Silvertree Chronicles Book Eight, Drums of War
Synopsis: Charlus finding himself at odds with the Lady of Dreams. Leaves his wife in the care of his family while pursuing his destiny to restart the Knights. The time had come for him to come home.
***Inspired by multiple fantasy environments. Not endorsed by any of them. © EmotionalStorm June 2020. 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 September of 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.
Prologue
Charlus avoided any major entanglements for a few months. Finally, he was forced into joining in with a group of human adventures to assess what they were capable of doing and to attract less attention. He spent a month with them as they were into dungeon crawling.
It got him to his next town and a new horse had to be acquired as his elven warhorse got killed while in a dungeon. He hung around in that town for 2 months. He got the lay of the land. The people and the politics of those involved. He attracted the attention of the local thieves' guild. Not for anything he did.
Because they became aware, he had skills but was not a member. That threat did not last long as he sent 36 back to them with their tongues removed and their heads in their laps. Found scattered across the town. By the time they got an idea as to who was possibly behind the deaths, the red-headed human had disappeared.
Four months later he found himself in the Far East. He came upon the ruins of the elven Academy and the compound. He stopped at the site of Brannar and Silver's grave and said a small prayer in the partial grove of trees that still existed here. The place was at war with another regional warlord and people were being conscripted left and right.
He listened in at pubs to get information on the players involved and what the fighting was about.
Mostly arguments over the value of using each other's people as slaves. He did a few private, unaffiliated, and covert missions on both sides of the border freeing slaves and helping them to escape via small boats into another province. He did that for almost 7 months and then he disappeared again.
He racked up a massive price on his 'human heads' for the few witnesses that searched for what the locals called the stealth butchers. They believed it was a gang, but every attack he made, he went in alone. He found a few like-minded individuals in those he helped to free.
Over the next few months, he visited that 'new' province. It was largely untouched by the war and he became immediately suspicious. When he saw the local warlords were chromatic dragons waging war on each of their neighbors, he worked the problem, as his divine non-detection kept him from being seen.
He warned the few he trusted to search for a new home and why. 3 months in and he got word a few he had saved before were trapped as they had been recaptured. Being sent off to be food. Charlus went and found them. The entire time he was gone, he heard nothing from the Gods.
He took them to the southern border road headed for home. He pointed them to Quatarsia and 7 men with 3 women went about heading into elven lands. The border wall had been started but had stopped just as quickly from the looks of it. Some elven and human families had moved across to establish farms with no cover.
He knew enough that war was coming again sooner rather than later. During his absence, nobody in the elven kingdom heard from him. His wife only knew he was alive from the rings they wore.
Trilia had prayed for him every day. He spent every night going through every mental journal entry referencing the Lady of Dreams and the Lich that killed Staria. He spent his sleeping hours and reviewed those thoughts as he compared and contrasted similarities. He did that for almost 20 months straight during his travels.
The Return
Feba 14th 8537
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Aerdrie Faenya stood in the area with the Lady of Dreams and Corellon Larethian. She glared at the Lady of Dreams and started screaming at her, "I want her fertility fixed! He did it. He survived nearly 20 months hunting evil and scouting the world. Finding the next greatest threat to our people, ALONE!! Because of your actions!
He is not my champion but you do not deny fertility to those who were destined to have a lot of children because you are angry or jealous. I NEVER had her set to have that many children at once and you only added to the deaths you oversee with your actions!
I have heard his dreams and the conversation he had with Corellon before you both stopped communicating with him! He wonders how much I AM involved in this decision. The fact that I am not and have been cut out of this decision is unknown to him.
He has even added journal entries about ME because of what you did. Questioning my involvement! I do not want you to deal with any more fertility issues with champions. I am removing that right from you!"
Corellon Larethian remained silent. He had not spoken to the Lady of Dreams while the Champion was gone and had refused to do so until she resolved the issue. He just let the women fight.
The Lady of Dreams looked over, "Only he can remove it from his champions once it was given. I will work to get him to relent. I am not fixing her fertility as she is a champion's wife and I have oversight of that at the moment."
Aerdrie Faenya shook her head, "I cannot direct it for this champion until he gives the word. I can for all of them to come! I think all of your paladins will be in the field soon due to infertility! Then you can have your pound of flesh from them as they die earlier than expected because we are being blinded by what these evil dragons are doing!
Like Ginnar who you refused to guide as a messenger or warn her about her mischievous friend not being good for her. You nearly lost him that night and that girl whom you care nothing for. Especially after she corrupted your first Paladin Champion!
Is it only male champions you like to dictate that with and then only your husband's champion! Some of your Paladins might not make it through delivery! Is that what would be best for the Elven people? I am not doing it yet, but it is in my purview. I am seeing a lot of that lich in you, just as he has seen it!"
Corellon Larethian had heard enough and simply left. Aerdrie Faenya followed suit and the Lady of Dreams was furious at those dreams of his as they became a repeated nightly occurrence. A means to keep him from dreaming about his wife, except to see her laying on the ground with burned fingertips like Staria had when she died.
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Charlus teleported a few hundred feet from the main gate. He dropped his non-detection to see if he would be noticed and the guards did not have glasses on. He did the same once he got to the palace district. Things seemed too lax.
He turned it on only briefly to get through the two shields with his sword. He teleported in front of the palace and walked in with his face still altered, his non-detection still off, and his hood up. He had not been stopped at all moving through the city.
Alliance Overwatch and Overwatch appeared to have failed or there was an issue in the Diplomatic Service he would need to address, and soon. He stood in the back as the Queen talked to the human male in full plate, helmet under his arm and features from the Far-East. Queen Goldeagle addressed him, "Commander, your references SEEM to be in order from the Human Kingdom.
But we have not decided on a replacement or if we will just yet. We are still hopeful Charlus Silvertree will continue with the Alliance Monitoring Service. I have your information but we are waiting a few more months to see if he returns from the Diplomatic Exploratory mission. I sent him on this mission as a 2-year effort that I agreed too. We do know he is still alive."
He bowed to her, "Your Majesty, I do not know of Charlus Silvertree other than he has saved some people and he was some sort of genius with communication devices. I am a man with a military background and unmatched fighting skills. I would welcome the opportunity."
Charlus watched him, especially his left ear. Not visible or noticeable to the untrained but he bore the mark. As he left in a huff talking to another 'man' he did not know, "I do not know what they see in an elf who goes missing for over 18 months."
Charlus flipped in the air and kicked him in the back of the head and toward the door. He tumbled over and had his hands manacled before the guards could move.
He looked at the guard to the side as he stood over the captured commander. Charlus teleported them into the Queens Audience chamber and set off some alarms. Charlus pulled back his hood and let his features return to normal and put his non-detection back up.
He looked at the Guard Captain, "I should have your head. Where in the fuck are your glasses?" The guard looked shocked as guards came in and Charlus looked at them as he pulled forth a crystal, "Stern, Queen's Audience Chamber. Let her know Enigma is back."
The guards stopped dead in their tracks as he revealed his sword handle to them. They paused, unsure of what to do in this situation.
He looked at one, "You are a caster. If you can get those off of my prisoner do so. Else back the fuck off."
He stepped back as the guard came forward and he looked at them, "Nobody can get these off. They are encrypted, it could take years."
Charlus nodded. "Where is Stern?"
He looked at Charlus, "Dead. Almost 6 months now."
Charlus pulled out a crystal, "Majisa would you let the Queen know her presence is requested in her Audience Chamber?"
He heard a squeal, "Charlus!!"
Charlus smiled, "The one and only."
The crystal went dead. The Queen came in a few moments later as the alarms were silenced and her detail informed her who entered her chamber unannounced. She looked at Charlus and the human on the floor out cold.
Charlus bowed, "Your Majesty, you might wish to send your Guard Captain home to find his glasses as I stood right in front of him in an altered form with no non-detection running. Find whoever is on Overwatch as I crossed the city and into your palace without being challenged while in the same state.
I dropped my non-detection so that was not a factor in my assessment of your Capital and Palace Security. Also, your guards on duty at the palace gate, the city guards on duty at the main gate, and their supervisors. I would also recommend wearing your own glasses and if you got enchanted again, you have been disenchanted...yet again."
He reached down to the prisoner and dumped a bag of holding with almost a thousand rings in them. "Also, with Stern's replacement for a threat assessment."
She looked at the Guard Captain, "Get those people rounded up. I did get enchanted again and someone disenchanted me, yet again!?"
He nodded.
She looked at Charlus, "How did you know about him?" He pulled back his left ear.
She saw the tattoo of a man hanging by his feet upside down. "Slave trader, commander based upon the number of knots on the rope. You move up, stay the same, or die in that trade. Before you ask yes those are necromancy rings, Your Majesty. I did not draw a weapon."
She walked across and hugged him, "Thank you. The humans were pushing hard for him to take over for you."
Charlus nodded, "Get his list of references. I may execute them all personally as well. He was not vetted or they knew who and what he was."
He pulled out a crystal, "Base 1 do a scan over the Elven palace, Queen's audience chamber and one over the human palace and surrounding area. Check for necromancy auras."
He heard back, "We are not picking anything up."
He shook his head and pulled a different crystal, "Base 2 scan palace for necromancy auras. Also, the human palace and the surrounding area."
Charlus heard, "Who is this?"
