Elves in Eventide

“You stand accused of violating our most sacred laws.” The Grand High Monarch pronounced from her white thrown of woven birch. “By utilizing magic crystals to subvert the laws of nature and for transforming our own kind into usable magic conductors. You have torn at the fabric of natural law. How do you plead?”

Drazhan stood at the front of the group of accused. “Your majesty, what have we done that is unnatural. We do not seek to destroy life, but to extend it and for those whose lives cannot be extended to be utilized for a purpose that will serve their fellow brothers and sisters.”

There was a great uproar in the grand room, outrage visibly expressed from the majority of the attendees.

“Silence.” The room went quiet. “I presume,” the Grand High Monarch continued, “You plead not guilty.”

“We plead only to serving our people. Can we be guilty if what we do is in their best interest?”

The Grand High Monarch smiled bitterly. “Can you say that is what you do? There is a reason life ends and generation replaces generation. There is a purpose for the limitation of power and the sanctity of life. You and your followers have indeed violated natural law and your lack of professed guilt proves what little regret you feel toward your actions. And so, you are found guilty before our people for the crimes already stated and your punishment will suit the crimes you have committed.”

All the elves who were Drazhan’s supporters, some three hundred in total, were loaded onto a boat that had neither sails, nor oars, nor a rutter for guiding. They were given no food and no water. And worst of all, they were castrated to ensure that no matter their end their cursed seed would not spread.

“If fate should allow you a second chance, may you take it and serve that new land you enter with more fidelity than you showed the one from which you came.”

With that they were taken out where land was no longer visible and abandoned to the mercy of the sea.

Their boat landed on the shores of Eventide. Providence had saved them. Though they were weak and fifty of their number had lost their lives, they had survived the terrible journey. The sea had spared them.

“That must mean,” Drazhan announced to his group, “that we were spared because our mission and cause were just and right. And so, we must continue it here in this land. We must learn from its people, adopt them as our own, and bring to them the light our own blood had attempted to snuff out.”

It was not long before they met the people of the land. Ordinary humans with limited magical abilities, ignorant and young in their development, who, though weary at first, were kind and welcoming to them. It was through them that the elves came into contact with the moon people.

“We’re not any different than a normal human, what you see is just our natural enhanced capability for magic. It’s much the same with our distant neighbor in Eos, they often present with honey colored hair and eyes like goldstone or sunstone. You can see it in the average people here as well in smaller ways.”

“So, then this isn’t specific to a kind of person.”

Althea, the wife of the village head laughed. “Yes and no, it is people of Eventide who display this ability, not one of us in particular. Of course, if those who have the gift produce offspring with someone else who also possesses it they have the heightened likelihood of their children possessing it. But there are those born of average parentage who also display such gifts.”

“Oh, how does it appear?”

“It just does, some at birth, but usually at maturity.”

“And how is your magic produced?”

She smiled thoughtfully, the beautiful bluish white glow of her skin radiant in the gray morning light coming in through the simple windows of her family home. “No one really knows. Some believe it is through the moon or enhanced by it, others believe its innate. Why? How do the elves produce magic?”

“Predominantly through the aid of magic stones.” Drazhan set down his cup. “I was curious about whether or not your land possessed any of them?”

“If it does there are no recordings of it.”

“You’ve found nothing?” Drazhan was visibly disappointed.

They had been looking for magic stones and crystals for well over two years and still had come up empty-handed.

“Even our group that has traveled to Eos has found no sign of them, it appears possible that this continent does not possess any magic crystals.” Sibry, pronounced finally, her soft golden eyes visibly sorrowful.

“That means we will lose our magic as well. We will live no better than humans.”

“Maulore, we must remain calm, there is always an answer.” Drazhan walked the circumference of the wide room stopping when he came to a window. In the distance he could see the village they so often frequented. Their aid had been invaluable to their survival, if it hadn’t been for them, they might have perished shortly after their arrival.

Althea seemed to notice someone looking out, she waved enthusiastically, the vibrance of her color luminous in the moonlight. Eventide did not get much sun year-round, but when those rare clear days arrived the people with heightened gifts shone like stars in darkness.

“These people have been so kind to us. Surely, they will not mind helping us maintain our lives and our lifework. After all, we cannot repay them if we’re dead. First though, before we pursue our ends, we must find the right place and make sure the magics are correct. Then we shall approach them for assistance.”

“All one hundred of those who went to seek aid from Eos are no more.”

“All of them.” Drazhan blanched. “Every last one. How do we know this?”

“They have been sending back telepathic messages, three days ago they said they were not sure things were going well with the people there. And today when they were sought no answer was given. The land was searched with telepathy and none of them could be found. We expired a great amount of energy doing so.” An elf who went by Ysoria, pronounced their fellow elves’ demise with visible sorrow.

“There are too few of us to risk returning there, and I had thought my diplomacy had gone so well.” Drazhan looked over several documents on his desk without reading them.

“I don’t think we have long before word returns here of what occurred in Eos. By the turning coldness of the people in Eventide, I do not think they will take well to the news.”

“They will understand, they must understand. There is little else we can do and they themselves would do the same in our place.”

“If only nature was that understanding. We shall have to make a move quickly, least we’re made to regret standing still.”

“Is what they say you’re doing on that mountain in the valley lands true?” Althea stood beside the house that they had built for Drazhan near their village.

“So, word has come here after all.”

“It is true then, is that why my Cenric has not returned?”

Drazhan hesitated to answer, considering how to explain to her, how to get her to comprehend what they were attempting to achieve. “You must understand Althea, our lives are connected to magic. Without our magic stones we will parish quickly.”

“Like humans do?” Her look was cold.

“I suppose, yes, not quite so short a time, but we who are left are very old and so we rely more on magic for our existence, and the synthesis of magical energy is more difficult for us…”

“Is it true,” her tone was biting as she cut him short, “that you turn them to dust?”

Again, he took a moment to consider how to respond to her question. “We’ve tried many times to remove only the magic, but it destabilizes the body. The person ends up dying shortly after, rather painfully really, and then the magic is compromised and not so easily absorbed. Frankly, the effort to extract it this way is more troubling than it’s worth. However, if you condense the body and leave only the magical energy it absorbs easily and then the need for a painful death is minimalized.”

“Did you do this to him? Did you do this to Cenric and the other men from the village? Answer me!”

“They wanted to help us. They insisted on it.”

“You are demons! Do you honestly think this is what they meant when they said they wished to help you. You vile creature, that is the lie you told yourself to believe that you were justified and right in your brutality. No man who loved life and family would agree to be vaporized for elves who were too cowardly to face death.”

Thousands of blades formed in the sky as tears collected in her eyes, dead rage painted in her gaze. It was only through the last bit of useful magic he maintained that Drazhan was able to teleport away before she managed to kill him.

“We are down to but a hundred of our kind, we cannot possibly keep going at this rate.” Theon, lamented from his position as a member of the advisory committee. The elf was tall, strong, and young but had been battered by the fighting and showed the frayed edges of grief and defeat.

“How many magic stones would be necessary to win this war?” Drazhan wasn’t looking at any of them in particular his eyes focused on the center of the table.

“To be safe and to consider all eventualities at least thirty would be required.” Sibry responded hesitantly.

“Then we will pull lots. A jar of white and black stone should work fine. Those who pull the black stones will make the sacrifice for their brethren and give up their lives for the cause. Those with the white will continue the battle and will help forge a new kingdom and new world within the ashes of what is left when this is complete. We will keep a log of those who have perished and set up a memorial stone to honor them for the gift of life they have given, for having made the ultimate sacrifice to obtain a peaceful and whole world.”

The stones were collected without question and put in a high rimmed, opaque jar with a fluted top. Carefully the contents was stirred and then each of the remaining one hundred elves pulled a stone. No one protested or complained, they accepted their fates as it was handed to them. Drazhan pulled a white stone.

“How many remain?” Drazhan asked coldly empty eyes staring out at the burning surroundings.

“There are but five left.” Auderic held open the holly box with the glittering vibrant stones, their activity reflecting the life that had been sacrificed to create them.

“How many of our own kind have survived?”

Theon looked mournfully at the wall ahead of him. “We are down to but fifty of our own kind.”

There was no means of repopulation. There was only preserving the few that remained. Drazhan stared out at the devastated landscape.

“We shall recreate this kingdom and use it to sustain us. We will do so using those who aided us in our venture to subdue the opposing forces. There is no reason to not cooperate with the average human. Their mage arts and magical abilities are not even worth the energy of extraction or notice.”

“Will they not learn to hate us again, will this not once more come to our doorstep if we continue on this path?” Sibry dared not continue when Drazhan’s poisoned eyes fell on her.

“Are you of the same mind as our enemy?”

“No of course not.”

Drazhan waited a long while before speaking next. “These humans are short sighted. They do not care when their lives begin or end so long as they may live it enjoyably. We will provide them with such gratifications as any might want and in return they will help us sustain our lives. As for the blame, well that will fall to the royal family which we will install. We must not get lost in petty concerns. We must keep our eyes forward toward the larger picture. Afterall, our prosperity is theirs as well, and if we lose ours, they also lose theirs. So, in proceeding as we do we’re serving them. It’s as simple as that.”

Drazhan looked at the holly wood box with the three remaining stones, face dried of all emotions. Thirty of them had perished as they were creating the utopia for the humans to play in. There were now only twenty of their kind remaining within Eventide. As for the stones one of the five was used to sustain them through a hundred-year period where there were no moon people realized to harvest from. The second one used was given to Lord Dain to destroy Lord Till, but he failed in his mission so the loss had been a meaningless one. Now with only three left they had no choice. They had been left with no alternative. Another would have to be used to catch the Centauri Seren and right the anomaly. That was the only way to restore order. That was the survival of the final twenty.