The Call Of Shadows

Chapter Eight

Lewtren's mind and body had never been stronger. His time in the small village outside of Denroth had done wonders for his physique- his arms glistened with sweat as he pulled himself even higher into the treetops, muscles as hard as the stones beneath the ground. The new scar on his abdomen had strengthened his resolve to get to the bottom of the scandal that had rocked their society. Their world was quickly changing, and everyone had to change with it to survive. His head finally burst through the treetops, a cool breeze lifting the hair off his forehead and giving him a taste of the warm weather to come. Vast stretches of unbroken pine forest laid to the north of them, scarred only by the thin paths that connected The Black Woods clearing to the rest of the world. Mountains shadowed the landscape to the west, angry and unchanging despite what they would soon face.

Over the last two months Lewtren's mother had brought a new life to his eyes and given him a reason to keep fighting, to keep improving. It had been a long winter...When Bagaeth and Vertoss had returned everyone's morale had improved- how could it not? The Fae were gathering their forces, strategies being planned, borders being strengthened. But times were still changing. Now elves gathered in hushed whispers to discuss the Beast-bred fae closing in upon the outskirts of the Elven Step. Inch by inch, moving the Wall ever closer, their magic poisoning the land.

Lewtren was weary of the Fae's alliance though. Knowing that the Queen had been harbouring magic within her own kingdom this whole time was concerning to say the least. No doubt it would be a great help come war, but it complicated things. They were searching, but the traitor within the diplomat's ranks still hadn't been found. Until they were brought to light, no information regarding the upcoming movements of any forces could be trusted to any of them. Vertoss had been keeping an extremely close eye on them and had been holding meetings every other week since his return. Salwein and Caldern had been strangely quiet about how things had gone with the young prince to everyone but the other elders and Hejli. And Hejli was not telling him a thing.

He was loath to admit it, but it was beginning to rot away at his faith in her. Obviously there was a good reason for keeping the Elder's trust, but it felt wrong. They had shared much over the years, and since he had been getting on his feet again he had hardly seen her. She would disappear for days, sometimes a week on end with no explanation. He supposed it was just like old times...he had grown used to having her around again, but that time was over. It was time for him to resume his position in Bagaeth's army, and her to Vertoss's side. He knew that she would be in Denroth today, buying a new set of boots and a spring cloak from the market before she headed to meet with the other diplomats this afternoon. If he hurried he could still catch her before she went in to speak with the rest of them.

Scrambling down the branches, he hit the ground and began jogging down the path to where his horse grazed at the treeline. Mounting it with practiced ease he spurred her onward, east towards Denroth. East towards the market. East towards her. Lewtren let his mind drift as he rode, thinking back to the new routine of the land. Rations had been instilled within all the regions since late fall in preparation for the sieges to come and the increased number of soldiers needing to be fed in the meantime. Ghost towns popped up all along the river as villages in the River Forge were driven from their homes into the Veiled Forests. Thankfully not nearly as many crops or homes were destroyed this year. Hopefully it would be an easy transition for them back home once the weather permitted them to travel back along the valleys safely.

Once he had stopped to meet with Hejli he had to return to Bagaeth's camp. He was needed there to clean up the drills with the soldiers. Over the last six weeks Prince Rokan had been able to get roughly five hundred of his men to meet their forces to begin a joint training, and he was sorry to say it was a bit sloppy. It was getting there however, they just needed a little more time. He just prayed that they had it...The blizzards were dissipating in the Plains, and the time for movement was quickly passing.