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Tamsin sifted through page after page of archives and letters of centuries long past. He was searching. The Forest Lords had told him that a great change was coming and that one that was lost would be restored. Was it Trik they were talking about? If he is the King of the Elven race and he has been lost, in a manner of speaking, would he not be who they were talking about being restored? If so, Tamsin knew that something would need to take place to be the catalyst for that change. Something in Tamsin told him that he needed to find out what that catalyst would be.
He had been at it for hours when he came across the oldest record thus far. It was written by the first scribes of the Elfin people, the scribes to the King, before they were divided.
I, Cyntree, scribe to the King of the Elves so write this account of the last record of his reign. Our people are fighting amongst themselves. They have forgotten the Forest Lords and the love for their creation. They no longer honor their creator or the King put in place by them. Triktapic,
Tamsin paused over the name, he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move. Trik was indeed the King of all the elves; it was him.
The King of the Elves has petitioned the Forest Lords. He asks that they relieve him of his duty for he is tired of his people ignoring his council, refusing to obey his commands. He has tried to show them mercy, tried to understand what it was that was tearing them apart, but he has grown weary. The Forest Lords were not happy with the King’s request, but they granted it. Written here is a summary of the terms by which they allowed Triktapic to abdicate his throne.
He would give up his Royal powers endowed to him by the Lords. He would become like the other elves.
His abdication would cause a split in the elves, dark and light, and his place would be with the dark.
He would serve the new Dark Elf King as an assassin, merciless and fierce. For if he was tired of being a loving King then he would know no love.
His appearance would be altered so that none would recognize him and his reign would fade into history.
Only one thing would restore him as the rightful King, only one thing will unite the dark and light elves and once again make them the Elfin race. The King’s Chosen. Trik would have to love his Chosen above himself, above his desires, wants, and needs. He must do for his Chosen what he did not do for his people. He must love her unconditionally through the peaceful times and the times of strife and war, no matter how difficult it became. He must recognize this love and choose it. Choose to love her for she will not always be loveable, just as his people were not always loveable. Once his heart has been restored to its once selfless state, then he will be King once more.
The Forest Lords gave him one last warning before they completed the request. Because of the life he would soon lead, darkness would begin to seep into his once pure heart. He would kill, torture, and destroy many lives before he would meet his Chosen. Their warning was this—if the darkness consumes you fully before you meet your Chosen, you will have lost your ability to love selflessly. For love brings life, life is brought forth in light, and if darkness seeps into every cavern, crevice and secret place inside you there will be no room for light to shine and no way for love to grow.
Tamsin sat in stunned silence as he read the last paragraph over and over. His Chosen. Trik must love his Chosen. Did he love Cassie? Tamsin could tell that he felt strongly for her, he was certainly possessive and protective of her, but did he love her? He was willing to walk away from Lorsan. Was that an act of love? But he wasn’t being honest with Cassie about how he would be walking away. Would the love for your Chosen allow you to lie to her or would it pierce your heart so strongly that you kept nothing from her.
No, Tamsin wasn’t sure if Trik loved her. And if he did he might not even realize it. He needed to speak with the Forest Lords again. He needed their guidance on how to move forward. Tamsin wondered then if Trik remembered the decree given him by the Lords, or if it was too late and he no longer had enough light left in him to remember.