Elincia woke up in a bed. Again. It was happening far too often for her liking, but she supposed she should have just been grateful that she was still alive. After what happened this time, the pain of feeling like she was being burnt from the inside, she was lucky to have even woken up.

"I see that you have finally come to," Erica said. Elincia turned her head toward the voice. The raven-haired sorceress was sitting on a chair by her bedside. Sitting on Erica's lap, Tiffania had curled up into something resembling a ball and was snoring away.

"Lady Erica..."

Elincia tried to sit up, but her body felt like it was made of lead. She could barely lift her arms, much less push herself into a sitting position. Erica pushing her back onto the bed further hampered her ability to sit up.

"Now, now. Don't try to get up. You were injured quite badly this time."

"W-what happened?"

Even though Elincia remembered what had happened, she didn't know how it happened or why. What had caused her to feel such indescribable pain?

"I can't say what happened for sure, but I assume that the reason your attempt at Spiritual Evocation backfired is because of those ears of yours," Erica said simply.

"My ears?"

Elincia stared at Erica for several seconds. Then a jolt of lightning traveled through her body. Reaching up, she felt for her ears. They were long and pointy. Slowly, ever so slowly, she turned her head and looked at her own reflection in the window, at her ears, which jutted from her hair and ended in a pair of points. She turned back to Erica, her mind in a panic.

"I-I can explain!"

"Oh, there's no need to explain, dear. I already know that you're an elf. Really, there isn't a need to explain that," Erica said with a vicious smile. Elincia trembled as she lay helplessly in bed. "What I really want to know is how you, an elf, could have become a sorceress, especially since it appears you can't even use Spiritual Evocation."

Elincia didn't know what to do, but one thing had been made clear. Her secret was out. There was nothing left to do but fess up and tell Erica everything.

Lady Sylvia is going to be disappointed in me.

"I... I come from Fas Sheras," Elincia started.

"The high kingdom of the elves," Erica said, surprise showing in her widening eyes. "If memory serves me, that's currently the most powerful elven kingdom in the world."

Fas Sheras was an elven kingdom to the north east. Situated between Helheim and Moksha, it lay hidden deep with the frozen forest, Everest Falls, so named after the many waterfalls located within it.

"I wouldn't know anything about that," Elincia admitted with a shrug. "All I know is that Fas Sheras was embroiled in a civil war when I was five. I was rescued by one of my bodyguards during that time, but he was killed while trying to protect me. I only escaped thanks to him."

Elincia clutched at her blanket as she remembered what happened, of the fires that had ravaged her home that fateful day.

"Oto no nai mahiro, kaze wa tada akarui."

Elincia sang as she danced through her mother's garden. Brightly lit flowers shone with an otherworldly iridescence. A plethora of color surrounded her as the glowing flowers responded to her song, as if they were singing with her. She smiled joyously as she danced, moving through the steps that her mother had shown her with clumsy enthusiasm.

"Sukoshi nemutasou ni hanabira ga yureta."

This song was her favorite. Her mother often sang it to her every night before she went to bed. Elincia wasn't as good as her mother, but everyone told her that she had a very pretty voice.

"Nanigenai kono... om... oi...?"

She stopped dancing upon reaching the outskirts of the garden. Her singing trailed off, and she stared, wide-eyed, at the sight before her.

Her house was built on a small mountain that overlooked the kingdom. She stood near a waterfall, which fed into a stream that ran through Fas Sheras and further split into multiple irrigation channels. From such a position, Elincia had a clear view of the city—along with the smoke rising from burning buildings.

With her heart pounding wildly, Elincia rushed back into her house. She needed to tell her mother and father that their city was on fire!

She burst through the door and was ready to sprint down the hallway, but she stopped in surprise. Dozens of people were already filling the hall. Silver and gold armor made of plates that resembled leafs adorned lithe figures. Their helms were sharp, pointed, and ear holes allowed their ears to spring free. Gleaming swords of silver, curved and deadly, were gripped fiercely in their hands. These were the elven guards. Their job was to protect Elincia, her mother, and her father.

They were fighting.

They were fighting each other.

What... what is...?

Elincia didn't understand. Why were they fighting each other? What was going on?

A door to her left burst open, and a guard flew through the air, hitting the wall with a sickening thud. He crumbled to the ground in a broken heap. Elincia screamed just as another elf came into the wall from the room that the other elf had flown through.

Like the other man, this one also wore the armor of an elven guard. Black hair descended from his head, contrasting with his pale skin. His eyes were red like blood, and a scar ran down his right eye. The moment he saw her, the guard raised his sword, and Elincia knew that he was going to kill her.

She screamed.

"Itme!" a voice shouted, and the elf who'd been poised to kill her went flying in that same instant. He crashed into the wall, but before he could even try to get back up, the voice shouted once more. "Yanmak!"

A stream of fire erupted from a swinging sword. The elf in the wall raised his hands and a large circle of mana appeared in front of him. When the fire touched the circle, it changed into... glass? No, crystal. The crystal then shattered and became sharp objects, which the elf sent back at the person who'd shouted.

"Kalkan!"

A vibrant blue shield sprung up around the other elf. The shards broke harmlessly against the circular shield of blue energy.

"Yikmak!"

As the word left the other elf's lips, the entire area around the elf who'd attacked her suddenly exploded. She heard a loud scream as the ceiling collapsed on top of the elf. She didn't know if it was her own, or the elf's, however.

"Duvar!"

A spherical barrier appeared around her. Large chunks of the ceiling fell down, only to bounce harmlessly off the shield. Rubble stopped falling soon, and the shield collapsed shortly afterward. The man who'd protected her rushed to her side.

"Valen!" she rushed up to the man and hugged him for all he was worth. "Valen! What's going on? Why is everybody fighting? Where's Mother and Father?!"

Valen, an elf with long red hair and vibrant green eyes, unwrapped her arms from around him, took her by the hand, and ran into the door that he'd just come from. It led to another hallway, this one free from fighting, though Elincia could still hear the clash of steel and the shouts of pain all around her. As they ran, Valen explained what was happening.

"I don't know who started it, but it seems that several of our kin have rebelled against us. They've set fire to the city and have already killed several retainers. A number of the soldiers have also turned traitor. Many of our forces are away, so they currently outnumber us."

Elincia tried to keep pace with the man's faster strides, but her little legs couldn't carry her that quickly. "W-what about Mother and Father? Where are they?"

"I... do not know. Hopefully, they are safe. However, my primary concern is you. We need to get you out of here."

They ran through corridors and down several flights of stairs. Elincia tried her best to figure out where they were going, but as they traveled further and further down, she lost track of where they were. Eventually, Valen led her to a small throne room. She recognized it as the one where Father held private meetings. Leading her over to the throne, Valen spoke in a muttered whisper, and the throne suddenly moved aside to reveal a passage.

"This passage leads out of the city," he said as he pushed her into the tunnel. "Run through here. Run fast, and run hard. Don't stop running until you've reached the other side."

"What about you?" Elincia asked.

Valen's reassuring smile soothed her, but only a little bit. "Do not fear, Lady Elincia. I'll be right behind you."

The doors they'd entered through exploded just then, and several armored figures rushed into the room. Valen pushed Elincia into the passage hard enough to make her stumble. Screaming, Elincia turned around just in time to see the door close.

The last she saw of Valen was him fighting against what appeared to be an endless stream of enemies.

Elincia still remembered that time. She remembered beating against the wall, tears in her eyes as she tried to reach Valen again. Then the ceiling almost collapsed on top of her. Left with no other choice, she'd run through the passage. Time had been meaningless in that dark tunnel. She would never know how long she'd walked or how far. It could have been hours, days, or even weeks, but she had eventually reached the exit.

She'd wandered the forest for days after that, but her strength had eventually ebbed. It had been just as she was about to give up hope and consign herself to death that Lady Sylvia had found her, took her in, and cared for her. About a month after she'd begun living with Lady Sylvia, Caspian would arrive and her life would change for the better. She would be forever grateful to Lady Sylvia for accepting her despite her elf blood.

"And so you ended up under Sylvia's wing," Erica said with a hum. "But, why are you masquerading as a sorceress? Elves can't use Spiritual Evocation. Unlike us humans, who lack the necessary power to do anything on our own, you elves have powerful magical abilities that leave you incapable of harnessing the power of a spirit."

"My... my powers are a little bit different from a standard elf's. I can't use elf magic, but I can summon spirits to fight beside me," Elincia admitted. She would have given Erica an example of this difference, but she was still exhausted and in pain. Erica seemed to accept her words at face value, however, so there was no issue.

"Very well, then." The woman sighed. "If that is indeed the case, then you will just have to show me what sort of magic you can use later on. For now, get some rest."

"Okay..."

Elincia closed her eyes and laid back on the bed. She fell asleep instantly, and in her sleep, she dreamed of fire, of fighting, and of Caspian.