The winter in the Dark Forest is harsh. The snow is like white ash enveloping everything on its path, and even the tall strong trees are victims to the harsh cold of winter. Alas, the trees endure it with all of their might proving themselves to be as tough as they can be.
Thankfully, the tree houses are as durable as the trees.
The elves manage to build their houses just right in time for the winter. They fear the lack of food and heat, but the Elf King has foresight. Though the elves don't know where all of the supplies really come from, it won't stop them to praise the Elf King who is now reportedly in slumber.
In a small tree house, friends of elves form a clique of their own to take occupancy of one of the relatively bigger tree houses. Hot coals barely with any flames, but just pure heat takes center stage in their tree house. The elves are very careful in handling the fire afraid of unwanted accidents.
There is also enough ration for them to stave off hunger until the end of winter, though may appear little, there is just enough for all of them to not die.
"I hate the winter." One elf complains, and the others echo.
The elves are quite unfamiliar with winter. Truth, in fact, they hate it with vengeance. The elf tribes since times past if to choose their settlement will definitely choose one that has a tropical climate.
However, for whatever reason, their current elf chieftain, the so-called Elf Princess, is choosing this part of the forest where it experiences the hateful four seasons. It is bad enough that they are in the Dark Forest, but then… This!?
"Damn, why do we have to suffer like this?" A crippled elf missing his left leg and is using a crutch complains. He is originally an inhabitant of the Lorekleim Forest, and though winter does influence the forest in those parts a little bit, it is not as harsh as the current winter knocking by their roofs.
"Ugh… If only elves can hibernate…" An elf teen who is initially a captive of the Urden estate similarly voices her dissatisfaction.
From there, the elves one by one, voice their complaints.
"It doesn't make sense. Does the princess have a purpose for relocating here on the southernmost edge of the Dark Forest, I mean from what I hear, the northern winters are far more devastating, but just the winter here alone is too much for me…"
"I agree… Did the princess suddenly lose her brain cells or something?"
The discourse continues, and more rude remarks scatter from their conversation. Winter is cruel, and it will not choose its victims preferentially whether it be young or old. The frostbites are so dangerously cold they will kill an elf's cells within minutes. A single mistake will lead to death, so with vigilance, the elves take care of themselves in the fervent hope of survival.
At the end of the winter, more than a quarter of elves meet their demise. For some peculiar reason, the casualties from the winter have a certain pattern to them… without even thinking too much about it, many of the elves realize what is wrong— most of the dead elves are crippled— those who have amputated limbs mostly.
A conspiracy theory starts forming in the elves' hearts.
Gathering all of the elves in an open clearing just below the tallest tree are the mass populace.
Kara standing on a branch of the said tallest tree makes her address. "We survived," She says in an unfeeling manner. She stands imperiously on a tiny branch, looking down at the other elves with arrogance.
Her arrogance is like a shield she conjures out of thin air, and the powerful oppression coming just from the sight of her alone is enough to define the regal vestige of the Elf King.
The elves are like sheep, and she is their shepherd.
For this, Kara must make hard decisions. No longer a shred of hate or vengeance in her heart, only a pure desire for survival. For this, it is necessary that she must have an iron fist ruling over these elves who are so lacking in motivation.
The elves' psyche is so pathetic and is lacking any 'aspiring' aspect to it. While there are exceptions, brave elves, and special elves, the majority of the elven race is inferior. So this is what Kara decides to do, to remove those who are most inferior from the inferior.
"To be frank, we have enough resources to feed everyone, and keep them safe from the cold."
Speaking purely on facts, Kara confesses her intentions to the crowd.
"I distributed the resources in a preferential manner. Those who have cripples in their clique receive far lesser resources resulting in the current death toll. And as I expected, they died very easily." Kara directly assumes the role of a murderer not daring to reveal the fact that she has Allenwood concoct some sleeping pills that can indirectly cause death.
Several elves lie coldly inside their mounds
"The Survival of the Fittest, only through this that we elves can survive. For this, we must shed our weaknesses. We don't have the luxury of catering to our weaknesses for we are at rock bottom.
"At the current stage, those who don't have any use, and are only extra mouths to feed will be liabilities to us. This is a necessary sacrifice.
"The Dark Forest is a dangerous place, and winter should be the safest season for us to roam, and exploit the resources we gathered. I swear, only this winter will be harsh. I swear only this winter will we have deaths. I swear on my name."
Not a cry or complaint comes from the elves gazing at her from below. At the sight of the soldiers mainly Lafira and her elf sisters wielding their steel, the elves don't really have any choice but to comply.
"Is this really the right choice?" From the elves below, Naya softly voices her doubt.
Kara shakes her head clearly aware of her wrongs. "No, this is not the right choice, but the necessary one. As a clairvoyant, you should know… All I need is a little bit of reasonable deduction for me to decide on this choice."
Naya knows for she did peer to the future of the winter ahead… And she knows Kara is right… But in her own personal opinion, the one she sees in her 'vision' is far more preferable than this… In that future, the cripples who have no use in their community manage to survive, at the price of more suffering.
An elf's 'phantom pain' is different from the human sort. Elves are physically sensitive to a lot of things, and it is the same for pain. With phantom pain, a person feels pain where the missing body part should be. For elves, the pain should be so excruciatingly painful that they will most often go into shock.
In Naya's opinion, Kara's mercy killing is too extreme.
Naya… can only respect Kara's decision.
However, the real 'truth' of the matter is it is not Kara's decision, but the Elf King's compulsive desire for perfection. From the little book 'Instruction Manual' by the Elf King are the series of 'commands' for Kara to receive in order to attain perfect progress.
At this point, Kara is becoming the Elf King's shadow, a dark entity that is bit by bit swallowing the light.
In Kara's defense, this is her own choice. The King himself did emphasize to her that if she ought to make a 'negative' or 'terrifying' decision in the duration of the King's sleep, she just has to make the Elf King her scapegoat.
Tell them, it is the Elf King's decree. Tell them, it is the Elf King's ideology.
One of Art's greatest mistakes is giving full autonomy in governance to Kara. Art's conscience seems to want to rebel against the will of its owner, explaining his desire to protect little Kara from herself by labeling her as the 'hope' of the elves— again, hypocritical… and more as naïve as 'becoming hope' without Kara's own knowing is having adverse effects to herself.
Without their knowledge, Kara is developing a messiah complex.
But the Elf King Art cannot see to it, and outside of his expectations, Kara shoulders the 'blame' for the 'decisions' that she will make, and will be making under the influence of the Elf King's invisible spell.
Just by existing alone in Kara's heart, the Elf King is becoming a demon.
"From now on, I declare my autonomous rule as effective monarch!" Kara's voice booms in the white Dark Forest, an ironic scene that the elves cannot even appreciate.