Dear Journal,
                  There was a time in my life where all I knew was what I saw. As the days pass, my eyes became open to a different truth. A truth only new to me because I was never worthy enough to see it before.

                                                    - 𝓔𝓵𝓲𝓪𝓼 𝓢𝓽𝓮𝓮𝓵𝓮
(1605)

The streets of Murrfell were empty except for the four magical creatures currently engaging in discussion.

Damien's gaze was sad but determined.

The last time Elias had seen him, he had been chained in Baltazaar's secret shack that was located in the woods behind the castle. Now, he was in Murrfell standing infront of a witch's shop, said witch that he and Syrus had previously became acquainted with. Elias did not believe this to be a coincidence.

Damien was taller than Elias had initially assessed, his height almost on par with his. He wore fresh clothing and his face, which was previously an overgrown meadow of hair was freshly shaven, granting Elias the access of seeing his well proportioned countenance in entirety.

His dark green linen shirt did well to match his eyes but the brown leather tunic he wore over it gave off a rugged and dangerous appearance. His blonde hair was slicked back in a ponytail and he had scars all over his neck.

It was his pungent odor that had confirmed his identity as the man standing before Elias now was a cut above the one he had discovered kneeling.

"You know this man?" Annora frowned, glancing at Elias before returning her gaze to Damien.

"Yes. He is your sister's pet." Elias said.

"Well that's not very nice." Damien responded. "I'll have you know that she released me."

"Really now?" Annora asked, her eyebrows raised.

"Indeed. She came by the cabin earlier, threw me some garments and said that I am no longer of need." Damien mocked, giving an insulting impression of Zelda. 

"Why?" Syrus questioned.

"No clue. After I was let out of castle grounds, I caught a wiff of your scent, Elias Steele." Damien told them. "I followed it to Murrfell, got myself a clean shave and then followed my nose to this shop. Though, the trail ended here." he finished, his eyes twinkling as his gaze fell on Annora.

"You're doing I assume. Also, you smell lovely." he said with much emphasis on lovely, his tone exhibiting a surprising display of flamboyance.

"Be careful, dog." Syrus warned.

Laughing at the name, Damien turned his attention to Elias, approaching them and eventually standing in closer proximity of the trio.

"Is this your little brother?" He said smiling. "He's adorable. Reminds me of you."

"What do you want, Damien?" Elias asked him.

"Well," he started to say, glancing at the quarter moon. "I have no where to go, nothing to do and no one to see. I was homeless before Zelda and that is my current state after her. I could really use a friend." Damien admitted, turning his gaze on Elias once more.

"We are not friends and we never were." Elias said firmly.

"Yes, yes. That is true. But you are the only person I know that is...different, like I am. The only person I trust, somewhat." Damien shrugged.

"How can you trust me? You do not know me." Elias frowned.

"That is also true but I know your conviction. I know that seeing me chained up like a bloody animal was not something you appreciated. You seem like a man with a good heart and it has been a while since I've seen such a thing. I do not want revenge but I do want things to be right. God knows this world isn't." Damien said, his tone melodramatic.

"Well then," Annora tittered. "Not exactly the way I thought you would get your first ally but it's a start."

"He's no ally of ours. While we appreciate your kind words, I believe you need to leave." Syrus said, his jaws clenching.

"What? Why? I do not sense any malicious intent in his words nor his energy." Annora frowned.

"We do not know him nor his intentions. He cannot be trusted." Elias agreed.

"You trusted me." Annora argued.

"You do not smell like an enemy."  Syrus said looking at her before turning his vicious gaze on Damien once more.

"Fine then. It is your decision." Annora responded, folding her arms in defeat.

Disappointed, Damien frowned at the group's rejection.

"Well alright then. I'll be on my way, I guess." He said, his voice laced with sadness.

Adjusting his leather tunic, he walked away, heading the opposite direction of the street before disappearing from their sights.

"Give me a moment to gather some things. We are not staying here tonight. We must set off immediately for our quest."  Annora told them after, breaking the enchantment on her shop and disappearing inside.

"Do you think he was being truthful?" Syrus asked once they were alone.

Elias could see his hesitance. He knew they needed allies and turning away werewolf, one who would be extremely useful in the fight against Odelina was not exactly a wise choice, given that the witch herself had werewolves.

"I..I don't know." Elias said, his eyebrows knitted in uncertainty.

If everything was preordained, then Zelda setting Damien free must have been apart of her plan. When had she ever done anything without a cause? Afterall, she had created the werewolf. For all they knew, his appearance in Murrfell was an order and not an accident.

"Ready, boys!" Annora appeared.

She enchanted her shop once more before setting off down the street, Elias and Syrus trailing behind her.

Making their way out of the town of Murrfell, they group detoured towards the forest. Annora made it clear that where they were going required them to be discreet. Should anyone be following them, the forest would be an easier route to get lose them. Their destination was also the forest and they could not be seen doing what they were about to.

"Where the bloody hell are we going?" Syrus asked.

"Somewhere." Annora answered vaguely.

"Oh, you don't say?" He asked snidely, continuing to voice his grievances.

Ignoring Syrus and his complaints, they walked all night into mid morning, finally stopping at a very large trunked baobab tree somewhere far off Odifell. They watched as Annora used her teeth to knick her thumb before wiping the letter "A" on the rugged bark; the letter glowing briefly as a hole the size of a small child appeared in the tree's trunk.

By now, the vampires had become desensitized to Annora's tricks. All they wondered was what was on the other side of the tree.

"We have to crawl." Annora told them.

"Are you purposely trying to annoy me?" Syrus asked her.

"Oh, shut up." She said, rolling her eyes before stooping down to crawl through the small entrance.

Following her lead, they crawled through trunk and was immediately greeted by a total different forest from the one they had left.

Elias was confused by the sudden change in environment, squinting up at the mid morning sun that peeked through the leaves of the trees while he brushed dirt and twigs from his garments after standing up. He stared in wonder at outdoorsy greenness of the unfamiliar, ethereal forest before him, coupled with the puissant linger of magic in the air.

The air also smelled of fresh honeysuckle and other indescribable aromas Elias could not name. He could smell the petrichor from damp earth as his eyes ate bountiful delicacies of glorious, colossal trees that were so tall they seemed to touch the hems of the blue sky as the mossy green plants carpeted the ground.

"What is this place?" Elias asked, stepping forward as he raised his head to look at the sky above him. It was barely visible as the foliage of the trees laid across like blankets above them, letting small rays of sunlight through the spaces the leaves left unguarded. This made the dust lingering in the air more visible, giving the forest an ominous but captivating appearance.

"This is a part of Gandalwell known as Aldavia. Land of the Elven." Annora told him.

"Did you say Elven? As in Elves?" Syrus asked.

"This is Gandalwell?" Elias followed.

"Yes, Elves and it is. Infact, this is the same forest we were just walking through. It is enchanted and hidden for obvious reasons." Annora said, knitting her eyebrows as she looked above her.

Something whisked past Syrus's face, causing him to flinch as it left glittery, blue dust lingering in the air.

Another flash of blue zipped past Annora, making her chuckle as she watched it dissapear between the trees of the forest.

"What was that?" Elias asked, trying to catch a good look at the creatures.

One of the creatures flew onto Annora's shoulder, smiling at her before covering its face shyly.

It was dressed in what looked to be a tattered, blue dress and it had a triangular hat over its flowing blonde hair. Its small wings were transparent, emitting the same glittery blue dust that they had seen before with every flutter as it jumped up and down on Annora's shoulder.

"They're fairies. Cousins to us faes." She said, smiling as the fairy whispered in her ear secrets only she would understand.

"Greetings, Annora! We do not recognize your friends. Who are they?" A voiced squeaked from before them.

The fairy flew off to join its friends who would not stop peaking from behind the trees at their new visitors. Meanwhile, Elias and Syrus were alert as they searched the trees for the owner of the voice.

"Down here!" The voice squeaked again, causing the vampires to drop their gazes to the ground.

Their eyebrows raised simultaneously as they watched the small men pointing spears up at them with menacing, yellow eyes.

Their skin resembled that of Yew the tree nymph. It was as if it was made from a tree's bark as they had small vines protruding from its surface. Their pointed ears reminded Elias of the shifter pixies at Love City but their eyes were alot less friendly. They were about a dozen of them, each the size of a small dog.

"What are these things?" Syrus asked, scowling at the little creatures.

The fairies had finally come out of hiding, watching the group and giggling as they whispered to each other.

Using the point of a spear, one of the creatures pointed it at Syrus's leg.

"How dare you?" One of them uttered, though it was hard to tell who since they all closely resembled each other.

"Greetings Sprites, please refrain from violence." Annora said. "They are my guests."

"Are they now?"  A sprite said, glaring at the Syrus.

"Yes." Annora told them. "Elias, Syrus, these lovely fellows are the Sprites. They are the guards of the entrance."

"Guards?" Syrus tittered.

"Say something else and we'll lodge this spear into your leg." A sprite threatened.

Elias had to stop himself from laughing at Syrus's shocked expression.

"Please, everyone. Just remain calm. Syrus, do not upset them and Sprites, we've come to see Calen and the elves." Annora said to the Sprites.

"Well, that is good and fine but he cannot pass without an apology." a sprite said, their gazes never leaving the vampires.

"Apologize, Syrus." Elias told him.

"What the hell for? I'm the one that was threatened by a bu..." Syrus argued but was cut off by Elias's command.

"Apologize." Elias said sternly.

"Fine, fine. Forgive my....insolence." Syrus said, glaring at the sprites.

"Please Sprites, Let us pass. It is urgent." Annora pleaded.

"Well alright. Melonie!" One of the Sprites shouted.

A green fairy flew over to face them, leaving twinkling green dust in its wake.

"Escort them to the big house." The sprite instructed.

A small squeak erupted from the fairy known as Melonie as she used her little hands to beckon the group forward.

Following the fairy, Elias was overwhelmed with the abundance of magical energy that circulated through the air. As if Love City had not already surprised him, Aldavia was filled even more exotic creatures.

They began to show themselves as the trio made their way through the trees, watching and then hiding as soon as someone turned to look at them.

The fairies did not stop flocking to Annora. Elias found it bewitching how much they appeared to love her. She also seemed to be delighted to see them which made him feel a little bit at ease.

He wanted to say that he could not believe that a place like this or creatures like this existed but he himself was an anomaly of the world that he had thought he knew. Anything was possible in this new life and things were slowly revealing themselves to him as veil began to raise on reality to show the true reality.

Life was not simply a straight line and things deviated from the norm. Vampires existed. Elves were real and witches are here. He slowly began to ease into the mindset that the only thing that was not real was reality itself.

Heading deeper into the sea of trees, Elias began to notice that the trees trunks became larger, each having several homes lodged within in its core. They were wooden thatched houses with stairs that connected from home to home from the ground up.

Elias was so lost in the potency of Aldavia's magical energy that he barely noticed that the forest soon came alive with activity.

Small men the size of dwarves made their way past them as they hauled heavy lumber as they waddled by, idly chatting in a language Elias could not to understand. Even smaller children ran about as they played with each other and the fairies. Even little women gossiped as they passed, whispering as they regarded Syrus and Elias. For the most part however, they were ignored.

Before Elias could even ask, Annora answered his question.

"They are elves." She said as she waved to a few of them.

Melonie the fairy soon flew to sit on Elias's shoulder. He thought she looked like a realistic doll as he side eyed her, watching as she blushed under his gaze.

"I think she likes you." Annora chuckled at them.

Glancing over to Syrus, Elias noticed he was scowling. He had been in a bad mood ever since their encounter with Damien and he was guarding his thoughts so Elias knew for a fact that something was bothering him. He planned to speak with him in private once they had their meeting with the elven.

It was also obvious that Annora knew Aldavia very well as she led the rest of the way through the tree village. There was still so much that he didn't know about her or the four kingdoms.

"Melonie, we're almost there. Could you go on ahead and fetch Calen and the elders? Let them know that I'm here.." She joked.

Nodding rapidly, Melonie squeaked something inaudible to Elias before flying off ahead of them.

As they neared their destination, something incredible could be seen and felt from up ahead. Five large trees positioned in the shape of a pentagon created holding for a large tree house. Its thatched roof was filled with leaves that fell from the foliage above and it had 2 adjacent wooden doors and several windows around it. Though the doors were closed, the windows provided a small opening to allow the fairy to fly inside.

Drawing closer, Elias could feel the surge of power the radiated not only from the tree house but inside of it.

It took a short moment before Melonie returned to Elias's shoulder, smiling as he glanced at her tiny frame.

The adjacent doors soon opened, revealing a short, rotund creature dressed in a green tunic with a white shawl draped over it. The elf resembled a middle aged dwarf, his long blonde hair flowing behind a receding hairline suited his round face. Looking down at them, he regarded the group wearily, his expression troubled as he waved his hands in a circular motion.

A flight of wooden steps appeared from the tree house, allowing safe passage for him and his elven brethren to descend. They too wore various colored tunics but as observed by Elias, he guessed the leader was the one adorned in the shawl.

"Annora the Enchanted, it has truly been a longtime. I see you've brung guests." The elf thundered. His deep voice was powerful as it exuded the quality of a person in authority.

"Greetings Calen. It has indeed been a longtime. Allow me to introduce you to Elias and Syrus, my companions. They are vampires." She replied.

"So I see." The elf called Calen said. The 5 other elves that accompanied him erupted in violent whispers. Elias was annoyed that he could not understand the language they used.

"You are one of the few from the Lenoré coven that we consider a friend to the Elven. Tell us, why have you brung these creatures to our kingdom?" Calen asked, his gaze falling on the vampires. There was nothing special about his brown eyes but they were indeed fierce. They stood a small walk away from each other but his presence was still intimidating despite his height.

"I trust you've been informed of Odelina's return, yes?" Annora asked.

"I've been informed. We have had breaches at the entrance. Creatures from the old days that haven't been seen in centuries appearing suddenly. A swift interrogation and torture led them to disclose that much information." Calen said frowning. It was as if he was recalling a bad memory.

"Odelina has declared war on the four kingdoms." Annora told them. "I've come to ask for your aid in this fight."

"Ah, I see. While we are no strangers to war, you are already asking for favors without answering my question. Why are there Vylisians in my kingdom? I heard that they had gone extinct. Ridding themselves from the earth by the sun's aid and yet, these two walk among us in the daylight." Calen said, cocking his head to side.

Elias could not ignore the fact that this was the second time he had been called a Vylisian. Odelina had told him in the cemetery that the ancient Vylisians called themselves vampires yet, she had made it sound like he was not apart of the group, like he was something else. Even so, he began to consider himself a watered down version of the extinct group. A hybrid with mixed blood of some sort.

"Just who were these Vylisians? And why did Annora say it like a badge of honor but the elf spoke of it like an insult?" Elias thought.

"Elias is a product of Odelina's hand. He is what she hoped Elijah would be." Annora said.

"Ah, Elijah. The monster who wiped out half of our people not so long ago. We could never forget." Calen said dourly.

"Please, Calen." Annora pleaded. "We need your help. This fight will not only affect us but Aldavia as well. Odelina is not merciful and she wants blood. The creatures that have already invaded is a clear message to the elven. No one is exempt from her wrath." Annora argued.

Calen was quiet for a moment. Turning to his comrades, he conversed with them in their elven tongue. Their faces all held looks of tension and worry making it obvious that they were in disagreement of something. After a moment, Calen turned to face them again.

"My elven brothers do not approve of lending you or the vampires our aid. We simply cannot afford to lose anymore of our people to a war we had no hand in creating. Whatever creatures break through, they will be handled." Calen said.

"Then perhaps we should all just die then." Elias interrupted. Melonie scooted closer to his neck as he walked pass Annora to approach the elves.

Calen showed no sign of fear, only sovereignty. Elias could not ignore the abundance of power that he radiated. He was not to be underestimated and his certitude in strength was indeed warranted. These were magical creatures steaming with energy unlike anything he had ever felt and it was an amazing thing to experience.

"I have been letting Annora speak when in truth it is I who should have brought forward my own proposal." Elias said, stopping a few inches away from the elves.

"My name is Elias Steele. I was both a sword and silversmith in my past life. I was wrongfully accused and then murdered only to rise again as the being standing before you now. My time as a vampire has been short but I've learned quite alot on this wretched journey. Like the fact my entire life, my fate and destiny was preordained for disaster." Elias said, turning so he could look at Annora.

"I've learned that life and death are one in the same." He spoke, looking back to Calen as he stood in the centre parting the two groups.

"I know life and I know death." Elias went on.

"A heart in pain only seeks chaos and chaos is like a fire; this world is the lumber that feeds its flames. I know the feeling of wanting revenge. I cannot even begin to imagine Odelina's conviction." Elias said.

"I have a choice. Drain this world that has treated me so poorly or save it so it can become a place where other Elias Steele's can survive. I chose the latter. Not for you, or even for me but for the future that I have been cursed to witness for all eternity."

"I am not asking for your help, Calen the elf. I am asking you to protect your own and the kingdom that you have worked so hard to build. She will not stop until the world is in ruins and that includes yours. The gifted has turned into the accursed. That is the product of a broken heart. You want your kingdom to thrive like this forever? Unfortunately, forever has turned into up until winter, the time she will begin her spoliation." Elias continued, his attention now on the elves whose eyes were alight with fear and worry.

"If you do not want save yourself, fine. But know that you have failed the future if you do not fight for it." He finished. Melonie hugged his neck as he returned to Syrus's side, watching the group of elves as they made note of his words.

The elves were quiet, each of their faces holding a similar frown.

Speaking in their native tongue once more, Elias waited to hear what the words of their deliberation would be.

"You have a way with words, Elias Steele." Calen finally said. "Fine, we will aid in your conquest but only for the best interest of our people."

"Thank you so much, Calen. You are doing us and Aldavia a great honor." Annora said.

"No, do not thank us for doing what is right in the heart of progress." He said, staring at Elias as they both nodded at each other.

"Juden, alert the council. Let them know the direness of the situation." Calen said to one of his comrades.

"So, what's next?" Syrus asked groggily.

"Let's begin. We have a revolution to stop." Calen said.

————————————————————-

Let me start by apologizing for taking so long to update. Things have been hectic and I just did not get the time. Hopefully you guys haven't given up on this book.

Thank you for those who've stuck around.

A whole new world is unfolding before Elias! So excited for the preparation of this war.

Please don't forget to vote❤️

I won't take so long for the next update. Promise 🤞🏽

Please take care of yourselves.