The next time I woke up, I felt a lot better. It seems I have actually managed to sleep well, no doubt partly thanks to the soft bedding I laid on.

I stretched my back, my right arm prickling slightly as the natural circulation returned into my limb. It seems I accidentally managed to lie on it somewhere along the night.

I felt the familiar rocking of the carriage under me while gently massaging my arm to help it get rid of the numbness.

We have been on the road the entire time, as far as I could say. Now that I was not dead tired, I started to feel curious about this entire situation.

I am on my way to one of the dwarven capitals, because Emrum intends to introduce me to his family. A noble warrior clan of dwarfs, the Dimhollow clan.

It’s quite funny to say this, but I didn’t really have time to realize the subtle implications of what that meant for me specifically. Especially that I am now considered an honorable member, therefore being part of this family.

I sighed…

I have no idea how to act like a noble lady. I can barely act like a girl, and that is mostly thanks to the natural gracefulness of this new body of mine. I hope that such things as etiquette aren’t taken seriously by a dwarven warrior clan. Because if they are, then I am screwed.

I shook my head. Thinking about such things is entirely meaningless. It won’t help me out and worrying over it will only make it worse.

I shook myself out of my stupor.

I needed some fresh air, well, as fresh as you can get here, kilometers under the surface. I crawled out of the soft bedding, the somewhat familiar scent of Camilla lingering on my body. I was too tired to notice it before, but now it was almost too obvious.

I sniffed my arm. There was this somewhat familiar herbal scent mixed with the underlying sweat and day’s old dust. Was this the scent of dried chamomile herbs?

I snorted at the ironic idea. Camilla using chamomile herbs as a type of perfume felt really funny for some reason. The girl was just precious under all that uneasiness.

Only if I wasn’t thrice her age… I looked down at my body and added as a solemn afterthought.

And a woman… apparently.

Another sigh left my mouth. Why am I even thinking about these stupid things? I scolded myself internally and straightened up with a grunt.

I also grabbed my staff that was resting alongside my bedding, patting down my clothes in a halfhearted attempt to make them look presentable.

Then I stepped up to the end of the cart and slowly pulled aside the thick textile material that was covering most of the carriage.

I squinted my eyes as a pair of burning torches filled out my sight, which have grown accustomed to the darkness by now.

A few seconds passed by while I focused on keeping my balance on the moving carriage, grabbing the side of the overhead construct as an anchor.

My eyes eventually grown used to the new levels of light and I focused on the familiar figure walking behind the carriage.

It was Emrum. He looked drawn-out, not physically but mentally, if that made sense?

Before I could speak up, he waved at me with a smile.

“I see you managed to rest a bit after all. Good!” — He started, then added with a nervous chuckle. — “I also realized that you made a new friend. This adventuress called Camilla kept asking me all about you after one of the company soldiers pointed her towards me, saying that I was your stepfather, of all things.” — Emrum winced silently, while remembering some predictably uncomfortable misunderstanding which I was not keen to discover. At least for now.

He stayed silent for a few seconds, clearly searching for the right phrase.

“The girl is a bold one…” — He stated at last, and I could sense a mountain of frustration accumulated behind the simple expression.

Emrum sighed, his gaze turning back to me. — “She also made me realize that I barely know you, aside from your general personality. What things you like and dislike… Simple things like that. We will have to talk about these…”

I raised an eyebrow at that, while my mind was already trying to figure out what Camilla did in the last few hours, or however much I spent sleeping in the cart.

Based on Emrum’s expression, it was more than enough to traumatize him. I locked eyes with the dwarf and nodded slowly. Accepting his newfound desire to learn more about me. To be fair, I also wanted to learn more about him. There was simply no ideal time to do that, being constantly on the road or in battle. The awareness of soldiers couldn’t be spent on small chatter while walking through the lost sections of the deep roads. When any moment can lead to another ambush.

Still, my words seemed to calm Emrum’s mind, and he finally noticed my intentions to get off the cart.

He stepped closer to the end of the carriage and reached up one of his arms, offering it to help me climb down.

I felt a burst of annoyance at the gesture and almost refused the help outright.

The cart wasn’t going that fast, but the road was uneven and my mage clothes weren’t ideal for such athletic feats. Aside from that, I barely woke up, meaning that I was not in my sharpest moment.

I begrudgingly accepted the help in the end, grabbing his hand while carefully climbing down the back end of the cart. Just realizing that I also had to carry my staff in the meantime. Which made the entire maneuver much more finicky.

Soon enough, I was standing… well, walking on solid ground once again.

“Thank you for the help.” — I said to which the dwarf simply grunted in acknowledgement.

I looked around the column, seeing both dwarfs and humans escorting the small gathering of carts.

I immediately noticed that while the tensions were still high, it was nothing compared to the constant high levels of awareness which were demanded around the outposts. I realized that those were considered the front lines, while these places, while still highly dangerous, were already beyond our immediate lines of defence.

“I hope Camilla didn’t bother you too much, she can be a handful…” — I started, to which Emrum first paled slightly, then added in a snort.

“Oh, I noticed… Sometimes I forget how disquietingly energetic some humans can be…” — I blinked, hearing that particular statement, and I couldn’t help but ask.

“Dwarven children are different in that regard?”

Emrum glanced at me, then answered after a few seconds of thinking. — “Nay, it seems that I tend to forget that as well… It will be strange to get used to the capital once again, after so much time spent on the deep roads. Hah, not that I plan to stay there for too long.”

I thought about that, then asked another question with a subtle smile still lingering on my face after hearing Emrum’s previous answer.

“How long were you exactly on this mission, Emrum?”

He seemed to think about that as well… Which was an uncomfortable sign on its own.

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“Not that long, honestly. I was there for six months when we first met. Now it’s getting closer to seven. Thanks to you, who saved my hide back then.” — He paused while I gasped silently. I would definitely not call six months spent on the frontline not long. Even if this was not your typical warfare. More like raiding groups clashing with one another occasionally. The danger was still high, mostly because of the harsh environment.”

Emrum took in my expression and smiled almost nostalgically. — “I have spent a third of my life in active military service, and I am eighty-four years old. Compared to that, a few months is really nothing to gawk at.”

I couldn’t quite hide the strained smile on my face as I said. — “Well… when you put it like that, I can’t help but agree. I think I just didn’t realize how militaristic the dwarfs were.”

Emrum snorted good-naturedly. — “It’s not just the dwarfs, most nations of the intelligent races are quite militaristic, as you said. The world of Rixa had seen many conflicts and wars along the ages, and only those who rose above the chain of events remained to tell the tale.”

I listened carefully. I noticed a spike of guilt in the voice of Emrum. He coughed lightly, then asked in a more gentle tone.

“Come to think of it… being raised by humans and all. I wonder if you have heard the tale of the fall of Chrysantheum? The capital of the white elven kingdom.” — Came the unexpected question.

I glanced at Emrum questioningly. — “I did not.” — I said. — “I am surprised that you know such a tale… How come you didn’t mention it before?”

Emrum scratched the side of his beard, looking embarrassed. — “I… kind of forget about it… Either way, at this point it’s more like a legend or a child’s tale, which dwarven mothers keep telling their misbehaving children. Nothing to get overly excited about. The royal library will have much better literature on every topic.” — He rambled on.

I chuckled at his antics, waving at him to focus his attention back to the topic. While consciously ignoring the subtle hint of Emrum being said misbehaving kid, whose mother often bored him with this very tale as a punishment.

“Right…” — He stated with a sigh. — “Where do I begin?”

“At the start, if possible.” — I said with a ghost of a smile.

“I see that you have slept almost too well, feeling funny and all.” — He sighed, seeing me struggling to hold back my laughter.

“Whatever… But girl, this tale of mine is no laughing matter. You might want to stifle that grin before I continue.”

I schooled my features and nodded to Emrum to go on.

He whetted his throat, swallowing a quick gulp from a small flask hidden in a pocket sewed onto his left sleeve. — “The fall of Chrysantheum, the symbol of magical accomplishment and longevity, also known as the seat of the eternal kings. Each ruling precisely one millennium before stepping down and giving the throne to the next ruler before retiring into the Everdream. Don’t ask… I don’t know what that is…”

“Anyway… It was a kingdom which’s foundation was built on magic, therefore its fate has been intertwined with magic as well.”

“Powerful magics never before or since then witnessed on the face of Rixa were used to reinforce the territories of the white elves. So powerful were those spells that they could no longer be harmed by invading forces. All because of their magical shields encircling their entire kingdom. A kingdom that was otherwise small, as the white elves’ power never lied in their numbers, but in their individual proficiencies.”

“Yet the white elves, in all their wisdom, have made a crucial mistake.”

“They have isolated themselves from harm via their magic while their people grown complacent and petty. Almost never leaving the safety of their kingdom, aside from a select few. They were too afraid of losing their precious immortality.”

“While magic was a solid foundation, it was not without its own drawbacks. For example, that it worked too well, when it did, and when it failed, it often did so catastrophically.”

“No matter that the kingdom was built to last for eternity. As it happened with so many other kingdoms and even empires. One day it, too, has come to ruin.”

“The kingdom’s capital that focused its magical properties mysteriously disappeared overnight. In its place was nothing more than a giant crater. A place that since then was filled with water accumulated over many rains. And it is today called as the White Lake as in remembrance of the elves that once lived in the region.”

I blinked, surprised by the abrupt end of the story. Without properly thinking it through, I already formed a question. — “What happened to the rest of the elves? Their kingdom might be small, but I doubt that it consisted from a single city?”

Emrum sighed as his features darkened. — “Understand, girl, that this has happened thousands of years ago. It is rumored that the world was in a turmoil. It was a lot more chaotic than nowadays… even if the activities of the darklings are starting to get out of hand, it is still far from being considered as an all out war among the forces of light and darkness.”

I gulped dryly as the original intentions of Lord Axis came to my mind. As he warned me of a growing darkness preparing to engulf the world anew.

Was it perhaps connected to the unusual activity of the darklings? I might have to pray for an answer, and do that soon enough.

Meanwhile, Emrum continued his tale. — “To answer your question, Lora… Many races have grown frustrated with the White elves, as they sent numerous envoys practically pleading for their help, to teach them magic and knowledge.”

“Back in the time, magic was not common, not even among the other races of elves, as the white elves guarded their secrets well. Only a chosen few were given the chance to learn magic, and it was always a small fraction of their knowledge that was thought to them. And it was never done freely either.”

“Long story short, many have grown hateful of the white elves’ indifference to their plight, and opportunistic nature. Even more were envious of their immortality. A gift sought after by all other races and the gift that in the end inadvertently caused the fall of the white elves.”

“When their shields fell down, following the destruction of their capital, which by the way nobody truly knows how happened, and is only suspected to be the result of a backlash of some powerful magical spell failure that disintegrated the entire city and its surroundings.”

“What I want to say is that most of the elves inside were no longer powerful battle mages that once were. You might ask why, since white elves are supposed to be immortal. The answer is a bit more complicated than usual. Those white elves who sought the trill of battle have gone on adventures, unable to sit behind the shields for too long. However, with such lives comes risks and eventually most of them fell on those adventures or in battle as they participated in wars of now mostly forgotten kingdoms for one reason or another.”

“The elves who remained were not used to war, with precious few exceptions to matter in the grand scheme of things.”

“Without their magical shields, surrounded by enemies on all sides, the outnumbered white elves were overrun in a matter of months by the dark races. First and foremost, the dark elves, which have garnered an age long hatred towards them.”

“The fallen and burned cities of the White elves have become twisted battlefields for all races that sought their secret knowledge of magic. Resulting in the quick spreading of magic in the following centuries to all races. While also simultaneously leading to the loss of a lot more magical knowledge in the wake of the violent raids and battles.”

“That was the tale of the fall of the white elves. What do you say, lass?”

I was staring at the wagon moving in front of me while deeply lost in my thoughts. What Emrum told me just now was a piece of history regarding my new race. I would hardly call them my people since I had little to no cultural connection to them. Still, I could learn a lot of things from it. Even if it was only partially true.

First of all, I never even considered the idea of being envied for my immortality. When it was so obvious that it practically slapped you in the face.

The main reason for not thinking about it was that I didn’t quite believe it myself to be possible. Actual immortality was such an outlandish idea to the people on Earth. At least nobody truly believed that it would be achieved in our lifetime or ever. Elongating lifespan was different, but from what I know, that also had a maximum expected range around two-hundred-forty-four years.

I mean, that’s nothing to scoff at, but still far from possible at the time I passed away.

While I struggled to understand or believe the possibility of my own immortality. The people of this world had no such problems. In fact, they were hard-wired by their very history of the opposite.

For them, immortality was very much possible if you were lucky enough to get born in the right race.

While being an immortal, but an immortal that could be killed just as easily as any other person meant that it brought the wrong kind of attention.

Seeing that where this very envy brought the white elven race has startled me to my core. Because I was not stupid, not entirely at least. There was no way that I was willing to straight out believe everything that a few millennia old tale told me.

It was hardly the elves’ mistake to be unwilling to participate in meaningless battles that random idiots started. The nations can hardly fault them for not sharing their hard earned knowledge of magic outright either. The idea that they actually were willing to teach any of it to certain people for a certain compensation was already showing a lot of goodwill towards the other races.

It was their sole advantage against them, after all.

The real question was what truly happened with their capital? Was it indeed an accident that it blowed up? Or was it premeditated sabotage done by one of those few people whom they taught their magic to?

One thing is certain, the lack of aid coming to help them after the fall of their shield array was very suspicious.

How come not a single white elf sought refuge among the other elves? Did they have a hand in it? Or were they simply too isolated from potential allies?

I cannot say since I have no detailed knowledge of the world yet.

"You alright lass?” — Came the worried question, and I was jolted out of my thoughts.

“Ah… hm, yes. It was… a very interesting, eye-opening story. Thank you for sharing it with me, Emrum.”

“Well… It’s nothing lass, I should have shared it already… Camilla just reminded me of it accidentally in our previous conversation…”

He chuckled, while scratching the back of his head this time. — “Anyway, don’t take it too seriously. It’s an old tale, and I have hardly told it perfectly.”

I nodded, while already about to get lost in my thoughts, analysing the story from start to the end once again.