The Elven Powers

Chapter Twenty six: Tasathhel (Galandria)

The trees continued to drift past in slow motion. The butterflies had all but disappeared. Save those that remained inside me, making me feel past queasy. I trained a sensitive ear to the surroundings. The constant gust of wind whistled past my delicate lobes. It screeched past on occasional moments, then fell eerily silent only to pick up once more. In amongst the intervals where the wind did not howl, was not a single sound. No birds sang, no crickets filled the air with a cacophony of sound; there wasn't even an occasional owl hooting. The trees before us lay bare, lonely and crooked. Their leaves had tumbled, disintegrating and cracking beneath our shoes.

I pushed a branch away, with a loud snap of breaking wood. Pulling my hand back in shock, I felt a sticky substance coating my fingers. It forced me to feel as though my hands had been encased in honey, but with some sharp abrasive parts mixed in. I brought my fingers before my face to survey the brown mulch closer. It was revolting enough to look at, yet somehow smelt fouler. I shook it off my fingers, cleansing them with a handkerchief I swore to burn later. I turned my head to question Morgel. Something about this was just not right. I saw his face swelling with anger, that met my confusion with a hammer blow. Of course these vile usurpers were behind this. Coating not only the realm with their filth, but the surrounding land along with it.

I felt a similar sneer overwhelm my features. The bleak surroundings faded, as I began to glare towards it. The grey sky loomed over us, as Morgel and I seethed with anger. The land was dying, breathing its last. I recalled everything Faowin said, my stomach twisting sickeningly. We had to get to those responsible. I had mulled over in my mind what Faowin had warned a thousand times over. We knew those orchestrating this, wanted to harm the Power. That would be the great Cherry tree. No doubt, they were chopping away at its majestic frame. It sickened me to think they would do such a thing. Not everybody followed the Powers, they never forced anyone to worship them. Everyone just chose to accept a common truth, that they were the reason we thrived in this world. To repay this act with hate and destruction, was shameful to put it lightly.

Soon, Morgel waved for me to stop with him. My anxiety filled up inside of me. I knew we were close to the third realm. Morgel obviously knew just how close. I guessed that stopping here but a moment, was dangerous. This close to the Third realm, we could be attacked by patrols. Still, there were only the two of us that could slip past nicely through the shadows. The Corkash were many, lead by a cunning orchestrator; still they were rather blind and their master would probably not risk trying to find us in person. Our Elven speed would definitely have an advantage over the brutish beasts. 

"We will equip ourselves now. I don't want to risk it any further than this point." He spoke in a low voice, his eyes darting around. I looked too, checking for danger. When I had undergone a full circle, I nodded sharply. We had very little time to waste. I quickly brought my pack down off my shoulder. Rather violently flipping the flap open, I brought out my armour. I proceeded to carefully don my armour, making sure the straps were tight. I double checked all the leather attachments, twisting to check I could move freely. I was sure, though we would fight, I would be running a lot. 

I pulled out my knives and holstered them. I closed my eyes at the slithering sound of the blades being sheathed. Taking a deep breath I paused. The finality of this and stringing my bow, caused a lump to form in my throat. Still, I knew I could do this. I looked round to see Morgel re-packing his helm. I didn't question it, he was sure not to need it just yet. That gave me a flicker of confidence. We weren't actually going to face an entire army, just sneak past a portion of it. Besides, we weren't even at the wall yet. 

After a brief walk, we saw the wall rise out from the tree line. The huge, Granite, reddish stones were imposing to the eye. The Third realm was definitely well fortified. It amazed me to think that the wall spanned the entire mouth of the valley. Still, it caused me to become nervous. I knew there was something we had forgotten. I suppose if the city was still functioning, we could slip in unnoticed. However, it certainly wasn't. So I frowned as I thought of how we might perform a miracle and get inside. Frontal assault definitely wasn't an option.