Dark Legacy

by Valery Starsky

  “Wow!” Yar exhaled noisily. It looked really impressive and menacing; he felt pride and admiration.

  ***

  It was a huge rectangular throne room: on the one hand, there were the formidable Shadows of the Moon in incredible ancient blue shining armor, and on the other hand, there were a thousand high-level revived elves in ancient harnesses and armed with ancient relics. Between these two formidable armies — the hammer and the anvil — there was a narrow passage to the throne, on which Yar sat. Two of the most powerful dragons in magical armor were located to the right and left of the throne, and Black Rainbow reclined with rearing hair at the feet of the clan leader. Yar watched a little more with pleasure, then he rose from his throne somewhat reluctantly. The acoustics in this room were magnificent so that all those present even heard the speaker’s breathing.

  “Attention, brothers and sisters! The light elves will appear here soon. We should behave with dignity. They will obviously try to provoke us. Let them act as they wish; we won’t feel sorry for them either. No matter what happens, everyone should stand like a stone. You must act only on my personal order. Uyu, Mist, and Geir, you will have an honorable duty to perform today. You must meet and mock these ‘parliamentarians’ properly. Do whatever you wish, even call them to a duel. I allow you to destroy the light elves without hesitation, except the messenger from the Emperor, of course. I know you can do it quickly. For all of us, they are not parliamentarians at all but vile enemies. If they fail to learn respect through a revival, we will kill them as often as necessary.”

  The Shadows smiled at Yar’s words.

  The man also grinned and continued his speech, “Do you have any questions?”

  He didn’t hear a single sound in response, though he did see a hand raised by Vey with a thumbs-up. He had joined the resurrected elves.

  Yar paused briefly and ordered the guardian calmly, “Well, Aero, act and initiate the passage to the main square. Remember what we’ve agreed on.”

  “Yes, Master. The portal to the Imperial Palace is done.”

  After ten heartbeats, everyone heard the impassive voice of the guardian of the Palace of Capture.

  “They’re coming,” he said before disappearing.

  The parade ground was well-groomed and clean; round lamps burned around the perimeter, alternating with the flying flags of the Midnighters clan. It was beautiful, no doubt, but it was not the main thing there. A breathtakingly marvelous view of the palace, the fortress surrounding the city, and the wide space beyond opened precisely from there.

  Happy dragons soared in the clear, fragrant air, amusing themselves with the flying flowers. Impressive battle towers with burning crystals on the top stood in the distance like mountain peaks. However, oddly enough, the fortress wall struck the most. It surrounded the huge perimeter space and rose like a grand barrier among the towers. It was difficult to refer to this mega-structure a wall. An insurmountable barrier would be more appropriate a term.

  The guardian stood in the very center of the front square, a hundred silent Shadows lined up, holding power swords in their hands. They were wearing deep hoods and shining blue mail. If you looked at them with detachment and impartiality, they created the frightening impression that this group was going to far worse places than hell. After a couple of moments, the Shadow squad disappeared, as if it was never there.

  It happened on time, right in front of the guardian. The portal worked, and the inspector of the Emperor came out with a burgundy standard. He was an over-fed, pink-cheeked young man—apparently, someone’s high-ranking relative arranged for this position due to cronyism. Then the twelve elves, dressed up as if at a ball, though with faces more like a gloomy hangover morning, jumped out of the portal. Yar didn’t like their sleek look. He wanted to hit them so hard that they would drop their sugary impressions.

  Chapter 39. Elven Envoy

  T he guardian stepped towards the Emperor’s representative and bowed respectfully.

  “Greetings to you, Chief Inspector. Welcome to the Midnighters Clan’s Ryiri Palace.”

  The word ‘Chief’ reached the conceited target, and the plump, yet handsome man straightened his shoulders and pulled up his nose at the feeling of his own importance.

  He pronounced a formal phrase to begin: “The Crown of the Belt of the Worlds requires tax.”

  The guardian made another half-step and, kneeling down, touched the standard.

  “I hope that the inspector won’t mind our paying ten years in advance and a small sign of gratitude to you personally for the inconvenience of installing the portal.”

  There was a sound as though someone had poured golden coins out of a bag. The money had been transferred to the inspector.

  Apparently, the bribe turned out to be very much above his expectations as the inspector swung and broke into a greedy smile—he was no longer interested in anything but the golden glitter.

  He immediately raised the Emperor’s banner higher and, with demonstrable importance, he said, “The tax for ten years is fully paid. The Crown of the Belt of the Worlds has no claims to the Blue World. Glory to the Emperor!”

  The guardian was the only one who responded to this appeal, “Glory to the Emperor!”

  During this time spent on bureaucracy, the elves twisted their heads and seemed to be in prostration at the panorama they beheld. They looked at the living energetic dragons, at the battle towers with huge crystals on the spires, and at this strange world, with flying flowers, the size of a small house, and huge luminous rocks and more. Finally, the chief of the arriving elves seemed to come to his senses, and he said, with incredible disdain—although he saw the high level of the guardian—“Hey, slave. On your knees and face to the floor when the highest one talks to you.”

  Not seeing any reaction to his words, the elf got angry, snatched up his seven-tail whip, and was ready to strike the guardian. He didn’t have time to do that. Suddenly, the squad of Shadows materialized behind Aero.

  A beautiful girlish voice said confidently, “Guardian, kill those blond guys.”

  It seemed that some strange spell was applied to the light elves: their faces were twisted, and the chief elf screamed as if he had gone crazy, “Duel to death! Now! Right here and now! I choose swords and magic!”

  The Shadow, without revealing their face, smoothly and calmly approached the light elves, and everyone saw that it was a fragile, flexible girl. The elf poked a finger at her, angry that she hadn’t uttered a word yet.

  “You will regret your words, impudent mud-blood,” she said.

  “Oh, you will surely regret that!” the elf repeated scornfully and evilly. “I, Allay Annum of the White Branch, testify that you insulted the higher elves mortally. So, we are all entitled to take turns killing you, you bastard. We will do this until you lose everything, fall on your knees, and recognize me as your master.”

  The Shadow, hiding her face under the hood, laughed fuzzily. “Nothing has changed in this world. You have remained the same narcissistic freaks as you were before. It will be fun to do the same with you, Allay Annum.

  “I, Uyu Elsi, Shadows of the Moon, accept your conditions.”

  The girl pulled back her hood. It seemed that her beauty and characteristics, as well as involvement in the legendary fighting clan, stunned the light elves before her. They all took a few steps back.

  Two more Shadows came forward, dropping their hoods, and everyone heard two further female voices.

  “You have insulted our clan mate. I, Mist Certo, Shadow of the Moon, challenge you to a duel on the conditions previously voiced,” one of them spoke.

  “Everyone heard you, light elves, insulting the Shadow of the Moon clan. I, Geir Ama, Shadow of the Moon, also challenge you all to a duel.”

  The chief light elf came to his senses first. “It’s impossible! How did you get here? You are elves, and you must obey me.” As he spoke, he stretched out his hand for kissing.

  When nothing happened, Allay got angry. “
I’m the deputy of Moor Yadi White Moths, the head of the Service of Influence. You must obey me!” he screamed.

  Uyu answered calmly, “Maybe we are elves, but you have all turned into monsters a long time ago. You have the entity of beasts.”

  The Allay treated this particular insult in a peculiar way.

  “I fix the number of duelists,” the light elf cried out hurriedly. He grinned predatorily, explaining, “As the first offended person, I have the right to limit the increase in the number of duelists allowed.”

  The elf laughed smugly and slyly. “You, the three mad women, will now fight against the twelve best swordsmen of the White Branch.”

  Then Allay added, “I’m not at all against keeping such beautiful slaves. The whole Belt of the Worlds will envy me after this.”

  The rest of the light elves disagreed and argued noisily amongst themselves.

  Uyu turned to her friends and said with surprise, “Girls, it seems that these assholes cannot determine our fate in case they win.”

  The whole group of Shadows laughed loudly.

  The light elves couldn’t stand it — they began to shout, hissing something unintelligible as they clutched at their swords.

  Oddly enough, the Emperor’s inspector, who had hitherto seemed worthless, intervened.

  “No, no. Stop! he cried out. We didn’t agree on this! First, we must negotiate with the owner of the palace. Your fights don’t concern me at all.”

  It was interesting to watch the elves — they were like excited turkeys! The anger painted their pale faces with red spots, and they hissed through their teeth. They clutched at the hilts of their swords, but they did not get them out of their scabbards.

  The inspector continued. It seemed he was also interested, and he asked with an ardent voice, “Guardian, I hope you won’t mind if I stay in the palace for an extra hour? I want to look at the decoration of the palace. It seems to have changed a lot for the better.”

  The guardian heard the creak of the teeth of the light elves. Aero held out as best he could, but still a slight smile fleetingly appeared on his stone-like face. The event seemed to be amusing the guardian, and he answered calmly, “Oh, of course, Inspector. Come on; I’ll show you everything.”

  They went ahead, talking quietly, and the angry elves were forced to follow them. A little distance away, the group of Shadows slid silently along.

  ***

  As the light elf walked, his emotions cooled down a bit, and Allay, who was used to analyzing everything, was already reproaching himself for his excessive vehemence and incontinence. His habitual state of superiority ruled him at that moment, but his intuition told him that the payoff would be unprecedently large. He found himself scared.

  How did this happen? the experienced elf wondered. Suddenly, he caught himself thinking that it was just a frank fear of what he saw. Dragons, their eternal and powerful enemies, who were considered to have sunk into oblivion long ago, scared him. There was an incredible grand fortress surrounding the castle, and, of course, the Shadows of the Moon with their power swords and chain mail—which turned out to be ancient artifacts rather than fakes.

  What is it? How is this even possible? These were unanswered questions. However, what Allay Annum had already seen could be compared with a supernova explosion in the Belt of Worlds. One thought was soothing, though: he didn’t see more than one thing from the secret vault of the light elves.

  When they entered the throne room, the spectacle was akin to a lightning strike. Allay Annum realized suddenly: his fears had not been unfounded. He immediately understood that the Midnighters clan wasn’t just a barbaric horde that had successfully stormed the palace only due to its greater numbers.

  Oh gods, save and help me. I must act as directed.

  ***

  “Greetings to the Emperor’s inspector in the Palace of Capture. Are you satisfied?” the ruler of the Blue World asked calmly and sublimely.

  “Completely, sir, and moreover, we are grateful,” the envoy bowed deeply. He was already shaken from everything he had witnessed.

  However, he, like a drug addict, enjoyed the extraordinary situation, realizing that he would soon become the most popular inspector. The elves would begin to stand in line just to listen to his stories about the Blue World.

  The inspector couldn’t straighten out of his bow; it was like paralysis. He stood indecently in his low bow. Perhaps it happened from what he heard—Allay Annum’s appeal to the ruler, who was sitting on the throne.

  “How can you sit when your masters-”

  He didn’t have time to finish his speech. The inspector, although he was bent over, didn’t close his eyes. Twisting inquisitively, he saw a splash of blood on the marble floor and then the head of the elven fool rolled past his legs. In spite of all this horror, his consciousness screamed in a raised voice: I am famous!

  The inspector didn’t have time to come to his senses, before he felt the pleasant coolness of the healing spells. The guardian, graciously taking his arm, took the inspector far away into a corner, where he was able to lean against the wall and continue his observations. He didn’t have to wait for long. The elves entered the hall, or rather, they were brought into it.

  “You will regret that, barbarian!” The noble mighty elven official squealed. In any case, the Emperor’s envoy considered him to be a powerful one. The inspector couldn’t see the moment the elves died, but, Glory to the System, this time, none of the heads or parts of the bodies rolled near him.

  The light elves were experienced warriors, and they had to die often, but they seemed to meet such a cruel cycle of rebirth now for the first time.

  Finally, Yar tired of it, and it was time for him to meet the dark ruler and the Rector of the Academy. The elves, although they were worthy of such treatment, turned out to be much stronger than he expected.

  I must be persistent. These beasts have killed billions of people without hesitation, Yar reminded himself, and he told the head of the diversion groups, “Uyu, Mist, Geir, take the reward in accordance with the duel laws from these blond demons, and then you must pass them on to the resurrected elves. I think the light elves deserve a long respawn.”

  He turned to the silent units. “I hope you don’t mind that.”

  An unexpected roar, as if the ocean was raging with a storm, confirmed that Yar’s resurrected elves were eager for revenge.

  Calculating that it was time to go to a dinner with the dark elf ruler, the father of Princess Heiro, Yar ordered, “Lyan, I need the ceremonial armor of the Prince of the Shadow of the Moon.”

  Honestly, the clan leader was more than a little worried before this meeting.

  Chapter 40. True Story

  W hen Yar disappeared through the portal, Goh abruptly showed some strange, indecent gesture, which he had clearly learned in the Blue World.

  “I told you!” the princess cried out, jumping up. She smiled broadly with her snow-white smile.

  The Rector of Altarum didn’t share her joy. Great-wise, as he was often called, was in thoughtful concentration, monotonously scratching his small neat beard with his index finger.

  Finally, with undisguised surprise, he confirmed the farewell of Yar Dark.

  “I am amazed ... I could not believe it until recently. Yar is right. Your Majesty, you don’t have the EWIS.”

  The ruler launched his fingers through his thick hair and clasped his head.

  “Did he easily rid me of the worm?” the stunned ruler said, looking from his old friend to the famous Eagle Tamp.

  “He did it, Your Majesty.” the rector shrugged and approached the ruler closely.

  “Excuse me, Your Majesty. Do you mind if I examine you?”

  The dark elf ruler immediately agreed.

  Teko Kamir, who usually looked extremely harsh, like a heavy lump of rough granite, was unusually enthusiastic at this moment. Unprecedented enthusiasm and even a glint of hooliganism seemed to have lit up his eyes, although the smile on his face sti
ll seemed to be a rather dangerous predator’s grin...

  This kind of ambiguity in facial expressions was the hallmark of the Kamir family. The dark elves used to say: ‘In victories they restrain, but they smile in adversity.’

  Looking at the ruler, it became clear to any attentive creature that the princess was very similar to her father. She had the same adventurous manners and mocking smiles out of place, which angered many. The rector of the legendary academy stretched out his hand, with his fingers spread at the level of the ruler’s forehead, and he began to lead it down slowly. A bright arc stretched across the scanned body, stopping at knee level.

  “Hmmm... I can confirm that there are several problems, but the system of functioning of the body is restoring itself gradually. I would even say it is recovering at an unexpectedly fast pace. I guess this is the unprecedented influence of Yar Dark’s magic.”

  “Yar Dark,” the ruler said, looking at himself, as if trying to find differences from his condition yesterday. His thoughts were erratic, like a hunting pack that barked and bared its fangs.

  Nothing ... I feel nothing ... nothing at all...

  The dark elf ruler felt annoyed. He had dreamed of getting rid of this curse all his life. He had dreamed about it from his very early childhood. Getting rid of the worm was unexpected, however...

  Nothing really! Everything is as usual, the ruler listened to himself. Suddenly, he understood, No! No-o-o!!! The magic is already in me, it is with me.

  He believed. His confidence involved hidden opportunities, dormant until now. In the eyes of the ruler, the world darkened for a moment, but then after one heartbeat, he began to see what he had never seen before.

  Teko, with some kind of childish joy, excitement, and a shaking soul, looked at the rings on his hands. Now he noted not only their stats but also their strange colorful reflections. He immediately looked at his daughter — though he couldn’t see her level, he managed to snatch some information, and that was fine. It was at that moment that he realized that everything had worked out, and he felt healed.