36

The Witcher: The last King of the elves

Chapter 36 – The Elves of the World

Just as the wall of Thranduil’s territory was completed.

About 450 kilometers from the ruins of what is now the Elven Empire, there was a dark brown river flowing slowly, where a camp had been established.

This was a vast river that ran across the entire north, feeding villages and nourishing every tree that grew around it.

Its source was the Iskaran Mountains, located in the northernmost part of the Forgotten Swamp.

During every festival, the Elven Empire offered sacrifices and prayed to the Elven Goddess at the highest peak of the Iskaran Mountains. This peak was considered a sacred mountain by the Elven Empire.

This river, flowing from the Iskaran Mountains across the north, was also regarded as the Mother River by the elves.

It crossed the entire Forgotten Swamp and flowed directly into the sea in the south. The river that had once been golden now flowed with filthy water for the elves.

In those days, this river ran with gems, and in every stone, gold could be found, while snow-white unicorns and pegasi roamed its waters.

But now, the entire Golden River was polluted by the forces of evil, darkness, and humans.

Countless skeletons of living creatures floated across its broad surface. Deep in the dark forest, this river had become a paradise for the dead.

…

At that moment, a wooden boat was moving swiftly down the river.

From an unknown direction, its goal was to advance quickly toward the Iskaran Mountains.

More than a dozen hooded figures stood upon the deck of the wooden vessel.

They wore the same long black robes, with delicate faces and long flowing hair.
Amid their hair, the pointed ears of elves could also be seen.

This proved that they too were elves.

But unlike the elves under Thranduil’s command, these elves were extremely small. The tallest stood only 1.7 meters, and the shortest around 1.4 meters—like a smaller version of elves.

At that moment, they were rowing with long oars, using sheer strength to move forward, while a woman, seemingly a powerful mage, struck at the river creatures that tried to climb onto the wooden boat.

“Francesca, these undead are becoming more and more violent.”

“Do not fear. Return to the territory as quickly as possible.”

“Yes!”

The elf, known among her kin as Enid an Gleanna and by humans as Francesca Findabair, wore a garland upon her head and had an exquisitely beautiful face.

She was a powerful sorceress, and now she was secretly seeking the source of the rumors about the resurgence of the Elven Empire.

Her path had led her to a nomadic group of elves led by Filavandrel aén Fidháil, the fallen king of one of the branches of the Dol Blathanna Empire.

And while she investigated, she uncovered far more terrifying things—dark creatures that were massacring her people hidden in the dark forests.

The wooden boat finally crossed the undead-infested area safely.

Francesca waved her right hand, turning the wooden boat into nothing but logs. Ignoring the undead pursuers that approached, she quickly led her group toward the northeast.

After crossing dozens of kilometers of marshy no-man’s-land, the group finally reached their destination.

It was a lush forest filled with towering trees. On the outskirts of the forest grew a great number of dark red thorny vines.

As she approached, Francesca pulled many monster corpses out of a small space in a woolen bag.

As soon as they were placed on the ground, the thorny vines stretched out like tentacles, dragging all the corpses away at once.

The dense, spiny vines also opened an entrance.

“Go in, quickly.”

“At last, we’re back!”

Francesca only breathed a sigh of relief once she knew all the elves who traveled with her had survived.

The tense expressions on the other elves’ faces also eased considerably. Before them stretched a vast sea of flowers, extending as far as the eye could see.

There were flowers of every kind, some even several meters tall, with gigantic stamens in full bloom.

The entire forest was filled with the fragrance of exotic flowers, making one feel relaxed and joyful.

“Enid an Gleanna, she has returned!” Suddenly, a large number of elves emerged from the sea of flowers.

Some elves wore leather armor and carried weapons, but most wore dresses woven from flowers and vines, revealing large areas of snow-white skin.

The elves of this group, though emaciated from the journey, could not hide their striking beauty.

Still concerned by the unrest in the forest, Francesca asked: “Has nothing happened in the territory lately?”

An elf clad in leather armor replied, “No, all is normal in the territory. During the day, some monsters attempted to invade our lands, but the warriors defeated them.”

“That is good.”

“Where is Filavandrel?” Francesca asked, wishing to know the information he had gathered.

“He is in a meeting, awaiting you.”

When Francesca heard this, she walked toward a nearby tent and soon saw a group of elves in discussion.

As soon as she appeared, an elderly elf said: “Francesca, just a few days ago, we suddenly felt an extremely powerful force of life and nature erupting from the ruins of the Imperial Capital.”

“We believe this power comes from the Tree of Life!”