Prologue: The Detector
The gray clouds weren't meant to flee from the sky soon. It was like the arrival of the Elves to Ilirea had brought this gloomy dome above the city, stubbornly hiding the sun. Anyone would think that a rain would be enough to mark the beginning of autumn, but after a few days without drops, the clouds, instead of being dissolved, alighted from the sky and began to surround the city, covering it with dense fog, that was not similar to any other from the times of the king.
The swarthy Queen leaned disappointed in the balcony of her office. The delegation of the Elves, Jörmundur and the other consultants had left her alone for a while. She was observing any shady move behind the veil of the fog in the streets, as if she could find the explanation she was looking for. What should she blame? What did go wrong? She trusted Arya and didn't dare to challenge the Elves' skills in the art of magic... what caused this unexpected delay to her plans?
The device wasn't working. The Detector, the ''gift'' of the Elves, the tool she was anticipating for for the last two years and now was hung majestically on the wall behind her desk, was not working.
She wasn't pretending that she'd shed sweat to build the magical map... However, her diplomatic abilities had reached their limits, not only in to convince the Elven queen to help her with the map's implementation, but also to confirm that the Detector of magic will never be used to restrict or harm the Elves. And all of this for nothing. Because, as it finally appeared, even the Elves were unable to construct a map that depicts the flow and frequency of magic. It wasn't working.
Three gentle knocks at the door pulled her out of her vain thoughts. ''Come in'' she said straightening the hem of her skirt. Her intensity faded away after seeing that it was Endymion. The presence of this quiet man aspired her an air of serenity and confidence... No wonder why he'd managed to gain her trust and become one of her closest advisers within a year. His opinion was almost always accordant with Jörmundur's.
"Your Majesty" he said with a slight tilt of his head. His old age didn't allow him to make a deep obeisance. "We're all awaiting your presence in the Glass Hall. The Elven delegates have already informed their queen for the... damage that occurred."
"Thank you, Endymion" she replied. For a moment, she wished that the elder would speak less formally. "We shall not let them wait."
And, with a single word of his, the magic combination was expired, and the luminous spots disappeared from the map before the rest of the consultants and Her Majesty entered the room.
Hi there:) I didn't want to put this at the beginning, so take a look here...
Disclaimer:I only own the characters and the plot I came up with.
Important note: English is not my first language, but thankfully I had the help of Unique F. and Peaches for this story. However, I'd appreciate any correction, if it's necessary.
As Glaedr would say, try to see what you're looking at. Enjoy!