Aila passed Anthony the letter. As he reached out to his side, a shadow appeared from the floor and wrapped around his hand. It disappeared, revealing what looked like a mirror.
There were branches and leaves wrapped around water that remained suspended between it.
Anthony injected Mana into the mirror and then placed the seal on the letter into the water. It didn’t get wet but adhered to the front of it.
“Thief!” Aevaris yelled, his voice booming as he looked at the mirror.
The guards turned and leveled their weapons at Anthony.
Anthony’s arm and leg glowed. Shadows appeared around his leg; a horrifying face formed from the shadows while a yellow dragon snaked around his hand, looking at the elves.
“You know, I have a skill. I can read when someone is lying to me. I can tell when someone is trying to seem neutral but they’re actually lying through their teeth. I call it the Eyes of Truth. You engineered this whole thing. You didn’t want to see us; you didn’t want to pass our message to the elders. I saw how our attendants neglected their duties and how my mount and her children were caged up and they weren’t fed enough.
“I went to go and get food, and also give you an excuse to bring us here. I only needed to get the mirror of communication to talk to the elders,” Anthony said.
Aila looked at dismay at the city lord.
He sneered. “Arrest him and his accomplices! How could a dark elf, thrown out from the high elf society, be anything but a dangerous person!”
The guards made to move forward but found that there were shadows holding their feet firm.
“Let’s wait and see what the elders have to say, shall we?” Anthony looked at the mirror.
Aila could see that there was a person on the other side.
“The dark elves send signs of the next divide’s appearance,” Anthony said to the person there, in high elf.
“You know our tongue?” the city lord said.
“Bit of a tongue twister,” Anthony said. There was a change in the mirror.
The water shimmered and shifted as Anthony held it out straight. A water-formed elf appeared.
“Elder Vulmar.” The city lord touched his head and reached out his hand as he saluted.
The other elves repeated the gesture and fell to their knees.
Anthony held up the letter and orientated the elder so he could see Aila.
“Your name?”
“Aila Wranoris, daughter of Queen Wranoris,” Aila said.
“Your words ring true and the seal is accurate. I will gather the elders,” Elder Vulmar said.
“Well, there is one problem, Elder. You see, we’re under arrest for, I guess killing some beasts to feed our mounts who weren’t being fed enough, and well, we were just arrested for stealing this mirror of communication. But then again, I did it because we have been sitting around for two days because the city lord was too busy to see us.” Anthony chuckled.
Aila’s legs trembled at the strength that rolled off him.
“Have the elves forgotten their oath?” Anthony’s words were infused with power, power that froze one to the spot while their brain could only think about running away, that turned their blood to ice water while sweat fell down their back.
Elder Vulmar, bearing the brunt of this force, stumbled back in the projection. “Guardian? But I thought...”
“Oh, didn’t the dark elves teach you anything? You always need to check, Vulmar. Do you keep the pact?” Anthony asked as if Vulmar were playing within the palm of his hand.
Vulmar stood straight, looking at Anthony. “We remember our oath and we honor it.”
“Good. We will need a guide and can set out in an hour. I will leave the city lord for you to deal with. It seems the younger generation forget that it was the dark elves who left the Deepwood to seek out new information, looking to increase their knowledge and study the inorganic world while the wood elves looked at understanding the organic world and took to calling themselves high elves. Prejudice and arrogance are two things that I abhor,” Anthony said.
“Our lessons have been too relaxed.” Vulmar bowed in apology, his eyes burning with self-deprecation.
Anthony nodded. The golden dragon around his hand grabbed the mirror and took the mirror over to the city lord.
“Aevaris.” The elder’s voice was like rolling thunder clouds in the distance, promising darkness and destruction in the future. “Get our guests a guide and make sure that they reach Thelsedorei without complications.”
“Captain Lensa, take them,” Aevaris said.
Lensa stood, saluting and bowing to the elder before she turned toward the trio. “Please come with me.” She bowed and saluted them as well, with no less reverence than she had toward the elder. She led them out of the hall.
As the doors closed, they could feel a disturbance in the Mana behind them as Vulmar started to let loose.
“Well, on to the next part!” Anthony said, whistling as he followed Lensa.
“Somehow, you’re the most unreliable, reliable person I have ever met,” Aila muttered.
“Just hate it when people aren’t straightforward and lie to one another. Just isn’t nice.”
They left Morhtheaus behind and headed in a straight line for Thelsedorei, the elusive and hidden capital of the high elves, and the birthplace of all elves.
Chapter: Quest Update
The trip to Thelsedorei was quick and without any issues. Elves appeared here and there, letting them past them. Their eyes fell on Aila, examining her.
Anthony heard the roar of Thelsedorei.
“What is that?” Tommie asked.
“The Everwater, that supplies the Evertree,” Aila said.
“They’re rather literal with their naming,” Anthony supplied.
“Everwater and tree?”
“There is a massive sinkhole in the forest—a bunch of lakes lead to it. At some point, a massive tree grew out of it. Don’t know if the elves came from the tree or they found it—lore is always difficult like that.
“The tree reaches above the large sinkhole and the branches spread out. The elves grew the branches into their city that continues to grow upward and outward every year. The sound is from the water falling underneath the tree and into the sinkhole.”
As they got closer, the air seemed to be fresh. Water shot into the air from falling into the massive sinkhole.
They came out of the forest. There was a still canopy above them but there were now plots of farms that stretched out in front of them, with elves working with beasts to tend to their crops.
A wall appeared in the distance, made from interwoven branches of silver that seemed to have a gold glow about them in the afternoon sun.
“Wow,” Tommie said.
“Bit better than Morhtheaus?” Anthony asked.
Neither he nor Aila said anything as they both stared up at the city. The waterfall underneath covered it all in mist, catching the sunlight.
They went through the fields and reached the main gate. The doors opened, with the branches bending down.
Inside, the city grew in and up. Houses were built through multiple levels or hung off branches.
“I heard that some call it the City of Gods,” Tommie said.
“The Golden City.”
“The Tree City.”
“The city where the elves conduct all their business from?” Anthony asked.
Aila and Tommie shot him a glance.
“What? Others might think all of those things, but to the people here, it’s just home—the elves’ home.” Anthony’s voice softened as he looked from Aila to the city as they rode in. “Though, it is one of the most beautiful cities I ever saw. But nothing compared to her.” Anthony’s voice trailed off.
Tommie heard the pain and confusion in Anthony’s voice.
“Damn memories.” Anthony shook his head, dismissing his feelings as Tommie retracted his gaze and looked at the city.
***
The
y were taken to a residence that was close to the elders’ quarters.
They had just settled in when a guest arrived.
“Elder Vulmar,” Anthony said as he saw the elf being guided into the house.
“Anthony.” Elder Vulmar saluted and bowed to him. Anthony felt that the respect was more natural and that there was something hidden in the elder’s eyes. Anthony used his Eyes of Truth, but he didn’t see that there was anything false in his actions.
“May the tree always see you,” Anthony said, feeling it might be good to give the old fella a break.
“And may Dena bless your growth.” The elder smiled as if he had expected Anthony to say that.
The elves do live for a damn long time. Do they have any information on me, on my past? Anthony usually reacted on instinct, his body working before his mind had time to react; with it, he would unlock memories and glimpses of the past, but they were rare.
Although he was joyful on the outside, he held the fear that he might never know everything about his history. He felt as if there were something massive that he couldn’t remember, something that was a part of his memories, a key part of him. But he couldn’t pin it down.
“I am sorry about the way you and your companions were greeted in Morhtheaus. I cannot make amends but I will look to make sure that it doesn’t happen again. We have seen that our people might need more education on the outside world. It seems that in isolation, some of them have built up prejudices. Not a quality that we hope to see in our city lords,” Vulmar said.
“Mistakes were made but solutions can be found and implemented,” Anthony said.
“It is painful for us elders as most of us have family members and friends who are dark elves. It seems that the younger generation have forgotten.”
Anthony nodded. It made sense. Thelsedorei was the birthplace of the elves, but the dark elves were those who sought the darkness, entertaining their curiosity.
“It is time that we started up the elven exchange once again. We stopped it in the troubling times with the humans and the beast kin fighting one another. Elves are seen as commodities outside of the Deepwood.”
Anthony sighed. It had been that way for generations. The elves, with their natural beauty, were sought-after slaves for evil elements of any race.
“Elder Vulmar.” Aila came down the stairs and saw him there.
“Princess Wranoris.” Elder Vulmar saluted her but only bowed his head to her. “I have been sent over to collect the letter from you. Might I be able to do that?”
“What will you do with it?” Aila asked.
“The elders have been convened. We want to read the letter and verify its contents,” Vulmar said.
“Anthony?”
“Everything he said is the truth,” Anthony said.
Aila pulled out the letter but hesitated for a few seconds before she passed it to Elder Vulmar.
“Thank you for the trust that you are placing with me. I hope that you have a restful night. We should review everything and make a decision by tomorrow morning,” Vulmar said, as he dismissed himself.
“Won’t they be tired from that?” Tommie asked from where he had been watching everything.
“No, they’ve got boatloads of Mana. They practically live off the stuff instead of food. Though they do like food, they don’t really need it. Guess they’re closer to elementals as they get older,” Anthony said.
“Have you ever met an elemental? Are they all like the one in the square?”
“I have, but I think they all look different. Pretty much if you go, ‘that looks strange; nature isn’t supposed to do that’ and have an innate fear looking at it, probably an elemental,” Anthony said.
“That’s not very helpful,” Aila muttered.
“Well, it’s not useful.” Anthony headed out of the house. “I’m going to play with Ramona and her kids!”
***
“From Queen Wranoris of the dark elven tribe to the north. The signs have started to appear. Greater chaos has been sown across the lands. The Mana density of Dena has increased and there are greater anomalies, like those that were seen before the last grand war.
“At the time of this letter, the sands of chaos have started to flow again.” Elder Vulmar lost his voice for a few seconds before he cleared his throat.
“I predict that the divide between our lands and the chaotic realm will break in no more than a year.”
Vulmar lowered the letter and passed it to the elder beside him.
All thirty elders were assembled. They had tight expressions as they passed the letter around, confirming the information personally.
It came back to Vulmar when one elder raised his hand.
Vulmar, who had called the session and was its leader, indicated for them to speak.
“I call for the elves to prepare for battle,” he said.
A number of the elders agreed. The younger ones looked shocked; one of them raising their hands.
“Prepare for battle? This is only a letter from the dark elves. Maybe they’re trying to create panic?”
“You are saying my sister wants to create panic?” An oppressive force fell over everyone as they looked at the elf lady walking into the room.
She was like her own force of nature, the world bending to her will.
“Watcher.” The elders bowed to the woman who had arrived.
“What has happened in this clan that a Guardian was disobeyed and our family members are denigrated based on the color of their skin!” she demanded. Her voice rolled through the hall.
The older elders all bowed their heads, though it was hard to hide the excitement in their eyes.
“Mother.” The grand elder stood and bowed to the watcher and vacated her seat.
The watcher’s expression softened some as she moved to the seat, sitting as the grand elder stood behind her. With their elven genes, they looked like sisters instead of mother and daughter.
“Send word to our alliances; send word to the leaders of the different races. It’s time the humans and beast men stopped having a pissing contest over land.”
“How, Grand Elder?” one asked.
“Well, we have a Guardian—we send him out to be a Guardian. I knew that they didn’t all die, but just which one is it?”
“Anthony,” Elder Vulmar said.
“ANTHONY?!” She lurched to her feet as her voice broke.
“Anthony, the Guardian legion commander, the tree knight! The demon-fiend? Roseatham’s lover?” The last came out in a growl.
“He wears armor and calls himself Anthony. He controlled a familiar of shadow called Solomon and a dragon named Dave, Watcher Cecilia,” Vulmar said.
“Solomon!” Cecilia said in a dark whisper as the shadows around them all started to turn and move.
“You!” She reached out a hand as a scared-looking demonic face was plucked from the shadows, still trying to escape before it fell into her hand. “You better not be telling your owner anything about this meeting!”
He shook his head.
Cecilia’s eyes narrowed. “You aren’t capable of speech?”
The shadow moved its head in the negative again.
She injected Mana into the shadow. The face turned into a man, wearing a black suit and looking devilishly handsome. Even the elves would have to admit he was an irresistible man.
“Oh, that form is so simple. Thank you, dearest Cecilia, for freeing me,” Solomon said with a sweeping bow.
“Speak up, Solomon. What is going on?”
“Master has lost most of his memories and his power. He died in the last battle. I don’t know what happened, but his body was preserved and us along with him. Dave told me that the rest of the legion lays asleep right now. It wouldn’t be good to say they’re dead, as much as dormant—without having any more flesh.”
“Skeletons!” an elder muttered in a dark voice.
“Oh, he would be a good one.” Solomon’s head turned around to face the man while his body faced
Cecilia.
“You are not pranking any of my elders,” Cecilia said.
“Oh, but it keeps them on their toes,” Solomon said.
“Remember Okra?”
“Ah, well, I can always pick new targets. You have become exceedingly beautiful over the years. I am sure that my master would trip over his own feet seeing you,” Solomon said.
Watcher Cecilia blushed and let out a cough.
“Ah, I remember the time that you first saw him. Didn’t you do something similar?”
Her cough turned into choking as she gripped Solomon tighter, squeezing his small body as he winced and smiled at the same time.
Is Watcher Cecilia interested in this Anthony? The thought appeared in Vulmar’s mind. He turned pale, trying to think of something, anything else that might rid him of this thought as if she might be able to read his mind and see what he had been thinking.
“What happened, Solomon?”
“I’m not sure. After he was dying, we stopped using our higher abilities to preserve his life. Then Aila Wranoris, being chased by devil hunters, used necromantic magic on Anthony. It seemed to wake him up. He has a lich’s heart in his body. I do not know who it is from.
“As he is awake longer, he has been gaining access to more power. So far, only Dave and I have woken up. The others are all asleep, needing more power to be awakened.”
“Have you seen the signs as well?” Cecilia asked.
“No, though I do not command the power that I did before. My information gathering skills are—lacking,” Solomon said, displeased with his failures.
“The other Guardians?”
“I have not seen any of them. The ones that I know of are waiting to be called upon for the battle to come,” Solomon said.
“Don’t tell Anthony anything about this, or allow this information to slip in anyway that will get to him,” Cecilia said.
Solomon sighed. “I can only go so far, if he asks me directly.”
“It would be best that he gets back his memories. Then I will send you to see her.” Cecilia spat out the word. “She should be able to bring his last remaining memories back. The beast lands and the islands need to be calmed and order restored. Anthony can’t resist himself and always finds himself in trouble. Selenus and Radal is a mess, but we will be able to gather enough information and influence the fighting to give Anthony a chance to balance the scales. That way, we can bring everyone to the table and prepare for what’s supposed to come,” Cecilia said.
Death Knight Box Set Page 12