Eleonora, determined to infiltrate the subterranean realm, approached the nearest castle. However, upon reaching the drawbridge, she encountered an unexpected obstacle. There were no guards, no locks, no physical barrier of any kind. But as she attempted to cross, an invisible force stopped her in her tracks.
It was a magical barrier, an invisible wall of energy that thrummed with an ancient and profound power. Eleonora, despite her mastery of Chaos magic, could find no weakness in the barrier. She tried to dispel it with spells, destroy it with brute force, even breach it with dimensional portals, but all to no avail. The barrier remained impenetrable.
"Interesting," Eleonora murmured, stroking her chin. "An ancient magic, indeed. And very powerful."
She took a few steps back, frustrated but not defeated. If she couldn't force her way in, she would have to find another way. She decided to observe, to study the castle from a distance, searching for any clues, any weaknesses.
She spent hours, perhaps days, in the darkness of the cavern, watching the castle. The lava surrounding it provided a dim light, but enough to see that there was no apparent activity. There were no guards patrolling the walls, no lights in the windows, no signs of life.
Yet Eleonora felt that the castle was not empty. She could sense a presence, a latent energy emanating from the black stone. It was a cold, ancient energy, unlike anything she had ever felt before. It wasn't the chaotic magic of the Red Wizards, nor the orderly magic of Umbria. It was something… more.
As she watched, Eleonora noticed a pattern. Every so often, the magical barrier surrounding the castle would flicker, weakening for an instant. It was such a brief flicker that she almost missed it, but it was there, a flaw in the perfection of the magic.
Eleonora waited patiently, studying the pattern. She discovered that the flickering occurred whenever one of the subterranean moons—enormous luminescent rock formations that hung from the cavern ceiling—reached a specific position in its orbit.
"Lunar alignment," Eleonora murmured. "The barrier is linked to subterranean lunar energy. Clever."
But how to exploit that weakness? The flickering was too brief for her to cross the drawbridge and reach the door before the barrier reset.
Then Eleonora remembered something. The scroll she had found spoke of fifteen castles, all of similar size and design. If this castle's barrier was linked to the subterranean moon, it was likely that the barriers of the other castles were as well, but perhaps to different moons, with different orbital cycles.
Determined to test her theory, Eleonora headed to another castle. The journey was long and dangerous, as she had to navigate rivers of lava and avoid the creatures lurking in the darkness. But eventually, she reached another castle, identical to the first.
And there, her theory was confirmed. This castle's barrier also flickered, but at a different time, when another underground moon reached a specific position.
Eleonora smiled. She had found the key. She didn't need to cross just one barrier; she needed to coordinate her movement with the flickering barriers of several castles, jumping from one to the next until she reached the central castle, that of the King of the Underworld.
It was a risky plan, requiring perfect precision and timing. But Eleonora wasn't afraid. The promise of power, the thirst for revenge, drove her forward.
But before putting her plan into action, Eleonora needed to know what was inside those castles. Who were the inhabitants of the underground kingdom? Were they hostile? Could they be allies?
She decided to take a risk. She waited for the nearest castle barrier to flicker, and in that instant, she cast an invisibility spell and slipped across the drawbridge.
Entering the castle, Eleonora found herself in a quiet, empty courtyard. The architecture was imposing, yet cold and austere. There were no signs of life, but the cold, ancient energy she had sensed from outside was even more intense here.
She explored the castle, moving cautiously. She found empty halls, dusty dining rooms, unused bedrooms. Everything was perfectly preserved, as if the inhabitants had suddenly left, leaving everything behind.
Finally, she reached a large room, where she found the answer to her questions. In the center of the room, on an obsidian pedestal, stood a statue.
It was not a stone statue, but a translucent, crystalline material that emitted a faint light. And the shape of the statue… it was that of a creature Eleonora had never seen before.
She was tall and thin, with pale skin and pointed ears. Her closed eyes were large and almond-shaped. Her long, slender hands held a crystal-topped staff.
Shining. And around her neck, she wore a necklace with a crescent-shaped pendant.
Eleonora approached the statue, fascinated. As she touched it, she felt a surge of cold energy course through her body. And then, the statue flickered, like a magical barrier.
In that instant, Eleonora understood. The inhabitants of the underground kingdom hadn't left. They were asleep, petrified in a state of suspended animation, waiting for the moment to awaken.
And they were neither vampires nor goblins. They were Moon Elves, an ancient and powerful race she had only read about in forgotten legends. Elves who drew their power from the moon, and who, according to ancient texts, were capable of controlling time and space.
The revelation hit her hard. She stood in the heart of an ancient kingdom, surrounded by an army of sleeping elves, at the gates of the castle of a king whose power surpassed anything she had ever imagined.
Eleonora's ambition, far from diminishing, ignited with even greater force. It was no longer just about revenge, or even about power. It was about reclaiming a legacy, becoming queen of a lost kingdom, awakening an army of moon elves and, with their help, conquer not only the underworld, but also the surface world.
And to achieve that, she needed to find a way to awaken the elves and gain the allegiance of the Underworld King. Or, failing that, find a way to steal his power. Eleonora's adventure was just beginning, and with an army of elves, her ambition felt closer than ever.