|
|
Once upon a time (of course), the kingdom of Killandyr was no more. The once proud and strong elven kingdom had been destroyed many years before, by unknown armies with no standard or banner. Many said that the warriors were human, however. The kingdom was destroyed, many of the elves captured, and the rest forced into hiding.
Years later, the elves had been gone for so long that many humans believed they no longer existed; some questioned whether they ever had. Even before Killandyr's fall, the human kingdom and the elven kingdom had grown apart and no longer communicated with each other, and humans stopped crossing the thick forest that separated the two kingdoms. Many claimed it was haunted; some said the ghosts of the lost race of elves lurked there. For whatever reason, no one ever went there.
A young human woman named Liss Krinnal lived in a village some miles from the forest's edge. Liss was a young mother with several small children, and another on the way, when her beloved husband died in an tragic accident. Her heart broken, Liss soon found she could not bear to stay in the village, where everything reminded her of her lost love. With the help of some of her husband's friends, she built a small cottage some distance into the woods. The men shook their heads, protesting against the plan and telling her she would not be safe, but Liss was a rather good huntress and could take care of herself. When they found that she would not change her mind, they agreed to help build the cottage. Liss moved there with her children once her new baby was born. She started a garden behind the cottage, and their little family settled in quite comfortably. Every now and then she would take all her children into town with her, to buy odds and ends they needed to supplement the garden and her hunting.
One day, while teaching her oldest son, Trin, to hunt, Liss found a small child wandering around in the woods, alone. The girl, no more than five years old, was injured and delirious with fever. To Liss' surprise, the girl had the characteristic pointed ears of an elf. Remembering the stories of elven ghosts, Liss thought for a minute, then decided she would allow silly superstitions to prevent her from helping a mere child in distress. Liss took her home and nursed her back to health, and when the girl could not tell her who her family was, where she had come from, or even her last name, Liss adopted her as her own daughter and gave the child her family name.
Layna became an excellent huntress, having an uncanny understanding of animals. She was kind, loving, and lively, and the other children adored her. At the age of fifteen she went through a strange, moody stage, often sneaking off to spend time by herself. She still loved her family and would spend a little time with them every day, but she felt a need to be on her own. Liss knew her adopted daughter was different, and who knew what might happen during an elven adolescence? So she and her older children helped Layna build herself a small cottage about a mile away. They spent many days working on the cottage in between hunting and gardening, making a game of the building. When it was completed almost a year later, Layna moved into the cozy little hut, thankful to have a place to herself. She would come to see Liss and the children every few days or so, however, and she always went shopping with them on market days.
One night when Layna was seventeen, she was relaxing in her hut, singing to herself as she stirred the stew that bubbled over the fire. She was started to hear a knock at the door; Liss and the children seldom came at night, unless it was an emergency. When Layna opened the door, she was shocked to see a young man standing there. She was often in town, and her face was a familiar one there, but she had never seen this man before. Besides, no one ever came to the woods, except Liss's late husband's friends, who came by every so often to check on her. But this man was much younger than they, and he wore traveling clothes rather unlike those worn in the village.
The young man introduced himself as Kyven Jerridan, explaining that he had been traveling through the woods and had seen the light in Layna's window. Not terribly thrilled with the idea of sleeping in a bedroll on the hard ground, he had knocked on her door in the hopes that she might have a warm corner for him to curl up in for the night. Layna thought he looked like a pleasant young man, and she let him in and shared her stew.
As they ate, the two entertained each other. Layna told Kyven a little about herself and sang for him, and he, in turn, told her tales of his travels and adventures. He seemed to run into countless scrapes and tight spots, mostly through his own misguided escapades. He was fun-loving, witty, and friendly, however, with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. Layna soon became enchanted by his tales. After the dinner dishes had been washed, she gave him a spare blanket, and he curled up by the fire. Layna herself went to bed and dreamed dreams of the far-off lands he had told her of, of all the beautiful places and wondrous sights he had seen.
The next morning, Layna found that Kyven had gone. He had left a small handful of a coins and a note, thanking her for her hospitality and offering the money as a small gift of to show his gratitude. He wished her well and said farewell. Layna put the money and the note away, then began her day—tending her little garden, catching a rabbit for supper, preparing it to be added to the stewpot later that evening. After all her work was done and she could no longer occupy her mind with other things, she sat outside her cottage, thoughtfully watching the sun set. After a while, she stood, went into the house, and began packing as her dinner cooked. She threw some food and spare clothes into a pack, made up a bedroll, and grabbed her cloak. Eating her supper hurriedly and quickly washing up, she left her cottage, locked the door behind her, and hurried off through the darkening forest.
Layna was excellent at woodcraft, and even in the dark she was eventually able to find Kyven's trail. She followed him as quickly as she was able, continuing on for several hours. Kyven seemed to be in no particular hurry, so she was able to catch up quickly. After estimating the time he may have traveled and how far he may have gotten, she began keeping an eye out, wondering if she would see him up ahead. Then, suddenly, a form leaped out of the underbrush to one side and knocked her down, a knife in hand.
Kyven stared in surprise, slowly lowering the knife, and asked what Layna was doing there. Suddenly he stopped, and she realized that he was staring at her ears. Her hair, usually held in place with a headband, had come loose from the strip of cloth and had fallen back, exposing her pointed ears. Layna hurriedly tried to stammer an explanation, but Kyven only silently pulled back his own hair to show pointed ears of his own.
Layna and Kyven built a fire and sat down to talk. It turned out that Kyven had also been adopted by human parents, found abandoned when he was a baby. He agreed to take Layna with him on his travels, and the two of them set out together the next morning.
This is a summary of the short story "Out of the Forest," which is the first chapter of The Three Wanderers. The book continues from that point on. Eventually Layna and Kyven meet another elf, Tristl Rissalan. The three travel together, learning bits and pieces of the story of the elves' disappearance. Eventually they stumble across the secret lair of the dragons, ancient creatures who claim to have once been friends and allies of the elves. From the dragons they learn that the elves were destroyed by the Warlord, a man who served the human king many years before. Most believed that he was responsible for the anonymous army that destroyed Killandyr. The dragons said that he was still alive, having gained some strong magical power. Normally it was impossible for humans to become as strong in magic as he, but he had apparently managed to tap some special source, likely an evil one. When he destroyed the kingdom, he had taken thousands prisoner, and the elves now served him deep beneath the mountains to the north as his slaves.
The dragons told the three young elves that they were the prophecied ones who would rescue the elves from the Warlord and rebuild their kingdom. Layna, Kyven, and Tristl had previously discovered that they could use magic, and the dragons told them that when they combined their powers, they could defeat even the magic of the Warlord's strength. With the dragons' blessing, the three elves set off to challenge the Warlord and free the lost nation of Killandyr.
Years before, some time after Killandyr had fallen out of contact with the humans, the kingdom was still reasonably strong and whole. The recent rulers had been adequate, but they had made mistakes, and things were not as well off as they might be. The previous king had done his best to rectify the situation, but he had found it difficult and had only made a beginning when he died of a sudden illness. He left behind twin sons, Jerrant and Kenrik Killandyr.
When the twins were born, the queen had died in childbirth. In all the confusion, somehow it was never recorded which twin was born first. Many had requested that the king choose one of them to be his heir, but he loved both of them so much that he hated to choose between them, and he kept finding excuses to put off making a decision. When he died, he had still not named an heir.
The law stated that whenever there was no way to determine who was the rightful heir, the question should be decided by combat. The council insisted that the law be followed, and so the twins found themselves on the tournament field, against their will, armed and ready to fight each other. The brothers loved each other dearly, and neither wished to defeat the other, but they fought. Jerrant thought quickly as he fought, and as neither seemed to be winning, he realized that the fight must eventually end. He decided to allow himself to be defeated, even though the fight was growing heated and he could be seriously injured.
Kenrik attacked, however, while Jerrant was still thinking. Instinct and training took over, and he blocked and counter-attacked. His sword came crashing down on Kenrik's helmet, striking a hard blow to the head. Jerrant was able to turn his sword at the last moment, so that the flat of the blade hit, but it had still been a hard blow. Kenrik fell to the ground and lay still. Throwing his own helmet off, Jerrant checked his brother; he didn't breathe.
Jerrant was proclaimed the winner, and the council and the audience left to announce the news and to prepare the coronation ceremony. Jerrant stayed on the tournament field, staring at his brother in shocked silence. Kenrik lay still for long minutes, and then his eyes fluttered open, and he grinned. "Fooled you."
Jerrant was furious at first, then simply thankful that his brother was alive. Kenrik explained that he had allowed Jerrant to strike him, knowing he would react as he did to the sudden attack. Kenrik always had been the better fighter, after all, and knew his brother's technique. Jerrant, in turn, was better suited to administration and ruling, as Kenrik claimed. Kenrik had always been mischievous and had a flair for the dramatic, and he admitted he had perhaps gone a bit too far in his performance. But now that he was believed dead, he would be able to travel incognito. For once in his life he did not have to behave like a prince, and he could travel and go on adventures. He pulled his pack from where he had hidden it, changed clothes, and said good bye to his brother.
This is only the first chapter of the prequel. Kenrik would do great deeds, yes, but he would also discover strange things that would prove important to Killandyr's survival. Jerrant, in turn, would rule wisely and well, and he would face even greater challenges than the generations before him. It was up to these twins to try to turn their kingdom around, and if they succeeded, they would bring Killandyr out of a dangerous time and into a new golden age.
Years later, the house of Killandyr was no longer the ruling family, for complicated reasons. Our story begins in Galldren, a small village in the northwest of the kingdom of Killandyr, a village that had managed to escape the Warlord's attack and remained hidden during the following years. It is now ten years after the events of The Three Wanderers, and Killandyr has begun to rebuild. A new queen is on the throne, and diplomatic relations have been renewed with the human kingdom.
In the village of Galldren lives the Killandyr family. They have long passed down the tale of how their ancestors were once the rulers of Killandyr during one of the greatest ages in its history, but now they are content to live a simple, humble life, and such stories merely serve as pleasant entertainment by the fire on cold, winter nights. The Killandyrs of Galldren are made up of the father and mother, three older daughters who are married and live with husbands of their own, one son named Jend, and a youngest daughter, named Kyliana. Now, all the Killandyr children are very talented with magic, and while magic is uncommon and weak in many elven girls, even the older daughters are relatively skilled, particularly in healing. Jend is also a skilled healer, unusual in a young man. Kyliana is the only one who has not shown even a spark of magic, but she is a skilled huntress, and her parents love her and are proud of her nevertheless. Her lack of magic has always been a sore spot with her, however.
One day while hunting in the woods, Kylie is approached by a man who introduces himself as Rendel. They talk, and he explains that he is a powerful sorceror and adviser to the queen. He claims that rumors reached him of a young girl in Galldren with purple eyes. He then came to see if these tales were true, and he had asked around in the village and been told that Kylie was often to be found hunting in the forest. Rendel explained that purple eyes were an indication of a rare type of magic, most commonly called royal magic. True, Kylie had shown no sign of magical ability, but the strongest magic often showed up late. Kylie's magic would one day be very powerful, and he invited Kylie to come with him to the capital and be his student.
Kylie did not answer right away, but she invited Rendel to dinner. During the meal he told Kylie's parents that he was recruiting for the queen's archers, and that he was amazed by Kylie's ability. This was true enough, but it was not the reason he sought her out. However, he told Kylie that there was more involved here than he had told her, and for her safety she must trust him.
After dinner, Jend heard Kylie and Rendel talking, and he protested against a strange man taking Kylie off alone. Rendel told Jend that Kylie would be in danger if she stayed, and that powerful magic like hers made her a threat to others, other powers who would not hesitate to dispose of such threats as soon as they learned of them. Concerned for his sister's safety, Jend agreed that Kylie must go, but he insisted on coming along. Rendel agreed, sensing Jend's own considerable magical skill, and said he would train both of them, if they wished. Once she realized Jend would not be dissuaded, Kylie agreed to go as well. The next morning the three of them set off for the capital city of Kyllyr.
What Rendel had not told Kylie was that the Warlord was still alive—defeated, but not killed, he had gone into hiding after his battle with Layna, Kyven, and Tristl. He had recently emerged again and declared his intention of wiping the elves off the face of the earth for once and for all. Rendel secretly believes that the Warlord has already learned of Kylie's existence, and he is just thankful that he reached her before the Warlord did. His challenge will now be to train Kylie to protect herself while guarding her from the Warlord, for while Kylie's magic is a serious threat to him, he would not necessarily kill her. If he were to capture Kylie, he might be able to bind her to him and use his power for his own—forcing Kylie to be the one to destroy her own people. Rendel broods on this as the other two chatter away blithely, walking down the road in the sun. The greatest challenge of the elves is approaching, and he does not know if their magic will be enough to counter the danger.
That's all! You'll notice I haven't actually given away the endings of any of these stories, beyond what you might have expected anyway (e.g. the three wanderers defeated the Warlord). So even though I've gone into great detail, there are plenty of surprises left once I finally get the books completely written! I hope this has whet your appetite a bit. ^_~
The Killandyr Trilogy ©2001 Amy Unfred