men could be trusted…and some who were trustworthy were still capable of betrayal under the right circumstances. Few men held honor the way Elves did, as inherent to their nature. Add wizardry to the mix - especially the horrors of which the wizards of old had been capable - and wariness was to be expected.
Magic such as that which men possessed was a rare talent among Elves, although most their people had intrinsic magic of some kind, if only the strength, speed and rapid healing all Elves had or the ability to light fires and find water. Others like Elon himself were gifted with far more.
The process of setting the boundaries wasn’t a difficult one.
Living on the edges of the Kingdoms and so close to the borderlands all Elves had an innate sense of place and location but men wouldn’t accept that as truth even knowing Elves didn’t lie. So Jareth would verify the location of each marker with a sextant and landmarks, conjure up the marker stone with those specifications from among those stored in the High King’s castle and set it in place. Once it was set Elon and Jareth would use a binding spell to set the stone immovably into the earth in that location.
It was simple in principle.
What it meant, and what the repercussions would be, was not so simple.
Elves and Dwarves didn’t need to mark land, to divide it into neat squares, to declare ownership yet deny it to others. Both claimed only the space they dwelled upon - their Enclaves and Caverns - seeing the rest as sacred open space, a pleasure to be shared, a source of sustenance for both body and soul.
Since men had come, however, rarely did any length of time pass but men pushed for more land, more space, declaring ownership of that which wasn’t theirs to own. So they would set the boundaries and markers so men, Elves and Dwarves could live in peace with one another.
Not all were so ready to cede that land to the other races. So far, though, they hadn’t come into conflict.
Elon didn’t expect that to last.
Beyond this point, past Alatheriann and the Dwarven Cavern just beyond it, beyond his own Aerilann were the Kingdoms to the north and the Dwarven Cavern there in the highest reaches of the mountains. To the east were the two smallest Enclaves. Tiny Lothliann was the emerald jewel of the Enclaves - once ravaged by wildfire but now restored to its former glory. It was hardest pressed by the greed of men, simply for its verdant growth. In between were the lands of men. The farms of the Heartlands were fast encroaching on Lothliann’s territory.
And Aerilann’s, his own Enclave.
Talaena, spared by its mountains and its proximity to the independent Kingdom of Marakis, was virtually undisturbed but unlikely to remain so for long.
All three grew more alert as they completed their circuit of Alatheriann, leaving a trail of markers embedded in the earth around it, before turning north into the unclaimed lands between it and the Dwarven Cavern beyond. They skirted to the west of one of the lesser Kingdoms, bringing them dangerously near where the Borderlands drew close and where the vicious, magically enhanced creatures of those lands held sway.
In such a place it could be fatal to let your guard down. Nor would they.
They camped at the location of the last marker, knowing the lands they were about to enter. It would be better to be well-rested before they reached them.
The country was wild and rough, thickly forested in some places while in others the bones of the earth broke through the thin skin of the earth in rocky outcroppings. Little grew in such desolation - mostly lichen, tall, sparse grasses and scrubby trees.
As the leader of Hunters - those who defended Elven lands from the predations of the creatures of the Borderlands - Colath was well familiar with those creatures. As was Elon. He rode with the Hunters regularly as part of his duties as First among equals.
Both loosened their swords in their scabbards as they rode out and eyed the concealing brush around them.
Jareth, who’d stripped off his wizard’s robes and stuffed them into his saddlebag at the first opportunity, shook back his sleeves and drew up power. Elon could feel it drift over his skin.
“This is good territory for boggins and boggarts,” Colath said softly.
The small, quick and incredibly powerful animals were thickly furred and appeared vaguely man-like but possessed teeth like razors and