2642 Master and Slave (Part 2)
"If I rule Setraliie's Parliament as its High Chancellor, then I'll rule the High Parliament as well. With the Tree's wisdom at my beck and call and their Chroniclers as my personal guards, I'll be unstoppable.
"I'll become the King of the elves without those morons even noticing.
"An eternal and pointless war with the other races will keep them too busy to question my authority and too reliant on my privileged relationship with the Tree to depose me." He thought out loud.
"Or rather, that was supposed to be the plan! If that Qisal bastard has his way, the citizens of Setraliie will never move to the World Tree's Fringe and if I go there alone, no one will consider me more than a curiosity.
"I can't fail when I'm one step away from the finishing line. Tell me everything I need to know to beat the Voidfeather Dragon at his own game!" M'Rael grabbed the splinter holding the consciousness of the Yggdrasill, twisting their life force even before they refused to answer.
The World Tree was young, but not stupid. They knew that unless they found a solution or at least a way to warn someone of the threat that M'Rael posed, the Yggdrasill would turn into a slave.
The elf had already imprisoned their consciousness, leaving the main body on auto-pilot. The Chroniclers believed the World Tree to be deeply involved in one of their newfound nonsensical schemes and were happy to have the Yggdrasill off their backs.
Without the Tree's constant nagging and whining, the Chroniclers could finally do things the old way. They recorded the knowledge of present events while also performing the mission that their master had assigned them.
The Chroniclers didn't like working toward their own abandonment but they were forced to obey the World Tree's orders just like a Harbinger would their Divine Beast master.
Writhing in pain, the Yggdrasill cursed those orders. They had enforced a no-contact rule between Chroniclers in order to save time. Any communication had to pass through them.
It was the reason no one was looking for Eldun and the World Tree was at the mercy of a mad elf.
***
The following morning, everyone had slept enough to reset the effects of Invigoration and was back in top shape. Only one sour note ruined their morning breakfast of eggs, sausages, and bacon.
"Still no reply." Allejah sighed after asking Lith to check his communication amulet for the umpteenth time. "What are you guys going to do today?"
"I plan on thinking very carefully about my three questions and then go visit Mogar in the Mindscape." Lith replied while checking on Solus' condition.
They hadn't had the opportunity to speak much after leaving the tower and using mind links in the presence of Awakened was considered very rude.
She smiled at him, visibly better but still shaken from the events of the previous day.
"I'm done with the Mindscape. I think I'll just practice Void Magic with Mogar's help." Solus said.
"Faluel and I might take our turn right after Lith." Ajatar pondered. "If the answer to my evolution into a Sapphire Dragon is the same as Faluel's, then the key to Dragonhood truly lay in our blood.
"The problem is that too many visits to the Mindscape without a diversion keeping the elves busy might lead them to discover our hiding place. Yet if I wait for tomorrow and the Parliament summons us, I'll lose my chance.
"Damn, I can't help but wish that Thrud wasn't so foolish. We are just following in her footsteps but there's no telling how easier this would be if she was sane enough to join the Council and lead us."
The Hydra sighed and nodded, almost regretting the Mad Queen's death.
Then she remembered how many people had lost their lives because of Thrud's madness and Faluel changed her mind.
"I'm going to research my newfound bloodline abilities, assuming I have any, of course." Morok said, obtaining Lith's nod of gratitude for the good idea.
"I'm going to crack Light Mastery." Quylla said.
"And I'll work on my damn violet core. I hate the thought of being left behind." Friya noticed Nalrond's dejected look and added: "No offense, dear."
"None taken."
"Good luck to you all." Aalejah said. "I'm going back to Setraliie and listen to the grapevine. M'Rael story is fishy and there's something about him that's poking at the back of my head, like an itch I cannot scratch.
"I hope that with Le'Ahy's help, I can at least get a feel of the public opinion."
"Why Le'Ahy instead of your own bodyguard/hostage/boyfriend Nemar?" Morok asked.
"Because he's mildly interested in me whereas she's crazy about Lith." Aalejah replied. "I bet that she will sell me state secrets just to know about his favorite foods and how to cook them. Do I have your permission?"
"As long as you don't make her any promises nor do you sell my ass on dates, be my guest." Lith shrugged.
To not leave anything up to chance, Aalejah set a precise schedule for her reports, telling them where she planned to go, in what order, and how long she assumed each visit would take based on elven customs for hospitality.
The blueprints of Setraliie she remembered were outdated by centuries, dating to the previous visit of a Chronicler but luckily in that time the elves' number hadn't grown much and their city had remained mostly the same.
Aalejah left the caves after breakfast, taking care to Warp around randomly to make it impossible to find her starting point even for a dimensional mage. She also relaxed the space upon her arrival, just to be safe.
Her arrival point was the same clearing where her group had let themselves be captured the day before. They had left Setraliie on neutral terms and Aalejah wanted to make sure not to give anyone a pretext to detain her.
'My value as a hostage is zero, but my fellow elves don't know it. They could still pull some red tape to use me as a bargaining chip in the negotiations.' She thought.
After giving the guards a minute to verify her identity, she said:
"I'm Aalejah Eventide. I came alone to request hospitality. My wish is to visit your beautiful city and speak to our people. I've been stranded on Garlen ever since I failed my test as Chronicler.
"I miss my brethren dearly and I seek the company of other elves." She chose to play the pity card in order to receive free reins moving around and lenience for the questions she intended to ask.
Having a troop of guards following her around would shut most mouths and even those who would talk would merely say what they needed to avoid trouble with the Parliament.
"Aalejah! Welcome back." Le'Ahy jumped from behind a tall oak tree and hugged the guest with the warmth of a long-lost sister.
The huntress kissed the former Chronicler's cheeks and then her forehead. According to elven customs, it marked Aalejah as a friend and granted her hospitality. It also meant that Le'Ahy would be considered responsible for every transgression her guest may commit.
