Elryn's Children

### **Preface**

This is a fic written by Abi. It's mainly from Tannivh's POV of Gossamer and Vestele's childhood. It's intended to be a perspective of Tannivh before he became more evil.

Characters: Elas = Gossamer, Amryn = Vestele, Elryn = Tannivh's previous wife

### **Elryn's Children**

Raising Amryn was simple. Tannivh already knew how to teach and direct her in arcane powers, and she was a quick learner. She was eager to study and train, motivated by some unending drive. She didn't require reassurance like Elas. She didn't hold herself back from the decisions that mattered. Amryn was perfect.

Elas on the other hand, with her fidgeting and uneasiness, required much more guidance. She had no place in leadership, but Tannivh could see her potential with a bow. Although not innately talented with it, her keen sense for hunting and stealth made the bow an ideal fit for Elas. Elryn had given Tannivh enough lessons in archery to help him teach Elas the basics, but beyond that, Elas trained with others in the clan.

Tannivh knew that Elas' interests were beyond his expertise, but he could teach her how to kill. Teach her not to hold back, to never hesitate, to hit the mark. He could teach her fear.

Since Amryn and Elas weren’t old enough to go on patrols for the clan, Tannivh would send them to hunt animals and practice various strategies. After all, a frightened deer is not much different than a foolish man. He hoped that if he could get Elas to lose that hesitation, she could better help her sister once she becomes Vovcha one day.

One evening, Tannivh waited at the base of his and Elryn's tree as the children hunted. Tannivh watched as the shadows grew longer until the forest was encased in darkness. It was a clear sky, but the moon didn't illuminate the ground as it usually did. Even with darkvision, it was hard to make out any detail among the shadows.

A scream cut through the darkness, "ELAS! HELP!" Amryn was out of breath, running from some creature. Tannivh bolted toward the noise, searching for whatever was chasing Amryn. He heard a howl close by. Tannivh rushed forward to see Amryn bracing herself as a wolf began to close the distance between them, blood trickling down her arm. Anger filled his entire body, and he ran towards the wolf. The forest seemed to slow as he felt each impact with the ground leave sparks of dirt flying behind him. Amryn held up her blade as the wolf jumped. Tannivh reached forward and grabbed the wolf midair with all his force, sending lightning straight through its body. As the wolf slumped to the ground, Amryn stepped back, trying to regain composure.

"Amryn!! Are you ok?," Elas appeared from the shadows, running towards her sister. She slowed down after seeing the wolf lifeless on the ground, passed Tannivh and went straight to Amryn.

"What was that? You put both of us in danger," Amryn sheathed her sword and began to inspect her arm as Elas approached.

Elas could see the lingering fear in her expression that was so cleverly masked with anger. Without asking, Elas grabbed Amryn's wrist and traced a circle near the wound. She watched as the glowing energy began to mend the torn skin. The bleeding stopped, but it wasn't fully healed. Amryn yanked her wrist back, "Maybe try hitting it next time."

Tannivh grabbed Elas' shoulder so she'd face him, "You missed?"

Elas stared back as Tannivh waited for her response, his face concerned but stern. "I guess I chose the wrong view for my watch… I thought I had a good clearing, but it was moving so fast, and Amryn hadn't seen it yet, and it was getting closer, so…"

Tannivh let go of her shoulder as her eyes traced the outline of his boots. He sighed, "When you miss, you don't just endanger yourself, but you put others at risk. If I wasn't here, could you have protected your sister?" His voice was loud and present, demanding attention. "Your fear was the reason you missed. You are letting your emotions distract you, misguide you. You will never be able to have a place in the clan if you let this control you. Do you understand?"

Elas looked back up, "Yes. It won't happen again."

If Elas continued to hesitate, she would be of no use to Amara. Tannivh knew that. If only he could make her understand the price of hesitation.

He led them back towards his tree, silent as they walked. The forest filled the void with it’s rustling melody. Amryn was the first to speak as she hurried up next to Tannivh, “So. Where are we going? Is this more training? You could at least tell us that.”

“A training of sorts - you will have to practice some patience,” Tannivh slowed his pace as he looked for the tree. Even in the murky shadows it was unmistakable. Quite larger than the surrounding trees, with more notches and weather torn limbs, it stood tall and strong.

Tannivh stopped and gestured, “Do you see this tree? Can you feel it’s presence? This tree was here before my time, and I don’t doubt it will be here after. It’s view of the forest is unmatched, your mother… and I found it.” He paused. He didn’t mean to mention Elryn.

Before he could continue, Amryn asked, “Our mother?” Her words seemed to drift and settle in the air, as memories of Elryn circled in Tannivh’s mind.

“Yes,” he filtered through his thoughts before speaking again, “We came here often.”

This time Elas spoke, “Is that why you brought us here? To connect with her?”

“No,” he sounded harsher than he had intended. He raised a hand to his forehead, “No, I wanted the two of you to understand the weight of your roles in the clan. You will go up there, each night if you have to, until you see Zvezda’s arrow.”

The children still had questions, their eyes wide and their breath halted. Tannivh wouldn’t give them any more opportunity to ask questions, “Go. Return at dawn to report what you saw.”

He began to walk away, but Amryn stopped him as she asked, “Why now? Zvezda’s arrows are meant for blessings for missions, not for our small hunts.”

Elas even chimed in, “What guidance are you hoping Zvezda will give us?”

Tannivh looked back over his shoulder, “Why don’t you spend these nights asking her?”

With the sky so dark, it was unlikely they’d see an arrow anytime soon. Tannivh hoped this would teach Amryn some patience, and Elas some trust. If they believed they were guided by some deity, maybe they would finally be able to work together. It didn’t matter that it was some myth they told the clan’s children, that Zvezda guided them with arrows. That Zvezda was even watching. He just needed them to believe in something. Something that he could bend to fit the clan’s will. Give them a few hundred years of belief, and they’d do anything for Zvezda.

Just as he had hoped, they returned the next morning unsuccessful. Amryn and Elas spent their next few nights watching the sky. After a week, their exhaustion was apparent. Elas seemed to be in a daze and Amryn was quicker to throw a punch. With training all day, and watches at night, they had little time to meditate. Tannivh wondered how much longer they would have to wait, but was glad their distraction had kept them off the topic of Elryn.

On the tenth night, they had finally seen it, an arrow of light shooting across the night sky. The children returned to the clan more relaxed, eager to finally rest a bit.

As they entered their family’s hut, Tannivh stood and asked, “So what guidance did she give you?”

Amryn spoke first as usual, “It was beautiful. I didn’t understand that seeing it could be so reassuring. I don’t think I received guidance, it was more like acknowledgement.”

Elas was fiddling with her bow string, “I felt the same. I just felt more sure that she was with us. Maybe she would actually watch us when we hunt.”

Tannivh was relieved, they seemed more motivated. He held their shoulders, “Zvezda gave you her blessing. Let that guide your training. Go on, we can discuss more later, I have some things to attend to first.”

“Finally, I can actually get back to some real training.” Amryn left quickly, obviously eager to actually make some progress.

As Elas turned to leave, Tannivh spotted something familiar etched into her bow. “Wait, what is that on your bow?”

She turned back, lifting the bow over her head to pass it to him. As Tannivh traced the most recent carving she explained, “I thought it could be my watch symbol.”

It was exact. A perfect replica of Elryn’s watch symbol. There was no way Elas had seen it… Watch symbols of the dead aren’t shared with the clan. “How,” his shock was too obvious. He calmed his tone before speaking again, “How did you design this?” He handed the bow back.

Elas held her bow, staring at the symbol, “Last night, after seeing the arrow, it just clicked. It was like the stars took form. I guess it was part of Zvezda’s guidance?” She looked back up at him, “Do you think it would work for my symbol?”

“Yes, I think it will do just fine.”

Elas went up and hugged him. He didn’t move. “Thank you father.” She let go and went to join Amryn. Zvezda’s arrows were nothing more than myth. Elas couldn’t have actually seen something… right?