Free The Revenge of the Elves by Gary Alan Wassner Page B

Chosen in this. Robyn seemed not to know anymore than we do about the Lalas’ deaths.” Elion looked at her sideways, hoping she could shed some light on this.
    “We must ask them about it,” Tomas said. “We have to try and understand what we can expect of them in the times ahead. I am a Chosen. I know as little as you do. It’s no surprise Robyn knows nothing more.”
    “Tomas? Why haven’t you asked Ormachon?” Elion questioned. He rarely intruded into the relationship between the two of them, but this time he felt it necessary.
    Tomas flinched. His face colored. “I haven’t because… because I couldn’t. Since the last meeting with the Chosen before we arrived here I’ve avoided thinking about our next encounter. I’m worried Elion, very worried,” he confessed. “Ormachon may have planned what occurred in the mountains, or at least hoped it would happen as it did. Finally I believe he didn’t betray me as I had feared, or at least not in the way I feared. But he’s keeping things from me. He was distant when I was with him last and I knew then that things had changed. Really changed. I’ve been trying to prepare for whatever I might learn, for whatever his reasons are, and it’s not been easy.” The confession should have relieved him, but his face was still strained.
    “Do you fear the relationships between the Chosen and the trees are changing too? Do the others share your concerns?” Esta asked.
    “I don’t know. My relationship has changed, that I’m sure of.”
    “Has there ever been a Chosen who broke the bond?” Elion inquired. “Is it possible to do?”
    “A renegade, you mean?” Esta questioned.
    “Perhaps. Or one who was simply no longer up to the task for reasons of health or spirit,” Elion said.
    “Why do you ask that?” Tomas inquired.
    “If one must break the bond, is it possible?” Elion pressed. “Would a Chosen die under those circumstances?”
    “It has happened, though it’s unusual. I know of two such occurrences,” Esta replied. “One was well documented and you’ll recollect it too if you think back. Everyone knows of him.”
    “Aracon in the city of Nescon!” Tomas said.
    “Of course!” Elion recalled. “Though he didn’t exactly break the bond. He thought he was more powerful than his Lalas,” he added. “Who was the other?”
    “He is spoken of infrequently. Paras was his name and he was bonded to a tree, Carthane, in a very remote part of the world. He contracted an illness none could cure him of, and though he had many tiels to live after finding out about it, he believed he wouldn’t be able to perform the functions required of him. He asked that the bond be broken, he was released and was supposed to live out the rest of his life in the monastery at Praxis,” Esta explained.
    “Supposed to?” Elion questioned.
    “Well, some say he did, and others say he disappeared many years later, never to be heard from again,” Esta replied.
    “And you, my Lady? What do you believe?” Elion asked, intrigued.
    “What I believe is irrelevant here,” she said, dismissing his question, but Elion suspected she had her own opinion on the matter and that it was particularly relevant. He was unsure why she was reluctant to share it.
    “So we know it’s possible,” Elion concluded. “One can break the bond and live.”
    “Why are you asking me this? You want me to consider it? Break my bond with my tree? Why?” Tomas shuddered. “It’s more than an oath, Elion. It’s much more.” He shook his head and grimaced. “I can’t imagine…”
    “I just wanted to know if it was possible. We have many things to consider and it’s prudent for us to understand what the options may be. We can’t know what the Lalas are actually thinking, and we can’t know what choices may be foisted upon us all. You’ve said that yourself Tomas.” This was difficult for Tomas to hear, and Elion was aware of that, but he had to say it. “What we do know is that