If I didn't know what we headed toward, before, then I was violently aware that I was about to find out.

     The woods were bleached and silent as the two horses charged through the underbrush like steeds of lighting. It was like the world was watching quietly, holding its breathe, wishing us luck, waiting to see if we'd fail. No wind blew in my face. No movement swayed the trees.

     All was still.

     I leaned low over Bethor's mane and resisted the icy cold rushing painfully into my lungs. There was sickness tangible in the air, and we were running straight toward it.

     Once again Taurus rode with Aldyth; he braced the lower half of the flag against his chest so that the silk flew smoothly over the arch of his left shoulder. His teeth would flash dangerously close whenever he shouted directions in her ear.

     "'Round the bend! Now!"

     Aldyth shot a frenzied look over her shoulder and shouted a handful of words -- none of which I was able to make out over the deafening pound of hooves. Taurus also looked back at me, his eyes taking up more of his face than should have been possible.

     "Watch for the river, Elias!" he yelled.

     "River?" I exclaimed and twisted Bethor's reigning in my hands. The leather started to cut deep into my forefinger, but I hadn't the time to nurse it, because at that precise moment Ashless leapt off the bank of a speeding river that split the woods for as far as the eye could see.

    I yanked hard of Bethor's reigns, yelling, "whoa! Wh-whoawhoa. Whoa," when his hooves skimmed the edge of the water.

    A river, especially a shallow one, should have been powerful and loud, and laced with delicate tinkles and splashes.

    Something that was forcing a crack into the foundation of the earth should not have been soundless.

    Bethor took several nervous steps backwards, and I felt inclined to agree with his sentiment. It was obvious that the water was moving quickly with the way that Ashless would side-step every now and again. It appeared difficult for the mare to keep her footing, even though the water came only to the bend of her knees.

    Yet the creek was as silent as the woodlands, as if the water itself feared that its whisper would awaken a beast far worse than nature itself. Something splashed out of the water several feet away, but when the drops fell back against the stream, the only sound that met my ears was no sound at all.

    For a moment I nursed the idea that I had gone deaf. I pressed my fingers against the base of my ears again and again, but only when Bethor snorted and pawed the ground did I realized that it wasn't me who stopped listening, but the earth who had stopped having things to say.

    "Come on, Eli!" Aldyth yelled from the opposite side of the stream. "We're losing daylight."

    "This stinks of magic," I muttered before pausing in shock of the realization that I was pleasantly relieved to hear the sound of my own voice.

     Bethor tossed his mane in agreement.

    I gently squeeze my knees into his flank and nudged at him to move onward, but the horse stood his ground stubbornly. I groaned and hung my head. "Now is not the time to hate me, Bethor."

    He twisted his neck and looked at me as if to say, actually now is a perfect time.

    "Look," I leaned forward and patted the back of his head mockingly. "If you want to run me in into low-hanging branches when this is all over, then be my guest, but we have to get there first."

      Then we have to survive being there, I added silently.

     Bethor flicked his ears at me curiously.

     I tapped the reigns again before rolling my eyes. "You don't even know what I'm saying, dumb horse."

    I didn't even have time to brace myself before he shot off like an arrow. I fell forward onto his neck with a hmph and squeezed my eyes shut. Bethor made his way through the stream wildly, rearing and squealing like he was suddenly afraid of water. The legs of my breeches grew icy -- so much so that it felt like the river shouldn't have been liquid anymore. "Alright! Not dumb horse! NOT dumb horse!" I screamed through clenched teeth.

    About halfway across, he stopped galloping (and trying to kill me with his crazy rearing) and started watching how he placed each and every step. It took about two minutes to cross the river, because despite Bethor's best efforts, the current was almost as strong as he was.

    "What took you so long?' Taurus demanded as soon as we made it to the bank.

    From the way Bethor was hanging his head, I knew that I wasn't the only one glaring at the elf.

    "That river isn't making any sound," I snapped bitterly instead of giving him a satisfying answer. "What is th --"

    "I don't know," he replied before the entire question could even be poised.

    Suddenly dark shadows began to flank both corners of my eyes. My hand flew back to my quiver as the horses each took two troubled steps back. Taurus's skin stretched white against the bones in his hands.

     "We're too late," he whispered.  "They've found us."

     "Why are there so many of them?" Aldyth hissed as the shadows morphed from darkness to hoods of black and blue.

     "Because... you brought an elf with you," he replied just as quietly, the slow realization became visibly evident upon his features.

     "You decided that now was the perfect time to mention that they don't like elves?" Aldyth growled under her breath.

     "Everyone hates elves," Taurus leapt from the back of the horse and flipped the flag once over his wrist menacingly."I've gotten used to it -- now get off the horses."

     "Why?" I asked nervously. If all went foul, I doubted that I would make it very far on my own two feet.

     "I'll tell you if we survive this, now get down, the both of you," he growled.

     Suddenly a thin blur streaked through the front of my vision. At first I wasn't sure what it was, but then Taurus let out a small gasp and doubled over like he was in immense pain.

He brought his hand to the side of his head before slowly straightening his spine; Aldyth and I leapt to the ground in a frenzy. He still clutched the flag in his left hand, now leaning on it heavily with his palm fisted roughly in the dark fabric.

    His arm dropped back to his side before we made it two steps; his fingers came away red. "Show yourselves," Taurus called loudly and clearly; there was steel in his voice. "We carry the flag of your nation. An emblem among comrades -- shoot again and you'll be shooting a friend."

    "You are no friend to us, elf," a fourth voice spoke stepped away from the cover of the trees. His hood was down revealing a dark face stubbled face framed in curly black hair, and blue eyes that stood in deep contrast to the colorless woods around us.

    One by one they appeared. Some had on common clothes, but most donned the same black cloak -- a heavy looking article with the thick blue stripe ringing the hood -- and they all had arrows aimed straight for our necks.

    "But you haven't killed us yet, so this flag must mean something to you," Taurus smirked eeriely with a flash of his teeth.

    "Something is not always enough," the man spoke firmly. "Talk quickly, the flag buys you two minutes."

A/N

Part One of Two. First contact with the Northerns. We haven't really developed our characters much yet have we? They're kinda flat....

Let's see how they react with arrows in their faces. How would you react?

Let's celebrate, not only have we met our first Northerns, but this book is finally long enough to be considered a novel. Imma try and double the length before I get to the sequel tho. But we shall see.