[Elleyzabelle’s point of view] 

The sight of hundreds of monsters screaming and screeching as they tried to get into the city to feast upon its citizens was terrifying. I could only imagine what those who couldn’t fight against these creatures felt when they saw the massive gates tremble and crack each time the Cyclops Tree struck it with its massive arms. The same could be said about the brave elves who were trying their best to keep the worst from happening.

If the beast managed to break through, it was highly likely that the burden of knowing that they were helpless against it, that they were powerless when they tried to protect their friends and family, was going to be enough for some of them to overwhelm them and make them quit the fight altogether.

I may have been born a Princess of the Royal Family of Albeyater, but this didn’t mean that I chose to turn a blind eye to what those who served me thought and felt. Rather than ignoring the tragedies and thinking that they had nothing to do with me, I often went out of my way to listen and read about these events. Few were the moments when I found myself in a perilous situation, but by imagining what I felt then and knowing that for some could be worse, I was able to, at the very least, empathize with the less fortunate ones.

Duchess Alve’Yahna Desterus was looking at the battlefield with a horrified look on her face, while the soldiers she commanded moved forward to form a wall between us and any straggler monster that went our way. The elf woman, as much as she portrayed a nobility of stone, unmovable, unshakeable, there were moments when her mask crumbled and turned to dust.

“The tea is ready, your Highness.” Tanarotte said as she brought over a tray for me.

“Thank you.” I nodded and the pulled out a small table set from my ring and took a seat on the chair.

Seeing me like this, the Duchess frowned and asked “Aren’t you worried about your two knights? That’s a Cyclops Tree... if that thing gets inside Amir’Dalla... the casualties...” she clenched her fist and looked away.

I noticed that some of the soldiers didn’t like my attitude of having some tea right in the middle of this battlefield.

Letting out a small sigh and then looking at the Duchess, I showed her a polite smile and then said “The fact that I’m sitting here without a single speck of worry to bother me shows just how much I trust my Royal Knights to clear up this mess. Now, I do not mean to belittle your troops or the brave ones fighting to defend the city right now, but there is a clear difference of power between them. As for the two of us, tell me, what can we do if we rush forward?” I asked.

“Even so...” the Duchess wanted to retort but she stopped as she swallowed her own words.

“In this area, we are certain that we are safe. Your soldiers can handle a few monsters that rush towards us, but...” I took my cup of tea and then elegantly took a sip from it, finger raised, eyes closed, savoring the aroma of the leaves to their fullest. Lowering the cup back on the plate, I said “What if there are more than two or three waiting for us down the path? Or...” I opened my eyes and looked at the Duchess “what if another wave happens to take place right as we head in to help them?”

“That... If there are just a few then...” the Duchess turned around and looked at her troops.

It seemed that my words reached them as well, and they showed worry about what might happen.

Letting out a sigh, the Duchess then said “You are right, your Highness, I apologize for my recklessness.” she bowed her head to me and then walked forward to take a seat at my table.

“It’s understandable. Besides, from what I have gathered, there are not many chances of a political representative such as myself arriving in this country. This monster wave was something no one could have foretold. If they did, you would have certainly been notified when you crossed Amir’Dalla last time. But, as unfortunate as it is, Duchess Desterus, you were tasked to escort me to the capital, were you not?”

She nodded in silence.

“While I do understand your love for your people and wish to lend them a helping hand, I do hope you will have faith in the power of my Royal Knights. It isn’t without reason that I am escorted by so few of my people when I am traveling aboard in a land unknown to me.”  I told her as Tanarotte poured her a cup of tea.

The Duchess looked into the cup and then let out another sigh. She was a smart woman, she understood that the very fact that I allowed my knights to fly off and fight was not something just anyone in my position would have allowed. In most cases, it was at this point when the knights would form a perimeter around me and would not let even a single speck of dust to approach me, yet here I was, sipping down on some delicious tea as if I was back in my own bedroom.

“You’ve seen Seryanna train earlier today, haven’t you?” I asked her after a moment when I saw that she wasn’t touching her tea.

“Yes.” she nodded.

“What do you think?” I took a sip from my cup.

“Exceptional skill... I could barely keep up with her moves.” she told me.

“And could any of your soldiers or those defending Amir’Dalla right now match her from what you know so far?” I took another sip from my cup.

“That... I...” when she was about to speak up her mind, one of the soldiers at the frontline shouted.

“The Cyclops Tree is down!”

“WHAT?!” the Duchess was so surprised that she got up on her feet so fast she almost bumped the table.

Good thing I was holding onto my cup otherwise a miserable accident might have happened to my dress.

Without a second to lose, the woman rushed to the frontlines and looked at the scene with her own eyes, while I continued to take a sip from my cup without a care in the world.

“Take a quick look and tell me what’s happening right now.” I told Tanarotte.

With a bow of her head, the dragoness took a step back, spread her wings and then jump up into the air. A few second later, she landed a few steps away from me.

“Your Highness, Sir Seryanna and Sir Kataryna defeated the Cyclops Tree and now they are cleaning up the remaining monsters on the battlefield. They are also making sure that none of them are heading in our direction.” Tanarotte gave her report with a short bow and then return to her place by my side.

I continued to drink my cup of tea in peace. The cup that was prepared for Duchess Desterus was starting to get cold, but looking at the circumstances, it was quite possible that she did not had time for it.

Looking back, I could have just let her presume whatever she wanted even if it would have made the soldiers look down on me. The acts of my Royal Knights were more than enough to speak for me, but I was not one who was keen on letting misunderstandings take place and develop over time. On the long run, all they did was cause unnecessary trouble for both parties. Thus, it was best to cut it short before it had time to bloom.

By the time the Duchess returned to my table and sat down on her chair, the tea in her cup had gone cold. There was a look of astonishment on her face, her lips were parted just a bit, enough for her breath to escape; her eyes were wide, and a lock of her hair fell over her face.

“Was it that shocking?” I asked her.

“Pardon?” she blinked twice and looked up at me.

“Was it that shocking? How powerful my Royal Knights are?”

She looked back down at her own reflection in the teacup.

“Yes... Initially, I thought I was one of the strongest fighters in this Empire, but after seeing their display on the battlefield just now, I don’t know what to say...” she confessed.

“Are you Starscryer?” I asked her.

“A Starscryer? No, of course not! Such a distinguished person, I’m far from reaching such power and prestige, but one day, I hope to be able to stand on the same stage as them!” she declared with a spark in her eyes.

Maybe the shock she received just now has brought to light a part of her true personality? I wondered.

“Then, aren’t you happy that you had the chance to witness two of them while at work?” I asked her with a smile.

“Pardon?” she looked at me with big eyes filled with surprise and awe.

“I believe I did mention before, but maybe our words weren’t convincing enough?" I showed her a small wry smile and then continued “Sir Kataryna and Sir Seryanna are the equivalent of your Starscryers, although, we call them Breakthrough-ers.”

“Breakthrough-ers?”

“You most certainly have heard us mention this word several times by now, didn’t you? Starscryer would be the equivalent translation in your language.” I showed her a soft smile.

“Yes, but I didn’t think that they were... actually this powerful.” she looked down.

“It’s understandable that you find it hard to believe. In your stories, the Starscryers have a near-myth-like status, they are revered almost akin to the gods by some, however, the truth is that their might is similar to that of those two. Some are more powerful than others, some have been Breakthrough-ers for longer than others, but in the end, your Starscryers are most certainly the same as them. As for who can achieve such phenomenal strength, well I have the feeling that your historians, unknowingly or knowingly muddied the explanation as years came to pass, but in truth, anyone with enough perseverance, luck, strength, and discipline could eventually become one. Species that live far longer than others have a better chance at doing so. Of course, fighting against monsters and constantly challenging your limits is a must.” I explained to the Duchess who took in every word that I said as if it was a priceless treasure.

For the elves, this piece of info was probably something incredible, however, even if they now became aware of it, there was a big difference between those who could reach Breakthrough-er status and those who failed no matter how hard they tried. Kataryna told me that the reason behind this was in the way the two viewed the world. While normal individuals saw the rules of society and common sense dictated by the majority, the Breakthrough-ers could see past that and change the values of common sense as well as downright deny it.

After all, how many warriors would stop to think about how efficient they were when they fought when in reality very few could topple them even with that efficiency? Common sense would dictate that Seryanna was an extremely gifted Knight when it came to control and power, it was just that it was normal to sometimes apply a bit too much force in your attacks, however, both for Kataryna and her, this idea was wrong.

Common sense would also dictate that an Unawakened dragoness would never be able to defeat an Awakened dragon Knight, yet Seryanna did it time and time again. As for her husband, the hero of our kingdom Alkelios, well... he broke common sense just by existing.

The two of them returned as soon as they were done killing off the vast majority of monsters in the surrounding area. Unlike before, the Duchess now joined me for a relaxing cup of tea, while the soldiers waited patiently for the situation to return to normal.

The people of Amir’Dalla knew of my Knights’ courageous deeds and welcomed us all with opened arms. They were definitely frightened of the possibility of the Cyclops Tree laying waste to their precious homes.

When we entered the city, I took a peek through the cracks in the window drapes and saw that there were quite a lot of humans here, at least on the outer edges, as soon as we reached the noble areas, their number dimmed down to a handful.

There was no welcoming procession for us, no bard to announce our arrival, no gathering of nobles to sing praises to our names, and we very much liked this.

As soon as we reached the inn, I ordered the servants there to prepare a bath for me and then told Duchess Desterus that I would be welcoming any guests after I was done with my preparations. A meal did not sound too bad either, but I made it clear that I did not wish to be disturbed during this time.

A few of the local nobles, including the governing lord, took this as an opportunity to meet me and invited me over to their mansions for some tea and cakes. I refused since I did not find it appropriate. As the political representative of a foreign nation, I held a great power in the eyes of the local nobles, however, I was still too new to these lands and didn’t know yet just what sort of political games were being cooked up in the background.

There was a saying that went something like this: There are a thousand snakes in the pot, but only one mouse wearing snake skin. Whether the mouse can flee to safety or not depends on how well he knows when the snakes will strike.

For this matter, Duchess Desterus was a most splendid companion who could slowly teach me the things I wished to know. This was the reason, why, for tonight only, instead of discussing about various trade opportunities that could be formed between our nations, we discussed the political web within Anui’Yahna Empire, at least, up to the point where a foreigner like myself was allowed to find out.

By the time our little chat came to an end, I came to learn that there were at least seven different political faction within the empire, all of them trying to obtain different things, from territories and the approval of new laws to the right to command armies and the release of certain prisoners. Indeed, there were many political intrigues going on, and they were natural to form given how long elves tended to live.

Among the factions, the Imperialists, the Militants, and the Traditionalists were the most powerful and most loud in expressing their desires. The first was loyal to the Imperial Family, and they tried to increase their power even further. The second faction was formed out of three of the generals who guarded the Empire, and they saw the arrival of the Human Heroes as an invasion of some sort, which they had to act against with utmost swiftness. The latter were those who believed in the ancient ways of the elves and demands for all the new things to be subjected to a laborious review that would determine whether or not a new technology or even a type of food was worthy of the empire’s glory.

There were just the few details that the Duchess offered me, but it was more than enough to piece together a clear image of their political battles.

In essence, the Imperialists were similar to the Royalists party in Albeyater. They were trying to enforce and strengthen the rule of the leader up to the point where no one else had a say in the matter. They were headstrong and fiercely loyal, but their disadvantage was the fact that they tended to alienate more possible allies through their fanatic behavior than they were able to draw near.

The Militant faction was born with the desire to turn the Anui’Yahna Empire into a military power which could shake the world. It was a mighty dream and impressive from many points of view, but it was the same with that of any other general throughout the world... well, maybe except for Brekkar Draketerus. The problem with them laid in the fact that they tended to put military personnel and civilians in the same group and expected from the latter to act as though they already had military training, which was ridiculous. Besides, a military state could only spell bad news. No one wanted to negotiate trade deals with them because you never knew when they would strike back with the military power which your resources helped build.

Meanwhile, the Traditionalists, were like a group of rabid wolves who jumped at the nearest sheep, thinking they could take it down, and in the process forgetting the fact that they were prey not predator. If they were anything akin with the traditionalists in Albeyater and other draconian Kingdoms, then they were certainly a group who wanted to maintain a status quo when it came to the development of military doctrines, political doctrines, and reforms. They abhorred change just as much as a sheep would corrupt wolf meat.  

Although all of these factions saw their nation change in a different way, they were all extremist views which would eventually lead to its collapse. A good country had a bit of everything, traditions it could not part with, a desire to prosper and welcome in the new, loyalty towards the crown, and a population that did not discriminate. 

However, ignoring the smaller and weaker factions within a political war could be disastrous. After all, you did not know when the little ones bit back and swallowed you whole. A new faction could grow up to be too powerful to control at any given time, they were all just waiting for a good opportunity to do so.

In the end, I could see that the Anui’Yahna Empire had plenty of things to offer for the dragons and dragonesses of Albeyater, not only in the form of trade goods but also culture and art. What worried me, however, was that throughout all of our discussions so far, Duchess Desterus Alve’Yahna had never even hinted at the possibility that I would get to meet the current acting Empress, and at best would be welcomed by the Human Hero Xardun Overtur.

Is there a certain reason as to why her Majesty would refuse to meet me? I wondered as I looked up at the ceiling of my room, while I laid comfortably in my bed, willing to let myself fall into a deep slumber.