The reflection offered him back a weak smile. He was surprised at how bad he looked. His hair was a mess, he had dark circles under his eyes, and his lips were cracked and scabbed with blood. His face was sunburned, and his cheek had several long scratches across it. His clothes were covered in grime and torn in multiple places from being dragged against the rocks. His appearance was absolutely pitiful. He looked like some beggar who slept in the streets.
An interesting thought occurred to him. Was that who he truly was, a beggar? As he reflected, it was true that his whole life he had always had to rely on someone else. His parents had brought him into the world and taken care of him as a child. His grandparents had then supported him through his teenage years. Blaize had rescued him and taken care of him. The Royal Army had given him work and paid his wages. The Keeper Eldridge had tutored him, he had been a guest in the palace at Candus, and most recently, Darian had been his guide among the elves. Even the roots and berries he had eaten on his way up the mountain had been provided by nature. He realized he truly was a beggar.
Then again, if he was a beggar, didn’t that mean everyone was? All received their lives from someone else and depended on others or on nature for sustenance. He frowned at his reflection in thought and leaned out further over the water. As he did so, his head passed between the surface of the water and the eternal flame above it. The light of the flame shone around his disheveled hair and created a halo of light surrounding his head. He smiled as he remembered the depictions of the ancient wielders on the nearby wall. They were always surrounded by halos of light.
The fact he was a wielder and possessed an immense amount of power was just as true as the conclusion that he was a beggar. He had the ability to wield power that others couldn’t even imagine. He could command the elements and currently held the fate of thousands in his hands. Even so, he had reached the Cave of the Eternal Flame without using the ambience. His strength of will was also powerful. Traven’s eyes began to shine with understanding.
He was all of these things combined. He was weak and yet he was strong. His body needed sustenance and his soul needed love, but he also had the ability to protect others and lift them up. A king was someone who could recognize his weaknesses and accept help from others. At the same time, a king was someone who would use his power to better the lives of those around him and wasn’t afraid to make the difficult decisions necessary for the greater good.
Traven stepped back from the cistern with an ironic smile. It was amusing to think the secret he had been looking for was already within himself. He supposed the circumstances of the King’s Trial helped to force a person to accept the truth. A king needed to first learn who he was and learn how to rule his own body and passions. If he could see the truth and control himself, he was only then worthy to rule and direct others.
26
He took one last look around the cavern before turning and beginning to weave his way back through the stone fangs. He soon came to the tiny hole in the wall and stared at it in disbelief. He still couldn’t believe he had fit through it. Traven knelt down in front of it and fell forward onto his stomach with his hands stretched in front of him. With careful wiggling and contortioning, his body slowly passed through the opening once again.
He sighed as he found himself in the same constricted tunnel. He carefully pulled himself forward along the ground and received several more tears in his clothes. The passage was almost completely black as his body blocked the light emanating from the green flame. Thankfully, he knew the tunnel was relatively straight without any obstructions.
Every so often he would reach his hand up to test the height of the cave. He was grateful when it was high enough for him to begin crawling. The passage was also now wide enough to allow an almost imperceptible glow of green light from behind. His pace increased, and he eagerly looked ahead to his first glimpse of light from the outside.
As he reached his hand forward, it suddenly came in contact with the fur of some animal. Traven jerked back with surprise and cracked his head on the roof of the cave. He grunted and braced himself in case the animal decided to attack. The creature remained still, neither coming towards him nor running away. He stared at the ball of fur for several moments before breaking out in a hoarse laugh. It was nothing more than the fur coat he had shed the night before.
He gave the coat a push, just to make sure, and rubbed the spot on his head where a bump was already beginning to form. He then tucked the balled up fur coat under his arm and continued forward. It wasn’t long before natural light began mixing with the faint green light to illuminate the tunnel. The warmth and humidity began to give way to colder, drier air. By the time the ceiling had risen high enough for him to stand, the temperature had dropped significantly. He donned the warm fur coat and continued eagerly towards the entrance.
The burbling of the stream began to sound in his ears, and soon he could see the light streaming through the fanglike rock formations at the cave’s entrance. He let out a sigh of relief and watched as his breath puffed into the air. He had forgotten how cold it was outside the cave and pulled his hood up. The secret cavern had seemed like an entirely different world. Already, the memory of it felt more like a dream.
Traven looked down at the unique red flowers and checked his pockets to make sure that he still had the ones he had picked the previous night. The petals had been crushed and broken during his exploration of the cave. He supposed he should have expected as much with all of the crawling and slithering he had been forced to do. Kneeling down, he carefully picked another of the delicate, red flowers and cautiously placed it in his pocket.
After assuring himself that he had the required proof of his ascension, he braced himself and stepped out of the cave and into the cold. The unforgiving wind blasted his face immediately, and he shivered despite the thick coat. The bright sun reflecting off the snow nearly blinded him after the darkness of the cave, and he had to wait several moments for his eyes to adjust.
Once his eyes had grown somewhat accustomed to the brightness of the sun, he glanced around with his lids only half opened. The sun wasn’t very far above the horizon yet. He was thankful he would have the majority of the day to reach the base of the mountain. He took a deep breath of the crisp air and began his descent, following the small stream that exited the cave and wound down to the base of the mountain. His legs weren’t as solid as he would have liked, but luckily his balance was stable enough that he could just lean back and let himself be pulled downward.
* * * * *
Darian glanced towards the sacred mount, trying to pick out any movement that would reveal the victorious decent of his master. It was the early afternoon of the third day, and he expected to see Traven soon. A smattering of other elves had just begun to arrive, but the majority of the crowd would not arrive until the evening. They did not think a human could possibly complete the trial as quickly as this afternoon. Most thought that if the young wielder returned, it would be late at night or sometime the following morning.
They did not know Traven like Darian did. He knew of his master’s determination, strength of will, and peak physical condition. The other elves also did not understand the urgency Traven felt to return to the land of the humans with the armband of endurance. Traven was not doing the trial to prove that he was worthy to be a king. He had undertaken the trial to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of his fellow humans.
“Do you really expect to see him soon?” Giselle asked quietly from his side.
“Yes,” Darian replied. “We will see him soon. I am confident of it.”
Giselle and he had remained just outside the end of the proving field ever since Traven had begun his ascent of the mountain. They had eaten, slept, and waited as close as they could to where Traven would return. They had done their duty and remained faithful to their oaths and would remain there until their master led them away.
Darian was very anxious for Traven to return, claim the armband of endurance, and leave for Candus. As much as he had enjoyed seeing his family and home, he felt uncomfortable being among the elves as a servant to a wielder. At least, when Traven returned, all of the other elves would recognize the wielder’s physical strength, talents, and worthiness to be served.
Darian also now had the companionship of Giselle. He had been astounded when she had sworn devotion and had been slightly upset. He saw no reason for her to bind herself to Traven. She had not even witnessed any of his mastery in the ambience before she had sworn her oath. She still had not given an adequate explanation for her decision, but Darian had chosen not to press her on the subject.
He had an idea of what had driven her to make such a commitment, but he hardly dared to accept it as truth. It brought with it both a feeling of ecstasy and a feeling of intense pain. Luckily, he was comforted in knowing that Traven was a just, honest, and caring master. He would not abuse the devotion that the angelic Giselle had sworn to him.
“Is that him?” Giselle asked quietly as she pointed. She had a look of both disbelief and excitement.
Darian leapt to his feet and shielded his eyes. It only took him a moment to locate the movement in the distance that Giselle’s sharp eyes had picked out. He watched for several moments before turning to her with a triumphant grin.
“Indeed it is.”
* * * * *
Traven picked up speed when sight of the proving field came into view but slowed back down when he stumbled and almost fell. His legs felt like jelly, and he had a horrible headache. He had eaten some berries and roots earlier, but full strength still hadn’t returned to his muscles. He supposed it wouldn’t return until he had eaten a proper meal and received a full night’s rest. Notwithstanding the pain, he smiled. The sight of the beginning and end of the trial flooded him with relief.
The last stretch seemed to take forever, but he finally found himself standing at the base of the mountain near the two poles that had marked his entrance. He suddenly realized that he didn’t know what the proper protocol was at the end of the trial. He supposed he would present the small red flower to the king of the elves as proof that he had found the cave. He hoped Darian was somewhere nearby. The loyal elf would let him know what needed to be done.
Traven paused to catch his breath and then strode out onto the proving field. It was empty, but there was a small group of people waiting at the far end. He quickly located Darian and Giselle among them. Darian’s sister and parents were also waiting, along with a small group of other elves he didn’t recognize.
Farther out in the clearing, he made out a procession that had just emerged from the trees. It looked like it was the king of the elves and his entourage. A handful of other elves were also beginning to appear at the edge of the clearing. There wasn’t nearly the crowd that had been there to witness the beginning of the trial, but it was still larger than he had expected. He had half wondered if anyone but a guard or two would be there to greet him at all.
His pace quickened as he saw the beaming smile on Darian’s face. Traven finished traversing the proving field and stepped out into the clearing. Darian immediately fell upon him and embraced him heartily. The elf then stepped to his side and pulled his arm up in the air. The small crowd cheered heartily, and Traven was sure that his smile was now even larger than Darian’s had been. The crowd parted as the king’s procession neared.
“How do you feel?” Darian asked quietly from Traven’s side as he let his arm fall. “You look terrible.”
“I feel terrible,” he replied. “I’m just glad it’s over.”
“Not quite yet,” Darian said. “Do you have the flower?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Get it out, and hold it in your left hand. When the king arrives, slowly walk towards him and kneel at his feet with the flower extended. He will inspect the flower, say a few words, and raise you to your feet. After he has presented you to the crowd, the trial will officially come to an end.”
Traven reached into his pocket and delicately pulled out the unique flower from the Cave of the Eternal Flame. He held it carefully in his left hand and waited patiently for the elf king to arrive. When the king stopped, Traven took several steps forward and knelt at the monarch’s feet with his left hand extended. The elf king reached forward and plucked the flower from his hand. After several moments of silent inspection, the king spoke in a loud voice.
“The candidate has returned from his journey up the sacred mount. He has survived all three parts of the King’s Trial and has proven himself worthy to be a king. He has shown his skill, his strength, and has learned to accept the truth. Arise.”
Traven slowly got to his feet.
“I present to you Traven, a man worthy of leading others and being their king.”
He watched with surprise as the king bowed towards him. The rest of the elves in the crowd immediately followed the king’s example and bowed as well. As they rose, they began to cheer.
“Congratulations,” the king said in a quieter tone. “You have done what many thought impossible for a human to do. I will admit I did not expect you to succeed. Nevertheless, I will keep my promise. Meet me in the arena at sunset, and I will fulfill my part of the bargain by lending to you what you have requested and earned.”
The elf king turned and strode away while the small crowd continued to cheer. With each passing moment, more elves arrived at the clearing. Darian came up behind Traven and put his hand on his shoulder.
“Come,” the elf said. “Now the trial is over. Let us return to my parent’s home where you can wash up, eat a decent meal, and rest until this evening.”