"Then let us waste no more time; please lead the way," commanded the general kindly.
As they entered the palace gate, everyone except Yukio was in awe. They had expected tight enclosed spaces inside instead of a vaulted roof. There were murals of battles and of the Nairi canyons on the ceiling. It too had the appearance of being made of marble. There were massive pillars on both sides of the aisle that they were being led down. Torches were positioned on every pillar to provide visitors with sufficient light. The images on the ceiling had an ominous feel to them in the flickering light, which made them appear to be alive. The only sound that could be heard was the echoing of their footsteps. Everyone had the feeling that they were being watched. The home guard lay safely concealed in the shadows as they passed them by. Their unseen eyes watched the vanguard carefully for any indication of a possible assassination attempt. They no longer trusted elves, and the general was surrounded by them, so they were on edge.
They came to another chamber, which was much brighter than the previous one. Apparently this was the receiving room for foreign dignitaries. The queen was seated on a raised platform at the opposite end of the hall. She was very fair and beautiful to look upon. She did not have a beautiful look on her face however. She was clearly displeased with her general and with his traveling mates. Her look was one of utter disgust as she looked at the elves. Clearly she blamed them for Yukio's unexplained absence. She fixated on her general as he approached. He took one knee and bowed his face to the floor in a show of reverence. The high elves followed suit hurriedly after seeing the nasty look from Queen Daria.
"General, please stand up and explain your actions. We have been worried," the queen said with genuine concern. If these elves have done anything to Yukio, there will be bloodshed tonight!
"Your majesty, please forgive the lateness of my return. I hope that you will understand and accept my humblest apology. I will explain, in great detail, what has transpired since the attack by the pack of wolves," the general said with another bow.
He went into great detail explaining everything that had happened to him. She seemed to come around when he explained that the mighty Elemental Kana felt it important enough to involve herself in the affairs of the people of Tuwa. She was shocked at first when he explained that he had taken an elf to wife, but she was pleased to hear that his union was blessed by the revered deity. She was much more willing to listen to the remainder of the story after this. She was not the only one to be hanging on every word that came out of Yukio's mouth. It was as if he was commanding everyone's attention.
The only one who was not transfixed was Commander Hacus. He knew that the general was using some kind of psychic power to manipulate the minds of everyone in the hall. He remained cautious and vigilant while everyone else seemed to shed all hatred of these elves and accepted them with open arms. He had a very bad feeling about what was taking place. What the general was reporting to the queen was good and seemed to answer all questions the queen had adequately. It was a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach that had him so worried.
Once General Yukio had presented all of the facts, Chairman Bronwen Merindiel presented the request of Queen Kira. To his surprise, Queen Daria was only too eager to provide military assistance to the high elves. She felt that all that had transpired was inspired by the gods and that they should not ignore the pleas of a blessed race. As a result of this, she was overly accommodating to the delegation. Commander Hacus was concerned by her willing acceptance of Yukio's explanation. He was shocked that they had formed an alliance with this new nation so quickly. The only person that seemed to expect this outcome was the general himself. He had a smug look of accomplishment that frightened the head of the home guard. He could not shake the feeling that there was more to this situation than what they had been told.
"General Yukio, you will be given command of my army once more. Take all the troops you need with you to fortify the city of Alanderas and the route between us. That way we can commence in trading with our newest ally," she commanded with a pleasant smile. This has turned out much better than I had expected. I simply do not understand why Commander Hacus was so worried.
"My queen, I ever serve thee and the people of this great nation," Yukio said with a bow. "I will give the command of the army that is to protect the road west to Alanderas to Commander Favian Drujien. The protection of the trade route along the Blain River will be given to Commander Hacus. I will lead the troops sent to protect the high elves," General Yukio stated boldly.
"Very well; rest while the troops are being readied for their departure. You can also visit the king of Mount Ennis while the men prepare. King Edric is a good friend and will be a powerful ally. He will assist you in this time of need," said the queen confidently.
"I share your optimism and appraisal of the situation. In the morning, we will leave to meet with King Edric and should return in time to depart with the troops," Yukio replied.
With a bow and a smile, Yukio and the high elves left the queen and were taken to their sleeping quarters. Due to the lateness of the hour, they went straight to bed after washing the dust off their bodies from their long trek. Bronwen and the others slept peacefully that night knowing that they had overcome their biggest obstacle. They were hopeful that tomorrow's meeting with the dwarves would be equally beneficial. Commander Hacus had some of his guard keep watch over the queen's guests. He did not entirely trust any of them. He also did not believe anything that Yukio had reported. What worried him most was that the queen did a complete turnaround without even hearing a good argument.
As the delegation from the high elves returned triumphant from their meeting with King Edric, a small bird was spotted on the horizon and seemed to be heading in their direction. Yukio's hawk had returned with a reply from the King Leroy. The general untied the message and gave the warrior hawk some food as a reward. He quickly scanned the note in utter disbelief. In essence, the king did not recognize the new nation because the elves did not do so. The people of Landen had a strong relationship with the people of King Ciel and believed, as did the elves, that the so-called "high elves" were traitors. The king had already made a pact with the elven king not to have any dealings with the dissenters. The general crumpled up the note and threw it to the ground. As he sat there musing over the bad news, his horse ate the letter as it grazed for food.
"Well, I suppose I should have expected that reply," he said shortly. "They believe you all to be traitors and will not get involved unless it is on the side of the woodland elves."
"That is not good news at all. Are you still planning on sending a message to King Derek?" Bronwen asked patiently.
"No, my hawk has informed me that he saw King Ciel's messenger owl, returning from the Forest of Aran. I believe that they too have made a pack with the elves not to recognize us. Our last hope remains with the dwarves," Yukio said dejectedly. I really believed the people ofLanden would have joined with us.
He tied two messages onto the legs of his faithful messenger. One was for King Kasim and the other was for King Jarvis. He instructed the bird to disregard delivering a letter if King Ciel's owl was seen in the vicinity of either dwarven kingdom. He did not want to give away too much to the ever-expanding alliance of the elves. The general knew that he could not waste any more time worrying about his diplomatic mission. It was clear that the elves were planning an attack on the high elves very soon. If it came to a war, he wanted to be prepared. He needed to take the troops that were waiting for his return and head straight for Mount Quang. He would need to send a couple of the high elves ahead to deliver the warning about those plotting against them.