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The Spine

  The next few days kept a slow pace, with the two skirting the edge of the sprawling forest. They watched the treeline the whole while. Taln muttered again about the "damn elves", mixed in with a few choice curses.

  Taln was rather surprised at the progress Siv had made in such a small time with his weapons. Chains were unheard of- it was exceedingly rare that both he and Nalana had experience with them, and that Siv happened to be close enough for Taln to notice his Marking.

  The boy was coarse, but had an intelligence about him. Taln, for the first time in several lifetimes, felt that maybe there was a chance of him dying soon. He had lived and lived. He was tired.

  "Hey, old man, how much longer is this gonna take? I've got a hunger that I think some wild venison would solve." Siv laughed at his own joke. Taln frowned a bit deeper.

  "By today we should reach the path." He looked again at the forest. It wasn't right. He hadn't been here in a while, sure, but this amount of change in such a comparably short time was more than unusual.

  The most unsettling part was that he had happened upon no elves, or even other travelers. The forest was a common place for young human couples to go-- some bullshit about the forest granting fertility if you copulated on its grounds. Disgusting.

  Taln's apprehension had only grown as they neared the path. If there were no elves along the edge of the forest, it could mean two things. Neither of them good.

  One, that they were forced to focus their efforts on the main path and dwellings, leaving the rest of the forest to fend for itself. This being the lesser evil of the two possibilities.

  The second was that they were all dead.

  That was unlikely, however. The elves were tenacious, long lived and with a constitution that could, well, not quite compete with Taln's own, but definitely surpassed that of a normal human's by leaps and bounds.

  Not a very impressive feat. Humans were bags of fragile flesh that reproduced enough to make any elf lightheaded at the mere thought.

  Now, for the elves to have abandoned the outer dwellings and provinces, something cataclysmic must have occurred. They had tended to these lands since before Taln was alive, which was saying something. He had seen them and the forest weather truly calamitous times.

  He thought it must have something to do with this damned silence. The first couple days Taln had inwardly laughed at the boy's jumpiness, but now it was putting even him on edge.

  Such a place was not meant to be silent. It was meant to be a wellspring of life, one of the most bio diverse and welcoming places on the continent. The forest also had a strange sentience- one that would punish trespassers, and safeguard respectful travelers.

  If it wasn't in such a state, Taln would have been comfortable walking straight into it. He had once been rather close with it's master, after all.

  "Wow." Siv's jaw was slack. "I see why they call it the Spine."

  They were in view of the Spine at last--jagged peaks tore at the sky in hateful lament of fate, dwarfing even the giants of T'syr's Forest. Twilight had crept upon the forest, casting long shadows on the trees, but the snow-covered peaks were awash with the golden sun.

  "They call it a spine because that's what it is. Gods bleed when they fall. This one tore the world in half." Taln said gravely. Here, the Spine curved into the forest for miles, thinning the canopy so that the peaks were visible. That was why they could see it over the trees now, having traveled far enough southeast. The path led through the forest, up the foothills of the mountain, and to a pass that led all the way down to the coast.

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  Thankfully, they would not be going through the literally godforsaken pass.

  The boy screwed his face up at Taln. "How could a god get that big? I mean, I know its a god and all but for mountains to make up its spine?"

  Taln shrugged. "It was thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of years ago. The elves even believed it to be a minor god. Though, a minor god from that epoch would be able to level nations in this one." He resumed walking. "There are some who believe all the lands and all the water of the world are made of a dead god."

  Siv looked troubled. "Is the stag that big?"

  "Maybe." Taln gave him a reproachful look. "To a shrimp like you."

  Siv glowered at the older man. "Oh, now the old man has jokes. Keep this up and I'll have to kill you." He puffed out his chest, trying his best to give the man a glare.

  The boy was still too boyish for the threat to land, however. Now that he was no longer emaciated, his strawberry blond hair had thickened, falling over his forehead. His eyes, dark rimmed with a startlingly light blue core, shone against his pale skin. Overall, far too innocent to look dangerous.

  "Come, boy. And quit talking. We will reach the path before nightfall."

  ...

  An hour more passed, and Siv grew more impatient by the minute. The old man didn't have much to say, and his stony face never even changed expression.

  Finally, Siv could see the dim light of fire ahead. He let out a noise, looking to Taln. The man looked at him sideways, but sped up his pace.

  Growing closer, Siv could see figures around a fire. They were right by the forest entrance, and torches and lanterns could be seen lighting up the area. The fire was massive, much too large to be a normal cooking fire. But Siv could smell it from here, his mouth watering.

  When they were about 20 meters, Taln called out a greeting so as not to startle the figures with their sudden approach. They did not look surprised, however, to see the two figures emerge from the dark.

  Stopping a few meters from them, Siv could make out some of features. They were startlingly angular, with high cheekbones and tastefully defined jawlines. Their ears, Siv noticed with a bit of excitement, ended in points. Real elves! He had never thought to have seen one of their kind. They were nearly never seen in heavily populated human areas.

  However, despite their undoubtedly dashing looks, they were haggard. Many had injuries, arms in slings and bandages around limbs. Their eyes were haggard, and many of them scowled at the newcomers, hands on elegant wooden weapon handles.

  One near the back of the growing group stepped through his brethren. "Taln Ashur'Kael! He is named friend of the Elves!" The elf said, gesturing for his countrymen to put down their weapons. The elf looked on the older side, wrinkles covering his brow. His arm ended in a poorly bandaged stump dyed red with blood.

  Taln looked at the thin elf. "Ilrien." He said with a nod.

  "Ah, you greet me as if it were yesterday you were here last!" The elf laughed, suddenly full of mirth. "It is not often one can make such an old elf feel young! Come, Taln and his companion. You shall break bread with me tonight!" The other elves had turned back to the fire, which Siv now realized was a great funeral pyre.

  He felt sick. Then the smell from earlier...

  Siv started, realizing Taln had followed the old elf. He led them around the fire, and walked into the forest. This part seemed much more lively than all that they had passed previously. It was still quiet, as night had fallen, but the trees rustled in the wind and the strange muted quality was gone.

  The elf, Ilrien, led them to a wooden structure. The roof was covered in green moss, and it had only two supporting walls-- the others were missing, leaving an open view into the surrounding forest.

  The elf led gestured for the two to sit around a small firepit in the midst of the cabin. He lit it with a whispered word.

  He turned to Taln, beaming. "We--I hoped you would come. I knew you would not leave T'syr to her plight."

  Taln's brow furrowed a bit. "I am not here to help you." The elf's face fell.

  "Then, why have you come? The forest these days is not kind, even to us born in its embrace." The elf looked sorrowful.

  "I don't know what plight you are talking about, and frankly I don't care. We are here to go to the glades." Taln said, ignoring the elf's obvious discomfort.

  The elf's smile returned. "Ah, well then, it appears you must help us to help yourself. The glades are no more. The forest has lost all semblance of order. Has word of this truly not reached your ears?"

  "No, and I've kept them open. What do you mean, the glades are no more?" Taln said.

  "Well, the glades were once the most sacred part of the forest. Surely, the most dangerous as well." The elf cleared his throat. "All our scouts and expeditions were found strung up in trees, their innards hanging from their gored stomachs. Even when we went out in force, the forest itself worked against us. We were turned in circles, more dying each day."

  "For how long?"

  "A year, at least. The elves here have dwindled. The beasts grow bolder by the day, and we can hardly keep this settlement safe. Many of us have retreated to the foothills, where the Lady may offer some protection from the forest."

  "And what of Eiranhal? Has he turned against the elves?" Taln said.

  The elf's lips curled into a sad smile. "The Bearer of the Hollow Crown, the Silent King, is dead."

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