Princess Kara Glt Zorun.
The name 'Zorun' and the title 'Princess' that she inherits are the symbolization of her new standing. Meanwhile, the 'Glt' is a name she chooses for herself meaning 'Wrath' in the ancient elven tongue. This is so that she will not forget her hate.
It has a nice ring to it and greatly deserving of her now high standing and great responsibility for her race. This name however is not something that should be a cause of celebration for her. At the news of the King's mission's imminent completion, she feels sad.
Kara doesn't need any confirmation whether it succeeds or not for she is confident of her King's abilities. Still, this saddens her heart.
In her heart, she feels unfair of the King's wisdom. Though she understands a bit of it, it still comes as unacceptable to her.
Though the growth of an elf's physique is five times slower than a human, their 'feelings' are not. As emotions and feelings are different, Kara cannot help but feel sad. She just cannot express it as an emotion, thus being unacceptable.
Distracting her from these thoughts is her work.
"Grandpa Allenwood, how are the others? Is it possible for them to hurry up on their task? We don't need any sentry or soldiers in the meanwhile. Our highest priority is to advance the Great Migration. The faster we set off for it, the better our race's survival is..."
In a humble hut, Allenwood the old alchemist respectfully addresses the now-acting ruler of this nameless Kingdom of elves. "Your highness, the distribution of the nutritional supplements is going well. The former Zaun captives are steadily recovering from their traumas. Though a few still remain mentally challenged, they will now be able to contribute to the labor."
Just behind Kara, standing respectfully, is Yirlung, his now guardian and advisor. Kara looks at him as if asking for his opinion. "What do you think, Grandpa?"
Yirlung seriously answers Kara. "Considering the additional elves as laborforce, we will be able to meet the quota within a month."
Kara nods approvingly as she glances at the map of Fendra province. Since returning to the Lorekleim Forest, she makes it her highest priority to initiate the Great Migration plan as her mentor instructs her to do.
At this point in time, the brave elf warriors under his majesty's command must be doing their best to complete their show of force.
In a political scene, it might just be righteous revenge by waging war as retaliation but is simply a justification. Just by achieving vengeance, it is possible for the elves to 'spark' a revolution. This is the boon of vengeance.
"Hmmm... How about the Fae Pilgrimage plan? How did the elderly elves take it?" Kara inquires Yirlung.
Yirlung confidently smiles. "Oh, fret not, princess. They eagerly accept the job. By winter, they will already be reaching the other elven forests. They will also take their time to visit human villages and cities to 'preach' the contents of Fae Legends..."
This is the killer move of the King's revenge plot. The Fae Legends is a collection of stories that his majesty personally pens. It possesses very frightening ideas that will endanger the current feudal system to which even young Kara feels a tiny bit reluctant to accept.
With the elderly elves being 'expiring' goods, the danger of them being hunted for slavery is almost inexistent. By disguising themselves as hermits or adventurers, they can safely traverse the human territories for this Fae Pilgrimage plan.
There are plans, many plans, with multiple layers... each of them are Kara's weapons for the future to come.
But in order for the elves to truly make it big, they have to survive first, thus the need for the Great Migration plan.
Kara exasperatedly sighs as she touches the little notebook that his majesty works hard to complete. It still has more pages for Kara to fill in, if an inspiration luckily comes to her mind, she can write more of her ideas.
'Guide to World Domination.' Embedding these words to the little notebook is this domineering phrase.
"Please attend to your duties... I will need some time to think. There cannot be any accidents..." At her words, Allenwood and Yirlung remove themselves from her presence.
The night already claims the sky, yet Kara does not want to sleep. She brings the paper lamp closer to her oak table. A magical species, Wisps, is fuelling the light coming from the paper lamp helping her to see better.
In her table is the Fendra province.
There are two escape paths for them. First is beyond the Great Anisia River where the dreadful Dark Forest lies. There are many monsters in the said forest making it a very dangerous egress point. There is no going outside of the Dark Forest once inside. This leaves Kara with the second option— the Great Anisia River itself.
Kara scrutinizes the map tracing the Great Anisia River. "Where should we escape to? Hmmmm..." The need to 'escape' comes from the fear of being a target for the angry Beyronald Kingdom.
It is inevitable that they will be an object of scrutiny assuming the earned notoriety by his majesty's band of elves.
"First, let's list the requirements... Hmmm... This will be difficult... The farther from human activity, the better... We will need a place for us to settle where we can be sustainable. It is also possible for us to adopt a nomadic lifestyle, however, if we have farms, and implement a feudal system, we can be more stable and can easily take root. The population is a problem though..."
When it comes to a sustainable lifestyle, Kara can only think of hunting. Kara looks over at the Dark Forest where all manners of beasts exist.
A daring plan forms in her mind. She looks around her seeking his majesty, her mentor, so that she can brag about her awesome idea. But realizing that the chances of his majesty's survival are low, she feels sad quickly.
After drafting her ideas for a long night, she finally finds time for herself to sleep. When she wakes up, it is already high noon.
She quickly eats the lunch that Yirlung brings her, and after that, she comes to supervise the labor force with enthusiasm.
As someone with an eye on things, she is able to assist in correcting the errors in the creation of the rafts. Young elves around her age are also doing their best in contributing to the task at hand.
Initially, there are about twenty elves in their small settlement near the Great Anisia River. It's a mixture of juvenile, elderly, and crippled elves. With this workforce, it is understandable why the building of rafts is so slow.
Currently, they only have two rafts on them. They are sturdy and big enough to carry a dozen of elves. Not to mention surviving the strong rapids of the Great Anisia River.
There are at least sixty elves more adding to their numbers. All of them are elves who are formerly captives of the Zaun barony. Those who are able to awaken their intelligence much faster from the psychological trauma now intimately involve themselves in the building of more rafts.
Of course, not all of them are completely cured. Even the elves who are volunteering themselves to work still have hidden scars in their hearts. They will heal in time. The important thing is that they are alive.
Fortunately, they still have stockpiles of food courtesy of his majesty's foresight. With this, they can focus more on the building of rafts.
Allenwood works as their settlement's doctor, aiding in healing the still-recovering elves. The old alchemist also contributes by being the settlement's cook. He also makes some tonics to reduce muscle pain in his free time.
Yirlung trains the dull lesser elves who are weirdly not recovering from their trauma, training them as soldiers to contribute to the safety of their settlement by hunting wild beasts which might threaten elven lives.
The dazed elves whose mental faculties are quite hurt all end up in Yirlung's hands. Though the 'Aphrodisiac on them are long cleansed, they are still in a 'broken' state. It is strange that all of them are males.
In total, they have 9 elf soldiers under Yirlung, 33 elf patients in the care of Allenwood, and 56 working elves. This totals 88 elves.
"This will do..." Kara makes mental calculations considering the food stockpile, the consumption of food, the time of rafts' completion, and the number of rafts they will need to accommodate the elves... it is safe to assume that they will be done in two months' time.
"Tsk," Kara bites her lips in frustration. "It is still not enough..." In two months' time, they might be dead already if the King's army comes marching at their forest.
"PRINCESS! PRINCESS!" Shouting at her from a distance is a familiar elf. It is the elf woman who is among the few who recover the earliest from their Zaun traumas.
The elf without discretion announces with vigor the too-abrupt news. "THE KING, HIS MAJESTY, IS HERE!"