(Outer Regions- Unnamed Forest)
The scent of roasted meat filled the air as Claire quietly sat next to a small campfire and cooked herself dinner.
The corpse of an enormous pig-like creature with fearsome teeth lay motionless on the ground a few hundred feet away.
It was already being torn apart by the hungry scavengers roaming the area grateful for a free meal.
These scavengers resembled normal wolves except their fur was a dark purplish- black colour and they possessed three eyes.
Occasionally one of the wolfish monsters would glance in Claire's direction but the small trace of killing intent leaking out of the paladin's body was enough to deter them.
Claire saw that the fire was starting to go out, so she reached out and grabbed a few dry sticks from the pile nearby.
Her golden eyes shone eerily in the darkness as she carefully roasted the meat to make sure that it did not burn.
Unfortunately, she did not have any spices or condiments to make the roasted meat actually taste good but that was a small matter.
"Are you going to come out?" Claire suddenly spoke.
There was a brief moment of silence in the forest, and it appeared as though the holy knight was talking to herself.
A humanoid figure stepped out of the shadows nearby and watched Claire with a vigilant expression on his face.
He was a dark elf with a lean muscular frame.
His pointed ears flickered back and forth, and he wore a simple brown robe.
Two curved daggers were attached to his hip by a simple piece of grass woven rope.
"Most impressive. Your ability to find my position is truly amazing, it is no wonder that the princess regards you so highly," the mysterious elf spoke.
"Save the compliments… what is your purpose?" Claire bluntly asked as her hand subconsciously drifted to the hilt of her sword.
The dark elf probably assumed that he was out of the reach of her blade, but that was an incorrect assumption.
It would take a mere fraction of a second for Claire's longsword to separate his head from his body at the first sign of a threat.
Something was off about this situation.
It was not that Claire had never met other dark elves before, but it was always in the presence of Elisa.
The former saintess did not mention sending someone to watch over her while she completed the task of killing the hunters.
"Queen Bracieth wishes to send you a message. She believes that you are being fooled…." the dark elf hoarsely replied.
His crimson eyes gleamed as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small unremarkable envelope.
He placed the envelope on the ground in front of him and then turned around to leave.
Claire watched him disappear into the darkness and made no move to stop him.
Faint holy runes floated gently above her body as the golden threads stirred from their slumber.
Claire waited until the dark elf's presence could no longer be detected before walking over and picking up the letter.
Queen Bracieth? She was Elisa's mother…
To say that Claire was feeling a bit confused would be an understatement. Elisa had briefly mentioned her mother's name before but had not said anything beyond that.
Claire got the impression that they were not close which really wasn't surprising if dark elf royals were anything like the human ones.
The holy knight weighed the envelope in her palm before placing it in the brown bag attached to her hip.
pαпdα-ňᴏνêι·сóМ The meat was almost done cooking so it would be best to eat first and then see what was inside the envelope.
Claire turned the meat over a few more times until the skin became incredibly crispy.
She broke off a piece and took a large bite.
Delicious!
Maybe it was because she hadn't eaten all day, but Claire could not resist going for seconds and then thirds.
Eventually all of the roasted meat disappeared in her stomach, and she tossed the bones in the direction of the scavengers.
The wolfish- monsters immediately pounced on the bones and a small fight broke out within the pack.
With the sounds of yips and growls in the background, Claire walked over to the nearby stream and washed her hands.
The cool sensation of the water tickled her fingertips as she washed off the oil and grease from her palms.
Claire returned to her campsite and tossed another batch of sticks in the fire before turning her attention to the matter at hand.
She pulled out the envelope from her bag and ran her fingers along the edges with a thoughtful expression.
The holy knight carefully opened up the envelope and made sure not to rip the contents inside.
There was only a single piece of parchment paper inside the letter and the words were written in the standard tongue of the Empire.
Claire held the letter in her palm and began to read its contents.
The cold expression on her face finally broke and the holy knight furrowed her brows in disbelief.
The message was short and barely filled the page.
Claire finished reading its contents in under a minute but could not stop herself from reading it over and over again.
The more she read…. the deeper the frown on her face became.
.
.
.
.
Dear Lady Blanlyn,
The contents of this letter will be difficult to believe. In fact, I'm sure your first instinct will be to assume that this is some kind of lie or deception.
It is not.
I promise on my honour as the queen of the dark elf race that what I will now reveal to you is the truth.
Many years ago, a soothsayer in our tribe spoke of a prophecy. It involved my future daughter who would bring about the end of humanity.
The prophecy foretold the rise of our kind and a return to the age before the influence of the Lord of Light.
Eventually the child of the prophecy was born, and she was named Princess Keya Liadi.
Naturally my daughter became the new symbol of hope not just for our people but for all the races who have been oppressed by humanity.
You may question then why I would send you this message.
I have taken a tremendous risk by allowing my subordinate to pass this letter to you.
There is no doubt that I would be immediately dethroned or even imprisoned if my actions ever came to light.
So why take that risk? Because I believe in the safety and stability of the continent over the violent revolution needed to make change.
For longer than a decade, my daughter has infiltrated human society with the goal of acquiring the materials necessary to create portals to hell.
If she is not stopped then I fear that she will succeed.
Death and destruction will be brought to the continent, the likes of which have never been seen before.
I implore you for the safety of the continent… please kill her.
No one knows Princess Keya's true nature more than me.
She is a monster.
A mad beast who needs to be put down before it bites everyone around it.
Forget everything that you think you know about my daughter. It is all part of her careful disguise to hide herself as prey when in fact she is a predator.
As a paladin, your duty is to follow the teachings of the Lord of Light so I can only pray that you will make the right decision.
Yours Sincerely,
Queen Bracieth Liadi.
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