The news Tristan received this morning still weighed on his mind. From the prophecy dictating he was the savior of the elves, and being offered to become the prince or King of the Vanyar. To be honest, a part of him was ecstatic for having the chance to obtain one of the two beautiful women as his wife, but another, more rational part of him wished the elves would just leave him to do as he wishes.
Leaving from all the shock, at noon, Tristan went for lunch by himself. Though the Kingsblade are no longer following his every move, now half a dozen elves replaced them, and they would always go wherever he goes.
He went to the dining room and served a simple lunch of seasoned vegetables and fruits. Though the dishes were expertly cut and arranged into beautiful formations, it seemed bland, as from what he saw, the dishes only had minimal seasonings.
Tristan gingerly took a bite out of the dishes, and to his surprise, these elves able to make a tasty vegetable meal. The minimal amount of seasonings made the natural taste of the plump, juicy vegetables on his tongue shine even more.
As an alternative, they have Lembas bread. All in all, the lunch was decent.
Right as Tristan finished his food, the elf elder Anmar walked in to the dining room.
"Tristan, the queen has tasked me to teach you the way of the elves."
"Yes, thank you, Elder." Tristan smiled and nodded to express his gratitude. The elf seemed kind, and his smile felt warm, but something about the elf just reminded Tristan about the grade school history teacher he hated.
Try as he might, he had no say in this matter, and all he could do was take it.
He stood up and followed the elder out of the dining room, but before they could walk out, a figure appeared and stopped them.
It was Serene, the Valkyrie and the princess of the Vanyar.
"Elder, I have received the queen's permission. As such, I will be the one to guide him."
The elder nodded. "Very well, Valkyrie, I will leave him in your care."
Having the boring old elder replaced by a beautiful lady is surely a big upgrade. Now, he only needed to make sure the princess wouldn't kill him in the process.
Serene took him on a stroll around the crystal palace, passing through rows upon rows of doors. Every few meters, Tristan could see plants on both sides of the hall, planted in a pot made of carved gold depicting a tree with thousands of branches.
After walking for a while, Tristan decided to ask her.
"Where are we going, princess?"
The princess did not answer, she kept quiet and kept on walking, and Tristan started to worry. Did she decide to ask permission from the queen so she has a chance to take him into another torture dungeon?
His suspicions were proven unfounded when she stopped in a big hall lined with pictures and statues. Each picture was framed in an elaborate wooden frame, while the statues were made from carved white marble and propped atop a pillar. It looked similar to an art gallery whenever there was an exhibition.
Serene turned back to look at him and said. "Now, for today's lesson, we will start with Vanyar history."
Tristan nodded. To his surprise, apparently, the girl took the task from the queen very seriously.
First, she talked about the founding of the kingdom. In the span of its 4000-year existence on this planet, Vanyar has only been ruled by three previous kings, which means the average ruling span was more or less 1000 years.
The history of Vanyar coincides with the history of the planet itself. Seven elf clans, the first settlers, came and took over the planet from humans 4000 years ago.
The great battle raged on and on, and it claimed thousands of both human and elf lives in the process. However, the elves won, and the human casualty reached millions of lives, while the elves only suffered a few thousand casualties.
However, even though the elves succeeded in taking over the planet, history was not on their side. Instead of a reward for their hard work and victory, they were punished by a total abandonment from the elf collective.
"We have never heard from the collective since then. I do not know what happened after the victory, but what I know is that the ancestors cut off all communications to us."
"Why?" Tristan asked.
"No one really knows the real reason, not even our historians, and their answers vary. Some said that we were abandoned because we made some kind of failure 4000 years ago, but nothing definite was able to be confirmed. What we know is that the answer was all in the mist
"The mist?"
Serene walked closer to a painting in the center, depicting the whole planet and the territories. The elven evergreen forest stood tall in the south next to the great oceans of the east. On the north, there was a dark territory depicted as a place of eternal night, and finally, there was a field of mist on the west side.
"What is this mist?" Tristan asked.
"Many believe that beyond the mist, lie something to help us return to the collective."
Serene asked Tristan to follow, and they passed by several paintings of elven figures. From the way they were dressed, it seems that they were the former kings of Vanyar.
They reached the end of the room, where Tristan could see a small painting depicting someone that looked like Queen Lenna standing next to a male elf with long, white hair.
"This is… your father…the King?"
"Yes, Tristan, that is the only painting I have of my father. I have never seen him since I was born."
"What happened to him?"
Serene stared at him, as if telling him that he had stepped out of line, but she decided to answer regardless.
"He went to the mist 50 years ago, and has never returned since."
"I see."
Serene talked about how the mist has attracted the attention of curious adventurers, historians, and elven scholars alike, and many were sent to explore the place blanketed in the white mist, but none has ever returned.
She opened her mouth and spoke, each word carried with a lilting voice that echoed in the mind and touched the soul.
"The leaves are falling, the seas are raging, and the forests are drowning. Blood will rise, and the Monarch will lead through the mist."
Tristan could feel a piercing sorrow and a ray of hope contained within the song. Yes, this was the prophecy that had become the focus of the elves since ancient times.
"Tristan, my mother believes that you are the monarch, and you will lead us through the mist as stated by the prophecy."
Though there may be some coincidence in place, Tristan was never one to believe in prophecy or destiny. One may wallow in pity all they like, but they can only change their circumstances when they decide to take it in their own hand. With patience and determination, reversing the course of one's fate would be possible.
Serene turned back and stared at the beautiful painting of the king and the queen. Now that Tristan was able to look at it properly, they seemed to be glowing with happiness. The painting had captured the sincere, gleeful smile of the queen that day, while the king only had a small smile gracing his handsome face.
Though the painting was beautiful, she gripped her knuckles and looked down, tears streaming down her face. She blinked it away, shook her head, and looked at Tristan.
"My father is my mother's only 'veri'. She always talked about him, and every day, I could see her gazing at this painting with a longing look. Hence, hearing her talk about planning to marry someone else, especially you, really…"
"I understand." Tristan cut in before she finished.
The princess appears silent longer than usual, but when she finally snaps back to her senses, Tritan can see determination from her face.
"Tristan… I will agree to marry you for the sake of my mother and my kingdom, but remember, no matter what, you will never be my Veri!"
The princess' eyes were glinting with determination, and Tristan's interest towards her only grew. He had always liked a strong woman who could fend for herself, after all.
When he thought things were about to become much smoother than he expected, the princess once more said.
"But! You better win the gauntlet first. A Valkyrie shall never take a 'yenti' as their mate."
Tristan was able to see the slight hint of blush add color to her cheeks, before she turned around to hide her expression and said. "Alright, today's lesson is over
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Written by Avans, Published exclusively by W.e.b.n.o.v.e.l,
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