Verita - The Guardian of Darkness

1 - Beyond the Barrier

Hi! Before you start to read – I'd like to express that I'm open to criticism and I love getting feedback. So feel free to vote and comment, even if you have nothing important to say haha

And now, I hope you have fun with Elanthin's story ☺️

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"They're making fun of us."

Elanthin's eyebrows nearly touched each other as she tossed the piece of parchment onto the floor. The letter had reached her in the middle of a council meeting, raising suspicions that the sender had timed its arrival perfectly. Too perfectly. As if the words, written in black ink on expensive parchment, hadn't been scheming enough.

"Throw it out."

The aging man across the table cleared his throat, while she got up to leave. "Your Majesty, forgive my insolence but I would like to remind you of the current state of the kingdom."

She froze in her tracks and turned around, unable to ignore the advisor's remark – even though she wished she could. Phygras was a timid and quiet character but there were times when he raised his voice. As always, he had a legitimate reason for it.

"If we don't find a solution quickly, our people will be reduced to prey", he added in a matter-of-fact tone.

Silence engulfed the room, while Elanthin stared at him. Phygras' flowing robe stood out in a room filled with armored soldiers. Its light grayish fabric emitted a soft light which evoked memories of past days in her. Days in which this palace had been filled with feelings of pride and unbreakable optimism. But that spirit had long vanished, leaving behind only the certainty of loss.

Finally, she let out a long sigh, which bore traces of the struggles she had been through recently. In the past week alone, Elanthin had met up with twenty-three self-proclaimed geniuses and six generals of the Deep, who had all promised to mend the situation in increasingly ridiculous ways. In the end, she had been unable to entrust this problem to any of them. Night after night, she'd gone out to support her soldiers in slaughtering the rising beasts.

Elanthin was exhausted and on the brink of collapse. Even her closest companions among the royal guard – infamous for their endurance –, had applied for a day of rest and recovery. She had granted it after some thought; otherwise, she might've had to deal with a load of corpses tonight.

I still have to deal with the beasts from the Deep tonight, she thought to herself. Who should I take with me? Who is left?

There weren't many who remained strong in the face of impending doom. Murmurs of desertion amongst the common soldiers had been reported to her for months. She couldn't trust anyone with her life who didn't remain unbrokenly loyal. So, who was left?

The advisor shrank under the calculating gaze from her pale blue eyes.

"Your words are true but what do you suppose we do? Accept this ... joke?"

"Forgive me. I am aware of the consequences if Your Majesty accepts Gratia's proposal."

He shot her a glance filled with pity and Elanthin had to grip the chair next to her to keep her balance. A mere months ago, no one would have dared to look at her this way. There simply hadn't been any reason to.

"We can't consider it." The second advisor, who had followed the conversation from his seat at the round table, rose to his feet. "And I urge you to reconsider your position, Phygras. Such a proposal is nothing more than an insult to Her Majesty. It is, after all, House Gratia which has sent it."

"Does it matter? I would think that the lives of our people take precedence over some ancient feud."

Vax sneered at his senior. "You couldn't possibly think that the Gratians would treat our queen with care or respect after she's abdicated. Once she agrees to their conditions, all of our efforts will be in vain."

"In vain?", answered Phygras with a faint glow in his hooded eyes. "The only way everything would be in vain was if we allowed the monsters to run us over."

"It isn't the first time we have faced the beasts from the Deep. Wouldn't you rather face a known evil than to bow to royalty which has confined House Verita to hell for nearly three hundred years?"

The advisors kept throwing words at each other, while Elanthin hardly listened. Instead, she pulled on her dark leather corset, which began to feel tight. The air in the room was stifling and she longed for the comfort of her bed like a fish for water; however, she knew that she wouldn't get to sleep until she had slain her daily quota of monsters. It was the only way to keep the settlements on the edge of the Plains somewhat safe.

"We do not know anything about the Gratians", reminded Phygras his opponent. "How long has it been since we had contact with them? With anyone beyond the eternal barrier?"
The men stared at each other coldly; neither one of them was willing to move an inch from his position.

"I have heard your opinions on the matter. You may leave now", said Elanthin decidedly. There were enough problems without a fist fight between her advisors. They had been on two different sides for as long as she could remember. No matter which position Phygras took, Vax was against it. In calmer times, she had enjoyed their childish bickering but she couldn't afford to indulge their pointless war in the current situation.

After a deep bow, the advisors silently cleared the room. They left behind silence – and a lingering sense of anxiety.

Finally alone, Elanthin cracked her shoulders. There was nothing to be done about the tension in them, but she could ease the pain a little by taking a hot bath.

After I've cleared the Plains facing the Deep, she reminded herself strictly. In her mind, the days had blurred together into a screaming, dirty mess of blood and gore. The few hours a day she got to herself had to be carefully structured so she could eat, sleep and wash the dried blood off of her body.

In her current situation, how could Gratia's proposition not seem like an insult? As if they had been waiting for the right timing, when their enemy was at its lowest, they established contact now, after a three hundred years of silence.

With disdain she glared at the letter, which laid on the floor, mocking her silently. Even considering the proposition felt like losing; like giving up any dignity she had left as queen; but she could not refute advisor Phygras' arguments. No one knew why the monsters kept rising in unprecedented numbers. And no one knew how to stop them. Maybe she had to fulfill her duty in a way she had never thought to be necessary.

Another sigh left her lips as she bent down to pick up the paper from the stone floor. It did not matter what her own feelings were. It mattered even less that she was, admittedly, scared of what the Gratians would do to her once she'd lost her worth.

In the end, her sole duty was to protect her people – and the Veritans were bound to face a fate worse than death if she didn't act.

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