Chapter 42

Part 5

When everyone was in their places on the podium, the ribbons swirling in the air ceased their dancing to move together over the podium, forming the outlines of a round peaked roof above them, like an open-air gazebo, with some ribbons hanging down in six places around the edge, like support pillars that ended six meters above the ground. As the ribbons stilled, the orchestra finished their piece and fell silent.

As they had each led their parties and turned in opposite ways when they reached the second highest tier, Mark and Talia were separated for the moment by Dilimon, the aisle, Yazadril, Nemia, and Alilia. She shared one more smile with Mark before she gave her attention to Theramin, and then he did as well, when Theramin spoke.

His voice was magically enhanced, so that everyone in the chapel could hear him clearly, and he’d embellished his translation a bit. “Welcome one and all, gracious people of every elven nation, to an event of great joy and importance. We are gathered here today in peace and harmony, in this most revered place, to join two lives into one, and to join two hearts into one, with bonds and oaths of love and honor, proudly sworn in assembly to be witnessed by all.”

He paused before he asked; “Who speaks for the bride?”

Yazadril stepped up to the top tier and bowed to Theramin, who inclined his head in return. “I am the father of the bride, and I speak for her.” Yazadril announced, his voice strong, then he turned so that the crowd knew that he addressed them, and not Theramin. “I am Yazadril, Prince of The High People of The Nine Valleys. For eight thousand, four hundred and seventy-six years I have lived and loved and fought and survived upon this world, and so stand as Third Most Senior among all elves, and Most Senior among those who remain unretired, and in the full of their power and ability. I am First Battle Commander. I am First Wizard.”

He paused for a moment, and gazed intently around at the other Princes and Princesses, and at the circle of mighty wizards who were the bridesmaids and groomsmen, as if daring any to challenge his claims. Instead they all acknowledged his status with respectful nods. Then he returned his gaze to the crowd around him, where many were quietly exclaiming at the sudden change in his appearance and demeanor.

He waited another moment, and an incredible silence fell, so intent were the assembled on what he would say.

“I speak for Talia, my daughter by Nemia. She is fully of age to marry, and she comes to this marriage willingly, full of hope for the future.

“Most of you know some of the reasons for this marriage, but there are things you do not know, and there has been a great deal of foolish speculation. There have been untruths spoken that can lead to great harm, and so the truth must be known.

“The most important thing you must know is this; about one hundred and twenty years ago, a human wizard, acting from the vicinity of The Empire of Thon and The Kingdom of Yazzak, cast a curse upon myself and Princess Alilia of The People of Life. We were cursed that our children would slay each other. Yesterday the curse struck, killing Alilia’s son Bezedil and my daughter Dalia.”

He had to pause then, for a rising uproar of outrage had drowned him out, despite the chapel’s augmentation of the words spoken as part of the ceremony. He let them go on for a few moments, then added his own power to the augmentation and calmly spoke the single word; “Order.” The word boomed out, recapturing the attention of all. He continued. “My daughter Talia narrowly escaped death twice. The first was when she was driven by the curse to leap to her death from our home, immediately after the same had happened to Dalia and Bezedil. Yet she was caught and saved by Nemia, who was heroically aided in this by Jinimin of The High People, and he almost gave his life to help save my daughter.

“Jinimin, please let yourself be seen, for in the rush of events since then, I have yet to thank you for your courageous and selfless action.”

About thirty meters to Yazadril’s left, tiny twelve-year-old Jinimin was proudly lifted above the crowd by his mother to stand balanced on his beaming father’s shoulders as the two steadied him. Yazadril looked to him immediately, so everyone else did as well. He waved shyly to the crowd, a bashful smile showing beneath his light brown hair.

“Thank you, Jinimin, for your courage, and for my daughter’s life.” Yazadril graciously told him.

“You’re welcome!” was Jinimin’s friendly reply, and the crowd gave him a mighty cheer for his bravery and youthful charm. He waved around again, and then his father lowered him from view.

“But perhaps the curse was not finished yet.” Yazadril continued. “As all who were in First Valley saw, we cast a Reading upon Bezedil and were only able to read the last few seconds of his life, which implicated Talia in his death.

“This may have been affected by the curse, for if we had seen only a few seconds more, Talia would have been cleared of suspicion. As it was, Alilia was overcome with rage and grief, and would have killed Talia, were it not for a random factor that our hidden enemy could not have foreseen. And even the extent of Alilia’s rage may have been affected by the curse. It drove Dalia to leap to her death over what Bezedil had done, and Bezedil leaped because of what Dalia had done, so the curse was fulfilled by that, for it could be said that our children indeed caused each other’s deaths. Yet Alilia was filled with rage because of Bezedil’s death, and she almost killed Talia because of that. In the uncertain way of curses, I think the curse would have been fulfilled by that too, because indirectly, Talia would have died because of what Dalia and Bezedil had done.

“If Alilia had tried to kill Talia to revenge Bezedil, Nemia and I would have defended our daughter, with our lives if need be. If that had happened, at least one of us would almost certainly have been killed, perhaps all of us. And if that had happened, it is quite likely that there would now be a state of war between The High People and The People of Life.

“We believe that that was the true purpose behind the curse that our children were to slay one other; to sunder the friendship between Alilia and I, to sunder the alliance between our peoples, and to bring war between our peoples; elf killing elf due to outside interference. I have seen it happen many times before; a war is triggered between two peoples by an outside third party who acts in secret, hoping to be able to step in after the devastation and control all.

“But that did not happen.

“The day before yesterday, the young man who is my daughter’s groom approached the Wards on the border of our lands at the southern pass into First Valley. His name is Mark Longstrider, and he was seeking no more than a high vantage that faced south, so that he could assess the lay of the land in that direction, as he planned to continue traveling that way. At the time, I was near, meditating in my glade of contemplation, and I detected his approach. I also detected that he has completely unique magical properties, and so I observed him without his detecting me, and allowed him to pass within. I cast a Reading on him, and learned that he was completely unaware of his unique properties, and that he was an honest and honorable individual. All who know me can attest to my skill at casting such Readings, and to my judgment of character, and to my record of honesty. Contrary to many rumors I have heard today, there is absolutely no chance that he is other than what he seems, or that he arrived here with a hidden agenda to do any of us harm.

“I approached him, and I asked him to stay so that I could study his magical properties, and he agreed.

“I wanted another wizard who could wield a great deal of the power to help me study him, and so when I returned to my home I called Alilia, who agreed to help me with it. Her son Bezedil came as well, and that gave the curse against our children its chance to strike.