Inside the Château de L’Enfer, Nhaka’s writings continued…

The doors slam shut behind me as soon as I walk in, and my ears pick up the sound of bolts ratcheting quickly and decisively behind me. To turn tail and flee, would be impossible!

It’s too late for regrets, I’m afraid! But then again, why would I flee? I’m finally here, after all this cold and all this walking. Fittingly, I might very well be mad and desperate, as the legends would say of those who seek an audience with the Lich, Elena de L’Enfer!

On the way up flights of stairs smothered in pitch-black shadows like a deathly pall, I can’t help but notice the skeletal servants shambling around me, attending slowly and shabbily to the visibly run-down furnishings of this Château that has, much like the rest of Eldia, seen far better days from the little traces of luxury that my eyes can discern. I suppose bony fingers aren’t good for housekeeping, alongside the lack of supplies to reliably do so!

My skeletal escorts lead me to the end of one wing of this massive Château, to what looks like a study and a master bedroom rolled into one. They depart immediately, and as I enter, I can’t help but notice the many antique bookcases filled with tomes, the cushioned armchairs for comfy reading, and the rather fancy and big bed that’s easily fit for a queen! But also, the desk and floor that’s smothered erratically with tomes and books left ajar, and what appears like research notes scattered everywhere like the work of an insane architect.

At the helm of it all, I see her, finally! The Countess of Eldia, Elena de L’Enfer. She’s dressed in robes of red and gold woven in the esoteric fashion of the elven sorcerers of the Alyssian Empire of old, now tattered with age. Her eyes, crimson like freshly spilled blood, gaze out into a large window heavily stained with frost from the outside, and she carried with her, the scent of wilted roses. It’s faint, but it’s there!

“I sensed your arrival, and what you have. Waited for it, too.”

Her voice was sharp, perhaps even deadly if words could ever hope to kill! And yet, I could discern a tiredness within her tone as she turned around to look at me and into my many eyes, her gaze passionless and cold like the land itself. Oh, and I finally noticed, much to my annoyance, that she was easily a forehead taller than my vertically challenged self!

“Speak now, little one. Who’re you?”

But of course, I didn’t let that bother me! Even that last line of hers, I’ll add! If I did, I’d be angry with at least nine-tenths of Melodia, and then some. That’s not a way to live, for sure! Instead, I recalled of my time with the first Handmaiden and Ecclesiarch of the Central Church from centuries past, Lyra de Escaflora, and all that she had taught me about etiquette and what it means to be a proper Lady, just like her! With my best smile, the one that Lyra’s successor, Iris de Escaflora, won’t admit is her favourite whenever her servants prepare my most beloved strawberry shortcakes, I performed a curtsey to the Countess, lifting the edges of my cloak as I bowed gracefully like any proper Lady would!

“I’m Nhaka Mezalune!” I exclaimed, very, very sweetly. “I’m an Archon of Elicia!”

There was a brief moment of silence after that, and I couldn’t help but notice the confusion in her features as she sizes me up with my words in her consideration. I also couldn’t help but wonder, how long this Lich had condemned herself to this tomb of hers.

“The world has changed,” I added, after a while. “My mistress, Elicia, has united all of Melodia under her Empire of Arcadia. And we, her Archons, rule in her stead as her chosen servants.”

Before she could say anything to that, I quickly cast aside my fur coat and reached into my rucksack for the many items prepared for my audience with her.

“Here!”

The first item that I presented to her, was a shattered fragment of Abbadon’s royal seal, formerly whole and blessed by the Keeper of the Forest, and now, divided amongst me and my fellow Archons! Once, three centuries past, he was the Emperor of the Alyssian Empire of old. He was the one who had first invoked the eldritch rites of the Hellbourne, drawing us into the war he waged against the human tribes and kingdoms, allowing us to fight on either side in the ensuing Corruption where both humans and elves sought any advantage for victory. Now, he’s dead! I wasn’t there personally on the front lines when it happened, but Lyra told me that it had taken Elicia herself to slay him on the field of battle.

“He’s dead, huh?” Elena de L’Enfer remarked out loud, her gaze fixated upon the broken seal. “And this Elicia that you speak of…”

“Is the living god of humanity!” I exclaimed in reply, finishing her sentence. “Like I said, the Alyssian Empire of old is done, and the world belongs to Elicia, and…”

“Wait. Hold up.”

“Oh?”

“You’re telling me that those flat-eared barbarians who can’t even organise a picnic amongst themselves… now have a god and an Empire?”

Much to her dismay and surprise, possibly, I nod at her again. She looked at me momentarily with an expression one would give to a mortal gone mad, and then, once again, her gaze came to rest upon the broken seal still cradled in the palm of my hand.

“This is crazy talk, y’know? And yet… that fragment does bear the Emperor’s magic. The Keeper’s, as well. Don’t ask me how I know that. Either you’re really good at forgery, or…”

“Would you like to borrow it?” I offered cheerfully, taking a step forward towards her. “You can examine it, but you’ll have to promise, pinkie swear, to return it, and…”

Immediately, much to my own dismay, she took a step back. I suppose, sadly, that it’s true that the beings of this world have a strong sense of personal space! Even the undead!

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“No, that’s fine! I’ll just take your word and trust my gut on this. Anyway…”

“Hmm?”

“You’ve got something else in that sack, don’t ya? Sensed its energy even when you were at the gate. It’s also why I let you come in without incident, by the way.”

“Oh, right… of course!” I exclaim. “Silly, silly me! And thank you for your kindness and hospitality!”

Wordlessly, she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, visibly annoyed at my whimsy! But that’s okay, because I paid it no mind, reaching quickly into my rucksack once again to retrieve the second item that I’ve prepared for her, stored carefully within the safety of a little leather pouch to properly shelter it for the long trip.

“I offer you this for your…” I state, as I unveiled my gift. “Gardening!”

“Impossible! That’s…”

There was a rather visible and palpable pause from Elena de L’Enfer, as that crimson-eyed gaze of hers beheld the emerald green aura of what I had shown her. Like all elves, even she recognised the majesty of the Sefir. And this time, she took a step towards me, seemingly enraptured and unable to believe with her own two eyes, what she had sensed so easily from so far away.

“The seed of the great Sefir …”

Wordlessly, I nodded at her. Now, you might be asking what the Sefir is. Or you might not. I mean, I don’t know what’s on your mind, but I’ll explain anyway! You see, in the time of the Alyssian Empire of old, the Sefir was the name of the World Tree, an ancient crystalline oak of diamond acacia leaves, said to have existed before the beginning of time itself. It’s revered and held dear by the elves, said to be blessed by the Keeper of the Forest, and a living symbol of the Emperor’s right to rule from Sophia herself. In truth, I’ve yet to see the actual thing due to its destruction at the hands of Abaddon, the reigning Emperor heralding the Corruption, for he had set it aflame like a funeral pyre to serve as a means to entreat the favour of my fellow Hellbourne, but the legends of old say that its branches were a sunspot into the heavens itself! Today, there are many like it in the elven quarters and Elven Reservations established by my fellow Archons across their respective dominions! Or, at least, planted and tended in the shape of it, none of them ever as tall! I say so, because they’re little more than primitive symbols from a past era that lack the potency of the old magics, and the blessing of Sophia, now dead to this world like Amon.

Yes, indeed! Most of the Sefir’s seeds were lost in the Corruption, and of those found in the aftermath of the war, they’ve fallen into rather unsavoury hands. For instance, my fellow Archon, Terask Dagon, who rules the Cathanian Imperium far east as its Sorcerer King! This seed of the Sefir that I have with me, comes from the Vault of Chi Xi Hung, one tribute amongst many others when the dragons bent the knee to Elicia, acknowledging her as Sophia’s successor. I’d like to think that he thought it to be little more than a trinket, a worthless bauble from a time long past, and that I know better than that. Ironic, considering that the dragons were once said to be the most cherished children of Sophia! Just as Amon, her dark counterpart, was said to cherish the liches and the vampires, and the living dead.

But then again, the reason why this seed bears such vibrant life, is all thanks to the Eternal Alchemist herself, my dear friend and fellow Archon from the Isle of Eden, Alicia l’ Auteur! I don’t know the exact details, but she found a way to reawaken the energies left dormant in this seed, by means of alchemical process. The rest is history!

“For decades, no, centuries, I’ve tried everything to fix my mistakes, but…” Elena de L’Enfer uttered out loud, breaking the silence between us with words both fast and passionate. “Nevermind. Let’s trade! Here, I’ve got only one thing to offer you that’s of equal value, Archon of Elicia.”

I watched quietly as she moved quickly towards her desk, enacting some kind of wordless ritual to unseal one of its many drawers. From within, bristling with magic, she offers me a necklace of white gold with a ruby shaped like a quail’s egg. She doesn’t say it, but I know what it is by means of the sheer power emanating from it – her phylactery!

“Good!” I exclaimed, as I smiled brightly at her. “In exchange for this seed, your soul will be in my keeping, and you’ll serve me as a Vizier of the Eye!”

“Vizier of the Eye, you say? The hell’s that?”

“I’m the Eye of Elicia, so that’s the title of those who serve me!” I explained, only to have my enthusiasm be severely dampened upon noticing the frown on her face. “It’s an easy job, really! You’ll travel around the world, and kill as per my instruction!”

“So, you want me to leave this place with you…”

“Yup!”

“If I leave… then what will become of Eldia?”

“This land that was once yours, will be under the safekeeping of Iris de Escaflora!” I answered her, both truthfully and sincerely. “She’s a fellow Archon, and the Ecclesiarch of the Central Church! Eldia will be in good hands, and you’ll get to meet her personally, so no worries!”

“I haven’t left Eldia in… forever. I won’t lie, this is a little crazy, y’know? A world ruled by humans, and their god, and…”

She paused then and there, words eluding her even though she looked like she had more to say. Once more, I reached into my rucksack and unveiled the third item I had prepared for this fateful meeting – a full-colour poster of a very beautiful lady with long yellow hair and brown eyes from the Holy See of Arcadia, her radiant and voluptuous figure dressed to the nines in scarlet! Much to my relief as I unbound and unfurled the thick parchment to present it to the Countess, it had survived the trip unscathed.

“That’s Elician Jewel!” I exclaimed, as I beheld her wonderment. “Heretic’s latest star! She’s a courtesan of the highest calibre, an amazing singer and actress! Do you like her?”

“I just think she’s…”

“Pretty?”

“That’s one way to put it…”

I can’t help but smile at the bright shades of necromantic green blushed upon Elena de L’Enfer’s face. I suppose that the Countess of Eldia, this heritor of Amon’s blessing, is still more mortal than she cared to admit. Or perhaps, Heretic’s just that good! The men and women, be they humans or elves of this guild, are truly the finest of mortal specimens. Especially the ones from their so-called ‘Private Collection’, like the Elician Jewel! This, I know for sure!

But even so, as I admired the poster alongside my host, I can’t help but wonder to myself if the Elician Jewel was truly happy like her smile. Perhaps it’s just little more than a thought, but if there’s one thing I’ve figured out over my centuries upon Melodia when it comes to mortals, be they humans or elves, is that it’s less about the words said, but of those unsaid if one should seek to divine the truth. That beneath a smile to the crowd, might be sorrow unending in solitude. Perhaps, the Countess knew this as well. And perhaps she too, believed what she wished to believe in this frozen image, rendered timeless by mortal ingenuity.

“She looks so happy, so passionate in there! Thank you for letting me see this, Archon of Elicia. Those feelings, I know what they’re like, they’re… good.”

“The world beyond Eldia has changed!” I exclaimed, handing her the poster. “There are so many new things to see, and if you come with me to the Holy See of Arcadia, maybe you’ll run into the Elician Jewel herself, someday!”

“That’s a big ‘if’, Archon of Elicia.”

“It’s very possible!”

There’s the slightest hint of a smile from Elena de L’Enfer, now. I watched on as she gazed lovingly upon the Elician Jewel, once again. And then, towards me and the seed of the Sefir held out in my hand.

“So, how about it?” I asked her, with my best smile. “Shall we?”

Together, we stepped out of the study and departed the Château de L’Enfer, the first step on our road together as Archon and Vizier!