A Hero's Rebirth Ch. 06

"Agreed. We will have to begin the preparations for both expeditions." Audriul interjected.

One Elder began tapping her staff repeatedly on the wooden floor.

"Weilkeir, your words have not yet all been heard. We will return to your discussion shortly." Audriul acknowledged. "Milfrin, you are acknowledged. What words do you have to put forward?"

The second mage stood. "I wish to state my objection to the proposed action. Not because it is not a reasonable course of action, to seek allies, but because we lack the power to perform our duties, prepare for the coming battles with Kathra and her forces, AND be building ships and tools to enable Master Thomas and his house to go gallivanting to hazardous environments to try to bring our wayward sisters back to their rightful places by our sides."

She turned from Audriul to appeal to the elders. "We know that once we had the numbers to support such a broad array of efforts. We could maintain the entirety of our forest, enforce the laws of the Enlightened Host among our sister lineages, and still have forces to explore, spend time and leisure on the arts, be icons of fashion, and still have excess. Those days are gone. Kathra killed them. But Master Thomas asks us to drop all to allow him to explore our world and collect matrons from the disparate lineages of our sisters, and Audriul would see us neglect our DUTIES to fulfill his fantasies. If we had the strength, this would matter not at all. But we do not have the strength he demands, so I must object. Until the forest is once again in our control, and our preparations are complete, we cannot and should not continue to bend to his every whim. Powerful and dangerous he may be, but an elf, he is not. He does not know our ways. He does not know our methods. He does not know what we need. I move to vote to end our unlimited support before he drives us to our deaths."

I was gobsmacked.

"A call for a vote has been made," Audriul noted with frustration. "Place your votes. Those for the proposed action, vote for it. Those who wish to continue supporting our Summon, vote against."

The vote took a few minutes. The total was eleven for cutting off my support, and twenty-four for continuing to support me. I don't know what the rules were for a vote to pass, but Audriul declared that the tally was enough that support would remain with me.

"Milfrin, your words have been heard. The acknowledgment returns to Weilkeir." Audriul declared.

Weilkeir stood and with a bit of an annoyed glance at Milfrin, she resumed her discussion. "As I was saying, there would indeed be effort needed to reach the clouds. The rings of supplemental air have long been held in storage, and so long as the enchantments remain strong, all that will remain is a vessel to carry you to the cloud. The shipwrights can begin construction as soon as they get word."

"What kind of ship are we talking about here?" I wondered.

Weilkeir put her hands together, and formed signs by intermingling her fingers to form four signs in succession before incanting, "Ektha thomai." As she finished her spell, she held one hand forward, palm up, with her fingers spread.

The air above my head shimmered, and the form of a boat, long and thin, reminding me somewhat of a Viking longship appeared.

"We will begin with the base of a Veurnhin. From there, we trade out the mast for a Heiurn." She explained, and the sails were replaced with what looked like an enormous hang glider that would be suspended by the mast over the heads of the passengers. "Add in stabilizers, and bind a Wind Elemental to give you control and lift, and you have what my engineers call a 'Viurn'."

The stabilizers were smaller wings, and fins, dispersed along the body of the ship. The Wind Elemental seemed to be bound in a spring-like structure, mounted at the back of the ship, behind the helm. It appeared that it would be an aquatic landing vehicle, but I assumed it would work, landing it somehow in the cloud city.

"Looks like an airplane to me." I chucked.

You turn the ship hull into a tube, change the stabilizers into landing pontoons, and the elemental ring into engines and it was pretty much an airplane.

"So, you have naval vessels?" I noted. "Will they be modified to reach the Sea Elves as well?"

Audriul made an "ahem", then replied. "It has been nearly three hundred years since the last High Elven sea vessel was made, and it was destroyed only twenty years later. No, we will not be repurposing, or modifying existing vessels, but constructing them anew."

"What destroyed your ships?" I chuckled nervously.

"A leviathan, a kraken, a megalodon... it is difficult to say. Perhaps a sea dragon?" Audriul mused. "Since we only learned of its destruction weeks later, the seers could gain little information. Perhaps it was another effort of Kathra?"

The last statement was directed at Amura, who seemed distracted. Laliera nudged her and whispered to her, bringing her up to speed.

"I apologize, I was not yet born and if it was an effort of Kathra, it was not one she celebrated in my memory..." Amura finally responded, flush turning her cheeks somewhat purple.

"Very well. It matters little now." Audriul noted. "But luckily, the shipwrights live still and may yet lend us their knowledge and skill."

Weilkeir closed her outstretched hand with a dismissive motion and the image above my head faded. She sat, and Audriul resumed her role.

"Weilkeir, your words have now been heard." She looked around the group. "Are there any other questions at this time?"

Looking around, I could guess seven of the eleven who had voted against me, just by how grumpy they appeared. But no one raised a hand, staff, or bow, and after a minute, Audriul dismissed us, and the Floorkeeper led us out to the street.

Amura was still seriously distracted and remained so the entire walk home. Once we arrived home, she walked straight to the hall that led to her room and disappeared.

"Is she going to be alright?" I worried.

"She does not appear ill, and there is nothing in the house that should cause her harm," Diamiutar noted.

"Okay, is mental health not a thing here?" I demanded. "Do elves just not get depression? Or anxiety? Do elves never commit suicide? Are those just not things you worry about?"

Lymarith, who had been sitting in the entryway, working on some enchanting project of some kind, interjected, "Do we feel depressed or anxious? Of course. But... to feel such emotions so seriously that it is worth... ending your life... no, that is rare. The priestesses are usually able to alleviate such suffering long before it reaches that point. The only time when such action is really to be feared is if a matron loses her master before her time of motherhood has ended, with no sign of relief in sight."

Well, that was interesting and informative. I guess I wasn't the only one who could get magical relief from PTSD, anxiety, depression, and the other mind fucking conditions. Still, every time any of them tried to rear their ugly heads, the refreshing calm washed over me, and the fucking shit got told to fuck off. Honestly, it might be one of the best parts of my new life. I mean, being the stud of an elven lifetime, with maids clamoring for my dick was great... but it would be nothing if anxiety made me believe they were all likely to explode at any moment, or if depression made me just not fucking care. I'd only dealt with what I considered minor bouts of PTSD, I knew men who had it far worse, but even that had sucked balls. Being free to just... be me... without the parts that dragged me down... was amazing.

I hoped Amura didn't need help, but knowing help... Real help, not sitting on a couch to 'talk about feelings'... was available, it was a relief.

I mean, from what I understood, a therapist's couch was great for women, so it could help my elven companions if it were needed. Traditional therapy helped somewhat for some men, but too many men had admitted it didn't do anything for them. I'd heard there was new research emerging that psychology had been treating men and women the same for years and was just now realizing that we might be different and need different things when it came to therapy.

Either way, the elves had to build a ship before we could head to the clouds.

"Hey," I noted, "if Durithana was able to make my guns in a day... How long is it going to take to make the ship?"

The elves exchanged glances. "Well... does anyone have any ideas?" Diamiutar asked.

Turns out, when a thing hasn't been done in most of their lifetimes, and the few that were alive had been children at the time, knowledge of what was considered an odd frivolity, even when it was in practice, was hard to come by.

"Well, we could go talk to the engineers?" suggested Nauveir.

"A select few could go..." Tavorwen noted. "But we'd want to be sure not to overly distract."

I admit, I was curious. Durithana had talked about metal-shaping magic, but she clearly still used a hammer to shape the steel and other metals. I was intrigued to see the work from the beginning.

But I didn't want to leave Amura. So while the others all debated who would come on the field trip to see the shipwrights, I went to check on Amura.

I don't know why it scared me so much, standing outside her door. But I hesitated outside her room for a good few minutes before knocking.

"Come in..." the voice was quiet.

I gently opened the door and saw Amura sitting on her bed, leaning up against the headboard, her legs pulled into the fetal position as she stared forward with unfocused eyes.

"How are you doing?" I asked gently.

She didn't respond and I came over and sat on the bed, not right next to her but within arms reach.

"They're all going to die. Aren't they?" Amura stated, her voice haunted. "I mean, if mother loses, she'll die one way or another... but all of my people... they will all die... and I'll be alone."

I hated to think it would come to that, but I was a military man and I liked to think myself a realist.

"It's possible," I admitted. "I don't want to kill civilians, but-"

"Civilians? What is a Civilian?" She asked curiosity the first sign of emotion from her.

"A civilian is... a person who isn't part of the military. A noncombatant." I explained.

"You truly think such individuals exist in El'Muth'Ran? Ha." Her laugh held no mirth. "You learn to fight or you die. I only live because my mother accidentally protected me by revealing the shame I was to our house."

Her sharp elven chin rested on her slender legs. "I caused more harm to her house, living and eating food, than I would have in perishing, so I was permitted to persist."

I still couldn't comprehend a parent doing that to her child. She had bound her as... well, a sex slave, and threw her intentionally at a man. And by the way, Amura had acted, the hope had been I would violently and aggressively rape her until she found a way to murder me. That was unconscionable to me.

"And now... as a slave... I shall be made to bear all that will be of my people." She murmured, hugging her legs close.

"That's not necessarily true." I tried to interject. "If we can defeat your mother, and the rest of your people surrender, we can rebuild-"

"No." Amura cut me off. "You still do not believe. Every she-elf, elf, and child in El'Muth'Ran will die before they surrender. Ya'av will see to that. Every slave will be thrown on your sword, and every captive sacrificed and still surrender would only be a tactic... a tool to find a way to kill you and every other who lives in this world before they would surrender."

"But you changed." I insisted.

"Maybe... I'm not sure." She muttered. "If my mother commanded me, and you continued to naively refuse the power of my Slave Sigil... would I turn on you? I can't be sure."

"I am." I insisted. "You wouldn't hurt me."

"But would I kill you?" She demanded. "I could make it painless. Then I could return to my mother and all would be as it should. Mother would win the war, all these weak lineages would be uprooted and burned like death roots among flesh-shrooms..."

"But you'd know." I refuted. "You know that everything you were taught is a lie. Ya'av wasn't betrayed, she was the betrayer. The other Goddesses aren't slaves, and they aren't the ones starving your people. And the lies, violence, and betrayal... it's no way to live."

"I would know..." Amura stated, her voice dead. "And a part of me hates you for that knowledge. I could have lived, endured, and died a slave, content to not know. To believe as I was told and served... believing my sentence justified by my uselessness... No more. And for that... part of me hates you. One who has never been warm does not hate the cold, but once warmth has been known, the cruelty of cold is made manifest."

She looked at me again. "But now I know... you will take me. The gods have declared it. Why do you hesitate? Why do you not command me to do as has been dictated?"

I shook my head. "Because that wasn't what they said."

"No. Their meaning was clear. I will bear your seed and restore my lineage. Even were you to take me in this moment and force a child upon me, either end will come, for my people or for the rest. If my people fall, I would then be restoring the lineage, and if you fall, then for being sullied, my mother will cut my throat and rip out my heart as a sacrifice to Ya'av." Amura stated bluntly. "The words of the gods could have no other meaning."

"Well, you're half right," I admitted. "Maybe more than half. I bet you know what your people will do better than I do. And if you did get pregnant, this would all happen before you had a chance to give birth..."

Even as a human, with nine months of pregnancy, she would still have over three months left, and elven pregnancies took over two years, they said.

"But what they didn't say was that I had to command you." I corrected her.

"What else is there?" She snapped.

"You'll have to choose," I told her. "When you are ready, and you want me to... and make the choice with no coercion, or compulsion, then we'll work on restoring your people. But I'm never going to force you into it. That's not who or what I am. And if you decide that the right time is never, I'd rather that it never happen."

She stared, "You would allow the lineage of the Shadow Elves perish, rather than command me to bear your progeny?"

"Well, as I understand it, I hope the lineage of the Shadow Elves ends either way... but yes, I would sacrifice the entire Night Elf lineage if it meant you had the choice." I insisted.

I was no rapist. No matter how complex the situation and how serious the consequences, it wasn't happening. I didn't care if she was going to be the last of her people, I was not going to force her.

She wrinkled her nose. "That's not fair."

I blinked, "What?"

She glared at me and rubbed the glowing mark that danced and slid over her skin. "When this mark was placed upon me, I knew... my one relief was I'd never have to make hard decisions again... now you make me choose one more... though at least my decision is merely a 'when'."

Seeing my look of confusion she sniffed, "Allow my lineage to end? You mock my resolve... though now my conflict is tenfold."

She let her legs slip further from her chest as she leaned back onto the headboard. "Now I must choose the manner in which I accept what has been given..."

Her lips turned into a frown. "I cannot tell whether to feel blessed I am to be the mother of a lineage, or whether to curse the gods for reducing me to a womb to salvage a fallen people in their game of betrayal and conflict."

My brain understood to some degree how frustrating that must be. From what I understood, in Shadow Elf society, women ruled with an iron fist and men were their tools of reproduction. Being turned into a tool of reproduction must feel like a gut punch.

My dick just understood that she was gonna get fucked one of these days. Trying to will away an erection was like trying to fly by pulling up on your shoes. It wasn't going to accomplish anything and would just make you tired and cranky. Luckily, my pants were sitting right so my erection didn't show.

I mean, all my matrons were beautiful, and Amura was no exception. The fact that prior to coming here, the closest I'd gotten to seeing a woman with blue skin was that one chick in the Star Wars movies that the slug guy killed, made all the Shadow Elves strange and exotic. I mean, no human's face was nearly the same as an elf's. Their cheekbones angled more sharply, as did their chins, and everything about them was smooth and graceful. They seemed impervious to age and it seemed that a healthy female elf had barely a scrap of fat on her, with sculpted wiry limbs, chiseled features, and incredible flexibility.

But as far as shadow elves went, when they had all come out in their gaudy parade of power, before tossing Amura naked at my feet, I could honestly say I didn't find a single one attractive. What should have been sex icons, barely wearing enough fabric to scrape together a speedo and that was distributed over tits, ass, and pussy, were instead statuesque monuments to the ugliness of their souls.

Not so with Amura. Even before I'd taken her to talk with the gods, she had been beautiful to me. Though I'd done my best not to take advantage of the fact she was literally thrown naked at my feet. She hadn't been shy or terribly stingy about showing off her body either, and shit, was it a gorgeous body.

Now she'd as much as told me she planned on letting me have at it one of these days, and that was something to look forward to, but still, I wasn't going to rush her. This was something she had to do at her own time and her own pace.

"Was that all you came to speak to me about, Master?" Amura snipped and I couldn't tell if she was trying to be respectful or insulting with the title.

"Uh, no. A few of the others want to go with me to watch the Shipwrights and see if we can figure out when the ship will be done to travel to the clouds." I explained.

"Oh! May I come?" She asked, springing from the bed, seemingly glad for the distraction. "Flight has always intrigued me."

And she sauntered past me into the hall, like she hadn't just been trying to cope with soul-crushing emotions. I seriously hoped that she was actually coping well, not just shoving her emotions into the darkest recesses of her mind.

I'd let the others decide who would come with us, so a short while later, Amura, Tavorwen, Nauveir, and Sevrina accompanied me as we walked through Ealphamir. Tavorwen led the way, which was good because we were going into parts of the city I hadn't even known existed. Maidens were starting repairs on the cords holding long neglected pathways in the air, as we walked by vine overgrown trees.

I had thought the Gold Leaf district was neglected and abandoned when we had first set up residence there... Now I realized how bad one hundred and fifty years of neglect could really be. Multiple times, we came upon collapsed bridges and walkways with more planks missing than remaining.

"I didn't realize the city was so big or... had places like this," I admitted.

"The Massacre took more than half our battle maidens," Tavorwen admitted. "Maidens who, in times of peace, had other paths they walked."

I was reminded of what Amura had said about there being no civilians among the Shadow Elves... but it was starting to sound like the only civilians among the Wood Elves were the Matrons and Masters.

Finally, we reached an ancient tree, its upper limbs still green, but many of the lower ones gray and lifeless.

Tavorwen led us into a small opening in the bark, and after about ten feet of solid wood, a massive hollow opened up. A water-filled basin dominated the hollow, and it seemed one side of the tree was, in fact, an enormous door that could be opened. I saw no cranes or any other means of transporting the ship.