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Authors: Cael McIntosh
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peculiar.’
Seteal frowned, unable to make out the connection between her
mother and the old man standing before her.
‘ You ought to know
the truth,’ Gez-reil murmured. ‘Far-a-mael married my sister,
Sar-ni, who is sadly no longer with us.’ Gez-reil rubbed his eyes
tiredly. ‘The truth is, had she been alive today, Sar-ni would’ve
been your grandmother.’
‘ That doesn’t make
any sense.’ Seteal felt sick. ‘That would mean Far-a-mael is my
grandfather.’
‘ He is,’ Gez-reil
replied apologetically. ‘Don’t let it bother you. He was a good man
once. Life dealt him an unfair hand and he’s never quite
recovered.’
‘ That’s why he hates
silts so much?’ Seteal murmured. ‘Because of the way my mother
died?’
‘ Oh, dear, no,’
Gez-reil said gravely. ‘The story goes back much further than that.
Much like Jil-e-an, Sar-ni, too, was killed by a whisp. And many
years earlier, when Far-a-mael was just a boy, his parents were
murdered at a negotiation for peace talks in Old World.’
‘ That explains a
lot.’ Seteal moved toward the only chair in the room and sat down
unsteadily. ‘He’s lost everything.’
‘ As for you,
El-i-miir,’ Gez-reil began solemnly, ‘I’m afraid that for now not
much can be done. Maker knows I didn’t want to see you meet a fate
such as condemnation to Vish’el’Tei, but considering the
accusations rallied against you, there was very little I could do.
Standing here now, I can see that the accusations were based in
truth.’ He looked at Ilgrin very seriously. ‘You are in love with
him.’
‘ I am.’ El-i-miir
looked at the ground.
‘ And you think you
love her?’ Gez-reil asked Ilgrin.
‘ Yes,’ the silt said
proudly.
‘ Well, then . . .
this is going to be a great deal more difficult for the pair of you
than I’d first anticipated. You will destroy each other,’ Gez-reil
murmured. ‘There is no peaceful hiding place for you to cohabitate.
There is nowhere for you in New World, nor Old World. You,’ he
turned to El-i-miir, ‘must settle down in a small town somewhere
far away from the Frozen Lands like Seteal’s mother once did. And
you.’ He turned to Ilgrin. ‘You’re long overdue to go home, don’t
you think?’
‘ I can’t go back,’
Ilgrin replied. ‘My parents are dead.’
‘ That’s not the home
I was referring to.’ Gez-reil stared at Ilgrin beneath a furrowed
brow. ‘You need to return to your true home.’
‘ I intend to.’ Ilgrin
shrugged. ‘El-i-miir has agreed to come with me.’
‘ Enough talk of you
and El-i-miir,’ Gez-reil snapped. ‘You’re thinking with the naïveté
of a child. Do you really expect your kind will be any more
congenial towards El-i-miir than ours have been toward
you?’
‘ But . . .’ Ilgrin
trailed off, unable to come up with a suitable
counterargument.
‘ But nothing,’
Gez-reil grumbled. ‘You will travel to Old World alone, but I will
send you armed with a secret. You see, Ilgrin, I suspect that I
know who you really are. Would you like to learn of it?’
‘ Of
course.’
‘ Very well.’ Gez-reil
nodded. ‘But first you must tell me your story. I have to be
certain.’
‘ I was raised on a
farm--’
‘ Stop, stop,’
Gez-reil cut him off. ‘You’ve mistaken my meaning. I don’t care
about your life after your parents took you in. I’m interested in
how you came to be so very far from Old World to begin
with.’
‘ I don’t know much.’
Ilgrin frowned. ‘Mother and father found me on their doorstep in
the arms of a dead silt. An arrow had been shot through her back
and pierced her heart.’
‘ A silt
arrow?’
‘ My parents thought
so,’ Ilgrin said. ‘It was tipped with silver and unlike any they’d
seen before.’
‘ Fascinating.’
Gez-reil’s eyes darted off to some distant time. ‘And how old are
you?’
‘ I’m about
twenty-three or four.’
‘ Then the timing is
right.’ Gez-reil nodded in satisfaction, only to pause and
Seteal frowned, unable to make out the connection between her
mother and the old man standing before her.
‘ You ought to know
the truth,’ Gez-reil murmured. ‘Far-a-mael married my sister,
Sar-ni, who is sadly no longer with us.’ Gez-reil rubbed his eyes
tiredly. ‘The truth is, had she been alive today, Sar-ni would’ve
been your grandmother.’
‘ That doesn’t make
any sense.’ Seteal felt sick. ‘That would mean Far-a-mael is my
grandfather.’
‘ He is,’ Gez-reil
replied apologetically. ‘Don’t let it bother you. He was a good man
once. Life dealt him an unfair hand and he’s never quite
recovered.’
‘ That’s why he hates
silts so much?’ Seteal murmured. ‘Because of the way my mother
died?’
‘ Oh, dear, no,’
Gez-reil said gravely. ‘The story goes back much further than that.
Much like Jil-e-an, Sar-ni, too, was killed by a whisp. And many
years earlier, when Far-a-mael was just a boy, his parents were
murdered at a negotiation for peace talks in Old World.’
‘ That explains a
lot.’ Seteal moved toward the only chair in the room and sat down
unsteadily. ‘He’s lost everything.’
‘ As for you,
El-i-miir,’ Gez-reil began solemnly, ‘I’m afraid that for now not
much can be done. Maker knows I didn’t want to see you meet a fate
such as condemnation to Vish’el’Tei, but considering the
accusations rallied against you, there was very little I could do.
Standing here now, I can see that the accusations were based in
truth.’ He looked at Ilgrin very seriously. ‘You are in love with
him.’
‘ I am.’ El-i-miir
looked at the ground.
‘ And you think you
love her?’ Gez-reil asked Ilgrin.
‘ Yes,’ the silt said
proudly.
‘ Well, then . . .
this is going to be a great deal more difficult for the pair of you
than I’d first anticipated. You will destroy each other,’ Gez-reil
murmured. ‘There is no peaceful hiding place for you to cohabitate.
There is nowhere for you in New World, nor Old World. You,’ he
turned to El-i-miir, ‘must settle down in a small town somewhere
far away from the Frozen Lands like Seteal’s mother once did. And
you.’ He turned to Ilgrin. ‘You’re long overdue to go home, don’t
you think?’
‘ I can’t go back,’
Ilgrin replied. ‘My parents are dead.’
‘ That’s not the home
I was referring to.’ Gez-reil stared at Ilgrin beneath a furrowed
brow. ‘You need to return to your true home.’
‘ I intend to.’ Ilgrin
shrugged. ‘El-i-miir has agreed to come with me.’
‘ Enough talk of you
and El-i-miir,’ Gez-reil snapped. ‘You’re thinking with the naïveté
of a child. Do you really expect your kind will be any more
congenial towards El-i-miir than ours have been toward
you?’
‘ But . . .’ Ilgrin
trailed off, unable to come up with a suitable
counterargument.
‘ But nothing,’
Gez-reil grumbled. ‘You will travel to Old World alone, but I will
send you armed with a secret. You see, Ilgrin, I suspect that I
know who you really are. Would you like to learn of it?’
‘ Of
course.’
‘ Very well.’ Gez-reil
nodded. ‘But first you must tell me your story. I have to be
certain.’
‘ I was raised on a
farm--’
‘ Stop, stop,’
Gez-reil cut him off. ‘You’ve mistaken my meaning. I don’t care
about your life after your parents took you in. I’m interested in
how you came to be so very far from Old World to begin
with.’
‘ I don’t know much.’
Ilgrin frowned. ‘Mother and father found me on their doorstep in
the arms of a dead silt. An arrow had been shot through her back
and pierced her heart.’
‘ A silt
arrow?’
‘ My parents thought
so,’ Ilgrin said. ‘It was tipped with silver and unlike any they’d
seen before.’
‘ Fascinating.’
Gez-reil’s eyes darted off to some distant time. ‘And how old are
you?’
‘ I’m about
twenty-three or four.’
‘ Then the timing is
right.’ Gez-reil nodded in satisfaction, only to pause and
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