“Elaya had a vision. I've never known a soothsayer to get her sight before the age of majority. Nor have I heard of a soothsayer who could see without the aid of a musical instrument.”

“Maybe Elaya was dreaming, Tella,” he said with a yawn.

 

“I wish you could have seen Elaya. She was in a hypnotic trance, and when she came out of it, she told me about a new race of people who are tunneling through the earth to get here.”

 

“Interesting. What do these people look like? Are they Humans?”

“She said they were rough-skinned and so white that they looked scary.”

 

“Elaya hasn't seen any race except her own, so it's only logical the newcomers are scary-looking to her. Humph. I wonder if there's anything to this, Tella. Maybe we should have her document her vision with pictures before she loses the images of it. We'll take her for testing once the storm's over, and if she's truly a soothsayer, then we'll arrange for her to learn to read and write. The soothsayers are the most revered Elves because they can steer us to avoid trouble. Yet, they eventually have to validate their claims, and our laws require documentation of the vision to prove what they've prophesized, always assuming the events happen within his or her lifetime.”

 

“If they're illiterate, soothsayers are allowed to use pictorial representations without a written account.”

 

“Yes, that's true,” he responded, scratching his head, “but if Elaya's a soothsayer at the unheard-of age of five-yarin , then the Gods must expect to use her talent for more than what we're accustomed to seeing. It will be important that there be no room to exaggerate what she has reportedly seen, or may see in the future.”

 

Massori rose from the edge of the bed and rummaged around in his desk for some parchment and fine-pointed charcoal sticks. He took these items to his daughter and knelt down in front of her. “Your mother tells me you had a vision. Could you draw me a picture of it?”

 

“I don't draw very well, Daddy, but I'll try.” Elaya took the parchment and charcoal her father proffered. She spent the next turning-of-the-glass drawing her vision in such detail that Massori caught his breath upon its completion.

 

He stared into his daughter's violet eyes, proud beyond measure. “I would say your artistic talent is among those of soothsayers hundreds of yarin your senior.”

 

Elaya began her literacy lessons the following morning after she received the title of ‘Most Revered Soothsayer in Salariety' at a ceremony held in her honor, attended by the entire Elfin population, where each soothsayer in the land pronounced her talent was genuine and highly developed. As her writing skills improved, Elaya utilized a written account of her visions including her emotional responses to the imagery revealed within them. She also continued to draw intricate pictures to capture the scenes she visualized. For yarin, her Prophesies pertained to mostly inconsequential events, such as which Elf would be the last one dancing at their yarinly spring festival, but the Gods' purpose for her talent did not surface until much later, at which point, they changed the lives of her people forever.

CHAPTER 2 -- The Secret behind the Armory

 

One-hundred-twenty-five yarin after Elaya's Prophesy, the delegation of Dwarves broke through the façade of the Angoras of Salariety. Elaya felt her heart tighten within her chest as the fist of the first Dwarf breeched the loose soil and pulled his dirt-smeared body out of the bowels of the earth. After Elaya reported this to Massori, the leaders of their villages left the forests of Naire and Yudian to greet these newcomers to Salariety.

 

Communication between the Elves and the Dwarves was difficult because they spoke different languages. Nevertheless, the Dwarves succeeded in communicating through hand and body gestures that they came to Salariety in peace and that they had no ill intentions toward the Elves.

 

Elaya stood beside her father during their exchange. He turned to her, “What do you think, Elaya? Are we to take them into Salariety or should we escort them to our borders to find a new home elsewhere?”

 

Elaya pulled out the parchment depicting her first official vision, and she thought about the emotions the imagery had provoked in her when she saw them digging out of the Angoras. I remember feeling scared at their appearance, yet these weary travelers aren't as frightening as I imagined them to be. She closed her eyes and listened to the breeze whistling lightly in her ear. A moment later, she looked at her father. “If we send them away, I feel we will miss an opportunity.”

 

“What kind of an opportunity?”

 

“I don't know, but these people came here for a reason. The Gods must have guided them here; otherwise, they might have come through the earth somewhere else. I feel they're meant to be here with us, Father.”

 

Massori conferred with the other Elves of the party, all of whom agreed with his assessment. His daughter, Elaya, was an influential soothsayer, more authoritative than any of their ancestors were, and certainly more powerful than those currently living among them. The Elfin delegation thus welcomed the newcomers to Salariety and the Dwarves felt relieved that their long journey was over.

 

Within a few yarin of the Dwarves arrival, tensions arose between the two peoples of Salariety. The Dwarves mined minerals from the Angora Mountains to use in the production of fine weaponry. The Elves felt the mining was a form of pillaging that was inconsistent with their way of life; the Elves were environmentalists at heart. Because there was no method to replace the minerals extracted from the earth in the same way they could plant a sapling to replace a tree, the Elves became increasingly upset with the Dwarves for depleting the mountains' resources and defacing their beautiful country. Even so, the Elves did not rise against the Dwarves to stop their mining activities. More tension surrounded the subject of the weaponry itself.

 

“We do not understand your need for weapons other than for hunting,” Massori said to a group of Dwarves during one of their meetings to discuss matters of importance to their communities. His fellow Elves in attendance nodded their agreement to his statement. “We are a peaceful people and we hoped you were also. Why won't you tell us the reasons behind your development of shields, body armor, and swords? You shouldn't need these things as long as we both have peaceful intentions.”

 

“Weaponry is a part of our culture, Massori,” said a Dwarf leader, named Duran. “We come from a grim place that made us into grim people. Perhaps in time your people's customs and mannerisms will soften us. However, we haven't asked you to explain your people's use of magic, nor have we made any sort of complaints about how plarking merry you all seem to be – laughing and singing all of the time. I imagine our weapons can be a little disconcerting. Yet, we've never threatened your people, nor do we intend to do so.”

 

That meeting, like so many others, adjourned without resolving the mystery behind the Dwarves' and their weaponry.

 

During Elaya's two-hundred-seventieth yarin, while she tickled for fish down at the lake near her family's home, Elaya leaned over the placid surface of the water, trying to look beyond her own reflection. Without notice, vivid images intruded into her mind.

 

Elaya saw a small room where a female Dwarf, huge with her pregnancy, lay on her bed, panting with her contraction. The Dwarf's face was vague – with the exception of her eyes – so Elaya was unable to note to whom she should send her congratulations. Elaya smiled at the thought of witnessing the birth of a baby; she couldn't think of a more heart-warming vision than the one unfolding before her. She felt she was there to witness a birth of utmost importance. The woman's husband entered into their private chamber. His facial features were also ill defined. Elaya's heart beat rapidly and she felt afraid; the man was dressed for battle.

 

The woman looked around to her man. “I don't know why you're bothering with such nonsense. We left that part of our past back in Lingqua.”

 

“You know that it's the law. So I come to you in this time of the unknown, ready to do my duty for our people.”

 

The woman grimaced with another contraction, and grunted through her clenched teeth. “I think it's time. May the Gods be with us and give us a healthy Dwarf.”

 

The man stepped up to the side of the bed, pulled out his sword from its sheath, and held the deadly blade high above his head. What is he doing? Elaya thought. My Gods! He is going to murder her! The man turned away from his wife's face, waving the blade up and down, readying to heave a deadly blow.

 

Elaya saw the woman open her eyes wide with her own fear. The woman screamed so loud it was deafening in the closeness of the labor room.

 

“Come on, you focking monster,” the man yelled, choking back his tears, as his wife's voice died away into utter silence. “I'm ready to cut your focking head off!”

 

Elaya looked away from the woman's lifeless face, redirecting her attention to her husband. She heard a loud thump as something huge hit the floor. It was a Dwarf-sized figure, encased in its birthing cauls. She watched in horror as the man brought the sword down in a fluid, arcing motion, cleaving the creature's head from its neck. Silver liquid shot out from both sides of the stump while the head rolled across the floor and came to a bobbling stop, staring at the ceiling with inanimate eyes. The vision faded from Elaya's mind.

Elaya sat back on her heals, sickened and frightened over the images of these future events. Her hands shook from the excess adrenalin coursing through her body . I thought I was going to witness a monumental birth. How could I have been so mistaken? She armed the sweat from her forehead. The woman dies while giving birth to a monster.

 

Elaya left the lake in haste to get home. She rushed into their cabin, past the kitchen where her mother was beginning the preparations for their evening meal, and into her bedchamber. Elaya heard her mother call after her while she pulled out the parchment, ink, and quill from the top drawer of the small chest of drawers.

 

“Where are the fish that you promised me for our supper?” Tella asked from Elaya's doorway.

 

“Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot them when I left the lake.”

 

Her mother saw the items her daughter held in her hand and knew what distracted her. “You had another vision?”

 

“I had a confusing vision about a Dwarf and her spawn.”

 

“That is a strange word to describe a baby.”

 

“I don't know how else to explain it, Mother. It didn't look like a baby. It was as big as its mother was. What's worse is, once she enters into labor with this creature, she won't leave the labor room alive.”

 

“That's awful. Do you know who this doomed woman is?”

 

“No. Forgive me, Mother, but I really must get to the business of documenting the vision. Can you find Father and ask him if he'd go with me to see the Dwarf leaders to warn them of this?”

 

Four turnings-of-the-glass later, Elaya and Massori sat around a small campfire with four of the Dwarf leaders of Salariety. The night was cool and the air scented with the pleasant smell of burning Birchwood. Elaya watched the shadows dance on the faces of the little people as she told them about her vision. The grim expressions of the men deepened, while those of the women filled with fear and then resignation.

 

“We hoped that with our departure from Lingqua, we left our enemies behind us,” Starkfer, one of the male Dwarves, said.

 

“What are you saying?” Massori asked. “What is this all about?”

 

A female Dwarf named Rhea, replied, “The Elves have questioned our intentions concerning our armory. We hoped we would never need to use our weapons. However, Elaya's Prophesy strikes fear into my heart that our troubles have followed us to Salariety. We're fortunate that old habits are hard to break because we've prepared for this news.”

 

“Stop dodging around the issue, Rhea,” Starkfer interrupted. “We make our weapons to defend against the Giants.”

 

“Giants?” Massori asked.

 

“The large figure Elaya described is a Giant,” Starkfer replied. “On occasion, a Dwarf couple will sire a Giant instead of a Dwarf. We don't know when one of our women carries one of these monsters in her belly until the fiend pulls himself free of his dead mother.”

 

“I've heard from the fathers of these Giants that they squeeze out of their mothers, and they expand to the full height and weight of an adult Dwarf as their skin touches the air,” Rhea said.

 

“In addition,” Starkfer continued, “if the Giant escapes from its birthing chamber, it matures into an adult Giant, some twenty-dwarf-measures in height, over the first fortnight, or sixteen sunrises, of its existence.”

Elaya sat back on her heals, sickened and frightened over the images of these future events. Her hands shook from the excess adrenalin coursing through her body . I thought I was going to witness a monumental birth. How could I have been so mistaken? She armed the sweat from her forehead. The woman dies while giving birth to a monster.

 

Elaya left the lake in haste to get home. She rushed into their cabin, past the kitchen where her mother was beginning the preparations for their evening meal, and into her bedchamber. Elaya heard her mother call after her while she pulled out the parchment, ink, and quill from the top drawer of the small chest of drawers.

 

“Where are the fish that you promised me for our supper?” Tella asked from Elaya's doorway.

 

“Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot them when I left the lake.”

 

Her mother saw the items her daughter held in her hand and knew what distracted her. “You had another vision?”

 

“I had a confusing vision about a Dwarf and her spawn.”

 

“That is a strange word to describe a baby.”

 

“I don't know how else to explain it, Mother. It didn't look like a baby. It was as big as its mother was. What's worse is, once she enters into labor with this creature, she won't leave the labor room alive.”

 

“That's awful. Do you know who this doomed woman is?”

 

“No. Forgive me, Mother, but I really must get to the business of documenting the vision. Can you find Father and ask him if he'd go with me to see the Dwarf leaders to warn them of this?”

 

Four turnings-of-the-glass later, Elaya and Massori sat around a small campfire with four of the Dwarf leaders of Salariety. The night was cool and the air scented with the pleasant smell of burning Birchwood. Elaya watched the shadows dance on the faces of the little people as she told them about her vision. The grim expressions of the men deepened, while those of the women filled with fear and then resignation.

 

“We hoped that with our departure from Lingqua, we left our enemies behind us,” Starkfer, one of the male Dwarves, said.

 

“What are you saying?” Massori asked. “What is this all about?”

 

A female Dwarf named Rhea, replied, “The Elves have questioned our intentions concerning our armory. We hoped we would never need to use our weapons. However, Elaya's Prophesy strikes fear into my heart that our troubles have followed us to Salariety. We're fortunate that old habits are hard to break because we've prepared for this news.”

 

“Stop dodging around the issue, Rhea,” Starkfer interrupted. “We make our weapons to defend against the Giants.”

 

“Giants?” Massori asked.

 

“The large figure Elaya described is a Giant,” Starkfer replied. “On occasion, a Dwarf couple will sire a Giant instead of a Dwarf. We don't know when one of our women carries one of these monsters in her belly until the fiend pulls himself free of his dead mother.”

 

“I've heard from the fathers of these Giants that they squeeze out of their mothers, and they expand to the full height and weight of an adult Dwarf as their skin touches the air,” Rhea said.

 

“In addition,” Starkfer continued, “if the Giant escapes from its birthing chamber, it matures into an adult Giant, some twenty-dwarf-measures in height, over the first fortnight, or sixteen sunrises, of its existence.”

“They are a formidable enemy with many natural as well as magical defense mechanisms,” Rhea said. “Giants can implant images into your mind to make you see things that aren't there. Many dwarves in pursuit of the giants reported watching their leader step off the edge of a cliff due to the strength of the visions. Tracking an escaped Giant is difficult enough, because they're surprisingly light on their feet, and leave no visible tracks. Yet, when you add in the danger of not knowing where you're standing, you take your life into your hands when you leave your home to track down an escaped Giant.”

 

“What about the disease that they gave us?” Starkfer reminded Rhea.

 

“We don't know whether it's a disease, or if they use magic to torment us,” Rhea told Elaya and Massori, “but we've never been able to find a cure for it.”

 

“Tell us what you can about this ailment,” Elaya prompted.

“If a Giant escaped from its birthing chamber and we were unsuccessful at finding and dispatching it, some of our people were inflicted with hideous disfigurements,” a Dwarf by the name of Duran said. “Their limbs grew disproportionately to their height, and their skin developed patches of colored scales.” He fell silent to allow this information to sink in.

 

“So you prepared for the possibility that you brought the Giants with you to Salariety,” Elaya said. “Your people kill the Giants before they can endanger the rest of your community.”

 

“The only time we've been successful at their dispatch is while they're trapped in the labor room,” Starkfer replied. “Their hides are thick and almost impenetrable once they reach adulthood. Our swords are sharp enough to kill them immediately following their birth. Only diamond is hard enough to penetrate their skin if they escape and we later meet in battle.”

 

“I suppose our old laws will take affect,” Rhea said somberly.

 

“I see no other way around it,” Starkfer replied. “We don't want the fathers of Giants to breed with other women to produce more of these monstrosities. We must reinstitute the gelding of those who prove to be dangerous to the rest of us.

 

“We must also insist that our families be watchful around our expectant mothers. They should have their weapons at hand to execute the monsters upon their delivery, lest we fall prey to the Giants if they escape.”

 

As they walked back to their home following this meeting with the Dwarves, Elaya told her father, “It's sad that they need to fear what we Elves find as a blessing. I cannot imagine being a female among the Dwarves if being with child could wreak such havoc.”

 

“Tonight we've learned the Dwarves' most guarded secret,” Massori told his daughter. “I only wish they told us this before we welcomed them into our country.”

 

“If the Gods felt that we should have turned them away from Salariety, they would have shown me this vision prior to their arrival.”

“At least you were able to forewarn them. With luck, they'll not spread death and destruction among the Elfin population as well as their own. We live in the same country, but they have their own laws and customs, as do we. Even so, the Elves and the Dwarves will need to meet to discuss preparations for the Giants' eventual arrival.”

 

 

CHAPTER 3 -- Airegorn

 

After many meetings between the two peoples of Salariety, the Elves decided to learn additional forms of magic to help defend against the coming of the Giants. They learned to cast spells that increased the protection of the armor the Dwarves produced and the Elves agreed to overlook the mining of the minerals in the mountains. The armor the Dwarves manufactured was too heavy and cumbersome for the tall, nimble, and relatively frail Elves, so they learned how to enchant their lightweight clothing to make it as strong as armor. The Elves thought it might be possible, with the skills they already possessed, to use their healing songs to benefit those Dwarves inflicted with a disfiguring ailment, but being that they had never seen this condition themselves, they felt the need to conduct additional studies in this magic.

 

In return for these services, the Dwarves fashioned diamond-tipped arrows for the Elves to use. They hoped the Elves would enchant their weapons to give a better advantage against their adversary, but as a matter of principle, the Elves refused to use their magic to kill any living being.

 

When Elaya was in her two-hundred-eighty-seventh yarin , she met the Elf of her life. She stood next to the butcher's kiosk at the market, taking in the fragrance of a long-stemmed red rose while she waited for the butcher to fill her order. It was a warm, sunny day with a light breeze that played with the strands of her long flaxen hair.

 

Airegorn, one-hundred-fifty-five yarin old, lived in one of the neighboring villages. He was returning from a hunting trip in the wilderness, with a buck slung over his shoulders. The animal was sizable and his muscles ached from carrying it. He remembered his mother's statement that he should trade in this village instead of their own because the merchants were more generous in their trading practices. He was grateful that he had arrived.

 

As he continued on his way to the market, Airegorn turned his attention away from the butcher's stall taking in the lay of the village. Elaya turned around and saw him barreling toward her. However, as people crowded the street, there was nowhere for her to move to escape the impending collision.

 

Airegorn turned back to his business and found himself face-to-face with the most beautiful Elf he had ever seen. He came so close to crushing her that he felt her breath brush his skin.

 

Elaya pricked her finger on one of the rose thorns. “Ouch!”

 

Airegorn dropped the buck and grabbed Elaya's hand. He brought her injured finger to his lips and sucked the blood from the tip of it while he gazed into her violet eyes.

 

Loud crying erupted behind him. Airegorn widened his jade-green eyes with the realization of what he had done. He dropped Elaya's hand and turned around to assess the damage he caused. A small Elfin boy who followed Airegorn to the butcher's stall was busy trying to pull his foot out from underneath the fallen buck.

 

“Oh Gods, what a fool!” Airegorn reached to pick up the deer and knocked into Elaya with his behind. “Oops!” He scooted forward as if goosed. “Plark,” he exclaimed, rotating his arms in a circular pattern, knocking packages here and there in the process.

People stampeded out of his way screaming and laughing. Airegorn lost his tenuous balance and somersaulted to avoid landing on the boy whom he was trying to assist. He came to his feet like an elf-in-a-box, bent down once again, and hefted the buck over his head in victory. He turned his head from left to right with a huge toothy grin, mocking his own clumsiness.

 

The little boy limped away from Airegorn and headed back to his home. Airegorn, with a clear path to the butcher's trading table, brought the buck forward with exaggerated care and placed it on the table, all the while looking into the angelic face of the woman with whom he instantaneously fell in love.

 

Elaya smiled at him and dropped her eyes to the ground. “Thank you for not running me over, sir.”

 

“My name is Airegorn,” he crooned. “I'm sorry for my clumsiness. Your beauty made me lose my head.”

 

“It seems to be firmly on your shoulders, Airegorn. Yet, your mind must have escaped from between your pointy ears.”

 

“I'd be out of my mind if I didn't ask for your name, Dear Lady.”

 

“Elaya.” She looked up to his captivating green eyes once again.

 

“ The Elaya? The Most Revered?”

 

“I'm a soothsayer. Yet I don't believe I've earned the title others have given me.”

 

Airegorn looked at the butcher. “I'll be right back. Please excuse me.” He slipped his arm around Elaya's elbow and escorted her away from the stall while the whole village followed their progress. “I'm sure I'm unworthy of your attention…”

 

“Airegorn, if you'd do me the honor…”

 

“It would be my pleasure.”

 

“Then you may meet me at the lake tomorrow morning.”

 

“The lake?”

“I enjoy fishing. I don't live with my parents anymore, and it would be inappropriate for me to invite you into my home. Therefore…if you'd like to get to know me, then I think fishing would be a good place to start.”

 

Airegorn's smile widened with the realization that she had accepted his intentions. “I'll see you tomorrow morning, then.”

 

Elaya and Airegorn courted for thirteen yarin. After receiving his own parents' approval, Airegorn approached Elaya's parents to ask for their consent for him to marry their daughter. The two families worked out the details of the betrothal and prepared to sign the papers for Airegorn to take to the Catrial —the religious leader of their village—allowing their children to wed. However, before they put quill to parchment, Elaya's heart tightened with the realization…. She ran out of her parents' cabin and toward the village where she lived, a third of a league away. “No, please no. Don't let it be true.”

 

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