Illorend II

  I am Illorend, the second elven king to bear that name since the time of my great-great-grandfather; it was a time of legends, of great deeds, of world shattering events, far removed from the relatively ordered time in which I found myself dwelling. Sure there had been conflicts even since I was an infant, I had witnessed the collapse of empires and the rebirth of human society within my own reign, but nothing compared to the nameless horrors battled in the time of myth.

  No war could hope to come nearly as close to the scale of the elven, dwarven, orcish, and demonic hosts that once ravaged the entire continent. For the past nine centuries, I have ruled the realm of Anaura from the alabaster towers of Tor Anaura.

  I married the incomparably beautiful Variella, ah yes, those perfect breasts of hers had me enchanted the moment I first laid eyes upon her.

  What? Even elf princes have libidos - but as far as anyone else knows it was her literal radiance that caught my attention first, that halo of majesty that all elves acquire at some point or other.

  Having been one of Elianora's chosen daughters, hers had already manifested; not only that, her magical capacity and power were simply incredible. But I digress.

  Somehow she had managed to tolerate me during our fifty year courtship, shortly afterwards we were husband and wife, and when my father abdicated the throne I was made king and she my queen.

  Then she gave me the greatest gift imaginable: a son, Illorien. Then a daughter, Iylestra, followed by two more, Vardrina and Sylfaena, then a second son, Valyrian, and a fourth daughter: my little Illiana. Could we have more? Perhaps so, perhaps not - by her divine powers she remains as fertile as ever I am sure, but I am starting to feel my age.

  Say naught, I don't believe that you will look nearly as well as I do when you've reached an age exceeding twenty centuries!

  I am aware that I am, in fact, an elf, but jokes about being old are my favorite ones to make even if people don't realize I'm being facetious. Oh, but where was I again? Ah yes, my personal history as king of this land.

  Within the very first century of my rule we came under attack; opportunistic orcs had come down from the mountains and laid siege to one of our outlying settlements, a place where stone aggregate was gathered for the production of whitestone. I marshalled our forces to defend the town, and personally led the vanguard against the advice of my father's general - we were routed, and that general lost his life in the rear guard.

  Oh, we did eventually break the siege and saved the citizens living there, but that first loss came as a heavy shock. While others were quick to cheer, I was forlorn; had I but listened to my general, he would have still been alive and so would many more of our troops.

  That is when I learned that the most important skill a king can possess is the ability to find the right man for the job. I studied history after that, and not just our own - I pored over the military and political histories of dwarf kind, the nations of men, I sought out transcriptions of the tales of the beast folk tribes and when I couldn't get those I called forth their storytellers and listened carefully.

  I learned a great deal about diplomacy, statecraft, and warfare. I found people that I could trust and placed them in positions of power and authority - divine generals to guide me. It might be prideful of me to say, but I think that I have gained a great deal of wisdom.

  Through my studies I also realized that my people had become far too insular, and so I sought to begin relations with the human nations bordering our own; well that was slow going, what with the frequent wars between them, but I bided my time and eventually they made peace.

  The dwarves from the northern range were as stubborn as usual but at least they were always united in their purpose; I found out what we had that they needed and offered it to them, and so our first trade deal was made. Just over two-score years ago I established trade with a second dwarven hold, as well!

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  Yet with all of the wisdom and experience that has come with ruling one of the great elven kingdoms, how could I have been so foolish? Sending such a paltry force to protect my youngest child, little angel that she was, still young and naive, still lacking the martial prowess of Valyrian and the magic power of Sylfaena.

  All of her limitless potential was nearly snuffed out, and were it not for what I can only presume to have been divine intervention sending forth a hero at the right moment, she would have been lost to us forever. I owe that young man everything. Had he not come when he did, Illiana would - I couldn't bear to finish that train of thought.

  A highborn elf mustn't give out the title of elf-friend lightly, and nor did I do so in this situation; it was a reasoned and measured decision, it had to be done. Heroes summoned from other worlds, or reincarnated here with their memories of a past life intact, were not unheard of, but the last time I recalled it occurring was ages ago, during my father's reign.

  The exact mechanism of it is unknown, and as I said, I know of no summoning magic capable of conjuring people from other worlds. It might not even be summoning magic at all but some other power. Yes, I believe the first ruler of that old Gaian Empire which used to dominate this land was a reincarnate.

  Granted it was a relative blink of an eye to old-bloods such as I, but to the humans it's ancient history steeped in legend. This must be a sign from the gods, surely? I must needs convene with my advisors regarding this.

  When I saw that young man, I recalled a conversation that I had with my father long ago. I possess the gift of soulsight, as he did, you see. He had met the first Gaian emperor once and he perceived that his soul was a different color than everyone else's and knew in that instant that the man was a reincarnate.

  The former king was very wise and learned. He is long gone, but he did impart upon me the following: "every soul has a signature hue imparted upon it when it is first conceived; even if a soul leaves its body and is reborn distantly it retains that color. If you meet a person whose soul-color matcheth not those around him, he may have been summoned to this world while still alive, or in sooth, reincarnated here by birth".

  That is why when the hero did expostulate upon his own origins, I knew it to be true - he was possessed of the selfsame oddity that mine own forebear had noticed.

  What was I doing again? Ah, yes, I was penning a royal decree; secret for now, but once the Shadar'kethal deems it safe I shall make it public. My dear princess may have escaped death but a number of my loyal soldiers, a lady-in-waiting, and a civilian carriage driver were brutally murdered.

  I had their identification badges on my desk, I knew every last one of their names. One in particular stuck out, for he had been in my service for a very long time and was close to the end of his term. They fell bravely defending the princess and shall all be recorded as heroes.

  They thought it was to be a one-sided massacre, but in the end they were defeated; their primary target got away and they were slain by that hero. I put the idea I had come up with for honoring the sacrifice of those soldiers, that maiden, and that poor fellow who was just doing his job, to paper:

  "So shall it be that the carriage presently containing the remains of our fallen people be encased in a whitestone monument and a plaque with their names be affixed to the front thereof."

  Oh, yes, I can't forget the horses too; I wrote in an addendum for the noble beasts, cut down in their prime. At the moment that I finished affixing the royal seal, I heard a gruff but familiar voice.

  "Your majesty," said the voice, curtly.

  "Ah, do come in, Hanzorian," I said, "Is there aught to report?"

  "Yes. I have finished my investigation."

  My eyes widened, "so soon? But, why, it's approaching evening but you only started last night!"

  "Aye, your majesty - recommendation: convene a war council."

  This sounded serious. I could never tell what that man was thinking or feeling, not underneath that mask, and certainly not with his eyes and ears covered in soot. That has got to be difficult to clean. Hanzorian was the best investigator and infiltrator that I had ever met in my life, which is of course why I made him the head of intelligence.

  A trustworthy elf, but always so stiff even off-duty. Oh my dear friend and confidante, when wilt thou remove the sycamore branch from thine rear end and laugh at one of this old dotard's jokes? Well not that this was the time for that: my advisor had given an earnest suggestion and I couldn't ignore it.

  "Make it so, Hanzorian," I said. I trusted him to call forth the right people. That having been said, I mused to myself, smiling, stroking my chin, I wanted to invite two special guests to the war room when we did, "bring the hero from another world, and princess Illiana too."

  Now, just where did I put those honeybiscuits, hmm?