“Time to reveal yourself, Auberon! The jig is now up!” One shouted.
“If you do not open up, you'll leave us with no choice but to storm our way in!” Another one asserted.
There was no response for the next five minutes, during which the entire crowd, including the rebel leaders were completely silent.
“Okay, men, seems he wants it the hard way. Prepare the cannon!”
As the rebel leader who had just spoken turned his back to get out of firing range, the door gently opened and Lord Auberon gradually revealed himself.
“My good men, I noticed a great multitude from my windows outside of the longhouse, and my name was personally called. So may I ask, what is the problem?”
“Don't play coy,” and the rebel leader shot a piercing stare at him.
“Auberon, I declare on behalf of the citizens of Adlok that you are hereby sentenced to be hanged, along with your inner circle. Adlok will no longer be under your power. Your days of degenerating this city are now over.”
Lord Auberon just stared at the rebel leader, finding it rather difficult not to laugh.
“Oh dear, sounds rather awful,” Lord Auberon said, with an air of sarcasm. “But what happens if we refuse to comply?”
The rebel leader frowned hard and clenched his fist. “If that’s the case, then we will resort to more forceful and torturous methods.” Much of the crowd, started whistling and shouting.
“Right then, I accept my fate.”
Lord Auberon, and eventually the rest of the Royal Council were then moved toward ten hanging stands. Vesser who was looking on, only noticed that there were nine Royal Council members about to be hanged, including Lord Auberon.
'Where is Magnus? Did mom manage to get him away?' The letter then came back to mind. Her mom did tell her that she was going to return, either with Magnus or without him. Clearly now, she must of done something.
Vesser then headed back home, not all too eager to see nine men being hanged. Her mom and Magnus were now more of a concern to her.
Meanwhile, the rebel leaders placed ropes around the necks of all the Royal Council Members. Lord Auberon was in the middle; with four men to his left and to his right.
One of the rebel leaders then stepped forth before the massive crowd.
“Ladies and Gentlemen. Citizens of Adlok. For seventy-five years, this man...” He pointed at Lord Auberon. “Has been terrorising and degrading our city to the point of a total dystopia! Not to mention that he has been ruling for all this time, and hardly seems to have aged much at all. Whatever manner of man or darn-right beast he is, matters not! For we are going to put an end to him and his little circle! Today is the day we serve justice and restore Adlok to her former glory!”
The crowd roared.
Lord Auberon was the only man without a bag over his head. The rebels wanted to see the full display of his agonising, hanging death.
The rebel leader shot a menacing look at Lord Auberon. “We're going to send you to hell first. Expect your eight other friends to join you soon after.”
The rebel leader then wove his hand, giving the go-ahead to the executioner.
The crowd went ballistic when they saw the signal.
As the executioner walked over to the release mechanism, a light started to emanate out of Lord Auberon's pocket. No one seemed to care or notice. They just wanted to see Lord Auberon perish and were fully focused on that. They didn't have time now for a seemingly little distraction right at the climax of the revolution.
The executioner jerked the releasing leaver and Lord Auberon plummeted down.
Just before he reached the point when his entire weight would be forced on his neck, he paused in mid-air. The light that briefly emanated out of his pocket earlier was now circling his entire body like an aura. The light then concentrated around the rope, and it disintegrated it soon after. Lord Auberon levitated back up to the hanging platform.
The crowd had gone utterly silent and the rebel leaders remained still, momentarily too shocked to react.
Reaching into his pocket, Lord Auberon pulled out the stone of Elsira. He motioned it left and right and energy started pouring out of it again, this time disintegrating the hanging ropes and restraints of the rest of the Royal Council vampires.
The rebel leaders, who were still shocked beyond belief at what they had just witnessed, rushed to close in on Lord Auberon and the Royal Council vampires. They wanted to kill them by any means necessary.
Lord Auberon casually stood still, watching ten men dashing toward him, their faces full of blood-lust. When they reached his close proximity, he raised up the stone. This time, light poured out of it like a supernova. The rebel leaders fell to the ground and starting yelping in pain. The light continued to spread well into the crowd. Within seconds the entire crowd and all the rebels were rolling on the floor, most of them screaming in agony. The Royal Council vampires proceeded to regroup by Lord Auberon.
“Oh my brothers this is it! You see, the power of this Stone is unsullied. Look at them, in sheer numbers, yet are utterly helpless.”
Lord Auberon raised the stone again, and it poured another colossal wave of light. This time, the light eased the pain of the crowd. Soon after, they all stood up, each person having a distinct white glow in their eyes.
“Citizens of Adlok!” Lord Auberon said firmly. “A new era has dawned in this great city. An era of enlightenment! An era of peace! An era of equality!”
The crowd did not react in any way.
“But in order for this era to fully fruition we need to make sure everyone sees the light of this divine Stone. I want all of you to bring anyone who has not seen this light, right here to the Longhouse!”
Moments after Lord Auberon finished his last word, the crowd dispatched in all directions.
Vesser burst open the door of her home and rushed in.
“Mom, are you here?” She asked, projecting her voice louder than usual.
“Vesser, darling, yes!” Arna replied, while anxiously making her way down the stairs.
Vesser looked at her mother; she was in a state she had never seen before. This only added to the anxiety that she was already feeling.
“Magnus is dead. They didn't tell me how he died, but they didn't seem at all to be concerned or care. I was not taken in very well, which is not the type of reception I'd typically receive. I didn't end up staying long at all; they had next to nothing to say to me. And that Auberon. My God. There was just this vibe I was getting from him. Very disturbing.”
Vesser looked into her mom’s eyes, unsure of what to say. She was then hit by a wave of sadness. She started to weep, and fell into her mother’s arms.
Arna held her daughter and tried her best to send as much benevolent energy as she could to her.
“Vesser, I think we need to leave.”
Vesser halted her weeping.
“Leave?”
Arna released her hold on Vesser.
“Yes, leave Adlok. Altogether.”
Chapter 38
The Elven Forest
Zupher, Racer and Bellona had travelled along the southern Elven River for two full days. It was now day three of their travels and Racer was getting agitated.
“Bellona are you sure that following this river will lead us to the Elven Kingdom? We've been walking south-east now for a while and I can see the southern desert manifesting in the far horizon.”
Bellona did not stop to look back at Racer. She grunted and then replied, “I am adamant this is the right river to follow. There are two rivers that lead into the Elven Lands. One is the river we're currently following; the other is in the north from Cross-river village. Travelling near the embankment of this river will help us not to get lost once we're in Elven forest, which we're approaching. There's a small settlement that I plan for us to take refuge in, which we'll find near this very river once we make it to the Elven Kingdom.”
Bellona's reassurance and clarity on the matter brought Racer some reli
ef. He was usually not someone prone to lose his cool or anything like that, but what recently happened at the sanctuary hit him hard. After another half hour of travelling, they came across a clear transition of environment. Before them, the river lead into a thick concentration of trees.
“What kind of a forest are we dealing with here; how would you compare it to the Great Forest?” Zupher asked.
“From what I can remember it’s nearly the same size and depth of the path we took in the Great Forest. We should be able to traverse it by sundown.”
As they got deeper into the Elven Forest, they started to hear animal sounds, none that would ever be heard in Elsira. The air also had a completely different aroma to it. Zupher took deep conscious breaths, feeling the revitalising energy of the air fill his lungs.
“I must say, the air here is strikingly pure. Not even in the middle of the Great Forest was the air so fresh to this degree,” Zupher said, breathing in, with his eyes closed in rapture.
“Well, the kind of flora that grows in these parts of the world are rather different to Elsira's, if you will,” Bellona said.
“How much do you actually know about the Elven Kingdom? I mean you were only there for the first nine years of your life, and now it has been decades since that time,” Racer asked, bearing a sceptical look.
“As I mentioned earlier, the Elves have a rather stern queen. She lives in a mighty castle on top of a small mountain that overlooks the entire scope of Wyvern Valley. There are two main areas of the Elven Kingdom: Glaszmer plane, west of the castle, which is where I lived. The second area is called Wyvern Valley, which is east of the castle. The Elven Queen, her guard and likely the rest of the Elves who reside in Wyvern Valley are not friendly with outsiders. The Elves in Glaszmer Plane, however, who are mainly farmers, were not hostile to my father and I.”
Bellona noticed that Racer's sceptical look had not diminished.
“Look, despite the fact that the Elven Queen has a tough outer shell, I am sure there will be a way to get through to her. The typical lifespan for an elf ranges 150-200 years, so there is a high probability that the Kingdom will be under more or less the same disposition.
“Were you ever out of the proximity of the Glaszmer Plane?” Racer asked.
“There was a time when my dad and I were hiking along the mountain of the castle, but we never actually ventured into the area of the castle or Wyvern Valley. It was too risky.”
For the next few minutes, the mages walked in silence. They then approached the edge of the river. Racer went by a tree and broke off one its branches. He proceeded to start sharpening its edge, turning it into a harpoon. Bellona stretched out her hands toward the river; fire started to rush out her hands soon after. A large area of water was then evaporated by the flames. Racer looked down at the river floor and located exactly what the mages were looking for – fish. He picked five fish, one by one with the harpoon and placed them into a basket Muriel had woven earlier.
The mages set up a campfire and started to cook the fish, after Racer had gutted them.
It was late in the afternoon, and Zupher felt like sleeping after having his fish. He gently lay his head down on a stump and closed his eyes. Just as he was starting to get comfortable, Racer shook him.
“This is no time to be napping out lad. The last thing we need is to be forced to camp in this forest for the night.”
The rest of the mages were all sitting casually around the fire.
“I say we leave in the next five to ten minutes,” Bellona said, holding a piece of fish fillet in her hand.
“Well, I am going to take a little walk around then,” Zupher said, looking at Muriel, who seemed to be preoccupied with some plants she picked.
'Not worth asking her if she wants to tag along, I suppose.'
Zupher headed to explore the nearby proximity of the campfire. He pushed some leaves aside and walked forward a few steps; he then found himself in a small grove. There were heaps of fallen leaves on the floor. A bush caught Zupher's eye. It was positioned near a large tree trunk and had beautiful violet flowers. Captivated by its sight, he walked over to it and immediately noticed that the flowers had an aromatic scent. He leant in to smell one of the flowers, and as he breathed in, the flower released a white powder. Zupher, who was now stunned by inhaling the powder retreated back in his tracks. A few moments later, he returned to the campfire.
Upon returning to the other mages, Zupher found Bellona fast asleep; Muriel still busy with her plants, and Racer standing right by the river’s edge, seemingly staring into space. None of them appeared to have noticed his reappearance.
“Hey guys, when about are we going to resume travelling?”
Zupher got no reply.
He walked up to Muriel.
“You've been looking at those for quite some time now. What do you reckon you'll use them for?”
Muriel remained in the same position, as if she was unaware Zupher was even speaking before her.
Zupher was hit by a wave of confusion. Muriel had never ignored him in such a manner. He proceeded to tap her on the shoulder. Still no response. Zupher raised his eyebrow and placed his hand on Muriel's chin and then tilted it up. He sprung a few feet back in shock at the sight be beheld: Muriel’s eyes were gone, all he saw were gaping holes deep into her head.
Zupher ran toward Racer.
“Racer! Its Muriel, she's...”
Before Zupher could utter any more words, Racer jumped into the river.
Zupher looked at the on-flowing current and did not see him re-emerge to the surface.
“What on Earth is going on?!” Zupher screamed, feeling bound by anxiety.
He headed over to Bellona, and started to shake her vigorously.
“Wake up! Something really weird is going on. I need your help.”
Zupher started to weep as he shook her, harder and harder.
“Are you DEAD?!”
Bellona's body then turned to dust in his very hands. He looked at the dust in his hands and screamed at the top of his lungs. The world around him started to dissolve.
“Zupher.”
He heard his name uttered in the distance. He ran over to Muriel. Only for her body to explode in a cloud of ash on his approach. His name was then called out again, but he fell to the ground and drew out his dagger.
“Zupher you're hallucinating,” the voice uttered.
“No, no, no!” Zupher cried, while drifting the dagger toward his neck.
Suddenly he lost all his energy, dropped the dagger and passed out.
Zupher slowly opened his eyes, and saw Muriel, Racer and Bellona standing before him. He was laying on his back in the middle of the grove. He started coughing.
“Ten minutes without your return made us think you were lost. We searched the nearby area and soon came across you here. When we first found you, you were shaking and twitching abnormally. You did not respond to our words, nor would you react when touched. Muriel assessed you and determined you must have consumed a toxin. Within seconds of analysing the grove she identified the cause of your state.”
Racer pointed to the bush.
“The flower on that bush emits a highly toxic hallucinative. I worked a healing spell on you as soon as I could. Fortunately we found you here before it was too late,” Muriel said, soon after taking a deep breath.
Zupher got up and hugged Muriel out of gratitude.
“Well,” Bellona said, “We ought to get moving now.”
The mages resumed their travels. After a few hours it was dusk and they could see the end of the forest not too far ahead of them.
“Just a few more kilometres and we'll officially be in the Elven Kingdom,” Bellona said.
Muriel walked alongside Zupher but hadn't talked to him or anyone else in a while. She had been thinking. The kind of elves she fought with her brother in the far-east section of the Great Forest were not that strong and seemed rather primitive in nature.
“Bellona,” Muriel said.
<
br /> “Yeah?”
“I had an encounter with forest elves a few months back at the eastern border of the Great Forest. They attacked my brother and I after we harvested mushrooms for potions. There were five of them, and it was not very difficult for us to defeat them. What other kinds of elves are we to expect in the Elven Kingdom?”
“I'm glad you asked. There are five different kinds of elves: Solmer – The Elven Queen, her guard and the elves in Wyvern Valley; Glaszmer – the elves in Glaszmer Plane; Cranmer – The elves of the northwestern forests and woodlands; Lunmer – The elves of the southeast; and Gealmer – The elves of the northeastern mountains. The kind of elves you encountered were Cranmer. They are indeed one of the more weaker races of elf from what I know. The reason they attacked was likely because the mushrooms you harvested were cultivated by them. I cannot give much commentary on the power of the other Elven races, as I never really heard much being said on that nature, or encountered any. However, I do know that the Solmer are the most powerful; hence the Elven Queen is Solmer and Wyvern Valley is said to be the most favourable land in the Elven Kingdom. There were also a few Solmer who lived in Graszmer Plane during my initial time here.”
“What is the nature of this special affinity between elves and magic?” Racer asked.
“That is not something I know for sure. It might have to do with the lifestyle of elves. You know, how they live, what they eat, how they engage with one another.”
“I suppose we'll find out, won't we,” Racer said, looking onwards. He closed his eyes briefly and smiled. Having done a lot of travelling throughout his life, pretty much covering the entire scope of Elsira, this was new, uncharted territory he had never seen before. A gush of rapture filled him; a kind that he had not experienced in quite some time. He remembered a time he was at Havenridge; a city that had an especial influence from elves. He would always hear stories of the elves, and their strange mysterious land. Many of the shops in Havenridge were filled with Elven trinkets. There was a shop he visited one time; it was called “Mystical Steel of the Elves”. Racer entered the store and spoke to the clerk.
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