The Throne Seeker

Part 2: Invasion

Chapter 7

The council stepped out of the double doors at the front of the castle. They stood across from at least two hundred elves. The front of the group wore the black and gold colors of the Edey, the keepers of the balance. These elves stood out with their pearl white skin, elongated horizontal ears and entirely golden pupil-less eyes. One of the Edey stepped forward. He had long silver hair and carried an emblem on his left breast that named him leader. "My name is Elsneer, Captain of the Edey. Our mystic has seen a troubling set of visions. A usurper to the throne threatens the balance of the realms. This man will lead the fae to Earth and disrupt the balance of the mortal world. This we cannot allow. We have come to prevent this outcome."

"We welcome the assistance. We shall work together to stop this threat," said Queen Esmerelda.

"Your assistance will not be required. From this point forward you and your castle staff will be restricted to within the castle walls and we will take charge of your forces scattered throughout the villages."

"You can't be serious," said Jolken. "If we work together we can halt this threat before it gets out of hand."

"It is already out of hand. Our mystic has seen that this usurper has gathered an army of followers and is already prepared to make his final charge for the throne. Your very involvement complicates the matter. I have my Queen's orders and they will be followed with precision and swiftness."

"This is outrageous," said Esmerelda. "You expect us to be on house arrest while it's our realm that is threatened?"

"This is not up for debate. If you have any further inquiries please direct them to my second in command." Elsneer turned away from them and shouted orders to his troops.

A second elf with vivid shoulder length purple hair stepped forward. "I am Casrah. I will answer any questions you have, but for now I must ask you to step inside."

Esmerelda took a troubled step forward as Olta took hold of her arm. "We cannot afford to have any more conflict my Queen. We have no choice but to follow their demands. For now, let us return to the castle."

The fae shared troubled glances before returning to the castle. Behind them, two elf soldiers took posts on each side of the entrance. Jolken scoffed at the sight and clenched his fist.

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Elsneer turned back to Casrah, leaning into his ear. "Keep them on strict lockdown. No one leaves the castle."

"But what if they can help us?" asked Casrah.

"Are you questioning your Queen's wisdom?"

"No sir, merely making an observation."

"Thanks to our mystics acute ability, we know where this usurper is stationed. We will take him out with swift action before he even gets close to the castle. We as the Edey are the most equipped to handle things of this nature. You will do well to remember that when you take over as their commander."

"Yes master. I will make sure to enforce the lockdown. You can rely on me."

"I know I can. We will leave enough troops to maintain order here. The rest of us will leave immediately. Take care Casrah... for the balance of all things." Elsneer clasped his fist over his emblem and turned back to the troops.

Chapter 8

The castle's tavern was bustling with activity as many of the fae now had nothing better to do. Jolken worked his way through the crowded tables and saw an old friend. He pulled out a stool next to Armlin who stared into his drink as if he was staring into the void. "It's been too long friend."