The Last Field of Honor: The Elf Wars, #1

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Chapter One:

Of Things Seen

and Unseen

General Ka-ling’s piercing brown eyes swept nervously over the shivering golden trees of his forest kingdom. He crept silently through dense woods. The Sunfire Leaves glowed majestically in the late afternoon sun, but the beauty of the golden forests of Jui-Rae was lost while out on patrol. His keen Elvish ears picked up the rustle of every leaf, the scraping of every branch rubbing in the wind. His fingers cramped, but he kept his arrow nocked tightly to his bow, his grip like iron clasps. He stole a glance back behind him and signaled.

The general’s squad of rangers broke cover and ducked behind the next line of trees. He pressed forward another dozen paces. His soldiers followed him. He gulped nervously. The majestic glow of Jui-Rae’s golden leaves faded with the coming night. Dusk swallowed the light, creeping in with the deepening of shadows. He shuddered at the thought. Ka-ling knelt and examined a broken twig of a Sunfire Shoot. The enemy had passed through here. He carefully studied the immediate vicinity. He saw no other trace of the enemy.

No footprints. No other broken branches. He tracked Unseen—the most feared warriors of all Jui-Sae. Much mystery and terror shrouded the Unseen in secrecy. The dreaded ghosts of Jui-Sae, as men called them, but the Elves knew the truth regarding their most ancient enemies. The Unseen bled and they died just like any other mortals. The general had set out after receiving word from his scouts that a legion of Unseen had infiltrated northern Jui-Rae. He just hoped they were not too late.

Ka-ling held his breath and looked up as the shadows deepened in Jui-Rae. ‘Watch over us, Dalinaria,’ he prayed silently as her warm reassuring touch dwindled. The coming night chilled his heart, froze the marrow in his bones, but he refused to give up now. The daylight was fading fast, the shadows grew longer from Jui-Sae. He stood up and frowned fiercely. He watched as his sun goddess, Dalinaria, retired over the monstrous shoulder of Mount Haven to the far west. It would be much harder to track Unseen under the cover of darkness.

General Ka-ling choked back his unease and pressed forward. He could not allow his soldiers to see him falter. His courage flickered like a pale candle of flame, but his brown eyes were sharp and piercing. Some said Ka-ling was the burning heart of the army. Many paintings captured this general’s striking demeanor who wore no adornment to boast of his position, just the raw determination to lead them on and a willingness to fight and die at their sides, written in sweat and blood.

The general adjusted his golden scimitar, Salraye, to keep it from banging noisily at his side.

A building breeze blew his long silver hair across his scarred hard-cut features. Ka-ling’s leather tunic had grown worn and tattered from years of hard service. His sternum bore the imprint of a glowing Sunfire Tree that marked the standard of his division—the Dawnshroud Division. He wore a signet ring of the house of Ariston, the only sign of his royal birthright, concealed under his glove. A curved, polished, wood horn hung from around his neck and a quiver at his back. A small buckler embedded with a tannamite stone was strapped to his left arm that looked far too small to be of any defense.

His fellow rangers covered him in two by two formation.

Shadow Wolves howled in the distance as the three moons of Covent emerged in the waning dusk sky. His blood iced over and froze in his veins. His soldiers froze up for just a moment. The general gritted his teeth and took another step forward, focusing on not disturbing so much as a leaf or a twig in his steps. His eyes passed over a charred ebonwood catapult overgrown with vines.

Scorched hollow tree stumps surrounded the battered catapult, shattered and splintered shells of once beautiful trees. The surrounding golden Sunfire Trees glowed sadly as if mourning their lost. The general’s eyes lingered on a grisly black skull, lying in the grasses. The empty eye sockets glared silently back at him. It was a skull of the enemy—a Faelin skull, or Dark Elves as they were more widely known. Dark Elven bones were black, black like their hearts, or so the general alleged.

General Ka-ling stopped and held up his hand.

His rangers halted behind him and remained silent. They knew better than to question the general’s exceptionally keen ears that had saved their lives beyond count.

Ka-ling spun around and loosed his arrow. The magically enchanted projectile ignited and whisked through the air. A brilliant flash of illumination lit the landscape like a flash of lightning, but betrayed nothing. No sign of the enemy, just empty columns of dense woods. His soldiers breathed out a collective sigh of relief. The light subsided and the forest plunged back into darkness.

The rangers held their breaths once again.

The general nocked another arrow to his bow and listened harder. He gleaned the frazzled lowing of an anxious ox over the wind. It sounded like it had come from the road. He followed the source of the noise for what seemed like an eternity, step by measured step. He signaled for more flares. His rangers fired additional Flare Arrows and the general searched the shadows for any sign of the enemy. Flares were one of Jui-Rae’s only defenses against the Unseen.

General Ka-ling finally froze upon sight of a wagon stopped on the road. It was a sunwood stagecoach garlanded with white streamers and flowers. It stood eerily quiet.

Ka-ling’s heart plummeted in his chest. This was too far east. He was on the far side of Ranger Pass on the road between Ferndale and Middleton. A road not often used by military, but civilians.

Darkness fell across the forest as Dalinaria finally set behind Mount Haven to the far west. General Ka-ling’s blood ran colder still. He crept nearer, his soldiers flanking him. He motioned and another ranger released a flare arrow. It cut through the air, but illumed nothing but the coach and the silent golden trees.

The yoked oxen jerked forward startled.

The general reached out and stroked the ox’s long broad snout. It quieted instantly. He walked past the animal. It lowered its head and munched on the grass, stamping nervously.

The driver sat hunched over as if asleep at the reigns, but Ka-ling saw no signs of breath. A magnificent white banner hung from the sunwood hood. It read: Just Married.

Ka-ling’s heart curled up even deeper and hid in a small corner of his belly. He peeked inside the coach. Newlyweds. The chins of the bride and groom rested on their necks just like the driver. He saw bloodstains on the embroidered collar of the bride’s white dress. A chill crept up his spine, a stark contrast to the hot blood boiling in his veins. He lifted the groom’s chin and studied the clean cut across the young Elf’s neck. All three had been slit across the throat in the same cold manner.

The rangers gasped. A few cursed the Faelin.

What beasts! one of them said.

We will avenge their deaths! still another.

General Ka-ling clenched his fists and spun around to face his Elves. He said nothing, but his brown eyes smoldered in outrage. His soldiers hushed and knew that powerful gaze promised vengeance. They often said, ‘a fire burned in those eyes.’

The general seethed through his teeth and fought to regain control over his emotions. Nothing had been taken. There had been no signs of a struggle. One minute the victims were happily married, off to Doljinaar on their honeymoon and then the next second they died! This was the work of Unseen! But civilians! This crime violated every rule of Elvish warfare. General Sien would pay dearly for this brutal atrocity!

Suddenly, the call of a great bird of prey pierced the late dusk sky. General Ka-ling glanced up and saw a Gold Falcon pass overhead. It was a signal, a warning from an old trusted friend.

Unseen! he shouted. He released another arrow.

The clap of illumination cut through the night and then he saw them for but a fleeting moment. Over a hundred Unseen, clad in black leathers, converging on their position. The shadows clung to the Dark Elves’ black faces. They had solid, pupilless wicked eyes that glowed in the night. Their stares were as cold as the moons…shades of red, yellow, blue and green, sending chills down the general’s spine. The Unseen closed in around Ka-ling’s squad like an army of silent death.

The flash subsided and the Unseen disappeared.

Ka-ling clenched his teeth.

Six rangers on the outer lines screamed out and fell dead, Faelin daggers sticking out of their chests.

Battle formation! he shouted.

The rangers scrambled into defensive position. More fell, but the disciplined soldiers managed to form a Phoenix Battle Formation. General Ka-ling had adapted the formation from the Sunguard—the royal protection of the king. The rangers formed into lines comprising four rows of outward facing hexagons. The outer perimeter of rangers unsheathed their scimitars while the insides drew their bows.

General Ka-ling refused to hide at the back of any battle formation, but took his place at the center of the frontline prepared to take on the brunt of the enemy’s advance.

Flares! he shouted.

Four rangers shot flare arrows that once again exposed the enemy. It was too late for several more rangers who screamed out as the invisible daggers slipped past their defenses.

No matter how many times the general saw Unseen, he still thought they looked like demons breathed from the shadows. Their devilish eyes danced with a thousand sadistic fantasies of torture and cruelty, but the Dark Elves were strangely, darkly beautiful. Illustrious long black, white or indigo hair spilled over their dark-skinned faces. Steel clashed as rangers locked blades with unseen daggers. The moonlight flashed off the Unseen’s wicked white-toothed smirks at every splash of blood. Ka-ling gritted his teeth. ‘Vile devils!’

Volley! Ka-ling ordered.

The rangers unleashed a barrage of arrows shooting in all directions. Unseen fell in droves.

General Ka-ling released his own arrow. He caught an Unseen in the forehead. He fired off more arrows taking out two more Faelin before the flash dissipated. The rangers loosed another bombardment of flare arrows. Ka-ling planted more arrows in the chests of three more Unseen. Unseen foes screamed out and fell dead. The landscape flickered in brief lapses of illumination like lightning in the night.

The rangers fired in sequence. One ranger ducked and nocked another arrow as the next line rose and shot.

Ka-ling fired continuously, but the Unseen just kept coming. They moved in blinking movements. Disappearing and reappearing between flashes only to plunge a dagger into the frontlines. Unseen started throwing daggers. The scimitar waving rangers cried out and fell. Rangers from the backlines tucked away their bows, unsheathed their swords and moved up to take the place of every felled comrade.

Unseen dropped out of trees and landed on the bowmen. The Faelin killers moved fluidly stabbing at will.

Panic spread like wildfire as the formation was breached.

General Ka-ling whirled around and arrow after arrow whisked through the air. He caught one, two, four Unseen. Even more rangers unsheathed their scimitars and scrambled to purge their ranks. Ka-ling fired away, but the Unseen would not relent. The Quaelinarian frontline wavered. The Unseen Assassins slipped their blades past the guards of rangers, wave after wave of assassins found their mark.

The formation broke completely apart. The Unseen hacked the rangers down in a bloodlust, grinning and laughing darkly. These Unseen had no honor at all, like jesters of silent death.

The rangers fought savagely back. Elves of both sides stooped over the dead, stabbing over and over again as if every last drop of blood would avenge the lives of their fallen companions.

There are so many of them! a young recruit panicked, We’re all going to die!

Keep your courage! Ka-ling growled, We shall not die here!

But what do the Unseen fear? he asked trembling.

General Ka-ling flashed him a glare of such momentary infuriation that the young recruit actually cringed. The general’s brown eyes smoldered with intensity. Ka-ling breathed but one word through clenched teeth, Me.

Ka-ling threw his bow back over his back and drew Salraye. "Sado-Niya!" he breathed a word of magic. Salraye, the Sword of the Horizon, blazed to life with a hair-raising hiss.

The Unseen shielded their eyes from the sudden blinding presence, their faces filling with a holy terror as they stood exposed in the warpath of the mighty general.

The buckler on his right arm erupted into a whirling shield of flames. Ka-ling plunged into the enemy ranks, setting them ablaze with the same callous indifference. He cut them down one after the other wiping the smirks off their devilish faces.

General Ka-ling hacked one Unseen down in a fury. He bashed the next two Faelin down with his flaming shield.

The Faelin screamed, dropped to the ground, rolling and writhing in agony, as they burned alive. The Unseen swarmed him, but he drove them back with each swipe of his fiery sword.

He waved his blazing shield. He let out a bellowing war cry and fell upon them like a firestorm of fury. He cut down every Faelin who stepped within two paces of his flaming blade.

The recruit gasped. He no longer feared the Unseen, but the dauntless general of Jui-Rae.

It’s him! It’s the general! the Faelin gasped, their voices coursing with fearful exhilaration. All the Unseen rushed Ka-ling.

General Ka-ling fought with the tenacity of a cornered beast, deflecting thrown daggers as his smoldering sword swept through the air with terrifying whooshes.

The Unseen covered their faces, helpless as the general cut them down one at a time. Whoosh. Whoosh. Faelin ran away screaming and burning. He thought he saw the standard engraved into their leather tunics of a black tree with a pupilless eye. It was a symbol he had never seen before, but he brushed over the thought as he battled on.

The rangers stared slack-jawed at their general. His stunning display of courage roused their wills to fight. The rangers shrugged off their attackers and pushed the charge back. Battle cries rang low in their throats. They rallied to their general’s side.

A solid line of Unseen charged General Ka-ling, but they went down as a stream of arrows plunged into their midst. Other rangers took up swords and came swinging at the Faelin, matching the devastating strikes of their general with their own. Shouts of triumph echoed into the air. The Unseen numbers thinned in a matter of moments and the few survivors slipped back off into the forests.

General Ka-ling raised his sword and victory. The Unseen had completely fled.

The rangers celebrated and resounding shouts of Ka-ling echoed into the night. That haunting name would no doubt follow the Faelin all the way back into their black forests where they would give account to their own general. A satisfied grin played at the corners of Ka-ling’s lips. He pictured the Unseen groveling on their knees and begging their general for their lives while he commended his own.

Jui-Sae. Forest of Darkness. Its very utterance breathed fear into the hearts of even the bravest of warriors. Twisted black trees bent in the chilling late night wind. Black leaves rustled against charcoal-colored ebonwood bark. White bones littered the gray grasses, the skulls of long dead trespassers, of Quaelinari and men both. ‘Served them right,’ General Sien grinned down at them. The general of Jui-Sae crept along the far northeastern borders of the black forests.

The heavy black plate armor of his legion of Shadow Warriors creaked in the night. Sien frowned. It would be difficult tracking down light-footed rangers with heavy infantry; if only the Unseen Guardians posted on this border had not been cut down by the enemy. ‘Still, there is greater honor in facing our foes head on,’ he thought, ‘and Shadow Warriors always take their enemies head on.’

General Sien nodded to his fellow Shadow Warriors.

His battalion respectfully returned the nod, clutching their blades and holding their crescent moon-shaped shields at the ready. His soldiers and standard-bearers carried the crest of the Bloodmoon Division depicted by the red moon dripping with blood.

The general’s fingers closed tighter around his own two-handed great sword, Shaxsui, which meant Sword of Stars. He carried it one hand, so great was his strength, a Moonshield in the other. His glowing red eyes burned coolly as he swept the underbrush. His tall broad shoulders bore his own black plate, red trimmed, armor with an air of strength and pride. His black hair had white streaks that made him look more like a beast in the heat of battle. His breastplate had been engraved with the royal crest of a single black rose set against the silver moon.

The general glanced up into the star bed sky at the three marred moons of Covent. Moons watch over us, he breathed a quiet prayer.

The red, cobalt and silver moons stared silently back at him.

He saw no sign in the heavens of their reply, but decided he would just have to trust the three midnight deities. He hoped the red moon Shax-ing, god of war, would grant his soldiers strength. He hoped the cobalt moon Shal-tanna, god of magic, would protect them from the spells of the enemy. And he hoped above all the silver moon Sai-ing, king of the gods, would guard the lives of his brave countrymen.

Sien kept his eyes peeled for the rangers. A contingent of rangers had crossed the border and had been sacking Faelin supply lines for days. Rangers were cowardly, or so Sien presumed. They had a propensity for hiding in trees, using cheap tricks such as blinding spells and attacking from safe distances. He glanced swiftly over his soldiers’ brave faces, graven and worn from years of hard service.

They nodded firmly back at him again.

He knew they were afraid, but they wore their courage like their well polished armor. The Shadow Warriors bearing Moonshields took up the outer positions, shielding those armed with two-handed weapons at the center. The general took the lead. He much preferred fighting like this over sneaking around with Unseen. The eyes of his soldiers glowed dangerously in the night like a pack of prowling wolves. Now if only their enemy had the stones to come out and face them.

A twig snapped.

General Sien turned and raised Shaxsui.

A light-furred deer broke through the brush and galloped off back toward Jui-Rae.

Sien lowered his sword and sighed in relief. It was hard not to be deceived by the shadows of his own forests. Black leaves blew in the wind with an almost ghastly flutter. The Faelin had scored many of the trees along the borders with eerie, arcane symbols to scare off trespassers. Jui-Sae must have looked like a terrible place to all outsiders. ‘Good,’ he thought, ‘I hope they never discover her deepest secrets.’

He paused as he came upon the old skeleton of a horse. It had been a Quaelinarian breed Sien guessed from the light leather worn and cracked saddle. A single Midnight Luna Flower had sprouted up in the center of its skeletal ribcage. The flower was breathtaking and glowed a majestic white in the moonlight. Its translucent pedals reminded him of an arctic jellyfish he had once fished out of the Haraglace.

Sien walked over and stomped on the flower. He ground it deep into the ground until he was sure he had killed it. The flower had been but a hint of Jui-Sae’s hidden beauty. Let the outside world think the Forest of Darkness was nothing but a warped, haunted black wood. Let them go on thinking the Unseen were murderous ghosts, that could not bleed or be killed. Let them go on thinking that Dark Elves were demons who committed unspeakable evils in the deep woods.

The general ducked under a felled Dark Bluntroot Tree and made his way down large deposits of black rock.

The Shadow Warriors followed him down the rocky incline. Shadow Pass’ terrain was roughest at its borders and Sien knew they were running dangerously close to enemy borders. Sporadic flashes of light flickered in the distant golden forests of Jui-Rae like the shooting off of fireworks, yet these flares were not designed for any trivial amusement. Quaelinarian border guards used flare spells every night to expose Unseen attempting to cross into their own homeland. Perhaps, the rangers had fled back to Jui-Rae and he should turn back now.

An owl hooted in the night.

‘Just an owl,’ General Sien thought. Then he heard the call again, this time louder. This second hoot sounded a bit more forced, almost manufactured and familiar. He turned and headed in the direction of the call. It could be a signal of some kind.

My Lord? someone whispered, My Lord General.

Show yourself, he ordered.

I can’t, the voice replied, the enemy is near.

No one appeared. A simple shadow stepped into the moonlight.

Sien saw the shadow on the ground of an Elf pointing. It was a little known secret that although Shadow Magic wholly concealed its caster, their shadow could always be spotted upon the ground. The shadow was an Unseen no doubt. He guessed the Faelin to be one of the Unseen Guardians the rangers had all but wiped out. Sien respected Unseen Guardians far more than Unseen Assassins, as the arduous duty of protecting the nation’s many borders fell to them.

The general glanced casually away from the Unseen’s shadow. How close?

Waiting in ambush for Your Lordship, the shadow pointed, up in those trees.

General Sien looked out of the corner of his eye. Just over the next ridge he saw a glade of Ebonwood Trees that provided the perfect cover for an ambush.

How many?

Some eighty I’d say.

Sien cursed. He had only forty Shadow Warriors. They would be outnumbered two to one. ‘We can handle them,’ he thought proudly. And how many of you remain?

Four.

General Sien swallowed hard. The loss of every son of Jui-Sae felt like a stab to the heart. Can you handle circling around behind them? Do not engage. Just smoke them out.

Yes of course, My General, the rangers hesitate to use their flare spells less they risk giving away their positions.

Good, Sien whispered, now go.

The Unseen crept away. He knew his line of attack violated his most ideal principles, but he had no qualms about flushing the rats out of hiding. If his enemy chose to fight like cowards they would die like cowards. He pointed at the glade to warn his Shadow Warriors.

He raised his sword guardedly and stalked slowly near, measuring his steps to allow the Unseen enough time to creep around the enemy’s position. Bowstrings creaked up in the trees as the rangers took aim. He pressed forward slowly to ensure he did not move his entire legion too hastily into arrow range.

General Sien softly murmured the words of magic. The runes engraved in his armor glowed a faint white and disappeared, but he could feel the power building around him. His hair began to blow softly. To the enemy it would look to be nothing more but an ill wind, but his armor had been enchanted with powerful Moon Magic. Just as the moons control the tide, this magic emitted a great gravitational force that repelled all, but the hardest of blows. He turned Shaxsui slightly at the wrist. He waited on awakening the power of the sword. Shaxsui also drew its power from the three moon gods.

The general froze as he heard the signal disguised as a hoot of another owl far behind the enemy’s position.

The Shadow Warriors halted behind him.

He saw the faint flicker of shadow flames in the night, fire so faint only a trained eye could spot it.

Volleys of unnatural gray fireballs hurled through the air, the work of Shadow Magic. Rangers screamed out as the shadow fire struck trees and the dry midsummer leaves ignited. Ebonwood Trees burst into giant torches of bright orange flames. Rangers cursed and screamed, leaping out of trees burning alive. The flickering firelight reflected off Sien’s somber battle-hardened face. His heart welled up with pity. Not for their sun brethren, but for the native trees of his forest kingdom.

The rest of the rangers broke cover and dropped to the ground.

General Sien raised his blade and shouted, For the glory of Jui-Sae! Shaxsui burst into a cold azure, blue flame that glowed like interstellar dust. The three moons granted the Sword of Stars power from the coldest reaches of space. His Moonshield glowed with a spectacular luminance. He charged and his Shadow Warriors followed, their Moonshields catching the glow of the moons in the night.

Battle cries rang out into the darkness.

The firelight, still flickering off the trees, gleamed off the honeyed faces of his sun devil foes. The rangers’ faces were cut of regal pride and haughty elegance, but Sien found them to be freakishly beautiful. Their eyes were glowless and pupiled, but every strand of their gold, silver, brown or blonde hair emanated a majestic sheen. The rangers drew their bows and released a barrage of arrows.

Sien gritted his teeth and pressed the advance. His magic batted several arrows away, splintering and breaking apart wood shafts. He relished the startled gasps of the enemy.

The Shadow Warriors flanking him raised their Moonshields and formed a solid wall. The crescent shields caught arrows with a series of successive thunks.

The general grinned. His soldiers had been trained to move in a nearly impenetrable formation, yet the enemy proved to be excellent marksmen. Four Shadow Warriors caught arrows at the legs and fell, but the legion didn’t slow its advance. The rangers unleashed a second volley. Five more Shadow Warriors fell, but they reached the enemy.

General Sien swung Shaxsui at the first ranger unlucky enough to cross his path. The Quaelinari screamed out as the icy blade bit right through his leather armor.

The Faelin frontline broke formation at the last second. Shadow Warriors at the center stepped through the ranks waving devastating two-handed weapons. More rangers screamed out, limbs were severed and mangled bodies flew through the air. The ranks of light armored rangers crumbled under the charge of heavy infantry.

The general whirled his great blade around. He cut down five rangers by the time he carried the swing through.

Run! he heard one of them shout, It’s General Sien!

Rangers turned and fled.

General Sien hacked two more rangers down across the back. ‘Cowards!’ he thought in disgust. The Shadow Warriors advanced slaying at will, but then the general noticed not all the rangers were fleeing.

Three rows of rangers had formed into firing lines.

Defensive positions! he shouted, but it was too late.

Flare arrows shot through the air, flashing with blinding light.

Shadow Warriors clasped their eyes blinded. Arrows caught eight Shadow Warriors at the weak points in their armor—at the joints, at the necks and between the face-guards.

General Sien cringed as Faelin blood spilt. He took one to the face. His magic flung the arrow back, but not before the spell thoroughly blinded him. He cursed and swung his sword as blind as a bat. He cursed even louder as he caught the iron breastplate of a fellow Shadow Warrior.

The Faelin groaned as Shaxsui cut through as easily as parchment and into his soldier’s flesh. He caught the Faelin in his arms. NOOO!

"My Lord?" the Faelin grumbled weakly.

I’m so sorry, he moaned, I shall avenge you.

His heart filled with grief and rage as the Faelin slumped in his arms. His anger swelled like a dam threatening to erupt. He heard more Faelin dying as blades clashed. He lowered the Shadow Warrior down and gaped about. He still saw nothing but blackness. He felt scimitars raining down blows on him only to be thrown wildly off by his magic. He heard the Quaelinari stumble awkwardly backwards. He could hear every creak of armor. His perceptive Elvish ears gleaned the difference between every creak of leather or plate.

General Sien loosed a ferocious war cry and unleashed Shaxsui. Like the roar of a great beast his foes froze in fear. He cut through them one by one. His ears sensed the presence of every Shadow Warrior who scrambled to get out of the way. He felt the satisfying crunch of leather armor as he moved from ranger to ranger. He could soon make out their terrified, blurry, golden faces just before he cut each one down in turn. Their fear only fed his bloodlust.

The Shadow Warriors rushed to his side. They bashed the stupefied Quaelinari with their shields and cut them to pieces until only six remained.

The rangers turned and fled. He’s no Elf! He’s a beast!

The Shadow Warriors pursued, but the rangers widened the gap.

General Sien knew they could never catch light infantry.

Blood sprayed the air. Three rangers fell dead by invisible blades. ‘The Unseen Guardians!’ Sien remembered. He watched as daggers appeared out of midair and plunged into the flesh of two more rangers. Only one Quaelinari broke through. He pulled another twenty paces ahead when a dagger sank into his back. He collapsed dead.

General Sien raised Shaxsui among the blazing trees and his soldiers returned his proud salute.

The night echoed with the chanting of but one name. Sien!

Chapter Two:

Memories

of Ash

General Sien squeezed a white cloth band in his hand and wondered at its meaning. The cloth had been sewn with the symbol of ancient Manaria—the three moons set in a triad formation against the sun shining with fiery golden rays. The symbol stood for ancient unity beckoning back to the Elvish Golden Age and the once unified kingdom of Elves. He shook his head. His fingers ran lightly across the long faded symbol. Sometimes with all the years of fighting it was easy to forget their shared ancestry and origins.

The Elves and Dark Elves had once ruled side by side in an ancient united kingdom called Manaria. Elvish scholars claimed that Old Manaria had once ruled the entire world during the Lost Era. Manaria’s memory had been entombed, sealed off by two thousand years of embittered conflicts and buried underneath the weight of countless gravestones. The Elf Wars had been passed down through so many generations the former glory of ancient Manaria had faded away.

Sien could barely contemplate the notion of a united Elvish world, let alone the memory. The glory of Manaria seemed more a legend mumbled by old Elves tired of the conflict. He did not dare dream peace could exist between the two Elvish houses, not in his lifetime and probably not ever. The years had shaped their warfare with many rules otherwise the two societies would have destroyed each other long ago.

The general looked up. The piercing light of Dalinaria stabbed through the breaks in the black leaves at his drowsy eyes. It had been a long night and he just wanted to go to bed. He squinted and wondered how the Quaelinari ever tolerated such ruthless light. He road, on horseback, through Shadow Pass toward the enemy border and into the blinding dawn.

He was escorted by two bodyguards. The enemy would consider anything more a threat. He had been summoned under the Pledge of Manaria. The pledge was given any time an Elvish house wished to meet the enemy under a banner of truce. Any bloodshed invoked the wrath of the celestial powers under the pang of eternal condemnation.

Sien wondered at what General Ka-ling wanted with this parlay. The two generals had barely used the pledge as a means of summons. The Manarian Codes of War required them to meet on the eve of every period of Armistice longer than a single weekend. This broke down to roughly eleven times a year, which was far more than other societies convened with an enemy in times of war. Yet the Elves were not like other peoples. Honor and adherence to the various rules and amendments to the Manarian Codes of War granted both societies small, but necessary reprieves to the endless war.

The general ducked under a low overgrown branch. Stray Light Bluntroot and Sunfire Trees began to stain the black forests from erstwhile seeds that blew too far west. The dark woods slowly gave way to the glowing golden trees of Jui-Rae. He made his way carefully across the rocky terrain. He had to squint even more fiercely as large slabs of rock broke up the tree cover. He resented the stabbing rays of sunlight and the hideously unnatural glow of golden leaves of Sunfire Trees when he finally reached the border.

General Sien dismounted and cast a sidelong glance at the Tent of Meeting. A gold and silver silk tent, decorated with motif suns and moons, billowed in the wind. Flags and banners flapped bearing the ancient symbol of Manaria. A lone Quaelinarian guard stood as still as a statue to the tent flap’s left. General Ka-ling must be waiting inside. Dust stirred inside the tent as if Ka-ling was pacing like a caged animal yet again.

Sien handed his steed’s reigns to one of his Shadow Warriors. The other Shadow Warrior marched forward, turned and took his place at the tent flap’s right side.

Sien breathed out and prepared himself to face his enemy. He marched resolutely toward the tent. His heart fluttered nervously as he still wondered what this summons was all about.

The Faelin and Quaelinarian guards bowed to him as he entered.

He pulled back the flap and ducked inside.

General Ka-ling stopped, his back to Sien. He wore a shaggy wildrakore cloak over his leather tunic, which swept over his thighs.

General Sien cleared his throat, To what grievance do I owe this honor? I thought we agreed we would not parlay until the eve of the next Month of Armistice.

General Ka-ling spun slowly around, his fiery brown eyes ablaze with anger. He growled low. Don’t play coy with me, General.

Sien stood tall and unyielding. You insult me? You violate the declarations of propriety woven into the oldest articles of the Manarian Codes of War.

And you violate every principle the code stands for, he erupted, jamming an accusing finger in Sien’s face, and every amendment ever made to chastise your race for the countless war crimes committed against my people.

You have no right to speak to me this way, General. Sien brushed Ka-ling’s hand away. Your people have far surpassed us in your acts of boundless genocide.

Then explain this, General Ka-ling barked. He threw a bloody white veil at him.

What? General Sien caught the veil and examined it. It was a tulle wedding veil stained in blood. Sien felt sick. What is the meaning of this? Where did you get this?

Look familiar?

I’ve never seen it before in my life.

Ka-ling stomped forward and flailed his fists. Don’t lie to me!

Sien squeezed the veil and tried to remain calm. General Ka-ling obviously blamed him for some barbaric murder. A truly terrible act indeed. He tried to take on a softer tone, I realize you are angry, General, but I don’t see what this has to do with the war.

Oh really? he scoffed, Let me jog your memory, General. The Merchant’s Road, eastern Ranger Pass between Ferndale and Middleton! A wedding carriage was ambushed by Unseen. I saw their throats slit. The bride, groom, even the driver behind the reigns! All dead!

Sien tried to recall any order or dispatch he made that could have led to this atrocity. He couldn’t think of anything. He shook his head, Impossible, I issued no such command. My Unseen have made no such strikes and certainly not against civilians.

LIAR! Ka-ling’s hand went to Salraye. Unseen did this, Sien! Unseen! I have come to know the handiwork of your backstabbing devils far too well…

Sien’s hand closed around Shaxsui. I—

The two generals nearly drew blades. They shook with anger, fighting with all their willpower to stay their blades. Their glares came close to mixing sparks with oil. If blood spilt here the first to draw blood would stand forever condemned by the gods.

Ka-ling’s nostrils flared. His hand trembled on his hilt. He seethed through his teeth, I thought you and I had an understanding, Sien, when we broke occupation of all enemy cities and pulled back to our own borders. No non-military personnel and certainly not women! Not ever again! We would settle our differences on a field of honor!

Sien stood fast. And we still do, Ka—

LIAR! General Ka-ling shouted. He drew Salraye from its sheath.

General Sien drew Shaxsui. The two swords met with a mighty clash and locked blades. They stared face to face. Ka-ling’s glare burned hotly and Sien’s glared icily back.

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