A Dagger of Ice

   “Good job, Evern,” my mom said.

   I’d just hit the head of an elk with an arrow; a clean hit. It was wintertime, and game like this would last until the end of the season. It could feed the entire village, maybe, even.

   I followed her to its side, and she showed me how to handle it. We wouldn’t try to carry it, obviously. Too heavy. She separated the meat from the bone, into smaller, more manageable pieces. It was only right to do so. We took its life, so in turn, we had to make sure none of it went to waste.

   I looked at the antlers of the elk and asked, “Are they useful?”

   “They make good tool handles, among other things,” and she started to list those other things before actually looking towards me. She saw the awe in my eyes, and she said, “Alternatively, it can be hung over your bedroom door.”

   “Really?”

   “It is your first elk. It makes sense to commemorate it.”

   She helped me remove the antlers from its head and retrieve my arrow too. After that we packed up and started to head home. A very successful hunt. Back home to prepare it and celebrate.

   As they treaded through the path, they came upon three seers, including The Doyenne. They held bows too; also to hunt. My mom asked them, “You’re hunting? Don’t you usually trade with the village?”

   “You lack what we need.”

   Normal, given it was winter, but my mom, and most of the other elves, were a little territorial when it came to these woods. Many didn’t follow their customs, like the prayer at the end. They preferred to trade for cheap to keep others from doing exactly what these seers were doing.

   “What do you need?” my mom asked.

   “Elk antlers.”

   “Just the antlers?” I asked, “What about the meat?”

   “I don’t need the meat,” The Doyenne said.

   “But that’s—” wasteful, I was about to say, but my mom put one hand over my mouth. It was almost too bad we’d already caught an elk. The meat from their hunt would have a good chance of spoiling if left with us.

   My mom said, “We have antlers.”

   “Oh? Are you selling?”

   At that, my mom looked at me. A gentle smile that said there was no wrong answer, but I could already see why she’d brought it up. It was the perfect solution. A way for both parties to get what they want and sparing the life of another elk too.

   “Yes, we are,” I said.

   “300 coin,” said his mom.

   “Deal.”

   They’d traded the coin and the antlers, and then made off their separate ways. His mom put a hand on his shoulder, “Thank you. I know that wasn’t easy, but it seemed the best way.”

   “I know.”

   It was that day that I learned that heroics didn’t just include fighting an hunting. Sometimes it meant making the deal that led to the least bloodshed. Even when it felt a little unfair.

   I dropped my bow. “Wise choice,” The Doyenne said. Kirn took it from the ground. The big seer let go of Evera in favour of approaching me.

   Tears filled her eyes. She said, her voice so low he could hardly even make it out, “You can’t take him.”

   “Stay safe, Evera. For me,” I said.

   “Don’t go. Please.”

   Saying goodbye to her was worse than seeing Brushwood on fire. She cried. I had no choice but to walk away with the villains. The Doyenne said, “Now, we leave.” And everyone followed her. I was pushed by the other seers forward with them. Eventually, I could no longer hear my sister. The air of the woods and our footsteps taking over instead.

   “What about the fire?” I asked.

   “It won’t spread this far, thanks to the mountains. Your sister should be safe here,” The Doyenne said.

   Not exactly what he meant, but it was good information to have anyhow. I hoped she was right, given that I was leaving my sister here. I wouldn’t be around to protect her after this. She’d have to fend for herself, all alone.

   And so would I, I realized gravely.

   “Does that satisfy your end of the arrangement, elf?” The Doyenne asked.

   “My name is Evern,” I said, “but, yes, it does.”

   The seers surrounded him as they walked. The big seer behind me, Cel and Kirn by my side, and The Doyenne in front of me. That was the deal; he was to go with them, but he couldn’t help but feel uneasy about it. As I started to smell the sea of Shoreward Port, I couldn’t help but wonder more about what exactly I had agreed to.

   “What do you want with me, anyhow?” I asked.

   The Doyenne answered, “You’re an elf. I’m very interested in your magic, most specifically your longevity.”

   Elves could live far longer than the average human. Some were known to be near immortal, but it took some very conscious effort to do, and most elves didn’t practice the magic required for it at all. My village believed in the balance of life and death. It wasn’t banned, but it was definitely taboo to practice the art of evading death; we were supposed to accept it.

   “I don’t practice that magic,” I said.

   “You can always learn.”

   I didn’t like the sound of that at all. “Was that why you were at my village to begin with?”

   “Something like that, yes.”

   “You burned it down purposefully?”

   “Let’s save the questions for later.”

   We continued through the woods until we made it to the beach. A wooden dock was set up for trade between here and the other continents. I saw the boat that must belong to Entropy and gasped. It was huge. Bigger than anything I’d seen. A long purple sail; covered in white ovals. Empty eyes. More seers stood at its helm and around the dock. Far more than ever came to the village, but given the attack that was made against the village, I couldn’t help but fear this was a sign of something… very bad.

   “That ship is huge,” I said.

   “It’s a warship,” The Doyenne said.

   “A war ship?”

   “Does that scare you, elf?”

   More than a little. He stopped moving, and the big seer ran into him. The other two turned. “Get moving, before you get yourself hurt,” The woman whispered.

   I knew I should. It was what I agreed to, certainly, but now that I was actually this close to being taken off the continent, I was scared. Scared, and very much doubting I wanted to see what exactly The Doyenne had in mind for me.

   “Having second thoughts?” The man said.

   He looked back to the woods, seriously debating running right then and there, but then The Doyenne turned around. She walked up to me, and in a quick motion, her hand had conjured a dagger of ice. She stuck it right through my leg. I fell.

   “What did you do that for?” I asked, gasping at the pain. Shock hitting me faster than the pain, even.

   “Wouldn’t want you running away,” was all she had to say about it. She turned away, ordering the others, “Carry him.”

   The smaller of the two seers crouched beside me. The man with the raspy voice complained vocally as he bandaged my leg tightly, “Why the heck does she always have to make our job so much harder.”

   “Stop complaining, or she’ll put a dagger through your leg too.”

   After the two were done, the big seer carried me, following the lead of The Doyenne inside the ship. Eventually placed onto a bed in one of the rooms. Windowless and dark. Candle light was lit with a lighter by the big seer. “Get some rest. You’ll need it after all that,” The Doyenne said as they both left, closing the door.

   Safe to say the last thing I could do was relax. I pulled myself up to look over my leg. Moving it hurt. I wasn’t going anywhere, it seemed. The boat began to sway back and forth as it departed. I laid on a cotton mattress; the candlelight flickered off and on until it finally went out from the draft in the room. In the darkness, sleep came.