The Truth

 

Shadow

I sat across from the Queen, awed by the beauty of the room that presented itself in front of me. Twelve gilded oak chairs circled around a grand oak table. Lights flickered and gleamed as they floated aimlessly, casting comforting shadows throughout the room. A cold draft left me shivering as I glanced around, waiting for the Queen. There were few from my lifetime who’ve glimpsed inside the walls of the Queens’ war chamber. Whatever she has to say must be serious.

“Shadow.” I instantly turned my gaze to the Queen, seated across from me. Her face held the same expression as it bore in the palace grounds. “How much do you remember from the night I found you?”

I bowed my head, ashamed of my answer. “Very little.”

 She studied me carefully, as if weighing her answer in her mind. “The night I found you changed everything. You have the right to know. Heen is confident that you are strong enough, not to mention wise enough, to withstand the truth. He has sensed something coming, and he has never been wrong before. We cannot withhold the truth any longer” Her words stopped my heart. What does Heen have anything to do with the night she found me? Why does his opinion matter? What does she mean to ‘withstand the truth?’  Questions whirled through my head as if an angry hive of cave dragons awakened from a deep sleep.

She laughed a bitter laugh, “I have not seen you so lost since your first half year with us.” I smiled sadly, remembering those first initial months. I would not have survived, had it not been for Eilra and Heen. Drawing me from my thoughts, the Queen gestured. Silver Axe, Eilra and Heen stepped forward. Eilra and Silver Axe sat on either side of me as Heen sat on the other side of Eilra. I glanced up at him as he sunk into the chair. He returned my stare with a dark expression and hung his head, his silver hair covering his eyes. The Queen cleared her throat once more and began.

“Many years ago, a war broke out across the land; a war that will forever rewrite our history. It was a war that separated the many races that inhabit these lands yet brought us together. It began with the dwarfs, which then spread to the elves, the humans, then the other remaining races. Demons arose in unprecedented numbers, leaving death and destruction in their wake. As if the demons were not enough, terrible plagues and incurable sicknesses began to spread.” A tear fell down the Queen’s face. “I lost my husband to one such outbreak of plagues, as did many lose such loved ones. My people were suffering. I never felt as helpless as I had then. Similar occurrences took place among the other races. The human race was struck with the heaviest blows of us all. Death tolls rose in sickening numbers, nearly wiping them from the face of Alorin. The remaining survivors fled their cities and became nomads. Your family was one of these nomad tribes.”  As the Queen looked directly into my eyes, I felt small, and insignificant.

 “It was with the magic of your tribe and the magic of the many other remaining tribes that the tide of plagues and sickness lessened. Your people gave us the courage to return from the darker recesses of these forests to resume fighting after the loss of our King.” She paused, taking in a shuddering breath after mentioning the King.  I always wondered why she ruled alone. After a moment, she continued once more.

“We were not the only ones to lose members of the ruling family. Silver Axe lost his entire clan.” I wrapped my hand around the dwarf’s knarled hand and squeezed. Silver Axe looked up at me and smiled heartbreakingly.

 “Do not weep for me dearest, you have suffered greater than I have.”

 I looked from him to the Queen. Eilra put her hand on top of mine. Atanais began again, “I received a messenger from your father, two years before we found you. He said he was close to finding the Source of the evils that had beset us for so long and required our assistance. I was a fool for not believing him at the time. I scoffed and returned his messenger with disdain; a mere human could not be capable of such, even with talents as great as his. Your father had similar luck with the other races, with the exception of the angels. With their help, he took it upon himself, alongside the other allied tribes, magic wielders and non-wielders alike, to save us all.” The Queen paused, tears streaming faster and faster down her grief stricken face. “No one has seen or heard of those human since, until the night I found you. We thought your kind became extinct after their war with the demon host” A chill settled in my heart that seeped throughout the rest of my body as I sat motionless in shock.

            At this point of her story, Heen roughly stood up with a force that knocked the chair on its back and stormed from the war chambers. Eilra squeezed my hand and followed him with Silver Axe trailing behind her. 

There was a considerable silence before Atanais spoke. “Forgive him. Finding you and watching you struggle as he has hurts him deeply. I was visiting my people from all across the forest to the tundra in the far north. Heen’s entire village was wiped out by a band of powerful fire demons, leaving him as the sole survivor. We found him half mad from grief. I took him in, seeing the great potential in his already great healing abilities”. Atanias petered off, as if lost in thought. My heart ached for Heen. For a Dark Elf, he was rather cheerful. To think he suffer so greatly wrenched my heart. She looked up at me before resuming, only this time, her voice came out as no more than a whisper.

“We were returning home from our travels, crossing the border lands of the Unforgiving Mountain Ranges and the Dark Forests of the East. I had separated myself from the group for a time when something came stumbling towards me. At first I thought it was a demon, but it was far too small to be any type of demon I encountered before. As it drew closer, I saw it was a child, more scarred and damaged than my heart could take. That child was you, Shadow. You drew closer and closer, with a determined look that was unearthly. It was not until you looked up at me and uttered the words ‘The angels have come, but they are far too late’ that you collapsed. Your wounds were great, but ones I found all too familiar. I knew then your father found the Source and destroyed it, or died trying. I am not sure how long I stayed there with you in my arms, stunned. It wasn’t until Heen came to find me that I stirred. He took you from my arms and began to treat your wounds. I have no doubt that he is the reason of your full recovery. Since that night, an uneasy peace settled across Alorin.”

She took a deep breath a passed her hand over her face. The ancient sadness from earlier returned with greater force. “You may want to see him. He could use your company.” I rose from my chair silently, and entered into the never ending labyrinth of halls. I paused for a moment, contemplating on where he most likely would be. I had never seen him this upset; it seemed out of character for him.

“Shadow!” I tuned to see Eilra and Silver Axe coming down a narrow hallway on my left that led up to the battlements, a usually deserted part of the palace. “He’s on the battlements.” I silently nodded and headed towards the way they came.