City of Illusions Read online

  There was not much time to ponder the question. The Hosts were informed and the soldiers continued their pursuit. They were much slower now, though, the large group of men made too much noise, and they were all afraid of another trap. Every now and then an argument erupted about who would lead the troops through the dark. Everyone was afraid to die.

  In an attempt to make sure that the fugitives would not slip through, the Hosts sent one group of Swintheri around to the corridor’s exit with a pack of dogs. The three runaways would be caught between the hammer and the anvil, and with that all the Hosts’ problems would be solved.

  The snowstorm surprised the Swintheri while they were waiting outside the corridor. Cursing, they decided to use the corridor as shelter. The dogs tore at their leashes excitedly. They were hard to control; normally locked in their kennels, they now smelled their freedom. The Swintheri’s confusion only added to their frenzy.

  The soldiers hoped they would soon catch the fugitives, so that they could all go back to the warm barracks. They blew on their hands and rubbed their arms to keep warm. After a long time, they still had yet to see anyone, and they started to feel irritated.

  Suddenly they heard some people approaching, then nothing, as if the persons had been startled by something. When the first men carefully rounded the corner, the dogs flew to the attack. However, they turned out to be the other Swintheri who had come from the corridor. The dogs were restrained just in time. The volume increased, and that was what the three fugitives underneath the willow heard.

  The Hosts’ troops could not believe that the three runaways had evaded them. They had been so focused on finding them that the possibility of their had not crossed their minds. They even looked around, as if expecting two men and a woman to suddenly appear out of nowhere. When they finally realized the truth, they went outside to look for tracks, but the newly-fallen snow made this task impossible. The Swintheri milled about in the snow for some time, not knowing what to do. In the end, they contacted the Hosts and were recalled to the tower.

  Lumea listened to the sounds of the soldiers and dogs die away with a relieved smile on her face. The tree protected her group from the weather, and now their enemies were going away.

  “Where do you come from?” she asked Elion, half-expecting to be asking a forbidden question. Elion quickly glanced up at her, then looked down at the ground.

  “I am from Omnesia, but I lived there when it was still an elvish city called Arminath. My family was driven away during the war between men and elves.

  “Is that when you learned how to fight?”

  Elion shook his head, though he did not elaborate. For a moment, Lumea thought she had found an explanation for Elion’s strange remark about taking life, but apparently something else had happened to him after the war that had left deep scars. Though she longed for an answer, she did not have the courage to ask him.

  “Why did the elves return to Omnesia, then?” she asked.

  “Our roots are there, even if there is not much left to remind people of the elven city. It is holy ground to us, and we are drawn to it. Besides, there was work there. The wells had to be restored. They were always the most important thing for the city, those wells. They allowed us to irrigate the dry ground around Arminath so that we could subsist. To us, the water coming from deep underground was a gift from the gods. Now our life in Omnesia is tough. We are poor and live in slums on the outskirts of the city, but it is still very important for us to be able to work on the wells.”

  “The war happened such a long time ago. The humans obviously need you. Why do you still keep your identity hidden?”

  Elion looked at her with a smile, but his tone of voice was bitter. “If only it were that simple.”

  She tried to lighten his mood with her question. “Isn’t it? The world isn’t that bad of a place, really.”

  His answer was exasperated. He said, “What have you experienced that you can judge that? Terrible things happened during that war, Lumea, things you couldn’t even begin to imagine. The elves have enough reason to be ashamed, and the humans aren’t about to forget that, let alone forgive us.”

  It did not escape Lumea’s notice that he apparently thought her to be ignorant. She tried to banish her displeasure from her voice, for by now she had realized that Elion had not had an easy life. That did not stop her from giving her opinion, though. “There are two sides to every war. Each of them makes mistakes, and acts in ways they would not during peacetime. Apparently you were able to forgive the humans or you would not have returned to help them. Or do you really feel that ashamed about yourselves that you allow them to treat you like trash?”

  She touched his hand, as a sign that he did not have to answer her. Then she stood up and walked around the trunk of the willow.

  Elion was left with his thoughts. She was right, the elves weren’t the only ones who had committed atrocities. The humans were to blame as well. In all his time of living in Omnesia, he had never known the humans to feel remorse about their part in what had happened. They just seemed content that they had come out the victors, with the elves mostly destroyed.

  The kings that ruled Omnesia after the elves’ departure had rewritten history in favor of their subjects. There wasn’t a human alive today who had witnessed the war. They were all dead now, with many generations having passed since, but there were still some elves alive who had known the war. Were they really so ashamed of themselves that they believed only the human version of events?

  Elion looked at the other two, but he could not see what they were doing. He drifted off into a deep sleep, awaiting a new nightmare, but instead, unfamiliar warmth enveloped him, keeping his nightmares at bay.

  Lumea had tucked Elion’s cloak around him and gently stroked his hair out of his face. Then she returned to Siard, who had found some edible roots that were still fresh, since the winter had disrupted the summer so suddenly. He went out again and returned with his hands full of berries and a few large leaves filled with snow. The warmth underneath the willow’s branches would melt it and again they could fill their waterskin.

  Elion woke up by nightfall. They ate some of fruit Siard had found while they discussed their next step.

  Lumea looked a bit shy about a question she had pondered for a while, but she asked it anyway. She had expected her emotions about the fight to have abated, but now that she was rested and more or less safe they had returned in full force. She hoped the two men could sufficiently explain why the killing had been necessary. “Why did you come to Hydrhaga?”

  Elion looked at Siard, who answered, “It’s hard to explain, Lumea. We hardly know, ourselves. Hydrhaga is supposed to be a perfect destination, and there were so many rumors about this peaceful world where everybody was welcome and life was easy. Many people traveled here, including the elves. In the first years everyone was allowed to go inside.

  “Things changed later on, though. The elves had long been used to hiding their identity, but even so, the ones traveling towards Hydrhaga returned, having been refused entrance. Some people, both elves and men, tried to find an alternative route inside, but soon it became obvious that there was some kind of invisible wall around this country.

  “There are still many rumors about Hydrhaga, both good and bad, but there is nobody to confirm or deny them. None of the people who ever entered the city came out of it again. Many Omnesians came here, and their families never heard from them again. I’ve seen many guests disappear without a trace since I got in, and I very much doubt they’ve gone home. One day, they just vanished.”

  “But all of that is just guesswork and rumor. There must be some other reason why you came here?” Lumea asked.

  Elion took up the story. “Many elves died during the war, but many of the survivors disappeared in later years. The workmen you saw in Omnesia are but a small fraction of the elves who ever lived there. We do know that large numbers of elves came here just after the land was established, and yet none of them can be found anywh
ere. It’s all one big mystery, but it does seem as though something very strange is going on here. How did the winter start so quickly? What is the Thuranc? What is in those lakes?”

  “I don’t know. My heart tells me that you’re right. I haven’t forgotten that woman who was killed right before we ran.”

  Lumea hesitated for a moment, trying to find the right words. Elion and Siard obviously trusted on their instincts, but for her part, she still felt miserable about her actions, without knowing if they had been justified; neither Elion nor Siard had been able to extinguish her doubts. She said, “My heart tells me that we’re in the wrong, that maybe we’re the evil ones. We don’t know what happened to that woman, or what the intentions of those men in the cave were. We didn’t give them a chance to explain. Maybe we made the wrong decision... and are guilty of murder.”

  Her voice was uncertain and a bit wobbly; she was fighting to keep back the tears. Elion tried to catch her eye, but she just stared at her hands lying in her lap, shivering. Elion suddenly noticed just how fragile she looked. “I understand your concerns, Lumea,” he answered in a whisper. “I can honestly say that the same thoughts have crossed my mind.”

  Siard agreed and Elion continued, “If what you say is true then I owe you my sincerest apologies. There is no way for me to undo what happened, or even make it less terrible than it actually is.”

  He was silent for a moment, but she would not look up. A tear rolled down her cheek.

  “I came here with such high expectations. Now I’m a murderer,” Lumea said. She blamed Elion for this, though she did not say it out loud.

  “I’m sorry I brought you into this, Lumea. In my heart, I know that what we’re doing is the right thing, but you deserve better than to fight someone else’s battle.”

  Finally, Lumea looked up. Her tears had dried. “Alright then, we have to decide what we’re going to do,” she said determinedly. “There is no way back, and crying about it isn’t going to help us.”

  They agreed to explore the woods, because they had not been there before. It was where the invisible ‘wall’ was. If they could find it, then perhaps they would learn something more about Hydrhaga.

  11

  Lumea, Siard and Elion left the relative safety of the willow to continue their search. Lumea stopped for a moment, and, in a silent prayer, thanked the willow for giving them a safety and shelter. At the same time, she thanked the snowstorm for wiping away their tracks. She had a hunch that the storm was not quite natural, but this prayer was nevertheless important to her.

  She thought back to her grandmother, a wise woman who had taught her to respect nature. The old woman had taken her on a walk once. They had gone through the woods to the north of Lunadeiron. During the walk, the woman pointed to some plants and told the little girl their names.

  At times, startled birds would fly up out of the trees. Lumea ran after them, trying to catch them, but the birds were always faster, which made her grandmother laugh. She would tell her the names of the various animals in the forest. Then she sat down in the grass and motioned for Lumea to join her.

  “Lumea, there are some things I need to tell you about plants and animals. Like humans, they were created by the gods, and as such they too carry within them the spirit of the gods. Always treat the world around you with fairness and respect. Do not assume, like so many do, that you are above nature. Rather, be a part of it. Do not forget to be grateful for the warmth that the sun gives us today, but likewise remember that without water nothing can live. Thank the rain, too, for without it the plants, our sisters, cannot survive.

  “Our brothers, the animals, can feed our hunger, but you should not forget to ask them, and take only what you need to survive. They will give you their meat, but only if you treat them with respect, as equals. Our Mother, the earth, gives life to everyone and everything, and our Father, the heavens, will always be there for those who need him. The sun warms us, the stars show us the way, and the moon gives us courage. The moon is also very special for women, Lumea. A woman’s body knows the same cycles. Do not forget to be grateful to your family. And never, ever let go of the child that you are now.”

  At the time, Lumea had been too young to really understand what her grandmother was telling her, but she had taken the lessons to heart. She had never forgotten them, and only as she got older had she started to understand them. Unconsciously, she had put more and more of her grandmother’s teachings into practice.

  She ended the prayer, and returned the memory of her grandmother to a place deep within her heart, where it was safe and warm. She hurried to catch up with Elion and Siard.

  The three runaways went deeper into the forest, and their path gradually grew harder to follow. The cold that had taken over Hydrhaga was very bitter and there was snow everywhere. Icicles hung down from branches, glistening in the light of the moon as it shone over the white world. In many places the ice and snow was so heavy that the branches had been torn from the trees. Birds were sitting in them, hunkered down and shivering. Their heavy-lidded eyes watched the three travelers struggle past. At times, an owl screeched a call into the night.

  The hem of Lumea’s dress was soon drenched. She was chilled to the bone, and her limbs were stinging cruelly. She shivered and pulled her hood tighter around her head. Elion and Siard were better dressed against the cold, but even their hands eventually started to tingle. With every breath white clouds formed in front of their faces, and breathing became labored.

  The cold dulled Lumea’s senses and stiffened her body. The pain in her feet vanished, which relieved her at first, until she started to worry about it. She tried to feel her feet when she put them down, even going so far as to purposefully stamp on one foot with the other just to get some feeling back. She felt helpless and furious with Elion and Siard for not helping her, but the two men seemed to be experiencing the same problems, if only to a lesser extent.

  They struggled on through the night. They had to keep moving to keep their body temperature up. None of them had the energy or the will to pay attention to the other. Lumea lost her grip on the world around her and she no longer realized where she was. The owl’s calls seemed to come from very far away.

  “Lumea...”

  The whispered word came from somewhere behind her. She knew the rustling voice, though she could not remember from where. She turned around to see if the caller was standing behind her. She saw a pair of outstretched arms. She let herself sink into them, but they did not catch her. Instead she fell into the snow. The branches she had taken for arms snapped under her weight.

  She didn’t move for a moment, but the voice called again. She wanted to ignore it, to just keep lying there and not worry about anything else. The snow was soft, and she didn’t feel the cold any more. She was only conscious of one thing: the bone-deep fatigue that had taken her over both her body and mind. The voice did not stop, though, it kept calling her, told her to get up, and so she did. Somehow she managed to rise, and she looked around, disorientated. She was alone, lost in the freezing night.

  When dawn touched the sky, Elion and Siard finally reached the wall without any more signs of pursuit.

  “Where’s Lumea?”

  Elion was the first to notice her disappearance, and his voice was worried, but Siard shrugged. They turned back to the forest, but darkness enveloped the trees. They could not see or hear anyone. Elion wanted to turn back into the forest immediately, but Siard stopped him.

  “If you go back there now you’ll die. You’re not strong enough. We have to rest first.”

  “How can we leave her out there?”

  “We’ll have to trust that she will be alright.”

  Siard was concerned about Lumea, too, and uncomfortable at leaving her out in the cold, but he knew that staying where they were was the best chance of survival that they had. There was no way he was going back into that white hell of ice. The only thing he wanted was to rest and warm up, but Elion’s conscience was strong.

&nb
sp; “She’s my responsibility, Siard! I brought her into this mess.”

  “Lumea has proven more than once that she is capable of taking care of herself.”

  Siard knew that he had to convince Elion to stay. He would follow the elf if he went back into the forest, but the younger man really did not think it was a good idea. Luckily, Elion followed Siard’s advice and stayed close to the wall. Siard had said that from the outside it was invisible, but from the side where they stood, there was a strange, oily sheen about it, and it glinted in the light of the rising sun. It made Hydrhaga look as though it was caught in an enormous soap bubble. Nothing moved in the first few feet behind the wall; plants grew crooked and the trees were leafless on the side that faced it. There was a soft hum coming from it, and it gave off a modest amount of heat.

  The two men stood quietly together, warming themselves from the ambient heat of the wall. They decided to rest there and regain their strength a bit. They decided that if Lumea did not appear that they would go looking for her later. Their symptoms of hypothermia abated, but they were still utterly exhausted. The elf kept staring at the woods in spite of his tiredness, growing more and more restless as time passed without an appearance by their friend. In the end, Elion got up to look for her.

  “Elion, it’s not wise...”

  The elf interrupted him, saying, “It’s my responsibility to keep the group together.”

  Siard struggled up with a sigh and followed Elion back into the cold.

  They found her near the edge of the woods. She was shuffling forward one step at a time, seeking support with her hands. Her eyes were empty, and frozen tears ran down her cheeks.

  Elion started running as soon as he saw her, and he reached her first. When he tried to grab her, she just shuffled on without acknowledging his presence. She put one foot in front of the other with automatic movements. With the two men supporting her, they reached the wall, where the men made her lie down on the ground.