Elven Royalty

Shirley

It is weeks until Sha'iva's sword master has arrived. It turns out he is more than just a sword master, as he arrives in full silver Elven armor with a bow, spear and sword all with him. I first meet him when Sha'iva knocks on my door at the afternoon, while I'm drawing up another flight schedule. Can't it seriously just WORK for once? As I hear the knocking I call them to come in. They see me bend over the schedule with my left hand in my hair and my right hand with a quill just above a pot of ink. Sha'iva speaks. 'The teacher I send for has arrived, Wing Leader.'

I put the quill down and turn in my chair. 'I see, Sha'iva. I guess this schedule has to wait for now. Any news from the barracks?'

Sha'iva softly smiles. 'Noruk is doing fine. Those dwarves are though. Sadly the human won't fly for some time. He cracked some ribs.'

I roll my eyes. 'Why can't anyone follow some simple orders? First that Ork that I had to beat up in front of the entire castle just to get him to fall in line and now him. I can't even make a single schedule that works because no one follows them!'

Sha'iva grabs my hand. 'The biggest challenges are often given to the ones with the most determination. You haven't given up yet nor have you tried to find a solution with anyone but yourself. Treknal is learning his archery now though he still is as rough and ready as any Ork. And he does break more bows than humans do.'

I let my head fall back from frustration. 'The good news just keeps on coming doesn't it. Yeah Treknal tries to learn Archery. But he snaps so many bows no one else can learn archery once he is done and in battle he probably breaks his bow after two shots as well. Well damn, I'm better of relinquishing leadership and moving to the back for efficiency sake...'

The Elven sword master now speaks. His voice is soft but age and experience can be heard in it. 'Excuse me for interrupting but with time the pieces should fall in their places. Also it seems to me you would need some distraction, Wing Leader of the princess.'

I sigh. 'Some distraction could come in well yes. Well, would you be up for a training session in the not to distance future? I'll have to grab my training sword which is still in the Mages study.'

The Elf nods. 'I could follow you for a moment. After all, I have little else to do in here.'

With that I walk to Celeste her study. As we arrive I see Celeste is studying. As I walk in to grab the training sword and strap its sheath to my hip the Elf walks over to Celeste. 'Oh Celeste, you still are as beautiful as the sunrise over the Emerald Realm.'

Celeste looks up. 'Ra'iki? I never thought I would... be seeing you again. It has been ages since our last meeting.'

Ra'iki goes through his knees and does some kind of Elven greeting. Then he walks over and gives Celeste a hug around her neck. 'Through the years I have not stopped thinking about you. I still love you despite your origins.'

Celeste puts a paw around him. 'Ra'iki. My sweet... I never knew you would come over here...'

Ra'iki smiles softly. 'When the princess send for a sword master to train her wing leader I knew it had to be me. I had to see you once again.'

Celeste has tears in her eyes. So... she is in love with this Elf? But then... why does she speak with so much spite about Elves? I look away. Whatever. I start walking towards the door again to wait outside as I hear Ra'iki speak to Celeste again. 'I have to start training my newest pupil. Please excuse me, my sweet summer rose. Do you have time tonight?'

I don't hear anything else but do quickly feel Ra'iki's hand on my shoulder. 'Lets go, champ. Lets see how combat worthy you are.'

As we walk down to the training grounds I think about what just happened. Celeste really has a history, doesn't she. Then Ra'iki stands across from me. 'Lets draw swords and test your skills.'

I draw my sword, feeling its large weight in my hand. I quickly have to grab the handle with my left hand to prevent the blade from going tip first into the ground. Then I hold it out with just my right hand. 'I'm ready.'

The Elf shakes his head. 'This is not being ready. Your grip on the sword is good but it looks like you are holding a blunt club. The sword is way to heavy for you. Nor is it sharp.'

I nod. 'It isn't sharpened because it is a training sword. It came from the armory and as I'm not good with sword fighting I thought it was just a problem with me.'

Ra'iki walks over and takes over the sword from me. 'The sword is heavy and the balance is towards the tip. This is just a hunk of metal with a handle. No, this won't do...'

Sha'iva then walks over. 'You can use my sword for now, Shirley.'

As she holds out a sword in a sheet I have not seen her wear before my heart is bumping in my chest. The sheet is beautiful, a brown and green tree on a white background. In the tree a small blue symbol is carved. The sheet is curved which makes me think the sword inside is to. Then I lay my fingers on the handle, which is wrapped in some material I cannot identify but definitely is comfortable in the hand. My hand is drawn towards the guard by the handle design showing off the sapphire in the pommel. My hand falters for a moment. 'I cannot... use your sword. With me it could only get damaged. It is to beautiful.'

She uses her left hand to wrap my fingers around the handle. 'If it gets damaged I'll send for a smith to repair it. Until you got a proper sword you have to borrow mine. Even with your skills in archery you have to learn dueling at one point.'

As I pull the sword from its scabbard I see the intricate carvings of a big tree. Once it is free I let my left hand slide over the carvings. 'This blade... its so beautiful. The carvings are so fine yet detailed. Why... don't you cary it around more often?'

She looks down for a moment. 'It just feels wrong to carry around a blade that is this well made around people who haven't been born as well off as me...'

I lower the blade and use my left hand to push her head up. 'Look, it isn't showing off. It is sharing your legacy with the others in the group. Why do you think I challenged Treknal? And why do you think I asked the Dwarves brothers to teach me how to forge a blade? I want the ones in my squad to showcase their culture. I respect your cultures and I want my wing to be the one wing that flies into battle carrying the pride of their races with them. We may not carry our identity with us as we are Riders, but we do cary our legacy with us. And if we are to die in battle, let us be remembered how we are, not as nameless and faceless riders.'

Sha'iva turns to me. 'What are you saying with that, Wing Master? That I should showcase I'm an Elf?'

I nod. 'Though I don't believe I represent the humans that well I think we should show off what we are made off. If it even exists I think that if we ever do see battles, our dragons should be armored in the armor of our own people. We are one squad but we are still individual people.'

Sha'iva laughs softly. 'Please don't do that to the dragons of the Orks. Or even the Dwarves. The Orks dragons will just be flying around with scraps of metal and bone all around and the Dwarves would be so meticulous with their armor it would take a year to put on and then be so heavy the dragons are exhausted in ten minutes...'

I smile softly. 'Maybe. Or they could be inspired by the others in the squad and learn from each other. Like I learn from you.'

She nods. 'In that case I will wear my sword with pride again, Wing Leader. But please, during the training, use it...'

I turn to Ra'iki who is studying me now. Then he raises his blade. 'Time to see what you can do.'

He starts with a lashing attack, which is somewhat slow. I move the blade to block and seem to still be somewhat slow, but faster than before. So the heavy blade did slow me down. Ra'iki then does several slow attacks in succession, to see how I learned to block. He does speed up a bit but not enough for me to get in trouble with the speed. I do find myself getting in trouble with my footing and not being in balance all the time. Eventually it causes me to fall. Ra'iki helps me get up. 'So you have learned to block but your footing is off. I guess it is a start and a basis I can work from. Lets start with your footing with the standard overhead block.'

As I get into the position he taps my right foot with the flat of his blade. 'Wider stance, less imbalance. Also if you can deflect a blow and mitigate damage to your sword its better than just absorbing the blow with the blade.'

I angle the blade a bit to the side. 'Like this?'

He nods. 'Now lets go with the sideways block. Now there you cannot deflect without risking your opponents blade to slide past your block so no deflection there, but do try to step back and use your right foot as the balance foot...'

I spend most of the afternoon learning to properly block with a sword. Near the end he wishes to see my archery, which I gladly show to him. He has little to say about my archery, other than that I should watch my footing and maybe use that more in my swordplay. Then he walks away leaving me with Sha'iva. She is sitting at the bench with the empty sheet on her lap. As I walk over to her I offer her the blade with the hilt towards her. She casually grabs the blade and puts it back. 'You know, it is strange to be led by someone who respects my culture.'

I sit down next to her and put my bow on my lap. 'Some years ago I never knew Elves, Dwarves, Orks and all the other races existed. It wasn't until the Mage showed me the hall of heroes that I learned about the races besides the dragons. Then... well I kinda got in above my head with finding a Lamia heroes staff, bringing it to her village and now being that villages hero... but lets not talk about that. I learned a lot about the Lamia then and since then. Later on I also learned about the Elves and I've been... curious mostly.'

Sha'iva looks at me sideways. 'You know, most commanders don't care. People in the Guard seem to be... just one among hundreds. Everyone wears the same uniforms, eats at the same tables and the same meals, uses the same weapons... at least we are supposed to.'

I pick my bow up. 'I walk around with a Lamia bow and staff. Though I never wished my bow to be like this, it does work for me. It has done the job so far. At first I believed that being part of the Dragon Guard would mean I would leave my identity behind and start from scratch but when I saw you all... I changed my mind. The leader thinks that because of our differences we are weaker. I think we should embrace our differences. Because we are unique we can respond to situations better. And I believe I have to learn all you have to offer so I can best lead you. Not as a Dragon Guard but as one of you. As one who knows and respects all your traditions and whom you can trust.'

Sha'iva puts a hand on my arm. 'Shirley... you cannot do that. You cannot learn all our traditions and follow them. You would be killing yourself just with every thing you have to follow...'

I nod. 'I cannot follow everything from all of you, but I can at least try. I can try to give you a taste of home, a taste of your own people. Respect goes both ways.'

Sha'iva nods. 'Then I will educate you in the way of my people. If you truly respect us, then you will be a fast learner.'

The following day, after the morning training session, I'm waiting at the training ground when Ra'iki arrives. For a moment I glance to the side where Sha'iva sits, who nods. Then I move my right hand to my heart. 'Greetings to you, child of the forrest.'

Ra'iki looks at me in surprise. Then he answers it. 'Greetings to you, child of stars. You caught me off guard there.'

I smile softly. 'I decided to learn some things about your culture. My teacher in it is patient enough with me screwing it up luckily.'

Ra'iki nods. 'Princess Sha'iva has luck on her side that her Wing Leader, though not combat worthy yet, respects her culture.'

I nod. 'Your culture is rich and strong. It is interesting to learn about it as well. I just find I'm short on time with all I got to learn.'

Ra'iki draws his sword. 'Maybe we can combine sword fighting with learning Elven culture. Now, draw the sword.'

Sha'iva offers her sword again, which I, with a sign of respect, draw. Then Ra'iki tells me to copy his moves as he holds out a blade. One by one he learns me the moves I need to know for attacking with a blade. Slowly I start to understand what sword fighting is all about. It is a dance. You dance with your opponent and if you make one misstep or error you die. As the day wears on Ra'iki starts another sparring with me. This time he does start with a slightly quicker pace but makes sure I can keep up. While we are sparring he starts talking about some rituals of the Elves. It is hard to pay attention to it but as I'm drawn into the spar the information keeps flowing in. I understand him now. And I understand the way of the sword.

Right then I notice it. He has a gap open. I step forward, past a lunge and aim the sword in the gap. I do not hit him but still it feels like I won. Well, it feels like he let me win. As I get back to the here and now I see I'm holding my sword an inch from his belly and he is holding his raised with the blade facing away from me. 'Well done. You took your time to find the gap but once you did see it you went for it. Your timing was perfect, though you still are slow.'

Sha'iva

Block. Strike. Deflect. Block. As we go through the paces I see Shirley really getting into the fight. This is what Ra'iki was talking about. Shirley gets drawn into the fight after a while. Now that I see it I remember her bow training. There she also gets really hyper focussed. So that is her trait. She is a combat specialist. Or at least, she seems to be best suited for that. Then I see she left her guard down again. I lunge for it, slipping past it. I won. Ra'iki claps. 'You are improving, Shirley. However, with just a sword you seem to be... somewhat lacking on the defense front. This is definitely something you have to work on.'

Shirley nods. 'I keep getting into the offensive when my defense is weak. However, you two are just to fast. I just can't keep up...'

Ra'iki smiles. 'It is our greatest strength and greatest weakness. Yes we are faster than all the other races. However we can't take a beating like you can.'

Shirley wipes some sweat from her brows and gets into the combat position. Again? You really can't beat her down for any considerable time. At the side of the field I see the Ork with the name Treknal cheer. I guess that compared to him I'm lucky. Damn his face is a wreck after she was done with him. As we get into position the battle starts again...

After Shirley handed the blade she borrowed from Ra'iki for the duel between her and me back in a respectful fashion he closes his eyes. 'Shirley, you have my respect. You don't learn the way of the sword as fast as the Elven younglings, nor as fast as most of your kin. But your dedication and willingness to go on after every defeat are admirable. I will report your progress to the High Elves soon.'

Both Shirley and I are surprised. She responds before I can do. 'Does that mean you leave us again?'

Ra'iki nods. 'I was only send here for a short time. The diplomacy between the High Elves and the council of the Dragon Riders, though friendly, still is rough. The High Elves only send me because our princess requested it for you. The High Elves will want to know more about you before deciding, well, anything. What I can not tell as I do not know. However, I can tell you that you surprised me in many ways and I hope her majesty will at least consider investing more time in your training. Until that time all I can do is to wish you a fond fare well.'

She closes her eyes and bows her head, putting her right index and middle finger on her brow. 'May the stars enlighten your path, child of the forest.'

He returns the gesture. 'May the sun lead you to your destiny, child of the stars.'

Then Ra'iki and I perform the same good bye and he walks off. As he is out of earshot I give Shirley a soft punch on her shoulder. 'You are still to formal, Shirley. Come on, it sounds like you are talking to a High Elf...'

She smiles and playfully returns the punch. 'I only say what you taught me, Sha'iva. I thought it was the right one!'

I roll my eyes. She is way to respectful to a palace guard. I hope mom doesn't show up any time soon as Shirley would just embarrass me as it is now. We got a lot of work to do before she is ready for any official meetings. Definitely in greetings and swordplay. It is noticeable that she tries to fight with our grace but it is also noticeable that she isn't as supple as we are. If mom sees that, she could either see it as a compliment or as a massive insult and then I'll find myself being disinherited as far as that didn't happen already. Well, whatever. If she goes that path I'll stick with Shirley. That much she owes me already.

As we are sitting for dinner in the night I see Shirley is missing. Directly after dinner I look her up, in her room. She is sitting there, at her desk. But unlike her she doesn't have any paperwork on our squad or a flying pattern in front of her. Instead she is just looking at her sword and bow. The bow made by the outcast and the sword she has trouble with. She is just sitting there and looking at hem. As I enter she sighs. 'The sword... it is all wrong. I know that. However the bow feels wrong to. I know it was given to me but still...'

She put a hand on it. The detailed bow is still an object to behold. Yet she seems to be withdrawing from it. I have a feeling she knows how rare human held Elven bows are but she seems to feel something wrong with it. As I walk to next to her seat I look at both weapons. 'I think you need replacements for both of them. The bow seems to already be damaged.'

She sees the tiny cavities in the string. Then she looks at me. 'I can't replace them. I don't have the money or knowledge on how to find anyone who can make something suitable. I will have to make do with this.'

Shirley

For months I train. With the training sword I definitely lose my speed and agility and training with Sha'iva now feels more like an attempt in not getting hit. Not using my Elven bow for training also hurts a little. They are so rare yet mine seems more a curse than a blessing with how the strands are already breaking. Eventually the Dwarves do give me a shield, as one of the side projects, which I do sometimes try to use, though I discover soon it is quite heavy and slows me down even more.

It is in one of the afternoons when I'm waiting on Sha'iva for the training that I notice quite a commotion in the city. When Sha'iva does show up quite late she is looking exhausted. 'Wing Leader. The Elves send a delegation. They wish to see you.'

I look at her surprised. 'Me? Why would the Elves send a group just for me?'

Sha'iva catches her breath before she answers. 'You piqued the queens attention. She wishes to meet you in person. Please don't keep her waiting.'

As she runs away I have to set up quite a sprint to keep up with her. She is really fast, faster than I am. As she runs onto the streets I can barely see where she goes to and I can't keep up with her any more. I'm so focussed with catching up with her I almost run into the Elven guards of the delegation. It takes a few moments before I can talk. As I look around and see it is the delegation I do the greeting Sha'iva taught me. 'Greetings to you, children of the forest.'

The guards step aside to reveal a regal female Elf in a long green dress. She has a quiver with arrows and a beautiful bow on her back, but her mantle hides that mostly. Her hair, adorned by a golden crown, is silver white and seems to shine. 'Greetings to you, child of the stars. You must be the Wing Leader of my daughter to greet us in our own tongue.'

I nod politely. 'Yes, your highness. She taught me your tongue as well as she could. I hope I don't make to many mistakes.'

I hear an arrow fly from somewhere at that point. Without a second thought I spin on my feet, draw my bow and shoot an arrow at where I heard it come from. I hear a sickening squelch when it hits and then return to reality. I see the guards have their spears aimed at me, though some run to where I shot at. I also see the regal Elf whom I suspect is Sha'iva's mother, having her bow aimed at the same window I shot into. She has an arrow stuck in her cape but seems uninjured. To show I mean no harm I then put my bow on the pavement. As it is there the guards raise their spears and the queen walks towards me. 'That was a quick response there, human. I suspect you are an archer?'

I nod again. 'Yes madam. I've been practicing for years now.'

She points at the bow and one of the guards picks it up and gives it to her. As she holds it she looks at me for a moment. 'This bow... it is an Elven bow. However it is not made by one of our singers. It was made by the outcast. One of his finer works, however.'

Then the guards return with the Elf who made my bow, who I now see has an arrow in his leg. My arrow. I instantly grab my shield and put my hand on my sword. 'You? Why would you kill your own queen?'

He doesn't speak. Then the queen uses my bow to turn my head towards her. 'It seems you know him. How do you know him, if I may ask?'

I point at the bow. 'He made that for me, just as the staff I have on my back was apparently made by his wife ages ago.'

The queen holds the bow with both hands. 'Though this bow saved my life, and is owned by one respected by my daughter, I have to leave no gaps in my sentence. The outcast is hereby sentenced to death, his works to be destroyed. May the trees have mercy on him.'

As she says it she breaks my bow in half. I gasp as I see it. My bow... now I have no bow again. Not a usable one anyway. Since bound to Rashter I have completely worn down my hunting bow... now I got nothing again. As I look at the remains of the snake bow I feel my heart thumb in my chest and time seems to flow on its own accord. The guards walk on as I just stand there, staring at what used to be my weapon. The bow that has proved my worth so many times...