The Elves of Loth

Chapter Sixteen

Gently, small, fluffy pieces of ash drifted down from the grey sky with a silent kind of sorrow. Aspenleaf blinked, bringing the world into focus and brushed the ash from her eyelashes. Lying on her back, she sighed, closing her eyes once more as she dug her fingers into the dusty moss around her, plunging them beyond the layer of soot and into the moistness below.

After a while, she stood, muscles aching, and dusted herself off. Where had all the ash come from? She cringed at the thought of beloved forest set on fire. The trees around her seemed fine, but the layer of dust that had settled over the foliage had to have come from somewhere.

When she saw a figure in the distance, she called out to him, and he waited patiently as she ran to him. He was slim with a long scar across his face and although she’d never met him before, she was sure he was a soldier.

“We won.” She breathed, finding her voice a harsh whisper. “We one, right?” There was hesitation in her voice, but she tried to seem as sure of herself as possible.

“Yeah.” His expression was one of concern but he spoke to her as if she were crazy. When she asked him where the ash had come from he responded by making a wide gesture to the sky, throwing his arms up in the air. “The dragons poured fire down on our enemies, but small clusters of trees were burnt as well.” He paused then added, “Why didn’t you know?”

“It’s complicated.” She laughed quietly, but she was already turning away, new questions pushing into her mind. Who had lived? Who had died? Who had killed? She trudged on, ignoring the voice of the young soldier behind her. He could think she was crazy if he wanted to.

The forest blurred around her, every step sliding into the next, each tree she passed seeming like the last. Mud splattered her legs and thorns scrapped at her ankles but all she could think about was Frostraven. Had the dark elves gotten as far as Loth? Aspenleaf tried to convince herself that they couldn’t have because the line of battle was out in the forest, but in her heart she knew that it didn’t matter where the army was, individual elves could have gotten through.

In the distance, Aspenleaf caught sight of the gates to loth; the city appeared unscathed. Cautiously, Aspenleaf slipped through the archway and into the clearing where Cliffbreeze paced anxiously. At the sight of her apprentice, the combat huntress hurried over, looking her up and down before exclaiming, “You’re all right!”

Before the older elf could hug her, Aspenleaf asked, “How are the others?” There were so many people she worried about. Cliff breeze would probably know about Frostraven and the elven dragon riders, but there were others she was concerned about as well.

“Glacialstone, Hiddenstream, Blackrobin, and Redrock have returned and they and their dragons are fine, besides a few scrapes.” Cliffbreeze took a deep breath, then said, “We’ve heard rumors Northpine and Hawkwing are dead.” Aspenleaf’s head spun, but she tried not to let it show. Reminding herself that it was only a rumor, she decided to try to talk to the others and see what they knew, but there was something else she had to ask first.

“How’s Frostraven?” maybe Aspenleaf was just being paranoid, but Cliffbreeze’s pause seemed like a prelude to bad news.

“She didn’t fight in the battle.” Cliffbreeze assured. Relief poured through Aspenleaf, but she tried not to focus on it for too long and instead returned to her mental list of questions, asking where the others were. “Glacialstone and Blackrobin are at their cabins and Hiddenstream and Redrock are being patched up at the healer’s.”

The second Cliffbreeze had finished speaking she sprinted away, towards her team’s set of cabins. She’d visit Hiddenstream and Redrock later, after they’d finished at the healer’s.