The memory faded again. The arena dissolved until only darkness remained.
Soft light filtering through thin curtains. We were in Elyonari's bedroom. Months had passed and that much was obvious the moment I looked at her.
She sat at the edge of the bed. Her posture was slouched forward as though her bones carried a weight far heavier than her small frame should have been able to bear. The room was too quiet and the only sound was the faint rustle of cloth as she slowly rewrapped one of the bandages around her body.
Her injuries hadn't healed. The bandages that covered her arms, ribs, and shoulder were new but beneath them the wounds were still there. I could see it in the way she moved, the stiffness in her posture and the occasional tightening of her jaw whenever she shifted even slightly.
"That's… strange. Ely's healing should be faster than this, even for a Divine Being."
Beside me, Veneri remained silent, watching.
As a Divine Being—especially a High Elf—her body should have recovered far faster than this. Even an ordinary Immortal would have healed those injuries months ago. But Elyonari didn't have something most Divine beings relied on for recovery.
Base Tethers.
Her body had awakened Essentia but it had given her nothing to support it so the wounds lingered, healing slowly.
Elyonari finished tying the bandage and exhaled slowly. A knock echoed softly against the wooden door. She glanced toward it without much interest.
"Come in."
The door creaked open. A Priestess stepped inside. She was older—perhaps in her twenties—and her expression didn't have any emotion as she looked down at the young girl sitting on the bed.
"Lady Elyonari. You are to come with me."
"For what?"
"The High Priestess is calling you."
Elyonari stared at her for a moment.
"Alright."
She pushed herself off the bed slowly, wincing slightly as her injured ribs protested the movement, and followed the Priestess out of the room.
The temple halls were quiet.
Stone corridors stretched endlessly in all directions, their floors polished smooth by centuries of footsteps and ritual processions. Torches flickered faintly along the walls, casting warm golden light across carvings of vines and roots that symbolized the World Tree. The deeper they walked into the temple, the heavier the air felt until finally, they reached the great doors which were the entrance to the altar chamber.
The Priestess stopped there. She opened the doors. The moment the chamber was revealed, Elyonari froze.
I felt my own breath catch. Even Veneri gasped beside me The sight before us was… shocking.
The altar chamber was enormous. Its ceiling stretched into an immense dome carved with ancient depictions of the World Tree's roots spreading across the cosmos. At the center of the chamber stood the sacred altar itself. It was a vast circular platform of white stone where countless rituals had been performed for millennia.
But today, it was soaked in blood.
Dozens of Priests and Priestesses were kneeling across the altar floor. Their robes were torn. Their backs were bare and behind them, guards stood with long whips.
One of the Priests screamed as the whip tore across his back, splitting flesh open and sending blood spraying across the white stone floor. Another Priestess cried out in agony as the lash struck her shoulders.
The smell of blood filled the air. The floor was already stained crimson. At the far end of the altar stood two figures.
I recognized one of them immediately. It was Aria.
She stood rigidly near the center. Her hands were clasped tightly in front of her robes. Her face was far paler than I had ever seen it and her eyes were wide with unease as she watched the punishment unfolding.
But the person standing beside her made Elyonari gasp.
"Veylonar?"
The boy turned. The moment he saw her, his face lit up.
"Ely!"
He rushed across the altar toward her without hesitation. Elyonari barely had time to react before he reached her, grabbing her shoulders and looking her over frantically. His expression changed immediately.
"You're thinner."
Elyonari scoffed weakly.
"It's fine."
Before she could say anything else, Veylonar pulled her into a tight embrace. He hugged her like someone afraid she might disappear if he let go.
"How long? How long have you been suffering here?"
Elyonari hesitated.
"It's okay—"
"It's not okay!"
His voice echoed through the chamber. Even the whipping paused for a moment. Veylonar's eyes burned with anger.
"You're the Princess of Mintheris! You're not supposed to be treated like a commoner!"
Elyonari gave a tired smile.
"I'm not a Princess anymore. Remember? Mother abandoned me."
Veylonar exhaled slowly and grabbed her hand.
"Come with me."
He pulled her toward the center of the altar.
"Vey, what are you doing?"
He didn't stop walking.
"I came to visit you. It's been eleven months since we were separated. Mother's been strict with me but today I was given a day off."
They reached the center of the altar. The flogging continued behind them. Screams echoed through the chamber. Veylonar turned slightly, glancing back at the kneeling Priests and Priestesses.
"I overheard a conversation earlier. They were talking about you. They were laughing, describing how miserable you are and how they've been treating you. Honestly, they must have forgotten something."
He tapped the side of his head.
"Elves have hearing ten times sharper than Therianthropes. So I asked the High Priestess what was going on."
He gestured toward Aria. Aria looked down as her hands trembled slightly.
"She explained everything. Apparently, she's a useless High Priestess."
Aria flinched.
"She allowed a Princess to suffer inside the safety of her temple while she hid behind rituals. She didn't act because she was afraid."
He turned back toward the kneeling figures.
"So I decided to act instead."
Elyonari slowly looked around the chamber.
"How many…"
"All of them. Every single one of these eighty-nine Elves. They're the ones who ridiculed you."
Another lash struck. A Priest screamed.
"They're being flogged as punishment."
Elyonari stared at him.
"That's enough."
Veylonar shook his head.
"No. They're still going to die."
The chamber fell silent.
"No one harms or threatens the Princess of Mintheris and gets away with it. They will be flogged until they're close to death. Then they'll be burned at the stake in the temple courtyard for everyone to see."
"Is it okay to do this in front of the World Tree?"
Veylonar scoffed.
"The World Tree blessed us. She won't punish me for this. Sometimes weeds have to be removed from the farm. Otherwise, the crops never grow."
°°°°°
The memory shifted again and the altar chamber dissolved into a vast open courtyard beneath the living canopy of the temple grounds.
The courtyard surrounding the temple was normally a place of peace, where pilgrims came from distant Villages and Cities to kneel in prayer beneath the shade of the World Tree's immense power.
The courtyard was full.
Visitors had gathered in clusters across the wide stone plaza with some carrying offerings and others standing near the fountains that flowed with clear spring water descending from the temple terraces. Priests and Priestesses moved through the crowds performing minor blessings while merchants quietly sold incense and prayer ribbons.
It was peaceful until the gates opened.
The sound of iron dragging across stone echoed through the courtyard and every head slowly turned toward the temple entrance as the massive wooden doors creaked open. What emerged from them shattered the peace instantly.
Eighty-nine Elves were dragged into the courtyard. They were barely recognizable as Priests and Priestesses anymore.
Their ceremonial robes had been torn apart by the flogging while their backs were nothing more than ribbons of torn flesh and dried blood. Many of them could barely stand as temple guards forced them forward.
"What?"
"Why are they—"
"Those are temple servants…"
The visitors stared in confusion and horror as the prisoners were forced into a long kneeling line across the center of the courtyard. Behind them stood the guards. In front of them was Veylonar.
The boy looked utterly calm.
His robes were untouched by the blood and chaos surrounding him and his eyes carried none of the hesitation one might expect from a child overseeing such brutality. Beside him stood Aria. Her hands trembled faintly at her sides as she stared at the scene unfolding before her. A short distance away stood Elyonari.
The courtyard had gone completely quiet now. They were all staring at the line of condemned Elves kneeling across the plaza.
Veylonar raised his hand after a while. Green fire ignited in his palm. Even from a distance the heat radiating from them was intense enough to distort the air.
Veylonar walked forward slowly and stopped in front of the first prisoner.
The Elf was a Priest. His face was pale with terror with tears streaking down his bloodstained cheeks as he stared up at the boy standing before him.
"P-Please—"
The green flames flared brighter in Veylonar's hand.
"Please don't—"
Green fire flew across the Priest's body instantly, devouring him from head to toe in a violent blaze that illuminated the entire courtyard with its unnatural glow. His body convulsed violently as the flames burned through flesh and bone while the horrified crowd watched in stunned silence.
The smell of burning flesh filled the air but Veylonar did not look away. He simply watched.
The Priest collapsed within seconds. His body was reduced to a blackened shape that crumbled slowly onto the stone floor as the flames faded. Veylonar stepped forward to the next one.
Her entire body shook with terror as she looked up at him. She pressed her forehead against the ground.
"I beg you, your Majesty! We'll never harm the Princess again!"
Others began shouting desperately.
"Yes! Please!"
"Mercy!"
"We won't touch her!"
"We swear it!"
Some sobbed. Some screamed. Some tried to crawl away despite the chains binding them. Veylonar ignored every word.
The courtyard erupted into chaos. Visitors screamed. Some tried to turn away but couldn't because the royal guards blocked ever entrance and exit. Others stared in frozen horror as the executions continued one by one.
Each Elf burned. Each scream echoed across the temple grounds and each time Veylonar moved forward without hesitation. The flames devoured their victims, reducing bodies to ash within seconds before fading away and leaving nothing behind but charred corpses.
Aria stood trembling the entire time. Her breathing grew faster with every scream. Her hands shook so badly now that she had clasped them tightly together to hide it.
Elyonari said nothing.
Finally, the last Elf burned. When the fire faded, the courtyard fell into absolute silence. Eighty-nine blackened stains marked the stone floor.
Veylonar turned on Aria. He walked toward her slowly. When he stopped in front of her, the silence had become suffocating.
"Explain."
"W-What?"
"Explain to them. Explain why the temple allowed eighty-nine Elves to harm the Princess of Mintheris."
The crowd shifted uneasily. All eyes turned toward Aria. The High Priestess said nothing. Flames ignited again but this time, the emerald fire circled her feet, rising slowly into a ring that began tightening around her body. Her breathing became frantic.
"Your Majesty—"
"Answer me! Why did they think they could torture my sister inside YOUR temple?!"
Aria's voice died in her throat. She couldn't speak. Elyonari stepped forward suddenly.
"Veylonar—"
Green fire exploded outward again. A ring of flames surrounded her too, stopping her instantly. Veylonar didn't even look at her.
"Stay there, sister."
His voice left no room for argument. Then he turned back to Aria. His gaze was colder now.
"You're the High Priestess. Do you think that means you can do whatever you want? I could kill you right here in front of everyone and tonight another High Priestess would be born. Your life is insignificant in the eyes of the Divine. The World Tree will not punish me because what I'm doing is right."
He stepped closer to her, passive through the flames.
"The High Priestess exists to serve the Mintheris Dynasty. The temple thrives because of the Dynasty. The First High Priestess was blessed by my mother and the World Tree millennia ago. Your position exists because of us."
Aria's breathing was ragged now.
"If you ever neglect your responsibility again, I will have you tortured in front of the entire Kingdom of Mintheris and I will broadcast it so every citizen can watch."
Silence filled the courtyard. The flames vanished. Veylonar turned away, walked toward Elyonari and took her hand gently. His voice was calm again.
"One more thing, High Priestess. Don't perform the ritual of passage for them. They're better off not reincarnating. The World Tree doesn't accept those who harm the royal family so the ritual would be useless anyway."
And with that, he walked away from the courtyard still holding his sister's hand.