Under the starry sky and with a slightly cold wind blowing through the trees, about a hundred elves were escorted by a contingent of human soldiers and orcs. Their fate lay in the north.
There were not a few elves who were filled with anxiety.
The elves had long lives, great pride and old customs to which they were devoted. All this made them very little adaptable to the changes, and yet, they were here, in the midst of a change so great and so profound that they felt that the heavens and the earth had exchanged places.
The calmness they maintained came from three figures who accompanied them on this journey into a new age.
Rarpol, who though calm, he was as anxious as most elves.
Jaal, who even though was partly responsible for this change, he was not seen for his people with reproach, but with gratitude and admiration. The old elf had practically saved them from starving to death in the winter.
And finally, there was Erabel, who, after all these events and after the truth about her father's accomplishments was known for all, had finally become the undisputed moral leader of the elves.
Taking on such role, Erabel walked alongside the leader of the human soldiers. In addition to ensuring good communication for her people, Erabel was truly intrigued about this woman.
It wasn't just the strange thing about a woman being a soldier who also had a high military rank, but in some strange way, Teress Ambroce reminded Erabel of her father.
"Is there something wrong?" -noticing Erabel's gaze, Teress asked that question.
"N-no… I was just wondering, are women soldiers common among humans?" –fortunately Erabel's mind was agile.
From what Erabel knew about humans, they were not very different in their social organization to the elves. In other words, human women were destined in the vast majority of cases to give birth and perform household tasks.
However, among the humans escorting them north, Erabel noticed the presence of many female soldiers.
"Common? I don't know what it's like for the humans of this world., but we are Alexander's children, whether we are men or women, we are born with a single purpose, to fight."
"T-this world?" –Erabel was taken by surprise by that answer.
The concept of '''world' existed among the inhabitants of this world, only, it applied mostly to a religious concept. The world of the gods, the world of eternal torment, the world of the dead and, of course, the world of the living or of mortals.
For the elves, this concept was a little closer to reality. They believed in the existence of other worlds like this, which of course had also been created by the five virtues.
"Do you come from another world?" –Erabel's curiosity exploded.
"That's right, we came from Alexander" –Teress really didn't mind answering Erabel's questions, as far as she knew, there was nothing wrong with revealing this information.
"Why have you come to this world?"
"Our god, the Supreme God of Battle, has sent his son to this world, Raven-sama, to claim this world for himself. As the children of Alexander, we are the swords and shields of Raven-sama, our duty and desire are to deliver unto him to the last speck of dust of this world."
Erabel opened her eyes completely because of the surprise.
According to the elves' beliefs, traveling between worlds was impossible as it went against the laws of nature. Jaal had already said that the Rayl-Ars were powerful enough to circumvent these laws, but this was so absurd that Erabel inevitably did not believe it completely.
If what Teress Ambroce was saying was true, the Rayl-Ars and all that had to do with them were beyond the elves' understanding.
"W-what about your family? Wasn't it hard to leave them behind…?" –of everything that was in Erabel's mind, this theme caused his heart to contract. Imagining herself in the situation of Teress, in a world unknown and far from the people she knew, made her lose her breath for a pair of seconds.
"My mothers are already with the Supreme God of Battle, as is my younger sister" –Teress showed a faint smile.
"L-sorry, I had no idea" – Erabel's pupils contracted, she was tempted to bite her own tongue for having touched on a delicate subject. In the end, they were prisoners and it was not a good idea to disturb their jailers.
"What is there to regret?" –Teress seemed truly confused about the way Erabel apologized.
"Huh?... isn't it painful?"
"Why would it be like that? My mothers were brave and honorable warriors, I am fully confident that at this time they and my sister are serving as soldiers of the Supreme God of Battle. I must still strive to be worthy of seeing them again" –Teress's gaze was full of determination and admiration, there was not a bit of pain in it.
Erabel's thoughts kept spinning in confusion. The loss of loved ones that for anyone had to be extremely painful, seemed to be a source of pride for Teress Ambroce.
Besides, there was another question that Erabel could not understand. Clearly Teress Ambroce had talked about two mothers, and not about a father and a mother.
As distracted as she was when her mind was filled with uncontrollable curiosity, Erabel did not notice a small root that was protruding in her path.
Erabel inevitably stumbled upon that small root, yet her body did not end up falling on the ground. An arm tangled around her waist and her body was carried to the owner of that arm.
As that arm remained firmly entangled upon her waist, Erabel raised her sight slightly by instinct and her eyes met with purple eyes.
Erabel's body was totally attached to Teress's body, if it wasn't because both were women, the elves behind them would have been shocked. However, having seen the mishap Erabel was saved it from, no one elf had anything to reproach Teress Ambroce for.
(What a fragile creature) -by holding Erabel, Taress was given the impression that Erabel's body was made of glass and that, if she only applied a little more force, she might break it.
While Erabel was completely dazed, Teress began laughing .
That caused Erabel to regain her composure and with some indignation she moved away from Teress.
"I-it's not funny…" –Erabel was upset to think that Teress was laughing about her clumsiness. The most outrageous thing of all was that, despite being laughing, Teress had not lost her composure and still maintained that aura of serenity.
"I'm sorry, it's just that you're so fragile, you reminded me of a princess from a fairy story" –even though her laughter had stopped, Teress seemed to be enjoying the situation.
Although Teress always found that kind of character absurd, her younger sister used to like those stories about fragile, weak princesses who needed to be rescued by some hero.
Hearing that, Erabel was forced to put her face out of Teress's sight. That comparison had inexplicably caused a shock in her heart, her face had become completely red.
Given her enormous talent and intelligence, Erabel was treated always with respect and admiration. Libel himself treated her as his equal, and he had never flattered her by using sweet words. The only person who ever treated Erabel with that kind of sweetness and delicacy was her father.
Therefore, to be compared with the beautiful princesses of fairy stories was something that Erabel would never have expected, not to mention that this comparison had been made by a person who inexplicably reminded her too much of her father.
"L-let's go on!" –unable to control her agitation, Erabel exclaimed those words without looking at Teress.
"Of course, Princess" –Teress had really enjoyed Erabel's reaction, so she didn't hold back her desire to bothering Erabel a little longer.
Erabel did not respond and simply stepped up the pace, before had been a simple comparison, but this time she really had been called 'princess'. Her ears reddened and she tried her best to control her agitation.
The elves exchanged glances; it was the first time they saw Erabel behave like that.
That strange event caused the elves to relax a bit, and they soon arrived at the human camp. What they found there was shocking enough to make them forget Erabel's strange behavior.