Chapter 1. Evelyr

The most insulting thing for Sansara was that it took almost a month to get from Alsveg, where they suffered a complete failure, to Evelyr, where Tsarina Fides lived.

Both she and Fortian saw the bustle around the fortress from afar as soon as they left the settlement. The sea of torches overflowed with fiery rivers that rushed in all directions, cutting through the twilight. It was to be hoped that they were not looking for them.

But, as it immediately turned out, they were hunting for the princess. For whom else? Whether they managed to capture her or not, Sansara didn't know.

And you will have to get answers only after returning home if the mother wants to answer. She had a plan of her own, which Sansara was not privy to. But she entrusted everything to that nudarian woman. Did she want Sansara to be defeated? It was bothering her.

Maybe the princess of elvins was captured long ago and taken to the tsarina, and she is already languishing in the dungeons if she was not killed at all? What is all this for? Sansara didn't know what to do next, so it was worth going back.

Reading the signs that the Wheel throws up at you is not easy. Sometimes, only after doing something can you understand its signs. It makes sense, but sometimes the realization comes much later. But there's nothing here, just emptiness. She just couldn't get the gist of it. Or is Sansara completely deaf and blind?

Along the way, he and his brother took on a couple of small cases: knocking out debts, scaring a small gang, and dealing with one arrogant merchant. Little things are unworthy of Wheels, but they help to distract. Yes, and who knows, maybe these actions will change something in Meriel, and that defeat will guide them?

Fortian didn't care about such torments. He just followed Sansara. Thinking for the two of them is her destiny. And she was at a loss, having no idea what awaited them now.

So a whole month passed, and they arrived in Evelyr. It used to be the city of the elven kingdom, but now redrins have settled here. These ruins and his and Forti's house.

Once upon a time, in those times that only the earth itself remembers, only wild animals lived in Meriel. There were no verars, much fewer humms, with their kingdoms of insight.

They bred, got together in packs, hunted, and fought for their lives as best they could. Life seemed simple, wild, ruthless.

Time passed... The world was transformed. Its inhabitants also changed. Once the animals gained intelligence, not all of them wanted to part with the habits of ruthless predators.

The beasts that were called redrins remained just as treacherous and cruel. This tribe has always kindled the fire of discord and war in the Old World. Their battle roar has never subsided, the meaning of their existence has become an endless hunt, not for food, but just for fun.

For many centuries, blood flowed, soaking into the stale soil. But the end of the ancient era was nearing, and its omen was the appearance of Verars, who were later called elves, and then humms, or humans. These nations engaged in battle with redrins and won.

Having been defeated, redrins went to other lands lying far to the southwest. Then the beastmen tribe disappeared, hiding there for a while. The long-awaited calm has come.

But a thousand years ago, this race revealed itself again, becoming even stronger and fiercer. They came to take revenge on elves for their defeat and exile. The old wounds have healed, and their cruelty has only increased.

This time they conspired with humms and, together with them, completely exterminated elves. The battles were still raging, and the Wheel was spinning at breakneck speed. There is nothing like this now, and there will never be.

The tsarina said little about it. Only the Mentor mentioned that era. It was from him that Sansara heard all this. Something so terrible happened in those days, and it changed Meriel forever. And they both didn't want to talk about it, even though they knew a lot more.

Whatever happened, Evelyr belonged to redrins now. And Sansara and her brother served their cause. One simple reason for quitting all this madness: It's not that Fides raised them, and they are unquestionably loyal and grateful to her, but in her power, which is increasing every year, if not every day. No one can stop her troops. Sansara chose the right side.

The skeletons of buildings now only remind us of the past greatness of elves: columns, steps, the remains of towers, and even statues. All this had formed so largely and voluminous, it was hard to believe the grandeur of the cities of the past. The imagination was presented with such views that took your breath away. Sansara would have given a lot to see what Evelyr looked like in that distant era.

Now, this entire mound is surrounded by barren land. Evelyr described it as resembling an anthill. Its central part rose like a stone cap, pitted with underground passages. And all this was framed by the ruins of a former civilization. Among the sandy lands, the stones of ancient buildings peeked out from around the current habitations, which were built from small cobblestones, branches, and skins.

To the south, the deserts of Zun were spreading, and in the north of Evelyr, forests consisted of half-dead crooked trees. And only leagues later, the greenery began, already in the lands of the kingdom of Meriel.

There is a reason for that. The reason for this decline is not the inhabitants, who are destroying everything around them, but the red stone. It's all because of it.

Sansara feared it, others worshiped it. He was devouring life. She didn't ask about it, but that's how it was. She had no other explanation. Likewise, she just felt it. She didn't want to be near the stone. He had been scaring her since childhood. And now she is even more afraid of it. As for Forti, he always repeated everything after her. Since the brave Girl is afraid of something, then the Boy should be too.

But the tsarina spent almost all her time with it... or those whom she allowed touching to witness the lost miracle.

"Home, not sweet home..." said the girl, inhaling the dusty and dry air. Fortian frowned and said nothing. He just followed her in silence.

They were to meet Fides, their mother, and the tsarina. And both were tormented by what was coming, even more so than because of the failure to capture the princess. What could be more exciting than meeting your mother, whose hopes you did not live up to?

They could not guess whether she would be angry at them or if everything would turn out the way she intended. Then they will receive her praise.

Sansara and her brother walked through a dark corridor lit by torches and found themselves in a large cave, the arches of which resembled a dome. In the middle of the underground hall was a reddish stone, a giant curved fang.

An ominous glow emanated from the stone, creeping stealthily along the smooth dark walls. Its top rushed to a crack in the vault, through which a patch of the gray sky could be seen. There was something else in the very center of the stone. More precisely, someone. There is a dark spot: his body was inside.

Sansara tried not to think about such an end. Becoming a prisoner of the red stone is an unenviable fate! But this curiosity is the greatest value in all of Meriel. And this treasure belonged to Tsarina Fides. Or did it belong to this stone?

"It's always very dark and quiet here," Sansara thought, walking around the crystal and turning into another tunnel. "This silence and darkness remain eternal keepers of the terrible secrets of the past; they never leave this cave, which once sheltered them. They were before us and will remain here forever, even when I'm gone... When everyone disappears... Is this an eternity? Being a prisoner like him?" she asked herself, startled.

From these strange thoughts, goosebumps ran over her skin, as they had on the roof. Only it's not cold here...

"And now the Wheel is silent and does not rotate..." Sansara stopped and leaned against the wall. From excitement, she began to breathe more quickly, and her heart was pounding furiously. Fortian stood nearby, shifting from one foot to the other.

"Have you come?" a haughty female voice was heard echoing through the underground corridor. And the dark figure of the redrin with yellow eyes appeared next to Sansara.

Fides was slightly taller than the tall man. A mane of brown hair lay in waves on his shoulders. Among them were sharp and long ears, and fangs that showed between her thin lips. Her stern gaze burned with an unkind fire, and her tail swayed discontentedly from side to side.

She slowly approached her children.

"My tsarina," Sansara knelt in front of her." I couldn't bring the princess..."

Forti did the same (but in silence). After all, the demand was not from him, but from his sister. She's the one in charge.

"That's enough, my child," her voice sounded quiet and cold. There was no rage or anger in it, only a cold-blooded calmness.

"But I..."

"Stand up," Fides ordered.

"Give me one more chance, please, Mother," Sansara pleaded. "And I will do everything."

"I told you, that's it."

"Did it all make sense?"

But Fides didn't have time to answer. Another figure appeared next to her: there was a man from humms. There were traces of dried blood on his dark armor that he had not washed off. And a one-winged cloak crept behind him, raising dust. His face is gray, his long and lifeless hair fluttering in time with his confident tread. A lilac spark flashed in his eyes. He tasted ownership. Why else would he be here?

"Don't worry, girl. Now I'm going to take care of this elvin's scum," the man said haughtily.

"You..." hissed Sansara in response.

In front of her stood Duke Cordell, who served as the current king of Meriel. She had already met him more than once. She had never seen a more vile and greedy creature. If she had been told to kill him, she would have done it with great pleasure. But now the mother has made a deal with that person.

"My children have made sure that the princess is in an unenviable position," Tsarina Fides addressed him. "I expect gratitude from you for the gifts entrusted to you, Duke."

"I will deliver the princess to you, my tsarina. I'll bring you all elvins to the last one!" he said, bowing, and then walking away.

"Why didn't you give me this force?" Sansara asked, looking at the duke's back.

"Because I don't want such a fate for you," the tsarina's voice became warmer, but only for a moment. "For you, my daughter, I also have a task," she continued in her usual tone. "Go with your brother to Ytola and remind the king of his promise. I need his army now."

"Yes, I will not let you down, Mother—" Sansara squeezed her tsarina's clawed paw.

"I want to believe it," said Fides. "Keep my blessing with you," she said as she licked Sansara's forehead and walked away without looking back.

Fortian watched her go, puzzled.

"And now what?" he asked his sister quietly. "Maybe you should go to the Mentor?" Forti offered, shrugging his huge shoulders.

"And after that, the path awaits us again—" Sansara nodded.