Quest for the Faradawn

CHAPTER XII

The entrance to the tree, for it was hollow, was a large pointed archway, the edges of which were framed with moss. The elf led the animals through it into a circular hall, the floor of which was again covered in a carpet of green moss. Around the walls seats had been carved into the wood and they were taken across to one side of the hall and asked to sit for a short while.

‘Welcome to the Elvenoak,’ said the elf. ‘My name is Reev and I will be your guide and friend while you are here. I have spoken to the Lord Wychnor and he wishes you to spend the night with us for he will see you on the morrow. I must now go and arrange some sustenance; I am certain you must be hungry. I will call you shortly,’ and he walked lightly away over the velvety carpet to a circular flight of steps which had been cut into the wall and which wound round the inside of the hall until it disappeared through the ceiling above them. When he had gone the animals relaxed and looked about them, talking amongst themselves and exploring. What seemed strange at first was that though it was dark outside now, there was still plenty of light in the hall but on looking round the walls Nab discovered little patches of bright orange lichen which gave off a warm glow and it was these, combined with the light that came from a number of small fungi growing out of the moss, that enabled them to see as if it were a summer twilight. As they walked around they found strange carvings sculpted into the wood, some portraying the mythical events with which old Bruin had made them so familiar and others that related legends and stories they had never heard. As their eyes grew more used to the light they saw that even the stairs and the seats were decorated with ornate and intricate patterns which Warrigal said were ancient runes. There were a number of doors set flush with the walls and twice while they were waiting an elf came out, gave them a greeting and walked through the front archway into the night. When the door was open they could see stairs behind leading upwards which were smaller than the main stairway.

While they were looking at a particularly large carving which Warrigal was attempting to explain, Reev called to them and they turned around to see him standing halfway up the stairs.

‘Your room is ready now,’ he said, and the animals, who had not eaten since they left Silver Wood, gratefully walked across the hall and climbed the stairs. The last time they had seen stairs was in the Urkku dwelling where Nab had been captured and they shuddered with fear and revulsion at the memories that came back to them. These were different; the dark wood had been worn smooth and the edges of the stairs were rounded and shaped so that walking up them was a delight. As they got higher they looked over the side at the hall below and saw the orange glow flickering against the burnished wood of the carvings. Suddenly they were standing at the end of a winding corridor with doors on either side, and Reev led them off the stairs, which continued to wind around upwards, and took them down the corridor and round some corners until they came to a door which he opened and ushered them through.

‘This is where you’ll stay tonight,’ he said. ‘I think you will find everything you want; food is on the floor in the corner; but if you require anything just pull that briar that you see hanging from the roof. I will call you in the morning when the Elflord will speak with you.’ He paused and smiled at them. ‘I bid you goodnight; may your dreams be touched with silver.’

The room was small but extremely comfortable. Along one wall was a mass of fresh meadowsweet for Brock and Nab to sleep on and a stout branch had been provided for Warrigal’s perch. It had been placed on the dark wood floor next to a small round hole in the outside wall through which the moon was shining, sending in a shaft of light which bathed the little room in silver. The animals went over to the window and looked out at the clearing. Warrigal was of course used to looking down at things from a great height but for Nab and Brock it was wonderful to survey a scene from above. The moon seemed to be shining out of the pond, so brightly was it reflected in the still, black water, and the trees sparkled as the frost brushed their branches with glitter. They stood for a long time, gazing out at the picture below them until its memory was so firmly implanted that, whenever they wanted to later, they could recall every minute detail and always with a feeling of calmness and serenity.

Eventually their stomachs began to remind them that they were hungry and they reluctantly turned away and went over to the corner in which Reev had said there was something to eat. There in carved wooden bowls and dishes they found a selection of food and drink that was bewildering in its variety. There were all the usual things which they were accustomed to, but they came from all the seasons, not just winter, and Nab marvelled at their exquisite flavours and the odd fact that they seemed to taste so much better than they did at home. There were some dishes which contained familiar things but which were warm as if they had been heated in the sun; hot portions of puffball and boletus that seemed to melt away in the mouth without the need to chew and which tasted completely different from when they were cold. There were other dishes which contained foods they had never seen before, and they took a long time cautiously exploring these new flavours and textures, each reporting to the other his views on the contents of a certain bowl and being advised in return to try a bowl which the other had just investigated. Interspersed among the foods were bowls of crystal clear water which sparkled and seemed to fill the drinker with energy. The animals discovered that even these were different; some were of a delicate pink and had the sweet savour of rosehips while others were more of a reddish hue and reminded the animals of clover. There was one of which Brock was particularly fond; it was a rich golden colour and tasted how the badger imagined meadowsweet would taste in a drink. He found that it went particularly well with the flavour of the hot portions of puffball and he spent a long time by the two bowls that contained these delicacies taking a mouthful of the white fungus and following it with a sip of the golden water.

Finally, when the moon was high up in the night sky, the animals stopped eating and, feeling as content and secure as they had ever felt, settled down to sleep; Brock and Nab with the fresh scent of meadowsweet surrounding them to remind Brock of Tara and the sett and Nab of the days when he was young and would curl up against Tara’s warm fur at night, and Warrigal perched on the branch, his liquid brown eyes closed, thinking of Wythen and the number of times his father must have stayed here on previous occasions. Their long journey and the excitement they had gone through had left them more exhausted than they had realized and immediately their eyes closed they were off into the light but restful sleep of the wild animal, and whether it was the food or the drink or the moon they could not be sure but their dreams seemed touched with silver as Reev had wished them.

They were woken next morning by the sunlight pouring in through the window and when they looked outside they could see a thick layer of hoar frost on the trees and the ground, covering everything in white. At that moment Reev came in.

‘Welcome to the day,’ he said, and the sing-song sound of his voice chased away the shadows. ‘Have you glanced outside? We are blessed with a frost; a wonderful day. A good day for you to meet the Lord Wychnor.’ He danced over to the empty bowls on the floor and began to chuckle quietly to himself. ‘My, you were hungry. You enjoyed your food.’ He pulled the bramble briar and three elves came in carrying more bowls full of food and put them down in place of last night’s, which they then took away on wooden trays.

‘The morning is yours,’ he said. ‘When you have eaten you may do as you wish; walk around outside, explore the pond; and I will meet you at Sun-High in the hall downstairs whence I shall take you to meet the Elflord. ’ He went out as suddenly as he had come in, and the animals, to their surprise, found themselves as hungry as ever and began to eat once more.

‘I shall forget what it’s like to have to go and find food,’ said Brock with his mouth full of bilberries, but in spite of himself and all the wonder and magic of this place he found himself thinking of Silver Wood with a little ache of homesickness.

‘I suppose once we have seen the Lord Wychnor we shall leave,’ said Nab, who knew how the badger was feeling but whose excitement did not allow him any room to think of home. He knew that he was about to learn about himself, and his apprehension at the thought of this, coupled with an intense curiosity, made him begin to feel terribly nervous and to realize that, in their fascination with everything around them, they had forgotten the main purpose of their visit.

When the bowls were empty again and the animals were replete, Nab pushed open the door to their room and they walked back along the corridor and down the stairway into the hall where they had waited last night. It looked different now with the sunlight streaming in through the entrance, making the corners it didn’t reach seem dark in contrast and throwing great bands of light on to the mossy floor, turning it into a bright emerald green: the colour of the young beech leaves when they first start to unfurl in the spring. There was much coming and going with elves rushing in and out through the doors leading off the hall, meeting and talking and laughing as they went about their business, going outside and coming in again. To the animals they gave the impression of always being on the move; full of a restless vibrant energy with quicksilver minds and bodies that danced about ceaselessly. Their voices filled the hall with music and reminded Nab of the sound of the stream behind Silver Wood as it chuckled and tinkled its way over the pebbles on its sandy bed. In the sunlight the glow from their bodies seemed less bright than it had done yesterday evening but it was still there and as they moved it seemed to leave a trail behind so that it was difficult to see exactly where they were at any single moment except when they were standing still, which was never for very long.

The animals made their way through the hall slowly, feeling ponderous and slightly clumsy as well as extremely conspicuous. The elves all seemed aware of their presence and none showed any surprise as they walked past; each one giving them a different greeting but all bade them welcome before going on their way.

Nab emerged first into the sunlight and had to screw up his eyes for a short time until he got used to it. Then they all walked down to the shore, scrunching over the oak leaves on the ground which were still crisp with frost, and made their way around the edge of the pond. They found themselves strangely relieved when they realized, after walking for a while, that they were out of sight of the entrance and they settled down on a stone behind some tall rushes and sat for a long time without saying a word, staring down at the water and listening to the sound of some little waves, stirred up by a light breeze, as they lapped gently against the shore. It was good to be on their own again and eventually they all felt more relaxed and began talking about everything that had happened to them since they first entered Ellmondrill. Soon they were all talking at once, each with his different ideas and views and opinions, until Wanigal interrupted.

‘Come on, we’d better be making our way back. It’s almost SunHigh,’ he said, and a little sadly they got up and, with the sun on their backs, went back to the entrance and through it into the hall.

The bustle of the morning had subsided now and there were just a few elves passing through. It seemed very dark inside after being out in the bright sunshine and it took a while for their eyes to adjust so that they could see clearly. Reev had spotted them from the other side and he came over to address them before they had had a chance to see him.

‘You enjoyed your morning,’ he said. ‘You smell of sunshine. Come; Lord Wychnor is waiting,’ and he walked off up the main stairs. The animals followed him as he went up the way they had gone to their room last night, past their door, along to the end of the corridor and then up a new flight of stairs which seemed to go on for ever. Every so often there was a crack or a hole in the wall and, when they peeped cautiously out, they realized that they were climbing higher and higher as the clearing grew smaller beneath them and soon they came level with the tops of the trees on the other side of the pond. They could see the great squirrels’ dreys nestling amongst the stark black winter branches and sometimes they saw a squirrel sitting patiently on the twigs and staring out over the tops of the trees in the rest of the wood to the fields beyond.

‘They keep a constant vigil for signs of danger, approaching Urkku and so on,’ said Warrigal, when Nab asked him what they were doing.

A door suddenly appeared before them; a great door set in a high curved archway, heavy and laid across with bands of silver which formed a criss-cross pattern. A rope made of many bramble briars woven together hung down to one side, and Reev pulled it while the animals waited nervously. Then the door opened and they were ushered into a high circular chamber by two elves dressed in green and brown who led them along an aisle which ran straight through the middle towards a raised dais at the far end. Nab, his heart in his mouth and his stomach fluttering with nerves, stole a glance around him and saw elves gathered in little groups; some were dancing, others were seated on the floor and appeared to be working with their hands while still others were making music from strange instruments, some of which were composed of strings which they plucked with their fingers and others which they held to their mouths to produce cascades of high pure crystal notes. Nab felt the music take his soul and send it soaring through the air until it felt as if it had broken through the roof of the chamber to fly off into the grey, winter sky; it filled him with energy so that, as he moved, the rhythms of his body coincided with the spirit of the music and he found himself dancing in time with it as he followed Reev. He also became aware of the fact that they were all being looked at with some curiosity by the elves, and there was a sustained level of animated discussion as the elves stopped what they were doing and put their heads together to talk excitedly amongst themselves. Nab felt that he in particular had been singled out for special attention and, as he walked down the centre of the enormous chamber into which the sun was sending streams of light through the little windows in the outside walls, he could feel hundreds of pairs of eyes watching him and hear the hubbub of voices rise as he got near and then fall as he passed by. Eventually, after what seemed like an age, they reached the dais at the end. They went up some steps to it and then walked nervously across until they came to where the Lord Wychnor sat waiting for them.

‘Welcome,’ he said, and the music of his voice sent shivers down their backs. ‘I apologize for their rudeness; they should not have stared but you understand that they were curious to see you. Come; we will go through into my own room where we can be private and talk.’

He stood up and his great green and silver cloak fell to the floor and swept along after him as he walked towards a little door and, opening it, ushered them through. Nab glanced back at the huge throne where he had been sitting; made of black oak it seemed to grow out of the floor. In fact it did not seem to have been made at all but rather to have always been there; there was no decoration except that which was in the wood itself, and the ends of the arms shone where the Elflords’ palms had rested on them since the beginning of time, polishing them so that they glistened like water. The throne was bathed in a pool of sunlight which poured through a window high up in the roof. The sun shone against the black wood and brought out the colours; blues, purples, and reds from deep within.

The little room in which they were now standing was panelled in green moss all around the walls and here and there patches of the orange lichen that served to provide light were buried amongst the green. The wooden ceiling was low and gave the room a cosy atmosphere quite unlike the grandeur of the great chamber outside; it reminded Brock and Nab of the sett. There were two small round windows in opposite walls and through them could be seen the whole of the clearing; Brock looked out and saw that the sun was starting to grow pale and the mist beginning to rise from the water and spread out amongst the trees.

The Elflord sat in a seat that had been carved in the wooden wall next to one of the windows and Nab and the animals sat on the floor at his feet. He smiled at them for a long time, looking from one to the other, and his smile had the warmth of age. They looked deep into his misty grey eyes and became lost in the mysteries of time until they felt as if they were swimming in a sea of cloud. Finally, as the sun sank in the winter afternoon and shone through the window casting a halo of gold around his head, he began to speak, and his voice was grave.

‘The time has come,’ he said, ‘for you to learn something of our world. In the beginning were only the Efflinch, by name Ashgaroth and Dréagg; and Ashgaroth the Great One, Lord of Good, had fought Dréagg the Mighty, Ruler of Evil, since time itself had begun.

‘And the Universe rang with the sound and fury of the Efflinch Wars and the nature of them may not be contemplated by us though their horror may be perhaps guessed at and glimpsed in the darkest and wildest of our nightmares.

‘And in their struggle for supremacy the Efflinch wrought matter out of themselves and hurled it through the endless darknesses of space.

‘And after aeons of time too infinite to grasp Dréagg the Mighty wearied and became subdued and Ashgaroth trumpeted in the heavens his glorious victory. And Dréagg he banished to the Halls of Drāgorn in whose foul atmosphere he was to languish for ever. Dréagg, he nursed his wounds and brooded long over the bitterness of his defeat.

‘And Ashgaroth looked at the wreckage of war and saw the Universe full of the missiles of battle; and in celebration of victory he chose such a one and vowed to transform it, to make it his jewel and glory to shine as an everlasting memorial to the triumph of the Lord of Good.

‘And he blessed it with the gifts of life and he gave colour, shape and form to this life.

‘He first created the green growing things: the trees, grasses, mosses and lichens; then the flowers and the vegetables of the earth and their colours glowed and shone so that he was well pleased.

‘And he created the mountains as pinnacles of his power to reach up to the sky; and he gave them a savagery and power to reflect even his own.

‘And he created the sea and the blue was of a depth and brilliance that defied the eye to meet it; and in joy at his creation he invested it with a fragment of his own might so that it heaved and rolled even as he breathed.

‘And lastly he peopled the oceans and the land with the creatures of life, the animals, the birds and the insects, to live among them and to survive by the fruits and the berries. And there was harmony and peace amongst the life he had created and they were at ease with one another so that it was even as he had wished, for Earth shone out as the creation of the Lord of Good.

‘And the light was strong so that it came to Dréagg where he lurked in the Halls of Drāgorn which are outside the Universe and his fury welled within him even as the light goaded him, seeming to taunt him with the bitter memories of his defeat so that he fed from the eldritch and steaming fluids that lie within the Halls and slowly regained his strength and power.

‘And his sojourn amongst these noxious vapours had made of Dréagg a more cunning adversary and the more dangerous for it so that he returned slowly and insidiously with great stealth and deceit and he turned the animals one against the other so that they fought one with the other and lived off the flesh of their fellows, and the creatures of the Earth were afflicted with much suffering and torment as the waters ran red with their pain.

‘And Ashgaroth in his renewed struggle with the Lord of Evil created a race to fight the influence of Dréagg and to restore peace and innocence to his chosen jewel. And this race is named the Elves and they are of Magic so that they were formed from the wind and the stars and their essence is of the depth of the mighty sea and their spirit is amongst the green growing things of the woods and the trees and their souls are of the wild forgotten mountains.

‘And three Elves he put over all the Earth according to the three great vastnesses of creation, so that there was Malcoff, Lord of the Mountains; Saurélon the Lord of the Seas and Ammdar who was Lord of the Forests and the green growing things.

‘And the Elflords fought the power of Dréagg for many moons and the stories of their struggle have passed into legend for great was the bravery of the Elves and mighty were their Heroes. But greater still was the power of Dréagg and Magic alone was not enough to combat his dread evil so that his influence waxed strong and the Earth was rendered hideous by the horrors that abounded.

‘And the Elflords beseeched the Mighty Ashgaroth to render them aid in their time of need. And so it was that he bestowed upon the Elves, the second of the Duâin Elrondin (or the powers of life) which is Logic, and of the two, which are Magic and Logic, this second is the most dangerous. But there was great fear in the heart of Ashgaroth at the bestowal of this gift and he warned them of its danger and that it was to be used most sparingly for if it were allowed to gain ascendance, then it would destroy the Earth.

‘So that none of the Elves should be able to use the power without the others, Ashgaroth divided the power into three, which are the Three Seeds of Logic, and each seed he placed in a casket wrought from burnished copper from the deepest Mines of Mixon; and each casket he gave into the possession of one of the three Elflords. Thus it was that the power of Logic could not be used unless the Three Seeds were brought together and released as one and once they had been released they could be used no more.

‘And it has been seen that there were three Lords over all the Earth; but of these the greatest was Ammdar, Lord of the Forests whose power was such that the grass turned to silver where he walked and the leaves changed to gold when he wished it. And he walked the forests, his domain, and all bowed down and marvelled at his might and he fought Dréagg and many times he won.

‘And Dréagg watched the powers of Ammdar and saw in their very greatness the chance for which he had been waiting. And in the darkest nights, when the Earth slept, he whispered to Ammdar from afar so that he might not know that the words were the words of Dréagg. And as time passed so did Ammdar, the Silver Warrior, become vain and proud and conscious of his strength; and so also did he grow greedy and Dréagg nurtured this greed and fed it until it grew so that Ammdar rejected his Lord Ashgaroth.

‘And finally, when Dréagg sensed the time was right, did he make himself known and plant his scheme in the mind of Ammdar. “With the seeds of logic in your possession,” he said, “then would you indeed be supreme over all the Earth. And I will help you in this task if you will accept me as your Lord so that together we may conquer Ashgaroth.”

‘And the lust for power, which had been gnawing away at the soul of Ammdar like a disease, was such that he welcomed Dréagg willingly as his Lord.

‘And so began a saga of deceit and treachery in which Dréagg assisted Ammdar to find Elflings of his own and of the two other Great Lords who would help him in his quest for the seeds. And he promised them power if they would reject Ashgaroth and their own Lords in favour of the Ruler of Evil. And many who were approached refused Ammdar and were destroyed most horribly but some there were who accepted him and these are called Goblins for they are Fallen Elves.

The Goblins were granted the powers of evil by Dréagg and became reviled and feared, and mighty was their cunning so that they wormed their way into positions of trust with Malcoff and Saurelon and the Keepers of the Seeds.

‘And so finally it came about that Ammdar Lord of the Forest had at one time in his possession the Three Seeds of Logic. The power could not be granted to the Goblins for they were of Magic and Magic and Logic would not lie together. Thus he conceived of the idea that if the gift of Logic were to be given to the animals in return for their acceptance of him and the Rule of Evil then would he truly be supreme over the Earth and the overthrow of Malcoff and Saurélon would be complete.

‘So on a night when the moon did not shine and the air was still he did summon the Leaders of the Animals to his lair in the deepest forests of Spath and there he offered them this mighty gift if they would pledge themselves to him alone.

‘But the powers of Ashgaroth were strong in the animals and they rejected the offer of Ammdar so that they might remain in the light of Ashgaroth.

‘And a great fury came over the Lord of the Forest at his rejection so that his wrath was terrible to see and the animals fled in fear and the trees shook till they were rended from the earth and the mighty boughs tore and broke like blades of grass.

‘And Dréagg watched the ravings of Ammdar with much satisfaction for the Lord of the Forests was now as clay in his hands to be used as he would.

‘ “Let us take revenge for your rejection,” he whispered in the mind of Ammdar, “on these creatures which scorn your might.”

‘And it was thus that Ammdar and the Ruler of Evil, the mighty Dréagg, created a race of beings which they called Man; which we call, in the language of the Old Ones, Urkku which means “The Great Enemy”.

‘And in them was all the wrath of Ammdar against the animals so that they had no regard for them and Dréagg planted the root of cruelty deep within the Urkku so that they were cruel in their ways towards them for Man had been made as an instrument of revenge.

‘And Man was created with the power of the Three Seeds so that he was of pure Logic; and Magic, the gift of the Mighty Ashgaroth to the Elves, was denied to him. Clever was the work of Dréagg for even as Ashgaroth had bestowed upon the Elves fragments of himself so did Dréagg give to Man, alongside the root of cruelty, the evil nature of arrogance so that he believed himself to be supreme over all the Earth and over all the Creatures of the Earth. And in his logic, this justified his treatment of the animals.

‘So Man began his reign over the Earth and Dréagg was well pleased for the jewel of Ashgaroth was torn asunder and the colours faded and the green growing things withered and died and it became as a barren waste. And only what was necessary for the support or pleasure of the Urkku was allowed to survive.

‘And the creatures of Ashgaroth, the Elves, whose powers were of Magic, were driven out by Man and began to dwell in the secret hidden places deep in the fortress of the Earth; known only to the animals.

‘And Ammdar also was well pleased as he watched for truly a terrible revenge was exacted on the animals and great was their suffering.

‘And the Tale of their Persecution and Abuse is as known to you as is the air you breathe.

‘But some there were among the Urkku who cast out the influence of Dréagg and in whom the root of cruelty and the nature of arrogance failed to grow. And they turned towards Ashgaroth and he opened their eyes so that they had glimpses of the Earth even as the Elves and the animals do and they saw the magic in the mountains and the trees and the sea and they were as one with the animals so that they are called Eldron or The Friends.

‘And throughout the reign of Man have been the Eldron but in numbers they are few. And for their ways have they been laughed at, scorned and ridiculed, and a great anger is in them as they see the suffering and horror inflicted by their fellow race on the animals whose pain they feel as they would feel pain inflicted on their fellows for with them is all cruelty vile.

‘For Ammdar, Lord of the Forests, the taste of power was to be bittersweet and brief, for Dréagg had no more use for him and in him Dréagg sensed appetites to rival even his gargantuan tastes. So did the Ruler of Evil sow the seeds of discontent among Ammdar’s lair in the Forests of Spath, and a Goblin, Degg by name, was given the power to destroy Ammdar, which is to say that the sword of Degg was woven with the spell of time; for in his fall from Ashgaroth Ammdar had lost the immortality of the Elves, and Dréagg now could destroy the Goblins as he wished by halting the flow of time within them.

‘And the sight of the destruction of Ammdar was truly horrible and the sound of his wailing at the anguish of his betrayal, even by Dréagg who had sworn to make him great, rang out from the Forests of Spath and sounded long and loud throughout the Earth for many moons so that the Elves trembled even as they rejoiced at his ending.

‘And since that time the smells of corruption, deceit and trickery have lingered around the Goblins’ lair in the Forests of Spath and they have fought and quarrelled constantly among themselves, forgotten even by he who spawned them, using each the other to indulge their vile games and appetite for cruelty. Yet sometimes will Dréagg use them in the struggle against us so that they are not to be ignored.

‘And with the destruction of Ammdar, I, the Lord Wychnor, was appointed by Ashgaroth to become Lord of the Forests and the Green Growing Things.

‘And thus it is that in the Shadow of Dréagg dwells the Earth. The Elves and the Animals cried out to Ashgaroth that they had been abandoned, for truly they were powerless against the Elrondin of Pure Logic. And they beseeched Ashgaroth that he might help them. And he answered them and said, “Be patient” for it was as he had said, truly Logic was the most dangerous of the Elrondin and in Man it had been used with no regard for its power and was pure and undilute so that in it are the seeds of self-destruction.

‘And Ashgaroth further promised them that when the time was right and the stars in the heavens were in their true place then would he send a Saviour who was truly of the Duain Elrondin, so that in him lay both Magic and Logic and to this Saviour he would show the way and through him would they be saved.

‘And the Tale of his Coming is even as has happened; he would be born of two of the Eldron so that he would be possessed of Logic yet would his spirit come from Ashgaroth so that he would have Magic. And in him would the influence of Dréagg not exist so that he would be afflicted by neither cruelty nor arrogance. And he would be raised among the animals to be with them and to be of them.

‘And so it is, Nab, that we believe you to be this Saviour and I, Wychnor, as the Elflord who dwelt nearest to you, have watched over you since the day your parents, the Chosen Eldron, left you in the snow.

‘But you must travel to meet the two other Elflords so that they may recognize and know you. They dwell in other Nations across the seas but they will journey here and meet you in a part of their Kingdom which is in this Nation.

‘So the Lord Saurelon will meet you by the sea where it thunders and rages in the westernmost part of this nation in a place I shall direct you to and then you will journey to meet the Lord Malcoff in a high place amongst the towering mountains which border our nation in the far north.

‘And Ashgaroth has directed that from each of the Elflords will you be given a small casket within which will be found the essence, The Grain, of their Kingdom, called the Faradawn, and when you have these three, then will the Mighty Ashgaroth reveal to you alone what is the Way.

‘You will travel by the Old Ways, the Secret Pathways which only the Elves and the animals know but which you also with your powers of Magic may now know. And you will not be alone as you journey for with you will be your companions of Silver Wood; Perryfoot the Fleet and the dog Sam, you, Brock and you, Warrigal.

‘And there will be a sixth traveller, known to you now as an Urkku but in fact one of the Eldron; the girl you met by the stream. She will be a friend of your own race and you will learn much from her, as you travel, of the ways of Man.

‘When you leave here you will journey to where she lives. She will be waiting, for Ashgaroth has touched her mind as she slept to prepare her for your coming. And so that she may know you for the one sent by him, you will give her a Ring.’

He stopped talking and there was silence for a long, long time as the three travellers continued to look at him, their minds racing furiously with all that they had heard. He sat in the windowseat, looking gently at them, framed by the light of the early moon, for the sun had now gone down. Nab wished that he could sit here for ever, listening to that voice, and remain secure in this little room. Somehow he was afraid to leave, for while he was in the room he retained some part of him as he had been before he entered; when he left, he would be in some way different. He felt as if before he had been safe; wrapped in a cocoon of ignorance, but that now the world was a different place and his role in it frightened him terribly: from being a mere bystander watching from the outside, he was now at the centre. He looked at Brock and Warrigal and found that they were looking at him and he wondered if their attitude towards him would change.

For the badger and the owl, in fact, the Elflord’s words as to the place of Nab amongst them had been no surprise, rather a confirma-tion of something which they had felt from the night he had arrived in the wood. What their minds were trying desperately to cope with was the wealth of knowledge which they had just been given and the incredible story behind it. Brock soon gave up, his mind submerged under it all, but for Warrigal it was like the completion of a puzzle as all the little fragments of stories and legends that he had picked up over the years finally came together as one.

The Elflord’s voice broke in upon their thoughts.

‘You will dine with me tonight, as my guests,’ he said, ‘and tomorrow before you leave I will present you with the Ring and the casket of the Faradawn. Come with me.’

He stood up and beckoned to them to follow him as he walked back across the little room and opened the door into the hall. As they emerged into the vastness of the huge chamber a wonderful sight met their eyes. Down the centre stretched a long mat woven with rushes of greens and browns and interlaced with fronds of fir, and on the mat, which stretched almost to the far end, was a vast selection of foods and drinks all arranged in little silver and copper dishes, each one carved with a different pattern and each illustrating a part of the story which they had just heard. The Lord Wychnor led them across to the head of the mat, where he sat down on a brilliantly coloured cushion and motioned to Nab to sit on his left with Warrigal and Brock on his right. When these four were sitting, the host of elves who had been standing alongside the mat also sat down and all turned towards Wychnor, who stood up, raised the silver chalice which was in front of him and turned to Nab looking deep into his eyes. Then he drank from the chalice and the elves all cheered and likewise raised their bowls and drank. When Brock leant forward to take a sip from his bowl, which he guessed he was supposed to, he saw with a thrill that around the outside of the bowl was carved a delicate picture of a badger moving backwards through a snow filled wood with a bundle nestled under his two forelegs. He looked excitedly at the other bowls around him and saw that they too represented different scenes from his life with Nab; a carving of the sett with him and Tara playing with Nab, the first Council Meeting, and others, all bringing back warm and satisfying memories. He looked across at Nab and then turned to Warrigal and they too were looking in wonder at their silver bowls, lost in thought. The boy raised his head and looked back at Brock and a tear oozed from his eye and trickled slowly down his cheek until it fell on the mat. Then the Elflord sat down, the cheering stopped and everyone began to eat and drink.

‘Do you like them?’ said Wychnor, pointing to the carvings and speaking to the three companions. ‘Our craftsmen were finishing them even as you were walking past them this afternoon to meet me. See, here is one of the three of you walking through Ellmondrill and here is another of you coming across the water with Reev. Ah, here is some music and the dancers. This will be a new dance, performed in honour of you all; even I have not seen it before.’

The great door at the end of the hall had opened and a stream of elves were dancing in, some carrying instruments from which came the sounds of music and others clad in costumes from which hundreds of little lights shimmered and sparkled in the orange twilight glow that shone from the patches of lichen on the walls. The owl, the badger and the boy watched in wonder as the musicians settled down around the outside walls and began to play and the dancers moved in time with the rhythms, echoing in their movements the memories and timeless images which the music evoked in their minds. Nab recognized little snatches of sound from the walk through the hall that afternoon when they had been practising and, as these more familiar sounds came to him, he once again felt the impulsive urge to dance. He watched the dancers as they moved around the hall and their costumes formed a dizzy whirlpool of colours in which he became lost, and then dimly, through the haze of sounds and lights, he felt himself get up from his cushion by the mat and dance across to join them. Once he was up and had given himself to the music his body seemed taken over; he seemed to fly through the air up to the rafters, which were festooned with evergreens, across to the far wall and then down to crouch on the floor in a tiny ball only to explode again into separate pieces each of which flew away to different parts of the hall.

Brock and Warrigal watched in amazement and the elves cheered and laughed and soon the cushions around the mat were vacant as the floor was filled with dancers, each joyously lost in his own world of movement. The badger and the owl sought out Nab and the three of them frolicked and spun and laughed and leapt until they could move no more and then when the moon was highest in the night sky the visitors returned weary and happy to their little room below, and the elves all retired to sleep. All except Wychnor, who went to his private room and sat alone staring out through the window at the moon shining on the clearing; and his mind was lost in the past.

The next morning the animals were woken by Reev as he came into their chamber, bringing, as he called it, their ‘travelling food’ on a large tray. The sun shone very brightly through the window and they knew what that brightness meant; snow had fallen in the night. They went over to look outside and could hardly recognize the clearing, covered as it was by a thick layer of white, making everything round and smooth and soft. The elf stayed with them as they ate, talking about last night; he had been one of the dancers but none of the animals had recognized him in his costume. Indeed, in the myriad of wonders that had so mesmerized them, they could remember very little, but when they thought back to their talk with Wychnor a little cold chill sent itself shuddering into their hearts at the recollection of his words. In the magic of last night they had been able to forget, but now, in the cold light of a new day, the things he had told them came flooding back in a rush so that they no longer felt hungry.

‘You must eat; finish your food. You need all your strength for the times ahead,’ said Reev in a quiet comforting way. ‘When you have finished I will take you once again to the Lord Wychnor and then you shall leave us.’

When they had eaten their fill, Reev led them back along the winding corridors of the Elvenoak and through the hall, empty now and very different from the way it had been last night, until they arrived once again outside the door of Wychnor’s little room. Reev pulled a cord and the Elflord opened it and bade them welcome, closing the door behind them as Reev walked away.

‘There are things I must give to you,’ he said, ‘and words I must say. Here, Nab, is the Belt of Ammdar, which he used to keep the three seeds of logic safe; you will see it is woven of young willow saplings and interlaced among them are three silver lockets. I have placed the Faradawn of the trees and the green growing things in the one furthest away from the fastening. It is good that the belt should now be used to help defeat the evil that Ammdar brought upon the world. Wear it as he did; close to your body under your garments.’ Nab looked at the wide belt with amazement and fear; the idea of wearing this belt, which had been worn by and belonged to the dread and mighty Ammdar, the fallen Elflord, was not one that appealed to him. He looked at Wychnor, who knew what the boy was thinking.

‘Take it,’ he said. ‘It will help you on the side of Ashgaroth even as it helped Ammdar in the cause of Dréagg.’

The Elflord passed the belt over and Nab received it with trembling hands. Despite its width and the three silver lockets which he could now see clearly embedded amongst the green sapling strands, it was amazingly light; in fact, if he hadn’t seen it lying in his hands, he would not have known he was holding it. He looked at it in wonder, and Brock and Warrigal crowded around to gaze at this fragment of living legend, reaching out cautiously to touch it to make sure it wasn’t just a figment of their imagination.

‘The Belt of Ammdar,’ intoned the owl under his breath, as if reciting a magic spell.

Finally, when Nab had managed to pluck up courage, he lifted his clothing and placed the belt over the multi-coloured shawl that lay always next to his skin. Then he brought together the delicately carved copper fastenings and found to his surprise that, when they came close to each other, they seemed to spring shut of their own accord. It fitted him perfectly and felt strangely comforting fastened securely around his waist.

‘Here is the Ring which you are to give to the chosen lady of the Eldron,’ said Wychnor. ‘Put it for safe keeping in one of the lockets.’

The Ring was a deep translucent gold colour with threads of silver inlaid inside it, so that they appeared as wisps of mist on an autumn morning. In the top was set a silver jewel, the base of which was buried deep within and it shone through the gold with a light that lit up the whole ring. As he handled it Nab became aware of a vague scent of pine and, when he mentioned this to Warrigal later, the owl said he believed that the gold was resin from the pine trees that had existed first upon the earth and which the elves used to mine when these trees had long since died and become part of the ground. How the silver threads were put inside he was unable to say. As Nab looked at the ring he thought he saw them moving, as the mist does in a gentle breeze, and the golden light seemed to wax and wane as if the sun were reaching midday and sinking to evening.

Wychnor showed the boy how to open one of the lockets by pressing a catch at the back which caused the top to fly open and Nab then dropped the Ring inside before pushing the top down again so that it clicked shut. Nab then rearranged his top garments so that the belt, with its precious contents, was hidden and looked up to see the Elflord’s great grey eyes fixed upon the three of them.

‘And now it is farewell. Reev will travel with you back through Ellmondrill and he will take you to the dwelling of the Eldron. There he will leave you and you will return with her to Silver Wood to collect Perryfoot and Sam. Then you will start your journey. The reasons for your going and the matters I have disclosed to you must be kept secret, although of course the members of the Council know already: Dréagg is now, after your capture by the Urkku, aware of your existence, Nab, although not yet aware of your significance. Beware, then, for he will be watching and when he thinks the time is right he will strike: the minute he learns the purpose of your journey he will act but, in ignorance of it, he will wait and try and learn by following your travels. Take the utmost care therefore not to be seen by the Urkku, for they are the eyes and ears of Dréagg. Keep to the secret paths and the ancient places which you will know from the magic in your bodies.’ He paused and they waited as he turned to look out of the window for a second before turning back and addressing them once again.

‘There is one final matter,’ he said. ‘I have told you that the seeds of logic that were used in the creation of the Urkku contain the means of self-destruction. Thus it is that the world of Urkku, and with it our world, the world of the jewel of Ashgaroth, is drawing to an end. Your task must be accomplished before that happens otherwise we shall all perish with it; yet even now it is rumoured that there is great trouble amongst the Urkku and that their fragile world is breaking down. Do not unduly delay therefore. Be steady and sure in your purpose and as swift as caution permits. Now, farewell; may the light of Ashgaroth go with you.’

They turned around slowly and with an immense sadness in their hearts followed Reev as he led them out through the hall and down through the Elvenoak, until they once more found themselves gliding back over the water, doubly black now in contrast with the snow all about them on the ground and in the trees. On the far bank they alighted and made straight for the gap in the wall of trees through which they had come. They paused before they entered the tunnel and looked back at the clearing, standing serene and peaceful, glistening white under the blue sky. There was no sign of movement anywhere and no sound of activity; were it not for Reev standing waiting for them, his green and brown doublet blowing gently in the breeze that came across the water, and the belt which Nab could feel as he walked, the whole episode could have been a dream. Then they looked away and were soon on the far side of the tunnel and walking once again amongst the enormous trees and deep undergrowth of the wood. The going was more difficult now with the snow covering everything and Nab and Brock found themselves frequently falling through a pile of bracken or a small bush although Reev seemed to dance on top as if he weighed no more than a feather and Warrigal had once again taken to the air and was swooping and gliding ahead of them with obvious enjoyment at being back in his element.

Nab did not recognize any of the areas through which Reev led them; in fact the whole wood seemed different — the trees not quite so enormous and the atmosphere more friendly. The owl and the elf were constantly having to wait while the others caught up and Nab would see them ahead in a clearing, bathed in the shafts of sunlight that came lancing through the trees as he and Brock plodded through the snow towards them. The sun was thawing it and every now and again the branches of a tree would shed its load with no warning, and the wood echoed with the crashing noise it made as it fell down through all the lower branches bringing the snow on those tumbling down as well; then there would be utter stillness once again, broken only by the panting of the boy and the badger who were now warm with the effort of walking through the snow.

Finally they reached the stream and they rested for a while just inside the wood and looked out at the white fields on the other side rising up gently to the corridor-like path through which they had come just two days ago, although it seemed an age. The stream, swollen now with the melting snow, rushed on its way, gurgling and spluttering past them, knocking folds of snow off the banks as it went which seemed to struggle bravely for an instant to remain white and whole but then sank beneath the black waters as they rapidly dissolved. The midday sun was at its height, shining down on the snow and filling their world with silver light. Reev produced a selection of nuts, toadstools and berries from a little pouch which he wore on his belt and gratefully the animals munched on these as they sat. Nab began to think of where they were going and he realized that until now his mind had been so busy with everything that had been happening around them that he had given very little thought to this part of the Elflord’s revelations, and the full impact of it now slowly began to dawn on him. They were travelling, right at this very moment, to meet the Urkku girl whom he had seen three summers ago and whom he had never really forgotten; and she was, according to Wychnor, a part of his life and would share his journeys with him, although what was to happen to them then not even the Elflord knew. The more he thought about it the more excited he became and he found himself longing to see her again; he thought of how he had last seen her, standing waving to him from the banks of the stream, her red dress and long golden hair ruffling in the springtime afternoon breeze and in her hand the posy of yellow primroses and pink campion she had picked for her mother. All the wonder and magic of that day came flooding back to him in a rush of exhilaration, but with it came the doubts, the anxieties and the fears which had also been a part of it and he felt himself getting nervous again. It was impossible to believe that she would simply leave her home and her parents and her friends and go with him on a journey to places even he had never been to before; and then it occurred to him, with a sharp stab of panic, that he would not even be able to tell her where or why they were going because she did not speak the language of the wood.

Suddenly his gloomy thoughts were broken into by Reev who was sitting next to him and had guessed from the intense look on Nab’s face and from the intuition that comes with magic what was going through the boy’s head.

‘Have faith in the powers of Ashgaroth and remember, she is of the Eldron,’ he said, ‘and you have the Ring.’

Nab turned to look at him and the elf smiled warmly so that all the boy’s fears seemed to vanish.

‘Come,’ said Reev. ‘It is time we made a move.’

They got up feeling greatly refreshed and walked the few paces to the bank; to the animals’ surprise they had come out exactly where the fallen log formed the bridge from which Brock had fallen when they came across the other way. This time there were no incidents except for the amazing way in which Reev appeared to jump over the stream; one minute he was in the wood and the next he was on the far bank waiting for the animals to cross and grinning broadly. The strange thing was that they had not actually seen him in the air as he jumped.

Soon they were walking briskly up the slope towards the entrance to the two thorn hedges that formed the corridor and then they were walking along inside it once again, leaving Ellmondrill glimmering majestically in the sun. The rest of the walk back took place in silence; each of the animals buried deep inside the comforting cocoon of his own mind, letting little fragments of what the Elflord had told them enter their thoughts one at a time to be thoroughly absorbed and digested before the next piece was allowed to enter and be, in turn, mulled over and put in its place. Now that they were away from Ellmondrill and walking back towards familiar territory they felt more confident and more in control of their own destiny, and this gradual sifting and sorting out of all the new things they had learnt and experienced allowed them to understand things that before had buried them beneath a deluge of bewilderment. For Nab and Warrigal, understanding was easier than it was for Brock, who found much of Wychnor’s tale confusing and vague, but he understood above all that he had been right in the feelings of destiny which he had experienced from the first time he had set eyes on Nab although he also realized that he would be leaving Silver Wood and Tara for a long time. When he had questioned Reev about this, the elf had replied that any more than six animals travelling together would be far too conspicuous to the Urkku; six itself was really too many but Wychnor felt that the advantages in terms of safety of the combined skills of all those who were going outweighed the disadvantages. Besides, Reev had added, Tara was not as strong as were the rest of them; the strain of bearing cubs had left its mark on her. Then Brock had understood why, but it had not helped to ease the pain he felt at the thought of being parted from her.

Eventually by the time the sun was beginning to sink on the short winter afternoon they arrived back in the fields which led, over the rise, to the back of Silver Wood and they could just make out the tops of the trees in the distance. Reev called them to a halt and told them that they were now about to make directly for the home of the Eldron and that therefore rather than go through the wood it was quicker to take a path to the right of it. At the sight of the familiar trees and hummocks the animals were filled with pangs of homesickness but, comforting themselves with the thought that they would be back once they had collected the girl, they steeled themselves and followed the elf as he headed away across the fields at an angle that took them, once again, away from the wood.

It was evening by the time Reev stopped again. They were just under the summit of a small rise in a field.

‘The dwelling of the Eldron is on the other side of the hill,’ he said. ‘I will leave you now; you have no further need of me. When you leave Silver Wood with the girl, take the way that leads towards that copse of fir trees in the distance; that will set you on the right path. Farewell.’

He was gone before the animals had a chance to say goodbye; the silver light that glowed about him dancing off into the darkness of the evening until it vanished on the far side of a hedge. Their last link with the wood elves had gone and they were on their own again.

‘Come on,’ said Nab, and they crunched their way over the frozen snow until they reached the top of the rise. They looked down and there, nestling in the fold between two little hills, stood a small cottage. The hill they were standing on was at the rear of the cottage and in front was a thick wood. Light shone from three of the downstairs windows; from two of them the light was a warm orange colour and from the third, at one end, it was tinged with a flicker of red. Smoke drifted straight upwards in the stillness from a chimney at this end and the smell of woodsmoke hung heavily in the chill air, reminding the animals of autumn. Nab looked around him at the steely grey evening sky, the white frozen fields and the wood which lay dark and forbidding under the first stars. For an instant he was consumed by an inexplicable longing to be inside the cottage, warm and secure and locked away from the cold of the night. It came from somewhere deep within him and passed as quickly as it came but the yearning was so intense that whenever he thought of it afterwards a great sadness welled up inside him.

They walked quietly down the slope towards the cottage and were soon scrambling through a rough wooden fence that separated the field from a garden at the back. This back garden was only small and there were some trees forming a border round it which were so close together that they formed a tall hedge. The animals gathered under it to work out what they were to do.

‘I think it would be better if I approached alone,’ whispered Nab. ‘She might be scared if she saw all three of us together at first; after all, she has seen me before.’

Warrigal and Brock agreed; the owl flew up into one of the trees, where he perched on a branch from which he had a good view of the whole of the back of the house, and the badger melted back into the shadows, watchful and tense, ready to dash out and render help the instant it might be needed. To his surprise he realized that he was quite enjoying himself; there was not too much danger, he didn’t think, but what there was took his mind off the future and enabled him to live for the moment for a while. These sorts of adventures were the kind he was used to from the times before Nab had come and he felt more in control of himself than he had for quite a time. He settled down, under the overhanging branches of one of the trees, right back against its trunk and, looking out, saw that Nab had reached the end of the hedge of trees and had started to creep along the wall of the cottage towards the first of the windows. The last of the evening light had almost gone and the night was nearly upon them; against the darkening sky the badger saw a lone rook flying home and suddenly he was filled with a wish for the old days when he would have been emerging at about this time for his evening walk. Now all that had changed; their lives had been taken over by the hands of destiny.