Elissa dusted the remains of the crushed sending stone off her hands, she looked around her and ordered her handmaidens to begin looting the corpses, she herself pocketed the dead elven young master’s money purse. The party gathered any spatial rings they found, magic items, weapons: bows, arrows, swords, daggers; the biggest loot for Elissa was the pseudo Gungnir and personal grimoire of the mage she killed, it explained how to use words of power.

The next time she fought Dark Elf mages they would not silence her so easily! That had shocked her, and if she hadn’t had her cryokinesis to fall back upon Elissa would have panicked.

Reinatiel looked on as the pseudodragon began eating some of the elves, it didn’t shock her that Elissa let them do what had been promised. Her mistress meant what she said, always. They were in their giant dragon forms and ate all the corpses with relish, Elissa then conjured water in big ice trough for them to drink.

“Mistress, may I ask you a question?” Fenirael came up behind the young woman.

“Sure Feni, what is it.” Elissa said while stroking the black and white scales of her dragon familiars.

Fenirael hesitated for a second and finally said, “I heard what you said about going against armies… I am not sure that at your current level you can take one on.”

Elissa could take on a group but not an army, Fenirael was certain of it. They should hightail it out of here and return to the pocket realm to train until they dropped. Elissa stayed silent while taking the loose old scales from Aghri’s skin.

Finally the redhead said, “I am aware, Feni. Don’t worry, we are going to go back to the Pocket Realm and I am really going to push myself for a while with my powers. I barely cultivated enough cosmic energy, I want to be at least as strong and tough as my dad and become even more powerful, I feel like I'm barely scratching the potential of my powers and... I am having second thoughts about a promise I made to myself.”

“Oh what was it?” Fenirael put her hands on her hips, looking at her mistress with interest.

Elissa stopped scratching Aghri’s scales and turned to Fenirael. “Not using my Siren Song powers to control people.”

“...You should use it.” Fenirael remembered the effects of that ability, Empress Daphne has it too and it was used to quell rebellions.

Elissa nodded “I think that you are right.”

After that the party climbed onto the dragons and they flew high in the sky of Svartalfheim, the landscape was dotted with lakes, plains, forests as well as large mountain ranges. The magic birds in the air avoided the two giant familiars, flying over this alien planet was exhilarating to Elissa and she wished she could have wings of her own to soar freely through the sky; even though she could use her own magic or cryokinesis to do so, having the appendages going with it would feel more real to her. She didn’t know where this thought came from but she decided that it was right, she wanted her own wings.

Elissa commanded her dragons to land near the mountain chain with a little lake below them two hundred kilometers from where her last battle happened. The landing was made in a small sheltered inlet bordering the mountain; it was there that Elissa found a new nexus that she quickly tamed and took possession of, it seemed to become a habit on this planet.

Reinatiel carved a cavern in the mountain’s wall with her black fire consuming the stone while Elissa created protection around the nexus, creating a pied-à-terre in this area that defended against most black spells and curses that she knew of. If someone found this place, they would be kept away, however if they insisted they would be ejected violently from the area and if they insisted a third time they wouldn’t be shown any mercy from the third death curse powered by the might of the nexus. Elissa surrounded her little fall back area with a Mirage Arcane defense just to be thorough.

It was well into the night when Elissa crafted a teleportation circle into the bedrock of her little cave, she even made an enchanted gate out of her permafrost ice to close it off.

Fenirael asked Elissa, “Mistress why don’t we go back right away to the-”

“I’m going to dot this planet with fallback areas, if we ever get back here we are going to be able to have fast travel points on Svartalfheim.” Elissa said while she was keying the teleportation circle to her and her party and reaching out in the ether for the other locations she had linked previously.

“That’s really smart.” Reinatiel said nodding, she was impressed by Elissa’s quick thinking.

<My belly is full!> The white pseudodragon said rolling on the ground showing his belly.

<We need to nap it off, Aghri.> Rilo told her mate.

“Don’t worry you two, we are leaving right now and going back home. You are coming with us!”

<How cozy is your place, Elissa?> Aghri asked.

<I want to have a good place with cushions and lots of water.> The black pseudodragoness was interested in their new home, she hoped that they will have a lot to eat and could nap to their heart's content. Adventuring was well and good but she loved napping too.

“Then you’ll be satisfied, my pretties.” Elissa gave them a radiant smile.

The demonesses were already in the circle waiting for Elissa and the other two familiars, when they were all in the center of the circle formation, the young woman snapped her fingers and suddenly they were in the fortress in a flash of light.

“Welcome home, Aghri, Rilo.” Elissa said as she opened her arms wide.

The fortress had changed yet again, there were more Yurt like houses near the north gate than she would have liked, Elissa will speak about it with the Matriarchs. But she understood that the Lutrinians liked to be near the water more and the north gate gave access to the lakeshore.

<This… there are a lot of beings here.> Rilo said as she watched the Lutrinians going about their business, some were transporting goods and others materials.

<What are they?> Aghri asked a bit put off, he was used to Elissa and her two demonesses but this sudden influx of people made him wary.

Taking Aghri in her arms, Elissa said, “Those are my people.”

<Chief! The Chief is back!>

<CHIEEEF!!!>

<She comes back victorious?>

Finally, her return being noticed, Elissa commanded a young Lutrinian to go look for the Matriarchs and a group of older otters to come to her. The otter people were known for their efficiency and swiftness, so it wasn’t weird to find them running to them less than two minutes later.

<Chief, you are back.> The Matriarchs’ leader  said.

The redhead kneeled and took the older female otter in her arms. <I am, Matriarch; I completed the quest given to me by our Goddess. And soon her boon will bless this realm, our home. I am inviting you to join me in the Majestic Temple to witness this momentous event.> Elissa said eloquently.

The otters were all smiles and the other Lutrinians cheered in the background. <We will come.> The Matriarch said as she slightly bowed.

<Great, then come into the circle.>

The three Matriarchs and the other old otters came into the circle around Elissa and her party and she teleported them into the Majestic Cavern. It was the same place as before, those who didn’t come here before had their mouths wide open and looked on at the majesty of the place; Elissa had named the place well. Rilo and Aghri huddled together, intimidated by the place. River appeared at Elissa’s side and took her hand in hers and led her contractor to the Goddess’ statue.

The dragon familiars were surprised to see another Elissa appear out of the blue and nervously followed. Hekate was still as majestic and commanding as ever in her permafrost statue, Rilo noticed the resemblance between her and Elissa right away and looked between them with awe. It became even more so when the Statue began to move by itself.

“You came back fast, κόρη.” Hekate said as she looked at Elissa and her entourage.

The Lutrinian knelt and looked transfixed at the deific visage of their grand chief’s patron.

“There were still... complications.” Elissa said as she remembered everything that happened to her and her party while questing.

Hekate melodious voice rang out in the cavern. “As always, nothing worth having is easy to obtain.”

“I see…”

Elissa took out the bar of Ebolyte from the spatial toe ring and the Goddess made it fly to her with a thought.

Examining the metal bar, Hekate said, “This is pure Ebolyte, good find Elissa. As we agreed, I will place the gift of tongues onto your realm and as a bonus for your swiftness place protection on your place of power, no one will ever take your land away from you κόρη.” A powerful wave of power radiated from the Elder Goddess and spread from the temple to the entirety of the pocket realm.

Hekate kept her word, blessing Elissa’s land and giving her additional boons; Elissa felt that new wards were added to the entire realm and could interact with them, she had full mastery of them, like an administrator would have access to the entire security system.

“I thank you, mother.” Elissa bowed her head. 

The statue changed from a giant one to a woman sized one, still a head taller than Elissa; Hekate embraced her κόρη and patted head after a moment.

“I love you Elissa, keep up the good work. Get stronger and make your enemies quake in fear at the mention of your name, Lady Dragonfang.” Hekate finished teasingly.

Elissa looked at the goddess in dismay, her eyes wide. “You… you heard that?”

Another bout of melodious laughter rang out. “I was there, quick thinking of you to not tell your real affiliations. But just to cover your bases, I decided to put up a layer of protection onto this realm as you gave me new followers and to protect them from those ridiculous dark elves.”

This was something huge, Elissa converted new followers without doing anything big; just with love and care the tiny bit of faith she received from the Lutrinian made Hekate have a foot in the door on this planet and she was here to stay. Certainly, Nodicea the Elven Dark Goddess and Holaf the builder, God of the Dwarves won’t be happy… but what could they do now that a far more powerful elder Goddess was here?

“Once again I thank you, mother. You are so good to me.” Elissa tightened the hug on Hekate.

The goddess kissed Elissa on the forehead and said, “Continue your training, κόρη.” 

Letting go of Elissa who found herself looking beatifically at her goddess, Hekate addressed the otters, and familiars of her κόρη, “Lutrinian you can now understand everything being said as I have blessed this realm. Take care of each other, help others but never let yourself open to being preyed upon ever again. If you want peace, be prepared for war.”

One of the Matriarchs stood and yelled, “Tha-thank you, my goddess! Mother of our great chief!!”

“We will, listen O great Hekate.” Another shouted.

Hekate laughed and nodded as she was satisfied with the Lutrinians. “Good I shall retire, you can go back, now.”

In a flash of light the cavern became rather bright and everyone was blinded, when it subsided the statue was in its usual place and back to being giant. Elissa kneeled before it and began to pray, a layer of frost around her as she entered in communion with her Goddess, River mimicked her.

“Hey, everyone you can understand now?” Fenirael asked.

The Lutrinian Matriarchs turned to the two demonesses and smiled at them, they were now able to understand each other.

“Handmaidens, we do.” The oldest matriarch answered, slightly bowing her head.

Raising her chin, Reinatiel said, “Then you’ll understand that we need to make a feast to celebrate what just happened?”

This was one of the signs the demonesses were waiting for, seeing their goddess manifest was a sure sign that Elissa was almost ready to accept her Destiny.

“To the mead hall!!!” An older Lutrinian shouted, happy that he would have permission to get smashed with the wine and mead stored there. 

---

Day 18, Noon

 

Elissa levitated in the dark cloudy sky as she let the mana fill her and manifest her elements, ice, lightning, water and wind spheres gravitated around her, this was an exercise of control. The young woman wanted to be able to use her Magic Embodiment form at will, the ultimate spell that had won her the placement exam for Tesla Academy.

To master it she needed to synergize with her affinities and knowledge of how to use them at peak efficiency without running out of mana. Magic Embodiment was a magical form that was a powerful deterrent, but long term use was dangerous for the user as it damaged the spiritual meridians. To circumvent this, Elissa decided to reinforce her meridians by meditating and circulating her mana and elemental energy through her body, working the meridians like a muscle, widening and strengthening them.

This was about patience and taking advantage of the conditions on this planet to get stronger, there was no rush. When she was done meditating to reinforce her spiritual meridians she began to take in cosmic energy to do the same with her body until night where she passed the time in her Yurt, studying the magic tomes and grimoires she pilfered with Reinatiel to see what made them “High Magic,” and the interesting finds they made left them surprised; High Magic rituals were roughly divided into three different types:

Rituals of Solitude, those were the lowest-level of High Magic Rituals, touching the direct source of magic the least, and they could be cast by a solitary high mage. Despite their name, many of these ritual spell effects could involve bolstering the morale of entire armies of elves or of demoralizing their foe's forces.

Rituals of Complement, those requires three high mages working in tandem, and they required more time and were more complex. Effects included creating permanent gates (magic portals), the creation of many magic items at once, or creating a phantasmal illusion capable of hiding an entire elven homeland.

Rituals of Myriad were the most powerful form of High Magic and required at least five high mages, though some of these rituals required many more participants. Examples of Rituals of Myriad included the creation of the Mythals of elven cities.

“No wonder, those elves lost against Phantasia’s great sorcerers,” Reinatiel said offhandedly, leaning in her seat.

“What do you mean?” Elissa asked. The young woman stretched as they had passed the time reading well into the night. On her Smartphone it was midnight.

Reinatiel chose to enlighten her curious mistress. “Those high magic spells are too demanding and aren’t streamlined enough to require less mana and look at those lines of runic alphabets this is clunky! I could use this with spell coding myself if I connected to a ley line.”

When a magic language was too convoluted and complicated they made using said magic really complicated; High Magic was written in a runic script that made it only usable to a chosen few, but under Hekate’s gift of tongues it became easy to understand. This boon of the Goddess was really useful.

“Eh, the effects are nice but I think you are right, we could do better. Mother would do this alone, you know what? I am going to take those magic rituals and streamline them to be used by a lone mage.” Elissa smiled devilishly.

She already saw herself flinging high magic against armies and taking them on by herself. But she wasn’t crazy enough to not realize how tall of an order it would be to experiment and simplify High Elven magic runes to Phantasian runic script.

Reinatiel knew how Elissa thought, she wanted to throw elven magic around too and make them pay “I will help you, some of those rituals are for supporting and protecting; those are my specialities. You can take the attack spells and the defensive ones?” The demoness wanted them to divide the roles, Elissa was more useful as the damage dealer.

“Fine I will, but before that do you know what Mythals are?” Elissa huffed.

She knew she didn’t have all the time in the world to study every high elven ritual, and there were some things she didn’t understand in the books anyway and Reinatiel as her arcane familiar was more knowledgeable than her.

Laughing, Reinatiel answered. “Sure, a mythal is a powerful magical effect, created by a group of spellcasters to protect and ward a large area with numerous powerful enchantments. From my studies in Hekate’s great temple and the information recovered from the Sorcerous Tower after the war with the Elves, mythals could permanently alter areas of high mana to create an area wherein the normal rules of magic no longer applied. A typical mythal prevented certain schools of magic from being employed while empowering others. It could even restrict access to the warded area to certain classes of beings.”

“Sounds like some epic things to do.” Elissa laughed. “I’m going to study those, meanwhile why don’t you read this grimoire about words of power?”

“Yes sure. I want to use those, make those dark elves taste their own medicine.” Reinatiel scowled.

After these goals that they gave each other, Reinatiel and Elissa passed the 19th day in the same fashion, magical cultivation and adapting high magic spells to a more usable form. Elissa continued to push herself in meditation and when she had had enough of that for a while, she began to spare with Fenirael.

The fight was intense and they didn’t mind broken bones, at first the two were almost equal but Elissa got used to the movements of her warrior demoness and began to dismantle her the 25th day. As she didn’t have enough time in a day, Elissa divided the mornings for meditation, noons were for resting and eating, afternoons for sparing and physical training and nights for magic study.

Her physical training consisted of lifting the twenty tonnes of Rilo in her giant dragon form and running on water while being pursued by Aghri shooting his laser breaths at them. It was fun and the dragon familiars were getting something to do other than getting fatter and being spoiled by the Lutrinians who loved them a bit too much.

Elissa noticed that her skin and bones became tougher, as the claws of her pseudodragons couldn’t wound her anymore and when Fenirael had tried to break her arm. The cosmic energy made her on par with Cassandra already, ninety tonnes were nothing to her now and as for speed, Elissa officially reached mach two as her new record.

30th day, Elissa looked at the date on her smartphone that she finally noticed didn’t need to be recharged. She was thankful that Tesla had made it, but it could only have been changed when she wasn’t watching.

 *So uncle Nikola had mom’s help in taking my phone and improving a lot of stuff on it.* Elissa thought as she was on her chaise longue, sunbathing on the pier in her white bikini with her handmaidens, Rilo and some of the Matriarchs who emulated her.

The Lutrinian females all wore throwaway wrap fabric around their breasts and lower body, mimicking Elissa who had unknowingly brought change to their societal structure. Dangerous Woman, by Ariana Grande was playing from her bluetooth speakers that were linked to her phone. Everyone was taking it easy today, no training and no meditation, just partying.

Today was Friday July 20th, 2018 on earth. It had been a month since Elissa arrived on Svartalfheim, she asked herself what Dawn, Tabitha and Sarah were doing during their summer vacation. She knew that Dawn was surely seeing Hel itself with her mother’s training; same for Tabitha in the Temporally Accelerated Realm under Master Tempest’s teachings. Sarah was surely training her demonic magic, her black fire was a boon and a precision tool that she couldn’t neglect.

Same for Elissa, now that she obtained a water spirit she was thinking of getting a lightning spirit. But from what Reinatiel told her, those were tricky to even make obey. Elissa had a plan to fight it and gain its allegiance and boost her magic with it. River told her she knew of a way to gain their allegiance right away but Elissa wanted to fight against a spirit for once. Battling incorporeal beings was a good experience to have.

Elissa wanted to develop a new branch of Inshek martial art, focusing on antimagic to battle magical beings and arcanists. She had already laid out the methodology, this was going to become a deadly art that only she could use. The rest of the day was passed playing Lake Volley and weirdly for beings of such little stature, the Lutrinian were excelling in the sport. Elissa was reduced to being a judge for the teams forming and the prize was being petted by her and getting to be the first batch of Lutrinians to be taught magic.

The youngest Lutrinians won and were celebrated in the Mead Hall, in this feast Elissa was introduced to the joy of Dire wolf steaks. She found it weirdly enticing, filling and delicious, she would never be able to see dogs the same way again, and would have to avoid thinking about Chun-Li when that happened. The Lutrinians were being trained by Fenirael in the morning in hunting and basic combat doctrine.

Elissa decided to build a temporary forge to create the tools she would need to build a grander forge and permit her people to get even cozier houses, weapons and appliances. But she knew that what she really needed was the help of Dwarves.

*Like Aunty Gadhiss said you always need Dwarves!* Elissa chuckled.

Her decision was made in that moment as she had her third goblet of Mead, it seemed that alcohol had no effect on her physiology. Reinatiel told Elissa that she would be able to drink a Dwarf under the table, she laughed at that. Everyone went to sleep well into the night.

31st Day, Elissa had prepared a place to summon the lightning elemental, it was the size of a soccer field and around it she placed sturdy magical and kinetic barriers. The young woman wore shorts with ankle length boots and a blue crop top that showed her midriff. Elissa cast Summon Elemental, and a breach into reality opened into the sky; thunder rang and in a flash of light an elemental from the plane of storm appeared on Svartalfheim.

<Come to me.> Elissa said in Auran; Auran was the language of the Elemental Plane of Air, but it was shared by the elementals living in the positive plane of energy too.

 

The spirit cooperated, but the feeling Elissa picked up from it was that it was really reluctant. It took on the form of a fairy and Elissa now knew that she wanted her as she was super cute.

 

<Why did you call me, weird human.> The elemental was sassy.

Elissa tilted her head. <Weird human?>

The elemental nodded and flew around Elissa and stopped before her face. <Yes, you smell and feel weird. But you are unlike any humans I’ve met in my long lifetime.>

Laughing Elissa said, <Then it must be because I am an Ancient Human, that is how my people call themselves. We are beings born from mana and cosmic energy.>

Nodding, the elemental asked again, <I see, so why am I here?>

<I summoned you because I need a powerful Lightning spirit to accompany me in my adventures.> Elissa said as she smiled at the elemental.

The lightning elemental spirit’s shoulders dropped and she glared at Elissa. <Then you summoned the wrong elemental, I am just a lightning sprite. If that’s all, I will go back to my plane.> She was about to fly through the still open spatial rift.

Widening her eyes in panic Elissa stopped it. <Hold on! I can make you become a greater spirit.>

Interested, the elemental stopped and came back. <How?>

Reassured that she caught the attention of the cute elemental, Elissa smiled and said, <Easy, this major Nexus belongs to me; I shall give you five percent of the wild mana here; it should be enough for you to become a greater elemental spirit.>

The elemental sparkled with joy and calmed down as she saw Elissa smiling at her and decided to still show a dignified appearance and said, <Fine, it’s a deal. My true name is Farad Lightning that falls on the tree.>

<You are mine now, Farad. Take your prize.> Elissa said possessively as she moved five percent of the wild mana in the sky and the elemental floating in the air went to devour it.

It took an afternoon, but Farad finally took in all the wild mana she could and landed back on the ground, she looked like Elissa as the wild mana was laced with her own like everywhere in the pocket realm. Farad entered Elissa’s body making her grunt as a searing tattoo of a lightning bolt snaked around the young woman’s left arm.

“The game is on.” Elissa said as she felt her storm element getting even stronger, she even felt like she could control it more efficiently.

<Hey, Farad do you want to spar?> Elissa asked enthusiastically.

<Spar? A fight?!> Farad sounded really excited suddenly.

Elissa made her knuckles crack as she looked at the human sized lightning fairy. <Yeah, we will fight.>

<Ok, I need to know what I can do now!> The fairy flew in the sky, lightning arcs appearing around her

<Sweet.> Elissa used a flying spell and raised into the sky in pursuit of Farad.

The young woman covered her fist with a layer of antimagic and waited for Farad to attack. Her hands shined with an ethereal white light. If everything went like she thought it would, Elissa would gain a really big advantage against this type of opponent. But it didn’t, Elissa fell from the sky and landed feet first on the ground creating a mini crater.

“Shit. No other magic can be used with Antimagic on?!” It should have been obvious to her.

<What’s wrong, mistress?> Farad said as she arrived at Elissa’s side.

<I just discovered my technique is flawed.> The young woman thought about the things she knew, antimagic cancelled magic, even if she limited it to an area on her body it still affected the rest of the magic she used. She felt stupid.

But Farad didn’t let her feel sorry for herself. <You need to refine it, then. Hmm, this is boring I’ll get back in your body and speak with River, she’s nice for a water elemental.>

Elissa nodded and said. <Ok, sorry for disappointing you.>

Farad got back into Elissa’s body and the young woman dispelled the shield around the training terrain and got back to studying in her Yurt at the center of the Fortress. She wouldn't give up on this antimagic business yet.

---

Underdark, year 6589
Middledark, Bhelveth clan territory

 

Idami Bhelveth, Matriarch of the clan was grieving, she had sent her son into exile to teach him a lesson for ten years and suffer a bit but he had become even more scheming and from what the only survivor of his party told her about what happened, he caused this himself as he stole a precious metal from a sun elf and got himself killed for it.

Elissa Dragonfang, she sounded unstoppable and powerful; she was a storm mage, something not seen since before our race’s homeworld was lost. From the surviving tracker she heard that even silenced she could still use magic or an ability. This she-elf was a conundrum, Idami had never heard of a house Dragonfang from Alfheim, so she must be from an unknown elf world that had preserved the ancient traditions of the homeworld.

When a picture of Lady Dragonfang was obtained, Idami began to loath her even more; not only was she gifted and talented, but she was strikingly beautiful. More so than Idami who was considered the flower of the Middledark, everyone wanted to court her. But this Lady Dragonfang overshadowed her completely.

Before exiting her study, Idami took a memory crystal from the box on her desk and implanted the memory she took from the tracker; she also implanted the likeness of Elissa Dragonfang as well as her complete name and the meager information she obtained about her so far; Idami put a price on her head of 150 000 Amethyst coins and decided to distribute it in the adventurers’ guild branch. She was taking an immense risk in doing this as she didn’t know who house Dragonfang was, but she didn’t care. Her youngest son died at the hands of a dirty sun elf!

She hoped that the adventurers’ guild wouldn’t rescind her contract, taking on sun elf nobility from another planet was risky business and might plunge Svartalfheim into war, she might need to grease some palms… 

Leaving the clan mansion, Idami was reassessing the threat of the new enemy she made. The underground plants in her garden shone under the gigantic crystal illuminating the Middledark. The garden layout was pretty simple, there were hidden defenses and traps everywhere; no one who wasn’t part of the clan could easily enter these grounds.

Her white and golden coach pulled by feathered and long necked red lizards called Putark arrived before her, the door opened and there was an attendant inside who helped her to climb in. The coach left the clan’s grounds and headed in the direction of the Dark Elven capital Thafnoris.

Thirty minutes later the coach stopped in the center of the city before the adventurers’ guild near the temple of Nodicea the Dark Elven goddess of shadow and schemes.  Once before one of the hostesses at one of the counters in the guild’s hall, the Matriarch requested a meeting with the guild master. The hostess smiled and humbly asked the important client to wait in one of the luxurious waiting rooms.

And that’s how Idami waited for her friend to come meet her, she sipped on tea while looking around her. There were trophies and tapestries describing the good deeds of the adventurers’ guild in defending the kingdom against the forces of the Lowerdark, ten miles or more below the surface, the Lowerdark was where even those who knew or lived in the Underdark were loath to go.

In some cities around Thafnoris, those who hunted monsters and delved into dungeons banded together to form adventurers’ guilds. These guilds functioned as employment agencies for members and offered additional services, such as search parties for missing adventuring groups; however there were some of them that took contracts from less than desirable parties and succeeded. The Matriarch passed the day in the guild waiting for its master to accept her contract, and after meeting him she paid a hefty sum of money for him to accept the job, however the guild master had no way to know that he doomed everyone in this city by accepting it.

Once out of the guild, Idami assembled her best warriors and mages and teleported to where the tracker knew Lady Dragonfang to be. For ten days they travelled toward Aryther, the biggest freshwater lake on Svartalfheim. The way there was more than dangerous, Idami expected to see bands of roaming trolls and their villages, Dire Wolves and Wild Putark. But there were no trolls in the region, it was as if they had been culled. Idami didn’t want to see it but it was the hallmark of a greater power in action.

*Maybe the disturbance caused on the surface earlier this month was caused by the house of Dragonfang?* Idami shook her head and thought that it wasn’t possible.

Idami scryed Aryther but she didn’t see any signs that someone or a group had taken it over from the sky, the- something attacked her mentally and she began to see this ugly beast with green eyes who barely looked like a dark elf and more like an deformed monstrosity. She recoiled from the shock dropping the spell.

“Matriarch?!”

“Matriarch are you well?”

“Deploy the tent! We are camping here!”

The company of soldiers went into overdrive deploying their camp and thirty minutes later everything was ready in the woods they had landed in.

“Matriarch we are here, please open your eyes.” An old voice told her soothingly.

Idami woke up in her personal tent surrounded by her guards and her healer. “W-what happened?”

The healer wiped the sweat from Idami’s forehead and said, “Matriarch you were attacked by a soul attack formation, when you scryed Aryther for too long something attacked your soul, there’s no defense against that. What did it show you? When I examined it myself I discovered that this has shown me myself or at least what I look like to myself.”

“No.” Idami shook her head and whispered, “I am not that ugly thing.”

The healer looked at her and tilted his head. “Pardon?”

“Nothing.”Idami said averting her gaze from his.

Nodding, the healer sat at Idami’s side and began to say, “Matriarch, we should return to the clan. The level of spell defenses all over Aryther shows that the force whose magic we felt everywhere on the planet weeks ago is based here. The power that we could feel from it... can’t be defended aga-” With a slap, Idami sent her healer careening out of the tent.

“YOU COWARD!!” She shouted as she got out of bed to thrash the old elf.

“Matriarch, please calm your anger!! The healer is right, we cannot even pass the defenses twenty five kilometers from the lakeshore. The scouts we sent weren’t coming back so I sent some of our mages and one scout, only the scout came back and he said that the Mages simply killed each other when they tried to pass some kind of illusory defense. There’s magic afoot there, we cannot even enter the perimeter!”

Idami calmed herself, and thought, thought fast. This was too powerful and it seemed that it went beyond  being a Mythal. No this was the work of a group of individuals at least and they were helped by a deity. Idami felt the chance of getting her vengeance slip out of her fingers; she remembered the threat the sun elf made.

“If you come after me; know that, what I will do to your pathetic little clan, I am going to enjoy it.”

Fear seized her heart as the sweet voice promised to slaughter her clan. She had only brought two hundred soldiers and thirteen mages. She asked one of her guards how many troops were left.

“One hundred seventy seven, Matriarch.” The guard answered.

“This is not enough.” Idami realized; something was telling her that she would lose her current troops if she continued to try to penetrate Aryther’s defense.

“Indeed, Matriarch.” Then the man kept silent.

“Let’s retreat for now, order the troops to pull back from the area we are going back to the clan.

“As you wish Matriarch!” The guard said with relief and left to give the orders.

However destiny had other plans for Matriarch Idami when the tracker previously employed by her son entered her tent and shouted, “Matriarch! She’s out of the Aryther area! She’s around where your son was killed!” The man said panting.

---

32nd day, the start of the evening

 

Elissa’s next quest was to go find the Dwarves, Hekate directed her to where she was previously, their kingdom was underground and five hundred kilometers north from where she killed Persandoral. She used her hidden pied-à-terre and teleported there with her pseudodragons and handmaidens.

The permafrost gate of the cave opened and Elissa passed through them finding that nothing had changed, there was the same view on the lake, the woods and the poisonous flower beds. This world was beautiful, primal but dangerous.

But amongst this beauty the most terrible, venomous, predatory creatures call it "home". After spending a month on this planet, Elissa has begun to understand why the Dwarves and Dark Elves took refuge underground. The nature on the surface was twisted, at each moment something was out to get you. The Heat, the marine life, the land itself and all the supernatural critters whose language Elissa could understand. They were not civilized like those on earth, they spoke like two years old child and in simple concept; kill, eat, mate, poop.

This had tired her and forced the young woman to practice some… culling activities in her Pocket Realm. Elissa fiddled with the wards, they weren’t strong enough, she remembered that it was a quick job she did when she built this place; Malicia would spank her for such a shoddy job.

It took one hour but Reinatiel and Elissa buffed the defenses around this outpost with anti-scrying and and a strong keep-away ward.

“Mistress, are we camping here tonight?” Fenirael asked, she was ready to call it a night.

Elissa answered, “No we are flying away on dragon back. I want to put distance between us and this area, suddenly I don’t feel safe here even with the-”

BRRZZT. The defenses around the area fizzled.

Eyes wide opened, Elissa turned to Reinatiel and said, “What was that?”

“A large scale interference spell, mistress we must flee!!” Reinatiel shouted as she raised all her defense buff on her party.

Physical and magical defenses, Dexterity and fighting sense; as for Elissa she used the spell on her gold dragon dagger and for a one hour the young woman was resistant to ill effects while her combat proficiency was heightened. It made Elissa not unsheath Gram but take Gungnir from her spatial toe ring. The weapon hummed with power and lightning crackled from the Sapphire mounted on the blade.

“Report!” Elissa commanded.

<There are a lot of elves surrounding us, Elissa!> Rilo had taken flight and was now showing her a hundred or so dark elves around her base.

“I see, that this stupid clan didn’t get it the first time.” As the young woman spoke the handmaiden noticed that her voice became colder by the minute. This was a Demonic trait that she must be emulating from Malicia.

Fenirael remembered. “So it’s the clan of the guys we killed one week ago?”

“Sure, now it’s time to kick their ass.” Elissa teleported her shield to her free arm, it automatically installed itself.

“No mistress we must flee, there are too many of them.” Reinatiel advised, she found it weird that the elves weren’t stealthed like they did usually in those kind of attack.

And suddenly Elissa felt pressure on herself and around the area and swore, “Too late for that Reinatiel, they blocked teleportation.”

Elissa took control of the nexus and stayed tethered to it. Rilo and Aghri became giant and Fenirael took out new weapons, a giant ax. The young woman deployed her cold aura and let it form a set of Phantasian armor around herself, a construct she knew how to use. Elissa cast a camouflage spell on her dragons and waited for her enemies to make a move, she didn’t have to wait long for a familiar feminine voice to ring out from the woods.

“Lady Dragonfang, surrender! You’ll be treated fairly as a prisoner of war until your house pays reparation to my clan!”

Elissa maniacally laughed at that, the storm domain she was vocalizing in her head took effect and a storm fueled by the minor nexus she was connected to began to take shape in the sky. Farad stepped out of Elissa’s body and took flight.

“First, your son steals from me! And after that you have the gall to come seek me out when I told you that I would annihilate your clan if you did. Was it because you could not live with your own failures and that you feel that you sent your son to die in the Upperdark?” Elissa cackled as she channeled her mother in her speech. “Where did that bring you? Back to me.”

Thunder rumbled in the sky and the weather became stormy, the dragons and the handmaidens were already in place. Elissa prayed to Hekate to bless her with wisdom and guile.

“I will get you, Dragonfang!!” The Matriarch answered as she broke the silence.

“COME AND TRY. COME AND DIE.” Elissa boasted.

And as if it was the signal dozen of dark elves charged the clearing, and multiple arrows were launched to Elissa’s position. Unleashing the wind with the force of a hurricane, Elissa blew away the first volley of projectiles and threw Gungnir at all her visible foes then she unsheathed Gram that glowed mercilessly. Another wave of armored soldier ran at her but were suddenly stopped as Fenirael lunged at them and created a powerful shock wave when she swung her giant sword instantly blowing them away.

Elissa focused on Gram and closed her eyes and then leaped into the sky, she was held aloft by the wind itself. Thanks to her connection to the nexus and conjured an elemental sphere that suddenly divided itself and became even bigger; it was Farad’s work who placed herself at Elissa’s side in the sky and like a good elemental had marked the targets for her.

“Bhelveth Clan you are nothing to my ambition! Merely a speed bump on the road to Victory! Svartalfheim itself shall bow before me!” Elissa shouted and the two lightning spheres flew to the gathered soldiers hidden in the woods.

The explosion of plasma made the ground glow gold, the color of her lightning, it created a powerful shockwave that raised the soil, smoke and dust where the two biggest groups of the Bhelveth soldiers were positioned. The trees, beds of flowers and bushes were cleared. Raising her sword in the sky Elissa waited for Farad to charge as much lightning in the blade and her surrounding elemental aura to shine like a star. 

Once that she was charged to the brim with lightning Elissa descended like a comet where she thought the Matriarch would be, at the back. The impact was like one of those meteor strikes seen on TV, two hundred meters around Elissa there was nothing left but screaming elves     and burnt bodies. Elissa looked on as her dragons unleashed their breath on the stragglers, Fenirael was cutting down the advanced parties and Reinatiel supported her with buffs and her black fire.

Elissa sheathed Gram and recalled Gungnir into her hand, thinking that she had won yet again, however it seemed that fate was fickle today. Another hundred or so people materialized around her from thin air around her, Elissa felt mana trace that suggest that they teleported to surround her.

“Attack! Attack! Take the sun elf down!” A soldier shouted as he charged her.

Gungnir’s electric plasma blast cut him in two and she threw the godly spear that slew another dozen of them. The blood and gore made the ground slimy, the smell of shit and piss was in the air as the dead emptied themselves. However the soldiers began to swarm her like ants on a candy. They began to chip away at her ice armor, and then the mages began to mix in the fight too. Fire, Earth, Water and other exotic elements tested Elissa’s nexus boosted shield.

“ENOUGH!!” She screamed and let herself use the wind element and began to take the air from the lungs of the mages around her who got overpowered by Elissa’s mastery and asphyxiated; Farad swooped in and burned them with her lightning strike.

Elissa used Dimension Door to not let herself be surrounded and teleported near Fenirael who finished killing soldiers. River stepped out of Elissa’s body and controlled the water in the little lake and multiple balls of water of three meters in diameters raised from its surface. Elissa used the eyes in the sky from her dragon familiars to pin-point the target for River’s water traps. The balls streaked to the battlefield and caught a lot of the soldiers. 

River linked with Elissa and used her absolute zero freezing to kill all the soldiers imprisoned in her water prison. Elissa smiled at how smart her elemental spirit was.

Elissa recalled her godly spear to her hand and it teleported into it when she suddenly felt danger and a black dagger planted itself in her ribs, piercing her ice armor and arachne silk’s corset. The young woman was surprised to find a female dark elf who was smiling at her and planted another dagger in her stomach.

Suddenly she was on her knees and looking at the cursed daggers, Elissa then stared at the female elf and scowled at her; she tried to stand up, she almost did and saw the face of the dark elf expressing surprise. Elissa missed a step and fell on the ground and laid on the ground emptying herself of her life blood.

“You scared me, you are powerful; but too passionate. At least now I get revenge for Persandoral.”

Elissa closed her eyes and burned in hatred at the old as fuck Matriarch, yes it must have been the Matriarch. She didn’t want to lose, once again she had let power get to her head and didn’t get the job done in eradicating her enemies. *I want power. I want to punch in that smug dark elf’s face!* 

A huge pink colored landscape suddenly appeared in the darkness of unconsciousness that had engulfed her. Elissa was lying wounded in a meadow. She couldn’t raise her head from the ground but she could see silver armored sabatons.

<Oh, what a sorry sight you are, my descendant.> A smooth male voice said and Elissa was turned on her back and saw the most handsome man she had ever seen in her life. He had pale platinum blond hair, green eyes, a sexy well groomed beard and he was built like a martial artist.

<Who are you?> Elissa struggled to say, blood seeped from her mouth.

<You already know me, I will help you. Take my hand.> The man held his hand to her.

The voice was fairly familiar and then it clicked in her mind. <Damian?> Elissa wasn’t sure though.

The man laughed and said, <It’s been so long since someone has called my name. Little one you look so much like my dead wife, I will protect you, please take my hand.>

Elissa reached out weakly.

---

Meanwhile, Idami was gloating to Fenirael and Reinatiel who were trying to get her to stop stepping on Elissa’s head.

“She wasn’t that dangerous, I gutted her like a fish.” The woman laughed maniacally but the leftover soldiers rallied around her and the remaining two mages placed a barrier around them, even the dragons couldn’t penetrate it.

“Give me back my Mistress, you knife eared skank!” Fenirael shouted in fury. She was in her demon form and her skin was black as night and her eyes glowed in the night.

“Demons.” Idami spit on Elissa’s body. “If she cavorts with inhabitants of the abyss she doesn’t deserve to live.”

“Lemme kill her, Matriarch.” An eager mage said. 

Elissa had killed her husband and she burned in hate. “Not yet, we must bring her to our clan grounds and ransom her.” Idami bent over and tried to take Elissa by the hair but was stopped by the sun elf’s hand who held hers.

Elissa’s hair became silver and as she opened her eyes, they glowed crimson; the cursed daggers in her flank and stomach disintegrated and her blood was reabsorbed in her body and cleansed at the same time and her wounds closed. Elissa’s body levitated horizontally, righted itself and finally she was standing.

Idami couldn’t believe what she was seeing, what sort of demon had she provoked? Elissa crushed the Matriarch’s wrist and shattered her knees with a sweep of her leg. The Female mage who spoke earlier tried to conjure fire and attack but was turned into a popsicle instantly. Elissa tilted her head and a lightning field deployed around her as she let go of the Matriarch.

Gram appeared in Elissa’s hand, a sword aura was instantly formed which she melded the wind and lightning elements and as it extended to ten meters, she cut down all the soldiers and the lone mage around her. Looking at the barrier, she connected to the nexus and snapped her fingers and the barrier broke; the noise of broken glass could be heard.

Reinatiel and her sister attacked the remaining Bhelveth troops and mowed them down, the dragons swooped in and breathed lightning and laser.

Idami opened her mouth and tried to say, “Y-you won’t get-”

“Shut up. Before I do some damage you won’t walk away from, you scheming slut.” Elissa spoke but it wasn’t her voice coming out of her mouth.

The voice was male and commanding, as Elissa or more precisely the not Elissa looked around her she saw a white cloak that was worn by a dark elf mage and went to take it from him and dipped it in a spreading pool of blood on the ground until it was red, and stood. Elissa draped it around her shoulders and riveted it in place.

“This will do until I find a better replacement.”

Idami trembled, quivering with tension… no, with fear. Elissa looked at her and said, “I am going to beat you until your guts come out, any questions?”

“You-you wouldn’t….”

“Oh I will, you treacherous slug.” Elissa took her gold dragon dagger and blasted a wave of fire at the Dark elf matriarch’s face disfiguring her.

The Matriarch screamed and screamed until she was hoarse and finally as the cone of fire subsided, Elissa looked at her handy work.

“Now the outside matches the inside.” The possessed young woman said chuckling.

The contingency ring of Matriarch Idami activated and she was automatically teleported away.

“Urgh, I forgot how those shitty elves loved their life saving measures.” The young woman massaged her temples and gruffly said, “Fine I will give you your body back Elissa, stop screaming.” Possessed Elissa said.

The young woman’s hair became crimson red again and her eyes regained their emerald luster. Then she summoned her Gungnir to her hand and after the spear appeared, she planted it in the ground, she did the same with Gram, that she sheathed in her sword belt; Her shield was still attached to her offhand and she was relieved that her main weapons were all there.

“Elissa, Mistress is it really you?” Reinatiel asked tearfully.

Elissa nodded and smiled at her handmaiden. “Yes Rei it’s me. I had to ask for help.”

Then the Elemental spirits, and all her familiar dogpiled her and were crying tears of joy to have her back in one piece.