Steven Burke - The Broken Council

Princess Kira's eyes sparkled as she looked for the Elemental. She knew that no one had seen one for hundreds of years. They used to travel the lands ofTuwa without any trepidation, but something had happened centuries ago to drive them into seclusion. As Yukio looked at the place where he had seen the misty form of Kana, they both started at the appearance of a beautiful creature. She had long, fiery-red hair with eyes that pierced the soul. Being in her presence was both terrible and awe inspiring. The powerful Elemental before them gestured to them to come out from under the cover of the trees. Yukio did not like giving up his cover; it made him feel vulnerable.

As they approached, a powerful wind came up from behind them and lifted them into the air. They hung suspended right in front of Kana. They had a brief moment of terror rush through them, and then all at once they were at peace. The guardian smiled pleasantly at her guests as though this unwanted suspension should have been expected. Once they felt comfortable again, they both carefully put up mental barriers. It was never wise to lower them for too long, regardless of whose company you were in. Yukio worried that he may have kept them down for a moment too long, so he employed his strongest barrier in the form of a mind mirror. This is basic in what it does; however, it requires vast amounts of energy and skill to employ. Basically he shields his mind by mirroring the mind of the intruder so that they see their own thoughts. He quickly searched for an alien presence in his mind and found none there. He breathed a sigh of relief. She must trust us. Yukio felt a pang of uneasiness at this thought.

"You are here at my request," Kana stated without wasting another moment. "I have seen your destinies, and they are intertwined with one another and with the elves." Her voice was smooth and yet intense at the same time. It mesmerized the pair to the point of total submission. A glazed look came over their eyes, and their minds were blissfully at ease and defenseless once more. She told them many things and spoke, at times, in a language not familiar to them. They reached a point where they were aware again after what seemed to be hours of listening to the guardian. The Elemental had released her control over their minds so that they would remember this part of their meeting on a conscience level.

"It is clear that you two are to be united as elf and man. Your union will be the catalyst for saving the elves from annihilation. Also, new friendships will be formed between races that were once enemies," the mistress stated confidently. She seemed to be glowing now as they looked at her. They simply could not take their eyes off her. They began to panic again at their lack of control. She spoke some more words they did not understand and cringed at the power they had when she uttered them. As she was speaking, clouds formed overhead and rain began to fall. This apparently symbolized the washing away of their previous lives and the beginning of their new ones as her servants.

After a few minutes of rain the clouds dispersed and the heat of the day hit them with full force once more. The cold they had felt immediately vanished. They felt oddly cleansed and renewed after being chilled. They did not know that this Elemental had broken the laws of the guardians by intervening in lesser beings' lives and by commanding an element that she did not have stewardship over. She had used her command of the winds to bring the storm clouds to their location to do her bidding even though she should not command water in any form. As soon as her servants were cleansed, she commanded the wind to remove the clouds to their previous position. Then she commanded the heat of the sun to dry and solidify the change she had wrought in these two unlikely partners.

"You two are now bound together forever. No one can break the bond that has been created here today," she said with a commanding voice. "Your mission is to bring the elves that see the truth of their plight to this place to begin building their new home. They will be blessed by the guardians for following their chosen servants."

"We will do as you have asked," replied Yukio and Kira in unison.

"Good. Now is the time to do the work of the guardians and to prove your loyalty to our cause," Kana said with a smile. At this point, it was unclear what she meant by this statement. The couple smiled back at their new master while peace filled their souls. They felt as though they were floating in the clouds above the cares and woes of their former lives. They just knew that their happiness would last forever, but it would be tested by the shortsighted elven High Council. They also knew that Kira's father, King Ciel, would not tolerate what they had done. He would try to make an example of them for sure.

There was a subtle shift that could be felt throughout the different races of Tuwa. No one could explain what exactly had changed, but they all knew that something for ill or good had taken place. An elf had broken their sacred laws by marrying a man, and an Elemental had violated the laws of her order. Everyone felt a permanent change in their hearts that was unmistakably linked to the events that unfolded on Mount Quang. The guardians felt the rift more profoundly than anyone else because of the severity of the violations made by the guilty parties. They would have to wait and see what would arise from these heinous acts.

The sun burst brilliantly over the high peaks of Mount Quang to illuminate the new and partially completed structures. The elves, who had recently seceded from under King Ciel Tiranidrol's reign, had given themselves a new name so that they would be unique and separate from their woodland kin. They took on the moniker of high elves because of their new location on Mount Quang and also because they felt morally superior to those who remained behind in Renshaw. Mist clung to the mountainside as the light of this new day attempted to burn its way through the thick, moist barrier engulfing the entire snow-capped mountain.

Kira had been made queen, the rightful ruler of the high elves with Yukio at her side. He was a king in title only because only an elf can be a monarch over elves. The people had decided to hold uphold elven law with only a few alterations. Her sister was still a princess and was the next in line to the throne. While the people accepted General Yukio as the spouse of their queen, they did not like him because of his constant manipulation of everyone around him. Their attitude did not sit too well with the charismatic military man. He hid his displeasure so that he may be able to win the hearts of the people over in time. An envoy was sent out with Yukio at the head to the different nations of the free lands of Tuwa. He had been asked to act as an ambassador for the queen and the newly formed nation of high elves. He was the perfect choice for the job because of his connections with the leaders of the nations of men, giants, and dwarves.

All of the homesteads had been completed before the high elves moved from the Forest of Renshaw into their mountain home. The capital city of Alanderas encompassed much of the southern side of Mount Quang. Scaffolding surrounded many of the buildings in the central part of the city like great skeletal creatures. These structures had not been completed before the people moved in because they were for meetings and commerce. The dwelling places were the most important thing to have finished, and that was why they were all finished. Some of the residents lived outside the city while the majority lived within the protective wall around the capital.

The city looked beautiful and decadent, but it was also fortified against any potential assaults. High walls had been erected around the perimeter to provide a certain level of protection against unwanted intrusions or most aerial attacks. The walls were three times the height of the tallest elf. The width of these walls allowed a wagon to ride easily along the top. Naturally magic had been used to speed up the construction of these solid barriers. Trebuchets lined the top of the walls as the main deterrent against a siege. There were several areas where the elven archers could be posted with a reasonable amount of shielding. The main entrance had a gate that was half as thick as the defensive walls, which required ten elves on each side of the dual doors to open and close them. Alanderas was truly a mighty fortress that could not be easily taken from any direction.