Esra (26 page)

       “Hello, father,” her words were muffled as he squeezed her into his chest, laughing.

       “I can’t believe it’s ye!”  He released her from his iron grip but continued to hold onto both her hands, swinging them erratically.  “Yer even more wonderful than I imagined.”

       “Err…thanks.”

       The room quieted as Esra’s mother Talitha entered and took her place at the front of the room.  An intricate gown of blue velvet trailed behind her like soft waves of the sea.  She looked briefly towards her husband, who was still grinning goofily, and laughed softly before continuing.  Her voice echoed hauntingly in the now hushed room.

       “I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of our residents of the Stronghold and favored guests.  Tonight we will dine to commemorate a long lost Keeper who has finally come home, our daughter Esra.  And knowing what difficulties lie ahead, we offer all Keepers these few brief hours as a sanctuary from their worries.  Please remember that all of the Great Keepers are extremely proud of each and every one of you.  And now, please enjoy your meal!”

       A cheer rose up in the hall and the noise began to climb again as platters upon platters of steaming food spilled forth from the kitchen.  Adonis took a seat next to his daughter and poured her a cup of mead. 

       “So, yer mother tells me that ye’ve inherited some of my clumsiness.”

       “Aye,” Esra laughed.

       Fynn leaned over mischievously. “Then yer probably wondering how such an awkward man became the Great Keeper of War.  Well, they figured it would get him into a meeting room and off the field of battle, where he was bound te trip and skewer one of his own feet.  Or someone else’s.”  

       “Tis shamefully true,” Adonis smiled as he shook his head sadly.

       “Don’t worry, I’m not afraid of ye,” Esra assured him. “I have my own foot skewering to attend to.”          

Plates piled high with a wide assortment of food, more variety than anything Esra had laid eyes on appeared before them.   Actually, landed would be more accurate.  Esra watched with a gaping mouth as plates soared in from the front of the room above their heads and came to rest solidly on the table before them.  There were mounds of magickally created Rabbit and Vernok, many different Fishes that had been broiled, fried, or roasted, fresh Fruits, Potatoes, Carrots, Hyntrus, and other Vegetables, both raw and cooked.  There was warmly baked bread of all different sizes and colors, cheeses that crumbled and others whose stringy texture seemed immune to breaking.  These dishes were swiftly followed by three different colored gravies, also floating bravely, a large bowl of hairy, strange looking yellow Fruit, and multiple plates of brightly colored candies, some as small and round as a pebble and others long and thin as rope.  It was overwhelming, the sight and smell of it.

“Are all these foods native to The Gardens?”  Esra noted that although all the food appeared normal in shape and texture, it was much larger than anything she had ever seen.  She used both hands to pick up a Tomato that was almost as big as her head and looked questioningly at Fynn.

“Chef’s secret.  We grow our food fairly large around here.”

There was an interlude of silence as everyone gathered food onto their plate, reminding Esra that the beautiful feast before her was indeed intended to be eaten.  The distinct sound of multiple feet tapping at a far corner was closely followed by the low hum of instruments.  She wondered briefly what to say to her father and if this had been as strange an experience for him as it had been for her.  Then again, her parents had twenty years to imagine this moment.  She had only a few short days.

       The silence was interrupted by another burst of singing from the next table, startling Esra back to the present.  Talitha went to join Cane at his table, leaving her husband to enjoy the company of his daughter.  Esra continued to rack her brain, trying to think of something to talk with her father about.  “So how did ye and Talitha…I mean, mother, meet?”

       “Well now,” he took a moment to swallow a mouthful of boiled Potatoes. “I accidentally knocked her out with a Turnip.”

       “Oh my.” Esra’s eyes opened in surprise as everyone around the table hooted and leaned in eagerly.  She waited a moment for the punch line, but Adonis just smiled at her goofily. “You’re not kidding, eh?  Not quite the romantic story I was expecting.  How did ye ever manage that?”

       “Funny story, that is.  Well, maybe not when it happened.  I had been eyeing yer mother fer quite some time and she knew it.  Just the summer before, her family had come to my town from somewhere far away that I’d never heard of.  Everyone thought I was a bit too…err…awkward fer a young man.  Prone to accidents, ye see.  Yer mother was the exact opposite, elegant in every sense of the word.  Talitha spoke differently than the others in town, acted different.  I thought she was so beautiful and exotic.  So ye see, just like every other week I was taking a cart full of Vegetables fer my father to the market in town.  It just so happened that I was lifting a crate of Turnips out the back of the cart when I slipped.  The box flew through the air, smashing into a hundred pieces on the ground next to me.  Somehow one of those Vegetables had escaped and soared through the air to hit Talitha square in the forehead as she was walking by.  Knocked her out cold.  Scared I killed her, I was.  So I was sitting there in the middle of the street cradling her when she woke up, big red welt on her face.  Slapped me good once, and then kissed me immediately after.  She says that’s when she fell in love with me, lying there in the dirt with a big ole Turnip bruise on her head.”

            Esra paused, speechless, as everyone at the table burst out laughing.  Adonis’ face reddened as he chuckled jovially.  “So don’t say that it isn’t lucky sometimes to be a little clumsy.  I got a good wife out of the deal.”

       “I’ll remember that,” Esra said with a serious look.  “Whenever I want to find a man, all I need is a good hard Vegetable.”

       “Are ye sure ye didn’t just knock her brain loose?” Fynn cried. “Maybe she’s just damaged.”

       Everyone roared as Esra piled more abnormally large food onto her plate, finally hungry after all of the nervous anticipation.  Her father seemed to be very easy to get along with and didn’t mind doing most of the talking, which relieved her mood greatly.

       The dinner continued, punctuated by various funny stories and sudden outbreaks of tavern songs.  Her father told a bit more of the time before Esra was born when he was courting her mother.  Everyone ate well beyond their fill, yet still seemed to find room when heaping platters of desserts came soaring out. 

“Where are the Great Keepers of Magick and Strength?  Did they not attend the festivities?” She asked Baelin over the noise. 

“The Great Keepers dine with the rest of the folks of the Stronghold, so they’re probably scattered about somewhere.”

Esra thought it a good gesture that they did not have special seating in the front to mark their superiority like a King or Queen would.   How different things were here.  She had never visited the palace before, but she was more than certain that the royalty did not mingle as such, even at special occasions.

Leaning back in her chair, Esra gave a contented sigh as the empty plates and bowls before her lifted up and flew back towards the front of the room.  It was a strange sight, the serving platters zipping through the air, everyone talking as if it were a common occurrence.  Then again, it probably was, for them at least.  The room grew slowly quieter as everyone’s stomachs grew fatter, and by the time Adonis walked to the front to talk to the people of the Stronghold, the noise in the hall had lowered to a lazy hum.

       “My good friends,” his voice boomed across the massive hall, “I hope that ye’ve enjoyed yer feast!”

       There was a surge of noise as everyone cheered and banged their fists on the tables in agreement.

       “Unfortunately, we must end the night on a sadder note.  We have received word that Kiran Brae, our great city to the far west, has already been taken over by Tallen and his Elites.  It is only a matter of time before they continue over Grey Thorn Pass to Mahesh in the northeast.”

       Gasps and whispers swept through the crowd as Adonis held up his hand for silence.

       “It will take time to get everyone assembled here so that we may begin our counterstrike.  Regrettably, we cannot attempt to reclaim Kiran Brae at this time, so we will focus our efforts instead on the defense of Mahesh.  If we can keep Tallen out of the east Kingdom fer the time being, it will buy us much needed time fer further preparation.  The good news is that Tallen believes the threat of the Keepers is nonexistent.  We have not opposed him thus far as he took over one of LeVara’s great cities, so what has he to fear?

       “We must focus our energies upon preparing fer battle and gathering the support of all four races.  I fear that Tallen and his army have grown too powerful over the past few years fer the Keepers to fight this war alone.  Everything depends upon our unity, everything.  If we do not gain the strength of each and every race, the Humans, the Unni, the Shendari, and the Elves, then I fear all will be lost.  It seems to be a simple task, to have all the peoples stand together against such treachery, but it is not.  A War Council has not been held fer hundreds of years, and the community that once existed between the races has almost vanished.  Tallen and his Elites will not be our only obstacle.”

       More rumblings swept through the hall as Esra leaned over to Arland.  “I didn’t know it would be so difficult to have a War Council.”

       “Aye, not only are they worried about conducting the meeting but even getting everyone to attend will be a challenge,” he whispered back as Adonis continued. 

       “And so I want to leave ye with this before we go to sleep tonight.  Let yer one focus in the coming weeks be unity, and remember that each and every race is essential to our fight.  The Elders are currently on their way to the Jade Gardens and tomorrow an Assembly leaves to employ the Unni-se.  We have already sent envoys to the Shendari and King.  In less than two fortnights we hope to hold the first War Council in generations, attended by all four races.  And I tell ye this, that no matter what happens at the Council meetings, the Great Keepers have decided that we will wage war on Tallen no matter what the cost, even if we stand alone.  The people of LeVara count on us to bring them freedom.  Let us hope fer nothing more than an open heart and mind fer those we seek to bring to these discussions.  We must relearn how to celebrate our differences and share our strengths so that we may triumph in this dark time.”

       Adonis stepped back and off the small platform as the room erupted into heated conversations.  The Keeper of War certainly had a way with words.  Esra sat in silence and worried that if the War Council was unsuccessful, many more people would die because of it.  Baelin must have noticed her concern for he motioned for her to leave the Dining Hall with him.  They wove through the crowds of people until they reached the doors, bringing a sudden quietness as they were shut.

       “Don’ worry, Esra.  I have faith that all will be well.”

       “I hope yer right.”

       “I am.  Now ye need te get yer rest because we have a big day tomorrow.”

       “That seems to be a trend lately.”

       “Aye, it tis,” Baelin chuckled deeply.  “Ye heard that there’s an Assembly leaving tomorrow fer Fira Nadim Forest te talk te the Unni?”

       “Oh dear.  Don’t tell me it’s us.”

       “Afraid so.  I’ll see ye in the morning.  Cane wants te speak te us before we leave.”

       Esra groaned as she shuffled down the steps towards Nadia, who was already waiting for her at the bottom.  For some reason she had the sense that getting a day off for leisure was something that wouldn’t happen for a very, very long time.

XXII

       The bright light of morning shone in Esra’s round window much too soon, but she forced herself up and dressed before Nadia even knocked at her door. 

       “Morning,” she greeted Esra cheerily.  “We won’t be leaving until this afternoon, as there are a few things we need to take care of before we go.  Namely meeting with Cane and giving ye a quick lesson in Tur.”

       “Alright,” Esra sighed, trying to get excited that she would at least be going on an adventure to someplace new.  She had dreamt about the Unni-se chief Zakai and his deadly weapon, the flail with chain and spiked ball.  He had swung the long metal handle around his head as he ran towards her, screaming like a charging Vernok.  She had tried to move, terrified, but her feet seemed stuck to the ground.  She awoke in the middle of the night with the thin blankets plastered to her body in a cold sweat.

       Cane was waiting for them in the Magick Room at one of the round tables.  Baelin, Arland, and Fynn were already seated, as was a man Esra didn’t recognize.  She tried to appear unnerved as she approached, giving her old teacher a tired smile while she took a seat. 

       “Esra, this is Nor, the Great Keeper of Strength,” Cane motioned towards the small man at his left, who was sitting calmly with his hands folded in his lap.  She was unsure of how to greet such a person as a Great Keeper, but he bowed his head slightly and she returned the gesture. 

       “Hello, Esra.”  Nor spoke very evenly and quiet enough that Esra needed to lean forward slightly in her chair to hear him.  He was small for a man, a good head shorter than Esra, and had little tufts of white hair sprouting from assorted places on his scalp.  He appeared to be very old, well beyond Cane’s age, although she didn’t know exactly what that meant since Great Keepers were immortal.  Wrinkled skin hung loosely from his arms and Esra wondered how this man could be a portrayal of strength.