The Tree People

Elonira sat on her bed with her ear against the wall. Her parents were in the next room talking about the impending war. They had sent her to her room so she wouldn’t over hear them, but she was determined not to be left out.

She pushed her ear closer to the wall and heard her father’s muffled voice, "…and I don’t know how we can win without it. I’ve tried to convince the council to gather the pieces, but they will not listen. They do not believe there is an immediate threat, and refuse to take action until there is."

"What will we do then?" her mother asked, her tone giving away the direness of the situation.

"Do not worry. We will figure something out. I will speak with the council again tonight. There are at least two others on my side, and that makes half the council. I will see if I can get them to speak up and support me in this."

Elonira moved away from the wall. Pieces of what? She wondered. Something tugged at the back of her mind but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. After sitting for a few more minutes she decided to run the phrase past her best friend, Luthien, and see if he had any ideas about it. She climbed out her window, trusting that her parents would know where to find her if they needed her, and ran towards his house.

* * * * * * * * *

Elonira lived in the city of Degliar, named for the people who lived there, the Degli. The city is built in a forest of Eldar trees. Eldar trees are 500 to 600 feet tall and look like huge maple trees. The whole city is built high in the trees, where it is hidden by the leaves and branches. The Degli use every resource they have to keep the city hidden. The only sign of the city from the ground are the ladders and staircases used for leaving and entering the city, and even those are well hidden on trunks of trees. The only way to see one is if you know what you are looking for.
All Degli’s are born with one of six gifts. Elonira was gifted with the power of communicating with and controlling all living things. Luthien was gifted with the power of metal and earth. The other four powers were wind and water, fire, electricity, and the ability to control the mind. Each Degli was responsible for using their gift to help in the city. Those with Elonira’s gift provided food for the community by planting gardens that grew faster than they otherwise would be able to. They also cared for the landscaping of the city and for the animals. Those with Luthien’s gift provided weapons, tools, and any other kind of metal work for the city. They have the ability to draw the metal out of rocks, and also to manipulate the earth. Those with wind and water abilities provide water for the cities, drinking and otherwise. They are able to draw water from almost anywhere, and form and control storms. Those with fire abilities are responsible for heat in the city. They are primarily in charge of protecting the city, using fires to drive potential attackers away from the city. They can control every aspect of fire, strength, heat, and can summon it at almost any time. The electricity power was used to provide light and energy in the city. Those with this power controlled most of the machinery and factories in the city. They can also control electricity in storms, which allowed them to steer lightning storms away from the city. They draw the electricity from the air in order to use their power. And last those with the ability to control the mind. Those with this power are few, but are the most powerful of all Degli’s. They can read minds, use telekinesis and telepathy, and after years of practice are able to control the minds of others.

* * * * * * * * *

Elonira knocked impatiently on the door until Luthien finally came. "What took you so long? I’ve been out here forever!" She asked him.

"Actually you knocked on the door about 30 seconds ago, and I was on the other side of the house. You must have something important to say if you’re that impatient." He smiled, teasing her.

"Sorry, I need to run something by you and see if you can figure out what it means. I overheard my parents talking earlier—"

He interrupted her with a smile on his face, "How many times do I have to tell you not to eavesdrop on your parents? It always ends up getting you, and usually me, in trouble."

Elonira couldn’t help but smile. She had a bad habit of listening to her parents’ conversations and overreacting to the parts that she heard. "It was important though! They were talking about the war and made me leave the room. I had to hear what they were saying."

"Wait, they were talking about the war in the living room. Didn’t they catch you eavesdropping a few months ago? I thought they had stopped talking in there after that."

"They did. Well other than this time. I don’t know. That doesn’t matter anyway, they were probably too worried to think about me eavesdropping," she said impatiently.

Luthien nodded, "Do you want to take a walk? I don’t think we want anyone to overhear us."

She nodded and they walked out into the trees.

* * * * * * * * *

Elonira had repeated everything she had heard her parents say, but neither she nor Luthien could figure out what her father had meant by gathering "the pieces". She went home more bewildered than when she had left. She was lying on her bed running the conversation over and over in her mind when a book on her shelf caught her eye.

It was an old book that her father had made for her when she was a child. It told legends that were long forgotten by most in the village, but that she had loved to here over and over. She got up and pulled the book off the shelf, dusting it off and opening it as she sat back on the bed. She started with the first story, the Legend of Almirecet, a legend about where her people had come from. It said that her race had originally lived on earth with the humans. For several hundred years they had lived in peace, with a king to lead and protect them. The king kept an ancient artifact, a shield called Almirecet, which had been handed down for generations. The shield gave the king the power to protect the people. Gradually many had begun to get the idea that if they could take Almirecet, they would have all the power for themselves. There began to be wars and separations among the people and it soon became clear to many that they would have to leave their home and find peace elsewhere.

Finally the King’s Counsel decided that in order to save the people from becoming too powerful and destroying themselves, they needed to hide Almirecet. They gathered secretly and separated Almirecet into six pieces. They then chose six members of the counsel to stay behind and guard the pieces, all in different areas of Earth. The counsel cast a spell over the chosen members of the counsel, or the Guardians, that would allow them to live until protection of the pieces was no longer needed. The counsel then gathered together the people and they left to find another land to live in.

Of course, The Pieces of Almirecet. That’s what I’m thinking of, Elonira thought. She jumped up and was about to climb out the window and run back to Luthien’s house when she heard someone knock on the door. She turned the other way and rushed to open the door.

"Luthien! I was just about to leave to your house," she exclaimed.

"Why?" he asked.

"I figured out where I’ve heard the phrase before," she said, lowering her voice halfway through the sentence. "Quick, come to my room so I can tell you without my parents overhearing."

In her room she pulled the old storybook off the shelf.

"Isn’t that the book your dad used to read to you all the time?"

"Yes! I always thought they were just stories he made up, but I think they might be true."

Luthien rolled his eyes, "Here we go again," he mumbled.

"Stop it. I’m being serious." She opened the book up and pointed out where it talked about separating Almirecet into pieces. "See, only with all the pieces gathered can the power be used. What if this was all true and that is what my dad was talking about?"

"I don’t know. Why would the council hide all this from everyone? That doesn’t make any sense."

"Unless they were trying to keep it hidden so history wouldn’t repeat itself. If everyone knew about Almirecet, it would defeat the purpose of coming to Degliar. They knew that if it was not a secret people would try to find it to use the power for themselves. If everyone thinks that it’s just some legend or a child’s tale, no one will search for the pieces."

"You do have a point. But if that’s true, why would your dad put the legend in a storybook for you? Does that not defeat the purpose of pretending it is a legend? And if it is true, and he did make it a storybook, would he not be afraid that other members of the council would find out? I’m sure they would not be too pleased with him for writing it all down like that."

Elonira thought for a moment. "Maybe he wanted me to discover it someday. Maybe he was preparing in case he needed my help in the future but did not want to take the risk of explaining the legends to me.

"I suppose that could work. So now what? How do we find out if these are actually real, or if you are jumping to conclusions again?" He questioned, giving her a teasing grin.

"Luth," she said, using the nickname she had given him as a child. "What if he needs my help right now?"

"Oh no. Here we go again. Loni, if he needed your help he would ask for it. You are reading way too much into this!"

"No, listen to me. My dad knows that I listen through the wall. My parents stopped having serious conversations in that room months ago, remember? You pointed that out earlier. So why else would he choose to talk about this in that room if he didn’t want me to overhear?"

"Maybe he forgot?"

"Be serious, even you know that my dad never forgets anything."

"Maybe, but I still don’t understand why he doesn’t just ask you."

"Probably because he doesn’t have the support of the whole council. He cannot ask me for help with this because the council doesn’t want anyone to know, but he knows that I listen to everything that goes on in that room and so he dropped hints, hoping I would pick up on it and help me with this. I’m sure of it Luth. He needs us."

"I think you’re crazy, again. But if you are sure, I’ll go along with it and help you figure out what to do."

"Thanks Luth!" She cried, throwing her arms around his neck.

"Don’t mention it. Now, as excited as I am to here all your crazy ideas," he winked to let her know he was teasing, "There was a reason I came over here."

"Oh my gosh! I was so excited I totally forgot to ask!"

"It’s okay. It isn’t a big deal or anything. My parents just gave me permission to go into the forest because our horse needs to be exercised. I just was wondering if you wanted to come."

"Oh! That sounds like fun. Let me run ask my mom."

A few minutes later Elonira and Luthien were walking through the trees toward the main city exit.

* * * * * * * * *

Elonira and Luthien had just reached the edge of the city and were descending the busy main staircase. Elonira was always amazed at how well the staircases were disguised because they seemed so huge when she was on them. Each staircase was about 10 feet wide, 5 feet was cut into the tree and the other 5 feet was built as an extension to the trunk. The stairs were built on only the largest trees in the area, so that an extra few feet around the trunk did not look strange unless studied carefully. While on the staircase, you could see all the other staircases in surrounding trees, but from the ground, the angling disguised them perfectly, blending the stairs in with all the trunk, the only trace of them was a slight shimmer that most just attributed the an optical illusion.

As they stepped off the staircase Elonira couldn’t help but pause and look around in awe. The forest was beautiful from their city, but from the forest floor it was overwhelming. The trees seemed to reach all the way the sky, so high that she could not even see the tops. Everything was green and alive. She could sense the animals in the area, alive and healthy, more so than in any other area in the forest. Slowly, she pulled herself out of her thoughts and smiled at Luthien.

"It’s so beautiful." She said, sighing quietly.

He agreed simply, and then took her hand to start her walking. "We need to get to the horses, so we can give them a good workout before it gets dark."

"Oh you’re right. I’m sorry! I get distracted so easily down here."

"Only down here?" he teased.

She laughed. They talked easily as they finished the walk to the stables. The stables in Degliar are much different than stables found anywhere else. The stables are marked by alternating bushes and trees in a large circle about 10 feet apart, around a beautiful meadow. The meadow is planted and kept up by the Degli. They also provide natural caves and shelters for the horses to sleep in. The horses are free to roam the meadows. Most of the horses in the stables were not a single family’s horses, but belonged to the city as a whole and anyone could use them. Some of the more wealthy families, did have their own horses, and used them for traveling. Luthien’s family was one of them. They owned four horses, two copper colored which were older and only used for errands in the city, one black, and one solid white. The white one was Elonira’s favorite, the black was Luthien’s. These two were fast and powerful, and used for traveling.

As they approached the meadow Elonira began searching for the two horses. She looked around the meadow but when she did not see them, she tried communicating silently with them. After a moment of trying she turned to Luthien.

"Where are they?" he asked. Usually she had found them minutes before they reached the stables and they were there waiting.

"They aren’t here Luth. I can’t find them anywhere," she said, confused. She had never had any problems communicating before.

Luthien thought for a minute, "Can you find out where they are? Can you ask some of the others? Maybe our work horses saw something."

"I can try." She began searching through the thoughts and impressions of the horses in the field until she found the two she was looking for.

The horses could not actually speak to her in words. It was all done through thoughts, images, and impressions, sent back and forth from Elonira to the horse.

"Neither of them saw anything. They have both been asleep in their cave all day." She was clearly confused.

They walked through the field searching for any sign of where the other two horses had gone when she saw her mother.

"Mom? What are you doing here?" Elonira asked, hurrying towards her.

"There you are! I told Luthien’s mother I would come find you. Your fathers had to leave," she said, speaking to both of them now. "They had a… an emergency with the council. They left just after you two did and took a shortcut. That’s how they got here first."

"An emergency? Is everything alright?" Luthien asked.

"Yes, well no. But it will be. Nothing to worry about. I’m sure they will fill you in later. For now, however, it would probably be best if you two headed home. We need to be there just in case…" She left the sentence hanging, but they understood. Their fathers had been on the council for many years, and they were always aware that they may need to go into hiding if there were any threat made to the council. "No need to hurry too much. Enjoy your walk but come straight home."

"We know mom. We’ll only be a few minutes behind you."

Her mother smiled, relaxing for a moment. "I know. I’ll see you at home Elonira. And I’m sure I’ll see you soon Luthien." She turned and rushed off.
"So what do you think? Anything to worry about?" Elonira asked Luthien after her mother had hurried away.
"I’m not sure. This whole day has been strange. It would not surprise me if something happened tonight. We should hurry."
Elonira nodded. She could not believe that it been just that morning that she had over heard her parents talking. It worried her that her father had rushed off, and she had a sinking feeling that that was only the beginning. She unconsciously increased her pace. Luthien sensed her urgency and increased his to match.
"Loni, what is it? You look upset."
"I don’t know what it is. I just feel like this is the beginning of something. Something dark, I’m afraid."
"I feel the same way. This must have something to do with what your parents were talking about this morning."
They continued walking in comfortable silence, both lost deep in thought. Before they knew it they had reached Elonira’s house. She started to go inside but Luthien grabbed her hand.
"Luth?" she said, questioningly.
"Elonira, be careful tonight okay? And listen for me outside your window. I’ll come by after my parents are asleep and we can talk. I’m sure we’ll both have a lot to talk about after our dad’s get home."
She smiled at him. "Okay Luth. I’ll wait for you." She gave him a quick hug and ran inside her house.