Chapter 18: Laeltilat

Tired and exhausted Laeltilat and Arlandiel watched the last karkhash die. They had already lost one on the way.

Suddenly they saw in the sky an argiphone with an arqilunian on the bird’s back. The heat of the Kaushmanashtoon fancifully played with the horizon, making the mirages. Argiphone landed and the arqilunian rolled down from the bird’s huge wing.

“Laeltilat, my name is Eolarnel Paelvarant, your mother is looking for you. In such a terrible hour, when the war on our doorstep, you chose to leave your kin?” Eolarnel shook his head in accusation.

“I can’t go,” Laylith said. “Right now, I need to find my father. To be a half-blood in our country, to be a stranger… You can’t imagine what it was like for me throughout all my life! And my father... He went beyond the Belt of Twilight and never came back. Perhaps he is dead, I don’t want to believe it. Until I get to a certain place, I can’t be sure of anything. What does the arqilunian honor tell you, Eolarnel?” The girl made her eyes and smiled.

“Don’t be so pretentious,” he said and orange sparks faintly ran over Eolarnel’s ears. “I believe we could reach the Belt of Twilight. I know the pain of loss. I lost my father at a young age, so I will help you.”

Arlandiel didn’t interfere with the dialogue, but jealousy appeared on the elf’s face.

They climbed onto the bird, and the argiphone flew up. And they flew straight to the Belt of Twilight…

“Argiphone can’t land us at the top, much less fly over the mountains,” Eolarnel said.

“I hope a bird will return at your call when we’ll be here again,” Laeltilat said with innocent naivety, although she didn’t believe it.

“I hope so too,” Arlandiel said uncertainly.

“Dros Fer Narun!” Eolarnel said three times and three sets of fur clothes appeared. “Take it, put it on.”

Arqilunians obeyed and dressed. It became warmer.

“We have a hard journey ahead, be careful, if I don’t bring you home, Laylith, the Paelvarant family will be dishonored, and I cannot allow this!”

“Then we need to make sure that we all return home... together with my father!” Laylith said.

So they moved into the first cave that came across. Somewhere the snow was melting, somewhere it lay wet and soft. But there was almost no snow inside the cave. They made their way across the rocky surface using torch spells to illuminate everything around them. Soon the travellers came out of the cave to the top of the mountain. And they saw a dazzling splendor, giant mountains hung over them, and their peaks glittered and sparkled with snow-ice decorations, clouds floated, covering several peaks within themselves, and foggy snow whirlwinds created bizarre spots as if someone was rushing through different parts of the mountains.

Suddenly a ghost appeared in front of them.

“This one will do,” the ghost said and took possession of Eolarnel.

Laylith and Arel were in fighting poses when Eolarnel turned to them and said, “My name is Dombard, and your names do not interest me, and, unfortunately, I must leave you. I would kill you, but right now I don’t want to, I hope you understand,” with these words the ghost in the body of an elf moved past them.

Stunned and confused, arqilunians did not intervene, but only exchanged glances with each other. Arel thought that it was necessary to show courage and do something, but it would be a mistake to attack, for they would have wounded or even killed Eolarnel. And to exorcise the ghost... They had not been trained for that. They don’t know what to do. Some arqilunians could summon the spirits of deceased ancestors, but the magical spirits never used living bodies as vessels... “Maybe we need to bind Dombard, and then think about what to do,” Laylith suggested mentally, but she was afraid that the ghost’s resistance could harm Arel, and she could not allow that. Besides, where are the guarantees that Eolarnel’s personality remained there, inside, maybe it was gone forever?

“Shall we let him go?” Laylith asked suddenly.

“I don’t know, what else can you suggest?” Arel asked.

“I don’t know too” the half-elf watched as the ghost in the elf’s body turned around the corner of the cave, his shadow was strange as if it had doubled.

“Shall we go after him and bind him?” Arel seemed to have read her thoughts.

“No!” Laylith suddenly decided. “We’ll go ahead, we’ll look for my father!”

Arlandiel nodded and they moved on.