Legon Awakening

chapter Twenty-One

Discovery



“We plot and scheme, putting all our energy into a task, doing our best to ensure our foe’s demise. However, in the end we always create our greatest adversary. What is it that makes us do such a thing? We never do it intentionally; perhaps this is what keeps the world in balance…”

-The Exiled Captain (Author Unknown)



Legon woke up wrapped in silky sheets that felt incredible. He thought back on their first night here two weeks ago. After they had met up with the girls and Sasha found out that she was “special,” as Iselin had put it, they went to the dining hall where he was introduced to more people than he had ever met at one time—all Elves just as attractive as Iselin and Mantic. Well, maybe not as attractive as Iselin.

The food had been incredible as well, and he was amazed to find out that the Elves had figured out how to get plants to grow meat-like fruit. When he heard this he was hesitant to try it; he was a butcher, after all. He knew meat. Still, he wasn’t able to find anything wrong with it. Not the chicken, beef, pork, or any of the other “meats” that he tried. The others had contented themselves with one portion of food, but apparently his enlarged appetite had nothing to do with being Elven. They ate the same amounts as humans did. Iselin said that the human men in the area would sometimes have eating contests, and that he could be the first Elf to join. he said that he might just do that. Looking back on it now, he wasn’t sure if she had meant it as a compliment.

During dinner Mantic had come in and said that he had been ratified and was now the head of a great Elven house, a thought that made even his hunger go away. Iselin showed them many of the dome’s marvels, including an area where you could swim indoors, and a small pool of heated water that you just sat in, soaking. it felt wonderful.

They hadn’t been able to figure out why Sasha had a minor, but to him magic was still new enough that it didn’t affect him. Iselin got along great with all of them despite Sasha’s constant attempts to set them up together. They had also met the dragon that was in charge of the military here. His name was Sydin. he was also loyal to house Evindass, making Legon his commander. Still, he wouldn’t be questioning Sydin any time soon.

all of the Elven dragons that they’d seen were bright, vibrant colors, most assigned here in part because of that. The Elves wanted humanity to see a brighter, nicer side to the dragon, but Sydin was here because house Evindass was currently in charge of this dome.

Dragons and warriors from all over the Elven Empire were here, but the great houses took turns being in charge of a dome. the Elven government worked as a cohesive unit and Legon wasn’t sure what was meant by being in charge.

His thoughts drifted back to Sydin, who was not brightly colored but was soot black, though soot didn’t glitter and have a slight glow about it. Sydin was also a class seven and over six thousand years old, but Legon didn’t see him that way. He was friendly and fiercely loyal to his house and respected the fact that Legon needed to be raised outside of the Elven Empire. He had insisted on hearing about his and Sasha’s lives in detail. he was proud of Legon and insisted that if he had known the extent of Sasha’s hardship he would have flown on Salmont and burned it to the ground. This had taken them both off guard. Elves were normally reserved and didn’t just make hasty and unwise decisions, but they could tell there was more to this declaration than what they could see. Neither could figure out why Sydin would have been willing to risk his life to save Sasha from being ostracized.

Legon pushed these thoughts from his mind. today was going to be… different. today their old friend Barnin would be returning to the Precipice. He hadn’t seen Barnin in close to a year and a half, and he wondered what kind of greeting he would get. would Barnin be mad at Legon for getting Kovos killed?

He got up and walked in to the shower. this was his favorite of the Elven inventions. He ran his hand along the ridge, turning the water on, and then placed his hand in the spot that made the water right below scalding. he breathed in deeply. When he was done he got dressed and walked into the living space. Keither was sitting on one of the couches reading a book. Dragon domes didn’t have too much in the way of libraries but they still had one bigger than in Salmont, so Keither had taken to reading everything that he could get his hands on.

“Morning. What are you reading?” Legon asked.

“Hey. it’s a history of the Mahann,” Keither responded.

“That sounds fascinating at this time of the morning.”

“Oh, it is! I’m reading about…”

Legon stopped him. “I was being sarcastic.”

“Fine, suit yourself.” Keither put down the book at looked at Legon. “I’m nervous about seeing Barnin again. why do you think that is?”

“There’s a lot that we have to explain—both him and us. but I feel apprehensive too. We’re walking into the unknown on this one.”

Legon opened the constant connection that Sasha and he had, asking if she and Sara were ready for them to come by. “The girls are ready. Let’s get breakfast and see what happens.”

Barnin was a close friend, and surely he had been filled in on what Legon meant to the Elves and the resistance. the question was going to be how he would receive the news that Legon had let Kovos die. Sydin told them that Barnin had moved up quickly in the ranks, mostly due to Arkin’s training, and now he commanded a unit for the cavalry. He was stationed right on the border with the Empire, but Legon wasn’t thinking of it as the Empire so much anymore, but instead as the Iumenta occupied territory. Barnin was bringing two communications from Parkas, Hoelaria’s chief warlord; one for the humans in the area and another for the Elves. This was commonplace, Legon was told, as the humans and Elves were two different countries.

there was a lot of tradition between the two powers of the Elves and Iumenta. Many of these originated before the time of the War of Generations but some came about after. it was a fine line both sides walked to avoid open war. It appeared that statecraft was a game of wit, not might. both sides had been plotting for millennia after the war that had claimed seventy percent of the life in Airmelia.

Iselin joined them for breakfast but Arkin didn’t. he was no longer in charge of them, and as a result was being given different tasks, most of these assigned by Sydin. Iselin could see that they were all tense.

“You have nothing to fear. Barnin is your friend and supports house Evindass. he knows who you are, Legon. how could he not?”

“What house do you give your loyalty to?” Sara asked.

Iselin paused at the question. “Not every Elf claims allegiance to a great house. many may support a Great House or a Lesser House, but many are independent in a sense.”

“Are you independent?” Sara pressed; she was genuinely curious.

“Sydin and I are loyal to House Evindass. that is why I am your guide while you are here. if I weren’t loyal to Evindass then Sydin would be your guide.”

“How many of my house are here?” Legon asked.

“Two dragons, Sydin and myself, and then 500 units. the other ten dragons are from several houses and a few independents. The same goes for the other 3,500 troops here.”

“There are 4,000 in this dome?” Keither said with amazement.

“Yes there are,” Iselin said.

There wasn’t much talking after that, and Legon contented himself with his eggs.

* * * * *

Barnin rode up to the Precipice with the two communications in his bag. This wasn’t the first time that Parkas had sent something, but it was never good. Tradition dictated that they send a message to Elves and humans before a major invasion. in that message there would be terms for surrender and so on. He was feeling uneasy for another reason as well. Rumor held that the Everser Vald, who he knew to be Legon, had reached the dragon dome. When Arkin had helped him leave Salmont and the Iumenta occupied territory, he had told Barnin what Legon might be. Arkin had given him a message for the resistance as well.

What would his friends think of him now that he was an accomplished warrior and had moved quickly up the ranks? He reached down, stroking the neck of his black mare Poison. The dome was in sight now and he felt better. it was going to be good to catch up with Legon and Kovos. He wanted to talk to Sasha as well. when he left he had found himself feeling concerned for her. at first he thought it was from years of protecting her, but he knew better now. Magic affected people’s minds. A Venefica could nudge you in one direction or another; this was how the Iumenta stayed in control. Dragons infected areas with little notions and beliefs, and even if you didn’t buy in at first, over generations people were slowly swayed to one form of thinking. This was used in battle as well. Dragons helped those who were under them keep their morale high and, more important, helped how you felt after a battle.

The Iumenta disliked people like Sasha. they influenced people to avoid those with handicaps, thus keeping these people from having kids and tainting their workforce. It was disgusting, but many had to leave the Cona Empire to avoid going into the care. The city of Manton was an excellent example; it had the most people who had fled persecution.

Manton had been an eye opening experience. he had heard of blind and deaf people before but he had never seen one. Those people couldn’t find work in the Empire, so they were homeless and often taken into the care, never to be seen again. The thing that got him the most was all the kids in Manton. families that had kids with problems were forced to leave. the Iumenta had been sowing beliefs for decades that people with mental problems were evil. He’d felt these feelings. they were subtle, but they were definitely there. he had felt them about Sasha when he lived back home. even though she was kind, he knew she was possessed. Those feelings had assaulted him his whole life like fiery little darts, but not anymore.

He handed the message for the humans to the man next to him, telling him to make sure it got to Enrich. then he started to ride up the side of the dome. When he got to the top, Legon, Sasha, Keither, Arkin, and two Elves were there, as well as Sara. but where was Kovos? Had he been injured? He got off Poison and approached them. How did Sara end up with them?

“Hey,” Legon said, giving him an awkward half hug and half handshake.

“How was your trip?” Barnin asked.

“Hard. How have you been?” Legon asked.

“I’m fine. Where is Kovos?”

Legon and the others looked down.

“He didn’t make it,” Keither said.

Barnin felt a pit in his gut. ‘He didn’t make it.’ He had lost friends in war before; this wasn’t new to him. but this was unexpected. Keither launched into how it happened. it sounded like it wasn’t really Keither talking, just the form of Keither relaying a message. As Keither went on he felt himself feeling proud of all of his friends. all had shown incredible bravery and fortitude.

“And that’s how it happened,” Keither ended.

“It was a good death. he died a hero. For that we should not sulk. please, I want to hear the rest of your story,” Barnin said, trying not to sound upset.

“You don’t blame us?” Sasha asked.

Did he blame them? He felt anger rise from inside him. “No, how could I? The filth drove you from Salmont. it was they who pursued you. it is they who are to blame. They will pay, don’t you worry about that.” His fists where clenched. they would pay, and not just for Kovos but for everyone they enslaved and killed.

“Yes, they will,” Legon said, looking at him. Barnin believed him. Legon told the rest of their story, leaving nothing out. His fist tightened again when he heard about what they were planning on doing to Sasha and what had been done to Sara. The Elves would be irate. they viewed Sasha as one of their own, the lady of a great house. and the Iumenta were stupid to try and kill the heir of house Evindass. there would be blood for sure. He abruptly remembered what he was there to do. they could catch up later.

“We need to go over this message. It’s from Parkas. My guess is he’s telling you that he is going to invade.”

An Elf with black specks in his eyes that he knew to be called Sydin spoke. “We will go inside to discuss this. Barnin, thank you for your diligence. If you would follow us, please.”

Barnin followed them into the dome, not talking much. They went into a small room with a table and five other Elves already waiting. He, Sara, and Keither were told to wait outside. Sydin took the message and Legon and Sasha followed him inside.

“Why can’t we go in?” Keither asked as soon as the door was closed.

“Because that was a message for the Elves, not us,” Barnin said.

“But Legon and Sasha…” Keither started.

Barnin cut him off. “Legon and Sasha are heads of a great house. They are nobility, regardless of how we know them.”

* * * * *

Legon entered the room close behind Sydin and Iselin. there were five other Elves there that he had met already. They nodded to him and Sasha. Sydin opened the message and read it aloud.

“Greetings to the great and Noble Pawdin Empire. we write you this epistle to inform you that we will be invading the renegade province of the Cornis Mountains. Our forces will not be attacking any members of the Pawdin Empire. we apologize for any casualties that we may unintentionally inflict upon you. We ask that in order to avoid this undesirable outcome you evacuate your forces to within the Pawdin Empire’s borders. If you choose to uphold your alliance with the human faction in this section of the land, your people will be treated as hostile.”

“So what was that for? They’re letting us know that they’re going to attack?” Sasha asked. Legon shared her confusion. why would you tell your enemy that you were coming?

Iselin responded. “There are a lot of formalities between our two countries. But also, in this way the Iumenta can say that they warned us to leave, and therefore our government can’t get angry when they kill us.”

Sydin placed the message on the table. “They have six human legions along the border. we are outnumbered. defeat is inevitable unless we are able to match their strength. let us connect.” Legon knew that Elves and Iumenta ran their governments through mental networking, but it was still an odd feeling to join the minds of those that were thousands of years old.

After examining the situation, it appeared that virtually every angle was blocked to them, except one possible route. Normally, the commanding officer would return the message, saying that the Elves were going to uphold their alliance with the humans. but if Legon stated that he and House Evindass were in full support of humanity, then…

He broke the connection. “I don’t get it. I am more than willing to tell the Iumenta that I plan to fight them, but how will that affect this fight?”

Sydin spoke. “Because you are the head of a great house and you are coming out in opposition to Hoelaria and her control of the Cona Empire for the first time, if they hit with their full forces and you die, then the rest of the great houses may declare open war with the Cona Empire and the Iumenta country—the Impa Empire.”

“But isn’t that what all of us want?” Sasha asked.

“They want it, but on their terms. if they send in a small force then the great houses won’t be as apt to go to war,” Sydin stated.

Legon thought about it and decided it was worth a shot. they prepared a reply and at the end he signed it, adding that the House Evindass supported humanity. They gave it to Barnin.

“What do you think will happen?” Legon asked Iselin.



she smiled. “I suspect that they will not attack us with their full army, but I don’t know.”



Legon smiled in return. “So I guess we get to wait.”



She placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled again.

* * * * *

Barnin rode toward the Iumenta envoy. he glanced up at the gray sky. It was rainy this time of year, leaving the sky in a state of perpetual gray. oftentimes it would rain or drizzle all day, but today was just cloudy. That meant that there could be someone of importance waiting for him. he squinted, looking into the distance at six figures on horseback.

“Iumenta,” he thought. He was thankful that even the Iumenta adhered to the “don’t–kill-the-messenger” code of conduct, but he still didn’t want to talk to them. He didn’t see the army. they would be kept far back from the border so as to not interfere with negotiations. that wouldn’t stop them from slaughtering innocents with small bands of soldiers, though. “But hey, who’s counting?” he thought.

A chill ran down his spine as he reached the Iumenta. The one with long silver hair was Parkas, Hoelaria’s chief warlord. not a good sign. Next to him was a man with black hair. His clothes had Hoelaria’s crest on it. Barnin wasn’t positive, but he was pretty sure that this was her Senashow—also bad. He raised his mental shields; you never knew what they might do.

He was the most nervous about the Senashow. A boy and his brother, former servants of the queen, had joined the resistance not too long ago. The boy had delivered the queen’s dinner late, and the Senashow was there at the time. The boy had dropped the plate and was missing a tooth as a result. After that the Senashow had blinded his brother as punishment. the boy had been there when he did it, with the Senashow laughing the whole time and calling them apes.

“Focus Barnin,” he thought.

“I come bearing a message from the Pawdin Empire,” Barnin said.

“They send a dog to deliver the message?” the Senashow said coldly. Legon had given him permission to speak his mind. indeed, the Iumenta would make a lot of assumptions about Legon from this encounter. He needed to be rude. they needed to think House Evindass unstable and reckless. He was good at being rude, but he didn’t care to get killed. Still, you don’t kill the messenger, right?

“Did you think of that all on your own? Here is the message. Should I read it for you, or do you think you can handle it?” Barnin taunted.

Iumenta didn’t flush, but if they did he was sure they would have now. “What did you say to me you worthless little ape?” the Senashow asked.

“I thought I was a dog? Ok, I’ll read it to you. it’s ok.” He unrolled a scroll that had the message. he didn’t want to look at them anymore. He could feel the Senashow’s anger.

Parkas spoke. “Do not get angry, old friend. He is a messenger, and one that is terrified. No doubt he was told to be rude. Give me the message, I can read it.”

He got off Poison and walked to Parkas, handing him the message. He tried not to walk back to his horse too quickly. When he got back on he saw Parkas looking concerned.

“House Evindass has no head.”

“Yes, it does. His name is Legon,” Barnin said with pride.

“There is no heir to Evindass. He was killed in Salmont,” the Senashow responded.

“No, he wasn’t. and he wasn’t killed by any of your men over the last few months either. now which one of you was that?” he said, looking the two over and pointing a finger.

Parkas glared at the Senashow. Barnin pointed at him. Now was the time to deliver his real message.

“It was you? Tsk, that won’t go over well. could have taken out the Everser Vald before he was an Elf. That’s rough. Oh well, do you have a response?”

The Senashow started to talk but Parkas held up a hand. he could tell that Parkas was now just as mad as the Senashow, but not at Barnin.

“We will continue our campaign. tell Legon that I look forward to discussing his surrender in the gardens of Manton, if he lives that long,” Parkas said.

With that they turned and rode off. it had worked. He knew it. Parkas would not send his full force without finding out more about Legon. He relaxed and started back to the Precipice. he had just insulted two of the most powerful people in Airmelia. he didn’t drink, but he might start tonight.