The Queen's Justice

Hero: An elf (elves in this universe have camouflage skin and are desert nomads, their camoflauge changes depending on surroundings) He is efficient with a quarterstaff and throwing knives
Villain: A disgraced battle mage queen who was stripped of her crown after a sex scandal
The queen makes a pact with an unloved god to evaporate all water on earth until she is crowned and he is worshiped.


This is the first part of this story that I am going to continue at a later point. Please let me know what you think!


A tall elf guarded the cell that held the former queen as she awaited judgement for her crimes. He could hear her grumbling quietly about those foolish elves that had accused her and how she was going to exact her revenge on them. The guard paid her no mind, instead letting his mind wander to his family, safely sleeping at home. He yawned and wondered what he had done wrong to earn this night watch. The clanking of metal boots on stone broke his train of thoughts and he stood to attention as the Elven Ambassador came into view.

“Ambassador,” The guard greeted the man before him, warily eying the two armed elves that flanked him. The ambassador nodded his acknowledgement but didn’t speak. They stood in an awkward silence for a moment before the guard remembered his duty and unlocked the cell. The ambassador walked into the cell, observing the carved stone walls of the cell. Even the queen’s magic couldn’t blast her out of this mess.

“Evelyn,” Ambassador Het began calmly. The woman spat at him as he spoke her name, her eyes blazing with hatred. “You have been accused of having non-consensual sexual relations with the prince of the Earthen Elves Tribe, among other things. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“You stripped me of everything, my family, my crown and now you come to see what I have to say?” Evelyn lunged at the man but her restraints caught her. She snarled at him as she strained against them like an animal. The elf was unfazed and made a sign the one of his companions. A young human stepped forward and quickly struck the woman’s pressure points causing her to collapse on the floor.

“You have been sentenced to public execution by the Court of the People. Your sentence is to be carried out at dawn.”

The queen watched helplessly as the elf shook his head and walked away. She tried desperately to move, to free herself but she was unable to move. She growled in frustration and glared at the closing door. Time was running out, she only had until dawn to escape.

The horizon was beginning to lighten the desert landscape as Raithe stood ready with his axe. He took a deep breath, it was his first execution and he was determined to make it clean. He looked out over the barren landscape, attempting to count the elves that were gathered. Many had already blended in with the humans, though others had chosen to stay close to the ground where they could dissolve into the landscape. Raithe fiddled with the axe he was holding. It wasn’t his chosen weapon but a quarterstaff could hardly behead a man, or a woman.

The sun was beginning to peek above the horizon when the former queen was brought onto the wooden podium. Her hands were restrained behind her back and she had been dressed in a thick woollen robe that hid her body. Her hair was a mess around her wild face, her eyes glowing with fever. Raithe almost felt sorry for the woman, before he remembered her crimes. He straightened herself and looked on as the queen was brought before him.

“Evelyn Hail, you have been found guilty of high treason for your actions against the four Tribes of the Inner Kingdom. You have been found guilty of kidnapping the prince of the Earthen Elves and conspiring with the Maoltharians to destroy the elven civilisations. For these crimes you are sentenced to death, what are your final words?” Ambassador Het spoke loudly to the gathered elves and humans. Whispers broke out in the crowd before the queen could speak.

“I heard she slept with the prince. He’s only TWELVE!”
“I heard she planted a bomb in the Palace”
“She’s the one that brought those dwarves in from Molthar! They almost killed us all!’

“Silence!” The Ambassador’s voice cut through the whispering and silence fell. The queen looked up at him, her eyes glinting in the sun.

“I call on the Old God Voltaris, burn the heretics and restore me to my rightful place as queen and I will restore your place as God of the Inner Kingdom!” The queen spoke in a frenzied voice before anyone could act. A tense silence fell over the crowd as they waited to see what would come of the Queen’s words. A few moments passed and nothing happened, the crowd began to shift around and ambassador Het took control again.

“Your final words have been spoken, the peace will remain unbroken!” The final declaration for all executions was uttered and Raithe lined up his axe. He began to lift it as dark clouds began to form overhead. The gathered elves and humans muttered to each other as they formed into the shape of a black dragon with a red stripe down its back. The dragon roared as it became solid, flying above the crowd. It circled once before swopping down and snatching up the queen. The dragon took a deep breath and set the surrounding land on fire before disappearing into the sky. The maniacal laughing of the queen was the last sound that could be heard.

It had been six days since the last time the Desert Elves had found water. They had visited all their usual watering spots, but all had mysteriously dried up. Raithe had a bad feeling he knew what had happened, but he chose to keep it to himself. There was no need to worry the rest of the tribe on his gut feeling. His tribe moved around a lot, but the continuous migration they found themselves on was tiring to even the fittest among them, let alone the elderly and sick. There were a lot of sick people in their tribe now, not just the elves but the humans that lived with them too. He had to do something, he knew the queen was behind the water shortage and she had to be stopped. He had to stop her.