By: Brianna Lee Hubler
Copyright © 2022 Brianna Lee Hubler. All rights reserved.
__________Rokesha snuck to the far edge of a cliff. A hundred feet beneath her toes, the unforgiving sea chewed and eroded the hazardous rocks that ringed the shoreline of Greyfeather Reach. The rocks mocked the will of the sea, and the name of the town, but they balanced the elements of Rel and Quera, which protected the once flat shoreline against raiders from Ghesimbari. The Norbayahkatheermor of Ghesimbari reviled a mortal from Greyfeather, who stole and corrupted a daughter of the Mantle. By raising the rocks to block incoming ships, and to balance the elements surrounding the village, Rokesha—the corrupted daughter—bought the village time, and momentarily escaped Ghesimbari’s pursuit.
__________Years ago, when the warm eyes of Kylas Ravenstorm, a shipwrecked mortal, offered her something greater than all she knew, Rokesha traded the home of her youth, the traditions of her people, and the tempered blood of her lineage to join hands with him. The Norbayahkatheermor invalidated Rokesha’s newfound happiness; they labelled her maddened by illness. The Mantle elves’ determination to recover and cure Rokesha threatened the village of Greyfeather Reach. Rokesha feared for the life of her half-elf son, Nairec, and refused to abandon the forbidden family she treasured.
__________With Kylas and Nairec, Rokesha experienced rising joy. When among her people, contentment entrapped her. She wanted more. She risked everything. She suffered daily, mankind and elfkind despised her, but whenever Kylas’s warmth enveloped her, or Nairec’s smile reached her, she forgot her pain.
__________Rokesha threw back her straight, violet locks. She fussed with her bangs, until they parted evenly, and tucked behind her pointed ears. She stared into the wind and groaned at the overcast sky. Absent sunlight robbed the shoreline of equilibrium. It unsettled Rokesha and taunted her climb to the village highpoint. The clouds hid the heat of the sun from the earth, as the horizon swallowed the warmth Rokesha cherished.
__________Tales of a past tragedy soured the villagers’ taste for magic. To prevent the recurrence of a terrible blight, mortal laws outlawed practice of the arcane arts, and barred magical races from communing with mankind. The people of Greyfeather shunned Kylas for wedding a witch. Kylas searched everywhere for employment, but each time, prospective employers turned him away, until the captain of a deep-sea fishing vessel convinced Kylas that beggars cannot be choosers. Kylas accepted a job as a deep-sea fisherman. He and his family suffered months apart, but those months ensured their stomachs never emptied.
__________Rokesha placed her hands upon her chest, shuddered, and ducked against the cold wind. Light footsteps tramped up the ridge. Rokesha turned her head and spied Nairec. Nairec’s halfway pointed ears peeked through his thick, black hair. His raven locks bounced up and down, as he raced to meet his mother.
__________Did I make the right choice for him? Rokesha wondered.
__________When Nairec reached the edge of the cliff where his mother stood, Rokesha dropped to her knees and embraced him. A moment later, their eyes met, and Rokesha gasped. A blackened ring surrounded one of Nairec’s violet, elfin eyes.
__________Rokesha gently traced the ring with her fingers. “Who did this to you?” she demanded.
__________Nairec frowned. He turned away and rubbed his sore eye. “No one special,” he dismissed.
__________He shoved a crumpled piece of paper to his mother’s lips before she responded.
__________“It’s from Ameh, Hema,” Nairec urged.
__________Rokesha pulled the crumpled letter from Nairec’s fingers. She flattened the letter against her knee. Then she turned the letter over and read it through:
Dear Family,
All trouble passes.
Keep the fire burning.
I’ll be with you again soon.
Love always,
Kylas Ravenstorm.
__________Rokesha smiled, though tears streamed down her face.
__________Nairec rested his palms upon his mother’s wetted cheeks.
__________“Hema don’t cry,” Nairec pleaded. “Read it again. Ameh said he’s coming home!”
__________Rokesha parted Nairec’s bangs and kissed his forehead.
__________“It’s okay, Nairec,” she reassured. “In times of great joy, tears restore balance, but the joy remains.”