Here's another story from my experience with the 2019 Short Story Challenge with NYC Midnight. My assignment with this one was Park Ranger/Utopia/Fairy Tale. Like Static, I shared this one during the competition, but I've since made some edits based on the feedback from the judges.
I was not as confident with this story as I was with Static, but I still like it and like the direction I went with the elements given.
The Legend of Aien Thornblood
Anthony D Farr
Come, children, gather round as the fire burns bright and hear my words. I Tarrora, Chief Bard of the Kingdom of Varidel, tell the legend of Aien Thornblood.
Long ago, almost beyond memory, Emperor Varidel, first of his house, shaped this land for the Elves. With his hands he wove the raw fabric of the universe into a paradise where no elf would ever go without. Where even the least of us have glamour.
Before the First Age, before this land became as it is, glamour was scarce. Those elves living then did not have even the meagerest measure of glamour. Without magic we were vulnerable to the hordes of lesser beasts. Varidel battled the them to secure peace. He alone fought back against the orcs, trolls, and goblins. He alone cleansed our lands from their blight. At their defeat Varidel declared it the First Age of our kingdom. All elves had access to glamour. We wanted for nothing.
At the birth of the First Age, he appointed Aien to serve as protector of the Edwinde, the great sanctuary beyond our southern border, beyond the river Geswelg. The Edwinde, the great expanse, during the night housed every kind of flora and fauna imaginable, but at the rising of the sun, everything turned to bright white sand. In the center, Varidel placed the Fynedfa, the keystone to our realm. Varidel commanded the Edwinde remain as a preserve, an example of his power, throughout the ages. He charged Aien as First Ranger, to protect the Fynedfa and keep our realm from tipping into the Shadowed Lands.
For a thousand years, Aien served his Lord faithfully, without incident. Then, one fateful night, as the sun waited just below the horizon, Aien rode his steed along the Geswelg and at the crossing spied signs of passage amongst the growth. He removed the hood to his riding cloak loosing his black hair from beneath the dark fabric. Dismounting his horse, he inspected the broken twigs and ruffled leaves.
“The intruders passed recently. I must pursue before the rising sun destroys their trail,” he told his equine companion. Touching the side of his steed's face, he continued, “Go home, I will call if I need you.”
Removing a handful of glamour from his pouch, Aien blew it into the air. Stepping into the blue shimmering cloud, he murmured an ancient incantation and became invisible. He considered using more glamour to quicken his steps but decided to conserve his ration. As he slipped through the thick growth of the Forest of the Night, he swiveled his head back and forth looking for those who would defy the commands of Varidel.
As the sun breached the horizon, light cascading across the lush forest, a subtle change occurred. The flora lost its vibrant colors. The animals scurrying across the forest floor stopped in their tracks. A white stag as large as a horse with antlers reaching twice its length looked at the approaching daylight and bawls a lonely note skyward. Nearby an owl rotates its head to look at the oncoming sun before spreading its wings wide in the first rays of dawn. One by one the creatures grow pale, then bright white under the rays of the rising sun. Aien had seen the transition countless times before, yet he still awed at the power of Varidel. The forest collapsed as everything, plant and animal alike turned to sand. A roar, like that of a lion, swept across the expanse as the sand settled into the Desert of the Day. Aien drew his hood over his head, shielding his eyes from the rising sun. About two hundred paces away, he spied two figures cresting a fresh dune. As they disappeared to the other side, he quickened his pace.
As he crossed to the other side of the dune, he saw their trail stretching into the distance. Kneeling he swiped his hand across traces of blue in the course white sand.
“What are they using glamour for?” Aien wondered aloud. He removed a pinch of his own from his pouch and blew it into the air. “Gaetwisa,” he whispered as the glamour shimmered in the sun's rays.
Nothing happened.
Aien whispered the spell again, and again nothing happened. Cursing at his waste of glamour, he realized the intruders must be masking other spells, and thus realized he would need to continue on foot as he could not call his faithful steed. He also realized his invisibility spell would no longer hold if he stayed within range of his quarry's magic.
“How much glamour must they be using for this?” Aien wondered.
He continued his pursuit intending to catch them before they reached the Fynedfa.
Throughout the day he chased them. The sun marched across the sky beating down upon pursued and pursuer alike until it touched the western horizon. As the sun dropped lower a cool wind blew across the desert, whispering like a gentle stream. Aien stopped and readied himself for the transition. The ground rumbled deep beneath Aien's feet. The sand quickened and moved like water, and Aien sank to his ankles until tall, grown trees burst through the sand, scattering the white powder as the forest sprang into existence. Aien felt a familiar tremor rushing beneath his feet and he leapt into action as an elm sprang forth beneath his feet. He grabbed onto a passing branch, letting the tree pull him upward to the roof of the forest. As the last rays of light dipped below the horizon, the remaining sand formed into the creatures who roamed the Forest of Night. When the new trees ceased swaying, a blue haze of spent glamour settled upon the forest.
Aien descended the tree with nimble skill and set off toward his prey. He grew concerned at how close to the Fynedfa they were and quickened his pace. As he approached the edge of the clearing in which the keystone stood he slowed. At the center a stone, twice the height of an elf and the breadth of two paces, glowed a dim blue against the darkness of the Forest of Night. Aien crouched as he looked around for signs of the trespassers. Too late, he heard a whispering to his right, and a bright flash caught him off guard. His body flew across the clearing, striking a large oak. Aien crumpled to the ground unable to rise. He looked up to see the interlopers approach. They pulled their hoods back. Both elves, like him. A male and female quite unlike any other elves Aien had ever encountered. The female stared from inside her red cloak, her thin gaunt face wore scars on her right cheek. Her pitch-black hair spilled around her face. Her companion's fair pale hair surrounded his face and he wore a matted beard visible inside his pale cloak and hood.
“Who are you who would you trespass against our Lord in his reservation?” Aien said as he struggled to lift himself. He reached his hand down to his pouch, but the female sliced the strap and snatched it out of his grasp.
“We need your glamour, Thornblood.”
“It has bonded to me. My glamour is of little use to you.” Aien sat up against the oak and examined his captors. “Who are you?”
“I am Sarlanna,” the female said, then pointed to her companion, “and this is Fendan.” She held Aien's pouch up and continued, “As to your glamour? We need it and you for what comes next.” She nodded to Fendan, and he lifted Aien to his feet causing Aien to struggle to find his footing.
“Sorry, for the blast,” Fendan offered, “but we had to catch you off guard.” He pointed to the Fynedfa, “Now, come, we have much to do.”
Sarlanna reached into her tunic and produced a small amount of her own glamour, ready to act if Aien chose not to comply. He followed them to the Fynedfa with Fendan prodding him to move faster. A low thrum resonated out from the stone, reaching deep into Aien's bones. He felt connected to the stone and through the stone to all the forest and the kingdom beyond.
“You will move the stone,” Sarlanna said.
“No. I cannot. I will not.”
“I don't need your consent,” she spat nodding to Fendan. Fendan pulled his knife and with a quick flick, drew blood on Aien's hand. At the same moment Sarlanna took a handful of Aien's glamour and threw it onto the side of the Fynedfa. The glamour hovered in the air, not falling to the ground, but not landing on the stone. Fendan thrust Aien's bloody palm against the glamour into the stone. As the blood mixed with the glamour, the stone rung like a low bell. The long note resonated out across the Forest of Night, across the river Geswelg, and across the whole Kingdom of Varidel. The bell note faded, and the stone moved back uncovering a dark hole beneath with a spiral staircase leading down into the depths.
“He will be coming. There's not much time,” Sarlanna whispered as she descended into the darkness. Fendan prodded Aien, and they followed her into the pit. Sarlanna used a pinch of her glamour to create a blue glowing cloud hovering to her left illuminating their path.
As they descended into the darkness, the three shared no words, but Aien grew frightened at what Varidel would do upon learning of this trespass.
At the bottom, Sarlanna extinguished her light. Their eyes adjusted to the darkness and Aien saw glowing blue cocoons scattered evenly in all directions in the subterranean cavern.
“What are those?” Aien asked.
“What everyone in the kingdom needs to know of,” Fendan responded.
“This will bring down the entire kingdom. We did it Fendan,” Sarlanna embraced her companion. “The text spoke truth about what lay buried here.”
“Why would you want to destroy our kingdom? Varidel has created for us a paradise. He defeated the hordes and has given us peace. We want for nothing. Everyone has glamour. Everyone enjoys life. Why would you want to tear that down?”
“Thornblood,” Sarlanna said, “look at those cocoons, and tell me, what is the price of your paradise?”
Aien approached the nearest cocoon and wiped away a blue film gathered on the outside. He gasped and took a step backward. Inside the cocoon rested a brute of a beast with long arms and legs. A large misshapen face with fangs overhanging the lips slept at peace within a blue liquid.
“Is that an orc?” Aien backed away and bumped into a larger cocoon. Aien shouted in surprise and fell to the ground, “A troll? What is this trickery?” He spun on his heel facing Sarlanna. She walked over to him and knelt beside him.
“It's the price of our paradise.”
“But Varidel taught us that before he created this realm, he defeated the hordes of orcs, goblins, and trolls banishing them from the kingdom.”
“He lied. He imprisoned them here. He harvests from them to power the kingdom. From where do you think our glamour comes? It's these poor creatures. They don't deserve this. They deserve freedom.”
“But,” Aien lifted himself to his feet, “that would destroy our kingdom. What would we do without glamour? What would we do without Varidel?”
“Don't you understand? He's lied to us. Our whole realm is a lie built off the misfortune of these poor creatures. It deserves to be rent asunder.”
“We are out of glamour, Thornblood,” Fendan extended Aien's pouch, “and we can't tear this apart before Varidel arrives. Will you help us? Will you stand for what's right?”
Aien looked from one to the other. He grabbed the pouch from Fendan's grasp and turned to look across the expanse of glowing chambers.
“I am Aien Thornblood, First Ranger of the Edwinde, chosen by Lord Varidel himself, and I will do what I must for our fellow Elves.”
Aien reached into his pouch and grabbed a handful of the pale blue powder. He raised it to his lips and whispered into it. His breath blowing faint blue puffs as he spoke. When done the glamour in his hand glowed bright blue. He looked from Sarlanna to Fenden and back.
"I do what I must."
Aien tossed the glamour into the air and a white light flashed, chasing every shadow in the chamber and bathing all in a bright blue light.
Outside, in the clearing, Lord Varidel, arrayed in full battle armor arrived, riding a great steed. He stepped down and walked to the Fynedfa. Out of the depths of the cavern, Aien exited, covered in blood. Varidel nodded to his ranger.
“Have you done what is necessary?”
“Yes, my Lord. I have done what is necessary.” He knelt before Varidel.
“Then rise my good and faithful servant. You have served your master well and will reap a great reward. Your clan will forever serve as protectors of the Edwinde until the last light fades, and you will never want for glamour.”
Varidel kept his promise. Even to this day, those of the Thornblood clan protect the beating heart of our paradise from those who would disrupt it. They protect the glamour.
Now, children, as our flames have ceased their dancing, and the embers burn cold, remember the lesson of Aien Thornblood. Remember the balance of our realm and why it must be maintained. The balance protects both the Elves and the lesser races. That, children, is why we do not venture into the Edwinde to the Fynedfa. Sleep now. Sleep and know that Varidel watches over you.
Thanks for reading. Be sure to comment down below or on whatever social media you found this on to let me know your thoughts.
I was not as confident with this story as I was with Static, but I still like it and like the direction I went with the elements given.
The Legend of Aien Thornblood
Anthony D Farr
Come, children, gather round as the fire burns bright and hear my words. I Tarrora, Chief Bard of the Kingdom of Varidel, tell the legend of Aien Thornblood.
Long ago, almost beyond memory, Emperor Varidel, first of his house, shaped this land for the Elves. With his hands he wove the raw fabric of the universe into a paradise where no elf would ever go without. Where even the least of us have glamour.
Before the First Age, before this land became as it is, glamour was scarce. Those elves living then did not have even the meagerest measure of glamour. Without magic we were vulnerable to the hordes of lesser beasts. Varidel battled the them to secure peace. He alone fought back against the orcs, trolls, and goblins. He alone cleansed our lands from their blight. At their defeat Varidel declared it the First Age of our kingdom. All elves had access to glamour. We wanted for nothing.
At the birth of the First Age, he appointed Aien to serve as protector of the Edwinde, the great sanctuary beyond our southern border, beyond the river Geswelg. The Edwinde, the great expanse, during the night housed every kind of flora and fauna imaginable, but at the rising of the sun, everything turned to bright white sand. In the center, Varidel placed the Fynedfa, the keystone to our realm. Varidel commanded the Edwinde remain as a preserve, an example of his power, throughout the ages. He charged Aien as First Ranger, to protect the Fynedfa and keep our realm from tipping into the Shadowed Lands.
For a thousand years, Aien served his Lord faithfully, without incident. Then, one fateful night, as the sun waited just below the horizon, Aien rode his steed along the Geswelg and at the crossing spied signs of passage amongst the growth. He removed the hood to his riding cloak loosing his black hair from beneath the dark fabric. Dismounting his horse, he inspected the broken twigs and ruffled leaves.
“The intruders passed recently. I must pursue before the rising sun destroys their trail,” he told his equine companion. Touching the side of his steed's face, he continued, “Go home, I will call if I need you.”
Removing a handful of glamour from his pouch, Aien blew it into the air. Stepping into the blue shimmering cloud, he murmured an ancient incantation and became invisible. He considered using more glamour to quicken his steps but decided to conserve his ration. As he slipped through the thick growth of the Forest of the Night, he swiveled his head back and forth looking for those who would defy the commands of Varidel.
As the sun breached the horizon, light cascading across the lush forest, a subtle change occurred. The flora lost its vibrant colors. The animals scurrying across the forest floor stopped in their tracks. A white stag as large as a horse with antlers reaching twice its length looked at the approaching daylight and bawls a lonely note skyward. Nearby an owl rotates its head to look at the oncoming sun before spreading its wings wide in the first rays of dawn. One by one the creatures grow pale, then bright white under the rays of the rising sun. Aien had seen the transition countless times before, yet he still awed at the power of Varidel. The forest collapsed as everything, plant and animal alike turned to sand. A roar, like that of a lion, swept across the expanse as the sand settled into the Desert of the Day. Aien drew his hood over his head, shielding his eyes from the rising sun. About two hundred paces away, he spied two figures cresting a fresh dune. As they disappeared to the other side, he quickened his pace.
As he crossed to the other side of the dune, he saw their trail stretching into the distance. Kneeling he swiped his hand across traces of blue in the course white sand.
“What are they using glamour for?” Aien wondered aloud. He removed a pinch of his own from his pouch and blew it into the air. “Gaetwisa,” he whispered as the glamour shimmered in the sun's rays.
Nothing happened.
Aien whispered the spell again, and again nothing happened. Cursing at his waste of glamour, he realized the intruders must be masking other spells, and thus realized he would need to continue on foot as he could not call his faithful steed. He also realized his invisibility spell would no longer hold if he stayed within range of his quarry's magic.
“How much glamour must they be using for this?” Aien wondered.
He continued his pursuit intending to catch them before they reached the Fynedfa.
Throughout the day he chased them. The sun marched across the sky beating down upon pursued and pursuer alike until it touched the western horizon. As the sun dropped lower a cool wind blew across the desert, whispering like a gentle stream. Aien stopped and readied himself for the transition. The ground rumbled deep beneath Aien's feet. The sand quickened and moved like water, and Aien sank to his ankles until tall, grown trees burst through the sand, scattering the white powder as the forest sprang into existence. Aien felt a familiar tremor rushing beneath his feet and he leapt into action as an elm sprang forth beneath his feet. He grabbed onto a passing branch, letting the tree pull him upward to the roof of the forest. As the last rays of light dipped below the horizon, the remaining sand formed into the creatures who roamed the Forest of Night. When the new trees ceased swaying, a blue haze of spent glamour settled upon the forest.
Aien descended the tree with nimble skill and set off toward his prey. He grew concerned at how close to the Fynedfa they were and quickened his pace. As he approached the edge of the clearing in which the keystone stood he slowed. At the center a stone, twice the height of an elf and the breadth of two paces, glowed a dim blue against the darkness of the Forest of Night. Aien crouched as he looked around for signs of the trespassers. Too late, he heard a whispering to his right, and a bright flash caught him off guard. His body flew across the clearing, striking a large oak. Aien crumpled to the ground unable to rise. He looked up to see the interlopers approach. They pulled their hoods back. Both elves, like him. A male and female quite unlike any other elves Aien had ever encountered. The female stared from inside her red cloak, her thin gaunt face wore scars on her right cheek. Her pitch-black hair spilled around her face. Her companion's fair pale hair surrounded his face and he wore a matted beard visible inside his pale cloak and hood.
“Who are you who would you trespass against our Lord in his reservation?” Aien said as he struggled to lift himself. He reached his hand down to his pouch, but the female sliced the strap and snatched it out of his grasp.
“We need your glamour, Thornblood.”
“It has bonded to me. My glamour is of little use to you.” Aien sat up against the oak and examined his captors. “Who are you?”
“I am Sarlanna,” the female said, then pointed to her companion, “and this is Fendan.” She held Aien's pouch up and continued, “As to your glamour? We need it and you for what comes next.” She nodded to Fendan, and he lifted Aien to his feet causing Aien to struggle to find his footing.
“Sorry, for the blast,” Fendan offered, “but we had to catch you off guard.” He pointed to the Fynedfa, “Now, come, we have much to do.”
Sarlanna reached into her tunic and produced a small amount of her own glamour, ready to act if Aien chose not to comply. He followed them to the Fynedfa with Fendan prodding him to move faster. A low thrum resonated out from the stone, reaching deep into Aien's bones. He felt connected to the stone and through the stone to all the forest and the kingdom beyond.
“You will move the stone,” Sarlanna said.
“No. I cannot. I will not.”
“I don't need your consent,” she spat nodding to Fendan. Fendan pulled his knife and with a quick flick, drew blood on Aien's hand. At the same moment Sarlanna took a handful of Aien's glamour and threw it onto the side of the Fynedfa. The glamour hovered in the air, not falling to the ground, but not landing on the stone. Fendan thrust Aien's bloody palm against the glamour into the stone. As the blood mixed with the glamour, the stone rung like a low bell. The long note resonated out across the Forest of Night, across the river Geswelg, and across the whole Kingdom of Varidel. The bell note faded, and the stone moved back uncovering a dark hole beneath with a spiral staircase leading down into the depths.
“He will be coming. There's not much time,” Sarlanna whispered as she descended into the darkness. Fendan prodded Aien, and they followed her into the pit. Sarlanna used a pinch of her glamour to create a blue glowing cloud hovering to her left illuminating their path.
As they descended into the darkness, the three shared no words, but Aien grew frightened at what Varidel would do upon learning of this trespass.
At the bottom, Sarlanna extinguished her light. Their eyes adjusted to the darkness and Aien saw glowing blue cocoons scattered evenly in all directions in the subterranean cavern.
“What are those?” Aien asked.
“What everyone in the kingdom needs to know of,” Fendan responded.
“This will bring down the entire kingdom. We did it Fendan,” Sarlanna embraced her companion. “The text spoke truth about what lay buried here.”
“Why would you want to destroy our kingdom? Varidel has created for us a paradise. He defeated the hordes and has given us peace. We want for nothing. Everyone has glamour. Everyone enjoys life. Why would you want to tear that down?”
“Thornblood,” Sarlanna said, “look at those cocoons, and tell me, what is the price of your paradise?”
Aien approached the nearest cocoon and wiped away a blue film gathered on the outside. He gasped and took a step backward. Inside the cocoon rested a brute of a beast with long arms and legs. A large misshapen face with fangs overhanging the lips slept at peace within a blue liquid.
“Is that an orc?” Aien backed away and bumped into a larger cocoon. Aien shouted in surprise and fell to the ground, “A troll? What is this trickery?” He spun on his heel facing Sarlanna. She walked over to him and knelt beside him.
“It's the price of our paradise.”
“But Varidel taught us that before he created this realm, he defeated the hordes of orcs, goblins, and trolls banishing them from the kingdom.”
“He lied. He imprisoned them here. He harvests from them to power the kingdom. From where do you think our glamour comes? It's these poor creatures. They don't deserve this. They deserve freedom.”
“But,” Aien lifted himself to his feet, “that would destroy our kingdom. What would we do without glamour? What would we do without Varidel?”
“Don't you understand? He's lied to us. Our whole realm is a lie built off the misfortune of these poor creatures. It deserves to be rent asunder.”
“We are out of glamour, Thornblood,” Fendan extended Aien's pouch, “and we can't tear this apart before Varidel arrives. Will you help us? Will you stand for what's right?”
Aien looked from one to the other. He grabbed the pouch from Fendan's grasp and turned to look across the expanse of glowing chambers.
“I am Aien Thornblood, First Ranger of the Edwinde, chosen by Lord Varidel himself, and I will do what I must for our fellow Elves.”
Aien reached into his pouch and grabbed a handful of the pale blue powder. He raised it to his lips and whispered into it. His breath blowing faint blue puffs as he spoke. When done the glamour in his hand glowed bright blue. He looked from Sarlanna to Fenden and back.
"I do what I must."
Aien tossed the glamour into the air and a white light flashed, chasing every shadow in the chamber and bathing all in a bright blue light.
Outside, in the clearing, Lord Varidel, arrayed in full battle armor arrived, riding a great steed. He stepped down and walked to the Fynedfa. Out of the depths of the cavern, Aien exited, covered in blood. Varidel nodded to his ranger.
“Have you done what is necessary?”
“Yes, my Lord. I have done what is necessary.” He knelt before Varidel.
“Then rise my good and faithful servant. You have served your master well and will reap a great reward. Your clan will forever serve as protectors of the Edwinde until the last light fades, and you will never want for glamour.”
Varidel kept his promise. Even to this day, those of the Thornblood clan protect the beating heart of our paradise from those who would disrupt it. They protect the glamour.
Now, children, as our flames have ceased their dancing, and the embers burn cold, remember the lesson of Aien Thornblood. Remember the balance of our realm and why it must be maintained. The balance protects both the Elves and the lesser races. That, children, is why we do not venture into the Edwinde to the Fynedfa. Sleep now. Sleep and know that Varidel watches over you.
Thanks for reading. Be sure to comment down below or on whatever social media you found this on to let me know your thoughts.
If you liked the story and you want to help support my writing habit, I've just signed up for Ko-Fi, which is like an online tip jar. So, no pressure, but if you are feeling so inclined, I would appreciate any amount.
-Anthony
If you have any questions about copyright information or reproduction of this excerpt please check out the copyright page.
If you have any questions about copyright information or reproduction of this excerpt please check out the copyright page.
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