Chapter 63 The Barrier

An unknown time later, Evernya awakened in a pain-filled fog. Every muscle in her poor abused body throbbed in pain. Unable to do anything besides moan in pain, Evernya laid still. Through the pain, Evernya picked up distant talking.

“Put her down or leave her. We are leaving now.” Commanded one voice.

After a momentary delay, another voice responded. “No.”

“You dare talk back!? We’re leaving now!” snapped the first voice.

Stunned silence reigned for several seconds before the second voice spoke again. “Not until she is ready to move.”

“Why? If she wasn’t a cripple before, now she most definitely is.” Questioned the first voice with clear annoyance.

Silence descended on the clearing, with the only sound being the quiet, pain-filled groaning of Evernya. “I gave you many chances to prove yourself as the head of the family, but it appears you are far too young and immature.” Said the second voice with finality and disappointment.

“How dare a reject like you insult your superior? Kneel and apologize!” Boomed as the first voice in anger.

Unknown magic flooded the surrounding area as the second person spoke with a voice tinged with mana. “As the eldest and strongest of the Ammil family, I hereby take the position of head of Ammil.”

“Wha-h-how?” stuttered the first voice.

Evernya’s consciousness faded seconds later as her body descended into a coma to heal.

An unknown time later, Evernya awakened with uncontrollable hunger. Running on instinct, Evernya pounced on the conveniently placed kneeling elf within arm’s reach, plunging her fangs into the elf’s wrist.

With loud slurping sounds, the girl happily sucked away on the delicious mana. By the second, the malnourished girl filled out. Fragile stick-thin arms and legs visibly widened as the muscles grow to a healthy, firmly toned state. Within five minutes, the suckling girl resembled a healthy young woman, but she continued to suck the elf dry fervently.

Fifteen minutes later, the girl detached her fangs and moaned loudly before dropping unconscious, followed by the thoroughly depleted elf falling to the side out cold from mana depletion.

Assaulted by the bright late morning sunshine, Evernya awoke yet again, lying on a comfortable bed of leaves. Evernya squirmed, nestling herself deeper into the leaves, not ready to wake up yet. She laid with her eyes closed, basking in the sun, warming her half-naked body.

An hour later, she finally dined herself to emerge from her leafy bed to observe her surroundings. Still kneeling nearby, Maylin looked to be quite repentant while Meira was cooking something by the fire a few meters away, ignoring the existence of the other elf.

Upon taking in her surroundings, Evernya snapped awake, springing to her feet, drawing the attention of the two elves. “Oh, you’re finally awake. How was your nap?” Chirped Meira.

Maylin scowled from her kneeling position at the head of Evernya’s leafy bed. Upon catching Evernya’s glance at the younger elf, Meira explained in a chipper tone. “Oh, don’t mind her. She’s in timeout to contemplate her recent decisions.”

Evernya’s confused gaze alternated between the two elves. “What’s going on? I thought the kidnapping Elven bitch brainwashed you.” Evernya questioned, earning a heated glare from Maylin.

Meira smiled at Evernya’s insult as she continued to tend to the meal. “Oh, that? Yeah, I was under control for a bit. Her being the head of our bloodline caught me off guard. Did you really think someone as young and weak as her could control me for long? I broke out of the compulsion the moment she had me attack you. After that, I let her think I was under her control to find out why she went to all the trouble to hunt me down. When she took it too far, I took her position at the head.” Revealed Meira downplaying the events as if it wasn’t a big deal.

Maylin formed an expression of self-loathing as she kneeled silently, ignored by the others. “So I ran for nothing?” Grumbled Evernya.

Meira’s chipper attitude shifted as she glared at Evernya like a mother would to scold their child. “No, you should not have. Do you have any idea how dangerous the wilds are? Worse, you ignored my message and came anyway.” Scolded Meira with her hands on her hips.

Evernya’s ears flattened, and her tail drooped with tears brimming in her beautiful eyes as she peered up at Meira apologetically. “I’m sorry, I know it was dangerous, but I had to try to save the only person I consider family in this world.”

Meira’s expression softened, unable to stay mad after her kitten’s genuine apology. “As punishment, give me back my storage ring.”

Without hesitation, Evernya slipped the crystal ring off her pinky. She telekinetically floated it to Meira’s waiting hand. “Now, you’re going to tell me how the hell you made it this far on your own without training,” ordered Meira.

“I ran, following your scent,” replied Evernya, earning a confused stare from both elves.

“I figured you did, but how did you make it this far. I’ve had to kill or scare off hundreds of mana beasts to make it this far.” Meira clarified.

“Hundreds? There are that many mana beasts out here? I ran into maybe a dozen, most of which I avoided.” Evernya replied, mirroring the elf’s confusion.

Realization dawned on Meira a moment later. “No wonder you made it as far. Without a scent or mana leakage, few mana beasts would find you. Now tell me exactly what happened leading up to your early morning ambush.”

Evernya ran through her journey, starting with her crash and first encounter. Meira huffed in annoyance at the mention of the border guard, but remained silent, allowing her kitten to continue. At the mention of the ice wolf confrontation, Meira interrupted her. “Ice wolves have a layer of ice on their fur aiding against cutting, but it leaves them weak to blunt attacks. If you used a targeted force blast, I’m sure you could have won against young ice wolves like them. The primary danger when fighting ice wolves is their freezing bites and aura, which you handled.” Meira instructed before signaling Evernya to continue.

Evernya felt the urge to facepalm herself at the obvious solution. She continued her journey summary, feeling like an idiot. Both elves went wide-eyed at the mention of her visit to the tree village.

“You met the Northern Tree spirit!?” Meira exclaimed in shock.

“So that’s what she is. She didn’t feel like an elf, despite her appearance. To be honest, it all felt like a dream or nightmare. After I woke up at the base of the tree.” Evernya stated, lacking the shock of the two elves.

Meira stared at her kitten with envy. “Do you realize how lucky you are? You met one of the few known Old Ones living within Sespina. Many forest folk like elves worship her like a god, yet you think it wasn’t a big deal?” Ranted Meira with Maylin silently nodding along, having grown up within the tree village.

“No wonder she’s so strong. Oh, by the way, apparently I have a mother, and she used to visit the tree spirit frequently before some barrier got raised.” Added Evernya with a casual tone.

Her comment prompted silence to descend on the clearing. Meira appeared to be on the verge of fainting, while Maylin looked on in bewilderment as her brain failed to do the math.

Confused by the silence, Evernya prompted the frozen elder elf to explain. “What? What’s the big deal? There are barriers all over the place, even your territory has one.”

Meira continued to stare at her kitten mouth, opening and closing like a fish. Several minutes pass until her brain rebooted. “Tell me exactly what she said!” Meira insisted on the verge of shaking her kitten until she answered.

Wondering where this was heading, Evernya complied. “She mentioned meeting my mother when she was about my age and many other times after. The way she talked, she seemed to know about me too. She seemed surprised when I knew nothing about my mother mumbling something about my mother waiting years for my return and maybe having issues passing through some barrier because of her stature.”

“Waiting years would be the understatement of the millennia,” Meira commented.

Fed up with being left out, Evernya asked. “With the big deal?”

Maylin gave her the ‘are you an idiot’ look, only for Meira to shut her down with a glare. “Did you wonder why the textbooks I showed you only had a map showing the Sespina Federation?” Meira asked, trying to clue in her kitten.

“Yeah, thought that was weird, but I assumed since the books focused on the Sespina Federation, they didn’t bother showing outside of its borders,” Evernya replied, still clueless about what the big deal was.

“The dwarves and dragons weren’t the only things stopping the Sespinian expansion. Even if they overpowered those giant obstacles, further expansion would be impossible. The real reason the map only shows Sespina is because a barrier runs along the outer base of the dusk and dawn mountain range encircling the entire Sespina Federation. Countless expeditions snuck around the dwarves and dragons, only to never return upon crossing the barrier. We only know of the outside from surviving mythic era documents.” Meira finally explained.

Contrary to Meira’s expectations, Evernya’s confusion only grew. “What does this have to do with my mother?”

This time it’s Meira’s turn to give her the ‘are you stupid’ look. “Use your psionically enhanced brain. Did you catch Maylin’s stupid when you sucked her dry?” Teased Meira at the expense of the seething younger elf, who continued to kneel silently.

“I know what you’re hinting at. I just don’t get it. I’m guessing this barrier showed up sometime in the mythic era, and the Northern Tree Spirit met my mother before that, but the math doesn’t add up. How can I be nineteen if this barrier has been around for thousands of years?” Evernya defended.

“Around 50,000 years, but yeah, it makes little sense to us either. Maybe your mother sent you through the barrier somehow. There is also the fact that it isn’t your original body. You’re just full of mysteries also, don’t worry, Maylin here won’t speak a word of this.” Meira stated before glancing at the intently listening younger elf promising punishment.

“Speaking of mysteries, how did you take your bloodline back? I thought bloodline severing is permanent.” Asked Evernya to take the focus off of her.

With a shrug, Meira replied. “Mystery indeed. When Maylin used bloodline hierarchy on me, I reconnected and with it, all my memories from before the severing returned. Maybe our ancestors had a hand in it? Either way, when I regained my bloodline as the eldest of the line, I became the true heir.”

“Now, I know how you felt. How can you be so casual about not only regaining your bloodline but also becoming the head of it after centuries of exile?” Evernya teased.

“Remember, elves live a long time, so a few centuries isn’t a big deal, plus I was the heir before my exile. Besides, as I said, all the memories I lost upon exile returned. It’s unfortunate our parents died, but the moment they disowned me, I did the same to them. At least they died honorably protecting Maylin from a Forest Drake.” Meira replied with a hint of sadness at the loss of her parents despite her words.

Evernya regretted her comment upon catching the tears rolling down the silently kneeling elf, so she changed the subject. “Speaking of Maylin, why is she so quiet?”

Upon being the subject of attention, Maylin stealthily wiped her tears away, trying to look as dignified as possible while kneeling. “Oh, that’s because she was acting like a brat, so I forbade her from talking. When that didn’t stop her brattiness, I ordered her to kneel next to your bed in case you were hungry.” Meira explained, showing no remorse at forcing the younger elf to do things against her will.

“I know she deserves a bit of punishment for the shit she pulled on you but isn’t this enslavement?” Evernya inquired, knowing how it felt to lose control of her own body.

Meira quickly explained, trying to ease her kitten’s worries. “I wouldn’t call it enslavement, since she gains the benefits from the bloodline. I know it’s hard for you to understand, but for us who grew up with a bloodline, this is normal. Think of it as enforced parenting. Inflicting hierarchy only works if the two people are of a close relation, like a parent with a child or one is the head of the bloodline. In a larger bloodline with hundreds of people, only a few people could order you around, so it isn’t as bad as it seems. Plus, several magical laws prevent abuse by inflicting hierarchy. For example, no order can cause direct harm to the receiver.”

After taking a second to collect her thoughts, Evernya conveyed her stance. “I suppose you could have subdued her with force anyway, since she’s only Awakened 7. Either way, I’m not faulting you for your choice of punishment. On the contrary, I find it quite fitting. Where I’m from slavery is illegal, so I’m not used to seeing someone magically under the control of another person. Despite my experience with temporary enslavement, I have no desire to free every slave in Sespina.”

“From personal experience, going down that road is impossibly treacherous. For almost a century, I actively freed as many slaves as I could, but I barely made a dent. Most freed slaves, either by choice or conditioning, return to slavery immediately after tasting freedom.” Meira informed, flashing back to the countless times she freed slaves, only to find they returned to their master or mistress soon after.

I suppose it makes sense. Long-term prisoners often commit crimes to get sent back to prison as they are used to the confined, structured environment. Many military veterans have a similar issue adjusting upon discharge, but of course, these are human minds without magical conditioning involved. I doubt many could remain the same after being magically conditioned to be a slave. Evernya thought, eliciting a shiver to run up her spine.

Meira floated two smoothies to her kitten just as she finished cooking their late breakfast. Evernya watched the small skillet of diced meat with intense hunger, ignoring the smoothies in her hands. Meira gave her an apologetic look as she dropped the meat into two salad bowls.

“Sorry, but we don’t have time for a food coma.” Apologized Meira as she finished up seasoning the salads.

Stupid food coma! I want to eat tasty food too! The smoothies are delicious too, but it’s all I’ve had for days! Evernya ranted in her mind while gulping down the purple and green smoothies.

Meira turned her attention to the younger, silently kneeling elf, speaking in a mystical tone. “Maylin, I hereby release you of your punishment.”

Maylin immediately sprang to her feet, hopping a few times to shake the numbness out of her legs. Just as she opened her mouth, Meira spoke again, this time with her normal voice. “Don’t worry, against my better judgment, we will help you on your futile quest, but only if you tone down the Princess Syndrome.”

Maylin wisely kept her mouth shut as she dropped to a stump seat to nibble on her salad. Satisfied, Meira also sat down to eat her salad with Evernya, joining with barely concealed curiosity.

I wonder what this quest is? Now that I found Meira again, and she’s safe, I have no desire to rush back home. Evernya thought while impatiently waiting for the elves to finish nibbling on their salads.

After finishing their meals, the trio sat by the dying fire in silence, only for an earthquake-like rumble to shake the clearing.

A moment later a dump truck-sized creature downed trees as it entered the clearing, releasing a mana aura dwarfing Meira’s. The mana aura overwhelmed Maylin, knocking her out cold.