May 30^th, 1636, Some Where deep in mainland Feplaria, 1:05 P.M.

Dr. Horith squinted his eyes. No matter where he went, the scorching heat never spared him. whether it was in Nyllnoris, or in the middle of nowhere. The heat, the sweat, the stickiness, it was all the same regardless of whether he was in the comforting yet poisonous embrace of civilization, or whether he was supervising the unearthing of mysteries in distant barbarian lands.

He glanced around. He and his team were walking on a dirt path snaking through a densely packed forest. The path had been worn and almost completely hidden by vegetation for the most part, and it only got worse the deeper they moved. Horith wondered how they had managed to find this site in the first place.

Right now they were passing through an opening in the forest. To someone like him, it was more than welcome. Sure, it was hotter than before, but walking through a jungle with such thick foliage that midday seemed as dark as late dusk was certainly not any more preferrable either. Who knew what kind of abominations resided in the wild in this part of the world?

They were moving in a large group of people. In front were Professor Carron’s team, led by a bunch of those unwashed local youths. It was tough. Being an ardent believer of Fliassauan supremacy meant, unlike many of his colleagues, that no amount of time spent in contact with anyone not of the same race as his countrymen could dissipate his disdain towards said persons, or races as a whole. That said, he had no choice but to put up with the ‘filthy barbarians’. His work demanded it. Divine Leaf took key priority over anyone’s personal preferences.

Horith looked down on his feet as he walked. His presence had been immediately requested by Professor Carron in regards to the newly discovered site. An intelligence officer from HEC headquarters had turned up on the scene, and was somehow already at the site. He had carried with him some ‘interesting gossip’ for the High Elves, something very crucial for Horith, which ironically enough, had not been shared with him yet for reasons unknown.

Obviously, there was the obvious question of how on earth did an intelligence officer make his way this far out in the wild and all the way to the site, and that too without Horith knowing anything about it, but more important than that was the info the officer carried. At the very least, he knew very well that it had to be something very crucial for the intelligence officer to pull off such an act.

Horith looked down. Even in the heat, he was dressed in his heavy priest garb. It couldn’t be helped. They were still dealing with the poor local barbarians, and to the poor barbarians, they were the same as angels and mythical beings. Normal operating procedure demanded that it be kept that way, hence he had no choice but to bear with the heat and the sweat.

He wasn’t alone in this. His entire team was in their ‘ceremonial’ outfits. Oversized, colourful robes wrapped in red-yellow embroidery, wrapped around humanoid shapes up and down the dirt path. Some were a bit creative, believing the Dark Elves to be too foolish to notice, and had simply worn their robes over their regular work outfits consisting of a pair of wrinkled shirts and trousers. Horith would have wholeheartedly agreed and collaborated with them had the image of that damn ‘Arc Mage’ not popped up in his mind.

The group was being escorted by a group of armed HEC agents. There were quite a number of agents in the crowd. Like the VIPs they were supposed to protect, they too were dressed in fancy clothes, though these were different. The locals had been introduced to them as ‘Divine Guards’– Horith didn’t bother remembering what it was exactly, besides someone would bring it up later anyway – and had been told that they were beings of terrifying strength who took an oath of eternal servitude towards the High Elves. They wore much lighter clothing, though it was still heavier and bulkier than what most would have preferred. Most agents were armed, and many held their A35 submachine guns tightly, as they had been trained. The weapons were concealed too, with the pistols being simply hidden in their holsters under the robes, while the submachine guns wrapped deftly under a decorated piece of cloth and obscured partially by a distortion spell, making it harder to discern their true nature.

“How long do you reckon it would take to reach that goddamn site?” A female voice entered his ears, and Horith turned his head. Dr. Maertha was trudging alongside him. The irritation apparent in her voice made Horith chuckle.

“I wonder how long. Liking the weather, doctor?”

The female elf researcher narrowed her eyes in annoyance. “This weather is no good for a lady. The heat and the sweat are bad for my skin. I have not the slightest idea as to why men folk would rather trudge in such filthy places than to spend their times in the comfort of home.”

Horith gave her a wry smile. The fussy doctor was good at her job, a genius as many had described her. And like all geniuses, she had her fair share of caveats too. Not being an outdoor person was one of them.

He couldn’t blame her, though. In this sweltering heat, she was supposed to be walking such a long distance through thick forests, all the while wearing such heavy clothing. Being female, her outfit was even heavier, laden with heavy jewellery. Her blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail, and all of her body above her neck was adorned with fake gold jewellery.

Ladies like her weren’t supposed to be out here in the middle of nowhere, but the Corps needed elves with big brains, not big egos, though the latter was more optional than it was prohibited. And there was little discrimination here. After all, they weren’t being sent to the frontlines or anything. They were not going to fight a literal war, just some extra hands and some extra brains to do some paperwork. That was how their reasoning usually went.  

“Have you ever held a gun, doctor?”

Dr. Maertha looked at him. She did look pretty in that outfit, and combined with the High Elves’ defining trait of looking far younger than they actually were, she was the perfect lady. Had he been a young unassuming lad newly drafted into the Corps, he would have probably been charmed by her appearance. In fact, he was pretty sure there were at least some people like that among the juniors. Luckily for him, he was already way over all of that adolescent stuff. That, and the fact that he had already met her kids once.

“Apart from basic training? No. And I hope I don’t have to.  Quite loud and heavy they are. Almost lost both my wrists back then.”

Horith let out a small chuckle. “Seems like it was quite an experience.”

The doctor simply stared at her with a frown. “I assume you have plenty of confidence wielding arms, from that smug grin of yours?”

Her retort was answered with a shrug. “They do you train you on the basics, yes, but apart from that, nothing much. Not everyone in the Corps is trained to shoot the demons like they do in the cinema, doctor.”

The doctor rolled her eyes. “So that shiny pistol on your hip is all for show then?”

Horith smiled again. “Unfortunately, while I would love to show you exactly what ‘show’ this pistol can give, you already have a husband. So no, I’m afraid I can’t answer that question.”

Dr. Maertha gave him an exasperated look. “You know, it is a wonder why your name is not such a hot topic among the womenfolk back home. I wonder how many maidens you could charm with that cheesy line.”

“In this line of work, it is best if it stays that way.”

The two stayed silent for a while. Dr. Maertha didn’t know what to reply to that, so she kept to herself. Not that it was unfamiliar to her, of course. The two had worked together long enough to get used to each other as colleagues, and friendly banter like this between them was not new to her. Neither was his aversion to talk about his personal life.

“By the way, I forgot to ask,” Horith began. “but by any chance do you happen to know about the gentleman who has breached procedure and is now awaiting our arrival at the site?”

“No? Was that not supposed to be your job?”

“I am not as reliable as you make me out to be. And considering he managed to have things his way, he is a senior officer, which makes me more hapless in such matters. So no, I don’t know despite it being my job.”

Dr. Maertha rolled her eyes. “Guess we shall find out, then.”

There was little further conversation between the two. The group continued moving through the forest at a brisk pace. Horith had read the report previously, and had made a rough guess about how long it might take to reach the site. It wasn’t very optimistic looking, and only the fact that the return journey would be made via air on board the Escil had given him some relief.

“See that tower there, sir?” an aide spoke. Horith and Dr. Maertha had come up to the front of the group since they were close. The heat was still as unforgiving as before, but now it was starting to mean less and less. Horith squinted his eyes as he focused in the distance.

“Yes? I….Wait, yes, I see it. That is it, right?”

“Yes sir. There is a whole array of these built around one-and-a-half miles out from the actual site. That’s partly how we discovered these.”

Horith turned to the female doctor. “Hear that, doctor? You get to finally take a breather.”

Dr. Maertha replied with a sigh and a roll of her eyes. Horith turned to look at the watch tower. From the distance it was a bit hard to make out. A singular dark shape jutting out of the sea of green in the horizon, which at first glance would have been hard to discern from the surrounding vegetation were it not for its oddly inorganic-looking shape. Only when one came closer would one be able to realize what its true identity was.

As the group trudged closer, Horith could finally make out the tower completely. The tower was covered in green moss, but apart from that, its wooden structure seemed easy to recognize. A small wall made of hard grey sandbags could be seen on the top of the watch tower. There was a small circular dark metal on one side, which Horith assumed once must have been a search light.

The group was now passing through a narrow path. The watch tower loomed right beside them, on an elevated platform. Signs of civilization were now starting to become visible, starting with the concrete-filled sandbags – or what had probably been sandbags at one point – on either side of the dirt path. Most of the members of the group glanced at the tower in quiet astonishment. Quiet murmurs could be heard throughout the group in regards to the tower.

Horith looked at the tower keenly. He could find no written material whatsoever with written material on it, but that was no issue. Years of training in analysing field intelligence had kicked in. Identifying important infrastructure like this had become muscle memory for him, and his mind immediately analysed the watch tower for him.

The tower’s platform seemed spacious, yet empty. It was not too tall, just short enough. There was a wide ramp behind, partially obscured from view. Horith looked a little more keenly. The position of the tower was interesting. More than enough foliage to conceal the occupants, yet at the same time just enough to give a good view of the area.

A perfect place for a machine gun nest, Horith thought to himself. That, or an anti-aircraft gun. They could probably fit one of their twenty-five-millimetre anti-aircraft guns there pretty snugly, and it would be just fine enough to deter most things one would hope to encounter in this wilderness. Pretty clever, he had to admit.

How long had it been, Horith wondered. It felt nostalgic, yet at the same time it felt as if it was just yesterday. Perhaps the High Elves’ long lifespans are to blame. Or was he finally starting to see the effects of old age? Horith mused. He hadn’t seen the faces of his grandchildren or even children yet, unlike many of his contemporaries. Yet here he was somehow lamenting the ‘good old days’ long before them. Solitude could do that to a man.

The group of disguised High Elves now found themselves trudging on a narrower path. The path was curved and zigzagged around the small hills, accompanied by a slight yet noticeable descent. The tree cover was thick, with tall trees with thick trunks covering the path in their embrace. Long vines hung overhead from the branches. Once again, the bright daylight was hidden by the dense jungle, albeit nowhere near as much as it did before.

More watch towers came as they continued. They were placed at routine intervals along the road, usually on some elevated mound, or sometimes artificially made ones. They were all the same as before; short, stubby towers with a fair bit of vacant spaces on the platforms, and sometimes accompanied by what looked like a searchlight.

“As you can tell, sir, we’re almost at the site. You should be able to get a clear view of the place soon.” An aide spoke just as the crowd passed over a crest of a small hill, under a small clearing in the trees. Horith stepped forward, and squinted his eyes as he gazed out in the open.

There was no mistaking it. The dull, grey walls jutting out of the sea of green was easy to spot. They stretched wide and far enough in the valley, and Horith estimated it probably took up most of the flat, buildable space down there.

Even from this distance, it was easy to make out the features of the wall. The tiny machine gun ports and the wide slits for machine guns like in bunkers; they were there, just as Horith had expected them to be. Just this alone told him what he needed to know. They were finally there, and things were about to get interesting.

Finally, the large group of High Elves reached the large walls. A pair of watch towers stood on each side of the massive gate, each covered with moss and vines. The gates themselves, on the other hand, seemed fine and functioning. A bunch of High Elves could be seen on the top of the wall near the gate, armed with carbines.

The young Dark Elf youth of the group detached, and was promptly escorted back along with a group of armed HEC agents, having completed his role of guiding the ‘priests’ to their destination. The rest waited as the High Elves on the other side worked the gates. Evidently, the old mechanisms were not very reliable or swift, and operating them seemed to be somewhat of a pain.

Slowly, the old gates turned on their hinges, and the path began opening up with a rumbling sound. The excitement was understandable, and Horith himself couldn’t deny it, for a part of him too, was a little impatient. Beyond these gates lay the key to understanding the enigmatic entity that they had been so devoted to decipher. The key to the thing that had turned Divine Leaf from just a little trick to gain a few extra cards up their sleeves, to the pursuit of something unfathomably bigger and ambitious.

The rumbling stopped. The gates were now wide open, and curious eyes naturally took in the interior. Not wasting time, Horith walked in, snapping others out back to attention, who hurried after them.

The first thing to greet them was the concrete floor. The transition from the slightly muddy, dirty ground outside and the cold concrete floor was rather sharp, blurred only by a dry pact of compacted mud marked all over by muddy foot prints. Everything was in a shade of dull grey, a stark contrast from the vibrant green outside.

Horith glanced at the walls. The report had mentioned about how the outside looked rather weathered and aged, yet the interior looked so different in contrast. Now that he saw with his own eyes, however, he realized it wasn’t an exaggeration. The walls looked strange, funny even, in his opinion. The exterior was half-wrapped in moss, while the insides looked strangely clean. As if someone was regularly cleaning them.

The place looked barren. At least to Horith’s trained eyes, it did. It was no doubt it was once a military base of some sort, but now there was nothing here. There were a bunch of barriers made of sandbags here and there, and a few watch towers, but that was all. There towers were clear, devoid of any sign of anything, either time or nature. Or people.

Horith ran his finger over a sandbag. It was rough, coarse, hard to touch. Just like a normal sandbag. There was some dirt on it, sticking to Horith’s fair elven skin as he swiped his finger slowly over the rough, fibre surface.

“Dr. Horith.” A voice called out. Horith snapped back to reality and swerved his head towards the source. The voice belonged to an elderly-looking High Elf dressed in a round hat and khaki-coloured trousers and shirt. As the elf approached the group, Horith could feel the younger members subtly stiffen up in respect.

“Professor Carron.” The two shook hands. Horith cast a glance. Beside the old professor, there were a few other elves – probably aides – but one figure stood out. An elf in a dark suit and hat stood behind, his expression unreadable.

Horith didn’t have to make second guesses as to the man’s identity. Intelligence officers like him had a way of carrying themselves that stood out, apart from their immaculate way of dressing, of course. It was easy to notice, after all, for he too was one of them. And from the looks of it, he was the man of the day, the one who had breached protocol to come here.

“I hope the journey was not too hard for you and your team? We did what we could to ensure the rest of us didn’t have to go through that nightmare again, but as you can see, there is only so much mortals can do against nature.”

“It was fine. Besides, it’s pioneers like you who take immeasurable pains for the greater good of our civilization, so you should hold yourself in higher regard.”

The two laughed and exchanged pleasantries for a moment, before quickly getting back on the topic on hand. All this time, Horith noted, the unknown intelligence officer had remained silent. He had been silently standing still, as if a rock, surveying the new batch of freshly arrived elves.

“Dr. Horith, allow me to introduce to Mr. Voron. He’s got some interesting gossip for us, I believe, which is why he rushed straight from the capital all the way to here.” The professor turned as he introduced the intelligence officer. The elf simply tipped his hat. Horith could see no change in his expression whatsoever.

“Dr. Horith Shara. Pleasure to meet you.” The two shook hands.

“Voron. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“A very short name, and a very convenient one.”

The man nodded. “Indeed. Very convenient.” It was amusing, Horith thought. Using what was very likely a false name, and yet being so blatant. Voron was such a common elf first name, probably the first thing to pop up if ever the dullest of the High Elves was tasked to come up with a name for his or her newborn offspring.

“I suppose we didn’t break normal procedure to sit around and chit-chat like women, gentlemen?” Horith spoke as he turned to the professor. He was already impatient enough, and of all the things he had taken a liking to, holding his impatience at bay while making small talk had never been one of them.

“Ah yes, yes. First, come this way. I suppose you prefer to get rid of those heavy dresses. Though I have to remark, they do bring out the charm in the ladies.”

“Haha, though I say you keep that to yourself. Women have a thing for getting the wrong idea these days.”

The professor and his assistants led the new arrivals further in. The base was, for the most part, barren. The concrete turned into dirt further in, and structures came into view. All barren, empty, devoid of life. Whatever souls had once resided and roamed this place, had packed up and left long ago. Now, there were elves here, trying to trace the footprints of those very souls.

There was no doubt in Horith’s mind. This had been a fully operational military base once. There were barracks, hangars, warehouses here. He felt as if he could almost see the base alive, the towers manned, the warehouses full of cargo, the barracks full of men. He could almost hear the rumbles of engines of the tanks and cars, and the droning of aircraft engines above. All with their faces blackened out, their identities lost to time.

As the group emerged from a group of tightly packed structures, Horith almost let out a gasp. A long, straight, level strip of dirt stretched out in the middle of the base. Empty space was on each side of the strip, and to the north he could see large hangars on the other side of the strip.

Good lord, he thought to himself, there is a whole airstrip here! And it was a long, very long. Too long for recon planes. This dirt strip here was probably long enough to operate even some of the Holy Air Forces’ new bombers.

“Fascinating, isn’t it?”

Horith turned to the intelligence officer. The elves around them whispered in hushed tones, and it was not hard to imagine the variety of speculations and conjectures floating around. The professor seemed unamused, on the other hand. Clearly the novelty of the situation had passed long ago for him and his team.

“An airfield like this, in the middle of nowhere. Built by no one, used by no one, built for no one. No one that we know, at least.”

Horith gazed at the far end of the strip. Clearly, it had been constructed in haste, more as a field airstrip than a proper base. It was weird. Usually, if one could build a number of large aircraft hangars, one most likely also had the capability to build a paved runway as well, however short it might be.

“What do you think, Mr. Voron?” Horith spoke, though not actually directed to anyone. His mind was running, trying to piece together the info present in front of him, and make some sense of it.

“Just Voron is enough.”

“Alright then, Voron. Tell me what you think of this…this whole matter.”

Voron cast a silent gaze around. As before, it was unreadable, his intention a mystery to the outsider. Then he shrugged.

“I don’t know.”

“But I think you know. I know you know, and I know you know many things. Tell me.” Horith spoke as the group continued. He was trying to size up the man, and find out what he thought. An intelligence officer’s thoughts on a subject that was related to the case in any way, were, quite often, more than just mere thoughts and conjecture. And Horith had seen enough in his line of work to know that.

“There is nothing I can tell you, doctor. Though I would advise you to remain patient.”

“Do you have a candidate in mind?”

Voron stayed silent. The destination was in sight now; a group of what looked like barracks had been repurposed into makeshift accommodation for the elves, and was now constantly buzzing with activity with a fair number of elves buzzing around. The barracks were spacious, and there were plenty of them, plus they were located conveniently close to the gates.

“I suppose I cannot answer that question. I may, however, have something you might want to look at.”

Horith closed his eyes briefly in contemplation. One had to be extremely careful and indiscriminate when coming to a decision. That was the way one operated in the intelligence field. “Very well then.”

It didn’t take too long for the team to settle in. The new arrivals quickly settled in their new alien lodgings. Horith found it a bit difficult, however. Lying on the bed for a light rest in such an alien structure in such a remote part of the world, built by an unknown entity, seemed unsettling. There was a certain feeling bugging at the corner of his mind that he just couldn’t shrug off. And from the excited demeanour of his younger colleagues, it seemed there was no one to share in his imagined suffering. Perhaps, he mused, old age really must be getting to him.

After the team had happily shed their embarrassingly flashy garb and taken some rest, it was time to get to work. The sun was already near the horizon, and in an hour or so, the still bright yellowish-orange sky would give way to an endless expanse of dark purple and blue, and eventually pitch black.

Surprisingly, security didn’t seem to be an issue here. Horith had a brief talk with the professor, and learned that despite how deep in the woods the place was, it was relatively very safe and quiet. Not once had they ever experienced anything remarkable ever since their arrival here. Those sturdy walls really were as promising as they were imposing. The professor even went so far as to claim that the night shifts and patrols were completely unnecessary, and how the good elves should be awarded with well-deserved rest instead.  

The team had already got to work by the time Horith was up, and he could clearly feel the increase in activity around him as he walked. His ceremonial priest outfit had long been replaced by a set of simple shirt and trousers, much lighter and easier to move around in. He paused an elf to ask for the professor’s whereabouts, and he point towards a building to the north.

Walking at a brisk pace, it didn’t take long before he found himself at the building. It was bigger than the ones surrounding it, and Horith conjectured from its appearance that it had probably been used as officer’s accommodations at one point in time. Two armed elves were standing by on either side of the door, and pushed open the door as Horith stepped in.

The interior was unremarkable. It was barren, empty, just like the rest of the place. It was rather simple in design; there were no fancy decorations or architectural features visible anywhere. The only sign of civilization were the ones scattered around by the elves, apart from the elves already standing in the room. It certainly didn’t look like they were in a forgotten corner of the world retracing the steps of an ancient civilization.

“If it isn’t the esteemed doctor.” The professor walked towards him, shaking his hand. “I hope you had sufficient rest, eh?”

“All thanks to your hospitality, professor. So, what have we got?” Horith cast a glance around the room. Voron was here too, conveniently enough, along with a bunch of assistants. As usual, his face was sufficiently unreadable.

“Oh, a lot of things,” The two walked over to the desk as the professor spoke. “Mr. Voron here has brought some very interesting things. It is best you see them for yourself.”

Horith scanned the desk. A heap of folders, files, documents and black-and-white photographs were scattered in a hurried yet orderly manner. Many of the photographs he could recognize as the ones of the base he was in, but some seemed odd.

“Care to explain what I happen to be looking at here?” He fired off a question to no one in particular. Though it was not hard to tell that the question was most likely intended for Voron. He stepped forward, and picked up a folder from the heap.

“You might be aware of a certain, interesting – I should say – neighbour to our south.” Voron looked at him as he took out a bunch of photographs from the folder. “Dare to make a guess?”

“….Pravasrajya Kingdom?” Horith answered. It didn’t take too much thinking. A High Elf intelligence officer mentioning the words “interesting” and “neighbour to the south” could only mean a few things, after all.

“Fabulous. Take a look at this.”

Horith peered over Voron’s shoulder, and promptly froze. In the photograph, was the symbol. The same symbol with four lines he had seen in the photographs in the report. Only now it occurred to him that he had not yet asked to see the symbol in person now that he was here, and he briefly entertained the possibility of just skipping over that part.

However, Horith noticed something. The photograph seemed odd. At first glance, the wall on which the symbol was painted, seemed no different from what he had seen in the report. Then he looked around the wall, and suddenly realized what seemed odd.

“This photograph wasn’t taken here, was it?” Horith fired a question. He knew there was a fairly high possibility he could be wrong as well. After all, he hadn’t actually gone around and seen the things for himself.

“Correct. Many moons ago, one of our good men paid a ‘visit’ to Pravasrajya. You know how reserved those horned fellows are. I supposed the ‘Sixteen Standoff’ is still a fresh memory in everyone’s mind?”

The elves just nodded. For High Elves who had high self-esteem, it was particularly hard to forget the embarrassment the Holy Navy suffered twenty years ago. There had been doubts already that it might not be as easy as everyone thought, yet pride and ego blinded people. The result was public embarrassment of pretty much all of the Central Powers, and the loss of around two thousand good men. The worst part was that the incident had happened in the open view of the entire Central world, and thus there was little leeway to twist reality in one’s favour to exact vengeance. And thus, everyone involved went home with bitterness in their hearts, wondering if the loss of this magnitude could be justified for a bunch of pages filled with what was pretty much an insult of a ‘deal’, as far as the High Elves were concerned.

“Ever since then, there have been…attempts, I should say, at learning more about these beings. Yet they were a little less than successful.”

“…you mean you finally managed to get a man there?” Horith pondered about Voron’s words as he folded his hands. Getting into Pravasrajya was considered nigh impossible. There were extremely strict and harsh measures against anyone that was discovered trying to sneak in, and migrating to the country was not an option. Neither was sneaking in using a container ship. Submarine insertion had been considered several times, and on at least one occasion, he remembered hearing a proposal about insertion using a disposable glider. Yet all had been in vain. The coastal patrols turned out to be too tight to attempt an infiltration, even at night. And none of the aircraft inbound for the country had gotten within fifty miles of the coast before being intercepted by patrolling aircraft and turning back swiftly. Horith knew well enough. After all, he had been on board a few of these missions trying to insert agents, and had seen for himself how hard it was.

Voron remained expressionless. Horith half expected him to show a smug smile, even if briefly. After all, the temptation to flaunt one’s success to one’s colleagues is hard to resist. He really was damn good officer, Horith mused.

“Our good man stayed low in the country for the first few days, before he finally began collecting and sending intelligence. What you are seeing here is the blood and toil of some of the bravest elves we’ve seen.”

Voron took out another photograph from underneath the folder. Horith recognized it immediately. It was one of the photos he had seen in the first report about the site. The intelligence officer kept both photos side by side on the table. It took a moment before Horith realized what Voron was getting at, and a faint chill ran down his spine.

Voron looked at Dr. Horith as he pointed to the photos. “Same symbol. Two different places. Both places so far apart. One of them has been right beside us all this time.”

“And the other is here. Bastards.” Horith gazed intently in the photo as he remarked. The structure in the other photo looked much different. It was as if it was in the midst of civilization, as if there had been many pairs of hands that had cared and looked after it, though Horith realized he couldn’t exactly put his finger on what specifically gave him this feeling, apart from his own instincts. Years of staring at black-and-white photographs of unassuming buildings could do that to a man. Or an elf.

This was huge. There was no doubt. For the first time, they were getting somewhere, Horith realized. All these relics preserved against time had created a trail leading up to an entity, and for the first time, they had a face to put on that entity.

For a moment, the trio stayed silent. Horith took a moment. He needed to mentally step back, and take into account everything. It was easy to get lost in the moment and lose track of the bigger picture, and fail to see how everything fit together. That was the really important part. Horith skimmed through his memory for everything of note that had been discovered ever since the unearthing of the first site during the early days of Divine Leaf. Abandoned sites, empty of any valuable material save for some decayed and unrecognizable trinkets; sites secured and obscured from view using magic seals. The locations of the sites, scattered all over the place with seemingly no pattern, but concentrated here. The unknown symbols. The purpose? The history? The truth? The fate of the inhabitants? All unknown. There were too many missing pieces here to form a concrete picture. There were already many theories in his mind. and none seemed pleasant…

Wait, he thought. The unknown symbols. The only thing that linked the two together. Horith turned to Voron. The man had been silent, his expression still as unreadable as ever. “Did your man unveil anything about this…this symbol?” he spoke as he tapped on the photograph.

For the first time, Voron’s expression changed. It was slight, too subtle to catch for any other person, but not for Horith. The brief flicker in his expression didn’t miss him, and that alone said more than what words could say. A cold feeling descended in his stomach as Voron’s face reverted back to that stoic expression and began speaking.

“This symbol here is called a ‘swastik’. A religious symbol, hitherto unknown and unheard of in any native religion or cult so far documented anywhere. Seems to be quite commonplace. Our man reported seeing it quite frequently throughout the place.”

He rifled through more photographs as he continued. “This is a city on their eastern coast. See those buildings? See how tall they are?”

“Their capital? Or an important port city, perhaps? But they don’t engage in maritime trade. I don’t think I see any freighter sitting in port, unless you have another photo with one.”

“There were none.” Voron flipped through the photographs as Horith watched. “This port here is most likely a naval port. The ships you see there are all battleships, and that one right there is a Narayan class battleship. Sounds familiar?”

“The one that took part in the Standoff, yes. And the other ships?”

“Unknown. This is the first time we’re seeing them. From the looks of it, I’d place my bet on destroyers. They resemble the ones seen back then, but even then, it wouldn’t be of any help. The most we know is the name of one class of ship, that’s all.”

Horith gazed keenly at the photographs. It looked picturesque. One could probably get it made into a postcard and present it to a green elf from the countryside saying it was from the capital, and that elf would have actually believed it. With the tall skyscrapers and the grey sea stretching out in the distance, it was very reminiscent of all the big cities of the Central World Horith had seen and been to. Except that the one in the photograph was entirely alien to him, or anything the rest of the Central World had seen. Even the capital does not have this many tall buildings! thought Horith.

“As for your first question,” Voron continued. “No, it isn’t. The actual capital is apparently around one hundred sixty miles southwest. That along with these photos, was one of the last things our agent sent before all communications went dark.”

Horith raised an eyebrow. There were many things he wanted to ask about, but there was one thing that was more important than that. “What do you mean ‘communications went dark’?”

Voron let out a sigh. For the first time, Horith saw his expression change visibly, as a small frown appeared on his face. “We didn’t realize how treacherous the operation would get until it was too late. It seems all our transmissions were intercepted, and by day two, there were already patrols in the area searching for our agent. Still, we managed one last rendezvous using a submarine, after which there was no further contact with the agent. The last message sent by our agent was that he had eavesdropped the locals while in disguise. Apparently, they were talking about some dangerous hooligan in the woods around the city.”

For a moment, the trio stayed silent. There was no need to explain what had happened to the nameless agent. Because while the laws of war and diplomacy may have varied between the lands, there were still a lot of things that remained the same. The ‘warm reception’ of spies was one of them. Each elf sent out a silent prayer to the brave high elf who had suffered so much for his country, and for the High Elf race.

After a while, Horith opened his eyes and looked at Voron. They needed to get back to work. They couldn’t just let that elf’s sacrifice go in vain now. “So, what do we make of this now?”

“The Pravasrajya Kingdom is up to something, and this is perhaps the only thing we can say with certainty. I would also go as far as to suggest that the ones behind that incident with the dark-skinned low-breeds and their island were also them.”

Horith raised an eyebrow. “You know about that?”

Voron collected the photographs in an orderly manner to put them back in the folder, as he spoke. “I do. You aren’t the only one in this, after all.”

 

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A/N: got exams going, so chapter release schedule may be slightly scuffed, so bear with me for a while