The Forest of the Elves

Beneath the black velvet of the night sky, the moon’s silver light cut through like thin silk threads. From the depths of darkness, the silhouette of the bomber slowly emerged, the hum of its engines between the wings sounding like fate itself written upon the forest. Inside—Moris and several elf girls who had just tasted freedom. Joy illuminated their faces, their breaths carried the sweet fragrance of newfound liberty.

Suddenly, from the thick green canopy below, a blue flare shot toward the sky. CRACK! A magical projectile struck the wing, and the metal snapped like dry reeds, the plane shuddering violently for a moment.

“Are they… selling us out again?” one elf girl whispered fearfully, her eyes glowing with panic.

“Don’t be afraid! I’ll try to hold the plane with a magnetic field,” said Moris, his voice firm yet calm.

As he activated the device in his hand, the air trembled faintly. The damaged plane slowly shifted course under the pull of magnetic force. Skirting around the night forest, a small clearing appeared in the distance. With the heavy sigh of a beast out of options, the aircraft landed.

Tears welled in the freed girls’ eyes. “You saved us… you’re not human, you’re… hope itself…” they said, but there was no time to celebrate. From the shadows of thick trees, arrows began to whistle toward them!

In the blink of an eye, Moris tore a panel from the plane’s armor and turned it into a large shield. Arrows clanged against the metal with sharp sparks. From the darkness, the silhouettes of archers appeared. Dozens of elf soldiers moved silently until the forest became a living cage.

One elf girl screamed in her own tongue: “Tharven! Tharven! (Stop!)”

An elven archer, his voice cold as ice, shouted back in his language:

“Na sylva mirenë noralë lië, ar nai venar lirienë noratirë? (Do you not know humans are forbidden in this forest, and why do you defend them?)”

“Nai, sen amarilë naen, ar naë veyal senilë narien! (No! He saved us! We are alive because of him!)” cried the elf girls.

“Humans weave a thousand tricks to win trust, then stab you in the back…” the leader replied suspiciously.

Moris could have fought back with his magnetic sorcery and weapons. Instead, he raised his hands in a sign of surrender.

“If I fight, this hatred will go on. Someone has to break the chain… Tonight—that moment has come,” he thought.

The soldiers bound his hands and led him through the forest to the queen’s palace. By his side walked the five elf girls who tried to defend him.

The palace’s grand hall was vast, crowned with a high ceiling, heavy with air, its gold and green patterns glowing dimly. The elders of the elf tribe gathered, their faces stern—their presence meant judgment for Moris.

On the highest throne sat Queen Mia, her long golden hair flowing past her shoulders, her purple eyes gleaming, her long gown embroidered in green and gold down to the floor, crowned with a unique diadem. She sat in silence.

“Why is this human alive?! No mercy for the enemy. We have suffered countless agonies at the hands of humans!” one elder thundered.

“Forgive me, my lords… but he didn’t fire at us, he refused to fight,” one soldier explained.

“Is this not just a ploy to win our trust, only to sow rot among us tomorrow?!” barked another elder.

One of the rescued girls, Ariel, stepped forward.

“If he came to deceive us, why fight the slavers, why defeat more than ten armed men alone, and you know yourselves—he tamed the Leviant Tiger. If he bore ill intent, the beast would never have obeyed him,” she said firmly.

“We did not see malice in his eyes but kindness. He saved us!” another elf girl added.

The elders and queen were astonished at the mention of taming the Leviant Tiger. Yet one elder objected: “That does not prove anything. Perhaps he enslaved it with sorcery.”

Another joined: “Humans act only for their own gain. Have you forgotten the torment they brought us?!” said a third elder, his tone dripping with bitter scorn.

Queen Mia raised her hand, and at once the storm of voices subsided.

“Enough of this quarrel,” she said.

Moris stood bound in the center, not understanding their words, but from their tone he knew they despised him.

“I will speak with this man myself. Release his chains,” the queen ordered calmly.

The elders grumbled but obeyed.

Freed, Moris remained silent.

“Human. I will judge who you are myself…” said the queen. To his surprise, she spoke the Ostanian tongue.

In her private chamber, warm wooden carvings adorned the walls, and through the window stretched a horizon of green forest and silver streams.

Moris kept his hands open and empty.

“You… you are not like other humans. The girls told me… Did you truly save them?” the queen asked thoughtfully.

“Yes,” Moris replied.

“But why? They are strangers to you. To your people, they are just forest dwellers… Why risk your life to save them?” she pressed gently.

“No one has the right to enslave another. Regardless of race or origin, what matters to me is humanity,” Moris said calmly.

“Strange… And what did you gain from it?” asked the queen, raising an eyebrow.

Moris paused, meeting her gaze. “Must there be gain in doing good? I ask you.”

“Humans… most often they act only for themselves. That is why I asked,” the queen said with a faint, weary smile.

“Goodness never springs from profit. It is born from the soul. If a man helps for gain, it is not goodness—it is trade. There is no evil race. To call all humans wicked is a lie. If you see all men as evil, then you are no just ruler. Then you are no different from the evil you despise,” Moris said firmly.

Queen Mia fell silent, then in a soft voice: “Well spoken… I never thought I would hear such words from a human. You have opened my eyes. I nearly committed a great injustice… Forgive me. Stay as our guest for a few days. The girls already see you as their brother. If you wish, you may walk freely in our forest.”