Elven Roses - Page 192/201

First came images of beings similar to Aldrec in his true form: elf-like creatures of the same horrifying magnificence, mingling, living their daily lives in white cities of perfect and delicate splendor.

These beings reached out with their hands, and caused dry riverbeds to spring alive with water and green life in seconds, while the dragons watched in horror and rage as their own ancestral life springs receded and died at that same time.

Wars ensued: centuries upon endless centuries of bloody battle against a race that was immortal only in the sense of natural death, but not of the kind brought about by dragon fire or destructive magic.

Then came the mixed wonder and despair as the race of beautiful elves began to give birth to the lesser races. But they were used to shame by their high parents, manipulated to fight the wars for them until they were shown the wisdom of the dragons, and united against their former masters.

Then came their departure in a bridge of light, the beautiful elves now a humbled and contrite race, leaving the lesser races to fend for themselves. The common elves took the place of their parents in the spires of beautiful cities of their own designs while the humans and dwarves scavenged for the riches of the land. The ensuing ages replayed the monotonous cycles of war, peace, and discovery … and though it all, the ageless eyes of birth, life, and death; destruction and reconstruction, Aldrec, the one who stayed behind, watched on. At first enraptured and amused at the actions of the younger races, the ages passed, and wisdom come to his face, sobering him as the endless cycles repeated themselves. And nothing sobered him more than being the helpless witness to the ultimate destruction of the dwarven race.

And still, he lived on.

Now, he seemed so old inside … Until one fateful day, when he met a green-haired beauty named Mericlou. Her smile, her laugh, her very presence brought his world back to life, gave it meaning, and his intense feelings of emptiness faded away in her beautiful face. She completed him, yet made him long for home even more.

And now before he was to part with this world, he wished the lesser races to know that peace and joy that he did. He wanted them to see the endless cycles of death and destruction by their kind, and with that knowledge, at long last put away those petty prejudices that had caused this most grievous chapter in their history. He wanted them to embrace a hopeful and brighter future … and above all, to embrace the androids as brothers and sisters, for a secret of the future was to be revealed. As nearly all androids shared the same light of life, soon they all would.