A Hero's Rebirth Ch. 05

"Give it a try," Narusil instructed, and I couldn't help but notice her brace herself in her protective runes.

That wasn't helping.

I took the stance she had. Point fingers, pinky fingers, and thumbs touching, other fingers curled, I began to imagine the electrons in the air in front of me, and I imagined my will... which was always a golden beam in my mind for some reason... I imagined my will forming two hands, one for electrons and one for the rest of the atoms' bits. I picked a target and focusing on the center of the target, I pulled my hands apart, surprised to feel a tension trying to keep my hands together.

Again, following her form made me feel like a cartoon character from something like The Last Airbender, or one of those stupid animes that I'd seen bits of here or there, but as I was casting a fucking spell... I guess that was more or less what I was. At least the world wasn't animated.

I stretched my hands apart, twisting into something like a karate pose.

I could feel the strain, like a muscle I rarely used but in my head, and I struggled to keep my focus.

"Likra saif," I repeated, twisting my wrist like Narusil had and imagining the lightning, snapping to the target like a released rubber band.

"CRACK!!!"

What shot from the air in front of my forward hand to smash against my target was not a little jolt of energy, it wasn't a spark, it was a BOLT, like lighting in a storm but horizontal.

"... ow..." I noted.

My fingers were definitely singed. My two fingers that had been curled only had the burnt remnants of the hair that grew on them.

"That was..." Amura noted.

"Yes... a direct hit." Narusil acknowledged.

It was hard not to acknowledge. The target had a hole, the size of a soda can where the bullseye had been, small flames flickering on the edges. Luckily, that didn't seem enough to destroy the target and after remaining a blasted floating wood ring for long enough we all could gawk properly, it returned to its state as a solid disk.

"... Master, you confuse me," Narusil admitted, walking over to Amura. "You have a raw power that defies all we know about the fundamentals of magic but seem incapable of casting magic on a reasonable and usable scale. You can aim the most erratic of magics that our most capable struggle to have passing accuracy with, but can barely keep easier-to-aim spells on the target. Your magic is unstable and unpredictable, but also... reliably over powerful and destructive, which is hard to say is bad for a warrior, but could have unintended consequences on a battlefield."

She leaned against the wall and slid down to sit on the floor next to Amura and pulled her knees to her chest.

"You have so far to go and so much to learn, and I am not perm-... it would not be wise of me to leave Ealphamir with you." She lamented. "I... fear I am failing you."

"Absolutely not." I retorted. "We are just in unknown territory. I'm learning and I'd like to think I'm making progress."

"But... you should be better prepared! You leave so soon, and... a good teacher would have you properly prepared." She declared.

"Narusil, you've only had a couple of days! I think you've done amazing! I'm casting spells... that was an impossibility, a wish of creative minds where I'm from... something I never thought I'd do, and here I am, casting spells entirely because of your guidance." I reassured her.

It was hard to read Amura's expression, but Narusil had to wipe a tear away.

"You're right. It just feels... I can't have you go off and have.... I can't be alone again." Narusil sniffed.

"Not gonna happen." I tried to assure her.

Of course, that's what I'd thought before an RPG turned me into a pink mist back on Earth.

It took some effort to help her calm down, but eventually, I helped her stabilize. We returned home and Diamiutar met us at the door.

"Oh, good! The Notice of Schedule just arrived moments ago, and the discussion on diplomatic relations is to begin within minutes. Here, I packed you a quick lunch. Tavorwen and Creadean are prepared to accompany you. Go!" She urged, handing me a small basket as my battle matrons rose to follow.

The four of us hurried across Ealphamir, arriving at the amphitheater of the Council just in time to be ushered into some seats just outside a hallway that was concealed behind some of the seating, but opened into the central platform of the amphitheater. I finished up what was essentially a flatbread sandwich that Diamiutar had prepared for me as we waited. Tavorwen took the basket, and with a twist and push it compacted and she stowed it.

The Council was clearly wrapping up their discussions on the previous topic.

"Then it is settled, on a vote of 23 to 13, we will begin seeking to acquire more raw iron and seek to reopen the Mythril mine. This matter is concluded." Audriul declared, and though I couldn't see her, there was a sound like a bell or something being struck.

There was some shuffling and a door somewhere closed.

"Next, a request by our summon, Master Thomas Nord. Floorkeeper, has the petitioner arrived to state their case?" Audriul inquired.

"They have." The elf who had led us into the hall declared.

"Bring them forth." Audriul requested.

We were led from the hallway into the main platform and to an empty bench on one side.

"Before the petitioner states their case, have all present been able to familiarize themselves with the request?" Audriul verified.

Two staves and a blade were lifted high as heads were nodded.

"As High Elder, I acknowledge Pevein Bladehand. You may speak." Audriul declared.

The blade-bearing elder stood. "I must object to the proposed action. For years we ruled over our sister bloodlines and did so with a just and even hand. A hundred and fifty years ago, we lost many lives to them before their betrayal opened the way for the Kathra and her ilk to emerge and further the slaughter. We have lost far too many of our daughters and sisters to their treachery, I cannot and will not support the idea of turning to them and relying on them at this time. We must learn from the mistakes of our past, and not place ourselves in a position to suffer the consequences even further. Who is to say that even if they help us overthrow Kathra and her legions, they won't just turn around and stab our exposed backs?"

A rumble passed through the group, and I could tell there was a bit of salt being rubbed in old wounds.

"Your words have been heard. Qualin Windreader? You are hereby acknowledged. Speak your peace." Audriul moved on.

A staff-bearing elder, with the figure of one who had never borne children, rose, and her garb and the symbols hanging at her waist identified her as a priestess.

"Sisters, we have long been trusted with the position and authority over our sister tribes. But as our sisters rebelled against us, so two they rebelled against our gods. We cannot trust them and they must be brought back under our authority and taught the consequences of rebelling against the gods and against us. Until the proper reparations have been made and the rest of the children of our gods have properly sworn allegiance, I do not support any actions reaching out to them for support." The elder priestess declared.

More rumbles bounced around the chamber.

I wanted to stand and yell, but I'd been in leadership enough to know that an outburst from me wouldn't help here. I had to play by the rules for a bit and let them spout their drivel, then I'd get to tear them a new one when my turn came.

"Still yourselves, sister. There is much to be heard. Your words have been heard. Weilkeir Stoneguard, as High Elder I acknowledge you. Speak." Aundriul declared.

The second elder who had raised her staff stood. If I was reading her garb correctly, she was not a priest, but a mage. She had a tome of magic at her waist, no religious symbols and runes lined her staff and belt.

"Sisters, there have been good arguments laid out by both of my sisters. We cannot allow the treachery and betrayal of those we once called sisters to go unpunished, but there is a singular simple reason I vote this proposal should be dismissed. Wood elves, we have called ourselves. Have we forgotten that this name is not who we are? We are the High Elves! Chosen by the gods themselves to lead. We are the high elves not due to elevation, or the Cloud elves would bear that title. We are the High Elves because we have been set above and acknowledged as the superior bloodline of Elves." The Elder declared. "We are strong, and, with the aid of our summon, we need not rely on the lesser peoples. The very idea is an insult to who and what we are, by an outsider who understands neither our heritage nor our capabilities. I reject the idea of its necessity or benefits."

I could feel the energy in the room, and I didn't like it one bit.

"Silence," Aundriul called, stifling the murmurs.

"We will now allow the petitioner to present his case. Master Thomas, I acknowledge you as the High Elder. Speak." She declared.

I took a deep breath. Fuck. I hated public speaking, but I had done it before and I would do it again.

"Elders, I hear your objections." I began. "But I am disgusted by what I hear. Is this your idea of leadership? Demands for reparations, demands for subjugation, and declarations of racial superiority? Do you claim to know every aspect of why your fellow elves turned against you? Did a great battle occur? Yes. Were there losses by the High Elves? Yes. Do you know who else suffered losses? Every single one of the other elves. But do none of you find it suspicious that the moment the battle began to wind down, Kathra and her forces were able to emerge from supposed isolation deep in the earth? How did they know when to emerge? How did they know everyone would be vulnerable?" I pressed.

Glancing around, the three who had leveled their objections, as well as Oliphinar, the elder I had thrown out of my house, were glaring at me. The rest seemed to be at least listening.

"The answer is simple. And Amura, who was recently added to my household as part of the negotiations with Kathra, can confirm it. Kathra played you all for fools. She sabotaged your relations with the other elves, turned them against you and you against them over nothing." I declared. "It was a deliberate attempt to weaken each of the peoples so that they could swoop in and take advantage."

A murmur of shock ran through the group. The elders in military garb were immediately deep in thought, their eyes flicking back and forth as they thought about the circumstances leading up to the Massacre. Some of the matrons were aghast and shocked.

"Is it so surprising?" I continued. "A unified elven people could never be overcome by Kathra. Her forces would have emerged from the earth only to be sent right back to where they came from."

I was guessing a little bit here, but from what I'd learned from Amura, it was an easy logical jump.

"Even now, if Kathra could stand against all the unified forces of the people she would have driven you all together, driving the wild elves from the plains to the forests, driving the mountain elves down and into the forest, driving the Sea Elves from the home in the waves and into the forest, and forcing the cloud elves from the sky. Putting you all together would make you much easier to manage and to fight... unless she fears that your unified front would be too powerful for her to stand against."

"In my role in my home world, we would thwart dictators and tyrants. You always divide and conquer. You attack communication, you break the minds of your foe, and you kill their leaders." I pointed out. "Kathra has done just that. You may be different from the elves of the sky, mountains, plains, and sea, but I was given to understand you are all children of X'Thallion. Did he tell you that you are to rule with a boot on the necks of his other children? Did he tell you to lord your title over the rest of his children? Strange, because I have seen that nowhere in his actions or teachings. Again, you asked for reparations, for rights to be made wrong. Which wrongs are deserving of being righted and which should be ignored? Because if the rest of the elves were driven to go to war with you, do you think none of them believe there were wrongs performed by the so-called 'High Elves' against them? Are you willing to give them reparations for things they blame you for? No, I don't think you are."

"The first steps must be taken. X'Thallion trusts you to lead and protect the other elves. You must put aside personal hurts and grudges and show that you are worthy of the title of High Elves. Stand as a beacon to other people, show them that there is more that unites you than divides you. Rebuild communications. Rescue your sisters from Kathra's clutches and form a unified front against her." I declared. "I can and will go and represent you, but if I find a hurting and broken people in need of aid and support, I can't promise anything without your backing. I will do the work, but I cannot be walking out to them with empty promises and hollow words. You've asked me to turn the tides against Kathra. I am telling you, this is the way." I finished.

I had a lot more I wanted to say, but fuck, cursing them out and telling them to shove their racial superiority shit right up their asses was not going to win me any allies. Since I didn't want to accidentally fuck up what I'd just done, I sat down.

"Your words have been heard." Aundriul acknowledged.

Eomniva, the Priestess Elder who had accompanied us to the negotiations, raised her staff.

"I acknowledge Eomniva Treespeaker," Aundriul called on her.

Eomniva stood. "Sisters, an outsider he may be, but any who know our doctrine know that his words ring with truth. We are not better than our sisters, especially not how we have acted. I second his proposal and challenge any who would oppose it to give us a single valid reason. Are we so high and mighty that we could defeat Kathra? Our recent victories... Master Thomas's recent victories... must indeed be going to our heads should we think that we stood any chance before Kathra's armies without Master Thomas. He has shown great power and has turned the tides of the war in our favor. We would be fools to reject his council."

Melvitrere raised her unstrung bow, as the other elder sat.

"Your words have been heard. Melvitrere, I acknowledge you, you may speak."

"Sisters, it is with shame that I admit, in my pride, I did not see the signs, but I need not hear the words of Master Thomas's slave to realize the truth." I winced at the mention of Amura's condition. "It is true, we were confused leading up to the conflict by the irregularity of communications with our sister elves. The messages we did receive were seemingly incoherent, but realizing that those were the messages that were allowed through would answer many questions. We raged at our messengers and representatives being slain, but... how many messengers and representatives of our sisters were slain, and their blood attributed to our hands? No, we must accept that until proven otherwise, the crimes we blame on our longtime allies must be laid at Kathra's feet. I too support Master Thomas's proposal."

"Let us assess our position with a vote. Sisters, present your vote." Aundriul instructed.

The sisters all reached forward and began to mess with some manner of voting device. I could tell it wasn't paper, but some sort of alternate device. Behind her, two branches began to flower, each flower glowing with either a blue or a red light. A quick count revealed that there were 36 flowers, one for each elder. Gradually, each flower opened.

"The vote is complete." Aundriul declared and made a great show of counting the flowers of each color. I guessed it was some sort of ritual or ceremonial aspect of her role. "The vote is twenty-seven in favor, nine opposed."

She sat, "That surpasses the threshold for acceptance. Are there any who wish to appeal?"

I could see those who had voiced their objections, and Oliphinar, still glared at me, but none of them seemed willing to put their names out again.

"The proposal is accepted. Master Thomas, I hereby vest in you the authority of a diplomat of Ealphamir, and declare those members of your household who shall accompany you are appointed as advisors." Aundriul declared, and she raised her staff and with a muttered command, her staff flashed and the chime sound resonated.

The Floorkeeper gathered us and led us from the amphitheater.

"That went well," Tavorwen noted, clearly pleased.

"I guess back home, most votes were settled on much smaller margins, but I can't believe a fourth of the elders still were against this," I noted with frustration.

"You are being hard on yourself. Ask the elders on any given day whether or not the sky is blue and you'll have a split. Three with us for everyone against is a good showing." Creadean agreed.

"I suppose you're right." I relented. "The important thing is that the majority sided with us."

We arrived back home, and I found two more maidens added to the household. Diamiutar had gotten her first maiden approved, a golden yellow-haired she-elf with light green eyes, named Tallarin. She was the tallest of the house maidens, just taller than Sarvourn by about an inch. She was already helping Diamiutar cook when I was introduced. The second maiden was to be Narusil's maiden. Her name was Ignamith, with platinum blond hair, and emerald green eyes, standing about as much shorter than Sarvourn as Tallarin was taller.

Man, all these maidens were so fucking hot. I noticed an absence of my battle maidens and I realized they were doubtlessly preparing for the Congress of Maidens the following day. Fuck, the thought that I'd have another seven freaking hot elves begging for me to nail them.

I could tell that my matrons were amused by how aroused I was getting, and I felt a pair of soft, gentle hands wrap around my chest. I felt the breasts of the matron behind me press into my back, as her hips pressed into my ass.

"I can help you with that." Heilantu's voice whispered to me, her arousal rising to match my own.

"Sounds good to me." I groaned, and Heilantu started to lead me toward the hall to my room.

As soon as we were where none of the others could see, one of her hands wandered down to my crotch and began stroking me through my pants.

"Fuck." I groaned, trying to hurry.

Heilantu gently held me back, slowly guiding me down the hall, her breasts pressing into my back and my ass grinding against her hips as her hand teased my cock through my pants. I badly wanted to just bend her over and get inside her, but damn, she knew what she wanted and I was enjoying it, so I just let her take the lead. Her hand slid into my pants and undergarments, her fingers stroking me and gently running up and down my length.

Finally, we arrived at my door and Heilantu opened it with the hand not wrapped around my cock. I felt her lips brush my neck, her breath making my hair stand, as we entered the room. My cloak, vest, shirt, and the rest of my clothes fell to the floor. Then Heilantu pressed me on the bed and slowly made a show of slipping her dress from her shoulders as Lymarith, Amura, Tavorwen, and Creadean entered.

"We've noticed you like to see our breasts..." She purred, her hands caressing, and drawing my eyes to the supple flesh with her hard and aroused nipples. "... it's amusing. We don't think of them as sexual, but you... You really like them. We feel it, and we see how it affects you."

She loosed the strings to her undergarments and let the two segments fall down her legs, as she slid her hand over her crotch provocatively.

Oh fuck, I wanted her so badly right now.

"It makes me feel so alive to be so desired." She whispered, climbing on the bed between my legs.