Chapter 3

Saefyran woke as the light passed his door and the sound of pattering feet met his ears. He silently dressed, grabbed his sword and slipped out of his room while tying his sword onto his belt. Soon Saefyran caught up with the silent figure and saw it was his sister, so he followed her for a while until they reached the wall top. It was then that Saefyran slid like a shadow past his sister and stood behind her as she turned her back to look for anyone following her. When she then turned round she saw her brother and leapt back silently in surprise then whispered "I have to go and you won’t stop me because I’m willing to knock you out to keep you life intact." Saefyran looked bemused by this comment and asked his sister why she would ruin her life in which the reply came of "I’ve seen you with Diamedra and I know you’re her protector so if I come in. You’ll look after your blood rather then your charge and that is why I must go, because if she dies it will be my fault if your attention was on protecting me rather then protecting Diamedra." After she finished this explanation he moved to the side in an attempt to side step him but Saefyran intercepted her and told her "you’ll not ever stop me from doing my duty to my charge. Which is because I always make my own decisions so it will be in every case that stops me from doing my duty or a similar situation and that will never change because I have a sister it will just mean I will think about my decisions differently." At this Saefyran caught by the wrists and held her there, then swung her round to face him and finished by saying to her that he loved her as much as he hand ever loved anyone else and that that would never change. Once he hand said this she sagged slightly in his arms, and all the fight left her; then they both sat down against the parapet and just sat there enjoying the others silent company until a light shadow fell across them a Saefyran saw Diamedra standing over them. When he greeted Diamedra, Emeralda raised her head off of Saefyran’s shoulder, but then Diamedra just sat down and the 3 of them snuggled close enjoying their mutual warmth and the others company. However after a while Saefyran made a comment that gave the impression that on one side he had his sister to act like a mother and Diamedra to act as a lover. For this the two girls pounced on him and tickled him under the armpits until he nearly cried with silent mirth. After a while of this treatment Saefyran lifted himself up and grabbed them both under his arms and whirled them around a bit in the air. He continued until they pleaded for him to stop while fighting back an infectious mirth that soon hand all 3 sat down against the parapet laughing uncontrollably. When none of them could sustain their laughter any more they subsided into silence. When Saefyran came back from his private thoughts, in which he was musing on recent events, he saw Diamedra shivering against the biting cold that surrounded the small group. Under his breath Saefyran whispered "fyrsingr" and a small orb of fire burst into life and radiated a fulfilling warmth that covered the group in a blue light and a comforting warmth. When the town bell sounded midnight Saefyran stirred from the rest he hand fallen into, and seeing that both Diamedra and Emeralda hand found the solace of sleep picked them both up and carried them back into the keep of Camoelot. When he hand returned both of the sleepers to their beds; Saefyran fell back into his own bed and fell into such a deep sleep that he didn’t awake until after the 9th bell after dawn. When Saefyran hand woke and dressed, he went into the grand hall and along with the rest of the Arkhon’s court ate a light repast of bread, cheese and meat accompanied with water for breakfast. After he had eaten Saefyran talked long and hard with king Vroess about the treaty with the elves along with Diamedra and Aurtheur.

Once all of the needed political duties hand been fulfilled Saefyran and Diamedra along with Emeralda readied themselves for the journey back to the elven camp of craft masters and teachers as it hand become known from it’s founding nearly and aeon ago. When all of their preparations hand been completed, the 3 of them said their goodbyes to the king, his son and the royal court and then set out from Camoelot, 3 bells before the peak of the day. After 2 hours in the saddle, the group had had enough of riding and wanted a rest so while the 2 girls attended to the horses, Saefyran cooked up a good light lunch for the 3 of them. While the other 2 ate in silence, Saefyran was constantly scanning the clearing due to the fact he hand a distinct feeling that he was being watched. After their meal, the group packed up and prepared to set off once again but all the time Saefyran felt invisible eyes on him. The group was just about the mount up and Diamedra actually hoisted herself on her horse when the armed men broke their cover. Arrows whipped around the group and buried themselves around the campsite. Then the men forsook their crossbows and charged in with axes, pikes and long swords. As they ran at full pelt towards the small group in the centre, Saefyran counted nearly 20 enemy soldiers and from their garb were from the elite of the Arkhon’s guard companies. Within minutes the 3 travellers were beset by nearly 7 enemies each; however Saefyran soon lost sight of his companions through the bodies of his companions and concentrated on the 6 enemies arrayed before him. He readied himself and adopted a defensive stance with his sword in front of him and with the hilt at chest height. Then the man immediately in front of him attacked with a pike and as Saefyran twisted to avoid the barbed head, the rest of the circle attacked him. Weapons whirled around him as Saefyran used all of his skills to avoid the axes, sword and spears thrust or slashed at him. Saefyran saw his chance though when an over adventurous member of the attackers swung to hard with a battle axe and when the axe hit just air he staggered forward off balance. Seizing his chance Saefyran thrust in a perfect and fluid movement and his blade punctured the chain armour the man wore. The blade buried it self in the man’s chest and kept going half way along it’s length before being stopped by the spine. While Saefyran hand performed this manoeuvre, the rest of the attackers attempted to take Saefyran while his back was turned. But Saefyran managed to yank out the blade from the enemy’s spine and spun 360 degrees bringing his blade at neck level and taking the foremost man in his throat and continuing his spin levelled his sword to bring out of the enemy’s neck. He then adjusted his sword’s height and brought it across another man’s body but this time at stomach level. At that point there was a lull in the fight and Saefyran squared himself up against his remaining 3 opponents. As he sized them up he noticed that they seemed to be a little afraid of him and so he attacked instead of waiting to be attacked. Swinging his blade in an overhand cut he split the nearest man’s skull, then quickly recovered and thrust towards the right hand man. While he performed this action, Saefyran’s remaining opponent slashed at his back, the blade penetrated Saefyran’s arm and severed the major tendons in his shoulder. With a cry of pain, Saefyran span with such speed that the man’s blade stuck in his arm and the sword was ripped out of the enemy’s hand. Defenceless the man stood in front of Saefyran and stood waiting for the inevitable killing blow, but Saefyran said "No! I won’t kill you because I want you to tell who ever it was who sent you that when I find him I will kill him so completely that there won’t be any remains for his family to bury." Then clenching his fist Saefyran sent a devastating punch towards the man’s jaw and broke it while, knocking him out completely. As the man slumped forward onto the ground, Saefyran viewed the battlefield and saw a sight that made him go weak at the knees. He saw his sister lying wounded and under the bodies of the enemies she hand killed, then he looked to the other side and saw Diamedra lying very still with her slain enemies lying around her and looking incredibly pale with a pool of blood lying near her chest.

As Saefyran walked forward all of his attention was on Diamedra but he instead walked to his sister who was lying prone on the ground. As he got nearer he saw that his sister hand an ugly neck wound and a less dangerous wound to her arm. Saefyran knelt beside his sister and whispered in the language of magic "aidr" immediately the blood stopped flowing from Emeralda’s wounds and the colour returned to her cheeks. However as soon as he hand finished the word of healing, Saefyran hurried over to the wounded woman who meant so much to him. She was still breathing when he reached her side, but only just; her eyes fluttered weakly as she noticed him kneeling beside and cradling her head as he saw all of what he lived for slipping away. "Saefyran, I’m dying. I know you don’t want to hear this, but I’m too far-gone to be saved. I want you to know that I love you and always will." As she said these words, tears rose unbidden to Saefyran’s eyes and he wept silently as she continued "I also want you to know that whenever you need me, look inside your heart and you will find me." As she said this she placed a hand on Saefyran’s chest and he began to realise there was nothing he could do at all. Therefore he just knelt there as Diamedra said "Goodbye my love," and then she died, her head lolled in Saefyran’s arms and she breathed her last. But on her face her expression was one of peace and love to the elf she had strived to be with for years, the elf that now cradled her body and wept for her; her face showed her love for Saefyran.

Emeralda regained consciousness, to the sound of sobbing. When she sat up, albeit painfully, she looked around an surveyed the aftermath of one of the turning points that would affect her life. She saw her brother hunched over a body and weeping uncontrollably. She knew at that moment who had died in the battle, for they were probably the only person Saefyran would weep for so uncontrollably. She stood up shakily and walked towards the hope of her life and finally reached him. She sank to her knees when she saw the face of the princess so completely at peace, but also so cold, and lifeless. Emeralda realised that she needed to remind herself that Diamedra was dead. Emeralda saw the gaping hole to Diamedra’s stomach and the other dozen or so wound that Diamedra hand sustained in the battle. "I’m sorry Saefyran, I tried to help but there were too many and when I got wounded, I was too weak to attempt to help." As she spoke these words Saefyran suddenly twisted round and his sister got a shock, for she saw that a mask of grief had replaced her brother’s normal features and that tears had stained his face. "Oh," he said "I’m sorry I shouldn’t have just left you, but well I’ve just lost someone I really loved and…" He tried to continue to explain. But Emeralda stopped him and said "I know, I know and don’t worry I understand so just don’t worry;" and then the 2 of them looked and mourned in silence.

After an hour Saefyran’s shoulder started to pain him so he asked and his sister acquiesced to strapping it up, after they hand done this; Saefyran wrapped up Diamedra’s wounds and then wrapped her up in her cloak. When he hand cleaned up Diamedra’s body, Saefyran made a bier out of branches and his own cloak and then strapped Diamedra onto the bier and then secured the bier onto the back of Diamedra’s horse. Once the preparations had been finished, the remaining 2 travellers mounted their horses and started to finish the journey they hand made as three. It had been several hours when Saefyran and his sister reined their horses in and finally came to a stop. While Emeralda attended to the camp, Saefyran looked at the bandages over his wound. As they lay down to sleep, Saefyran sent a protective magical shield to protect the whole camp and stop any and all attacks directed at them.

Saefyran woke and immediately he saw that all was as he hand left it. He walked over to the bier, ignoring the pain from his shoulder that told him he hand slept on it all night. He looked at the face of his love and sighed heavily. Within an hour Saefyran and Emeralda hand struck their camp and continued on their journey, by the time 3 hours hand passed when they saw the tell-tale smoke columns of he camp that signalled that the blacksmith’s were at work. But Saefyran’s shoulder started to pain him again and therefore Emeralda wouldn’t allow them continue until she hand redressed and examined her brother’s shoulder. That night the two of them didn’t stop riding and journeyed on through the night so that when morning broke the guards of the camp saw them both tiredly lying across their horses necks and their horses very slowly walking towards the stockade. At once the queen and her retinue were ushered into the dim sunlight and then the queen let a moan of anguish out when she saw that her daughter was lying on the bier upon the third horses back. Immediately the two riders were helped to the ground, as they were so exhausted they could barely stay awake and certainly wouldn’t have been able to stand if they had had the chance.

However as he was lain to the floor Saefyran was falling into a feverish stupor caused by the festering shoulder wound that hadn’t been treated because both he and his sister were too weak to reach the magic needed to heal the infected wound. So with Saefyran in this state it fell to Emeralda to choke out the story of what had befallen the small party when they had left Cameolot. It took a full hour to tell and when she was finished she was too tired to answer any questions although the council ad the queen herself tried to ask hundreds upon hundreds. However because Emeralda she was so tired, even the queen, who was desperate to learn the details; acknowledged that it could wait until morning. She then allowed Emeralda to fall into a peaceful slumber next to her brother who at this point had begun to toss and turn in his feverish sleep. Later in the day, when the shadows of the day were lengthening, Saefyran woke up with a start and shouted "NO!" as he was brought out of the dream he had lain in since his return to camp. After a moment of viewing his surroundings he realised that the nightmare he had been trapped in had subsided and then he set about reviewing his own status. Firstly he checked his shoulder and after surmising that it had been completely healed and it hadn’t stiffened began to systematically check the entire length of his body. Finally Saefyran had finished and found that all of his wounds; even old ones had been fully healed. Once Saefyran was happy with how his body was functioning he hunted around the room of the royal tent and reclaimed his possessions, first getting dressed then draping a thick woollen cloak around his shoulders and finally strapping his sword on. However when he proceeded outside of the separate room, he found that the entire of the assembly area in the royal tent was empty and it seemed as if the entire elven court was assembled outside in a respectful huddle around a box and a weeping woman. Plucking up the courage he stepped outside to find that the entire court was in the middle of a funeral for the late princess Diamedra. As Saefyran saw this, a wild cry ripped itself out of his throat and rent the air with its awfulness. The bliss of the temporary amnesia, which he had suffered from, was ripped apart like a curtain and the whole light of the events that had happened were laid in front of his eyes blinding him with emotion. The whole congregation spun in shock at the cry, some of the ladies screamed whereas some of the lords had swords half drawn, but then they saw who it was and sheathed them. Silence fell over the congregation until with a start two women who had stood at the front of the crowd rushed forward at him. The first Saefyran recognised and embraced with a warm joyous feeling because she was his sister, the second however was the queen and they stared at each other, although not with hostility, but with a very hostile enmity. By the time the whole situation had been restored to order it was too late to send the princess on her final journey, so she was laid in a temporary rest in the very bed that Saefyran had lain feverishly hours before. However by the time the whole camp had gone to bed Saefyran had resolved his plan. He intended to commit the ultimate sin to the elves. He was going to raise the dead spirit of Diamedra.

Night fell over the camp, and as the sentries around the camp took their positions for the late night watch. The more observant of them would have noticed that a shadow had risen out of the ground and was heading for the Queen’s tent, they may have if they had been looking in the right direction. Saefyran crouched next to one of the ropes holding the tent up ad stopped to catch his breath; then he proceeded to scale the outside of the tent. Gasping for breath he rested, before carefully making his way around the tent until he was directly above the antechamber in which Diamedra had been temporarily interred into. Using a knife he had sharpened during the evening to gain a keen edge, Saefyran sliced the fabric that made the outside of the tent open ad dropped from the roof, landing lithely like a cat. After taking a moment to check there was no one nearby he walked over the Diamedra and exherting his considerable strength picked up her body, strapping it across his back. Once Saefyran had ensured that Diamedra was securely strapped in place on his back, he leapt as only an elf could and with strong fingers grasped the ripped and torn fabric of the hole. He took a moment to check the positions of the guards on duty while only his head was in view; and satisfied Saefyran then hauled himself over the lip of the tent. Sliding into the tent’s shadow’s to keep out of the view of any guards who were still alert. After nearly an hour of keeping to the shadows and avoiding any elf that loomed out of the gloom, Saefyran finally reached the edge of the camp and turning his back on his people he sped into the forest eaves. When daybreak came to the forest, the sun found Saefyran lying in the top branches of a tree, completely lost to the world due to that fact he was exhausted from carrying Diamedra non-stop through the night. She was lain between some of the lower boughs of the tree. Saefyran awoke with a start as he realised that he had slept too long and as he prepared for another day’s running he cocked his ears for any sounds of pursuit from the direction of the camp. Satisfied by the complete silence of the dark and shady halls of the forest, Saefyran strapped Diamedra’s body onto his back again and jumped from his position in the lower branches of the tree down to the forest floor; crouching to absorb the energy from the jump. As he straightened Saefyran cast one more look around the clearing to ensure there was no pursuit then sped off in the direction of the ancient temple. By noon, Saefyran was beginning to tire and had to stop if only to rest for a few minutes; but as he rested and took a brief meal from a rabbit he had found Saefyran was constantly alert for any sounds of pursuit. Within 15 minutes of rest, Saefyran strapped Diamedra across his back again and prepared to run due west towards the ruins of the ancient temple. However after another half an hour of running Saefyran began to hear the pursuit from the camp and put an extra burst of speed on to throw them off. But the pursuit still managed to keep on his trail and Saefyran began to feel his legs work like solid lead and his lungs felt like a metal cage. As he tired he didn’t give up and began to look for a place to hide. He spotted the perfect place as the pursuers just began to catch up and quickly put his plan into action. He reverently placed Diamedra’s body in a dead and hollow tree then he himself cast a spell, he uttered soilrenreistre, which lifted some earth at the edge of the clearing where directed the spell. He then lay down in the hole he had created and let the earth fall back down on top of him. The disguise was perfect and after a few minutes, Saefyran heard and felt the tramping of the pursuers and heard voices. "Did he go this way," one elf said; "I don’t know, the trail’s stopped here;" another answered. Finally what seemed like the leader of the party said "we’d better find him or Tildanaria will have our guts for garters. Lets go this way any way in a vain hope we pick the trail up." Then Saefyran felt the pursuers feet start up again going due east in the opposite direction to where Saefyran was actually headed. As he burrowed out of his temporary hiding place Saefyran glanced around to make sure that there was no longer any sign of the pursuers then lifted Diamedra’s body out of the tree. Finally Saefyran began on the final leg of his journey, and set of with all due hast towards the ancient temple in the west.

It was sunset, when Saefyran finally came within eyeshot of the ancient temple; the illustrious and vibrant rays of sunshine fell over the shape of the temple and seemed to make it look like it was aflame. Although the beauty of the sight wasn’t lost on Saefyran, he did push it one side and concentrate on the matter in hand. Then one foot after the other he trudged wearily towards the outer walls of the temple.

However it was still another hour, after the sun had completely set and moon had risen, that he finally came to the ruined gates that still stood set into the gate posts of the once reverently revered temple. Quickly Saefyran moved towards the old dormitories, and there was where he laid Diamedra’s body, which he then gazed upon her for what felt like an eternity as he sadly took in the beauty she retained even in death. Then he shook himself out of his reverie, remembering why he was here, and immediately headed for the most sacred part of the temple where even the forces of darkness that had attacked it hadn’t been able to breach. He descended into the deepest part of the temple where the foundations where non existent and the only thing stopping the complete collapse of the tunnel complex was the ancient magic that still resided there after years of abandonment. Finally he reached a door set into a wall, made of steel and stone, made of a specially treated wood imbued with magic and steel, which had become known as alloyed wood. To get past the impressive door, Saefyran knew he had to have pure intentions and heart when he touched the door, so he sat down to calm himself then rose a considerably calmer person than the person who had fled the camp the previous night. He touched the door. A shock that resembled one made by lightning travelled straight up his arm and travelled through his entire body until it tingled all over. Finally the magic receded and the door soundlessly swung outward, Saefyran breathed a sigh of relief happy that the door had recognised his intentions as the ones he had intended and not the ones that could be interpreted as his. Saefyran entered the fabulously impressive circular stone room that lay beyond the door and remembered the first time he had seen it. He remembered that he had been as impressed the as he was now. Finally he tore his eyes off of the impressive walls covered with beautiful hangings, paintings and stain-glass windows, and instead looked towards the raised plinth that had been erected in the very centre of the room on a roughly cut stepped stone dais. On top of the plinth lay the thing he had travelled a night and day for, the only thing that could help him with his aching heart, and the only thing that could cure him of the loss of his beloved. It was a book; an impressive steel and parchment book, where the pages had been permanently glued onto steel plates that had then been bound with steel wire. It floated at the top of the plinth, surrounded by a bright pulsating ball of magical energy. As Saefyran started forward, he thought about how his life would become perfect when he possessed the book and was able to right the wrongs of the past. But as he reached for the book, suddenly he felt his mind encounter an intruder, he immediately closed his eyes and thought of Diamedra, which gave him the focus he needed to ward off the intruder before they were able to obtain lots of information from his mind. However as the mysterious entity retreated from his mind it left a parting message "brother don’t make this mistake" then all trace off the intruder was gone with only that message left to account for it’s existence. Saefyran immediately knew that his pursuers knew where he was so he therefore rushed towards the plinth muttering the needed words to obtain the book from the plinth. Then Saefyran turned on his heel with the book in hand and sped out of the door to the chamber and up the stairs back into the temple. He didn’t stop until he was back in the room where he had lain Diamedra’s body and even then gasping for air he only gave himself a minute to catch his breath. After he had spent the minute composing himself, Saefyran opened the book and began to intone in the most ancient of languages, spiritskript. But it had taken 15 minutes to find the correct spell and then another 10 minutes to remember spiritskript, which he hadn’t spoken in years; and after these delays it took yet another 10 minutes to finish the spell. After those 35 minutes, Saefyran just sat down next to the bed and waited for the spell to take effect, but within 5 minutes of inactivity, he gave up hope and all of the fight left him a he broke down sobbing. However after nearly an hour of heart felt sobbing, the fight returned to Saefyran as he heard footsteps and the sound of the rotted gates opening outside. Drawing his sword he descended down the stairs and waited, alert in the courtyard for his pursuers to find him.

They came with a yell and burst into the courtyard, surrounding Saefyran in a large arc with weapons drawn. Then with a command sent via their minds they charged, Saefyran however easily proved their match ad beat them back with the flat of his blade, rendering 2 unconscious and the rest sporting bruises. For their next charge however they came with more caution and Saefyran began to consider taking the fight to them when he heard a noise behind him. He spun with such alacrity that he managed to face his sister Emeralda before she swung her sword in an amazingly fast strike. The flat of the blade struck Saefyran’s head and fell down, with stars in his eyes and only dim vision left to see Tildanaria come onto the scene with a grim satisfaction on her face. Then the whole world went black he saw no more as he plunged into the empty black world of unconsciousness.

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