The Ancients

Chapter 10

Liam knew little to nothing about Brailynd. He had never been there when he stayed in Tahlven, the king's sons had never brought him here and he'd had no desire to go. What he did know was that it was at least two weeks away from the path that he and Vipin had just left. He knew that it was full of Nix Elves, and he didn't know a single human to ever claim to have seen the city and come back. He knew plenty that said they were going and never seen again.

But here he was, his boots shuffling across the icy bridge towards the city he had hoped he'd never have to see. His exhales clouded in front of him through the scarf he'd pulled up over his nose. He looked at Vipin's head swaying back and forth with Toby's steps, her red curls bouncing in front of her face. He heard hooves follow him through the portal but he didn't dare take his eyes off of the horses in front of him.

As he got closer the immense size of the palace made him feel incredibly small. It was as big as their lone mountain in Aurum, but it wasn't carved out of the side of a mountain. Liam wasn't sure if his mind was playing tricks on him or if the sun was warping his vision, but once he made it to the front of the delicate gates there was no doubt, they had made this castle with wood, snow and ice. Delicate crystals wrapping itself around strong dark wooden pillars, forming the peaks of the towers, snow replacing outward facing walls.

Two Nix elves dressed from head to toe in delicate silver armor came through the wooden doors, icy spirals spreading across them, holding them open. Ryland dismounted his steed, walking over to Toby who reared his head with disapproval. But he grabbed Vipin and tossed her over his shoulder anyway.

"You can go put up the horses while I present her to father."

"Not on your life," Liam growled. Ryland open his mouth to make a snide remark but Rheagon snapped at him from behind Liam, making him fall silent. Liam heard Rheagon's feet hit the ground and move to stand beside him.

"Well go on then brother, let's get this over with," he hissed impatiently motioning his brother forward. Ryland turned around after rolling his eyes, marching inside. Vipin looked like a child thrown over his shoulder, small, limp, and helpless. Liam had to fight against his urge to demand she be given to him. He knew he couldn't carry her, and he didn't want to announce any weakness to those around him. And his inability to defend them was a weakness one of these elves were sure to try and take advantage of. So Liam let him carry her as she swayed back and forth from his steps and chewed on the inside of his cheek.

Surprisingly, inside was pleasantly warm, not something that he expected from a building made of ice and snow. They made their way down the tall, wide corridor in silence. Elves that were wandering the halls stopped, surprise rendering in their wide eyes when they looked at Liam. He pulled his hood further up, for the first time self-conscious about his round ears and dull eyes. Though it was pointless, even an elven child would be able to tell the difference in the magic flowing in his blood from their own.

They made it to a set of icy double doors that reached to the ceiling, they opened to what Liam could only assume was a throne room. Ryland effortlessly pushed open one of the doors, and looking from the side of his eye at Rheagon, Liam followed. Clouded icy floors and stairs in the back that led to a dark wooden throne that was wrapped by icicle vines is what the room held. A blue tint illuminated the room, strange orbs hung from the ceiling putting off muted white light that bounced off of the ice. The room was massive but two elves were the only things it held.

The elf that was sitting on the throne looked quite a lot like Rheagon, with bright white eyes and snowy hair. This must be Caspian Eirlyss, the king of the Nix Elves. The oldest elf in Tahlven, and the most feared.

There were precautionary tales that human mothers in the north would tell their children about him. Some were well meaning, like he would steal the food of those that didn't eat it quick enough. But there were more brutal ones, where he cut off limbs of humans that dared to cross into his land, that he stranded silly little children in snow storms to freeze to death. Liam's rare and short encounters with Nix elves did nothing to convince him that they were just stories. Actually, from what Rheagon had told him, he was sure that Caspian had personally inspired most of them. It seemed his harsh people stemmed from his own nature.