The Exiled King

Chapter 25 - The Second Demon War

"The queen is dead! Elven queen Euiridas has died!"

At that announcement, a pang shot through Nicon's heart and he frowned, a surge of emotions rising to the surface. His face twitched as he fought to reign in his emotions.

Control... you must be in control... a king may not be weak, He thought, The people depend on me to be strong in times of crisis!

Despite his efforts, a stray tear trickled down his cheek and he carefully wiped it away before facing his people.

He'd felt it when the queen had died and the barrier splintered—it was like someone had pierced a hole through his chest.

And the calming, peaceful light of a candle blown out, darkness creeping in at all sides as the warmth left the area forever.

Such was her existence—the very light of life itself.

He'd known, even before the announcement had been made, that Euiridas had left the world.

Her spirit is probably in the Ether now, He mused.

He strode over to the site of the attack and took in the scene with wide eyes. The massive demon lay headless in a pool of its own blood, the trees in that area having been flattened within an inch of their life.

The young guardians stood huddled together, clearly unaccustomed to real battle, and Lirya and a winged being stood a little way back.

"Uh... your majesty? King Nicon? The barrier's gone... what happens now?" Jason asked, wandering over to the king.

He snapped out of his daze and replied, "We need to crown Euiridas' heir as quickly as possible. You were with her last—did you witness anything? Euiridas would not suddenly drop dead out of nowhere."

Jason's face fell, "Yeah... she showed me the barrier, and told me about my father, then she started coughing blood and said something about poison. I thought she'd be fine where I'd laid her—far from the chaos—since she insisted she could deal with the poison herself, but the demon still got her..."

Poison...? There must be a traitor in our midst. But what of their motive? To break in the demon?

No... it's something else...

Nicon peered at the azure skies above.

A sinking feeling of despair welled up within him and he groaned as the realization hit him.

"Sound the horns of war!" He cried, "Rally the archers and bring forth every able-bodied man in this city! Look to the skies, for that is where our foes come from!"

In the skies far above Silvardor was a magenta swirling vortex that grew in size as they watched. Beside it hovered a hooded figure. As they watched, the figure raised its hand and another vortex appeared, growing to massive proportions in only a few moments.

This is why they killed Euiridas! Nicon thought, Those are portals! Whatever comes out of those is sure to be dangerous!

The loud sound of the war horns echoed through the city and beyond, announcing to the entire kingdom that war was at hand. Returning sounds resounded from each of the war towers in every elven city across the kingdom, passing the message along to every citizen of Silvardor.

There had been nothing but peace since the demon war, but the elves maintained their superb physique by training rigorously—when an elf became an adult and chose their new name, they also chose an area to specialize in. That was when the training began—in all fields of study, from weaponry to magic and advanced academics.