(Current Location -
Place: Ambrosia, Kingdom of the elves in the eastern continent
Time: 6 hours ago)
The throne room had fallen silent as everyone waited for Aina to express her ideas, and just as she was ready to speak, a large wave hit the kingdom, causing the ground to tremble.
As lightning cracked up the skies and heavy clouds descended, all of the council members, who were seasoned warriors, could feel the strength of the vibrations.
No one could speak a single word, and even standing was difficult. This lasted for two minutes before the tremors subsided and the skies and ground returned to normal as if nothing had occurred.
They hurriedly peered through the palace windows, frightened about the effects of the earthquakes, but nothing they expected had transpired. There were no destroyed structures or even apparent cracks in the earth. Although there appeared to be some concern among the citizens, no mass catastrophe had occurred.
Even the monarch was perplexed as to what had just happened when a mist of fog appeared out of nowhere, and everyone in the room, including the king, knelt down on their knees.
Aina was generally cool and composed in any scenario, even during the previous earthquakes, but this sight appeared to startle her. Her father had never bowed his head to anyone before, much less kneel.
She looked towards Arnold who shared the same puzzled expression as hers. As the mist faded, a young man who seemed to be in his twenties came to vision.
He had sharp pointy ears and dark black eyes with a classic quiff hair-style and a walking stick that seemed to be a wizard's wand, but made of a tree branch.
He looked quite energetic and young but Aina was sure that he was anything but young. She already had an idea on this mysterious man's identity and as if clearing her suspicions, her father, the king spoke out, "Greetings, respected greater being and guardian of the elven kingdom, 'Alvin' ,"...
Hearing this caused both Aina and Arnold to fall on their knees. How couldn't they? Afterall they were in the presence of a greater being, a demi-god and most of all, their guardian.
With her level of intelligence, Aina easily guessed that the guardian's appearance may be linked to the tremors she had experienced earlier.
"Oh, you kids really have amazing knees Aegnor," Alvin said with an unexpected burst of laughing.
Aina was squinting her eyebrows at this, just how old was the guardian to call her father a kid, and this gesture was not missed by Alvin as he spoke, "The future generations of the elves sure are interesting, to think a small girl would be trying to gauge me...", he again burst out a weirdly odd laugh saying this.
Aina simply pouted in denial as the king gave her a stern look.
"How can we be of use to you?" Beatrice said this time, "O protector of the elves?"
Suddenly, Alvin's face became solemn, and the atmosphere began to darken as he continued "The tremors you just felt were felt all across the cosmos; these waves rocked the entire globe, and the magnitude of their strength was beyond my comprehension. Go! Find the priestess right now, since a change is on the way, and it has already begun "..
After saying this, Alvin vanished, leaving the king and council members perplexed. Who was that monster, with power beyond even a demi-god's comprehension?
"Your Majesty, I would like to personally journey to the central continent to fulfill this mission," Aina said in the middle of the turmoil.
The quiet was deafening, and everyone could hear it. "When the earth shakes, the sun of the elven kingdom will emerge," Aina said again, "if destruction is his choice, thou would behold the harbinger of death, if creation is his choice, a new rise awaits, what stays unchanging would be he will write his own path and thou cannot stop him."
"The only elven prophesy created by the world tree itself, would do you advise, princess Aina," Egbert interjected.
"What I can say for certain is that the world will undoubtedly alter as a result of his coming, whether for the better or for the worse, no one can predict," Aina continued. Whether he will bring life or death, we don't know but what we do know is that we would have to either be with him or against him."
"The prophecy suggests that the chosen one cannot be stopped, so being against would no longer be an option, and not knowing his identity, I can only assume the sun of the elven empire to be the heir of the priestess by the hint the guardian gave us," she continued, as the council members, the king, and Arnold listened intently.
This was shocking!...
Till date, no priestess had ever left her duty and had an heir as it was believed that only a pure maiden could serve as the priestess.
During the great conflict between the humans and the elves 13 years ago, their priestess had to come to the battlefield since she had the capacity to heal and offer power to all elves within a set distance from her, and it was during the confusion that one of the human kingdoms' generals kidnapped her.
Fortunately, the general just saw her as a skilled healer and thus made her his concubine, which was rather common in wartime.
"What do you require, Aina?" the monarch said this time, interrupting everyone's conversation.
Egbert burst into the conversation, shouting, "You cannot accept this, Your Majesty; it is just too hazardous. Instead, I believe one of the five commanders should be dispatched "..
Despite their dislike for Aina, the council members all agreed that she was an invaluable asset for the future of Ambrosia.
"As much as I hate to admit it, but the humans are now stronger than us, and we will not be able to beat them in a head-on conflict, the only advantage we have is the information provided to us by the prophecy..." said the king, his magnificent aura unleashing once more.
Before continuing, the monarch took a quick survey of his surroundings "We must locate the chosen one before the humans, which necessitates strategic preparation, and Aina is the most dependable when the chips are down. "I trust my child," the monarch said after a little pause, "Beatrice!" "..
"As you order, your majesty," Beatrice went down on her knees, "I will escort the princess myself, along with a million of my own troops."
Before continuing, the king gave a satisfied nod "A thousand royal guards will be dispatched to safeguard the princess, who will be in charge of the mission. Go, my child, and locate the elves' only hope and bring back the heir along with the priestess "..
Aina bowed and hurried away, followed by Beatrice, to gather the soldiers and prepare for the trip. They needed to hurry since the clock was ticking and each moment was precious.