CHAPTER 3: Promise

The shadow of a large tree shielded her skin from the sun while a gentle breeze blew, keeping the heat of the day away; the screeching of insects timidly tried to disturb that serenity; a woman much older than her snored softly, hugging her tenderly.

She slowly opened her eyes, trying to avoid making any noise that might wake the woman as she tried to pull away from her grasp.

Rising to her feet, she began to savor the fresh air that touched her face and to observe the great expanse of flowers and plants that presented itself to her sight. Before today, she had only a vague idea of their appearance from the books she had studied but now that she could see and touch them, she realized how evident the difference between what she had imagined and reality was.

Her first outdoor experience, outside that oppressive Cathedral, turned out to be better than she had imagined. There was so much to discover and learn out there, the world was full of wonders to admire and experiences to try. She would go to great lengths to broaden her horizons and become a strong, wise, and compassionate person like the 6 Great Gods.

"I see you've already got up." The other woman yawned loudly as she stood on her legs and approached her.

"I wasn't very sleepy. Sorry if I woke you up."

"No, it's you who must excuse me. We finally got out of that place as I promised you and fatigue took over. I know how much you cared about this day! "

"Nono, that's okay. Finally, my dream came true, thanks, mom!" She beamed back.

Yeah. Her and her mom out, enjoying a day together. No other concern but the two of them. That was how it was supposed to be!

"I got a little hungry. Why don't we eat some of those pastries Nazaire made for us? I know you're crazy about it." The woman's friendly face filled her heart with warmth. As long as she could be with her, nothing would disturb her soul. No enemies too difficult to face, no difficulties too great to overcome. She didn't want treasure or celebrity; she just wanted her to stay by her side forever. It wasn't a selfish thing to ask, was it?

"Yess, yes. I will devour a whole quintal of it!" Just the thought made her mouth water; thinking about it would have been the first time she ate with her. The thought made her immensely happy.

"Hehe, I hope you will leave some to me too. Wait here while I go to get them." Her mother approached the tree where they were resting until a few moments before to pick up a basket carefully placed on the ground. She took one of the sweets that were inside and handed it to her daughter.

She tried to take it to eat it but as soon as she had it in her hands, it slipped through her fingers and fell ruinously among the leaves of the lawn.

"I-I'm sorry. I did not want to." A strong fear took hold of her. Why? Why was she afraid? There was nothing to fear. She looked up to see her mother's reaction. To her relief, she continued to look at her with a calm expression on her face.

"These are mistakes that happen. Here, take another one."

She tried to grab a second one but it too fell to the ground like the first.

The older woman's expression remained unchanged as she continued to take delights from the basket to offer them to her. But each time the scene repeated itself.

She grabbed a pastry but, as soon as she thought he had it firmly in her fingers, it slipped out of her grasp.

"Hehe, you are really careless!"

"It doesn't matter, there are many others."

"Come on, I'm sure you can do it."

After five unsuccessful attempts, her frustration was at its limit. Antilene didn't wait for another to be offered but pointed directly to the basket. She quickly snatched it from her mother's hands but did not have time to feel satisfied with her undertaking, which comically slid to the ground, spilling all the contents to the ground. She felt tears begin to fall from her eyes. Why could she never do anything right?

"I cannot believe it. No matter how hard I try, you continue to disappoint me." Her mother's eyes now looked at her with the usual coldness that distinguished them; the smile gone from her face, replaced by an irritated expression.

"Why do you force me to do this? Why do you want me to hurt you?"

A kick hit her in the abdomen while she was still lying on the ground. Antilene felt her breath fail as saliva filled her mouth. She tried to get up but was thrown hard to the ground.

She had to get up. She had to fight.

"I train you every day to make you strong so that nobody takes advantage of your weakness! And what was it for? You continue to writhe in pain after just a few small strokes. Why don't you want me to be proud of you?"

The blows continued to get more violent as she slowly felt her strength abandon her. The green expanse was gone, replaced by the usual arena in which they trained.

She wanted to scream and ask for help, but she knew no one would come. No one had ever done that.

She just wished it would end, that she could finally rest in peace. She asked for nothing more.

At one point the pain began to stop and something wet touched her cheeks. Tears.

"Please, forgive me. Please Antilene, forgive me!" Her mother hugged her tightly as her face continued to sob. "Don't let me vanish into darkness, please! I feel so alone!"

Antilene. She had never called her by her name before. She knew it then. How wonderful.

"You have to make him pay for what he did to me. For what he did to us. Promise me you'll make him suffer. Promise me!" Screamed the woman with the most breath in her throat.

She had such a sad face. Was it she who made her feel that way? If she disappeared, would she stop suffering so much?

"I promise you." She could barely say as her eyes closed with fatigue.

The darkness engulfed her and soon her sensations began to abandon her, only the emptiness remained.

Middle Earth Month, 2nd day, 6.00

A dream. It was just a dream. Yeah, how could it have been otherwise?

Antilene awoke reluctantly from the bed. The day hadn't started in the best way and she knew it wasn't going to get any better.

Her wish would come true today, she would finally go out into the open air.

But it's not what I imagined it would be. She thought with a note of melancholy.

No maid would come that day to help her get dressed and washed, at her express request. She didn't want to hear strangers clumsily trying to cheer her up.

A long black dress had been placed in the wardrobe together with a hat, also black, to hide her ears as much as possible. She usually kept them hidden with her hair but evidently, the Cardinals had found it necessary to take a few more precautions.

Maybe I should just take a blade and cut the tips. It would save me a lot of time in the future. But isn't it possible that they will grow back later?

The half-elf immediately dismissed that foolish thought and began to prepare.

If she could, Antilene would have completely skipped that day; she had never been to a funeral and the expectation did not appeal to her even a little.

Waiting for her in the kitchen was only Nazaire, also dressed completely in dark, intent on preparing something to eat. She had made her favorite pancakes, but for the first time in her life, Antilene didn't feel happy at all at the prospect of eating them.

The silence around reminded the half-elf of the time when it was just the two of them; it hadn't been long since they ate in solitude underground, but it still seemed to go back to a previous life.

"Here, eat calmly. There is no rush." Two large dark circles accompanied the face of her nurse. The little girl remembered that the night before her caregiver had been watching over her until she fell asleep. She had probably spent most of the night by her bed without sleep.

"What would my life be like without Aunt Nazaire?" She didn't dare to try to imagine it and began to eat slowly.

As soon as they finished having breakfast, the two headed towards the streets of the capital, hand in hand.

The ceremony would be held in a small private chapel located inside one of the numerous churches in the capital of the Theocracy.

The morning sun had not risen yet, but the streets were already full of life: merchants opening their shops, guards patrolling, students chatting among themselves as they reached their classrooms.

That crowd sent Antilene into enormous confusion, she squeezed her nurse's hand even tighter while with the free one she was constantly making sure that her hat didn't slip off her head.

She observed with as much attention as possible everything around her trying to store in her head as many images as she could. She knew it would be a long time before another chance to visit the external world would present itself.

The shop signs, the colors of the clothes, the cleanliness of the streets, every little trifle was valuable information for her.

The noise that surrounded her was deafening, the half-elf was not at all used to all those people talking to each other, running from one direction to another, trying to attract the attention of possible new customers in their stores. A severe migraine began to throb in her head and suddenly the idea of cutting her ears no longer seemed so bad.

Fortunately, their destination was not so far away and as soon as they reached the church, a dignified silence replaced the deafening din typical of the city tram-tram.

There were not many people: Antilene only recognized Cassius among those present. He was sitting next to a small group of his peers all dressed like him on one of the benches in the chapel.

As soon as she entered the room all eyes turned to her; she felt deeply uncomfortable, not used to all that attention, but tried not to notice it as she headed for her place.

As she sat down, she began to hear some murmurs from the guests behind her.

"I heard they found her hanged in her home."

"Nono. She had been sick for a long time; it seems that in the end, she couldn't stand the disease anymore."

"You are both right, she was seriously ill and decided to kill herself first so as not to suffer."

The Cardinals did not reveal to her how her mother had died the night before, only mentioning "serious complications" that had ended her life. She didn't care much.

Her mother was gone and the rest didn't matter to her.

Antilene noticed the absence of one person in particular. Rufus, she wondered, why didn't he come? Wasn't he mother's teacher? She would ask him when she saw him again in the afternoon.

It had been difficult but she had convinced Nazaire not to blow off her training. She didn't feel like going through the day doing nothing.

And they had to find out how her talent worked.

The priest in charge of the funeral service arrived a few minutes later with Surshana's psalms book in his hand.

Sermons in the Theocracy usually lasted no more than thirty minutes. The rest of the ceremony was dedicated to the moments of sharing that the loved ones of the deceased intended to do in front of the guests.

Cassius spoke on behalf of all the Cardinals, engaging in a long speech in which he described all the good that Faine had done for the nation, her qualities and defects, and some amusing anecdotes about their youth.

After him, some of her ex-comrades began to tell the occasions in which she had saved their lives, some of the most exceptional battles they had seen her win, of the adventures they had experienced together.

Antilene noted that no one mentioned her, not even indirectly. If a stranger had attended, he would never have thought that Faine had a daughter. She tried to find a story about her and her mother to share, but, strangely, she couldn't think of anything.

Finally, when everyone had finished speaking, the final moment arrived: the coffin in the center of the room was opened so that those present could give her the final greeting.

She seemed so peaceful lying there as if all worries had abandoned her. Maybe death wasn't that bad.

Common sense dictated that when a daughter saw her mother's lifeless body she would begin to cry, but her face remained unchanged as she looked at the woman's corpse.

There must have been something wrong with her if she could not be moved by the passing of the one who had brought her into the world. But no matter how hard she tried, her face kept the same apathetic expression.

If only she had had a good memory with her to carry in her heart, perhaps her mind would have felt more at ease.

Am I such a shameful daughter? Why can't I cry? Why don't I feel anything?

As she hated herself, a silly idea began to take shape in her mind. Something that only a child could think of. Something stupid and meaningless, but that for Antilene was the only anchor of salvation.

I don't feel pain not because I didn't care about her. But because I became strong not only in body, but also in spirit. Yeah… It must be for this.

The thought of having finally achieved her mother's goal lifted her mood. Maybe she wasn't a complete failure, after all.

Look at me from up there, mom! You will be proud of me!

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"Antilene." Whispered her auntie in her ear. The voice was slightly worried. "Why did you start smiling like this? They are all looking at you."

She noticed some embarrassed looks turned toward her, she didn't understand what she had done wrong but lowered her head and gaze as much as possible to avoid being scolded again.

As they were about to leave, one of the men she had initially seen near Cassius approached her.

He looked more youthful than his other companions and the symbol of Alah Alaf, the God of life, was embroidered on his clothes.

"You must be little Antilene, right? I'm sorry for what happened to your mother. I didn't know her too well but I'm sure she loved you a lot. Alah Alaf will take care of her soul."

His words were probably meant to cheer her up, but the little girl found them empty and devoid of affection. A mechanical, almost inhuman gesture.

"Who are you?"

"I am Clement, one of the six Cardinals." The man introduced himself. "If there's anything I can do for you, just tell me."

The half-elf didn't need to think about it for a second, she already knew what she wanted.

"You have to kill him." Was her blunt retort.

The older man was momentarily shocked by that statement so atypical for a girl of her age.

"Kill who, child?"

"My father. The king of the elves."

"Killing the king of the elves would mean starting a war with all his people. And war is not something that you start with a light heart." Clement tried to explain, agitation present in his voice. "Although relations with the elves in recent times have cracked, they have been our allies for many years."

"It doesn't matter. If you will not kill him, I'll take care of it myself as soon as I finish my training."

The Cardinal wondered how it was possible that a little girl who barely reached his legs began to make him so uncomfortable.

Rufus had told him and his colleagues that with her talent she had the potential to become the greatest power the Nation had ever seen since the time of the 6 Great Gods. Could that be causing him that unpleasant feeling? Or was it that grin a little while ago that upset him so much?

"There is no need to be in a hurry. You are a very precious resource for the Theocracy, you will not lack time to take revenge. I promise you that I will do everything possible to satisfy your wish as soon as possible!"

"All right. Now, with permission, it's time for me to go home." She made a small bow and walked away with her nurse, leaving Clement still stunned in the middle of the room.

Middle Earth Month, 2nd day, 16.00

Antilene found her teacher in the treasury playing a sad melody on a strange wooden instrument, the shape of which vaguely reminded her of the number eight.

He noticed her but continued undaunted with his exhibition, gently rubbing the strings with an elastic wooden stick.

In her life, she rarely had the opportunity to listen to music other than the religious one that sometimes resounded in the Cathedral, yet she immediately realized that this was an extraordinary performance.

The sounds alternated with strength and delicacy, creating a symphony that addressed the listener's soul. It was as if the notes had taken shape and started putting on a private show just for her. Was it the work of some magic acting on her senses? Or was it all about the skill of her teacher?

The half-elf only knew that she did not want it to end, for the first time since the beginning of the day she felt relaxed and in harmony with herself. She remained silent to watch the play with eyes full of admiration.

When he finished, she gave him small applause to which the masked man replied with a sumptuous bow. If she could have seen behind his mask, she would also have noticed a slightly embarrassed smile.

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting. I have the habit of taking this old friend back in hand every time a student of mine leaves this world." A note of sadness was present in his voice, unusual for his compound behavior.

"Nono, it was beautiful! Um, I'd love to hear you play again one of these days. I've never seen that instrument, what's its name?"

"This? It's a violin, a legacy of the 6 Great Gods." Rufus observed the music device with a look full of nostalgia "It was the favorite instrument of someone very dear to me who is no longer here. One day I hope to be able to play it as well as him."

"Uh, I'm sure you'll be able to do it very soon!" She tried to cheer him up awkwardly, but raising the spirits of others was not her specialty.

"Why didn't you come to attend Mom's funeral today?" She postponed the talk on a subject she had been wondering about for many hours, anxious to receive an answer.

"Behind this," he said, pointing to his mask, "there are features that could create chaos if revealed to the population. This is why I rarely leave this room and limit my interactions with others as much as possible. "

"Can I see?" She asked with a pleading look, full of curiosity.

"One day, when you are older and when I feel the right time has come."

"Uff. All right." She replied with a slight snort. "Listen, Rufus, you have known my mother for a long time, haven't you? What kind of person do you think she was?"

"She was a very sweet woman once. Then, after the tragedy she suffered, she was never the same again. In recent years it had been getting worse and worse as if an invisible evil devoured her soul. I was her teacher, maybe I should have done more to help her. Another regret that I will have to carry with me."

"Do you think if I hadn't been here she would have been happier?" The voice of the half-elf remained the same as if that were the most natural thing in the world to ask for a child.

Rufus found himself startled by that sudden question and quickly mulled over what was the most sensitive answer to give her. He admitted to himself that he was not very familiar with handling that type of problem.

"No, I'm sure of that. Listen to me carefully, the pain your mother felt was not your fault. You don't have to blame yourself, promise me?"

"Promised." She was not entirely convinced by his words but did not want to make her teacher apprehensive.

"Why don't we start with the training? It's time to try to see if I can perform that fantastic secret technique from the other time!" The girl assumed an air full of determination, ready to begin her practice. She needed to release the tension built up during the day and clear her mind from unhappy thoughts.

"Yeah, it seems like a good idea to me. Let's go."

The two left the treasure room to head to the training chamber. It was very similar to the arena that Antilene used to train with her mother, only larger and better provided with fighting equipment and healing potions. The Black Scripture members used that place both to hone their skills and to experiment with new combinations of techniques that could be used on missions.

Rufus, to test her talent, used the power of Surshana's scythe, Charon's Guidance, to summon a Spartiate, a middle-tier undead covered in good-quality armor and armed with a long spear. For most of the men who entered the realm of heroes, the undead would have proved to be a tough enemy, but the half-elf dodged his blows with extreme ease.

Antilene was equipped only with light armor of modest quality, similar to that worn by the recruits of the Theocracy, and a blunt training sword. Rufus had imposed these handicaps on her to make the match more balanced but they had proved useless. The difference was too great and after a couple of effortlessly hits, the undead was already gone.

"Master, master. See how good I was? " Antilene puffed out her chest, filled with pride at having passed the test so easily. It was the first time she had fought with someone other than her mother and she didn't expect it to be that easy.

Compared to the lightning-fast and unpredictable attacks she was used to, her opponents seemed to move in slow motion; even the power of the blows was mediocre: even if she was hit, she doubted that she would suffer any significant damage. But Rufus had explained to her, before starting the meeting, that that undead was comparable to a member of the Black Scripture.

And she had defeated him with minimal effort. Was the difference between her and other humans so great?

"Incredible. It seems an opponent like this is too little for your level. Your skills are superior to what I expected. Before proceeding further I'd say it's time to check if you can really use [The Goal of All Life is Death]."

He summoned a second Spartiate thanks to Charon's Guidance and gave him the order to remain motionless. Then he passed the scythe to his pupil. "The other time you said that it was as if the weapon was talking to you, try to use the secret technique of Surshana in tandem with the magic [Death]."

Antilene prayed with all her strength to be able to activate that secret weapon. With the scythe tightly in her hands, she concentrated on bringing up that strange clock she had seen in her mind.

She succeeded on the first attempt: a yellow round shape materialized behind her and after only twelve seconds the Spartiate in front fell to the ground, lifeless.

"So, this is the power of the gods!" It hadn't been as difficult as she expected: she had instinctively used it, almost as if she had already done it dozens of times in the past.

Rufus was left for a moment bewildered, incredulous that what he had witnessed was true. He then began congratulating her in an unusually enthusiastic tone of voice for him, listing numerous ways to take full advantage of her talent, plans for the future, and new experiments to conduct to see how far her skill could go.

The half-elf was stunned by that river of countless words of which most of which she could not grasp the meaning of but was happy to have made her teacher so proud.

"Incredible, Incredible. Nobody will be able to beat you now. Meeting you will mean certain death for anyone. Yes, it seems suitable as a title. Certain death. Zesshi Zetsumei!"

Maybe that day hadn't been so bad after all.

Upper Water Month, 13th day, 17.00

Keno felt out of place.

Due to her particular condition, she had remained with the same physical appearance as when she was twelve, a slender and childish body enclosed Landfall; one of the most infamous vampires in the world and a member of a legendary group of heroes.

Although few people could boast of her experience and skill, her small height and childlike features had always made it difficult to get the right respect. Over the years she had managed to overcome the feeling of always feeling uncomfortable, surrounded by people taller than her.

Or at least that was when she was dealing with races that didn't outweigh her much, like elves or humans. Her interlocutor this time, however, did not fit that description.

The Argland Council State was a newly born nation, not even one hundred years old. Like many of its other neighbors, it had replaced one of the kingdoms destroyed following the invasion of the Evil Deities, but differed in the innovative government structure desired by the main architect of its creation: Tsaindorcus Vaision, Platinum Dragon Lord.

Given the great diversity of different species that inhabited Argland, a parliamentary administration system had been established in which political decisions were taken by mutual agreement between the various representatives chosen by the population itself, thanks to a vote that took place every 5 years.

Any citizen could run as a representative of his race once he reached what each species had considered the minimum age to be elected: for example, humans had set the minimum at 35, trolls at 50, elves at 300, and so on.

Only one race of them enjoyed special privileges: the dragons numbered five, not one, in total representatives who had a permanent presence in the parliamentary body: Platinum Dragon Lord, Blue-Sky Dragon Lord, Diamond Dragon Lord, Obsidian Dragon, and Wyrm Dragon.

It was with one of these five dragons that Keno was about to meet: Suveria Myronsilk, the Blue-Sky Dragon Lord. In front of his imposing figure, the girl felt like a mouse in front of a basilisk, waiting to be crushed with a single movement of the paw without having the possibility of escape.

She knew, however, that it was just a silly, unfounded suggestion. Suveria had a composed and authoritative character, devoid of malice and a sense of superiority. In fact, he was particularly humble for his kind. It was no wonder that he was a great friend and confidant of Tsaindorcus and, after the latter's disappearance, one of the staunchest supporters of the design he had begun.

Two knights covered in thick armor stood guard in front of the large hall where the dragon was waiting for them. They were part of the elite body of the Argland Council State: the dragon knights. A squadron of twenty of their men was comparable to a team of adamantium-grade adventurers and the champion of the order was said to be comparable to a dragon in flesh and blood, although Keno was not entirely convinced of that.

Suveria welcomed her with a warm tone, similar to that of a grandfather who sees his granddaughter again after a long time.

"Oh Keno, or should I call you Evileye now? Please have a seat!" Compared to his fellows who loved collecting treasures of all kinds, the Blue-Sky Dragon Lord had more particular interests: the room was adorned with numerous plants, all of different species, which Suveria took care of personally. His body was covered in dull blue flakes and gave off a pleasant scent, similar to that of a well-tended garden.

"Keno will do just fine, Your Excellency." She lowered her head slightly as a sign of respect as she sat in an armchair a few meters from the dragon.

"Didn't that elf come with you? If I recall correctly, he was called Logem. He is an interesting type, even if perhaps a little too serious."

"No, your Excellency. We separated before reaching the capital. He was supposed to meet with some of his subordinates who didn't follow us on the mission but asked me to send his regards to you. "

Suveria seemed slightly disappointed by the news but didn't give it much weight.

"Speaking of your mission, I learned a couple of weeks ago from representative Gorkil that the goblins you rescued are now safely in his custody, waiting to find accommodation for them. On the other hand, I have received many complaints from other colleagues about your group's habit of continuing to collect refugees in what should only be reconnaissance missions to investigate the movements of the Theocracy. "

The little vampire knew those improvised rescues were frowned upon by some of the members of the Council, but she could not help but react when she was faced with helpless people in the face of danger.

They were Riku's ideals and she wanted to at least try to respect them. Keno did not hate the men of the Theocracy for their "cleansing" operations, rather she recognized that they were understandable from their point of view.

Yet she wanted to believe that another way was possible. Who knows, maybe one day she might have avoided wearing that mask all the time and hiding; bloodsuckers like her were frowned upon by most sentient species.

"I'm sorry I wreaked havoc on the council but at least we managed to deal a heavy blow to the Sunlight Scripture by killing their captain. Too bad he decided to refuse the resurrection or we could have tried to get valuable information from him."

"There shouldn't be many problems this time around. But I beg you and your group to be more discreet next time. If the Cardinals were to learn of Tsa's disappearance, unpleasant implications could arise."

Only the dragons on the Council and the old members of the thirteen heroes still alive were aware of the disappearance of the Platinum Dragon Lord - seven people in all. The news had not yet leaked, also thanks to Tsa's old habit of being locked up for most of the time in the flying fortress of Eryuentiu, now well guarded by Rigrit. But the upper echelons of the Theocracy wouldn't take long to sniff out the bluff.

"We will try to avoid unnecessary battles, even if I can't promise you anything. But tell me, is the news rumored in the city about the arrival of a delegation from the Theocracy true?" Keno had spent the last three days in an inn not far from the city center before being received by Suveria and had overheard various worried discussions on the subject.

The dragon watched her with his large green eyes as he slowly scratched his throat, then ventured into a weary sigh.

"I'm afraid it's true. Officially the motivation for the visit is the beginning of the establishment of peaceful dialogue and the stipulation of diplomatic agreements between nations for the achievement of a stable and lasting peace. But I would be ready to put my foot on the fire that these beautiful words conceal much fewer noble motives. On the other hand, refusing such honest intentions would have led to the growth of the distrust that other human nations already have towards us."

"I imagine you have already devised measures to prevent sensitive news from being leaked."

"In last week's session, it was decided that it would be up to the human representative Tinkel to take care of their living room with clear instructions on what he could show them. We hope that the large presence of demihumans pushes them to move more cautiously than usual, not that I and the others expect this to be enough, but it should at least slow down their movements. Meanwhile, Tinkel also received the task of preparing an embassy to be sent to the Theocracy. They are not the only ones who know how this game works."

Keno was not able to calm down completely but decided to have faith in the competence of the Argland ruling class, she was just a sorceress who did nothing but fights and study magic and had not developed an acute political attitude.

Although I should try to make up for this lack of mine; now that I am the leader of the new group, I have to be able to do more than just fight. Maybe Logem should have taken command. She thought.

From the original group, there were now only her, Logem, and Rigrit. The latter, however, tended to limit her travel as much as possible, effectively leaving her and Logem alone at the helm of the recruits they had gathered over the years.

But the elf in recent times tended to be more and more distant, focused on achieving the goal for which he originally joined the 13 heroes: to find someone strong enough to kill his father. The old leader seemed like the right person but he was dead before Logem could realize his ambition. According to what he had told her, even the dragons currently sitting in the council had no hope of beating him.

"I hope things go well. Now, tell me, why did you summon me?"

Suveria drew the attention of one of the two guards present at the entrance by raising his voice slightly.

"Pordsky, could you kindly go and get those documents that are in the third room of the corridor on the right?"

The knight made a sign to indicate that he had received the order and headed for another wing of the building that housed them. He returned after a few minutes with a bag containing some papers.

"We suspect that the Theocracy is preparing a war against the kingdom of the elves. Their relations have deteriorated for many years and there have been some skirmishes on the border. We would like you and your group to investigate the situation and provide us with a detailed report. The bag contains some maps to help you navigate the immense forests of Evasha that cover the kingdom of the elves. Pay particular attention to some beasts that seem to be particularly dangerous."

"Received. I will arrange to form a suitable team for the assignment. I will try to send you news as soon as possible."

"I'm sure you won't disappoint me. I hope we will meet again soon, next time I will offer you and your companions some tea. I'm growing new plants from the Minotaur's kingdom; they say the blend they produce is delicious!" The dragon had a good-natured smile on his face, a sign of the genuineness of his statement.

"I can't wait to taste it. Now I offer you my regards, Lord Suveria!"

Keno took her leave with a bow and headed for the exit of the building while she was already starting to think about how to organize the preparations for the mission.