Rane walked as casually as he could after Daris released him, and sighed. He greeted a few Immortal Guard and they returned it. His manner that surprised some of the Immortal Guard, but they gave no reaction.
Rane was far from the only Ljósálfr who supported Daris, and doing his usual walkabout allowed him to pass on information to his allies. No doubt they were surprised by the knowledge things were going to be moving faster than planned. Most of Daris's followers didn't know the truth about what Hallien was, but Rane did and once you did, it was hard to understand how anyone could be loyal to him.
Viridiel was Alfheim's king before Hallien's father and he had had two sons, Amras and Anar. Amras had a son of his own named Hallien, and a grandson named Eragon while Anar's son was named Daris. Because Amras was the elder of the two, he had become the crown child and the Emerald Crown had passed down his line, leaving Anar with little.
Daris was Anar's son, and grandson of King Viridiel. He and Hallien were cousins, and since Daris was a royal, he was eligible for the crown. As long as Hallien and his son lived then the crown would not respond to Daris, but if they were to die then Daris would be the only royal left.
Daris's father had tried to take control of Alfheim before as well, but his failure had cost him his life. Although he had been successful in orphaning Hallien, Hallien had survived thanks in great part to Arlen. Hallien had become a child king shortly after the incident, no older than twelve years by human time. The only reason Daris had not been executed after that incident was because he had not been aware of his father's plot or taken part in it.
As Rane walked, he spotted another Ljósálfr standing on the tip of one of the palace's branches, uncaring of how high in the air he was. He wore the normal clothing of his kin, but had a pair of peregrine falcon feathers tucked behind his right ear. Rane lowered his head respectively to the elf as he walked by him and passed on Daris's request.
This elf, known as Merrith Lashulson by his kin and Bladewing by his foes, was arguably Alfheim's strongest warrior and something of a champion. Although he was not a powerful mage, he had been born with the extremely rare gift to be able to materialize his soul outside of his body as wings. There were less than a dozen Seraphs, as those who had this ability were named, to have existed in the history of all nine realms.
There had been another Seraph on Jötunnheim, but she had been killed five centuries ago near the end of Asgard's war against Jötunnheim. With her death, Merrith was now the only Seraph alive. He was also Rane's second, and third in command of Daris's troops.
Rane walked past Merrith without speaking a word and continued his walkabout, greeting both Hallien's loyalists and his own allies. Once he was back on ground level and outside the palace, he continued his walk, and soon saw a Ljósálfr in the courtyard that he knew. Her name was Kiri, and she was keeping her stance perfect as she worked on Staminata. Rane didn't envy her as he quietly approached her. He knew from experience that Staminata was a singularly annoying technique.
Staminata was a Ljósálfr training technique, and it was the equivalent of movement within meditation. The technique was done by slowly moving from one stance to the next, and if done correctly it took an hour to change between two stances. Moving slowly put a far greater strain on the muscles then moving quickly, so it built up stamina as its name suggested and helped improve balance and awareness of ones flow of lifeforce. There were 24 Staminata "stances" so if done completely it took 24 hours to complete them.
Kiri had one palm extended in front of her, and was busy glaring at it to try to keep her fingers from curling into her palm.
Her concentration didn't seem to be so deep so she chanced to call out, "Your stance is too close."
The voice jolted Kiri from her Staminata induced trance that most went into, and it made her balance waver. One of her legs suddenly cramped, forcing her to drop to her knees with her hands in front to keep from falling completely. Rane tensed his shoulders and walked towards Kiri, wishing that he hadn't spoken.
Kiri pushed herself to her knees and extended the cramped leg with a slight wince, glancing over her shoulder to glare viciously at him. "Rane, do you not know better than to interrupt someone in Staminata?"
"You did not seem that deep in your practice," Rane said by way of apology.
Kiri massaged her leg and debated using the little bit of magic she, that all Ljósálfr, were born with to heal it.
"Æsir," she muttered as she rubbed her leg.
"Hey," Rane chided her in light humor. "There is no need to be so insulting."
He let two of her fingers trail across her calf where the cramp was, and used his magic to heal it. Like Rane himself, Kiri was dressed in sleeveless top similar to a vest and loose-fitting capris. Most elves wore these clothes, both civilians and off duty warriors. Kiri's top came down to her waist but many females had theirs cut to show their midriff.
"Am I forgiven now?" Rane asked Kiri and touched her cheek with a feather light stroke. "I have become used to your company."
Kiri gazed at him as if debating if she should. Unlike other races, Ljósálfr believed their military personnel to be mature enough to manage things, so even though Rane was higher ranking then Kiri no one commented on their relationship. While their relationship was not a secret, no one minded despite the fact that Rane was a Lieutenant, and she was a Sublieutenant. The same didn't apply to the Silver Arrow archers, but they had no real power anymore.
Rane also knew that despite being small in number and power, they were fiercely loyal. Only one Silver Arrow truly served Daris. Unlike the Immortal Guard, healers, or mages Daris did not have enough people among their numbers to ensure control over their faction. It made them dangerous and something akin to a wild card in the coming coup.
"Forgiven," Kiri relented and leaned into his touch.
Rane hummed his satisfaction at her answer, and wished she were loyal to Daris. Kiri was a Traditionalist however, and loyal to Hallien. In the coming coup, she would likely be killed. It was unfortunate but inevitable, and Rane was going to enjoy being with her until she did die.
"I take it you were just doing one of your walkabouts when you saw me and decided to scare me out of my training?" Kiri asked Rane sarcastically and folded the leg that had been cramped under her with her other one.
"Something like that," Rane smiled and relaxed his position. "Have you heard about the halfbreed's latest endeavor?"
"Her attack against Lord Hallien," Kiri nodded softly. "I heard."
"Hallien used his new disruptor to take her down," Rane chuckled and shook his head. "Did you hear of that?"
If Hallien hadn't started poking around Svartalfheim then Daris wouldn't have had to change his plan.
Kiri's ears twitched at her lover's wording. "So the foster halfbreed lives."
"She should not," Rane growled softly. "This is the second time she has fought Hallien with intent to kill. I do not know why he has not disposed of her already."
"Hallien will have his reasons." Kiri tried to assure him, "even if he does not choose to show them."
"He is going to put it on trial." Rane hissed.
"So what?" Kiri shrugged. "After her murder of Arlen I cannot doubt the outcome, although I do not understand why our king cares about a mere Night Hair so much."
Rane sighed to himself silently at Kiri's loyal words, and cringed at the tone when she said the words Night Hair. Her loyalty to Hallien showed no signs of wavering, so when the battle began there was nothing to do but to have her killed alongside Hallien's other loyalists. If he told her what Hallien was then she probably wouldn't be so loyal to him anymore, but he couldn't risk the plan just to sway one Sublieutenant.
"If her guilt is assured then why bother with a trial?" Rane asked sarcastically, trying again to sway Kiri.
"Because all criminals apprehended alive are allowed a trial," Kiri said patiently at how stubbornly predictable Rane was. "It is how things are."
"That hybrid does not deserve it," Rane repeated.
"No," Kiri agreed, "but it is Hallien's decision and he is our king."
"Maybe Hallien should not be king," Rane muttered at his boots in an attempt to test Kiri's limits.
"Rane!" Kiri gasped at his words. "Stop that at once. That is traitor's talk. Hallien is a good king."
If that didn't settle the issue of Kiri then nothing would, so he dropped the matter. It was depressingly clear to Rane there was nothing he could say to break Kiri of her loyalist persona. It would be her death.
Rane looked up at the golden sunlight that filtered through the canopy with a slight green tint. "Does not your next shift start soon?"
Kiri glanced at him and then up at the sun. Rane was right, and she would have to hurry to change out of her civilian garb and report in. She sighed and stood. Rane flicked a hand in a lazy sort of wave, and Kiri took her dismissal to get ready.
Once she left, Rane stood to continue his walkabout and alert more of Daris's sleeper agents to the change in plan. It was too bad that loyal little Kiri was such a model soldier. He walked off in the opposite direction.
Kiri walked briskly to the barracks where her gear was, wishing that Rane wasn't such an idiot. Hallien was their king, and yet Rane treated him like a pest half the time. Hallien was their king, and it was their job not just as Immortal Guard but also as citizens of Alfheim to follow his orders.
What would become of Alfheim if the king could not depend on his people? She was not looking where she was going, one hand trying to strangle the hilt of her saber as she was lost in her stormy thoughts, and when she turned another corner and ran into something. The object stumbled backwards and fell onto his back with a noise of surprise.
Kiri looked down, expecting a servant's child. She choked back her words of retaliation when she realized that of all the children to run into, she had ended up knocking prince Eragon off his feet. Her young prince sat up warily, and rubbed his head.
"Ow," he muttered to himself. "I was not expecting that.
"M-My Prince!" Kiri stuttered, able to feel the tips of her ears turning red from embarrassment. "Forgive me, for I did not notice your presence."
Instinctively she bowed low at the waist with an arm crossing her chest in a salute. She did not kneel however deep her bow was, for she was no Æsir. Would Eragon force her to kneel?
"You may stand." Eragon told her, surprising Kiri.
She hesitantly raised her eyes from the floor to her young prince. He was still sitting on the forest floor, but he was smiling as if he didn't mind. Kiri held out a hand after a moment, and helped her prince to his feet when he took it. Eragon tipped his head slightly in thanks, and Kiri's ears turned so red that the color crept onto her cheeks this time as well.
"I should be more aware of my surroundings," the child smiled softly. "If I had been then I would ended up on the floor."
Kiri was amazed at how forgiving and casual Eragon was. Most Ljósálfr were distant creatures who kept their emotions separate from their logic and their normal tasks of the day. Eragon did not do that very much however, and was simply a kind child. Thankfully, he was not naïve, and he would make a wonderful king one day despite currently being less than four centuries old.
"Have you seen Tilly-ah Tilaria?" Eragon asked Kiri, accidentally using his pet name for his foster sister and then correcting himself.
Eragon had not been happy when she had been allowed to go to Asgard with Uncle Arlen while he had to remain behind, but he knew she was back. He also knew about Arlen's death and Tilaria's fight with Hallien. No doubt she was in the dungeon, but he did not know where. That didn't faze Eragon as she was often in the dungeon, and he just wanted to see her again.
Kiri was not expecting that question, so Eragon tried a different one.
"I know about Arlen and her fight with father," Eragon said seriously. "Is she in the dungeon?"
Kiri was unsure how to respond still, for it was obvious that Eragon had not yet learned that Tilaria would soon be executed. In some ways the boy before her, only nine years old by human time, was very much a child.
"I presume she is," Kiri said carefully, "but I do not know for certain where in the dungeons."
She knew that Eragon had spent the night sleeping outside of Tilaria's cell before, and did not want to send him down there to do so again. It would only irritate Hallien to find Eragon sleeping in the dungeon.
Eragon looked frustrated by her response, but not altogether surprised. Ljósálfr did not shelter their children from the truth as other races did, but Hallien had still tried to keep the news from Eragon. He looked away, frustrated but not very surprised.
"Then how about my father?" Eragon asked briskly, sounding like a prince suddenly instead of a child looking for his sister. "Where is he?"
"I do not have the faintest idea," Kiri said helplessly. "Perhaps one of the other children will have seen him."
Eragon nodded, "I suppose that is the next logical step. Thank you Sublieutenant."
Kiri bowed to him again as he went off in another direction to try to find some of his friends, steps light and quiet on the detritus-strewn floor of the forest. She was surprised that Eragon would know her rank, but she raised her hand to her left shoulder when she remembered that she was still wearing her rank pins despite being in civilian clothes.
Eragon was certainly an observant child, but he had poor taste to be loyal to a half-breed. Word was also spreading that she used blood magic, and to use it she had to have been taught it. She could not have reached her level of mastery on Asgard, so there was a Ljósálfr practicing forbidden magic. It would be in her prince's best interest to forget about Tilaria, but she knew he would never do that.
Kiri knew that Eragon was going to be hurt very badly by Tilaria's fate, and that saddened her. Eragon's mother, Queen Anastasia, had died a few days after Eragon's birth and he had no memories of her. His family had always been Tilaria and Hallien, and soon his family would shrink once more.
She might not be able to protect Eragon from losing his sister, but she would never let any harm come to him.
Kiri is mostly a foil for Rane and Eragon. Her importance will increase as the story continues, but no overly so. Rane, Daris, and Hallien's casual dismissal of life is not uncommon. In fact, the vast amount of Ljósálfr are like them. Eragon's gentle nature is the unusual one. They are aliens with a very different psyche then us humans, do not think they are human.
Alfheim is a very alien realm to us humans, and since i haven't heard any information about it in Norse mythology or Marvel i have to use all OC's. Asgardians won't be showing up in this story because the fact that they don't know what happened is part of the plot. They aren't supposed to know, so although Asgard's princes will be in the next story, they aren't in this one directly.