Casa Ravenna

Hi there I’m James and thank you in advance for reading this piece of writing. The following work is the majority of the second chapter in my Fantasy book currently titled ‘Tallisaria’ after the land it is set in. It is a tale in which a young man, the son of the islands former regeant, finds himself thrust into a world of Betrayal, Subterfuge and Conflict after his father is found dead under mysterious circumstances. The Island Nation of Tallsiaria was on the brink of war when disaster struck and although the kings death seemed obviously an act of the enemy, The young man and his remaining family find themselves chased from their house and hunted by those who believe the kings death resulted from a conflict a little closer to home. Chapter Two sees the main character, Tyzius, and his siblings visit the funeral of a close friend, one of several others who seemed to have lost their lives or gone missing in the prelude to war. However all is not as it seems as Tyzius’ brother, Mazasius, notices that the coroners attending the funeral have something unexpectedly unpleasant up their sleeves. 


Chapter 2 Casa Ravenna

Ro’Ellen, or Auntie Ro as we had always been bid call her, had lived for as long as we can remember in a small shack at the verge of Ravenna forest. Aspiring to experience the best of two worlds, the wizened elf had relinquished her ancient ties to the forest and moved to a compromised spot at its edge, so that she may easily visit the surrounding human settlements and keep in touch with the natural beauty of the woodland. However in reality auntie Ro had simply moved a little further away from both communities as she’d never been able to integrate herself fully into either one. A hundred and fifty years of life is a long time in the eyes of a human and in all that while she’d never had a better friend than my father, or so she swore; Mazasius, my brother, said that Ro always had a little twinkle in her eye when talking to father, and that secretly she must have loved him, but it never came to anything as he had already met our mother when he first stumbled across her, washing clothes in the forest springs.

I never forgot the first time I visited Casa Ravenna, the somewhat extravagant name given to the crumbling shack in which Ro lived; how could I? Even though it had been standing for over a century it looked as though it had been taken straight out of the pictures from a fairytale book. It was dusk when my family took me on my first visit to casa Ravenna and the sound of chirping cicada’s accompanied us all the way to the front gate, a rickety affair made of silver Birchwood; my father lifted off the latch and ushered me through onto the gravel path. Despite the failing light, rows of colourful lanterns strung across the trees guided me towards the shacks entrance in which stood a tall women of almost ethereal beauty, I was six years of age at the time and had never seen an elf before, I certainly had no idea that she was almost four times my parents age. I felt a hand on my shoulder pushing me forward, it was my mothers, I hadn’t realised that I’d been immobile for almost half a minute staring at the wonder of the house and it’s sole occupant so falling back into reality I started forward again and walked up to auntie Ro; holding me in her gaze for a second she knelt down on the door step and gave me hug, then rising again took me by my hand and lead me into her house. I was taken into a modestly decorated kitchen and shown to one of five seats around the table, at each place was a steaming bowl of creamy soup and a hunk of bread for dipping. The rest of my family took their places with father at the head of the table, and then when we were all seated we ate, until not a drop of soup could be seen lining our bowls.

That is just one of the few memories I have of Casa Ravenna; hence the aforementioned visit I was a guest there many more times. My primary reason for visiting was always due to my fathers work, if he had to visit the capital on business with my mother, my siblings and I were hurriedly packed off to Auntie Ro’s for safe keeping, and an endless supply of delicious soup, but those were really the only times we ever got to see her, even though she lived fairly nearby to the town. I had always been told that elves liked their privacy especially from humans, however every time I went to visit Ro she always appeared delighted to see me, perhaps she was lonely living there by herself for so long, I was pretty sure that even elves eventually took partners and had families. But alas it was too late for that now.



It was midday, and the sun shone brightly through the clouds, but this time there were no cicada’s to welcome us to the edge of Ravenna forest, the air was quite still and the only sound to be heard was that of my sister crying quietly in Mazasius’ arms. This, I imagine, would be the last time I visited Casa Ravenna.

Trying to keep the lilies in a tight bunch I unfastened the strap around the birch gate and allow my brother and sister to pass. I look up, none of the colourful lanterns are lit and no figure stands at an open door to greet us. Every step I took along the gravel path made my heart sink a little lower as I came to realise that never again would I be a guest in this house and never again would I feel the warm gaze of my Aunty Ro inviting me into her home. As always the journey to the shacks entrance felt like it took a lifetime but on this occasion it was a lifetime I’d prefer not to have lived. Holding Lauren in one arm Mazasius raised his other to the door, but before he could knock, it swung open to reveal a man clad entirely in black robes; saying nothing he motioned our party indoors and we were lead solemnly through the bare kitchen and out of the door on the other side of the house. It was only when we stepped into the garden that the man first spoke. “You must be the Larsson family” he said turning his head towards us though still not actually looking at anyone. I stepped up to his side “we are” I wasn’t in the mood for saying more. “I suppose you’ll want to see Miss Ellen” he continued, gesturing to a small group of people at the end of the garden, obviously equally uninterested with small talk. I gave a nod of thanks in his direction then started down the stone path, not checking to see if my siblings were following. Just as I reached the party, standing informally around a coffin of woven flowers, two men dressed in official robes, broke away and walked speedily passed me, I paid them no heed, they were probably coroners or doctors or something. However two other people in that group caught my attention, the pointy ears were unmistakeable, they were elves!

  I wondered what they were doing here; Ro had no elven friends that we’d ever known about, but I wasn’t kept guessing for long. As if on cue to answer my question one of the duo turned around, she was a young woman in appearance though probably many times my age, with long blonde hair and hazel coloured eyes, could I have been wrong? There was no mistaking it; she had to be Ro’s daughter! Smiling faintly at me she extended a hand “I believe this is how humans prefer to greet each other” she said softly, staring into my soul through my eyes. I nodded; “pleased to meet you” I managed in response, still held by her gaze. Realising I’d left her hand hanging, I hastily shook it. The elf looked down, perhaps feeling she could no longer hold her smile. “This may sound silly..” she started, brushing down the hair at the back of her head almost as if she were deliberately emphasising her awkwardness “…you’ve probably already guessed but - I’m Ro’Ellen’s daughter”, I nodded, not that she could see me, “at first I wasn’t sure, I thought maybe the hair and eye colour were common across all elves” I lied, not knowing any better “but the facial structure was unmistakeable”, the elf looked up again smiling as if she had never done anything else “of course you realised, how foolish of me” her tone darkened; “I suppose your wondering why Ro never spoke of me, or my husband” she continued, nodding towards the male elf at her side, who had all the while been staring patiently off into the woods. “It had crossed my mind” I replied simply “did she not want us to know of you?” “well…” the elf was about to begin what sounded like an awkward reply when I heard someone running at me from behind, there was a tap on my shoulder “Tyzius!” started the wavering but audible voice of my sister “Mazasius has gone!”.  Turning around slowly to emphasise that the situation was not worth panicking about I gave Lauren a single word reply “typical!”, only Mazasius could have the selfishness to ignore all those around him, even at a time such as this, and go gallivanting off on a whim. I was conscious of the elf lady behind me who had just been so rudely interrupted, even if it were to her relief, but I didn’t want to ignore the problem at hand, we had come as a family to say goodbye to Auntie Ro and I’d be damned if the ceremony was going to happen without us all present. “stay here” I told Lauren curtly, knowing that she’d want to come too, “I’ll go and look for our brother”, turning for a second to look at the elf lady by way of apology I walked briskly up the garden path, through the house and back into field outside the shack, Now where could that inconsiderate bastard be? Looking around into the horizon and seeing nothing I turned to face the forest, an idea of my brothers whereabouts sprung into my head, the only question that remained was could I remember the way there? 

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‘Coroners my arse’ thought Mazasius as one of the two men dressed in funeral regalia brushed passed him, he’d been to enough funerals to know that a barely concealed short sword was not a part of the outfit. With a bit of luck the men would not be expecting anybody hostile to be present at Ro Ellen’s funeral and thus may not have noticed Mazasius’ own weapon hidden under his cloak. Family occasion or not, the proceedings would have to wait if they wanted him present, ideally they would go on without him but Mazasius knew his brother’s stubbornness too well, Tyzius was taking the event with the utmost severity so sooner or later he’d have to return, however at the present moment he could think of nothing but pursuing the counterfeit coroners, wherever they were headed, in the hope that they may betray their true motives for visiting Casa Ravenna. Glancing around surreptitiously to check no-one was watching, Mazasius turned silently away from the crowd and worked his way through the bushes to the fence at the edge of the garden, climbing over it he found himself instantly shrouded by the dense undergrowth of Ravenna forest, the beautiful yet deadly home to some of Tallisaria’s’ more sinister inhabitants.

The forest for much of its sprawling gnarly mass was an inhospitable place to say the least, the twined net of vines hanging between the trees made visibility poor at best, on top of that more than just a few species of predator lurked through the shrubbery during the night, preying on those foolish enough to sleep near the forest floor. To most the trees themselves would have been nigh on impossible to navigate around, but Mazasius had spent enough time playing, hunting or simply walking around the forest throughout his life to be capable of achieving this. Starting towards the edge of the woods Mazasius wondered where the men were going, realistically they could be headed to any one of the nearby towns, but then again they could also be travelling through the forest to reach the logging and hunting town of Triston Vale, either way the quickest method of finding the men would be to reach the verge of the forest and track them from there. Drawing his sword from beneath his cloak, Mazasius was just about to begin slashing the vegetation in front of him in order to speed his journey, when he heard muffled voices through the trees; there were two of them, both male. Apparently the impostors must have had another destination in mind rather than a nearby town or dwelling and then it struck him, “the duo must be headed for the moonbeam springs!” It was the only landmark of notable interest within several miles of Casa Ravenna, but why they would want to go there was more than Mazasius could fathom, it seemed highly unlikely to him that either had any clothes to wash or were planning to take a bath, but one way or another he was going to find out. Pressing forwards cautiously, Mazasius gripped his sword ever tighter, those men were up to foul business no doubt about it, and if he were discovered he may never get the chance to uncover their secrets, failure was not an option.

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Brushing the copious amounts of spider web off my shoulder that had accumulated there during my uneasy trip through the forest I began to wonder if I could actually remember the directions to moonbeam springs, it had only been several months since my last visit but my brother was with me at the time and had been more than happy to show off his navigational instincts by leading the way. Damn It! It had already taken me fifteen minutes to get this far, no doubt the people gathering in Auntie Ro’s back garden, including Lauren were beginning to  miss me and my esteemed brother. It was time for a break. Throwing myself on the ground in resignation I crossed my legs and began to think. All around me was silence, save for the wind in the leaves above, I tried to force my memory into remembering the route to the springs but all I could do was focus on the soft whispers of the breeze working its way through the twigs and branches; frustration may soon have got the better of me if another sound hadn’t worked its way into my conscience, trickling water! The noise was unmistakeable, and I wasn’t that far gone into meditation to begin hallucinating. Pulling myself to my feet with the aid of a nearby branch I tried to focus on the faint sounds of what I hoped would be the springs, and as if guided by my own somewhat temperamental instincts I began to follow my ears in the direction of interest.

Within the minute the sound of bubbling water had become quite audible, and I expected to see the springs through the next patch of ferns, I was considering calling out to my brother in the hopes that he would answer but something made me do otherwise; there was a heavy if not pungent smell in the air like nothing I’d known here before, the forest was usually of a sweet smelling disposition but something had turned it stale. Finding my pace quickening I marched hurriedly through the ferns trying not to feel nauseous and as I brushed away the last of them my gaze was met by a scene of horrific violence. A reflex action had my hand darting to my mouth; I was too shocked for conscious reasoning, the moonbeam springs stood in front of me burbling away a happy tune like they had always done, completely oblivious of the severed arm darkening its waters red. From where I stood I could see two bodies, both apparently lifeless, one was laying several feet to my left surrounded by a pool of blood while the other was slumped on a rock still clutching the gory stump of his shoulder where his arm once was, I couldn’t see either one of their faces but I knew in my heart there was a good chance that one of the bodies belonged to my brother.   

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“Keep cool, stay low and you’ll be fine” The elder Larsson brother reassured himself as he pressed on through the forest all the while nearing his quarry. Despite the ten minutes of dire apprehension he’d been forced to endure, Mazasius had been keeping track of where they were; currently the group were about a hundred feet or so from the springs where Mazasius was now certain the men were headed. For the duration of the journey the fake coroners had been talking in hushed tones and now, Mazasius hoped, it was time to find out what they had been saying. Spurred on by a burning curiosity he increased his speed and caught the first words of the men’s conversation. “Just up ahead you say” growled the first man becoming increasingly more distressed by the thick undergrowth. “That’s what I keep telling you Nathan”, the second man grumbled back in annoyance “Lissa’s maps have never been wrong, what I’m more concerned about is what the good senator expects us to find here, I mean we’ve got what we came for, Ro’Ellens dead and Sebastion’s brat children should be in custody about now…” Mazasius let out a gasp that he just managed to muffle with his hand before it could alert the enemy to his position, what did they just say about his siblings being taken into custody, had this been a trap all along? Mazasius had his suspicions hence him carrying the sword but to attempt arrest at a private funeral, where the senate really so underhanded. Somehow things looked out of control, Mazasius was on the verge of running back to Casa Ravenna to warn the guests but he decided better of it realising he was already too late. Instead driven more by anger than curiosity now, Mazasius continued following the assassins, coroners or whatever they were through the forest, barely able to focus on their conversation so filled with rage and despair was he; by running off into the woods he had left his family to the mercy of the senates soldiers, and if they knew what fate had befallen his father Tyzius and Lauren may not be alive for much longer. Then there was the issue of what they said about Ro’ Ellen, had they had a hand in her death, had Mazasius mad fury inspired actions brought about more than just his fathers death? He couldn’t bare to think of it being true and so he turned his attention back to the men ahead of him, who had now stopped walking after finally reaching the inappropriately lively waters of the Moon Beam Springs.

He couldn’t go back, it was too late for that, he couldn’t go for help it was too late for that also, that left him with a single option, confront the enemy. Mazasius moved stealthily through the undergrowth until the two men became visible through the ferns, they had stopped talking and were instead preoccupied with searching the area for whatever clues they had been sent to discover. Mazasius was in no state of mind to control his rage let alone formulate a plan of action so feeling now was as good an opportunity as he’d ever have to surprise his foe he threw caution to the wind and ran, sword raised at the nearest man. Despite his anger, the enraged boy was more interested in answers than revenge, but to gain the former he well knew that only one of the assassins need be alive. In a flash, Mazasius’ blade swung down in a blur of silvery light, severing the arm off the first man before he even knew what was upon him. As blood gushed from the stump where his hand once lay, the unfortunate soldier let out a terrible cry and fell to the ground clutching the bloody rags of his sleeve. Feeling no remorse or compassion, the attacker wasted no time in waiting for his victim to so much as look him in the eye before sending another blow his way, this time a killing blow. Mazasius looked on with grim satisfaction as his blade sliced trivially through the mans neck, sending the severed head flying several feet across the clearing. With one man down it was time for the hard part. Being no fool himself the other soldier present had spun around at the first sign of trouble and even as their assailant went about his gory business he had begun to draw his sword. Dripping with the life blood of the corpse in front of him, Mazasius brought his sword around into a defensive stance and awaited his opponents attack. The hardest part now was not so much defeating the enemy soldier but rather doing so without taking his life. A second later, having regained his senses,  the robed figure ran forward in the manner of a charging boar and lunged forward with his weapon. Evidently the element of surprise was still with the attacker for Mazasius had but to step aside in order to avoid the assassins clumsy attack; then, by way of a counter, he took a great step past his foe and swung his sword around, catching the man shoulder with the flat of his blade. The robed man who had earlier been identified by his comrade as Nathan let out a primal grunt and stumbled into the bushes; having realised his mistake too late, evidently the child was not to be underestimated. Now that he had shown his quarry who was in control Mazasius decided to take the encounter to its next stage.

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The End- For the moment

Thankyou again to those who had the patience to read this far. Unfortunately this is all I have written for this chapter so far. However I have done small amounts of work on two other chapters later on in the book which I would be delighted if you read. As for this piece of writing I’d be eternally greatful to anyone who had the time to give it a review, whether you enjoyed it or otherwise, it will be a huge help to me and any future pieces of writing I intend to do.