A few days later, Sarah had brought the children (not including Teya, who had remained at the cabin) to the hideout in the town. As usual, Roon greeted them at the door and led the group to the assembly room, where the usual attendants with the addition of Welsh, waited. She told Steven, Arthur and Maria to stand against the wall behind where she sat. She also made it very clear for them not to speak a word without her permission.

And so the meeting began. Only a week remained until the Elven would attack and the Guardians needed to decide on how they would deal with the town’s citizens. After much talking, they eventually decided that the town mayor would announce an incoming storm coming from the western side (where the seas of Arcan laid not too far away, which by the way was also the source of the river that ran north of the village) and order the people to take shelter on the base of the great mountain range to the East. They would leave for the mountains three days prior to the night of the full moon and there, they would stay until the battle was over.

But other than that recent addition to the strategies previously discussed, the plan for dealing the emergence of the elves remained the same. There would be many traps set into place, carved using runes where it was befitting, and the Guardians would use the empty town to their field advantage. Arthur and Steven would stay beside Maria who would be assigned to give cover fire on a few select buildings in the town. Like a few other mages who had the same job, Maria would have to constantly relocate herself from place to place where she could stay far from the battle but close enough to support with long distance spells. Arthur and Steven were to act as her personal body guards in the event that danger finds itself approaching. Sarah hoped that would not be the case.

And that would have been the end of the meeting, had Arthur kept his mouth shut. From behind Sarah, the young man raised his hand and spoke out of turn. “Why not let the people of Efidel fight for themselves?”

The entire council looked at the boy and then at Rion who was meant to address it. Sarah, in particular, gave him a stern eye from the side as Rion spoke. “Because they are just people. And they should not be involved in this.”

“Why not?” This time it was Steven who spoke out of turn. And knowing that boy, unlike Arthur, Sarah figured that he would have a sound argument to support his claim. “I’ve seen the Elven village and I’m fairly certain that they outnumber the Guardians from what I could tell. They’re also faster and stronger. I also assume that they have more magical prowess than you all. So to be blunt, we’re going to lose and horribly so. And if that happens, then the Elves will just find these defenseless people at the base of the mountains and that will be their end. So if they’re going die regardless, why not give them a chance to fight and raise our own chances of living as well?”

Once more the council looked to Rion. No one could find reason to argue what Steven said, not even Sarah. After about a minute of silence, Rion spoke and his answer was not one that Sarah expected. “You’re right. It would be foolish not to include them.” He then looked up from the table, now glaring directly towards the young Steven. “I will tell you this. If you can get these people who know nothing of this secret world to not only believe you but also be willing to fight for you, then by all means do so.”

Steven went silent. But Arthur answered in his place. “Fine. I’ll do it if no one else has the guts to tell them. That’s what it’s about, isn’t it? You’re all just too afraid to tell them because you’ve failed as their protectors. I’m willing to say it if no one else is.”

Sarah glared at the two boys. Though she was angry at them for disobeying her very direct command, she couldn’t help being a little proud. But when all is said and done, doing and saying are two different matters. And with that little skirmish settled, Sarah for sure thought that the meeting would be over until Steven spoke again.

“Do any of you think it’s possible to reason with the Elves?” he said. “I’ve spoken to one of them. And I’m certain that not all of them want to fight. They just wish to be free. At the very least, I ask that the children be spared.”

Rion again answered. “To answer your question, I think not. While that would have been a pleasant solution, the Elves hold much resentment towards us. After all, we’ve imprisoned their kind for thousands of years. It is to be expected. And for your request, I’ll welcome it. If they are Elves that will not fight and leave peacefully, then so be it. That only lessens the load for us.”

Steven sighed a small breath upon hearing that. And with that said, the meeting had ended.

~

Arthur had said that he would convince the town. And that was what he would do. So immediately after the meeting, he went to the square where most townsfolk were gathering, scuttering about for things to buy and sell. It should be noted that he also carried his magic sword at his side, which you’d thought would have been alarming but surprisingly, no one seemed to care. That is, until he unsheathed the blade and aimed it for the sky. And as you would expect, he shot a bolt of lightning to the clouds above. It was then that those around him stopped what they were doing and stared at him surreally. Of course, none of them quite knew what had just happened. A few whose instincts were to run did so quietly, sneaking away from the scene. A few others, that were quite feisty, shouted at him with curses and accusations “Witch!” they called him. But most, stood there frozen, too scared to act until something notable happened.

And something did. Arthur spoke as he returned his sword to his side. “I know most of you are confused at what just happened. But please, bear with me as I explain.” He signaled to those few who had cursed him to withhold themselves until he was done. “I have recently been introduced to an organization made in secret to protect people like you. And what I just did was a sort of magic, a power that not even I understand. But that aside, the reason why I’m telling you this is because I need your help.”

Arthur raised his voice “In a week’s time, a group of ancient beings called Elves that dwell within the forest will attack this town and all those who live here. They are powerful creatures and will without a doubt defeat the Guardians, which is the name of the organization I’ve mentioned before. But with your help, we would outnumber them and we could even stand a fighting change. So fight with us!” Arthur raised his sheathed sword in the air and looked at the crowd around him.

No doubt, they all thought him mad. But none could bring forward a reasonable explanation for the lightning. Amongst themselves the people chatted, and within their small discussions, they decided that Arthur was for sure some sort of witch. The all decided that the magic part was indeed the truth. But the Elves? If they were Elves living in the forest, how have they not seen them? The people did know the general description of Elves from old fairy tales, the pointy, curled ears were a dead giveaway. Bur none had ever seen any with such ears before. None except the one man called Robert Bullocks who showed himself carrying a basket of fruits and vegetables.

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“He’s telling the truth!” Robert shouted as he reached Arthur in the center. “They were the ones that captured me and tortured me all this time while I was missing. I lied to you all about it to cover up the Guardian’s tracks but the time for lying is done. I’ve seen much, far too much to be unseen.” Robert stood beside Arthur. His wounds had gotten better and so did his will over these past few days. Now he was back to being the town’s madman who dared to preach conspiracies regardless of the consequences.

“Why should we believe you?” shouted one man from the corner of the square. “You’re nothing but a mad man.”

“Then how would you explain my magic?” Arthur retorted, raising his sword again.

“We don’t understand your parlor trick but that does not mean we entirely believe it! We will need more proof than that. Show us the Elves!” A woman holding a bag of cabbages shouted.

Arthur hesitated. He couldn’t show them the Elves. He himself could not see the Elves. Where was Sarah or Steven or even Maria when he needed them? They had gone home and left him to his will. When Arthur asked if Steven would help him, he just said. “Hey, you said that you’d convince the people. Not me. I only helped with your argument. That was all.” And then Steven left.

“I can’t.” Arthur replied with a downed head. “They cannot be seen by normal men when the moon is not full. And when the moon does become full, it will be too late.”

“See! He’s talking through his arse! That’s a really convenient situation if you ask me.” A buff man in an armless shirt shouted from across the square.

Arthur had begun to brace himself for whatever the people would say or do to him at this point. Perhaps he could have shown them another ability with the sword? Maybe a small flame or a glistening snowflake? No, that wouldn’t work when lightning had failed. They would just claim it to be some other trick or worse yet, find him a witch and burn him at the stake. It was then, when Arthur had begun to doubt himself, that Mr. Welkins appeared from within the crowd.

“Perhaps I can help with that.” He claimed as he walked through the angry and irritated crowd. The man then grabbed a random person by the arm and slit his own hand with a knife, letting the blood fall into the stranger’s eyes. As expected, the stranger yelled. For some reason, his eyes burnt when the blood spilled into them. Mr. Welkins then dragged the poor man away from the crowd. “If you wish to see the Elves then come with me.” He said as he walked away.

The crowd of people looked at each other with wide eyes. They knew not what to believe so they did as they were told and followed Mr. Welkins to the forest. Most stopped there but a few willing to see things through, along with the man with blood spilled in his eyes, entered the forest. Arthur accompanied them and so did Robert. And there, in the clearing in the forest, Mr. Welkins shoved the stranger forward and asked him what he saw. At first he said nothing but then he backed away frantically. “There’s something there!” he pointed. “I can’t see it clearly but it’s there, I’m sure of it.”

Mr. Welkins then shoved the man forward again. “Touch it!” he ordered. And so the reluctant stranger reached forward and felt the Elf. The others soon joined and did the same. They were amazed at what they felt, though the man with blood stained eyes was the only one who could see the glass Elf. And so they returned, and those who had entered told those around of what they experienced. Though they did not understand, they were now certain that something strange was amidst in the forest. Now only one question remained. Would they fight?

Arthur didn’t know. Those who were there that day returned to their homes and surely the news disseminated like wildfire. Many tried to leave town but a great deal also stayed behind. Whether that meant that they were willing to fight with the Guardians or they simply didn’t believe anything, Arthur had yet to find out.

~

By now, Teya had gotten better at transforming herself to Elven. Steven thought that she could do it to completion if she really wanted but withheld herself for personal reasons. Arthur, too, had gotten quite good at swordplay, though not anywhere near as good as Mr. Welkins. If not for the fact that he had a magic sword, he would have still been quite useless in an actual battle. Maria and Sarah had also been practicing their magic and Maria seemed to be getter better every day. But take that with a grain of salt, Steven hardly knew anything about magic and understood little about the workings of sorcery. For him, better simply meant seeing more flashy spells.

Even a good set of people from the town had come to Arthur and Mr. Welkins, requesting that they join them in preparation for the fight ahead. Mr. Welkins had introduced those townsfolk to Rion and Roon who would verse them on how they could help in the incoming battle. Everyone and everything was picking up momentum. But despite it all, Steven didn’t know what he should have been doing. He still experienced his nightmares and he had been inquiring greatly about his abilities from Chaos. But while Chaos told Steven of the wondrous things he had done before, even that man did not understand how Steven’s powers worked. Steven tried casting a few magic spells with Sarah and Maria, but it didn’t work at all. In fact, Sarah told him several times that he had no magical prowess. So how did he break the spell on Teya? What was that power called?

Steven laid in his bed and wondered. What was he doing when he broke Teya’s spell? If he recalled correctly, he remembered wanting to talk to her and then there was a sort of warmth about him. It was strange, like that odd sensation you get when you hug someone you really like. But it left him quickly and he thought little about it at the moment. And after that, Teya appeared behind him and changed into a human. Whether that was also Steven’s doing or Teya subconsciously switched, Steven didn’t know. But he did know what the trigger was, as he just realized. He wanted something desperately. And he rarely ever wanted anything.

But right now, what was it that he wanted. To help? No, that wasn’t quite right. Steven had little interest in this skirmish at the very beginning. The only reason he agreed to take part was because of his sibling’s involvement. So that must be it. Steven wanted to help his siblings. But what exactly did he want to help them with? Steven sighed. That was where his string of thoughts had begun initially and now he returned full circle. What was he to do?

~

“Chaos, am I really your master?” Steven asked, seated on the stone throne as the WorldWalker.

Chaos turned around and looked at him, deterring his attention from the demons below. “Well, not exactly. You are but part of my master.” The wicked man said.

“Then why do you help me?” Steven asked, leaning on an arm of the mighty chair. His long fingernails playfully carved marks on the polished stone.

“Because even a mere third of my master is worth serving with absolute devotion.” Chaos said as he walked forward and bowed before Steven. Though Steven knew he was some demon, he figured that even demons had some honor to then. Steven then got up from the throne and walked forward, looking down at the army below. He noticed a greater portion of those creatures eating rotten flesh. It was only recently had he realized that the flesh came from those demons that lost when they had scuffles amongst themselves. But from what Steven gathered, as long as they were in this void, none of them needed to eat or sleep or even breathe if they chose not to. It was very much like the spell placed on the forest. He wondered if that was a mere coincidence or if it meant something greater. But that was a mystery for another day. Right now, the well was overflowing and Steven soon appeared awake on his bed again.