Knock, Knock.
She had been in her room the entire day. Her father had come in to see Rachel just sitting down with a pale face on her soft sofa.
"Father" King Avred looked rather worn.
"As you have already guessed my connection to the Xustron Tree has been served." Looking away, "I must prove myself once more for the connection to be established.
The Xustron Tree is highly important to the Eleven Country, it is similar to a tree of life and provides astounding energy to keep the crops bountiful, it also has a giant shield the protects the country from outsiders. An immensely powerful tree that established their livelihoods.
It was an Eleven Princess that established this country and one that sacrificed her life to keep the tree itself alive in exchange for protecting her people. This sometime later when the tree's power weakened made the eleven royal families think that they must maintain the tree by giving their life.
As even more time passed, it became that when a royal princess is born, they must be sacrificed to the tree. In the case of those who survived, they extremely became week afterward and die of illnesses.
In Ariawyn's case, she too was brought before the tree. But the tree never took her life nor her power. This made the people think something was wrong with her and started to reject her. Become scared of her and developed rumors about her.
When time came and she was brought before the tree once again, she established a connection with the tree and became someone that could relay its wishes and thoughts.
This connection stayed strong under the condition that she never loses. Her father the King was known to him and a high-ranking elven noble. Many in which adore her and were hoping she would take on the crown. But the common nobles weren't and they favored Elpharae.
Keeping this connection established stopped the princess from being sacrificed to it, afterwards, the younger sister died due to uncaring servants and their mothers. To which they were properly punished. She now needs to prove herself to the tree and reestablish, because the tree itself had informed her that if she failed it the tree would stop protecting the country.
Rachel touched the stab wounded on her heart; she is still alive because of course, it takes more then that to kill an Elf. Her wounds heal very easily.
"How are you feeling?" he asked gently.
"Father…How situation looks bleak." Rachel said lightly, "The demon race is still active and the demon king may threaten war soon."
"….." He sat beside her quietly and she leaned on his shoulder.
"I know he started to not like me, but, I didn't think his dislike grew to the point where he could be manipulated this way." She said sadly, but, didn't say another word as she listens to her father's comforting words.
But, that's all they were words of comfort.
In the break of dawn, when she was alone, she had quietly left and disappeared into the forest surrounding. The call of the story, the feeling, and the pull that one can't deny.
The forest was modest, crowded, and primal. Its canopy was overshadowed by sequoia, maple, and oak, and cascading lights bouncing between the leaves allowed for dispersed saplings to control the branch and twig laden ground below.
Quiet branches clung to the occasional tree, and a hodgepodge of flowers, which grew in a sprinkled and disorderly fashion, brightened up the otherwise uniform landscape.
A variation of beastly noises, most belonged to prowling animals, resonated through the air, and almost completely muffled the sound of the wind blowing gently through the forest.
This is the place, where she is supposed to encounter the hero who will defeat the demon king.