Maylana would never be able to forget this day in her life.
After the veil had been broken against all odds, she had finally told the little kid the truth.
Her wailing had been one of the loudest in the entire area, and Maylana had had to resist the urge to cry, too.
She even felt partly responsible. Maybe, if she wasn't there…her bad luck might not have rubbed onto this little elf who looked so adorable even when she was crying her heart out.
Maylana tried and tried to help her calm down, but she knew just how it felt to lose parents at an age when a child could understand what it meant. She had gone through the same thing, but she still didn't know what to say to console the little elf.
There really was nothing that could be said at this moment to ease her suffering.
It was only after the little elf saw the stoic face of the King of Lanthanor, their savior, did she pause her crying and stand up from the side of the bodies of her parents.
Till then, she had been holding one hand each from her mother and father while crying on them.
Seeing this change, Maylana had felt happy, and she chose to follow the King after succeeding in dragging the little elf away from the macabre scene of the two most important people in her life lying motionless.
Would she have done the same if she had known that the Queen would be appearing there?
Probably not.
When the revelation that the soldiers of Lanthanor had lost their mageroots dawned on her, she, along with almost everyone near her, had felt emotions of such sadness and guilt that they threatened to eat her up.
When the Queen appeared, though, Maylana closed her fist and resisted the urge to cry again.
She had to be strong for the little elf.
Yet, when she saw the proud and arrogant Queen kneel, she was more shocked than anyone else.
She was the one in the Kingdom who understood the Queen most. So, she knew exactly what her kneeling meant.
It signified…that a major change had come upon her.
As the Queen spoke in a tone that commanded the hearts of all of those who had been saved, Maylana couldn't believe it, but she, too, started cheering in the end.
Yes! This was how an elf was supposed to be.
Never hesitating to pay off a debt, never thinking twice before helping someone who had done so much for them.
It was only after she saw the little elf's shining eyes did she remember that the glorious King, who had already caused so many miracles, was going to bring all the dead elves and humans back to life!
Was that even possible? Was he a god?
Such questions ran through the minds of all those present, but when the King started the process of 'resurrection', they understood the truth.
All of these people had been placed in a near-death state, almost as if they had been frozen solid.
All it required was a simple spell to kickstart them to life.
Yet, that spell was so blindingly complex that many Human level mages actually had to switch off their elementary vision as they became subject to splitting headaches.
He walked from grieving family to family, touching the foreheads of those affected and making them wake up, like a Deity that had descended to give back life to those from whom it had been unjustly taken.
Each and every family cried and thanked him profusely, yet he only gave them a small smile and told them that it was his duty, and that he was thankful for their support in supporting the step the Queen had proposed. After all, it would save his Kingdom, and the people he valued so much.
As the Eldinorians heard this, they once again felt happy that they had gotten this chance, as they started to truly believe that just as the Queen had said, he was worthy of being someone to rule them. Just the love he showed for his Kingdom was enough to indicate how well he would take care of them, too.
With each resurrection, positive thoughts and support like this got reinforced more and more into the minds of thousands of Eldinorians.
Before, some could at least doubt that the resolution to ally with Lanthanor would gain the approval of the Court, and the people with ease.
However, after seeing this, that doubt started to vanish, and soon, it became a foregone conclusion that it was definitely going to happen.
Maylana watched this, and realized just how much this incident had changed the elves.
Before, their individualism and ego would never have allowed them to think in this way about a 'mere' human.
Yet, the shock of almost dying, the grief of losing someone they loved and the relief of having that someone brought back were all life-changing events that served to change the general mindset itself.
Even though all elves weren't subject to the latter two events, they could definitely see and understand how it must be when they gazed at the many families, and in turn, they were affected by those emotions too.
All in all, Maylana could tell that the race of the elves of Eldinor had been changed forever.
All, because of one man.
As the sun started to set, that man finally reached them.
He patted the little elf's head and whispered words of comfort to her, which made her smile cutely and hug his head.
This wasn't the first time that the norms of 'societal interactions' had been broken. He hugged back, before touching the foreheads of both of her parents behind her back.
When the little elf stepped back with a shy expression on her face, to her surprise, she bumped into someone's legs.
Turning around, she first froze for a second, before squealing in joy and running into her parents' embrace.
Maylana, herself, smiled on seeing this, and so did the King before moving on.
By the end of the day, only a small portion of those who needed to be resurrected had been visited, so the rest were told to wait for the assistance of soldiers who would transport those bodies to the Palace, where this activity would continue.
Daneel was exhausted, but he was happy that his plan was working.
This one-to-one interaction with so many people had been set up for the exact purpose of solidifying the idea of allying with him and coming under his rule.
This had been his second objective behind the modifications to the formation.
As he now had a moment of respite, he was about to rest to recharge his Mageroot, but he found Katerina and Eldra walking toward him side-by-side.
They seemed to be arguing, but Eldra was having none of it.
As they neared, Daneel heard what Katerina was saying.
"But that's not how it's supposed to be! You can't just give your post to me! Elections need to be conducted!"
"I've decided, Katerina. In times of war, there is a clause that states that this is possible. This is such a time. I have decided to step down, as I believe that I am not worthy of the post. Besides, I want to concentrate on my training, too. Just come to the Court. You'll find out. King Daneel, I've called for an emergency Court, like we discussed. Shall we go?"
Toward the end, the two reached him, so Eldra addressed him while speaking.
Hearing this, Daneel took a deep step.
Indeed, this was the decision she had taken before when he had asked her in the sky.
Nodding, he said, "Let's."
A few minutes later, he was standing in the Royal Court of Eldinor for the second time, but, of course, no one could know that.
That was because the first time, he had sneaked in here without anyone's knowledge.
The Court was full right now, with many aged elves who had extremely serious expressions on their faces.
A few even seemed furious, but they were hiding it well.
Daneel was standing in front of the throne, and the strange thing was that the throne was empty.
The Queen was standing beside him, and she had just begun to speak.
"In many ways, I am partially responsible for this extremely horrendous act. I've already explained to you about the culprit, and about how that glorious act of King Daneel's when he broke apart the veil caused a backlash which made the Empire Spirit burn up and die. I was being Mind Controlled, but that is no excuse. For this reason, I have chosen to step down and give my post to Katerina, the one who saved the day when there was no one else to take charge. I hope and pray that I can still stay on and advise the Queen about certain schemes that I've put into effect, as I've gained a rather clear understanding of our Kingdom during my time as the Queen. However, if that is not preferable, then I have no problem in leaving the Palace altogether."
Hearing the determination in the Queen's voice, many shook their heads and some even looked like they were ready to curse.
The main reason for the latter, though, was what she addressed next.
"As for the resolution to ally with Lanthanor, I propose an urgent national vote tomorrow. This matter cannot be delayed. Let this be my last official act as Queen."
In Eldinor, important decisions needed National votes in order to be passed.
This was put in place so that rulers wouldn't lead the Kingdom to ruin by doing whatever they wanted.
The Queen had the authority to call the vote, so everyone knew that it was up to the people.
Hence, they stayed silent, but while he observed the haughty expressions which were mainly on the elves who hadn't been in the festival, he knew that there would be pushback.
However, he trusted Katerina to handle that.
More than anything, right now, he was waiting for the alliance to go official, which was when he guessed he would receive more EXP.
As for Axelor's attempts at building a counter-alliance to attack Lanthanor and Eldinor, he had laughed before directing Luther and Faxul about what they should do.
Yet, he had been pretty surprised on hearing the Arafell's decision.
The Sect of Hedon's decision could be understood, as the High Council was low on Heroes and they had other priorities.
Still, of course, it had turned out in the best way for him, which was how he had been hoping everything would pan out in the first place.
If Lanthanor was still at full strength, maybe Arafell would have felt differently, which would definitely be a problem. Also, the other two Kingdoms would also not have such a solid excuse.
All in all, this episode had come to an end, with the only thing remaining being the official ceremony when the alliance would form.
Taking a deep breath, Daneel waited till the Court was adjourned after it was decided that the vote would be held at noon.
After this was done, he made his way to a makeshift barracks that had been constructed near the border of Lanthanor.
As the mages of Lanthanor who had had their mageroots destroyed couldn't teleport anymore, they had to take the long way back.
Many mages from Eldinor had offered to teleport them back, but as one, they had rejected, as if the trek of hundreds of kilometers back to the capital was some sort of pilgrimage that they had decided to take part in.
It was around 11 PM, but when Daneel reached the barracks, he saw that no one was sleeping.
No…they were all drinking.
Crates and crates of cheap beer were placed beside the door of the large open warehouse-style room, and the hundreds of mages were all either standing or lying on the ground while continuously gulping down the unpleasant drink.
Boom!
Sighing, Daneel made a loud sound which brought them to attention and made them aware that their King was here.
Hastily, all of the soldiers dropped the bottles and got into ranks, but some stood facing away from the King, as they were too drunk to tell which direction was which.
Daneel waited for a few moments while Cassandra and Kellor made their way here. As able mages, they had taken part in the operation to transport the thousands of bodies which needed to be resurrected to the palace.
However, now, when they arrived and saw the haphazard ranks where some soldiers had even started to puke on those in front of them, they sighed with sadness.
"Are these the brave soldiers of Lanthanor who made history by saving over a million innocent souls today?"
Daneel's voice reverberated through the room, but the only response he got was a few hiccups.
Shrugging his shoulders, he turned around and said, "Oh, well. Here I had wanted to tell you that there might be a way to become mages again, and even increase your comprehension level in the process. I guess you're all too defeated to want that. You'll be receiving hefty pensions anyway, so have great lives."
"…"
Silence.
Pin-drop silence appeared in the room, before frantic shouts started to emanate from the soldiers.
"No, My King! I'll do anything!"
"Me too!"
"Even death can't stop me! Please, My King!"
Well, there was nothing like hurting the ego of a soldier to rile them up.
Smiling, Daneel turned around and spoke in a dead serious voice.
Seeing him do so, the soldiers quieted down, but the content of his statement left them speechless, making them wonder whether they were dreaming.
However, that was followed by a brilliant shine which couldn't be hidden even in the darkness of the night.
"I like the enthusiasm. But this will be a walk through hell. Gentlemen and ladies, I guarantee you that if you pass, you will become some of the strongest mages on this continent. But there is one caveat. To the outside, you will still look like mageroot-less veterans. You will have to be fine with hiding your strength, as I want to mold you into a knife in the dark that will dazzle everyone when it is revealed to cut the throat of the Chu-, I mean, our enemies. You have been warned."
.....
TIME FOR THE 500 CHAPTERS CONTEST!
It's simple: write a spin-off story about WDS!
Either choose your favorite character and write something about their exploits, or choose an event in the book that has happened so far, that you wish happened in a different way.
In essence, just write a story based on WDS. Judging will be based on a voting system!
Mail in your stories to: [email protected]
Prizes: 1st Place - 500 SS!
2 Runnerups- 200 SS Each!
3 Consolation Prizes - 100 SS Each!
Get writing!
(Note: this doesn't cost SS)