Sky Riders: The Rising Sun
Astrum's Riddle

“Eliana!” a voice called. She moaned and stirred, throwingan arm over her eyes. “Eliana!”

She blinked and sat up, looking around her in confusion.She’d expected to see the humble surroundings of Otium’s hut, with the oldwoman standing in the bedroom doorway, nagging her to wake up. But the lightstreaming through the round window was not the sunrise, but the sunset. Theroom and the bed were not her own, and the figure in the doorway, silhouettedby the sunset, was not Otium—it was Caelum.

He had changed from his travel-worn clothing and now wore apair of formal black trousers and boots. A loose white tunic of silk was beltedat his waist with a strip of black cloth. He smirked at her rumpled appearanceas she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

“You hardly look ready for the feast,” he remarkedteasingly.

Eliana jumped to her feet as she remembered. “How long haveI been asleep?” she asked hurriedly. “When is the feast starting?”

Caelum laughed. “You have a little time still. The feastbegins when the sun sets below the horizon. There should be a white dress inyour wardrobe; elves always wear white to evening feasts.” He gave her a nodand started back across the bridge as he said, “I’ll let you get changed.”

Eliana stepped over to the clay tub in the back corner ofthe room and stared blankly at it for a moment before hurrying over to thedoorway. “Caelum!” she called.

He turned back to look at her, standing in his own doorway.“Yes?”

“Where do I get water from?”

He gave her a mischievous grin. “From the tree.”

She sighed. “And howdo I get the water from the tree?”

The mischief grew on his face. “Just ask it.”

Eliana rolled her eyes in irritation. “Caelum, could youplease?” She was not used to being teased—at least, not in a friendly way—andshe very quickly became defensive.

He laughed and crossed back over the bridge. “Of course.”

She watched him as he stepped over to the clay tub andplaced his hand on the wooden wall above it. After a very brief moment, waterbegan to pour from the wall into the tub, like he had opened a spring withinthe wood. “See?” he said with a smug grin. “Just ask.”

Eliana smirked and shook her head. “I don’t think I willever understand elven magic.”

“If you are willing to learn, I believe you will.” The tubwas filled, and Caelum touched his fingers to the wall. The spring of waterstopped. “You should hurry,” he said. “As the guests of honor, it would not beideal for us to be late to our own feast. I’ll meet you outside in half anhour.”

He disappeared across the bridge, and Eliana quicklyundressed and slipped into the water. To her surprise, it was warm, and shegave a sigh of pleasure as she sunk in it up to her shoulders. She gave herselfa few moments to enjoy the sensation, then began to quickly and fiercely scrubthe grime and dirt from her skin. She washed herself from head to toe, thenforced herself to step out of the warm water and seized a towel from a nearbyshelf in the wall.

After hurriedly drying, she turned to the nook in the wallthat held the clothes the elves had given her. The white dress Caelum had toldher to wear hung in the center of the wardrobe. She extracted it and examinedit for a long moment.

It was more beautiful than anything she had ever worn in herlife. It was made of soft, flawless silk, with golden thread detailing the hemsof the sleeves, neckline, and the bottom of the dress. It was the kind of dressthat even the wealthiest girls in Vegrandis would be sorely jealous of.

Eliana smiled a little to herself, imaging what those girls’expressions would be if they saw her—the half-breed outcast—wearing a dresslike this. She slipped into it excitedly, relishing the feeling of the softsilk on her skin, enjoying the perfect fit of the dress.

She found a wooden comb and mirror on a shelf above the washbasin,and she quickly combed her hair into a smooth, black sheet, letting it hangloosely below her shoulder blades. She examined herself briefly in the mirror. If Vegrandis could see me now, shethought with some satisfaction.

Before leaving the room, she stepped back over to the bedand knelt on it, facing the shelf in the wall. She softly touched her fingersto the golden egg shell, sensing the life inside. “I’ll be back soon,” shewhispered to the unborn dragon, unsure if he could hear her or not. Then shestood and headed down the stairs to the base of the tree.

Caelum was waiting for her below, leaning against the trunkof the tree, and he straightened as she emerged. “Well,” he said with acharming smile, “you look even more like an elf when you’re not covered in dirtand jumping into rivers.”

She made a face at him. “Um, thank you?”

He laughed. “I suppose I should rephrase that.” His smilesoftened and he said, “You look beautiful, Eliana.”

Nobody had called her beautiful before either, aside from herfather and Otium, and she felt a slight flush of pleasure come to her cheeks.Her stomach gave an unexplained flutter as she met his smiling eyes. All herlife, she’d been hideous to everyone around her, because of what she was. Andnow, she was being called beautiful and remarkable by this strange elf.

What an odd change, shethought to herself. She didn’t know what she’d expected from the elves.Tolerance, perhaps, but not this open acceptance. Not being treated as anhonored guest of the royal family. Not being looked at in the way Caelum waslooking at her now.

Caelum held out his arm to her. “We should be on our way,”he told her. “They’ll all be waiting for us.”

Eliana slipped her hand through the crook of his elbow, andhe led her back through the palace and out into the city. The roads were emptyaside from them and a few animals that slipped between the trees. Eliana lookedaround her at the glowing orbs of light that hung in the air along the pathsand around the elves’ homes. They emitted warm light in a variety of hues—gold,orange, blue, green—so that the city seemed to be resting beneath a rainbow.

“What are those?” she asked.

“Magic,” Caelum answered. “You’ll learn how to make themsomeday.”

“You seem very certain of that,” she remarked, giving him asideways glance. “In fact, you seem very certain of many things about me. Whyis that?”

He just smiled at her in that way he had. “You’ll seetomorrow, I promise.”

“And until then I’m just supposed to trust that you mean meno harm?”

Caelum laughed. “If I meant you harm, Eliana, you certainlywould not be in Iterum. You never would have made it off the riverbank.”

She pursed her lips and made no response. Certainly, shewanted to trust him; he had brought her here, to Iterum, after all. He’d offeredher and the egg safe harbor. But nineteen years of being treated suspiciouslyhad taught her to treat others the same way. However, for the time being, shehad no choice but to follow along with him. She was his guest, and she had tobehave as such. And, she admitted to herself, he intrigued her.

She was distracted from her thoughts by the sound of musiccoming from up ahead. It caught her attention, seeming to pull her in, and shefound herself walking towards it more quickly, her face flushing with excitement.Caelum pulled her back gently, slowing her down.

“Calm down,” he said with a chuckle.

She looked up at him and blinked, realizing suddenly whatshe’d been doing. She shook her head. “I’m sorry… I don’t know what…”

“It’s the music,” he told her. “It awakens something in usthat we can’t explain. Just try not to listen too intently. It’s easiest if youkeep speaking to me. It’ll distract you.”

She gave it a try, saying the first thing that came to hermind. “Do you think it’s possible that my mother is here?” she asked. “I don’tknow what happened to her after the villagers drove her out. She may have comeback here.”

Caelum shrugged. “I suppose it’s possible. But unfortunatelyI don’t know. There are a few clans of elves that live away from Iterum, so shemay have joined one of them.”

“If she’s alive,” Eliana added quietly.

He made no reply, but she wasn’t sure if it was because hehadn’t heard her, or because they were now approaching Queen Ivi and PrinceDenio. They stood ahead of them on the path near a stone arch. Through thearchway, Eliana could see the elves of Iterum. They were dancing freely andwildly to the intoxicating music. Orbs of light hung above their heads, castinga multicolored glow on their pale, laughing faces. Eliana clenched her teethand gripped Caelum’s arm, fighting the urge to join them.

“Caelum!” Queen Ivi called as they approached. “There youare. Why must you always worry me?”

“Sorry, Mother,” Caelum sighed. Eliana could hear bitternessin his voice. “I know I tend to disappoint you.”

She shifted uncomfortably and saw Denio sigh and shake hishead, as if this were a familiar exchange. Queen Ivi ignored her eldest son’sremark. She glanced around them, as if searching for something.

“Where is Astrum?” she muttered, then called out, “Astrum!”

A pale shape immediately caught Eliana’s eye, slippingthrough the trees towards them. She stared at it as what appeared to be a purewhite fox slunk silently towards them. It came and sat at the queen’s feet,looking up at Eliana with great, golden eyes. She felt frozen by that goldengaze, staring back unblinkingly.

“Astrum,” Queen Ivi said, “please prepare the elves for thefeast.”

The little fox dipped its pointed white muzzle, stilllooking at Eliana. “Yes, your majesty.”

Eliana drew back in surprise as the words emerged from thefox’s mouth. She glanced between the three elves around her, but nobody elseseemed startled by the fact that the animal had just spoken. Only Astrum seemedto notice her surprise. A look of amusement entered his golden eyes, and asmall smile curled up the corner of his long mouth. Then he turned and walkedsilently through the arch, his white tail high.

The moment the fox disappeared through the arch, the musicand laughter stopped, and there was a clattering and scraping, as if furniturewere being moved across the stone floor of the village square.

Eliana leaned towards Caelum’s ear and whispered, “What wasthat?”

“Astrum” he responded in an equally quiet voice. “He hasserved the royal family for as long as anyone can remember. He is a Seer, andimmortal. The elves hold him with as much respect as the king and queenthemselves.”

“Seer?” Eliana repeated disbelievingly. “Immortal?”

Caelum laughed. “I wish I could explain Astrum to you, butwe hardly understand him ourselves. He comes and goes as he pleases, speaks inriddles, and never bothers to explain himself. But his prophecies are neverwrong.” He looked down at her with an expression that she couldn’t quitedecipher. It was as if he knew something that he wasn’t sharing. Somethingabout her. It made her uneasy.

In front of them, Queen Ivi put her hand through Denio’sarm, and the pair of them started forward through the archway. Caelum andEliana followed in their wake. Through the archway, the city square had beencovered with long banquet tables and benches. The elves were standing quietlybehind the benches, watching with smiling faces as Eliana and the royalsentered the square; she was beginning to wonder if elves were perpetuallyhappy.

She scanned the faces as she passed them. Several of themturned towards each other and exchanged curious whispers at the presence of thestrange girl on Prince Caelum’s arm. Something prodded at the back of Eliana’smind, as if she had forgotten something that desperately needed her attention,but she could not remember what it was.

A face caught her gaze. It was a beautiful face beneathlong, blonde hair, and the blue eyes were narrowed in hatred. She recognizedthe face—Raena. Their eyes met, and the same cold, bitter voice shoved its wayinto her mind.

“Half-breed tramp,”the voice spat. Eliana could feel the pure, poisonous hatred in the voice. “That is where I belong. Caelum should be escorting me.”

Caelum touched the hand that rested on his arm, and Elianaforced her gaze away from Raena’s, looking up at him. His brow was furrowed inconcern. “Are you alright?”

She nodded quickly. “Yes. Fine.”

It was apparent he didn’t believe her, but he said nothing.They reached a table on the far end of the square, with four chairs behind it.Astrum sat in front of the table, swishing his white tail from side to side.Denio pulled out one of the center chairs for his mother, and Queen Ivi sat.She nodded at the crowd, and there was the sound of movement as everyone sat.

Caelum pulled out Eliana’s chair and pushed it in behind herbefore sitting next to her, between Eliana and his mother. Once everyone hadsat, elves carrying food-laden trays began to file through the archways on eachside of the square. Platters were set on the table before the four of them.

Eliana eyed the food hungrily; she had eaten only Caelum’sbread and cheese in the last forty-eight hours. The servers filled their platesas others set equally full trays on the other tables. Her fingers fiddled withthe fabric of her dress, resisting the urge to dive into her food like ananimal.

Once everyone’s plates were full, Queen Ivi picked up hersilverware and looked around at the crowd. “My friends,” she said from herseat, “please, enjoy the feast.”

Evidently, this was the signal. All of the elves beganserving food onto their plates, and the royal family began to eat. With relief,Eliana tore a piece of bread from the chunk on her plate and bit into it. Ithad a deep, rich flavor unlike anything she’d ever tasted, and she sighed withecstasy.

Queen Ivi leaned forward, looking at her around Caelum.“Tell me, Eliana,” the queen said with a friendly smile. “How is it that youhave never been to Iterum? Most elves of the wandering clans come at least afew times in their lives.”

Eliana blinked at her, the rich bread still filling hermouth. The queen did not know what she was. She swallowed hard and looked atthe woman, then at Caelum. His eyes were widened slightly, and he was movinghis head from side to side very slightly. He didn’t want her to admit what shewas. But then what was she supposed to say?

Suddenly, the white shape of Astrum leapt up onto the woodentable, landing silently between the platters of food, drawing everyone’sattention. The laughing, chattering elves all quieted at the white fox’smovement. He moved to stand in front of Eliana, and trapped her in his goldengaze again.

Then, the fox opened his muzzle and spoke:

“Such a thing I’venever seen

In all my many days.

She does not know what she is,

She does not know our ways.”

He stepped around her goblet and looked at Caelum sittingbeside her.

“He turned his backon the throne,

But for a much greater cause.

He will join the one that’s half

To raise fire, wings, and claws.”

He brushed past the pile of fruit at the center of the tableand stood in front of the queen.

“And so, my queen,the time is near

When we see the mighty change.

Power given, a kingdom ended,

And the battle rearranged.”

And then, the white fox turned, leapt off the table, anddisappeared into the trees.

Eliana looked at Caelum, who seemed unsettled. He waswatching his mother warily, as if waiting to see what she would say, how shewould interpret the Seer’s words.

Queen Ivi blinked, staring into the distance for a moment.Then she let out a short laugh. “Someday, I will get Astrum to stop speaking insuch muddled riddles.” She gestured at the musicians, who sat near their table.“Music!”

They stood, raised their instruments, and began to play.Almost immediately, Eliana felt the blood rush to her head. Her breathingbecame shallow and excited, and her heart started to race. She remembered whatCaelum had said about trying to block out the music’s effects by speaking, andshe searched her mind desperately for something to say. But all she found wasmusic.

The musicians were so close, and her head was spinning,spinning, spinning with the sounds of the instruments. Caelum looked down ather. His face looked flushed, and his eyes were bright; the music seemed to beaffecting him too. Still, he managed to frown in some concern at the vaguesmile that was spreading across her face.

He opened his mouth to speak to her. She heard drums and thestrumming of a lyre. Eliana giggled. Caelum was speaking in music. The elfshook his head and said something, which sounded like the trilling of a panflute. She let out a burst of laughter.

Frowning at her—but with a hint of amusement in his brighteyes—Caelum stood and took her by the forearm. She let him pull her from herseat, hoping that they were going to dance. Instead, he guided her gentlythrough the archway nearest their table, leading her a short way down the path,where the music was quieter.

He stopped and faced her, holding her firmly by theshoulders and peering down at her with some concern. She smiled stupidly up athim. “Are you alright?” he asked. She heard his words this time, but the musicwas still ringing in her head.

She laughed without knowing why. For some reason, hisquestion seemed incredibly funny to her. Still giggling like a giddy drunk, shethrew her arms around his neck, nearly knocking him over. He sighed in apparentexasperation and pulled her arms away from him. He grabbed her by the shouldersagain, more tightly this time, and looked firmly down at her.

“Listen to my voice,” he said sharply. Eliana blinked athim, and the fuzzy halo that seemed to be surrounding him grew dimmer. “Tell meyour name,” he demanded.

She paused briefly, then said, “Eliana.”

“Good. What’s my name?”

“Caelum,” she answered slowly.

“Do you know where we are?”

She nodded. “In Iterum.”

“And what do you have back in your bedroom?”

She felt herself growing more somber. “A dragon’s egg…”

He sighed and let go of her shoulders, apparently satisfiedthat she was no longer going to act like a complete fool.

Eliana shook her head, trying to brush off the lingeringconfusion in her mind. She touched her fingers to her temple. “What was thematter with me?”

“The music,” he answered. “Elves who grow up around it areused to it. It intoxicates us, but we can control our reactions. But for you,with it being so close, it affected you more heavily—like a person who hasnever had mead before drinking an entire barrel in one sitting.”

She felt that that was a fairly accurate description of theway her head was spinning.

"Are you feeling better now?" he asked, stilllooking at her with some concern.

She nodded slightly. "I think so."

Caelum smirked at her. "You're rather amusing whenyou're intoxicated," he remarked teasingly.

Eliana felt herself flush, suddenly embarrassed by the wayshe'd thrown her arms around him. "Well, I'm happy I could amuseyou," she answered, avoiding his eyes.

He laughed quietly. “We should return to the feast,” he said.

She hesitated. “What about the music?” she asked. The effectit had had on her unsettled her. She didn’t much like the idea of losingcontrol of herself again.

He gave her a small smile and pulled her hand back throughhis elbow. “Just focus on me. Talk to me. Don’t even listen to the music.”

She allowed herself to be led back through the arch, backtowards the music. As she drew closer to it, she could feel it beginning toweave its way into her mind again, pulling up an unreasonable giddiness.

“Caelum, perhaps you can tell me something,” she said,trying to force back the effects of the music. “When we met Raena and Laevis inthe woods this morning, you said that you had told Raena not to cause me any harm.How could you have told her that?”

He paused for a brief moment, in which the music began totug at her again. But when he spoke, the feeling ebbed away. “It’s difficult toexplain… It’s something that elves do without thinking. I mean, how do youexplain to someone how you breathe?You simply do it.” They’d returned to the table, and Ivi and Denio cast themcurious looks as Caelum pulled out Eliana’s chair for her. He continuedspeaking to her, ignoring their looks.

“I suppose it’s similar to the way you can sense someone’spresence. First, you learn to identify the presence—human or elf or animal,friend or foe. Sometimes, if you know the person well, you can identifyprecisely who the person is just as easily as you could by sight. Once youlearn that, you can learn to speak to any presence that you can sense.

“In a way, you open a sort of connection between your mindand theirs. Then you just… kind of push your thoughts to them. Of course, it’sconsidered very rude to enter another’s mind unless you know them very well, orunless it’s absolutely necessary.”

She remembered how the horses had listened to her unspokencommands when she’d pushed the thoughts at them, the way the dragon had spokento her mind. “Can any elf do it to anyone else?” I asked.

“If their magic is strong enough,” he answered, sittingbeside her again. “However, it is possible to block people from entering yourmind, if you know how. Our history books say that humans could once do it aswell, but I don’t know if they still can.” He looked at her. “I suppose youwould know the answer to that better than I would.”

Eliana shrugged and shook her head. “I’ve never encounteredanyone who could do it. But I suppose it’s possible that some can. Do you thinkhumans have just forgotten?”

“Possibly,” he replied with a shrug of his own. “But Ibelieve it’s a skill that can be learned. Our books also say that it’s the onlyway dragons can communicate. You said you spoke to the egg’s mother, correct?That you promised to protect the egg?”

Eliana nodded. “She did enter my mind, like you described. Icould… feel her there. Everything shewas feeling, I was feeling.”

Caelum cocked his head in interest. “It must have been avery strong connection.”

She shrugged. “I suppose. I… felt her die. It was very…well, it was unsettling.”

He nodded in understanding and briefly reached across thespace between them, touching her hand. “I imagine it would be.”

The touch distracted her briefly. She was not used toreceiving a gentle touch of any kind from anyone but Otium. He withdrew hishand after only a moment, and she dropped her hand into her lap, thenredirected the conversation back to her intended path. “So I suppose that meansthat Raena would know how to speak to someone’s mind, right? Since you said youspoke to her that way before she attacked me.”

He looked at her suspiciously. “Yes… Raena is very familiarwith communicating that way. Why do you ask? Has she spoken in your mind?”

Eliana shrugged lightly, dismissively. “Once or twice.”

“What did she say?” he said, his blue eyes intent on her.

She shook her head and lied, “I don’t even really remember.It was nothing important.”

He cocked a pale eyebrow at her. “One doesn’t enteranother’s mind to say nothing important.”

Eliana sighed. “It was only twice. Once in the forest, justafter she fired her arrow at me. And then the second time, as we entered forthe feast. She seemed… angry with me. Jealous even. I believe it had somethingto do with you.” She looked up at him again, searching for an answer in hisexpression.

He looked tired, and he rubbed a hand across his forehead.“In part, Raena was another reason I chose to abdicate the throne. As thefuture king, it was my responsibility to marry someone that my family chose forme. Raena is a member of one of the noble families, and so she was chosen to bethe future queen. Everybody was quite pleased with the match—except for me, ofcourse. And surprisingly, Astrum.” He cocked his head, looking thoughtful for amoment. “What was it that he said to me? ‘The one chosen is not your chosenone.’ Something like that. Astrum is always quite vague.”

“So you broke the engagement when you surrendered your rightto the throne?”

He nodded. “I knew she would be unhappy about it. Bysurrendering the throne for myself, I sacrificed her rights to the throne too.I can’t imagine she was very pleased by it.”

Somehow, Eliana suspected that there was more to Raena’sbitterness than a lost crown, but she didn’t say so. She shifted theconversation back to the white fox, who had not returned to the feast after hisstrange words.

“What do you think Astrum meant by the things he saidtonight?” she asked.

He smirked a little, as if he knew exactly what the Seer hadmeant, but before he could offer any explanation, Queen Ivi stood and themusic—which Eliana had nearly forgotten about—stopped.

The queen spoke. “Elves of Iterum, my dear friends, I thankyou for joining in this feast. It is with great joy that I welcome home myeldest son, Caelum. As you all know, he has been in Amiscan, helping to trainour finest warriors, and now, he has returned home to us. And, to our pleasure,he has brought with him a friend—Eliana. As always, Iterum is happy to welcomeanother elf into our midst, and I hope you will give her the warm greeting thatshe deserves. I thank you for joining us, and I bid you good night.”

The crowd applauded, and the two princes stood. Elianafollowed suit and took Caelum’s offered arm, following Ivi and Denio backacross the square and through the arch that led towards the palace. Theyentered the white-walled building. The branches of Domus, the great tree, werehung with glowing white orbs that illuminated the large room.

The queen and her younger son bid Eliana and Caelum goodnight, then entered Domus while the girl and her companion continued around thetree and out the rear doors to the courtyard. The queen’s final words at thefeast had called a question back to Eliana’s mind, and now that she was alonewith Caelum, she decided to ask it.

She stopped and turned towards Caelum, fixing him with asharp, searching gaze, her violet eyes demanding answers before she even askedthe question. “Why did you not want me to tell your mother what I was? Why doesshe think I’m a full-blooded elf?”

Caelum gave a sheepish grin and rubbed at the back of hisneck. “There is a lot that I cannot explain to you right now.”

She scowled at him. “You bring me to this city, acting as ifI belong here, but I’m supposed to conceal my blood? Raena and Laevis know. Whyshouldn’t your mother and brother know? I thought you said that my blood wasnothing to be ashamed of.” Her voice was sharp and demanding.

“It’s not,” he answered quickly. “I promise, among us, yourblood is never something you should be ashamed of. There may be those who don’taccept it at first, but that will change. It’s just…” he sighed. “Look, Ipromise this will all make sense tomorrow. But suffice it to say, if my motherknew about your blood—much less about that egg in your room—her perception ofyou would change entirely, and I didn’t think that the feast was the best timeto reveal it all to her.”

“And why must I wait until tomorrow for this all to makesense?” she demanded. “I’ve followed you here blindly, and I would very muchlike to have some of my sight restored now.”

He tried to give her a reassuring smile, and he put hishands gently on her shoulders. “Because tomorrow, Eliana, I will take you toyour teacher. She will be able to answer your questions much more thoroughlythan I could. She will explain everything and, when you’re ready, she willstart instructing you on elf magic. She is the finest teacher in Iterum. If youcan wait just one more day, you will get your answers. Please, just trust mefor that much longer. Once you have your answers, you can pass any judgment onme that you wish.”

Eliana studied him with narrowed eyes for a moment. She didnot like that he was concealing something from her, but thus far, he had donenothing to make her distrust him outright. She sighed. “Very well. Untiltomorrow then.”

He looked relieved, and he nodded. “Until tomorrow. Goodnight, Eliana.”

“Good night, Caelum.”

He stepped away from her and disappeared into the base ofhis tree. Eliana turned and entered her quarters, climbing the spiralingstaircase to the bedroom. On the shelf above the bed, the golden egg seemed towink at her in greeting, reflecting the moonlight from the window. She touchedit with her fingertips, caressing the shell, then slipped out of her silk gownand hung it back in the wardrobe.

Among the clothes there, she found a soft nightgown, and shepulled it over her head before slipping into the soft bed. She knew that, aftersleeping just a few hours before, she should not be tired. But her mind wasweary from the music and the excitement of the evening, and she quickly fell asleep.