"Humans."
The word was a venomous hiss on his tongue, his lips twisting into a sneer of pure, unfiltered disgust. "Queen Mother, I am insulted. Insulted at the very notion. Do you truly believe those vile, pathetic creatures could have caused this? Those filthy, hairless monkeys who crawl on the earth like grubs?"
He stepped closer to the map, his wings flaring with an angry, pulsating light. "Do you know what they did to us?" His voice dropped to a low, dangerous growl. "Do you remember the cages? The iron shackles? The way they plucked our wings for their trinkets? They are not just fragile vermin—they are a plague, a blight upon this world, and I refuse to believe they have the wit or the magic to vanish our scouts without a trace. This reeks of something fouler, a magic we have yet to uncover, not the work of those disgusting creatures."
His jaw tightened, his eyes glinting with a cold fury that made even the air in the chamber feel brittle. "To name them as the cause is an insult to our entire kin. It is an insult to our strength, our magic, our very being. It is to give credit to a disease for a storm it cannot summon."
The Queen remained still, a statue of unshakeable calm. She simply watched him, her gaze sharp enough to flay his fury from his bones, but with a weight in her eyes that spoke of a sorrow he could not yet comprehend.
"Hatred narrows the sight, Aurivei," she said softly, her voice a low, perfect tone that cut through his rage. "Underestimate them, and you will invite a wound from the smallest splinter."
But Aurivei's wings only spread wider, the glow flaring with a restrained fury that threatened to shatter his control. He turned away from her, toward the map, his voice a low, burning rasp. "I will not forget what they are, and I will not permit this kingdom to forget either. I will go to the Eastern Wood myself. If the scouting parties truly vanished, then the last trace of them will be there, in that forest. I will not stop until I uncover what is truly afoot."
The Queen took a single, deliberate step, and the air shifted around them. Her voice softened, carrying the word only she ever used for him—a name heavy with memory, with belonging. "Do not forget, sharlet," the affectionate term for all young fairyfolk.
She met his furious gaze, her own eyes holding a sorrow he could not comprehend. "The crown I bear weighs with the lives of every kin, including yours. One day, my sharlet, you must understand—hatred alone cannot keep them safe."
Suddenly, the air around the map thickened with ancient magic. A soft, pulsating light emanated from the Eastern Wood, growing in intensity until the area on the map shifted. It was no longer a symbol, but a flickering, three-dimensional window into the past.
They saw a glimpse of their scouts in the trees, their lights dim and hushed. The image was grainy, the sounds muffled. A voice, barely a whisper, floated through the chamber: "We have to return. Something is out there. We have to report this."
Then, a rustle of leaves. A human girl, young and terrified, stumbled into the clearing. Her clothes were torn and her body was frail.
A grumbling voice echoed from the forest behind her. "Come here, you pretty little thing!"
Three burly men stepped from the shadows, crude smiles on their faces. As they closed in on the girl, one of them noticed a faint shimmer in the trees. His smile widened into a predatory grin.
"Well, look at that! A double bounty!" he chuckled. "I smell a fairy, lads! Our witches will pay a fortune for that. Looks like our little runaway gave us more than just a chase."
"Forget the girl," another thug grumbled. "That contract money is all that matters."
Before they could move, a thick, unnatural mist filled the clearing, swirling around the trees. The young girl collapsed, her frail body overcome. The scene dissolved into a scream and a sound like shattering glass, and then, a white bright flash of light filled the chambers. Then, the light disappeared in a blink of an eye returning to the map. When Aurevei and the Queen turned back to see the map again, the wrinkled scrolled papers revealed a light scribbled letters reading it as a "The Point of No Return".
Aurevei leaned closer, his fingers hovering above the glowing letters as if afraid they might vanish at his touch. His voice dropped, edged with awe. "What is the meaning of this?"
The Queen fluttered her wings toward the wrinkled scroll. The new letters still glowed golden. "It is as we have feared, my sharlet." She laid her hands over the glowing letters, her eyes narrowed as she tried to deduce the mystery behind the scribbles.
Aurevei turned his gaze towards the Queen, his breath gasping for air. His wings glowing fading a little bit of light. His fist has clinch towards the corners of the table.
The Queen's hand lingered over the glowing letters, her voice no louder than a breath.
"This is the place foretold. A realm where souls vanish into shadow, where even light is swallowed. The prophecy speaks of one bound by ancient blood, chosen to face its trials."
Her eyes lifted to Aurivei, sorrow and resolve mingling in her gaze.
"It is time, Aurivei. Time for new beginnings and a time for the light to shine upon us. You alone must venture into these woods."
Aurevei's wing's glows faintly as if the glow was more like a dimmed light in the dark, bright as it seems but frail as it is. Only the sound of the fire igniting in the chambers, the smell of fresh bitter ground of ancient magic was heard.
As the silence go weary, he began to take a step back and spread his glittering wings as dim and faint it is. Then, he turned his head downward with deepest respect and dignity, put his pale left hand towards his clothed silk chest.
His figure remains still and poise. The next thing he did was open his mouth with a tedious sound as if the ancient magic was called upon the kingdom.
Thy honor is mine, as mine is thine.
My victory is thy victory, thy triumph mine own.
The path I tread is the path thou treadest.
Hear my vow, hear thy plea.
Thy kin are my kin.
Elshavi, thy kingdom, I claim as mine.
As soon as the words were spoken, a strong gust of wind was found, the light within the chambers reunited within the cold shivering wind. Then, it ceased to exist into gentle cold breeze.
The Queen opened her graceful mouth, "At last, you are the instrument. The proof of the prophecy. All is well-guided in your conquest. To see it within my own flesh is an honor gifted by our ancestors. I will come if destiny decides your path. Until then, you may leave and prepare for your journey."
Her eyes were sharp as a blade, but underneath that exterior was a faint smile, yet it was filled with hope and light.