As they entered the underground passage, they were instantly hit with a stale odor that indicated that the place had remained closed for a long time. The smell of dust and old things permeated the air.

With a command from Volir, the elven warriors instantly used magic to create fire sparks that illuminated the passage. As Ashryn's eyes adjusted to the light, she could see various statues of elven people lining up the side of the passage and many scribbled writings on the wall in the ancient elven script. The moldy and slippery walls showed that there was probably a source of water somewhere underground, even though the desert looked to be devoid of water.

Volir stepped forward and began to examine the writings. The floating sparks illuminated the writings, following the casters will. The letters seemed to be carved with magic as it still hadn't faded away after so many years. After a while, as if he was done checking the writings, Volir signaled to the group and they began to move again.

Soon the passage opened up to a big cavern with long glowing stalactites hanging from the ceiling and ruins of old buildings scattered as far as the eyes could see. The buildings looked to be abandoned but many structures still stood proudly, though a little eroded by time. As they looked at the ruins, a flickering light in the middle of the ruins shined brightly as if beckoning everyone to it.

The elven warriors got into formation and with Volir leading the way, they slowly began to make their way towards the illuminated area.

Ashryn looked up and she could see shining stones in the ceiling alongside the stalactites, illuminating the surroundings. They looked nothing like any stones she had seen before. The buildings they passed on their way forward looked like ancient elven structures. It seemed that there was once a thriving civilization in this place.

As she moved on with the group, they soon reached a large carved road with big chasms on either side of it. The wide road slanted upwards and led to an opening. As they got nearer, they saw that they were standing in a large round platform with strange circles on it. The circles were carved with ancient elven letters and in the middle of the platform sat a golden ball and farther in the distance another dark passage that led away from it.

As soon as they took another step, the cavern began to shake and all around the round platform, elevenoid shapes began to emerge. Six figures began to rise up from the ground and stood flanking the circle.

"Root warriors," she heard Rivera whisper from beside her.

They indeed looked like the long lost golems of the elven people. She had read in the history books that some of the founding fathers of the elven society were able to cast ancient magic and that the root warriors were the accumulation of that very knowledge. The figures acutely resembled their drawings. None of the elves alive today were able to use such magic. It truly made her feel like she stepped into a different part of history.

The root warriors were entirely made of roots and were holding long broadswords with shining Armor covering their bodies except their head. They had the characteristics of elven people with long ears and black eyes that stared at them. Even though their faces were made of roots, they were strangely smooth and the features could easily be made out, even from a distance.

They began to move in unison and came and stopped in front of the road blocking their access to the passage beyond the round platform.

One of them that looked like their leader stepped forward and after getting in a pose that had him holding the sword pointing it to the ground, began to speak. He spoke in the ancient elven tongue but his speech was devoid of any emotions.

"Only the worthy shall pass. Show us the worthiness of the Royal blood left behind by Ezlian."

The twenty warriors that constituted the elven group created a circle and Volir began to have a conversation with the people in hushed tones. Since she was not included in the group, she couldn't hear them. But it looked like they had already expected this.

Then with a signal from Volir, the elven warriors began to get ready to fight.

Elven magic is quite different in the sense that they do not use magic with the help of a staff. They had specially made rings worn on their fingers that were made from the powder of elven hairs, with aether mixed in them. It also supplemented their proficiency in their swordsmanship and marksmanship.

All of them took out their swords and got into an attacking position. They began to channel magic power onto the and their swords began to shine with the power flowing from the ring onto it.

The ancient root warriors looked on without any change in their expressions. But, Ashryn could feel them wait in anticipation.

Elmer was the first to charge at the golems with ten others following close behind. The golems moved flawlessly and parried their blows coming from different directions and the elves were flung backwards. They had to dig their swords in the ground to stop themselves from toppling to the chasm below. The contact between the swords created ripples in the air that travelled all over the huge cavern. Then the rest of the elves began to chant and fire magic projectiles from their hands. Immediately, a barrier formed in front of the golems and they began to deflect the projectiles.

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"Stop."

Volir screamed, as the deflected projectiles began to bombard them instead.

"I'll do it," Volir said and stepped forward.

He began to chant a spell in the elven tongue. The other warriors slowly moved back.

A flame began to rise from his palms and began to mix with a spark of ice forming in the air. The flame spread out and began to encroach the golems and the golems began to burn. Then they were encased in ice and shattered. Their barrier had stopped working and they weren't able to counteract the spell.

"Easy!"

As soon as he turned his head around to speak to the others, a dagger flew past his head nearly missing him.

He looked back in shock and he could see the golems starting to regenerate. One of them after having their arm regenerated had thrown the dagger at him. Soon, they stood back up as if nothing had happened and assumed the previous stance in front of the road that led to the passage.

Ashryn was suddenly reminded of a spell that her father taught her. He told her that it has been handed down in the royal lineage and everyone learned it but they didn't know what it was for. That thought suddenly flowing in her head made her wonder if it would work in the golems.

The elves got ready to fight again and they charged headfirst into the golems. This time they tried to slice them with pure power with their swords glowing with energy blades.

The image of twenty elves descending on the six root warriors was something to behold. Everyone began to use their sword skills and magic simultaneously to inflict damage on the golems. The golems also began to fight seriously and started to inflict damage on the elven warriors. Pretty soon, the number of elves were reduced to just ten with the rest falling dead with deep cuts in their torso, made by the huge blades wielded by the golems.

Volir was panting looking at the scene and a deep madness could be seen in his eyes.

"Princess, it's your turn. Step forward!" He commanded, with a sneer.

Ashryn couldn't disobey and she reluctantly stepped forward with Rivera close behind her. She took her bow and began to fire arrows laced with different elements. As expected, it didn't do much damage. The parts destroyed were easily regenerated. She looked on in despair.

"Use your blood."

Volir screamed and handed her the knife he had used before. He seemed to be pondering something.

She quickly made a cut in her hand next to the already dried up cut and began to fire arrows laced with her blood.

As soon as the arrow hit the first golem, the golem began to sizzle and smoke began to rise from its body. As the smoke cleared, she could see that the wound did not regenerate back.

"Yess," Volir screamed, looking at the golems.

He seemed to have composed himself and began to order the remaining elves to lace their swords with Ashryn's blood. She reluctantly provided it to everyone with the blood floating out of her wound and lacing the swords. She felt dizzy with the sudden loss of the huge amount of blood. Rivera quickly came behind her and grabbed her as she was beginning to fall.

"Princess!!" she shouted.

"I'm alright." Ashryn tried to smile back.

Then, with another signal from Volir, the elves charged again. This time, the attacks easily went through and the golems began to succumb to the relentless barrage of slashes being inflicted on them by the remaining elves.

As the last of the golems disappeared in smoke, the road blocked by them became clear. A passage shrouded in darkness could be seen at the end of the road that led from the platform. Volir seemed ecstatic and began to laugh with his maniacal laughter filling the cavern. He didn't even spare a look at his fallen comrades.

Then, he beckoned to Ashryn again and pushed her towards the golden ball in the center of the platform. He told her to place her hand on it, laced with her blood. She did as she was told and a sound emerged from the dark passage in front of them, like a door being opened.

"Hahaha, forward," Volir shouted looking at the remaining elves and laughing.

The surviving elves got into formation again and began to walk towards the passage.

As soon as they reached the opening, they began to enter one by one. Rivera, who was behind her, stopped Ashryn and indicated that they'd be entering last. Ashryn nodded.

It was a disaster. Half of the remaining elves were obliterated. Even the assassins with nimble feet were unable to escape the traps set up in the dark passage. Thorns coming out of the wall, magic resistant floors and even small balls that rained down in an area with a speed that obliterated anyone that touched them.

Ashryn was mortified as she watched the scene unfolding in front of her but with the help of Rivera, she was somehow able to keep her composure.

She looked at Volir and she could see the obsessive determination in his face, even though his colleagues were being mowed down by the traps.

They were somehow able to make it half way into the passage, with the sacrifice of the elves paving the way forward. Only a small distance remained until they reached the unsealed door at the end of the passage. A small light was pouring out of the door, barely illuminating the passage.

Eventually, they entered through the door, with them not encountering any more traps. With the exception of Ashryn, Rivera and Volir, only five elves remained alive. Elmer had also survived, with him standing behind the other elves that were obliterated by the traps.

As their eyes slowly adjusted to the light inside the room, they could see a large statue that took up about eighty percent of the room.

"Ezlian," Volir muttered, looking at the statue.

The statue was of a dignified looking elf. Ashryn immediately recognised it as one of her ancestors. He was wearing royal clothes and was holding a long sword in his hands. The sword shined with the gemstones embedded into it.

The room was tastefully decorated as well, with shiny ornaments and murals adorning the walls making it seem like an expensive prayer hall. And a large casket lay near the feet of the statue.

The excitement could be clearly seen on Volir's face as he stepped forward expectantly towards the casket.

Suddenly, a man emerged from behind the statue. His silver hair shined in the light illuminating the room and he had a sword strapped on to his hip. He was looking sternly at them.

"Rayce," a soft mutter escaped Ashryn's lips. Then it became a shout.

"Rayce!!"

Volir heard someone scream from behind him and looked behind to see that it was Ashryn.

"I'm sorry it took me a while to catch upto you," the human opened his mouth, looking at Ashryn.

Then his gaze slowly moved and fell on Volir.