Gate of Dimensions

[Act 1] Chapter 4: A New Dawn

"Keep praying, Sera. We are not going anywhere without guidance."

Priestess Cara gestured towards Sera, who was busy lying down on the grass, trying to get her to rejoin the group. Sera made an attempt to shove her off but it was a dismal failure as the Priestess continued to nudge her with her boot. Pray, as I've done for the past two months, Sera thought, continuing to glare at the sky and tussle her purple hair.

It was the last thing the dark elves could do now. Seeking guidance from the elven pantheons in an attempt to find a place to continue, despite it being a complete waste of time. It was only a few months ago since the group of dark elven maidens bared witness to their entire tribe being put to the torch by men bearing the dragon sigil of the Arthurian Empire. Humans were the perpetrators, people who believe themselves to be the master race overall life on the Continent, with only a few who gave the elves the respect they deserve.

Sera didn't share her people's childish beliefs. Ever since Mordred led his coup against his sister, he pushed for militaristic dominance on the entire Continent, not to oppress the elven people. The humans only started to persecute them again ever since the majority of the elves started consistently undermining the Arthurian's authority ever since the death of Emperor Lancelot and the one-hundred thousand soldiers he sent past the gate. Now, it is through anti-elven sentiment that he got his support of the nobles.

"Why is it we can't join Guinevere's guerilla forces and fight back against the usurper, like what the light elves are doing? It would be easier than to sit and pray for something that would never come." Sera asked.

Suddenly, the prayers stopped, and the night turned into complete silence once more. A few seconds later, Sera was approached by her group, an aura of annoyance looming over them. Sera simply stood up and faced her group with unaltered mien, standing by her word.

"Humans cannot be trusted!" Cara snapped.

"No one can anymore," Sera replied, casting a smirk at the rest of her group. "But from the looks of things, it is better to ally with the empress-in-waiting than the usurper. It is better than to just sit here while the Empire is busy destroying our tribes in the far east and eventually turn to the last remnants of the west and finally invading our light elven brethren in the far west."

"And you actually trust the empress to help us?" the Priestess said, crossing her arms. "It was the line of Arthur that brought this upon us in the first place. It was they who-"

"Yes, yes, yes, I know." Sera interrupted, hushing the entire group. "They brought down our capital, renaming it Camelot, and then forced the light elves to retreat to the west and us to retreat east. I already know the story, no need to turn this into a history lesson."

Despite not wanting to say it out loud to her brethren, Sera believed the Arthurians deserved their proud history. It is said the first Arthur, known only as King Arthur, marched an army that combines at least three types of humans and conquered the Elven Kingdom when they were getting too relaxed, becoming a new kingdom in less than a year when it took the elves hundreds. But what is history compared to blind hatred?

"If you know the lore that the greatest human empire was built on, then why do you keep supporting the line anyway?" Cara continued.

Sera sighed. "But it wasn't the empress who razed our tribes, it was the ones led by her younger brother, the usurper. Besides, it was over a thousand years since they destroyed our first civilization. In that time we started to rebuild, but we squandered all we had from within, dividing ourselves instead of uniting."

Cara stepped forward and slapped her. Sera was unfazed, only amused.

"Excuse me? How long are we going to last with any support from a stronger force? We all had the opportunity to join sides with at least one of the contenders, but we chose to remain neutral until Mordred decided he wanted the abundant natural resources on our lands, which he now holds."