The conservative council members were no where to be found except for its leader and his son. Torvin — the conservative leader — was anxious and troubled by it all, but Viyetral did not show any signs of worry whatsoever, infact, he was quite pleased with it all.

  It was in the morrow that a single carriage arrived, in a terrible condition. Few young men, who were the sons or relatives of the former conservatives council-men, made their way out and immediately demanded an audience with Viyetral and Torvin.

  They were led in the great hall where the latter two were discussing various important matters. The youngs ones were exasperated but stated:

  "Captain, our group was attacked! We barely managed to escape!"

  "Breath lad. Tell me what happened from the start." Viyetral tried to calm him down.

  Although, his expressions made it seem like he already knew something. Torvin, on the other hand, was shocked and pale from the sudden news.

  The survivors described that as they were making their way towards the town, they were attacked by a group of rogue younglings (elfin soldiers). They had, without any warning, attacked the carriages, killing anyone and everyone in sight. Their small party barely managed to escape. The captain listened carefully before finally answering:

  "We can do nothing to bring back the dead, but I will task a force of our own to get rid of the scoundrels that did such a horrible deed. You lot should rest for now, we have had planned great many things for the formation of the new council, but we can wait few days to attend to that matter."

  As the young blood made their way out, Torvin asked the captain:

  "Who could have done such a thing? Quintel and the bunch have already been executed. Perhaps a betrayal." His question was aimed at Viyetral, as he had doubts regarding the man's trustworthiness.

  "Let us not get a head of ourselves. I will have the matter thoroughly investigated. For now, you should prepare yourself for the formal appointment of yourself and these remaining men as the new council. You may leave now."

  Torvin left with suspicions looming all across his heart, but he could say or do anything. On his way, he met 'Eqor the butcher' who had recovered completely after the fight with Viyetral and worked for the latter earnestly now. As the great hall's doors were closing, Torvin saw the captain welcoming back Eqor as if a hero returning back after slaying the demon king. This was the moment when it dawned on him that the deaths of his comrades might have been an internal matter after-all.

  Few days had passed since the, unfortunate for some, incident. Elections were held in the First town for the first time in centuries. Of course, this was all just a formality as Jarel was bound to have succeeded anyways. With the support from the captains, Torvin and the last surviving conservatives had managed to win as well. The town rejoiced as if they had been ruled by tyrants for centuries, but that was all because of the mass manipulation by the ruthless schemer — Viyetral.

  After the elections, a grand council-meeting was held in the great halls. It was expected of Jarel to head it, but he was not idiotic enough to challenge Viyetral for the seat. All the captains were made part of the meeting as well. The agenda was simple: distribution of power and responsibilities.

  "I congratulate all of you for staying steadfast against tyranny and cruelty. We have overcome this great hurdle but that is not the end of it. We have much to discuss, but most importantly, we have to address the previous power gap between the council and the captains." Viyetral stated whilst looking towards Torvin who had been a part of the older council thus knew the corruption of it from first-hand. The former then continued:

  "As of now, Captain Swven will take charge as the new commander of the town's defenses. However, there is more to it, the commander and three captains will be given a seat on this council."

  At the moment, there were a total of six members in the council. The number was low due to the recent massacre of the conservatives which worked out greatly for Viyetral. The Captain now continued once again:

  "As previously observed, one-third majority will be required to pass general declarations, but to pass major declarations, the council will need two-third majority. Most importantly, any military related matter, whether the purchase of new weapons or the decision regarding the keep of the younglings, will be decided by the commander himself. Now, some of you might feel that this will slow down the process, but believe me, anything that is even remotely beneificial for the town will be approved without the slighest of delay. Before continuing, anyone wants to add something?"

  None spoke. The new council-men understood that they were in the room due to the efforts of the very man sitting in front of them, but more importantly, this man could dispose of them like their predecessors.

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  "Good. I have a few important tasks for the newly elected council-members. First, we need to get a representative of the council. Normally, it is decided by the council itself, but I think that due to the longevity of the elfin race, a person can stay in power for far too long whether they are competent or not. So, I will elect the first leader, but he will retire from the position after five years and the new leader can be selected by yourselves. I nominate Jarel due to his efforts and cooperation in this removal of the unjust rulers. Does anyone object?" Viyetral asked the hall.

  Of course, none spoke once again. Torvin was a bit dejected, but he understood his position. Jarel was quite surprised by how graciously he had been rewarded, but it was all a show to buy his loyalty

  "Moving on, Jarel, you will write letters to all of fhe elfin settlements to inform them of this change in governance. I expect you to prepare the letters as soon as possible. Thirdly, I want the lot of you to prepare for a possible war. It is not as if we will be fighting tomorrow, but it will be better to keep yourselves prepared. Although, this matter is not related to the council, but I expect all of your cooperation as well; it will be great if we can incorporate a proper magika training system for the younglings. Magika is the future, and we have certainly not made much progress in it as opposed to our neighboring nations." The captain stated. This was an advice from Harwin, though.

  There was no rejection on this proposal either. Well, all of these were basically necessary requirements, or rather, ultimatum. Anyone who rejected would have been ousted one way or the other. Viyetral had successfully captured back the First town and was only addressing formalities now.

  Harwin, Alisa and Landel visited the town in the mean-time that their seniors were busy. They met and saw all kinds of unfamiliar things. The First Town had the second largest trade route which meant that there were all kinds of characters gathered here as well as all sorts of interesting items.

  In addition to touring through the town, the mages practiced their craft under the guidance of captain Arwen. He was the same old man who healed up everyone when Harwin was on the brink of collapse during the dungeon escape. He was an experienced individual, even when he was starved for days himself, he had managed to chant intermediate to advance level healing spells effortlessly.

  Now, it was rare to find an elfin mage who had managed to reach the rank of a captain as well which meant that this was an once in a lifetime opportunity for the aspiring young mages — Harwin and Alisa. It was revealed by the captain himself that he was an expert level mage.

  Of course, it is not as if the storm-sword — Yhorm — and Arwen were of the same level. There are sub-classes in magika as well, mainly three categories from lowest to highest: Aina, Baeil and Caizer. Arwen was an aina expert mage which meant that he could perform a single expert level spell before collapsing but elements of that spells were also restricted to his expertise (fire, earth etc).

  Caizer is basically considered impossible to be achieved even when one becomes an expert level mage which is a great challenge on its own. Only Yhorm, Artredies and the mage-king are known beings who have reached or even surpassed that level.

  Leaving these matters aside, Arwen taught his two newly acquainted students a great deal. He was, especially, proficient in the creation of eco-shards and scrolls which was a blessing in disguise for Harwin.

  In just a week, the lad was able to craft basic level eco-shards, it was feat that he had not managed to achieve even in six months under the guidance of the village chief-mage. However, there was something quite mysterious about Harwin's creation of these basic eco-shards, something that would be quite detrimental for his future.

  It was in the second week after grasping of power that it was decided for officially hitting the road once again. Farelen had not regained consciousness, and under the suggestion of Harwin, he was to be taken to the city of Neilwisk where a certain genius alchemist might be able to help.

  Just a night before the eventual departure, Harwin once again dreamed of the mystical land void of any color. A single figure sat on what appeared to be a throne, once again. There was something peculiar, however, this time the figure wasn't grinning as usual.

  There was dead silence for a while, Harwin did not dared to break it as well. Usually, the lad was not scared at all of this figure that had tormented him quite a deal with cruel pranks from time to time, but this time, there was something ominous about him.

  Soon, the floor was filled with crimson, thick liquid — clearly blood. Harwin panicked and puddled his feet. The dark and light figure finally spoke:

  "You are not fun anymore." He almost mumbled.

  "Huh? What do you mean?" Harwin asked whilst trying to escape the grotesque liquid, but it was already as far as the eyes could see.

  "You were supposed to entertain me, but now....now you are just plain and dull. There is no excitement left in you. Those damn elves are the reason!" It was the first time that he was angry.

  His last statment was a screeching shout which gave Harwin goosebumps. The latter gulped but then gathered the courage to reply:

  "You told me to stick with Alisa and Landel. Besides, they have nothing to do with your boredom. Do you not have anything better to do?"

  "Those two are fine, but the others limit your movement....your reason of existence. I can not take it anymore!" The figure looked down with his head in hands.

  "You were odd, I knew that, but......Never-mind, what do you want me to do now?" Harwin gave up trying to argue. He had now adjusted to the crimson blood. His ankles were basically drenched in it.

  "I will teleport you to another place—" he was inturrupted by Harwin's shouts.

  "YOU CAN NOT—" Harwin felt a similar sensation, his lips were sealed with thin needles.

  "No need to struggle. I am not teleporting you to another world, it is part of this world. You have to traverse through those lands, and if you manage to survive then you can reunite with your beloved elfin friends." The figure returned back to his mocking tone, his face had the same sinister grin as well.

  Harwin could not argue, he understood the feeling, it was nostalgic but not in a good way. The fate of the poor lad depended on the mood of this devilish figure which took great pleasure in playing tricks on him. This time, however, Harwin would not have the same fate as his previous one, his journeys would be harsh and dangerous beyond words.