Chapter 635: An Elf’s Tale, Part 4
The Kingdom of Astra was unlike anything she had ever laid her eyes upon before. It was a sight, a visage, that even the most intricate of illustrations or the most descriptive words had completely failed to capture.
A grand metropolis spanning far and wide in every direction, teeming plentiful with the most extravagant amalgamation of human constructs and design. Winding tall buildings dwarfing even the length and size of some forests, with districts separated by large canals connected by great archways, and boats a common commodity of transportation used to navigate the maze-like patterns of the capital’s layout.
High above, far in the distance spired the kingdom’s Magus tower, more vast and grander than any she had seen prior, and there right beside it, stands the mighty walls of royalty, a large, lavish castle soaring above it all, like the highest peak of a mountaintop, a distinguished mark of human dominance looming over the entire kingdom.
In every conceivable way, shape, or fashion, Astra was truly a wonder to behold.
Only it was not her wonder to behold.
All the eminence, all the grace... to her, they were only just noises. Very loud, very aggravating noises.
The atmosphere too saturated with the clamor of daily life.
.....
Too many hooves clopping against cobble, too many musicians enticing large crowds with their songs, the poundings of a blacksmith’s hammer, waterfalls from higher, grander landings splashing into the waterways below, and the laughter of children...
The laughter of children...
Eshwlyn gripped the edge of her seat, the carriage rocking against a coarse patch of road, the wooden wheels drumming only adding more to her strife.
“Master has reserved us a place within the Blue Sanctum,” Tilina spoke, and as always speaking aloud as if addressing no one in particular, her gaze strictly veering out the carriage window. “I would suggest stripping the obvious tension from your expression before we reach. It would not do you any fortune for him to see your reluctance.”
Eshwlyn chose not to do as advised, her brow remaining ever as furrowed, but instead spoke, “The Blue Sanctum?”
“It is where the innate strengths of other species are greatly nullified, the interiors, the color, meticulously designed solely made for the magic of humans,” Tilina explained as drearily as she could. “Also the venue of your due Conversion.”
“Will he... will Master be meeting us there?”
“I suppose not,” Tilina replied. “His Highness relies heavily upon Master’s services. He will be preoccupied. Perhaps later come dusk...”
Eshwlyn suppressed the urge to tighten her grip, her seat already threatening to fracture with quiet creaks. Within her, a familiar feeling was surging to a roaring boil. Lenora being taken brought with it a sense of unease that had not plagued her for months, and now it had returned again.
As soon as possible, she needed to see Wilvur as soon as possible. For abducting Lenora again, she will not demand of him why, or lash at him, she knew could not do that without arousing suspicion to herself or to Terra... instead she wishes to see him just to gauge his reaction, his behavior.
Because if she could look at him without her sense of loyalty wavering, in spite of knowing of his vile actions, if she could just garner a sliver of genuine devotion, then perhaps that would be enough to see her through the Conversion.
Hopefully...
It was a deeper venture into the capital’s more illustrious regions before they finally reached their destination. Trudging along behind the guidance and protection of a Knight, Eshwlyn disembarked the carriage and found her gaze struggling to swallow the sight of a massive compound filled to the brim of what resembled cathedrals and shrines, and where many men of faith and worship walked the grounds, and true to its labeled moniker, every building, every surface, down to every robe, and every inch possible, was shaded and colored with every different hue of blue.
At the entrance, much to Eshwlyn’s own surprise, they were greeted and escorted to their destination by another fellow Knight, one of the Sanctum’s defenses, her bright blue hair like an extension of her blue garb, fluttering lightly in the autumn wind.
“Conversion, or so I’m told, yes?” calmly and stoically spoke their guide, her blue eyes momentarily glancing towards Eshwlyn. “Only the most devoted persevere. Your would-be Master must truly be great to inspire such loyalty within you.”
Frightened that her tone might just betray her supposed sincerity, Eshwlyn only nodded back in response.
“Then I wish you good fortune,” the Knight looked forward once more. “May you be a most wondrous Knight indeed.”
Shortly after, with a departing bow, the blue Knight left them standing before the opened doors of a large indigo chateau. They only had partway traversed through the foyer before Tilina came to a sudden stop, her crimson locks starkly in contrast with the deep blue of the walls. She turned to and fro, her golden eyes scouring, a flicker of unrest rippling through her usual composed demeanor.
“What is wrong?” Eshwlyn asked.
Tilina gave a sniff of the air, her pointed ears giving a quick twitch. “Master is here.”
“Here?” Eshwlyn began whirling around as well, as if expecting to see him suddenly approaching from out one of the many halls, and in vain sniffed the air, the foul stench of humans only wrinkling her nostrils. “But I do not see...?”
Then suddenly, from above, funneling through the spiral railings of an intricate stairwell, echoed the sound of amused laughter.
“As always, your keen nose, I can never hope to elude, Tilina,” the march of descending footsteps began reverberating across the empty foyer. “Ahh, truly I should have known better than to attempt a surprise welcome... yet regardless... my failure seems to have produced a similar effect, nonetheless.”
Wilvur emerged down the staircase a larger, more imposing figure than Eshwlyn had last seen him since. He wore a gruff beard that barely showed his smile, his thick mane of white hair longer, frizzier, nearly obscuring the sharp glint of his bright scarlet eyes. In line with customs, he had donned an azure-patterned cloak that swelled him almost twice his size. And when he approached them, his footsteps almost seemed to shake the very foundations.
“Eshwlyn, Tilina,” An almost kindly gaze of red looked over to the both of them. “It brings me no greater pleasure than to see you both at my side again. Welcome.”
“As it is with I, Master!” Tilina hastened into a bow, her tone with a newfound vigor to it. “How I longed for this day. To be of service to you again, it is all I wish for.”
Wilvur only beamed at her, before quickly turning over right, green eyes meeting the red.
Eshwlyn blinked, stamped away all thoughts of her sister, and did her best, diligently, obediently, and devotedly arching her body down, her white hair streaming past her expression in a swaying cascade.
“It is a great pleasure to see you still in good health, Master,” it was all she could think to say. “As it is to be once more at your behest...”
“Is it truly?” Wilvur asked her, and Eshwlyn raised her gaze to find a wide questioning gaze. “Am I to believe you do not, in the slightest, harbor a sliver of resentment to me for tearing you a far distance away from your sister?”
“It is only through you, Master, that I am able to even see her again,” She quickly said. “I only see it just to repay such undeserving kindness with unwavering obedience. I hold no ill-will, only gratitude.”
“And yet, despite the truth you speak, I cannot help but feel the prick of guilt plaguing my conscious,” with a wider smile, he then spoke, “Which is why, one day, when my guilt had reached a peak, I had personally arranged for your sister to be brought here to stay with you.”
Eshwlyn did her best to sound caught off-guard by this piece of information. “O-Oh... I-I see... Master, I... I don’t know what to say...”
“Well, ‘thank you’ will always be an appropriate response,” he gave another hearty chuckle that ended with a less than an eager-sounding sigh. “She will be arriving shortly soon in the care of the Magus, Terra. Apparently, she deems it a useful insight if she was to see the entire process with her own eyes and demanded her presence as a prerequisite in attendance. Oh, but you must know already what is to happen here, yes? Why I’ve summoned you far into the land of Astra? Have you guessed?”
She didn’t speak it at once, wanting to say it without question, without reluctance. “You wish to Convert me into a Knight.”
An approving nod met with her answer, and she felt his hand lay upon her shoulder, his voice heavily layered with contained excitement. “Oh, how I’ve waited for this moment. To see you bear the markings of your loyalty to me, for you to wield your life in the name of humanity. The strongest, the greatest, the only one of your kind.”
Tilina was a far better concealer than she’ll ever be. How she managed to hide her spite, her bitterness, and still look to her Master with all the adoration and reverence she always held, Eshwlyn will never know.
“But one pivotal moment at a time, yes?” Wilvur drew his hand away, and motioned for the both of them to follow his stride further into the hall. “And right now, Eshwlyn, you are required for another matter entirely.”
“I am?”
“Indeed, you are,” He went on to elaborate, never once losing the audible wonder in his tone. “You are to present your skills to a wanting audience. Members of nobility, fellow Elf collectors, and even before the illustrious presence of His Highness.”
“King Ardvair himself?” Tilina’s lips hung agape, confusion, shock, and awe taking turns to distort her ever-unraveling expression. “For a simple matter of Conversion?”
“A simple matter...” Wilvur repeated, twisting her words with a tone of absurdity. “What is so simple and mundane of the makings of the greatest Knight, I ask you? See, they have all heard of your feats in my servitude, Eshwlyn. How in spite of lacking the mantle and enhancements of Knighthood, you have excelled beyond the strength of even the best of their Knights.”
Inside her, Eshwlyn felt a jumble of thoughts brewing, stiffening them all, trying to keep her focus. “And what exactly do you require of me, Master?”
“Today, you are to do battle with their Knights, while we await the arrival of Terra and your sister. Bear in mind you are not required to win, only to affirm your strengths. Then after, once you are rested, once you have reunited with your sister, tomorrow...” He said, then turned to her once more, the same look of ambition gleaming again in his scarlet eyes. “Begins your Conversion as the greatest Knight to the House of Hendrick.”
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