"Your Highness, what you are proposing is, in all honesty, unthinkable." Spoke Sir Roland, the personal military advisor of Queen Kyara Ikaris Marbella.

The rest of the ministers seated at the table all nodded in unison. Roland continued, never looking away from Kyara. His voice, usually quiet, now held a note of cold certainty. "The last time the kingdom mobilised such an army was while your grandfather was still a princeling."

"I understand what you're saying, Sir Roland. However, I must admit that this choice has been wrung from our grasp. I haven't summoned all of you here for you to tell me if it is possible or not. I have summoned you here to tell you it must be done and to hear from you how quickly it can be done." The Queen replied, swallowing the bitter memory of her conversation with High Elf.

The table went silent. Not even a hushed murmur amongst the ministers.

"It will take great effort." Roland broke the silence. "The lesser nobles have grown complacent during these peaceful times. Quite a few of them have even unofficially disbanded their soldiers, leaving only a small handful to protect their estates."

"Indeed. It will take them much more time than you've told us we have to rally troops." Hurgarth, the minister of foreign affairs, added.

"Some might even openly refuse to do so, or try to worm their way out of it," Roland said; the old man knowing very well the ways of lesser nobility.

"I see." Kyara sighed softly, her regal expression never faltering.

"Your Highness?" A quiet voice interrupted the Queen's next thought before it could form into a sentence.

One of the servants stood at the door of the throne room. She held her hands together, looking down towards the red carpet. "Your Highness, Lady Aurelia is here to see you. She requests immediate-"

"Out of my way. I have no time for announcements." The High Elf's voice came from the other side of the door, and Kyara immediately noticed that Aurelia's tone lacked its usual sharpness and arrogance.

The door swung open, and Aurelia moved past the servant, her head covered by the hood of her robe. The High Elf made sure to avoid the girl standing at the door and hid her right hand in the long sleeve of her robe, while clutching a stained white bag in the left one.

"Is that blood?" The Queen's eyes widened as she immediately noticed the red stains on the elf's usually immaculate clothing.

Aurelia did not utter a word, walking up the small flight of stairs and placing the bag on the table. The cloth unfurled, revealing its contents to the royal siblings and the ministers.

"By the Gods!" Roland shouted, recoiling in his seat and almost falling over at the sight of charred, severed heads.

"This meeting is adjourned. Everybody out. Now!" Kyara ordered, and everyone except Kargalan rushed towards the exit.

As the doors closed shut, Aurelia slowly lifted her left hand, removing her hood and rolling up her right sleeve. Kargalan stood in stunned silence, feeling himself become lightheaded. His legs trembled under his weight and the weight of the shock from what he was seeing.

A long shadow fell across the room, as if the sun itself hid behind a wall of thick, grey clouds at such a gruesome and barbaric display.

"What… happened?" The fire mage asked, stammering.

The High Elf, the pinnacle of magic and the embodiment of life eternal, was wounded. Her left ear, same as her thumb, middle and index fingers of her right hand, were missing. Judging by the wounds, they seemed to have been torn or blown off, rather than cut.

Kyara, however, though equally shaken by the state Aurelia was in, focused more on the four heads and one empty helmet that lay on the table. Two of the burned remains wore the helmets of the High Guard, and the other two wore helmets belonging to Marbella soldiers. The empty helmet, whose head she prayed was still attached to its neck, belonged to none other than Elisia Telabram.

"Them?" The Queen asked.

"Yes." Replied Aurelia, knowing who Kyara was referring to.

"Is she…?" Kyara's rage was overshadowed by an ocean of worry. She braced herself to hear the answer, trying to prepare her heart for the shattering blow of loss.

"No." The High Elf answered, watching as the Queen exhaled a shaky breath and how her posture slumped. "Lady Elisia, the mage who accompanied her and our General Eirlys were not amongst the bodies. I can only assume they've been captured and taken as prisoners."

"I need a drink." Kargalan cleared his throat, finally managing to pry his eyes away from the sight before him.

"Aurelia, please remove those heads from my table. I do not wish to give my servants a heart attack." Kyara pinched the bridge of her nose and shouted for the servant girl who waited on the other side of the door, while the elven mage tied the cloth with the heads back into a bag.

The servant girl walked in, pouring wine for each of them and heading for the door.

"Leave the pitcher," Aurelia said before the servant left.

"As you wish, Lady Aurelia." The girl placed the pitcher next to the elf and rushed out of the throne room.

Kargalan walked over to the table, chalice in hand, and sat down across from the elven mage, feeling his legs still betraying him too much to stand upright.

The sombre atmosphere brought on by what had just occurred weighed heavily on all of them. The silence was heavy and felt as if it lasted for hours as they sat and drank, neither of them uttering a single word until the pitcher of wine was empty.

"I must apologise." Finally, the High Elf spoke, placing her chalice on the table in front of her and looking up at the royal siblings: Kyara on the throne across the room from her and Kargalan sitting to the right of her, at the far corner of the long table.

"Last we spoke, my words and actions were unbecoming of my kin and standing. I portrayed you a fool and myself infallible, when in truth I made no different a mistake than you have when it comes to our common enemy." She continued, her voice sincere and without even a sliver of the pride that Kyara had grown accustomed to.

"I was to guide the Kingdom of Vatur through this unknown storm, yet my actions cost them thirty of their best soldiers and their most valuable general," Aurelia admitted, looking down at the bag resting by her feet.

Without even a single word, the elf cast a healing spell on herself, her ear and fingers slowly beginning to grow back.

"Thirty High Guard. Gods have mercy…" Kargalan nodded to himself, still in disbelief. The fire mage knew the High Elves were unrivalled in their power and mastery of mana. They feared no mortal and no beast. Even weapons made to counter mages proved little more than trifles to Aurelia's kind. To harm a High Elf was a feat as unattainable as harming a fully grown dragon.

"Why have you not healed sooner?" The Queen asked, at last finding her voice now that wine soothed her nerves.

"I wanted you to see that the blood on my robes was truly mine," Aurelia replied.

"How many soldiers have they sent to attack? That many casualties, and they were High Guard no less, it must've taken a small century* to beat them, especially within the Silver Forest." Kargalan, emboldened by his sister's voice, shook off some of the disbelief and joined the conversation with renewed focus.

"The forest barely responded to their presence. The scouts never saw anyone approach that area of the Silver Forest. There will be an investigation, but judging by how swiftly they attacked and disappeared, it must've been a group of ten or less." The High Elf replied, not hiding the flash of anger from having Vatur's elite soldiers bested by such a small number of enemies within their own turf.

"Less than ten? What kind of monsters did they send?" The Queen's brother shook his head slowly, looking down at his cup and realising he was out of wine.

"I should've executed them right then and there." Kyara hissed through gritted teeth, clenching her chalice while thinking back on when all three men were kneeling before her in that very throne room.

"Do not take all the blame upon yourself, Your Highness." Aurelia corrected her. "You've done as the Vatur kingdom requested. It is my fault as much as yours, for I suggested to Princess Claudia that she demand the prisoners be brought to Vatur to be executed."

"Alright." Kyara sighed and leaned in her seat. "Tell me what happened. Everything."

***

As the crows circled the clearing, the last thing that Aurelia saw through their eyes was Elisia parting ways with the mage and the group of otherworlders. "My, my. What is this I'm seeing? Queen Kyara's most loyal knight got friendly with the invaders? Seems the lack of spine in that kingdom extends further than just Perriman."

The High Elf grinned, releasing the crows from her spell just as the group of otherworlders disappeared into the forest. She intertwined her fingers and leaned back in her seat, sitting on the balcony of the Vatur palace and overlooking the Silver Forest. The blow the otherworlders have dealt to the Vatur kingdom was certain to light the fire of retribution beneath the feet of the royal siblings. That half of her plan was taken care of. The only thing that remained was to ensure that Queen Kyara raises every able-bodied human in her kingdom to arms and leads them on a warpath against the otherworlders.

Aurelia didn't doubt that, after their last conversation, the Queen of Marbella would provide a good number of soldiers to aid the Vatur kingdom in eradicating the invaders. But that wasn't good enough.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"The Queen is a woman of her word. But she is far from blindly obedient. She will send what she must, she will try to minimise her losses and avoid getting her countrymen killed needlessly." The high elf reasoned with herself while watching the first rays of the sun wash over the forest from behind her.

She was aware of how cautious Kyara was when it came to open war against a force she knew so little about. Besides Perriman, who tried to ally with the otherworlders to overthrow her, Queen Kyara Marbella did not have any personal reasons to go all out against them. She needed a personal motivator, a reminder that her kingdom isn't safe just because the invaders haven't set their eyes upon it yet. And Aurelia would be the one to personally deliver that motivation to Her Majesty.

Slowly, she stood up from her seat, stretched, and with a gentle wave of her right hand opened a portal to the field just beyond the Silver Forest.

***

The crows circling over the scorched clearing descended upon the corpses just as Elisia came out of the forest and reunited with the guards. "We ride for the kingdom at once. I have urgent news for Her Majesty."

"Where is Lady Layla?" One of the guards asked.

"She has gone with the otherworlders to further her study of them. Do not worry, she is in good hands." The knight replied, getting up on her horse.

"What happened? Why have you ordered us to wait for you here?" The men continued to question her while getting ready to start the journey back to the kingdom.

Elisia sighed in annoyance and rolled her eyes at the tireless questions. "I will explain everything on the way back. Now move. I don't want to linger here any more than necessary."

"Explain what, Lady Elisia? How you disobeyed your Queen's orders? How you fraternized with the enemy? Or how you are no less a traitor than Perriman?" A melodic but stern female voice cut through the rustling of grass in the cold, early morning breeze.

The knight turned her head towards where the voice was coming from, her eyes widening at the sight of Aurelia standing merely a few feet from the group. Elisia felt a chill run down her spine as she realised she had never heard the High Elf approaching. She was just there, as if she appeared out of thin air.

Aurelia walked slowly towards them, bare feet unbothered by the cold and snow. Her last step sent a ripple through the ground, knocking Elisia off her horse. The knight fell on her back with a thud as the animal reared up on its hind legs, her unfastened helmet falling off her head.

Elisia quickly got up to her feet, drawing her blade and glaring at the elven mage. "What is the meaning of this, Aurelia?!"

The guards, who stood baffled by what was happening, rushed over to their lady with weapons drawn.

"Your Queen is hesitant to devote her kingdom fully to our effort in eradicating the invaders. I have come to provide her with the necessary push in the right direction." Aurelia admitted, a sickeningly calm smile etched across her face.

With a snap of her fingers and nothing more, the guards were engulfed in pillars of fire right before Elisia's eyes. The men screamed, dropping to the ground and rolling in the snow in hopes of putting out the fire, yet despite their efforts, the flames persisted.

The High Elf stood and watched, ignoring the fact that she stood in Elisia's striking range while the knight had her sword drawn, acting as if she wasn't even worth a glance.

"What have you done?!" Overcome with anger, the knight lunged at the mage, holding nothing back as she swung the sword.

The blade never reached Aurelia. Her mana barrier was simply too strong for even Elisia's doramite sword to penetrate. Without so much as a glance in her direction, Aurelia expanded the size of her barrier suddenly, pushing the knight back.

Elisia felt her heart pounding in her chest, her fingers tightening around the hilt of the sword to calm her trembling hands. She could feel the calm and overwhelming mana that radiated from Aurelia and was certain the high elf wanted her dead.

She swallowed a lump that formed in her throat, feeling how dry her mouth was from the adrenaline coursing through her. Victory was impossible. Escape equally so. Elisia exhaled loudly, steeling herself for a dance with death she knew would not last long.

The knight dashed towards the mage, channelling all of her mana into her Step spell and her sword strike. Once more, the blade remained in the air. Aurelia manipulated the snow and ice all around them, wrapping them around Elisia, locking her in place.

"Poor Elisia," Aurelia spoke softly, walking towards the bound woman who was screaming and yelling, trying with all her might to break the ice that encased her.

The High Elf faced the Silver Forest, looking past Elisia towards the scorched treeline and the clearing beyond it. "It is a pity General Eirlys had to face a similar end. But, as with you, sacrifices had to be made."

"Eirlys lives." Elisia grinned, watching as the high elf's face flashed with surprise and anger for just a second. "The otherworlders have her."

Aurelia sighed and sucked on her teeth before taking one step closer to the knight. "No matter. I will not let trifles ruin the enjoyment of the moment."

Between the trees, the last of the predators waited. One sent by the behemoth of a Warhound to make sure Elisia got out of the area safely. Still, the soldier himself was no warhound. He lacked Anita's sure-kill precision, and Aurelia stood in such a way that most of her body was blocked by Elisia, who was encased in ice. So he waited, watching how she moved through the scope of his rifle. He waited for Aurelia to, in her theatrical movements, take a single step away from the knight.

Aurelia did not step away. She locked eyes with Elisia and raised her right hand above her head, fingers poised to snap and engulf her in a pillar of fire just like her men.

"Forgive me, Kyara. I have failed you." Elisia closed her eyes, bracing for the searing burn of the fire spell as something whizzed above her head.

Aurelia's eyes widened in shock, pain rushing up her arm and through her body as she watched her fingers fall to the ground, blood soaking the snow and dripping on Elisia. She screamed, pushing past the pain with the help of a spell and immediately turning her head in the direction from where the shot had come.

"They left one behind!" The High Elf screamed furiously, face contorting into a grimace of rage only ever seen on the faces of immortals.

Elisia had never seen such anger burn in anyone's eyes. Even Queen Kyara did not seem as furious when she learned of Perriman's betrayal. The High Elf had forgotten the colour of her own blood, for it had been millennia since she bled. Aurelia stared at her missing fingers in absolute disbelief, almost as if unable to grasp the reality that she had been wounded.

The elf instinctively expanded her mana barrier even further, the snow beginning to swirl around the two women in an effort to conceal them from the shooter before turning into a solid barrier. It didn't work as intended, for the second she took even a single step away from Elisia, a second shot came without warning or hesitation.

She screamed again, grabbing the left side of her head with her left hand, only to be greeted by warm blood and another wave of searing pain. Aurelia dulled the pain once more with a spell and roared in fury, waving her bloodied left hand in front of her, a magic seal appearing as she did.

That was the first time Elisia had ever heard the language of the High Elves. She looked over her shoulder just in time to witness the several rows of trees disappear in an instant, shattering into tiny splinters and wood dust.

The first wave of destruction missed the shooter by only a single row of trees, so the soldier quickly changed strategy and began repositioning himself after every shot. Still, he was quickly running out of cover as with every swipe of Aurelia's arm, a dozen more trees got obliterated.

Aurelia's rage rose to such a degree that she had entirely forgotten about Elisia in that moment. Whereas some would find humility upon being reminded of their mortality, the high elf mage only saw red. She viewed it as an insult, but also as a threat. Being made to bleed by something without any form of mana whatsoever, something unable to escape death for more than a century, she couldn't stand the thought of it. Aurelia had to prove, here and now, that she truly was superior.

Elisia's horse neighed in a panic, pulling her back to reality. Another bullet whizzed by through the magic barrier and the swirling curtain of snow, missing the high elf entirely. The knight mustered her mana, flexing every muscle she could until she broke free of the icy restraints and ran towards her horse the moment she could move again, taking advantage of the fact that Aurelia was distracted.

She left her helmet behind, hopping into the saddle and galloping back towards the forest, disappearing through the curtain of snow as Aurelia's spell tore apart another row of trees in her attempts to kill the unseen attacker. Elisia rode in the direction of the otherworlder's outpost, knowing she would reach it faster than she would the closest village or town.

The High Elf grew more and more enraged as the devastation she spread around her didn't seem to catch the shooter, since bullets would whizz near her every few seconds. She cursed at Elisia, finally accepting that if she stayed on that field any longer, she might truly die. With a wave of her left hand, Aurelia opened a portal and disappeared, the swirling dome of snow disappeared along with her.

Elisia didn't look back. She cast a haste spell on the horse, pushing the animal far beyond its physical limits as she rode through the dense forest in the direction of the otherworlders' outpost.

***

"They attacked just after midnight. The Silver Forest didn't even seem to sense them at first, not until they lit it on fire." Aurelia began to tell the siblings what had happened.

"They lit the Silver Forest on fire?" The Queen raised an eyebrow, finding the claim hard to believe, but not entirely impossible.

"Yes. I felt the disturbance of mana days before the attack. They must've been opening the portal to get more troops or weapons through." The elf explained. "I know about them as much as you do, which is very little. We should've been more prepared. The weapons they used lit the forest around the clearing on fire in an instant, walling off General Eirlys and her troops from any chance of escape." Aurelia replied, her voice laden with guilt. "The fire burned beyond control, visible from as far away as the Home Tree. The blaze raged so viciously that it impeded my farsight. It was only come morning that the fire died down and I could properly see what remained of the clearing through the smoke. Corpses."

"And your ear and fingers?"

"I was the first to arrive at the clearing, fearing for the worst. The ground and trees were still smouldering, and the smoke had barely even begun to clear away. They must've left some of their soldiers to cover their retreat, because I was shot at through the smoke while searching for General Eirlys or any other survivors. If it weren't for the smoke concealing me, I would be dead."

"But your mana barrier? Does it not protect you?" The Queen's brother leaned closer towards the table and asked.

Aurelia turned her gaze towards him, no anger or contempt for his question visible on her face. "I understand that the thought of a High Elf getting wounded seems almost fictitious. Almost as much as the rumours that the otherworlders are immune to magic. But here is your proof, Prince Kargalan." The elf raised her right hand, her fingers almost fully regrown by now.

"And the heads?"

"Those that were lucky, I suppose. I've brought them, as they are all that remains of both your men and ours. It is all that is left of them to bury. The rest are…" Aurelia exhaled. "May I ask for more wine? I can't get the taste of ash out of my throat."

"Certainly, Lady Aurelia," Kyara replied and summoned the servant again.

With a fresh pitcher of wine and their chalices filled, the high elf mage continued. "I will leave these two with you. Bury them. We will hold rites for the rest, make sure their souls find peace."

"Thank you." The Queen bowed her head towards the high elf in gratitude.

"I understand we have our differences, Kyara. But this overshadows all. Centuries of tension and bickering between generations of Vatur and Marbella royalty is no more than neighbourly banter compared to the threat we face from those monsters. We must act and do so harshly, before they get a chance to make their move." Aurelia emptied her cup in a series of gulps and set it down on the table. Her ear and finger had fully regrown by that point.

"Princess Claudia and Prince Lymlok will soon learn of what happened to General Eirlys, if they haven't already. They will demand swift retribution. I will do my best to quell their grieving hearts so they do not make any rash decisions. But understand they've lost much to these demons in human skin already. If we don't act, so will you." Aurelia stood up from her seat, leaving the helmet and two human heads on the table and opened a portal.

"May the Gods watch over us all." She said, disappearing from the throne room as abruptly as she had arrived, allowing the Kyara and Kargalan to simmer in silence.

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