Delver Magic I: Sanctum's Breach by Jeff Inlo (ebook reader 8 inch .TXT) 📖

Lief’s voice, his expression, the emotion in his words carried the true dread of what lay in wait. His eyes drooped hollow, not from fatigue but from anticipation of the last leg of the journey. He peered through the rent upon the shifting shadows. He knew of the shadow trees, the horror connected with them. He, as most elves, knew his people still controlled the seeds, though he never believed they would ever use them again. They were beyond evil. They represented utter destruction, a weapon thats very existence bred fear as well as doom. He shook his head, as for the first time in his own lifetime, he witnessed the elves’ most abominable legacy.

Shame filled him as he spoke of the shadow trees. “The elves have always viewed the trees with great respect, but I won’t deny the truth when it comes to the history of our wars. We can be as cruel as any others. So cruel as to forcibly alter the trees themselves into the most horrible of weapons. It was a war with the dwarves that led to the creation of the shadow trees, a war my people were determined to win no matter what the consequence.”

Lief’s mind swelled with images of the legends, of what he knew from elflore. He thought of the ancient war with the dwarves. He found the need to explain it to both Dzeb and Ryson, a precursor to the confession of the sin of his race.

“Before the sphere, before Ingar, a conflict arose which even now will breed tension between allies. I am not aware of the cause of the conflict. That is apparently as much a secret as were the barriers placed within Sanctum. The actual war occurred so long ago that not even an elf remains alive that remembers the cause. The legend of the fighting, however, will live on forever.

“At the onset of the war, the dwarves were merciless. This by no means justifies the elves later actions, but it might help you understand them. The dwarves held a great advantage over the elves with their ability to use the ground in battle tactics. They would tunnel beneath elf camps and break through the surface at night, killing all. Elves would send war parties into the tunnels to extract revenge only to be trapped by cave-ins.

“It was this tunneling tactic which led to the elves making use of the trees in their daily lives. Traveling through the trees offered safety from the ground and from a dwarf warrior who might break through in a mere instant. The dwarves could not climb with any proficiency, so if the elves remained off the ground they remained relatively safe.

“Infuriated by this tactic, the dwarves began attacking the roots of the trees. They believed if they destroyed the forests around the elf camps, the elves would be forced back to the ground. Their scouts would locate camps, and their workers would immediately set upon destroying the roots of the trees. The elves watched in horror as the trees began to fall over with no root system to hold them in place. Elves began dying again, killed from terrible falls, crushed or impaled by breaking branches.

“This treachery stirred such hate in the elves it pressed them to devise a way to not only end the war, but to punish the dwarves. Elf generals would not be satisfied until they found a way to bring utter fear to every living dwarf. If the dwarves would attack elf homes, then the elf guard would find a way to destroy the dwarf underground cities. By no means do I wish to excuse or understate their actions. Every elf must accept the truth. It was the elf intention to create a weapon that would bring nightmares to the dwarves. Their anger pushed them to such lengths as to create the shadow trees.

“Remember, this war occurred before Ingar and his sphere. Magic still resided over the land. The magic was used with the elves’ great knowledge of nature to produce the end result. Elf sorcerers and elf naturalists worked together on cross breeding and magically altering the seeds of different trees. Their efforts proved quite successful.

“They developed a tree which did not feed upon the light, but upon darkness. That is all it needed. It did not need water and did not produce roots. It stood upon a flat solid base, but not attached to the ground. Thus, it could move. It would grow like a weed, suffocating out all other life. The darker the surroundings, the faster it would grow. A single seed would grow to maturity in less than half a season within a dark cave. If it was chopped down, its remains would produce more trees. It would spread like wild ivy, filling all open space. It was this dreadful creation that the elves used upon the dwarves.”

He stopped to consider the vast differences between the trees he loved, and the atrocities which waited below. He would have given near anything at that moment to see the streaming vines of a willow, or the proud leaves of an oak, but such a whim was not possible within the dark confines of Sanctum’s core. He continued, speaking through tight lips.

“Hundreds of the seeds were dropped down air vents into the dwarf capital of Kendren. Reports from dwarves that were lucky enough to escape revealed the power of this new weapon. In the meager light of the underground city, the trees grew quickly. The dwarves attacked them with their axes, but as I said, that only brought them more trees. Other facets of the trees became clear as they seized the city. As they began to consume all of the available space, they began to consume living creatures around them as well. The thick dark limbs would wrap around the captured dwarves, turning and shifting until the dwarf disappeared into the depths of its shadows.

“The trees also began feeding upon themselves. Yes, apparently inherently cannibalistic, the trees would consume each other. Size meant nothing. Small trees would devour large trees, large trees would consume small. What it did mean was more food.

“The increase in consumption led to an increase in growth rate as well as reproduction. One tree might have eaten another, but nearly instantly it would drop a dozen more seeds that would germinate that same day. The trees were also reaching maturity in days.

“The only known weakness of the shadow trees was direct light. Not manufactured light, not firelight, but natural light from the sun and stars. The underground cities, however, lacked such light. There was some. Sunlight was reflected through air holes and tunnels through the use of gemstones such as those used this night by Jon, but it was not enough. The city was too far underground, the light too weak. The reflected beams would only spare small areas from the onslaught of the shadow trees. The rest of the city could not be saved.

“Unable to stop the growth of the shadow trees, the dwarves sealed all points of entry to Kendren, including the smallest of air holes. Apparently many dwarves were buried alive, but there was no way to get to them to save them.”

Lief’s voice turned colder, revealing he found no pride in the war’s conclusion.

“The dwarves were forced to sue for peace. They could not fight the trees, and continued use of them would end their existence. The elves won the war, but even today we realize there was no honor in that victory.”

Lief stared into the hole before them, into the shifting shadows that waited below. “To this day, we still have seeds remaining from that war. We argue constantly over what to do with them. Most say they are too dangerous to hold onto. Others argue they maintain peace between the dwarves and the elves. Without them, they say the dwarves would consider renewing their attacks. Even as elves and dwarves continue to trade, make treaties, and share resources this day, I doubt either will ever truly trust the other.

“In any event, it has been revealed to me this night that the elves placed shadow trees as their defense of the elfin tier. This is the secret which Mappel held to, the secret he revealed to me and Holli on this night. I can only explain as it was explained to me.

“When Sanctum was constructed and the elves were asked to put the first barrier about the sphere, the shadow trees seemed to be the perfect solution.” Lief stuck out a long thin finger and pointed into the heart of the opening, into the depths of the darkness. “That is not only the last tier, it is the resting place of the sphere. There are no more levels below. The elves were given the greatest responsibility of Sanctum, the last line of defense.

“The elves in charge, however, were concerned with one other concern. They had to consider the threat of tunneling to get to the sphere. Only the dwarves had the power to tunnel through the granite rock beneath Sanctum and break through the diamond sheets that protect the floor and walls. Though the dwarves appeared most enthusiastic over entombing the sphere, the mistrust between elf and dwarf again resurfaced. The shadow trees would be used as a guarantee that no dwarf would ever enter the final tier. As I said, it seemed the perfect solution.”

Ryson peered long and hard into the reaches of the shadows in the tier below. He let his eyes adjust slowly to the shifting blackness. He let his ears tune to the nearly inaudible shuffling. As his senses bore down upon the shadows, he began to see the nightmare as it was explained to him.

The attributes of individual trees slowly became distinguishable. The deviant shades of the darkness were but the opposing distances between different trees. He could isolate thick black trunks as well as discern stunted jagged branches. The branches were filled at their tips by what appeared to be thick, dark sludge. It dripped off as the trees shifted. There appeared to be constant movement directly below. The trees closest to the opening, the ones now bathed in Ryson’s light, seemed determined to escape the illumination.

The delver witnessed more than one being seized upon by another tree waiting further off in the darkness. Thick but pliable branches of the attacker wrapped around the intended victim. Expanding as they encircled about the trunk of the captured tree, the branches exhibited a consistency more like that of soft rubber than of natural wood. The attacking tree pulled the ensnared tree closer and closer to its center. As the two trunks met, they merged into one. The remaining tree stood somewhat taller and slightly thicker as it dropped a clump of seeds from its outer most branches to the ground.

The sight did little to encourage Ryson of their chances. “How are we supposed to get through that?”

“The way is in your hand,” Lief said nodding to the sword. “The sword’s ability to reflect