Lothriel knew what Hawk and Adriel were thinking, and he corrected the two friends. “As Emperor, I send others to collect the information, and assign those who are best suited to give me the tools I need to make informed decisions with. They deserve as much credit as I get for doing their tasks so well that it makes me look good. It is the way an Emperor uses the talents of his men that make him what he is. It is something I read from one of my namesake’s journals many years ago. I thought about what he was trying to tell us for a long time before I came to an understanding. I have a suspicion not many realized what a truly great Emperor Lothrariel really was, for he used everyone wisely. Lothrariel could gauge how deeply the spark of greatness ran in every Elf he knew.”
Out of curiosity, Adriel asked. “Who do you think he valued the most?”
Lothriel replied, “The Elf he kept the closest, other than his Life Mate. When the High Lord General Gabriel Eagle claw left the Elven Empire, the Emperor Lothrariel ruled the Empire without his talents to serve him, and Lothrariel was able to do an admirable job of it. But, he never quit missing his High Lord General.”
“How about his brother, Rothliel?” Adriel wondered.
Lothriel looked thoughtful before answering. “I believe Rothliel had guarded Lothrariel’s back for so long he became a part of who the Emperor was. Rothliel was the one who kept his brother safe during times of peril. But those days had ended by the time Gabriel left, and they were never to return to the same degree they once were. We can thank the Fates for that.”
Hawk asked. “What do you think is going to happen after the portals finish failing?”
Lothriel studied Hawk for a long time, while he wondered if the Elf had a bit of foresight in his Talents. Instead of giving Hawk a direct answer, Lothriel decided to shrug the matter off. “I assume we will continue as we always have. First, we need to make sure we don’t make things worse than they are by allowing the people on this side of the boundary to learn too much about us. Something like that could prove to be absolutely catastrophic to both sides. Think of that.”
Hawk sighed. That was the problem. Hawk had been thinking about little else since he had come to this world. Hawk could see clearly how a war with this world could be detrimental to everyone on the planet. One side was technologically advanced, while the other side was magically enhanced. Would the High Lord General Gabriella Eagle Claw know how to handle the situation if it arose? Or would the scope of their differences bog her down?
Even as Hawk pondered the question, a small gateway opened. Caia and Thea walked through first, followed by the High Lord General Gabriella Eagle Claw, T’Harris, and Olyne. Each of the returning Elves held rolled up maps that they had confiscated from the schooner. They would find out what was going on shortly.
The moment the gateway closed, Emperor Lothriel asked. “Well?”
Gabriella quickly responded. “Whoever makes up these plans and puts the pieces together has been getting closer to solving the puzzle that is the Elven Empire than we thought possible. What we brought off of the ship with us speaks of a well put-together team of specialists. There is a lot to tell you about this as well. The maps we took are copies, not the originals, not that this matters. The underwater portal has broken free from where it once sat, and it now seems to be moving further out to sea. We are going to have to do something about this problem or it could prove to be dangerous to both sides.
This was news Lothriel hadn’t expected. “Are you sure of your facts?”
Gabriella nodded and explained. “In one of the maps it showed the portal in a place west of where Caia and Thea claim it should be. When we noticed signs of it on a different map, the location had changed, as had the current that has it under its control. I have a suspicion the portal is heading towards the Elven side of the boundary. This means we need to find out where the original maps are being kept, so we can steal them and take them to the Elven Empire for safe-keeping. The enemy must not find our homeland.”
Lothriel looked concerned as he asked, “Do you think that is even possible?”
Gabriella nodded as she answered, “Without a doubt, and I will prove it with these maps. I have talked to Arad, and he says his people will do whatever they can to help. They will have help from the dolphins. According to Arad those mammals are able to see the portals and know what to look for.”
Lothriel asked, “And what do you plan to do about the portal when you find it?”
Gabriella’s answer was short. “Destroy it. They all need to be terminated. From what I have been told, this shouldn’t take much, as they are that close to collapsing on their own anyway. If it dies out on its own before we get to it, Caia and Thea will know. I suggest we keep them close.”
Hawk grinned as he admitted, “Adriel and I intend to do just that.”
Gabriella smiled as she replied, “I have no doubt you will.”
CHAPTER XVI
Lothriel’s response to Hawk’s remark was nothing like anyone expected from him. Lothriel looked at Gabriella and asked, “What is our next step?”
Gabriella responded, “I want to return to the Elven Empire with these maps. I realize they are not the master copies. However, I doubt if we are going to find those anywhere close to here or anytime soon. If they would be, these wouldn’t exist at this location, they would be using them. There is a lot written on these maps that I still want to study. I think that although they are not the master copies, there is more information on them than what we see at first glance. We could find them very useful.”
Lothriel agreed, even if Gabriella hadn’t answered his question to his satisfaction. “I wonder what we should be doing here.”
Gabriella looked incredulous. The answer to that question should have been clear, and Gabriella was sure her conclusions were something Hawk, Caia, Thea, and Adriel should work on even without her pointing things out. “Things are getting more dangerous. Our enemy has developed a plan, and he has mapped out the route he is going to follow. Whoever these people are, they went to great lengths to gather the information they have. I might add that against all odds, what they found is right on the mark. Is it a coincidence? My thought on this is no. I might have been tempted to say it was possible if I had seen only one portal highlighted on these maps, but they know the location of all four. I would like to know how they got their information.”
Lothriel agreed. “I see your point, but what can we do about it?”
Gabriella sighed. “I am thinking their actions are a full declaration of war. I cannot believe any of the Elves who were sent or who volunteered to stand sentry from this side of our territory so many eons ago would betray their people or their calling. There is more to this than meets the eye, and I intend to find out the reason.”
Lothriel looked at Caia and Thea and asked, “What is your impression of all of this? You have lived amongst your people on this side of the boundary for your entire lives. Would it be possible for any of our people to become corrupted by the society that surrounded them?”
Caia and Thea remained silent for a long time as they rifled through their memories. They had met all of the Elves on this side of the boundary, and in some cases, more than once. They had seen no signs of any of their people veering from the paths of their ancestors, not even once. Granted, some of the children and younger Elves had kept records, as did some of the parents. But that was about the extent of things. Some, like their parents, had gone missing over the centuries, but no matter the provocation, Caia and Thea knew they wouldn’t have freely divulged anything of value to the enemy.
With twin shakes of their heads, Thea denied the possibility. “None of our people have faltered, not for a moment.”
Caia added as a possibility, “There have been a lot of Elves killed lately. Perhaps records of the portals were found amongst their possessions.”
Thea agreed with Caia’s assessment. “That would make sense. Our people keep written records about our lives on this side of the boundary as part of their task
s as Sentinels. It wouldn’t take much imagination on the part of our enemies to come to the conclusions they must have if they found journals amongst their remaining possessions.”
Gabriella asked, “Would those records have been written in a language the enemy could understand? Up to this time I have noticed that all of the journals and volumes were done in Elven script. I doubt if our enemies here would be able to read this.”
Thea hated to admit she had no idea how to read or write any of the Elven words either. Instead of learning the technique properly, she had used her magic to translate whatever she had put onto to paper into what should have been her mother language. It was the way of things on this side of the boundary. The Elves who had lived amongst the people here had done so for so long they were beginning to lose touch with their heritage. “I will be honest about this, although I wish I had better news to impart. I doubt if any of the younger generation even know how to read or write in the Elven language any more. It has been a very long time since there was a need for us to use it outside of the formal journals.”
Lothriel was astounded, “None?”
Caia answered, “Oh, we know how to speak Elven, however, we were sent to human schools, and taught their ways. Our parents were given no choice in these matters if they wanted to keep who we were a secret from our neighbors. After working so hard to fit in for so many hundreds of years, it eventually became easier to use our magic to translate whatever we were reading to find out what was being said.”
It made sense to Gabriella, “All the enemy would have needed to do was put the pieces together to have given them the beginnings of a trail to follow.”
Lothriel added. “It would also explain why the Elven population on this side of the boundary was becoming so sparse towards the end.”
Thea added, “There was more to that then the enemy killing our people. It was difficult for anyone to find a Life Mate, and such events because extremely rare. In fact, it is so rare that Caia and I are having a difficult time accepting the reality of Hawk and Adriel being ours. These things don’t happen on this side of the boundary.”
Caia added. “Those who tried to find a way to get past the stumbling block of finding proper mates tried to use the Heart Bond to be able to have a child. There weren’t many of those that proved to be very successful. Couples tried everything to have a family, nothing worked. More and more of our people were unable to bear children, and our people were slowly dying out in this land. Thea and I were lucky, we grew up in a family environment, but this was more luck than anything else.”
Lothriel sighed sadly. At this moment, Lothriel felt the Empire had failed the Elves who had served their homeland so loyally. Yet he knew this was not the case. No one had known anything about these Elves who had been left behind as Sentinels to guard their backdoors. Nothing could be done about the oversight now. There was also the fact that these Elves had been chosen for this task by the Fates for a reason. They had been the ones to decide to remain here. Lothriel was not about to bear the blame for something none of his ancestors had known about. The Elves here had even been given a way out of this duty. If they found the task of guarding the portals too difficult, or if they changed their minds, all they needed to do to return to the Empire was use the gateways they were in charge of. In the beginning there had been thousands of portals as well as Elves, so Lothriel knew that staying had to have been their choice. According to the documents he was now in possession of, it was only over the last two hundred years that most of this had changed.
Gabriella allowed Lothriel time to think as the others watched and waited for something to be added. When she thought Lothriel had been given sufficient time to come to terms with what had happened in the past, she spoke again. “We need to do two things before we leave this world. We need to destroy those who know about us on this side of the boundary, for they are determined to bring an end to our world. Secondly, we need to get rid of any records of our people. When this is done, we will have to tear down the last of the portals so they cannot be used from either side no matter the reason.”
Caia looked at Lothriel and Gabriella incredulously. “You intend to cut this part of the world off from the Elven Empire?”
Lothriel replied. “In all things there comes a time for change. Our presence in this place is done, it is time for us to move on. We can only bring pain and strife to the humans if we stay. We don’t want to do this. It is not the way of our people. The humans must be allowed to evolve as is fitting for their species.”
Thea didn’t see it the same way. “But there is so much we could teach them.”
Lothriel shook his head. “We cannot force our ways on a people who would never accept them, even if they could understand them. If we try to do this, we will be as bad as those who tried to rule over us in the past. We were put on this world to create and serve the earth, not those who live on it and share the beauty of our efforts.”
Caia sighed. “So we would turn our backs on them and let the evil that exists amongst them to take over?”
It was Gabriella who answered. “The humans are much more equipped to deal with their problem than we are. Our ways are not needed here anymore. We once annihilated a race of beings during our time on this world to allow those living here to do so in peace. We would rather not have to do this again. We are not omnipotent.”
CHAPTER XVII
Caia and Thea had lived long enough for them to accept the fact that they didn’t have to like something for it to be real or for it to happen. Lothriel was the Emperor, and what he said went. This meant there would be no Elven interference in how the humans ran their world, not even if Caia and Thea figured the people were doing a poor job of things.
Hawk and Adriel, realizing that their Life Mates were upset with Lothriel’s decision, wrapped Caia and Thea in their arms and held them to show their empathy while they came to terms with what was happening. Hawk and Adriel were certain it wouldn’t take long for Caia and Thea to accept things for what they were, and so could turn their attention onto those who were making their lives miserable now.
What Caia, Thea, Hawk, and Adriel hadn’t expected was for Gabriella and T’Harris to create large tubes out of the maps, hand them to Lothriel and Olyne, and then shift into Dragons. As Olyne and Lothriel mounted the great beasts, Lothriel explained. “We trust that you will know how to handle the situation from this point onward, especially as you are aware of what is expected from you.”
Caia objected, “You can’t leave us now, we need help. We have no idea what to expect or where to begin.”
Lothriel replied, “Of course you do. If you want Olyne to open one last gateway for you to get to the ship quickly, he will do so. But after this, you will be on your own. When this is over, I will expect you to show up in the Elven Empire with the volumes you have been guarding. I will let the librarian know to expect them, and you can take them directly to her.”
A gateway opened to allow Caia, Hawk, Thea, and Adriel to cross over the ocean so they could join Arad and his crew on the schooner. It took them only a moment to decide to go through it. They didn’t think they were being given much choice in the matter. The moment they were standing safely on the deck of the boat, the portal closed, and they could feel Gabriella, and T’Harris leave this Realm for the Elven Empire along with Lothriel and Olyne.
Caia looked totally lost as she turned a bleak expression to Hawk and asked, “What are we supposed to do?”
Hawk didn’t have any real answers for Caia, but he was willing to guess what Gabriella thought they should be doing. “The High Lord General Gabriella Eagle Claw got the ball rolling for us earlier. She set Arad and his people into motion. I think that before we begin, we should talk to our captain to find out what he was told to do.”
Thea looked shocked by what Hawk said. She then pointed a finger at Arad as the merman strode towards them. Arad had donned the costume of an eighteenth century buccaneer and was feeling quite pleased with how he looked.
/> With a wide smile, Arad greeted his guests, “Welcome aboard.”
Thea giggled as she commented. “Arad, you look like a television version of a pirate.”
Arad preened, “It was a parting gift from Olyne. When I told him what Gabriella’s suggestion made me feel like, he was amused by the idea. Olyne plucked the picture from out of my mind, and a few moments later he conjured enough costumes to outfit the entire crew. We were impressed, and now we are having a grand time.”
Caia walked around Arad as she examined the costume. She wasn’t sure whether to feel amused or awed. Wherever Arad had gotten the idea from, the costume description had been spot-on. Either that or Olyne had lucked out with his conjuring. The outfits Arad and the others were wearing looked completely authentic. “The detail is remarkable.”
Arad continued to look smug. “I know. I did a good job of describing what I wanted. Olyne said he got a good picture of what was needed.”
Thea, equally astounded, asked, “Where did you ever see one of these?”
Arad looked indignant as he answered, “I am a lot older than I look. I remember how these people dressed. It was an interesting period of history.”
Caia looked disbelievingly at Arad. To her, he didn’t appear to be much beyond the age of thirty, and most of the time he acted less. Caia was having her doubts of whether or not he was pulling her leg, but in a strange way, she could understand because she too didn’t look or act her age.
Arad laughed openly as he put an arm over Caia’s shoulders in the way of a long-time friend. “You people are not the only ones who live for a long time. Mine, like yours, have learned how to hide it, as well as ourselves when we venture onto the land to see what people living there are up to. It is getting to be a very dangerous world for anyone but land dwellers to live in, and they can be just as nasty to each other as they are to anyone else.”
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