Among the elves were many fearsome foes. However, few inspired as much fear as the one who repeatedly did battle against the Champion…

  -Classified Excerpt from “Man and Elves: History of the Perpetual Conflict”

  Galen noticed a stark difference as he entered the Third Circle. And that was the people.

  In the First, the nobles had been inhumanly beautiful. It made interacting with them an eerie experience, even now all these months later. In the Second, it had been more of a mix, though the average citizen there would still be considered very handsome and beautiful back on Earth.

  The humans of the Third were almost a breath of fresh air for Galen. They were still quite a bit better looking than average by Earth’s standards, but they looked far more normal and mundane by the standards of the previous two. There were also a lot more of them, as well as far more homes and buildings compared to the other Circles. That was a given considering the Third was easily the largest section of Ignis.

  It came as a pleasant surprise as Galen explored with his entourage that this Circle and its people, despite being the lower class, looked to be well cared for and maintained if a bit crowded. He’d honestly expected at least some areas to appear more akin to slums.

  Though perhaps that’s because I’m being kept away from those areas, Galen reminded himself.

  As he wandered, he found that the admiration that made him so uncomfortable was at its worst here. Where the First looked to him with immense respect and the Second with adoration, the people of the Third looked at him as though he were a living legend. A hero out of a folktale or fantasy novel brought to life. Galen figured that, due to the Third being technically the lowest on the social hierarchy if one did not count the slaves, rumors and stories of him would be more exaggerated.

  Having spent so much of the day being looked at and treated as some kind of royalty or noble made him miss Aleksi even more. That man had been the only one to treat him as a normal human being.

  I hope he’s okay… he thought.

  As Milton began one of his speeches, Galen let his mind wander. And in doing so, his thoughts steered in a dangerous direction.

  He smiled as he thought, Man, if Serenity saw how the people here treated me-

  He shut his eyes tight and cut off that train of thought. The pain of fresh guilt ignited within him.

  Even half a year after her death, it still hurt to think about her.

  Her face filled with terror as she fell into the chasm, hand outstretched reaching out for him as he was pulled into a void in space…

  STOP IT!

  He was so desperate to steer his mind away from Serenity’s last moments that he actually began listening to Milton’s speech.

  “Therefore, citizens of the Dominion!” Milton continued with zealous energy, “give praise to Lord Athanasius, and continue to earnestly pray to him! Proof that he hears you exists here in front of you. For he has answered your prayers and brought us a new Champion to-”

  Galen’s eyes began to glaze over, Yeah, no… Let’s focus on something else.

  He glanced up to the sky, and noted with concern how dark and increasingly cloudy the sky was becoming. He couldn’t even see the strange sky that swirled with orange and yellow colors from how cloudy it was.

  “Definitely seems like Axis Mundi is going to see some rain, boss,” Redian chimed in his mind, “and looks like it’ll be a lot! That’s pretty rare for this Realm, and that’s not even adding in the fact that it already rained a few days ago!”

  No kidding… Is rain really that rare here in Axis Mundi? Galen asked.

  “Duh!” Redian said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

  Galen mentally frowned, Do I have to remind you I’m still pretty new to Avani?

  “Oh, right,” Redian cleared his throat in his mind.

  Why are you clearing your throat?! You’re speaking in my head!

  Redian gave off a powerful impression of rolling its non-existent eyes, “It’s for dramatic effect! You have no flair for this sorta thing, boss.”

  Galen didn’t quite know how to respond to that, so he simply kept silent as the sword spoke, “Anyway, before I was so rudely interrupted, I was going to explain a bit about the Great Fragmentation’s effects on Avani. When the Realms were separated, the elemental affinities of Ether were also split. According to my records, before the Great Fragmentation, everyone had equal access to all the elements. Fire, Wind, Water, Earth, and Lightning, with Light and Dark being extremely rare cases. They still had innate affinities for an element, mind you. They just weren’t locked out of the rest like they are now. After, the Realms were separated, each element became rooted in a single Realm. Axis Mundi, for example, was where the Fire element took root. Branlyn, the original human realm, was where the Lightning element was rooted.”

  So what does that mean?

  “It means that the races no longer had equal access to all the elements. They could now only use their innate affinity. Also, as a curious side effect of the Great Fragmentation, those who lived for an extended period of their life in a specific Realm develop an elemental affinity, which is then passed on to their descendants. Humans, since they live in Axis Mundi and Branlyn, and since the Dominion found a way to reconnect these two Realms, have about an equal likelihood of developing either Fire or Lightning affinities.”

  So does this mean only Fire Ether can be found in this Realm, Redian?

  “Not exactly,” the sword answered, “while yes, the majority of the Ether in this Realm leans towards HEAVILY towards Fire, since it was and still technically is the center of the world, bits of other elemental Ether from the other Realms leak into this one. If we were in Branlyn, the closest Realm not counting Axis Mundi would be Jord, the Earth Realm, so some Earth Ether would leak into Branlyn. But not much else.”

  I see...

  This was certainly something that peaked Galen’s interest. He’d have to study the topic the next time he had time to himself.

  He looked back at Milton, who was still giving his speech. Galen internally groaned.

  ***

  Anila led Aria through the alleyways of the Second Circle, both moving as quickly as they could without drawing attention. As they moved, Aria mentally cursed the dead Adele. It turned out the voided hume had chosen to build her estate as close to the First Circle as possible. Perhaps it had been out of a longing to return to the Circle of the nobility.

  Aria didn’t really care.

  All she knew was that, even after the voiding hume had perished, Adele still found ways to spite her. Being so close to the First meant that Aria and her mother were quite a ways away from being able to sneak into the Third.

  They had made good progress at first. There weren’t too many people around now that the Dominion’s Champion had entered the Third Circle. But that merely meant that the closer they got to the gates, the more humes would be around to await when the Champion made their way back to the castle.

  Though Aria and Anila were dressed as guards, it likely wouldn’t take very much for a human to realize something was off about them. Their elven ears would normally be a dead giveaway, but they were hidden underneath their helms.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “How are we going to get through the gates, Mom?” Aria asked as they stopped at the corner of an alleyway.

  “We won’t,” Anila stated.

  When Aria gave her mother a confused stare, Anila elaborated, “I found a different means of sneaking into Ignis. Assuming the way hadn’t been discovered, we will use that to cross the Circles and escape this capital.”

  “And that way is?”

  Anila gave her a half smile, “I went underneath the walls.”

  “You mean you went underground?!” Aria gaped at her mother, “I thought the walls extended beneath the earth!”

  “Remember what I told you, Aria. Nothing made by imperfect beings can ever hope to be perfect. There are flaws I managed to find and exploit. It seemed the maintenance for the underground section of the wall had been neglected.”

  Aria smiled with pride, “You’re amazing, Mom.”

  Anila returned the smile, though she flushed at the praise, “Come on. We need to keep moving.”

  As they neared the walls separating the districts, they ran into a problem.

  “Why are there so many guards out patrolling here?” Aria asked.

  “I don’t know. Hold on, give me a moment,” Anila closed her eyes and Aria could tell she was reaching out her Ether senses around the area.

  Her mother clicked her tongue in annoyance and cursed, “Tch. Winds!”

  “What is it, Mom?!”

  “It seems what happened at that hume’s estate has been discovered. I sensed a myriad of guards out patrolling the Second. There’s one group closing in on us.”

  “What?! How did they find out so quickly?!”

  “I don’t know. Perhaps I underestimated the vigilant eyes of the Shadows. Though… it’s curious… I don’t sense any civilians around here… that doesn’t bode well. We need to keep moving, Ari-”

  “HEY! You two!” an unfamiliar voice called out to them.

  Mother and daughter froze as a group of eight hume guards marched up to them. The one in the lead addressed them, “What are you two doing in the alley by yourselves?! Haven’t you heard the order? We’re to find the damned knife ears who murdered Lady Adele!”

  Aria tensed, ready to reach for the sword at her waist and cut these voiding ashborn down where they stood. Her mother acted first, however, and responded in perfect, fluent Durainese, “We were sent to check the alleyways for the renegades, sir. We spread out to try and pin down where they’re hiding.”

  An agonizingly slow moment passed before the lead guard nodded, “Alright. Sounds good. Keep searching!”

  Aria internally sighed with relief, Thank the Maker! We managed to slip by-

  “Hold on now…” another guard said, looking far more suspicious, “take a closer look at them… Didn’t the video recording show two guards leaving Adele’s estate shortly after a bunch of them left?”

  Aria’s heart began to hammer in her chest, Vi...deo? Re..cor...ding? What is that? And how does that let them know that we were dressed as guards?!

  “You’re right… one of the guards was suspiciously scrawny too,” the lead guard said, looking back to Anila and Aria with narrowed eyes.

  All five guards began to tense and draw their swords.

  “Alright knife ears! The gig is up! We know who you are,” the lead guard growled.

  Aria had begun to reach for her sword, ready to fight and cut them all down. Her mother reacted faster.

  Far faster.

  Anila Tufani moved so quickly that she seemed to blur, even to Aria’s superior elven eyes. She felt like a statue in comparison.

  Anila reappeared behind the guards, and the instant she stopped all the guards dropped to the ground in a fountain spray of blood, their jugulars cut wide open.

  Aria’s jaw dropped. She’d never seen her mother move so quickly before! Anila didn’t even look out of breath after taking out that group of humes. If anything, she looked completely at ease.

  And, with a shiver, Aria realized that meant her mother could move even faster if she wanted to.

  Just how much were those blasted collars holding her back?! Aria thought with equal measures of disbelief, fear, and admiration.

  Anila gestured for her to begin moving, “I don’t know how, but it seems the Dominion knows of our disguises. No more need for subtlety, Aria. We need to get to the walls as fast as we-”

  The sound of slow clapping made Anila go silent.

  Mother and daughter turned to see a lone figure in the street, dressed in armor as dark as night, clapping slowly with his helm underneath an arm. He had a cruel smile, was bald headed with a thick dark brown beard, and had cruel green eyes.

  “Arawn!” Aria snarled, her hand gripping her sword.

  “So he is a Shadow,” Anila whispered, “figured as much.”

  “When I saw the recording,” Arawn began as he stopped clapping, “I couldn’t believe my eyes. To think it was you two who caused this commotion. Now I know for certain you two share a blood connection. Because I can’t think of any other reason why a tree hugger would be stupid enough to dare assault, let alone murder, a human. A mother coming to save their daughter? Or perhaps sisters? Well, not that I care.”

  The man had a wicked gleam in his eyes, “I suppose I should thank you, however. Things had gotten so dreadfully boring as of late. But now, after what you two did? Murdering a citizen of the Dominion, stealing their property, AND removing your own collars? Before I kill you both, know that a great many number of you knife ears are going to die for your crimes.”

  Anila narrowed her eyes dangerously at Arawn, “You came to kill us with your numbers, Shadow? Your hubris will be the death of you!”

  Arawn smiled, “Who said I came alone?”

  “I never said that you did,” Anila responded, “tell the other three Shadows you have in hiding to come out already.”

  Arawn’s smile cracked a bit, as if surprised Anila had detected them. He recovered quickly, “Very well.”

  He clapped twice, and three others, all dressed in identical armor to Arawn but all wearing helms that obscured their faces, sprang into the open.

  “This,” Arawn put on his helm and drew a wickedly sharp and intricate scimitar, “is where you both will die.”

  “What do we do, Mom? Do we split up our foes evenly between us?” Aria whispered.

  Anila slowly shook her head, “No. I will face them all alone.”

  “What?! But Mom-”

  “No buts, Aria!” Anila snapped, “you’re nowhere near ready to face a Shadow. Let alone two.”

  “But you can take on four of them?!” Aria asked sarcastically.

  She went silent as Anila responded confidently as she drew her sword, “Yes. If they wanted to fight me, they should have brought double.”

  Anila looked down at the surcoat covering her armor, and with clear disdain, she ripped off the part of the coat that had the Eye of Athanasius on it, revealing the armor underneath, “And if they wanted to kill me, then they should have brought even more than that. Do not move from this spot. If you do, one of them will go after you and I may not be able to get to you in time.”

  Aria bit her lip angrily as she too ripped off the surcoat covering her own armor, Void! I’m already holding Mom back…

  “Have you said your goodbyes?” Arawn asked with a bored tone, “enough prattle. Get ready to die!”

  With that, one of the Shadows charged at Anila, recognizing her as the bigger threat, while Arawn and the other two watched, clearly confident she was already dead. The Shadow moved at speeds that alarmed Aria, for she realized in that single instance that there wasn’t even a modicum of a chance for her to keep up.

  Before her panic for her mother could even begin to register, Anila had not only parried the Shadow’s strike, but masterfully disarmed them, their sword sent flying through the air. Though their faces were hidden by their helms, Aria could somehow tell the other Shadows were just as shocked as she was.

  In the next instant, Anila moved with blurring speed and beheaded the Shadow at the neck, their helmed head flying through the air and rolling away as it bounced on the floor. Their body hit the ground a second after, their neck stump squirting blood like a fountain.

  Aria couldn’t believe her eyes.

  For as long as she could remember, the Shadows were beings spoken of among her people with terror. They were the secret enforcers of Athanasius, and where one was seen, death and destruction usually followed. They were said to be incredibly powerful, and were spoken of similarly to how a religious man spoke of demons.

  And Anila Tufani had just slain one.

  And she’d made it seem so effortless…

  Aria remembered then that her mother had once been considered the First Champion’s direct rival during the Human-Elf War. She was beginning to realize that she didn’t have the slightest inkling of her mother’s true power...

  “I had been hoping,” Anila wiped the blood off her sword with her arm, “that at least two of you would have charged at me. That way I could have killed two at once. Oh well.”

  Arawn, whose helm didn’t quite obscure his face like the others, looked to Anila with apprehension. That apprehension quickly turned to rage, “Who… who are you?!”

  “I’m merely one of the many, many elves you humes enslaved. Nothing more,” Anila responded.

  Arawn narrowed his eyes at her, “Oh yes, and I’m just a Third Circle dweller. That victory was a fluke, knife ears! You won’t get another…”

  “We’ll see,” was all Anila said as she took a battle stance.

  This time, there was no indication or order to charge before Arawn and the other two Shadows charged towards Anila.

  Oh boy! We are now hitting the climax battle for the first Volume of this series, ladies and gentlemen! I have been GREATLY looking forward to getting to this point. I hope you all enjoy the coming chapters as much as I enjoyed writing them!

  Huge shoutout to my first Patron on Patreon, Mountain Knight. Thank you for your support. I will do my best to be worthy of your continued Patronage.

  https://www.patreon.com/GenZVall2025