noticed he was there. The leader managed to unsheathe his long knife and lunge clumsily at Lee. Lee easily dodged the blow and sent the man tumbling to the ground. The two remaining bandits tried to flee, but Lee quickly caught up to them and ran both of them through.
The bandit leader got to his feet. “I’ll not go alone!” he screamed, bolting towards the elf with his knife in hand.
Realizing Lee was too far away to do anything, Gewey sprung to his feet, rushing headlong toward the bandit leader. Gewey tackled the bandit just before he was able to plunge his knife into the elf’s chest, and sent the two of them crashing to the ground. The bandit landed on top, pinning Gewey. The boy feared for his life as the bandit began to hack at him maniacally. He instinctively lifted his arms to defend himself, and felt pain shoot through his body as the knife found flesh. He could see blood splatter as one final blow struck home, deep in his chest. It was then that Lee reached them, thrusting his sword through the bandit leader’s back. Lee ran to Gewey’s side as the man gasped and fell to the ground.
“Fool,” he cursed as he tore open Gewey’s shirt. Blood poured from the gaping wounds covering his arms and chest. “I told you to stay put.”
“I’m sorry Lee,” he said weakly. “I guess I’m not much of a hero.”
Lee smiled. “Nonsense. Your father would have been very proud of you.”
Lee tore Gewey’s shirt into strips and pressed one of them to the wound in his chest; the rest he wrapped around the cuts on his arms. “I’ll be back. I have a salve that will stop the bleeding.”
Lee dashed off, leaving Gewey lying on the ground, wondering if this was the end. He turned his head and noticed the elf woman, still bound, staring at him.
“Don’t worry, Miss,” said Gewey. “I’ll have Lee untie you when he gets back.”
The elf woman gave no reaction. Gewey had never seen an elf before, and he’d heard very little about them. She looked almost human. She was thin-though clearly not frail-and her skin was dark bronze. Her long auburn hair fell loosely about her shoulders, and despite the bruises on her face, Gewey could tell that she was quite beautiful. He guessed she was about as tall as most human women; in fact, her narrow piercing eyes and her distinctly elfish ears were the only features that suggested she was anything else.
It was only a few minutes before Lee returned and began tending Gewey’s wounds.
“Stop,” said Gewey. “Untie her.”
Lee shook his head, but he could see that Gewey was determined.
“Very well,” he sighed and walked over to the elf woman and cut her bonds.
She got up and stared at Lee for a moment. Lee tensed, ready to draw his weapon. She backed away slowly until she reached the edge of the bandit camp, then turned and ran into the woods.
“You’re welcome,” Lee called after her.
Lee finished dressing Gewey’s wounds and pulled him close to the still-burning fire.
“What now?” asked Gewey, his wounds beginning to throb.
Lee was staring at the fire. “Now we have to risk going into town,” he said. “If you were human, I’d say we’ll sit here until you die; but thankfully, as a God, you’ll heal-one of the advantages, I suppose.”
Gewey tried to laugh, but the pain in his chest stopped him. “Couldn’t we just wait here until I heal?”
Lee shook his head. “No. We need medicine and clean bandages. You may heal on your own, but without proper treatment, it could take months instead of weeks. Besides, our provisions won’t be enough to last that long. Eventually, we’ll run out of food and have to go into town anyway.”
Gewey felt guilty. If only he had known how to fight, they wouldn’t be in this mess. “Once I’m better, I want you to teach me the sword.”
“Believe me,” Lee replied, “you’ll learn to fight. I’ll see to that.”
“I never want this to happen to me again,” Gewey declared. “I want to be able to fight my own battles. I want to be more like you.”
Lee cocked his head and smiled. “You’ll be far better than I. Actually, I was impressed with how well you did this time.”
Gewey looked shocked. “What are you talking about? I was nearly killed.”
“Maybe, but you managed to fight an armed bandit alone and with no training. And let’s not forget, you saved the life of that elf.”
Gewey shrugged. “Why did she run off? We meant her no harm.”
“Elves are a strange lot,” Lee replied. “Not much is known about them. They tend to keep to themselves. I know they don’t like humans.”
“Why don’t they like humans?” asked Gewey, trying to keep his mind off the pain.
“Five hundred years ago, man and elf lived in peace.” Lee began. “They more or less stayed out of each other’s way. That is, until King Luthon IV, of Maltona, desecrated their most sacred temple. He was a greedy, selfish ruler. He’d made war on his neighbors for so long that he bankrupted his nation. The Temple of the Four Winds-the seat of elfish spiritual power-rested on the border of his kingdom, and was rumored to hold vast treasures. For hundreds of years humans had left the Temple in the elves’ control, but Luthon decided to break tradition and claim it for himself. This, of course, sent the elves into a frenzy.
“At first, the war was contained in Maltona, but as the elves closed in, Luthon convinced neighboring kingdoms that the elves wouldn’t stop once Maltona fell. Thus, the Great War between elf and man began. For twenty years it spread and raged, leaving the landscape in ruin. Eventually, both sides came to an uneasy truce and agreed to keep to their own lands, never to have dealings with one another again.”
“So man started it?” Gewey asked. “No wonder they hate us.”
“Yes, but that wasn’t the end of it,” Lee continued. “The war split the elven nations apart. Many didn’t want the truce, and they began raiding human villages. They slaughtered entire families, burning everything in sight. The other elven tribes, fearing a second war with man, turned on their own kin. For ten more years there was civil war, leaving the elves a scattered, broken people. After that, they receded into the shadows. Few have seen them since, and fewer still know much about them.”
Gewey pictured the elf woman in his mind-how proud and defiant she seemed, and how beautiful. He couldn’t imagine such a war.
“I’ve spoken too much,” said Lee. “You should rest. There’s a village ten miles from here, and I need to scout it before we go. You’ll have to wait here until I return.”
Gewey was already drifting off. “I’ll be fine,” he said sleepily. “But before you go, tell me one more thing. Why were you willing to leave her to die?”
“You have to understand, Gewey,” Lee replied. “The story I told you is from long ago, and there aren’t many who still know the tale. Men choose to forget the war, convincing themselves that the elves’ hatred of them is uncalled for, returning hate with more hate. Dealings with elves are dangerous at best. Their loathing runs deep, and their cunning is formidable. They live about five times longer than an average man, so there are elves still walking the earth that can remember what the war did to their people. They’ve become poisoned by their own memory, and in turn, they poison the minds of their children. They’re not the people they once were. Believe me when I tell you, releasing that elf has put us in more danger than we were in already. I’m still not sure she won’t come back and try to kill us.”
“But we saved her,” said Gewey. “Why would she want to kill us?”
“You’re human to her eyes,” Lee answered grimly. “And that’s reason enough. Now, you need to sleep.”
Gewey obeyed and let himself drift off. The face of the elf woman haunted his dreams.
The next morning, Gewey awoke to find that Lee had already left, but not before he’d taken the time to leave wafers and dried meat at Gewey’s bedside, along with his sword. His wounds still throbbed, but Gewey managed to sit up and eat. After he finished, he got to his feet and walked around for a bit. His legs felt weak at first, but the more he walked, the stronger he felt. After a while, he became bored and decided to try to take a nap.
As Gewey lay there, he listened to the sounds of the forest. At first, he only heard what anyone would hear, but as his mind stilled, he was able to take in more and more. It was subtle at first-the sound of a robin making its nest, then the rustling of a grass snake slithering through the brush. It grew and grew, until he felt as if he could hear the very growing of the trees. Though everything around him lived and breathed, it did not feel chaotic; instead, it was like a chorus of life in perfect harmony. He laid there for hours listening to the music of the forest, until he heard the sound of footsteps approaching in the distance.
He got up and grabbed his sword, wincing in pain. A few minutes later Lee arrived, frowning.
