Verange

Chapter 5

Hayden woke up at the sound of Fartha knocking at his door. He groaned quietly as he rolled out of bed and pulled on his new black tunic. He tied his sword to his side and opened the door. Fartha gave him a smile and motioned for him to follow him. The man was scarred in numerous places on the parts of his body Hayden could see. A thin scar from a sword, a circle from the shaft of an arrow, he was even missing a pinky on his left hand.

He led him up a set of stairs and out onto a large clearing where there were numerous racks of weapons scattered about. The sun was barely peaking up over the surrounding mountains and Hayden smiled. “How have they not found this place?” Hayden asked as he looked around.

Fartha glanced over at him and shrugged. “The King’s men are scared to venture deep into the mountains. They stick to the large trails, assuming everyone else does the same. Most people do. The elves placed many enchantments on this place to avoid detection during their war. Elis replaced those that had faded and continues to keep them strong. I think that, even by the elves terms, she is extremely strong. They had nearly 20 elves working on these enchantments while they stayed here. Elis works them alone and still goes about her other duties.  Not many could do all that she does.”

Hayden thought back to what he had seen of her so far. She seemed well respected, well liked, and incredibly capable of doing what was needed of her. He made a mental note to learn all that he could about Elis while he was here. Fartha turned to him and unsheathed his sword. “My first class isn’t for another hour. Would you like to show me what you can do?” Hayden smiled and unsheathed his own sword. “I would enjoy that.”

The battle began much as the one yesterday had but they were much more evenly matched. Fartha landed a few blows on him but he returned with a few of his own. In the end however, he was once again bested and his sword was sent flying across the field. Hayden smiled at Fartha who seemed to be just as winded as he was. “That was incredible. Are all the men here as skilled as you and Elis?”

Fartha shook his head with a smile. “Sadly, no. else we would already have defeated the king’s armies and be knocking on his door.” Hayden walked over to his sword and picked it up. “Why didn’t your sword cut me?” He asked, looking at his body where Fartha’s sword should have sliced him open.

Fartha once again looked over at him. “It’s one of the enchantments the Elves placed on this area. Elis or one of the other magic users places a spell on every sword that comes into this odd place. It stops it from harming another human being.  This prevents many murders and makes training easier. If you get whacked, it still hurts but you aren’t in danger of losing an arm.” Hayden looked down at his sword.  “What if we get attacked? If our swords don’t work but theirs do, won’t we be slaughtered?”

“That confused me for a long time as well. But apparently Elis can sever the magic at any time she wishes, making our swords useful again.”

Hayden shook his head. “It seems like a lot of senseless effort that could potentially be a danger to everyone here. What if she wasn’t here when we got attacked?”

Fartha let out a laugh. “Elis wasn’t lying when she told me to be ready for your questions. A few of our spell casters and those skilled in the way of mindreading are able to contact her no matter the distance. They simply inform her and she ends the spell.”

Hayden sat down on the ground and looked around him at the clearing. “What if she dies? Do all of these protections just stop?”

At this Fartha seemed puzzled. “I’m not sure. There are a few other elves here who sympathize with our cause. They may help the other spell casters to remake them but I don’t know.”

Hayden was pleased that he had stumped him and stopped his flow of questions.  The first few students of Fartha’s first lesson began arriving and Hayden settled back to watch.

Noon came far too soon and Elis came out onto the training clearing. Upon her arrival everyone fell silent until she waved her hand dismissively. Talking didn’t resume right away but she ignored them as she strode over to where Hayden was sitting. “Come on. We have much to do and little time to do it.”

Hayden got up and gave her a smile. She seemed to think about it for a moment before holding his bow out to him, remaining impassive. “Follow me.” She turned form him and set off into the woods. He fell into step behind her, feeling loud as she silently walked through the forest. They followed a faint trail to another clearing. This one was much larger with targets at one end, nearly 300 feet away. He smiled and strung his bow. Elis turned to him and looked him over. “Go ahead and shoot.”  He did as she asked and he shot a nearly perfect arrow right at the center target. It slammed home in the center of the target and he turned to Elis with a proud grin. She rolled her eyes and motioned for him to shoot again. He did, 4 more times, sending an arrow into the center of each of the targets. “Are you sure you grew up as only a farm boy?” She asked, looking him over.  Hayden blushed and nodded. “I did most of the hunting…”

Elis sighed softly and walked over to one of the tallest trees near the edge of the clearing. She took her bow and shot an arrow up into the top of the tree. With a dull thud it buried itself halfway into a thicker branch “Go get my arrow.” She instructed, stepping away from the tree. Hayden frowned and walked over to the tree.

 “Why?” Elis gave him a glare.

“Go get the arrow.” He sighed and looked up at the tree. He had to take a few steps back and get a running start to jump up to reach the first branch. He pulled himself up and scaled halfway up the tree before he made a mistake and stepped on a dead branch. The branch broke and he fell down several branches before he grabbed one with his hand to stop his fall. He righted himself and began climbing again. He got 2 or three branches higher this time before another one cracked and threatened to break under his weight. He climbed back down the tree slowly and dropped down next to Elis. “I can’t.” At those words Elis shook her head and scaled the tree. She climbed with ease and retrieved her arrow from one of the uppermost branches. She slid down with her never ending grace and landed next to him. “You could have. You were just too scared to fall again.”

Hayden blushed. “So what if I was?” Elis sighed. “If you had just altered your course instead of taking the easiest way up you wouldn’t have hit either of those branches. I need men who don’t shirk in the face of danger. They find away to get past it or to lessen it.”

Hayden looked away. “I am sorry.”

Elis walked away from him as she placed her arrow back in her quiver. “You’ll learn. Did you enjoy your morning?” Hayden shrugged. “It wasn’t unpleasant.”

 

She nodded and began walking down the field towards the targets where his arrows were still embedded. He set off after her. Halfway down the field she stopped and he watched as her body stiffened. He ran to her side and he slowly walked around her, unsure of what to do. Her eyes were closed and a look of pure pain was etched on her face. Her jaw was clenched and her hands were in tight fists. “Get Leyer and Arya.” He barely made out what she had said but he took off at a run, following the path they had taken.