powers and had decided that it was time she began her training.
Magical training in the palace was conducted in a large room with a row of massive columns at each side of the hall’s longer rectangular lengths, with a glass-domed ceiling. On a few occasions, training that involved working with nature was conducted in a special glade not too far from here.
Eldana walked into the room with unsure steps. Being in this hall was different from her usual routine, and she allowed her eyes to roam this grand place. She was small, in her early teens. She had stopped in the middle of the hall and was admiring the skylight when she heard a voice from behind her.
“What do we have here?”
Eldana turned, and then her eyes widened in shock. “You!”
Standing before her was the man she had met some time ago by the stairs. He still smiled that comforting and reassuring smile.
“Surprised to see me?” he asked.
“I was told to come here for my training.” She said.
“Indeed. I can help you out with so many things, Eldana. You are destined for very great things. And you have been given tremendous power by the world itself, to fulfil that destiny.”
The man looked at the uncertainty on Eldana’s face. “Does that scare you?” he asked her.
“A bit. I guess.” Eldana replied.
“You do not have to be scared. I’ll take you through it, all the way, till you have
