Frosk…
After Lorra reluctantly agreed to teach him how to use Elvin Shadow Magic, she took him away from the Dusk Woods of Verglas and invited him to her home in New Alfheim.
“There are several small islands around the mainland that go ignored by the common people. My family’s house has taken ownership of many of them including several that I own. We can train there,” she suggested.
He shook his head in amazement as he replied, “Its insane to think that your family owns entire islands that you can make use of whenever you want.”
Lorra smiled at him as she said, “You should be honored to be one of the few to enjoy the Lazuli family’s hospitality!”
Normally, when he thought of boastful people, he thought of arrogant slovenly fat aristocrats with ridiculous clothes who hadn’t seen a hint of battle in their lives.
However, when Lorra boasted about her family for his sake and flaunted her bravado, he couldn’t help but find it mildly endearing. She did not seem to boast for the sake of feeling superior to others, but rather to assure others that they are in the greatest, most capable hands.
He truly hoped that he never developed such an arrogant attitude as he has no way to back it up.
The journey to New Alfheim took several weeks as an enchantment was cast upon the entire kingdom of New Alfheim with the intent to prevent people from easily accessing the land.
Anyone who was not a citizen that wanted to travel to New Alfheim would have to walk or take non-magical means of transportation for the entire trip. If anyone attempted to teleport or amplify their speed with magic, they would be allowed to reach within a mile of the kingdom before the enchantment sent back to where they came from.
When Frosk asked Lorra why the enchantment allowed them to get so close when using magic before sending them back, she answered, “To teach them a harsh lesson that taking the easy way out will lead to nothing.”
Upon reaching King’s Tide Cape, a port city lying between the borders of the Duranell Kingdom and the Brunhildt Kingdom, he wondered if they were going to pay a fare for one of the ships to take them there.
“Are we really going to ride a ship the rest of the way there? I get seasick easily,” he admitted.
She shook her head and said, “Of course not. That would be suicide. The currents are disastrous and too violent for most ships to handle, not to mention the many sea monsters that inhabit those waters.”
“Then how-”
“We’ll be taking the private route to New Alfheim. Its a tunnel that extends below the ocean floor, built during the war against the Light Elves,” she said as she lead the way.
“Did you fight in that war?” he asked curiously.
She turned her head suddenly to stare at him in mild annoyance as she retorted, “How old do you think I am?! That war was thousands of years ago! There’s no possible way I could have been alive to remember it. There isn’t a single elf alive, save for the few remaining light elves, that remember that war. They alone among our race have the gift...or curse of extreme longevity.”
“So...can you tell me what the Elf War was about?”
She shook her head and answered, “That war is ancient history. Its doubtful that the common Dark Elf has any idea or even cares what the war was fought over. Most only know that we won in an overwhelmingly crushing victory. If you are really that curious about the war, then ask the historians when we get there. Although, from what I’ve heard historians say when having to discuss the war, when it reached its end, we eradicated the Light Elves to near extinction. Because of that, our people saw fit to bury any celebration of that victory and to move on with our lives. In spite of that, a warrior people we remain to this day.”
He decided not to push the subject and wait until he could ask the historians like she suggested.
They traveled away from the town and into the forest until they came across a hill with a boulder the size of a two story building. It was surrounded by vines, trees, and thorn bushes.
“Is this the entrance?” he asked and she nodded.
“It can only be accessed by someone using Elven Shadow magic, and usually there are guards posted here to open the gate for visitors, but since I am here, it won’t be a problem. They can afford to be more relaxed when it comes to guarding the entrance as no one can access it without having the necessary magic,” she explained as she raised her hand and waved it through the air as shadows extended from beneath her feet and bored into the boulder.
Soon, a wide tunnel appeared from within the darkness and she began walking forward.
“Come on then, keeping this entrance open can be exhausting,” she said as she waved him forward.
He took in a deep breath, realizing that he was traveling to a new land and had no idea what awaited him, and followed her.
It took three days to make it through the tunnel, but when they finally emerged from the other side, the view took his breath away.
The first thing he saw was the vast open plains with tall swaying grasslands, canyons of marble stone and rivers forking off into numerous paths.
There were fewer trees in this part of the land than he would have imagined, but it was still a beautiful sight.
Turning to look behind him, he could see the beach miles away as it stretched on for as far as his eyes would allow.
When they stepped out of the tunnel, it was right as the sun had started rising over the horizon. Its light reflected off of the clouds cast a golden orange hue on the sky that mixed beautifully with the blue.
“This place looks amazing,” he said, admiring the view.
“Yes, it is. However, this is not where we will be training you. My island is even better looking than this. It even has its own hot spring,” she said before turning to look at him directly as she swept her hair out of her face as she continued, “Its why I look this spectacular.”
“Yes yes, you look very nice,” he said politely and she seemed very proud of herself.
He then pondered something that he hadn’t thought of til now, but seemed important to bring up.
“I wonder, you said that you are part of the noble Lazuli family of Dark Elves, yet you found me all the way out in the Dusk Woods of Verglas. What were you doing all the way out there?”
“Running away from responsibility! My family had suggested putting me in an arranged marriage with Prince Rohen if he ends up winning the succession to the throne. I didn’t want any part in that nonsense so I left these lands in search of a little adventure and ended up finding you.”
“How long ago did you leave?” he asked.
“About fifteen years ago,” she said absentmindedly.
“Fifteen...is the fight for the throne still going on after all that time?”
“Yes, quite so. Most successions to the throne can take decades to be over with. Dark Elves may not live as long as the light elves, but we can still live for centuries on average. Far longer than humans on average, though I have met some humans older than most Dark Elves and myself.”
“How old are you?” he asked.
She turned around to look at him with a look of feigned offense to his question, held her hand over her chest and said, “How dare you ask a woman’s age!”
He stared at her blankly, waiting for her to finish before she blinked and gave up the comedic routine.
“I am sixty two years old, far too old for you I’m sure? I must seem like an old hag to you, don’t I?” she said, while sniffling and faking tears dramatically.
“You really do love your flair for the dramatic don’t you?”
She immediately changed her expression and smiled as she said, “Indeed I do!”
Frosk tilted his head as he thought about converting elven age to human age in terms of maturity.
If the average Dark Elf could live up to four hundred years and the average human could live up to one hundred and seventy…
With Lorra being sixty two years old, that barely made her the same maturity level as him.
“Hmm...in terms of age, I’d say you’d be just about right for me,” he blurted out and she turned her head abruptly to stare at him.
“Huh…?” she mumbled as if she didn’t understand him.
“Don’t worry about it. Lets just head to your island and get started.”
The first few years of learning Elven Shadow Magic were rough.
The first part was apparently the most difficult to grasp as it meant attempting to manifest a concept with no discernible form.
The Dark Elves manipulate the Shadow Realm as they call it by manifesting the concept of pure nothingness. Once that is figured out, the rest becomes much easier and is more a matter of learning and adapting techniques than anything else.
Even so, attempting to understand and manifest the concept of nothingness when surrounded by nature felt nearly impossible.
Not to mention, one of Lorra’s methods for training him was to make him meditate shirtless while she beat his back with a giant stick.
As long as he was using spiritual energy to strengthen his body, he barely felt it at all. The problem was that if he was focusing on making sure he didn’t feel any pain from the blow, then he wouldn’t be able to enter a mindset of nothingness for the training to work.
For him to successfully manifest the concept of nothingness, the stick that Lorra would swing at him would have to pass through his body harmlessly.
It took over seven years of constantly getting back beaten to a bloody pulp by that stick for him to finally pull it off.
One day, when the sun was low and the day was about to come to an end, he found a moment of peace and absolute clarity as he pushed all thoughts from his mind and he drowned out all sensation.
He tuned out everything he heard, smelled, the touch of the air blowing across his skin, and anything else he could have any feeling towards.
Pretty soon, he could feel absolutely nothing.
His mind was clear and his body was unfeeling. Even the passage of time meant nothing to him.
It wasn’t until Lorra forcibly broke him out of it by using her own magic to interfere with his own did he realize that he pulled it off.
She took hold of his shoulders, shook him, and he opened his eyes.
She had an astonished and joyful look on her face as she said, “You did it! I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you actually managed to pull it off! Took you long enough, hah!”
After another exhausting day of training and getting beaten by a stick, he decided to relax in the hot springs that she had spoken so highly of when he first arrived on New Alfheim.
Truth be told, they really were as amazing as she said and more. Not only did they actually do great things for his hygiene, but they also helped to speed up his healing process.
He’s used these hot springs every day of training to recover, and though they didn’t help him grasp the concept of nothingness any easier, they did make recovery for the next day of training more bearable.
That, and it was incredibly enjoyable to relax in these waters and enjoy the smell in the air, and the sight of a beautiful-
“Lorra!” he shouted in surprise as she walked in with a towel around her body as she stepped into the hot spring with him. He almost stood up but then realized he was stuck bare ass naked in the hot spring and just carefully backed away.
“Oh don’t leave. If you go now then it would make the reward of my intrusion pointless,” she said as she removed her towel and sank into waters.
An appreciative hum left her mouth as the hot water hit her skin.
As much as he wanted to look away from her, he couldn’t help notice the sight of her breasts as the towel was stripped away before they sank into the waters.
“W-why are you joining me today?” he asked nervously as he was trying to keep himself calm at the sight of her naked body.
She sighed happily before reaching her arms above her head as she stretched, causing her breasts to float above the surface of the water once again before going back down.
“Well, think of it this way. You and I have been training in isolation for seven years on my island. Now as you are a man and I am a woman, it would be only natural if either of us had urges towards the other. My reward to you for successfully manifesting the concept of nothingness that you have been training so long for is enjoying my company with you in these waters,” she said plainly.
She then looked over at him and he noticed the slight blush on her face and it hit him.
The idea of her wanting to ‘reward him’ was bullshit. She wanted to be in here anyways.
If he were a more chivalrous man, he might have politely declined her offer and left her to enjoy the hot springs by herself.
But who was he kidding?
He would not pass up this opportunity to see such a beautiful Dark Elf woman sharing a bath with him.
So he decided to move back to where he was sitting before, even scooting a bit closer to her so as to have a better view.
“Its uh...a little funny to think of a noble woman like you sharing a bath with a foreign commoner like me just because I finally figured out the basic concept of your people’s magic. I wonder what your family might think about the prospect of that marriage proposal you brought up a while back,” he said, trying to make normal conversation.
She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at him as she said, “That’s a funny choice of topic to discuss when we are both in the nude in a bath.”
They were both silent for a moment before she eventually let out a laugh as she said, “But yes, it is pleasantly ironic to think about. Consider it my way of rebelling against their wishes. Hah! I don’t want to marry a pompous royal ass of a man! I’ve much more enjoyed the time spent training with you! I’ve never had a student before and had no idea how to teach you so I just figured it out as I went.”
He looked at her with a distraught expression as he asked, “So that whole time of you beating my back with a stick until I figured it out on my own was really just that?”
She looked offended at the suggestion that he would label her as an incompetent teacher and said, “Its how I was taught! Don’t blame the teacher, blame the methods! I know of no other.”
To be perfectly honest, he couldn’t think of a better way to figure it out either.
The only thing filling his mind right now was the sight of her amazing breasts.
He sighed and said, “Well, if it works, it works.”
“Although...if it would make your training any easier, this could be a source of great motivation for you,” she said helpfully.
“Hmm? What would that be?” he asked her as he stared up at the sky.
He then felt her hand on his chin as she turned his face to look at her.
She said nothing but he understood the message she was trying to send him.
“I see… Then if this is what I am to be ‘rewarded with’ every time I learn something new from you and am able to apply it, then what would await me if I mastered all that you taught me?” he asked, pushing a little further.
She went quiet as she processed his question before looking down at the water bashfully before saying, “Well...we will have to find out then, won’t we?”
Seeing her act like this made him laugh and she smiled in response.
“With you doing this for me right now and acting like this, it makes me wonder about something,” he mused.
“And what would that be?”
“Were you sneaking a peak of me while I was naked in the baths?” he asked.
Her eyes darted back and for between him and the water as she answered, “Well…maybe. Did you not do the same to me?”
“No! I’d thought about it, but no,” he answered honestly.
She stared at him with her mouth hung open in shock upon the realization that she was the pervert here and not him.
She then held her face in her hands and said, “Oh no…”
Seeing her act like this was probably the most enjoyable part of this exchange between them and he was glad that it lasted as long as it did.
More years passed as more of the same routine continued as they trained together, ate together, and even bathed more often together.
The time he spent with her was likely the highlight of his life.
It wasn’t until he finally achieved mastery over the Elven Shadow Magic did their time together come to an end.
They had spent fifteen years training together on that island that he didn’t even think of the circumstance of them separating when she had finished teaching him everything that she knew.
Although, in the days prior to him mastering what she taught him, she had been acting a little strange. She had a little more urgency in teaching him and had a worried expression on her face but assured him it was nothing for her to worry about.
When he had finished his training for the day, he went to the hot springs expecting to see her but was left disappointed but not surprised. There were days when she wanted time to herself which were understandable.
What did bother him though was the fact that he didn’t see her the entire rest of the day until nightfall.
When she came back, it looked as if she had just returned from an important meeting with someone.
“Is something wrong Lorra?” he asked.
“No Frosk, its just that...now that you’ve mastered everything I taught you, it seems that you and I must go our separate ways,” she said with a regretful tone.
He was surprised to hear that as he sat up straight and asked, “What? Why? Are you saying that after everything, now that I’ve finally completed training, its just time for me to go?”
He felt hurt by this and wanted some answers. Today was supposed to be an amazing day, and yet it was turning sour fast.
“No, I know you’ve been working hard this whole time, but it can’t be helped. I was hoping to celebrate with you about this as you’ve likely mastered this magic faster than anyone I know, even faster than many Dark Elves. Its something else that I cannot control.”
Hearing that, he realized it was likely a problem coming from her family’s house rather than what she wanted.
She looked him in the eyes and said, “My family is dealing with a lack of resources as they have expended their wealth in favor of aiding Prince Rohen and are demanding that I marry him to secure his position as the next king. I am obligated to return to my family within a week’s time or they will send people after me to drag me back home.”
Hearing about this made him furious as he said, “Don’t you have any say in the matter? You’ve been refusing them for thirty years, why can’t you do the same now?” he asked, his tone a little louder as he got angrier and she winced.
“As much as I want to, they’ve apparently invested too much in his victory for the throne to tolerate my refusal as it could force many of them into indentured servitude. Many of whom they had invited to further invest in Rohen’s cause would lose much if he lost and would demand recompense from my family for it,” she looked at the ground in shame for having to speak those words to him but he understood.
“As much as I enjoyed cursing what they had planned for me, I do still love my family and don’t want to see them end up in such circumstances.”
“If you ask me, I would say it would be a just punishment for them to put themselves in such a position,” he said frustrated.
“As much as I agree with you, I don’t want to see it happen, so I must go,” she said as she looked up at him.
“So are you...just saying farewell? Right here and now?” he asked.
She shook her head, smiled and answered, “No. I’m just saying that this will be my last night with you. After all, I did promise you a special reward when you mastered what I taught you.”
He let out a laugh as he said, “Its a little too late for that isn’t it? Its not so special if we’ve already done it many times over the years.”
She stepped closer to him, so much that her body pressed up against his own as she held his face in her hands and pressed a kiss against his lips.
“Then we might as well make it a night to remember, yeah?” she said sweetly and he returned the gesture.
Now…
He gripped his sword Hoffnung tightly as he thought back to the memories he shared with Lorra training together before all the painful ones of the Mordrinite War came after.
Today would confront those memories and face her brother, Dorrin Lazuli, and hope that their fight would not rouse any bitter memories.