Calis sighed. ‘All of this is suspect.’
Calin agreed. ‘I have stopped looking for reasons when it comes to the enemy.’ His eyes took on a distant look. ‘When your father first came here, after the Riftwar and in the years that followed, I presumed to think that the worst was behind us. The war with the Tsurani was over, and the risk from the moredhel and the open rift calling back the Valheru was at an end.’ He smiled a half-smile that Calis recognized as a mirror of his own. ‘I now realize that forces much more enigmatic and far more vast than I had imagined were involved.’
‘What do you mean?’ asked Calis, as he sat cross-legged at his brother’s feet.
‘Primal forces are moving, forces next to which the Valheru are minor annoyances. Other forces move to counter them, and I fear you and I, and those we love, may be crushed between them.’
‘Have these forces names?’
‘Many,’ said Calin. ‘I speak of the gods.’
‘The gods’ war?’ asked Calis.
‘It is the only explanation that fits all of what we know and still makes some sort of sense.’ The still-youthful-looking elf said, ‘Tomas and I have talked many times about his memories. He counts me among his oldest friends, from that time of the first visit to Crydee. Much of what Tomas remembers is colored by how Ashen-Shugar saw the universe and his place in it. Some of that was tempered by the magic Macros used to place my mind in bond with his, ages ago, but Tomas still must rethink much of what he presumed to be true.’
‘The Chaos Wars?’
Calin nodded. ‘We can speak of this at length tonight, after we dine with Mother.’
Calis got to his feet as his brother stood. Calis said, ‘I do owe her more of my time.’
‘It’s been years since we’ve had you here,’ said Calin, without any indictment, but clearly with regret. ‘It is easy to think we have ages, given our people’s heritage, but we both know how fragile life is.’
‘True,’ agreed Calis. ‘I promise that should we endure, I will return for a long visit.’
‘Why not to stay?’
Calis shrugged as they walked toward the Elf Queen’s court. As they passed through a series of small clearings, many elves who had not yet greeted the Queen’s younger son did so. Calis smiled and returned each greeting, but when the brothers were again alone, he said, ‘I do not know if my place is here. My life is neither human nor elf, nor Valheru.’
‘A legacy of magic,’ said Calin. ‘You must define yourself, for no one else has the wisdom to do it for you.’ He was thoughtful for a moment, then said, ‘Much as your father has had to do. As long as the mark of the Valheru exists, he will never be free of a certain suspicion.’
‘I understand,’ said Calis.
They moved into another clearing, this one loud with the voices of children at play. A half-dozen elven youngsters were chasing after a ball, kicking it back and forth.
‘Football? In Elvandar?’ asked Calis.
Calin laughed. ‘See those two over there?’ He pointed to twin boys, children Calis had never seen before.
‘Yes?’
‘They taught the others. They are from across the sea. Miranda brought them and their mother here. Their father is now in the Blessed Isles.’
‘Have many of those across the ocean reached us?’
‘Not enough,’ said Calin, as he resumed the walk. The ball shot toward them, and Calis deftly caught it on the instep of his left boot.
With a laugh, he kicked the ball high and stepped under it, bouncing it off his head a few times, then heading it back to one of the children, who caught it on a knee, bouncing it a few times as the other children ‘ooed’ and ‘ahed.’
‘I remember playing on Sixthday at Crydee with Marcus when I’d visit Grandmother and Grandfather,’ said Calis.
The twin who caught the ball on his knee kicked it to his brother, who passed it to a third child. The twins regarded Calis with suspicion. He said, ‘You two look very serious.’
When they didn’t reply, Calin said, ‘They struggle with their natural tongue.’
Calis nodded. In the dialect spoken in the Riverlands of Novindus, he said, ‘You play well.’
Instantly both boys’ faces were illumined with smiles. ‘Will you teach us how to bounce the ball on our heads?’ asked one.
Calis knelt and said, ‘I must leave first thing tomorrow, but someday I will come back and teach you.’
The second twin said, ‘Promise?’
Calis said, ‘I do.’ The boys turned and ran off to resume their game, and Calis turned to his brother. ‘They asked me if I was telling the truth.’
‘They grew up among humans. It has been very difficult for the ocedhel. They wrestle with what is natural to us. Learning our ways comes hard.’
Dryly, Calis said, ‘That I can understand.’
‘You will resolve your struggle,’ said Calin, as he motioned for his brother to continue the walk to the Queen’s court, ‘someday.’
Calis nodded, and silently added, ‘If I live that long.’