Raven of The Darkened Sky

Chapter One

A loud explosion echoed through a cottage which had been skillfully carved out of the strong stone which made up the cave-city. Elizen sighed but gave no further indication of having noticed the crash which could only signal sure disaster. He already knew what happened, even with the explosion having taken place a league from the cottage.  

Running footsteps came from up the hollowed passageway into the courtyard of the small cottage. This stirred Elizen from his mindless task and he slowly put his craft into a long and narrow chest, carefully locking it as the door to the house burst open.

"Father! The Sternia Cavern has collapsed! We are ordered to help clear the rubble immediately!" Raven shouted, cutting the melancholy short, her voice breathless. Elizen nodded and slowly stood, carefully putting the tools of his trade into a smaller box next to the worn table.

"Hurry up! People could be dying under all that stone and you're just making sure your precious tools are in prime condition," Raven hissed, her eyes narrowing in frustration. "Were you doing your 'secret' trade again? One day I'm going to bust that box open and see what you've been hiding. Mark my words on it!"

"Raven," Elizen intoned, his deep voice calm and soothing, warning her to keep her peace. Raven groaned exasperatedly, knowing that he wanted her to forget about it. Raven knew she wouldn't though, and eventually she would get her way in knowing what secrets her father kept. All of Raven's life Elizen had mentored and prepared her for life by herself, often secretly advising her on unlawful ways of the past.

Gently, Elizen guided her outside of the old home, closing the frail wooden door in their wake. His steady hand placed between her shoulders reminded her, as needed, that he was not to be disrespected in the way she talked to him. Raven knew in the excitement of the moment, of bringing news to her father, that she had indeed been out of line to her superior.

As the two made their way to a run which led into the fallen cavern, a soldier jammed his spear in their direction. "Is this your ordered station?" he snapped, his voice laden with boredom and weariness.

"It is now," Elizen simply replied, calmly meeting the gaze of the soldier. The soldier averted his gaze from Elizen's and shrugged.

"I mean if you want to you can. What sector are you from?" the young man asked, lowering his spear marginally.

"Sector 29, settlement lone," Elizen answered, his gray eyes meeting the blue eyes of the human. The man's eyes lit up in mirth and he laughed outright at the pair of elves.

"Only sectors 25-28 are supposed to be here! Go home old elf! Other's will do the work. Why take needless work upon yourselves?" the soldier cried, his brown hair falling loosely over his pale face. Elizen chuckled at the words of the human and then winked at Raven.

"Well, Raven and I much appreciate you informing us. I suppose we'll just get back to our work then. Until we meet again," Elizen proclaimed, his gaze mischievous as he glanced at Raven. The soldier nodded and then once again the pair trudged back down the corridors and passages toward their home, silence falling between them.

Finally, after walking a few minutes in silence, Elizen guided Raven down a passageway which led into the mine in a roundabout way. "Where's Collin?" Elizen asked offhandedly, knowingly. Raven shrugged and kicked at a jagged stone, attempting to chip it off the surface of the passageway.

"Am I really my brother's keeper? He's nearly emancipated; he doesn't need me to stick with him all the time," Raven mumbled sourly and turned away from Elizen.

"It isn't so much that I want you to keep an eye on him, I thought he was supposed to be keeping an eye on you," Elizen murmured distractedly, slowly halting in front of a stone bridge which suspended over a large cavern below them. Raven, who had lived in this cave-city all her life, just sighed and sat down, dangling her thin legs over the dark abyss.