CHAPTER 6.5: REFUGEE CRISIS

***The city of Berondin***

As the council elder assigned to leading her city’s army and guarding its boundaries, the Lady Elsa of Berondin had her mud house built on the edges of the settlement, facing the direction of the Cherwoods’ ancient forests. That way, it was easy for her to be called whenever something came up, since her people disliked intruders coming near their place. The Berondin elves shunned surrounding their city with walls, even those made from clusters of trees, but they did create mounds to give them higher ground whenever they had to fight.

And this is one of those moments…

“One of our scouts reported a large column of tree-dwellers heading to this direction,” a subordinate told her. The Lady Elsa didn’t even have her time to don her armor; it was all so sudden that she was still sleeping when the orderly burst into her room to tell her the news.

“How large are we talking here?” she asked, checking for her weapons.

“About hundreds of people? The scout also said there are children in the group.”

The warrior elder’s face contorted. She muttered, “I’d prefer it if that is an army sent to kill us. But that is no army. Those must be refugees from other cities of the tree-dwellers, just like what the Lord Ingwer of Dorian said. Our food stocks won’t last if we accept more of them!”

At once, the Lady Elsa set out for the city borders along with the orderly. Even from the distance, they could already hear the commotion and see their warriors tensed up, guarding the entrance to Berondin. She immediately took charge of the situation.

“What’s going on?” the Lady Elsa had an inkling of what to expect, but when the entire scene unfolded before her eyes, she was overwhelmed. From the tree-line that marked the end of the Cherwoods forest, elves—including children—emerged. There were warriors along with them, but they didn’t bother to draw their weapons. The new arrivals approached the city of Berondin silently, their disheveled bodies looked like waving sticks as they walked slowly.

“Halt!” a warrior called out to them. “You’re violating the borders of Berondin! We are under orders to keep you away from our city, and will not shy away from putting you to the sword if you insist! Who’s your leader?”

Taking cue from his warning, the warriors of Berondin raised their bows and nocked arrows on it. The Lady Elsa was quick to stop them from escalating the situation further.

“I’d desist from shooting at these poor souls, if I were you.”

“!!!”

A powerful wind suddenly blew and formed a small whirlwind between the approaching column of elves and the army of Berondin. The latter, surprised and confused at what they’re witnessing, didn’t lower their bows…though no one dared to shoot at the vortex as well. Then, the wind slowly vanished, revealing a figure donned in black robes, tunic, and even a mask.

At that moment, someone from the army of Berondin loosed an arrow that headed straight to the dark person. However, much to everyone’s shock, he stopped the deadly projectile midway using nothing, and breaking it in two.

The Lady Elsa shouted, “Cease fire! Don’t shoot unless I tell you to!”

The black man then came forward and approached her. “Thanks for restraining your elves,” he said, extending an arm for a shake. “I don’t think I would take it lightly, should they kill these people behind me.”

However, the Berondin elder pulled her sword and pointed it at him. “My apologies, but we Berondin elves don’t trust strangers that quick.”

“Yes, I’m aware of it, Lady Elsa of Berondin. Rest assured, by the end of this talk, you’ll be trusting me more…possibly with your entire life, even. Would you please take care to listen?”

“H-How do you know my name?”

“I know we started in bad blood, but let me introduce myself,” the dark figure bowed. “They call me the ‘Black God’, and I prefer you refer to me as such. If you doubt my words, I can always show my divinity for everyone to see. However, I don’t think we have enough time; won’t you accept my earlier display of power for proof, milady?”

“Are you telling me that you are a god?”

The Black God nodded.

“You’re a blasphemer!”

“Blasphemer, milady?” he chuckled. “Think again!”

“!!!” The warriors of Berondin realized their swords just turned into pretty flowers, and their bows and arrows became pairs of fishes in their hands. As the army wondered what just happened, the Lady Elsa remained defiant.

“How can I know you’re not some tricky magician, or a witch, playing tricks on us? You won’t even dare let us see your face!”

“Well, first I’m not a witch; I’m male, so the right word would be ‘warlock’,” the Black God corrected her. “Second, if I mean you harm, I’ve long killed you, along with your elves. After all, dealing with mortals using my god-powers would be a walk in a park for me. As you can see, I haven’t drawn my sword on my back. Third, I don’t think you can see my face without dying, that’s why I wear a mask. I don’t know, but it’s a rule that whenever a mortal sees a deity’s face in the physical world, they die. That one’s not my fault, though.”

“Oh…”

“So now that I explained my circumstances, will you please accept my request to let these people seek refuge in your city? They came from a couple of recently destroyed settlements in the forest, so I took them with me on my way here. Look, these people have nowhere else to go, for the other cities have locked their gates for them. However, I know that your place, Berondin, has a heart of helping unfortunate souls…similar to the story of the Lord Ingwer of Dorian’s people, whom you’ve taken in. Aren’t you forebears the same when they had to run from those who persecuted them?”

“You surely know our history.”

“I told you, I’m a god.”

The Lady Elsa was silent. Though she could feel no hostility from the Black God, she was still unsure. Her greatest worry was the food supply, anyway.

So, looking into her heart, the warrior deity sweetened his offer. “I know your people have been ostracized by these ‘tree-dwellers’. However, if you accept them, I’d be bound to help your city and your kin survive, since I pushed to you this responsibility of taking care for these guys. Not only would you have a god protecting your city, you’d also want to know an efficient and secure way of ensuring your food security, right? I can give you ideas, and my god-powers can also be used. What do you say?”