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The Great War
Written by Enly
Story by Enly & Roja
Edited by Annatira, Phildaburn, and Roja
Artwork by Roja
Chapter 9
A cold breeze ruffled Cole’s dark hair as he walked through the woods. The sky overhead was blanketed with stars and the forest was lit with a warm glow of lanterns. Faint voices echoed through the woods around him and the quiet sounds of animals were everywhere.
He sighed deeply breathing in the crisp air; it was always good to be home again. Remembering he had something to do he quickened his pace to reach his house. Letting himself in the door, he went to the cupboards.
Surprised, he noticed they were running out of potions as he grabbed a couple.
“Mother?” he called for his adopted mother softly, their dwelling was small and she could easily hear him if she was in the house.
“Cole!” The aging elf came out of one of the bedrooms and smiled at him. Her hair was the color of pure silver and fell lightly about her shoulders, while her eyes glowed with a loving light and a smile so welcoming graced her face that anyone would instantly feel accepted by her. “Your trip went well?”
“Yes, I suppose. What has happened to our stock of potions?” Cole asked curiously as he placed several in a sack.
“Oh, they’re nearly gone aren’t they? You needed some?” she asked, coming over to check the cupboards and glance into his bag.
“Just what I have here, but what happened to the others?” he questioned confused. There had been plenty when he left.
She grinned and motioned for him to follow. Puzzled he walked after her into the bedroom.
“Her,” his mother smiled.
A beautiful elven woman lay sleeping on the bed. Her skin was pale and her blonde hair was matted with sweat.
“Who is she?” Cole whispered, worried he might wake her.
“No need to whisper, I actually want her to wake up. I found her in the woods the other day, dazed and stumbling, she seemed to be only half alive. So I guided her back here and tended to her. She has woken up several times, long enough for me to tell her my name and that I’m trying to help her. She’ll stare distressed around the room for a bit and then I’ll lose her again." she said sadly, looking down at the woman with a compassionate sorrow.
“She’s beautiful,” Cole commented.
“That she is. You can speak with her when she wakes up again but didn’t you need potions for something?” she reminded him.
“Oh, yes. Jax is feeling ill and I wanted to take him a few potions, perhaps cure his stomach before his sister’s birthday tomorrow.” Cole smiled rubbing the slight dark beard on his chin.
“Ah poor thing, well run along and tend to him. Then you can help me with this one,” she motioned to the elf and then began to shoo Cole out the door.
“What’s her name?”
His mother Siru looked at him for a moment sadly. “That’s one of the first things I asked her, and her only response to nearly everything I say is ‘I don’t remember’. She seems to have forgotten who she is, even her name.”
Cole stared at the elf on the bed again, then turned to leave his home.
Siru watched him, an expression somewhere between a smile and a frown on her face. The door opened and the outside breeze briefly sent a gust of cool air in, then Cole closed the door and the house was still and quiet.
The expression on Siru’s face turned to a definite frown. That boy, she thought to herself, all these years and still he won’t go out and be a part of the world for more than a week or two. Siru had a bit of a problem with picking up strays, whether it was animals or people. She had adopted Cole when he was two because his elven mother had not wanted him. Though Siru had never been able to find out for sure who his father was, Cole’s slight beard and less than pointed ears suggested his father was, or had been, a human.
The boy’s undefined lineage had caused problems for him as a youth, but he had always been a quiet solitary child and didn’t want to be a part of the crowd anyway. Eventually he had learned healing from Siru and at least earned a sort of accepting respect from the residents of Tirnwood.
He kept growing older, and learned more, and traveled a little more widely. Somehow he always ended up back home in Tirnwood, despite any efforts Siru made to make him forge his own path in the world. I suppose it is harder for him, she thought to herself for the thousandth time, being not fully elf and all, but still you’d think he could do something with himself besides live with his aging adopted mother.
The elf in the other room coughed and Siru heard sheets rustle. Hurrying to see if she was waking, Siru let Cole slip from her mind.
“There dear, finally waking up again?” Siru smiled down at the elf. She was still pale as the cream sheets and she shivered slightly despite the sweat on her brow.
“Siru,” the woman spoke softly.
“Ah, you remembered my name, do you remember yours?” Siru asked hopefully.
The elf coughed again and her frail body quivered. She looked sadly up at Siru.
“No,” she choked, obviously upset. “I remember you bringing me here, tending to me. I remember waking up and talking to you occasionally, but I can’t remember who I am.”
“Must just be a brief lapse of your memory. You’ve been very sick, though I do believe you’re showing signs of getting better.”
“Where are we?” the elf whispered hoarsely after several more coughs.
“Tirnwood, Tirnwood Vale,” Siru told her.
“Tirnwood… that’s the elven wood in the province of Whitestone. Whitestone city is to the north and Lord Luxin recently took the throne,” the elf spoke quietly.
“Yes, yes,” Siru smiled, perhaps she was making progress. “You do remember things.”
“No, I mean yes,” the elf tried to sit up more bringing her head up to rest on the head of the bed. “I remember things about Draia, about the locations of cities, I remember the names of rulers, I recall the names of flowers and definitions of words, but I don’t know who I am.”
Siru didn’t respond as the elf looked very distressed over it all. Normally she was quite good at comfort and encouragement, yet she had no idea what to tell someone who had forgotten who she was.
“For now, let's focus on getting you better. There aren’t a huge amount elves on Seridia; a fair bit, yes, but no doubt we’ll be able to figure out who you are and where you came from in due time.” Siru comforted, laying a gentle hand on the younger elf's shoulder.
“Thank you for helping me,” she smiled weakly.
“I’m always overjoyed to assist those in need, as is my son.” smiled Siru.
“You have a son?” asked the woman curiously.
“Yes, my son Cole just returned home. He had to go out again, but will be back shortly.”
The elf tried to say something else but broke into a fit of coughs which forced her to lie down again.
“Let me see if I can find something to help that awful cough,” Siru bustled off to search the cupboards for at the very least some hot tea.
By the time she had fixed a mug of warm tea the elf was unresponsive again. Cole came back within the hour and asked a thousand questions about the elf; most of which Siru had no answer for.
Finally she gave up and scolded him. “Just wait 'til she wakes again, Cole, then you can speak with her. Its getting late anyway, you should get some rest.”
“What about you, shouldn’t you be sleeping?” pointed out Cole as he scratched at his slightly pointed ear. That had always been a habit of his, no doubt due to the fact his not completely elven ears reminded him of his mixed blood.
“I want to be up if she awakens again,” Siru explained.
“Then I shall wait up to,” Cole insisted.
Giving up Siru sat down to knit quietly. Cole sat across the table from her where he could easily see into the bedroom where the elf was sleeping. He talked with his adopted mother some, but often returned to staring at the elf. She was most definitely one of the prettiest he had set eyes on.
“Do stop staring at her Cole, I doubt she would appreciate it if she were awake,” Siru chided.
Cole mumbled a brief apology. Eventually he grew tired enough that he retreated to his own bedroom for the night. He lay awake for a while staring through his window at the stars before drifting into a fitful sleep.
Siru watched him; she couldn’t remember a night he hadn’t stared at the stars as he fell asleep. He’d always been a dreamer with a large imagination, but he’d never gotten anywhere with himself.
“Perhaps this girl will change something for you at last,” Siru chuckled. “If I’m lucky.”
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