After Virion’s refusal to subject himself to his only immediate potential ally, Selena found that he threw himself into his work tenfold. It meant that it was rare enough that she could see him. He had taken to regular meetings with Adalina, the mercenary’s tactical mind of great help in his bid to increase the security of the province. A strange woman really. Strange but helpful to the prince as he worked tirelessly. 

Selena more often than not found herself reading, Rytha ordered to tend to her needs while the prince was involved in his endless meetings. The volumes were a mix of Albar writings and also some brought over from Elsira. History books mostly. Elsiran history was a strange affair because while the war with humanity drank up much of it, there were other matters they spoke of. Struggles she had never heard of. Wars against things called the Undying in the frozen north of the Empire, battles against beings that fell from the stars called the Voidsent. 

These were not things one would expect to learn about Elsira, but the more Selena read, the more she saw it was like any other nation. One with multiple enemies it had fought and still fought. So she had to wonder, why this insane drive to enslave humanity? Why cross oceans to make it a reality? Why throw millions of their own to their deaths across generations? Her eyes flicked through the vast volume before her and she found few answers beyond it being a divine right. Perhaps that was all the justification they needed. It sat ill with her as an answer. 

There was a thump upon the desk nearby as Rytha had brought two more volumes from the library. The green haired woman then waited for a signal from Selena to turn the pages. 

“Rytha, would you answer me some questions?” Selena asked. 

The elf bowed her head ever so. “Of course, my lady. I am at your service.” 

Selena had to wonder sometimes if this grated on her. Being at the beck and call of a shrunken human. If it did, it never showed. Rytha was by far the most professional and loyal woman she had ever seen. Whatever order was given to her she carried it out without protest or flaw. Yet she was an elf. So it was always in the back of her mind that at any point she could do whatever she wanted to Selena. 

“Why does the royal family continue the war? The objective to make humanity pay seems long long fulfilled. Those humans that subjugated elves ages ago aren’t alive anymore, the children’s children aren’t alive anymore. It makes no sense to me.” Selena said. 

The older elf seemed to consider the question for a few moments, possibly measuring how much to say. “Please, speak freely, I’m not Prince Virion after all. Just his pet.” 

The servant inclined her head. “Very well. To a human, that time was ages ago. It was eons and eons ago. Generations of your people have lived and died. Nations have risen and fallen. To you, it is ancient history. We see time in different ways. To us it was not so long ago. Recent enough that we can clearly recall the indignity of our existence. So long as the memory of that indignity remains, it is easy for people to stoke the fires of nationalism and racism. The more we fight, the more are sacrificed in the fires of war. The fingers are not pointed to the leaders that send these people to die, rather to the race they have been taught to hate.” Rytha said at length. 

Selena frowned. “That's insanity. It's not justice, that’s just blind hate being manipulated by others.” 

“Correct.” The green haired woman said with a nod, catching Selena off guard. “Having an enemy is a powerful thing. Hate is a powerful thing. It can unite a people. Indeed, the national unity of Elsira is strong because of that central goal. To kill, enslave, and dominate the human race. It creates an identity. A feeling of being above something else, elevated. Even the lowest of elf can find comfort in their lot for they are not human. That unity can then be pointed like a sword at your people. Your lands become elven lands, your resources become elven resources, your people become playthings.” The servant continued. “A hard cycle to break for indeed, it becomes so central to the culture that it seems very much like nature. The one truth. The only truth.” 

Selena had never really spoken with the elven servant much. Indeed, the tiny princess would admit she was intimidated by the heartachingly beautifully mature elf. Now that she spoke Selena understood that there was a mind behind the servant’s eyes. She never presented what she was saying as being morally right, instead her tone was simply one of a woman that relayed the facts. She even did it without the smug Virion was so fond of showing. 

“You are very learned for a servant if you don’t mind my saying.” Selena remarked. 

Rytha shrugged. “It was my duty to ensure Prince Virion was raised and educated properly. While I was not his tutor on every subject, I did instruct him on our history and culture. He did not take to the one filled with propaganda well.” She mused with a rueful smile. 

“So what is the not propaganda version of history then?” She asked. 

The servant scratched her chin and seated herself down at the desk Selena was upon. The table shook beneath Selena a bit as the woman sat down, leaning back in her chair as she seemed to realize it might be best to get comfortable. She realized that she was probably living something her brother would have lived, a lecture from one schooled in Elsiran history. Funny how life worked. She had never really cared much about Elsira until they had been on the doorstep. 

“Where to start… I suppose our time in bondage would work. Elves had many different smaller kingdoms far before the enslavement. We mostly know this because the Telvir of the northern territories were the only kingdom to remain independent during this period.” Rytha started. 

“The Telvir? I thought all elves were enslaved, least that is what these books have said.” Selena remarked. 

“A generalization. The Kingdom of Telvir inhabited the north region of our home continent and were surrounded by mountains. They have long been locked in a war against the Undying, ancient creatures from beneath the earth. It made them very well equipped and trained to deal with any human invasions. Even today they are mostly isolated from wider Elsira. A Telvir Elf will say they are of Telvir before saying they are Elsiran. A point of some contention among the empire.They care little to nothing about the war with humanity. To them it is a petty squabble. Most Telvir elves I've met haven't seen a human until they enter wider Elsira.” Rytha explained. 

Selena digested that. It was rather at odds with her image of a united elven race. Then again, she supposed every nation had different groups under it. Even one like Elsira. It was interesting to consider even if it didn’t directly affect her situation right now. 

“In any event, due to most of the elven race being fairly isolated from one another and not particularly being schooled in the ways of war it was easy enough to conquer us. Furthermore, our more robust constitution and strength made us a rather desirable source of labor. Now at this point the details get a bit fuzzy. A bit blending in fact and fiction. It’s said that we gained magic as a blessing from the gods that we might deliver ourselves from centuries of servitude. Others claim it was the result of some discovery of whatever relics remain of the civilization that created the Undying. It's hard to say exactly what happened unfortunately. What we know is that suddenly, every elf became capable of using magic. Well, you can imagine what happened then.” Rytha said at length. 

The history was indeed a bit hard to parse fact from fiction there. It had always been a mystery to human scholars as far as she knew where elves got their power from. Evidently it was somewhat unclear to the elves themselves. It was a humanizing thing in a way. She kept that thought to herself as she seated herself down on the desk. Her eyes were upon the green haired servant as Rytha got into her lecture. 

“Once the rebellions had begun it was rather impossible to stop them. All around the continent, elves rose up in revolt. There was some extreme violence on both sides. Atrocities that make modern wars look tame. By both elf and human really. Yet enough elves banded together and founded the nation of Elsira. The First Empress of our time was Ristasa Elsira, mother of the current Empress, was a warrior mage that led the empire to its first victories over the human nations of our continent. We allied with Telvir and integrated them in exchange for aid in their war against the Undying. Grand General Nalista was born a couple centuries after the first victories and well. The rest is pretty self explanatory there. The First died in combat in her bid to unite the continent and we have been under the rule of Yilse Elsira ever since. Well, her and the Council.” Rytha said. 

Selena scratched her chin. “So where did things switch from freedom fighting to fighting for revenge?” She asked curiously. 

“I would say that would be when Councilor Idria came to power. We are speaking of events many many centuries ago. She was one that fanned the flames of hatred as the war was very much not a sure thing by that point. The memories of it were very raw. The practice of reduction was around before her, a means of humiliation against humans. She just made it a national focus.” The green haired woman continued. 

“What of the Empress?” Selena asked curiously. “There is a lot of power Idria seems to have after all.” 

Rytha allowed herself a rueful smile. “Her Grace has often joked in private that she is the Chairwarmer of Elsira. In theory, the Empress has ultimate authority over the nation. However, her grace is a very domestic minded woman. Which means she prefers to look within rather than without for the nation. While she is not opposed to the practices of what is done to your people, she was against expanding to this continent. The Council meanwhile are all extremely powerful mages and all very much in line with Idria’s thinking. The people by and large fall behind Idria’s thinking as well due to the centuries of propaganda. You can now see why his grace is in such a dangerous situation. Even if his mother wished to help him, the Council has far too much power. They have put many checks on her ability to act. In practice, Idria is the Empress of Elsira. Not Yilse. It has been this way for some time.” 

Selena was quiet for a goodly while. That was a lot of history and politics to digest. It also rather gave her a good idea indeed of how they were where they were. Virion wasn’t exactly one that seemed to like Idria and her methods. It was easy to see how he had been caught in the crosshairs. This was after all the work of a woman so devoted to a single purpose she would sacrifice her own kind by the thousands to see it continued. 

Rytha leaned back in her chair and let out a long breath, lifting up a nearby pitcher of water and pouring herself out a cup. No doubt parched from all the long explanations. Selena was surprised she had indulged her so much. The woman was dutiful sure, but she had no reason to indulge Selena that much. She was just Virion’s slave after all. Not a person, just something she had to ensure was taken care of. 

“I serve Prince Virion first and foremost.” She said, as though reading her mind. “Prince Virion values you, human or no. He also enjoys your company a good deal. In the capital, it was rare to see him smile much. The hopeless uphill battle to change people’s thoughts on the war affected him much. You have made him quite happy. Though I’d personally say you could stand to make him happier, I won’t push on that.” The woman said. 

“Happier…?” Selena cocked her head, not really getting what she was driving at. 

Rytha chuckled and shook her head. “My, you are quite virginal. I am referring to sexually satisfying his needs. Your size is quite ideal for his tastes after all. I am of course capable of fulfilling those urges and do so gladly, but well. I am his servant. Not his lover.”

Oh. That was what she’d meant. Selena flushed brilliantly as she averted her gaze a bit. Her face was still hot from remembering when she’s gone crawling through Virion’s robe. When she’d run her fingers along his length. Felt the blood rushing beneath it. Gods it made her feel things she was scared to feel deep inside her. She swallowed hard and forced herself to look up at Rytha. 

“C-could you… I mean… well…” She stuttered. “Could you… maybe teach me how to do things he might… like that way?” Selena asked, her voice a squeak by the end. 

The green haired woman leaned forward and smirked. “Absolutely. Ah, I think there might be a good book with some pictures around here…” She mused as she got up to go searching, Selena suddenly not sure if she wouldn’t just die of embarrassment.