[quote]Fia looked back at the two elves, “Easy is always easy. But being blunt will better get the point across, darling. Go with that.”[/quote]

[color=#F4E7CA]"It was the humans,"[/color] Vesemir began. His words flew without emotion, as if the scholar were reciting a historical fact and nothing more. [color=#F4E7CA]"After the Hero of Mankind Areston Lydus drove his spear through Queen Serensie's heart, the humans---being the victors they were---occupied the portion of elven territory we know today as the Land of Twilight." [/color]

He stopped himself, and when he spoke again, the voice of the enthusiastic, mostly positive scholar now thinned and edged with bitterness. 

[color=#F4E7CA]"Occupation brought a new set of conflicts. Barbarity from the occupiers was a common sight, justified by the resentment they carried as the former victims of a systematic tyranny. Queen Serensiel had brought untold suffering throughout the continent, and after her demise, the soldiers needed a channel to settle the old hatred, and factions in human governments needed to recoup their loss. Debts had to be repaid—and the common elven populace was the nearest mirror of the queen they despised. Always present, always within reach. 

Strife begot resistance, mainly from the so-called Snow Terror Lythiel. Seeing things spiralling out of control, the provisional Government could not afford another war for the sake of our survival as a race.

Theriadore, supported by other statesmen, decided that an Exodus was the answer. The elves would fade to the west, starting anew so they would rebuild in peace, and there would be no more harassment or pretext for invasion."[/color]

[color=#C7C6C5]"The most practical solution---realpolitik at its finest." [/color]

It was clear that Vesemir didn't like the simplification it brought, but what Mr. Elc said was, in fact, how it was. They have agreed to be blunt, and historical facts deserve the respect to be represented as they were.

[color=#F4E7CA]"Practical, but it was also a cultural and spiritual amputation."[/color] Vesemir continued, instead of confronting, his tone heavy with lament. The book he held now felt heavier. It was written by Theriadore himself, and if Vesemir was afforded a chance to ask him, he would start with: was it worth it?

[color=#F4E7CA]"They were not moving troops; they were moving families, elders, children, artisans, farmers. They were tearing people from their livelihood, from forests they have known for millennia, from the very soil that holds their history. Núria was not just a capital city; it was the heart of our civilization, now abandoned to become haunted ruins.  We remember this region as Rhovan ar-Lúrëa, a collective mourning so profound it became a scar that would never fade. The name itself was a testament to our loss---the land where our Núr, our light, went out." [/color]

He looked away, as if seeing the twilight in his mind. Old as he was, Vesemir had not lived through those tragedies, yet elves are empathetic creatures by nature. The pain carried through stories passed down, and the ruins that remained echoed that sorrow deep within his heart.

[color=#F4E7CA]"We elves abhor the idea of reclaiming this region because it reminds us of that tragic exodus, that every step westward was a reminder that we were not marching to victory, but fleeing from injustice. The 'peace' we purchased was paid for with the home of our people. It was a peace that tastes like ash. We don't speak much about it, because we have lost so much in trying to right the old ways our Queen had forged, and mankind did not make it any easier for us. Their part in this tragedy was merely an episode of cruelty from a distant antiquity, but for us, the elves, the scar still aches."[/color]
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