Elfsorrow

'Thank you,' she said.

'You don't have to keep it burning inside you.' The Unknown moved her back so he could look into her eyes. 'Let us take some of the weight.'

She nodded, but in her gratitude was the lonely realisation that they couldn't take any of the burden of the One.

'Now I think you should sleep, if that headache will let you. Your stamina reserves are low, aren't they?'

'It'll be a problem before long,' she admitted.

She kissed his cheek and stood up, brushing herself down. Above them, the rain was beginning to fall again. She barely noticed.

'Erienne?'

'Yes?'

'You'll have to let them in, you know. The One isn't going to remain dormant. Only the Al-Drechar can help you with it. Talk to Denser again, all right?'

It was like he saw straight into her mind, finding in there the thing that worried her the most. She gave a tired smile. 'I'll think about it.'

'That's all I ask.'

'Good night, Unknown.'

'Sleep well.' The rain fell for hours until just before dawn but by the time The Raven had eaten a light meal of wild mushrooms and hard bread, they were as dry as the humid conditions would ever allow. Hirad walked at the head of the line on the third morning with The Unknown, just behind Rebraal and Ilkar. The brothers had clearly had another disagreement. The set of both their bodies spoke volumes and Rebraal repeatedly failed to hold branches aside for Ilkar as they moved through an area of forest far more dense than anything they'd encountered so far.

In the trees above them, monkeys called and hooted and birds sang, the songs of a myriad throats mixing to a magical crescendo.

'No one's going to hear us coming, at least,' said Hirad.

'That's why elves don't rely on their ears here,' said Ilkar, who was just ahead at the time. 'If there are elves nearby, chances are they know about us already.'

'And what does Rebraal think?' asked The Unknown.

'He's suddenly decided that we shouldn't have come and that he and the Al-Arynaar are able to handle everything perfectly well on their own.'

'That's not what I asked.'

Ilkar shrugged but he didn't look round. They'd all learned that looking at who you were talking to was the easiest way of sustaining a graze or falling over a root.

'So?' prompted Hirad.

'So, he says the forest has a bad taste to it, that the harmony is damaged and he can't feel what he should. He's not sure what we'll find at the temple and he doesn't know if more Al-Arynaar are close,' said Ilkar.

'And doesn't he think some of his people might not have retaken the temple already?' asked Hirad.

'Apparently the forest wouldn't feel this way if they had,' said Ilkar.

'He's scared, isn't he?' said The Unknown.

Ilkar said nothing but Hirad saw his head nod.

'Then give him some room,' said the big warrior. 'This is his land far more than it is yours. We need him on our side as far as possible.'

Ilkar tensed across the shoulders. 'Thanks for your input, Unknown, but I think I understand my own brother.'

'You are not behaving as if you do.'

The Julatsan didn't respond and The Raven walked on in silence. The large insect bites on the back of Hirad's knees itched and chafed and the constant sweat down his arms wasn't helping the healing of the blisters he still had from his first day rowing. Not enough to worry him if it came to a fight but uncomfortable nonetheless.

After something like two hours of walking, Rebraal brought them to a sudden halt and beckoned them to group around him.

'Close,' he said, pointing forwards. 'Quiet now.'

'Talkative soul, isn't he?' said Hirad.

'Just a little rusty,' responded Ilkar. 'He hasn't had to speak Balaian for three times longer than you've been alive.'

Rebraal scowled and put a finger to his lips. 'Quiet,' he hissed. 'You must um… I lead.' He looked to Ilkar and spoke quickly in elvish.

'He wants you to follow his lead. He says he'll direct us where we need to go.'

'Tell him if there's a combat situation, we'll assess and do things how we think they should be done,' said Hirad. 'You know the way it is.'

Ilkar smiled. 'Anything to antagonise.'

Rebraal hadn't caught the conversation and shook his head when Ilkar translated. Another sharp exchange ensued, ending when Rebraal threw his arms up, stabbed a finger at Ilkar, spoke what sounded like a threat and turned his back on them.

'So he's in full agreement then?' said Hirad.

'I've just tried to explain that we'll listen to him, but when it comes to it we'll decide on any attack or defence tactics. All I would ask is that you don't do anything precipitate. He will be able to perceive threat far better than us and the last thing we need is to start fighting friends. All right?'

Hirad nodded and turned to The Raven. 'Fair enough. But let's assume we need a line before we set off. That means mages to the rear of the group now. Everyone knows their places. Ren, keep your bow handy and stay behind the sword line. We can protect you there.'

Swords drawn, The Raven moved off behind the sullen Rebraal and it was immediately evident that the elf had a new purpose about him. They thought he'd been moving quickly before but now he glided through the forest ahead, his feet sure, his passage obviously quiet even given the din of life surrounding them.

Hirad tried as best he could to mimic his movements, keeping low, head flicking from ground to directly ahead continuously. He felt a thrill course through him as they advanced. He had no idea exactly what lay twenty yards ahead, let alone at the temple, but his excitement at the thought of action drove him on. He felt himself detach from the world outside The Raven and his senses took on the clarity a warrior needed to survive the fight.

He could smell the sharpness of the plant life around him, the sweetness of fruit. He could hear their footsteps and their breathing and he could see a path where none had been before, obscured as it had been by his untrained eyes. But he never took his gaze from Rebraal for more than a few heartbeats. The Al-Arynaar was the barometer for what lay immediately ahead. He took them across a crudely hacked path and back into the forest, turned to his right, entered a small clearing and stopped dead. Behind him, Hirad held up a hand and The Raven were still.

Rebraal turned briefly, took them all in, one of his eyebrows perhaps edging up very slightly. Hirad looked down at his feet. He was standing on a human bone.

'I can hear nothing,' Rebraal whispered. 'Follow. Slow.'

He set off again, Hirad and The Unknown in his footprints, Aeb, Darrick and Thraun close by and just in front of Ren and the mages. The slightest murmuring was heard as mana shapes were formed. Slowly, slowly, the vegetation began to thin and the building that loomed out of the forest was enough to take the breath away.

A great green-gold dome rose, partly covered in liana, lichens and mosses. It was a huge structure that should have been completely at odds with its surroundings yet somehow fitted them perfectly. Harmony, supposed Hirad.

That there was much wrong, though, was evident in Rebraal's reaction to the place he apparently knew so well. He waved them hurriedly to a stop, crouched low to look either side of some obstruction, ducking his head this way and that, and finally stood and strode away.

'Rebraal!' called Ilkar, and broke position.

'Get back in line, Ilkar,' ordered The Unknown.

Ilkar complied immediately but Ren, right behind him, did not listen.

'Ren!' barked The Unknown, but she had gone on after Ilkar's brother.

'Raven, form up,' said Hirad. 'Let's get after that idiot.'

All pretence at silence was gone. Ahead of them, Rebraal was calling to someone, his elvish urgent and strained. The Raven came on, slicing away vegetation, revealing more and more of the temple as they advanced, Ren in front, calling Rebraal's name, her bow slack in her hands.