Beta-reader: Dragonblooded
We live in a world where certain laws can neither be broken nor overcome. But we do what humanity is best at: we overlook the most obvious things. It is easier than admitting the difficult truth. One of these suppressed concepts is the reality that the world is not painted black and white. It is grey. Some of us just turn darker at times. But rarely do we realize that to darken a colour, black must be added. This ignorance plays into the hands of powerful people, who feed it more to make us vulnerable to their manipulation. In the end, it's the victors who write history. Throughout all archives of all races in Alagaësia, Queen Loviatar is coloured pure black, to symbolize the evil she was. No one looks deep enough to see the catalyst behind it all.
The elves of Du Weldenvarden were known for building the most beautiful cities in Alagaësia. Sudriergarde, known as Éwayëna before it was usurped by the Bloody Queen, was no exception. While in Norvedrgarde life started at sunset, the same rule did not apply to Sudriergarde. It lay too far from the reach of the northern forces, and the first rays of the sun tempted its inhabitants out of their houses.
The city was decorated and polished, prepared for the entourage of Queen Loviatar. After her mother's unfortunate death, Loviatar was crowned at a young age, and the entirety of Alagaësia waited with anticipation for her maturity. While she was feared throughout the world for her familial madness, those who looked upon her could not find even a trace of insanity.
She was a good ruler, and her kingdom adored her. She was neither too hard nor too soft, the perfect monarch. Once she reached a certain age, she made the decision to visit people all over her kingdom.
The morning of her visit was unsually cold for Sudriergarde. The queen's entourage neared the city, bringing the northern winds with them. "Halt!" shouted the queen from her horse's back. The entire group of elves, chosen to protect their ruler and represent Norvedrgarde, stopped behind her. She stopped on the hill from which Sudriergarde's water came. She looked down upon the city and revelled in the view.
On her command, the entourage set forth again, following their black-crowned queen.
They rode straight through the open gates into the city. The elves around them greeted them with joy, appreciating their queen's interest. With crystal-clear laughter and smiles they surrounded them, leading them towards the middle of the city, where its statehouse – the castle Red Lilly – stood. It was the seat of local Lord and Protector of Sudriergarde.
The parade stopped and Loviatar looked around for her guards. "May I offer myself to your services, my queen?" A young elf approached confidently, with a slightly cocky smile. When she nodded, he gently wrapped his hands around her waist and helped her off of her horse. Loviatar slightly stumbled, but he steadied her against his chest, holding her there for a few seconds more than necessary.
But once his arms loosened around her form, he disappeared into the crowd. She made a mental note to find him later to show her gratitude.
Suddenly, the crowded parted as the Lord of Sudriergarde made his way towards his monarch.
"My queen," he addressed her, greeting with her in the proper elven manner. "It is a huge honour to accept you as our guest. I can imagine your throats have been irritated by the dust from the roads. Please, accept our best wine to moisten your tongues."
Loviatar showed no emotion, instead looking somewhat coldly over the lord, but accepted the wine given to her. The entire entourage feasted on the served wine, enjoying it after the tiring journey, and the queen soon joined them, giving in to the pleasure as well. The wine was rather heavy with a bittersweet aftertaste to it, but even water would have tasted like heaven in that moment.
"I am afraid I did not hear your name." the queen said sternly.
"Belwaÿne."
"I am afraid, Belwaÿne-vodhr, this is the first time I have heard of you. I was not aware the city was left in your hands. May I know what happened to Protector Tarlliene-elda?" She used a tone that did not allow any space for excuses.
For a second, there was a dangerous spark in Belwaÿne's eyes, but in the end he only smiled politely and replied, "Unfortunately, she is no longer amongst us. She often indulged in experiments with plants. With one misstep, she had poisoned herself. Tarlliene did not leave anyone to look after the city. The locals decided to entrust me with the care of this beautiful city," Belwaÿne explained.
Loviatar took another sip and shook her head. "Why was I not informed?"
"We deemed it unnecessary to annoy you with such minute problems, when we were able to take care of them." He chose his words carefully, slowly spelling them out.
"Allow me to remind you, Belwaÿne-vodhr," she said coldly, "We are a kingdom, and all of its inhabitants, you included, respond only to their monarch and to those chosen by the same monarch. I want to look over everything in this city. We will see if you really are capable of your position. So far, I do not think you are. Why should I leave you in command when you do not inform me of your doings? For example, when did we start trading with dwarves?" She walked towards him, with her head held proudly high, her guards following her.
Muscles in Belwaÿne's face twitched, fighting back contempt. In the end, he masked it with confusion. "Pardon me? Trading with dwarves?"
"Belwaÿne." She dropped the proper address. "Do not make of me an idiot," she growled dangerously. "I can tell this is not elven nor human wine. I doubt dragons in their free time harvest grapes. Dwarves have refused to trade with us since my ancestor took one of their cities. So, why was I not informed of their change of heart?"
The elf bowed down his head. "Forgive me, my queen, I shall correct my wrongs with time." He paused for a while. "You must be tired after your journey. Please, allow my son Vanyali to take you to your chambers while I care for your guards." The tension in Belwaÿne was almost palpable. It seemed as if he was, all of sudden, rather rushed.
The youth who helped her off of her horse appeared next to Belwaÿne, a pleased, cocky smirk on his face again. As the crowded around them thinned out, he approached her and leaned in rather closely. "Might I beg you to follow me, my queen?" He winked at her and confidently took her hand, pulling her in the direction of the Red Lily.
And she followed.
"I am obligated to thank you for your help before," she slowly chewed out.
Vanyali just smirked again and looked at her. "It was a pleasure, my queen." After letting it sit for a few seconds, he continued, "We do not have much time together, but while we walk to your chambers, would you like to hear something about the Red Lily?"
The queen could only nod, taken aback by his directness.
He started talking, and she started listened. But not to the words or their meanings. Her sensitive ears heard that something was off. She politely waited for him to finish before asking.
"Here we are. I would love to follow you inside, but I am needed elsewhere." He opened the door to her chambers and motioned for her to go inside.
She walked in, but turned to face him. She eyed him suspiciously. "Where are you from?"
He was about to say his goodbyes and part, but the question threw him off balance. "W-what?" He stuttered nervously. "Sudriergarde, of course." He recovered quickly, but it was too late.
"Like father, like son? The apple does not fall too far from the tree. I am not dumb, nor blind nor deaf. Your accent is different. Your R's are sharper and more pronounced, throatier. You are from the southwest. Ceris? Near the dwarves, yes?" She was so taken with her discovery that she did not notice the blood dripping from her nose.
That was all the youth needed to reveal the truth. His jaw tensed as he gritted his teeth. "We are the only hope of elves and dwarves alike." He looked to the ground, a grimace marring his handsome face.
Suddenly, the ground swayed beneath Loviatar's feet, and her head started to spin. Her knees refused to respond and broke under her weight, sending her to the ground. She tried to hold herself up with her arms, but they slowly lost feeling, collapsing completely. "Wha-wha..is..hapnin'?" Her blood covered her pale skin and painted her golden hair pink. The mind inside her body was still fully alert and aware, but her physical form slowly stopped obeying it. "H'lp me."
Vanyali continued, ignoring the state of the queen. "For many years we waited for the opportunity to end your cursed bloodline. Look at yourself." For the first time, his eyes snapped to her bloodied face. "Such foul blood, breeding only monsters. And you are one of them. You are like a plague to this world, and it was a real honour to help concoct a plan to rid it of you. It was so much pleasure," he simpered, "To watch you drink the poison. I would love to see it kill you, but my father needs help with the corpses of your entourage."
He knelt next to her and gently caressed her cheek, Loviatar unable to pull away. "Sweet dreams. Mine certainly will be." Then, he got up and left. Only the mechanical lock of her chamber door was heard.
She was fully conscious, the poison sparing her mind, but trapping her inside a disposable body. As she slowly lost her sense of innervation, her thoughts were filled with bitterness, hate, and rage. Her intentions had been pure. She had aimed to be a good ruler, not wanting to follow the monstrous steps of her ancestors. But in that moment, she understood their decisions. They were not evil in the beginning, they were forged that way. The betrayal felt more and more profound with every second that passed. This could not be it. Her entire entity fought against the reality that she would die in a city filled with traitors, punished for the crimes of others, just because some feared her. Her magical inheritance had never even manifested, and all her loyal guards and the other cities she loved would succumb to her stupid mistake.
As her mind slowly started spinning towards madness, the black crown seemed to sparkle with joy, calling out towards its heir and its child, making it follow its light. And she obeyed, following the crown out of the maze of death which threatened to swallow her. Loviatar latched onto the light, and the poison was burnt out of her body. Its residue left only a terrible biting pain, constantly present inside her every bone.
When the youth returned later, expecting to find a corpse, the room was empty.
Loviatar managed to escape the city alone, abandoning her loyal guards. The pain inside her was eating her up alive. But, as a thirsty man searches for relief in a few drops of water, she stumbled up the same hill she had entered the city from. Unaware of what she was doing, she fell next to the stream of water.
With a pained moan, she reached forward with her hand, her eyes faded by a mist of insanity. She instinctually touched the water. To an outside eye, it looked no different, but inside, microscopically,the water was no longer intact. It had dissolved.
As if in a trance, Loviatar collected herself and disappeared for years.
The next day, Sudriergarde became lifeless. All traitors, and all loyal were found dead, blood from their nose smeared over their faces, empty eyes staring into distance. No one knew what had happened there that day. The city became no man's land, never claimed. Those who returned to there died within weeks.
Norvedrgarde was well protected, thanks to the cursed forest surrounding it – the Night Queen's doing. It was a surprise for all when they found the near-dead Loviatar at its gates a few years after her disappearance. In her absence, Qybern had responded for the Winter Kingdom, and he managed to nurse her back to health.
She earned the title Malign Queen in memoriam, as three waves of plague wreaked havoc on humans, especially in Palancar Valley, where many were forced to migrate south. An era of poisoners started amongst the dwarves when she was on the throne, and the elves were hit with a wave of famine, forcing them to eat meat for the first time in their history.
We can only question whether something, if made differently, would avert the terrible fate thrust upon her, and by that, thrown on the three races as well. We should always remember that our actions may have a deeper impact than we believe. Who knows what terrible fate we may be catalyst to.