Our Magic Binds Us

3. The Messenger Fairy

Over the next few weeks and with the help of Sabine's potions and enchantments, the youngling grew stronger. The centaurs visited most days and Sabine found herself remembering back to the old days when not a day would go by that the five friends didn't see each other, but this was not the past and Sabine would bring herself back to reality with a gigantic thud every time she remembered the "Elders" ruling. She could remember it like it was yesterday and after the deaths of her parents and Mamar it was the most heartbreaking day of her life. They had been by the stream, just lying around relaxing and talking about the friends and families that had been lost to this awful war that seemed like it would never end. Another family had been found slaughtered that very morning and this time they weren't even magical, everyone was getting concerned that the war was progressing to levels that they didn't understand, so much so that Pholus had informed them that the Centaur Elders had called an emergency meeting to discuss what was to be done.

"They will figure it out won't they?" Sabine asked "after all they are the wisest of all of you and everyone knows that Centaurs are by far the most knowledgeable throughout all of the realms."

"That is kind of you to say about us Sabine but you know we are a modest race. Besides not all of us agree that the Elders are the wisest, they are the oldest of us all and have seen things some of us could barely imagine, but the wisest? I think that remains a matter of opinion." Hylonome said with a shifty glance at the other centaurs, who all looked slightly uneasy. "What? Oh don't look at me that way, I'm only saying out loud what we all think, and I'm sure many others think it too, it's just everyone is too afraid to admit it. Some of their strategies and ideas are more tradition than anything else and most of them don't even make any sense anymore."

"She is right." Chiron said. "But with regards to war and how to sort out this terrible mess, there can be no others better equipped to tell us what to do."

"I agree." Sabine said. "Besides, there is no one else to take charge of the situation, all of the Ancient Warlocks have been wiped out, and all of the other races have lost their nerve, and who can blame them? All this slaughter, houses being sneaked into by night, people going missing in the daylight hours, no one feels safe anymore. We all know that I have the last magical blood in the land, thanks to the murder of the young couple three nights ago." Sabine tried to sound braver than she felt, but she wasn't fooling her friends; they knew her better than anyone and they all knew that because she was the last she would be targeted next.

"Such a waste," she went on "The family found this morning were no doubt too preoccupied with mourning to follow all of the safety precautions put in place."

Cyllarus opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a messenger Fairy.

"The Elders are requesting your presence." Sabine got up to leave.

"I'll see you all later, come for dinner, I will prepare it for when you are done."

"No Sabine." the fairy replied. "The Elders are requesting all of you." The fairy tried to smile but her eyes betrayed her, and it made Sabine feel very uneasy all of a sudden. She looked at the faces of her best friends and each, she could see, shared her confusion and unease. This was an unusual request, even for the Elders, those who swore by tradition. Tradition would dictate that they speak to their own kind first and then once all were aware of the situation a meeting would be called with every other race within their community.

They all set off at once barely talking, trying to work out what could be going on. On arrival their unease was not abated, every single living creature from their community was present in the clearing, all with the same looks of bewilderment on their faces as the five friends. They joined the crowd and looked up to the platform on which the Elders all sat. There were five empty seats to the side of the Elders on the platform. Something else that caused nothing but more confusion, no one ever joined the Elders on the platform during meetings.