"Time's a funny thing for the elfs, in fact, they have so much of it in their hands that most stopped counting entirely! By five hundred, who would care about years? Seasons passed while they slept! Dynasties crumbled while they perfected a single spell! Why would they track a concept mortals invented just to make peace with their own mortality?
"Turns out? There are plenty of reasons!
"Because even — and listen closely folks, you'll want to hear this — even the GREATEST ARCHMAGE KNOWN TO MORTAL AND IMMORTAL KIND ALIKE!
"The one and only GODSBANE!
"She before whom the MIGHTY DRAGONS BOW THEIR ARROGANT HEADS!
"The UNCONTESTED MASTER OF THE ELEMENTS!
"The MONARCH OF THE REALM OF ASHVENIA!
"Her Most Illustrious Majesty — ELIZABETH SOLMARYN….keeps track of every single year that passes!
"Every. Last. One!
"And you want to know WHY?!
"Get your copy of this month's most sought-after read, featuring an EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with the Left Hand of Her Majesty herself, the incomparable, the untouchable,
"EVANA VAELINDRA!
"One copper, folks! One copper and the secrets of the greatest mage who ever breathed are YOURS!"
"He's cute," Dina, an elegant old lady in her own right, spoke to the woman next to her, biting off another piece of the sugar figurine.
"He's young enough to be your grandchild, Ma!" The lady next to her spoke, her eyes never leaving the newsboy waving around the paper, showcasing his incredible charisma.
"Huhu," Dina took another bite of her candy, "And young enough to be your child."
"This and that are completely different things," the woman rolled her eyes. She took out a coin from her purse and handed it to the candy vendor. Yet her eyes never left the young man.
"Maybe I should get a copy of that?" The young woman mumbled. But a swat to her bottom by the old lady made her turn her head.
"Get a move on already, the university won't keep their gates open for you," the old lady turned around and walked, savouring the sweet candy.
"They will, though! I'm a faculty there!"
They both walked toward the old building surrounded by skyscrapers. The city had developed a whole lot over the years, yet the Old building close to the city square never changed. No one knew the reason why, but few, like the city's old Magistrate and the owner of the old antique store, knew.
Old Lady Dina pushed open the door and entered; she did not use a key. Instead, the door had recognised her in on itself. It wasn't like the new lacklustre technologies like biometric recognition, no. It had recognised her soul. Unlike modern biometric technology or the old mana signature technology, which could be hacked using a simple spell, it was practically impossible to disguise a soul.
One might ask, if an antique store had a door with such security, how would regular customers come inside to shop? Well, they don't. There was a reason Old Dina didn't make a single sale in the last year.
The young woman, Old Dina's youngest daughter, slid past the door as her mother held it.
"Didn't you say you have a lecture today, Cinderella? Why don't you get going for the world's sake?"
"It's Cin Ma! C-I-N! Simple, elegant!"
"I have no daughter named," Dina spat the rest out with contempt, "C-I-N."
"Well, you do now! I changed my name at the gusset! Why did you even name me that anyway! It's so cumbersome to speak it aloud!!!"
"Don't change the subject, Cinderella. Get out already!"
"NO!" Cinderella sat down on the nearest sofa, angrily crossing her hands across her ample bosom, "I already asked Professor Erman to cover my class. I'm not going anywhere today."
Old Lady Dina felt her eyes twitch, "Fine, you're not a little girl anymore. Do you need coffee?"
"Thank you!" Cin let out an exasperated sigh, "A decaf would be nice. I plan to sleep for the entire day today."
"I have robusta, lightly roasted."
"..."
…
"Mom, when are you going to retire and hand the shop over to me?"
"I'm not going to retire, and even if I do, I will not hand the shop over to you."
"Who are you gonna give it to then? Rebecca?" Cin scoffed, "She'd sell the whole thing at the first opportunity.
"And Christy? I don't think he'd care! That leaves only me, right?" Cin rolled on the sofa, propping up her chin on the Sofa's handrest, "Unless, of course, you have illegitimate children not recorded in the official registry. By the way, that is a crime."
"I'm not going to retire, problem solved," Dina spoke, drying the mugs, as the lightly roasted coffee beans floated around, grinding themselves and placing themselves in the oldschool expresso machine, "Besides, it's not like I can just hand over the shop. Either I have to die, in which case the ownership will go to the person I have already agreed on with Mr Door,"
Cin looked back at the door, and for a moment, it felt as if the engraving of the Deer with vines growing on its antlers gave a dip of its head.
"Or," Dina continued, pouring steamed milk into the honey brown substance in the Mug, "That door has to open." Dina gestured with her chin at the Door, at the back of the shop.
"Gasp!" Cin gasped, "Are you finally gonna tell me what's behind that door?"
"Obviously not!" Dina scoffed.
"It's a secret I will gladly guard with my life. Unless, of course, I die, in which case Mr Door will tell my successor."
"Then I have no choice but to kill you, ma!, and hope I'm lucky enough to be chosen as your successor!"
"You're certainly welcome to try," Dina handed Cin the coffee.
"Do you have cookies?" Cin asked, taking the mug from Dina's hands.
"They're in the counter, get them yourself if you want."
"Maaaa!"
"Tch."
"Tch." Cin reluctantly set the mug down on the coffee table and got up, whining all the way to the counter. Dina got herself busy with the newspaper Cin had discreetly brought from the newsboy, turning to the article the boy was so passionately advertising about.
"Maaaa?!"
"It's in the top counter, Cinderella! Grow up!"
"No, not that!" There was nervousness in Cin's voice, "Is this Door supposed to glow?"
Dina looked over, and the sound of a Mug clattering to the ground rang out across the old rustic store.
…
…
The Earth split open, swallowing the City of Autsberg whole into the ground. Young Elizabeth watched with her eyes wide, holding onto Mr Evan's trousers. She looked up at her teacher, her mentor, her father.
Mr Evans had both his hands clutching his hair, his expression, as Elizabeth came to understand later in life, showing despair. Uncontrollable terror and despair that could not be put into words.
She looked at the widening chasm, like the maw of the earth opening, solely to bring despair to every living being.
Elizabeth's legs didn't move at that time; she had frozen, just like her dad, not knowing what to do. Elizabeth still remembered the warmth of her father's tears that had smudged on her face. He had hugged her and cried till the Empire showed up, till their kind came to bring them home.
…
…
Elizabeth's eyes fluttered open, the musky scent of old books and the vibrant colours of her spirits cluttering around overwhelming her senses for a moment. Her rocking chair stirred lightly, with enough gentleness to put even the roughest children to sleep.
The spirits, little furballs of different vibrant colours, gathered around her like little chicks to their mother bird. They pushed and shoved, made little squeaks like chiks, rubbing themselves against the elf.
For a moment, Elizabeth closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of it all. Her cold elven body slowly warmed up, memories like a waterfall sprinting past in her consciousness.
People change with life. It was a truth Elizabeth accepted long ago.
Elizabeth had set her sights on becoming the greatest martial artist who ever lived. She had declared so, and had even made a bet she thought she'd keep with her life.
Yet, here she was, the Greatest Archmage of the world, surrounding herself with books, cooped up in a library, finding comfort in stillness.
'How long has it been?' Her mind asked itself.
'Three years and thirty-two days, four hours, twenty-one minutes,' her part of the consciousness that kept track of time answered.
It's been more than three years since she'd cooped herself up in this library.
Her mind hadn't alerted her. She had such an important appointment in three days, yet her subconscious didn't bother.
She was the greatest mage in the world. She simply did not have the need to keep an alarm clock or activate any magic of the equivalent.
Her mind was perfectly capable of keeping track of time. Yet, she had overslept.
Sure, there was an overwhelming, landslide of a possibility that the day wouldn't go as the two naive children had planned.
Logic dictated that he simply wouldn't be there, waiting for her. The day would end with her sitting alone, mourning, wallowing, despairing in the fact that even with all the power she now possessed, she would never be able to get everything back to where it once was.
The swaying of the chair ceased.
The little furballs of various colours clung to Elizabeth's clothes and hair as she rose.
The shelves parted ways for her. They pulled apart like curtains drawn by invisible hands, those impossible towers of wood and paper, tall enough to shame Krathsha, the imperial marvel of a skyscraper.
Her pristine white robes flew over, draping itself over her, sweeping away the spirits that clung to her. Her hat fell through the ceiling, painted like the impossible wonder of the night sky, gently settling on her head. Her staff summoned itself, firmly floating behind her.
The spirits followed, grumpily trotting behind them, some even transforming and raising their fists at the robe.
The fire spirit shook itself away from the group, transforming into a little butler with a suit made of fire. It floated beside the door, twisting the door open with a bit of effort, and bowing toward Elizabeth.
She hadn't halted as she stepped out onto the old antique store, her staff following her.
The fire spirit followed behind her, but not before blowing a raspberry at the other spirits. The spirits, transformed ones and the little furballs, clamoured to get out before the doors closed. They'd been stuck inside this library for who knew how long. They'd be damned if they didn't use this opportunity to get out and stretch their bodies.
"Morning, Dina," Elizabeth spoke plainly as she spotted the old woman. She completely ignored the young woman next to the counter, clamping her mouth shut, white as paper, as if she'd seen a ghost, "I see you've aged."
"Wonderful morning, My Lady," Dina, regaining her composure, stood up and bowed deeply, "It has been 10 years, indeed, I have aged."
"Ten?" Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, standing infront of the old woman. Dina was half a head taller than her, and she hated it. She was a goddamn elf! A pure one that that! Yet, a human was taller than her, bigger even, "Didn't I see you the last time I got out? During the Rosmar rebellion?"
"No, you didn't even use the door," Dina shook her head, her face filled with melancholy, "But I heard about your feats from Evana. You were amazing, my lady, to think you would slay Osdes and wipe out the cult of messages."
"Oh," Elizabeth looked down at the newspaper Dina's hand clutched, "I didn't kill him, I sealed him. Is that today's?"
"Yes," Dina handed over the newspaper, and Elizabeth took it, reading through the front page, "It had an article about you."
"Uha, does Evana has nothin better to do?" Elizabeth flipped through the page, "Wait, Monarch of Ashvenia? Did some idiot emperor crown me as their empress again?"
"Nothing like what you're imagining, my lord, and after the example of Zelros, I'm sure no one would dare pull such a stunt."
"Heh, you'd be surprised to see how idiotic some bastards can be," Elizabeth shook her head, as she turned the pages and walked toward the Door. Little fire spirit, ever the competent assistant he was, had already cleaned up(Incinerated) the Mug and the coffee spill off the floor, making it spotless so that his Leige's boot didn't get sullied. Little nature spirit, who had snuck away from the chaos the transformed spirits were causing, was already conversing with the will of the Door, the depiction of Deer in the Door moving with lifelike vigour, "Where's Ashvania again?"
"It's referring to the moon."
"The moon? When did it become my domain?"
"When you came back from the moon?"
"..." Elizabeth quietly turned back to look at Dina.
And Dina knew what that look meant, "Evana disclosed the information, My Lord, she even declared it your domain. Last I heard, several nations have ended their Moon-faring research."
"...Make's sense," Elizabeth sighed, flipping through the page. Something interesting had caught her eye, a Daemon was sighted in Brighwe Pass, "Did she name it Ashvenia?"
"No, the name started with a bard? Should I prepare the investigation results?" Dina pushed up her glasses.
"Nop," Elizabeth was now completely focused on the Newspaper.
Daemons, in a way, hadn't been sighted in the world for more than a thousand years. The gate to the daemon realm was said to have been closed once the great rift tore apart the earth. With a possible connection existing between the two events, Elizabeth had investigated, and indeed, the gate had closed a few years after the great rift. And to her disappointment, the two events had no further connection. The Daemon realm had simply changed rulers, and the new king had just closed off the world to better organise the internal situation.
Elizabeth had indeed wanted to dig further, but the lack of daemons in the world had exposed the Gods' corrupt influence among the populace. Her attention was led elsewhere. Now, after all these years, there was a sighting. And an Elf had even gone missing. Elizabeth's staff, which had been quietly floating behind her, floated toward the pile of newspapers stashed in the corner, floating over them, scanning them.
There were papers dated more than 15 years. Indeed, there were no publicly reported sightings of any Damon before this. She had to check it out herself. She could just take a detour on her way. It wasn't like she was pressed for time.
"Aargh," an oddly manly yet, feminine sound echoed from where the spirits were fighting, close to the door to the library, followed by the sound of something crashing. Both Elizabeth and Dina looked over.
The Counter with the espresso machine was now knocked over, wet. Even the wallpaper was peeling off due to the moisture. The cookies were scattered on the floor, covered in dirt and soil of various colours.
The various transformed Earth spirits and water spirits who had caused the commotion ceased their clumsy attempt to fix the broken things once Elizabeth looked over. The various other spirits just huddled on the corner, brawling while still being fur balls.
Cinderella had run off to her Mom's side, an ugly expression on her face. It was more than surprising, astonishing….it was beyond words when the greatest archmage the world had ever seen came out of the mysterious door in her mother's old antique shop.
She was unable to make a noise when she saw her mother talking soo casually to someone even the Gods bowed to. She was soo in her mind, geeking out when she saw the elemental army that followed the Greatness.
The various spirits that could only survive in specific regions around the world gathered in one spot and fighting like little thugs, the various furballs of elements she couldn't even begin to guess the origin of, their spiritual energies churning as they struggled to keep their powers in control while having a fistfight.
It was all a lot to take in. Her mind had just frozen, thinking of all the things she could do if she were to possess even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the power the greatest archmage of the world possessed.
"Get back here," Elizabeth ordered, and the hat slightly floated upward. The spirits, dejected, turned back into little furballs and flew into her hat, "Everyone."
There goes their vacation.
Now, even the fire spirit and tree spirit flew back, settling inside the hat.
"I'll pay for the damages."
"That would hardly be appropriate, my lady. I and everything in my humble establishment is of service to you and your army. Please don't take it to heart," Dina bowed her head with a constipated heart.
"Can you stop that? I hate it," Elizabeth didn't like it. Over voluntary subservience was just… creepy.
Dina lowered her head once more.
"...And this is? She looks a little like you."
"My youngest daughter, Cinderella."
"It's Cin mom,
"Cinderella. Nice to meet you," Elizabeth nodded.
"It's my lifelong pleasure to me–" Cin looked ready to kneel down and worship.
"Yeah, see you later," Elizabeth turned around.
"Are you leaving already, my lady? How about some coffee and cookies?"
"Give them to your daughter. I'll be out for a while this time. No one is allowed to enter my library."
"I will guard this place with my life, my lady." Dina enthusiastically shouted.
"Sure."
"My lady! About my retirement!"
"Ring me up once you find a successor. We'll do a ceremony."
"Wait!! An autogra—"
Elizabeth disappeared.
…
The grand hall seemed to stretch endlessly, and rows of officials stood in formation, one by one submitting their memorial to the Eternal Emperor.
But the man seated on the throne was bored.
It was the same old same old. If not for the need, he wouldn't be listening to the nonsense suggestions, appeals and impeachments.
The nation was stable and firmly in his hands. But he couldn't just overexercise that authority.
He needed the nation to function as smoothly as it always had, and with minimal input from his part. For that, the pretence was necessary.
At that moment, the candle beside the emperor fluttered, its flame taking on a hint of red.
It caught the attention of the man's drooping eyes, making the sleepiness on his face vanish instantly.
He waved his hand, his majestic old voice echoing through the walls of the great hall.
"Dismissed," the voice was cold and rational, devoid of much emotion.
The Young official, reading aloud his memorial on disaster relief, stopped and bowed, along with all the officials present.
They withdrew in an orderly fashion.
Only once they left the great hall did a commotion erupt among the highest echelons of the empire.
What was so important that the emperor would dismiss them so abruptly? Many among them had, however, noticed the flickering of the candle. And they knew what it meant.
A great upheaval was about to assail the world.
..
Inside the hall, the emperor listened as the candlelight once again flickered, and a voice as ethereal as the stars in the sky spoke out.
"That witch is out of her lair, with her army. What do you intend to do?"
The emperor remained silent for a moment; a moment later, a grin spread across his features. With the long moustache and beard, it looked positively terrifying.
"What else? We've prepared for all these years; it's about time we get rid of that tree hugger.
"I'm expecting your assistance if needed." The emperor rumbled.
"Naturally."
…