Private Tales Let the Lost no longer be lost

[Caliane Ruinë]

Her clothes were shredded in places, the skin along her forearms cut to ribbons, and she looked as though she had been dragged unceremoniously through a hedge backwards. But despite it all and what they had just faced, Caliane threw back her head and laughed at Tadrielus' words. You had to laugh or you ended up crying, right?

"Twice in one day when I've never had the misfortune in all my centuries!" she shook her head in wonder. It was funny how Fate played her hand at times. She just hoped it was several more centuries before it ever happened again. With more care she unfolded her wings and inspected the few missing feathers and the large lump of bent ones with a sigh. They were going to hurt in the morning.

"Camp sounds good. It'll give us time to... figure out what we saw back there," she shuddered.

 

[Tadrielus Galawen]

Tadrielus' face cracked in a smile but he was too tired to return more than a few chuckles to Caliane's laughter. The high-pitched cawing continued from the nestlings, but it had become a sort of annoying background noise at this point.

He stood up, feeling a few pops down his spine as he stretched, and looked around for some semblance of supplies. "I was eaten once, would not recommend it," he said off-hand, drawing his sword to cut a wide section of a massive leaf. "Kolregar, they called him. I think it was a town legend, or deity... the details escape me. I do remember it was a giant slug, and much quicker than I had expected."

He laid the section of leaf on the wide branch and found it pleasantly soft and springy. The canopy around them would do to shield them from the elements, but a soft bed would be nice after sleeping in a cave. He sliced another section for Caliane and laid in down nearby.

He sat and removed his pack, pulling out some more of their rations. "Luckily it was soft on the inside, too, though I had to throw away all of my clothes from that day. The smell of burnt slime cannot be washed away, as it turns out." He set a pack down on the leaf for Caliane, and took a greedy bite of the thick bread in his own.

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

I was eaten once...

Caliane's head whipped round, her eyes wide and her mouth opening to ask the thousands of questions scrambling over one another to be voiced. Tad went on before she could though and she stood in stunned silence and listened with rapture to the tales of one who had lived a thousand lifetimes. A thousand adventures. She mimicked his movements in sitting down on the leaf and took the bundle into her lap. She wasn't sure her stomach was settled enough from the escape and the thought of slugs eating people to eat though.

The Old One has lived an interesting life the soulfire remarked calmly and suddenly in the silence of her mind making her flinch.

"Stop that," she whispered and the flame retreated gleefully.

 

[Tadrielus Galawen]

He caught her expression and noted inwardly to keep the less palatable tales out of mealtimes. He also caught her flinch from the corner of his eye, and read a discomfort on her face. Swords and survival had come easily for him. Understanding people, seeing them clearly... that had come much later.

"Bug bite?" he asked in a pretty poor attempt to address her whispered dismissal. There weren't any bugs around them (odd, but one thing at a time), but he knew she hadn't been talking to him. Who then?

Tadrielus knew a little about Caliane's unique and fiery affinity. There were precious few things written about it, and he had not known of her for long enough to truly delve into it. It wasn't a desire to pry, oh no, but when a young girl ignites a city and burns only the wicked... well it made for good reading.

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Caliane's wings hung limply down behind her, over the branch on which she sat, in a manner more befitting a young Avariel and not one who had been taught how properly to hold her wings. It was an indicator of how relaxed she was feeling in his company but also how vulnerable the topic of conversation made her. She begun to unlace the little parcel of food.

"Something... like that," her eyes flickered up to the man opposite her. She bit down on the inside of her cheek then looked back down at the parcel in her lap and broke of a bit the bread. "Definitely a kind of pest," her lips tugged up at the corners at her own joke before biting into the bread.

"Do you have any ... powers?" she asked curiously. They were rare amongst their kind, a trade off for the power of flight philosophers said, but they did crop up occasionally.

 

[Tadrielus Galawen]

Tadrielus looked up through the massive leaves. The wilds were so beautiful, if one was given the chance to sit and watch.

"Not like you," he said, though there was no malice or judgement in his voice. "Soul Magic is a rare burden, but I am sure you know more than I do on that subject."

He wouldn't press Caliane to discuss the matter. Many among the avariel called such magic a curse.

"But I do have some, eh, 'talents.'" He propped an elbow on a knee and opened his hand to produce a small pure-white orb with a gentle yet stark light. "The Light has always been easiest for me, and it turns out that my light is very good at removing demons and monsters of a darker origin. Fitting, I suppose, that it should banish living shadows." He flicked his fingers forwards and the little orb stretched into a short bolt that singed the treebark a few meters ahead.

Tadrielus liked to think of himself as modest. No one liked a braggart, and fame was something he had learned to quell if at all possible. Though it was kind of Caliane to ask, and since they were in for a long night, he may as well have something to say.

"It's how I got this." He unsheathed his sword and laid it across his knees, carefully balancing the blade in his palms. The sword initially glowed too brightly for any detail to be made out, but after a couple of seconds it dimmed enough to be easily looked upon. Tadrielus had looked at this sword many, many times, but he still felt an awe at it whenever he did.

"I took this from a demon king," he said plainly, flipping the weapon and offering it hilt-first to Caliane. "It didn't look like that back then, of course. Much bulkier and darker, but very strong... and very heavy."

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Caliane's eyes widened a fraction as the story of the sword was explained at the same time it was handed over. She did not look upon her own exploits as being impressive or bold, but she devoured Tad's stories up like they were ones of legends. For an avariel her age they probably were. Even her father, an Elder now himself, had spoken of the man opposite her with a reverence more becoming of a young avariel.

"How did you kill him?" for she assumed Tadrielus had not simply asked the demon for its sword and it had been given willingly. Though such a thought was an amusing one given many people of Arethil believed the avariel's themselves were angels.

 

[Tadrielus Galawen]

Tadrielus mulled the question over. He didn't need to think on it, the memory was as bright and blazing as it had been the day it happened. It had never, would never, leave him. He had purged the sword of the demon's spirit, banished the evil inside of it, but sometimes he thought that a tiny piece of Oradiniir had locked itself in his mind, tied to that memory. Stranger things had happened.

"With that," he said nonchalantly, indicating the sword that she held. "He was clumsy, and even the hardest stone will crack when struck against itself. Something an old friend taught me that turned out to be very useful."

He knew that this was not the full story she had asked for. He had told no one an exact account. He hadn't felt that anyone was ready. Yet if anyone deserved to hear it, it was probably this new and fiery avariel. Despite the second soul within her, one that even he had been told was born of darkness, she emanated a grace and benevolence that very few of their kind could claim. Thysari was a story of recluse, not generosity.

Maybe it was time. Perhaps some of the burden would lessen if at least one other person knew what he had endured. "How much do you know about demons?" he asked her.

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

For a moment, Caliane thought Tad might decline her open offer to tell her the tale. She would have respected the decision of course. Some stories of her own she had not felt brave enough to voice to anyone; in particular the days after she had nearly died and the Soulfire had lived within her body instead. The feeling of being trapped within ones own mind, drugged and kept to sleep by a being that there was no way of removing had been a type of terror she didn't think she could find the words to express. But... but a part of her desperately wanted to hear this story.

So when he asked his question she almost wriggled in her seat. She was going to hear!

"Not... very much," she frowned, thinking of the visions of those dark demons who would one day kill the man she loved and her wings shifted. "Not as much as I would like, anyway."

 

[Tadrielus Galawen]

Tadrielus nodded. “There are very few evils that cannot be traced back to Arethil as the source. It is not always a kind world we live in, and there are many dark crevices and depths yet unexplored.” He had a few memories cross his mind, beasts and men of varying grotesquerie and danger. “Demons… are something else, at least in part. They have a darkness to them that feels… alien.” It was a very difficult thing to describe, this feeling of his, the innate sense that something was amiss whenever he encountered one of those creatures. “The last time the doors opened fully to their realm we called it ‘Pandemonium.’ I think that adequately describes how important it is to keep those gates shut. Ah, but I don’t need to tell you that.”

He went on. “Oradiniir, that sword’s first owner, had the strength to crack the doors open just wide enough to let armies through. It was the sort of power that hurt to look at. Just being near him felt like your skin was going to be pulled away by a hot wind, or like your bones would break under his voice.” He clenched a fist as he recounted it, that full-body reaction to otherworldly menace.

“For whatever reason, the light that bends to my command… it seems to want to keep a natural order. It is potent against those things that violate it, like undead, dark spirits, and especially demons.”

His face got a little brighter, though it wasn’t so much a the kindly old light that he usually held. His eyes seemed to flicker with a hotter fire and his expression was a bit more devilish (in true irony).

“I was very strong, back then.” He turned his hand over and surveyed the wrinkled knuckles. “But even I was just able to wrest the blade from him. I pierced his heart in the few seconds of opportunity I could scrape.”

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Caliane listened to the story with the wide eyes of a child enraptured by every little word. She had completely forgotten the bread in her hands and she had leant forward to rest her elbows on her knees and cup her chin in her hand. It was the type of story that might have resulted in nightmares for an actual child, though Caliane wasn't sure she wouldn't also suffer such a fate. She had heard of the last great opening of gates and had been glad that the gates of Thyasari had not yet opened by that point. Even now, as she travelled the world, she heard stories of those times and the impact it was still having on people.

"My father said more and more evil seemed to be appearing in the world as of late," she murmured, thinking of the amalgation that had almost claimed her life. "There might be a time we need such a sword again."

 

[Tadrielus Galawen]

Tadrielus' face was grave at her words and as he spoke simply. "Yes." But, catching himself, he let it lighten again and pointed to the glimmering blade in her hands. "But that sword is different than when demons held it. The evil that had been forged into it was expelled, and replaced with something... good." For lack of a better term. "Take care, should you ever find something crafted by evil. It has a way of taking from you."

He took another bite, his mind awash with memory as the day's light began to fade. The baby birds had not resumed their chirping yet, so Tadrielus assumed the parent was still away. With such monstrously large chicks, he wondered how often the mother had to feed them, or what sorts of predators could possibly pose a threat to them.

His thoughts were interrupted by the whistle and thunk of an arrow sinking into the tree bark between the two of them. He did not grab his sword for fear of cutting Caliane's hands, but he stood with orbs of light pooling in his palms as a woman fell through the canopy and landed before them.

"Lower your arms!" she commanded with a leader's voice. She stood in stark relief from Tadrielus' light. She was tall and leanly muscled, with dark skin that blended with the tree bark and thick, night-black hair. She had eyes of gold that burned at the pair of avariel, and sprouting from her back were two massive, multicolored wings. The feathers were brilliant hues of blue, green, and gold, matched by the sapphire robes she wore and the green-laced bow she leveled at them.

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

The ends of Caliane's hair leapt into flames as the arrow thudded into the trunk bare inches from her cheek. Whilst Tad leapt to his feet to defend them his companion fought a silent battle to stop the raging Soulfire from igniting the threat on the spot. It was on edge from the various threats it had faced today and had reached the point it would not listen anymore to the timid sweet nature of its host. Far less threateningly the scarlet haired avariel stood with a tremor to her legs that would easily be mistaken for fear and not the exertion of wrestling with a primordial beast.

She made a deliberate point of setting down the blade though that was not the weapon anyone should have feared in her hands.

With the Soulfire's temper back down to a simmer Caliane was able to instead ogle the woman opposite them with wide eyes and a mouth slightly agape.

"I thought..." she trailed off then shook her head, remembering her manners. "Peace, kin, peace. We mean no harm, only to deliver a message to any we find."

 

[Tadrielus Galawen]

Tadrielus let the light slowly fade from his palms and stood up a little straighter. He glanced at the cooling ends of Caliane's hair, still feeling the prickle of the soulfire's heat on his skin. Their visitor had also noted the flames, and her eyes moved from Caliane to Tadrielus, who said softly. "Perhaps we should all calm ourselves. It has been a long and confusing day."

The woman took her time to slowly relax the bowstring and lower the weapon, though she didn't let go of it. She continued to eye them with golden scrutiny. "What message?" she asked bluntly.

"Won't you join us?" Tadrielus offered, indicating the spartan rations they had laid out on the tree branch. "I feel like this will be a lengthy conversation."

The other avariel just continued to look at Caliane.

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Caliane glanced at Tadrielus and then back to the other avariel. She had a thousand and one questions like how had they escaped those horrific monsters, what had happened to turn avariel into them, and more - no, most - importantly, would the same thing happen to her? Was it already happening? She wet her lips and brought the Soulfire further under control until the fire vanished from existence on the surface.

"I-It's from Thyasari," she stammered, uncertain how to proceed when a moment ago there had been an arrow pointing at her chest. Tentatively she moved her hands to her hip and the bone cylinder inside of which was stashed several pages of parchment. Cali selected one and then held out the scroll like an olive branch.

"You can read it if you like. They want you to come home - all of you."

 

[Tadrielus Galawen]

The strange avariel furrowed her brow at the mention of Thysari, but she took put her bow over her shoulder and took the scroll from Caliane to carefully unfurl it. It didn't take her long to read the scant words before she rolled it up and tucked it under a belt.

"Come with me." The command was followed by a sharp whistle, and two more avariels landed gracefully behind Tadrielus and Caliane. They, too, bore vibrant wings from dark shoulders.

"Of course," Tadrielus said as pleasantly as he could, very slowly picking up his sword and sheathing it. "Just one moment to collect our supplies, if you please."

The woman paused, but nodded, and Tadrielus hastily rewrapped the rations and reattached the pack to his back.

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Caliane was much slower than her companion to pack her things because she was attempting to keep an eye on all three avariels at the same time. All of then held bows similar to her own but made of a green wood she had never known and their wings... she had never seen the like before. Every Avariel had a unique set of wings but in Thyasari they were more muted, colours suited to the whites and greys of the mountainous region. She hadn't stopped to think they might adapt to their environment.

Once they were packed the female launched herself into the air whilst the others motioned for them to follow. Caliane cast one more glance towards her companion then took a breath and jumped into the sky. There was a suitable pause before the two others brought up the rear. It would be near impossible for either of them to escape.

 

[Tadrielus Galawen]

Tadrielus flew behind the colorful leader, but kept close to Caliane. They had not been attacked, nor shackled, but they were quite clearly prisoners. Between the pair of them they could probably overpower these new avariel, but why ever would they? Tadrielus was much more excited to see where they were going than he was interested in fleeing.

The path they took was winding and convoluted. They dipped below the treeline and wove through branches before climbing up above the misty clouds and back down. They succeeded in disorienting Tadrielus, who was not accustomed to these jungles, and by the time they approached the canopies of more massive trees he had no sense of direction other than the basic cardinal points.

The tree, like many others, was enormous, only this one had a few spots of color in its thick leaves. Tadrielus smiled. He had never seen a city made from a tree.

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Caliane gasped at the sight of the wonderous tree. If she had not been looking for the colourful winged Avariel she might have mistaken the spots of colour for simple birds. Big birds, but apparently that was not out of the ordinary for these parts. Such a thought might even have made her keep her distance - was that what these jungle avariel banked on? The female leading their small group didn't glance back but one of the men flanking them shot her a quick glance and his lips curled slightly as though he knew exactly the wonder she was now feeling.

They were given a full view of the tree as they slowly circled the outer rim before suddenly their leader darted through a small gap amongst the thick foliage. Again, if Caliane had been looking she was sure she would have missed it. Instead she tightened her wings and followed them through.

Inside the outer foliage the tree suddenly turned into a bustling city. Homes were carved or made on top of the thick branches along with shops and larger buildings she thought might be schools.

"This... is amazing."

 

[Tadrielus Galawen]

Tadrielus beamed at the sight. While the pair of them drew less than friendly looks from the colorful citizens, the old avariel scarcely noticed. It was incredible that such a place had remained hidden to the word… but then again Thysari had as well. Perhaps the ability to conceal oneself came with avariel blood.

The group alighted on a flat surface. The branch was easily as wide as a city street, and although the winds were high as such altitudes the tree’s leaves sheltered them from all but a pleasant breeze.

Their escort… captor… whichever, didn’t give them much time to marvel. She walked forwards to a door formed out of a raised knot in the branch. The guards at their back urged the pair forwards and Tadrielus admittedly needed the reminder. He had been standing still and just staring up at the tree trunk.

It had been oranately carved into innumerable images of avariel and fantastic creatures that seemed to move in the dappled light. A hundred windows glittered from amongst them, with small spires and buttresses decorating the edges.

The woman opened the door, which revealed a staircase leading into the branch’s interior. “In,” she commanded.

Tadrielus looked at Caliane and shrugged. They weren’t in any position to argue, and he didn’t feel particularly threatened. Maybe that was foolish.

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Caliane was perhaps only a fraction more aware than her companion, enough that she noticed the way the guards at their back boxed them in forcing her to hold her wings tight against her back. Amongst all the colour her snowy white and deep maroon wings looked stark. Her mother would have blended in far easier. When one nudged Tadrielus a littler harder than necessary in the back she shot him a warning look however. She wanted to sue for peace but she didn't want them to think they were both butter soft.

"We're not your enemies," she murmured to the woman holding open the door as they slipped past. Despite her veiled threat Caliane admitted she couldn't really blame them for the length of security they went to. Not with those twisted abominations not too far away. Their ring leader did not so much as blink but continued on through the door and up a slowly sloping set of stairs which eventually led out back into the open at the very top of the tree. The branches here were so thickly packed together that a amphitheatre of sorts had been carved in rows into the wood.

At the far end sat a row of polished chairs and five Elders given the grey in their hair and the odd matching signet rings.

 

[Tadrielus Galawen]

Tadrielus did not begrudge the guards their roughness, his armor was more than enough to dull the shoves into taps. He found himself wondering how the staircase had been carved into the tree. It must have been magical, how else would they get away without seams or marks of any kind? Although wouldn't it be extraordinary if this had been wrought by hand...

He had lost track of their walk and was surprised to find himself at the tree's apex. He nodded to the row of elders, trying to make his interest in their home more polite than ecstatic. Decades as a forester and he never would have dreamed of such a place. No one in Thysari could have.

"I suggest we let them speak first," Tadrielus whispered to Caliane. To confirm this, he was given a warning glare by their colorful escort.

"Esteemed Elders, these trespassers were seen fleeing the Forbidden Cave. They disturbed the great Khairi bird before being apprehended. They... claim to be from Thysari." She looked almost like she thought she might be reprimanded for saying the word.

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

"Disturbed it?! It tried to eat me, it--!" Caliane bit down sharply on her tongue and tried to soothe her temper. Anger was a gateway for the Soulfire to seep into her consciousness and the last thing they need right now, in the middle of a city made of a living tree, was an elemental force like that. So she focused on the meditative techniques she had been teaching herself and slowly brought her anger down to a simmering irritation. It was not their fault, she reminded herself, that they looked upon them as intruders. They had lived their own lives for hundreds of years. She had no right to ask them to think of her as kin.

Thankfully the Elders seemed to largely ignore her outburst. They were more focused on the word Thyasari. A hush ran through the room and then a nervous murmuring as Elders bent heads to murmur to one another, casting fugitive glances in their direction. More than a few of those glanced contained outright hatred.

"Prove it," announced a tall slender Avariel with skin darkened by the summer climate they experienced here. Her hair was a stark white on contrast but her hard blue eyes bore into the pair and her shockingly bright purple and orange wings flared slightly behind her. Caliane hesitated a moment before taking out the scroll and stepping forward to place it in her hands.

 

[Tadrielus Galawen]

Tadrielus put a steadying hand on Caliane's shoulder while she calmed herself. One thing he knew about the elderly, being amongst them himself, was that they loved to talk. They would have ample opportunity to explain themselves provided that they were given permission. Elders also grew tired quickly... so summary execution wasn't entirely out of the question...

The elder read the scroll. Then she passed it to her neighbor, who read it and passed it to their neighbor, and so on. After a few tense moments of silence they looked up, apparently expecting some sort of explanation, or perhaps supplementary evidence.

"My name is Tadrielus Galawen," he said, placing a hand on his chest and giving a short bow. "I left Thysari several centuries ago. I was not happy being secluded, and so I left my family and my friends with the full knowledge that I would not return." He let the words sit in the air for a few moments before continuing.

"Thysari was wrong to close itself off. I believed this then, and I believe it now. Recently, and due in no small part to the woman you see before you, they have reopened." He gestured to Caliane, though it seemed hardly enough of an introduction for the work she had done. "I believe... I believe they are genuine in their desire to see avariels united again." He left out his doubts about certain city officials and elders. Those details could be ironed out later.

"They want unity?" An elder who had not spoken before finally chimed in. "It was they who decided to cut away from us. But now, they 'wish' us to come back to them? As if they may simply sweep us back beneath their wing without a thought?" His voice was growing louder, and his face progressively angrier.

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Caliane's wings softly whispered as she shifted them whilst the Elder grew irate. It was important to let them feel heard and to acknowledge their feelings, even if her father didn't think so. These relationships needed careful mending and tendering, like a gardener caring for a sickly plant, with great care. So despite how agitated it made her to have centuries of anger directed at her she stayed quiet and kept her face neutral. When he was done she spoke.

"Not... exactly," her voice sounded soft and quiet after the Elders harshness. Caliane cleared her throat and glanced to her companion for courage before returning her gaze back to the Elders. "They recognise that many years have passed, that things have changed and this is not... the world they left. If you would return it would not be giving up all you've built here. Your council's, your structure, rules, they would stay. They just ask someone from here acts as a representative on the Capital's council."

The Elders glanced at one another and begun to whisper in one another's ears.