God sitting on his throne, at his feet an ant. The ant begs :

- Save my people! Save my people and I will build you temples! Save my people and I will give you my children to serve you! Save my people!

Faced with God's silence, the ant demand :

- Save my people! Save my people or I will take your throne! Save my people or I will blot out your name! Save my people!

God, sitting on his throne, ignored the ant, he was God, and the ant was an ant, he was small.

God forgot the ant was small. The ant climbed up to God's leg, the ant climbed up to God's torso, the ant passed God's mouth, the ant entered God's nose, the ant reached God's heart.

An ant is alone on the throne of God. An ant has a promise to keep and a name to have been forgotten.

Folk tale from Arborasieum, Lustran Empire.

The city of Tuanon sat at the confluence of two rivers, the first came from the south and was called Tua, the second came from the west and was called Non, but was better known as the Blue River, together with the Tua and the Non formed the river Tuanon, which continued north to the city of Balessar at the mouth which forms the lake of Sar. Tuanon was not one of the seven major cities, not counting the capital, but it had a weight that allowed it to have importance on the major stage of Eldar politics, serving as a crossroads of trade where the rich gold and gemstone deposits of the south and the manufacturing output of the west of the kingdom came together. Tuanon could rely on the ambition and resources of the minor House of Shards for this purpose. The latter took advantage of the political choice of neutrality and lack of interest of the Major House of the Living Spirits, which ruled over this territory. As much as to say is a dream city for a member of the imperial family.

Zarune sighed,

- I'd hoped to arrive quietly, it's a failure.

Leila winced in sympathy, in front of their troop was the gates of Tuanon city gate open, banners covering the entrance and walls of the city as far as Leila could see. A crowd of locals was waiting to welcome them. After two more weeks of travel on the back of a Teriathe, they had reached the halfway point of their journey. It was when she saw the high walls of Tuanon that Leila realised how much she had misjudged the number of Eldar. Relatively speaking, having seen very few in Irvanon, Leila thought that the rest of the kingdom was also devoid of them, but she was wrong. There must have been tens of thousands of Eldar waiting for them.

- I thought the Emerald Kingdom was at war and had mobilized all these troops?

Zarune looked at the humans.

- It's not that simple, the whole kingdom is involved in the war effort, of course, but the war in the south is not the only thing to consider. Leila heard her friend whispered. And not all houses are involved with the same dedication.

Zarune continued in a loud voice:

- They are not warriors, they have not been trained for war, it takes time for that. The conscription has been lifted, but things are still a bit slow.

She glanced at them.

- And many hope that the problem will go away before they need their interventions.

Leila looked longingly at the forest behind her. She much preferred to travel as they had since leaving Irvanon, rarely stopping in small villages along the wooded roads to this stone city. It only reminded her how little control she had over her life.

Leila sighed, she liked her friend but she had no illusions about her goals, her people came before any friendship.

Zarune spoke again,

- Let's get started.

She pushed her mount forward, her eyebrows furrowed in determination, the rest of her group of future officers following her.

Leila slowed her mount down to position herself next to Aurora, with Jonah and Mustapha joining them.

- It's impressive, isn't it? Aurora exclaimed. Look at all these people, I feel like Caesar returning from Gaul in triumph!

- I find it a bit noisy.

- Come on Leila! It's not every day you get cheered by so many people!

- I don't think they're here for us," said Jonah.

Leila gave Aurora a look of affectionate irritation as she hopped on her mount to catch the flower petals that rained down on them.

- There's a chance we'll get involved in the politics of the territory, so let's be careful," Leila warned.

- We shouldn't have time to get there, should we? said Mustapha. Just enough time to get a boat, it should be tomorrow.

- Let's go! That's not the most important thing! Look at the city, this one is radically different from Irvanon or even the small villages we passed through, I wonder how there can be so much architectural difference between two cities, Aurora enthused. I can understand Irvanon, the trees there are real monstrosities even if the ones here are still huge. But how could a city stuck in the middle of the woods have so many stone buildings and so little wood?

Leila found a false interest in the citizens to avoid the barrage of questions she was sure would come. She frowned, however, as she spotted some of the Eldar faces, not all of them unfriendly, but she found dangerous looks in some of them. She gently caressed Dune Fallen, Leila didn't think she would be attacked here in Zarune's welcome, but she wasn't reassured to find herself in such open terrain.

Eldar faces are generally unemotional compared to humans, but after several months of being around them, Leila had begun to read their expressions more easily. Surprisingly they could express a lot with a simple wrinkle of the nose and if the Eldar of Tuanon were not happy to see them, the most were focused on Zarune and not the humans, they were at best a curiosity to most of them.

The journey from the city gate to the Palace took them nearly 30 minutes, even though the way was clear and the Teriathe were moving quite fast. The Teriathe did not like the noise of the crowd and Leila could feel how eager her mount was to get to her destination so that she could leave her rider and return to the forest.

At the bottom of the steps of the Tuanon palace, an honour guard of guards and a group of richly dressed nobles awaited her. As Zarune set foot on the ground, they all dropped to their knees, eyes downcast.

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Zarune ignored them and began to unhitch his mount, Leila and her friends did the same. Once the Teriathe had been properly unsealed, and the servants had collected their belongings, the princess gave a small sign to one of her Eldar companions who rode off into the forest with the Teriathes. Only then did Zarune turn to their noble hosts. She looked at them for a few more seconds before speaking.

- You may rise.

At these words the nobles rose to their feet, the first of them curtsied, his cold eyes passing over Leila and her human companions.

- It is an honour to welcome you to our home, Your Highness.

- An honour, yes, Sir Issus I did not expect such a lavish welcome, it is an honour for me to meet the citizens of the sumptuous Tuanon.

- If we had been informed of your arrival we could have shown you the welcome you deserved.

- I cannot imagine such a welcome if it is only the minimum. Let's go in, shall we?

The cold look in her friend's eyes made Leila realise that there was a subtext to their exchange, even if she was unable to read it. Leila had always preferred a more direct approach in her exchanges.

- Please, my servants will take you to your quarters, and also to your... companions. A banquet has been prepared to welcome you.

Zarune nodded absently. The humans were separated from the rest of their Eldar companions, only Imoran remained, who after exchanging a look with the princess, started to accompany them. Given the scandalized look that the Eldar servant gave them, such a choice must have had a special meaning.

After taking the time to freshen up and wear the clothes they had been given for the occasion, which Imoran insisted they wear, they were taken to a large hall where a hundred Eldar had gathered to the feast. Despite the number of Eldar present the large hall was relatively quiet, only the throbbing of a stringed instrument and the murmur of some conversation could be heard.

Leila could barely remember the noise of the party a fortnight ago, it seemed that the Eldar noble preferred a more subdued atmosphere for their party. In this, they were very similar to what Leila remembered from Irvanon.

Leila distanced herself from her human companions to get closer to the buffet, much to Jonah's dismay. He had to choose between going with her and staying with Aurora, who had been invited to the conversion of a group of Eldar. To help him make the right decision Leila glared at him, wisely Jonah chose well. Unfortunately, Mat had the same idea and the two of them found themselves alone in front of the buffet, the Eldar avoiding them.

Leila then realised how little she had interacted with him. She couldn't remember the last time they had spoken to each other. Usually, it was Jonah who bridged the gap between them. However, this knowledge did not make her want to change this situation, so Leila concentrated on the large selection of food in front of her. Always ready for a new experience, Leila took the exotic foods. Zarune managed to break free of the swarm of suitors surrounding her and approached her.

- We have a problem, the ship that was supposed to take us to Tera has been held up in Balessar. We'll have to wait here for a few days. Zarune mumbled, "That son of a rat if he thinks he can get away with this, he's wrong.

Leila frowned.

- Can't we just take any ship in port?

- No, if I demand to use a merchant ship to rush our departure I would be giving the Shard family an advantage I can't afford. We will have to wait.

- But if we stay for several days, that means we'll be dependent on them, doesn't it? Isn't that the same thing?

Zarune gave Leila a sympathetic look before patting her arm.

- We're under hospitality, they must host us for as long as we want if they don't want to humiliate themselves.

Before Leila could respond, Mat moved closer.

- If we're going to stay here I'll need money, I have things to buy in town.

Zarune looked up at the sky before replying in an exasperated tone.

- You're always shameless, human. She grumbled, motioning to one of her officers, never far from her. Here, take this.

She grabbed his arm before he could pull it away and gave him a warning look.

- Don't go into town alone, remember where you are. That counts for you too, Leila.

Leila nodded as she put the money she handed him in the purse attached to her belt.

- Well, I've got some nobles to put in their place, so we'll see you later tonight.

As Zarune walked away, Leila prepared herself a plate of food before looking for a place to eat in peace.

Before she could find a quiet corner she was stopped by a group of haughty-looking young Eldar. They were not intimidated by the dark look she gave them, the first of them was an Eldar with bright blond hair bowed.

- Tearune of the House of Shards, it is an honour for us to welcome an echo.

The Eldar couldn't hide the disdain he had for her. Leila hesitated between simply ignoring him and throwing her plate in his face. Finally, she decided to show mercy and gave him a simple nod.

The Eldar's pupils dilated and he added in a neutral tone.

- May I know your name, my lady?

Leila took a piece of meat from her plate and put it in her mouth.

- Leila.

Tearune's companions stiffened a little more, and Tearune resumed impassively.

- I hope your arrival in Tuanon was a success.

- Hu-hu.

After several more attempts for the Eldar to engage in conversation, and having noted his refusal to give up, Leila decided to leave him. As she walked away, Leila felt an icy chill down her back, refusing to turn around she continued walking until the unpleasant feeling subsided.

She then had to avoid several other Eldar who tried to engage her in conversation. The young woman did not know what they were looking for, but probably for some information. Finally, she managed to reach a place in the room where she was finally left alone, her plate empty in the meantime, she just took a glass of wine and sipped it in silence.

- It's very different from what we've been used to in Irvanon, isn't it?

Leila sighed in annoyance and turned to Jonah. Jonah ignored her displeasure, and with a glass of wine in his hand, he looked around the room, keeping a close eye on the remains of the humans. Mustapha was guarding Mary, who was still as uncomfortable around the Eldar as ever, though she was doing a pretty good job of hiding her fear this evening. Aurora had grabbed Mat by the arm and was dragging him with her, probably at Jonah's request, Leila guessed.

- That dress looks good on you.

Leila looked at Jonah, who gave her a small gesture and an apologetic smile.

- What did Zarune say to you?

Leila let Jonah wait a few seconds before answering.

- The local chief is putting obstacles in his way, so we'll have to wait a few days before leaving.

Jonah sighed and turned to her

- I see, you've got plans tomorrow, haven't you? Look, I imagine you're going out to hunt as you did in Irvanon, I'd like you to take Aurora with you.

Leila replied in annoyance.

- She would only get in my way, the hunt is done alone.

- You used to accompany the princess.

- At first, I did, just until she taught me to hunt, but not for long.

- Then teach Aurora to hunt. You know she loves to learn new things.

- That's not her style, Jonah.

Jonah looked at her gravely.

- Listen, Leila, I've had a bad feeling since we got here, can you go with her, look after her?

Leila took a deep breath and closed her eyes, realizing that she had no desire to argue with him, she answered.

- I will.

- Thank you.

They stood side by side in silence for a while before Jonah resumed.

- We never had the time to talk together like we used to.

Leila gave him an irritated look.

- Maybe for a good reason.

Jonah gave her a sad look.

- Maybe there was. I've accepted that things are different between us, but can't we stay close? Support each other? You'll always matter to me.

Embarrassed, Leila did not answer for a long second.

- We have a new life now, things have changed, what more can I say?

- So you've already got used to this new life? Don't you think we'll find a way home?

- And you?

After these last words, they remained silent, lost in thought. After an indeterminate time, Issus, the master of the house, took his place in the centre of the room to make a speech, thanking once again for the presence of the princess in Tuanon, and for the honour, the city had received for welcoming her. Gradually the guests left one after the other. Leila, tired of this masquerade, left to go to bed in her chambers. Before she had the chance, Zarune gathered all the humans to warn them that they would be staying in the palace for several days and to remind them that it would be better for them to stay there. However, if they chose to go out, they should do so accompanied. Only then could Leila go and rest.

The next morning, Leila got up very early, negotiated with herself whether or not she was going to do what she had agreed with Jonah, before sighing and entering Aurora's room to see her drooling and sound asleep. She had to cajole her for a long minute to force her to get up.

- Promise?

Leila grunted.

- Promise.

- Promise Promise?

- Promise Promise. sighed Leila.

- Yeah! I wonder what kind of impression that makes! If I put on a fire weave, will I be able to shoot flaming arrows? Even better, if I combine several weaves, maybe I can create some special results! Maybe an arrow that can freeze its target! Or with a weave of darkness create a kind of smoke bomb! Yeah! I have lots of ideas, I can't wait!

Leila grunted again, already regretting having agreed to take him with her. Damn it, Jonah, you'll pay for this. Although Leila had to admit, some of Aurora's ideas had merit.