Chapter 23

“Oh my goodness, Entivala and Kat’ilth’ana!” she squealed, as she rushed over to give them a hug. “I didn’t think you would be visiting! It is so good to see you. How have you two been?”

I glanced at them looking for an introduction to the young woman and Entivala said, “This is Bril’tiva, and we all grew up together.”

As Katie broke the hug she said, “How are things Bril’tiva? It has been a little while since I left?”

Her eyes got downcast, “It hasn’t been all that good as of late, if I am going to be completely honest. The King and prince were removed from power, leaving only the queen to remain and she stepped down from the throne. There have been rumors that the king and prince were punished for doing illegal practices in regard to the Troth’ish’tal and finally got caught. It has created a massive upheaval in the kingdom as there were many, especially within the royal court, which had been part of those illegal acts.”

Feigning ignorance, I looked at her confused and asked, “What do you mean? What illegal acts are you referring to?”

“Well I’m not surprised you’re not aware of what I am talking about. In our culture elves are paired through the Troth’ish’tal,” Bril’tiva explained. “It has been a part of our culture for millennia, where females learn who they are destined to be with from a mystic called a Roth’titok. This has always been the practice, but the former king apparently had an issue with they way things were done and decided it no longer mattered. He apparently worked to circumvent them, even to change the destined partner of his own queen and had done the same thing for many members of his court. Apparently, there was use of magic and coercion to convince the women in question to smash their Troth’ish’tal and then decide to be with this new person. Once the details of how they circumvented the system became public, anyone who suspected it happened to them went to the Roth’titok to confirm that they were tricked. Once that was confirmed they made sure they were still destined for their original paired companion and got a new Troth’ish’tal. This has caused upheaval of many prestigious families, and we are still recovering.”

“I am vaguely aware of the practice of the Troth’ish’tal thanks to Entivala, but how did they manage to convince these female elves to marry people who weren’t their destined companion?” I asked, wondering if the means of how they had done it had been revealed yet.

“Apparently they used some strange spell that allowed them to convince their target into believing that their face was on the Troth’ish’tal,” she answered. “We have no idea where this spell came from, and council authorities are still trying to find out how many have been affected. Until they are certain, the Roth’titok are present at all weddings to confirm that the two married are destined companions moving forward. Mystics from the Capital have been brought in to work with the Roth’titok to identify all the couples affected by whatever means they can.”

I glanced at Entivala and saw shock and fear on her face, causing me to realize the issue that upset her. There was a lot being revealed that she didn’t know fully about, and she had said that her father had worked for the former king.

“We had heard that there were acts of civil unrest and even the talk of civil war that came from them being exiled, is that still the case?” I asked.

The elf shook her head, “While it did get pretty bad, things have calmed down since the Council sent their representative. The various noble houses were fighting for power, using their personal guards, as well as mercenaries, to try and take control. There were many casualties, with the worst being in the various villages at the outskirts of the kingdom.”

I glanced over at Katie and could see the unease in her face as she pondered what may have happened to her family.

“What about my parents?” Entivala asked, with a shaky voice. “Were they one of the pairings that were found to have been illegal?”

Bril’tiva shook her head, “I am not sure. Most of us regular people aren’t privy to that information. There were some that were made public at the beginning, especially those of whom were in the king’s security council and advisors, but your dad wasn’t mentioned from what I can remember. The only way to know for certain would be to ask them, since your family have always been very private about things. We haven’t really seen much of your family since this all went down though. As you can expect, this whole thing has caused a major stir among the entire kingdom.”

I laid a reassuring hand on Enti’s shoulder, “I am sure that there is a lot of confusion and unrest going around right now. Thank you for your insight on things Bril’tiva, it was greatly appreciated. We will head out and perhaps we can meet up before we leave for a meal so you guys can really catch up.”

Bril’tiva excitedly accepted the invitation and wished us a good day as we left the transport center. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting when we emerged from the building, given all the various fantasy literature I read growing up or the movies I watched. I wasn’t disappointed as we emerged into a vast forest, with towering trees that stretched hundreds of feet into the sky and went on for as far as the eye could see. Thick lush leaves covered the canopy, with streams of lights breaking through in spots. There were orbs hung from the various branches that illuminated the area and gave off the feeling of morning. Buildings of various sizes emerged from within the trunks of the trees, woven through in a way that looked artistically organic. There could be one large building, or multiple ones, connected by walkways or decorated by terraces.

Some emerged out of the trunk, like a growth, while others were deep inside the trunk itself. Some were open, allowing the air to flow through, while others had intricate stained-glass windows enclosing them. Detailed stories that were being shown in beautiful splendor. It reminded me of what would be seen in catholic churches, but in much more detail. It looked like they were enchanted to move, adding more to the majestic detail. Stone roads traveled between the trees, with lamps running along them illuminating the way. Flowers of different varieties popped up beside the roads, with various insects feasting on their nectar. There were carts and stalls that were placed along the roadways. For the most part there were elves, but I noticed the odd dwarf, orc, and even human moving among the people.

“Welcome to my home Pathios,” Entivala announced excitedly as we moved among the people. “I am so happy that I can finally share this with you and Amenthia.”

“Where are we exactly?” I asked as I looked around. “Where do you want to go first? You and Katie know this place better than either of us do.”

Entivala gestured in front of her, “We are in the Shel’vasta district along the eastern section of the city. My parents live about a half hour walk away from here. Given our participation with the changes that were forced onto this kingdom, I wonder if we will be summoned to the palace to speak with whomever is now in charge. I am not too worried, given that it is a council representative in power at this time, but still I wonder. As for where we should go, I think I need to check in at home, even though I dread seeing them. I want to make sure my sisters are okay, because regardless of our past, they are still my family.”

“We won’t have to worry about anything when we get there, will we?” Amenthia asked as she glanced around at the various guards we could see.

Entivala shook her head, “If it was still Torvius’ dad in power or the fighting was still going on, then I would be worried. If those who tried to have Kat’ilth’ana kidnap me tried something with us, they would risk the wrath of the council. They won’t risk it given their now weakened position thanks to this small little war they waged, but I wouldn’t let your guard down while we are here.”

“What about your folks Katie?” I asked, turning towards my sexy Dryad. “Is your village nearby?”

“Growing up we lived here, but once times got a bit harder, they were forced to move to the village of Vren’tik. It is one of the poorer ones along the outer area of the kingdom and they have struggled for a long time.”

“How long would it take us to get there?” Amenthia asked, as she pulled her friend into a side hug.

“If we take the grav tram, probably about two days,” she replied, giving the blonde a squeeze. “It would take at least two weeks to reach there by horse.”

“Grav tram?” I asked, as I hadn’t heard of that kind of tech here yet. “It sounds like something from my home, but I want to be sure.”

Entivala smiled and gave a quick nod of confirmation, “It is like the suspended trains that were on your world. Cars that hold around fifty people are suspended over a wooden track. Gravity magic is used to keep it in place and to propel the cars along. Most trams are three or four cars and run every fifteen minutes or so. There are larger ones that leave towards the other cities within the kingdom. The one we would have to go to would be Ruevil’tina which is a small town on the eastern edge, and then we will take some horses to Katie’s village.”

“Well that is good to know,” I replied. “For now, Entivala, lead the way and let’s go see your family.”

It was a pleasant walk through the city, and I enjoyed looking at all the unique architecture that sprawled through the city. It reminded me of the gothic styles of Earth but intermixed with a forest so large and vast. It was amazing to see a place that had only one style of architecture, since there were so many various types in Kortinos given the multiple influences from the various pantheons. Most of the elves we passed were pleasant or indifferent to us as we went. I did find it odd that there were no Dryads walking around here, given that there were various other races intermixed with the elves.

“Katie, sweetheart, where are the other Dryads?” I asked, glancing at her. “I had figured that there would be some.”

Katie looked downward and replied, “We aren’t allowed in this section of the city usually, as we are considered lower in the hierarchy than elves.”

I gave her a questioning look, “I thought you said that you used to live here and grew up with Entivala?”

She nodded slightly, “That was before the new policies that were enacted by the former king. There were all kinds of species all over the outer city, with Dryads, Nymphs, Sprites, Fairies, and other forest folk. When his dad died and he came into power, he began to segregate a lot of the ‘lesser’ races into the other districts. Within five years, placing this districted, and most of the other ones as elven only. Anyone not elven are just visitors to the district, or kingdom and thus are treated as such. I am not getting harassed as my collar denotes me a slave, and since you wear no collar, it is assumed you’re my master. Had the slave markings not been put on the choker, I would be questioned for being in this district. I could have visited, but the gold required is more than I could have made in six months when I was ‘working’ within the kingdom.

“My parents couldn’t stand the shame of losing their livelihood, so they used the little money they had left to head to Vren’tik. It is why Enti, and I lost touch after I left, it was also why I was easily swayed at the promise of being given the means to return to the city. My parents were struggling and when the fighting started, they were becoming more and more at risk of getting hurt or killed. When I found out that it started because of something Entivala supposedly did, I was livid and jumped at the chance to change my family’s fortune. I was blinded by fury at the danger she had brought to my family and was led to believe the choice she made was for selfish reasons. I am glad that I have since learned differently and that we were able to become friends again, but I still wish I had gained the means to help them.”

Entivala, placed her hand on Katie’s shoulder, “You need to move past the guilt you feel about tall of that sweety. You were set on the wrong path, with false information and false promises. You know better and are doing better now. Besides, I got my friend back out of all of that happened, so it is a win in my books. Try not to beat yourself up about this anymore.”

“I will try Enti, but I could have killed someone who didn’t deserve it and put you in a position that would have ruined your life. They wanted to punish you and that could have meant so many things. If I had gone through with it, I would have caused the death of three people and possibly worse. Serving Pathios doesn’t even come close to rectifying that possible mistake,” Katie replied with a sad smile.

“Let’s not dwell on this right now,” Amenthia suggested with a reassuring smile. “Let’s focus on what we will be walking into instead.”

Entivala nodded, “I can be sure that father will not be happy to see me if he is there. I have no doubt that with Tyr’s banishment of the ruling family, along with the infighting that had been caused by the power vacuum, so there will be bad blood in the air. We have no idea what effect the fight has that had on the politics in the region, or who could be watching out for us.”

I nodded and then had a thought that I quickly acted on, which was a surprise to the others. I walked over and politely got the attention of two elves that were passing by.

“I am sorry to interrupt your day, but I had a question,” I asked, drawing their attention from their walk. “I am just visiting, but I had heard that there were some changes and conflicts in this area recently. I just wanted to make sure that we didn’t have anything to worry about.”