The Witch's Plague: Book 1 of the Obsidian Realms Series

The kingdom of Ilansin was nestled between lush forests and was the kingdom of the high elves. The forests were protected by the king who ruled Ilansin, Mailion, which in turn would turn bad for anyone who dared to hunt or forage in the sacred forests. This was the first mistake for the dwarves of Toek; they traveled too far North and landed in the wrong place at the wrong time. The king's soldiers stood before the great king, bowing. "My lord, dwarves have been spotted in the forests. What shall we do?" they asked.

Being the king that he was, he ordered his soldiers to capture the dwarves, and have them brought before him so he could punish them justly. Standing before the king, the dwarves cursed and spit at him, every word on their tongue spitting venom. The king ordered them to the dungeons, and sent a letter to the dwarven king, Udmed Longshield, warning him of the capture of his men. Udmed agreed to meet with the king, but he had a plot up his sleeve; silently declaring war on the elves for the capture of the dwarves.

The next day, Udmed started the trek, front and center, from Toek to the northern kingdom, where Mailion and his elven army were waiting for him. Mailion sat atop his horse, while Udmed sat upon his donkey. "Udmed Longshield, king of the dwarves, your people came too close to our forests, for which you know the penalty," he said, his army getting ready to bear arms behind him. "I shall return them to you if you make a vow to never return to our forests again."

Udmed, being a proud and boastful dwarf, did not waiver. "We needed wood for our forges, lest they go out and aren't able to make weapons for other kingdoms," he said, unsheathing his sword. "Me men didn' commit a crime. Unless getting a little lost is one."

Mailion and Udmed stood their ground, getting off their mounts to walk towards each other. "I assure you, dear Udmed, your men have desecrated the sacred forests and shall feel my wrath lest you turn around and flee with your men."

"'S that a threat, elf?" Udmed asked, shoving his sword in the elf's face.

Mailion, trying to be a civilized dignitary, shoved the dwarf's sword aside. "Tis not a threat, but I am a man of my word. I must set an example for my people. You being a ruler should understand that."

Udmed had heard enough, and held up his sword, leading a charge into battle, his army of dwarves yelling out a battle cry. Mailion, being prepared for this possibility, lifted his own sword, leading his own men into battle. The battle raged. Dwarf against elf. Elf against dwarf. The sounds of swords clanking, hooves clopping echoed in the soldiers' ears. Bloody bodies lay at the feet of their slayers. Meanwhile, Udmed and Mailion waged their battle separately. The dwarf king was meeting the elf king blow for blow. Udmed was blocking and dodging until... he slipped. He missed a parry, and wound up meeting Mailion's sword head-on.

The deathcry of Udmed paused the battle, the dwarves looking on as their ruler fell to his knees, and Mailion finished him with one final blow. As if in slow motion, the dwarves cried out, while the ones closest to the king caught him and held him until his dying breath. With their king dead, they had no choice but to retreat. Mailion captured most of them and held them on trial. The ones that escaped told their children, and their children's children, all about the great battle in which the greatest dwarven king was slain by a ruthless elven brute.

A young elven girl followed the sounds of crying, coming across a young human boy who had his knees tucked into his chest. Quietly, she walked up behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He jumped, looking around until his eyes fell upon her. He was fascinated by her from her golden eyes to her blond, almost silver, long-flowing hair. She smiled, immediately setting the boy at ease. "Why are you crying? Are you lost?" she asked. The boy shrugged, shivering against the breeze.

"I don't know," he said, sniffling.

"Well, until you figure it out--" she said, sitting down beside the young boy.

There they sat, staring into the slowly darkening forest, silence between the two until the young boy was ready to speak. "I'm scared," he said, looking down.

"Well, you are lost," said the girl.

"Not really about that. I fear becoming king," he said. "That is why I have run away. My father wanted me to start taking lessons on ruling."

The young elf sighed and looked at him. An expression of compassion showed in her golden eyes. "Heavy is the head that wears the crown. I know how it must feel, that feeling of unknowing. The dreadful thought of 'what if...' But there is just one thing you should remember," she said, smiling.

"What's that?" the young prince asked, looking at her.

"A king is only as strong as the nation he rules," she said. "And the nation is only as strong as the man that leads them. There is more wisdom in you than you think."

Two voices interrupted, calling out for someone. "Gregory! Gregory! Where are you?" they called, causing the prince to look up.

"That's my mother and father," he said, standing up.

The young elf stood up with him, and nodded. "You're going to be a great king someday," she said, holding out her hand for him to shake, but the young prince pulled her into a hug instead. The young elf, who was confused by the gesture just patted him on the head and pushed him away, placing her hands on his shoulders. "It's time for you to go back to your parents."

Gregory nodded and allowed his new elven friend to walk with him as far as the entrance to the front gate, where his mother and father fussed over him. His mother held him to her chest. "Oh, Gregory, don't ever scare us like that again!" his mother exclaimed, lifting him into her arms and carrying him back to the palace. Gregory watched over his mother's shoulder as the elf girl became nothing more than a silhouette. She soon disappeared into the ever-darkening forest, a silent good-bye left on her and his lips.

The elf and the boy met up every year like old friends. They'd talk about the boy's lessons with his father, his new attraction to a visiting princess, his wedding plans, his wedding day, his father, the king's.... death. His father's death left a hole in his heart, and left the elf all alone. She'd wait for him... and wait for him some more... until she could wait no longer, and stopped showing up herself, knowing her friend wasn't going to show up. She hadn't heard from him in 10 years, until tragedy struck.