“No! Don’t give her any food!” Marian said in an angry voice. We were all sitting around the fire as we had set up camp for the night. We had been walking all day and were on guard for any dark mage suddenly appearing before us. Cyrena had wanted to put several miles between us and the place where we were discovered. She did not want to take any chances.

We finally decided to rest for the night in a forest. Each of us were going to stand guard over our camp and Ilyana. There were going to be two awake at all times while the others slept. Cyrena had made some soup for dinner and was passing out bowls to each of us when Marian stopped her from giving a bowl to Ilyana. 

“This bitch does not deserve to eat! She should starve!” Marian said as she glared at Ilyana. Her sword was nearby and I could see that Marian’s hand was always in reach of it. She was not going to take any chances with the dark mage. Ilyana’s hands had been bound again but this time with her hands in front.

“Marian please. Let her have some food,” I said in a firm voice. “She needs to eat too.”

“No, she doesn’t,” Marian grumbled but she still handed the bowl to Ilyana who took it. She looked at me and smiled. I returned the smile then went back to eating. Oronia and Faye were sitting next to each other and were eating quietly from their bowls. All day they both had been rather quiet. I knew that what Moira had done to them had really affected them. They had been thrown up into the air like ragdolls and fell quickly to the earth. I saw Oronia constantly rub her leg as if she was experiencing pain there.

“How many dark mages does Raziel have?” I asked Ilyana.

“There are many of us…I mean…them. About 100,” Ilyana said. “Like myself many elves were kidnapped at a young age and trained in the dark arts.”

“Did you ever try to escape?” I asked her.

Ilyana shook her head with a sad expression on her face. “There had been many that tried but they would be severely punished. Those that trained us would cut off a finger or even clip an ear.”

“Gods!” Oronia said in shock. “These were elves doing this to other elves?!”

Ilyana nodded. “Yes. There are many elves that serve Raziel just to inflict pain on others. They live for cruelty and for killing others. I witnessed many of these elves torture innocent people and creatures for the sheer joy of it.”

“And you didn’t partake?” Marian scoffed as she looked at Ilyana with a frown. 

Ilyana gave her a sharp angry look. “Never! I have never tortured or killed anything!”

Marian laughed and shook her head in disbelief. I looked at Ilyana and from her serious expression I could see that she was telling the truth. I believed her and I could see that Cyrena, Oronia, and even Faye believed her. Marian was the only one who did not.

“For all of my life up until a few days ago, I was in charge of making weapons for Raziel’s Red Knights and army. My job was bows and arrows and small swords. Day in and day out, me and many others forged swords, axes, and other weapons for her army to use for this endless war,” Ilyana said with a tired look on her face. "Everyone has to earn their keep in Ferren. There are some who are in charge of making food, doing laundry, etc.”

It was surprising to hear but it made sense. In movies and tv shows, there were always images of combat and great battles but never really focused on the reality of what it took to maintain an army. I had figured that dark mages simply wrecked havoc 24/7 across Alargon but it was not the case. They had to keep their evil system running and that meant that many of these evil beings had to do menial and every day jobs.

“Where is Ferren?” I asked. I immediately saw Marian’s face scrunch up as she seemed to be very angry. Ilyana sensed this and glanced over at Marian.

“Ferren is at the southernmost part of Alargon. It was once an elven kingdom that was once ruled by Queen Lerya for many centuries. It was considered the epicenter of elven arts, science, education, and other things. The inventions and ideas that started in Ferren spread out across all of Alargon to help improve it as a whole. However, when Raziel started her rise to power, Ferren was the first to fall and become her base of operations. There have been many stories that there had been spies and dark mages already in place in Ferren which helped to cause the great kingdom to fall,” Marian said.

“What happened to Queen Lerya?” I asked Marian.

“According to stories that I have heard, she was beheaded by Raziel and her head was placed on a spike in front of the gates of Ferren. All of those that refused to bow down to Raziel were beheaded and their heads were placed on spikes. I heard that there are thousands of heads that surround the kingdom,” Marian said as she looked down at the ground. There was a scowl on her face. 

I could see that even Ilyana had a sad expression on her face. “Those skulls are still there and it has increased since I have lived there. The red knights have brought back the heads of many of the queens, princesses, and leaders of villages and cities throughout Alargon. Their heads have been placed on spikes as well,” Ilyana said as she looked at me.

I felt a chill run through my body from her words. This barbaric act was something that I had seen in fantasy movies and read in books but to know that this was taking place in this world was horrific. Raziel and her army was a force to truly be reckoned with.