A familiar scent touched his nostrils when he awoke some time later.

It was a honey mint tea and it filled the tree-constructed house to it's very core. Morning was upon them, and the sun shone brightest after their darkest hour passed. Elthas awoke and stirred slowly. His body was incredibly groggy and sore from the entire ordeal they had all gone through. Elthas felt different, he knew it would affect him a lot to take mantle of leader away from Xu...but he'd not expected that. A part of him half expected Xu Bellaparte to beat him, but the battle had been a decisive one. With his friends present, he'd overcome great adversity to claim the mantle now on his shoulders. Elthas felt at ease for the first time in many long years. He felt as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders, he could once again be himself. Elthas sat up in bed and stretched lavishly. His body slowly returning to it's normal capacity. Once he'd rubbed sleep out of his eyes he slid out of bed and decided to inquire who was the mystery chef brewing up such a great smelling tea.

Elthas made his way to the kithen area of the "house" and realized that he was following his instincts. He knew the house completely by heart and it had gone almost unchanged from the house of his early youth. Part of him made him regret that he'd abandoned his home-town in pursuit of the old alliances many years prior. His pursuit of the old alliances and his sometimes, stubborn views on that had lead him into a great deal of trouble. Including the mess with Xu Bellaparte. In leaving behind his hometown, it had all gone to shit. It was no longer the paradise of his early youth, but those aspects of the small kingdom could be restored. It would once again be a shining gem in Corone. Elthas was surprised to see his brother, Drathis Belthasar, and several other Elves male and female present in the kitchen and living area.

"He is awake." One of the male Elves said casually he was in full guard attire. He was a guard that Elthas did not recognize.

"Your friends left a few days ago..." A different Elf said. She was probably talking about Philomel and Mister Draak, their crew as well.

"I figured they would have left, how long have I been asleep?" Elthas had to know.

It was Drathis who spoke next, he'd been preparing a meal for everyone present. Drathis also seemed entirely different from their initial encounter when Elthas and his crew first arrived at the town. He no longer bore any hostility towards Elthas. "About a week." Drathis said calmly. The tea pot began to whistle, signalling that it was ready. "Father would have been proud of you..." Drathis said calmly. He shook his head shortly after that and readied a goblet of tea for Elthas. "You fought like our fore fathers fought. You gave everything to save us." Drathis continued. "Elthas...what will you do now?" Drathis asked, there was a certain sincerity in his question.

Elthas took the goblet of tea and took a long pull of the liquid. He was hungry and thirsty, he'd been asleep for a long time. After he'd taken a long pull of the hot tea, he looked at his companions. "A long time ago, I was exiled from this kingdom for helping a Hume. An old Hume named Seth Terrentius. That changed my life from then on. I honoured the old alliances." Elthas continued. "But now the circle has come completely back around and I have taken the mantle of leadership. I intend to stay and help repair the damage that Xu Bellaparte and his followers caused us." Elthas felt completely recharged after the long and peaceful slumber.

"Brother." Drathis began saying. "She must have meant a lot to you. For you to risk everything to come back."

"She meant everything." Elthas frowned, and a shadow passed across his face for a brief moment.

And as a family, the gathered Elves spoke and began to plan in the house that Clan Belthasar once held. That same house would lead the Elves of Concordia Forest to a new age of prosperity. Elthas Belthasar was now chieftain of the small kingdom. And his tenure had began.

~FIN~