When the Demon Lord emerged and their onslaught began, one of the first who were hit were the Elves. The royal Luvon family led their people against the hordes of Demons but eventually, they all fell wiped out by constant onslaughts. Losing the royal bloodline, the Elves lost their connection to the spirits and became weaker as a nation. With no leaders, they formed the council of elders to protect and lead the remaining Elves leading to the modern day.

Leaving the dungeon, Tisha walks behind the group, staring at Glyn as he tries to ignore her. After a while, he sighs, turning around and looking at her.

“Come on out with it.” He crosses his arms.

Tisha sighs. “How?”

“How what?”

“How are you…. Did your family steal the name or whatever? How do you have it? Your family must be isolationist if they're brandishing that name and not getting their asses beat for it.”

Aoife laughs.

“If you’re curious. We don’t go by Luvon. My Mother’s maiden name is Luxu. I’m of House Mattox. I only use the Luvon name as a sign of trust, and I definitely don’t tell Elves to avoid this exact situation.”

Glyn glares at his mother, who averts her eyes.

Tisha sighs. “But still why…”

“Enough!” Faye yells out. “Glyn, just explain it already, so we can get this over with.”

Glyn nods. “Fine, but I’m only explaining this once. It’s an annoying little tale too.”

“Okay, I’m listening.”

“Not all the royal bloodlines died that day. The royal family did, but not the entire bloodline.” He explains.

“What?”

“What I’m saying is. One bastard escaped, and then did the dumbest thing he could do, joined up with the Hero King’s Party.”

“What!?” Everyone yells out.

The Hero King’s Party is the collective name of the seven individuals who traveled alongside the king to slay the Demon Lord. These eight killed the monster threatening the world and while two of their number died in the battle, the remaining six went on to be heroes of the world. Before five, seemingly disappeared, never to be seen again. Their names and faces faded away over time as the King refused to give any details on that battle or the fates of his former companions.

“A member of the Luvon bloodline was in the Hero King’s Party?” Tisha thinks on the subject. “They said an Elven Ranger was in the group. But that’s all I’ve heard.”

“Yeah, and he was from the royal line. Before he left and faded into history.”

Mila pauses. “Why?”

“Huh?”

“If he’s royalty? Why didn’t he come back and take his place? I know he’s a bastard and all, but he should’ve come back and taken the leadership of his people.” Mila says.

Tisha nods. “That’s a good point. Got an answer for that one?”

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“It’s simple he couldn’t. He was struck with an affliction that prevented him from taking the throne and asserting his place as the last remaining royal.” Aoife says.

“What was it?” Faye asks.

Aoife speaks as Glyn covers her mouth. “Wait. Let’s let them figure this part out.”

“Oh?”

“It’s more fun that way.”

“You do have a point. Spelling everything out is tiring.”

“Exactly.”

“Like mother, like son,” Tisha says, scowling.

Eliana smirks crossing her arms. “If these guys don’t figure it out, then I’ll gladly give a clue. I figured it out when I was only five.”

“A kid’s puzzle?” Faye asks.

“Maybe it’s like an observation game?” Mila asks.

Tisha rolls her eyes. “It’s asinine is what it is.”

“So, you don’t want the answers. Alright, then we’ll leave it at that.”

“Wait. I’ll figure this out. Give me a….”

Mila stares at Glyn and lowers her head. “It’s your curse, isn’t it?”

“Huh?”

“Glyn’s curse is genetic from his mother, right? Then that means that the curse has an origin point. And a curse that’s so powerful it can override any other curses; I can only think of one thing that can do that.” Mila walks forward, grabbing Glyn’s hand. “Am I right?”

“You’re right Mila.”

“Your curse…” Tisha stares, befuddled.

“I don’t get it. Why is this curse so important?”

“The Elvan royal family does more than just sit in a castle and tell us what to do. They’re also the bridge to the spirits whose presence bless our lands.” Tisha steps back. “But if you’re cursed to not use magic. There’s almost no way for you to commune with those spirits…. You’d….”

“Be a political stooge your whole life. Dooming your family to being puppet kings until some noble decided it was too much of a hassle and tossed you aside.” Glyn says.

“That’s part of why he did it,” Aoife says.

“The other part was the other curses!” Eliana yells out.

“Other curses!” Everyone screams out.

“Right. The whole of the Hero King’s Party was cursed. When the Demon Lord died, it left one last scar in the world by cursing each of them and leaving them in shambles.” Eliana says.

Glyn nods. “The Elvan Ranger gifted in magic was cursed to block their connection to the spirits. The Warrior, ever proud of their strength, was struck with a feeble body, unable to wield the sword they once swung. The Genius Sage was cursed with madness, now unable to solve the mysteries of their mind, never mind the world.”

“The Healer, ever dutiful, was then unable to heal anyone instead spreading pestilence with their very breath. The once gentle fighter was cursed with a lust for power and sought to bring the world to heel before dying at the hands of their former friends. And finally, the Hero himself was cursed without the ability to birth future generations growing old and dying alone on his throne.” Aoife says.

“The last part is new,” Glyn says.

“Well, we had to update it since he died. But it was pretty touch and go for a while there.”

Glyn turns to Tisha and crosses his arms. “And there you have it. That’s why we don’t talk about that name too often.”

“I get it. But this is a lot to take in. The Demon Lord’s curse is the reason the king never had kids.”

“According to our family’s records at the very least,” Aoife says. “We never met the man himself, so we can’t comment on it too much.”

Glyn nods. “But considering that after a century and two generations, this curse is still as potent as ever. I’d imagine the former King’s curse must’ve been something else.”

“Glyn.” Mila grabs his hand.

“It’s fine. I’ve lived with this over my head my whole life. Nothing’s going to change it, so I’ve just had to adapt.”

Tisha nods. “You’ve done well at adapting. Even if it’s a more brute force method than anything else.”

Faye nods. “Whatever this is. It’s a major bombshell. I can’t wait to tell the others.”

“Wait!? We should keep it a secret. Especially if Glyn is leaving then….”

“It’s fine.” He pats Mila’s head. “Think of it as one last parting gift.”

“Glyn.”

Faye sighs. “Fine. I won’t spill. But this is way too fun to not tell everyone.”

“You can tell the other Pawns. But at least wait until I officially leave so I can avoid the awkwardness.”

“Fine.”

All eyes turn to Tisha, who lowers her head. “On paper, I should report this. I’m sure the Elders would love to meet you….”

“But?” Glyn asks.

“I have to imagine you’d hate every moment of being around them and might offend everyone.”

“You know me so well.”

“Either way, I’ll keep your secret.” She smiles. “Consider it a sign of trust.”

“Of course.”

“That means if I wander into your family’s territory, you’d better treat me nicely.”

Glyn rolls his eyes. “We’ll see about that.”

Aoife smiles as Eliana pouts. “Let’s hurry up. It’s time for lunch!” She grabs Glyn and drags him along.

“Come down Eliana,” Glyn says.

“I hate Elves!” She yells at Tisha as she drags Glyn off.

“Oh dear. That girl.” Aoife says.