James C Gilliam

Elec knocked on the cottage door before letting himself in. The cot by the fireplace sat empty, and Lily reclined in her chair at the kitchen table, sipping a cup of steaming tea. She let out a sigh and gave a smile as his head peeked through the front door, though her eyes still held a touch of concern. The fresh logs in the fireplace made the living room warmer than it had been when he left it.

“Ah, Elec, yer back. The sailor is resting in the spare room. He’s conscious but still very weak. His wounds are healing nicely, though…whatever he went through, it took more than just blood from him.”

“How do ye mean? Can I still talk to him? I found out a lot of things at the wreck.”

She nervously adjusted her apron before putting a hand on his forearm.

“I’ve never seen anything like it, Elec. He had been dozing for a while, but when he woke, he just lay there silently…staring out the window with a…a haunted look about him. Like he’s lost something or worried that something is coming. He seems lucid enough for ye to talk to him, but be gentle.”

Elec placed his hand over hers and squeezed it. It pained him to see her like this. A lot of his childhood friends had left the island a decade or two ago. That, or in Lily’s case, started families of their own. In the same time it took for him to grow into a young adult, Lily had grown from a teen who used to watch him occasionally to a grown woman married to a respectable man, to a graceful widow who ran her own solid business. He resented her husband at first, as Elec had been smitten with her in their younger days, but relented when the girls his age finally took notice of him. Elec wished she at least had children of her own, as he would have an excuse to see her more often. Now, it’s as if each time he saw her, it was counting down to the last time he’ll ever see her again. Sensing Elec’s worry in his lengthy pause, she leaned forward and kissed him on his forehead.

“Ye better get on now. Before he falls asleep.” She said, tilting her head toward the door to the side room.

Elec nodded and stepped into the small room. His boots made only muffled thuds on the wooden floor as he entered. In the modest bed, the sailor lay propped up. The color of the dark brown blankets pulled up to his chest marked a stark contrast to the paleness of his skin. His face showed a slight and eerie resemblance to the face of the dead sailor he found under the longboat as he stared. Darkened eyes looked wide and almost pleading out the window, just past the foot of the bed. His mouth hung agape. Elec gave a slight cough to announce himself. The eyes blinked, and the face became more animated as the sailor turned towards him. When his eyes focused, he gave a bit of a start before the recognition set in.

“Ah,” The sailor said, his voice dry but stronger than before. “You…you’re the one who found me, aren’t you?”

“I am. I wanted to check on ye and know that I searched the wreckage. There are a lot of things that I have found that may be important. I don’t want to be a burden if yer not feeling up to it yet.”

The sailor blinked and took a moment to process. With a nod, he let out a shallow sigh.

“I…I think I can manage. The lady…Mrs. Fenwater has done wonders already. What of the Waveshear? What did you find? Did you see anyone else?”

Elec cast his eyes downwards from the sailor’s face. The man looked eager for any information despite his exhaustion. Elec ran a hand through his hair and scratched behind his ear to collect his thoughts. While he did not want to trouble the man’s heart, he could not avoid the fact any longer.

“I found one of yer crew members. He was under the longboat, but did not make it. His body had slashes and gouges on it, like the ship itself.”

The sailor listened, his hands gripping the blanket until his knuckles shone white. His already pale face became a shade paler.

“That was the Waveshear’s first mate, Fynn. He had orders to flee when the attack came and carry out his instructions once he escaped. Not hard to see why he didn’t make it as well…They came in well after midnight but before dawn broke. The Silent Ones. No lights, no sails, as if they were ghosts on the water. Before our lookouts even saw them, they rammed us. Their ship…it wasn’t like anything I’d ever seen. Dark wood, sleek like a predator, and it made no sound, no creak, no splash.”

The sailor swallowed hard, eyes flickering to the window and back to Elec as if for reassurance before continuing. Elec wanted to slow the man down, get him to catch his breath lest the ordeal take its toll, but before he could even raise an eyebrow, the man went on. He recognized a dam had broken, and the sailor needed to say this in its entirety.

“They boarded us faster’in we could react. Their weapons…unnatural. Blades that glowed faintly, like moonlight on steel, and armor that didn’t clink or shift. And their eyes…glowing. Like embers, but cold. Their strange lights showed all around us. They didn’t speak, just moved through the ship like they were searchin’ for something. I…I don’t know what they wanted, but the captain…he ordered us to fight them off while he locked himself in his quarters.”

The sailor’s breathing grew shallow, and he clenched his jaw.

“That’s the last I saw before everything went to hell. They overran us, dragged some of the crew off, and left others…lifeless. They disengaged right as the sky lightened. Their ship tore away, with part of our ship tearing off with it.”

As Elec listened to the sailor’s story, he shifted his pack off his shoulders and set it down at his feet. From it, he produced the journal and the artifacts. Elec described the rest of his search of the ship, leaving out the strange episode when he dropped into the water inside the hull of the vessel. The sailor’s haunted expression seemed to lessen as he explained the ledger and found the relics in the safe.

“You have to understand. If you found those in the captain’s personal chest, then you’re holding the keys to whatever they were after. That knife. That pendant. I don’t know what exactly they are or meant for, but if they find out they are here…”

The sailor’s head settled into his pillow as his exhaustion overtook him. He took several slow breaths while staring at the ceiling.

“That pendant belonged to Captain Varrow. He claimed it was an heirloom, but he had many suspicious dealings with affluent and influential individuals on the Valais mainland. We never knew truly what we were shipping, but the pay was great, and the crew enjoyed the work. The ship also featured the best armament and even magical defenses.

“Regardless, we couldn’t withstand the Silent Ones. I don’t reckon there are any that can. We can’t let anyone else know about these relics lest it get around to their cold, nonliving ears. Information has a way of getting around townships, and the sea is no better. The people here could not withstand the Silent Ones should they go to ground here looking for the relics.”

Elec nodded, but kept silent that his parents were more than a match for whatever ancient sea pirates had in store for them. Though he also knew that raiders would raze the town proper before they or any of the other heroes living on the island could react.

“The wreck of the Waveshear will still need to be reported to our charter office on the mainland. Would you be willing to go in my stead? There’s a ring with the Waveshear’s emblem in my things.”

Elec looked in the piled clothes and found the signet in his pants pocket.

“Give them only enough to satisfy simple questions. You will need to stall, be vague, and drag things out in order to give yourself enough time to find the information you need. Otherwise, they might immediately send people here, which could also attract the Silent Ones. You may have to go as far as Solhaven or Ormdale to find libraries or scholars who will work with you.

“Careful, though. The mainland is a treacherous place. You’d likely find people who’d just as soon steal the relics and sell someone like you into slavery if you are not careful. This is a lot to ask of you, but you seem to have a good head on your shoulders and a very capable sensibility. Can I entrust you with this?”

Elec’s eyes widened, and his heart quickened at the sailor’s words. The small ring in his hand suddenly felt very heavy. This was it. An adventure. His own adventure. Of course, I will have to talk to my parents, but they will most likely want to travel as well, Elec thought. Being cooped up on an island for longer than forty years is driving me crazy, let alone nearly three hundred.

“I’ll take word to the mainland about the wreckage of the Waveshear,” Elec said, taking the man’s hand. “You can trust me to guard the secrecy of these relics.”

Lily placed her hand on Elec’s shoulder, motioning with her head that it was time to leave. Taking him by the arm, she led him back into the quaint main room with its herbs and scents.

“I can’t thank ye enough, Lily,” Elec said. “If ye need me to get something before I go, tell me.”

Elec hugged her once more, her body smelling of lavender and fresh bread. The herbalist stood back, clasping his hands as she gazed upon him.

“Ye always been a good heart, Elec, but I’ve got plenty here. Go on and let your parents know what has happened, and be careful out there…the mainland can be…unpredictable,” She said. “I’ll keep an eye on things here, and I’ll say a prayer to the Lady of the Waves for yer safe travels.”

Elec made his way outside, took the reins, and walked the horse back the way he had come. With a hop and a flick, he mounted the wagon and set off on the narrow trail.

*

Roderick followed the small game trail southeast for several hours, as the bandit had said. They marched in silence, though they were not trying to be stealthy. The old sword’s mind continued to process the day’s events. He judged from her gloomy look that Seraphine was carrying a lot as well. The thick brush and undergrowth hid the small trail from the view of anyone who did not already know it was there. Lost in thought, Roderick almost walked face-first into the log wall that surrounded the settlement. Moss-covered netting and vineage effectively camouflaged the defensive barrier with its surroundings. Looking back, Seraphine gave him a very slight grin. She then turned her attention to the wall itself, looking it up and down before turning to her right and following it around. Roderick allowed her up front now. There were sounds of life within the settlement, but something felt off.

Seraphine rounded the corner, stepping under the overhang of a watchtower. She pointed up at it as she passed: No sentry. She adjusted her rapier in its scabbard, but did not draw it. Roderick rested his right hand on the hilt of his sword. As he passed under the watchtower, he could see the mangled remains of the front gate. The bandits must’ve set grappling hooks, he thought, fixing their ropes round the trees as fulcrums, and used their numbers to pull the gate open. Seraphine stepped in front of the gate and gasped, her hand raising to her mouth as she stepped back. Roderick quickened his pace and peered inside.

He thought they were undead at first, having witnessed such creatures before. Their vacant faces. Their shuffling movements. Some remained still, staring off into the log walls, while others twitched, turning this way and that. However they acted, they remained oblivious to the two of them, though they stood in the open. Roderick shrugged his shield off his shoulders and drew his sword. The movement was fluid and didn’t make a sound. Standing ready with the shield raised, he slapped the edge with the flat of his blade, giving off three bell-like rings. The settlers did not respond.

“Heyah!” Roderick yelled.

The settlers lived still, yet it seemed their minds were gone. Not one seemed to react. Even the one right inside the gate paid them no heed, though the lost-looking eyes looked into theirs. The front door of the larger building at the far end opened. A young man peered out from the narrow gap between the door and the frame.

“We’re mercenaries.” Seraphine hollered. “Sent to collect the bounty on Axor and the bandits.”

The door opened wider at the sound of Seraphine’s voice. The young man did not answer, but regarded them with a furrowed brow.

“Are you alright? What’s wrong with the people here?”

Roderick felt a chill run down his spine as the young man continued to silently regard them, his face etched with a similar haunted look. The old sword advanced, weapon low, but shield raised. The settlers were not oblivious, as he first observed. Several pairs of absent eyes met his gaze, but continued to shuffle on as if looking for something else. Seraphine closed up on him, giving the settlers as wide a berth as she could. The smell of burnt wood and flesh brought a furrow to his brow as he witnessed the large scorch mark on the ground. Obliterated viscera scattered around it, indicating where the lantern had exploded. Several burned bodies lay within the pattern burnt into the surface as well. The people who stood or shuffled near it also bore the charred clothes and blackened skin that still smoked in the filtered daylight. Roderick recognized that among the settlers, many bandits were shuffling around, lost as well. Whatever had caused the lamp to explode, the damage was far more than physical. It was as if it had burned out a part of their minds as well. The door did not open any wider as they approached, but the young man just inside watched them as they approached. She danced between a couple of the settlers and bandits who had turned in her direction.

“What happened here?” Seraphine asked.

For a while, the young man said nothing, holding her in his vacant, haunted stare. Then the voice came out in a low, unsettling moan.

“The bandits…Axor…They came early in the morning…demanding…gold…supplies. I shouldn’t have looked at the lantern…it showed me dark things…exploded…it killed most of…everyone.”

“What about the remaining people out here?” Seraphine asked.

“The lantern…took something from us…part of us…” The man said, his voice gaining a little more strength while looking at the shamblers as well. “Tried to lock them up…tried to feed them…drinks…one drowned…the others simply let…the food drop from their mouths.”

Roderick turned from the man and looked at the shambling people. Seraphine looked at them as well. If they were suffering, there was no way of telling. Each milled about in the same repeating pattern. He pondered putting them out of their misery, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. It would’ve been easier if they had been undead, but otherwise it felt like murder, however justified.

“May we have a room to stay for the night?” Seraphine asked.

The young man regarded them silently, but the vacant stare returned to his eyes. Gently, Roderick pushed the door open, and the man jostled back a couple of steps. His stillness and sad, vacant expression disturbed Seraphine. There were others, too. A few men and women. A few children as well. They all huddled around the hearth of an enormous fireplace. All still. All expressionless. Several rooms held semi-lifeless families, each one ready to leave their rooms once someone opened the door. They silently moved out of the building and back into the grounds.

“Roderick, I don’t want to stay here.”

“Hey!” Called a voice from across the settlement. “You there!”

Seraphine moved past the young man standing by the door, Roderick following as well. From another building, an older man stood waving to them, his eyes sad but very present.

“Please don’t harm them. They barely know they even exist.”

Roderick and Seraphine looked at each other before picking their way over to the other building. When they arrived on the covered wooden-planked porch, the older man opened the door wider.

“I’m sorry I said nothing sooner, but I had to be sure. You definitely do not have the look of those bastards that came the other night. Are you truly here to collect on the bandits?”

“We were,” Seraphine said, a sudden breeze chilling her through her soaked clothes. “Although other mercenaries are on their way back to collect the bounty themselves. What about you? Are you well? Is there anyone else who was not affected?”

“All things considered, I am doing alright, but my wife and daughter are out there wandering around. I hope this spell breaks soon. They haven’t drunk, eaten, or slept since the attack. But please come in. You two look like you are on the verge of catching something.”

The main room had a decent amount of space, being both a living room and a kitchen. While the fireplace was not lit, there was a small fire in the oven across the way. The older man motioned for them to sit near it while he set a kettle on.

“You two warm yourselves here in the kitchen a bit while I get the fireplace going upstairs.”

For a while, Roderick sat on a stool next to the warm oven, staring into the small, crackling blaze. The rhythmic dance helped clear his mind and allowed him to relax. Not completely, as he listened to the man’s activity upstairs, but just enough. He looked to his Half-elven friend, her eyes saddened by both experience and memory. The blue-colored kettle whistled, making him wonder what sort of tea they would have here shortly.

*

The wagon bumped along at a fast pace, the telltale blue spire and tiled roof of his home showing through the canopy of trees at the edge of their lands. Even at a distance, he could see the storm had ripped away quite a few of the tiles. Soon, the shallow woods gave way to grazing fields and rows of crops leading up to the house proper. Elec gazed upon the swirled eaves, swooping roof, and simultaneously rustic and decadent architecture of his home.

He brought the wagon to a swift halt, grabbed his pack, and ran for the front door. As he stepped into the family home, the comforting scent of wood smoke and fresh bread filled the air. His parents looked up from their work. His father refitted a scythe by the living room hearth, and his mother tinkered with a broken lock with delicate tools. Both wore expressions of mild surprise at his premature return. Father rose, wiping his hands on a cloth rag.

“Back so soon? Did you fo…something’s happened.”

Mother set the mechanism aside and moved closer, her keen eyes scanning her son’s face. Elec set his backpack down on the low-sitting table and began recounting everything: the shipwreck, the injured sailor, the body beneath the lifeboat, Lily’s, the mysterious attackers, and his discoveries, including the compass, the pendant, the dagger, and the differing runes. He laid his journal on the table, flipping it open to his sketches and notes, and placed the relics alongside it.

His parents exchanged glances, their expressions growing serious. Father’s brow furrowed as he picked up the pendant, holding it between his fingers.

“This craftsmanship…It’s not something I’ve ever seen…It’s foreign…old, even by Elven standards. And these runes…”

Mother frowned, examining the sketches of the runes, listening intently to Elec’s description of the sailor’s account. Both regarded Elec’s findings in a combination of telepathic and verbal snippets until he completed his tale. Father placed a hand on his arm.

“Elec, helping that sailor and documenting everything was absolutely the best thing to do. This is more than most would have done. But this…this is not a simple matter of a shipwreck. These runes and symbols…in conjunction with the typhoon…suggest something far more dangerous.”

Mother nodded in agreement.

“The sailor’s description of the attackers worries me.” She said, “We’ve never heard of such beings. Silent ships, glowing eyes, and unnatural weapons. All operating completely oblivious to the elements that could tear our barn to shreds…These aren’t just rumors or drunken tales. This could be the work of an ancient force, or worse, a hidden faction seeking power.”

“We need to decide what to do with these items. The wrong move could put you, us, and the entire island at risk. But keeping them hidden might invite greater danger if these attackers return.”

“The sailor charged me with taking this signet ring, reporting the wreckage to their company’s charter on the mainland, and taking the artifacts there to find a scholar or historian who could decipher their meaning or origin. If they remain here in Hintersonville…” Elec said, his father giving him a sharp look. “Sorry, Hinterson’s Vale, then the Silent Ones might be drawn here. Everyone will be in sudden and grave danger if they come. So, when do ye…I mean, you suggest we leave for the mainland?”

Father’s lips tightened, and his golden-brown eyes looked from Elec’s to Mother’s. She held her son’s gaze, but her green eyes began to tear up as she nodded to him. Father’s eyes shifted back to Elec’s, his own eyes moistening slightly as he sighed.

“We had planned to tell you when you finally received acceptance to the College of Cyrndor…Your mother and I…will have to remain here on the island.”

Elec looked at his father, taken aback.

“What are you saying, Father?”

“It is too dangerous for us to head to Valais proper. We never gave you the full story of why we came to this island, and probably won’t for some time still…We didn’t retire to Hinterson’s Vale just to have peace and quiet from the rest of the world, but to get away from all the enemies we had made.”

Elec’s veins turned to ice at his father’s words.

“All this time you had said that you and Mother were heroes…”

Father closed his eyes and dropped his chin.

“We were…still are. And I…I will not excuse the things your Mother and I had done in our youth nor blame our faults on the actions of our kinship. We etched our names in history as being heroes, but we weren’t the best versions of ourselves at the time, either. Yes, us and ours were good people fighting against evil, but we were thieves as well. We were assassins. We were warriors. We were scrupulous spies. We manipulated people to further our cause. But most of all, we were all insufferably selfish and arrogant. We sought fame and fortune rather than focusing on truly helping our fellows. Above all of this, we treated the people we aimed to protect and rescue very poorly in the process.”

Elec looked to his parents, and the emotions within him whirled, turning his stomach. While he knew their secrets were deep, he had never fathomed them being anything other than good. Father remained still, his head bowed, while Mother looked on, her lips a tight line.

“So you were…outlaws? Criminals?”

“No, but the arrogance of our ways…things that we did…finally caught up to us. We made too many careless mistakes. Enraged one too many powerful people…Because of us, our company found itself ostracized from every friend and ally we still had.“

Millions of questions rushed forth in a tidal wave of confusion. Elec didn’t know where to start or even what to ask about.

“But you came here with Uncle Kaiyalth and the other Heroes of the Vale…”

“Your uncle decided to return here, to the place of his birth. Being our moral compass, he offered for us to follow him on a holiday. We took on new identities before coming to protect the remaining members and let the consequences of our poor choices play out…for things to cool down. He brought your mother and me, and all of our remaining company here to this island. We stayed in the care of his family, and, for what was supposed to be a winter season of respite…which turned into a year without worry, fear, or anxiety. And, most importantly, a year of peace. We all fell in love with that peace and made it our lives from there on out.”

Elec stood before his father, hands clenching as he listened.

“Why reveal this now? I don’t understand, Father. You say this, yet you both continue to hide your past from me?”

“The reason your father is telling you this,” Mother said, placing her hands on Elec and his father’s shoulders, “is that we raised you to be a wholly new person and as far removed from our previous life as we could. That is why we have never told you the true extent of our adventures. We needed to give you a chance to live a normal, healthy childhood free of our mistakes. Free from our transgressions. Even our names, as you know them, are not the ones we were born with, but the ones we grew into when we came here. A fabrication, but made real when I gave birth to you. We may not truly be Miraelavar, but you are.”

Elec lowered his head as well. The emotions and experiences of the day threatened to make him sick. Too many things were changing too fast. He shook his head.

“What does this mean?” Elec said.

“It means your father and I love you, Elesandar. We spent two hundred years preparing our little sanctuary from the world for you to come into, and now you get to stake your claim on the rest of it without our past seeking to punish you for our faults.”

“I had worried my entire life when this day would draw near,” Father said, raising his head to look him in the eye once more, “but it is your day, Elec. This is the start of your journey. A fresh new page in your journal with only you to affect your outcomes.”

Tears welled in Elec’s eyes as well, and the three of them hugged. Despite his parents’ revelation shattering his perfect image of them, he still held excitement for the road ahead. He had desperately wanted this day to come for years. Now he found it hard to accept it. For his entire life, he craved the same adventures and thrills that were within the few tales his parents had shared. During that time, he saw friends grow to maturity and leave the island, some of whom left before he even knew how to say words. Those same friends who had played in the sand, chased around the woods, and fought with sticks as pretend swords were now long gone with lives of their own. Now it was his turn to see what was out in the wider world beyond their remote island, and his excitement was now tempered by the realization that he would be out there on his own.

“Any chance you two will finally tell…” Elec asked with a sniff.

“No, Son.”

“Not a chance. The knowledge of such would still be far too dangerous.”

Table of Contents

Next – Chapter 5 – Rest and Preparations

Copyright © 4 June 2026 James Christopher Gilliam

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