The guards that were previously defeated lead the group to Atlas' location. He knew there would be no point in trying to sneak up on the princess and the betrayer, as they were both incredibly gifted individuals who could 'whisper with the wind'.

The ten guards whom sat upon horses circled Atlas and drew their cutlasses from their sides. In one final struggle, Atlas brandished his dagger and charged toward the closest mounted guard. The guard cursed as he became the direct opponent of the 'betrayer'. The guard attempted to dismount his horse, but was too slow as Atlas slipped past the side of the horse and sunk the dagger into the guard's sternum.

A scream rang out from the depths of the woods, followed by the sounds of combat. Veronica did not look back, and instead ran as hard as she could toward the Mountain.

Atlas did his best to defend himself, but he was unsuccessful in protecting himself from the many strikes coming from all angles. Eventually, the dagger that he faithfully carried everywhere with him broke under the duress. With his dagger broken beyond fixing, Atlas knew he was defeated and kneeled before the guard that he had left alive.

"Please, at least let my wife and child live." Atlas pleaded.

"The princess will live, but the bastard child will die. No bastard will sit on the Throne of the High King." The guard brandished his cutlass and swung with as much force as he could muster, beheading the betrayer.

Even though Veronica did not know how, she knew that Atlas had finally perished. Her movements became sluggish and disorderly as she continued to carry her child further to the edge of the forest.

It was there that she encountered a young human woman.

Before calling out to the young woman, she saw in front of the her vast city within the Mountain. Even the high outer wall could not fully hide the splendor of the city from her perspective.

The grandeur of large spires with floating crystals reminded her vaguely of the capital of the Magical Beings in which she had recently resided, and she could hear from within the noise of a bustling city.

Veronica returned her gaze to the young woman who was counting plants.

The young woman that Veronica met at the edge of the forest was very young, but gave off a very motherly feeling. She was plucking plants on the edge of the forest while marking something down on parchment when Veronica stumbled out from beneath the foliage.

"Please help, Magical Beings are attacking!" Veronica called out to the young woman.

Alarmed, the young woman began to run towards the outer gate with haste.

"Wait, please, take my baby!" Veronica pleaded with the woman.

After hesitating for a moment, the young woman nodded her head as she saw the Magical Beings emerge from the forest. The noise of a trumpet resounded from behind the outer wall of the city as archers began to line up to defend their home.

The young woman took the baby and began running toward the outer wall.

"After her!" The guard at the front commanded, pointing to the young woman and child.

Four guards ran after the woman holding the now crying child, while four surrounded the princess.

The four guards that were chasing after the young woman had to continually defend against a barrage of arrows. The young woman did not fear being struck, only focusing on getting to the portcullis to enter the city.

When the woman was safely behind the portcullis, the archers rained down a fiery hell on the four soldiers that had attempted to harm the young human woman. The bodies of the soldiers were riddled with arrows as they finally fell to the ground, having failed their mission.

The other four mounted guards circled around the princess and took a defensive position.

"Please come peacefully princess, let us escort you home." A guard pleaded.

"You killed my home. HE WAS MY HOME!" The princess erupted in anger as the ground began to shake beneath her feet. The princess' eyes burned fiery red as she began to cast a powerful spell from her bloodline.

The trees began to wilt and bend to her will as the earth began to vaguely resemble a hand.

"Knock her out, stop her from finishing the spell!" A guard yelled as soon as he began to feel a sense of danger.

An earthen hand grasped the horses that the guards sat upon and split them in half. The intestines of the horses spewed out of their bodies as they fell over squealing in pain.

The guards, fearing for their lives, abandoned all hope of capturing her and attempted to flee but were grabbed by the fingers of the earthen hand. One by one their bodies were crushed beneath the force of the earth.

Crumpling to the ground, the guards had all lost their lives within mere moments. This strength was only made possible because of the princess' loss.

Anger, within the Bloodwell family, manifested into great power.

Now that the guards were dead, the princess was empty. Her child was safe in the arms of the humans, but she would never be free from the grasp of the King.

With the love of her life gone, it was now time for her to go as well.

The princess of the Magical Beings, Veronica Bloodwell, removed a vial of wolfs-bane and drank directly from it, her last act of defiance against the crown.

As she laid on the soft earth, dying, she saw the high walls of the city within the Mountain. Though she did not know the name of the city, it gave her a certain sense of peace that her son would not grow up with the Magical Beings that used her since she was a child.

Her eyes closed gently as her body succumbed to the poison.

After a short time, when the battle had been concluded, the soldiers stationed at the outer walls opened the portcullis to check the dead bodies and then burned them to ensure they would not come back to life. This, of course, included the princess' body as well.

The oak tree that Atlas died beside was nourished by his life force as the roots consumed his body and the bodies of the soldiers he had killed in order to grow stronger. It became the largest oak tree within the forest outside the Mountain, and was a sort of beacon that called out to the inhabitants of the forest.

A report was sent to the One True King about the presence of Magical Beings being so close to the city, enough to warrant his personal attention to the situation. For a time, no one was allowed to leave the walls of the Bastion of Hope until it was considered safe.

Inside the city, the young woman awkwardly coddled the small child in her arms while it screamed and cried. As a young woman of the Horvell family, she did not know how to explain about the child to her Mother and Father.

She had just recently been on a mission from the One True King to document the plant life in the forest outside the Bastion of Hope, and had not seen her family in almost a year. To return with a child was inconceivable in her situation.

Even more so, she had recently been courted by a young man of the Saye family, whom she intended to accept a marriage proposal from. How could she convince him to still court her when she now had to take care of a child?

With no choice but to face the consequences of the situation, Sarah Horvell returned to the Horvell family mansion with child in arm. At first there was a huge uproar about the event, but it soon died down when she explained how it came to be. The Horvell family was adamant in taking care of their own problems, and would not even think of putting the baby in an orphanage.

Both her Mother and Father were skeptical of her claims until the outer wall soldiers confirmed the situation with the One True King through a report. Sarah was given a a reward for her 'efforts' in the plant documentation and was given a stipend until the baby was old enough that she no longer needed to care for it, at which time she would return to work for the King.

The offer was more than generous, and Sarah accepted without hesitation. Eventually she even explained the situation to Alexander Saye, the young man that was courting her. Alexander accepted both the young woman and the child, and he entered the Army in order to care for the new family. Once things had settled down, Sarah and Alexander married and bought a house together to raise the young child, whom they named Willem.

They resided at the edge of the inner city, near the gates of the outer wall. This was the cheapest place they could afford that was still within the inner city that the King protected. The One True King was an absolute existence that had lived for more than a thousand years and had mastered the six elements of magic. The inner city was the closest one could get to the Royal Palace, and therefore the King's protection.

For a time, the Saye Family was incredibly happy. Their child grew up in a loving family, though he was a little introverted and unsociable while never feeling like he belonged. In the end he still found friends while playing with the local kids and began to open up to his parents about his adventures. He understood the danger of speaking to strangers and going to the outer wall where the guards could not protect him.

Sarah, having raised him, treated him like her own child but could never come up with the correct timing in telling him that he was adopted, or who his real mother was. The beautiful pendant that hung around his neck remained an unanswered question in the household every time it was brought up. Eventually a lie was told that it was a family heirloom from Alexander, Willem's surrogate father. This weighed heavily on Sarah's heart for a while, until she saw that her depressed attitude was taking a toll on Willem's mental well being.

Willem was very sensitive to the feelings of others, whether it was greed, lust, fear or even happiness. He could sense what people intended to do, even before they acted. Many times he used this uncanny ability to protect his friends from the unforeseeable threats of the inner city like the thieves guild and the slavers market. His friends were grateful of his protection, even when he was such an unsociable person. They allowed his little quirks to manifest, even if they did not understand how it worked.

Time seemed to flow irrevocably fast for the Saye family.

When Willem turned eight years old, Sarah returned to her work as a record-keeper for the King, to which Willem was surprised. He never knew his Mother was in the employment of the King as no one talked about it near him, and everyone who worked within the Royal Palace was quite famous. Willem even received offers for tea from various lesser noble families in order to garner his favor. Though he could not dismiss the invitations out in the open, he declined them all the same. He never quite liked having all the attention on himself.

None of the lesser families felt bitter about the situation, as they all understood his antisocial personality. They found other ways to suck up to the Saye family, either with food or money. Some even sent over prospects of marriage for Willem, to which he was largely unfazed.

For the next two years, Willem would tend to the family's fields in the morning to strengthen his body, then read and write when his Mother returned home in order to sharpen his mind. He much preferred the latter, not because he despised hard work, but because he enjoyed reading about the wondrous things that existed beyond the outer wall.