Herr der Schatten was a western god that told a lot of lies

He sold many silly stories and tricked peoples minds

For all he ever wanted was to cause a bit of trouble

So he could watch the world burning and dance in the rubble

So all my little children should listen very well

Never speak a secret you should never tell 

- Herr der Schatten Rhyme for Children

The dreams that came to young elf maiden lounging upon the bed were no longer the wretched memories of the stones but a blur of frightening shadows. This was not a peaceful sleep but one of exhaustion and finally her muscles were able to regain energy and push out the remaining pall of darkness that had been harming the poor woman. Damara gave soft moans and motions of her lips as if she were speaking, but her face wore a smile and she was very happy. It was probably the best sleep she had held in her life and yet there was a sudden sensation towards the end of the sleep of darkness. It was a darkness that hurt her but she fought it back!

Her head was spinning with pain but somehow Damara managed to sit herself up in the comfortable large bed and rub her ears into life. Her body felt no longer drained of energy and though dizzy she was sure her whole form was back to how it had been before. For a moment she tried to recall what had happened and recalled the removal of a strange dark pain that had been crushing her by the strange efforts of Karayan. Realising this she swung herself out of the blankets wrapped about her and looked to a clock on the wall… the water-based clock was showing that it was already into the morning of the next day and Damara was shocked. She noticed that the room was tidy too and the house quiet, but she was dreadfully fearful of what he had missed out on.

Just what had happened to her?

As if realising she was awake and worried, the door of the room was opened delicately and Droy stepped inside with a glass of water and a soft smile upon his face. The sudden arrival of the member of the Core caused her to catch her breath before her body sagged in relief to see him. He stepped straight to Damara’s side and even sat himself upon her bed with a beaming smile as he watched her grasp the glass and drink up the fluid in vivid, heavy gulps. She was pleased to see a familiar face in the room and only as she cast her eyes about did she realise that she was actually in Droy’s room. Recognising the paintings of wild deer and the starry skies that she knew he had painted himself from memory on canvases he’d bartered the traders for, Damara looked to him with a thick blush as she realised she was in his bed and therefore he was probably sharing someone else’s.

Damara did not want to state her concerns about his activities with… other men… within this bed but it was obvious the fear was there. Although Droy was very, very careful about how he acted and what he was going to do, Damara was in his private room. In fact, he’d been incredibly lucky to have been an orphan so he had no family to shame and in his training days he’d been selected by Martum for friendship and that more aggressive elf had done his best to protect them both. Martum had been accused of the forbidden love before, but the other elf involved had been a noble’s son and they had managed to claim the situation to have been a dare, so Droy had been in safe hands if anything happened. It had been perhaps fate that the pair had always ended up working and patrolling with one another and it had been as a pair that Damara and Karani had met them and been rescued by them from other more boisterous members of the core.

“I’m with my lover of course; you don’t have to worry about that Damara, my dear friend nothing’s happened the bed has clean sheets. The Karayan was actually very well informed of the matter and stated he had no fear or care for how Martum and I expressed our affections within his household, although it was a shock when he just sort of, came out with it when the servants were gone. His only condition was to be cautious of those servants and around guests who are not on our side. Startling isn’t it?” Droy chuckled with his rich, beautiful voice as he gently patted Damara’s hand and then took the glass from her hands. He then looked about the room with a sigh and even produced a soft little chuckle. “Ah… if Higatso’s eyes hadn’t been taken up to the sun his head would be screaming about it.”

The words startled Damara greatly, to hear them mentioned so openly spoke volumes of the Karayan’s tolerance but it was also dangerous. Though she and Karani knew the truth and did their best not to let anyone else figure it out, if seen to be a couple in public the two men would be executed as blasphemers to Nabuto’s natural order. After a brief worry Damara dove forward to hug him in thanks and Droy just chuckled, he urged her to go to sleep again and that everything would be dealt with when the Karayan woke up. When she asked where he was, Droy stated that he’d ‘gone upwards’ into the high roof of the mansion that touched the earth above. Somehow it made Damara feel very guilty, but she settled back to sleep and once again her dreams fixated on the one shining stone, sitting all alone in the middle of the swamps. She could swear it was calling to her, but she still needed someone else to have seen it there.

When morning came Damara was met by Molwesa, who’d already checked on her after the event during her sleep and stated she could not be removed from that bed. Apparently Anouk had come back to the house before going on patrol to check on her sister but pulled back the moment she’d realised it was in the Karayan’s home. The fact her sister was still on edge over Damara’s safety was worrying enough although today Molwesa was pleased Damara was awake and able to return to Anouk. After forcing the healer to join a simple breakfast of bread and water the elder elf decided to leave, visibly uncomfortable in this household and glaring at Droy as if he’d done something bad. Damara could only assume it was because she had slept in his bed, which was not appropriate for an unmarried woman! If no one had seen her seizure the previous day then it would have opened a door to some unpleasant rumours. Damara was not too fussed over the matter either, however as she knew Droy had been very kind and would never do anything to hurt her or sully her reputation she ignored the thoughts. Instead breakfast ran smoothly and it would have been a good time for Damara to leave if the Karayan had not suddenly appeared.

His complexion was oddly pallid and his expression drained, his eyes remained stark but everything else seemed lacklustre. His brown hair seemed dark and greasy, tatty and unkempt rather then its usual smoothness and his posture was pained and staggering. When he sat down in his black shrouds like a corpse at the table, more bread and some fruit was brought out for him to eat. Damara stared at his weakened form with a sudden pang of guilt and then fear; for a brief moment he’d smiled to see her and she’d wondered if perhaps the Karayan had only weakened and hurt himself because he had feelings for her! But she brushed the panic at that thought away quickly as she recalled his attempt to talk with Anouk at the party and the strange connection they held. Sometimes she tended to over think her friendships with males when people were being suspicious about it.

Silence reigned at the table but the food, though they never quite caught a glimpse of how he ate it, seemed to help the giant recover. The two Core members and Damara thanked him after their meal and would have been on their way to start preparing the Core for another training session had the Karayan not requested the two men took charge of training for the day. Both were shocked and delighted that they forced him to put it down in writing so no one could doubt them and the Karayan rolled his eyes. His straightforward manner and honesty had begun to win him the hearts of the Core now that the original fear was starting to subside, but he did not usually make a habit of missing training sessions. However, it just proved his own exhaustion from what had happened and Damara was reminded of the strange contorted shadow she had seen in the room. Droy and Martum departed swiftly, leaving the petite Damara in the presence of the giant stranger and his cloth covered mouth.

“Did… uh… did you see anything in your mind last night, Karayan, about a stone in the swamp?” Damara asked the question without really checking for trouble and when a servant came in to clean up, the short silvery-coloured figure swiftly backed away into the kitchen in apology for interrupting. Damara did not notice him but the Karayan did and gently he pulled himself up from the table and ushered her toward the nearby Reading Room. Once there he bolted the door with a grunt, checking every window and opening whilst Damara could not help but feel strangely on edge.

“You should be more careful talking about such things, I don’t know these servants well enough to think they’re not spying on me.” The growl he produced made Damara grimace at first, but then she shook her head with a gentle laugh. She tried to encourage the Karayan that this was simply a matter of paranoia but his face remained unpleasant and Damara felt oddly upset. She had never thought that a servant could have loyalty for anyone who was not their master, it would be sinful, yet she recalled Talon stating that some butlers were the worst gossipers around and how Higatso used to pay off servants for sordid details to blackmail nobles with. She had always believed it to be paranoid, pessimistic grumbles about how people perceived themselves to be treated when they were doing wrong, but somehow the Karayan’s statement was more believable and there was indeed cause to it.

“Who do you think is spying on you?” Damara questioned, hardly able to name anyone in the council she felt couldn’t be trusted… save Gahlvrod. But spying on the stranger for the fact he was a cursed being, well Head Mage Zehna and Head of Police Floryas would be likely candidates; but this Damara did not truly consider spying when it was a normal thing for a foreigner to experience. When Karayan gave the name Yeruell, Damara’s jaw dropped and she appeared truly gobsmacked over the revelation. “But… there is not way he could! I mean, why would he do that?”

“Easy, he’s making sure I don’t hide information the King needs to hear and I don’t speak about the king like I know everything about him. The Yeruell line is curiously protective of your king considering they know that he is the main cause of the attacks for using the stone’s energy to keep alive.” The Karayan snorted, but Damara was not pleased with this thought and wished she was were a child again so that she did not have to think about these kinds of problems. To her, Karayan was talking as if Yeruell might be some kind of traitor to the people and that could hardly be the case. She knew the man well and although his uncle was in every way an ass, the family was not one for secrets or the current lord’s ears would have been trimmed off!

But… just maybe they were spying on Karayan because they feared what he actually was – no one could be blamed for being that cautious at least!

“So tell me Karayan, did you see the stone?”

“If you must know then I have seen something of a stone. When I held you I saw that same glow in the swamp and on my travels I did sense something that way, but it is not wise to think this it true when a Hive Demon causes your visions.” Karayan snorted but in truth he was only being protective over Damara. Upon his trudge through the swamp he had passed the glowing rock and felt it talk to him then, promise to help him with his issues. But he had pushed the idea from his head as he had not known the item for what it was – in hindsight he would not have needed to decapitate Higatso if he’d brought the stone with him.

But for this confirmation, even though he was telling her not to be interested in the item, Damara’s eyes lit up. She had what she needed to convince Anouk and yet she knew it would probably not be enough. She knew she would not be believed unless she got it herself, but the Karayan noticed this hunger flash in her eyes and he gave a cough.

“You’re thinking of the glory and the possibility to say ‘I told you so’ isn’t that the sin of pride under Nabuto?” Knowing Damara’s faithfulness to the codes and creeds of this land, the Karayan knew he could quell her passion by bringing it up. She looked suddenly remorseful and then she pondered over what affect the demon touch had held over her body and she was scared. But the Karayan stretched out a hand and patted her head very delicately before giving a soft grunt. “You’re still young Little One, your time for glory is not now and there would only be pain if you chose this path. Listen closely to me Damara; you are not your sister and that is not a bad thing.”

“But she is so fearless! She practically raised me as her own to always do what’s right. I know this stone is there and I want to help our king. I want to be worthy of my family name and the kindness everyone has shown me.” Damara sighed pitifully but inside her mind was ticking away with a plan. Despite Anouk’s thoughts and the Karayan’s, Damara could go out and get the stone, but she wouldn’t go alone and she’d ask advice from the one person she knew would help her out, even if he had to go with her.

* * * * *

Outside the steps of the great gate and the marble library, two proud nobles stood staring down at the bustling market plaza beside the statues of their ancestors. They had been involved in a long discussion regarding what to do and yet they had not come up with anything solid. In their white and lilac robes they appeared almost holy as they strode back and forth through the great figures and continued to discuss their thoughts. Their patience was only broken by the sudden appearance of a short, silvery, huffing and puffing servant that dropped to his knees grasping Lord Yeruell’s soft grey slippers.

“My lord… I have urgent news!” The servant gasped and Yeruell’s eyes widened in surprise as beside him Lord Lutas beamed menacingly. Although the speaker was not generally eager for his spies to reveal themselves in public, he knew that only a truly important matter would cause such boldness. Gently he bent down and grasped the servant calmly at the shoulders to ease his breath. Once the figure was back in control he gave a soft cough then smiled. “Apparently, the Karayan is aware of a stone in the swamp that can be retrieved… but he was only made aware as Damara Benaga is seeing visions of the stones. She will not keep this secret to him though, I believe she will seek out someone she trusts for advice.”

“Damara is not a glory hog so she will of course be asking for Karayan’s help. She will also seek your advice Lutas, so we must help her out. The credit for finding the stone deserves to go to a noble household, not a beast like him.” Yeruell stated in a calm and gentle manner although it was obvious he did not like what he was hearing. As he turned toward Lutas, his friend appeared startled and perhaps a little affronted by the suggestion that he should be involved. He did not want to say anything of course, but he gave a slightly indignant look as the servant was sent away. “You don’t approve of my words?”

“I can’t say spying has ever brought me anything of worth – old favourites for one master tend to do whatever they can to sully the new. Gossip and rumours are killers looked on as sins by Nabuto, old friend.” The disdain was clear but Yeruell had not chosen Lutas’ friendship in hopes of gaining a lackey so his opinions were always counted. The pair had chosen their alliance purely for the fact they both wanted to change Virenheim’s old manners for the sake of the Deep Elves… but only for the Deep Elves. They knew there were problems within their system and yet they did not see acceptance of the outside world as part of the many things needed to maintain their seemingly weakened society.

“She’ll look for her teacher’s advice of course, so I would suggest you find some of your most trustworthy servants and soldiers to assist her. If anything should happen to her however I would hold you personally responsible and make sure Anouk knows who facilitated it.” Yeruell stated with a gentle grunt of irritation as he realised that the accident with Kaloon in the forest might have been intentional because of a slight the young man had made against Lutas’ family in the past. In fact as he thought it over he noticed the wicked flicker in the teacher’s eyes and gave a soft snort of irritation, causing a hideous grin to split the figure’s handsome face into something uncannily demonic.

“Don’t worry… Long Ears… Damara is too valuable to loose as you well know.”

* * * * *

Anouk had found herself waking up during the middle of the day with a headache and a need to find someone to talk to. With Talon out to fetch Damara from the Karayan’s household and her anxieties calmed by reassurance from Molwesa, she did not feel a need to look for her sister today. Instead Anouk found her eyes following the calendar beside the clock where she noticed it was a safe day to visit Loteg. She did not know if he was aware of everything that had taken place within the kingdom but when she arrived and slumped into his cell, lounging on his bed as he continued to scrabble away in contentment, Anouk found her worries being met with understanding and gentle nods.

“I would be concerned… Damara’s always been a little too sensitive to the vibrations in the rocks and I am sure that there is some ‘divine’ reason behind it, but it is worrying. I have wondered over the matter of the stones since my father suggested the almost vampire qualities they bestow upon Otzell… it sounds slightly demonic the way he describes it but of course such a thing is a heresy and a reason I’m here.” Loteg sighed gently but when he turned and looked at Anouk’s grimacing features he stood up and stretched a hand out to rest upon her forehead, making her sigh. “I have always looked at Damara in the same way I see my sister and from what Annaballa suffered I am very afraid for her. Hive Demons are dangerous, but they do not cause visions unless they had a particular reason to.”

“You’re scaring me… I feel like I’m pushing her away so much more these days and if it’s going to get her hurt because I’m scared of my own thoughts on the king…” Anouk began with a hefty sigh only to receive a gently poke on the nose as Loteg put his pen down. With a slow sigh as he spun his body around on his neat little chair, clearing the neat stone desk and its stack of paperwork, the figure gently wiped a hand over his sunken face as he thought over the matter at hand. How could he comfort her when she was in a situation that he himself had gone about wrong?

When Annaballa had been infected and dumped by his family and her husband, Loteg had rushed to fight the thought of her being put amongst the Sacred Women. As much as she and he and ripped at each others’ faces as kids, Annaballa had once even broken his nose with a glass plate, he could not believe the way the traditions of their culture had reacted. The Boodoo had only infected her because she’d had a fight with her husband over her pregnancy, instead of letting the argument hang and receive another beating on his return from patrol she’d run after him and in doing so been too close to the waterways on the surface at the wrong time. When her husband had been abusive to Annaballa during the marriage the traditions meant that Loteg could not get involved and protect her or even tell him he was wrong. That elf he had hated so much for acting so privileged for being born male and Loteg abhorred it, especially when Loteg had seen how Anouk was treated for being permitted a position.

He had just been arriving back from assisting cattle in giving birth, something that tradition said was fine, when he’d found his twenty-one year old sister screaming and screeching in the flooded banks near the dam. He’d gone straight to her, managed to grab the tail of the Boodoo, though it had meant doing something no brother should ever have to do and he’d encouraged it to attack him instead. But the beast, though he killed it had managed to spew its venom and the miscarriage it caused was devastating. By the laws of their land Annaballa had been sterilised so that any curse from the Boodoo touching her body could not be spread in the bloodline. With Loteg not wishing to marry it had meant their line was dead and then the laws were thrown onto his sickly, depressed sister and she was treated like a diseased leper strolling uncovered through the city. No one had been kind, but his friends Talon and Anouk, although they could do nothing when a divorced woman became the property of her mother, not the head of the household. If it had been otherwise, if she had not been classed as property for her gender, then maybe Loteg could have done something to maintain her dignity and eased her comfort. But for his protests, his attempt to murder her former husband and then his declaration of hating the king and believing him to be a demon… he’d been put here.

Perhaps not being able to rescue Annaballa from her marriage vows had irked him to understand his father and do what he had done….

“Annaballa came to visit me after you did, Anouk… I couldn’t believe it and for the first time in a very long time I was so very happy to see her. Talon looks after her well and you also keep an eye on her as if she were your sister. But tradition is not kind to the daughters of our land, so we should strive to be kinder… go see Damara and apologise to her about the way you acted. Do you promise to tell her she was right?” Loteg chuckled and then he gently kissed Anouk on the forehead, only to notice that her green eyes seemed watered and swelled, as if she were in the middle of some kind of trance. Loteg was a little fearful and for the first time in a while he lost his composure, leapt straight onto his feet and across his cell towards the opening, ready to scream for the guards to help before he heard Anouk sigh in irritation.

“I hated her when she was born.” For Anouk it felt good to finally speak the truth of her childhood that she had never permitted anyone else to hear before. At the words Loteg spun on his heel and slowly paced back over with a soft smile on his face, telling her how jealous he felt about Annaballa being born so close to him and getting the attention of everyone because she was so pretty! But Anouk shook her head gently with a low wheeze of sorrow as she felt the truth slip past her lips. “I am nearly thirty-five; she was born when I was seventeen and had just been released from my prison. I was an adult and when I saw her all I could think of was how much my mother thought I’d dishonoured her, that Damara was my replacement and then father always fussed and adored her… but so did mother. You recall my birth nearly killed my mother; it was during a raid that nearly broke into that birthing room if grandfather had not been present. No one could come to help my mother, there were no midwives there to help her because of the attack and she was so drained and sick that when she saw I was a girl, she opened the door where there were goblins running into the house and left me in their path! Throughout the whole of my childhood she would look at me as if she wanted to drown me, that I’d ruined her life because I was not a son… but the moment I watched her birth Damara alongside Molwesa, there was only love for that baby. I hated her for it… but now I realise it might have been from something else…”

“I see… if your dreams are accurate then she was born not long after your own child was taken away from you. It must have felt like your opportunity was removed for your mother’s sake… if the dreams are true of course. Do you remember much more from what happened Anouk? Do you remember what the demon looked like, how it had managed to impregnate you or…” Loteg questioned but Anouk just shook her head roughly; she had not had any new dreams lately and yet.... Anouk did not want to admit anything to Loteg right now, but she was quite sure that the child was not created through possession or rape… but love. Even if it was from love she would only have been fifteen at the time, an illegal age to have such interactions so it would have brought even more shame to her family.

“Odd… if it’s the truth then I have a son somewhere that’s older then my sister!” Anouk snorted with a grin, suddenly feeling humoured by the thought as she sat herself up and then patted his shoulder with a soft sigh. She could not believe how much happier she felt now that she had talked to Loteg about this all and how much she was forgetting her upset in just a gentle memory from her past. “You know what made me fall in love with my sister though? One night there was a hurricane that came down from the mountains… you must remember that! We were sheltering loads of the guards in the household and it was horrendously noisy but somehow everyone else was able to sleep except me and Damara. She was crying like mad, desperate for someone to go to her so I did. I held her hand and picked her up, she went quiet immediately and smiled at me… with grandma’s smile and I realised just how much Damara was a Benaga… she wasn’t my mother. But then the moment was ruined when she screwed up her face and managed to defecate all over me.”

Loteg could not help himself but burst into laughter and Anouk copied him, from that point in their lives she had always been laughing at Damara. Whenever Anouk had scowled Damara had tried to mimic the face and then done something silly, she’d always looked for Anouk to play with or cuddle. Whenever Anouk had come back from patrol she’d been greeted by the giggling happy baby and leapt upon by the child. Damara had once even tried to sneak into Anouk’s robes to go on patrol with her and see the surface… she had always been so sweet and adorable. No one had made Anouk so happy, but maybe it was because Damara was just… Damara?

“She’s like a daughter to me more then a sister… but that’s probably why I’m so very afraid for her and all the ridiculous things she does. I didn’t want her to marry Jarl because I couldn’t be sure they really were in love with one another, but then when he chose to bed another woman I knew that he was not worthy of my sister.” Anouk growled softly as she sat herself up, rubbing her forehead gently. She shook her head at the sound from above came that Loteg’s food would be arriving soon and Anouk would have to depart. With a soft sigh of frustration Loteg patted his dearest friend’s forehead and then Anouk grinned at him. “I promise… I’ll tell her I was just worrying about it… that I do believe her.”

* * * * *

As for Talon, he had left as soon as he was sure Anouk needed a chance to relax after the kafuffle of the other day. In his mind it was for the best, everyone was on edge and considering everything had been happening within the city Anouk did not feel her sister was safe. Talon knew that Damara would be safe now that she had made such a wonderful friend in the Karayan and on his way to the house now cleared of a great deal of things, Talon was met by Karani. She was on her way to the same place and once again causing a stir for not covering all the skin around her clavicle as well as not covering up her hair. One of the policemen was actually advancing on her in his black robes that grasped about his body tightly, his face only showing a sneer as the brim of his jet-black hat shadowed his eyes. Talon was able to lunge to the girl’s side, grasp her wrist and wrap a large black shawl about her head and shoulders. He angrily seemed to tell her off, though he was merely telling her to be careful and the policeman turned on his heel and walked off.

“Thank you Talon… I didn’t put my scarf on tightly this morning when I left the academy… clearly. I wanted to catch up with Damara.” Karani had begun but Talon just ushered her to follow him towards the household and stay quiet. Karani was not pleased to be forced quiet but she knew better then to tell Talon what to do when he’d just saved her the chance of a whipping. The community was all on edge now, the markets not as vibrant and loud as everyone was more cautious about what they bought and how much they sold things for. Everyone was expecting trouble and any kind of wrong doing was picked upon savagely, but Talon walked proudly with Karani at his side towards the Karayan’s house when they had spotted Damara walking out and straight to them.

Talon had been listening to Damara for about twenty minutes in total silence, chewing on his lips with frustration at the story of the stone. As much as Talon would love to believe what Damara was telling him about the Karayan’s thoughts on the matter, he doubted she was telling him the complete truth. From what he’d figured out of the stranger so far, the gentleman was hardly the type to encourage a ridiculous and incredibly dangerous quest for just any person, let alone her. Talon did not state his disbelief or irritation, nor indeed his suspicions as Damara related the tale to him, but rather he kept his mouth screwed into a pensive expression and curled his fists with the growing concern. When Damara had finally finished her tale and informed them of her need to find the stone and therefore seek help, Talon was swift to shake his head at her. He was in fact about to start a lecture on why she should not be thinking such a thing, when Karani barged in with a sudden squeak.

“We have to do this! It’ll be our first time on the surface and what better way to justify that experience then by going to find something vital for the health of our King? It’ll be a chance for us both to prove our worth and we’re bound to get help from Lord Lutas, after-all you are his favourite student Damara.” Karani beamed, but there was a second motive to her words that she did not want to speak aloud in case she might be reprimanded for the thoughts alone. For Karani as an orphan, any opportunity to prove herself as a valuable member of Virenheim society was too important to miss and it might prevent her from being relegated to life amongst the sacred prostitutes when she graduated the academy. To be known as one of those to rescue a stone she would have a chance at a fortuitous marriage and a chance to escape her rank-less existence if she were unable to secure a position amongst the Mages. She knew of course that Damara and Anouk and even Talon would support her no matter what happened to her in life, but this was an opportunity she could not afford to miss out on.

“No.” Talon was swift to cut their daydreaming short and though he would have wished to bark it at them, they were not in safe company. He had managed to encourage Damara to sit at the benches near the council chamber where there were fewer people wandering around but there always seemed to be some unsavoury looking elf passing by. He could not be sure if the tale was already out that Damara knew something about a stone, but it was not safe to talk of the matter anywhere they could not point at a crystal and refer to that, hiding the conversation. “It’s too dangerous to even consider such a thing Damara! Just what in Organthra would you tell your sister when she demands to know how you got to the surface and completely disobeyed her orders? Not to mention you would not be able to reach the swamp… the guards at the First Dam do not allow anyone without a permit to pass through and everyone in the Second Dam would recognise you the moment you turned up. Plus Ling and the others in Anouk’s crew are up there and could easily spot you and drag you straight back down to her wrath!”

Damara listened to the words with an obvious pout of displeasure and irritation. She could understand that Talon was not keen on the idea of her going anywhere that might be hazardous but he seemed to be assuming she would be going it alone. It was clear he would not go and help her, but Karani wanted to and Karani was right – they could ask Lord Lutas! Although it would be embarrassing to discuss the full details of the matter with him he’d at least go out with her and a patrol to ensure that she was not just having hallucinations but proper visions, at least she imagined he would! She knew that if Karayan had seen it as well then the Head of the Academy would listen with more interest and believe her too. Damara shook her head towards Talon for his lack of confidence and had been about to make a point of what her actual plans included when her eyes snapped sharply on approaching figures. The moment her eyes became transfixed her companions looked about her in concern and noticed the familiar, handsome form of Jarl Kelvis and his young wife headed their way.

Jarl was looking surprisingly worn and thin with an air of displeasure and upset that could easily be contributed to any kind of argument he might have endured with his father. With everyone still being very rude to his poor wife and him for having denied the family a chance to pair up with the Benaga Household, Jarl was still seeking to reignite his old friendships and with Damara in a position of good favour from the party still, he wanted to talk to her. He was however accompanied by his wife, Kirlia, whom Damara could not help but stare at with utter jealousy and resentment biting at her tongue to make a point of itself and how much Kirlia had ruined her chance of happiness. Kirlia though stick thin and looking more like a doll for a child or a manikin for a tailor, was all sweetness and tenderness. She was a Deep Elf mixed with a Northern Elf, so her eyes were not as large and her skin was more a snowy white with silken grey hair that looked as soft as the velvet of a stag’s antlers. It seemed she’d been forced to leave behind a sister and a mother in order to come to Virenheim with Jarl however and lately she was missing her family, so she too was eager to go out with her husband and make friends with people. But the appearance of the two could not be more inconvenient and uncomfortable to Damara who quickly lowered her head alongside Karani and made the appropriate gestures and greetings to the two. Karani pressed close to Damara, knowing instinctively that her friend was hankering to bolt off and find something else to occupy her time. Karani still could not wrap her head around Anouk’s acceptance of the marriage between these two, if only because no one else had managed to accept it yet.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had the pleasure of talking to you, Lady Benaga... I hope you are quite alright after your first encounter with a demon and your collapse yesterday. Everyone has been talking about it with great concern and I was very worried to think that you could be in such a dangerous state.” Jarl stated, trying to maintain his noble graces despite the fact that his wife hooked onto his arm affectionately and smiled warmly towards his collection of friends. The others looked at them for a moment in surprise over his statements but then nodded their heads gently in reassurance for Damara’s condition and his kind thoughts.

Talon then attempted to start conversation with the pair but before he could try and engage in such a gentle past time, Damara suddenly leapt off her seat in shock. She muttered that she had forgotten a meeting with Lord Lutas and, after making sure she still had her hair tucked beneath her little headscarf, she galloped off towards the steps and up onto a plaza before cantering up another set of stairs onto the main market square. The others were left staring after her in shock before Karani gently itched at her head and then made a mention that she should probably go too because she had a meeting as well. Jarl and Kirlia were quite flummoxed by the sudden departures, although they did not want to say anything over the matter. Even so, Jarl’s face screwed up with utter disappointment and his wife quickly grasped his wrist tenderly with a soft and affectionate smile.

“I know... you wanted to apologise to her.... Wait a few minutes to talk with Talon and then you can leave us together to discuss simple matters of the household I would need to know and you can go after her. She probably still loves you very much Jarl so this is painful for her. Don’t expect her to forgive you any earlier then your father.” With such wise words in her slightly foreign accent, Talon smiled and nodded his head in appreciation for the moment and then stretched out his hand to reach Jarl’s forehead. Though the two men were the same age it had the same kind of reassuring affect to it as it would have should Jarl’s upset father have been the one to show some affection. Gently the handsome young elf nodded his head before feeling a sensation of guilt burn in his heart as he thought of the traitor he’d been to poor Damara’s sweet heart.

Damara walked with astounding speed towards the academy and Karani was having a hard time trying to keep up with her. Damara was fuming at the thought of having to make friends with Jarl again and having to pretend that he had not done something to upset her completely; it had been hard enough when Anouk had told Damara of her acceptance of the marriage. But at least when Anouk had told her, Damara had been at home and permitted to cry and scream and even punch at her sister for the choice, it would not be appropriate to do such a thing to Jarl right now although it was what Damara desperately needed to do. She just needed to give him one ringing slap to the face, just to remind him that he had indeed hurt her and just to feel a shot of gratification to know that she’d been able to hurt him with her hand! But that was not going to happen, if she were to slap him in public or indeed in private then it would be a gesture linked to the idea of them having an affair. That whole chance to get some kind of revenge or gratification was lost for her, but she did not have to talk to him at least! Still, the thought and the rage propelled her onward to the academy at a faster pace then normal and she was already through the main series of winding corridors and past Tyfuga’s class when she spotted Lord Lutas in one of the classrooms and swiftly pushed the wooden door open with a sudden squeak of his name, only to freeze with embarrassment as she realised he was speaking to a squad of soldiers.

“Ah... Lady Benaga... how can I be of assistance to you?” Lutas turned without concern toward Damara’s trembling form with a soft and gentle expression upon his face. He ignored the look of irritation and annoyance upon the gruff collection of six soldiers within his presence but Damara could not take her eyes off of them. Each one was scarred and gnarly looking, as if they’d been torn up by a wild wolf pack and spat back out into a patch of thorns... they were wearing clean neat uniforms but they all looked like the leftovers. She shook her head gently though as Lutas strolled to her side and then tenderly placed a hand upon her soft, delicate little forehead that had dropped a bead of sweat. “My dear child, you look as if you’ve been galloping to get to the academy. For the love of Nabuto tell me what’s the matter… please do not fear my friends here for they are sent by Yeruell for the task of Sacred Stone collection. They won’t hurt you.”

“Oh... well then it is truly luck by Nabuto’s will that I came here... you see Lord Lutas, I have important news about a stone.” The moment Damara said it her shoulders sagged and she wheezed a massive sigh of relief and exhaustion. It felt like she had been waiting an eternity for the chance to state such a thing and now finally she’d come expecting to be ridiculed and found just what she needed. How fortunate it was indeed for her to have arrived at the academy in time to meet up with the men that would be searching for a stone? She could not stop her face from beaming wide in delight as she sat herself down on a nearby bench and then began to explain the story to them all. She did not skip any detail of what she had seen in the dream about the swamp and the men nodded their heads in understanding. Everyone looked patient and interested despite their initial unsavoury appearance and by the end of it Lord Lutas could not contain his surprise and delight for the knowledge she was sharing with them. In fact Damara could barely contain her own joy to be sharing it. “That’s right... you know if even the Karayan states he saw one on his journey here, but did not think to touch it, that the stone was still there recently and is unlikely to have left. I don’t know if I could point it out on a map, as I do not know the area, but I can guide someone to it...”

“Oh but… I’m not… Well, Damara this is such a dangerous course of action to take. If your sister knew you’d been allowed to leave on such a dangerous quest she would never forgive us for letting it happen. Not to mention she would seek revenge on everyone should you get hurt….” Lord Lutas stated gently, his words kind and thoughtful although for some reason they were making Damara’s skin crawl to hear them. But she insisted on the matter and on how she would not be afraid and that she had been taught well enough with magic and sword to be of use out there. Plus she reiterated what Anouk had told her about the monsters in that area and for having the knowledge of it Damara believed that the stone was somewhere conspicuous that no one had noticed before now.

Lutas continued to grimace and ponder on the matter, when Damara insisted Karani would join her he looked even more uncomfortable with the idea but the soldiers just gave a gentle chuckle. One of them, the general with a ragged line across his nose that had been burnt and suggested some kind of demonic encounter, lifted his hand upward and beckoned for everyone to listen to him. His soldiers automatically stared toward him with eager grins but something slightly unpleasant flickering within their eyes. His presence quite scared Damara, despite what confidence their words gave her.

“The girl is brave and she’s right... this is the best lead we have on a stone and if we dress her in the gear of the young scouts we take up then no one will be the wiser. If it’s only in the swamp then we’re not so far out that the demons will be a threat sir... I believe young Lady Benaga and her friend will be safe in our care.” The general stated with a proud nod of his head and Damara’s face continued to be lit up with a massive smile. Lutas though shook his head and seemed reluctant to agree, by then Karani had stepped into the room and was pleading for everyone to agree with this general on the matter. With two young women treating the situation like an adventure, it seemed impossible to stop them from getting involved and slowly Lutas agreed with them all.

Once the men went out to gather the scout uniforms Lutas strolled over to the girls and gave them both an affectionate hug. It was an uncomfortable and uncommon gesture indeed but the women appreciated it as they knew their mentor was only wishing them the best and hoping for their safe return. He also assured them that he would not tell Anouk anything for at least three hours to give them a head start before she might rush out and track them down, which Damara greatly appreciated. But none of them had noticed that a figure, whose abilities with magic permitted him to become invisible, had listened and watched the whole situation with total fear.

Jarl Kelvis knew that Damara was in serious danger and the only person who could help her out without causing chaos, was himself.

Next Chapter: Eight