Prologue
Heather cautiously tread between the tentacles of the lush undergrowth as not to give herself away. She had spotted a hare, she tensed, ready to kill it. It had a slight limp which was a bad sign. If she brought that home, the elves might finally stop scorning her because of her parents. Food was scarcer now that the factories had moved near. The elves died from drinking the water and eating infected food.
She made sure that the wind was blowing dowards her and she silently slipped an arrow out of her quiver. Before the hare realised what was going on, she let the string go, and the arrow whistled through the air and shot right into the animal. She walked to it and noticed something red on the hare’s neck. It was not blood. As she looked at it, a claw of ice pierced through her, she saw a flash and a sneering face appeared in front of her. Heather stumbled backwards, breathless. She knew that face, but she couldn’t put her finger on who it was.
She buried the sick hare so that nothing would come across it and trudged home. She didn’t want anyone knowing about what she had seen, at least not yet. Hastily, she tucked in a strand of her wavy light brown hair. When she entered the gates, she could see everyone’s hopeful gazes, hungrily staring at her. She returned their stares sorrowfully. “Heather,” a strong and commanding voice called her. “I need to speak with you, privately,” he added, making it clear to everyone that they should get back to work. She followed his muscular figure as he strode away, into the palace of the three rivers. He settled on his throne and started. “You are one of the only strong ones left in this forest. You are to go away and find us some answers to all our problems. You will not be alone; three others will accompany you.”
Heather didn’t know what to say. Her whole life, no one trusted her except for maybe Ray and Briar because of her parents “I’m lost,” he admitted. “I don’t know what to do. I will send you and the rest of the squad on a quest. I am no longer getting signs from nature; I must act. Her powerful leader looked exhausted. “Remember, whatever happens, nature is always with us.” He looked like he was going to add something, but a sharp, agonised cry sliced through the air from outside. She ran down the flight of stairs as fast as she could, to see what was happening.
Chapter 1
The four chosen ones were each mounted on horses, slowly walking around the village, nearing the gates. Nearing their potential deaths. Elves were not used to deaths as they lived for thousands of years and then they turned into another creature and lived a new life. They were each armed with at least five weapons —the weapons they used best in training. The elves were throwing chrysanthemum, lilies, and cyclamen flowers on the path, where the riders mournfully walked. They were saying goodbye, but they did not cry. They held strong.
They had walked for something close to six hours without stopping, until they all agreed to rest. They had not ridden their horses it was just a tradition. They set up a camp and tied up their horses to graze. “Ok, so… what are we going to do?” Ray asked. He was tall and thin, but he was a fabulous fighter. Ray had raven hair and aquamarine eyes; he had short hair, but part of hair fell over his left eye. Juniper was also tall, with sky blue eyes, and slightly wavy hair. Most elves were tall and skilled. Ash, who was sitting opposite her had mahogany brown hair with chestnut brown eyes.
“First, we need to get food and water and save our stores for later. Right now, we are still in the protected area but when we come out, I fear we will go hungry,” Heather said, rummaging for her skin.
“Who died and made you leader?” Demanded Juniper. Ray stood up from the moss-covered rock he was sitting on. “Unless you can come up with anything better, we will do what Heather said. She never said that she was a leader, she just made a common-sense suggestion.” Juniper didn’t make any more comments, but stalked off, muttering to herself angrily. Heather and Ray shared a look. “Do you want to hunt with me?” Ray grabbed his bow.
The sun was setting as they walked through the woods in silence, their bows ready. Ray was the first one to break the silence. “Do you have any plans?”
“Well… I was thinking if we travelled south to the tribe of the red tree, we could get information and restock our stores. Or…” she trailed off.
He looked at her, clearly amused, “You realise that the only thing that will make our stores run low will be the journey there? It will take ages to get there.”
“Yes,” she answered, “but we need the information. I have some suspicions, but I cannot be sure yet.
“What is it? I need to know!” He gazed at her desperately. She stared at him.
“Why?” She asked
“My mother is dying,” he cried, “you saw for yourself, when our leader was talking to you.”
“My parents are already dead. And scorned,” she said sarcastically
“Yes, that’s why I thought you’d understand,” He snapped
“Look,” she said, her voice softening, “I do understand, and I do have a plan. But we first must persuade Juniper and Ash.”
“Um… if THAT’S your plan good luck with persuading them,” he commented, his rage and desperation evaporating.
“I mean there’s more to it, but I need to check something first,” she said hesitantly.
“Ok whatever,” he interrupted.
“So, if I understood well, you want us to split up and go to opposite sides of the world?” Juniper asked disbelievingly. “And you didn’t bring us any food!?”
“Yes,” Heather stated, glancing towards the fire guiltily.
“Juniper, you could maybe go to the Tribe of the Red Tree?” She asked hopefully
“There’s no way I’m going there,” she exclaimed. “It’s so far!”
“And Ash could go with you,” she asked, ignoring Juniper. “And Ray could check out human cities?”
“And you?” Ash demanded. Heather was hoping they wouldn’t ask.
“There’s something I need to do before I go anywhere,” she answered cautiously.
“No, I’m going with you,” he insisted. “Not because I want to,” he added, his brown eyes narrowed to slits.
“Why?” Heather’s green eyes pierced through him.
“I am under orders to guard you. Who knows what you’re capable of doing after what your parents did,” he told her scornfully. Heather was shocked. Mistrust washed over her as her gaze swept over Ray and Juniper. “And you?” She turned on them.
“We’ve been friends since we met, do you think I would do something like that to you?” She could see the hurt in his aquamarine eyes.
“No, I’m sorry, I’m just…” she suddenly got an idea. “Actually, sure Ash I will go with you, but under one condition. Juniper goes to the Tribe of the Red Tree.” She said silkily. Juniper was a fairly good talker when it came to authorities. Ash narrowed his eyes but didn’t say anything. They put out the fire and slept.
Juniper and Ray had left early at dawn, now, only Heather and Ash remained. It had taken a long time to persuade Juniper to go that far but, in the end, she agreed. After all, the Tribe of the Red Tree had been their ally for thousands of years. “Where to?” “Dunno,” he shrugged, but Heather saw in his eyes that he was lying. They had all agreed to meet in a clearing, west of the Tribe of the Red Tree when half a moon was up. They walked on, their horses following them. “Why do so many people mistrust me because of my parents? Even I don’t know what they did!” She pointed out. He did not answer, but something about the way he looked at her changed.
Ash let his bay horse go, but Heather hesitated. “I want to walk him a bit and then let him go,” she lied. “You know, he is one of my favourites and we won’t be seeing him for almost a moon,” she sighed with regret.
“Ok,” he said, not bothering to check whether she was lying. “Be back before the sun starts coming down.” She led her majestic, dappled stallion away. She had only walked a few steps when she spotted two massive, moss-covered boulders. She could hear the faint sound of running water and wind sweeping over the lush, green grass. Gently, she parted the long tendrils of rich-green ivy that were hanging down like a curtain. The passage between the boulders was quite narrow, but when they passed through, Heather could not help gasping. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered. A clear stream trickled down the middle, and tall, proud pine trees formed a ragged circle. “Rest Storm,” she whispered to the dappled horse, “tonight, it’ll be only you and me.” Silent understanding passed between them. Storm stayed.
Chapter 2
Heather opened her eyes; she glanced at the sky. Only the first stars had started showing and the moon is full, she thought with satisfaction, it was a warm night. Storm will find a path. She stood up, to see if Ash was asleep, but as she peered closer, she realised that he wasn’t there. No Heather, nothing has happened to him… he’s okay, you have a plan that you can’t abandon, she tried to convince herself, but she couldn’t. Claws of ice seized her, as all the possibilities of what could’ve happened to Ash flashed through her mind. No, she told herself, stay calm. She ran towards the clearing she had discovered in hope that Storm would help her.
The ivy tore at her hair, but she did not feel it —she had to get to Storm. As soon as she rushed into the moonlit clearing, a voice made her freeze. “Where to?” Relief washed over her as she recognised the voice, but it did not last long. Her heart dropped like a stone, she tensed, ready to bolt to Storm if she had to. “No, don’t worry, I won’t try to stop you,” he answered her thoughts lazily. Slowly, Heather turned around to face him. At least he said try, she thought, everyone knew that Ash wasn’t as skilled as the rest of his age group. In hunting, he always lagged behind and missed good shots. Battle training wasn’t his strongest point either; he never won against anyone. She slowly inched towards Storm in case she really did have to make a run for it. She didn’t mount. Her curiosity was too strong for her to defy it.
She held Storm’s reins in her right hand as she looked at Ash. He was sitting on a rock dangerously close to her in case he did change his mind about letting her go. There was only a small stream between them. The question burned at the tip of her tongue, but Ash beat her to it. “Wondering how I knew?” She wanted to scream yes but she kept quiet summoning all her patience. “First of all, it seemed strange that you just suddenly agreed to come with me. But secondly —and more importantly—is that I… I think I’ve had some sort of vision,” he blurted.
“Vision?” She echoed.
“Yes, it wasn’t exactly a vision. It looked to me as if it were the future but the first one… the first images I saw I think might’ve been the future and the past,” he said grimly. “Do you think that you might be a seer?” She asked curiously.
“I don’t know,” he shuffled his feet uncomfortably, “it’s a really special power and I’m not sure I have it.”
“Well, it would explain why you suck at almost everything,” she teased. His eyes brightened, “Actually, it would!”
“So, what did you see in those visions of yours?” Heather was interested now.
“In the first one, I saw you hunting,” he said, his voice quivering, “it looked like a normal hunt, until you killed the hare,” he added. “It had red on its neck, but it wasn’t blood. You suddenly gasped and turned a ghostly pale. When you stumbled back, you looked stunned and confused. And I know it was the past because the day before we left, you were acting strangely, and you were very pale. You also wore that green dress of yours,” he finished, breathless.
“I’m wearing one right now,” she said, amusement sparking in her eyes despite the situation.
“Okay, you know what I mean,” he retorted. “Then, I saw you hunting again, but I could not recognise the forest. So, I’m guessing it’s the future.” He said solemnly.
“And the other vision?”
“I will share if you tell me about the hunt,” he answered.
“No, it’s a big accusation to make if I tell you,” She replied. “Besides,” she continued, “I don’t even know who to accuse.”
“Well now that you’ve told me half of it, why not tell me the other.”
“No.” She held her ground. She checked behind the flap of the saddle and to her relief saw her sword there. She mounted and urged Storm into a trot as she shouted goodbyes to Ash. The ground here was smooth, but eventually she would have to slow down and get off her horse.
She walked alongside storm, enjoying the warm glow of the sun. Dawn was breaking, the sunlight struggling through the trees. Heather was stalling and she knew it. In fact, she was stalling so much that storm had to push her away. She prepared her arrow and tread lightly, careful not to disturb the leaves that were littering the ground. She stopped, analysed her surroundings, and checked the wind. She detected the sound of and animal a pretty big and clumsy one. She spotted it behind a beech tree. The hare was plump and looked healthy until she saw it hop to the next tree clumsily.
The hare lay limp on the ground, leaves scattered around it. It had made an attempt to escape, but Heather’s arrow had been faster. She came closer and stared at it. Nothing happened. She stretched out her arm and as soon as her skin made contact with its flank, it came again. The cold seized her, and although she had already known this would happen, she couldn’t help shuddering. And, as she had expected, the vision came with it. But she could never have predicted what came next.
She was in the middle of a battle, everything reeked of blood as arrows whistled through the air. Shrieks rang in the air and blood soaked the ground. The clang of swords and the neighing of rearing horses rang out clearly. But that was not the worst. In the distance, amongst the chaos, a flag was waving around. A flag with a red tree. On the opposite side of the battlefield, there was a flag of a rearing, white horse. Panic gripped her, as she realised what it meant. The White Horse was the protector of her tribe. The tribe of the White Horse. She screamed, and suddenly, she was back in the sunlit forest, with birds singing and chirping. She felt sick.
The sun was warm, but she couldn’t hold back a shudder. She could not shake out the feeling that something was very wrong. Whether it was the vision or reality she did not know. She spent the rest of the day climbing trees all the way to the top hoping that the fresh air would clear her mind, but it didn’t. She rode Storm and that would usually take some weight off her shoulders, but it didn’t. If Storm could not, then nothing could.
Chapter 3
Ray had been waiting at the clearing, but there was no sign of Juniper or Ash. They had waited until sunset but still, no one came. They had grown increasingly anxious, as the blood red sun set down, lower and lower until they could no longer bear it. They crept in, closer to the Tribe with each step they took. She had not gotten the chance to warn ray about the potential dangers of the Tribe when a cry split the air. An arrow whistled past her ear. She screamed a warning to ray and took off. Ray followed.
When they were far enough to be sure that they would not be attacked again, Heather told Ray everything she knew. At first, he was shocked, but his face slowly began to clear with understanding. “I knew it!” He said triumphantly. “Humans aren’t the only ones to blame for what’s happening!” He continued. He explained that while he had been with the humans, he saw that most of them had no idea of the bad they were causing and many tried to help. “Although they don’t always know best.” He had added with a smirk.
“Let’s go to our tribe to get some military support.” Heather suggested.
“No, it will be too risky to leave Ash and Juniper here.” He pointed out.
“And what can we do alone?” She retorted.
“Okay, you could go speak to our leader and I could stay here to watch.” He spoke.
“No, it’s too risky for you and besides, what are the chances that our leader will believe me?” She asked.
“Fair enough.” He said dejectedly. They mounted their horses and galloped as fast as they could, urging their horses on through the forest and the moors.
Night was falling and all that could be heard was the clip-clop of the horse’s hooves, and the steady rhythm of her horse breathing. They had slowed to a trot by now and as Heather looked around her and spotted an elder bush. “Oh Ray, we’re finally home!” She breathed.
Everyone welcomed them loudly and some people asked voiced her own fears, where were Juniper and Ash? “What’s all the commotion out there?” A strong voice rang out. “Heather and Ray,” he said disapprovingly. “What are you doing here without Juniper and Ash and so soon?”
“We need military support; the Tribe of the Red Tree has taken them.” He answered bluntly. They explained their first plans and what everyone did except for Heather. Ray shot her a look saying, if you don’t tell him, I will. They were, of course inside the palace as not to worry everyone. “I may have something else to tell you, but I need to ask you something first,” she said determinedly. The leader sighed but didn’t object. “Do you still doubt me?” He looked taken aback by what she had just asked. When he finally recovered, he answered, “I am sorry to have ever doubted you, Heather. You are a good person although you can be quite stubborn at times.” He said with a twinkle in his eyes. Ray glanced at her teasingly, “stubborn is an understatement.”
“…and Ray, while he stayed with humans, realised that they were not as bad as that.” She finished. She had told her leader about her visions and her suspicions about Ash being a seer. “I would be inclined not to believe you if it were not for this. He fished a letter out of his trouser pocket under all his regal clothes and cloaks. To her surprise and honour, he gave it to her.
Dear Duncan of the Tribe of the White Horse,
I am writing to ask you for help, humans have been attacking us and if our tribe is to survive, we need help. As our ally, we require you bring with you at least one hundred men as I know that your numbers have been greatly reduced after humans started settling nearer and limited the amount of space you have. You would not want to break the treaty, would you?
Yours sincerely, leader of the Tribe of the Red tree
The letter sounded weird, and the last sentence especially. It sounded like a threat. “Why would he not write his name, and why would he threaten you?” Heather asked.
“That is what troubles me,” her leader said. “And now, you were attacked supposedly by elves and Juniper and Ash are held by them too. I do not know what to make of this for they might not be lying, using your friends as last resort to save their tribe.” Ray, who had been quiet the whole time finally spoke, “if we send the stealth to rescue them, they might be able to tell us what’s happening inside the tribe, and we would therefore be able to make appropriate preparations.”
“Alright I will send orders to the stealth.” With that, he finalised the plan. “And we will send one hundred warriors in any case. And a day later, we will send the rest remaining as reinforcements.”
Chapter 4
Ray and Heather were on their horses, once again embarking on the same journey. The stealth had gone a few days ahead, as they were on foot, whereas she and Ray had horses. Last time, they hadn’t really ridden as there was no need to do so, now, they where racing through fields and forests, rivers and streams never stopping. In the same clearing they waited, anxiously waiting for the stealth to bring them Juniper and Ash. The horses were exhausted. A shrill warning cry echoed through the woods as they saw four figures crookedly running towards them. “Run!” Her knees buckled with relief as she recognised Juniper and Ash being led by two members of the stealth. She helped Juniper up her Horse as she watched Ray do the same for Ash.
They sat all sat in a tent almost as big as a tiny house, their leader standing at the back. “Juniper, Ash, are you okay?”
“Yes, just a bit weakened.”
“What did you see?” Heather asked breathlessly.
“A lot of preparations for battle,” Juniper replied tiredly.
“And the guards kept talking about how strong our tribe was!” Ash chimed in.
“And…” Juniper hesitated, “the leader seemed somehow… off”
“He had greasy black hair, right?”
“Yes!” It was all starting to piece together in her mind. “Their wretched leader has been poisoning us!” She screamed outraged. “He fears us and wants to weaken us!”
“Is that the accusation you were talking about before I was captured?” Asked Ash, understanding painted on his face. “What was your vision about, Ash?” Their leader who had been listening asked gently. Heather flashed her friend an apologetic look as he answered. “Well, it’s nothing relevant now,” he said despairingly, “it was just about Juniper being captured, so I thought I could help her but instead I ended up like her!” He cried, letting some amusement seep into his words. The Tribe of the Red Tree fear us. They fear we have become too strong and that we will turn against them. Because that is what they would do.
“Okay, just to be clear, we act like we want to help the Tribe of the Red Tree,” he spat out those last words as if they were poisoning him. A steady drumbeat echoed through the valley, as an older warrior came to warn him that the warriors were ready. The warriors were gathered in a formation, waiting for their leader’s orders. Heather had insisted to be at the front with Ray, whereas Juniper was fine at the back. Ash had looked at her, admiration burning in his eyes, but he had decided to stay safe at the back.
Duncan, her leader, gave a speech before the battle. He was holding his flag, as he started. “Our old ally has turned against us!” He declared, rage burning in his gaze. His announcement was met by deathly silence. After a moment, the crowd erupted with gasps and cries of outrage. The rest of his speech was washed away as the wind had started picking up and the clouds prepared for a fight. Duncan had turned his horse around, facing the horizon. It was obvious that her tribe did not want to help but she didn’t say anything. She looked at the horizon, patchwork fields were stretching out, until they reached the sky.
There was so much tension in the air that it almost choked her. She could feel the reluctance of her tribe at the thought of having to kill other elves, especially their former allies. The horizon looked strangely calm but so did the air before a storm. She focused her gaze on the fields. Suddenly, dust started rising at the horizon. They were here.
“I have brought three hundred warriors with me, as you requested,” Duncan gazed at him with fake admiration. “We declare war against you!” Their leader announced triumphantly. “Your tribe has trespassed on our land!” He accused. Duncan’s army started shuffling around chaotically, pretending to be surprised. They were really getting into a formation. The front, that had no horses had put their shield at a specific angle so that little left exposed. Only a small gap showed between the bottom of the shield and the ground. Spears were pointed through the gaps between shields. The cavalry was at the sides, ready to attack their enemy from the side and the back.
“We came only in peace, thinking you as our best ally. Besides, you do not declare war because, as you say we trespassed on your land!” He had stopped pretending. Now, his gaze burned with rage and betrayal.
Most of the rows would be ready to shower arrows at the enemy, and as they approached, they would switch to swords. The enemy, who was led by an overconfident leader, had the cavalry at the front to show off and everything else at the back. “Elves,” he began, “are you going to murder your kin? Battle can be prevented! Your leader has turned cruel, don’t you see?” Gasps of outrage filled the air, but some Elves were nodding. Their leader eyed them coldly but didn’t do anything yet. “You are just saying it because you fear us. You are a coward, Duncan!”
“You may have newer and shinier armour, but my warriors are better trained than yours!” Accusations flew from one side to the other, until the enemy was angry enough to order the attack. Despite being part of a considerably smaller army, Heather was confident that this battle would be won by her tribe. She was scared for everyone she loved, but she wanted to fight for her tribe. Soon, she thought, a fresh wave of soldiers will come to our aid. Drums reverberated through the valleys as it was answered by the clarion call of her tribe’s horn.
“Fire!” Duncan shouted. The enemy was advancing fast, “fire at will!” This was harder than she had expected. These were other elves of whom many just blindly followed their leader. She galloped storm around to form a tight circle around the enemy, but they could easily break through. She spotted a swift movement as an elf lifted his sword towards Storm, but Storm, recognising the danger reared and slammed his heavy hooves down. The Elf was dead.
She couldn’t do this. She could not murder elves because they were wrong. That made her wrong too. Darkness hung in the sky threateningly, as a fat drop of water splashed on her sword. As if giving a signal, more drops started pouring onto them. Thick mist rose from the ground, weaving around everyone and seeping into them like an evil spirit. The distant blow of a horn echoed around the valleys. Reinforcements, she thought with relief. She glanced around her gaze landing on many, way too many bodies that lay sprawled on the ground, slowly fading into the marshes that had begun to form. Her side was losing very badly, suffering heavy losses.
She brought her attention back to the battle, where chaos had started reigning. The enemy was lost. Despite her tribe being confused too, they stayed where they were. As the enemy’s lines where breaking, she spotted and opening, she darted through it and signalled the others to do the same. To her shock, the elves in the middle put their weapons down. It was quite a vast group, but one person caught her eye. “We are on your side!” They swore in unison. “Wondering why Luther put us here, in the middle?” The woman who had taken her attention before, spoke up. “He doesn’t trust us, and with good reason. We will attack from inside, but we need you to make them focus on you.”
The reinforcements had arrived. She stopped to look at the battlefield, searching for Ray. I hope he’s not hurt. She started dragging her attention back to the battle, when searing pain shot through her left leg. She felt herself falling. She caught a last glimpse of Storm, still fighting even without a rider, and thumped onto the muddy ground. Everything went black. The battle continued raging, but now, the enemy was outnumbered. The reinforcements had arrived, and some elves had turned against their leader, Luther.
Chapter 5
“Heather, please wake up,” Ray murmured softly. He tucked a stray strand of her brown hair behind her ear. “Ray, go get some sleep. I will come tell you when she wakes up.” He reluctantly stumbled out of the room, dark circles showing under his eyes. Her eyes suddenly fluttered open. “Where…” she broke off as she noticed a woman standing over her. It was the same person she had seen in the battle. “Who?” That was all she had the energy to say. “It’s okay, I will do the speaking, you rest.” She gazed down at her kindly, but grief kindled in her green eyes. “Ray was here a while ago, but I sent him away, he needed rest. He was with you ever since we found you.” Her gaze sparkled knowingly. “May I see the battlefield?”
“No, you must rest, your leg isn’t healed yet.”
“That was a rhetorical question!” She hobbled out of the tent, testing her leg, but it was still too painful to walk on.
“So many dead,” she whispered, grief sweeping through her. The woman, who had introduced herself as Opal, had stopped at a flower covered body. “Who was that?”
“That, my dear Heather, was you father.” Confusion and shock pulsed through her. “And you, are my mother?”
“Yes,” she replied simply.
“Why did you run away? Why did you join another tribe?” She stared at Opal accusingly. “Your father, Evander, was a seer. He saw that there would be something wrong with the Tribe of the Red Tree. So he tried to find out what it was.” She gazed into the distance, recalling memories. “It’s funny that your brother inherited the power from him. It is quite rare.” Yet another wave of shock pulsed through her. The only seer she knew that as in her age group was Ash. “Ash,” she stuttered.
“Yes.”
“But why was I scorned, and he wasn’t?”
“You know Briar? She was a good friend of ours,” pain flashed in her eyes as she glanced at the dead body on the ground — Evander. “Ash was born but you weren’t, we already had our plans. We confided him to her care and planned to leave. But then you came, unfortunately, everyone already knew that you were ours, so we had to take you with us. But not everything went as planned and we had to leave quickly and dangerously, which could have killed you. I am really sorry for what you have had to endure. I understand if you cannot forgive me. She shut her eyes in agony and murmured something like “so much loss” and reopened them, her emerald gaze clearing. “I forgive you; you did what you thought was right.
They were sitting in a clearing, moonlight breaking through the thick canopy of trees. The meeting with Ash had been awkward, but she was glad to have close kin in her Tribe. “Heather, I…”
“I know Ray, me too,” she hushed him softly. Their eyes locked and he leant in closer. Heather felt her cheeks warm as it happened. She pulled back to study him. “You good?”
“Yep!” His blue eyes reflected the silver moonlight. No matter how many problems they still had to fix, they could do it together. Heather and Ray along with some friends and kin. Love would always win.