Chapter 17

Family Descent

Book One �" Divergence

Part I �" Novices

Chapter 17

December 1657

 

            Korrie stood over the cauldron atop the small stove in the kitchen and stirred the pot with a long wood spoon. He dipped up some of the brew in the bowl of the long spoon and brought the steaming liquid to his lips. Cautiously, he tasted. His brow furrowed in the thought and he reached for one of a dozen small clay pots lining a shelf near the stove. He removed the lid and took a pinch of the dried herb therein and sprinkled it into the cauldron.

            He returned the heavy iron lid to the cauldron and set about scrubbing the rough wood table. He glanced to the small back window of Estarin’s tree cottage and saw that it was fogged over. He went to the small pantry and removed two heavy crockery bowls and set them on the table. Just then he heard the thnk-thnk of someone announcing their presence below. He padded though the parlor and opened the front door of the abode. As he stepped out onto the porch a small gasp escaped his lips as his barefoot touched the cold wood decking. Gingerly, he half walked, half tip-toed to the railing and peered down through the cool grey light of the overcast winter day.

            “Hanna!” he called out in delight as he saw the small elven woman bundled in her fur lined cloak at the base of the tree and she waved. “Come up come up,” he said. In but a moment the headmistress floated up to alight on the porch deck.

            “Hanna, what a surprise,” Korrie said as he hugged his mentor.

“Liatanu,” said Shalhanna, “have you grown some in the past half-year?” Korrie released her from his embrace and shrugged. A boyish smile lit his face.

“Come in out of the cold,” he said ushering Shalhanna into the parlor. “Have you just arrived in Chevranta?” he asked when he saw the leather satchel she carried.

“Aye, I’ve just left the stables,” she answered as she removed her traveling cloak.

“You must be half-frozen,” Korrie said and took her cloak and hung it on one of the pegs behind the door. “Come through and sit by the stove while I make some tea.” Shalhanna followed Korrie into the kitchen and accepted the proffered chair which she set near the stove.

Korrie took up the copper kettle and filled it with water from a bucket that was daily refilled from the rain barrel on the porch. He turned to the stove and frowned at the cauldron that filled the whole of the stove top. He set the kettle on the table and placed a hand on the side.

“Flaaa-muaad-da” he muttered and he pulled his hand away. Within seconds the kettle whistled as steam poured forth. He spooned a healthy portion of tea leaves into the silver tea pot and poured in steaming water from the kettle. While the tea steeped he produced two cups from the pantry and set them on the table along with a small pot of honey. Then pulled up a chair near the stove and sat down.

He found Shalhanna smiling at him.

“What has brought you to Chevranta?” Korrie asked.

“It has been some time since I was back and tomorrow is Winternight Festival, I desired to be with my kith and kin” she answered. Korrie nodded his understanding.

“Estarin is with the Delar,” Korrie said referring to Henferal, the current lord, or delar, of the Chevranta. “He should be home ere long and dinner will be served.” He gestured to the cauldron and got up to pour the tea.

Estarin did arrive just before full night fell over the vale. He was delighted to find his former apprentice come to visit. They enjoyed Korrie’s soup and bread and cheese. The talked of many things throughout dinner and in the parlor afterwards; but never did the conversation touch upon the concerns addressed in Estarin’s letters.

 

“I will see you on the morrow, liatanu,” Shalhanna said to Korrie as she and Estarin drew their cloaks tightly around them. Estarin glanced at Korrie.

“I will return shortly,” he told his apprentice.

“Yes, wesla,” Korrie inclined his head. Estarin and Shalhanna departed. While Estarin escorted Shalhanna to her parent’s home, Korrie set about clearing away the remains of the evening meal.

“Curious,” commented the Voice.

“What is curious?” Korrie asked as he placed the soup bowls in a basin full of warm water.

“The headmistress’ sudden appearance in Chevranta,” said the Voice.

“You heard what she said, she is here for the Winternight Festival,” Korrie answered as he cleaned the bowls and spoons.

“I heard what she said,” the Voice’s tone was belligerent. “You didn’t honestly believe it, did you?”

“Of course I did,” Korrie answered, “Why would I not?” The Voice sighed.

“Naïve,” it accused. “It is plain that Estarin has been sending messages voicing his fears over your growing power and his inability to contain it.” Korrie stopped drying the bowls; the soft cloth dangling lifeless in his hand.

“What if he did? Then surely Hanna has come to assure him that he has no need to fear me. I am no threat.”

“Fool you are,” snapped the Voice. “Was it not because of their own fear that your parents and the headmistress banished you to this secluded land where the elves could keep watch over you?”

“No,” insisted Korrie, his chores forgotten. “They sent me here because they fear for me.”

“Indeed,” the Voice mused. “That is indeed what they would have you believe.” Korrie waited for more but he felt the Voice retreat leaving questions hanging in the air. He looked through the parlor and to the door through which his mentors had left and the questions swirled. He turned back to his chores and after he had finished, he climbed the spiral branch stair to his room.

 

Elastin walked alongside Shalhanna as they followed the path that would lead them to dwelling of Shalhanna’s parents. The path was lightly dusted with snow and the night was black for heavy clouds blotted out moons and stars. Overhead, in the bare branched trees, soft yellow light shone from many windows. Long they walked in silence. Finally Estarin spoke.

“You have come to check on the boy?” he asked in plumes of white breath. Shalhanna nodded.

“Your missives have troubled us greatly,” she answered, “His sire and lady mother would have come themselves, but we feared his reaction.”

“It would have inflamed his paranoia,” commented Elistan.

“Paranoia?” Shalhanna asked and glanced sidelong at her former wesla. “You said nought of paranoia.”

“It is nothing specific,” Elistan explained put his hands out to the side, “more of an impression. The looks he gives now and again; the questions he sometimes asks. It is as though he is seeking confirmation of some suspicion.” Shalhanna nodded.

“I see,” she said and they continued on in silence for a short distance.

“Too,” said Elistan, “I have oft happened to overhear the sound of conversation when there is no other at hand.”

“Many folk, especially younger folk, during difficult times, bespeak themselves,” Shalhanna said in Korrie’s defense.

“You speak truly; yet, there is something different about this behavior,” Elistan went on, “Although I cannot make out the words there is a clear tone of agitation. Often the conversation seems adversarial in nature. Frequently, he emerges from these clandestine discussions in a foul mood and his behavior is more erratic for some time after. Too, it is at these times that his paranoia seems at its greatest. I know what to make of it all.”

“I plan on spending a fair amount of time with him over the next several days,” Shalhanna said with a frown as they reached the tree which supported her family’s home. “Hopefully will unburden his mind and I will find the root of his trouble.”

“May it be so,” Elistan said. “Yet, my hopes for a happy ending to the matter are more fleeting each day. I have a deep foreboding that I cannot be rid of.”

“Keep that hope, wesla, fleeting though it may be,” Shalhanna said and hugged her mentor. “Rest well, Elistan,” she said and began climbing the spiral branch stair.

“And you, Shalhanna,” Elistan replied and then began the walk back to his own home.

 

Throughout the following day the enclave was a hive of activity as the elves prepared for the Winternight Festival. The festival, held on the winter solstice, celebrated the turning of the year on the longest night of the year. Until a priest of Untamo, Treback of Genyar, recalculated the calendar and shifted the changing of the years to the week following Yule, all folk of Pedias celebrated the changing of the year on Winternight. After that change, which occurred sixteen hundred years past, at the beginning of the Second Era, all the folk of Ilitha began observing the twenty-eighth of December as the end of a year. Still, certain long-lived peoples, the elves and dwarves specifically, still observed Winternight as a holy time.

A hunt occurred on the previous day and even as Shalhanna arrived in Chevranta, stag and boar were set to roast over the great fire pit in the Delar’s hall. Now, bread was baked and vegetables prepared and sweet treats as well. Casks of wine were tapped and tuns of ale too. The Delar’s hall was decorated with pine boughs and holly berries and ribbon. These would remain in the hall until the Yule celebration a week later.

Through the day the sky remained a brilliant blue though the distant winter sun cast but feeble warmth on the land. An hour before the sun set, the elves of Chevranta began a long silent procession out of the valley. All were dressed in white; white leather pants and coats, or wool or velvet robes trimmed in white fur. The Delar, Henferal, led the procession. Nothing was carried with the elves save a single white unlit taper each. Korrie walked alongside Shalhanna and her family; Elistan walked with them as well. The rounded the northern shore of the lake and continued down its western side. On the west side of the lake were few residences for in many places the valley rose sharply. The path they trod soon took a westward turn and began climbing the valley’s western wall. In places where it was too steep, stairs had been carved into the turf and were supported by timber.

They reached the top of the rise and assembled in a clearing. On the north, west and south the clearing was bounded by the ancient trees of the Baltic Wood, the eastern side looked out over the valley below. Forty-five minutes had the procession taken to reach the glade and with but fifteen minutes remaining until the setting of the sun, the elves formed a series of concentric rings around the Delar and his consort who stood within the center of the glade. Elistan stepped forward to stand between Henferal and his lady Aeliin. He held up his taper and with a word it flared to life. He lit the tapers held by Henferal and Aeliin and as the pair turned to face each other, Elistan returned to the circle and used his taper to light that of his neighbor. With slow reverence each in turn accepted the flame and passed it on to his or her neighbor until all the tapers were lit. Then the sun slipped behind the world.

The Delar and his consort began a chanting hymn. Together in unison, in the silence of the forest glade their elven voices in sang in the High Isthiaan tongue of the elves. Korrie did not know the language, but he knew the meaning of the words. At a point in the hymn, four elves left the circle; one from the east, one from the north, one from the south, one from the west. These represented the four seasons and they joined the Delar and his consort forming a smaller circle around them; their voices making a harmony.

Twelve more elves stepped forward and formed a slightly larger circle around the six in the center. They took up a different melody that ran smoothly with the hymn already in progress. These twelve turned to the side and began walking a circle clockwise around the center. They represented the twelve cycles the silver moon, Silna, made in a year.

Now two dozen more elves stepped toward the center and formed a still larger circle of their own. These represented the twenty-four turns the lavender moon, Fariel, made each year. As they began a clockwise progression, their voices added another layer to complex choral.

Last, the outer circles, Korrie included, began a progression of their own; once circle clockwise, the next counter clockwise, and as they progressed, the circles wove in and out of one another and represented the complex motions of the stars above. To the choral they added a low rhythmic chant that supported and wove in and around the melodies and harmonies of the inner circles.

Amongst the trees surrounding the glade many secretive eyes watched the spectacle; a ritual of their own. Although the Fae would never join in, they did so enjoy watching the elven rites.

Slowly the outer circles stopped and extinguished their candles. The inner circles one by one returned to their places and too, extinguished their candles until it ended as it began with only Henferal and Aeliin, in the center. Their two voices faded softly. The circle opened and the pair moved out of the circle and back the way they had come, pairs of celebrants falling in to line behind and the procession returned to the vale.

 

The procession ended at the Delar’s Hall and once all were within, the banquet began. All the food that had been prepared throughout the day was served up; everyone taking turns at the serving so everyone would spend time celebrating. The air was filled with music and song for, with lives of immeasurable length, many elves became skilled in a variety of instruments and musical styles. Indeed, it is believed by many, that elven bards are unparalleled. Too, many of the tales sung and stories told were first-hand accounts.

There was dancing as well; elegant and complex chain dances which involved nearly everyone in the hall shifting, turning, pairing, parting; wild reels there were as well which left the participants panting and breathless. Henferal and Aeliin performed a merry jig they claimed to have learned from a trader from the highland plains near Kilgar. Their efforts were met by much applause.

The night wore on and slowly at first, but then more quickly, the revelers began to leave the hall and return to their homes. Among the last to leave were Korrie, Estarin and Shalhanna. They walked along the starlit paths first toward the home of Shalhanna’s parents. Elistan walked a little way ahead for behind Korrie and Shalhanna leaned on one another and would now and again burst forth in laughter for Korrie had more wine and ale than he was used to and Shalhanna had more than she ought to.

            “I say, Hanna,” Korrie said with speech slightly slurred by the alcohol. “Did I not see eyes in the forest surrounding the glade?” He blinked his eyes several times as he focused on Shalhanna. The elf, in turn, nodded her head in reply.

            “’Twas the Fae,” she said.

            “’Twas Fae you say?” He asked and chortled. Shalhanna laughed.

            “Aye, ‘twas the Fae I say,” she answered and they laughed some more. Elistan looked over his shoulder and the pair and rolled his eyes at his former and current apprentices.

            “They do oft come to observe our rites,” Shalhanna said somewhat more seriously as she caught Elistan’s scowl out of the corner of her eyes. “Pixies, and nymphs, dryads and brownies; spriggens and gripplis and sylphs and such; many inhabit the Wood around us and though they are too reclusive to join directly, they celebrate with us still.” Korrie looked thoughtful, his sleepy eyes have closed and a contemplative frown turned down the corners of his mouth.

            “I see,” he said. Before he could say more they nearly ran into Elistan who had stopped in the path.

            “Shalhanna, you are delivered safely unto your parent’s house. We shall see you safely up,” he said. Shalhanna gave the pair a crooked grin. She hugged them both.

            “A good night to you, wessssla,” she said and pecked Elistan on the cheek.

            “And good night to you, my liatanu,” she said to Korrie, her eyes sobering in the starlight. She kissed him too on the cheek. Then with only the grace an elf possesses, the headmistress nimbly climbed the spiral branch stair and disappeared into the tree cottage.

            “Come along, Korrie,” Elistan said and half-led, half-carried the drunken youth home. By the time they arrived at Elistan’s house, Korrie slurred so much that he couldn’t properly form the sound words that would levitate him to the porch and Elistan had to levitate them both. Elistan saw Korrie to the settee in the parlor and threw a spare blanket over the young mage who had fallen asleep the instant he hit the down filled cushions. Elistan shook his head and disappeared up the spiral stair bound for his own room.

 

            Two more days did Shalhanna tarry with Estarin and Korrie in Chevranta. They talked of many things not the least of which being Korrie’s apprenticeship and, although Korrie expressed his frustration at the pace at which it progresses, Shalhanna saw no peculiar behavior. Too, as mages are wont to do when they assemble, they talked much of the art.

            When the time came for Shalhanna to return to the academy Korrie gave her messages for all and promises that he would write soon. As he had explained to her he was spending much of his time devoted to his studies and apprenticeship and correspondence had merely been put off.

            Shalhanna bid farewell to teacher and student and, as she rode away, Korrie’s spirits were high for during that time he had no trouble with the syndrome and the Voice had been silent. Perhaps, Korrie hoped, it had gone to trouble someone else.

            As Estarin and Korrie silently walked the path from the stables to Estarin’s home Korrie’s spirit fell once again for the Voice returned.

            “Now that this distracting interlude has passed we can resume our work,” said the Voice and Korrie sighed.