We walked through the city without speaking a word to each other. The black haired elf and I walked calmly, despite the fires raging through the city around us, the sight of blood and bodies on the ground, the sounds of distant battles still being wages layered over the moans and screams of dying men, and the smell of smoke and viscera in the air.
The brown haired elven women was not calm, and barely seemed to be holding back strong amounts of bloodlust. She would glance over at me in disgust every now and then.
There was no one guarding the city gates, as everyone was too embroiled in the conflict happening inside the city to pay any attention to the potential threats outside.
We walked right through the city walls, and I exited the city I had spent around a year in.
Outside the city walls, there was an area of cleared space, as to not let people approach the city unseen. Outside this cleared space, on the other side of a good sized river stood a forest filled with younger trees, after most of the old ones had been chopped down to aid in the construction of the city, and keep it going.
Making our way down a packed dirt road leading across the river—over a wooden bridge—we approached the forest. If found it a little odd that there were no people on the road, but in retrospect it made sense. The common people and merchants are normally the first ones to feel the ominous airs of an approaching fight, and tend to stay away from them.
So we had the road to ourselves.
The black haired elf was the first one to speak. He did so in an emotionless voice, like a machine.
“I would imagine that you know what we are, but I will state it here, clearly. My name is Archelaos, and this is my comrade Nifayr. We are here as a detachment sent to retrieve you, bringing you back to the Elven Empire, where you will be able to learn more about control and heritage.”
(Kai) “No need to make it sound like a sales pitch. I will go, if only to get you people off my back.”
Archelaos turned to me, and kept speaking in his deadpan voice.
(Archelaos) “Take off that mask. We know what you look like, so it serves no use.”
I complied, and threw the mask into my bag as I walked behind Archelaos, but in front of Nifayr. It felt a little odd exposing my face after I had spent so much time keeping it covered, and the feeling of the wind gently moving my hair was just as weird.
The woman didn’t talk the entire time, and only made her displeasure known through her expression and aura.
I wanted to ask her about it, and figure out what had brought me such animosity, but I got the feeling that it was best left unsaid for now.
She’s too murdery at the moment.
Walking into the forest, I was guided to a clearing just inside it’s borders.
Inside the clearing, a group of elves stood, their packs already put away—And ready for travel.
There were some who openly showed disgust when they saw my horns and eyes. Others only had a faint change in facial expression, but I could still the their true emotions reflected in their eyes. There were only two or three who truly did not care.
To the elves, my existence is something of a taboo, due to my mixed blood. Most of the time, they would have killed me on the spot after seeing what I am. Right now, though, I’m saved by that very same blood.
We gathered into a circle, and it didn’t escape my notice that most of them shied away from me, reluctant to come into close contact.
Once everyone was in place, Archelaos began chanting, and glowing runes appeared beneath our feet, linking the space in the clearing to another location where another group of people had set a magical beacon of sorts to guide us there.
Once the chant was finished, a bright flash of light obscured our surroundings as we warped to the other location. Slowly, my vision returned from the flash induced brightness, and the first thing I saw was trees.
Not the trees from the forest near the city, no—These trees were ancient and tall. Their trunks were of varying width and age, but the smallest one I could see would still encompass a large house in it’s base.
They were fairly far apart, with quite a bit of room to walk between them, and there was every little in the way of undergrowth on the ground. I could see lights in the distance, from a city built in and among the trees.
This is the capital city of the Elven Empire,whose reach encompassed all of the northern continent, and the three elven kingdoms within.
It was nearly fifty kilometers wide, due to the elven propensity to built in a way that leaves a lot of space between buildings, giving everyone a generous amount of land and well-sized buildings.
It helps that the elven lands don’t have an overpopulation problem. In fact, I had heard that they were still slightly
underpopulated from the last war they had gotten involved in. The elves have always been a long lived race, but one with a low birthrate in compensation.
The city seemed loosely guarded, but I could vaguely make out the forms and auras of sentries hiding up in the treetops, monitoring those entering and leaving the city. As soon as we neared one, he jumped down form his perch and approached us.
He glanced over our group, his gaze lingering slightly on me.
Wordlessly, Archelaos handed the sentry an official looking piece of paper with the seal of the imperial family on it.
The sentry bleached upon seeing the seal, and let us pass without any problems.
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Inside the city, the roads were quiet, with no merchants hawking their goods in the intersections, nor was there much traffic. This was because the elves are a solitary race, preferring to deal amongst themselve rather than associate with the other races.
And, the capital city isn’t intended to deal with trade in the first place, and instead houses the bureaucratic and education centers of the entire empire. The schools for all elven children are in the city, and all the decisions are made here.
Besides, the average elven household is a hell of a lot better off then the ones in the human and demon continents, with a larger amount of income and saved money. They normally bought things in shops instead of temporary marketplaces. The elves go for permanence over an easy job.
Thankfully, because there weren't many people on the streets, not many people were out to stare at me. Demons are never seen in most places of the elvish empire, unless they were attempting an invasion. And because I take after my father’s blood more than my mothers, I look almost completely demonic.
Elves are able to recognize their own kind through a special sense that they have though, one that tells them that I am at least part elf. To those watching me, it quickly became apparent that I was the product of someone breaking one of the greatest elvish taboos. They were disgusted and curious in equal measure. Disgusted because of the obvious implications of my heritage, and curious because I was walking around the elven capital and somehow still alive. Even more, I was surrounded by elite looking soldiers, and not clasped in irons, showing that I was free and following my own will.
Quite the crowd began following behind us as we made our way to the center of the city, and Archelaos once again showed that letter with the seal on it, dispersing the crowd quickly. All of them knew the power behind that seal, and how it was only given to those able to represent it well.
I kept my calm the entire time, even when I could hear what the crowd was saying about me with my better-than-average hearing.
Though, I did nearly lose it when they berated whichever parent of mine they thought was the elven one, calling them a traitor to the race, and wishing death upon them. I held back, and kept the death toll to zero. I didn't even fight them.
Soon, a larger than average building appeared, one created out of stone that looked like it was one single piece, so seamless were the joinings between the blocks. It was a white building, one where the rulers of the empire were situated. Not surprisingly, it was entitled the ‘White Palace”. What is it with governments obsessing over the color white? Why couldn’t they pick another color?
Ah well. We entered the building through the massive front doors, as our group was showed a little respect. It sure beat having to enter through the servant’s quarters.
Though the looks almost didn’t make it worth it.
We walked straight down a large corridor through the middle of the building, and came across another set of large double doors. These ones were manned by guards in beautiful armor that was still practical. Off to one side, one man dressed in extravagant robes stood, and noted our presence. He went over to the doors, and opened a smaller door meant for the times when the large ones take too much effort to open.
I heard some soft word being spoken, every faintly, before footsteps announced the return of the elf. He and Archelaos spoke, and then they both entered the room, followed by the rest of us.
The first thing that stuck me about the room beyond the doors was it’s size. For what I assumed was a throne room, it was very mediocre, with an emphasis placed upon style and form rather than sheer vastness. It made a stark contrast to many of the similar places I’d seen, where they seeked to overawe you with rare materials, architectural wonders, and the magnificence of the room.
This place was simple in comparison, but still had that presence of age and majesty that kept people aware that they were in the presence of someone above them, though still approachable. I felt like the one who had built the room really knew what he had been doing, and what he wanted for the realm. After all, anyone can design a massive and awe-inspiring building, but every few could give that same place character.
The centerpiece of the room was a large seat, recognizable as a throne. In it sat a woman with dark hair and ivory skin. Not a few of the guards realized that I bore a passing resemblance to the woman, save for the horns, eyes, and coloration of my hair, of course.
The man who had gone in earlier introduced everyone—He was the chamberlain, Sigiward, in charge of pointless ceremonies
like that.
(Sigiward) “Might I introduce The members of the Black Guard, led jointly by Archelaos and Nifayr, both holding the rank of captain, and charged with retrieving the Lady Katariah Silver. Kneel before Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Aspasia Silver the first.”
I simply looked at the woman before me, and didn’t kneel like the elite soldiers around me.
(Kai) “Hello, Aunt Sia. Nice to finally meet you. Forgive me for not coming sooner, but I was busy trying to track down mother, who someone had allowed to be sold into slavery.”
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