Whispers Of Peace And War

18

Talk, as Agarang did at this very moment. Even through the noise of his own voice, and that of the Abbot and Kaninzir, Mythrd had caught snippets of the man's conversation. He spoke of peace. The same peace that Mythrd wanted. Agarang called the bound man his brother. He had indicated everyone else, calling them brothers and sisters. Agarang believed it, too. Mythrd could tell.

The Abbot lowered her hand. For once, in the entire time Mythrd had known her, Llwnthrn looked uncertain. Mythrd continued to stare up at the Abbot, not with anger, but with a resolve he had never felt before. A certainty that he had chosen the right direction for his own life. The Abbot stepped back, glancing at the flowers Kaninzir twirled between his fingers.

"Those flowers? They hold off the Traal, somehow?" Snatching the flowers from Kaninzir's hands as he nodded, the Abbot sniffed them, recoiling. "I'm leaving. May the Patrons show you mercy, for the Gaeradine will not."

With the first fingers of dawn reaching up, above the trees to the south, the Abbot turned away, striding towards the horses that now stood, tied to wooden stakes in the ground. Taking the reins of one, she climbed into the saddle with practised ease and turned toward the north, and the village of Yrstl.

"Hey! That's mine! Plunder of battle!" Scrambling to her feet, Gythryn tried to run towards the Abbot, but she had already kicked the horse to a gallop. "Well, good riddance! And take your Patrons with you!"

Gythryn turned, flinging her arms out to the side in frustration. Mythrd could see a change in his best friend. She had always had confidence, a flippancy and a lack of respect for anyone in authority, but now she seemed even more so. Mythrd wasn't certain if that were a good thing, or not. Too much confidence and flippancy could get her killed. Too little respect for those in authority could cause problems for anyone trying to broach peace between enemies.

"A Steward does not only look after the stones, you know. They must care for the others, too. To weed out their excesses and cultivate their strengths." Once again, Kaninzir appeared to read Mythrd's thoughts, his hand resting upon Mythrd's shoulder. "A Priest may become lost in the radiance of immortal beings. A Protector may believe themselves invincible. A Steward must prune away the excessive traits of the others."

"Gythryn has never listened to me in her life." Despite the circumstances, Mythrd almost laughed. "You've met her. How do I prune away her excessive traits?"

"With great care." Chuckling, Kaninzir produced one of the Riven Blooms from somewhere, showing his talent at sleight of hand once more. "Tell me, your father has worked the green wood for many years, yes? And you have joined him many times? Learned from him?"

Mythrd nodded, wondering where Kaninzir's questions were leading. He had spent many a day foresting with his father. Cutting down trees, ensuring areas already logged had started to grow new ones. For many years, Mythrd had insisted he would follow in his father's footsteps, much to his father's horror. He had always insisted Mythrd's fate lay elsewhere.

"I learned some, but there's more to being a woodsman than you think." Mythrd thought back to the days his father had tried to teach him how to fell a tree in whichever direction he chose. He had never learned that to his father's satisfaction. "What do you have in mind?"

"There is a weed, Norweed, it grows, I believe, only on the northern face of certain trees, yes?" Using his arms, stretching them out wide and then raising them until his fingers touched, Kaninzir mimed a tree with wide reaching branches. Mythrd nodded. He knew the tree and the weed. "Then, have you ever crushed the weeds and stems? It causes a terrible stink. Worse than these flowers. A vile smell."

Eyes widening in understanding, Mythrd looked out towards the tree line, beyond the stones and the clearing about them. Without even thinking, he reached out for the Aura and the world became a beautiful mass of life, light and colour. He doubted he could ever become used to this gift of the Guardians. Using the Aura, he could see the vibrant, sparkling outline of the very trees that Kaninzir had mentioned.