The silver haired woman stared over the cliff's edge, her emerald eyes glistening in the dawn light. The golden hues washed over the thick forest below her, but she remained unimpressed at the sight. She sat daintily over the cliff, crossing her delicate and small fingers as her severe impression was unmoved, even by the small shaking elf standing behind her.
"What are you pondering at this hour, milady?" Her voice was trembling as just standing next to the woman caused an immense pressure in the air. It was almost crackling with magical pressure, making the air heavy and hard to breathe.
"Thinking." The tiny elf girl behind her was breathing heavily, sweat starting to grow on her brow. The older woman was deep in thought, as she often was these days. She had actually been on this cliff pondering her decision for the past hundred years, being checked on by the village below every day being brought food and water.
"Have you reached a decision?" A new voice rang out. She did not even have to turn around to know the woman standing behind her.
"It's been a few hundred years, hasn't it Sybil?" The dark haired woman relieved the trembling child and stalked towards the elderly elf. The young girl darted away, overwhelmed by the immense power the elder was emitting. Even though she was ancient, her beauty did not fade. She had smooth and angelic features, and was poised as if she was royalty when she was so far from it. The old elves dusty dark green dress, she wore it like it was the most elegant and wonderful ballgown in all of history.
"It has been quite a while milady," Sybil approached, in awe that even after four hundred years she looked exactly as she did. Then again, she had looked the same ever since Sybil was a child, nearly seven hundred years ago. Sybil's leather armour squeaked a bit as she approached the soundless elder, and they looked over the fading mountain side. Dusk was painting the sky purple and red, dimming a bloody light over the evergreens. It was beautiful, but also eerie.
"What brings you here after all these years?" The question was only a formality, she knew why Sybil was here.
"War is upon us. Will you intervene?" The elder remained very still and very quiet.
"It's not my duty."
"It is your duty."
"This is the exact argument we had four hundred years ago. I'm not going to budge." She flashed her brilliant green eyes to the dark elf, like light fighting against shadow. Opal versus onyx, earth against fire. Sybil could feel her face going red, a bit with anger and a bit because her emerald stare was so intense.
"Why won't you step in?"
"The Grandmasters today still have the soul of my old friends. I made them a vow that I will not meddle in their affairs."
"These Grandmaster's aren't your friends. They may have their essence, but they are being controlled by the corrupt monarchs and restrictive laws."
"Not all of them." Sybil grew enraged at her bluntness.
"What you four fought for all those years, it's all going to waste. Elves are still under the thumb of the giants, and we are suffering!" Those words caused the elder to flinch, curling her fingers into balled fists. It struck a nerve. The reason she had isolated herself stood clear, it was the shame and humiliation. Fighting for a cause, and having it be torn into something dark and sinister. She was the only one of her kind left, holding on just for pure spite and fear.
"Passing on would only make the problem worse, not better."
"But we need your power, your help!" Sybil collapsed next to her chair, grabbing her skirt in a plea. Her short kinky hair barely moved from the sudden gust of wind. The old woman just reached out. Sybil thought she would shove her off, but instead her snowy hand enclasped her own copper ones.
"How about a wager?" Sybil's jaw almost dropped.
"What wager?" The old elf smiled, but there was a gentle deviousness to it.
"I will not pass," Sybil deflated a bit, "But I will make my replacement."
"I'm sorry?" The old lady grinned at Sybil's confusion as the sun dipped below the mountains and darkness encased them.
"It's quite simple. I will part with half my soul so my replacement is made. If they hold onto their purity and kindness, I will pass fully. If they become corrupt fully," She looked to Sybil with darkness more thick than the night sky in her eyes. She looked bloodthirsty.
"I'll kill them and anyone they know with my own hands." Sybil's blood ran cold and she stiffened. She could feel the power pulsing from the woman under her fingertips, as if she was fighting an urge to kill.
"So," She grinned, showing wolf-like teeth that looked ready to consume Sybil.
"Do you accept my terms?