Not sure what was happening, Hyden fumbled for his words. “You…Uh…You saved my cousin’s life. You…You owe me nothing.”
“Your cousin wasn’t going to die, Hyden Hawk,” The elf said, matter-of-factly. “I merely quickened his healing, and saved him the pain of having the arrowhead removed with a blade.”
A gurgling scream rose above the surrounding clamor and drew all of their attention. The number of people still fighting near that end of the archery field had decreased dramatically, but only because so many now lay dead, or dying, on the grass. At one end of the battle, a blood soaked man in merchant’s clothes was on his knees. He was clutching what looked like a young girl’s broken body. Another man stumbled aimlessly around the carnage, carrying a severed arm in one hand, and a small dagger in the other. His head and face was covered in blood, and he appeared to be lost. Some of the Redwolf soldiers waded in, braving the smaller numbers of combatants, to try and separate the fighting groups, but the effort seemed futile at best.
“They will not stop until there is no one left to kill,” Vaegon said sadly. Hyden could tell that the elf was speaking about more than just the skirmish before them. He meant that this was only the beginning of something far bigger, and more destructive.
“The arrow that almost killed you, was loosed by men flying the Blacksword of Highwander,” Hyden said.
He wasn’t sure why it mattered. He just figured that the elf would want to know who had tried to kill him. He noticed then that all the contempt had faded from the elf’s expression.
“You’re sure of this?” Vaegon asked, without turning his eyes from the fighting.
“I saw them on the rise, there.” Hyden pointed to the place beyond the targets, where he had seen them. He noticed for the first time, several dark plumes of smoke rising up from the Ways beyond.
Vaegon said something to his brother and father in the elven tongue, and then he listened as his father responded. While they spoke, Hyden looked towards his people. It seemed that they, and the three elves, were the only factions in all of Summer’s Day that were not fighting.
“Fare thee well Hyden Hawk,” Drent said, with a slight bow. “I hope we see each other again in better times.”
Dieter didn’t say anything to Hyden. He scowled, as he gave his brother a quick hug. There was no mistaking that the look was for the human that his brother now owed his life to. The two elves wasted no time starting off towards where Hyden had pointed out the original attackers. Vaegon gritted his teeth as he watched them go.
Hyden was about to explain to the elf that his people needed him, that he had to help them gather up their belongings, and make the journey back into the mountains, when the sun was abruptly eclipsed. Shadow enveloped them like a shroud. It was as if night had come in the middle of the afternoon.
Talon leapt from Hyden’s shoulder. At first, it appeared that the little hawkling would flutter straight to the ground, but about halfway down, his wings caught air. A few flaps later, Talon was flying like an arrow towards the target stands.
Fighting to breathe in the thick cloud of smoke that had blown over them, Hyden searched for the bird. He spotted him perched on one of the targets over fifty feet away, and marveled at the distance the little chick had flown. Thinking the bird had exhausted itself, he strode off to get it. A light breeze dissipated some of the smoke and allowed a bit of sun to find its way to them. A single ray, brighter than the rest, spotlighted Talon. Vaegon, with his keen elven sight, pointed this out to Hyden. The illuminating sunshine held on the hawkling, while all around it, varying degrees of shadow churned and roiled with the breeze. When Hyden and Vaegon were a few paces away from the target, the bird leapt into the air again, and flew even farther away.
Hyden glanced back at his clansmen. His father was holding his mother around the shoulders, comforting her at the edge of the huddle. Hyden was sure that she hadn’t taken Gerard’s departure well, and that his own presence would help ease her worry, especially after she had seen a few hundred people get massacred only a stone’s throw away. His weren’t kingdom folk. They didn’t understand battle on a large scale. War was something Berda talked about in her tales, a thing as vague and incomprehensible as fairy trees, ocean waves, and sea ships. He wanted to go to them. His people needed him, but Talon was leading him away. Deep inside himself, he felt the pull of the hawkling. He knew without a doubt that it was his destiny to follow the bird. The feeling was overwhelming.