Author here,
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Captain, Out.
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'It really is just like those webcomics,'
...or so Sunny thought as he allowed himself to fall sideways, pulling himself into the hall where the Queen awaited him, a couple thousand feet above the forest floor. He couldn't be bothered to wait for an escort.
'I wonder if I'm not the first one to arrive in this world... enough details about the elves from my world's stories are too accurate for such a thing to not have happened. They must have stemmed from somewhere, right? I guess at one point they just got popular, and then authors slowly began including them in their own works. That also might mean there's a way to leave prematurely, without completing the nightmare… though I have a feeling I could be stuck here awhile. I should start looking for ways to get out, regardless.
I have people to protect outside. If this is a Nightmare, like my running theory suggests, I might just have to defeat this Galbatorix character… I don't know how easy that'll be. He's ruled this continent for five hundred years in a world where someone like Gilderien exists. I might have bitten off more than I can chew this time.'
He smirked darkly behind his mask at the ironic thought.
'At least there aren't four immortal foes to defeat this time, and only a single empire to deal with on top of that! I've got it much easier than my second Nightmare… Still, this Nightmare's objective could be something completely different. I won't know till I've been here longer and have gathered more information.'
Sunny fell, or rather rose, from the shadow of a great archway that opened up to a wide, spacious room. It was airy and full of beautiful, natural splendor, bathed in the soft orange light of the setting sun that trickled through the leaves above him. Here, too, nothing had been crafted, nothing forced; the arched ceiling of living branches curved in a natural pattern, and walls of woven leaves climbed to form a cathedral-like view of the domed structure. Sunny admired it quietly, his armor halfway blending him into the shadows. The average mundane human from his own world would've been able to walk by him without seeing anything.
Gilderien had told him the name of the grand structure, "Tialdarí Hall". Gloomy was already here waiting for him, hiding in the shadows in his intangible form, just in case Sunny felt the need to appear a little bit more menacing. Luckily his display of power seemed to have worked; the elves here were thoroughly frantic, so he had high hopes.
Through Shadow Sense, he had been able to identify most of their reactions, and was catching the tail end of them now with both Gloomy's gaze and his own. The elves were spread throughout the spacious court, huddling in groups or speaking one on one with each other. They were appropriately perplexed, confused and alarmed with the way Sunny's shadow servants, Serpent, Nightmare, and then Saint and Fiend, had disappeared at the end of his procession. They were talking amongst themselves, discussing theories on how he had done it, and what would be coming next.
Sunny eyed several of the elves with interest, waiting for someone to notice him as he stood silently with his back to one of the woven-leaf walls of the dome, taking in the magnificent view of the sunset peeking through the cathedral-like dome, scattering about flecks of orange light upon the inhabitants.
'I feel like I'm stuck in a room with a bunch of Masters… maybe even Saints. They're all so damned beautiful, even the men. They aren't even awakened, either. It's not fair to be simply born like that! How can a whole race get such cursedly good genetics?'
He mentally shook a fist in righteous indignation.
'I'm pretty sure the lot of them are immortal, too. Lucky bastards.'
The Queen herself had seen the entirety of his little procession from earlier, as she had a servant holding a small mirror for her as she sat upon her throne on the opposite end of the Hall. Gilderien had told him briefly about these mirrors. Hers had most likely been replaying what a mirror from one of the elves on the lower floor had been seeing through magic.
Sunny had to admit that even amongst the rest of the elves here, their Queen was probably the most beautiful one. That stood for something, considering he spent most of his time around people who's features had been smoothed and enhanced to ridiculous degrees by the magic of Awakening.
The Queen was woefully incomparable to Nephis, obviously, but credit had to be given when it was due, and the monarch of the elves was undeniably beautiful.
She had deep, piercing emerald eyes and long, raven black hair. She wore armor made of hundreds of interlocking emerald and silver plates that fit snugly on her slender figure, and appeared comfortable in it. Clasped about her shoulders was a dark green cape, though he couldn't see the design on its back. The only thing about her Sunny found off was that she had no sign of, well... age, in her face.
He frowned, then quickly scanned the crowd of elves, jaw dropping behind his mask. He couldn't find a single face among these elves that looked older than he did by more than a couple years!
'I suppose they don't age the same way humans do… that'll be difficult to get used to.'
He thought, unsettled. He shook his head slightly, bringing his thoughts back to what was relevant.
Using both Creepy and Gloomy on Fiend earlier, as well as buffing his form with wild shadows, had done well in showing off his power and creating a menacing presence, though it admittedly might have been overkill. When riding in Fiend's palm, he had hardly been able to see the passing city with the crimson haze from Fiend's maw directly behind his back, which was why he'd needed a good long look at the end after dismissing him.
Sunny looked back to the mirrors that many of the elves held in their hands. It was interesting; he wondered how the magic worked to enchant them. Gilderien hadn't had enough time to tell him about what went on behind it, since they were mentioned last minute before his departure, but Sunny remembered him say in passing that it was a variation of something called 'Scrying.' Apparently it was only possible because he was in the elves' domain, whatever that meant.
It also, apparently, required a lot of this mysterious 'life force' Gilderien had told Sunny about during their travels.
From what little Sunny knew of this world so far, people weren't bound by Aspects here, and instead, if you were lucky enough to be born capable of using magic, you could pretty much do whatever you wanted with it, after learning the casting language. It was an incredible thought, though it did give up the uniqueness of the idea of Aspects.
Therefore everyone (here, at least; apparently every single elf was born with the innate talent for magic. Ugh.) was capable of this 'Scrying' variation, though this was apparently a recent discovery that resulted from the work of Islanzadí's personal spellcasters.
From what little else he knew of this world, spells were only countered if the spellcaster hadn't devoted enough 'life force', (which seemed somewhat similar to soul essence, from what he could tell) to accomplish what they wanted when initially casting the spell, or if it was impeded by a different spell that conflicted or hindered the workings of the first. The whole thing was fascinating. Sunny had even considered asking to become Gilderien's student in this brand new world of magic, on multiple occasions. He simply had to know more.
The Queen was the first to notice the newest addition to her hall. Besides Gilderien, of course. The old man had claimed he needed to be seen on the Queen's side when Sunny arrived, so they had separated several hours ago. Despite that, they had forged this plan hand in hand; Gilderien had given him a quick wink and small smile when Sunny was first entering the room, though Sunny wasn't capable of responding in kind due to the mask. He had instead given a terse nod, and Gilderien was back to standing quietly next to the Queen's throne, his robed hands clasped together and his face hooded with the golden fabric before a quarter of a second had passed.
In about six and a half seconds, more time than he would have needed to kill everyone in the room, besides Gilderien himself, the Queen noticed him. Or, well, a bird did. A white raven had flown through the archway almost simultaneously with Sunny's own arrival, crossing the hall while uttering a strange song before perching atop the Queen's shoulder, who ignored it. The creature turned its head, using its eye to look about the room, ruffling its feathers and cawing softly. Then it's beady black eye landed on Sunny, and its gaze seemed to pierce through his mask. Then several seconds later, it turned and reached its beak down, seemingly whispering something into the Queen's ear.
The Queen froze, becoming unnaturally still. Her back became rigid in her seat. Her eyes opened wide and she quickly scanned the room, eventually meeting Sunny's gaze. Her mouth opened slightly, but then she seemingly regained control of herself. She whispered something back to the raven, and it flew out of the hall once more.
Suddenly, the Queen's voice, rich and authoritative while simultaneously high and cold, rang out in the hall and silenced the conversing elves. There was a slight sense of mocking in her tone, despite her regal words.
"We are pleased that you join us in our great hall of counsel, Lord of Shadows."
Her attendant, a blonde, elven man wearing silver clothes that looked like something Kai might go crazy for, looked up at her in surprise, then followed her gaze to Sunny. He, too, froze, as did most of the elves in the hall as they quickly turned to look at the cause of the disturbance, their elongated ears pricking. The elf closest to Sunny paled and stuttered back several steps, raising his hands and opening his mouth as though to apologize for something, though no words came out. Other elves also backed away from the wall, creating a prominent bubble of space for the Lord of Shadows.
Sunny waited until the eyes of every occupant in the room were on him before replying to the taunt, his own voice cold and equally authoritative, chilling the air as it reverberated through the hall. Like the Queen, Sunny's words did not match his icy tone.
"Greetings, Elf Queen."
He paused for a moment before continuing, and his words were no longer a language he understood.
"Atra esterni ono thelduin."
Sunny placed a hand over his heart and bowed somewhat deeply.
The Queen's eyes sharpened and her smile tightened, and she cast a sideways look at Gilderien, who suddenly seemed very fascinated by the state of his fingernails.
"I see Gilderien has taught you the customs of our greeting, outsider. Atra du evarínya ono varda."
Sunny completed the difficult phrasing.
"Un atra mor'ranr lifa unin hjarta onr."
He raised himself from the bow.
"He did indeed. He claimed it would be of utmost importance."
Gilderien coughed awkwardly into his fist at the blatant glare Islanzadí gave him.
"I would, ehem, like to point out that it was he who first asked after our customs, my Queen. He was most intrigued, at the time."
Queen Islanzadí looked back to Sunny, responding dryly.
"I would imagine so. Approach, Lord of Shadows."
Sunny strode calmly towards the monarch's throne, feeling the nervous gaze of over a hundred people needling him. His armored boots echoed on the wooden floor in a way uncharacteristic to the beautiful dome, loud and mournful. The setting sun seemed weak and frail, and the shadows where his feet met the smooth wood stirred up wispy tendrils, like some fog of shadow, in his wake. They trailed behind him for several moments before disappearing. His long, white hair swayed softly behind his back as he approached her.
"You can stop there."
Sunny did so, mere meters from the raised throne of twisting wood and vines. He raised his head to fully meet her gaze, smirking at the way her left hand shook ever so slightly as she met his eyes through the mask. The Queen smoothly covered her shaky hand by laying her right one atop it, resting them both in her lap and bringing the leg she had been resting atop on her knee to meet the platform.
"What is your purpose here, Shadow Lord? Oh, pardon me. That is what you prefer to be called, if I remember correctly. One you gave yourself, I presume? It seems rather silly to call yourself the Lord of something that cannot think, and therefore cannot recognize your supposed rule."
Sunny resisted rolling his eyes, temporarily forgetting that he wore a mask. She was prodding him so openly like this? A cover for her fear, if what he had derived from the shaking hand earlier was correct.
It was petty, but it was also rude, despite the fact that she was a Queen, and would probably get away with saying such things without the need for a single worry. But such a thing was risky, and should have been seen as such, if these elves were as wise as they seemed to believe. Sunny was an unknown variable to these people; she wasn't exactly showing exemplary leadership by antagonizing a potential asset to her kingdom, especially one recommended to her by the sole guardian of her city.
The inhabitants of Tialdarí Hall seemed to think the same. An unnatural hush fell over the elves, and he felt a few of them, including the one that had backed away from him, flinch violently, some grimacing slightly at the provocation.
Sunny's voice, chillingly cold and uncaring, did not show any evidence that he might have felt slighted by the remark.
"That is indeed one of my titles, Queen Islanzadí, though not one I gave myself. It was coined by those who admired or feared me, or did both."
Islanzadí raised an eyebrow.
"If it was coined by 'the people', as you seem to be implying, why have none of us heard such a title? We may be separated from the other races in Alagaësia, but do not believe for a moment that we are unaware of events that go on beyond the borders of our dusky pines. We have heard no tales of a rising folk hero, least of all one that matches your… power. Or at least, not one quite so eager to boast of it so shamelessly."
Sunny didn't respond, ignoring the second round of flinches and even the slight groan that could be heard from what looked to be the Captain of Islanzadí's personal guard, standing directly to her left and partially hidden behind Gilderien's shoulder. The man's emerald armor was slightly stockier than the rest of the elves, and his helmet, greaves and vambraces sported trim that looked like thousands of gold silk threads, twisted into rope.
"I see. Well, it is only natural, since I am not of this land. I am a newcomer here."
A host of confused and surprised murmurs followed Sunny's statement, and Islanzadí was unable to mask her surprise, raising her elegant brows.
"You are… not of Alagaësia?"
Sunny's voice, cold and emotionless, replied.
"I am not, Elf Queen."
Islanzadí stared. Then she stared some more. Finally, she whipped her head around to look at Gilderien, who met her harsh gaze with a small smile on his face.
"Does he speak the truth?"
She asked quickly, sounding disbelieving.
Gilderien bowed to her as he answered.
"No lie has trespassed his lips since our first meeting, my Queen. He is indeed not of the continent of Alagaësia. His originates from a land I am yet to understand."
A host of surprised gasps and cries of unbelief rose from the members of Islanzadí's court.
"As we believed, there truly are lands farther from our reach. The lands of our ancestors..."
The Queen's voice was full of disbelief and shock, even a bit of awe. She seemed to have temporarily forgotten about the Lord of Shadows.
A mistake.
Sunny chuckled darkly, his voice sounding sinister and cold. It echoed hauntingly through the great, open hall, inklings of starlight framing his terrifying form.
Many elves paled, including the Queen herself, who also flinched as she was forcibly reminded of her somewhat dangerous guest.
"Farther than you believe, Islanzadí. Farther than you'd ever believe."