4.

Everything was quiet when I took over the watch from Artemis. The horse had fallen asleep as well, lying on the ground. As I sat in the shadowy corner of the entrance from the old barn, I saw the sun sinking into the west and my eyes became heavy. I must have fallen asleep, for next I remember, I woke up by a sound. Hoof beats coming from afar. First I thought I imagined it. But then I heard it again. I woke up Artemis and saddled the horse. You’re right, they found our track. We must leave now! Artemis exclaimed in horror.

I had slept until nightfall. When we emerged from the broken barn, I saw it was a clouded sky again and knew it was going to rain sooner or later. We trotted away from our hiding place. I quickly looked at the map and with my compass, I found out that we had run northwest, so I adjusted our course a little to the east. This time Artemis refused climbing in the saddlebag, and run alongside me. “Don’t be stubborn, it’s a long run. Climb in that bag!” I yelled at him while we were running. No! I’m a wolf! Not a pet you can put in your bag. A wild wolf!

Sure, you are, I thought.

I can hear you! I frowned at him at let the horse run faster. I heard Artemis growl frustrated and saw him make a leap to keep up. Not much later I saw two of the Hunters catching up with me on the left and two on the right. They came closer, aiming their crossbows at me. I lay low on the neck of the horse. The arrows started flying past us again. I send the horse to the left, running through the ditches along the meadows and grain fields. Some farmers who were working on their fields, jumped aside in fear. With their mouths slightly ajar, they stared after us. We still ran on. The sun was rising higher in the sky but our pursuers didn’t give up the chase. To the left! Without hesitation, I send the horse to the left and we ran into a small forest. I swayed the horse around the trees trying to shake off the Hunters. It kind of worked. The Hunters fell behind. But not for long. The moment we raced into grassland again, two of the Hunters regained their speed and caught up with me. Artemis jumped on one of them, tearing at his flesh. The man yelled and tried to get rid of the small wolf hanging on his back. He fell behind. But the second one, rode next to me. In the distant I saw a crossroad dooming up in the sky. It was crowded by people, carts, woman and man on horse. Even from this distant I could hear the loud chatter of people. It was the three-way intersection to the biggest city of the Ancestral Region. Westray. The main city of the west. The place where the king lived, where now his youngest son ruled. Following his father’s demands. The Hunter bumped against us, I regained my balance and tried to send my horse to the right. Coming closer and closer towards the crossroad. I turned around and saw Artemis coming up behind me. Then the man grabbed my tunic and dragged me of the horse. The horse, completely startled by this sudden movement, raced into the opposite direction and I fell off. Landing hard on the ground. All the air pushed out of my lungs. Artemis jumped over me and attack the Hunter who had come to a halt. With his knife, he tried to stab Artemis. I grabbed my sword and run towards him. He was too busy fighting off my wolf, that he didn’t saw me coming. I struck him hard with the pommel on the side of his head. His eyes rolled inside his head and he lost consciousness. Behind me I heard shouts and saw the other two Hunters galloping towards us. Into the crowd, I ordered Artemis with my thoughts. And we ran. Towards the crowded crossroad.

It was like hitting a big fog cloud. All senses were suddenly stunned. It was noisy and people were pushing everybody aside to make way through the crowd. We tried to get across it, but it was nearly impossible. I was small and light weighted. Everybody pushed me aside or bumped up against me. I heard people cursing each other, shouting to get out of their way. Horses whinnying, dogs barking. To many sounds, to many people, to little space. I felt suffocated. I heard the Hunters yelling at the people to get out of their way and I hid between a group of minstrels making their way towards the castle walls. Getting into the group was easy, freeing yourself from it wasn’t. Artemis and I were pushed forward towards the castle walls. Not able to get past all the people. The Hunters coming up behind us. “There! Between the Minstrels! Get her!” I heard one of them yell. The minstrels parted shockingly aside when they understood that they wanted me. I suddenly had the space again to run. And darted off towards the castle walls. The only way to get back into the crowd. I made my way through a group of merchants, hid behind a cart for a while, until I saw a group of monks walking. I pulled my cloak closer around me, my hood hiding my face and blended myself into the group of monks. Artemis followed me, hiding under the cart. We’re heading towards the gate!

No time to turn around now, I answered, we’ll find a way out again.

The Hunters were pushing everybody aside, but couldn’t find us. “Check everyone at the gate! No one enters or leaves this city without me knowing of it!” One of the Hunters ordered the guards. They ran towards the city gates. Me and Artemis were almost there. Artemis, be prepared, they’re going to check under the cart!

Don’t worry, Wen. They won’t see me.

I bowed my head and looked to the ground as I walked closely after the monks. Close enough to be part of it, but not too close for them to notice me. We approached the great walls of Westray and the immense gate, protecting the inhabitants from the outside world. The big gate consisted of big oaken wooden doors, braced with iron from the inside and outside. Now the doors were wide open and you could see the complicated mechanism that would seal this gate. Above the entrance was a portcullis they could lower with a wheel on the right. On the wall were archers marching up and down, looking out over the wide land. Constructions of huge iron pots were placed on the outside of the wall. Probably to lower a wave of boiling tar. Now the pots were empty, no steam was rising from it. But the archers and the guards by the doors, held their weapons at the ready. As if they could be attacked at any moment. I came closer and closer to the gate, until I walked underneath it. The sun disappeared for a moment. The guards, who were ordered to check every passenger, looked intensely at us. I lowered my head and walked closer to the group. This time my small size saved me. The guards nodded a greeting towards one of the first monks and let us pass. As I expected they did stop the cart where Artemis was hiding underneath. I listened, but heard no surprise or angry shouts from the guards. I didn’t know how he had done it. But I was proud and happy he was here with me in this maze of a city. After we passed the guards I dared to look up and exclaimed words of wonder. I had never seen this city in my life. I just heard the stories of its immensity and beauty like every other country girl. I knew there were many districts. This was probably a middle-class district by the look of it. All the stories of Barnabas about this city came back to me. Around the city was the big wall with immense gates. Along the wall, houses were built for middle classes. Most of them were rich merchants as far as Barnabas knew, they actually wanted to live close to the centre of this immense city, but as there was no space to build any new buildings there, they settled here on the borders of the city. All the buildings looked almost the same. White stonewalls with blue roofs. The city had three gateways. One of them in the east, near the three-way intersection, where I just had entered Westray. one of them in the south, towards the temple of Herdus and the last one in the west by Tradersbay. The harbour of Westray and the most important trading place. Here big merchant ships anchored from lands across the ocean. Between the middle class outer buildings and the main city in the middle, lived the poor people as Barnabas described them. Among them walked the beggars and vagabonds of this city. The houses there were simple but still had their charm. Only the streets were muddy. There were some stone streets that led up to the main city, but the side tracks were most of the time muddy and dirty. The people there walked in simple common clothes. Not all of them wore simple clothes, the, some bit, richer people were trying to wear the latest fashion. Only of poor quality. They made their money for example by forging weapons and armours, or wood carvings and more. Closer to the main city, you could find rich shops and rich people walking in fancy clothes, strolling over the clean big streets. Their houses were huge with small windows, decorated with carved stone or wooden figures. Most of the houses were white with blue roofs, but a few houses of the riches persons had Bordeaux red roofs and fancy carvings along the wall. According to Barnabas, these were the oldest buildings of the city. The newer ones all got blue roofs. Flowers hang outside the windows, and the streets were coloured with their beautiful leafs. When you walked further to the west, the houses became more darker and simpler. The closer you came to the harbour the more warehouses you came across. The warehouses were simple stone buildings, with flat roofs. The houses you came across also had the Bordeaux roofs. When the sun would rise in the sky, or fall, these roofs would give an intense red, orange coloured light. To the north was the Kings castle. This castle was the most impressive building of all. Around the castle was still some green. The gardens of the king. The big walkway upwards towards the castle on the hill were sided by big oak trees. The castle existed of a combination of white stones and simple red ones, the roof was Bordeaux red, except for the new parts of the castle that had the white stones and dark blue roofs. The walls were decorated with stone figures of eagles and mythological creatures, such as phoenixes. When the sun shone upon the roofs of this beautiful castle, it illuminated everything around itself with a beautiful light. Just like the orange sky of the falling sun in the ocean, with the dark blue twinkling like the sea itself.

But now it was the middle of the day, and I had no time to look beyond what was coming towards me. Three armed men walked towards the gate. Everyone jumped aside and made way as they approached. Everybody avoided eye contact. The armed men were wearing shiny plate armour of white silver. On their chest, they wore the insigne of the king. A black eagle rising up in the sky, holding white, war arrows in his left claw and a white lightning bolt in his right one. The soldiers had white cloaks, covered with silver lines and their faces were hidden behind a helmet with eagle wings. Their eyes, looking like two black holes and no mouth. They all wore long, small knifes along their side. One of them had a huge two-handed sword on his back. The other wore a crossbow and a fancy long sword. The last one also had a long sword on his side and two short swords crossed on his back. I couldn’t imagine how they could fight in that armour and still they walked so elegant in it. As if it weighted nothing and their moving’s weren’t obstructed at all by their armour. I’d heard of these warriors. They were fearsome and had no mercy. They were the Kings guards. I knew Thalor was a former kings guard. And I knew his fighting skills were fearsome. There were but a few times I’d defeated him. But somehow something told me, he had let me win. These men were trained since they were ten-year-old boys. And the training was harsh. Most of them failed, but some succeeded and became Silver Soldiers also known as the Kings guards. The first high king Talron, started training his Silver soldiers when he feared to be attack by mages. He first trained them himself. So, when the young boys heard that the king wanted to create an army, trained by the greatest sword fighter of the Ancestral Region, the high king himself, they immediately participated and started to be part of the trainings. When Talron grew older, he chose several of his Silver Soldiers to train the young boys. How the boys were chosen is still a question. But rumour has it, that most of them are parentless, street boys or offspring of other Silver Soldiers.

Shivers ran up my spine. You didn’t want these soldiers as your enemy. And yet I had the feeling I just made them my enemy. The one with the big two-handed sword, grabbed and random stranger by his shoulder and lowered his head to ask something. The poor man, shaking from fear, shook his head heavily. I reached the first streets of the city with the group of monks. And knew I had not much time to hide myself. I saw one of the Silver Soldiers looking at us. I more felt than saw his eyes narrow in distrust. Just in time I felt Artemis soft fur strike against my leg. I looked down and saw him disappearing in an alley. I followed him stealthily. But apparently not stealthy enough. For I heard one of them call: “Stop in the name of the high king Edmund!” I ran. With Artemis at my heals I ran. I had no idea where to. But I ran. As fast as I could. Running from alley to alley, shadow to shadow. Sometimes I stopped and tried to calm my heavy breathing as I anxiously looked around me. I don’t know where I ended up at some point. But I saw a small, almost empty tavern in one of the muddy streets. This was probably the “poor” district. I opened the door and walked in with Artemis. The room was quiet. No music, the people were whispering with each other. There was a fire place burning in the corner of the room. And when you walked in, you immediately walked against the bar. An old man dressed in simple, outworn clothes walked towards me. He had a chubby face with a dirty beard and heavy eyebrows. He looked far from friendly. Cleaning some of his cups. He leaned over the bar to look down at me. “What can I get you, little miss,” he snorted. His fowl breath made me want to walk straight out of this place. I pulled up my nose and answered: “I seek shelter for the storm.” I don’t know why I said I was seeking shelter for a storm, but I needed an excuse to hide in here, before the Silver soldiers would find me. The old man, scratched his dirty beard and looked confused at me. “Take a seat, little miss. I’ll see what I can do for you.” Strange answer but alright. I took a place in the corner of the room. Artemis curled at my feet, but kept his watching glare over the rest of the room. Some people in the room looked a little frightened by the wolf, but most just looked weird at me. As if I was some sort of freak. Let them stare, I didn’t care. I held my fingers crossed and hoped that the Silver soldiers had lost my track. After waiting for what felt like an hour, some strange figure pulled a chair towards the table and sat across me. Artemis made a low growl, but the man didn’t seem to be impressed. He was wearing a long black, cloak with a simple dark coloured tunic. And trousers with leather riding boots. His gloves were missing the tops so that you could see his blackened nails. His eyes were hidden under his hood, but his mouth stood in a small grin. He had a clean-shaven chin, no moustache or beard of any kind. I couldn’t see what kind of weapons he was wearing, if he was wearing any, but somehow, I knew he had them. He laid his hands on the table and leaned a little forward. Licking his lips before he spoke. “You were seeking shelter hé?” his voice sounded young and he had a slightly strange foreign accent. He wasn’t from the ancestral Region. Maybe, someone from the northern countries, beyond the mountains. I let my hand rest on my sword. “Who are you?” I asked, trying to make my voice as steady as I could. He grinned, I probably had failed trying to hide my fear. “Names are not important little fox. You are running from the Silver soldiers, right?”

That shocked me a little. “What makes you say that?” I asked in return.

He leaned backwards and I felt his gaze look me up and down. “The Silver soldiers are looking for a small country girl with pointy ears. I believe I just found her here.” I betrayed myself by slightly touching my ears. His grin widened. “I’ve never seen you in this city before, and we know all our people. So, what did you do that the most fearsome soldiers are hunting you on your first day here in this city?”

Artemis growled, that’s not his business.

“Hush,” I spoke softly and stroke Artemis. The man didn’t move. “It’s not important what I did. It’s more important how I can safely leave this city without harming anyone.”

The man moved in his chair, crossed his hands and bowed his head a little. I could almost see his eyes. Two sparkling eyes. Young eyes. This man wasn’t much older as I was. “I can give you the safety you’re looking for. But need something in return.”

I didn’t trust this man. But knew I had no chance to escape by myself. I needed help. Still it was strange that a random stranger would offer me any help. “Why do you want to help me, stranger?” He leaned back, his grin disappeared and he licked his lips. “You asked for my help, little fox, when you told the barman you were seeking shelter for the storm. I assumed you knew what that meant?” I didn’t, but I could guess what it meant. Some sort of cult.

“You work alone?” I asked.

He shook his head. “So, I assume you had no idea what that sentence meant. I am part of a guild. You might know them. The Black Hawks.” Everybody knew the Black Hawks. It was the thief’s guild. Nobody understood how this guild survived, some say they help the high king so now and then. Others say their lair is now so big, that it doesn’t only have a centre here in Westray and therefore it’s almost impossible to wipe out the entire cult. I knew from Barnabas notes that the thief’s guild would help any person as long as you’d do something or gave them something they needed. Even though it was a thief’s guild, they had not only master lock pickers, but also assassins people could hire for a certain amount of money. According to Barnabas there were three leaders. Hawkeye, he was the oldest thief in the thief’s guild and the most skilled one. Deathrose also named as Lady Rosemary, a lovely lady who was secretly working as a spy for whoever might need her. Nobody but Barnabas knew that Deathrose and Lady Rosemary were the same person. Barnabas knew for he had written that he’d helped Deathrose escape from the dungeons and become Lady Rosemary. He also wrote that he had heard that Hawkeye and Deathrose got married shortly after she had escaped. And then you had the last one. The Basilisk, he was the snake among snakes. The most wanted assassin of this kingdom. He was known for his cruel murders that looked like suicide. He loved to frighten his victim before killing it. The story goes that he would leave three play cards behind on a place where only the victim would find them. The first card would be a random number, the second card would be the jack and the third was a self-made card with a skull and a knife sticking out of it. The first card would show you how many days you had still left before he would come. The jack was a card nobody really understood. But rumour had it that Jack was his original birth name. He would always place that card among the three cards so that people would know that it was the Basilisk that would come to kill them. And the last card meant death of course. Why the thief’s guild actually existed for, nobody really knew. But the High king never seemed to find their lair. But all knew that when you’d enter this city, the Black Hawks would know who you were, what you were and where you came from.

“If I would agree with this, what would you want in return?” I asked suspiciously. He licked his lips again before answering: “I’m not the one who decides that.” His grin widened for a second. Artemis growled low from under the table. I do not trust this man, he spoke to me.

Me neither, buddy, I stroke his warm fur.

“My apology for the misunderstanding, nevertheless will my wolf and I find shelter ourselves, thank you.” I wanted to stand up, but the man grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards him. “Are you sure?” he asked, pointing at the window. I looked outside and fear struck me again. Two of the silver soldiers were talking to a commoner. Damn, buddy, they found us! The young man let go of me and sat down again, his arms crossed. He enjoyed the terror that was rising inside me. “They’ll soon knock on this door, little fox.” He smiled. A satisfying smile. “Alright!” I hissed at him. “Take us to safety and I’ll give you what you want.”

“Good, follow me,” he hissed back at me. As swift as a fox he stood up and walked towards the stairs that led up to the bedrooms of this small inn. Artemis and I followed him. The people in the room didn’t pay much attention to us and kept on talking and drinking. Like nothing strange was going on. Maybe all of them were connected somehow to the thief’s guild. The young stranger crouched under the stairs, pushed a heavy chest aside and pulled a lever, hidden behind a brig in the wall “What? Where…” I couldn’t finish my question for he looked angry back at me, raising his finger to his lips. Even though his face was partly hidden in the shadows of his hood, I could still feel his angry glare. When he pulled the lever down, I heard a click from under the stone plate on the ground. I looked closer and saw that the stone could easily be pulled off the ground now. It stood slightly ajar. That was exactly what the young man did. It was pitch black down there. “Jump in,” he ordered me, whispering in my ear. I took a deep breath, slicked my fear away and tried to calm my beating heart. “Hurry up, we don’t have much time!” he pushed me a little closer to the black hole. Gawking up at me like an open mouth, ready to swallow me. Artemis pushed his way towards the hole and jumped down. I heard him landing on the ground with a soft splash. Except for the water, it’s safe and okay for now, he reassured me. I thanked him and jumped down as well. The stranger followed us swiftly, after carefully hiding the lever behind the brig. After he landed with a splash in the water, he started feeling the walls. Until he pulled something out of the shadows. It was a ladder. With the help of the ladder he pulled the chest and the stone plate back in their place. Hiding the entrance for unwanted eyes. I could hear the silver soldiers talking to the owner of this inn, right before the entrance was closed off and we were put in total darkness. For a moment I panicked again, but the young man was prepared and lit a candle to enlighten our surrounding. We were in the underground tunnels from Westray. The walls around us and the ceiling were made of stone, the ground on the other hand, was dirt. Water seeping in from underground currents. The air was heavy and the walls were green from the moss. Artemis pulled me out of my thoughts and I quickly followed the young man with his candle and only light. “What is this place?” I asked him. He didn’t even look back at me when he answered. “This, little fox, is the underground city. These corridors used to be above the ground. But a huge earthquake many years ago, covered it up with dirt. We have re-established the tunnels and the city. We strengthened the walls and build the ceilings, so no dirt can come in here anymore. At some places, we even have established the floor with new stones. But especially the older corridors like these, are still covered with dirt and rats. Take a look at the walls. You can easily distinguish our materials with the previous materials used on this wall.” He moved the candle closer to the walls. And what I saw was magnificent. The old stone was decorated with pictures and weird signs. The same signs on my mother’s music box. The beautiful images were broken and some were not complete, mixed with the simple cement and stone we used to build our houses. “You’ll be more astounded when we reach the city, little fox.”

We seemed to walk for hours. There was no end to the underground tunnels. Several times we took a turn to the left or the right. If it wasn’t for this young stranger, I would have gotten lost in this maze. Everywhere the walls had the same decoration, partly obscured by the simple, new stones that sustained the walls and ceiling. Preventing it from collapsing upon us. I wondered what kind of creatures lived here. They were definitely not human, for the humans couldn’t make such beautiful paintings. It wasn’t their style. The candle, the stranger was carrying was slowly diminishing. “Do you have another one?” I asked while I groped for a new one in my own backpack. Damn, it must have fallen out of it when we left in such a hurry. “This is the last one. I believe I took a wrong turn somewhere.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. “We’re lost?!” I heard him grumbling something in return. “We’re not lost. I know these tunnels like the back of my hand,” he snarled back at me.

“So, there’s no map of this place?”

“No map has ever been made. We keep these tunnels a secret. You learn these tunnels by heart until you can blindly find your way in here,” he answered. The candle was now at its lowest point. Soon we would be put in total blackness again. With no light to rekindle a candle. “How will we find our way with no light?” I started to get a little irritated by him. He seemed to pretend he knew everything, while I could see in the way he looked by every corner, that he too had no idea where we were. “We just follow the walls,” just when he said that, the candle burned up. “Put your hand on the wall and follow the sound of my footsteps,” he commanded me. I did as I was told and put my hand on the wall. Artemis still walked beside me, I could feel his fur so now and then, strike my leg. The second I put my hand on the wall, something unbelievable happened. The drawings and signs on the wall started to lit up. The light spread from the palm of my hand to the far ends of the wall. It was a cold moon like light that enlightened our faces. The stranger put off his hood and for the first time, I could see his complete face. He looked extremely surprised and a little horrified at me. His black hair was wild, I could see he put it in a warrior’s tale. But still lose bits of hair, fell over his small face. He was indeed not much older as I was and pretty handsome, except for the scar on his left cheek. His blue eyes became even brighter by the vague moon like light. His horrified fear struck me like an arrow and I quickly let go of the wall, surrounding us with complete darkness again. Wen? I heard Artemis soft voice in my head. I think you should arm yourself.

I… but, even in my head I didn’t know how to react. “What did you do, little fox?” his voice had become cold and threatening, tinged with a little fear.

“I… I don’t know,” I answered hesitantly.

“Don’t play tricks with me, girl.” He threatened me. “I honestly don’t know!” I raised my voice in despair.

I heard him take a deep breath and he sighed. “Do it again,” he whispered. I could barely hear what he said. “Do it again!” he suddenly yelled when I didn’t respond. I quickly put my hand on the wall again and the room lit up in its white, moon light. The young man had covered his face again with his hood and walked on. “Don’t let go of the wall,” he strictly ordered me. I saw Artemis’ muscles relax a little next to me and he walked on. Do you know something of this, buddy? I asked him. He was way to calm for something magical like this. I only know that these streets, and probably this city where were heading too, once belonged to the elves, he answered. It didn’t really reassure me. Somehow, I had the feeling, he wasn’t telling me everything. But why would he keep it a secret? Because sometimes, things are not clear and before I start speculating I want good evidence to confirm my theory, Artemis intruded my thoughts. Argh, I always forgot that he could read my mind whenever he wanted to.

We walked on in silence for a while. After some time, the young stranger stopped and looked back at me. “I have to admit, I don’t know where we are at all.” I was tired and hungry. My stomach growled and now we were also lost. Fade was against us. “How long have we been walking?” I asked the man. He took a small notebook from his pocket and started counting. “If my calculations are right, then I think it’s already late in the evening,” he sighed. “I think we have to sleep here for the night.” I looked around. In the middle of what used to be a street, lay a small pool of water. It was slowly moving in the direction where we came from. Water always fell downhill. “Where is this city? Up the hill or down?” I asked curiously.

“Up why?” he asked while he was searching through his backpack for something. “For then we walk the right way to our destiny. The water is running downhill, towards the place where we just came from,” I explained. He shrugged. “Almost all tunnels lead up the hill. There but a few restored tunnels downhill. Your clever thinking is not of much use here.” I looked irritated away and started investigating the wall. The carvings were beautiful. I could see through the cracks and holes, that these carvings told stories. Probably of the history of this town. The weird signs on top that looked like letters were lit up as well. Buddy, how will we ever find that city? Unintentionally, I pushed the thought towards the wall. And in response I heard one word bouncing through my head. Cárassea.

What was that? Artemis, did you hear that too?

Yes, Wen, I heard it too. It was the wall, look. I looked back at the wall and saw a few elvish runes were lit up. And together they made the word Cárassea. “Carasie? What does that mean?”

You pronounce it as Kaarasie, Wen. “What are you whispering about, little fox?” the young man walked towards me and looked at the wall as well. “A word is spelled here, Cárassea.”

“What does that mean?” he asked. I shrugged. I wouldn’t know. I didn’t speak elvish. Did I?

I heard the voice of my mother and someone else. I remember I used to eavesdrop whenever my mother had visitors. They would speak in an extraordinary, magnificent language. This was it. This was that language. It was as if my mother spoke for me when I answered: “City, it means city.”

The young stranger touched the wall softly. “I wonder what language this is. And how do you understand this?” I followed the shape of the letters with my finger as I explained: “I think it’s the language of the elves. How I understand is a mystery for me too. The language just speaks to me. I just understand. I don’t know how else to explain this.”

The man stayed quiet for a while, lost in thought. Wen, the wall speaks to us. Maybe it can help us find this city? That wasn’t a bad idea. What is this city called by the elves? I asked Artemis.

“Armenelos,” the young man answered our conversation. As if he had heard us talking. “That is the name of this underground city, before it was destroyed many years ago. I found that name when I was looking for a map of this maze. And I came across some old scrolls from human mages. They said there used to be elves living here. But after a natural disaster, the city was buried underneath the earth. Many lives were lost, nevertheless the elves wanted to rebuild the city. Unfortunately, the humans were stronger and used this catastrophe to take the elves’ homeland. There wasn’t much information about this quick war and I remember that underneath was written that this story was just a myth. I, too, always believed elves were fairy tales. But then I found some notes. They told me the elves had moved away to..”

“Erandur, the city near the lake of the Anduîn. They rebuild their beloved city and renamed it. Now this city is inhabited by human farmers and the elves disappeared more than 350 years ago.” The young man looked startled at my knowledge of his findings. “Yeah, how did you..” he started his question, but I interrupted his question with my answer.

“My father used to tell me those stories. I was still very small, but I always hoped that these fairy tales were more than just fairy tales. Even though we grew up knowing that magical creatures such as elves or giant eagles didn’t exist.”

“I believe they do exist, now. But that they are afraid to show themselves. For humans are cruel creatures. They destroy everything unfamiliar to them.” I quietly agreed with him. We were silent for a while, just staring at the wall until the young man broke the silence. “How did you do that? Lit up that word?”

“I thought about it and then it resounded in my head, gleaming off the wall,” I explained.

I tried that tactic again. Show us Armenelos, please. The name of the city resounded in my head and one by one the name was spelled by the wall.

“Now it says Armenelos. Do you think that the wall can bring us to the city?” he asked. I shrugged. “I can try and ask the wall.” It sounded so stupid. Asking the way from a wall. But wasn’t this already magical enough? I should believe in it. I brought my wandering mind back to the wall and focused. We are lost. Could you show us the way to your city? Nothing happened. Artemis howled softly. Then I heard many whispers. All were saying to Armenelos, straight on, to Armenelos, follow us, to Armenelos. Repeating the same things over and over again. “It’s showing me the way, follow me!” I exclaimed in excitement. With my hand on the wall, I did as the voices told me. I followed them. Artemis and the young man running along behind me. It wasn’t a long walk to find the city. At some point the voices stopped and I heard the young man’s relief in his voice when he said: “Welcome to Armenelos, the city of starlight.”

I let go of the wall, but this time we weren’t surrounded by the dark. The city was enlightened by at least a thousand torches. Glittering like tiny stars in a dark blue sky.