A great city overlooks the sea, its massive stone walls built into the very cliffs that rise above the crashing waves, as if seeking to extend them still further in the conjoining of the glories of nature and the feats of man. The streets are paved with stone, a maze of lanes crisscrossing this way … Read More “Dawnbringer 3.1: Snow in the Mountains” »
Dawn comes with no sign of their companions. But with the coming of light, Cirien and Elmariyë descend the slope of the mountain and draw near to the castle, though not within a hundred yards. For a while, they debate entering, for both of their hearts are sick with worry and uncertainty, and sitting and … Read More “Dawnbringer 2.18: The Crystal Pillar” »
Eldarien stands before the narrow bridge of stones, hesitantly looking out across the lake of fire. Even if the pain was not real bodily pain, he still remembers the dream-pain that he had felt when the Lord of Mæres had cast him into the other lake of fire, the one of the mind and spirit. … Read More “Dawnbringer 2.17: The Squire of the Knight” »
The chamber in which Eldarien finds himself is ornate, the stone on the pillars and archways carved in various shapes, though none of them beautiful to the eye. This is not because they are crude or poorly made, but rather because the stone is not carved in elegant shapes but in sharp and jagged edges, … Read More “Dawnbringer 2.16: The Forge” »
At the coming of morning light, the company rises and prepares to depart. The night was dry and thus more pleasant than the preceding nights with their drenching precipitation; even the wind blew in no more than a gentle breeze throughout the nocturnal hours. And though it picks up now, as if stirred into movement … Read More “Dawnbringer 2.15: Descent” »
In the morning they set off early, as soon as it is light, for there is no reason to linger in the damp and the cold, and they shall find it easier to stay warm by moving than by staying still. The precipitation has ceased now, though the sky remains heavily overcast, dark with clouds … Read More “Dawnbringer 2.14: Against the Maeres of Night” »
The day of departure comes much too quickly, or so it feels. It is almost as if the smoke from the burial fires has hardly settled before the dawn breaks on the morning that they must leave Ristfand for the unknown destiny that awaits them in the west. Eldarien takes comfort in the fact that … Read More “Dawnbringer 2.13: Into the Mountains” »
Eldarien’s heart stirs him awake as deep anguish settles upon him like an incalculable weight begging to be borne. And were it not for the preceding peace, which even now does not depart, holding him at the very foundation of his awareness, deeper than thought or feeling, he would be crushed by the feelings that … Read More “Dawnbringer 2.11: The Thinnest Thread of Hope” »
Rorlain leads his half-company of archers through the narrow streets of the city, though now they fight not so much with bow as with sword, lance, and axe. For these streets are flooded with the creatures of darkness, the druadach, who, even with bare claw and teeth, sow terror among the people. If these beasts … Read More “Dawnbringer 2.9: The End of the Contest” »
It is evening of the day of Eldarien’s meeting with the hæras, and Cirien walks with head bowed in the inner courtyard of the temple. He hopes that the meeting brought forth good fruit, and he is concerned also for the conversation that he encouraged Eldarien to have with Rorlain. Ever since these men arrived in … Read More “Dawnbringer 2.8: Terror in the Night” »
