Two days after the high elves reached Fort Ishiw in south central Landen, a formal meeting between King Ciel and Queen Kishi was arranged. He had delayed his departure for Renshaw when he heard the good news that his daughter had finally understood the true nature of things. He did not care about what was past; he simply wanted to see his little Kishi again. He longed to have a semblance of a family again and she was all he had left. He owed it to his wife and to Kira to make every effort to mend their bond. He waited in a small cottage for his estranged daughter to show up for their meeting. The main purpose of this event was to formalize the unconditional surrender of the high elves. As the sun set on another clear day, there was a resolute knock at the front door.
“Yes?” asked the king tentatively. He tried to sound calm even though his emotions were all over the place.
“It is General Yukio Ibreshri and Queen Kishi Tiranidrol of the high elves” the confident general replied through the door.
The cottage door opened inward to show a clearly relieved elven king. He opened his arms in a warm welcoming gesture to his daughter as he stood to greet them. He smiled as he looked at Kishi and Yukio standing before him. He had always thought that if this scene was ever played out before him that the mad general would have Kishi’s head in his massive hands…not standing there with his little girl at his side.
“I must say that I would have never thought things would have turned out this way. It is good to see you” he said as he gestured to the both of them to enter the quant cottage. They both walked through the door which promptly shut once they were through. He gave his daughter a fatherly hug before releasing her. His eyes twinkled for the first time in years as he looked down at his eldest daughter.
After talking for nearly an hour, the three leaders re-emerged from the cottage. They all had determined looks on their faces as they looked at the assembled high elves that were surrounded by the Landen home guard. In the middle of the square was a stump of a rather large willow tree. King Ciel climbed to the top of it to address the anxious crowd. Rumors had been running wild through the high elven army over the past hour. The civilians had also heard about the possibility of an end to the hostilities.
“I have news my friends…an accord has been reached between the elves and the high elves. First, the nation of high elves will be allowed to continue their existence, but they will ultimately be under elven rule. Second, they will no longer have a queen, but they will have a representative of the royal family at the head of their high elven council. Finally, as repayment for their crimes against us and the free peoples of Tuwa, they will be responsible for rebuilding the elven capital as well as the affected areas of Landen” explained the elven king. He spoke with greater confidence and ease than he had in over a year. Having his eldest daughter at his side had seemed to wipe away most of the hurt and internal struggles he had been experiencing.
A cheer greeted this good news. The high elves were worried that the punishment would be much harsher. They had even anticipated the possibility of slavery or some kind of indentured servitude. The question that was on all of their minds now was what they were going to do for the immediate future. The quandary showed on their faces as the elven king looked down at them.
“For now you will be sent back to your homes on Mounts Quang and Konane. You will defend your mountain homes and provide medical aid to our causalities of war. This is an important service which will not go unnoticed by those you previously fought.” He gestured in a fatherly way toward both the elves and high elves. He was happy that this event had occurred. The elves had been through so much in the last year that it was heartening to see his people reunited.
The Duel
Lord Dukker renewed his assault on the southern cliffs after the council had met in the enchanted Forest of Renshaw. He was on the back of Razi, his faithful gigantic spider, leading the charge. His army of high elves that were on the backs of spiders was climbing the southern cliffs in another attempt at over running their enemies. As they crested the top of the rocky precipice, they were astonished to see Queen Kishi standing there next to General Yukio. They were surrounded by the knights of Landen who were armed to the teeth for a fight. The high elven general narrowed his eyes at the pair.
Lord Aellenas called for a halt as soon as his troops had joined him on top of the plains. He reached out immediately for Kishi’s mind so he could figure out what was going on. As he found his mark, he found that she had no defenses up…this caused him a brief moment of pause. “Kishi, what is going on? Are you a prisoner?” asked the bewildered general. He did not like the presence of the maniac Nairian general. He liked it even less that he was right next to Kishi.
“I am not a prisoner…we have surrendered. Please give me a chance to explain what has happened” yelled Kishi back to her longtime friend and mentor. She wanted what transpired between them to be public.
“No, that is not true…you have been brain washed by that vile man!” spat the dark general in the direction of General Yukio. Dukker’s eyes seemed to smolder and burn with a purple flame. He rose slightly on the back of Razi as he sneered at the man he hated. He was already drawing on sentient beings and sucking their life force out of them to bolster his attack.
Before anyone could do or say anything more, the irate General Aellenas twirled his staff as he turned to face his troops who had a momentary look of relief on their faces. That is until they saw what their dark leader was doing. He pointed his staff at his own soldiers with a bloodthirsty look in his eyes. A purple vapor issued forth and literally killed everything in its path. The spiders bucked their riders off as they flung their thick bodies over the cliff’s edge. A thousand high elves died from that initial, unwarranted attack. The spider steeds died as well from this attack either by the death mist or the fall down the cliff.
“Dukker…you fiend!” bellowed General Yukio viciously. He charged at the imperious murderer as he sat atop Razi. It was obvious that the high elven general had complete control over his steed because it did not revolt when its spawn were murdered needlessly by his master.
“Stop!” yelled Kishi as she tried to grab Yukio. Her hands grabbed at air and she also fell to the ground when she missed her mark. Noric took flight and gained as much height as possible. It was clear that he was going to provide his new master assistance from above.
As the maddened general approached the still unaware Aellenas, he pulled two broad swords from their sheaths strapped to his back. His eyes burned red as a flame engulfed the two blades. He whirled them with tremendous force at the hind quarters of the giant spider. They struck with such terrific force that its backside completely exploded. A shock wave knocked Dukker onto the ground where his faithful soldiers lay dead or dying. Razi turned to face his attacker completely consumed by the fire.
“Die you demon spawn!” Yukio raged at the dying spider. He put his hands together and pushed at the charging monster. A ball of red fire hit Razi square in the eyes. All the flames seemed to suck into the creature’s head and then the remaining parts of the ancient spider exploded with a deafening boom.
The spawn of Razi that were still living shrieked in terror as they too exploded and fell lifeless to the base of the cliffs. After their master had died, the perverse magic used to create them ceased to exist. The fallen form of Lord Aellenas lay motionless for quite some time while the high elves ran to the Landen knights. Fear gripped the heart of Queen Kishi as she realized what was going to happen next. She had to prevent the demise of the most valiant warrior druid that Tuwa had known in centuries.
“Yukio, look out!” yelled Kishi while she ran to his side. She had her battle staff out and was twirling it as though it was second nature to her or actually a part of her.