The Elf King Read Online Free PDF

practice it. Moderation was the key with
its usage. If a person were to indulge in it, there would be a
large price to pay.
    How hypocritical am I,
when of course Dark Elves are the very definition of that
price.
    Terill frowned. Men had
reason to be afraid of the power of magic, he thought. And the
Elves had just unleashed a power so great that no man could hope to
withstand.
    For nearly half an hour
Shadox remained motionless. His chest didn’t appear to rise, nor
fall. Terill grew concerned. Then abruptly Shadox was at his feet,
appearing as if nothing had happened. His face and eyes had
regained their life, and he was back to looking
invincible.
    Terill glanced at him
uneasily. “What did you find?”
    Shadox walked past him and
over to the table, pouring a glass of the red ale. After drinking a
full glass, he replied, “Not the answers I was looking
for.”
    The Elf Lord joined him at
the table and pressed the issue with caution. “What answers,
Shadox?”
    “ Two things: I scanned the
regions for Prince Pal Rae and found his body at the south end of
the Caltar Mountains, just beyond the Cillitran palace. He is dead.
I will take King Andelline there personally. Of Dren, I discovered
nothing. I searched for miles and could not find a trace of him. So
I increased my effort. I discovered something then: far in the
north swamp lands something terrible exists. A power so strong it
cannot be contained. I believe it to be the Mrenx Ku .”
    “ Then Dren is dead, too.
The magic has destroyed him.”
    “ Yes, and no. I fear as you
do. Our dear friend may very well be alive and dead at the same
time. I believe that what they created was far more powerful than
they could handle, and now it lives through them. Their physical
lives would be destroyed, but their souls...They could still be
lost inside of the core of its magic.”
    They paused for a moment,
each taking in what it meant. Terill noticed a sadness creeping
into the other’s eyes. “He was close to completing his training. He
had grown strong since you left; powerful. He was awaiting your
return to show you as much.”
    Shadox sighed deeply. His
tan face was lined with anger and confusion. “How...how could this
have happened?”
    “ Persuasion by the Dark
Elves can be overpowering to anyone. Dren was young; ambitious. He
wanted to know more before he was able. I feel he kept a lot of
anger still from his youth. The Dark Elves would have used that as
a tool to persuade him. Dren wouldn’t have even known he was in
danger.”
    Lord Estrial stared blankly
for a second, his eyes distant. “They began experimenting with
crystals and potions, trying to create stronger magic. And once
they found out how, there was no turning back.”
    Shadox firmly placed one
hand upon the other’s shoulder. “It is not you to blame, Terill. He
was my charge.”
    Terill didn’t necessarily
agree, but he understood the other’s guilt. Dren was a young boy,
an orphan when Shadox found him and took him under his wing,
teaching and training him. Dren took to it almost naturally. For
months at a time the two would exercise the craft, and when Shadox
departed for weeks at a time, Dren stayed behind with the Elves,
learning from those who understood the magic far better than anyone
else, until he was old enough to test his skill and knowledge on
his own.
    Shadox treated him as he
would a son, giving advice and sharing wisdom outside of magic and
talismans. The two held a strong bond that the elder did not ever
see breaking. The young boy reminded Shadox of himself at an early
age, noticing several traits and characteristics they held in
common. And now Dren’s magic was nearly as powerful as his own.
Stronger perhaps, he thought, if Dren had been subverted into
the Mrenx Ku .
    “ I’m sorry, Terill. I was
gone for too long.” Shadox embraced his friend.
    Terill hugged him tight,
then let go. “Find him. Save him, if you can.”
    Commotion filled the
hallway just beyond Estrial’s