Chapter 211: Prince Aesril: Diverted

Master Gazuf was a Wood Elf highly demanded by his spear and blade proficiency. He talked to the 39th Seedling about the rules and strategies to approach their target. He wore a thin armor where vines and leaves sprouted ideally: the armor was imbued by magic for movement purposes, and the leaves covered joints to avoid piercing and stabbing issues. His hair was brown and short for a Wood Elf. Eyebrows and hair pointed upwards. His total demeanor was having an air of command, and care.

"... questions, young elves?" Gazuf said after giving his talk.

One of the elves raised a hand. For Aesril, aside from Gelethorn and Gadsi, elves of his age were looking the same. Be it male or female: pointy ears, thin lips, thin eyes, thin eyebrows, and smooth and silky hair—it was rare for an elf to have curly hair. It was also rare for an elf to have short hair as their hair grew ten times faster than humans when cut—an abundance of mana perhaps.

"This is my sixth time joining a hunt, Master Gazuf." The female Wood Elf said. "But this will be my first time to hunt trolls. Is it true they eat elves?"

"Yes," Master Gazuf replied. "But don't worry, child." He paused, and eyes ran the party. "They are slow, unable to think properly, and they fought their kind when food is being served—that shows their lack of focus. So it's safe to say that we will be hunting dummies—oh, and they don't use magic. Before you ask, yes. Their bodies are abundant of mana, yet, their mind doesn't have the capacity to think of spells, let alone gesture. Any other else?"

The question ended as none raised their hands. The team was then dismissed and instructed to proceed to the stables where gryphons would carry them to the Castle Golag.

But before they could reach the stable, Master Gazuf stopped Prince Aesril and Gele with furrowed brows. "Where are your weapons, Prince?" He asked. "Elder Calanye told me to train you with weapons along with the Hunt."

"Yes, Master Gazuf," Prince Aesril said. Gelethorn stood behind him. "We decided that we will not use our Inheritance this time. I wonder if how other weapons would fare us during the Hunt."

"So you want to use a perfectly, fine, and normal, not imbued with magic weapons?" Master Gazuf said in surprise.

"If you may, Master Gazuf?"

Master Gazuf sighed and waved a hand to call for his attendant.

The attendant then brought a bow—for Gele, and a spear—for the prince. The two then looked at each other with a slight nod. Prince never held a spear: he was easily distracted by its length during a fight. And Gele was Wood Elf: trained with saber ever since he was born, but never with a bow. "My aim was bad," he said, slinging the bow behind his back.

"And my magic is weak," Master Gazuf said with a smile. "Yet, if left with no weapon. I could still kill hundreds of enemies with only a Tier 1 spell." He then pointed his finger on his temple and tapped it. "Mind over any other else."

Prince Aesril and Gele with the rest of the 39th Seedling then rode a gryphon of the highest caliber. Not because the prince was with them, but because elves never use lower grade tamed beasts as their companion.

The gryphon flapped its wings under the great Tree of Pin'Tu and flew the horizon. Its feathers were red and brown, and beak was golden like it's talon, and body smoothen of lion fur. The team rode the flying mount inside a chamber of thin leaves—gotten from Pin'Tu—that looked like a basket in a semi-circular shape.

The team flew the continent for an hour, yet Pin'Tu's shadow was cast under them like they never left the tree. Behind them, its size was bigger as always. With them flying, Pin'Tu's massive structure was visible: countless heart-shaped leaves, and branches encompassing the entire sky. Clouds loomed under its leaves while flying creatures the size of a city rest over one of its branches as if tired of circumventing the tree for decades.

It was dusk when they arrived at the outskirts of Castle Golag. Still hovering, below them, the land was barren, devoid of any lifeform. The ground was cracked, and trees bent—rotten. Some in darkened and deformed shapes.

Prince Aesril looked at Gele, he gestured to their west. A once, full of life castle, stood with walls crumbling, its towers reduced to smithereens, its moat filled with nothing but bones. This was Castle Golag according to the records of the elves. This castle was used by the Hunting elves as temporary shelter for preparations. And this castle was the place where Prince Aesril and Gele discovered the old ruins that would lead them to the place of humans.

Gele made a fist on both his sides. His eyes met Prince Aesril and the two nodded in unison, while Master Gazuf took the time to speak with the team as preparations.

The gryphon landed inside the castle's plaza, and the team descended along with Master Gazuf.

Before the gryphon could flap its wings and ascend, a boulder hit its head, incapacitating it. The boulder was massive yet it created a sharp whistling sound.

"Trolls!" One of the Dark elves cried, long fingers pointing at the main gate of the castle. Ears jerked as she sensed danger. But not for long.

They were surrounded, ambushed by the mindless trolls.

With Master Gazuf's command, the team formed a circle. Bow and spell wielder in the center, while swords and blades formed a barrier.

Trolls appeared from the crumbled rocks, wearing nothing, and holding nothing but their massive fist. Nails long and sharp, sharper than the tip of Prince Aesril's spear.

Four of them descended from one of the towers, and plummeted with dark-brown blood, as Prince Aesril conjured spell of both air and fire, cutting them to half, while his spear stood beside him, the tip stuck to the ground.

Dozens of trolls stampede behind the team. Their heads were tiny, shaped like a bucket, and their nose crooked wherever air would blow them. Their bodies were massive with moss lingering every inch of it. Surprisingly, their roar was like thunders. One of them stopped and lifted a part of the broken castle: a square-shaped rock, thrice bigger as its body. With a roar, the troll hurled it toward the defending elves.

Before the rock, that seemed to be once the castle's wall, hit the team, it melted as fire spell in a lava form showered the advancing trolls. From skin to flesh, to bones, the trolls melted.

The lava spell was powerful it crawled towards the team. Prince Aesril muttered words and conjured a water spell that washed the advancing lava. Skulls were visible as the lava hardened with the water overflowing it.

At the corner, from the highest tower—or what was left of it, a troll stood with grey fur and roared. He then threw rabbles after rabbles toward the team.

Gele let his mana flowed toward his legs, yellow light shone on his feet, and sprung toward the thrown rabbles.

Feeling energized, Prince Aesril muttered and gestured complex movements and conjured a spell. The sky turned rumbling and cracks of thunder formed, a roar of both thunder and fire hit the grey troll. Vanishing from its spot, with smoke, and ash mixed.

With bare hands, Gele punched boulders as they approached the team. The bow tried to fit-in behind his back.

The remaining trolls vanished from their views seeing that half of them died within seconds upon the attack.

The gryphon squeaked from its wound. Deep red blood ran down its neck, seeping through its feathers. A part of its beak cracked like a ground devoid of water.

Prince Aesril walked beside the gryphon, again, muttered and gestured words then white light exudes around his palm. The deep wound from the gryphon's head recovered in a blink of an eye. It then stood shaking the head and bowed toward the Prince. It spun around its spot before roaring and flew to leave the elves.

Wood and Dark elves were bemused by the event that occurred in front of them. The prince with the highest bloodline and Wood Elf as his attendant took care of the ambushing trolls even before they could take a breath and compose themselves. Intense was a meager word to describe the scene. They murmured, trying to transition themselves.

The ground smoked of flesh, sliced trolls scattered to their right, and the elves gathered to assess the situation.

"Attention, Smirs," Master Gazuf said, one hand on his waist, the other rubbing the hilt of the blade. For him, High Wood, or Dark elves were the same. On the battlefield, he was the one in charge. He ran his brown eyes before the group of elves and continued. "We will set camp here. Asashil will make sure the sentries are safe for tonight. Olothea, Shaelathel"—eyes looking at two Wood Elf: a female with a bow, and a male with a spear, respectively—"you two are on sentry duty. Tehisa, and Barothel comes next. Questions?"

Prince Aesril raised a hand and said, "We would like to volunteer, I and Gelethorn for sentry duty, Master Gazuf."

"As much as I loved to," he said, "but it won't be necessary. You've done—and Gelethorn as well—a good job fighting the trolls. Although, it's not what Elder Calanye wanted, but you're magic is indeed helpful in situations like this. Plus—

A roar from below cut off the Master elf, the ground then shook. The rest took their respective stances as their senses were wary from different directions. A high-pitched shriek followed the roar, then the ground tore like a piece of old paper.

With magic imbued over their legs, the 39th Seedlings team took respective actions. As the ground shook and tore, elves jumped to reach for the highest surface.

A massive worm-like beast with jaws rounding its mouth like a grinding machine burst open the castle's cobblestone ground. Body covered in a hard shell. Pieces of the stone flew in different directions. Half of the already-destroyed castle was swallowed by the massive worm-like beast.

Prince Aesril and Gelethorn could take down the beast with their combos of both magic, and Gele's strength. But with the prince's order, Gele did nothing. He stood at the edge of the crack, watching the beast tore and swallow half of the castle. Prince Aesril stood beside Gele, eyes gleaming silver of idea. He looked at Gele and back to the beast. He raised a hand, muttered spells, and with a gesture of his fingers he conjured spell: "Spicus Nimbatus." Ripples of energy danced around the prince.

A light in a form of a spike broke the air as it whistles towards the beast.

The spell hit the shell, but evaporated in a form of a ribbon and did nothing but enraged further the beast.

The beast wobbled as it spun around to witness the incoming death of the elf who tickled him. It roared and bore back to the ground. The ground shook once more and cracked going toward the duo.

"Prince!" Master Gazuf said, he conjured magic. Brown, and orange light coiled around his feet and sprung towards the Prince and Gelethorn.

His path was cut as the massive beast soar from the bottom.

Prince Aesril grunted with Gele readying himself.

The worm-like beast hammered its head and knocked the two. Falling to the hole the beast had dig.

Prince Aesril threw a whip of vines, trying to pull themselves from falling. But the edge of the ground where the vine clamped was shattered and the two descended. To the hole, to the bottom, to the old ruins, where Prince Aesril and Gele discovered a portal that will lead them to the lands of humans.