"Welcome to Selka, Klain." Klain smiled as he heard Yuril's words, looking ahead of them. They had finally arrived to the elven capital and it was greater than he could have imagined, and he had imagined it in many ways.
"It's beautiful isn't it?" Yuril said,
"Yes, it is." Klain said, taking in the scene as long as he could as Yuril let him do so for a short while before grabbing his attention.
"We should get inside. The gates are closed at dusk and I don't think we should camp out here." She said, glancing ahead of them.
"Why close the gates at dusk?"
"It's a rule that has been set since we were given this area. We don't question it." Yuril explained as she led the way towards the wide entrance.
As they walked along the wooden drawbridge Klain listened to the boards as they creaked under their weight. Making their way through the gate, the ground went from wood to dirt, the smell of earth still all around them. Klain glanced around once inside the capital's borders, he noticed stone steps to their right leading up the grand stone wall and a small building to their left. Three guards, each unusually tall, stood outside the building talking amongst themselves. One of the guards, upon noticing Yuril, came running over to them with a wide grin on her face. She wore silver armor, a green cloak falling from her shoulders, strawberry blond hair tied up revealing her long, pointed ears.
"Yuril, kuen luajeh!" She cheered in a happy tone.
"Xera, se mie nolas." Yuril answered as she looked over to the person running to them. The sudden transfer to speaking teirinn startled Klain for a moment as he forgot that it was the language spoken there.
"Se omni." Xera answered, smiling more before glancing to Klain. "Na eilmal olieras? Akjime n delmalae lemass?" The elves voice was soft though obviously questioning, Klain giving a slightly shocked look at her words.
"Vur ter pheril na olieras." He said, Xera looking at him like he had three heads before murmuring an apology and looked back to Yuril.
"Quie phiefio reimn soie deliem." She sighed.
"Delmalae n tes moreair, Xera, delmalae thate soie deliem." Yuril laughed slightly, not noticing the look Klain gave her at the words. Xera's Name was called from across the way at that moment, another one of the guards waving to her. She gave a sigh, smiling to Yuril before running to the other soldier to be handed something that made her take off down the streets. Once she was gone, Yuril turned her attention back to Klain with a straight face again,
"Let's get to the castle." She said, walking in the direction of the large building. Klain followed behind her closely, saying nothing for a while though the silence became unwanted so he spoke up.
"So, your father is the king." He said, putting his hand behind his back.
"He is," Yuril said, glancing at Klain with a curious look.
"That explains a lot." Klain said,
"How so?" Yuril questioned, the confusion in her voice obvious.
"You brought me here despite not many humans, if any, knowing of it. Normally this wouldn't happen, yet you weren't worried about how your people would react." Klain shrugged, weaving between a few people who stared at him as he passed.
"That's quite observant of you." Yuril said as she turned down a path that led between two buildings, fewer people walking through the area.
Klain looked up at the sky as they walked through, the sun nearly fully set now which made the path dark. As they exited the side path, they could see people and guards lighting torches, the flames making the entire area light up. The two then turned back onto the main street, making their way forward until they reached a set of steps that led to the entrance of the palace. Klain made his way up the steps a little quicker than Yuril, looking at two guards who stood on either side of a large metal door. When Yuril and Klain approached them they gave a small bow to Yuril, keeping an eye on Klain who moved to stand behind her.
He locked eyes with one of the two guards and quickly gave a respectful smile as Yuril made her way through the doors. He followed after quickly, being greeted to a large room. Stairs sat at the far left and right, great pillars with horses and many other beasts engraved into the stone stood connecting the floor with the high ceilings that dipped from one pillar to the next. Colored stone was mixed with the gray floors, making a sun pattern in the center of the main room. Woven tapestries sat on the stone walls, the images showing the stories of battles and a crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling. Yuril walked to the staircase at the far right of the room and began to walk up the steps, watching Klain run his hand along the wall as he followed.
At the top of the stairs, a table sat in the area between the two sets of stairs, a vase full of white roses sitting on top of it. Yuril seemed to be in deep thought as they reached top and she stopped in her tracks, looking to Klain. "My father and brother are likely in the throne room, so that's where we are going to go." She explained, Klain smirking,
"Yes." Yuril sighed before pointing down the long hall beside them to the right. "The throne room is that way but before we go I need to speak with you." She said, voice wavering as she sat on the top step, gesturing for Klain to do the same. Once he was sat beside her, she took a deep breath and looked to him.
"Let me begin by apologizing. I haven't been as honest with you as I should have been. I told you I had gone to Quin for herbs and decided to take a longer route home; that wasn't true." Yuril murmured, "Yes, I was in Quin, but not for the reason I said. We had heard rumors of villages being overtaken in the outlands over the past four years and I was asked to see if the rumors were true. I had been tracking them since I arrived in Quin but as you know, I was unable to catch up to them until it was too late." Yuril fell silent as she looked to see Klain's reaction. He was paler than usual, his body shaking slightly as he looked up at her with watery eyes.
"Yalvar wasn't the first to be destroyed?" He asked sadly,
"No, it wasn't the first. As I said, all the villages were in the Outlands so no soldiers would hear of it." Yuril said,
"If all these raids were in the Outlands, isn't Selka at risk as well?"
"It's very possible, though it's not just Selka. Both the dwarves and dragon's lands are in the outlands; if you count islands the centaurs land is as well. We are all at risk from this."
"Have you told the others?" Klain questioned,
"We told them of the rumors, yes, but they chose to ignore them. Though my father still hopes to get the councils to agree to send some of our own to speak with the high king of the issue."
"High King?" Klain asked, having never heard of anyone going by that name.
"Your king, King Cerrond." Yuril explained, "Each race of mystic has their own royal family but we all know the Northhills are the rightful rulers of Zelmaril."
"I see... But with all of this going on, why am I here?" Klain asked, voice no louder than a whisper.
"You lost much Klain, Selka is somewhere you can start over safely." Yuril gave a small smile through her words, standing up once she finished.
"We should go see my father now." She said,
"Okay." Klain stood from where he had been sitting. Yuril turned to the hall to the right of them and began to walk down the narrow area. There were at least several doors spread through the hall, some made of different materials or different sizes than others. The largest, however, sat at the very end of the hall.
The door was made of oak, looking to be smooth to the touch and beautifully crafted. The doorknob was rather small, shaped like a leaf with a green gem placed in the center. Klain walked up to the door, opening the door with a loud creak once Yuril confirmed it was the right one. Yuril walked through the door first, Klain following her after a moment and shut the door behind himself. He then looked around the room from where he stood beside Yuril, taking in the area. Three people stood around a grand table that was large enough to hold forty men, chairs surrounding it. One of the people Klain recognized as Xera, she stood across from a male who stood much taller than her. He looked to be six and a half kepins in height and was rather toned. He had tan skin and light auburn hair that covered one of his light green eyes. His ears were like Yuril's with a piercing at the tip and he wore a white shirt with a jacket over it and brown pants and boots, a black leather belt holding a long sword to his waist. A silver crown sat on his head, simple in design yet professionally crafted.
Another man stood between them, standing close to Xera's height and he looked older than everyone else in the room. His hair was the color of rust, short and slicked back and he was tan skinned like the boy beside him. He had emerald eyes, a birthmark under his eyebrow and his face was wrinkled slightly. He wore a gray shirt made of expensive looking material, dark pants and boots matching and a fur cloak sat on his shoulders; held by a small chain. On his head sat a gold crown, white jewels embedded in the hard surface. Behind the three elves sat three thrones, raised by three steps from the floor. Upon seeing Klain and Yuril, Xera gave a smile and whispered something to the older man before turning and gave Yuril a small bow and giggle before exiting the room.
Once the elf soldier left, the male wearing the silver crown turned on his heel and ran over to Yuril with a wide grin.
"Usjiem viese Yuril." He purred, deep voice booming slightly through the room as he stopped before her and gently placed his forehead on her own.
"Hello Teran." Yuril sighed, standing there for a moment before looking to the older man as he stepped forward and placed his forehead to hers as well.
"Welcome home Yuril." He said with a smile. Klain stood in awe upon hearing the king speak in his own tongue, watching the scene in silence.
"Hello father." Yuril greeted, stepping back with a small smile. The three seemed to be in their own world which made Klain feel as though he was intruding though the king turned to him as he was lost in his own mind.
"And who is this?" He asked, eyes locked on the stranger before him.
"Klain Evarid," Yuril answered, following her fathers gaze. "Klain, this is my father, King Verlond and my brother, Teran."
"It's an honor to meet you." Klain said softly, his confusion on the nonexistent language barrier obvious.
"Some of us do speak the language of your people. The councils and royal families of every race are required to speak in the human language as well as their own for safety reasons." Yuril explained, noticing his confusion quickly.
"That explains why you speak it so well." Klain chuckled, glad for the explanation as Verlond led the way to a few seats at the table.
"I apologize for rushing to hard questions but I assume his being here means your journey did not go as expected." Verlond stated as he sat down, Teran sitting beside him and Yuril and Klain across from them.
"It didn't. I was able to track the bandits to Klain's village but it was attacked before I arrived." Yuril answered, her voice almost breaking at the end of her words.
"Were the rumors of people being taken true?" Teran asked,
"Yes, men, woman, and children were taken while most of the elderly were slaughtered." Klain answered, the image of Vilirma's last moments playing in his mind which made him grit his teeth.
"Barberic.." Teran murmured,
"How far was the raid from here?" Verlond asked, looking to Yuril.
"Eight days on horseback, give or take." the she-elf answered, thinking back to her own return journey.
"They were that close!?" Teran questioned in shock, looking to his father who was deep in thought.
The silence that fell in the room was long and uncomfortable. Klain looked to Yuril who kept her eyes locked on her father until he spoke again.
"We need to send out messengers to the councils. The attacks are getting closer if this keeps going on as it is, we are at risk."
Yuril, "Father, even so, we cannot say if the councils will see reason so soon."
"I agree with Yuril, father. Even if we can prove we are all at risk, we don't know how we are even going to meet with the king before things escalate. Our chances of getting them to agree to go to see him are slim to none." Teran said, the three going back and forth. The debate went on as Klain thought over their words, his mind finally placing things together.
"What if a human went on the journey as well?" He asked, Verlond looking to him.
"It could very well help us to convince the councils."
"But who would-" Teran began, his words quick though Klain interrupted him.
"I can go." He said, Yuril turning to him quickly and shook her head.
"No. This journey will likely be long and very difficult, I could never allow us to ask you to put yourself at risk for our people."
"You don't have to ask, I am offering. The king could not only help stop these raids but also save those who were taken; I say it's worth it." Klain spoke with his eyes locked with Yuril's, the she-elf obviously hesitant as she looked to her father.
"What do you think?" She asked,
"I think Klain just gave us a chance." Verlond stated with an unreadable expression.
"Alright," Yuril muttered as she looked back to Klain. "But if you do this, I want you to let Teran help you with your sword skills."
Klain gave an uncomfortable look at the words as he glanced down at the sword sitting on his hip.
"I'm no fighter Yuril." He breathed,
"And gods forbid you ever have to be, but you need to know how to defend yourself." Yuril said as she placed a hand on Klain's shoulder.
"Okay," Klain smiled nervously, not noticing Teran walk over to him.
"Seems like we'll be spending some time together." He laughed, hitting Klain on the back which startled the smaller male.
"So it seems," Klain sighed, looking up at the prince. Verlond and Yuril watched the two for a moment, letting them speak before looking to each other.
"Could you help me with the summonings Yuril?" Verlond questioned,
Yuril walked around the table to where her father sat, smiling at him before looking back to her brother.
"Teran, please show Klain to a room he can stay in. I will have dinner sent to him though I recommend you both get some rest."
"Sure thing." Teran hummed, giving Klain a moment to say a simple 'Goodnight' before dragging him up and out of the throne room. The prince hummed as he led the way down the hall and passed the stairs of the front room, going down the left hall. The hall was identical to the other in its decorations though was far longer, more doors lining the walls and a spiral staircase sat at the end of the hall, leading both up and farther down. The prince led the way passed multiple doors before stopping at a smaller pine door, looking older than the others, and opened it slowly.
"One moment," Teran said, walking into the room. It was a decent size, a window and pine wood bed taking up much of the far wall. The bed had finely made bedding covering it and red drapes circling it for extra privacy. There was a dresser across from the bed, an unlit candle sitting on top of the object and a mirror sat beside it. A chair was sitting under the window, moonlight showing where exactly it was as it poured in through the window. Teran made his way over to the dresser and grabbed the candle before rushing out of the room and lit it with one of the torches that lit the hallway outside. Once it was lit, he gave the candle to Klain with a smile,
"There. Now, this is where you will be staying. There are clothes in the dresser that should fit you so go ahead and change when you are ready.
"Your food should be here soon so expect that but make sure to head to bed once you finish, practice starts early so I will have someone come wake you and get you breakfast beforehand then I'll come to get you. There will be a guard posted outside your room at night so don't be surprised about that. " Teran explained everything slowly, making sure Klain got it all before giving a smile.
"Then I will leave you for tonight. Goodnight Klain." He said, exiting the room as he shut the door behind him.
Left by himself, Klain walked over to the dresser and set the candle down before pulling off his sword and belt. He walked over to the chair by the window and placed the sword down in it, reaching up and undoing the messy braid his hair was in. As his hair fell to his waist he placed the tie he used in the chair with his sword and turned to the bed, flopping back. It was soft, much different from the ground he had gotten used to over the last few days and he pushed his face into one of the pillows, thinking of all that had happened that day as he unwinded for the night knowing the next day would be just as eventful.
"Yuril, Kuen luajeh!" / "Yuril, You're back!"
"Xera, se mie nolas."/ "Xera, you look well."
"Na eilmal olieras? Akjime n delmalae lemass?" / " A human child? why is he here?"
"Vur ter pheril na olieras." / "I am not a child."
"Quie Phiefio reimn soie deliem." / "Your father should meet him."
"Delmalae n tes moreair, Xera, delmalae thate soie deliem."/"He is the king, Xera, he will meet him."
"Usjiem viese Yuril." / "Welcome back Yuril."
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