Unlike wolves, elves have a well-defined kingdom with a king and queen, crown princes, different types of nobles with specific roles, warriors, and commoners who were the main working force. Here, the commoners were an extremely valued force, as they were responsible for providing the fruits of their labor for the kingdom, unlike in the ancient kingdoms of planet Earth, where oppression and abuse of the commoners by their rulers was a real and shameful fact. The elf warriors were also highly valued as they protected the entire population.
The elven kingdom was enormous, with vast forests and meadows whose boundaries were almost impossible to pinpoint. It was rich in fertile land worked by the kingdom's farmers and had large rivers and lakes. Its climate was somewhat colder than that of the wolves and other creatures, but this was no impediment to a vast kingdom with prosperity for the entire population.
Small farming, ranching, and mining villages surrounded the capital city, which was surrounded by huge marble walls and at whose heart stood the royal palace.
Days ago, the tranquility of this kingdom was shaken by attacks from Antraxs. Many of its inhabitants had never seen these monsters, as they had not suffered attacks of this kind in thousands of years.
The place where these monsters lived was far away from the elves, which is why the attacks were so strange.
The captain of the royal guard went straight to the palace after thwarting the attack of one of these evil creatures. He made his way through the exquisite corridors and politely requested an audience with the king. The large white doors with gold detailing separated the monarch from the outside world. The captain pushed them open, bowed, and spoke in a voice tinged with concern.
"My king, we have an urgent matter to discuss. Our kingdom has been attacked multiple times by Antraxs in just one week, mainly hitting the southern wing of the kingdom."
King Montse stood with his three children, who listened attentively to the interaction between their father, the king, and the captain of the royal guard.
"What is the condition of the attacked wings?" This was the first question asked by the ruler, who was deeply concerned for the safety of his subjects.
"Three villages have been damaged, with houses destroyed and three elves dead. If it weren't for our men and women knowing how to fight, the damage would have been much worse. We have stationed soldiers in all the villages and around our capital, alert to any sign of attack, so they can sound the alarms and fight the Antraxs.
"Do you know the cause of these attacks?"
"We still don't know the causes or their motivation. We haven't seen Antraxs in over five thousand years, and the place where they live is extremely far from the kingdom. In general, these monsters prefer ambushes to direct attacks, and their attacks should mainly take place in the dark and near forests. However, they were attacking in broad daylight after traveling thousands of kilometers, which makes no sense. Our spies stationed on the continent have informed us that these monsters are also attacking wolf packs and other creatures.
"Father," said Damian, the crown prince, "days before the attacks, I had a series of nightmares in which our people were dragged into a cursed war. Wolves, wizards, dwarves, and other beings from the continent fought side by side against a great evil force.
Everyone present in the room saw it as a premonition. Although they were not yet at war, it was likely to begin very soon, and they would need allies to face the coming plague of darkness.
The room fell silent. Every man watched the face of the crown prince as their minds processed the information.
"Form a delegation," King Montse finally broke the silence. 'You will travel to the land of the wolves to the Blue Moon pack, as they are the strongest of the shape-shifters."
"Father,' Ezequiel, the second prince, spoke hastily before anyone else could, "I volunteer to go with the delegation."
While everyone was talking, Damian looked to his right, sensing a familiar presence. He whispered the name "Liki" to himself, but he couldn't see anything, and as quickly as he felt it, it disappeared, leaving a hint of sadness that he managed to hide. His chest tightened, and it took him a minute to recover and follow the thread of this important meeting.
"You will travel in a small entourage," interrupted the monarch, "made up of six men. Damián, Ezequiel, Asten, and three warriors.
Before setting off, they sent a message via a messenger pigeon to the Blue Moon herd and began their journey before receiving a reply from the herd. Whatever their response, they would go anyway.
The party of six elves set off on their horses. These glorious animals with straight profiles and melodic features and slender figures had fine limbs and correct posture. Their build was strong and resilient, excellent characteristics that complemented the strength of those beautiful elves.
It would take them several days to reach the Blue Moon herd if all went well and they encountered no serious setbacks during their journey. They loaded up on provisions and protected their bodies with battle gear. Their armor was glorious in gold and silver, made of a metal unknown to many, extremely resistant despite its fineness and light weight, but excellent for maneuvering their bodies and weapons with agility, definitely very reliable in protecting their bodies.
They all carried swords, but Damian also carried a bow and arrow, as he was the best archer in the kingdom.
And so they began their journey. The road was not without danger. As they advanced, they encountered Antraxs that attacked them mercilessly, still surprised by the size of these monsters and their unusual behavior of direct attack, rather than the ambushes these creatures usually employed.
In the kingdom, an army of more than one hundred thousand elves prepared silently to be ready for any attack. These were dangerous times, and they awaited orders from their majesty Montse.
Meanwhile, in the Blue Moon herd, preparations were underway to successfully accommodate the various Alphas from the continent's herds and the elves who had initially requested the meeting, which would be the first mega gathering.
Caspian, fully recovered from his injuries, gathered information from all fronts. He suspected it, but he was still surprised to learn that other creatures were also being besieged by Antraxs. Both dwarves and wizards requested to participate in this meeting to decide together the future of these events.
Little by little, delegations from all over the continent arrived, generally consisting of five to six individuals representing the highest authorities of each town.
The first to arrive was the delegation from the Howlers' pack. Their Alpha was a friend of Caspian's parents and had known him since he was a cub.
Both Alphas and their Betas were talking in the war room.
The middle-aged Alpha Tareg, gigantic like all Alphas, spoke in a tone tinged with concern:
"The attacks by the Antrax have wreaked havoc on my pack. They are responsible for the deaths of at least ten of my men, as well as two females and three cubs. We have barricaded our population and left our warriors surrounding the pack to thwart further attacks, as the deaths were due to us being caught off guard. We need to act decisively and attack all of these monsters," he said, the last sentence spoken in an obviously exasperated and resentful tone.
Xioma interrupted, "Alpha Tareg, we have witnessed the great attacking power of these monsters, but before making any hasty decisions and committing any acts of recklessness, we must wait for the rest of the delegations.
"My Beta is right, we will wait for the others," said Caspian.
Frustrated, Alpha Tareg and his Beta left the war room.
After the door closed, Xioma communicated through her mental link. "Cas, I told you everything that happened during the last attack. Our moon disintegrated that monster. Give the order to keep everyone present silent. It was an absolute ban on divulging what happened."
"It was a wise decision. We can't risk it. I don't want others to use her as a weapon, putting her life at risk. From what you told me, she's not even aware of her powers."
"But what will we do when they see her?" interrupted Beta. "Her physical differences are obvious, and everyone will ask questions. We can't lock her up because she's not our prisoner. Besides, locking her up would only create more obstacles and distance in their relationship."
The wolves debated what to do about this problem. The first delegation had already arrived, but several were still missing, and he didn't want to risk his Moon. She wasn't marked yet, and it would be difficult to demand proper treatment for a Moon, since he couldn't reveal that she was his wife if there wasn't a clear relationship between Luz and the Alpha. In conclusion, Xioma urged Caspian to do everything possible to close the distance between them, win her over, and make her his Moon in the shortest time possible.