Elena sat at a stone table, one made of ancient stone that sat neatly in the clearing of the ancient forest that the Falmil compound held. The air was cool under the sparse canopy, and the rich scent of damp moss and old bark wafted through the air. Mixing with the scent of her caramel tea that she held.
The stone beneath her palms was smooth and cold, mined from the Undercity before the Divide one hundred years ago. Marble veined with gold strands ran through the stone like frozen lightning under her touch.
Altor was the jewel of Glatith, but not just due to it being its capital, but because of what lay under neath. The mines of the Undercity, where riches lay as though serpents of wealth slithered through stone.
Wealth that had paid for the wars and the one that caused the Divide.
Elena frowned at the thought rebellion the Stone family had caused. Which reminded her of the Valkorian war. A war of rebellion. Liberation from the monsters of the First Age. The war that burned down the World Tree in an act of rebellion from forces beyond themselves.
Yarsil.
Even thinking the name felt heavy, as though ash still clung to its name.
But for the action, liberation was punished. Three stars fell from the heavens, one in the south, one in the north, and one in the east. The gods wept for three years. Their drowned cities. Their screams tore the skies into storms. Their grief split the earth until mountains cracked like brittle bone.
The forest around her felt too quiet for those thoughts.
Elena exhaled slowly and leaned back in her chair. The old wood creaked beneath her weight as she set her tea down. Steam curled upward, fragrant and soft, but it no longer warmed her hands.
"What's wrong, cousin?" Henry asked.
Elena blinked and turned her gaze toward him.
He was the mirror image of his father, Robert's younger brother, Marick. Brown hair brushed back neatly—without streaks of white—a strong jaw already setting into maturity. Faint fuzz shadowed his cheeks, an earnest attempt to rival his father's thick beard. His deep brown eyes were darker than she remembered, less boy, more man. Endless pits that saw more than he let on.
"Nothing, just… wondering about father and the mine," Elena said, shrugging lightly, though her fingers traced the golden vein in the marble without realizing.
"Ah, that," Henry said, giving a single nod. "Monsters are a troublesome bunch, especially in the caves. Luckily, we have specialized groups."
Elena nodded. "It's all thanks to the Undercity and the Adventurer guild that we can deal with them properly."
Henry grimaced faintly, sunlight filtering through the few leaves above and casting broken shadows across his face. "Why did you foil the marriage?"
The question landed heavier than she expected.
"Because. I don't want to be sold off," she said tersely, her jaw tightening.
Henry studied her, then snorted softly. "You are for sure as stubborn as a Fenmi."
"Is that a bad thing?" she asked, lifting her chin with slight pride.
Henry chuckled and shook his head. "No. In fact, it's what we need for the next head of the family, in the troubles that will sprout."
Elena allowed herself a small smile, though it felt brittle at the edges.
"But I do wonder who that man was that you hired to go with you at the ball?" Henry continued, holding out his hand as if weighing the rumor itself. "It's been a subject of whispers. Some of them put you in bad faith."
Her stomach tightened.
Then he looked at her for a moment longer before speaking again, his tone shifting—quieter, firmer.
"It's like the World Tree."
Elena's brows rose, the name catching her like a thorn. The forest seemed to lean in just as she did.
"We burned the World tree to show rebellion," Henry said, "yet it turned out to be a mistake, Elena." His gaze did not waver. "I suggest that you stop burning."
The words settled between them like falling ash.
Elena's breath caught in her chest for a moment as she took in his suggestion. Then her brows furrowed. Heat crept up her spine, as if fire to bark, sharp and defensive. "I knew what I was doing, cousin. I am prepared for the consequences that thi–"
"Are you?" he cut in.
The interruption hit like a hammer on scalding metal.
Her breath froze, and for a moment the forest sounds sharpened. Distant rustle of leaves, the call of some unseen bird, the faint crackle of cooling tea in porcelain. The golden vein under her hand felt colder now. Colder and sharper like a fracture instead of decoration.
Prepared.
The word echoed in her mind.
Was she prepared for the whispers in the court?
Was she prepared for Father's silence?
Was she prepared if Jake was discovered?
Her finger curled slightly against the stone.
Images flickered unbidden: golden eyes beneath a mask, laughter beneath chandeliers, the warmth of his hand steady at her back. The way she allowed herself to relax. To drink. To forget.
Three stars fell, and the gods wept. Cities drowned. Storms rose. Mountains broke. And still, the flames chose to burn.
Her throat tightened as if ash drowned her, and she let out a whisper of breath. "Yes," she said, meeting his eyes. The word felt thin, as if a strand of hair, yet something sparked inside her, a spark akin to gold. It didn't burn the hair but steeled it. "I am."
Henry didn't look convinced as his gaze lingered on her as if she were a mole trying to dig its way out of a steel box.
Elena stared at him until he finally sighed and looked away.
"Just be careful, you are supposed to inherit the Head position of this House," he paused as he let out a sigh, "You could even get the throne." He said his voice was like steel as his eyes became black pits under the sunlight.
Elena grimaced as she shrank back at the thought of even ruling. "You know it's going to fall in the Selene's hands," she said tersely. "Also, the king is only in his fifties; his father, King Romdeel, lived till he was almost a hundred. So did King Forkin," she said, her voice becoming hot.
Henry only raised his brows. "Disease and assassinations," he said simply.
Elena's gaze sharpened at her cousin. A moment of unnerving silence stretched between them.
"I am only suggesting things that could happen!" Henry said, when the moment stretched too long for comfort, raising his hands in surrender.
Elena only pursed her lips for a moment. "Do you really think an idiot would try to kill the king, the one who fought on the battlefield of Tellian. The one who has made peace with our neighbors because they fear his name?" Her voice rising, the heat in her chest started to burn.
The voice of her tutor ringing in her ear about her lesson of history, learning about the battle of Tellian, where the young king personally stepped foot on the field and with one spell, the size of a pea. Where reality warped, where light vanished, along with the army he was supposed to fight against. But only left a scar in the land that it would never forget.
Earning the name. The Void King.
Henry chuckled, giving a slight shrug. "Only speculations and my imagination running wild," he said teasingly.
Elena shook her head as a breeze blew, her red hair flared like breathing flames. "You shouldn't jest about such subjects; it could get you killed," she warned, as the heat cooled.
Henry only let out a slight chuckle as he leaned back in his chair. "Back to the mines. I heard the adventurers your father is hiring are quite renowned, but new to their fame."
Elena nodded as she took a sip of her tea, then pausing thinking back on when the news of monsters being discovered in one of their most profitable mines. Three days after, she went to the ball. It's been a week since then, and she's only been home and at the training ground since. Avoiding all invitations to tea parties or other small balls to avoid the public eye. Which was not unusual for her.
"Yes, they are new, but I heard they were able to clear a gold-rank dungeon by themselves, at bronze-rank," she said, setting her tea down.
Henry drummed his fingers along the table, brows furrowing, "How did they get into a gold-rank dungeon? I thought only silver and above were able to go in, bronze only going in for long expeditions."
"It was categorized as a low silver or near bronze rank dungeon. But suddenly the mana increased in the area, changing it to a gold-rank dungeon, and a trap one no less."
Henry blinked, "It changed rank?" he said, and for a moment, silence stretched, only being broken as the forest creaked in the wind.
Elena nodded, "Yes, it's a rare phenomenon, but it can happen."
Henry leaned forward, clasping his hands together, elbows on the table. "In my studies of artifacts, I have never heard such a thing of a dungeon changing ranks. Where did you hear of it?"
Elena froze for a moment; she only heard it because of their adventures, where it was like a legend told by adventurers in the guild, which both of them were a part of under false names.
She let out a nervous chuckle as she quickly made an excuse, "I only heard of it from the training grounds. It's spoken like a tale among them, I am surprised you didn't know," she said, tilting her head slightly.
Henry hummed in thought, then spoke, "I will remember that…" he said as he tapped the stone table with his finger, as if noting it down. "My collection of artifacts is large," then he started a soft laugh, speaking through it, "I wonder what artifacts those adventurers got from that dungeon. To have it go from near bronze to gold… that will be a pretty heavy coin!" he said as his eyes grew wide in greed and started to sound like a maniac which Elena frowned at.
"You are too obsessed with artifacts, honestly," she said, letting out a long sigh. "How many do you have at this point? Do you even use them, or are they just decorations?" She asked, her voice becoming slightly sharper, at the idea of him hogging rare and powerful artifacts that could be more useful to the people who actually needed them.
She herself knew the difference that an artifact could change a battle. She clenched her eyes shut for a moment, and as Jake's shout echoed, she shook her head. Trying to get rid of his panicked voice and the images of that… Wyrm.
Henry rolled his eyes, "Of course I use them, but I mainly study them," he said, shrugging. "Studying their abilities and skills that the artifacts allow their user to have."
Elena opened her eyes, focusing on his words to clear her mind. "Which one are you studying at the moment?"
Henry froze for a moment as he glanced at her, then gave a slight smile, "A powerful one. A hammer-earth type named Bolin."
Elena froze as sweat broke out, dripping down her back. As her breath tried to quicken, but she held it, putting on a mask.
'How does he have that? How does he have Fern's hammer?' the questions raced through her mind as she let out a shuddering breath. Going unnoticed by Henry as he continued explaining its abilities. Which only made it harder to contain herself.
"It's quite remarkable, and its shattering skill is amazing; the ability to change the landscape mid-battle is quite helpful," He said, his voice turned into amazement at Fern's Hammer.
"Yes. That is quite an ability," she choked out, barely hiding her shuddering from the anger and worry boiling in her stomach.
'Why does he have Bolin? What happened to Fern? Is she okay? I need to ask Jake, because I know she wouldn't let Bolin be stolen easily.' The questions kept on building up in her mind, spinning. As she took a sip of her tea, trying to calm her nerves.
She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to bury her worries. This wasn't the time to worry; it was the time to gather information about her friend.
"May I ask. How did you acquire such an artifact?" she said, putting on the mask of curiosity.
Henry's brows rose, "Oh, this is new?" He said teasingly, "Never thought you would be interested in such things." He said with a smile that only gave breath to the flames curling inside her.
He let out an amused sigh, "But if you must know, I bought it at an auction; it was not cheap, I may say," he said with a slight chuckle.
Elena breathed, trying to cool the flames. "Do you know where they acquired it from?" Elena said, as she clenched her dress, preparing herself to hear the worst.
Henry burst out laughing, which stunned Elena, but only for a moment, as Henry's laugh calmed down. "Elena. You never ask. Especially when it comes to auctions. Where their product comes from," he said in amusement, and shaking his head, as if he were speaking to a child.
Elena glared at him for a moment, then sighed, "Where was this auction?" she said, trying to sound casual.
Henry narrowed his eyes, "Why?" he said, suspicion creeping up in his voice.
Elena halted a moment at his question, then she spoke again. "I have been thinking of getting my own artifact, and an auction sounds like they would have interesting ones," she said, picking up her tea, which was now cold.
Henry smirked, "Well, this one… was special, I guess you could say?" he said as he studied her face. But her mask was… too convincing.
"Special?" she repeated, her voice becoming more interested. Henry nodded.
"Yes, it… the auction happens rarely due to such items being… rare." He said hesitantly, as though choosing his words carefully.
Elena put on a gentle smile, "That does seem like a special auction! Do you know when the next one is coming up?" she said, then she cast the bait. "If an artifact pops up that I am interested in, I can let you study it for a bit, and you don't even have to pay to get it."
Henry perked up at that, and she smiled as though she was a fox who just found a plump rabbit.