Curse of Ash & Shadow

Two

Two

The forest lay dormant, silent as two people walked down the worn, dirt path with their heads bowed. One, a small girl with silver-white hair, skipped ahead with her basket, a smile dancing on her lips. Her hair bounced against her back, white dress swishing against her ankles, and it got the other woman laughing. Mud caked the edges of her dress, yet the little girl ignored the mess on them, paying attention to her mother. The morning light broke through the canopy, glistening on the mother’s greying brown hair. 

“Watch your step, Elivia,” the mother cautioned, her gaze jumping ahead of them to see roots ready to trip on comers not paying proper heed. The child only nodded quickly, bouncing over the obstacles in their path as her basket lightly smacked against the front of her calves. Twigs snapped under foot as they broke through the line of trees, all facing the largest in the middle. A small pond lay in front of the tree, quiet along the forest floor. The pond had a single occupant, a lone duck wading through the water, feathers ruffling as the wind blew over it. 

Elivia gasped, eyes wide with joy at the sight of the creature. Her finger gesturing excitedly at it, she vibrated, eager to show her mother, who only smiled. The bird took flight at such excitement, wings beating the air to gain its altitude as the child’s happiness quickly plummeted to disappointment. Frowning slightly before setting down the basket she switched her attention, looking up at the tall tree. Elivia had to admire the pure beauty of it, in all its modest grandeur. The long dark brown bark, the vivid shades of green tainting the leaves. There was a diamond shaped scar not far off the ground, above the tangles of roots, but she never got to examining it. Elivia was curious about what this tree was... She has never seen something so beautiful yet sturdy as this tree is in her short life. Under the tree, her mother told her stories at night about the creatures that used to live on this land many years ago, and she would dream about them. 

“Tell me about the Dragons again, Ma,” Elivia pleaded as she set down the small blanket that had been tucked away in her basket. The black and white squares stood out against the dark green grass, still wet with dew as it soaked up the moisture. Ignoring the coolness of the morning dew, Elivia sat down, her legs crossing so she could balance a small leather-bound book in her lap. The beige paper blankly awaited her, waiting for the ink to mar its smooth surface. Elivia sat impatiently, fidgeting as her mother took her time spreading out her own blanket, food carefully set out in front of her. The smell of fresh sausages, cheese, and crackers soon filled the air, reminding Elivia she hadn’t eaten anything yet. But the hunger for knowledge held her in place. 

Feida Colten could only laugh at her child's behaviour, head shaking slightly as her smile slowly growing across her face. Nothing could stop her expanding mind, gaining an imagination of a world long gone from this one. Tilting her face heavenward, Feida closed her eyes, letting her hair fall loosely behind her. Her arms supported her weight from behind as her legs stretched out, preparing for a long tale.

“Long ago, in ancient times,” Fieda began for what felt like the hundredth time, a distant look covering her face as she gazed up at the large oak tree. “When two realms were as one, tethered together with portals linking ours to theirs, creatures that were called Levia guarded them. They were made to guard the gates from beings who weren’t allowed to cross, or who had not gotten permission.”. Elivia looked at her mother sharply, she would not settle for omitted sections in her favorite story. Fieda sighed, loving the picky child that sat before her. “Oh, I haven’t told you the names, silly me. We humans live in the realm of Therinian, and the realm without greedy beings like us is called Falaxeria. 

“Therinian never used to be the greedy place it is now but back then we were generous. Those in need would always have food on their tables, cloth on their backs, and a room to stay in. And all were happy. Until the Dragons came. 

“They were humongous beasts that drank up the sun with their enormous wings. Fire rained on our towns daily. Farmers’ fields burned, Death visited the land, almost mercifully. Though, there were some Dragons who didn’t destroy the lands. No, they came to help these beings who could not defend themselves. That was when the First Rider came to be. He took as his partner a Dragon who had accepted him as his passenger. To be what is known now as the holy office of Rider and put an end to those Dragons who were ripping our world apart. Together, they brought a semblance of peace over the land once again. 

“But sadly, corruption follows those in power as a bloodhound on the chase, and our King gave them ample feast.

“But then again, my child, as greed and evil chases the powerful, so do those men who grow too fond of their own pride. The King captured one of the traitors to the Royal House of Falaxeria sentenced to death for his crimes, and demanded the man teach him their ways. Their Magik. Humans were never meant to learn such things and those months with the traitor brought on a new terror over the land. Many call that dark time the Broken Era. Others try to forget it ever happened. The King ravaged the lands, raising the taxes and prices of any and all the people needed to live on.”

The mother's voice died out slowly, eyes still locked on the bark of the tree. How she remembers all this was beyond her, yet the images still played on repeat inside her mind. A living nightmare. Each day Feida lived was a simple reminder of her curse. A curse to make her remember the world's past so vividly, to never forget. A sad smile lifted her lips until movement brought her back to the present. Elivia had turned to face her fully, blue eyes wide and eager. This is her life. This is what held Feida back from ending her pain. Elivia was and always would be the light of her otherwise dark life. Hand reaching out to cup her daughter's cheek, the woman put on a somewhat happier smile, yet the child knew. Elivia stared at her mother, seeing only the sadness inside slowly eat away at her mind like a parasite. 

“The land fell into a darkness no other realm has ever seen,” Feida continued her story, ignoring the dangerous waters she swam through. Something inside was demanding to be let out, free from its cage. “The First Rider, at the time this all began to happen, was away on a mission to bring peace to the neighboring realms. If he had known the damage that was being done, even he surely would not have been able to stop such a large scar from spreading across the realm. Now, though it is beginning finally to heal, many families are still vengeful to the rulers that practice Magik. Though they did not cause the outrageous offence, they surely have not tried to change it since. The world still suffers from the greed of giants past and present.

“With the arrival of better, tamer Dragons, came new Riders. The First Rider helped those chosen few to find their mounts...” Feida paused, wistful for the first time since beginning her recollection. “Elivia, if you could’ve even seen them with your own eyes, how beautiful those creatures were. I myself have only seen them in paintings, but even then, their power and grace seem timeless. Wingspans that could paint the sky, if they wished. Shadows swallowed up the ground as they soared above. The world seems empty now without the Falaxerians among us.”

Feida’s inability to continue spoke volumes, her sorrow for those beasts pure and heartfelt. The wind blew through the clearing, scattering leaves across their laps and blankets. Their hair lazily danced along as the mother and child sat in silence. Elivia let herself imagine what the world could have been, full of magical wonders like Dragons, dominating the skies. She couldn’t help but imagine herself atop one, free from the troubles of life below as she would drink in the expanse below her. It felt like nothing could hold her back from what she wanted.

One day.

The voice was carried by the wind or by her mind, Elivia couldn’t tell, but it came and went as fast as a startled rabbit. She brushed the thought off, her childish mind not threatened by such a presence. The family settled back in their spots near the tree, basking in the warmth that came from above as they let the day slowly pass them by.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A white wolf pads through the forest, its coat shimmering in the low, dim light from above as snowflakes drifted over the land. Golden-yellow eyes scan the clearing before them, white teeth glinting in the reflective light. It’s piercing gaze has locked on the doe who has strayed too far from the herd. Its tail flickered behind as it grazes the bark of the nearby trees lining the clearing, ears alert for every sound. A twig snaps from under the cover of a close pine tree, the deer's head shooting up in fright before retreating back to its family. The wolf turned its gaze to the source of the sound, finding a woman crouched under the heavy eaves. The beast stood frozen when the aqua-blue eyes of the girl met its own. There was no fear in them, only curiosity and wonder.

Elivia stayed still as the beautiful wolf stared back at her, it’s coat rippling as the muscle’s underneath shifted. That gorgeous golden-yellow held so much knowledge that she wanted to experience. She watched the wolf depart, tail swishing at the setting snow as it padded away. Letting her mouth relax into a soft grin, she turned to the retreating herd as her stomach sank in realization. Shaking her head so her hair bounced against her spine, Elivia turned to leave when something caught her eye. Footprints across the space behind her, fresh by the look of it. They were clearly leading to the deeper parts of the Ishen Forest. Upon closer inspection, the trail must have been made just before she got to her hiding place. Her eyes followed the path until they couldn’t any longer, her target disappearing out of sight. She grew curious but the hunger pangs reminded her that it was time to head home. 

“Ignore it, Liv,” she gave herself a shake, temporarily dislodging the curiosity that had been quick to embed itself in her. No one had set foot in this forest in years. She would know, this is where she was most of the time. Hunting for food, scavenging for herbs, and sometimes just relaxing away from daily life back at the cottage. Her booted feet crunched down on the thin layer of snow, the sound seeming too loud in the peaceful forest, but Elivia wasn’t paying attention anymore. Her thoughts were elsewhere. Too soon Elivia was breaking through the trees, back home again. Light snow dusted the roof as the wind howled by. It stung her skin the thin scarf didn’t cover as she trudged onwards, hissing in slight pain. 

Floorboards creaking under her weight, Elivia wedged open the door, listening to the slow breathing of the woman inside. The fire crackled in the hearth, spitting embers as the warmth engulfed her, slowly dispelling the chill that had begun to set in her core. The snow that clung to her cloak slowly began to melt as she hung it by the door, shaking excess fluff off her trousers. Treading lightly through the hall into the kitchen, Elivia peeked over into the living area. 

Feida Colten lay sprawled over the ragged couch, greying hair a mess behind her. Her sunken cheeks were outlined by the glow of the fire. A sorrowful smile graced her lips at the sight, sadness filling her until it reached its rim. This was not how Elivia pictured her future when she was a young girl. They were supposed to have a big house that was filled with laughter and warmth. Food lining the shelves and a fridge, so they never went hungry. But somewhere along the way, that all changed. The pain in her palms broke her out of these insistent thoughts, shifting her gaze and unfolding her hands that had balled into fists. Small crescent moons stared back at her, lining her palm. Some had even broken the skin, and red dots blossomed. 

“Elivia? Is that you?” Her mother’s voice snapped her attention back to the woman lying on the couch, her hazel eyes still cloudy with sleep. She started to make the effort to get up but Elivia halted her, waving her hand for Feida to stay put. Her mother protested repeatedly but her daughter would not have her exert herself. Scavenging through the cupboards, she gathered a plate of dried deer, bread and cheese before bringing it to her mother. 

“Dammit Liv, you have one job,” Elivia began, inwardly reprimanding herself. How could she miss such a ridiculously easy shot with that deer this morning? Sitting stiffly in the rickety chair, her fingernails dug at the wooden arm, her emotions overwhelming all focus. 

“Honey don’t beat yourself up over this,” her mother’s voice interrupted Elivia’s thought process once again, her smiling face calming her slightly. Even when she was slowly withering away, Feida could always smile to brighten up the darkest of times. “Don’t worry about it, you will get another chance.”

If only Elivia could believe that like her mother, but that was out of the question. Three full days hunting has brought nothing but failure each time. Failure to fill their already small storage space of precious food. The longer they didn’t have food, the harder it would become. The herd has already started their journey north, away from their chilling summer residence. The heat of the fire hadn’t fully broken through the ice shield that enveloped Elivia, shivers wracking her body harshly. Pulling the chair closer to the fire to embrace some of its sparse heat, Elivia closed her eyes. Her mind carried her off into a dreamless sleep, thoughts of the empty storage left forgotten along the way.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Open up in the name of the King!”

 Loud banging on the thin front door violently aroused Elivia from her slumber, eyes popping open. Her heartbeat raced in her chest as her head snapped towards the only thing standing between these men and her. Scenarios began to play on repeat in her head, images of them slapping chains on her mother's wrists swam to the surface. 

“I said, open up!”

Her feet inched over the small space between the living area and the door, hands trembling as they moved towards the doorknob. This must be a dream. It had to be. Why else would the King bother with lowly peasants like them? It had to be a nightmare. The door creaked open, the thin poor wood sticking splinters into her skin, but she blocked out the pain. The man outside was indeed a soldier of the King. The black armour was stark against the white snow behind, the red sigil of a saber-toothed tiger baring its fangs at her. The man himself wasn’t much to boast about, with his unshaven beard sticking out from underneath the uniform scarf, dull brown eyes glaring at her. Elivia’s back straightened as she sized this man up, noticing his hand resting on the pommel of his sword. This loud man was surely nothing to worry about, but Fate loved to watch hope build and dim just as quickly.

“Is Feida Colten here?” His voice was like sandpaper against her ears. Cringing inwardly and almost showing her disdain on the outside, Elivia took a deep breath to vehemently deny knowing who they were searching for, when a voice spoke up from just behind her. Right then she wished to disappear, to smack her head against the thin door that was gripped as though her life depended on it. Her hand tightened still against it, splinters digging deeper into her palm.

“I will go with you willingly,” Feida said firmly, appearing from the living area in her simple clothing. Crinkles spotted her pants and top, yet she did her best to make herself look more dignified.

“Mother-no!” Elivia faced away from the soldier to look at the woman standing behind her. A worried expression that begged to argue overtook her face, but Feida waved a hand for her to be silent. Biting her tongue, Elivia forced herself to do as she was told, against her better judgement. The one thing that Feida wouldn’t stand for was a child who tried to fight back against her wiser years. Elivia could argue against anyone else who tried to get in her way, but not her mother. Never her.

Stepping aside, she let her head bow in defeat. Elivia forced herself to listen to them talk as Feida implored to be given a moment to change into warmer clothes and to say goodbye. His lip had curled back by the end of her request, but surprisingly he didn’t deny her that much. Elivia didn’t welcome the man in. If this was the last time, they would see each other than this unwanted guest could wait in the cold. She found Feida in her small mess of a room, changing into her worn warmer clothes. When Elivia offered her much warmer wolf fur coat, Feida refused swiftly. That was her treasure to keep. It was a reminder of Elivia’s first kill on those graceful beasts, and she hated herself for doing it. During the first snowfall a year ago, Elivia had set out to get better coats for them to help withstand the coming winter but had only succeeded in getting a single wolf pelt. Throughout that year Elivia tried again and again to get another but those wolves were far cleverer than she was.

All too soon, Feida was escorted to a carriage, not looking back once. If she had, she would have seen her child, standing alone on the small porch, tears streaming down her red cheeks. Her tears stung on their journey down her face, the cold air instantly freezing over the marks. Seeing her mother, her only parent, leave, was something Elivia never dreamed would happen to her, but as she watched the carriage move further into the distance, she knew it wasn’t supposed to end like this. All the things she wished she had said to her were never going to be heard. Never would be released from her lips. And that’s what hurt the most. Elivia had forgotten to tell her mother she loved her one last time.

Spinning on her heel Elivia slammed the door roughly behind her, ignoring the sounds of the snow loosely trapping her in. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered now when she was so useless. So utterly useless, to stand up against the King's men, against the King's orders. Why bother with someone who was just an ant under their feet waiting to be squished? She couldn’t stand herself. Elivia caught herself pacing. She had to stop this, or she’d do something she would regret. Shaking her head violently to rid herself of these thoughts that were suffocating her, she shut herself in her room. It was too empty of a room, but Elivia never did collect anything of importance. A simple, worn down bed was pushed in the far corner, while a rickety old table sat at the left wall. Papers were scattered over the surface, one that hadn’t been there before. An envelope, resting on the top, her name written elegantly over the front. Elivia held back the sob that nearly left her control. It was a letter from her mother.

Snapping the seal open, Elivia slowly perused the letter.

My Dearest Elivia,

I want to tell you how much you mean to me. There will never be any words or actions to express that can fully express that to you, but I can try. When you came into my life all those twenty years ago, it was a miracle. There was not a child in the world who was more adorable than you. I have tried my best to raise you right but maybe I’ve been holding you back. You have this energy within you that has been driving you to explore, that’s why I didn’t try to stop you from going into the Ishen Forest when everything inside me yelled and screamed to keep you close. A mother's love can never be replaced by anyone, and I do hope you know how much I love you.

You may be wondering why you are reading this instead of hearing it from me, sitting in front of you. I should explain. That is the right thing, after all. By now a soldier has come for me, taking me to the King of Herza Empire. I never told you about the Empire, did I? Oh Elivia, it is so full of life! People selling exotic fruits, animals not born in our cold, desolate land all over the place. I have always wanted to show you, but the time never came, and now it is too late. I beg you not to come for me, I have accepted this as my Fate. As much my Destiny as when the Gods gave me you to raise as my own. This day was coming, I wasn’t sure when the soldiers would arrive at our doorstep, but now they have. So please, Elivia, do not look for me. Do not come to my aid, for it is not for you to do so. 

The Herza Empire has decreed that I am to work for them, and I will go gladly if it means you will be safe. Do not let a soldier through the door, ever. They will say what they want to try and gain entry, but I must insist that you do not give in. I cannot explain the reasons, some God knows I wish I could. I may never be able to send a letter from where I will be living out the rest of my days. I have always tried to raise you with the truth about the world, about me, but I’m afraid I have not always followed through. I have hidden things from you so that you could live out your life in blissful ignorance. 

I will tell you one truth, only because it has eaten away at me for years. It would be best, maybe, for me to keep my mouth shut about this, but I cannot. I would rather you hear this from me, than from someone else trying to use this knowledge against you somehow. Elivia, I am not your birth mother. But I still consider myself your mother. I wonder if you will after you’ve read that. Am I even worthy of calling myself your mother, when I have hidden that much from you? 

It was on a day when the snow was coming down hard, I could barely see a foot ahead of myself, it was coming down so fast. Back then I was like you, wanting to adventure where no one else dared to go. The Ishen Forest was a barren place, the trees dry like skeleton hands gripping my clothing. Snagging on me as I walked past and tangling into my hair. I’m surprised I still have hair from how much it pulled at my scalp. The dense forest was calling to me, or that is what I believed it was doing. Leading me deeper and deeper into the thicket until a clearing appeared out of nowhere just ahead of me. It was a majestic clearing with the large dark oak tree on the far side and the small pond in front. There was a woman there, a small bundle clutched to her chest, and tears streaming down her pale face. I did not know how she hadn’t frozen over already, for she was only wearing a thin white dress, hazel eyes staring down at what was in her arms lovingly. They snapped towards me when the crunch of snow alerted her of my presence. Her complexion was stark against everything around her. Her words spoken out of those cherry red lips thawed my body from the paralysis that had fallen over me.

“Save this child, please. Raise her as if she were your own.”

I remember those words so clearly every day I looked at you and when you were placed into my arms, I felt whole. All my life I had felt like I was incomplete in some way, but then you came. When I had looked up from your chubby, cute face, the woman had left, footprints leading off to the Misty Mountains. I tried to find her, but to no avail. So, I brought you home, brought you to your new life with me and at the time, my husband. At first, he was shocked beyond belief, then angry that I would bring home a child that wasn’t our own with no warning. You see, he wanted a child, ever since we first married, yet I could not carry one, my body rejected that notion. One day, I came upon you in his arms, his eyes staring down at you with acceptance and joy, and that was the end of that. I knew one day I would have to break the news to you that you weren’t my blood, my child, but every time I had tried, you looked at me with those gorgeous aqua-blue eyes of yours and the words would die on my lips. I hope you can forgive an old woman for keeping this from you.

Live a long, happy life my little Elivia.

Your mother, Feida.

Dark blotches appearing on the parchment awoke Elivia from her daze, blinking rapidly to rid herself of the tears that had begun to fall. When did she start crying? The letter fell back to the tabletop, the edges folding in on itself. Elivia could only stare blankly at the wall. One question rang over and over in her mind like an eager bell. Who was her mother, her real mother? No one could replace this woman who had raised her, yet the curiosity was burning a hole inside of her, like an ember slowly eating at a piece of wood. 

Elivia wished she could hold her mother one last time.