Chapter 16: The Empire of Arwen [Part 1]

"Let's start from the beginning then, shall we?" the fluffy white spirit said nonchalantly.

Surveying the land around him, the Spirit King noticed a monkey, a vampire, an elf, and a human sitting next to the princess. He shot a deadly glare at the traitorous Elyon and furrowed his eyebrows when he saw the human but decided not to dig further for the time being.

With a quick nod from Alea, the glowing white orb began his narration, transporting them to a distant memory of the past.

—

[Forty years to the present]

Jason opened his eyes and saw a handsome young man release the last arrow from his quiver into the air. He had dark brown hair and glossy blue eyes, as clear and hopeful as the sky above him.

~Swish~

The arrow pierced through the wind and struck the target with a gentle nudge, embedding itself just deep enough to stay in. The young man looked over at the beautiful sunset and sat under the shade of a Gentle Maple, staring at the thousands of hills that surrounded him.

"Ediolus! What are you doing here again?" a stunning young woman shouted, panting as she ran up the hill. She sat beside him under the Gentle Maple and flicked his forehead lightly. "Why don't you just practice at home like all the other elves do? I know you love nature, but you can't let them catch you with your bow and arrow anymore. You know this," she said gently.

"Arwen, you look stunning today as well," Ediolus replied with a grin.

"Stop it, you womanizer," she said as her cheeks turned red. The beautiful young lady turned her head away slightly, trying to hide her embarrassment. "You're not getting out of punishment again this time…just because…just because you complimented me."

"Damn, I thought it would work," the man muttered under his breath before smiling. "Well…you know it's true anyways," He continued. "To me, you are the most beautiful elf in the whole world. Your cute habit of puffing your cheeks when something annoys you. Your emerald green eyes that seem to heal my heart whenever I'm around you. Your silly jokes that seem to make no one laugh except ourselves. Everything…I love everything about you."

Arwen smiled uncontrollably, long black hair swaying in the wind. "Me too, Ediolus. Me too."

The young man slowly grabbed her right hand and interlaced his fingers with hers.

"Shall we go home then?" he asked, preparing to get up.

"Ya, but I'm not going to forget your punishment this time!" Arwen replied, puffing her cheeks.

She felt his calloused hands brush against her gentle skin and smiled happily at the thought of their future. As they exited the shade of the Gentle Maple and began to descend from the hill, Ediolus noticed a group of shady creatures waiting for them at the bottom.

"Shit," Ediolus silently cursed.

"You shot another arrow I see," said Darius, the leader of the Beast Army, snarkily.

Darius was a Crocodox towering over three meters tall, with the strong bite and durable head of a crocodile and the nimble body of a red fox. Being one of the strongest species in the Western hemisphere of the Isles, Darius had grown accustomed to bullying the weak and knew how to prey on the fears of those beneath him. Snarling at the young elf, he said, "You know that I have forbidden you elves from using those pesky weapons, right?"

"Yes, but I respect my father and his father and the entire Elven legacy before him more than you and your opinions," replied Ediolus calmly.

"Oh, boo hoo…tradition this and tradition that. Who cares anymore? Have you ever seen the gods favor anyone or bestow their blessings to anyone in the West?" the Crocodox roared.

"NO! The gods have deserted us, leaving us in this lawless land to act as savages, and so as savages we must act! In the Western hemisphere, the strong will forever devour the weak, and you…" he said with a pause, anger building in his throat. "You have disobeyed the strong for far too long."

Darius bared his teeth at the young man, who quickly pushed his fiancee behind him and drew his dagger.

"You weak trash, who have been stripped of your magic powers by the Goddess of Retribution, are no longer worth any ounce of respect. Tomorrow, I will finally remove the ugly thorn that has been sticking in my side for centuries!" he shouted. "After all, with only a few arrows, what can your little elves do against my fearsome army?"

Darius let out a deafening battle cry as his army hollered and tossed their weapons into the air. A few minutes passed, and this powerful display of might engrained fear deep into the psyche of the nearby Elves. Ediolus and Arwen dropped to the floor in despair as Darius and his army thundered across the hills, out of sight.

Staring blankly at each other, they knew that they were hopeless in the face of the thousand-strong Beast Army.

—

The next morning, Ediolus crouched behind a tree as he placed an arrow on the string of his bow. Holding steady, he waited patiently until the Beast Army came into sight. Crossing the horizon, the thousand-strong horde of beasts neared and began their decimating charge.

"Fire!" Ediolus shouted as hundreds of arrows flew into the sky before falling down with deadly accuracy. Immediately, fifty beastkin fell to the ground dead as others shrieked in pain. Ediolus glanced over at his fellow Elves and released a small, dejected smile.

He saw his beautiful fiancee, his childhood friends, the town's candy shop owner and dentist (a smart business venture actually), the nice aunty who always gave people flowers, and many more familiar faces. Though several elves had fled under the cover of the night, a majority of the townsfolk had actually stayed, wishing to protect the dignity of their ancestors and the pride of the Elven race, numbering a little over three hundred. Ediolus's heart wrenched with pain as he observed the once joyful faces filled with laughter replaced by sternness and the grim expectation of death. 'Such was war,' he sighed, and as he begged the gods for mercy, Ediolus grabbed another arrow.

"Fire!" Ediolus shouted again. Again, hundreds of shrieks rang out as cries of help slowly enveloped the battlefield. Volley after volley, the Elves shot their arrows, whittling away at the Beast Army's numbers and slowing down the horde's advance.

A few hours passed, and the army finally reached the gates of the Elven town, with now only six hundred remaining. No longer blessed with the time to aim or reload, the Elves quickly switched to close-combat, using their short swords and daggers to slash at the hides of the beasts. Blood splattered across the battlefield as the elves were quickly overwhelmed by the Beast Army's superior reach, tougher skin, and close-combat experience, and screams filled the air as Ediolus watched in horror.

Seeing her lover's hesitation, Arwen grabbed his arm tightly and shouted, "Don't you dare die on me, you womanizer, or I'll curse you for the rest of your life." She looked up at him and smiled once more, the most dazzling smile Ediolus had ever seen, as she released his arm and joined the fray. Her long black hair flowed left then right like a demonic scythe, reaping the lives of many.

But…all to no avail. The tide of the battle had already shifted, and the elves were simply too far outnumbered. Darius soon caught sight of the beautiful woman dashing in and out of the fray, causing havoc to his men, and immediately recognized her as the young man's lover.

As Arwen fended off a group of ten beasts, kicking, stabbing, and dodging, a sinister grin spread across Darius's face. He imagined himself playing with the elf in front of her star-crossed lover, torturing her, and killing her as Ediolus begged for forgiveness.

Beaming expectantly, Darius kicked the woman from behind, and she fell to the ground with a thud, her dagger falling beside her. The Crocodox slithered in front of her with the agility of a fox and grabbed her by the neck as she flailed and kicked. Darius's fingers tightened slowly until it was hard for her to breathe, but Arwen never once backed down. Her emerald green eyes shone as they stared viciously at the beast's disgusting yellow teeth. He unleashed a flurry of punches, but the proud young woman refused to scream, not wanting to give the beast any ounce of satisfaction. After all, she had already accepted death when she had walked onto the battlefield.

As she began to fade out of consciousness, an image of the shiny blue-eyed boy she loved popped into her head. Her only regret was that she would not be able to fulfill her promise to him, to joke with, love, and support him for the rest of his life. Tears streaming down her face, she thought back to the happiest time in her life, replaying the moment when Ediolus had proposed to her, stumbling over his words, full of anxiety and childish naivety. As her body fell limp, Arwen began to glow in a brilliant white hue.

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