Chapter Four

As the last rays of light fell from the highest leaf of the forest, the many occupants began to wake and send their gratitude to nature which provided them shelter. Both old and young bowed to their respective homes to pay homage to the trees, some which had been only year old homes, whereas others were lifelong friends of thousands of years. The tradition had been passed from one of the first elves within the history of the world. It was said that in his time of grief after losing his beloved, his eyes bore a single teardrop which fell to a desolate land. Out of this drop was born an oak sapling.

To numb himself from the pain, the elf cared for the sapling, sharing the tears of his grief. As he did this, the oak grew. Within the next year, the oak had risen high above the ground. Out of design or pity for the elf, its trunk hollowed out with enough space to fit someone inside. From the day the elf had been able to rest within, he had always paid homage to the tree, and from his descendants, he ensured they planted and raised their own trees, thus creating the Iryopyn Forest.

As the many residents of this forest woke and began their early night rituals, one elf stayed asleep. What is he doing? She shifted as a figure within her dream ran through the grass as if he were an arrow let loose from the bow. Tengeshi, you need to find shelter! She called out in her dreams as the last ray of light left the tip of the highest blade of grass. Her heart raced as she saw it was too late. As the moon hit its highest peak, wings could be seen rising in the distant forest.

Tengeshi looked up in alarm. He knew that he had made a mistake, seeing his home in the distance, he had thought he could make the final trek before the moon was high enough. His face turned pale as he was proven wrong. Though he was racing faster than a horse at full speed, he could see the wings of the gargoyles rapidly approaching.

No! Elysia watched in horror as the gargoyles came closer and closer to her bridge to the outside world. If they caught him, she knew her dreams would become as mundane as the other elves. Their dreams of seeing the cities and distant kingdoms would fade into nothingness.

Tengeshi ran as fast as he could, sweat pouring down his back as the large bag from the market bounced. Though the weightless glyph was on the bag, he could feel some weight slowly returning, decreasing his speed. "Where can I go?" He asked himself as he realized his life force had to be almost out. If he didn't find somewhere to hide, his energy would be the last thing to worry about. "I'm too far away from any cover. I need help!" He said desperately.

It was then within the world between them that Elysia realized he was talking to her. She watched helplessly through his eyes as the gargoyles passed over his home. As she saw this, she knew that he had no chance. Her eyes clenched tight. Let me help him!

As they drew closer, the thoughts of his mother being abducted by the gargoyles drifted into the space between where Elysia could see them. She remembered that day vividly as Tengeshi watched her being flown off to the forest. She could still hear her screaming, she could still see her flailing her limbs as she tried to grab hold of a branch to keep herself from entering the forest.

Imagining Tengeshi in the place of his mother, Elysia's eyes shot open. She raced from her tree, still seeing him within her mind's eye. He had spun around and began racing instead towards the closest patch of trees in the distance. He was no longer facing the gargoyles, so she had no idea how long she had.

She raced towards the training ground, knowing that Keerla was setting up for the new day of instruction. She activated the agility glyphs on her shoes as she ran at the absolute fastest she could.

"Elysia, you are early this-" Keerla said as she watched the girl run in, but stopped mid joke as she saw her student's face. "What's wrong?" She had never seen such a serious face on Elysia before, let alone any of the children.

"I need to learn the healing glyph, now!" Elysia had no time to stand on ceremony. She waited as impatiently as she saw her teacher's eyes widen. She could feel a lecture coming on. "A friend of mine is going to be in a life or death situation in a matter of minutes, I need to help him!" She pleaded before Keerla could object.

She hesitated only for a moment, her eyes looking helpless as she took out a wooden plate and carved a glyph. This one looked like rays of sunlight which entered a solid form, as if energy was being placed within something. "You can place this glyph upon your friend, but it is your friend's life force that must fuel it. You cannot do that for him."

Elysia took the plate and spun on her heels after placing two fingers to her mouth hurriedly. "Thank you, Instructor Keerla!" Her voice echoed as her body disappeared, too fast to catch. She quickly stowed the plate within her traveling bag she had put on before leaving, and then focused solely on speed. Trees blurred past her as she put the speed glyphs to maximum. In her mind's eye, she could see Tengeshi moving as quickly as she was, making his way to a tree line. When he looked back, he saw most of the gargoyles branch off, heading towards another patch of woods, while one stayed on the path towards him. As he watched, he was alarmed at just how much faster the winged creature was than him, even with his glyphs.

He ran as fast as he could, jumping over rocks with ease as the land blurred below him, yet he could hear the gargoyle's wings now, flapping just within earshot. Run faster! He heard in his mind as he sprinted to the ever growing cluster of trees. "I'm trying!" He yelled in desperation as he jumped past a fallen tree which was uprooted by a recent storm.

Elysia made it to the edge of the forest, the field stretched wide in front of her yet her eyes trained on something far off in the distance. It was as if she was seeing double vision. She was watching Tengeshi run to the trees both within her mind, and with her own eyes, giving her a feeling of dizziness. She held her head as she watched, feeling the pulsing throb of a headache setting in. Help me! She heard within her mind. She watched as the flying shape came closer and knew he wouldn't get away in time. "I have to help him!" She said to herself, yet she didn't know how to. In her desperation, she took a mental inventory of all the glyphs she had learned, yet none seemed to be good enough to help her get to him in time.

In a desperate hope, her thoughts landed on the wing shaped birthmark on her hand. She thought of the black one on Tengeshi's, knowing somehow that it was what connected them. "If only it were a glyph to help us." She said desperately, and in that moment, she felt the heat of her life force flowing to the wing. Her eyes widened as it entered the wing, and a bright light shone from within her.

"I have to make it!" Tengeshi roared as he ran, nearly twenty meters away from the entrance to the woods. He knew that the gargoyle would still follow him inside, but at least he would be hindered by the trees. He would have to run after him, instead of being able to swoop down and catch him. "I have to make it!" He said again as if to make it true. He pushed himself as hard as his body would allow, and then he felt pressure on both of his shoulders. He watched in dismay as the ever nearing woodline continued to approach, yet now he was rising above. He looked with wide eyes at the talon like stony feet which grasped him. "No." He whimpered as his mind went back to the night his mother had been taken. He did not fight, instead he allowed himself to go limp as he waited for what came next.

As they went, he listened to the rhythmic flapping of the creature's wings. If those wings did not symbolize his imminent departure from this world, he might have thought them to be relaxing. As he listened, he saw in the distance a blinding white light. Within his mind's eye, he could see the light as well and knew it was Elysia. His eyes went wide as he saw the light shoot up into the air. He was shocked at the speed of the light. Within ten flaps of the gargoyle's wings, he could see the monster clear within his mind as his friend looked at him.

The light quickly enveloped Tengeshi, sending the gargoyle flying back towards the woodline. Tengeshi looked up into the light and saw two beautiful white wings sprout from a girl he knew, but never met. The girl within his dreams. "Elysia?" He put a hand to his eyes as if blocking out the sun and saw the face he had never seen before.

"Hey, nice to meet you." Elysia smiled. She felt slightly awkward carrying him like a princess. The weight wasn't much due to the weightless glyph he still had activated, yet she knew his life force wouldn't last much longer.

"You look a little different than what I imagined." Tengeshi said shakily as he took in the large luminescent wings, tracing the patterns with his eyes and noticed that what he was looking at were not feathers, but pure life force. He looked at the silver hair he had always seen within his dreams, but also took in the sky blue eyes that were somehow lit from within. Everything about her screamed the opposite of what the gargoyles were.

"Why didn't you stay in one of the resting areas like a sane person?" Elysia's luminescent blue eyes bore into him.

"I wanted to test the glyphs." Tengeshi shrugged as he looked down at the ground, his heart leaping in his chest as he did. He felt vertigo as they raced further away from the forest. "Where are we going anyway?" He looked at the terrain and realized they had already passed Terrin. All of the ground he had covered within the day had been wasted in only a few minutes.

"I'm sorry." Elysia's eyes remained on the sky before them, not once looking at him.

"Sorry for what?" Tengeshi's eyes shot to her, yet she wouldn't respond. "Elysia, take me home. I'm sure my father is waiting for me." He forced a smile, trying to remain calm.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Elysia's tone remained serious as she maintained the course only she knew to take, if she knew where she was going. "Besides, I'm exhausted."

Tengeshi looked closely at her, realizing that the luminescent gleam in her eyes was beginning to fade. The blue was less noticeable within the night sky. He could feel them losing altitude gradually. "Watch it!" He yelled before he was dropped from the sky onto the grass then rolling into a patch of trees unceremoniously. As his body came to a stop, he lay on the ground and glared up.

Elysia flew to the opening that Tengeshi fell through and put a block on the flow of life force entering her birthmark. Just like a normal glyph, the flow of energy ceased and the wings faded from existence.

"What kind of glyph was that, anyway?" Tengeshi's glare intensified as he saw Elysia enter the woods. Yet when he saw her pale face, he went to her and placed a hand under her arm, steadying her. The glow of the wings had faded quickly, leaving a pale faced young elf in its place. A thick sheen of sweat covered her, drenching her travel clothes. Tengeshi could feel her clammy skin beneath the layer of clothing and swore to himself.

Half dragging her into the woods, Tengeshi found a small clearing and placed Elysia against a tree. He took a long look at her before taking a fur blanket from his bag and draping it over her. He then took a series of poles and a large fur tarp from his bag and began setting up his tent. "Figures this would be the only time I had to use this." He sighed as he hammered in the poles, securing the tarp in place.

When it was finally set up, He took Elysia and led her to the entrance to the tent. "You can stay here and rest." He said firmly. Knowing all she could do was nod, he let her enter the tent before closing the flap.

Thank you, Tengeshi. He heard from within his mind. He smiled slightly as he began setting up a meal of dried meat and cheese. He wondered if Elysia knew that she was speaking to him within his mind. He also wondered if he truly was hearing her, or if he had imagined the voice and hoped it was real. Even within the training he received within his dreams, he had never heard of elves being able to speak within other's minds.

Finishing up the small meal, he grabbed another helping, putting it in a wrap then putting it through the entrance of the tent. He knew she would most likely be hungry when she finally woke up. Since somehow they shared each other's sight within their dream, he knew she knew where it was.

Having finished his food and given her some, Tengeshi stretched and laid down on the ground. He looked up at the stars through the trees. "I would like to go home tomorrow, if that's okay." Tengeshi said to the sleeping Elysia within the tent, yet not even a telepathic answer came for him. With a final sigh, he rolled to his side and used his arm as a pillow. It had been a long day for him. With all of the running and using his life force to the absolute limit, he had never felt so tired in his life. It felt like he used every drop of life force within his body and forced more than what he had in order to outrun the gargoyle as long as he had.

As his body relaxed and his mind wandered, the thought of his father. He remembered the other gargoyles branching off and going to another patch of woods. He had been worried that it had been theirs. He knew that was why Elysia wouldn't take him back home. She was afraid of what he would find there. He too was afraid, but how would he know what happened to his father if he didn't go? He had to see whether Tymore was okay. He didn't even want to think of the possibility of his father being gone. He still had much to learn in the way of blacksmithing. He didn't want to be the reason both of his parents were gone either. His thoughts raced one after another as the darkness of his eyelids took over and the exhaustion finally took him. Within moments for the first time in his life, he and Elysia slept under the same color sky.