"Forsaken: Part 3 Anger´s Tide"

"Forsaken: Part 3 Anger´s Tide" 
by;fernand jiro



The woman let the feather pen topple slowly from her grasp, slipping silently down among the scattered pages. She leaned back, closing her eyes wearily. How long had she been at it now? An hour? A day?...a week? And still so much more to be told. She opened her black eyes and gazed at the scattered mess around her. Scores of paper, covered with her closely written handwriting were stacked all over the large table covering it in an uneven scattering of black-stained white. A few of the sheets had slipped to the floor and lay by her feet but she made no move to alter their position.


She stood slowly and went to stoke the dying fire, nursing it carefully until it flared up again. Her task done she went back to the table. There was nothing else to do and time was pressing. Reluctantly she picked up the pen again and began to move it across the pages, slowly and steadily.


Soon now, so soon. It was only a matter of time until it would all be over. Soon…


* * * * * 
Seril was half asleep when a sudden feeling of disorientation caused her to jerk awake in a panic. Sunlight streamed through a window over her bed illuminating the small cottage where she lay. For a long terrifying moment she had no idea where she was. Then, slowly, she began to relax as she looked around her. This place seemed so familiar somehow…


The creak of the door made Seril glance up sharply, tense and alert in an instant. The door swung open under the pressure of a wiry shoulder and the figure stepped into the room, pushing at the door with his back. He turned carefully so as not to upset the heavy tray he was holding but paused as he turned and saw Seril awake on the bed.


“Well good morning then,” He said sliding the tray onto a low table near the bed, “Nice to see your awake finally.”


“Brendon!” 


Seril’s glad cry was barely out of her mouth before she was out of the bed and her arms were around his neck in an impulsive hug.


“Easy there lassie.” Brendon said in his drawling accent, carefully disentangling himself though not before he gave her an answering squeeze in return. “Nearly knocked me over, you did. Got to be more careful now, that’s a good child. Not all of us are as young as you Birdie! Now have a seat and let me get you some nice strong tea. It’ll make you feel even better, that’s a promise.” 


Brendon gave Seril a merry wink (full as ever of the mischievous humor that she remembered so well) as he ran his hand absently through his white hair. He turned back to the tray and Seril obediently sat back down onto the bed. Brendon had been both a guardian and a friend to Seril for as long as she could remember. Long ago he had been a general of great renown in the King’s army, but he had given up that life a long time ago for one of solitude. It was he that had taken it upon himself to teach Seril how to fight, both with weapons and without. He was a skilled warrior through and through and even now he stood straight with no hint of the age he bore. His tanned face was not young but neither was it wrinkled and old and he still possessed the brutal strength of his youth though it was impossible to tell by looking at him; on the surface he looked perfectly ordinary. He was tall and slender with no hint of fat on his body and his muscles were still iron hard underneath the rough and weather beaten skin. His hair and long since turned white, but his shrewd blue eyes still sparkled like a child’s when he laughed.


Brendon handed her the steaming mug and turned to pour one for himself. Seril waited for him to finish before asking the question most prominent on her mind. She knew from long experience that Brendon was not someone who could be rushed against his will. So she waited, wrapping her had around the warm, earthenware mug and breathing in the musty scent of herbs and spices. After only a moment he sat down and gave her an amused look.


“Alright lassie, what is it you want to know? You have questions written all over your face.” He said with a grin. 


Seril paused, more from wondering where to start than for lack of a response. “I suppose I would first like to know how I got here. I don’t remember…well, much at all since the night that…”


Her voice trailed off as her nerve failed her. 


Brendon took a sip of tea. “Nearly four weeks, birdie.” He said evenly. 


Seril sat bolt upright as if she had been struck. “A month! But that’s impossible!” 


Brendon threw back his head and laughed. “Impossible you say? And yet there it is.” He leaned back in his chair and gave her a sympathetic grin. “You’ve been sick for a long time lass. I was right worried there for a time that you would follow your brother to the afterlife. But your blood seems stronger than even I had thought.” He sighed. “Stupid of me to forget.” 


“But Brendon, I don’t remember coming here.” Her voice sounded a bit helpless, even to her. She wished that she did not sound so lost but it was hard when her brother’s face was seared into her memory. Not as the vibrant storm of energy that she had always known and accepted, but as the cold, still body soaked in its own blood. She hated that. She hated that the terror would always taint that memory. There had been so much good in him. How could that elf want him dead? How could anyone? 


“Birdie.” Brendon’s voice was gentle. “That’s because you were only half conscious when you got here.” He raised his hand as Seril opened her mouth to fire out another confused question. “Just let me explain what I know and we’ll go from there, all right? Good then. Nearly four weeks ago your brother, King Vear, was murdered by an unknown assassin. You remember that part, right?” Seril nodded silently and he continued. “From what I gather, you went after the assassin and caught up with him in the stables. Rather stupidly, but also understandably, you fought him and of course he won. He left you tied up but eventually you got loose, took a horse and, for some reason, came here. There, that’s all I know.” 


Seril was silent for a long moment. “Who killed him?” She asked finally. 


“You’re the only one that knows Birdie. I don’t think anyone else even saw him.” 


“I think he was an elf.” Seril said slowly. “He said his name was Terien.” 


“What, really? Are you sure?” Seril nodded and Brendon continued musingly. “That presents new problems. Although in that case I think it was a good thing that no one else knows you’re here.” 


Seril blinked. “Sorry?” 


Brendon paused with the mug halfway to his mouth. “Uh, sorry, did I forget to mention that?” 


“Yes you did. Why didn’t you send for someone at the palace right away? They must be looking everywhere for me!” 


Brendon sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Because I was busy with taking care of you and it’s not like I have servants at my beck and call these days. It’s a full day’s ride to the palace from here. If I could have risked leaving you here by yourself for two days while I rode there and back then I would have. As it was though, I couldn’t. Besides, I wasn’t entirely sure that you wanted to be found.” 


“What do you mean?” 


Brendon shrugged. “Listen lassie, if you had wanted to stay at the palace, you would have. I wasn’t quite sure if you came here for a reason…like perhaps wanting to track down Terien.” 


“Um, I never really had a chance to think about it...but now that you mention it-“


“Ahh, don’t!” Brendon exclaimed. 


“Don’t what?” 


“Get any ideas, that’s what! Just forget I mentioned it, alright? I’ll take you back to the palace tomorrow if you’re well enough.” 


“But-“


“No ‘but’s.’ We’ll leave first thing in the morning.” Brendon tossed back the last of the tea and stood up to leave. 


“Brendon wait!” 


“I was afraid you would say that.” He muttered as he turned back to her. 


“Brendon, if my brother’s killer is still out there then you’re right, I want to find him.” Seril set her jaw in a newfound determination. 


“Birdie, I told you to forget it. Immediately.” Brendon’s tone bordered on exasperation. 


“How can you possibly ask that of me?” Seril looked at him angrily. “I watched him murder Vear! And you want me to just forget about it?” She shook her head as if trying to dislodge the memory. “No Brendon,” She said softly, “I can’t just let this go, not this time.” She squared her shoulders confidently. “I’m going after him.” 


Brendon sighed and sat back down. “Me and my stupid mouth.” He growled. Seril couldn’t help a smile at that. 


“Come on Brendon,” She said in an effort to change the subject, “you spoke as if you knew of this Terien. Tell me what you know.” 


“Knew of him? Not really. Knew him well, as well as anyone could, is more like it.” 


“He was a friend of yours!” Seril’s eyes opened in astonishment. 


“In a manner of speaking. This elf, he’s different than most. I don’t really understand him, no one does really, not even his own kind. He stayed behind when the rest of his kin fled after the last elfin war. No one knows why.” 


“Maybe he was banished or exiled or something.” Seril guessed, but Brendon shook his head. 


“It’s said that the elfin king himself begged Terien to come with his kind when they left, but Terien still refused. And a king begging is not something that you hear of often. And an elfin king? No, there’s more to that lad than anyone knows, even me.” 


Seril frowned, “But why?” She asked, “Why would he choose to stay behind in a land that didn’t want him? In the treaty at the end of the last war all this land was given to humans, right? ” 
“Right, that is why this elf is such a mystery. That fact, and also that he is a member of the Forsaken.” 


“Come on Brendon, be serious,” Seril grinned, “Everyone knows that the Forsaken are a myth invented by conspiracy theorists with over active imaginations.” 


Brendon smiled bitterly. “Unfortunately, that’s not quite true.” 


“Oh, Brendon, come on!” 


“Now listen here Birdie, I know what I’m talking about. I didn’t believe it either until I saw it for myself. Terien took me to Torn a long time ago when I first met him. It was there that I learned a little of who he was.” 


Seril looked at him carefully as she tried to figure out if she was the victim of a practical joke, or if Brendon really did believe what he was saying, in which case he was completely out of his mind. Her expression must have been more readable than she had expected for Brendon couldn’t resist a chuckle.


“No Birdie, I’m not out of my mind. Just put that notion out of your pretty head. The Forsaken exist, and no doubt they were the ones that wanted Vear dead. I’m not quite sure why, but one thing is certain. They will be watching you very carefully; or they will be when they manage to find out where you’ve disappeared to.” 


Seril shivered. “They’ll be disappointed then. I’m not returning.” 


Brendon sighed again, and Seril smiled at him. 


“You worry too much Brendon. I’ll be perfectly fine.” 


Brendon raised his eyebrows. “Sure you’ll be. All you’re planning to do is to pop out for a quick journey to an unknown destination, cross swords with the most deadly assassin known to exist, most likely get yourself killed along the way, and stroll back again to take up your new role as queen of the land. Just a walk in the park, it is.” 


Seril grinned at him fondly. “Come with me then. I could use some of your steadfast advice along the way.” 


Brendon grinned. “Of course I’m going Lassie.” He drawled. “Even if you had insisted on going by yourself I would have followed anyhow, and you would have spent more time trying to get away from me than tracking poor Terien.” 


Seril stiffened despite the warm feeling she felt at Brendon’s loyalty. 


“Terien doesn’t deserve pity.” She growled. 


“Dosen’t he?” 


“Brendon! How can you say that?” 


“And how can you judge a man you don’t know? “


“I’ve seen what he does.” Seril’s voice was cold. 


“You’ve seen one small fraction of what he does Birdie.” Brendon said gently. 


“”I’ve seen enough.” 


Brendon sighed and stood. “Fine then, have it your way. Just don’t blame me when you wake up one day and regret some of the choices you’ve made today. Get some rest; we’ll leave first thing in the morning.” 


Brendon left, closing the door softly behind him. Seril sat on the edge of the bed for a long time, brooding over her conversation with her old tutor. Finally she slid back under the warm furs of the bed and let her weariness carry her gently into sleep.