Dear Journal,
The days are louder, disaster is more frequent, luck is a rarity. These are all telltale signs that war is upon us.
                                                     - 𝓔𝓵𝓲𝓪𝓼 𝓢𝓽𝓮𝓮𝓵𝓮
(1605)

     
It had been 14 days since Elias, Syrus and Annora arrived in Aldavia; the land of the Elven.

Elias was still in disbelief that a place such as this had actually existed in Gandalwell all this time. According to Annora, Aldavia was once visible and accessible to everyone as elves were considered a powerful and respected group of beings in Europe.

Unfortunately, they were forced to hide themselves away from prying eyes due to war and strife. The tyranny of Elijah had led to the annihilation of almost half of their population as the monster inspired chaos across the land, resulting in other groups of creatures forcefully voicing their rejection for the peace that the faes and humans fought to achieve. It had forced them to find ways and means to protect themselves, hence, the illusion enchantment they had placed upon their land.

Elias and Syrus were placed into a single tree house, away from other elves and separate from Annora; who had been invited to stay in the lair of the fairies.

She had been training them vigorously for the past weeks; trying to help them unlock the full potential of their power in the short time they had gotten to combat the forces of Odelina.

Currently, they were getting ready for another extensive training session, however, the vampires decided to spare some time to perform a much needed task.

Elias sat on a stool as Syrus loomed over him with the spring scissors he had fashioned at the elves workshop in his hand, attempting to cut his maker's hair. It had grown to waist length and Elias became wary of it, finding it an hindrance to his training.

Inside the elves' tree houses were lavish, festooned with beautiful drapery and paintings of nature. They had a king sized bed bedecked with comfy white sheets and their room contained well polished, wooden furniture such as book shelves, tables, chairs and stools.

In addition to this, a large, vertical mirror stood adjacent to their bed. These things were considered a luxury to have in his past life and Elias had only seen one in the Emma's room; her being royalty. Here in Aldavia, the elves were surprisingly advanced and quite wealthy in all aspects, whether armory, food, knowledge or magic.

"How short do you want it?" Syrus asked as Elias stared into standing mirror before them.

Glaring at their reflection, Syrus tried to ignore Elias's appearance, sensing his maker's distaste for his corpse like semblance. In actuality however, Syrus was really trying to ignore his own reflection, which resembled that of a drowned boy.

In the mirror, his skin was pale blue from lack of oxygen and his hair, though dry in reality, was dripping wet down his face.

Syrus considered it a truly cruel phenomenon; their reflection being that of the dead when they were still alive, even if they were no longer the same.

He had spent a long time gaping at himself the first night they had spent in Aldavia and he decided to forget that it even existed.

"A little pass my shoulders." Elias replied, his eyes never leaving from the mirror.

They stayed in silence as the sound of the scissors snipping Elias's long tresses of black hair filled the room, a bird appearing at the window near the front door seemed to watch them perform their task.

"We are not them." Syrus said after a moment, referring to their reflections.

"Yes, we are." Elias retorted. "But that is okay."

The room fell silent once more as Elias recounted their past few days in Aldavia.

He had finally caught the technique of levitating, which was the first step in order to be able to fly. He could also create a fire with his hands by chanting the latin word ignire.

Elias found it immensely satisfying to finally know the name of the language he had read and heard so often. He was a step closer in discovering his own powers and talent.

Syrus on the other hand was struggling. Though he had Elias's blood, it was still difficult for him to cast spells as he did not get his power directly from the source of a fae. Despite this, he did not give up and did his very best so he would not fall behind.

The trio, however, were not the only ones preparing for war in these times. They had met with a number of the elves' strongest warriors, including half-breeds; men and women who were half-human and half-elf. They were taller than the average elf but their magic was not as potent. Despite this, they were excellent fighters that were strong and fearless, exuding and portraying immense courage and battle knowledge.

Calen had sent word to the other minor elf kingdoms in Pretvar and Asphal, informing them of the situation and asking for their aid. This was met with positive support as he was a very well known and respected leader in his camp. He also had contacts with other powerful creatures in which he used to his advantage as he sent word to the centaurs, griffins, chimeras, satyrs and trolls. All of which were eager to join the fight, each suffering casualties of their own since Odelina's return.

She had sent her minions to each of their domains, murdering and kidnapping members of their kingdom for unknown reasons.

Annora had hypothesized that she was collecting samples to forge new monsters to fight her war which was a dangerous thing to even imagine.

With everything happening, they still had to persevere through the darkness of the lingering doom and training was the best way to start.

Today in their session, Elias and Syrus would finally be fighting each other. Annora had said that it was necessary to atleast deduce what was Elias's 'out of body' anger experience at the banquet and strengthen their hand to hand combat skills using all they had learned.

Their door creaked open, drowning out the sound of the scissors snipping away at Elias's mane.

"I thought you'd never cut it." Annora joked as she entered.

Melonie the fairy flew in shortly after her, standing on Elias's lap as she waved him hello.

After the first week, Elias could finally discern a few words she uttered, making it easier to communicate with her.

Initially, he had thought she was speaking another language but her voice was just tremendously small, even with his superhuman hearing.

Looking down at her, he held out his palm. This earned him a smile as she quickly scurried onto it. Lifting his hand, he brought her closer to his face to look at her but Melonie had other ideas as she placed a chaste kiss on his forehead. Giving her a small smirk, Elias watched her pale cheeks flush red with embarrassment.

"I'll have to tell Emma about this." Syrus said.

"Shut up." Elias shunned him, causing Annora to laugh as she made her way further inside.

Flopping down on their bed, she stared into the ceiling of the tree house as she listened to the snips of the scissors.

Out of nowhere, lightning flashed, blinding them temporarily before a loud thunder crackled outside, summoning heavy rains afterwards.

They all listened as glorious showers of water bled from the sky, pattering on the bark of the tree that made their room. Melonie flew to Elias's shoulder in fear, scooting closer to his neck to hug him. He caught the word 'afraid' in her sentences as she buried her little face in his neck, frowning at the sound of the thunder.

"Do we have to train in that?" Syrus asked Annora, cutting another lock of Elias's hair.

"Yes we do. Rain or sunshine, Odelina is not resting and neither should we." She responded, lying on her side while propping up her head up with an arm to watch them.

"I do not fancy getting wet." He said after.

"You did at the brothel." She raised her eyebrows.

"Well, you've got me there." He smiled, felling the last lock of hair before running his hands through Elias's tresses.

It was now a little pass his shoulders, just the way he wanted it and he could not help but think that he favored his human self even more, despite the look of decay. This was how he would always keep it; how Genevieve loved it. She would usually cut it for him once it had gotten untamed but now Syrus had taken on the job.

"You look good." Syrus said to him, laying his hands on his shoulders.

Looking at his reflection in the mirror, Elias tittered at the irony before casting his gaze on the pale blue boy.

"Now that you've cut it, I realize that I prefer it long." Annora interrupted.

"You prefer everything long." Syrus smirked.

"Indeed. Like your..."

"Quiet you two." Elias commanded. "You sicken me."

They laughed at him as he got up from the stool to fetch his trench coat.

Flying on top of his hair, Melonie allowed him to put it on then took her place on his shoulder once more.

"You have stay, Melonie." Annora cooed at her. "You won't be able to handle this weather. Elias will be back soon."

Flying infront of his face, Melonie gave him a frown as her eyebrows knitted together in disappointment. He knew she was asking if that was true just by her body language.

Nodding at her, she flew over to his bed, sitting on his pillow while folding her arms fussily.

She had gotten so attached to him for the short while he was there that it actually made him sad. He wondered what she would do when he left Aldavia.

"Let us go." Elias ordered, heading out of the tree house and turning towards the direction of the training ground.

Elias squinted through the water droplets as he made his way through the trees, the rain bucketing down roughly against his skin.

They were all drenched by the time they arrived at the training ground, Annora shivering ever so often from the cold of the water showers. Thankfully, it had finally subsided to a minor drizzle, allowing them all to see better.

The training ground was a large clearing that contained various areas for swordsmanship, archers and hand to hand combat. Currently, there was no one there but the three of them but it was usually filled with elves and half-elves indulging in their daily activities.

Elias was a little glad for the privacy as their practice of magic often drew a crowd around them. While removing his wet trench coat, he prepared his mind for the fight ahead as be placed the garment on the trestle table designated for lunch to the far left of the clearing. Syrus followed suit, removing his steam punk jacket so both of them were dressed in only their soaking black linen shirts.

"Okay, boys. Face each other, two feet apart. We'll do hand to hand combat first and then we'll see how you both fair with swords." Annora announced, walking away from the middle of the clearing to give them adequate space.

As if mimicking each other, they ran their hands through their hair so it wouldn't fall into their faces.

Standing two feet apart, their golden eyes glared at each other, neither showing reluctance to engage.

"I will not hold back for you." Elias told him.

"I would be insulted if you did." Syrus smirked.

They circled each other, each their opponent intently.

"Are you afraid?" Elias asked mockingly.

"Never." Syrus responded.

"Ready!" Annora shouted, signaling for them to begin.

Elias was behind Syrus in an instant, his hands positioned to strike.

Syrus however, responded quickly, catching his hand in mid air before lifting him from the ground and swinging him over his shoulder and across the clearing.

Landing elegantly on his feet, Elias turned to his subordinate once more but he was gone.

Frowning at his disappearance, Elias had little time to react as he almost had his head taken off due to Syrus descending from the air, striking the wet grass instead.

The young vampire had apparently jumped into the air while Elias's back was turned, using his brief confusion to catch him off guard.

Using the opportunity of Syrus kneeling, Elias kicked him across the clearing, sending him tumbling backwards into the archer's targets.

"Never take your eyes off the enemy, Syrus. Again!" Annora shouted.

Hopping to his feet, Syrus sped over to Elias, sending endless punches and kicks.

They exchanged blows for what seemed like hours, each blocking the others' hits accurately and swiftly. Annora could barely see what was happening due to the speed at which they were fighting. Their hands and feet became distorted as they punched, kicked and dodged each others' blows.

Lightning flashed for a split second, momentarily blinding Elias and finally giving Syrus an opening, allowing him to land a kick to the chest.

Elias was sent tumbling backwards but Syrus sped behind him to catch him before he came to a stop.

"If you only were this kind to me." Syrus mocked.

Pulling from Syrus's grip, they faced each other once more, their chests touching as they glared viciously into one another's eyes.

"That's enough!" Annora shouted, walking over to both of them with two swords in hand.

Handing them the death instruments, she eyed Elias warily before heading back to her previous position.

"Five feet apart, you will have to charge each other!" She shouted.

"You can't win this one, Eli. I trained to become a knight." Syrus taunted.

Just before the match could commence, lightning struck again, this time, hitting Syrus.

"No!" Elias shouted, shooting over to him and almost getting caught in it himself.

Before Syrus could fall to the ground Elias caught him, kneeling slowly as he too was shocked while holding Syrus in his arms.

Syrus's face and clothing were charred black and burnt, sizzling as the rain drizzled on his body.

"Oh dear!" Annora exclaimed, rushing to Syrus's side.

Falling to the ground, she knelt on the other side of him while Elias held him up. He was unconscious and his skin felt burning hot despite the rain but Elias ignored it all as he rubbed a hand across Syrus's cheek. Sparks of lightning reverberated over his body, sending shocks into Elias's and momentarily paralyzing him.

"It's okay, Elias. He'll be fine. It won't kill him." Annora said, frowning as she touched Syrus's forehead. She immediately withdrew her hand however, as she was shocked by volts of current.

"What in the world?" She said, regarding his body as if she had never seen it before.

"Is he.. is he shocking you right now?" Annora asked.

Clenching his jaws as aftershocks of the lightning jolted him ever so often, Elias nodded his head.

"Can you carry him? We need to get him help. Elves are wonderful healers." Annora said, though her face still held a look of worry.

Annora ran to the trestle table for their jackets as Elias lifted Syrus into his arms.

Following Annora's lead, they took Syrus to the Aldavia's infirmary, which luckily was very close to the training ground.

The infirmary was a usually a thatched tent but due to the rain, it had been moved to a large tree house close by. They took him to the tent however as Elias could not wait to be invited in since the shocks of current emitting from Syrus's body became unbearable.

Placing him on one of the small beds, Annora ran to fetch the healers, explaining the situation as they came rushing over to give their aid.

Sparks coursed over Syrus's body, causing Annora, Elias and the healers to flinch at the sight.

"What is happening to him?" Elias turned to Annora, tears brewing at the commissures of his eyes.

"I-I don't..." she stuttered.

"Did you say he was holding a sword?" A female healer turned to Annora with a wary look. There for two of them of either side of Syrus, their hands extended over his body as it became engulfed in a transparent green shield.

"Yes... I-I got them from the armory for training." Annora explained.

Another spark reverberated over Syrus's body, causing the healers to flinch.

"Oh no." The female healer said worriedly.

"What? What is happening? Is he going to be alright? TELL ME!" Elias shouted.

"Our swords are enchanted with powerful elven magic. They are blessed by the Elf King, Aragorn whomst we worship. He has blessed Aldavia with an abundance of magic and..."

"Get to the point!" Elias urged, his eyes flashing red before returning to their golden colour.

Catching the emanation of rage from his aura, Annora immediately chanted a command.

"Bide!" She said, causing Elias's body to freeze.

She could not afford a rampage in Aldavia since that would destroy any type of allegiance they had just formed with elves.

"The- the lightning!" The elf said, her voice shaking in terror.

"I am not entirely certain but I would assume that the magic has caused some sort of reaction between his body and the lightning." She finished, turning back to Syrus as the volts of electric current resonated throughout his body.

"What does that mean?" Annora asked confused.

"I- I, it's...." The healer stuttered.

Just then, a few fairies flew inside the infirmary, whispering into the ears of Annora and the healers.

"What? No! Why now?" Annora said out loud.

"Release!" She commanded, freeing Elias from his paralysis.

"An intruder has invaded Aldavia." She told him.

"What? Now?" Elias asked, glancing at Syrus. His wounds had began to heal but sparks still crackled over his body.

"Elias, we have to go. We have to help." Annora said, taking his hand.

"I can't leave him." Elias reasoned.

"He will be fine. It won't kill him. Come on." She said, pulling him out of the infirmary.

"I'll come back, I promise." He thought, hoping that Syrus could hear him.

Elven warriors were all rushing through the forest, weapons in hand as they scattered through the trees. Some were even travelling by tree, jumping from limb to limb with their bows and quivers.

"Go on ahead." Annora said as she and Elias ran through the forest. "You're faster than I am. If you can help, do it. I'll be there shortly." She urged him.

Nodding at her, he sped between the trees, passing a few of the warriors as he blazed towards the smell of an enemy; a smell he was surprised to have recognized.

Arriving near the tree he had previously came through, Elias froze in disbelief at the intruder.

The sprites had pinned him to the tree, lodging their spears into his legs as he groaned in pain.

"Oh, it's you vampire! We have everything under control here." A sprite shrieked.

"What the hell are you doing here, Damien?" Elias asked in disbelief.

The warriors soon appeared, their weapons raised as they approached the enemy.

"Hold on, don't fire! I just wanted to find Elias!" Damien shouted at them.

"You know this beast?" An half-elf known as Arwen asked.

"Yes, yes I do." Elias answered embarrassingly.

"Intruder! How did you get here?" Arwen asked harshly.

"What do you mean? I was walking through the forest and caught Elias's scent. I followed it to well, here." Damien said, his hands still raised in surrender.

"That cannot be possible. This land has been enchanted by Lord Calen himself. The average eye cannot see it let alone enter by merely walking inside." Arwen argued.

"He's telling the truth." Annora's familiar voice echoed as she appeared from behind them, trying to catch her breath.

"Look at the balboa tree." She told them.

The warriors rested their gazes on the tree Damien was now leaning against. Previously, the tree's trunk had been a thick, brown structure filled with life and magic. Now, it had become hollowed out, turning black as if burned or rotten.

"The enchantment has been broken." Annora said aloud.

"Enchantment? Broken? Oh dear." Damien said after.

"What? What happened?" Elias frowned at the werewolf.

"Well, you see. There's an army of ogres heading this way."

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One more chapter until a time skip!

Excited yet? I am!

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Stay blessed.