Archer of the Lake Read online

  Part of the reason Feraan's house so well hidden was that it was concealed on all sides. ?The front side was protected by the rising hummock of rock and deracinated roots. ?The back and left side was guarded by the river, and the last side was surrounded by his garden which was home to a massive tree. ?The branches and foliage of the tree concealed the structure of the house completely. ?The only way the house would be visible by someone from Sal'Sumarathar was if they climbed the hummock as she had done on her first visit. ?Caelfel often found herself admiring the ingenuity of the architecture and location but then began to recognized that the tree served another purpose.

  She approached its colossal trunk, and her fingers traced the edges of the rough bark. ?Caelfel circled the tree, keeping her hand on it. ?Then on the back side, where the bark touched the house, she discovered a small space tucked in the tight corner large enough for an elf to squeeze through. ?She wedged herself in and found herself at the top of a spiral staircase. ?She peered through the darkness and descended the stairs.

  It led her to a basement under the house that was the same dimensions of the floor plan. ?The underground room was dim, having only one torch to illuminate its wall. ?From what Caelfel could see, his basement held more shelves for even more books, as if the two libraries he had above ground weren't enough. ?She couldn't see the rest of the basement except for faint outlines of other structures and furniture.

  Feraan sat by the only torch next to the nearest bookcase. ?With the way he reclined in his lounge chair, Caelfel assumed he was asleep. ?She picked her way past him, doing her best to avoid stepping on something that might be hidden in the darkness. ?A book was open in his hand, and Caelfel gazed at his open-mouthed, quiet snoring. ?She couldn't imagine someone sleeping like that every night. ?He had to sleep elsewhere.

  But she didn't want to wake him so Caelfel took the open book in his hands to return it to the shelf. ?The title caught her eye. ?Reign of Firescales. ?Remembering Sir Kennyratear mention such an event in his lecture, she briefly thumbed through the illustrated pages to see it was a book of the ormr occupation of the Vinius Islands. ?Caelfel thought it a strange choice for a bedtime story, but she settled at Feraan's feet and began reading.

  She quickly learned that the Reign of Firescales was more than a simple occupation in the Vinius Islands. ?The ormr were a hostile strain of dragons that terrorized the nations of Ariang'ron-Honey Water, Umfeld, and Umfang. ?Eventually the ormr were defeated, and the elves reclaimed the islands for their empire. ?Since the war's end, the elves purposefully took measures to isolate themselves from the other races, seeing the ruthless devastation of their bloodthirsty temperaments, and the elves permanently sealed themselves away in the Fey Forest.

  Caelfel glanced at the cover again to read the author's name. ?There were two. ?Thamil Kennyratear and Feraan Auvrearaheal. ?Caelfel quietly laughed to herself, thinking that Feraan would read a book he had written. ?She wondered if Thamil Kennyratear had any relation to Nadeth and resumed her place in the book. ?It detailed the number of casualties, asserting that no other single event had claimed the lives of so many elves.

  Behind her came the sound of a nasally snort. Feraan started into awareness. ?"Did you follow me down here?" ?His voice was thick with sleep, and Caelfel hid a smile at the sound. ?She found it pleasing.

  "Who is Thamil?"

  Feraan peered at the book in her hands. ?"That is Sir Kennyratear's familiar name."

  Caelfel nodded, recalling that nadeth was a term generally granted for greylings. ?She held out the book to him. ?"I didn't realize you wrote books," she said as he took it.

  "Of course, my books are the only ones I can stand to read." ?He stretched, producing a wide yawn.

  "What made you write about the Reign of Firescales?" she asked. ?"I've only heard it mentioned one time, and that was in Sir Kennyratear's class."

  "It was a terrible war that happened over a thousand years ago. ?During my travels abroad, I found remnants of the war scattered across the world of humans. ?Huge, complicated weaponry buried beneath centuries of dirt. ?Various relief paintings that depicted widespread fires across the land were with them. ?Humans have such a weak memory, you see, that they had no record of such a war ever happening. ?I decided to research the subject, and my efforts led me to the race with the longest memory. ?The elves. ?Only, I soon discovered many elves did not remember the war either."

  Caelfel's brow furrowed. ?"Why was that?"

  "Elves can live to be thousands of years old. ?Your father is living proof of that. ?But if you actually look around, there aren't many elves over a thousand, and those that are are considered greylings. ?Greylings used to be tens of thousands of years old. The war decimated the population of Honey Water. ?It completely eradicated the race of mountain elves. ?Many elves today weren't alive during the Reign of Firescales, except for our current greylings. ?There were only three greylings I knew of personally."

  Caelfel glanced at the first name on the book cover. ?"Sir Kennyratear," she easily guessed.

  Feraan nodded. ?"He was my teacher when I first attended to the college. ?When I returned to Honey Water, my ventures led me back to him. ?He was always fond of me, trying to get me out of trouble. ?There wasn't much he could do when I kidnapped that Headmaster, though." ?Feraan's voice trailed off at the memory.

  "I'm having trouble justifying that decision," Caelfel told him.

  Feraan continued as if he hadn't heard her. "I conducted an interview with Thamil. ?As it turns out, elves do not have such a strong memory as they gloat about. ?After you've existed for a millennium, memories tend to fade, particularly traumatic ones. ?Sir Kennyratear did his best, though, and we pieced that book together. ?As you can probably imagine, it was not very popular with readers. ?The Board of Wizardry voiced their condemnation to Sir Kennyratear for upsetting the public and associating with inferiors."

  "Associating with inferiors?" Caelfel repeated, squinting at Feraan.

  "That would be me," he clarified.

  Caelfel felt a pang of pity for him once more. ?The feeling made her uncomfortable, so she pushed it away and avoided Feraan's eyes. ?"How can you be upsetting the public by recounting history?"

  "It is not a favorable time in history for elves. ?The Board disapproved because they did not see the use in remembering the tyrannical ormr if all the dragons were dead."

  Caelfel wasn't sure if she agreed with this ruling. ?Her troubled expression must have reflected this, because Feraan's face broke out into a small smile. ?He handed the book back to her.

  "Don't let it trouble you too much. ?They disapproved because I was a co-writer. ?You should read it and become my first fan."

  Caelfel did a poor job of hiding her snort when she took it back. Feraan gave an odd look at the noise. ?She quickly covered it with, "I'm sorry about Sir Kennyratear. ?I did not realize how close you were to him."

  But the distraction only turned Feraan somber. ?He didn't look at her and silently left Caelfel pressing the book to her chest in the dark basement.