Light of Elliana: Book One—Of Tears & Darkness

Chapter Forty: A Quest

The next morning, the sounds of a crackling fire awakened Donovan. The prince stared at the hewn wooden beam supporting the ceiling above him in the dim early morning light. “This was the morning of the eleventh day since his dramatic plunge into the Thunder River, he thought.” Touching the side of his head, he noted the tenderness was slowly beginning to subside. His headaches had receded to a point where they were barely noticeable. Prince Donovan arose from his bed and got dressed. Stepping into the main room, he enjoyed the heat radiating from the fireplace.

“Good morning, Prince Donovan, please sit and enjoy the fire,” Jereme said pleasantly.

“Please, call me Donovan,” Prince Donovan urged. He had tired of all the stuffy royal titles and longed to walk among friends.

“As you wish,” Jereme said with a smile.

Brenna’s father took a sip from his cup and nodded in approval as he watched Donovan walk steadily towards the table. It was clear from the healer’s response he was on the mend. The prince made his way to the chair, where Myrna gestured for him to sit.

Brenna was busy, making fry cakes for their breakfast. The cook raised her head to smile at him as he seated himself. His health had improved to the point where his appetite had fully returned. As if to prove the point, his stomach growled loudly, making all of them chuckle.

“You are anxious to return to Kandalare. However, your destination lies in another direction for now. Donovan, the journey you must undertake with your friends, will be long and perilous,” Myrna said with measured intensity.

Donovan listened intently, waiting for Brenna’s mother to continue. The dreams spoke of searching for the sanctuary and finding something lost long ago. To this end, Prince Donovan now accepted Elliana had guided him to this place in time to search for the preserve.

“The future of Aederan hangs from a thread so fine within a storm where mere mortals battle eternal night. If you fail, Etmindor will fall, and all which is goodwill cease to walk this world forever. However, courage, bravery, and honor may yet suffice to save the alliance, although the price will be high,” Myrna said ominously.

“Where, will this journey take us?” Donovan asked. He desperately needed answers to make sense of the mad jumble his life had become.

“To find the sanctuary in our dreams. Though first, it’s necessary to travel to the ancient monastery ruins in Edemere,” Brenna firmly stated. “You and I have been brought together for a great purpose. Soon your friends will arrive, and we will be ready to depart.” The girl stacked the last of the hotcakes on a wooden platter she held and walked to the table, with fried cakes and bacon piled high. The smell made Donovan’s stomach growl and mouth water. He could hardly wait to dive in.

“Let’s have breakfast; we’ll be able to contemplate our situation and make better plans on full stomachs. I will get the herbal tea,” Jereme said. The tall spry man stood to retrieve the tea kettle and, one-by-one, filled their cups.

“I’ve slept enough for now,” Donovan said firmly.

“This tea is to enjoy, not put you to sleep,” Jereme replied, laughing. Brenna and Myrna joined in, filling the small home with good-natured laughter.

“Count me in; I’m as hungry as a horse! What makes you believe the Goddess Elliana has chosen us as her champions?” Donovan asked Brenna curiously.

“Over five thousand three hundred years ago, great evil marched over this world in a mighty warrior known as the Great Dying. At the time, a powerful alliance existed between four races,” Brenna explained in detail.

Donovan listened to Brenna in surprise, not quite believing his ears. “Excuse me; you said over five thousand years ago there was a great war?” With a shift of his chair, the prince inched closer so as not to miss a word she said.

“Five thousand three hundred and twenty years, to be exact. The ruler of Mankind, King Kendrick, was full of blind ambition, greed, and desire for absolute power, and he betrayed the alliance. His actions doomed every ally to be destroyed one by one in the s*******r which followed,” Brenna answered. The girl paused to take a bite of her fry-cakes and raspberry jam and sipped her tea.

Donovan nodded thoughtfully. Historians believed the current civilization was the pinnacle of humanity’s achievement. To learn there once existed, an age that was superior to the current one was a humbling experience.

“Mankind and the three other races in the alliance were doomed to an existence where hope was only a word, and death was a constant companion. The enemy destroyed cities, large and small, while mercilessly slaughtering everyone they could find. The mass destruction continued until the four races faced complete extinction.”

“Who were the other three races?” Donovan asked quietly.

“One race was the Centaurs. Of the other two races, I have no clue who they were or whether they still exist,” Brenna answered. His erstwhile rescuer took a sip of tea and placed her cup on the table.

“Tell him the rest, Brenna,” Myrna gently urged with a faint smile.

“There is a power which the Goddess Elliana gave the world, known as A’keen. Due to the war, humanity lost knowledge of its use for thousands of years. It remained so until I became sixteen years old and became what I was born to be, a Neeri.”

“What is Neeri?” Donovan looked at Brenna, baffled by the term which he had never heard before.

“It means Blessed One. Many creatures can use A’keen in different forms. Of all those who may utilize its energy, Neeri can channel and use the power of the light at its highest level. They can open many more doors of knowledge than any other being on this world,” Brenna replied.

“What is in this sanctuary we must find? Where is this place?” Donovan asked. He was listening intently, despite the fact he was eating with a hearty appetite. Right now, the prince thought food had never tasted this good before.

“For now, what lays within the sanctuary is being hidden from us; it may be to hide it from our enemies’ prying eyes. If Bemenah’s minions find the sanctuary before us, we are doomed. As to where the shrine stands—I sense it’s far to the North-West.”

“You’ve been chosen for a higher purpose, which in time Elliana will reveal. Your friends are drawing closer, I can sense them. Brenna, our beloved daughter, will travel at your side,” Myrna said with pride.

“Everything comes down to time. I mean, the real question is, will my friends arrive in time before the enemy does? If the Black Dragon arrives before we’ve left, I’m sure we will die!” Donovan looked at Brenna in exasperation.

“Donovan, despite all the odds, you survived the Giant’s Club and the fall from the Gurgin Bridge. Even though Bemenah has an army searching for you, Brenna brought you here safely. Instead of dying from your wounds, you survived because the Great Mother has watched over you,” Jereme said kindly. “Don’t despair, for something tells me Elliana will not willingly relinquish Brenna or yourself.”

“Exactly—this forest is huge, and it will take time for the enemy to find us. I will also do what I can to muddy up their search and lead them astray. We are facing the beginning of the quest, not its end.” Brenna said calmly. She slid her cup to the side. “Prince Donovan, you must be patient. Elliana moves when she believes it’s necessary.”

Shortly afterward, Donovan finished eating his breakfast and decided to step outside to get a breath of fresh air. The forest around him looked green and pleasant. Prince Donovan heard the front-door shut quietly behind him and felt the presence of someone standing at his side.

“I’m not used to being hunted and being unable to do little about it. The waiting is the hardest part. When it’s time to leave, something tells me we had better be ready,” Donovan turned to gaze into the forest. Only small creatures could be seen scampering among the trees.

The prince waited for a reply from Brenna, but for some reason, she had grown silent. Donovan turned to find out what was wrong. She stood quietly for three or four minutes as if listening. The Neeri c****d her head for a few minutes and turned to face him.

“Right now, the enemy searches the forest, far to the South. Our enemies’ have set fire to the wood; they seek to drive us out where they can destroy us. We still have time.”

Donovan looked at her for a minute. “How is it you sense these things? You appeared to be listening to something. What is it, which speaks to you?”

Brenna smiled as she gazed into the forest before her. “When you are home in Kandalare, you have messengers who tell you things. Here, the forest speaks to me from time-to-time. It told me great evil is searching the woodland to the South, and it’s using fire to burn the wood down.”

Donovan did the only thing he could, which was to take a short walk. Brenna kept pace with him, determined to make sure he was safe.

“Mother says your friends are steadily drawing closer. It shouldn’t be long now. I, too, am eager to depart,” Brenna assured him. She slapped her left forearm, swatting a mosquito.

“The forest will be destroyed by fire?” Donovan had stopped and looked at the lofty boughs of the trees around them. He had only been here a short while, yet the forest seemed like a home away from home.

“Prince Donovan, our world and lives are changing. Life will never be the same for us again,” Brenna replied calmly.

She was speaking the truth, and Donovan didn’t doubt a word of it. The Goddess Elliana possessed a great plan, of which he, among many others, would play a part. He wished the Great Lady would fully reveal what she had planned.

Meanwhile, during the same morning, the soft rain had continued to soak everything during the night until finally ending before daybreak. After the clash with the enemy yesterday, their foes had vanished. They would stubbornly follow and not be far away. “Much like animal dung clinging to your boot, which you thought you had avoided,” Morgan thought.