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Der s eyes widened. Those must have been such battles.
Laurel paused. No. Not in battle, child. The storm-readers rounded them up and made
them build supplies for their armies. Then, they butchered them like caged animals and fed
them to their soldiers.
Wait. What? Kelin stumbled over the words. That s that s impossible.
Derora looked ready to vomit.
Eventually, Pallens and we elves claimed victory, but I am not certain if the people of
Pallens felt like they achieved victory when it was done.
Der asked, Why did the chemmen even fight Pallens? Weren t there weaker targets?
Pallens was their insult. They were everything that the chemmen weren t. They were
the artists, poets and philosophers. A civilization that blossomed on the differences of the
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many peoples living there. Many races, including some elves, lived together mostly
harmoniously. Laurel paused for a long moment. At first, the chemmen were leaving the
Empire alone, but the people of Pallens could not stand aside while this slaughter was being
perpetuated and they demanded war. The chemmen, and their so-called allies which they had
managed to subdue, were hungry to oblige.
Please understand that the Empire had been a democracy for quite some time then
and the chemmen absolutely loathed it because they couldn t understand it. The chemmen rise
to be elders because of how well they perform their assigned duties and not by getting people
beneath them to decide.
Der inched up a finger. What s a democracy?
Kelin frowned. Sigard and I used to talk about these things. I think it s where the people
get to pick their king or something. He shrugged.
But, but, what about succession do the people have to pick the king s son or
daughter then? It wouldn t work. What about the vassals, do you have to choose them too?
But, then, they may not be loyal to the king because he sure didn t pick them, and& She
exhaled and stared into the flames with the same expression of a dog staring at a door-latch. I
mean, what, does some good-looking man ride into town on a horse and say make me your
king, I ll give you free pigs for it ?
Laurel hid a small smile beneath her hand. Perhaps you might not have fared too badly
in Pallens, Derora.
Where are you going to get the pigs, Der? Kelin poked her shoulder. Your family
doesn t own any pigs.
The elf raised her hand. It s not the pigs, children, it s the promise of pigs.
Once again, the dogs stared at the door-latch. Der said, I still don t understand. If you
promise people pigs, you have to give them pigs or else you re just a liar.
Yes, Derora. Alas, democracy is something that perished with the Empire, but it didn t
fall to the chemmen, of course. However, during the Front War the people of Pallens could not
fathom why a whole nation could support these atrocities. The chemmen could not fathom why
an entire empire could be so diverse and yet still so unified. It s like coming across someone
who speaks a language that you ve never heard before there is no comprehension. Your
language makes sense to you, but it doesn t to the other person. His language makes sense to
him, but yours does not. Do you follow?
The humans nodded.
Good. The storm-readers never made it into Pallens properly, but they did manage to
conquer many surrounding territories. They d learned much outside their domain, which may
have been more dangerous than leaving them alone. They d learned the Pallenian legend of
the water of life.
So, that s how they got their immortality, Der said excitedly, They found the fountain
of youth! Everyone knows that legend.
Laurel shook her head. No, that s not accurate to what happened. They learned of the
fountain of youth, but what is more accurate is to say that they made their own.
How do you do that? Kelin asked.
She inhaled deeply, glanced at her son who played with the fire in apparent
obliviousness to the conversation, and then back to them. Well, you might as well know. The
fountain of youth is actually in elvish tradition called the water of life. In every life, there is a
All Things Impossible Crown of the Realm Dalton 77
drop of that water, so that we may breathe and our hearts may beat. Anything with this drop of
water is alive, and nothing is without it. An infant, a forest, a bird everything has this drop of
life. Even living creatures that are too small for you to see have a tiny whisper of this water.
And yes, if you find its natural spring, it can grant one freedom from aging and great health.
Kelin shook his head. They found the fountain, didn t they? And, then, somehow they
made it themselves they copied it. Their whole race&
The chemmen never found the spring. Also, one cannot create life from nothing. The
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