Read Online The Darkling Tide by Travis Simmons - Free Book Online
Authors: Travis Simmons
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they were coming to be in this world from the others, but now we do.”
Celeste perked up. Until this point it had all been more of the same thing they’d heard countless times.
But this was new.
“The veil between the worlds is weakening,” Charissa said, leaning heavily on her moon scepter. “They don’t need to use Eget Row any longer because there are points in each world they can bust through to the next. The Fay Forest, we believe, is one of those places.”
A worried mutter rippled through the assembled elves, and even the dark elves broke their cool façade to chatter about what this meant.
All Celeste could think about was how close to New Landanten the Fay Forest was, and what would happen to their new home if the darklings swelled beyond the forest. Would they be chased away again?
Celeste agreed with the dark elves, they needed to stop running. They needed to do something. What she, and most other light elves didn’t agree with was—
“We need to open the scepters,” Charissa said.
Anger swelled through the ranks of light elves. The dark elves merely nodded their agreement. Most of them had already opened their scepters and were able to wield them as weapons. As far as she knew, the dark elves were only using the staves as protective agents. But the dark elves had scouts and guardians of their own, and unlike the light elves that kept to the boarder of the city and the harbinger settlement in the mountain passes below, the dark elves ventured out into the Fay Forest, looking for darkling to hunt. Celeste couldn’t deny that it would be much better to have a weapon that she could use to strike down the darklings rather than keeping them at bay, but at what cost?
“At what cost?” Celeste asked, not realizing how loud she’d spoken. The light elves quieted down and turned to her.
“I’m sorry?” Charissa asked, turning to her. All eyes shifted to Celeste. She rolled her shoulders, uncomfortable with the attention.
She cleared her throat and stepped forward to the center of the chamber between the ranks of dark elves and light elves. Celeste looked up at the chieftains on the dais high above. Stained glass cast a halo of backlight around them.
“At what cost are we willing to open the scepters?” Celeste asked. “There are other races to consider in this, not all are beings of the light.”
“That eventuality is a worst case scenario,” Charissa told her. Garth stepped back to let the dark elf speak. “We don’t know for certain that opening the scepters in the Fay Forest would do anything more than wipe out the darkling tide.”
“But we don’t know that it won’t do more than wipe out the tide,” Celeste said. It was an old argument, and Charissa hardened her mouth into a line, refusing to get into this debate again.
“The chieftains have decided this is the best course of action,” Charissa said.
“Yes, but how do we open the scepters?” Celeste asked. She knew the methods, and that was another issue.
“We aren’t specifically saying that when we open the scepters we will spill their light through the Fay Forest, and therefore into other worlds,” Garth said, stepping forward to ease the anger in his light elves. “But with the scepters open as weapons, we can fight the darklings and maybe drive them back to a point that we can heal the Fay Forest and rid Agaranth of this winter.”
The light elves muttered agreement.
“Yes, but how do we open the scepters?” Celeste asked.
“Your chieftains have spoken.” Charissa sniffed and tucked her hands behind her back.
“No, it’s a valid question,” Garth said. “Many of you already know how to open the scepters, and I’m sure Celeste does as well, that’s why she’s asking. The scepters seem to only respond to the blood of an unchosen harbinger.”
Now that it was confirmed, outrage roared through the atrium. For the longest time the light elves had only assumed what opened the scepters, but now that it
Celeste perked up. Until this point it had all been more of the same thing they’d heard countless times.
But this was new.
“The veil between the worlds is weakening,” Charissa said, leaning heavily on her moon scepter. “They don’t need to use Eget Row any longer because there are points in each world they can bust through to the next. The Fay Forest, we believe, is one of those places.”
A worried mutter rippled through the assembled elves, and even the dark elves broke their cool façade to chatter about what this meant.
All Celeste could think about was how close to New Landanten the Fay Forest was, and what would happen to their new home if the darklings swelled beyond the forest. Would they be chased away again?
Celeste agreed with the dark elves, they needed to stop running. They needed to do something. What she, and most other light elves didn’t agree with was—
“We need to open the scepters,” Charissa said.
Anger swelled through the ranks of light elves. The dark elves merely nodded their agreement. Most of them had already opened their scepters and were able to wield them as weapons. As far as she knew, the dark elves were only using the staves as protective agents. But the dark elves had scouts and guardians of their own, and unlike the light elves that kept to the boarder of the city and the harbinger settlement in the mountain passes below, the dark elves ventured out into the Fay Forest, looking for darkling to hunt. Celeste couldn’t deny that it would be much better to have a weapon that she could use to strike down the darklings rather than keeping them at bay, but at what cost?
“At what cost?” Celeste asked, not realizing how loud she’d spoken. The light elves quieted down and turned to her.
“I’m sorry?” Charissa asked, turning to her. All eyes shifted to Celeste. She rolled her shoulders, uncomfortable with the attention.
She cleared her throat and stepped forward to the center of the chamber between the ranks of dark elves and light elves. Celeste looked up at the chieftains on the dais high above. Stained glass cast a halo of backlight around them.
“At what cost are we willing to open the scepters?” Celeste asked. “There are other races to consider in this, not all are beings of the light.”
“That eventuality is a worst case scenario,” Charissa told her. Garth stepped back to let the dark elf speak. “We don’t know for certain that opening the scepters in the Fay Forest would do anything more than wipe out the darkling tide.”
“But we don’t know that it won’t do more than wipe out the tide,” Celeste said. It was an old argument, and Charissa hardened her mouth into a line, refusing to get into this debate again.
“The chieftains have decided this is the best course of action,” Charissa said.
“Yes, but how do we open the scepters?” Celeste asked. She knew the methods, and that was another issue.
“We aren’t specifically saying that when we open the scepters we will spill their light through the Fay Forest, and therefore into other worlds,” Garth said, stepping forward to ease the anger in his light elves. “But with the scepters open as weapons, we can fight the darklings and maybe drive them back to a point that we can heal the Fay Forest and rid Agaranth of this winter.”
The light elves muttered agreement.
“Yes, but how do we open the scepters?” Celeste asked.
“Your chieftains have spoken.” Charissa sniffed and tucked her hands behind her back.
“No, it’s a valid question,” Garth said. “Many of you already know how to open the scepters, and I’m sure Celeste does as well, that’s why she’s asking. The scepters seem to only respond to the blood of an unchosen harbinger.”
Now that it was confirmed, outrage roared through the atrium. For the longest time the light elves had only assumed what opened the scepters, but now that it
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