by Kevin Nicholson.
 

We see the princess running away into the woods with her father yelling at her from the edge of the glade. She pays no notice and disappears into the woods. The King walks back towards the gate.  He is joined by two advisors. The king is obviously enraged.

King - " That girl will humiliate the entire tribe. "

Council Joru - " Maybe this tribe is due for some humility? "

The king looks at him disapprovingly. He looks up at the sun.

King - " Too damn hot today. What the tribe needs is more discipline! Especially regarding tradition!  Ten thousand years of tradition  and law have kept this tribe great! "

Council Boli - " Patience sire. She is one headstrong girl, but that comes with youth. The damage that she does is minimal. Youth always challenges authority. She'll come around. "

King - " Spoiled... Just too spoiled. It's my own fault. "

They continue walking a bit.

King - " What if those dreaded humans spots her. The last thing I need is one of them raping or killing her. "

Council Joru - " Sire. Try not to worry. She IS an elf. She can hide from any human. You raised her well. No human will be able to spot her if she doesn't want to be spotted."

The king stops and looks at him.

King - " That is why I'm worried. Every time I mention humans she peaks up. I think she is entranced by the old  legends. "

Council Boli - " She denies that when asked sire. "

King - " Yes! But I KNOW HER! She would take the opportunity even if it breaks SilverTree law. The queen is worried! And on top of it all. The SilverTree calls to me. I'm almost certain something is wrong. Now she will probably miss the assembly. She's setting a great example. "

Council Joru - " I doubt there will be any more surprises today sire. We should head to the tree. The queen and the others are waiting. "

We see them disappear through the gate.

The sun reaches it's apex. The heat beats down on the guards still patrolling the gate.

    It was noon time when a strange old man approached the gates of the Silvertree elves.

    " I come to talk with your king! " Says the old man.

    The elves are quite surprised that a human would even be able to find the gate were immediately suspicious. They sent word to the palace. Attempting to keep the old man where he was they shouted down to him.

 Elf Guard - " Word has been sent to our King. Human! What is your business here? We have had peace with Richard for many generations. What does he require of us this time? "

  Old Man - " I do not come representing Richard. I come on a more dire matter. There are troops ready for battle south of here. With intent on taking your beloved Tree for it's secrets. "

    The elves laugh merrily and a little haughtily. " We worry not about human troops despite their number. The secrets of the root can not be taken by force. No army to date has EVER to get through these walls. We thank the for your concern, but bid you off. We have no need of your aid. Good day to you human. "

  Old Man -" I did not come all this way to be turned away at the gate my pointy eared buffoon. "

  Elf guard-  " You will leave or we will be forced to put an arrow through you sir. There is a strict law about letting humans into our fold. Now off I say! "

 The old man looks up at the gate and slightly grins. Grabs his walking staff and proceeds towards the gate.

Elf guard - " Old man! Are you testing our tolerance? We have our orders. You must turn or be shot! "

    The old man seems not to hear and slowly makes his way to the gate.

    The elf looks to the others on the gate muttering. " Pity that one chaps for he must be mad. "

    He motions to one of the other guards.  Understanding.  The guard goes to the gate too lead the old man away. ( With a minimum of force. It is an old man after all. No need to shoot him. )
The gate is opened a crack and the guard steps through and reaches over to take the old man by the arm.

    There is a quick glimpse of metal. The old man stabs the elf in the stomach. He twists the blade and the guard falls to the ground. The old man puts the dagger back in his robe and grabs a hold of what appears to be a piece of fabric. The other elves are shocked. There is a lot of angry yelling.

    " He killed Tyrol. Fill him full of arrows! "

    Many tense elves can be seen. All of  their faces change to anger. They draw their bows. Arrows are loosed upon the old man, and seem to pass right through him into the ground.

    The old man seems unfazed and proceeds through the gate to stare into the eyes of  5 elven guards. Bows drawn and pointed right at him.

  Old man - " Your arrows can not harm me. I will not be touched. "

The old man looks down at the fallen elf.

Old man - " You brought it on yourselves. "

    One of the elves looks at his fallen comrade outside the gate. Rage files his eyes. He readies to fire an arrow into the heart of this old murderer. The Elf Captain stops him from shooting.

Captain - " Hold! He will be treated like a prisoner! Let the King decide his fate. Not anger, but you will have to pay for that human.  Escort him to the king and the council. Make sure to keep a close eye on him. "

    The old man is surrounded by guards on all sides. They lead him past more angry elves who have already heard the news of  his crime. Angry looks fall on the old man as he slowly walks to the palace.

    The palace is built around the base of the silvertree. As they walk in there is  a long hallway leading to an open room. What appears to be the root of the tree sits at the back of it. Behind the root are many passages and caverns made from the living wood.

The king stands next to the tree. His hands against it. His eyes close. There is darkness. From the darkness an image forms. A symbol. The king looks pained. Colors swirl. There is the sound of creaking wood. The king steps back. His eyes open. He looks shocked.

Joru comes to his side.

Joru - " Sire? "

King - " There is a void. One of the great trees. Just gone. "

Boli comes over to the king and leans over speaking into his ear.  His eyes widen as he hears what has transpired. He slows his walk and stops before the door leading to the main chamber. His head drops in a moment of grief. He looks to the council member and solemnly says

King - " Perhaps it is better my daughter is not around. I would hate for her to see me sentence this human for his barbarous crime. Ah! maybe we should send him into the root for his punishment. Our ancestors would be far more just than I..... Still he is to be pitied. Death will be a much more lenient punishment. I would not have my subjects think I am without mercy. "

   They lead the old man to the center of the chamber. There are small globes throughout the room illuminating it as if it were torch light. The old man stands calmly waiting. A crowd has gathered. Angry elves look on as the conclave and the royal family walk in and take their places. As soon as all are settled the king rises from his chair and walks in front of the old man.

    " You have murdered one of my loyal subjects! " Speaks the king " To warn me of an oncoming army?! "

He pauses.

King - " I have valued my peace with you humans. Despite my loathing of your kind. This makes no reason. Even for a human! What do you want to say old man? ! " He pauses. The Old man says nothing and closes his eyes. " OLD MAN! Before I cast you back into your own world? What have you to say for your defense? "

The old man looks back up at the King. A different look in his eyes now. He bellows loudly.

Old Man - " There is a plague upon you King. There are armies such as you have never seen to the south! I come in the name of the horde! They bid you evacuate and give us the secret of your beloved tree or all under your rule will suffer much more than that guard had. "

King -     " Of all the impudence. You kill one of my elves just to give me your terms for surrender. I would have a poor sense of justice if I were to run away from an old mans words... Albeit a LETHAL old man."

     The King looks over to the council some of whom are now standing with anger in their eyes.

King - " Send him to the holding cell. I will have him punished accordingly later. Send some scouts south to see if what this heartless old animal says is true. "

Old man -  " Too true my lord. They are already here!..... Is it warm or is it just you?! "

The old man raises his arms and a ball of white energy shoots from his hands. Engulfing the King and most of his council. There is shouting throughout the chamber. Guards run up to the old man from behind only to see The King, his family and council dissolve into dust. Then the old man turns looks at the guards and seems to fade away.

Guard -  " Find him! We must have justice! "

Elves run to the smoking ash that was once their royal family. Some of them bow their heads, some look around in fury for the old man. There is a clicking noise from outside. From one source and then many. Outside the elves spread the news of their kings death. The warriors search. The elves who have heard news, tears dropping from their eyes hit two sticks together creating a wooden tapping noise. In concert it sounds like rain. The sound goes on into the night as the hunt for this old human continues.

 The news spreads quietly throughout the town. The royal family is dead. The council incinerated

 An elf by the name of Sterlith runs about the town asking a question no elf had ever thought they would hear. "Who will speak with the Silvertree? "

    None seemed to remember that the Kings daughter was off in the woods.

 To: Chapter 2