The Trials of Ildarwood: Spectres of the Fall Read online

  After pausing only for a moment, Delaniya placed her fork and knife back onto the table beside her plate and replied, “Have you ever considered, even for an instant, that maybe, just maybe, it’s because I know exactly how this story is going to end? Now, I understand how appealing it may seem to just stand up there and tell everyone what you think they need to hear–believe me, I do–but the one lesson from your Trials you have not yet seemed to grasp is that the most obvious solution to a problem is rarely the most successful in matters such as these. Sometimes the long, hard road to victory is more enduring than the short. Sometimes we must abide both sins and shadow when we believe they’ll do less harm than laws and light. And sometimes it is better to brook the changing tide than to try and fight against it . . . that is, unless your only real objective is to help it prove its course. Just a few essential life lessons I’m sure you would have ended up learning all on your own, given time, just like so many others who came before you who had to figure them out the hard way.”

  “So you honestly believe that keeping them all in the dark is safer than giving them even the slightest warning at all?” Merielle asked, tears welling up in her eyes as she gestured toward Telara and all three of her mortified friends.

  “As a matter of fact, I do,” Delaniya replied. “And if you truly want what’s best for everyone who will be starting their Trials on First Day, you will complete the traditional recitation precisely as instructed, and I’d better not hear so much as a questionable quiver in your voice when you do. Now, am I understood?” And as she concluded, she allowed those last three words to linger upon her lips as they slipped from the end of her tongue.

  “Yes, Mom,” Merielle bitterly replied.

  “I don’t want you to ‘yes, Mom’ me, Merielle. I am trying to help you understand that these matters are far more complicated than they appear.” Then, just as she was about to resume her breakfast, she added, “You may not believe it now, but I promise there will come a day when each of you girls will actually thank us for everything we’ve done to help you learn and keep you safe. My only hope is that we actually both live long enough to hear it when you do.”

  “I think you’ve made your point, dear,” Alder noted at last, causing Delaniya to glare in his direction before swiftly dissecting her morning links.

  In the end, the morning had been every bit the disaster Telara had expected, and then some. Yet her frustrations only grew once her friends finally prepared to leave.

  “Thanks for having us over, Lara,” Briyal said warmly, giving her friend an obligatory hug on the manor’s front steps.

  “We should totally do this again,” Zavanna said next. “It was so much fun.”

  “Yeah,” Cora added as she stepped outside, “and not uncomfortable at all.”

  After watching as the three girls climbed up into their respective carriages, Telara turned to face her older sister and said, “Well, that was the most embarrassing morning of my entire life, so, you know, thanks for that.”

  In response, she received little more than a glare from the heartbroken Merielle.

  “Ready to go?” Alder interrupted, hurrying past his daughters as two Ildarhorses pulled a carriage up to the front steps.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Telara shouted, chasing after him. “We had a deal!”

  “Did we?” Alder asked, lifting a crate full of books and paperwork in through the carriage door.

  “You promised I could come with you today if Mom did anything embarrassing.”

  “Funny, I don’t remember shaking on it,” Alder replied. “Did you get it in writing?”

  “Come on, please! After all that, don’t you think I deserve it?”

  “Okay, fine, fine. Just . . . don’t tell your mother.”

  The words had barely left his mouth before Telara shouted, “I call the back seat!” and leaped into the carriage with glee.

  Though the ride into town from Brent Manor was a brief one, it felt nearly interminable to Telara, who had waited years for the chance to visit her father at work. She had always been amazed by the grandeur of Ranewood’s palatial Astercourt. Even from a distance, she could see the structure’s enormous silver Asterport and the massive burning Ildarstar rotating within. Only slightly less prominent were the three smaller Asterports that punctuated each end of the three main wings of the building.

  As the carriage drew nearer, she finally caught sight of the Astercourt’s sprawling, verdant yards, surrounded on all sides by ornate fences made of thick white steel. Then, upon the main gates through which they passed, Telara spotted the national crest of the Selyrian Union–a majestic silver shield with two Ildarglass swords crossed at rest behind it, and there, emblazoned upon its surface, a pair of balanced silver scales encircled by thirteen five-point stars in a circle.

  As the family carriage approached the entrance, Telara marveled at the colossal fountain in the center of the carriageway. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before, with a single statue made of whitestone rising up from the center. The towering figure had been crafted in the shape of an angel, armed and lightly armored, with a small rotating Ildarstar held high in the air. In his other hand he held a pair of balanced scales–a symbol of what the Selyrian people saw as their objective in life–while around him was a pool of pristine water that shimmered all the more so thanks to all the Ildarglass coins tossed in wishfully over the years.

  When the family’s carriage finally stopped in front of the Astercourt, Alder was the first to emerge. “Are you going right into the Ildarwood?” he asked his eldest daughter before helping her step down.

  “Yeah. I just want to stop by Westwatch really quick before I head off to the Ildarcourt and find out where I’m assigned.”

  “You say that like you don’t already know,” Alder said with a smile, though Merielle was not at all amused. “Well, try to stay safe this year. Your mother and I love you, and we know you’ll make us proud.” Then he gave her that special kind of hug that only a father could give, and it brought a glistening silver tear to Merielle’s eye.

  “Of course,” she managed softly. “I love you too.”

  Stepping down from the carriage herself, Telara was surprised when her sister turned in her direction. “Good luck out there,” Merielle offered. “And no matter what happens, just . . . don’t give up, okay?”

  “Thanks,” Telara replied, begrudgingly less upset with her older sister. “Same to you.” Then, with one last, reluctant smile, Merielle turned and hurried off toward the Ildarwood.

  The main staircase leading up into the Astercourt was a grand thing to behold, Telara quickly discovered. White Ildarstone comprised everything Telara could see, from columns to statues, signs, and more. Up above, Telara stood in wonder of the angelic men, women, and children that had been carved into every surface, and though many of them had faded with age, most were still quite vibrant and detailed. The front doors of the building, however, were made of steel and sturdy whitewood, and the crest of the Selyrian Union adorned them all.

  Once inside, Telara gasped at the size and majesty of the halls all around her. Large statues and intricate carvings decorated the building from top to bottom, and down at the end of a long, wide corridor, she could see a tremendous Ildarwood tree growing in the center of the atrium. With glistening lavender leaves and dangling flowers made of amethyst Ildarglass, it was framed perfectly by the archways along the hall.

  “Okay, so here are the rules,” Alder began, stopping abruptly in front of her. “No asking questions, no wandering off, and if you see or hear anything you’re not supposed to, you didn’t see it or hear it. Got it?”

  “Um, sure.”

  “Perfect! Let’s go.”

  The two walked briskly down the hall toward the Ranewood tree, and as soon as they entered the atrium, Telara’s attention drifted upward toward the stunning domed ceiling that gave way to the central Aster
port and its breathtaking Ildarstar. Nearby, a magnificent stone staircase spiraled around the room until it arrived at a narrow balcony that reached out almost far enough to rest below the star.

  “Incredible, isn’t it?” Alder asked his awestruck daughter. “Every Astercourt and Ildarcourt in the world looks something like this one, more or less,” Alder explained. “There is always an Ildarwood tree growing in the center, and there is always an Ildarstar floating above. You see, the tree represents whatever aspect of the spectral world the community needs or values most. In our case, the founders of this town chose a Ranewood tree because, to them, it symbolized peace and tranquility during a time of disagreement and war. It is also the only type of Ildarwood tree that can immediately soothe a troubled soul–something our founders desperately needed back then, given the trials they were facing at the time.”

  “Oh, wow,” Telara gasped, walking toward the towering structure and placing her hand on one of its roots. As she did so, a soothing calm washed over her. “What about the star?” she asked next, eager to finally learn the answers to just a few of her long-held questions. “How did it get so big? Is it special?”

  “Actually, it’s really not all that different from the one we have at home,” Alder replied. “The only reason this one’s bigger is because it sits right in the center of town, where everyone can look up and admire it. You see, healthy Ildarstars always get bigger and brighter when the people who look up to them are happy and well. That makes it easier for the Ildarstars to protect us from all sorts of dangerous spirits and ill will. But if the people who help keep the Ildarstar alive become unhappy or unwell, then the star will slowly fade, until eventually there’s nothing left.”

  “And then it dies?”

  “And then it dies.”

  “How old is this one?”

  “I think it’s getting close to two hundred years, if I remember correctly, but I’ve heard of some back in Ondala that have actually been burning for thousands of years, believe it or not.”

  “Incredible,” Telara replied, utterly mesmerized by the beauty of the scene.

  From beside the Ranewood tree, Alder guided Telara next up the spiraling stone staircase and into the bright silver hallway on the second floor. Along the way, he pointed out which offices belonged to which town officials, as well as what all their duties entailed, including his own. Then, once they finally reached the end of the hall, Alder brought Telara into a stunning library, which seemed to have a nearly inexhaustible supply of books on a thousand different shelves.

  “See anything you want to read?” he asked with a smile.

  “Everything,” Telara replied with awe.

  “Well, maybe you should start with something simple,” Alder suggested before grabbing a pile of books from the shelf of returns. “Aha! This one is right up your alley: The Maiden’s Fall. I read this one way back, during my Trials. I’m surprised it’s still in such good shape.”

  “Nuh-uh. She’s not old enough for that one,” the librarian said, her finger wagging in the air. A large woman with a light brown complexion and a bright purple dress, she wore an elaborate matching headwrap that had been tied and shaped into an enormous bow.

  “Oh?” Alder replied before looking down at the book’s spine and tapping his finger on one of the symbols. “Ah, right. I guess not. Well, maybe when you’re a little bit older,” he said while placing the book back on the shelf. “Why don’t you just run over to the pre-Trials section instead and find one or two we can take home with us? I just need a few hours to meet with some parents, okay?”

  “Okay,” Telara mumbled as she glanced over at the book her father had returned, then glared at the librarian.

  “That’s my girl. I won’t be long, and if you need any help, don’t be afraid to ask Miss Yolande here.”

  It did not take Telara long to realize that there was nothing even remotely of interest to her in the pre-Trials section of the library, and while she was certain that a book called Rivers, Rocks, and You was fascinating in its own way, she could not help but wonder what made the book about the Last Maiden off-limits to anyone too young for the Trials.

  For the next hour after that, Telara pretended to read while discreetly watching the librarian go about her duties. Each time Telara peeked over the top of a book, however, Miss Yolande seemed to sense her mischievous gaze, and one of her narrow, pointed eyebrows would shoot straight up. Then she would cast a sideways glance at Telara, almost daring her to put one toe out of line.

  Miss Yolande needed only a handful of those silent interactions to sense what Telara was planning, and so the lavender librarian took it upon herself to snatch the forbidden book from the nearby shelf and place it onto a shelf high enough up that Telara could never reach it without her knowing.

  After that, Telara’s patience was spent. She put down the latest book she had been pretending to read, then made her way over to Miss Yolande’s desk and asked, “May I go to the bathroom, please?” causing the librarian’s eyebrow to shoot up once more.

  “You actually need to use the bathroom?”

  “Why would I ask if I didn’t need to?” Telara defensively replied.

  “Well, I have no idea, child. You tell me.”

  “Yes, I need to use the bathroom,” Telara answered with a huff.

  “Mm-hmm. Down the hall, on your right. But don’t take too long–I don’t wanna have to go all the way out there to find you. Got it?”

  “Got it,” Telara answered before stepping out into the corridor.

  Looking back toward the library once she arrived outside the lavatory, Telara spotted Miss Yolande’s gigantic bow and the upper half of her head poking out through the library door. After taking a few steps into the lavatory, Telara paused for a moment before carefully glancing back down the hallway again. Then, just as soon as the bow was gone, she bolted into the Chancellor’s office across the way.

  Like a dark and cozy library, there were shelves of dusty books from the floor all the way up to the ceiling on every wall, and on one side of the room stood a large, elaborate fireplace with a solid mantel made of dark wood. Standing in the rear center of the room was a massive, ornate desk, and just behind that were two glass doors that opened out onto a balcony. And scattered throughout the space were various paintings, maps, and artifacts, either hanging upon the walls or otherwise standing on display.

  Nearby, Telara found a vast Ildarstone table with a map of the entire town etched into it. There were hundreds of tiny Ildarglass beads, each a different color, floating above the surface, and while some beads were higher in the air and glowing brighter than the rest, others were cold and dark, barely levitating at all.

  After taking a few moments to soak it all in, Telara sneaked over to the glass doors and opened them quietly. Then she stepped out onto the balcony and was immediately mesmerized by the beauty of the Ildarwood before her. The shimmering silver leaves of the Ildarwood trees flowed like waves in an ocean. In one direction, Telara could see mountains and a breathtaking waterfall in the distance. In the other, she could see rolling forests of greenwood trees that had not yet begun to sprout their springtime buds. Far out past them, she could barely detect another massive Asterport on the horizon, though that one was broken, blackened, and crumbling.

  Click, clack, click, clack, click, clack, click, clack. The sound of a woman’s shoes on the Ildarstone floor outside the office was unmistakable, and Telara’s stomach seized up the very second she heard it. Closing the balcony doors behind her, she sneaked back into the office and hid behind its main door. Then, peeking out into the hallway, Telara could see a middle-aged woman with golden-olive skin and perfectly tamed black hair waiting impatiently outside the Overseer’s office. From the quality of her dress, Telara could tell the woman worked in some respectable position, and it was clear from the expression on her face that she was not at all happy to be there.

 
“Come in,” Alder’s voice called out suddenly. Then the woman glanced in Telara’s direction before proceeding into Alder’s office.

  To avoid being seen, Telara closed the door to the Chancellor’s office carefully, then tiptoed over to a side door that joined the two rooms. Pressing her ear against it, she was eager to hear exactly what her father’s job entailed.

  “So, you wanted to speak with me about your son, Aiden?” Alder asked in his most official-sounding voice.

  “Unfortunately,” the woman replied.

  “What can you tell me about him? You said in your message you had some concerns.”

  “A few. He’s a very good boy–very smart and very creative–but he’s not very social. He mostly just plays by himself, or with his little brother . . . although they haven’t been quite as close over the past year or so.”

  “Well, that does tend to happen as kids get older, and it’s not so strange for boys his age to play by themselves.”

  A brief pause followed before the woman continued. “He’s also been acting out a bit more at home–mostly toward me.”

  “Acting out how?”

  “He’s just . . . very angry. I don’t really know why–it’s not like he has any real reasons to get upset. Most of the time, it seems like he’s just perfectly normal, but then other times, he just looks at me with so much hatred in his eyes that it’s almost like he’s actually thinking about hurting me. When he gets like that, it takes every last bit of patience and energy I’ve got just to calm him down, and most days, after I get home from work, I’ve barely got enough of either left to try and control him.”

  “I see. Can you give me an example of one of the last times he lashed out?”

  “Well, a few days ago, I wouldn’t let him go play in the woods behind our house. He hadn’t finished his lunch, and I told him he had to eat everything, even the steamed spinach I’d made, or he’d have to stay inside. Then he said that wasn’t fair since I know he hates spinach and must’ve been stupid to have even bothered to make it anyways, at which point I obviously needed to ground him and send him to his room. Well, that’s when he gave me this angry, hateful look and stomped all the way upstairs before slamming his bedroom door shut and throwing something across the room that ended up smashing into pieces.”