For Stormsinger’s Rest

A parade of ethereal beings passed her by. They looked like elves, but they glowed with an internal light. They all wore flowing robes with intricate designs that the chieftess had never seen before. She reached out to touch them, and her hand passed through gauzy material and luminescent skin. Duskwhisper tried to speak, but she found her voice constricting in her throat.

**Who are you?** she called out with her mind. She looked at the tall figures and thought she knew the answer.

**They are the spirits of the High Ones,** Stormsinger answered. She had been right! Just gazing on their graceful forms now brought tears to her eyes.

**What are they doing here?** Not that she was complaining!

**Every now and then, they come to this tree and try to call me back to the Palace.**

**The… Palace?**

**The Palace of the High Ones. The great ship the High Ones lived in before the Fall.**

Duskwhisper’s head swam as her father filled it with images of an iridescent structure as tall as a mountain and intricately carved. He sent her a feeling of complete comfort and peace. Of Home.

**I… I’m not sure I understand…* she sent in confusion.

**Don’t worry about it now, child. You’ll know someday. But you are young yet. You have your whole life ahead of you.**

**You said they came to take you back. What do you mean? Why haven’t you gone with them?**

**So many questions,** he sent with an underlying chuckle. **The spirits of all elves dead and yet to be born dwell in the Palace. I haven’t gone with them because I can’t. The magic that the Dark Queen uses to bind me to this tree is stronger than that of the spirits of the High Ones. As far as I know, I am the only elfin spirit to remain after my body perished.**

**Do you… want to go with them?**

**To see the Palace of the High Ones, be reunited with my family, and at last know utter peace? Yes, kitling, I do. But not yet. Not until the Dark Queen is undone.**

Duskwhisper smiled. She knew it was selfish of her, but she didn’t want his spirit to fly. She still felt they had much to catch up on. **We’ll see to that, Father. The Finders will be her undoing.**

The chieftess awoke then. She often talked Stormsinger when she slept instead of dreaming. It occurred to her that it was as if her father had "gone out" and was unable to return to his body. She wondered if his body was still alive, and in the hands of the enemy.

‘I could save him!’ she realized. ‘With Wisedove’s help, I could save Stormsinger so that he could walk among the living again!’

She decided right then and there to hold a council.

** **

"Well… it’s conceivable," Wisedove said, "but we have no way of knowing if She is actually keeping Stormsinger’s body alive."

"Let’s say She is," Snowstreak added. "Would it be worth the risk to recover it? If the one to retrieve him were to be caught, then it would be two lives lost instead of just one hypothetical half-life."

"Isn’t my father as much a member of this tribe as any one of us?" Duskwhisper huffed, her voice rising in pitch and volume. "And if it were any of the rest of us, would it be worth the risk? I certainly wouldn’t let any of you suffer at Her hands! How could I let my father?!"

"Duskwhisper, calm down!" Smokeweaver said. "We don’t even know if his body is there!"

"And I’m sorry, ‘Whisper, but we’re not about to let you run off and find out," Longrunner added. "You’re our chieftess, and our friend."

"What if I can get proof?"

"Duskwhisper, I’ve ‘gone out’, and I’ve always been aware of my body. The way you describe it, Stormsinger knows he’s dead," Wisedove explained.

"How do you know how to get back to your body?"

"There’s always a light that guides me."

"And what if you were forced to go out, then caged in one place until the light was blanketed? You’d be lost!"

"I suppose that’s true, chieftess, but even so, we have no proof that that’s what happened to Stormsinger!"

"Again, what if I can get proof?"

"If accumulating evidence doesn’t require that you run straight into Her twisted den, then we might reconsider," Snowstreak replied, arms crossed.

There was a chorus of, "Aye!" and, "Agreed!", and Duskwhisper left the council feeling like a small child.

"Honestly," Smokeweaver muttered after she had gone. "You’d think she’d just ask him the next time she talks to him."

"I think our healer is thinking more with her heart than with her gut just now," Jrean sighed.

** **

"It’s perfect, Mother!" Jade had come dancing into Venyah’s chambers, a huge smile on her face. "The daughter of Stormsinger thinks we have his body alive here!"

A cruel smile slid over the Dark Queen’s face as she listened. "Maybe we do, dear daughter. Or maybe we can make it seem like we do."

"But how shall we let her know? Her tribe would not willingly let her come to us! We must show proof that they can’t deny."

"I have been testing my own limitations. Through the spirit of Stormsinger, I have found that I have limited access to Duskwhisper herself. I will find a way. She will be ours."

Jade sat before her dark mistress, eyes closed in concentration as she focussed on the small band of elves that had settled around Stormsinger’s tree; more pointedly, she was focussing on the mind of their chieftess, the daughter of Stormsinger himself.

"She is in turmoil," the twisted elf maiden whispered to her Queen. "Her heart longs for the father she never knew. She is determined to save him… no matter what the cost."

"Then she will come," the Queen said. It was not a question. Jade opened her eyes and looked to her mistress. "She will come."

** **

Duskwhisper sat at the top of the tree that held her den. She gazed sadly at the setting sun, then allowed her gaze to drift to the Mother Tree standing solid and powerful nearby.

‘I will save you, Father. I promise you,’ she thought.

Rahl

The voice seemed to whisper on the breeze. Perhaps it was merely a trick of the rustling leaves, but it seemed as if…

"Are you well, chieftess?" a very real voice called from below. Duskwhisper looked down to see Wisedove nimbly climbing towards her.

"I’m not sure, Wisedove," came the healer’s response. "I feel like I’ve failed him somehow."

"Your father?" the counselor asked, settling on a branch beside the healer. Duskwhisper nodded.

"I just want to see him so badly. To have the chance to truly meet him…" She looked over at her snow-haired friend. "Do you think me foolish to believe he’s still alive?"

Wisedove shook her head. "It’s never foolish to follow your heart… but at the same time you must beware. The heart is a fickle thing, easily swayed. It would be simple for the mind’s longing to be mistaken for the heart’s belief."

"I have to know though, ‘Dove. I can’t stand the idea that his body may be out there somewhere, while his soul is trapped here with no escape."

"Patience, chieftess. Truth has a way of revealing itself over time."

Duskwhisper watched the light fade over the horizon. There might not be much time left."

** **

"She will come… but will you be ready, child?" the Dark Queen questioned.

"The procedure should work," Jade replied, "but it has not yet been properly tested. I have been successful in weakening the minds of all subjects, but there have been problems in maintaining their attributes. Many shatter completely, others become unstable at best. However, I’ve only had the chance to test the dregs of the elven slaves here. I believe someone with her strength of mind will be able to recover easily."

"She will be of no use to me a babbling imbecile. I need her mind intact. Can it be done?"

There was only a moment’s hesitation. "Yes."

** **

Duskwhisper fell into a fitful sleep that night. Her dreams were plagued with thunder, lightning, and voices on the wind. She awoke alone in her den covered in sweat. Standing, she pulled a large, light tunic over her head and moved to the den’s opening. She looked down at the Mother Tree, heart aching for her father trapped there.

"I want you to be free," she whispered to herself as a tear traced its path down her cheek. She sighed, and was about to turn away when something caught her eye; a slight shimmering from the Mother Tree. As she watched, the figure of an elf began to appear from the tree. He had dark, penetrating eyes, long flowing hair, and a travel cloak worn and patched for repair. Although the chieftess had never seen him before, she knew immediately who it was. He was a part of her.

"Father…!" she whispered in awe and shock, and hand falling over her racing heart. Stormsinger looked to his daughter with sad eyes, then turned and walked into the forest. His steps whisked together, and he seemed to be floating away or skating on the air just above the ground.

"Wait!" she called after him, then leapt to the ground in pursuit.

Wisedove had dozed off up a tree that evening gazing at the starts. She was suddenly pulled from her sleep by an all-too-familiar sickening presence. She looked around, searching for the source when she saw Duskwhisper hurrying through the trees not too far off.

**Chieftess, what are you doing? Where are you going?** she sent to her. There was no response. She tried again, but it was as if something were blocking her sendings. At that moment, understanding dawned on her and she began chasing after Duskwhisper, making sure to move as silently as possible, and opting to stay high in the branches. She open-sent back to the holt.

**To the woods! Everyone! Duskwhisper is in danger!**

Teean woke with a start, the frantic sending echoing through her mind. Pulling on boots and a light covering, she quickly climbed from her den. The other Finders were also emerging from their dwellings, scantily clad, with weapons in hand. They headed into the woods in the direction from which the sendings had come.

Duskwhisper followed after her father, desperately trying to reach him, but it seemed as if the faster she moved, the greater the distance between them. She dashed into a clearing where she tripped on a root and fell face-first into the spongy surface litter. Spitting leaves, she cursed herself. He was surely gone by now. She would never pick up his trail now! Hot tears streamed down her face as she punched a fist into the ground. So close! She had been so close!

There was a soft, warm hand on her cheek. Duskwhisper was startled out of her sadness as she looked up into the dark eyes that held within them the strength of the typhoon and all the mysteries of the stars. He was there. There, with her.

"Father," Duskwhisper sobbed as he helped her to her feet. She looked at him one moment more before throwing herself into his arms. She sobbed into his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her.

"There, there, child," he cooed. "I’m here."

Duskwhisper felt so light, so tired. Everything had changed so quickly! She looked up at him. He was looking down at her, an odd expression on his face. "Sleep now," he said. "All will be well when you awake."

It was then that the healer noticed the light. A strange, ethereal green glow was emanating from his eyes, growing stronger all the time. She watched as his features began to change, softening from hard edges to gentle curves.

"No," she said numbly, realizing her peril too late. "No."

"Duskwhisper!" She heard Smokeweaver’s desperate cry from behind, unable to acknowledge it. She knew that the others were there, but she could not escape. She was fighting with all of her being against the Dark One’s mind, but it was too late. In her moment of weakness, the healer had dropped all of her defenses, allowing the she-demon easy access to her mind.

Desperately, Duskwhisper reached out with her magic in hopes of touching the damage within this creature’s soul. Perhaps there was something she could do to help her. She reached out, searching for that core of light that shone within all living creatures, within all things in nature, searching… searching… finding only darkness. The healer felt her body grow cold as she stared into those emerald eyes so like her own. Within them, there was nothing. No emotion, no life, no light. Only darkness. Cold, unbroken, unending.

**Help me…** the healer sent out feebly. There would be no escaping a darkness so pure. It would swallow her whole and never let her go. **Please…**

There was a sudden shrill cry from above, and the spell was abruptly broken. All eyes looked up to find the source. Snow white hair flashed in the moonlight as Wisedove leapt from her perch high in the trees. Her feet landed squarely on Jade’s shoulders, and all three females were on the ground. Duskwhisper lay unmoving where she had fallen as Wisedove fought to regain her senses. She saw Jade moving toward the chieftess and grabbed her from behind. The dark elf turned on her like a viper, black-sending all of her rage towards the treeshaper. Wisedove fell back clutching her head in agony. Jade focused her attention back to the healer who was being led away by two of her tribemates.

"Stop!" she cried, and they froze where they were. "Come to me, child of Stormsinger." Duskwhisper turned distractedly and began slowly walking toward the Dark Lady.

"NO!" Wisedove cried from behind her, leaping at the twisted elf and tackling her to the ground. Sweat glistened on her forehead as she summonsed all of her strength to restrain the Dark One.

"Get her out of here!" Wisedove called through clenched teeth as the others were already carrying Duskwhisper to safety.

"You will regret this, Cala," Jade said as she watched her prey escape. Wisedove gasped at the sound of her soul name and had to restrain herself from letting go of the Dark Lady to clutch her head. "You will regret it dearly!" With that last word, Jade suddenly leapt free of her restraints, throwing Wisedove backwards. She slammed into a tree, effectively knocking the air from her lungs. Arrows flew at the Dark One, bouncing ineffectively off her clothes. Longrunner made to charge her, but she turned her gaze to him, and he was frozen in place.

Jade went to Wisedove, and as she still struggled for breath, lifted her by the neck and slammed her against the tree. She looked at the councilor with absolute fury, and her eyes began to glow. This time, however, the glowing increased, filling the clearing with the sickening green light. The other Finders turned their eyes away, even as they continued to try to reach their companion, struggling again the will that was keeping them at bay. The light finally vanished and the able members of the tribe rushed to the tree. All they found there was Wisedove’s gold fillet and her arm band, both of which had been knocked loose when she hit the tree. She was gone.

** **

"I could not retrieve the chieftess, but I did one better," Jade said as she lovingly stroked the unconscious Wisedove’s hair.

"Your play thing? Yes, I see." The Queen smiled darkly. "Perform your test on her, and when the chieftess comes to reclaim her friend, she will be ours."

Jade’s cruel laughter rang throughout the chamber.

** **

TBC…