~ Chapter 123: The complications with the Empire’s laws ~

[Elleyzabelle’s point of view]

The Anui’Yahna Palace was extraordinary. It was beautiful and majestic, but the statues decorating it were rather unsettling. Even I felt my skin crawl when I looked at them for too long. I found it unnatural to use trees in this manner no matter how skilled one was with Nature Magic.

Now, the reception we received was certainly surprising. Outside of the guards, knights, and soldiers that were patrolling and watching over the safety of this palace, I barely saw any nobles or servants. I found this to be very odd, to the point where for a royal like me it was slightly unsettling.

The second surprise came with the appearance of the First Prince. There was only him in this entire huge room, without any guards or servants to do his bidding. If this was a citadel at the far edges of the empire, maybe it was excusable, but this only made me feel more worried.

We have heard of the human called Xardun Overtur and his achievements, but I was not expecting him to be the one to greet us as the only representative of this nation. However, the fact that he was not sitting on the throne but on the chair next to it, eased up my worries just a bit.

“First Prince, if I may not be so rude as to ask, but... this throne room feels... slightly empty.” I looked at him right in the eyes, trying to spot the hesitation or maybe the signs of a scheme being unraveled.

“My apologies.” the human replied in an honest manner “I know y’all be traveling from over yonder, but this place has seen better days and... Ahem!” he coughed and then continued when he saw us furrowing our brow “Pardon me, my natural dialect sort of... happened.” he showed us a wry smile.

“No problem, Prince, no offense taken. I understand that all Human Heroes come from remarkably diverse countries and civilizations back on your home world.” I told him with a smile.

“Well, that’s reassurin’.” he nodded and then said “The reason this hall is so empty is because after the late Prince who was more hat and no cattle made everyone madder than a wet hen, I had to step in and get to fixin’ up the place. Every rat and snake who dared take a bite at the fair Empress was tossed out of here nailed in a coffin.”

“Pardon me if I misunderstood this, but did you bury them alive?” I asked as I tried my best to hold in my shock.

To be fair, it was the first time I ever met someone with such an... interesting way of talking. I felt as though my knowledge of the elf language was terribly lacking at this point.

“What? Heavens, no! I killed them where they stood and then order their bodies to be given back to their families as long as they swore on their gods and souls that they wouldn’t ever dare to raise their swords against the Empress.” he declared.

“That was a wise thing to do, your Highness.”

“Well, thank you.” he nodded and then continued “Well, as I was sayin’. The prince rallied up the nobles, tried to take the throne, but I managed to stop him. However, this turned the country into a mess and now I’m tryin’ my best to fix things. All available forces, be them noble or commoner, have been given a task and sent out to work. So, the nobles who would usually fill up this place aren’t currently here. Hope that’s not a problem, your Highness.” Xardun said as he smiled.

“It’s not a problem if you spoke the truth...” I replied in a calm tone of voice.

“It is the truth. Cross my heart and hope to die, I said the truth and nothin’ but the truth!” he declared as he raised his right hand up.

“Erm, very well.” I replied furrowing my brow as I found it to be a bit difficult to understand this man.

“Now, I reckon’ y’all be very tired after your long journey, so how’bout we leave the heavy talkin’ for later and for now just relax as my guests at the palace. I’ll have a room prepared for y’all, then tomorrow at noon, sure’nuff, we’ll be goin’ to the study room at the first floor to discuss everything in detail. So, what do y’all say?” he asked.

“If I understood correctly, then for now, this will be a resting day and then we’ll proceed with negotiations starting tomorrow at noon in the study room at the first floor, correct?” I asked because I had to be sure.

“Yes.” he nodded.

“Very well, and once again, pardon me, your Highness, but it’s rather difficult for me to understand your dialect, especially since the elf language was something I picked up only a couple months ago.” I confessed.

“No problem.”

“Then again, I do have a question before we proceed, if I may...” I said as I looked at him.

“Sure, go right ahead!” Xardun showed me a smile.

“Why did you tell me all of this, especially since this is the first time meeting you? By all means, what you let me know is a weakness of this Empire, is it not?” I asked.

“It’s a sign of trust, your Highness.”

“I see...” I nodded.

“And I do hope this won’t be the last time I feel this way, your Highness.” he smiled after he delivered that rather clear warning.

“Likewise.” I nodded.

Afterwards, we were guided by his Highness to our rooms, not by a servant. His excuse was that he wanted us to stay in a place which he was aware off and could easily reach in case of an emergency. This meant that he was not yet completely familiar with the inner structure of the palace.

This reminded me of the time Alkelios stayed at the Seyendraugher Palace. Three out of five times he would find himself lost among the many corridors of the building unless someone told him the way or he himself asked a nearby guard for directions.

Initially, he wanted to give each of us a room, but I insisted on giving us just two rooms, one for me and my maid, Tanarotte, and another for my two knights. One of them would be standing guard while the other would be sleeping. Xardun wasn’t opposed to my request and happily gave us the keys to the two rooms and even stationed some guards nearby in case we ever needed their assistance.

This time, I did not ask Tanarotte to go spying on the local nobles and see what the situation was really like because Sir Seryanna expressed her concern that the guards here were far better trained than those in the previous locations we visited. There was a chance that they would spot the dragoness as she left or returned, sparking a conflict which I didn’t desire.

As such, she was tasked merely with taking up the role of my maid and sending out the letters I needed to be delivered to captain Matthew. Since I requested this officially from his Highness, the First Prince, she was allowed to fly off right out of the capital and cross the lands of Anui’Yahna. However, while it was true that she wasn’t allowed to spy within the castle walls, this didn’t mean that once she took flight she couldn’t spot ‘various things’.

Because the situation was as it was, both of my knights stopped their training and instead focused more on discussing theories and ideas about their new skills and abilities. Personally, I received the minimum amount of training for my own self-defense, however, I too often thought about how it would be like to not be so dependent on my knights for protection, similar to some of my older siblings.

Thus, three days had passed since we arrived at the capital, however, the negotiations didn’t seem to proceed favorably. It was difficult for me to understand the First Prince who often reverted to his old dialect when he relaxed too much.

During our first meeting, I mostly listened to him explain the history of the empire, the same tales I heard from Duchess Desterus and even the el’doraw, but he also added some of the recent history, and most specific, what happened after the Human Heroes arrived on this land. The opinions about them were split in half, some desiring coexistence while others dominance and submissiveness. No matter the case, they weren’t seen as part of the Empire and treated similarly to how they treated the humans from the Human Continent, to be more specific, those from the Akutan Empire. The elves saw them as trouble, as enemies, or individuals that were meant to be blamed and pointed at.

Thus, when the Human Heroes started to immigrate from the Human Continent, they were already pointed out as the enemies who caused so much harm to the elves and el’doraw everywhere. Faced with this prejudice, some of them took upon themselves to prove it that they were better than those humans and had no connection with the infamous Akutan Empire, while others saw the elves as acting out like extremists who would never change their ways. Battles and even discriminatory laws appeared all over the Empire.

In the first year, just as it was everywhere else in the world, it was chaos.

When I asked why none of them traveled to the Dragon Continent, the answer was the same as Alkelios’. They were told by the God-like to avoid it like the plague, especially the Seculiar Forest, which would be a territory that could only welcome them to a quick death.

Upon learning more from the locals, they also knew why, and this was the reason why the First Prince was so reluctant to begin negotiations with me right away.

“The people of the Dragon Continent, also known as draconians, have gained the reputation of being wild, powerful, and immensely proud. They would rather destroy their enemies completely than to dare spare them. They are known as savages and ruthless killers ever since the first expedition of elves arrived on their continent many centuries ago. Of course, in time, they could have changed, but the initial impression didn’t seem to have.” so he said.

Upon elaborating this point of view, I learned that when the elves first landed on the shores of the Dragon Continent, they encountered a barbaric nation, which saw them as pray or enemies to kill and persecute. Because of them, they were not able to head deeper into the Dragon Continent and encounter the Embryger Empire of the old. Learning this, I then began to explain to the First Prince the brief history of the Dragon Continent.

“Centuries ago, that might have been the case, however, the nations who partook in such barbarism weren’t liked by those who lived within the heart of the continent. The kingdoms who once filled the coast of the Dragon Continent remain only as a painful memory to us and a lesson of history of what rulers are not supposed to do. Right now, most of the nations of the Dragon Continent strive to uphold to the value of justice, loyalty, honor, and friendship. We, as a species, learned the hard way, that these values are far more important to us than our ancestors believed. They have become a necessary factor in our own personal growth.” I explained, but I left out the information regarding the process of Awakening of draconians.

It was a bit difficult to explain that not only the color of our scales but even our personalities heavily depended on allowing ourselves to express ourselves naturally, a problem that other species did not encounter. This switch of personality and even morality in some cases could result in some very traumatic experiences, such as was the case with Sir Seryanna’s sister and her husband: two opposite scales, first lovers then enemies, then lovers again.

I did not see a reason to try to explain this part of our society, at least for now.

On the fourth day, when we met in the study to continue our negotiations, I came to learn that the current elf society was also going through a big change as a result of the many nobles who were found guilty of trying to overthrow the Empress. These changes would be reflected not only in the laws that were currently being rewritten but also in the expansion and development of the nation as a whole.

“For this, I apologize, but many of our laws are still... a bit weird. Until we correct them, any sort of treaty with another nation must be taken with utmost seriousness and even have the guarantee that after we change the laws in either country, this won’t void the treaty.” he explained.

“I understand, and I am willing to go through this process of understanding our two nations better in order to make a proper treaty.” I replied with a smile.

This explained his behavior up until now. The history lessons and long explanations that were for most part spoken in a double dialect were there in order for me to understand who I was trying to make this treaty with. Anui’Yahna, despite the fact that it just went through what could only be called as a civil revolution, was not a pushover. They wanted fair treatment in which it was a win-win situation. This was something I could respect.

Thus, I began to learn where some problems laid with the current laws. They did not allow for free trade that easily. There were many stops and many loopholes someone had to go through in order to open a store in the Empire even if they were all elves. The reason for this was the long-lasting traditions and incomparable long lifespans of the elves. Some of them still held onto the same train of thought for centuries, while others abided to laws that were conceived thousands of years ago. It was ridiculous, but also understandable. The Dragon Continent faced similar problems around the same time when the Albeyater Kingdom was established. A lot of the corrupt nobles from other nations tried to slip into our borders and take advantage of our young country in order to establish a strong foothold for themselves. It was unlucky for them that they never considered the wisdom of my mother or the strength of my father. The moment the nobles slipped up; they were crushed into obliteration.

The major problem with the current laws was the fact that they were very adamant in keeping foreigners away. This made it very troublesome for me to find a loophole through which we could allow our treaty to work. I wanted to suggest that he could create a new law, but without the consent of the Empress, it was impossible to do so.

On the sixth meeting, we found ourselves stuck in the web of laws and paperwork that made it terribly difficult for us to make even one step forward. This treaty and even alliance seemed to be at a loss based on the current laws. It was on this day, however, when, during our break, I got to meet his wife, Princess Ser’Ezire Anui’Yahna.

She was a beautiful woman with long flowing golden hair, tall, with a fit body, and the presence that matched a Queen. As expected of a princess, she also wore an elegant dress that matched her delicate complexion, which made me think that she was as fragile as a leaf blown by a strong wind.

“Greetings, your Highness. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am the First Princess Ser’Ezire Anui’Yahna. I hope that my husband wasn’t too much trouble for you, at times, he tends to be a bit difficult to understand, but he always means well.” she greeted me with a courteous smile and then walked up to the First Prince, who embraced her and then kissed her before I got a chance to reply.

I looked away, slightly embarrassed by such a sincere display of affection. No matter what, in the end, I was still a fair maiden unwed and still pure.

“Please, my dear, we have guests.” she giggled in response, and I think I saw a few birds gathering at the window to look at them.

When they saw my gaze, however, they immediately flew away. It was not my fault that they looked somewhat… appetizing.

“Pardon me, but it’s been ages since I saw you! I knew you were going to return today, but I didn’t think it would be so early. How was your journey, my love?” he immediately asked.

So, the reason why I didn’t have the chance to meet her until now was because she was away on official duties. I thought.

Once the two lovers settled, I greeted the Princess with a smile “Likewise, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Princess Ser’Ezire Anui’Yahna. The negotiations so far have proven to be... troublesome, but by no means as a result of your husband’s ways of communicating, but rather the laws of the country make it difficult to proceed.” I showed her a wry smile to hint that we were a bit stuck.

“I understand, unfortunately, until my mother gets better, I fear that we might not be able to do much.” she expressed her sadness in her gaze and then let out a heavy sigh.

“Pardon me, but what happened to her Majesty?” I asked as I furrowed my brow.

I was suspecting that something was wrong, seeing how I was not summoned to greet the Empress by now. It’s quite unusual for the only representative of the nation to be the Human Hero who was married into the family and not the head of the family themselves. I thought.

“Wait! My dear, are you sure you wish to reveal this to her?” Xardun asked.

“Yes, my love, and I thank you that you didn’t say anything about it so far. It’s better if our foreign guest hears it from me, maybe... the Dragon Continent has what we are looking for, and this could greatly help with progressing our negotiations on both sides.” she declared with a warm smile as she first looked at her husband and then at me.

“I’m listening, your Highness. If there’s something I believe our nation can help with, which will eventually allow us to sign a treaty between our nations, then I’m certain that we’ll be able to do it.” I replied with a absolute confidence.

“Very well.” Princess Ser’Ezire nodded and then, after taking a deep breath she began her explanation.

Apparently, her Majesty was injured during the battle for the throne with a former Starscryer. She was left bedridden ever since then, with only a Cure-all tea to help her relieve her pain, but it wasn’t enough, and her injury was getting more and more serious. The best healers of the nation even gave up on her, that was why the princess tried to find a cure on the other continents. Unfortunately, she was captured by the Akutan Empire shortly before she set sail.

It was during this time when she met Xardun Overtur and the two bonded together, first as friends and then as lovers. She didn’t give up on finding a cure for her mother, however, as time came to pass, everything seemed to be more and more hopeless.

She wanted to set sail again, but Xardun stopped her. Instead of flying blind without a target, he decided to use one of his skills on the Empress to find out more about the disease and maybe a cure for her. At this point, the story began to feel awfully familiar to me, it was almost as if he was recounting Alkelios’ story, but the easier version of it.

The skill he used, although he didn’t explain it properly, allowed him to see what ailed the Empress, and then he spoke the magical words.

“The illness is called [Berserker’s Burst] and upon death, causes the stored Magic Energy to burst out violently and affect everything in a radius of almost 30 kilometers. It’s a type of magic explosion, and while it’s not the first of its kind recorded in the history books of Anui’Yahna, a cure was never mentioned. Until... Xardun came. The cure for this is...”

Before she finished her words, I opened my mouth and said “[Night Breeze Potion of One Million Deaths]”

“Yes! Have you heard about it, Princess?” her Highness expressed great joy when she heard me.

“Yes.” I replied with a nod. “One of my generals is Sir Seryanna’s grandfather. Some time ago, he too had also fallen ill with [Berserker’s Burst]. I suppose the reason why you travelled high and low in search for a cure was because you were either looking for someone who knows how to make the potion or the ingredients for it. Am I to believe that this is correct?” I asked.

“Yes.” she nodded as tears started to flow down on her cheeks.

“Princess Elleyzabelle, if you indeed have knowledge of someone who could brew this potion or happen to be in the possession of some of the ingredients we are currently missing, then... this problem with the laws and the treaty can be easily solved! I’m certain that her Majesty would more than grateful to change some of them in your favor!” he declared.

“That sounds ideal, however, before I proceed with revealing what I know or even give you anything that I might own, I require that we establish some well-defined contracts between our two nations which will guarantee the best results for both sides.” I told them with a smile.

It was a long way from the Albeyater Kingdom, however, when it came to that potion, there was a chance that Sir Seryanna might know something about it or even have the missing ingredients that were necessary to make it. I could distinctly remember the fact that several alchemists were given the recipe in case another one of our Breakthrough-ers was met with the unfortunate situation that they would fall into the [Berserker’s Burst].

The reason why I asked for these contracts was quite simple. I understood the predicament of the Empress, but while I did feel pity for her, there was no guarantee for me that once she got cured, she wouldn’t just play deaf and decide that a treaty between us was not worth the effort. After all, the laws that were required to be changed in order for free trade to be established between our nations were plenty and they all started with the simplest one of allowing individuals belonging to another species to gain permanent and secondary citizenship in this nation. Then they had to be protected from the political struggles. This was easily done by denying them the right to participate in them unless they wished to give up all that they had achieved as merchants.

Lastly, there were the laws which allowed citizens of another kingdom to trade with the citizens of this kingdom and even receive the right to build or fund stores on the ground of the Anui’Yahna Empire without an excessive tax that would otherwise make it worthless for them to even attempt to start a business here. This change, in particular, was quite difficult to achieve not only because of the ingrained traditionalism of the elves but also because it would allow the current Human Heroes living here to take advantage of this law and sink their roots into this land.

Now, one might think that this last law was all but necessary regarding the establishment of a trade treaty, making those first changes unnecessary. One didn’t need to belong to the Anui’Yahna Empire in order to start trading with it, however, this law covered for another possibility no matter how slim it was, which was the elimination of discrimination and prejudice at least at the judiciary level in case of draconians and elves falling in love with each other and desiring to start a new family. This way, the citizens would not be forced to leave their homeland in order to be with their lovers and would further encourage interactivity between our two species, which in time of conflict would be a crucial element that could determine the life and death of many.

Maybe I thought too far ahead with these laws, but it never hurt to be safe. The relliars and dwarfs did not seem to have a problem with this change and even encouraged it in their own way.

Depending on what they say now, we might move on with this treaty or... we might stop it here. I hope it’s not the latter. I thought in my heart as I waited for their answer.

The first to speak was Princess Ser’Ezire.

“Personally, I don’t think this is a bad idea, and I wholeheartedly accept a trade with the draconian people, but the two of us currently don’t have the authority to promise you such a thing.” her voice was sad, and her gaze lowered.

“The Empress is the only one who can agree to these changes...” the First Prince continued.

“I suspected as much. Then, how about we draw the draft for the two treaties and then grant me an audience with her Majesty in the following days?” I told them.

“That...” Xardun seemed to be opposed, but the Princess stepped forward and with a nod declared “We agree! I’ll go right now to inform mother and make time for an official audience with her.”

“Ser’Ezire, are you sure about this?” Xardun asked, with a bit of worry in his gaze.

“Right now, my dear, Princess Elleyzabelle might be our only hope... Even if the conditions asked are a bit too much, mother might agree to them... Or, are you perhaps worried that they might try something?” she asked him.

The Human Hero looked back at me and then at her. The answer to her question was clear.

“In your opinion... are her knights strong?” she asked, encouraging him to reveal his worry to her.

“Yes... According to what your good friend Alve’Yahna said, if they wanted to lay waste to our capital, in the absence of Starscryers, they could very well do it... Her soldiers witnessed how they trained, one turning the sky to ice and shattering it with her sword, while the other marching while cutting down the air in front of her and killing monsters with unmatched brutality. She told me that her soldiers were heavily demoralized after they saw them taking down a wave of corrupted monsters like they were nothing... and from what I could see, their weapons and armors are reminiscent of the Power Armors from the Sci Fi fictions of my home world. If they are, then...” he declared and stopped, looking at me.

Now, the Princess looked worried as well, but before any more misconceptions and weird suspicions sprouted in their heads, I decided to step in and make a declaration.

“Prince Xardun, Princess Ser’Ezire, allow me to correct you on the abilities of my knights.”

They turned their attention to me and furrowed their brow.

“They are both versed in fighting multiple Starscryers at the same time, a fact proven in the recent civil war that took place in Albeyater. What Duchess Desterus and her soldiers saw during our journey is a mere fraction of what they could do. If they wished to, in the absence of any Starscryer in this city, they could turn it to rubble in a matter of hours. As for their equipment, it was made by a Legendary Blacksmith and could withstand a Starscryer’s attacks in close range. They can fight on the sea, they can fight in the air, and if needed be they can even change to a full beast form, and so can any Awakened draconian. Thus, if I were to say that right now there are no forces in your Empire who could stand up to them in fair battle, it would not be so far-fetched. However, and I do hope you remember this, we did not come her to wage war, we did not come here to intimidate you, they are here solely for my protection, so as long as no one makes an attempt on my life or deliberately tries to annoy them, then they won’t act.” I stopped and looked at them with sharp eyes.

“So, what you are saying is that if you wanted to do us harm, you would have done so already?” the First Prince asked.

“Yes.” I nodded “However, a friendly relationship with another nation does not begin through intimidation or coercion. What we offer through our treaties is mutual help and a hope for the greater prosperity of both our nations.” I declared.

“Truer words have never been spoken.” said Princess Ser’Ezire with a satisfied look on her face.

“Then, I guess this settles it. Let us discuss these hypothetical treaties and then present them to her Majesty in a few days.” declared the First Prince.

“How long do you think it will take to write up the drafts?” the Princess asked us.

“Taking into consideration what I came to learn so far, we will also need to write the drafts for several new laws which will allow the treaty to function properly. I believe we will be done with the general draft in about six, maybe eight days from now.” I replied.

“Let’s have our meeting with her Majesty ten days from now, just in case you need some extra time.” the Princess suggested.

“Will this be alright? I know that the [Berserker’s Burst] is on a countdown.” I asked.

“Yes, the medicine that her Majesty takes right now allows her to slow down the effects. We have, at the very least, another three years before... before her time is up.”  the First Prince answered, but he stopped at the end as he looked with worry at his wife.

“It should be enough time then.” I nodded.

“Then let us begin. I will go right now to schedule the audience with her Majesty.” the Princess declared with a smile.

After we made a few preparations for the meeting tomorrow, I returned to my room while being escorted by Sir Kataryna. Despite doing nothing all day long, she didn’t seem that bored.

“How are you holding up?” I asked her.

“I’m doing alright, the Royal Guards are fun to play around with. Just a spike of killing intent gets them all rallied up, and a release of my presence sends chills down their spine.” she giggled.

“Please do it in moderation, it wouldn’t be funny if these harmless acts will give birth to some nasty rumors that could affect our negotiations.” I gave her a light warning, and she took it with a shrug.

Once I returned to my room, I summoned Sir Seryanna and explained to her the current situation.

“Oh, you mean this potion?” she asked after I explained to her what we needed to find.

From within her [Purse] ring, she pulled out the [Night Breeze Potion of One Million Deaths], the cure for the [Berserker’s Burst]. I could hardly believe my own eyes when I saw it placed on my table.

“Is this really it?” I asked her.

“Yes. Alkelios made several of them just in case we might need them during the war, however, we were lucky. I also have a few other potions made by him, weapons, armors, stuff like that.” she explained as she was about to pull them out of her ring, but I stopped her by raising my hand.

“It won’t be necessary, I believe you. I will hold on to this potion... I honestly can’t believe that curing the Empress will be this easy... Guess, we have another reason to thank Alkelios for.” I told her with a soft smile.

“Yes, I just hope... we’ll be able to do so soon.” she replied with a note of sadness in the tone of her voice.

All that was left to do now was to keep this potion in my own [Purse] ring and then, once the Empress agreed to our deal and accepted to exchange the [Elf Queen’s Tears of Joy] alongside our trade treaty, I would be more than happy to offer it to her. Just in case, I was thinking of bringing Sir Seryanna with me during our meeting because, after all, this was the result of her husband’s work. I wanted to spread Alkelios’ name even here if possible.

Once he would return to us, he would have the title of Hero of the Dwarfs and Hero of the Elves, maybe even Hero of the El’doraw when considering the fact that Ledmerra was the vassal nation of Anui’Yahna.

Everything seemed to be falling into place, and with a bit of luck... my mother would also be freed of her suffering.