The last time the elves had studied fake magic it was crude and its knowledge scarce. Magic users back then were rare and they guarded the few spells they knew jealously. In the days of the War of the Races, there was no such thing as a textbook, let alone an academy.
Modern fake magic was polished, clean-cut, and organized so that it was easy to learn.
The eyes of every Clan representative shone with greed, thinking about the army they could finally build. With a bit of study, fake magic would allow the most useless individuals to become precious meat shields who would keep the elites safe.
Suddenly the death toll that fighting monster tides and lost cities wasn’t so scary anymore since the frontlines would be filled with expendable members of their society.
On top of that, the elves dreamed about the day when such newfound military strength would be used to serve a noble cause. Like taking back the land lost to the humans at the end of the War.
“Lady Aalejah said that the Awakened Council is willing to provide us with the best spells they have up to tier three, but only after we swear allegiance to their cause and promise upon our ancestors not to turn their gift against them.” Le’Ahy replied.
It was the most sacred oath an elf could undertake. Breaking it meant to disgrace not only the oath breaker but also their entire Clan down to its founder. It was enough to shatter everyone’s dreams of conquest and rethink the whole deal.
“Before doing something like that, we need to study the book and bring it to our respective Clans.” M’Rael said. “Only then can we truly speak on behalf of our people instead of our personal interests.
“After all, the knowledge offered to us doesn’t make us invincible. Elven blood will still be spilled and we can’t ask those like master Embergleam to sacrifice themselves without hearing their opinion.
“Yet I’m certain that Lord Qisal will be glad to know that his proposal is one step closer to being accepted. Please, inform him that you have succeeded, Hunter Birdsong. If the book you offered us today is as good as you say, I can guarantee him that the Parliament will join the military effort to recover Jiera.
“Do you agree with me, my fellow representatives?” M’Rael turned toward them as they replied “Aye” one at a time.
No matter how honorable it was, servitude was still servitude whereas the Council was offering the elves both freedom and a powerful weapon that could still be used as a means of self-defense.
Fake magic would make even a limited number of elves a force to be reckoned with since they would all be bright blue-cored mages. Or rather, that was what they believed.
M’Rael Firestone aimed much higher. He wanted freedom, power, and an elven kingdom to call his own. He couldn’t believe how generous Mogar was to deliver everything to him on a silver platter.
‘Now everything makes sense.’ He thought. ‘Our defeat in the War of the Races, the long millennia of exile, and the isolation were all a preparation for this moment. Mogar never turned their back on us elves like they did with the Abomination.
‘They were simply waiting for the moment when Garlen was ripe for the taking. A rampaging famine, a stupid Yggdrasill, and one of Mogar’s most powerful artifacts are all at my fingertips at the same time.
‘Destiny is calling onto me and it found me ready to answer!’
Le’Ahy was more than happy to finally have an excuse to call Lord Qisal and see his hologram just like M’Rael reveled in a joy just as great. The locator spell the Tree had taught him exploited the call to find the “Dragon Lord’s” location.
The High Chancellor was now aware that Qisal Voidfeather didn’t exist. There was only Lith Tiamat Verhen, the Divine Beast that Mogar had chosen to deliver M’Rael everything he had ever dreamt of.
***
“Great job, Aalejah.” Lith said back in the cave. “Where did you get the idea of teaching the elves fake magic?”
“It was a spur of the moment thing.” She puffed her chest out with pride. “We were talking about how dire is for my people the loss of even one elite warrior when it struck me.
“Elves all reach the bright blue core but most of them lack the discipline and the talent to master their own mana flow. Once you reach a certain level, one mistake can be lethal so no one practices magic past a certain age.
“Fake magic, instead, does everything by itself as long as one says the magic words and makes the hand gestures right. Talentless elves still can’t master tier four and five because they are too complicated, but even a small platoon of fake mages can take down countless monsters from the sky and fly away at a moment’s notice.
“Also, the tier one book was just bait. I won’t give the Parliament anything of value until all of its members swear an oath of loyalty and brotherhood.”
“No offense, but treaties and oaths are just things made to be broken.” Faluel said. “What keeps them from going back on their word once they’ve gotten what they want?”
“You don’t understand our customs. Elves live long lives and have few children so their legacy is everything for them. The World Tree records our entire lives and divulges every one of the great achievements of our clans to the different colonies, both good and bad.
“Were the elves of Setraliie to lie upon the name of their ancestors, their shame wouldn’t be just their own, but of the whole elven kind. They would be shunned, ostracized, and their disgrace eternal.
“No elven community would ever accept them and the Tree would mark them as sons of man, the greatest insult you can make to our kind.” Aalejah had no idea that at that moment the Tree couldn’t do or say anything due to their own stupidity.
It was the reason the confidence in her words reassured everyone who returned to their own practice. According to Le’Ahy, the Parliament would need about two more days to put the book to the test before making their decision.
At that point, Aalejah’s group simply had to report to the Council the success of their mission. Sure, at first the Awakened were bound to be pissed off for being kept in the dark about the Fringe’s position but it wouldn’t last long.
They could use Setraliie’s elves as ambassadors to other colonies and organize a proper occupation force for Jiera. That along with Zelex’s monsters would be the final piece of the puzzle necessary to keep the fallen continent from disappearing from the maps.
Until that moment, however, everyone focused on performing their own research under Mogar’s guidance. Faluel and Ajatar experimented on their blood, Lith and Solus practiced Void Magic, while Quylla and Aalejah worked on their Light Mastery.
Friya was literally working on her hair, trying to unravel the secret of their power. She twisted and knotted them into snake-like shapes, used Invigoration on them, and used every single diagnostic spell she knew but aside from giving Morok inspiration for bad jokes, she achieved nothing.