Deep, isolated, yet thriving Athel Loren was enjoying a hard-earned peace.
In the height of summer, all things flourished, and life was abundant. Elk leaped through the woods, and birds sang in the shade of the trees.
In the Starforge, the fires of Vaul's Anvil never ceased. The lord named Daith—yes, the same name as the leader of Ryan's rangers—was wielding his divine hammer to forge weapons, preparing for the battles to come.
On the summer riverbanks, one banquet after another was being held. Unfortunate guests, invited by the wood elves and forest spirits, drank the wood elf fruit wine. These guests would soon fall asleep and be sacrificed to the tree spirits to satisfy their dark desires.
The Moonstone Glade remained tranquil, bathed in moonlight, with streams crisscrossing the forest. Wood elves walked among the streams and waterfalls, while spellweavers sang praises to the goddess of mists, Ladrielle.
The Wildwood, the Witherhold, the Glade of Woe, the Pine Crags—except for the Pine Crags, located in the southeast of Athel Loren and serving as another major entrance from the Black Mountains into the forest, which often saw conflict—the other regions had enjoyed over a decade of peace.
For the wood elves, these absolute isolationists, this was the ideal situation. The outside world had nothing to do with them. They could quietly live their lives behind closed doors. If they needed anything, they could turn to the upgraded "supermarket" provided by the neighboring Knight King Ryan, and negotiate with the Oliphant Trading Company for their needs.
It was worth noting that Oliphant was now in his sixties, an old man by human standards. But the wood elves couldn't bear to let him die, as he was simply too useful. Not only did they assign a Waywatcher and two Wardancers to protect him, but they also provided him with a twig imbued with Ariel's divine power. The twig parasitized Oliphant's body, sharing his life force to extend his lifespan. The wood elves gave him an extra twenty to thirty years to train a successor.
Thus, sitting in the position of Talsyn's Glade Lord, second only to King Orion and Queen Ariel in Athel Loren, Araloth could understand why the wood elf lords were so vehemently opposed to sending troops and getting involved in this matter.
It was like finally returning home after a long war, just starting to enjoy a comfortable vacation, when annoying distant relatives caused trouble that dragged you back into the fray. It was simply "annoying"!
But Araloth was different. As one of the few "militant" and "young" Glade Lords, he was genuinely concerned about the safety of the Everqueen.
After several hours of meetings, the Glade Council adjourned temporarily. Araloth emerged from the vast and deep council hall and looked out over Athel Loren, the home of the wood elves.
The forest, shaped by the Old Ones, was shrouded in thick mist. The canopy of the Oak of Ages blocked out the sky, and the winding forest paths were illuminated by faint guiding stones. Streams meandered unpredictably through the woods.
The King's Glade was full of life. Araloth noticed the ancient treeman Durthu standing before the towering ancient trees, each of which could trace its origins back to the creation of the world by the Old Ones. Most of these trees had fallen into eternal slumber, while the malicious Drycha and forest spirits whispered curses and venomous words into Durthu's ears to keep him enraged.
The Grey Guardians were assembling below, waiting for Araloth to finish the meeting. Hundreds of Eternal Guards and Wildwood Rangers patrolled near the King's Glade. Orion's Wild Riders galloped about, waiting for the Forest King to sound the horn signaling the Wild Hunt. Wardancers danced in the clearing before the Hall of Magic, praising the trickster god Loec. Of course, there were also Waywatchers and scouts, engaged in an eternal vigil to protect their shared home with the forest spirits.
Araloth breathed in the forest air, savoring the tranquility it brought him. Everything seemed eternal.
"My champion, do you think we should rescue Alarielle?" Queen Ariel flew out from the Hall of Magic, her insect-like antennae twitching slightly at the mention of the Everqueen. "You voted in favor earlier."
"My Queen, I feel that it would be unwise for the Asrai not to get involved in this matter... After all, the Everqueen is connected to you in some way," Araloth chose his words carefully. "If the Asrai do nothing, Queen Alarielle and Finubar might..."
"Since the vote has been cast, there's nothing more to say," Ariel replied, her long, insect-like eyebrows twitching slightly at the mention of Alarielle, as if she held little regard for the Everqueen. "Besides, if this had just happened, we might have been able to intervene using the Worldroots. But now... it's too late."
"Your Majesty is right, it's too late," Araloth sighed.
By the time the great eagle brought the news to the wood elves, it was indeed too late.
Of the entire high elf and dwarf envoy delegations, only one great eagle had managed to escape.
The great eagle immediately flew to Barak Varr, seeking help from King Byrnoth Grundadrakk and his elite Barak Varr dwarven army.
However, there was a problem: no one in Barak Varr understood the language of the great eagles. In the entire Old World, only the wood elves and a few natural druids or amber (beast) wizards could understand the great eagles.
After much effort, the great eagle failed to convey what had happened to the dwarves. In the end, it only received some food from the dwarves before flying halfway across the Old World to find the wood elves. By the time the wood elves deciphered the great eagle's message, the Everqueen had already been captured for weeks.
By then, the dwarves, having received no news from their envoy delegation for so long, had already sent scouts to investigate. The entire Everpeak was soon plunged into mourning. After all, the Everpeak had a population of only about 160,000 dwarves. Losing a 1,000-strong dwarf army was a catastrophic blow.
To put it in terms of Karl Franz's Reikland, it would be like losing nearly 40,000 of the Empire's standing army in a single day, including the Emperor's own kin and a portion of the Reiksguard.
"The Asur will undoubtedly send a large force to rescue their Everqueen. As for the humans, we've already informed them," Ariel nodded. "Don't let anger control you, my champion."
Nagashizzar was simply too far away. This massive necropolis was located south of the World's Edge Mountains. From Athel Loren, the distance was twice that from Athel Loren to Karak Eight Peaks.
"Now, our focus should be on defending against the increasingly savage beastmen and the possible invasion of Morghur," Ariel concluded. "My champion, this is your duty."
"Understood."
With that, the Glade Council in the King's Glade came to an end.
The wood elves' message soon reached the Imperial Palace.
When Karl Franz received the news, his head nearly exploded.
Imperial Year 2520 had been another disastrous year.
After the great victory at Black Fire Pass in April, what had the Empire experienced?
At the end of April, a severe drought struck the north of the Empire, causing multiple breaches in the Upper Talabec River. Ostermark and Talabecland were severely affected.
In May, unrest resurfaced in the Middle Mountains, with Chaos cults becoming active and corrupting the noblewoman Countess Claudine of Hochland. Elector Count Aldebrand had to assemble a 3,000-strong army to besiege her castle for over a month before finally capturing it.
In June, during the lean season, Nordland suffered a famine so severe that there were reports of cannibalism among couples. Meanwhile, the merchants of Marienburg took advantage of the situation to hoard grain and drive up prices. With Ryan absent, Queen Sylvia stepped in, releasing three million pounds of stored grain from the Lady of the Lake's church to alleviate the food crisis.
In July, a massive locust plague ravaged Ostland, leaving many fields barren.
In August, the Reik River flooded, destroying numerous villages along its lower reaches.
Plagues ran rampant, and a strange fever swept through the Empire. Patients suffered from high fever, headaches, severe muscle and joint pain, and some developed rashes and hemorrhages.
The Emperor had just received news that the legendary beastmen tribe, the Skulltakerz, had allied with the Strygos Herd. Led by the Razorgor Chariots, Chaos Spawn, and Bestigor herds under the command of the Beastlord One-Eye Kazrak and the Beastman Warlord Ghorros Warhoof, they had destroyed five villages and towns along the Middenland Road, killing over ten thousand people. By the time Boris arrived, the beastmen had already retreated deep into the forest.
Of course, things weren't quiet in Bretonnia either. The First Marshal, Bohemond, personally led an army to defeat a beastmen herd that had emerged near the Forest of Arden. The famous legendary beastmen Bestigor herd, the "Khorak's Flayers," participated in the battle, resulting in a fierce clash.
Duke Bohemond was exceptionally skilled at dealing with beastmen and fought without hesitation. With the military reforms, the quality of Bretonnia's army had improved significantly. With Morgiana leading the Damsels of the Lady and the Grail Guardians providing full support, the beastmen were ultimately defeated and retreated back into the Forest of Arden.
So the question was, as the Emperor looked at the reports, he grabbed his hair in frustration.
Just how many beastmen were there in the forests of the Old World?
The Grand Duke of Stirland and Elector Count Alberich Haupt-Andersen reported once again that six tax collection teams had entered Sylvania this year and gone missing. The last two teams even included a battalion (400 men), equipped with firearms and accompanied by a Warrior Priest, two Witch Hunters, and seven or eight vampire hunters, led by six Raven Knights familiar with Sylvania. Yet, after several days in Sylvania, they had vanished without a trace. Elector Count Alberich half-requested, half-warned the Emperor to pay attention to this cursed Imperial province.
So you all come to me for everything, right? Every problem is mine to solve, right?
Now the high elf Everqueen has been captured, and you have to tell me about it, right?
Karl Franz was on the verge of a breakdown.
The Emperor's chief diplomat, Baron Amadeus Menken of Steirgaard, and the Imperial Ambassador to Marienburg, Count Metternich, stood before the Emperor, equally concerned about the news.
"It seems the children of the forest don't want to let us off the hook. A thousand dwarves... Thorgrim will bleed again," the Emperor set down the message from the wood elves and leaned back in his chair, chuckling despite himself. "There's too much to worry about. I don't even know where to start."
"Your Majesty, the wood elves delivering this message to us is quite meaningful)" Amadeus said seriously. "Clearly, the attack happened while passing through dwarf territory, and the culprits were the undead. This has nothing to do with us, yet the wood elves made sure to inform us..."
"This is a tricky question, Your Majesty," Count Metternich hurried in, his usually immaculate clothes now dust-covered.
"Yes, indeed, Count Metternich," Karl Franz gestured for the two to sit. The Emperor gazed out the window at the sweltering August heat of Altdorf. "The wood elves have given us a multiple-choice question."
"Simple. We'll turn the multiple-choice question into a fill-in-the-blank question," the Emperor said without hesitation. "Send someone immediately to deliver this letter to Bretonnia, to Queen Sylvia, who is currently regent. Inform her that the Everqueen Alarielle, whom the Knight Kingdom previously hosted, has gone missing. Also, send an identical message to Nuln. Isn't Fred very concerned about the Everqueen's whereabouts?"
"Understood!"
A few days later, in central Bretonnia, south of the Forest of Châlons, in Ryan's ducal castle.
Queen Sylvia and Morgiana, who were overseeing the Knight Kingdom in Ryan's absence, received Emperor Karl Franz's letter.
"The Everqueen is missing?" In the office hall of the ducal castle, Sylvia and Morgiana sat across from each other. The Queen held the Emperor's letter, her brow furrowed.
"Talleyrand, take a look," Sylvia's exquisitely beautiful face showed hesitation. She didn't rush to comment but handed the letter to Talleyrand.
"Your Majesty, and Your Highness," the high elf and Bretonnia's chief diplomat, Talleyrand, leaned on his cane. The cripple discreetly glanced at the two most powerful women currently ruling the Knight Kingdom.
After a brief frown, Sylvia closed her eyes. The Queen clasped her hands on the table, seemingly having already grasped the situation. Morgiana, however, tapped the floor impatiently with the heel of her peep-toe high heels, her elbow resting on the table.
"Your Majesty, and Your Highness, the Empire has kicked the ball to us. I believe the esteemed Emperor Karl Franz hasn't yet decided how to handle this matter and wants to see our reaction," Talleyrand glanced at the letter and nodded slowly. "This is a troublesome issue. Whether we send troops to assist or not, it seems to be the wrong answer."
Before Sylvia could speak, Morgiana impatiently interjected, "Why do you say that?"
"Because... if we don't take the initiative to rescue, does that mean we were wrong to invite the Everqueen to visit Bretonnia, or is there a problem with our chivalric spirit?" Talleyrand smiled. "And if we do send troops, does that mean the Three Guardians of the Badlands failed, or are we admitting fault and taking responsibility by making such amends?"
"Yes, that's exactly what worries me," Sylvia nodded slightly. The Queen pondered for a moment. "Talleyrand, how will the high elves react?"
"The Asur cannot ignore the fact that the Everqueen has been captured. For both emotional and logical reasons, the Phoenix King and the Everqueen will undoubtedly send a large force to Nagashizzar to rescue her," Talleyrand nodded. "So, whether we choose to participate in the rescue or not, in the eyes of the high elves, humans are at fault. I understand the Asur mindset. Not participating is a grave dereliction of duty, while participating is an admission of guilt. No matter what we choose, we are already burdened with original sin."
"Indeed, which is why I wanted to hear your opinion," Sylvia nodded gracefully. The Queen's sea-blue eyes focused on the cripple. "With Ryan absent, Talleyrand, he left you to me. I need your assistance in many diplomatic matters."
"Of course, my ladies. I will spare no effort for the benefit of the Knight Kingdom!" Talleyrand immediately bowed. "May I have a few minutes?"
"Certainly," Morgiana nodded slightly.
The cripple requested a glass of red wine. Holding the glass and leaning on his cane, he paced around the office hall three times.
"Emperor Karl Franz turned the multiple-choice question into a fill-in-the-blank question and kicked the problem to us," Talleyrand smiled. "My ladies, I have an idea. Please consider it."
"Oh?"
"How about we turn the fill-in-the-blank question into an essay question and kick the ball directly to the high elves?"
"How so?"
"Here's what we do..."
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