The heads of the Three Noble Families gathered in the council chamber.
They were the leaders of the moderate faction, known to control half of the forest.
On any other day, they might have smiled and exchanged pleasantries, but not today.
More precisely, they had no such luxury left.
“I heard the rebellion at the Dentis family ended in failure.”
The elderly elf with a long white beard stroked it as he spoke.
This was Melfin Crown, head of the Crown family. His forehead was creased with deep furrows, a testament to the gravity of the matter.
“Our troops and elders were all struck down. The soldiers were annihilated. The elders were spared and sent back, but you know their condition is dire.”
“Isn’t this nothing less than a declaration of full-scale war?!”
A short-haired elf with a muscular build shouted aggressively, his arms folded, his displeasure impossible to hide.
“How much must they despise the Three Families to dare such a thing? For Dentis of all people to make such a move!”
“Calm yourself, Lord Radix.”
Darish Radix snorted sharply through his nose.
“Are you telling me we should just sit still and watch? Lord Flohim, surely you have something to say.”
At the end of Darish’s glare sat a slender, bespectacled elf with refined features.
Pariya Flohim, head of the Flohim family, adjusted his glasses with a finger, narrowing his eyes.
“Of course, if we stay silent, our family’s prestige will plummet. We will make them pay dearly for this.”
“Then immediately—!”
“Lord Radix. But we mustn’t act out of pure emotion. At least in name, Dentis has the moral advantage for now. And Dentis isn’t what matters most right now. Haven’t you heard the news?”
“News? What news?”
Darish’s puzzled look was answered instead by Melfin Crown.
“The Burke family has moved.”
“Burke? Those who stayed quiet all this time, suddenly?”
“Yes. It’s confirmed that Lady Ambella herself visited Dentis territory. What do you think that means?”
Darish’s expression hardened.
Pariya Flohim also shook his head in dismay.
“A pact among the neutral faction. Two houses that had kept quiet until now have joined hands.”
“Even so, they’re nothing but a rabble. Burke is dangerous, I’ll grant you, but Dentis—”
“Have you already forgotten we were defeated by that very Dentis? Their army may be meager, but their unbreakable loyalty binds them together. Once turned into enemies, they are exceedingly troublesome.”
That was why they had tried to use Viela to shake and dominate them from within.
And failed.
Darish Radix scoffed.
“And yet, their current head is a wastrel who dumped everything on his nephew and went gallivanting about the filthy human world. Are we to fear such a man just because he came back? The only one to worry about is Burke.”
“It’s not unreasonable to think so. Vierno Dentis has indeed neglected his duty as head. But the fact that he met with Burke means he has finally made up his mind.”
“Hah. But he’s been away from the seat for so long. What could he possibly do now?”
To his bravado, Melfin spoke low and firmly.
“Lord Radix. You’ve never met Vierno in person, have you? Or at most seen him from afar?”
“What of it? Why does that matter?”
“It matters because you’d do well not to look down on him so lightly. Vierno may appear mild, but a hundred years ago he stood at the forefront of war, fighting to protect the forest.”
As the eldest present, Melfin remembered Vierno well.
Especially as head of the Crown family, keeper of records and information.
Vierno Dentis.
The elf who seemed so kind, but once angered, became truly terrifying.
And that Vierno had now joined hands with Ambella Burke.
Ambella Burke—the current Burke matriarch—was herself an elder elf even Melfin treated with caution.
Though her family had been pushed to the outskirts, once upon a time she had been hailed as the Guardian of Serendel Castle.
After nearly five centuries of facing foreign enemies, the Burke family had become steeped in venom. For them to ally with Dentis was no trivial matter.
“But more than the Burke–Dentis alliance, there is something even graver.”
“You mean Plante.”
That name, spoken now, made all three grimace.
Plante—the name taboo among elves.
They had dared to tamper with the World Tree, and for that their house was annihilated.
Or so it was thought.
There had been survivors. They had been hunted down over the years, and when they refused to be controlled, eliminated.
Yet still, that bloodline lived.
‘So that human was hiding them after all.’
Walter Roschen.
The cold-hearted businessman, said to be able to sell even his family for money.
When he kept Ella Plante in his mansion, people whispered he had purchased an elf slave.
No one thought much of it.
Human rulers and wealthy merchants often bought elves as concubines, treasuring their beauty and long youth.
Though human law forbade it, men of high station ignored such laws freely.
So Melfin had thought Walter no different from any other vile human.
But it had all been deception.
Walter had borne a child with Ella Plante, and after her death had hidden that child away.
They had killed Ella and thought themselves safe—yet now, after all these years, the matter had returned like a boomerang.
The worst-case scenario: the Lifret family had obtained the Plante bloodline.
If only they had been more cautious.
Melfin quelled the irritation rising in him.
“The Lifret family now holds the Plante bloodline. And that means only one thing.”
“They seek to seize the full authority of the World Tree.”
“Indeed. Lifret’s power thus far has come from the World Tree, but their current situation is because they cannot command it fully. That is why our three families’ union could hold them in check.”
But if Lifret came to fully control the World Tree—
Then the alliance of the others would mean nothing.
There would be one house alone, {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} wielding absolute authority.
No longer seven families. Just one.
The birth of a true ‘king’ worthy of the elven kingdom’s name.
“That must be prevented at any cost.”
“How?”
“The key to this lies with Plante’s last blood. The final key that can control this entire situation. Without it, the head of Lifret is powerless.”
There were only two methods.
Claim the key themselves.
Or—
“Destroy it so none may have it. Not something we’ve never done before.”
“But Lifret will never give it up.”
“I know. Their forces and the Shadewardens guard the castle already, with defenses tighter than ever.”
“If they are openly in a defensive stance, then even if we demand a council, they won’t listen.”
“Obvious stalling. Then we too must act accordingly.”
The three heads all nodded together.
“Gather the troops. We march on Serendel.”
Would they do nothing, and lose everything?
Or gamble on war and seize a chance?
From the beginning, there was only ever the latter path left to them.
* * *
The things that shake the world always come without warning.
And it was the forest that sensed the signs first.
The forest observed everything happening within it.
And, as always, it neither stopped nor spurred events—merely watched.
The forest grew silent, as if dead.
No cries of beasts, no birdsong, no insect chirping.
The only sound was the synchronized steps of marching soldiers.
Forces from each house gathered, moving quietly together.
Beyond Serendel Castle’s outer wall, the legions formed their ranks.
The Lifret elves guarding the outer wall murmured gravely at the sight of the enemy.
The commander in charge of the eastern gate spoke in a heavy voice.
“So it has come at last.”
He was not surprised.
He had long known this day would come.
Since the racial war a hundred years ago, the elven kingdom had been plagued by endless internal strife.
Like a time bomb, always ready to explode, yet somehow balanced on a knife’s edge.
Now the fuse had been lit, likely due to the actions of their lord, sequestered in the castle.
“...We cannot hope to talk our way out now. Soldiers, we will defend Serendel with all our strength. Do your utmost in your assigned duties.”
Their task was simple.
Defend the outer wall.
But it would not be easy.
The enemy’s forces outnumbered them overwhelmingly.
The main strength was inside, guarding the inner castle, and Radix—who had once held much of the outer defense—had now joined the enemy.
In truth, only Lifret’s forces and part of the Shadewardens remained to defend the wall.
The only relief was that the massive marble fortifications could offset some of the difference in numbers.
‘Complete defense isn’t necessary. We only need to buy time.’
The commander clenched his fist, recalling his orders.
Then a messenger came running in panic.
“C-Commander! Bad news! Another army is approaching the west gate!”
“What?”
Another enemy at the west gate?
“Could it be the rest of the Three Families striking the other side?”
“N-No! It’s not them. It’s another family entirely!”
“Another family... don’t tell me.”
The commander barely held back a sigh.
So Burke and Dentis had moved as well.
It was only natural—if they hadn’t, it would have been stranger.
Now troops would have to be sent to the west gate too, making defense even harder.
‘When the battle begins, how many elves will die in this war between families?’
All he could pray for was that his lord Ventmin’s plan would succeed.
‘My lady, may you achieve your great work.’
* * *
The largest army marching belonged to the Three Families’ alliance.
Knowing the stakes, they had mobilized every soldier they could.
When Ambella Burke heard, she scoffed in disbelief.
“So the cowards have grown desperate. To summon all the troops they’d kept hidden until now.”
According to her scouts, the Three Families were preparing to assault the eastern wall.
It wasn’t that the eastern gate was weaker.
Serendel’s outer wall was fortified on east, south, and west.
The north was impenetrable—there stood the World Tree itself.
They chose the east because, once breached, it gave the fastest route to the World Tree.
That was why Ambella herself struck at the west—to avoid direct confrontation.
And surely—
“That viper Lifret inside already knows this.”
Ambella smirked faintly.
Other elves might not have noticed, but she did.
The unseen eyes watching her warily.
It was not a person.
The grass beneath her feet, the nearby trees, the drifting petals—
All obeyed someone’s command, and all were staring at her.
And the one giving those commands was inside that castle, trying to do something with the World Tree.
Five hundred years ago, the Plante head’s attempt had failed.
Lifret and the Shadewardens had risen in power, and Burke had been cast to the borders.
What would happen this time?
“Lord of Lifret. Let’s put an end to our long, bitter feud.”
Would the same mistake be repeated?
Or would a different path be taken?
Today, the answer would be decided.