NOVEL WEB Side Chapter 14: Prelude To The War
Side Chapter 14: Prelude To The War
In the united capital city of Helgarm located at the border of both the elven nations, a conference was taking place. This rather special day had been planned out as it was the day before the big event went off. The ruler of the elven side, Queen Amaryl along with her fabled daughters, Matthew Drowillow representing the human nations that lived in coexistence with the other races, Notte the Demon Queen who represented the demons and sentient monsters, King Artosas who led the dwarves into an age of prosperity as well as great technological leaps and finally the one who began all of this: Yukiyo the dark elven queen advancing their technology into the future through the usage of her ridiculous skills had all gathered around. The door closed behind Matthew as he was the last one to join the conference.
“Good morning, what an auspicious day this is”
Matthew opened up with a proud smile on his face, one could see that he was waiting for this very day all of his life. He took a seat right after nodding to Queen Amaryl and Queen Notte.
“Shall we begin?”
Yukiyo says with a serious voice, her concentration was on maximum and everyone could tell that something other than this was on her mind.
“Is it the child?”
“OF COURSE IT IS!”
Amaryl had guessed correctly as she had seen her children’s fathers act exactly the same way before. The tension and worry that was on their faces when she was about to go into labor was immense. Yukiyo was about to become a parent and to her who was a mother it was rather endearing seeing her who was the most carefree spirit in the room act like this.
“THE FIRST CRACK SHOWED UP THIS MORNING AND I AM SCARED I WON’T BE AROUND FOR MY CHILD TO SEE ME IN MY FULL GLORY!”
She screamed at the top of her lungs, she was rather intense about it which made the atmosphere of deathly silence less tense than it was before. Yukiyo took a stone and threw it to the center of the room which showed the egg from which Kuroyuki was held in. One thing was to be noted throughout the room, it was the shock of how big the egg was. As one would have guessed normal dragon eggs even by elder dragon standards were big enough to hold with both arms and the children inside were as big as a large dog but this was not the case for Kuroyuki. Kuroyuki was large enough that one could estimate she was the height of a 12 year old child and could be held by both arms in Shen’s dragon form. That was the reason she, the Queen of the Dragons, was absent to this conference.
“I understand your anxiety all too well Yukiyo”
Amaryl says with a smile, Matthew and Notte who have never fathered nor mothered children yet all nod to her words as Yukiyo clutches her head pointing at the large crack on the ominous looking dragon egg.
“THERE’S EXACTLY 5 MORE CRACKS SINCE THAT LARGE ONE SHOWED UP IN THE MORNING!”
“Shouldn’t you just go and stay with your child until she hatches then?”
Matthew suggested as Yukiyo realized she could do that she stands up putting on her coat and walking off before stopping.
“Ah right I still have to do the conference with y’all. I am sorry I am such a mess today”
“Don’t mind it lass, I felt exactly the same way with me own children!”
Artosas says with a giant grin on his face as she teleports back into her seat and proceeds to go over it as she was supposed to.
“Now then I shall go over the changes that we have experienced as the Elven Federation.”
Queen Amaryl knew the feeling of conflict that she had in doing this, tomorrow was a big day and it had to go off to a great start.
“So far I have managed to advance our technology to about a thousand years into the future, this was all through the use of the Dark Matter. We’ve trained our soldiers to use firearms as well as the new weaponry made through help of the Dark Matter and the genius of the dwarves”
“Much gratitude but I am afraid that has to lie with you on this one lass. Yes we did manage to replicate your instructions down to the minor details.”
Artosas had seen with his own eyes the potential that the technology he crafted. Runecraft was so integral with what they were doing it was as if they were living in the mythic era where dwarves used it on a daily living status. Gone were the days where his generation could only manage to put one or two runes on a weapon, it wasn’t a stretch to say that they could line entire armor set in runes.
“I do admit my father’s visions have been fully realized and I am wholeheartedly grateful for the work that you put into giving us the time and chance to make them into a reality and even more.”
He said with a proud heart, Yukiyo smiled back at him as she had accomplished her goal with the dwarves.
“On our side we could say that we have successfully integrated ourselves into other nations unlike our predecessors. The dwarves have spread far and wide and our technology with your help Yukiyo is second to none.”
“The demons have been accepted by overall society as living beings who are not evil incarnate, the stigma still exists but it is fading away with time.”
Notte ran off right after Artosas was finished, this was the time to announce the accomplishments they had as a society.
“It is safe to say that we have been integrated well enough to be publicly known as a people.”
“That’s great to hear, I am sure the schools that teach the differences between sentient and non sentient monsters have been doing quite well”
“Wide scale education in the town squares and adventurer guilds has proven to benefit us and even allow demons to also be adventurers and guild associates based on experience and skill.”
“I should mention that trade with other nations has gone well ever since the foundation of the Elven Federation”
Amaryl trails off after Notte finishes that sentence, she was waiting to say this because she wouldn’t otherwise. Her daughters all smile as she mentions this fact. Yukiyo had been answering right after everyone gave their report to keep the conversation going as fast as possible.
“Culture with other races especially the dwarves has improved and narrow tunnel vision has been reduced to a moot.”
“Yay, I did a great job”
“So that leaves me huh?”
Matthew says with a look of being left out because he was too busy actually appreciating the architecture of this new building.
“Coordination with our allies has been successful so far, we have managed to take notes of each other’s weaknesses and covering those up. In other words we are ready to go”
That was exactly the news that Yukiyo wanted to hear coming from Matt.
“Then we attack at midnight without fail. The greatest war known to man is about to begin and right after it ends we open the very heavens themselves. To kill the unjust gods who planned to use our souls for their ambitious goals.”
Everyone stares at Yukiyo as if she is insane but having known her for this long this was the truth and she herself was a demigod on the summit of becoming a god. The preparations were complete and all that was hindering them was time itself.
“Send out the flyers let them know what is coming”
Yukiyo commands the numerous Dark Matter in her shadow walking off as she teleports everyone back to their homes to have time to themselves. Her destination? To her child.
☆
Time had no rest and this was evidence enough to Ryou, from the time they entered this world it was struggle after struggle. Yet another battle always awaited them and now the curtain fall of the grand opening was before them. This was the only time for rest, this was the only time for introspection. And now as the hours slowly crawled by Ryou began to stare at himself in the mirror with a confused look on his face. How during his time in this place did he become even more feminine? He was more beautiful than the royal princess of the Cornea Empire and would certainly attract both genders with equal love and dedication. But Ryou was aware of this, aware of the looming truth of that his sense of identity he had held on for this long was slowly but surely eroding with the more time flowed inside of this world.
“I am so goddamn nervous”
It had been a long while since Ryou had met up with everyone, it wasn’t clear what was the purpose of this meeting for everyone else but for Ryou it was momental. It was the affirmation of all of his worries and doubts, laying them into the ground as foundation for his future. The door opened and he turned his head, the first one to come in was Minami. In the beginning she would bow her head and apologize for intruding on the space she was entering but now she just entered after saying hello. Minami sat down with a smile on her face.
“I missed you Ryou-chan, it’s been long since we were told to train by Sensei”
“Indeed. You’re early”
“I thought it was important so I would arrive early”
Something was odd about this, since Minami never woke up early. She was the kind who would be late than waking up early hence why this was all so strange to him.
“Sorry I am late, was busy getting someone a gift”
Chloe apologized as she walked through with Toshiro holding a cake for some reason. Ryou was immensely confused about this and didn’t know what to do about it, a tear opened up revealing Masayuki who has a bunch of boxes which immediately paints a picture that something was going on for Ryou that he didn’t know. Was it Sensei’s birthday and they were preparing for that? The questions ran through his head which made things all the more confusing as they all gave looks of relief like they had finally made it.
“We’re all here, sadly th-?”
“WE HAVE ARRIVED!”
Ren enters the room with Tsubaki holding a basket of fruits that Ryou enjoyed eating, perhaps Sensei had the same fruit tastes as he did?
“Would you look at you making it in time”
“Shut up Toshiro this is a special event so cut me some slack”
“Fine, fine”
“Um. Can I start now?”
“Yes”
The tension was real Ryou could feel everything collapsing in around him, so he took a deep breath and began to speak.
“I’ve been unsure of my identity since the time I was born but now I am sure that this is who I am. I am not sure how to explain this”
“You’re a girl now, it’s okay we get it. Also we knew that this was where you were going so we wanted to celebrate you being brave to tell us that yourself.”
“Wha-?!”
Chloe said without hesitation which caught Ryou off guard. She had said it without her permission on the matter, not even Ryou wanted to admit this change of outlook and physical nature of her body. But it felt like the cloudy skies had cleared away. Tears flowed down her cheeks as the fear of being rejected had faded away into joy.
“Does this mean?”
“Yes this is all for you, I am so glad you misunderstood what this was all for.”
Shock ran across her face as she stared at the people who were gathered here. They hadn’t rejected her, they welcomed her into their arms with a warm embrace of being there for her no matter what happened. Ryou couldn’t say much as she was choking the words out.
“There, there. You’re good.”
Minami who spoke with her previously smiled as she patted her head.
“You could have said something”
She managed to say but she stared at their faces once again and saw that they didn’t want to take this away from her.
“You’re important to us and we will support whatever decision you make Ryou-chan”
Ryou smiles before breaking down in tears again as the confetti and the cheers surround her.
☆
From the sky rained paper and those who picked it up all shared a simultaneous vision: elves and their sister race the dark elves, dwarves, monsters of all shapes and sizes, dragons, giants, an entire army of enemy forces marching towards their borders was seen. These vision paper was seen everywhere and a conclusion had arrived to the leaders of the human centric leaders: War was coming. A large scale invasion coming from all sides, from the sea as well as the land. A declaration of war from the side they hated the most, a vision of an army of the damned that they did not wish to take part in. The heroes had to be evenly spread out, there was no other way in thinking about it. Whoever casted this spell had the power of the mythic demon gods or had the technology of ancients who lived on this world once.
The footsteps of solemn silence echoed out in this hallway as Reinhart knew this day would come, he felt a jolt of fear, excitement and confusion all at the same time. He was also the last one to arrive at the meeting scene, opening the doors he immediately read the air of the room. It was tense like knives pressing on every part of his skin, the gazes of the men that he knew in here were filled with fear and uncertainty. Argon sat staring at his hands, the emperor Joseph quietly patted the small earth dragon he had, the Grand Pope Ivangal was praying.
“I apologize for my lateness, it was all so sudden I had to abandon training the Hero’s Knight Order”
“It is alright, take a seat child”
He walked up to the empty seat reserved for him and sat in it.
“I believe you all saw what those papers had in store for us.”
“They gave us visions of the Devil that’s what!”
The grand pope barked immediately after the emperor opened his mouth. It was filled with fury and fear, the unknown had opened its eyes and now they were standing on the precipice of doom. He continued to talk as he couldn’t stop now.
“They serve to strike fear in the hearts of the chosen! They wish to blaspheme on the true order of this world!”
“Argon I shall ask you this how long do we have?”
“Your Majesty……”
Argon was rendered speechless, the man with a thousand solutions was utterly defeated by the circumstances. They were clearly abnormal and he did not want to admit that.
“What of the assassins that we sent to the Dark Elven Queen”
“It appears 3 of them have died and the other two have been either captured or sold themselves to the enemy”
“Who verified this information”
The emperor had no time for hearsay and he wouldn’t be pleased by “that’s what we think happened”. Argon had to give a concise answer that did not anger this man otherwise his head would be on a stock and it would come off rolling.
“The mages who made the armor of the assassin heroes embedded in them life magic that would detect the life force of all of them. The last two have been forcibly cut off from us after mere hours of the other three turning off one by one.”
“I see…………..so in this case information has been leaked”
The emperor said with a regretful voice as he knew what that meant, it would take time, months even to restructure the way they ran things. The information provided to the assassins was so vital that they had installed a kill switch to murder them if they were ever captured but it seemed that this was turned off by whatever mage they had on the side of the Dark Elven Queen.
“Yes……it is safe to assume the Dark Elven Queen and the dark elf in the tournament feed are one and the same person”
The pope stared at Argon with confusion.
“Is this the same dark elf who calls herself Chaos?”
“Yes”
“THEN WHY DIDN’T YOU DO ANYTHING ABOUT HER?!”
“SHUT YOUR PRIVILEGED MOUTH UP!”
The emperor roared in anger, he did not want to hear the complaints of the grand pope any further than this.
“YOU DID NOT SACRIFICE AS I HAVE AGAINST THIS THING! NOTHING! NOT ONE BIT! SO IF YOU HAVE NOTHING TO SAY THAT IS OF HELP TO US THEN LEAVE!!”
“I WILL NOT LEAVE BECAUSE OF YOUR FOOLISH FURY! YOU ARE NOT GOING TO CHASE ME OUT BECAUSE I SPOKE THE TRUTH!”
Despair, Fury, Sorrow, and Ignorance. The four horsemen of emotional apocalypse had taken their stage in this very room and Reinhart was unable to stop it. Argon despaired as flashes of horrors beyond his comprehension passed through his mind, the emperor and the grand pope in their heated argument with each other, Reinhart had to end the feelings of dampened sadness right here otherwise they would continue wallowing in this sludge of emotions.
“STOP! ALL OF YOU ARE ACTING LIKE FUCKING CHILDREN!”
Reinhart screams out in a loud powerful voice that even he is surprised that he can let out. The two stop bickering to see him exuding an aura that he never did before.
“We should plan the next step instead of fighting amongst ourselves. This is what the enemy wants, they want us to destroy ourselves so we can be easy pickings.”
“Y-You’re right Reinhart”
“Indeed young man”
“Thank you. Lord Argon how long will it take for us to mobilize our armies?”
Argon recovered from his stupor and came back to his senses.
“A whole two months, half of it is what we can manage if they immediately invade us”
“Alright then we will be ready. I apologize for raising my voice against you, I am sorry for offending you both Your Majesty and His Holiness.”
“None taken”
“You brought back the wisdom in my eyes I take no heed of it”
Not even Reinhart could describe what came over him as they now were discussing about the future. He had hope for the future, that they would survive this and that time was in their side. He clutched his fist as he felt that justice was with them, he would bring down the wicked dark elven queen and all of her allies. The divine being protecting him reassured him that everything would be alright and so he believed it. But fate was not so gracious neither was destiny so kind.
