The Depths of Darkness

Chapter Three
A History Lesson

If he had known that being the ruler of the British Elfish Realm, or the BER, as he had taken to calling it, would involve getting up at the crack of dawn, Harry was pretty sure that he would have seriously reconsidered taking his chances with Dumbledore and the Dursley's. There was absolutely nothing pleasant about six o'clock in the morning, particularly for an Elf who just happened to be very sensitive to the light. Having the curtains surrounding his bed ripped open and suddenly having a thousand tiny rays of blinding light hit him in the face had not been one of his better experiences. It was definitely one he didn't want to have repeated.

Once the spots had stopped dancing in front of his eyes, Harry had noticed who was responsible for his not so pleasant wake-up call. With a small smirk on his face, Soren stood at the end of the bed, on either side of him stood two young women. Neither of them looked any older than Harry, himself. The moment their eyes met Harry's they looked away and bowed.

Harry didn't know what to say or do. He'd never had anyone bow to him before…well, with the exception of Dobby. To be honest,
he wasn't exactly comfortable with it. He hadn't done anything that would warrant such a response. Soren smiled and placed a gentle had on their shoulders, clearly telling them that it was all right for them to go about their tasks.

“Good morning, my Lord. I trust that you slept well?”

Harry watched the other two straighten and move to one of the doors that lined the left side of the room, disappearing behind it. “I slept fine. It was the early rise that nearly killed me. If we're 'Dark' Elves shouldn't we...I don't know...sleep during the day and play at night?”

Soren let out a deep chuckle, the first free show of emotion that Harry had witnessed from the Elf. “I do apologize, My Lord. You are correct. As a whole, we do like the darkness and once you have reached your own manor your sleep pattern will change. As for right now, it is safer and more discreet if you travel while the remainder of the realm slumbers.”

“Safer?”

“Yes,” Soren nodded, turning to glance at the girls as they re-entered the room carrying an assortment of clothing in their hands. “Every kingdom has its rebels. For instance, you can consider those who think that things are not being run as they should.”

“And are these...rebels...going to cause any problems?”

“I don't believe so. Once you fully take your place as the Dark Prince, the vigilante groups will keep quiet. For the most part they are unhappy that there is no figurehead and despise the idea of the High Lords ruling the kingdom. It is traditionally not our place to do so.” Soren explained, moving to take a seat near the fireplace. “As for being a danger to this trip, you need not worry. My guard is made up of the best men and women the Eastern Land has to offer. You will be completely safe.”

Harry nodded slowly. If truth were told he didn't like the idea of having more people after him. He really had enough to worry about as it was with Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Vigilante groups he didn't need or want. The sound of a hairbrush being dropped brought his attention back to the two women who had accompanied Soren into the room.

“I apologize. I have not yet introduced you. Harry, may I introduce you to Aurora and Jocelyn. They are two of my Consorts ladies-in-waiting and they will be helping you to prepare for the long ride ahead of us.”

“Prepare? What do I have to prepare for?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. He had the feeling that there was more to this trip than he had originally been told.

“Yes, in order to keep your arrival in the Northern Lands quiet you will not be arriving as the Dark Prince, but as a High Lord. For the entirety of this trip you will resemble Ilaria and you will accompany Lothair and I to the Northern Manor.”
Harry paused, his sense of dread growing. “Ilaria is a woman.” The statement was simple, but it clearly identified the realization that Harry had just come to.

Soren only smirked and motioned the two women forward.

* * *

“I can't believe I let you talk me into this!”

“You look lovely. No one will be able to tell the difference between Ilaria and yourself.”

Harry's eyes moved to Soren's amused reflection and pinned him with a glare. “You are not helping!”

“I apologize, my Prince.”

“That does me a whole lot of good, doesn’t it?” He muttered, his focus returning to his own reflection. For the second time in less than twenty-four hours he could barely recognize himself. At the current moment he couldn't quite decide whether to refer to himself as male or female. All the important parts had remained male, but everything else now had a much more feminine quality.

The height distance between himself and Ilaria was merely a difference of a couple centimeters: a difference that would never be noticed while riding. There had not been too many drastic changes, but his hair had definitely been one of them. He had always had hair the colour of a Raven's wing and now it was a pale blond with black streaks running through it. After the colour had been changed, Aurora and Jocelyn had pulled it back into a high ponytail, tying it off with a piece of black silk ribbon. Two thin sections remained hanging down in the front, framing each side of his face.

His eyes had been another problem. Not very many people had eyes like his. Even in the Wizarding world a shinning emerald green wasn’t exactly common. Ilaria's eyes were much the same shape but happened to be a bright blue in colour. In order to get Harry's to match a coloration spell had been used. Naturally, having a wand pointed at his eyes had made Harry quite nervous. Thankfully the spell would fade in time, meaning that he did not have to repeat the experience in order to have the colour removed.

The easiest part of the transformation had been the clothes. The outfit was similar to that of the men’s, with the exception of slightly different tapering and more material. The spells they had cast on him had given him slight curves but the extra material when draped in the right places helped to enhance and create more of a womanly figure. He was quite content not to have to experience many changes in that aspect. He knew for a fact that he never would have lived that down.

Once he was dressed the two women retreated to stand beside Lord Soren's chair, eying their work with a practiced and critical eye.

“Well, am I finished?” Harry asked, turning away from the mirror and allowing Soren to see the full affect of his female transformation.

Soren let his eyes wander over Harry, checking for anything that might be missing or out of place. “You are almost done,” he responded, finally, reaching to the right and pulling open a drawer in the side table. His hand disappeared inside for a moment before coming back out with a long, thin pencil in his grip. “You just need one more thing.”

Harry eyed the pencil with apprehension. “Is that what I think it is?”

Soren smiled and handed the object to Aurora, who stepped forward immediately, making her way back to Harry. “That depends on what you think it is.”

“No. Absolutely not,” Harry took a step back for every step Aurora took forward, his hands held up as to ward her off. “I am not wearing make-up!”

“It's simple Kohl eyeliner,” Soren explained, leaning back in his chair and allowing his amusement to flicker through. “It is used to enhance the colour of your eyes. Ilaria uses it and many people, both men and woman, favour the affect that it creates. It is quite striking on those who are in possession of a rather have bright eye colour, such as yourself and Ilaria.”

“Do I have to?”

“Yes, I am afraid you must. It is, after all, part of the disguise.”

Harry sighed and allowed Aurora to approach him. “This is such a bad idea.”

It was strange, to say the least, to have someone drawing on your face. Every time she approached his eye he'd start blinking rapidly. Soren found her growing frustration with him quite amusing, Harry, on the other hand, did not. She was holding a rather sharp object near his newly healed eyes. He didn't want to go back to being blind. In the end, Aurora had to cast a freezing charm on Harry's eyes in order to apply the black eyeliner.

Soren smiled when she had finished and removed the freezing charm. “There you are. It looks wonderful.”

Harry turned and glanced back into the mirror. What he found surprised him. Despite his misgivings, it did look good. The black line surrounding his eye did exactly as Soren said it would and emphasized the bright colour of his eyes, drawing attention to them.

“Would you like Aurora to show you how to apply that yourself?”

“No, I can handle it on my own.” Harry responded, flustered that Soren had read him so easily. “Am I sufficiently dressed? Can we leave now?”

Soren nodded and dismissed the two ladies-in-waiting. As Aurora passed she handed Harry the eyeliner with a wink, effectively turning Harry a lovely shade of red and getting a small burst of laughter from Soren. “Alright, alright,” he chuckled, gaining control of himself. “We best hurry. Lothair and the Guard will be waiting for us.”

Still quite flustered, Harry followed Soren quietly out of the room. He wasn't quite sure where he was, but it screamed of wealth and elegance. The floors were a smooth green marble, the walls were lined with beautiful paintings of forest landscapes and Elves, and every piece of furniture he had seen was made of rich mahogany and silver. Not even Hogwarts was as nice as this.

“Where are we?”

“This is my summer home. My Consort and I normally reside here during the warmer months, before returning to our ancestral home as the temperature begins to fall,” Soren explained. “It is small, but it is comfortable and quiet. No one will guess that you are here.”

At his response Harry nearly tripped down the stairs they were currently descending. “Small? You call this small?” he asked, incredulously. “I would like to know what you consider to be a large home.”

Soren frowned slightly. He had been born and raised in the Elfish realm. To have someone be surprised at their living conditions had always puzzled him, particularly if that individual was a magical being, such as a Wizard who had the magical means to create any sort of residence they would prefer. “Yes, this is one of my smaller properties.” he answered. “The largest is the ancestral home, of course, but even that is dwarfed by Jade Manor.”

“Jade Manor?”

“Great, the kid is as helpless as I thought. Smooth work, Soren.”

Harry turned in surprise, finding the second Elf from the other night; the one with the blue eyes. Lothair. He thought, vaguely noticing that Soren had yet again been right. The Elf in front of him was also wearing Kohl eyeliner, although less of it than he, himself, was. He supposed it might have more to do with gender than any sort of preference.

“Good day, Lothair,” Soren greeted with a raised eyebrow. “As pessimistic as always, I see.”

“One of us has to be.”

“There is a difference between pessimism and good sense.”

“Good sense? You mean like crowning a King who knows nothing of our ways?”

Harry’s eyebrow raised, his eyes bouncing between the two elves as they spoke.

“Harry will not be crowned until the summer ends. By than he will know what it entails to be a Prince of this Kingdom.”
Lothair gave them both a displeased look before motioning for the stable hands to bring their horses. Harry watched as three young boys brought forth the three creatures. From where he stood they looked far too large to be normal, run of the mill, horses. One of which was bright white in colour, while the other two were of darker shades.

Soren stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on the nose of the white horse, a fond smile on his face. “Hello, my sweet.” he responded softly, taking the time to stroke the side of the horse’s neck.

When Harry glanced toward Lothair, he was already sitting astride a large chestnut stallion, reigns in hand and a fierce look of determination on his face. Beneath him the horse snorted and stomped it's feet, as impatient to leave as its rider. He reminded Harry distinctly of a warrior riding out to battle, which didn’t particularly give him a good feeling about this trip.
If Soren was riding the white horse and Lothair was sitting astride the chestnut, than it was clearly obvious that the remaining mount was meant for him: the almost ridiculously large creature in front of him, whose eyes seemed to be bore into his very soul. His coat was the deepest shade of black with only the smallest amount of white to break up the darkness. On his forehead was a white diamond and the bottoms of its legs were an almost dazzling white. He was beautiful but all together intimidating.

“Asphodel,” Soren explained, stepping up beside Harry. “Brother to Ilaria's Bryar. They look very similar. The only difference is the markings on the forehead. While Asphodel has a white diamond, Bryar’s markings look similar to a star.”

“Don't forget to mention the hot temper this one has,” Lothair responded, looking down at Harry with a smirk.

Soren did not respond but made sure to offer the other Elf a firm glare, before turning back to Harry. “You need not worry about Asphodel. Be gentle and treat him as an equal and he will allow you to sit astride him.”

“Um, is this a bad time to mention that I've never ridden a horse before?” Harry swallowed, staring at the beast in front of him.

“Another thing we will be responsible for teaching him.”

This time it wasn't Soren that glared at Lothair, but Harry. He didn't know what the Elf's problem with him was but he was becoming rather annoying rather quickly.

“Oh look,” Lothair smirked, leering down at Harry, “the Lady has a backbone.”

“Lothair! Go and rouse the guard,” Soren instructed with a hard edge to his voice.

There was a moment of tense silence before Lothair turned his horse around and left the stables, his movements as haughty as ever.

“I apologize for Lothair's behaviour,” Soren exclaimed, turning back to Harry. “He's not fond of change and I'm afraid that he has become accustomed to having more political standing than what is normally granted to a Lord. Once you are ready to be Prince, I believe that he will change for the better.”

Harry frowned at that. If he didn't like the idea of losing power now, Harry was pretty sure that he would not be any happier when he actually did.

“Now you were saying that you didn't know how to ride, correct?”

Soren's change of the subject brought Harry's mind back from the situation with Lothair, though it certainly wasn't forgotten. “No, I've never been on a horse before.”

“Not to worry. It isn't very difficult,” Soren instructed, placing a calm hand on Asphodel's harness. “Step up on the left side and place your left foot in the stirrup. When you pull yourself up, ensure that you swing your right leg over.”

Harry approached the left side, just as Soren explained. When Asphodel shifted he came to an abrupt halt, nervousness and apprehension showing clearly on his borrowed features. Receiving the go ahead from Soren, Harry very carefully and rather awkwardly pulled himself up onto Asphodel's back. He could feel the power and strength below him and that in no way helped to clam his nerves. If anything it only made it worse.

“Excellent.” Soren responded, letting go of the reigns. Gently guiding them over Asphodel's head, he handed them to Harry. “Riding is particularly easy. Pull gently in the direction that you wish to turn, pull back to come to a stop and add pressure with your heels to move forward. The more pressure you apply, the quicker Asphodel will move. Understand?”

Harry nodded tensely, his mind going over the instructions more than a couple of times. “That sounds easy enough, I suppose.”
Soren stepped away and mounted his own horse expertly. “Try to remain relaxed. If you tense too much your movements will be jerky and rough.”

Once again the only thing that Harry could do was nod, his grip tightening on the reigns. This was in no way helping to make a connection between himself and the animal beneath him, rather it seemed to make Asphodel shift all the more.

“Harry, you must remain calm. Asphodel is expertly trained and will not harm you.”

Harry took a breath and attempted to get his body to follow Soren’s command. “Alright, what should I do now?”

“Before we head out, let us make sure that you can guide him. Apply pressure to his sides. Keep in mind that the more pressure you add the faster he will move,” Soren warned, moving his horse off to the side to leave room for Harry and Asphodel.

Doing as he said, Harry dug his heels in lightly, frowning when nothing happened. Glancing up at Soren, who only smiled at him patiently, he tried again, this time digging them in harder. As he did so Asphodel moved forward, which immediately sent Harry’s heart pounding painfully against his ribcage.

“Excellent, Harry,” Soren smiled, watching their movements. Harry was still stiff and tense, but he would loosen as they rode. “Now turn to the left.”

His mind did a quick scan of the instructions he’d been given and gave a small tug on the left portion of the reigns, smiling at his accomplishment when Asphodel turned in the direction that he was instructed.

“Good. Now turn right and come to a stop.”

As he continued to do as he was instructed, Harry felt his confidence slowly increase. This wasn’t really as bad as he thought it would be. He could feel Asphodel’s muscles shifting beneath him, but they no longer seemed so intimidating. They were merely the natural reaction of his movement. There was nothing at all to fear.

“Excellent, now it is high time that we leave,” Soren called from the entrance of the stables, glancing up toward the sun. Now that he was outside, the rays of light hitting the coat of Soren’s horse made it shimmer. It was a breathtaking sight, one that, unfortunately, he didn’t have time to admire. “We have a long journey ahead of us and many things to discuss before you reach Jade Manor.”

Harry moved with some confidence to the door of the stables and passed under the archway. “How long will it take us to get there?”

“If everything goes as planned we will be arriving just before your people wake to the new night.”

Harry nodded, glancing toward the hills to the north. He could just make out six mounted figures on the horizon. He assumed that was Lothair and the guard. He was accustomed to having people watching over him but it never made him feel safe. In fact, he always seemed to expect something to happen. Having a large guard like this, he was positive, would draw unwanted attention to themselves, which he didn’t think was something any of them wanted.

Luckily, he wasn’t able to put much more thought into it. Soren suddenly moved forward on his right, his horse picking up a light trot. Asphodel, having been so close to the other horse to begin with, didn’t wait for Harry’s signal but moved with Soren’s horse. Harry had only managed a walk in the Stables, this was entirely something new and the little confidence he had built up quickly slipped away.

Upon reaching the group, Harry glanced around. Their guard was made up of four men and a woman; all of them were wearing the same deep blue coloured robes. It was the silver crest situated on the crest of each garment that immediately drew Harry’s eyes. He assumed the crest was that of Soren’s family, what with him being the Lord over the Eastern Lands, but he wasn’t entirely sure. All of elves present nodded their greeting, but didn’t speak.

“I’ve sent to scouts ahead of us. Our people may be sleeping but there are others who seek the sunlight. Any sort of contact with them would not be highly recommended, given the underlying reason for this trip.”

Soren nodded in response. “Let’s move out.”

Harry guided Asphodel into step beside Soren. It seemed like the logical thing to do as the others moved around them. Lothair immediately took a position in front of him as the other five positioned themselves in a circle around the three of them. It was strange watching them move as a single unit, but he supposed it did give him some sort of security. This group had quite clearly worked together many times before. “So…what did we have to talk about?” he hedged, turning his thoughts away from their security. He was extremely curious as to what Soren had said earlier.

As the reached the top of the first hill, overlooking Soren’s summer home, he turned back in his saddle and placed the tips of two fingers against his forehead and then held out his palm toward the residence. Harry just barely managed to catch the word ‘peace’ as it drifted off his lips. With that done, he turned his attention back to Harry as they continued to ride forward. Any questions Harry had about the action were immediately filed away for later as the older Elf began to speak.

“The most important thing you’ll learn is the history of your people. Through that there will be links to all other aspects of our society, including politics, healing, agriculture, music, skills of war, social standings, and others. The history will take up the majority of your training but for right now, you must learn the basic yet most important aspect of our history.”

Harry felt his interest peak. He’d never been a fan of History, particularly history of magic with Professor Binns, but Soren made it sound so much more interesting. To make it better he could learn things about himself and his family through this. He would be learning information that no one else could or was willing to teach him. “And what is that?”

“How we came to be, of course.”

Harry raised an eyebrow, his curiosity getting the better of him. “So you mean to tell me that you … we … haven’t always been around. Are we relatively new?”

Soren chuckled. “In regards to Dragons, who have been a large aspect of magic since the beginning…yes, we are relatively knew in relation to the history of the magical worlds. In the Elfish families there are three levels. The first are whom we call Light Elves. Most of who prefer to live in woodland areas or close to the ocean and rely on nature herself for their magical abilities and knowledge. They differ from us in their daily habits and their appearance. While we tend to seek out the pale rays of the moon, they prosper under the glare of the sun. Their appearance reflects this. The dominant hair and skin colour of the Light or Woodland Elves is golden. The lowest branches of the elves are what Wizards refer to as House Elves. They have their own story regarding how they became indebted to Wizards and unfortunately, we do not have time to go into detail about it.”

Harry opened his mouth to protest but firmly closed it as Soren moved onto the second part of his explanation. The curiosity did not disappear but was merely placed on the shelf. Perhaps when he returned to Hogwarts he’d be able to get some information out of Dobby.

“We reside on the branch between the two. I do not say this to mean that we are inferior to the Light Elves, but to merely grant them the respect of having been a part of the magical world for a longer period of time than we, ourselves, have. “

“So…did we just randomly appear one day? Like a branch of evolution?” Harry asked, not yet understanding how Dark Elves seemed to have appeared within the Elfish families.

Soren smirked at the interruption. “I will never be able to finish the story if you keep interrupting me, young one.”

Harry frowned at the term ‘young one’, but refrained from commenting. He was far too interested in the answer Soren had to bother with it.

When Soren was sure he could continue without interruption he started again. “No, we did not just appear. For as long as there have been written records, there has been a distinct tension between the Elfish Realm and the Vampire Courts. Bitter wars have dotted our combined history over the century and much blood has been spilled, but like most rivalries, not everyone felt the same bitterness and hatred. Despite being looked down upon, several unions between Elves and Vampires appeared. The offspring of these unions were essential our first ancestors. These children had the quickness of foot and connection to nature that the elves possessed but also had the need for blood consumption and nocturnal instincts of their Vampire relatives.”

Harry listened intently, fascinated by what he was learning. Did this mean that he would also need to consume blood?

“As is the case with most species, we developed and changed over time in order to adapt to our surroundings and survive,” Soren paused here for a second, pondering to himself. “I think both Non-Magical Individuals and Wizards refer to this in regards to what they call Darwinism. I must admit, while his wording and explanation is crude, this Darwin individual did have a somewhat intelligent perspective of nature itself.”

While only having a basic understanding of Charles Darwin, more along the lines of simple recognition, he thought it immensely amusing to have a magical creature, such as Soren, discussing the concepts of Muggle theology.

“Over time, we’ve adapted in order to survive in our current condition. Unlike our Vampire ancestors the rays of the sun do not harm us. We are what they refer to as ‘Day Walkers’. Our appearance has changed to resemble more of our elfish bloodlines and our need to consume blood is extremely minimal.”

“What?” Harry paused, getting the answer to at least one of his questions. “You mean we actually have to consume blood?”
Soren smiled at the disgusted face. “You already have?”

“What?” he squeaked, a green tint to his face. He could feel the contents of his stomach churning and fought to ensure that whatever was left in his stomach stayed there.

“In order to decrease our need for blood, we’ve created a method that enables us to consume a certain amount of magical blood once in our lifetimes. This takes place during our change. Do you remember the goblet of red liquid that I had you drink when you woke up from your sleep?”

Harry nodded, clearly picturing the beautiful goblet and the thick red liquid inside of it. “That was blood? It didn’t taste like blood.”

“Do you partake in the tasting of blood often?” Soren asked amused.

“No!”

“Than how do you know that all blood tastes the same?”

Harry fell silent. He didn’t have an answer for that.

“If, like the Vampire Courts, we consume the blood of Wizards, Animals and lesser beings our own magical blood dilutes and breaks down the blood we consume, which means that after a certain amount of time we need to replenish the levels,” Soren responded, falling back into his explanation. “In order to prevent this, we’ve turned to a higher source of magical blood. Instead of using blood similar to our own we have a supply of Dragon’s blood. Of course our sources come from the dragons themselves with their permission. Their blood contains more magical levels than our own, bordering close to pure magic. By consuming a particular amount our bodies are given a source that it can’t break down and therefore we do not need to replenish the levels needed to sustain us.”

“So I was drinking Dragon’s blood?”

Soren nodded.

“And I won’t have to drink it again?”

Here Soren hesitated slightly before answering. “In theory, you are correct. But if you reach a point where you are injured almost to the point of death, more Dragon’s blood will be needed in order to aid your healing. You will also need to consume more if fate has chosen a mate for you that are not a member of our particular race.”

“We go through another change?”

Soren chuckled. “We are getting too far ahead of ourselves. You will be learning about this at a later time, do not fre-”
Harry frowned as Soren stopped mid-sentence, a fierce look coming over his features. “Lothair?” he called, his deep onyx eyes focused on the hilltop to his left.

Lothair came to a halt on the other side of Harry. “I feel it as well.”

Harry’s brow burrowed and he glanced between the two men. He didn’t feel anything. Was he supposed to? “Feel what? What is it?”
Soren remained still, his back straight and his eyes narrowed and focused. Lothair on the other hand seemed to be unable to remain still. Harry could see the muscles in his arm flex as his grip on the reigns tightened and his horse danced impatiently beneath him.

Tearing his eyes away from Lothair, he stared up toward the ridge Soren was looking at. As he stared, his eyes began to pick up movement. One by one, mounted figures began to appear over the edge. Their clothing were similar but in dark shades of grey and black.

Harry tensed as the guard tightened the circle around them and the sound of arrows being slipped from their quivers surrounded him. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, they had run straight into some unwanted company.


to be continued...