Arkhaven logo

In Elkir’s arms sat a strange instrument of dark, reddish wood and resembling a harp connected to a sounding box. On the instrument’s face, silver hummingbirds lowered their heads to a field of aster flow-ers, flowers that also twisted up the ribs to bloom near the crossbar. A strong, tenor voice rang out from the sounding box. “Thank you for grabbing me from the river. Dreadful things, rivers. Never tell you where you are going and jostle you about as if you should just run along with them. Most dreadful, disagreeable things! In any case, thank you for your help.”


Elkir beamed. “Wow! An enchanted kithara. Such amazing fortune. You’re very welcome, Kithara.”


“It talks,” gaped Eibhlin. “The instrument talks.”


“Oh, there is a human with you,” said the instrument Elkir had called a kithara. “Inexperienced with enchanted tools, Miss? No surprise, really. You speak with the accent of eastern Enbár, and that place is more exposed to Fae magic. Fairies are not usually fond of tools, too much iron involved, if you get my meaning. No, your shock is natural.”


Shira, having returned to the group, said, “I, too, am surprised. Why should an enchanted instrument be floating down a river?”


“Great King of the Planets! How could I forget?” cried the kithara. “Miss Elf, is your settlement nearby? I must speak with a person of authority. It’s urgent!”


Shira frowned. “Why do you need someone in authority?”


“Dark elves.”


Instantly, Shira’s face blanched. “We must return. Now!”


Elkir stared at his sister as she grabbed his and Eibhlin’s wrists and began pulling them away. As she saw the fear build in the boy’s eyes, Eibhlin asked, “What’s wrong? What are dark elves?”


Shira shook her head, and her hands trembled. “Not here. We must tell Father. Come. Quickly!”


They dashed back through the wild magic, back to civilization. Upon reaching the settlement, Shira ran to the messenger tower and hurried up the ladders. At the landing, she grabbed the kithara from her brother and ran up some stairs onto the top floor.


Seeing her, one of the messengers came over and began speaking to her. Shira glanced at those around her and then whispered something to him. The elf looked confused, but he went over to a desk and pulled out a small roll of parchment. He asked Shira a question, and her response caused him to drop his pen. She quickly motioned for him to keep quiet, however, and after a tense, whispered exchange, she held up the kithara. Clearly disturbed, the messenger nodded, jotted down the message, copied it several times, and ran off to the bird keep.


Shira returned to Eibhlin and Elkir, saying, “Come with me. We need to wait for the elders at the Hall.”


The next hour of waiting passed in near unbearable silence, for none of the group could gather the strength to speak against the air weighted with fear and uncertainty. Finally, Chensil entered the Hall with a few other elves.


“Elshiran, your message held ill news. Are you certain?” he asked.


“Yes, Father,” she said. “This kithara spoke of dark elves, and it spoke no lies, though I know nothing more than my message contained.”


To Eibhlin, it sounded as if the instrument bowed with its voice as it said, “Allow me, the witness, to speak further, Lord Elf. As you can see, I am but an instrument, one of little use without a minstrel. My minstrel and I were traveling this way with a small merchant train when a band of dark elves ambushed us. I trust I need not detail the horrors that followed. Amidst the chaos, I fell into the river, which soon bore me away. I did not see the battle’s end, but I doubt victory lay with us, for those were no mere bandits but a fully armed unit. The Lord of Heavenly Powers bless my poor master. I would mourn him now if not for the current urgency. After the attack, I drifted down the river for two more moons before my rescue. That is all.”


Chensil’s countenance darkened. He spoke firm words to Shira in elvish before turning to the elders. Eibhlin felt the tension in the air and shivered. After the elders left, Shira said, “Father told us to return and inform Mother. They’re going to ready the guard.”


Once more joining hands, they all left the Hall in silence.

The Kithara panel 2
Fairy Door series cover
The Kithara episode cover
17K views978 likes
8 comments

Fairy Door

Created by
author avatar placeholder
V. A. Boston
After years of neglect from her father, Eibhlin has had enough. But when a purse of infinite gold, a fairy, and a trade shatter what little relationship she has with her father, she resolves to set things right. Aided by a magic compass and a talking instrument, she now seeks three magic keys and their magic doors to find the fairy once again and recover what was lost. She broke their relationship. Now, she’ll brave the Fae to fix it. If she can get there. From the fantasy tradition of The Chronicles of Prydain and The Hobbit comes a tale of love and redemption perfect for fans of all ages.
Returning Home+Afterword episode cover
Returning Home+AfterwordEpisode #60
Then What Will You Do? episode cover
Then What Will You Do?Episode #59
I Just Can't episode cover
I Just Can'tEpisode #58
The One She Sought episode cover
The One She SoughtEpisode #57
The Fading Man episode cover
The Fading ManEpisode #56
Mists of Memory episode cover
Mists of MemoryEpisode #55
The Hammer episode cover
The HammerEpisode #54
Lady Mealla episode cover
Lady MeallaEpisode #53
True Magic episode cover
True MagicEpisode #52
Back to the Beginning episode cover
Back to the BeginningEpisode #51
A Moment to Breathe episode cover
A Moment to BreatheEpisode #50
The Moon's Scar episode cover
The Moon's ScarEpisode #49
Moonstricken episode cover
MoonstrickenEpisode #48
What Remained episode cover
What RemainedEpisode #47
Chaos and Mourning episode cover
Chaos and MourningEpisode #46
The Witch's Triumph episode cover
The Witch's TriumphEpisode #45
The Color of Sunbeams episode cover
The Color of SunbeamsEpisode #44
Temptation episode cover
TemptationEpisode #43
The Witch of Hours episode cover
The Witch of HoursEpisode #42
Thresholds episode cover
ThresholdsEpisode #41
The Tower episode cover
The TowerEpisode #40
Frantic Escape episode cover
Frantic EscapeEpisode #39
Memory of Tragedy episode cover
Memory of TragedyEpisode #38
Fae Moon episode cover
Fae MoonEpisode #37
The Witch's Swamp episode cover
The Witch's SwampEpisode #36
Into the Fae episode cover
Into the FaeEpisode #35
Wicked Dealings episode cover
Wicked DealingsEpisode #34
Pangs of Conscience episode cover
Pangs of ConscienceEpisode #33
The Monks episode cover
The MonksEpisode #32
Tensilkir episode cover
TensilkirEpisode #31
Comfort in the Dark episode cover
Comfort in the DarkEpisode #30
Departure and Darkness episode cover
Departure and DarknessEpisode #29
Better Hands, Better Heart episode cover
Better Hands, Better HeartEpisode #28
The Final Day episode cover
The Final DayEpisode #27
Vi's Price episode cover
Vi's PriceEpisode #26
Keeper of the Bells episode cover
Keeper of the BellsEpisode #25
Up the Bell Tower episode cover
Up the Bell TowerEpisode #24
Rumors of Bells and Fae episode cover
Rumors of Bells and FaeEpisode #23
The Fae Realm episode cover
The Fae RealmEpisode #22
Enchanted Instrument episode cover
Enchanted InstrumentEpisode #21
The Seaside City episode cover
The Seaside CityEpisode #20
The Compass episode cover
The CompassEpisode #19
The First Key episode cover
The First KeyEpisode #18
Aftermath episode cover
AftermathEpisode #17
The Dark Elf episode cover
The Dark ElfEpisode #16
The Messenger of History episode cover
The Messenger of HistoryEpisode #15
The Kithara episode cover
The KitharaEpisode #14
Untamed Trees episode cover
Untamed TreesEpisode #13
The Craftsman episode cover
The CraftsmanEpisode #12
Elshiran episode cover
ElshiranEpisode #11
Elven Counsel episode cover
Elven CounselEpisode #10
Through the Door episode cover
Through the DoorEpisode #9
Fairy Key episode cover
Fairy KeyEpisode #8
Into the Woods episode cover
Into the WoodsEpisode #7
Decision episode cover
DecisionEpisode #6
The After Storm episode cover
The After StormEpisode #5
A Midnight Exchange episode cover
A Midnight ExchangeEpisode #4
The Broken episode cover
The BrokenEpisode #3
The Cracks episode cover
The CracksEpisode #2
The Border Town Girl episode cover
The Border Town GirlEpisode #1
,
List icon
Comment icon
Prev icon
Next icon
Fullscreen icon