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Chapter Text

It all started with a prophecy and two brothers. 

Aeor and Exor were raised side by side millennia ago. Despite being brothers, the two were vastly different, and their beliefs were complete opposites of one another.

Where Aeor thought everyone was the same value, and should be treated as such, Exor claimed that this simply wasn’t the case. That in some cases it was necessary that the weakest of the pack should be sacrificed for the greater good. 

This didn’t sit well with Aeor, and eventually the two brothers ended up clashing. The long and even battle ended up with Aeor locking their brother deep into the mountains of what would eventually become a Kingdom of Rivendell.

After Exor was locked away, Aoer disappeared as well, leaving the people around them to wonder if everything had just been a fairytale after all. 

That was, until hundreds of years later, two princes of the just established Kingdom of Rivendell, were playing outside. The two brothers stumbled across a well hidden cave system. Alinar, the older of the two, hesitated, while his brother, Cohnal insisted on examining their finding further. 

Eventually, Alinar headed back to the Kingdom, while Cohnal ventured deeper into the caves.

When the sun was setting and Alinar hadn’t heard from his brother yet, he grew worried. There was the chance that Cohnal had gotten lost in the caves, stuck, or even hurt. So he did what any concerned big brother would. He took the nearest lantern, and headed back into the caves. This time, he tried to go further. But he couldn’t.

The entrance of the cave had been blocked by red vines. Alinar tried his best to get through. Pulling on them, and trying to cut them with his sword. But they stayed, unmoving and unbothered. He ended up yelling his brother’s name, and trying to listen for an answer. When nothing came of it, Alinar rushed over to their parents. To tell what had happened, and admit that he let Cohnel venture further in the cave system.

The next weeks were filled with search parties, each one coming back with no trace of the missing prince. Months later the search was stopped, and a grave planted for the tragically disappeared, presumably dead Cohnel. 

So imagine the royal family’s surprise, when in the middle of a festival that celebrates the Northern lights that light up the mountain every year on the same day, Cohnel shows up. It’s not him, however. It’s a demonic, disfigured form of the once loved prince. He has red horns, and vines are covering his bruised body. 

The fight he instigated killed tens of townsfolk, before Alinar, using a magic that he had never known he had in him, was able to conceal his brother back into those very same caves he lost his brother in. The entrance collapsed, and in time covered in moss and forgotten. 

Memories faded by time, and when Alinar died after a successful and long kingship, they continued in a form of children’s tales, similarly to Aeor and Exor. 

When two new princes were born in Rivendell hundreds of years later, it was immediately clear the two infants were now next in line for the godly powers Aeor and Exor. Their parents felt nothing but distress knowing that one of the children would trot down a dangerous path of corruption and evil. 

Despite this, the two agreed to raise them both normally for now, and keep the prophecy from the rest of the Kingdom. Only people who knew of the inevitable future were the Kingdom's advisor, as well as the priest. Both did their very best to avoid both children at all cost. After all, there was no way of knowing when the gods would come and claim what’s theirs. They did not want to be in the way of that kind of power. 

Despite the fact they were twin brothers, Scott and Xornoth were vastly different from one another. The cyan haired Scott was a lot more quiet and calm of the two. He rarely got in trouble on his own, and listened to almost any adult around him. Whereas his brother was more wild, adventurous and rebellious. Xornoth always seemed to find themselves in trouble. 

Their parents tried to love both equally, but knowing what they knew made it very difficult. In time, one of their children would not just try to overrun the Kingdom of Rivendell, but the entire world in corruption. 

And when it became evident which of the brothers were chosen by which god, the treatment worsened. 

At the age of 6, Scott grew a tiny pair of golden antlers on his head. They were just small nubs for now, and they were barely noticeable from under the hair, but they were there. Growing them had been an awful experience for the young boy. He had woken up in the middle of the night with a feeling of someone trying to drill his skull open. Scott’s screaming had woken up Xornoth, who ran from the room right next to Scott’s to check on their brother. 

Not long after Xornoth had arrived, their parents rushed into the room as well. They saw a glimpse of the golden antlers, and immediately rushed over. Their father ushered Xornoth out of the room, while their mother tried to comfort the distressed child. 

From that day forward, everything changed. 

Their workload used to be balanced. The same amount of school and the same homework, so the two brothers could help one another out. Xornoth immediately noticed the massive workload Scott was put under. It felt like their brother never left his room, only studying either alone or with a private teacher. 

Xornoth’s workload on the other hand stayed the same, even lessened a bit if they weren’t completely wrong. When asking about the situation from their parents, the answer was simple. ‘Your brother will be the heir to the throne. He needs this training more than you do’. Being young, Xornoth had accepted this, and life moved on. 

After the brothers had turned 9, Xornoth got their pair of antlers. The process was just as painful as Scott’s had been, but they didn’t dare to scream. Xornoth knew about the whispers around town. The strange looks people gave them. They had wanted to believe it all to be false, but it wasn’t. Xornoth couldn’t let anyone see the horns. They could almost see their parents’ disapproving glares. They didn’t want that.

The next few months went well. They managed to keep their antlers hidden, and life went on. Xornoth barely saw Scott, but when they had time to spend together, the two brother’s would. One night, when the two were talking in Scott’s room, Xornoth decided to reveal their secret. They’d brushed their purple hair aside, and revealed the now slightly more grown antlers. 

Scott’s eyes had widened in disbelief, and the young elf covered his mouth with a hand. ‘Do mom and dad know?’ Was his first question. Xornoth only shook their head, and Scott frowned further. ‘Well, I’m not gonna tell them,’ the elf decided. 

And it went on like that for a while. It was relieving to have shared their secret. To not be in complete, suffocating silence with it. But at the same time Xornoth knew. They knew that Scott’s reaction was bound to be the best. Their parents would freak out. 

But they needed to tell them eventually. 

So one day Xornoth walked over to the large throne room of the Kingdom. The door was slightly ajar, and curiosity taking the best of them, the prince took a peek inside. 

Their parents were having a meeting with another royal family. These people looked funny. They didn’t even look like people. Each one was dragging a fish tail behind them, and Xornoth was able to see their quills all the way from where they were spying from. The prince remembered reading about them for school. One of the Kingdoms was populated by aquatic creatures like these. 

‘So, the deal is settled then, I presume?’ Xornoth’s father hummed, and handed the leader of the other kingdom a piece of paper to sign. ‘Absolutely. Cod Empire is pleased to do business with a great Kingdom like Rivendell.’

Xornoth leaned to the door a bit too strongly, and it creaked open with a loud squeak. Immediately, all eyes were on them. The young prince straightened their  posture, and immediately bowed. ‘Apologies, I did not mean to-‘

Their parents looked over to them, disapproval in their eyes. Xornoth shrunk down. ‘I apologize for them,’ Xornoth’s father sighed.

The ruler of the other Kingdom gave a low chuckle. ‘It is quite alright. Children will be children. No matter what you tell them, they’ll do the exact opposite. I should know with my two.’ 

The King turned around to study Xornoth with their gaze. ‘Are they the one?’

Their mother was quick to shake her head and let out a nervous chuckle. ‘No, this here is our son, Xornoth.’ Then, her attention was back on the prince. ‘Go get your brother, will you?’ 

Xornoth frowned, but did as they were told to. The prince hurried over to their brother’s room, almost tripping over when getting up the stairs to the second floor. The door to Scott’s room was closed, as it often was. In a brotherly manner, the prince just bursted into the room, earning an annoyed glare from Scott, who was sitting on the floor with a book on his lap.

‘What do you need?’ Was his first question. After Xornoth explained that there were rulers of another Kingdom present, and that their parents asked Xornoth to fetch Scott, their brother’s interest had peaked. The two of them made their way back down, to the throne room.

When arriving, all eyes were on Scott. The young prince noticed this, and immediately squirmed under the piercing gazes. His parents motioned him to step forward, and that he did. The cyan haired elf stood besides his parents, while Xornoth watched from the background. 

Eventually, they were ushered out of the room while Scott got to stay.

There were a ton of instances like this one. Scott was raised to be a ruler, while Xornoth wasn’t really sure what they were meant to be. They never really fit along with the townsfolk, and apparently not in the royal family either. They were a ticking time bomb, and there was nothing they could do to stop it. 

Day by day, the older of the brothers slipped into solitude. Xornoth would disappear for days, just wandering the lands around Rivendell. No one ever missed their presence, so they started staying away for longer and longer. 

Until one day Xornoth stumbled across a cave that was full of corruption. Red vines had spread all over the walls of the cave, illuminating a faint glow to light up the space. This was the kind of picture they had seen in a children’s tale book. The one which told the story of Aeor and Exor. 

For a moment, Xornoth hesitated. They should turn around and go back home. To tell Scott what they had found. But then again, why should they? He had never stepped in for them. Never stood besides them when they actually needed it. Hell, their little brother had never even commented on Xornoth on their status as Exor’s champion. It was like he had always tried to act as if it wasn’t real. 

So they proceeded further into the cave system, until eventually, they found what they were looking for. A fully corrupted room, filled to the brim with corruption, lava and black spikes that looked like obsidian. 

Xornoth shuddered, but moved forward. 

A sudden tremble filled the room, and it took a moment for the young prince to figure out it was a laugh. 

“Welcome”, a creaking voice whispered. “Welcome, my champion.”

__________

From the day Xornoth disappeared, Scott had tried to convince himself that everything was fine. That his brother was just on one of their longer trips, and returning any day now. 

But as the months went by, the prince was starting to get anxious. He tried to express his concerns to his parents, who ushered him away, telling him to focus on his studies. And Scott really did try. But in the dark of the night, when only a small lantern was lighting up his room, he missed the sound of Xornoth’s snoring on the other side of the wall.

Had his brother started a new life elsewhere? Scott hoped that was the case. He hoped, because the alternatives were so much worse. 

The answer came in his dream the next night. 

When he sat up from a field of golden flowers, Scott thought he had fallen mid flight and hit his head. Looking around more, it was clear that that was not the case. His thoughts were proven right, by the golden stag standing right in front of him. 

It watched him thoughtfully for a good while. There was no way of knowing what it was thinking. The stag’s eyes were blank from all emotion. It was like a life sized statue, standing just a few meters away from him. The only sign of life was the steady breathing, and the occasional twitching ear.

Scott almost flinched when all of a sudden the stag stomped its hoof violently to the ground, the impact raising a small cloud of dust around it. 

“Have I chosen incorrectly?” Its voice rang through the clearing like a chilling winter wind. It was ominous, and Scott could’ve sworn he hadn’t even seen the stag move a muscle. It was like it was speaking in his head. “A child your age should know to show some humility before their god.” The stag scoffed, and narrowed its eyes when Scott shakily pushed himself to kneel in front of the creature. 

The stag stayed silent for a good while. Scott could only guess what it was thinking, while he was staring at the grassy ground. The prince didn’t dare to move a muscle in fear of angering the god in front of him.

“You still have a lot to learn,” it finally concluded, and took a couple of steps back, giving Scott some space. 

The prince looked carefully up, straight into the blank, golden eyes of the god. It looked back at him, and the stag’s ear flicked. 

Now Scott could get a better look at Aeor. He had always known the gods were two stags. Every kid who gets told the story knows it. What the prince hadn’t anticipated, was just how normal Aeor seemed. 

The only thing differentiating the god from an ordinary stag was the golden antlers resting on its head. The pair was similar to Scott’s, although much larger and stronger looking. 

“Will you be teaching me?” The prince asked carefully, to which the stag gave him back a thoughtful hum. 

“No. It is not my duty to do so.”

“Umm, why wouldn’t it be? Pretty sure you chose me and not the other way around.” 

The stag scoffed at his response, but paid it no mind. Instead, Aeor bowed down, enough to bump the tip of its antlers against Scott’s. Both of them flared bright gold, like they were on fire. 

Scott’s eyes widened, and he stayed still when his field of vision was completely blocked by another scene. He saw a dark cave. He should’ve still been on the field. He even felt the soft grass against his knees. 

Carefully, Scott reached his arm forward. He hit short fur that the ruler wasn’t able to see before him. 

“Watch.” Aoer commanded. “Right now, we’re seeing through your brother’s eyes.” The stag explained. 

The dark cave was covered in red vines. From the darkness, emerged a figure with red glowing eyes. The stag that walked forward was larger and broader than Aeor. Its fur was torn from different places, and matted from others. The horns had cracks, and some red vines curled around them. 

If you were to just take a quick glance, there was no way of noticing, but the stag was slightly transparent. Like it wasn’t supposed to be in the world, and was just a spirit walking around it. 

There was a flash of red, and when Scott opened his eyes next, he was back in the field.

“They’re planning on an attack,” Aeor explained. “Exor knows when I am watching, and they know when to block it. You need to prepare to defend Rivendell.”

“Defend Rivendell? How am I supposed to do that?”

“You’ll know when it’s time.” The stag answered. 

And even though the elf hadn’t trusted the god, he should have. Because when the battle came to be, he had won. 

He had won, but at what cost. 

Xornoth struck in the dark of the night. Setting the left wing of the castle in fire, then blocking the exits with their corrupted vines. Scott wouldn’t have made it out, if it wasn’t for the almost holographic hoof marks that led him to the only window that had been left open. From there, the elf was able to glide down, even if his wings had taken some damage from the fire.

Their parents weren’t nearly as lucky as Scott. After the vicious battle that ended in Scott sealing Xornoth – and in the process Exor – in a small, red ruby, the elf realized that there was no stopping the fire. They could only try to prevent further damage being done to the village. The castle was gone. Only the stone foundation was standing anymore.

Scott tried to find his parents from the crowd, even if it was evidently clear what had happened to the King and Queen of Rivendell. And eventually one of the elders found two severely burnt bodies from what would’ve been where their bedroom was. They weren’t recognizable, but both had damaged and half melted golden crowns on their heads.

Their funeral was held the very next day, the coronation of the new king on the same evening.

And after all the damage that had been done, Scott was the one left to pick up the pieces. 

Rebuilding Rivendell to its former glory took years. Some townsfolk left permanently, the rumors spread that one day the crazed brother might return. Frankly, Scott didn’t blame them for leaving. Most settled into nearby Kingdoms, getting their rulers curious of what caused so many elves to suddenly migrate out of Rivendell. 

Until one day the King of Rivendell received a letter from the nearest Kingdom, the Overgrown, where the ruler Katherine had begun to take notice of the impactful amount of Rivendell immigration. In her letters, she expressed curiosity, but also worry for the Kingdom next door. 

After reading the letter thoroughly a few times, Scott had scoffed. Sure, now she was worried. Where was she when Rivendell was in actual need. 

So he wrote back, letting Katherine know that the Overgrown didn’t need to pry on what was happening in Rivendell. That the Kingdom was doing fine, and that even though he appreciated her concern, he didn’t want it. 

Katherine hadn’t brought up the issue since. In fact, no one had. 

And now, Scott was alone. He had been for years. Ever since both – his parents and his brother were taken from him, the elven king had grown quite cold. The only times he spoke were for formalities, whether it was with allies of Rivendell or his advisors.

Social life had never been a priority for the young ruler. Since youth, he had found peace outside of human contact. And Scott did a good job of convincing himself that he didn’t need any. His Kingdom and serving Aeor would be a priority, everything else could be set aside for now. 

His advisor didn’t quite agree with him, however. 

She’d follow him around, explaining that making friends – not just allies – would make the bonds between Kingdoms stronger. That alliance could be broken much easier. 

“The friendships my parents had with other Kingdoms were strong, right”, the elf had snapped back one day. “So strong that when Rivendell needed them the most, none of them appeared to help.” Scott scoffed. “Rivendell doesn’t need friends. What Rivendell needs is to be self-sufficient. We need to work towards never having to be in contact with the other Kingdoms again.” 

His advisor, an elder elf named Routa, only scoffed back. She had never been too fond of Scott, especially not after his parents’ death. After all, she practically had to raise the teenager the rest of the way to be a proper king for Rivendell. 

“Excluding Rivendell from the rest of the world,” Routa exclaimed slowly, like speaking to a child. “Your parents wouldn’t agree with that, now would they? Rivendell needs friends. What if there will be a war?”

“Then we stand alone. The mountains provide cover and shelter, and we’re more than capable of fighting off any intruder.” Scott explained. ”Do not bring my parents into this,” the ruler gritted his teeth. 

Routa was smart enough to shut her mouth for now, with a small huff. “I think you’re making a mistake. I won’t let you make one at the expense of Rivendell.”

“Making the kingdom stronger, and cutting off the rest of the world isn’t a mistake. Please, do tell me, what can the other Kingdoms provide for us, after we’re self-sufficient?” Scott sneered. 

“Security,” the advisor huffed back. “If we’re alone and something terrible happens, we’re truly alone.”

Scott narrowed his eyes. “Yeah. Similarly when Xornoth went mad, killed my parents and half of the town. Where was that security back then?” The ruler gritted his teeth. When Routa stayed quiet, Scott’s posture relaxed just the tiniest bit. 

“They do not care about us. I’m not risking my people getting in a conflict between two nations they have nothing to do with. Trust me.” The elf sighed. “I appreciate your input – I really do. But this is an opinion I am standing behind.” 

Routa gave a sigh. “I hope you know what you’re doing, your highness.” 

________

At the end of his day, the ruler of Rivendell was sitting in his work room, reading over letters from other Kingdoms as he usually did. Since Scott had never bothered to appear in a meeting between Kingdoms, word got to him by writing. 

Some of the other rulers just flat out ignored Rivendell’s existence – which was very fine by Scott – whereas others made an effort to reach out and update him on what was going on.

The most active at this was, of course, the Overgrown as well as Crystal Cliffs and somewhat the Undergrove. Although the latter one had quieted down a ton in the last few months. 

The only letter from today was from Katherine. Every two weeks each ruler of the nearby Kingdom’s was invited to a meeting. The letter from Katherine followed the same pattern as always. A short summary of what had been discussed in the  meeting, and a polite  invite to join the next one. 

This far, Scott had declined every single meeting invitation. He had nothing to discuss with the other rulers. Frankly, the ruler didn’t care about what was going on outside of his Kingdom. As long as his people were safe, fed and happy. 

Who knows what kind of conflict and disagreements laid outside the borders of Rivendell. 

Only a bigger reason to just exclude Rivendell from everything that was happening in the outside world. 

Chapter Text

“Rivendell’s main source of food is currently from outside the Kingdom, mainly from the Overgrown. This can be easily changed by not only building farm houses to grow crops in, but also by purchasing more cattle – enough that the Kingdom can manage on its own.” Scott explained thoughtfully. 

The small snow owl on his windowsill cooed as if to answer, and puffed it’s chest happily when the king came to pet it’s head. 

“You get it, don’t you,” Scott chuckled as the animal let out a quiet, happy, purr. It flapped its wings, and confidently hopped over onto the king's shoulder. From there, it awkwardly climbed onto his head, until the owl was comfortably sitting on one of his golden antlers. 

“Silly bird,” Scott sighed with a small smile on his lips. “Don’t you have deliveries for today?”

The snowy owls served as Rivendell’s postal service. They were efficient, and very pleasant to work with. Besides delivering letters (almost) always to their right receiver, the birds kept rats and other rodents out of the city. Not to even mention that the owls didn’t blink twice at a regular hail or snow storm. They had adapted perfectly to the mountains, and it made perfect sense for both of the species to work together. 

The owl only cocked its head towards the king, and gave a quiet purr when Scott extended his hand to pet the top of its head. 

“I need to go now, I have business elsewhere. But I might have letters for you to deliver later on.” The owl gave a happy chirp, and with a couple of silent flaps of its wings, the bird was gone. 

_______

Scouting the areas for future buildings, such as farms and a barn for cattle, were easy enough. Since Rivendell was built on a mountain, the Kingdom lacked good places to build structures. They’d improvised somewhat with the housing. Some houses were built against a mountain, held up by a couple of pillars securing them from below. And bridges connected those houses to the center of the Kingdom. 

Nowadays, they didn’t need as much housing. As young elves grew, every year a bigger portion of them wanted to move away. Rivendell was starting to be too secluded for their adventurous minds. And Scott couldn’t do anything else than wish them luck on their travels, and let them know that they would always be welcomed back. 

‘The youth needs to travel now that they can. ’ Was a sentence Scott had heard time and time again from the elder folk of the Kingdom. The ruler had never understood this. He had never had the burn to leave Rivendell. The mountains that touched the sky, and the distant horizon line had always been enough for him, and it always would be. 

He didn’t crave for an adventure. To explore distant lands without an inch of worry or responsibility on him. To forget titles, past – everything – and just, go. 

No. He didn’t want that. Scott was where he belonged, and he had a place here. Rivendell needed him just as much as he needed it. 

Yet, he couldn’t help but overhear the elder elves when walking through the streets of Rivendell. They’d express their pity towards the young leader, saying that Scott was too young to have all this responsibility on his shoulders. The young ruler typically laughed them off, convincing them that he enjoyed his role immensely, and that he couldn’t wish for a better life than what he had. 

All he got back was a ‘You haven’t known a life better than what you have now’. The ruler didn’t take it personally. His people had never been anything but nice and understanding towards him. Even when he messed up multiple things during the first months of his rule. It was rough to lose your entire family and not have any time to mourn. 

Scott had had mere hours from his parents’ death to his coronation. 

But it was alright, he had pulled it together. In a way, it was easier to be busy than to think of what had happened. The new ruler had had barely enough time to breathe for days after his coronation. Besides the studying intensifying even more, he now had all these other responsibilities that he was nowhere near able to handle. Thankfully his advisors and the people had been patient and kind. 

The ruler led one of his advisors to the edge of the town, and motioned a space between two walls of the mountain. 

“This area is good enough for what we’re looking for. Safe from weather, and not exactly in the center of the city.”

“It is alright,” one of the advisors hummed. “But it’s a lot of work for the already overworked citizens. I think we should just keep doing what we have been doing in the past: the summertime we survive on our own crops and cattle, but in the winter we buy from the other kingdoms. That has worked well so far.”

Scott let out a scoff. “That’s very much the thing we’re trying to avoid here. We shouldn’t be reliant on another Kingdom with something as important as food. What if something happens, and they aren’t able to deliver? The citizens of Rivendell would starve.” 

“Well, yes, but..”

“No I’d rather not hear it,” Scott decided. “I’ve set my mind on this already.”

He tried not to pay attention to his advisors’ quiet whispering amongst themselves, as he walked away. 

_________

Scott was tapping the wooden surface of his table. The empty letter was lying in front of the ruler. He hadn’t been the first to send a letter in.. well, ever. At least not since they were just kids writing to each other for fun. This was very different. It was business, and Scott hated to depend on others for things. 

Hopefully, after he gets Katherine to agree to this one, he will never need to again. 

The same snowy owl was restlessly walking and jumping around his table. The bird knew it would be asked to deliver the message, and the owls in Rivendell loved their job. As soon as they heard the noise of a pen being picked up, at least one of them would arrive with curious excitement. 

In the midst of its jumping, the owl knocked over Scott’s bottle of ink. The ruler stood swiftly up, trying to avoid the liquid from getting onto his clothes. He was too late, and the ruler gave a defeated sigh after noticing the dark stain on his pants. 

The owl covered away, clearly aware of its mistake. 

“Hey, it’s all good. It was an honest mistake. Just be more careful next time.” Scott grabbed a towel and tried to wipe the spilled ink off of his table, only ending up getting it more spread. The owl gave a quiet hoot, and Scott chuckled at the clear embarrassment in its tone. 

Deciding the messy table wasn’t a battle he wanted to fight tonight, Scott sat down to the floor. 

Dear Katherine,

the ruler of the Overgrown

I would be greatly interested in doing business with you and the Overgrown. However, I would like to discuss the details in person. 

If you’re interested, inform me of the date, time and place and I shall be there. 

Sincerely, 

King Scott of Rivendell

The king read the short letter through multiple times to spot any spelling errors, before sealing it to an envelope. The owl was already jumping impatiently in its place, knowing it would be the one delivering the message. And when Scott handed it the letter, the owl took it gently. 

“That one’s for Queen Katherine, so Overgrown. If you can’t find her, drop it over to her throne room.” Scott explained patiently. The owl was already puffing its wing. With a few hops and some help from Scott, the bird climbed over to the windowsill, and from there opened its wings, flying away. 

Scott looked after it for a moment, then glanced over to his desk. With a quiet groan, the elf got over to cleaning his mess. 

__________

The answer arrived the very next day

Dear King Scott,

I am thrilled to be able to see you again, even if it’s for business. Feel free to pop in whenever your schedule allows it. I will be traveling to the Ocean Empire in three days, and will be back in five. Other than that, I will have time for your visit.

Your friend, Katherine

Scott couldn’t help but cringe at the letter. Not only was the wording horribly informal, the two of them barely even remembered one another after all these years. He wouldn’t have called Katherine a friend. They just kind of, sort of, knew each other. But apparently Katherine didn’t feel the same.

Being friends was too complicated. But he needed ruler Katherine’s business one last time, so be it. Scott would play along for now. 

He really hoped that when Katherine informed he’d be free to visit whenever, she meant that statement. Scott wasn’t about to wait around with the matter, but the ruler of Rivendell was already gathering the small amount of supplies he would need for a quick visit to the Overgrown. 

The Kingdom wasn’t far at all. In fact, it was barely a twenty minute flight away. The two Kingdoms nearly bordered each other. The only thing dividing the two were the high mountains Rivendell stood upon. 

Scott walked out of the town hall, almost managing to get flying before a firm hand gripped his shoulder. 

“Your highness, where do you think you’re going?” Routa demanded. 

“I’m visiting Overgrown,” Scott explained hastily. “For business. Trying to get some more cattle off of them.”

The elf before him folded her arms, but didn’t press the matter further. Scott knew Routa was aware of his plans for the Kingdom, and that this was just one step forward. But she had no reason to argue against a more stable food source for her people. 

“I see. Do you need anyone accompanying you? I could go get –“

The ruler shook his head quickly. “No. No thank you, I mean. It’s a short flight, someone else would just slow me down. I won’t be gone for long.” Scott explained. 

Routa seemed to agree enough, that she gave a nod. “Understandable. Well, have a safe flight, your highness.” 

The elf gave a quick nod, before taking off to the sky. He flew quite rarely nowadays. There really wasn’t any need to do so, when Scott barely left Rivendell in the first place. And when he needed to move within the city, he would just walk. That way the ruler would be closer to his people. 

Elves with wings were quite rare. They were seen as royalty, even though it wasn’t completely unusual to see a winged, completely ordinary, elf just trotting down the streets of Rivendell. The crown family having wasn’t a coincidence though. They were seen as more fit to lead than non-winged folk centuries ago, when Rivendell was deciding its first ruler. And then the genes had been passed down generations. 

The wings were a huge advantage, but a disadvantage at the same time. They were sensitive and delicate, breaking very easily. They needed to be cleaned and preened constantly. Not to even mention that some black market collectors would kill for a pair of elven wings. 

But he wasn’t too worried for his people. Rivendell was safe, and difficult to get to. It was well guarded, and outsiders could be spotted quite easily, since the city was populated by only elves. The other races weren’t too keen on the unpredictable weather. 

As Scott flew over the Overgrown, he was able to spot Katherine from the air. So the ruler of Rivendell landed right over to her, stumbling only a bit in the process. 

“Scott!” Katherine smiled in excitement, and walked over to him. She was exactly how Scott remembered her. Loud, friendly, overall a very big personality. Awkwardly, the ruler of Rivendell gave a wave back. 

“Hey, long time no see. It’s good to see you, Queen Katherine.” 

Katherine only snorted at the formalities. “Don’t be ridiculous Scott, we’re friends here, I don’t need you to use titles.” 

The elven king shifted on his feet awkwardly. “We haven’t seen each other in years, Q–, Katherine.”

“That happens,” Katherine immediately responded, never dropping her bubbly attitude. “We’re both busy people and time flies. I’m glad I’m seeing you now, though. Even if it’s just for business. Oh, about that, do you want to go over that right now?”

“Please,” Scott nodded, relieved. The quicker the business got dealt with, the quicker he was free to leave. 

Katherine led the ruler of Rivendell inside of – what Scott assumed to be – some kind of throne room. Right by that was a smaller room decorated with a wooden table carved full of art of different flowers. 

“Take a seat,” Katherine smiled. “I will have someone get us something to drink while talking. What would you like?”

“Anything is fine, really,” Scott sighed, and sat down to the other end of the table. Katherine followed his lead on the other end. 

At the same time when Katherine was politely asking for two cups of tea from a servant, Scott was thinking. 

“So,” Katherine woke him up from his thoughts. “A business deal, you say? What do you have in your mind?”

Scott straightened his posture, and nodded. “Well, Rivendell could really use some more cattle. And since the Overgrown is the closest Kingdom, it would benefit us greatly to not have to herd animals from too far away. I’m not sure what kind of payment would be of your interest. We have a ton of wool, copper as well as gold.”

Katherine hummed softly, thinking. “Well, we could really use some copper. What amounts of cattle are we talking about?” 

The negotiations were over fairly soon. The two eventually agreed on 50 cows for 50 blocks of copper. Scott was more than ready to leave. Even if the negotiations hadn’t been difficult at all since Katherine was very forthcoming, he was exhausted. Katherine, however, decided to steer the conversation in another direction. 

“I can’t believe you haven’t even met some of the new rulers,” Katherine gaped, and set down her nearly finished cup of tea. “We meet every two weeks in one of the Kingdoms to talk about anything and everything. What’s going around all the kingdoms, potential threats, and business deals.”

“With all due respect, I don’t have the time to take part in a gossip circle. I’m very busy even with just Rivendell,” Scott explained calmly, but Katherine was not having it. 

“C’mon, wouldn’t it be nice to at least know the leaders of the other empires around you? You’d have a lot less trouble doing business too, with just a bit of networking. I’ve told everyone that you’re really nice, just reserved. But they’d, of course, rather meet you themselves.” 

“I’ve met the Copper King, Shrub and King fWhip, as well as the Codfather.”

“Of course, but Scott, there are 12 rulers in total. That just means that you still have six others to meet. Besides, are you aware that the Codfather passed the crown down to his heir over a year ago.”

Scott hummed, trying to hide his surprise. “I actually was not aware of that.”

Katherine extended her arm dramatically, nearly knocking over her cup of tea in the process. “See! You’re so out of loop with everything that has been happening outside of Rivendell. We’d love to have you in at least one meeting. See if you like it. And then if it’s as much of a waste of time as you think it is, you can just never attend one again.” 

“I don’t know,” Scott sighed. “It doesn’t seem very productive in my eyes. You know Rivendell doesn’t really need the help of other Kingdoms. We’re so secluded in the mountains anyway.”

“You don’t need help, eh?” Katherine crossed her arms. “Then what are you doing here now? There’s nothing wrong with needing some help, even if it’s just a measly business deal, Scott.” 

The ruler of Rivendell stood up from his seat. “Thank you for meeting me, Queen Katherine. I’m glad we could come to an agreement with the cattle. I’ll send someone to come get the animals within the week, and they’ll bring the copper I promised with them.”

Katherine’s shoulders slumped, but she gave Scott a nod. “Of course, thank you to you as well. It was good to see you again, Scott. Just know that the invitation to the next – or any – meeting stands. The next one is actually here in two days. That room over there, 1pm sharp.” She pointed at a room on the opposite side of the throne room. The golden doors to it  were closed. 

“Although someone is always late. It’s alright though, we usually start closer to 1.15pm either way. I hope we’ll see there,” she gave Scott a quick smile, which he tried to return.

“I doubt it, but I appreciate the invite,” he politely declined. “I need to get going now, it was good to see you as well.” 

Before the ruler of Rivendell could take off to the sky, Katherine stopped him abruptly. 

“Scott, hold on. I have a slight suggestion to change the deal we made. If you’d rather keep the earlier version of it, that’s completely fine. But hear this one out at least?”

The elven king gave a sigh, and turned around to face Katherine. “I’m listening.”

“I can give you the cattle for free,” she explained, a mischievous smile on her lips. Scott didn’t like it. “You or your Kingdom won’t have to pay a dime.”

“Alright?” Scott frowned. “And what’s the catch?”

“You need to attend the meeting two days from now. Nothing more.”

Scott really should’ve seen this one coming. But it wasn’t a bad deal. It was a very good one, in fact. Not maybe for Scott, but for Rivendell. And at the end of the day, that’s all that mattered.

“It’s a deal.”

Chapter Text

The day of the meeting arrived way too quickly for Scott’s liking. The elf had forgotten entirely the deal with Katherine, during his other responsibilities. The once very reasonable business deal now seemed more expensive than it initially was. He should’ve just traded away the copper and called it a day. 

Meeting people outside of Rivendell face to face after years felt already much too overwhelming for it to be worth it. Even seeing Katherine had exhausted the elf a lot more than he’d ever admit. And that was only one person, who he already knew. This time Scott would see multiple people he had never even met before. 

Currently, the elf was staring intensely at his wardrobe. What was the dress code like? He didn’t want to seem too casual, but not too formal either. 

Speaking of, how formal were the other leaders? Despite being the next in line for the throne, Scott was rarely accompanying his parents to royal meetings. The elf had spent his entire childhood with a book in his hands, but some text on pages couldn’t tell him what to wear.

So he decided on his cape, and a slightly dirty white shirt under it. The ruler pulled on a dark blue pair of silk pants. Then, the elf looked at himself from the mirror. This would have to do, he was already running late. He’d need to get going as soon as possible to not be terribly late. 

So Scott spread his wings and took off towards the Overgrown. 

_________

Scott landed in front of Katherine’s castle. There was absolutely no indication of any kind of meeting taking place at the moment. For a moment, the elf played with the idea of just taking off again and heading back home. Maybe messaging Katherine that he wasn’t feeling well, and then hiding behind his work. 

But he had made a deal, and the elf would stand behind it. 

Scott stepped carefully into the castle, while frantically looking around as if someone would jump on him as soon as he let his guard down. The doubt was slowly seeping into the elf’s mind. Was this where the meeting was supposed to take place? Was he too early? Too late? What if Katherine called the meeting off and forgot to tell him? Or what if the other rulers had agreed to relocate the meeting elsewhere, after learning that Scott would join this one? 

“Excuse me, we’re trying to get through?” A sharp female voice took Scott by surprise, and the ruler of Rivendell straightened his posture like a kid who got caught snooping around. 

After gathering himself quickly, and looking more like a ruler than a frightened child, Scott turned around to face the person speaking. 

The speaker was a tall, pink haired woman. She had her arms crossed, and Scott had to admit she seemed kind of intimidating. 

The crown on her head left no questions of where she was headed. So, politely, Scott gave her a small smile. 

“Oh, I’m actually heading over to the meeting as well,” Scott explained matter of factly.

The blonde fish boy let out a gasp, while the woman and the brown haired man exchanged glances. “Wait, you’re the ruler of Rivendell?” The fish boy’s question was more of a statement than a question, so Scott only gave him a slight nod. 

“We should’ve really put the dots together,” the other man chuckled. “No offense, but you don’t quite look like normal townsfolk; Especially not from the Overgrown.” 

The ruler of Rivendell only frowned slightly, not completely sure how to take his comments. 

Apparently the confusion in Scott’s eyes got noticed by the fish boy, who gave him a reassuring smile. “Don’t care about Joel, he’s just joking.” 

Before Scott could think of anything worthwhile to answer him, Katherine appeared from behind a corner. “You four, get moving! We’re all waiting!”

_________

Scott was the last one to enter the room. The long table had twelve chairs surrounding it, eleven of them already taken. Scott was left with a chair right at the other end of the table, next to a man he had never met. 

The elven ruler hesitated for only a moment, before taking the seat. Scott gave the emperor next to him a quick, polite nod as acknowledgement, yet he was only met with a cold stare back. 

The elvenking turned his face away from the man, and instead fixated his gaze to the wooden table in front of him.

“It’s good to see you’ve all made it here safely,” Katherine spoke from the opposite side of the table. “I thought we could go around and introduce ourselves quickly. Just say your name, the Empire you come from, and a fact about yourself.” 

Katherine didn’t seem to mind the low mumbling and groaning from the other 10 Emperors. Scott couldn’t blame them though, this was up there when he imagined the worst things that could happen here. 

“I’ll start!” She continued cheerfully. “My name is Katherine, and I rule the Overgrown. And my Kingdom has the longest lasting alliance with Rivendell, going back hundreds of years.” 

When no one else continued after her, Katherine gave a gentle nudge to the shoulder of the ruler sitting next to her. 

She was the pink haired Ocean girl that had tried to usher Scott out of the way earlier. 

“My name is Elizabeth,” she sighed dramatically. “But I go by Lizzie. I’m the Ocean Queen – obviously from the Ocean Empire. And I’m engaged to King Joel.” Lizzie nudged her head towards the brunette man next to her.

“I can’t believe you stole my fact,” Joel muttered under his breath, but loud enough for Scott to hear. 

“Hi yes, my name is Joel, and I’m the king of Mezalea. And I hate horses.” He concluded shortly, giving no further context to his fact. 

Next up was the fish boy sitting on the other side of Joel. He didn’t seem to mind the useless exercise as much as the two before him. Unlike them, he turned to face Scott. 

“Hi, I’m the Codfather, but Jimmy is just fine too. And obviously I come from the Cod Empire. Lizzie here is my sister.” 

Jimmy flashed a quick smile towards Scott, which he returned. 

The elf king hated to admit it, but he didn’t mind Jimmy. The Codfather – what a strange title – reminded him of Katherine, but without the assertiveness she held. 

The introduction circle went all around, until it was Scott’s turn. The elvenking cleared his throat awkwardly. “I’m Scott, the king of Rivendell.”

Katherine gave an awkward cough when Scott didn’t continue on. “A fact, remember.” 

The elvenking gave an exasperated sigh. “Well, I used to train snowy owls as a kid. Now others do the training, but they’re still the main messengers of Rivendell.” 

“Wait,” Jimmy perked up. “They’re yours!? I constantly see them catching cods in my empire!” 

“I.. I had no idea, I am so sorry.” Scott’s ears burned red from embarrassment, to which Jimmy only laughed. 

“It’s all good, just try to control them a bit in the future. I always wondered why there were snowy owls around, but it makes sense if they’re messengers. I need to tell my people not to hurt them, then.” 

“That’d be wonderful, thank you,” Scott smiled relieved. “For Royal Mail, I have one bird assigned for each ruler. So they get pretty familiar with their routes.”

“Aww, that’s awesome!” Katherine smiled. “Do they have names?”

“They do,” Scott smiled a bit. “We have about 20 working owls at the moment, some that are already retired and a few fledglings that are in training. All are named after flowers.”

“Aww, that's so cute!” Shrub squealed. “How didn’t I even know about this! What’s the name of the owl that goes to my Empire?” 

“The Undergrove? I think that’s Tulip. She’s an older and more experienced messenger, and she’s very comfortable with longer trips. Very social and affectionate too,” Scott explained. 

“Aww, I need to start leaving her a place to rest when she comes over,”  Shrub beamed. 

After the rest of the Emperor’s had introduced themselves, the meeting continued on as – or what Scott assumed was – normal. There was a ton of bickering amongst the rulers, and only so much of the topics that actually interested Scott. 

The meeting almost felt more like a bunch of friends gathering to catch up. And Scott felt very out of place. From time to time the elf tried to catch the attention of Katherine, but she was too busy with talking to Lizzie to notice. 

So eventually Scott just accepted his faith and sat quietly. It wouldn’t last forever, and after that he wouldn’t need to join a meeting ever again. 

The elvenking was deep in his own thoughts, when an elbow nudged his side. The first nudge Scott chose to ignore, but at the second one the ruler turned his head over to the person sitting by him. 

The man next to him – Joey – was trying to get his attention, and Scott frowned. “Can I help you?” The elvenking asked, trying not to sound too annoyed. There were plenty of ways to get someone’s attention, and Scott wasn’t too fond of the way he had used. 

“Can’t help but notice those beautiful antlers you have there,” The ruler of the Lost Empire purred. Scott hated everything about the situation.

“I have never seen an elf with antlers before. Those must be quite rare.” 

Scott huffed quietly, and gave a soft shrug. “How many elves have you seen, period? There's more to us than just a pair of pointy ears,” the elf snapped. 

Joey’s smile only grew, and he held his hands up in defeat. “Fair enough, fair enough. I was just asking, no need to get so defensive, elf boy. Besides, I’ve seen my fair share of your kind. After all, a lot migrated over to the Lost Kingdom from Rivendell. Not just there, but elsewhere as well. Your kind is a lot more spread out than you might think.”

Scott gritted his teeth, but gave a short nod anyway. “Yes, I know.”

The elf hoped that the interaction would end there, but Joey kept pushing. “You know, I’ve heard a lot of interesting stuff from them about Rivendell. I’d love to visit sometime.” 

Scott gave a tired shrug. “Well, what’s stopping you?” 

“Says the person who never leaves the borders of his Kingdom,” Joey shot back immediately. 

Scott opened his mouth to defend himself, but Kathrine was faster. She cleared her throat, and then set her eyes to the elf. 

“So, Scott, why don’t you tell us a bit about Rivendell. I haven’t been there in ages, and some of us haven’t visited at all.” 

The elvenking could easily recognize this as just Katherine’s attempt to get him and Joey off of each other’s throats, but it worked. Scott told shortly about the Kingdom, making sure to leave out everything that would be classified as a weakness. 

“And we plan to be completely on our own from this point forward,” Scott ended eventually. 

“On your own? What do you mean by that?” Katherine cocked her head curiously. 

“Well, I want to make Rivendell able to function without outside help. I’d say we’re already there at this point, thanks to our deal Katherine.” Scott flashed a polite smile towards the other ruler.

“If I may ask,” Gem chimed in from the other side of the table. “What about your business to other Empires? Wouldn’t it be simpler to just trade or sell, and make two economies work?” 

“I don’t plan on doing that,” Scott admitted. “I want Rivendell to be.. I guess excluded. Of course people are allowed to leave if they do want to, I’m not making anyone stay in Rivendell. But –“

“But why?” Gem asked, baffled. “I thought you’d finally be coming around when attending this meeting, but you’re here to just cut contact completely?”

“Well, technically–,” Scott tried, but Lizzie cut him off. 

“So you’re not planning on having anything to do with other Empires anymore after this?”

Scott sighed. “That’s one way to put it, but yes. I don’t see the benefit of being dependent on other Kingdoms, or getting my people in the middle of a conflict that has nothing to do with us. We elves would rather just stay up on the mountains and live peacefully,” the elf explained matter-of-factly. 

“But I thought..,” Lizzie stared at the ruler of Rivendell with dumbfounded expressions, before it morphed into loathing glare. “What about all the previous deals Rivendell had with other Kingdoms? You’re just going to cut off every other Empire? When were you going to let us in on this small detail?”

“Early enough so that you’d have time to prepare,” Scott explained calmly. “It was never my intention to harm the other Empires, so I would’ve given every Kingdom Rivendell was doing trades with as long as they needed to find a solution.”

“Won’t it be lonely? I don’t mean to be insensitive, but the mountains are so.. they’re very secluded,” Shrub asked carefully. “We hold these meetings not only to speak about trades, and other things, but also so we get to see one another.”

“Shrub is right,” Pearl chimed in. “Not many understand the position we are all in. It’s good to just talk with people who get it, even if it’s just once in a while.” 

“I appreciate your concern, but I’ll be more than fine,” Scott assured calmly. “I’ve spent the last 5 years ruling alone. I think I can manage going forward as well.” 

The ruler of Rivendell decided against attacking the other rulers. Demanding answers about the fateful night the elf lost his entire family. Where was this support back then? 

“We’re not doubting you couldn’t manage,” Katherine sighed. “But is that really all you want to do? Just manage?“ 

“Why not? Rivendell isn’t very materialistic, we like the simplicity of life–“, Scott tried, but Katherine cut him off. 

“Gods sake, Scott. I’m not talking about Rivendell, but you!”

And Scott could only look at the ruler in shock. The elvenking king had never been cut off like that, and it took him a moment to gather his thoughts. 

“Queen Katherine, I really appreciate –“

“Cut the titles Scott, I’m not letting you hide behind them again.”

The elvenking sighed. “I’m not looking to make enemies. I respect the way you all want to lead your Empires, and I wouldn’t question how you choose to manage things. So, forgive me, if I find it slightly disrespectful that you are so adamantly trying to get between me and how I choose to lead Rivendell.”

Katherine frowned and her shoulders slumped. “You’re right, I apologize.”

“No hard feelings,” Scott gave Katherine a small smile, and she hesitantly returned it. The elvenking could tell she was far from convinced, but he didn’t need to convince Katherine. Just keep the peace between Rivendell and every other empire. 

A small awkward silence followed, until Sausage got up from his seat. “I think that’s all for this week, don’t you think? I think I’ll be heading back to Mythland, see you next week everybody.” The ruler turned towards Scott, and gave a polite nod. “It was good to meet you, King Scott.” 

After Sausage left, other rulers started to get going as well, and Scott followed their lead. The elf trotted behind Pearl and Shrub who were walking over to the exit while having a conversation about wolves. 

“Hey, uh, King Scott?” 

Scott turned around to face Jimmy. The fish boy gave him an awkward smile. “I’m assuming that Rivendell doesn’t have a ton of fresh fish, so I was wondering if you'd like a delivery of fresh salmon from the Cod Empire? It can be for your people, but I’m guessing that your owls would also enjoy it.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you,” Scott gave a polite smile to the other ruler. “But I’m not looking to buy–“ The elf was starting to quicken his pace, but the fish boy kept up. 

Jimmy’s eyes widened, and he shook his head quickly. “Oh no, no, no. I meant it as a gift. No strings attached. It just seemed like your owls really enjoyed the fish from the Cod Empire, so take this as a peace offering of sorts?”

Scott casted a doubtful look over to the ruler of the Cod Empire. Maybe the elvenking would’ve thought twice about accepting a gift from Emperors like Lizzie or Joey. They seemed like people who’d let themselves in with gifts, and then use good relationships as their advantage.

And maybe Scott was too fast with his decision making, but Jimmy didn’t seem like the person to do that. What harm could a couple of gifted fish do?

“I’d very much appreciate that, Codfather.” Scott nodded. Jimmy seemed to beam at this. The expression, however, didn’t last long, and soon the ruler of the Cod Empire gave Scott an awkward smile. 

“Actually, I was lying a tiny bit. I’d really like to see Rivendell, so could I get a tour or something in the process of delivering the salmon? You can totally say no by the way, I don’t want to pressure you into anything!” Jimmy rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. 

Scott gave a chuckle. “I don’t see that as a problem at all. I can personally tour you around, that’s the least I can do.” 

“Thank you so much, S–, King Scott!” The Codfather grinned. “If it’s alright, I will send a letter of the time and date I’ll be there.” 

“That sounds lovely. I’ll be waiting for that,” Scott looked at the Codfather’s excitement amused. The ruler was probably – if not his age – a bit younger than him. How old was he, when he was handed the crown of his empire?  

“Hey, King Scott?” Jimmy woke him up from his thoughts. “I think Lizzie is calling for me, we arrived with the same ride. I need to go, but I really enjoyed meeting you. I can’t wait for the tour of Rivendell, so see you then.” 

“It was nice to meet you too, Codfather.” 

Scott watched as Jimmy gave him a quick wave, before trotting over to a carriage outside, in front of the gates of Katherine’s castle. The Codfather disappeared in it, and Scott could see both Lizzie and Joel already sitting inside. Right, they were all family. 

Scott frowned at the thought. Must’ve been nice being able to rule a Kingdom with your sibling still around. 

Chapter Text

Scott had known that attending this meeting was a poor idea. Now some of his previously nonexistent relationships were severed, potentially making the non-threatening Rivendell a target. 

It was just overall easier to be the shadow that no one really knew about. It would’ve been reckless, if not downright stupid to attack a person you knew nothing of. And Scott had just stepped into the light, and now the other rulers had an idea of him and Rivendell.

The elvenking opened his mouth to a defeated sigh. It had now been two days since seeing the other Emperors. Nothing had seemed to change since then.

Which was exactly what Scott wanted.

But why had he expected something to change after meeting the other rulers? He was still here, sitting in the meeting room with his advisors, discussing the same everyday subjects. 

“Your highness, are you even listening?” Routa scoffed next to him. She never meant bad, but her ice cold tone was most definitely more frozen than the winds that travelled over Rivendell. 

“I’m sorry,” Scott sat up a bit straighter. “Could you repeat that one? I was thinking.” 

“Of course you were.” She sighed back. “I thought I taught you to pay better attention, but it seems that you’re still quite not there,” the advisor shook her head in disappointment. 

When Scott didn’t bother to give Routa a reaction, the advisor continued. “Maybe it’s better that we keep discussing important matters when you can be fully present again. Let’s return to this matter first thing tomorrow.”

Scott, who still had no idea what they were even discussing, nodded hesitantly. The advisor had never actually called off a meeting, but then again, Scott hadn’t been this deep in his thoughts during a meeting in a long time either. 

“Tomorrow at 10am,” Scott decided. “We’ll meet back here.” 

__________

The evening had been surprisingly quiet. Plans for the new barn were set in stone – quite literally –, and Scott didn’t have anything else of urgent priority. And since the meetings were held up until the next day, the king of Rivendell decided to do something he had never done before. 

Whereas the Overgrown was the closest empire from the center of Rivendell, it wasn’t the only Empire bordering the snowy kingdom. On its other side laid the Crystal Cliffs. Even though the area wasn’t even a half an hour flight from Rivendell, Scott hadn’t seen the Kingdom in years. He vaguely remembered visiting once or twice when he was just a kid, but even those memories barely held any visualization of the place. 

And after meeting the other emperors, a certain curiosity had risen in the ruler. He just wanted a peek, nothing else. No one would even know he would be there. No one would know he even left Rivendell. He wasn’t needed anywhere at the moment, so it was the perfect moment to do some sightseeing.

Scott was just about to leave, until the ruler realized something. He’d rather not attract attention, and a winged elf with a pair of golden antlers would most likely draw some unwanted attention. So the elvenking grabbed a brown cloak on his way out. 

Before taking off into the sky, Scott made sure no one was around to see. The sun wasn’t quite setting yet, but it would be in an hour or two. The sky was a nice shade of deep blue, and there were no clouds in sight. In other words, it was lovely weather for a small flight. 

The elvenking decided to walk until he was sure no one was watching, and then Scott spread his wings and took off into the sky. 

The air was cold. Maybe a bit colder than you’d expect in the middle of summer, but nothing abnormal. Besides, anyone born and raised in Rivendell was more than used to a bit of frost. The winters were brutal to say the least. Even in the summer, the snow rarely melted entirely. The entire land was a patchwork quilt of snow and grass. 

Similarly to now. This year they’ve had a bit more snow than what they’d expected, so naturally there currently, even in the middle of summer, was a fair bit of it around the town. A lot more, actually. No one had really paid much mind to it though. Sure, some older townsfolk had told stories of eternal winter to children. Scott couldn’t help but crack a smile each time he’d pass a group of kids surrounding an older elf passing stories of their youth. Or stories to scare the kids just enough that they won’t jump out of line too much. 

A sudden flap of wings from above the elf startled Scott enough to slow down his flight speed, until the elf was still in the air. He tried to look around to locate the source of the sound, but the elvenking was too slow. A force struck his side, and Scott stumbled in the air. 

After getting some distance to the attacker, Scott could see exactly what had hit him. Now right in front of him, flapping its wings rather proudly, was a snowy owl. Now, Scott was able to recognize each of the birds of Rivendell, so identifying this was not a hard task. Wither was a rash, young owl that had very recently finished its training. Right now, he wasn’t assigned a single kingdom, but he took shifts off of the more experienced owls when they needed time to rest. 

Right now Wither did mainly scouting flights, besides keeping up his training. 

“Geez, you scared the life out of me.” Scott groaned, giving the bird an unamused glare. The owl let out a noise that Scott could only describe as a laugh. The elf rolled his eyes, but couldn’t hide the smile from his face. 

“Very funny.” The elvenking sighed. The owl – clearly very happy with himself – did a few rounds around the ruler.

An idea popped up in Scott's head. He wasn’t experienced in flying this route – hell,he barely knew where Crystal Cliffs even was. But Wither had flown here countless times. Lucky for the elvenking, his personal guide had just arrived.

“Can you lead me to Crystal Cliffs?” 

The owl understood the task immediately, and sped forward to the direction Scott was heading into. But at least now the elvenking could see the most efficient route to the other Empire. Not that he’d need it in the long run.

___________

Crystal Cliffs was gorgeous. The high towers rose from behind the mountains before Scott could even see the rest of the town. The amethyst rooftops glistened in the setting sunlight, reflecting rays of sunlight all around. 

The elvenking landed on the outskirts of the city, and immediately pulled the cloak on. Wither was gliding around him, until landing on Scott’s shoulder. The elf gave the bird a pat on its head. 

“I’m sorry, but you’ll need to keep some distance. I’m not trying to attract attention, and a snowy owl definitely would. You can head back home, I’ll find my way.” 

The owl gave a disapproving caw, but raised to flight nevertheless. It gave Scott one last glance, before taking off into the sky, heading towards the mountains. The elvenking watched Wither disappear into the distance, and after he couldn’t see the bird anymore, he turned around and walked deeper into the city. 

Crystal Cliffs was a lot different from Rivendell. The streets reminded Scott more of alleys. They were tiny, elaborate and lit beautifully with different shades of candles that simply floated over countless small stands that shopkeepers used to sell their products. 

There were a lot more people around, than Scott had anticipated. The streets of Rivendell were typically calm. Some children playing here and there, and a small marketplace that attracted a decent amount of people.

But this was something new. There were people everywhere. It was a lot more chaotic than Rivendell. 

What Scott was most surprised by, were what kind of creatures there were. Whereas Rivendell was almost entirely elves, Crystal Cliffs apparently had it all. Humans, hybrids, even some magical creatures walking by together, laughing, some even holding hands.

There was magic everywhere. Literally. Everywhere the elven king looked, an object was levitating. The small stands beside the road sold every kind of magical item imaginable: Potions, feathers, books, blaze rods, just everything. 

Creatures of all shapes and sizes were either going about their business, buying supplies or having a drink with one another. The sun was already starting to set, and Rivendell would’ve been pretty quiet. Was Crystal Cliffs always this full of life?

Scott continued exploring the narrow pathways, until the elvenking arrived to a bigger area. Roads from different sides of the city combined to a large-ish circle formation, with a beautiful fountain in the middle of it. If the alleyways were leaking with magic, this place was flooding.

There were shapeshifters putting on a show, an avian hybrid somehow controlling multiple different instruments and playing music, and even more stands selling ingredients. Scott could even make out a couple of elves running after one another in the crowd. 

The elf stopped to look at one table in particular. It was full of different items. Small cups, magic wands, a couple of enchanted books and some other items. Scott’s eyes ended up fixated on something specific. There was a small, beautiful dagger with a purple hilt. But the dagger part was what was so enchanting about the item. The blade was made out of both gold and iron. The metals hadn’t mixed perfectly, but swirled around one another. 

The shopkeeper clearly noticed the elf’s attention to this one item, and they lifted it up. “You can take a closer look if you want to. It’s pretty cool, right? Excellent craftsmanship, I must say.”

“It is,” Scott answered. “Have you made this yourself? It’s beautiful.” 

“Oh, I wish,” the keeper let out a chuckle, and handed the dagger over to Scott for closer inspection. “I found it. Used to travel quite a ton – you know how it is. When I first got my hands on it, it wasn’t in the best shape. But I think I did a pretty decent job at restoring it to its former glory. No clue how old it originally is.”

“How much are you asking for it?”

The keeper hummed thoughtfully, and rubbed his chin. “Thirty gold.” 

“Thirty?! I can pay you fifteen, but no more than that.”

The keeper frowned. “Fifteen? For this work of art? I will have to pass on that offer.” 

“Twenty?” Scott tried again, but the keeper shook his head once more. “Thirty is more than generous, I am not haggling down from that. Take it or leave it.”

The elf, very not used to this kind of culture, frowned. It was almost unheard of for sellers not to take the price at least a tad down. But this wasn’t Rivendell, and Scott knew that he was the odd one out. 

So the elvenking set down a pouch full of gold in front of the shopkeeper, and reached for the dagger. “You can keep the rest,” the elvenking muttered, while the keeper reached for the pouch looking far too proud of himself for Scott’s liking, 

As soon as the transaction was done, Scott turned away from the table and straight back to the crowd of people walking along the street. 

The emperor was walking forward, deep in thought, when something familiar registered in his head. At first, it was impossible to say what had woken up the sense of familiarity in the middle of the crowd. The reason dawned upon Scott fairly quickly. 

Two people were chatting, walking a bit in front of him in the crowd. They must’ve appeared from one of the side alleys, because Scott knew he would’ve noticed Gem and fWhip, even from the crowd of people. 

“I don’t know fWhip,” Scott could barely hear Gem’s tired voice. “We just had our annual meeting. We don’t know anything about them, they might be completely harmless. I don’t want to bother the other rulers over something potentially this small.”

fWhip, who was walking hands behind his head next to Gem, gave her a small shrug. “If you think so. You can always wait and see, and the. Call a meeting if you still see it as a potential threat.”

“It’s strange, though,” Gem groaned, clearly frustrated. “I’m supposed to know magic, and I’ve never felt something like that. I can’t even tell if it’s good or bad, or maybe just neutral, it’s so foreign to me. I’ll just need to look more into it…”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it out eventually. And you can always call me for help if things get dicey.” 

Gem flashed fWhip a quick smile. “I know, thank you.” 

Scott frowned, and tried to move closer to the two in the crowd. However, it seemed that both Gem and fWhip were more experienced in dodging other people passing by. It might’ve also helped that they didn’t have to drag along a pair of decent sized wings. 

Eventually Scott lost the two in the crowd, and the elvenking decided that aimlessly wandering behind the two rulers wasn’t worth it. If Gem had issues in Crystal Cliffs, it was ultimately her issue to deal with. 

It was time to head back to Rivendell. The sun was already almost down, and the more daylight he’d get the better. 

But most of the flight home was done in complete darkness nevertheless. The sun had set completely almost the second the elf was able to find a spacious enough place to open his wings and take off into the sky. Scott could almost hear his parents’ scolding. They were never supposed to fly in the dark, especially not alone. 

The journey passed by rather quickly, with the elvenking trying to process everything he’d seen. Were all the other kingdoms like that too? How much did they differentiate from one another, if Crystal Cliffs had such a contrast when compared to Rivendell. 

He would never admit it, but Scott had grown curious. The outside world no longer seemed like the grey mass he had seen before. And that terrified the elvenking. Rivendell was all that he needed – would ever need. So why does he suddenly feel so trapped?

The elvenking ushered the thoughts away as soon as they arrived. He couldn’t or wouldn’t ever be trapped in his empire. It was all that he needed.

Speaking of the snowy empire, the dim lights of distant houses guided Scott to the same spot he had taken off from earlier. Outskirts of the city, all the lights around him were dimmed or off. 

The elvenking stuck the landing, avoiding the few patches of snow here and there. Scott glanced around carefully, like a child trying to figure out if they’d been caught stealing a cookie. After he concluded that he was on the clear, Scott straightened his cloak, before heading back to the castle. 

What he wasn’t expecting to see right after stepping in from the familiar doorway, was Routa standing right in front of him, leaning against the wall. Even worse, Wither was on her shoulder, looking smugly towards the elvenking. 

That bird was something else. 

“Where were you? I couldn’t be but a bit surprised when I couldn’t find you anywhere from the castle, let alone Rivendell.” The advisor broke the short silence. 

“On a walk,” Scott wasn’t even sure why he felt the need to lie. The elven king regretted it the moment it passed his lips. 

Routa gave him an unsure glare. The two of them stared at one another. Scott tried to keep his cool, while his advisor attempted to dig the lie out of the elvenking with her gaze alone. The silence lasted only a few seconds, but it felt like eternity to Scott.

“Alright then,” Routa exclaimed finally. “I hope you enjoyed your stroll, but don’t just disappear. Let someone know you’ll be gone for a while. You know what happened last time a royal just disappeared.”

“Yeah, yeah. Evil stag gods made them go a bit crazy. I remember,” Scott sighed. “Next time I’ll let someone know before leaving.”

“Good, that’s all I’m asking,” the advisor flashed a smile. “It’s good for you – to leave Rivendell for a bit. To do some exploring once in a while.”

“I was just walking on the outskirts,” Scott lied easily. The lie didn’t pass Routa, but the elf just raised one eyebrow and left the matter at that. 

“I see. Well, whenever you want to take a walk on ‘the outskirts of Rivendell’, just let someone know. That’s all. Anyway,” the elf dug a sealed envelope from her pocket, and passed it to Scott. 

“It’s from the Cod Empire,” Routa explained. “I was just heading to take it to your room, but I might as well hand it over here. Have you done business with them?”

“Not necessarily,” Scott explained. “They just offered to deliver the owls some salmon as a peace offering, nothing more.”

“If you say so, your highness. Just remember, that nothing is truly free.”

“I know,” Scott remarked quickly, and walked past Routa into the castle. The elvenking made his way straight upstairs, and into his bedroom. The slightly creaking floorboards apparently woke up two napping owls in his room, and by the time Scott opened the door, both of them had taken off from an open window. 

Scott set down his cloak, and sat down to his bed with a sigh. His room felt unusually quiet after the busy streets of Crystal Cliffs. 

The elvenking perked up after remembering the dagger, and his hand shot up to make sure the item hadn’t fallen during his flight home. Lucky for him, the dagger was still in the inside pocket of his cloak. It could be useful later, Scott decided, and the elvenking lef the newly purchased dagger there. 

But now, because Routa had insisted that they’d keep the discontinued meeting the next morning, Scott decided to just get ready for bed. And as soon as the ruler’s head hit his pillow, he was out like a light. 

Chapter Text

The Codfather arrived just after the sun hit its highest point in the sky. Scott was woken up from his thoughts by the commotion outside, and the ruler’s curiosity got the best of him. The elvenking set the paperwork he was in the process of doing back down, and hurried down the stairs and walked outside. 

The reason for the commotion was quickly apparent. The Codfather had arrived, and with him were five other people from his empire. Not one of the six arrivals had prepared for the weather. It wasn’t necessarily cold – at least Scott didn’t think it was – but the Cod Empire was located in a swamp. The elvenking could only guess that the fish people, who came from a warm and humid swamp, weren’t ready for the chill and the thin mountain air. 

Scott couldn’t blame them though. The mountains that surrounded Rivendell were one of a kind in the area they lived in. The elvenking had memorized enough maps to know that the nearest mountains excluding Rivendell, were thousands of blocks away. And no one, especially a ruler, wouldn’t have any business to go that far from their empire. 

“Codfather,” Scott walked over to the emperor, who was clearly taking in the scenery. The blonde turned right over to Scott when he heard the elvenking’s greeting. 

“Welcome to Rivendell. I hope your trip went alright.” 

“Oh, it did. We had a bit of an issue navigating here, but luckily we had some help.” The emperor smiled, and as if that was its cue, an owl jumped over to his shoulder. Scott wasn’t surprised to see the bird assigned to carry letters to and from, Cod Empire. The owl had clearly taken a liking to Jimmy, and instead of flying straight back after delivering Scott’s message a couple of days ago, it hung around to wait for the visit, so it could travel back with the Codfather. 

Smart bird.

“Hm, I see you had some company,” Scott chuckled, and extended his arm. The owl jumped over to him with a flap of its wings, and settled happily down. It let out a content trill, as the elvenking scratched the bird’s head. 

Jimmy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “I hope you don’t mind. The weather wasn’t great, so I let him stay for the night. And apparently he really liked it in the swamp, because he just kind of hung around until we left here.”

“I don’t mind,” Scott confirmed with a tiny smile on his lips. “At the end of the day, the birds do what they want.”

“Must be interesting to have them as messengers”, Jimmy chuckled as the owl took off from Scott’s shoulder, and headed over to another owl flying by. The Codfather watched them disappear to the distance. 

“Oh, I remember that you said in the meeting they all have names, and the same owls visit the same kingdoms frequently,” Jimmy mentioned, to which Scott gave a quick nod. 

“What’s their name?” 

“Oh, he is called Poppy,” Scott chuckled. “Just out of training, so young one. But – as you’ve probably noticed – he gets carried away quite a bit. Still does his job well.” 

“That’s a nice name,” the Codfather chuckled.

One of the people who arrived with the other ruler coughed loudly, and Jimmy turned around apologetically. The crates of fish each of the arrivals had carried were now taken away and stored by local workers. 

“I am sorry, you’re all dismissed. Let the council know I arrived safe.” The Codfather advised. The people with him gave nods of acknowledgment, after which each one took off to the sky with their elytras. 

Scott watched them go for a bit, and then turned his attention to Jimmy. “We need to go get you a coat.” The ruler decided. “You look like you’re freezing.” 

”It's fine, really–,” 

“Nonsense,” Scott sighed. “Follow me, there’s a place just here.” The elf trotted over just a couple of buildings. He stopped over to one of them, and opened the door for Jimmy, who reluctantly walked in. Scott followed only a couple of steps behind. 

The whole place was lit up only with a couple of lanterns. The space was tiny, but well used. Multiple layers of coats were hanging from the walls. There were a total of five rows stacked on top of one another. 

A young elf, almost a head smaller than Jimmy, walked from behind one of the rows. Her eyes instantly widened after noticing Scott, and she trotted over.

“Your highness, how may I help you today?”

“Kuura,” Scott mumbled with slight annoyance. “I’ve told you; just Scott is fine.”

The elf – Kuura – gave a chuckle at his reaction. “Yea, yea, it’s just funny to get on your nerves with that. But seriously, what brings you here today?” Her emerald eyes settled over to Jimmy. 

“You’re not from here. I don’t think I’ve ever seen merpeople.” 

Giving Jimmy no space to recoil, Scott stepped in. “Yeah, he’s the reason I’m bothering you today. The Codfather could use a coat. Something to withstand the weather here.”

Kuura smiled in excitement, and gave a nod. “I see!” The elf jogged over to the front desk, where she dug around an open drawer for a moment, before pulling out a measuring tape. Then she returned over to Jimmy and Scott. 

“Alright, spread your hands, I need to take your measurements first,” Kuura explained hastily. “Any color preferences? What about which wool would you like it made of? Maybe leather?”

Jimmy gazed over to Scott, utterly lost. The elvenking had his arms crossed, leaning against a pillar, finding the confusion of the other Emperor hilarious. 

“I didn’t even know there were different kinds of wool,” the Codfather complained, while Kuura was working over the exact measurements. 

“Well, of course there is,” Scott smiled. “The obvious one is sheep wool, but then there’s llamas and goats as well. The leather can either come from a horse, cow, or the most popular around here – sheep. I’m taking you’re not huge into different kinds of clothing.”

“No. Not at all.” 

The elvenking and Kuura shared an amused glance. 

“Let’s try a sheep wool coat,” Scott chuckled. “I have one of them. I think a dark green or brown would suit you fine.” 

Kuura was immediately speed walking over to one of the clothing racks. She climbed over ladders on the wall to reach the third row, and pulled out a faded green colored coat. “What do we think of this one?”

Scott narrowed his eyes at the coat, then turned to gaze over Jimmy. After looking the Codfather up and down, the elf shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. Let’s move on.”

“Good thing I have plenty more,” Kuura exclaimed, and dropped back to the ground level. From there, she reached over to get a darker brown coat, lined with lighter brown wool. “What do we think of this one?”

Once again, Scott studied the coat, before fixing his eyes to Jimmy. This time, they returned back over to the coat. “Do you want to try it on?”

“Uh, yeah, sure. Why not,” the Codfather had barely finished his answer, before Kuura was already in front of him, offering him the coat. Hesitantly, Jimmy took it and pulled it over his shoulders. The Codfather buttoned it all the way up, then glanced over to Scott and Kuura. 

“How does it feel?” The shopkeeper asked, still smiling. “It looks to fit fine, but your opinion is the most important one!”

“It actually feels great,” Jimmy admitted, then looked over to Scott for approval. The elvenking cocked his head slightly, and then smiled. 

“I think it looks good on you. The brown really compliments your eyes. Do you like it enough to get it?” 

“I think so,” Jimmy admitted, his cheeks slightly red. Scott could only guess it was the warm coat he was wearing inside the building. 

“Great,” the elvenking helped the other emperor out of the coat, then walked over to the front desk with it. Jimmy followed right behind him, brows furrowed.

When Kuura announced the price, Jimmy hadn’t even managed to get his pouch of gold before Scott had already paid for the item. The Codfather could only watch from the side, as the transaction was made right under his nose. 

Scott waved Kuura goodbye, and then handed the coat over to Jimmy. The Codfather pulled it on, before following the elvenking out of the shop. 

“You didn’t have to do that,” Jimmy stammered.

“It’s fine, I wanted to. Take it as a gift,” Scott flashed him a quick smile. The coat really looked nice on the Codfather. It also looked very out of place. But so did a fish on a mountain. 

“I –,” Scott gave Jimmy a stern glance, almost sensing the starting dispute. Jimmy dropped it after the look.

“Thank you. You’re too kind,” the Codfather smiled. 

“It’s all good,” the elvenking smiled back. “Now when you have the right gear, I can take you for a walk around the town later on. But for now, you must be hungry.” 

_________

The two rulers spent the day together. Scott walked Jimmy around Rivendell, showing its various important buildings, such as the owl sanctuary and the church. The entire day seemed to slip away quickly by the two rulers just walking around.

Eventually, darkness settled in. And while walking through the dark dirt roads outside of Rivendell, both Scott and Jimmy noticed the starting light show above.

Northern lights weren’t uncommon in Rivendell. Scott had seen every color combination, every shape and size possible, and yet the phenomenon never failed to amaze. There was just something about the lights burning in the sky like a fire, moving like the ocean. It felt magical.

“Wow, it’s absolutely gorgeous!” Jimmy breathed. Scott could see his smile from the corner of his eyes. “I didn’t– I’ve never seen anything like this.” The emperor couldn’t take his eyes off of the sky, and Scott let out a chuckle. 

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“That’s an understatement..”

“They’re surprisingly common here,” Scott explained, and relaxed his posture a tiny bit. The elvenking leaned to the rocky wall behind him, and watched Jimmy’s astonishment with a smile on his face. 

“Well, not ‘we see them everyday’ common. They happen every once in a while. According to the legends, Aeor’s light shines brighter when something big is about to happen, and it reflects down upon us as the northern lights”, Scott explained thoughtfully.

“Aeor?” Jimmy hummed. “Is that like.. your god or something?”

Now it was Scott’s turn to be perplexed. How had the Codfather not heard of the legendary tale of Aeor and Exor? The two gods were quite literally the reason Rivendell existed today. The magic the two stags brought with them changed history, as well as the future.

“You’ve never heard of Aeor and Exor?” The elvenking confirmed with a frown. When he was met with a shake of a head from Jimmy, Scott crossed his arms.

“That’s.. Don’t you believe in a higher power then at all?”

“I mean… Yes and no? At least not in the same one you do, apparently,” the Codfather explained. “My Empire doesn’t really base anything on it. My people can believe in whatever they want to. So no, we don’t necessarily have a god. At least I don’t. There is a church for whoever wants to use it, but that’s about it.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Scott frowned. “Where do you find comfort, if not in the fact that you have a higher power watching over you?”

The Codfather seemed confused by this. He spent a moment studying Scott, before answering. “My friends and family. My kingdom. I like to think they bring me a lot of comfort.”

Scott shook his head, displeased by the answer. “That’s not the same. What if you know your gods are real? You’d have to believe in them then, wouldn't you?”

“I guess so,” Jimmy shrugged. “If there was stone cold evidence of a god existing, then yes, I’d believe they’re real. But believing and respecting isn’t one and the same. I don’t think I could ever respect, or look to one for guidance.”

“I.. I don’t quite understand that,” Scott admitted quietly. 

A silence settled over the two of them after that. Scott couldn’t help but think about what Jimmy had said. The thought of not having Aoer there for him filled him with emptiness. Even if he wasn’t the champion, Scott still would always look over the stag god for his wisdom. 

Jimmy’s foot caught onto something, and the Codfather fell face first into a pile of snow. At first, Scott stared at the sight with wide eyes, until the elvenking covered his mouth with a hand to block the rising laughter. 

“Are you alright?” He walked carefully towards the fallen emperor, careful not to stumble to the same thing Jimmy had just hit. The tip of Scott’s foot bumped into something, and the ruler stepped over it to reach the Codfather, who had risen to his hands and knees. 

“Cods sakes, this is freezing,” Jimmy groaned as he tried to get back up onto his feet. Scott offered a hand, which the other ruler accepted with a smile. The elvenking then helped the Codfather out of the pile of snow. 

“Thank you,” Jimmy gave Scott a smile, after which he turned around to search for something with his eyes. “What did I hit my foot on? I could’ve sworn it didn’t feel like a stone..”

“Hold on, I have some matches on me,” Scott mumbled, and pulled a box of matches from a belt pocket. “It’s not going to be much, but hopefully we can at least somewhat see what it is.”

The elvenking lit a match, and tried to get the flickering flame closer to the ground so the radius of the light would hit it. Before he was even close to kneeling down, the small flame was blown out by the cold wind. After lighting another match with the same denouement, the elvenking put away the box. 

“That won’t help,” Scott concluded. “The wind is too strong, it will just keep blowing out the fire. Any other ideas?”

“Uhh, hold on…,” Jimmy’s voice muttered in the darkness. Judging by the heigh where his voice was coming from, the Codfather was kneeling on the ground, searching for the tripping hazard. 

“Got it! Or at least a piece of it, I think.” 

It would be useless to try to identify the object out here in the pitch black, Scott decided. After the northern lights had faded out, the only visible lights were the blinking stars in the sky. The moon – very conveniently – was well hidden behind a cloud. It would eventually slide by, but the two rulers would’ve been heading inside nevertheless. 

“Let’s go back to my house,” Scott decided. The elvenking identified the correct direction easily. After all, he had spent his entire life wondering these same paths. And even though one wrong footstep could lead you over the edge and to a fall easily enough to take a life, the elvenking was very confident in his ability to avoid the dangerous pathways. That, and it was easy enough to be confident with an ability to fly.

The two of them made their way back to Rivendell. Even though at this point of the night most of the houses were dark and people were asleep, the lanterns scattered around the streets provided more than enough lighting to see. 

They did not, however, stop until reaching Scott’s house. The elvenking let himself and Jimmy in, after closing the door and lighting up a candle to bring light to the darkness. With the one lit up candle, Scott went through the few lanterns, lighting them up as well so the room was luminous.

Finally, the elvenking kneeled down next to his fireplace, and ignited a small flame in it. Scott sat by it, watching, until the elvenking was certain that the flames wouldn’t die out.

During Scott’s lighting up the room and the fireplace, Jimmy had taken off his coat and now was awkwardly standing with it near the door, watching the elvenking. Scott turned around, and motioned him to a rack situated near the door, full of Scott’s coats and other clothing. 

“Feel free to put it anywhere you can fit it,” the elvenking smiled, and Jimmy gave him a hesitant nod, before shuffling over to the rack. The Codfather tried his best to place his coat in it, and not drop any of Scott’s things in the process. He failed miserably, and soon the Emperor was apologizing profusely, while picking up the elvenking’s clothing from the floor.

Scott trotted over to help him pick it back up. “It’s fine, I really should’ve cleaned it. It’s some kind of miracle it hasn’t exploded earlier,” he chuckled, and gathered all the clothing that didn’t fit to the rack, putting it elsewhere.

When the elvenking was walking back, Jimmy was holding something in his hands, and examining it. It seemed like a red rope of sorts, except after getting closer, Scott realized it wasn’t a rope at all. It was almost like a vine. It was growing leaves with serrated edges, and had some small thorns under them. 

“This is what I hit my foot on earlier,” Jimmy confirmed, and handed it over to the elf. “Must be native to Rivendell, I’ve never seen this kind of plant at the swamp.” 

Scott took it carefully, and inspected it. Besides the very odd, bright red color, it seemed like a normal plant. “It’s not,” the elf muttered. “I’ve never seen this in my life. I need to go inspect the place you found this later in the light. I think I would’ve been able to notice a growth this vibrant.” 

The elvenking hesitated only for a moment, before tossing the vine into the fireplace. Both Scott and Jimmy watched silently, as the flames engulfed it. 

“Well,” the elvenking turned over to the Codfather. “I’m not really comfortable letting you fly alone in the dark back to your empire, so I recommend you stay the night. I have a quest bedroom that’s as good as new. Quite literally, since no one has ever stayed in it.”

Jimmy's posture relaxed to the suggestion, and he nodded. “That would be wonderful, thank you. I wasn’t really looking forward to flying home in this weather.”

“If you want to, I can send an owl to your advisors so they know not to expect you back,” Scott suggested, to which Jimmy shook his head.

“I appreciate it, but it’s not necessary. They’re used to me disappearing for a day or two at a time. I spent quite a lot of time in both Mezalia and the Ocean Empire, and now they know I’m here. So they do know where to look for me if I'm needed.”

“Oh,” Scott cocked his head. “Alright then.” 

That seemed strange to the elvenking. No one was looking for Jimmy, even if he was gone overnight? Scott only needed to disappear for an hour, before most of his council would be freaking out. 

“By the look on your face, I’m guessing it’s not the same here,” Jimmy was voicing his thoughts. Scott only gave a brief nod at that. 

“That would be quite the understatement,” he flashed a tired smile. “Follow me, I’ll show you where the guest bedroom is.” 

The two of them made their way upstairs, and Scott stopped in front of a decent sized wooden door. There were only three rooms upstairs. Scott’s bedroom, the guest room and an open archway leading to a small living area with bookshelves and a comfortable wool couch. 

The elvenking opened the door to the guest room, and stepped in to quickly inspect it. Everything was just as it was supposed to. The space was tidy, a bed was made even though no one was expected to sleep in it, and the lantern on the table had a box of matches laying next to it. 

“Will you be alright? I’m right down the hall – the only other door upstairs. You’re free to come and knock for any issues,” Scott informed, while lighting up the lantern on the bedside table. 

“Gosh, yes. This is more than kind, Scott. I’ll be honest, after hearing you wanted to isolate Rivendell from other Empires, I didn’t think you’d be so..–“

Scott smirked and crossed his arms. “Pretty? Gorgeous?”

Jimmy’s face heated up at the words. “I mean, I was going to say hospitable and nice, but I won’t oppose what you said.” 

Scott flashed a quick smile, and walked past Jimmy back to the hallway. “Well, I’m glad you think so, Codfather. You’re free to leave when you wake up, but breakfast is served at 8am. You’re welcome to stay for it.”

Jimmy gave a nod. “Good night.”

“Sleep well,” Scott echoed back, and closed the door behind him. 

_______

The morning was quite uneventful. Jimmy had decided to stay for breakfast, and now the two emperors were both eating toast in comfortable silence. Well, until the front door opened, and the elvenking’s advisor trotted in. 

“Your highnesses, one of the owls returned last night,” Routa explained quickly. “I wouldn’t have bothered you with it right away, but it has been marked as ‘urgent’”.

The advisor walked over to Scott, and placed the letter to the table next to him. It took one glance to tell where it was from. Only Gem used magical wax with her stamps. The color was gracefully changing from magenta to purple, then to Cyan. 

The elvenking ripped the envelope open, and the stamp stopped glowing. The letter inside was short. 

I, Geminitay of Crystal Cliffs, request a formal meeting at noon today, with all the rulers. 

I understand if you’re unable to attend with such a short notice, but the matter I wish to discuss could be affecting all the Empires. 

I hope to see you soon.

~ Geminitay

Scott frowned, thinking about his last encounter with Gem. Could this be the same matter she was speaking to fWhip about? Had the issue gone so much south that now she had to address it to all the rulers? 

On the other side of the table, the Codfather was very clearly trying to hide his interest in the letter, instead taking another bite of the bread. 

“I think this interests you as well,” Scott slid the letter over to Jimmy, who took it with interest, quickly glancing through the text. “You must’ve gotten a copy as well, but it’s in the Cod Empire,” Scott explained. “It addresses ‘all the rulers’.”

“Well,” Jimmy looked over to Scott. “I’m guessing the next stop is Crystal Cliffs.” 

Chapter Text

“First of all, I’m eternally grateful that almost all of you were able to attend with such a short notice. Especially since the latest meeting was such a short time ago,” Gem spoke in front of the other rulers. Out of the twelve of them, two seats were empty. Joey and Joel were both unable to attend. However, Lizzie had promised that whatever they discussed, she would let him know. 

“It’s all good,” Katherine assured with a smile. “Now, what’s the issue about? Is everything okay in Crystal Cliffs?” 

Gem shifted on her feet, and Scott couldn’t help but notice her side eyeing fWhip. 

“Well, yes? But also no,” Gem stammered, clearly thinking over her words. “I don’t think we’re in any evident danger – not right now at least.”

“Well, why are we here then?” Lizzie wondered out loud, resting her head on her hand. fWhip immediately casted an annoyed look in her direction. He was about to speak, but Gem was faster.

“Well, there has been something growing around my Empire.” She dug the pocket of her dress, and pulled out something. A red vine.

Scott’s eyes widened, and the elf leaned back on his chair. Jimmy’s elbow nudged his side, and the elvenking turned to share a knowing look with the Codfather.

“I don’t know where these came from,” Gem started. “I first discovered these like five days ago. They were growing on the outskirts of Crystal Cliffs, near the mountains. They looked strange, I kind of just noted them but didn’t pay much more attention than that.” 

“Well, a day after finding them, they’d spread. Like a considerable amount. And they’ve done that ever since. We’ve tried using anything and everything that would kill normal plants. Different poisons even. But it’s no use. I’m running out of options here.” 

A loud silence followed, until Lizzie crossed her arms. “So you’ve called an emergency meeting over a gardening issue?” 

“Excuse me,” fWhip snapped back. “Gem wouldn’t have called the meeting if this wasn’t important. And besides, they’ve spread over to Grimlands as well. Not as bad as Crystal Cliffs, but they’re there.” 

“So, if they’re spreading, then the source must be somewhere near Crystal Cliffs, and it’s slowly making its way over to elsewhere,” Pearl concluded, while tapping her foot thoughtfully. 

“Scott, have you seen these in Rivendell? You share a border with Crystal Cliffs as well,” she asked, and everyone’s attention shifted to the elvenking.

Scott straightened his back, and avoided Jimmy’s eyes as well as he could. “No, I haven’t,” the elvenking lied through his teeth. “I will let you know if I have.” 

Scott could immediately sense Jimmy’s confusion, but thankfully the Codfather didn’t say anything. For now, at least.

“Alright, so there’s a chance it hasn’t made it up to the mountains yet,” Pearl concluded.

“Or it can’t grow up there. Those are some brutal conditions for a plant to grow in,” Katherine wondered. “Not many plants grow there either way, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they simply just couldn’t.”

“It’s magic,” Gem blurted out. “I’ve tried to examine it, and I just quite can’t get what kind of magic it is, but it’s definitely magic. This thing won’t be stopped by just conditions, and if we don’t start thinking of solutions right now, we might have a bigger issue further down the line.” 

Katherine got up from her seat, and gave Gem a nod. “Alright, can we go see? You should show us where you found them in the first place.” 

Gem gave a firm nod, and went to tighten her elytra onto her back. The other rulers, while speaking amongst themselves, followed her lead. The elvenking simply stood a bit aside, watching them all, while stretching his wings.

All ten of them made their way outside. Gem waited for everyone to get ready to take off, and then she was the first one airborne. 

Scott hadn’t actually seen non-winged creatures flying before. He had obviously heard of the Elytra, and how with it everyone was able to fly. Curiously, the elvenking stayed behind, and waited for everyone to take off, until flapping his wings to get airborne as well. 

From behind, it was clear as day to see who were experienced flyers and who weren’t. Gem was gliding gracefully ahead of everyone, with fWhip and Pearl right behind. The three of them were talking, but Scott couldn’t hear a word. 

And behind the pack, with a flight technique so bad Scott could swear he’d been better during his first flight, was the Codfather. Katherine was barely flying ahead of him, and her movement was barely better.

The elvenking caught up to the two, making sure to keep a bit of distance so all three of them would avoid crashing to the ground below. 

“Struggling a bit with flying?”

 Jimmy had been so focused on flying ahead, that the Codfather got badly startled by Scott’s remark. His other foot raised a bit, but enough to completely alter his flight path. Instead of going straight forward horizontally, he was now heading down in an angle. This caused the Codfather to look down, only for the angle of his descent to steepen. 

With a yelp, Jimmy tried to somehow stabilize himself, only managing to flail around and making the situation even worse. 

Scott dove after the other Emperor after noticing that he probably wouldn’t be able to get his flying under control before having a very painful meeting with the ground below. 

The elvenking flew straight over the Codfather, and carefully took firm hold of the Elytra on his back. From there, Scott began to rise back to the same height where the others were flying, while dragging Jimmy along. The Codfather had noticed the help as well. He glanced over his shoulder, and flashed an embarrassed smile towards Scott. 

“Sorry, I could use some flight lessons I guess..”

The elvenking snickered, and let go of the other Emperor’s Elytra once he was stabilized and in the correct height. “Well if that’s not the understatement of the day.” 

“Hey!” Jimmy’s fish ears flushed bright red. “I’m aware I'm terrible at flying, you don’t need to rub it in.” 

Scott chuckled. “Alright, alright. But you still flew over from the Cod Empire to Rivendell just a while back?”

“I mean obviously I can do it,” Jimmy rubbed the back of his head. “I’m just not good at it. At all.” 

Scott noticed the genuine embarrassment in his tone, and the elvenking immediately toned it down. “Can’t be good at everything, right?” He flashed Jimmy a smile. “Between me and you, I’m a terrible swimmer.” 

“Really?!” The Codfather wondered. “Well, I guess it makes sense in a way. Not a lot of places to practice on the mountains.” 

“Exactly,” the elvenking flashed the other a smile. 

There was a moment of silence between the two. Katherine, who was previously flying right by them, had caught up more to the others while Scott had helped Jimmy to stabilize himself. Now, the two were flying alone behind everyone. 

The Codfather turned to Scott with a frown. “Why did you lie to them?” He asked, confusion clear in his tone. “We found exactly the same plants from Rivendell.”

“They don’t need to know,” Scott frowned. “It’s not like I trust the other rulers fully. I want as few people outside of Rivendell to be aware of what is going on there, as possible.”

Jimmy raised an eyebrow at him. “But you trust me because you’re telling me this?”

“Hardly,” Scott let out a humorless chuckle. “It hasn’t got anything to do with you – or any of the other emperors personally. I’m telling you, because you already knew.”

“Well,” Jimmy stammered. “You’ll see you can trust me! If you don’t want to, I’m not telling anyone about the vines in Rivendell. Promise!”

Scott gave a light hearted laughter. “Well, we will see about that.” 

The group landed over to the outskirts of Crystal Cliffs. Scott was trailing behind Jimmy the entire time just in case the Codfather needed more assistance, but he managed to get to the ground with surprisingly controlled movement. The elvenking landed right behind him, and gave him an approving smile while folding his wings against his back. 

Jimmy rubbed the back of his head, his face slightly heating up from what Scott assumed to be embarrassment from his earlier mess up. 

In the middle of their wordless exchange, Gem had led the rest of the group a few meters away. 

“You see, right here,” Gem was kneeling down, her hand hovering over the large growth of red vines emerging straight from the rock of the mountains. 

The growth wasn’t anything huge, but the color of it was admittedly alarming. However, it looked innocent enough. Softly swaying in the light breeze, just like every other plant nearby. Scott couldn’t even sense any magic around, but then again, he wasn’t an expert with it. Not even if he quite literally had a pair of magic horns permanently stuck to his head.

“That’s it? You made it sound way scarier than just one tiny bush,” Lizzie voiced Scott’s thoughts. She stood a bit behind, arms folded.

“Well, I wish it was this small of a problem,” Gem explained. “You see, these are everywhere. If you just look around, you’ll find more. This morning, I found vines from the town square. They were growing out of the fountain. It’s getting out of hand.” 

Katherine pulled on one of the vines, trying to pull a piece of the plant off. When she couldn’t, the ruler started yanking the plant. Gradually, the strength behind the pulls increased, until she had to give up. 

“Weird, I’ve never come across a vine that is this durable. I don’t know about you all, but this definitely seems like the start of something not great.” Katherine mumbled, and dropped the end of a vine she was holding. 

“Maybe it’s a curse of some kind?” Pearl suggested with an unsure tone. “Has someone tampered with something magical?”

No one in the group admitted to playing with powers they didn’t understand. Eventually, Gem crossed her arms. “Alright, can everyone do me a favor? This growth, plant, whatever it is, needs to go. Can each of you dig around your empires for any clues? There must be a book or something about this. It couldn’t have just appeared without an explanation. Something must’ve triggered it. And if it’s happening now, there’s a fair chance that it has happened before as well.” 

“We can try,” Lizzie sighed. It seemed like the Ocean Queen was finally coming around to realize the weight of the situation. “But we shouldn’t assume there’s just an answer waiting to be found. What if we find nothing?” 

“Let’s host another meeting in three days,” fWhip decided. “If no one has found anything, we need to think this through again.” 

“Well, let’s hope one of the Empires has information,” Gem got up from besides the growth, and instinctually took a few steps to get further away from it. “What about Joey? Can someone fill him in on the situation?” 

“I can!” Shrub announced. “We’re neighbors anyway, it won’t be a problem at all.” 

“Alright, thank you all. We shall meet back here in three days then.”

_________

Two of the three days were up, and to be completely honest, Scott hadn’t found anything. Then again, he barely had even searched. His royal duties took up his entire day already, Routa made sure of that. In her defense, she was doing her best and pushing herself to the limits for the sake of Rivendell, and Scott appreciated it. And who was the elvenking to not answer that call as well. 

And yes, maybe he should’ve been slightly more worried of the vines creeping along the borders of Rivendell. Just like Gem had said – they spread fairly quickly. Just quick enough to be certain that these vines, indeed, were magic. 

But there was a strange familiarity to them, something that Scott couldn’t quite place his finger on. The elvenking, between his duties, would sneak out to check on their growth. It started out as curiosity. To examine the leaves better, or to simply feel the foreign plant.

And the next thing Scott knew was that he was obsessed with the vines. 

The elvenking found himself more and more often trailing the mountainside, looking for more growths sprouting here and there amongst the small patches of snow. It trailed like a path that led further and further each day – like it was trying to lead Scott somewhere. 

And the elvenking was well aware of the possible dangers that came with tampering with,  and trusting things you didn’t know about. Nothing good came with uncontrolled curiosity – Xornoth had proven that.

The path of red vines came to an end in a small meadow between higher peaks. It was almost like the vines were avoiding this place; it seemed so unbothered. The atmosphere reeked of magic. Not similar to the vines, but ancient. 

Scott walked in the middle of the meadow carefully, while keeping himself on high alert. The grass rustling below his feet made more sound than the rest of the world together. 

The elvenking did everything he could to trace the source of the magic. Scott searched everything in the area – grass covered ground and the rocky wall for hidden doors, any buttons or levers, just about anything abnormal. 

It wasn’t until the elvenking crouched down, and noticed the hoof prints of a stag leading up to the furthest corner of the meadow, Scott found what he was looking for. 

The clue he had been looking for was staring him right in the eyes. There, in the crook of a rocky wall, was a movable boulder. Scott managed to move it just enough so that he was able to slip inside to the pitch black cave. The elvenking got the box of matches he carried around, and in the light of the small flame, followed the cave system.

The time he walked in the darkness felt like ages, yet in reality it must’ve been only a few minutes. The cave opened up to a larger place, and Scott knew he had hit the jackpot.

It was a smallish room, filled to the brim with bookshelves and books. Ancient texts just waiting to be read once more. As far as Scott knew, his parents weren’t aware of this place either. It had gone untouched for decades. 

The elvenking walked around the room, lighting up lanterns around it as he passed by. Soon, the entire space was illuminated in a gentle light, and Scott blew off the match. 

The elvenking walked to take a closer look at the books. The shelves were covered in thick layer dust, and a lot of them were filled with spiderwebs. It had definitely been a good while since the last person stepped in here.

Besides the shelves, there were a couple of lecterns scattered around the room. A few of them held books open on them. The elvenking stopped in front of one of the books, and carefully lifted it up. If he hadn’t been supporting the item carefully, the entire book would’ve fallen apart. Just a few of the pages were attached to the covers. Scott places the book carefully back down, and closed it to see the name. 

“Prophesies,” the elvenking muttered the name out loud, and scrolled to the first page with a hesitant frown. 

‘A curse of power shall be passed within royal blood for the second time’

Scott raised an eyebrow. He could think of the unrelated prophecies later, right now he was looking for anything to do with the red vines. So the elvenking turned the page. 

‘An event binding two kingdoms together drifts blood apart’

‘A crimson flower freezes over, creating turmoil in an already troubled heart’

‘A decades old bond destroyed by a sea of flames rises its head from the waters’

’Vines of upcoming destruction warn from the doom ahead’

Well, that didn’t sound great. But for all Scott knew, it could mean something completely else. The elvenking shut the book of prophecies with a frustrated groan, setting it aside. He wasn’t sure what he was trying to accomplish with reading text that ultimately didn’t have anything backing it up. It was a jumble of words, and if you thought about it too much, you’d be able to make connections nevertheless. 

The elvenking walked over to another lectern, picking up another book. This one was in a much better condition compared to the last one. The pages were attached and mostly intact. It also had a lot more text. Whereas the prophecy book held a sentence per page, this one was written with an almost unreadable handwriting in old Elvish. The elf was nowhere near a master at the language, but spoke it decently. That’s why the language wasn’t as big of an issue as the handwriting. 

The elvenking spent hours trying to translate the pages. The book was telling the history of earlier days of Rivendell. It started from the time Aeor and Exor were in rule, and currently Scott was skimming through the era Alinar ruled the snowy kingdom, after his brother got corrupted by Exor. 

Nothing really new to the elf. It was all things he had learned in his childhood by studying. But he couldn’t skip a page in fear of coming across something – anything useful. And maybe that was why the ruler's eyes started to involuntarily close, until Scott jerked awake from his head falling a bit forwards. Only for the elvenking to drift off again. When the pattern had repeated for multiple times, the elf decided to lean forward and lay his head against his arms, which were crossed on the lectern In front of him. 

Only for a few minutes – Scott tried to convince himself, before drifting off entirely.

Chapter Text

The old cavern didn’t let any sunlight inside its depths. That’s why when Scott jerked awake, he had no idea what time of day it was.

The elvenking sat upright in the chair he had fallen asleep in, and his eyes focused on the lectern In front of him. 

Right, he had been reading. He had found a magical library containing a lot of history. 

Scott got up, and stretched his arms forward with a yawn. The elvenking walked over to the exit of the cave, and took a peek to the outside world.

Scott’s eyes widened as soon as they were able to locate the sun. It was starting to set. He had been asleep for almost a full 24 hours. The elvenking had most definitely missed the meeting he was supposed to attend, and his council was likely tearing Rivendell apart trying to find him.

Cringing, Scott picked up the prophecy book, as well as a few others he selected, and hurried out of the cave. The elvenking found enough time to roll the boulder to hide the entrance once more. Then he set off for Rivendell.

Luckily, the journey back was fast and easy. The flight took only a few minutes, and when he landed in Rivendell, everything seemed normal. Everything seemed normal, but Scott could tell it was a facade the council kept up. No one needed to know the king – especially one without an heir – was missing.

Last time such a tragedy struck Rivendell, was the fateful night Scott lost his entire family. When the townsfolk learnt of what happened, it wasn’t pretty. 

Trust amongst people must be earned through time. And since Scott had spent his entire childhood alone studying, the people around him barely knew him. It took months, even years with some, to build that trust that he was able to lead a Kingdom.

In their defense, it was a valid concern. Even Scott himself back then didn’t know he could, yet convinced people around him otherwise. The council being the only one that knew of his shortcomings.

And now, the townsfolk had trust in their ruler, while the council treated him more or less like a child that needed to be babysat. It was a partial victory in Scott’s eyes.

And as he had expected, the scolding began the second the first member of the council laid their eyes on him. 

Scott tried to explain that he got carried away, and that he didn’t mean to spend the night elsewhere without someone knowing. But the explanations fell over to deaf ears. He wasn’t meant to be late, or elsewhere. Scott was supposed to always be here, be present and know what he was doing.

“They’re used to me disappearing for a day or two at a time.”

Jimmy’s voice rang in his head, and Scott bit his lip as a wave of jealousy washed over him. The Codfather had it too good. A family and a council that treated him like a human being. And Scott couldn’t even be mad at him for it, because of how damn nice he was. 

“Scott!” 

The word had gotten around faster than he’d anticipated, for now his advisor had arrived as well. And Routa was furious. The tips of her ears shone bright red, and Scott could tell she was holding back her tongue. Yet, the elvenking could see just a glimpse of relief in her eyes. 

“I cannot believe you think it’s appropriate to disappear like that!” Routa snorted. “And without a single notice that you were leaving – you are in great trouble, your highness. The council was furious when they learned of your disappearance. I thought we had spoken this matter through.”

“I am 20, and the king of Rivendell,” Scott stated calmly. ”I’m not a child you need to look after at all hours of the day – I know how to take care of myself. Rivendell won’t crumble if I decide to spend a day elsewhere, especially if I know I have no matters to attend to at that time.”

Routa only gave the king a stern look, before shaking her head disapprovingly. Scott paid her no mind, only walking past her into his house, making sure to close the door behind him. 

He had work to do. 

______

After writing the last document – or more like what Scott decided to be the last document – of the night, the elvenking leaned his forehead against the wooden surface of his desk. The wood was still slightly stained from ink because of the owls. On the brighter side, the pesky birds seemed to have been stopping by his room less frequently. They must’ve been embarrassed by the accident, or thought he was mad. And even if he most definitely wasn’t, it was nice to have some actual peace every once in a while. 

The elvenking pushed the documents aside, making sure the ink was dry before collecting them in a pile and setting them down carefully. After putting them down on the corner of his desk, Scott decided he didn’t quite trust the birds enough yet. So the elvenking opened one of the drawers, and hid the papers out of sight. Or more like out of possible ink spillage range.

Scott got up from his seat, and almost tripped onto his bag that was lying on the ground. Right, the books he had snatched from the library. He’d eventually need to return them, but not before taking a closer look at each one. 

Sitting down on his bed, the elvenking turned the bag upside down so that the books fell down to his mattress. A pile of dust fell down with them, and Scott used the now empty bag as a fan to get rid of the floating debris. 

The Prophecy book was the first one he picked up again. It made sense, he had already read some of it. He had gotten only what, five pages in before stumbling upon the clear sign of the vines. Scott turned the pages until he hit the right one. 

’Vines of upcoming destruction warn from the doom ahead’

That was the one. The elvenking hummed thoughtfully. If the vines, that were already taking over Crystal Cliffs, were just the start, what could the book mean by the doom ahead? 

Deciding that this particular prophecy was impossible to crack with the context he had, Scott moved on to the next page. 

’A play of words determines who shall live and who is doomed to face their end’

Scott cocked his head with interest. Again, there was nothing for the elvenking to go off of. Even the end could mean other things besides death. 

After staring at the page for a while without any ideas, Scott hesitantly turned the page. 

’A curse in disguise steps out of the shadows’

A curse? Gem frequently worked with magic, maybe this one had something to do with Crystal Cliffs. It seemed harmless enough for now. 

Scott turned the next page, which let out a tiny rip sound as he did so. Cringing, the elvenking put down the page carefully. It was still attached to the rest of the book, just not very well. This book was decades, likely centuries old, of course it’s fragile, Scott scolded himself. 

’A ruler astray chooses the faith of another’

’A soul with royal blood, yet no control, claims their place on the throne’

’The past shall always reflect the future, like a blazing phoenix burning down to dust’

’Two souls in constant war meet a placid end’

‘A threat from within angers the deep’

‘A fragile piece of hope carries halfway through’

None of them made much sense. He was too tired to interpret ancient texts right now, maybe going over them later with a fresh pair of eyes would help. But the elvenking continued on. 

When Scott turned the next page, he was surprised to find a longer paragraph from it. 

‘And even when the end shall come’

‘One way, or another from,’

‘The gods will smile above.’

‘For it is their story of’

‘Destruction,’

‘Love,’

‘Tragedy.’

‘On that order,’

‘Maybe other,’

‘They take great pleasure in’

‘Placing brother against brother. ‘

It was almost like a poem. A poem of Exor and Aeor, as well as their champions. Scott, wanting to scroll through the page as soon as possible, turned the next page. However, it laid empty. The elvenking scrolled through the rest of the pages, only finding them blank. It felt like whoever was writing the prophecies down didn’t have time to finish the book.

The elvenking laid the book down onto his bed, taking a deep breath in the process. Xornoth. Some of the prophecies could’ve referenced Xornoth. The red vines, red as the ruby, red as Xornoth’s eyes had been the day Scott had watched him burn down their home.

He needed to find the crystal. 

Now. 

_______

Scott stared at the lone crystal laying on the ground in front of his feet. It didn’t give any indication of being anything more than just a worthless rock.

That is your brother.

Scott swallowed the bile from his throat, and kneeled down to pick up the ruby. The elf held the rock like it could shatter at the lightest touch. 

Somewhere behind him people were cheering and celebrating.

Scott wanted to run away and hide.

“Your highness,” a voice echoed from behind him, waking Scott from whatever daze he was in.

The elf hesitantly turned around to face the advisor of the king, Routa. She extended her hands, handing over an item. Scott didn’t have time to process what it was, until it already was in his hands.

A crown.

A broken, dirty, half melted crown.

The elf dropped the item like it had burned his hands. He backed off from it, and lifted his gaze to Routa. The advisor shook her head slowly. 

“I am sorry.” 

And Scott ran. 

He didn’t know where. It didn’t matter. He just knew he couldn’t be here. Not now. The elvenking squeezed the ruby against his chest and ran blindly.

When Scott stopped to catch his breath, he didn’t know how long he had spent running. Rivendell was far behind him. The surrounding area was full of tall and lanky spruce trees. A lone owl judged him from one of the branches in the trees. 

A fog appeared out of thin air, moving towards the boy slowly like a slithering snake. From it, a deer formed right in front of him. Scott clenched the stone against his chest, and took a few unsure steps back.

“It might have made the right choice after all.” It walked over to the elf, distancing itself from the fog that had by now swallowed the entire forest from around them.

“I am impressed,” Aeor’s voice whispered around them. The stag’s mouth never opened to speak the words. It was almost like they came from somewhere in the fog around them. 

“You did not only defeat my brother, but concealed him.” The stag pressed its muzzle over to where Scott’s hands were clenching the rock against his head. It nudged his other hand away to take a closer look at the glistening ruby. 

For a moment, the stag didn’t say anything, only watched the piece of rock as if to wait for something to happen.

“I can sense them,” Aeor continued with the same emotionless voice. “Trapped like two little birds…”

“Can I free Xornoth?” Scott asked with a pained voice. “No, how do I free Xornoth? It was never their fault! They were manipulated into helping, they–,” 

“Silence! Do not speak on matters you have no knowledge over,” Aeor scoffed down at him. “Your brother was created, and Exor chose them. My brother is the same as yours, just as you are a part of me. They are the same, therefore deserve the same suffering. My champion, you should celebrate. The evil in your life has at least been eliminated.” 

“Celebrate what? Me killing my own brother?” 

“That is not your brother anymore,” Aeor’s empty gaze was fixated to the stone. “Would your brother set your Kingdom ablaze? Would he murder your parents with no regard of what would happen to Rivendell?”

When the stag noticed that Scott was still contemplating, Aeor frowned. “The only reason you are alive and well right now,” the stag stepped backwards a couple of steps. From under its hooves, appeared glowing hoof prints. The same kind Scott had followed out of the burning castle. “is because I saved you. I led you to safety. Otherwise you wouldn’t have made it out. I care about you. And I want you to understand that your brother was gone the moment Exor chose him.” 

“What about me, then?” Scott stared at his feet. “What makes him and you so different? Am I me, or just a mirror of you?”

“You are you, because I let you be.” Was the only answer the stag god provided. 

The two of them stood in the mist for a while, before Aeor turned away. The stag walked gracefully into the fog, merging with it. Just before the god had entirely disappeared, it turned its head towards Scott. 

“Get rid of that rock. Make sure Exor never returns.” 

And then he was gone. 

And Scott’s eyes snapped open. 

The elf sat up from the field just like the one he had just met Aeor in. The only difference? The fog was nowhere to be seen. Birds sang all around him, and the forest was suddenly full of life. The ominous whispering of Aeor’s voice was gone, and Scott hoped it stayed that way. 

The elf got up from the ground, the ruby still secured in his hand. 

If he had been there more as a child, would Xornoth have turned out differently? Would their parents still be here? If he had just done a little bit more, maybe they could’ve skipped this one, singular day. 

But he hadn’t. 

He couldn’t have known what would happen. But he hadn’t gone the extra mile to make sure Xornoth was alright. And now all of them were paying the price. 

The elf wandered around aimlessly for a good while. He stumbled upon a crevice hugging a rocky wall between Crystal Cliffs and Rivendell. The young prince slipped through it, walking in the dark and gloomy caves it opened up.

He ended up stumbling upon a dead end, a small pond blocking the way anywhere else but backwards. A tiny hole illuminated sunlight from outside. 

Scott tossed the ruby into the pond. It sank all the way to the bottom, barely visible. 

That was all the burial Xornoth could have, Scott thought bitterly. 

I will miss you, brother.

_______

The elvenking rushed over to the oh so familiar mountainside, where he laid his corrupted brother to rest. He attempted to take flight a couple of times, but the erratic flutter of his wings didn’t get his feet off the ground. The panic was grounding him, so Scott settled on just running.

He hadn’t been here since that day. He never thought he’d visit the cave ever again. He wished no one would have. It was a tiny crevice on the mountainside, that the elvenking was barely able to fit through now. 

The red vines creeping from the cave only strengthened his suspicions. With a thumping heart, Scott made his way over to the dead end, and the pond he had found here all those years ago. 

And sure, now, when the elvenking was thinking of it, he should’ve hidden the gem better. He should’ve made his life mission no one would ever free his brother, and expose Rivendell and the rest of the world to his wrongdoings. 

So now, when he stared at the completely shattered ruby by his feet, Scott knew he had fucked up severily. The emotions clouding his mind back then led to this mistake. It was a matter of time, really. A matter of time, before someone too curious for their own good stumbled upon this cave. Before they found the beautiful ruby, and maybe sold it forward. Before it got into the wrong hands. 

And even then, it would’ve been Scott’s fault. Because he was responsible for it. 

There never was a good time to return to relocate it, was a lie he had told himself far too many times. There was time. There just wasn’t a will to do so. 

Because even now, standing here five years after the accident, he was reliving that fateful night when everything was ripped away from him. And now that night was creeping back. 

The ruby was shattered.

It had been shattered entirely, tiny pieces of crystals laying around, glimmering beautifully when small patches of sunlight illuminating from the entrance hit them. Around the broken pieces, we’re vines. Wrapped around them, as if to protect. 

Scott fell to his knees in front of the wreck, ignoring how the collision with the cold stone hurt. He had thought Xornoth was gone. That there was no possible way his brother was alive – not after Scott had trapped him. 

The elvenking, with shuddering breaths, gathered a handful of the small shards to his hands, as if to prove that they were real. That this wasn’t just a nightmare and he’d wake up from his comfortable bed any minute now. 

But the scene in front of him never faded away. It was all too real. 

And he was at fault. 

Chapter Text

The scene in front of the elvenking didn’t change no matter how long he spent kneeling on the ground before it, digging his fingers to the cold stone in a futile attempt to ground himself. 

The small sound of water roared in his ears like an angry, flowing river. It drowned out every logical thought, washing away everything but the pure fear of the situation he had put himself and others in. There was no one else to blame but him. He was the one that trapped Xornoth, and he was responsible for keeping them trapped. Hell, he was one of the only people who even knew the ruby’s whereabouts, or that it even existed in the first place. 

He should’ve kept an eye on it, or at least sent someone else to do it for him. In hindsight, his selfish avoidance of the issue caused it to snowball to this situation.

Scott realized he was hyperventilating only when the elf felt like he was drowning. He couldn’t get air in, not like this. The king gritted his teeth, and ripped off a feather from his wings. It floated to the ground, while Scott ripped off another. The stinging pain was grounding. It helped the elvenking to slow down his breathing, until eventually it was as close to normal as Scott felt he could get it for now. 

The elvenking squeezed his eyes shut, blinking them open moments later. He was fine. He could fix this. He just needed to calm down – clear his head – and think. 

Gathering his thoughts while staring down the shattered ruby turned out to be impossible. The object was mocking him, each piece staring him down and reminding Scott of his shortcomings. The elvenking gritted his teeth, shutting his eyes tightly.

Do not focus on that, think. 

Scott stayed like that for a while. Eyes shut, wings tense behind his back. Only when the small sounds of water faded away, was Scott noticing the unnatural silence around him. 

The elvenking opened his eyes with hesitation.

The entire small cave was filled with thick mist. It had appeared out of thin air, and was now circling the elvenking. Nothing was visible from behind it. No floor, no walls, nothing. 

The fog around him only thickened, until Scott couldn’t see anything besides if. It drowned the elvenking entirely from the rest of the world. The pure essence of it felt unnatural. Anyone could sense that this was no ordinary mist. 

Scott, however, wasn’t a fool. He had experienced this before, twice. And right now, the elvenking would’ve preferred ignorance over knowing what was awaiting him. 

He would’ve rather been anywhere else – done anything else – than having to face Aeor in this small, now misty, cave. 

And like he had suspected, from the mist, walked forward a stag with a pair of golden, glowing antlers that emitted a soft glow. The animal carried itself with such grace, head held high up in the air. Even though it was just a stag, Aeor looked godly. 

“It has been quite the time since we’ve spoken like this.” The stag walked across the misty field towards Scott. The elvenking could hear his own heart beating in his ears. The stag didn’t seem angry, not yet at least. But it was. Scott knew. 

“I presume you’re well aware why I decided to meet you in person.” It stopped right in front of the elf, judging eyes glaring down on Scott. The elvenking took a step backwards while giving a nod, but immediately stopped when the stag let out a scoff. 

“Answer me in words, champion. You know why I am here.” 

It wasn’t a question, but a statement. It was useless to tell the god anything but the truth. “Yes, I do know why you’re here,” Scott tried to keep his voice from trembling. 

Aeor was far from pleased with his answer, stomping one foot on the ground and sending up a cloud of dust that burned Scott’s eyes. 

“Tell me, my dear champion, why am I here?” 

Scott tensed. “Because somehow, Xornoth has gotten free.”

The stag lifted its head, the antlers cutting through the thick layer of fog. 

“That is not why I decided to visit you. I am here, because you failed. You let the champion of Exor escape.”  

The elvenking took a few trembling steps backwards, holding his hands out in front of him in surrender. The stag didn’t follow him, yet, if looks could kill, its piercing eyes would’ve ended Scott in an instant. 

“I know,” the elf admitted quietly, his head hanging. “I know, and I am sorry for it. I should’ve been more careful when concealing the ruby all those years ago. But I’m going to fix this.”

With the emotionless golden eyes, Aeor seemed to look almost through the elvenking. The stag, as elegantly as ever, let out a small huff somewhere between an amused laugh and a disappointed scoff. “Instead of the apologies that mean nothing to me, tell me, my champion, how are you going to fix this?”

Scott, keeping his head hanging low, tensed. He didn’t know. Hell, he didn’t even know what went wrong. Why and how Xornoth was freed now. It had been 5 years of imprisonment, what happened to change that?

“I do not know,” the elvenking admitted quietly. He felt like cringing after the silence from Aeor forced him to continue.

“I will figure out something. I just need some time to–“

Aeor huffed, raising its head high. The tops of the golden antlers were engulfed in the thick fog, yet they continued to glow gold through it. 

“Time? You had half a decade. And you were too afraid to even face it. Exor won’t wait for you to have answers. They will attack the moment they see fit. What do you think their first target is? There’s twelve possibilities. Twelve kingdoms to take over first.”

Scott could’ve sworn he saw the god smirk, but then again, it could’ve been a trick of his eyes were playing on him.

“That is why Exor chose Xornoth,” the stag walked forward, and gently lowered its head to bump its antlers against Scott’s. The scene in the elvenking’s eyes immediately changed. 

He was standing on a rocky path that he recognized immediately. It was close to Rivendell. He and Xornoth spent a lot of time here. It was just enough away from the town for the winds to drown out the noise of it. The two princes disappeared from their responsibilities along this very path multiple times. 

Just as the thought passed Scott, two children ran towards him. The first was holding a wooden sword that was close to its breaking point. The end of the makeshift weapon was as blunt as anything, not useful for anything other than playing. 

The next child was trotting behind the other one, clearly with more careful and hesitant steps than the first one. He was also carrying a similar weapon to the other one, but it was tucked away in his belt. 

He looked different than he remembered. But Scott could recognize Xornoth anywhere. His brother’s red antlers were just peeking from under his purple hair. He had gotten his antlers when both of them were nine, meaning they had to be somewhere between nine and ten. 

“C’mon Scotty!” Xornoth called over to his brother, who had slowed down on the rocky path. The blue haired prince eyed his brother with uncertainty. Scott had just enough time to react to Xornoth turning back around to run straight towards him, but to his surprise, his brother passed right through him. 

The younger version of him did the same a moment after. Aeor, who apparently had been studying the scene behind him, gave a chuckle. 

“Surely you did not think you could influence what has happened in the past. You’re not there. So just observe.”

Scott swallowed, and focused back to the scene in front of him. 

The two children had found their way over to a meadow. The meadow. The secret library was right there, the kids were almost touching the entrance. But they had been children with no need for ancient texts. Scott wished it would’ve stayed that way. 

Xornoth came to a sudden stop, pointing the tip of their swords towards Scott. The other prince took a few hesitant steps back, frowning. 

“You know mom and dad don’t like when we practice without supervision,” he remarked quietly. Now it was Xornoth’s time to frown. 

“But Scooooott..!” They groaned dramatically, simultaneously relaxing the arm that was holding the sword, letting the tip crash against the ground. “How can we be better at fighting when we only practice three times a week? Don’t you want to be strong?”

Scott saw himself hesitate, before the young elven prince sighed. “Of course I do, but they will be disappointed if they find out we went behind their back,” he explained. “We should just go back and ask–,”

”C’mon Scott! Don’t be a baby. We’ll be fine!” Xornoth grinned, and reached their hand to pull Scott’s sword out of the holder on his belt. Then the older of the brothers turned it around, so the hilt was towards Scott, and gave the younger prince a wide, encouraging smile. 

Scott saw himself hesitante for a moment, before taking the weapon from Xornoth’s hands with a small smile. 

After exchanging smiles, the two brothers attacked one another playfully. Scott stepped unconsciously out of their way, when the two got closer. Their playful shouts and threats filled the otherwise peaceful meadow. The two swords clashing together reminded the elvenking of what would eventually happen.

The younger reflection of Scott lost his balance while trying to dodge Xornoth’s attack. The prince stumbled back a couple of feeble steps, after which he ended up falling onto the ground with an audible ‘thud’. 

Scott sat up from the ground, rubbing his head. The antlers on top of his head glowed a warm shade of gold, emitting the light to his cyan hair. 

Xornoth seemed to study this for a moment, before holding his hand out to Scott to pull the younger of the princes back to his feet. Then, Xornoth went to pick up Scott’s sword that had slid a couple of feet away during his fall. 

“We should probably head back,” Xornoth smiled sheepishly. “You know, so that mom and dad don’t have time to wonder where we are.” 

When the mist started to surround him once more, Scott knew the scene before him was about to end. And soon enough, the two children ran off, heading towards the city of Rivendell.

“You see. Even from a young age, Xornoth had the ability to make decisions that, even though broke the rules, were logical and useful. They knew when to cross the line. Whereas you,” Aeor spoke emotionlessly. “You are soft. You’re not a leader, you are a mere follower. You hesitate, drown in your options until it’s too late to make up your mind.”

The mist was now surrounding the two of them entirely. It was thick enough to hide the entire world inside it. 

“You isolate your kingdom because you don’t know how to act around others. And rather than learn, you avoid it entirely. Just like you avoided visiting the crystal Exor’s champion was trapped in.” Aeor audibly scoffed. “You avoid making decisions, taking a stand until it’s too late.”

“I’d rather hesitate than make bad decisions quickly,” Scott frowned. The elvenking immediately regretted his comment, when Aeor turned its golden eyes towards him. 

“In battle, you either make a bad decision quickly, or you die. Is that what you want, my champion? To die. That can be arranged.” 

Scott, surprised by the blunt comment, lifted his hands up in surrender. “No. Of course not. I apologize, you are right.” The elvenking wasn’t sure if the god was being serious or not, but he necessarily didn’t want to find out the hard way. 

And like the stag had read his thoughts, it answered the question itself. “I am serious. If you wish to pass your status as my champion, I will help you do so.”

“I –… I understand,” Scott forced out. “I do not wish for that.”

Aeor studied the elvenking for a moment, and Scott didn’t like the emotionless, thoughtful eyes that were glued to his form for a good while, before Aeor seemed to lose interest in him. 

“ Very well,” the stag finally replied. 

“Then, here is what you are going to do,” Aeor kept their voice calm, unwavering. “You are going to host each of the rulers to a meeting. And I will watch you personally apologize to each one of them, after admitting your shortcomings.”

Scott downright hated the idea. Even the thought of facing all eleven emperors, admitting what had happened and that it was his fault, made Scott nauseous. But they deserved to know. He deserved to be judged for his mistakes. 

“ I don’t want to see an ounce of hesitation,” Aeor continued slowly, as if the god was explaining to a mere child. “I want to see decisions. Solutions. And I will see them, one way or another.”

The stag didn’t give Scott a chance to respond. Instead, it turned around, casting a one last glance at the elvenking before trotting back into the deep mist. 

Scott watched as the form of the god disappeared back into the mist. The golden antlers emitted light within the fog for a moment more, before they too were swallowed by the thick mist. Slowly, the area around him cleared, revealing the same cave he had arrived in – minutes? Hours? Days ago? Scott didn’t know how long he had spent in the cramped space, but he needed to get out. He needed to get a lungful of fresh air and think. 

The elvenking scrambled his way out of the cave, leaving the shards of the shattered ruby behind. The rock held no more value, it would forever remain here to remind the elvenking of what had happened. 

The sun was rising in the horizon, painting the dark blue night sky a beautiful orange. It was nearly morning. Scott had spent the entire night here, in that cave. In his mind, it felt more like mere minutes. 

The elvenking slumped his shoulder against the opening of the cave, wiping his face to the sleeve of his shirt. He wasn’t crying – no. The chill morning air just made his eyes water. 

Scott took a few deep breaths, trying to ground himself with the chilly morning air that made his hands go numb and cheeks pinch. The elvenking hid his hands in his sleeves, and rubbed them together in a feeble attempt to bring them some warmth. 

Distant flaps of wings arrived closer and closer, until Scott felt a weight land onto his shoulder. A soft, confused coo of an owl followed, and then something soft was nudging the elvenking’s cheek. 

Scott forced out a soft chuckle, taking a look at the bird on his shoulder. He could immediately tell it was Poppy – messenger owl to the Cod Empire. 

“Are you lost again?” Scott gave a small chuckle. “You shouldn’t be flying around here. This isn’t even close to your assigned route.”

The owl gave him a small hoot, and only now Scott’s eyes fixated to its pouch. Each of his owls carried around one while doing their jobs. Usually they were used to deliver letters or even scrolls or books. But right now, Poppy had only one thing in his pouch. A poppy. Scott took it out gently. It was slightly damaged from the journey, but a poppy nevertheless.

The elvenking’s shoulders relaxed just an inch, and he gave a quick pet to the owl's head. 

“You came from the Cod Empire, didn’t you? And you couldn’t find me in Rivendell, so you tracked me here? Am I correct?” 

The owl puffed up its chest proudly, and Scott flashed the animal a tired smile. “I appreciate it, I really do. But in the future, please stay on your own path.”

Poppy visibly deflated. Its head hung low, and wings were pressed tightly against its sides. Not only did it seem disappointed, it almost was like the animal was frustrated, or angry. Scott had seen his fair share of snowy owl behavior in his life, but the amount that the animals were able to surprise him each day never got old. 

“Let’s head home. You must be tired.”

 The elvenking looked over to the direction of Rivendell with a distant look in his eyes. He stood like that for a while, feet glued to the rocky ground below. 

Only when Poppy took off flying from his shoulder, Scott gave a defeated sigh and took the first step towards Rivendell. 

After all, he had a meeting to arrange.

Chapter Text

”Well,” Shrub let out a nervous chuckle. “It’s good to see you all again. Even though it seems like we have a meeting every other day these days.” 

This time, all of the rulers had managed to show up to Rivendell. Perhaps in some cases it was the curiosity of never been in the Kingdom before, and some were curious of Scott’s absence in the last meeting. Whatever it was, Scott was terrified that they all showed up. 

Sure, the word would have gotten around eventually to everyone. But now he actually had to face all the other rulers and own up to his mistake. A mistake that could potentially harm the safety of all of them, as well as their Empires and people. 

All twelve of them sat in Scott’s meeting room, where he usually spoke with his council. The elvenking didn’t have a proper meeting room for this purpose – there was never really a need to build one. 

“We should sometimes meet up just to talk,” Pearl let out a hesitant smile. “You know, something other than discussing politics and whatever threat we have here today.” 

Shrub and Katherine nodded their heads in agreement, both expressing their support for the idea. 

Joey, who was sitting next to Sausage, rolled his eyes. “I’m hoping there’s an actual reason for this meeting. I’m getting tired of getting urgent meeting requests every day.”

“It’s not like you’ve attended a single one until this,” Lizzie shot out a snarky remark, making Joel cover his mouth to hide the smirk on his face. “If anything, you should be worried that there have been this many meetings. You have no clue what they’ve been about.” 

Joey scoffed, crossing his arms. “Excuse me! Shrub has filled me in with the foreign species issue. Well, issue to some.” The ruler eyed Gem, who rolled her eyes back towards Joey. 

“It is an issue.” fWhip chimed in. “It’s spread even more in the Grimlands now too. And Crystal Cliffs is starting to have a serious issue with it.”

“fWhip’s right,” Gem bit her lip. “The townsfolk have started to ask questions, and I can’t answer any of them. The vines have reached my castle, and they show no signs of stopping.”

“Well,” Joey remarked. “As long as they stay out of my Empire, I don’t really see why I should be caring about them.”

“Seriously?! You’re going to be like that?!” Gem hissed, and marched in front of Joey. “It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. They will spread if we don’t stop them now.” 

Jimmy, who had been relatively silent, stood up from his seat near Lizzie and Joel, and frowned. “How about we let the person who called the meeting speak?” He turned his head around to a corner of the room, where Scott was anxiously shifting his weight from one feet to another. The elvenking’s attention snapped to the other rulers only when everyone’s eyes fell onto him. 

“I..–“, he stammered, Aeor’s eyes burning to the back of his head. Better to get this over with as soon as possible. “The vines. They’re my fault.” 

The silence that followed was nothing short of deafening. Each emperor had an expression between shocked, confused and angry, all while Scott was trying to avoid all of them.

Katherine was the first to recover enough to walk over to the elvenking. “Can you explain a bit more, Scott? I don’t think any of us are following.”

And even if he would’ve rather done anything else, the elvenking owed an explanation when his mistake was in the process of destroying their Empires. 

So he let out a humorless chuckle. “Sure. How long have you got?”

And so the story began. Scott told the rulers all about Xornoth. Of how in that fateful night, when Rivendell was set ablaze, his parents died in the carnage. Of how he had thought he killed his brother for good, and how he hid the gem his brother had been trapped in. How he had pieced together what the vines could’ve been about, and ran to check the prison of his brother, only to find a shattered gem at its place.

“And I want to apologize. It was my duty to keep him locked away for good. I failed it. Not only that, not once in the five years I even visited the place, just to see that we were in the clear. Today was the first time I had been there for five years.” 

The silence that followed was only temporary, before Gem frowned. “I didn’t know elves, or Rivendell in general, had such powerful magical abilities. I’ve never even heard of something like that.”

The elvenking frowned at that. He had heard the doubting edge in Gem’s voice – she thought he was lying, or at the very least altering the truth. Scott forced himself to not snap back immediately. What would he gain by lying about something like this? He was warning them from an upcoming threat for Aeor’s sake!

 “Do you think my antlers are natural?” The elf ended up muttering in annoyance. 

The wizard flushed in embarrassment, and crossed her arms over her chest. “I didn’t want to be insensitive! Just because I had never seen an elf with antlers before you didn’t mean they didn’t exist!” 

“For the record,” Shrub chimed in from the other side of the room. “Most elves do have magic. And there are elves that are hybrids. I mean Scott has wings too.”

Scott decided to ignore the meaningless chatter that was starting to form. Didn’t they understand what kind of danger all of them were now in? And these people wanted to talk about elves. 

A hand landed on Scott’s shoulder, and he turned his head towards the person besides him. Katherine was looking, for the lack of a better word, upset. 

“…alright. Okay. Scott.., I–,” Katherine stammered, and glanced over to the elvenking. “There’s a lot to unpack there. I’m so sorry, I wish I had known..–“

Scott, immediately rejecting the apology, snapped. “Cut it, Katherine. Let’s focus on the real issue here. I’ve dealt with that. I’m done dealing with what happened. So let’s not bring it back up when we clearly have bigger things to worry about now.” 

He had messed up badly, to an unforgivable extent even. But that didn’t mean that he would forgive the other rulers for the fateful night his parents died. It wasn’t their fault entirely, but each of their kingdoms, some more than others, contributed to the fact that it got that bad. 

”We can, and we should,” Katherine chose her words carefully. “But I would also like to address what happened to Rivendell. Because I don’t know about the others here,” she motioned towards the other rulers in the room quickly. “But I had no idea that happened.” 

Similar responses echoed throughout the room. Not one of the rulers around him admitted to knowing what had happened in Rivendell. Sure, they had to be lying. Right?

But as Scott’s eyes wandered around the room, there was such a blatant confusion and worry in the air. It was so genuine, that eventually his shoulders slumped down in defeat.

“..none of you knew? How is that possible? I ordered my council to send owls to as many Kingdoms as they could, as a cry for help.”

Katherine pondered over her words for a moment, before sighing. “I do not know what happened to the letters that were sent back then, but I do know that I didn’t get one. Scott, you know how close the Overgrown and Rivendell have been throughout the years. I would’ve helped if I knew.” 

“I admit that I should’ve pressed more on the fact that a lot of elves migrated to the Overgrown,” Katherine sighed sadly. “I’m sorry for that.”

Scott frowned, and looked around the others. They hadn’t known. And he had acted like a complete fool towards each one of them. The tips of his ears burned red in embarrassment, and the elvenking shook his head towards Katherine.

“No, don’t apologize. I pushed you away like a prideful fool. I thought you just chose to ignore Rivendell’s plea for help but,” Scott's shoulders slumped in defeat. “I’m sorry. I should’ve just asked why you or any of you didn’t answer or help. There’s a fair chance that the letters got burned in the fire, stolen, or a million other possibilities. I’m sorry.” 

“You shouldn’t apologize for that,” Gem smiled. “It’s a valid assumption to make. I’m just glad it’s being cleared up now.”

“And besides, a lot of the current rulers weren’t even rulers five years ago,” Pearl reminded. “There’s a possibility that someone’s parent or previous leader got the message but decided to be a no-show. But I bet no one currently leading would do that. We support one another.” 

Scott flashed her a quick smile, which died down as fast as it appeared. “I’m glad that that is cleared out but the real issue is still on hand. Xornoth and Exor returning and the vines. What are we going to do about that?”

“I have mages already working on it,” Gem admitted. “They’ve been studying the plants as long as they have appeared. I have faith in their skills, but I have a bad feeling about the vines. If Scott’s telling the truth – which I’m sure he is – then there’s a reasonable chance that normal magic won’t work on them. I still think we can at least slow them down before a more permanent solution is found.” 

”I mean surely, if you’ve trapped the demon once before, you can do it again.” Jimmy offered carefully. 

“Technically yes,” Scott gritted his teeth hesitantly. “But it was a close fight even back then. Either one could’ve won. And yes, I won, but at what cost.”

“And the frustrating thing is – they have the advantage now. We have no clue where they’re hiding or when they’re going to strike,” The elvenking muttered frustrated. “The best we can do is to be aware of what is happening around us, and be mindful of messages sent to us. An emergency message should be answered immediately – for everyone’s safety.” 

The other rulers answered with nods and agreeing muttering.

“I think we’re done here for now, then,” Scott concluded. “Just report about any changes or anything abnormal. We have to keep our eyes open. I know Xornoth is not hiding far.”

__________

Scott walked out of the fairly cramped meeting room behind the other rulers. Rivendell wasn’t built to withhold such big meetings. Well, at least now it wasn’t. After the fire, the elvenking hadn’t seen the point to use resources into building one. 

But now, Scott was already making plans in his head. He had a feeling that a bigger meeting room would be a recruitment moving forward.

Some of the rulers, like Joey and Shrub, were waving their goodbyes, telling that they were in a hurry. The two of them flew away towards their own Empires, while the other rulers stayed behind to do some casual catching up. 

Scott jerked as there was a tap on his shoulder, and turned around to face the Ocean Queen. She gave him a smile, and held out an envelope.

“It’s an invitation to my and Joel’s wedding in a couple of weeks. We’d be thrilled if you could make it, but don’t feel pressured to.”

Scott hesitated, before taking the envelope from her. 

“Thank you,” the elvenking flashed her a smile. “And congratulations. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” 

Lizzie chuckled, motioning towards Jimmy, who was in a quiet conversation with Gem and fWhip further away. 

“Maybe you can come and keep Jimmy company. He’s been complaining non-stop that me and Joel spend too much time together. And even if it’s just a joke, I think he feels sort of lonely too.” 

Scott frowned slightly, looking at Jimmy. He didn’t seem like someone who would ever feel lonely. In fact, the Codfather was one of the most endearing people he had ever met. He got along with everyone, and seemed to be well liked amongst the other rulers. 

But Scott, of course, wouldn’t mind hanging out with him. 

The Ocean Queen cleared her throat after Scott didn’t give her an answer. “I don’t mean to pressure you to do so, of course, but–“

“I don’t mind,” Scott hurried to reassure her. “I just find it hard to believe he feels lonely. He’s so overall likeable.”

Lizzie gave him a laugh and a gentle pat on the back. “Of course you’d think that.” She completely disregarded Scott’s confused expression after her remark, and strapped an elytra on her back. 

“See you at the wedding then. Stay safe – you know, with demons and everything running around.” 

The elvenking gave a strained chuckle. “You too.” 

The Ocean queen went to drag Joel away from his seemingly heated conversation with Sausage. From afar it looked like the two were having an actual fight, but after walking closer Scott could hear that the topic on hand was whether sheep actually held magical value. 

After a bit of resistance, Lizzie was able to convince Joel to head home with her. After the two were gone, Sausage took off with Pixl and Pearl. Only Katherine, as well as Jimmy, Gem and fWhip remained. The three latter were in a deep conversation, which Scott didn’t feel like interrupting. Lucky for him, Katherine walked over to the elvenking. 

“Are you alright?”

The question surprised Scott, and he raised an eyebrow at the other ruler. “Yes? What do you mean?”

Katherine fiddled with her thumbs, and had her gaze fixated to somewhere far away. “Well, after everything you went through you spent five years alone and now your demon brother is on the loose. I bet it’s a lot to take in.” 

“Well, obviously,” Scott sighed. “But the last part is my fault. I should’ve visited, or at least told someone else to..”

“Did you actively free him?”

Scott raised his eyebrows at the question, then huffed in frustration. “Well, no, but–“

“Did you send someone to free him? Did you knowingly, with your actions, help him to escape?”

The elvenking only stared at the other.

Katherine took this as a ‘no’ as well, and smiled towards the elvenking. “You didn’t free him, Scott, nor did you mean to. You could’ve done things differently, yes, but would’ve that been a guarantee that he wouldn’t have escaped? What I hear is that you didn’t mean this to happen, and that’s enough for me. So stop blaming yourself when no one else is.”

Scott gave Katherine a thankful smile, after which the two fell into a comfortable silence. 

Jimmy, Gem and Fwhip had apparently reached a conclusion in their discussions, and the three were now heading towards Scott and Katherine. 

Even if they were barely in earshot, Gem shouted out to the two of them. “Hey! Are you two attending Lizzie and Joel’s wedding?”

“Well, obviously,” Katherine smiled. “It is a royal event after all. Sounds like a good excuse to get a small break. What about you, Scott?”

The elvenking gave a nod. “Yes, I think so. Lizzie just gave me this,” the elvenking showed the invitation letter. “I don’t think I’ve ever visited the Ocean Empire. Should be interesting.” 

“It’s great! A whole Kingdom built on giant lily pads on the Ocean. It’s a complete opposite of Rivendell. You’ll love it for sure!” Katherine gave an excited squeak. “Can we travel there together?”

The elvenking chuckled. “Sure, I don’t see why not.”

At this point, Gem, fWhip and Jimmy had reached the two. fWhip stretched his arms with a yawn. “Well, I think it’s time for me to head home as well.”

Gem nodded adamantly. “Yep. Me too. Hey Katherine, I think my elytra had some issues while coming here. Would you mind looking at it really quickly?” The ruler pointed over to where she, Jimmy and fWhip had been just moments prior. “It’s right over there.”

Katherine didn’t even get a word in before Gem was dragging her away with fWhip. Before the two disappeared outside of earshot, Scott could’ve sworn he heard Katherine whine that she had no idea how to fix an elytra.

Scott watched after them for a bit, then turned to Jimmy. “That was strange. What were you three talking about?”

The Codfather fiddled with his fingers, the tail behind him hitting the ground constantly. “Well, um, the wedding actually. Gem mentioned she was attending with fWhip, and I know Pearl and Sausage are probably going together. And since I’ll probably be alone because the rest of my family is – you know – getting married, I was wondering if you’d maybe like to go? With me?”

Scott raised an eyebrow. The elvenking hadn’t known being with someone in a wedding was this official. In Rivendell, you just attended and hung out with whoever you wanted. 

But this wasn’t a wedding in Rivendell, and Scott would gladly respect the traditions the Ocean Empire held. 

“Sure, I’d love to,” the elvenking smiled, to which Jimmy beamed. 

“Really? That’s awesome! Do you want me to come pick you up, or would you rather meet there?”

“Well, it’s a huge detour for you if you get me on the way. And I sort of promised to arrive with Katherine. So maybe we could just meet up there?” Scott reasoned, and the plan seemed to appeal to Jimmy.

“Sounds perfect. Well, I can’t wait until then. Stay safe.” 

Scott watched as Jimmy took off with the elytra strapped on his back. The flight didn’t seem any safer than it had before, and the elvenking was surprised he made it even out of view before crashing. 

Scott turned to look at where Katherine, fWhip and Gem were fixing Gem’s elytra. To his surprise, all three were just standing there, watching him. But as they noticed that his attention was now on them, each one took off into the sky, towards home.

Strange. 

Chapter Text

Next week went by in a blur. Quite literally, actually. Scott had such a busy schedule that it felt like he forgot a half of what he had done. It was just one place and meeting after the other. Which, to be completely honest, felt a little nice after the last couple of weeks.

After being very overwhelmed by the world outside of Rivendell – not in a bad way by any means – Scott very much appreciated the sense of normalcy. Even if it meant having no time to himself and a day filled with paperwork and pleasing his overly critical council.

It was familiar, safe, and required a lot less of going outside of his comfort zone. Scott hadn’t even realized how much energy talking to other rulers or traveling to other kingdoms had taken from him, until having a few days dedicated to Rivendell once more. 

The energy loss didn’t make the other activities bad, though. Scott found himself missing the busy streets of Crystal Cliffs while wandering through the empty alleyways of Rivendell. There was an adventure out there. And of course discovering new things and interacting with them required a lot more from the elvenking. It was just a price he needed to pay.

He hadn’t heard anything from the other Kingdoms since their last meeting. The frequent emergency calls had stopped for now, and the elvenking couldn’t shake the feeling of all of this being just the calm before the storm. 

It was sort of ominous, but Scott truly enjoyed the peace. He’d had to, because something told him it wasn’t going to last. 

****

Three days before the wedding was meant to start, the elvenking thought of the fact that he needed to bring a wedding gift. The king spent practically the entire day thinking of something – anything that could pass over as something good enough for a pair of newlyweds. Not even just newlyweds – a royal pair of them. 

Nothing in Rivendell seemed to quite be prestigious enough to fulfill the job. Sure, the things made in Rivendell were of great value and quality handwork. But something in Scott told him that the King of Mazalea and the Ocean Queen wouldn’t appreciate a pair of custom jackets as much as someone in Rivendell would. 

After wandering around the town square aimlessly for what felt like hours, the elvenking stumbled upon exactly what he needed. Jewelry. Rivendell might’ve been famous for its wool and quality clothing, and one natural resource was generally overlooked. 

Being surrounded by miles of mountains, gemstones were very common in the area. That enabled very decent jewelry, especially since there were quite a few talented jewelers around town if you knew where to look from. 

And Scott knew exactly from where. The shop itself was tiny. It was a few stairs leading into a basement at the side of a quite normal looking house. Nothing let out that the place even sold anything. Kind of a bad business decision, but Scott respected it. Everyone in Rivendell knew about it, so there was no need for further advertisement.

The elvenking stepped the couple of stairs down, and opened the heavy wooden door. Behind it opened a lovely, tiny space filled with jewelry on every wall and surface. The light let in from outside hit different crystals, making them glimmer in it. And when Scott closed the door, the comforting dimness set in the space once more. There were a couple of lanterns around the room, and an open fireplace illuminated its heat around the otherwise chilly basement. 

“Hey. Can I help you somehow?” A cranky old voice grumbled from behind the counter at the back of the room. Scott walked over to it with a hesitant smile on his face. Even though the place sold the best jewelry in Rivendell, the owner’s customer service could’ve used some work. 

“Good day, sir,” Scott tried to give the man a smile. When he was only given an impatient frown in return, the elvenking straightened his back and threw the forced friendliness out of the window. 

“I’m looking for a wedding gift fit for two royals. A king and queen from two different empires. Do you have anything that would do the job?”

“Two royals, you say,” the man grumbled. Scott didn’t know why he had expected the man to be more pleasant after informing the important occasion he needed the jewelry for, but this clearly just wasn’t the case. 

“I always enjoyed Rivendell more when we kept those pesky outsiders away.” The elf muttered, while rummaging through his collection of different jewelry. “It’s more peaceful that way.”

“Maybe it is,” Scott shrugged. “But it’s good to have help at hand if you need it.”

The man didn’t bother to answer him anymore, which Scott was thankful about. Instead, he pulled out a pair of golden medallions. They were nearly identical. If you looked closely, there were some differences in their ornamentation. The other one had a pair of antlers with small red and yellow gems embedded in it, while the other had the same antlers but upside down, with blue and yellow gems embedded in it. 

Scott lifted one of the medallions up by its golden chain, to take a closer look at it. It was beautiful, but would it serve as a wedding gift? 

A sudden thought crossed him, and the elvenking opened the medallion. Inside it was hollow, just enough space to hold something very small.

“Do you think It could hold magic?” The elvenking asked with a thoughtful hum. 

“Magic?” The old elf snorted. “Probably. Never tested. I don’t see why it wouldn’t be able to hold small amounts of it for a short period of time.”

Scott hummed thoughtfully, until reaching for his pocket to get the pouch full of gold. “How much for both of these?”

The two elves agreed on a reasonable price, and Scott gave the shopkeeper the gold. In return, the elvenking put both of the medallions into his pocket in the lack of a better place. 

Scott mumbled his goodbyes, and left the dim shop, climbing back to the daylight. 

The medallions were beautiful on their own, yet Scott couldn’t help but think if there was something more he could do. Elves weren’t exactly known for their magical abilities, so he would most definitely need to ask for some help. 

But first, he needed to figure out what to even do. Scott wasn’t exactly close with either of the rulers – hell, he had just met them for the first time only weeks prior. Yet, they hadn’t been anything but friendly and welcoming, which the elvenking appreciated a lot. He really wanted the medallions to be a thoughtful gift, not just another meaningless piece of jewelry. 

The elvenking knew what he needed to do. Surely, Jimmy wouldn’t mind a visitor. And if he was busy, Scott could always try something else. 

So the elvenking hurried over to his house, and dropped off everything important he had on him, including the heavier jacket for the cold mountain breeze. He had never actually been visiting Jimmy’s Empire. The only things Scott was aware of were things he had heard in meetings. Like that it was humid and quite warm, lots of water and bugs. The elvenking shuddered at the latter. One of the many upsides of Rivendell – bugs really didn’t find their way up on the mountains. 

And after everything was dropped off, and the medallions were safely in his pocket, Scott tracked down Routa. The advisor was doing paperwork in her office for who knows what, but she turned around immediately after hearing the knock on the door. 

“Your highness, how can I help?”

Scott stepped into the small room, and closed the door behind him. “I’m heading out for a couple of hours. Just thought I’d let you know before I go.” 

Routa frowned, and Scott was ready for a scolding. However, the advisor gave a long sigh, before nodding. “I see. But be quick. I’d rather not explain your absence to the council. You know how they can get.”

Scott gave her a relieved smile, and nodded. “I understand. I’ll try to be fast.” 

“So..,” Routa reached over for the stack of papers, putting it away. “Where are you headed exactly? You know, in case we need to reach you.”

“You can send Poppy,” the elvenking informed shortly, and Routa answered with a chuckle. “I see. Have fun.”

“I’m going there for business,” Scott scoffed quickly. The elvenking tried to close the door in order to get the final word, but just before it clicked closed, Routa managed to sneak a “Sure you are.” 

The elvenking rolled his eyes, before heading back outside, and taking off in the sky. 

****

The Cod Empire wasn’t too difficult to find. Scott was aware of the general direction, and as soon as he saw the large Empire on the horizon, the elvenking was vastly impressed. Jimmy hadn’t seemed like the guy from such a fancy place. 

And then the elf saw the wooden housing right next to the large Kingdom. They were separated by a large wall. Of course. Scott should’ve remembered. The Cod Empire was right besides Mythland. He hadn’t realized the two Empires were this close together. Scott had always thought Rivendell and The Overgrown were really close, but Mythland and the Cod Empire were literally touching borders. 

Scott flew over Mythlands, curiously peeking over the Kingdom. It wasn’t quite as busy as Crystal Cliffs was, but there were most definitely people walking around, going on about their day. It also seemed a lot less magic heavy than Gem’s Empire. 

He’d have to visit some other time for sure. The place looked old, but in a very fascinating way. 

Scott landed in the Cod Empire, and immediately found out that his assumptions of the Empire were correct. The air was hot and Scott was already exhausted by the humidity. The slight breeze was also not refreshingly cold like in Rivendell, but just as awful and warm as the air. 

The elvenking looked around, and frowned. None of the houses around seemed like a house an emperor would live in. So Scott just chose a direction and started walking. 

It became evident very soon that a cyan haired elf with feathery wings and golden antlers wasn’t an ordinary sight in the Cod Empire. A lot of the merpeople stopped to stare, and some children pointed towards him, whispering to one another. Scott fastened his pace unconsciously, tucking his wings tighter against his back. 

He wasn’t used to this kind of attention. With everyone in Rivendell being very used to him and his appearance, Scott tended to forget that he wasn’t exactly an ordinary sight elsewhere. 

He really didn’t feel like asking for directions either. It felt stupid, but when choosing over either being lost or walking up to a stranger that was probably judging him, Scott decided that being lost was lesser evil of the two options. So he kept walking.

The Cod Empire, despite being unbearably humid, was quite nice looking. It, in a way, had a very similar look to Rivendell. Mostly wooden houses, and not too large of an Empire. Besides, both of their people were mostly of one race. Although, they couldn’t be more different from one another. 

Finally, Scott stumbled upon a house that seemed like it had a chance to house an Emperor. He couldn’t be exactly sure of it, but at this point just trying his luck felt like a solid option. So, Scott gave the door a careful knock. 

Soon enough, he heard footsteps approaching, and the door creaked open in front of him. Scott must’ve been tremendously lucky today, because Jimmy was standing right in front of him. 

The other emperor seemed at first happy to see him, but slowly his expression morphed to hesitation, and he gave a quick side glance inside the house where Scott couldn’t see. 

 “Scott! Hey, it’s a surprise to see you here, c’mon in!”

What the elvenking did not expect was seeing fWhip after stepping into Jimmy’s house. The elvenking waved his hand awkwardly towards the other Emperor, and looked over between the two of them. 

“I didn’t interrupt anything, right? I can leave if I–”

“No!” fWhip hurried to interrupt Scott, and the elvenking fell silent at the other’s rushed tone. 

“You didn’t interrupt a thing, do not worry. In fact, I was just about to head out. See you both at the wedding!” 

And before either Scott or Jimmy had had a chance to get a word in, fWhip was already gone. He had his elytra already on, and the man had quite literally flown out the still open door. It was impressive, actually. If Scott were to squint his eyes, he probably still could’ve seen the Emperor flying in the distance. 

Instead of looking, Scott decided to turn his attention to Jimmy. “I really hope I didn’t interrupt anything too important. I should’ve let you know I was coming. To be fair, this wasn’t planned at all. I could use your help on something.”

“No, no,” Jimmy assured him, whilst closing the wide open door behind him. “Not at all. Some of that, some of this, you know how it is. But nothing important.” 

And before the elvenking could question the nervousness in the Codfather’s tone, he continued. 

“I don’t mind you popping in unannounced. What did you need help with?”

“Well, ideas, actually.” Scott pulled out the two medallions from his pocket, and held them in front of Jimmy. 

“They’re wedding gifts,” the elf explained. “But they don’t feel special. I was thinking of going to Gem for a spell that can place a hologram of an image inside of it, but I have no idea of what. Can you think of anything?”

The Codfather hummed thoughtfully, and started pacing around the room. While he was busy thinking, Scott leaned against a wall, crossed his arms, and looked around. 

The house was very modest, yet very cozy. You couldn’t have told that an Emperor lived in it. The only thing that gave it away from the outside was the size, compared to other houses. But from the inside, it looked like a normal small house. 

“Maybe you could put images of their Empires?” Jimmy suggested. “Or of them, and give Joel Lizzie’s one and Lizzie Joel’s one.”

Scott thought for a bit, then gave Jimmy a smile. “I like the idea of them always having a piece of their Empires with them, no matter where they are. I think I’ll ask Gem if she can create a hologram, so that when you open them, they’ll show their Empires.”

“That would be amazing,” Jimmy smiled. “That’s very thoughtful of you. It’s a very nice gift.”

“Thank you,” Scott placed the medallions back in his pocket. “I wanted to try, even though I’ve not known them for long at all. It was an honor to even get an invite to the wedding.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re coming,” the Codfather exclaimed quietly, whilst flashing the other a quick smile. “And I’m even more glad that you agreed to go with me. It’s gonna be a good time, I just know it.”

Scott chuckled. “Oh, I don’t doubt it one bit. I’m very excited to experience it. I haven’t ever been to a wedding, or the Ocean Empire for that matter. Although,” the elvenking gave the Codfather a playful smirk. “If it’s as hot as here, I doubt I’ll enjoy it too much.”

Jimmy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Yeah, I can definitely see that you’re not too experienced with this sort of weather. But I can assure you that the Ocean Empire is not like this at all! It’s sort of windy all the time, but it’s not too cold nor hot. It’s also both under, and over water. It’s pretty cool looking. I think you’ll like it.” 

“I think so too,” Scott smiled. “Well, thank you, I appreciate your help! I think I best be–”

“None of what’s going on is your fault, okay?”

The sentence stopped the elvenking on his tracks, and he hesitantly turned back to Jimmy. 

The Codfather seemed troubled, all of a sudden. “I couldn’t stop thinking about what you said in the meeting. But I know that you shouldn’t blame yourself. You can’t do anything about the past, but we’re here now. And when the time comes, we’ll figure everything out. All the Empires will be safe.”

Scott relaxed slightly, and gave the Codfather a slow nod. “I.. Thank you, Jimmy. I think I really needed to hear that.” 

Just like that, the Codfather seemed a lot cheerier. “Good. And if you ever feel like talking, you’re free to send a message or just pop in. Friends are always welcomed here.” 

And when Scott flew off into the direction of Crystal Cliffs after saying his goodbyes to Jimmy, he felt ever so lighter.

Chapter Text

Scott looked over himself from the mirror one last time. Routa was looking at him in the reflection, and patted the king’s back reassuringly. 

“You look very good, your highness.”

Scott, while trying to adjust his wings in their too little holes that allowed them to be outside the suit, groaned. The suit wasn’t the most uncomfortable thing in the world, but it definitely wasn’t meant to me flown in. Too bad, since he had already agreed to fly to the Ocean Empire together with Katherine. 

“I’ll be gone for at least the next two days,” Scott announced. “I’m sure you’ve got everything managed until then. Including the council.”

“Oh shut it, you,” Routa crossed her arms with a snort. “I know you aren’t a fan of the current Council, but they’ve very much kept Rivendell in order for decades.”

“We can talk about this later,” the elvenking decided, while retreating out of the door. “Katherine is already waiting for me, and I will be addressing the council issue. Later.”

Routa didn’t seem to care too much, only shrugging her shoulders. “You’ve said the same thing for the past couple of years. Have fun at the party.” The advisor turned around and exited the room. Scott gave her a couple of minutes, before walking after her out of the house. Unlike her, the elvenking took off to the sky, towards the Overgrown.

…………

When Scott landed at the Ocean Empire, the party was very clearly already begun. There were decorations on the streets, blue and orange, representing the two soon-to-be-united Kingdoms. 

And oh boy, there were people everywhere – both in the Ocean as well as standing on one of the multiple giant lily pads around. Unlike Jimmy, some of these people clearly had only a fish tail as no regular pair of feet. Scott had heard tales of mermaids, but never in a million years did he think he’d see one. Not even when he was traveling with his father years ago.

“Pretty overwhelming, isn’t it?” Katherine had just landed next to him. 

“Not overwhelming. Just so vastly different. I had no idea that places like this even exist.” Scott smiled, but couldn’t hide the excitement from his eyes. Katherine chuckled, and took a hold of his wrist, dragging Scott along. 

“Let’s go and find the others then.”

That was easier said than done. The empire was huge, or at least it felt like that when you needed to find a group of people. Eventually Scott and Katherine stumbled at the front gates of the huge white and cyan castle, with Katherine making a thoughtful huff. 

“You know, we really should have started here.”

Scott only chuckled and walked after the other ruler. The few guards that stood in front of the front doors of the palace recognized the two of them and stepped aside, letting both Scott and Ktherine make their way inside.

The palace was big from the outside, but Scott hadn’t been ready for what it looked like from the inside. The entrance hall was gorgeous. Walls were painted all shades of blue and green, every piece of furniture was thought out and had a purpose. 

The room was so full of detail, Scott nearly missed the only two other people in it.

Jimmy seemed to be deep in conversation with a servant. The Codfather stood his back towards the entrance where Scott and Katherine were lingering, until the eyes of the servant girl landed over Jimmy’s shoulder to them. She pointed the two of them out to the ruler, who turned to look over his shoulder curiously. 

“Scott, Katherine!”

Jimmy rushed over to the two of them with a smile. His tail was moving behind him just the slightest bit, and Scott raised an eyebrow watching it. Was he – wagging his tail? Like a dog? That was adorable. 

“Good to see you both!” The Codfather smiled. “We have rooms arranged for both of you, just follow me and I’ll take you to them.” 

…………

The Ocean Empire was even more beautiful at night, Scott decided. He had taken up on Gem and Pearl’s offer to tag along for a walk in the Kingdom. Well, some walking and some flying. Some of the large lily pads the Empire was built upon weren’t connected to one another. To the people of the Empire this was of course not an issue, but Scott would’ve rather attended a deathly boring meeting, than to have even attempted swimming. 

Right now the three of them were wandering on the outskirts of the city. The further away you went from the main Lilypad where Lizzie’s castle was located, the smaller the platforms got. This one had no houses, but a few benches, lights and a fountain in the middle of it. 

Clearly, there wasn’t much to actually experience here, but Gem had insisted she wanted to see the castle in the dark from afar. Neither Pearl or Scott had anything against it, so they followed. 

And to be fair, the castle was beautiful from afar. The lights were reflected in the dark ocean surface. The closer you got to the castle, the more lights there were. And the castle itself just seemed like it was emitting a light blue glow. 

Really made the dangerous and scary ocean seem beautiful.

“Ocean Empire has to be one of my favorite Empires,” Pearl whistled while looking at the scene. “At least speaking of the scenery.”

Gem nodded in agreement, and sat down to the edge of the lilypad. “I know right! Especially now with all the wedding decorations and lights.” 

The wizard leaned forward, looking over the pitch black ocean below. She ran her hand over the surface, and Scott shuddered even at the thought of it. 

“It is beautiful,” the elf agreed hesitantly, his gaze fixated on the water. “I’d just prefer it with less possibility of drowning,” he admitted, to which both Gem and Pearl answered with chuckles. 

“I take it you’re not really a swimmer?”

The elf frowned, keeping his gaze fixated on the surface of the ocean. “Didn’t really grow around water. At most we had ponds that reached your ankles. I don’t think I’ve ever actually swam before.”

Gem gasped in surprise, while Pearl nodded understandingly. “I can see that. There really aren't any bodies of water even surrounding the mountains, if you exclude the few small rivers going around there. And they’re way too rapid for learning to swim.”

“We have to take you sometime,” Gem smiled. “There are lovely beaches in Mythland and the Overgrown. Cod Empire too, although the water is definitely a bit more.. natural there.”

The conversation gradually moved towards other things, as the three Emperors wandered on the empty streets of the Ocean Empire. Eventually, Pearl announced that she’d be heading back, explaining how she could use the extra sleep before the ceremony tomorrow. 

“I heard you were attending with Jimmy,” Gem smiled over to him once Pearl had taken off to the sky. 

“I guess so,” Scott rubbed the back of his head. “And you’re attending with fWhip, I heard.” 

Gem leaned backwards, and chuckled. “Well, it’s not really the same, is it? fWhip’s my brother after all.”

Scott hummed thoughtfully at this, leaning a bit backwards to really take in the brightly shining castle looming over the deep dark horizon. The elvenking ended up only shrugging his shoulders lazily. 

“I don’t see how that’s any different,” he admitted with a tiny frown. “I mean, you’re family. But you’re attending the event together just as me and Jimmy are.”

Gem only did a slow blink after his words. The wizard really took her time taking in Scott’s words, before letting out a snort. “I..— Scott, no way you’re being serious right now. Tell me you’re joking.” 

Her face fell more and more as the time passed, before it had transformed into a full grimace. The elvenking only stared, and cocked his head in confusion. “…No?”

Gem opened her mouth to say something, before shutting it quickly. The wizard was clearly thinking over her words carefully, before rubbing the bridge of her nose. “Alright, okay.. this is fine. Oh boy.”

She paced around for a while, before looking back over to Scott with wide eyes. “But Jimmy said..- Wait, never mind..” 

Now, Scott got up as well, and hesitantly crossed his arms. The act helped to block the chill night breeze out as well. 

“Jimmy said what? Gem, what’s going on?” 

“Okay, Scott, I’m not sure anymore,” Gem muttered hesitantly. “I’ll speak to Jimmy, and tell him to speak with you, alright? But let’s not do this now. We don’t need whatever is happening here being a thing during Joel and Lizzie’s wedding. So don’t mention anything to Jimmy right now, neither will I. I’ll speak with him in private. Later.”

Scott’s wings twitched nervously, but the elvenking gave an hesitant nod. Gem made sense. He barely even knew Joel and Lizzie, and would be catastrophic if he’d be the reason their wedding was ruined. Whatever was happening here could wait a few days. 

“Fine,” Scott agreed reluctantly. “It’s nothing terrible right? Can it wait?”

Gem nodded her head adamantly. “Absolutely, if it was really important I’d tell right away. I promise it’s not.” The wizard flashed him a quick smile. “I think we should return to the castle. I’m sure the others are waiting on us already.”

And Scott followed her back 

…………

It was strange to wake up from a bed that wasn’t his own.

Scott hadn’t ever woken up from anywhere except Rivendell in as long as the elvenking could remember. There was absolutely nothing wrong with any of the conditions Queen Lizzie had provided him, yet he found himself feeling empty. Scott missed Rivendell. He could only guess what his people were up to at the very moment. 

The elvenking wasn’t sure if it brought him dread or comfort, but he was certain that nothing abnormal was going on in his kingdom. Routa was most likely doing her normal duties, and in the process made sure the day ran smoothly until the sun set back behind the snowy mountains of Rivendell. 

Scott got up from his bed, and took a hesitant step towards the large windows covering every inch of the walls of his bedroom. He was completely surrounded by water. The ocean ran as far as the eye could see. Scott had often heard about it – the Ocean that was bigger than the wingspan of the biggest snowy owl in the kingdom. He had always found it hard to believe as a child, but now he understood how correct his father was while describing it to him. It seemed endless. The kingdom of Mezalea was just a tiny dot in the distance, yet it was the only piece of shore in sight. 

The elvenking shuddered and sat down on his bed. Frankly, the Ocean was terrifying. While chatting with Pearl and Gem the day prior, Scott had learned that a big portion of the residents of the Ocean Empire lived under the water, in housing constructed underwater. And Scott couldn’t see more than the deep dark below.

Knowing that there were people who lived in the sea, who enjoyed its presence and trusted it enough to let it house them — the elf was more than impressed. The mere thought of large bodies of water made him shiver, and yet there were people spending all their days under it.

When there was a soft knock on the door of his room, Scott reluctantly opened it to reveal what he assumed was one of Queen Lizzie’s servants. The young girl – probably no older than 16 – bowed to him gracefully and got up with a smile. Scott recognized the girl as the same servant who Jimmy was chatting with when he and Katherine arrived at the Palace.

“Good morning, your highness. Her Majesty wondered if you’d like to join the other rulers for breakfast?”

Scott gave the servant a quick smile back, and nodded. “I’ll be there in just a moment. Thank you.” 

“Of course, no need to rush,” the servant assured. “I will just give you a warning, the palace might be a bit difficult to navigate for someone who’s never been here. It’s not the most.. intuitive design to say the least. I’d be more than happy to lead you there whenever you’re ready.”

“Give me just a minute and I’m ready to go,” the elf flashed the servant a smile. Scott then closed the door, and took a quick peek in the mirror. He definitely wasn’t as put together as he could’ve, but it would have to do. The elf walked back over to the door, and exited the room.

The servant girl hadn’t moved, and smiled when Scott walked out. She immediately started walking down a hallway, and the elf dutifully followed her. 

The trip over to the dining hall would have been impossible to navigate on his own, Scott decided whilst following the girl. The sheer amount of turns and doors to go through just to get to this one place. Even while walking, Scott could tell he wouldn’t be able to find his room again.

The girl finally stopped in front of large doors that were open, and Scott could recognize fWhip’s voice coming from inside. He turned towards the servant. 

“Thank you so much,” Scott thanked the servant. “I would have never made it here without your help.” And he wasn’t lying. The Ocean Queen’s palace was more than confusing. In fact, to get to the dining hall Scott had followed the servant both up- and downstairs. 

“My pleasure, your highness.” The girl smiled. “Enjoy your breakfast.” 

And with that, the girl walked back to the direction they had originally come from. Scott watched after her for just a moment, before entering the dining hall.

The elvenking thought he’d be the last one arriving to breakfast, but to his surprise he was part of the first half of rulers. Katherine was in a quiet conversation with Pixl, Shrub seemed to be very fixated in what Scott assumed was either coffee or tea and fWhip was trying to engage Gem into a conversation with little to no success. 

Scott sat down next to Gem, who looked like she had seen better days. Her eyes were barely open with a mug of steaming hot coffee in her hands. She barely even acknowledged the elvenking as he sat down, until he greeted her with a quick “Good morning”.

Gem leaned back in her chair, and mumbled a “Good morning” back at Scott as well. Before the elf had a chance to ask if he was the reason Gem seemed so down, the wizard let out a yawn. 

“Not really a morning person,” she informed with a frown. Scott gave her an understanding nod while trying to suppress an amused smile. 

Katherine, who was sitting on Gem’s other side, paid no mind to the grumpy wizard and instead buttered her toast. After she was done, the leader of the Overgrown slid the butter and butter knife over to Scott with a smile. 

“How did you sleep? Hopefully better than some of us,” she gave a quick wink over to the elvenking, and Gem let out quiet scoff in between them. 

Scott reached to get the items Katherine slid over. “I did sleep pretty well. I honestly thought I’d be the last one here,” he admitted. 

“Nope, you’re very much not the last one,” a yawning Sausage walked in with Pearl close behind her. He took a quick glance at the room, and turned to Pearl. “I told you we wouldn’t be the last ones! Who are we missing?”

“Joey hasn’t shown up yet,” Shrub immediately chimed in. “I doubt that Joel and Lizzie will be joining us this morning.”

“Jimmy hasn’t shown up yet either,” Scott announced. 

“He’s probably also helping with the last minute check-ins,” Shrub shrugged, while sipping her coffee. “The wedding is still hours away, but if I had to guess there’s still plenty to do.”

“About that,” fWhip chuckled. “Does anyone actually know where the church is?”

Chapter Text

Traveling outside of Rivendell had been an experience to say the least. Even though Scott had been warned multiple times from both his parents and the council of Rivendell that the world behind the mountains was vastly different from what it was in Rivendell, he had always taken their words with a grain of salt. 

And yes, different kingdoms were different. But somehow the biggest surprise was how little the people outside of Rivendell seemed to believe in religion. Whereas Scott had been shaped by the sheer fact of him being Aeor’s champion, no one outside of the mountains seemed to even know the legend of the two stags. 

The thought found him again, when the elvenking had asked about the Ocean Empire church, only to find out that the sole reason for it was to respect and pray for the ocean. Scott found the thought perplexing, but didn’t comment on it further. It was strange, really. Why pray to a lifeless entity? Why not pray for something that can hear and respond to your prayers?

The thought didn’t leave Scott even when later that day Jimmy came knocking at the door of his guest bedroom. The elvenking opened the door, and immediately glanced towards the clock. 

“I’m not late, am I? I thought the ceremony –”

“Oh, no – not at all!” Jimmy backtracked. “I’m early. I was wondering if you’d like to walk over to the church. It’s a decent way to go, and the other emperors are most likely taking a ride there.” 

Scott threw another quick glance at the clock. He hasn’t even dressed yet properly, and judging by the time Jimmy thought it would take them to walk over, the distance wasn’t a short one. 

The Codfather seemed to sense his hesitation, and he immediately rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. “I completely understand if you’re not up to it, just say so.”

“Oh no, don’t get me wrong,” Scott explained. “I just need a bit to get dressed first. Can I have 5 minutes and then I’m ready to go?”

Jimmy, for the lack of better word, lit up. The Codfather gave Scott a quick nod, before stepping out of the doorway. “Of course! You were just so – I mean I thought you already were dressed since you look amazing.” 

Scott could only smirk at how Jimmy’s eyes were skillfully avoiding his own. “I’ll be waiting at the entrance. But we’re not in any rush so take your time!” The Codfather added quickly. Then the ruler scurried off. Before he turned the corner at the end of the hallway, Scott heard him mutter something to himself. 

With a soft chuckle, Scott closed the door again. Lucky for him, he had everything ready to go. So in exactly the five minutes he had promised to be ready in, the elvenking walked out of his room and made his way over to the palace entrance. 

Navigating the place had become simpler over time. Scott still took the occasional wrong turn from time to time, but finding the entrance this time was surprisingly painless. A single wrong turn later the elvenking arrived to where he needed to be.

Jimmy was furiously tapping on his communicator, barely even noticing Scott walking in. The Codfather only put the device down, when the elf was practically right in front of him. Jimmy’s shoulders slumped. “Scott I – I’m so sorry but I can’t do the walk anymore. Apparently mysterious red vines have been spotted near the church, and I need to take care of it before Lizzie and Joel find out. They don’t need to know, not today anyway.”

Scott could practically see the man deflate in front of him, and without a second though he placed a hand on Jimmy’s shoulder. “Hey, it’s alright. In fact, I could try to help. Since, you know, I have some experience with mysterious red vines.” 

“That would be great, actually,” the Codfather relaxed a bit. “The fact that they’re all the way here in the Ocean Empire is concerning enough, but that’s something that we need to address later – maybe even tomorrow. But Lizzie and Joel have been so stressed over everything being perfect today and I’m not about to tell them that some mysterious indestructible plant is invading the Ocean Empire.”

“Don’t worry, not just the Ocean Empire. Pretty much everywhere at this point,” Scott gave a dry laugh in a poor attempt to make a joke out of the situation, to which Jimmy responded with a small smile. 

”We really are in for trouble, aren’t we?” 

Despite the jokes, Scott was well aware that everyone else was just as worried about the growth as he was. When he had left Rivendell, the vines were only in the outskirts of the city, barely visible from under all the snow. Now that they’ve reached Ocean Empire, the elvenking was certain the situation had gotten worse back home as well. The urge to politely miss the wedding and fly back home to make sure everything was in order was high. However, Scott had to trust the judgment of his council. They’d send a message if he was needed. Granted — Scott should’ve told his Council about the vines prior to this. 

The elvenking looked over to Jimmy, whose gaze was fixated on his communicator. Scott hadn’t known the Codfather for a long time, but this was the most serious he had ever seen him. Scott frowned. He didn’t like that. So, in an attempt to lighten the mood just a bit, the elvenking pushed Jimmy’s communicator a bit down to get his attention.

“So, where are we headed? We need to check it out quickly if we want to be in time for the party.” 

The Codfather blinked his eyes slowly, then shook his head in an attempt to gather his thoughts. “Right. I have the exact coordinates to them,” Jimmy equipped his elytra and put the communicator away. “Just follow me. It’s not too far away.” 

The two of them made their way outside, where Jimmy launched a rocket to get him off of the ground. Scott took only a moment to see the most unstable take off he had ever seen, and eventually took off the ground himself. He caught up to Jimmy easily, and Scott made note to fly nearby the other ruler. It was truly a miracle he hadn’t dropped out of the sky yet. 

Jimmy hadn’t lied. The flight wasn’t long at all, yet it would’ve taken a lot longer on foot. Mainly because of the way the Ocean Empire had been built. Foundations of the land were lily pads held together by the occasional bridges. You’d need to detour a lot if going through water was out of the options. 

Landing over to the church, Scott didn’t need to ask for more directions to the vines. Almost right at the entrance was a huge knot of the red plant. It was impossible to miss. The few stray strands that were sticking out of the knot of vines were starting to climb the wall of the church.

“Well,” Jimmy gave the bush an experimental tap with the tip of his shoes. “That’s not great. Not great at all. How in the Cod are we supposed to hide this?!”

Scott frowned and looked around. Hiding the thing wasn’t even their biggest issue. The church wasn’t in the middle of the empire, but it certainly was in a well populated area. The rumors had already probably started going around people. They could hide the vines, but nothing would get rid of the whisperers.

But Jimmy didn’t need to stress about that. There wasn’t anything that could be done, except to hide the vines from line of sight. That they could do something about. 

“We could move some of the flower arrangements over in front of it,” Scott suggested. “Or maybe put the flags of the two Empires in front of it. Maybe even both. How much time do we have?” 

And as if on cue, the bells of the church started ringing. Both Jimmy and Scott’s faces turned white as the two fumbled around to figure out a quick solution. In a desperate attempt to move the entire bush itself, Scott took a hold of the vine that connected the entire knot to somewhere underground. And while the Codfather stood in front of him with his elytra spread in an attempt to block the scene, Scott pulled the vine. 

It almost didn’t feel like a plant. To be fair, the elvenking didn't have the best knowledge of them, but usually things that were alive felt.. alive. And in a way, this did too. But not in a plant kind of way. It almost pulled back, cowered under Scott’s touch in an attempt to get free of his hold. And as the elvenking closed his hand around the vine tighter to secure his hold of the plant, the area around his fingers turned brown. And before Scott had even the time to react to the discoloration, the vine snapped in half. 

“How did you..?”

When Scott turned to look, Jimmy was staring at him with his mouth hanging open. “I thought they were indestructible!”

“Later,” Scott hissed between his teeth, and gathered up the loose vines that now were quickly turning brown. “I’ll get rid of these, you fill the hole on the ground.”

And with that, Scott took off with the vines. The elf flew long enough that the Ocean Empire wasn’t in sight anymore, then dropped the pile of rotting vines into the ocean. And unlike any plant he’d seen before, Scott watched as the growth sank down below until it was deep enough for it to not be visible. 

For a moment, the elf stared at the water, waiting for something to happen. Nothing ever did, and eventually he had to believe that nothing even would. Hesitantly, Scott turned over and flew his way back to the Ocean Empire. 

When he landed, the doors of the church were wide open. Jimmy had done a good job of hiding the hole, and even found a rock to sit on top of the damaged grass. It truly seemed like nothing had ever been there. 

The church was full of people as Scott walked in. There was a ton of chattering between important looking people, all whom Scott tried to walk around and avoid in fear of being in the way. The elf couldn’t focus on finding Jimmy, instead sitting down on the first available seat that was near the back rows. In the process of getting seated Scott’s wings hit the merperson sitting next to him. They gave him an annoyed glare, but didn’t say anything while Scott mumbled his apologies. 

The sheer amount of people he knew none of made the elf uncomfortable. He felt too out of place, took too much room with his stupid wings that the ruler made an effort to press against his back as tightly as he was able to. Internally, Scott prayed that the ceremony would just start so he could get out of this cramped place.

When a hand landed on his shoulder the elvenking flinched and turned around to apologize, only to find Jimmy next to him. “I was wondering what was taking you so long. No need to sit in the back, the emperors are all seated at the front.” 

Scott gave a stiff nod, following Jimmy to the front of the building where all of the nine other rulers were seated. The Codfather sat down in the front row, and patted an empty seat next to him. Scott hesitantly sat down, immediately feeling his wings pressing softly against both Jimmy and Katherine who was sitting on his other side. 

“I’m sorry about the wings,” Scott mumbled. “I can try to hold them down the best I can but there’s only so much I can do without bindings..” 

“Nonsense,” Katherine scoffed next to him. “I don’t mind one bit, Scott.”

“Me neither,” Jimmy leaned forward next to him. “If anything, they feel nice. I don’t think I’ve ever really felt wings before. Do you mind if I touch it?”

“Uhh..,” Scott’s brain short circuited. His wings had barely ever been touched by anyone but himself. There wasn’t really a reason for it, just the lack of people close to him and overall protectiveness of the limbs. They were seen as a rare collectible somewhere, and Scott couldn’t shake the thought of someone abusing his vulnerability to take advantage of the possible good price individual feathers would hold. 

But Jimmy had never given him a reason to doubt his trust. So Scott nodded. “Just try to be gentle and avoid the base of the wings,” he instructed. “It can be quite sensitive so it’s best to just not touch it there.”

After giving a firm nod as an understatement, Jimmy ran his hand over Scott’s feathers. The elf shivered at the touch, the feathers puffing up. The elf hated to admit it, but the contact felt heavenly. Jimmy was really careful with where he touched while scanning Scott, looking for any indication that the elf was uncomfortable with the touch. 

When the Codfather suddenly pulled his hand away, Scott let out a disappointed huff. He turned over to Jimmy, who was holding a small feather. 

“Oh god, Scott, I’m so sorry! It just came off —“

“They do that,” Scott couldn’t suppress a smile. With that level of concern, he had been right to trust Jimmy. “Sometimes old feathers fall off so new, stronger ones can grow. I didn’t feel it at all, meaning that if you wouldn’t have hit it it would have just fallen out in a few days on its own.” The elf explained. 

That seemed to calm the Codfather down, and he nodded with a relieved sigh. “Thank goodness, I thought they came off that easily.” Jimmy took initiative and stroked some of Scott’s feathers some more, while the elf absolutely melted at the touch. 

The Codfather didn’t stop even when the ceremony started. Scott barely could focus on Lizzie walking down the aisle in her white and blue dress whilst Joel waited for her at the end with a priest. 

The vows flew past Scott as well. Somehow a simple touch had turned his entire brain into mush. A quick glance at Jimmy told him that the Codfather wasn’t even paying attention to him. His eyes were deeply fixed on his sister and now brother in law. What troubled Scott was that the other ruler didn’t seem happy. There was something strange, like a deep sadness in his eyes. The elf frowned. He couldn’t be sure what was wrong, but Scott carefully reached over to Jimmy, and took his hand. The other emperor looked over to him, and after Scott flashed an encouraging smile towards him, Jimmy flashed a small smile back. 

They watched the rest of the ceremony like that, holding hands. At times, Scott would catch Jimmy’s thumb brushing over his knuckles and the elf couldn’t be sure why the act made his heart flutter in his chest. 

After the ceremony ended, people attending it moved outside after the newlyweds to congratulate them and eventually move to the wedding reception held back at the Palace gardens. Since the rulers were at the very front of the building, they were the last ones to exit the church. Even when they got up, Scott and Jimmy still had their hands locked together. And the act didn’t go unnoticed. Katherine raised an eyebrow towards Scott, and Gem whispered something to fWhip. 

Only when Jimmy walked over to congratulate Joel and Lizzie, his hand slipped off of Scott’s. The elf watched as the other emperor walked off with a weird sense of longing. He must’ve stared after Jimmy for a while, since eventually Katherine laid a hand on his shoulder. 

“Hey, earth to Scott? We are headed to the wedding reception with the other emperors. Are you coming?” 

“I..,” Scott tried to search Jimmy from the crowd with his eyes, but all Lizzie, Joel and him were blocked out of sight by people exiting the church. 

“I’m sure Jimmy is coming as well.” The other ruler patted his shoulder and flashed a smirk towards the elvenking. “Just give him a moment with them. They’re family.” 

Eventually, Scott turned towards the others in a strange feeling of defeat. “Yeah, I’ll come with you.”

The people leaving the venue seemed to prefer walking back, so Scott decided to stick with the crowd and walk with the group of other Emperors. The entire walk back was filled with laughter and for a lack of a better word — love. When Scott had walked into the meeting room for the first time after Katherine practically blackmailed him to, the elf had thought of the group of leaders as a strange collection of friends. 

And now, when the elf was watching Gem show off her magic in the forms of small puffs of colorful smoke while the other emperors watched in awe, Scott’s feeling only grew. Back then, he didn’t feel like he belonged with the group, and he still didn’t. Maybe he never would, but there was something so inherently fascinating in the sheer opportunity of being given a chance to belong. To spend time with people that had responsibilities like his own, and understood the burdens of them. Yet, they still could act like people. Enjoy others’ company, and make eachother laugh. 

And he did want it. 

This was something he wanted over the solitude and protection of Rivendell.

Chapter Text

The reception was outside behind the palace. The gardens were lit with lanterns of every color, and Scott could hear the music long before they were even near the palace. If he had thought the ceremony had a lot of people, the reception somehow felt even more full. People filled the entirety of the gardens, and even more were wandering in from the church. At the entrance stood a table full of presents, and Scott summoned his gift from his inventory. The elvenking placed it down on the table with the other gifts. 

A servant almost flew over to the group of Emperors as they entered, holding out a tray that held a glass for each of them. Scott took his one last, mostly out of courtesy. He hadn’t drank anything stronger than milk practically ever. Maybe just tonight, Scott told himself. For the occasion. 

The taste wasn’t too bad. It definitely tasted too strongly of alcohol, but otherwise the drink reminded him of strawberry lemonade. He could deal with that. 

Scott barely had the time to take another sip before he was pulled closer to a quiet corner by Katherine. Her mouth moved, but Scott couldn’t hear a word under the blasting music. Eventually when they stopped where Gem and fWhip were already standing at, Katherine turned so the elf could actually hear. 

“What was that about?”

Scott frowned in confusion. Had he done something wrong? He definitely should have studied the wedding traditions of the two empires more closely, but the elf couldn’t remember anything that would’ve been seen as rude. “Did I do something wrong?” He eventually ended up asking.

Gem snickered and elbowed fWhip to his side. The latter spilled some of his drink due to the impact, and threw an annoyed glare towards Gem. Katherine paid no attention to the two, and instead extended her arm dramatically.

“You did something alright! What was that about?! Holding hands — not just for a bit but almost the entire wedding ceremony!” 

”Yeah?” The elf frowned, but at the same time felt the tips of his ears burn in embarrassment. “I wasn’t aware there was something wrong about that.”

“Scott, goddammit!” Katherine groaned in frustration and slammed her drink down to the nearest table. “There’s nothing wrong with that! Or the wing petting. Or the fact that you attended the whole thing together.” She crossed her arms expectedly. “Is there something you want to tell us?”

“Leave them be,” Gem chuckled from behind her. The wizard leaned on the staff she carried around everywhere. “What did you think of the ceremony, Scott? Similar to Rivendell, or no?”

The elf very much appreciated the change in topic. “Yes and no,” he explained quickly. “I obviously haven’t seen a huge ton of weddings, but the foundation seems to be the same. We don’t usually have this,” Scott motioned his arms around. “The afterparty, I mean. We usually just have the ceremony and then let the newlyweds be.”

“Ah, I see how it is,” fWhip chimed in with a laugh. “Let them be.”

Scott huffed at the comment. “Whatever you’re thinking, you’re not right. They get to receive Aeor’s blessing together.”

“Sounds like something you’d tell the children to hide the truth,” Katherine chuckled. “We get it, Scott. The newlyweds disappear alone together for a ritual. I think that’s all there is to know about that.”

The elf frowned, but didn’t feel like arguing with the others. Instead, he took a sip from his drink. “What a bunch of children,” Scott muttered under his breath but couldn’t hide the playful smile from his face. 

This time, fWhip was the one who elbowed Gem to her side. Ironically, the wizard gave the same annoyed glare at her sibling that he had thrown her way just a moment earlier. He whispered something to Gem, nudging his head in a direction trying to seem discreet. 

Scott stole a glance behind him, and locked eyes with Jimmy. Immediately after noticing Scott and the others, the ruler pushed his way in the crowd over to them.

“Look who decided to show up again,” Katherine smirked. “Where did you disappear to?”

“Sorry about that,” The Codfather rubbed the back of his neck. “Lizzie and Joel needed help with something so I had to assist for a moment. But it’s all good now. What are we talking about?”

“Nothing specific anymore,” Gem shrugged, and handed Jimmy a drink she had apparently been holding onto. “We were just discussing the cultural differences between empires, right Scott?”

The elf felt himself roll his eyes. “You could say that,” he muttered whilst Gem gave him a sly smile and both fWhip and Katherine snickered. 

Jimmy paid them no mind, and turned to Scott. “Sorry for leaving you back there, by the way.” He lowered his voice and got closer to the elf. “But I tried to see if they knew about the vines. I don’t think they have a clue, at least for now.”

“Vines?” Gem raised an eyebrow. “Is there something we should know about?”

Since there really wasn’t a point in hiding it from the other emperors, Scott sighed. “Yes, vines. Here in the Ocean Empire. Me and Jimmy got rid of a bunch of them before the ceremony. We were planning on letting you all know tomorrow after all the festivities, but as long as Lizzie and Joel won’t know before tomorrow I’d say we’ve succeeded.” 

“Wait, you got rid of them,” Katherine cut in. “I thought they were supposed to be indestructible.” 

“We did too,” Scott admitted. “But I grabbed a vine and it just.. died. A part of it just rotted away and I could fly the excess out to the sea. I don’t know if it’s more vulnerable in specific places, but we should get to the bottom of what happened. That might be the way to remove them all.” 

“That’s interesting,” Gem hummed. “I’ve studied them a fair bit. The only thing I’d call a vulnerability is that they really don’t like the cold. Which goes very much against what you experienced,” she frowned at Scott and Jimmy. “The Ocean Empire is one of the more humid and warm places. With my logic, the vines wouldn’t like Rivendell, and instead focused on here and Pixandria, maybe.”

“Well,” Scott sighed. “The weather affecting them seems like a stretch. The vines are magic — we know this.”

“Things based around magic still are natural”, Gem explained. “It comes from somewhere, and most magic draws power from nature. Regular plant growth in a sense is also magic. In other words, weather also is to some point. And magic affects different magic. Everything has vulnerabilities.”

“Are there any consistent vulnerabilities?” fWhip asked. “What I mean is, if it is based on nature, things often go the same way. Cold kills plants, winds clear the skies, you know the drill. Maybe there is something like that for these vines too.” 

“Not a bad call, actually,” Gem hummed thoughtfully. “I will look into it when I get back to Crystal Cliffs. I have a few theories on it, but I need to do some testing first. Overall, it seems to be more advanced magic due to its aggressive nature, so that might be an issue. But it’s nothing that can’t wait until the morning. Let’s take it easy tonight.” 

“Sounds like a plan”, Jimmy agreed. “Lizzie and Joel will be here any moment now. No one say anything to them. Not today.” 

“Mention what to who?” Sausage walked into the group with Joey trailing close behind him. 

Jimmy groaned in frustration. “Nothing! Just forget everything for now. We can have a meeting later, just keep politics and possible dangers out of the conversations tonight. Please and thank you.” 

The conversation was cut short – thankfully – by the crowd and music going quiet. Scott perked up to see what the commotion – or the lack of one – was about. The elf peeked over Sausage’s shoulder at the entrance to the gardens. There, holding hands, Lizzie and Joel made their way gracefully through the crowd. Unlike any of the other rulers, people rushed out of their way and moved to the sides to watch the newlywed couple. 

The field of grass was quickly emptied as everyone moved to the sides. Scott frowned confused when Jimmy pulled him to the side as well. The elf stumbled backwards, until his back hit a hedge. 

“The first dance,” Jimmy explained to him apologetically, like the vague statement meant anything to Scott in the first place. Instead of asking for clarification, the elf watched as a group of merpeople with strange instruments started playing a song. 

The tune was actually quite pleasant, nothing like the loud music playing before. Lizzie and Joel walked over to the area left empty, and started a slow dance.

It turned out that the first dance was quite literally named. Scott watched as the two of them moved with the music. Lizzie whispered something to Joel, who laughed at whatever she said.

With the way they were looking at one another, Scott realized that marriage here and in Rivendell were two completely different things. Here it seemed to be so based on feelings, liking – loving – the person you’re bonded to and staying with them. 

In Rivendell, it was a way for the empire to stay strong. Agreements of marriage were often written down when royals or otherwise important people’s children were merely a few years old. It didn’t mean you didn’t like whoever was chosen for you, but there often wasn’t pure love involved. Not at the start, at least. 

His parents had gotten along, and liked and respected one another. They’d raised a family and at no point the bond they had between the two of them was an issue. Even though they showed to approve the method how partners were distributed back home, Scott had been surprised that neither he or Xornoth had been handed off. Well, logically if anyone Xornoth would have been since they were older, even if just by a few minutes. At least if the deal had been made before it was clear who was whose champion. 

But no deals had ever been made. Perhaps there were no good candidates, or maybe serving Aeor was more important. Either way, Scott didn’t complain. It wasn’t something he had ever sought after, and probably never would. He didn’t see himself raising children, even less so with a woman. The elf cringed at the thought. Hopefully not in this, or any other lifetime. 

Scott was woken from his thoughts when the song ended, and so did the dance. People around him clapped, so the elf joined in out of courtesy. 

“Does anyone else feel that?” Gem muttered next to him, and frankly, Scott had no clue what she was talking about. According to their confused expressions, neither did any of the other rulers. 

“Feel what, exactly?” fWhip pushed.

“Magic,” the wizard was looking around, keeping her staff close to her body. “The air is so heavy – how are you guys not feeling this?”

“Joey!”

Scott froze. That voice – he would recognize it anywhere. 

A figure trotted over from the crowd over to Joey, and pressed onto his side. The emperor responded to the affection by pressing a kiss onto the arrival's purple hair. Scott felt sick.

Xornoth hadn’t changed a bit since Scott last saw them the night they burnt down Rivendell and killed their parents. Their red horns had grown, now bigger than what Scott had on his head, and they looked older, but they still very much acted the same. The stupid, arrogant confidence was still present in the way Xornoth seemed like they owned the place. 

The other elf had covered their smaller dark red wings with a dark cloak full of fancy golden embroidery. His purple hair was in a loose braid with an unnatural red stripe of hair with the normal purple. 

When Scott’s eyes rose and met his sibling’s deep, red eyes, the elf’s breath hitched. Xornoth seemed to notice this, tightening his grip on Joey’s arm and flashing a far too innocent smile towards Scott. 

“Good to see you.” 

The elf pressed his wings against his back tighter. “What are you doing here?”

Xornoth placed their hand on his hip. “Same as you? Celebrating a wedding as far as I know. Why so hostile, brother?”

At this point, Scott could tell the other rulers were also catching onto what was happening.Jimmy stiffened next to him, while Gem choked on her drink and started coughing. While Katherine patted her back, trying to get her to stop choking, fWhip narrowed his eyes at Joey. 

“So am I following this correctly,” he said slowly. “You brought the person we’re supposed to be in a fight against to our friends’ wedding. As a plus one.”

“Fight against,” Xornoth gave a low chuckle. “What lies have you fed them, Scottie? What kind of prophecies has that arrogant god of your’s place in your mind? Don’t tell me you’re still letting it manipulate you.” 

“Well, that’s not the story we heard,” Gem managed between coughs. “We heard a small story about burning down Rivendell and an evil stag god.”

Xornoth snorted. “Well, obviously you did – you heard his side of the story after all. His god locked me away for five years, and has been feeding Scott lies the entire time I was gone. The poor thing is just a puppet in Aeor’s game.”

Scott’s face burned in something between embarrassment and anger. “You know that’s not true!”

The elf raised his voice enough that their conversation caught the interest of a couple of groups nearby. Jimmy was quick to notice this, and got between the two brothers. He placed his hands on Scott’s shoulders, and gently started pushing him away. 

“I’m sorry,” he muttered quietly, only for Scott to hear. “But I can’t let you have this conversation here.” 

Scott didn’t object. His eyes were still locked on Xornoth’s, while their attention was already back on Joey. The ruler of the Lost Empire on the other hand scoffed towards Scott. The elf had been dragging his wings almost on the ground since Xornoth showed themselves, and now Joey took his opportunity to stomp on the frail feathers. A bunch of feathers ripped off of Scott’s right wing as he winced in pain. The ruler of the Lost Empire removed his foot swiftly, so when Jimmy turned to see what had happened, the only evidence was a couple of feathers on the ground. 

Without saying a word, Jimmy led Scott on the other side of the gardens, near the exit. When he was about to stop, Scott kept walking. He wasn’t going to stay here. Not when Xornoth’s presence was accepted after everything he had told them. 

The Codfather trailed behind him, trying to desperately get him to stop. “Scott, please, I –”

“I’m not staying.” The elf snapped. “And I won’t be causing a scene, don’t worry.” 

“I know, but Joey will,” Jimmy tried desperately. “If I tell him and Xornoth to leave, he will cause a scene.”

“I told you they are dangerous,” Scott scoffed. “How far are you willing to go just to damage control? Last time I saw them my whole empire burnt down to nothing. Is that what you want now?”

“No, of course not, I just –”

“Scott, Jimmy?” 

Lizzie made her way through the crowd to the two of them, concern clear on her face. “Is everything alright?”

“Peachy,” Scott gritted his teeth, and Jimmy only gave a hesitant nod.

“Doesn’t look like it,” The Ocean Queen muttered bluntly. “You don’t want to fight over nothing,” she glanced at Jimmy with an expression Scott couldn’t quite understand. The Codfather however did, and he caved under.

“Xornoth – Scott’s sibling – showed up. And apparently as Joey’s plus one. I tried to keep it from you to not make a scene,” Jimmy admitted. “They weren’t being exactly disruptive nor causing issues so I thought –” 

Lizzie frowned, disappointment evident in her eyes. She just slowly shook her head at Jimmy, then turned to Scott. “I’m sorry, I’ll make sure to let Joey know that Xornoth is not welcomed here. If you still want to leave, I understand and won’t hold it against you.”

She turned back to Jimmy. “And you should’ve known better. There’s a clear side you should’ve taken here.” Lizzie scolded, while Jimmy shrunk under her gaze. “This is exactly what I talked to you about earlier.”

“I know!” He hissed. “But I didn’t want to do it at your wedding.” 

Lizzie shot a glare towards Jimmy. “Then I’ll do it.”

Scott watched as the queen walked over to where Joey and Xornoth were standing with some of the other rulers. There were unheard words exchanged. Whatever those were, neither Xornoth nor Joey looked too offended. The latter made a remark after Lizzie had said whatever she had to say. Neither of them made a scene, and soon the two of them walked past Scott and Jimmy.

Xornoth turned towards Jimmy without stopping. “Your family takes sides very recklessly. Be careful around him.” 

Jimmy didn’t answer, instead choosing to watch the two of them leave and eventually disappear from sight all together. 

Scott gritted his teeth together. He had expected an attack, something to make Xornoth seem hostile to the other rulers. But in a way, they were right. None of the other rulers could prove who was telling the truth and who was lying. 

“Is your wing alright?” The Codfather asked carefully next to him. When Scott turned to him, Jimmy was kneeling on the ground, inspecting the damage. There was a little bit of bleeding from where the bunch of feathers had ripped out, but Scott knew it would be alright eventually. Feathers would grow back and the limb would be as good as new. Just some stinging and unfortunate balance issues while flying for a while. 

“It’ll be fine,” the elf concluded his thoughts. “They’re not as frail as they may seem.” Scott explained, referring to his wings. 

“I’m glad,” Jimmy sighed, even though he seemed doubtful. “And I’m sorry. Lizzie was right, I should’ve done something about Xornoth. Especially since in theory I’m supposed to be on your side.” 

Scott frowned in confusion. “You are allowed to disagree with me,” he sighed. “And logically, Xornoth is right about one thing. You have no reason to trust in my word any more than you trust in theirs. I’d be hesitant too. I should have expected something like this. Xornoth loves deception and is good at it too. All I’m asking is for you to be critical of what he is saying.”

“I will,” Jimmy agreed. “And I trust you more than them anyway.” The Codfather admitted. “I mean, since when has the color red not screamed a villain.”

And Scott couldn’t help but smile at the comment.

Chapter Text

At the end, Scott decided to stay at the wedding reception. After throwing out both Joey and Xornoth, Lizzie had swung by again to see how Scott was feeling. The elf had assured that he was alright, and she should focus on herself during her own wedding. Lizzie hadn’t been pleased with the answer at all, choosing to hover over Scott for the next half an hour until the elf finally managed to slip in the crowd to think.

Scott couldn’t help but think he should have expected Xornoth to appear sooner rather than later. Even though his sibling was cunning and smart, they also really enjoyed the game. Xornoth didn’t only chase for the win, but the thrill leading up to it. They’d play with people as much as they could get away with, and enjoy the reactions given to them. 

That was the only reason Scott could  think of, why they would’ve gotten involved with Joey. He clearly hadn’t liked Scott from the start, and Xornoth somehow saw that. The enemy of my enemy is a friend, or something like that. 

Joey provided Xornoth a main base, resources and shield from the other empires. All of them – the emperors – were young. Scott could tell none of them yearned for conflict with one another, and so no one wanted to initiate a fight with Joey. Even more so, when there was so little evidence of Xornoth being the person Scott told them they were. 

But he couldn’t blame them for that either. However, eventually Xornoth and Exor would make their move, and currently they had all the time in the world to plan it perfectly through. While he and the others stood around and tried to block an attack from an unknown direction. 

Scott didn’t like the thought one bit. They – he needed to do something about that. And as soon as possible. 

Scott leaned to a pillar and fixated his eyes on the half empty cup he had been carrying around the entire time. Maybe he could speak to Aeor about it. The gd was truly the only one who understood what his brother was capable of. But then again, the elvenking would’ve rather made a deliberate plan before even trying to contact the god. Aeor didn’t like solving Scott’s problems, after all. 

The music had picked back up again and Scott watched the oblivious merfolk and Mezalean citizens laughing and dancing. There was no sense of danger or worry in the way couples held hands, and how children ran around with squeals of joy. 

Scott couldn’t help but think of Rivendell. He knew Routa had everything covered, but..

“There you are!” Katherine pushed her way through a couple of merfolk, in the process tripping over someone else’s feet. Well, or her own. Even from one sentence, Scott could tell that she wasn’t exactly sober anymore. When she got closer, his theory was confirmed. You could smell the alcohol a smile away.

“Having fun?” The elf chuckled while Katherine steadied herself. Eventually, she placed her hand on Scott’s shoulder in an attempt to not to fall over again. In her defense, it seemed to work.

“Shut it. I haven’t had that much,” she grumbled. “Just a lightweight.” 

The elf gently lifted up the cup Katherine was holding on her other hand. Her grip on it seemed to lessen by second, and Scott barely had touched it before she let go completely. Only a small amount of it spilled before Scott had a solid hold on it. 

“Maybe you should try some water? Wouldn’t be very proper to black out in the middle of a wedding reception, especially as an emperor,” Scott suggested gently. 

“Oh I definitely won’t.” 

Scott didn’t feel too convinced by her statement, especially when she was quite heavily leaning against him for balance. The elf eventually ended up leading the other emperor a bit away from the biggest crowd. There was a nice and mostly empty spot near a statue of a fish Scott didn’t recognize. The elf helped Katherine to sit down on the grass right next to it.  The grass had already started gathering some morning dew, but it didn’t seem to bother Katherine. She leaned her back against the pedestal of the statue.

“Sorry that your Xornoth showed up,” Katherine mumbled next to him. Her speech was slightly slurred, and Scott squatted down onto her level. The elf shuddered when his wings touched the damp ground, but decided to stay in his spot nevertheless.

“Well, at least they decided to not cause problems,” Scott shot back. The elf didn’t feel like discussing the topic with anyone right now, much less someone under the influence. 

“Didn’t know they and Joey are dating,” Katherine admitted. “You’d think someone being a literal demon would come across as a red flag.” 

“Yeah, you’d think, wouldn’t you?” Scott couldn’t help but chuckle at the statement. “Maybe he’s the one of those ‘I can fix them’ types of people.” 

While Katherine was giggling at the joke, Pearl hurried over to them. She had previously diverted from the other rulers after the ceremony, and Scott could recall seeing her in the reception until now. 

“There you are,” Pearl let out a relieved sigh and got down to Katherine. “I told you to wait.”

After Katherine seemed to completely ignore whatever Pearl had to say, she turned her attention to Scott. 

“Thank you for looking after her. I was taking her back to her room, and.. got distracted,” Pearl stumbled over her words. “Either way, she slipped away. I’ve been looking for her for who knows how long at this point.”

“Do you need help helping her back?” Scott offered. He wouldn’t mind a reason to slip out of the party either. It wasn’t just the fact that a crowd of people was enough to make him anxious – but a mostly drunk crowd made him even more so. He couldn’t and wouldn’t blame them, but also didn’t see the reason to hang around past the point of that being the main thing. 

It must’ve been his lucky day, because Pearl shot a thankful smile towards him. “I do, actually. Thank you!” 

Scott got off of the ground and in the process helped Katherine up.  Pearl did her best to support her as well. Together, the two of them managed to lead Katherine out of the gardens and into the Palace. 

The place was deathly quiet and dark. Everyone must’ve been at the party, Scott realized. If he had trouble finding his own room from the place, Scott hoped Pearl knew where they were headed. He trusted that she did, when the other ruler immediately headed to a direction opposite of where Scott’s room was. 

The stillness of the palace was almost uncomfortable. There was no noise except their footsteps and a dulled sound of the music playing outside. Scott, being already on the edge after seeing Xornoth just hours before, could’ve sworn he heard his heartbeat as well. 

“Where did you disappear after the reception?” The elf blurted out. He needed to bring some sound to the quiet space. 

By the way Pearl’s shoulders tensed, that wasn’t the best question he could’ve gone with. “I’m not a huge fan of parties,” she admitted. “So I stayed behind and hung around with Sausage. Well, that is until Joey arrived.” She seemed like she wanted to continue, but instead took a hard left with Katherine in toe, and opened a door to a room. The emperor took a quick peek inside, and frowned. 

“Is this yours, Katherine?” 

“Think so. Looks familiar,” Katherine yawned besides them. She didn’t really seem to care where to sleep, as long as there was a bed available. 

“I’m not going to drop you onto some unsuspecting poor servant,” Pearl sighed, and hesitantly pressed down the light switch to see around the room. She walked inside while Scott waited outside with Katherine. 

“It’s hers,” Pearl confirmed from the inside in just a few seconds. “I could recognize Katherine’s elytra anywhere.” 

Scott helped Katherine inside the room, and to the bed. Pearl was right. Her elytra was neatly leaning against the wall right behind the door. Otherwise, the room was very similar to the one Scott was staying in. The same view to the ocean, same bed and similar furniture. 

“We should go,” Pearl whispered somewhere besides him. And when Scott glanced back at Katherine, she had already practically fallen asleep onto her bed. Pearl sneaked out of the room, Scott following closely behind. When the elf was closing the heavy door behind him, he could vaguely see Katherine take a deep breath before relaxing to sleep again.

The door closed heavily behind him, even though Scott did his best to ease it into its place as quietly as possible. He kept the hold on the door handle for a moment, listening for sounds inside. When it became evident that the noise hadn’t woken up the ruler sleeping, Scott took a relieved breath and let go of the door. 

“Thank you again,” Pearl sighed. “She can be a bit much at times when there’s alcohol involved. The others are pretty good at knowing their limits, but Katherine truly doesn’t need much for it to be too much.” 

Scott hummed in understanding. “I take it you don’t really participate in drinking with the others, then?” 

“You’d be correct,” Pearl confirmed, and spun around to walk back the hallway they came. “Not really my type of fun. I honestly would have avoided this one too but it felt inconsiderate to miss a friends’ wedding.”

“Understandable,” Scott agreed. “I’m not too keen on this type of thing either.”

Pearl flashed him a smile. “Well, it's nice that I’m not the only one who doesn't know how to have fun anymore. Trust me, it gets exhausting to watch over others sometimes. fWhip, Shrub, Lizzie and Pix are very good at knowing when to stop and their tolerance is great.” The emperor explained. “But the others can get pretty insufferable. I think Joel and Gem are the worst when it comes to what I’ve seen.”

“I can imagine,” Scott chuckled. He really couldn’t though, and Scott was well aware he would like it to stay that way. 

They continued on in silence for a moment. The atmosphere was strange. Scott couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but something was bothering Pearl. He saw it in the way her gaze lingered in things until the two of them walked past them in the hallway. Then they found another point of reference, where they stuck for the next moments. 

Until she stopped on her tracks entirely, gaze fixated on something. Scott followed her lead, and quit moving forward as well. Out of curiosity, he followed Pearl’s gaze. She was focusing on a painting on the wall. Scott hadn’t noticed it on the way to the room, but it wasn’t a surprise. It seemed like a very general piece of wall art of an axolotl – something that was very common in the Ocean Empire.

Pearl frowned, like looking for something from the artwork. Eventually, she ripped her eyes off of it and turned back to Scott. “I’m sorry,” she sighed. “I feel like I’m going crazy.”

“Don’t we all sometimes?” Scott tried to lighten the mood, but Pearl wasn’t having it. 

“This seems strange,” she glanced at the painting again. “But do we know each other from somewhere?”

Scott let out a nervous chuckle. “You’re going to have to be a bit more specific than that.”

“I can’t, because I don’t understand it myself,” she let out a frustrated huff. “But ever since we met at the House Blossom meeting, I’ve had this.. feeling. And the weird thing about it is that I have really no reason to trust in your word, since we’ve known one another for such a little time and spoken only a handful of times. And still, every bone in my body wants to trust you.”

Scott cocked his head with interest. Had he known Pearl before. Something about her presence did seem familiar, but it might’ve been his own thoughts now making up lies based on what she just told. Besides, Scott had grown up in Rivendell, barely ever leaving it. For him to form a bond with someone required time, and that’s something he didn’t have as a child. 

“I’m sorry,” he eventually sighed. “But I don’t think we’ve known each other before. At least I don’t remember anything. Maybe if you could get into specifics..“

Again, Pearl glanced at the painting. This time her gaze lingered longer on it, until she ripped it off and shook her head as if to get rid of the thoughts. “No, never mind,” she eventually sighed. “I must be just going insane. I don’t remember any specifics either – I must’ve just seen you somewhere when we were children, or maybe my parents told me something about you. It’s just.. weird.”

She was quiet for a bit, and continued. “And you’re not the first person I’ve had these previous feelings about, based on nothing in particular.”

“Oh, really? Who?”

“I mean, all the feelings differentiate from one another. It’s almost like I formed my opinion about these people before ever even meeting them. But Joel is one of them. So is Lizzie, and Jimmy. And then it feels like some pieces are missing, and the whole thing makes no sense at all. I tried to speak about it to Gem – since I thought it might be magic related – but I don’t think she really took me seriously. Either way, I asked about it from Jimmy and Lizzie, and both had similar answers to you.”

“I wish I could help, I really do,” Scott sighed. “But I’d tell you if I remembered something. However, in Rivendell we believe heavily in different lives, reincarnation and worlds. It sounds like something similar to whatever you’re experiencing.” The elf tried to piece together a logical answer, which Peal seemed to appreciate. 

Pearl turned to him surprised. “So you believe me?”

Scott hadn’t given reincarnation or other similar things much of a  thought, especially if he could’ve been someone else or elsewhere in the past. But somehow, after being born as a champion of a stag god with a sibling that was currently in the process of causing some serious damage, reincarnation wasn’t the weirdest theory he’d heard.

“Sure,” the elf ended up answering. “I mean, I don’t feel like you’d have any reason to lie about it. I find it interesting and would love to hear more if you can piece anything together in the future.” 

Pearl gave a hesitant nod. “I’ll let you know if something new comes up. I do doubt it does. It has been the same with Joel, Lizzie and Jimmy for as long as I’ve known them. They’re not memories, just feelings I associate with them.”

Scott hummed thoughtfully. “I see. Well, I hope you find your peace with whatever it is.”

“I do too,” the emperor admitted quietly. “I actually think I’m heading to bed as well,” she admitted straight away. “My bedroom is nearby – I’ll just let you go back to the party. See you tomorrow at breakfast?”

“See you then,” Scott confirmed. “Sleep well.”

Pearl quickly disappeared behind a corner, and in a moment Scott could hear the sounds of a door opening and closing in the otherwise quiet hallways. He was tempted to retreat to bed for the night as well. But the elf couldn’t help but admit that he was tempted to go join the others as well.

He could always sneak away whenever he felt like it, Scott reasoned with himself. So the elf made his way back to the gardens. 

He and Pearl hadn’t been gone for long – half an hour if Scott would’ve had to give an estimate. The amount of guests had dropped a good amount, and the gardens weren’t as packed as they’d been moments before. That’s why it was easy to spot the other rulers grouping together like a ring of popular kids on a school playground. 

Scott smiled at the thought, and made his way over. None of the others seemed to be nearly as drunk as what Katherine had been. At least he likely wouldn’t have to drag anyone else to bed. 

“Scott! I thought you left already. Have you seen Katherine or Pearl?” Sausage was the first one to notice his arrival. You couldn’t even really notice he had been drinking. Well, except for the fact that he was definitely yelling a lot louder than he needed to. 

“I did see them. They both retreated to bed,” the elf explained quickly. He couldn’t miss the slight disappointment in Sausage’s eyes, but the other eventually nodded. 

“Did I miss anything while I was gone?”

The other emperor perked up. “Well, not much. Everyone’s a bit tipsy and Jimmy is having an existential crisis so it’s been pretty normal.”

Not exactly the answer he was expecting but good enough. At least Xornoth and Joey had decided that crashing the party for the second time wasn’t necessary. 

From the corner of his eyes, Scott could see Lizzie approaching with Jimmy trailing behind her. He was loudly complaining about something that was still too quiet to hear under the music. When they got near enough for Scott to make up words, the only sentence he could make out was. “But I’m not ready to get married!” 

Scott raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t even known Jimmy was seeing someone. Or maybe he wasn’t and what he was talking about was another arranged case. Apparently Sausage had taken interest in the same conversation, and voiced Scott’s thoughts. 

“I didn’t know you were seeing someone. Who is it?”

Jimmy’s face flushed in embarrassment. Surely he would’ve thought announcing something like that loudly in a public party would catch some ears. You would’ve thought so. 

Scott crossed his arms in interest, and both Lizzie and Jimmy frowned at his change of gesture. The Ocean Queen was quick to turn her glare to Sausage. “Mind your business. No one is getting married.” There was a beat of silence. “Well, starting now.” 

Chapter Text

After Scott’s return from the trip of assisting Pearl to take Katherine to bed, people were fading quickly from the party. What started out as hundreds of people partying was now a handful of them still lingering around. Some clearly drunk, others just laughing and enjoying the night with friends and family. 

Even most of the other rulers had retreated back to their quarters. Most of them – including Scott – had a long trip back home tomorrow. The thought of flying made the elf glance back at his wing. He stretched the limb gently, and shuddered. It definitely stung, but it was more annoying than painful. With his flying skills, Scott was certain he could make the trip back home. 

The thought of going back home was strangely bittersweet. On one hand, the elf yearned for the mountains. He missed the snow, the constant freezing wind and the song-like sound it made while whistling through the small cracks on the mountain. Scott missed his people and Routa. 

He didn’t miss his council. Scott was well aware that a change was necessary sooner than later. He had never dared to touch the council his parents had had. His parents had always been the most progressive leaders Rivendell had ever seen. The Empire up in the mountains had always been quite secluded, you didn’t need to look at anything other than geology to figure that out. 

But for generations Rivendell had been friendly to the other Kingdoms, and been a huge part in the other nations being peaceful. In fact, after the countless history and politics lessons Scott had to suffer through as a child, he couldn’t remember any conflict that included Rivendell and another of the Empires. 

And that friendship and mutual respect was thrown away just over the events of one night. Scott swallowed the rising bile from his throat. He had thrown it away. He had made up this false narrative of the other rulers without ever getting to know them, or discussing it. Everything his ancestors were trying to build, Scott had almost destroyed because of one mistake.

And because of him, his council had taken the same approach. They now saw the new generation of rulers as people they couldn’t trust, even if the only one of the rulers whose perspective had been twisted was their own. Could Scott really throw them out of their jobs because of his mistake? Whereas he had met and got to know the others, his council still had no reason for trusting them. 

Maybe if he could show his council that he had been wrong all along. That there were people worth trusting outside of Rivendell. 

Only when Scott saw movement from the corner of his eye, the elf noticed Lizzie creeping forward towards him. She seemed to walk over just from the group of the remaining emperors. There were very few of them left. fWhip had escorted Gem to her room almost as soon as Scott had arrived back. Soon after they were gone Shrub called it a night and Pix had left with her. The only emperors remaining besides the elvenking and the newlywed couple were Sausage and Jimmy. And while the two of them and Joel chatted in a group, Lizzie had made her way over to Scott. 

“I heard what Joey did,” she glanced towards Scott’s wing, frowning deeply when noticing the patch of missing feathers. Scott immediately pressed the limbs neatly against his back, hiding the damage. 

“It’s fine,” the elf flicked his hand in order to seem nonchalant about the whole ordeal. “It’s no big deal – really. I lose feathers all the time anyway. I’d worry more about Xornoth.”

“I’d rather focus on things I can do something about,” the Ocean Queen shot back, and pointed her finger at the wing. She raised her eyebrow and flicked the finger slightly up. Scott couldn’t help but groan, yet opened his wing at the request. 

“I said it’s fine –”

“Doesn’t mean it couldn’t be better.” Lizzie immediately exclaimed. She placed her hands to her knees and got down to the level of the wing. The elf could tell she tried so hard not to touch the feathers by the way Lizzie sort of hovered over them. Her hand reached for the spot missing a couple of feathers, only to pull back before even touching it. 

“It’s not made of glass,” Scott’s remark got through to the queen, who was brushing the feather’s aside immediately to assess the damage. Even though he had given indirect permission, the elf’s gaze was watching her every movement. It wasn’t because of her. Scott would be nervous with almost anyone around his wings. 

After her apparent analysis of the situation, Lizzie stepped back. “It seems alright,” she concluded. “But I’d still like for you to see a healer tomorrow. Since you got attacked in my kingdom –”

“‘Attacked’ is a bit of a stretch but alright..,”

“I order you to see a healer tomorrow,” Lizzie concluded, completely ignoring Scott’s complaints. 

“And what if I won’t,” Scott challenged.

“I will be upset. You wouldn’t want me upset on my wedding day.” 

Scott crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s not your wedding day. Technically it’s past midnight, so it was yesterday.”

“Well, Jimmy will be upset,” Lizzie said without missing a beat. The mischievous glint in her eyes told Scott that she knew she had won. The elf felt his ears burn, and he once again snapped his wings shut behind his back. 

“Fine,” Scott frowned in defeat. “Hopefully Jimmy will be the one facing my angry council afterwards as well. I told them I’d be back tomorrow.”   

Lizzie patted his shoulder, trying to desperately conceal the smirk on her face. “Oh, you’ll be back home tomorrow. A quick trip to the healer in the morning and a healing potion. That’s all I’m asking.” 

With a sigh, Scott knew he had to stand down. “I can do that.”  

Lizzie flashed a self satisfied smirk, and nodded. “There you go. Now come on, let's go to the others.”

Without giving the elf even a chance to decline, Lizzie took a hold of Scott’s wrist and led him over to the rest of the group where Sausage was in the midst of explaining a story that Scott was sure made even less sense if he heard the entire thing. 

“Either way, I managed to catch the chickens again.” He ended the story just as Scott and Lizzie had arrived. Both Joel and Jimmy seemed to be equally uninterested in whatever Sausage had been talking about, since both of them perked up when the elf and Ocean Queen arrived. 

“Anyway,” Sausage stretched his arms, completely unbothered by the clear disinterest of the others. “I’ll be heading to be too. I need my beauty sleep. Good night guys, and congratulations again.” 

Scott watched as the man exited the gardens, completely baffled by how someone could drink so much and yet seem that sober. Impressive, if the elf was to be completely honest. 

“I think we should call it a night soon too,” Joel yawned beside him. Suddenly, Scott was very aware of the fact that he was most likely intervening. Jimmy, Joel and Lizzie were family. He was very much not a part of that. 

“Fine, on one condition,” Lizzie hummed, and took Joel’s hand. “One last dance and then I’ll come back with you.” 

And Scott’s eyes followed as Joel was pulled to the dance floor. Even though he was complaining and acting annoyed, the elf couldn’t miss the fond way he looked at Lizzie. 

 “I’m really happy for them,” Scott could tell by Jimmy’s voice that if he wasn’t drunk, he was definitely tipsy. “I just can’t help but feel a bit left out.” 

The elf hummed in sympathy. “It’s difficult when things change,” Scott leaned to the table in front of him. “But even I can see that they love you.”

Jimmy frowned, never taking his eyes off of Lizzie and Joel. The two newlyweds were so entranced by each other, that they didn’t even spare a glance back. 

“I know,” Jimmy eventually sighed. “And I feel awful about feeling like they’d treat me any differently just because of this. Selfish of me, really.”

“I don’t think you’re being selfish,” Scott admitted. “And even if you were, it’s good to be one at times. Within reason, of course.”

“Are you leaving tomorrow?” 

The sudden switch in conversation threw the elf a bit off, and he turned his eyes towards Jimmy. During some part of the conversation, the Codfather had moved his gaze from Lizzie and Joel over to Scott. 

“Well,” the elf stammered. “That’s the plan. Well, Lizzie seems to have forced me into staying a bit longer and seeing a healer. I told her it was fine, but –”

“For your wing?”

“Yes, for the wing. Or more like two missing feathers,” Scott opened the damaged limb carefully, looking over his shoulder to inspect the damage again. “It’s fine, really. A few weeks of a bit of unstable flight, but I’ll be fine. Years of experience, and all.”

When Jimmy seemed hesitant, Scott nudged his side. “I wouldn’t let someone with your flight skills fly with this wing though.”

The Codfather’s ears immediately turned to a shade of red. “It’s not that bad!”

Scott covered his mouth with a hand in a feeble attempt to hide the smile. “It’s definitely pretty bad. I’ve seen you almost crash more than I’ve seen you fly.”

Whatever music there had been had stopped, and the band playing started gathering their belongings. When Lizzie and Joel made their way back over to them, Scott realized that they were the last four people in the party. 

The elf straightened his back, and covered a yawn. “Well, I think it’s time for me to head to bed as well. Congratulations, again. The party was great and I enjoyed my time here. You truly have a beautiful Kingdom.” The elf smiled at Lizzie, inching his way to the exit. 

“It was good to have you”, the Ocean Queen beamed back. “And I’m truly glad you like it here. After all, I’m sure we’ll be seeing you around more in the future.”

The elf nodded in confirmation. “Yes, I’d assume so. I’m planning on opening up Rivendell more, so more political meeting talk is most likely necessary. And –”

“Oh,” the Ocean Queen cut in. “I’m not talking business, Scott. We usually don’t do that outside of the meetings the topics are reserved for, just out of courtesy. But you didn’t know that, so don’t stress about it.”

“Oh,” Scott couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed by it. The embarrassment was quickly replaced by confusion. Sure, he’d swung around every now and again on friendly occasions, but the Ocean Empire was on the other side of the world compared to Rivendell. Lizzie seemed to grossly overestimate how much the elf would be willing to travel. 

“To be honest with you, I don’t know how much I’ll travel outside of business,” the elf confessed. “I don’t mind doing it every once in a while, of course, but just the casual trip all the way here – I don’t see myself doing that trip too often.”

Joel and Lizzie exchanged glances that Scott wasn’t able to read. 

“Not even for family? I know you’re a bit far away but it’s a few hours,” Lizzie tried. 

Now the elf was even more confused. Family? Were they considering the other rulers as family too? He didn’t see that as very likely. Surely no one else had gotten a similar offer. Distantly, it made sense. The elf had heard close friends call each other family, but he had barely known Lizzie and Joel for a month. No one gets that close at that time. And it wasn’t like they weren’t nice or that Scott didn’t like them, but friendships took time and –

Suddenly, it dawned on him. The elf felt his cheeks redden, and the wing that was still hanging limply open snapped tightly against his back. 

“I.. – Can you please elaborate?”

He had to make sure before doing or saying anything stupid. 

“Well, with your and Jimmy’s relationship, we assumed –”

“H-hold on!” Scott stopped her on her tracks immediately. He hadn’t realized that it looked like that. Well, maybe he had. And maybe he had over-thought it at times, but that's what it was – overthinking. 

“We are friends.” Scott gritted his teeth. Next to him, he could feel Jimmy squirming. The elf could tell that he was just as, if not more uncomfortable than Scott himself. 

Lizzie shot a quick glance at Joel, who simply shrugged. The Ocean Queen, clearly confused as well, looked at Jimmy. “Well, I understand if you’ve chosen to move slowly but I thought that it was already official?”

Scott, now completely frozen, turned to look at Jimmy. The Codfather was red from head to toe, but the Elvenking wasn’t sure if it was because of frustration or embarrassment, or both. He was doing his very best, but now with all three of the other rulers’ attention on him, Jimmy crumpled.

“He doesn’t know, okay!?” The Codfather snapped at Lizzie, who was clearly taken aback by the comment. Meanwhile Joel simply lifted a cup – that Scott could’ve sworn wasn’t his to begin with – and took a sip. 

“Right.” Lizzie clicked her tongue like she was about to continue, but couldn’t find words to keep going with. 

Scott, on the other hand, felt a lot more talkative than he originally had. 

“It sounds like there’s something I should know.” The elvenking narrowed his eyes at Jimmy, who seemed to physically shrink under his gaze. 

“Well, if I’ve understood correctly, there definitely is.” Lizzie frowned and shook her head disapprovingly at Jimmy. He seemed to shrink even more under her gaze. “But I think this conversation needs to wait until morning. I don’t want it to involve alcohol at all. And you,” she threw a stern glare at Jimmy. “Can think what to say for once.”

The Ocean Queen grabbed Jimmy’s wrist, and started dragging him out of the gardens. “I’ll have a quick talk with the Codfather, if you don’t mind. You two can head back. See you in the morning, Scott!” Her voice faded out as she dragged Jimmy out of the gardens. Eventually, the sound of their footsteps disappeared altogether, and Joel let out a low whistle. 

“Well, that just happened.”

“Do you know what’s going on?” Scott tried, and let out a frustrated groan when the other emperor nodded his head. 

“Think so. I can piece it together with what I have.” He put down the cup, and started heading out of the gardens as well, motioning Scott to follow. The elvenking reluctantly walked after him.

“I’m guessing you aren’t going to let me in on this?”

Joel immediately shook his head. “Nope, absolutely not. Jimmy has dug this hole and he’ll need to climb out alone. Just don’t be too harsh on him. He means well, but can take things to extremes by overthinking them.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Scott sighed. 

Wishing Joel goodnight, the elvenking made his way eventually back to his assigned room. Scott was sure he’d lay awake all night, waiting for the morning. However, he barely even had the time to lay his head to the pillow before he was out.

Chapter Text

When Scott awoke, he felt like he’d switched worlds overnight. It was the sort of sleep where you were exhausted going into it, saw no dreams and spent the first waking moments confused about where you were and what century was it. 

That’s why it took a good ten minutes to remember what went down last night. It had been a lot to take in overall. The party itself would have been enough to wear him out, but top it off with Xornoth showing up and whatever happened before he went to bed. 

Frankly, Scott felt like burying himself under the blanket and just keeping on sleeping. Just sneaking out of the castle and flying home felt like a tempting option too. 

He had promised to see the healer, but the wing felt fine. It was sore from the few plucked feathers, but nothing a healing potion had any effect on. It just needed a couple of days and new feathers to replace the old ones. There wasn’t any real damage. But of course the injury seemed worse to people who didn’t know how wings worked. They were fragile, yes. However, they weren’t that fragile. 

The promise was a promise, and even if Scott would’ve loved to just avoid seeing a healer, Lizzie would find out. He might as well get the limb looked at and then scatter. 

The elf swung his legs over the edge of the bed and glanced outside. Just his luck. The sky was full of light gray clouds and the size of the waves indicated stronger winds than he’d like. The weather seemed very flyable still, but rain was another story. Flight with wet feathers was something Scott chose to avoid at all cost. The feathers got heavy, it got cold and when he’d get to Rivendell they’d freeze over.

Confirming his fear, the elvenking pushed open a smaller side window and took a deep breath. The smell of an oncoming rain was so evident in the air, that Scott was surprised it hadn’t started already. He’d never make it to Rivendell before it started, even if he’d skip the healer. Seems like the universe wasn’t on his side today.

Or maybe now that Xornoth had revealed themselves, they were making a point and showing of Exor’s powers. 

After having his eyes locked in the horizon for a moment, Scott had to conclude that maybe the weather was indeed just weather. He closed the window after the first drops of rain started banging against the glass. In just a moment, it was pouring down. Yeah, there was not a world where Scott would fly in that. 

After getting dressed, Scott started his search for the medical wing. Now that he had walked around the castle a few times, the elf had a much better idea of the layout. After going down a flight of stairs, passing the painting Pearl had been fascinated by and continuing down a hallway, Scott realized that the confidence had no leg to stand on. 

He had ended up in another hallway with a row of doors with each one looking identical to the last. If there was a doctor here somewhere, there was no way to distinguish them from the others. 

That’s why when the elf eventually – somehow – ended up in front of the dining room, he just ended up taking a peek in. To his absolute relief, there were other rulers there. And even more importantly, no Joel, Lizzie nor Jimmy. 

Scott opened the door now entirely, making his presence known. Only Katherine and Gem were eating breakfast while having a light hearted conversation. When they heard someone coming in, both of their attention turned over to Scott. 

“You look better than last night,” the elf snickered at the unamused expression of the other ruler. 

When Katherine only threw him an unamused glare and took another sip of her coffee, Scott continued. “I’m assuming that a lot of the others are on their way back to their Empires already?”

“I decided to stay and wait for the storm to pass,” Gem explained. “As far as I know, yes, a lot of the others left early. I know that fWhip had some business to attend to back in his empire, and I saw Sausage and Pearl earlier while they were headed out. I’m guessing the three of us are the only ones left here at this point.”

“I figured I’d let the storm pass too.” Katherine chimed in from the other side of the table. “The House Blossom is quite the flight away, and I don’t feel too comfortable doing that in the pouring rain. With a headache.”

“Do you need a healing potion?” Scott immediately asked. “I was looking for the doctor, but couldn’t find them. Lizzie did mention that there was a medical wing in the castle, but everywhere looks the same.”

Gem got up from her seat, almost spilling the cup of tea in front of her in the process. “I know where it is! I can lead you both there.”

…………

The visit to the doctor had been exactly like Scott had expected. In her defense, the doctor was fantastic. She had some prior experience with wings, and had agreed with Scott – a healing potion wouldn’t do a thing, he only needed some time to heal the limb. 

So after chatting a bit more about wing maintenance with her, while Katherine chugged down a healing potion for her headache, the three emperors left the medical wing.

After saying goodbye to Katherine and Gem who both ended up deciding to rest in their rooms until it was time to leave, Scott started heading back to his own. 

The elvenking was still on the edge about talking with Jimmy before leaving. On one hand, he was curious and the matter seemed like something they’d need to touch upon eventually. However, Scott wouldn’t have minded delaying the conversation just based on reactions to it last night. 

Jimmy had clearly lied – or at least not told the entire truth, and Scott wasn’t sure if he was more upset about that, or the fact that he had never suspected a thing. Not catching the lie got Scott’s thoughts racing. 

Were the other rulers lying as well? Has he been naive and trusting them so easily? Should he just leave and seclude Rivendell after all?

Eventually, he didn’t have to choose. When Scott got back to the long hallway his room was in, the center of the current problem was standing right in front of the door to Scott’s room.

The Codfather was very clearly gathering up the courage to knock onto his door. He was pacing, the tail behind him swishing from side to side. In fact, Jimmy was so far in his head that Scott could walk the entire hallway over to the door without him taking any notice. 

“Jimmy?”

The Codfather jumped at the question, and physically had to catch himself against the door. He placed his hand on his heart and let out a trembling huff of air. 

“Cod’s sake Scott, you almost gave me a heart attack!”

The elf chuckled, and pushed the door open. “Do you need something?”

“Yeah, about that,” Jimmy chuckled nervously. “We need to talk. So sit down, this might take a while.”

Scott reluctantly did what he was told and took a seat on his bed. Jimmy on the other hand leaned his back against the wall next to the door, and slid down, eventually taking a seat on the ground. 

“Well, I think I should just start from the beginning. So, just, let me talk, please? I’ll answer any questions you might have after, okay?”

After receiving the approving nod from Scott, Jimmy began.

“Me and Lizzie were actually both born in the Cod Empire. Lizzie was obviously on the line to get the crown after our father, so she was raised as such. I’m sure you know the whole ordeal – a ton of studying and politics. She took the role very seriously, but at the same time seemed to really enjoy her position. She still had time to play with me and other kids, and overall seemed very happy.”

“That’s why I was so confused when one day she just disappeared.” Scott frowned at the tremble in Jimmy’s voice. “And when I say disappeared, I mean it. I can’t remember the day well at all, but one moment she was with us and then she wasn’t. The search parties lasted for weeks, but never achieved anything. She was twelve when she disappeared, thirteen when the search parties were eventually stopped.”

“And somehow life continued on. Suddenly I was the throne prince with all these new responsibilities that previously belonged to my sister. And I’ll be honest, to this day I don’t know how she managed it all. There wasn’t a single day I didn’t feel like I failed at something, yet she made it look so effortless.”

“Years passed with this new routine, and I finally started to feel like things were progressing. I still missed Lizzie, but the grief wasn’t as bad anymore. And then, when I was fifteen, my mother got very sick. There never really was even a fighting chance, she only lasted a few weeks. It felt like the cycle had begun all over again. What made it worse was my father. He had taken losing Lizzie hard, but I think losing my mother was too much for him. I never really believed in someone dying because of a broken heart, but after my otherwise healthy father passed only months after my mom, I can see it.”

“I am so sorry to hear that,” Scott spoke softly, trying to catch Jimmy’s eyes with his own, but the Codfather kept his gaze firmly on his lap. 

“That wasn’t really the difficult part of the story though, at least not in a way it is difficult today. When Lizzie disappeared and I got handed the crown, I took over all her responsibilities as well. That included everything from studies to helping village elders. It included contracts that had her name in them, as well,” Jimmy gritted his teeth.

“There weren’t many of those. In fact, I remember only one. You see, alliances were crucial to the Cod Empire. We have always been a small, peace loving nation that most of the time has no interest in taking part in any conflict. Sometimes alliances were created with friendships, and at times by contract. And my father was very intrigued by Rivendell. To this day, I don’t know why, but he wanted an union between the next generation of leaders between those two nations. And the King of Rivendell accepted this. They met up to discuss details, and wrote the contract when Lizzie was still in what would be my place. After the disappearance, my father contacted yours. Your father expressed his sympathy, and in short told that if they still wanted to go through with the contract, he had no issues with it. My father didn’t and they left it at that.”

“And I thought you were aware of it. I was so self centered, that at first I thought the reason you secluded yourself and Rivendell was because you wanted nowhere near me or my Empire. And when you first appeared to the meeting – I just thought you were more open to the idea. So I just.. tried to get closer to you. As creepy and weird as it sounds now. I just wanted to be friendly – and a friendship was and is all I could ask for.”

“I can’t really pinpoint a moment, but eventually I figured out that either you had no idea, or that you completely decided to act like you didn’t. I should have just straight up brought it up, but instead I just tried to seem oblivious and just try to act nice. Lizzie obviously knew about the deal, and so does Joel. They thought we both knew and were just taking it slowly. I tried to tell them that it wasn’t like that but Joel especially has been so convinced that I was lying. In short, they just thought we were both being shy and not wanting to admit it.”

Jimmy fully slumped against the wall he was sitting on, and took a deep breath. He still seemed tense, but Scott could tell this had been bothering him for a long time. 

“And before you say anything,” The Codfather added quickly. “I have the Cod Empire’s side of the original contract to show you, if you don’t believe me. I also am fine with breaking or changing the contract in mutual understanding. Since it was made and kept in such secrecy, no one needs to know about it.”

Scott stared at the other ruler blankly. 

He should’ve realized there were ulterior motives beyond Jimmy’s unwavering friendliness. Their whole relationship, all the way from the very beginning, was built on lies and empty words. Jimmy didn’t approach him because he wanted to. It was simply for political reasons. 

And Scott couldn’t even be upset about it. That’s exactly like something he would’ve done. 

The elvenking was more hurt that he didn’t see it coming. 

“I don’t need to see proof,” he eventually stated. “I believe you.”

“You do?” Jimmy perked up and glanced hopefully at Scott. The elf hated the way his face heated when the other Emperor’s eyes lit up. 

“Yes,” Scott stammered. “When Rivendell burnt down, we lost very much every single piece of paper the entire kingdom ever had. Not to mention the palace — where all the official documents were held — was burnt to the ground. It took months to try to regain everything that was lost. I would not be surprised if we missed something.”

Jimmy looked at him with sympathy. “What do you want to do? To the contract, I mean.”

And Scott had no idea. He couldn’t trust Jimmy anymore, could he? But if he didn’t play along, he’d be ultimately alone in fending off Xornoth when he would decide to attack. The thought of the Empire burning down again – to be at the starting point again after five years of work. 

No, Scott simply couldn’t do that to his people. Who cared if he didn’t trust anyone. If the alliance was on paper and a marriage would guarantee that there was the possibility to get help to the inevitable attack, how could Scott ever deny it. 

Even if Jimmy had lied. 

“I think we should act upon it,” Scott heard himself distantly. He couldn’t help but notice the way Jimmy lifted his eyes full of surprise, before giving him a hesitant nod. 

“Okay,” was the only thing the other ruler managed to get out.

But Scott wanted – no, he needed more. He needed proof — something physical that could without a fail guarantee help for his Empire in time of need. Something that couldn’t be twisted or manipulated later. 

“I need to see the contract. And I want a copy of it,” the elf expressed firmly. “When I have that, we can discuss details.”

He could visibly see cogs turning in Jimmy’s head. The Codfather watched him with interest, but eventually gave him a nod. 

“Of course. But again, if you’re not comfortable we can always just burn the contract and never speak of it again. It’s really not a big deal.” Jimmy got up from the floor, taking some support from the wall behind him in the process. “But I will send a copy of it to you as soon as I get back.”

“There’s no need. I can personally come and get it. And I want to see the original.” 

Jimmy hesitated. “That’s fine. I can show it,” he rubbed the back of his head. “Why’d you change your mind though? About seeing the contract. I feel like you’re not completely on board with this, and I don’t want to go through with it if –”

“I want to see the exact wording,” Scott interrupted. “I believe that it exists, and I don’t have a problem with the fact that it does. I’m just curious to see how it reads.”

And if the copy of it and the original read the same.

Jimmy didn’t seem convinced. His tail was hitting the ground in an attempt to release some tension. “Right,” the Codfather eventually managed.  “Well, since we need to speak about it either way again, I’d like to arrange a meeting addressing it as soon as possible. Are you free the day after tomorrow?”

“I can do that,” Scott agreed. “I’ll be there first thing in the morning.”

“Right.” 

They stood for a moment in tense silence, where the only sounds in the room were the rain hitting the windows and Jimmy’s tail rhythmically hitting the floor. Eventually, the Codfather seemed to realize there was nothing more to say, and he turned back to the door. 

“Well, see you.” Jimmy turned around quickly. The elvenking felt the slightest bit of guilt when he saw that the Codfather looked like a kicked puppy. He made his way out of the door, and before closing it, Jimmy met Scott’s eyes for the last time. 

“And Scott,” he started hesitantly. “You can call this off at any time, okay?”

After giving Jimmy only a strained nod, he was gone. The tension he left behind in the room hadn’t gone anywhere. 

Scott laid back down to the bed, listening to the rain beating the windows, and wishing for it to subside and let him retreat back home.

Chapter Text

Right away when Scott’s feet touched the ground of Rivendell, the elf stormed over to the castle to find Routa.

He had time to think about the contract properly during his flight home. It wouldn’t have been unlike his father to do something like that, not that it was necessarily a bad thing. However, it had been over five years since his parents passed, and the elvenking had lowered his guard, thinking that the arranged marriage was something they never got around to do with him. 

Now, for all he knew Xornoth had one of those lying around as well. However, Scott doubted it. His parents were very keen on keeping their image, and even though it seemed like the word of Aoer and Exor hadn’t reached other empires besides Rivendell, they were frightened of the very real possibility of Xornoth lashing out. 

Would they have done it in another Empire, Scott couldn’t help but wonder. If Xornoth was to be sent away to marry another royal, had they burnt Rivendell or the other Empire.

Probably both, was Scott’s conclusion, before he stormed to Routa’s office. 

The elf was in the middle of paperwork, and a stack of blank paper fell from her table with the force Scott opened the door with. Routa barely reacted, only raising an eyebrow with an unimpressed glare. 

“Good to see you back, your highness.”

“Did you know anything about an arranged marriage contract that my father made?” Scott closed the door behind him after stepping in. 

Just by the expression on her face, the elvenking could tell that his advisor had no idea what he was talking about. Routa leaned back in her chair and looked at Scott with surprise written all over her face. 

“No? I recall your parents mentioning it to me when you were just a small child, but as far as I knew there wasn’t anything official done.”

Scott crossed his arms and leaned back to the now closed door. “Okay,” he muttered. “Is there a possibility that there was one made and it got burnt?”

“I think there’s a lot of things that don’t seem likely but yet have happened anyway,” Routa sighed. “Who is it? Have you seen the contract?”

“I haven’t yet, no. Actually, I need you to move any meeting I have the day after today during the morning. I’m taking a small business trip to the Cod Empire.”

Routa stood up with such force that the wooden chair she sat on fell over behind her. “The Cod Empire?!” She gawked. “Out of all the Empires, I find that one the most difficult to believe. With all due respect, The Cod Empire has been amongst the weakest in wealth, size and defense since it was founded. Not only that, but merfolk and elves? It sounds like something out of a storybook read to infants.”

“I accepted the contract,” Scott admitted immediately. 

“What?!” Routa’s eyes widened. “You’re far smarter than this, Scott! Both of the original contract makers are dead. Your council could have gotten you out of this one with ease, while keeping relations with the Cod Empire!”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary,” Scott crossed his arms over his chest. “And even if you might be partially correct about the Cod Empire, they’ve historically proven to be one of the more trustful Empires. After the deal is settled, they’ll be an ally on paper. One that can’t just abandon us without looking awful to the outside Empires.”

Routa gritted her teeth. “Leave it up to you to take things far further than I ever meant. When I told you Rivendell needs friends, I meant trusted bonds that can’t be written on paper.”

“There’s no trust in just words,” Scott huffed.

“No,” Routa watched him sternly. “But there’s none on paper either. You’d think you would have realized that after seeing how important documents can just be scorched. Words can be broken, but the security they might provide is far more stable than a piece of paper.”

“I think we should call in a meeting with the council and catch them up on things,” Scott frowned. 

“We should,” Routa agreed with a slow shake of her head. “I will be the one to warn you – they’ll be furious with you”

…………

The council – in fact – was furious with their ruler. 

They hadn’t been thrilled with Scott in the first place, especially after the ruler had disappeared for three days to a party that was largely considered as a social event to mend relations to other Empires. 

It wasn’t a huge surprise to Scott that his council wanted none of that. They didn’t want the one representing them playing friends with the ones they saw as enemies, and were even less accepting to any foreigners trying to set their foot into Rivendell. 

Ironically, from what Scott had seen, the rest of Rivendell was just fine with foreigners. When Jimmy had visited most of the townsfolk were just curious and interested. 

But when Scott eventually stood up in the already tense meeting to announce the marriage deal between the Cod Empire and Rivendell, the small room erupted into chaos. It was difficult to make out individual words behind the commotion, so Scott just ended up taking a seat and glancing over to Routa who was trying to seem busy by writing meeting notes. She flashed a sympathetic look towards the elvenking. 

“If we could all calm down,” Scott raised his voice enough for it to carry over the chaos without yelling. “I’ll answer any questions or concerns you might have. But for the love of Aeor, just quiet down!”

Almost everyone sat down, including Scott. There were still quiet murmurs and furious glares thrown around, but at least the elvenking could hear himself think. 

One of the people who had not sat down was Pyry, one of the oldest members of the council, responsible for architecture and space usage in the Kingdom. Well respected for not only his age, but also the sheer talent the man possessed in his job. Despite him and Scott butting heads on multiple subjects that didn’t quite sit well with the very conservative elf, the ruler would always listen to Pyry when it came to land and its usage. Nobody knew these mountains like he did. 

“This must be a joke,” the man slammed his fist against the wooden table in front of him. “Not only is teaming up with the other Empires not necessary, forming such a deep alliance with an objectively useless Empire is not just a waste of time, but a waste of resources as well! Rivendell can hold its own, but we have nothing on top of that to spare. We cannot afford to give any resources away!”

There were some approving murmurs thrown across the room as the other members of the council made their stance on the subject clear. 

“Pyry is right,” a young – probably not much older than Scott himself – elf agreed from the other side of the table. “Rivendell is tight on resources. There isn’t anything to spare – I should know this. Especially if the plan is to cut other Empires off, wood and gunpowder are the resources we will run out of. And whereas we can survive without gunpowder, wood is another story. And not only for buildings, but warming them up as well. The Cod Empire produces neither of those. If you’d have to make such an alliance with another Empire, at least aim for something beneficial.”

“Well, Halla, I can guarantee that the plan of cutting Rivendell from the other Empires is no longer the way I wish to go about ruling,” Scott explained. “I have managed to maintain a good relationship with the Grimlands who produce gunpowder, and wood can be found anywhere. Maybe we can talk about farming them in the future.”

“The Lost Empire trades jungle wood,” the young elf, Halla, reminded. “If we’re no longer boycotting other Empires, we should try and make a deal with them.”

Scott straightened his back, and forced his face to stay neutral. The Lost Empire was the last one the elvenking wanted to have anything to do with. Not only with Joey seemingly disliking Scott, but the fact that the Empire was the place Xornoth most likely resided in – no way. They’d get their wood elsewhere. 

And Scott could tell his council about Xornoth and Joey, but that would just add fuel for their hatred of other Empires. And that was very much the opposite of what he needed right now. 

“I think we should try to look into the possibilities of producing wood in Rivendell,” Scott eventually said. “Right below the mountains is an unclaimed oak forest that is within Rivendell’s borders. If we can find a way to effectively bring wood up here, we can offer more jobs, and –”

“Are we just going to straight up ignore the real problem here?” Pyry let out a scoff. “The trades and resources are a secondary issue here. Let us not brush past the fact that the King has — without the agreement of his council — agreed upon a marriage proposal —“

“Contract,” Scott cut in quickly.

“A contract,” Pyry frowned at the ruler. “which holds no legal ground when both of the parties consenting are dead. As far as we know, there isn’t even a contract. Not only that, I find it extremely unlikely your father would have married you off to the younger prince. If anything, Xornoth should have gotten bound to him.”

“Well, as far as I know, the contract was made to be between me and the Ocean Queen,” Scott admitted hesitantly. “But after her disappearance the Codfather stepped up as the ruler of his Empire. Not only that, my father and his father did discuss the changes and they were both still on board. And I trust the Codfather. I’m meeting him tomorrow to see the authenticity of the contract. That being said, he wouldn’t lie about it.”

“Then what’s going to happen if you do go through with this,” Halla threw the question out.

“I’m not sure yet,” Scott confessed. “I need to think about it, which is why I declare this meeting as finished. We can touch upon this subject again right at the next one, when there’s more information on the matter. Right now the hypotheticals won’t help anyone.”

The unhappy muttering that filled the room let Scott know that the issue was far away from being solved. But when there were no direct questions nor disagreements thrown his way, the elvenking got up and exited the room. Routa scrambled up her pile of papers and walked out after Scott, catching up with him outside the meeting hall. 

“Didn’t go as badly as I had anticipated,” she confessed. “In my opinion, you should’ve kept the agreement secret for now. Like you said, we know next to nothing about it. You could have told them when there was more information available.”

“I’d rather let them process all that alone first,” Scott sighed. “They would’ve lost their minds and this way I can dodge the processing part. And after I’ve spoken with Jim— uh, the Codfather, all of us know more.”

The elvenking couldn’t help but notice the small smile dancing on Routa’s lips. She dutifully followed Scott back to the castle, where they both stopped in front of her office. 

“Well, I must say, I agree with the Council on the fact that the Cod Empire isn’t the best when it comes to alliance. I would’ve chosen someone stronger as well,” the advisor fumbled with the key to her office, until she eventually pulled the door open. 

“Your point?” Scott sighed and crossed his arms. 

“My point is that you don’t seem too upset over the fact,” Routa hummed while going through the meeting notes with her eyes. “And it’s just a strange coincidence that it happens to be the person who you’ve spent a good amount of time outside of work with.”

Scott only scoffed at that. “He knew about the deal”, he explained stiffly. “That’s why he was being nice.” 

“But you do like him.” 

“I do enjoy his company,” the elvenking huffed. “He’s friendly and easy going. Maybe even too much at times. But now I don’t even know if all that was because of the contract.” 

”Ah,” the advisor smiled. “I see the issue.” She simply picked up the pile of paper, and moved it on top of another pile on her desk. “Well, you can always ask him yourself. If he’s anything like his father was back in the day, I’m sure he would’ve been just as lovely without such a contract.” 

“Well, there would’ve been nothing to him In befriending me. I find it hard to believe that he would’ve done it just for the fun of it.”

“You’re hopeless,” Routa sighed. “That’s what relationships are, really. The best ones rely on the fact that you’re not asking or looking for anything back other than just the relationship itself. There shouldn’t be more to gain than just that.”

“But what if there is and I can’t see it?” Scott insisted.

“But what if there isn’t?” Routa shot back. “You can’t really know until you give it a shot. I am aware that there are a lot of greedy and bad people out there, and it’s good that you’re cautious. But there comes a point where this way of thinking becomes self-destructive. Just give this a shot and see what happens.” 

“I’ll think about it,” Scott eventually caved in. He wouldn’t have if it was anyone other than Jimmy or Katherine. The two of them had such a warm energy to them that Scott couldn’t resist it. Which was ironic really, given how much time he spent in the cold. 

“Good to hear that,” Routa flashed him a smile and blew out the candle in the lantern on her desk. She walked past Scott and headed out the door. 

“Let me know how it went first thing when you get back, alright? Good night.” 

And she was gone. 

Scott groaned and made his way up the stairs and into his room. There was, once again, a snowy owl hanging out in the space. This time a smaller male. Scott could immediately recognize the tiny brown spot on its wing, and the bright icy blue eyes the owl carried. Poppy had immediately noticed his return, and now flew over the small distance between him and Scott, landing on his shoulder. 

“It’s like you know where I’m headed tomorrow”, Scott chuckled, and gave the bird a few pats on his head. “I might as well take you with me,” the elvenking thought out loud. “You definitely could use the practice. Especially if you keep stealing fish from the Cod Empire. Like we don’t feed you enough here.” Scott scolded the bird gently, but Poppy seemed to take no offense to the comments. Instead he flew over a shelf where he eventually settled to sleep.

Scott got down to his bed and watched how the snowy owl drifted off. 

Maybe he should’ve told Routa about Xornoth and the vines. About Jimmy. And maybe he should for once listen to her advice and take a chance. 

Chapter Text

The morning arrived just as quickly as Scott had feared. 

The elvenking woke up from his slumber to the ever so attention seeking Poppy teetering on top of him in search of attention. When at first Scott pushed the snowy owl further away in hopes of getting even a bit more time in bed, the bird came back with even more determination.

It climbed up to stand on one of his antlers, and pulled individual strands of hair until Scott was forced to open his eyes again. It didn’t hurt, but it was enough to distract him from any more sleep. Eventually, the elf had to give up and he reluctantly sat up.

Scott threw a sleepy glance at the clock on his wall. 5 am wasn’t probably the most suitable time to show up in the Cod Empire, but then again they hadn’t specified time. If he left now, he’d be there at 6am — and that was if the winds were on his side. 

With a sigh, the elf got up and got dressed. Ever so often he glanced at the clock, hoping it would tick over even the 6am mark so that he could leave. 

He could’ve eaten before going, but Scott knew he couldn’t get anything down right now. It’s not like he was nervous about the meeting, but he just didn’t feel hungry. Yeah, that was it. He’d eat later, back in Rivendell, when the meeting was done. 

In hopes of the clock moving faster, Scott found himself trying to do something — anything to pass the time. Check his calendar for other duties of the day, organize his desk and in the process throw away a half eaten body of what once must have been a mouse — thanks Poppy. 

When even after all that the clock was still no more than 5:30am, the elf ended up taking his time outside. The sun hadn’t risen yet, but it was starting to touch the horizon and paint the sky lighter. 

Scott ended up walking over to where they’d seen the red vines last time. Rivendell had had quite a heavy snowfall in the last month comparing it to a regular one during this time of year. It wasn’t anything Scott was worried over though. Rivendell was used to snow, and the most harm some extra snow did was make it slightly more difficult to move around in the mornings. 

People of Rivendell would end up shoveling paths in it later during the day to make moving around easier, but now the snow on the ground was untouched. The elvenking had to raise his feet with every step in order to move anywhere. And even then, the progress was incredibly slow. 

When he eventually did make it to the place Jimmy had tripped over the vines, Scott wasn’t surprised when he found nothing. Well, nothing except snow that was. If there was a good amount of it in the center of Rivendell, this area was completely run over by it. The elvenking had to just assume that the growth was still under there somewhere, but had to turn back and accept defeat. At least the way back along the now made path would’ve been easier than getting here. 

Poppy — who had spent the entire trip on Scott’s antler, took flight. As Scott walked back over to Rivendell, he watched as the bird followed him up in the air. 

The owls were free roaming around Rivendell constantly, but none of them followed around anyone — much less Scott — around like this. It was fascinating, almost like Poppy knew that he’d be heading out with Scott momentarily. Almost like the bird was telling him to hurry up and get going already. 

The elf let out a smile and took a glance at his watch. Scott raised his eyebrows. It was already well past 7am. Had he truly been so in his own mind that 2 whole hours had just passed? It had felt like a ten minute walk at most, and now he was almost late. The sun had climbed a lot too, and the sky was suddenly a lot clearer than what Scott remembered it to be. Suddenly Poppy’s restlessness made a lot more sense. 

After doing a quick check up the elf concluded that he had everything of importance with him. After a hesitant glance towards the very over excited bird, Scott took flight, heading towards the sunrise and the Cod Empire. 

…………

After already visiting the Cod Empire once, Scott was well aware that Jimmy’s house was just like any other wooden building here. He had even walked right in once, and still Scott found himself lost after landing in the Empire. 

The clock was now nearing 9am, and Scott couldn’t help but wonder if Jimmy had wanted him here earlier than that. 

It took him an embarrassing amount of time to find his way to the right house. He could just about remember the slight differences this house had compared to the others. Maybe a bit larger in size, and the front door had some nice golden framing on it. That was about it, but it was enough for Scott to recognize it.

The elvenking took a deep breath, and walked over to the door. The moment of hesitation was enough for Poppy, who let out an impatient huff. The bird had sat on Scott’s shoulder since landing in the Empire, and the elvenking had completely forgotten his presence. 

Gently, Scott shooed the bird away. “Not everyone is as willing to house birds as I am,” he explained to Poppy like he'd understood. The bird gave him an unamused glare, but eventually flew over to the roof of the building, where he landed and settled down. 

With the bird dealt with, Scott knocked on the door. The elf waited, and eventually there was a sound of hasty footsteps that got closer and closer, until the door in front of him flew open.

“Oh, hi!” Jimmy’s back straightened straight away after seeing Scott. “I wasn’t expecting you this.. —“, he took a few nervous steps back, and glared at something behind the door that Scott understood to be a clock. “Early.”

“Well, I did say I’d be here first thing in the morning,” Scott explained. “And my days typically start at seven.”

“I see”, Jimmy held the door open and stepped back so Scott could make his way in. “Do you mind if we talk over breakfast?” The Codfather asked sheepishly when Scott hung his coat over to a stand next to the door.

“I definitely thought I’d have at least another hour before this meeting.” 

Scott shook his head. “Oh, I don’t mind.”

“Thank you!” Jimmy sighed in relief. He walked further in the house and Scott followed. The place was modest, but quite welcoming from the inside. It gave off the same energy inside and out. Just a regular house. The kitchen and living room were in a conjoined space, separated by a small kitchen island. At the back of the room were two separate closed doors, one of which Scott assumed to be a bedroom. 

Jimmy must’ve noticed Scott taking in his surroundings, and rubbed the back of his head. “Not quite like Lizzie’s palace, eh?”

“Well, not quite,” the elvenking admitted. “But I like it. It’s cozy and I don’t think I could get lost here. Do you work here as well?” 

“I have two separate offices,” Jimmy explained, while turning on the coffee maker. “One back there,” he pointed towards one of the two closed doors. “And another one at the Council building. I’m not there too often though, since I prefer mine over it.” The Codfather turned around for long enough to see Scott awkwardly standing in the living room area, and he quickly motioned to the couch.

“Make yourself at home, I’ll be right over. Do you want anything? Coffee? Maybe sandwiches? I’m making some for myself so it’d be no trouble at all.” 

Scott, while making his way over to the couch, frowned. He hadn’t been hungry before leaving Rivendell, but just like in every other anxiety inducing event, entering the situation had calmed him down a lot. And just like that, his appetite was back as well. 

“That’d be wonderful,” the elf eventually admitted, as he sat down. “I didn’t get the chance to eat before leaving either.” He explained shortly while watching Jimmy over the kitchen island. 

“Well just give me a few minutes and I’ll be right over with some breakfast,” Jimmy smiled over his shoulder. 

Scott wanted to say that the silence that settled between the two of them after that sentence was comfortable, but he couldn’t lie to himself. It was so clear that neither knew what to say, especially when it felt like they weren’t quite in the business part of the meeting just yet. And the elvenking didn’t want to push it there yet. 

What did people talk about these days? The weather seemed to be a safe bet, but the Cod Empire seemed gloomy and Rivendell had once again snowed in. So there really wasn’t anything talk worthy in the subject. Maybe he could bring up the wedding again. But then again that could lead over to the business part. And Jimmy might take it as Scott trying to hurry up the inevitable, which seemed rude to do. 

Luckily, he didn’t need to think anymore. There was a quiet pecking sound that Scott really registered only when he heard Jimmy gasp. And after turning to see what the commotion was about, the elf groaned. 

Poppy was happily sitting on the window sill outside of Jimmy’s kitchen window, pecking the glass. The bird was clearly doing it just for attention, or maybe he had set his eyes on something on the kitchen counter. 

“Sorry about him”, Scott sighed. “I wanted to take Poppy with me to see how he does on a flight here and back. But he can be a bit clingy.”

Before Scott had a chance to protest, Jimmy had opened up the window. The bird hopped straight inside, and glared at Scott. The elf could sense the smugness of it from the other side of the room. 

“He’s adorable!” Jimmy cooed and petted Poppy’s head. The bird loved the attention, immediately leaning into the touch and letting out a happy thrill. 

“Just watch out for your food,” Scott chuckled. “He has no manners and will not hesitate to nab pretty much any type of food.”

As Jimmy continued on with the sandwiches, Poppy moved over to his side, and eventually half climbed half flew onto Jimmy’s shoulder. Scott tried to hold in a smile when he noticed how tense the Codfather’s back was. Snowy owl talons were not a joke, a valid reason why having antlers came in handy at times. Gave them a better spot to perch and Scott a pain free experience with the birds. 

“If you want him off just hush him away,” the elf hid his smile. “He doesn’t realize how sharp his talons are.”

”No, it’s fine, really,” Jimmy squeaked from under the bird who was now leaning over his shoulder and getting dangerously close to the sandwiches. 

Eventually, Scott ended up getting up and scooping the bird off of Jimmy entirely. Poppy let out an unhappy shriek in the process, but instead of harming the elf it decided to simply dramatically turn its back to Scott and act all hurt. 

The elf rolled his eyes and placed the bird down onto the couch, where it proceeded to continue its theatrics. Poppy only perked up when Jimmy arrived over to the couches with two plates of sandwiches and two cups of coffee. 

Whilst keeping Poppy away from the food, Scott gave Jimmy a polite thank you. 

“Right, the contract,” Jimmy got up from the couch once again, and headed over to his office. Apparently the piece of paper was waiting for the meeting, since the Codfather merely stepped in before he was out of the office with a piece of paper in hand.

“Here you go,” he handed it over to Scott, while sitting back down. “It’s a bit worn out from the years, but there it is.”

The paper wasn’t in the best condition, but that was to be expected from a piece of paper as old as this one. Even though it had some bent edges and a rip on the side, the text in it was well readable. And the signatures below — even if a bit worn out — were still very recognizable. 

Scott inspected the seal of Rivendell first. It was unchanged, the same it still was. It seemed very real, and the legitimacy was only confirmed by his father’s signature right below the seal. 

Next, the elf read the text. Word for word, exactly as Jimmy had told him. It was real, and Scott couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Jimmy hadn’t lied. 

“How does it look?” Jimmy was curiously watching Scott inspecting the paper, while trying to sip the still-too-hot coffee. 

“Very legitimate as far as I can tell,” Scott placed the paper back to the table top, and leaned back in his chair.

“I spoke with my advisors about it,” Jimmy admitted. “And in their eyes this sort of alliance with Rivendell is risky. “ 

When Scott raised an eyebrow at the comment, Jimmy immediately backtracked. “I can understand why they think that. You have to see it from their perspective. Rivendell has had pretty much no contact with all of the other Empires for many years. No one outside of it really knew you until a few weeks ago. And they’ve never met you.”

“That seems fair,” Scott admitted with a shrug. 

They sat in silence for a moment, Scott staring intently at his cup of coffee and Jimmy’s eyes following Poppy who was hopping around the room. 

“I guess we should start with the first thing. Are we going through with this?” Jimmy eventually sighed. “According to my council, even if only one side doesn’t want to honor the contract, it’s quite easy to avoid it legally at this point. So it’d be no issue, really. What are your thoughts on it?”

“It depends,” Scott hummed. “What is the end goal in this agreement? We’re both considering this, so there’s something to gain for each of the sides. I want to know what it is for you.”

“To be honest,” Jimmy shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. “I have no idea. It’s most likely not the answer you’re going for, but I really don’t have a better one. All I am looking for is peace for my people – as lame as it sounds. But it’s true. Rivendell has been peaceful as long as I can remember. Your kind is the sort of people I would find myself allying with. And so did my father, apparently,” he ended with a sigh. 

“But the whole ordeal with Xornoth –,”

“Seriously, Scott,” Jimmy scoffed. “Were they really representative of Rivendell as its own Empire?”

When the elf chose to stay silent, Jimmy followed with a smug smile. “I thought so too. What I really am after is peace. And I have a feeling that’s something you’re looking for as well. Maybe we can do that together?” 

The suggestion was incredibly tempting, so much so that Scott found himself seriously considering the offer. Routa’s words echoed in his mind – the whole speech of taking a step and choosing to trust someone. 

The elvenking was sure he’d regret this later. 

“Is a singular piece of signed paper really worth putting this much trust into? I mean, we did see what happened just a while ago,” Scott tried to reason. “What if something similar happens again, and this whole alliance falls apart just like it did back then?”

“Well, we’re here now, aren’t we?” The Codfather tried. “The only reason the contract wasn’t honored before was that I didn’t want to be pushy and you didn’t even know it existed. Not to mention both of the original signers are, well, not here anymore.”

And Scott was aware that Jimmy was right. His point of view made sense, even the reasoning why he hadn’t told about the contract in the first place. The elf hated that he had no ground to complain or disagree. Jimmy was even so gracious that he offered an easy way out. The Codfather himself was offering to get rid of the contract that very clearly benefited him more than it did Scott. 

And maybe that act alone was enough to calm the elf down, and maybe even convince him that what Jimmy was after couldn’t be so malicious. 

“You do realize that allying with me puts you under Xornoth radar, right?” 

“Yes, very.”

The elf groaned, and slid the piece of paper on the table towards Jimmy. “I am willing to go through with the deal, if you are.”

The Codfather did a double take between Scott and the contract on the table, like he was physically startled by the fact the deal would be honored. After the first wave of confused disbelief, Jimmy scrambled a pen from somewhere, and wrote his name down on the contract with possibly the worst handwriting Scott had ever witnessed in his lifetime. 

After Scott had signed the paper as well, Jimmy held out his hand, and Scott shook it with a relieved smile. 

“Our councils are going to hate us,” Scott could help but chuckle. There was something so freeing about just choosing to do what he felt like was for the best, instead of listening to people who hadn’t stepped outside of their own Empire in forever. 

“Yours too then?” Jimmy cracked a sheepish smile. “What did they say?”

“The same concerns I brought up earlier,” Scott lied slightly. He wasn’t about to disrespect Jimmy by telling what his council really had said about the Empire. Scott silently took notice that he’d need to have a stern talking with his own council and address everything – including respecting the Cod Empire. If this alliance was to fail, it wouldn’t be because of Rivendell, the elvenking would make sure of that.

“I’m sure they’ll come around though. They need a bit more convincing but it’ll be fine.”

“Similarly so,” Jimmy agreed. “Do you think they’d benefit from meeting one another?”

“I think it could go horribly wrong,” Scott admitted. “But I also think it's necessary. Rivendell holds a small festival each year for the Northern light season. Obviously just the people of Rivendell, so it really is just a small get together. I actually contemplated canceling it altogether this year because of Xornoth and the vines, but it could be a good casual way for our people to meet. What do you think?”

“That sounds wonderful!” Jimmy beamed. “But we should have all the details down between the two of us before that. Just so there’s no misconceptions there.”

Scott raised an eyebrow. “I think they’ll get the jist of it. Is there something you’d like to speak about specifically?”

Jimmy rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, the marriage,” he admitted. “They’re going to ask about it.”

Right. That had really flown over Scott. It wasn’t just an alliance, it was a full on marriage. 

“Well, after Xornoth is dealt with?” Scott suggested. “Then it could really be a happily ever after story.” He smiled smugly. 

“Honestly, not a bad idea,” the Codfather tried to hide the flustered expression on his face whilst failing miserably. “That’ll give us more time and we won’t be bombarded with questions about it immediately.”

“There’s just one small detail,” Scott admitted with a sheepish grin. “My council has no idea that Xornoth’s back.” 

“What?!”

Chapter Text

“Yes, I haven’t told them,” Scott admitted. “None of them know even about the vines. Not even my advisor. I was meant to tell her after the wedding. And even though I sort of knew they were out there, I didn’t think they’d just show up like that.” 

The elf took a sip of coffee that was now lukewarm at best. “But I can’t avoid telling them any longer. Xornoth is petty as anything, and with Exor I don’t doubt for a moment that Rivendell would be their if not first – one of the first targets.”

Jimmy frowned. “It’s sort of difficult to get to Rivendell quickly if there was to be an emergency.” The Codfather got up to fetch a map, and laid it down on the table while Scott pushed the plates and cups to make room for the large piece of paper. 

Jimmy studied the map for a while, and then tapped his finger on top of House Blossom territory. “You’re in good relations with Katherine, correct? What about Gem? Those two are really the only ones that can respond in a quick manner.”

“House Blossom and Rivendell are very close, I’d trust Katherine with my life,” Scott agreed. “But Gem is sort of neutral as far as I can tell. She’s been nothing but sweet, but I have a feeling she and fWhip follow each other's lead. Besides, don’t forget the mountains between Crystal Cliffs and Rivendell.” Scott ran his hand through the border of Rivendell and Crystal Cliffs, that on the map were just a few measly mountains. In reality it was something completely different. 

“It looks harmless here, but it’s miles of mountain canyons and unpredictable winds. Even on a good weather day it’s very treacherous to fly over – and there are very rarely good days. You need to know the exact pathing to be able to be in Rivendell quickly. I’d argue Pearl would be closer in that sense. West side of Rivendell is far more welcoming.”

Jimmy’s eyes glanced at the mountains on the map, then with a frown he turned his head to inspect Pearl’s area. Scott could tell he wasn’t happy about how secluded Rivendell was. The elf personally enjoyed their position – or would have – in any other circumstance. When a war was raging outside of Rivendell, they’d be safe and sound. But when the starting point of the war was up in the mountains, any help was very difficult to get.

That had really been their downfall last time as well.

“Well, what is your relationship like with her?” Jimmy questioned while still simultaneously inspecting the distance between Gilded Helianthia and Rivendell. 

“Pearl? To be honest, we haven’t spoken much.” Scott bit the inside of his cheek, wondering for a moment if he should go into detail. But how could he not? He couldn’t expect trust if he wasn’t willing to share things as well. 

“I had a chance to really talk with her during the wedding,” Scott admitted. “When we were alone, she told me about this..,” the elf paused in order to find the right words. 

“A feeling?” He eventually settled on. “A feeling about me. I think she mentioned you, Joel and Lizzie too. She also said that she had spoken with you about it. What do you think of what she said?”

“You too, eh?” Jimmy let out a humorless chuckle. He paused for a moment, eyes fixated on the map. Scott knew that distant look; he was trying to think if it was information he could pass onto Scott. 

“I did speak with her about it, briefly. I think I told her that I didn’t have a clue what she was talking about.”

“That’s what she told me,” Scott confirmed. “I’m assuming that wasn’t the entire truth?”

“Well, it’s complicated,” Jimmy stumbled on his words, while his leg started to bounce in an attempt to release whatever nervousness he was experiencing. 

“There was definitely something going on,” he confirmed. “I don’t even know if they’re connected, but one day I just woke up with a jolt and everything was different.”

The following silence almost made Scott wish he hadn’t asked about it at all, yet Jimmy still continued. 

“Do you know the feeling of when you fall in a dream? And then it wakes you up and your heart is racing out of your chest?” 

After he got a confirming nod from Scott, Jimmy continued. 

“It was like that. But I remember hitting the ground. I can’t recall what else happened in that dream – and I never was able to. But there was this unexplainable surge of emotions so strong that a dream that I couldn’t even remember shouldn’t be able to produce. Betrayal and disappointment on top of everything else.”

“And I would have brushed it off as a dream, but both Lizzie and Joel said they experienced something similar. And then Pearl asked about it as well. It was strange.A really big coincidence, if you ask me.” Jimmy finally turned to face Scott.

“Did you have anything like that?”

Now, Scott was familiar with nightmares, even more so after Rivendell burnt down. But they were always the same, nothing that would’ve come across as anything else than a bad memory twisted inside his brain. So he shook his head. 

“I don’t think so, sorry.”

Jimmy seemed almost disappointed by the answer. His shoulders slumped, and his leg slowed down and eventually stopped moving altogether. 

“I really did think we had something going on for us there,” he threw a sad smile towards the elf. “Well, I guess some mysteries aren’t meant to be solved. It must’ve been some kind of magic. Either way, are you two on good terms?”

Scott was slightly disappointed that Jimmy decided to direct the conversation off of the topic. It had definitely something to do with magic. It was weird, though. Every other person who Pearl seemed to recall was a part of this – whatever it was – seemed to have some sort of recollection of whatever happened. Scott had nothing. 

“Hello? Earth to Scott?” Jimmy nudged his side gently, and yanked his hand back when the elf woke up from his thoughts. 

Flustered, Scott cleared his throat. “Right, sorry. Me and Pearl? I think similar to what I have going on with Gem. She’s been nothing but kind, and I think I should be able to talk with her about an alliance.”

“That’s good to hear.” Jimmy smiled in response. 

After that, a comfortable silence fell upon the two of them. During this, Jimmy decided that the time was appropriate to reach for the sandwiches that had gone untouched until now. After taking one, he pushed the plate gently towards Scott. The elvenking took the hint and grabbed one sandwich for himself as well. 

“So,” the Codfather stumbled upon the subject. “How’s Rivendell? Had it crumbled during the time you were gone?”

The elvenking couldn’t help but smile at the comment. “I think my council would’ve hoped it had”, he confessed. “Then they would have had a reason to keep me around more strictly. But no, everything’s been normal. Actually –,” Scott let out a sigh.

“I went to the place where we saw the vines last time,” he confessed. “Covered in snow; as if there was nothing there except for it. Not a vine in sight. Not a single one. I don’t know if I should be nervous about their disappearance. What do you think?”

“Well, I think that the less we see them the better,” Jimmy concluded. “Just keep an eye out for them, and I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“I think it’s the snow,” Scott explained. “They’re still there, but for some reason Rivendell has gotten heavier snowfall in the last few weeks. It’s gotten pretty extreme for what it used to be, actually. And it’s almost just the mountain tops, so I’m curious if it has something to do with the wind that travels from Crystal Cliffs and through the canyons. I need to ask Gem if the weather there has been strange.”

“Do you think it’s magic based?”

Scott shrugged. “It’s impossible to tell, really. Maybe Gem could recognize differences between magic induced weather and non, but I’m just not that skilled at it. But Rivendell isn’t too bothered by it,” the elf assured. “The houses are built to withstand snow, and elves are used to this sort of weather.”

The weather. Were the vines truly hidden below the snow, or had they really gone? Scott couldn’t help but wonder about the singular vine that he had managed to kill in the Ocean Empire. But there wasn’t anything similar in the equation. The Ocean Empire was warm and humid while Rivendell was freezing and covered in meters of snow. 

“If you say so. Just let me know if it gets worse. Or at least talk to Gem.”

“Maybe it has something to do with extreme temperatures.” Scott wondered out loud, completely brushing off Jimmy’s comment. The Codfather cocked his head in confusion. “What do you mean?” 

“The vines I removed from the Ocean Empire, and now the ones in Rivendell possibly disappearing? Maybe the vines hate both hot and cold. I should really clear that area and see if they’re still there.”

Scott took another bite of the sandwich which he had subconsciously flung around with his hands while talking. 

“Well, if you have time from all the royal stuff, I could show you around the Cod Empire?” Jimmy suggested carefully. “You know, since this is your second time here. It’s not a large area but you’d still save time by knowing what is where.”

“A tour would be nice”, Scott agreed.

And so, after both of them finished their meal and Jimmy dragged the dishes back to the small kitchen area, the Codfather led Scott outside. 

The sun had had a chance to rise entirely by now, and the Empire had woken up. There were merfolk everywhere. Walking, catching up with friends or selling products on the side of the streets. It wasn’t nearly as crowded as Crystal Cliffs or the Ocean Empire had been, and instead the area reminded Scott a lot of Rivendell. Just a lot less snow and much more scales. 

Jimmy led him through multiple buildings and towards the ocean that opened up between the houses. When they neared the docks, Scott could tell exactly what was considered the town hall of the Cod Empire. A longish doc over the water led over to a building far larger than any other ones in the Empire. It was held above water by multiple large pillars that by the looks of it could use some repairs. 

“This is the local marketplace”, Jimmy explained. 

And whilst Scott was gawking at the large building in front of them, Jimmy had been focusing his attention to the open space in front of the docks where a ton of the Empire’s salesmen seemed to have gathered. 

The place seemed very cozy. Some of the tents hosted small bakeries, while others seemed to sell all kinds of small items. Both sellers and customers seemed to perk up when they walked by, and while they happily greeted Jimmy a lot of them seemed nervous at the sight of the elvenking. 

Scott wasn't surprised nor offended. No one seemed hostile, and everything new was always scary. That didn’t change the fact that Scott overall wasn’t a huge fan of crowds and this sort of attention.So instead of smiling or trying to strike a conversation with anyone, Scott just hovered close to Jimmy.

The Codfather had seemed to start a conversation with one of the vendors. In his defense, Jimmy seemed to actively try and escape the conversation. 

After a few minutes Scott started growing agitated by feeling like he was waiting for a parent to finish the conversation, and instead decided to wander by the closeby stalls. Although the area was interesting, Scott couldn’t help but wonder about the building still lingering in the distance. The elf eventually decided to take a closer look at it by himself, slowly making his way over to the dock leading up to it. 

The building was beautiful. There weren't a ton of windows, and instead the front of it had a huge glass mosaic of a large fish – probably a cod. 

When the elvenking walked closer, the door of the building opened and a surprised merperson jumped a bit back. She quickly collected herself, and seemed to recognize Scott. 

“Oh, your highness! The Codfather mentioned you’d be visiting today. C’mon in!” 

And before Scott had any chance to politely refuse, he was pulled into the building. He could have just stopped the woman in her tracks, but the elf was curious and Jimmy would be clearly held back a few minutes more. What harm could a little exploring do?

“What is this place?” 

“Oh, right!” The young merperson smiled. “The space is meant for multiple places,” she explained giddily while leading Scott around. “We have meeting rooms, a public library, but most importantly it serves as the Council room.”

She turned around with excitement, and Scott couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm. “Oh, right, I need to introduce myself, how rude of me!” She held out her hand and Scott took it to shake it. 

“My name is Betta. I’m part of the Cod Empire Council,” she announced proudly, before flashing an awkward smile. “Well, technically. I’m on a trial run currently and am more of an intern at the moment, but hopefully someday.”

“I hope so too,” Scott chuckled. “It’s good to meet you.”

At the same time Jimmy bursted through the front doors, looking frantically around and sighing in relief when he noticed Scott. 

“I’m really sorry about that. Sometimes it’s difficult to just step out of a conversation politely,” he explained, and gave a friendly nod to Betta. “I see you’ve met part of my council already. Would you like to meet others?”

Scott forced a smile and nodded. “Sure.”

…………

Meeting Jimmy’s Council was just as boring as Scott had expected it to be. They were exactly like Scott’s own, with the exception of Betta. All of them seemed unsure about his presence, if not straight up hostile. It was better to meet them quickly before the proper meeting that would eventually be held with both councils either way, so Scott was glad it was out of the way now. 

It seemed like Jimmy was in a similar situation to him. A young ruler with a council that was stuck in the olden times. They weren’t too happy about an alliance with people who weren’t like them. Still, they did try to be somewhat respectful – which Scott appreciated. 

He couldn’t blame them either. Not with how he himself was just a few weeks ago.

Currently, Jimmy was leading him out of the building and back towards his place. He had been deep in thought ever since they’d exited the meeting room. Scott could tell by the way his nose was the slightest bit wrinkled and how his eyes stared into distance. He wasn’t sure why and how he was paying so much attention. 

Without a warning, Jimmy stopped in front of him and Scott ended up bumping his chest right onto Jimmy’s back. The Codfather turned around and motioned towards the shop they were standing right next to. 

“What kind of ring do you want?”

Scott had barely processed the jewelry store they were in front of, before Jimmy was already pulling him inside. 

“I mean, we don’t have to get any,” he backtracked. “But I owe you something. From the winter jacket you got me when I visited Rivendell. So if you see anything you’d like..”

“How do you feel about moss agate?” 

While Jimmy had walked deeper into the shop, Scott had stopped next to a showcase with multiple different types of rings. The Codfather returned to inspect the rings on display. 

“The what now?”

“Moss agate,” Scott repeated, and pointed at the cyan gemstone attached to a silver ring. “That’s the name of the gemstone.”

“Do you like it?” Jimmy inspected the ring, then glanced over to Scott. “It looks pretty. I think it’d suit you.” 

“Oh yeah?” Scott smiled. “I think it’d suit you too.”

“Well, we can look around some more but if you think this one is good then we’ll take it.” 

In the end the two of them ended up walking around the shop for almost an hour, and yet still ended up deciding on the moss agate gem. After measuring their ring sizes and dealing with the logistics Scott ended up having to excuse himself back to Rivendell. 

After Jimmy had promised to deliver the ring whenever they’d be finished, Scott took off and started his journey back to Rivendell. 

Chapter Text

The flight back home had been peaceful, and the weather was as clear as day. The elvenking hadn’t realized how fast the time passed when spending time with Jimmy, but the clock was nearing early afternoon. He wasn’t too concerned, though. Scott had a hunch Routa knew to expect his arrival a bit later than he had initially promised. 

Whilst flying above the wooded area at the base of the mountains, Scott decided to map out the area better. If and when they couldn’t get wood from The Lost Empire, they’d need to start producing their own as quickly as possible. This area wasn’t a long term solution by any means – it was far too small for that – but it would have to get them started. After that, he’d need to find ground flat enough to plan more and repeat that until the trees had time to grow up before being cut. 

When Scott landed, he immediately could tell something was off. First it was just a gut feeling, but soon after the elvenking noticed the complete silence surrounding him. Typically, when the forest was quiet like this it was a clear telltale of a predator lurking by. Not a single bird was giving away their position by singing, and there weren’t any crickets making sound either. 

Frowning, Scott instinctually looked up to the sky. The snowy owls were predators, but Scott could’ve sworn Poppy had stayed behind for now. And after a quick scan of the sky above, he couldn’t see any other messenger owls either. A lot of them preferred to travel during night anyway, that’s how they could hunt while on the trip. 

Because the forest was so silent, Scott could immediately hear the distinguished sound of a twig snapping somewhere behind him. Even after turning to face the sound, he couldn’t see anyone. 

“Your tracking skills are just as awful as they used to be, brother.”

Scott whipped around in an instant, now faced with Xornoth who was casually leaning against an oak tree. They seemed almost bored, yet still having time to chuckle at Scott’s reaction. 

“What are you doing here?” The elvenking asked coldly, scrambling for any weapon on hand. Eventually, his hand hit the hilt of a small blade tucked away in a belt pocket. After pulling it out and pointing it towards Xornoth, Scott recognized it as the one he had bought from Crystal Cliffs what felt like ages ago.

Xornoth held their hands up in surrender, and took a few steps backwards. Their eyes never showed any fear, however, and instead the elf was smiling casually. 

“Woah, calm down there. No need for violence, I am here to merely speak.” 

When Scott lowered the blade just slightly, Xornoth sighed dramatically. “I thought I was supposed to be the more violent one of the two of us. Put the knife away, little brother.”

“You should leave Rivendell,” Scott spat, lowering the blade until his arm was hanging against his side. “You shouldn’t be here. You know that.”

“Yeah?” Xornoth chuckled, now leaning back against the tree. Their eyes still ever so often brushed over the blade in Scott’s hand. “You know I never was really a rule follower. That’s no fun.”

“You said you’re here to speak,” Scott barked. “You better speak right away before I personally deal with you.”

Xornoth’s answer was to only roll their eyes, and let out a bored yawn. “Geez, alright, chill out. I’m actually here to apologize.”

Scott tightened his grip once again, taking a careful step away from Xornoth. “Apologize? You?” He let out a humorless chuckle. “For what? Burning down Rivendell? Our parents?! The list could go on and on!” 

Xornoth frowned, and crossed their arms. “No. No I am not. I’m here to apologize about what happened with Joey.” They motioned towards Scott’s wing. The limb was nearly healed, only missing a few primary feathers. In complete honesty, Scott had forgotten the entire ordeal.

“He shouldn’t have done that. Even though he’s not one of your bigger fans. Wings are sensitive. Is it alright?” 

Baffled, Scott raised an eyebrow. When the initial shock had passed by, it turned to anger. “You’re seriously going to be like that? Cut the act. Stop whatever you think you’re doing, and just go.”

“Is it alright, though?”

When Scott didn’t answer nor made any attempt to move, Xornoth stepped forwards. They frowned at the blade their brother was now, once again, squeezing in his hand. Yet, the elf got down on one knee and inspected Scott’s wing closer. 

“Can I?”

When the elvenking made no move to respond or move away, Xornoth brushed their hand over the damaged area of the wing. Scott found himself shuddering at the touch, while simultaneously keeping a tight grip on the blade. 

Xornoth had seemingly lost all interest in the weapon in play, and instead plucked a couple of loose feathers from Scott’s wing. “Geez, Scotty, when was the last time you preened these things? They’re a mess.”

“Don’t know,” Scott admitted stiffly, still holding his guard up. “Can’t remember.” 

Xornoth rolled their eyes and stood back up. “Right. Sit down, I’m clearing this mess.”

And for whatever unknown reason, Scott didn’t find it in himself to argue. He hesitated only for a moment, before sitting down on the grassy field. Xornoth followed his lead almost immediately, settling behind Scott and in between his wings. 

Without saying a word, Xornoth started going through the feathers of the injured limb. He hated to admit it, but it felt nice. Really nice. Xornoth was really precise on their work, really taking their time and making sure to remove each bit of dirt and any loose feathers. The rhythmic motions got the elf to relax, until eventually the blade dropped from his hand. 

Startled by the fact that he was now weaponless and his back towards the enemy, Scott’s eyes shot back wide open and searched for the item. It was still right next to his hand. In fact, Xornoth had made no attempt to move towards it. They hadn’t even noticed. 

Quickly, before his sibling had a chance to notice, Scott gathered the weapon and held it against his chest protectively. He let his eyes slip closed, until there was a grip on his shoulders. 

Xornoth was holding him sitting up. “How about you fall in the other direction if you’re about to sleep?” The snarky remark didn’t bother Scott, who simply flashed a glare backwards towards his sibling. 

“Look, if you’re gonna fall asleep, lean onto that rock or something. I can’t work when there’s an entire idiot laying on top of me.”

Not having the energy to argue – when had Scott gotten so tired? – the elvenking moved a couple of meters forwards so he was able to lay his upper body against a mossy rock. The elf crossed his arms and laid his head on top of them, while Xornoth settled again behind him and continued working. 

“Almost done with the first one,” they announced whilst plucking away another stray leaf and running a hand between the bottom row of feathers. Scott only gave a soft hum as his answer.

“You gotta teach that fish boy to do this for you,” Xornoth kept talking. “I mean my god, I’m sure he’d be more than happy to. Any reason to get his hands on you. Ew.” The elf wrinkled their nose. “Are you two like a thing?”

Scott, keeping his eyes closed and still half asleep, yawned. “Technically. With arranged marriage and all.”

Xornoth recoiled back, eyes widened in surprise. “No way! Is it the kind where you actually do fall in love or the kind where you two hate each other? When’s the wedding?”

Scott’s wing opened wider when Xornoth moved to a more sensitive spot. “The wedding? We decided that it’s after you’re dealt with.”

There was a beat of silence, then a dry chuckle. “So I’m not invited? That’s just rude. I wouldn’t even need to bring Joey with me, even if we’re together. I know you’re not too tight with him. So if I’m still around when the day comes, am I invited?”

“Sure,” Scott mumbled without a second thought. “No Joey though. He’s mean.” 

Xornoth chuckled at that. “That’s fine by me. Your wedding, your rules.”

After Scott gave an approving hum, the conversation ended there. Xornoth kept working on the wings, and Scott felt himself drifting further and further. Eventually his breath evened out, and the elf was entirely out, comfortably leaning against the rock. 

…………

When Scott woke up, it happened slowly. The elf blinked his eyes open, and lifted his head from his hands to see the forest surrounding him. He rubbed the remaining sleep from his eyes, and turned around. 

“Xornoth?”

Scott’s voice was met with silence. Xornoth was long gone. He had been left alone and Scott hated himself for missing the presence of his sibling. 

On the other hand, his wings felt amazing. They lacked any tension, and Scott felt like he could fly for ages. The elf got up from the ground and stretched out his wings.

When settling his gaze back down, Scott noticed the blade. It was left at the rock right in front of him. The tip of it was slightly worn. It was brand new when Scott had got it, and he hadn’t ever used it. So the small damage was quite visible.

After a bit of looking, the elvenking understood where the damage had come from. In front of him, there was carving on the rock. It was barely visible, but it spelled out a simple sentence:

‘It’s all just game’

Scott’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. He should’ve seen this coming. Xornoth wasn’t doing anything besides toying with him. Whatever was their plan, the elf enjoyed how easily Scott would be twisted into believing that there was still some good in them. Because Scott did desperately want to believe it.

The elf snatched the blade and put it back to its holder. 

“I hope you’re happy!” Scott yelled. Whether Xornoth heard it or not, the shout was left unanswered. Even if there was no reason to believe that they hadn’t fled, Scott found himself staring into the woods, looking for any movement. 

The elvenking had to admit defeat when the birds in the oak tree nearby started their song. They wouldn’t be making sound if there was a danger nearby. Therefore it was evident that his sibling was long gone. 

Almost disappointed that there was no sign left of Xornoth anymore, Scott eventually took flight again. He could plan the resource gathering areas later. 

…………

When Scott walked into the town hall, Routa was almost expectantly waiting for him. The advisor was signing paperwork in the lounge area right by the entrance, and her face lit up after she heard Scott walk in. 

“Well? How did it go?” 

She must’ve picked up on the tense mood the elf didn’t realize he was still carrying, and frowned. “Not good I am assuming?”

When she still didn’t get an answer, Routa crossed her arms. “So.. should we get ready for a war or..?” 

“Everything went well in the Cod Empire,” Scott hung up his coat and shut the door behind him. When he turned back around, his advisor’s eyes hadn’t left him. 

“And?”

The elvenking frowned. “And what? It went good. We both signed the papers, so it’ll be official soon enough.”

Routa put down her pen and took off her glasses to wipe them on the hem of her shirt. When she had raised them up and glanced through them against a light to check if they were clean enough, she put them back on. 

“You’re hiding things. What went wrong?”

Scott slumped over to where Routa was working, and sat down. With a quiet sigh, the elvenking knew it would be easier to rip the bandaid off quickly than to lead his people on more.

“Xornoth is back.”

Routa leaned back with a shocked expression on her face, and her mouth turned to a thin line. “How?”

Scott wasn’t keen on telling the entire story, but with multiple questions the advisor dug out the whole thing from the elvenking nevertheless. Scott told her that he was the one that was at fault for them escaping. That the vines were likely to grow and spread and that The Lost Empire was likely on Xornoth’s side of whatever this would escalate into. Scott even told her about the wedding – about seeing Xornoth. 

He wanted to tell her about missing them. Of the moment in the woods, which was more than likely just Joey’s or Xornoth’s plan to get under his skin by using his twin brother in this sick and twisted way while they both knew how close Scott and Xornoth had been.

But Scott couldn’t tell those things. He trusted Routa, but he needed to think what was best for Rivendell, and Xornoth simply wasn’t. He had already let them oh so close to the Empire they’d already once burnt down, and if Scott was to mention that he had slept in the arms of the devil just hours prior, he knew Routa wouldn’t be able to look at him the same. 

So he didn’t mention it. 

Routa listened to the information he did give, and Scott was more than able to see her relaxed pose shift to a tense and untrusting one. She had been there too, that night. She had been afraid as well. 

“I understand why you’ve kept this to yourself,” Routa stated slowly. “But I think you’ve made a mistake. The council will be furious with you. And what about the allyship with the Cod Empire? Do they really wish to ally with us now when there’s clearly trouble on the way?”

“It’s all under control.”

The advisor didn’t seem convinced. “When are you going to tell this publicly? Or at the very least to the Council?” 

“I don’t know.”

“Scott, they need to know!” 

“And what are they going to do about it?” The elvenking snapped. “You’re right – they’ll be furious with me. Do you think infighting in Rivendell will be beneficial for the situation?”

When Routa didn’t answer, Scott walked past her and headed up the stairs. “Good night.”

If the advisor said something, Scott couldn’t hear it. And later, when Scott was laying on his bed and staring at the ceiling, he heard the front door open and close. When the elvenking pushed himself up enough to glance through the circular window right next to his bed, he could barely see Routa walking outside. 

Scott hadn’t noticed how much the snow had risen since leaving to the Cod Empire. The window showed the center of the Empire, and the streets below were properly covered. If it wasn’t for the paths made by the citizens, Routa would’ve walked in knee deep snowbanks. 

Scott watched her go, until she eventually disappeared in the direction of her house. When she got out of his field of vision, Scott laid back down.

He made note to add ‘excessive snowing’ to his mental list of all the things that were currently going very wrong. 

Chapter Text

At the end of the day, Scott decided to not speak about the meeting with Xornoth during his Council meeting the next morning. Instead the elvenking found himself focusing on the things he and Jimmy had spoken of, while at the same time dancing around the subject that something fishy was going on. 

When Halla eventually asked if the two rulers discussed the timing of a wedding, Scott ended up having to admit everything. He told about the vines, and how the other rulers and him had studied them and eventually connected them to Xornoth’s return.

At first Scott didn’t want to speak about actually seeing his sibling again, but when his Council was incredulous, the elvenking had to admit to Xornoth crashing the wedding. 

Just as expected, this if anything caused an uproar. And even if the Council was throwing accusations his way, Scott could give them the benefit of the doubt. They were scared. A lot of the members of the group had first hand witnessed the tragedy unfold. They’d lost homes and some family members too. And now they felt misled when Scott had wanted to keep this from them.

The elvenking understood.

And though Scott had insisted on not telling last night when he spoke with Routa, I guess some part of him had decided that the people needed to know. 

And maybe the elvenking had realized that hiding Xornoth away had evolved from trying to keep his people calm to protecting them from the fury that would be the people of Rivendell when they found out about them.

And as Scott had expected, his council was already listing all the crimes Xonoth would have to answer when they’d be captured. 

He wasn’t sure why the thought made him uncomfortable. Xornoth had suffered all their life in Scott’s shadow – every single person in the Empire was aware of that. Granted, what they did was far from right. But Scott knew that he would’ve lashed out as well. 

Probably not by killing his own parents, but hey, to each their own. 

After letting the Council complain and throw out ideas to secure the safety of Rivendell, Scott gently pushed the conversation towards the upcoming festival instead. The elvenking let the others know that the Council of the Cod Empire would be attending as guests.

“And I expect each and every one of you to treat them with kindness and respect. I don’t want to hear any badmouthing of the Codfather, his council or his Empire,” Scott ended sternly. 

“Of course,” Halla nodded with a smile. “However, I must point this out. Is it not a safety risk to hold an event when we know we might be under attack at any time?” 

Her statement was met with agreeable murmurs.

“She’s right,” Pyry agreed. “Last time the attacks happened it was during this very same festival. We’re not only putting ourselves at risk, but the Cod Empire as well.”

“We can’t just stop living because something might happen,” Scott argued back. “We need this alliance with the Cod Empire, and this is what I think the best way to go about it. Besides, I know Xornoth. They wouldn’t cause destruction for nothing. It’s.. it’s all just a game for them. So if there’s no prize to win, they’ll stay away.”

His council didn’t seem convinced, but Scott took their silence as a win. “I will be visiting Gilded Helianthia today, and speak with their leader. You all have free hands to start planning the festival and its activities. I’ll go over the plans when I get back.” 

…………

Scott realized he had never been in Gilded Helianthia the moment the landscape of the Empire came into view. The place seemed to have appeared from a fairytale. The large beanstalk that climbed towards the skies took Scott by surprise to say the least. 

Once again, he had no idea where to head. Just like Jimmy’s Empire, there wasn’t a house that stood out. Well, except for the massive plant growing so far up the top of it was hidden by leaves. 

While Scott’s neck was bent backwards looking at the plant, a tap on his shoulder startled the elf. He turned around only to be extremely surprised to see Pearl herself. Instead of her typical royal attire Scott had grown used to seeing her in, she was wearing quite a regular farming outfit. 

“It’s a surprise to see you here,” she smiled and tossed a rake she had been carrying around to the ground. 

“I’m sorry for showing up without a notice,” Scott gave the other emperor a sheepish smile, which she blew off.

“Oh don’t be silly. It doesn’t always need to be so official. So what brings you here?”

The elvenking frowned and looked around. There weren’t too many people around, but even that seemed like too much.

“Can we speak in private?”

“Oh, oh course!” Pearl hurried over to the nearest building. Scott was about to follow her, until he saw the other emperor picking up her elytra. After quickly putting it on, Pearl took a few running steps before activating a rocket and flying off. 

Scott had barely time to react and fly after her. Luckily, she didn’t go far. When the elvenking got himself up in the air and flying, Pearl was waiting for him. She pointed up towards the beanstalk that reached for the sky. 

“Follow me!”

Eventually the two of them landed over a balcony on a castle so high up in the air that Scott hadn’t been able to see it from the ground. The foundation of the build did not seem stable at all, especially not when he could feel the wind slightly swaying the entire building from side to side. 

Pear didn’t seem to be bothered by this one bit, and instead removed her elytra and stepped in.

“Here’s my meeting room, so I can guarantee there are no extra ears listening here.”

Scott forced himself to take his mind off of the light swaying, and instead focused on the topic at hand. 

“I have a reason to suspect that whatever conflict Xornoth is planning on is happening sooner than later,” Scott explained. “I’m going to be quite frank with you about this. I want to know which side you are on. I need people I can trust, and I thought since our Empires are near one another it could be beneficial for both to support each other if needed.” 

“Well, I’m not on Xornoth’s side, that’s for sure,” Pearl chuckled. “And like I said before, I can’t help but trust you whatever the reason may be. But I need to ask, what are your relations with Mythlands? King Sausage is my closest ally, and I want to be on the same page with him about things.”

“To be honest, I’ve spoken very little with him overall,” Scott admitted. “I would say we’re very neutral, but I cannot speak for him. And just to clear this up, I do not need the answer right now. I mean – I barged in here and gave you no time to even think. I just wanted to bring the issue up as quickly as possible.”

Pearl nodded thoughtfully and glanced out of the window. “I see. I’d like to know something though.”

“Ask away.”

“What gives you the reason to suspect that?” Pearl frowned. “We just saw one another in the Ocean Empire, so something must’ve happened in the few days you’ve been back in Rivendell.”  

Scott weighed his options for a while. Was Pearl trustworthy? She was allied with someone who potentially didn’t like Scott, but did that make her unreliable as well? What could she do with the information that the elf had met Xornoth during the last day.

His silence apparently spoke for him, and Pearl frowned. “Something did happen.” She said matter of factly. “Whatever it is, I’ll swear secrecy. Like I said – for some reason I trust you. And I’d like to think in the reality that feeling comes from, I was trustworthy to you too.”

Scott flashed her a quick smile. “I’m sure you were.”

The elf let out a sigh, and his shoulder dropped. “I met up with Xornoth,” he confessed quietly. “Well, not exactly met up. They showed up near Rivendell where I happened to be.”

Pearl tensed and looked over at Scott. “Are you alright? What happened?”

The elf motioned her to keep her voice down. “I’m fine. We mainly just talked. They were being very nice, actually. Xornoth apologized for what Joey did back at the wedding. But before they left, they said, and I quote ‘This is all just a game’”

Pearl frowned sadly, and shook her head in disapproval. “They’re trying to manipulate you and not even hide it.”

“No, you don’t get it,” Scott insisted. “It was different compared to before. They were different. It’s like Exor has less control of them than before.”

“Scott, that’s what they want you to think,” Pearl spoke gently. “They want you to lower your guard around them. What’ll happen eventually, is that you end up facing them in a battle, and you’ll hesitate while they don’t. You can’t let them get in your head like that.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Scott frowned stiffly. “But I think you are wrong.”

When both of them realized the conversation had essentially ended itself, Pearl sighed. “I see. I’ll speak with Sausage as soon as I can, and after I will let you know where we both stand on this.”

…………

Whilst flying from the Gilded Helianthia towards Rivendell, Scott made the quick decision to do a little detour and instead of going home. The elvenking took a quick turn south and headed over to the Crystal Cliffs instead. 

The quicker he could see where Gem stood in all of this, the better. Scott was slightly worried about where her loyalties were. She was Joey’s neighbor, and it probably would’ve been in her best interest to keep herself and her Empire on good terms with him. 

But Scott still needed to know. He just wished that Gem wouldn’t mind him barging in without any notice. 

Gem’s castle wasn’t nearly as difficult to spot as Jimmy’s was. The huge building towered over every other, and Scott landed right in front of it. The city seemed just as busy as it had been the last time he had visited. He had attracted enough attention just by landing in the middle of the city, and there were a lot of curious eyes on him.

The elvenking gave the large wooden door a loud knock, whilst trying to shake off the feeling of being watched from all directions. 

It took a good while for anyone to react to his tries to get the door to open. In fact, Scott had his fist raised in a desperate attempt to knock again when a small area of the door was melting away in front of his eyes.

Startled, Scott stepped back from it. The melting wood revealed a purple pair of firm eyes.

“Who are you and what is your business here?”

Ah, so a guard. Scott should’ve remembered not everyone of the other emperors just casually lived in a small cottage without anyone around. 

“I’m here to visit the head wizard, Geminitay. I am Scott Smajor, ruler of Rivendell.”

There was a beat of silence from the other side, and rustling of paper. “You don’t seem to have an appointment with her today.” The voice shot back with an almost accusing tone.

“I am aware,” Scott admitted. “I’m here to see if she’d have time to talk for just a moment. If the answer is no, that is fine too but in that case I’d like to make an appointment with her.” The elvenking added quickly. “Is it possible to speak with her? These are private topics I’d like to discuss.”

“The head Wizard is very busy,” the person on the other side snarked sarcastically. “You can make an appointment with her, but she can’t see every single person knocking on her door.”

“I understand, but –,”

“No buts!” The voice snapped back. “I am not allowed to let you in if you’re not on a schedule.”

The elvenking was ready to just give up on the matter and head back to Rivendell, when a third voice entered the conversation. 

“Wait, who is it? I have some time if it’s important,” Gem’s voice echoed from further back in the castle. 

“Oh, it’s nothing important –”

Scott was having none of this anymore, and instead he leaned against the door. “Gem, it’s me! If you have some time I’d like to speak with you. It won’t take long.”

There were footsteps approaching the door, until it opened. The guard who was denying Scott’s entry was slinking off in the distance, and the elvenking barely managed to see them before they turned the corner. 

“I’m sorry about that.” Gem closed the door when Scott had walked inside. “Like I said, a meeting fell short so I have some time. If we’re quick, I’m sure we can talk.”

“That’d be great,” Scott smiled. “I apologize for barging in like this, but I’m glad to hear you have some time.”

Gem led Scott up the stairs and into what he assumed was some kind of living room area. There were couches surrounding a large fireplace, a ton of shelves filled to brim with books and a potion making stand in the corner.

On one of the couches was sitting none other than fWhip, who put down whatever book he was reading to see who entered the room. 

“Do you mind if he joins in this?” Gem asked. “Especially if it has anything to do with the situation at hand. I and fWhip stay on the same side of conflict,” Gem explained while fWhip nodded along. “So if you need to speak about alliances, we both should be present.”

“That is more than fine by me,” Scott assured. “In fact, I’d be happy to speak with both of you.”

Gem ended up leading both Scott and fWhip up to the tower, and into a room with a circular large table. She motioned Scott to take a seat, while fWhip was already pulling a chair for himself. 

“Well,” Gem faced Scott. “Why don’t you explain what this is about first.”

And Scott gladly did just that. He went through the same talk he had earlier with Pearl, how he needed to know who he could trust into this time. The elvenking brought over his concerns over the Lost Empire, and how Joey harboring Xornoth was a danger for each one of the Empires. 

Both Gem and fWhip let him talk in peace. While Gem seemed very focused on what Scott was talking about, fWhip was leaning to the backrest of his chair and his eyes were focused to something right above Scott’s shoulder – to seem he was listening, but the elvenking could see he looked at nothing in particular. 

When he stopped talking, Gem seemed to weigh her words carefully. 

“I really do not like to belittle your concerns over The Lost Empire, but I truly do think you’re overreacting over the whole ordeal. I agree with you that whatever happened during the wedding was a mishap in his judgment, but personal grudges are very different from a full blown war. And I do not want to pick sides over disputes between two emperors that don't seem to be anything other than the two of them not liking one another,” Gem explained calmly. 

“That being said, if Joey were to reach out to me with similar intentions, I’d let him hear this exact same thing. It’s alright to not like certain people, you don’t need to be friends with everyone. But what you do need is to get along with everybody.”

Scott couldn’t help but frown at that. “I respect your decision, but I can’t just ‘get along’ with a person who has decided to hate me from day one. I wasn’t the one who started this. He was acting hostile towards me and my Empire from the start. I understand that he is your neighbor and you don’t wish to anger him – and I’d never ask you to do so. Just that if things go wrong and Rivendell is in trouble, can I or can I not ask for your help?”

“You can always ask,” fWhip threw a dry remark. “It’s up to us to decide whether the issue is something that can involve either of our Empires.”

“What fWhip means is that both Crystal Cliffs and the  Grimlands have excellent relationships with every single one of the other Empires. And I believe neither of us are able to side so strictly. We don’t want to make allies based on words, but treat everyone equally and deal with situations as they come.”

“I see,” the elvenking ended up responding dryly. “Well, I am truly thankful for your time, even when I barged in like this.”

Gem read through him like a book immediately. Her shoulders slumped and she suddenly seemed far more tired than seconds before. “The vines are getting so much worse, Scott. There’s not a chance we can take part in fighting right now. I just want to make it clear we’ve decided to stay neutral. Neither of us have anything against you or Rivendell.”

“Well,” fWhip let out a pretentious cough. “When the decision is between the empire that’s actively protecting a demon and the empire that unleashed the demon, the best choice is to stay neutral.”

Scott tensed, and Gem elbowed fWhip’s side.

“Don’t listen to him,” she pleaded. “It wasn’t your fault. fWhip is just frustrated over the vines. He understands you’re not at fault here, but –”

“I can speak for myself, thanks Gem,” fWhip spoke over her. “And she is right. Even if you’re not clearly at fault for the vines, they’re a direct consequence of your actions, intentional or not. And they’ve been around far longer than I’d like them to. It’s time for the issue to get resolved. They’ve been spreading for weeks, and there hasn’t been any progress in getting rid of them. They have not only reached Grimlands, but are interfering with everything there. Those plants are making mine and others’ lives more difficult.”

“Well, maybe you should look towards the direction of the actual problem then,” Scott suggested. “Joey is harboring the root of the issue here.”

“We really want to help, Scott,” Gem tried. “But we can’t start a conflict with Joey. I’m sorry, but this is the final on the topic.”

“I see.” The elf stepped back. “May Aeor bless you the strength to defend yourselves when the battle eventually hits your empires,” Scott stated coldly, before walking out of the doors.

Chapter Text

Scott was ecstatic when even for a bit he was able to put away the politics and instead focus on organizing an event.

The Northern Light festival was perhaps the most important celebration of the empire. It was the two days of the year every elf waited for. The two days of the year when Aeor blessed them with auroras like no others. 

Now, Rivendell had northern lights fairly often. It wasn’t rare to see them all around the year, but they were significantly more common during the winter. They brought hope and light to the darkness, and old folktales told that the brighter and more intense they were, the better the next harvest season was to be. 

Children were told that the stag god blessed a fox each year. That Aeor handed a gift of light to one of them, and the animal ran across the sky, swishing their tail, and in the process creating the magical lights. The more power Aeor was able to give away reflected on the brightness. 

The tradition had been passed on for generations, and each year Scott swore to give the event the justice it deserved. 

The planning wasn’t terribly complicated in the first place. The people of Rivendell were fond of traditions and doing things like they’d always been done. That’s why when it came to the northern lights festival – or any other celebration for that matter – Scott just looked back a couple of years. What had they done at the festival then? What had gone well and what needed some work. It was quite an easy point to start.

So when the day before the start of the festival arrived, most of the planning had been passed onto the people in charge of different activities. 

Scott could finally take a moment to breathe, and take a stroll around the city. It was always a pleasure to watch the festival being put together. Even though he and his council did a lot of the planning, it was a group effort from every citizen. 

The small marketplace area was full of local salesmen planning and decorating their stalls, while some people hung decorations to their houses. More than often the colors associated with the celebration had been turquoise green and reddish purple, to honor the very thing they were celebrating. 

And the area wasn’t only crowded by the salesmen getting ready, but a bunch of children as well. The flood of snow seemed to reach the youngest ones all the way to their chest, but that didn’t seem to stop any of them playing what seemed to be some kind of fusion mix of tag as well as hide and seek. The ones who wanted something more calm were either digging tunnels in the snow, or building snow lanterns and then begging their parents for candles and matches to light them up.

While dodging a couple of kids speeding by after one another, Scott made his way to the church. Unlike the marketplace, the building was empty except for the priest putting out some candles near the altar. He simply gave Scott a welcoming nod as he approached. 

The elvenking hadn’t had the time to visit the church in what felt like forever. But now that he had a couple of hours to just wander around, the elvenking figured it was the perfect time to see if Aeor had anything to say before the festival tomorrow. The god had been unlikely quiet ever since scolding Scott the last time. 

So the elvenking sat down on one of the benches to wait and watch as the priest walked around the room to put out each individual candle. When the only ones that still burnt were situated in or near the altar, he turned towards Scott from the other side of the room. 

“Would you like me to leave them on for you?”

Scott could tell he was thrilled that the elvenking was finally visiting the church again. 

“If you don’t mind,” he eventually nodded. “I’ll put them out before leaving.”

“Take all the time you need, your highness,” the priest walked one last time over to the altar to collect his coat, and then headed for the front door. “I’ll lock the door from the outside so that you can spend a moment alone with Aeor.”

“Thank you,” the elvenking called after him, but the priest was already gone. When the door clicked once after it was closed, Scott knew he was finally alone. 

With no rush, Scott pulled off his coat and placed it down to the bench. After that, the elvenking walked up to the altar and kneeled down on it. The center of the town had a huge statue of Aeor, but the church had a slightly smaller version that was made almost entirely out of gold. Now, it was staring at the king almost accusingly.

With a trembling sigh, Scott pressed his head down and folded his arms onto his lap. Then the elvenking closed his eyes.

He let his thoughts wander freely, until he was able to gather enough focus to actually call to Aeor. More than often his calls – or praises, however you wanted to call them – were left unanswered, yet Scott was sure they weren’t left unheard. 

That’s why he was surprised to find himself from the spiritual field after opening his eyes. 

The misty field looked like it always had, except this time Aeor was nowhere to be seen. Scott stood up in confusion, his eyes scanning the small area he could see. 

The elf waited patiently, until he couldn’t anymore. Even though Aeor had never directly prohibited him from exploring the spiritual realm further, he had never been here without Aeor present. In fact, Scott had thought it was the god themselves who chose to pull them here. 

After walking for what felt like a considerable amount of time, the elf had to conclude there really wasn’t anything here besides the endless grassy field and never ending mist. In a feeble attempt to get back to the land of the living, Scott knelt back down and closed his eyes again.

He let his thoughts wander again, thinking of his mortal body still kneeling in the church. 

That was until the grass rustled around him, and the oh so familiar hoofsteps walked closer. The elf opened his eyes and straightened his back. 

“Aeor,” he breathed into the air. “I thought you wouldn’t arrive at all.”

The approaching quieted down for a moment, like the god hesitated. Then, from the mist, a stag approached. 

Except this wasn’t Aeor. 

Scott knew who he was supposed to worship, even though the resemblance was uncanny. The stag had the slightest red tint in its fur, and a different kind of glint in its eyes. Yet, it walked forward in an almost uncertain manner, very different from how Aeor held their head high no matter what the circumstances were. 

The stag didn’t look like Exor either. 

“Hello there,” it trotted forward, stopping a good distance from Scott. 

After the initial shock, Scott was able to speak again. “Who are you? Where’s Aeor?”

“Aeor?” The stag cocked it’s head in confusion until it seemingly understood how ridiculous it sounded. “Aeor, yes. I don’t know.”

Scott frowned and looked at the stag in an accusing manner. “Well, who are you? What are you doing here?” 

The stag – who looked so much younger than Aeor – shifted in its feet. His eyes held no emotion, and it was staring into what felt like distance. Almost like it was trying to make up a false truth. 

“I am a god, you could say,” the stag frowned. “I don’t want to be, but I am. I cannot tell you my name, for it's prohibited, but you know me. We’ve met. Multiple times, in multiple forms, many worlds. I understand if you cannot remember, but I remember you.”

Confused, Scott looked up at the god. The stag – it almost didn’t look like a god. It looked like it didn’t belong in this realm, like it was meant to be elsewhere. The elvenking had always thought Aeor and Exor were the only ones of their kind, but could he have been wrong?

“Why are you here?”

Once again, the stag stiffened. He had this strange, nervous energy that Scott couldn’t remember seeing in Aeor nor Exor ever. 

“I want to apologize. I do what I need to, what I see is the best, even though it’s not always best at the moment,” the stag spoke. “I just need you to know I am trying. No one shall be hurt, I promise that. But it’s all just a game. You’ll understand.”

A distant sound of walking made the false god’s ear shot up. With panicked eyes, it gave Scott one last look before taking off into the mist, opposing the direction of where the sound of the hooves were coming from. 

Mere minutes after the strange stag had disappeared Aeor pushed through the mist. Scott finally turned his head from the direction the other stag had disappeared into, and faced his god. 

“You prayed.” Aero stated, seemingly unknowing of the encounter just moments before. “And I chose to answer.”

Scott swallowed, debating if he should ask about the other stag. However, when Aeor started going on about the upcoming festival and the vines, the elf decided that not speaking about something wasn’t lying. 

…………

Jimmy arrived with Poppy a couple of hours before his council did, and just a moment after the elvenking had exited the church with more questions than answers. 

Scott happened to be in the festival area looking over preparations one more time when one of the elves working pointed towards the sky. The elvenking obviously turned to look as well. At first he only saw Poppy.

The pesky bird had seemingly really grown to like the Cod Empire. In fact, he seemed to spend more time there than in Rivendell. Scott didn’t mind this one bit though, it only became a problem when he needed to send a messenger bird over to the other Empire. And even in that case one of his more experienced fliers were more than capable to do the job. 

But Poppy wasn’t the only one arriving. The bird circled around until Jimmy had caught up with him.  His flight seemed as stable as ever. Even the small air current that Poppy was creating by flying around the Codfather seemed to throw his balance off. 

By someone who chose to travel by flight quite often, Jimmy really was terrible at it. Scott made a mental note to remind himself to tell the other emperor to never take the path from Rivendell to Crystal Cliffs. It was almost a certain accident waiting to happen. 

Poppy dove down from the sky, and Scott extended his arm for the bird to land on it. Immediately after landing the owl turned to look back, and Scott could’ve sworn he saw a mischievous glint in its eyes. Almost like Poppy knew what was about to transpire next and didn’t want to miss it.

Normally, Jimmy was quite able to land. He’d have to take a couple of extra running steps to hold off the forward momentum, but he was able to manage it. But now, when a thick blanket of snow pretty much prevented normal movement on ground, those few steps to regain balance weren’t an option. 

What Scott had opted out to do was a very controlled landing from straight above. Jimmy apparently had decided that the unusual conditions weren’t going to affect his method of landing. 

Therefore, unsurprisingly, right when his feet stuck to the snowy ground and sank knee deep, they were stuck. The issue was that his body was still going. So with a shriek, the Codfather plummeted face first to the snow. 

Poppy let out a pleased chirp and turned to Scott with the same glint in its eyes. The elvenking couldn’t help but laugh. He walked the narrow pathway that had been dug into the snow as close to Jimmy as he could get. Lucky for him, he hadn’t ended up far from it. 

“Are you alright?” Scott didn’t even bother to try to hide the amusement from his voice, especially not when Jimmy pushed himself up from the pile of snow and wiped it off from his face. 

“Sadly, yes,” he groaned in reply and looked somewhere past Scott. When the elf turned around to see where his attention had gone, he could see a few of the worker elves and some other townsfolk around. Some were snickering at the landing, others seemed concerned for Jimmy’s well being. 

Scott only offered the Codfather his hand, and pulled Jimmy up. “Don’t mind them,” the elvenking patted his shoulder quickly. “I thought you were very graceful.”

“Scott, I will just take off and fly home.” Jimmy’s ears were red from embarrassment, but even if he acted mad the other emperor wasn’t able to hide the fond smile. 

…………

When Jimmy’s Council eventually arrived the preparations were mostly finished and the town had quieted down in expectant anticipation of the start of the festival the next day. Most of the streets were cleared of snow, and it had been piled right next to buildings. Some of the piles reached all the way to the rooftops. And the small footprints in the snow and even up on the rooftops revealed that at least the children were enjoying the unusual weather. 

Since it was dark outside, Scott had sent a group of elves to meet up with the Council of the Cod Empire down the mountain. The way up was treacherous even without the snow, and it would’ve been far safer to do with a few people who knew where they were going. A couple of extra lanterns couldn’t hurt either. 

When Routa eventually barged to Scott’s house to let him and Jimmy know that the group was nearly in Rivendell, both of the Emperors headed outside. 

And as expected a dim light was moving up the mountain at a steady pace. Eventually the group reached the town, and after quick greetings and introductions the guests were shown their quarters so that everyone was able to get ready for dinner.

…………

Jimmy’s council had been nothing but lovely throughout the evening, even though Scott could tell they’d gotten similarly stern talking as his council. 

However, that didn’t bother the elvenking one bit. It was nice to see the room full of people who were chattering with whoever was sitting next to them. When Scott had planned the sitting arrangements, he had purposefully mixed the two councils together. Therefore no one could hide with someone they were comfortable with, and instead encouraged to meet new people. 

But Scott had still seated himself right besides Jimmy. But that made sense, of course. The two rulers needed to be able to talk during lunch. There definitely weren't any ulterior motives behind the move. 

As the dinner progressed on, Scott was astonished how well it was going. The start had been sort of awkward with introductions and no one knowing what to speak about, but eventually as dinner went on – and as alcohol was offered – the two councils seemed to open up to one another. 

Scott couldn’t help but notice that a pair that got on especially well seemed to be Halla, the person in charge of Rivendell’s trades, and a youngish boy who had introduced himself as Kala. He had turned out to be a member of the other Council, and mainly in charge of agriculture. Scott most definitely hadn’t eavesdropped when he was explaining his profession to Halla. 

Especially after Halla and Kala started properly hitting it off, telling jokes and acting friendly around each other, it seemed to open everyone else up as well. There was a lot of casual talk – not just about politics or formalities – but actual friendly talk. Some of the Cod Empire’s council was expressing their excitement to the festival and especially the northern lights, while Rivendell's side was praising how beautiful it would be. 

After the dinner, Scott led Jimmy back to his place.

Most of the two councils headed to their own quarters, however neither Scott or Jimmy missed the way Halla and Kala both disappeared simultaneously elsewhere. Even if others did notice, no one wanted or felt the need to interfere. 

The moon was already beginning to rise over the town, and the only thing lighting the darkness were the few dimly lit lanterns still burning in the night. 

Scott had provided housing for Jimmy’s council separately, but since the Codfather had previously stayed in his guest bedroom, the elvenking figured it would be a logical move again. 

“The dinner was amazing, by the way,” Jimmy spoke behind him. They’d walked all the way from the dining hall in silence, so the sudden noise startled Scott.

“I’ll make sure to let the chef know,” Scott smiled, never turning his face towards Jimmy. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“Not just the food,” the other Emperor confessed. “The meeting overall. It went better than what I could’ve ever hoped. I truly think my council is starting to warm up to this whole idea. They seem to really like you.”

Scott turned around to flash Jimmy a smile. “I know! I’m thrilled it went so smoothly. Now they have two days of festival activities to spend together, and after that both of the sides are more likely to be willing to help each other out.” 

Jimmy’s smile softened. “It was such a good idea on your part too. This whole easing them into it by getting to know one another.”

Scott pulled open the door to his house, and before even hanging up his coat the elven king grabbed a box of matches from the shelf. He lit one up and walked around the room to light up a couple of lanterns. 

“I’m just happy it worked,” he eventually admitted while removing his coat. “My council was not thrilled. Especially after I mentioned Xornoth. In fact, I think they’re far more happy with your Empire than with me as of now.”

Jimmy followed Scott’s lead and hung up his coat to the stand as well. “I’m sure they’ll come around,” the Codfather reassured. “I mean, it seems like everyone is excited over this festival. Maybe they’ll loosen up.” 

“Some definitely have,” Scott chuckled. Jimmy only rolled his eyes with a smile, but they both most definitely knew who the elvenking had meant. 

After a short silence, Scott motioned over to the chairway which led to both the guest bedroom and his bedroom. “Well, if you’re tired you know where to go. Just make yourself at home.”

Jimmy took a hesitant step towards the stairs, only to glance back. “Aren’t you heading to bed?”

Scott gave a nonchalant shrug. “I’m not too tired yet. And since technically it’s a vacation day tomorrow, we’re free to sleep in a bit longer than I’m used to. So I might kill some time while I’m at it.”

“Well,” Jimmy stalled. “I’m not that tired either.”

“I have board games.”

“Say no more.”

Chapter Text

Scott awoke to the stray sunbeams hitting his face. The elf blinked his eyes open with an unsatisfied groan, before burying his face back to the surface he had been sleeping on. 

The sleep didn’t hit anymore like it used to, and after a few minutes of trying to pretend like he could fall asleep again, Scott decided it was time to get up. 

However, when he opened his eyes again, Scott didn’t expect to find himself from the living room couch. And he definitely hadn’t expected to find Jimmy laying next to him. 

The elvenking scrambled up. Right. They must’ve both fallen asleep during the card game they had been playing. The deck of cards was scattered all over. Most of it was lying on the sofa table in front of them, but some were on the couch and a couple had fallen onto the rug right below the couch. Somehow, even though still asleep, Jimmy was holding two cards in his hand. 

With a slight smile, the elf reached down to pick up the cards on the floor, and placed them up on the table instead. While pushing himself back up, Scott glanced quickly towards the old clock cabinet in the corner. It wasn’t even eight yet.

Even though most of the salesmen were probably heading to work, the festival itself wasn’t supposed to start for a few hours. They’d have a good amount of time before actually needing to get up. 

Reluctantly, Scott got off the sofa. The elf made sure to keep his steps light and quiet to not wake up Jimmy. The other emperor seemed oddly comfortable on the couch, even though the way his back was bent seemed more than uncomfortable. 

The elvenking took note of the fact that he didn’t have any kind of blanket on, and searched the room with his eyes. Eventually he located a wool blanket sitting on one of the kitchen chairs. 

Scott went to fetch it, and carefully placed it over Jimmy, who barely even moved at the touch. The elf, after getting the blanket in its place, stepped back and held his hands up in anticipation. He waited only for a couple of seconds, listening to the calming and deep breaths Jimmy took as he slept. 

Eventually Scott concluded that he had managed to sneak the blanket over him without waking him up, and the elvenking made his way to the small kitchen area. Scott managed to make some coffee, while making a grimace at every even slightly louder noise that he made. 

When all the elf could do was to watch the water and wait for it to boil, Scott found himself thinking about the strange encounter the day prior. 

He had never seen anyone or anything other than Aeor on the spirit realm. In fact, Scott had always thought the stag god was the only thing in there – that it was something they created. And it still felt that way. 

The smaller stag almost seemed out of place. Like they weren’t supposed to be there. In comparison to the god, the smaller deer felt almost humane. Aeor’s eyes were always very stoick, and the stag used some sort of telepathy when they communicated. 

This mystery deer, however, spoke with its mouth and had eyes like a player did. But how in the world would a player looking like a deer get into the spirit realm? It made no sense.

Even its voice. It felt so familiar. But he just couldn’t seem to place it.

The whistling sound of the water boiling snapped Scott from his thoughts. 

 By the same time the elf scrambled to remove the now overboiling pot of water from the stove, Jimmy stirred on the couch behind him. 

At first Scott thought he hadn’t woken up completely, but when the elf turned around to check Jimmy was sitting up and rubbing the last bits of sleep from his eyes. 

“Good morning,” the elf chuckled. “I assume you’d like some coffee?”

“Very much so,” Jimmy immediately agreed, and stretched his arms up. The Codfather let out a yawn and looked over to Scott. “You’re awake early,” he wondered out loud. “or am I awake late?”

“Both,” Scott chuckled, and handed him a cup. “We’re in no rush, though. How did we fall asleep on the couch?”

“I think you drifted off first,” Jimmy admitted. “And I was pretty comfortable there too so I just stayed.”

“Next time you want to sleep with me you can just ask first.”

Scott enjoyed tremendously how Jimmy’s ears lit up bright red immediately at the comment. The fluster didn’t last long, and soon enough the Codfather had launched a pillow straight at Scott, who barely had time to block it with his hand. 

Jimmy looked more than displeased, but accepted his defeat.

“I hate you.”

“No you don’t” 

…………

Joel and Lizzie arrived before lunch. Jimmy had politely asked if the two other emperors would be able to attend the festival as well, and even though Scott was reluctant, he eventually did agree. 

The two of them landed far more gracefully to the grounds of Rivendell than how Jimmy had done it the day prior. In fact, during their landing Scott shot a smirk at Jimmy who just rolled his eyes but showed no malice to being made fun of. 

“Good to see you made it here safely,” Scott was the first to greet the arrivals. “It seems to be a bit windy today.”

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing we’re not used to. Living next to the Ocean and all,” Lizzie smiled, and removed her elytra from her back. 

While Jimmy was pulling Joel a bit further to discuss something, Lizzie seemed to be keen on talking with Scott. 

“Do you mind if we speak for a moment? Alone?” 

“Sure,” Scott frowned at her tone. The elf led the other emperor a bit further from the town square, until the two of them were practically standing on Scott’s front porch. 

“You can leave your elytra here,” he explained quickly, and Lizzie nodded. 

She didn’t waste any time getting to the point. Right after her elytra was leaning against the porch fence, she spoke. 

“Why did you agree to the arranged marriage?” Lizzie shot straight away. “You have no reason to. I overheard your Council members speaking – and even they weren’t too fond of your decision. I know Jimmy can be.. too trusting at times. And you’ll be getting an enemy for life if you mess with him.”

Scotts posture softened, and he flashed a small smile to Lizzie. “That’s not my plan at all,” he confessed truthfully. “Like I said to my council, Rivendell needs trustful allies. And I feel like I can trust him. I have absolutely no intentions in harming him or his empire,” the elf assured. “And if I ever did – even unintentionally – you’re more than welcome to come to his defense. I wouldn’t expect anything less from a sibling.”

That seemed to relax the Ocean Queen a bit, and she crossed her arms. “Fine. I have another thing too, though.”

“Well, let's hear it.”

“You mentioned that you’ve experienced heavy snow, am I correct?”

Scott recoiled back. 

“We have, yes,” the elf admitted. “In fact, a lot heavier than normally, especially during this time of year.” 

Lizzie seemed thoughtful, lost in her thoughts. Before Scott had the chance to push the matter further, she gave a hesitant nod. 

“I don’t know if this is something connected to Rivendell having heavier snow than usual, but there have been unusual things happening in the Ocean Empire as well,” she confessed. “Not exactly snowing – it doesn’t snow in the Ocean Empire. But these.. spikes of ice have appeared seemingly out of nowhere. And even though the weather is a tiny bit chillier than it typically is, the ice should be melting. It’s not going anywhere though.”

Scott frowned. “How big are we talking?”

“Small enough that this amount of snow could easily cover them,” Lizzie confirmed. “That’s why I figured there’s a chance that even if there is any, you wouldn’t have seen them.”

“Are they anywhere else?”

“I have no idea,” The Ocean Queen shrugged her shoulders. “Joel is the only one I’ve spoken about them with, and he’s fairly certain there aren’t any in Mezalea. My current plan is to sort of wait until the next meeting and see if anyone else has experienced something similar. If not, well.. The Ocean Empire might’ve something other to worry about than the vines.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” Scott frowned. “But if they’re magic, can they be also caused by Xornoth’s magic? I mean how many powers does he have?”

Lizzie shook her head in disapproval. “Too many. I’m also not too hopeful, even if the Ocean Empire is the only place they currently are in. The vines started the same, didn’t they? They seem very similar in comparison to the vines. But let’s not think about them right now. I mainly just brought them up because you mentioned the snow and I was curious to see if you’d have the whole ice issue, you know,” Lizzie motioned with her arms over to a nearby house with a couple of icicles hanging from the chute. “Besides the normal ice of course.”

Scott nodded in amusement. “I agree, we can discuss it in the next meeting.”

…………

After meeting back up with Joel and Jimmy, Scott briefly walked all the emperors present around Rivendell. They had both of course been here before, but Rivendell really changed during the festival. The normally dull and snowy Empire was now full of colors, but definitely still had a fair share of snow. 

Joel, it seemed like, hated the snow more than anyone Scott had ever met. The Mezalean king was not only shivering even with the cozy coat he was handed to, but somehow managed to step into a pile of snow and in the process getting it in his shoe. While the emperor cursed at himself while his socks got wet, Scott was about to offer him a spare pair of his boots. Lizzie managed to step into the situation before him and simply just told her husband to stop acting like a child. 

And even though Joel did quiet down after that, Scott could still see he wasn’t thrilled about the weather conditions. The elvenking understood somewhat. It must be quite the culture shock to come from such a warm place straight to the coldest Empire by far.

To give Joel a chance to dry and warm up even for a while, Scott sneakily led the three other emperors into the church. The doors were open to the public, but a lot of the prayers were typically done either early in the morning or deep into the night. That was why when they walked in, they were the only ones in the building. 

“And this is the church of Aeor,” Scott explained briefly. “People come here to pray for all sorts of things from them. Good weather, health, and happiness.”

“So that’s Aeor’s I assume,” Lizzie was pointing at the large statue of the stag in front of them. 

“You’d be right. They are Rivendell’s protector.”

“The other stag – the red one – I’m assuming is the evil one then?” 

When Scott turned to look at Joel, he was taking a closer look at a glass window portraying an artwork of the fight between the two. 

“Well, yes.” Scott sighed. “Exor. Exor and Aeor were siblings a long time ago, with completely opposing views of life. A long story short, they’ve found a way to come back over and over again through champions, that are vessels for their powers,” Scott motioned to his horns. 

“It only seems to happen when the rulers of Rivendell have twins. One of them will be chosen by Aeor, and the other one by Exor. And the one who gets the red one seems to always go a bit crazy and fall off the deep end.”

Lizzie walked over to the window as well. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but that would mean Xornoth’s powers come from Exor, right?”

“You’d be right,” Scott stated.

“Then where are your powers?” 

“I don’t know,” Scott admitted truthfully. “Years ago, when Aeor spoke to me for the first time, they didn’t speak to me about powers – just defending Rivendell at all costs. I guess I sort of assumed that having any sort of magic wasn’t in the package.”

“First time?” Lizzie choked out and glanced at Joel. “And how often do you speak with this..?”

“God,” Scott filled in the blank for her. “Aeor is a God. And I speak with them quite often. Last time yesterday, before Jimmy arrived. I usually just pray, and sometimes they appear and sometimes they don’t. It’s really up to Aeor themselves.”

“And uhh.. what did you speak of yesterday?”

Scott squirmed under their gazes, and rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I’m not sure If I should be openly telling you. Besides, yesterday with them was strange – or different. So I don’t really –”

“Different how?” Lizzie pushed. “Scott, surely you’ve discussed the vines? If it's a god, it should know how to get rid of them?”

“Well, you see, I really don’t.” The elf stammered. “Truthfully, there’s not a lot of answers. Aero just tells me to figure it out myself.”

“Not a very supportive god,” Lizzie elbowed Joel straight to his side for the comment, and the Mezalean king doubled slightly over. 

“Are you sure there’s nothing? Anything could be helpful in this case,” she tried to gently push.

“I mean…,” Scott hesitated, but eventually caved. “Yesterday, there was a third god. I mean, Aeor is usually the only one I see. The only time I saw Exor was when Aeor showed me them, so I know what they look like. But yesterday I met up with another deer. It seemed so much younger, inexperienced – and it said it didn’t want to be a god. And it left before Aeor arrived.” 

Scott glanced at the window showcasing Exor and Aeor’s fight. “But the thing is, there’s not a third god. There’s nothing even indicating that in any of the texts I’ve read. I don’t know what it is, but it claims to know me. It claims to not want to be a god, and the weird thing is that I feel like I know it. I feel like we’ve met before. But we haven’t. I would remember if we had. It’s voice was so familiar..”

Jimmy and Lizzie exchanged glances.

 “You feel like you’ve met, but you don’t remember you have? Isn’t that what Pearl spoke to us about months ago?” Jimmy asked carefully. 

“I think it’s just Déjà-vu,” Lizzie eventually concluded. “Maybe you’ve met this deer god thing when you were very young and can’t remember it.”

“Yeah,” Scott frowned. “Maybe.”

He knew it wasn’t that, but it seemed pointless to fight about it. How could he explain a feeling he wasn’t even able to describe?

“How about we forget this for now and just continue the tour?”

Chapter Text

After the four rulers had exited the church, they spent the rest of the daylight walking around Rivendell. 

After a bunch of activities such as sledding and a puppet show – both of which were supposed to be things for children but Scott had no heart to tell the others otherwise – the four of them had ended up standing around the center of the town with a warm bun each. 

Joel was still complaining about the amount of snow, yet he seemed to have enjoyed downhill sledding the most. The Mezalean king had almost gotten run over by a six year old elf and in the process of dodging had to direct his sled to a pile of snow. 

This time the snow wasn’t just in his shoes, but Scott would have argued there was more snow than clothes. 

The parent of the child had been horrified, trying to apologize profusely while both Scott and Lizzie attempted to hold in their laughter while assuring that as long as the kid was alright, they had absolutely no problem with someone knocking down the Mezalean king just a bit. 

However, they did need to ask her help to dig Joel out of the pile of powder snow.

The elf took the final bite of his bun, and only half listened when Jimmy, Lizzie and Joel went over the events of the day. 

Scott, however, couldn’t help but notice Halla and Kala walking together in the crowd. Whatever Halla was talking about, she seemed very passionate about. Scott couldn’t help but curiously watch as the elf pulled Kala to a makeshift wooden hut. If the elvenking was to squint his eye, he could barely make out the sign outside of it. 

Scott’s face lit up. “Hey, let’s head over there.”

The other emperors seemed to be more than happy to move along, and merely followed Scott over to the hut. There was a small opening on top of it that had a steady stream of smoke coming out. 

To get inside, Scott had to pin his wings tightly against his back as well as crouch. He held the door open, until Lizzie, who was the next in line to enter, had a grip on it. 

At the very center of the circular hut was an open fire, surrounded with multiple cut down tree stumps that were now repurposed as chairs. Some were occupied by elves, and Scott was pleased to see some of the Cod Empire council – besides Kala – there as well. 

The space was lit by only the fire in the middle and whatever was left of the daylight shining from above and through small cracks in the wood. Scott walked carefully to some unoccupied chairs. He sat down, and the other emperors followed. 

The elf in charge of this particular tent had been handing out wooden mugs and pouring out drinks from a kettle that had a stand over the fire. She hadn’t even noticed the four rulers walking in, and as she turned around Scott gave her a friendly wave. 

She immediately rushed over, on the way grabbing each of the rulers a cup each. She soon returned with a kettle, and while filling everyone’s mugs she explained to the other rulers that the drink was grape juice warmed up on an open fire. 

Scott sipped his drink while enjoying the quiet mutter of others in the hut. Everyone was trying to be politely quiet to let others enjoy the peace. The rulers next to him must’ve taken the hint as well, because all of them stayed in the hut for a good while, occasionally talking, but mostly just staring out of the hole on the ceiling, and watching it get more and more dark, until the sun eventually set down altogether. 

 ………

To be frank, the night was nearly perfect. After the sun had set, a pitch black sky had opened up above. There wasn’t a singular cloud on sight, and besides a tiny, cold breeze there wasn’t any wind or snow. 

It was almost always like this, at least during the festival time. It was almost like Aeor wanting to clear the stage before the show started. It was always difficult to try to predict when the northern lights were to start. However, the current conditions hinted to very soon.

The priest of the town had noticed the conditions as well, and soon the bells of the church were ringing as a sign for everyone to gather up at the town square. 

Now, the northern lights looked gorgeous anywhere in the mountains. But the best view was where there were no buildings to obstruct your view, or any light pollution to bother the eye. Just darkness and the lights in the sky.

And every year the place of viewing was the same. The whole city would gather up to the highest peak in Rivendell’s territory – ironically, the highest peak of the mountains was in Crystal Cliffs’ area – and watch them there. Admittedly, in the past there had been accidents with people almost falling down the deadly drop on the peak, so Scott’s parents had ordered a rope fence sturdy enough to keep all the visitors from almost certain death. 

People had begun to gather at the town square and the alleyways connected to it, eagerly waiting for the walk up the mountains. 

“I’m assuming something important is about to happen?” Joel remarked with his at least third cup of steaming hot berry juice. 

“You’d be right. The priest will soon lead everyone up the mountain to see the northern lights.”

Joel squinted his eyes and looked straight up. “I don’t see any.”

“Yet,” Scott promised. “The priest knows when to go.” 

The rulers couldn’t even see the priest himself, only the church doors open and close. And right after people started moving as a crowd. 

The top of the mountain had space for everyone, and Scott didn’t fancy rushing on top with the more impatient elves. So instead he ushered the three other emperors out of the way for long enough that the biggest masses had passed through. 

After giving the others a head, Scott walked after them. The group was still visible in the distance but just because of the few lanterns they were carrying. Luckily, the small path that had been dug in the snow for this very reason had grown in size thanks to the tens of elves passing through it. 

Every now and again Scott looked over his shoulder and made sure the other emperors were keeping up fine. Each time he took a look, Jimmy had fallen more and more behind. Which wouldn’t be a huge issue, but he didn’t know the mountains and they could be dangerous when you didn’t know what you were doing – especially in the dark. 

Jimmy seemed to be even more fidgety than normal. The Codfather was dragging his tail behind in the snow, and flicking it around. He was starting to drag behind the group heading up the mountain, so Scott slowed his pace as well in order to let the other emperor catch up to them. 

“You alright there?” The elf waited until Jimmy had completely caught up to him, and continued upwards the mountain when the Codfather was walking beside him. “It’s not too far away, promise.”

Jimmy flashed him an absent smile. “That’s not what I’m worried about.”

“Then what?” 

“Who says I’m worried about something?”

Scott rolled his eyes in amusement. “You did. Quite literally one sentence ago. So what’s up?”

Jimmy stopped walking altogether, and the moment it took Scott to register he had fallen behind again, the elf had moved a couple of feet ahead of the other ruler. Scott turned back around confused.

He wasn’t expecting to see Jimmy kneeling on the ground on one knee. He must’ve noticed the surprised look on Scott’s face, because the second their eyes met Jimmy snapped his head away to look at anything else. His ears were burning again, but this time the embarrassment was something else in nature, something that made Scott’s smile die down. 

“Ah, forget it, it’s dumb, I just thought…,” the Codfather stuttered. “The ring. It was ready, and I thought that maybe you’d want a proposal or something but it’s dumb. There’s no point, is there – you have to say yes anyway –”

It had taken Scott all this time to register the small box on Jimmy’s hands. Oh. That’s why he had been nervous. The elf cocked his lips to a smile, which seemed to finally stop Jimmy’s aimless rambling. 

“You’re cute.”

Jimmy looked almost offended by the statement, but Scott didn’t miss how he visibly relaxed by the comment as well. 

“It’s sweet that you actually wanted to propose, I don’t think it’s dumb at all,” Scott knelt down to Jimmy’s level. “What I think is dumb, is to stress over it.”

When Jimmy’s expression didn’t lighten up at that, Scott felt his stomach drop. Had he sounded too harsh or dismissive? The elf inched himself a bit closer to Jimmy, ignoring the fact that his hand was now covered in snow.

“Hey, it’s a yes. It would’ve been a yes anyway.”

“Oh yeah?” Jimmy kept avoiding his eyes. “Of course it is.”

There was a beat of silence that the elf didn’t know what to make out of. 

“I’m sorry if I upset you,” Scott eventually stammered out. “I didn’t mean to do that.” 

Jimmy brushed a couple of stray strands of hair from his face with a deep breath. “Don’t apologize,” he sighed. “You’ve done nothing wrong.”

The two of them seemed to end up in a stalemate. Whatever was bothering Jimmy, he clearly didn’t want to discuss it and Scott on the other hand didn’t feel like pushing the matter further. The tension had shifted to whatever it had been to just awkward. 

Jimmy was definitely aware of the tension as well. The Codfather eventually reached for Scott’s hand, and placed the box with the ring on it. The elf ended up just taking it, pressing it against his chest protectively. 

“I don’t want to make anything awkward,” Scott looked up in surprise when Jimmy spoke. 

“I like you a lot,” he admitted. “And this entire thing feels wrong and weird. Not because of anything you’ve done, but because of the fact that everything you do is based on politics and I just like you. A lot. And I don’t want to make it weird, I can be professional but I just wanted to be straightforward about it. I mean even though just not talking about it is technically not lying about it, but –”

“I like you too.”

“ – I just need to get it out now rather than later. Because god I would never be able to look at myself in the mirror again –”

“Jimmy, zip it,” Scott lifted his hand up and waved until the Codfather had stopped talking. “I like you too. I don’t know quite how, but I wouldn’t be opposed to just.. trying, I suppose.”

The Codfather gave him a blank stare. “Are you serious?”

Scott rolled his eyes in amusement, and tossed a handful of snow at Jimmy. “Yes, I am serious. But we can discuss it more at a later date, don’t you think? Without my whole empire being present,” the elf snickered. 

Scott opened the box enough to take the ring from inside, and placed it on his left ring finger. “Do you have your’s?” 

Wordlessly, Jimmy lifted up his left hand and showed the ring there. 

“Oh look, we’re matching.” 

Maybe the confidence he suddenly possessed was from Aeor and his presence, or maybe Scott just was feeling daring. With his heart beating out of his chest, the elf leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on Jimmy’s cheek. 

While Scott got back on his feet, Jimmy’s brain had apparently short circuited. 

The elf helped him up with a smile, took his hand and started heading up the mountain. Only when his back was turned towards Jimmy, Scott’s face heated up. 

How did he do that?

 ………

The priest, as always, had been correct. The northern lights started as a couple of faded out moving stripes in the sky, but in a span of just a few minutes turned to their usual glory. The turquoise and purple was filling the entire sky and lighting up the surrounding area completely. 

At the end, they had maybe two whole minutes to enjoy the natural phenomenon. 

The coloring of them slowly faded into deep red, and slowly engulfed the skies above them. Now the previously calm and turquoise lights were completely overtaken by the burning red waves that moved with much more violence and purpose.  

“What the hell is that noise?!” Joel gasped beside him, staring at the phenomenon with something between amazement and fear.

The sound of the northern lights was haunting. It reminded Scott of radio waves. Like cracking ice or magic bouncing from object to another. And the sound was loud. It came from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. 

The sound wasn’t what worried him, though. 

Scott pushed past Joel, any other people who were between him and the pathway back to Rivendell. The elvenking didn’t stop despite the shouts after him, and spread his wings in order to make it to Rivendell even slightly faster. 

Frantically, Scott glided down the mountain back to Rivendell, and stopped to take a breath only when he had reached the town square. 

The town was now ghostly. With most – if not all – residents up in the mountains. Scott wished that they’d stay there, but the elvenking knew better. He had a few minutes until the residents and other rulers would arrive. 

 Even though the people were technically alone, Scott wasn’t worried for them. Xornoth – if this was his doing in the first place  – wouldn’t attack civilians. They weren’t like that. If they were to attack, they’d go straight to Rivendell.

For a moment, when the town seemed as serene as they left it, Scott thought he had been incorrect. That Xornoth did indeed attack the group of people up in the mountains. Something was obviously happening. The bright red northern lights were like a battlecry, or a bad omen that would be fulfilled at any time. 

Yet, Scott felt like he was crazy. Having stormed off from his people, ready for battle that seemingly wasn’t even happening. 

“Scott!”

The elf tensed only for a moment before he recognized Jimmy running down the hill. After him, the people of Rivendell arrived back to their home as well. There were mutters and rumors being passed from person to person, as his people skittishly made their way over to the town square. 

Everyone seemed just as lost as Scott was, and they wanted reassurance. 

By now, Jimmy had reached him. “What’s happening?” 

Lost, Scott lifted his eyes to the red northern lights above. “This has never happened before,” the elf eventually had to admit. “They’re not supposed to be like that. They are usually –”

The silent murmurs around turned to first one scream, then panicked yelling. It took Scott far too long to see why people were hastily making their way away from the town square, instead hiding in houses or the alleyways nearby. 

Only when the area had cleared a good amount, Scott could see the figure with a cloak standing still with no intention to move. The black, feathered wings under it were a dead giveaway.

Scott frowned. “Xornoth?”

Chapter Text

Xornoth stood there, right in front of everyone. 

Scott had just seen them a few days prior. He had just seen them, so why did they seem so different? 

Their gleaming red eyes didn’t hold any emotion, so unlike when Scott had last met with them. Xornoth wasn’t supposed to attack blindly – no, they were supposed to have fun with destruction. Enjoy the chaos and mischief they caused. 

Their posture was strict, far from the relaxed and sarcastic person the elf met only a few days ago. 

But this was like that night. 

It was exactly like that. The realization hit Scott like a truck, and the elvenking nearly stumbled with the force of it. 

“I know you have at least one of the artifacts,” Xornoth barked into the air and took a few steps towards Scott. “Give it to me, and we can stop this here!”

“An artifact?” Scott tensed. Quite frankly, he had no idea what Xornoth was after. And even if he did, his sibling should have been the last person to get their hands to it. “I have no idea what you’re talking about!” 

With an emotionless chuckle that was oh so far from the Xornoth Scott had met recently, his brother raised their palm until a small flicker of a flame danced on top of it. “It’s all just a game, Scott. You need to not listen. I’m sorry, but I need to find it.” 

And then, without giving the elvenking any time to react or respond, the small flame was tossed into the air. Reaching the highest point of its trajectory, the small flame exploded like a firework, forming hundreds of smaller flames. They rained down, landed on top of buildings and people. 

They almost seemed like feathers, Scott absentmindedly noted. Falling down so peacefully. Yet, upon contact with buildings, barrels, festival decorations – anything flammable – they bursted into small fires that grew so rapidly that before anyone had time to react it was hopeless. 

The nervous mumbling around him had turned to screams of fear immediately when the first shot had been fired. Now people around him were running. Some far away from the town, others frantically looking for their loved ones. And Xornoth – Xornoth was standing in the midst of it all. 

Their face hadn’t gained an ounce of emotion. Instead, they met Scott’s eyes with ease. One side of Xornoth’s lips rose to a small – barely visible smirk. Yet, the eyes didn’t follow suit. 

“It’s for the best, brother. This way you can all be free.”

They yelled through the chaos, yet every other noise around them sounded muffled to Scott. Almost like he was underwater. 

Xornoth didn’t even bother to wait for a response. They noticed a few guards taking hesitant steps towards them, and the elf backed away to the burning building behind him – Scott’s house. They flashed one last coy smirk before the black smoke engulfed their form. 

Scott wanted to move so badly. To run, to help evacuate people. To save whatever was left to save. Even to chase after Xornoth to make them pay for what they had done. But his feet were frozen to the ground. 

There was so much noise all around him, and somehow all of it was muffled. The only thing the elvenking was able to hear was the all too fast beating of his own heart. 

In seconds the fire had spread from only one house to all around. It was magic – it had to be. It had moved all too fast – almost like jumping from roof to roof to ignite everything that was able to burn. Like the fire had wings, and everything it glided by caught the flames.

“Scott!” 

The muffled shout from somewhere behind him was followed up with a force crashing to his back and sending him flying to the snow. There was a sound of something heavy falling against the ground somewhere behind them. 

The person on top of him was talking – or at least their mouth was opening and closing. Scott couldn’t hear a thing. His ears only picked up the crackling of the flames and the screaming. 

He did let himself be pulled up from the ground, and led along the pathways in the snow. The elvenking had to cover their mouth with their arm while his eyes burnt from the smoke swallowing Rivendell. 

Scott kept his eyes on the ground, while his tears welled up in his eyes. From the smoke, he tried to convince himself. 

When his eyes didn’t sting anymore from the smoke, Scott knew whoever was dragging him along was leading him out of Rivendell. He looked up to see the damage, and well..

There really wasn’t much to look at. 

The fire had been magic, that’d been for sure. It had spread too quickly for anyone to even react. The blaze had swallowed Rivendell whole in seconds. There had never even been a chance. 

But his people — had everyone made it out alright?

“Wait —“ Scott croaked and pushed lightly against the person leading him away. “The people, is everyone safe!?”

“Joel is back there making sure,” Jimmy – he was standing next to Jimmy – assured. “Almost everyone got to safety before we did, so it was already quite empty when I got you out.” 

Scott glanced back towards Rivendell to see Joel trotting in the snow towards them. Above him, the northern lights had not subsided one bit. Instead, all the red was gone and now the sky was gleaming with the usual turquoise again.

Was.. was Aeor mocking him?

“It seems like the city is empty,” Joel had managed to reach them. “At least everyone that could be saved is out. No one got trapped by the flames outside. I didn’t dare to look inside any buildings, the fire moves so quickly.”

Lizzie – when had she arrived there? – placed a comforting hand on Joel’s shoulder. “That was the right thing to do,” she assured. “The fire moves too quickly. You would’ve been immediately trapped.”

“Your highness,” Routa was cautious to approach the four rulers, and shrunk under the attention as soon as it was on her. “The people need somewhere to go.” She simply motioned towards the hundreds of elves now stranded in the cold, on a mountain with snow all the way to their knees. 

Lost, Scott looked around as if in search of answers. 

“Overgrown is within a walking distance,” Jimmy suggested quietly. 

And even though Scott really didn’t want to be a bother to his neighbor, Katherine really was the only solution here. Gem had made her choice and Gilded Helianthia was too far away for the cold and tired elves to walk to. 

Katherine still needed a heads up before they stormed there without an explanation. “Do we have any owls able to carry a message?”

One of the trainers luckily was lingering near. He only shook his head. “I’m sorry, most of them seem to have escaped the fire. It’s impossible to know how many were away in the first place, and who have flown away to safety because of the fire.” He took a small break, before adding quickly. “I’m sure they’ll be back soon though.” 

Scott knew he was assuring himself more than the elvenking. 

“Right,” The elf turned towards the other rulers. “Can one of you fly ahead?”

“Sorry, but no can do,” Lizzie frowned. “We all left our elytras at your place.” 

Ah. So there really was only one option then. 

“Can you lead my people over to the Overgrown, then? Halla can help you out.”

“Your highness, I really believe you should speak to them,” Routa admitted. “They just want information from one of their kind – someone they know they can trust. It’s a difficult time for everyone involved, but not knowing what’s happening makes it worse. They need to know you’re working on a solution.”

Scott hated that she was making sense. With a tense posture, the elf walked closer over the multiple groups of people and raised his voice as much as he could without just straight up yelling. 

“Can I have your attention for a moment?!” 

The frantic muttering quieted down in an instant. Even a crying child somewhere even in the background faded away. 

“I know this is difficult, but we’re working on a solution as we speak. I need you to follow Routa and the other emperors over that way,” Scott motioned down the mountain. “To The Overgrown. I will fly there to inform what has happened, and hopefully get help for us. Is anyone here seriously hurt?”

When Scott was met with silence, he sighed in quiet relief. “Alright, that’s good. And if you have any troubles at any time during the journey, Routa and the others will do their best to help. However, right now the priority is to get everyone over to warmth. Questions?”

He wasn’t surprised when multiple elves started talking at the same time. 

“They didn’t help last time, why would they help now?!”

“Are we going to rebuild again?”

“What’s the point of it if it’ll just get burnt down again?!”

Scott swallowed back the desire to snap back, but instead straightened his posture. “We will focus on getting shelter first. The faster everyone starts moving, the quicker the kids can get safely inside.” 

That seemed to quiet down the most vocal elves, yet Scott didn’t miss how they just turned their complaints quietly over to their friends instead.

Knowing he couldn’t address anything more at this time, Scott turned over to the group of rulers. “You know the way, right?” Scott made sure. “These mountains are treacherous if you get lost. And most of these people have never walked the journey from here to Katherine’s.”

While Jimmy, Joel and Lizzie looked at one another lost, Routa chimed in. “I know the way.” 

“Alright,” Scott sighed. “You’re in charge, Routa. I will be back as soon as I can.”

When Scott took off from the ground, he purposefully didn’t look at Rivendell. Instead, he headed straight over to the Overgrown.

The night breeze was cold enough on the ground, but it was freezing whilst flying. Soon enough the feeling was gone from Scott’s fingertips. It was a relief — really. The numbness was far preferred over the stinging pain of coldness.

Luckily, Overgrown wasn’t far at all. To get there from Rivendell, the tricky part was to descend the mountain. There were paths for those purposes, but looking down Scott could tell most of them were entirely buried in snow. It was mostly just inconvenient rather than dangerous. This side of the mountain was far more forgiving and safe, with almost no ravines or sudden drops. 

After the snow started to disappear from sight, Scott knew that he was close. Snow and rocks turned to greenery, and he knew he was on the Overgrown territory. It didn’t take long before the Empire came into sight.

Only when he landed down the elf felt a sting on his knee, and he had to gather his balance to stay up. Scott must’ve landed badly on it while getting knocked down back in Rivendell. 

His wince of pain had immediately caught the interest of the guards on duty. Two of them came charging in, but luckily immediately seemed to recognize Scott. 

“Can I speak to Katherine, please,” Scott begged. “It’s urgent.”

They looked at one another with hesitant curiosity, and one of them disappeared into the castle, while the other guard stood outside with Scott. She seemed like she desperately wanted to ask questions, but ultimately decided not to. However, Scott was able to catch her side glances towards him. 

Katherine – bless her – arrived through the front door in pajamas. She was still rubbing her eyes and let out a yawn. “Scott, what’s this –”

She opened her eyes and was faced with the elvenking. He hadn’t had a look at himself, but now. looking down at his clothes, Scott could tell he was dirty and covered in ash. It didn’t seem like a stretch that he probably also smelled of smoke. 

“ – about.” She finished with a frown, and closed the door from behind her. “Are you okay? What happened?”

“Rivendell burnt down.”

It almost felt like someone else was talking entirely. “I have hundreds of elves with no place to go. I – Katherine – I’m begging for help. For my people.” 

“Oh, Scott…”

And before he had a chance to back away, Katherine had wrapped her arms around him and Scott found himself melting into the hug. He pressed his head to her shoulder, and held onto tightly. They stood there for a moment, until Scott couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. They started out as silent, but quickly turned to hopeless sobs. 

Katherine only squeezed him tighter, muttering quiet words of comfort that Scott couldn’t even make out at first. 

“I don’t know what else to do, I –,” The elf stammered between sobs.

“Hey, stop that,” Katherine whispered and patted his back. “You don’t need to beg for me to help you. Of course I’ll do it. You’re my friend, Scott.”

“The whole Empire is gone,” Scott confessed numbly. “There’s nothing left except for ruins. It’s all gone. I – I can’t do that again. Not for a second time.”

“Alright, okay..,” Katherine hushed him. “One step at a time, right? Let's focus on getting your people here to safety first. Everything else can come after.”

Scott wiped a tear, and nodded softly against Katherine’s shoulder. With a sniffle, the elf pulled away from the hug. “I – thank you.”

Katherine gave him a sad smile. “Anytime. Now, what do you and your people need? Housing? Medical attention?”

“Yes, and most likely yes,” Scott admitted, voice still raspy. “From what I saw, everyone seems sort of unharmed. Some burns, and maybe cold after they get here, but otherwise alive, I guess.” 

“And you?”

“I’m fine as soon as I get everyone here safely,” Scott assured. And even though Katherine didn’t seem convinced, she didn’t argue back this time. 

“Right. You’re free to lead everyone over to the castle. I will try my best to sort out mattresses or housing for your people in the meantime. Sound alright?” 

“Sounds perfect,” Scott agreed, and spread his wings to take back off towards Rivendell. Before taking off from the ground, Scott glanced quickly towards Katherine. “I’ll make this up to you – I promise.”

What a foolish thing to hand out promises he knew he couldn’t keep.

 …………

It wasn’t difficult to spot the moving group of elves from the skies. The northern lights gave just enough light to reveal the large number of elves moving forward. They hadn’t gotten too far – they were still descending from the mountains and the sheer amount of snow slowed them down. 

At the very back of the line where Scott landed, Lizzie and Joel were trailing behind the pack to make sure no one got left behind. On her shoulders, the Ocean Queen was carrying a young child whose grateful mother was walking closeby. 

Joel noticed him landing first. As soon as Scott had his feet on the ground and his wings were tucked back behind his back, he spoke. “Jimmy and Routa are upfront leading,” the king explained quickly. “What did Katherine say?”

“We keep heading there, she’s preparing shelter,” Scott confirmed. 

“That’s good,” Lizzie sighed. “You should probably relay the message over to Routa and Jimmy.”

After a quick confirming nod, Scott took off again. He would’ve never reached the front of the line by foot, not with all the snow around. The wings seemed almost like a dirty advantage.

When he landed down over to Jimmy and Routa, it was more than clear that they were exhausted as well. Jimmy was slightly slumped over, and his feet were dragging through snow rather than trying to lift them over it. Routa immediately straightened her back after seeing Scott, but she wasn’t able to hide the tiredness either. 

“We keep heading to the Overgrown,” Scott ended up explaining flatly, and got stiff but clearly relieved nods in exchange. 

He wasn’t sure how long the journey took, but everything became so much better when they got off the mountains and into the plains where Katherine’s empire was located. Not only was the walking so much faster, the cold wasn’t nearly as bad anymore either. The change in scenery seemed to lift the spirits of many, and the group had crossed to the Overgrown territory in no time. 

Katherine – just like she had promised – was waiting with whoever she could get up with such a short notice. After herding the citizens to the castle, Scott wandered around the hallway full of elves, some of which were getting treated for light burns or inhaling too much smoke.

The Overgrown and its residents had been amazing. Even in the middle of the night Katherine had been more than willing to let them use her castle, and her medical team were doing their best to make sure everyone was safe and healthy.

Meanwhile Scott walked around between groups, making sure no one was missing. He had a pen and paper to write down names of elves that hadn’t been seen by anyone outside of Rivendell. 

And when the elvenking had gone through the hundreds of elves taking refuge in the hallways, the list didn’t have a singular name on it. 

Scott took a deep breath to calm his beating heart, and looked at the blank piece of paper.

Not a single life was lost in the fire, by some miracle. Everything had been lost, but everyone was fine. 

“I’ve managed to get some beds available for your people, Scott,”  Katherine walked over. She seemed overwhelmed by the situation as well, and Scott really did feel bad for bothering her with his entire Empire here. But his choices were very sparse at the moment.

“Thank you,” Scott breathed. “You’re an absolute angel, Katherine.” 

The other ruler, even though visibly tired, looked over at the hundreds of elves. “I’m worried that we most likely can’t house everyone. I’m trying to find solutions though. The medical team will carry some of their spare beds here in the castle and for now the hallways and some rooms are in free use.”

By now the hallways looked like a refugee camp. There were mattresses scattered around wherever they’d fit, and people both sleeping and trying to. Some were still getting taken care of whatever wounds they’d sustained during the fire. 

“You should really head back to bed now,” Scott sighed. “You’ve helped them so much — just getting everyone out from the cold was huge. I don’t know if some of the more elderly would have made it long out there. Elves are good with cold, but hypothermia is still a real concern.”

“If anyone needs sleep it’s you,” Katherine shot back. “Like you said, everyone is alright. And I’ll continue to take care of everything to get you, Lizzie, Joel and Jimmy some time to rest. I can take a nap when you guys are back up, but none of you are very useful when you look like you could fall unconscious at any given moment.”

“Oh, well, I know Lizzie and Joel are in bed,” Scott admitted. “I told them to take one of the guest bedrooms you offered.” 

“Well, there you go. There’s one more of those, I’m sure you and Jimmy can share it.” 

Scott shook his head immediately. “He can have it. I’m staying up until my people are all set.”

“You are no use to them right now,” Katherine lowered her voice.  “There’s nothing you can do for them right now, let us help.”

Scott wanted to argue, but the little bit of logic left in him understood that there really wasn’t anything to do now. He hardly knew first aid, and all the supplies provided needed to be handed out by the Overgrown. There wasn’t any point going to Rivendell to see the damages either. It was dark, cold and whatever there was left to crumble would, with his luck, probably end up falling right when he was beneath it. 

“Are you sure I can’t help with something?” Scott tried one more time. “Sure you’d need help with.. I don’t know, carrying stuff?”

Katherine crossed her arms. “Are you calling my people incompetent?”

“No! Of course I wasn’t! Just –”

“Then trust that they have everything under control,” she smiled. “Go and get some sleep, you have plenty of time to help tomorrow.”

Scott frowned, but in the end had to accept defeat. 

Maybe he could use a little sleep. 

Chapter Text

Scott couldn’t sleep. 

He was laying on a comfortable bed in the House Blossom castle, and he was exhausted. 

But each time he even attempted to close his eyes, the events of the night played in his mind. Over and over again. He was able to feel the heat on his skin so vividly, that every now and again the elvenking felt the need to open his eyes to make sure the room wasn’t on fire. 

The screams of his people played inside his head on loop. Scott’s heart ached for them. The place they should feel safe in, burnt completely down again. How many childhood toys, beloved photographs and handcrafted items were lost on his sibling’s need for revenge? 

Miraculously, no one had lost their lives. Every single person was up because of the festival, and each resident of the now destroyed town had gotten to safety. Scott wouldn’t be laying here if they hadn’t. He almost hoped there was something to do at this moment, other than just stare at the ceiling and replay the events of the night in his head. 

Scott was sure Exor was laughing in glee, and Aoer was shaking their head in disappointment. How could’ve he let this happen? Not just once, either. Twice. Twice he had let down the entire Empire. He was a joke. 

Even though Scott could’ve sworn he hadn’t slept, Jimmy had somehow ended up on the same bed as him without Scott noticing. The Codfather was sleeping deeply next to him – Scott could tell by his even and relaxed breathing. The other was far gone. 

The elf pushed himself up to sit, and stilled when the bed creaked under him. He stilled immediately, and glanced towards Jimmy. The Codfather only snuggled more to his blanket, and let out a content sigh. The noise hadn’t seemed to bother him too much, so Scott shuffled himself to the edge of the bed and got up. 

The room had one window pointing to the empire. The sun hadn’t started rising just yet, but the sky was turning from dark into light blue. It was almost morning anyway, so getting up wouldn’t make a difference. He couldn’t sleep either way, so Scott could either get up or lay down and pretend that he was resting. The latter seemed completely useless. 

Lucky for him, Scott was still wearing most of his clothes from last night. Before getting to bed, he had only tossed off a jacket and his shoes, both of which were laying around the room. After the elf got them on again, he slipped out of the room quietly enough so that Jimmy wouldn’t wake up. 

The entire castle seemed to be asleep. The main hallway with a lot of the mattresses was quiet, and most – if not everyone – were having a good night sleep. Scott almost felt embarrassed. He was a ruler, and here he was – sneaking around like a child leaving the house without permission. 

Scott even made sure to dodge the guards on duty. As soon as he heard either quiet talking between working guards, or the heavy footsteps approaching, he took another route until the ruler eventually ended up at a door leading outside. 

The creak of the doors opening and closing didn’t seem to alert anyone, and if they did, Scott didn’t wait around and see. 

There really wasn’t anything productive to do here in this hour, Scott realized fairly quickly. The Empire was silent, with its citizens still asleep. 

There wasn’t a lot to do here, but Rivendell was a short flight away. There must’ve been something left in the town, Scott reasoned. Even a trace of whatever artifact Xornoth was looking for. His sibling had deliberately mentioned that they knew of its existence, and that Scott had it. But how could he know the object in question if Scott himself didn’t understand it? 

The flight back home was far more enjoyable when he could actually see. The sun was starting to peek from behind the mountains, and it gave Scott more than enough visibility to see and follow their tracks from the previous night. 

Ultimately, the elf made it to Rivendell.

Or more like what was left of it. 

The Empire was completely gone. He didn’t know what to expect, but it wasn’t this. There wasn’t anything to rebuild or fix – they’d need to start from zero. Every single wooden structure was either completely gone or scorched so beyond recognition that if Scott hadn’t known his Empire by heart, it would’ve been impossible to tell what was what. 

The wooden hut they’d all shared warm juice less than a day ago had not only collapsed, but the planks were practically coal. Black, and when Scott gently poked one with his feet a piece of it crumbled to the snow immediately. 

His own house – the place he had called home for the last five years, was one of the buildings most affected. There was nothing except for the stone foundation telling that it had once been there. Everything inside was gone. Routa’s documents, all the paperwork, the blanket he had given to Jimmy and even the desk with stains of spilled ink on it. 

They were gone, just like that. 

Frankly, Scott didn’t feel like checking the building closer but he felt the need to. The elf walked around the building just in case of any items that might’ve survived. Maybe a stuffed animal a child had dropped outside during their escape – or anything that someone might find any comfort in. 

But there wasn’t anything. 

Until Scott hit his feet in something mostly buried in snow, that was. 

There, laying in a pile of snow, nearly untouched was the book of prophecies Scott had found oh so long ago. There was not a reason why it would have been here. That it – out of everything in the Kingdom would have survived. The book had been tucked away on a shelf in his room for weeks now – untouched. 

The elvenking hadn’t even thought about it since last opening it. 

Scott kneeled down to the snow, and brushed some off of the book before picking it up. He opened the pages, and scrolled through it again. Only this time, he was met with a surprise. Some of the prophecies had been crossed out. 

And while examining the different pages, it seemed like some of the crossed out pages were old. The ink had dried and it was almost as if it had been there the entire time. But one page was fresh. In fact, when Scott brushed his finger over the text, the ink of the line crossing the prophecy out stained his glove. 

’The past shall always reflect the future, like a blazing phoenix burning down to dust’

The elf dropped the book and scrambled back from it. Was it magically crossing over the prophecies that had been completed? 

After forcing himself to open the book again and scroll through it, Scott could conclude that whilst seven of the lines seemed untouched, six of them seemed to have been crossed over. 

‘A curse of power shall be passed within royal blood for the second time’

‘An event binding two kingdoms together drifts blood apart’

‘A decades old bond destroyed by a sea of flames rises its head from the waters’

‘Vines of upcoming destruction warn from the doom ahead’

‘A ruler astray chooses the faith of another’

Were all crossed out. So each one of the prophecies here had been fulfilled, then. 

There were still a good amount of them untouched too. The ones that worried Scott the most were the phrases indicating the end of someone’s life, or were otherwise cryptic and could mean anything. Such as,

‘ A play of words determines who shall live and who is doomed to face their end’

and 

‘A fragile piece of hope carries halfway through’.

The rest of them made seemingly no sense. Who or whatever wrote them, clearly just wanted to have a good time seeing Scott to try and figure them out, knowing that he most likely wouldn’t be able to do anything to change the outcome. 

While trying to make sense of the completed prophecies, Scott turned the pages of the book. Soon enough, he hit a page where the writer had never gotten around to write. 

Except now they had. 

There were new prophecies, that the elvenking could’ve sworn hadn’t been there before. Scott’s blood ran cold, as he read the words. 

‘It’s all just a game’

The elf swallowed the bile raising in his throat and scrolled past the rest of the previously empty pages. Every single page had writing on it. And every single page held the same sentence. 

That was, until Scott stopped to the very last page of the book. 

‘You know who to not listen. You never listened, so don’t let them watch either.’’ 

While reading the last words, Scott could’ve sworn he saw the last letter glitch. 

The elf slammed the book shut.  It was like the piece of literature was mocking him. How could it have fresh text — hell, how could it have survived the fire? 

The only logical explanation was Xornoth and his magic. They’d wanted Scott to find the book.

But why?

Was it to get him to overthink? To get his own thoughts against him, and in the process to distract him from the real issue. Or was it simply to mock Scott further. To kick him while he was down to get him staying there. 

If that was it, it was working. 

It was possible, but Scott knew Xornoth. His sibling did not play like this. Xornoth might’ve been a lot of things, but they enjoyed a fair fight. Now, Exor, on the other hand might’ve not.

Even though every inch of his being wanted to throw the book off the nearest cliffside, the elvenking ended up placing it inside the small bag, and instead choosing to continue going through the remains of houses. He could gawk over the dumb book later, since whatever god was laughing at him clearly intended him to have it. 

Speaking of gods, the church was properly gone as well. The only pieces of it that remained were the rocky foundation and the unmoving statue of Aeor. The elf couldn’t help but feel bitter at the sight. What a god, right? How fitting for him to be just as useless as this god the people of Rivendell – himself included – put their faith into. 

What had the stag really ever done? Led him out of a burning building once, yet couldn’t save his parents or Rivendell. And now the god couldn’t do even that. 

Giving Aeor just as much respect as the god had given him by letting his home be burnt down, Scott breezed past the church without giving it a second glance. 

His last stop was what terrified Scott the most. The aviary. It was one of the more damaged buildings, located in the very central area of the town. Most of the buildings had someone caring after them, and while the elves were saving their own homes, the snowy owls had no one to count on saving them. 

And while some of the younger birds must have just flown away in sheer instinct and fear, the older birds and fledgelings were another story. 

As Scott made his way through the half collapsed entrance to the completely scorched insides, he could already tell it was going to be bad. Whatever Scott thought he was expecting, he wasn’t ready for. 

When the barely recognizable, unmoving body of one of his beloved birds came to view, Scott rushed over to it and fell down to his knees. His hands hovered over the small body, until he was brave enough to confirm what he already knew. When he touched the bird, it was cold and stiff. Through the rising stream of tears, he could recognize the pattern on its feathers as Tulip – Undergrove’s messenger. 

An older, more experienced flier that knew when to leave. Unless there was something to protect, then she’d stand her ground until the end. 

And just like Scott had feared, when he oh so gently lifted the bird up, under its lifeless body laid an entire clutch. All three of the newborn chicks were as unmoving and lifeless as Tulip who had died in a feeble attempt to protect them. 

They couldn’t have even escaped if they wanted to. They were so young, none of them was even able to fly. They had probably been so scared and confused, chirping for help but no one could hear them through the chaos.

Well, no one but Tulip. She wasn’t even the mother of these three, and yet she was ready to give them comfort in their last moments, even sacrificing herself in the process. 

Scott wiped a tear, and gathered the fours birds to his arms. They deserved to be buried, and not just left here like this. 

The elf headed immediately down the mountain. He would’ve liked to let the birds rest in Rivendell, but sadly with all the snow the ground was frozen over as well. He’d have much better luck at the forest below.

The elvenking decided against flying down, and instead took the much longer path to walk. He felt exhausted, mentally more so than physically. But Scott was aware that no amount of sleep or laying down would fix that. 

Lucky for him, the descent to the forest below had a very well maintained path. Everybody, once in a while, enjoyed a good walk in the woods and this was the best option for those who lived up in the mountains. And therefore, it was used often.

Scott was lucky to know the area like the back of his hands. He didn’t need to look for a long time before finding the perfect place to bury the owls. Not quite all the way to the bottom of the hills was a small platform that almost acted like a tiny meadow. Tall grass, some flowers that didn’t mind the cold, and overall a nice place for the spirits to take off to the skies. 

The elf dug a hole large enough for the four deceased birds, and carefully lifted Tulip in it first, then, one after another he placed the three fledgelings near the much older bird. 

“You did a good job protecting them,” the elf found himself assuring the bird, who despite his compliments didn’t perk up like they usually would. 

When a few seconds passed with no movement, Scott eventually filled the hole back up. He gathered a few rocks onto it to mark the spot, and left a couple of flowers on top of them. The elf gathered the small dagger he carried everywhere, and to one of the flatter rocks carved Tulip’s name. The blade was already worn due to Xornoth’s message, and some more damage couldn’t hurt.

The carving came out crooked, and Scott really had to admire the way his sibling had managed to get his carving look good. Tulip’s name looked like a child had lost a pet and had written down its name to the rocks. It was authentic, Scott eventually decided, and put the blade back to its holder. 

After, he kneeled down in front of the grave, utterly lost. He should pray to Aeor. For the god to lead the four birds safely to the afterlife. Even though his respect for the god might have not been on its highest at the moment, the birds deserved a worthy sendoff. So Scott folded his hands and prayed for the stag god.

He stayed there for awhile, until eventually having to face the fact that he needed to return to the Overgrown before his absence was noticed. 

 …………

It turned out, Scott was far too late for that. 

When he returned to the Overgrown, apparently a frantic search for the elf had already begun. Joel was the first person spotting Scott as he walked back over to the castle, and rushed over to him.

“Real smart of you to just disappear without a word,” he snapped lightly, while surprisingly grabbing Scott by the shoulders and frantically pushing him out of the general public's eye before anyone else had noticed him. 

“I think I can take care of myself,” Scott shot back. 

“For fucks sake Scott!” Joel motioned towards the castle. “They just lost their home and now their ruler is nowhere to be found?! Quite frankly, I’d be upset too. You can’t just disappear for an entire day after something like this?”

“A day?” Scott let out a hollow laugh. “I wish. I was gone for a few hours.”

“It’s almost night, genius. The sun is going down,” Joel scoffed. “That’s not a short while to disappear. What were you up to, anyway?”

Night?

Scott looked up at the sun that was dropping down below the horizon. The elf frowned with confusion. Had he really spent that much time in Rivendell? He had left early in the morning, before the sun was even up. And somehow he had managed to spend the entire day roaming around the ruins of the place. 

“I went through Rivendell,” he eventually muttered out. “I didn’t realize the passage of time. It wasn’t my intention to be gone for the entire day.”

Joel shook his head slowly in disapproval, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Right,” he uttered. “Sure. And if anyone asks you, you’ve been sick with a cold for the entire day.”

“What?”

“Jimmy’s idea,” Joel explained slowly. “He was the first to notice you’d left, and figured you needed some time away and alone. So he’s been telling everyone you’re in your room resting and not to bother you.”

Scott’s shoulders slumped in quiet gratitude. He’d owe one for Jimmy for covering his back like that. “And how’d you find out?”

“Well bloody guess who he had to drag in to play your unconscious form when one of the jerks from your council just had to see you were really there!?” the king scoffed. “I told him he could’ve just used pillows but apparently those weren’t convincing enough.”

“Well,” Scott chuckled despite the situation. “I appreciate it. Thank you, Joel.”

“Oh yeah, you better appreciate it,” the king crossed his arms. “But now you need to actually get back in there so that no one sees you up. So,” Joel pushed a potion to his hands. By the sheer color Scott could tell it to be invisibility. 

“Do I really —?”

“Scott, I swear to everything, drink it and go.” 

The elf popped the cork off, and took a few sips. In a matter of seconds, he could see his body disappearing into thin air. When only the glass bottle remained, he handed it back over to Joel.

“You can tell that I’m feeling better,” the elf sighed. “But give me a few minute head start first.”

Chapter Text

Even though Scott had tried his very best to convince anyone who’d listen that he was feeling fine, and that he was ready to work, everyone who didn’t know the nature of his disappearance didn’t want to hear any of it. Eventually he had to back off and let himself be forced to take the rest of the night off as well. 

Granted, there really wasn’t too much left of it anyway. When he had managed to climb back up to his room, the sun had nearly set and the sky was already colored deep purple. 

Scott hadn’t realized how hungry he was, until one of Katherine’s servants knocked on the door and graciously brought him some food. It turned out to be a very shady looking soup that resembled more muddy water than food. However, after tasting it Scott had to conclude it was delicious. Whatever tastes were blended in it were delicious together. 

When Jimmy barged into the room, he found Scott still eating the bowl of soup. The elf was sitting on the floor, leaning against the headboard of the bed. In his defense, the space had a major lack of chairs. Besides the bed, and a singular wardrobe, there really wasn’t any other furniture. 

“Where in the hell did you disappear to?!”

Scott was surprised to say the least. Jimmy seemed actually mad. His tail was swishing furiously behind him, and a bunch of small spikes that Scott didn’t even know existed had risen from both his tail and neck. 

He looked like he was ready to attack, and Scott felt himself shrink under Jimmy’s gaze. Not in real fear, the elf just didn’t know the other ruler had the capacity to be threatening. Not only that, but the fact that Scott had crossed that line – the elf understood that he had messed up. 

Scott placed the nearly empty bowl on the ground. “Look, I know I shouldn’t have gone –”

“Oh, you think?!” Jimmy slammed the door closed behind him, and Scott physically flinched at the sound. Whatever fear flashed in the elf’s eyes apparently calmed the Codfather down enough for the spikes to settle down and his shoulders to slump down an inch. 

“A literal demon attacked you just a few hours ago, and then you went missing right after!” Jimmy paced in front of the now closed door. “You could’ve at least given me a heads up that you were going!”

“Since when have I needed to tell you what I’m up to?” The elf scoffed back. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

“Don’t you think it’s slightly selfish of you to disappear without a word when your people need you the most?!”

“I was back in Rivendell,” Scott snapped back. “There could’ve been something salvageable. You heard that Xornoth was after something, and they seemed to know it was in Rivendell.”

Jimmy let out a hollow laugh. “Yeah, I’d understand a few hours. You were gone when I woke up and just appeared. What in the world were you doing there for at least eleven hours!?”

“I –,” Scott really wasn’t sure. But he wasn’t about to back up just because time seemed to fly by. “I was looking around!”

“Oh yeah?” Jimmy challenged. “For eleven hours?”

“Yes.”

“You are a liar. I checked Rivendell after noon, and you were nowhere in sight. I even followed your footsteps down the mountain, and didn’t see you there either. So, where were you?”

Scott swallowed the rising bile in his throat. The elf felt his heart hammer in his chest. He was at Rivendell during that time. He must’ve been. “I was there,” he heard himself bark back. “Clearly you’re just bad at looking.”

It didn’t make sense. Had he truly been in Rivendell the entire time? Scott tried to frantically think. He couldn’t recall a single memory skip, it just seemed like the time had run so quickly. The elf forced himself to think harder. After burying Tulip and the chicks, he sat there for a moment. And then walked to… Overgrown? 

It hit him at that moment. For whatever reason, Scott couldn’t remember which route he took back here. It must’ve been through the forest, but why couldn’t he remember? In fact, he remembered getting up and starting to walk away. And then entering Overgrown territory.

Why wasn’t there anything in between that?

“I know you weren’t there.” Jimmy stated. His far too confident voice didn’t help Scott to feel any better about himself. “I checked Rivendell and flew over the entire area with a spare elytra Katherine gave me. You were not there. Not when I visited anyway. Where were you?” 

Scott frantically tried to make up an excuse. He didn’t know why, but for whatever reason the elf wanted to keep this from Jimmy. There was enough on their plates. A strange memory skip didn’t need to happen. Maybe it was a one off anyway. It didn’t matter.

“Praying.” The lie slipped out far too easily for his liking. “There’s an ancient library underground. Where I found this.” He pulled out the prophecy book and threw it over to Jimmy who managed to catch it. “I didn’t want to tell you about it at first, but since you’re not letting it go.” Scott shrugged. “There’s an altar there. Since the one in the church got destroyed, I figured that was the next best option. I didn’t mean to stay there that long. Sorry.”

The lie was convincing enough to make Scott uncomfortable. The prophecy book had somehow given him an alibi without even meaning to, and watching Jimmy browse through the pages, the elf his story had worked. 

Jimmy seemed to be startled by the last tens of pages as well, where the same sentence repeated itself far more than it should have. “What does this mean?” He turned the book around for Scott to see, as if the elf didn’t remember the sentence word by word. 

“I don’t know.” 

Scott would have cared less to be honest. There wasn’t a point in trying to figure that out. Prophecies would be fulfilled and that book would merely cross out the ones that had happened. No one would win in figuring out what a singular prophecy meant. 

“What about the crossed out ones? Did you just find this?”

Scott was about to tell that the book had been around for awhile, but there really wasn’t a point in doing so. If Jimmy wanted to hyperfixate in that book then he could for all Scott cared. He had more important things to worry about. 

“Like I said,” the elf breathed. “I found it in the library today. It seemed important so I took it with me.” 

There really wasn’t a point in lying about it. He could’ve just told Jimmy what he thought about the useless thing, but frankly Scott didn’t want to think about it. And Jimmy would ask questions. Of course he would, cause he was Jimmy. 

“So the crossed out ones have already happened, then?” 

“I assume so,” Scott answered tiredly. “Why would they be crossed out otherwise.”

“You said you prayed there,” Jimmy changed the subject and closed the book. “Since you spent so long there, did you speak with Aeor? What did they say?”

Scott swallowed. “Time moves differently there. It didn’t feel like a lot of time at the moment.”

“But surely they mentioned something about Rivendell?”

“No, they didn’t,” Scott huffed harshly. “Aeor might be the god of the people of Rivendell, but they do not care for the place. Aeor has always been after something else – that being defeating Exor. Rivendell is not a casualty that interests them.” 

He wasn’t wrong about that, Scott realized as he spoke. Aeor, not once since speaking with Scott, had shown concern for Rivendell or its people. Five years ago the god chose to save him from the fire that burned down Rivendell, but let so many others perish in the fire. The god wanted Scott alive, but didn’t care for others. 

But why were they being so harsh with him, then? It was almost like the god hated him, even though desperately trying to keep Scott alive. 

Jimmy didn’t seem pleased by the answer, but simply let it go and placed the book on Scott’s side of the bed with a sigh. “I’m sorry that I yelled. It makes sense now why you were gone, but please tell me – or anyone else – first next time. It’s fine if you want to go alone but.. geez, you were nowhere to be found for such a long time.”

Scott forced a smile and the elf pushed himself off of the ground. “I’ll let you know the next time – promise.” 

The Codfather flashed him a quick smile, and glanced back at the book. “Do you think that’s the artifact Xornoth was after?”

Scott hummed thoughtfully. “I hadn’t even thought about it,” the elf admitted, and lifted it back up. “Truthfully, I don’t see why they’d want it. It is words of stuff that will happen no matter what. I doubt it's what they are after.”

Scott, of course, knew it wasn’t. Otherwise Xornoth wouldn’t have left it out for him to find. 

“Maybe,” Jimmy seemed to agree. “Do you think they found whatever they were looking for?”

With a shrug, Scott opened a door to the wardrobe. He placed the book on an empty shelf and in the process a bunch of dust particles fell off of it. “I really don’t know,” he admitted. “There’s really nothing to go off of either. We don’t know what they want.”

With a yawn, Jimmy sat down to his side of the bed. “Well, it seems like something Aeor could be interested in. But Pix also knows a ton about old and valuable things. Anything in history that’s had an impact, really. Maybe that’d be a place to ask?”

“Pix?” Scott hadn’t spoken to the ruler almost at all. Their paths crossed so rarely, especially since the man lived on the completely opposite side of the map. Only thing Scott knew about the place was that his birds always came back exhausted from there. They hated the heat. 

In his mind, Scott was very neutral with the man. Maybe it could be worth asking, since they had nothing else to go off of. 

“I could pay a visit to him,” Scott eventually concluded, and followed Jimmy’s lead by sitting down on his side of the bed. He kicked off his shoes and socks, and laid down to stare at the ceiling above them while listening to Jimmy do the same. 

“Poppy arrived earlier today,” Jimmy explained quietly after laying down. “I thought you’d like to know.”

“Really!?” Scott’s eyes lit up, and he turned to his side to face the Codfather again. Not many of the owls that had been in Rivendell had returned at all. They were the ones that fled in panic, while the ones delivering messages must’ve been so confused to arrive back in empty Rivendell. Scott made a mental note to send someone there daily to look for any lost birds. 

“Yeah. I don’t know how he found here since I assume he flew away like every other bird.”

Scott smiled proudly. “He’s really smart. I wouldn't be surprised if he somehow followed the tracks in the snow and assumed we were here. I’m impressed that he managed though, being so young and all. I don’t think he’s ever visited the Overgrown. Well, not while working anyway.”

“One of your people took him to get examined,” Jimmy explained quickly. “Apparently he was flying funny when he arrived. Turns out he lost a few tail feathers – probably in the fire. But the elf I spoke to told me that he’d recover quickly, and that he seemed to be great otherwise.”

“Did she mention any other birds?” Scott questioned. It was a relief that Poppy had found his way back, but the amount of messengers missing was concerning. Scott feared nothing more than Tulip and the chicks weren’t the only ones that suffered a sad end. It only took the fire to have caught a couple of primary feathers, and they’d be flightless. And if they crash landed to the ground, they were easy prey to any kind of predator. 

“She did mention a few,” Jimmy confirmed. “I can’t remember names, though. What I do remember is that she told me five of them are now here. And there were.. 21 in total if I’m not mistaken?”

“Make that 17,” Scott frowned. “I found four dead when visiting there earlier. None of the ones who were too young to fly made it.” 

“Oh.” Jimmy’s shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry about that, that’s awful..” 

“I don’t think they were the only casualties either,” Scott admitted defeatedly. “Since there’s still 12 missing, I don’t have a lot of faith that all of them are or will make it back alive. There are a few very old ones who don’t have the strength to fly for long, and a couple of young birds who don’t have the confidence to make decisions. Finding us from a completely new environment is a lot to ask.” 

“We can go see the ones back tomorrow?” Jimmy suggested quietly. “Maybe one or two return during the night as well.” He was silent for a moment. “I’m just glad Poppy’s back. I really like him.”

Scott chuckled. “I like him too. He’s too sharp for his own good. I’m honestly surprised he made it here so quickly, being so young and inexperienced.”

Jimmy flashed him a smile, and stretched his arms above his head. “My council is heading back to the Cod Empire tomorrow. I can ask them to send a message to Pix.”

Scott raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you going back?”

“Do you want me to go?” The other ruler asked back after a bit of hesitation. “I think I’ll be more helpful here than in the Cod Empire as of now.”

Scott pulled his blanket over himself, and blew out the half burned candle on his bedside table. “I’d like it if you stayed,” he admitted. 

“Don’t worry,” Jimmy smiled. “I’ll stay as long as you need me to.”

Chapter Text

During the next week nearly every single owl found their way back to either Rivendell or the Overgrown. 

The trainers did daily hikes back to Rivendell to check for any messengers that might’ve returned to the destroyed town and stayed there or in the nearby vicinity. And the vast majority of them were found like that. Confused, maybe slightly injured, but alive and well. 

When the sun rose for the seventh time since the fire, Scott had accepted that the remaining two birds were a lost cause. He knew exactly who were missing. Wither, from the same clutch as Poppy, yet a lot more immature than his brother, didn’t even have the title of a messenger bird yet. He was highly inexperienced and Scott feared that the bird simply lacked skill to find back to Rivendell after probably flying away in panic. 

The other bird that was still gone was a senior. Approximately the same age as Tulip had been, Orchid was in charge of delivering messages to the Crystal Cliffs, and occasionally Grimlands as well. A highly experienced flier like him would’ve found back to Rivendell in any condition. So even though there still was slight hope for Wither making it back, Scott was fairly certain Orchid was a lost cause. 

Their trainers never gave up on the two birds though. The three elves who were mainly responsible for keeping tabs and training the animals made two trips to Rivendell every day. During the sixth day, when in a meeting Routa had gently suggested for them to direct their energy towards the birds that were here, all three of them politely declined. They informed that until the fate of all of the owls was clear, they’d keep looking. 

And when Routa had tried to argue back, Scott swiftly changed the subject. If the owls were important to him, he couldn’t imagine being in the shoes of people who practically raised them. 

The next few days went by in a blur. Scott felt like he remembered nothing, even though he ran in multiple meetings, and helped in the ordeal of completely restoring Rivendell. The only upside to all of this was that even before Rivendell was still in a state of restoration. Now, when they had a blank canvas to work with they were able to avoid the mistakes that came with restoring the place the first time. 

Within a week of Rivendell being burnt down Katherine decided it was a good time to hold a meeting to catch every Empire up to speed of what had gone down. At first Scott attempted to talk her out of it, but after realizing that word had most likely already traveled to nearly every Empire, it would’ve been smart to address the facts and tell things how they were.

Scott found out at the meeting, that word had not gone around like he had thought. It was just like the last time his Empire had burnt down. There were shocked stares and every other person around the table offered to help with anything Scott and his people might need. 

At the time, the elf politely declined all help but promised to ask for it when needed. And Scott was sure he would eventually. Mostly food, building supplies and workforce to help build, but anything would help when they could move back to Rivendell once more. 

There was a lot of concern around Xornoth and their next moves, but Scott was reluctant to reveal anything more than he needed to. Therefore everything regarding his meeting with his sibling and the book went unsaid. Lizzie, Joel nor Jimmy mentioned the artifacts Xornoth was looking for, and Scott ended up following their example. 

Without knowing their alliances, Scott was very hesitant with speaking about details when people like Sausage, Gem, fWhip and Shrub were around. When they’d have more information, Scott was sure the subject could be touched upon again. Xornoth wasn’t the type to attack without a cause. And if their attention was now on Scott because of some unknown object, so be it. 

Luckily, Lizzie moved the conversation to the ice appearing around her empire. Apparently, no one else had noticed anything like it in their area, but other rulers promised to keep an eye out for something similar. 

 …………

After the meeting, Scott caught up to Pix outside. The Copper King was already in the process of fastening on his elytra while simultaneously walking away from the castle. 

“Pixl?” Scott shouted quickly after the man, before he had the chance to fly off. He turned around with hesitation, and frowned when he recognized Scott walking over to him. 

“Smajor?” Pix nodded his head formally. Scott hadn’t really given it much of a thought, but with every other ruler he had this sense of friendship. All of them, except Pix. It wasn’t like he disliked the man – but they simply just hadn’t spoken or had any reason to. 

“I am in a bit of a predicament and the Codfather pointed towards your direction for a solution,” Scott explained when he had walked close enough. This seemed to spark the Copper King’s interest. 

“I am listening.” 

“I need some help with identifying artifacts,” Scott sighed. “But it's information that I’d like to keep hidden from most curious ears. If you’d have time to speak, I’d be mostly grateful. Just to see if anything might sound familiar.”

Pix looked like he wanted to decline. The Copper King frowned, and for a moment Scott was certain he was going to decline. But whatever curiosity and fascination the other emperor carried for ancient objects was too powerful. 

“I have time right now,” he answered shortly. “Where can we speak?”

A weight fell from Scott’s heart, and the elf sighed in relief. He led Pixl to the only quiet and private place he knew in Overgrown – the room Scott and Jimmy stayed in. After pushing the door shut, Pix hummed. 

“Cozy.”

Scott gave a polite laugh. “My room in Rivendell would’ve been cozier.”

“Touché,” the emperor shrugged slightly. “So – artifacts. I must admit, if there’s something specific for Rivendell you’re interested in, I might not be the right person.”

Scott opened the wardrobe he had stored the prophecy book into, and blew a thin layer of dust from on top of it. “Well, I doubt there is a right person. I just need someone,” the elf shrugged, and handed the book over to Pix.

The Copper King looked at it with interest, and opened the book from the middle. After browsing through the pages for a good while, he lifted his eyes back to Scott. 

“It has a magical aura, I’ll tell you that much,” Pix muttered. “A familiar one at that. As far as I can tell it’s not native to any of the twelve Empires.”

“Native?”

“Magic has origins such as people,” Pix explained while reading through the pages. “The creator always leaves traces, this case is no different.”

“I found it from Rivendell,” Scott explained. “So I’d make sense the traces of magic from it would be from there too, right?” 

“Maybe, but that’s not the case. Whoever the writer of this is, is not from Rivendell.”

Scott bit his lip. “Does that exclude Xornoth as well?”

Pix frowned, and suddenly there was an ounce of mistrust in his eyes. “I don’t know how that works,” he spoke carefully. “Do you believe that this is from him? Why?”

Scott sighed. “I wasn’t lying, I found it in a hidden library nearby Rivendell. But I left it at my house. I went back there the next morning, and even though I know it was inside – and that I was the only one who knew about it – I found it unharmed from the snow. And look at it – there are no traces of a fire,” the elf explained. “In fact, I’d say it was the only object that was not harmed in the fire.”

The new information made Pix take a second look at the book. “I am eager to hear your theory of it.”

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but it’s very boring,” Scott shrugged. “I thought the book was something ancient from Rivendell, and that Xornoth found out about it. Since it’s all prophecies, my theory was that they found it and messed around with it to.. I don’t even really know.”

Pix paused. The man fixed his gaze on the book, flipping through the last tens of pages repeating the same sentence. Scott couldn’t help but take notice how his shoulders tensed, and the elf had a bad feeling of being kept in the dark about something. 

“What about you,” Scott tried to gently push. “What's your theory?”

Pix closed the book, and met Scott’s eyes. The Copper King handed the book back to him stiffly. “My theory is that this book is something you shouldn’t be messing with. I am begging you to take it wherever you found it and let it be. It’s best for everyone involved.”

Scott tightened his grip on the book, and let his eyes wander from Pix’s eyes to the cover of the book. “You seem like you’re not telling everything you know,” Scott spoke calmly. “I’d be more inclined to follow your instructions if I knew the entire truth.”

“I know,” the Copper King exclaimed, but didn’t bother to explain more. “Leave the book alone, Smajor. Trust me with this.” 

Scott huffed in annoyance, but he was able to tell Pix wasn’t going to speak on the subject further. Instead, Scott returned the book to its makeshift place – to the dusty shelf of the wardrobe. 

“I had something more to ask as well,” the elf confessed while pushing the doors closed. “When Xornoth attacked Rivendell, they mentioned that I have ‘at least one of the artifacts’. Do you have any idea what that could mean? Do you think the book is a part of that?”

“No,” Pix answered immediately. “I highly doubt it. Well unless.. – no. I don’t think so.”

The secrecy was driving Scott crazy, but getting annoyed at a person he barely knew would just end up in Pix leaving with all the information. He needed to be patient.

“And before you ask, no, I don’t know what they’re looking for. I don’t even really know their intent. If we knew the end goal, I might be able to point to a direction, but as far as I know we don’t know anything about them,” he gave a knowing glance at Scott. “Unless you have more information. How do they know you have an artifact?”

Scott’s moment of hesitation to share information told Pix everything he needed to know. 

“Look,” the Copper King frowned. “You can hide whatever you want to. But in order to be of any help, I need details. I don’t care enough to overshare. But it’s your decision, at the end of the day.”

Scott tensed. This could be a huge mistake, but it was also the best option he had. Pix was still far less threatening than Xornoth.

“I met with them,” Scott spoke slowly. Pix raised his eyebrows, but didn’t speak over the elf. 

“Recently. And there was one thing in particular about that meeting that I think could mean something. Especially since you seem to know things about the book,” Scott explained hesitantly. “I need you to not ask questions, but before they left, they craved something to a stone. And that something happens to be that sentence the book repeated for the last ten pages or so.”

At that, Pix froze. The Copper King stepped away from Scott, and headed for the closed door. 

“I don’t think I can help with that,” Pix choked out while pulling the door open with a creak. “I don’t know what you’ve done to upset them, Scott Smajor, but I can’t have anything to do with that.”

 …………

Katherine was kind enough to let the people of Rivendell stay for as long as they needed to. By now the makeshift beds from the castle halls were moved to either guest rooms or spaces offered by the people who lived in the Empire. Even thinking of the helpfulness of everyday people touched Scott. 

During the time the Emperors’ held meetings with variable attendees. The main topic had sneakily switched from the still growing vines and reconstruction of Rivendell to another problem that seemed to have now spread to multiple Empires. 

Ice. 

To be more specific, spikes of ice. And not the sort of ice that melts, but indestructible one. Lizzie had been the first to report it back during the festival, but Scott guessed this would’ve been an issue as soon as during the next meeting both Sausage and Pix told similar tales. 

There really wasn’t much to go off of with them, just like with the vines. They were another immovable force that no one could find a way to get rid of. Sausage even told about his attempts to pour lava over the ice, and besides a very threatening crackling sound, nothing happened. Almost like the two elements were evenly matched. 

Meeting by meeting, more and more Emperors admitted seeing spikes in their Empires. Soon after Lizzie, Sausage and Pix had spoken upon the issue, Gem, fWhip, Joel arrived with similar news. Eventually, every single Empire except Rivendell had reported upon the issue. And Scott had to assume that his Empire did have them as well. After all, the vines were hidden by the snow, so would have been the ice. And the vines were found by accident when Jimmy’s foot caught onto one. 

That’s what Scott thought, until the fourth meeting since Rivendell burnt down. 

The emperors gathered to the Overgrown and cramped in the same meeting room they always did. Even Joey had managed to attend this time, which was surprising. After he had shown up with Xornoth the Emperor had taken a noticeable step back and hadn’t been seen much. 

And it didn’t take Scott long to figure out why the emperor in question had made the decision to attend this particular meeting. Because right after they’d sat down and declared the meeting as started, Joey’s eyes locked to his.

“Do you want to admit or should I tell everyone?”

Scott attempted to hide the horrified surprise from his face. Had Xornoth told Joey about the meeting? That he practically had protected his sibling by not telling everyone that he’d met with them. But that wouldn’t make sense. Joey was on Xornoth’s side. He’d want Scott to stay silent. 

“You need to fill me in as well,” the elf ended up snapping back. “I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

Joey let out a hollow chuckle and turned to face the other rulers. “With pleasure. Now, I know all of us have been struggling with this growing issue of growing ice spikes. I, in fact, visited Gem personally just a couple of days ago to discuss the matter.”

Scott turned his head towards the other emperor, who nodded her head as a quick confirmation.

“Well, after we got nowhere with the two on two meeting we held, I decided to head back home. And while I was flying back, I happened to stumble upon a rather intriguing sight. A growing spike of ice. And I circled back to take a closer look. And who other do I see summoning the thing than the little perfect elven prince here,” Joey snapped his head back towards Scott. “And you didn’t even bother to face me, you merely flew away like a coward. What did you think – that I wouldn't mention the fact that you’ve been sabotaging every single other empire?” 

Scott tensed under Joey’s accusing glare. “I think you are greatly mistaken in accusing me,” the elf spoke slowly. “I have not even been outside of Rivendell, the Cod Empire or Overgrown territory within the last few weeks. Besides, do you really think I’d want to start a fight when my Empire has been kicked down like this?”

“That’s precisely what you want the others to think,” Joey hissed. “But I know what I saw. Not many elves with white feathered wings and icy golden antlers around here, eh?” The emperor mocked. 

“In fact, I’d understand you wanting to retaliate against my empire. But I have to praise your stupidity. Why in the world would you do that to every other empire, even your own allies?” Joey let his eyes wander around the table. 

“Do not let Scott fool you. Why would you ally yourself with someone who has directly caused harm to your own empire?”

There were confused looks exchanged, and a couple of whispering words traveled around the table. That was until Lizzie decided to speak.

“Right now it’s a word against a word,” the Ocean Queen concluded. “And since the Ocean Empire is directly allied with Rivendell, I am going to have to believe in Scott’s word.” She turned towards the elvenking.

“Is what Joey said true?” 

Scott tensed under her glare. “N-no! Of course it’s not!” 

But why would the ruler of the Lost Empire make up a tale so vivid, and pitch it with such emotion if there wasn’t anything to go off of. Why now, when he had chosen to miss multiple meetings. 

“Scott doesn’t even have any powers, right?” Jimmy added in from next to him. 

“And how do you know that?” Joey scoffed. “Do you really find it so difficult to believe that maybe he has hidden them for a situation like this? We all know Xornoth has magic, so it would be fairly logical to assume that their sibling does as well.”

A quiet murmur in the room was enough to tell Scott that Joey's story made sense to the other rulers. And he couldn’t even blame them — it made a ton of sense. Scott had never really given it another thought, but it would’ve been logical for him to have powers as well. 

But he’d never use them like Xornoth did.

“I can see where you’re coming from,” Scott admitted to Joey. “However I promise that I am not responsible for whatever is happening in your Empire. Like I said, I’ve spent all my time in Rivendell, and I wouldn’t agitate another Empire, especially now when we’re rebuilding. I have never had powers like Xornoth has, and I can’t tell you why. I haven’t even questioned it before this, but I can guarantee that I still don’t have them.”

He turned hesitantly over to Jimmy, frowning over the fact that the Codfather had really no reason to cover his back on the matter. “Right, Jimmy?”

The Codfather ended up just shrugging his shoulders uselessly, a tired look in his eyes. “I don’t know,” he eventually concluded. “I don’t think I have a reason to suspect Scott doing something like that.” 

But Scott knew he was thinking. And Jimmy had every right to. With the discussion about his disappearance for an entire day a couple of weeks back. This would be a talk for later, the elf was sure of it. 

“Well, we can touch upon the subject later,” Katherine frowned. When Joey seemed to be ready to argue, the empress lifted her hand up to keep him quiet. “Like Lizzie said, it's a word against word. If we get more evidence, this is surely something to look at. But it’s no secret that the two of you don’t like each other, so the logical thing now is to take a step back.” 

When no one bothered to argue, Katherine declared the meeting as finished. 

Or at least that’s what the elf assumed when everyone started getting ready to leave. Scott simply couldn’t focus, when Jimmy’s eyes were fixated on him, looking for answers Scott wasn’t able to provide.

Chapter Text

“Scott, please, I need to know you’re telling the truth!” 

As soon as the meeting had come to a close, and the other emperors had started their journeys back home, Jimmy had cornered Scott. 

He had been hovering near the elf from the moment they got up from their chairs, never letting Scott quite get far away enough to give him a chance to disappear. And most importantly, never giving the option to avoid explaining what was happening. 

The two of them didn’t even make it back inside from the courtyard the other rulers left from. Instead, the moment when the last emperor had taken off and Katherine disappeared back to the castle, Jimmy took it upon himself to get to the bottom of everything. 

“I am telling the truth,” the elf insisted for what felt like the hundredth time. “I’ve told you everything I know. I know nothing of the magic.”

Jimmy’s eyes hardened. He didn’t look angry, and instead disappointment radiated from every inch of his being. Scott felt like a child being interrogated for something they’d done wrong, and in an attempt to save face the elf lashed out. 

“In fact, I’m quite offended that you’d choose to take Joey’s side.”

Scott regretted his words right away after seeing how Jimmy backed off almost immediately. His posture changed and tail trembled behind his form. He seemed immediately sheepish, even though Jimmy hadn’t taken a side at all. And it made sense not to, especially politically. Yet, it still stung when Scott felt like he wasn’t automatically in his corner. 

“I care about you, okay!” The Codfather snapped, and tightened his grip on Scott’s wrist just a bit in desperation. “I’m scared for you, and I’m terrified that you’re hiding things. That you even feel the need to do that. I know you’re not a bad person, and I trust you. I just wish you’d do the same for me. What is going on?” 

“I do trust you,” Scott frowned. I just don’t trust myself , he wanted to add. The ice wasn’t a coincidence. The fact that he couldn’t remember being gone, and then Joey claiming he’d seen Scott in the same timeframe – there was no chance it was all a coincidence. 

And it scared him. It made Scott just like Xornoth.

“Then why are you acting like this!?” Jimmy’s voice was desperate. “You constantly look guilty – like you’re hiding something!”

For a moment of time Scott really considered telling Jimmy. Admitting how there were fragments of memory he was missing, and that deep down the elvenking truly thought that he was the cause of whatever was happening in the Lost Empire. 

But whatever wall he had put up as a shield for himself didn’t want to come down. He couldn’t admit to being unpredictable and dangerous. Why would Jimmy ever want to associate with someone like that? 

Scott knew he was being selfish by thinking like this. There would come a point where everything comes crumbling down and the platform under his lies shatters from the weight of them. Then, everything would be revealed and he would be back at being alone. Except this time it was unclear if even the people of Rivendell wanted to have anything to do with their current leader. For the first time in his life, Scott would be truly alone. 

Maybe he could just fly away then. Fly away, and reminiscent of what could’ve been. 

But for now, he could be selfish. He would, as long as it lasted. He deserved the inch of happiness after and before all the devastation.

“I love you,” the elf breathed, completely disregarding everything Jimmy had said. He’d figure it out — Scott was sure of it. “I am in love with you.”

Jimmy seemed to recoil at the confession. “I – Scott, I love you too.”

He seemed hesitant and careful, almost like he was weighing what Scott had said. Maybe, since there already were seeds of doubt in the credibility of the elf in Jimmy’s eyes, he must’ve thought Scott was lying or molding the truth in his favor. 

It was difficult to admit, but the sentence was far from a lie. In fact, he didn’t just love Jimmy. Scott knew he was in love with the other emperor. It was difficult to even admit it to himself, let alone voice it. 

There always was and had been this strange pull towards the other. 

To be fair, maybe it was just his charisma, or the way he lit up the room whenever he walked in. And Scott had obviously noticed how pretty Jimmy was, even before the whole marriage agreement. There was something so adorable and endearing in the way he stumbled over his words and how the scales on his neck started to get a red tint when he was either angry or embarrassed.

I mean — it wasn’t like he was trying to pay attention either. Scott didn’t specifically try to seek out Jimmy with his eyes in every space he was. It wasn’t the elf’s fault how radiant of a person the Codfather was. It was impossible to not pay attention to him or to not like him. 

Whereas Scott recognized himself to be quite cold and reserved, Jimmy was the opposite of that. Even though awkward at times, the Codfather had an endearing talent of lighting up the room the moment he stepped in it. 

His presence reminded Scott of something so familiar that the elf could almost see it. A valley full of flowers, a pond and death. But not the sad kind. The kind that fills you with such a need for justice and rage that everything else dims out. That makes you reckless and unpredictable. The kind of sadness that doesn’t give you time to process grief. 

Jimmy reminds Scott of home. Not just any home, it reminds him of a specific one. One he does not remember.  

The thought makes absolutely no sense, the elf decided. Instead he chooses to for once not think, and to take Jimmy’s hand. The Codfather had no time to react before Scott had pulled him closer. With his nose almost touching Jimmy's, the elf waited for any sign of him being uncomfortable. When that didn’t happen, Scott closed the gap between the two of them, pressing his lips against Jimmy’s. 

The elf could tell neither of them had no idea what they were doing, but it hardly mattered. Scott couldn’t even think straight in the first place. Not with his heart hammering in his chest like it was trying to fall out, or with how Jimmy was gently squeezing his hand.

What Scott hadn’t expected was for Jimmy to gently pry himself off of the kiss, whilst still holding his arms gently. He was attempting to meet the elf’s eyes and catch his breath at the same time.

“Scott, what is going on?”

The elf felt his heart still hammering in his chest. He had actually kissed Jimmy. They’d kissed, and he had initiated it. And hell – he had liked it. And just by looking at Jimmy, Scott could tell he liked it as well. Or as much as he could’ve. The Codfather was too sweet for his own good. He should’ve just gone with it, but instead he chose to address the elephant in the room. 

“It’s fine if you don’t feel the same. I’m sorry if I overstepped,” Scott knew it was a low blow. But what’d he not do to detour Jimmy’s quest for answers. He could only lie so much. He hated that he was so head over heels for Jimmy. But he hated more that he hadn’t been able to recognize or act on it sooner. They could’ve had time. But because of Scott’s own decision to shut out everyone and everything – including his own feelings – they’d have next to nothing. 

“I do feel the same! Hell – I liked it!” Jimmy frowned. The Codfather hadn’t taken the bait Scott laid out. “But – my god – what is going on with you? You’ve been weird for weeks, and I’m really not sure if this is the time to do this. We have time later, when Xornoth’s been taken care of and Rivendell is back in its former glory, we can –”

The words faded into a stream of noise for Scott. The elf wanted to laugh, explain that there never would be time. Not in the way he wanted, anyway. Not here, not anywhere. There would always be obstacles too high to get past, and there was nothing they could do about it. 

There was only this moment, and Scott wasn’t sure how long it would last. 

But he couldn’t tell Jimmy that. Explaining it would end the moment for good. 

Scott took a deep breath, and forced himself to gain whatever control he still had. The elf composed himself, brushing his hand through his hair to ground himself. He’d need to keep it together for now. 

“You’re right, I might be a bit more stressed about Rivendell than I initially let on,” it wasn’t a complete lie, more like the curtain meant to hide the real demons. “It’ll be alright though. The building is getting along as well as I could hope, and both you and Katherine have been a huge help. Thank you, I don’t know what I’d do without you.” 

“I’m always happy to help,” Jimmy smiled quietly. Now that the tension had calmed down, the Codfather seemed way more relaxed. 

“I’m just worried,” he continued. “You say nothing is bothering you, but I know I’d be bothered. And not just with Rivendell, but now Joey accusing you of whatever is going on in his empire. I’m just saying that I’m here to listen if you need to talk.”

“That’s sweet of you,” Scott smiled. “And I’ll keep that in mind.”

Jimmy frowned at the answer, and Scott could tell that the Codfather had expected more. 

“Do you want to learn how to preen my wings?” The elf asked suddenly, doing his best to divert the attention away from the topic at hand. The change in subject seemed to work. Jimmy lifted his head back up with interest, and the glimpse of disappointment seemed to have vanished for now. 

“Do what now?”

“Preen,” Scott repeated with a chuckle. “It’s basically just going through them, removing all damaged feathers and any debris that doesn’t belong in the wings. It’s a bonding exercise, really. I and Xornoth used to preen one another almost weekly.” The elf didn’t know why he felt the need to add the last part. The moment it slipped from his mouth Scott regretted mentioning Xornoth. 

Luckily, Jimmy didn’t seem to grab onto the detail, and instead looked at the elf with a childlike wonder. Scott couldn’t help but snicker at his reaction, and sat down to the grass. The elf patted the ground next to him, and Jimmy followed his lead.

Scott spread the wing closest to Jimmy, and motioned towards it with his hand. “It’s quite easy, really. Just brush your hand along the feathers gently, and take out anything that doesn’t belong. Usually damaged feathers loosen up enough to fall out entirely in the process, but if you see one that looks rough just pull it out,” the elf explained, while reaching his arm to pluck off one feather. 

“You’ll get the hang of it.”

When Jimmy made no move to start, Scott took a hold of his wrist and gently guided it to the wing. 

“I usually start from the base and go outwards but you do you,” the elf explained quietly. Only the light touch on his wing felt nice. Scott hadn’t realized just how long he’d gone without preening again. After Xornoth, he simply just hadn’t had time to go through them. Sure, he’d removed some of the larger debris that really bothered, but all the smaller stuff gathering in them started to really weigh in at this point. 

“Are you sure?” Jimmy’s voice was hesitant. “I thought you didn’t want someone touching them. Especially the base.”

“Yeah, I don’t want most people to touch them. But I want you to.”

That seemed to do the trick. Jimmy dragged himself to sit behind the open wing, and oh so gently placed his hand against the base of the wing. He seemed to still for a moment, almost waiting for Scott to change his mind. When the elf stayed quiet, Jimmy started to comb through the feathers with his fingers. 

Similarly to the time Xornoth preened him, Scott felt the tiredness settle upon him almost immediately. The elf closed his eyes and let his thoughts wander. Eventually the sea of individual thoughts formed to a comfortable hum of background noise, and the elf felt himself drowsing off. He never quite had the chance to do so. 

“Hey Scott?” 

Jimmy’s quiet voice was barely enough to snap the elf out of whatever trance he was in. Even after hearing the other, Scott didn’t bother to turn around. Instead he just let out a quiet hum to let Jimmy know he was listening. 

“Can I ask you something?” 

Scott knew the direction this was heading, and he hated it. But there really wasn’t anything he could do to prevent it. It wasn’t about that, it was about prolonging. “Sure.”

“I need you to be honest, okay?” 

“I’ll be honest.”

“Do you promise?”

“I promise, Jimmy.” Scott hated himself. And somehow the thought of Jimmy hating him down the line made the feeling so much stronger. 

The Codfather let out a trembling breath. “Do you know anything about what is happening at Joey’s empire?”

Scott should’ve expected it, but knowing what was coming didn’t prevent his body from tensing. Luckily, he was still facing away from Jimmy. But the Codfather’s hands had stopped moving. He would’ve felt the reaction.

“No,” Scott forced out. 

With every blatant lie his consciousness felt heavier. Maybe Scott himself would crack before Jimmy would find out the truth. Then, at least, he could personally confess his lies. 

After a silence that felt like it lasted for decades, Jimmy’s hands started brushing through the wing again in the same comforting way as previously. Except this time the motion felt almost dirty. Even though nothing had really changed and the movement of the Codfather’s hands through his feathers was as gentle as ever, it now felt wrong. 

“Alright,” Jimmy hummed quietly. “Thank you for telling me.”

Chapter Text

The weeks seemed to really breeze through when you had your hands full of work. Scott spent most of his time in Rivendell helping the rebuilding, and returned back to the Overgrown for the nights. Even though the construction had started well, there still wasn’t a building finished enough to keep out the freezing air of the mountains. 

The days passed by, and just like every other week, the rulers landed to the Overgrown one by one for the weekly meeting. Immediately after Scott and Jimmy walked over to greet the emperors as they arrived, the elvenking could sense something was off. 

He brushed off the way Lizzie walked past him without saying a word, and headed straight for Jimmy instead. Scott was confused, sure, but was quickly distracted by Shrub who landed nearby. Figuring Lizzie wanted some time alone with Jimmy, Scott chose to head over to greet Shrub instead. 

Joel, who had arrived with Lizzie, seemed strangely hesitant. Eventually he ended up following his wife over to Jimmy, where the mood didn’t seem to be any less tense.

One by one, the emperors arrived. When the only person they were waiting for was Joey, Katherine decided to lead the group inside to the meeting room. Joey’s arrival was always unpredictable at best. Last time he had come just to accuse Scott, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he stayed out of this meeting entirely. Especially when what he claimed was denied in the last meeting. 

However, when Scott was taking his place next to Jimmy, Joey bursted through the already closed doors as well. He didn’t bother to give an explanation or even apologize for being late, and instead the emperor sat down to the only free seat in between Sausage and fWhip. 

“Well, it’s good to see all of us have made it here,” Katherine smiled and sat down to her spot. “It’s rare these days to see all of us present.” 

Lizzie, who had seemed uneasy since her arrival, didn’t let Katherine speak for long.

“Katherine, if you don’t mind, I’d like to speak first.” 

Whatever the Ocean Queen had on her mind clearly couldn’t wait for the usual friendly conversation that happened before the meetings officially started. She was seething and tense, all while Joel next to her looked visibly uncomfortable. The Mezalean king looked lost. He went out of his way to avoid everyone’s eyes, and instead focused on gently trying to calm Lizzie down.

Katherine seemed surprised, but she sat down hesitantly. “Oh, sure. Go ahead.”

Immediately when the Ocean Queen was given the chance to speak, she spoke. 

“I’m sure you all recall what Joey said during the last meeting we held. I’ll be honest, I did not believe him at all, not with him and Scott clearly having bias against one another. However, my take on this has majorly switched since the last meeting.” When the Ocean Queen drilled her eyes at Scott, the elf shrunk under the gaze. 

“I witnessed exactly the same thing he described – except on my territory. And I would give Smajor the benefit of the doubt – but I saw him clear as day. He saw me as well. I got so near that I was able to ask what his intentions were. And even though I was willing to hear him out he ignored me completely, and took off. If he would’ve been willing to talk back there, I would have listened. However, since there hasn’t been an apology, explanation, or even a slightest bit of acknowledgement of what even happened, I find it my duty to warn others here of the cause of our issues.”

Not once did Lizzie remove his eyes from Scott’s. The Ocean Queen was furious. Even worse, Jimmy had stiffened besides him. Scott didn’t need to look towards the other ruler to sense the disappointment radiating from him. 

Since Scott had been so focused on Lizzie during the start of the meeting, he must’ve ignored the dirty glances Sausage had thrown his way. Now when Lizzie had ended whatever she had to say, he stood up to speak. 

“Funny you should say that Lizzie, because I was here for the exact same reason. My story is almost identical to what she just said, except I didn’t get close enough to try and speak with Smajor here.”

“Scott?” Katherine looked hurt. She seemed to believe what the rulers were telling, and why wouldn’t she? Two of them – one of Scott’s allies for Aeor’s sake – was accusing him of this. Three separate people, none of whom were allied. It looked terrible for him, to be honest. 

Scott forced himself to grit his teeth. “Like I said, I have no powers. I have no idea what you all have been seeing, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Xornoth was trying to make me look bad. I wish I had more information, but I haven’t done or seen anything.” 

“I know what I saw.” Lizzie shot back at him with a glare. “And frankly, I don’t care if anyone here believes me or not.”

“So are you really saying that this being a part of Xornoth’s schemes is an impossible theory?” Scott tried desperately.

“Xornoth has been in the lost Empire since the last meeting,” Joey shot back with a satisfied grin. “In fact, the Ocean Queen herself visited us right after seeing you there to make sure that. Face it Scott, the jig is up.”

“He is right,” Lizzie continued. “I knew Xornoth would’ve been the only person who might have the magical capabilities and a reason to stage Scott. However, I met Xornoth while in the Lost Empire. I spoke personally with them, and after our conversation I can only conclude that they couldn’t have done it. That leaves two options. Either there’s a third party with this much magical capabilities, or it was Scott. And sure, he might say he has no powers. But I find it awfully unconvincing to believe that he wouldn’t have anything even though his sibling does.”

“I’ve been with Jimmy most of my time.” Scott shot back, but even he could feel how the Codfather stiffened next to him. “I have just as much alibi as Xornoth might have!”

“Is that true, Jimmy?” 

Lizzie’s eyes were now drilled to her brother, while Jimmy squirmed in his seat. “I.. – Most of the time, yes. We’ve been busy, and there’s been a lot to do so I don’t know when he would’ve had the time..”

“But you’re saying there’s a possibility that he could’ve had the time to do that?” 

Jimmy glanced at Scott, and then back at Lizzie. “I don’t know! I guess theoretically yes, but I don’t –”

“That’s all I need.” Lizzie got up from her seat, and walked around the table to get face to face with Scott. Before she could reach him, Katherine got between the two. 

“Woah, hold on! I’m not accepting fighting in a meeting! Let's just sit down, and talk this through.”

Lizzie scoffed, and crossed her arms. “I’ve been trying to talk this through! Hell, even when I saw Smajor using his powers. But he wasn’t very talkative then, and he surely doesn’t seem to be now. If he is willing to attack an ally without reason, I don’t trust it.”

The rest of the meeting went by in a blur. Katherine did her best to divert the conversation into other topical subjects, but the start of the meeting seemed to be all everyone was thinking about. Eventually, when Katherine herself accepted that no one was listening to her rambling, she declared the meeting as finished. 

Lizzie was nearly out of the door when Katherine ended her sentence, but some others seemed to be hesitant. Pearl was whispering something to Sausage, while Gem and fWhip exchanged glances. Eventually all four of them made their way outside after Shrub, who slipped out after Lizzie. 

Scott walked out behind everyone else. When he made it outside, some of the rulers had left and others were fastening on their elytras. Pearl had apparently arrived on a horse, and was still discussing something with Sausage, only this time from the back of the animal.

There was enough tension in the air that Scott was sure he could’ve cut it with a knife. 

Out of everyone, the person most conflicted seemed to easily be Jimmy. The Codfather was shifting on his feet while looking desperately between Scott and Lizzie. When he eventually meekly made his way over to his sister, Lizzie seemed to direct her frustration straight at him. 

While Lizzie dealt with Jimmy, Joel pulled Scott aside.  

“Lizzie swears she’s seen you,” he explained carefully. “She has no doubt in her mind that it’s been you that’s doing this. And other emperors as well.” The Mezalean king frowned, and Scott couldn’t help but cower under his gaze. “I just need you to tell the truth. Are those ice spikes your doings? Or do you know anything about them?” 

The elf gritted his teeth. “I don’t know anything.”

Joel simply ended up shaking his head. “Even if I haven’t witnessed anything myself, you do understand where my alliances need to lay, right? I have to believe Lizzie on this. I’m sorry if what you say is true, but she’s my wife.”

Scott didn’t even try to defend himself as Joel turned away and walked over where Jimmy was having an intense conversation with Lizzie. Whatever words were exchanged between them ended when the Mezalean king stepped in between them.

Lizzie gave one last glare towards Jimmy, after which she took off on her elytra. After Joel had said something to Jimmy, the Mezalean king flew after his wife, leaving the Codfather standing there alone. 

A weight landed on Scott’s shoulder, and it didn’t take the elf long to realize who had arrived. Poppy must’ve sensed the situation, and taken it upon himself to de-escalate whatever he could. Absent-mindedly, Scott pet the feathers of the bird, who let out a quiet coo. He seemed stressed, turning his head around as if looking for something. Poppy’s eyes stopped searching when they landed on Jimmy. The bird almost took off from Scott’s shoulder, but the elvenking managed to catch him in his arms before he could. 

“Let’s not do that,” Scott’s voice shook, and he held Poppy close to his chest. The bird cooed and nuzzled the top of his head to the elvenking’s chest. 

When Jimmy eventually approached them, Scott didn’t bother to look at him. 

“Lizzie is really angry,” he said quietly. “I – Scott, what is going on? You promised that this isn’t you, but Lizzie–”

“It’s not me!” The elf snapped. “I don’t know what they saw, but I’ve been with you for the last few days!”

“I believe in you,” Jimmy eventually sighed. “But Lizzie is my sister, and I need to speak with her. I don’t know what’s happening anymore, but I want to believe in both of you.”

“It seems like that’s off the table.”

“She begged me to not go through with the marriage agreement,” Jimmy admitted quietly. “That if I would, she’d cut me out of her life.”

“Maybe you should –”

“She doesn’t mean it, really,” Jimmy cut Scott off. “She just needs to take a moment, and I have to speak with her alone. That’s why I think It would be for the best if I left for the Ocean Empire. I won’t be long, but –,”

Scott sighed tiredly. “I get it, Lizzie is important to you. You should go.” 

Jimmy gave him a sad smile, and took a hold of Scott’s arm. When he gave it a gentle squeeze, the elf wanted to melt right then and there. 

“Thank you. I will be back – I promise. And I’m sure Lizzie will come around too. I just need to speak with her.”

Before Jimmy turned away to leave after his sister, he placed a quick kiss on Scott's cheek. The elf didn’t even realize what had happened until Jimmy had already taken off.

Poppy cooed sadly. The bird was trying to take off and follow Jimmy when he realized the Codfather was flying away. When the bird started to let out distressed chirps, Scott reluctantly let go of it and watched how the owl scrambled to fly after Jimmy. 

He’d catch the Codfather – there was no doubt about it. And Poppy would be back. The bird had shown such loyalty and compassion – not just for Scott but for Jimmy as well. He deserved to be able to make sure both of his people were alright. 

Scott, on the other hand, found himself to be reminiscing Joey’s words while watching Poppy disappear to the sky.

The jig was indeed up.

Chapter Text

Scott had made his way to Rivendell first thing next morning. What better way to not think about things than trying to ignore them altogether. 

After successfully skipping breakfast and avoiding Katherine like the plague, the elf managed to take off from the Overgrown and fly over to Rivendell. Routa had led a group on foot earlier that morning to start the construction of some simple pathways and clear the burnt down debris. 

Even though Scott hadn’t been too involved in the progress so far, he was very aware of what was going on and how the building was progressing. 

Most of the actual building was still looming in the horizon, and instead the Council was doing its best to make sure that the new layout of the Empire both respected its history as well as maybe fixed some of its previous issues. Not to mention the mess of the charcoal piles that once were buildings they’d still need to clean.

The elvenking spotted Routa walking through the remains of the avianary with a piece of paper spread out in front of her. The advisor apparently heard him coming, since she raised her head to see whatever was approaching her from the sky. 

After noticing Scott she gave a small wave, and waited for the emperor to land over to her. 

“What’re you doing?” Scott took a curious look at the paper on her hands. 

“Nice to see you too. I’m planning on the locations for the church and town hall,” Routa explained. “I was talking with Pyry and we both agreed that the church would be good a bit further from the center – you know, to make it a bit more secluded and private. And the town hall would be somewhere around here,” the advisor motioned around the rubbles of the previous avianary, which Scott frowned at. 

“Shouldn’t we work on the important stuff first?” The elvenking pointed out while lifting his foot to step over a pile of charcoal. 

Routa merely looked back down to the paper that held all the current building plans, and hummed while thinking. “I mean I was thinking about leaving the church to be constructed right after your place, but we can always start –”

“No, I don’t mean that,” Scott stopped Routa in her tracks. Even the mention of anything to do with Aeor had started to put a weight on him. “The church can wait.”

“Scott, are you sure that you’re alright?” Routa lifted her eyes from the paper. She definitely didn’t buy that the church wasn’t the most important building in Rivendell. “Maybe it’d be best if you take a day off? Get some rest and then look at the plans with fresh eyes?”

A break was the last thing the elvenking needed at the moment. Instead, Scott reached for the papers on Routa’s hands to take a closer look at them. 

“We can focus on the farming and living areas first. Let’s forget the meeting rooms and other royal stuff for now, at least until everyone has a place here again. The faster we move away from Overgrown the better.”

Routa raised her eyebrow. “I know you’re eager to move back home, but I don’t think we’re in a rush. I spoke personally with Katherine and she truly doesn’t seem to mind. I’d rather do this well, especially now that we have the opportunity to start all over again. So what do you think about living quarters near the pathways over there, and moving farms and livestock closer to the cliffside there.. –”

Scott found himself nodding along without even listening to what was being said. He couldn’t help but play the events of yesterday in his mind over and over again. Soon enough everyone would be finding convenient magical ice pillars in their Empires, and the elf would be suspect number one. What would he do, when –

“Hello, earth to Scott?” Routa waving her hand over Scott’s field of vision woke the elf from his thoughts. 

“Were you listening to anything I was saying?”

Scott gave her a sheepish smile and pushed his hands to the pockets of his cloak. “Of course I was! Something about the livestock and the cliffside.”

Routa rolled her eyes dramatically. “Look, we have architects for this. I know you’re not a huge fan of Pyry, but he knows his buildings. You’re not necessarily needed here, and I think you’d benefit from some rest.”

“I– fine.”

Sometimes the easiest way to get other people out of his business was just to act like they’d won. So reluctantly the elf told Routa he’d head back over to Overgrown, and when the advisor had wished Scott a safe trip back, he took off. 

Since Scott wasn’t going to head to Overgrown to be potentially grilled by Katherine, the elvenking decided to fly by the ancient library. He wasn’t really expecting to find anything – but if he was lucky Scott hoped to discover some clues of what Xornoth was after. 

If it wasn’t the prophecy book like Pixl had suggested, there really wasn’t anything he could think of owning, not of value at least. 

Absent-mindedly, Scott landed on the clearing that camouflaged the ancient library. The movable rock on the side of the cliffside was very much visible to him now, mainly because this time the elf knew what to look for. What was interesting, was the lack of snow on top of the rock. Like someone had recently been here and moved it.

The vines had reached the meadow properly now as well, but they kept clear of the library. It was like they’d stopped and created a shield around the place. 

Maybe even Xornoth realized that tampering with ancient texts wasn’t always a great idea.

After moving the boulder from his way, Scott stepped into the tunnels leading to the library. He had completely forgotten how dark the pathway was, but after going through his belt pockets Scott had to conclude he had brought nothing that could help the situation. So the elf extended his arms to both sides, so they brushed against the walls of the path, and started walking.

The darkness, for whatever reason, lessened when he arrived at the library. The space was more dim than actually dark. Even though reading anything in this lighting would most certainly be a pain, he could deal with it. 

The next few hours were filled with a desperate attempt to go through as many books as possible. 

When the third bookshelf had been completely cleared, Scott had read everything from magical extinct animals to how the world was created according to the elves. There was a lot of information, and somehow even more myths and stories clearly meant for scaring kids into behaving. 

But there wasn’t really anything Scott was looking for.

That was, until he hit the fourth shelf. 

A whole section about ancient artifacts, book after book after book. 

When Scott started scrolling through the pages, it became evident very quickly that these books were no different from the others. They spoke about ancient artifacts, yes, but there was at least as much, if not more misinformation and myths as there were in the other books. 

At least that's what he initially thought.

But then the elf opened a rather intriguing spread, decorated with images of gods – not just Aeor and Exor but others as well. At first glance Scott almost scrolled past the page, but something stopped him in his tracks. 

That was, an image of a simple dagger.

The dagger was almost identical to his, if you looked past some damage. Scott fumbled with his belt, and reached for the dagger to remove it from its holder. It had always been an afterthought, only an easy weapon to keep around just in case. 

After further inspection, Scott’s version of the weapon was either a very cleverly put together souvenir, or the exact dagger pictured in the book. 

The elf read over the pages. Apparently the weapon was created by men who swore no loyalty to beings higher than themselves. Angered by having to serve gods who merely looked down on them, with the help of some of the most powerful wizards to ever come out of Crystal Cliffs, this dagger was told to hold power like no other. 

Scott compared the item he had in his hands to the picture in the book. It, indeed, was a good copy. But since it originated from the Crystal Cliffs, Scott seriously found himself doubting its originality. It was possible that the other Empire was more familiar with this particular tale, and therefore the townsfolk sold copies for a profit. 

Looking over the pages, the book seemed to be almost hesitant to tell the details of the artifact. After scrolling through the few pages discussing the dagger Scott decided that whatever information the book provided was useless as of now. Maybe he could swing by the Crystal Cliffs some time and ask about it, but –

 …………

Scott blinked slowly.

He was.. back in Rivendell? Or the edge of the town is more like it. He couldn’t remember getting back from the library. 

The elf wished he would have remembered where the sun sat in the sky when he exited the cave, but he had no clue. Scott had entered the library during the late morning, but had no idea how long he’d spent in it. Frankly, the elvenking wasn’t even sure if he remembered exiting. 

The book.

He had left it in the library. Scott cursed silently. At least it’d be there when he needed it – if he even ever did. The book seemed to hold no information either way, so maybe he’d just be better off without it. 

An excited squeak from the sky made the elf switch his attention back to his surroundings. Scott could recognize the voice from anywhere, and just as he expected Poppy dove down to land. 

Who he wasn’t expecting to see was Jimmy trailing close behind the bird.

Jimmy landed just as clumsy as he always did, while Poppy landed carefully onto Scott’s shoulder. 

The bird seemed tense and anxious, very much unlike himself. It covered, like expecting Scott to scold him for flying away. Instead of being mad at the bird, the elvenking gently patted his head. Poppy seemed to relax at the affection, and pushed his head against Scott’s. 

“Katherine said I’d find you here,” Jimmy murmured. “I think we need to have a talk.”

Scott tightened his grip on Poppy, squeezing the bird against his chest like a lifeline. The owl didn’t seem to mind the closeness, but looked up at the elf with a hesitant coo. 

“I don’t think there’s anything to talk about,” Scott snapped. “You clearly don’t believe me – none of you do. That’s fine by me. Just forget any of this ever happened, and I won’t step outside of Rivendell ever again.”

“No – no! That’s not what I want at all!” Jimmy pleaded. “I’m here to tell you that I trust you! If you say this is none of your doing, it’s not. I trust you!” The Codfather reached out for Scott’s hand, and gently held it with both of his hands. 

“Lizzie is still convinced it was you.”

Scott’s fingers tensed, holding Poppy with a firm grip. The bird could clearly understand something wasn’t right, and didn’t fight the hold it was on. Instead, it tried to let out a coo to direct Scott’s attention away from Jimmy. 

The elf, on the other hand, found his hands trembling with.. he wasn’t quite sure what. But it was difficult to focus, and that feeling alone made him angry. What was even worse, was that Jimmy wasn’t even accusing him. The lovable, naive emperor was still trying to get over a bridge that Scott had burnt down a long time ago. And there was no one to blame but himself.

“Cod’s sake Scott! Just tell me what is going on!” 

Something inside Scott snapped.

Instead of walking away like he almost did, the elf whipped his body back around with enough force to drive a small cry out of Poppy.

“I. don’t. KNOW!”

Following the shout, ice burst through Scotts fingers. It was almost an explosion that washed over the first thing he was in contact with, which happened to be Poppy. The bird attempted to take flight, but his body was completely frozen over in milliseconds. The look of terror now permanently stuck to its face. 

Scott’s eyes widened in horror, and by pure instinct the elvenking pulled his hands back from the bird. Too late, far too late, he realized the critical mistake. The piece of ice now containing Poppy’s frozen body fell from his arms and made contact with the ground below. The ground that had now formed a solid layer of ice around Scott. 

The all so fragile ice shattered into countless pieces. And with Poppy being completely frozen inside of the ice, the bird shattered to pieces with it. 

Scott took panicked breaths while taking multiple steps back, avoiding stepping on the ice or the now broken, destroyed – dead – body of the bird he had grown to love so much. He stumbled, legs slipping on the frozen ground below. 

“I – I didn’t –,” he couldn’t find it in himself to form words. He had killed Poppy. The bird was dead – gone. Just like Tulip, except this death was his fault. Scott couldn’t bear to look at the remains of the bird. The pieces that hadn’t shattered as small as some of them had contained visible parts of the bird. 

There wasn’t any blood, yet the scene was something out of Scott’s worst nightmares. 

While Scott was trying to get his brain to catch up, Jimmy had backed away as well. The other ruler seemed just as shocked as Scott felt, but unlike his, Jimmy’s shock wore off quickly. It got replaced with a look of hurt and sadness.

“So it was you.” 

There was so much disappointment and betrayal buried in the words that it made Scott want to die right there and then. 

“This whole time, it was you,” Jimmy’s voice trembled almost as much as Scott’s hands did. The elf in his anxiety tried picking the skin around his nails, only to find out his entire fingertips were covered in frost. 

“Jimmy, I had no idea,” Scott desperately tried to reach out for the other, taking a step forward. “I don’t know what’s happening to me.”

“I trusted you.” The Codfather stepped back. “I went directly against Lizzie because I had that much faith in you.”

“I didn’t know!”

“Obviously you did!” Jimmy snorted. “I’m not that dumb, Scott. You hide things, and redirect conversation when someone gets too close. I gave you so many opportunities to come clean. But look at where we are now.”

Jimmy motioned towards the shattered ice covering the ground between their feet. “This could’ve been avoided. Poppy didn’t need to die.”

They’d both lost a loved one today, Scott realized. He wasn’t the only one who had grown attached to the messenger bird. Jimmy had as well. 

Scratch that – Scott had hurt someone he loved. And it didn’t matter whether he did so accidentally or not. Who knows what he’s capable of, when completely destroying another being was so easy. And more than likely he’d be able to do that to humans as well. 

A bile rose in Scott’s throat, and the elvenking subconsciously took rushed steps back. What if he had been an inch too close to Jimmy? Would the body frozen over and shattered be his? 

He couldn’t bear to process what had happened, or what could have happened. 

Scott scrambled back, and hastily flapped his wings enough to take flight. The elf barely managed to get off the ground, his wing feeling so much heavier than they were supposed to. A quick glance over his shoulder revealed the reason. His feathers, especially on the base of his wings, were covered in clumps of ice. 

The elf could distantly register Jimmy shouting something after him, but he knew he wasn’t about to turn around and see what the Codfather wanted. 

His only objective was to get as far away as possible. 

Chapter Text

Ever since leaving Rivendell, the powers had become unbearable to handle. Even though the elvenking found himself being unaffected by the cold he was casting around himself, Scott couldn’t ignore the way everything around him – even the layers of snow – were frosted over. 

Even if he wanted to return, he couldn’t. Whatever Xornoth was able to do to control and suppress their powers, Scott wasn’t able to replicate. The magic streamed out of him in waves that the elvenking could physically feel. It was disorienting to say the least, and during the worst eruptions the elvenking found himself leaning against the feeble walls of his makeshift home. 

During the day or so he had spent on this remote mountain, Scott hadn’t been able to stop the powers. And not only that, it felt like it was getting worse. It felt like Poppy’s death was only caused by a fraction of the power he was actually able to release, and that terrified Scott. 

If he was able to kill a small, innocent bird with no attempt at all, there was not a chance he would ever be able to exist near another living being again. He was a danger to everyone around him. 

All the elf wanted to do was to fly back to the Cod Empire and beg for forgiveness. To try and explain what had happened, and convince Jimmy that he hadn’t meant any of it to happen. 

But what Scott had done was unforgivable. 

Not only that, he had been a coward and chosen to not tell anyone. The fear of rejection had been so dominant, that even the possibility of cutting his time short by admitting what had been happening seemed impossible. 

Now that he was alone and without nothing to lose, Scott would’ve given anything to go back and do things differently. What a selfish way of thinking, Scott realized. The only reason to change the past was the fact that it didn’t work out for him specifically. 

It worked out just like it was meant to.

 …………

Time passed. Scott had no ability to tell how much, but it did.

The elf would snap awake multiple times a day, understanding that he had no recollection of what had happened since the last time he was able to recognize it was him in his body. It happened more frequently now, he realized. 

It was terrifying. He had no idea what he was doing, no clue how long these blackouts were. There was no indication that one was starting, but instead the elf opened his eyes from somewhere and he was suddenly awake once again. 

And yet, he couldn’t find it in himself to care. The apathy that had been looming above him the moment the initial panic from Poppy’s death had settled down. 

He had already lost everything, even himself, so what else was there really to lose? 

At this point, it felt like Aeor was the only thing standing even remotely close to his corner. The god had some.. questionable views that Scott wasn’t quite sure what to make of, but the thought of spending any more time with just his own thoughts alone was enough to make the elf lower himself down to his knees and fold his hands. 

It didn’t take long for the scenery to start to morph into the field Scott knew. The elf couldn’t help but smile at the little speck of familiarity. 

The little joy was quickly replaced by Aeor emerging from the mist. 

Aeor seemed bothered by his presence. Like Scott was an inconvenience to be around. The elf felt his heart beat faster in his chest. It was one thing to be shunned from his family and friends, but another to be looked at with disgust by the very being who was responsible for these powers he couldn’t handle. 

“What are you doing here?” The god scoffed, its golden antlers gleaming even in the thick layer of mist. 

“Aeor, please, these powers – I don’t know what do do with them or how to control them,” Scott begged. 

“Control them? There is no such thing. They’re not meant to be controlled. Their meaning is to contain Exor once and for all. After that, your purpose as the leader of your people has been fulfilled, and the land can be at peace again.” 

“But –!”

“Quit your crying, child,” the stag spat. “These abilities are yours now. They are not to be controlled, but used to contain Exor once and for all. Since you weren't able to do that the first time, I will be taking control when I feel it is needed.”

The stag scoffed down at Scott, its golden eyes gleaming with something Scott could almost describe as hate.

“My expectations for you were low, but I thought after so many years you’d realized what you were here to do. Being a champion means listening to my orders, and my orders alone. After I’ve given you countless chances to understand that, I’ve taken the matter to my own hands.”

The stag relaxed its stiffened stance, like gathering its composure for a moment. If Scott didn’t know better, he would’ve thought that the god let its mask slip for just a moment.

“Everything I’ve done is for the good of our people,” Aeor purred, the anger completely gone from their voice. 

Scott wanted to ask if brutally murdering the dear messenger owls was a part of this ‘good’, but the elf found himself nodding in agreement instead. 

“I see.” 

“Good. Now leave.”

Aeor didn’t bother to wait around for an answer. Instead the god trotted off back to the mist, leaving Scott alone in the field. After the stag was gone, the imaginary landscape melted bit by bit from around him. And as if to help himself to wake up, Scott closed his eyes. 

The next time Scott opened his eyes as himself, he was standing at the edge of a cliff. The elf didn’t recoil blank, only stared down at the mist that engulfed the bottom entirely. It was impossible to tell how far down the fall was. Scott didn’t know why he was here. Staring at the cliffside.

Realistically he did know though. Aeor was taunting him. It was a challenge, a dare. The stag god knew he was too cowardly, even when somehow the everlasting nothingness seemed like the best option at the moment. 

When the elf glanced tiredly back, his footprints were nowhere seen in the snow. It implied one of two things. Either he had stood here motionlessly for enough time for the blizzard to cover up his tracks, or he’d perfectly landed on this one specific spot. 

Maybe if he would’ve been lucky he’d missed the ledge and plummeted down the mountain into a certain death without even having the recollection of it. Oh, how easy it would’ve been. Even more so, when his body would likely never be discovered, and all that would be left of the elvenking would’ve been old folktales and whispers. It would’ve been more merciful than the weight Aeor had decided to put on his shoulders. 

But if he was gone, that’d mean Aeor would be as well. And that left no one to defeat Exor and protect Rivendell from him and Xornoth. 

Scott glanced back at the ravine, before turning back to head back to the small cottage. 

Maybe later. 

 …………

Time had passed again when Scott opened his eyes.

It became more and more difficult to tell when there were gaps in his memory, or if he had just slept. Either or, the layer of ice on the walls had thickened, and the elf couldn’t help but wonder that if it kept growing like that, he’d need to build a new shelter. Maybe just a cave would be enough at that point – it wasn’t like he spent much time awake anyway. 

At least Aeor was gracious enough to return him here.

The knock on his front door made Scott physically jump. When you’ve listened to nothing but your own breathing and the cold wind howling for who knows how long, any other noise seems to make you paranoid. 

The elf stared at the front door, not sure what he was expecting. After a standoff with the inanimate object, Scott frowned and shook his head. Was he seriously losing his mind this badly and quickly? 

The elf scoffed towards the door like it had done something wrong, and turned away from it. Immediately after Scott had his back facing it again, the knocking happened again. This time, the elf took a couple of fast steps towards it, and pulled the door open with such force it slammed against the inside wall of the house. 

Scott had expected to be proven insane by only seeing the blizzard and snow, but instead a figure pushed past him to the house. Even though wearing a cloak, Scott couldn’t miss the pair of antlers and the form of wings sticking through it. 

“God damn!” Xornoth trembled, and shook his feet to get rid of some of the snow on them. “It’s freezing out there.”

Scott stared at his sibling blankly. 

Xornoth took their sweet time taking in the place, even though there wasn’t really anything to look at. 

It took Scott a good moment or few to take in the situation. As soon as the elf realized that his sibling was indeed here, the elvenking huffed. 

“What are you doing here?”

“I heard what happened,” Xornoth confessed. “Apparently, that’s all they spoke about in the latest meeting. Joey told me everything when he got back.”

“The next meeting hasn’t happened yet.” Scott scoffed back. “It’s a week away.”

Xornoth raised their eyebrows. “It’s been a week. You have been here for a week.”

“I haven’t,” Scott shot back immediately. When Xornoth only shrugged, never bothering to let Scott pull them into the what seemed like inevitable shouting match, the elvenking got even more furious. “How did you even find me?!” He snapped. 

“Well, you left quite the trail.” Xornoth chuckled. “There are traces of magic everywhere. Remember when Gem could sense me in the wedding party before I had even arrived? Same thing, except you almost left too much evidence lingering around. I would’ve probably been here sooner if it wasn’t for all the false trails you left lying around. I mean geez, your magic is like a sink someone left running on blast.”

Scott took a furious step towards Xornoth, and as his feet hit the ground a layer of frost appeared with it. The ice spread, stopping only before it reached Xornoth’s feet. The other elf didn’t seem bothered by the magic one bit, and instead looked at it with fascination. 

“I mean I knew they were right, but you gotta admit, that’s pretty cool. I wonder if you could walk on water with that.”

“Would you just shut up!?” Scott snapped. “Shut up and leave me alone. How dare you to be here?!”

“I think you really need to calm down,” Xornoth pointed out, while opening his cloak nonchalantly. “Magic taps on emotions a lot, and you’ll freeze both of us over if you can’t control it.” When the elf couldn’t find a proper place to put his cloak to, they eventually ended up tossing it onto a corner of the room. 

“Trust me, that’s from experience. I almost set half a forest ablaze learning to use what I have.” Judging by Xornoth’s sheepish expression the sentence was meant to hold humor. Scott found it very difficult to see anything funny about it. 

“Oh c’mon, don’t look at me like that,” Xornoth groaned. “Like I’m so much worse than you.” The older of the siblings looked almost disappointed. “And here I thought you’d finally understand when it’s happening to you.”

Xornoth frowned, and swished his hand towards the frozen over fireplace in the corner. Almost immediately it bursted into flames and heated up the room just slightly. 

“You burnt down Rivendell.” Scott recalled blankly. “Twice.”

“Oh, I know.” Xornoth scoffed. “But you’ve done bad things too, without actually doing them. Does that make you a bad person?”

“Yes.”

Xornoth’s eyes softened, and the elf sat down next to Scott. “No it doesn’t. You can’t control what’s happening. Where’s that annoying know-it-all brother I know?” 

When Scott looked away and opted to not answer, Xornoth rolled their eyes dramatically. “You’re really making me do this, eh?” 

Before Scott could question the sentence, a pair of arms was wrapped around him. He wanted to push Xornoth off and unload whatever frustration and anger Scott had towards his sibling. 

However, as soon as his sibling had pulled him in for a hug, Scott couldn’t help but enjoy the contact. Xornoth patted his back, and even without seeing their face Scott could tell how awkward his sibling felt. Neither of them were really used to physical affection. Scott did appreciate the gesture nevertheless. 

After letting the moment continue for far too long, the elvenking let go of Xornoth and pushed his sibling slightly away. Some things still needed to be addressed. 

“Be honest,” Scott frowned. “Was the book you?” 

Xornoth turned to look at him with confusion written all over their face. “The book?” 

“The prophecy book.” Scott clarified. When Xornoth shook their head, the elvenking scoffed. “You’re lying.”

“Lying?!” Xornoth huffed with annoyance. “I don’t even know what you’re bloody talking about. Might explain that one to me instead of throwing out accusations? We just had that nice moment and all!” 

“A book of prophecies from the ancient library or whatever. That got saved from the fire and just magically had new text in it when I found it.” Scott scoffed. “I happen to know you were in the area.” 

Xornoth only rolled their eyes at the comment. “Yeah, whatever. I’m a pawn just as you are so shut it. And whatever book you’re yapping about – I don’t know anything about it.”

Scott huffed and crossed his arms. “I don’t buy it. It has the same sentence you carved for me to the rock. ‘It’s all just a game’, or whatever.”

The other elf stopped in their tracks, and stared at Scott blankly. “That meeting in the woods? I didn’t leave you a message.” 

“You did.” Scott insisted. “There was a message when I woke up.”

“Well,” Xornoth clicked their tongue. “If there was a message, I don’t know a thing about it. It could’ve been either possession, or someone else entirely.”

Scott couldn’t help but be skeptical at that. Xornoth had been the only one there beside him, but the amount of adamant his sibling was that it wasn’t them threw the elvenking off quite a bit.

“Well,” Scott sighed, deciding to turn the conversation away from the subject entirely. “What’s next?”

“I don’t know about you, but my plan hasn’t changed,” Xornoth admitted. “I want to get rid of the gods. Especially Aeor. Even though you are annoying, I think there’s space for both of us here, don’t you think?”

Scott frowned. “Especially Aeor? Why I’m not surprised, not with Exor –”

“Believe it or not, but based on what I’ve witnessed, Exor seems to be the more reasonable one of the two. They taught me to deal with my newfound powers when I left as a kid, kept me company and has been there for me when my family didn’t.” Xornoth interrupted flatly. 

When Scott cowered with guilt at the last sentence, Xornoth relaxed and lifted their hands up in surrender. “I don’t have an issue with you, I wouldn’t be here right now if I did. Frankly, you only wanted to protect the people of Rivendell. So do I. You did so by staying, and I by leaving.”

“I’m sorry that I abandoned you.”

Xornoth snickered awkwardly. “Well, I kind of abandoned you when leaving.”

“No, before that. Growing up, when I stopped hanging out. I knew you felt alone, and I did nothing about it.”

Xornoth rolled their eyes at that. “You were a kid following our parents’ ridiculous rules. I wouldn’t stress about it.” 

Scott flashed a quick smile. “I take it you were not a fan of those.”

“We can ignore the childhood trauma until this whole ordeal is dealt with,” Xornoth groaned. 

“That’s a promise that we’ll talk about it later.”

The elf with red antlers scrunched up their nose at that. “Yeah, I just might take myself out before addressing all of that.”

Scott let out a dry chuckle. “Well, you might be in luck since it seems like Exor might take me out first.”

“I don’t think G— Exor is that interested in you.” Xornoth hummed suddenly. They sat down to the ground, melting the iced over wooden floor in the process. “He seems mainly focused on Aeor and getting rid of them. By all means necessary. Which makes sense, I guess. But I would’ve thought he’d be more after you as well.” 

Xornoth frowned. “I’ve been trying to piece together whatever information I can, but it’s difficult. Exor is very reluctant to share anything with me, so my knowledge is limited too.” The elf hummed thoughtfully. “But the things I know are very confusing and don’t really make sense.”

“Like?”

“I dunno,” Xornoth shrugged. The elf chewed their lip hesitantly, like pondering over something. “It sounds crazy, but the way Exor speaks – he doesn’t seem like a god. You wouldn’t understand if you’ve not spoken to him, but there’s this strong sense of humanity.” Xornoth snickered. “He hates being referred to as something above his own name, if you ever bump into him. Almost got in trouble for that multiple times.”

“Speaking of Exor,” Scott hummed. “When you were burning down Rivendell, you said that you knew I had an artifact that you – well, Exor – wanted. I haven’t figured out anything about it. Not what it is, or what it does. I don’t even know how he knows I have it,” Scott admitted. 

Xornoth perked up with interest, and their eyes settled upon Scott’s belt. It held small pockets for tiny items, but usually it was just empty. Scott caught on what his sibling was thinking, and shook his head. “I don’t think so. It’s almost empty, I only carry around like a box of matches, just in case.”

Xornoth wasn’t convinced, and they were going through the pockets of the belt before Scott had even stopped his sentence. “Surely almost everything burnt in the fire,” the elf muttered. “Everything, except the stuff you carry around with you.”

 After his sibling had tossed an empty box of matches, a spare button and a singular golden coin to the floor, they sat back disappointed. 

“Man, you’re poor.” Despite the jab, Scott couldn’t help but notice how his sibling grabbed the singular coin and placed it in their pocket before the elvenking could get it back.

Scott rolled his eyes, and put the empty match box and the button back to his pocket. While his hand hovered over his belt, it hit something hard. And before Scott had thought twice about it, the elvenking pulled out the dagger. 

“Woah! I’ve never seen a weapon like that!” Xornoth exclaimed next to him, and moved their face closer to the object. Scott, instinctively, pulled it closer to his chest away from his sibling. Xornoht paid no mind to the gesture, and instead let their finger hover over the surface of the blade.

“I know you’re oblivious, but geez. How have you not felt the magic from this thing?”

Scott flushed in embarrassment, and pulled the dagger further away from them. “Excuse me, I’ve had bigger issues than thinking about some stupid weapon.”

Xornoth sat back. “Well, that ‘stupid weapon’ might be what we’re looking for. But why would Exor know you have it..”

“The meeting we had.” Scott realized. “I spoke about the message – it was carved with this. If it really wasn’t you, Exor would’ve seen it.” The elvenking frowned. “But why didn’t he take it then..?”

“Who cares!” Xornoth got up from the floor, clearly more excited than what Scott felt like. “If Exor wanted it, it would surely be important!”

“We have no idea what it does,” Scott frowned. 

“Well, surely there’s someone who knows what it does?” Xornoth challenged.

“Well, Aeor and Exor,” The elvenking frowned. He searched his mind for someone, anyone else who might've even some kind of knowledge of the type of artifact they were looking for. And sure enough..

Scott groaned. “I think I know someone.”

Chapter Text

“Right, so the first thing to do is to not overthink it.”

Scott huffed. Xornoth’s advice on how to keep his powers in control was less than helpful. To be fair, his sibling wasn’t necessarily a great teacher, and Scott himself wasn’t too keen on taking advice from them either. 

The low success rate didn’t seem to stop them though. The elvenking had decided that he wouldn't leave the secluded mountain area without some kind of control, and Xornoth wasn’t exactly a welcomed guest in most Empires. 

“You’re overthinking it again!” 

Scott let out a frustrated groan when the ice around him traveled towards Xornoth, who merely stepped a bit back to dodge it. “Geez, just turn off your brain for two seconds!”

“That’s easy for you to say,” Scott jabbed back immediately. “Yours is off more than its on.”

“Oh shut it,” Xornoth huffed. “Just chill out. The magic listens to you if you know how to command it, but you’re not even trying. For Gods’ sake, hasn’t that dumb god of yours taught you anything at all?”

“No,” Scott admitted. “They haven’t.”

Xornoth stopped for a moment. “Right. How about we take a break and continue after?”

 …………

“What are we exactly fighting against?”

Scott and Xornoth were huddled in the miserable shack. Before Scott broke the heavy silence with his question, they’d been quiet for what felt like hours. They’d built a working system together. By staying side by side, neither had had possession happening. Why? Scott had no idea. Maybe the two powers evened eachother out. 

Xornoth snapped their head up. The other champion had clearly been deep in thought. “I think we need to get rid of the gods. Both of them.”

Even the thought of getting rid of Aeor had previously felt disgusting. This was the protector of Rivendell, the one who kept Exor astray and his people safe. But as of now the stag god hadn’t done any of it. And with the constant fear of jerking awake from somewhere he didn’t fall asleep at, Scott wasn’t much of a protector either. 

Not until Aeor was gone, anyway. 

“You’re saying that like it’s an easy thing to do,” the elvenking pointed out flatly. 

“Kill one equals kill both. So technically just one god is enough,” Xornoth countered. 

“Kill one equals kill all four of us,” Scott frowned. “As long as they’re a part of us, there’s no way of getting rid of them without getting rid of ourselves as well.”

Xornoth stayed quiet for a long while before acknowledging the statement. “We would. But we don’t need to.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“There’s an artifact that is able to separate them from us.”

Scott raised his eyebrows and threw a confused look towards his sibling. “And you know this by…?”

Xornoth tensed up. “What does it matter?” The elf snapped. “I know that there is one, and I also know where it is. In fact –,”

The elf lunged forwards towards Scott, and before the latter had any chance to dodge or defend himself, Xornoth had already backed off. By instinct Scott reached for the dagger he carried with him, only to find it missing. Xornoth, on the other hand, was holding the blade by it’s hilt. 

“This thing can separate us from them,” they explained carefully. 

“Then give it back,” Scott huffed. “It’s mine.”

“Sorry,” Xornoth smirked, and hid the dagger away into a holder on their belt. “I trust Exor a lot more than I trust Aeor with this thing.”

Scott really wanted to argue, but he really couldn’t. Aeor couldn’t be trusted with the dagger, especially when it was their only chance of freedom. And especially not when the god was more than likely well aware of the fact. 

“You better keep it safe then,” Scott frowned. “If Exor –”

“He doesn’t care,” Xornoth remarked. “He could’ve taken it back in the forest. Trust me, it’s safer with me.”

 …………

It took three days for Scott to come to terms with the fact that the skills he sought after wouldn’t be happening in a timely manner. They were working against a clock without knowing what the time limit was. One of the gods was due to snap, and when they did it would end very badly for either him or Xornoth. 

And whereas Scott didn’t really care about what happened to him, the elvenking felt a deep need to get rid of all this unnecessary magic and higher power. If not for Rivendell’s sake, then for the other empires as well. 

They were suffering as well. The situation with the vines was bad enough, but now the snow and ice made the situation so much worse. 

That’s why Scott and Xornoth were readying up to head back. The sooner they could start fitting pieces of the puzzle together, the sooner everything would be solved. And Scott happened to know the right place to start from. 

Pixl’s empire was one of the few ones Scott hadn’t had a chance to visit just yet. The elvenking had heard stories of it. A desert that went on for miles. The city looked ancient in a fascinating way. The buildings were old and majestic, every single one of them would’ve been considered a work of art in Scott’s eyes. 

Lucky for them, while scanning the landscape the elvenking was able to pinpoint the Copper King himself. He was lingering at the outskirts of the town, looking up at the two flying figures approaching. It was strange. Almost like he was expecting them to arrive. 

Nevertheless, Scott landed down near the emperor. Xornoth followed him soon after, but stayed a good distance away from Pixl.

Pix didn’t exactly seem happy to see them. And not just Xornoth – the Copper King glared at Scott as well. The elvenking could hardly blame him. He had frozen over who knows how much land, and now he was here with his just as destructive sibling. 

“What are you doing here?!” The emperor spat. Scott paid close attention to his mannerisms. The way Pix’s hand hovered over the handle of his sword made the elf squirm in discomfort. The worst possible outcome would be an accidental release of power due to stress. After that, the Copper King would surely send them both away and that was if he would be generous. 

Scott lifted his hands up in surrender while Xornoth took the initiative to lean against a pillar like there was no care in the world. 

“We want to help you, and all the other Empires,” the elvenking explained hastily. “But we think we may need your help in order to do so.”

“Explain,” Pix narrowed his eyes. 

Xornoth glanced at Scott, and the elf sighed. “You seem to have something we don’t, something we really need right now. Knowledge. We are fighting in the dark, against something we don’t even really know. When we last spoke – you seem to know things. And if there’s anything that could help us to defeat the gods, I’d –”

“These beings you call gods are hardly that,” Pix hissed from between his teeth. “They’re malicious, sadistic creatures that you want nothing to do with. If you swear no alliances to them, I can help you in order to get rid of them. I just need something small in return.”

Scott and Xornoth exchanged glances.

“We accept –”

“Woah, woah, back up a little bit,” Xornoth jabbed Scott’s side with their elbow. “You accept, but this guy has given us nothing but accusations. Why should we believe anything he is saying?” 

Before Scott could even think of an answer, Pixl was already speaking. “You don’t need to. However, in the circumstance that you two are truly trying to get rid of these pests, I will gladly share some knowledge. There’s very little I can personally do to stop any of this, but you two might have a chance.”

Scott gave a nod. “He knows things,” the elvenking explained to his sibling. “I spoke with him about the book, and I think he knows what we’re dealing with. Right, Pixl?”

Pix gave the two of them a slow nod. “Like I said, they’re not gods at all. They’re a species, much like us. Except they’re far more complex than any of us. They don’t want to play the game, they simply want to watch others do so.”

“What’s so bad about that?” Xornoth crossed their arms next to Scott. “They wanna watch, why not just let them watch?”

Pix threw a cold glare towards them. “If they would do only that, they’d be little to no worry. But they don’t. They actively participate in the game, but by disrupting the players actively playing.”

“It’s all just a game.” Scott frowned blankly. “That’s what the book said too. What does that mean?”

Pix hesitated. For a moment it seemed like the man was contemplating on an explanation, but eventually he simply shook his head. “There’s no need to explain more than what you need to know.”

Xornoth scoffed. “Yeah, right. I don’t believe you for a second.”

“If I could unlearn things I would,” Pix snapped back immediately. “If I were you, I’d be grateful for my ignorance.” 

Xornoth only scoffed and rolled their eyes. “Well, maybe telling us more would help us to trust your word, Copper King.”

“Right,” Scott coughed. “What can you share? We’d appreciate anything that might help us defeat them.”

The Copper King threw a strange gaze – almost like pity – towards Scott. 

“There’s no such thing as defeating them,” Pix admitted. “You can.. get rid of them I guess. They get attached to people they find entertaining. They can leave you alone when they deem you not interesting anymore.”

“You’re not the first, and you will not be the last ones with a problem like this. Majority never will figure out the truth behind what is happening anyway. But some have. And there have been attempts in removing them forcefully. Some have been far more successful than others. Now, as you can probably guess, the creatures tapped into you are not happy about it. And they know what you’re up to. Sometimes they find it entertaining, sometimes they find it not worth the trouble and move on. And at times they’re so set on a singular player that they’ll do whatever to stay with that player.”

“So what are they?” Xornoth had gotten a lot more tense. “Like ghosts or something? Spirits?”

Pixl let out a humorless laugh. “Oh, they’re very much alive. They’re parasites that you cannot see. I assume they visit you at times, they often do to maximize value. So if you’ve seen suspicious activity in any form – probably them.”

The Copper king turned to Scott. “That book you showed me – definitely them. It not only reeked like their magic, but the phrasing, the way it wants you to question it, not to even mention the fact that it survived the fire. Whatever is attached to you wants you to have that book.”

Scott frowned. “Why?”

“Hard to tell,” Pix shrugged. “Usually, for entertainment. My best guess is that it’s finding your obsession with the book funny.”

“Can they take different forms?” Xornoth hurried to ask. “I’ve seen mine multiple times. It’s like a stag, a deer, something like that.”

“They take whatever form fits their narrative,” Pix confirmed. “I’m not surprised yours is that. With how it fits Rivendell’s narrative.”

“Wait,” Scott frowned. “Aeor and Exor have been in the history of Rivendell for centuries. How come this is happening now?”

Pixl cleared his throat, and generally seemed to avoid the question. Instead of answering it directly, the emperor huffed. “I don’t know much of the history of Rivendell,” he admitted. When neither Xornoth or Scott seemed to buy the excuse, Pix crossed his arms. 

“Don’t gods sometimes jump over generations?” He scoffed. “Maybe you were never champions but the creatures took the opportunity to play pretend. I don’t know.” Pix frowned. Even though Scott still felt strange about the answer, he didn’t want to interrupt the other emperor when he continued speaking. 

“Anyway, I won’t bore you with the history of this particular ritual, but there are two objects that when used properly have in the past have managed to get rid of and redirect a Wa– creature attached to a player. Like you’ve probably figured out, you have the other one,” Pix motioned towards Xornoth’s belt where the small dagger was hidden away. Apparently even its presence was enough to alert Pix of what it was, even if the emperor couldn’t see it at all. Scott found himself wishing he could recognize magic as well as Pixl or Gem. 

“The Ravine Blade is not only just a small little weapon, but it’s specifically designed to remove souls attached to the person it cuts. You’re not only attacking the player being cut, but it also cuts any magical connections the said player might have.”

“I told you that blade could separate us,”  Xornoth eyed Scott smugly. “Shed some blood and get rid of whatever is hanging onto my back? Seems like a deal to me.” 

“Yeah, I wouldn’t suggest that,” Pix huffed. “The cut sets whatever is attached to you free, and more than often they are vengeful and angry that they’ve been bested. These creatures hate being outplayed. When they feel like they’ve lost, they lash out. That’s simply how they are.”

“I’m assuming the second artifact helps with that, then?” Scott guessed. 

The Copper King nodded in agreement. “You’d be correct. The Void Vase is meant to be used to tie the creature to itself. What it theoretically does is that it returns the creature back to where it came from, and keeps it there for an unknown amount of time. However long it is, none of them have returned after.”

“So we need the vase,” Scott concluded. “Do you have any idea where it might be?”

Pix hummed thoughtfully and ran his hand through his hair. “I’m not sure where to even start looking. Perhaps the same place you found this particular dagger, since they are a pair.”

“I doubt it’s where I got this,” the elvenking admitted. “I actually bought it from Crystal Cliffs by chance. It felt important and looked pretty so I just got it. I had no idea there was anything special about it.”

Pix stiffened. “By chance, you say?” The Copper King huffed. “There is no such thing when you have entities attached to you. Not when we’re talking about powerful magical objects, especially when they affect the entities attached to you. They led you to the object.”

“That makes no sense!” Xornoth snapped. “You just said they’d never want those things near themselves.”

“Exor knew I had that dagger,” Scott recalled blankly. “Either he found it back in the forest, or it ended up to me because of him. But that wouldn’t make any sense.”

“Don’t stop to figure out the details,” Pixl warned. “Get the vase, and do the ritual. In fact, come back here and I’ll help you perform it. In the meantime, I ask you to stay away from not only mine, but other Empires as well. The emperors are not happy with you, Smajor.”

Pixl turned on his heels to head back to the city. 

“Wait, Pixl” Scott called after him. The other ruler stopped at the mention of his name. 

“We’ve been in the belief that if we get rid of one of the things both of them leave us alone. Has that been false all along?”

The Copper King frowned. “Physically, yes. They don’t need one another to survive by any means. However, knowing the nature of these things, there’s a high likelihood that when the surviving one realizes what has happened, it’ll leave as well,” the emperor explained slowly. 

“But don’t count on it. Get rid of them both. I will let you know if I hear anything about the whereabouts of the vase in the meantime.”

 …………

Now when there was a start of a plan in place, all Scott and Xornoth needed was a certain vase. 

It turned out, it was very difficult to acquire something that was nowhere to be found. The two of them tried every library they could sneak into to find some – any – information that the object even existed. But they always came back empty handed. It almost felt like the vase had been purposefully erased from history, if it ever existed in the first place. 

With every passing night without any information of their missing puzzle piece, Scott grew more and more hopeless. It felt like time was running out. He wasn’t quite sure why Aeor nor Exor had started controlling either of them yet. Surely they knew what was happening. Were they waiting until there was hope, only to rip it away at the last moment. 

They’d spend nights in whatever location was available at the moment. Right now, the two of them had made the decision to stop by a cave opening on the mountains between Rivendell and Crystal Cliffs. Cold stone wasn’t the best thing to sleep on, but somehow Scott had experienced worse. 

The elf opened his eyes enough to see Xornoth sleeping soundly next to him. Their chest was falling and rising in a peaceful manner, with the red horns emitting the slightest amount of light in the dark space. 

It got reflected off of the ring in Scott’s finger, and the light of it was enough for Scott’s attention to drift to it. He had been doing his very best to ignore it altogether, yet hadn’t had the heart to get rid of it. Maybe Jimmy would like it back, after all. That’s the least Scott could do for him.  

He didn’t really want to think about it, Scott decided. Not when handing it back would probably need to include facing Jimmy again. He’d be either disappointed or angry, and Scott couldn’t quite decide which option he preferred. So instead of trying to figure it out, the elf closed his eyes in a feeble attempt to get some sleep. 

A weight landed on his thing, and Scott shut his eyes tighter. Wither must’ve returned from his night flight, and now was looking for shelter inside the small cave as well.

The more the thought processed in his mind, it made less and less sense. 

The owl in question hated indoors, and would’ve never willingly stepped into any building. Not only that, he wasn’t fond of closeness either. The bird was independent, and liked his space. This wasn’t like him at all. 

But the real concern didn’t set in until he heard the bird in question let out a questioning chirp. In the direction of the cave opening. The sound echoed against the walls, and the source of it was far away from Scott. While the weight of something sitting on him was still very present. 

The elvenking forced his eye open, and just like that the weight disappeared. There was nothing abnormal in sight. Yet Scott still felt his heart pounding in his chest. The elf reached his hand over his heart only to feel the frantic thumping of it. Scott looked over to Xornoth, who was still peacefully sleeping next to him. His sibling hadn’t even stirred at the movement. 

Therefore Scott decided to get up alone, and walk over to the opening of the cave.

Just like he’d heard, Wither was on the ground in front of the opening. But he wasn’t alone. The small owl was jumping around in excitement with another owl. Unlike Wither who was relatively difficult to see in the darkness, the other owl had the slightest glow to it. As soon as it noticed Scott, the owl opened its beak like letting out a chirp, yet nothing could be heard. 

Wither seemed to notice it too, and the owl cocked his head confused. 

Carefully, Scott kneeled down to the snow and held his arm out for the birds. Wither stayed back, too busy watching the other owl. However, the glowing bird jumped right to Scott’s arm and climbed over to his shoulder. Hesitantly, Scott reached his other hand to pet the bird. And just like he expected, his hand went straight through the animal. 

“Poppy?”

The owl perked up at the name. 

Scott immediately teared up after recognizing the pair of large, sympathetic eyes staring right at him.

“I'm so sorry for what happened.. – I didn’t mean to –,” the elvenking didn’t even finish his sentence before the bird was pressing itself against him. The forgiveness was clear, but that didn’t mean Scott could forgive himself for it. 

Poppy frowned, and grabbed a piece of Scott’s shirt in between his beak. The bird tried pulling, and when the elvenking didn’t move the bird pouted for a moment and then tried again. 

“Do you want me to follow you?” 

Poppy immediately jumped off of the elvenking and flapped his wings enough to get off the ground. His flying was so effortless and Poppy’s wings carried the bird so easily that he could simply almost hover in place. 

It was waiting for him to follow. 

Scott opened his wings, but hesitated before taking off. “What about Xornoth?” He asked quietly. “Should they come as well?” 

When the bird simply flapped its wings in place and gave no reaction one way or another. Scott glanced towards the cave entrance, then towards Poppy. When the bird was still waiting around, the elvenking hurried inside to wake up their sibling. 

Xornoth wasn’t thrilled to be woken up like this, in fact they did their very best to usher Scott away. Eventually the other elf had to give up, and they let Scott drag them out of the cave. If Xornoth wasn’t completely awake before, they certainly perked up after seeing the small owl glowing in the darkness. 

Xornoth looked comically terrified when they turned slowly towards Scott, with a finger still pointing at Poppy. “Are you seeing this too, or am I going insane?”

Poppy didn’t wait for answers. As soon as Xornoth had finished their sentence, the bird chose a direction and began to fly. Scott took off soon after it, and in turn Xornoth flew after their sibling. 

It didn’t take long for Scott to realize where Poppy was leading them. The elvenking could almost see the mischievous glint in the bird’s eyes as he led the two of them towards the Cod Empire. As soon as Scott realized that Poppy was starting to land when the empire came to view, the elvenking wanted to turn back and fly away. 

But the bird must’ve a reason to be here. And Scott couldn’t run away from him again. Whatever mission he and Xornoth were on – it could wait for just a moment. 

“Why’re we here?” 

When Scott had been busy with his own thoughts, Xornoth had flown right next to him. Now, his sibling was gliding so close Scott was able to feel one of their feathers against his wing. 

“I don’t know,” Scott confessed. “But if he’s leading us here, then I’ll see this through.”

Surprisingly, the Cod Empire seemed mostly fine. The only frozen spots Scott could quickly spot were near the sea, where the shore had a layer of ice. Even it didn’t seem strong enough to stand on. In fact, it looked almost normal. 

Frowning, Scott glanced back at Poppy. The bird had gracefully landed in the center of the Empire, with both Scott and Xornoth landing with it. 

The bird patiently waited for both of them, before taking off again. Scott barely saw the glowing form pass straight through the closest house, before it disappeared completely. However, before they could follow the direction Poppy had flown off to by feet, but apparently their presence hadn’t gone completely unnoticed. A group of soldiers emerged from between the houses, one of them letting out an alarmed shout when they saw the elves. 

“Oh great,” Xornoth muttered beside him. They squeezed their hand in a fist, and Scott only barely had time to grab the wrist of his sibling in order to prevent Xornoth from using their powers. 

“No,” Scott scolded. “We’re supposed to be peaceful!”

Xornoth scoffed and yanked their wrist out of Scott’s hold. “Yeah, well quit making a skating rink then!” 

Only then the elf became aware of the thin layer of ice spreading around his feet. It melted from around Xornoth’s feet, but every other direction it had spread a worrying amount. 

But it could’ve been worse. At least there weren't huge frozen pillars shooting from the ground. A little frost was harmless enough. At least that’s what Scott thought at first. When the small patrol of soldiers finally reached the two of them with weapons raised, both Scott and Xornoth raised their arms in surrender. 

And that seemed to calm the patrol down a bit. Weapons were lowered, and even though their eyes still seemed mistrusting, at least there wasn’t a crossbow pointed at either one of them. 

That was until one of them took a step a bit too close, his leg catching the frozen surface Scott had accidentally summoned over the area. In the darkness it was near impossible to see in the first place, and since the soldier clearly hadn’t expected it, he fell down with a loud thump. 

That seemed to anger the rest of the group. As far as they knew, either Scott or Xornoth had used some kind of power to injure their friend. 

“What’s going on here?” 

Scott’s head snapped immediately towards the voice. He couldn’t decide if Jimmy was better or worse than facing his soldiers, but just seeing the other ruler emerge from the darkness brought him such comfort. Jimmy froze in place immediately after seeing Scott. There was an inner turmoil as well. The elvenking found himself to be relieved by that. At least Jimmy didn’t just straight up hate him yet. 

“Your highness, we –”

“Lower your weapons,” Jimmy commanded. He seemed still unsure, especially after seeing Xornoth linger just behind Scott. But he seemed like was willing to hear them out. 

Slowly, the armed men fell behind and any blades and crossbows were facing away from both Scott and Xornoth. 

“Scott?”

When the elvenking didn’t give Jimmy anything besides a helpless shrug, the emperor shooed his own guards away with a simple hand motion. Scott could tell they were uncomfortable, but did as told. After all, Xornoth was a well known enemy everywhere and Scott himself was pretty high up on that same list at this point. Rumors spread fast.

“Are you alright?”

Jimmy had inched closer, until his feet hit the ice covered ground instead of the normal sandy path. The emperor must’ve missed it in the dark, and Scott was just barely able to catch him from falling to the ground entirely.

With one arm wrapped around Jimmy’s waist and the other supporting his back, Scott was far too aware of the closeness. He felt his face heating up as he helped Jimmy back up. The awkward silence was mutual, it seemed. Jimmy muttered a quick ‘thank you’, and a quick glance at his face revealed a much more prominent red than his skin tone normally was.

“Yikes.” Xornoth scoffed from behind them. “Please spare me. I’d rather drown myself by the docks over there than witness this.” 

Without waiting for an answer, the elf turned around and started walking to the direction of the shoreline. “I’ll be here waiting,” Xornoth called over their shoulder. “Just be quick. We have stuff to do.”

When Xornoth disappeared behind the first building, Scott turned his attention back to Jimmy. 

“I know nothing I say can make things right again,” the elf confessed quietly. “But I’m still sorry nevertheless.”

“I don’t understand why you felt the need to lie,” Jimmy frowned. “I could’ve helped. It wasn’t your fault – I never thought you meant to do any of that – but we could’ve figured it out.” There was a beat of silence, and Jimmy took a deep breath. “I – the emperors don’t like you. Not at the moment anyway. They think you did everything purposefully. That you’re just like Xornoth.”

“I think I am just like them,” Scott admitted. “We’re far more similar than I initially thought. They were the one to come get me. And now we're trying to fix everything.”

“So the magic is better?”

“Not controlled,” Scott corrected hesitantly. “Better, but it's still a huge problem. Me and Xornoth are working on it.”

“How can I help?”

Scott bit his lip. He didn’t want to get Jimmy involved, but Poppy wouldn’t have led him here for nothing. “We’re looking for a very specific vase,” the elf explained. “It might be the answer to all of our problems right now, including the vines and ice everywhere. We think it might fix everything.” 

“I don’t think I’m helpful with that,” the other emperor frowned. “There hasn’t been magic in the Cod Empire for centuries, not anything like that anyway.”

Scott’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. “I see. I appreciate your help anyway. Me and Xornoth will keep on looking then.”

He didn’t have time to turn around before Jimmy had taken a firm hold of his wrist. “That’s it then?” The emperor sounded almost desperate. “You’ll leave again?”

“We need to do this,” Scott breathed. 

“Let me help,” Jimmy pleaded. “You were gone for weeks! Do you know how worried I was? No one knew where you were, or even if you were even alive!”

“I don’t think there’s anything to do except to find the vase,” Scott admitted. “Before that we’re in a stalemate. If you are able to, I’d ask around other empires. Me and Xornoth are far from being welcomed by most of them.”

Jimmy gave a hesitant, stale nod. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Poppy hadn’t sent him here for the vase. The bird wasn’t helping. He was, from behind the grave, trying to protect Jimmy from Scott. It was no coincidence that the ghost of the owl appeared right after thinking of the ring. He wanted Scott to hand it back. Maybe it could once belong to someone who actually deserved it.

Carefully, Scott pulled off the small piece of jewelry and handed it to Jimmy. He took it, but only after having it in his hands realized what it was. Right after the realization hit, the emperor looked at Scott with panic. 

“I can’t wear it with good conscience. Not after I lied to your face, and definitely not after Poppy,” Scott explained quietly. 

Jimmy seemed like he wanted to argue, but eventually his shoulders dropped. “I see.” 

A silence settled over the two of them, and Scott took the initiative to leave after to the direction Xornoth disappeared to. As he was walking away from Jimmy, the Codfather called out after him.

“I love you.”

And Scott couldn’t lie to him anymore. Instead, he looked over his shoulder and almost melted at the small, sad smile on Jimmy’s lips.  

“I love you too.”

That seemed to get the Codfather to relax. “Be safe,” he smiled quietly, before heading back towards his own house. 

Even though Scott felt his heart flutter in his chest, the elf headed down to the shoreline where Xornoth promised to wait. 

“Xornoth?” Scott called out into the night. The streets were empty. There was no sign of Xornoth, or the guards. 

After walking down every alleyway and even eventually taking off into the sky to scan the area from above, Scott could only make one conclusion. Xornoth was gone. 

Chapter Text

“I believe you want to get rid of these – things,” Jimmy was hesitant when speaking. “But I’m not sure if I believe they are.”

As soon as Scott had concluded that Xornoth was indeed gone, he had made his way back over to Jimmy’s cabin. 

“Xornoth was the one who came to get me,” Scott stood his ground. He needed to believe in something to proceed. And right now the elvenking trusted their sibling. Hell, they’d had countless chances by now, and never took any. Scott hadn’t had any reason to even suspect them. 

“Besides, this is similar to what happened to me, with not remembering and just disappearing – it hasn’t happened when we were together but as soon as Xornoth leaves a bit further away it does.”

Jimmy didn’t seem convinced. “Yeah, as soon as you’re not there to look that they’re not up to anything they disappear. You have to admit Scott, this seems –,”

“I trust them,” Scott frowned. “And I’m asking you to do the same. If not for any other reason, than for me.”

The elf immediately understood how pathetic of a reason that was after lying to Jimmy for the last who knows how long. Despite everything, the Codfather ended up nodding in agreement. 

“Alright, I trust you.”

Scott really didn’t understand why, but he was appreciative nonetheless. The elf flashed a tired smile to Jimmy. “I appreciate it. Thank you.”

The Codfather smiled back. “Maybe you should wait here then. Since Xornoth knows this is where they left you, they’ll most likely be back here once their – episode is over. You can crash over and get some sleep if you want?”

It did make sense. If Scott would’ve been more skilled in sensing the same magical trails Xornoth could follow, he could’ve probably tracked his sibling down. But since the elf didn’t know where to even start with that, he ended up agreeing to Jimmy’s offer. 

“That’d be great, actually,” Scott admitted. “If you don’t mind, of course.” 

“Of course not. We can hang out here, wait for a bit and if Xornoth doesn’t appear in.. in.. how long did those episodes last again?”

“Let's give them until the next morning,” Scott decided. “Mine are usually half that at max, but I don’t know what their are like. Besides, without any leads we might as well wait for a bit. We’re in no rush right now.” 

“What about you?” Jimmy asked carefully. “You said that Xornoth got one as soon as you two got separated.”

Scott frowned. “Yeah, we just have to hope it won’t happen to me too.”

 …………

When Scott woke up the next time, the sun was well above the horizon. He had dozed off on Jimmy’s couch, while the two of them had been chatting and waiting. Speaking of the Codfather, he was rubbing the sleep from his eyes from the armchair.

There was a knock on the door, and that’s when Scott realized they both had been woken up by a first set of knocks. The elf hurried up and rushed to open the door. 

The sight in front of him was somewhat expected. Xornoth with wide eyes and a few stray leaves in their hair. The elf still looked like they hadn’t slept in a week, but otherwise seemed fine. What Scott couldn’t ever had expected was a vase – the vase – that he was holding. 

“I –,” Xornoth was catching their breath, looking between Scott and the vase in their hands. “I don’t know what happened. I left to wait for you to finish whatever, and then I suddenly had this.”

The elf was visibly shaken as he handed Scott the vase. It was undoubtedly the same vase they needed to perform the ritual. It made no sense. Why would Exor just hand it to them like that? Was this a challenge?

Xornoth must’ve read the confusion on his face. “I promise I didn’t know about this,” they assured quickly. “I can’t even remember exiting the Cod Empire at all. I came to my senses by the rock,” the elf glanced at Scott. “You know the one. I don’t even know if this is originally from there, or elsewhere. I was just holding it.”

“I believe you,” Scott assured quickly. “I’m more worried about the fact that it was just handed to you like that. But at least we have it now. We can actually try to get rid of them.”

“And how does that work, exactly?” Jimmy asked. 

“Pixl knows what to do for sure,” Scott answered. “If we want to play it safe, we should go to Pixandria and get help from him.”

Xornoth crossed their arms with a quiet scoff. “Still don’t trust him.”

“Trust or like?” Scott shot back with a small smile. “You seem to lean in one direction in particular.”

“They’re the same thing,” Xornoth shot back, immediately spreading their wings after. “Now let's get going.” The elf didn’t waste any time flying up to the sky. 

Before Scott could follow them, Jimmy placed a hand on his shoulder. “Can I come too?”

“Uh, if you want to,” Scott hummed. “We don’t know what’ll happen though. It can go very wrong for all we know.”

“Well, it sounds like you could use any help possible then,” Jimmy smiled back. “I’ll go get my elytra, give me just a moment.”

Safe to say, Xornoth wasn’t extremely thrilled by the Codfather joining them. Especially after discovering he still wasn’t the strongest of flyers out there. While Xornoth was leading the three of them quite far ahead, Scott trailed a bit behind to wait on Jimmy. Granted, he had gotten a lot better since the first time the elf had seen him fly. Sadly the bar had been low to begin with.  

Xornoth slowed down their pace enough for Scott to catch up with him. 

“Do you want to play rock paper scissors?” Xornoth smirked. “The winner decides who goes first?”

“Go first?” Scott raised an eyebrow. “Go first on what?”

“Duh, getting the demon or whatever out of you. Getting an exorcism? Whatever we’re calling this.”

“Ugh, fine,” Scott chuckled. “But the winner should get to choose if they want to go first or second.”

“Fair enough,” Xornoth held out his hand in a fist. “Ready? One, two, three, shoot.”

Scott opened his hand flatly to signify paper, while Xornoth simultaneously made the sign for scissors. 

“I win,” the latter gloated.

Scott rolled his eyes with a chuckle. “Let me guess – you’re throwing me to the deep end first?” 

“Actually, I think I’d like to go first,” Xornoth said matter-of-factly. “Be the test dummy, or whatever. And if it doesn’t work or something goes wrong you guys can figure out something else. Maybe. Hopefully.” 

“You don’t need to do that,” Scott frowned. 

“Nah, how about you take the loss and let me go first,” Xornoth rolled their eyes. “One of us needs to be the test dummy and since I won fair and square I get to choose.” 

There really wasn’t a way to counter Xornoth’s argument, so Scott ended up nodding hesitantly. “If you want to, go for it. But I don’t mind doing it either.”

“I’m sure you wouldn’t,” the elf huffed. “I’m not backing down though. You can wait for your turn this time.” 

 …………

When Scott, Jimmy and Xornoth arrived back to Pixandria, Pixl was already waiting for the three of them. The emperor was pacing around until he spotted the trio landing down, and perked up even more when Xornoth pulled out the vase from his bag.

“I can’t believe you found it,” Pixl admitted in awe. “Where was it?”

Scott and Xornoth exchanged glances, and the latter shrugged their shoulders. “No clue. I sort of passed out, and when I woke back up I had it. I don’t get why Exor would’ve led me straight to it. Almost like he gave it to me.”

Pixl frowned at that. Scott could see the same doubt in the eyes of the Copper King that he’d felt at first. When Pixl directed the look towards him, Scott gave him a hesitant shrug.

“Does it matter?” He tried. “We have the vase, let's get this over with.”

Pixl didn’t seem convinced. He stared at the vase far longer than Scott would’ve liked, even to the point where Xornoth held it closer against their chest. Finally, the Copper King relaxed. There seemed to be some sort of strange understanding or acceptance in his eyes. 

It was strange. It seemed like the Copper King knew far more than what he let on. Whatever it was, if it made him relax, Scott felt better about it as well. 

“Sounds good,” the Copper King agreed. “We might want to move somewhere a bit more private. I’d imagine what we’re about to do will attract quite a lot of attention otherwise.”

Pixl led them inside his castle, multiple corridors deep. This place must’ve been even more of a labyrinth than what Lizzie’s had been. Every door looked the same, and the corridors were short and turned every chance they got. Eventually the four of them made it to a room, which Pixl closed the door of after they entered.

“My bedroom,” he explained shortly. “This is the only place I can guarantee we won’t be bothered in. Hopefully,” he added quickly. 

“Well, then let's get this show on the road,” Xornoth wasted no time in placing the bag containing the vase carefully to the floor, and grabbing the dagger from their belt. “The sooner we try the sooner we can try something else if this doesn’t work. I’m going first.”

“Right,” Pixl pulled the vase out of the bag carefully, like it would shatter in his hands at any given moment. Then, the Copper King handed it over to Scott. “When he cuts, open the vase,” the emperor instructed. “And when every bit of the creature is in, you close the lid. That’s it.”

“How do I know when that is?”

“Oh, trust me, you’ll know,” Pixl assured. “And you,” he turned to Xornoth. “Any cut is good enough. As long as it draws blood you should be in the clear. Just beware, it’s not going to feel nice. But it won’t last long either. Let’s get this over with.”

Xornoth squeezed their hand around the hilt of the blade. The elf didn’t give themselves time to think, and instead slashed the blade against the palm of their hand. The action was so unexpected that Scott was even less prepared than he originally had been. He held the vase tighter, and waited.

The wound started to bleed right away. But blood wasn’t the only thing coming out of it. Besides the dark red liquid, poured out something thick and black. It reminded Scott of ink. 

“Focus,” Pixl muttered from beside them. “It’s working.”

And as soon as the sentence had been uttered, an inky black shadow rose from the wound. It quickly took the shape of a stag, as it gathered more and more of the black substance that poured out. Xornoth pained yell was vastly overshadowed by the demonic screech the stag let out once its form was full. It was still dripping of ink, and looked more like a shadow than a real animal. When it opened its eyes, they were empty, glowing a deep purple hue. 

“Now!” 

Pix’s shout woke Scott back to reality, and with shaking hands the elf opened the lid of the vase. The creature seemed to realize what was happening, and it threw its head back in an attempt to escape its fate. Whatever magic the vase possessed was stronger. It sucked the creature in the object. It never stopped screeching, not until the voice faded deep to the vase. And once it was completely inaudible and the form had disappeared from in front of them, Scott slammed the lid back on. 

The vase trembled for a bit, until it went completely still. Only then Scott could take a breath. Everything stilled for a moment, as all four of them were waiting for something to happen. Nothing ever did, and eventually Pix was the first one to talk.

“Are you alright?” 

“Sucked big time,” Xornoth rasped quietly, but managed to push themselves to a sitting position. “But I think I’ll be fine.”

Scott could tell that it worked. The reddish gleam on their antlers had already started to fade away, and instead started to resemble more normal antlers. Same with their wings, which were losing their red hue by the second. 

“Smajor, you’re up,” Pixl informed shortly. 

Scott took a deep breath, and kneeled down to take the blade from Xornoth. His sibling gave him a weak smile, as they handed it over. The elf felt nauseous already. It would be strange to live without the power of Aeor – or whatever the creature possessing him was named. It had become like a part of him. A toxic, dark part, but a part nonetheless. 

The elvenking glanced at Pix, who was holding the vase with sturdy hands. He noticed Scott’s eyes brushing over the object, and the Copper King gave an encouraging nod. “I’m ready when you are. We’re halfway there.”

Scott gave him a hesitant nod, and raised the dagger against the palm of his hand. Even the initial cut of the blade would hurt, but having just witnessed what Xornoth went through – Scott was not looking forward to it. However, if it allowed him to break free of Aeor, the few moments of pain would be very worth it. 

Before Scott could do anything to stop or even recognize what he was about to do, the blade was ripped away from his hand. Scott could only watch as he himself threw the dagger blade first towards Pixl. The Copper King had barely enough time to dodge the throw, yet it was never meant for him in the first place. 

Even though the mist surrounding Scott’s brain did its best to block out all of it, the elvenking realized that the action wasn’t to hurt Pixl. It was meant to threaten – maybe even to gloat. The real show of power happened right after the throw. When Scott involuntarily summoned a large spike of ice from the dry desert ground. A spike went through and shattered the vase entirely. 

Pixl stepped back as the pieces of the destroyed vase fell around the spike. At the same time the same form that had just been locked away was again standing in front of them. The ink black deer didn’t hesitate for a moment, instead jumping towards the first person available. And it just so happened to be Scott, who through the fogginess of his own mind couldn’t quite keep up with the situation. 

He did remember the pain, though. 

He was able to feel it, but not really react to it. It was almost like a wave that crashed straight into him. It knocked all the breath out of him, while somehow simultaneously burning from both the inside and outside. 

The burning was new, Scott realized. He had grown used to the coldness in time. It didn’t even feel uncomfortable anymore. But now with both opposites running through him the sensation was unbearable. They didn’t balance eachother out, instead taking turns and trying to overcome one another. 

Distantly the elf could hear screaming, and he wasn’t sure if it was him or someone else. There was a hand on his shoulder, someone was trying to hold his head up and one of the voices playing was commanding him somehow. 

Scott couldn’t make out any words in between the crushing waves of heat and cold. The whispers in his head had doubled, accompanied with an ambient humming sound making it all even more confusing. 

He felt tired. In fact, Scott really wanted to sleep. Just a quick nap wouldn’t harm anyone. 

And when the elf fell fully unconscious all of the unpleasant noises quieted down in an instant. 

Chapter Text

The moment Scott jolted awake, he wished he hadn’t.

The pain was almost unbearable. It came in waves, each one stronger than the other. It felt like the burning sensation of not having the ability to take a breath, whilst simultaneously his insides felt as if he held onto a clear piece of ice and couldn’t let go. 

It was all too much to bear. The sensation itself made the elvenking want to scream, but excluding a small whine that escaped his lips, Scott found himself unable to. 

The sound was enough to alert whoever was in the room with him though. There were rushed steps, and Scott could feel a pair of hands hovering above his body, too afraid to touch. He could hear and see, he really did, but everything felt too far away to reach. The information was right there, but he couldn’t process any of it. 

The person was speaking, attempting their best to catch Scott’s attention. How could he tell they had it, but there was nothing to be understood. Not when the only thing he could process was this unbearable pain. 

It was difficult to tell how long he stayed like that, but eventually Scott started slipping. The pain became dimmer, like a distant background sensation. He could vaguely hear another voice trying to come through, but the elf couldn’t be bothered. The darkness taking most of the pain away felt nice and comforting. It was warm, and Scott wanted nothing more than to close his eyes again to take a rest. 

 …………

The next time Scott woke up, he was shocked how clear everything was. Well, clear must’ve been a slight overstatement, but compared to the last time he had been somewhat aware it was a world of difference. 

This time he was able to actually see and hear the people in the room, and give names to the voices. Xornoth was talking with Pix somewhere nearby, but there was a lingering presence closer to Scott. The elf managed to turn his head enough to see Jimmy sitting next to the bed he was laying in. 

The movement seemed to pull the Codfather out of the trance he was in, and he perked up. Not only that, Scott must’ve scared the life out of him. The elf couldn’t help but perk a smile to the way Jimmy had jerked backwards and was currently processing the fact Scott’s eyes were open. 

When he gathered himself just enough, Jimmy leaned a bit forward. “Hey there, you back?” 

Scott gave a weak nod. “Think so. What’s happenin’?”

“We’re still in Pixandria,” Jimmy replied quietly. “You gave us all quite the scare, you know.”

Their quiet conversation had apparently caught the attention of Pixl and Xornoth. Both were now silently watching the exchange. Xornoth threw a smug look towards Pix, before leaving him behind and walking towards the bed. The Copper King stayed behind. He seemed almost surprised.  

“It’s been like – what? A week, two weeks since we tried to do that stupid ritual,” Xornoth explained flatly. “We kind of figured there was something very wrong because you never really woke up after it – properly at least. You were never lucid enough to actually talk, so we had people look over you. They determined that you were in an unbearable amount of pain, and since then we’ve tried to find something to do about it. Fun fact, any regular medicine does nothing. That’s why we called in your neighbor –,” Xornoth motioned to their side, and Scott followed the way their eyes were pointing. 

On the other side of the room Gem gave a quick, sheepish wave towards him. “Hi. Long story short healing spells did nothing since you physically are fine. There was a really difficult spell I found from my archives for pain relievement that just numbs you. At least it should. How’re you feeling?”

“Not good,” Scott admitted. The elf pushed himself to sit, and immediately blinked his eyes to drive away the darkness that tried to block his vision. Jimmy held a hand behind his back to support him. “It’s better – I mean. But it’s not good.”

Gem and Xornoth exchanged glances. Now, sitting up and having a clearer vision of the room around him Scott could see Gem better. The wizard seemed awful. Like she hadn’t slept in ages. 

“Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll find a permanent solution for this,” Xornoth sighed. “The spell can be a temporary one until then.”

Pixl cleared his throat, but whatever he was about to say Xornoth shut off with a furious glare. “We’ll keep looking. Scott, you just rest until we find something useful. And when the spell starts to wear off just ask for Gem.”

“Right.” Pixl mumbled flatly from across the room. “I’ll be in the library. Xornoth, can I have a word when you’re done here?”

“Sure.”

The exchange was staged as polite, Scott could tell. He didn’t find the energy or motivation to question what was really going on. 

Gem opened her mouth to a big yawn. “I think I better take a nap before the next time I need to do this spell,” she admitted, and trotted after Pix who was just in the process of exiting the room. Before the door closed from behind them Scott could hear Gem ask about a spare room she could sleep in. 

Xornoth waited until their talking faded to the distance, and huffed. “I should’ve gone second. We both knew Aeor was the more hostile of the two, so they should’ve been dealt with first. That was so stupid of us!”

“One of us would’ve needed to be first anyway,” Scott croaked. “And Aeor would probably have still done what they did even if I went first.”

“Well yeah,” Xornoth scoffed back. “Aeor would’ve just jumped back into you. Now we have this whole mess instead.”

“We had no way of knowing,” Scott sighed. “Hindsight and all.”

Xornoth just huffed at that. 

“Are you hungry?” Jimmy chimed in from beside Scott. “Turns out the food in Pixandria isn’t all that bad, and since you haven’t really eaten in a while you could definitely use some.”

“Sure I’d love to,” Scott smiled fondly at him. The elf didn’t feel the need to mention that he wasn’t hungry at all. 

 …………

It was surprisingly difficult to tell time. Scott found himself dozing off more and more, even when he tried to stay awake. That’s why it was difficult to tell the effect of the spell slowly weakening overtime. 

Time felt like it went by unbearably fast, but in reality it was crawling by slower than Scott had expected. 

The first time he needed to call for Gem to perform the spell again was a day after the first one. When she trotted to the room, she looked no better than the day before. The wizard seemed like she hadn’t had an ounce of sleep, in fact while opening the door to walk in, Gem let out a wide yawn. 

When asked about it, she brushed it off. Instead Gem insisted on getting the spell over with. Scott couldn’t really argue with that. The level of pain had again started to rival the first time he woke up, and the elf didn’t know how long his consciousness would let him take it before passing out again. 

“Alright, stay still,” Gem warned after getting her wand. “It doesn’t hurt at all, but might feel a bit strange at first.”

She was right. The spell itself didn’t hurt, but the fogginess it brought tired Scott out even more than he originally was. The elf slumped to his pillow immediately after the spell was done. To his surprise, Gem’s knees buckled and she fell forward. The wizard was able to catch herself before hitting the ground, but she still leaned heavily to the bed frame in order to keep up. 

“Better?”

Her voice was pained and quiet. Despite the fog, Scott could put two and two together. Gem had mentioned that the spell takes a lot out of her, but the elf had a feeling she had been lying. The reason Gem felt so sick after performing it was not because the spell itself took so much out of her, but because she was handed a portion of the pain Scott was in. 

“Yeah,” Scott rasped quietly. “Can I ask to see the spell on paper? I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

Gem frowned at the request. “I can’t.” She explained. “The book is in Crystal Cliffs.”

Scott had to accept that as an answer, yet he knew better. There was not a world where Gem would’ve left the knowledge of a spell she had just discovered behind in a situation like this. 

“You should rest,” she continued, making her way to the door. “I can see you’re tired. Just call if you need anything. Someone is always lingering nearby.”

 …………

“Hey there, champion of Aeor. And Exor.”

Scott hadn’t even realized that he had drifted off again. Only when he opened his eyes and instead of the room in Pixandria he was met with the oh so familiar misty field. And instead of Aeor, he was greeted by the same small deer that seemed to have taken interest in him. 

The elvenking pushed himself up from the ground with a groan. The weakness wasn’t as bad, but the feeling of weight hadn’t disappeared. Scott felt tired. He almost wished that he hadn’t woken up from here. That he’d – for once – get a moment of peace. 

The deer strutted forward, circling Scott. It never took its eyes off of him, almost like inspecting him all over. 

“I’m aware of what happened,” the deer explained. The statement was followed with a beat of silence. “What does it feel like?”

Scott scoffed. The elvenking finally gave up on his fruitless attempts to get up, and instead leaned his head forward. “What does what feel like?”

“Having so much power that it’s crushing you from inside out?”

Well wasn’t that just a blunt way to put it. Scott almost snickered at the statement, or more like the absurdity of it. “Just great.”

The stag let out a snicker too. It didn’t sound malicious, and Scott smiled at the reaction. It was almost like they both knew there was nothing to do except accept what would come. 

Still, he wanted to make sure he had read the situation correctly.

“There’s nothing to do, right? This is it?”

The deer folded its legs underneath itself in order to lay down to Scott’s level. The gesture felt almost comforting. 

“I suppose no,” the deer murmured. “It’s a shame. I am sorry.”

Scott could only writhe as another wave of shock surged through him. The deer patiently waited until the elf had caught his breath enough to speak again. 

“That’s it then? Can I go?”

“That’s your choice to make,” the creature smiled warmly. “If you wish to, I will grant that. That’s the least I can do for you.”

Scott hesitated. “If I do it, will they go down with me? Can the others live in peace?”

The deer gave him a reassuring nod. “As long as you do not use the dagger meant to free souls, they’re bound to you until you return to the void, and therefore they will as well. If you decide to be gone, they will do the same.”

The elf breathed a sigh of relief. “If that’s the case, I think I’ll do that.”

The deer gave him a short nod. “Whenever you decide to leave, I’ll be here to guide you.”

 …………

Scott didn’t feel better after waking up, not that he expected it. He could remember the dream, vision, whatever it was clear as day. The stag was most definitely right. There probably wouldn’t be another way to get rid of the gods. They had their one lifeline, and Scott blew it for himself. 

The thought that there wasn’t anything left to do brought a strange sense of comfort. It gave the possibility to know exactly what was about to come without the difficulty, what came with multiple options. Not only that, he could spare the rest of the empires from the wrath of the two gods. That had been the end goal after all. Even if the original plan hadn’t worked exactly like this. 

“Hey there, you up?”

The noise startled Scott. He hadn’t even realized Jimmy had been in the room with him. 

“Think so,” Scott answered quietly. 

“How’re you feeling? Are you hungry?” 

Scott smiled up to him. “Decent right now. And I could use some food.”

Jimmy perked up at that, clearly pleased that there was finally something for him to do. The Codfather immediately rushed to the door. “I’ll get you some! I will be back in just a minute!”

Scott bit his lips as he watched Jimmy approach the door. 

The selfish part of him won again. He felt like wanting some comfort with everything that was happening, even though inherently selfish, was also somehow justified given the situation. At this point there was very little to lose. So before Jimmy had the chance to slip out of the room, Scott called after him. 

“You’re still wearing the ring.” 

It was more of a statement than anything, but it was a start. Scott could work with that. 

Jimmy, on the other hand, got visibly nervous. He glanced at the ring, then at Scott. “I do. I can take it off if you want to,” he offered.

“Actually, I was about to ask if you’d mind giving me mine back?” Scott asked carefully. “I know I gave it back for a reason, and if you don’t feel like I’ve deserved it I completely understand.”

Jimmy’s eyes lit up, and Scott felt his heart melting. 

“What are you talking about, of course you can have it back!” 

The Codfather dug his hand into his pockets until he pulled out the ring. Scott wanted to scold him for keeping it around so carelessly. He would’ve lost it no doubt unless the elf asked for it back. 

He let Jimmy put the ring on his finger again. With the same motion there was a gentle kiss on his forehead, and Scott immediately felt the tears welling up. All this did nothing but make everything more painful. Still, he leaned to the touch and bit back the tears. He couldn’t raise suspicions. Jimmy wouldn’t let go. Scott couldn’t give him the chance to catch on. 

Luckily, Xornoth, in their usual manner, was just in time to ruin the moment. 

“Yuck,” they had walked into the room and immediately stopped at the door. “Please, mind me. I’m here to tell you that Pix would like to speak with you Jimmy. He’s at the library.”

“I promised Scott some food –,”

“Yeah, and I can go get it,” Xornoth promised flatly. They walked next to Scott’s night table, and took the now empty cup of water. In the process Scott couldn’t help but notice their strange demeanor. Almost like his sibling was reaching for something else on the table as well. 

Jimmy pulled him out of the thought fairly quickly. “I’ll be back when Pixl lets me go, alright?”

“See you then,” Scott smiled. 

The next thing he knew, both Xornoth and Jimmy had walked through the door and left him alone. That’s when the elf glanced back at the nightstand.

Scott felt his head spin. 

A small dagger had been placed on his bedside table. 

He could not take this opportunity. Not even without knowing if the act had been purposeful or not. Not when the situation was hurting everyone, but only prolonging the inevitable. He didn’t have any energy left to even get out of the bed, so getting another chance was highly unlikely. 

Scott reached for the blade, and managed to lift it from the table. He stopped for a moment, listening to the sounds coming from the hallway. There was nothing. Not a sound that indicated someone was near.

He wasn’t sure how much time he had, so it’d be now or never. 

Scott twisted the blade in his hands to get the sharp end pointed towards his chest. He forced his mind to not think of it like that. The blade was pointed at Aeor and Exor. And they deserved this. This was the last way Scott could mess with them, and they deserved it. 

When Scott stabbed his own chest, the pain caused by the wound was almost completely overridden by the pain already present. They were different, but he almost preferred the physical wound. The elf pulled the bloodsoaked blade out, and it fell to the bed next to him. With it gone, blood started pouring out of his chest. Scott merely watched. The more the red soaked the bed sheets, the harder it was to keep track of his own thoughts. 

Before passing out what Scott knew to be the last time, the elf made sure he gave one last glance at the ring on his finger. 

 …………

Xornoth hadn’t been that surprised when the next time they opened the door to the room Scott was staying in, the previously white bed was colored in crimson. 

They knew what to expect, and it still took the elf off guard. Xornoth swallowed the bile from his throat, and forced themselves to take a step closer. That one small step was enough to see what had happened. Scott’s hand was still tightly wrapped against the hilt of the small blade Xornoth had left behind. And the sharp end of that blade was buried in the chest of their sibling. 

If you ignored what seemed like an endless amount of blood everywhere, Scott seemed like he was asleep. Except his chest wasn’t raising or falling. Everything was so unnaturally still. Even the flow of the blood had long subsided. 

Carefully, Xornoth walked forward. They did their best to avoid stepping in blood, yet managed to still stain their shoes in it. It didn’t matter though, nothing really did. The elf kneeled down next to the bed, and brushed Scott’s hair softly with their fingers. They moved the strands away from his eyes.

“I hope Exor was telling the truth. For your sake.”

They got up from the ground. It wouldn’t be great being found here with the body of their deceased brother, especially not with their history. Xornoth could never explain that they didn’t want this – but Scott did. And after turning their back on him so many times, this was a wish they were able to grant. 

So instead of lingering around, Xornoth walked through the castle over to where they’d left Jimmy and Pixl reading. 

It wasn’t an easy thing to tell. There wasn’t a soft way to let them know what had happened. And even though Xornoth tried to do just that, Jimmy bolted straight out of the room. Pixl was quick to follow him, but not before giving Xornoth a look. Against all odds it wasn’t accusing. There was understanding. And the fact that Pix knew they were fighting a losing battle too felt oh so comforting. 

He had done the right thing, but seeing Jimmy weep next to the body made them still nauseous. Eventually Xornoth had to excuse themselves, to walk outside, to do anything else but look at the corpse. They had walked out of the room without a word, but Pix caught up to them before getting far. 

“You left the weapon there.” 

His tone was flat. Not accusing, almost curious. Xornoth thought about lying. But they sensed there was some kind of understanding. 

“I did,” they admitted. 

Pixl nodded. “There wasn’t a solution,” he said quietly. “No other than this. I’m sorry, but I admire your selflessness. I promise you chose right.” 

Xornoth truly hoped they did. 

They were aware it wasn’t their decision to make. But it sure as hell wasn’t anyone else’s than Scott’s. They’d simply left the means there. In fact, Xornoth was surprised their brother even had the strength left to lift the blade and finish the job. 

But of course Scott had had. He wasn’t dumb, not even close. Their sibling could easily tell how south everything had gone immediately after the accident. There was so much yelling, attempting to find a solution that didn’t exist and finally reaching out for Gem as a last ditch effort only to find out what she could provide was temporary. 

Not only temporary, but ultimately useless as well. It only prolonged the suffering in the end. Scott must’ve realized it as well. In a strange way Xornoth was proud of their sibling. Scott was aware that there wasn’t anything left to do, and he’d probably caught onto the fact that Gem didn’t have the energy to keep performing the spell. She had been exhausted even after the first one, and since the frequency Scott would’ve needed it done was so tight, there was no way she would’ve lasted a week. 

Maybe Pix really was right, and this was for the best. 

 …………

Scott was buried on the grounds of Rivendell the very next morning. 

And oh boy, was it a beautiful one. The early winter morning breeze felt like it should have been freezing Xornoth’s ears off, yet the elf felt nothing. They guessed every guest felt the same. 

They’d decided to bury Scott near the top of the mountain where the people of Rivendell typically wandered to watch the Northern lights. It felt like a fitting place, despite the fact that once that place had been used to worship Aeor. At first, Jimmy had been against the placement. But Xornoth, after explaining that from now on it symbolized only Scott taking the space back from Aeor, agreed. 

Every single emperor had been invited, but Xornoth was surprised to actually see all 11 of the emperors attending. He didn’t know Scott’s history with most of the people, but each and everyone seemed mournful. Even if there was bad blood, no one showed it. 

After the initial ceremony guests, both the emperors as well as people of Rivendell, started to slowly make their way down the mountain and to their homes. Eventually, there were only three of them. Jimmy hanging behind wasn’t strange, but surprisingly, Pixl stayed. He hung a bit back, letting both Xornoth and Jimmy linger around the grave without disturbing them. He waited patiently, only stepping forward when he felt like he could. 

“I know this might not help at this moment,” The Copper King stated quietly. “But I have a reason to believe that a friend was there watching over him when he decided to pass. And if that’s right, he would’ve been in good hands.” 

The Copper King didn’t wait for answers nor felt the need to explain. Instead, he bowed his head quietly at the grave one last time, before disappearing down the mountain. 

 …………

Much like Scott had been crowned king right after their parents had died, Xornoth was handed the crown soon after their brother's death. 

Their return and being crowned the King had awakened mistrust and worry in some of the citizens as well as the Council. The latter didn’t take too long to realize that with only one with royal blood left, Xornoth was the only one eligible to be handed the throne now. They also did a great job on building that trust back with both the Council and Empire. 

Xornoth did their very best to keep relationships with other Empires open and good. And even though most of them stayed that way or neutral, some rulers couldn’t get over the destruction that had happened to their land in the past. The elvenking didn’t mind it though. They just had to believe that they’d come around eventually on their own, after realizing that the threat was no longer present. 

A month after being crowned the king of Rivendell, Xornoth called over Jimmy. The two of them together chose to call off the marriage agreement the two Empires made in the past. Had it been broken or fulfilled was up to discussion. After all, the previous King of Rivendell had been buried with his ring. Yet, both rulers promised to stand by the alliance the two empires had managed to build. If not because of anything else, to honor the past.

Months that rolled by turned into years. Time brought acceptance. 

Rivendell and its people moved on, yet never really got over the past. And Xornoth didn’t let them either. They did their best to continue what Scott had started to build and in the process slowly gained the trust of Routa and the rest of the Council back. 

People still visited Scott’s grave, but less frequently than in the past. Other emperor’s seemed to rather steer clear of the subject altogether. There were a few exceptions though. Katherine asked to visit the grave each time she had business in the Empire. Pearl less often, but she openly commented on things that reminded her of Scott. Xornoth found themselves liking that about her. 

The least unsurprising exception was Jimmy, who, like Katherine, visited the grave every time he was in Rivendell. Unlike the other ruler, Jimmy had a habit of just showing up whenever. He didn’t even need to have business in Rivendell, yet came to visit anyway.  

And the visits might have grown a bit less frequent over the years, he still made sure to swing by weekly. So much so that Xornoht learnt when to expect him.

Much like today. He was late, but the elvenking knew he’d come eventually. And just as expected, Jimmy landed in Rivendell just before dusk. The sky was starting to darken, so spotting him in the sky was lucky. As soon as Xornoth did, they got up in front of the table they worked on, put on a coat and hurried outside to greet him. 

“Hey there Cod boy,” Xornoth walked over to Jimmy. “Surprised to see you managed to land without injuries.” 

Jimmy chuckled at that and patted the head of the owl that had arrived with him. “Me too. Wither is a good co-flyer though. He steered me away from most of the air currents.” At the mention of their name, the owl puffed their chest up with pride. 

“Well, I guess I assigned the right bird for the Cod Empire after all. He had pretty large shoes to fill, I hear,” Xornoth smiled sadly and reached over to give the bird a pat as well.

“He really does,” Jimmy hummed back. “But he’s doing amazing at it. I wouldn’t rather have anyone else terrorizing me whenever you send mail.”

The elf smiled at that, and took a step back. “So what brings you here today? Visiting?”

Jimmy rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah. One of the worse days, you know. Do you mind if I –,”

“No, not at all. You know the drill, the place is all yours,” Xornoth gave him a sympathetic smile. “Do you want company, or –?”

“Actually, I’d rather go by myself if that’s alright with you,” Jimmy admitted sheepishly. “Just this once.”

“Well, you know you’re more than free to do so,” Xornoth flashed him a smile. “I’ll be back in my house. If you feel like it after, pop in for some tea, alright?”

The Codfather directed a nod in their direction, and started heading to the gravesite. Xornoth watched him push through the layer of snow for a moment, before returning inside. 

They managed to fill in a few more papers before glancing back at the clock. It’d been an hour, and the sky had turned dark. Frowning, Xornoth peeked out of the window. It must’ve been freezing outside, and Jimmy wasn’t a fan of – oh. That’s why he was still up there. 

A brilliant aurora lit up the whole town. It wasn’t just the regular bright green, but shades of red mixed into it. Not only that, but the noise. 

Northern lights weren’t unusual in Rivendell in the slightest. The sound of them was. Despite the freezing air getting inside from the open window, Xornoth couldn’t help but listen. The magical cracking of them was unlike anything they’d heard in a long time. 

Scott must’ve really been happy to see Jimmy this time. 

 …………

“I cannot believe that happened. We wasted ages just for it to end like that!?” 

Two Watchers were sitting around a small portal-like window to another world. In front of the screen was the bleeding body of the ruler of Rivendell. Even though there were multiple people around him in a feeble attempt to bring him back from death, both of the Watchers were knowledgeable enough to have seen when death was permanent.

“What a stupid martyr!” The other one got up with a frustrated shout, while the other just sat in front of the portal, watching.

“This is the exact reason why I hated him in the games,” the Watcher continued to vent. “In the first one he was somewhat fine. He was still boring as anything – trying to pursue a relationship and all, but at least he wasn’t actively interfering. I wanted to personally strangle him for winning the latest one. I cannot believe you won the coin flip and got to decide his brother was on your side – ridiculous!” 

The Watcher hissed, and turned back to the more quiet one still watching the scene in front of them. At this point the people around the body had understood that there was nothing to be done, and the previously panicked state had turned to quiet and sorrowful weeping. 

“I guess you sort of won,” the first Watcher walked close enough to see to the portal, and pointed at the purple haired elf standing a bit further away from everyone else with a face full of just as much distress as everyone else. “Your player is still alive. Even though we’re both technically dead in the world. And with no chance to continue playing anymore – can you believe it!?” 

“I can,” the quieter Watcher nodded, never turning his eyes away from the portal. “This one in particular is smart, I can give him that. I have to be impressed. He wasn’t even playing, and he somehow beat both of us.” 

There was an almost proud undertone in his voice, which the other Watcher caught immediately. 

“He died as well,” The Watcher remarked coldly.

“He did,” the other one agreed. “But the Players are fascinating – a lot more complex than you’d think. Not all of them live for themselves. This one clearly doesn’t. And it worked in the games too. You have to admit, he is –,”

“Oh cut it out,” the other scoffed. “You’re just hyping him up because he was the one who killed you last time.”

The quieter Watcher gave the other a slightly smug smirk. “Well, he has beaten Watchers more than once then. You have to admit that there’s got to be something special about that one.” 

“Whatever,” the other scoffed. “Why didn’t you choose him as your player, if you think he’s so great.”

The other Watcher flashed an innocent smile. “I think you know why.”

The Watcher that had gotten up let out a scoff. “I’m leaving. We should be constructing the next games anyway.”

With one last look, the Watcher turned to the other. “But you have to admit, the setting this time was so interesting. I really thought it through.”

“I mean,” the other Watcher rolled his eyes. “Stag gods? That’s just weird.”

“Well, you know it’s a solid setting when a player as frustrating as that one buys it all without a question.” And with a puff the Watcher had evaporated into the surrounding void.

The other one got up with grace, and looked at the portal one final time. He really had tried, but guiding players was difficult. Every single entity in that world played a part in the outcome, some which neither of them could even see coming. He was merely an obstacle — like a rock stood in the middle of a river. He could guide, yet not choose a direction. 

The water knew where to flow. There wasn’t stopping it.

He wasn’t sure about a lot of the moves he chose to play, but one was for certain. Xornoth had been the right pick. Even though hot headed, Scott’s sibling was a lot more likely to receive information. Scott was far too incredulous, which made him difficult to work with. 

And even though he technically had lost by winning, he wasn’t the one who lost the most. The Watcher forced himself to look at the ruler of the Cod Empire on his knees next to the body that had long bled out by now. 

“I’m so sorry, Timmy. Maybe in the next timeline.”

Speaking of, there was a certain someone who needed guidance.

Guidance, and an apology.

…………

Scott woke up with a violent gasp. The elf pushed himself up to a sitting position, clutching his chest and breathing heavily. 

It all felt like a nightmare. 

As Scott took his time catching his breath, the elf took in his surroundings. 

He wasn’t in Pixandria or in his bed in Rivendell, but in the very familiar misty field Aeor spoke to him from time to time. The elvenking narrowed his eyes towards the mist, trying to seek for the silhouette of the god from the deep fog surrounding the area. 

Instead of Aeor, a much smaller figure walked to the field. 

“Hi.” 

The deer – it was the same stag from before. The small, scrawny, sheepish looking thing that didn’t have the appearance of a god. They seemed sorrowful. The way their ears were drooping and tail hanging low – Scott could’ve sworn they were sad. 

The realization hit him a couple of seconds later. The pain was no longer prescient, and he felt weightless. Completely opposite of the way his body had struggled the last few days. 

“I died, didn’t I?” The elf stuttered out, and looked down at his chest. Instead of seeing crimson covering his chest and a dagger buried within it, his clothes were clean and undamaged. 

“You did,” the god confirmed. “I’m sorry about that. I would’ve liked you to have more time here, but sadly it wasn’t up to me in the end. Your decision was right, though. There wasn’t anything left to ease your pain back there. You would have suffered until your last breath. This way you had the opportunity to choose. ”

Scott leaned backwards, resting his weight on his arms. His heart hammered in his ears, and his breathing was trembling. He was dead, yet felt just as alive as he always had. The thought of being really – truly gone hadn’t quite hit him yet. Scott nearly expected himself to wake up from the church, or possibly from his own bed any moment now. Just like after every other meeting he had with Aeor. Speaking of the god, where were they?

The other stag gave him some time, curiously watching as the elf gathered his thoughts in front of them. 

“What about Aeor?” Scott asked after gathering his thoughts enough.

“Aeor? Right,” the stag let out a small chuckle, almost like it was finding the situation humorous. There was a strange smugness in its eyes, when he strutted forward. “I think they’re sulking. I mean, theoretically they did lose their champion, and therefore lost.” 

The stag stopped right in front of Scott. “I wouldn’t worry about them anymore. I think they’ve had enough.”

“Are they upset with me?”

The stag let out a snort. “I think that would be the understatement of the day, Scott. But it has nothing to do with what happened today. They were upset with you for longer than you can possibly remember. Like I said, just leave them be. I think you damaged their ego enough for them to leave you for now.”

“And Exor?”

The stag couldn’t hold back a raspy giggle that Scott found oh so familiar. He couldn’t place it, until the creature had gathered himself enough to speak. “You’re looking at him right now.”

The elf snapped his eyes to the stag in front of him. The creature was lying, surely. Aeor had long ago shown what Exor looked like. He was a large stag, corrupted in vines with eyes that were pitch black like the void. The small stag in front of him couldn’t be further from the god of chaos.

“You’re not Exor,” Scott scoffed out. “I’ve seen him.”

The small stag grinned. “Have you?” It’s voice was full of mischief. “Or have you just seen Aeor’s image of Exor? Out of everyone I’d have expected you to be cautious when receiving information.”

Scott stiffened at that, and studied the figure in front of him. “You’re no god. Pixl said you both are –”

“You’re right. But I’m the closest thing. Here, I am known as Exor,” the deer proudly exclaimed. “Here, I am a god.”

“ – cruel creatures,” Scott ended his sentence tensely. “He said you feed on entertainment. That you use players for your own sick games.”

“Sure.” The deer shrugged nonchalantly. “He’s not entirely wrong. I might’ve interfered, but I did so to give you the best chance to succeed.” There was a mischievous glint in their eyes. “You would’ve never found the vase if I hadn’t given Xornoth a little nudge in the right direction.”

“That was you?” Scott choked. “But why?!”

“Why not?” The deer countered. “My kind might be more known as a pest, and that is what we typically are too. I like to think I’m a bit different. I don’t feed on your suffering.”

“Oh yeah?” The elf frowned. “Then what about burning down Rivendell? Twice?!”

“Alright, calm down. You’re dead after all. Technically I only burnt it down once,” the deer chuckled. “And that was the way I could gently push you to the right direction. The reality is not as you perceive it here. In fact, you did not grow up here, and you two aren’t even related. Those memories are just planted and farmed by my kind. They set a stage, and place players such as you to fill in roles.”

When Scott stared at the stag blankly, it let out a hesitant chuckle. “It’s a lot to comprehend – in fact, I shouldn’t even really be telling you any of this. However, it doesn’t matter. You’ll forget everything after moving forward either way.”

“Moving forward?” Scott frowned. 

“Yeah. This world was just a fraction of your time here. There’s so much left to still experience.”

The elf huffed. “But everyone back home –,”

The small stag chuckled. “Will move on as well. They’ll mourn, they’ll continue to play their own game, and when their time comes they move forward just like you do now. You’ve had countless homes, countless lives and countless people in your life. All of them go through the same cycle as you do.”

“You have to realize this. You have not been here for five years. The first burning of Rivendell never happened, because it simply was not there. This world was created just under a year ago.” The stag explained. “This world, much like everything else in the universe, time included, is artificial. Made by us, used and then thrown away when the entertainment isn’t good enough anymore.”

Scott felt his heart pick up pace. “So nothing back there was real?” 

“It depends how you look at it,” the deer hummed. “I’d argue most things were real. Just because they were created on purpose doesn’t make them any less real to me.”

“But the person I was,” Scott scoffed. “That was fake. That’s not me then?”

“Oh, you are still Scott Major. In every universe – every world – you are you. So is Jimmy, Lizzie, Joel – everyone here. You see, worlds can be created and deleted, but experiences can’t. The bonds you make, the feelings you feel are real and present in worlds both previous and forthcoming. Just because you can’t remember the reason for them, doesn’t mean they don’t exist.”

“Is that what Pearl was talking about? About knowing us from before but not knowing why?”

The ears of the stack flicked in surprise, and after the initial surprise had faded, the god let out a low chuckle. “Of course she would remember it,” they muttered mostly to themselves. “She’s far too sharp for her own good.”

“So I have met her before then?” 

“You definitely have,” the stag confirmed with a smile.

“Where? How?” Scott demanded. 

“It’s – it’s quite difficult to explain. We used to play a game together. You were very close with her there, so I’m not surprised she was drawn to you,” the stag hummed thoughtfully. “In fact, I might just link you two together again, since you seemed to get along well.”

The elvenking felt his head spin. “A game?” 

“A game,” the stag confirmed with a nod. “I’d argue this is all just a game, but that's even more so.”

“It’s all just a game?” Scott connected dots in his head. “The book was you then.”

The stag let out a mischievous chuckle, and it did an excited little bounce. “There you go – I knew you’d figure it out! It is all just a game, and we’re all players of it.”

The creature slammed it’s front hooves to the ground, and suddenly the scenery in front of them started to fade away into nothingness. 

“Well, I won’t keep you here any longer. Time for your next adventure.”

And then the mist surrounding the field was slowly closing in, swallowing everything that wasn’t already in the process of disappearing. 

“Will I see them ever again?” Scott asked desperately. He already missed them all. He wanted – needed to tell Jimmy he’d be fine. Even if it wasn’t in this world. Scott didn’t care. But if there was a change of running into him another lifetime, maybe, just maybe he would remember Jimmy like Pearl remembered him. 

“You haven’t managed to avoid them yet. I’d be shocked if you would.”

“One more thing,” Scott frowned. “You’re a Watcher.” It was more like a statement than a question, so the deer only blinked. “Why did you help us?” There was a beat of silence. “Have I met you too? Are we friends?”

The stag stayed quiet for a long time. Scott had more than enough time to assume he wouldn’t give an answer, until the stag surprisingly spoke again. “It depends.”

For a moment, the elf was sure he’d never know. Then, right before the fog swallowed Scott whole and his senses were fading fast, the stag’s voice echoed from behind him. 

“My friends call me Grian. I’d like to think I’m a friend.”