Chapter Eight — The Shattered Crown
The interior of the Elven Outpost far exceeded its external visage in grandeur. Eloise and her companions followed Aurora through layered corridors, each step falling upon a floor of flowing starlight that rippled outward beneath their feet. The walls were not solid matter, but tapestries woven from condensed radiance; through their translucent surfaces drifted slow-turning nebulae in the surrounding void.
"Time flows here at one quarter the rate of your world," Aurora explained. "You have three hours to prepare—twelve, by human reckoning. Serina will take you to the preparation chamber."
The young elf inclined her head and guided them down a branching passage. Aurora turned away in the opposite direction, her figure soon swallowed by curtains of light.
"She must prepare the petition and contact those she still dares trust," Serina whispered. "The Hawk faction's influence is strong here—especially Captain Kaelan, nephew of Elder Kainos. You must be wary of him."
The preparation chamber was circular, its center occupied by a hovering luminous platform, ringed by twelve crescent seats. There was no door—only a wavering veil of light.
"This place is secure." Serina sealed the entrance with a gesture. "A starlight barrier—only I can open it. Now, Eloise, Lady Virlithe must manifest fully. Not as fragments."
Eloise stepped onto the platform and raised the deep-violet gem with both hands, closing her eyes.
Viretta's consciousness answered at once: Release me… use the Time Anchor to stabilize my form… I will appear as I was three centuries ago… the last time I stood before the Court…
Eloise no longer resisted spirit-sight. She opened herself completely. The pulse of the Time Anchor synchronized with the starlight core, and the gem blossomed with a gentle yet commanding radiance.
From the light, a figure took shape.
First, wings—translucent, woven from pure starlight, shedding motes like falling constellations. Then a long gown of flowing silver luminescence, its hem set with tiny star-gems. Finally, a face: Viretta, no longer the weary, sly phantom of a human apartment, but the elven singer of three hundred years past—majestic, serene, her eyes bearing the depth of the star-sea itself.
Her feet touched the platform. The light withdrew, yet her presence alone glowed—warm and steady, like the brightest fixed star of night.
Serina gasped and knelt on one knee. "Lady Virlithe… by the starlight… it is truly you…"
Viretta smiled and laid a hand upon her shoulder. "Rise, child. Three centuries, and the Court still remembers me. That alone brings comfort."
She turned to Eloise, gratitude and gravity mingled in her gaze. "Thank you, Eloise Sterling. Seventh bearer of the Time Anchor. The final vow of your house."
"The vow is not complete," Eloise said. "We will make the Court hear the truth."
"Truth is often bitter," Viretta replied softly, looking toward the walls as though seeing the Court beyond them. "Especially when it unmasks three centuries of lies and shakes the foundations of rule."
She touched the starlight wall. It rippled, revealing the void outside—countless radiant pathways spreading like a spider's web toward glowing nodes. One shone brightest: the Star Realm of the Elven Court.
"Aurora has secured an emergency hearing," Serina said. "By law, a commander of the Starlight Guard may summon the Nine Elders in crisis. Five are Hawks, three Doves, one neutral. We need at least five votes to halt the Great Purification."
Redmond opened her waterproof case. "These are copies of the Morrell family's dealings with the Hawk faction—and the full 1823 embassy log. It records Lady Elinor being subjected to coercive enchantment."
Leon added, "My sister's files show the Hawks orchestrated at least three 'incidents' against human cities in the past century—attempts to provoke war, all blocked by the Doves."
Zoe projected data. "Most crucial are the timestamps. Virlithe was arrested three days after she openly opposed the Great Purification proposal. Not coincidence—political cleansing."
Viretta listened in silence, starlight flowing through her eyes. At last she spoke:
"It is not enough."
Eloise looked up. "Not enough?"
"Evidence and logic may suffice for human courts," Viretta said, sorrowful and calm, "but not for the Elven Court. Elves heed starlight witness—conceptual resonance—the essence of truth. We need something more fundamental."
"Such as?"
"My sister herself," Viretta said. "Elinor. She wears the Ring of Obedience and was forced to betray me. If she stands before the Court and reveals the shackle, the lie will collapse."
Serina paled. "Impossible. Lady Elinor is now Kainos's deputy. If she speaks against the Hawks, she will be executed on the spot!"
"Unless we free her," Viretta said. "And I alone know how—for I designed the ring."
Silence fell like broken glass.
"Long ago," Viretta continued, "Elinor and I were twins, bound by a shared starlight resonance. We forged two Rings of Accord—so our wills could share strength and pain, and warn each other in danger."
"But they corrupted it," Eloise murmured.
"Yes. The Hawks seized Elinor before my capture and tainted her ring with dark magic, turning union into obedience. She became my betrayer by force."
Viretta raised her hand. A silver ring of light formed above her palm. "To undo it requires two things: the untouched ring—mine—and Elinor's own will to resist."
"Does she still have such will?" Serina asked quietly. "After three hundred years…"
"She does," Viretta said firmly. "Every night, her starlight burns in pain. The chain never reached her heart."
Eloise exhaled. "So we must reach her during the hearing and free her before the Hawks react."
"At the exact moment," Viretta said. "Too soon, they stop us. Too late, and judgment falls."
Redmond asked, "But she's in the Court. We're in the outpost. How do we reach her?"
"I have a way," Aurora's voice cut in.
She entered with a starlight map unfurled. "The hearing will be held in the Outer Sanctum, near the Twin-Star Gallery—where Virlithe and Elinor once played. There is a hidden passage known only to them, leading to an observatory."
Viretta's eyes brightened. "It still exists…"
"I confirmed it," Aurora said. "Eloise and Lady Virlithe will enter through the passage during the hearing. Serina and I will delay inside."
"The risk?" Leon asked.
"Execution for treason if discovered," Aurora said plainly. "But if we succeed… the Hawk dominion may fall."
Preparations began.
Eloise trained in starlight resonance, seeing elven magic as clockwork of light. Redmond and Leon mapped escape routes. Zoe infiltrated the outpost's surveillance grid.
At last, the signal came.
The portal opened.
Kaelan stood guard. "Virlithe Starlight-Wing. Three centuries, and you return to face judgment."
"Judgment is for truth," she answered. "And truth often stands against history."
They entered the Court.
A world-tree hall. Nine elders. Elinor beside Kainos—identical to Viretta, yet hollow-eyed, shackled by silver rings.
Charges were spoken. Accusations hurled.
Then the moment.
Through hidden passage, sisters met.
"Help me," Elinor wept. "Free me."
Starlight flared. The ring cracked.
"I am Elinor Starlight-Wing!" she cried. "I choose freedom. I choose truth!"
The shackle shattered.
She walked into the hall.
"My former testimony was a lie, spoken under control. Kainos enslaved my will to condemn my sister and ignite war."
Evidence burned in starlight.
Votes were cast.
Six in favor. The Great Purification halted. Kainos arrested.
Truth triumphed.
That night, Eloise stood beneath alien stars. Viretta joined her.
"Thank you," she said softly. "Without you, I would have faded in darkness."
"The vow is kept," Eloise replied. "But it is only a beginning."
Above them, starlight shimmered—hope and danger intertwined.
The seven-day countdown ended.
Yet somewhere beyond the horizon, a greater clock had begun to turn.