The caves of the dwarves here in Seial, were entirely different. I couldn’t even tell I was deep underground most of the time. The dwarves had used their earth magic to carve and magically support massive caves, where the ground was level and the dome above was enchanted to look like blue sky. Great glowing stones traversed the domes: magical, make-shift sun, providing brilliant light. Each cave was its own city, with buildings of solid stone. Other stone formations had been summoned, looking like bushes and trees, enchanted to move and sway in a non-existent breeze. Each little leaf was intricately depicted and delicate, despite being made of rock.
Svokol, my guide, had explained that despite their banishment to this place, the dwarves still longed for theforests which had been their home before their kind had been shunned and gone into self-imposed exile. As we’d made our way to my meeting with the dwarves, I’d asked him to remind me why the dwarves had left the elves.
“Elves,true elves,” Svokol emphasized the words with a heavy dose of sarcasm, “Are those who can wield creation magic. The most potent and powerful of all magics. Over time, some elves lost that ability, still strong with earth and body, but not able to create in the way our kin could. We were looked down on, became second class citizens. Yet we still had our elven pride and after a while we could take no more of it, and left, seeking to create a new world of wonder for ourselves.”
I nodded, drinking in this information. All of it would be useful in dealing with the dwarves. I’d need to know their grievance with the elves if I wanted to coax them into fighting for meagainstthose who’d once been their own kind.
We’d even managed to swing it so some high-level representatives from the undines would be here as well.
“There is something else you should know,” Svokol said as we approached a massive building. It reminded me of pictures of ancient Greek buildings before they’d been ruins, with thick white marble columns lining the front and a low-triangle-peaked stone roof.
“I’m all ears,” I said, trying to listen intently while gawking at the strangeness of this luminous underground world.
“The reason the dwarves conquered and pacified the trolls and ogres… then took control of Urval and brought the demons under their sway… it was all forfearof the elves.”
I cocked my head, one brow raised. This was interesting.
“Go on.”
“Long ago, we dwarves realized the arrogant supremacy of the surface elves might lead them to… try to conquer us, instead of letting us live our own lives, here in the depths.”
“So, you made your own army,” I finished.
Svokol nodded. “We never told them that, always suggesting our forces were at their disposal if needed, but in secret we feared them. Perhaps… because we understood them better than most.”
“So… the dwarves have always secretly been ready to fight the elves,” I concluded.
“Yes and no. We wished to be ready, in casetheydecided to fightus. Do you see the difference?”
I did.
“You would never actively go against them.”
He nodded.
“Because… you feared their armies, their strength, their creation magic, and so on?”
Another nod.
I sighed. I’d hoped Svokol had been giving me a way in, something to use to convince the dwarves to fight, but instead, it had been the opposite. The dwarves had been prepared to fight their cousins for thousands of years, but never had, dreading any conflict with the surface elves.
I had my work cut out for me.
We entered that massive, Greek-esque building after ascending three dozen marble stairs. The interior was cool and spacious. Columns lined either side of the long main hall, but they had some magic on them, so they could be seen through with only a slight distortion. Two side aisles were filled with steps, which acted like seats, all filled with dwarves who’d come to hear me speak.
I hoped they liked what I had to say.
Svokol and I — and my constant shadow, Koar — passed through more dwarves sitting in chairs in the central portion of the hall, eventually reaching a stage at the far end.
There, we had a quick private talk with a female dwarf named Kuatha, a friend of Svokol’s. She was sympathetic to our cause and had helped set up this meeting. She introduced me… then I stood to address the dwarves.
It felt like this had been all I’d been doing of late: standing up before large groups to convince them to fight. I’d rather be doing the fighting. That at least was straightforward. This talking wasn’t my forte.
Still, I’d been told to be blunt and frank with the dwarves, which helped.
“All your lives, you’ve feared the elves,” I began, a solid punch to dwarven pride. There were many unhappy grumbles throughout the crowd below. “You’ve prepared for the day you must fight them. That day is coming.” That quieted them down a bit.
I drew in a long breath. “Valnea is insane. If you can’t see that, then you’re blind. We have proof she conspired with the titans, allowing their assassins into the palace so she could eventually take control, which she has. She killed her own kind.” I let that sink in.
