An Equilibrium of Light and Darkness

Chapter VI - Alone in a world of danger -

Chapter VI – Alone in a World of Danger-

Gallendalin whipped his daggers through the air as tears burned at his eyes before soaking into the fabric of his blindfold, trying to rid the blades of the sticky blood that still hid the golden blades from shining but the blood was sticky, and only a few drops were flung free of the metal. He placed one on the ground carefully, while he cupped some of his cloak in his now free hand and used it to wipe the blood from the blade, the dull golden colour returned as the blood was removed, though some had dried on, tarnishing the previously lustrous metal but it would have to do until Gallendalin could clean them further and so he repeated the process with the other dagger.

                He could still see, he didn’t want to but he knew it was necessary, for if he couldn’t see the evils of the world, then he would surely fall to them. Gallendalin walked around the burning wreckage of the trade caravan, amidst the rancid stench of the burnt flesh. He walked between all of the bodies until he found one that was, on the most part, unburned. The corpse was that of a man, with long hair, his eyes shut tight and his brow furrowed. He wore a simply embroidered red tunic and brown breaches, and around his waist was what Gallendalin was looking for, a dagger sheath that was untouched by the flames; unburned and undamaged.

                The boy reached around the man and unfastened the sheath before fitting it to himself and sliding one of his own daggers into it. He was about to turn away but then a slight gust of cool wind blew, ruffling both Gallendalin’s and the man’s hair, revealing slightly pointed ears that were previously hidden under the man’s long hair. Gallendalin suddenly felt empathy for the man. The man looked to be in his mid-twenties but Gallendalin knew that was no judge of age when it came to elves, or even if he was a half-elf, he would still be older than he seemed.

                Gallendalin places two fingers to the elf’s neck, feeling for a pulse, hoping that he would not be dead. He felt nothing, the man just laid there with burns all over his body, unmoving.

                The half-elf boy looked at the pale corpse of the man and wondered who he had been. Was he an outcast like Gallendalin, walking in disguise amidst the dangers of man? Or was he a freeman? Was he a trader by profession, or did he come as an escort? So many questions lingered in Gallendalin’s mind at the meeting of someone of his own race, albeit a dead one.

                Gallendalin walked back across the destruction site to where Duran had been, he could still see the indentations in the dirt where he had laid.

                The boy began to panic, fear gripped him again. He was alone. He didn’t know what to do. The only person that could help was gone. Gallendalin had no way of finding him. He felt helpless as he fell to the floor and sat there, by the side of the road. He crossed his legs and made an attempt to calm himself. He stopped thinking and closed his eyes, breathing slowly. He listened… and he heard. He heard the wind in the trees, causing the trees to rustle as their leaves brushes against each other, he heard the birds begin to take up their musical songs. Smoke drifted into his nostrils, filing them with the smoke’s woody scent. He smelled burned hair and flesh. He could feel the cool air blow across his face, feel his hair ruffle in the breeze, the unsheathed dagger heavy in his hand. He could feel the darkness surrounding him like a thick trail of dense smoke leading through- wait… darkness?

                Gallendalin’s eyes flew open but all he saw through the thin veil of fabric was the world around him, just the same as it had been before. But then again…

                He walked over to where Brende had disappeared and focussed on the cloud of darkness where the man had previously been; the cloud of darkness that faded away with Brende’s leaving. He knelt in the dirt, the coarse granules digging into Gallendalin’s knee and sticking to his breaches. He closed his eyes and could see it, through his red and black world that he had grown accustomed to, he could see the thick, misty darkness clustered around where Brende had lain. Keeping his eyes closed, he stood up again and saw a line of smoky darkness trailing off towards another large cloud where Duran must have lain. And then the trail continued down the road and disappeared into the trees of the forest.