3000 years were a mere blink of the eyes for the immortal Elves. Their realization of time was different from the other races that inhabited Obus and as a result the Elves took their time. In their infinite wisdom they had hurried along, however; having finished the Temple and the city that became their capital in less than 2500 years. The Elves had named their capital Lathessía and it had stuck. The capital's waterways and aqueducts seemingly small next to the titanic towers and palaces they had built. Yet, nothing rivaled the Temple in beauty or height; the Temple being built of the purest of materials and its center pillar ornamented and glowing with their goddess's divine magic. One could always see a quite large group of Elves praying and revering their goddess; situated on top of the pillar, her entire being perfectly recreated and continuously glowing with a divine beauty that left all those who saw it in awe. The Elves were proud; the goddess herself had come and shed tears as she witnessed the temple's reveal. She had blessed all those who attended and then vanished again; promising to return in the Elves their time of need; be it small or major.
Tauren was walking through her palace's hallways; her footsteps echoing as her feet brushed over the with silver infused, perfectly white floor plates. Deeply in thought as she strolled towards the solarium in which her most trusted and most loyal friends and servants were waiting for her. 'In such a short amount of time we managed to do so much; yet our main goal still remains in the shadows...' Sighing and with a small gesture of her hand the big, white doors opened and revealed the solarium; a huge. domed room with a roof of the clearest glass. A intricate design of silver and other materials were laid into the floor and its design had cast a beautiful and mesmerizing play of deep blue and bright white shades. Tauren's crown lit up as she entered the room; showing off her status and divine purpose.
"My dear advisers and friends, we stand here - once again - to debate about the past aggression between the people of Obus." She announced as she gracefully walked towards her seat. Her seat, in fact; was made by Anya, who was assisted by the Elves' their best crafts- men and women. It was made of the purest of silver and infused with the whitest and purest of gems. Quite a waste of gems, Tauren herself had said but Anya had told her that she deserved it. So, when Tauren sat down she smiled upon her advisers and friends and nodded at them in a noble- and respectful manner. Small floating balls of pure light floated about, illuminating the darker parts of the solarium; even thou the sun's rays still did the majority of the work. The result was a warm and pleasant temperature with the sun's warm light embracing their fair skin. "As you are all aware, the land has suffered under the past aggression between Orcs and Man." Most of the advisers nodded, whilst Anya only looked at Tauren; a small smile crowning her pretty face. "-Now, as a result we have had to reinforce our defensive wards..." Wards were, in fact, used by the Elves to physically ward-off any and all trespassers. For those who were unannounced and unwished, encountering a defensive ward was as if they walked against a 'invisible' wall. "-And our Farseers have been working around the clock to gain intel on the Orcs and their movements." It was then that Anya gracefully raised a hand and announced; "My Lady-..." She bowed her head in respect before continuing; "I speak for all the Mages - the Farseers amongst them -, when i announce that we have been unable to detect any immediate threats to Lathessía or any of our other cities." She smiled happily before lowering her hand again.
Tauren only smiled as she thanked her; "Thank you, that means a lot." She then looked around; waiting for any of her Elven advisers to speak up, only to be interupted by Anya; "B-But... We have been able to detect rather... erratic and foreign energies, that seem to be moving around on Obus." A blush seemed to crown her cheeks as she spoke and Tauren had noticed it. So when she asked about these 'erratic' and 'foreign' energies, she focussed on Anya, who replied; "Well... we have been unable to determine any exact locations, but we are trying our hardest." The blush disappeared from Anya's face; determination taking its place as Tauren nodded at her, which was a clear sign of appreciation.
"Well then, if there is nothing else that needs my immediate attention, i'd like to retreat to my personal quarters." Tauren said and stood up; glancing up through the solarium's glass roof before turning around and walk back towards the big, white door. "Anya, please come with..." She said and made the same hand gesture that had opened the door; and this time, it once again opened and let both her, the queen, and the queen's most trusted friend through. It closed afterwards; leaving the queen's advisers behind in silence.
"My queen, these new energies are rather... troubling..." Anya immediately said as they walked through the hallway. The floor they were on was the same one as the solarium was situated on. The queen's palace was only surpassed by the Temple in height and as of such both Tauren and Anya could look down at the courtyards; Elven warriors training and participating in combat simulations.
"I know that, Anya." Tauren replied as they walked down a gracefully-crafted flight of stairs. "Is there a way to increase, or so to say, boost the Farseers' their abbility to see the unseen..?" She asked as they began to walk down yet another flight of stairs.
"I believe so, my lady. Finding out how will be of the utmost priority for me." Anya answered and smiled at her queen; happy that she had received yet another challenging task.
"Good, i believe in you." Tauren said; tilting her head back towards Anya; standing still on the stairs for just a moment. She felt proud; her blood rushing through her veins and her eyes wide and appreciative. Suddenly, the sound of commands being yelled and the stomping of feed echoed over the capital's many courtyards; its impressive sound ever amplifying due to the capital's many towers and well-shaped structures.
"What is that..?" Tauren wondered; forgetting that Anya was close and suddenly being remembered by that as her most trusted friend spoke; "Well, i believe it today is the day on which we planned to test our capital's defensive capabilities, my lady."
Tauren chuckled sweetly; her eyes twinkling with pride as she looked at Anya once more; "Good. Lets try to find a spot to witness it from, hmm?" Her voice was filled with anticipation and joy; loving the excitement of such a big event. All Anya did was chuckle and nod; leading her queen down towards the floors on which, in case of a attack or siege, the city's defenses would be coordinated. As they strolled through the hallways they slowly began to notice strange pipes and other magically vibrating machinery that seemed to originate from the room towards which the two were walking. Anya didn't even mind; only amused by her queens interest in it. "You know, my lady; these works allow us to control the city's means to defend us, and as of such, itself." She looked proud; having been a big part of constructing all that.
"Well, i am excited to see how it works." Tauren noted just as they reached a thick, grey door next to which two strange cylindrical doors were fitted into the wall. "What are those for..?" Tauren asked; feeling rather... dumb and surprisingly unknowing when it came to the current state of their technology.
"Allow me to demonstrate, my lady." Anya said and used her divine magic to activate the keystone, which was mounted in the exact middle, just above the thick. grey door. "Now, don't fret for what you are about to see will be our guardians in case of a attack." Suddenly, with hissing sound of air being released, the two cylindrical doors opened and revealed that which had been hidden inside.
"Constructs..." Tauren said in awe; smiling at Anya; "I take it this was your idea..?" Pride dominated her voice as she witnessed how the two constructs floated in the air. Both of the constructs were in fact a sphere of pure, divine magic that acted as its core from which it operated. The 'core', so to say, was protected by a intricate pattern of an alloy the Elves had developed. Said alloy was comprised of pure silver and the same material from which the Elves had crafted their armor. The core's pure, white light emanated through the holes in the intricate pattern and at its front was a eye-shaped hole through which a more intense light shone. Tauren pointed at it and asked Anya; "What is the meaning of the eye?" Her voice was filled with curiosity and Tauren noticed that Anya seemed to be enjoying her queens interest.
"Through that eye the construct can shoot a concentrated burst of divine magic." Anya said and snickered as she continued; "Its very, very lethal and kills instantly."
Tauren's eyes widened and without thinking she took a step back, to Anya's surprise.
"My lady, you need not fear them. Only those with whom we are at war or any purely evil being will cause the Eyes to engage." She smiled and stepped forward towards one of the spheres and patted its pattern, smiling happily; "They won't harm you, in any case. They simply can't." She then made a gesture with her hand and both of the Eyes returned to their sockest, in which they deactivated but remained ever vigilant. Anya then pointed at the keystone and said; "That stone there is activated if anything evil creeps near. We'll be quite save." She then grabbed her queen's hand and said joyously; "But let's hurry; the event will be coordinated from the room behind this door and i'd love to show you some more of the things we came up with." Her eyes twinkled with childish curiosity.
Tauren simply chuckled when she felt how Anya grabbed her hand and pulled her with; not at all minding how personal her best friend got. When she noticed the twinkle in Anya's eyes she laughed out loud, saying; "I simply love how much you love these kind of things. It is truly refreshing, Anya." They then stepped through the door; only to reveal a big room with several cylindrical doors that, as Tauren suspected, each held one of these 'Eyes' she just encountered. "Impressive..." She muttered before she was pulled towards the balcony, from which she could see a the main street that leads to the temple. "Its beautiful from up here..." Tauren noted and chuckled happily; "I wish i had found out about this little project of yours earlier..." The balcony on which they stood extruded from the palace and was supported by several thick. arched pillars. Elves were running around, entering strange, glass-domed towers, momentarily disappearing from the queen's sight, only to appear inside the dome. Tauren focussed her gaze on one of the towers and smiled when she noticed how the Elf was laying on his stomach; his hands surrounded by a aura of blue, divine magic that seemed to pour into a barrel that extruded from the glass dome.
"Impressive... very impressive..." Tauren simply muttered, only to receive a playful nudge from Anya who said; "Wait untill we commence the test..." She chuckled mischievously. "It'll be up to you to initiate, my lady." Anya notified her queen. She chuckled and placed a hand on Tauren's shoulder as she continued; "Just say the word, and we'll do the rest." She removed her hand after she was done talking and looked at her queen as she took a last step forward; now standing next to Tauren; her rightful place as her most trusted friend. Together they looked out upon the mesmerizing Elven capital city of Lathessía.
After a couple of seconds Tauren still gazed over the city as she said; "Initiate the test..."