Coming out to the podium, which was located at the top of the main square, a couple of elves saw forest dwellers bowing before them, with a total number of about five thousand.
Many of those bowed down were crying, some were whispering something like a prayer under their breath, and the remaining majority, with their faces buried in the ground, were afraid to move again.
Sen and Leiko, looking around, saw five statues in the square, each of which was carved from a single piece of white marble and reached a height of twenty meters. All the statues were literally written off from the image of the high elves. Every detail, down to the decorations, was carved in white stone with filigree precision.
Also, each statue had numerous gifts, ranging from freshly picked flowers to rare fruits. It was clearly seen that the offerings were fresh and brought to the statues regularly, and the well-trodden paths near each of them also testified to the popularity of these objects among the locals.
All that he saw somewhat softened Sen's anger and gave weight to Lucas's words.
"Looks like they love us," Leiko said with a beaming smile, tugging at her brother's sleeve.
- What are you so happy about? It's news, half-breeds love her. Let go of my sleeve!
"Don't be a beech, brother, it pleases you too," the melodious sound of the sister's voice, for some reason now terribly infuriated Sen.
"Enough, we're on a mission, calm down.
Leiko did not react at all to her brother's angry voice, she knew perfectly well that she had hit the mark and that he was just furious trying to hide it.
But he was right about one thing, they were on a mission and she needed to be more serious, she didn't want to upset Vladyka again.
The girl, letting go of her brother's sleeve, removed the smile from her face and, standing next to him, looked ahead intently.
Sen, thinking that this was his victory over his sister, one of the very few, did not delve into the reasons for this humility of Leiko, simply considering that this is how the younger ones should react when they are reprimanded by the older ones.
Let's start, he thought to himself.
"Raise your heads and listen to me, forest dwellers.
Several thousand people, simultaneously raising their heads, turned their gaze to the speaker.
"I am Sen Aors, descendant of the original royal family, who ruled the elves from time immemorial. I am the current king and ruler of the elven nation, its permanent leader. And today I came to you in order to say the following.
Everyone was frozen in anticipation.
- The Great United Empire, of which we are a part, after many thousands of years again came to this mortal world in order to reign supreme over it. From now on and forever the desert of death, from its borders to its very foundation, is the territory of the United Empire, any crossing of its borders without proper permission will be punished by death. Non-recognition or slander of the Great Empire by any of the states will be considered a declaration of war. Our almighty master is generous and merciful, he leaves the hilly lands of the coast to the nations living on them and will not seek to influence them in any way. But! If anyone dares to violate the laws of the unshakable ruler, then only death will await him and his entire family.
"Rejoice, then, mortals, that you are neighbors with the boundless Sovereign, whose one word shakes the world!" I sincerely hope that your actions will be prudent and your behavior righteous. On behalf of our Lord, I wish you all the very best.
Without waiting for any reaction from the dumbfounded crowd, the two turned around and walked away.
***
High in the mountains on a lifeless slope stood a lone traveler and admired the sunset.
His dark robes fluttered in the gusts of wind, and his eyes were blinded by the last rays of the sun leaving the horizon.
"Everything flows, everything changes, even the stars that once seemed eternal change their appearance over time, go out and are reborn again ... Only I am eternal and unchanging.
The man turned around and lowered his gaze, saw below a huge, once erupting volcano, from the mouth of which an incredible hurricane was currently flowing, consisting entirely of hundreds of thousands of stones of various sizes.
"Yes…" came from somewhere out of nowhere.
"Hmm, I was expecting something more impressive, but it is what it is.
Ynmir raised his palm towards the raging hurricane, in which no-no yes, lightning flashed, caused by periodic collisions of stones with each other.
Suddenly, time seemed to stop, hundreds of thousands of stones that had just been spinning in a terrifying whirlpool, froze in place, unable to move even a millimeter.
The lord of life squeezed his hand and at the same moment hundreds of thousands of stones, whose size varied from the size of roadside boulders to ten-meter blocks, with a terrible roar turned into dust, slowly settling on the rock.
Then, the Lord waved his hand, and the strongest gust of wind literally blew away the giant clouds of dust along with the clouds.
Standing under the clear night sky, Inmir sighed deeply:
"The stars are twinkling so sweetly today, beckoning the wayward travelers with their beauty, I even felt like going downstairs ... But, the work does not wait, you need to visit these hardworking stone idols. I wonder how they will meet us.