บท 6: Elyre remembers the ambush
Everything was inspiring, unique and unreal. There were only a few lanterns flickering in the darkness. Elyre discovered that she was not nervous at all. She couldn't account for that, but she had felt much more uneasy while organizing the ambush. Now she had lost her senses. Neither fear nor worry nor even pain could trouble her. Of course, they couldn't! She was Fierce Wind – unafraid of anything. She stood calm, her mind concentrated. She put her helmet on in order to be prepared for the crucial moment of attack and to hide her identity. She repeated mentally one, two, three…, for she thought the rhythm would help her stay focused. The participants in the ambush were waiting patiently for the digeniche caravans. And somewhere in the grass, there were crickets chirping: "Could you please look at Night's eyes? Its shadow rules over the earth now."
The caravans drew nearer. They were more than a dozen. Then, a sudden noise was heard: the sylvan dwellers leaped out of their hideouts between the bushes. The caravans stopped, and four mage-guards stepped out. Their leader was a well-known warlock named Ademon. He held a torch in his hand that illuminated his red eyes and white hair and made him look scary. He wondered what was going on, but before he'd had the chance to say anything, his torch flared up unusually high, a few flames flew away from it and out in the sky, where they dissolved into sparkles. Then they fell on the ground, forming the words, "You've got no chance! – Fierce Wind," against the dark night's background. This definitely caught the attention, which was the purpose of it. Ademon had heard the name Fierce Wind before. He didn't have anything to say but just waved his hand, and the other three mages followed Fierce Wind like a shadow. Some soldiers joined them as well.
Phyllada cried for she almost got caught but she managed to hide somewhere in the trees. She wasn't directly participating in the ambush, but she wanted to meet Elyre or at least get closer to her in order to help. She could hear the voices of Elyre's pursuers, and she knew Elyre was in danger. Then, she assumed her sister would need something to guide her through the thick forest so that she could easily flee. Phyllada focused her mind and made a gesture as if she was throwing an invisible ball in the air. Suddenly, a light ray pierced the sky and a pigeon appeared. Elyre had to immediately recognize it. And she did.
Fierce Wind ran straight through the forest, so fast that he transformed into a small twinkle -- something that only firines could do. He did not have time to count the mages chasing after him now. He was looking up at the sky, following the wings of Phyllada's pigeon. The deeper into the forest he went, the more branches stood in his way.
Elyre noticed a pale figure of a unicorn in the distance; at first, it just looked like a strange radiance. It was a friend of hers, a unicorn named Storm Eye. She called him and the snow-white animal responded right away and asked her what her "plan" was. She fell silent. Then it crossed her mind that the mages had probably realized by now that she was following the pigeon. Therefore, if she went into a different direction from the bird, that would confuse the pursuers. They headed for a large crack in some cliffs. It did not seem wide but it was big enough for them to slip into effortlessly. Her only fear was that Storm Eye might get entangled in the high wild grass. In the narrowest part of the crack, she turned around and, with a gesture of her hand, she formed a flame that blazed up unnaturally high from the ground to the top of the cliffs. It was not a real flame, of course. The grass did not catch fire. It was a protective spell which contained the energy of fire without its deadly heat.
Elyre was looking backwards. When she turned forwards, both she and Storm Eye saw a pile of rocks that was going to fall just in front of them, most probably the work of a warlock. She directed her hands at it in an attempt to melt it away by the power of fire, but she shook her head in alarm, for she could not guarantee success. Her heart sank, as she closed her eyes. Soon she opened them again. They had got past the danger. They were now out of the cliff region. They headed for a village named Mahhini near the wood-nymph town of Mediona.
While the mages were after Elyre – no – Fierce Wind – there was nobody near the caravans. The sylvan dwellers took most of the digeniche and brought it back where it belonged. They planted it again, which was not hard due to its magical abilities.
In Mahhini village, people waited for Elyre on the main square, which was a part of a plan to save her. When she arrived, she jumped off the unicorn and mingled with the crowd. He disappeared at the same instant, transforming into a small whirlwind. Even though Fierce Wind tried to move unnoticed, one of her pursuers managed to pick her ("him") out. Storm Eye appeared again and, together with Elyre, they escaped in the deep of the forest.
Fierce Wind did not have an idea where he was going any longer. It was the unicorn who led him.
Fierce Wind was soon surrounded by some mages while dreaming of a gulp of water. They reached the end of the road, and now there was only a large precipice ahead. This did not discourage him. He'd had enough vigor to make it that far; he'd somehow continue a little further.
Storm Eye jumped over the abyss. His mane flowed, its white color at times darkened and contrasted with his pearly eyes, at others shined brightly and merged with their color. How did he feel, how tired was he? Elyre couldn't think about that. She was unable to; the only thing she could sense was her heartbeat in her ears and thirst that made her throat sore. And everybody chasing her.
Meanwhile, Mage Ademon, the leader of the mages, learned that digeniche had been stolen from the caravans. He had actually expected that. But he thought it would be much better if, instead of guarding the caravans, he put all his effort into catching Fierce Wind. He was a wise person, aware of the fact that with such "prey" as Fierce Wind, he would make a very good impression on the Queen, and she would undoubtedly reward him.
So, he became quite angry when his subordinates told him they had failed to capture Fierce Wind. What?! After having focused his entire energy on this task?! He concluded it must be his most unlucky day. But destiny soon proved it could be worse when he heard a familiar voice from behind him. It was a knight on a horse; a knight who seemed to laugh at Ademon's misfortune -- Duke L'Ras. The mage felt nothing but disdain for him and immediately made a remark (pretending to be a joke), something about the man having outgrown his armor. The latter replied by accusing all mages of being immature and then announced he'd caught Fierce Wind. Duke L'Ras was passing through the forest on his way home, and the criminal bumped into his entourage by chance, while on the run. Ademon was so astonished that he did not know whether to be happy or disappointed. But, to catch somebody riding a unicorn was a matter of luck rather than skills, he thought, for unicorns were the fastest creatures in the world.
Then two huge men arrived, holding Fierce Wind. No doubt, these were Fierce Wind's clothes, but the figure seemed gracious and too small. Could it be him? When they came closer, as Elyre was no longer wearing a helmet, her big green eyes and long red flame-like hair made it obvious she was a woman. Ademon stared at her with a suspicious look. Fierce Wind – a woman!
Luckily for Ademon, the knight left her there, claiming he was too busy to take care of random outlaws. Elyre could only wonder what had happened to the other participants in the ambush. Thyberia would be very worried about her, and who knew where Phyllada was... She still couldn't realize the situation. The more her mind was at rest, the more she was able to feel her own exhaustion.
Ademon produced a piece of jewellery out of his pocket. The most enchanted bracelet you could ever imagine. It was for Elyre, but it had a creepy purpose. It literally absorbed all magic; whoever wore it – be it the most talented mage in the world – became powerless. It was on her wrist before she knew it, and she could sense it was no good.
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