Silvertree Chronicles Bk 01 Ch 15

Silvertree Chronicles Book One, Chapter 15, The World Awaits, (Dragon Wars Enhanced Edition)

Synopsis: The life of Eldar Silvertree, from his graduation at the prestigious Elven Academy, and his desire to leave it behind. Only to return full circle, to shake Elven Society to the core.

***Inspired by multiple fantasy environments. Not endorsed by any of them. © EmotionalStorm April 2021. This story cannot be transferred to any other site besides Literotica.com without the prior authorizations in writing from the author and EmotionalStorm must be credited for this work.

Authors warning: This section contains scenes of incest between sisters.

Authors Note: For those who have not read my bio, please note I write as a form of therapy for a Traumatic Brain Injury. I know the English majors will probably encounter issues that annoy them. If these are your focus, instead of the story itself, then this is not the story for you. I am not and will never be a professional writer.

I do it to tell the story, for those who wish to read them. I originally submitted this story back in mid-2017 to mid-2018. I have worked to try and improve my writing style while struggling with this issue. I have added some editing software and written a few other stories. Now I am revising and editing this earlier work to try and bring it up to a higher standard from what I have managed to learn over the last few years.

Chapter 15

The Aftermath

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Elven Villages

They left the room and headed downstairs to find Doc, Eagle-eye, and the two Grand Clerics waiting for them. Eldar smiled, "Perfect timing, I hope we did not keep you waiting long."

The Grand Clerics nodded but were visibly upset by last night's events. He decided to use last night's events as a bridge in opening the discussion.

Eldar looked at the Grand Clerics, "The Goddess was very demanding last night but we think we might have the first step to getting back into her good graces..."

Eldar had their attention. "We witnessed divination dealing with a young mother giving birth during a strange lunar event. What is strange about it, the event centers around Darian's Moon and the twin crescent moons being visible in the night sky at the same time. Do you know if or when this event will occur and the significance of the event? Grand Cleric Silver Moon first please as you represent the Lady of Dream's church."

Gland Cleric Silver Moon cleared his throat to speak for the first time, "Well, lunar events such as the double full moon have been known to cause an increase in deliveries. There is a prophecy concerning Darian being visible with the other twin moons but it has been held among the Grand Clerics Council only, your thoughts on that Grand Cleric Goldenrod?"

Grand Cleric Goldenrod frowned a bit, "Given the events of last night I think Eldar is in the middle of that prophecy and you should just tell him."

Grand Cleric Silver Moon nodded, "We believe that event is coming soon; 20 months from now. It will do several things. A set of twins will be born, one will become a great warrior for the people and the other will eventually become the head of The Lady of Dreams church, a predestined Grand Cleric. From that date, 40 years after they are born, the warrior will be in training and will take part in the war. A warrior child as best we can tell.

The other will be in the order to become a Cleric of the Church. The boy destined for the church will easily be identified in 2 ways; one he will be able to summon a unique Moonbow that can go through multiple enemies when fired going through a line of targets that only damages his enemies. Second, the boy will have very distinctive features to identify him. The boy will be in training during the war and not a part of it."

Eldar asked, "Does it say when the child in the church will become Grand Cleric?"

He nodded, "When the boy reaches 100 years of age, they will become the youngest and predestined leader of our church."

Eldar looked at him, "If we found the mother, is there anything you would do to interfere in her life and is there any mention of the mother after the birth?"

Grand Cleric Silver Moon looked at Eldar, "You know who the mother is?"

Eldar nodded, "I speak on behalf of that mother so can you answer the question?"

He looked at Eldar, "We would not interfere with the mother and we have no information on her beyond that, but the boy should enter training at the age of 35. Normally someone entering the church enters at the age of 40 or later but because the child will start manifesting powers even before then he will need guidance by the age of 35 at the latest 30 would be better."

He felt Annette squeeze his hand and he looked and she squeezed Charlemagne's hand. Eldar looked at the Grand Cleric, "The mother was identified through a divination spell cast by Cleric Sharlo Stormcloud. He fell unconscious when it was cast. The voice of the Lady of Dreams spoke through him to those in the room, I was one of them."

Charlemagne interjected, "I'm the mother."

Eldar looked at the Grand Cleric, "I'm the father. You made one assumption in your rendition of the prophecy; the children are both girls."

The Grand Cleric looked shocked for a second, "That cannot be right! The leader of her church has always been a man."

Eldar looked at him, "Well you now know what you must do first, allow a woman to lead the church. She is the LADY of Dreams, you cannot speak for always as most of the history of the first 5 Ages was lost, including the church leaders. Now I did some thinking about the events of last night, the church should be a place of worship for all of the Elven deities.

It will need to be large; I'm thinking in the neighborhood of 15 thousand square feet a level and with multiple levels, and towers benefiting the gods. One should extend 30 feet above the tree line that we have manned at all times to receive signals from the watchtowers that will be built.

That tower should be 30 feet across. Two other towers reflecting shaped like the double crescent should be built at least 20 feet above the upper story. 30 feet from the upper edge to the lower edge of the crescents.

These 3 towers will be manned by high-level clerics and priests not suited for the front line. Yet powerful enough to help defend the town center with spells. As to the interior allocate the space to accommodate clerics from all of the deities. They were all put on notice by the Gods. Your 2 churches get half of the interior space.

The other half divided out for each of the other deities. They all have space, the same amount of space, on each floor with the second level being for sleeping and private reflection areas for the clerics; as well as access to the 3 towers.

That access must be made accessible to all of the clerics, my mercenaries, and military personnel that the royal army may deem to want to assign there. We will allocate the land and work on the clearing of 2 roads going in and out of the church area.

Our people will clear the land; Your two churches will split the entire cost of construction. Consider it an Elven holy site and build it as you would for the city, as this will be the only Elven Church in the area. The building needs to be completed in 20 years and fully staffed within 30 years.

Once completed traffic on those roads will be restricted to supply wagons to the church. All other traffic for people going to the church will be on horseback or foot. Questions?"

Grand Cleric Goldenrod looked at Eldar, "Why all of the deities and why should our 2 churches pay the entire cost?"

Eldar looked at him, "Good questions. I will answer the why all deities question when we're all summoned to the Palace. If the King and Queen watched the events unfold as the Goddess said they did, then they will probably dispatch a request to see us or have guards on the lookout for us.

They may not know exactly where we're at the moment. The Palace will be looking for us regardless. The Goddess had a hand somehow in ensuring the 2 of you were present. Both of your churches were directed to spread the word. Does anyone else find it odd that they are giving you 100 years?

That the successor to the Lady of Dreams church will be almost of age to take over the leadership of the church at that point? She will be born in this new village; whose father was declared Knight Champion for Corellon Larethian by Sehanine Moonbow the day she presided over our wedding. Did either of you notice modifications she did to my sword?"

Eldar,

"Karti'Ros left hand."

He pushed the point of the sword into the floor. "This side she placed my Family Crest, and this side she placed the double crescent and this is around the moonstone at the end of the hilt." He sheathed the sword with a slight swinging flip in the air.

They looked at each other. Then Grand Cleric Goldenrod nodded, "Point taken. We look forward to the all-denomination explanation when we all get summoned to the Palace."

Eldar nodded, "We're all meeting outside at the wagons to walk to the clearing for the meeting with the elders. I need a moment with the new husbands and wives from last night and we will be right out."

They left. Eldar smiled and looked at them, "Alright, honest opinion starting with Eagle-eye, Doc, Annette, and then Charlemagne. Was I over the top? Did I sound a lot like my father with that?"

They all started chuckling. Eagle-eye caught her breath, "You have always been a bit intense. One of the things that I find attractive about you. After last night I think giving them clear specific guidance on where to start is not a bad thing. Oh, and YES you sounded SOOO much like your father which is so damned funny."

Doc smiled, "You have dropped my name to the head of my order SO many times. He might change my rank soon, your father would have liked to have seen that. I was surprised at how much detail you gave them."

Annette sighed, "I don't even know your father, only saw him yesterday, but your voice sounds similar. His is just more...polished. As to being over the top, I thought about jumping you and taking you while you were going but it was so much fun watching those big powerful elves squirm."

Charlemagne smiled, "I think you did good, and you sounded like you. I would like to know about these other deities though. Did you get another message?"

Eldar shook his head, "No, I just ran through the events of last night and made some interesting observations. Those observations lead me to believe she was speaking for all of them. You tell me I'm observant."

Charlie nodded, "You do not gamble, I know!"

Everyone chuckled again as they headed to the door. Eldar saw his father outside waiting and signaled him to come inside for a second. He stepped in. Eldar closed the door and looked at him, "Fascinating sword; It has no history of the previous owners, just the abilities left behind. It's the only one making the judgment; when she released the spirits, it became a vote of one. Do you know any other Moon Blade wielders and are there any in the Knights?"

Heliar looked at Eldar, "I know of one but they are not in the Knights, why do you ask?"

Eldar sighed, "I know there are 4 active swords, and 4 that are dormant if I spoke with the one wielder I would know if she changed more than my blade. 16 others are either destroyed or the house has died out but the sword could be claimed by another house if one of these lost blades were found.

If she changed the others the blade is the only vote. If she releases those spirits as well. Those are powerful tools to have on a battlefield. Did you know how many there were? That the sword is over 10,000 years old?"

He shook his head, "I never thought to ask those questions. I did not realize that there are only 4 active ones at the moment. As to the age, I did not know it was that old."

Eldar nodded, "I got the list of abilities."

Heliar smirked, "I only knew of 5 so far and you got them all?"

Eldar nodded, "It had nobody to debate, I know you added drow to the list of creatures it hated. Is the one person you know agreeable to a private confidential meeting?"

Heliar shrugged, "I can see what I can do, how many creatures does it hate?"

Eldar smiled, "Just about everything I will be facing orcs, ogres, giants, evil dragons, and drow. Probably why the goddess wants me to have it. For the war in just over 40 years. Yes, I know, when and if my mercenaries can keep them contained that long. It will be 40 years from the day my daughters are born, and I know that day too..."

Heliar looked shocked as Eldar opened the door. "Best if we get going if you can arrange that meeting before we get dragged into the palace, I would appreciate it."

Heliar laughed, "You're going to the palace? You get directed there?"

Eldar shrugged, "If the King and Queen saw all the events last night, we will all be called into the palace? Or am I wrong?"

Heliar could not comment on the message he received and only nodded, "I would say that is very likely."

They headed out for the clearing, all 16 of them a few minutes later than Eldar liked. He picked up the pace to make up time. They got there a few minutes early but the elders were waiting already. Eldar looked at them, "Thank you for coming. You all know I have asked for the areas and why I want to establish the village.

To answer your first question about why 40 square miles for the village, the answer is to get the same amount allocated on the other side by the humans. The Elven side of the village will be at least 50% percent forest that will be in the village charter. The second question is what are we building with? I want the garrison built with granite.

Which we can get from the human side of the border, south side of the river. Not a long haul if Jarron does his job it will be built by dwarves and be able to withstand time and siege if necessary. The one and only Elven church would be built by the church, and wood used in the construction will follow the rules; as well as the clearing of the site which my people or the people we hire will handle.

Every tree that's taken down 5 will be planted in the land on the other side of the river. Again, if Jarron gets his work done with the Ambassador then that land will become Elven controlled again. 200 square miles of it reclaimed!

The first bite at the apple. Once that forest has matured enough it will be Elven controlled and monitored but it will be a place any resident of the village from either side of the border can hunt.

That brings up food. Hunting will be done on the Elven side of the border for now. However, it won't be the only source of food. I know of a group of farmers who are looking to abandon the town they are in when they harvest in less than 6 months.

I would look to propose to move them to the human side of the border and buy out what they would take to market minus what they would be forced to pay in taxes to the human kingdom. They would be in the protected zone and we already saved them once.

They can also start a cattle farm or two to bring in more meat. This will be important when we open up the old trade route. The old trade route will bring in commerce, we will build 6 camp locations for trade caravans in this village. The biggest issue trade caravans have is finding food and fuel for fires.

The food they will have to procure by purchasing it or eat at the inn that will be built. Firewood can be collected by your villages to preserve a balance and they can stock the campsites in exchange for a fee that will be established. This fee will be much less than the loss of life they would encounter and they won't have to pay for escorts.

The escorts in this area will be my mercenaries and they are being paid for by the Dwarves, Humans, and Elven Palaces as part of the cross-border agreement. They pay our troops as the costs are split among the governments.

It's part of our job for security; we will be covering the entire route from the Elven city to the dwarven side and the human side to the edge of the designated area. Travel for caravans is cut by 4 days for the dwarves and an additional 2-3 days to the nearest human kingdom.

It will become busy as we're saving them money and time. If for any reason the need arises to go into the woods while we're escorting the caravans then we will send part of our mercenaries in to do hunting and gathering only, no caravan members.

This applied to areas above the area we're covering but we do not have a protection clause. We will build more designated campsites that our mercenaries will be required to use. This will be coordinated with the local villages for the best locations.

Using the given time, it takes for a caravan to travel with the advice and implementation by your Wood Elves. The same rules apply. They pay a fee for the campsites your people supply wood to the sites and only our mercenaries do the hunting that's done in that area. What have I left out here?"

Annette pipes up, "Tree selection and stable."

Charlemagne, "Number of businesses and controlling growth."

Eldar nodded, "There will be one stable on the Elven side of the border. What you know as the old inn will be converted into a large stable. To help shit on the man's legacy who pissed over the Wood Elf communities. We will put up a corral for horses as well but we will leave most of the trees in the corralled area for shade.

The garrison will have a separate coral as well with the same rules. Those areas where buildings are put up will require tree removal; those trees will be used in construction. Every other tree that's needed will be selected with the aid of our Wood Elf neighbors, to ensure no one area is overused.

That sufficient undergrowth with new trees is in place to take care of the loss. This goes back to every tree requiring the 5 saplings rule. This is on top of the operational costs the mill will require. This will be monitored at the only sawmill that will be built.

They will ensure they get collected and our men will ensure they get planted while on patrol. Overpopulation is always a risk. No housing or buildings outside of the total 80 square miles. Half of the Elven side is restricted forest land.

The human side is where excess growth will occur if there is any but within the village borders. If they wish to build outside of the area we control, Further south and out of our patrol area, we cannot stop them. If they want lumber, they will have to negotiate the cost; including replanting trees and sapling.

Now, these saplings; where are we getting them from? The two villages can sell them to the general store for store credit or goods. To ensure that it is not abused all collectors have to be approved by the community councils and will be issued something to denote them as collectors for each village. I leave that up to each village to decide. We want this split evenly between the 2 villages.

You're the best judge of which trees can come down. Which sapling in an area can be safely removed, and to ensure the saplings are diverse enough that the new section of the forest will have the same flora it did a thousand years ago. Opening the floor to questions by the council?"

A hand went up, "Elder Strong Oak. Where are these mercenaries coming from?"

Eldar looked at her, "We're limited to a maximum of 200 by charter in the existing treaty. We want the best people who will help us to look out for both sides of the border. We will be looking at Humans, Half-Elves, Elves of all types, Dwarves, Halflings, and Centaurs if they wish to join. We want it to be a mix.

Those who wish to join will be assessed in riding, archery, sword/weapons usage, hunting, scouting, spellcraft, healing skills, and pretty much what they think they bring to the table that is new or different. You have met one of the humans I'm trying to get to join.