CHAPTER 80

  THE ELVEN CODEX

  “Elf… really. Even gods lose their minds sometimes,” Hans said out loud, —Shit! His hands moved with twice the speed of his tongue and quickly covered his mouth. Belatedly, he realised what he had said right to the face of the bipolar goddess.

  “I can do the serpent transformation of a foreign race. Why do you think I can’t pull off making you an elf?” Her words sent Hans into deep thought.

  “How is that possible? I’m not a god like you—”

  “Technically you aren’t a human either. You might’ve been born from the womb but you were… what was the word…yes… manufactured, dear Hans. The heart of Elderwood merged in a foetus while the ring of chaos held it together and now you even hold the purest day seed within you. You were built on different fundamentals. A faster body with incredible strength, toughened muscles with brittle bones, you are basically Human 2.0.”

  She glanced at Samson’s floating corpse within the container, “If everything moves accordingly, soon, we have the two of you. He will be able to reach the past zenith of yours.”

  “Feels like robbing my destiny but who cares, he is my father after all.” Hans focussed, “So, what Arat said in Frozen Tooth. I do have a mother—”

  “Yeah and it’s not me. You want to know who? But her world will shatter if you know about her. Do you want to?”

  “Will you tell me?”

  “Why not. But, for the record, I’ve warned you—”

  “Never mind. Arat also said to leave it be.” Hans sighed, “Now, what about becoming an elf… can I choose the mana element or how tall and handsome I’d be… a blond guy…hihihi”

  “NO, YOU CAN’T.”

  “Tsk! What a bummer.”

  “Follow me.” She stepped into the next chamber and Hans followed her as the steel door slid open. Where he saw an empty container, the same as where his father’s lifeless body was.

  “This is a gene alteration pod. Step inside.” She pressed something and the glass pod raised high, revealing a circular platform for one person.

  “Hey, great goddess. Will I be able to become ME again?” Hans reluctantly asked.

  “Yes,” she raised her sleeve, revealing her flawless jade-like arm. Three intricate patterns circled around her wrist. “This is called codex. In plain words, these are the keys to load genetic structures stored in the body. It’s complicated for your primitive brain—Hush, now, move.”

  “But this doesn’t seem safe—”

  “Where is the boy who recklessly charged here just to see what was hidden in Frostspire?”

  “I was an idiot back then. A momentary excitement had clouded my judgement. Are you sure it’s a painless process?”

  “Yes, and stop whining.” Aadya pushed Hans in, and the glass pod sealed him inside instantly. The container soon got filled by some viscous liquid, and before Hans drowned in that liquid, he heard Aadya say, “I lied. You’ll feel a hell of a lot of pain.”

  “You lunatic god…blug! blug!” Hans tried to cry, but the vicious liquid moved inside his body as if it was alive.

  CLANDOR, FEW WEEKS LATER

  The capital city of old Clandor, now the capital of new West Clandor, and for the first time, the Clandorians had invited allies inside the elven lands. The nation was divided, and their power became half; they needed to forge relationships with others to stabilise the people’s needs and comfort their hearts.

  The allies who fought supporting the royals were called to their grand hall, an architecture of elven marvel. The sheer beauty of the capital was something, but the royal palace was something else entirely.

  The grand hall was filled with the weight of recent decisions. Around a massive oval table, Arat from Parv, Samwell from Grimgar, the ministers of Sunfall, and Utar’s new king sat alongside the Elven royals. The room's high arched windows allowed the moonlight to cast a lunar glow, illuminating the faces of those present.

  Eleanor, the king of Western Clandor, rose to address the assembly. His blond hair cascaded down his back, and his deep blue eyes reflected both wisdom and worry. “Honoured allies, the Treaty of Sundering has left my people divided. The task now is to ensure the prosperity and stability of the Western Elven nation. We must move forward with unity and purpose. With time, the word of that goddess will fade, and the ambition of the council to make this world of high elves will rise again.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Arat patted the table in agreement, “Well said. Elves must shed their skin of isolation and move together with human nations. A new horizon awaits us all.” He was happy; this division was what he wanted all along, and even with the animosity between nations, he wanted to take the side of the progressive elves.

  “Wipe that grin off your face first, Prime Minister Arat.” Samwell commented. “It was your god who made that decision. What kind of civil war ends in ten days—”

  “The kind where our side would have been wiped out by the Ancients. Is that what you want for our new friends, King Samwell?” Arat pointed at the staring faces of elves.

  “Gentlemen, please, it is true that the outcome of the war is not… satisfactory.” Eleanor intervened, “But it’s also true that the Elven goddess has saved our lives by her intervention, and as she said, she bears the blood of Clandor, a royal blood. So, her words do hold some value to us.” With this statement, Eleanor established a connection directly to the goddess instead of going through Arat. “To honour her,” the eleven kings added, “we even decided to build a statue in the middle of the capital.”

  “You want to settle the unrest in public… hmm…” Arat said, thinking, “A new god who came to save them. Destroyed the ancients like nothing and ended the war to reduce public suffering. It’s a good narrative for people to talk about… I guess, this is your wife’s mind game. She never disappoints.”

  “Yes, it is,” Eleanor confirmed, yet Reina sat silent as he continued, “The civilians are restless. They fear the implications of this division. We must implement policies that not only reassure them but also showcase the strength and unity of the Western Elves.”

  “You are right about that, King Eleanor, but you really have to change your ways.” Arat showed genuine concern. “Go to the south, you’ll hear the Parvian prince protected the common people by putting himself in danger. Even in the central… no, I should say the Galenhall, the only name you’ll hear is Hans Parv.” Arat noticed the sharp gazes and controlled his arching lips. “I don’t mean to gloat. But your people do not trust your rules. You really need to change how you view high elves and commoners.”

  Since war stretched over just ten days, both sides were reserving their strength, but Hans was going all out from the start, so it was obvious he was the talk of the war.

  “The old snake is right,” Reina finally spoke. “Our ways had led us to this; we must change.” Her words were aimed at the royals seated by her side, who always saw the commoners as something that existed for their whatever purpose.

  Eleanor listened intently, knowing well this would be hard to implement. She spoke to calm the rising tension among the royal family members. “Your suggestions are wise and necessary. We shall form committees to oversee these initiatives, ensuring that every aspect of our society is strengthened.” Eleanor tried to be diplomatic and stressed towards other royals, “We must show that remaining in West Clandor was the wise choice for our people.”

  The room buzzed with agreement and grunts. Some people were unsatisfied with how the development was going on, but they had no power since the allied nations were all in support of Reina and Eleanor’s new vision of equality.

  Meanwhile, in the guest quarters, Rudolf and Sierra, with Bernard’s family, waited. “She is still not talking?” Rudolf asked the approaching Chris.

  “Yeah. It’s not like something happened to Hans.” Rudolf pried. “Why is she behaving that way?”

  “As if you understand a young girl’s heart, dear.” Sierra responded. “Just leave her be. But I’m getting concerned too… it has been weeks and there is no news of Hans.”

  “That is why we are here to grab Arat’s neck for answers, dear.” Rudolf patted her shoulder. “He avoided us for weeks, now it’s making me real itchy.”

  “Master, will he speak?” Chris joined the conversation.

  “Oh! I’ll ask VERY POLITELY.”

  After a few hours, Rudolf did what he said. In his hands were the collars of Arat and he was a bit raised from the ground. “Hey, Alastor, my friend—”

  “Ah! This fucking psychopath.” Rudolf interrupted and stressed towards Arat, “You brought Dijkstra in Clandor. Do you want another war, you mad man?”

  “Agh… easy Rudolf. I’m not young anymore.” Arat gently tapped Rudolf’s fist and got back to the ground. “Ahem ahem… you and your temper. Dijkstra promised not to cause trouble—”

  “He eats promises for breakfast…. Whatever, answer me this, when our boy is returning?”

  “Frankly speaking, I’ve no idea—”

  “Fuck that.” Rudolf became agitated and people who were discussing things like gentlemen in the palace’s grand hall came surrounding to enjoy a show.

  “I really have no idea Alastor. They are probably in Frostspire.” He glanced behind to the young thunder knight. “Your disciple knows what happens when you trespass the forbidden ground. All I can say now is that he is safe. Safe as he could be.”

  FROSTSPIRE, PARV

  “Ha! Ha!” Gasping, Hans fell out of the pod as it was lifted once again. His blond, dripping long hair loomed over his face; he touched and felt a sharp jawline. “Sweet… wow, my voice has deepened…” Crawling on four, he hurriedly moved towards the reflective surface.

  “Thank god, she at least let my pants on.”

  “Thank god… why are you giving credits to someone else? It’s my work—”

  “Thank you, the wisest and strongest goddess Aadya.”

  “Now, you are behaving well. So, how’s your new look? Truthfully, if I was a bubbling girl, I’d have fallen for you—”

  “Yeah, my heart is fluttering by looking at myself. I can’t blame you…. Man, he is perfect, chiseled body, tall… Deli won’t be able to call me shorty… I’m at least a head taller than her.”

  “So, what should I call you?” Aadya asked intriguingly.

  “High…” Hans chuckled wickedly, “Oh, I’m going to so enjoy messing with her. The name will be Theodred— the elven demigod.”