A cloud of silence perfused the atmosphere as soon as Kochob was done speaking. Fraweyni’s gaze was unfocused as she retreated within the walls of her mind.
“What shall we do with them? This is the weirdest mix of characters that I have ever seen in my life.” Kochob asked after a while.
“Leave them for now,” Fraweyni said. She would just watch them and see what they were up to.
She turned, and walked out of the tent, into bright lights and serenading music. Her mind was racing. Something was very different about this group and whether this was a good or bad sign was still hidden in the stars.
Reader Report
The elves were witness to the times before Camin and Lowus, as were the orcs. They were rife with unbridled chaos. These two were creations of gods who had left their creations and the world to fend for itself. In this chaos, created by the new and the old gods, magic manifested without cause or provocation, and making alterations in different places.
When the world settled under the reign of Camin and Lowus, the humans and a lot of other races rose along with their kingdoms, cities, and towns. The majority of the elfsoc – a name ascribed to the elves by humans – settled in Kleas and watched the world move with very little involvement. They were indifferent to the plight of others and lived in the woods, where they could look after their own affairs.
Because the end of the hundred-year cycle is due and the being of Balance and Chaos was still alive, Chaos is coming back. A rash of killings had begun in Kleas and the Middle Kingdom.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Alive Again
Siem opened her eyes, and for a moment could not remember anything but her name. Slowly, everything began to come back. She took a good look at her surroundings.
She was in a tent that rose high into the sky, pointed like elfin ears, and slender. There was a cluster of belongings at the far end. A table, bags, a chair, and a few other household things. They were not much, but they were enough for simple living.
Mikko! Siem sat up quickly.
The last thing she remembered was going into the woods with Eldana and D’rmas in search of him. Then she remembered Hermon, who they had left behind, and felt a pang of worry. He would be all alone, without a clue as to what happened to them. Siem herself had no clue, and so decided to catch up with the time she had missed.
Just then, the flap over the tent parted, and a head peeked in. Siem was about to summon a gust of wind to blast the person away when she stopped. Eldana was smiling back at her from the tent’s entrance.
“Eldana?” Siem asked.
“Yes, sleepyhead,” Eldana taunted as she came in. “Who do you think it was?”
Siem swallowed and looked around again.
“What is this?” she asked, using her eyes to gesture at the tent. “Where are we? What happened to the others?”
“Woah, easy mother hen,” Eldana said, and laughed.
Siem took one look at Eldana, and let her rising anxiety abate. She figured that Eldana would not be smiling or jesting if everything was not okay.
“Is everyone okay?” Siem finally asked.
Eldana looked at her and said:
“Yes.”
“Where are we, Eldana?”
“We are among the elfsoc.” Eldana replied.
“The elfsoc?” Siem questioned with surprise. “Are we in Kleas?”
“Nope,” Eldana answered. “We are still in Ciroc.”
“What are the elfsoc doing in Ciroc?”
“I asked the same question when I got to know where I was,” Eldana replied.
“Turns out,” she said after a while, “that they were the ones who took Mikko.”
“So, he is safe?” Siem asked.
Eldana studied Siem and nodded in the positive.
“You have a thing for him,” Eldana said.
“Hm?”
“Mikko,” Eldana insisted, “You like him.”
“No, I do not.” Siem refuted, her eyes flaring, color coming to her cheek, and she immediately looked away.
Eldana made to speak, but Siem cut her off.
“If you are going to pry to see if there is a sliver of affection in me for Mikko, stop.” She said.
“I was going to ask if you were ready to come out,” Eldana said.
Siem sighed. “Fine.”
Siem walked out of the tent, and into a glade. It was small, like a courtyard in the forest. Siem spotted elves going about their normal lives. The sight of them reminded Siem what beautiful creatures elves were - tall, and gallant, with looks that could rarely be rivalled by any other race in Toas.
“Where exactly are we going to?” Siem asked Eldana, as they headed into the trees.
“Their queen has been wanting to see you.” Eldana supplied.
“What for?”
“I have absolutely no idea. Perhaps to interrogate you?”
“Interrogate me?”
Siem scoffed.
“I have got a barrel full of questions right now.” She said. “Like, why am I here?”
“Well, that one I can answer for you,” Eldana replied. “We are here because we invaded the elves’ boundaries.”
“That’s preposterous,” Siem said.
“Do not tell them that to their face, or they will send you back to sleep!” Eldana joked.
The pair walked into another clearing much like the one they had come from, only larger. There were groups of elves training with swords, long staves, bows, and other assorted more delicate weapons. Siem thought she saw someone familiar going at an elf with a sword. She narrowed her eyes in scrutiny. The person was laughing and dancing with his steps, jumping about like a graceful butterfly.
“Is that not D’rmas?” she asked.
“It is,” Eldana replied.
Siem watched D’rmas weave in and out of the elf’s sword strokes, and deliver an equally lethal combo of his own, which the elf deflected or dodged.
“Impressive, right?” Eldana asked.
“Totally,” Siem replied. “Won’t they hack themselves to bits with the way they go at each other?”
“My thoughts exactly. But Merhawi says that the blades of the swords are made blunt by magic. So strokes would hurt, but not maim or
