COTN House of Canaan Part 1

Book 1

The House of Canaan

1. Reunion

The moonlight shine once agin as the cloud move to allow the moon to come forth from behind it. It illuminate the dark dense forest of the valley as the nocturnal predators frown at the loss of the advantage they had earlier. But they all paused in their pursuit that night as their gaze is on the fleeting figure of a young elf who ride on the back of the large white wolf. Its not that they are spell blinded by the fleeting white figures but they are awed by the swift movements of the duo as they evade the main branches and roots of the trees with ease. Not a sound was heard of these two until they are near to you and then you won't be able to move for your limbs for they are locked in fright by the sight. But not all were caught up by the intrusion magic and they did what was expected of them; they sent the signal to the Guardians.

The Guardian was advised by the vibes on the forest groundling creatures and his task was set before him. None may intrude here without his permission and he chose to investigate on the unannounced guests. He is the Guardian of the Valley as the darkness is his friend while the forest offers him much of that. His name is Cedi and he is also a Elf but of the dark descent from the Dark Elves. They are the guardians of the forest world where the dark is supreme and none may surpassed them in that power.

When the call came, he was lying on his bedding. He had to pry myself from his lover sleeping next to him. She reached out for him, but he pulled her hand away. He washed his face with the water in the small tub next to the bed and smoothen down his hair braids to the back of my neck. He has been growing the dark hair for five years now and its has reached waist length now. Its braided for easy maintenance and also its the new trend among the elves.

He stare at himself in the reflection on the water in the tub. Its showed an adult Elf in his prime time and his height of over six feet could not be shown in full on the water. He ignored his self assessment of the body, as he grabbed hold of his dark uniform which includes the tunic and leather pants that would be encased in a knee high soft leather boots laced in the front. He donned his chain mail body armor as he need to be careful with his foes out there as in a battle, there are possibility of being wounded if he is not properly armored.

He then grabbed his weapons which includes the bow and a quiver of arrows, the Elf sword named Excab, and the trusted round shield of the hard metal. Lastly he slot in the dagger which he hold dear to his heart. Its a gift from his father before his death, and its also a family heirloom. Its a simple dagger of the length of my hand with a wooden hilt. It bears no emblem of the family nor is it encased with rubies on its hilt. But its significance to the family was it belongs to his forefather's and its rumored its cut is more deadly than any blade as the wound would not heal. The blade on the dagger is believed to be descended from the skies and its not found elsewhere.

He stepped out of his post on the high tree and blew out a low whistle that only his pet could hear. She would come with her swift wings and descend near him. Both of them would paired up to ride the treetops while their keen eyes scout the lower ground level for the white fleeting intruders. His pet came as trained and she is a Gryphon; a dark golden creature with a head of the Lion and the wings of the Eagle. She looks like a Lion but she is not of the same breed. Her types are rare and they looked quite similar in looks but the female ones like Leoni are normally smaller in build compared to her males counterparts.

He took care of her when she was injured from some earlier battle. She was lying on the ground when he confronted her. She growled at him when he tried to approached her. He showed her the food but she was still hostile. Nevertheless, he  did give her the food with caution and after several tries when she was used to his presence. She also allowed him to come near her. He then noticed the wounds and used his Elven magic to heal her.

The wounds took three months to recover but by then they were friends. He soon trained her to let him ride on her and soon after, he fashioned a saddle on her to allowed him to sit comfortably. It took them nearly a year to learn to communicate on touch signals and coordination on flight. Now for the last six months they have been flying in pair on his patrols. Many of the others envy him and his pet but to him, it was a gift from the Gods.

"Come, Leoni. We have an intruder', he said to it as he mount onto the back when it landed near the post. It raised the head and took the new scent in the air. It caught hold of it in the scent and was flapping the wings to fly towards it.

"Keep to the trees as we need to have a peek at them before we react."

He is being cautious as not many intruders has made it this far without his knowledge. The last time anything made it this far was the Orcs but they created a trail which even a young apprentice can picked up. With this new intruder, the vapor of their trail is faint and if not for Leoni keen smell and my sight, the intruder would had made it further in to the valley. The Gryphon reacted with a low growl on his command when he smoothe the mane around the neck.

The forest in the valley is dark and dense with the trees growing close and their canopies of leaves overlapped each other. This does not prevents the sunlight from touching the ground at most places where its shines down by the gaps in between the leaves. The thick undergrowths would seek its replenishments by spreading out itself to capture as much of this light thus making the flooring of the forest unmanageable in growth and arrangement. For some of these growths, the thickets have evolved with climbing abilities as vines engulfed the tall trunks as they snailed up to reach the skies. The length and width of the forest covers the entire valley. Distance is measured by the flight of birds which would take an hour to cover the width and three hours to do the length.

"I see them, Leoni. They move fast and with stealth not like any intruders I have seen."

He seen the duo streaming in full flight through the forest and their movements are as swift like birds who flew in between the branches.

"Shall we asked them of their purpose of visit?" He is not concern of their visit to the Dark Valley but they may stumble on the Tower in their moving forth run. That may be possible to many as the place is cloaked by elves magic that hide the place from outsiders except to those who knows our magic.But since the last war, they are not taking any chances on it.

But his call to them was unnecessary as they heard not his only call but chose to attack by the white intruders.

The arrow which sailed towards him was deflected by the shield on instinct picked from years of close combat. He kicked out with his left foot to signal the Gryphon to swerve left as he loosed off an arrow of mine. It missed the duo and he shot the next arrow without hesitation but his intruders have loose themselves among the thick dark undergrowth into the dark forest below.

Something of white cannot hide for long in the dark and soon he saw the flash of it. It was all he needed to loose his arrow, but find it deflected by the intruder holding a spear now.

He decided to take his fight to the ground level and directed the Gryphon to land at the nearby clearing.

"Come out and show me yourself, Intruder!" He disembark from the Gryphon and faced the General direction which he expected the intruder to emerge out.

They did and he was surprised.

"Medi, is that you?"

He looked at the white hooded figure in a cloak who stepped out with the large White Wolf. The figure also wear a bow and a quiver of arrows, but the hand now wields a long spear. The slim figure pulled back the hood and reveal the person beneath it. The one he knew as Medi walked into their camp as part of the refugees from the war.

She was part of the Genoe House and she is a White Elf unlike him. The refugees were assigned to individual homes to be fed and sheltered as ordered by the council. Medi was assigned to his father's home then, and she was accepted without any argument. She learned to do the works in the home under the supervision of his mother, while both men were out there fighting the war. When they come back from their battles, the women folks would tend to the weapons and also to their wounds. It was then he got to know Medi when he came back one day with a fatal wound. She was the one tended to him for days and nights until he recovered. He was indebted to her for his recovery and since then they became closer until one day she joined me as his mate.

"Yes, Cedi. Its me, Medi, I am back. I missed you."

Medi disappear that night five years ago. She is below his height and of a smaller build than him, yet he know her fighting skills equals to mine. She is not an expert in the bow and many a times he have outclassed her in the target contest. She ran to him and he could not resist but to hold out his hands to embrace her within it folds. She is back in his life and its been so long since that day they parted.

"Medi, you left without a word then. Now you are back but you are not of the same. I can see that in you now. Tell me please."

He pulled her out of their embrace to looked at the friend he lost years ago. He is glad to see her now as all this time he thought she had died or worse left for good. Now she is back here in his arms but she looked different. She is dressed like a warrior with the leather armor underneath her cloak and she carries sidearms of a spear beside the arrows. She was no warrior of the Clan when she was here as its forbidden by an outsider to be a Warrior.

Medi pulled out of his hands and stepped back to her wolf.

"Yes, I did leave you but it was not my choice. The clan wants me gone; out of your life for good. I had to obliged them as they took me in when I was alone." Medi looked at him with the sad expression. "They told me, it was time for me to go back to my people. The war was over and I could leave then. I wanted to tell you my farewell but they forbid me."

"Medi, you could had told me. You need not be afraid of them. You never did anyway. I remember you fighting them at every instance they tried to assimilate you to the clan. But why then? Why did you leave without telling me? I love you. I would had protected you." He reached out with his hands but she stepped back. Her wolf snarled at me and the Gryphon reacted with a low growl.

"Silence, Leoni." He motioned to his pet Gryphon.

"Medi, why did you not tell me then?" Cedi stared at the friend who was his mate for three years and the time they had together was so much fun and happy.

"Cedi, I love you too. But I am a white Elf and we cannot be together. Its forbidden by the clans and you know it. We can be friends like before, but never as lovers. The Dark Elves Clan forbids it and that was why I was asked to leave. I was of the age to choose and they wanted me to leave before I could..... made my choice of you. I resisted as you said, but they were adamant. So I had to leave." Medi looked away to her wolf and then reached out to hold the wolf's neck. She lay her kiss on the creature and looked back at me.

"Cedi, after my return to my own Clan I been leaving as one like them. I am special to them as I am of the warrior breed too like you. I did not know of this until I went back. That was also why your Clan rejected me as I could be a traitor in their midst. They knew of my breeding and among us, we are very loyal to the Clan. Our own clan and not any adopted one. There are ways which you may not understand but only our people understood it. Since I have been back, I have been initiated into the special breed of warrior breed. Among us in that breed only a handful of the elves are allowed to move to the next level. Its called ‘Jhitai’ and I was one of the selected. As a Jhitai, I can bond with him." Medi pat the wolf and looked back at him.

"We are a pair and of one. He is my mate now and only he can protect me now."

"Medi, how could you do this to me?" Cedi stepped forth to see her but she stopped him with her hand. Cedi cannot believe himself to see the previous mine now a lover of a beast; a creature of the wild. She must be mad or he is mad to listen to all of this.

"Cedi, you don’t know of this. Do not make it difficult for me. I have accepted my new life and I am now a ‘Jhitai’. More to it, I am only back here not to clarify myself, but to seek your understanding." She reached into her vest and pulled out a amulet on a chain. "We are friends and above all, very good friends. But we have grown up and things have changed. I am now no more of yours as you are no more of mine. But we are still friends. I come with a gift to you as that friend. This is the Amulet of Light which once belongs to my father. I am offering this to you as my parting a gift. Preserve it well as you may need it."

Medi handed me the amulet which I took from her hand, but I grabbed her hand once more.

"Medi, there is something I need to asked of you. When you choose to leave me......us, I mean. Did you steal the Oracle? You know its significance to the Clan." I glared at her hoping she would give me the answer I feared most.

"Yes, I did. I took the Oracle as it was my father's. Your Clan took it from him when he was defeated in the war by the enemy. Your Clan took it from his dying body and kept it for themselves. I only took back what was mine. Why do you asked?" Medi glared back at me.

Little did she know how much I wanted to know the truth since it happened then. Even though I know the truth hurts but I had to asked. Her answer was what I feared and now I am at a loss to reply to her.

"No, I just wanted to asked. You may leave now. With your creature. And do not return." I turned my back to Medi and mount Leoni. I turned back to looked at Medi as she mount her wolf.  

"Is the Oracle that important to your Clan?" Medi asked him.

"The Oracle is our amulet to call forth the dead in our necromancy ritual. Without it, we cannot perform it. That ritual is sacred to my people. You father did not own the Oracle. He stole it from us before then. We have asked for its return but your Clan refused to do so. It was my father who took it back from your father, and now you done the same. It looks like we are fated to dispute on the Oracle. Since you tell me your Clan have it, now I am obliged to retrieve it back." Cedi kicked at the Gryphon to fly up but he heard Medi' parting words.

"Cedi, as a Jhitai I am obliged to protect it. If you come to steal it again, we cannot be friends if you fight me for it. " Medi nodded to herself on hearing her own words and tears appeared on her eyes. She closed her eyes and then step forth to the wolf.

“Be off from the valley now or I be forced to kill you, Medi of Genoe.” Cedi saw her signal the wolf to leave the clearing as they took in the same route that they came in before.

As for Cedi, he rode off into the dark skies. He wished that he could had told her why he asked but it does not matter now.

A life has been sacrificed for her action and that is long past now. Just like her friendship, he is also closing the chapter on the death of his father who was executed on the day the Oracle went missing. It was his father's duty to guard it.

Its best be forgotten than to concern him when he place the killing blow on her.