Silvertree Chronicles Book One, The World Awaits, Chapter 36, (Dragon Wars Enhanced Edition)
Synopsis: The life of Eldar Silvertree from graduation at the prestigious Elven Academy and 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 36
Dragon Business
Vexxor had little choice in the matter. He spent days hopping around the world and scrying for the relics. They had simply disappeared. He had one clue and that was this Champion. He contacted former allies. Several had destroyed crystals to the lich.
It was a risk, but he had little choice. He would have to try and get into the mind of the champion and find out where the relics were located.
He was in Dragon lands, in the Valley of Crags in a remote cavern. He had been back to the Human Palace once. His old room to find it had been cleaned out and made a storage closet. He had set off an alarm and got hit by necromancy blocking wards that shot various positive energy bolts at him. He fled due to the damage.
His tomes for the research on liches and Draco-liches had been taken. His wards on the objects having failed when he 'died'. Something he failed to consider. The Soul binding would likely have failed and had a 50% chance of killing lord Barimus if he had still been alive during his transformation. The new research journal called out these observations as he penned them.
One of the Blue Dragons, The eldest son of a member of the Dragon Council had gotten in and recovered only one volume of his work. There were 6 but they were not in the main Draconic restricted library. This one tome was minor compared to the others.
It took them a week of being pursued to find the tracking runes on every other page of the book and to disarm the 182 explosive runes cast on the internal pages to keep it from being destroyed, damaged, but not destroyed as the first couple had gone off. The second was inside of a vacuum. It still damaged the pages.
Vital information lost he was certain. They had to disarm those runes and glyphs one at a time. He had 23 different dragons interested in his research who took turns in removing them while he moved in another circle scrying for the relics and the missing tomes to no avail.
The dragons knew of his treachery with Barimus in soul binding him. He would be more closely guarded and under a geas from any dragon who wished to undergo this change to keep him from trying it again. He had lost that leverage, then his research, and his relics to this Eldar Silvertree.
The relics were, in truth, Null's Greater Relic and other necromancy Relics also attributed to Null and built in the 5th Age to improve the odds of transitioning into a Draco-Lich. Especially with younger Dragons who had not reached Ancient status.
Null's means of getting more followers at a younger age. He had no immediate method of reproducing the higher success results and these dragons would not wait forever. They had finally moved him to this 'safe' location.
He let them know, "I have to get into the mind of this Champion Eldar Silvertree and figure out where my relics have been moved too. You found 1 of the books, the one that does not deal with dragons and only liches in your restricted library, and it was trapped. Your adversaries are tracking you. They know others are pursuing the transformation. They had to be involved in taking out Lord Barimus."
One of the dragons looked over, "They are Nulls Relics and not yours. You stole them! Of course, they were aware but he was a rouge and undead. They imprisoned his son on the council. He will be executed because even the neutral members of the council disapprove of this research. We are taking all the risks. Can you do this or not? If not, you are of no use to us, creature!"
He hissed at the Dragon, "I need the relics to do it, else I have to begin the research again, it took me 50 years with the relics, and I would have to use another relic to power the research! Nothing minor. A major relic! One that would not be detected by draconic means. I know of one, but have no way of getting to it easily. That is my secret.
You have another that could be used, without being detected that would be a different matter. You have a hero or champion of Null who can help in recreating the objects that would be another matter. But, no! The risk to you of being found out is too great because you are all young and have a full measure of a true-life left.
You want this to gain real power! I have one option, short of going into the minds of a dragon to try and get the information. I must get into the mind of this Eldar Silvertree to be able to recover the relics that he stole!"
---
Eldar's apprentices and his team nodded as he climbed the stairs and entered the room with a stack of books. He spent the afternoon going through spellbooks disabling a few glyphs along the way. He came across a list of 11 spells He wanted to add, 6 that he just wanted to destroy completely, and 3 he had not cracked the cipher on them yet. All in one book.
All of the others were redundant except for 2 which were enchanter specific. All types of cool enchanting twists. Whoever came up with those spells could make a fortune today. Like a certain wife of his, at least she would be soon. Eldar felt a little tired and he noticed the house was quiet and nobody was around.
He headed outside and brushed down T'suras. Then it hit him. He heard nobody in the area. This meant that the village had somehow lost all of its people. Else, he had entered another dream-like state. He saddled T'suras barding and all and headed to the one place he figured he would get answers. Silent Falls.
---
Vexxor managed to locate him via scrying in the Elven Kingdom Village of Porzcosa. His mind was organized with massive tides and eddies of information. Too much data to find what this 'Champion' stored. All attempts at forcing an answer from him to locate where to search without his knowledge were blocked to him. He was stuck with illusions and trying to get the answer from him through guile.
His worst field of study was illusions. He never gave it much thought until now as he needed it, but he had to try and adjust to what Silvertree's mind would freely give, and what he could implant into the illusion. He knew this would be pathetic, but it was his only shot. Eldar searched for sounds, smells, people, all of these things, and it overwhelmed Vexxor's ability to keep the illusion real.
---
The Lady of Dreams was in a panic as Corellon arrived, "This lich is trying to usurp Eldar's mind to find the information! The sword is aiding in blocking it. Eldar seems to be aware that everything is off."
Corellon looked over, "Monitor, but do not interfere this time. He is using magic to do this. Eldar needs to face him, at least in this. No interference as we are dealing with a creature created with Null's aid.
We need to learn what we can from the exchange as Sartior and Bahamut have played a hand in getting him information. We need to know if he uncovers that information. That may force them both into providing direct aid through their own separate followers."
---
Eldar heard his heartbeat but not T'suras or the sound of hooves hitting the ground. He got to the falls and hopped down and the falls were not so silent, as the water rushed down. He looked around and called out. "Why am I here?"
He went to get on T'suras to find he was not there and there was nothing around, Nothing but darkness and the glow off of Silent Falls which had once again had gone eerily silent, too silent as it had some noise but now it was as if he could no longer hear anything. He looked around and nothing had changed. He decided to step into the water. He stepped on the water like the night of his wedding. He walked to the middle as he had before.
Eldar turned to the curtain of water and walked toward it to see if it would part as it did on that night. He stepped through into a small cave. One that did not exist behind the true Silent Falls. He looked around and he saw nothing of note. "Why have I been brought here?" Eldar sat and waited for something to change but time has no meaning here. He could not tell if it had been a minute, month, or millennium.
---
Vexxor got caught in a loop. Eldar kept searching for answers and everything that was wrong with his illusion had been shot back at him including the fact the cave he was in was a fucking trap Eldar put into place as it did not exist. He had no method of getting him to move until he was ready to move. He had been at it for hours and his mind blocked him at every turn. He realized he would likely have to reveal himself at some point, Vexxor worked on how he would present that illusion instead until he left the cave.
---
Eldar got up and left the cave and saw the woods destroyed orcs and giants everywhere and troops marched toward the Capital. Eldar tried to teleport and nothing happened.
Even a basic spell. He looked around more and he saw what looked like a command tent. It was large and heavily guarded. He walked forward and into the tent unimpeded. He saw the Second talking with his father via a communication crystal.
Eldar shook his head, "This is what we have prevented."
A voice from behind him answered, "Yes, and no. You have prevented it this time. The next war and history will repeat itself."
Eldar sighed, "The only way I know of that happening is if Draco-lich gets created and the only creature that I know of that would be interested in that is the lich Vexxor. This is not real and this could only be caused by the lich."
Vexxor asked, "Why do you say that?"
Eldar smiled to himself, "Because if you were a Deity you would already know the answer to that question. You cannot create anything right in this illusion. You are trying to read my thoughts on this matter. Read this. Show yourself."
Vexor dropped the illusion mostly, except how he appeared.
All pretense of the illusion fell away. Instead, he was left with the image of the lich sitting on a throne of bone in a blackened room with a single light over the Lich. He tried to stare Eldar down from his perch, "You took something from me?"
Eldar scoffed, "You took SOMEONE from me. I took nothing from you. Did we find things you left behind? Of course, we did. You will know that I do not have them. You used magic to locate them and have failed to find them. You also know I do not know or wish to know where they are."
Vexxor felt the truth but also misdirection in his answer. Something was not right.
