Andwar, the House of Elders
There was a steady stream of horse carriages outside the building. The High Elves in them were all clad in resplendent clothing, their faces dignified. When they got out their carriages, a couple of young attendants rushed forward to receive them. The High Elf Elders were then led to their respective seats in the House of Elders by them.
A High Elf Elder would usually bring along one or two of their most favored children to these meetings. In this case, the patriarch of the Feathermoon household had brought along his granddaughter, the Level-9 Magician Seve, while the Coldstar patriarch was escorted by two of his most exemplary children.
Soon, there was a din in the House of Elders. The elders greeted each other, while the young High Elves exchanged furtive words behind them.
Suddenly, an elder muttered, “Look, Raymond’s arrived.”
Despite the din, his voice rang out clearly in the building. At that moment, everyone turned around to look at Raymond.
Their eyes fell for a moment on Raymond. Then, they turned their gaze to the young modest-looking High Elf behind him.
Silence fell over the entire room the moment its occupants saw the young High Elf.
The young man was dressed in a modest fashion. Even his weapon of choice was a simple sword hanging from his waist. However, he exuded an indescribable aura. At that moment, everyone’s eyes were all glued on him.
He had become the center of their universe without even meaning to.
With the exception of Raymond, most of the High Elf Elders were models of excellence. Their presence had enabled the High Elves to stand on the pinnacle of the world’s racial hierarchy for so long. This meant that they too were endowed with an eye for excellence.
An uproar broke out in the House of Elders once more. The elders gave each other meaningful glances. All of them had come to the same conclusion. The World Tree must have brought Theodore Morgenstern to us as a means of retaliation against the demon!
The Feathermoon patriarch came over to greet Raymond. “Old friend, it’s been a while. Do you still remember the time we spent hunting in the hunting grounds up north?”
As one of the core noble houses in the Isle of Dawn, the Feathermoon household had never bothered with minor players like Morgenstern family. Raymond was surprised by this show of friendliness. He quickly inclined his head and said with a smile, “I didn’t think you would still remember that. I only remember making quite a fool of myself back then, hehe.”
At first, he assumed a more courteous tone when he spoke. However, as the conversation progressed, he began to speak more freely. The reason was simple. He knew that the only reason the Feathermoon patriarch had approached him was because of Theodore. His son had become quite a personality among the High Elves. Naturally, that made Raymond by extension someone worth talking to.
The other elders had also come over to greet him.
“Quite a remarkable son you have there, brother. A real chip off the old block, eh?”
“It’s all up to you now, old friend.”
“There’s no one here as accomplished as you, brother!”
Raymond had received so much praise from the elders that he was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable. He then laughed out loud. “Praise be the World Tree! I’m afraid I can’t do this on my own. We will still need to work together if we hope to see this one out.”
The other elders nodded in agreement.
Just then, the High Elves’ anthem “Praise be Mother Nature” began playing outside the building’s entrance. In an instant, the room fell silent. All the elders stood up, their heads bent slightly. Sensing the grave undercurrents in today’s meeting, the younger High Elves followed suit, not daring to even let out a breath.
At that moment, the atmosphere in the room had become so oppressive that even the Level-9 Magician Seve found it hard to breathe.
Link had retreated to a corner, watching the building’s entrance from the corner of his eyes.
Footsteps sounded from outside the entrance. A few seconds later, the palace guards entered the House of Elders in green-gold uniforms. These Warriors had an average power level of Level-9. There were 30 of them in total. Five of them were Legendary masters. The most powerful among them had Level-11 pinnacle power.
Such power would have been more than sufficient to defend the island against any existing threats in Firuman.
However, times had changed. They would soon be reduced to a piece of foil for powerful presences like Saroviny and Link himself.
A minute later, two familiar figures appeared in the doorway. One belonged to the High Elf Queen, the other to Saroviny.
Link had seen the High Elf Queen once a couple of years ago in Ferde. Though she had aged considerably, she still retained her grace and vigor. In the game world, lots of players would circle around her like excitable toddlers. They were always the first to complete any missions given out by the queen.
However, the years had not been kind to the queen. Wrinkles had appeared on her forehead. The hair on her temples had grown white. Her elegant garb did little to mask the general air of lethargy around her.
Her machinations had been hampered by Link at every turn. The loss of her husband and daughter only exacerbated the emotional toll she had to endure.
Saroviny was standing beside the High Elf Queen. She was still wearing the Abyss of Despair battle robe, with a pair of Dark Power swords hanging from her waist. She had a grave expression on her face. Her brows were slightly furrowed. She looked completely different from the first time Link saw her.
After years of rigorous training, she had become a true Warrior.
However, Saroviny still had an arrogant air about her. Despite knowing that demons weren’t viewed in a positive light by most High Elves in the Isle of Dawn, she did not even seem to bother suppressing her demonic aura. Every time one of the High Elf Elders threw her a disapproving look, she would glare back at him, reminding him who was in charge here.
She was after all a Level-16 pinnacle master, while the most powerful High Elf Elder in the building only had Level-9 power. All of them were cowed into submission instantly by one look from the demon.
Finally, Saroviny’s gaze fell on Link.
There were around 300 people in the building. None of them could withstand her gaze. Only Link was able to maintain eye contact with her longer than anyone else.
Saroviny raised a hand, stopping the High Elf Queen in her tracks. She pointed at Link and said, “Your Highness, is this Theodore Morgenstern, the young man rumored to have received the World Tree’s blessing?”
The High Elf Queen had noticed Theodore. She had mixed feelings about his presence here. On one hand, she hoped that Theodore would have the power to go up against Saroviny right now. On the other, she knew that their current situation did not look too promising. Her safest bet now was to yield to the demon’s demands and protect this young man for as long as she could until he was ready to rise up against Saroviny.
She did not expect Saroviny to notice the young High Elf so soon.
Left without a choice, the queen nodded. “Yes, that’s Theodore Morgenstern. He’s only a young High Elf with a few accomplishments under his belt. I don’t think he would be someone worth your time.”
Saroviny shook her head. “Just a few? I don’t think so. I think there’s much more to this young man than meets the eye.”
She then looked at the elders in the room and said loudly, “I’m guessing this young man is your trump card against me?”
There was not a sound in the room. None of the elders dared breathe a word at that moment.
Raymond was now clutching Theodore’s hand tightly. He muttered, “My son, this demon is even more terrifying than I thought. Are you sure you can handle her? You don’t need to push yourself.”
Link patted the back of Raymond’s hand reassuringly. He then stepped out of the crowd and sank into a deep bow before the High Elf Queen. “Your Highness.”
Upon seeing the young man, the queen instantly knew that Theodore indeed possessed extraordinary power. However, she was still not sure if he would be able to prevail over Saroviny, who was powerful enough to travel between realms. The way she saw it, the only person capable of defeating this demon was the Lord of Ferde himself.
She was no longer able to change this young man’s fate. She raised her hand and said, “At ease.”
Before Saroviny could say anything, the queen muttered, “He poses no threat to you. Our top priority today is to stop the two realms from fusing. In order to do so, we will need the help of every High Elf Elder in this room. We don’t have much time left.”
“No.” Saroviny shook her head. She stepped forward, her eyes fixed on Link. “I can’t let this young man live!”
She then pulled out her swords. “Your Highness, set up a defensive barrier. Things might get a bit… violent here.”
The High Elf Queen frowned. “You…”
Before she could even finish her sentence, Saroviny swung one of her swords to her throat. The cold metal made the queen’s hair stand on end.
“Less talk, more action now, your Highness, or would you prefer I kill everyone here right now?”
If it were not for the fact that she still needed the elders’ help in stopping the fusion of the two realms, she would not have bothered to join this wretched meeting in the first place and simply slaughtered every High Elf on this island!
The High Elf Queen bit her lip. “Open up a defensive barrier.”
At this point, she could only hope that Theodore was truly blessed by the World Tree.
“Your Highness, you can’t give up on my son so easily!” Raymond shouted. He had only just gotten Theodore back. How could he possibly let him be killed here?
“Die, you old fool!” Saroviny brandished her sword, sending a spatial ripple flying towards Raymond’s heart.
She was confident that no one would be able to block her attack. Though the young High Elf was just as powerful as her, she highly doubted that someone who had just received Level-16 power overnight from the World Tree would be able to master it immediately.
However, she thought wrong.
Link’s arm blurred. A green arc sailed across the air and disrupted the demon’s attack in an instant.
Saroviny was stunned. “It would seem that I have underestimated you, young man!”
Boom! Dark Power began swirling around Saroviny. Black flames now burned around her body. She was about to unleash her full power against Link!