Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #22 January 2016 | Page 34
“And then what?” Kythsharra asked quietly.
She met Keilara’s frank gaze calmly. “I’m serious,
Kei. Sooner or later, our parents will want us to have
our own home. How will you afford your food, your…
your needs?”
Keilara was quiet for a moment, mulling it
over. She had skills, enough to allow her to make a
living out of any of them. But it also meant staying
in one place, and she wasn’t sure if she could. She
kept feeling the Call, even after she had learned all
she could from Elder Sevin. She had hoped that once
she knew how to control it, to listen, that the Call
would stop. But it hadn’t, and she still felt pulled. The
direction was a vague east, and that was all she knew.
East was the ocean. Ahila was the capital, so
to speak, of the elven island. It was forbidden to leave,
unless one wished to be permanently exiled. Keilara
wasn’t sure she wanted to leave her family, give up
all she knew, and never return. Even if she could
convince the High Priestess to allow her to commute
back and forth from the unknown.
Oh, there were rumours of others who had
been willing to risk permanent exile from the elven
land, but it was so precise, so clear, that none were
welcomed to return. To leave Ahila, to leave the
elven people, was to invite exclusion for eternity. And
Keilara was not ready for that yet. Not yet. After all,
while she might not have gotten along with her father,
she loved her sisters and mother dearly.
“I don’t know,” Keilara admitted. She could
mend and make leather, hunt, and make arrows
with the best of them. Because of her skill with the
Wildsong, she was able to do more than the average
hunter. Oh, she could trade and barter the extra, earn a
bit of coin that way. But… it meant staying in place.
*I sense your heavy heart, daughter-mine,*
Shadowfire whispered into her mind.
*I don’t know what to do, Shadowfire. The
Call...*
*Yes. I can hear it through you. It is strong. It
must be answered.*
Keilara closed her eyes as she realized the
truth of that statement. When she opened her eyes, she
saw Kythsharra staring keenly at her. Despair flooded
Keilara’s bright eyes as she realized her sister likely
‘overheard’ the conversation.
“You’re leaving us, aren’t you?” Kythsharra
asked quietly, the moonlight silvering her golden hair.
Danaesy’s attention snapped to her older
sisters. “What? Why?”
“It’s… the Call,” Keilara said slowly. “I need
to know what is pulling me. It’s so clear, so strong, I
can’t keep ignoring it. What if it’s important?”
“But… t-that means...” Tears bloomed in
Danaesy’s dark blue eyes. “You’re leaving us. Exiling
yourself. You won’t be able to return home!”
“I’m sorry, Dany.”
“Is it because of Father?” Danaesy persisted.
“No. It’s the Call.” Keilara was firm. “Father
and I may not see eye to eye, but I wouldn’t leave
because of him. It’s the Call. There’s something urgent
about it. Kyth, do you hear it?”
“Faintly,” Kythsharra said. “But I can ignore
it.” She straightened, took Keilara’s hands in hers.
“It’s clear that you can’t, though. And you’re right…
there’s… an urgency to it. Like a distant scream.
Something out there needs to be answered.”
Danaesy let out a small cry. Instantly, Keilara
and Kythsharra gathered her in a comforting embrace,
and together, the trio released the tears they had been
holding back. The next day, Keilara was gone.
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