Collectively, they were beginning to adopt listening poses and far away gazes, as each hooked into the main memory of the room. That was the beauty of having such a room as this, it was relatively easy to network, there was no need to re-create it every time you wanted to talk. The room remembered everything. If it was asked, as it was occasionally, it could name those who had used it, and indeed, this one could name who was nearby at the time, who hadn’t attended. It had been in existence for a very long time, the lives of these elves had shaped it from the very beginning. The meeting house was the central meeting point of the clan, and it was a point of pride to have the best in the area.

]]> http://darkthorn.sorrowfulunfounded.com/2008/09/24-death/feed/ 0 http://darkthorn.sorrowfulunfounded.com/2008/09/23-bathing/ http://darkthorn.sorrowfulunfounded.com/2008/09/23-bathing/#comments Thu, 04 Sep 2008 23:00:57 +0000 darkthorn http://darkthorn.sorrowfulunfounded.com/?p=86 Elves were scattered in and around the bathing pools, lounging in the patches of sun that peeped in through the thick branches of the trees. Blackmain skirted his way carefully around the slippery rocks, trying to avoid stepping on any out-flung limbs. Elves, so messy he thought quietly, under tight shield. It was never predictable what some would take offence to, even if it wasn’t If he remembered correctly, Ishton would be right at the top, in the hottest possible pool. Blackmain didn’t feel quite up to boiling himself, but lying on the cool stone next to the steaming bath would be lovely. Moreover, if that involved a massage, well, he wouldn’t object.

As predicted, Ishton was relaxing in the hottest pool, alone except for a couple of other Adepts. Blackmain wondered if Ishton’s main reason for choosing that particular heat had anything to do with the flocks of elves that seemed to want to surround him if he chose anywhere else. From the look on his face, he was deep in discussion with the other elves. Blackmain didn’t want to interfere, so he sat on the edge and gingerly trailed his toes into the water, enjoying the quiet. One of the advantages of mind speech was no voices to break the silence of the woods, only the sounds of the birds and the animals.

Blackmain was suddenly reminded of the little lizard that had given him away to Cimon when he was rescuing Julia. He regretted letting the man go now, it would have been far better to destroy him early. With the other Queen on the throne instead, and Julia with a male heir to the throne it would have been relatively simple to knock the Queen off and allow Julia to be acting regent. On second thoughts, Julia might not be content to just let her son to take the throne, she might want to have proper power for a time, to set things right. It wouldn’t be a bad thing, especially if she was Kolark’s daughter. Nevertheless, as the elves said, everything happened for a reason. Things would work out in the end, because it had been foretold that there would be an upheaval. One could never expect things to happen on their own though, some pushing forwards never caused any harm.

Ishton looked up at Blackmain, hopped out of the glorified bathtub and gestured with his hands. He was stark naked, his rippling muscles stretching out beneath his tanned skin as he stretched. Blackmain removed his own clothes, and laid them in Ishton’s lap, then put his own head down. The elves sent a shiver of laughter around, human’s modesty always amused them. Blackmain didn’t flinch, he wasn’t ruining his own values for them, it was more comfortable and less distracting this way anyway.

Massage came easily to Ishton, he gently tousled Blackmain’s hair and settled into an almost-rhythm. His fingers took away the ache in Blackmain’s head as time wore on and night settled in. The lack of lights lulled Blackmain back to sleep and his pleasant dreams returned, much to the further amusement of the elves. Ishton continued to massage his head and neck, gradually turning the entire situation into a performance.

When Blackmain woke a couple of hours later, it was to the sighs of disappointment from the other elves. He sat up quickly, glaring at Ishton, who only smiled and laughed with the rest of them.

~ Sorry old friend, they wanted something to amuse them. ~

~ You could have found something else. Other than me. ~

~ Why? When I know you will forgive me. ~

Blackmain growled inaudibly, Ishton was right as always. The massage had loosened all his limbs and he was feeling more relaxed than he had been in quite a while. Moving seemed like a bad option, lying here where he didn’t have to worry about anything else was so peaceful He should have known that it wouldn’t last however, as the silence was broken by the running of feet and a general mind-surge.

~ A meeting is called. All are expected to attend. ~

The message was filled with underlying images of what would be done to those who didn’t go to it. Blackmain wondered if that included him too. Most of those inventive tortures would have him dead in half the time it took the elves to set up the equipment.

Julia wouldn’t be waking for a while still he thought. Time enough to fulfill his desires. He reached out towards Ishton’s slumbering mind, but discovered with dismay that he was still firmly entrenched in the dream-world. Blackmain sighed in frustration, it would have been a good release for them both, there was so much tension in the air. As tempting as it was to wake Ishton, it wouldn’t be right. Blackmain decided that he should go for a ride instead.

Blackmain followed the same path as Julia to the paddock. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn’t notice the flattened grass from her passage. Blackmain did however notice Starless’ coat, far from its normal luster. It looked like someone had been riding him hard, and then had carelessly left the horse un-groomed. Blackmain growled under his breath, in both annoyance and anxiety. Starless never allowed anyone else to ride him. Blackmain touched the horse’s mind carefully, the sensitive horse often noticed him probing and objected venomously. He winced involuntarily; something Starless knew how to do was kick.

Starless’ memories were just beginning to form. A young woman had come out for a ride. She had left him like this because she didn’t know where the groom was. She had tried her best though, no need to be too angry. It must have been Julia! thought Blackmain to himself. She must have come out and ridden him while Blackmain was sleeping. But surely, Starless never let anyone else ride without Blackmain’s consent. Even Ishton, who was very good with horses, wasn’t allowed on Starless’ back. A nuisance sometimes, especially if something was to happen to Blackmain. It would be a shame to have to kill the horse because he had died too.

Blackmain probed deeper. But all he could get was a vague thought of “Blackmain-like”. Perhaps because he had rescued the girl? No, that wouldn’t account for it. It wasn’t possible that they were related. Blackmain still didn’t know who his mother was. Julia was from someplace else, a foreign princess. Her beauty did not fit in with the regular population. Her beauty, like Kolark’s. Starless could have sensed it in her. Kolark’s daughter? It couldn’t be. Kolark had always been able to ride Starless, but it was immediately obvious that Starless preferred Blackmain. Eventually, Starless had even completely rejected Kolark, especially after their relationship had started to disintegrate.

Julia, Blackmain mused, she was somehow related to him. A new thought: His daughter? Perhaps that was why he was having all these memories brought back. What could this new connection do to him though? This did not fit in well with their plan for her. How could she replace the old king if her father was a common man, like Blackmain? He wasn’t made to be a father. This wasn’t his role. Blackmain reassured himself, it wasn’t like she really needed one anyway, she was a full-grown woman now. If it was true, what then, what would they do? Ishton would have to be told of course.

Blackmain suddenly remembered that Julia was lying at home, still sleeping. Out cold on the floor in fact, because she had realized some of their plans. How would she react if they told her? Blackmain slowed his thoughts. It wouldn’t do any good. There was no proof that she was his daughter after all. Perhaps she would know more. That was it. But Kolark would not have told her the truth. It would have been too dangerous to admit it. It would have sparked off a war as the king of Naxos would have been insulted by receiving a bastard daughter in tribute if he had known.

Blackmain sighed. Why couldn’t life be simple? It was pretty absurd of him to expect a quiet life, he had chosen to be an assassin after all. He was getting old though, someone must be found to take his place. He would go looking for an apprentice tomorrow. It was rare for any practical trade to get new apprentices before winter, but there was a surprising amount of theory that needed to be covered before any fieldwork would be completed. He laughed at himself. The likelihood of finding anyone vaguely suitable was slim anyway. Not to mention a boy who would put up with a female and an elf being treated as equal in the house.

Assassins had to be choosy, one small slip would cost you your life. And it was a duty, which had to be served before everything else – including love. Being invisible, and upholding the proper values of the continent were the requirement. No chance of a normal life. Blackmain had his horses, but really, no-one knew who he was. That was a small price to pay for his freedom. Freedom? What was freedom? He was bound to protect the land and it’s people, the waiver he had signed when he was first apprenticed himself had squashed all ideas on normalcy. It wasn’t as if he could plan for his future. He was planning Julia’s future for her though, the next best thing. Was that right? What would she want? Ironically, Blackmain realized that he was indeed being her father by guiding her, living through her.

Blackmain looked up. It was getting late, and he had barely moved in the entire time with Starless. The horse stamped, aware that his master was paying attention to him again.

“Yes, let’s ride.”

Blackmain boosted himself on, and melded into the horse as they flew together down the path. The sun set as Blackmain and Starless rounded the crest for home. Ishton was standing in the doorway, observing them. Blackmain gave his friend a cheeky wave, maintaining his hold on Starless with his knees only. Ishton didn’t seem to notice, he returned inside the house.

The ride had cleared Blackmain’s head. He dismounted, and went to get the brushes from the rocky shelf hidden carefully nearby in the wall surrounding the property. He made up his mind to tell Julia where they were. If she liked horses, it was something else she could do when they were cooped up for the winter.

It was typical of elves to take many lovers. Ishton was an exception, he preferred to have only one person. This taste didn’t run to other elves, they bored him with their pretty speeches about sharing the birth of the children. He could understand that children were important, but he wasn’t willing to settle down yet. His pretty cousins could re-populate the Earth, they spent enough time with the humans to conceive.

Ishton was a typical elf, mainly appearing in his male form but preferring to take a female shape during intercourse. Humans had the silly idea that male partnerships were wrong as well, against the natural law. They hadn’t had the time to observe the animals in nature, it happened there. It wasn’t as if procreation wasn’t occurring when he was bonded as a male, he would be able to birth children in his female form. It was the joining with another soul that counted. Ishton didn’t see himself being that different from humans, except his long life and changeable nature. Both had evolved from the same creature, elves had just gotten the better of two bargains, able to give and receive.

It was an advantage to have both aspects available. Sexual pleasure could be taken in being female, although human lovers tended to be rough and abrasive. Being a male was more protective, stronger, faster, able to take pleasure in any kind of penetration.

The tales about the elves were mainly the product of overactive imaginations belonging to the human lovers. Having spent a wonderful night enjoying the elf’s female aspect, it was often a nasty shock to wake up next to an elven male. It was easier to explain away their horrified discomfort and shame by calling the elves ‘monsters’. Blackmain wasn’t ever like that. As a young boy, Blackmain had been confused because he felt equally attracted to both sexes. Ishton’s company had allowed him to explore, without generating rumours or having Blackmain get into more fights to preserve his manliness. Blackmain’s childhood hadn’t been conducive to priming him as a gentle lover. His internal anguish often overtook him in those early days, no ordinary female would have been able to withstand his violent wrath. Ishton was so much more hardy, another advantage. Even though he may have been in his female aspect, the strength carried over successfully from each change in shape. Pleasure and pain intertwined, inseparable just like Ishton and Blackmain were until Kolark.

Kolark had created a brief rift between the men, her heritage was unsuitable for Blackmain, and Ishton could tell that nothing good would come of the union. Blackmain insisted on pursuing her, his love for her growing stronger every day that passed without communion. Their one night of passion had resulted in Blackmain being exiled, and Kolark resigned to a backwater marriage. Blackmain’s brief happiness had granted him an unforgiving hatred of the royals in general when it was taken from him.

Blackmain had not thought of her until Julia had come, but now all the painful thoughts and memories seemed to be rushing back, as well as his desire for Ishton. Julia could be a problem, if she had any of those deep-seated human misperceptions. He would have to find some way of keeping her out of the house. Blackmain realized that he didn’t even know what she enjoyed. Something more to think about when he was awake. Blackmain drifted off to sleep, his thoughts carrying into his dreams.