Weeks of constant tension and silent oppression passed. Raven's heart sank every waking hour. There was something wrong with the guards around her.
The uprisings were no longer just about the broken chasm that deemed it unimportant to heal anymore. They became a way for the poor and broken to vent. Everything that went wrong was the fault of the stranger in their lands.
King Ashphyr stood on the balcony of his room, his eyes narrowed at the horizon. The purple and gold hued sky above was dazzling but he was in no mood to appreciate it. There was something really wrong with the problems his elven kingdom was facing. He could see it. A boundless force In the darkness pulling the strings. They were not safe in the capital. He had to find a way to win this battle.
He wasn't the elven King for nothing. Thousands of years in peace didn't mean he was a pushover.
His green and gold embroidered cape danced in the wind. A grin like no other graced his sculpted features.
"Let's play!"
Then he turned away from the beauty of the night and walked into the enclosure of his room.
The rays of golden sunlight filtered into the windows of the King's study. Alzar, the queen, Ashar and trusted noble families sat round the gemstone table. King Ashphyr sat leaning slightly on his throne, his eyes were half closed like nothing warranted his attention.
"The Gardenians seem to have gone off course..!"
collective gasps echoed throughout the study. King Ashphyr smiled lightly, his eyes now wide open. He took in all their reactions.
"I couldn't have guessed it either..but this is where we find ourselves."
"Husband… this seems impossible. Aren't they suppose to remain neutral till the crown goes rogue?"
The King smiled at his wife, his eyes carrying a warmth like no other.
"I'm the King…, I naturally have my ways!"
The others in the room could only smile at the King's obvious showoff. The tension on everyones shoulders eased at the King's hidden Narcissist.
Alzar coughed lightly bringing everyone back to the main point.
"What do we do about the mob demanding her death..?"
Ashphyr's carefree expression darkened slightly.
"Passively defend..!"
"eeehhh….?"
They all collectively stared at the King. 'Was he bluffing?'
"Your Majesty…, what exactly do you mean by passive stance..?"
"Exactly what it means.."
"You mean, we do absolutely nothing?" Even the Queen was bewildered. Was this a secret code to act or was he really talking about being sitting ducks. Lambs to the slaughter!
Then what was the whole secret meeting episode about? Wasn't it to find a solution to their problem or did she get the wrong memo! The Queen turned to look around at everyone else. The looks of confusion eased her worry.
'She didn't get the wrong memo! The King's actions were most likely equally disturbing'
King Ashphyr didn't say more. He waved his hand signalling for a dismissal. The Queen lingered at the door for a while longer, her mind blank with a multitude of unanswered questions.
'Was everything okay with her beloved husband..?'
"Ash…"
The King looked up to his wife's face, seeing the worry in her eyes, he smiled.
"I'm okay…, I promise"
Enurea sighed lightly before finally closing the door to the study.
In the dim lights of his study, the smile on his face disappeared. His eyes narrowed slightly as array lines on his palms shone a faint green.
In the shadows outside the study, a man dressed in greyish robes stood. The lights of the hallway flickered. A smirk adorned his pale face, then he vanished just as quickly as he came. Back in the study, The King's eyes shone with a plae green light. Nothing could escape his sight! No one knew he had the fames Elven Tree Wisdom eyes; Nothing could be hidden from his sight.
Underneath the East wing of the Elven palace grounds, the sound of an ink pen scribbling on a sheet of paper echoed. A man in greenish gold robes sat behind a simple black oak table writing on a blank sheet of paper but no matter how much he wrote , the paper remained blank. The shadows in the dimly lit office moved ever so lightly. A man in greyish robes knelt down on one knee before the writing man:
"Your Highness…, the King called for a secret meeting with a few of the council elders. Judging from their looks as they exited his study, their situation doesn't look too good"
"mm…, go"
The man from the shadows vanished without a word.
Phillis smirked lightly..
It was time to move the plan a little further.
*******
The torches of the gardenia enclave burned a little brighter tonight. Their pale green flames licking at the damp stone walls of the occult sanctuary. For decades, they had operated in the damp undergrounds of the capital, keeping to the legacy of protection of their elven isolation but tonight, the flames in their hearts burned with an ambitious fire. The whispers of their legacy had turned into an audible hum of raw, unaltered ambition.
A t the center of the chamber stood a man dressed in greyish robes. Code name Gars. His silver mask shone with a sinister glint underneath the eerie green lights. His hands were tightly clasped at his back as he addressed the organized crowd.
"The Chairman has sent word: The king is trappedin a cloud of confusion, he cannot resist our movement. Let the games begin! No need to hide in the shadows. Go forth and purge the evil hunting our elven home!"
The dim chambers erupted with excited howls. Gars was the chairman's right hand and only he and a few others knew who he truly was.
Gars raised his hand and tapped the side of his silver mask.
"Let's begin…!"
His voice bounced off the damp stone walls of the chamber. The floors of the chamber began to move, the gears beneath the floors revealed themselves after a millennia laying low.
In the midst of the brain splitting groans released by the rotating gears, a heavy and gigantic bronze brazier was lifted to the now vacant center of the stone floor.
Gars and the other elders of the gardenian council stood around the brazier. The other members gathered in a circle surrounding the twelve elders. The flames crackled with rage.
The only one missing from this grand event was the chairman. Only they knew why!
The twelve elders raised the arms and began their chants, the other members following suit. The eyes underneath every silver mask glowed an eerie green. Within the flames, a large bronze tray filled with thousands of black pills released a faint hum. The thousands of gardenians raised their personal daggers and slashed their wrist. A collective grunt resounded in the black stone chamber.
The blood flowed out of their slashed wrists and floated into the air condensing into a giant ball of glowing blood. The floating blood ball began to boil above the flames of the bronze brazier, the round shape deforming as the incantations approached their end. The bubbling blood ball let out a shrill, ear-piercing sound before bursting apart leaving behind a cloud of blood gas.
The vaporized blood was pulled into the brazier by an unseen force, an array lit up on the bronze tray's surface. The black pills began to tremble, steadily absorbing the blood vapor. Red occultic marks lined their once smooth, black surface. A cloud of pungent grey fume was released from the burning brazier.
The black and red pills silently floated out of the brazier and into a pouch hovering before Gars.
Unlike the pungent smell of the cloud before, the pills released a faint fruity aroma. The bloody smell gone without a trace.
"It is done…!"