Here We Live And Here Will We Perish

Elgin was staying in Namaria for the last three months after his fight with Aliyah. Licha was quite apprehensive about Elgin's arrival in Namaria but she could not openly say anything due to her insecurities. Elgin was highly devastated by the news of the sudden demise of his mother, but due to his unstable political position in Namaria, he could not openly investigate the murder of his mother. Licha and some of the close members of the Namarian Council doubted him and therefore he decided to leave the palace and stay at Uncle Mackie's house. Aliyah never contacted him nor tried to inquire about him which further enraged him and extended his stay for another four months. Elgin looked at Diego who was having some problems living between the elves. At last, Elgin returned to the palace and entered his room.

Vexana was sitting on the bed, reading a book. Elgin asked, "What are you doing here, Vexana?" Vexana replied, "I have lived here since you went to Namaria. The place is good and elegant and also the bed is so soft. I also have access to a lot of books on magic and I often fall asleep reading one of the books." Elgin said, "Okay. I understand. Where is Aliyah?" Vexana sighed, "We had a big quarrel after you left and since then I have not seen Aliyah in the palace. She might be in Mount Tysogame where the medics are treating Alice. Yes, we finally gave the green flag to the medics of Mount Tysogame. They have a decent experience in treating rare ailments like this and also we shouldn't doubt the sages if we want to keep healthy relationships with the hermits. The hermits highly respect the sages of Mount Tysogame and therefore most of the laboratories and hospitals are in that area." Elgin asked, "Did they meet Maester Jovelinus?" Vexana said, "Maester changes quite often there. Old men are fragile and often don't live long. But, I heard Maester Jovelinus was on some expedition with some fellow hermits." Elgin said, "He is a good friend of mine. I went to him when I was having trouble coping with the news of Cindy's pregnancy. Alice would have been more secure if Maester Jovelinus was there." Vexana asked, "What about Diego? How is my nephew?" Elgin said sadly, "Not very cheerful. He is having difficulty living amongst us. I think he is more human than we thought. I don't feel bad about this fact because I want my son to grow up away from all this violence and gore." Aliyah appeared and said, "It doesn't matter what you want, Elgin. His fate will eventually bring him here. He might be more human than us, but he is not a complete human. He will be different from an ordinary boy of his age. He will have green eyes and a green mist around him." Vexana sighed, "Don't start again, please. I don't want any more disputes on this nonsense topic." Elgin said, "His fate will be different from us. This violence has to end. We cannot risk it to go any further than it already has." Aliyah smiled, "You say such things but when it's time to do some necessary work, you back out. If you want to cut the roots, you have to dig the ground first. We cannot uproot the evil of Xao Chang unless we annihilate all his benefactors. The foremost benefactor of him right now is your dear sister, Licha. I researched about her and found out that she has been recently visited by two unidentified assassins who killed your mother and Licha's husband, Gilbert. While it looks like a task of the enemy, in reality, Licha conducted the assassination. She perfectly knew about the talks we had with her that day and therefore she soon orchestrated this charade and killed her mother. Gilbert was greedy and wanted to control the wealth of Namaria by any means, so Licha killed him too." Elgin said angrily, "Don't talk without any evidence, Aliyah. I don't trust you any longer." Aliyah said, "Fine. Let me ask you three questions and you can decide whether to trust me or not." Elgin asked, "What three questions?" Aliyah smiled, "First, tell me why Licha didn't do a proper funeral of her mother and husband. Second, was she happy when she saw Diego for the first time? Third, why did Licha not say anything to you or Vera about the assassination of your mother and her husband?" Elgin said, "Maybe, because she didn't want to create an unnecessary commotion in Namaria. Political affairs are very sensitive and any decision should be taken with utmost care." Aliyah asked, "Do you have evidence to support your theory?" Elgin didn't reply. Aliyah smiled, "Assumptions are useless if you cannot prove them. Let me tell you the real reason. Licha was afraid that you and Vera would try to investigate the murder case and then slowly you would reach her neck. Licha secretly buried Queen Sejasha and Gilbert in an unmarked place because she knew that too much display would only bring chaos. She was angry when she got to know that you have an heir and most importantly a male heir. She has no children and now her husband is dead. The people of Namaria will not be happy with her and will surely try to find better rulers than her. So, Licha started to do business with greedy industrialists like Leo and Levy and surrendered her political power to a criminal like Bron Antilevsky. The day is not far enough when that idiot will surrender Namaria to Xao Chang. We have to stop her before any calamity happens." Vexana and Elgin looked at her with a mixture of astonishment and glee. Elgin asked, "Did you become smarter in my absence?" Aliyah smiled, "No, you became dumber in my absence." Elgin asked, "So, what should we do?" Aliyah said, "We have no other option but to issue "Raikon" on Namaria." Elgin asked, "Are you crazy, Aliyah? Issuing "Raikon" on Namaria will make them our enemies and we don't want to start a civil war in these unstable times. Kavana and Kystion will definitely try to use this coup to their advantage." Aliyah smiled, "That's why we will attack in the silence of the night." Elgin said, "Attacking in the silence of the night means merciless killings. I cannot kill my kin." Aliyah said, "Your kin is going to kill you. Licha is a potential enemy for your son and the whole kingdom, including Namaria. I don't want to sound dismissive but if we don't stop it right now, there will be no second chance." Elgin looked at Vexana and then looked at Aliyah. Elgin said, "Fine. But, if anyone surrenders or pleads for mercy, he or she will not be killed." Aliyah said, "Fine. But, Namarians are renowned for fighting till death." Elgin said, "But not all of them are that great." Elgin disappeared in green mist.

Nakamura and Kenchi walked inside the palace and asked a nearby guard, "Where is Kystion and Kavana?" The guard looked at them and said, "Who are you guys? And why are you are referring them without any title?" Nakamura said, "Tell them that Kenchi and Nakamura has come to meet them. Xao Chang has a message from them." The guard looked at them and said, "Okay. But, King Kystion is a little unwell and he is currently resting. Lord Kavana is in the prayer room. Today is the thirtieth day of his grandmother's demise. Be careful with your words." Nakamura and Kenchi walked inside the prayer room and looked at Kavana who was sitting on a chair and was lighting a candle. Nakamura said, "My condolences on your grandmother's death." Kavana turned and smiled. He walked towards them and said, "My grandmother was over two hundred years. She died peacefully in her sleep. Anyway, I know why you have come here. I recently heard about the arrival of Xao Chang. I hope he is well and doing well." Nakamura smiled, "You are cleverer than I thought. Xao Chang will be pleased to know that you are serving him." Kavana said, "No. That will be a misunderstanding that I will work for him. I want to kill Aliyah and Vexana and become the king of the whole Elf Kingdom." Nakamura said, "I cannot promise you anything right now, but the thing about being king is abruptly possible. But, you have to be a puppet ruler for Xao Chang." Kavana said, "I cannot agree to your proposition and I don't think that way we can agree." Kenchi smiled, "I will talk with Xao Chang. You can become the king but you have to prove your worth. We don't have much time. Everyone is doing something and now with the sudden arrival of Xao Chang, our situation has worsened. We are given a deadline of three months and if we cannot bring the Blood Spear to him, he will take things in his own hand." Kavana said, "Kystion is adamant of starting a war, but we cannot attack them without making them weak. Earlier, Krymon did the same mistake and died. Alice is novice but still she has enough power to wake the blood energy inside her. We need to make sure that Alice is not there." Nakamura asked, "How is that possible? We need the Spear and if we don't have her there then how can we take the spear out of her?" Kavana said, "I have heard somewhere that the Blood Spear sucks energy from the body of the host and makes the host immune to any physical injuries and makes them very powerful. But, if we kill the host before it connects fully with the host, then we can easily take the Blood Spear out her." Nakamura said, "Then, we should declare war right now." Kavana said, "There is a slight problem. We cannot enter the Elf Kingdom because it is guarded by the powerful spell of binding created by Elgin. We need someone who can defeat his magic. I think we should call Argus." Nakamura said, "Argus is not mentally stable. His magic is more dangerous for his allies than his enemies. Thousands of years of intense study has made him mad." Kavana said, "We have no other option but to call him. He is very good and I'm sure that he will destroy half of the Elf Kingdom." Kenchi smiled, "So, you are a fan of him?" Kavana said, "I have heard tales of his power. In the First War, he destroyed thirteen clans of elves in one day." Nakamura smiled, "It was an accident. He wanted to capture them alive, but mistakenly used the death spell." Kavana asked, "Why are you so reluctant to call him?" Nakamura said grimly, "I don't like that guy. He is a huge showoff and he never accepts his own mistakes. He killed my best friend, Lamas because he thought he is betraying us. But, he was not. Whenever, I see him my blood boils." Kenchi said, "If he comes, he will come or else we have to look for an alternative option." Kavana said, "Then, we will talk when he comes here. Now, excuse me, I have to take bath." He walked outside the room and Nakamura and Kenchi disappeared in red mist. 

Kavana took his bath and was drying his wet hair, when Kystion entered his room and said, "I heard that two unknown people came to meet you in my absence. Who were they?" Kavana looked at him and said, "Learn to knock before you enter, Kystion. I was naked just a minute ago. The two people were Nakamura and Kenchi. They want us to attack the Elf Kingdom right away. They said that they will help us, but I pretty much doubt them. But, I want to know what do you think about it?" Kystion said, "Too much delay is bad and I have been saying that from long ago. But, instigating and attacking on a third person's advice is foolishness and lethal. I don't trust those bastards. They are evil and they will not even think twice before back-stabbing us. I think we should be away from them." Kavana said, "I don't know. They are very powerful and if they have come to us for help, we should milk them." Kystion said, "I really don't know what to say. You delayed the war and now the demons are taking advantage. We have no other option but to agree with them now. But, still my intuition is saying that the things are not that clear as it seems." Kavana said, "We will go tomorrow to them and discuss the further things. The elves are right now a bigger threat that the demons. We have to start by killing big enemies first, or else they will prove dangerous in future." Kavana walked outside the room as Kystion looked at him going and sighed.......