The Tellanon

2. Friendship

Berren was sixteen, he had had an older brother who died when he was ten, his father had lost his life in the Valharian war, he had a great skill with the sword, but was not very strong. He loved to climb and read, and especially liked history. And fighting. Fighting was his passion, but he had never liked killing.

Long after Berren had departed, so as to be in time for the evening meal, Emyra sat, thinking, on top of the tower. She had interrogated Berren about the Tellanon, but had heard nothing. He was honourable, and true to his word, He strangely reminded her of herself, as he had when she had first seen him She liked reading and history as well, and was quite a promising fighter (or so her brother said). She was a girl of Agalath, though. She had never lost anyone, ever, while Berren only had his old mother left. He had been summoned to the Tellanon, asked to join them. It would bring protection over him and his mother, so he did it. His diary would have been far more interesting to read than hers, she reckoned.

It was nearly full dark, when she started to make her descent down the tower.  When her feet touched the ground, she let out a breath she had been holding for a long time. Her feet automatically carried her home, but just before she reached Agalath, she turned aside. She was already much too late, she could risk another hour. Her new destination was Gilas, though she would find nothing there but sorrow, and a possible sickness of her own. Her hair fluttered in the soft western wind, that carried the salty air of the sea into the city. That smell would be overcome by the smell of dirt and blood and faeces in Gilas, so she breathed it in greedily. 

All through the district, eyes followed her suspiciously. Not often did people not from Gilas enter the district, and most were there to spy or obtain money. Once, Emyra might have tried to win their trust, give them bread or a coin, and help them. Now, she ignored them. She had no money with her, no bread. She already regretted her decision. She could have been home now, the wooden walls of her house offering protection against the world that lay outside them, her body warming at the fireside. Instead, she had come here, amid wild and desperate people, who would kill for a breadcrumb. But she had a destination.

Two years ago, her feet had taken her to Gilas as well, and she had made many friends. Few were still alive, but Ladybug still lived. Ladybug had seven children, and was called Ladybug for being so innocent. Not that she was, but she looked it, back when she was young. Her face still held many traces from the face that had caused her name. Ladybug's eyes were huge and round, brown as a doe's, and she had a girlish giggle. She had killed many a man, though, and was wise, In her own way. She had travelled west, in her young years, when she still lived as a vagabond, and had found the secrets that lay beyond the sea. She foretold the fall of the Ethunan, and the freedom of Valharis.  Emyra didn't believe a word of it. Valharis had been under attack for more than twenty years, it was going to fall any day now. And the Ethunan would not fall. The Tellanon had reigned for four hundred years now, it would not fall anymore. No one remembered what it had been like before the Tellanon came, when the Ethunan was still the home of the King. It had to be better now, people told each other. Surely it was better. Emyra knew that it was a belief that could not be proven, but she believed it with all the rest.  What else could she do? Doubt the power of the Tellanon? That would surely cause her head to be separated from her shoulders. It was safer to simply forget the wrongs and see the wealth. 

Ladybug sat upon her wooden stool, in her wood-and-cloth shack. Her seven children were busy around the house, her grandchildren were playing and arguing. No one seemed to pay her any mind, as she sat, humming to herself. When Emyra entered, however, all looked at her for help.  

"No need to rise, Ladybug." Emyra said, looking at the old woman with awe and apprehension. She was tricky, treacherous. Odd.

"Emyra. What d'you want to know?"