Into the fields of Summer - 114. Meet the Humans

Chapter 113 – Meet the Humans

I woke up at around 8am and saw cloudy skies, it was snowing outside. I yawned and stretched as I made my way to the toilet. I peered through the window after having relieved myself and hoped the weather would clear up. The meeting with the US, Canada, and EU representatives was early tomorrow morning. Uncle Rehanmir, Yal, and Prince Havar will be joining me in meeting the humans at a secret military base somewhere in Arizona. The four of us will meet Luca, Reza, and August there, who are already discussing preliminary matters with the Canadians and Europeans, most likely in the same hotel where the three-way alliance was confirmed. The Americans took their time coming to a decision on whether to join the talks with the VHC and WCC, thus the meeting tomorrow. Reza thought tomorrow’s meeting would be a good opportunity for us to announce the return of the elves. With the promise of the existence of a powerful potential ally, the US military gave clearance for our aircraft to land at the airbase tomorrow, paving the way for us to attend the conference.

Breakfast was quick and rather uneventful, it seemed that everyone at home was busy with something. I passed the time reviewing the last of my materials for matriculation, after this I should be all set for the exam at the end of the month.

“I see you’ve finished reviewing,” dad said smiling at me as he entered my study.

“Yeah, I guess I am.”

“You’ll ace this, I’m sure of that. Then you’ll have several more months to decide where you want to continue your studies.”

“About that…” I paused, then continued, “I am leaning toward continuing my studies in the realm. Stoker U is nice but they don’t have an elvish program and I think that’s what I need at this moment. I am sure Leo will be bummed to not have me there, but it’s not like I’m moving or he’s moving away anyway, and we’ve been best friends for the longest time even though I don’t go to his school so I think we’ll be fine.”

“I am sure you both will be, and I hope you have already discussed this with your Patri?”

“I have mentioned it but I haven’t talked to him about this in depth. I’ll bring this up with him soon.”

“Okay, better talk to him about it, I’m sure he will have insights on this matter.”

“Yes, he surely will.”

“Anyway, lunch is ready,” dad said, grinning at me as he beckoned me to join him back in the dining room.

--

“I am sorry I couldn’t join you in the meeting tomorrow,” Victor said with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“It’s okay. I understand, you have council matters to tend to, it’s really okay, don’t worry about it, August, Reza, and Luca will be there to help us through.”

“But still,” Victor grumbled.

“Victor, are you getting clingy now?” I teased my boyfriend.

“Maybe,” Victor pouted in reply.

“Oh boy, what have I done to you?!” I replied amused with how Victor is acting childish. “You’re 260 years old mister!” I teased.

“I’ll miss you,” Victor pouted again.

Then I caught on to the game he was playing, my darn boyfriend was fucking horny. Who am I to resist such a hot guy in heat?! I am only human… well half-human, hehe.

After an hour long love-making, Victor whispered, “I am sure you’ll do fine tomorrow.”

“Gosh Victor… you didn’t have to do all of that to get to fuck me! You know I’m always up for it,” I grinned at him.

“But you’re so cute when you’re confused and flustered,” Victor teased me as he pinched my nose and kissed both my cheeks.

“Geez mister… behave yourself,” I giggled as I kissed him.

--

After dinner, I went to the realm for some last minute preparations for the meeting. I spent an hour talking with Patri, Prince Rehanmir, Prince Havar, and Yal. The tension in the room between Patri and Prince Havar was palpable, I was just happy they did not lock horns, and focused on the task at hand.

During the meeting, Patri pointed out that it was essential for us to appear as a strong and respectable force, something the humans should not underestimate. It was also made clear, it is important that the humans get the impression that they had a lot to gain from an alliance, not only with the vampires and werewolves but with the elves too.

While we were on the topic of my role as ambassador, I asked, “What if they don’t respect me? You know being a teenager and all?”

Prince Havar huffed, “They don’t dare raise a word against you. Any disrespect towards a royal is disrespect to the entire realm, which is something I will not tolerate.”

“Uncle… calm down.” Prince Rehanmir said. My uncle took a moment then added, “I agree with you, the humans should never disrespect the crown but Chris’ concerns are legitimate and it’s fair to assume the humans will have questions about his age, however, I believe responding with anger on that matter will not help us build a relationship with the humans.”

“Havar, I warn you, do not do anything stupid,” Patri said glaring at his cousin.

Prince Havar smirked, “Of course, I won’t do anything stupid, but I will not be held accountable for my actions if the humans cross a line.”

“I appreciate your concern guys, but can we get back to the topic? I just wanted to know how to deal with the age issue,” I said, taking my time to look at the people in the room as if to ask for some advice.

“Well, you are 18, there’s no denying that. You have matured a lot in the last few months, however it would be ludicrous for the humans to assume that you have centuries worth of wisdom. Just be yourself, you’ve handled it well with the VHC and WCC so far, and you’ve gained respect here in the realm as well, just show those humans the smart and strong man that you are,” Patri said to me.

“I understand your concern Chris but in case someone gives you a hard time just because of your age, we will be there to support you. If anything, I am sure they’ll shut up the moment you give them a taste of your power.” My uncle added.

“Well, I don’t want to come off as a muscle head,” I complained.

“You are not a muscle head Chris, you are way more than that,” Patri said in a soft tone, the disappointment in his voice was clear, he did not want me talking myself down again.

“Don’t worry Chris, if the VHC and WCC have no problems with you being the realm’s ambassador, then how could the humans complain? In the end, they are the ones that are late in this alliance, not us.” Yal said, he paused then continued, “With us leaving seclusion, it might appear that we are the newcomers in this alliance, with the vampires and werewolves already in place, the humans are the ones late to the party.”

“Yal’s right, and also, it’s not as if we are talking to a single human organization, if one opts out there are others we can talk to. We don’t have to have all human organizations in this alliance. If one refuses to join, it’s their loss” Patri added.

“Okay, okay, I see,” I replied starting to recover from my loss of confidence. I may not be as insecure as before, but I still do have my moments, I am just glad that I have my family and friends around me to remind me whenever I doubt myself. However, there are times I can’t help it, a few months ago I was an ordinary high school kid, the world I’m living in now is way different than the life I previously had. I guess, I’m still adjusting to all of this.

Then for another hour or so we continued to discuss ideas on how to respond to questions the humans will have. We also took the time to review the power dynamics between the players involved, we read the files prepared by Kalron on the individuals and organizations attending the meeting.

Before the meeting ended, Patri told me he had a surprise waiting for me at the airport in Richmond. I had an idea of what he was hinting at but I refuse to entertain such thoughts for the time being, I’m hoping what he had in mind is not what I believed it to be. Not my very own private jet please.

While everyone was already leaving the room, Patri pulled me aside and told me to work something out with King Ethnar. All Patri said was, “If you’re concerned with the humans doubting your skills, then why don’t you give them a show?” After which he just winked at me and left the room.

--

It was already late when I got back home, the meeting in the realm took longer than anticipated. However, after the thorough discussion we had, I felt more prepared for what was yet to come. I didn’t have the time to go to the tower so I did the next best thing and summoned the book of songs, I flipped several pages and purposefully avoided humming or singing this time around. I had no intention of accidentally destroying the house by growing a forest inside.

Scanning the pages, I was left in awe with how much magical potential the book held. The power to create, destroy, to give life, and exact death, all in a single book. No one can deny that the Book of Songs is a potent weapon. As I flicked through the pages, I couldn’t help but ask, if all highly ascended beings had their own version of this book, coz the thought of a conflict between multiple users of the Book of Songs is something I wouldn’t want to think about. I shuddered at the imagery of songs being cast one after another in a battle field. If the humans had the nuclear bomb, we had the Book of Songs, one key difference though is that the Book of Songs is not all about death and destruction, it is a force of life and creation too.

After glossing over several more pages, I decided to sleep for the long day ahead.

--

Breakfast was early in the house, dad and Nomir were already eating when I entered the dining room. Etalos and Kalron weren’t far behind me.

“So what time are you guys leaving?” Dad asked.

“7:30, uncle, Yal, and Prince Havar should be here soon,” I replied.

“Should we cook more food for them?” Nomir asked.

“No, I talked to them about it last night, they’ll eat in the realm.”

Several minutes after breakfast, the three elves arrived through the portal. They were all decked out in a similar fashion, tight fitting jackets, with white shirts underneath, paired with sleek pants. Red and gold for my uncle and Prince Havar while Yal wore his garb in blue and silver. I took time to introduce Prince Havar to my household, despite everyone’s reservations about Prince Havar. The introductions were brief enough to avoid any awkward moments. We all settled into two cars, with Kalron driving for Yal and Prince Havar in the first car, and Nomir for my uncle and I in the second.

It only took us an hour to get to the all too familiar private jet terminal of the airport in Richmond. Oh boy, I guess I was right afterall, Patri got us a private jet. My uncle saw me rolling my eyes as we parked, and he said, “Chris, I know you have reservations about having your own private jet, but flying your own is not only convenient but it’s the safest and fastest way. This isn’t the realm, this world is bigger and the high speed rail connections are lacking here, and don’t worry about carbon emissions, our engineers retrofitted the plane to reduce its carbon footprint. It’s not carbon neutral but close.”

Entering the well-appointed VIP reception area, we were immediately welcomed by Cole, the same guy that entertained us when we flew Luca’s plane back in December. I hugged Nomir and Etalos as they prepared to make their way back to Greensburg. The rest of us found our way to the plane.

The jet in front of me was simply gorgeous, it was black with streaks of gold, my colors. The aircraft was slightly bigger than Luca’s G7500 and I took a minute to marvel at its beauty. “It’s an A220 with special interior and engineering alterations,” My uncle said winking at me, he then beckoned me to follow him into the plane.

Inside the plane we were welcomed by Arnos, a male elf, who will be our attendant for the trip. Apparently Patri had him and the captains flown all the way from New York together with the plane. Arnos is beautiful, he had light brown hair, light green eyes, and had soft features, almost as cute and as sensual as Etalos’. He had a slender build and stood at around 5’7.

“Good morning, your highnesses, and Master Yalekin,” Arnos greeted us with a light bow.

As we entered to plane, to the left was a modern kitchen and meal preparation areas of some sort, beyond it was the crew resting area and the cockpit. The entire cabin had an earth colored motif of brown, black, and white, it had a minimalist and sophisticated yet warm and inviting effect to it. The main space of the aircraft was to the right, the first was a sitting area, consisting of 12 business class seats arranged in 4 rows. Two seats were on the left and 1 on the right. After the first zone, was a work/business space, it had a 6 feet long mahogany table, with a caramel colored divan on the right side and two swivel/adjustable seats on the left. This zone had two flat screen TVs mounted on the wooden paneling. The next zone was an entertainment space, with a large TV, two smaller divans and three adjustable seats, the next zone was a smaller sitting area consisting of 6 business class seats arranged in 2 rows, then the last zone was the master suite, which housed a queen sized bed, small tv, and a small desk and chair, beyond it was the master bathroom, with a shower, toilet, and changing area. Seeing the master suite, I missed Victor, I thought it was way overdue for us to renew our membership in the mile high club.

After the quick tour of the plane we all decided to stay in the first zone for take-off.

The flight to the military airbase in Arizona will take us around 4 hours, so we took the time to rest. Yal and my uncle were already both asleep not even 20 minutes after the plane reached cruising altitude. Prince Havar on the other hand seemed to be taking the time to enjoy the sights through the window.

“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” Prince Havar said as he noticed me watching him.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“This planet, it’s beautiful, despite everything the humans have put it through, the Earth remains resilient and beautiful.”

“I agree, it is indeed beautiful,” I somberly replied.

“You might not agree with my views, but this is what I’m fighting for. I am fighting for the future generations of our people, do you know how many times an elf born in the realm gets to visit earth?”

“Honestly, no, I’m sorry.”

“7 or 8 maximum, the excursion and immersion trips the government organizes is the only way our people get to visit this planet,” Havar chuckled, “not unless you work for one of our Earth operations, but other than that that’s it. With the negative energy building up here, the realm is already thinking of scaling back the program, imagine an entire people cut off from the place they were from,” Havar added as he gritted his teeth in frustration.

“I understand how frustrating it must be for you,” I said.

Havar looked me straight in the eye and said, “Do you? Do you really? Believe me Prince Christopher, I will do anything to have this planet back, I do not mind sharing it with the vampires and werewolves but the humans must go. They have proven time and time again, their sheer incapability to do what’s right, all they bring is destruction.”

“Prince Havar… “I said in a warning tone.

“I know you have grown quite fond of them, you grew up around them after all, that’s understandable, but believe me when I say this young prince, one way or another we will return to this planet, the realm is indeed majestic ... grand even, but imagine what we could do with this place, our people have made the mistake of secluding ourselves, hiding in our protected and veiled towns and villages thousands and hundreds of years ago, then we made an even graver mistake by fleeing our home. Our return to the affairs of Earth is only the first step in the elvish homecoming, which is why I supported the motion to re-engage the humans.”

“I don’t know what to say,” I somberly replied.

“Then don’t say anything,” he smiled at me.

I then left Prince Havar with his own thoughts as I made myself comfortable in the master suite. After having a short nap, I joined my companions in the entertainment area as Arnos served us lunch.

After lunch, I took the time to get to know Arnos more. Apparently Arnos is a bronze level elf working in a support function for Kalron’s operations in New York. Despite looking younger than me, Arnos is already 27. His mission is not only to be our attendant in this trip but according to him, Kalron has ordered him to use this visit as an opportunity to place surveillance devices in the military facility. Apparently Kalron was surprised to find, the air base we were headed to is not on his list of existing US military facilities. The fact that the humans have hidden the existence of this facility from the elvish surveillance network disturbed Yal and Kalron so it’s Arnos’ mission to lay the ground work for the realm’s infiltration of this and possibly more hidden military facilities.

Several minutes later, the captain announced that we have started our descent. I made my way to my seat and looking out the window, I saw nothing but desert. A few minutes later we landed in a military air base that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. It had two 4,000 meter runways with several hangars and three small buildings. A small flight control tower could be seen several hundred feet away.

Yal had an amused expression on his face as he scanned our surroundings, “I bet this place is new, our satellites should have spotted this if this place is at least 6 months old.”

Before disembarking, we thanked the pilot and co-pilots, both of whom are elves as well. Arnos joined us, he would be posing as our assistant as he placed various monitoring devices throughout the base. Getting off the stairs we were greeted by a handsome Latino in a military uniform. Several feet behind him were 6 soldiers, all of whom were stoic, yet seemed to have their full attention on us.

“I am Colonel Dominic Aguilar,” the handsome officer said as he offered his hand to each one of us, “I will be your escort to the meeting room,” he added.

“So, the rest are already here?” My uncle asked.

“Yes, the representatives of the VHC and WCC arrived an hour ago, the Canadians and Europeans arrived half an hour ago,” Col. Aguilar said as he pointed to three private jets, one of which was unmistakably Luca’s G7500, the other two most likely are from the Canadian and EU delegation.

We were escorted in silence by Col. Aguilar to a two story building, while the 6 soldiers walked several feet behind us. I honestly did not know what to expect, but aside from Col. Aguilar’s warm demeanor, the reception has been far from eventful.

Looking around, I noticed the place was mostly empty, aside from the occasional single or pair of soldiers we encountered or saw from the distance, the base was practically a ghost town, I couldn’t help but wonder what this base is for. It lacked energy, and the hustle and bustle expected of a military facility, something was clearly out of place.

“I believe the representatives of the VHC and WCC are in this room,” Dominic said pointing to a non-descript door.

“Okay, thank you, I said.”

I knocked on the door, and I heard a voice asking us to come in.

Inside were August, Luca, and Reza sitting on a large couch, the room was larger than expected but nothing special. I took the time to greet my friends then introduced them to Prince Havar.

“Well, I must say they could work better with their hospitality,” Yal said.

“I agree,” Reza chuckled.

“Don’t worry though, I heard they treated the Canadians and Europeans the same way,” Luca added.

“That Colonel seemed to be the only warm and cordial person around here,” August said.

“Well at least they chose him to escort us,” my uncle chuckled.

“So, when do we meet the humans?” Prince Havar groused.

“I think they’re still talking amongst themselves, maybe in half an hour or so, give or take,” Reza calmly replied, unfazed by Prince Havar’s borderline petulant mood.

“So we stick with the plan eh?” I asked.

“Yes, we’ll handle the introductions, then you may continue from there,” August.

“I really appreciate that you’re doing this for us,” I said to the non-elves in the room.

“Chris, this is the least we could do, you and your people have already done so much in the past few weeks,” Luca said, then he smirked, “it also doesn’t hurt that we get to see you again, well, August here is moving to Greensburg but Reza and I are thousands of miles away, so we were overdue for a visit as well,” the handsome Italian man added, god, why did he have to wink and give lecherous smile, did Victor’s sire have to be so hot?!

I was taken out of my reverie when Prince Havar chimed in, “It’s good to work with Vampires and Werewolves, the relationship between our races haven’t always been the best, but it was never bad and was always productive.”

Then for the next fifteen minutes we discussed what August, Luca, and Reza have discussed with the Canadians and Europeans in their meeting yesterday.

--

Our conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door, It was Col. Aguilar, he said, “I hope you are all fine, apologies for the delay, the others are ready now. I will wait for you here outside the door to direct you to the meeting place.”

We finished the last bit of our conversation, then followed the thirty something man along the corridor. Entering a large conference room, I saw 7 people already in the room, one of them was in a military uniform and by the way it looked, that of a higher rank.

“Good morning, I am glad you could join us,” a man in a dark blue suit said to us. His slight German accent told me that he is part of the European delegation. After several awkward moments, we are all acquainted with each other’s names, representing the EU’s Centurion force are Horst Roth and Jacqueline Blanquer. For Canada’s Triton Command, Sarah Marois and Stephen Dane. The Americans in the room were Lt. General Robertson, Senator Reeves and Representative Taylor.

Looking around the room, I realized this was going to be quite the meeting. I reminded myself to not treat the human delegation as a single cohesive entity but rather treat it as the fragmented group that it is. All three, with their own values and interests. From what I have gathered from Kalron, the Lt. General is the new head of America’s Jupiter Corps, the reconstituted FRUSI. While the senator and representative are members of Congress’ oversight committee on affairs involving the vampires and werewolves. If our initial assessment is correct, Rep. Taylor will be the most difficult person in this meeting, as a member of the Patriotic Caucus, god only knows why he is in this meeting, maybe his peers wanted him out of their congressional deliberations and shipped him off to nowhere Arizona.

“Thank you for taking the time to meet with us,” Reza began, he spoke with clarity and an aura of control that showed his age and power.

“We appreciate you reaching out, our work with the VHC and WCC has been productive these past few years,” replied Canada’s Sarah Marois.

“Based on what we discussed yesterday, there is an enemy that is, an even a greater threat than that of the Blood Army, am I correct?” asked Horst Roth.

“Yes, you are correct, they have already made several movements and the United States has borne the brunt, however this does not mean the other countries are safe,” Reza replied.

“What of this threat? Can our American counterparts explain this further?” asked Stephen Dane.

Lt. General Robertson cleared his throat, exchanged looks with his fellow Americans, then replied, “I am very much aware that your intelligence agencies have notified you of some destabilizing events that our military has encountered. To cut the story short, in the past few weeks, we’ve been handed multiple defeats by this enemy, to date, we’ve lost several thousand troops, and more than a hundred thousand civilians, if it weren’t for the VHC and WCC assistance in the most recent event, it could have been much worse.”

The Canadians and Europeans exchanged looks of surprise and shock at the level of threat we’re all facing, the thought of America, supposedly the world’s most powerful military force soundly defeated by this enemy is almost unthinkable.

“The VHC and WCC warned us to approach this enemy with caution, but we acted with haste and we suffered the consequences,” the general added, with frustration, anger, and sadness in his voice. The man clearly did not agree with the decisions made concerning Fort Smith.

“What of these allies you talked about? I gather these men over here have something to do with it?” asked Jacqueline.

Reza smiled, then answered, “yes, these men are powerful allies, and general, senator, and congressman, I’d like to inform you that the involvement of these people was critical in our success in Fort Smith, without their help, we would not have come close to victory.”

The humans exchanged confused looks, then Senator Reeves asked, “What do you mean Councilor? Sorry but I don’t quite understand, we were under the assumption that the operation in Fort Smith was a joint VHC and WCC effort.”

Reza smiled at the senator, then replied, “My apologies but we weren’t quite forthright with the details of our operation, the Fort Smith campaign was that of a three-race alliance.”

“Three-race alliance?” The Senator asked.

“Yes, three-race indeed,” Reza smiled.

“Sorry, I don’t quite understand,” Stephen Dane added from the side.

“Our operation was composed of vampires, werewolves, and that of another race,” Luca clarified.

“What other race could there be?” Representative Taylor muttered.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I believe the introductions earlier were quite lacking,” Luca said smiling as he directed his gaze at us.

August then continued Luca’s train of thought and spoke, “We would like to introduce you to Crown Prince Rehanmir, Prince Christopher, Prince Havar, and Master Yalekin of the Elevenhasil or the Elvish Realm.”

Silence.

The humans were surprised at the thought of having real live elves in front of them.

“How…” Horst stammered.

“Elves?” Congressman Taylor scoffed at the idea, he obnoxiously laughed at the thought then when he gathered his thoughts, he looked at us then at the VHC and WCC councilors, “You can’t be serious, the elves are long gone!”

“Representative, why would the VHC and WCC lie to us?” Stephen interjected, aghast at the poor behavior of the congressman.

“Mr. Dane is right, we don’t have a reason to lie to you, if anything, what we are offering is for your respective organizations to join our alliance. The elves have been vital in all our operations, without them, there is no hope for us to win against the enemy,” Reza replied.

“And what of this enemy you’re so afraid of?” Representative Taylor asked indignant.

“Congressman, the United States has been at the receiving end of the attacks of this enemy, you should know better than to doubt the severity of the threat. Detroit was heavily damaged, and Fort Smith is beyond repair, what more could you possibly ask for to acknowledge the strength of the enemy,” Reza replied.

“Councilor Reza Hatami is right, we’ve lost too much to deny this any further,” General Robertson added, he momentarily looked at us then asked Reza, “So who or… what exactly is this enemy of ours?”

Reza exchanged looks with my uncle then replied, “I believe the crown prince is in a better position to answer that.”

My uncle took a moment to himself, then answered, “To put it bluntly, we’re facing demons. Powerful beings of great strength and ability, so far with the help of the vampires and werewolves, we have dealt with 2 of their generals. However, 7 remain at large.”

“Wait… generals? And 7 of them?” Senator Reeves asked almost dumbfounded.

“Yes, demons are organized under a general, each general can have a maximum of 1,000 demons,” my uncle replied.

“What are they after?” Jacqueline asked.

“Power, control, territory… everything for that matter,” My uncle replied.

“How could they just appear out of nowhere, something’s wrong,” Senator Reeves added.

“The Senator is right, it doesn’t add up,” Congressman Taylor chimed in, then he smirked at us, then added, “How can we be sure the elves aren’t behind this? They’re just as new to the picture as these demons.”

“What did you just say? Did you just compare us to demons?!” Prince Havar barked.

“Well… I’m just thinking out loud, what’s in it for you to be helping us anyway?” Congressman Taylor replied.

“To put it simply, if the Earth falls, who is to say our realm isn’t next?” I butted in, not giving Prince Havar the chance to reply. I wanted the situation to not boil over.

“So that’s where your people have been all this time? A realm of your own? We have no information of such thing,” Sarah said.

“Yes, we have our own realm, you should all know that our people disappeared from this planet over 200 years ago,” I replied.

“We do know about that, but countless missions have failed to trace your whereabouts,” General Robertson said.

“We wanted to be left alone,” my uncle tersely replied.

“Pretty convenient for you to return just when the world needs you huh? I’m not eating any of this horse shit, and you guys couldn’t be that powerful,” Congressman Taylor spat. Goodness this guy really is quite the personality, I’ve seen tapes of him in congress and he’s temperamental and xenophobic as well.

“Congressman, I should warn you, the elves are here to do you a favor,” August said gritting his teeth in frustration.

“Can we just all relax?” Horst said then looking at us he asked, “What is it you can offer?”

Yal smirked, then replied, “Magic… last time I checked humans haven’t figured that out, vampires and werewolves can’t help you on that regard either, while the demons are very adept in the dark arts. The American defeat in Fort Smith should have made it clear, your modern weapons are no match for the demons, especially if you’re faced with a very powerful demon general.”

“Magic huh?” Horst from the EU asked, as he rubbed his chin in deep thought.

“Magic?! You’ve got to be kidding me,” Representative Taylor scoffed.

“Congressman, can you please tone it down, you’re not helping,” General Robertson warned the representative. Then the new head of FRUSI, or should I say, the Jupiter Force looked at us then said, “I apologize for how our colleague is acting, please don’t hold it all against all of us.”

“He better watch his tongue,” Prince Havar hissed.

“If you’re all so powerful, why don’t you show us?” Representative Taylor dared to ask.

Reza, Luca, and August snorted in disbelief, while my uncle and Yal were grinning, Prince Havar on the other hand was seething.

“Please, what can we do to prove our worth? Though you might regret asking for a demonstration,” I retorted.

“Show us some of this magic of yours,” Representative Taylor replied.

“I don’t think that would be necessary, the elves have the support of the VHC and WCC, that should be enough,” Senator Reeves said.

“I will not have any of it, the Canadians and Europeans may do as they wish and join this alliance or whatever you want to call it but I want to see what the elves have to offer,” Congressman Taylor proudly replied. The older man was clearly full of himself.

“I agree with the Senator, the elves have nothing to prove. I caution you to not further add any insult to their capabilities, with complete honesty, if the elves pull out of the alliance, we stand no chance against the remaining generals,” August said, in an angry tone at the congressman.

“Councilor, I appreciate the thought, but why don’t we indulge the congressman?” I smiled at the werewolf, then I set my gaze upon Congressman Taylor and asked, “What do you have in mind?”

The congressman was more than ecstatic to be proven correct and boldly announced, “I want one of them to fight the Jupiter Force’s Elite Squad.”

General Roberson was shocked at the pronouncement, “The Elite Squad program is not yet ready.”

“To my understanding you have already piloted the ser..” I felt the congressman was about to divulge something that was supposed to be a secret but caught himself, then he continued, “I know you have several of your men at the ready, just do it or I will block further congressional funding to the program.”

The general huffed in frustration, “This is a complete disregard for protocol. I will have none of this.”

“General, why don’t we humor the congressman? I promise to be gentle.” I smiled at the older man in military uniform.

“You… you fighting the elite squad? What could you possibly do? You’re just a kid.” The congressman laughed at me.

“How dare you talk to a prince of the realm like that?!” Prince Havar shouted. In his anger he sent a wave of energy across the room, making the air heavier and the lights flicker. All the humans in the room were obviously intimidated by Prince Havar’s outburst.

“Prince Havar let me handle this. I am ambassador after all,” I said with a gentle smile, attempting to calm down my Patri’s cousin.

“I’d love to see you fight our elite squad,” Congressman Taylor sneered.

“Let’s do it!” I announced as I stood up, “come on, let’s do it now and get this over with.”

The general was shaking his head in disbelief but stood up nonetheless and made the arrangements for me to fight his elite squad.

--

Almost 10 minutes later we found ourselves in the middle of the runway. All the attendees of the meeting were about 50 feet away from us and now I was facing 4 men in tight leather uniforms. They were all very muscular and stood tall, all at least 6’2 in height. It appears the congressman was confident with his odds, it seems the Jupiter Force has something up their sleeve for him to be this certain of a win.

Then with a blow of a whistle, the fight began. The humans moved incredibly fast, unnatural even. The kicks and punches came instantaneously, and they were all very much in sync. I would even peg them as Stratos apprentices, these guys were strong and fast, no human should have this skill. However, despite all their strength and speed, I was way out of their league. In less than 2 minutes it was over, with all 4 ‘elite’ squad members knocked unconscious.

“Impossible,” The congressman muttered.

“What just happened?” whispered Stephen to one of the other humans.

“Skilled enough?” I confidently asked the congressman.

The previously emboldened congressman was at a loss for words, then he recomposed himself and stood defiant, “There was no magic in that, you just did whatever martial art trick you had and knocked them out.”

“You’re simply impossible to please,” Sarah said in frustration to the American congressman.

“I think we’ve had enough,” Senator Reeves added.

“Magic eh? Is that what you really want to see?” I asked in full confidence.

“Yes, show us what you’re made of,” The congressman commanded.

“You don’t know what you’re getting yourselves into. Prince Christopher is the most powerful elf out there,” Luca added.

General Robertson then looked at Luca and asked, “Him? Really?” pointing at me.

“Oh General, Prince Christopher could obliterate this entire base if he wanted to. Congressman Taylor does not know who he is talking to, Prince Christopher is the grandson of the King of the elves, and the Elf ambassador to earth, he also singlehandedly defeated the 2 generals the alliance has face.” Reza chimed in.

“So, you want a magic show eh?” I taunted the congressman. Then I looked at the General and asked, “Remember one of your own asked for it. I will not be held accountable for any damage.”

“Oh oh… he’s willing to play,” August laughed at my antics.

“Chris…” My uncle said warning me to not overdo things.

“Don’t worry uncle. I’ll hold back, but I’ll need someone to fight with me.”

“Count me out,” Yal replied.

“Don’t worry Yal, I already have a person in mind.”

I then closed my eyes and concentrated on doing what I had planned. This will be the first time I will do this but ever since my third ascension, I’ve felt more powerful than ever. The possibilities were almost limitless. Then with a deep breath I reached out my aura beyond the barrier and searched for a certain individual in mind. Not more than a second later, I found him. Then raising my right hand in front of me, I created a portal to the realm. The portal appearing like a spherical distortion in space several feet across.

Not a moment later, King Ethnar came walking through the portal. The older king looked around and saw everyone’s surprised faces, even that of the elves, vampires, and werewolf.

My uncle greeted King Ethnar with a smile and shook his head in both amusement and disbelief, “Hello grandfather, glad you could join us.”

“So… you had to resort to calling me huh?” Gramps teased me.

“Yeah, that seems to be the case.”

“I’m assuming things have not been as smooth as expected?”

“One congressman has been quite the thorn,” I replied cocking my head towards the hateful congressman.

“Ah… I see” King Ethnar grinned at me.

“Let’s give them a show they’ll never forget. They want magic, let’s give them magic.” I said.

Gramps and I took our position in the middle of the runway, several hundred feet away from our spectators.

“So, what will it be?” Gramps asked me.

“Just a light spar,” I winked at him.

“Nah… I thought I should show you the power of a second ascended as you call me,” King Ethnar replied as he conjured a 7 feet long trident. His trident had a menacing aura, it was made of a black metal with specks of silver and gold. Without any warning, King Ethnar hit the ground with the hilt of his trident and sent a large wave of rock towards me.

I conjured an energy barrier to deflect the rock wave, good thing my shield remained intact coz I felt a very powerful vibration in my shielding when the rock wave made contact. I retaliated with two powerful fire balls but King Ethnar managed to deflect them with his trident. Gramps then started spinning the trident in the air then out of the blue, large pieces of the runway started breaking off the tarmac and started floating in the air. As Gramps hit the ground with his trident, dozens of rock pieces flew towards me. With a powerful earth spell, I turned the rocks and boulders into sand.

King Ethnar seemed proud of my display of earth magic skill, however, not to be outdone, he hit the ground with his trident again and again sent multiple waves of rock and debris towards me. I stood my ground and reached out to the pieces of earth hurtling towards me and with some effort redirected them at my great grandfather. The older king was obviously surprised with my counter attack but smirked at me nonetheless, with a quick movement from his trident, he sent a powerful magnus spell obliterating the waves of rocks I sent him. King Ethnar’s magnus left a deep gash in the already broken tarmac. The magnus spell was so powerful, the ground was glowing and smoking.

“Show off,” I teased him.

“Show me what else you got,” Gramps taunted back.

“Oh… you got it old man,” I replied.

I then formed 12-layered Magnus Spells on each of my hands then clapped my hands on top me, combining the magnus spells into a single powerful orb of pure energy. I threw the large ball of energy towards gramps but he stood his ground and reinforced his trident with a magnus spell of his own. The trident started glowing bright gold and then Gramps threw it towards my magnus spell. There was a bright and loud explosion followed by a powerful wave in the air. To my surprise my attack fizzled and King Ethnar’s trident was now flying towards me, goodness me, I underestimated gramps this time. I calmed myself down, and thought that two can play at this game of vessels that King Ethnar has started. I called upon the Ring of Eyaha to give me an energy boost then I willed the Chains of Haldruin to materialize in front of me. King Ethnar was visibly surprised with the easy I called upon two vessels.

I threw the chains towards the trident and forced it to wrap around it. I pumped more energy into the chains from the ring, and after a bit of struggle, I succeeded in capturing my great grandfather’s prized vessel. I pulled the chains back towards me and caught the trident in my left hand.

When I caught the trident, I felt its magic resist me. It was bound to refuse me as I wasn’t its bearer, however I forced the trident into submission but willing the chains inside me to loosen and give me more access to my powers. I pumped more of my energy into the trident I slowly felt it giving in, however before I got complete control over it, I was caught off guard by a powerful magnus beam hitting me. I was thrown back from where I stood, and hit the ground more than fifty feet away.

“Don’t take your eyes off your opponent,” King Ethnar smirked at me. “I couldn’t just let you take control of my trident like that,” he smiled.

I grunted in frustration but oh well, Gramps is right, I lost focus and forgot all about him.

Looking around the heavily damaged runway, gramps announced, “I think this should be enough.”

Seeing the cracked, cratered, and destroyed tarmac, I shrugged my shoulders then using earth magic - with a powerful stomp to the ground, I repaired all the damage we’ve done. I then smiled at the now slack jawed congressman. The other observers were not far behind in their surprise and shock. Prince Havar was more than ecstatic to see my display of power.