Guardian Spirit

Chapter 3

Kyla and Ameter looked a bit stunned at hearing the name of an god they thought long dead, or at least forgotten. Nala had heard vague stories and legends of Deremoth and the cult -- the followers called themselves Blades -- that followed him. Deremoth was the brother of Loriel, but when Loriel chose to give the seed of the Mother Tree to the elves Deremoth grew jealous, and ultimately became vengeful. Where Loriel was the goddess of life and nature, Deremoth was the god of death and unnatural forces. Deremoth hated elves as they were so close to nature and Loriel, and, indeed, he blamed them for stealing Loriel from him.

Centuries ago, the followers of Deremoth were powerful and had significant influence in many of the human kingdoms. They incited hatred towards elves and that eventually almost lead to a war between the elves and many of the human kingdoms. Fortunately, a few sound minded men and women remained and they revealed the true plan of the cultists, which was to destroy everything natural and allow Deremoth to walk among the living. The cult was eradicated by the enraged human rulers and over time Deremoth sunk into oblivion.

“Are you certain? How can that be?” Ameter asked. “The cult surrounding Deremoth was destroyed long ago and, indeed, it is believed even Deremoth himself had been destroyed.”

“As certain as I can be of anything. You can not kill a god,” Skander said, “You can kill his followers and reduce his influence, but you can not kill him, so he will still be alive in the plane of the gods, waiting for his opportunity.”

“So someone has began to reassemble the cult around him to revive his strength? Loriel help us..” Ameter made a sign to thwart evil.

“You have brought grave news indeed, Skander,” said Kyla with a sorrowful voice. “This is not something we should keep to ourselves. We must warn the others in this forest and even the elves living in the Elven kingdom.”

Ameter nodded in agreement, “I will send out a call for the council to meet first thing in the morning. Skander, will you join me in the meeting and tell the news?”

Skander nodded, “Certainly, old friend.”

“Can I come too?” Nala asked, not really caring about the council meeting at all.

Kyla looked at Nala with a knowing smile, “You're hoping to see Tydian, aren't you?”

Nala looked a bit uneasy and Skander asked, “Who's this Tydian fellow then?”

“He's a boy, about Nalas age. She has her eyes set on him.” Kyla responded.

“Mother!” Nala exclaimed and blushed. The tension in the room seemed to lighten up.

Skander laughed and looked at Nala knowingly, adding to her discomfort, “Young love is a beautiful thing.” The man even winked at Nala.

Nala stood up, her face glowing red, “It is late. I will go get some sleep.” She walked to the stairs and started making her way up. When she reached the point where the stair went above the fireplace she heard her father call her. Nala peaked over the railing and saw Ameter looking up.

“We leave early, so make sure you wake up in time.” Ever since she was a child, Nala had slept long and deeply and had trouble waking up in the morning. She was the kind that would turn her back on the sun shining through the window and pull a blanket over her head just so she could sleep ten more minutes.

Nala smiled, “So I can come?”

Her father nodded, “Yes, you can come.”

Nala was happy to hear she could go. She made her way up the stairs to the second floor of the elven tree and down the corridor to her room. The staircase continued its circular rise towards the third floor and above.