by all his stern and fearsome family members. As soon as everything was ready, Athal spurred his horse, and the horns sounded the advance. The immense column of soldiers generated a deafening din as they marched. It was a warm and clear June day on Elantion, very different from the smoky and gloomy Alceas. Athal passed through the portal, and his horse’s hooves tread upon the stone-slab floor of the Fellowship temple. The Third Tulvaren Invasion of Elantion had commenced.
II
An unexpectedly cold autumn had come to Draelia, on the heels of an oddly hot summer, as though the seasons themselves were affected by the tragic events that gripped the world. The sky grew more leaden with time, and frigid air lashed every corner. In some areas, the fog was thick, and in others, the rain gave no respite. But apart from the tulvaren army, there was no longer anyone beyond the boundaries of Elelreel—neither human, nor elf, nor dwarf. Two and a half years after the invasion was initiated, not much was left of the Monarchy of Draelia; all that remained were the few strongholds and cities that the tulvars rebuilt after destroying. The divine powers of King Athal, of his Commanders, and of the High Priestess had helped them stand victorious.
In those days, the tulvar Sheera Khelun, Commander of the Violet Archers and royal daughter, rode her dappled grey horse (a large and inexhaustible steed, and her companion on many journeys) toward the village of Deryel, situated at the mouth of the winding Spur Valley. The emblem of the House of Khelun, a black flame on a red background, which she had embroidered on her cloak and engraved on the leather of her armor, made her immediately recognizable. Her helm, which sported a long black horsetail, was symbolic of her title as Commander, and the meticulous finishes on her armor affirmed her royal lineage. Sheera was tall, and regarded as very beautiful among the tulvars. Her long oval face was framed by black hair, long on one side and almost shaved on the other, which provided a contrast with her ashen grey skin. Her small, almond-shaped eyes, a characteristic of all tulvars, were a very intense red, and topped by thin black eyebrows. She had a long nose that was slightly pronounced, and her lips were wrinkly and not very full. On her left cheek, two ritual scars indicated her spiritual path. Uniquely, Sheera had a large purple iridescent spot that trailed from her left side all the way to her neck. In tulvaren culture, this was viewed with suspicion; in fact, it was said that whoever was born with the Abyssal Sigil could prove either a blessing or a curse upon the entire race.
She was ordered to journey to Deryel as quickly as possible by direct order of the High Priestess. Upon arriving, she got off her horse, left it at the pole, and approached the Governor. “I hope the load is ready… my patience is at its end,” she said, her voice coarse, as she gave her fellow tulvar a letter.
“It’s going to take time to prepare the crates,” began the Governor, as he read it. “Besides, only the best crystals are selected for the High Priestess.” He was hunchbacked from age, and much shorter than the Commander, his rumpled and frayed clothes dragging against the ground.
Sheera brought her hand to her sword and pulled it slightly from its scabbard. “Load. The. Crates.”
The Governor stiffened. The reputation of the King’s daughter preceded her, and none of the tales involved generosity or mercy.
Sheera and the heavy and noisy wagon left Deryel, and in a few days’ time, they arrived at the Eyjanborg Temple, where the High Priestess Yvalee made her anger at the delay known. The secondary portals that had opened to the south, in the heart of Symeris and Austur, had now lost their power, and their threshold was impassable by the tulvaren soldiers who had to invade those lands. The crystals would have served Yvalee precisely to restore power to the portals, even if the ritual would have been slow and involved. Sheera greeted her mother and reassured her that her anger would vanish as soon as she laid eyes on the crystals.
The High Priestess opened a chest, and her eyes lit up as soon as she verified their purity. “Bring in the crates,” ordered Yvalee. She then turned to Sheera. “When will you take the oath?”
“Never,” she declared.
“Don’t you think your rebellious phase has gone on a bit too long?”
“Even so, I will never become a priestess.”
“You’ll come to see your folly, sooner or later,” said Yvalee, glaring.
The great Temple of Eyjanborg had just been finished, and the large round hall, covered by an enormous dome painted in gold, accentuated the sacredness of the place. Sheera was momentarily entranced at the sight. She lost sight of her mother and saw her sister Auril emerge from a side room. Auril approached Sheera and gave her a nod, and nothing more. The younger of the sisters was shorter than Sheera, albeit slightly, and she too had black hair, though hers fell well below the lower back. Her long, spindly arms ended in bony hands and pointed fingers. Her face was very thin and devoid of scars, and her eyes were red, small, and distant, with fine eyebrows. Her nose was long and a tad pronounced, and her wrinkled lips were made dark using a lipstick composed of the juice of a particular berry mixed with fat. There were never two sisters as utterly different as Sheera and Auril; while one had accepted the traditional path of becoming a priestess without hesitation, the other had exercised the right granted to all tulvaren nobles to face military training instead, as she was reluctant to consecrate her whole life to the Goddess. Sheera observed Auril as she carried out one of her daily duties: bathing in the font adjacent to a side of the room. After immersing herself completely in the water, she came out with the very light dress she wore clinging to her body, and the light color of the wet fabric allowed her figure to be glimpsed despite the pallor of her skin, which attracted the gazes of the tulvars present. Bathing before turning to the Goddess was a purification rite that had been a daily practice for the Priestesses for centuries upon centuries. Auril passed in front of her sister with her typical air of superiority, and Sheera’s eyes tracked her, the rivalry between them written on her face. Ultimately, Sheera saw her disappear into the twilight.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she witnessed a young female hastily approaching. “Commander Sheera, the High Priestess awaits you.”
Sheera, who was accustomed to keeping her hand on her sword, squeezed the hilt and furrowed her brow in surprise. “Why?”
“Follow me,” replied the annoyed priestess, skirting the question. “She does not like to wait.”
With a chagrined grimace and an unenthused groan, the Commander followed the young female across the temple and past the priestly quarters. Looking around, she was amazed by the opulence of the furnishings, decorations, and clothes of the maidens. So different from the original temple, she mused. At the end of the corridor, the rooms of the High Priestess were windowless, and lit solely by a candelabra. In the center of her bedchambers, a heavy wrought-iron brazier housed the burning embers that kept the room warm. Sheera was watching them, and they pulsed with a strong red light that reminded her of the symbols engraved on the giant rocks which fueled the portal. Then she saw her mother.
“All this can still be yours, my dear…” she started.
Sheera rolled her eyes. “I’ve already made my decision.”
“With your abilities and powers, and with your Abyssal Sigil, you ought to serve the Goddess. And you could do so like none before you. Prepare to take my place and stop wasting your life as a soldier…”
“As a Commander,” she corrected.
“The rank matters little. Again I tell you, it is insignificant compared to the role you would have here,” her mother continued.
She dropped the fine blue silk robe that was sourced from Symeris to prepare for the evening prayer at the Temple, together with all the Priestesses. Sheera spotted the symbols on her back, which appeared on the body of the High Priestess when she was selected by the Goddess—bleeding wounds that turned into showy black scars, which stood out against her grey skin. They were a source of pride for the High Priestess.
Yvalee was slightly taller than Sheera, with the angular physique typical of their kind, an elongated face characterized by her long but not so pronounced nose and the thin lips that Yvalee usually colored red. On her forehead and cheeks, she bore