Vaeria, Elf Capital City, Elvenwood,
A magnificent city built into a large segment of forest bustled with activity. The natural architecture, that built houses into trees and connected everything together with bridges and air-made walkways, was a work of unique craftsmanship. High and low, these beautiful tree houses spread out to form an entire city that was designed with the colours of green, brown and gold.
At the center of the city stood an incredibly massive tree that was hundreds of feet tall with branches and leaves that formed a thick overhead canopy, extending out nearly a hundred meters. Halfway up this gigantic tree, way above the rest of the city, a majestic Palace was constructed into its stem. This place was the residence of elven royalty, including of course, his majesty the current elf King.
In a large palace hall, decorated with beautiful plants, paintings and some furniture, a man was sitting on top of a large beautifully crafted, wooden throne. He donned a well-embellished tunic with gold work threading, a red surcoat, and a red robe on top of everything. He had long blue hair and a devilishly handsome face. On his head sat a thin golden crown with blue gems embedded all around the surface. This man was the king of the elves, Rimick Darkwood. Currently, his gaze was fixed onto a man that was kneeling before him on one knee. There was slight irritation in his expression but it was barely noticeable.
"It has been ten days." He said to the man who even trembled a bit when he spoke. "Ten days and no one is able to find my daughter? No one is able to find a single rebellious little girl?" His voice was deep and carried a depth of infinite authority.
The man's head was lowered to the floor as he spoke. "Your Lordship we have searched the entire city of Elvenwood, even banging on every door and lifting every blade of grass or leaf. The Princess is not anywhere within the city. I beg your Lordship to please send out a search--"
"Enough." The king Interjected. "There are rules that should and must be obeyed. It is not my responsibility to ensure that they are followed, they simply should be followed naturally without any question whatsoever. Whoever choses to break the rules must suffer the consequences." His pupils shifted to glance at three scholarly dressed elves standing to the side.
The three of them were Elders who served underneath the previous king. They were now Grand Elders, being direct advisors to the current king. They also wielded great power in the elf Kingdom, having say in what the King should and shouldn't do. It was almost as if the King himself was just a puppet to be manipulated.
These three Grand Elders were all already old, having long grey hair on their heads. That said, due to the exuberant characteristics of elves, they still looked rather young. If not for their Grey hair and aged voices one would assume they were as young as the king himself.
Hearing the King's words, these three Grand Elders smiled and nodded approvingly at each other. They hadn't even noticed the strange gaze the King had tossed their way.
The King's gaze fell back onto the kneeling man. "However, since it is uncertain whether she has broken any rules, we should give her the benefit of the doubt. Has Eric returned as yet?"
"No your Lordship." The man replied.
"Notify me as soon as he does. You may leave now." He waved at the kneeling man with a few flicks of his wrist.
The man stood, bowed and left.
After the man left, the three Grand elders approached the King. They looked at each other a few times before finally speaking.
The one in the middle spoke first. "It is about time we have a discussion pertaining to the reports we have been receiving in relation to the orcs." He said, not bothering with the topic of the King's missing daughter. "They are growing restless and we have put this off for long enough."
"Eldor is right." Said the Grand Elder to his left. "We have tried to maintain peaceful negotiations for many years however our people are always getting kidnapped, killed or injured by the orcs. They are slapping us in the face repeatedly, thinking we are cowards." His voice was filled with rebuke. "Times have changed Rimick, the old superstitions are dead and without basis. We cannot keep living in fear of legends whilst our people are suffering." He reasoned with conviction.
Rimick lowered his head in thought. What the Grand Elders were speaking about was a war against the orcs. They were right of course, about the orcs slapping them in the face. The negotiations were made to allow their people more freedom to travel the land of Terramis. The problem was that the orcs were divided into five clans and only two of the five were in agreement with the peace treaty. The other three were territorial and aggressive.
"The problem isn't that we are living in fear of a legend. Whether the blood dragon does really exist and is truly capable of resurrection is one thing. On the other hand, we are no match for the orcs in an all out war. Even if we were to attack a single province at a time we would still end up at a disadvantage." Rimick explained in disagreement.
Each kingdom was separated into regions known as provinces. At most, each kingdom had about ten to twelve provinces, except the human kingdom which had nineteen. Each province was maintained by a Proficient, who was a person or family responsible for keeping it in check. Proficients were basically guards with the highest authority.
For example Vaeria was separated into nine Provinces, each run by a noble elven family with powerful members and a strong leader. The head of the family was known as the Proficient for that specific province.
The same thing applied to the orcs, humans, dwarves and fairies, etcetera, with slight bits of variation in how they implemented their systems.
"How would we be disadvantaged if we use enough manpower to wipe them out instantly." The same Grand Elder to the left exclaimed.
Rimick shook his head. "We cannot rashly underestimate the orcs. Even if we somehow take over over a province, what happens when the remainder come together as one?" He asked with a severe gaze. "Do you think we stand a chance against them? You served underneath my father and know well of the tactics he used to keep the orcs in check. The only reason we're still in control of Vaeria is because they think we have hidden trump cards. If you go even further back, before my father's time, it was our unity with the humans that kept them at bay."
Eldor, the middle elder interjected. "Then is our unity with the dwarves just for show? With their help we certainly stand a chance against the orcs."
The other Grand elders nodded in agreement.
Rimick shook his head again. "The dwarves are allied with us mainly in relation to business and trade. They are peaceful, and are even more terrified of the blood dragon than anyone else. They made it clear that they didn't want to participate in any conflict, unless they had no choice. You all know all of these things so why are you insisting on having me explain redundantly." His voice was filled with irritation.
The elder who had been silent the entire time finally spoke. "There are ways to give the dwarves no choice but to take action." He said with a meaning full of maliciousness.
Rimick frowned deeply. "What exactly is your meaning Thanos?" He asked, a deep sense of unease overwhelming him. This Grand Elder was the one he was most apprehensive about. He was cunning and despicable in disturbing ways.
Thanos smiled. "Soon that important delegate of the Dwarven Unity Association will be coming to discuss further business relations with us. As you know, he is the son of one of their heads of state." He calmly stated.
Rimick, with a deepening frown glanced over the three Grand elders. "Yes I already know this. What is your implication by saying this?"
Thanos cast a glance at Eldor beside him.
Eldor's eyes narrowed as he said, "On his way back, if he were to get into an... accident, caused by the orcs..."
"Stop!" Rimick exclaimed with a troubled expression. "You wouldn't be talking about killing a delegate that came to negotiate further peace and business all with the intention to provoke a war, would you?"
Thanos smiled lightly. "Your words your majesty, not ours. I think that's an excellent idea."
"Does accident carry any other meaning?" He replied with a dark expression. "If you did this and it somehow backfires do you know what will happen as a result?"
Thanos nodded. "I do. But we don't have much of a choice now do we? The orcs have been assembling forces lately near the outskirts of our border. They aren't on guard duty that's for certain. They are planning something, something big. With the backing of the Dwarves we will have nothing to fear."
Eldor interjected. "With how much the orcs fear the dwarves they would certainly have to rethink their position if the dwarves decide to participate in a war."
Rimick's expression didn't change in the slightest. "This won't make the dwarves agree to ally with us if there is a war. This will directly start a war with or without us. The dwarves have the most powerful weapons in the land of Terramis, they don't need us to go to war. The reason the orcs fear them is precisely because of this."
Thanos was overjoyed to hear that exclamation. "It is precisely because of this that we should take such an action. By angering the dwarves we can potentially wipe out the orcs in one fell swoop."
Rimick shook his head. "I'm against the idea. This will not end well, for anybody. There are things that must be taken into consideration."
Thanos face dropped into a frown. "This isn't a matter of whether you are for or against the idea. We have to take a necessary step to ensure the survival of our people."
The two other Grand Elders nodded.
Thanos continued. "We hoped to discuss this with you privately amongst the the four of us and get your approval. Since you refuse to perform your necessary duty we have no choice but to call an assembly between all the Grand elders and elders to discuss the matter. As decreed by law, a vote will determine whether the action is necessary or not."
Bang!
Rimick slammed his hand into the armrest of the the wooden chair and stood up furiously. "Are the three of you threatening me?" A threatening aura exploded from his body engulfing the entire hall. The Palace trembled slightly under the pressure.
Thanos and the two other Grand Elders stood their ground, although, their expressions were a bit stiff and anxious.
"This is within our power as decreed by law. Are you threatening us, your majesty?" Thanos replied with a question.
Rimick did not calm down in the slightest. He ran his icy cold gaze over the three Grand elders and said coldly. "I'll see you all at the Assembly." Then he retracted his aura and walked away from the throne, heading to the balcony on the left.
The three Grand Elders looked at each other with bitter expressions.
"I don't understand why he has suddenly become soft and indecisive." Thanos sighed. "We definitely need him on our side if we're going to take over Terramis."
Eldor looked at the entrance to the balcony with lingering fear in his gaze. "He certainly is more powerful than his father."
"It's too bad he's only been able to conceive daughters so far." The final Grand Elder, whose name was Lancir, exclaimed.
On the Balcony, overlooking the city of Elvenwood, Rimick had a stern and helpless expression on his face. His pupil shifted about as he studied the entire city. 'Where are you A'ina? I hope you're safe and sound. All of this is my fault. If I had better control of this curse when you were younger... You wouldn't have grown up hating me like you do.' He looked at his open palm, which had a small dark flame within, and crushed it in a fit of anger.