FROM THE DARKNESS BENEATH THE BED, A FIGURE EMERGED, GRIPPING A DAGGER WITH WHITE-KNUCKLED DETERMINATION. THE BLADE GLEAMED IN THE SILVER LIGHT AS THE ASSASSIN PREPARED TO STRIKE.
THE NEXT DAY, THE WORLD WOKE TO SHOCKING NEWS. THE ELF PRINCE SCORMETHEUS HAD BETRAYED HIS OWN KIN, ASSASSINATING (OR AT LEAST ATTEMPTING TO) HIS BROTHER, JORDAN, THE CHOSEN PRINCE. MORE STARTLING STILL WAS WHAT CAME NEXT: SCORMETHEUS HAD FLED, TAKING WITH HIM THE SOUL-SUCKING CROWN, THE ARTIFACT THAT SYMBOLIZED ROYAL POWER AND THE FATE OF THEIR PEOPLE.
NO ONE COULD HAVE PREDICTED THIS TURN OF EVENTS. THE FORMER CROWN PRINCE, ONCE THE SYMBOL OF HIS NATION'S FUTURE, HAD TURNED TRAITOR, BETRAYING NOT ONLY HIS PEOPLE BUT ALSO HIS VERY BLOODLINE. IT WAS A BETRAYAL SO STAGGERING THAT EVEN THE SHARPEST MINDS STRUGGLED TO MAKE SENSE OF IT.
THE DISBELIEF WAS PALPABLE. WHEN THE LEADERS OF THE COALITION FORCES FIRST HEARD THE NEWS, THEY DISMISSED IT AS MERE RUMOR, ANOTHER PIECE OF BATTLEFIELD GOSSIP. HOW COULD SUCH AN OUTRAGEOUS CLAIM BE TRUE? AFTER ALL, THE CROWN PRINCE HAD EVERYTHING A MAN COULD WANT, WEALTH, HONOR, STATUS, POWER. WHAT COULD POSSIBLY DRIVE SOMEONE LIKE HIM TO COMMIT SUCH A GRAVE ACT?
"WHY WOULD HE DO THIS?" ONE COMMANDER MUTTERED, HIS BROW FURROWED IN CONFUSION. "WHAT'S TO GAIN? HE ALREADY HAS EVERYTHING. EVEN IF WE WIN THIS WAR, HE'S GUARANTEED TO FACE RUIN."
THE ROOM BUZZED WITH MURMURS OF AGREEMENT. BETRAYALS LIKE THIS WERE ALWAYS DRIVEN BY SOME TANGIBLE DESIRE, MONEY, REVENGE, AMBITION. BUT HERE, THE MOTIVATIONS SEEMED MURKY, EVEN NONSENSICAL.
THEN CAME THE VOICE OF BASTAINE, DELIVERING NEWS THAT STRUCK THE ROOM LIKE A THUNDERCLAP.
"THE REPORTS ARE TRUE. SCORMETHEUS ALSO KNOWN AS THE SNOWY OWL, HAS TURNED ON HIS PEOPLE."
THE SILENCE THAT FOLLOWED WAS SUFFOCATING, BROKEN ONLY BY SCATTERED OUTBURSTS OF DISBELIEF.
"HE'S LOST HIS MIND," SOMEONE SPAT. "EVEN IF I'D LOST MY RIGHT TO THE THRONE, I WOULDN'T DO THIS!"
"WE CAN'T RELY ON SOMEONE SO UNSTABLE," ANOTHER LEADER INSISTED. THE ROOM DESCENDED INTO CHAOS, AS DOUBT AND CONFUSION TOOK HOLD. BUT IN THE MIDST OF THE UPROAR, IT WASGWENITHLA, THE "PROPHET," WHO CALMLY CUT TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER.
"DOES IT EVEN MATTER WHY HE DID THIS?" SHE ASKED QUIETLY. "WHAT WE NEED TO CONSIDER IS WHETHER HE'LL CONTINUE TO HELP US, AND HOW WE SHOULD NAVIGATE THIS."
HER WORDS WERE SOBERING. THE "WHY" NO LONGER MATTERED, ONLY THE "WHAT NOW" DID. THE COALITION FACED AN URGENT, PRAGMATIC QUESTION: WHAT ROLE WOULD SCORMETHEUS PLAY GOING FORWARD? WAS HE AN ASSET OR A LIABILITY?
BASTAINE'S RESPONSE CAME IN A HUSHED VOICE, BUT ITS WEIGHT WAS UNDENIABLE. "WE DON'T NEED TO DO ANYTHING."
"NOTHING?" SOMEONE ECHOED IN DISBELIEF. "EVEN IF SCORMETHEUS IS THROWING HIMSELF TO THE WOLVES? EVEN IF THE ELVES ARE HUNTING HIM DOWN?"
BASTAINE NODDED SOLEMNLY. "YES. AFTER ALL, HE'S A SAGE' SON."
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IF ONE WERE TO NAME THE GREATEST WARRIOR OF THE AGE, THERE WOULD BE FIERCE DEBATE. BUT NO MATTER HOW THE DISCUSSION WENT, ION'S NAME WOULD ALWAYS RISE TO THE TOP. HE WAS A LEGEND, A FIGURE WHO COULD HOLD HIS OWN AGAINST ANY FOE. BUT WHEN THE QUESTION EXPANDED, WHO WAS THE STRONGEST IN THE WORLD?, THERE WOULD BE NO DISPUTE.
"THE SAGE HAS APPEARED ON THE BATTLEFIELD?" A VOICE ASKED, BARELY CONCEALING ITS SHOCK.
"YES," CAME THE REPLY, "BUT HE'S NOT HERE FOR THE WAR. HE'S HERE FOR HIS ELDEST SON."
THE ANSWER STUNNED THE ROOM. IT MADE SENSE, AND YET IT WAS THE LAST THING ANYONE EXPECTED.
FOR WHAT COULD BE MORE AGONIZING FOR A FATHER THAN TO WITNESS HIS SONS LOCKED IN A STRUGGLE TO THE DEATH? SCORMETHEUS, THE HEIR WHO ONCE CARRIED THE WEIGHT OF HIS FATHER'S HOPES AND DREAMS, HAD NOT ONLY DEFIED HIS DECISIONS BUT BETRAYED THEIR ENTIRE RACE. HIS MERE PRESENCE IN THE WORLD WAS A WOUND, A LIVING REMINDER OF THE FAMILY'S RUIN.
IT WAS INEVITABLE, THEN, THAT THE SAGE WOULD RETURN. THE ONCE-MISSING FIGURE, WHO HAD LONG REMAINED IN THE SHADOWS, NOW WALKED THE BATTLEFIELD, NOT AS A WARRIOR FOR THE COALITION, BUT AS A FATHER IN PURSUIT OF HIS WAYWARD SON, DETERMINED TO END THE MADNESS ONCE AND FOR ALL.
THE COALITION HAD ALREADY RECEIVED THREE REPORTS OF SIGHTINGS. EACH ONE BROUGHT A GRIM REMINDER: WHILE THE WAR MIGHT END, THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN FATHER AND SON WAS FAR FROM OVER.
THERE WAS NO DOUBT IN ANYONE'S MIND: SCORMETHEUS STOOD NO CHANCE AGAINST THE STRONGEST MAN IN THE WORLD, THE VERY CREATOR OF MOST DIVINE WEAPONS. HE WAS ON THE RUN, DESPERATELY FLEEING, AND EVERYONE KNEW THAT WITHOUT SOME SORT OF EXTERNAL INTERVENTION, HIS FATE WAS SEALED. IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE HE WOULD EITHER BE KILLED OR CAPTURED.
BUT AMIDST THE TENSION, THE COALITION FORCES HESITATED.
THIS COULD BE AN OPPORTUNITY, A RARE CHANCE TO KILL THE SAGE HIMSELF.
"IF WE THROW EVERYTHING WE HAVE AT HIM AND LET BRAM LEAD THE CHARGE, THERE'S A REAL POSSIBILITY WE COULD SURROUND AND KILL THE SAGE," ONE COMMANDER PROPOSED, HIS VOICE TAUT WITH AMBITION. "IF THE SAGE FALLS, JORDAN IS ALREADY GRAVELY WOUNDED, AND THE ELVES WOULD BE THROWN INTO CHAOS."
BUT ANOTHER VOICE COUNTERED IMMEDIATELY, MORE CAUTIOUS, PERHAPS MORE SUSPICIOUS. "IT COULD BE A TRAP. SCORMETHEUS AND THE SAGE COULD BE STAGING THIS TO LURE US INTO A FULL-SCALE ASSAULT. YOU KNOW, IF WE MOVE ON THE SAGE, ALL OUR TOP LEADERS WOULD HAVE TO BE INVOLVED. IT'D LEAVE US VULNERABLE."
THE DEBATE RAGED AMONG THE DECISION-MAKERS. THE STAKES WERE HIGH, AND THE CONCERNS WERE REAL. THE BRAM THE GREAT, AS POWERFUL AS HE WAS, WOULDN'T BE ENOUGH TO GUARANTEE VICTORY WITHOUT A FULLY COORDINATED ATTACK, AND THE POSSIBILITY OF AMBUSH COULDN'T BE IGNORED.
AS THE BATTLE DRAGGED ON, IT WAS CLEAR THAT THE TIDES OF WAR WERE SHIFTING. THE PRESENCE OF THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE HAD MADE EVEN THE GREAT WIZARDS LESS INVINCIBLE. WHEN BOTH SIDES WIELDED THE STONE, THE BATTLEFIELD EVENED OUT, AND THE BALANCE OF POWER RETURNED TO A BRUTAL EQUILIBRIUM OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION.
BUT THE TRUE PROBLEM LAY WITH THE ELVEN ARTIFACTS. THOSE CURSED ARTIFACTS, WIELDED BY ELVEN PRINCES, WERE STILL DEVASTATINGLY EFFECTIVE. THE COALITION, DESPITE THEIR EFFORTS, HAD ONLY MANAGED TO CREATE A FEW ARTIFACTS OF THEIR OWN, AND EVEN THOSE WERE ONLY AVAILABLE TO THEIR MOST ELITE FORCES. COMPARED TO THE DOZENS OF ARTIFACT-BEARING ELVEN PRINCES, IT WAS LIKE FIGHTING A WAR WITH STICKS AGAINST SWORDS.
ON MOST FRONTS, THE COALITION HAD BEEN FORCED INTO EVASIVE TACTICS. THEY COULDN'T HOPE TO STAND AGAINST THE ARTIFACT-WIELDING PRINCES DIRECTLY, SO THEY RELIED ON GUERRILLA WARFARE, HIT-AND-RUN TACTICS, AMBUSHES, AND CUTTING OFF REINFORCEMENTS. THESE STRATEGIES KEPT THE ELVEN ELITE BUSY AND PREVENTED THEM FROM BECOMING A DECISIVE FACTOR IN THE WAR, BUT IT CAME AT A HEAVY PRICE.
THE COALITION SIMPLY COULDN'T ENGAGE THE ELVES IN FULL FRONTAL WARFARE. WHEN AN ELVEN ARMY LAID SIEGE TO ONE OF THEIR CITIES, THEY WERE OFTEN FORCED TO ABANDON IT AND RETREAT. YET, THERE WAS A FLAW IN THE ELVES' SEEMINGLY OVERWHELMING STRENGTH.
THEY LACKED THE NUMBERS.
DESPITE BEING THE LARGEST OF THE ANCIENT TRIBES, THE ELVES COULDN'T MAINTAIN CONTROL OVER THE VAST TERRITORIES THEY CAPTURED. THE WORLD WAS TOO LARGE, AND THE ELVEN POPULATION, DESPITE THEIR POWER, WAS TOO SMALL TO EFFECTIVELY GARRISON THE CITIES THEY SEIZED. IF THEY SPREAD THEIR FORCES TOO THIN, THEY BECAME VULNERABLE. IF THEY CONCENTRATED THEIR TROOPS TO HOLD KEY POINTS, THEY COULDN'T PUSH FURTHER INTO COALITION TERRITORY.
THIS GAVE THE COALITION A CRUCIAL ADVANTAGE, GUERRILLA TACTICS COULD CONTINUE TO FRUSTRATE AND WEAR DOWN THE ELVES. THE ELVES COULDN'T BE EVERYWHERE AT ONCE, AND THE COALITION WAS ADEPT AT EXPLOITING THEIR STRATEGIC WEAKNESSES. THE ONLY WAY TO TRULY COUNTER THIS WAS TO TRAP THE COALITION'S FORCES, EITHER BY CUTTING OFF THEIR REINFORCEMENTS OR BY BAITING THEM INTO A DECISIVE BATTLE.
AND NOW, AS SCORMETHEUS FLED FOR HIS LIFE, THE QUESTION LOOMED LARGE IN EVERY LEADER'S MIND: WAS THIS THAT TRAP?
"IS THIS A CONSPIRACY?" SOMEONE ASKED, VOICING THE GROWING UNEASE.
"WHETHER IT'S A CONSPIRACY OR A TRAP, IT'S NOT WORTH THE RISK," ANOTHER RESPONDED, CLEARLY UNEASY ABOUT TAKING SUCH A BOLD MOVE.
"BUT IF WE LET THIS CHANCE SLIP AWAY, WE'LL HAVE TO FACE THE SAGE AGAIN. HE WON'T BE ALONE NEXT TIME. IF HIS CHILDREN BRING THEIR DIVINE WEAPONS TO HIS AID, OUR ODDS OF WINNING WILL DROP TO ALMOST NOTHING."
THE ROOM FELL SILENT. EVERYONE KNEW THAT ONCE THE SAGE WAS REUNITED WITH HIS FORCES, THE COALITION WOULD BE HARD-PRESSED TO STOP HIM. IF THEY WAITED TOO LONG, THEIR OPPORTUNITY TO STRIKE WOULD VANISH. YET, MOVING NOW COULD MEAN WALKING INTO AN ELABORATE TRAP DESIGNED TO CRUSH THEIR LEADERSHIP AND LEAVE THEIR FORCES IN DISARRAY.
THE DECISION WOULD DEFINE THE COURSE OF THE WAR, WHETHER THEY RISKED EVERYTHING TO KILL THE SAGE OR PLAYED IT SAFE, ONLY TO FACE HIM AGAIN, THIS TIME STRONGER THAN EVER.
AS SCORMETHEUS HAD LONG ANTICIPATED, HIS FATE, WHETHER HE LIVED OR DIED, WAS IRRELEVANT TO THE LARGER CONFLICT THAT SURROUNDED HIM. IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THIS WAR, HIS EXISTENCE WAS NOTHING MORE THAN A FLEETING SHADOW, A PAWN WHOSE IMPORTANCE HAD FADED THE MOMENT HE BETRAYED HIS PEOPLE.
BASTIAN, WHO HAD BEEN CALLED TO PROVIDE ANSWERS, FOUND HIMSELF AT A LOSS. HE HAD NO SECRET KNOWLEDGE TO SHARE, NO INSIGHT THAT COULD TURN THE TIDES OF THIS DISCUSSION. IF ANYTHING, HE HAD EXPECTED THIS QUESTIONING TO END QUICKLY. BUT THEN CAME A MOMENT OF HESITATION, A DECISION THAT WOULD CHANGE EVERYTHING. ONE OF THE COMMANDERS, BASTAIN, WHO WAS GRAPPLING WITH WHETHER OR NOT TO STAGE A DARING RESCUE FOR SCORMETHEUS, REQUESTED A PRIVATE CONVERSATION WITH A KEY FIGURE, A REQUEST THAT WAS GRANTED WITH SURPRISING EASE.
AFTER ALL, BASTIAN HAD ALWAYS BEEN THE LINK, THE TENUOUS BRIDGE BETWEEN SCORMETHEUS AND THE COALITION. DESPITE EVERYTHING, HIS TIES TO SCORMETHEUS AS "SNOWY OWL" GAVE HIM A PECULIAR ROLE, ONE THAT COULD NOT BE EASILY DISMISSED.