Of all the things I know, fear is something very familiar. We warlocks strike fear in everyone who dare to stand before us. We had to learn to remain calm and to destroy our foes using fear and agony. I’m not calm anymore, I thought quickly, please can I panic now? I’d love to panic now.
The dusky alicorn rose and glared daggers at me. “Who dares interrupt our court?” Such a voice pierced my brain, were it louder it could undoubtedly wake the dead.
I gulped hard but stood my ground. Fear or no fear I will remain with incantations at the ready, “I am Val a proud son of the city of Silvermoon. I am a warlock by necessity and I am seeking refuge from the endless combat of my home.” I came to find peace, not to get into a fight. A fight was the last thing I wanted, besides I didn’t want to cut loose a curse on my arrival. It just wasn’t proper.
The alicorn looked to the guards at my sides, “Leave us!” And leave they did, perhaps worried of what may come next. After the doors slammed shut behind me the alicorn leapt over my desk and looked at me up close. I could tell a bit more clearly this was a female and that she was the one in charge. It might’ve been the crown that gave that way, but that’s only my opinion. “We are Princess Luna of Equestria, Princess of the Night!”
I may have faced many foes, but I usually had allies with me. I walked into battle with both the living and the dead. I could trust them with my life and now… now I was a little afraid. The only one at my side was Crest, perched on my shoulder, and he isn’t much of a fighter. I don’t have the time for a summoning and I could not feel wayward souls to drain.
“My apologies for disturbing your court majesty,” I bowed graciously. “I am not accustomed to gateway spells; to be honest this was my first attempt for one that was further than a few yards distance.”
“Constant war you say?” Her voice was less coarse now. “You claim to be a warlock and you seek asylum from a land of wars?” I nodded. “Are warlocks not simply mages trained for combat?”
“Not quite majesty, warlocks study the darker arts of curses, raw destruction, and demon conjuring.” I was idly manipulating a small emerald fire in my hand; such motions had become more habitual than anything else. “It is always a slippery slope when wielding evil against evil. I am also an alchemist of considerable ability.” I wanted to stay honest and steer the conversation away from my teachings. It was always a touchy subject in my opinion.
“Yes, evil for the sake of good must be a difficult burden.” Her glare was next to soften. She still sought to remind me that she was in charge, but that I had less to fear of her.
“If it would not seem offensive may I please sit down highness?” I gestured towards my chair, igniting the candles on my desk in the simple motion. “Please permit me to sit before you upon your throne. I am very exhausted from my incantation and must give some rest to my legs.”
She turned, allowing me to see the crescent moon upon her flank before she cantered back to her throne. “Please, sit if it does bother you so.”
Nervously I moved to my desk and turned my chair around so I would sit facing her.
“Now then, what brings such a dark creature before us?”
A creature am I now? “Princess please, I am an elf. I would not wish to be lumped in with the likes of manticores and giant spiders. I wish to simply find asylum from the warring of my homeland. There is no end to the strife and I am far past the point where I care why we fight against one another, we always had something more pressing to face. If I am to die in combat, then I would not wish to die by the blade of someone I could help. My allegiance is to the world, not its rulers should they prove to stand for everything they would claim to stand against. My kind was persecuted for being different and within the past year I found myself to have no cause anymore to fight for.”
She listened with consideration to every word I spoke. After I finished she paused and calmly looked to me with a sign of sympathy. “I know the severity of hatred and jealousy Val. The persecution you speak of seems no different from when a mare named Nightmare Moon sought to rule all of Equestria in eternal night.”
I started to wonder of Princess Luna and Nightmare Moon; I am not naïve enough to catch such a simple connection. But that was something I would wish to ask if I could persuade her to be more friendly. “My people’s homeland is tainted and corrupted by the scars of darkness, my people persecuted, and my life is now before your hooves. I wish to be productive for you and your people.” As I spoke I noticed the first rays of sunlight coming in the windows behind her.
Princess Luna rose from her throne. “We shall have to speak later. I will try to get my sister to speak with you for now though, she rules during the day.” I rose and bowed once more to her before she passed by me. “Wait here and I shall try to get her to meet you now.” Her words still echoed in my head after she left.
*****
Elves, honestly elves. Princess Luna made her way to the dining hall, searching for her sister before turning in for the morning. There she was, calmly eating while reading the Equestria Daily. “‘Tia,” Luna squealed, excitement showing all over the lunar princess’ face. “There’s someone who you need to see!”
Princess Celestia turned to see her giddy sister. “Who is it that you’re speaking of Luna?” Celestia gave a coy smile to her sister.
“An elf! An honest to goodness elf!”
A skeptical look dawned on the solar princess’ face. “Are you sure you weren’t just seeing things Luna? You need to stop staying up into the afternoon reading if you’re seeing things like that while you’re holding court.”
Luna huffed, “then come and see yourself. I swear he’s real ‘Tia. He showed up with a whole room’s share of books and trinkets. He arrived in the throne room of all places!”
“When I’ve finished my breakfast Luna, now please get to bed soon and no more reading before bed.”
Irritated and sleepy, but grinning eat-to-ear Luna left for her chambers. She knew her sister would be in for a surprise when she went to the throne room.
*****
I waited patiently for this sister of Princess Luna’s to arrive. The new guards in the hall, white pegasi in golden armor, had not bothered me in the very least while I cleaned up my books some. After putting every book back on its shelf I moved to my desk and a drawer that contained the essence of the Sunwell in it. I smiled as I gazed into its shimmer. I may need it eventually but this world was ripe with magic. If I could adjust to its magic then I wouldn’t need the vial of energy. Perhaps, I could even abandon the demonic powers lashed to my soul with enough time. In the meantime, however I needed some strength in my power. I grasped a dagger in the drawer and pierced my arm with it, feeling the magic coursing through the pain.
A screech from Crest told me someone else was entering. Quickly, I closed and locked the drawer that held the vial of energy in time to look up at a white alicorn, her mane was a radiant flowing shimmer of pastel colors. We exchanged awkward looks, her soft purple eyes meeting my fierce green ones. “If I may be so bold, I would believe you to be the sister of Princess Luna?”
She blinked at me before finding words once more. “Why yes,” her voice was pleasant, “I am Princess Celestia. She mentioned an elf but I wasn’t sure at first. She has spent many morning reading novels after her night court.”
“So you jumped to the conclusion that I was some figment of her imagination correct majesty?” Were I in her… um hooves… I would feel the same.
“Yes,” she admitted. “It seems that I should have had more faith in my sister. But what perplexes me is that wound on your arm.”
I blinked and turned my attention to my dagger, still deep in my arm. “One moment, I had a dire need for magic to flow in my body.” I gingerly pulled the dagger out, resting it on my desk as I stood. I calmly moved from behind my desk so I could be seen completely. “As I had told your sister,” I maintained eye contact at all times. “My name is Val. I seek asylum from the war torn world I hail from. Unfortunately, I have caused quite the mess in your throne room from my arrival and I wish to apologize for that. I’m afraid that this was my first attempt at a gate spell of this magnitude.”
She beamed at me. “Perhaps we can make room for you Val. Also, forgive me for saying this, but I was expecting someone shorter. Our stories of elves,” she explained, “are tales of short pointed eared creatures.”
The creatures jab again, but I started to piece it together now with some explanation given to me. “But you can see that we are rather tall, and I would like to reiterate what I had told Princess Luna. I would rather not be referred to as a creature; it makes me sound like I’m in league with a manticore or something.”
She chuckled, “you seek to free yourself from the wars of your own world. As such you have found a way to travel across tremendous distances correct?”
I nodded, “precisely majesty. After staring death in the eye for most of my career, I am tired of it. I think I deserve some rest.”
“And why are you not hiding in your own world?”
I had chanced to remove my eyes from hers so I could sear the self-inflicted wound shut. “It has grown to the point of finding danger around every corner. It may not always be life threatening, but I am sick of the whole thing. I hate sleeping on the ground with one ear open; my first instinct being to go for my weapon when I wake.” Crest cried out and I patted his head, “I have also been neglectful of my dear friend here.”
The shadow-plumed phoenix flew over to look at Princess Celestia better before returning to me. He sang for me a soft note and I smiled.
“I feel I need some formality, Crest was kind enough to remind me that you are not one to yell at me on first sight.” I bowed to her, “Bal’a dash Princess Celestia, I am Val of the Sin’dorei.”
“That is your language correct?”
“Yes, the language of the Sin’dorei, the tongue of the blood elves. We once tried to be polite until the wars reached us. After that, things changed. We were thrown into battle and we lost the font of our power, the Sunwell. In time, we reclaimed it, but not before realizing just how much we needed it. Many who lacked access to magic are nothing but crazed husks of our former selves without our magic now. I have seen it for myself. I would hate to find myself suffering through that before I die.”
“So you seek to hide yourself from the madness as well as the conflict?”
“Not until I took in the first breath of your world could I tell this land had a different kind of magic. One I could feel without consuming it into every fiber of my being. I would like to at least try to live here and avoid the pain of war, to spend the time I have left away from conflict. Would you permit me that?”
“I will need to talk to my sister this evening about it, but for now I believe we can spare you quarters at the very least.” She turned and called for a guard. “Take him to a spare room so he may rest.”
“Al diel shala highness. I look forward to you judgment.” With Crest once more on my shoulder, I walked past her and followed the guard. “I will also work on getting my tongue out of my system. For your convenience of course.”
I was taken to a small room at the top of a high tower. It only contained a bed and a small table with a candle. It wasn’t much, but it was mine for the time being. I reached over to the candle and snuffed it with my bare hand, allowing a black flame to take its place. My control was pure, it was a flame I chose to make blacker than night. It obeyed perfectly and was something pleasant enough to bring sleep to my eyes.
Author’s Note: I’m keeping my phrases to confirmed/speculated terms. I’ll try to translate in story, giving notes just like these when I don’t put them in.
Bal’a dash - Greetings
Al diel shala - Safe travels