Rydel was seated in a hall of the Elder’s meeting house, he was with Neena accompanying Galather.

“Do you know the two high elves?” Rydel asked with curiosity.

“Yes, Allyna Elrand is an old acquaintance, she came with her apprentice, Shael Elrand, who is of your same age.” Galather said.

They didn’t have time to discuss anything more when the two aforementioned elves entered through the door.

Allyna Elrand looked like a sixty-year-old woman that has conserved herself well. She was a head taller than Galather, being about 2.5 meter tall, she had lean and toned muscles. Her hair was in an elaborated white braid.

Shael Elrand walked behind her teacher looking everywhere in curiosity. She had a mysterious look, with big upturned eyes and wavy red hair. She, as her teacher, had the characteristic purple eyes of the Imperial Family, her height was the same as Rydel, being 2 meter tall.

Both wore full black plate armor, instead of helmets they had a simple-looking circlet adorning their heads.

“You look ancient, Galather. Are you still refusing to get married?” Allyna said.

“You have not changed a bit, Allyna.” Galather responded.

“Of course, I’m still young and in the prime of my life. You, on the other hand, have a lack of someone to worry and care for you.” She happily said.

“You are unmarried too.” Galather said.

“Not for the lack of trying.” Allyna had an intense gaze.

Galather avoided her gaze.

“Kids, get to know each other, Allyna and I will talk in private.” Galather left the room with Allyna in tow.

“Did he leave just like that?” Rydel said.

“Of course, the two lovebirds must want some privacy after so long without seeing each other.” Shael said in a soft voice, before sitting very close to Rydel on the couch, almost touching him.

“Are they truly lovers?” Rydel asked with some doubts, he moved away from her a little.

Galather wasn’t one to talk about his private life. Rydel only knew that he didn’t have any kids, nor was he married. It was weird, due to their low fertility, elves were encouraged to find their significant other when they were young.

“That’s impossible. High elves are forbidden to have any progeny outside of the Imperial Family. Even more, if they have the potential to reach the D-grade.” Shael shrugged.

The Emperor decreed this law to prevent the genetic contamination of their race. It was a true concern for high elves, as their massive boon in attributes was because of the purity that had been accumulated for tens of thousands of years.

If a high elf had a child with any other elven race, the union would almost be guaranteed to inherit the race of the latter. Coupled with even lower-fertility rates for high elves, if everyone pursued their loves, in a couple of generations their race would become lost in the annals of time.

Although there were more imperial families in the past, for this same issue, the only remaining ones were the Elrand Clan.

“I know, it’s just that I imagine that a young Galather wouldn't care and just take his girl away.” Rydel said.

“Oh, they did just that. My teacher told me the story of how a dashing Galather came looking for her, they even managed to escape from the castle.” Shael said.

“I don’t see them living happily ever after.” Rydel said in doubt.

“Of course not. The Emperor themself got the news of their tryst, beat them both black and blue until getting satisfied, and dragged an unconscious Lady Allyna back to the Clan grounds. This happened five more times before Lord Galather was forced to give up.” Shael said.

“Why didn’t the Emperor punish Galather more severely?” Rydel was surprised.

Infuriating the Emperor and breaching the law wasn’t a small thing. He was the strongest of the Afrein Peninsula, being a D-grade of unfathomable power his reign had lasted for thousands of years.

“Because my teacher is the granddaughter of the Emperor, he didn’t want to form an irreconcilable bond. Besides, both were young and in love, he wanted them to mature and forget about each other.” Shael said.

“Lady Allyna doesn’t seem to have forgotten anything.” Rydel said.

“Lord Galather left an irrevocable mark on her heart… Did you also learn some tips from him?” Shael said in a whisper, blinking her large eyes.

“I-I’m not bad myself.” Rydel blushed, he stood still while his heartbeat raced.

“Is that so?” She sighed before abruptly moving her hand and catching Neena who was observing from the other side of the couch.

“Who is this cutie? I love small and fluffy beasts.” Shael petted Neena gently.

Neena looked at the flustered Rydel with amusement.

“She’s Naveena, a fennec fox that I found while adventuring.” Rydel said with some embarrassment.

Shael distracted herself playing with Naveena for a couple of minutes.

“You have to show me where you found her, I wouldn’t mind taking care of a couple of foxes like her.” Shael said.

“It’s complicated. What are your hobbies?” Rydel decided to avoid the subject.

“I like to play the violin.” Shael winked at him. “Do you want me to play something?”

“I-I’d like to.” Rydel nodded with enthusiasm.

Shael looked intently at his eyes and took a violin from her spatial ring. She slowly played a relaxing melody, sweet notes flowed from her creating a sanctuary where only peace reigned.

Rydel’s mind cooled down, he appreciated the music that felt in harmony with the nature that surrounded them.

He groaned when the piece abruptly stopped, he looked into the eyes of the musician.

“Lady Allyna told me that she has finished her business, I need to go to our lodging.”

“It’s fine, we’ll see each other soon.” Rydel affirmed.

Shael rose an eyebrow at his self-confidence and let out a small smile. She left walking slowly and deliberately, her arms swung loosely back and forth while her hips swiveled from side to side.

Rydel stood watching her until she disappeared from his vision. As if synchronized, Galather came back to the room.

“Did you get to know Lady Shael?” Galather asked.

“Yes, I’m going to marry her.” Rydel said with fire in his eyes.

Both Naveena and Galather rolled their eyes.

“You must have broken a record. Five minutes in the same room as her and you have already become a fool.”

“Haven’t you seen her? She’s the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen! Her voice sounded like a choir of angels, with a devilish body to match. Her expertise in the violin knows no match under Heaven and Earth!” Rydel stood up and preached with passion.

Both Naveena and Galather rolled their eyes, again.

“Good luck with that. Never mind that she is a high elf and you can’t ever be together, her queue of suitors in the capital is so long that even with your perception you’d have to squint your eyes to see the end.”

“Wasn’t the same with Lady Allyna when you wooed her?”

“It was a different time.”

Now it was the turn of Rydel to roll his eyes.

“Of course, of course.” Rydel said before waving goodbye, Galather seemed lost in his thoughts.

Rydel left and came back home soon after.

‘Wow, I didn’t expect you to be the intense type.’ Neena said when they were alone.

“It’s not my fault! Try being in a village without any girl of your age for 15 years and suddenly have a flirty girl making moves on you. It was like teasing a monk, she was playing with fire.” Rydel said seriously.

‘There are the twins in your class.’

“Yes, but they are the daughters of Mylaela. If mother finds out that I’m behind any of them, she’ll be happy for her best friend, making the relationship take a serious turn in no time.”

‘You truly have thought about everything.’ Neena was speechless.

“Well, duh. I want to eventually find my true love.”

‘Am I not your one and true love, your partner?.’ Neena said with big eyes.

“Disgusting! Who’d want a furry dog as a wife?” Rydel shivered at the thought.

‘Just wait until I’m D-grade and I gain a human form.’ Neena pouted.

“There is a long wait until then. However, I truly can’t see you as anything more than a bratty little fox.”

Rydel was honest with his feelings. Their species were too far apart, and even if they tried a relationship, he’d only like her humanoid form and not her real self. Rydel believed that Naveena deserved much more than that.

‘Don’t worry, I can only see you as an ignorant little elf that is actively trying to wound himself at any given chance.’

Likewise, Naveena had the same thoughts as him.

‘If you want to court Shael, I first recommend you to not be a creep.’ Neena glared at him. ‘Don’t try to act cool and avoid her either, just be your normal self and act with confidence.’

“That’s it? Is that your super advice in romance?” Rydel was disappointed.

‘Every person is her own world, you can fail to court her because you both had nothing in common, it won’t be the end of the world. Moreover, don’t confuse her flirting with real advances, she probably just likes teasing you.’ Naveena said.

“How do I know if she is interested in me?”

‘Oh, don’t try to look for any ‘clues’. Your mind will trick you into thinking the best-case scenario, you might even make her uncomfortable. When both of you are thinking the same, you’ll notice the change in the mood. You can then decide to wait for her to make the move or do it yourself.’

“Wait, aren’t we being too fast? It’s not like I’m deep in love with her, it’s more like a crush, you know.”

‘You were the one saying all those embarrassing things, I’m just helping you.’ Neena snorted.

“Aren’t you worried about me entering into a forbidden love relationship?”

‘Would you even listen to me if you were set to do it?’

“Of course I’d it, I greatly appreciate your suggestions.”

‘Don’t do it then, Shael is out of your reach.’

“Cough, let us not rush to judgment. Despite not being a high elf, I’m an astral elf. The bonus of my race should be equal to them, I might have to sacrifice myself for the good of elfkind and reproduce with lots of high elves to see how the pairing goes.” Rydel had little stars on his eyes.

‘Rydel Elphyra! You are not making a harem while in my presence. I have heard of too many stories with harems going wrong, and those that functioned were because the man was an egomaniac surrounded by mentally-frail girls that adored him. I will not allow you to go down that path.’

“Don’t worry, it’s not my intention either. I prefer to give my all to a single girl than having to do mental juggling to a group of them, giving the same amount of care to each one.”

‘You better be telling your honest feelings.’ Neena glared at him.

“Who are you taking me for? I’m the most honest and humble guy of all elfkind.”

True to their conversation, Rydel didn’t pester Shael for the following weeks. He did visit her twice after informing her beforehand, the rest of the time both were busy readying themselves for the incoming war.

A feeling of tension and anticipation keep growing in the clan’s air for these last days.

A week quickly passed, and the reinforcements came at the agreed time. It was time for war.