Page 55 of A Fractured Song

“Their forays into our canyon,” Trina said matter-of-factly. “When they come to mine.”

“So they are miners?” Zev asked. “The gear they had when we encountered them made me think so.”

Trina nodded. “Of course. That’s what elves do.”

“That matches the stories,” Zev mused. “In those, elves were jolly little men who loved to mine jewels.”

Marieke made a noise in her throat. “Jolly isn’t how I would describe them.”

“Hardly,” Trina agreed. “And they don’t mine jewels. They mine magic. Straight out of the rocks. It’s why they come to Sundering Canyon. The magic here is plentiful, and the terrain perfect for mining it.”

“Come here?” Zev repeated. “So they don’t live here?”

“Of course not.” Trina raised an eyebrow. “We have an agreement that allows them access.”

“And they trade you things from the outside world,” Zev finished.

She nodded.

“Where do they live? Somewhere in Aeltas, right?”

“How do you know that?” Trina looked surprised.

“The silverware,” Zev said. “It was stamped with a design I’ve seen before at traveling markets. Supposedly from the south.”

Trina nodded again. “That’s right. Their community is hidden deep in the jungle. Right in the center, so I’m told. Elves love defined regions. Mountain ranges, forests.” She shrugged. “Canyons. Apparently the magic is better.”

“Like heart magic,” Marieke mused.

Zev shot her a look. Had she meant to say heartsong?

Seeing him looking, she added, “It’s a type of magic. Or not exactly a type of magic, more a depth of magic. The principle is that singers can exercise heart magic—as in, they can access the magic of the land to a deeper and more powerful extent—if they have a connection to the land they’re drawing it from.”

“What kind of connection do they have to have?” Trina asked curiously.

“It could be one of blood, or one of belonging. If it’s the land of their ancestors, or if they grew up there, that kind of thing,” Marieke explained. “I’ve never experienced it in much depth, because I come from a spread-out farming region on the coast. That connection to the land is mainly relevant in defined regions like forests. That’s what made me think of it. The elves’ principle for harvesting magic aligns with our principle for magical connections to the land.”

“Interesting,” said Trina.

She spoke cautiously, and Zev had a flash of understanding.Her demeanor was too familiar not to recognize. Like him, she’d been raised to think singers and their wielding of magic were to be reviled. But, also like him, when confronted with the reality, she couldn’t help finding it fascinating. Maybe even appealing. He knew from experience that it was an unsettling feeling, and he tried to make his tone less combative.

“I don’t understand what you mean, Trina. How do they mine the magic?”

“I can’t tell you the mechanics of it,” she said. “I don’t understand it at all, no human does. It’s been the elves’ trade as long as elves have existed, and they guard their secrets carefully.”

“But they can’t sing, right?” Marieke said. “They can’t form enchantments?”

“Not like singers do,” Trina confirmed. “They use the magic to make talismans. They can serve a consistent purpose until they run out, or they can be designed to release a more specific magical function when broken, or otherwise activated.”

“Yes, I know what talismans are,” Marieke said absently. “We learned about them at the academy. Just without mention of elves. We were told it was an art that had been lost.”

“Nope, not lost,” Trina said cheerfully. “It remains the exclusive property of the elves, like always.”

Marieke nodded. “So if someone is using talismans to cause the disasters in Oleand, the elves are involved, at very least as the suppliers.”

“Is it talismans causing the disasters, though?” Zev looked at Marieke. “I thought you said it was a singer.”

Marieke raised her hands in a helpless gesture. “I don’t know. That’s what I thought, but I can’t be sure. I have very limited experience with talismans. The discovery that they’re still being made changes everything. I assumed a singer wasbehind the fire, but anyone could have access to magic if the elves are supplying talismans to humans.”

---