Reverie

The sun was already giving way for the moon to rise when Jeonghan went out of his study the following day. It is almost time for his daily duty of welcoming his goddess to offer his gratitude and pray for her grace and protection of his people. A servant was waiting to help him with his cloak and another with his silver circlet. 

The events yesterday was weighing heavily on his mind, he admits he might have been a little harsh for forcing the human prince on a skirmish with lord Jihoon. Even with his great disdain towards the humans, Jeonghan was never unjust, not to his kin. The last halfling who wandered on the ruins was released when he chose to live with the humans, he showed kindness and mercy to all yet he cannot explain why he failed to show that to the human prince.

His cloak rustled in the wind when he arrived at the pavilion. It was dark and the moon and the stars are veiled, hiding behind the shadows of the clouds. Jeonghan saw Seungkwan pacing, back hunched and his hands clasped across his chest. His usual light is dim, much like the skies that night, he already knew what was troubling the horned one.

Jeonghan stood at the edge, his cloak and blond hair danced in the breeze. A storm is upon them, he feared he might have angered his goddess. Seungkwan stopped pacing the moment he felt his presence and joined him.

"Amin dele ten' ho (I am worried about him)

The human won't last tonight, he needs healing. I tried to relieve his pain but I can only do so much. I am not in Nimlaur and my magic weakens every hour I spent away from my home." he said in a small voice, face deeply burdened. "He lost a lot of blood."

Jeonghan's eyes cast downwards and he lets out a shaky breath. No matter how hard he tried to convince himself that it wasn't his fault, that he was merely following their custom on how to handle the half elves, guilt always find its way back into his heart. He swore the day he was named the lord of this city that he would not spill any elvish blood, be it pure or halfblood.

"I will return to the celestial glades tonight, I implore you to see reason my lord. If the humans finds out that one of their rulers died in our land, it will certainly ruin our days of peace. War will be upon us." Seungkwan advised, he patted Jeonghan's shoulder before leaving the other alone in his thoughts.

-

There were piles of burnt wood and ashes covered haphazardly in a remote corner of the forest near the border of their territory. A thin ribbon of smoke still rises from the embers, it appears as though the campers left in a hurry. 

"This way, Your Highness. They all came from the north." the young captain reported, he walked towards his horse after scouring the area.

"North?"

"Yes my lord. I think they were hiding in the backwoods of Upria."

He was tasked by his father to command their troops near the borders because of the reports coming from the neighboring countries of people crossing their territories illegally. There were growing concern of fisherman's boats getting stolen, losing their only source of livelihood. Some boats find their way back into their shore but all of it was either severely damaged or utterly destroyed. 

The King heeded their pleas and appointed his own son, Prince Seungcheol with Mingyu to investigate.

"Eunwoo." Seungcheol called. 

"Your Highness." Mingyu's second-in-command approached them but kept his distance. 

"Send a word back to the castle. Tell them to inform the King of Upria that we will be inspecting the backwoods for intruders."

"As you command."

The prince turned to his friend and they headed straight to the forest of the neighboring country. 

"What do you think about what was causing this Mingyu?" 

"I honestly don't know my lord. All of my men came back with the same report, they were mostly peasants tasked by whoever was paying them to do only the gods knows what. It was so mysterious."

"Perhaps something illegal?"

"Could be. But I feel it's more than that." 

The company pressed on headed by Mingyu followed by Seungcheol and his guards. The young captain insisted the prince to stay back just in case but Seungcheol won't have any of it. The backwoods of Upria was sparse, much like in Ilea, however, Upria is blessed as it is the most fertile and the wealthiest land in all of the five kingdoms. They supply the neighboring countries of Aglua and Megua through the eastern port and the High King's country, Cudura, from the western port. They all consider Upria as the next important kingdom after Cudura and with several million inhabitants, one can say it is the capital of the south.

They rode east towards the port, asking for some leads as they go along but nobody wanted to talk to them. Seungcheol thought they might be terrified of something or someone. Some villagers even told them that there was nothing unusual happening in their area and no one knows anything about the stolen boats in Ilea. Mingyu decided to venture inside the forest, sending two of the guards ahead.

The young captain felt unease as they went deeper in the heart of the forest. It was getting dark and the fog from the Mirage Sea is settling in slowly. Suddenly, he noticed something from a small clearing, only a few yards from them was a group of peasants around a small campfire discussing with hushed voices which Mingyu finds suspicious. He quickly raised his fist, Seungcheol and his guard halted and the former reached for his bow and arrow.

Mingyu hopped off his horse and crawled closer to listen to their conversation.

'We're running out of boats. The small ones were getting destroyed before it gets across that sea and we can't use the bigger one. It's too obvious and we will be spotted before we even depart from the Ilean port.'

The young captain's head perked up a little. This is it. This is them. The people responsible for the missing people and boats from their land. Confusion muddled his mind, what was their purpose and where are they trying to go?

Mingyu was so deep in thought that he failed to spot an archer aiming for his head.

"Mingyu!" The prince yelled, capturing the bewildered captain's attention.

Everything moved slowly even the arrow heading straight to his face, his body refused to moved and his feet felt like it was gripped tightly b