Isekai Elf King: Architect of a New Empire

 Leo climbed the riverbank and walked slowly into the forest, which, aside from a decent number of ruins, still felt so idyllic that he expected an animated rabbit to come hopping by at any moment.

 But Leo had learned there was danger even in this sunlit forest, and so he did his best to carefully sneak eastward from the riverbank where they'd stopped and rested.

 He had gone a mere five hundred feet when he heard soft gasps and sniffling—someone was crying.

 Leo crept up and peeked around a tree. He saw Lily sitting on a broken rock wall segment that was a mere few feet high, with a tree's roots half-collapsing it from below. She had her head in her hands, and her body was shaking. Occasionally, tears would fall into her lap.

 Crap. I don't know what to do here… She was clearly trying to display a stiff upper lip before, but I feel like I should console her… I mean, she just lost her fiancé, her mentor, and some other dude, who all died for her.

 In the end, Leo respected the decision that she had made—if she didn't want to be seen having a weak moment, he wouldn't acknowledge having seen her cry. He backed away quietly and then shouted, "Lily!" before walking heavily and slowly through the undergrowth, making a racket.

 Halfway to Lily, he winced, remembering he had been silent in the first place to avoid enemies in the forest.

 As he entered the tiny clearing near the broken wall, he saw Lily, still in ripped and bloody apparel, with red eyes, standing to receive him. Besides the red eyes, there was no sign at all that she had been crying.

 "Oh, sorry," Lily said, a cheeriness to her voice that rang false. "I fell asleep after taking care of nature's call. It's been a long and exhausting day."

 "No problem," Leo said. "Glad everything is okay and you got a bit of rest. Shall we head back now?"

 Lily nodded regally. "Of course. And again, my apologies for delaying us and possibly worrying you."

 Such a perfect princess when she wants to be. I wish she would let it all out, but I guess I can respect her for not burdening others with her problems.

 The two of them headed back to the river's edge, Leo leading. It was still only the late afternoon somehow, despite everything that had happened, and despite Leo himself being mentally and physically exhausted.

 As they arrived, Hugh climbed up the riverbank.

 "Where to now, buddy?" Leo asked.

Hugh pointed to a broken cobblestone path along the side of the river. "This road will lead to the palace, which is where my sire kept his lair."

"The Larae Gimel Azasi," Lily said, and Leo's mind translated the High Averian name automatically. The Crystal River Road.

"The elves called this 'the Crystal River'?" Leo asked, motioning to said body of water.

"No, but a poet named the road," Lily said, the faintest hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, the first indication of a sense of humor Leo had seen from her. "Poets named nearly everything in Calasti. It gives everything such a romantic air, which I like, but the reality can disappoint sometimes. The river is just called the Blue River."

"Why the Blue River?" Leo asked as Hugh started south along the road, heading toward the glistening, white spire in the distance that was the top of the Royal Palace of Calasti, the once-lair of Chao the dragon.

Lily's voice became a touch lighter and faster as she talked. "Because only the wyrms call it 'the Storm Vale.' The elves, and the other proper empires before them, called it 'the Blue Lands.' It's a reference to the magic in that region. It's shifted so that all the nodes are Water nodes, and moisture gathers there at an unusual rate, creating an interlocking series of small rivers that eventually flows into the lakes of the Havi Imperium… and this river comes from there. It makes for an absolutely fascinating ecology, with numerous unique magical beasts and plants. I'd love to discuss that with you at some point, I'm sure it would fascinate you. But, the upshot of what you asked is that's why we call it the Blue River."

That was a lot to process. Hope it doesn't come up on any tests soon. I really will need to learn the geography of the region soon, however.

"So where do you come from? Before now, I mean," Leo asked.

"Me?" Lily replied.

"Yes, sorry. I already know Hugh's story."

"I come from Lakusi, the Lakeside City, most recently," Lily said. "I was raised there, in the capital of the Havi Imperium, my home-in-exile. I loved my family and our few retainers, but it was still a very hard place to grow up. It's a nice city, but it's far too dirty and frantic for a noble elf with taste, such as myself. And the human nobles were all extremely difficult to get along with, quite frankly. They wouldn't have accepted us at all but for the generosity and wisdom of King Jason Haviden the 2nd, who is a sterling ruler. The nobles were uncouth and rude most of the time, and many refused to acknowledge my own noble status, claiming it was lost with the kingdom. Such bores. I suspect since most elves in the Havi Imperium are slaves, that also contributed to the stigma against me, unfortunately. As I said, it was a difficult upbringing."

"Slaves?" Leo asked. "Most of the elves are slaves?"

She nodded. "Yes, our brethren, the majority of the High Elves, are now slaves to either the Blood Tribes, the Havi imperium, or the various city states around the Inner Sea, rather than the subjects of Averia as they should be."

Ouch.

"And people are okay with just enslaving elves?"

"People are okay with enslaving anyone too weak to remain independent, or with too few friends," Hugh said, tilting his head at Leo—a gesture that reminded Leo of a confused dog. "That's the way of life—the strong make an easier life for themselves off the sweat of the weak."

"Others profited incredibly from the pain of our people," Lily said, her voice rising as she spoke. "The orcs and goblins of the Blood Tribes came through, and then the Dragonflight and Chao. They gutted our kingdom and sold the majority of us into slavery! Destroying an ancient and beautiful nation that had brought peace, prosperity, culture, and beauty to these lands for thousands of years! There were none as high as us!"

"Sure, whatever," Hugh said. "But your people held slaves too, elf. Including dragon slaves. So don't act all innocent. Everyone does it when they're on top. You're just mad that you aren't on top of us right now."

That's what she said, Leo's traitorous mind inserted.

"Foul dragon, you know nothing!" Lily said, her cheeks reddening. "We were the center of learning and culture on our entire continent of Beldin until you came along. The heart of wisdom and beauty!"

"Hey, the dragons didn't start the fall. The Blood Tribes were wrecking you—and had mostly done it—long before my sire and the other dragons got involved, exactly like you just said!"

"Perhaps you are right," Lily said, her voice tight. "I dub thee not 'Storm Dragons,' but rather 'Vulture Dragons.'"

"Look here, you little—"

Leo, who had—once again—been desperately searching for something to distract the other two, noticed a giant spider, about half the size of a man, in the trees a few hundred feet from the road. It had thick, black fur across its abdomen and most of its face. Two huge fangs, dripping poison, could be seen underneath it.

The spider was watching them from between two trees, the web behind it glittering with motes of light. All of the plants near it were far thicker, and seemed more vibrant, than those in the rest of the forest.

"Guys, danger!" Leo said, grabbing Lily's shoulder and pointing at the three-foot-wide spider.

She whipped her filigreed dagger from its sheath and held it out, eyes wide. Hugh also immediately turned in that direction, baring his teeth in a gesture that seemed more canine than reptilian.

Then Lily relaxed, pushing her dagger back into the sheath at her belt.

"What are you doing?" Leo asked, wishing he had a dagger or sword of his own.

"That's a Mystic Orb Spider," Lily said. "They're common—well, common for a magical creature—in the Averia forest, although they've spread to most nearby realms with powerful nodes. They're actually magivores—they bear little actual connection to most spiders. Their webs slowly gather some of the magical energy that's leaving a node and concentrate it into the plants around them, making them more and more magical as time goes on."

"They aren't a threat?" Leo asked.

"No, quite the opposite," Lily said, her voice lighter and slightly higher-pitched. "They're actually fairly pacifist, unless you attack them directly, in which case they brutally swarm whoever hurt them. And if you saw the one, I assure you there are quite a few others around."

"That's a relief, I guess," Leo said. "Although a three-foot-wide spider is giving me a complex whether it's actually dangerous or not."

Lily laughed, a musical sound, and play punched Leo's shoulder. "Ah, you don't like the cute, wittle spider? It's harmless, I assure you. They have low aggression and fairly high animal intelligence, so you can even pet them."

She walked toward the web slowly, ignoring Leo's hissed, "Lily!"

"Well, we might be rid of the elf quite soon," Hugh said, his voice dry. "A pity. I liked her."

Glaring at the dragon, Leo followed after Lily.

She went up to the spider. It moved with short, fast, jerking steps as she approached, retreating from her but not as fast as she moved forward. She crouched, holding her hand out, and walked even more slowly, crooning to it in a stylized High Averian song that was hard for Leo to parse out.

After a moment, it stopped retreating, and Lily reached out and pet the fur over its face.

Leo shuddered.

The spider didn't move or make any sounds as she pet it, but shockingly, its fur turned rainbow-colored where she stroked it. After a moment, Lily stepped back and stood. "See? No problem here."

"How do you know all that?" Leo asked.

"I studied at the Lakeside University. I took classes in Flora, Fauna, History, Magical Research, and specialized Wyld magic courses. Plus, my sister taught me a lot. And we do have some of the better books from our library left to us."

"Huh."