The Sixth Princess, Althea, was a half-elf.
To the kingdom, she was their Saint, the Aurex blessed by the gods, the miracle born into human flesh.
She alone could command mana without parchment or sigil, without chalk or coal, without the rituals that bound even the most learned mana. No mediums, no rites, only breath and will. To the eyes of the people, her every step was divine proof, her very being was a blessing.
And truth was sharper than any knight's steel.
Her gift had nothing to do with the king's bloodline, no matter how loudly the priests sang otherwise. It was not Aurex's crown that granted her divinity, it was her mother.
An elf. The forbidden half of her heritage, hidden beneath gold-painted lies.
And in Aurex, elves were not celebrated. They were feared, hated. Branded as 'beasts' and 'curses,' whispered of as if they carried plague in their veins.