Prologue
Lit only by torches secured to the cold stone walls with wrought iron brackets the circular chamber was dark and heavy with shadows but the seven hooded figures seated at the round oaken table in the center of the room don’t need to rely solely on their physical senses to see. They were the lords and ladies of The Seven Kingdoms, the keepers of the sacred energies and the six lords and ladies of the out lying kingdoms turn their expectant eyes to the seventh.
Elleh’cim. She was the crown of the seven energies and she sits with her eyes closed in meditation, her hands resting lightly on the surface of the table. Carved from the trunk of one of the Grandfather Oaks the table was old, ancient, it’s surface worn smooth by the generations of those who had convened at it in centuries past. She could feel the strength of the Grandfather vibrating through the table, could feel the mighty oak’s wisdom pulsating through it’s polished wood. She would need that strength, that wisdom in the days to come, for the dark times that had been foretold in the prophecies were upon the lands and she calls upon the spirit of the oak, opening herself to it’s energies.
The air of the room was fragrant with the rich, warm scent of the cedarwood torches, the reflection of their blue tinged flames dancing on the gleaming onyx walls. She would need the peace and clarity the cedarwood offered to guide her people through the trials and darkness that lay ahead and she inhales deeply, feeling the gift of the cedarwood calm her troubled mind as the roots of the Grandfather Oak help to ground her. Thanking the hardwoods for their gifts she opens her eyes, looking around at the others gathered at the table.
“The quarters and their cardinals have been invited and escorted to attend this council of Sam-hain. Blessed all.” Her cultured voice is low and quiet yet rings through the stone chamber with the clarity of a bell and those gathered at the table respond, as does the tall, slender youth who sits on a low stone bench a pace away from the table as well as the man who sits shrouded in the shadows that hug the wall.
“Blessed all.”
The boy was the reason this council had been convened and Elleh’cim turns her gaze to him, studying him for a silent moment. Feeling her eyes resting on him the boy turns his head, meeting her gaze with his startling, ice blue eyes, the silver of his pupils glittering in the torchlight.
“So brave.” she muses silently, turning her attention back to the others at the table.
“The circles have been cast and the sentries stand their posts, that those not invited shall not enter. Blessed all.” and Elleh’cim turns her eyes to the man in the shadows, feeling rather than seeing the sardonic little grin that crosses his face as he responds with the others.
“Blessed all.”
Elleh’cim turns her gaze back to the boy. On the cusp of his thirteenth year he was already a full head and shoulders taller than others his age. He was lean, with a wiry build and broadening shoulders and the smoke gray pigmentation of his skin and the sharpness of his features made his bloodline all too obvious, as did the silver of his pupils and the ivory color of the thick hair that flowed past his shoulders.
“Who will speak for the boy?” she finally asks. The man in the shadows hesitates for a moment before answering.
“I speak for the boy.”
Elleh’cim could hear the heaviness in his voice. It was the same heaviness she carried in her own heart, the same sadness the others seated at the table carried in their's. Even while preparing for this day those gathered in the chamber had prayed it would never come, but it had and none could turn from the path that had been lain before them.
“By what authority do you speak for the boy?” she asks.
“By the authority of the oath made to the boy’s father.” the man answers, the boy looking his way for a moment before turning his eyes back to Elleh’cim. She could feel the uncertainty gnawing at him and she swallows past the bitter lump that rises in her throat before continuing.
“Then as has been spoken on the oath of sovreignity so shall it be.” she says, her eyes never leaving the boy’s as Hacim, Lord of Sambra, opens the circle. With a weary sigh Elleh’cim stands, gathering her robes of violet and white about her as she glances towards the shadows where their guest had been sitting. His business her concluded he had departed, as she had expected he would. He and his people had much to do in preparation for what lay ahead. They all did and she looks to her brothers and sisters of the council.
“Reach out to your lands, to your people. Let them know the Feast of First Day will go on as it has in the past, as it will in the future.” she pauses.
“Our people will need it.” she says softly and she turns and strides from the council chamber with a soft rustle of her silks and satins, the black direwolf that was her constant companion rising to his feet and pacing alongside her.
The black onyx walls of Ravenskeep gleaming in the light of the midnight moon Elleh’cim paces the balcony of her chambers. She could feel the energies that had raised the onyx fortress from the mountain on which it stands vibrating within her. The energies were in union with her own, the strong, steady heartbeat of her lands that pulsed in rhythm with her own and she continues her pacing, the direwolf watching her from he lays on a pile of warm furs and soft cushions until he turns his shaggy head to the doors of her chamber, a low growl rumbling in his throat.
Hearing the low rumble of her companion’s growl Elleh’cim turns towards the double doors of her chambers as they slide open. Dressed in buckskin from his boots to his vest the man who enters was of average height and lean of build, with the long, wiry muscles of a hunter. Flecked with silver his shoulder length hair was tied into a ponytail with a simple, rawhide thong and Elleh’cim meets his calm, grey eyes for a moment before turning her gaze to the boy standing next to him. She turns her eyes back to the man and he nods his understanding, drawing the doors closed behind him as he steps from the room.
Her heart heavy Elleh’cim meets the boy’s eyes and he crosses the spacious room, coming into her warm, loving embrace. She could feel the frantic hammering of his heart through the thin, cotton jersey he wears and she holds hm tightly.
“You’re frightened.” she says softly as she looks into his troubled eyes. He hesitates before finally nodding, a tender smile touching Elleh’cim’s lips.
“A bit.” he answers and they cross the room to a small, round table where a pot of tea sits steaming on a small brazier of gleaming brass. Elleh’cim nods in understanding as she pours.
“Your fear is normal.” she says, handing him a cup. “”You’re stepping onto a path unknown to you. It’s a path destiny has lain before you but it’s still unknown and the unknown always brings with it a touch of fear. Just keep in mind, fear is simply an emotion, energy in motion to let you know you’re in feeling.” she explains as they step out onto her balcony. The boy nods as he steps to the wall, sipping his tea in silent thought.
“Which tells me to reflect on the feeling, to ask myself why I’m feeling what I’m feeling rather than react blindly to it.” he finally says. He had learned his lessons well and his teacher smiles proudly. She had raised him as her own, she loved him as her own and they stand silently, gazing out over the moonlit cliffs of Ravenskeep.
“What are you thinking?” Elleh’cim asks softly. The boy remains silent, his gaze following a night hunting bird as it wings it’s way across the face of the moon. Ravenskeep was the only home he had ever known, this strange, ethereal woman standing next to him the only mother he had ever known and he swallows past the lump that sits like a bitter stone in his throne.
“I don’t want to go.” he whispers and Elleh’cim folds him into her arms.
“I know Jarako. I know.” she murmurs and she holds him, stroking back his ivory colored hair with a tender hand as he weeps. Drying his tears Jarako steps from her embrace, Elleh’cim reaching to the back of her neck and opening the clasp of the silver chain that bears the amulet she wears. A raven of black malachite against a crescemt moon of pearl set in a lotus flower of silver the amulet was small, only the size of a coin, yet it radiates power. For as long as Jarako could remember Elleh’cim had worn it and he trembles as she secures it around his neck.
“I will always be with you my child.” she whispers. “Just look to the moon and I will be gazing back at you.” and she lays a tender kiss to his brow, looking to the doors of her chambers as they open. Meeting the eyes of the ranger as he enters she squares her shoulders, taking a breath to calm herself as she steps away from the boy.
“Guide him well Harridehn, for he is precious to me.” she says softly. Laying a fist over his heart the ranger bows his head respectfully.
“As if he were my own.” he tells her. A trembling smile touching her lips Elleh’cim nods.
“I know you will. Now go and enjoy the Festival of First Day. The two of you have a long journey ahead.” she says and she waits for the doors to close behind them before turning and returning to her balcony, the dire wolf moving to her side as she stands gazing out over her beloved mountains.
“A very long journey.” she whispers and a tear glistens in the moonlight as it traces a slow path down her cheek.
