In a palace grown from crystal

Deep in the elflands stood a truly magnificent structure. A palace, easily twice the size of the imperial palace in the realm of Toran, built entirely of crystal. Built was the wrong word for it. The palace had not been built; it had grown out of the side of the mountains where it stood. And yet, it was flawless, no hint of imperfection. Gryphons circled the mountaintops up above and unicorns frolicked in the palace gardens. It was a sight no human had ever beheld, at least none that lived to tell the tale.

Through the halls of this palace strode Lady Advisor Ithlin, and she was in a terrible mood. The queen, as always, had ignored the wisest voices in the meeting. She continued to insist that they would need the humans for what was to come, that they would not be able to stand alone. As if humans were not creations of chaos and evil! They were the foe; how could she think they would be of aid? It was maddening.

Ithlin moved through the halls as quickly as she could without running, which would be unseemly. As soon as she got to her own lavish quarters though she threw herself down into an armchair, squeezed a pillow against her own face, and screamed into it. How could an elf so foolish be allowed to sit on the true throne? There was only one way to ensure the seed of evil never found purchase in this world again, and that was to be rid of every single human. The other creations of chaos would need to follow suit, of course. As dangerous as they were, the dragons were few in number and concentrated in one place, it would be costly but doable to wipe them out. The giants would pose a greater challenge. They were more elusive than beings of their size had any right to be, and even when found they would be incredibly difficult to slay. But it would have to be done. And then of course there were the nightbloods. The great shame, the bastard spawn. Luckily, no one advocated for sparing them. The elves were the stewards of this world, appointed by the gods themselves. As such, it was their duty to fix the god’s one mistake. Even the queen didn’t argue with that.

After a few more minutes of venting her frustrations into the pillow, Ithlin moved over to a window made of perfectly transparent crystal. She had a view directly into one of the terrace gardens and a gorgeous unicorn was grazing right outside her window. The sight helped calm her.

She took a deep breath and consoled herself with the knowledge that, while the previous coup attempt may have failed, she had not been discovered. And of course, she and her allies were not about to give up. It would be foolish to attempt another move in the palace itself, it had only been a few years since the last attempt and security was still heightened, but the queen’s folly had made her daughter ****. The outrage of an elven princess being sent on a diplomatic mission to human lands could not be allowed to stand. Eliminating that little convoy would be a great victory for their faction. The loss of her only child would be a devastating blow for the queen, and her diplomatic efforts would be stopped in their tracks. And perhaps, if they could manage it, they could even pin the blame on the humans. Ithlin smiled, she could remain patient as long as such rewards were just around the corner.