Chapter 24

Cyrus could only see darkness, before a small window opened to the outside world. The window was quite small, and only displayed the world blurrily. The window grew and grew, it widened from a slit to a large circle, and then the world perceived through the window became less and less blurry. As he was finally able to completely open the window and see the world in its full glory, he had awoken.

He looked at his surroundings, and was surprised to find that he didn’t know where he was. He was in a room he had never seen. The room had a window on the wall on the left side of the bed, a bookcase filled with different kinds of books opposite of the bed, and a doorway to the right. The floor was made from wooden planks, while the walls were the usual bark that covered most of the houses in Eleanor.

The bookcase caught Cyrus’ attention, as it was filled with all kinds of different books. Books that seemed to differ in size, thickness, quality, age, and then even seemed to differ in writing styles, as the titles on the covers seemed to differ greatly. Some books had hard leather covers, others were only covered by an extra layer of paper, and some weren’t covered at all, showing their use.

Before Cyrus could continue his observation of the room, his attention was diverted towards the doorway that bordered the other room. The door was slowly being opened, as the invader tried to open the door as quietly possible, as they were under the notion that he was still asleep, he assumed.

The door didn’t produce a sound as it was opened, and from behind the wooden door, a face appeared. Cyrus recognised it as Lyvia’s face. It was quite easy to recognise, as she had a defined yet soft cheekbone, light purple eyes, and dark purple lips.

There was a bit of surprise on her face, but it was quickly replaced by relief, and a lovely smile.

Cyrus was startled by this, he did not know why he was here, and he did not know why she would form such a smile. The only thing he remembered was standing at their door, his father coming, his mother trying to protect him, and him falling off of the platform that surrounds the Theandor house.

His expression suddenly turned sour, as he once again scanned his environment. He was searching for something, or someone, fervently.

Lyvia saw this, and her smile flinched. She knew what he was looking for, and she was saddened that he wasn’t going to find it. She didn’t know what kind of state she was in now, but she knew it couldn’t be a very good one.

In an attempt to calm him, and divert his attention, she walked up to him, and said with a soft and calm voice: “Hello Cyrus. You must be hungry after sleeping, do you want some porridge, or maybe some roasted acorns?” She smiled after she finished her proposal, hoping that it would reach Cyrus, and stop his search for but a moment.

Despite her efforts, Cyrus was not calmed. He kept looking around the room, and finally focused his gaze on the door. He did not focus on Lyiva, he only focused on the doorway, as he hoped that his mother would walk through that very door, that she would calm him, that she would hold him, and that she would guide him on the first steps of his new life.

She represented his hope for the future, the future they had tried to forge together, and she represented his hope for finding a new home, a home that welcomed him.

That hope never appeared, as the doorway remained empty, and his thoughts became more and more jumbled by the void that seemed to encroach on his mind. The corners of the room were turned completely black, as it seemed that a void was taking over the room slowly but surely.

He felt the tears well up in his eyes, he felt his heart ache, he felt his mind being consumed by his grief, he felt his body shiver, and he felt the helplessness in his very being, as he realized that his hope had been taken away from him, as he realized that he had made the first steps alone, and as he realized that his mother was taken back to the place they tried to escape from.

As the room was slowly taken over the void, Cyrus was scared. He had lost his hope to his family, he had lost his mother to his family, and he had lost his home to his family.

Cyrus’ mind was filled with thoughts of desperation as the void continued to encroach, his expression was one of fear, and sadness. His stature seemed weak as his feeble mind was slowly driven to desperation.

As the void was about to encroach on him, as it had taken over all of the space around him, as it had consumed the whole room, and was about to consume him, he felt a tug. He opened his eyes, and saw that Lyvia had pulled him close to her, embracing him with her arms, and stroking his head.

“It’s going to be okay. I know it’s sad that Avary can’t be here, but you’re here with us now, it’s going to be okay.” She said with a soothing voice, as Cyrus could no longer hold in his pent up emotions, and cried.

The tears flowed from his eyes, his nose became more and more runny as more and more mucus left it, his body shivered, and his voice sounded like a whale in heat, as he felt the warmth and reassurance of the woman holding him.

He felt the rhythmic beating, he felt her warmth, he felt her stroke his head with her right hand, and he heard her calming words. Those words penetrated into his very soul, as they reassured him that he was safe, that he was okay.

After several minutes of crying, Cyrus started to calm down. All of the pent up stress leading up to this moment was relieved as he cried every little bit out, the stress from awaiting his punishment, the stress from being banished, from trying to run away with his mother, the stress from having a weak body in that family, and the stress from losing his mother to that family.

Lyvia loosened her hold on him, and asked with a calm yet cheerful voice: “I hope that feels better. Now, are you ready to eat something?”

Cyrus silently nodded his head, before Lyvia took him by the hand, and led him out of the room, and into his new life.

While Cyrus had started to recuperate from the loss of his mother, the Tyrrith household hadn’t.

They had seen the state of Avary Tyrrith, they had seen how Eldrin had taken out his anger upon her, and they had seen her being taken away to Elrieden. While a lot of the personal inside the house was quite shocked by this, the shock and grief didn’t compare to that of one boy.

In one room, a small boy was curdled up on his bed, his hands gripping the sides of his head, and his eyes closed. He shivered from time to time, as he tried to process what had happened.

The last time he had seen his mother, was at breakfast. He didn’t say goodbye to her, because he had retreated from Cyrus’ embrace, after which he had stormed away to his room. He hadn’t given it a second thought, as he thought that she would still be there in the afternoon. He didn’t know how wrong and naïve he was, and that had cost him.

Minos had seen his father give his friends money for informing them about his mother, he had seen his father head out with four of the dojo personal, and he had witnessed his father’s return.

He had seen his father’s rage, and his mother’s pain. He had seen his mother’s inability to react, he had seen her glazy eyes, as they seemed to stare at him, and he had seen her lifeless and empty expression, like there was nothing present in that empty shell.

He couldn’t recognise his mother, as she seemed to be only a husk of her former self, a lifeless and inept husk.

He had witnessed how his father scolded that inept husk, and how his father released his anger. The screams of his mother’s pain still resounded through his mind, as he had holed himself up in his room, and as he tried to comprehend what had transpired. He did not know why his mother was like this, why his father had beaten her up, or where Cyrus was.

Suddenly, he realized something. Where was Cyrus? Didn’t mother and Cyrus try to escape from the family, didn’t she try to run away with a banished child? Cyrus isn’t here, and mother is. After she tried to run away with Cyrus, she became this husk, and Cyrus is still gone. Could it be his fault?

The thoughts crossed his mind, as the screams of his mother and his father’s shouts were pushed to the back. However, they did not disappear, instead, they reinforced these thoughts.

Mother is an empty husk, Cyrus is gone, mother is an empty husk after returning from her failed attempt at escaping, and Cyrus is still gone. These thoughts of curiosity resounded through Minos’ mind, until one thought formed that pushed them all back, that took his attention by force, and that changed his thoughts from curiosity, to rage.

Cyrus is still gone, it’s his fault.

It’s his fault mother is like this! He must have caused this as he tried to run away from father! That damned banished child! I will kill him, even if it’s the last thing I do! I will avenge mother, and I will not let him off without paying the price with his own blood!

As the screams of his mother and the shouts of anger from his father had reinforced those thoughts of curiosity, they had given birth to dark thoughts. Thoughts of revenge, thoughts of unrelenting vengeance, and thoughts of desperation.

If I punish Cyrus, mother must come back! If this is all his fault, having him pay would resolve all of this! I would get rid of that banished child, and mother would come back! Thank Eleanor for this enlightenment, as I now have my goal. A goal that must be reached, a purpose that must be pursued, and a quest that must be undertaken. I will bring mother back!

These thoughts raged through his mind as the desperation took over. Minos started planning his revenge, as he knew that acting brazenly against Cyrus would only cause more friction, as it was seen as uncouth of a family to kill a banished child. If a banished child is killed by the family that banished it, then why did they banish it? It would just seem like they tortured him without purpose, and that wouldn’t do.

He started to make up convoluted plans that he discarded one by one, he wanted Cyrus dead, but he realized that he wasn’t strong enough yet. He didn’t have enough power, both in terms of battle prowess, and political influence.

And so, instead of trying to get revenge on Cyrus, he decided to focus on becoming stronger. He was part of the fallen Tyrrith family, and he would need the power that it once governed to seek vengeance for his mother, as his own was far from enough. He did not know where Cyrus was, nor did he have the power to easily kill him at this moment, and as such, he decided to bide his time, he decided to grow stronger, and when the time was ready, strike. He was part of the Tyrrith family, power was only a matter of time.

As one household held a grudge, and another trudged upon a newly forged path, both looked upon the future with a quest for greatness, and an eagerness for power.

While the two families set the first steps towards a bright future, a certain council of seven was taking the first steps towards a more grim future.

They once again sat with in the same position, with Lyrian and Elyvia sitting opposite of each other, and the most imposing presence sitting at the head of the table. He could overlook each of the members sitting there with ease, and his seat was directed towards the door at the end of the hall, the only entrance, and exit.

The room was in disarray as the six members were fervently arguing, until the man at the head of the table coughed. The whole room fell silent, as they all directed their gazes towards the head of the table. The remaining six figures were sitting there in anticipation for the old one’s words, and when they finally came, they were not pleasant.

“I wanted to thank you all for coming here once again, it has only been three years since the last meeting, but we have received grave news, and I wanted to inform all of you immediately, so that we can formulate a plan.” He said with a serious and thoughtful voice..

Before he could continue, lady Elyvia was once again too quick with her words, and spoke before she thought.

“Is it about the threat from the deadlands? Didn’t we already have a plan for that? I mean, if there are more skeletons, then we just need to bolster the numbers, and our fortifications.”

The old one snickered, before saying with an exhausted tone: “I only wish it was this simple. No, we are more likely to face an assault from two fronts. The monsters, and especially the orcs and goblins, of the wastelands are starting to act up. They will most likely try to assault our human neighbours, or us. We don’t know why they’re acting up like this, nor do we know why the undead are acting. It’s really all too convenient to have them act up at the same time.”

The rest of the table remained silent, until Lyrian spoke up once again.

“If I may speak old one, I may know the cause of the monsters in the wastelands being riled up.” He said with a respectful and confident tone.

The old one’s eyes widened a bit, and he said with a calm and soothing tone: “Please do tell, that would help quite a bit.”

Lyrian adjusted his position a bit, before speaking with a clear and confident tone.

“Well, we have noticed that there has been a large birth rate of orcs and goblins in the last decade. We don’t know exactly why this is, but we suspect that they’re trying to make up for the casualties they sustained by constantly fighting the undead, and there is the possibility something is happening deeper in the wastelands.”

He paused to let everything sink in, before he continued with the same confident tone.

“We don’t know what could be happening in the wastelands, since penetrating deeply into it would be very difficult. We would need to send out a small and elite party to scout out what is happening, and they would need to either slaughter their way through thousands upon thousands of orcs, and then find out what is the cause, or they would have to sneak past those thousands upon thousands of orcs.”

The other figures at the table remained silent, as they understood that it would be quite the undertaking, and it wouldn’t be easy. They thought of multiple possibilities to try and get a solution for the situation at hand, and as everyone was still deep in thought, the old one spoke up.

“I have an idea. We recently got a request from the adventurer’s board from our human allies. They requested to build branch offices here in Eleanor. While I don’t approve of this, and share the same sentiment, I have another idea.”

He grabbed a staff like object that had stood next to him, and he used it to draw the attention of the other members to a certain point on the map.

“Here we have the forest, and a little to the east, into the wastelands, there is a small mountain chain. I think we should try and build multiple fortresses there, and have them build adventurer branches there. They can help with the exterminations on the edges of the forest, and they can focus on killing as much of the monsters in the wastelands as possible. The fortress could be fortified by both humans and dark elves, both increasing our standing with the human kingdoms, and increasing our defences.”

The other six figures at the table nodded in approval at the idea, but while they were in agreement that it was a good idea, there were still some worries. Lyrian was the first to voice his worries, and said with a thoughtful voice: “But how are we going to build those fortresses? We’re already using up a lot of manpower defending the forest, how are we going to push the orcs back, and how are we going to conquer enough territory to enable the build of such a fortress?”

The old one sighed before saying: “I know you’re not going to like this. But you have all heard of the newly formed magic school in the country of Malgami. I think we should ask both the country and the school to aid us in our efforts.”

The moment the old one finished his sentence, the other six figures voiced their complaints. They voiced them very loudly.

“You couldn’t possibly mean to beg for the help of dark mages or blood mages?! How could we proud dark elves live with ourselves if that happens?!” Said Elvyia with a loud and angered voice.

“We don’t need the help of humans to defend our own territory! We aren’t some weak second rate dark elf kingdom! We are the proud forest kingdom of Eleanor!” Resounded from the right of Elyvia.

“Your pride and honour is going to get us killed! You damned religious fanatic!” Resounded from the left of Lyrian.

Before the figures could continue, the old one put up his hand, signalling that they should remain silent. He spoke with a soft voice that seemed to echo through the whole chamber.

“While I know that you may not like it, I know some dark mages myself, and I know for a fact that they’re the best at fighting hordes of creatures, since they can summon their own hordes. If we want this project to succeed with as little casualties as possible, it is needed that we ask for their help. My goal is to protect this forest, and its inhabitants. Yours should be the same.”

The remaining six figures looked at the old one with understanding, but it was clear that they didn’t agree with his sentiments. Before they could voice their arguments, the old one spoke again.

“I want to let all of you think about it, try to do some research, and if you still disagree with me then, come up with another plan. The meeting is dismissed, I hope to see all of you in two years’ time, so that we can discuss this once again. Until then, we continue with the current plan, and we fortify our eastern borders with the wastelands. Understood?”

The remaining figures at the table stood up as one, and left. Leaving the old one alone in the chamber, wondering how the future of this forest would pan out, as building those fortresses with the help of dark and blood mages would essentially give them a place to live.

He could only worry, as he did not know where the future would take this forest. He could only hope for the best, and prepare for the worst.

His mindset was wise, as giving dark and blood mages a home would create the entry to an age of turmoil, and an age of power. Preparing for the worst, is the best thing to do, when faced with such a grim future.