Slowing their pace after making sure that they weren’t being followed by any of the grey elves, Aaron now thought of what their next step was going to be. He knew he had to get back to the human kingdom as fast as possible and let everyone know of what was happening. He suspected that no one else knew of the robbery of Baculum other than him, Tonks and the elves themselves. There was also Tonks. He was sure the dwarf was eager to get back to his own homeland and warn his own fellows of the terrible occurrences of that morning. He remembered that the small man had been spying on what the elf on the stairs of the royal tower had been saying. He had been quiet since they both had jumped on the horse and escaped from the city, and Aaron had a bad feeling about it. He either didn’t learn anything knew, or heard something seriously bad. He decided to ask him of what he had seen.

“So, what happened to you after we got separated back there?”

Tonks was startled by the sudden question, and broke out of his trance, his mind coming back to the real world.

“Oh, yeah. I sneaked cautiously ‘til I was close enough that I could ‘ear them. I hid behind a couple boxes on a corner far back behind the crowd, far enough that they couldn’t notice me, and listened to the elf’s speech.”

“And what did Leonel say?” Aaron remembered Lira saying the elf’s name, but instantly regretted thinking of his lost love. Not lost yet.

“So that’s the barbarian’s name, eh? Anyway, he was all talkin’ about how the staff must have been stolen by someone from another kingdom, ‘cause no elf would put their race through all that trouble. The cowards who attacked me were in there, and told him all ‘bout how they found me walkin’ ‘round the city. Seems that their main target is us dwarves now, though you must’ve left quite an impression back there too.” He paused, and when he started talking again, his voice came in a different, more serious tone. “He wants a war, lad. Not only him, but all those people! And they won’t stop ‘til they find that weapon. And the worst part is… I don’t think they can be reasoned with. I don’t know why, but somehow I feel like they won’t listen. Like they won’t care about who they hurt. They don’t sound like the old clear skinned elves at all.”

Aaron knew very well why Tonks felt that way, and he wasn’t sure how to break the news to his short friend. Feeling sick with all that he had learned, he waited for Tonks to ask him what had happened to him at Lira’s house.

“So what about you, lad? Did ye find your sweetheart?” Tonks sounded a bit ironic, but Aaron didn’t mind. He was getting used to the dwarf’s way of speaking when he was nervous.

“I did.” He sounded very sad. Tonks must have noticed it, since he didn’t ask anything else of Aaron, only waited for the human to recompose himself and tell him the story. “She confirmed the staff’s robbery. The elves believe that the prophecy has been fulfilled, and that in order to go back to their true selves, they need to recover the weapon, which is why they’re coming to war.” He sounded very distant, staring into the horizon while the horse trotted away.

“Do ye think that they can be persuaded into stoppin’ this revolution? That preaching elf seemed to have his mind set on combat, but I didn’t see the queen talkin’... maybe she’ll have more common sense.” Tonks didn’t sound very hopeful.

“It’s like you said. I don’t think they can be reasoned with.” Aaron now moved a little as if feeling uncomfortable and let his head drop, now facing the ground.

“Look lad, I know it must’ve been hard back there with your lady, but if you’re hidin’ somethin’...”

“It’s just hard to believe.” He thought of the right words to say. “The staff’s robbery has taken a lot from these people. They can’t use magic anymore.”

“Well, that’s some good news. One thing less we’ll have to deal with at war.”

“Not only that. They can’t… feel anymore.” His eyes started tearing up involuntarily, and he had to control himself not to cry.

“Feel? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Love, hate… it’s all gone. They’re acting out of instinct. They won’t care who they hurt because they can’t feel it.”

Both men now stood quiet, Tonks sinking in this new information and Aaron thinking of Lira. Ironically, the love he now felt for her was bigger than ever. He shook his head as to get the thoughts away from his mind.

“So what else does this mean then? Can they feel pain? Hunger? Do they even need sleep?”

“I guess. I think it’s only their emotions. They’re more like… animals now.”

“They better be. T‘would be really hard to fight a bunch of unstoppable monsters.”

Aaron now realized that they had been traveling for a while. They must have been nearing the human kingdom.

“Oh my, we’re almost at the city. Tonks, I’m…”

“It’s okay, lad.” The dwarf interrupted him. “Your city’s closer anyway. I’d probably have fainted mid way if I’d tried to walk back to my home town anyway. I’m still pretty sore from all the beatin’.”

He and Tonks spent the rest of the trip quiet, although it was a very short one. After their conversation had ended, Aaron realized they had been traveling very slowly since they had escaped from the elves, and commanded the horse to fasten its pace. Quickly enough they could see the stone walls of the kingdom on the horizon and, short after, they had reached the entrance of the city.

It was now late into the morning and the entire city was awake with the sounds of people working and talking to each other on the streets. The blacksmiths and woodcutters were already dropping sweat from their hard jobs, the salesmen conversed with their customers trying to make a living of their goods and the children ran around the houses playing a game of tag. Aaron tried to go by them as fast as possible, his horse now slowly trotting around the people on the streets, trying to get to the other side of the city into the royal castle, where he could talk to someone important who could take him seriously. Some men and women frowned and complained at him for being in their way and mounted on such an enormous creature, but he ignored them all.

He hadn’t really thought of it until now, but he wasn’t sure what he was going to tell the guards when he reached them. Even if he had seen it all with his own eyes it surely was a story hard to believe, even with Tonks there to back him up. He could only hope that a sense of precaution would make the king give orders for his story to be checked out, at least.

They were now approaching the royal castle. There seemed to be no commotion, which indicated that what he was about to tell them was still unknown to them. There were two guards standing on each side of the entrance to the tower, both fully dressed in armor, except for their helmets, which were on the ground next to their shields. Each men also had a sword on their waist.

The guards looked at him and Tonks, confused to either be seeing a horse that deep into the kingdom or a dwarf riding on it. Both men jumped out of the animal in order to talk to them. One of the guards spoke first.

“Good morning, sir. What can we help you with?” He looked imposing and sounded very suspicious of Aaron and Tonks. It didn’t seem like he was gonna let them into the castle.

“Hello. Me and my friend here have just returned from the elven kingdom. We have some… startling news we need to talk to someone about.”

“Inside the castle? Why don’t you tell it to one of us so we can address the situation ourselves?“ Both guards were looking very intimidating. Aaron wasn’t sure of what to tell them, while Tonks didn’t dare say a thing.

“Look, the elven staff, Baculum, has been stolen. The king needs to know of this!”

The guards looked at one another, clearly not believing what they were hearing from these two weird men. The one that had been talking to them spoke again.

“I’d think that an information like that would have been brought to us by an official messenger of the queen herself.”

“The elves are in no condition of bringing the message to anyone right now.” Aaron was now very agitated. They were losing precious time. He had no idea what the elves’ plan was.

The guards must have noticed his condition. He looked like he was about to barge into the castle at any moment. The one that had been silent up until now came closer to the other and whispered something into his ear. They crossed eyes again, and the talkative guard spoke one more time.

“I will go inside and tell the advisor to the king about this. Do not go anywhere, my friend will stay here and watch out for you.” He turned his back to the three of them and went inside the building, disappearing behind a wall.

After a few moments, which seemed like an eternity, the guard came back, now accompanied by a pompous looking man wearing a blue silken cape over nice clothes and a puffy blue hat with a white feather coming out of it. He had its nose pointed up to the sky, in a superior fashion. Aaron had seen him before many times, always standing next to the king while he did his speeches, wearing the same cocky look on his face and the best clothes money could buy. Messer was a man who would be tough to convince.

“Is this him?” The advisor asked the soldier who had accompanied him to the entrance, looking at Aaron. He didn’t seem to have noticed Tonks standing beside him.

“Yes sir. We wouldn’t have called you here if we didn’t think it was a matter of importance.”

“I’m glad to hear you believe my story, sir. We…”

“You seem to have misunderstood us, young man.” Messer had interrupted him. “The matter of importance is getting you out of here.”

Aaron was startled by this. He didn’t know exactly what to say, so he ended up saying it all at the same time.

“Sir, you have to believe me, we are currently in great danger! The staff has been stolen and the elves are infuriated. They’re coming to war!” The advisor had now lifted an eyebrow.

“Those are some very serious accusations you are making, young man.”

“They are all true, sir! This man right here has been attacked by two of them himself!” Aaron looked down at Tonks, directing the Messer’s attention to the dwarf. He still had lots of dirt on his face and on his bushy beard, and a few scratches here and there. He definitely looked like he had been involved in a fight.

The advisor had been taken by surprise at the sight of him. Having maintained his nose facing up the whole time he had been there, he really hadn’t noticed the dwarf’s presence. He stared at Tonks with a look of disgust on his face. Aaron wasn’t sure if it was because of the mess Tonks looked like right now or because he was in fact a dwarf. Aaron suspected it to be the last. Finally, he spoke one more time.

“Still, we have no reason to believe you two. This… man could have been hurt in any other way possible.”

“Please sir, if I could only talk to the king, maybe he could…”

“I did not care for your little fable, young man. Now, and I would take this advice if I were you, move away from the castle back into your house, and forget this little farce you tried to play on us, or I will have to ask these soldiers here to arrest you. As of you… “ He looked back at Tonks. “Go back to your city. We don’t need strangers in our beautiful kingdom.”

The second the advisor turned his back to walk away back inside the castle, a woman appeared out of nowhere. She had been running very fast from somewhere to the left of the royal tower and was now trying to say something while catching her breath at the same time. This had all happened on a very fortunate time, since Tonks had been looking like he was ready to tackle Messer and get himself into trouble.

The advisor, noticing the disturbance behind his back, turned around to face the panting woman. She had a hand on her knee and the other on her chest, and now seemed to be more in control of herself. When she turned her face up to look at Messer, Aaron could notice she was very beautiful. She had very fair skin, dark hair and even darker eyes. Her rosy cheeks, a consequence of her running to reach them, made her even more stunning.

The advisor took his hat out and courteously bowed at her. Not even this horrible man could be rude in front of such a marvelous vision.

“Miss Donna. What bring distress to such a lovely lady this fine day?”

“It’s the oracle, sir Messer. Melqart has spoken to her. He requested the king’s presence right away.” Her face had gone more serious, and she spoke in a lower volume, almost whispering. “It sounded serious. Something about a robbery. I could only hear it through the walls.”

Aaron had heard what she said, and so did Tonks. He looked apprehensively at Messer, who had his eyes wide open staring back at him. He looked very surprise, and was now repetitively turning his face to look at Aaron, Tonks and the woman. Taking one last look at the men, he seemed to have made a decision.

“You two, stay here while I go get the king. I don’t know what’s going on, but…” He stopped there, seeming speechless. All of a sudden he turned around and went back inside the castle.

While they waited for the advisor to come back with the king, Aaron couldn’t feel more relieved. This woman had shown up at the perfect time, and she seemed to have concrete proof of what had happened at the elven kingdom.

A few tense moments went by before they heard distinctive footsteps coming from inside the castle and Messer showed up, accompanied by king Tane, son of Melqart. He was wearing nice clothes, although they didn’t seem to be as expensive as the advisor’s, a blue silken cape above it and no crown. His bushy eyebrows and scarce hair, already white from old age, completed the vision of the monarch. He looked first at Aaron and Tonks but, finding the woman named Donna, quickly turned and directed his words at her.

“Lady Donna, are you here to take me to see the oracle? I would much enjoy your company.” The woman’s charm seemed to affect anybody.

“Yes, my lord, “ she said, taking a bow. “Melqart desires to speak to you. It seems to be a matter of much importance.”

“I would expect no less coming from him.” The king now directed his look back to Aaron and Tonks, probably asking himself what those two dirty looking men were doing there. Messer, noticing the king’s confusion, spoke a few words.

“These gentlemen here will accompany us as well, sir. They seem to have some knowledge of the events.” The king seemed to ponder for a few moments, and resumed the conversation.

“Very well then. Shall we get going?”

The troupe looked at Donna, Aaron and Tonks having no idea where to go. The woman turned and took them back to the direction where she had ran from, to a little secluded house on the back of the kingdom. The place was built of wood and looked very old, although still firmly standing. The door was half open, probably the way Donna had left it when she came running to the castle, and she went inside first, announcing their visitors.

“Vera, I brought the king as you asked me too, as well as these other guests who wished to be here.” Her voice faltered a bit while announcing the other ones, as if she wasn’t sure of what the oracle would think of it.

“It’s okay Donna, let them in.”

She nodded to let them know it was okay to go on, and the king went inside first, followed by Messer, Aaron and Tonks behind.

As soon as Aaron came in, his attention was drawn to the woman sitting on the middle of the room with her legs crossed and her eyes closed. She looked to be an exact replica of Donna, except her face was more wrinkled, although Aaron didn’t think it was of age. He had never seen the oracle or what appeared to be her sister, as most of the kingdom hadn’t as well, but he was pleasantly surprised. He didn’t know why, but he half expected the oracle to be an older woman holding a cane and mumbling crazy things.

The room they were now in was somewhat small and got very cramped with the presence of all those people, specially with the few places they had to stand because of all the candles lit on the floor. Aaron had to be careful not to hit his head on any of the shamanistic amulets that were hanging from the ceiling.

“You wished to see me, Vera?” The king said to the woman while bowing.

“We can exchange pleasantries later, Tane, “she answered with her eyes still closed. “And it was not me who wished to see you.”

Aaron felt the room tremble. A cold breeze passed by and all the flames on the lit candles were extinguished, turning the room dark and somber. Then, from the middle of the room, it came a light. At first it looked like two fireflies had com inside the room, but then they became very bright, illuminating the entire room.

The room being clear now, Aaron could see what was happening. Vera had finally opened her eyes, and the blinding lights were coming out of them. She was now looking up at the ceiling, filling the room with brightness.

Then, a mist formed behind her. It looked as if the smoke that had been coming out of the now extinguished candles had all come together to form a cloud. It rolled around in a hurricane a few times before it started to take a shape.

First, it looked like a human form enveloped in mist. Then, as it started to dissipate, Aaron noticed that it was indeed a human, a man. He was tall, taller than everyone in the room, his head barely touching the ceiling. He had a square face and strong features who reminded Aaron of a warrior. He was indeed wearing a blue cape over a silver armor, much like the soldiers of the kingdom. He also had no helmet on, and his long dark brown hair fell down his back, completing the look.

Aaron had of course seen this man many times before, in paintings and statues, but the image of Melqart was still impressing. Standing in front of a god, he felt like a very inferior being, his jaw dropped and his eyes wide open in awe. However, Aaron knew that Melqart only showed himself in times of great need, and he was now worried of what he might say.

“Ah, Melqart. To what do we own your presence?” The mist was now completely gone, and the god entirely visible over the bright light coming out of Vera’s eyes. He walked around the room in order to come closer to the king.

“Tane, my son. I have come to warn you of great danger.” His voice was deep and troubling. “What these men say is in fact true.” He directed his hands to Aaron and Tonks.

“And what do these men say?”

“I see you haven’t been told. I’ll let this young fellow tell his story. ”He turned at Aaron and so did everyone else, expecting him to start talking. “And please, start from the beginning.” Feeling very nervous and taking a few moments to find his voice, Aaron spoke.

“I woke up this morning to find my companion, Lira, gone.” He had no trouble talking about Lira since the entire city knew of his affair with an elf, but he felt a stabbing pain in his chest by pronouncing her name. “After asking around the neighbourhood, I gathered information that she had been seen earlier this morning walking towards the town exit. I got on my horse and headed towards the elven kingdom. However, in the middle of the way, I found Tonks here. “He looked at the dwarf standing next to him. “He was being attacked by two elves. After I helped him, he told me what he heard from the elves.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “They’d said Baculum had been stolen.”

The king’s eyes went wide open in a surprised look, and his face went pale white. Melqart, on the other hand, already seemed to know the entire story, and decided to finish it for Aaron.

“As this young men would tell you, they have been to the elven kingdom. The robbery of the staff has caused great commotion among their people, as they have lost much. They cannot use their magic anymore and they have become wild, savage creatures, who only act out of instinct, with no feelings at all.” The king seemed to be trying to absorb all this information. Messer was looking down at the floor, waving his head back in forth in a sign of denial. “This is not all. The presence of these young men in their city have put the humans and the dwarfs on the top of their list. They desire war. However, I ask you not to blame them for this, as I’m sure it would have happened in any way.” He seemed to have finished his speech. The king still looked startled, but Messer was now looking at Aaron like he was some kind of traitor. Finally, the king broke out of his trance and spoke.

“What would you have us do?”

“The other gods are talking to their respective races, you do not need to send on messengers. However, you must prepare for combat. I don’t know when this will happen or who they will attack first. What I do know is that they will not stop until they see that weapon once again in their hands.” Aaron noticed that Tonks let his breath go, knowing that the dwarves were already aware of what was coming for them.

“And… do you know who could have done this atrocity?”

“Not yet. I will talk to my colleagues once they finish their warnings themselves, and we will evaluate.” He turned around to look at Vera, still in the same position as she had been since they came inside the house, light still coming out of her eyes. “I need to go now. Keep her close… I might need to talk to you again soon.”

The mist came back and enveloped his form once more until he disappeared, leaving one less person in the room. Vera’s eyes closed and her head fell down to her chest. The room was now dark once again, and completely quiet, while everyone wished it had all been a bad dream.

Somewhere far away from Gwenderan seven men and women met, Melqart among them. They were very different from each other, but were all there for the same purpose. Melqart spoke first.

“The humans have been warned. The dwarf looked nervous, so I let him know you would be talking to his people, Orestes.” A short woman who looked a lot like a female version of Tonks nodded.

“I have let them know of what has happened, and have told them to prepare for war. I believe the elves will be coming for my people first before they come to yours, Melqart.” She directed a mean look at an elvish looking woman, but spoke no more. Noticing this, a man, who looked like a human with blue skin, decided to talk before someone got hurt.

“I let the djinni know of it as well. They did not care much for it, living so far from the rest of the world, but have agreed to be of any help needed, as long as it doesn’t put them in a difficult position. They mostly worry about the prophecy’s turnout, and I do not blame them.”

“Yes Arash, thank you for your assistance.” Melqart answered with a nod. “What of your people, Endymion?” He faced a human-looking woman who had pearly white skin and gills on both sides of her head.

“They did not take it very well. Murgen insists he has felt something bad coming for a week. Thinks the sea creatures have been too alarmed. I fear him going mad having ruled for so long.”

“That is very unfortunate, indeed. I do hope it all turns out well. Eoghan? You’ve been distant today.” The man he spoke to had a very distinctive look. His upper body part was of a human, while his lower one was of a goat-like creature. He surely stood apart from everyone, and hadn’t spoken a word so far. “Did you go and talk to Vidarra?”

“I did.” He tried to hide it in his voice, but still sounded infuriated.

“And what does she think of this?” Melqart was insisting on the subject.

“You want to know what she thinks?” He spoke a little louder in a daring tone. “The same as everyone else here is thinking! That this one right here has cursed us all! “He pointed at the elf. “We gave you a part of our forest and what have you done? Brought war to our beautiful world once again! Your people does not deserve what they have.”

“That’s enough, Eoghan. We will come to this matter later on.” The satyr backed away, back to where he had been standing before Melqart addressed him. “We still haven’t heard from you as well, Gudrun. And thank you for showing up in your human form this time…” He looked exactly like a human but dressed quite peculiarly, as if he didn’t usually wear clothes. He approached Melqart and spoke.

“What would you have me say, Melqart? You know they have been away for long. Some people even think them to be a legend.” He gave a little smirk. “They did not care at all. And they will not care until they feel like they are needed. There is no arguing with them. I might have made them too smart after all.”

“Well, it is always worth trying. Ailill… “ And everyone curiously turned their faces at the elf. “Did you try and speak to your queen?” Finally she spoke, feeling very shy.

“I did, Melqart, but to no use. I am afraid they have all gone mad. I don’t know whether it was the prophecy or…”

“Of course it was the prophecy!” Interrupted Eoghan. “What else would bring us this ruin?”

“We need to find out who stole the staff before we jump to any conclusions, “ said Orestes, the female dwarf. “If we don’t, they will surely come to war. And as Ailill has stated, they have gone mad, and will go to any means necessary to retrieve Baculum.”

“I do not think there is anything we can do at this point besides fight the war,” said Melqart. “We will have to maintain these elves under control and see if the person who stole the weapon comes forth. I believe that if he sees his plan has failed, he will appear.”

“I will have no problem in having to kill all of those wretched creatures!” Eoghan was clenching his fists at Ailill, who looked very sad before this statement, although not scared.

“Before we go, there is one last matter we must attend to…” Melqart was looking very anxious. Eoghan gave a malicious smile, still staring at the elf. Everyone else looked ashamed. “Ailill, before the circumstances we must take precautions.”

The elf had her eyes fixed on Melqart’s, and was looking very confused. She ran her face across the room staring at each individual, trying to catch a glimpse of something.

“We must guarantee you will not be helping your people do what they want,” Melqart continued. “This wasn’t an easy decision. Clearly, some of us were more on part with it than others…” He gave a quick look at Eoghan, who was still smirking.

It was like someone had told her. She widened her eyes and still kept looking at everyone around the room, in a plea for help.

“Melqart, you can not do this! You know I do not wish to go to war. We can straighten this out, find the culprit and it will all go back to normal…” She was imploring him.

“We can, Ailill, and we will. Just… not with your help.” The human god gave one last look at the others around the room. Everyone was staring at him, some with a very serious face, others looking more pitiful. He looked at Ailill one last time. He knew it had to be done.

“Ailill, we now strip you of all your powers as a goddess. You will no longer live among us. For your people’s mistakes, you are hereby sentenced to live with them in the world of Gwenderan, and witness the mayhem they might bring to it.

Ailill fell to the ground. Still standing on her knees, she took one last look at the world around her. She felt pain, as if her soul was being removed from her body. She saw Eoghan laughing at her, but all she could hear was a loud ringing sound, penetrating her head. The pain was unbearable now and, taking one last look at Melqart, she felt a falling sensation and fainted.