After a brief pause to reinforce the attention of the present, the orc king continued:
"A humiliating submission to the human kingdom would only stir up hatred and turn the open struggle into a conflict of guerrillas and resistance. And I, as king of the orcs, do not wish nor do I long to wipe off the face of the earth every vestige of human life, as many here present maintain. What I do long for is a solid and lasting peace to begin a coexistence with humans, such as elves and humans once shared together. What I do intend is to initiate an alliance between our kingdoms capable of making the sombers see that they either keep at bay in their kingdom or they will be crushed by an army united by trust and even by the friendship of men and orcs, of orcs and men. That is why I offer the hand of my beloved daughter to the brave prince of Delfia, as a symbol and example of a prosperous coalition of equals among our peoples. This union will be the seal of the alliance that we have to make without quarrels, without victorious ones, without defeated ones, without looking to the horrible past and looking to the hopeful future."
After these words and after meditating on them briefly, King Jorion stood up and said:
"King Gulrath, Queen Baldia, knights. If the words we have just heard came from another king, whether orc or human, I would not believe them, but coming from the king who has always amply demonstrated his honor, nobility and sincerity with facts by all acquaintances, I can only embrace a renewed hope and thank King Gulrath for the generosity and truth expressed in his words. And we gladly accept the alliance offered to us, and we are honored to welcome into our family the adorable Princess Lirieth, with the conviction that my son Syriel will also gladly accept her," approved the monarch, with more desire than conviction.
The concurrence exploded in a long and sonorous ovation of applause predominantly, although a silent one, but not negligible minority, above all of orcs and also of humans applauded more with reluctance and commitment than with enthusiasm. In any case, the war that seemed never-ending, between orcs and humans could finally be brought to an end.
King Jorion addressed his most trusted general.
"Hans, your majesties of Teberion and I will meet alone with the princes, let them know that we await them in this room."
The three kings now hoped to face a downcast and resigned prince and a princess who would face her fate with forced solemnity.
After a few minutes of waiting, they were very surprised to see Syriel and Lirieth coming in, holding hands with an air of complicity and with a glow in their eyes that reflected a strange, but sincere and loving happiness.
Lirieth hugged her parents.
"Syriel has given me a marvelous white mare of thoroughbred. It is beautiful!" she announced cheerful and excited.
And Syriel addressed his father.
"And Lirieth has given me this beautiful necklace. I beg you, father, to give me the ring," asked Syriel firmly.
"Are you sure?" asked his perplexed father.
"Completely. The kindness that I have seen in her heart makes her its creditor," said the prince.
King Jorion always carried the ring of his beloved wife and promised his son that when he found a sincere love like the one, he had with Clariel, he would give him the ring so that with it he would promise his future wife. When Jorion told Syriel the sacrifice he should make to facilitate the pact with the orcs, he did not think that the princess would receive the precious ring. However, he could not refuse to fulfill his promise after the conviction that denoted the words of his firstborn.
Jorion took out of his pocket a small box of luxurious appearance and gave it to his heir. Syriel took the box and went to the orc king:
"Your Majesty, I ask for your blessing to ask for the hand of your daughter Lirieth, whom I swear to love, to respect, to protect and to be faithful to her until death," declared the prince with both solemnity and enthusiasm.
"Prince Syriel, I am very pleased with your honorable request, and I bless you by agreeing to opt for the hand of my daughter Lirieth, if she so wishes," replied the pleased king, corresponding to the traditional terms initiated by the prince.
Uncovering the box, Syriel addressed the princess and, kneeling before her, he said while her the jewel:
"Princess Lirieth, this ring belonged to my beloved mother until the day of her sad death, it would be a great honor for you to accept it as a symbol and seal of our next union, in solemn marriage," he declared looking into the eyes of the princess which was surprised by the sincere and loving gaze of the young prince.
"Prince Syriel, I give you my hand and accept this jewel gladly. I hope to be worthy of it and to become your worthy wife," replied the princess with emotion, surprised, also surprised by the strange happiness that invaded her.
"You will be the worthiest of the princesses," concluded the prince joyfully.
"Well, if no one has a problem, we will celebrate the happy event at Gargaran, our palace of Teberion, at the next flower season," said King Gulrath.
"There's no problem for me," said Jorion.
"There are still three months before the flower season, I think it's so much time, but I will wait impatiently," said Lirieth as she enthusiastically admired the ring around the finger of her left hand.
"Lunch must be ready now, and perhaps we can improvise a dance to celebrate the engagement," proposed King Jorion seeing that everything was unfolding with greater joy than expected.
Kings and princes left the room in search of the palace's dining room.
The banquet went by without major setbacks, albeit with the logical misgivings between man and orcs, but without any significant altercation.
While Syriel and Lirieth began the improvised dance, after the sumptuous lunch, she addressed her fiancé:
"Syriel, you've been great," the princess addressed him informally, "I think we've convinced them; the detail of the ring has been very moving and it's really beautiful. If someday you want it back, tell me and I'll give it back to you," she proposed.
"Thank you, Lirieth, I told you I could do it without any problems. As for the ring, I'm grateful, but as long as we're together I'll have it too, so don't worry about it. It also has magical power," replied the prince corresponding to the name of his fiancée.
"Really? I detect nothing magical in it. What is that power?" asked the princess.
"It's linked to this one," said Syriel showing her a similar ring on his finger. "As long as we wear them, each of us will know where and how the other is when we are separated."
"How?" Lirieth asked.
"You have to concentrate on the ring, both of them will shine and heat up slightly and we will both perceive where the carrier of the other ring is and his state of mind," said the prince.
"It is curious, I do not perceive any magic" replied Lirieth concentrated on them.
"My mother gave me mine before she got sick so I could never get lost. I have never had to enlarge the ring; it has grown along with my finger. She also told me that the powers they had come from an ancient elf magic of great power. Perhaps that's why you won't be able to detect it," Syriel clarified.
The entrance into the palace of a high hooded and a médium rogue interrupted the princely conversation.
The hooded man, nearly six feet tall, uncovered a head with unmistakable elf features: pointy, hairless ears in the human area of the beard, and a long black hair that fell straight no further than the shoulders. In his hand he carried an ebony staff, adorned with strange but beautiful filigrees sculpted from the wood itself.
The hooded man, nearly six feet tall, uncovered a head with unmistakable elf features: pointy, hairless ears in the human area of the beard, and a long black hair that fell straight no further than the shoulders. In his hand he carried an ebony staff, adorned with strange but beautiful filigrees sculpted from the wood itself.
The rogue, on the other hand, was about five feet tall, his ears were also pointed, but in a less pronounced way than in elves. As was customary among those of his race, he had a tangled and curly hair tending to blond and beady brown eyes of vivacious intelligence to which not a single detail escaped.
"Baldrich," shouted the prince enthusiastically. "He's my teacher, I haven't seen him in almost a year. Come and meet him," he invited his fiancée.
After a warm embrace, the prince took Lirieth by the hand and said:
"Baldrich, this is my fiancée, Princess Lirieth."
Baldrich kissed the princess's hand with forced courtesy and said, while staring at the young woman:
"At your service, Your Highness. Please, excuse my apparition by surprise, but I never thought I would see my prince promised with an orc woman, nor that an orc woman could be so beautiful." Baldrich introduced himself with a certain coldness disguised as bad concealed kindness.
"It is a pleasure for me to meet the master who has undoubtedly taught my future husband so well," replied the princess courteously but with some audacity. As an invitation to an initial truce, she offered no resistance to the elf's mental exploration, although she did not have a specific area of her mind.
"I also present to you my loyal médium helper, Bellamir," Baldrich exposed.
Bellamir bowed and the princes greeted him back. The mediam had the sensation of having seen the princess before, but did not remember where or in which circumstances.
After a few minutes of greetings and inconsequential comments, Baldrich announced with concern and denoting a serious urgency:
"Syriel, I'm afraid I'm the bearer of bad news, I must immediately notify your parents of a worrying information. Princess, would you be so kind as to assemble the kings? Syriel and I will go immediately.
Lirieth agreed at once, with a semblance of deep concern.
As Baldrich and Syriel watched her walk away, Syriel asked his master:
"What do you think of her?"
"I have never seen such a pure soul in an orc Nor in most men and even some elves," replied the elf sincerely.
"Yes, neither do I. She's an admirable woman, and incredibly beautiful being an orc, too," replied the prince.
"Syriel! You're really in love with her, I notice; and she may be worthy of the ring I've seen shining on her finger. But be careful, I've also seen an area on her finger that I haven't been able to access and that worries me, only someone with great power can do something like that. I would not want to attend your funeral instead of your wedding," replied Baldrich, afflicted.
"Baldrich! You've always hated orcs without measure, and that can cloud your judgment. I will be alert, although I cannot doubt the purity of Lirieth, I have not seen any dark area," complained the prince.
"My mental sight is much sharper than yours, young man, and I have not spoken of any dark area, but of one that I have not been able to explore because your precious princess has not allowed me access and that can only be done by someone with an important mastery of magic and who wants to hide something. I warn you for your own good," Baldrich scolded him fondly.
"Sorry, Baldrich. I'll be careful, I promise. Lirieth has already confessed to me that she is an excellent sorceress and has given me this amulet enchanted by her. She told me that she would protect me from the magic of the sombers and give me new strength when I needed it," said Syriel, trying to repress his enthusiasm to hide him from the elf, albeit without success.
"If I have been given/she has given (me) something like this, it can't be bad, can it?" said the prince in a reproachful tone.
"I'm telling you again, I didn't say she was bad, just be careful because she might hide something. However, I admit, I recognize that I gave you this gift, it shows at least that the orc princess doesn't wish you any harm," Baldrich conceded.
And among many hesitations and shyness, Syriel finally dared to ask:
"Have you seen if she is in loveas well?"
"Even if I had seen it, my dear prince," the elf interrupted his pupil amusedly, "I would never reveal such information about a lady. You'll have to find out for yourself, maybe it's in that hidden area."
Once kings and princes had been reunited with Baldrich, Baldrich communicated to them:
"Majesties, Highnesses, excuse my rude irruption on this day of celebration, but when I explain the reasons you will understand that the seriousness of the information, I carry justifies my boldness excessively". He looked at all the attendants, taking a fresh breath, to capture the full attention of his regal listeners. "By means of informants of my absolute confidence, it has come to my ears that the dark ones are preparing a very well-armed army. This army would still not represent much of a threat to the Alliance that has been agreed upon today. But I have also been informed that the sombers intend to undertake an expedition to the Badlands to recruit dragons or other creatures into their troops. If only they could recruit a few dragons, the dark ones would be a serious threat to all of Frienia. And while it is very difficult to control them, Nigriel and her daughter Elenir who has become a powerful sorceress and perhaps more perverse than her own father, might well be able to do so.
After a significant silence, Gulrath gestured:
"Well, we'll have to stop them and even take the lead in trying to recruit any ally that could help us."
And while it is very difficult to master them, Nigriel and her daughter Elenir, who has become a powerful sorceress and perhaps more perverse than her own father, might well be able to do so.
After a significant silence, Gulrath gestured:
Well, we'll have to stop them and even take the lead in trying to recruit any ally that might be useful to us," proposed the Orc king with deep concern.
"A group of men should go along with a group of orcs to begin to show our alliance, I will command the group of humans," proposed Syriel with determination.
"And I will command the group of orcs," Lirieth said with enthusiasm and fierce assurance.
"You have no experience in battle, it will be very dangerous for you," denied Gulrath forcefully.
"I will rely on Syriel's experience. I may be necessary when it comes to mastering dragons, I think I know how to do it, but I hope to have Baldrich's teachings along the way, if he accepts me as a pupil" proposed Lirieth.
"It would be an honor for me to exchange my humble knowledge with those of Her Highness regarding the domination of dragons," Baldrich pleased conceded. "But I'm afraid I won't be able to teach much, though I know a magician who could help us with that."
"Well, let's get going. If no one has a better plan, we will leave in three days, we will prepare an expedition of men and orcs and we will go to the Slanted Mountains of the dwarves to help us access the Badlands through the Peaks Pass," proposed Syriel. "Baldrich, where is this magician?"
"The White Magician calls himself, the last time I heard of him he was in Belvichu, almost halfway to the Slanted Mountains," replied the elf.
The plan to intercept the somber's expedition was outlined in a few minutes and accepted by all. In addition to recruiting creatures from the Badlands who might be useful for the upcoming battle against the dark ones more and more imminently, friendly relations between humans and orcs would also begin to develop.