The entire inn was filled with the hundred or so silver elves Ovid had taken in, each being extremely charming, carrying with them a set of seductive eyes and beautiful face, though they had already changed the near-transparent silk gown for a much more modest set of clothing. The silk gown had been status symbols of high-class courtesans, but even the wealthiest of courtesans is still a slave, so did not come as a surprise that it had been disposed of so quickly.
The elves had already formed cliques at the many tables provided by the inn, based on their former tribes, that is to say, their hatred for the tribe that had captured and sold them into slavery.
At the corner of the inn, Aegis occupied a small table and nibbed on a piece of hardtack, paying no mind to the gossip spoken by the elves around her. The lifespan of elves typically would be over three hundred years. Yet their favourite topic was universally the incident concerning the exile of Sehanine’s ambassador, perhaps due to their common hatred toward the tribe, they would find any opportunity to defy it using words. These topics continued to be echoed throughout the inn despite the changing time. Aegis, the focal point of these gossips, seemed to completely ignorant.
“Everyone of us is a captured slave, seeing the number of sisters in this group, I can see that the Cal tribe had been extreme in their measures, as there are more people captured by them then the rest combined. But still, even such a powerful tribe is not free from scandals, while their army went through the Aeon forest, the then matriarch had an imbecile as her child.”
“When it came to the child, the story is just too pitiful. The girl was clearly born with a natural phenomenon occurring, but out of the blue, she was exiled. I wonder have any of you heard of it.”
“This story had become so popular among us elves that even the golden elves across the continent had heard of it, even after the Cal tribe attempted to suppress it. Do you think all of us are the same as that girl?”
A woman with green eyes covered her mouth with her hand and laughed, she said with a strong sense of amusement, “That matriarch carried the child for ten years, when it was finally time that her water broke, a star fell from the sky, signalling the will of the gods so the entirety of the Cal tribe spend three days and three nights in celebration, squandering their ill-gotten wealth.”
“After a difficult birth, the kid was found out to be crossed eyed,” the woman who spoke earlier couldn’t resist scoffing the fate of the Cal tribe. Looking toward the south where the Aeon forest was located, she made a vulgar sign with her fingers and said, “But the poor child was born naturally cross-eyed. Now, although it is quite common among children, even after she had natured by the age of 50, it remained. Worse, although the child learnt how to walk and talk after much difficulty, she had no luck with learning magic, bring great shame on their linear.”
“In the end, were it not for the beginning of the girl’s father, she would have probably been killed outright, But alas, even then, she was sold along with the next batch of captured slaves.”
“The matriarch…”
Silver elves possess far less dignity than their golden counterparts. When the topic delved into the qualities of Cal clan matriarch, the women around the table showed an understanding smile. Regardless of the species, the elves knew of the cruel and decisive nature she possessed, having the power to decide life and death over more than half of the Aeon forest. She even had the ability to directly converse with the elven gods and influence the weather.
The matriarch was once the ruler of a small elven tribe, one that was originally in such poverty that she had to subsist on a diet of leaves and bark. After agreeing to become the vassal for the nearby tribe, she gradually consolidated power until more than half of the forest was conquered.
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She was undoubtedly a cruel ruler, yet she was also extremely skilled at administration, dissolving the importance of family ties in exchange for one’s loyalty, destroying many great clans in the process. Yet to be so heartless as to sell ones’ own daughter, none of the elves could find an appropriate justification.
“Still, we have to be thankful to that child, were if not for that 10 years the matriarch spend nurturing the babe in her womb that allowed for the other great clans to prepare, the entirety of the forest would be under her rule now.”
“The child’s father is equally pitiful, despite his reputation for being cowardly, he did manage to stand up to his fierce wife after receiving news from one of his retainers. After begging in the rain for one night, he ultimately perished from sickness, never knowing the fate of his child.”
The crowd around the table lamented, not forgetting to down their wine in honour of the husband that married a fierce wife, even then, their groans from drinking sound like sighs.
Anna listened silently from her position by the doorway. Julia had once praised the decisive nature of the matriarch, inviting her many times into the capital, yet Anna possesses little impression of the matriarch. Instead, the daughter had left a lasting impression on Annas’ mind.
As for the fate of the father of Aegis, Anna did not intend to comment, as the man had already died, and possess little significance.
“But don’t you find it weird, now that the girl is next to us, we don’t see any signs of crosseyed-ness. Despite that, she seems a bit stupid, I can’t see any reason why the Cal clan matriarch would even expel her. If she did recover her intellect afterwards… forget it, then her fate is even more pitiful than before.”
An elf with wrinkles by the edge of her eyes from a nearby table dipped a piece of apple into honey diluted by water, licking it before drinking a mouthful of strong mead, which was far cheaper than the wine her contemporary were drinking. She said, “The Cal matriarch had experienced betrayal since her earliest days, from what I’ve heard, her sworn sister had attempted to assassinate her in her sleep. I was one of the soldiers at the camp that day… after the Cal matriarch strangled her sister, she ordered the entire camp to march back and mourn for two weeks.”
“I’m not trying to justify the matriarch’s cruelty, but after pondering, she seems like a sentimental person. At that time, when her child was born, her clan was under attack from Martha’s forces; seeing as the slaver that brought the daughter was known to be kind-hearted than most, it is possible that the matriarch had sold her daughter to avoid the bloody conflict.”
Putting down the cup of mead, the woman scanned the room, focusing on Aegis. Then, she lowered her voice and asked, “The girl in question is right here anyway, it wouldn’t do too much harm if we just asked her.”
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The elves continued to consume various forms of alcohol, ultimately emptying the hospitiums’ entire reserve. With the emptying of the last drop of wine, the idle elves had nothing better to do, finishing their conversation full of smiles, they sank into a state of trance.
They’re living their lives not that differently from pigs, eat, then sleep. Anna amused herself.
Aegis remained seated at her corner of the inn, continuing to nibble on the hardtack, The inn had already turned silent, yet Aegis showed no intention of entering a state of trance.
The bag of nuts Anna carried on her belt had a light chirp as she walked across the room, sitting on the table across Aegis, Anna looked with a calm expression and said, “Congratulations.”
Aegis’s childlike face turned a little confused, but also contain a hint of severity her hands dropping the biscuit she was holding, Aegis said, “I don’t know you.”
The lifespan between humans and elves are naturally different, the last time Julia had invited the Cal matriarch was eight years ago when Anna had yet to turn nine.
Reasoning that as the logic behind Aegis’ lack of acquaintanceship Anna reached inside her purse, brushing past the various bags of snacks, jewellery and makeup, before retrieving an emblem. The emblem was ordinary no matter how one would look at it, it’s appearance no different than a block of wood.
Seeing this emblem, Aegis’s pupils dilated, her childlike face showing a complicated expression as she said without a hint of deceit, “Ah, this feels very familiar.”
“You don’t recognise this?” Anna asked.
Aegis nodded, waving her hand that held on of the hardtack, she heartily laughed before passing it into Anna’s palm. Aegis continued to nibble on the biscuit.
Anna attempted to bite the biscuit, yet found it far too tough and hard for her teeth. Looking at Aegis eating hardtack that could seemingly block bullets, Anna grew curious to the environment she had grown up in that created such resilience, or perhaps such a carefree and ignorant individual.
“The hearsay gossiped by the other elves, do you not feel resentment over them calling you an imbecile?” Anna asked, her eyes containing a great deal of expectation over Aegis answer.
“Why would I get angry, they didn't do me any harm?” Aegis mumbled.