"The sun rose shiny and bright on the horizon. It woke up a young kid, while it also revealed a bloody battlefield. The world is too big. And we are mere pawns in their hands. How long since I haven't seen the sun?"
Written in a scroll, found deep in the mines of Falina, 150 years ago
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"There was, four centuries ago, a small group of elves that travelled their way out of an extremely violent land. They sailed through enormous waves and finally found another land that required them extra weeks on the sea, trying to find a safe shore to port. They then explored their way into the continent, until they reached a satisfying position. They created a settlement, cultivated their food and farmed their cattle. For years and years, the settlement grew in size and members, attracting all other races and tribes that were natives to that land. It became so big that now needed leaders, and there was no better choice than the ones that started the settlement in the first place.171Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡclqasxEtvw
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The Solar Elves then expanded the city and shaped the walls and architecture into an elvish style, with the aid of Grey Elves. During the following decades, someone saw a very shiny object in the soil. It was a mineral well known for the dwarves: Mithral, a mineral slightly more resistant than steel, but so much more valuable. The elves led the dwarves into digging a mine worthy of that mineral, and the dwarves worked excitedly for their finds. That hole on the ground then became a very rich mithral mine, which grew for miles and miles into the earth with its complex tunnels and levels. Mithral became their way for profit and shaped their costumes. Stone statues were put down, and reshaped with mithral, their walls were revested with the metal and all their weaponry was remade from it. The mine was so rich that even after applying the mineral into their lives, they still had a large amount left. They started doing small local trades, and with the years, attracted even more members from different backgrounds, seeking for better life, and then the big city became a land for all. All of the natives of that land were part of the city and had room for expressing their voice. The expansion of the walls and architecture was needed, and even more leaders were pointed out.
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It was decided that three races would form a shared leadership for the people, formed by Solar Elves, Wood Elves and Grey Elves. Each one of them brought their culture and knowledge and built a city to be proud of, which made all members of each race into nobles. The elves were ideal, avoiding the constant change of leaders, since elves far outlived almost every other race. They built very large and sophisticated structures to protect the initial slope of the mines, and safeguard its entrance.
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All of the other races that eventually joined, but were not elves, were made into workers. Humans, dwarves, orcs, halflings, gnomes and goblins were sorted into all other positions, while the majority of able men were sent to the mines. As more mithral was being produced and now shaped into simple utensils, like knives and pickaxes, the elfs decided to export the mineral. They transported the mineral back to the shore they came from and built another settlement. Now with all the manpower available, they built a very big port that allowed shipments and shipments of Mithral to be sent to the very violent land they came from. The port required workers, so a selected few members built rudimentary wooden houses and storages and moved their families to live ashore.
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With the flow of money, the city grew to be a legend. Mithral was shipped in large amounts of ingots, and the revenue was applied into food, supplies and spices for the people. Falina was blessed with centuries of prosperity and calm, only needing to worry with the native tribes that shared that continent, but posed no threat to the great kingdom. With time, the mine grew so big that it was not uncommon to hear that workers got lost inside its chambers and were immediately declared dead, as the chances of success from a search party were very slim. A group of miners would go inside the mine for weeks and leave only when their carts were full.
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Then things began to change. Very, very fast. One day, the miners found a new type of mineral, hundreds of miles below ground. It was purple as amethysts, bright and emitted a sinister colour in the dark. After a short analysis, they found out that it was only a shell around the mithral ore. It broke like an insect shell, and crumbled like sand, only to reveal the mineral encased by it. The deeper the mine went, the more common was that new mineral. The purple shell had no apparent value, but after its discovery a few symptoms started to show in miners. It started with a tickling throat, but that did not stop the mining activity. The new mineral was thoroughly studied by healers, mages and jewellers, and diagnosed as harmless. Their tests were run under open air spaces, nothing like the airless pits of the mine. The dust of the crumbled mineral stayed in the air for hours and hours, being breathed in deeply by the miners. The longer they were down there, the more they wanted to stay, developing an addiction for that dust. There were reports of miners that did not want to leave the mine at all, staying behind. The closer the miners got to the surface, the stronger the tickling throat, while it seemed a nonexistent condition down the mine. The symptoms did not take long to get worse to the returned workers. The miners started to present blood from the orifices on the head. The pain made them scream so loud it could be heard from three streets down. The disease was finally diagnosed, with the ticklish throat being the first symptom, and the blood indicating the end of the first stage. The elven leaders reinforced the safety precautions, but did not halt the mine activity. All who refused to work were considered deserters and locked away for life inside the mine. As more and more miners were diagnosed with that disease, the gates of the mines were shut for good. The miners that got away with the ticklish throat were a very fortunate few.
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At the end of the first stage of the disease, there were only two possible outcomes: either death, after agonising for days and bleeding out, or they became what would soon be named as Elvenbane. Before the first appearance of the second outcome, bodies of the dead were burned in public, and started to raise serious concerns about the elven leaders. Then, the first case of an Elvenbane was acknowledged in the healing houses: one miner, who was very sick, endured all the days of bleeding and agonising pain, to a stage of almost undead. He lost his pupils, turning his eyes completely white, his nails and teeth grew to a somewhat menacing size, and his behaviour became thirsty for blood. It mangled the healers and his apprentices, and was found eating their insides in a pool of their blood. It could not speak nor understand the language anymore, it was unresponsive like a rabid animal. Elven knights came to aid and put the miner down, but not with their gear intact. Parts of the mithril armour were bent, and the shield of one of them had very deep scratches. They sealed the healing house away.
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The amount of sick miners was beyond measure, and more and more of the Elvenbane cases were being taken care of by the knights. They closed entire streets, then entire blocks. The wave of sickness and despair hit the city so hard, that a huge city for thousands soon began to feel like a small village, as thousands of citizens were moved out of their houses and placed in communitary shelters, packed with people. The deity temples were the first to go to places for food, there was never a register of Ruff's followers working so har. The whole city was on lockdown, with its gates closed to the outside. All that popular pressure came right on top of the leaders shoulders, who had food to spare and warm beds.
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Some days later, the entire army of the city was dispatched from the leaders castle, and unsealed all of the streets and houses. They moved, with brute force and magic, all the sick people inside the mine, and then sealed it away with magic.
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The retreat of the army made clear what they went through. A mixture of blood and dirt fouled their gear as they silently walked between the blooded empty houses, with their heads down. They went back inside the leader's castle and shut down the gates. It was a very silent and sad parade, that was followed by angry screams and curses from the mob, left behind in a city that smelt like blood, putrefying flesh and charred bodies. The next few weeks were decisive to the fated end of that great empire.
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The first to rebel was an Orc named Mok'thar, throwing a stone into the elven soldiers during their patrol. His attitude led dozens of others to push back the army into the castle walls. With the popular pressure, the elven leaders had one final attitude: with the first lights of the sun, they charged against the revolting people, killing everyone on their way. Some say that a few of the soldiers had tears in their eyes. That charge led the people to strike back, becoming such a powerhouse that drove the leaders and all elves to run for their lives. The gates were now open again, and the throne laid empty.
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From the revolting mob and with the reinforced walls for themselves, surged three approaches to the city problems. From inside each of them, rose a leader that led their people. The leaders tried to ponder, but there was never a consensus of the way forward. The only subject that they agreed upon was that the elves knew of the disease and still sent the miners to work, thus naming the Elvenblight and the Elvenbane, the bane of the elven reign and the memory of all men lost. The civic tension was so much that they armed themselves and started a civil war for a whole year, with a new body occupying the throne every new week. That year was filled with conspiracy, murders, dispute and domination. By the end of this period, there were no candidates to sit on the throne. The people feared for their lives, no one could be trusted, and no one that understood magic could give a definite answer to the efficiency of the seal that locked the Elvenbane in the mines. That was the end of what they knew. Falina was ruptured and now all new leaders of their people seeked a better life for all.
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The first leader, a human named Gillian Auswick, believed that the Elvenbane should be abandoned inside the mines and they should turn into a new page, with a new proposal for prosperity, that included the forgiveness for the elves, so they could start a new story as a stronger and more united community. His ideas were embraced by the majority of the people. He and his followers, mostly composed of Humans, dwarves, halflings and gnomes, with a small portion of goblins and orcs, and an even smaller one of elves travelled south of the giant island. They found a great number of mountains, with one of them standing out. The dwarves saw that as a great opportunity and suggested that they built their city on that mountain. With the project in hands, Gillian and his people followed the orders of the dwarves and put up a city circling the mountain, from afar, it resembled a giant centipede. The city was named Jaghat.
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The second leader was Mok'thar, the Orc that led the rebels against the elves. He believed that everyone that put up with the elves, considered forgiving them or even thought of doing business with them should die. They took it as a hobby to hunt and eliminate elves. They moved themselves into the desert to the west, for its strategic visibility and natural protection, considering the number of wild beasts and undead that lurked in those sands. His people grew to be unparalleled in power, with a tribal culture and extremely prone to conflict. Their desertic city was named Citadel of the Fang.
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The third initiative had no leaders, but a humanitarian and medical consensus to soothe the pain and develop a more spiritual and scientific approach. They promised to study the Elvenblight, searching for a cure, believing that by doing so, the nightmare would end and Falina could rise to its old glory. The believers roamed to the old dock settlement, where the Mithral was shipped from, and founded the Citadel of Sparga. They forgot that the heart of men could easily be seduced. When other lands stopped receiving the Mithral, they visited the docks for information, and after hearing that there was a growing town with no leaders and no set rules due to the spirituality, the city kept being visited by people that wanted to gamble and satisfy their lust with cheap brothels. The more people visit, the more variety of establishments and the more common was the existence of taverns, trinket vendors, herbs, foreing clothes and everything you were looking for. As expected, conflicts arose on the streets to conquer that city, and bodies were found in blood pools on a daily basis. The conflict ended when Captain Blood Feather rose as the regent, creating the full city now named Wine Bay. He created the only non aggression zone of the whole land, and supplied the cities with food and wine, the best quality. The healers that were not corrupted by that way of life and stood their ground on their faith and studies, roamed to the north of Falina, close to the elven forests, in hope they could continue their studies there and use the special elven herbs.
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All cities live in thin ice, never wasting an opportunity to attack others. Fear is constant and you can feel it in the air. There are spies everywhere, from everywhere. Be very careful who you trust."
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The boy still held the piece of scroll in his hands. He had his mouth open in shock from the whole story. His younger brother sitting by his side, trying to hide the tension in his body. Their dad wore a crown on his head, and his body had a light armor piece for daily indoor usage. The fireplace was lit, creating the perfect setting for that kind of story. On the cold brick walls there were banners and symbols with spiral patterns and purple colors, resembling a centipede.
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- But dad! - Said the older boy, snapping out of his trance - What happened to the elves?
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- Yeah, dad! What are the elves? Are they some kind of monster? - The younger brother now showed enthusiasm, and after a short break, he frowned his face, completing - And what are brothels?
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- Listen, boys. Elves are nothing more than people. Different people, with different cultures, but still people. And like everyone, they make mistakes. The only advantage that they have compared to us is that they have a longer time to atone. - The man stood from his big chair, reaching for the other side of the table and pulling the old piece of scroll from the boy's hand. He then stood up and walked to the bookshelves by the walls, and placed the scroll safely inside of one of the books, then returned it to its shelving slot. He then approached the kids and knelt by them with a serious expression - But remember that monsters could be inside anyone, no matter how the outside look like. But you will have a very long time to learn, even though you both are over twenty years old, you are still kids.
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- How do you know that? I'd say twenty years is already old. - Said the younger with a stuffed chest and a heroic pose, which was followed by laughs from both the older brother and the father.
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The man touched the tips of his ear and gave it a little flap. - You see how the tips of your ears are a little pointy, unlike mine? - The human showed his round tipped ear - That says you have elven blood, and that comes from your mother. She taught us that you both will only become full grown adults by the age of forty. You are still halfway there, boy. - He gave a little pinch in his cheek - Your mother also told us that the elves, after their escape from Falina, had troubles of their own. They disagreed on a lot of subjects and they went separate ways, just like everyone else. Today, there are multiple elven cities that do not speak and do not like each other. There are only two elven groups that had a different outcome: the elves that did not like all that mess and chose to be neutral, and the group that just tried to blend in with us, here in Jaghat. The first group took cover and formed a village inside the elven forest Irathel. Your mum was in the second group. When she arrived with her group, my father was still a very young child. She was always extremely helpful and taught us a lot about farming and how to properly cultivate plants and herbs. When the weight of the crown rested on my head, I had a period of really bad decisions, and your mother was the one that rescued me from my destructive path. I do not want you to go through that when I die, son. - He said looking at the older son with a very sad expression on his face - And this is why both of you will begin your education and training tomorrow.
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Knock, knock. The knocks were definitely from a finger, but were so loud and strong that it startled everyone in the room. A weaker piece of wood would break.
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The king smiled at the door, while standing up. - Come in, Teria.
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Teria opened the door and entered the room. He was old, with long hair and an even longer moustache, the kids always thought they were whips, he was very brawny for his size. He wore a long tunic that covered most of his body. By his side, was a teenage human male, extremely shy. The old man approached the king, and then clenched his fist on his open palm, bowing his upper body.
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- At ease, Teria. I see you brought someone? - He looked at the shy boy.
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- Yes, sire. - He brought his body straight and hid his arm inside the tunic on the other arm. - He is my apprentice, still in training, but shows great promise. I hope he can defend the throne as successfully as I had before. And I am not getting any younger. - He said with a cold stare at the young princes.
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- You may go now, boys, it is time to go to bed. - Said the king to his heirs. - You guys are going to have a big day tomorrow.
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The kids jumped out of the chair and started to make their way out of the room with their heads down while they crossed Teria and his cold expression.
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- Dad still didn't say what a brothel is. - Said the youngest.
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- It is obvious, it is the man responsible for cutting the meat on the markets. - Said the oldest, pretending to know.
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- It must be a really good meat then, to make people so satisfied. - Said the youngest, while closing the door behind them.
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The king sat back in his chair and opened a big map of the whole Balazar on the table, then placed a few miniature indicators where the cities are. He placed other miniatures of different colours, symbolising troops, by the map. He extended his palm to the chair, looking up to Teria. - Have a seat. What is the situation?
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Teria approached the table without sitting, and started to place red troop figures to the west, on the desert. - Harena had yet another vision, the Fang is about to attack Stonemount. I have made initial preparations with Ranar to arrange help if needed. The raven is on their way.
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- Thank you very much, Teria. Gather the council and call Harena. It is time to cut this Lion mane. Send a warning raven to the Fang. - There was a brief silence while the king moved some miniatures into the map - Send an spareble one. You know that they do not like to be threatened.
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- Consider it done.
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Teria bowed and began to move to the door without turning his back to the king. He briefly opened his eyes to check on his apprentice, who was not only with his back to the king, but also had a straight posture, which was followed by a sonorous slap on the back of his neck. The boy made a hurtful face, bit turned around and copied Teria, bowing while leaving.
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Twelve years after the beginning of their education.
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A raven arrived in Jaghat. The ravenmaster received the message attached to its feet, and the words written on the piece of parchment made him run into the king's throne room. He sped down the steps of the tower and ran as fast as he could into the castle. He could barely breathe when arrived, and needed a few deep breaths to recover his posture. He finally reached the hands of Bronn, who now was no longer an apprentice kid, but an adult veteran. Teria was still by his side, but now he did not need any more disciplinary slaps. He handed the note to the king, now with apparent white hair. He opened the parchment and read out loud.
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- "Stonemount under attack from an invisible threat. Protect young lord Gudin".
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Judging by the blood marks on the corners of the paper, the person who wrote that message is now dead.
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- Gudin is the son of Ginod, who is the son of King Gulluf. If they are asking asylum for Gudin, it is safe to assume that both Ginod and Gulluf are dead. - He said looking at Teria. He turned his head to the ravenmaster - Expect a raven with a full report by the end of the day. Do not read it, it will be identified with a purple seal.
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He made a gesture with his hand and the courier bowed gently to the king and left. Later that day, back at his tower, there was a ghostly looking raven waiting. It was possible to see through its body, and when the ravenmaster approached, it vanished in thin air, leaving behind a whole rolled up scroll with a purple seal. He made his way again back to the castle, with a more steady pace. The king was not in his castle hall anymore, but in a room with a big round table with ten seats. The room was completely silent, and all the biggest names from Jaghat were there, not a single chair was empty. He delivered the sealed scroll to the king and started to make his way back to his tower, closing the door behind him. The king opened the scroll, passed his eyes on the content and then read out loud.
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"King Gulluf Mockshield is deceased. He was showing signs of weakness in public, walking with a stick and losing his balance, but it gave the impression of sickness. He was found dead by his wife at dawn, with green foam in his mouth, indicating distilled poison from an adult green dragon. The main places to find them are either in the Wildmagic Peak or inside the Irathel Forest. During the afternoon of his death, his son Ginod Mockshield was named as the new king. During his first speech, he got shot in the neck by an arrow, and died on spot. The culprit was never found. Fearing for the life of the heir, Gudin Mockshield was hidden and I created a fake corpse to disrupt any plans. I could not, however, help Lady Dargna, the former Queen. She was found with the fake corpse and locked away as the culprit. I sent Ranar to escort Gudin to Jaghat, which was his only hope for survival. They should arrive two days after this report. I also will be hiding for the following days, until we see better days."
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The king put down the report scroll with the purple seal facing up. The wax seal slowly melted and covered the whole surface of the scroll, making it crumble like sand on the table. He then raised his head to the members composing that meeting.
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- Make preparations for the arrival of young lord Gudin. He will be educated and trained as my son under your care, Erfeu. He is about the same age as Aremi, and he should have started his education some time ago, like the boys, so it would not be teaching from scratch.
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- Yes, my liege. - Erfeu responded promptly, one of the Six.
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- Send a raven to the Fang. Let us see if the new cub is as stubborn as the Lion we killed ten years ago. Ask him to send his Rats to Goa for more information. Promise him riches and weapons in return.
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- Yes, my king. - Teria, another of the Six, replied.
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- Your highness, if we send more weapons to the Citadel of the Fang, would it not mean giving them more power to exercise their wishes to vanquish their enemies? We are one of their enemies. - Questioned Luscan, the newest member of the Six.
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- We definitely want to avoid going into war, Luscan. - The king replied - But we are also worried about the new enemy that may rise on Goa, considering how close they are to us. The throne in their kingdom is empty, and the shadows are encroaching. We should fear what we cannot see more than what is openly barking at us. The weapons are a fine trade and an irresistible offer to them. We must see this through, and I hate to admit, but their Rats are more efficient than our infiltrated members.
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Luscan nodded with his head and started to write in a scroll the list of weapons he was to send with the envoy.
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- Let us not forget what your grandfather did in the past, Jullian. - Said Funna, the Elf Queen of Jaghat.
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- You are right. That also went through my thoughts. - Replied king Jullian.
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- What did King Gillian do? The old reports never mentioned anything bad. - Luscan asked with curiosity.
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- That was on purpose, he wanted all to believe his actions were the best to the greater good, but he made his share of mistakes. When Jaghat was being built, we got a big number of dwarves that helped us with the architecture of Jaghat, with the inner mountain shops and academies, but we were also joined by a group of elves, in which Funna arrived. They were all members of royalty, of some kind, in Falina. When Jaghat was finished, the elves asked for support in creating a city of their own, with their culture, architecture and lifestyle. My grandfather, Gillian Auswick, first king of Jaghat, said no to their aid, implying that the elves, if wanted protection or support, should abandon their titles and live as commoners inside the territory of Jaghat. The elven community did not like to have their wrists forced, and left the city. A very small portion of elves stayed in Jaghat with us, and you all probably know them. The ones that left created the settlement that would eventually turn into the city of Goa. - King Jullian explained while looking at all the members of the meeting.
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- But the king of Goa just died. He was a dwarf, not an elf. - Luscan asked, surprised.
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- Yes, the city was founded by elves, and tried a different approach in how to rule. They got their population from the people leaving the Citadel of Sparga and some families from Jaghat. When the city grew bigger, their approach did not paid off, and they had to point out a king, which turned out to be a Solar Elf. He ruled for the next ten years, while building an elven city. He got killed in battle against the Citadel of the Fang, trying to defend the city from the Citadel of the Fang, and then the city council pointed out king Gulluf as the new king, as the former king did not had any family or heirs. Gulluf rebuilt the city from the ground, putting down all elven architecture and raising up a military dwarven city, which made all elves abandon their city. And now, almost seventy years later, his entire bloodline was erased, leaving the throne empty again. - The king paused, and turned his head to Funna. She had a sad smile, looking back at him. He then continued looking at Luscan. - What Queen Funna meant, is that we could have more than one enemy responsible, this goes way beyond the Fang. If they refuse to talk to us, implies that they could be involved. If they do talk to us, they might be as concerned as us from this new invisible threat.
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The silence filled the room. Luscan put his feather down after writing what he could spare from the city arsenal and presented it to King Jullian. He nodded and handed the parchment back to Luscan. - Make the arrangements.
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Thirteen years after the reunion.
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Aremi was standing tall in front of the mirror, trying to position the crown in his head the best he could. He was immersed in the sight of his grown body, and how bigger it looked under all those adornments.
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The crown was slightly bigger than his head, since it was still adjusted to the head of his father, and there were no time to adjust it for him. He tried his best to use different angles to make the crown fixed. The only solution possible was to use his pointy tip ears to support the head piece, even though that was the last thing he wanted. He got plenty of education from Erfeu in the past twenty five years, and he knew that it was possible that some citizens from Jaghat could be resentful about his mixed blood.
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He used to think a lot about that moment. What would be his first order? What would be his first impressions? How should he introduce himself to mother and his brother? How long will his life last? Will his brother step up to be king when he dies? Knowing that he was the only one that could possibly think all that was a scary thing to him, as he would not have whom to consult. The image of his father a handful of years back was still vivid: placing his hand on his shoulder saying "Aremi, do not forget to breathe. Live one day at a time. Do not shelter yourself in your mind, you have a whole city ready to give you different perspectives. Take them all into consideration before even thinking of asking them to fight for you".
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All of his questions were now gone. The weight on his shoulders made that sure. He gave one last gaze to the mirror and then left the room. On the corridor was his mother, wearing a smaller crown than she used to a couple days ago. She was wearing a black gala dress to present herself to her elder son's coronation, even with red eyes from crying. His brothers, Sander and Gudin, were also with her. Aremi touched his forehead on her mother's, and then led the way.
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The castle hall was full of people. The Council of Six, the prophet Harena, and the key members to the flow of the city were all there. During the ceremony, all words said by the paladins were numb, as if he was underwater. What shook him up was the voice of all present members in one loud voice: "Long live the king!", followed by a deafening silence.
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The king stood up from his knees and presented him to the public. He looked at everyone in complete silence and he took a deep breath. He walked a step forward, and then another, and then engaged on a normal paced walk towards the big castle gates. When the sun hit his eye, he was shocked by the sight of not a single space left, as every citizen was present on the streets. He walked slowly to them, as they opened the way for the king. After passing through, the crowd behind him closed the way while staring at his back like a big wave, all looking a bit confused. He continued his walk to the very last citizen, almost at ground level, where the members of close villages were. He nodded his head saying "Thank you" and started to walk the way back up, nodding at every single crossed look.
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There was no speech, but that attitude gave the confidence he needed. The crowd started murmuring at his presence and he felt it was all good things. What made that sure was that the people on the bottom were clapping their hands at full strength and screaming his name with enthusiasm, followed by everyone that the king already passed.
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The music was loud, the food and wine were plentiful. From up the mountain city of Jaghat, he still looked out to the dark plains outside the city walls, thinking that they were all safe. At least for that night.
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