Chapter 3

A small cave in 'I Bein Taure'...

Damn that Jorgan. Damn Idhrenion too. Things had not gone as she had intended. Delilah had used the last bit of energy stored in her crystals to perform spells of healing upon herself. She was no longer in danger of death, but she still wasn't fully healed. How could she have had such overwhelming numbers on her side, and still lost? Idhrenion was partly to blame; Delilah had no idea he could wield battle magic so well from such a long distance away. He had managed to neutralize her rather effectively. Had Delilah been able to use her magic, they would have likely won the confrontation.

Then there was the Outworlder himself. Not only had he been a formidable fighter in his own right, he had carried an object of immense power. What was that weapon he pulled, that made noises like a thunder clap? He had used it to dispatch 6 of her men in short order. Truly, a formidable and deadly weapon. Was that the power of Middle Earth? If so, then much had changed since her ancestors left that world, so very long ago. If that weapon was an example of some magic the people of Middle Earth had developed, then no wonder Bar-Abaddon was so desperate to get Aelfric away from the Elves.

The other outworlder, the one the Elves called 'I Kallo', he too had developed powerful and deadly weapons. Or at least that was what the legends reported. It was said that he had developed weapons for the Elves that directly utilized the power of the magic field, eliminating the need for long, time consuming spells in order to achieve devastating and highly destructive effects.

Battle magic was, by its very nature, designed to be used quickly, since one didn't have time to build up a large amount of the power or to stand around chanting without protection. The weapons of the other outworlder had changed things, though. They had been able to quickly utilize massive amounts of energy from the magic field, and then release it again as beams of powerful destructive energy.

There had been the small ones, not unlike what the new outworlder had used, based on description from the legends. They alone had been very deadly by themselves, capable of firing deadly blasts of energy repeatedly, seemingly without limit. A single strike from that weapon was enough to kill, unless one was shielded by something strong enough to block it.

Beyond those had been the staff weapons, utilized as both close combat and ranged weapons. They had been even stronger than the small magical beam weapons, capable of blasting through the walls of stone buildings. During the last great war the Elves had been outnumbered by the combined forces of the humans of Stygia, and the Orc hordes that arrived from Lower Earth, with their Demon masters. Their armies had marched against the Elves' capital city and final stronghold, Laurina Ost, fully expecting to crush them with their superior numbers and the might of demon magic.

Those staff weapons had made each Elven and human warrior that had fought against them seem like 10 or more warriors, making the siege of Laurina Ost a very bloody and costly attempt. Worse still, were the weapons that had sat on the backs of those that wielded them, not unlike traveling bags. They had been connected by a metal rope to rods they held in their hands to direct the release of power. Those weapons had been devices of such devastating and terrifying power, that even now the people of Stygia were very afraid to attempt another invasion of Laurina Dor.

The weapons they wore on their backs had released raw destructive power that had destroyed entire divisions of soldiers all at once. It had in fact, been several of those that had worn them, that had destroyed the mighty Abaddon himself in a violent fire storm of energies. The son of Abaddon, Bar-Abaddon had nearly been killed too. He had been greatly wounded, and had gone into hiding to restore himself. The Orc hordes had been completely annihilated, and most of their demon masters had been destroyed as well. The humans of Stygia had taken horrific losses of their own, and were completely driven from the Elven lands.

There had been skirmishes since then, and initially the Elves had kept using the devices. Over time however, they had begun to use them less and less, and it was discovered eventually that the weapons of 'I Kallo' had been falling into disrepair. For the last decade, none of those weapons had ever been used in the skirmishes between the Elves and Stygia.

Bar-Abaddon had finally healed himself from his terrible wounds, and he had over thrown the human king of Stygia when he returned. Once he had established his position, Bar-Abaddon had sent emissaries to Lower Earth to try and get support from the Demons once more, and the aid of their vast orc hordes. The Demons of Lower Earth were quite willing to help Bar-Abaddon, since the need to conquer and bring chaos to Upper Earth was almost instinctual for them. The war between the two sides had been going on for a very long time.

Now, there was a new plan to destroy the Elves, one that Delilah believed would surely succeed. Bar-Abaddon had negotiated an agreement with the Demons of Lower Earth that would bring 10 times the numbers of Orcs and their demon officers to this realm. The humans of Stygia didn't know it, but they were going to suffer greatly to achieve this plan. It would require great power to open portals large and durable enough to bring such numbers into this world. More power than the magical field alone could supply all at once with magical spells or incantations. They would need energy, and a great deal of it.

Delilah wept. She was one of the few that knew of the plan. She had tried to harden her heart, because her own family had been used as leverage against her. Now she had failed, and very likely they would be used in the great sacrifice of Stygia. Many thousands of Stygian citizens were going to be killed, as their life force was literally drained away to supplement the magical field when the portals were opened. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

All her life Delilah, like so many others, had been told that the Elves were evil, and that they wanted nothing less than the destruction of all humankind, and they were merely using those humans that had allied themselves with them. Stygia was a hard land, where punishment was harsh and the laws very strict. Still, no human ruler of Stygia would have planned the massacre of so many of his people, not even for the chance to destroy the Elves. Had she been told wrong? She had seen so many horrible things since she joined the court of Bar-Abaddon. Delilah had told herself that it was necessary, that if the Elves were to be defeated, sacrifices had to be made.

Now, it was too much. Her own family, the rightful rulers of Stygia, were going to be sacrificed for the coming invasion. Her own people were to be nothing but stepping stones across a brook. What justice or hope did her people have? How could defeating the Elves be worth the destruction of nearly all the humans of Stygia? It couldn't be worth it. They were being used, and the humans of Stygia's survival be damned. This was something Delilah had to prevent. Or at least get her own family out. But, how? How?

The Ashe Mountain Keep, in the Stygian Empire...

Bar-Abaddon was pissed. That bitch Delilah had failed him, and now the Elves had the outworlder in their possession. Delilah had given him a report with a magical communique, but she hadn't reported in with a spell of living transmission. At least that fool Jorgan had attempted to do what he had been ordered. Delilah had failed, and Jorgan was supposed to have killed her for that failure. It seemed that this new outworlder had been more formidable than Bar-Abaddon had initially believed, and chosen to go with the elf woman. Well, not for long. He had dispatched his Death Raiders to find and destroy them.

The Raiders were among his most skilled fighters, themselves blessed with some demon blood giving them magical power, too. They would fly out on their Wyverns, the swiftest of all the creatures under Bar-Abaddon's command. The wyverns might lack the fire of a mighty dragon, but they still had a piercing cry that could potentially cause one to permanently lose their hearing if they heard it without protection. Besides, their riders could themselves command fire for the winged beasts.

The elf woman and the outworlder had fled into 'I Calanlad', the Green Plain. It was a dangerous tactic, both for them and any who attempted to pursue them. The green dragons that ruled that land permitted no one to trespass, and by now, only the Raiders would have a chance to penetrate the plain far enough to reach their quarry. They would have to rely on their speed and magic to get them deep enough into the plain, and then they would have to win their fight quickly. A long drawn out fight could not be afforded, because it would eventually draw the attention of the green dragons.

Still, even with this setback, Bar-Abaddon was one step closer to reaching his goal. He had spoken with the demonic emissary from the Bel Dalkhu had arrived with the Demon Lord's promise. His father, Abaddon, had overestimated the worth of his human allies. Even in the last war, the humans had mostly been fodder in the armies, except for those used to build and maintain the weapons and siege engines and the administrators of the lands they had conquered. Orcs were strong, but they weren't terribly good at craftsmanship or even managing anyone but themselves, which they were only just barely capable of.

How Bar-Abaddon hated humans, and because his own mother was human he hated that part of himself, too. It was why he had no feelings of guilt or remorse over his plan. The humans would be nothing but a hindrance. Demons would do a much better job of crafting tools of war and managing the lands they conquered this time. The greater numbers of both Orcs and Demons would assure him victory. In the last great war they had almost won except for the damned outworlder and his machines. This time it wouldn't matter, because there would be so many of the hordes rising against them, no weapons would help. None at all.

Ripples of ecstasy ran through Bar-Abaddon's body as he almost sighed in contentment. The promise. Soon, he wouldn't have to worry about his own weakness. The Demon Lord had promised to purge Bar-Abaddon's human half from him, in payment for opening the gates into this realm that would allow such great numbers. Yes, that was what Bar-Abaddon most sought after. To be rid of his human weakness.

When he was a full blood demon, Bar-Abaddon would then purge this realm of all humans and Elves. The Upper Earth would be just like the Lower Earth, and when that happened, the final battle would begin. The humans of Middle Earth had built for themselves highly destructive weapons, but with the combined forces of Upper and Lower Earth, the humans from the Realm of Men would fall.

The Hall of Wisdom, in Laurina Dor...

After the battle at such a long distance away Idhrenion had been tired, and with the assistance of some of the other elders he had been able to go and get some much needed rest. He was now back watching the viewing pool, keeping a watch out for the princess and Aelfric. They seemed to be doing fine now, especially after the other elders had used their combined powers to teleport magical cloaks to them. The green and black cloaks were enchanted to make the wearer invisible, so long as they stopped moving. The pattern on the cloaks also made them hard to see even when they were moving.

Before Idhrenion had returned to the Hall of Wisdom, he had visited the academics in the Hall of Magical Research to see if there was anything that might assist the two travelers in getting to Laurina Dor sooner. As it turned out, the researchers did indeed have a potential method of retrieving the wayward pair. Idhrenion was quite impressed with it. The Elves had always been master craftsmen, but Aelfwine had inspired them with his complex machinery. Before, the Elves had used relatively simple tools, combined with spells and enchantments to enhance them to do their work. In recent years the Elves had been attempting to build more complex things, and combining them with powerful magical spells to produce impressive magical tools.

This time they had outdone themselves. They had taken an Elvish ship and cast powerful spells of levitation upon it, making it able to fly. There were mechanical controls that moved mounted crystals and other devices that released magical effects, causing the ship to turn, rise and fall, and even an enchantment of invisibility, even while moving. The ship wasn't as large as some Elvish ships, but it was sufficient to carry a troop of 20 elf warriors and its crew.

Even now the ship was being prepped for launch, and the warriors had assembled to help with the ship's maiden flight. Its very first mission would be to rescue their princess and her charge. The elf warriors were very excited, because this was something that had never been done before. The closest thing to it were the Mountain Sentries that kept watch over their mountain borders.

The Great Eagles, nearly as large as dragons themselves, had an alliance with the Elves. In exchange for acting as flying steeds, the Elves made sure that their nests were protected and left alone. As large and powerful as they were, even the Great Eagles wouldn't care to tangle with the dragons, and so they had refused to fly out over the plain at all. They had argued that the bargain between them had only specified scouting duties around the mountains, not rescue attempts in dragon lands. They were right of course.

Idhrenion's thoughts turned to Falathiel. Did she herself understand what she had done? Vanadasse wouldn't be pleased when she heard about the engagement. She was still heartbroken over Aelfwine, and now she would be afraid that her only grandchild might also suffer the same fate as herself. Would history repeat itself? At this point, Idhrenion only hoped that there would be future generations to have a history at all. No matter what her intentions, Falathiel had made a binding proclamation, and now only Aelfric could break it by declaring that he would refuse to ever take Falathiel as his mate.

By the laws and customs of Elven kind, only the sitting Ruler or the direct Heir to the throne could make such declarations. However, they were binding once made, and it usually wasn't done without a lot of due consideration. Why had the child done it? If she thought it would prevent Delilah and her troops from attempting to take Aelfric, she should have known better. Since when did Stygia ever recognize the laws and customs of Laurina Dor, or any other Elven nation?

Still, Idhrenion couldn't help but feel there was some other force at work in these matters. Why else would this new outworlder appear just when he was needed most? So far he seemed to fit with what the successor of Aelfwine ought to be, but still it remained to be seen. Unless the books of Aelfwine could be decoded, then it might not matter. Hope. They had to have hope that all would work itself out.

Somewhere in 'I Calanlad', the Green Plain...

It was daylight, and Artemis had decided they would rest until nightfall. With the cloaks they had received from the Council of the Wise, they could now hide during the day as they remained still and rested. Then at night, when visibility was lower, they would travel beneath the stars. The green dragons had excellent vision, but even they would have a harder time spotting them as they traveled under the camouflage of their new cloaks during the darkness.

Artemis had tried one of Aelfric's food packages that he called an, 'M-R-E'. It was very amazing to see food being cooked without any fire, and the food had actually tasted better than she had expected. It was no grand feast in her grandmother's palace, but for a field ration it wasn't too bad. They had talked mostly of small matters, Artemis describing the land and its creatures, and Aelfric sharing a bit of what his world was like as well. The humans of Middle Earth, it seemed, had come a long way with their machines since the time of the Elven Colonies.

Aelfric had described things to her that she could scarcely believe, of great metal flying machines that had even taken them to the moon in the sky. He had told her also of great metal ships capable of diving beneath the waves, or even launching those metal flying machines. She was told of machines that had allowed the humans to communicate with each other, even on the other side of the world, with sound and images and even written documents. It all sounded so fantastic. More amazing, Aelfric had said there was no magic used at all.

Finally, after they had been silent for a short while, Aelfric had asked her the question she had hoped he wouldn't. "Artemis, what did it mean when you told Delilah that you claimed me for your own?" he had asked of her. Artemis sighed.

"I ... I was desperate," she admitted. "I had no idea that Idhrenion could perform battle magic where we were, all the way from Laurina Dor itself. The truth is, I'm not nearly as trained in magic as I should be. If I were, I might have known that."

"Okay, but what did your claiming me mean?" Aelfric pressed from her. Artemis sighed again. A single tear began to fall down her cheek as she gave Aelfric an apologetic look.

"I ... I am the granddaughter of our queen, Vanadasse," explained Artemis. "I no longer hold the position of Princess, but I am still of the queen's blood, and her only grandchild. It has long been part of the laws and customs among our people, that the sitting Ruler or the Heir to the Throne could claim their mate publicly. This isn't usually done without great consideration, and usually the support of the intended. Once the declaration is made, it is binding. The only way it can be undone is for the intended mate to forcefully refuse the mating forever."

"Delilah knew that, which is one reason why she asked you to choose to come with her. Still, I am no longer a princess, despite Idhrenion's insistence to call me that. It might not be binding. I'm not certain. I will have to ask the Law Keepers about it when we get back to Laurina Dor." Artemis bowed her head, embarrassed about what she had done.

"So ... that means that we are engaged to be married, now?" asked Aelfric.

The beautiful elfess blushed deeply, but replied, "Yes, in human terms that is precisely what it means. By custom I have declared you to be mine, and mine alone. Assuming that it were binding, but I'm not certain that it is."

Aelfric was shocked. "Wow," was all he could say. It was hard for him to say it, but Aelfric finally admitted in return, "If ... if you weren't against a marriage, I wouldn't refuse it. You're beautiful, and I ... I think I'm falling in love with you." Aelfric felt a bit of panic and quickly continued, "I know that is probably crazy, but I ... that is what I feel. I want to know you, but ... If you don't want me, I would understand," he finished rather lamely.

Artemis smiled and said, "You're sweet. From what I know of you so far I wouldn't mind a marriage with you, but we would need to get to know each other a lot better first." Aelfric returned her smile with a small one of his own.

"I'm ... a little nervous, you know," said Aelfric. "I'm 22 years old and I've never even been on a date, much less engaged to be married." Artemis smiled and replied, "Well, you are older than me, but I haven't either." Aelfric was truly surprised about that.

"Really, your only 18 years old?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm very, very young as my people rate age," replied Artemis.

"How many days are in a year for your people?" Aelfric asked curiously.

"There are 365 days in one year the way we measure time," she answered. "From my lessons, I was told it was the same for the humans of Middle Earth."

"It is," replied Aelfric.

"Forgive me for being nosy, but just how old was your mother when she gave birth to you?" asked Aelfric.

"She was nearly 100 years old, but for an elf woman that is fairly young, too," answered Artemis. "Idhrenion, the eldest of all Elves, is more than 10,000 years old. Most Elves have been killed long before they could reach such an advanced age."

"Then you will be alive long after I've turned to dust," Aelfric said a little sadly. Artemis just bowed her head again.

"I'm truly sorry for what I did to you," said Artemis. "I really shouldn't have done it without consulting with you first."

Aelfric gave her a wan smile, and said, "It's okay. Things were intense back there." The two sat in silence for a little while until Aelfric finally asked Artemis another question, "So, why is it that you're no longer a princess, and why was it you that were sent out to find me?"

"I was sent to find you because I was the closest to you that would have a chance of getting you safely to Laurina Dor," she answered. "As to the other..." She hesitated, but finally decided to give him the answers he sought. "A few years ago an emissary arrived from Helenium to the court of my grandmother, our queen. Because he was from Helenium, a human land partially allied with our own, he was allowed to meet directly with our queen. As it turned out, he was not who he had claimed to be, but rather an imposter that had killed the true emissary and taken his place."

"I ... I am an empath, meaning I can sense the emotions of others. I was the only one who realized what the intruder truly was, because I could feel his evil. Empaths are quite rare, even among Elves, so there was no other one around to know what I knew. Once I realized the true intent of the imposter, I tried to warn my mother and grandmother, but I was too late."

"The intruder was a strong magic user, and he used the opportunity to get close to our queen and tried to assassinate her. My mother threw herself into the path of the killing spell and she was killed instantly. My grandmother was injured from the explosion, but she survived. The assassin was quickly killed himself, but my mother, the crown princess was dead."

"I can not forgive myself for failing so completely. I was the only one that knew the truth, and my failure allowed my own mother to be slain before my very eyes, and my queen badly injured as well. I was so ashamed at what I'd done, that I forfeited my position as Princess. My grandmother allowed me to strike out on my own, and since then I have been doing what I can to serve my people. I became a bounty hunter, going after those that have murdered and harmed innocent Elvish citizens. It is all I'm fit for."

Aelfric was stunned, and highly embarrassed. She had known what he was feeling towards her. Oh god. Still, his embarrassment was nothing compared to her personal sorrow and regret. He could see that her guilt weighed heavily upon her, and she would not be moved from her position of perceived responsibility for the death of her mother. It explained a lot about her.

Artemis was a princess by birth, but she had forsaken her birthright in favor of avenging her people with her own hands as a hunter, seeking to bring justice to the wrongdoers, and consolation to the grief stricken. Aelfric felt ashamed of himself now. His life had been easy compared to hers. She could be living in the lap of luxury, instead, she was out here risking life and limb to bring a stranger to safety.