Torrin sat on the floor against the wall between the two washrooms, examining his core to see how much mana he'd used during the fight. People could instinctively feel how much mana they had, but with the small, pea-sized Saen floating in the center of his mana core, it made it difficult for Torrin to pinpoint an exact amount without checking.
He was surprised to see that the training with Tillien and his match with Dawn hadn't drained too much of his mana. After his awakening trials, Torrin had feared that controlling the elements would cost him an extensive amount of mana. Thinking back to what all he'd done in the test, he guessed it made sense that he'd used much more mana then compared to now.
He activated the Absorb Rune on his core to replenish mana for the first time since he formed it. He felt the mana in his surroundings stir as his core began to spin rapidly. Instead of him pulling threads from it, this time mana soared through his pathways and his core gobbled it up greedily. Within a few minutes, his core was completely full once more. He watched as the tiny sphere of Saen inside his mana core pulled in a few threads of mana, wondering what he was going to do with it.
The sound of a door opening and closing disturbed his thoughts and he opened his eyes to take in the princess. She had wrapped a towel around her head to help dry her hair and she wore a simple flowing robe. A soft smile appeared on her face when she saw Torrin.
"Thank you for waiting on me, are you ready?" She called out as she approached.
Torrin nodded, standing to his feet. He noticed he was only half a head shorter than the princess, making him realize just how much the Saen infusion had changed his body. Not only were his eyes golden now, his hair was completely black, and he'd also gotten much taller than before. He had to be a few inches over five feet at this point. Looking back to the princess he added another oddity to his count, her height. All of the elves he'd seen were very tall, and she was much shorter than average.
"Please. Lead the way." Torrin said, waving toward the exit.
It was a bit chilly outside and there was a faint hint of music still lingering through the forest as they veered off the dirt pathway Torrin was used to. The pair walked in silence for a long while before the princess finally spoke up, "So, are you wanting to go to the pocket dimension in a couple days?"
Torrin shrugged, looking towards her, "I would love to, but I don't think it's up to me."
She nodded, "Well, I'll try and see what I can do. We could use someone like you in there... Someone who has actually experienced real combat before."
His brows furrowed and the princess let out a soft laugh, "No one told me anything, Rin, don't worry. I can tell because of the way you moved while we fought. Most of the younger elves around here panic in a tense fight, or don't move enough to get an advantage in their positioning," She looked into his eyes, seeming to be searching for something, "But you, however, move as if you've fought many battles. Only our elites move like that, and maybe the elves who have been through the pocket dimension and come out stronger for it."
Torrin let his tense muscles relax slightly, thinking 'Am I just looking for something that's not there? Is she really just an Elven Princess?'
He chuckled, "You could say that, I guess. My master's training methods are definitely unorthodox."
"The Silver Witch, right? I've only heard stories about her and Virtus..." as she continued, her demeanor changed slightly, "Mostly tainted by what they did."
Torrin cleared his throat awkwardly, before asking, "And what was it that they did?"
The princess looked at him for a long moment, causing him to feel uncomfortable once more. He waved his hands in front of him, "Never mind. It was stupid of me to ask, forget I said anything. It's obviously something that hurt your people."
After a moment, she let out a soft sigh, "It's fine, Rin. It was long before I was born, anyway. The people of Virtus did many great things for my people, like helping us create the training hall and the testing stone. They taught us various things about runes that we had never heard of before, changing our understanding completely," She paused a moment letting the information sink in, "It was what they did as they left that changed the way we viewed them..."
Torrin walked with the princess in silence for a long time, wondering if she was going to continue. After a while, he began thinking of all the possibilities himself. Did they kill someone? Or maybe they stole some ancient relic from the pocket dimension. His thoughts were interrupted by the princess letting out a long breath.
"I had an older sister. I never met her, as she was gone long before I was born." The change in subject confused Torrin, but the princess continued before he could say anything, "She was a strong mage, with an affinity for wind, water, and earth. She was a blue core mage and she could manipulate sound and even plants would listen to her call." Torrin's brows raised in surprise. He had no idea that people could manipulate plants.
"She was wonderful, at least I think so from the stories I've heard. She was groomed to take the throne one day and the people loved her. She only had one glaring flaw, a need for adventure. Every year she would enter the pocket dimension, but she felt that it wasn't enough. She wanted to leave the forest, but that is forbidden due to what happened long ago between Elven kind and Humans."
As she spoke more and more, Torrin began to dread what was coming next, "Virtus changed all that. She saw in them a way to escape what she thought of as a prison, and she took it... When Virtus planned to leave, Dallinel left with them, against my parents strict orders under the threat of banishment for Virtus and herself. They told them if they took her, they would never be allowed back and from then on, would be considered enemies of the Elven race." She shook her head sadly.
"My sister apparently didn't care. She claimed that living in this place was worse than death. Our race was stagnant and would never be able to reach the heights we once soared. In a way, what she said was right, but my parents refused to hear it. Karth tried explaining that if my parents allowed her to leave, Virtus would bring her back any time she wanted..." Dawn shook her head as she continued.
"Hearing him defending Dallinel, caused my mother to fly into a rage and attack him. The battle was brutal, but luckily, no one died. At the end of it, instead of checking on my mother or the other elves involved, Dallinel went to Karth's side. My mother banished them all on the spot and they were never heard from again...until of course you were sent here by your master. I think the reason was because your master stayed out of it and even helped end the fight, so she's still viewed in a slightly less-negative light compared to the rest of Virtus."
Torrin cursed Grams and everyone up and down her generational line, 'You old hag! You couldn't have warned me that you guys kidnapped an Elven Princess?!'
Torrin shook his head, "I'm sorry to hear that... uh... I had no idea, truly. No wonder Ollivel attacked me on sight."
Dawn laughed, "It's not your fault. And Ollivel was probably following my mother's orders or something. Though he seems gruff, he's a sweet old elf. He would never attack someone without provocation, maybe not even Karth himself."
Torrin shrugged, "Still seems like Karth and Virtus are the assholes they've made themselves out to be."
"Why do you say that?" She asked, brows raised.
Torrin shook his head, not trusting the elf enough to explain, "It's nothing, just some things my master has told me about them."
She didn't press further, making Torrin relax slightly. Soon they came to a large stone castle standing in a large clearing in the woods. In the dark night, with trees covering up most of the sky, Torrin couldn't see the full details. In the moonlight he saw that crenelations ran across the top of it, with towers raising from the roof. It was definitely less ostentatious than the one the human queen resided in, but he couldn't fully compare them in the dark.
Dawn led him through the final trees and he got a better look. It was as tall as the one in the capital, but it lacked the myriad balconies and windows, as well as the grand mural on the front. Vines sprang up from the ground, covering most of the castle. Small plants giving off a fragrant scent ringed the outside of the structure, with two elven elites guarding the entrance. They stood still as statues, examining the approaching pair with narrowed eyes, their hands resting on sheathed blades at their sides as they held spears in the other hand.
As Torrin and Dawn came into the light, they relaxed slightly. Dawn smiled at the guards, greeting them in a gentle voice, "Hello Ulven. Hello Dorrivel. I hope it has been a quiet night for you. I'm just showing our honored guest to his room."
The eyes of both elven guards looked from Torrin to the towel wrapped around Dawn's head, brows scrunching slightly, before bowing, "Wonderful evening to you, Princess Dawnel. We hope you enjoyed the festivities." They spoke together as if they were reading from the same page.
"Oh, none of that!" She laughed, a wonderful tinkling sound, "I've known you since I was a child, please, you don't need to be so formal when speaking with me," she reprimanded gently, waving away their respectful greeting.
Torrin said nothing as he followed her through the front entrance, a pair of doors carved from huge stone slabs. The inside of the castle was not what he'd expected. Instead of the luxurious, over the top display of Queen Lisson's palace, he walked through a brightly lit hallway with a simple rug covering the stone floor down the center. A few portraits of former Elven rulers hung on the walls and plants were a staple decoration--sitting in small clay in stone vases atop small plinths-- but it lacked the gold and marble of the human palace.
Dawn led him toward a flight of stairs in the main receiving room of the castle, passing a few small couches and tables in the center of the room. A fire was lit in one corner and Torrin was unsure if it was for heat or just for display, as the room was already heated softly by a script of runes that Dawn pointed out as they went. They took the stairs quickly, and Torrin was led down a hallway to the left of the stairs. They walked a short distance down and Dawn stopped beside the door of a room on the right side of the hallway.
"This will be your room during your stay," Dawn said with a smile, "It is heated with runes like the rest of the castle and you can turn that off if it gets too warm by opening the panel on the left side of the room. Have a nice night, Rin. Thank you for the spar earlier...I'm glad you showed up here."
"Thank you, Princess Dawnel," he turned sheepish at the glare she sent him, "uh, Dawn... Thank you for the spar and for being so hospitable to a stranger. I'm glad I'm here as well, I hope you have a nice night also."
She beamed a smile at him, "Goodnight!" She said, waving at him and walking toward a hall on the opposite side of the stairs.
Torrin shook his head, opening the door and taking in the room. He saw a comfortable looking bed, with a small night stand beside it, and a small bookshelf with a few books in a language he didn't understand lined the back wall. A desk sat opposite the bed with a small stack of paper and writing materials. Torrin entered the room, shutting the door and moving the lock into place.
He shook his head, trying to rid it of his wandering thoughts as he sat at the desk and took out Grams' journal. He'd been curious about the thing for a while now and wanted to take a look at it. Just as he opened it, a giant yawn split his face. Sighing, he closed the journal and returned it took his ring. Studying it would have to wait until tomorrow, he thought, as he changed into a simple shirt and shorts, before laying on the comfortable bed--falling into a dreamless sleep almost instantly.
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Dawn sat in front of her mirror as she removed the stupid towel from her head. Her fingers smoothed back her hair, removing a few tangles. She traced her ear with one hand as she reached for a brush with the other. She looked at herself in the mirror, brushing her black and silver locks behind her ears. They were pointed at the top, just like every other elves... but the point was not as pronounced and much smaller, about the size of a human's.
She shook her head, clearing her mind of her distracting thoughts as she reached toward a drawer in her vanity. She pressed her hand against it, allowing her mana and will to enter into a hidden rune on the bottom of it. With a soft click, she opened the drawer and took out an amulet from within. She sighed, standing as she placed the piece of jewelry around her neck.
She looked at herself once more in the mirror, before allowing her hair to fall back over her ears. She walked from her room and headed down the hall. The stairs were cleared and she headed toward a hallway off the main room of the castle. She took the turns quickly, heading down many different hallways before coming to a door.
She put her hand on the door and followed the same process as she had with her drawer and with a click she was inside, locking the door and summoning a ball of fire mana for lighting. She flowed down the stairs at a quick pace, not wanting her parents to catch her down there. Down in the only place you could contact the outside world.
Soon enough, she reached the bottom of the stairs and opened another rune-locked door. She walked in quickly, closing the door and approaching a chair on the left side of the room. Sitting in the chair, she looked at the screen on the wall. Her eyes lowered, seeing that there was already a communication amulet within the rune-array that subverted the anti-teleportation and communication formations throughout their forest.
"Most likely the one to contact the human queen..." she mumbled to herself, hatred tinging her words.
She removed the amulet from around her neck and replaced the one in the array. She quickly sent mana into the array, activating the amulet and the screen before her. A few moments later a man's face appeared on the screen.
The man smiled sweetly at the young elf, laugh lines crinkling on his face. He looked to be a middle-aged man with an average face, not handsome nor ugly. His salt and pepper hair was cut short atop his head.
"Hello, Dawn... I hadn't expected you to contact me. How are you, my girl?" The man's voice was deep and when he spoke, it caught your attention.
"I'm fine. Listen. He's here." Dawn said, rushing her words.
"Who is he, darling? I can't read your mind." The man chuckled softly.
"Quit fucking around! Him! Torrin Lark or Sesh or whatever the hell you want to call him. The Silver Witch actually sent him here. I know you said that she might, but she actually did! What the fuck do I do?" Dawn asked, her voice tinged with slight panic.
The man held up his hand, motioning as if to assure a wild animal, "Calm down, dear... There is no reason to act so flustered. When did he arrive? Has he realized anything about who you are?" The man's voice was calm, allowing Dawn to take a few deep breaths to calm herself.
She shook her head, "No. I don't think he knows anything. He didn't even know why Virtus was banished from this place."
"Good... Good... I wonder where he was for the last year, then..." The man nodded slightly, scratching at the stubble on his chin, "Looks like Balencia hasn't changed. Still hiding things from those who depend on her." he chuckled merrily.
Dawn began feeling a bit queasy, nervous about the whole situation, "I need to know what to do about him."
The man laughed, "For now, you need to focus on getting him into the pocket dimension. It should be opening soon... Balencia is trying to draw us out with some farce of a tournament, using him as her main game piece. What you need to do is simple once he's in the other realm... Just make sure he doesn't come out. If you can convince everyone that he died in there, or better yet, kill him yourself... No one will worry further, and my plans will be much simpler if Balencia's only viable piece is off the board."
An evil smile lined the man's face, making Dawn shudder slightly, "Okay. I can do that, I think," she nodded once, "But he's strong... Far stronger than you had guessed. He can control all four elements, and has already figured out how to work ice. I... I lost to him in a sparring match earlier." Dawn said nervously, not wanting to disappoint the man before her.
The man waved his hands, as if that could make her concerns drift away on the wind, "Don't worry, dear... Just make sure he can't get back through the portal. Once I make sure Balencia is dead for good, we will retrieve you, okay?"
She nodded once more, feeling a bit better at the thought of leaving this damn forest, "Okay, I will... See you soon."
"Good bye, my dear. Stay safe... Be careful around that boy. From what George has told me he has an indomitable will." The screen went blank and Dawn let out a long breath. She quickly switched the amulets and tore her way back to her room. 'Only two years... Two more years and I can finally leave this place.' She thought with a wicked smile.