The council cavern felt heavier than usual.

The faint glow of crystals along the walls cast long shadows across the gathered Dark Elves, their ashen skin and silver eyes catching the dim light in sharp contrasts. The air carried the familiar scent of damp earth and resin, but beneath it lingered something else tonight—tension, thick and unyielding.

Fior stood at the center.

The signs of the assault had not faded. A bruise darkened the side of his jaw, a shallow cut ran across his cheek, and his shoulder was still bound beneath dark cloth. He did not bother hiding any of it.

If anything, he wore it like proof.

Xeveris sat at the head of the table, his posture composed, though his gaze lingered on Fior with a weight that spoke of concern rather than authority. Around him, the elders had gathered, Yttriva leaning as usual against a stone pillar, Ermid standing with his arms folded, and a handful of others watching in silence.

Xeveris had a parchment in his hands which made everyone curious. They could see the seal of the Pure Mana King on it.

"What does it say?" One of the Elders asked.

"It says that Aelfric is safe now," Xeveris announced.

The cavern collectively sighed a breath of relief and Xeveris continued, "He has given his word that the Pure Mana Elves will not retaliate for what happened but has asked me to punish the one responsible to keep anymore escalation."

"That’s a good news." One of the elders Irmiah sighed, "But then this means we have to punish Fior."

Everyone’s eyes turned to the injured youth who was already glaring daggers at them.

"And what happened to you?" Xeveris asked him.

Fior drew in a breath, steadying himself.

"They attacked me again," he said.

A low murmur spread across the chamber, quieter than before, as though the fear had already begun to settle into something more familiar.

"Four of them," Fior continued. "Pure Mana Elves. They came for my life."

"Are you sure you didn’t provoke them?" Yttriva asked.

Fior scowled at her and claimed, "I did not."

Ermid’s expression tightened. "Where did this happen?"

"The upper grove," Fior replied. "One of the blind spots."

"That far in..." one of the elders muttered under his breath. "They are pushing deeper."

"They are not pushing," Fior said, his voice sharpening. "They are hunting."

The word lingered.

Xeveris regarded him steadily. "And you survived."

Fior’s lips pressed into a thin line. "Barely."

That was not entirely a lie, but he offered nothing more.

A brief silence followed before Xeveris spoke again. "Isn’t it normal at this point? You attacked their King, would you sit still if one of them had attacked me?"

"Absolutely not!" Came a response in a heartbeat.

"Then it’s done, there’s no need for any more trouble. Fior, you are forbidden from going above ground, this will be your punishment. But if you tried to disobey then you will be arrested." Xeveris spoke with the tone of finality.

This triggered Fior even more, "Why? I haven’t done nothing wrong. Those runts come and harm our kind and you are punishing me on that scum’s order."

"It’s not an order it’s a request-"

"Yes, right! A request, my ass!" Fior cut in before Xeveris could complete.

"Fior, you are not in a place to raise your voice here." Irmiah spoke and Fior glared at him.

"And you are? Well, isn’t it going great in your reign, our kind are being hunted like we’re damn animals and they are free to do it because your council is spineless!" Fior shouted.

"So, what do you propose? We fight back? Aren’t you already doing that?" Another Elder shot back at him.

Fior remained silent for a moment before he inhaled and exhaled and then looked straight at Xeveris.

"We stop hiding," he said. "We stop waiting for them to strike first. We take the fight to them."

A shift passed through the room. Some of the younger elves straightened slightly, while the elders remained still.

"And then what?" Irmiah asked. "We wage war beneath Yggdrasil?"

Fior’s voice cut through the chamber, steadier now, but carrying a restrained intensity.

"We have done everything that was expected of us," he said. "We remained beneath the ground. We did not trespass into their territory. We took only what the roots gave us."

His gaze swept across the elders.

"And still, they come down here and hunt us."

A quiet tension settled over the room.

Ermid’s brows drew together. "You are certain they followed you that far?"

"They knew where to find me," Fior replied. "That is enough."

"That is exactly why we must be cautious," Xeveris said. "If they are moving with such precision, then something about this is not natural."

Fior turned toward him, frustration surfacing again. "Not natural or not, it is happening."

"And reacting without understanding it will only make it worse," Xeveris replied.

"It is already worse," Fior said, his voice tightening. "We are being killed in the very place we were told would keep us safe."

No one spoke.

Fior took a step forward.

"We followed the balance," he continued. "We lived beneath the roots because that is where we belong. We did not challenge them for the surface, nor the forests, nor the sky."

His eyes hardened.

"And yet they treat us as if we have."

Yttriva watched him silently now, the usual edge in her expression replaced by something more thoughtful.

"What you are asking for," one of the elders said slowly, "will not end with retaliation. It will become war. It’s a blessing that your act didn’t already put us in a mortal danger."

Fior did not look away.

"We already are," he said.

"That is not war," Xeveris replied. "That is chaos."

"And how many more of us have to die before you call it by its name?" Fior asked.

The question lingered, heavier than before.

Xeveris’s voice remained steady. "And how many will die if we act without restraint? You think the damage will remain between us and them?"

Fior’s expression tightened.

"This is not only about us," Xeveris continued. "If this conflict spreads to the-"

"Yggdrasil," Fior cut in, the word carrying a sharp edge now.

"Yes," Xeveris said firmly.

Fior let out a slow breath, shaking his head.

"We protect the roots," he said. "We live beneath them. We draw from them. We have done nothing to harm them."

His gaze lifted, burning now with quiet defiance.

"And yet we are the ones being cut down."

The chamber fell silent again. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Xeveris met his gaze, and for the first time, there was something heavier in his expression.

"This is not as simple as you believe."

"And waiting will not make it clearer," Fior replied.

"Fior, as your leader it’s my responsibility to look for everyone’s good. You are only watching one perspective, our existence is for the protection and nurturing of Yggdrasil. So, I’d ask you to come to your senses and not do anything that will make us all regret."

Fior stood in silence for a moment after the last of Xeveris’s words settled into the chamber. The glow of the crystals flickered faintly across his face, catching the bruises and dried blood that still marked him. His breathing had steadied, but something within him had not.

He had grown up beneath these roots.

He had learned to draw strength from the same source as everyone in this room, to live within the balance they all spoke of so reverently. They had endured, adapted, survived, while being pushed further into the dark with each passing generation.

And still, it had not been enough.

They had not crossed the boundaries.

They had not challenged the surface.

They had not broken the balance.

Yet they were the ones being hunted.

His jaw tightened.

If this was what restraint led to... then what future did it offer?

Fior lifted his gaze, and when he spoke again, his voice was steady, but edged with something far more dangerous than anger.

"If not now," he said, "then when?"

No one answered.

"If we keep waiting, if we keep enduring, then all we are doing is buying time for them to finish what they’ve already started." His eyes moved across the elders, one by one. "At this rate, we won’t lose a war."

A pause.

"We will simply go extinct."

A quiet unease stirred through the chamber.

Fior let out a short breath, shaking his head slightly. "And when that happens," he continued, "you can all sit here beneath these roots and tell yourselves that at least Yggdrasil remained untouched."

The words landed harder than any raised voice.

Yttriva’s gaze sharpened, but she did not interrupt.

Xeveris’s expression darkened.

Fior took another step forward, his voice lowering.

"If you won’t act," he said, "then I will."

That was the moment the air changed.

Xeveris did not move immediately, but the shift in his presence was unmistakable. The faint glow of the crystals dimmed as a heavy pressure began to spread through the chamber, subtle at first, then suffocating.

It settled over Fior like weight.

Not sudden.

Not violent.

But absolute.

The mana in the air thickened, pressing down against his body, his breath, his very bones. It was the presence of someone who had lived centuries longer, who had fought battles Fior had only heard of, who held authority not just by title, but by strength.

Fior’s muscles tensed instinctively. His own mana flared in response, dark and sharp, but it struggled against the overwhelming force bearing down on him.

Xeveris’s voice cut through the pressure, calm but unyielding.

"You will do no such thing."

Fior’s fists clenched at his sides, his body resisting even as it betrayed him under the weight of that influence.

"You will not act on your own," Xeveris continued. "You will not incite conflict. And you will not disrupt the balance of Edrisyl."

Each word carried the weight of command.

"This is not a request."

Fior’s breath grew uneven for a moment, his body forced into stillness by sheer difference in power. His knees threatened to give, but he held his ground, his head lifting inch by inch until his eyes met Xeveris’s.

There was no submission in them.

Only defiance.

He said nothing.

Xeveris held his gaze for a long moment longer before the pressure finally eased, the heavy air lifting as though the chamber itself exhaled.

The glow of the crystals returned.

Fior straightened slowly, his body no longer restrained, but the tension in him had only hardened.

He looked at Xeveris.

Then at the elders.

At all of them.

Whatever expectation had remained in his eyes before was gone now.

In its place was something colder. Decided.

Without a word, he turned.

His footsteps echoed against the stone as he walked toward the exit, each one steady, unhurried. No one moved to stop him this time.

As he disappeared into the dim corridor beyond, the silence he left behind felt heavier than before.

Fior did not look back.

He already knew.

He would find no help here.

And so, he would find it elsewhere.