Rise of Deception

Chapter 1

Sunlight filtered through the leafy forest canopy, mottling the ground with shadows. Morning dew glistened on the flourishing fern leaves growing around the bases of massive tree trunks. Green moss of various shades covered the forest floor, effectively muffling any sound as the tall, lithe woman sprinted along the nearly invisible paths. An ashen longbow was slung over her tan shoulder alongside a hardened leather quiver, the feathered shafts of arrows jutted above the rim just within reach of her fingertips. Her thick loosely braided hair looked as if it had been dipped in warm golden honey, loose wispy tendrils fluttering around delicately pointed ears as she darted through the red oak and alder trees.

"Lainil!"

A mischievous smile crossed the young elven woman's face when she heard her companion call her name. She slowed her pace slightly, quickly glancing around for a good ambush spot. Sliding her back against the rough bark of a mighty aspen tree, she stood still and waited for her friend to draw closer. 

"Amin Quella." Lainil whispered, relishing the feel as magically charged air currents flowed across her skin, camouflaging her into the tree behind her.

Cildor came into view ducking under a broad fern leaf, pausing to peruse the ground for traces of Lainil's passage. Frustration drew his thin dark eyebrows together over hazel green eyes, no one in the village was better than Lainil at covering her trail. She might as well have been a wraith skimming silently over and through the forest.

"Lainil?" He knew she could hear him! "Come now, how are we supposed to hunt together if your feet fly so swift I fail to remain at your side?!" His grousing was interrupted as a thistle bush reaching above his head shook vigorously, showering him with wet dew. He swiftly jumped to the side wiping water off his face and frowned as Lainil seemed to saunter right out of the tree trunk in front of him, not a hands breathe away.

"Neat trick. Your practicing vilya." The observation was laden with disapproval, but Lainil just shrugged her shoulder unfazed. "You realize the elders will catch you again, and who knows what they will decide to do next time!" He shook his finger at her, "We both know there will be a next time, they are not as blind as you would like to think them to be, Lainil." 

"Lighten up Cildor!" Lainil laughed as his feet rose a couple inches off the ground, his face turning paler than normal as he grasped for the foliage beside him. He preferred the feel of the earth under his feet, thank you!

"That is enough!" Cildor exclaimed, embarrassment warming his cheeks when his voice sounded more like a squeal. He was used to his friend's playful antics, but the use of magic other than kemen still made him uneasy. "I wish you would just once be content to play with earth my friend. Why must you persist with dallying with the other powers?" He groaned out loud as he studied Lainil through half closed eyelids, "Who has taught you? Perhaps someone within the Thand Warden brotherhood?"

Lainil shrugged again and sighed in exasperation. "No one! It just comes to me. I think of what I want accomplished and the spells...well, they just come to me. I don't know how else to explain. Besides, the powers just feel right, like a warm fur blanket on a cold night." Sinking down on her huanches, she picked up some rich brown soil and let it sift through her fingers. In a low soft voice she continued, "The spells are harmless, defensive mostly, or making menial tasks be done quickly. The power evades my thoughts if I try to do anything complex. But I feel them around me always, calling out encouragement. If left ignored, the pain of loss is keen, leaving me empty." She stood up and briskly wiped her hands against each other, knocking the remaining dark loamy soil off them.

Shaking his head gently from side to side as he continued to watch her, Cildor sighed. "I worry about you. It doesn't give you pause to wonder why or how you know magics only practiced by our distant cousins?"

Lainil ignored his inquiry as she walked by him, rolling her eyes. "Come, let us hunt for tonight's feast."

It wouldn't surprise her if the elders had enlisted Cildor to ferret out the secrets they believed she harbored, Lainil thought to herself. It wasn't like him to be so inquisitive concerning her use of the powers. He was content to study the kemen lore practiced by the forest elves and tended to melt quietly into the woods whenever she practiced what minor spells she knew. Looking over her shoulder at Cildor, she sighed. It hurt to know the elders found reasons to distrust her, they had known her since her first breath of life and never had she given them cause for doubt.

~     ~     ~     ~     ~

Stopping his mount on the outside edge of Rhossolus, Teron Vandir peered into the vast forest with a mixture of excitement and unease. It had been nearly seventy five human years since he had visited his birth place. Fortaur was nestled deep in the heart of the forest before him, roughly fifteen leagues from where he stood now. Thoughts of mingling with friends and family once again lifted his spirits high in expectation. Time enough with the dawning sun to scout.

He nudged Sidhion forward, delighting in the feel of the giant tawny colored sandmane's bulging muscles as it leaped forward to enter the forest. Man and beast were as one, melding into the shadows cast from the canopy high above. The glossy dappled coat of the powerful cat rippled with each stride, the leagues falling behind them under Sidhion's mile eating lope.

Since passing the trials of the Thand and earning his place among the Wardens, Teron spent much of his time alone, wondering the lands of Rirospen. When not scouting, his days were filled with honing his skills at hand-to-hand combat, swords, knives, and bow to list a few. He had become quite adept at poisons and cures, not to mention cooking, he thought with a chuckle. Good thing too, conjured food left much to be desired, might as well be scooping flavored air into my mouth!

Under the observant guidance of the Thand Val'istars and sage Istars, Teron had mastered much of the four powers of nature throughout his years of apprenticeship. He found himself looking forward to returning to the hidden encampment where his studies would continue with the gems attuned to each source of magic. As the higher spells became mastered, the gems matching the source would be added to his armor, weapons, and riding gear. Being able to openly explore nature's powers brought completeness to Teron, his attunement to the magic providing a level of security and self confidence not often seen in the people. Many races inhabiting Rirospen mistook this confidence for conceitedness, they also feared the warden's use of morgul, failing to realize these very same wardens were actually protecting them.

None of the wardens took pleasure in morgul, only practicing enough of the power to develop the skill to defend against it. Few understood this and expected them to become a corrupt force in the future. Manipulating life and taking away one's will to do a bidding not their own, or contorting an individual in pain went against the natural magics one was born with. 

As he rode, Teron's thoughts drifted to his sister. It was her betrothal celebration on the marrow's eve and he was thankful to Isha, the mother, that all had been quiet in Rirospen as of late.

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and would like to know what you think!