History and Fates
Lord Ravalt stared at the young man in front of him. Young man? Darius seemed only
a boy to the Elf. He looked far too young to carry the prophacy of the beast.
Darius returned the Elven Lord’s gaze. He knew what the Lord was thinking, it had
crossed his mind far too many times. But he also knew that the father of the woman he would be
forced to fulfill the prophacy with had as little choice as he.
Ravalt looked around the hall. The Elves were watching with confusion on their faces.
It was then that he relized that the boy’s voice had only carried far enough for him to hear, not
even his daughter had heard the tragic announcement.
"Darius," he said. "I would talk with you privately. The journey you
and my daughter must go on will be arduous and I have some things to discuss with you."
"Father," Taerre began.
"No, daughter, it must be us alone. I am sorry but this must be." The
Elven Lord raised his voice and announced to the assembled crowd, "I will speak to this one
alone. If he is worthy to walk with my daughter, I would learn this. If not, well, I would learn
this as well. Audience for this day is over. Walk in the light, live in the light."
The Elves nodded their heads and replied, "Walk in the light live in the
light." With that said, they filed out of the hall and returned to the lives."
"Father," Taerre began again.
"Daughter, would you have me end this journey before it began? You know I must
talk with this man, you know I must learn who he is before I trust him with your safety."
"Father, I do understand," Taerre replied. "I only ask that you
remember that we have been training alone ever since my brother’s body was returned. If he had
any intentions other than honorable, he would have done something before now." That said,
Taerre turned on her heels and strode out of the hall.
The two men, human and Elven, watched her go. Ravalt was startled to hear a soft
chuckling from Darius. Until now, he had seemed without humor.
"So, she IS always like that." Darius said. "I thought it was just
because I was younger than she is, and human."
Ravalt laughed. "No, she is strong-willed and is always letting anyone see
it."
"What are you willing to wager that she is even now gathering supplies for the
journey?" Darius asked.
"That would be no wager, but I wonder if she is also taking my favorite
horse."
"No horses, Lord. Where we are going there isn’t much chance of their survival.
Or for ours."
Ravalt quit laughing and looked at the human next to him. "How are you so sure
that you are the beast? What has told you this?"
Darius looked around the hall and sighed. "This is exactly as she desribed,
Hysture that is. No, I know she has been dead and buried for a long time, now. Still she comes
to me at night and tells me of the prophacy. The one that ordains my fate. She comes when the
moon is only a sliver, just barely beginning to show itself. She has told me what I am, the beast.
She has told me where I must go, who I must take with me, and what I must fight. Lord Ravalt,
the creatures in the mountains, the ones that killed your son, are the demons that your father
and she trapped so long ago. The cage is thin, they are escaping. All this she has told me. As
she has told me that I will truly become the beast and that I must fall before the demons can be
shut away from our world."
Ravalt looked around and his gaze rested on the chair on the dais. He sighed. "I
still miss her. She was an extraordinary ruler and woman. This world is sadder without her. But,
how are you sure that these aren’t just the dreams of your imagination?"
"Lord, when I was five I wandered alone into the woods, I was lost to my people
for three nights. When I returned, my parents rejoiced, thinking that I was now safe, and that I
would never wander off again. The truth is that I followed a rabbit onto those woods. I lost
track of it many times but somehow I always regained its path." Darius looked up at the Elf.
"Lord, that rabbit was my first prey. I stalked it, killed it, and ate it."
Ravalt stared at the young man, hoping that what he almost believed was wrong. He
swallowed. "That is an impressive hunt for a child."
"I was no child, Lord. I was a cat."
Lord Ravalt continued staring at the human before him. "You mean you were
quiet as a cat?"
"No, Lord. I was a cat. It started playfully enough, with me chasing the rabbit
as a boy but when I couldn’t catch it I got upset. I could hear a housecat in the distance and
thought, ‘I bet that a cat could catch that darn rabbit.’ The next thing I knew, I was chasing
the rabbit into the woods, running on all four paws."
"And after the humans found out… But how did they? Did you tell them?"
"Noone else knows, Lord. My family thinks I just like being alone. I told your
daughter that I had been pushed away to keep her from wondering why I was out in the wilderness
by myself. Mother worries constantly, but it would be worse if she knew the truth."
"About Taerre,…"
"Lord, I know this may be hard for you to accept but your daughter is the one
who has to stop the demons. I’m just here to get her ready for it and in place to do the job.
After my part is done, well, we both know what will happen."
"The beast will fall." Ravalt quoted, remembering the prophacy.
"Yes," Darius said, "I will. And with my death, Taerre will somehow
be able to finish what your father and my many times grandmother started. It’s the price and I
am willing to pay it."
Ravalt raised his head. "Then go, take my daughter into the mountains and do
what you must do."
Darius nodded and turned to leave. Before he went through the doors he looked back
at the Elven Lord and said, "I will do everything within my power to ensure your daughter
comes back to you." With that he left.
Lord Ravalt stared at the doors for a long minute and whispered, "All the Gods
go with you both."
Then he sat down on the dais and wept for his daughter and the man who must die so
that she might save everyone else."