The Dawn of the Raven Omnibus 1: Episodes 1-5 (13 page)

“Well,”
answered Raveena, “We’re trying to get back to my kingdom.  We’ve got to warn
them.  The Gekken have returned.”

“Oh, thank
goodness love, I was afraid you were mute!  So glad you finally spoke!”  she
giggled to herself.  “As for the Gekken: they are vile beasts.  Their thirst
for blood and violence knows no bounds.  But oh, they are handsome in a way, I
think.  We used to see them sometimes where I was from.  Used to take them as
slaves, once in a while.  Usually for heavy lifting, but also in the bedroom. 
Their cocks are enormous!  Your kind, your kind were always slaves where I’m
from.”

Kiella and Raveena didn’t like the sound of that.  Kiella
spoke up.

“Where are
you from?”

“Oh, far far
from here.  You wouldn’t even know about it.  We keep it that way on purpose,
my people.  You know what you call the Far Realm?  Well, our realm is beyond
even that.  You wouldn’t know of it because it is so far, and because humans
who go there don’t usually come back.  No, we don’t think much of humans
there.  If a human is deemed useful, then they’re made into slaves.  If not,
well, we might use them to practice spells on, or worse.  That’s just how the
Tagi are.”

 “If the
Tagi think so little of humans, why are you different?  Why are you helping
us?”

“Oh.  Well,
I used to think like the others.  We all were brought up that way.  You don’t
even think about it.  We think of humans like cockroaches.  The humans are
cockroaches, and the Elken are our sworn enemy.  Oh yes, I think maybe there’s
some jealousy behind that.  We might be jealous that they can practice magic
without spells.  But we are so far beyond them when it comes to spell casting,
there is no comparison!  We fought the Elken, finally had it out once and for
all, a thousand years ago and then they came here, to this side, to your
realm.  We are still in control over there, and for the most part, the Elken
stay away.”  Cressa was back on her owner’s lap now, but at this point she
suddenly bit her again.  The Tagi woman was shocked.  “What has gotten into you
love?”  She quickly set the cat onto the floor and pushed her away.  “I don’t
know what is wrong with her.  She is normally the sweetest cat.”

“Why are you
here, and why do you like humans?” asked Kiella.

“Oh.  Well .
. . I fell in love with one.  He was brought in, captured, as a slave.  Some
Tagi comb the other realms, looking for slaves.  He was caught and taken back
to our realm.  I purchased him, but there was just something different about
him.  Something happened.  One day, I was debating whether to practice my
spells by turning him into a turnip, and then just a week later I couldn’t
imagine life without him.  It happened so fast.  I still don’t remember how. 
What it was.  It just, happened.  And then . . . I saw it differently.  I saw
him differently.  I saw everything differently.  We couldn’t stay there.  All
the Tagi stay  there, they never leave, except the slavers.  But we had to. 
There was no life for us there.  I would have been mocked, made a joke for
loving a human, and they probably would have killed him to try and make an
example of us.  They might have even killed me, too. We left, and we traveled
and traveled.  It took us so long.  We thought we would never find the right
place.  He wanted us to be sure we were far far away from there.  That he and
our children would never have to fear the Tagi slavers again.  Finally, we came
here, and it seemed far enough.  It seemed good.  It seemed perfect, really. 
He built this house.  I built the furniture, made all the decorations, while he
toiled away on the roof, the walls, everything.  We got here in the spring.  He
spent all summer and half the fall building it.  He finished, just in time
before the cold came.  And we were so happy.”

“Where is
he?” asked Kiella.

The old woman paused and rocked for a moment.

“He died.  We
always knew our time together would be short.  My kind live much longer than
your kind.  We were prepared for that.  Thought we might only have a few
decades together.  We were ready to cherish them, to savor every moment.  But the
first winter came, and he grew sick, and he died.  He was fine one day, and
then a week later he was gone.  Humans are so fragile.  Tagi, we have a strong
constitution.  I never get sick, so I didn’t bother to learn many healing
spells.  Never got good at them.  I can turn a flower into a stone, or a donkey
into a hummingbird in my sleep, no problem.  I can make a river flow backwards,
or give a boar wings, but I couldn’t find the right spell to make him well. 
And then he was just gone.  Forever.  He’s there, in the back.”  She pointed
out the window to her backyard.  It was immaculately organized, with flowers
and vegetables and small trees planted in perfect rows.  She pointed to a spot
underneath a beautiful old withered tree, one that was not indigenous to this
forest.  There, in its shade, the most beautiful patch of flowers in the whole
garden was planted.  “He’s buried there, under that tree.  It was the first
thing we planted when we chose this spot to settle.”

Raveena and Kiella just sat in silence, sad for the woman’s
loss.  Judging from the age of the tree, it had been planted a very very long
time ago.  How long had she been alone here?  As nervous as they were to be
alone in the house of an eccentric old witch, she did seem to treat them well
enough, and they couldn’t help but feel badly for her.  The three sat for quite
a while, staring out at the rain, and for quite a while it seemed like it would
never stop.  But, finally, eventually, the rain died down, and a glint of sun
peeked through the clouds.  Almost immediately, Raveena was up and preparing to
leave.

“Oh? 
Leaving so soon, Love?” asked the old woman.

“Yes, we
must.  I’m sorry.” Answered Raveena.  “Thank you so much for your kindness.”

“Oh no, it’s
nothing at all.  I’m glad you came.  It was good to have company.  Please, come
back anytime.  You are both always welcome.”

As they stepped towards the door, Raveena looked back at the
old woman.

“You know,
with the Gekken coming, we could use all the help we can get.  Would you like
to come?”

For a moment, the woman looked as though she forgot her age. 
Her eyes sparkled and she smiled wistfully, but then, just as quickly, her eyes
dimmed again.  She looked out the window at the garden.

“Oh no,
Love.  I’m quite sorry, but I must stay and tend my garden.  There is no one
else to do it.  I can’t leave it.”

Kiella could see that she was staring at the spot where she had
laid her husband to rest, beneath the tree, as she said this.  They thanked her
again, and were on their way.

Raveena and Kiella had only made it a half mile or so, when
Kiella turned around and there was Shyrea, in her green cloak, walking right
along with them, as if she’d never been gone. 

“Where have
you been?  We were worried sick about you!” Kiella said.

“Oh . . .”
answered Shyrea, appearing oblivious that anything of concern had happened.  “I
knew you needed shelter, and I knew I wasn’t welcome there.”

“Well, you
could have told us.  You had us scared.  We doubled back and looked for you. 
You come and go like a ghost.  You need to let us know, you can’t just disappear
like that,” stated Raveena, scolding her.

“I’m sorry. 
We Elken, it’s not our way.  We just come and go as we wish.  It’s not common
for us to explain.”

“Well, you
are part of a group now, Shyrea.  You’re one of us.  We’re a team now, so we
need to communicate.”  Raveena stated, though this time without any
condescension in her voice.

“Okay.  I’ll
try” answered Shyrea.

They walked on.  After a while, Raveena became curious.  She
turned to Shyrea.

“How did you
know you weren’t welcome?”

“Oh.  The
Elken and the Tagi have been enemies since ancient times.  I knew she was
Tagi.  I knew she wouldn’t want me there.”

“Yet, you
felt okay leaving us there?” asked Kiella.

“Yes.  I
know about her.  I know a lot about her.  I’ve never met her, but I’ve watched
from the woods.  I know all of these woods, all of its people.  I knew that she
would treat humans well.  I knew she’d like to have company too.”  She thought
for a moment, then grew serious.  “I’ve wished I could keep her company myself
sometimes.  It’s been clear she needed her spirit lifted.  But I knew that, in
me, all she would see was an Elken, nothing more.”

“How did you
know she wouldn’t cast spells on us?  Turn us into frogs or something?” asked
Raveena.

“Oh.  I know
she wouldn’t do that to a human.  Not anymore.  Didn’t you see her garden?”

Raveena and Kiella both nodded and understood.  How did
Shyrea know so much about a woman whom she’d never talked to?  They had no
idea, but they knew that Shyrea knew these woods like the back of her hand. 
And she certainly had a knack for coming and going unseen and unnoticed. 
Perhaps it wasn’t that far of a stretch to imagine that she could have gathered
a lot of information about everyone in these woods.

They made good time through the woods for the rest of the
day, despite the poor footing from the muddy forest floor from the rain.  They
found a perfect campsite and slept well, and arose early at the first light of
day to continue.  At their current pace, they would be through the Forbidden
Forest very soon.  Raveena was pleased with their progress.  She had talked
very little during the trip, as she was so focused on reaching her people as
quickly as possible.  But now, feeling more optimistic, even she was willing to
make small talk as they went.

“Why do the
Tagi and the Elken hate each other so much?” she asked Shyrea.

“Oh.  Well,
it goes back over a thousand years, I believe.  Originally, my people and the
Tagi shared a realm.  I don’t know why, but they became bitter rivals.  It may
have been political.  The Tagi make slaves of anyone they think they are
stronger than.  The Elken don’t believe in slavery.  The Tagi look down upon,
and take anyone as slaves who doesn’t have magic or who isn’t powerful enough
to defend themselves against their spells.  The Elken believe everyone should
be free, whether they are magical or not.  The Tagi couldn’t take Elken as
slaves, and the Elken fought against them whenever they saw them try to take
slaves.  Eventually, there was a war.  But, the Tagi outnumber the Elken by a
great many, and the Elken hate war.  The Elken took as many humans and
non-magical beings with them as they could from the realm beyond, and they
brought them here, to join the other humans who had settled here already.  The
Elken then warded off the Tagi for years and years.  Eventually, the Tagi
stopped coming to this realm at all.  There haven’t been Tagi slavers here for
hundreds of years, I don’t believe.  And, for a long time, the Elken and the
humans here lived in peace.  But, then, of course, it changed.”

Just then, there was a noise in the woods ahead.  Shyrea
stopped walking, and then rushed into the woods behind them without saying a
word.  Kiella called to her, but she was already gone.  Raveena and Kiella were
shocked, especially after their discussion with her earlier.  They looked
around to see what was wrong, what could have spooked their companion. 
Suddenly, it became clear.

Three low wolves stepped out of the woods in front of them. 
Raveena knew of the lower wolves.   They stood almost as tall as a man.  She
drew her sword and waited for them to lunge at her.  She knew she would be
lucky to kill one, if they all attacked at once.  If there were three of them,
and the wolves could see they didn’t have as big of an advantage, perhaps they would
not attack boldly, but with Shyrea having abandoned them, Raveena knew that
they had little chance.  She thought quickly over the options.  She considered
telling Kiella to run for it, but she knew that then one wolf would follow
Kiella and kill her for sure, and she knew that she wouldn’t be able to handle
two wolves alone, let alone finish them off fast enough to save Kiella.  But,
if they stayed together, they would be overwhelmed for sure. 

Just then, as Raveena prepared to make what she knew would be
a final stand, a chance to do as much damage as possible to the wolves before
succumbing with no chance to win, one of the wolves went crazy.  The wolf on
the right attacked the pack leader with no warning.  He landed a fatal wound
before the alpha even had a chance to react, severing his jugular vein with a
sudden lunge and bite to the neck.  The alpha fell immediately.  The third
wolf, seeing what his brother had done to its own kind, fought back against the
wolf who had killed their leader.  Both wolves fought ferociously.  The
mutinous wolf was losing, but it would not give up.  Finally, the third wolf,
realizing that this fight was not worth the damage that he was taking, gave up
and fled into the forest.  The wounded, crazed wolf gave chase, still obsessed
with turning on its own kind.

After a long moment had passed, and the wolves had not
returned, Kiella and Raveena began to realize that they were not going to be
killed.  They began to breathe again.  Raveena could not understand what had
transpired.  Why would a wolf pick that moment to turn on the alpha?  Had it
been looking for an opening for some time, and couldn’t resist?  It didn’t make
sense, though.  She’d never seen or heard of anything like it.  They had been
easy prey, no wolf would squander the opportunity for such an easy meal. 
Finally, when she was certain that the wolves were not returning, she turned
back to look for Shyrea.  Just then, Shyrea came rushing back up to them.