Chapter Five

 

Elenio ran up beside Galena, hacking down a retreating creature, with no name for it on his way over. He was grinning broadly at her, pride emanating from his every gesture. Galena watched several other creatures flying through the air, evidence the underground elves were at work. Together, Elenio and Galena battled on; their backs always to one another as they slew the rippling, black mass that was Rau’s army. No more dark creatures pursued her, but as a whole, seemed to retreat with every step she took toward them.

In every direction Galena looked, she saw elves fighting against the dark. Streams of blood flowed over the rocky soil and the ground became littered with the dead and injured bodies of their enemy. She saw several elves littered throughout the dark creatures as well, most with severe injuries, some not moving at all. These elves concerned Galena greatly, and with a gust of wind she picked several groups of them up and sent them flying toward the safety of the camp. She did this several more times until she was sure she had gotten most of them.

Returning to the fray, she continued her onslaught against Rau’s army, determined to make a dent in the giant, black mass. When she cut down one creature, she found another one had appeared in its place.

She saw elves fighting in pairs and the underground elves using magic. The rate at which they used magic was becoming less and less as the battle raged on though. At one point, Galena found herself flying an elf to safety when he dropped to the ground, out cold from the use of too much power.

Hearing a grunt of pain, Galena turned to find Elenio on his knees doing his best to ward off an attacking torlic and failing miserably. He had a deep gash on his upper arm and a nasty cut on his cheek. He looked completely drained. Galena swung her blade out and cutting the torlic in half from the shoulder to hip, she watched as the monster began falling to the ground, but disintegrated into ash instead as light burst from him. Elenio looked up at her wearily, his face and clothing covered in blood.

“Your magic has worn off,” he managed to say in-between pants.

Galena looked alarmed and realized she had been using the sword’s strength instead of her own. Now that Elenio pointed it out, she realized she was a great deal more tired than she had been at the start. Tark came up to them at that moment, looking around them as he did.

“Galena we need a break. Nigora is at her wits end with all the elves you sent her way and there are many more elves injured. We need time to regroup,” he said, bending over to pick up another injured elf just feet away.

Galena nodded wearily, not sure how to, but knowing he meant she needed to scare the enemy enough to get them to retreat. Fine, she thought. Time to end this battle.

Elenio grabbed her hand before she strode off, intent on ending this battle for the time being. “You can still overdo it, Galena, remember that.”

Her eyes softened and she gave his hand a gentle squeeze. She took a moment to heal his injuries quickly before she sent him flying toward the safety of the camp along with Tark and the injured elf with a wave of her hand. She took a deep breath before heading off to where the enemy numbers were the thickest.

Running at as much of a sprint as she could manage at that moment, she hurdled over bodies and twirled around others, cutting down anything that crossed her path. Often times, she found herself intervening in what would have been unfortunate outcomes for the elves fighting several dark creatures at once. She received many cuts and stabs, some more serious than others, but nothing stopped her. Finally reaching a point where every type of dark creature Rau sent out surrounded her, she stopped. This was exactly where she wanted to be. Seeing this glowing elf in the midst of their allies, the dark creatures advanced on her, unsure how she had gotten there, but not caring just the same. Galena smiled. Her plan so far was working.

“If you’re a friend of the elves, flee now,” Galena shouted as loudly as she could. She watched the enemy advance toward her slowly and the few elves that had been within earshot run for their camp. Mira be with me, she thought dully. Quickly sheathing her blade, Galena stood, bringing up with her hands a great spiraling wind that sucked up several of the surrounding creatures. She sent many of them colliding into one another breaking bones and smashing bodies in the process. Several more within her view, caught fire and could be heard screaming over the wailing winds and shouts of the flying creatures. Huge bolts of lightning came sizzling from the sky and into the massive crowd of darkness causing explosions throughout, sending bodies in many directions and lighting up the darkening sky. Picking up boulders from the valley walls with the wind, she sent them flying around and into the bodies of many more creatures. The screams of pain and agony could be heard as they vibrated through the air and the ground trembled with the retreating army. She heard a horn somewhere in the background, indicating Rau’s army was indeed pulling back. Sending more bolts of lightning chasing after them in case any of them had second thoughts, she crashed to the ground on her knees. With the Sword of Lumina put away, the bone-crushing weariness crashed over her and she blacked out.

Galena registered two things when she opened her eyes. The first was the fact she felt like a tribe of earagos had trampled over her. Every inch of her body ached and she was sure her head was on the verge of exploding. The second was that although she heard voices in the background, they sounded strangely muffled. With sudden clarity, she recalled the events leading up to the present with the exception of how she had gotten to where she was. Thinking of the small pieces of the ear that allowed a person to hear, she healed the holes in them. As the warm tingly feel passed, she could hear the voices more clearly.

“If she doesn’t wake soon, I’m getting Nigora again,” Elenio said quietly.

“Nigora said she’s fine as far as she could tell, just worn out. It won’t do any good to bring her back so she can tell us exactly the same thing,” Tark whispered back.

“But what...” Elenio started.

Galena cut him short by sitting up. “Peace Elenio. I’m fine, although I wouldn’t be surprised if I found one of you took advantage of the fact I was out cold and rolled a large boulder over me.”

With the act of sitting up, Galena’s head gave a particularly nasty throb. Fighting the urge to be sick, Galena concentrated on the muscles that were causing the headache and eased the tension there. Instantly, Galena felt relief as the headache first eased and then faded altogether. “Okay,” she said sighing deeply as she regarded Elenio, Tark, and Taura who were all sitting in what appeared to be a tent, with her. “Now, can somebody explain to me how I got here and what has happened since I’ve been out?” Waves of anger that were not her feelings, washed over her. Clearly, Elenio was not happy. She assumed it had something to do with the fact she caused herself to blackout once more. Raising a hand to stop Elenio before he even started, “I know what your thoughts are, but wait to tell me off. Right now, I want to know if the enemy did actually retreat and where I am.”

Elenio looked furious. Standing up, he stormed out of the tent. Galena watched him go, feeling upset, but knowing he would cool off in time. She turned to look at Tark and Taura once more and found them both smiling at her.

“For your first question, Morgo brought you here after you passed out. This is Elenio and your tent. Next, yes, the enemy retreated thanks to your brilliant display of power. They are currently camping within a mile of here. We imagine they plan on heading back to Blackwell soon, versus going against you again, but only time will tell. You slept through the night and most of the morning, but you seem to be recovering well. Be easy on Elenio, he’s had a rough night,” Tark finished, looking down at the ground as he said this.

“I know, but I needed answers first. We don’t have the time or the luxury of throwing fits every time I push myself a little too hard.”

“How would you have felt if the roles had been reversed?”

Galena flinched as the memory of Elenio pushing a sword through himself flashed through her mind.

“Exactly.”

“You’re right. I’ll apologize to him.” Galena stood, healing the tender muscles as she did so and walked over to Tark. She bent down and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly before whispering, “I missed you something fierce, big brother.” He returned the hug, standing as he did so. Letting go of him, she turned to Taura. She went to hug her as well when she saw the dark bruising around her neck and noted the way she seemed to struggle to swallow properly. Galena thought of the broken blood vessels healing themselves and the swollen muscles and tendons returning to normal. She repaired the holes in her eardrums as well.

Taura’s eyes widened as the pain eased and disappeared. Taking a practice swallow, she smiled brightly at Galena before jumping up and wrapping her arms around her sister-in-law.

“Anything else hurting?” Galena whispered.

Taura shook her head and hugged her even tighter. “It’s been a long time, my sister.” She laid her head on Galena’s shoulder and she smiled.

“How about you big brother, any major problems?”

“Everyone has busted eardrums, and some elves sustained some pretty serious injuries, but Nigora is dealing with those along with some of the underground elves that didn’t pass out from too much magic use. Taura, as you know, was in rough shape, but she refused to be helped for fear of someone else coming in with bigger wounds. Nigora can only do so much before she wears out too, unlike some elves we know.” He reached over and messed Galena’s hair to which she retreated.

“Just because I missed you, doesn’t mean I won’t stick you in a tree for annoying me. Just ask Elenio. Plus, I obviously can wear myself out too.” She smiled at him and taking a moment, healed his ears as well.

He opened his mouth wide and rotated his jaw when she had finished, causing his newly repaired eardrum to pop. “Thanks and now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve already received several messages requiring my attention that I’ve been putting off until I was sure you were okay.” Wrapping his arms around her once more, he hugged her briefly before he walked out of the tent. Taura smiled at Galena and then followed Tark out, leaving Galena alone with her thoughts.

She concentrated on the camp of elves as a whole. Making a great effort for she had never attempted something so big at once, she thought of every ear healing and sound returning to normal. Instantly, she felt a huge drop in her energy level and she swayed ominously where she stood. That can’t be good, she thought as the weariness of overuse made her feel light headed and sick. Putting her head in her hands again, she fought to remain conscious, knowing Elenio would be back any moment and the last thing she needed was to give him another reason to be mad. Walking slowly back to her hammock, she sat, feeling extremely disoriented when she did. Oh great, she thought when everything went black once more.

* * * *

Galena opened her eyes to find herself surrounded by darkness. She blinked a couple of times, but found the darkness remained. Rubbing her eyes wearily, she sat up and waited for her eyes to adjust to the night. Looking around, she found herself still in the tent Tark assigned to Elenio and her. She tried to stand, but stopped when she heard a rustling somewhere across the room. She squinted hoping to make out something in the dark, but all she saw was a large shape. Walking slowly over to the dark mass, she found Elenio, his head in his hands, asleep in the chair. Shaking him gently, he stirred and then sat up quickly, looking quite alarmed at having fallen asleep in the first place.

“What is it?” he asked, searching the darkness for anything out of the ordinary.

“Come to bed, or the hammock, or whatever you want to call it,” Galena whispered to him.

“You did it again, didn’t you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Galena said a little too innocently.

“Everyone’s ears healing.” He looked at her dully, clearly trying to contain the anger Galena felt radiating from him.

Galena sighed, knowing she’d been caught. Crouching down, she looked up at him and placed a hand on the side of his face. She tried to smooth the tightness around his eyes away with her thumb, but to no avail. He placed his own hand on hers, stilling her movements.

“I’m sorry.”

“That doesn’t help.”

“I know, but I don’t know what else to say.”

“Try something like, you’ll never do something that stupid again,” he said bitterly.

“Then I would be lying.”

He removed his hand from hers angrily and looked away, but not before Galena saw the bitterness there.

“Elenio, you know I had to do something or we would have lost. Everyone was wearing out.”

He continued to stare at the far wall, refusing to acknowledge her.

“Elenio, nothing happened. I no longer have the marks that would kill me if I use too much magic.”

“Then why did you black out again?” Elenio shouted, finally deciding to look at her as he did.

“Remember what Morgo told us in the underground world? Using magic is like exercising, you can only do so much before your body shuts itself down to recuperate. My blacking out was my body’s way of telling me it needed a break. Other than tired, I’m fine.”

Understanding dawned on Elenio’s face as he smiled weakly at her. “I forgot about that bit of information. Old habits die hard, I guess.”

Galena returned the smile, glad that was over. “Between all the fighting, my energizing wearing off, and the amount of magic I used without holding my sword, I was more than tired. Lucky for you, I’m extremely stubborn.” She raised up slightly and kissed him gently.

“And incredibly powerful.”

“Has anything new happened?” she asked, purposefully ignoring the last statement. She stood up and walked back over to the hammock, her muscles stiff from crouching.

“Well, while you were sleeping the day away, Rau’s army started packing up. We believe they are heading out in the morning and Tark does not intend to let them get far. He wants to give you a day to fully recover from all the exercise you have attempted the last several days. As well as the underground elves, who don’t possess quite as much magic as you, but are helpful none the less.” Elenio got up and walked over to the other side of the hammock where he gingerly sat down.

“I’ll be ready to go first thing tomorrow.”

“Yes, but the other magical elves will not. Don’t worry. We know which way they’re headed.” Elenio laid back and pulled Galena down with him. “If it makes you feel better, we can follow at a distance and pick them off along with Morak’s group.”

“It would make me feel useful,” Galena said, while staring thoughtfully at the ceiling.

“If you want to feel useful, I’m sure Nigora could use your help. Many elves were seriously injured. Nigora has already taken care of most of them, but there are several more in need of assistance. Nothing life threatening mind you, but there was still enough work to be done that Nigora couldn’t accomplish it all in one day. She wore herself out and has been sleeping ever since yesterday afternoon.”

Galena thought about this for a moment, deciding that getting as many elves in the best condition as possible made more sense. Plus, it would give her a chance to stay with Tark and Taura for a bit longer before battling more of the dark creatures.

“We should stay and do what we can for the elves here,” she said yawning.

“I was hoping you would say that,” Elenio said, a hint of a smile in his voice.

“Yeah, I kind of thought you would.” Galena elbowed his side playfully, which almost sent both of them flying off the hammock with the movement.

“Haven’t you done enough damage today?” Elenio asked when they had gotten the hammock under control.

Galena smiled sheepishly into his shoulder, but said nothing. Closing her eyes, she felt herself drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

Galena awoke to find herself alone in the hammock. Weak morning rays shone through the thin material walls of the tent. Forgetting how flimsy a hammock was, she sat up quickly, which resulted in her being flipped onto the floor in an undignified position. It was in this position that Tark walked in and saw her. Upon seeing her lying face up on the floor, legs tangled in the makeshift bed, Tark burst into laughter, unable to regain control for several minutes.

Realizing Tark would be absolutely no help, Galena began the process of untangling her legs, but with little success. Finally, taking pity on her, Tark assisted her, laughing all the while.

“Have you seen Elenio?” Galena asked, hoping to get Tark to think of anything else to stop him from laughing, but her efforts were in vain.

Tark simply shook his head, but continued laughing, wiping the tears from his eyes as he did so. Rolling her eyes, Galena stormed out of the tent, grumbling all the while.

She stepped out into the bright light and blinked a few times to keep her eyes from watering as she searched the surrounding elves for any sign of Elenio. She saw several elves she recognized, all who wanted to take a few minutes and chat with her, but she didn’t stop for long. She could sense Elenio somewhere nearby, but couldn’t be sure exactly where. Feeling frustrated, she turned around, intent on heading back to their tent. He can come and find me, she thought. Not paying a bit of attention to where she was headed, she collided with another elf, sending them both sprawling backward. This is not my day for looking graceful or like I know what I’m doing, Galena thought, feeling even more annoyed at herself than anything.

Sitting up, she groaned slightly, intending to apologize to her unknown victim when she realized who it was. “MORAK!” Quickly getting to her feet, she reached out a hand, which he gratefully took, and pulled him to his feet.

“I was hoping to run into you, just not literally,” he said grinning broadly.

Galena blushed profusely and looked at the ground.

“Are you heading out to fend off another horde of evil creatures?” he asked.

“No, I’m in search of Elenio. You haven’t seen him have you?” she asked, still looking at the ground.

“Yeah, he stopped in to see Nigora while I was with her. She told him where he could find Morgo.”

“Are you alright?” Galena asked, looking him over for any signs of ailments that she could help with, especially after their collision.

“Took a nasty fall out of a tree Tark put me in after you sent Rau running. Guess I wasn’t prepared to be freed so quickly and when I was, I wasn’t ready. Fell and broke my ankle. Nigora did her best, but I get the impression I have some healing to do on my own.” Morak looked at his ankle with the same annoyance Galena felt just moments before with herself.

Focusing her attention on the ankle, she thought of the bone re-growing, the tendons tightening back to normal and the swelling all around the bone and muscle reducing. She healed the broken blood vessels and the muscles connecting to the bone. Satisfied his ankle was as good as new, she looked up and found the same look of awe she had seen so many times on Tark and Elenio or any other elf she had helped.

“Better?” she asked.

“It’s true then, isn’t it? You’re more powerful than any other elf that has walked the land of Tomiro.”

“It appears so,” she said sighing heavily. “Well, I need to find Elenio.”

“Okay, Morgo’s tent is that way,” he said, pointing in the direction she originally felt Elenio’s presence. “Thanks again.”

“No problem.” Galena gave him a hug before heading back in the direction of the tent Morak pointed out. She missed how everyone used to treat her before they discovered she could use magic. Then, everyone had known her as Melan and Tark’s little sister and treated her as such. Now, it was almost as if the only thing they could think of when they were around her was her magical ability. Someday, hopefully everything will go back to the way it was, she thought. Either that or I won’t be around anymore for elves to treat differently. One way or the other, things would change, come what may.